Summary: Sometimes inexplicable things happen. Whether due to machinations of the daedra or caused by a freak accident in her world, Hyuuga Hinata must find her way home, all the while fulfilling her destiny as the Dragonborn. But how does one learn to shout when they are yet to learn to speak up?

Disclaimer: Skyrim belongs to Bethesda and Naruto Belongs to Kishimoto.

Prologue

Unbound

Cold. It was the cold and the chilling wind that took up her attention as she slowly regained consciousness. Then she noticed the melodic sounds of well-build carriagee wheels. Voices of men, the horses, leather against metal, the rustling of leaves and the foreign sound of various birds.

Pale lavender eyes opened with a start, wide and frightful, revealing to her the alien looking land of frost and snow covered woods and mountains. Was she kidnapped? Were her kidnappers taking her to Kumo? She took quick note of their strange clothing. These weren't Kumo ninja. In fact, these people weren't ninja at all. Hinata took note of the bindings on her wrists. Tight and secure, but nothing she couldn't deal with.

'Hey, you are finally awake.'

The pale girl jerked her head in the direction of the voice. It was the man before her, who was also bound as she was. She took note of his armor. Most of the prisoners (for they could be nothing but prisoners) were dressed in such armor. The man was tall with broad shoulders, taller than her father and certainly taller than Jiraiya the Toad Sage. His hair was blonde, like Naruto's, but shoulder lenght, with a small braid at one side. He also sported what seemed to be the beginnings of a rugged blonde beard. His whole appearance seemed rugged and worn. The man had been through a rough few days or even a week.

'Are you alright, lass?' he asked in concern, seeing her wide, terrified eyes. 'You were caught trying to cross the border, weren't you? Same as us and that horse thief over there.' The blonde man inclined his head towards the person next to him.

The dark haired man, who was identified as a horse thief, grumbled and looked away at the road.

'Uhm, n-no.'Hinata started quietly. 'I-I d-don't remember how I g-got here.' she looked at her hands as she slowly took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from panicking and crying.'I-I j-just woke up h-here. I d-don't know where I am.'

She bit her lower lip as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Her long dark hair hid most of her face but she was certain the man before her knew she was crying. What would her father say if he saw her like this? She wondered if anyone knew that she was missing.

Suddenly the horse thief spoke up.

'You and I shouldn't be here! It's these rebels they want, not us. Damn Stormcloaks, the Empire was nice and lazy and Skyrim was fine until you came along. I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell by now, hadn't the Empire been looking for you bloody Stormcloaks.'

'Shut up back there!' One of the escorting soldiers yelled at them and the horse thief lowered his head, grumbling yet again. Hinata stared at him for a while, trying to process his words. Stormcloaks and an Empire. Hammerfell, a rebellion. None of these things rang any bells in her mind. Where was she? How far away was she from Konoha. The horse thief sighed in exasperation and that brought her out of her thoughts.

'So, what's wrong with him, huh?' he asked, genuinely curious about the gagged man next to her. He was tall, even taller than the blonde man opposite her. He wore an impressive looking set of fine clothes that seemed to be woven with some sort of armor. She could tell that he was some kind of leader or an important person. He was intimidating and imposing, even in his imprisoned state. His gaze held something she recognized immediately – iron resolve, fury, fearlessness. The Will of Fire.

'Watch your tongue, horse thief! You are speaking to Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!' the blond man snarled, making the thief flinch by the sudden aggression. The gagged man, now Identified as Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, sent a withering glare towards the thief. His grayish green eyes intensified and the horse thief became as white as a ghost.

'Ulfric?' he whispered, his mouth suddenly dry, 'The Jarl of Windhelm?'

So Jarl was a title and the man's name was Ulfric.

'But if they captured you... the leader of the rebellion. Oh gods! Where are they taking us!?'

'I do not now, but Sovngarde awaits.' the blond man replied calmly and looked towards the road ahead of them.

The thief drew a shuddering breath and started mumbling.

'No...this isn't happening. This can't be happening... Gods, Divines...' he buried his face into his hands in hopelessness and terror.

