Damn! Didn't think this would garner as much attention as it did! Seriously, when I opened my mail this morning I thought I was hallucinating at the sheer amount of attention this got!

Since it was such a close match between keeping this a oneshot or a series (haha!), here's chapter 2 in all it's pathetically short glory.

disclaimer: I don't own the Narutoverse. But I own the real universe.


Hinata trudged through the slushy mess of an unkempt road after a healthy downpour. She was, per usual, in the seedy part of the next city she came across. She passed up the red light district this time in favor of bar hopping. She had been to a handful of bars so far, all of them ending in victorious fistfights.

She entered the next bar hoping to catch a break. She had known that her target was a 'red eye' for quite some time; many years in fact. All she needed now was information on how to find the elusive red-eyed criminals, as locating them would almost certainly lead to her prize.

She headed for an open table and took a seat to check out her surroundings. She was specifically searching for a drunken soldier, seeing as how this city was currently under lockdown from recent red-eye attacks. She scanned the room several times, harshly blowing off the pathetic attempts made by inebriated fools to get into her pants.

She found her target: a loud man dressed in a military uniform amidst several other drinking buddies and a few sidewalk sallies. "They got nothin' on me," she thought as she stood to approach the group.

"Excuse me," she said while leaning forwards towards the soldier. "I couldn't help but notice you from my table." She laid on the charm as much as she could without gagging or laughing. "Would you care to join me for a drink?"

"Hey, honey!" shouted one of the man's drinking buddies, "Why don't you leave ole' Ralph alone and have a drink with me? He's got plenty of 'friends' at the moment, and I promise I'm better company."

She smiled at the loser. "I'm afraid not, I'm just a sucker for a man in uniform…"

'Ralph' stood up and swaggered a bit, feeling the effects of his night on the town. "I'll take you up on that offer, little missy." He brushed off the women clinging to him. "Why don't you girls 'entertain' my pals here? Show 'em a good time!"

The women obeyed and the soldier followed Hinata back to her table. She spent the next two hours liquoring the man up and getting him to spill the contents of his job.

"I'll bet you kept the city safe from those red-eyes," she cooed.

"Oh, yeah, sweetheart!" His speech was slurring. "I took outta bunch of 'em! Got 'em good!"

"Ooooh," she feigned interest. "I'll bet you took down their base, too."

The drunken man laughed loudly. "Nah, we couldn't find it! We did catch a few prisoners though!"

"Oh, you didn't execute those terrorists?"

"Nah, sweetie. First rule 'bout prisoners is ya don't kill 'em before you inter… intero… get the info outta 'em. We're keepin' 'em locked up."

"Did you put them in the town prison?"

He laughed again. "Nah, that ain't enough. We put 'em in a special cell down at the main headquarters. No way they're gettin' outta that one!" He took another swig of booze, not noticing a pill of some sort fizzing at the bottom. "So, little lady, you wanna get outta here and go somewhere nice?"

She giggled. "That's okay big guy." Her voice went from idiot bimbo to serious in no time flat. "I got all I need out of you. Nighty night."

The drunk's eyes fluttered as he tried to comprehend what she said and stay awake at the same time. He lost the battle and crashed to the table in unconscious rest.

The white-eyed bounty hunter took the money from his pocket and left most of it as payment for the fountain of drinks the man consumed. She stuffed the rest into her inside pocket and left the bar with an unusual feeling of accomplishment.

"I'm one step closer to finding him! Yes!" She silently celebrated.

(flashback)

When Hinata first set out to find her blond crush, she had no idea where to begin. She carefully made her way to several nearby towns to see if anyone saw the boy. The nearest towns to the village had no such sightings, which weighed her hopes down. But after traveling outwards, people began to recognize the description of Konoha's prankster.

With lifted spirits, she began to follow the trail of villages that he visited. When his trail went cold again, she doubled back to retrace his steps. What she found instead was a nightmare she never counted on hearing.

"Oh, yeah," a local woman recognized her description, "I did see a boy like that, but he got picked up by the Merchants."

"Who?"

"The Merchants. The gang that smuggles goods and deals with slaves."

She was horrified by the news. "What?"

"Yeah, they found him traveling alone, so they took him as part of their property. They'll probably sell him to some rich guy somewhere to the west. That's where they were headed."

Her mind and pulse started racing again. "Th- Thank you!" She stuttered before she ran off in a vain effort to find him quickly.

"Hey, wait!" The woman called out. She didn't catch the girl's attention, so she breathed a heavy sigh instead. "Be careful out there, little one. The world's a bigger and crueler place than you might think…"


If you still didn't get enough, go read my other fanfic. It's much longer and needs lovin' too. Tired. Sleep needed. Good night.