Orange, Spirals and Everything Nice

Five: The Will To Protect

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or the setting of the story. They all exclusively belong to Mr. Masashi Kishimoto in all its rights.

Team 8 were heading back to the village after Katsuyu summoned them along with Kakashi. They had to separate from the rest of Team 7 who were given another mission along the way.

But they all had just been from the ruins left by Itachi and Sasuke's fated battle.

They would have been able to finally meet Sasuke and take him back to the village if it weren't for that masked Akatsuki guy with a weird yet powerful jutsu, and his aloe-vera-looking (sorry, Zetsu) companion blocking their way.

Hinata's eyes were tired and aching after using her byakugan a lot during their previous mission, since they were primarily tasked to find Itachi then. Who knew that things would escalate so rapidly?

And now, Sasuke eventually managed to kill his brother.
So, who knows what he'll be up to next.

But that wasn't the least of her problems. The biggest part of her, cared more about someone else entirely, anyway. Someone who looked utterly distraught after they lost Sasuke all over again.

The memory of Naruto pounding on the ruins back at the place where the Uchiha battle took place was still fresh in Hinata's mind. It surely wasn't the first time she had seen the knucklehead openly break down like that, but his desperation to bring back his friend had been too evident to miss.

If only her eyes had seen more. If only she was able to find him faster. If only they were able to break through that masked guy.

Hell, she couldn't even reveal the tricks of his jutsus. And when she was finally able to help, it was already too late.

Sasuke was gone.
Naruto was broken.

And now, they're going back to the village... empty-handed.

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"Hinata-sama, aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Hinata simply shook her head at her cousin who came to sit with her on the long wooden porch of their compound. It was already past their dinner time but she's still awake even with an early mission tomorrow, courtesy of what Katsuyu summoned them for earlier.

"I just have a lot of things on my mind, Neji-nii-san." Hinata answered after her cousin settled comfortably beside her and they both stared at the compound grounds.

It was a rather peaceful night, with the moon above the village shining brightly over the place.
Funny, how every time they come home from a mission, a serene, picturesque scene like that often greets them. As if their home is constantly convincing them that everything they've been through during the day were all but means to protect that very same place.

"You always have a lot on your mind, Hinata." Neji said half-teasingly as he dropped the honorifics with her. Hinata really loved to hear her name from him that way, because it always sounded so unprotected.

As if there weren't any walls nor barriers between them.

The heiress giggled at the statement, making Neji smile, too.
He really knows her well.

"Maybe there was a reason why you still weren't able to bring back Sasuke. Although there's no denying that it's not gonna be good." The Hyuuga genius probed, knowing exactly what she was worried about. "Stop beating yourself for not being able to do more, when I know you've already done enough."