Disclaimer- These *moves hands over Naruto characters* ain't mine…but I'm using em since they here already :P
A GAZILLION GOLD BARS TO: InARealPickle, Tunazap, Immortal Fallen Angel, Windschild8178, DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, shadow. vamp . spirit. wolf (sorry, had to add spaces cuz ff doesn't like ur name for some reason -_-'), VampireNamedRaphael, Aachen, MrsHellman, bluephoenix73, Suave Jiraiya, Gazza the street Yankee, Extreme Kiwi, Kakashi Rocks The World, PhoenixfromtheFlame, RockPopnMetal007, courtney and i love u ;), mochi, NaruKitX3, Hikari-Hikaru-Hikari, IchigoChu, Kuro Neko, and 363 FOR REVIEWING! (Pick your flavor :P)
AND A STACK TO THOSE WHO FAVORITED OR STORY ALERTED THIS STORY!
Special Shout out to: VampireNamedRaphael! I love the extra long review :) especially loved how much u loved the story :D Gives me inspiration ^^
Well, HELLO EVERYBODY! ^^'''' Honestly, I'm kinda afraid to show my face again after SIX MONTHS (TO THE DAY) OF NOT UPDATING .-. (I think a reviewer called it a few chaps back…maybe he/she jinxed me XD Jk jk) But I figured NEVER finishing this story was worse than goin on Hiatus…right? (Begs for mercy!)
I'd like to say I have some REALLY important reason for not updating! …but not really -_-''' To tell you the truth, I give all my extra attention to my bf now, and by doing so I sacrificed my writing. Throw some school, exercising binge, and an addictive website and I've got no update.
BUT, I realized I was coming up on SIX MONTHS, and I couldn't just let that pass by! So, I managed my time a little wiser (ie took advantage of the hour/two hours me and my boy spend apart), set myself a "600 words a day" minimum, and here she is :D. All new in black and white print right out of the saved file...I've *sob* never been so pride. Wait, sure I have. .-.
One last thing: THANK YOU TO ALL YOU READERS! Thank you for reading now even after this long, and hello to new people I'm MAJOR glad you're here.
Chapter 13: Caught
You talk to me
as if from a distance
And I reply
With impressions chosen from another time, time, time,
From another time.
~By This River by Brian Eno
Time. A concept many a philosopher hath turned this way and that within their minds, only to have no more knowledge of the idea than when they had started. Mankind has no hold on time, but that has never stopped one from contemplating, marking, and even attempting to inhibit the passage of it. One may even say that mankind will forever to dwell on time. Hinata Hyuuga, however, lived as the exception to the rule.
Sure, at one point time mattered to the girl just as much as a dying man. Even while living her life for another, she managed to spend some time on herself. Every moment with the love of her life (one blonde Naruto Uzumaki, though common knowledge need not be mentioned) was more precious than a million without, and she treasured each moment as if this rang true. As a shinobi, she realized and accepted the fact that she had no guarantee that she would see tomorrow, the same way a civilian had no guarantee of reaching the age of 100, and due to this she cared more about each moment than those of normal lives might.
Those days seemed distant now; time lost in the passage of time. Days might have gone by, perhaps weeks, months. She had no way of knowing, nor did she want to. Hinata had forsaken the future, ignored her present, and lived only for the past, because the past included Naruto.
When she left the Uchiha compound, she'd left with so much hope. That, during its short existence, convinced her that she'd have the ability to survive the brutal sessions with father, retain her sanity confined in cell once called her room, and escape to the sanctuary of her love's presence. The heiress imagined herself escaping in the dark hours of midnight, at the stroke of midnight, right after dusk, then returning under darkness' protection, right before dawn, or just in time for breakfast. As she neared her own compound, her imagination only grew, and along with it her riskiness.
Her dreams didn't last more than fifteen minutes. Hinata had barely got her body through the window when the clearing of a throat startled her from behind. Perhaps had it been a branch member, a lowly guard, she could have convinced them to not speak to her father, however, as luck, or lack of luck, would have it: it was none other than the man she most hated to see. She'd seen her father's fury many a day. From accidents to the incident that lead to her confinement, the Hyuuga thought she knew the entire spectrum of the man's anger. For the first time in her life, however, the man was too angry to speak.
