Hinata woke up and found a glass of milk, a blueberry muffin, a bowl of rice, and some eggs on the bedside table. She remembered that the woman had said that their "boss" wanted her alive, so she ate it without fear. She looked around and saw that there was a clean dress laying on the end of the bed. Hinata picked it up. It was a beautiful dress of white silk that brushed the floor and lavender satin that trimmed the neck and tied around the waist. Reluctantly, Hinata slipped off her wedding dress and put the new dress on. The fact that it fit her perfectly was very disconcerning. It even accommodated her fourteen week baby belly. Hinata got off the bed and went to the door. She tested it. Locked. Her room and clothes were meant for a princess but she was still very much a prisoner. Hinata went back over and sat on the bed again. She thought of Kurenai, Ino, and Hanabi. Tears welled in her eyes again. And what had become of Sakura and TenTen? Were they

still alive? Were they in danger? Hinata drove herself frantic wondering. She jumped when she heard a knock on the door. She wondered why they even bothered.

"Uh...c-come in?" she said timidly.

She was surprised again when timid young woman, not much younger than her, came in, head bowed. She looked around nervously, as if something were going to jump out at her. Then she looked at Hinata,eyes full of fear. She cleared her throat.

"Um...th-there's a bath ready f-for you, m'lady. If you w-want it." She said timidly.

Hinata blinked in surprise, partially because of the offer and partly because of the formality the girl used. She looked at herself. Except for the beautiful new dress, she was quiet dirty.

"Uh, y-yes. I-I suppose a b-bath would be nice." she replied.

The girl nodded and motioned for Hinata to follow her.

"Th-this way, ma'am."

Hinata followed her out, noting the two big men that guarded the door to her room. As they went down a long hallway, Hinata heard people whisper about her.

"Is that the…?"

"I can't believe Hideki-san would…"

"She's pregnant too…"

"Is he going to…"

"He better not…"

Hinata blushed red with embarrassment and anger. Then, one particularly arrogant looking man stepped out in front of her. Hinata jumped and shrunk back from him. He smiled mischievously.

"You must be the little mouse boss has locked up. what a pretty little thing you are." he said in a tone that made Hianta's stomach churn.

The girl who had been escorting Hinata turned around.

"Leave her be, Kinoji-san." she said annoyed and slightly afraid.

Kinojo turned to her, his expression changing to disgust.

"Mind your own business, Kasako-san." he spat.

Kasako tried to grab HInata's hand and pull her away, but instead Kinoji grabbed her arm. Kasako squeaked as he flung her into the wall. He stalked over and pinned her against it, smiling wickedly.

"So, all of a sudden you want to grow a backbone? You're not a true Koizumi, remember that, half-breed." he said viciously.

Kasako cowered and Hinata could see tears in her eyes.

"Leave me alone." she begged quietly, shutting her eyes as if to block him out.

Hinata didn't know what to do. She wanted to intervene but she feared making this tough, aggressive man mad at her.

"I'll thank you to leave her alone, Kinoji-Inu(dog)-san."

Hinata turned around to see the woman from earlier behind her. The woman glared at Kinojo. He looked at her, then back at Kasako. He scoffed and stepped away.

"I don't see why you care." he mumbled as he walked away.

Kasako bowed gratefully.

"Thank-you, Kanaka-sama."

Kanaka waved her hand dismissively.

"Just go back to what you were doing." she said as she walked away.

After Hinata had taken a much needed bath, Kasako escorted her back to her room. They didn't have any more trouble from anyone on the way back. Hinata was grateful for that. She went back into her room and lay down on the bed. Her mind drifted away to Konoha. To Naruto and her interrupted wedding. To Kurenai, Hanabi, and Ino. A tear slid down her cheek. Was anyone aware of their fate?

They wouldn't have been, if Kankuro and Temari hadn't been late to the wedding.

Temari and Kankuro rushed through the trees. Temari looked extremely annoyed.

"We wouldn't be late if you hadn't been messing around."she grumbled for the fifteenth time.

Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"I told you yesterday that I needed to finish work on my puppets. I said that it would take a while." he retorted.

Temari shook her head.

"Three hours is a lot longer then 'a while'. Besides, why couldn't you finish tomorrow?"she replied snidely.

