Author Note: As Always I don't own Narutoverse though it would be really nice if I did. Then maybe there'd be room in my kitchen to prepare food for eating or for setting cooked food so everybody can dish it up. Heck there might even be clean dishes we don't have to wash before we can eat. . . . Wow. . . that hasn't happened in so long. . . .(drools dreaming about last time she didn't need to wash dishes just to eat)

A Different Reality

Chapter Three

The Eyes Have It

From noon on Saturday until Sunday morning, Natsu slept the sleep of the truly deserving. Hinata went to the meeting with Sarutobi so they could discuss what to tell Kakashi about the two of them. Sarutobi wanted to tell him he was getting the pair of them so he wouldn't be surprised when Naruto dropped his henge but Hinata told him it wasn't necessary to tell him any such thing.

"Jijii, you really think he wouldn't have investigated what Natsu and I have been doing for the last four years? She's his Goddaughter and his last link to her parents. Of course he snooped. He's known all along she was Naruto."

"He has? But he never said a word." Sarutobi blinked and then laughed at himself. "I really am getting too old for this. Of course he'd look for her when she dropped out of sight. And when he found her pretending to be a boy, he would know it was an undercover mission and keep it quiet until given leave to say something."

"Yep. His exact words were 'Since I wasn't informed than I am not supposed to know,'".

"Ok. Then I don't need to worry about having him in here all ticked off because he didn't know and therefore wasn't keeping an eye on Naruto as well as Natsu. That's good to know." He sighed and rubbed his old eyes tiredly. "Just how much of your own story does he know? And how much do you want him to know?"

"Actually I'm not sure how much he knows. I know he knows I am different from other Hyuuga and that, like Natsu, I have two sources of energy I can call upon. He knows I live with Natsu because, like her, I am under your protection since my status as 'not a normal Hyuuga' would mark me for death. He knows Otousan knows I am different and that it was Otousan who brought me to you after the clan council killed Kaasan for birthing me. Other than that, I am not too sure how much he knows. The Hyuuga clan doesn't make their records all that public and Hyuuga like me are only born once every hundred years or so and most don't make it passed the first day their eyes change. Because Otousan loves me I did but I have also kept my different eyes hidden under a spirit induced henge so I don't know if he thinks I am a throwback, and therefore have only normal skills to call upon, or if he knows exactly what I am."

"Ok. Do you want him to know? I trust him but I think it is your decision. However, consider your answer carefully. He can only truly give you the protection you need if he knows exactly why you need it. If he thinks Natsu's protection is more important than he might just choose her over you in the presence of a Hyuuga other than your Otousan and that would be just as bad as Natsu involved with anyone from Rock Country."

"And because he knows Natsu and I have been trained by you, since he has done missions with us, he practically knows everything already. Yeah, we should go ahead and tell him my story just in case he doesn't know it yet, though knowing him he does."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sarutobi blinking again.

"Well, I'm sure he did some investigating when he found out I was living with Natsu. He is very protective of her. So he'd want to know exactly why the oldest daughter of the Hyuuga Head of Clan was living out of her traditional compound and away from her clan. I'm not sure what he managed to find out but, knowing him, it probably isn't all that far off the mark."

"Ok. Do you want to be present when I tell him or do you want to tell him yourself when you're ready?"

"I'll tell him when he stops by the dug-out to check on Natsu tonight. He always checks on us when he's in the village. Natsu calls it his curfew check." She giggled at the mental image of Natsu saying those words. She'd would always pout and stamp her foot with her arms crossed over her chest. He'd always respond by sending them to bed and staying long enough to make sure they did go to bed.

Meanwhile Sasuke was reporting the destructive act against his compound the day before and demanding that the council do something to apprehend the culprit who was yelling the most obscene things at him while tearing the uninhabited region of the compound to shreds. Most the council took in the set of his face and dismissed any thought of actually trying to catch the culprit. Danzo took Sasuke's claim seriously. Here was a bargaining chip he figured he could put to good use at some point in time to get the boy into his ROOT program of young ninja.

"So you want us to find the person or persons who wrecked the lower end of your family compound and charge them for destruction of property," he said.

"And the vile insults to my person," Sasuke said arrogantly. "I am not some mere commoner to be insulted by riffraff from the gutters."

"Hmm," said Danzo. "What's in it for us? We are not the police to investigate petty offenses."

