Disclaimer: Nope, Naruto STILL isn't mine.

AN: I'm actually updating! And quickly! Being grounded in summer gives me some time to write. Hope everyone else is enjoying their summers!

No warnings for this one, very PG.

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The rest of the previous afternoon had been rather miserable. Wednesday morning, Neji had witnessed his cousin being "kidnapped" and reported it to his uncle immediately. The police were notified and they traced the van back to their relative, Itachi. When this bit of information had been unveiled, Hiashi called the highschooler in search of his misplaced daughter to learn that she'd been "dropped off at a friend's" after school.

Naturally, when the missing Hyuuga turned up a touch before dinner was to be prepared, without the bunny suit that she'd cleverly stashed in the bushes outside, her father had a few choice words for the girl. A long lecture later and Hinata was knee deep in unwarranted trouble. She would not to be permitted to hangout after school for quite some time and her chores doubled. The girl's father had even ordered that Neji and Hanabi not acknowledge her presence in the household that evening as extra punishment.

That deserted a forlorn Hinata sobbing soundlessly in her darkened room for the duration of the night; crying herself into a restless sleep.

Plaguing her dreams, the menacing glint in Pein's ever entrancing silver eyes had made a guest appearance. A voice of velvet whispered unkind sentiments and tormented the Hyuuga as her body jerked and turned unconsciously under the covers. Her eyelids snapped open and she awoke masked in a cold sweat. Not the greatest morning.

Starting the day, the freshman adorned her figure in a pair of pale-purple short-shorts with large black buttons decorating the sides of the pockets, a bright yellow baby tee with a tiny light purple heart on the left breast, and lilac high knee socks. Her hair was left down with a small sun-colored bow clipped to the right side of her indigo-colored head.

When the Hyuuga exited her house she found an unfamiliar vehicle rumbling to life in front of her house. It was a sleek, metallic, silver Ferrari 360 Modena. On the driver's side, the window was rolled down and resting his arm's on the frame was the very last individual Hinata had wanted to see that morning. Pein.

Taking a hard gulp, the purple-haired girl marched up to the silver car. The orange-haired driver was grinning smugly as he watched her approach with appraising eyes.

"O-o-ohaiy-y-yo," Hinata stuttered nervously, her milky-white eyes flickering to the windowpane just over her shoulder. She prayed dearly her father, or anyone else from her household, weren't watching the exchange from behind the glass.

"Hey there," he greeted her, in a friendly manner. Lifting his arms from the window's opening, Pein leaned back into the leather interior. Next, the senior commanded her more forcefully, "Get in the car. I'm driving you to school." His smile dropped into a firm steely line and his fingers impatiently rapped against the steering wheel. His dueling attitudes were nearly as opposing as Zetsu's defined double-personas.

"H-h-hai," she inaudibly agreed, her head hanging low as she solemnly trudged around the flashy vehicle. Slipping into the passenger seat the Hyuuga felt her entire body tense and heat. Whenever she was in the Akatsuki leader's presence she felt unnerved and awkward. Not to mention her speech impediment was painfully worsened around him and it was humiliating.

The ride was deathly silent and Hinata thought she was going to faint before ever arriving to Konoha High. Pein had wickedly placed his hand on her bare thigh and occasionally it would creep up her creamy skin, sending unintentional shivers coursing through the flushed Hyuuga. When she warily stole a glimpse at the driver's visage, she despondently frowned. The bastard was smirking at her displeasure.

As they pulled up to the school, Pein muttered absently with a dark chuckle, "Let's see if you can make it through today . . ." He gave her leg a gentle squeeze and she unwillingly yelped. "Your next task is to refer to everyone as 'Master' during school, understood?"

"H-hai, ano, M-M-Mast-t-ter," agreed the indigo-haired girl, stumbling over her words. The Hyuuga moped hopelessly for the remainder of the drive, receiving his statement as a bad omen. As if yesterday wasn't enough, there were going to be more degrading tasks to fulfill until she could be accepted into Akatsuki.

When the Ferrari stopped, the freshman made a run for it, literally. She wrenched the car door open, stammered, "S-s-see y-you, M-Master" and fled into the mass of students. As she escaped, the chilling sound of Pein's unrestrained laughter carried through the crowd after her retreating figure.

The Hyuuga only slowed once she'd gained a considerable distance inside the school building. Catching her breath, she leaned against a couple lockers on the first floor with her hand pressed firmly to her erratically hammering chest.

"Daijobu?"

Whipping her head in the direction of the voice, her alabaster eyes seemed to drown in two inquisitive sea foam green pools.

