Feral Dreams

The room was silent. Hiashi opposite her had not made so much as a sound throughout her report, while Neji had excused himself some five minutes prior when he had "accidentally" crushed his cup at her explanation of the events regarding Ten Ten. The silence was oppressive, even though it was not hostile, she felt that if it continued much longer it would smother her.

Failure was not something Hiashi accepted among his family, and judging from the story, not only had they failed miserably in their mission, but had caused the deaths of two able bodied ninja. While Hiashi did not think highly of either of the two, he knew just how capable they were and the impact that their loss would have on Konoha.

"Is there anything else daughter?" Hiashi's steely gaze was fixed on her, mentally keeping track of all of her reactions.

She swallowed back the lump that was forming in her throat, not wanting to but having to explain to her father about her new charge, "Yes father, there is one other thing," she took a deep breath, clearing her mind of the tension from the meeting. She subtly glided her hand across the coat in her lap, squeezing the sleeve in her grip for strength, "From today, I will be taking on a ward from outside the Hyuga."

Hiashi held his urge to laugh at her for presuming that she had permission, instead he chose to test her resolve, "We do not take on wards from outside of the Hyuga, these are the laws. I'd presume you would know this since I have not as of yet given your birthright to your sister."

Her eyes did not change, but her voice lowered to a dangerous tone, "I am aware of the laws father, but in this matter you have no choice. I was not asking your permission to take on a ward, I was notifying you that I was taking on a ward."

The silence returned, but the tables had turned. Hiashi shifted imperceptibly, disturbed by his daughters willfulness and sudden power to speak out against him. She had displayed such a demeanor the night before, but now it was far more prominent and potentially dangerous for himself. She did not speak but he could sense her daring him to contest her claim, and truthfully, he was uncertain as to what would happen if he did.

He pondered how the issue could be safely defused and after a moments deep thought, he came to an acceptable compromise that would save him face and difficulties. "Very well daughter, I am willing to come to a compromise, however there are two conditions, first.."

"There will be no compromises," Her voice cut across his, stopping him, "She is staying her and you will accept it father."

Hiashi could not believe the audacity of his daughter, to dare inform the leader of the Hyuga that he had no choice in something regarding HIS clan, "Know your place daughter!" Hiashi fumed.

"No father, I don't think you understand. I want to do this the delicate way, but you are apparently to stubborn. With one phrase to Hokage-sama, you would be forced to deal with this and believe me, I know she would do it." She stopped herself, realizing that she was ranting and probably causing more harm than good. Hiashi watched her intently as she slowed her breathing and suppressed her irritation, when she regained control of herself, she continued, "My apologies for that father, I lost myself somewhat... Sair will not be purview to the Hyuga secrets, nor will I raise her as one unless she chooses the path herself. The only thing that must be known father, is that as of this moment, Sair is my daughter and you will treat her as such."

A master of the poker face, Hiashi managed to keep a straight face during his daughter's declaration, however he couldn't seem to bring himself to respond. She had stated her claim with conviction and did not appear to have any intention on altering it or backing down.

She watched her father intently, striving to keep her own composure and calm while waiting on baited breath for his inevitable reaction. After four minutes of silence against his empty expression, Hinata took the silence as begrudged acceptance and stood up, pulling the coat from her lap to around her shoulders.

"Thank you father, I'm glad that you see reason." She turned to the door, reaching out for the solid brass handle as Hiashi snapped himself from his stupor.

"Daughter, wait a moment." She stopped her hand, but did not turn around to face him, "What is the reason for you taking this child?"

Hinata didn't need to think on her reasons, but she let the memory of his last request sink into her mind... she wanted to think of him, even though she knew that it would only bring pain. Her voice was sad as she answered her fathers question with only a few short words, "Because he asked me to."

Hiashi watched as his eldest daughter threw open the door and disappeared into the hallways, allowing the heavy door to slowly creak back into place until it was left just slightly ajar. He tapped his lip thoughtfully as he stood and moved to close the door to his study, "This could prove interesting," He thought casually to himself, "I believe I will be delaying that paperwork to make Hanabi the official heir for a little bit longer to see how all this develops." Ink dripped onto a fresh scroll as Hiashi returned to his seat, making notes on the recent developments within the compound and of his heiress.


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Her heart beat erratically, thumping against her chest and her breath was ragged as she tried to regain control over her body. Hinata had moved herself into a side hall out of sight of her father's study where she now leaned against the wall, trying to regain her composure. She checked the time on a nearby clock, and seeing that it was almost one, she decided to head in the direction of the kitchens with hopes that she'd find her sister and newly appointed daughter. As she moved in her intended direction, her mind drifted to thoughts concerning her current situation. One day she had hoped to have children of her own, but this was unexpected to such a degree that even though she was willing, she was still having some difficulties dealing with it.

