Chapter 2: The day she was chosen.

The school grounds came rapidly into view. Neji walked beside her, eyeing her frequently. Oh God he must hate me. she thought stupidly, blushing furiously and speeding up. It was hard, and the constant friction of bandages against torso, stomach, arms, and legs only added to the itch of the healing wounds. On top of her wrapped hands she wore black gloves, nothing beside the Konoha 'forehead' protector concealed her gauzed neck, and instead of the usually puffy jacket she wore, there was simply a dark red long-sleeve under the fishnet-like shirt that was recommended for the light weight upon her soiled dressings. Neji, quite the contrast, appeared as normal as they come, his thin bandages quite useless in holding together two broken ribs.

"Neji!" TenTen acknowledged from her position at the arrival gate. A solemn nod was his only greeting as they passed the utterly powerless woman and the overactive man in green spandex. Both gazed curiously about the girl now following Neji; Hinata. She looked smaller then usually, and the extremely intelligent duo noticed for the first time, she wasn't wearing her jacket.

She bit her lip as they entered the school building, there was almost no one there. Hinata was glad that there wasn't that many people there, though at the same time she wished there was. It might be nice to get a little of the attention sometimes. She was only known as the shy girl, or the one least likely to become Hokage. Or the cousin of the powerful student ninja Neji. Yes, it would be nice to get a little of the attention sometimes. As soon as the thought was out she blushed madly and shook her head, bringing her hands down to find comfort in her pockets. Her hands slipped straight through the imaginary fabric and passed through the cold November air instead. Oh yea... she suddenly remembered what she was wearing and reminded herself that it did not consist of her protecting jacket. She felt something brush past her leg and looked down. White? She saw white fur? Akamaru. "Akamaru!" the frustrated voice of the human dog beast shouted.

Kiba ran and slid along his side on the polished floor to the other end of the hallway in a dead end chase of his dog. After a few moments of silence, in which Neji stopped to observe the interaction, Kiba came walking happily around the corner with the little white furred dog, Akamaru sitting atop his hood. His jacket looks comfy... Hinata thought to herself with a smile. "Oh?" Kiba the genius remarked as he stood directly in front of Hinata and lowered his face to her eyelevel. "Hinata, you look different..."

"Does she now...ยจ Shino's calm response drifted from the doorway. "What happened, Hinata?" "I-I um...fell." she stuttered with a shy smile. "Hn..." came the bug-master's dubious, oh-so-syllabic choice words. "Heh?" Kiba inquired intelligently. "Oh! Oh hey Hinata what happened to your neck?" Kiba questioned frantically. "Idiot, didn't you just hear her? She said she fell." the curiously loquacious Shino spoke as he walked from the doorway to Hinata's side. "And how did you fall, Hinata, to have injured your neck?" he asked looking down upon the smaller form.

She opened her mouth to speak, but when she by the time her mind spent the energy it needed to think of what to say, she found she could not force out the words. She licked her lips hesitantly, the pink muscle battling colors upon the blush that tainted her cheeks, and then slightly opened her mouth to speak again. "She said she fell. That's all you need to know." Neji's stern voice rose, cutting off hurriedly at the end. Silence descended amongst them as Neji and Shino stared at each other, the older Hyuuga daring the young insect master to speak on the subject once more. "Sure." he said stoically before turning to Hinata. "Come on, don't want to be late."

The school bell rang loudly just as the five man group passed the metallic object. They entered the large classroom without a sound, Mr. Iruka never once looked up or paused his speaking from the book he was reading to the completely present class.

He finished the dull, insipid chapter on 'The troubles of a Ninja-By; Hisagi Ki.' for he was indeed the Ninja High's literature teacher of the tenth grade, when the morning announcements blissfully relieved the class. "Ko-.../static static/...succumb.../static static/...Iruka please.../crackle crackle/...main office.../crackle crackle/. That is a--ll." Everyone, save a few, looked up at the flushed teacher. "You heard the woman, 'Konoha sophomores in Iruka's first period literature class, succumb to his will!" he spoke menacingly, throwing in a sarcastic evil laugh for a better benefit. The whole class, once again save the few who were too stoic, too shy, or too 'out of it' to do so, laughed hosting tears, as the teacher smiled and spoke more like himself after giving his students the time to enjoy the obviously boring class. "Okay okay, behave for a few minutes while I see what this oh-so-important disturbance is." He turned and walked to the door, stepping out before peeking his head back in with his bottom lip clentch between his teeth"Don't burn down my room, okay?" and then he was gone.