Snapping from her daze, Hinata nodded slowly as her expression brightened. "Ohaiyo, Gaara-chan. I'm f-fine." Immediately after the greeting left her lips, she remembered Pein's orders, quickly searching the passing students for any signs of Akatsuki. When she unearthed none, the girl visibly relaxed.

The redhead's expression twisted in a way that clearly displayed his skepticism, but let it slide. He had always allowed his best friend to hide whatever secrets she wanted swept under the rug. Troubling Hinata by forcing the truth out of her was almost too shameful when Gaara peered into her pure harmless alabaster orbs. Instead he changed the topic, seeing how she was enjoying her classes. She happily confessed that she really liked school thus far.

This conversation carried on into their first class of the day: 2nd period English. When Umino-sensei called on the Hyuuga and she called him "Master" the girl felt the urge to cry as the entire room stared at her like she was crazy. Which she probably seemed as such, considering she had just openly declared that she was her English teacher's slave.

Afterwards, the two freshmen advanced onto break as soon as Iruka dismissed them. Strolling down the halls of Konoha, they chatted about pointless things. The worry shrouded by Gaara's collected façade was effortlessly detected by Hinata and she did her best to thwart it, but the Sabaku kept his trained eyes glued to his best friend, analyzing her every action.

The Hyuuga adamantly refused to admit that the Akatsuki leader was harassing her because, if Gaara realized what was really going on, there was no way he'd allow her to join them. It wasn't a huge deal anyway; since, the ginger-haired senior was only toying with her. The girl was convinced that it was all an act so she would give up on becoming an Akatsuki member. Which she would not do.

Hinata was going to prove to everyone that she wasn't the same weak little girl anymore. She had to.

"Oh, F-Father got rath-ther upset w-with me yesterday," recalled the Hyuuga dolefully. "I'm ground-d for a while."

"I'll come over today then," settled the Sabaku, flashing his best friend a reassuring smile. Seriously, if Gaara didn't reserve his breathtaking smile for the Hyuuga heiress alone, the female population would fall for him left and right. "We'll work on that assignment Iruka-sensei gave us."

Beaming at the ever-considerate redhead, Hinata thanked him, "Arigato!" Unable to suppress the appreciation bubbling up in the pit of her abdomen, she threw her arms around his neck.

"Hinata-chan's . . . boyfriend?"

Startled by the familiar speech pattern, the girl flushed and hastily retracted herself from Gaara. When she turned towards the voice she discovered Zetsu with his head tilted towards his white side, considering his assumption. There was a glimmer of amusement in his golden orbs that proceeded to further embarrass the Hyuuga.

Red-faced, she stammered out, "G-G-Gaara-chan is m-my b-best fr-friend! N-not my b-b-boy-boy-"

The green-haired teenager extended his paper-white hand and dropped it on her soft indigo locks. An understanding, yet entertained, smile tugged at the left corner of his mouth. "I get it. Don't hurt yourself."

"H-h-hai, Mast-t-ter" she mumbled quietly so the redhead couldn't hear, pouting cutely. She hadn't spoken with the peculiar-skinned upperclassman much; since, the first time they'd met he'd successfully sent her to the nurses office before they got the chance. Shy Hinata was still trying to recover from that first encounter.

The white and black-skinned boy chuckled knowingly, but spared her additional turmoil and gave her a small wave with his dark hand. "Take care. Bye." Taking his leave, Zetsu disappeared down the corridor.

Gaara had opened his mouth to ask a question, one that was most likely along the lines of "Who was that?" but the bell had beat him to it and Hinata departed before he could try once more.

Abandoning the Sabaku to his dark thoughts. Increasingly, more guys were getting chummy to his best friend. Their motives couldn't be pure, not like his. No, the Akatsuki's intentions had to be corrupted in some foul way because an evil band of hoodlums doesn't just prey upon an innocent girl for no reason. Gaara was going to figure out their objective and stop them at all costs. No one went after his Hina-chan.

History began at a slow pace for the anxious Hyuuga. It felt as though impending doom was awaiting her at the end of the period. Lunch was an opportune chance to strike for the initiation tasks. Hinata used the time the class was taking notes to deliberate how to avoid any and all Akatsuki.

. . . Girl's bathroom? No, that wouldn't work because Konan is a girl. . . An empty classroom? They'd search those. . . Where wouldn't they find me? A locker! Not there either. . . There's no where to hide in this school!

The moderately distracted freshmen surrounding her, including the Inuzuka and Uchiha, constantly peeked up from their books with spiked interest as to why the girl next to them was violently yanking at the ends of her regalia-purple fringe and mumbling under her breath. She looked stressed about something. Then, without warning, her forehead collided with the surface of her desk and she let out a low groan.

