Hey guys! Hope you liked the last chapter. And thanks SoraROCK for reviewing! I really appreciate it. Hope you like this chapter as well.

Xxx Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto xxX

… Gangnam Style X3 …

The busty blonde's eyes flutter open as she turns over in her bed with a deep groan. She grabs one of her pillows and tugs it above her head to try to block out that obnoxious sound. Sound from where, she has no idea, but it's been going on for awhile and it's kept her up for some time now. Yes it was bright outside with the sun's rays shining through her curtains, but she was old and she still needed her beauty sleep.

"HAH! HAH!"

"Ugh~~~! Damn it all!" Tsunade groans, finally tossing the sheets from her body and climbing out of the comfort that was her bed.

Grabbing her silk robe from her closet, the elder woman makes her way outside in search of the noise. She heads to the children's rooms to check on them, but is mildly surprised to find them gone. With a grunt she makes her way to the back door, opening it only to be greeted by the source.

"HAH! HAH! HAH!"

Before her very eyes, her granddaughters and their friends were all training together with their green clad friend leading the focused group.

"HAH! HAH!"

Lee was leading them with a series of kicks, punches, stretches, swoops, and all kinds of maneuvers that they were all trying very hard to imitate, even including the smart lazy bastard that always manages to best her in shogi.

Tsunade leaned against the porch and watch the group of teens struggle to follow through their exercises for a bit before finally making her presence known. She coughs lightly into her fist, alerting the group and making them turn towards her. Sakura is the first to greet her.

"Oh, good morning Grandma Tsunade!" The pinkette cheers, wiping her brow as she jogs over to the elder woman. "I hope we didn't wake you."

Tsunade gazes at her granddaughter with a small quirk of her lips, placing her polished hand upon her head. "Morning Sakura. You guys didn't wake me. I just love waking up to the sound of hard training in the morning."

Sakura cringes at her beloved grandmother's teasing, but instantly turns to glare at her admirer when he suddenly cheers boisterously.

"Yosh!" Lee punches the air, beads of sweat glistening on his thick brows. "That is the spirit, Tsunade-sama! The power of youth still burns within you!"

"Oh?" Tsunade chuckles while the others grumble under their breaths about Lee's obliviousness. "Well thank you, Rock Lee. Glad to know that someone thinks of me as 'youthful'."

Sakura's emerald irises roll when Lee responds with his signature 'nice guy' pose and a cheeky grin. Tsunade removes her hand from the rosette's head, wrapping her arms under her bust.

"So what are you all doing out here training this early for anyway?"

The group of teens glance at one another before turning back to the elder woman.

"We're training to go look for Hinata." Replies Ino, her baby blue's filled with determination.

"Huh?"

Tsunade fights hard to keep her face as unreadable as possible since the inside of her mind was running rampant. They wanted to go looking for Hinata? While it's understandable that they would want to do so, she couldn't just simply let them do so in case they actually managed to find her, which in turn means finding Minato and Kushina's dwelling, where her lover was also currently stationed due to these circumstances. From what she remembers, didn't these boys say that they were sent by the Hokage, himself, as Anbu to watch over the girls? If these titles are true, she has no doubt in her mind that they will manage to find the cave and then all hell will certainly break loose once more.

She has no idea how this situation is going to resolve itself, but she would wait until she has word from Jiraiya before she let's these children do anything drastic.

Shifting her position, the blonde's eyes harden, earning her quizzical stares from the young group.

"No."

The teens stare her down with wide eyes. "What?"

"No." Tsunade shakes her head. "I forbid it. I'm not going to allow you guys to put yourselves in harms way again."

A majority of the group gasp in shock, while others glare heatedly at the blonde. "And why the hell not?" Temari retorts, her fist clenched at her sides. "We know she's alive out there, so why the hell not?!"

"We're training hard for this purpose, ma'am, and I'm desperate to find her and bring her back safe." Neji chimes in, standing tall against the group.

"I've been trained to track before, so we have a decent chance of locating her." Adds Sai, an eerie smile in place that sent a cold shiver down the elder woman's spine.

Before any of the others could question her, Tsunade holds her hand up to silence them.

