[A/N] I am the luckiest author on this site. I said it ten thousand times. I have to repeat it again. And again.

Guys, I don't know whether you realize, but you've made one of my dreams come true. 103 reviews. 103 profound reviews, full of feeling, understanding, support. 103 conversations about life, love, sexism, family, war, death, equality. I always wondered whether I was not looking hard enough for the right people, why I was surrounded by individuals that did not seem to care about REALITY (since, as dark as all this seems, it is the reality of millions of people). And here I am, getting an overload. I wish all of you would write, publish, all your voices would be heard. Because all of you are truly, profoundly, good people. And if the good, the righteous shouted in unison as hard as do the evil, we would maybe live in a better world.

And something more important. You have made me realize how much this fic, that I have always considered as being a distinct reality that has nothing to do with me traces back parts of my own life. And the lives of those that I love and have loved. Kishimoto created this character Sasuke. And it is only lately that I realized how Sasuke is not similar to that loved person of mine. No. She IS Sasuke. Each and every part of his life is what she had to go through. Orphaned because of ethnic and political reasons. Lost without anyone to help her. Surrounded by people only interested in taking advantage of her. He made all the mistakes she made. Took all the paths she had taken before him. Just that he had people that attached themselves to him and tried to save him. Not how it goes in real life, just another of Kishimoto's heart-shaped glasses vision. I always wondered why I hated Sasuke so much. I hated him because I could not save him and because he made me feel deeply guilty. I don't know why this fic and these characters came to me. Maybe out of pity, maybe they want to give me a chance to set it all free. Or is this just my morbid curiosity. To know whether it would have been different had her own Hinata lived. Her own shy, asocial, strange soulmate. I wondered whether he would have held onto her hand through war. Whether they would have lived in refugee camps or stayed to die. Whether they would have had many children. Whether they would have found a path to each other or been blind and stupid like humans are.

This is not my story. I do not write it, as I always said. But it is part of me. And you guys make it possible. The Followers, the Favorites. And you amazing reviewers: Lucycole, Bayonet, DaOneInDaCorner (who made me cross the 100 mark, out of pity mostly, still I take the reviews and thank him kindly), Starfire, Chancewriter, A Sunny Place for Sasuke, , CruelMan, lookingforEmile, Guests, BellaofTheTower, Vincent, MsChifSantos, Onlyluna, Lila-me, Kibachow, kawaii-sama, roti bakar, LuvHinata, Akhlys. You make me feel less lonely, you make me feel less scared whenever I face these strange characters that lead me through streets I do not want to recognize. That remind me of wars I rather not remember. Of fright, of doubt. And how lucky in the end I am. Admitting we are the luckiest people in the world is maybe one of the greatest challenges each human has to face.

Like, has this become a ritual?! Me making a pussy out of myself?! FFS. Anyways, Chapter 6 that everyone will REALLY HATE. Why? Sasuke doesn't even appear in it. Not. One. Time.

Part 1 – Hiashi and his daddy.

Part 2 – Tokuma and his … well I guess Hiruka is his sugar-daddy, minus the sex. Kō and Hiashi. Poor Hiashi has been fucked over. Big time and he has to rely on the person he should rely on the least. Look at Kō and Tokuma making a little dance.

Part 3 – The FLK thinking they are the shit. Very Orwellian organization. 1984-remix. Little kiddies shouldn't trust Morino Ibiki. Ever.

Part 4 – Tokuma's super evil plan of world domination, yo! I have seen egos of all sizes. His is so big it is the center of a solar system. I guess that makes Kō Venus or something. I mean the planet.

Part 5 – On why I never trusted politicians that proclaimed human rights. Hana's manipulating little brother so she could screw over Kō, and by extension the future dictator of the world. You thought Sasuke was bad, look at Tokuma Hyugaing his way through life.

Part 6 – The happy reunion of Team 8. Kiba punches Hinata in the face. Hinata breaks his nose. Shino picks up the pieces. It is a mushy mess. But they love each other, and there is nothing they can do about it. Just makes me wonder how the Hagewashi uniform would suit Hina. We will know next chapter.

You guys remember what happened after chapter 4 when I politicized my way through the whole thing?! I made chapter 5 which was completely SasuHina centered. Bear with me through chapter 7. Please. Because Chapter 8 will be called The Seven Deadly Sins Part I – Lust. Before you ask. Yes. Yes, they will. For all the wrong reasons. And before you ask that too, yes, he will enjoy it (I mean, he better, he is the one initiating it). As for her, I mean geez, she is a virgin, well was one, but still. But she won't dislike it. I really, really, really need a psychiatrist. Or to stop reading French literature of the 19th century. Frenchies are pervies. But they are so good when it comes to writing … I can't stop.

Bear with me through this one! Enjoy if you can, and if you can't. Remember, next chapter will be called LUST. LUST, people!

The Forsaken Heirs

Chapter 7

A Tyranny of Souls – Part II

By

Voyna

Approaching his lips of Hiashi's ear, Kō whispered something to his leader. Under the Elder's scorching glare. Yeah, the old man and Kō had never truly kicked it off, had they? Knowing one of his rabid dogs was now serving Hiashi didn't get Hiruka off. It took all of Kō' self-restraint not to smirk in ease.

Assured that his daughter and son-in-law had left the compound, Hiashi straightened his back and tried to look as tall as possible in front of his father. Knowing full well it wouldn't change much to the outcome of the situation. Sasuke's decision not to divorce Hinata was giving Hiruka the advantage. Plus, now he was aware Hiashi knew all about his little plan.

