Crimson Seal - 4

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No idea if any of you care about memes, but there's a new naruto one and I've put the link in my 'signal boost' section of the profile if you're curious.

Dark and warm.

That's all her senses could tell her. With the blankets drawn up to her chin though she contemplated moving them up further to cover her whole head. So she could giggle when her father entered the room in the morning, asking the large open space where she was and then she could pop out from under the covers to announce her presence by shocking him that she was even there.

Yes, starting the morning with a game of hide-and-seek would be the best and she knew her father would indulge her. He always did. Even when she creeped up behind him on creaky boards he would act surprised, as if he hadn't heard each step. Though he had mentioned wanting her to try and keep her steps light the next time so he wouldn't hear her. To challenge herself by going on the old boards rather than running across the stone steps in the yard.

As if it were ever a question that she would try. Of course she would work at moving quietly if it meant he would have a reason to be proud of her. Her father would actually smile then, something he didn't do very often. Especially when he wasn't in the compound.

Yes, tomorrow she would make him smile. Maybe even the whole day. Wouldn't that be a sight?

A giggle escaped her at the thought of everyone else in the clan asking if something was wrong with her father. Other people in the village staying away not because of his scowl, but because of the smile and being even more frightened because of it. Even without knowing what they were thinking it would be funny just coming up with the reasons in her own mind.

Now if she could just finally go to sleep so that all of this could come to fruition. Hinata grabbed for the edge of her cover, drawing it up further so the sheets covered her lips, her nose peeking out just above it. The air got to stuffy in here around this time of year to move it up anymore. It was already quite...

"Huh?"

A couple strands of her hair had just moved and another breeze was soon following that one. She didn't remember leaving the door open though. Her father had closed it when he left after tucking her in. Was he still up as well then? Unable to go to sleep?

"Papa?" she whispered, opening her eyes only to be greeted by darkness. Her gaze drew up the dark fabric in front of her before resting on a thin open slit around the eyes that looked black as well. "W-who-"

Her words were cut short as a hand pressed the sheet against her mouth, silencing her. The hands shifted soon after, the blanket somehow remaining securely over her mouth as she felt herself rise in the air, becoming wrapped up in the blanket before the air was whistling around her.

She squeezed her eyes shut the moment she could see the moon above her, an outline of a form next to her, the same person that was holding her. Some person. Who was it? She opened her eyes a second later looking toward the face to try and see him more clearly.

Besides the eyes, a lighter color than she initially thought there was nothing to distinguish this intruder. She couldn't tell if she knew him or not, if he was from the village. Though by how fast he was moving but having to keep turning, changing his direction, he was unfamiliar with the layout. He had to be from another village.

She could feel her heart start to race in her chest at this revelation and she began to kick out at the person, tiny feet hitting the man's chest, her fists rising to pound at his arms. He showed no reaction though, just glanced down at her for a second as if he had expected to find a fly on his arm.

A loud thud split her ears in the next second, her own body rocking in the man's grip when he came to a sudden halt. "Get out of my way, you little punk," the words were growled just above her and she stared up at him with wide eyes before getting her legs and arms back in motion. Her mouth opened and closed around the fabric as she tried to cry out. Whoever this intruder was, she didn't want to go with him. She wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Her cheeks were growing hot as tears rolled down her face and all she wanted was to scream. She wanted her father.

"Put her down, and then you can leave," the other voice was more calm, low in pitch. Another male, but he sounded younger than the one that held her.

There was a snort above her. "Sure thing, kid." Her captor just sounded annoyed at the interruption in his plans and she felt a surge of panic run through her. If he wasn't intimidated by whoever it was how was she to get back to the compound? To her father?

She managed to part her lips slightly even with the fabric stretching across the thin opening and let out a wail just before the intruder's chakra sealed her mouth again with the blanket. The following moments were filled with flashes of light arcing through the air above her, small drops of what looked like rain tearing into dark fabric for drops of crimson to follow soon after.