The hallways blurred together as she sped by, wanting to be as far away from her father's study as possible. When she finally entered the kitchen, she loosed a satisfied breath as she saw Hanabi sitting at a one of the tables, fruitlessly trying to teach Sair the proper way to use chopsticks. Hinata walked over to the table and sat opposite them, drawing Hanabi's attention away from her seventh attempt at teaching Sair.

"So how did..." The rest of what Hanabi said was drowned out as Sair's excited voice chimed in after noticing Hinata's presence.

"Mommy, look! Aunty Hana taught Sair how to hold sticks." Sair held them out proudly to Hinata who simple shook her head, a light grin across her lips as she reached across the table and lightly mussed the little girl's hair.

"That's great Sair, however, you eat with the thin end, not the thick end. You have to turn them around." The girl looked down to her hands curiously, not fully grasping that the way she was holding her chopsticks was not the correct manner. Hinata pulled Sair's right hand onto the table and opened it, allowing the two eating utensils to roll out of her grip. Next she molded Sair's hand into the proper shape, then slid the two chopsticks into the appropriate locations in her grip, "There we go, that's how you hold them."

Sair pulled her hand back and sat quietly, seeming to analyze the awkward manner in which she was apparently supposed to hold the two sticks.

Shaking her head in amusement, Hanabi turned back to her sister, "So, how did it go sister?" she looked her over her sister curiously, wondering what ill reactions there would be to the meeting that had just passed.

"Well he didn't disown me yet, though I wouldn't be surprised if that casual threat of his for making you the official heir becomes more of reality soon enough." Hanabi arched a curious eyebrow at her older sister.

"What did you say to our father, sister?" Hanabi's voice became cold and harbored a subtle, menacing tone. While she hoped things would turn out well for her sister, she had no interest in being pulled into her arguments.

Hinata embarrassedly ran a hand through her hair in hopes of distracting her sister while she thought of a proper way to describe what had happened, "Well...it's not like I ordered him to accept the fact that Sair would be living here... more like I told him that he had no choice in the matter, and that at a word the Hokage would support my decision."

This was the second time in less than twelve hours that Hanabi's brain seemed to have struck an impasse, as well, for the first time ever, her sister had managed to run her down with a figurative parade of illogical actions.

Seeing that her sister's mind had seemed to freeze, and not really wanting to be there when it unfroze, Hinata stood up and walked around the table to Sair, "Well, thanks for watching Sair while I was busy, if you need help with anything just ask me." Hinata scooped Sair up in one arm and tossed her potato sack style, over her shoulder, "I'll see you later sister, Sair and I need to go and see Hokage-sama, bye." With that Hinata quickly turned around and bolted out of the kitchen, a slightly confused Sair over her shoulder.

Hinata managed to make it down two full hallways before the echoing sound of her sister's voice could be heard screaming, "DAMNIT, GET BACK HERE SISTER!"

Thinking she had gone far enough to escape her sisters wrath for the moment, Hinata placed Sair on the ground and continued walking towards the front of the house. "Come on Sair, we have to go see Hokage-sama again."

Switching the chopsticks to her left hand, Sair ran up to Hinata and grabbed her hand, "Okay mommy." paying little attention, she casually spun the chopsticks between her fingers with surprising agility.

Impressed, Hinata watched the little girl play with the smooth wood sticks while continuing towards the exit. It was then that she noticed for the first time that Sair was no longer wearing the light yukata, rather she was now wearing her sisters old training gear, black long-shorts, a loose black vest with netting over the neck, shoulders and biceps, and thick wrapped sandals. It looked out of place on her, but since it fit, she wasn't going to complain.

After leaving the house and compound, they walked at a slow pace, not showing any particular interest in rushing off to their appointment. After a few minutes of walking, an odd craving struck Hinata so the two took a small detour and acquired themselves some takoyaki from a street vendor that she knew of.

Contentedly popping the large doughy balls into her mouth as they walked, Hinata was glad that she had found someone to distract her, if it hadn't been for Sair, she was fairly certain that she would be a depressed wreck at the moment. Sair attempted to mimic her, trying to eat the over large takoyaki in single bites, however after having two bounce off of her teeth and roll away on the ground, she abandoned such ambitions and just stuffed her face with the tasty treat.