Narrowing pale eyes at his father, Hiashi did his best to brace himself for what was bound to happen. He had never proven himself capable of standing up to the old man. The same way Hinata had never been able to face Hiashi. Until this evening, that is. Maybe was it time Hiashi affronted Hiruka himself. Doing damage control was getting old. It was time that the leader led. However, as always he could not do it openly.

"Kō. The documents."

Hiruka shrewdly observed the servant seated behind Hiashi's back. The young man's hand disappeared under his yukata's lapels, producing a file from his breast. Who had informed Hiashi? It must have been the mednin. No one else, besides Hiruka, had known about those results. Tokuma had been informed of lately, granted. However if there was one person that would not do something as stupid as betray the Elder, it was Tokuma.

The boy had been obedient from day one. He had not hesitated when Hiruka had demanded he cut his own father's head off. Tokuma had been nothing but ten years old. Precocious. Intelligent. And hungry. The Elder might have not trusted him, but he did trust his ambition. It would be in the interest of the future leader of the Hyūga Clan to show himself obedient to his elders.

Hiruka had made a bad decision once, by sealing the wrong twin. He would not make the same mistake twice by leaving the clan to be led by the likes of Hyūga Hanabi. Even if she was his favorite grandchild. Not that he had had many alternatives. There had been the Bunke prodigy, inferior by birth. The failure, an eldest daughter that had brought much shame to the leading family. And the youngest daughter that shone only by comparison.

Hyūga Tokuma. So unlike this stray seated behind Hiashi. Hiruka had never liked Kō. However, as a child, he had proven himself more than useful. The boy had been recruited from the Bunke slums and given a sword. It was all it had taken.

The Elder had to admit that he greatly missed his own army. He had been very careful in selecting the right candidates. In having Tokuma's idiot of a father train them. And finally, he had been ever so careful in unleashing them on the right targets. The Shinigami unit, they had been called.

Softly caressing his chin with the fan in his hand, Hiruka's eyes travelled towards the file the servant had placed over the broken pieces of a board.

"Leave", snapped the elderly man.

However Kō did not pay him any heed. Ignoring the Elder's order, he simply turned his eyes towards Hiashi, waiting.

"Leave us. But remain close by."

"Hiashi-sama."

Bowing his head, as Hiruka clicked his tongue in disgust; Kō stood up and departed as he had arrived. In a swirl of chakra leaves.

A small crease formed between the Elder's brows. A little less than twenty years ago, Kō had obeyed each and every one of Hiruka's commands. Like the filthy dog that he was. And look at him licking Hiashi's feet now. A sardonic smile appeared on the old man's wrinkled lips. Had Hiashi not demanded the dissolution of the Shinigami and taken Kō away, the boy would've been dead by now.

Hiruka had learned quite fast that the most obedient shinobi were those that were formed between the walls of the Hyūga compound. The Academy did not do them any good. It made them unruly and difficult to manage. They instilled stupid ideals into those children, transforming them into their own clan's enemies.

Uchiha Itachi had proven as much. A talented boy that had been perverted by Konoha. Of course, in that case, the Hyūga thanked the village kindly. Getting rid of the Uchiha had made it possible for the Hyūga to spread their roots through the world.

All in all, eventually Hiruka had decided to take care of business himself and had founded the Shinigami. Children. Very young children. Mostly Bunke or very poor Sōke. Children that by their birth would never be allowed to leave the walls of the Hyūga compound. Either because they were the sons and daughters of prostitutes from the Shura District, either because they were too indigenous. Or because their parents were considered dissidents.

Hiruka had demanded from his most loyal subordinates to go around the Shura District and the Bunke area and pick-up promising children. Of course, only a handful of people were informed about it. Hyūga Matsushi had been one of them. Not because the man had been loyal, he hadn't. He had been the son of Hiruka's cousin. Hiruka's cousin being the heir of his father's unsealed twin brother.

Hiruka had chosen Matsushi because the man was poor and hungry. He had been willing to do much for a piece of bread. And that worm should have been recognized as the leader's cousin?! That branch of the leading family should have been wiped from the surface of the earth, not sealed. And let alone left to live freely as they had done. Hiruka's father had been too soft on them.

And so, Matsushi, respected for his superior capacities as warrior but never allowed to become a shinobi, had been manipulated into serving Hiruka. He had trained the first Shinigami. The order had been simple. Form three-men units composed of a Mittei, a Ryōshi and a Sōgiya. That's how the different roles in each unit had been called. Generation zero, the guinea pigs, had been children from the Shura District.

The training ground had been Konoha. The goal, to develop the right training method. Generation zero had later on been hunted down and destroyed by generation one.

After generation zero had been created and studied, Matsushi developed a methodology. Once again, it had all been very simple. The man had been a genius, Hiruka had to admit. Mittei had to be selected in the Shura District, and young. Age five. Nothing older, nothing younger. They had to be as uneducated and underdeveloped as possible. You strap them to a chair and place electrodes on their genitalia. A means of motivation to develop their photographic memory. Punishment conditioning. Like with hamsters.

Unable to read but able to recognize and discriminate between millions of characters. Able to identify all the characters of the language, whether they be hiragana, katakana or kanji. And able to remember the perfect order in which they appear. Those children's brains were so uncluttered that they had the capacity to recall the exact order of characters on thousands of pages they had seen through their lives. And since they didn't read, it barely took them a few seconds to register what the page of a top-secret ANBU document looked like. Give them two minutes; they had snapshots of a whole stack tattooed on their retina.