Instead, he grabbed the girl's wrist, hard enough to cause the bones beneath her skin to crack. She winced at the pain, unsure whether they had broken or not, but had no time to focus as her father dragged her out of the room. Hinata struggled to keep up with her father's quick pace; her own legs sabotaging her and threatening to buckle beneath her, which would surely lead to being actually dragged on the floor by her father. When they arrived at the large room often used for sparing and large meetings, Hiashi flung his daughter onto the floor at the center of the room. Already struggling to keep her feet, the action caused the heiress to fall harshly onto the floor. She gasped slightly in pain, though she tried to hold her tongue, when she fell on the arm with the damaged wrist. Cradling the limb, she lifted her head to meet her father's eyes.
Instantly, however, she noticed they weren't the only two in the room. All along the walls sat branch members: shinobi, adults, even children. The children seemed bored, unable to remain seated for even a few moments, and their parents looked just as uncomfortable. Only the trained shinobi could hide their emotions, though one managed to claw its way from behind their façade onto their face: pity. On one side of her father sat the two people she cared most for besides Naruto: Hanabi and Neji. However, they too had masked any feeling. Still, Hinata had no sense of why she sat where she did…until she viewed her father's other side. Several prominent members of the Hyuuga family sat tall and stiffly along the walls behind him as if they were his backbone whom she'd only seen during severe punishments and the placement of the caged bird seal.
Panic flooded through the poor girl, filling her body and coloring her face. She knew this would come eventually. Her entire situation brought this into light. There was simply no way that she could have been perfect in her quest to see Naruto, and perfection was needed in order to succeed. This day would have come eventually, however, realizing that the first was the last saddened her immensely.
Hiashi Hyuuga never lifted his gaze from his daughter. He searched her eyes for the emotions expected. First the confusion, then the realization, soon followed by horror. Guilt should follow, he knew; guilt for her rebellion and her childish actions. She had disgraced their name with foolish actions, and for what? For nothing; for a child worth less than nothing. Her fault had brought him dishonor in front of their clan, and certainly forfeited her title as heiress.
Nevertheless, he did not want to stand where he stood. Despite what he knew everyone thought of him, Hiashi loved his daughter and in no way wanted to hurt her. After every training session, he used all his shinobi skills not to wince at Hinata's pain. After every scolding, he could barely keep himself standing when he saw how his little girl looked at him. After all the bad he knew he'd done to her, he regretted acting as he had.
Nonetheless, the Hyuuga leader could act no differently. He wanted his girl to not only take his place, but act as the best head than any Hyuuga before. As he had no male heir, he knew change had finally come to their family. Hinata could become the first female to lead the family; she could change how the Hyuuga lived. However, Hiashi knew many others would disagree. When they realized there would be no male heir, they decided Hinata must marry. She could barely talk, but already her fate had been decided.
That wasn't what he wanted for his first born. Instead, he trained her and trained her; careful to make her stronger and independent, but never to destroy her sense of right and wrong. At times, Hiashi knew he'd gone too far, acted too cruelly, however, he knew his brutality would only prove to the still impressible girl that the Hyuuga had to change (as he only embodied the Hyuuga way).
All that said, Hinata's escape had ruined this hope, this dream, and she didn't seem to recognize her folly. Soon he would yell at her, strip her of her status, but never would she realize what she'd lost. Still, he needed to see her guilt, her apology to save her from what lay in front of her; what he had promised as her consequence.
The guilt never came. After the terror resided, after the pain of realization faded, Hinata stared at her father with glassy eyes. Though he searched and searched, the only emotion behind the glass lay regret, not for her actions, but for not doing more.
For a moment, Hinata thought she'd seen a hint of emotions in her father's stoic face, however, upon an additional glance, she found none.
"Where have you been?" Hinata continued to stare at her father, attempting to keep an unemotional face while her body continued to shake. "Well?"
She knew she must speak eventually. Her silence would only contribute to her punishment, though she could find no worse outcome than the one she currently faced. Perhaps if she pled for forgiveness she could have a lighter sentence. Nonetheless, she couldn't force herself to speak, both out of rebellion and fear of her father.