"But. . ." Sasuke floundered for a few minutes, blinking rapidly. "I'm an Uchiha. My clan is gone. How are they supposed to investigate this crime and arrest the guilty peasant now? Someone has to do it." Even Sasuke was smart enough to know just because his clan had run the Police Department before their demise did not mean he had the sole authority or the expertise needed to go arresting people as a police officer of Konoha. Not only was he not skilled enough to do it he simply didn't know enough about the laws of the village to do so responsibly.

"It's not our job," Danzo insisted. "Our job is to make sure those who have legitimate needs in the village get those needs at least heard by the Hokage. You could present your claim for damages to him," he suggested. "You are after all, one of his ninja now."

"However," said Koharu, Sarutobi's old teammate from their genin days. "I wouldn't expect very much from it if you do present a claim to him. He is just as likely to say the perpetrator did you a favor in clearing the land the way they did. Now those old buildings aren't standing there to remind you any more of who used to live in them. That is, if you even knew in the first place." The tone of her voice said she would be very surprised if he did.

"So what you're saying is he'll do nothing," Sasuke said, frustration rolling off him in waves.

Koharu inclined her head. "It is unlikely. The insults you say the perpetrator hollered at you are mere hearsay unless you have someone who can attest to them in which case you would have to state each insult precisely as it was given. And words are just words, Sasuke. Even if they were as you claim the 'most vile of insults' they could not really harm you."

"So Konoha is basically lawless now?" Sasuke asked.

"No," insisted Hiashi. "We just don't bother to mess around with petty offenses. The bigger ones, like murdering your best friend over power, or raping someone to beget an heir or aid in getting them ousted from their social position, we still take care of. The Hokage still takes care of the drunks and any mobs that form intent on mischief, but someone tearing down derelict buildings and yelling insults, well I'm sure you can see how that is a low priority for both him and us. You didn't even say what those insults were so we have no idea as to whether they actually were inappropriate or not. You are an intelligent young man, after all so I am sure you can see how this looks to us. We do have more serious issues to tend to then something this petty."

"Petty? It's not petty to me! I thought I was important to you people," Sasuke said, his anger leaking through. "Ever since my clan vanished, you've told me you would take care of things for me. Now I bring you an issue and you're brushing me aside. You lied to me. You said you would make sure I passed the genin exam in the Academy but I didn't. I had to take a make-up exam and then you weren't even there to check my work. Now you say you won't take care of someone vandalizing my property and insulting my good name. What exactly will you people do to help me?"

Nara Shikato sat up straight finally interested in what the young Uchiha had to say. Several other members of the council were also paying attention now. Danzo was growling angrily and several civilian members were cringing in their seats trying to think how to shut the boy up before he blew everything out of the water.

Shikato said, "Who told you they would make sure you passed the genin entrance exam?"

"Mizuki said Danzo told him that I could do ninjutsu with my taijutsu and that he'd make sure I passed the written exam as well. Mizuki also said he was to fix my kenjutsu exam so I would pass that one also. He was to fix the field event also but he said no matter what he tried on that test, there was no way anyone would beat Naruto at it so I'd just have to do my best on that. He said it didn't matter though because I would ace the written, kenjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu portions and no one else would do anywhere near as well. He said Danzo told him to make sure I got Rookie of the Year but I didn't. I didn't even pass because I believed Danzo had it all set-up already so I didn't even try." Sasuke took a deep breath trying to calm himself down but the killer intent rolling off Danzo was suffocating him and making it hard for him to breathe.

"Then Mizuki slipped a note to me, telling me he'd meet me at my compound to tell me a different way you guys had set up for me to pass and that he and Danzo would meet me afterwards to compare my results but both Mizuki and Danzo were a no-show. I got beat up by some strange girl for my so called lousy stealth ability and turned into a human bird feeder for my trouble in taking the alternate test." He'd decided, while he'd been hiding under his compound while that girl had torn up his family lands, there was no way he would admit it was Hinata who'd beat the crap out of him for his lousy stealth abilities.

Several councilmen had to turn their heads aside lest they laugh outright at the furious boy in front of them. One of the civilians had to ask, "Human bird feeder?"

Another said, "You let a random unknown girl beat you up?"

