AGGHHH, I'm sorry for being so late! I have been procrastinating, I will not lie, hence the reason why this is one of my shortest chapters yet. I promise to give you a longer one next time. •-•

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Hinata walked slowly, feet dragging a little against the bleached white tiles of the hospital floor. Naruto matched her pace, his face glum. He stayed silent, quite contrary to his usual mood. The tense quiet stayed between them until Hinata broke it.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Naruto," She whispered. "I didn't know what I was doing, and…"

Laughter broke her off. She started a bit, glancing at the blond who was shaking with mirth.

"I should be the one apologizing, Hinata," Naruto said, still grinning widely. "I don't know what I thought when I agreed to fight him."

Hinata looked at Naruto thoughtfully. His mouth was curved into a smile, but his eyes held a different emotion. He jokes to cover up his fear. She hesitated before asking the question that was lingering between the two of them. "When you were fighting…did Sasuke seem a bit…different to you?"

Naruto tilted his head at the sudden change of topic. "A little." He tapped his chin with a finger. "It's a bit like when we met Itachi. He was so…hateful."

Hinata frowned. It felt like something, something small clicked. Because that was the cause of everything wasn't it? Sasuke was angry at everything due to one person–Itachi. And why? Because Itachi killed his clan. That was understandable enough. But…

"Have you ever wondered about the Uchiha Massacre?" Hinata asked again.

Naruto looked at her curiously. Where in the world was this going? "No, but it seems interesting. Why?"

"Why would Itachi murder his whole family, his whole clan?" Hinata glanced upwards, her eyes tracing the pattern on the ceiling. "And why would he leave only one person alive?"

"Nothing makes sense with that damn bastard," Naruto muttered. Hinata couldn't tell who he was talking about, Sasuke or his older brother. "I don't know what to think at this point."

Silence entered between them once again, this time much more tense and awkward.

"Do you want to go out for ramen together?" Hinata offered, trying to break through the suffocating feeling between the two of them. "My treat."

Naruto smiled brightly. So brightly that Hinata immediately realized it was fake.

"Sure!"

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Hinata took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She heard footsteps against a wooden floor before Shikamaru Nara opened the door, eyeing her suspiciously.

A voice called from inside. "Who's there?"

"One of my classmates!" Shikamaru yelled back before his attention turned back to the girl. "Hello?"

"Hello," Hinata awkwardly greeted. "Do you think I could speak to Shikaku Nara, please?"

Shikamaru stuck his head back into the house. "She wants to speak to you, Dad!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" A brown-haired woman walked over, pushing Shikamaru away and ushering Hinata in.

Hinata hurriedly stepped in, removing her shoes and placing them neatly to the side. "Thank you for having me over." She glanced at the scrolls in her arms. "I'm sorry for not telling you I was coming beforehand."

"Oh, it's no matter," The woman waved her apology away. "Any friends of Shikamaru are welcomed in this household."

"I barely know her," Shikamaru complained. "She's just a classmate."

"Oh, be quiet!" The woman bonked the boy on his head none too gently. She turned back to Hinata with a smile. "I'm Shikamaru's mom, Yoshino Nara. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Hinata Hyuga, Mrs. Nara," Hinata politely introduced herself.

"Look at those manners!" Yoshino glanced at her son pointedly. "You could learn a thing or too."

"Whatever," Shikamaru grumbled. He turned his attention back to Hinata. "You wanted to speak with my dad?"

"Y-Yes!" Hinata remembered her mission. "Please!"

"Just follow me, then." Shikamaru slouched over and dragged his feet along to what Hinata assumed was the living room in the house before calling out, "Dad! She wants to talk to you."

The Nara living room was filled with shelves and shelves of books and scrolls, the wood supporting all the knowledge a dark, polished mahogany. The shelves lined the entire wall, leaving only a few spaces for the occasional ink painting. The small table in the middle was made of the same material as the bookcases. Dark green couches were placed strategically so as to not block the books from being taken out of their shelves, and short, wooden stools stood around the table. Shikaku was sitting on one of the stools, head bowed over a shogi board. He lifted his head up to greet Hinata.

"Ah, welcome…" His eyes skimmed over Hinata's unmarked forehead. "Hinata Hyuga, I presume?"

