I decided that I like EXO-M a little more than EXO-K. That is all.

Summary: In everyone's eyes, Hinata has remained the same, even after so many years have gone by. She's still the same innocent, gentle, caring young woman. Even when the news of Naruto and Sakura hitting it off, the village felt incredibly sorry for the girl who had been in love for so long. But to Hinata, that was just what she had wanted everyone to see. Deep down, concealed behind her mask, Hinata is a completely different person. And only one person has been able to see behind the lies… and now he's more than determined to reveal the truth.

Pairing: Sasuke and Hinata

Rating: M to be safe

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the Dream Overseer concept

With Eyes That See the Bigger Picture

Episode 19

Hinata rushed through the onslaught of a panicked crowd. Pushing her way aside, Hinata tried her best to squeeze through the mass as best as she could. The screams grew dense and hollow, falling deeper in her head as she picked up pace. All around she could spot the medical nin about. The stench of flesh continued to plague her, as it grew stronger and stronger. The distinct scent of iron was also beginning to cloud her vision. Hinata zoomed past the guards and into the library.

She quickly started to make her way up the rounded stairs. She heard loud banging at the front doors followed by more screams and piercing of skin. She did not dare to look down. Especially when she heard Machi's voice resonate through the hallways. Hinata sped towards a balcony that overlooked the town. Catching herself on the railing, she climbed over it to jump onto the roof of a nearby building yet again avoiding another kunai flying by her ear.

And then, her worst fear happened.

As soon as her feet touched the surface of the roof, a chilling hand clasped around one of her ankles. She glanced down, eyes in horror. Below, dangling off the building, she saw the blank mask of a pursuer who clutched onto her. He began to reach for his side to pull out a weapon. Before he could react, Hinata whipped around to fall on her butt. She sent a rough kick to his face and pulling out her own kunai, slashed at his hand in desperation.

Fear only consumed her deeper seeing the distinct red stain her pants and a bellowing scream of the man falling five stories to his death. She couldn't make out the body slamming harshly against the white concrete. Her only thoughts were of Anemone and doing whatever was humanely possible to see to her.

Hinata's head snapped up towards the edge of the gorge. She scanned the horizon line. There, her heart nearly stopped, seeing a small blue figure running across. Instinct kicked in as she scrambled to her knees and forward. Hinata pressed onwards, passing more buildings to climb higher towards the gorge. She stepped over the water channel, nearly slipping too, and getting herself completely wet. Yet her desperation to reach the gorge was eminent. By now, Hinata was completely soaked and bruised on her legs, hands stinging in pain and hair swept messily out of her eyes.

Suddenly, her Byakugan activated, as she felt the presence of another.

Her body instinctively twisted to land a punch to her new stalker. Her attack was diverted and returned with another aversion. Hinata's vision blurred for a second before catching sight of a familiar blue and black. A rather harsh blow to the shoulder followed.

"Fucking stop it already!"

Hinata caught hold of her shoulder as she stumbled backwards in shock. That was his voice. It was Sasuke.

And just as she thought, there he stood in front of her. His stance was still tensed as he guarded himself from her. He stared into her maddening eyes with strong intent before softening. He lowered his hands as soon as her own body began to relax.

"It's me. You don't need to be on the defensive now," Sasuke held his palms to her, "Hinata, calm down. It's just me."

"H-how..?" Hinata began to fumble on her words, "Wh-when did you get here?"

She finally let lose and toppled over her knees. Hinata looked up at him in a mix of shock and confusion. He was here. He was here in Meyven Li of all places. He had actually managed to get here. He had found her.

Hinata let out a slow breath, "You're safe."

Sasuke's entire expression screwed at the comment. She could tell anger was coming next, "What the hell do you think you're doing pulling crazy stunts like that? Do you want to get yourself killed over some little kid?!"

He began to walk closer to her now. Easing up, Sasuke bent down to her eye level, still frustrated. However his irritation was quickly disappearing as relief flushed over him. Reaching out, Sasuke placed his hands at her sides and pressed forward to have his head rest against her other shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been that rough against you. It's just that… you were so defensive about it… I couldn't stop myself before I hurt your arm."

Leaning against her, Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Hinata adjusted herself closer as well. For a moment her heart was beginning to slow down. He was actually here. He was in Meyven Li with her. She wasn't alone in this mess anymore. She wasn't going to face the chase on her own anymore…

They were going to find Anemone together.

Hinata's eyes snapped wide open. Her heart rose to her throat in an instant. Without giving any more time, using her free hand, Hinata pushed herself away from Sasuke's body. Jerking to the side, she sent another kick in his direction, nearly hitting too.

"Who are you?" Her voice was cold and crisp, "Sasuke shouldn't know who Anemone is."

The body of Sasuke stepped backwards at her assault. The man straightened and looked her direction with a blank expression. His eyes were empty now. He let out a small smile.

"My bad. I was so close too."

Keeping her eyes on him, Hinata lifted herself to stand up as well. She refused to blink.

The man before her reached to his jawline. He pinched at his skin, tearing away at the fabric to peel off the face. Below this identity was the face of another. His unsettling eyes were the first thing Hinata caught sight off. His jaw very sharp with a frown that seemed rather disappointed. This man tossed aside the mask he had just taken off and shrugged.

"All that research and it just took one slip of the tongue." He reached up to stretch his arms over his head, "How disappointing."

Hinata stood straight now. She kept at his every movement. "If you want to find them, then you're too late. They're long gone by now."

The man gave her a stern look. "That little Keeper of hers, or her apprentice… or whatever he is to her… he is merely a child in comparison to what kind of responsibility she has inherited from this world. To be the sole guardian of dreams and balance between reality and fantasy, do you know what kind of psychotic mind she has to do that?"

