Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the associated characters, locations, jutsu, etc. The only thing I own is the plot of the story. If there is any plagiarism of any form it was completely unintentional.

"Naruto..." Kakashi turned around to face him, the expression on his face showed anger, but Naruto looked at him with indifference.

"Naruto!" Hinata ran towards him, but Kakashi extended his arm to stop her.

"Naruto, we are here to bring you back." Said Sakura but he dismissed her comment.

"I have no place to go back to..." Kakashi furiously walked towards him.

"Naruto, you have caused enough trouble already, its time for you to stop this stupid adventure of yours."

"And do what! Go back and have an axe slice off my head!"

"Anything that they will do to you will be entirely your fault!"

"I told you already someone framed me!"

"Bullshit!"

"Look at the papers Kakashi!" He pointed towards the documents on Sakura's hands.

"For all I know those documents are fake! Enough of this-"

"Would you just listen to me? "

"Why would I! You are a murderer!"

"I told you it wasn't me."

"Then why would you run away huh? Why would you run if you knew it wasn't you?"

"I ran because I knew you would all blame me, specially you."

"He was my master, Naruto."

"He was my FATHER." Everyone was silent after he said that.

"That only makes matters even worse." Kakashi pulled out a kunai and got into battle position. "I'm sorry Naruto, I truly am. You were once my student, but now I... we must treat you like a criminal." When he said that the rest of his team also got into their fighting stances, but one of them looked hesitant. Hinata was trembling and her eyes got a little teary.

"Perhaps in the end you were right, Naruto." Gaara said.

"What do you-" Temari was about to finish her sentence when a sandstorm raged around the room, they covered their eyes and tried to keep track of the Jinchuriki. But the sand was too strong and when it finally ended they were gone along with-

"Hinata!" Sakura called out, but there was no answer.

"It seems they especaed with her. Their chakras are gone." Kakashi said as he relaxed his stance. He looked back towards Tsuyo and the woman who lay on his arms, still unconscious. Sakura rushed towards them and examined her.

"She'll be alright, she'll feel a light headache and some nausea but no major complications. I'm sorry that we caused so much trouble." Tsuyo got up and carried the woman with him.

"Don't worry, we have suffered worst. Only last week a group of over twelve shinobi raided us. Strangely enough the only took one item." He started to walk out but Temari stopped him.

"Wait! What did they take?" Tsuyo stopped in his tracks and looked back at them.

"Oh it was only a dusty old scroll, nothing important." Having said that he walked out of the room. They stayed quiet for a while until Kakashi also walked out of the room, when he was out of sight Sakura ran towards him.

"Wait!" She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "What are you doing?"

"Going to the inn." He said calmly.

"You are going to give up? Come on, I thought you were better than that!"

"I am not giving up, I am getting some rest. It's been a long day and we need to figure out how to find Hinata quickly." He said calmly.

"Don't forget about those thugs in town, we also need to take care of them." Said Temari. Kakashi nodded at her and started to walk out.

"We'll get some rest and figure out how to proceed with all this."

Somewhere in the Suna Desert, present day.

Hinata was slowly waking up. She rubbed her eyes and slowly adjusted to her surroundings. Wherever she was was most likely a cave. It was dark, humid, and warm. She looked around a little more. There was a small doorway in the wall in front of her. There seemed to be no windows. In all four walls were a few candles that did a decent job in lighting up the room. The bed she lay in was at the leftmost part of the room and in the other end was a small table with a glass and a plate full of food. She walked over to it and picked up a piece of bread. She examined it from every angle possible. Then she got it close to her face, but instead of eating she sniffed it.

"You don't seriously think I would poison you." She jumped in surprise while making a little "eep" sound. She lowered the bread and looked at the person who spoke to her.

"N-naruto-kun..." She blushed deeply but kept her eyes on him. He smiled at her, entertained at the fact that she still got so nervous around him.

"How are you feeling? Any headaches or itchy eyes?" She softly shook her head to say no.

"W-why do y-you ask?" Naruto lowered his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small vial filled with a vibrant red dust. "What is t-that?"

"Sleep powder. Gaara mixed some with the sand that surrounded you only. When you were knocked out I carried you with us." He scratched the back of his head and gave her a sheepish smile. "Gomen, Hinata, but.." He lowered his arm and his expression got serious. "I needed to talk to you."

"About?" She was still a little nervous but seemed to have calmed down somewhat. She looked at him and waited for his answer. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, when he opened them he slowly walked over to the table and sat on the only chair beside it. He picked up a small apple and took a bite from it.

"You remember what was inside the safe in the Golden Chest?" Hinata though about that moment. When they pulled out the papers and she read the top line.

"Yeah, they were some a-assassination orders, and the target was... Y-you know. But, N-Naruto, how did you get them?" He snickered.

"It's funny how that is what you ask, instead of if they are real."

"I have no reason to believe they are not." He looked straight at her for some sort of doubt, but her gaze showed complete confidence in her answer, she didn't even stutter.

He got up and was about to walk out when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and her face nuzzling on his chest. But he just stood there like a statue neither returning the hug nor pushing her away.

"Come on, it's late, you need to rest." She let go but she looked hurt, she walked towards the bed with her gaze towards the ground. When she was about to let herself fall on the bed she heard Naruto speak.

"Good to see you again, Hina." She heard his footsteps getting farther and farther away until they could be heard no longer. She layed down on the bed but this time she had a small smile on her face.

"Why didn't you talk to her?" Gaara asked. Naruto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"I don't know. It's all to much for me I guess."

"Are you still beating yourself up over that?"

"It's not so simple."

"Maybe it is..." Having said that Gaara walked off, leaving Naruto alone to deal with his thoughts.