Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and this story has no beta. There will probably be spelling & grammatical errors.

Author's Note: Itsuki means tree. Also, to be clear, in the last chapter Itsuki thought Hinata was hot, but it was more of an honest observation and his feelings for her are strictly platonic.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

…

Chapter 4

Sakura handed her a crumpled post-it note and Hinata slowly smoothed out the creases just as Naruto, Sasuke, Haku, and Itsuki joined them.

Hinata gasped and tears filled her eyes. "Kizashi Haruno." Her voice shook as she read out her uncle's name. She stood up slowly and processed the information on the post-it; the address of the house she had lived at with her uncle up until the age of 12. "Kizashi Haruno is your father?"

"We were born because of him, but he's no father. He left us when I was 7 and Itsuki was 6," Sakura spat hatefully.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku all exchanged shocked glances before their eyes landed on Hinata.

"Sakura, I told you, he probably left because he had to protect someone or something really important. My mentor told me that our dad was one of the best Protectors ever. Anyways, I'm telling you that the reason mom left that is not to tell us to go live with him now, but to warn him that something is coming for whatever he's protecting."

"It's too late," Hinata's voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"What?" Itsuki frowned

"Kizashi Haruno is dead," Hinata balled her hands into fists as a tear escaped her eyes.

"What?" Sakura looked up at Hinata in utter shock. It was obvious that she resented her father for leaving, but she didn't hate him as much as she tried to show she did.

"He was killed two days ago. He was one of our mentors," Haku said slowly, still processing the newly developed information.

"I told you!" Itsuki snapped at Sakura. "You were being so selfish. Because of your stupid pride I'll never see dad again. You were at least old enough to remember him. I barely remember playing catch with him!"

"I'm sorry, Itsuki."

"Leave her alone," Sasuke growled, not because he was protecting Sakura, but because he could see guilt weighing down on Hinata with every word Itsuki yelled.

"You can't blame her for not knowing what that message meant. She was ignorant of our world until today," Naruto reminded Itsuki.

Itsuki's glare wavered and he dropped his head in defeat and a bit of shame for snapping at his sister like that. "What about the thing he was protecting? Is it safe?" Itsuki asked in a low voice, knowing that Naruto was absolutely right, but still upset at his sister.

"Yeah, she's safe," Haku replied, his eyes resting on Hinata.

"She?"

"I'm so sorry," Hinata's voice shook. "He left you to take care of me. I grew up thinking that he was my uncle and I–I only found out after he died that he wasn't. I'm s-sor-sorry," she said again not knowing what else she could say.

"He left his own family to take care of someone else's daughter?" tears began to escape Sakura's wide eyes. "Were we not good enough for him?"

"Sakura, it's not like that. As Hunters, we are expected to put duty first and ourselves second. It's not easy being a Hunter. We sacrifice a lot. Do you think I wanted to leave you and mom every summer to train with other Hunters instead of going on those summer trips? We literally have the weight of the world on our shoulders and when we act selfishly, it can be catastrophic."

"How come your parents couldn't take care of you?" Sakura glared at Hinata, completely ignoring Itsuki.

"I don't know," Hinata replied honestly.

"That's enough," Sasuke warned, clenching his fist.

"Did they die? Were they not fit to raise you? Did they throw you away too?!"

"Sakura!" Itsuki was shocked by his sister.

Hinata knelt down in front of Sakura before she took a deep breath. Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku all wanted to pull Hinata back to her feet, but something about the pain in Hinata's face made it impossible for them to move.

"Sakura, I don't know why it was necessary for your father to raise me, but please don't hate him for it. I understand if you want to hate me, but Uncle Kizashi was much too good a person to be hated by someone who doesn't know the whole story. I know it's harsh of me to say these things, but I know him better than you do and he never did anything without a good reason. He would never leave anyone behind unless it was for their benefit. I don't remember my biological family. Apparently, my parents were slaughtered right after I was given to your father. Uncle Kizashi is the only family I've known and he's dead because of his relationship with me. I can only say that I am so sorry. I wish that he hadn't accepted the job of raising me because then maybe he'd still be alive right now."

"Sakura, it's not her fault."

"If you're going to hate and be angry at Hinata, then we deserve some of that hate too," Haku spoke as Naruto helped Hinata back to her feet, "because he was one of our mentors and he was a constant in our lives as well."

"Instead of resenting her, you guys should learn about what type of person your father was by hearing her stories of him," Naruto suggested.