Then you teach them to blink whenever a character they have registered appears in front of their eyes. You record each blink and reconstruct the document. All from memory. Obviously, if ever they got caught, you didn't want them to betray you. Hence you cut off their fingers and tongue. That way, they cannot speak and cannot be taught to write. Why not use cameras? Simple. To avoid having to explain the village why the Hyūga registered a drastic increase in the import of such devices.

The problem with Mittei was that they did not last long. Trained to obey the Sōgiya, their little minds saturated with information too fast. Then came adolescence. It was quite a messy business with the females. Periods and whatnot. The males became too aggressive. And generally, you wanted Mittei to be as small and fast as possible. Clumsy and big was dangerous. Mittei had the intellectual age of five-year olds and an utter incapacity to express themselves. When they reached age twelve, the Ryōshi took care of them and the Sōgiya got rid of the bodies.

The Ryōshi. The pickiest of the three roles. Those Matsushi had worked on for a long period. Their generation zero had lasted longer compared to Mittei or Sōgiya. They had had to get rid of so many of them; it had been quite a bloody and chaotic affair. You needed to find children that had some strength in their limbs. Those you picked even younger than five, but it took a long time to train them.

Kō had been picked at age three if Hiruka remembered well. They had to be Bunke and preferably from families with a certain education. But not too educated either. Ryōshi returned to their families after they accomplished tasks and were generally regarded with some respect. For many Bunke, it was a great honor for their children to become soldiers. Especially if they had no rights by birth to become shinobi.

And you wanted them to come from families that had many children. If the Ryōshi had to be put down for whatever treason the family would be left devastated. Unless it had many children to fall back on. Reason why females were preferred to males as Ryōshi. Less chances their families would be heartbroken, and potentially furious, at their deaths. After all the Shinigami were to be kept a secret from Konoha. Nothing more brazen and uncontrollable than parents that had lost an heir.

The reason they were left to live with their families? Ryōshi needed to have an attachment to the clan. They needed a moral imperative. A reason to kill. It was very difficult to create, control and contain a psychopath. The Sōgiya would have all the trouble in the world managing someone as intellectually capable as himself.

So Ryōshi were served all the war rhetoric of the them-against-us. They were force-fed fear. Whenever they killed, they saved the clan; they saved their families, etc. It took a lot of time to compel them to develop a hero-complex. Plus, they thought. And had morals. Ideals. Unlike the Mittei or even the Sōgiya, they experienced the world through feelings. It made them easier to manipulate. Fear conditioning.

However, they were killers. And the way they desperately stuck to their moral imperative made it difficult to send them on certain types of missions. For example, you would never expect a Ryōshi to get rid of the unlawful heir to the Hyūga Clan. Especially if it were a new-born baby. It had not been unheard of Ryōshi refusing to kill Mittei, when the time came. It often resulted in both Ryōshi and Mittei being taken care of by Sōgiya.

They could also betray you if they were led to believe that they were doing something morally wrong. Hiruka had experienced as much coming from Kō. The boy had been an only child, the first mistake Matsushi had made in choosing him. The second, he had not verified the boy's pedigree. His mother had been bought by his father during an auction in the Shura District. Her parents had wanted to sell her because she had lost her virginity out of wedlock. A man that bought a woman meant for pleasure smelled of dissidence and egalitarianism. Even if he had been the one to deflower her in the first place.

Kō had been plotting with Hiashi from age fourteen, so Hiruka thought. And as he had turned fifteen, the Shinigami had crashed and burned. All because of a law Hiashi had passed making child-soldiering illegal. Only Konoha shinobi were allowed to serve in the Hyūga Clan. And funny how, at age fifteen, Kō had passed the exams of the Academy with a perfect score and had become chūnin at first try. By age seventeen, he was a jōnin and would have become ANBU had Hiruka not taken his revenge by forbidding it. Hiashi's response had been making the dog a HISS soldier. Disgusting.

Unfortunately, the Elder was wrong. Kō had had nothing to do with the Shinigami being dismantled. Hōtaru, Matsushi's niece and Hiashi's nineteen-year old wife, had been the one to warn her husband against the dangers of having a deadly unit that did not obey the leader, but the Elders.

And finally, the last position, and Hiruka's favorite, the Sōgiya. Those were adorable children. Spoiled to the utmost. You picked them young as well. From poor Sōke families. You played games with them, developed their intelligence. Those that did not reach the intellectual level of a fifteen-year old by age five were discarded and returned to their families. You fed their ego. Reward conditioning, in their case. But emotionally underdeveloped. Fierce intellect. Great immaturity.

Made everything a game for them. And turned them against each other. All were spoiled. Just that some were more so than others. You wanted them to desire power, to become ambitious and hungry. Those children were able to make bodies disappear; get themselves out of the worst situations imaginable, manipulate a general ten times their age. Much more capable than Konoha ANBU. More than once had a Sōgiya been able fool a whole ANBU unit.

Playful by nature, the Sōgiya was all about pleasure and self-satisfaction. He wanted to dominate, to humiliate his opponents and elevate himself above all. Hiruka had always liked Matsushi and wanted to show his gratefulness. He had made his only son, Tokuma, a Sōgiya. And his niece Hōtaru Hiashi's wife, mostly for political reasons, granted.

Tokuma had been such a pretty little boy. A real manipulator. Hiruka had seen the likes of a kitten in the child. It had not taken Tokuma long to understand that it was Hiruka's affection he should win. And he had done everything to succeed in the department. But this time, the Elder had been the one to make the mistake, and still didn't realize it, eighteen years later.