They stopped and sat at a bench just outside the Hokage tower, Hinata wasn't in a rush to go see Tsunade and she hadn't been given a specific time to show up, so she figured another ten minutes wouldn't hurt. Sair did not sit when Hinata took her seat, rather she stared intensely at the side of Hinata's neck in a manner that distrubed her greatly.

Two minutes ticked by before Hinata finally became creeped out enough to ask, "Sair, what are you staring at?" Hinata's voice held a hint of demand, snapping Sair's attention away from her neck and up to her eyes.

"He's sorry mommy, he doesn't want to hurt you." Sair's voice was a misty tone, sounding almost as though she was ready to cry.

Hinata looked on in confusion, "Huh? He?"

Sair ignored Hinata's question and climbed up onto her lap, she placed her hand on the left side of Hinata's neck and gently stroked the smooth skin in the indentation between her neck and her collar bone, "It hurts a lot mommy, but all he needs is a hug..." Her voice trailed off as she rambled. The little girl looked up into Hinata's eyes, she could see tears starting to form in the corners of her crimson eyes, "Can Sair have a hug mommy?"

Taken by surprise by her odd behavior, Hinata decided the best idea would be to just ignore it for the moment and give in to the child's request. "I think I can manage that Sair." Hinata hooked her left arm around the petit form and pulled her against her chest in a loose hug, Sair responded as expected since her arms snaked around Hinata's stomach and squeezed lightly.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Sair keeping her face firmly pressed into Hinata's chest as Hinata gracefully stroked the girls long hair, humming a sympathetic tone to hopefully calm the girl back to her normal behavior.

"Mommy," Sair's muffled voice chimed up to her, she rolled her head upwards so that her eyes were looking up at Hinata's face, "I'm hungry."

Hinata arched a disbelieving eyebrow at her, for such a tiny girl, she sure could pack away food, even though she hadn't finished her takoyaki she must have eaten something else before she had been picked up in the kitchen. She thought for a moment until something crossed her mind, it wouldn't be the nicest thing she'd ever do, but it would be funny at least. Also she felt it would be sufficient payback for when he had let Kiba loose in the Hyuga kitchens, "Okay Sair, after we finish with Hokage-sama, we're going to be heading to Shino's. We can grab something to eat there."

Sair continued to look up to Hinata, confusion evident in her eyes, "Who is Shido?"

Amused by the mispronunciation, she corrected her, "It's Shino, not Shido. He's the man who came to the hospital with the long jacket, the sunglasses, and the hordes of bugs."

Sair narrowed her eyes in discontent, "But he looks scary, Sair doesn't want to go to him."

Hinata sighed as she looked down into the girls overly honest crimson eyes, "Well, you'll get used to him. He's about as close to a brother as I have, so you'll likely be seeing him a fair amount." Sair maintained her unhappy look, but didn't say anything further against the man. Grinning at her minor victory,she decided that maybe she should at least cushion the girls dislike of her friend, "Don't worry Sair, everyone thinks he looks scary, but he's actually much nicer than he looks." This had the desired effect as Sair scrunched her nose in thought, then gave Hinata a fast nod to accept what she said. Smiling, Hinata released Sair and ushered her off her lap so that she could stand, then offering her hand to the small girl, "Come Sair, let's go and see Hokage-sama."

Sair took Hinata's hand and was lead through the front door, and up a winding staircase until they arrived at a large, sliding wood door. Beside the door was a desk where and attractive black haired woman sat, flipping through papers and books that were strewn about her desk.

After a moment, she noticed their presence and turned to the two of them with a smile, "Good afternoon Hinata, how are you feeling today?" A slight look of concern crossed the woman's face.

"I'm alive and I haven't gone crazy yet, beyond that there's just the horrible nightmares and constant shaking." Hinata waved her hand casually, failing to notice that the woman in front of her had just taken everything she'd said for fact.

Sair giggled at Hinata's odd joke, she didn't understand what she had meant, but she could tell that Hinata was simply making a bad joke. Hinata smiled down at the little girl, glad to see that she could still laugh despite what she had been through, then looked back up to speak with Shizune. When she made eye contact, she realized that Shizune had taken everything she had said for fact, her face was drawn into a look of mingled shock and pity.

Quickly waving both hands in front of her face, looking as though she were trying to swat an irritating mosquito, she raised her voice in hopes to clear up the misunderstanding, "No, wait Shizune, that was supposed to be a joke. I'm fine, really. Still a little dazed from yesterday, but there's nothing to worry about."