"Answer me child."
Déjà vu flooded the girl, her circumstances merely a magnification of the danger, fear, and wonder at her own inability to find some plausible, logical explication for her sneaking out. Truly, she wished she could curl herself in a ball and disappear. Perhaps she was a child, and, like the child that she was, she let her shoulders slump in defeat and thrust her hands in her pockets. To her surprise, she felt an all too familiar object inside one.
"A flower?"
"What was that?" Hinata's head snapped upward at her father's reply. She hadn't realized she had said it aloud and blushed slightly in embarrassment of her speaking to herself. Carefully, she pulled the still fresh flower out of her pocket and stared in awe at the beautiful small vine with purple blossoms and blue petals. The lower looked so familiar but…
"Kudzu¹."
"Excuse me?" She blushed for a second time for once again speaking aloud, but the cogs in her brain began to finally turn.
"I left to search for flowers." The room's tension suddenly broke in confusion.
"You did what?"
"The Kudzu plant," Hinata held up the small flower as she let the words flow from her mouth, "thrives in the southern elemental countries, but it's hard to find it here in the fire country. It's most known for being the perfect hang over cure, but I read in a book that it's also an anti-inflammatory agent that's great for migraines and other headaches as well as allergies. I've always wanted to make a balm out of it…."
And as she said it, she realized she truly had. But how had it appeared in her jacket? She surely didn't remember finding such a rare flower….
"What made you think you could find it?" Hinata returned to reality without a trace of grace, and stared at her father in confusion. "I thought you said it was rare, what made you think today you can find it."
"I—I heard it'd been spotted before I got in trouble! It was what I was looking for the day of…." She left it there; a blush had risen to her face both from her hopefully not obvious lie and her remembrance of that day.
Hiashi could tell his daughter way lying; she'd never been a very good liar. Though he knew not her whereabouts, he knew exactly with who she'd been in company. Nonetheless…
"Very well. You are stripped of your status as heiress," Hinata flinched at his words. "…however, as you were not in the company of one Uzumaki Naruto, your full punishment will not be carried out as the circumstances for said punishment were not fully enacted."
With no more said, the Hyuuga leader then exited the room giving little glance to the others occupying the room, though he certainly felt their eyes upon him, already questioning his actions. Like a crowd disappointed in the show, soon the spectators began to part themselves, some in groups, others one by one.
Hinata, however, didn't budge. Despite the attention she retained from those around her as they slowly left, she couldn't bother to look at them herself. All she could do was stare at the flower in wonder and amazement as the weight of the fate she'd narrowly avoided fell upon her mind. She'd almost had a caged bird seal placed upon her head. Sure, she was still disgraced and humiliated, but saved from the final punishment she could have received. Thanks to the flower in her hand that she couldn't determine how it came into her possession. Eventually, she was returned from her wandering about her memory and thought but a small cough.
"Everyone's left." Hinata blinked her colorless eyes and lifted her head upwards to gaze at her cousin with a glassy expression. "You ought to as well."
She nodded because she knew ought to, though his voice seemed so distant and disconnected from the reality she currently lay in. The male didn't move however until she finally realized that she was indeed the last person, save her cousin, in the room. Surprised by how quickly her situation had changed while she'd floated off, she hastily stuffed the flower in her pants pocket and attempted to push herself up only to hiss in pain. She allowed herself to fall again and clutched her wrist, having forgotten about her injury. Neji sighed.
"I'd say you ought to have that checked out, but I doubt there are any broken bones." His cousin nodded, a blush appearing on her face at her low pain tolerance. She'd been hurt and exhausted many a time, but she still cried out when faced with an injury.
After helping the girl get to her feet, Neji said his farewells and left the room himself. Now completely alone, Hinata couldn't stop herself from reaching into her pocket to retrieve her now precious flower, but when she did, she felt that there was another object inside. Confused, she pulled both out and found it was a piece of scrap paper.