Sakura looked at each of their faces, clearly seeing the pain of loss that was still fresh to them. She looked at Hinata last and could see the complete devastation that she felt clear as day in her eyes and in the quivering of her lips as she tried not to cry. "You're right. I'm sorry. He was more your father than he was mine, and he just died. I'm sure you're in enough pain without me adding to it," Sakura said in a defeated tone.

"Thank you," Hinata gave Sakura a sad smile, the corners of her lips still trembling slightly.

"We should probably introduce ourselves," Naruto said, realizing that they hadn't done so yet. "I'm Naruto, this is my brother Sasuke, and this is Haku and Hinata."

A long, awkward silence settled adding more tension to the atmosphere as Sakura looked from person to person. The silence became so thick that Hinata found herself holding her breath.

"I'm hungry. Do you guys have anything to eat?" Itsuki asked, changing the topic suddenly to try and dispel the lingering tension in the room.

Hinata let out a grateful breath and smiled.

"I can get some ramen ready," Naruto grinned and headed into the break room with Haku where there was a decent kitchen that was currently stocked with instant noodles, cans of soup, and cereal since that was all the food they had brought with them.

"I'm going to work out for a bit," Sasuke said as he went into the men's locker room where the guys had left their clothes.

"If you need anything, please let me know," Hinata said quietly to Sakura as she stood up.

Hinata showered in the women's locker room and when she came out, Itsuki was practicing weapons and combat with Sasuke while Sakura marveled at them. Naruto and Haku were still cooking.

"So, how did you guys become paranormal fighters?" Sakura asked in honest curiosity.

"We are called Hunters and we were born with the ability to see spirits. It's mostly a genetic thing so it's not common for someone with the Sight to be born into a family of civilians though the opposite happens more often. We start training to be Hunters at the age of 5, sometimes younger, so that we can start going out on missions by the time we're 14. There are many different primary fields we all train in like combat, healing, cryptology and so on, and then there are specialized fields that only those who show signs of certain talents train in, like advanced healing, advanced cryptology, blessing, and a few others. Even though we all have basic training in all the different primary fields, everyone is obviously better at some things and worse in others. Usually, by the time we're 10, it's more obvious which fields are our strengths and we begin to focus on specializing our skills."

"What's your specialty?"

"I don't really have a specialty."

"Hey, Hinata," Sasuke called, interrupting the conversation.

"Yeah?"

"I just bet Itsuki that he wouldn't be able to beat you in combat and he laughed. Do you feel like helping me win a bet?" Sasuke smirked.

"Why would you do that? How much did you bet?" Hinata asked.

"$20."

"If I win, I get half of that," Hinata sighed and tied up her hair. "Are we using weapons or just hand to hand?"

"Hand to hand," Itsuki grinned.

"Don't let her tiny appearance and age fool you. She's really good," Sasuke gave Itsuki one piece of advice before he exited the ring. "Hinata, I have faith in you."

Hinata entered the ring and stood in an oversized white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of black leggings. She had taken her shoes off and stood in just her socks. Itsuki was about a full head taller than she was and compared to his defined muscles, she did indeed look tiny.

He took a test swing at her that she ducked under. He tested her again and this time she dodged his swing, catching it in her hands before she spun his arm around so that it was pinned against his back.

"Okay, I'll take you seriously," he said right before he struck out at her with his free elbow.

She released his arm and took a step back to dodge his elbow, grinning as she did. He swung his arm and she leaned backwards so that the fist flew in front of her face before she stood up straight again, blocking a punch from his opposite arm. She dropped down and swept her foot under him causing him to fall to his back. He recovered quickly and flipped back onto his feet. They circled each other for a few moments, sizing each other up again.

"Hinata, stop being polite. Just end this," Sasuke called from a corner.

At that, Hinata ran at Itsuki, jumping up so that her knee would connect with his face, expecting him to either block or catch her. When he caught her, she grabbed his head and threw all her weight backwards so that he fell forwards. She pushed off him so that she landed on her feet and he landed on his face before she pinned him down.

"That's enough playing. Dinner's ready," Haku called.

"Are you embarrassed that I beat you that quickly?" Hinata asked when Itsuki pulled out his wallet and gave Sasuke $20.

"Just a bit," Itsuki sighed. "How old are you guys anyways? I might feel better if you're older than me."

"I'm 16, Haku's 17, and Sasuke and Naruto are 18."