Kankuro opened his mouth to say something but he stopped. He heard the sounds of a battle in the distance.

"Hey, Temari-chan…do you hear that?" he asked.

Temari listened and nodded.m

"What do you think its about?" she wondered.

Kankuro shrugged.

"Think its worth checking out?" he asked.

Temari closed her eyes, thinking hard. She sighed.

"We weren't going to make it anyway." she said.

The two Sand ninja altered their course and headed toward the noise. They stayed a safe distance away. Temari gasped.

"Oh man." Kankuro said in awe.

A handful of kunoichi from Konoha were fighting about twelve enemy ninja and loosing badly. One of them, the blonde loud one, was protecting a visibly pregnant Hinata Hyuuga. So much for going to the wedding. Temari swore.

"So, what're we gonna do?" Kankuro asked.

"I'm thinking, dammit!" Temari said, frustrated.

They were outnumbered and, apparently, way outmatched. Would they be of any help? Or would they simply get their own butts whooped. Before she could make a decision, Hinata received a crippling kick to the head. The older woman screamed and ran to help her, only to be brought down from behind. The blonde girl jumped on the attacker's back and stabbed him repeatedly in the shoulder. He swore loudly and a companion of his grabbed the girl off him and subdued her. The pink hair girl, the girl with the buns and the other Hyuuga fell shortly after. The girls were tied and thrown together. A woman on the enemy team yelled at the man who had kicked Hinata. He argued back and then went over and shook Hinata, telling her to wake up. Temari looked at Kankuro.

"Lets get closer." She whispered.

Kankuro nodded and the two silently dropped to the ground and sneaked as close as they dared. They watched as the enemy ninja taunted and threatened the girls.

"We should do something!" Kankuro said anxiously.

He didn't have a thing for Konoha girls, but these were some of that Naruto kid's friends. Kankuro didn't know him too well, but he had changed Gaara, and Kankuro was grateful for that.

Temari closed her eyes and shook her head.

"There's no way we can take them. We need to wait for an opportune moment. " she said.

Kankuro ground his teeth. They watched helplessly as the Konoha girls were mocked, beaten, and threatened. It aggravated Kankuro and Temari to no end. Things took a turn for the worse when the enemy, apparently growing tired of playing with their prey, took Hinata, pinky, and buns away. The one woman walked toward the jonnin, a wicked grin on her face. That was when Temari realized, with horror, that she was pregnant.

"Surely they wouldn't" she said breathlessly.

The woman pulled a sword from around her waist and positioned it above the jonnin. Two other ninja did the same, hovering over the loud blonde and the young Hyuuga. Temari covered her mouth as their swords came down. She looked on in horror as the ninja left their weapons in their victims and walked away. The Sand ninja sat frozen for a moment. Then they both rushed forward. Temari went over to the pregnant jonnin. She felt her neck for a pulse.

"She's still alive! We need to get her to a hospital!" Temari yelled.

Kankuro nodded.

"The Hyuuga still has a pulse. If the blonde has one, its very weak."

Temari bit her lip. She looked in the direction that the ninja had disappeared.

"One of us should follow them." she said.

She bit the tip of her thumb and wiped a trail of blood on her fan. In a puff of smoke, her summon animal, Kamatari, appeared. Temari pointed in the direction that the ninja had disappeared.

"Follow those ninja. Don't let them out of your sight." she commanded.

He nodded and flew off after them. Temari looked at Kankuro.

"I'll take the Hyuuga and the blonde. Can you handle the jonnin?"

Kankuro nodded. He carefully picked her up, keeping the sword in her back to keep her from bleeding to death. Temari put the small girl on her back and carried the other one in her arms.

Tsunade sighed and leaned against a hospital room door. Shizune came up to her, looking worried.

"Are they alright?" she asked nervously.

Tsunade shook her head.

"Kurenai-san is steadily improving and the baby seems to be unharmed. Hanabi-chan was a little rough, but she's starting to make a comeback." she paused.

"What about Ino-chan?" Shizune persisted.

Tsunade looked down at the floor.

"It doesn't look good." she said gravely.

Shizune covered her mouth with her hand.

"You mean?"she said breathlessly.

Tsunade sighed.

"She's teetering on the edge. I've done everything I can. It could go either way. We'll know for sure in the morning." She said, defeated.