Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: I humbly apologize for this late update, but guys I've had a really rough month. I'll leave it at that. I also must say sorry for not responding to your reviews. I didn't get the chance to and by the time I did too much time had passed and it was just a big mess. So, I have this to say: Thank you for your amazing reviews on the last chapter. A lot of you have been stirred by the NaruHina undertones in this story. Don't worry things will get better for those two and especially our SasuHina. You guys are also anxious to know about Hinata and Naruto's past and that will be revealed in due time. Have patience with me. I know that I promised awkward SasuHina interaction in the last chapter, but it got moved to the next chapter. Anyway, enough blabbing. On to the chapter!

When the team happened upon the hills of flowers, a sudden prick of anxiety seized Hinata's heart and she took a gulp from her water bottle to mask it. The flagrant blooms of red, white and purple could be seen on hills upon hills so that it looked like a colourful carpet had been spread.

The four-man squad stayed closer to the edges of the field, hiding their presence by remaining in the shadows of the huge trees and trying to mask their chakra signals. They'd rubbed themselves down with citronella oil to confuse their scents to others and also to help keep the mosquitoes at bay.

They'd been trekking through the unknown jungles for nearing two weeks now. Going through the trees were forbidden in these territories as there were some who made their homes in the trees here, in the process becoming effective scouts. The terrain was confusing and they mapped the land as they went along. They had to do it the old-fashioned way and hike through the dense, mazelike jungles. The vegetation was thick with trees reaching amazing heights, their trunks chained with vines that looked like desiccated intestines. The gigantic leaves of these trees offered respite from the raging heat of the sun and the scouts, but made the atmosphere into a misty, boiling pot. The air was hazy with heat and they sweated pools in the soupy atmosphere. The terrain was pleated with steep inclines and deep ravines and they hiked up and down these using only the barest hint of chakra to aid them.

Tamui took out the camera to take pictures of the fields.

"Poppy flowers; opium poppy." He murmured in awe as he snapped, the whir of the camera echoing in the gloomy twilight that came too early in a place like this.

Hinata activated her Byakugan again and scouted the area. They were almost surrounded by rogue nin, but not yet known to them. Extending her reach, she noted that there was a village, the first proper one on the ground, nestled on the other side of the crest of this hill. She searched and searched and saw one person in particular that she knew the Hokage would be interested in. She focused on his face and noted the glassy look in his eyes, the weakness of his body as he lay on a straw mat in a small room. She pulled back from the pitiful sight, her heart feeling heavy. They needed to turn back, the situation grew tenuous. The few people they'd spotted before were high in the trees, civilians trying to double as military scouts, but Hinata paid them no mind especially since they'd not even noticed the presence of four Jounin on the ground. But these that were nearly surrounding the fields were all rogue nin. Hinata found her team to be most fortunate in coming upon a section of clearing that was not occupied by talented and dangerous ex-nin. She signalled the positions of the nin as Tamui finished up taking the pictures. They would follow the same path out (or try to as much as possible since they were convinced that the terrain and foliage were deliberately shifting) and try to extricate themselves as quietly and quickly as possible. This was only a reconnaissance mission after all.

They scarcely turned and made twenty steps before they came across three children staring up at them. One was a girl with a wide fixed smile that seemed vacant of merriment or amusement. Her skin was sunburnt and her hair reddened from lack of proper vitamins. Perched precariously on her hip was a small, snotty-nosed child of indeterminable sex and standing behind her was a little boy naked, dirty and sucking on his thumb looking at these newcomers with protuberant, curious eyes.

If they left them alive then the children could simply inform the small army of ninja of the presence of enemy ninja in the fields. If they subdued them, they might not be found immediately and leaving them exposed to the dangers of the jungles at night was cruel and unnecessary, especially for young innocents. Killing them would solve all of their problems but Hinata stood her ground against that option. She even used whatever clout she had as former heiress and wife of the Hokage, dropping Naruto's name so hard that one could hear it all the way in Suna.

In the end they relented to her wishes, so that now as Hinata felt something searing into her back with such force that she stumbled and skidded straight down a steep hill, ramming the balls of her knees into their sockets with hard slaps, twanging the ligaments so hard she had no control against such velocity that she could blame no one but herself. And when she tripped unavoidably on a rock and went pelting and twisting into the air only to land with a hard thud that made her feel as if her spine had crumpled, she could hardly complain. And when she slid down and fell into a crack in the earth, unable to brace her fall in time as she stumbled into darkness and felt her left foot and hip shatter in three places when she hit the water from a height that turned it practically into concrete, she could blame no one but herself. But she was used to that already.

