The air was riddled with a foreign scent, Naruto noted. Husky, rich, flowing like a stream through the malleable air as if it knew its purpose at all times. Every corner of the village, no matter how small, was utterly cloaked in it. The boy's lip curled as an especially strong whiff hit his sensitive nose; he didn't have to be practiced the in art of smell. He knew it was the odor of plague.

The sky was masked by bright, floating colors that swirled and danced in a beautiful show; it was getting late. Nearing night, the boy figured. A thick breeze ran through the village, ruffling his hair and clothes. The streets were utterly cleared of all other people besides Naruto himself.

But there was something else. Something…deeper. It covered the other sordid smells with harsh overtones, claiming Konoha as its own. This smell, Naruto was familiar with.

Fear.

Uncomfortably shifting his small messenger bag to his other shoulder, Naruto slightly quickened his pace, his sandals kicking up small clouds of dust on the dirt road. He was no stranger to fear, for he had been victim to it many times in his rather unfortunate childhood; fear, while desperately running from mobs whose intention was to hurt him.

Fear, while wiggling under other ninja's oppressive glares as he walked down Konoha's streets.

Fear had been his chief emotion until the age of seven, when he finally realized that it wasn't helping to wallow in such terrible misery. It was doing the exact opposite, in fact. And so began his constant façade of mischief, like a costume he wore at all times. Eventually, after all the pranks and ill behavior, it became a part of his character; the costume cemented to his mind, and all of a sudden he couldn't remove it.

Konoha was bathed in fear at the moment. Fear was shadowing the village.

Just that thought alone was enough to make Naruto dig his nails into his palm, his stomach contracting. This wasn't just any village; this was his village. And he would do anything, anything in his power to save it before it was utterly destroyed by this bastard of a plague. He would rid it of this horrible scent of fear, for as long as he could.

His eyes flickering open, Naruto was treated to the grand sight of Konoha's opening gates. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding; he had never been so eager to exit his home village.

The last words that exited the boy's mouth as he left his village for an unknown period of time were some of his most spoken.

"I will not fail."

Hyuuga Hinata squirmed as a shock of blond hair came into her view. Naruto was ready. To be fair, she hadn't expected such sharp punctuality from him; despite all of the pep talks she had given herself before time, she still found her eyes flickering to the ground below her, her cheeks flushed. She sidled backwards until her back was touching a rather large tree, and she figured she was safe in its shadows.

Hinata had not expected to be called for a mission, much less a mission of this magnitude. She had figured that she would wait quietly in the Hyuuga compound, until this whole plague died over. Hence, it had been quite a shock to her when her uncle had said in his cold voice that her presence was requested with the Hokage.

She was even more stunned when she learned she would be going on a mission, with Naruto of all people. The revelation had made her want to cry, in both glee and grief; perhaps both at the same time.

"Oy, Hinata-san!"

Hinata twitched. Naruto had seen her. The boy trotted towards his companion, unbeknownst to him the sheer terror he was causing her.

"Hinata!" He repeated with his trademark smile, this time accompanied by a casual wave. "What's up?"

Hinata's forehead creased slightly; what would she say if she was to reply? And if she didn't reply, would Naruto think that she was being rude? The dilemma sent small wave of fright through her stomach, and she whimpered.

Uzumaki Naruto may have been naïve, but he was not stupid. His eyebrow tilted upwards at the violent shade of red that morphed onto Hinata's cheeks, but he didn't press the trivial matter of greetings. Instead, he flickered his gaze pointedly toward the forest that bordered Konoha's territory. "So," He inquired calmly, "You gonna tell me about the mission?"

Hinata let out a thankful sigh, and began, "W-we're going to…Kumogakure." Picking up her bag from the grass next to her, she followed Naruto's steady jog as he headed toward the forest.

"For a cure for the plague?" Naruto guessed, his hand stroking his chin in a thoughtful pose. Hinata nodded slightly, slightly disappointed that she still couldn't manage simple replies without an annoying stutter. She continued, however, "Yes. T-t-there's a stream in a mountain range with healing properties." After a while, she hurriedly added, "Mystical healing properties, that are supposed to be able to heal any injury."

A frown creased Naruto's brow, and he paused momentarily. "That doesn't sound real to me," He replied skeptically as he absentmindedly crushed a small leaf under his sandal.