Hey Hinata-chan, still like flowers? I never cared too much about em myself, but I remember once upon a past life you asking Ino if she'd seen this watchamadoodle. I found this guy before I got locked up, but I never got to give it to ya. I hope it's still ok for whatever you wanted it for, why are flowers so hard to keep alive? Anyway, thanks for still visiting me despite all the trouble I've gotten you in, I'm writing this while you sleep and slipping it in your pocket. Hopefully you don't wash it! I did that once…Well, maybe I'll see you again, but don't risk it ok? I can handle things myself, BELIEVE IT! –Naruto
Hinata smiled at the note, but her hands started to shake and soon the letter became a blur as tears welled up in her eyes. Now that she could stop worrying about the seal, she realized that escaping would be impossible after today. Her father certainly would raise all the security and give her little free time to make such an escape. And say Naruto never fully recovered or her father extended her punishment? There was a high chance she'd never get the chance to thank Naruto for saving her. There was a good chance she'd never be able to spend time with her true love again.
Swallowing the sob that clogged her throat, Hinata carefully folded up the note, placed it back into her pocket, and walked forward.
TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: TT-TT :(( ;_; ,^^, D: ;)
Dinner carried on as any other meal did; under constant scrutiny and in silence. Hinata had finished yet another brutal training session, session x since last having seen Naruto. The girl hadn't bothered counting the actual number; she hadn't tried to mark the passing days. Not even the meals became distinguishable from one another, save the proportions given at each. In fact, the only reason she knew she must be eating supper was by the slowly setting sun out the window directly across from her, but even with the star's aid, she could never guess the time.
Yes, life passed in a blur now. Her meager excuse for a life kept her busy enough, and, often, she didn't even have the time or the energy to think of…other, better things. While she answered questions and reacted to contact she did so purely based on instincts of a past life rather than giving an actual thought to her response. Hinata kept her attention on the task at hand, and, when free, focused on the pain, the ache, that constantly stayed in her body.
For instance, now she thought of how little food seemed to fill her now. All food seemed to bypass the stomach and become digested for energy and storage due to her high exercise routine. As handy as this process may be for her body, it left a dull sense of emptiness in her stomach that never left.
Hinata had become a close friend with pain, however. In fact, after dinner, she had a good hour of lying on her bed as pain oozed from every pore before she finally could fall asleep. Surely, this was not how her father intended her to spend her hour "just for you," but, again, she preferred this way over any alternatives. Today, she could tell, would be extra painful. Though her training had been no more grueling, her actions taxed her body extra so. Perhaps she could fall asleep earlier…
To all the room's surprise, a knock interrupted the silence of their dinner. Neji, the only non-head family member at the supper gave a short nod of apology before rising to answer the door. Though he was no servant, as a branch member it was expected of him to answer if no other branch member did so, and so he did. Moments later he returned, however, he was not alone.
"Hyuuga-sama." The ANBU bowed slightly, greeting the head of the clan. Hiashi stood without answering back and led the masked man from the room to speak in private. As soon as he left, Neji smirked and walked over to Hinata.
"Who do you think would win? An ANBU with orders from the Hokage-sama, or Hiashi-sama?" Neji asked his younger cousin coolly. Hinata, who was not used to being spoken to as of late, seemed confused by the male's question and unsure whether it was her place to answer. Luckily she did not have to, because the yelling started then.
Hearing a one-sided yelling match often reminds one of listening to a peer talk on the phone. While he or she only has one side of the conversation…it's not very difficult to figure out what the other is saying. The only difference between the two is it's easier to hear what the one is saying when they're speaking so loudly.
"I told you we refuse! …Yes, you can have the boy, but my daughter's not available. …She's off active duty! …No, she is not necessary for this mission. …Use another Hyuuga, she will not go! …No, I'm going to talk to Tsunade-sama myself!"
With that, both men returned; Hiashi with a slightly redder face, and the ANBU with a seemingly smugger confidence.
"Tsunade-sama has called for both Hyuuga Neji's and Hyuuga Hinata's assistance in a search and retrieve mission of utmost importance. Your presence is needed now." Neji nodded and lifted a still confused Hinata from her chair.
"Se-arch?" The ANBU nodded, though it felt as if he did so more kindly, as if he could tell she was not quite whole.