"Enough! This isn't up for discussion. I said you can't go, so end of stor-"

"And why the hell not, dammit!?" Temari cuts in, her teal eyes flashing with anger. "That's our sister; your flipping granddaughter for crying out loud! I thought you'd jump at the chance to find her since you know she's most likely alive now! So why the he-"

"And you expect me to just let my other granddaughters walk out to their possible deaths as well!?" Tsunade's voice cracks, her fist smashing into the pole of her porch. "I've lost two already and I don't intend on losing anymore! Call me selfish, but I don't want to risk it!"

"But she's alive!" Ino cries, attempting to move forward, but is held back by Shikamaru.

"So are you, and I intend to keep it that way! Now drop it! You are not to leave this property under any circumstance to go search for her." Her amber eyes downcast sadly, her thoughts swirling. "Believe me. I want to get Hinata back just as much as you all do. But… I just can't lose the rest of you in the process. I'm sorry."

"But grandma…" Sakura whines, moving to take hold of her grandmother's sleeve, only to step back when Tsunade turns her back on her.

"I said drop it, Sakura." Just as Tsunade was about to re-enter her home, she peers over her shoulder at the disheartened teens. "You guys can continue your training or whatever, but just keep it down. I'm going back to sleep. I have a headache now."

And with that, the blonde woman disappeared in her home, leaving the teens to wallow in silence.

"What are we going to do?" Konohamaru suddenly questions while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

No one responded for a good few minutes, leaving the tension heavy and thick in the air.

"We continue prepping." Sakura suddenly spoke up, earning her perplexed stares from her friends.

"But grandma just said-" Tenten starts, but is quickly cut off my Temari placing her hand on her shoulder.

"Who cares what she said. We know she's out there, so we have to find her."

"Temari's right." Sakura says finally turning to the others, her green eyes shining with determination. "Just because she is scared for us doesn't mean that we can leave Hinata behind. We're sisters, and we're friends. We never leave the other behind when there's a chance to help them."

"But what about your grandmother?" Shikamaru asks.

"What about her?" Temari shrugs with a smirk. "We'll just sneak. It shouldn't be so hard, right? After all, isn't sneaking supposed to be apart of your job description, Crybaby?"

Shikamaru pouts at the dirty blonde's taunts, but remains silent, understanding her point.

"So it's settled then?" Asks Sakura, placing her hands on her hips. "Alright then. Lee." Said man perks up at the call of his name from his crush. "Please continue with your training."

Rock Lee's already round eyes widen with delight at her instructions. "Yosh!" Jumping and punching the air like a giddy child, Lee proceeds to lead the others through the rest of their physical training, pushing each and every one of them passed their limits.

… Gangnam Style X3 …

"You sure you have everything, Shizune? 'Cause once we pass these gates, I'm not turning back until we have the girls."

The dark haired woman pats her bag, while Anko shrugs hers on comfortably. "I'm sure. I've double checked my supplies so I know I have everything I need. The question is, do you have everything?"

Anko scoffed, pointing a thumb at her bag on her back. "Of course I do! I'm not as forgetful as you'd like to think I am, sister."

"Oh really?" Shizune challenges with a raise of her brow. "Tell me then, where's your water bottle for the road?"

"Pssh, of course, I have it right he- what the?!" The elder sister begins to search her person frantically for the missing item, only to stop once she notices her conniving sibling holding it with a smirk. With a snarl, she snatches the container from Shizune's hands and stomps off past the village gates with the younger woman following behind.

"Shut up, Shizune. Don't say a word."

Shizune simply shrugs. "I don't have to say anything when your actions speak volumes for me."

"Ugh! Let's just hurry. It should take us two and a half days to get there if we don't take unnecessary breaks."

"Hmph."

Without another word spoken, the two make their trek out of the village, leaving behind no message of their departure.

… Gangnam Style X3 …

The cooling atmosphere of the room made her shiver for the umpteenth time, but she tried her damndest to pay it no mind. Right now she was focused on the man in front of her whose focus was glued to the glowing tubes beside her. For a moment their eyes met, and she could have sworn she saw a gleam in his dark eyes, but once again, she paid it no mind because she already knew how sick this man was.

