Chapter 1

Three years later

Hinata set down the basket with a sigh, relieved to at least get rid of what was the physical embodiment of the heavy burden pressing down on her shoulders.

She surveyed the village from the vantage point of the dune she was standing on. This was of course unnecessary; her Byakugan made it irrelevant whether something was in eyesight in the common sense of the word. But it was a tradition, a habit that was hard to break. This was where they had always paused - before. Everything looked normal; she could make out no sign of nervousness or distress among her people. The thought of being responsible for the wellbeing of so many caused her some serious headache. It had been almost two months since Obaasan had passed away - two long, chaotic months of grief and exhaustion. She had known it was coming, of course, but that made it no less painful. She had lost a valuable teacher and an invaluable friend – and gained nothing but trouble.

Shaking her head at the uselessness of such reflections Hinata picked up her load and deactivated her bloodline limit. This close to home she had no problem finding her way blindly. The faint mumble of voices and smell of food that always cloaked the village were guide enough. So she continued down over the hot sand towards the village and her duties.

The ground grew firmer with every step, providing a welcome relief from the loose sand baking in the sun. Most of the huts were built on packed earth, too clayey to be cultivated, but better to build on than the desert sand. She knew this place so well; every stone felt familiar under her soles, every patch of grass as good as a signpost to her schooled tread.

It required no conscious effort for her feet to find the trail leading through the maze of houses. She exchanged greetings with villagers she passed and had a kind response for every complaint they voiced. Yes, of course she would come to check up on this sickly mother, and bandage the scrapes of the kids who had gotten into a fight again, and mix another poultice for the nasty cut on that husband's leg.

She tried not to hurry past those who needed help, but sometimes it seemed to her all she needed to do was take one stroll through the village to incur a week's worth of obligations. It was one of the reasons she got up very early to do chores like replenishing her stock of medicinal herbs, even if she wouldn't have admitted it.

When Hinata stepped into Obaasan's hut – no, her hut, she had to remind herself – she was startled by the sound of a wooden drawer being slammed shut.

"Akio, is that you?"

"Yes!" came the answer in a fair imitation of innocence. He had probably been nosing through the supply cabinet again, but Hinata didn't really mind. The boy was notorious for his aversion to being taught anything, which was problematic in combination with his insatiable curiosity. She had taken to talking as if to herself when he was around, explaining everything she was doing. It hadn't been hard to trick him into believing he was cleverly avoiding lessons while doing chores he found secretly interesting. She could practically feel him absorbing every morsel of knowledge like an inquisitive sponge at her elbow. He would make a fine healer one day; provided she could ever get him to admit to knowing all he did.

"Would you help me with these?" Hinata dumped her basket's contents on the spacious worktable in the middle of the room. Akio sidled up to her, trying hard not to seem too keen. He even threw in a disgruntled "Fine!" for good measure.

She had to turn away to cover her smile at his poorly disguised eagerness.

"Alright, would you sort these into piles for me? I'll start with the Argent Verbascum for Nenoko's calf. It's the silvery ones with the fuzzy leaves. We still have dried ones stored somewhere, but it works best when they're still fresh."

Hinata set a pot of water to boil, all the while keeping up her constant stream of casual instructions. "I promised Sazana I'd bring new material for a compress today and you know how it is; these things have to simmer for hours on end to be really effective."

With Akio as her assistant she spent the rest of the afternoon fulfilling all the promises she had made that day. It was hard work, but it paid off. The community had come a long way since Hinata had first set foot among its starving population. Slowly but surely the war became like the memory of a bad dream, rather than the stuff their daily nightmares were made of. The land recovered with them and travelling merchants became a small but important asset to their trade. They weren't exactly coining money, but no child had to go hungry anymore.

After the last bruise was inspected and attended both of them were so exhausted only the prospect of a big meal with extra helpings kept them from their beds.

"Go ahead," Hinata told her charge."I'm sure Ima is waiting already."

She took the bag of paraphernalia he had been carrying. "I'll meet you there in a minute; just have to put these away."

With a nod Akio trotted ahead. She looked after him before proceeding in another direction, at a more leisurely pace. The boy had attached himself to her from the day he was allowed to get out of bed again. He had been surprisingly shy at first, considering how bold he was in his dealings with the other adults. It hadn't taken long for him to come out of his shell though and she had never seen any of the behaviours others complained about. Around her he wasn't quarrelsome or disruptive - stubborn and proud, yes, but never contrary just to ask for trouble. If she was being honest he was probably the reason she had settled into her new life so quickly.