"Yes, for Uzumaki Naruto." At that, Hinata was up and out the door in seconds.
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The ANBU didn't speak to the two shinobi until they were at Konoha's entrance, and only then did he pull the two to the shadows to talk.
"Uzumaki Naruto has been marked as being unstable and being a hazard to himself. It's crucial that he be found as soon as possible, and, when found, taken to the nearest hospital. You may confirm you have found him AFTER you secure his health. He may or may not need medical care, but Tsunade-sama stressed that he be taken there where she will be waiting for him, do I make myself clear?" The two nodded.
"Neji-san, we have searched the city to no avail, but we want to be sure and wish that you use the byakugan to make one final sweep as you pass through where you will then aide in searching the South forest. Hinata you will head North of Konoha, where he was last seen in a clearing that Uchiha Sasuke says you know of. We want you to search any other locations you may have seen him at; we believe that you probably know more of his past frequents than anyone else and your knowledge is key." Hinata's eyes grew slightly at the prospect of being needed, but nodded as if she was not surprised.
"All available shinobi in the village are searching the woods all around, some going almost to the border of the fire country. It's necessary that we find him quickly or we'll have no choice but to pull back as we don't wish to keep our village without shinobi for so long. Now, move out!"
At that, each of them took off in separate directions, though Hinata had only an inkling of where to search. The girl racked her brain for old clearings he used to train at during his childhood, but she had blocked out all thoughts of Naruto for so long…What's more, the rush of adrenaline that had flooded though her when she found out they would be looking for Naruto had begun to wear off, and she could feel the weight of her sore body already resurfacing. She turned to look at the sky line and saw that the first rays of sun were already falling under the horizon. Once it got dark, finding Naruto would be almost impossible, even with the byakugan.
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As the last rays of sun began to fade, Hinata had no energy left. After the first two stops, she could no longer use the Byakugan, and by the last she had to stop running. Now, she had returned to the last place she thought he would be, but the only other place she knew him to train; the clearing where he was last seen. The moment she had walked through the clearing and not seen Naruto, she found a tree hidden with shadows and let herself fall against it.
There was simply no way she'd be able to make it home in this condition. As a matter of fact, now that she had sat, she doubted she could stand again without help. She'd simply have to wait for her body to regain some of its energy before she could return; however, the night that had already begun to swallow the forest gave her little comfort. Hinata sighed, softly hitting her head against the tree. Perhaps it was foolish, being afraid of the dark, but she'd grown up knowing there were worse things than monster that hid in the shadows. Creatures of the night and thieves didn't even compare to the thought of enemy shinobi or spies. In this condition, she doubted she could hold her own against a genin if a fight came about. But even that wasn't really on her mind. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was always afraid of horror stories and sitting in a clearing as the woods got dark seemed like the perfect setting for a maniac to jump out and slice her up.
Yup, she could picture it now. No one would hear her cries. Blood would drip from the trees. Or worse, some corpse would fall from the sky. And as she said it, she saw a figure fall from the canopy of leaves into the clearing and both her scream and the body's thud went unheard by the world.
:O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O :O O.O o_o 0-0 O.o o.O -_-
The woods had always given Naruto refuge; it had always provided him with a sanctuary that few could knock down its doors to drag him from his peace. No, no one knew the forests like the Kyuubi's container did. Every clearing within a few miles of Konoha, every misshapen tree, every missing branch; he knew of them. He could jump though the trees blindfolded and with both hands tied behind his back. In fact, he had once on a whim and in a fit of extreme boredom.
Of course, navigating stealthily becomes much harder when you're bleeding. Even when the blonde could wipe away the blood before it dripped onto any surfaces, he knew the open wound would make his scent extra potent and easier to track. If any of the Inuzuka or Kakashi was sent on his trail, they'd catch him before he could swear.
Still, Naruto managed. He'd travel to one clearing, retrace his steps, go in an opposite directions, stop, retrace them again, then turn a new way, and so on, and so on. After about 12 different routes, he stopped counting, though he didn't stop moving. By the time the sun was midway set, the teen had become far too exhausted to continue. Finally, he retraced his paths until he stopped at the one place he was almost certain no one would search in a while: the clearing he'd been caught in.
