Disclaimer: I don't own naruto
Dazed and overwhelmed she wondered around aimlessly in her bare feet wearing nothing but the clothes she had worn to sleep, a simple plain cotton nightshirt that came to just above her knees.
She had nothing else, every thing she owed, which was very little had all perished in the explosion. Telling her self to keep calm she tried to prioritize the things she need to do.
She had called for the only ally she had, and even then she wasn't sure when the person would show, or even if he would altogether.
Sasuke has gone missing again and with the enemy right at her doorstep, going to very drastic measure to try and kill them, she didn't exactly have the confidence to go look for him at this exact moment.
Coming to the clear conclusion the first thing she needed to do was find a safe place to hide. Perhaps she should try a monastery surely they wouldn't turn a heavily pregnant homeless woman away.
But then again that might be the first place the enemy would choose to look, "where am I suppose to go."
"Come on Hinata you're a big girl don't panic, just because Sasuke not here." She told herself she hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on him. Right about now she wished she had some form of telepathic skill to tell him "I need you here with me", would he say the same if he could reply?
In all honesty she didn't know what had happened to Sasuke only that it must have been something substantial for him to leave her side. For these past few months they had traveled together he had not once left her, to aimless wonder off on a whim. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn't abandon her now because of the enemy. She could only hope that he was alive, and somehow manage to find his way back to her.
Setting off in search for the monastery because she couldn't think of anywhere better. Finally she found the small-dilapidated temple it couldn't of housed more then ten monks.
Straightening her back she boldly knocked on the shrine doors. The was a noise of bolts and heavy wood being moved before the door creaked open a crack, An elderly monk stood to the side with a lantern in his hand, as two young boys hauled the cumbersome doors open.
"I seek sanctuary" Hinata announced, the elderly monk simply nodded and allowed her in. She followed closely behind the monk in silence down dark cramped corridors, the lone lantern in the monk's hand being the only source of light. It cast eerie shadows across the walls, which seemed to dance as they moved.
They finally came out of another passage way that led outside, to a small courtyard, they walked through a beautiful garden illuminated by the moon, the silvery light seemed to bathe each leaf and branch majestically, the moisture ridden moss glittered like jewels in the night, each little bead of water reflecting back the light.
Finally stopping at a small worn wooden annex, the two younger boys that opened the door earlier came with buckets of warm water, seemingly from nowhere and placed them at the entrance of the little wooden hut. The monk slid the door open to reveal a bath, he then left her with the lantern as they retreated back in to the darkness of the monastery.
After she finished bathing she changed into the clean set of robes she found neatly folded just out side the bath door. Walking cautiously back into the temple to find the monk standing in the dark waiting to greet her.
Leading her to a humble square room where they had prepared a small meal for her and a bed, the meal was simple but filling, the temple was old but kept clean and was well taken care of, she soon drifted of to sleep exhausted, whispering "I am not alone".
Days ambled on past they where slow and relatively peaceful in the monastery, she paced through the long corridors of the old building, running her hands along the cool walls. The whole place had a very distinct unique odor she couldn't quite place it ; the walls were colored a natural, rustic orange. The courtyard garden seem to be the epitome of summer, there were footprint groves indented on the wooden floors where the elderly monks prayed, devoutly every day for hours at a time through out the day.
There where seven monks all together, most were elderly ranging from their late fifties to nineties Hinata guessed, though she couldn't really be sure with out rudely asking their ages. They had two young boys however perhaps in their early teens and an adorable five-year-old monk in training. She gathered the young children were either orphans or had been abandoned and left here.
During the day she ventured out with the monks who went into the town, the village would give them donation of food and other small tokens, for blessings, and prayers. While Hinata was in town she would always look for signs of Sasuke or any clues to follow, or in fact for any traces of her ally, her backup.
On the fourth night she was shaken awake, it was the elderly monk who had first let her in. She could see the trouble in his eyes, she sensed the tension in the atmosphere she quickly rouse to her feet. The elderly monk ushered her along dark winding corridors, without a torch for he had no need of one, long since had every room and every path been engraved into his mind.
Her heart raced had they found her, dear lord would they harm these people for helping her. They where nothing but old men and children, no matter what she may have done so far she couldn't have this on her conscious.
Knowing full well how fruitless it to be, she couldn't help but glance back, peering into the darkness. The long auburn colored robe she wore trailing behind her. The monk directing her into a small cupboard like room, he hid her behind old boxes of relics and artifacts, before he slid the door shut. She barely heard the scuffles of his hurried footsteps fade way.
"No, No why isn't he leading me out the back door." Had the enemy already surrounded the monastery? What was she to do; she was cornered like a rat. Cramped she sat there for hours, her limbs had gone numb, she was scared and alone. Would Sasuke really show up in nick of time and rescue her again. Would he be the hero he had now become to her?
She must have fallen asleep at some point, because she was startled awake with the creak of the door opening. Her eyes stung as the torch light flooded in, she couldn't see clearly at first, but it was a shock what her eye's revealed to her, once they had adjusted.