The students rose from their seats and traveled the nessecery distance needed to get to their desired destination. Shino stayed in his spot on the wooden bench beside Hinata beside Kiba and Akamaru, who sat directly behind Choji who was sharing the God-knows-the-number-ith bag with Shikamaru who would have normally resided next to Ino who had moved to engross in the most ridiculus conversation about Sasuke with Sakura who sat behind the spoken boy and his boyfriend Naruto, both of which were facing directly ahead and sneaking glances at each other before finally reaching out descretely to hold each others hands beneath the table.

Kiba sat in a wide 'V' shape with his feet on the desk before him and his head on the desk behind him as he played with the Akamaru sitting on his stomach. "So Hinata. How'd you fall?" Shino asked from the opposite side of the girl. She looked away from the fluffy white dog and into the two black suns that rooted onto Shino's eyes. "A-ano...I fell...on the s-stone s-steps of our porch...a-and it lef-ft a bruise."

Suddenly, she heard as well as felt, a sniffing and exaggerated inhale of air just below her left ear. "If it only left a bruise, why do I smell blood?" At this Hinata looked down. She didn't want to say anything else, not in fear that she would give anything away, who would have believed her, but rather in embarrassment. Even though I can't say anything...they'll probably think it was child abuse...Man I wish that they would drop it...besides, my business is my business, they shouldn't be so nosy about it. Hinata's brow furrowed in the one shade of anger their impoliteness brought about. "Why-" she began angrily, only to be cut off by the opening of the classroom door. He's back that fast?

"My apologies class. Lady Tsuande wanted to inform me on something. Sabuku-san?" he signaled to the door for the person standing outside of it to enter. A relatively short/tall boy, man I should say, walked in, his pale arms at his sides and moving as he silently walked into the room. If one were to look up, the first object about him that would attract the eyes, was the giant tanned gourd strapped to his back. It was surprising that such a figure could support it, but this new man's posture assured everyone it was weightless. His hair was a shade of red only describable as blood red, as well as the scar near his left temple, and his eyes, outlined in the temptingly decaying black of a years plus of sleep devoid nights, held confirmation of the murderous actions his body was sure to have committed. Everything about him reeked death, yet the eyes of the room would not leave him. His presence alone silenced all conversation, it was hard to imagine what his eyes, directly looked upon, could do.

Hinata was fuming. Why am I so angry at them? Them...my only actual friends. Friends shouldn't get mad at friends... she told herself, eyes downcast and killing the floor, as the interfering teacher spoke. She didn't look up at the obvious introduction of someone, and she didn't care. The noise was intolerable, and the added presence of the teacher and whatever creature he decided to add to his already overflowing classroom was only annoying her further. Surely they will not notice if I leave. They're too wrapped up in their hideous little conversations. She contemplated. Just as she tensed her leg muscles and stood up, immediate silence descended upon the room. She looked up for the first time since the teachers entry and focused all her hate on the crimson based figure that just walked through the wretched door. The very color of his hair angered her; it reminded her so much of the previous night, and how she had a special, easily tapped into reservoir of rage that would explode any moment for something as obtuse as concern by Shino and Kiba. She had to get out. Now. If she didn't she would go mad. She slammed her fists on the table, everyone jumping at the sudden noise, and walked out of the classroom's backdoor. Kami-sama, I have to get away from them! she thought harshly as she ran toward the only haven the trees of Konoha could provide.

Oh? Just beginning here and it would seem someone hates me from mere sight... the blood-crazed redhead thought with a grin as he soon imagined what she would look like in her own blood. My, my, how quickly those above us take flight to our wishes...

"Shino!" Kiba barked as he stood when the door provided Hinata's exit slammed shut. The only response to the comment about him from the silent spiky haired man two seats from Kiba was a raised eyebrow as they both stood and ran after the Hyuuga.

"Shino, what did you say to her?" "..." "Well?" "..." "Dammit Shino! Its your fault she isn't acting like herself! The least you owe me is an explanation!" the easily tempered dog beast shouted, hopping from one tree to another in the direction of Hinata's scent. "I asked her how she fell." said the death of the topic. "Neji...said that she fell. And that was all we needed to know..." Kiba muttered dubiously. "Kiba! Do you really believe him?" Shino surprisingly hissed angrily. "No." "Hinata...we can't just sit back while she is getting hurt." Shino continued. "E-" attempting to speak again, Kiba was cut off by Akamaru's squeaky bark. "Good." Kiba grinned before turning to the curious man beside him. "Shes stopped."

