Wow. I just noticed that this fanfic had been put on 4 alerts and 1 fav! And on the day I put this fic up, too! I'm so happy!! XD Now on with Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do however own the four Cloud ninja and Ojirou Shitake.

Chapter 2

Being Followed

"Huh?" said Naruto, half-asleep. Dawn came to light up the forest that the blonde four-year-old had fallen asleep in. He had slept on a makeshift bed made out of leaves that he made last night. He looked around and saw Hinata, who was accompanying him, sleeping soundly by an oak tree; she had a white blanket over her. Naruto rubbed his eyes.

"I forgot that I left Konoha last night. Mmm… where are we anyway?" he asked to no one in particular. He then remembered! He and Hinata had managed to walk 20 miles away from Konoha's gates the night before and decided to make camp in the forest at that point. Naruto stretched and yawned as big as he could. He then got up and walked over to the sleeping four-year-old Hyuuga girl.

He gently shook her shoulder a bit.

"Hina-chan. Wake up, it's morning." he said. Hinata moaned a little before slowly opening her eyes and staring at the face of the blonde.

"Naruto-kun? W-Where-?"

"We left Konoha, remember?"

"Oh. How far are we from the border?"

Naruto shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm guessing, maybe a… ten hour walk 'till we get there."

Hinata moaned, then sat upright and stretched out her muscles. She got startled when she heard something. She immediately stood up, ran, and hid behind a tree that was near the road. Naruto looked puzzled.

"What's wrong Hina-chan?"

Hinata didn't answer; she just looked around the tree. She quietly gasped and ran back to Naruto, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so in fear. Naruto was a bit startled by this sudden embrace and asked, "Hina-chan. What is it? What did you see?"

Hinata's small body shook as she answered.

"They're coming… th-th-th-th-the search teams, they're coming!" She held him tighter now. Naruto knew that no one would even bother to send a search party for him, so he assumed that they were looking for Hinata. He thought at first that the Hyuuga girl should be found and brought back to the village so that she'll be safe and he'll be the one to face the danger alone… but then he remembered the reason on why Hinata was with him in the first place.

Because she wanted to come with him and keep him company. She was pretty much the only person who actually cared about him; the only friend that he has right now. He pulled away from Hinata, gathered up all of their things, then grabbed the white eyed girl by the hand, and ran far away from where they were; away from the search party. They ran until they were both sure that they were far away from the search teams.

"Ha, ha, I think we lost 'em." said Naruto when they stopped running. Hinata let go of Naruto's hand to catch her breath, nodding in agreement. The blonde then looked around at their surroundings.

"How far are we from the border now? It's hard to tell." he asked. He turned his head towards Hinata, an idea starting to form in his head. He didn't know all of the details on the Hyuuga clan; all he knew about them was their ability to use the Byakugan to see far distances and chakra in other people.

"Say, Hina-chan."

Hinata looked at Naruto, blushing as she did so. "Hai?"

"You can look at long distances using that thing you do with your eyes, right?"

"You mean the Byakugan?"

"Yeah that! So can you?"

Hinata knotted her fingers and twirled them in a fidgety way. She looked down for a while, then back at Naruto. She slightly nodded and said, "Hai. But I can't see too far, j-just a few miles… um… yeah that's it."

Naruto crossed his arms in deep thought. A few miles wouldn't help them figure out how far they were from the border of Konoha, but he guessed it would take six hours now. He unfolded his arms and handed Hinata her bag. She took it.

"C'mon Hina-chan. Let's rest for a while." said Naruto as he walked to an area on the side of the road. Hinata stood there staring at the blonde for a while, then she followed him.

SLURP!

Naruto slurped up the ramen that he made from instant ramen packs that he brought in one gulp. Ramen was Naruto's all time favorite food. Hinata just stared at him as he was eating. She then looked down at her own pack of ramen; steam was coming out of the pack for it was filled with hot water a while ago. Naruto noticed that she wasn't eating and asked, "Are you gonna eat that?"

Hinata looked back at the blonde, her eyes meeting his. She blushed again and answered, "Um, h-hai. It's just… I don't know. The way you eat… kind of… d-d-disturbs m-me is all." She turned her head away from him, not really sure if she said the right words.

Naruto swallowed his ramen and just stared blankly at Hinata. 'Weirdo. But, maybe I shouldn't eat so sloppily in front of Hina-chan… maybe when I'm alone.' he thought. "Is that it Hina-chan?"

The Hyuuga girl shook her head. "I-I also have this weird feeling. I don't know w-what it is, but I th-think that someone's watching us. Right n-now."

Naruto looked around, up, down, left, right, and side to side. Nothing. Not even a trace of a silhouette or chakra anywhere.

