Run Away and Pursue

Ch. 8 "A Thanksgiving Evening."

I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did.

It was a kid.

Maybe eighteen or nineteen.

Cheeks pock marked and sallow from drug use.

That's who had been shooting at Hinata.

Naruto wasn't sure who he had been expecting, but it sure wasn't the boy cowering at his feet.

"What's your name, kid?" He growled, barely managing to rein his fury.

"I want a lawyer."

"Wrong answer." Naruto reached down and grabbed the boy's arm, yanking him up and around in one quick motion. "Maybe you should try again."

He had the kid's arm pinned behind his back and was applying pressure when he heard the first siren.

Help was on the way.

Good.

If he had been left too long with the druggy kid, Naruto might have given into temptation and done something he would have regretted; eventually.

"Ow, ow, ow! You're gonna break my arm, man!" The boy squirmed. "Let go, fool!"

"You were going to shoot a bunch of people. A broken arm is a small price to pay for a crime like that!" Naruto's voice was thick and dripping with venom.

"Police brutality!" The kid muttered. "That's what this is."

"Funny, because I'm not the police." Naruto increase the pressure just enough to worry the kid. "Fool."

"I said," The kid said with his jaw clenched. "You're gonna break my arm."

"I'll let you go if you tell me your name and why you were trying to kill my friend."

"Itachi."

"And you were trying to kill my friend, Hinata, because?"

"I wasn't trying to kill anyone."

"Right." Naruto sighed. "You were just holding a gun for the hell of it."

"Who said I had a gun?" The kid obviously gained some of his fight back because he tugged against Naruto's hold.

Or maybe it was the sound of approaching police cars giving him a little incentive to try to escape. Either way, he wasn't going to succeed.

"I do." Naruto tightened his grip and shoved the kid towards the street. "And so will the police when they check the fingerprints on the weapon against yours. So how about you make things easier on yourself and cooperate? Hmmn?"

"I wasn't coming at you, man. Or the kid. So let me go." Itachi breathed. "Let me go and I'll disappear and you'll never see me again."

"Darn right, I'll never see you again." Naruto snarled. "You were only hoping to kill my friend? Is that it?"

"I'm not saying anything."

"You already did." Naruto grumbled and Itachi tried to break free again.

"Look, I wasn't trying to kill no one, homes." Itachi groaned. "I just wanted to scare her. That's all. I promise, man. Now let go of me."

"Why?"

"She saw me out at her house. I didn't want her telling the po-po on me."

"You're saying you shot her to keep her quiet but you failed, so you came an finished the job?" Naruto's voice was rising and growing angrier by the second.

"It was an accident! I swear! I didn't mean to shoot her!"

"Sure." Naruto clenched his fist to keep from turning the kid around and accidentally punching him in the face.

"It was, man! It really was!" Itachi was almost shouting as a police cruiser pulled up and a deputy hoped out.

"What's going on here?"

"I was minding my own business—!" Itachi started.

Naruto hiked the kid's arm up so high, he squealed.

"What the kid was trying to say is that he took a potshot at my friend. The gun is over there, near the shrubs." He gestured to the place where he had tackled the gunman to the ground.

"I didn't drop no gun! And I didn't try to shoot no one." It was then that Naruto realized that Itachi's speech was a bit slurred.

"Itachi Uchiha. Didn't I tell you not to get in anymore trouble?" The deputy frowned.

"I didn't do nothing."

"The witness here is saying something different." The deputy's eyes could not be seen from behind the dark glasses he had on; Naruto becoming a bit suspicious. "Spread. Let's see if you've got any weapons on you."

"I don't!" Itachi yelled. "Man, you po-po people are so stupid these days!"

The deputy ignored his protest and frisked him.

"Aha." He pulled out a plastic bag of colorful pills form Itachi's pocket. "You're probably going to tell me this isn't yours."

"I want a lawyer." Itachi looked at the ground. "I'm not saying anything."

"Fine by me."

The deputy read his rights to him before he put handcuffs around his wrists and helped him into the backseat of the cruiser, closing the door with a bang.

"Thanks, officer—."

"Aburame."

"Not the first time you arrested him, huh?" Naruto asked.