Okay, a somewhat risky move, but Uzumaki had a strong intuition that, once they had checked to make sure Naruto hadn't returned to the spot at the begging of the search, no shinobi would stay to make sure he never did. With so much area to cover, leaving a man behind to watch over the clearing made no sense, and the blonde depended on this fact as he made his way back.
Sure enough, no one was there when he arrived. With a relieved sigh, the boy let himself plop down on the branch on which he'd been standing and leaned against the tree's trunk. Naruto had lost quite a few ounces of blood by now; his constant running had kept the blood flowing enough that the wound didn't heal as quickly as it ought. To his surprise, the Kyuubi hadn't bothered to heal it either, perhaps hoping the blood loss would slow him down enough to get him caught. The teen ignored all the effects that came from blood loss as he ran, but now that he'd finally stopped every one swallowed him. The fatigue, of course, was incapacitating, making him glad that he'd at least been able to find a safe place to stop. His heart rate, already beating fast from the body exertion, speed to an alarming rate that made the blonde's chest ache. No matter how much air he gulped into his lungs, he couldn't quite get enough.
Then, finally, the dizziness appeared. Oh how he hated the dizziness. The sun, of which only its final rays remained in sight, blurred against the shadows of the night which surrounded it. Leaves on branches seemed to blend into the branches themselves. Actually, between the darkness that now loomed among the branches and his fuzzy vision, Naruto couldn't see whatever was directly in front of him.
Erg, what he wouldn't give to have a nice bed to lie on. If he didn't know he'd never see the light of day again if he did, Naruto would probably check himself into the hospital on a voluntary basis. He could almost feel the mattress under him; he could imagine himself propped into his sitting position by pillows instead of rough bark. Then, he could just slowly…happily…let himself drift…away…from…the…world….
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Vaguely, very vaguely might he add, did he remember hearing a scream? Who was he kidding; Naruto didn't realize Hinata had been in the clearing until she was calling his name from somewhere above him. If the boy was being truthful now, he'd also add that his first though was not: "oh no I'm caught," or "Hinata? What's she doing here?" but "wow, this tree is much softer than I remember."
After letting his memory return and accessing his surroundings behind closed eyes, he realized what must have happened and even blushed slightly at the thought. Naruto…had just fallen from a tree…in front of a perfectly nice girl…while "supposedly" hiding. Lovely.
Begrudgingly, the ego-wounded teen opened his eyes and smiled, more that slightly embarrassed. As soon as he did, he was struck by how light the clearing was under a now rising moon despite how dark it seemed to grow earlier and that Hinata was upside down.
"Hey Hinata-chan." The upside-down girl (Naruto now realized his head was in her lap) visibly relaxed and she put her hand to her chest over her heart as if attempting to slow its fast rate.
"Naruto-kun, you're ok." Quickly, perhaps too quickly, said boy sat up from his caretakers lap and swooned slightly at the lightheadedness that accompanied the action.
"Of course!" He said after the swirling world stilled. "A ten foot fall? That's like nothing! It's smaller than nothing."
Even as the blonde said it, though, he could feel a large bruise forming on his back while the Kyuubi's chakra took care of the other, more serious, injuries throughout his body. Not that he really cared; what's a couple more injuries when your whole life's a pain right? Too bad he didn't fall from higher…
"Demo, Naruto-kun…"
"Ah don't worry bout me, but what are YOU doing out here?" Red conquered the Hyuuga's face, as she lowered her head and whispered unintelligibly. "What was that?"
"I—I was looking for you Naruto-kun."
Instantly, he knew what she meant. The way she wouldn't look at him and the shame in her voice told him everything; she was here to take him away. For a moment, uncontrollable anger rushed through him at this new betrayal, but it faded as instantaneously as it came. To blame her was futile and he doubted he could bring himself to blame her even if it was purely her fault. If one of the two in the clearing needed to take the blame, it ought to be him after all.