"What do you mean Hina-chan? I don't see anyone around." he asked. Hinata looked surprised for a while. She then smiled and said, "N-Nothing. Forget about i-it."

"You stammer too much."

"I do?!" Hinata was pretty surprised to hear this from Naruto.

He nodded. "Yeah. I noticed that when we were at the training grounds yesterday. It makes you look like a weird person." He took another bite at his ramen as he said this.

Hinata's face flushed and she looked down at her ramen, a hurt expression on her face.

"It… does, huh?" she asked. Her voice sounded hurt and she looked like she was on the verge of crying. Naruto noticed this and sighed.

"I'm not saying this to be mean Hina-chan," he started. Hinata looked up at Naruto, wondering what he was going to say. "I'm telling you all of this as a friend and you just need to work on talking without stammering every so often. You know… as a friendly reminder in a way."

Hinata sighed softly, not really understanding what he meant by all of that.

"Hina-chan. I'm just saying you need to stop stammering and speak normally. Otherwise a lot of people will think you're weird and ignore you." Naruto added. At the mention of being ignored, Naruto thought about why no one would pay any attention to him. He didn't understand why, but he never liked being ignored by everyone.

His expression looked upset at that moment, causing Hinata to worry about him.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" she asked. Naruto snapped out of his trance and shook his head.

"It's nothing Hina-chan. I was just thinking that's all." he said, flashing that goofy smile at her. Hinata giggled and blushed slightly.

"Oh and Hina-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Your ramen's going to get cold soon."

Hinata gasped and started eating. On the first bite, she looked astonished. "It's good. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before!"

Naruto grinned and continued to eat his ramen.

----------------------------------

After breakfast, the two four-year-olds were on the road again. They both made sure that they weren't being followed, though Hinata could've sworn that she heard something rustling in the trees as they walked. Naruto just looked around when he heard something, later shrugging it off when he figured it was nothing but nerves. He stopped and took a gulp of water from his canteen, then he gave it to Hinata so that she could get a drink, too.

"Okay, how about you use your Byaku- whatever you called it."

"Byakugan?" Hinata gave the canteen back to Naruto as she said this and wiped off the remaining water that clung to her lips.

"Yeah! How 'bout you use that now?"

Hinata nodded, closed her eyes and started making the hand signs to perform the Byakugan. After finishing making the hand signs, her eyes snapped open; veins appearing on the side of eyes indicating the use of chakra. She could see further down the path and noticed that it led to an open clearing.

"I see a clearing up ahead. I think we're getting close to the border." she said. Naruto smiled and went into a victory pose.

"Great! After we're past the border, we'll be out of Konoha!"

"But, Naruto-kun…" said Hinata, deactivating her Byakugan. Naruto got out of his pose and looked over at Hinata.

"Yeah?"

Hinata looked at Naruto, saying, "When we do get past the border, where will we go? We don't have any money and we're too young to rent a room at an inn when we get to a town."

Naruto had to think about this one. Hinata was right, they didn't have any money on them and they're too young to rent an inn. They also had to worry about other ninja: the ANBU, jounin, search parties, and a lot of ninja that would attempt to kill them without mercy!

"We'll think of something Hina-chan. Let's just worry about getting past the border right now, okay?" he finally answered. Hinata nodded as they started to continue walking again.

After walking for a few hours, they finally reached the edge of the clearing. Just one more step towards it and they'll be out of Konoha for good. Both of them looked nervous. It was just too risky. On one hand, they wouldn't have to worry about Konoha anymore and live their own lives… but on the other hand, they'd be out in the open and would make an easy target for ninja who would kill without mercy.

They stared at each other, trying to figure out who should go out first. A dead silence filled the air as the tension between the two grew. Naruto broke the silence by saying, "Um… Maybe I should go first, see if the coast is clear, you know?"

Hinata nodded.

"Be careful Naruto-kun." she said in a whisper-like tone. Naruto gave a confirming nod, and then walked out into the open. He looked left, then right… twice. Nothing. He waved over at Hinata, confirming that the coast was clear.

Hinata was still wary, but she ran over to the blonde anyway. They both smiled and rejoiced! They were finally beyond the border! Their troubles were over! They held each other's hands and danced around in circles they were so happy!

They both laughed and held each other in a friendly embrace when they finished dancing. Hinata blushed when they embraced while Naruto was just enjoying the moment of freedom. Their happiness ended when suddenly…

"Awww, how cute! A couple of kids are having some fun here!" a male voice said in a cutesy tone.

"Yes. How delightful." said another voice, female this time.

Naruto and Hinata slowly pulled away from each other and saw four people towering over them. Three guys and one girl. All of them were wearing ninja outfits and had headbands with the symbol of the Cloud village. Cloud ninja.