They'll never stop...stupid stubborn- no nononono, they are my friends, I shouldn't be thinking this way about them, but the idiots need to know when to stop! If I wanted them to come I would have asked them to do so, oh no, but they are just coming after me out of concern... she told herself as she stunned all movement and hid amongst the trees. "No Shino, I'm sure I smelled it, Akamaru did too. She had the smell of blood on her." WHAT? I thought they washed it all off!? "So you think she was attacked?" Shino's deep voice sounded not but five yards from the hidden woman. "Most likely. And I think it was Neji. Who else could it have been? Surely not the maids, even I think they wouldn't have that much courage, and her father and sister, well they aren't here any more... the ones in current possession of the clan could have done it I suppose, but its more likely to be Neji than them." Kiba debated. "How dare you!" Hinata shouted running out from behind the tree branch and standing before the two men. "How dare you, Neji would never do such a thing! Never! I fell! Even he told you!" she shouted with a dramatically increased voice. "Hinata..." Kiba whispered. Akamaru had long since dove beneath his partners shirt in fear of the raging woman that suddenly started yelling. Now the dog was whining in reaction to the loud ones harsh words.

She looked at them in horror; what had possessed her to yell at her only true friends in such a manner. "I-I-I'm s-so s-sorry!!" she said stuttering terribly as she bent down low and well on her knees, head pressed brutally against the bark, as her eyes widened in embarrassment and fear at the crime she just committed. She felt a pain in her neck, and a sticky and watery substance absorb into the bandages. Oh no. she thought; her wounds had reopened. Akamaru's head peered out of his partner's shirt and he sniffed violently. He called out with a choked bark and looked up worriedly to the man he walked on. "Heh?!" Kiba shouted in response. "Hinata!" "No..." she mouthed attempting to stand up. She fell back harshly and slipped off of the stable branch the three stood on. Kiba and Shino immediately jumped into action and grabbed a hold of the small girls wrists to lift her up. She looked up at them with horror.

No! Hinata screamed in her mind. What are they doing? Flames danced in her vision, the non-existent heat searing her mind and cutting off her sense of touch. She parted her teeth and pulled through the pain of the slash on her neck and the wounds on her arms currently being pressurized to warn the two above her of the fire that was traveling from her body to theirs. "NO! LET GO! LET GO! You'll catch on fire too!" she ended hoarsely. The two men looked at each other briefly before recasting their eyes on the struggling girl.

They had now gotten a fairly good grip on her arms and were trying once more to hoist her up. She positioned her legs against the bottom of the supportive tree branch and kicked off, desperate to get the black, endlessly consuming fire she introduced away from them. In surprise they released her and watched as she gracefully flipped completely away from them and headed straight toward the forest floor in a calculated nosedive, fifty-feet below them. "Shino!" Kiba spat as he dove after the rapidly falling woman.

Shino beside him, Kiba caught Hinata and held her to him as he landed on one of the myriad amounts of branches that littered the forest. "No no Kiba! You'll be burned!" she whispered fiercely, for the wound on her neck, albeit shallow, was one that proved to weep constantly thus allowing the air necessary to speak evade the girl. Kiba you idiot!

Shoving her palm upward into his jaw, she was instinctly dropped, but caught by an awaiting bug-master. Trapping one of his wrists between her own, she gave a sharp turn and was one again released. Balancing her entire frame on her bloodied hands, she grabbed Shino's neck with her ankles and flung him into the unfortunate tree before them. With a loud crack, he landed and shook his head once before pushing off of the tree to return to his previous position.

I am sorry, my friends, but if you will not heed me peacefully, I must forcefully insist that you retire to yourselves. She bowed low, in apology and in valediction, with no more sound than the drops of burning liquid pouring from her mouth, before turning and disappearing entirely.

Chapter 2: The day she was chosen.

Here you have it; The first official chapter. My apologies for any errors or mistakes you find, please announce them and I'll try to fix it as soon as possible. Hm...I'm not sure where to place the disclaimer, but OBVIOUSLY I do NOT own Naruto or anything of it...except a forehead protector. .. I'd also like to say that I don't think I'll be putting anymore A.Ns in the chapters...unless it is absolutly nessecary(), so that means no other disclaimer because its just a waste of space, -- and yea...thats all i have to say, take care, Long live the ninja monkeys that invaded school last week to rape the teachers. . Go monkeys. NEWLY ADDED: Okay, I've changed my mind again...Reviews are NECESSARY if anyone should want to read to see more of this posted, Seriously people...I need to know if you want to continue reading this so I don't waste time on something so unproductive. Review please, and, even though i'm against this...(I'm wanted to write the story, which includes comming up with everything...) all suggestions for events and or character coupling or singles or whatever else will be considered...