Hinata swallowed hard. She concentrated on loosening her rope bindings by flexing her hands. She was a ninja and ninja were resourceful. Despite her utterly confusing situation, she willed herself to persevere through her fear and doubts and to do what she was taught to do. She felt someone's gaze upon her and she turned to see Ulfric looking at her with those steely eyes. He was measuring her, trying to determine her worth. She knew, because her father used to look at her the same way. Hinata lowered her head again, hair obscuring her faint blush and she concentrated on her task, opting to be as quiet and unassuming as possible.

'Hey, horse thief.' the blond started.

'What?'

'Where are you from? What village are you from, horse thief?'

'Why would you care?'

'A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.' he said softly, all the while a sad smile appearing on his face. Hinata looked up at him, his words stirring something in her. She understood his sentiment perfectly well. After a few moments of silence, the horse thief spoke up.

'Rorikstead... I'm... from Rorikstead.' he sounded broken and sad.

'And what of you, lass? Where are you from?'

'Konoha. Village hidden in the Leaves.' she spoke quietly, softly, not stuttering even once.

'To be honest, I've never heard of it, lass. You must be very far away from home.'

'I-I don't -' Hinata tried to respond but there was some shouting from the front and all four of them turned to see what was the commotion all about.

'Helgen.' the blond man spoke. 'They are taking us to Helgen.'

Hinata looked at the stone walls in the distance. The structure seemed strangely... primitive. A slight scowl marred her face as she tried to think what it would mean. It was quite possible that this was some sort of old military fort that was used time and again. As they approached the small settlement,however, Hinata discovered the stone walls to be well-kept and...new. Something wasn't adding up and the kunoichi had a bad feeling about it.

One of the soldiers guarding at the wooden gates saluted the man leading the entire operation.

'General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!'

'Good, let's get this over with.'

The horse thief became even more pale ( if that was even possible).

'Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!' he started mumbling again and the blond man threw him an annoyed look before opting to ignore his quiet ramblings.

'Look at him.' he started quietly, inclining his head towards the general.

Hinata fixed his gaze in the general's direction. He was on a horse, along with a few others. Only one figure stood out among them, a tall person dressed in hooded black robes with golden embroidery. The general seemed to be speaking to that person. They turned and the kunoichi noted how strange the person, now identified as a woman, looked. There was something definitely... inhuman about her.

'General Tullius the Military Governor. And the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this.' the blond man glared and clenched his jaw.

Elves? The question almost left Hinata's lips but she stopped herself. It wouldn't do to reveal just how little she knew of her situation. She pursed her lips and looked down at her wrists. They looked slightly bruised and the skin was definitely tender and red from her actions. But the rope bindings were loose enough. She pulled at her wrists and felt one of her hands slipping through the rope. Good. She did not remove herself from the ropes. Now was not the right moment.

The carriages pulled over one by one at the center of the settlement Helgen. The inside of this place looked even more primitive to her than the outside. There was no electricity or anything remotely technological looking. That bad feeling clutching at her chest intensified.

'Why are we stopping?'

'Why do you think, horse thief? End of line. Let's go. We shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us.' the blond man stood up as one of the soldiers motioned for them to hop off the carriage.

'No! Wait! We're not rebels! Tell them, girl! We aren't Stormcloaks!'

'Face your death with some courage, thief!' the blond man growled.

'I-' Hinata started but the soldier grabbed her roughly by the hand and pulled her down the carriage, causing her to trip at the steps. 'Ah!'

The blond man moved swiftly to her side, catching her before her face would bite the dirt. He glared at the soldier and then looked at her.

'Are you all right, lass?'

'I-I'm fine.' she mumbled and followed him closely towards where the soldiers were gathering them.

They were set in lines. Hinata still stood next to the blond man. She lowered her head and her hair once again obscurred her face from view.

'Byakugan.' she whispered softly and the world around her exploded in a 360 degree vision range. She saw as the blond man looked at her curiously, having heard her soft whisper.

'Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm.' one of the soldiers read off a list.

'It's been an honor, Jarl Ulfric' the blond man said softly to the Jarl's retreating figure.

'Lokir of Rorikstead.'

'No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!' he stated fiercely and suddenly dashed forward.

'Archers!' the heavily armored woman snarled.

'You're not going to kill me!' he exclaimed jovially just as six arrow pierced his back simultaneously. Hinata gasped. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

'Anyone else feel like running?' the armored woman taunted.