"Kid has been in trouble for years." The deputy shook his head. "You want to show where the gun is?"

"This way. I tackled him and he dropped it in this area." Naruto walked, the deputy trailing after him.

"He hurt anyone?"

"Not this time, but he admitted to accidentally shooting Hinata. Seems if that were true, he wouldn't have tried to kill her again today."

Naruto glanced at the house, anxious to finish speaking to the deputy so he could get inside and make sure Keiji and Hinata were all right.

"Well, he won't be trying anymore of this. Between the gun and the drugs, we've got enough to put him away for years." Deputy Aburame carefully lifted the gun in a gloved hand, emptied the bullets and placed everything in an evidence bag.

"It's possible he's not working alone." Naruto looked at the boy at the back seat of the cruiser.

"What do you mean?" The deputy looked up from the evidence bag.

"He doesn't seem like the kind to go to a whole lot of trouble for anything, and he's gone through a lot trying to kill Hinata."

"You could have a point, but he fits the sheriff's profile of the perp—a druggy looking for easy cash." He took the glove off of his hand. "That's who Sheriff Inuzuka said might be responsible, and that's who I've got sitting in the backseat of my car."

"Just because you have one suspect doesn't mean there aren't any others."

"I'll call the sheriff, get him to come out here. We'll question Itachi. Maybe we can get the truth from him." The deputy shrugged his shoulders, as if saying, 'Hey, don't get mad at me.'

"Good, I'm going inside to check on my son and Hinata."

The deputy nodded. "Someone will be here shortly to take your statements."

"Thanks."

The doors flew open as Naruto stepped into the porch, and Hinata came outside.

"Is everything okay?" She paused and stared him sternly in the eye. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and the guy who shot you is in custody, so it's been a good day's work." He offered a smile, but Hinata didn't look relieved as he had expected her to look.

"What did he look like?"

It seemed like a weird question, and Naruto took a harder look at Hinata's face.

She was understandably tense and scared, but there was a sense of anticipation, a vibrating energy that seemed to hang in the air surrounding her.

"Black hair." He saw her twitch a bit. "Scrawny. Around eighteen or nineteen."

"So, he's a kid?" Hinata blinked. Naruto could see her relax a bit.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"I—," She looked away from his blue orbs. "Don't know."

She did know, and Naruto wished she had trusted him enough to be honest about it.

"Deputy Aburame said the kid's name was Itachi Uchiha. Sound familiar?"

"No." But Hinata paled and her eyes grew a bit wide.

"Did you say Itachi as in Uchiha?" Kurenai followed Hinata onto the porch.

Keiji hovered in the door way, his pale red hair was dark against his too-pale face.

"That's what he said." Naruto noticed when Hinata also twitched at the name. He was about to press it further on why she reacted that way, but he held himself back.

"I knew that boy would run into trouble. Good parents, but it must be the fact that he was adopted." Kurenai talked to herself. "Maybe that's the reason why he's a bad apple."

"That's a shame." Hinata responded, but she seemed distracted and Naruto wanted to take her to a quiet place and ask her the dozen questions that were floating through his mind.

"Why was he trying to hurt Ms. Hyuuga?" Keiji asked, his brow furrowed, and Naruto took him by the hand and pulled out onto the porch and into a hug.

For once, Keiji didn't stiffen or pull away.

"He's a sick person. He probably doesn't even realize what he was doing." Naruto forced himself to loosen his grip, to let Keiji back away.

"Sick like a cold? Or sick in the head?"

Keiji's question was so unexpected that Naruto laughed, some of his tension and frustration easing. "Sick like he's addicted to drugs. That can ruin a person's mind."

Hinata cringed at that. 'Sick like he's addicted to drugs,' huh? So that's how he feels. She was glad that Naruto wasn't facing her way or else he would've noticed.

"I'm glad he's going to jail. Ms. Hyuuga is a nice person, and no one should ever try to hurt her."

Keiji's honest response made Hinata smile and Naruto found himself smiling with her.