Uncertainly, Sasuke and Kiba exchanged concerned glances, but remained mute for fear of Anko lashing out. The demon of a teacher had already singled out several students and her rage had only escaladed.

As class ended, Hinata gathered up her belongings and bolted from the room. Cautiously scanning the hallways with her ivory eyes as she went, the freshman hurried to her one and only safe haven: the library.

Inside the confines of her favorite study place, the midnight-haired girl made her way towards the back of the bookracks. In the very last row against the wall, Hinata lowered herself onto the carpet and exhaled in relief. If luck was with her, she'd go unnoticed. Turning her attention just down the row, a boy was sleeping with his arms cross behind his head.

Curiously, the freshman crawled across the floor to where he was slumbering. She recognized him easily enough from her middle school. Shikamaru Nara had always wore his medium-length charcoal brown hair pulled tightly into a ponytail at the top of his head. He wore a fitting gray T-shirt with teal circle patterns on the shoulders and loose black capris.

"Can I help you?" he inquired in an irritated tone, without opening his eyes.

Squeaking in surprise, the girl blushed, and fell back onto her bottom. She instantly felt like a creep for watching him sleep. Hastily she stammered, "N-n-no! I d-d-didn't m-mean t-to s-stare. Gomen, M-Master." Hinata cringed when she heard herself address Shikamaru with that terrible title.

The Nara opened his narrowed brown eyes and peered up at the Hyuuga. "Oh, Hinata, it's you. What're you doing on the floor? And why'd you call me 'Master'?"

"I-I was, ano," she tried to come up with a good excuse, but finally settled on telling the truth, "h-hiding." Catching Shikamaru's confused expression, she clarified, "From b-bullies." It wasn't exactly a lie, the Akatsuki were known for intimidating and harassing students. "And th-their m-m-making me call ev-v-veryone 'Master'."

"Soudesuka," exasperatedly sighed the brunette, closing his eyes again. "Well, you can stay here if you want. It's troublesome, but I guess I'll protect you." As his words sunk in Hinata's face burned cherry red. She was about to object, when he added, "Daijobu dayo. I'm a guy after all." His eyes flashed open and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"A-arig-g-gato!" The Hyuuga bowed her head to the boy who offered to help her, embarrassed at how scarlet her visage must be.

In middle school, Shikamaru had been one of the few who actually conversed with the shiest female from their class. It had started after being assigned a class project, that had gotten the highest marks of the ones turned in. Finding that Hinata wasn't a total idiot like most others, they paired up occasionally. They never came close to being labeled "friends", but they were on good terms to say the least.

Lunch carried on wordlessly; the Nara simply went back to sleep and the Hyuuga decided to pick one of the novels from the rack to read. It was peaceful until a phone went off, startling the girl so much the hardcover in her grasp fell from her fingers.

The cellphone in her backpack was buzzing to life and making noises; since, it was a gang rule that issued phones were required be kept on constantly. Checking the screen, the girl's milky eyes widened in alarm. It was Pein calling her. In her panic the indigo-haired teen silenced the device and threw it back into her bag.

"Who was that?" Shikamaru asked, offhandedly.

"N-no one," she lied lamely, regretting it when he cast her an inquisitive look. "J-just s-s-someone I d-don't want to t-talk to."

The Nara nodded thoughtfully, but questioned her no further. He yawned jadedly and lidded his watery eyes. Knowing him, it was simply too bothersome.

Without incident, the break came to a close and the pair of teens grabbed their backpacks and filed out of the library to head off to their last period of the day. By chance, they had the same class: Biology. When Shikamaru inquired as to why she hadn't attended so far, the Hyuuga vaguely replied that it was 'complicated'.

Raising an perfectly arched eyebrow, he remarked, "You changed a lot over the summer. You're more . . . mysterious."

Hinata's cheeks flushed with his words and she hesitantly asked, "Is th-that a g-good thing?"

The Nara chuckled. "Yeah, it is."

The compliment served to only redden the blushing girl's face further as they walked. By the time they reached the classroom in the East Wing, her cheeks were still a light pink. The Hyuuga followed him into the room, ivory orbs flickering about anxiously. Shikamaru gestured for her to join him at a lab table in the back.

"Hina-chan!"

Said girl peered up to spot Tobi skipping towards her with a cheery smile plastered on his child-like features. The Uchiha stopped right in front of the table asking, "Where was Hina-chan at lunch? Tobi missed Hina-chan!"