He began to take a step closer as Hinata took the same one back. His eyes grew dark.

"The cycle of life and death has been corrupted a long time ago. The Grim Reaper is no longer the passage guide to the afterlife. He is no longer immortal – a trapped entity within a selfish, power hungry human who thought he could conquer death from his fear and paranoia. He instilled that same fear into his apprentices for generations and raised them all to be the same cowardly filth that plagues the balance of our worlds. The current Overseer is no different from the original. Just the same maddening, obsessed, little child who is too scared to come face with reality."

The man reached up to pull his hood over his head.

"We will not allow for these tainted insolences to thrive in our world. The Grim Reaper must be set free. That woman and her apprentice must be exterminated."

Hinata tensed. Her muscles stiffened.

"I wonder where you decided your word was the highest authority?" she began to slowly move to the side, "What makes you think you are so sure that the Overseer cycle isn't what the world has needed all along?"

The man grimaced, "The Overseer is an anomaly in our world. It is an abomination that does not belong here. That woman chose to become 'that' – thus she must be prepared to die by the hands of the world that rejects her existence." He paused, looked over Hinata's shoulder, "It is a shame she seduced that young man to the same fate. He is wise beyond his years and would have made an honourable leader in his country. Instead, he too decided to follow her path into corruption. The people who had come in contact with her now lay in their beds completely void of life. And…"

He glanced back at Hinata to scan her from head to toe briefly.

"It seems she has fooled you as well."

Before Hinata could blink a reaction, the man's face suddenly twisted in pain.

Behind him, a large ball of blinding fire flew across the horizon as it brushed against his back. The man jumped to the side, not quick enough to have it scar his side with the flames. He let out an anguishing grunt and a release of breath in a prolonged hiss. His head snapped in the direction of origin.

On the far scope stood another hooded figure. Donned in the same dark clock and blank mask, this stranger did not take any time to wait before sprinting forward in their direction. The burnt man reached for a pair of kunai from underneath his own cloak to throw at the stranger. Avoiding the two in nearly seconds, the hooded figure continued with the same speed towards them. In the same instant, Hinata twirled to her side and darted in the opposite direction.

She still had energy in her feet but her shoulder was starting to bruise heavily as she held it with her free arm. Dangling to the side, Hinata knew she had to escape the battle between the two men if she had any chance of survival.

"Hinata!"

A familiar voice called from behind, as it grew closer. Hinata refused. She did not dare look back, speeding up to her best ability. Dodging over boulders as she jumped, Hinata attempted to throw her pursuer off course as she started to make her way deeper into the Veylice Mountains Pass.

"Hinata, please!"

A different voice. Female.

Sakura.

Hinata nearly fell on her knees trying to slow down enough to take a glance back. Sure enough, Sakura was merely a few meters behind her. Her hair was up and she had the same dark hood over herself as the assailants. Hinata threw her free arm in Sakura's direction to catch the other one off balance. Her heart was racing a million beats.

"Stay back!" She yelled at Sakura, "Stay back or else I will-!"

In the corner of her eye she spotted the same familiar sharingan. Hinata looked over Sakura's side to see Sasuke catching up to the two in the same attire. Seeing Hinata freeze slightly, Sakura attempted to take a step closer.

"Didn't I just say to stay the hell away?!" Hinata shouted at Sakura's movements. The girl halted in mid step.

"Hinata, please," Sakura began, "It's us – Sasuke and I. It really is us. We're not posing as your friends, we are your friends. We only dressed in this to blend into the crowd so to sneak past to find you."

Hinata eased up but only slightly. However, she noticed that the burnt man from before was nowhere around. She also took note of Sasuke's rather distant manner. He looked at her without taking any step closer than Sakura. His sharingan was still active.

"We haven't found Naruto, Lee, or Shikamaru. You're the first one we've stumbled on," Sakura continued, "Lady Tsunade informed us to retrieve all of you in case of emergency and I constitute this as an emergency when the village is under siege. Please, we have to find the others and get out of here as quick as we can."

"I won't." Hinata replied in one breath, "I won't leave without knowing Anemone is safe."

Sakura looked at her puzzled, "I don't…"

"Alright." Sasuke suddenly spoke up from behind, "Where did this Anemone person last go? Maybe you can still catch up to them in your state."

Hinata scowled at him, "Just because my shoulder is injured doesn't mean I can't find where they've gone to. Don't patronize me for my mishap."

Sasuke chuckled under his breath, "I got it. So what do 'they' look like?"

Sakura stood between the two, confused now more than ever.

"I'm looking for a young man in blue accompanying an unconscious woman." Hinata looked back in the direction of the far horizon by the pass. "Holland must be taking refuge in the mountains. He would be able to lose any pursuers easily in that terrain but travelling through it wouldn't be a walk in the park either. I fear he go hurt himself in the process or have Anemone's life threatened as well. I want to make sure she's safe from harm."

"I see," Sasuke paused looking back to Sakura, "You should continue looking for Naruto and the others. Hinata and I will be heading to those mountains instead."

Sakura looked as if she nearly swallowed an apple whole, "You've got to be kidding me. I'm not leaving you two to go do something stupid with the invaders on your heels. We're sticking together and no one is going to any mountains."

Sasuke took his step past her before she managed to finish the sentence. "We'll be fine with our kekkei genkai combined. You should hurry back before the others figure out you're an impostor. Otherwise it'll become harder for you to find Naruto." He continued forward regardless of Sakura's scatter to find the words to respond. He looked back briefly with a small smile before continuing.

The two turned towards the pass.

Yep.