A/N: wow, it has been quite a while. sorry for that. college has been awful (in the bad way). but now its summer. hopefully i write a lot and i don't just put it off. oh well. i warned you updates were going to be sporadic at best.

i had the first part of this chapter written for the longest time, and i finally finished the rest of it this past weekend. it was actually quite mentally stimulating and draining at the same time to write again and i enjoyed that. im only sorry that the chapter was not as long as i wanted, since it has been so long, but it ended at a good place, and i wanted to post something.

and congratulations to Miih-chan, who figured it out - yes, those 'hand-like' things in the last chapter were vectors from elfen lied. this chapter is dedicated to you!

Disclaimer: Kishimoto (naruto) and Okamoto (elfen lied - for the last couple of chapters, not so much for this one) own. I play.

Neji was at a loss at what to do. He looked over at the Godaime, but she shrugged her shoulders, causing him to give her a flat look. Thank you O Glorious Godaime, you have been such a great help today. Neji looked down at the sobbing girl, raising his hands to her shaking back and rubbed it comfortingly. Ino walked over to the Hyuuga pair, gently placing her hand on top of a sea of crimson as to not startle the charge in Neji's arms, gently running her fingers through the girl's- Hinata's, hair.

"You should go Neji, and inform your family that Hinata is here. I am sure her father would be happy to see her. She has been missing for what, fourteen, fifteen years now? I can keep her company while you get your uncle." Neji looked over at the Yamanaka, nodding his agreement and thanks. Ino aided Neji in prying the fellow Hyuuga's hands away from him so he could leave. As Neji started his retreat, Tsunade followed him out into the hallway.

"We are going to move her into a new room while you get her father. She still needs to stay here at least a few more days while we monitor her, and I am going to put her under twenty-four watch and care. Based on her…experiences here, I think the person with her in the room should be female. I am setting up Ino with the first shift, as she seems fine with her so far. There will be a slug at the reception desk waiting for you and your uncle when you arrive to bring you to the new room." Neji grunted his response and left as quickly as socially acceptable (he was a Hyuuga after all).

Once he arrived at the Hyuuga residence, he engaged in small talk with his fellow branch members (the guards on duty at the gate) and inquired about the whereabouts of his uncle. They told him that Hiashi was in his office, but he did not wish to be disturbed.

"Trust me, this is something he will want to know about right away." Neji left the gate guards to return to his original objective when he saw his father. He explained that he was going to see the Hyuuga head and that he should join in on the meeting, as this affects both branches. They appeared in front of the office door where Neji knocked and entered without the verbal response he normally would have waited for (Hizashi will have to remember to reprimand him for that, he taught the boy better…). Hiashi looked up, annoyed as he clearly ordered not to be disturbed and was going to give whomever was interrupting him a piece of his mind. Seeing the look on his nephew's face and how his brother (ahem branch slave) looked concerned, Hiashi kept his annoyance to himself.

"I have something to report Hyuuga-sama. It is of grave importance and could even change the very fabric of the Hyuuga clan." Neji said gravely, denoting the importance of this meeting. Neji paused, taking the deep breath that he knew he needed, looking at his uncle steadily in the eye.

"Hinata Hyuuga has been found. Alive and intact."

Tsunade walked back into the room finding the Hyuuga cuddled against the Yamanaka's chest, wide-eyed and continuously gasp-crying, staring at nothing. Ino repeatedly tried to calm her down, gently shushing her while alternating rubbing her back and running her hand down the back of her head, comforting her in an oddly motherly way. The Godaime announced her plans for Hinata to the other, more alert people in the room. Itachi was walking towards her, motioning with his eyes that they should talk outside of the room.

"I hope, Lady Hokage, that you have do not have anything in the form of a questioning planned for her, not for some time anyway. Let her get used to being here, get comfortable with her surroundings. We do not know what she has been through, or if she is even capable of understanding and correctly responding to any inquiry. She needs time to heal."

Tsunade's eyes tightened slightly and she ground her teeth a little. She knew he was right, but she was the Hokage. And not just the Hokage, but a world renowned medic ninja, thank you very much. She knew what needed to be done for the newly found Hyuuga in the short term, and she did not appreciate one of her underlings telling her what to do, in regards to one of her citizens and especially in regards to medicine.

"Right now, let's prep a room for her so she can get out of this blood fest. Her future therapy can be discussed after she is situated. You can go now, Uchiha. But do not forget that everything that happened in this room is now officially an S-class secret."

She noticed that for some reason, his stoic face bothered her as he bowed his understanding and left without another word. She was ready to push it off towards her dislike of Uchiha arrogance, but she knew deep down it was not that – he was not arrogant. She did not know what it was, but she did not have the time to mull it over further.

She personally went to new hospital room to fix it up, making sure that there was not anything that the Hyuuga girl could use to possibly hurt herself. The Uchiha was not one hundred percent confident in his suppression of the being that possessed her. There was no knowing when the dam would burst.