Shizune exhaled, her heart racing, "Hinata, please don't do that again, I thought I was going to have a heart attack! You're not good when it comes to jokes, we know you're too honest so it's natural that we believe what you say."

Hinata felt a little insulted by her comment, but it wouldn't do her any good to get into a second verbal brawl today, so she just ignored it, "We're here to see Hokage-sama, is she in?"

Shizune continued to calm her breathing, but nodded lightly to Hinata, "You can go in, if she's asleep just whisper 'Paperwork' into her ear and she'll snap awake."

"That's an interesting trick." Hinata spoke in a bemused voice, "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

Shizune simply waved her hand, shooing the Hyuga into the room. Hinata smiled at the assistant and knocked lightly on the large door, after several seconds, a voice could be heard calling through the door, "Come in."

Sliding the door open, Hinata and Sair walked in, slipping it closed again behind them. Hinata had only been in the Hokage's office a handful of times before and it always surprised her when she entered. The dozens of rows of ancient books lining the walls, the many memorabilia of the passed kages, and since Tsunade had take over as the Godaime, the mountain of undone paperwork and piles of empty sake bottles. Tsunade sat at her desk, a large map and several books were open before her. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair disheveled as she looked up to face those who would interrupt her today.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was standing in front of her, quickly she folded the map and closed the books, sliding them all into the top drawer of her desk. Once everything was away, she turned back to the stunned onlookers, "Good, you came." Tsunade turned to face Sair, who promptly slid behind Hinata's leg to hide, "Sair, can you hop up onto the table?" She patted an area of her desk that was free of clutter, "I was supposed to give you a proper physical yesterday, but I was a little distracted."

Something was wrong, Tsunade was never this energetic, Hinata eyed her suspiciously, "Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade had never heard the Hyuga with such a strange tone so she looked up at her curiously, "Yes?"

Hinata looked into Tsunade's eyes, beyond the sorrow and sadness, she could see that something had finally snapped. Picking her words carefully, she spoke calmly and slowly, "Hokage-sama, please calm down. You are our bastion of support as much as we are yours."

Tsunade stared directly into Hinata's white eyes, her gaze was intense enough to tempt her to look away, but Hinata held to herself and kept their eyes locked. After a few seconds, her eyes softened and Tsunade laughed heartily, when finished she looked back up to Hinata and smiled. "No wonder you were always in love with him."

"Ummm, what?" Hinata was thoroughly confused.

"When you find your voice, you're just as stubborn as he was." Still having no idea what Tsunade was talking about, she just stared on at her. Tsunade laughed again, patting Hinata's back lightly, almost sending the girl sprawling to the ground, "Come, get her up on the table."

Having started to get used to accepting the recent oddities, Hinata turned and picked up the girl wrapped around her leg and placed her on the table where Tsunade had indicated. Tsunade formed a quick seal, then began to pass her hands along Sair's body, about two inches away from actual contact with her skin. After passing up and down several times, she kneeled so that she could be at eye level with the girl, "Sair, can you follow my finger with your eyes?" She brought up a single finger in front of the her eyes and began to move in around in various directions, watching Sair's eyes.

After ten seconds of testing her eyes, Tsunade stood up again and turned to Hinata, towering over her, "I know you've only had her for two days, but have you noticed anything odd about her?"

"Odd? Not really," She thought over the time she had spent with the girl and tried to bring forward memories of anything strange she had done, "Well, she has an unreasonably well developed sense of balance, but other than that, nothing other than discussing some weird things now and then."

"What type of discussions?"

Confused by her leaders curiosity, she continued to answer the questions, "Before we came up she was talking about someone being sorry for hurting me, but I'm fairly certain that anyone who hurt me on the mission doesn't feel sorry about it, so it was just a strange conversation." Sair sat, kicking her legs back and forth as they dangled off the edge of the desk, oblivious to the fact that the other two were talking about her.

Tsunade tapped her lip slowly, pondering the new information, "What about the balance you were talking about?"

"Hmm? Oh, well she was able to stand on her own on Gamabunta's back and she was able to casually spin chopsticks along the back of her hand while walking. They're not that spectacular, but they tend to be very difficult for a normal person, much less a six year old."

Tsunade continued to tap her lip, "Those are a bit strange, but at the moment they wont help me much." Turning away from Hinata, she looked to the girl sitting on her desk, "Sair, do you know you're last name?"

Sair looked up, curious as to why she was being addressed, "Last name? Sair is Sair, Sair doesn't have another name."

Hinata snickered at the girls innocent answer, though Tsunade seemed irritated by it, "Damn, her family name would likely have helped me figure it out a little easier."

