Chapter 8

Obstinate as ever, Sasuke made them take the short way to Saishe. Normally travelers took the easier main road, one that hugged the coastline, offering breathtaking views and nice, level ground. Instead, Sasuke was making them cut straight through the forest. The trees were old, and grew close together. Forests like these were rare in the Fire Country. Shinobi battles were constantly sculpting the landscape; a single S-rank jutsu could wipe out acres of forest in seconds. You usually only saw forests like these in Ame, where it rained constantly.

Free space was constricted by the interweaving web of branches, and so it was an awkward walk, ducking under overhanging vines and low branches, climbing over mossy roots. At least the leafy canopy blocked most of the day's harsh sunlight, so it was cool and dark.

Hinata knew why Sasuke was making them suffer through this. By taking this route, not only was he getting them to their destination quicker, he was also making sure that any tracker that came after them—her—would have a hard time finding their scent through the thick forest.

I bet Akamaru would still be able to track down the scent. Hinata smiled.

The tip of her foot caught a bump in a decaying log and she stumbled forward, colliding heavily with Karin.

"Get off of me!" The volatile kunoichi shrieked, and pushed Hinata forcefully away, wheeling her right towards Sasuke. Desperately trying not to smash into the Uchiha, Hinata twisted on her heel, spinning around as if about to go into her fighting stance. The maneuver worked. Her back thumped solidly into the trunk of a tree.

Karin tossed her hair. "Honestly, can't you watch where you're going?" Hinata's cheeks burned. She looked down.

"Karin," said Sasuke, his stern voice a warning. Karin huffed and leveled a glare at Hinata. Hinata clenched her teeth and forced her chin up, meeting Sasuke's gaze with quiet determination to show that she could not be pushed around. When she did she saw that his hands were outstretched, as if he had been ready to catch her as she fell. He seemed just as surprised at his hands as she was. His fingers twitched and his arms fell mechanically to his sides.

"We have to keep moving," Sasuke said, and turned away quickly. Hinata was puzzled at the half-gesture. Honestly, she would have expected Sasuke to slide away from her and just let her fall on her face. The more she knew this boy, the less she understood him.

But I'm supposed to be understanding him! Come on, Hinata, she urged herself onwards. Speeding up her pace a bit, she caught up with Sasuke. She took a deep breath. "Wh-What are we looking for in Saishe?" She tried to keep her voice nonchalant, but it came out sounding strained and tense. Deceit had never been her strong point.

"Yakushi Kabuto," Sasuke answered shortly.

Hinata nearly choked. Yakushi Kabuto? Former crony of Orochimaru. An evil medical genius. Able to completely infiltrate the Leaf Village's ranks during the chunin exams and then get out completely unscathed. And currently allied to Uchiha Madara himself. What had she gotten herself into?

The closest encounter Hinata had had with Kabuto had been during the chunin exams, when she had passed out while watching Naruto's match with Neji. She had remembered her heart seizing up and seeing Kiba's startled face before she convulsed and began coughing up blood. She wasn't even supposed to have been able to attend the fights. The medics at the hospital had told her to rest at home. But she had come anyway. She had to see Naruto confront her cousin.

Kabuto had come then, although she had not known it was him. He had healed her, probably saving her life. She had not remembered anything after that. Kabuto had made sure that she, Kiba and Akamaru would not wake up until hours later, when all the chaos had quieted down. And it would be much later than that that Hinata would learn that Kabuto had infiltrated the ANBU, and had been the one to heal her.

To this day she did not know why he had done it. He could have easily killed all three of them silently, stopping their hearts with his deadly chakra.

To meet this man again, to talk to him, knowing that he was her complete enemy but at the same time had saved her from dying when he could have killed her, it filled her with dread. Did he even remember her? But of course, there was another reason to be afraid of Kabuto.

"Will he be the one to give you my Byakugan's powers?" Hinata asked in a flat voice, and even though her eyes were downcast, she still saw him shoot her an odd look, as if he was surprised. Did he think she wouldn't be able to figure out something as obvious as that?