Unlike a normal Sōgiya, Tokuma had developed emotional ties with the people around him. Mostly because of his cousin Hōtaru. Then because of Kō who had been good and affectionate by nature. There had also been Suzuki. Poor little Suzuki, without fingers and tongue. Unable to laugh. Only smiling stupidly. Suzuki that had been killed by Tokuma.

The Elder had made a mistake by keeping Tokuma. There had been good reasons Hiashi had demanded for the Sōgiya to be executed first, before all the others.

The only thing Hiruka regretted had been Matsushi training himself a personal little Shinigami unit to get rid of the leading family, from Hiruka all the way to baby Hinata. Hyūga Matsushi had been a useful man. But in the end, the Elder was adamant. His father had been too lenient towards his twin. And Hiruka had been too magnanimous towards his uncle's offspring.

It had been Hiruka's greatest pleasure to look at ten-year old Tokuma beheading his own father. Unfortunately, the pleasure had not lasted and a few months later the Shinigami were no more. But, the Elder had remained grateful. So grateful he had not gotten rid of Hiashi's wife and was even willing to make Tokuma the next leader of the Hyūga Clan.

Hiashi's eyes remained fixed on his father. He might have been turning page after page, however Hiashi was quite sure he wasn't reading anything. First, because he had a copy of those medical documents. He didn't need to get reacquainted with their content. Second, because the almost imperceptible smile playing on his father's lips was certainly not provoked by the eventuality of Hiashi ripping him a new one. What the Elder was thinking was beyond him. However, the way the older man's shoulders remained relaxed and his features betrayed no trouble was a provocation that clawed at his son's loins.

"Is this the reason you have humiliated yourself with that ridiculous divorce idea?"

A muscle jumped in Hiashi's jaw, but he did not answer. When had Hiashi stopped respecting his father? Hizashi's death had led to it most probably. Hiruka was old and respectable. He was considered as potentially the greatest leader of all times. A legend, truly. Had he been sealed and his corpse given to Kumo, not only would a peace treaty have been signed between Konoha and Kumo, they would've most probably become best friends. But, he had not offered. In the first place, Kumo had demanded Hiashi's death. Hizashi had been of no consequence to them and they had dangerously manifested their dissatisfaction at obtaining his body.

Wouldn't an elderly father have offered to sacrifice himself instead of his son? Morality coming from Hiashi? Would he have offered to sacrifice himself in Hinata or Hanabi's name? He knew he would have cut his own head off for Hana. But for Hinata and Hanabi? The fact he could not answer with certainty made him nauseous. In the end, what was the difference between Hiashi and his father? His jaw contracted in anger.

"Truly, Hiashi. You disappoint your father. You are smarter than this. The mess you have created has tipped the generals off. They are like a colony of grasshoppers, my boy. They will ravage the fruit of your labor. Imagine they get a copy of these documents, which they most probably will, now that your … servant knows about them. Their voracity will be roused. They will demand that you act in their interest."

It truly wasn't Hiashi's evening. His idiot of a son-in-law had placed him in this ridiculous situation. And now, Uchiha Sasuke would have the Hyūga Clan after his ass. More than ever. He had willingly gotten entangled in the Black Widow's spiderweb. Just to spite Hiashi. Did it please Hiashi to see his daughter suffer?! Did it please Sasuke to know that as soon as Hiruka realized his plans, Hinata would be killed? Because she was a hindrance.

"Otō-san. Why have these documents been kept secret for over three years?"

The boy had never been very talkative. Hiruka could only condone his prudence.

"Simple. It would not have been to our advantage for such documents to fall between the wrong hands. Imagine Konoha being informed about it."

No shit?! Hiashi couldn't have fucking guessed as much. That had not been the question. Seemed he had to reformulate everything this evening, for fuck's sake. Why the hell had these documents resurfaced now that Hinata was married to the last Uchiha remaining?!

Snapping his fan open, the Elder refreshed himself. His son did not appreciate the cold weather. He overheated his dwelling. Such a sensitive man. Hizashi had been tougher. And more obedient. Hiashi was nervous, distrustful. Paranoiac. But Hiruka had made a mistake. It had been fate. And you could not change fate. It made it easier for the old man to approach death knowing things were programmed in advance. Everything was set in stone before one even started living.

Uchiha Sasuke had appeared for a reason. It was Hiruka's karma rewarding him. And it would be quite ungrateful to bypass such an opportunity. With Uchiha Sasuke under Hyūga authority and Tokuma to carry the legacy on, the clan would flourish even after Hiruka's death. Hanabi might have been quite useless as heiress and eventual leader; however she would be a good breeder.

As previously stated, of all his family members, Hanabi remained the Elder's favorite. She was not as talented as Neji had been. Nor was she as brilliant as Tokuma. But she resembled him and his blood flowed in her veins. Her children would be his great-grandchildren. His heirs.

Not concepts his son, heir and leader of the Hyūga Clan could understand. Hiashi liked to play the moralist from time to time. He held from his mother. While Hizashi had always been closer by nature to Hiruka.

"Do you plan on making the Uchiha absorb a Byakugan?"

Was that clear enough for his father's liking?! Because Hiashi could not be more blatant than that. The smile grazing the older man's lips did not falter. Why did Hiashi ask when he already knew the answer? The boy had always invested so much energy into unimportant things. One came to mind and made the Elder snap the fan shut. The corners of his mouth quivered in dislike this time.

"Yes. For the wellbeing of the village and the clan."

Hiashi knew shit was going to go down when his father answered truthfully, without trying to fuck him over. Leaning over the low table, Hiashi examined the man from under his eyelashes.

