Sakura quickly placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder before she walked out into the cold night.
"Hinata," she said. Hinata looked back at the worried Sakura. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I-I'm fine," Hinata informed her. Sakura wasn't only referring to what had happened that afternoon, though. She had just happened to be passing by her room when she heard the brief conversation she had had with her father.
"Are you really?" Sakura asked, even more worried. "I mean, a lot has happened today."
"Really, I'm fine. Thanks for checking, though." Hinata smiled sweetly at the pretty, caring girl, whose green eyes were filled with nothing but pity for Hinata.
Sakura smiled sadly back. "Um, don't forget this," she said, holding up Hinata's purple jacket.
"Thank you," she said, slipping it on. "Well, goodnight Sakura. And… thank you." Sakura, besides Kiba, was the only one who had shown this much concern.
"Okay. Goodnight." Sakura looked down at her feet then shut the door behind Hinata.
Stars dotted the black nighttime sky, as a full moon illuminated the quiet streets of Konoha. Hinata continued walking the opposite direction from her home, keeping her eyes on the beautiful scene above her, and past the gates of Konoha. She had to train. She didn't want to disappoint her father or be an embarrassment to the clan.
The forest was lovelier than ever, the light from the stars and moon gleaming through the branches in the trees. The beautiful silver light looked like tiger slashes across everything it touched. But there was no time to marvel at nature's beauty. It was time for training.
"Byaakugan!" cried Hinata. Soon, she could see everything around her from miles away.
Suddenly, a kunai came out of nowhere, with a paper bomb attached. Hinata had quick reflexes, but not quick enough, as this was rather unexpected. The kunai landed a yard or two in front of her and exploded, knocking Hinata right off her feet and hitting her back against a tree.
When she opened her eyes, she realized that there was a smokescreen attached, as now she couldn't see a thing. "Byaakugan!" she yelled again, realizing that it had turned off in all the commotion.
Now she could see. She could see a figure standing there, right in front of her, but not attacking. Still, she attempted to brace herself, ready to fight.
But she couldn't move her back away from the tree.
In fact, she was tied up by an invisible wire.
"You're not going anywhere," said a familiar voice.
That's when she realized that she hadn't looked closely at the figure in front of her. So she dared herself to look up.
And what she saw made her gasp in shock.
"Mangekyou Sharingan!"