The Kunoichi turned off her Byakugan and lifted her head. She locked eyes with the woman and sent her her most withering glare.

'Hn.' the woman sneered and Hinata felt her jaw clench. She hated that woman.

'Ralof of Riverwood.'

The blonde man smiled at her as he bumped his shoulders with her and headed off to the rest of the prisoners waiting their execution. That smile. It was like Naruto's. She didn't want that man to die. She didn't want neither of these prisoners to die.

'You there. Who are you?'

Hinata snapped her attention to the soldier. He seemed slightly unnerved by her blank, pale lavender eyes. She steeled her nerves and racing heart and lifted her chin. She was terrified but she was NOT a coward.

'Hinata Hyuuga, of Konohagakure.' she stated softly, her voice unwavering and not betraying her utter inner chaos. She idly thought that her father would be proud with her display. She thought of her sister Hanabi and of her Cousin Neji. She thought about her team, about Konoha, the Hokage. She thought about Naruto and a happy, soft smile gently spread on her lips, not unlike Ralof's. She would not die today. And if she could help it, neither were going to these Stormcloaks, these rebels.

'Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list.'

'She goes to the block. Move it prisoner.'

'I'm sorry. I will try to send your remains to your home, wherever it is.' the soldier stated sadly.

Hinata stood next to Ralof and started working on the rope bindings again. The general was giving Jarl Ulfric some sort of speech but she did not pay attention to it. Her bindings were finally loose enough to simply shake them off but she held on to them for now. Some sort of priest was giving what seemed to be their last rites. She had formulated a simple plan. Go first, disable the headsman, take the General hostage and provide the Stormcloaks with means to escape. The lay out of Helgen was simple and there were even several underground passages running underneath the settlement. There were roads heading both north and east from Helgen and from the sign she had seen right outside Helgen, Riverwood was to the north. She'd go there, since Ralof was from there. Maybe he would help her out until she figures out what was going on. Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She prepared herself.

'For the love of Talos, shut up!'

Hinata watched in horror as the impossibly brave man walked up to the headsman and had his head removed. No, she thought, she was supposed to go first in order to help all of them! Naruto would've done the same.

'The girl in the rags!' the captain yelled, locking gaze with her once more. The kunoichi stepped forward, catching Ralof's sad expression. She smiled at him reassuringly.

'We shall meet once more in Sovngarde, lass.' He whispered to her.

As she kneeled at the chopping block, she was vaguely aware of her getting soaked with the blood of the man who had been beheaded before her. His head was in the basket beneath her, his expression frozen into a serene smile. Such a brave man, she thought with admiration.

A strange cry rumbled through the area. The headsman raised his axe.

'Byakugan!' she yelled and her left foot shot forward, striking the man square in the chest, forcing him to stagger backwards. Not a second later she was on her feet, hands free and Juken stance at the ready. In the next moment she shoved her palm with lightning speed at the headsman's heart. He was dead before he fell.

'Archers! Get her!' the captain yelled as she drew her own weapons.

Several arrows whizzed in her direction but neither hit her and they were snapped in two by her impossibly quick and agile hands. Amongst the chaos no one noticed the strange cry repeating itself.

'Yargh!' the captain roared as she slashed at Hinata with her swords. The kunoichi easily sidestepped the attack and then grabben her hand.

'This is for Lokir!' she exclaimed and just as before, shoved her palm onto her chest. Surprise expressed itself onto her face as she coughed out blood and fell to her knees, dying. Hinata's strike had been deliberately weaker. Something huge and heavy collided with the top of the tower before her and for a moment Hinata lost her footing.

'What in Oblivion is that!?' she heard General Tullius exclaim.

She focused her all-seeing gaze upwards. Every single hair on her body was raised in upmost terror. Dark like the void, pitch black scales, glowing red eyes. Rows upon rows of sharp teeth as big and as long as the ninjato the ANBU used. The horrifying beast roared and she felt a massive wave of force slamming into her, knocking her to the ground.

'Urgh!' she cried. Her vision swam. She must've hit her head.

'Hinata!'

Ralof pulled her to her feet and dragged her away from the creature. She vaguely noticed entering some sort of room, probably part of this other tower that was nearby.

'Hinata, lass, can you hear me?'