For the first few months she had stayed with Ima, a childless widow who didn't mind the company. It was an arrangement neither of them had any reason to be dissatisfied with, but Hinata still petitioned for her own hut. She had a feeling it might come in handy sooner or later, since Akio kept acting up. Tensions were running especially high after he disappeared again – for the third time that year. His uncle's patience was wearing thin and she worried they might say things they could never take back. Takumi was a nice man, but at his wits' end what to do about his nephew's antics. Hinata tried to distract and appease them all as much as she could, taking the boy on long expeditions in search of rare plants and reasoning with his stepparents not to be so harsh with him. When she was at last granted a tiny shack at the village's edge she had offered Akio to live with her immediately. She told his family she would need someone to assist her with daily tasks and they were only too happy to agree to a probation period. That had been over two years ago.

With the pleasant reflection that he seemed much happier now, Hinata entered the healer's hut. She would probably never manage to bring herself to think of it as hers, even though she spent most of her time there. She didn't mind, the place was filled with fond memories of her sensei, of all the happy hours passed in learning or conversation. Obaasan's spirit still seemed to dwell there, and as uplifting as the notion was sometimes, it made the hut uninhabitable to Hinata.

She hurried to tidy the supplies away, leaving the jars she couldn't distinguish by touch on the table. Her uncanny abilities in a crisis raised enough suspicion in the villagers; it was good to pretend helplessness when there was nothing at stake.

With a weary sigh she set off towards Imas', where dinner was waiting for her.

xxx

Hinata couldn't tell what had woken her. She just sat up with a feeling of unease creeping up her spine. Something was wrong.

With a glance she confirmed that Akio was still asleep before activating her Byakugan. There was a lot of chakra - that was for sure. In her drowsy state she could just make out a fight at the very edge of her enhanced vision. And going by the amount of energy being thrown around not one she particularly wanted to get in the middle of. Not that I really have a choice in the matter.

Hinata got dressed as fast and quietly as she could, choosing several layers of warm and practical clothing. After a moment's deliberation she knelt down next to her trunk. Buried deep beneath her clothes lay the only possession she truly cherished. Lifting the modest chest from its bed of trivial items she marvelled at how her former life could fit into a single box now. It seemed so absurdly small, considering the gravity of its contents. That's all that is left of you, Hinata Hyūga.

It was the only thing she had never allowed her young friend to snoop around in, always keeping it carefully locked. Opening it now felt strange. She sorted through her most personal belongings with trembling fingers, taking everything that seemed useful to her. There wasn't much in way of weaponry, but Hinata grabbed what kunai and shuriken there were. She briefly weighed both her Konoha and the Allied Shinobi Forces' forehead protector in her hands, but dismissed both. This was not the time to publicly advertise her origins. Instead she took hold of the mask she had worn only for a single mission - an officially failed one. Wrapping her gathered supplies in her cloak to form a makeshift bundle, she put the rest away again. Silently the kunoichi tiptoed across the hut.

"Where are you going?" Akio's question made her pause, one hand already reaching for the door.

Hinata turned around and tried to make her smile as reassuring as she could. "I just need to check something. It might take a while, so don't worry and try to sleep. If I'm not back by dawn, tell the others I went north." She hesitated to go on, fully aware that everything she said only raised more suspicion in the boy. "Tell them to be very careful when coming after me."

He opened his mouth to protest, but changed his mind when she shook her head at him.

"Sleep tight." She told him, the warning clearly audible in her voice.

Akio only stared at her with reproachful eyes.

"I love you." She added in a softer tone and turned again to leave.

"I know." He grumbled behind her.

Smiling Hinata shut the door behind her and climbed down the three stairs leading up to her hut's door. She made her steps purposefully heavy as she walked away, placed her pack a few yards down the path and returned soft-footed to the threshold. She didn't even have to wait a full minute until the door swung open with a faint creak.

She crossed her arms and swivelled her stern expression downwards to meet Akio's caught gaze. That always freaked him out. "Bed. Now."

There was a gasp and the door was slammed shut again. That should do the trick.

She jumped to the ground and was already running at full speed when she passed the village's boundaries.

The pliant desert surface slowed her down, so she moulded a little chakra to her feet and flew. It had been so long since she had last given free reign to that part of herself. Even this basic technique taught to her when she was still a genin felt breathtaking. The only ninja skills she had had occasion to practice in years were healing jutsus.

Hinata slowed briefly to tuck her weapons into place, put on the mask and pull her hood over it. She was now close enough to be able to get a good look with her Byakugan. Following the scene slack-jawed she tried to decipher what was going on, but couldn't quite figure it out. With a shake she pulled herself together and picked up the pace again.