It was then that Naruto found that she looked lovely, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs partially covering bits of her forehead. Her cheekbones were high and sharp. Her pale lilac eyes seemed to stand out in the midst of the navy-ish blue hair. If he didn't know she hadn't been born in Sendai, he would have thought she was a small town girl who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But he knew better, and he wasn't going to make the mistake believing that Itachi going to jail meant Hinata would be safe.

As if she sensed his thoughts, her smile faltered, her gaze jumping from his to the streets. "Looks like Kiba's here."

She was right. The sheriff's car pulled up in the front of the house, parking behind the deputy's cruiser.

"Guess we should bring our party back inside. We have pie and ice cream." Kurenai smiled, holding out a hand that Naruto knew his son wouldn't take. "Want to come in and have some while your dad talks to the sheriff, Keiji?"

"I want to stay here with Dad and Hinata."

"Are you sure?" Hinata raised a brow, surprised that he had called her by her first name. "Yuhi makes a mean pumpkin pie."

"Pumpkin pie might be good, buddy." Naruto patted his son's back. "Especially since you didn't eat much today."

"I like apple pie better." Keiji had a touch of rebellion in his voice. Obviously, he didn't want to go inside.

Naruto was tempted to let him stay, but he knew that a discussion about attempted murder and drug addiction wasn't something a nine-year-old should be privy to.

"Then it's good! I have apple pie too!" Kurenai said before Naruto could decide on what to tell his son.

"Go on ahead, buddy." Naruto patted Keiji's head and sighed when his son ducked away and hurried into the house.

"It'll get easier." Hinata's hand touched Naruto's for a second before dropping away.

He felt the touch to his core, the heat of it surprising him. It made him forget that the sheriff was walking up the porch steps; forget that Hinata had secrets she wasn't willing to share.

Forget everything but the woman who stood so close he could see the flecks of lavender in her gray eyes.

She blinked and took a step back, her eyes wide with surprise, her hands brushing against her jeans as if she could wipe away what they had both felt.

"Hey-o!" The sheriff called out, breaking the tension that hung. "Heard we had some trouble."

"I'm afraid so." Hinata turned away from Naruto, her cheeks pink with whatever emotion she was feeling.

"At least we've got the guy this time. Hopefully, that'll be the end of your troubles." The sheriff nodded to the forgotten deputy by the car, keeping an eye at the boy.

"I'm not sure." Hinata shot a glance in Naruto's direction, and he had wondered if she wanted to tell him to disappear for a few minutes, so she could tell the sheriff whatever was on her mind.

If that was what she wanted, she was going to be disappointed. Naruto had no intention of going anywhere.

"You still think that guy in Okinawa is after you?" The sheriff grimaced.

"I'm worried he could be, Kiba." Hinata answered, keeping her eyes on the sheriff.

"I'll talk to Itachi, see what his story is, and I've already spoken to the police in Okinawa. Your ex is exactly where he's supposed to be." Sheriff Inuzuka sighed.

Her ex? Hinata had been married? Or was it an ex-boyfriend?

"That doesn't mean he didn't pick up a phone and arrange for Itachi to kill me." Naruto could see Hinata's hand trembling.

"I'm not saying it does, Hinata. I'm just saying that three years is a long time, and it's very possible your ex has completely forgotten about you." The sheriff looked like he didn't want to have this argument.

"It's possible." But it was obvious from her tone that she didn't think it was. "Their last names are even the same."

"They may hold the same last name, but it could just be a coincidence." Kiba ran a hand through his hair. "Like I said, I'll talk to Itachi. See what he has to say. For now, I think we can work under the assumption that he was looking for cash to make another drug deal and things got out of hand."

"Shooting a person is a little more than letting things get out of hand." Naruto broke into the conversation, making Hinata and the sheriff turn and face him.

"You saw the kid. He hopped up on pills and not in control of himself. His eyes are super red." The sheriff nodded to the deputy, who seemed to have turned into a statue, just there standing by the car. "I've been trying to put him away for years because I've been afraid something like this would happen."

"He's never done time?" Naruto peered at the young man in the back of the cruiser.

"He's been booked on drug possession twice. Done community service and rehab. That wasn't enough to keep him out of trouble. It apparently wasn't enough to keep him out of jail, either."

Naruto's expression darkened.