"For the wellbeing of the village and the clan? You want to destroy the village and the Hyūga Clan, ōto-san. You are not naïve enough to believe that an Uchiha with all three Dōjutsu will be easy to guide on the path of righteousness, are you?"

Well, well, wasn't Hiashi trying to make his father admit that he was acting for his personal benefit. Poor boy. He had always been too idealistic for his own good. Hiruka kept on caressing his chin with his fan, looking at the man in front of him. To the Elder, even at age fifty, Hiashi remained a boy. He acted as one too. Leaning in as well, the Elder smiled at his son.

"Is that your only objection to the plan?"

No. No, it fucking wasn't. But it was the only thing Hiashi could say at the moment. He needed to find a way to neutralize his father, but he had no idea how to do it just of yet. The fact the Uchiha had refused the divorce had destabilized him and tied his hands. He had been sure the idiot would accept.

It had always been taken in account Uchiha Sasuke would be an absent man. But it had been expected he would spend longer periods of time at the apartment. To at least give the impression he was having some type of intercourse with his wife. Namely, Hiashi's daughter.

The Uchiha changing his habits to be as absent as possible had made Hiashi believe Hinata wasn't to his taste. Any man as young as was Sasuke, without a mistress and wanting children, would have accepted an exchange in such conditions. Hiashi would have found a way to send Hinata away. And then neutralize his father's plans by making the Bunke rebel against them. Since he would have made Sasuke a son of the Bunke. They generally obeyed Hiashi. And remembered the legendary Hiruka well enough not to trust him with their lives.

But now, the only thing that was left was to agree in the meantime. Make Hiruka believe Hiashi would not interfere. However, his father was not stupid enough to trust him. He had never been that naïve. There always was Plan Z though. The ultimate emergency exit. That Hiashi would only use if the Armageddon was threatening the world. Ask for help. Ask Hatake Kakashi, the ANBU-būchō, Konoha Secretary of Defense and potentially (not if Hiruka had a say, and Hiashi would have to agree with his father for once) future Hōkage, for help. He honestly hoped it would not get to that point. He hated passing deals with lowlifes. Made his hands feel dirty.

"My only objection", Hiashi forced himself to smirk.

Hiruka had always wondered how hungry his son was. With Hiashi you were never sure about anything. At times, the elderly man believed the boy would bear his claws and rip Konoha into pieces. Just for the pleasure of it. He loved to lead, Hiruka knew as much. Hiashi had never shied away from taking part in certain risky affairs. Or to get his hands dirty when need arose. Oto had been such a venture. The leader liked to make Hyūga dominance over the world grow and spread the clan's roots.

Yet, sometimes he took strange decisions that made his father doubt his loyalty. Why destroy the Shinigami? Why battle during years to close the Shura District? Double standards? What held outside of the compound did not hold between its walls? Hiruka did not know. The only thing he did know was that he did not trust his son.

"One that is very easy to address. If Kaguya is a reference, the Byakugan is used as an organizer. It focuses and stabilizes the abilities of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan. Without the Byakugan, those two Dōjutsu strain the eye so much that the users either become blind in the long run either die from nervous damage. They Byakugan is a natural protection against nervous burns. Whether they be caused by light, ultraviolets or say … chakra under the pupil."

Hiashi's heart beat in his throat. His father's eyes so close to his told him secrets he'd rather not know. Because Hyūga Hiashi was after all a weak man. And he could be easily swayed to agree with Hiruka. Once you tasted power, you became addicted to it. And the leader was no exception to the rule. But he was adamant. Whatever his father said, he would not accept that Uchiha Sasuke ever obtained the Byakugan.

"Now. The absorption process, as we have seen during the war, creates such stress on the eye that the individual remains blind for an extensive period of time. How long had the Uchiha been blind?"

"The only reason it creates a strain is because both the unsealed and sealed Byakugan are weakened when the seal is used. However they are not destabilized. If the layers of Byakugan cells were destabilized beforehand, the absorption would be easy."

The Elder chuckled. Count on his son to do his homework before facing off a potential enemy. Too bad none of his daughters was as methodical. Then again he had not taken part in Hinata and Hiashi's intellectual duel.

"That would not be to our advantage, Hiashi. We want the Uchiha to strain."

Yes, everyone knew the Elder liked to make people strain. Hiashi and Tokuma could write a PhD thesis on the subject.

"He will be weak while the Byakugan takes over and hooks onto the Sharingan and Rinnegan. While he is defenseless, we can seal him. You see, Hiashi, this is the problem with you. You panic and make mistakes. A very simple plan that you have complicated by making the generals, the Uchiha and your eldest daughter wary."

Hyūga Hiashi had been right. The clan would try to break the Uchiha's back. His father had always enjoyed taming wild horses, and Sasuke would get a taste of that. It all went back to Hiruka taking revenge for his Shinigami. They had been something like the Elder's pet-project. And he hadn't appreciated Hiashi disagreeing with the idea that children made excellent killing machines given the right education.

Now, his new pet-project was to transform the Uchiha into a perfect killing machine. And Hiashi could unfortunately not pass a law about it. Because, as long as the Byakugan donor was a propriety of the leading family, the affair would be considered as personal business. Until the Uchiha came after all their asses. Then it would become of public interest. And there was just so much a fucking seal could control.

Got all to do with the complicated laws of the clan. Hiashi marrying his daughter to the Uchiha had been up for discussion. Even the servants had had a word to say about it, for fuck's sake. Now that they were married however, it was another story. When the Uchiha had arrived with the divorce papers, the generals had bitched.