Ralof gently slapped at her face. Ever so slowly her world righted herself and Ralof's blurry face sharpened properly into view. She blinked rapidly a few times and then nodded curtly. He grinned at her, making her blush, despite the situation.

'That was some nifty work you did there, lass. You oughta teach me that sometime, might come in handy when fighting those damn imperials.' He chuckled and then his face became serious as he turned to look at Jarl Ulfric.

The man was leaning on a wall and the gag had been removed.

'Jarl Ulfric, was that really a dragon? I thought they were legends.'

'Legends don't burn down villages.' his voice was deep and rich but it was his words that sent a chill down her spine. His words made her think of the attack of the Kyuubi for some reason. Oddly this whole event reminded her of those long hours of utter horror and carnage that had been caused by the Demon Fox's wake.

There was a roar and the tower shook.

'We need to move! Now!' the Jarl shouted.

'Hinata! With me!' Ralof grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs of the tower.

There was a man by a narrow, tall window who was trying to loosen the stones enough to make the window wider. There was another roar, this time a lot more closer. Hinata activated her Byakugan, eyes widening in alarm.

'Get back!' she yelled at the man but it was too late.

The black dragon collided with the tower and there was debris everywhere. Ralof had pulled her to the ground protecting her with his body. Luckily, neither of them were suffered anything worser than scraps and a few more bruises. Unluckily, howeer, the dragon decided to poke it's head in the hole.

'Yol Toor Shul!'

As the beast's great maw opened and showered everything in the vicinity with its fiery breath, Hinata channeled chakra to her feet, grabbed Ralof's armor and jumped away from the dragonfire.

'Oof!'Ralof grunted as he fell on top of Hinata, not having been prepared for her rather big jump.

The black monster pulled away from the hole and flew off.

'The Dragon's gone, lass. Seems' like you are full of surprises.' He grinned at her and she blushed again.'That's the inn over there. I want you to jump over. I'll follow when I can. Now go!'

Hinata nodded and made the jump effortlessly. She was a ninja after all and not some push over. She made her way out of the burning inn.

'Haming! Move!'

A man shoved aside a small child as the dragon opened its mouth wide and unleashed a bout of dragonfire. The man was engulfed by the unforgiving flames of the beast.

'Papa!' the boy screamed and tried to run to his father's remains as the dragon drew breath yet again. As Hinata was about to act to pull the child away, she saw the soldier who had listed her down for execution. He ran, grabbed the child and hid behind the remains of a building, where he handed over to an old man.

'Gunnar, can you keep Haming safe?'

'Aye, Hadvar.'

The dragon roared loudly and flew into the sky again.

'Still alive, prisoner?' the now identified Hadvar jogged up to Hinata. He looked pale and there seemed to be a deep scratch running through his torso, tearing up his armor. He looked like he had lost some blood but, apparently, someone had done a hasty job trying to seal the wound.'Come with me if you want to get out of here alive.'

The Kunoichi didn't say anything but followed him anyway. Even though he was an Imperial Soldier, he had also saved the life of that boy, Haming. She was capable of taking care of herself, but she wagered that he could use a hand if that dragon swooped down again.

'Stay close to the wall, prisoner.' he said and pulled her to himself protectively. Her cheeks flushed almost immediately.

The dragon landed right above their heads and Hinata held her breath, praying to all that is holy for the horrid beast not to look down.

'Yol Toor Shul!'

For a part of a second Hinata's mind wondered about if those were actual words she was hearing. She had heard something similar earlier, when he attacked the tower.

'Hurry, Prisoner! Follow me!' He tried to pull her again but she held him.

'Matte! Wait.'

Hinata pressed her palm against his chest and a concentrated look appeared. For a moment Hadvar looked surprised, almost scared, expecting her to finish him off as she had the captain and the headsman. But then her palm started glowing green.

'Mystical Palm Technique' she recited as she added her other palm into her effort. She was wasting chakra rapidly and beads of sweat appeared on her pale face.

Hadvar looked down, almost in wonder, as he felt his flesh knit itself together. A few moments later she released the technique, breathing hard and feeling almost utterly exhausted.

'I am s-sorry. B-but this is the least I c-could do.' she said softly as she poked a tenketsu point, forcing his mind into unconsciousness.