"Hokage-sama, what are you trying figure out?" Hinata asked, pensive regarding what the answer could be.

"Her bloodline, don't tell me you didn't realize that she had one?" Hinata shook her head, "I'm surprised with you Hinata," Tsunade was not angry, however Hinata looked away bashfully, "Most advanced bloodlines make themselves evident through minor genetic mutation in the bodies most variable locations. This means that in general, 80% of advanced bloodlines are visible through discolorations in the eyes or skin pigmentation. The Byakkugan being a white eye, the Sharingan being a red eye, the Yurikajigan being one bright purple eye and the other being bright red. Do you see what I mean?"

"Yes Hokage-sama, I just didn't think of it, please excuse my ignorance." Hinata bowed deeply before Tsunade, who in turn looked down surprised at the young Hyuga.

"Hinata, are you alright?"

Hinata looked up to Tsunade, confused, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because you seem to be emotionally, all over the place. I heard you're joke with Shizune, so in five minutes you went from sarcastic, to professional, to bashful, to humble. I believe you're under much more stress than you're letting on."

"Please Hokage-sama, I'm fine, don't worry about me." Hinata felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place, she didn't want to continue the conversation, but if she tried to leave then Tsunade would probably try to get her a psych evaluation.

Tsunade looked on appraisingly, "Fine, but you are suffering from some distress. I'm taking both you and Sasuke off of active missions for the next month so that you have time to recover. Also it will give you time to help Sair adjust to her new home."

Sair's attention perked when she heard her name mentioned again, "What is Sair doing?" She asked innocently.

Tsunade pet the girls head lightly, being certain to control her inhuman strength, "I was just saying that Hinata has some time off to recover and to help you get adjusted to your new home." Sair silently cheered as she bounced off the table back to the floor, Tsunade turned back to face Hinata, "Are you sure you're okay with keeping her? I'm sure we could find somewhere else if you need."

Hinata smiled at Tsunade's concern for her, "No, it was the last thing he asked me to do, so even if you ordered me not to, I still would."

"Good to hear, I prefer hearing about loyalty rather than just blind obedience." Realizing she was pulling away from their original purpose, Tsunade cleared her throat and continued, "So, all the major damage that she has should heal over time without problems, I forced some chakra into her during the scan that will neutralize any residual narcotics or poisons in her blood as well as accelerate the repair to her liver so there wont be any permanent damage. The only thing she can't have is any kind of alcohol for at least several months, not that I'm worried about you getting her drunk, but her liver is barely functional so it's better to just give the warning anyway."

Hinata rubbed her hand over her mouth, suppressing her urge to laugh, "So basically I shouldn't bring her to see you then Hokage-sama?" She casually kicked an empty bottle on the floor, causing it to roll towards Tsunade.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes menacingly at the young Hyuga, "Just do it, I'll send for you if I find anything out about her bloodline but don't expect much, I have a lot to do and it's far from the top of my list of things to deal with."

"Then I'll look forward to word from you Hokage-sama." Hinata once again bowed, though this time it was little more than a slight tilt of her upper body.

"Bring her back to see me again in three weeks. Also, if you start experiencing anything out of the ordinary, come back yourself for an examination, I trust your body will be fine, but trauma can do terrible things to our minds." Her eyes hazed over as she thought back on memories of Dan and her brother.

Seeing that Tsunade was now lost in her own thoughts, Hinata decided that it was an appropriate time to go. Taking Sair's hand, she walked towards the door and began to slide it open when a painful but important thought struck her. She turned around to face the hazy eyed Tsunade once again and spoke quietly, but determinedly, "Hokage-sama..." Tsunade snapped out of her revery and turned to face the sad pale eyes of one Hyuga Hinata, "When... when will the funerals be?"

A powerful fear overcame Hinata as she began to think that Tsunade would not respond, but after a few moments she did and it was the answer that surprised her more than anything else, "There will be none."

Anger overpowered her as Hinata raised her voice, "WHAT! WHY THE HELL NOT!" gritting her teeth, Hinata had to force herself to stop before she got herself into a significant amount of trouble. Oddly enough however, Tsunade did not seem angry at Hinata's outburst, rather she seemed slightly amused.

"I'm not arranging one until we are able to verify that they've been killed. I have no intention on giving up on them as long as I can." It was obvious that she was lying to herself so that she could hold onto some small strand of hope, but Hinata could not find a way to be angry for it, rather she felt a twinge of happiness that Naruto had been such a large part of the lives of other people as well.