After making sure everything was alright and sending a slug to the front desk, she returned to the female pair in that room and brought them to the new one, deciding it was time for Hinata to finally change clothes and bathe (the blood was starting to dry and it must have been extremely uncomfortable, if not a bit itchy), filling the tub with warm water (yes, the Hokage gave the girl one of the nicer rooms in the hospital, and no doubt her father would cover the expenses). Ino and Tsunade both helped the girl who just seemed to let them take the lead, with no will of her own stopping them. Ino took note of the lack of embarrassed modesty when she finally removed the red stained, tattered hospital gown and hospital administered underwear- that either meant that her mind was set back into a place before the idea of modesty would be put into action for a young girl (so an infant, really, which would also explain her crying for her mother) or, she was used to being naked around other people. Oh God, Ino hoped it was the former, as it is vastly the lesser of two evils.

They lowered the girl into the tub, and Ino grabbed the (now soapy) washcloth and started to wash the limp girl's back. Why was she letting them move her so much? Why was she a literal limp noodle? What is going on inside that mind of hers? The Yamanaka was tempted to mind walk Hinata but would not until the Hokage gave her the all clear. Whatever Itachi did to her seemed to make her almost an empty vessel and something told her that this was not right, that it was not supposed to happen.

After Hinata was fully washed, the cold water now tinged a light watery pink, Tsunade wrapped her in a towel and proceeded to dry and dress her (a new set of hospital gown and underwear was brought into the bathroom by Ino). After she was fully dry, Ino grabbed a hairbrush and started to brush out Hinata's hair for her (hair, she can do. The girly stuff was Ino's real specialty). As she watched, the adrenaline finally left Tsunade's body, causing her to sag slightly against the doorframe. She felt physically and mentally exhausted, and if she did not know better, she would have thought she had been up for days rather than hours given the state she was in. A familiar sickness started to also return (she saw so much blood today she was surprised that she was not passed out on the floor at this very moment), but she tried to push it down. Just a few more minutes, and she can collapse in her chair in her office.

Tsunade reiterated to Ino that she was to take the first shift in the Hyuuga watch duty, and that she would be the one (since Tsunade was returning to the Hokage tower) to formally speak to the Hyuuga head about this entire situation, whenever he got his sorry ass over from the compound. Tsunade tiredly chuckled. She would have paid good money to see the look on his face when Neji told that bastard the good news.

Hiashi Hyuuga was a very proud man, as his (ahem justifiable) pride was warranted with coming from such a prestigious, established, old clan. There were few times in life that something brought him out of his stoic persona, his calm and controlled understanding of the clan, the world, and himself.

This was one of those times.

Hinata Hyuuga has been found. Alive and intact.

Hiashi's eyes widened marginally (but extremely wide for a Hyuuga – you could actually distinguish the white of his irises from the rest of his eye! Unheard of!), and the thin line of his lips widened as his lower lip had fallen a whole half a centimeter.

In layman's terms, he was bugged eyed and jaw dropped.

He blubbered (well, as much a blubber as a Hyuuga could actually muster) for a while, demanding an explanation from his nephew. Neji explained everything that has occurred regarding this girl within the past few days, and he honestly grew more and more skeptical. Psychological evaluation? Suicide watch? What was Tsunade doing? And was this girl even his long lost daughter?

Hiashi had his nephew lead him to the hospital, finding the slug at the front desk (ugh, he hated slugs), where it led them to her room and finally unsummoned itself. Neji knocked gently and slowly opened the door, allowing Hiashi to see his daughter for the first time since she was by those damn Kumo nin almost fifteen years ago. This girl, facing away from them and curled in fetal position, was the lost Hyuuga princess that ignited the war between the two countries. Well, there were battles before the incident, and while they were increasing in intensity and occurrence, her kidnapping (and their blatant denial in taking part, especially after their repeated and obvious desires to possess the Byakugan) is what officially put Konoha and Kumo to war. She was the subject of many a song sung by minstrels. And here she was, right before his very eyes.

She was so small, her body curling in on herself to protect herself from the outside world. The blonde girl in the room (a Yamanaka, he assumed by her coloring) continued to hum softly, running her fingers through those crimson locks and-

Wait.

Red hair?

His daughter, his precious little Hinata, did not have red hair.

Aaaaaaand there you have it.

I may have made Ino a bit OOC, but i needed someone who was a mednin (canon or not, everyone puts the rookie nine girls in the hospital. all. the. time.) that wasnt sakura to care for hinata, so that fell onto Ino and so i made her a bit...motherly? i dont know anymore. apparently its not normal behavior, since the others were shocked. maybe hinata invokes that kind of reaction from people? i dont know. and i wrote it. thats really sad *sobbu sobbu*

hopefully the next chapter is out soon.

Jaa, mata.

Debbie