It was really all a blur to her, partly from the speed of the two ninjas, partly from the tears caught in her eyes as she tried to cry out again, squirming in the grasp of the intruder. A flare of fire crashed into the dark sleeve, the flame quickly growing over the fabric and then she felt herself falling. As she was let go a scream burst from her lips, the man's chakra no longer able to keep it sealed between having lost his grip and needing to adequately defend himself from the unknown assailant.

Another pair of hands soon wrapped around her and she glanced up through her tears to see a flash of red, three black dots spinning madly in the iris. "Get out of this village and don't come near Hinata again," his tone had lowered now, holding a threat within it.

She didn't hear anything, but saw a blaze of fire cross the sky and felt her heart beating again at a normal rate as darkness filled her vision.

Hinata woke up gasping, clothes sticking to her body from the cold sweat that ran across her skin.

It had happened again. That same dream from before, but this was the most she had ever remembered from that night. The most she could recall when the Cloud ninja snuck into her room and tried to take her away from her family. She didn't understand it though. Hiashi, her father had always said he was the one to save her from the intruder. When she had started to remember that frightful night she believed him, but... Those eyes didn't belong to her father.

It left her feeling confused, unsure why he would lie to her about it. What reason could he possibly have for not telling her the truth? If she had started to remember a couple years ago would he have told her then? Or would she still be left in the dark?

There was a creak from outside her door and Hinata activated her byakugan. Upon seeing the outline of her father she sprang to her feet even as he was already turning from the door and threw it open. "Father," she called out softly, not wanting to wake anyone else up. "C-can I ask you so-something?"

He stopped, turning back to her and she felt her skin burn as those eyes settled on her. They were no longer filled with joy but disappointment, the one thing she had come to embody in his eyes. To see the change from her dreams and back to reality made her eyes burn and she had to fight back the tears all over again that she had shed earlier that day. "What is it?" even his voice was more cold around her, only becoming warm when her sister was near and that made her heart nearly convulse in her chest.

"I-it's about the C-cloud Ninja. I was dr-dreaming about it a-again, reliving the m-moment." His eyes finally seemed to soften, but only by a small fraction. "W-when they tried to k-kidnap me, who saved me?"

His eyes hardened almost instantly, sharp enough to cut right through her. "Why are you asking about something you already know? I told you the first time you asked about it."

"But-I-he..." She wanted to disappear, to be back in the hands of that stranger. Surely even with her father's gaze on her she would feel safe then. Like when he held her all those years ago, no longer full of fear. "His eyes were r-red, your's aren't."

Hiashi's mouth had begun to open only to close an instant later. His whole body seemed to have frozen up for a second, a multitude of emotions flashing across his face before he was glaring down at her. "It was a dream, Hinata. Whatever you saw in it doesn't matter. You should know by now that a dream is just a dream."

"But it felt real," the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Go back to your room," he practically spat the words at her when he spoke and she backed up into the room closing the door quickly behind her, sliding down the frame to sit on the floor.

She couldn't believe such a simple question could get such a reaction out of her father. He had actually looked frightened for a moment, but she had no way to pinpoint the reason. Just that the mention of the red eyes had caused it. She had never actually seen him like that before, perhaps on that night, but she had barely remembered anything even about the person that had saved her.

How is it that she could feel safe around a person she hadn't even met? Not in a traditional sense that is. A similar thing had happened just yesterday when her father failed to pick her up from school like he usually would.

She had allowed someone from another village to bring her back home, had cried in front of them, told them about the fight with her sister to remain heiress. Looking back on it she shouldn't have done that, they could have ended up like the Cloud Ninja and she would have made it ridiculously easy for them to kidnap her. But somehow she had felt comfortable enough around him to tell him that she hadn't remained heiress just because she had been unable to strike her sister in that fight, even when she had a clear opening to do so.

He had even listened to her talk about it the whole way home, only ever offering a comforting word or giving the hand he held a soft squeeze. When she had gotten home the man hadn't left until she was in the compound, telling her everything would be fine. From what had just happened now though she didn't think that was true.