"I can accept that Hokage-sama. I'll tell you what, if you find them and send a rescue party, I volunteer to lead the mission." She knew they were gone, but she decided that Tsunade would need the support of those she supported as well, it was the least she could think of to offer.

A triumphant grin spread across the elders face as she continued to watch the odd pair, "I'll hold you to that offer Hinata. Now go home, Sair looks like she's about ready to chew through your leg to find something to eat." Sure enough, Sair was longingly scanning around the the room for something to eat, a line of drool dripping down from the edge of her mouth.

Sighing out loud, she gently tugged the girl's arm to draw her attention, "Come on Sair, let's go see what Shino has in his kitchen."


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Over the next several days, many things gradually changed. Hinata began to grow accustomed to Sair's clingyness and occasional strange behavior. She hadn't had any reactions as bad as the one outside the Hokage tower, but Hinata had seen several times where she appeared to have short conversations with herself in the hallways, what was stranger was that it didn't seem to matter to her if other people were around or not. On a separate note however, her introduction to the rest of the house had gone off well and most of the servants seemed to have grown very fond of the odd little girl. It had not been possible yet to introduce Sair to some of the other children on the grounds, but she figured that she'd get around to it eventually so there was no sense in rushing anything.

The gap between Hinata and Hanabi had slowly begun to decrease, while being far from best friends, their mutual weakness for Sair's childish antics caused frequent bonding interactions between the two women. Despite the fact that Hanabi was still on active duty, Hinata and her had forgone some of their normal training regimes and instead chose to practice their normal Jyukken katas together. Additionally, Hanabi had managed to round up a large amount of her old clothing, then with the help of her sister and her new 'niece', managed to drag an extra dresser into Hinata's room to store the girls new clothes.

Her father had surprised her greatly when he stopped speaking to her in any form of condescending manner, when she brought up the odd change with him, he plainly told her, "When one rock falls from a cliff, many will cascade along with it. Something in you changed and with that, other things will change. For the moment I will observe your progress and treat you as a proud daughter. Do not make me regret my choices." Perplexed by her father's new outlook on her, she decided that it would be best to simply accept the good turn of events. When Sair eventually met her father and realized who he was, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief that she did not try to call him grandpa, she just said things like "Excuse me" to get his attention when needed. Thankfully that wasn't often since understandably, Sair seemed intimidated by Hiashi's presence.

Neji had volunteered for an extended mission and had up and left the same night that Hinata had spoken to him and her father. He had not come to say goodbye to her or anyone else, choosing instead to just leave as soon as his mission was confirmed.

She had told Shino the entire story when she had gone to see him the afternoon that she had seen the Hokage. He had respectfully listened to her and told her that he would continue to support her regardless of what happened. Afterwards, the two decided that they would visit Kiba in the hospital each night, however they didn't need to wait an exorbitant amount of time since he woke up the next day and was released two days later. Shino had been kind enough to fill in Kiba of the parts of the mission that he had been unconscious for, he did not want her to have to relive those things again and Kiba silently agreed after the information had been passed to him.

While Kiba was released and in generally good shape after only 4 days, Sakura's condition was not improving at anywhere near the same rate. She had been in and out of consciousness throughout the week, but even when she was up, she was delirious and in pain. Sakura seemed to only be surviving on a combination of incredible willpower and excellent medical care, her shattered legs had been set, braced, and bound to the bed, as had her splintered shoulder, rendering her more or less immobile. Sasuke had spent practically the entire last week tending to Sakura to the best of his abilities, in fact on one occasion where Hinata had gone to visit her, a nurse had told her that he only left for around half an hour every day to shower and get himself a fresh change of clothes.

It was on the tenth day after her return, when a messenger came to her as she and Sair relaxed by a small koi pond in the north west corner of the Hyuga compound. Hinata calmly sat on a bench, taking in the early afternoon sun as Sair stomped around through small pond, trying to catch up to the speedy fish. She was completely soaked, but Hinata found it strangely entertaining with all the girls needless movements. She was about to stand up and demonstrate for Sair how to catch a fish with your bare hands, when she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. At first she didn't turn around, instead measuring the weight of the steps, the length of the stride, and the speed of the walk. The pattern didn't match anyone she knew, so she turned around when she measured the person as being around fifteen feet away from her.

The person was slightly shorter than her, perhaps around 5'4" and wore a full black body suit combined with a white cat mask, "Yes?" Uncertain as to why an ANBU would be there to see her, she decided to just remain polite and concise.

The man gave her a slight bow before speaking in a rough, grainy voice that she didn't recognize, "Hyuga Hinata, I am to immediately escort you to the Godaime."