"Yes, Mr. Nara," Hinata confirmed, bowing her head. "May I speak with you?"

"Of course," Shikaku gestured to a stool that was opposite to the one he was sitting on. "Take a seat."

Hinata set down gratefully, placing the scrolls in her hand on the table.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Shikaku asked, head tilted curiously.

"Please, Mr. Nara." Hinata's eyes looked up to make direct eye contact with the man. "Can you tell me what you know about the Uchiha massacre?"

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Shikamaru, who was watching the two on the side, narrowed his eyes. Shikaku considered the girl in the same suspicious manner, although his features were more guarded.

"Why do you want to know about that?" He questioned, eyes flicking to the scrolls in her possession before coming back to the girl. "And why would you ask me?"

"My teammate is the last Uchiha, sir," Hinata suddenly stopped, feeling a little flustered. "A-And I wanted to know about his situation a little more, and you're the first person I thought about."

"Really?" Shikaku mulled over her words. "What about Hiashi?"

"Well, my father and I…" Hinata stumbled for the right words. "We don't have the best relationship."

"Ah."

"B-But haven't you ever wondered about it?" Hinata hurriedly pushed the subject back on track. "Why would a clan member kill their own clan, much less their family?"

Shikaku took a deep breath. "Have you ever heard about how the Leaf was founded?" He inquired.

"Yes," Hinata confirmed, skimming her thoughts for the history books she had poured her heart into on cold, snowy days. "The Senju and Uchiha founded the Leaf, but there was a dispute between them after Lord Hashirama Senju became Hokage, and then didn't it worsen after Lord Tobirama Senju became the Second Hokage?" She frowned. The history books she had been provided were never really specific about why exactly there was a dispute between the two powerful clans; there was no explanation about what really split the two.

"Do you know about a man named Madara Uchiha?" Shikaku quizzed her. Hinata was vaguely reminded about how Iruka had assessed their level of intelligence in the beginning of the year, the main difference being that Hinata usually knew the majority of the content.

"Not really…" She answered hesitantly, racking her brain for any more mentions about the supposedly legendary Uchiha. "I know he was the head of his clan, and that he supposedly was famous in his time."

"And even after that, his name still rings a bell, especially with the people who are more significant in the Leaf," Shikaku continued Hinata's sentence. "Have you ever wondered why the Uchiha clan's province is pushed to the outer parts of the village?"

"No, but I did find it strange that it was a little abnormal, in a way I couldn't put my finger on…" Hinata mused, thinking back to the times she had caught glimpses of the settlement when she had walked back with Sasuke.

"It has everything right?" Shikaku spoke for her. "Convenience stores, small restaurants, everything they needed to survive on their own. Like they were made to be isolated."

"Well, why?" Hinata asked, "why were they isolated?"

"Because people feared the Uchiha," Shikaku explained. "They had the Sharingan. It was also said that an average Uchiha was already at an elite level, whether or not they had a Sharingan or not. They were just naturally gifted. And then the Nine-tail's attack…" He paused there, furrowing his brow, as if considering something.

"Yes?" Hinata hesitantly inquired. "What about it?"

"Nevermind," Shikaku brushed the matter off. "The thing is, the Uchiha and the rest of the Leaf had a very tense relationship. To be fair, not many people were all too unhappy to see them gone. They were shocked, yes, but not exactly unhappy."

"Okay…" Hinata glanced at Shikaku curiously. The quick change of subject was rather abrupt, but she decided to touch on something else before she had to leave. "One more quick thing…do you have any theories about why the Hyuga never noticed the massacre?"

Shikaku raised an eyebrow in her direction. "I think you already know the answer to that."

Hinata, a little bit flustered for the second time today, nodded and excused herself out of the Nara household, very aware of both Shikaku and Shikamaru's piercing eyes.

On her way back home, she reluctantly acknowledged that, yes, she probably did know why the Hyuga never noticed the massacre. The rivalry between the two prestigious clans and eye jutsu was quite prominent. The Hyuga most likely did notice–how could they not? The two clans were side by side, and the Hyuga had the Byakugan of all things. They merely just ignored it, taking in the effort to rise up to the number one spot that they had fought for for so long.

Hinata pondered over the whole mess of events as she stepped into her room and collapsed onto her bed, staring blankly into the ceiling as if the dark wood could give her answers.