She stared guiltily at him for a few seconds before dragging him off into the direction of General Tullius.

'Hit that damn thing with everything you've got!' the General shouted.

'By the Divine, are we even doing any damage to that beast?' one of the soldiers near her gasped as he readied and fired another arrow and the skillfully maneuvering dragon in the sky.

The Kunoichi activated her Byakugan and saw Ralof running not too far away. With a grunt she dropped Hadvar to the ground next to a group of soldiers and ran off.

'Hinata! I'd thought you had ran off with the Imperials. Good to see you are still with us.' he grinned at her.

'Uhm.' the Hyuuga heiress blushed slightly and a small shy smile appeared on her face.

'Come on, lass. There are some underground tunnels at the keep we could use to escape.'

Once inside the keep he looked around.

'Seems like we are the only ones who made it.' he stated sadly as he looked upon the fallen body of a fellow Stormcloak.' We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother.'

Ralof sighed and kneeled beside him.

'That thing was a dragon, no doubt. Just like the children's stories and the legends. The Harbringers of the End-Times.' he shook his head, as if trying to clear it. 'We better get moving, Hinata. You'll need some gear, though. Take Gunjar's. He won't be needing it anymore. You look exhausted and I don't thing you can rely just on those fancy tricks of yours.'

Several minutes later Hinata found herself dressed in an oversized Stormcloak Curiass and Fur Boots. She almost opted to remain with the footwraps for mobility's sake but the Fur Boots were warm and she enjoyed every bit of warmth she could muster in this cold place she had appeared in. The axe she had taken up felt weird in her hand. She was not used to the distribution of its already heavy weight. She personally preferred the light but versatile Kunai and Shuriken, and even some Senbon. She gave the weapon a few test swings, trying to get a better hand of it.

'Damn! No way to open any of these doors from our side!' Hinata heard Ralof's swears. But among them she also heard the very faint sounds of footsteps and the clinging of metal armor.

'Someone is comming.' she whispered and pulled Ralof to the side.

'It's the Imperials! Be ready!' he whispered and drew out his own axe.

As the door opened Hinata and Ralof made quick work of the three soldiers.

'Let's see if any of these soldiers have the key to unlock that door. Or at least a lockpick.'

A quick activation of the Byakugan later and Hinata now sported the needed key as well as two iron daggers and three swords. She did a few test slashes with the daggers. Still not as good as Kunai, but she found it more easy to work with them than the swords or the Axe.

'It seems you know your way with them daggers, lass. Now let's get out of here before that dragon decides to bring the whole tower down on our heads.'

Hinata nodded and followed him down the tunnel. She noticed that the air was damper and cooler than it was outside. She felt immediately thankful for the change of clothes. The blue cloth of the Stormcloak Curiass was of a thick and sturdy material and it kept her somewhat warmer that the rags she had woken up in. She wondered where her things were and why these Imperials had taken away her clothes as well. The entire area shook again and part of the tunnel collapsed before them, making her yelp out.

'Damn. That dragon doesn't give up easy. Are you allright, Hinata?' Ralof looked at her with concern in his kind blue eyes.

She immediately flushed and nodded, not trusting her voice to answer. Ralof noticed and grinned at that.

'You're such a shy thing, lass. It's cute.' he chuckled.

Hinata was about to squirm uncomfortably and blush a more intense shade of red when the two of them heard voices from behind a door near them. Ralof inclined his head towards the door and the Kunoichi nodded, dagger at the ready. The Stormcloak opened the door quickly, revealing a store room and two Imperial soldiers, one wearing light armor and the other – heavy. The two Imperial soldiers rushed at them but before Ralof could even strike one blow, their enemies dropped dead on the floor with daggers sticking out of their somewhat exposed throats. Ralof stood still, axe raised. He blinked and he looked at Hinata's determined expression and then looked at the still warm bodies of their foes. He blinked again.

'You really are something, Hinata. We could use someone like you fighting for the freedom of all of Skyrim.' Ralof said approvingly (and naturally she flushed at the praise) and went to check the bodies for anything useful.'No one would suspect such a pretty young thing like you to be a flurry of destruction. And if I didn't know any better I'd think that pretty pink flush of yours wasn't genuine.'

'N-no, i-it's ' she stuttered uncomfortably, looking down and poking her fingers together.