"Wait, Sasuke and Naruto are twins?" Itsuki looked from Sasuke to Naruto in shock.

"Naruto's my adopted brother."

"Oh," Itsuki nodded his head in understanding. "So, what you're telling me is that a tiny girl the same age as me just kicked my ass," Itsuki frowned.

Hinata giggled.

"Well, I'm better with a weapon," Itsuki said.

"So is Hinata," Sasuke grinned.

"Damn," Itsuki was impressed.

…

"I've been wondering for a little while, but how did you find us? Why did you find us?" Sakura asked after they had finished eating dinner.

"When my uncle died," Hinata started in habit. "I mean, when your father died."

"It's okay," Itsuki reassured.

"We were at the school winter formal dance and his spirit came to me and told me to get the contents of a safety deposit box and get out of town. In the box, all I found was a book with 3 enchanted locks and a brochure of a museum with your mother's name on it along with a photo of them together tucked inside the brochure. The brochure was from here so we did some searching and managed to find where your mother was attacked. We were originally planning on gathering clues at the house."

"Can I see them? Can I see the book, the photo, and the brochure?" Sakura asked.

"Sure," Hinata stood up and returned with the items.

"This is where they first met," Sakura smiled. "My mom told me that she met the love of her life at the Yeoksa Museum which is why she stayed there as the curator even after receiving other job offers from more well-known museums."

"Just so you know, he had a tattoo of a tree with a single cherry blossom on it over his chest. I think it was so that he always had you guys with him," Hinata said gently, referring to what their names meant.

"I knew he never forgot about us," Itsuki smiled.

"That symbol on one of the locks," Sakura grabbed the book and looked closely at the lock in the middle.

"They look like crests," Itsuki frowned.

Sakura nodded before she continued her thought, "This looks like my high school crest," Sakura rummaged through bag and pulled out a student ID card, showing them her school crest. "What does this mean?" she asked.

"It means we need to search your school for clues or a key," Sasuke replied.

"We can't go in broad daylight. We'll have to sneak in after dark," Naruto muttered.

"Why would he hide the key there?" Haku thought out loud.

"Because it's haunted," Itsuki said.

"What?" Sakura's eyes were wide.

"I've only heard rumors, and I rarely go around it, I'm pretty sure it's haunted."

"Wait, don't you guys go to the same school?" Haku asked.

"No, Itsuki goes to the school with the best math and science program while I go to Misul Academy for its arts programs."

"Oh, I see," Haku nodded his head. "But you've never heard that your school was haunted before?"

"Like, I heard it was cursed, but I thought it was all nonsense so I never paid attention to it."

"Let's do some research before we blindly storm the place," Naruto pulled out his phone and set up a Wi-Fi hotspot so that everyone could simultaneously start searching on their laptop for whatever information they might find.

"Do you feel as useless as I do?" Sakura leaned over and asked her brother.

"Sorry," Naruto looked up and apologized. "The 4 of us have grown up together and it's not often we have other people around. We're just used to doing our thing. There's a sort of harmony in the way we work."

"So, what are you all doing?" Itsuki asked, leaning over to look at Naruto's computer screen.

"We're looking up any stories or legends about the school and also the history behind it," Naruto explained.

And with that everyone was silently researching again while Itsuki and Sakura observed them.

"Okay, it's been an hour. Let's see what information we've found," Naruto said.

"The school was originally an orphanage built in 1612 and was converted into a juvenile detention center 1821. I couldn't find any information about it when it was an orphanage, but here's what I found regarding its time as a detention center," Haku began. "The people in charge and some of the other staff members were pretty twisted individuals. When it was discovered that the kids and teens that were sent here were being sexually abused by some of the staff there, people turned a blind eye since it was keeping delinquents off the streets until one of the older kids had had enough and raped and killed a female staff member who was abusing his younger brother before he slaughtered 2 of the doctors. The police killed him and the detention center was shut down not long after that when there were complaints of strange voices and screams of a woman yelling for help. In 1962 they renovated it and made it a school."

"That goes along with an article I found too," Hinata started as soon as Haku ended in such a way that it didn't feel like 2 different people speaking, but one person with 2 voices. "I found a story from the newspaper about two girls and their boyfriends who had snuck back into the school after dark because it was a popular fear challenge or initiation thing or something like that. They were planning on spending the night, each couple in a different classroom for, you know, privacy," she flushed in embarrassment. "Long story short, one of the girls started getting frisky and her boyfriend went to the other room, on a different floor, to ask for a, you know, a— a condom," she whispered the last word. "They heard her scream and when they went to check what was up, she was dead. She had been raped and mutilated with an inverted cross carved into her torso."

