She couldn't find him. Again.

In times like these, Hinata would check the usual places – the brothel house, the bars – places so sleazy it made her guilty just to look, and she would blush and hide her eyes in second-hand shame. The women (and sometimes men) would smile at her knowingly, make her redden further when they would wave, sometimes even beckon her to come over, hoot and call her names. The red light districts of every town they went to were the same, that she thought that over time she could get used to it, but she hasn't. Hinata knew she grew up sheltered and knew there was a lot of things she didn't know: there was always something new to find and accidentally see too much with her eyes. A woman wearing nothing but a see-through mesh shirt broke out of the hotel doors, plastic kunai holsters definitely not holding kunai. Hinata regretted her clan's treasured sight. She couldn't deactivate her Byakugan fast enough. Everywhere had things, and she felt betrayed by the deceptively peaceful part of the city, including this 'hotel'… hiding under the innocence of what she had seen should only be a backyard rock garden and complementary koi pond.

When Jiraiya-sama stumbled out with his robe dressed haphazardly, his orange obi tied loosely until the ends of it dragged on the floor, he hiccupped, burped, smiled and giggled creepy things under his breath before clacking his geta after the woman. Hinata was forced to envision his super hairy legs as she chased (he argued it was part of her training) foresee where he was headed (she had to do it, she had to transform into the image of that woman even though these clothes weren't even ninja protective, oh god) and then-

"Aha!"

Not this again.

Instead of being a normal person, she blushed because he always had to make a scene. Jiraiya-sama whipped his long, white hair until he could generate a small wind for his hundredth dynamic entrance. He clacked into his favorite stance, the "Toad Sannin Introduction # 6", and she thought she could hear firecrackers popping in the background.

Hinata didn't want to see them anymore. His legs are so hairy…

"The number one travel ninja, with the best tastes all around, full-time best-selling erotica novelist-"

She wasn't gonna let him finish that sentence. "Jiraiya-sama-"

"Oho, so you do know of me and my worldly greatness."

"Please-"

He raised a hand in placation. "No, no, no. No need to ask. I always give pretty girls free autographs."

She blinked. "Oi… wait…"

When he pulled out a pen from godknowswhere, she backed a step and he appeared to write an autograph on her arm. Instead, he threw the pen down suddenly. The thing exploded into a smokescreen. Hinata coughed, she got some dust in her eyes and the smell of sulfur burned through her nose. Jiraiya laughed in his escape, chuckling at her expense.

"Ah, too bad, Hinata, looks like I have some urgent business to attend to... I'm afraid I have to find my writing inspiration before this plot bunny escapes me. I keep telling you if you actually looked at these women maybe you would improve your transformation accuracy. Good luck!" He called out.

She turned red. "Jiraiya-sama!"

She can't believe she lost him again.

…

She looked for him all night and into the morning, only to find him mid-afternoon outside of the village they were visiting. She didn't know how a drunk, pervert ninja like him made it here, far out into the countryside, where anybody could attack him in his sleep. The great sannin groggily shifted from where he lay, still wearing his orange under-kimono. His beer gut was exposed and his hair was tangled with dry twigs and leaves; Hinata held her ground, but couldn't help but turn her head away at the stench of booze and his sweat.

"Please. If you would listen to me I could tell you… I- I think I found something."

The tree shading his heavy form shook lightly in the wind, and Jiraiya groaned.

"Please, Jiraiya-sama, please wake up."

He yawned and turned in his sleep. "Hm, Hinata?"

"I think I found something."

"-what now?"

"A chakra surge. Only six kilometers from our position." Hinata clasped her hands before her chest because she could feel her heart pounding at the reality of their situation. She did feel something. She felt it close. "Jiraiya-sama… I don't know what it is. It's powerful."

The sannin suddenly blinked himself awake, his eyes focused on her. "You sure?"

"Yes, sir."

The sannin came to a stand. He bent and stretched and cracked his neck and back. He adjusted his clothes before shaking out the twigs in his hair. "Ah, I slept too much anyway, thanks, Hinata."

Hinata watched him as he prepped, slowly, taking his time to clasp his arm guards together, fasten the velcro of his gloves. He wasn't that old of a ninja, but there was always something heavy weighing on his shoulders, especially at times like these when she was sure she found something, when they were close to finishing their mission. He would smile and thank her politely, and commend her her Byakugan sight, but for some reason she felt guilty.

She thought… that maybe he was avoiding her on purpose. Jiraiya hummed pleasantly as he prepped and Hinata thought that maybe the drinking was too forced, too indulgent for his tastes, though she didn't know him well enough before to compare. She could only guess, from what she saw. Hinata tried not to sound too hopeful, she tried to be quiet and patient, in case the great sannin was still in mourning.

It's been three years of traveling with the great sannin and he was always pleasant with her, courteous and patient about her stuttering and so, so empty. He was her sensei for three years and yet somehow managed to keep distant, no matter what she said or did – or more like didn't say at all. He smiled, but for some reason she didn't want to see him smile anymore.

Hinata didn't know how to express that in a way that wasn't off.

She quietly nodded, and Jiraiya ordered her.

"Lead the way."

…

They were close.

She could sense the chakra pulsing against her in waves the closer they leaped towards its source. Looking at it, it was everywhere, spewing dark tendrils through the trees that she was sure Jiraiya could feel too. Any human being, ninja or no, could recognize the ominous energy from the direction they were headed, and a smart one would run in the opposite way. It was a dark energy that only got darker, angrier, pulsing uncontrollably as if it knew they were coming.

Was it the Kyuubi?

She looked at Jiraiya but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes were hard and focused forward.

…

All the animals were gone.