'Calm down, lass, I believe you.' Ralof chuckled again and patted her shoulder.'I also belive you dropped these.' he grinned as he passed her the two daggers she had thrown, now clean of blood.

'Uhm, t-thank you, R-ralof-san.' She took the daggers and attached them to the belt of her Stormcloak Curiass.

'This is a store room. We should try and find anything useful, like some Health Potions. And I think you might need some Magicka potions yourself. Those little hand tricks of yours definately look like magic.'

Ralof looked about, searching for the aforementioned potions while Hinata busied herself with looking for anything edible or otherwise useful. Soon enough she had attached to her Curiass a small backpack filled with smoked meat, several different batches of spices and what she hoped were herbs of some use. She also found a few bottles with alcohol that she took to clean up the cuts and bruises. She did not know if this place had any proper medical paraphernalia. These people still used potions! Small bottles filled with red liquid that smelled funny and tasted even worse by the look of Ralof's expression as he immediately gulped down one. Despite her initial distrust in the liquid, she couldn't help but notice how he looked better for the wear than before.

'Here, I found a single Minor Magicka Potion. I suggest you drink it, you might feel better. I know it's not much and I don't guarantee the taste, but it will definately help.' he shoved a small bottle filled with blueish liquid.

Hinata blinked and then uncorked it. She sniffed at its contents. It smelled like herbs and ozone. She frowned thoughtfully at it and then gave Ralof one last look before gulping down the minute contents of the potion. Despite the distinctive herbal scent, her taste buds exploded with a somewhat metallic taste and the liquid pricked at her throat all the way down. The effects, she felt almost immediately. A small amount of her chakra pool had been restored.

'We better keep the other potions for later, just in case. You never know what might happen.' Ralof said as he attached a small backpack to his own belt.' Oh, and here is another dagger I found and three kitchen knives.'

'T-thank you.'

'Are you done? We should get going?'

'Uhm...A-almost, Ralof-san.'

Hinata looked about her, for some sort of cloth. She spotted a few empty sacks at one side of the room and she took out one of the iron daggers. The way she had slipped the knives and the daggers on her belt was not going to do. She was a kunoichi, a ninja. And ninja were all about resourcefullness and mobility. One wrong move and one of those kitchen knives would easily slip and stab her in the lower areas of her abdomen. She did not want that to happen. Thus she tore up the rough but sturdy cloth of one sack and wrapped it like bandages around both legs. Ralof watched curiously as she slipped the knives at one leg and the daggers at the other.

Now she was ready.

Further down there were the sounds of fighting. As they rushed in, Hinata saw with no little amount of curiousity as a man dressed in simple black hooded robes expelled some sort of lightning technique at two Stormcloaks, a man and a woman. There were two other soldiers and neither Ralof nor Hinata wasted any time in aiding the fellow escapees. The Kunoichi did the most logical thing and lunged with an iron dagger at the robed man. It was not safe to throw it for the moment- the risk of hurting friendlies was too great. A single stab to the left side of the chest did its job and the robed man fell to the ground, coughing blood and bleeding profusely. The Stormcloaks dealt with the remaining living Imperials in a swift fashion not a few moments later.

'Have any of you seen Jarl Ulfric? Was he with you?' Ralof asked with concern evident in his voice.

The blond woman's answer was negative.

'I see. You two rest up. Here.' Ralof pulled out two of their precious supply of Minor Health Potions. 'It's not much but it'll help.'

'Talos be with you, brother.' The Stormcloak man nodded his head gratefully at the offering. He was worser for wear than the woman and she opted for him to drink both potions. Immediately the gash at his side started to heal and it was no longer bleeding.

Hinata offered a bottle of mead to the woman and was about to tell her to use it to clean the wounds.

'Hey, Ralof! Your little girlfriend knows the most important stuff!' the woman barked out a laugh and then took a big swig, directly from the bottle.' Damn that hit the spot. Bloody Imperials hoarding the good stuff.' the woman eyed the label.' Blackbriar mead too!'

She handed the bottle to the man who was also chuckling, albeit somewhat painfully.