Naruto looked up at one of them, the guy that made the cutesy tone, and asked in a demanding sort of way, "Who are you guys?"

The guy ninja adjusted the headband that around his forehead and answered Naruto's question by saying in a normal tone, "We're Cloud ninja, kid. Got a problem with that?"

Naruto glared at him. Another guy ninja that had the headband around his neck chuckled.

"That's your answer, Kaoru! A death glare from a shrimp! HAHAHA!" he laughed.

"Shut up, Mitsuku!" the nin named 'Kaoru' threatened. The last guy ninja that had the Cloud headband around his wrist stared at Hinata for a brief moment. The Hyuuga girl looked frightened and took a step back, accidentally knocking Naruto over. The Cloud nin gasped and grabbed the female's arm in excitement.

"Mimiru! That girl is a Hyuuga! There's no mistake about it, she's a Hyuuga girl! Right out here in the open!!" he shouted. The female Cloud ninja called 'Mimiru' shoved the guy ninja off of her and adjusted the headband that was around her left arm.

"I know that Shinto! And from the looks of her, she looks like one of the higher-up Hyuugas, an elite." she said with interest as she eyed Hinata. At that point, Naruto picked himself up from the ground and grabbed Hinata by the wrist, pulling her close to him.

"What do you want from us?! And why are you all so interested in Hina-chan!!" he demanded. Kaoru shoved Naruto and roughly grabbed Hinata's wrist.

"None of your beeswax, runt!" he shouted. Hinata screamed and tried to pull away from the Cloud ninja's grasp. Naruto groaned and looked up to see Hinata trying desperately to escape from the Cloud. The other Cloud nin were trying to restrain the Hyuuga girl as she struggled. Hinata looked over at Naruto and screamed, "Help me Naruto-kun!" as she was lifted into the air by Kaoru and flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Naruto growled and charged at the Cloud ninja. He quickly took out his shuriken pouch, took out a few of them, and threw them at Kaoru. One of them hit his arm, causing him to spin around and see the blonde boy. He was about to attack when Mimiru stopped him.

"Allow me, Kaoru." she said, then she charged at Naruto and kicked him. Naruto was flung back, but that didn't stop him from attacking. Mimiru did an uppercut kick at him, sending him flying up into the air around 5 feet. Hinata cried, kicked, screamed, and pounded her fists onto the Cloud nin that was carrying her. Naruto hit the ground, but still managed to stand up.

Kaoru looked surprised, but Shinto and Mitsuku laughed at Naruto.

"Give it up, kid!" shouted Mitsuku.

"Yeah! You have absolutely no chance against Mimiru! She's a Taijutsu master!" agreed Shinto.

Naruto groaned, then charged again, hoping to land a punch or a kick in the Cloud ninja girl.

"Is he nuts?!" she bewilderedly asked. She kicked him again, sending him skidding across the ground.

"D-Damn." said Naruto as he struggled to stand up. Now all of the guy ninja were laughing at him, shouting things like, "You blonde haired idiot!" and "This kid doesn't give up does he?!"

Hinata, meanwhile, kept on kicking and pounding, screaming and crying with all of her might in a desperate attempt to escape from the ninja's grasp. Kaoru couldn't take it anymore, so he drew out his kunai and stabbed her right leg. Hinata screamed even harder, causing Naruto's rage to build up.

"Leave Hina-chan ALONE!!" he screamed and charged at Mimiru again. She moved to the side and kicked him back up in the air. She in turn jumped up in the air, too. Her teammates laughter turned into worried gasps.

"She isn't going to…" said Kaoru.

"She is!!" shouted Shinto.

"She's going to use that technique! Isn't she?!" shouted Mitsuku.

Hinata just closed her eyes, hoping that the pain in her leg would stop, but she could feel her own blood drip down her leg and onto the ground. And from what she heard the Cloud ninjas said, she knew Naruto was going to die. She cried not only from the pain, but also from the fact that Naruto would be dead soon. She let the tears fall.

Back in the air, 10 feet above the ground, Naruto wasn't looking too good. He didn't want it to end here, he didn't want to die! Mimiru appeared underneath him and he looked down to see the evil look on her face.

"What are you going to do?!" he asked in a frantic voice. The Cloud ninja girl chuckled, then rolled up her sleeves to reveal bandages on her arms and hands. They unraveled and started to wrap around Naruto.

"This is the Dancing Leaf technique I've been working on for three years now!" When the bandages were secured around the blonde, Mimiru grabbed his arms and plunged down towards the ground, spinning as she did so. She could hear her teammates shout at her to 'stop' and to 'not do it', but she didn't care as long as she could get this over with. The spinning increased in speed until it looked like whirlwind.

