The low rumble from the cavern walls shook Hinata's eyes open. The room was completely enveloped in darkness now that the only light source, which was a touch in the room, had completely blown itself out. It was no matter. She didn't actually need light in the room anyway. Not only could she use her Byakugan if needed, but she knew that the room hadn't changed at all since the last time she had been awake.

Hinata's muscles ached from sleeping in the sitting position without any upright support. She stretched slightly, immediately receiving a twitch of protest from the figure that was nestled comfortably against her hip and thigh. Hinata looked down to her first trauma patent with worry written all across her face. She pressed her hand against his foreheadto check Naruto's condition and sighed. He was still sweating and his skin was hot under her touch.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata called out, but he still didn't stir. She didn't expect anything different. Naruto hadn't regained consciousness the entire time that they had been trapped down in Orochimaru's abandoned base and she doubted that he was going to respond to the light call of his name now.

Another low grumble made Hinata's worry spread from just Naruto to the whole room. She needed to do a quick scan of the room just make sure the walls were still holding steady. She turned on her Byakugan and surveyed her surroundings. The front door that she and Naruto came frantically barreling through a few hours ago was still buried under rocks, but the other walls seemed to be holding fine. In hindsight, Hinata had to admire Orochimaru's work. Clearly be built this place to withstand any attack including his own explosive traps.

Recalling the explosion caused her eyes to fall back to Naruto and his injury.

-Flashback-

"N-Naruto-kun, I think we should head back." Hinata suggested as she followed Naruto who ran full speed through the seemingly endless maze of corridors.

When Naruto had approached her in the middle of the night while their teammates slept Hinata had to dig her nails into her palm to keep from passing out. She had awaken from her light nap to the sound of Naruto's voice and was in absolute shock to see him standing over her sleeping body. When he told her of his plan to sneak back into Orochimaru's base, even though he had been expressly forbade to, she hadn't protested then in giving her help. She had followed him into Orochimaru's hideout. Now that they were here she ran behind Naruto as he frantically searched for any signs of his former teammate.

"Just a little bit more," Naruto called back. He made a sharp right and Hinata followed stumbling a bit as rounded the corner. Her arm quickly shot out to the wall to catch her balance, but as soon as she felt the depression amongst its smooth surface her mind read the situation loud and clear. She was in trouble.

Sure enough several sebon shot out from the wall behind her. Her heart stopped as her body locked in place, too shocked to dodge out of the way. She shut her eyes tight and tensed her body reflexively, in an attempt to block out the incoming pain. Nothing came however, only the sound of metal on metal followed by Naruto's voice.

"Are you alright Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he moved past her.

"Y-Yes. Thank you Naruto-kun." Her heart leapt in her throat. He had saved her life, but before she had more time to dwell on the subject he spoke again.

"You need to be more careful Hinata-chan. It's dangerous in here." Naruto's words made Hinata regret his heroism. Sure he was there to save her, but the fact remained that she still needed to be saved. She was still weak. Even Naruto saw—

Again her thoughts were interrupted. Naruto had placed his hand on the very same wall and that triggered yet another trap. Again sebons flew towards them this time from a different direction. Naruto turned to deflect. He quickly knocked them all away, but this trap was more complex than Hinata's had been. A second wave of sebon shot forward, catching Naruto off guard. Again he knocked them away but these sebon were just a distraction as a small kunai passed through Naruto's defenses and tore through his side.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled out as she rushed over to help him.

Naruto simply turned towards her with his wide confident grin, "It's nothing, come on we should—" His voice was cut off as he fell forward.

After that everything happened in a chaotic blur. First there was Naruto who fell to the floor, and then there were the explosions that erupted everywhere around her. Hinata's world shattered as she desperately tried to decide what to do. She needed to move quickly. She needed to check if Naruto was okay. Most importantly she needed to move to someplace safe.

She quickly moved to Naruto, not entertaining the idea that he may be dead as she heaved his limp body from the ground as best she could.

"Byakugan!" She screamed as she scanned the area. The explosions had cut off the way they came and seemed as if they were moving in succession closer towards her. She pleaded with the gods to give her someplace she could use as sanctuary. Her eyes scanned over a room that was ahead of her to the left. The walls seemed sturdy enough and of all the areas closest to her it seemed to be the one holding the best. She dragged Naruto into the room narrowly avoiding the explosion that buried the hallway she was previously in.

The explosions rocked the entire underground complex for twenty more minutes. Hinata stood over Naruto's body protectively until the explosions subsided. Once the explosions were over she knelt down to Naruto. Her nervous hands touched his neck to check for a pulse. When she felt nothing, her own heart began pounding furiously. Hinata could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as her entire body shook hysterically.

He was dead.

Naruto was dead.

She stayed quite for a moment just staring at him in the dimly lit room. The weight of the situation had not hit her, but instead hung above her like a battering ram awaiting the charge.