"G-gomen, ano, M-Ma-Master Tobi?" she apologize, tugging at the side of her bangs timidly. The Uchiha giggled at being referred to as 'Master'. "I w-w-was, ano, I just- that i-is-"

"She was with me," Shikamaru spoke up, eyeing the stranger before him suspiciously.

As if Tobi hadn't even noticed the Nara's existence, the boy turned to him with wide, curious eyes. Overlooking the clearly skeptical expression on the fellow brunette's face, the Uchiha zealously greeted him.

"Hello! I'm Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

All prior distrust evaporated and left Shikamaru bewildered by the unusual childish teen. The single syllable that he managed was, "Whaa-?"

The second bell sounded and Kakashi-sensei began the class. The silver-haired teacher attacked their schedule with a very laidback approach. He lazily announced that they were to be reading the chapter and filling out a worksheet for the day. Pointed out where the textbooks and the stack of papers were and then proceeded to indulge himself in what looked like a porn novel, but nobody said anything regarding the contraband.

The assigned chapter was lengthy, but the worksheet was no real difficulty. Combined they took all the time of the period. The closing bell had all the students out of their chairs and packing up their bags to hurry out the door. Before Hinata had even lifted her backpack from the ground by her feet, Tobi was bouncing up and down beside her.

The duo exited the school and converged at the parking lot with Gaara. The redhead returned Tobi's warm hello with a less then gracious greeting, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Hina-chan want to walk with Tobi to the middle school?"

"Ano, I c-can't," she informed him sadly, shifting her bag of books onto her shoulder. Hinata faced the Uchiha to find him frowning. "I'm i-in troub-b-ble with my f-father. I'm s-supposed to go s-straight home with Gaara-ch-chan."

The dark-haired boy whined like a five year denied candy.

"Gom-m-menasai."

The frown lifted from Tobi's face as he announced, "Oji-san is giving Tobi a ride! Hina-chan and Gaara-chan won't be late if we drive!"

The Sabaku twitched at being called "-chan" by a boy. It took all his willpower to not strike out at the immature boy. Like a mantra Gaara repeated to himself: it's for Hinata's sake. He'd been telling himself scripted that line a lot as of late.

"I-I could-d-dn't ask y-you th-"

However, Tobi hadn't heard, or acknowledged, her protest and took hold of the Hyuuga's thin wrist and dashed out into the cars, calling out, "Oji-san!"

Horrified as he watched the Uchiha dragging Hinata into the road full of moving cars, the redhead hurried after. At the last second, Gaara barely pushed the clueless pair out of the way of an oncoming Subaru. The car angrily honked at the teenagers, but they didn't seem to notice whatsoever.

The trio advanced toward a cobalt sports car, Madara was already revving up the engine. When he spotted the children coming his way, he flashed them a wide grin, revealing his lustrous sharp canine teeth. It gave him an attractive devilish charm that had Hinata blushing.

"Can Oji-san give Hina-chan and Gaara-chan a ride to Hina-chan's house?" requested the teacher's nephew, using his big innocent brown eyes to silently persuade him.

The older Uchiha chuckled huskily. "Sure, kid. Go ahead and get in, Hinata-chan. And hello Sabaku-san."

"Y-you know each oth-ther?" The indigo-haired girl looked between her best friend and Madara questioningly.

"He's one of my teachers," Gaara coldly enlighten her, his pale green eyes narrowing into a unyielding glare. Like most of his students, the redhead wasn't particularly fond of Uchiha-sensei. He was a strict discipliner and took a particularly sinister enjoyment in it.

Nonetheless, they all loaded into the car. As they were about to pull out, there was a 'tap, tap' on the rooftop. Outside the window loomed Kisame, an almost scary smile playing on his features.

"Yo, Madara."

The man in question turned to peer up at him. His voice acidic he returned, "Kisame. Can I help you?" His fierce obsidian eyes mutely transmitted a threatening message of 'This had better be important'.

"Pein wants to know where you're taking Hinata-chan," explained the blue-skinned highschooler. The Hyuuga noticeably stiffened at the Akatsuki leader's mention.

"Home," Madara flatly reported. "Is that all?"

"Yeah," he allowed, his mood lightening. "See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan, Tobi."

"B-b-bye, Kisame-kun!"

The blue car backed up out of it's parking space and they sped off. Once reaching a good distance from the school, Madara really pushed down on the gas pedal. The vehicle went barreling down the road and screeching violently around turns. Frightened, Hinata clung to Gaara, who happily obliged. On the other hand, Tobi had decided to roll down his window and hang half his body out the window squealing "Whee" as the drove.

Agitated, Madara snatched the bright yellow fabric of the child's shirt and yanked him back inside.

"What did I tell you about that, Tobi?" he reprimanded harshly, only half his attention directed on the road.