An uncomfortable silence filled the expanse after that. Not because neither had nothing to say, but because neither knew the appropriate thing to say. In actuality, Naruto had PLEANTY he wanted to say. The last time he'd seen her felt like eons ago, and though he knew he shouldn't have, he'd always hoped she'd turn up soon. He felt so comfortable talking to Hinata. She neither judged nor forced him to do what he didn't wanted, while still pushing him to do what he felt was right. To him, she felt like a third party and on bad days at the Uchiha house he'd think of rants he could tell her when she appeared and he knew she'd help straighten his jumble of thoughts out.
As much as he wanted to say all those talks he had planned out for them to have…Naruto couldn't get them out. Though she lay in front of him, so close to he could reach out and touch her, she'd never felt so distant. He'd like to say it was because now he knew she was working with them and therefore was out to get him like the rest of the world, but, again, he knew she wasn't. In truth, he didn't know why, but he knew none of those old conversations felt right. Eventually, the normally loud boy coughed softly.
"Uh, are you gonna, uh, turn me in? I dunno what your orders were, but aren't I under arrest or something?" Hinata blushed.
"I'm—I'm supp-posed to—to take you back." Another silence followed.
"Okay…and are you going to do so?" Hinata's blush grew.
"I—I'm too exhausted to go back."
At that Naruto laughed, not a chuckle, not smugly, but a whole hearted, slightly hysterical laugh. In fact, he couldn't stop laughing for a bit, the irony of the whole situation not being lost on the boy. Here he was, caught, but too exhausted to run away, and here was his captor, mission complete, but too exhausted to turn him in.² Naruto didn't know whether the girl understood the irony, or if the other teen was just being kind, or even if his laugh was just that infectious, but after a moment of laughing on his own, Hinata began to giggle herself. The blonde smiled.
"I like your laugh." He then laughed as the girl's blush, which had only retreated moments earlier, returned full throttle. "You sure do blush a lot. So where have you been lately? I haven't seen you since the day you spent the night…"
As soon as the male had asked, he knew the answer. Hinata didn't even blush when he said she'd spent the night; in fact, the exact opposite. All the color left from her face leaving the girl sickly pale, and she immediately lowered her gaze. Horror flooded through him, and, without thinking, reached across the air between them, lifted the other teen's dark hair, and squinted his blue orbs as he searched her forehead. As soon as he realized her skin was clear, he let out a breath of release. The Hyuuga lifted her eyes to meet Naruto's, confusion as clear in her eyes as relief showed in his.
"You—you knew?" The Kyuubi container smiled sadly.
"Yeah, Neji kinda told me a while back. …I've been thinking bout you a lot. Wondering if you didn't come because you'd actually listened to me or if you'd been caught…or if you'd finally realized sneaking out for me wasn't worth it."
"No!" Hinata blushed, but Naruto grinned.
"Danngg Hinata, for a quiet girl, you can be loud when you want." The girl's blush grew in size and intensity, and the other teen couldn't help but laugh. "Making you blush is so easy, where's the challenge?"
A silence followed, and the male, just now realizing he still had his hand on Hinata's forehead keeping her hair out of the way, jerked his hand away a little too quickly. Naruto hissed in pain as he hit his wounded arm against his body. Slowly, as if she was afraid of him, Hinata reached for his arm. The blonde boy watched her with no emotions in his eyes, but several surging through him. When she finally reached it, they Hyuuga slowly pulled the limb towards her and rolled up the boy's sleeve.
The cut had stopped bleeding, but the blood that hadn't dripped away had dried over the wound leaving a blotchy dark scab. Just as slowly, Hinata dragged her soft finger over the crust, only pausing when Naruto reflexively twitched at its sensitivity. Then, as unexpectedly as her movements were, the girl dropped his arm and pulled her own to lie in her lap. Cerulean eyes stared at her. Having watched every movement, the blonde knew exactly what she wanted to ask.
"Jiraiya's dead." Hinata's eyes snapped up to stare at him, but Naruto could no longer look at her. "I—He said he'd be getting updates and—I was angry."
The boy lifted his gaze to stare into his companion's eyes, his blue orbs filled with so many mixed emotions even he couldn't be sure of how he felt exactly.
"I was angry that he was leaving me while I was stuck in," he waved his arm about, "all this. I—I couldn't stand the idea of being…alone. I know, I know, I got myself into this trouble, but…. Am I really that selfish?" Naruto looked up at the trees, and they were silent for a second.