She sought for any other living being in the vicinity, any small source of chakra other than the powerful heat before them. Either the small forest creatures burrowed themselves deep, flew, escaped, or… she didn't want to think it. The heat of power blasted at her skin, whipping her hair and reddening at her cheeks.

"Hinata. Where is it?"

Hinata shook her head.

"What? What's wrong?" Jiraiya stopped.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I don't know anymore, it's too much-"

"Can you tell me a general direction?"

She shook again.

"Hm," he said as he clapped her on her shoulder. She knew he could feel her shivering. Jiraiya didn't say anything. "Strange that its chakra is this turbulent, the Kyuubi would not make itself a target like this. What do you see? Is there something else?"

Hinata quaked at the sheer chakra force, every instinct in her doujutsu telling her to look away, to run. Her eyes widened, in fear and under orders, until she fought through the overwhelming rush and spotted them a lake.

Jiraiya quickly nodded.

"Let's go."

…

Oh god, she thought. They were wrong. She was so wrong.

When the black coats turned, patterned red clouds flapping in the chakra's gust, Hinata gasped. Jiraiya caught her, covered her eyes with a slap of his palm and swiftly shushinned them to safety. The tree branch creaked under her sandals.

The dust settled and the bandaged sword had barely missed.

"Ah. You again." One of them said from below.

"Hinata." Jiraiya ignored him and bent down to speak to her quietly. "Whatever you do, don't look at Itachi, even with your Byakugan. He's looking straight at you because he knows your sight is activated. Quickly, shut it off."

Hinata froze suddenly.

"…I can't," she whispered. Her eyes were wide open under his palm and she shook.

"Hinata? Hinata?"

Sweat beaded on her forehead as the veins at her temples cinched, gripping her brain into a major headache. She couldn't deactivate her Byakugan. She couldn't blink. Reflexive water pooled into the corners of her eyes as her chakra slowly left her, draining from the forced excessive use of her doujutsu.

Her Byakugan has never been this exhausted before, even during her training, whether under Jiraiya-sama's tutelage or her father's. As an extension of her mind and body it only took a steady stream of her chakra, flowing easily to her eyes and out – nothing was wasted. But this fight she came into already at a disadvantage, having used her eyes for the past hour, not to mention the whole night spent searching for her sensei in the first place. Then again, she thought, it was her Byakugan activated against a Sharingan. She was already losing.

"I'm too late," she spoke.

"No, I'm afraid you two arrived exactly." Hinata didn't turn to look at the man who said the words, standing calmly farther out onto the lake. Because she didn't need to. She could see him speak, right there in her mind.

He looked like Sasuke, only taller, only older, and with a quiet, cool look focused on her.

"Hinata, don't. Don't pay attention to his words, don't try to find him."

"Interesting."

"Jiraiya-sama-"

"Don't."

"She's already been caught under my genjutsu," Itachi drawled, slowly and mocking. "Jiraiya-sensei."

"There was no direct eye-contact." Her teacher spoke clearly so that the black coats could hear. The one below them, the blue one, smirked. "I'm sure of it."

"I'm curious too."

"You knew we were coming?"

"No," Itachi replied honestly, and his voice was deep through the gusts of chakra, unaffected by the sound of lashing waves in the lake. "But I am surprised you found us here. The Byakugan, I presume?"

The hand left her eyes, realizing how pointless it was, that it was too late to save her. "Pure dumb luck," Jiraiya spat at them.

Itachi didn't respond.

"We were training when we got the unfortunate luck of stumbling into you… We're not here to fight," he added slowly.

Itachi ignored Jiraiya's words and watched her in silence. Hinata got the feeling he knew she was aware of his eyes, of who he was and of his soft curiosity. He wasn't another Sasuke. He was different. The chakra of the tailed beast between them whirled unaddressed, and he stood on the lake unmoving while she observed him in turn.

The man had her already under his power, and through Jiraiya's hand, eye contact had been made. Why wasn't he doing anything? Hinata couldn't sense any signs of genjutsu. Only the chakra beast gave off significant killing intent, it struggled for control and she could see the turtle head and limbs thrash and roar. The blue man under them stepped back, his sword clearly directing his motion to the source of chakra, while Itachi calmly approached.

Jiraiya's voice got louder.

"We're leaving."

The elder Uchiha wasn't replying.

"Hinata," Jiraiya spoke to her, viewing their opponents warily. "Can you move?"

"I'm sorry-"

"Damn."

"Jiraiya-sensei-"

"Okay. Okay. I'm going to sling you over my shoulder and I'm going to summon Gamaken at the same time. Try to deactivate your eyes. Close them if you can."

"What about the tailed beast?" she stuttered shamefully.

"Don't worry about it. The three tails was not our priority."

"I-"

"I know you didn't mean to find it. We didn't train to fine tune your eyes. Don't worry about it," he said, but she did worry.

Her sense of balance shifted suddenly, and she found herself light in the air. She saw for a brief moment the detailed growing cracks in the branch she had stood on, before her vision was consumed by smoke.

The blue man whistled.

Jiraiya ignored him while he made his quick hand signs, and Gamaken-san unhinged his mouth. She felt a tongue muscle constrict around her, saliva soaking through her overcoat before her weight changed direction rapidly. Hinata gasped.

"You use her Byakugan to search for jinchuuriki," Itachi said. He sounded so assured and calm. And he was right.

Jiraiya ordered. "Gamaken, go!"

Wind was forced down on her as the Great Toad leaped their escape in the air. Her breathing was short and her eyes watered, but Hinata couldn't help but to focus on the small figures far below. Itachi was saying something to her sensei, she was too far up to read his lips but she could see how Jiraiya braced himself, settling into a horse stance. His hands came together in a final clap, right at the moment Itachi disappeared into a flock of crows.

The ride was too turbulent and the exhaustion in her eyes had finally caught up to her. Her vision swirled into darkness.

…