"Wh-what?" She asked self-consciously.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, and Hinata felt she wasn't going to get a better response out of him than that. He was just like Neji in that sense, never opening his mouth to speak unless it was absolutely necessary. Around her, Neji was slightly more verbose, but even then, he was more likely to lapse into silence than continue a conversation.

Telling herself it was no different than pressing her cousin for answers, Hinata forced herself to speak up again. It all came out in one breath, rapid and clumsy.

"I mean, can something like that even be done? Are you sure K-Kabuto knows what he's doing? What if he's p-planning something? Wasn't he Orochimaru's right hand man? Wasn't he angry when you k-k-killed him?" Hinata clamped her mouth shut. She was rambling like an idiot, and there was a growing touch of hysteria to her voice.

Sasuke sighed, as if bothered by the questions of a small child, and Hinata felt her face growing hot.

"If he tries anything, I'll stop him," Sasuke said simply, and Hinata could not hear a trace of arrogance in that statement, only self-assured confidence. She envied that he could feel so sure of himself, but at the same time she was worried. What if Kabuto had something up his sleeve? He would have Sasuke's Sharingan and her Byakugan at her disposal. She couldn't let that happen.

But how? Sasuke would not let her escape. She was not strong enough to fight her way past him. Unless…

Hinata bit her lip and slowed her walk. She had a theory, but she needed to confirm it. Earlier, she had seen a fleeting look into Sasuke's Sharingan eyes with her Byakugan, and had seen a vastly intricate web of chakra vessels all in that tiny space. What intrigued her was the possibility that there might be a way to cut off all the chakra. For that to happen, there would have to be a chakra node located directly in the center of Sasuke's eyes.

It was possible. After all, she had not been able to see very deeply into Sasuke's Sharingan. If there was a chakra node, all it would take would be a gentle fist to his eyes, and Sasuke would not be able to use his Sharingan anymore, at least, not until his chakra vessels unblocked themselves.

And if Sasuke could not use his Sharingan, she might, might, have a chance at getting away from him. But when should she do this? She still felt like she hadn't gotten enough information out of Sasuke. She wondered if it was even possible to make him talk. After all, she was running out of time. Once they reached Saishe and met Kabuto, he would have them in his hands. Hinata wondered if Madara would be there too.

As her insides began coiling with icy dread, Hinata heard Karin talking loudly up ahead, piercing the forest's muffled silence.

"Honestly, she's slowing us down too much Sasuke. I'm surprised even Konoha let that marshmallow become a kunoichi. Isn't she a clan heiress? Bet she was totally babied by her daddy." Karin snorted. Sasuke said nothing. His eyes seemed distant, and it was apparent he was not listening to a word Karin said.

Frustrated, Karin turned her attention to Hinata. "What are you looking at?"

Hinata realized she had been clenching her teeth. She forced her face to remain smooth. "I was never babied," she said, in a voice that shook only a little. "My father only ever compared me to my sister. And if I couldn't match her…" Hinata's voice trailed off into silence. "I was so happy the day he gave up on me and just focused on her." She smiled bitterly.

She looked up through her bangs at Karin and Sasuke. Karin still looked scornful. But strangely, the distant look had vanished from Sasuke's face. Instead he looked thoughtful. Jūgo stepped up.

"It's going to be noon soon," he said quietly to Sasuke. They kept moving.

As soon as Neji was healed enough to fully convince the medics at the hospital to let him leave the office, he attended the jounin meeting at Tsunade's office. Everything was chaos, and everyone was barely keeping it together. Naruto was missing, somewhere in Danzo's clutches. Hinata had been captured. Shino and Kiba had broken Konoha law by going after her. And now he was considering betraying his village and sending information to one of its enemies, Uchiha Sasuke.

In the concealing shade of a tree, Neji allowed his cold demeanor to slip as he roughly dragged his hands over his face. How had everything turned so wrong so quickly?

I don't have time. I need to give my answer to the snake by midnight. Neji wondered if he would ever see his cousin again if he refused. Think. There has to be a way out of this.

It came to him. It was genius. Neji felt like laughing. His expression certainly must have been interesting to see, because some children on their way home from the Academy stopped and stared before being pulled away by their parents.

I can give him information…about Danzo. If Sasuke wants to destroy Konoha's leaders, well, he can start with him.