Jiraiya sent Sasuke a quick text minutes ago, and because of his own urgency, he began to wonder why the Uchiha wasn't exactly at the meeting place that he scheduled. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh and checked the time once more.
The bright headlights of an approaching car made him let out a laugh once he realized who it was. He crossed his arms as he stood in front of Sasuke's car, he bent down slightly and waved with a tight smile on his face.
Sasuke didn't turn the car off as he exited. The cool air of the summer night made him pull his sweater closer. "Hey." He waved back awkwardly, he wasn't one for greetings so a soft grunt was sufficient to him.
"Glad you can make it, even if you're…" Jiraiya checked his phone, "twenty minutes late."
"I got here as fast as I could. Sorry, I was busy talking with my brother." He leaned against the side of his car. "What is it?"
"I believe I have a lead." Jiraiya pulled a file out of his jacket and handed it to Sasuke.
Confused by how thick the small package was, Sasuke opened it to see multiple sheets of papers. He pulled them out and flipped through them absentmindedly. "What does this mean?"
"Well, boy, I believe I know who exactly is responsible for your friend's kidnapping. I don't know where they're located just yet, but give me some time before I figure that out as well." Jiraiya laughed, feeling extremely proud of himself.
"Where did you get these?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions. I got them from the hospital." Jiraiya leaned against the car as well and closed his eyes. "Look at the last few pictures."
Sasuke did as he was told. He pulled up the pictures and squinted at them. There were multiple pictures of patients wrapped with bandages; some blood stained, others missing limbs, all of it was unsettling. Before he could ask another question, someone in the picture caught his eyes.
"I know this guy." He pointed at one of the doctors that stood to the side. "I don't know him, but I've seen him before."
"At the bakery." Jiraiya gave him a knowing look. "I was hoping that you would, so it would save me the trouble of trying to explain a whole lot about this man."
"Who—"
"Kabuto Yakushi; he used to work at the hospital but was fired after it was discovered that he would aid in administering illegal drugs to some patients. He would perform experiments right under the high ups' noses until his secret room was discovered."
Sasuke's hands shook, fear and anger clouding his senses. "Don't tell me…"
"He was seen roaming in front of the bakery a few times — I checked the cameras. I tried to rule him out but it became increasingly clear that he has a role to play in this. Though…the reason she was kidnapped is obvious, is it not?"
"That doesn't make any sense. What did Hinata do? She stays to herself, she's quiet most of the time and hates bringing attention to herself. How would this bastard know of her existence?"
"I can't answer that." Jiraiya unlocked his phone and handed it to Sasuke. "Whatever it is, Hinata is connected to the other people I'm looking for as well."
"A human trafficking ring?"
"So it seems."
Sasuke kept scrolling through the multiple messages. The victims had nothing in common at all, so he couldn't connect them in any way besides the fact that most of them were very young. "Why has this guy never been caught and dealt with?"
"He has someone who's helping him, or, he's working for someone who can avoid the authorities with ease. Whether that means they have someone working on the inside isn't clear, but if that's the case, then we know why the police gave up so easily."
"I…I can't thank you enough for finding this out."
"It's my job, Sasuke. I will keep working on the case until I get another lead. I suggest you keep this to yourself though."
"Why?"
"Would her father be ready to hear that his daughter is nothing more than a plaything, a specimen for some crazy guy? I would imagine that he would not like to hear that. Listen, just tell him that I might have found the guy who is responsible, but nothing more."
He wanted to protest and refuse but he knew that what Jiraiya said was true. If Hiashi, yet alone Hanabi or Neji, found out what could possibly be happening with Hinata, they would lose their heads. He couldn't blame them, everything was still processing in his head, yet he knew that he was angry.
"Alright. Thank you." He put the papers back into the envelope and gave it back to Jiraiya with his phone on top of it.
"You should get yourself back home." Jiraiya nodded and tucked the envelope under his arm. As he turned away to leave, he was stopped when Sasuke called out his name.
"Who is Karin Uzumaki?"
Jiraiya looked at him over his shoulder. "A distant cousin of Naruto's; she's been missing since she was a kid."
"You're looking for her too."
"You saw the message."
"Do you think she's still alive?"
"I would hope so."
Hinata held a tray tightly in her hands as she looked around the room. It was the first time that she has been in the cafeteria of whatever hideout she was currently in. There were more people than she realized — she had only ever met two or three people besides Kabuto and Orochimaru.
"You're holding up the line." One of the many cooks said. A young man with long, brown hair. If it wasn't for how deep his voice was, she would think that he was a woman.
"Sorry." She nodded and stepped to the side to continue collecting her food.
It wasn't anything much; just a small serving of oatmeal, with an apple and a carton of milk. There was more to eat, but her appetite was nearly gone. Hinata looked down at her food and up again to see everyone looking at her.
Although it should have been expected that she would catch everyone's attention since she was new, she wasn't exactly used to having multiple eyes on her. The last time that happened was during her graduation. At least then she had Sasuke at her side, whispering silly things into her ears to distract her. She wondered if he was still looking for her.
There were multiple whispers that filled her ears, the small chatter in the room sounding like black noise in her head. Her hands became sweaty, her throat ran dry no matter how much she swallowed her saliva.
So many eyes. So many voices.
It felt as if she was being observed by a predator.
"Mind your business!"
A loud voice cut through the multiple voices in the room. Everyone became silent, and the room returned to the sounds of metal hitting metal as people ate.