"Primary Lotus!" she shouted as they neared the solid ground. At that moment, Naruto cried out in pain as a sudden burst of chakra flowed through him. An orange aura surrounded the blonde as he struggled in desperation to avoid his death. He struggled until, suddenly, he broke through the bandages and kicked away from the female Cloud ninja.

"WHAT?!" she shouted, just before she hit the ground on deep impact. A giant cloud of dust filled the air due to the ground impact. Naruto hit the ground, feet first and skidded backwards on the ground. The burst of chakra faded from his body at that moment. Although weak, he stood up and took in deep, heavy breaths.

When the dust faded, he saw Mimiru was sprawled on the ground, motionless. All of the other Cloud ninja were shocked to see that the blonde haired boy survived. Naruto looked down at his hands.

"W-What… happened?" he asked himself. Unfortunately, this left him wide open for a direct attack. Kaoru glared at Naruto, then he shoved Hinata into Shinto's arms and charged at the blonde at full force!

"DIE!!" he shouted. Naruto froze in horror when he finally looked up to see a Cloud ninja charge straight at him! Hinata watched in horror, shouting, "NARUTO! RUN!!!!!"

Just then, someone stepped in front of Naruto, blocking the attack with his kunai knife. He deflected it, making Kaoru stagger backwards a bit. The mystery nin pointed his kunai at Shinto, demanding, "Drop the Hyuuga girl, NOW!"

Shinto didn't hesitate to do what he was told, so he dropped Hinata, who ran over to Naruto to make sure he was okay. Kaoru attempted to grab her when she ran past him, but was prevented from doing so by the mystery ninja.

"Leave… now." he said in a threatening tone. Kaoru growled at him.

"I don't have time to deal with a teenager!" He turned toward his teammates. "Let's move!"

Neither of them hesitated, so they ran off. Kaoru ran over to an unconscious Mimiru and picked her up. He looked over at the ninja, then at Naruto and Hinata.

"Don't think that this is the last time we meet, runts!" He shouted. "We'll get our revenge on you, you'll see! 'Cause the next time we meet," He pointed at them. "You won't be so damn lucky!"

With that, he ran off with Mimiru in his arms.

Naruto and Hinata looked up at the stranger. He looked like he was fourteen years old with short red hair, light skin, and was wearing a shinobi outfit. Around the upper part of his leg was a headband; not from the Cloud village, not from Konoha, but from Sunagakure. The Sand Village.

He put the kunai back in his pouch, then looked at the two 4-year-olds. Hinata stood up and bowed, saying, "Arigatou!"

She then fell on her knees due to the injury on her leg. The ninja crouched down and examined the wound. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bandages. He wrapped them around Hinata's injured leg.

"There. That should do it." he said when he finished. Hinata didn't bother looking at her leg, the recent event had scared the hell out of her, so she was crying. The Sand nin gently lifted the crying Hyuuga girl in his arms and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay now. There's no need to worry anymore. Everything's going to be okay." he said soothingly.

Naruto looked ticked off and he shouted, "WHAT'S GOING ON?! Who were those guys?! Why'd they try to kidnap Hina-chan?! And…" He calmed down a little at this point. "Why… did you save us?"

The ninja looked down at Naruto, his sapphire eyes gleaming at him with curiosity.

"I'll explain later. But, tell me something. What are a couple of kids like you doing out here in the open?" he asked.

Naruto just said, "We ran away from Konoha. We can't tell you why though." He then eyed the orange headed ninja with suspicion. "Who are you anyway?"

The ninja smiled, saying, "Ojirou Shitake. It's nice to meet you."

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Uuum. Oookay. Well, I guess we should be leaving now and seeing as you're not from Konoha, we're safe. C'mon Hina-chan!" said Naruto. Hinata had calmed down now and asked if she could be put down. Ojirou obeyed. She bowed and thanked him again, then ran off to join Naruto. Ojirou stared at them for a while and couldn't help but be worried about them. He thought about this.

'They're so young to be away from home. But, they're like me. Runaways.' he thought. 'Hmm. They can't protect themselves yet, so maybe… yeah, I should be their bodyguard since we're pretty much in the same boat. Plus, I'm curious about the boy. A few minutes ago, I could sense a huge amount of chakra emanating from him. Incredible, even for a four-year-old. I should look into this.'

And with that, he ran towards the two kids and stopped them in their tracks.

"Hold on!" he said. Both Naruto and Hinata spun around and saw Ojirou with a bright smile on his face. "I'm going to accompany you two. You're gonna need the protection and I can give you that. Plus I have some money on me, so if we get to a town, I'll pay for a room at an inn. What do you say?" he asked.

Hinata and Naruto talked about it for a while, then they came to an agreement and nodded at him. All Ojirou did was smile at them as the threesome walked into the unknown.