However, not one of them had brought up any laws to stop the bullshit from going on. Why? Because Hinata was Hiashi's property. Before the marriage, her potential groom had been public propriety. But, Uchiha Sasuke by marrying Hiashi's property had also become part of the leading family. And if Hiashi wanted to break both his toys, he could do so. It was his right as father.

And the right of a father was holier than anything. In fact, Hiashi had proven himself unable to manage his own household. And it would in the end cost him the leadership of the clan. For what man can lead the strongest clan of the world when he could not lead his own family.

Hiashi had proven himself unable to keep his kagemushi and brother under his rule. Unable to outwit a conniving father. Unable to control a rebellious elder daughter. Unable to guide a younger daughter towards power. Hyūga Hiashi was a weak man. A man that was going to play his all to protect the Hyūga Clan and the village from an invincible Uchiha Sasuke.

But at the moment, with no back-up plan (besides Kakashi, who didn't count), it was not in Hiashi's advantage to go against his father. And there went his resolution to man up and lead the game. Yet another castrating experience. It was time Hanabi took over.

Raising a falsely sardonic eyebrow at his father, Hiashi did his best to smile, his long, sharp teeth glistening in the light. It felt as if someone had just punched him in the face.

"A sealed Uchiha?"

Hiruka forced himself to match his son's carnivorous grimace. Just how truly Hiashi was hungry, the Elder did not know. He did not trust the boy. However he had no other choice but to make him a partner in the affair, now that the plan was out. It felt as if someone had just tied his hands behind his back. And glitched his tenketsu.

x.x.x

As Hiruka stepped out of his son's personal room, he snapped his fingers at Tokuma who was waiting by the shōji. The young man bowed his beautiful head and turned on his heels to follow. The old piece of shit was pissed. How sad. Now that Hiashi was informed, the two of them would sniff each other's asses up every half an hour. While they were busy neutralizing each other, Tokuma was left to organize the remaining forces.

Eighteen years ago, the Shinigami had been dismantled. The Sōgiya had all been executed, one after the other. Whether they be five or twenty-five years old. Too intelligent for their own good. The Mittei had been taken care off as well. Too useless for the clan. However the Ryōshi had been recoverable. And the clan had recuperated, re-educated and released most of them.

What the leader did not know was that you could never truly re-educate a child that from its youngest years had been conditioned to obey. Of course, Hiruka had needed but one Sōgiya to keep those forces in check. Just in case he ever needed them personally.

Here you had Hiashi believing he had taken care of his father's war machinery. When in fact the time-bombs he had recovered were controlled on a distance. And could explode anytime now. Tokuma just had to say a word. You had Hiruka believing he still had some control over the remaining Ryōshi. Stupid old piece of shit. The Ryōshi were trained to obey the Sōgiya. Not the Elder, not the leader. And as long as the Sōgiya was able to neutralize any attempts of morally destabilizing the Ryōshi, he was leading the game.

Smiling sadly to himself, Tokuma pushed the shōji to his master's dwelling aside. As the old man entered, the younger one slithered in. In no time, a low table was placed in front Hiruka and servants were called to bring tea and a light snack. Tokuma knew his habits by heart. His needs. His desires. Seating himself to face the Elder, the young man bowed his head slightly, shooting his master a devious look from under his long eyelashes.

Tokuma truly was a beautiful man. He had always been beautiful, Hiruka had to admit. And useful, of course. There had never been such a thing as shame in the boy. He did as he was told as long as the order came directly from Hiruka. Anyone else would have been hard pressed to command Tokuma. He was very much a feline.

He submitted to the hand that fed him. And only when he could profit from it. To keep him by his side, the Elder had always had to feed his ego, offer him more each and every time. The boy had some similarity to Hiashi, just that he was much more apt. Tokuma wanted to lead. He wanted the Hyūga Clan to be his own playground.

Hiruka loved the boy so much he planned on realizing his wish. Never had there been someone as eager, as loyal and willing to obey the Elder as Hyūga Tokuma. Kill, lie, steal. He had followed every order without batting an eyelash. As extravagant as the order might have seemed. Leaning in, Hiruka extended his hand and caressed Tokuma's cheek carefully. A good pet.

Tokuma shifted forward himself, making it easier for the Elder to reach. The touch made his skin creep. He might end up rolled on the tatami. Covered in his own fucking vomit at this rate. But self-pity had never been the young man's forte. Hence, Tokuma forced himself to close his eyes and count to ten. He had good self-restraint. If he had not killed that decrepit cocksucker eighteen years ago, he would not do so now.

"Your granddaughter is a very intelligent girl."

The Elder was not stupid enough to believe Tokuma was talking about Hanabi. Hinata. It was Hinata he was referring too.

"So intelligent we should get rid of her immediately?"

An unobtrusive chuckle on Tokuma's part.

"Well, her husband seems to be attached to her."

"How attached?"

Tokuma tilted his head, letting the Elder bury his hand into his silky, brown locks. His only pleasure was knowing the fucker's hands trembled. He was eighty years old. If Tokuma was lucky enough, he would marry Hanabi in three years and take the clan over immediately. The old piece of shit would not live passed eighty-five, Tokuma could guarantee.

"Like to a child. He treats her as if she were a child. He grabs her wrist, pulls it, tries to control her. Uchiha doesn't seem to realize it himself. It is unconscious. He most probably never had any control over his own childhood. His first personal decision must have been to leave the village. To follow Orochimaru. And how personal a decision that was is up to debate."

Hiruka smiled at the young man. He did not need much to reconstruct a shinobi's whole life. The boy had the best Byakugan in the clan. He also had the sharpest mind.