'Hinata, I found this nice big knapsack, you can put the swords and the axe in there and I think you can grab onto some more armor to sell it later for coin.' Ralof handed her said knapsack. 'I also found some lockpicks. I figured you, ah, might be able to put them to good use. I saw some coins and a book in that cage over there. Poor sod. Damn Imperials must've been bored to toss gold coins at him or something.' Ralof shook his head pitifully at the dead robed man locked in one of the cages.'

'I c-can use them. T-thank you, R-ralof-san.' Hinata bowed slightly, her hair obscuring her flushing face for a moment. Ralof grinned again and the other two Stormcloaks chuckled.

She made quick work of the primitive lock. In fact she was certain she could've found her way around it even with one of the smaller kitchen knives at her disposal. She took the small gold coins, looking them over for a few seconds before pocketing them. She also saw a book which she decided to take. There was already another one in the knapsack. It was information and she knew as a ninja that any information was invaluable.

'That's some sort of spellbook.' the Stormcloak man spoke up. 'You can learn the spell from it and use it against your enemies. I figure you wouldn't have a problem with it. You seem to have the knack for it.'

'You are some sort of mage fighter? Meh, to each his own.' the Stormcloak woman said and took another swig of the Blackbriar mead. 'That's some prime quality stuff, you know.' she shook the bottle at the Kunoichi.

'U-uhm, t-there is more in t-the store room.' Hinata said softly.

'Perfect! Ralof, don't wait for us. Can't let them bloody Imperials keep their hold on our mead as well as our land, that would be sacrilege!'

'Damn straight! Let's go, Hinata.'

'Hai.' the Hyuuga girl agreed and followed after Ralof. She turned to give the remaining Stormcloak soldiers one last look. They had some that spark of grim determination in their eyes. They were staying to give her and Ralof a better chance to escape. Her throat tightened at that realization. She turned to them fully and bowed respectfully, her eyes shimmering. These people here were brave men and women. Brave and loyal to the end, like true warriors. She promised herself not to let their sacrifice be in vain. She turned towards Ralof's retrating figure again and quickly followed. As she stepped into pace with him, she reached for his arm and laid her hand on his forearm and squeezed lightly, both seeking his support and offering some of her own. His blue eyes turned to her, but she was looking forward, her face grim and eyes heavy with emotion.

'Sovngarde awaits them and there is no greater honor for a Nord.' he said quietly.

'It still doesn't m-make it any easier t-to lose a comrade in b-battle.'she murmured softly, voice still thick with emotion.

The whole area shook again as there was another roar, this time sounding a bit more distant than the ones before. There were startled yells ahead of them.

'I'm not staying here to get killed by some dragon!' one panicked Imperial soldier cried out.

'Stand still, soldier! We have orders from General Tullius to wait here untill reinforcements arrive.'

Ralof and Hinata did not wait to make their move. Several dead and looted Imperial Soldiers later, the two of them found themselves in what seemed to be a cave. Hinata activated her Byakugan. Ralof stared at her curiously as he watched the veins on her temples subsequently bulge and then shrink again.

'There are several giant spiders ahead and then a slumbering b-bear.'she informed him.

'So that's what that spell does. You can see things?'

'Uhm, y-yes, s-something like t-that.'

Ralof noticed how her stuttering seemed to increase whenever she felt more uncomfortable. To him it seemed like she did not wish to tell him anything about this spell she used. Like it was a secret and she was forbidden from talking about it. He did not press any further.

'Spiders have always given me the creeps. Too many eyes, you know.' Hinata smiled at Ralof's attempt at humor as they entered a part of the cave which was covered in thick pearly cobwebs.'These spiders spew poison, so you better watch out. We don't have anything to treat poisons so we have to be careful.'

Hinata nodded and put away her daggers. She took up her Juken stance, feeling her chakra levels were sufficient for dealing with 4 spiders half the size of Akamaru.

'Byakugan!' she called out and rushed into the spider infested cavern. 'Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!'

'Two Palms!' she swirled and jumped and swirled yet again, striking and dodging the spewed poison from the Frostbite Spiders.' Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-four Palms!'

All four spiders lay dead or otherwise nearing death. Hinata panted as she tried to catch her breath. Maybe she had overestimated her chakra reserves.

'You're a little spitfire, aren't you, lass?' Ralof shook his head as Hinata flushed yet again but managed to giggle a bit, nervously.'Come on, let's see if we can sneak past that bear you mentioned.'