The water that she fell into was black not from lack of light alone, but also from pollution. It reeked with the remains of whatever animals had fallen in there and died. It was stagnant as enough rain had not fallen into this particular crack in the ground especially as it was shielded by the massive, papery leaves of the trees above. Hinata climbed atop a rock that was lodged between the walls, noting miserably that if rain fell continuously and heavily for the next one or two days, after a while muddy, silt water would fall into the crevice, her rock would be swallowed and she would eventually drown. She had already noted that she was on her chakra reserves, which were not enough for her to heal her leg and climb up that two hundred foot wall of slippery cavern.

She noted her situation. The rogue ninja had purposely hunted down and separated her team. For three days they'd been involved in guerrilla warfare with the rogue ninja, but in the end they won out as the Konoha nin simply did not know the trap-laden terrain as well as their counterparts. She did not know where any of her teammates were and if they were alive. Her supplies, including her soldier pills, were gone. Some were crushed in her tumble down the hill and then further destroyed when she fell into this black pool of rot. Her chakra was perilously low. Her foot and hip were busted, but given how low her chakra was she debated on whether to heal it and try to scale the wall the old-fashioned way. The arrow that struck her on her back was dipped in something dangerous that was now coursing through her veins and making her feel…disoriented. The passageway was so narrow that when she fell, the right side of her body was grazed, including her face and she could feel that side burning something fierce. She had ingested some of the stink water and knew that dysentery and dehydration was imminent, making her idea of climbing that wall chakra-less a rather unstable and fantastical idea.

She remembered Sasuke. He had been on her mind all this time in intermittent bursts and she hadn't realized that it was he that was keeping a hold on part of her attention. She only knew that she had a feeling of guilt, heavy with her like an anchor, but she ignored it as guilt was something that she was used to by now – an unwavering dark companion. Now she kept remembering his thinly concealed look of concern and betrayal when she said to him, "Do not worry about me." Well! She didn't suppose that he would, now would he?

Sasuke sat behind the Hokage's desk briefly pondering whether he could conceivably pass a law prohibiting the production, sale and ingestion of ramen. However, reluctantly he remembered why he was only acting as Hokage – because his particular brand of autocracy was not what the world needed right now. Naruto had gone on and on about why a Council and votes were needed. Sasuke didn't really care. Any man on the street could tell you in five minutes what was wrong with democracy, with any government actually.

He looked around at the huge piles of paperwork and he wondered if Naruto purposely left it for him to finish. He didn't like disorder like this. He preferred spacious rooms with a few focal points. His mind instantly sprung to his childhood home as an example. He immediately discarded the thought. The next best example came to life and he remembered the Hyuuga household. In particular, he remembered the large room in which Hinata entertained him – the moya. The dark hardwood floors were always gleaming. A memory, unbidden, assaulted him.

"I like these floors." He had said to her one evening, early in their tentative friendship. The aroma of chrysanthemum tea was strong in his cup. Rain was falling. From here he could just make out the fine mist of rain that fell steadily, lightly rippling the stillness of the pond ahead of the garden in front of them.

"Hmm?" She asked sleepily. She was apparently lost in thought. Her focus never seemed to be him.

"Concentrate." He calmly chastised her and her face reddened. "I said that I like these floors."

She smiled. "Since you've been coming here this is the first thing that you've told me you definitely like." He popped an eyebrow. "You're…elusive." She explained; her tone soft.

You should talk, he wanted to tell her, but ended up giving her a look which said it all. She noticed it, but chose to ignore it. Instead she continued, "The only thing I really know about you so far is that you really like white tea."

He decided to press the issue. She was just as mysterious.

"You should talk," He finally said out loud.

"I prefer green tea or red tea."

He frowned. That's not what he was referring to and she knew it. She giggled. He involuntarily smiled just a bit – a twitch of the lips. Maybe not knowing much about each other was what gave them this serenity they enjoyed in one another, he wondered.

"Are you really curious?"

She paused. "Well, not really, not always…Sometimes I am."

He didn't know how her response made him feel. There were so many girls that would be begging to get to know him and here was Hyuuga Hinata that only sometimes wondered about him. Something in his heart pulled. Is this how those women felt when he ignored them? He found the thought absurd. Why should he care?!

"I suppose, slowly over time we'll get to know to each other; our dreams, likes and dislikes."

Slowly, over time. He pondered her words. They were…comforting somehow.