"Hai and iie. Someone laid down a trap at the location the map Mizuki gave me told me to go. It was a peanut oil and sesame seed trap that when triggered covered the person with the mixture and then triggered a false sunrise to call the morning birds out of their slumber. Since I triggered it I got to enjoy the most pleasant sensation of tiny little morning birds pecking seeds off my skull and pulling my hair in the process but no, I didn't simply allow some strange girl to beat me up. I was in shock from the stupid trap and she attacked before I could sense her presence. Then she took off before I could retaliate," he said, acidly, since many of the councilmen were now snickering while trying to act like they weren't. In his head, he admitted he hadn't really tried to fight her, since the events of the day had just finally reached the point of overwhelming him. He had run off home to hide from the rotten events of the day and hopefully pretend it hadn't happened and was just a bad dream he'd wake up from.

"Oh, dear," said Koharu. "It does sound like yesterday was not a good day for you. But you must realize we all have bad days once in a while. We don't go trying to make mountains out of them when we do. We just go to bed and sleep it off. Why don't you try that?"

Sasuke fists were clenched at his sides, his face beat red with anger he could not hide as he shouted, "I did! And some STUPID Peasant Girl came running into MY Compound yelling Vile Insults AND TORE THE HELL OUT OF MY LAND!"

The elder Ino Shika Cho team blinked at him. They could almost see the steam rolling off him. Inuzuka Tsume could not hold her laughter in any longer. She gave a hoarse bark and suddenly the entire council was laughing at the irate boy standing in front of them. Danzo wasn't laughing but even he couldn't quite concentrate on what he was planning to trick the boy into agreeing to as he quietly said, "A Girl? You let a girl demolish your estate? And you didn't even try to stop her? Was this the same girl that beat on you while you were stunned from the trap you triggered?"

Sasuke gave him a look of non-understanding. "I may have believed Mizuki, and done as he instructed me, believing you people had already taken care of things for me but I am not suicidal," he said.

The council was mainly in slight chaos as the normally dignified members enjoyed the first hilarious situation they'd been told of in weeks. Even Hiashi was smirking over the things Natsu and Hinata had done to the boy, and he knew very well it was those two girls whom Sasuke had ticked off. Sasuke gave everyone a look of disgust and turned on his heel, the sounds of the councils mirth following him out of the chambers.

Later that day Hiashi reported the scene to the Hokage as the two men sat enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet in Sarutobi's office. "The girls got him good. Once he sees them again he's going to react one of two ways. He's either going to try to fight them and prove his superiority or he's gonna go running for home screaming and crying for his Momma," snickered Hiashi.

Sarutobi grinned. "Maybe both since they are on his team and both are still upset with him. They will not take it easy on him and since his Jounin-Sensei is Kakashi, he'll find his team does not dance to his wishes. Kakashi will not see anything the girls do to put Sasuke in his place but he will see everything the Uchiha does to try and even the score."

"So you believe he will protect Hinata as well as Natsu?"

"Hai. I know he will. It seems he has known for a long time about the girls and their alter egos."

Hiashi felt he could finally relax now that he knew Hinata's new Sensei would not betray her to the Hyuuga council behind their backs. The Council knew she was still alive and they knew what she was but so far they had not been able to reach her to kill or brand her. The branch members loyal to him had done a good job taking out anyone sent by the council to end her life but with her as an official genin now it would only get harder for him to shelter her.

That night when Kakashi came by to check on Natsu and Hinata he found Hinata sitting calmly in the sitting room the girls used to study scrolls of new techniques given them by either Sarutobi or Hiashi. He did a quick bed check on Natsu and then went to see what Hinata was up to. She was still sitting where he had first seen her but now there was a pot of tea and two cups waiting. He got the hint.

"What's up, Hinata?"

"Jijii," she said with a soft smile. "He's nervous and it's preying on his mind now that Natsu and I are growing older and being seen more and more. He wants to know we have all the protection we need for all the right reasons. To relieve his mind, I told him I would make sure you knew why I am under his protection the same as Natsu is instead of living with my clan."

"That's simple. If you lived there, you'd be dead already."

She grinned quickly. "I told him you would have already figured it out but he is still nervous so how much of my story do you know, Kakashi-san?"

"I know that like Natsu you have two types of chakra to call on. I know that your second chakra is connected to your eyes which while still being able to see like all byakugan users are somehow different. How they are different, I do not know but I know they are. I know that your father brought you to the Hokage for your protection after your clan elders killed your mother over your eyes. I know he loves you and doesn't want you to die. I also know you are being protected not just by the Hokage but also by some of the branch members loyal to your father. I am still trying to put a name to every one of them that is a loyal supporter but that is rather like pulling my own hair out sometimes. I don't know why your council feels threatened by your eyes or what this second chakra is good for."