It was silent. Hinata couldn't hear anything other her own heart thundering against her skull. Its pulsating rhythm made her head hurt. Seconds that felt like years passed by. After a few moments Hinata's emotions hit her like an iron fist to the stomach and she sobbed uncontrollably.

Hinata had never held Naruto in her arms till now. Her arms wrapped tightly around Naruto's lifeless body as she cried over him. Her wails echoed off the walls and filled the room with her sadness.

Hinata cried so hard that she had almost missed the low gasp of air that came from Naruto's lips.

"Naruto-kun!" She gulped out as she tried to catch her breath. She quickly checked his pulse again, desperately hoping her mind had not played tricks on her.

He had a pulse!

Hinata drew in a breath of relief, but her ease was short lived. Naruto was still bleeding from his side and she needed to do something or she would have to face his death all over again.

She ripped off her jacket. She needed to apply pressure to his wound to stop the bleeding.

Hinata carefully removed his jacket, but paused as she began to slide his shirt off from his unconscious body. She remembered that she had never seen Naruto with this shirt off. Her familiar shyness displayed itself in the familiar form of the burning sensation in her cheeks. She took a deep breath, exhaling as she began to peel the fabric from his moist skin. The frayed edges of Naruto's shirt had already glued themselves with the dried blood around the wound. Hinata slowly pulled the shirt up from the wound stopping once again. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She knew his injury was serious, but the site of Naruto's mangled flesh was more than she expected. Her eyes watered up at the unforgettable thoughts of his death. She needed to calm down and treat his wound or she would be forced to relive it again.

After few quiet moments, the hard part was finally over. Hinata had pulled off Naruto's shirt and tossed the bloody garment on the floor next to them. She then wrapped his abdomen up with a torn piece of her own jacket.

She checked his pulse again. His heart was still beating. Naruto was still alive. She joked inwardly that she was glad she hadn't killed him a second time.

Hinata wiped the sweat from her forehead, smearing the blood and grit that was on her hand across her face. He was okay and she was exhausted. Hinata pulled Naruto closer to her, letting his head rest on her hip while she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-End Flashback-

Naruto's left side was still spotting blood through the makeshift bandage that Hinata had applied to his stomach. She regarded the injury with increasing worry, but with intrigue as well. Hinata had never seen an injury this grave on Naruto. In fact, she couldn't recall ever seeing Naruto seriously hurt at all. The only occasion she had to compare his current injury to would be his battle against Sasuke. He had been put in the hospital, but even then it was for rest due to chakra exhaustion.

Hinata checked Naruto's vitals again. She rested her hand on his throat and was content that there was still a heartbeat. His heart rate was normal, but his breathing was still labored. With each breath he sucked in as much air as he could and held it in before exhaling. Naruto's lack of being able to catch his breath made Hinata wonder if there had been some type of poison on the kunai that struck him.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto's raspy voice called out making Hinata jump. Hinata could feel him strain to get up on his feet as he used her left leg for leverage.

"Naruto-kun don't move!" She commanded as she reached out and pulled him back down to her. "You need to rest, you're injury… It's pretty bad." Her sentence was barely finished before Naruto had fallen back down atop of her, gently resting his head on her stomach.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked.

"We're still in Orochimaru's hideout." Hinata answered. Their voices filled the room and blanketed the low grumble from the walls that seemed to be more frequent now. "After you were injured, there was an explosion and we were caved in." She continued, catching herself when she noticed that she was absentmindedly stroking her hand through his hair.

"What about Neji and Kiba?" Naruto asked lazily.

It was the first time she had even given thought to her cousin and former teammate since she and Naruto were trapped. "I-I don't know" she spoke in truth. Once Naruto was hurt all her focus went to protecting him. She hadn't given thought to where Neji and Kiba were or if they had completed the mission.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto's voice broke Hinata's thoughts again.

"Yes?' she asked.

"You're very soft." Naruto replied as he nuzzled against her stomach.

Hinata's cheek burn red as she stammered, "T-T-Thank—" she began but there was no need to continue. Naruto had already fallen back asleep.

Hinata grumbled and turned away from the soft blue light that suddenly illuminated the room, but was shook awake when the entire room rattled violently. Immediately she searched the room for Naruto. Relieved to find that the Rasengan in his hand had been the light source in the room, Hinata quickly rose to her feet and move over to Naruto.

"We need to get out of here." Naruto heaved out. He was breathing heavy and needed the wall to keep himself from falling. The Rasengan he made must have sapped what little strength he had. Naruto stretched out his arm and pushed Hinata against the same wall he was leaning against.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think—" There was a muffled noise followed by another violent underground earthquake. The vibrations sent both Hinata and Naruto to the ground. Hinata turned on her Byakugan and scanned the area beyond the walls. When she saw the outline of her teammates along with Jiraya-sama she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She watched as the other half of their group dug into the collapsed compound until they reached Hinata and Naruto. Once they were free from their underground prison Naruto collapsed once again leaving Hinata to explain to Neji what happened.

A/n: Hope you all liked the short introduction. The second chapter should be up in a few days.

Chapter 2: Hinata's bad day