HEY! Its been a while hasn't it? Yeah, way to long personally.

ATLEAST I'M BACK! I'm not dead yet! Sry I havn't updated this in a while this time of year is REALLY busy for me! So you may find my updates getting slower but don't take it as a sign i forgot about all of my lovely readers!

ON TO THE STORY! Don't own Naruto!

Chapter 24: Vacation?

I sighed as I shifted my car into park. I placed my head against the steering wheel as I sat in the schools parking lot, trying to brace myself for the day. I felt all the stress of the past two or so weeks all of a sudden fall on my shoulders, making every one of my muscles tense and sore.

Taking a deep breath I opened my door and pocketing my keys. School seemed to be the only way to get my mind off of things and actually feel normal for once. Yet, these days I've been feeling as if…as if normal wasn't a good thing.

Normalis boring.

"Hinata!" I turned around at the sound of a voice, light but laced with worry.

"Ino…" I watched as she ran up, her normally cheerful face seemed distressed.

"Hinata, have you seen Sakura yet?" She asked quickly, glancing around for our pink haired best friend. The way she was acting reminded me of a drug junkie who didn't get her fix.

I shook my head. "No…Did something happen?"

Ino's face seemed to sink even more but she forced a strained smile on her face. "N-no! Everything is fine! No need to worry here!" She let out a nervous laugh and anyone could have known she was lying.

'Two can play at this game.' I placed a fake smile on my face, tilting my head innocently. "I'm sure she's just late."

"Oh, haha yeah…that must be it…" Ino seemed more relieved, totally buying my fake smile. Now that she brought these things up…I haven't seen Karin since I was with Neji…

I needed to talk to Naruto.

Naruto

Something wasn't right.

I stared at the front of the classroom blankly as the teacher continued to lecture on completely stupid things. Discreetly, I pulled out my phone from beneath the desk.

Does anything feel off to you? I pressed the buttons on my phone as quietly as I could and hit send. It wasn't long before I got a reply.

From: Hina

No, but Sakura isn't here. Should I be worried?

To: Hina

I'm not sure, how did Ino react?

It only took one word for me to know that my hunch was right.

Suspicious.

Hinata

The week passed by in a flash with not much to report on. The meetings with Tsunade were becoming more frequent, almost every day, but they weren't helping much. We had no clue to Hinata's demon origins and it wasn't exactly like she could bring this up to her father.

You could almost say that this was a good week since there hasn't been any report of Sasuke's gang moving or signs of Itachi.

But that's exactly what was setting everyone so on edge. There was also one other problem.

Sakura hadn't shown up.

All week.

Ino seemed to get more and more worried as the minutes passed without her. She would fidget in her seat and constantly space out.

I continued to text Naruto throughout the day and we had both agreed to meet afterschool at the shed. We didn't have a meeting with Tsunade today which was good.

We had a lot to talk about.

It was now Friday afternoon and the final bell releasing students for the weekend just rung, sending a flurry of high schoolers to the parking lot.

"Ino," I said catching the blond by the shoulder before she had a chance to exit the classroom. She seemed to visibly stiffen before turning around to face me, a thin smile stretched on her face.

"Y-yeah?" She asked, still trying to feign cheerful.

"It's going to be okay." I said quietly with a sincere smile. I noticed that she seemed taken aback but I just ignored it as I brushed passed her and out the back door.

What I didn't notice was the pair of eyes following my every movement.

"Are the others not coming?" I asked, setting my bag down on a nearby box.

"They are but they'll be a little late. Hinata…I want to keep the meeting with Tsunade a secret." Naruto said spinning in the office chair that is normally occupied by Shikamaru's butt.

I nodded before I looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow. "Won't Shikamaru kill you for sitting in his special 'spinny chair'." I said with a small giggle as Naruto continued to roll around the room.

"Nah~" He said, stopping in front of me. We smiled at each other before voices could be heard outside the door.

"I'm telling you I'm right!"

"And do you have any proof?" I could hear the sound of Shikamaru and Temari arguing outside. Temari's voice a strained sound of fury while Shikamaru's was a calm, nonchalant tone with underlying annoyance.

"AHH YOU'RE SUCH A BASTARD."

"What a pain." The door opened with a rather tired looking Shika followed by a steaming Temari.

"Let's get this over with." Shika said, slightly glaring as he caught Naruto in his seat. Temari just huffed as she plopped down on the couch.

…I didn't even want to guess.

Not even five minutes after the shed was full with all of the missing members as we sat around the room, stretching out on various things that could pass as 'furniture'.

"I need a vacation~" Tenten said as she stretched from her place on the couch.

"Agreed." Temari said, now calm.

"Let's go to the beach!" Kankuro chirped as he stretched out on a few boxes like a makeshift cot.

"Yeah! Naru-kun PLEASE~!" Tenten pleaded, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she put on the best puppy dog face she could muster.