"Word is that the students avoid making out or anything else of the sort on school grounds because at least one of the persons involved always ends up having some sort of misfortune like falling down the stairs or being locked in a locker or closet and other things of the sort. The worst case I found was when a gay couple snuck a kiss in the showers and the water turned scalding hot and gave them both second degree burns." Sasuke smirked before adding, "If I had attended that school, the spirit wouldn't have had time to attack anyone else."

"That's so scary," Sakura's whispered.

Naruto's brow furrowed in concern and he gently touched Sakura's shoulder to comfort her. Hinata felt he heart clench with jealousy but pushed it away to focus on the mission.

"So, what did you find?" Haku asked Naruto.

"The school crest is the family crest of the school's founder: Hayate Misul. He was a kind man who was generous with his wealth, and was quite a ladies' man. He married 3 separate times, each wife dying of 'natural causes.' People thought he was just unlucky, but I did some more digging and I think it's safe to say that he was a Hunter and his wives were killed by supernatural beings. After the death of his second wife he bought the property and renovated it into a school. Misul Academy began as a school for underprivileged youths who showed a lot of potential but lacked opportunity to develop. He'd be disappointed to see that it's a posh academy for the rich now," Naruto added before continuing. "His third wife, who was a school teacher at the academy, is said to have been his soulmate. So, when she passed, he was so grieved that he died of heartbreak. It's said that he had bought her a beautiful lock and key pendant, calling it the key to his heart, and when she passed, he kept the lock but hid the key at the school where he tried to bring her back to life which resulted in the Council of Hunters condemning him and his memory. He was removed from the Hunter Registry. He died that same night, in the school. Some people say that he was successful in bringing her back, but in order to bring someone back from the dead, he had to trade a life for a life and so he gave his life."

"That must be the key to this lock and it's somewhere in that school," Hinata looked at the book, an expression of pure determination on her face.

"That's so romantic," Sakura sighed.

"Romantic? Did we just hear the same story?" Sasuke scoffed.

"He loved her so much he couldn't imagine continuing life without her."

"He married two other women before her."

"He hadn't met her yet and he must've thought he was in love with the others too," Sakura defended.

"Tch," Sasuke made a face. "You think that what Naruto just told us is a love story, but what he told us wasn't a tale of love. We just heard the story of a Hunter who failed to protect the people he claimed to love. What killed him wasn't heartbreak. It was guilt at being such a sad excuse of a Hunter that he couldn't go on living knowing that."

"Maybe those spirits and demons were really strong!" Sakura wanted so desperately for it to be a love story. She wanted to believe that love like that wasn't just fiction, but could actually happen.

"You have read way too many romance novels."

"Sasuke, that's enough" Haku cut in.

"No, the stupid bastard was selfish. Let's say they were really in love. If he couldn't live without her, what makes him think that giving up his life so that she may live is the kind thing to do? Now she has to live knowing that every breath she takes should have been his because he traded his life for hers. He gets to be at peace in the afterlife and she's here, in this dirty and tainted world carrying the guiltiest of guilty consciences and you think he really loved her? How can she ever be happy again with that knowledge? If he had loved her more than he loved himself, he would have continued to live as a good man to honor her until the day death came for him," Sasuke finished and Sakura found herself staring into his fierce eyes, her pulse racing and her heart pounding against her ribcage.

She had known that all three guys were absolutely gorgeous and she had felt an instant connection with Naruto since the moment he had tried to calm and comfort her in the car ride back to the base, but there was something about the way Sasuke talked about love so passionately, despite seeming so cold, that made her heart skip a beat and made her forget how to speak or form intelligent thought for a few moments.

"Girls always think they know what love is, but they're just delusional fools with stupid fantasies," Sasuke said before he stood up and left the group.

"Sasuke," Hinata called. "Sasuke!" she tried again and followed him when he didn't turn around.

"You'd never believe it, but that guy believes in true love more than the rest of us," Haku explained. "He's dated a lot of girls and it only takes them a day or two to tell him that they love him. I don't think he's ever told a girl he loved her."