A woman appeared in front of her; bright red hair, and red eyes framed by glasses. Her attire was similar to everyone else's — hospital pajamas. Her figure was on the thinner side, her cheekbones were sunken and black bags hung under her eyes.
She looked at Hinata up and down, sizing her up a little bit before she smiled widely. Her smile reminded her of Naruto.
"I'm Karin." She held her hand out. "You can sit with me if you'd like."
Hinata hesitated, she stared at the opened hand in front of her.
Sensing how awkward she was, Karin pulled her hand back but her smile remained. "Not one for handshakes, I get that. Come alone." She turned around and led the way to her table.
It was empty, and pushed into a corner. Hinata guessed that the woman loved to keep to herself as she sat down across from her.
"It's nice to have a new woman around." Karina said as she picked up her juice box and took a large sip.
"A new woman?" Hinata set her tray down and picked up her apple and nibbled on it.
"I've seen them come and go since I can remember. They never stay…or survive I suppose." Karin frowned and sighed.
"Survive?"
"You're a bit clueless, aren't you? Have you had your first experiment done on you?"
Hinata winced as she remembered the medicine that she had tried before, and the operation Kabuto conducted on her.
"I take that as a 'yes'. People don't survive their first ones, or the ones after that. It never gets easier." She motioned to her body, "I'm used to it though."
"How long have you been here?"
"Hm, I'm not quite sure? Lord Orochimaru raised me, I think."
"You think?" Hinata raised her eyebrow.
"I don't remember my mother, or my father, no one to be honest. All I know is that Lord Orochimaru found me."
"Why do you stay then?"
"I don't have much of a choice." She laughed, though it lacked warmth. "I don't know how to survive out there…"
"What if you had someone looking for you?"
"Is there someone looking for you?"
"I don't know…"
"Well, I don't know either. If there's someone really looking for me, I guess they would have given up a long time ago." Karin waved her off, "enough with the sob stories. What's your name?"
"Hinata." She poked her cold oatmeal.
"You're the one Kabuto keeps babbling about." Seeing the confusion and dread on her face, Karin smiled sadly. "He's not easy to deal with." She lifted her shirt, not caring that everyone could see her clothed chest. "He did this to me, you probably have some of the same marks as me."
Hinata stared in horror at all the scars on Karin's body. Some were obviously done by scalpels, but the bite marks that she could see really confused her. She didn't ask about them though.
Karin let her shirt fall. "Say, Hinata, how about we make a deal? Since we're the only girls here."
"I…"
"Come on." She leaned forward and smiled.
"Okay."
"If anything happens to you, if you're scared, or you need someone to talk to, you can meet me here. Or, we can make a code language that only we know."
"You barely know me, Karin, why do you want to do that?"
"Us women have to stick together, don't we? Especially when we're surrounded by multiple men."
Hinata looked around the room. They really were the only women amongst the ocean of men who sat around them. The looks they received made her skin crawl.
"Okay." She held her hand out.
"You can trust me." Karin shook her hand.
She flew herself back against the warm mattress of her older sister, her eyes trained on the ceiling above her. She could still see the slight glowing of the stars she had helped paint onto the walls and ceiling. Hanabi turned around and buried her nose in Hinata's pillow. The smell of her shampoo seemed so fresh, as if she had slept in it the night before but Hanabi wasn't easily deceived.
She closed her eyes and whispered softly. "I wish you were here." She pulled the pillow closer and let her tears fall. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry that I couldn't be the greatest sister." Hanabi's cries got louder.
Standing outside the bedroom door was her cousin. His hand rested on the doorknob, his forehead pressed against the door as he listened to her cry and talk to herself as if Hinata was there to continue the conversation. Neji clenched his jaw as he too began to cry.
If only he had not left the house to go on the stupid business trip. If only he was there to walk her home or pick her up. He couldn't help but blame himself the more he sat idle. He knew everyone felt the same, the impending doom that weighed down on their shoulders the longer it took to get Hinata back home.
He spoke to Sasuke, and then his father. The continuous back and forth was becoming annoying now that a lead was found. All they had to go on was the fact that Hinata's kidnapper had been watching her for months. How could anyone miss that?
How incompetent of them.
He couldn't even be angry that no one realized because he too had failed to see it. Sasuke had shared the news that they knew who Hinata's kidnapper was. It had sent the Hyūga household into a frenzy when he said that they would not go to the police or set up a notice that Kabuto was a wanted man.
He tried to not understand but there was no use. If Kabuto knew that he was being looked for, it would be harder to find him. As long as suspicions weren't raised, then he would continue whatever fucked up things he was doing, and one day, his guard might be dropped.
It was all a big "what if". No one had solid proof that staying quiet would help at all. Hinata might have given up hope as the time ticked, and that pissed Neji off a lot more. He didn't want her thinking that he wasn't trying. Sasuke, Hanabi and her father were working hard to find her.
He knew Sasuke was hiding something from them when he came back to the house. The redness of his eyes, and the marks on his arms were enough proof that he had let some of his anger out. He wasn't going to pressure the other man to tell him.
If Sasuke was keeping something a secret, then he must have a reason.
The door opened suddenly, making him step back. Hanabi stood in front of him, shock on her face for a split second before it returned to her blank gaze.
"Neji." She mumbled.
He held his arms open.
She wrapped her arms around him and cried again. "God, I can't wait any longer."
"Neither can I." He frowned.
"It's one step closer, but it feels like she's still out of reach."
"We'll find her soon."
"How do you know that?"
"Instincts."
