Chapter 5 : Confusion

Knives POV

I stood in the middle of the bustling street, my eyes unwavering from the woman who seemed oblivious to my very existence. She began down the street, her form mingling in with the rest of the crowd without so much as a glance in my direction. I felt frozen. If I let her get away now, we might not find her again.

Willing myself to move, I began to sprint forward into the street, my eyes never leaving her back. Despite my chase, it seemed as though she was only moving farther away. I bumped into several people as I darted through the crowd, one man shouting at me as I passed him, but I paid him little attention.

Reaching out my hand, I grasped for her arm, my world spinning around me the instant I did. The moment my hand wrapped around her small wrist, everything moved so fast I could barely process it all. Within seconds Hinata had whirled around on me, her palm slamming into my chest and causing a gasp of air to rip painfully up my body. The force thrust me several feet backwards and directly into the wall behind me.

A cough tore through my throat, pain spreading across my body anew. Her blow had been no small tap, and had I been human, I was sure it might very well have killed me. Lurching forward from the impact, I blinked my stinging eyes several times. The people who had once lined the streets had come to a stop in the daily routines and where eagerly scattering in different directions to get away from chaos that had begun.

My eyes settled on Hinata, who had neither moved any closer to me, nor had she fled the scene. Her stance had slackened, though she appeared to still be on the defensive. She stared at me, but her eyes held no recognition or acknowledgement. Just emptiness.

"Pervert."

I raised one eyebrow, my head tilting just slightly. "I know there are plenty of names you could use, but pervert?" Sarcasticness seeped from my voice. "Really?"

Her eyes narrowed. For a moment I thought she was going to strike again. Instead she spun on her heels, turning her back towards me and began heading down the street once more. The hell was that? I attempted to take a step forward, but the blow had disrupted my sense of balance.

"Hinata, wait!"

She stopped, with a slide of her foot across the ground, she spun around to face me. "I don't know who you think I am, but leave me alone!"

My mouth gaped open. Was that some kind of joke? Did I miss something? Hinata did not leave me time to respond, once more spinning on her heels and sprinting down the street. Did I make a mistake? Impossible.

My visions blurred briefly, the effects of the impact beginning to catch up with me. I wouldn't be able to catch up with her in my current state. Though she was now out of my view, I could still see her face as clear as before. There was no mistake, it was her.

"Knives!"

My head lifted. Sakura and Naruto both headed towards me, Kakashi rounding the corner behind them. Shit. The time. My lack of appearance must have worried them. The instant they came to a stop, I was bombarded with questions. Naruto, however, made it a point to stick his nose rather close to my face, and had I regained enough of my balance, I would have decked him.

"Easy you two. We should discuss this inside."

With a heavy sigh, I eyed the building that Kakashi pointed to. Once more we entered an Inn, making ourselves as comfortable as possible given the new situation. Sitting down to a large dinner, I retold the others of what had transpired in the streets, Sakura listening rather intently, though Naruto seemed more interested in the food in front of him, which I was sure had been the entire purpose of ordering in the first place.

"Something doesn't seem right." Sakura pointed out.

"I agree." Kakashi pushed a bowl out of the way as he spoke. "They can't get too far though. Pakkun should be able to pick up the trail."

I gave a nod and stood, reluctant to have eaten the little I had, and uninterested in watching Naruto continue to stuff his face. Anxiously, I headed back for my room, ignoring the three sets of eyes staring at my back as I departed. I had been so close, and yet I'd managed to accomplish nothing.

How did I become so careless?

I didn't manage to sleep at all through the night despite several attempts to do so. Shortly after night fall I'd found myself pacing across the room, my mind picking apart every detail of the woman I'd met, including her attack against me.

No matter how many times I analyzed the event, I came to the same results. The first, was that I was certain it was Hinata. The second, that something was very wrong with her behavior. These two obvious conclusions irritated me. Not only because it was obvious, but because I was at a loss for any other logical conclusions.

I considered that Kabuto had blackmailed her, but the question of 'With what?' was the first to destroy that theory. I'd also considered the idea that Orrochimaru had used that seal on her, the one that had been used on Sasuka according to Sakura, but from the information on that subject, it'd had no influence on one's personally.

After several hours of theorizing, I eventually turned to cleaning my weapons, but the task did not put a stop to my questions. It was near dawn when I was interrupted by a knock at my door.

"Kakashi says we need to move."

I gave a nod, and Naruto quietly closed the door. Grabbing my bag, I slung the pack over my shoulder and headed down to the lobby. Apparently I was the last to be informed of Kakashi's plans, as I was the last to arrive.

"They're on the move."

We followed Pakkun through the city quietly. Or, perhaps it was quiet to me since I was lost in my own thoughts. "Knives?" I jerked my head up at the sound, and turned towards Kakashi. "I said we're heading towards the Muksu Village."

"Oh.. uh, right."

Kakashi gazed at me with his analytical stare, causing me to snap back into focus, my attention shifting towards the thick layers of trees ahead of us. Hesitantly, Kakashi continued. "They aren't moving very quickly. It's possible they didn't view the confrontation as problematic."

"Then that gives us the advantage." Sakura's voice dripped with excitement.

I clenched my fist tightly. This time, I'm not letting you walk away.