Sakura looked over her shoulder at Sasuke's retreating figure. She could see why girls fell for him quickly. She was a textbook example of a girl who fell for Sasuke quickly. She was determined to become the first girl to hear Sasuke say he loved her. So, when she saw Hinata sit down next to Sasuke on the sofa and place her hand on his, she instantly saw competition and Sakura hated to lose.

Haku looked at the same pair of people and, instead of jealousy, he smiled as he saw Hinata, with her beautiful heart, comforting someone even though she was the one who probably needed the most comforting considering everything that had happened in the last week.

…

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked Sasuke quietly, taking his hand in hers.

"I just needed to get away from her stupidity. I'm so sick of girls like her. Romantic? What the hell do they know about love and romance?"

"Girls always fantasize about love. That's normal and, yes, we don't all have the same ideas about what love really means, but you can't get angry at her for thinking that what Naruto told us was a love story. Everyone thinks they know what love is and what love will make them do, but you can't be sure until the time comes. Love made Uncle Kizashi leave his family and cut off all contact to keep them safe."

"What do you think love is?" he turned to look at her.

"Me? I think love is something that develops over time. I think that love is when you see a couple that's been married for 60 years walking down the street holding hands knowing that they've fought and cried and been through all sorts of hardships, but have continued to try to make it work because they know that the other person is worth it. I think true love is when you begin to notice someone's flaws but it makes you love them more for their imperfections than their perfections. I don't know if I'm making any sort of sense," she smiled and shrugged a little sheepishly.

Sasuke stared at her and was suddenly very aware of how her hands were calloused from all of her combat and weapons training, and yet her touch was soft as a feather.

"Are you okay now?" she asked.

He nodded his head and she stood up, his hand still in hers. She smiled and let go of his hand as she turned to go back to the others, but before he even realized what he was doing, he grabbed her hand again and pulled her back so that she stood between his legs directly in front of him. She looked at him curiously, but he just slowly wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer.

"Sorry, I just wanted to hug you," he said in a low voice.

"Okay," she replied and returned the hug, cradling his head that was against her stomach. She gently caressed his hair not noticing the way Sakura glared or the way Haku's expression had become unsure as he looked at Sasuke.

"Are they dating?" Itsuki asked.

"Sorry?" Naruto looked up from his monitor and at what everyone else was staring at. "Oh," he chuckled. "No. They're not dating. Hinata's like our baby sister."

"Baby sister?" Sakura tore her eyes away and turned her attention to Naruto.

"We already told you that the 4 of us grew up together so even though people might think it's weird that we can be around someone as beautiful as her and not be pursuing her romantically, it's not like that. It's almost impossible for us to see her as anything other than our sister," Naruto explained.

"That's nice," Sakura turned back to see Hinata and Sasuke returning, feeling more confident that she'd be able to catch Sasuke.

"You good?" Haku asked Sasuke uneasily.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry if what I was saying upset you," Sakura apologized.

He grimaced, "I couldn't care less what you said or thought. I just wanted to get away from a useless conversation."

"Sasuke," Naruto scolded when he saw how Sasuke's words affected Sakura.

"Please don't take it personally," Hinata told Sakura. "Sasuke speaks like this to everyone."

"Not everyone," Sasuke corrected. "I don't talk to you like that," he grinned at Hinata.

Hinata tried and failed to hide a smile as she said, "You should be so proud of that," sarcastically.

"Anyways, getting back to the mission at hand," Naruto got back down to business. "It seems like most of the spirits are mere echoes and aren't harmful. The only spirit that seems to be dangerous that we'll probably have to exorcise is the one who killed the 3 people back when the school was a detention center."

"Well, it'll be easy enough to draw him out. I'm more concerned with whether or not we'll be able to find the key," Haku sighed.

"I've printed off the school map. I figure that Sasuke and Haku can search this side of the school while Hinata, Itsuki, and I search the other side," Naruto pointed.

"What about me?" Sakura asked.

"You're not coming," Sasuke said curtly.

"Umm, yes, I am," she said firmly.

"You're not trained like we are and you'd be safer here," Itsuki agreed with the others.

"It's better if I'm there with you guys. There are secret passages that we use to sneak off school grounds that aren't on the map. What if the key is hidden in one of those?"

"She has a point," Haku didn't like the idea of taking a civilian with them, but knew that what she said was true.

"Then we'll go during school hours tomorrow and you can give us a tour," Hinata suggested.

