Maybe she’s dead
Sato crouched down and looked at the lake before them. According to Hinata's Byakugan, this lake was the entrance to the hidden waterfall village.
"Sato kun, we should swim down together; those two guards look alert."
Hinata said while tying her hair into a bun, it would be much easier to dive underwater if her hair didn't get in the way.
"Can you hold this for me?"
Hinata asked for help while holding a hair clip in her mouth. Sato, who was enjoying Hinata's serious look, smiled and took the clip from her lips.
And then he held it to his own lips.
"Aah!"
This made Hinata freeze for a second and then shyly look down; if this was Hinata a few years ago, she would have fainted by now.
But this was Hinata after marriage; she and Sato have been together for a while now; they were all alone on a vacation. She had built up some immunity.
"That... I am done."
Hinata softly asked for her clip back; instead of giving it to her, Sato walked forward and clipped it to her hair himself.
"There, it looks good now."
Sato said warmly, and Hinata smiled happily, feeling fluffy inside. As far as she was concerned, this vacation was a great success.
"Let's go down; the guards are playing cards; it's a good chance."
Hinata had to say this with great courage; she really didn't want to move away from Sato right now, but she knew what was important: they could have their alone time later in that abandoned house over there.
"Alright, let's do this."
Sato clicked his fingers and held Hinata's hand.
*Splash*
Both dived down side by side. Hinata's underwater swimming posture was graceful, like that of a mermaid; Sato, on the other hand, had a vigorous shark-like posture.
The lake water was clear, so it wasn't difficult for Sato to see where he was going. As for Hinata, Byakugan was a cheat. She could be buried six feet underground, and she would see just fine.
*Point*
Hinata suddenly pointed towards the shore; the popping veins around her eyes looked ferocious, which meant she found something using her Byakugan.
Sato didn't know what she found, but soon he understood.
*Splash*
A man in guard uniform jumped down into the water, which made Sato and Hinata freeze.
'Shit'
Sato's eyes shook; being discovered would not be good for them.
Thankfully, the guard had just jumped down; there were still air bubbles around him that were blocking his vision. Sato and Hinata had two seconds; after that, the air bubbles would pop and the guard would be able to see them.
*BZZZT*
Regardless of the water around him, Sato activated lightning chakra mode and rushed forward like a torpedo.
*Thap*
He kicked a large fish with so much force that the fish was flung towards the swimming guard. Who had just gotten rid of the bubbles around him.
'What was that sound? Maybe there are intruders—wait, what is that? Oh shit! It's a fish-'
*Boom*
The fish collided heavily with the guard, making a big splash in the water, which made the other guard quickly dive down, thinking it might be an enemy.
'I hope Haru is okay! He went to check underwater after he saw some movement. Wait, is that a fish? You made all that noise for a fish! Haru, you bastard.'
The second guard was glaring at the first guard. The first guard didn't know what to say; he thought there were intruders, but it was this big fish instead.
*Splash*
Just when the two guards were busy with the fish Sato had kicked over, two sneaky figures got out of the water and ran away.
They were Sato and Hinata, who escaped successfully after Sato distracted them with that hapless fish.
*Tap*
Sato walked sneakily with Hinata; she was finding the correct direction for them. They were easily avoiding people this way.
Soon they reached their destination, the abandoned houses.
"Sato kun, that's the place; those are the houses. But I don't see that girl anywhere."
"I swear she was here a second ago; I saw her with my Byakugan."
Hinata was confused, and Sato was frowning. Hinata had a range of 10 kilometers; unless that girl ran 10 kilometers in a single second, she shouldn't be able to escape Hinata's gaze.
"That's not good; did you check everything? Try to find her, Hinata, if she sees us and tells the village we will be in big trouble."
Sato didn't have a sensory ninjutsu; he couldn't help her with the search. Hinata knew this as well; she focused on her Byakugan and checked everything deeply.
"There are no seals on the houses; she is not hiding behind anything; I checked underground too; she isn't there."
"I can't find her chakra signature anywhere in this whole village, but it's impossible to hide from the Byakugan. Where did she go?"
Hinata was sweating; they were standing in this abandoned area; there was nobody around this place; only insects were scurrying around.
Everything was still; there was a creepy silence in this place.
*Gulp*
Hinata swallowed with nervousness; she grabbed Sato's hand and spoke with a bit of fear in her voice.
"Sato kun, that girl disappeared; do you think she was a ghost?"
"I remember her chakra being weird; maybe she was a dead girl who haunts that building."
Hinata's palms were sweaty; when she was a child, she was afraid of the dark. She remembered asking her father if ghosts exist.
Her father, being the ever-serious man, had given her a serious answer that time.
"Sato kun, my father once told me that he had never seen a ghost, so if ghosts do exist, they must be able to hide from the Byakugan."
Sato twitched his lips. He knew Hinata was scared, but he wasn't afraid of this supposed ghost. He had died once; if anything, he was the strongest ghost around.
And he didn't think this was haunting; he had never seen a ghost in the original story, but waterfall village was a secret place. Who knows what was hidden here? That girl could be Lord Jashin for all he knows.
"I hate not having information; we need to know more about this village, Hinata. Let's check the houses."
"Haunted or not, nobody is going to scare me away so easily; I will find you and I will end you; do you hear me?"
Sato narrowed his eyes towards the abandoned buildings; a cold wind blew through them, as if in response.
Hinata's Byakugan also noticed something; the insects around this place were watching them, which made her even more creeped out. She takes it back; this was not a good vacation spot.