She adjusted her course slightly, her ground-covering bounds leaving only the lightest of footprints in the sand.

When only one more dune separated her from the fight she ceased using chakra. The last thing she wanted was to alert those shinobi to her presence before she had even decided whose side she was on.

Edging closer things suddenly started to make sense as her head emerged over the crest and she caught a glimpse of the combatants. She had been confused by the golden-orange ball hanging over the battlefield, but it was sand. The bright glow her eyes had registered was the chakra her Byakugan had picked up on.

She had only ever seen one person capable of this level of sand manipulation. It had been many years since her first Chūnin Selection Exams, but what she had witnessed then was not easily forgotten. The boy she had met aged thirteen had been completely psychotic and dangerous to everyone around him. Hinata knew he had changed, but she couldn't help but shiver at the memory. Some suicidal idiots had truly been foolish enough to attack the Kazekage.

When she turned her attention to his opponents she counted twelve and was surprised to recognise some of them as well. They had belonged to a group of mercenary ninjas she had had dealings with in the past. It had only been seven then, but they had given her a hard time. They had spotted her during her wanderings and been all too interested in her. She was travelling through the far western parts of the Earth Country at the time, visiting one remote town after the other. The people there had never even heard of the Hyūga Clan, so she had deemed it safe not to wear a blindfold. Claiming to have been born with a rare genetic defect that gave her eyes their strange appearance had worked just fine until those dunces had chanced upon her. They had caught her off guard, incapacitating her with poison before she could react. It had been a stupid mistake on her part not to pay closer attention, but at least it meant they vastly underestimated her true abilities. When she came to the next day she swore not to take that risk again and keep her eyes concealed at all times. She had been itching to take some of her pent-up frustration out on them, but thought better of it when she found herself in a rural settlement not much bigger than the one she considered home now. So Hinata opted for giving them the slip, rather than risking a fight amidst civilians – thought she thought she might have stood a fair chance against them. It was madness for them to make an attempt on someone as powerful as the Kazekage, and on his own turf no less! What in the world were they trying to do?

She crept closer, glad for the dark cloak that made her almost invisible against the night's sky. It looked like they were only provoking him, trying to get him to go on the offensive. They had been at it for quite a while; the attacks they hurled against the cocoon of sand now were much weaker than the ones that had woken her up. The mercenaries seemed rather worn out, while the sphere still looked untouched, hovering tauntingly impassive above their heads.

Hinata was eager for this fight; she had a score of her own to settle. These men had not injured her during her short captivity, but they had done something she would have traded for a set of broken bones any day of the week. They had rendered her utterly helpless, made her unable to defend herself or even remember what had happened. She didn't think they had... done anything to her, but it didn't change the fact that the feeling of being that vulnerable still haunted her. It didn't make it any less of a violation. She had been completely at their mercy and the mere thought of any of them touching her made her grimly determined to feature prominently in their nightmares in turn.

Still she hesitated to make a move, not wanting to upset whatever plan the Kazekage was pursuing. Minutes passed as the would-be assassins regrouped and, sticking together this time, resumed their assault. Hinata was growing impatient and focussed her attention on the sphere overhead in hopes of a change. Suddenly it started to open like a blossom, but she was distracted from this spectacle when she felt the ground move. At first she had dismissed it as a breeze carrying a few specks of dust, but then grains began to slide right out from under her. She barely dared to breathe as they joined those coming from behind her. Their gentle rustling turned into the hissing of a thousand snakes as their number and speed increased exponentially. Within the blink of an eye the sand resembled an avalanche - but an avalanche that came from all sides simultaneously, trapping the mercenaries in the middle.

From his vantage point the Kazekage was watching with his arms crossed, his posture betraying no emotion.

Some of his enemies caught on fast enough, running head on against the desert wave they deemed the shallowest to escape being crushed in the epicentre. Only around half of them made it out, but they were granted no time to catch their breath. Already the sand was in motion again. This time it shot up behind every single one of them, piling up into human shapes.

Instinctually she whipped her head back, afraid she had been registered as an enemy as well, but nothing. She turned back just in time to see the sand clones attack. A mere second had passed and already there was blood everywhere.

The first onslaught of the clones was wickedly fast, but somehow they seemed to slow down as the fight wore on. With furrowed brows she watched a shinobi hit one clone so hard sand sprayed several yards. It reformed, but it did so too sluggishly in Hinata's opinion.