"Well, my dear, it seems like everything is coming along quite fine. Everything seems to be moving at a faster pace thanks to you." He tilts his head towards her and she forces back her urge to snarl. "I must say, I'm quite impressed. But then again, look who's providing the extra power." He chuckles.

Capturing one last glance at the tubes, the man makes his way towards the monitors and begins typing away before heading towards the exit. He spares her one last stare and farewell before leaving her to the silence once more.

As soon as his presence is gone, she releases a heavy, shaky sigh, her many tails and toes twitching as she does so. Once calm, she turns her red gaze over to the tubes and stares longingly and hopeful.

"F-For once…" Her voice cracks a bit from lack of use. "I will do my best... to make up for my mistakes."

… Gangnam Style X3 …

Minato and his mentor sit across from one another at the dining table, the blonde with his head in his hands and Jiraiya staring at him with a look of worry.

"You don't look well today, Minato."

Jiraiya hears a low mock snicker come from his former student. "Well considering I didn't get much sleep last night I'm not surprised."

"Hm." Jiraiya's brows furrow in displeasure, but he doesn't say anything given that he can pretty much figure the reason why.

With what Tsunade's granddaughter said the other night, I'm not surprised that Minato's like this. But…

"How's Naruto doing, Jiraiya-sama?" The older man blinks out of his thoughts at the question. With Minato looking at him now, he can clearly see the tired bags under his deep blue eyes. "Has he left his room at all?"

Jiraiya sighs and scratches the back of his neck. "Well…"

"I'll take that as a no." Minato says as he switches to resting his head in his palm. "What about Hinata? Did she manage to sleep well last night? I'm worried Naruto may have kicked her out."

"I did hear a bit of yelling coming from his room, but by the time I checked on them, they were fast asleep on opposite ends of the room, so I let it be."

The blonde nods with a half smile. "That's good. Where is she now?"

"I believe she's still in his room as well. I haven't seen her wandering about yet, so she might still be sleeping."

"I see."

The two fall quiet for a moment and Jiraiya contemplates whether or not he should bring up the issue from the other night. Swallowing dryly, he decides it might be best to ask about it now, rather than to let it fester for a while longer. However, just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, Minato motions to stand and turns to leave the room with hunched shoulders.

"Would you do me a favor and check on them for me. I'm gonna try to catch up on some sleep for a bit."

Quickly Jiraiya stands from his seat with a stuttered "sure" as he watches his friend disappear towards his bedroom. Once out of sight, a groan escapes the elder man's throat and his muscles tense as he tries his best to not punch a hole through the dining table.

Why did everything have to tangle into something so messy for the people he cherishes?

Taking a moment to calm himself, he finally makes his way towards Naruto's room to check on Hinata and him like Minato has asked.

… Gangnam Style X3 …

She couldn't sleep well last night. How could she when the person just across from her had brought up the awful truth to her in his fit of desperate anger?

Did she really tell them that Kushina was in trouble because she wanted them to feel what her family was feeling now at this very moment with her gone and her other sister and friend killed? Could it be that her vision this time wasn't really a vision, but a suppressed wish of hers?

On and off she had been between both sleep and heartache at his words to the point where she finally gave up trying to sleep altogether. Instead, she opted to either stare at the ceiling or, like at this very moment, stare at the blonde fox across from her sleeping with a pained expression on his whiskered face.

She knows that he doesn't fancy her much, but she still wishes that she could do something to ease the pain that he was feeling. After hearing a bit about him and his mother from Minato during her first couple of days in the cave, she felt bad for the two fox demons. Kushina's protectiveness kept Naruto sheltered for all of his life to the point that the only two people that he has met beside herself were her grandmother and her boyfriend, Jiraiya. And now because of that protectiveness, Naruto has become extremely attached to his parents, especially his mother. If she were to be gone for long periods of time, despite whoever is with him, he'll have a tendency to lash out; kind of like he has been doing to her since her stay.

Closing her tired eyes to take a deep breath, she opens them once more only to give a slight jolt upon noticing two ocean blue eyes staring straight back at her. She coughs lightly as a response to accidentally swallowing her own saliva down the wrong pipe due to the surprise, bringing her fist to her lips. Once calm, she remains silent, anticipating if the blonde will say anything.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stare, Ms. Flexible?"