"Why are you guys trying to leave me out of this? I've been affected by all of this shit as much as you guys," she snapped at Hinata.

"Because, as your brother already said, you're not trained for this. Do you even know how to use a weapon? Have you ever even been in a fight? This isn't a game. We're risking our lives and you're a liability." Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh.

"You'll be safest here," Hinata gave her an apologetic face.

Sakura sighed, a plan forming in her head, before responding, "Fine. I guess you guys can come to school around lunch time and I can give you a quick tour so you get familiar with the layout and then I can show you the secrets."

"Thanks for being so understanding," Naruto smiled at her.

"Shouldn't we be taking Sakura and Itsuki back home or wherever they're staying? It's getting late. Or, are they staying with us?" Haku asked Naruto and Sasuke.

"I want to stay with you guys," Itsuki said firmly. "You're the first people I've been able to be completely open with. I don't have to pretend to be like everyone else."

"We're in Nigiyaka now, but there's no guarantee that we'll be staying here. Uncle Kizashi's message brought us here, but the other two keys could be in a completely different country for all we know. It's better if you don't get close to us. It's safer for you if you go back to your life."

"I don't want to go back to my life. I want to see this through to the end with you guys. I don't know why you're searching for those keys, why you guys had to leave your life behind, why you started this mission, but I know that it has something to do with whatever killed my mom and dad. I deserve to know what this is all about and I am not going to sit on the sidelines. I'm with you to the end," his voice was steady and with that, he became one of them.

"Welcome to the team," Naruto grunted, clapping Itsuki on the shoulder.

"I'm staying too. And before you say no, remember that something tried to kill me and my brother today. I don't know if it's just an isolated event or not, but if you leave me behind, you're leaving me completely unprotected and I won't survive another attack. I'm a fast learner. You could teach me how to do the things you do so that I'm not a liability, but an asset."

"She wouldn't be able to use spells or enchantments, but she could help us with research and do some first aid," Hinata suggested, though it was obvious she was very doubtful.

"She's not as strong or fast as we are. She's not as spiritually sensitive so it would be easy for her to get possessed. Not to mention the fact that if both of them suddenly disappear without any word from whoever their legal guardian is, we would be risking the chance that we're mistaken for kidnappers," Sasuke was not open to the idea at all.

"That's true," Haku nodded his head. "I mean, your parents informed everyone important that you guys and Hinata were just going on a trip and my parents are back home telling people I went with you guys, but if Sakura and Itsuki's guardian doesn't okay them being away for an undetermined length of time, we wouldn't be hiding from only Neji, but we'd have to stay under the radar of everyone else as well."

"But what she said is true as well. She's defenseless without Itsuki. We could also train her to see spirits and demons. There are certain Hunters out there who weren't born with a Hunter's Mark and gained the ability to see spirits," Naruto reminded, and it was obvious to the rest of them that Naruto had made up his mind. They knew that once he decided something, there was no use in arguing with him as he was as stubborn and determined as a rock.

"Who's your guardian?" Hinata asked.

"Well, we're living on our own, but our aunt comes by to check on us and acts as our legal guardian," Sakura replied.

"Tell her you're going on a trip to visit your dad. If she asks how you're going, say that you and Itsuki plan on making it a memorable trip in honor of your mother who wished you guys had spent more time together as family so you're taking buses and trains and taking in sights along the way to strengthen your relationship or whatever. If she says no or that she'll go with you or anything like that, you tell her that you couldn't ask her to drop everything and go with you guys. Say whatever you need to make her agree to it," Naruto said.

"Thank you!"

"But, if you're going to come with us, you'll need to do exactly as we say. You can't second guess us when it comes to anything related to hunting. Ever," Haku wasn't so sure that bringing Sakura along was a good idea but he was willing.

"You'll be staying back at wherever our bases are until we think you're ready to be out there with us. Got it?" Sasuke stared at her with his piercing gaze.

"Of course," she nodded her head.

"Will we have enough room in the SUV for 6 people and all of our luggage and equipment?" Hinata remembered how full the SUV had been with only the 4 of them because of the amount of supplies and equipment they needed to travel with.

"Well it's nice of you to think of that after my idiot brother already said yes," Sasuke scoffed.

"We have a car," Itsuki cut in.

"Then we're fine," Naruto nodded.

"I can drop Sakura off at school in the morning and then come back here with our things," Itsuki suggested.

"That sounds good," Naruto nodded his head.