Puzzled she looked back up at the lonely figure standing on his cloud of sand. Was it just her imagination or did he seem not quite as calm anymore?

She lifted her head higher, squinting to discern his expression, but it was too dark. Casting her gaze again over the proceedings on the ground level she was surprised to see four of the mercenary ninjas still on their feet. The clones had become little more than shapeless heaps of sand, writhing haphazardly on the ground.

Throwing all caution to the wind she activated her Byakugan and watched in horror as the chakra gushed out of the Kazekage. The tendrils he had used to control his clones were now streams that pulled all the energy out of him. Shock and confusion were warring openly on his face. What's going on?

Distracted by her perplexity Hinata didn't react fast enough when a gust of wind caught her hood. It fell back and the faint light of the moon reflected like a beacon from the white porcelain of her mask. His eyes met hers for the briefest of moments before he dropped to his knees.

Realisation dawned and Hinata froze in disbelief. She barely managed to dodge the kunai one of the mercenary ninjas threw at her. The glint of light had alerted the group of survivors who stopped clapping each other's backs and congratulating each other prematurely on their victory to focus on this new threat.

There was no time to think, she just jumped up and right into their middle. This was some kind of chakra absorption technique and they were draining him fast. She had to do something and she had to do it now.

Hinata hit them like a vindictive hurricane and sent two of them flying. She had learned a lot about the human body in the last years, more than she ever thought there was to know. Mastering the gentle fist style had already taught her where and how hard she had to hit to cause havoc in her opponent's chakra pathways system, but this went beyond it. Her healer's training had showed her what inflicted maximal pain and caused damage that would never mend completely. She might have spent that time trying to fix those kinds of injuries, but it wasn't hard to reverse the concept. And she planned on using every detail to her advantage.

The mundane tasks of the last years had kept her in surprisingly good shape. Her attack split the mercenaries up again who were now spread out further than ever. It wasn't hard to tell that she was a hand-to-hand combat specialist. Keeping their distance proved that at least those who had gotten this far were not complete morons – which put them at a stalemate. They stood no chance against her in close quarters, just as she could not chase them down one by one for fear of leaving the remaining shinobi to accomplish their original goal.

She waited for whatever long-range jutsus they had in store, but nothing happened. The absorption mechanism was probably still active – which meant that she had better not hurl any chakra at them either. Hinata was rather confident it wasn't a jutsu; there was no way she could have missed it if it had been performed right under her nose. Besides, she didn't think any of the mercenaries were capable of pulling something of this magnitude off. Which only raises the question: Who does?

Her suspicion was confirmed when only weapon after weapon came flying her way. The enhanced vision her kekkei genkai granted her made it fairly easy to dodge them, especially since her opponents had no such advantage. Answering in kind she threw what blades she had at them, but her aim was off. She might see perfectly fine in this darkness, but not practicing in years had had taken a toll on her marksmanship. Her supply ran out fast and she was busy not getting hit while frantically trying to figure out what her next step should be.

The situation was somewhat resolved when sand began to rain down from where the Kazekage was lying suspended in the air. All attention shifted to the platform that had seemed so solid before and was now crumbling away from underneath him.

Hinata was the first to react, sprinting as fast as she could without emitting chakra from her soles and all the while keeping a close eye on her four adversaries in case they had retained weapons. The circular tsunami of sand that had wiped out half the enemy force had created a new dune right underneath its producer and she lost her footing several times climbing it.

Helplessly she watched as the last of the sand began its rapid decent along with the man atop it. He didn't fall very far, but the dull thud with which his limp body hit the ground made her wince. She managed to catch him before he could roll more than a few feet down the slope, wheezing at the impact when she secured him with her own weight. Mustering all her strength she dragged him back up to the blunt summit and crouched protectively over his unconscious body.

The mercenaries had surrounded the base of the dune, slowly circling like vultures just waiting for her to give up. But Hinata had a patient now and no intention of letting him die on her watch. Trusting her other senses to alert her to approaching danger she fixed her eyes on the Kazekage. Irresolutely she watched as his chakra and with it his very life leaked out of him. What had started as a torrent was now nothing but a trickle. It was dangerous in his current physical condition, but she had no real choice. With a few careful jabs she blocked his pathway system to seal the last of his chakra inside his body.

The process took less than two seconds, but it was enough for the shinobi to launch a counterstrike. One shuriken caught her in the shoulder, another grazed her thigh. She yelped in pain, but managed to send the closest opponent careening down with a Vacuum Palm.