"Ok. Like I thought you have most the story and really what you don't have isn't very much. My clan feels threatened by my eyes because I see more than they do. They see the chakra points in the body but I see everything when I activate my byakugan. That's how I know Sasuke will not achieve the Sharingan as well as the fact that he is not only sterile but impotent as well. I know a simple surgery will correct the impotence factor but children are not something he will ever have naturally. As for the second chakra it is useful for genjutsu but not much else unless it's mixed with my normal chakra, in which case it just enhances whatever I do with it. Basically that means when I do the clan taijutsu with chakra on my palms I have to be alot more careful not to kill my sparring partner."

"Anyway the reason the council is willing to kill me is because they have been trying to convince the world the Hyuuga are warriors only but my eyes are best for medical. When I channel my spirit chakra to my eyes I can see everything about a person which means I can tell you exactly what brought you in to see a doctor in the first place. There is no better doctor than the one who can in a glance tell you exactly what is wrong with your body and do so without causing your any physical discomfort. Add to that the fact that I can still kick anyone's tailside that messes with a patient of mine using the same exact techniques the clan prides itself on and you can see their issue. If every Hyuuga could get my eyes I doubt it would be a problem for them but these eyes are rare. Our records show they only show up once every hundred years or so."

"Ok so that explains all the medical texts and scrolls you girls have. But if your eyes still allow you to use the byakugan why would they. . ." he fell quiet as it occurred to him what the Hyuuga problem might really be. "Oh. It's that pride thing again. Hyuuga can not be seen as having any throwbacks like the Uchiha do with the children like Sasuke who will not develop the special clan eye."

"That and the power that the elders don't want to relinquish." At his blank look she explained. "Old Clan laws say that when a child is born with the white eyes of the clan and then later those white eyes take on color they are to be leader of the clan and protected by all members of the clan. No one in the clan is superior to that person because that person truly does have an all-seeing eye. I see your chakra points, your health related issues and your aura. Because of this, I know you. This . . . seeing was felt by the old-timers to elevate the child with the colored eyes above the others of the clan. But then they mistook a normal child for a Aura-eyed child and spoilt the kid rotten much like what has been done with Sasuke. The child was very intelligent, like all Aura-Eyed girls, and, because she was spoilt, she pit the clan against each other, claiming faults with members she didn't like and getting others to kill them for those faults. Remember, she had colored eyes but I said she was a normal child? This means she could not see the chakra points so she could not kill them herself using the clan fighting style. To try would have revealed her secret and she was smart enough to know what would happen then. She is the one who instituted the bird seal and separated the houses though. And by the time her immediate family found out what had occurred with her the damage was done. Her family became the main branch while those she didn't like were labeled Branch and protectors of Main."

"What happened to her?"

"Her sister, the true holder of Aura-Eyes, killed her and then she killed herself. The family should have known the sister was the true holder by her personality but this was back in the early days of the clan and they were still learning about our dojutsu and the different aspects of it. They decided, since it would be at least another ninety years before a child with the eyes was born again, to make sure no one would be considered clan if they had anything but the pure white eyes of the byakugan user. The Aura Eyes are always marked by a faint color tint to the eyes but the clan of that day figured the more color the eye held the stronger the Aura-Eye was in the person. They didn't understand until it was too late and they figured if they had misunderstood the text then future generations would also. She almost destroyed the clan and they feared the next time a normal child took the role of clan leader the clan would be destroyed. I have to admit they did have a point."

"So if your clan finds out you have these eyes they will kill you."

"Hai. But they do know I have them. It's why they killed Kaasan as soon as she birthed Hanabi. And Hanabi is closely watched though since I am alive and bear the eyes they do not feel Hanabi will get them. But her line will be watched for the next bearer of the Eye."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because every person who has ever gotten the Eye can trace their lineage back to the one who held it last. My ancestor was the true Aura-Eye Holder one hundred years ago. Most clans trace their lineage through the male. My clan, because of the Aura-Eye, does not. We trace it through the female since the first user was female and every user since then has been of her direct line. Mother to sister to grandmother. Until the clan started killing the children as soon as the eye became apparent it was Grandmother to Mother to Daughter but it skipped to a sister when the holder died as a child. I don't quite understand why killing the child who held the Eye before they could have a child of their own caused it to activate in her nearest female kin but it did and so the clan still has it whether they like it or not."