"So, we can spend the night here tonight?" Sakura asked. "I'm still a bit scared to go back home and I'd feel safer with you all," she looked at each person but her eyes lingered on Sasuke for a while longer than anyone else.

"Taking you back home would be a hassle now anyways," Sasuke said before he left the group.

"I'll help you pack tomorrow morning," Hinata smiled at Sakura and then at Itsuki who smiled warmly back at her.

Itsuki was handsome and though he shared the same, large green eyes as his sister, that's where the similarities stopped. His wavy hair was a flax blonde, like his mother's, while his sister's was a bright pink. His teeth were slightly crooked, but made him look boyish and approachable. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall so he was a bit shorter than Sakura's model-like 5 feet 8 inches, but it was clear that he was still growing. His skin was a sandy ivory and helped define his slim build and showed off his cheekbones. His jaw was rather slender and, in addition to his large eyes, made him pretty. Girls didn't call him hot. They called him cute, but he knew how to use his appearance to his advantage.

"I'll lend you something to sleep in," Hinata and Sakura went to the women's locker room while Haku and Itsuki went to the men's room.

"Why are you being such an ass to Sakura?" Naruto asked as he helped Sasuke lay out the blankets and sleeping bags in the boxing ring for everyone.

"I'm an ass to everyone, remember?"

"Cut her some slack."

"Well, now that she's going to be around all the time, I'll try my best, but there's no guarantee," Sasuke shrugged.

"It might be awkward for Itsuki and Sakura to sleep with the rest of us, so I think Sakura should sleep in the medical room and Itsuki could get the sofa," Hinata said as she came out, dressed in a large T-shirt and a pair of old sweatpants.

"Are those my sweatpants from grade 7?" Naruto asked.

"Why, yes. Yes, they are," Hinata grinned.

"And that's my old volleyball jersey that I gave you," Sasuke let out a laugh.

"Yes."

"You really are like a little sister," Naruto laughed as well.

"If we give Sakura and Itsuki one blanket each, then the 4 of us will have to make do with 3 blankets. That should be fine, right?" Hinata looked at the brothers.

"Well, since you're the smallest, you'll have to share with someone," Sasuke lightly flicked her forehead.

"My blanket's the largest so I guess I'll share with Hinata," Haku said, joining them.

"Okay," she agreed before she turned to Itsuki who had returned with Haku. "You sleep on the sofa," Hinata tossed him one of the smaller blankets.

"Where's Sakura?" Itsuki caught the bundle and started to head to the sofa.

"She's taking a shower."

"Since she doesn't know anything about what we do, we'll need to tell her the rules; like don't break the salt lines and things like that," Itsuki reminded them.

"Itsuki, maybe you should talk to her about all that stuff since she's your sister," Haku suggested.

"That's probably best," Itsuki nodded his head.

Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku set up their sleeping areas in the ring and were close to sleep when Sakura finally came out of the bathroom. Itsuki explained all the rules and let her know that she could sleep on the bed in the medical room before he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Can I sleep here?" Sakura shook Naruto awake knowing that he was more likely to say yes than Sasuke. "I'm a little afraid to sleep alone," she bit her lip.

"Of course," Naruto nodded his head.

"Sakura, you can take my spot then," Hinata got out of her spot between Sasuke and Haku before she headed to the office which also acted as their research room.

"Are you sure?" Sakura was elated that she could sleep beside Sasuke.

"I'm not that sleepy," Hinata replied over her shoulder.

Sakura laid out her blanket where Hinata had been sleeping after Haku and Sasuke shifted to make some room for her and snuggled closer to Sasuke. She closed her eyes and let sleep drift over her while Sasuke lay awake staring after Hinata.

He knew that Hinata had been bombarded with information the past few days and that she needed time to herself. He watched her looking for a pencil after taking a piece of paper out of the printer and he sighed, getting up and going to the men's locker room to grab a small case he had packed.

"Hey," she smiled at him, using a pen to doodle since she had no luck finding a pencil. "Why aren't you sleeping? You must be exhausted."

"Here," he handed her the case and ignored her question.

She opened it and looked up at him in surprise.

"I thought you'd want some of your supplies," Sasuke shrugged.

"You're amazing," she smiled at him and laid out some of her art supplies and pencils from the case along with her sketch book before she began to sketch.

Sasuke just watched her silently with a peaceful expression on his face as she created beautiful art and, in this moment, he knew that he could be happy with her forever.