"You should remove the floors of the house and replace them with these. I'll find out exactly what type of wood this is. You could also insert insulation under the boards so that you'd always have a warm house."

Sasuke looked at her in confusion. He always did that to her, she had said. He would mention something. She would make a thoughtful suggestion and he would look at her like she just said the stupidest thing in the world. She would lower her eyes and blush in shame, muted annoyance. Truth was that he was simply thinking over her words.

"Sounds like a good idea. I really like these floors." He corrected himself, "I really like this space; I really like this..." He murmured as he cast an eye about the room, encompassing her in his gaze briefly. She looked taken aback.

"I-I really like this space too. It's what a room should be – relaxing. I…I developed this space." She slowly let out. "I wanted it to be warm and relaxing. I don't really like clutter."

"Me neither."

They ended up talking well into the night, listening to the rain falling gently outside, their cups constantly refilling with hot tea.

As he noted the clutter in the Hokage's office, especially Naruto's desk, he couldn't help but wonder how she could stand Naruto. There were so many things he didn't understand about her. Slowly, over time. He wondered if she was alright, if Naruto would reach her in time. He should have gone with him. Do not worry about me. Her words stabbed at his mind. You have no claim to her. He refocused his attention on the paperwork in front of him. He was so grateful that Naruto left all this paperwork for him to complete. He needed the distraction.

She was relatively close to the river, the only way to access Mori no Kuni, but yet she was too far away. She was feeling delirious. Her stomach cramped and her head felt like her brain had just exploded inside it. Her vision was hazy and dreamlike and for a while Hinata wondered if it would really be so bad to die here.

After everything that happened, would it have been so bad? She would be with her little one and she could apologize in person for her negligence. She suddenly remembered her meeting with Naruto right before she left for the mission.

She was still talking to Sasuke when she realized that Naruto had signalled her very subtly to meet him. She was looking over at him laughing and smiling with Sasuke right next to her vehemently besmirching her ex-husband's character, when momentarily Naruto seemed to look directly at her. He put his right fist over his heart and beat it twice. To anyone it looked like he was simply trying to get out a good cough or something. To her, that used to be his signal if they were at a party, that he was thinking of her or that he needed her to come rescue him from this boring lady that was talking his head off or something equivalent. It was their secret code. But now she recognized it as him simply wanting to see her.

She left Sasuke standing at that tree, after he had just begged her not to go on that mission, after he admitted that he doubted her abilities. She was so upset with him. She went straight to Naruto, with determination lighting up her veins. It probably explained why she went to him so willingly. Usually, she'd have been looking for all sorts of excuses to avoid sharing the same space as him.

She met him in the park, two streets away from the festival. He was sitting on one of the swings. She stood in front of him.

"I thought that you wouldn't have come."

"I could never say no to the Hokage."

"But you could say no to me?" He said it with a smile but she knew that it was a barb. She looked at her feet; they looked suddenly very interesting.

"What did you want to see me about?"

"You'll be heading to Mori no Kuni. You'll have to do some basic reconnaissance work. It shouldn't be that bad. I mean, you are a tracker, so it'll be okay for you. I know that much." His unwavering confidence in her made her feel unworthy, especially as she remembered that Sasuke doubted her. "I'm looking for information on certain people, in particular Bushy Brows."

"Lee-kun!"

"Yeah, We know that he's been there for a while. That whole situation is so messed up. Find out what you can. There's talk of an insurgency going on there too. That area is so closed off though; we need more data."

"I understand. I will do my best!"

There was a strained silence between them.

"I um," He cleared his throat, "I brought you some chocolate cake from Sachiko-san's stall at the festival. I knew you go wild over her cake and you wouldn't have gotten a chance to taste it this year as you'll be leaving for your mission tonight and you were kind of busy tonight with the dancing and talking to Sasuke and everything..." He sort of trailed off uncertainly.

She was so taken aback by his consideration that she simply stared at the cake wrapped in wax paper. His hands were outstretched for an inappropriately long time. He took her hands and forced the cake onto her. His hands lingered. She let it linger. Then she remembered. She slowly pulled away from his touch.

There was more strained silence between them before she remembered her manners.

"Umm, thank you, Naruto-kun." Her voice was a whisper and she realized that she hadn't said his name in almost a year.

"How long will we be like this?" She looked up at him. He looked so pained. "I can't even talk to you like we used to."

She opened her mouth to say…say what? There were so many things that she couldn't even articulate. She was so tired of hurting him.

"I-I-I have to go…prepare."