Further ahead they found an overturned wooden cart and various bottles with spirits littering the immediate area around it. Ralof bent over and picked up one of the bottles.

'Hah, more Blackbriar stuff. We should probably take it with us and leave some with Gerdur. She's my sister. She lives in Riverwood and that's where we are heading. I'm sure she'll help you out anyways, but a little something to cheer her up would also help.' A grin spread itself on his face. There was some sort of joke there and Hinata was starting to think that these Nords, as Ralof called their people, were religiously partial to their spirits. It definitely wasn't the Lady Hokage's addiction to alcohol. It resembled Naruto's adoration of ramen. In fact, she believed that was exactly the same thing.

'Hey, look what I found.' Hinata turned to look at what Ralof was holding- a battered, horned Iron Helm. He gave her a particularly familiar cheeky grin that made her blush and he promptly deposited it on top of her head. She blinked nervously as he just kept staring her with that grin plastered on her face. The blush turned a more vivid shade of read and spread down to her neck. 'Look at you! A fiersome warrior of cuteness!'

He was even about to chuckle but then both of them stiffened at the sounds of a bear rumbling and snorting. The Kunoichi silently took off the helmet, Byakugan already active and prepared two of the iron daggers in her hands. This was their last opponent before they hit the road to Riverwood. She moved swiftly, but not as fast as she was capable at the moment. The Stormcloak Curiass was made for protection and a lot of mobility but it was not designed for stealth. The more sensitive ears of the bear would easily pick up the quiet clinging sounds of the underlying chainmail beneath the layer of quilted leather and the thick blue cloth. As she reached an agreeable distance of the beast she let out her breath slowly and silently and moved in for the kill, both daggers poised for the junction between the base of the neck and the first few vertebrae of the spine. Death was painless and instantaneous.

Ralof approached and let out a low whistle.

'Look at those claws. Almost as big as your daggers. They might fetch some nice coin at the Trade Post in Riverwood. And this bear was young and healthy. Look at the pelt and its fur.' he rubbed his hands across its back.

'I c-can skin it.' Hinata offered.

There wasn't a self respecting ninja that did not know how to survive in the wilds. Hunting, fishing, gathering various herbs, roots and fruit that the wilderness offered. Skinning was just one of those things that came with the whole survivalist package. It was a staple course in the academy, seeing as Konoha was literally nestled in the middle of one of the thickest forested areas on the Entire elemental continent.

Skinning the beast was not a difficult task but it proved slightly overwhelming. The bear was easily four times her size and a bit more than twice and a half Ralof's. Removing the claws without damaging them took some more skills involved, like her Byakugan. With the Stormcloak's help, she cut up all of the edible meat from the animal. With that, their packs were bursting and Hinata hoped that they'd reach Riverwood before said meats started to spoil. At her concerns Ralof merely patted her shoulder and said:

'Riverwood is around a day's walk from here at a decent pace. It's already late in the afternoon so we can either set camp at some point down the way or brave the road in the night. And don't worry about the meat spoiling. It gets so cold at night we might actually find it somewhat frosted in the morning.' Ralof grinned at that but Hinata definately did not find such low temperature drops to her liking. Her slightly frowning expression said as much.

'Don't worry, Hinata. I'm here and I'm sure I can keep you warm.' Ralof closed his eyes and laughed heartily until he heard a heavy thud and found the poor, beat red Hyuuga Heiress unconscious on the floor.

A/N: And this is the prologue to my latest idea obsession. Ickle Hinata-chan as the Dragonborn. I pretty much have an idea as to how she has ended up in Tamriel without any memories of it. I also find Ralof's overly friendly attitude somewhat cannon for him, since Hinata looks nothing more that a ridiculously cute girl with large breasts and the cutest utterly shy disposition ever. I think I did justice to her character, considering her situation and everything. I promise to have most of the important questlines present in some form and I even take requests and suggestions for where should Hinata go next or who should she meet and interact with. Well, that's all from me for now! Be sure to read and review as that's the main thing that would get the story updating itself faster! If you are interested in anything else I've written, check out my profile! And if you have nothing better to do even after that, you can always PM me. I happen to find the best inspirations among the random little things, so replying to a few private messages is always fun!