Thinking and thinking.

But when she woke up she realized that anything related to Sasuke and the Uchihas and the Massacre would have to wait.

Because the next day–

Sasuke was gone.

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It was a bright morning. Blue skies and puffy, white clouds drifted along, as Hinata went to report to the Hokage's office to continue her training. When she was about to knock on Tsunade's office door, it swung open, startling her, as a brooding Shikamaru stepped out.

"Oh, Shikamaru!" She greeted with as much cheer as she could muster. She had spent most of her night thinking, hence the dark circles circling under her eyes. "What were you doing in there?"

"Oh, just getting ready for my first mission as a chunin–Hinata!" Shikamaru's tone suddenly got more excited. "Let's go get Naruto!"

"Huh?" Hinata strayed at the door, a little uncertain and more than a little confused at the sudden request. "But I have to report for medical ninja training."

"Fine, fine, just get Tsunade's permission to come and meet me at Naruto's apartment." He brushed off her words and walked on. "Don't take too long, I want to tell you both something."

Hinata, after glancing at Shikamaru with a weird look on her face, entered the room, looking at Tsunade carefully through all the documents and books that were stacked high on her desk. "Umm, Lady Tsunade…"

"Yes, yes, you can go!" Tsunade said loudly, aggressively stamping something. "Just don't get killed. I don't want my student to be gone after I see so much potential in her."

Hinata was bemused by the last part. "Huh?"

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"HE DID WHAT?!" Naruto sat straight up, the fluffy hat that came with his pajama set bouncing a little on his head. "THAT JERK!"

Hinata was in shock, two hands covering her gasp. "A-Are you sure, Shikamaru? Sasuke really…left?"

"Yes," Shikamaru confirmed grimly. "Sakura confirmed it herself. She tried to stop him, but he just knocked her out."

Hinata's eyes were wide. So much for trying to find a solution on time, she thought, just a tad bitterly.

"Hold on, let me change," Naruto said, standing up and running barefoot to go get a fresh orange jumpsuit. When he finished dressing, he stepped outside and started running with Shikamaru and Hinata.

"So, you got any other top notch genin to join us?" He asked, curious of who Shikamaru would've picked for the mission.

The corner of the genius's mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Just a few."

They stopped in front of a house that Hinata recognized to be the Akimichi estate. Oh. There, Shikamaru opened up a bag of potato chips, wasting now time reaching into the bag and eating the crisp with a loud crunch. He held the bag out to Hinata and Naruto.

"Care to help out?"

Hinata had planned on eating breakfast after her lesson with Tsunade and Naruto didn't get a chance to eat anything before he had to get up, so neither complained.

When there was only one last chip left, there was a sudden bang, and the door connected to the house behind them slammed open, a crazy Choji walking out and stealing the chip that was about to enter Shikamaru's mouth.

"No one," He warned the three. "Gets to eat the last chip within a ten mile radius of me, got it?"

The three nodded hurriedly. But just as Choji lifted the crisp to his mouth, a bark was heard and a flash of white dove for the snack.

"No way!" Choji yelled, stuffing the chip into his mouth. Akamaru fell to the ground, defeated. Kiba walked up after the dog, grinning wildly at his friend's antics.

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"So is that everybody?" Kiba asked, surveying the makeshift team that Shikamaru had put together. "Not bad, actually."

"Well, we only have this much time," Shikamaru replied dourly. "I wish we could've gotten more people, though."

"I think you can," Hinata suddenly said, eyes brightening as they reached a set of stairs. "Neji! Lee!" She waved at the two figures ahead of her.

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"I understand," Neji said, eyes serious. He looked at Lee uncertainly, but the other boy waved him off.

"Do not worry," Rock Lee reassured him. "I will be fine. You go on." A smile lit his face. "And when you come back, I will have climbed these stairs all by myself."

Neji smiled back, as if they shared a little secret. Hinata felt a twinge of something, perhaps it was a sense of longing, longing to share the bond that Neji and Lee had, or at least a semblance of it. But right now, right now they had other matters to worry about.

Hinata had a teammate to save.

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Sooo... Sasuke retrieval arc with a twist. How about that huh? Quite excited to write the rest of this actually. Review what you thought about this chapter and happy reading!