Hinata bowed her head slightly, a signal that she felt the same. There was a strange shroud of myth covering this whole endeavor, no matter how thin; she was seriously considering if such a thing even existed. Perhaps Hokage-sama was simply ensnared in a trap of despair so deep she couldn't see out of it, to where she was convinced that every statement made was a truth. Such thoughts were quickly tossed out of Hinata's mind with a shake of her head; she had confidence in her leader. An eerie consideration slowly crept into her brain, however: if she couldn't trust the leader of her nation, who could she trust?

Hinata noticed that Naruto had resumed his strides while she was still in thought. Hurrying to catch up, she furiously flushed as a rough grin was tossed her way. With a pang, she realized just how much control Naruto had over her; a simple smile could have her at her knees. She chided herself lightly, but in all honesty, she didn't mind that much. In fact, her cheeks reddened even more at the thought of what she would be reduced to if Naruto went even….further.

The girl's gaze soon flickered up, and back to Naruto's face. The smile was still there, however, but she realized that it was missing something. His hands were clenched tightly, so tightly they were growing pale, and the smile was cold and stale, as if he couldn't change it even if he wanted. Hinata frowned slightly. How could the boy's mood have changed so quickly?

"Naruto-kun?" She began tentatively. She considered reaching out to him, but she fought the urge. "Is there s-something wrong?"

Naruto didn't answer for a long moment, but when he spoke, it was through tightly gritted teeth, "This is probably the biggest mission of my life. If I fail, if I even have one misstep, I can bring all of Konoha down with me. They knew that; they knew it was hard for me! They fucking knew it! It's not fucking fair!"

Hinata violently flinched at the vulgar language. The boy suddenly turned and punched a tree with a fierce yell, splintering the bark. Covering her face to avoid the wood shavings, Hinata frowned as she waited for Naruto's rugged breathing to go back to normal. The sudden outburst had surprised her, but a corner of her brain knew that he wasn't really upset at anyone more than himself, despite his harsh words; he was surprised even more than her.

Naruto was used to being looked down upon, even being spit on, on various occasions. He had at first dismissed it as bully behavior by a few select people, but as it went on, eventually another layer formed on his personality, behind the more obvious stratum of his prankster side; it was a layer of wariness, one that was constantly active, even in his sleep. His cheerful grin that he gave all strangers was really just something to keep them occupied while he sized them up from head to toe, in an attempt to gauge their personality.

To receive such an important mission while the villagers were just going back to their habit of using him as an outlet for their frustrations, it was confusing, to say the least. So Naruto released that confusion in the only way he had been taught: anger.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-san."

Shining tears brimmed the boy's eyes, though he desperately fought them for dominance as he cradled his hand. His voice was clipped with subtle pain, signifying that his knuckle was probably broken, perhaps split. Hinata nodded slowly in understanding. It was becoming more and more obvious that there was more to her crush than his chief expression of mischief.

After allowing the boy another few seconds of silence, Hinata gently suggested, "Maybe we should keep moving." A quick glance up towards the darkening sky told her that it was approaching night.

Naruto nodded blindly, shaking his hand despite the pain. "I've held us up," he realized, his voice carrying the dull overtones of a snarl. Without bothering to plaster another smile on his face, the boy took off to the north, his hand hanging loosely by his side. Hinata followed reluctantly, taking one last fearful gaze behind her.

Around fifty feet away from the two ninja, perched rather comfortably in a tightly knotted tree, a grim smile spread across the Sabaku scout's masked face. "So they're on the offense."

The scout quietly slipped away to inform his captain.

Hinata's ramen was cold, as she duly noted. But then again, you can't expect much more when you prepare instant ramen with barely lukewarm water from a mountain stream. She didn't really care, in all honesty.

Instead, she idly stirred the broth and noodles, her eyes honed on the boy in front of her rather than her meal. Naruto's steel gaze was focused ahead, his limbs hanging so low they nearly touched the cold dirt as he surveyed the clearing for at least the hundredth time. A light sigh escaped Hinata's lips as she studied her companion. He wasn't fooling anybody, much less the Byakugan user; it was nearing midnight, and he couldn't see a single thing.

Naruto had fiercely opted against a fire, his argument being that it would draw unnecessary attention to them; they were approaching the border of Water Country, a very scout-heavy country after all. It hadn't been much of an argument, either way. Hinata had merely nodded and bowed her head, launching a search for water.

Although it was a valid argument, it had its drawbacks; sight was one of them.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata began with a deep breath, "Perhaps you should come eat, while I scout ahead?" Receiving no reply, the girl reasoned, "I do have the Byakugan, after all." There was much more she wanted to say, but she bit back her words.