He looked stunned at her subtle rebuff, but he caught himself quickly. "Oh yes, of course. You got the mission sheet right? It should have who are your partners and where you'll meet them, etc." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled tightly. "Good luck!"

She just barely managed a smile. Looking at him hurt. "Thanks for the cake." She whispered and left, more like fled. On her mind then was only his look of barely masked hurt. She wished she could stop hurting him.

If she died now then she would be able to solve that problem, she thought morosely. She would finally and suitably be punished for all of the hurt that she caused Naruto. She'd had an embarrassment of riches at one point in time – she was married to Naruto, her son even at two was already showing signs of being a prodigy with his Byakugan, she was Clan Head Regent and every mission that she embarked on was successful. Then things changed so drastically. She could die here tonight in this crack in the earth and no one would care. No one would miss her, no one would mourn her and she was alright with that…well, not really. Tears began to slowly meander down her face, burning the cuts there.

And suddenly as clear as the morning's light she heard his voice.

"Hinata!"

Startled, she looked up, but saw nothing in the darkness.

"Sasuke-san?" She whispered and got no reply. "Sasuke-san?" She raised her voice a bit, remembering that when he last spoke to her he had told her to speak up, let him hear her. She activated her kekkei genkai but still saw no one but herself.

She was in a genjutsu wasn't she?

"Concentrate!"

That was his voice! "Sasuke-san!"

She was feeling nauseous again. She leaned forward a bit and threw up. Her stomach was in cramps. The stench of the sunken cave was stifling. If she was in a genjutsu she was the cause of it. Her thoughts were everywhere at once. When she finished being violently sick, she felt the entire world shift. She was simultaneously floating and sinking. She didn't want to die!

"Concentrate!"

She heard his voice so clearly and tried to latch on to it. Her back ached and she remembered when he accidentally threw her outside a window.

It would be so easy to just give up here. But that wasn't her way. It wasn't Naruto's way and as she just realized, it wasn't Sasuke-san's way either. She wanted to prove to Naruto that he was right about her – she was capable. She wanted to get back to Sasuke-san to let him know that he was wrong about her. She was quite capable. She wouldn't give up. She wasn't weak. He didn't know her.

Slowly over time. The memory of that rainy evening came back to her suddenly. Yes, he needed to get to know her, to learn that she was capable and that she wasn't going to give up. Slowly, over time he would learn about her.

She bit down on her thumb and did the necessary seals.

A small white hare came into existence in front of her, resting on her lap, its pink eyes almost glowing in the darkness.

"Hinata-sama!" The hare looked at her in shock.

"Inada-san, I need help. You must get to Konoha and get help for me."

"Of course."

The hare disappeared so quickly that Hinata was unsure what just happened. She could still see the glowing pink of the animal's eyes dancing in front of her vision. With what little left of her chakra she focussed on healing her hip and leg, at least partially. After that, she would climb that narrow rock interface. She will do it. She will not give up. Not anymore.

She stood up shakily on both feet and pushed herself up, the space so narrow that her shoulders almost touched in some places. Her fingers gripped for dear life, every muscle in her body stood up on edge as she desperately fought off delirium.

When the hare suddenly appeared in the centre of the office, Sasuke threw a kunai at it. It dodged and frowned, if a hare could do that.

"Young Uchiha, fear not. I am Inada-san. I was summoned by Hinata-sama."

Of course she made a contract with a hare, Sasuke thought with disdain.

"She is in grave danger."

"I know." He didn't get time to finish his sentence before the hare was berating him.

"And yet you sit here idly!"

"A team and the Hokage are on their way to extract her as we speak." He said calmly.

"And why do you do nothing, Uchiha-san?"

"Why should I?"

The hair seemed to give him a knowing look before it disappeared. He had to stop anthropomorphizing, he thought.

Nonetheless, two days later and inaction got the better of him. At dawn he found himself in one of the trees at the Western gates as he debated whether he should leap into action. He was never all that good at the Big Damn Hero moments like Naruto was, but going after her would say so many things and he had already been saying enough as it was without speaking a word. If he left now to go get her, his actions would speak volumes.

A cold wind ruffled his hair as he made up his mind. Suddenly he spotted them from over a mile away. Naruto's ninja speciality could never be infiltration, thought Sasuke cynically as he saw the laser yellow colour of Naruto's Nine Tails Chakra Mode. She was in his arms. The rest of her team were on the backs of the QRF.

Sasuke quietly slipped through the trees and made it back to the office. He had nothing to say.

A/N: This chapter was very difficult to write. Let me know what you think please. Kindly review!