The dark-haired boy considered his uncle's words and eagerly responded, "Tobi knows! Tobi can only hangout the window on the deserted roads!"

"Right," agreed the brunette man, nodding in approval. "I can get a ticket if you do that in the suburbs."

What kind of parental figure is Madara! Hinata fearfully wondered, gaining some insight as to why the young Uchiha was. . . well, the way he was.

The Hyuuga was somewhat confused to see that they were going to the middle school and not her house. When she asked what was going on, the answer was "Picking up the kids. You're sister goes here to, ne?"

"Hai. Arigat-t-to," she thanked him, bowing her head unconsciously.

They parked once again and the two with siblings got out to find their pickups. Gaara remained stone-faced in the backseat, piercing gaze connected with Madara's in the reflection of the rearview mirror. They sat unmoving, unspeaking, just staring. They communicated with their eyes. The Sabaku seemed to say 'I don't trust you' while his adversary challenged 'What're you gonna do about it?'

When the freshmen returned with their little sister and brother in tow, the indigo-haired girl came to realization.

"There a-aren't en-n-nough seats."

"We'll squeeze," replied the driver, clearly unperturbed with breaking the law.

The hyper Uchiha joined the unhappy redhead in the backseat, Hanabi following willingly. The brunette Hyuuga had been delightfully surprise to see that Tobi had come with her Onee-chan to get her. The only setbacks in her mind was his creepy uncle and her rival. The backseat already looked pretty full, so Madara advised Obito and Hinata share the front seat.

Blushing like mad, the high schooler asked, "Sh-should I s-s-sit f-first and y-you sit on my l-la-la-"

Unable to sacrifice his manly pride, Obito put up a hand to stop her and sat himself in the passenger seat. An adorable blush coloring his cheeks, the little Uchiha held his arms open, saying, "Y-you can sit on my lap."

Madara chuckled at how cute his nephew was being, while Hinata uncertainly lowered herself onto his lap. They shifted until finding a comfortable position, luckily the two had small, slender physiques. The end result had the indigo-haired girl sort of sideways with her back angled to the window. Her left arm was extended over Obito's shoulders, which meant the boy's head was held against her generous chest.

"Y-you ok-k-kay?" stammered the red-faced Hyuuga, glancing down at the boy she was sitting on.

Gulping down nerves and flushed, Obito answered, "Y-yeah." His onyx orbs were averted to the ceiling, trying to will down the red of his flaring cheeks.

"Uchiha, you better not do anything to my Onee-chan!" yelled Hanabi, fuming and glaring furiously.

"Like I would, Hyuuga!" he shot back. Then shuddered slightly when he felt the killer intent emanating off the silent redhead next to his brother. Even if he did, there would be two people in the car that would probably castrate him.

"Alright, here we go, kids," announced Madara, evilly grinning, wider than Obito had ever seen his uncle smile. He was taking far too much enjoyment out of the situation. "Oh, and if we're spotted by the police don't worry about it. We can out run 'em and they won't be able to track this car back to us anyway."

"Yay!" exclaimed Tobi excitedly. His brother sighed at his misplaced enthusiasm, the white-eyed sister's paled, and Gaara remained ever stoic.

Fortunately, the police did not take notice of the over packed vehicle speeding towards the Hyuuga household at an alarming rate and they all arrived in one piece. As Hanabi shakily started up the walkway to the door, she thanked Kami that they didn't crash. Her sister and friend were following right behind her.

"Onee-chan, remember how I said I worry about you?"

"Hai."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"H-hai, genki desu."

"Hontou ni?" Hanabi eyed her onee-chan suspiciously.

Faltering slightly she promised, "H-hontouni."

Once inside, Hiashi greeted Gaara with a stern nod and the teenagers made their way upstairs to begin working on homework. As they submersed themselves in English, Hinata absently pondered if everyday in Akatsuki was going to be so boisterous and full of commotion.

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Hijo ni yonde itadaki arigato gozai masu!

(I think that's how you write it? Lol. I'm really trying to learn Japanese.)

Author's Note: Anyway, I feel like this was a bit of an improvement from last chapter? Maybe it's just me. /:'

I like ObitoXHinata fluff. So, kawaii~ :'3

And I seem to have a pattern: Tobi + Cars in motion = Near death experiences for Hinata. Hahaha.

Like always: Reviews, feedback, questions, and opinions are my favorite things.

It's really appreciated when someone takes like an extra minute out of their lives to say that they like something that they've obviously taken much more time to read.

(Surprisingly, I've already got the next chapter written as well so the more reviews I get the sooner I'll post it.)