The sheriff pulled out a notebook, asked a few questions about the attack and scribbled the answers. After about what felt like one hundred questions to Naruto, he finally stopped.

"All right. I think that's it for now." Kiba closed the notebook and shoved the pen into his pocket. "I'll give you a call after Itachi and I have a little chat about how he got himself into this mess."

"I appreciate it Sheriff Inuzuka. I'm anxious to hear what he has to say." Hinata shivered, wrapping her arms around her waist as the sheriff walked away.

"You need to get inside and warm up." Naruto put an arm around her shoulders, urging her to go back towards the door.

"Why?" Hinata shrugged his touch off. "So you can follow Sheriff Inuzuka and ask questions about the case without me around to hear you?"

"You know me too well." He grinned down at her and was surprised when she returned the smile.

"I don't know you at all, but I'm glad you were here, Naruto."

"Does that mean you might be willing to answer some questions I've got for you?"

"Maybe one day," Hinata titled her head sideways as she looked at him. "But not now."

"Mr. Uzumaki?" The sheriff called out, interrupting the conversation before Naruto could press for more.

"Yes?"

"My deputy said you've already answered his questions. It's probably best if you go back to the hotel before the press decides to show up."

"I've been dealing with them for a long time, Sheriff. Another run-in won't bother me." Naruto offered one of his quick smiled.

"May be not, but it might bother Hinata." Kiba nodded towards Shino, who walked around to the front of his own cruiser. "I don't think she wants people asking a lot of questions about what is or isn't going on between the two of you."

"Going on?" Hinata quickly said. "There's nothing going on!"

"It won't matter. As soon as reporters see the two of you together, they'll start wondering about you two. Next thing you know, people will be asking how the two of you met and might start looking into your past." The sheriff's voice trailed off and he gave Hinata a look that seemed to convey a silent message.

"Thanks for the warning, but it's probably too late to be worried about that. It's all going to come out eventually," Hinata nodded. "So there's no sense worrying about people finding out."

Finding out what? Naruto could only listen and look back and forth from Hinata and the sheriff.

"You're probably right about that," Shino entered his cruiser, Kiba doing the same. "Now if you'll both of you excuse us, we're going to get Itachi back to the office and see what he's got to say for himself."

"Thank you, Shino and Kiba." Hinata offered a weary smile towards Naruto. "I guess I'm going to postpone my trip for a while."

"Yeah?"

"I want to stick around to hear what Itachi has to say." Hinata massaged her temples and sighed. "Maybe the sheriff is right. Maybe this doesn't have anything to do with my past."

"Do you believe that?" Naruto feared that he sounded angry. And what is this past that you try to hide away? He wanted to ask but knew he shouldn't.

"I want to." But she didn't. Naruto could see it in her eyes.

"Who is he, Hinata?" Naruto was getting fed up with being in the dark. No way he would stay back and let her be harmed, knowing he could've done something to prevent it. "Who's the guy you're so afraid of?"

"The biggest mistake of my life." She smiled sadly, her lips trembling. "I was stupid. I had thought that life was all about the next party and my next fix. Sasuke was part of that scene. He had money and looks and all the things that were important to me then."

"You," Naruto cleared his throat. It took all he had to even utter these words. "You married him?"

"I might have." Hinata heard Naruto take a sharp inhale of breath. "If my family hadn't died. If I hadn't decided that I didn't want the same fate."

"So," Naruto felt guilty that relief washed over him. "You changed but he didn't?"

"Something like that." She smiled again and took a step back. "You're interviewing me again."

"Only because I care." He took a step closer and cupped her chin in his hand, letting his fingers rest on silky skin.

"Don't!" She jerked back, her eyes wide.

"Don't what?" Naruto felt something inside of him die a bit.

"Look at me like I'm some delicate flower of a woman who needs to be saved! I'm not! I don't!" She brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and took a deep breath before she continued talking. "We better get inside. I'm sure Keiji and Kurenai are wondering what's taking us so long."

"Hi—!" She ran inside the house before Naruto could say anything.

He sighed.

It was for the best.

He wasn't sure what he would have said. The fact was, he didn't see Hinata as a delicate woman who needed saving.