"Everyone always seemed…so selfish to me. Asking for more when they had things I only dreamed of. And everything fell apart so fast…like someone had set up an ambush, and, even though I could feel it coming, I couldn't stop it. I—I never let myself think that there was anyone else to help me, I always told myself that you could only rely on yourself, and, heck, that's probably help keep me alive…maybe? I don't know really. Could've made things worse for all I know, but…my time with Jiraiya was probably the happiest times of my entire life." Naruto half choked on a laugh.
"Gosh, I must sound so corny or whiny. I hate it when people talk like that, yet here I am. Maybe the blood loss is making it hard for me to think straight."
Hinata shook her head rapidly making the blonde smile. But instantly it fell away. Suddenly, Naruto tried, and, on his second attempt, succeeded, to stand, though his legs shook violently beneath his weight.
"I can't stop thinking about him." The boy ground out through clenched teeth. "I can't stand thinking about him."
From the corner of his eye, Naruto could see that his actions had frightened Hinata, but her expression only reminded him of the nightmare he kept having…
"What are you scared of me? HUH? Of course you are. Isn't everyone nowadays? Everybody's always scared, angry, or annoyed with me, is that all I am to you people? A vehicle for those stupid emotions you can't vent to anyone else or they'd actually react back? Anyone else would defend themselves, but I guess I'm not worth defending right? That's what I always figured: I'm not WORTH anything more. Well, guess what, forget what I'm worth! If everyone else can be selfish, then I want to be too!"
He could tell all his words were just scaring and hurting Hinata more; he could see tears start to well up in her eyes. What remained of the boy's practical, self-preserving side screamed at him to run while he could. He didn't know where to or how far he could make it on what little energy he had, but staying with Hinata greatly reduced his chances of avoiding capture. Someone would come looking for her soon, and when they did, the blonde couldn't be found as well.
…Yet, he couldn't leave. He wanted to reason that he couldn't leave a weak, innocent girl alone in the middle of the forest this late at night, especially when she was on the verge of tears, but, if he was being truthful to himself, he knew he just couldn't keep running. He didn't want to keep going.
As if sensing his internal surrender or more likely seeing him in a position to make a break for it, several ANBU appeared and called for him to stay where he was. With a sigh, Naruto stumbled backwards until his back hit nearby tree and slid down to sit.
"Hey Hinata?" The blonde looked up to stare at the pale eyed girl as she gave a little start in surprise. "I can't keep doing this can I?"
"Nar—Naruto-kun?" Said boy smiled at her sadly.
"I can't live like this can I?"
Uzumaki Naruto never got his answer. The two of the close at hand ANBU dragged him to his feet and led him from the clearing roughly, but it didn't really matter that they had. Naruto didn't even look back.
¹ I know NOTHING of plants! Seriously, it took me like 45 mins of googling to find a medicinal plant that's semi rare, so just bare with me
² ha ha, there's so many comma's there I have a bad feeling I used them wrong….but I love them so much T-T They're my favorite symbol besides the ~!
DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNN!
Lol, well I hope this chap was FAWESOME (especially after such a long break) but I have a feeling some people aren't gonna be happy with me still XD It's not my longest chap, but it one of my top 3 :D and NO there is no wasteful chaps (someone said that last chap) because the author has a plan *mini light bulb flickering overhead*
And for y'all who felt Hinata disappeared, SHE DIDN'T ' This was HER chap, so u get to what's been up with that girlie (sadly, nothing good, but it takes soooo long to write her, so last time I had saved her for this chap…it just took 6 months to get out ) and also, build up to next chap which WILL be the CLIMAX.
That being said, depending on how long I need, there will prob be about 3-4 more chaps (INCLUDING alternate endings)! Thanks to all those who helped me decide, but the hiatus shed a lot of light on how much more there is to write (or more how much more I can write ^^'). So yes, YBS is coming to a close…
GOOD NEWS THOUGH: I will NOT let my next chap be in 6 months :P School starts week after next, but I SWEAR I'll manage my time better and get out an update As Soon As Possible!
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