Kakashi shook his head and sighed as he rubbed one hand over his silver locks pondering the information he'd been given. "So basically we keep you out of Cloud and Mist and away from your clan. We keep Natsu away from Mist and Iwa and ninety percent of the village of Konoha. Sheesh. Not many places left we can go is there?"

"Nope. But Natsu and I have always known our lives will mostly be undercover. She and I just aren't normal girls."

"Is there anyone in your clan I don't need to send running for the hills as soon as I see them?"

"My cousin, Neji. He became a genin last term and Otousan uses him to pass me messages from time to time. He doesn't much like me because my alter is shy and downtrodden which he perceives as weak but it also gives him a reason for why I do not live in the compound. He will talk of a lack of understanding as to why I am unbranded but Tousan told him if I am branded I will die as I am not strong enough to live through the process. That is simple truth. The brand will kill me as it will burn out my eyes and begin a cascade failure no power on earth could stop. But to Neji, I am my Father's weakness simply because he lets me live."

"So we trust him? Even knowing this?"

"Hai. Sometimes things are happening that Otousan needs for me to know but he can not reach me to tell me himself due to being too closely watched so Neji will carry the message because everyone knows he does not like me. Therefore, no one even suspects he is bringing me warning. And no matter how weak he thinks I am, he will not disobey Otousan. Otousan has him in line to become clan head should something happen to Hanabi and that is an honor that branch members are normally not allowed. It is unusual but allowable because Neji's Otousan was Tousan's twin brother and both our Kaasan's were sisters as well."

"But the clan council is not likely to do anything to depose Hanabi, are they? I mean so long as you are alive the Aura-Eyes will not activate in her if I understand you correctly about them."

"No. She will not get the eyes even if they do manage to catch and kill me. Her descendants however will if I do not live long enough to produce my own offspring. Since Neji is his Kaasan's only child and she is dead already as is my Kaasan, Hanabi and I are the only two left who can pass the eye along. That is why Otousan set Neji up in the line of succession."

"I don't understand."

"The elders think if they can catch and kill me and then kill Hanabi they will end the threat of the Eye in the Main branch. They will not. Neji may be a boy but his descendants if there are no females to carry the gene along will pass it through themselves to the next born female who will then become the matriarch holder of the Eye. For most Hyuuga the gene is recessive. It will only become active in a female but males are carriers as well."

"So all the Aura-Eye Holders have been girls?"

Hinata tilted her head just as Natsu would. "Didn't I say that?" she queried him softly.

"Uh. No. Not exactly. You just said you were all on a direct maternal line."

"Oh. Well. Yeah. Every holder of the Aura-Eye that the clan has ever recorded is female. But why, if a boy could hold the Aura-Eye, would we make the clan a matriarchal clan rather than the normal patriarch type?"

"I would guess because the first user was female but that still didn't mean she could not have ultimately passed it on to a son generations down the line."

Hinata nodded. "I suppose you could be correct. But it is false. If the Elders catch me they will kill me and than to stop the Eye from passing down the line they will kill Hanabi. That is why Otousan has Neji in the line of succession. At the moment of Hanabi's death he will become the carrier of the true Aura-Eye but he will not hold it himself. One of his daughters one hundred years from now will."

"So the only true way to end the Eye is to kill every blood connection to the present holder be they male or female."

She grinned. "Hai but they won't do that. Because if you go back in the records every Hyuuga is related one way or another to the Aura-Eye holder. It will simply keep passing through the line from one to the next until it becomes active in the child born at the right time closest in line of succession to the last known holder. Even if the Elders were to kill Otousan, Neji, Hanabi and I they would not get rid of the Eye."

"Oh man. Dojutsu clans have more issues. . ." Kakashi said chuckling.

"All bloodline clans have issues, Kakashi-san. It's just everyone pays more attention to the dojutsu users than the other types. We are easier to recognize and therefore easier to judge.

Author Remarks: Ok I know this chapter is not as funny as the last two but Natsu is asleep and no one is all that funny when they are sleeping. Hinata is Natsu's counter-part and her character needed development for you, my readers. She is Natsu's partner and foil. Therefore, she is serious where Natsu is funny. Hope you can bear with the chapter and remember reviews bring more chapters as Hubby and I think of them and we do have some ideas. But it's up to you. . . . . . .