Naruto seemed to ponder this a bit as he rolled in his chair, still receiving glares from Shikamaru. "That doesn't sound bad…" He said, spinning one last time.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Were taking a break? Aren't we suppose to…I don't know, be fighting or something?" As soon as the sentence left my mouth I was met with several pairs of eyes. I felt myself shrink down in my seat a bit.

"W-what?" I stuttered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

Neji, who was standing oddly closer to Tenten than normal, nodded his head. "I agree with my cousin."

I smiled with a small flush of embarrassment, happy I was called 'cousin' instead of 'waste of reproductive cells.'

"Oh come on Neji!" Tenten whined slightly making Neji blush a little.

The blushing Hyuuga let out a uncomfortable cough, "Of course…a break couldn't hurt."

I blinked at the two people before me, Neji's face still red while Tenten swung her legs happily like a little kid who just got their way.

'When did this happen?'

I stood on the corner at the end of my street, nervously glancing down the road both ways. It was Saturday around 10 or so in the morning. The sun was out and the temperature seemed perfect for some fun in the sun, but I couldn't help but feel...anxious.

I sighed as a soft breeze ruffled my hair. I was growing worried and seeing as I was still grounded I had to find a way to sneak out of the house for Naruto's 'day at the beach'.

I was specifically told to wear something that I wouldn't get to hot in so I was standing in simple purple tank top and some black shorts, my long indigo hair tied up in a ponytail. Tapping my flip-flop clad foot I was starting to grow impatient.

Suddenly a red convertible sped around the corner, skidding widely and making the car tip on two wheels for a second before hitting the breaks right in front of me.

"Yo Hinata!" Kankuro called from the back with a wave.

I smiled at him and waved back before tossing him my bag and hopping in the car between Temari and Tenten. As soon as my butt touched the upholstery Gaara hit the gas and peeled out. I had to hold onto Tenten just so I wouldn't fly out.

Gaara was a great get away driver but driving for real? Uh…not so much. His driving still freaked me out.

I closed my eyes, letting the wind blow away some of my anxiety. I smiled, feeling like one of those girls in the commercials driving a convertible with the wind in their hair.

In about what seemed like a five minute drive (which should have been about a twenty minute drive) we reached a secluded area at the beach. Everyone began to pile out of the car, Kankuro running toward the water while Temari was talking to Shikamaru.

Taking a deep breath of the salty air I stretched a bit. Despite my objection to the idea yesterday, I was actually glad I was here. It was relaxing and a good idea. I just wanted to kick back and relax…but something kept bothering me.

Was it the fact that I couldn't get a hold of Sakura or Karin? Things seemed to…easy. Relaxed.

It just gave me a bad feeling. Like the calm before the storm-

"Hinata." I whipped my head around, my pale lavender orbs meeting the calm blue ones that mirrored the ocean.

I smiled, tilting my head innocently. "Yeah?"

He smiled back, gesturing toward the vast sandy beach. "Lets go for a walk."

Naruto

"Have you noticed that everyone seems to be pairing up?" Hinata asked after a short silence. We were walking down the beach, the water licking at the shore and the sun just begining to grow intense.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves from the shrieks of laughter coming from behind us. Eventually as we walked farther from the group their talking became more distant and quiet.

I looked up at the clear blue sky, thinking for a moment. "…Now that you mention it…I do. Temari's been hanging out with Shika more -which isn't much of a surprise since they've been showing signs of getting together for a while- but Tenten and Neji? That's a shocker."

Hinata nodded. "I'm glad that Neji actually talked to her."

I raised an eyebrow. She seemed to notice this and giggled, a sudden breeze ruffling her hair. I felt a flare of heat in my cheeks but shook it off as the sun.

"I've finally worked out things with Neji," She started, smiling as she looked toward the sand, the look on her face thoughtful. "I'm glad I could talk to him. I even tried to convince him to tell Tenten how he feels."

"Yeah..." After that we slipped into silence, but it wasn't in the least bit uncomfortable. Together we just walked slowly, enjoying the feeling of sand between our toes.

Hinata stopped walking suddenly and I turned my head to look at her, confused. "Naruto…do you have a bad feeling?"

I looked at her, my eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"Like…it's to calm." She said, lifting her head so her eyes met mine.

I stood thinking for a moment before nodding my head. "Yeah, now that you mention it."

We continued to stare at one another in silence, both of our expressions serious. Suddenly Hinata seemed to lighten her expression, opening her mouth to say something-

"RUN!"

Yeah...this chapter kinda sucked. I was rushing to get it out so you all knew I was still alive so not much proofreading. SORRY IF IT SUCKED!

And like I said before my updates are gonna get really slow latly cuz this is a time full of dance competitions and stuff so sorry about taking forever!

Please REVIEW~ even though this chapter kinda sucked!