The Hyuga girl was basically screaming out to him with her eyes. Her mouth didn't move, her gaze just implored his own. As if she were searching for something, it seemed imperative for her to maintain eye contact with him. When she finally blacked out, he felt a new determination run through him.

He will save her.

Feeling a presence to his left, he chanced a glance and saw that his little brother was finally at his side. Together they sped up, pistols in hand, if necessary they were ready to make kill shots to save the girl. Teasing the edges of his mind was to check on the other hostages. He needed to get the men unarmed first. He would not fail in this, not with so many lives at stake.

He pulled the trigger twice, quickly disabling the man who just earlier had a gun placed at the back of the heiress's head. Two shots, one bullet in each knee certainly drew their attention. The one who was constantly pacing before seemed to jump out of his skin, screaming like a mad man.

He kept yelling out, "Tobi is a good boy" like it was a mantra. Over and over again.

Itachi knew then that the man was fucking crazy.

"Well then Tobi," mocked Sasuke pointing his gun at the man's head, "A good boy would let the girl go."

"No, no, no! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi can't let pretty girl go."

Itachi's eyes narrowed further, he'd had enough. Apparently, so did the third man that Naruto had been scouting, because another bomb went off inside the building. Maniacal laughing was heard, just as the force of the second blow made both Uchiha siblings hit the floor.

Sunlight from the morning skies poured in through a new gaping hole in the roof of the bank, blinding him for a moment before he gathered his surroundings. The headache he had earlier this morning was nothing in comparison to what he felt now. If he would place his hand on the back of his head, he would find the blood starting to slowly soak his hair. Standing up, he found that Sasuke was unconscious and he didn't even see Naruto.

For that matter, he didn't see the man Tobi either. And that meant…

…the heiress was gone.

-halo-

Always the mediator, Hinata never liked confrontation. When her cousin and sister got into disputes, she had always been the one to get them to apologize to each other so things could go back to normal. As a member of the Hyuga family, she was forced into obliging by tradition and learning the martial arts her family crafted generations ago. She had to face her father, her cousin, even her young sister in spars each day while growing up.

To her, a spar was a fight. It didn't settle well with her to fight against her family. They were family, and they shouldn't be fighting against each other. It was especially difficult to face Hanabi, she was her older sister. She was supposed to protect her, not leave her with bruises. And so, often enough, she was the one left with the dark blemishes marring her skin.

Her father thought of her as weak, Hinata saw it as caring for her young sister. It bothered her that her father saw her as a constant disappointment, but she would rather go against his wishes than potentially cause her sister harm.

Yes, Hinata did not do well with confrontation. She closed up, she couldn't think well while under pressure. It got better as she grew older, but she will always be the girl who looked for another way out.

Startled awake as she was thrown harshly onto cold concrete, she tried desperately to keep her eyes open. They stung from the smoke as reality came crashing back to her. This place was dark, barely lit and there was a man there, she wasn't sure if he was one of the men from earlier, but he kept pacing. Only the robe was gone, along with the porcelain mask, just to be replaced by a swirling orange one.

"Do you want some water, pretty girl? Tobi is a good boy, here you go!" With that, the man pushed a plastic cup of water at her, spilling some over the edges.

She hesitantly took it from him, bringing it slowly to her mouth. The relief she felt once the water touched her lips and down her throat was immediate, and she quickly downed the rest of the contents.

Tobi clapped his hands excitedly, "Good, good, good! Okay, Tobi has to go now. But he will be back later to check on the pretty girl."

She watched him disappear into darkness, not even hearing the opening of a door or a seeing a shift in the light. Glancing at her hands, she found her wound was still slowly bleeding, she could barely see in this light. Then she noticed that she wasn't binded in any way. Her hands weren't tied, neither were her feet. Which made her even more cautious, was someone here watching her?

Observe.

She would take her time and study her surroundings, obviously they wanted her alive. How stupid could she be to reveal who she really was? Her honest nature just chimed in and spoke for her; she didn't even think everything through. Her father was right; she was just as pathetic as he thought she was.

She deserved this, if she were truly that weak

No, she couldn't think like that. Shaking her head to snap out of it and observe like she planned, she found she couldn't hear anything. No, that was wrong…there was a small noise there. Something that was…softly purring.

Her eyes widened, she really wasn't alone!

She put her free hands over her ears, but the purring only grew louder. Terrified, she stayed absolutely still, wondering what or who was with her. Tingles crept up her spine, her imagination picturing the worst.

Slamming her pale orbs closed, the vision of twin black eyes stared back at her in her mind. He was an officer, she knew by the uniform, a Konoha officer. He was there for her, to save her. The thought calmed her, if just a little, knowing that someone might be out there right now looking for her.

The purring lessened and she realized that the noise was the blood rushing in and out of her ears. She started to think things through logically, if they were holding her ransom, then they wouldn't hurt her. So she should be safe for just a while longer. It didn't help that she had no clue as to what was going on, or what they actually wanted.

She was just so scared; it was so hard to focus as thoughts kept jumping from one to the next.

Dark fathomless eyes.

She would think only of the man's gaze, because right now, it was the only comfort she found.

-halo-

He had his best covert specialists casing the area. There was no way they escaped just like that, and if they did, they couldn't have gone far. No one just…disappears. There is always a trail. Between him and the men he has working under him, they will find it.

Tobi, the man referred to himself as Tobi, Nara was doing a search now for all aliases with that name and anything else he could dig up on the bombs. They had the guy he shot in the knees apprehended and is in questioning now with his top torture operator. Physical or mental, Ibiki would get the man to talk. There was never any doubt.

It was chaotic after the armed men seemed to vanish in thin air, the bomber and Tobi that is. Three of the hostages were rushed to the hospital with burns and possibly broken bones. An elder worker was sent off because of smoke inhalation. They found Naruto, his face was red and scratched up, but he said he was alright. Sasuke came too shortly after Itachi realized the men took off with the heiress. He himself ignored the dull pain in the back of his head, he knew he was hurt, but he could still walk.

And as long as he could still walk, he was going to find her.

No one…absolutely no one was going to get in his way.