I have a CHALLENGE for anyone who is interested, see the bottom my profile for details. Its about this chapter.

Tenebrous Perspective:

Utsuteganai:

Nothing Can Be Done:

x-x

Lost, I feel a little like, a child who's lost, a little like,

Everything changed a lot, I didn't like all of the pain

(Everything changed)

Lost, confused, a lot of it is hard to take and cause of it

Everything changed, I'd thought I'll make it through the pain

(Everything changed) 1

x-x

Black. It was the only thing that she could see. It felt like she was in water or was floating in the air; she felt nothing, but knew, by the way her body reacted, she was somewhere. Wherever she was, it was getting hard to breathe, so perhaps she was in the water after all, or was so high in the atmosphere that oxygen was depleting?

But the question was: What is she doing there?

She had a mission; it was no time to play around. Wouldn't her teammats and teacher be concerned when she didn't come? Not to mention, it was a mission with her Naruto-kun! However, despite how hard she tried to move her body, it wouldn't responsd to the command; her body was in a catatonic state, with nothing but the mind and her sense of touch (2) awake.

She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't come out. She wanted to see, but she couldn't open her eyes. She wanted to reach out, but her arms felt too heavy.

Slowly, she felt herself sinking...

Sinking. Floating. Drifting.

Lower and lower...

Would she be saved? Dimly she imagined herself in a sea, her body falling into a black hole, which she labeled 'death'. Her breathing became staggered, she was losing and didn't have the will to stand up, to fight, to change herself.

"Because you are a caged bird, you stand still and wait for anything to come your way. You do not fight for what you want. That is the difference between us."

Those were the words her cousin, Neji, told her when she had awoken from her fever. A caged bird. How fitting. Ironic, even in her dreams she amounted to nothing.

It felt like her body was steadily filling up with lead, dropping her to her death.

Suddenly everything stopped and her body felt numb, refreshed. She felt herself being lifted from the 'death' and was back into the sea. Her body felt lighter and her breathing calmed. She had gained enough control of her body to hear, but the rest of her limbs were inactive, and what she heard was the whooshing of the waves, from the sound of it she was in a storm.

Her inner turmoil.

"I'm glad you're up. Your mission will begin soon,"

She dreamt of death and was rewarded with life.

"Oi. Kureani-sensei, where's Hinata-chan? Wasn't she supposed to come with you?" Kiba asked, absently scratching Akamaru right behind his ears. While Team Seven was sitting under the shade of a tree.

"...She had to go somewhere Kiba." But before Kiba could ask where, everyone turned to the chakra signature coming their way.

It was Hinata.

At least, that's who they thought it was, because the stranger wore clothes that they knew she would never wear. This 'Hinata' had on black, form fitting, khaki pants with her ninja gear and the standard blue ninja shoes. She had a silver belt with five copper circles with a square in the middle (3) that had Japanese writing on it spread out on the belt. No one could see it because of the cream colored jacket hoodie, which was loose-fitting and slightly molded her hips, and her leaf headband. Under her jacket (which was zipped up all the way) was a shallow 'U' shaped white halter with clear quartz, and tiger's eye (4) stone on the bottom left of the halter top.

Kiba wanted to say something but was silenced by a glare from his teacher, however, Naruto, not being near Kiba missed the glare and exclaimed, "Hianta-chan! Is that you?"

"H-Hai," her voice was barley above a whisper.

"Hinata," Kurenai began cautiously, "are you alright?" She couldn't help the worry that slipped into her voice, because her student hadn't yet looked at them.

"My head hurts," she said softly, putting her hand to her head for emphasis.

Slowly Hinata lifted up her head, her bangs acting as a curtain to shield her face from the curious crowd. Dimly Kurenai could see what she thought was a white bandage on her student forhead.

"Ah. Glad to see you made it, Hinata-chan." Kakashi stated, putting his book away. "Now I believe we should get going, don't you Kurenai?"

"Hai."

Author notes:

SCHOOL HAS STARTED! Booo!! Anyway if the characters are OOC, its because I'm not used to writing them. Hope you like her outfit, they are clues that tell you what was done to her.

(1) "Nothing can be explain" Bleach

(2) Touch, is one of the five senses, along with sight, smell, taste, and hearing. What I mean is that she could tell something was happening by the pressure on her skin because of the various nerve endings that respond to it (i.e. lightly brushed your hand on your opposite arm or on your legs). Her sense of touch has dulled so she can't tell if water is sprayed or the chill of the wind on her arms.

(3) This is based on the Feng Shui, or the five elements: Water, metal, earth, wood and fire. All of the elements have a meaning. Water: for tranquility and careful thought. Metal: to find order and structure. Wood: for growth and planning. Earth: to feel centered and nurturing. Fire: for energy and learning.

(4)Clear quartz and aventurine are two of the seven Chakra gem. As with the elements, they have their own meanings as well. Clear quartz is for meditation; and aventurine is for personal power.

PurpleSweety91 had an excellent question:

Why did you make the story during the time of when the Third Hokage was still alive?

My answer is:

I don't know. It is possibly because that the Third Hokage is alive during the beginning of the manga and that's where the story takes place. However, it might have been more fruitful to start it after the Hokage's death; the hardships she had faced, an important one being the chunnin exams, but to be candid, I don't think this fic will even get to the chunnin exams. I'm not sure if I answered your question or not.

Review please!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but plot! And the clothes Hinata wear!

School has started, so updates will probably come out sooner than it did during the summer. I wished I'd stayed in my Spanish 3 class, I hate advisory class, we don't even get a grade for it! Now I'm stuck in journalism!

Beta by: WiltingDaises94