Naruto stiffened. He opened his mouth as if he had a retort, though he wordlessly rose to his feet and turned to walk past her. Hinata watched with a gaze full of pity. Naruto had taken on a laconic nature since his 'breakdown' earlier that day, and Hinata couldn't blame him for it. If anything, she refrained from questioning him any more than she did before. It was obvious that he needed time to himself.

Leaping to a tree that could serve as a suitable lookout, Hinata activated her Kekkei Genkai with a flicker of chakra. She refused to let her cheeks redden, however, when she felt Naruto's steady gaze on her. Nothing, she thought to herself after taking a quick scope of the area. Resisting the urge to let out another sigh, Hinata shook her head. Naruto picked up the motion, and returned his stare back down to the cold noodles on his lap.

But wait. The girl's eyes flickered back up. Yes, just at the far reaches of her range, a trifling chakra signature that was slowly moving closer. Not wanting to disturb her companion, she retained her calm disposition, though her heart beat harder against her rib cage.

The signature was minor, opening the possibility of a Bunshin, though it was there nonetheless. As it slowly grew closer, Hinata observed that it was a humanoid shape. Perhaps a scout. This was the Land of Waves, after all.

"There's something wrong, isn't there?"

Hinata faltered at Naruto's worried inquiry, though she didn't allow a frown to mar her features. "Probably just a scout," she dismissed with a casual wave of her hand, attempting to suppress the growing feeling of foreboding that threatened to rise through her chest. As the figure grew closer and closer, it was harder and harder to believe that it was a mere scout.

Naruto wasn't fooled, however. He set his untouched bowl of ramen on the dirt, and rose to his feet. "How many?" he demanded in a harsh tone.

Hinata anxiously wet her throat. "O-one," she replied, her stutter coming back. As if on cue, another chakra signature suddenly…appeared. Hinata's brow furrowed; how can a signature just appear?

Naruto took Hinata's facial change as bad. "Another?"

A dull nod from the girl. Her eyes widened as another appeared…and then another…followed by two more… "Oh, Kami."

At least a hundred consecutive signatures were charging toward them at a rapid pace.

Too many to fight.

Hinata slipped down from her perch on the tree, with Naruto focusing his expectant gaze on her. She didn't have to ask if her expression gave away her emotions; her temporary teammate abruptly nodded. Her mouth opened for a long while, before Hinata finally managed to squeak one word, though that one word said enough.

"Run."

Apparently Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He turned and dashed through a particularly thick piece of foliage, with Hinata hurrying behind him, leaving the remnants of their makeshift; this didn't deter their obviously cruel followers. If anything, they picked up their pace in excitement. With a pang, Hinata realized they wouldn't make it in time. A quick glance behind her said that the pursuers were catching up, and fast.

"Hurry!" Naruto yelled, his sandaled feet moving forward at a blurring pace. In an instant, he hurled a kunai behind him in a desperate attempt to slow his hunters. A slight grin melted on to his face as he heard a pained grunt. He had hit his target.

It was then, that the first one broke through the trees.

Hinata honestly didn't get much of a chance to study the thing's features; if anything, it was sheer luck that her gaze had been focused ahead, or else she would have missed the cliff.

The cliff was very miss-able, in all fairness: the ground stopped short at a bluff, which fell an unfathomable distance. All in all, a very uncomfortable fall.

The girl attempted to stop, but it was too late; she was going too fast, and she teetered along the edge. Despite her sending chakra to the foot that was still implanted in the soft earth, she found herself tipping over into the abyss.

Her mouth open in a silent scream of terror, Hinata turned her head just enough to see one of her pursuers wrapping his hand around Naruto's throat, pressing a kunai to his throat. Not hard enough to kill, but definitely hard enough to draw blood. The boy himself was already unconscious, his limbs hanging limp to his sides.

In desperation, Hinata reached into the pouch on her side and retrieved a kunai; this was her last chance to redeem herself before an inevitable death.

The shot seemed simple enough: Naruto's captor was rather fat, so all she had to do was target his thick sides. With a furious yell, Hinata hurled the kunai, hoping, praying that she would hit her target. Despite not being able to see as she fell off the cliff, Hinata's heart sank as she didn't hear the satisfying pat of a hit target.

She had missed.

Cliffhanger…

How did I do with the action scene? Please review.

Thanks for reading.