"Of course, Hinata-hime takes advantage of it. She exacerbates his need for control. Mostly by making him believe Hiashi-sama is trying to take decisions in his name. The Uchiha sees red and does the opposite of what Hiashi-sama expects of him. Just to spite his father-in-law. The problem is the following. Hinata-hime is intelligent, but the Uchiha is not stupid either. He is a warlord, a very successful shinobi. He has good instincts. He realized Hiashi had ulterior motives to demand the divorce. The shark has smelled blood."

A callous finger caressed Tokuma's lips. It took all of his willpower not to grab onto it and break it. His rage was expressed by a soft smile. How he hated Hiruka. He would shatter all of his plans. This clan the asshole had built would crumble. Tokuma would destroy the ridiculous hierarchy that had made him a slave.

"And what do you suggest?"

"The Uchiha has become curious. He desires to know what it is that the Hyūga are hiding from him. He will want to enter the clan. We will make Hanabi-hime demand for Hinata to be received into the compound. Hanabi-hime is very much like the Uchiha. Forbid her to see her sister and you will have her demand it violently. She will push the impertinence by wanting to see her here. Hinata-hime will be reinstated as a regular. And the Uchiha will be more present than ever. He will not bypass the opportunity to sniff around. It will be our chance to … convince him that an alliance with us would be highly profitable."

The old man's hand trailed from Tokuma's lips to his throat. Snaking around it. Pressing against his Adam's apple.

"Which means that we are sacrificing Hanabi. Hinata will steer her the wrong way."

Tokuma whizzed. It should have been yet another chuckle. There was nothing that made him panic more than when someone went for his throat. That was the way they had trained him. Each time he had made a mistake while playing a game of logic; his father had grabbed his throat and squeezed hard. The knowledge he might have become a retard from lack of oxygen freaked the shit out of him even today.

"Hiruka-sama, you insult me. As intelligent as Hinata-hime is, she will never be able to shield Hanabi-hime from my influence. I am not planning on sacrificing your granddaughter in any way. And Hinata-hime has helped us considerably by hindering the divorce. The Uchiha considers Hiashi-sama his enemy now. He will be more willing to side with us. And spite him. Frankly, I believe it preferable to have Hinata-hime visiting Hanabi-hime in the compound. It will be easier to repair any damage she does to the heiress."

The Elder squeezed harder.

"Your hands on the table, boy."

Tokuma obeyed, his eyes fixed on Hiruka's. Softly putting his hands over the cold surface of the table, he knew what would come. Punishment. He could see it in the Elder's eyes. The old piece of shit was a punishment in himself. But there was nothing Tokuma had not learned to bear. Pain did not frighten him.

The only thing he feared was death. He had learned young enough that the concept of fate was bullshit. You could become whatever you wanted as long as you decided so. There was no such thing as the weak and the strong. You could be weak of body, but as long as you knew how to control the strong, you would lead. The only goddamn fate common to all people was death. No one escaped it.

According to Tokuma, it was a shame Hinata had been sealed and replaced by Hanabi. She had a certain natural taste for manipulation that came in handy. But it seemed to disgust her. Yet another morally weak Hyūga. Like her old man. Tokuma had noticed how she had hesitated to inform the Uchiha about his advantageous status. It was unfortunate. She would have made a good leader. Better than Hiashi-sama. Certainly better than Hanabi-hime. Not half as good as Tokuma, however.

But count on the idiots of the Hyūga Clan to respect nothing but strength. Hanabi lacked intellectual capacities. Hinata lacked physical power. He, Tokuma, had both. He would prove Hanabi that he was stronger than her, if ever need arose. And he would show Hinata how easily he could outplay her.

"You see what happens when one mistake is made, Tokuma. A simple plan becomes very complicated. Tell me, boy. Who leaked the information about the absorption process?"

"The mednin."

"And what should have been done for that never to happen?"

"The mednin should have been poisoned. It could have been passed off as a heart-attack. I got rid of him. His body should be discovered soon enough."

"However, the mednin had not been neutralized in time. Which has led to Hiashi being informed about the documents. And now we had to transform a simple plan into a very complicated one. You should have known better and killed the mednin earlier. You have been outwitted by Hiashi. Do you remember what happens when you make a mistake, boy?"

"Punishment."

"Yes."

In one swift movement, the Elder retrieved a kunai from the obi around his waist and stabbed Tokuma's left hand. The young man did not react to it, to Hiruka's greatest pleasure. What a beautiful boy, with such cold, expressionless eyes. Eyes Hiruka loved to lose himself in. Eyes he reigned over.

Hyūga Tokuma was the Elder's caged canary. He sang only for Hiruka's gratification. As the blood spread over the surface of the table, Tokuma let his trademark smile appear on his lips. Sad, soft, treacherous. How stupid the old piece of shit was.

The mednin had leaked fucking nothing at all. Tokuma had been the one to tip Kō off. He had been the one to tell him to steer Hiashi in that direction. Just that he hadn't expected for the Uchiha to appear at their doorstep. If there was one fucking thing Tokuma hated, it was play with unknown variables. Uchiha Sasuke was an unknown variable. Tokuma had pulled him into the clan without knowing him perfectly. It had been a gamble. In the casino of life, you lose some, you win some.

However, Kō had warned his dearest cousin Hinata would not go down without a battle. That had been a constant. Zero degrees of freedom. And count on Hyūga Tokuma having a plan for any type of situation that could arise. Plus, five or six backups, just in case.