She hadn't even thought about it, just acted on instinct. Cursing herself she waited for the feeling of all her chakra being leeched away to set in. When after several seconds still nothing happened, an idea began to form in her head. She had to twist awkwardly to pull the knife out that had pierced the back of her shoulder, but it hadn't gone in very far. Praying she was doing the right thing she lifted her arms and performed a jutsu of her own creation. Carefully she formed blade after blade of chakra, weaving them into an intricate net of defence over her head. Like an incantation she murmured "Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms".

If she failed now they would probably all be dead before they knew it, so she just hoped for the best and let it lose. After she cut the connection the shimmering web just hung there for a moment before expanding outwards. It blasted the mercenary ninjas out of sight before the sand had absorbed the chakra completely.

Hinata slumped to the ground, relieved to feel nothing beyond the usual depletion of energy. For a moment she just sat there, amazed to still be alive. The sensation of warm liquid running down her arm brought her back to reality. She turned to check on the Kazekage, who was still unconscious.

This was not the place to linger, but a few things had to happen right away. She slipped the strap that secured the gourd on his back off with shaking hands. The routine of checking for broken bones and internal bleeding steadied her. Two of his ribs were cracked, but not in any danger of puncturing an organ. Other than that he only had a few cuts and bruises, all in all nothing that required her immediate attention. The thing that really worried her was his chakra. It was still locked up, prohibiting him or anyone else from accessing it. With her Byakugan she studied its sluggish circulation through his system. The colour that had been radiant like the sun had dulled and shone now more like the last embers in a dying fire.

Well, nothing I can do about that now. Not here, anyway. Instead she shrugged off her cloak and wrapped it around the Kazekage as best she could. Securing it with what she could find – which turned out to be her scarf and his belt – she turned him into a compact package. Strapping on his surprisingly light gourd she began her semi-controlled descent with him in tow.

The night was cold and the way back to the village seemed ten times as long as it should, but she had plenty to keep her mind occupied. The sky was already turning pale on the eastern horizon when she reached her destination, a plan firmly in place. It might be a bit melodramatic, but she had to make sure no suspicion fell on her.

Pausing behind her own hut she unwrapped the Kazekage. His condition had not worsened, but she suspected his ribs would make him feel their journey when he woke up.

Timing was of the essence now. Hurriedly she stripped down to what people might reasonably be expecting her to wear after having just woken up. Shivering in the chilly air she stuffed everything else in the gap between her hut's floor and the sand underneath. Last she reclaimed her cloak, pulling it gently out from under her patient. It was covered so thoroughly in sand that no amount of brushing would render it even close to its original colour. Hinata made sure her tunic and hair didn't show before shouldering the gourd again. She bent down to pick the Kazekage up, but faltered. It took every ounce of her strength to lift him and still her knees almost buckled under the load. Gritting her teeth she forced chakra from the bottoms of her feet until it felt like she was floating. With measured steps that did not disturb a single grain of sand she carried the body in her arms towards the centre of the village.

She began to worry that she should have waited a few minutes longer when she had almost reached the Circle and still nobody had called out to her. When the shout did finally ring through the settlement she breathed a sigh of relief. The woman who had sounded the alarm pressed herself against one wall, as far out of the way as she could get on the narrow path. Hinata walked right by, not acknowledging her presence. A few doors had opened, bleary-eyed villagers staring confused at the veiled figure in their midst.

She ignored them all, just walked on. After the first moment of shock had passed several raised voices questioned her identity, her intent. Hinata responded to none of them, just laid down the man in the middle of the village square and placed the gourd next to him. In a blur of motion she disappeared.

Seconds later she was back at her own hut, ridding herself of her disguise before slipping in quietly. Akio sat slumped over on a chair, evidently his attempt of waiting up for her had failed. She exchanged her cloak and mask for a blindfold, shoving the evidence of her deception under her blankets. Carefully she picked her foster child up to tuck him into bed, his weight so much more manageable than the Kazekage's. He didn't even stir when there was a knock at the door.

"Hinata-san, come quickly! You won't believe what has happened!"

Try me.

xxx

A/N: Apologies! I know I've been gone for ages, but I'm back on track now. I've made some small changes to the prologue, don't worry though; you'd probably not even notice. I'm afraid I still can't promise you regular updates, but I'll try not to get distracted by other projects again.

Also: I know I suck at fighting scenes, please don't stone me to death. I've never been so much as involved in a bar brawl and I'm afraid it shows. Hinata turned out a bit Mary Sue, but it's the best I could do. You cannot imagine how many drafts I dismissed until I arrived at this version!

And of course: Thank you so much for reviewing. It means the world to me.