Hinata holds back a gasp as she curls in on herself, her eyes still stuck on his. "I-I wasn't-"

"I could feel you doing it almost all night." Naruto counters monotonously. "It makes it hard to sleep."

"I'm sorry."

Naruto gazes at her apologetic face for a moment, his lip curling into a snarl before he turns on his side with his back towards her.

"Not like I could get much sleep anyway."

"Naruto-kun…" The bluenette calls, her eyes showing the grief she feels as plain as day.

"Don't call me that." She immediately bites her tongue when she notices his back muscles tense. "Matter of fact, don't call me anything at all. Just get the hell out of here. I don't understand why everyone wants you to stay. Everything was fine until you showed up, enticing my mom's demon urges with your dumpy-"

Naruto is suddenly cut off by the sound of a blanket being tossed and the sound of someone moving furiously. Curious, he slightly looks over his shoulder, fully turning around upon seeing the meek girl, with tears in her eyes, gathering what little of her belongings she had in his room.

As she collects her things she hears his movement and abruptly turns to the fox with items slipping from her arms. Naruto is taken aback by the fierce look in her gaze.

"I didn't ask to be here, okay?!" Hinata hollars, her limit finally having been pushed. It's bad enough that she already felt like garbage for everything, but this boy didn't have any right to make her feel even worse.

"I was j-just supposed to be making a normal trip to my grandmother's when out of nowhere your mother shows up, killing my sister and my other sister's b-boyfriend and kidnaps me for a supposed feast! As much as I didn't want to believe it, I thought I was going to die that day! I-I thought I was going to be ripped apart by a family of demon foxes and make the worst possible meal ever! I didn't even think that I would still be standing here today, having this conversation with someone like you!"

As Hinata huffs and puffs, Naruto gets over his initial shock of her spazzing out on him. He jumps up from his bed as well, coming to stand toe to toe with her, his own anger mirroring hers.

"If it wasn't for my pussy of a father you would have been shat out a long time ago! And don't go blaming my mom for what happened to you broads! It's not her fault that you morons didn't heed her warning! She gave you a fucking chance to leave alive! But no! You just had to continue 'cause your lives are obviously forfeit! And just what exactly is someone like me, huh?! A freak of nature? An abnormal? A monster just like what everyone else seems to think we are?! Maybe my mother was right in killing all of you lot, 'cause humans just never seem to chan-"

*SLAP*

One minute he was staring her in the face, the next minute he's looking at his pile of clothes to his right. His cheek stung like hell in the form of her hand, which was now covering her own face from his peripheral. His ears twitched at the sound of a sniff followed by her muffled voice.

"J-Jerk."

Naruto brings his dead stare to her once more as she continues to speak while covering her face from his view.

"You are such a j-jerk! No matter what has happened between my family and yours I somehow still refuse to wish death upon any of you! That's the only reason I've remained here until Jiraiya-san advises me to do otherwise! If I were to head back towards my family now, they would surely track you down and without Kushina-san here, who knows what could happen to you and Minato-san and my friends as well! I couldn't bear it if any more people I care about died because of something I did! So how dare you say that my friend's dying was just! You st-stupid jerk!"

Hinata suddenly reaches out and slams her fist weakly into his chest repeatedly. Naruto just stands there unfazed by her blows as she continues on like a mantra, repeating "stupid jerk" over and over.

Not long after, her punches become fewer and fewer until she places her forehead against him, exhausted from her overexertion and lack of sleep. Hinata braces herself against him by placing her hands just above his stomach, Naruto cautiously watching her as she does so.

The two stand there like that for a moment in silence. After collecting her breath, Hinata finally pushes off from the blonde and turns her back to him. Naruto makes no move to stop her as he watches her finish collecting her belongings and putting them in a pile beside her makeshift cot.

Once she has everything piled somewhat neatly, she stands again with her back to him, her fist at her sides. Once more silence falls between them until they both sigh at the same time.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"I-I'm sorry-"

Hinata turns around with guilty eyes only to find the same look on Naruto's scrunched up, saddened face.