He saw her as a woman who deserved the second chance she had created for herself, and he saw he saw himself as the person that was going to make sure she got it. She didn't have to live in constant fear and mess up what she already worked hard for.

He doubt Hinata would want to hear that.

She probably would listen and later on protest and push him away.

He grabbed her suitcase from the SUV and carried it into the house.

The foyer was empty and hushed conversations drifted from a room to his left; a sharp contrast to the cheers and laughter that he had heard earlier before the incident.

He brought the suitcase up to Hinata's apartment and then followed the sound of the voices back down the stairs and into a large dining room.

Several people looked up when he entered, the questions in their eyes was obvious.

They would have to go unanswered. Naruto ignored their gaze and searched for his son in the crowd. No way I'm planning to go in details about what just happened.

He would leave that to Hinata. It was up to her whether they should know or not.

He spotted his son sitting at the far end of a table, a plate piled high with apple pie and ice cream in front of him.

A dab of white decorated the corner of his mouth and his pale cheeks had a tinge of color. He looked young and cute and not nearly as confused and scared as he had been at the hotel.

Maybe that was because Hinata sat next to him, her arm touching his as they were talking.

Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying, but Keiji was smiling, looking up to Hinata's face as if she had managed to lasso the moon and dragged it out of the sky just for him.

He had to admit he was a bit jealous.

Jealous? Of my son? Naruto chuckled softly and shook his head. Nah.

"There you are." Kurenai called out, pushing away from the table and hurrying towards him. "Our hero!"

"Hero?" Naruto wrinkled his nose. "I'm no hero."

"Of course you are! You saved Hinata from being shot!" Kurenai smiled widely. "Maybe even killed."

"Yuhi, this probably isn't the time to discuss it." Hinata stood and placed a hand on Keiji's shoulder.

"You're right." Kurenai nodded. "Sit down, Naruto. Have some pie."

"I wish I could, but my folks are waiting for us back at the hotel." He turned to Keiji who quickly finished the pie in front of him. "You ready, kiddo?"

Keiji nodded, taking one last spoonful and stood. "Thank you for the pie, Mrs. Kurenai."

He then laughed. "That rhymed!"

The adults around him smiled at that.

"You're very welcome."

"Oh!" Keiji twirled to face Hinata. "Ms. Hyuuga! Maybe you could—!"

"I'm going to rest, Keiji." Hinata broke in gently. "You enjoy Thanksgiving with your family."

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't sound do down. You're going to have a wonderful time playing chess with your grandfather!" Hinata smiled and took his hand, walking him out into the foyer.

Naruto followed. The subtle scent of Hinata's perfume drifted in the air.

She had spoken of a sordid past, but none of it showed on her face. Her skin smooth and clear, her face unlined.

Whatever she had done, whoever she had been, she had changed. Turned her life around.

Naruto wouldn't let that be taken from her.

She met his gaze and grinned. "You really were my hero tonight, Naruto."

He returned the smile, feeling something flutter inside of him. "And you are ours."

He placed a hand on Keiji's shoulders. "Stay safe."

He had no idea why he uttered such words, but he knew he couldn't take them back.

"You too." She opened the door and stood on the threshold, watching as they walked to the car.

She looked lonely, her shoulders bowed, her face pale.

Naruto was tempted to ask her to come to the hotel and join his family for a few hours.

But she had said that she was going to rest; and she would've declined anyway. She needed the rest more than she needed a boisterous family who would shower her with thanks and praise.

He waved good bye and laughed when his son had shouted a, "Happy Thanksgiving!" before climbing inside the car.

His fear and confusion seems to be receding.

That was something else to be thankful for.

Naruto found himself humming along with the radio as he pulled out of Kurenai's driveway and onwards towards the hotel.

So…

Itachi is young.

And no matter what, Kiba is always seeming to disrupt this coupling… one way or another.

Whether it be he becomes a temporary boyfriend for Hinata or someone who interrupts their tender moments…

Gotta love him~!

And as for the late update, my only excuse would be school.

It's a good thing I have a cousin who has a lot of free time in her hands, 'cause then this wouldn't have been updated.

Thanks for reading~!