Hinata arched a disapproving eyebrow at the man, "What is the reason?"

The man gave another slight bow, "I am sorry, the only instructions I was given by the Godaime was to quickly acquire Hyuga Hinata, and return her to the Hokage tower."

She tapped her lip thoughtfully for a moment before giving a slight nod to the man, "Very well, but I need to quickly go inside. It will only be a minute."

The ANBU shook his head, "No, that I cannot allow. I was told to bring you immediately."

A chill crept in on the man as Hinata leveled an icy look at him, "You have no option in this. I agreed to come, you WILL wait for me." Her powerful emphasis on her point forced the man back a step in surprise.

Hinata paused as a woman's laughing filled the air, confused, she stepped back away from the bench. The voice sounded extremely familiar but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

The ANBU spoke to her again, but this time in a very familiar, woman's voice, "Well Hinata, I wouldn't have believed Shino if I hadn't seen for myself." Seeing the slightly confused look still splayed across her face, the person shook their head amusedly and with a puff of smoke, dismissed their jutsu. Before Hinata now stood a very familiar form, standing around three inches taller than herself with deep red eyes and a white and grey dress wrapped around a slender form was her sensei.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata squealed and ran forward to embrace her old master.

"Hey Hinata, I hear you've had an interesting few weeks," As she saw Hinata's face sink, she smiled and pat the girl on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I heard everything already from Shino. I asked him to tend to my plants while I was out of the city so I ran into him last night when I got in."

Hinata's facial expression mingled between continued depression and relief, "Well at least that saves me some time." Kurenai smiled at her students lazy attempt at a joke, diffusing some of the built up tension of the subject. Looking over to Sair, Hinata waved her hand gesturing for the girl to come to her to which the girl trotted over splashing water in every direction. Hooking one arm beneath the child's legs, Hinata hoisted Sair up so she was almost on eye level with the other woman, "Sair, this is my teacher Kurenai."

"Hello Kunerai, Sair is Sair." She smiled and waved her tiny hand at the woman she had not met before

"Cute, but it's ku-re-na-i." She pet her head lightly drawing a satisfied smile from the small girl. Turning back to Hinata, she looked at her with one edge of her lip curled into a smirk, "So this would be your so called daughter I take it?"

Hinata nibbled her lower lip, she hadn't expected Shino to tell her something like that, rather she had hoped to be able to explain that situation herself, "Errm, I guess you could say that." A guilty smile spread across her lips as she looked up at her master.

Shaking her head to dismiss the girl's embarrassment, "Don't worry about it Hinata, all that aside though, I'm glad you're doing alright. However, I wasn't joking about the Hokage wanting to see you." Hinata quirked her head curiously, prompting Kurenai to continue, "While I was giving her my report, another message came for her. After she read the message she asked me if I could come get you, for anything beyond that, your guess is as good as mine."

"Fair enough," It was odd for her to be called personally by the Hokage so she pondered what it was that she was being called for. While pondering the Hokage's intentions, an irritating realization came to her causing her to frown lightly, "Kurenai, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what do you need?" responded the red-eyed woman, curious as to the change in her facial expression.

"Could you watch Sair for a while? My sister is away on a mission until tomorrow evening." She offered up the confused looking girl in her arms towards her master.

Kurenai laughed loudly, shaking with mirth as Sair reached out and poked the older woman in the forehead, "Why is Kunerai laughing at mommy? That's mean!" The girl spoke loudly with an exaggerated pout.

Kurenai suppressed her laughter to a few light snickers, finding it impossible to resist the girls adorable statement, "Hehe, sure, I can watch her for a while. Whenever you're done, why don't you pick her up at my house, I'm sure Azuma would like a new playmate." She picked the girl out of Hinata's outstretched arm and set her against her shoulder. Sair seemed uncertain for the first few seconds, but after seeing Kurenai's red eyes up close she became enthralled and leaned her head against Kurenai's shoulder, gazing up at the eyes that were so similar to her own.

It was amusing to watch the sudden strange discomfort Kurenai was experiencing at being stared at like a steak, deciding to diffuse it somewhat, she stepped beside the girl and tapped the back of Sair's head to draw her attention. When Sair turned to face her with a questioning look in her eyes, Hinata spoke to her in a kind but firm voice, "Be nice to Kurenai Sair, and don't hurt Azuma, he's only two so you're a fair bit older than him."

Excitement formed in her eyes as Sair realized that she was going to be able to play with someone closer to her age. She hopped in excitement, kicking her feet back and forth, "Sair will be good, Sair promises!"