"I-I'm sorry for hitting you!" She stammers quickly, earning her a look from the blonde. "I-I let my emotions get to me and I shouldn't have done that, b-but you just made me so angry a-an-and I-"

Naruto holds up a clawed hand while the other scratches the back of his neck nervously. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry." Her eyes widen. "I shouldn't have said half of the things I said; I'm just being a little bitch 'bout my mom being gone and I'm taking it all out on you. You had every right to slap the hell out of me, -ttebayo."

Naruto grinds his teeth together and closes his eyes with a hiss. He felt so uncomfortable and awkward trying to apologize to her, because after watching her pack and the slap she just dealt him he knew he went too far. His father always told him he had a temper on him and that he needs to learn when he's gone too far or when he's getting to the point of going too far. He's just so pissed off because it's almost too coincidental that as soon as she sees her family again after being kept here for whatever reason his father and godfather say, she suddenly says that she "visioned" his mother being in some kind of trouble. He doesn't know shit about this girl, but according to both her and the perverted old man, she has a tendency to have these kinds of things on and off. Sometimes they could mean something, other times not so much.

He's just hoping that this time it's one of those ones that means nothing.

"You're damn right she had every reason to slap you. I could even hear that from all the way down the corridor." A laugh is heard by the entrance to Naruto's room, making the two teens turn in that direction with shocked expressions.

Upon seeing his godfather leaning against his doorway with a grin, his cheeks burn slightly and he turns away with a huff.

Hinata, on the other hand, simply flushes with embarrassment at being overheard and starts to apologize. "J-Jiraiya-san I-I am truly sorry for that. I ho-hope we didn't disturb you and Minato-san."

The white haired elder smiles towards the sheepish girl, waving away her concerns. "No, no it's alright. Minato and I were already up, but he just went back to sleep after asking me to check up on you two." His light-hearted expression turns somewhat candid. "Claims he couldn't get much sleep last night, and judging by what I've heard and what I'm seeing, it looks like you two didn't either."

"..."

The two remain silent, even as Naruto belches out a yawn while Hinata rubs her tired eyes. Jiraiya sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

"It seems like we're all tuckered out here, so why don't you two try to catch up on some much needed sleep like your father, Naruto, and then we can try to resolve this mess once we all have clear and sort of level heads. Deal?"

Hinata was about to agree with the older man when the blonde fox suddenly turns towards him with a pout and red cheeks.

"I thought you said my dad sent you to check up on us, -ttebayo?" Naruto spoke in a childish defiant tone.

Jiraiya chuckles at his godson. "Well he did, and I'm here, aren't I?" Naruto snorts in response. Jiraiya shakes his head. "Anyway, it seems like whatever issues you two just had, you managed to resolve them for now, at least, with apologies given, so what more is there for me to say other than go to sleep?"

Naruto and Hinata spare each other a short lived glance, one that didn't go unnoticed by the old sage. The two bring their gaze once more upon the silver man, Hinata nodding while Naruto shrugs.

"I guess so." Mutters Naruto as he makes his way towards his bed. "I guess we'll see ya later then, -ttebayo."

Smiling up at Jiraiya, Hinata follows the blonde's lead and tucks herself into her little cot as well. "Indeed. Sleep well, Jiraiya-san… Naruto-kun..." Her already soft voice grows weak when his name passes her lips, making Jiraiya notice the slight tension in the fox's back.

When Naruto doesn't reply, Jiraiya once again shakes his head and turns toward his girlfriend's granddaughter with a warm smile.

"Same to you, dear. Nap well."

After sparing one more glance at the duo to see if they had fallen asleep, Jiraiya slips out of the room, closing the curtain behind him and pressing his back against the cave wall. He presses his fingers to his forehead to try to ease the tension there. This truly was a tangled mess that they found themselves in, one that Kushina has undoubtedly caused. He just prays that he can somehow find a way to fix everything before things became far more complicated than he can handle.

… Gangnam Style X3 …

Well… I officially don't even know how to write words properly down on paper in the ways that it will properly describe what goes on in my fucked up head, aha. Depression really does have a way of kicking your ass into a lazy, unmotivational sack of nothing. Anyway hope you somehow found a way to enjoy this scrap of a chapter. Please review, follow, and/or fave and let me know how I'm doing. Feedback really helps. Thanks for reading!