Smiling in approval of her answer, Hinata scratched Sair's ear affectionately, causing the girl to nuzzle against her hand. It had begun to amuse Hinata that some of Sair's reactions were so cat-like, sometimes she felt almost like she was taking care of a newborn kitten.

"We'll walk with you until we reach my street, okay?" Kurenai asked plainly.

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

The two women meandered towards the main gate, heading off in the direction of the Hokage tower once they had passed by the guards. They aimlessly discussed various topics, seeming to unconsciously circumvent anything about what had happened on Hinata's mission. Around fifteen minutes later they arrived at the street with Kurenai's home, then with a hug to each of them, Hinata left on her own towards the tower. A little while later she arrived at the winding steps, leading from the base of the tower up to the Hokage's personal office. With a light sigh, admitting to her own curiosity, she wandered up the stairs.

Short black hair came into view as Hinata stepped up the last few stairs to the room at the top where Shizune sat calmly behind her desk. Her dark eyes were filled with a mixture of worry and uncertainty as she looked up with recognition at the young woman who just came up the stairs.

Ignoring the odd stare from the older woman, she went on with her purpose, "Good afternoon Shizune, Hokage-sama called for me?"

Her eyes seemed to be holding back the urge to say something, but after a few seconds of silence, Shizune apparently decided against speaking her mind, "Yes, she's waiting for you inside."

Nodding respectfully to Shizune for her information, Hinata turned to the door to the Hokage's room and knocked lightly. Almost immediately Tsunade's booming voice could be heard speaking from the other side, "Come in."

Choosing not to ignore the words of the powerful woman waiting on the other side of the door, Hinata entered the Hokage's personal office for the second time in two weeks. Very little had changed from the previous week, the files were a different height and there were a few more sake bottles lying about, The woman sitting behind the desk however had an almost maniacal grin on her face.

Feeling somewhat pensive about her leaders current appearance, she opted to stand and wait for her to say something. She didn't need to wait long since right after Hinata stepped in front of the woman's desk, she spoke to her in a powerful and demanding voice, "I have an important mission for you Hinata, only you can be entrusted with this mission so I'm bringing you back onto active duty starting today."

The gears were turning but Hinata still had no idea what was going on, "Huh... I don't understand. Aren't I on forced leave for mental trauma? At least that's what I figured it was after the last meeting."

"Yes, yes, but that doesn't matter now," She waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the subject, "Right now you just need to think about your new mission and selecting your team." Her eyes burned with determination as she watched the young Hyuga for a response.

Maintaining her previous, pensive mind-set, Hinata decided that perhaps a few questions were in order, "So... before I agree to anything Hokage-sama, what is this mission?"

She slid a frayed, rolled up scroll across her desk to Hinata, causing her grin to widen and a shiver to run down Hinata's spine. Picking the scroll up lightly, almost as though it was about to bite her, Hinata unfurled it and brought it up to read.

I hope this finds you before it's too late.
I bore witness to your raid last week and commend your people on being able to get out. In that raid, I lost my only reason for remaining with the group, so I have defected, however even though they are not hunting me, I would like to be able to make some amends with myself before my end comes. The facility that was attacked previously was mostly destroyed, however they have moved to their northern facility and are awaiting further support from some of their allies. I can guide you to their facilities as I would like nothing more than them to be disbanded or erased.

I know that there is no reason for you to trust me, but when I defected, I took some things that belong to your village and that I would like to return. If you decide to do this, I am waiting in a village three hours directly north of the old facility. In less than four weeks I will no longer be among the living, so if you would like to do this then the sooner the better. I will humbly await your men.

The bottom of the letter was signed with the name Shashu. An urge began to burn in her stomach, a lust that she had never before thought of... revenge. Hinata looked up to Tsunade, a mixture of outrage and disbelief, fighting for dominance of her thought process. Biting back all her negative emotions, she breathed deeply, allowing her breathing to slow and return to normal. She allowed her eyes to close, letting the scroll slip from her finger tips and fall to the desk as she began to summon up a practiced bulwark to control herself. Her jaw locked and eyes steeled as the opened, gazing coldly across the desk at Tsunade. She adopted the calm calculated eyes that her father had long ago mastered as an emotionless tone fell from her lips, "When do we leave?"


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Yurikajigan - Lily conflagration eye
Shashu - Marksman

Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and have liked the story up to date. As you can tell, the rescue mission will begin next chapter and hopefully I will be able to write it quickly.
I always appreciate constructive criticism so please read and review.

The_Keeper