They would use Hinata to start some shit between Hiruka and Hiashi. While she would plot to keep the both of them away from Hanabi, Tokuma would have the time to reorganize the Ryōshi, conquer the heiress and convince the Front for the Liberation of Konoha to provoke some unrest. He would take the clan over.

And spare the heiress. He would spare the heiress. And it had nothing to do with the fact she reminded him of Suzuki. She would just be useful to nip any type of dissidence in the bud. Both of the branches of the leading family would be reunited through their union. He didn't fucking care he was thirteen years older than Hanabi or any other bullshit (such as him being her second cousin, heck the most common type of union in the clan were first cousin matches). It just so happened that the alternative was sealed, married and creating a good deal of trouble. And Tokuma had never had any taste for Hyūga Hinata in the first place.

As the fluttering of a yukata was heard on the other side of the shōji, Tokuma leaned back, grabbing onto the handle of the kunai. In a split of an instant, the thing was pulled out and left to bath in his blood, on the table. Standing up, he made his way towards the origin of the noise, under the Elder's satisfied glance. Tokuma didn't care much for the blood that dripped onto the tatami or for the aghast look the servant girl shot his wound. He took the plate from her and returned towards the table.

His eyes caught Hiruka's and with much playfulness, he laid down the plate and busied himself around the teapot and his master's cup. His wounded hand trembled; he exaggerated the movement, imitating a certain someone. The effect was not lost on Hiruka's part and the Elder chuckled. Making sure his blood had leaked into the cup and mingle with the tea, Tokuma passed it to the old man. His eyes moving towards Hiruka's wrinkled lips. His loins contracted, horrible memories plaguing him.

Blood made everything so much sweeter.

As he took his first sip, Hiruka smiled slightly. No pleasure greater than tea. He had to admit he had panicked. Trust Tokuma to always find a way out. To turn every disadvantage into an advantage. The Elder had made many good decisions, won many wars between the walls of the Hyūga compound. However, his greatest accomplishment had been to create Hyūga Tokuma. Raising his cup to the young man, he caressed his chin with his free hand. An heir. His heir.

Tokuma bowed his head at the honor, ignoring the fact he would die at the end of his blood at this rate.

"You can withdraw for the evening."

"Hiruka-sama."

At the same moment Tokuma had departed with the Elder, Kō had reappeared in Hiashi's lounge, awaiting orders. And refraining from rolling his fucking eyes at his leader. Sometimes, Kō had the goddamn impression he was left to pick up all the pieces. He hated the Front for the Liberation of Konoha. The idiots had truly made a mess out of the situation. However, had Kō and Tokuma refused, they would have excited themselves on their ass. They needed the alliance. Unfortunately.

It was a messy business, that of plotting a revolution. As Kō prepared to get rid of the pieces of the broken board, Hiashi shot him a menacing glare. When had Kō stopped dreading the leader? He had never truly been scared of the son of a bitch. He had feared for Hōtaru. He had feared for Hinata. But for himself, he had never feared.

After all, Kō had never truly been master of his own existence. His life had always been unimportant to his own eyes. They feed you shit about the clan, about honor, your family and then they unleash you on the first passerby. His stomach lurched.

"Sit", Hiashi snapped.

Kō had always been an eyesore. However, he had been Hōtaru's. And Hinata's. As such, Hiashi had made do with him. Hōtaru. He would have preferred to keep his thoughts at bay. Whenever his head filled with memories of her, the first thing that came to mind was that mednin stepping out of the operation room. With Hanabi in his arms.

They had broken his wife's hips to give way to Hanabi. Without fucking asking him. He would have told them to kill Hanabi. Hōtaru had been young. She would have had more children. And it hadn't been a male to sacrifice the life of a grown woman for it. However, they had not asked. And even if they had, his decision would have been overthrown by Hiruka. After all, Hōtaru had been nothing but an indigent. His father had even wanted him to remarry. Hiashi had stomped his foot and sent the idea to hell.

What had destroyed Hiashi had been her own words. The mednin had told him that she had demanded to be left to die. She had wanted to die, leaving behind a newborn baby and a five-year old child. Went a long way to show just how fucking miserable she had been. Hiashi and her had never been close, fair enough. She had scared the living shit out of him. How could he have trusted a woman that had been so aware of his father's fucking whereabouts?!

She had warned Hiashi about the Shinigami. She had told him to dismantle them and to face his father. A beautiful woman. Very young. And very shrewd. No wonder Hiruka had pissed himself at the idea that branch of the leading family might have organized a putsch.

They had all been dangerously brilliant, soft and, in appearance, good-natured. Having Tokuma sniffing his ass up reminded Hiashi of Hōtaru. Her blushes. Her shy smiles. And the fact that she could have manipulated any other man besides Hiashi. Too bad he had had to live with his father for more than a quarter of a century before their wedding. He had never trusted her. She had had something that reminded him of Hiruka. Fact was, Hiashi had even taken the habit of making her taste his food. Whether it be privately or in public. No wonder she had crumbled under such pressure.

But he had not wanted her to go. He had always kept his friends close and his enemies closer. Hōtaru had been the closest person to Hiashi. As close as a person who is not close to you could be. Yet, it had not been enough for her. She had demanded to be left to die. Hōtaru must have known something. She had abandoned Hiashi to the idea that she had known something. And that she had taken it with her to the grave. As a vengeance.

But he had respected her desire. Hiashi had not tried to keep her. She had been shrewd. She had been dangerous and intelligent. But weak. Not a kunoichi. Her birth had not entitled her to a military education. And soft. The softness had not been faked. Hinata had taken after her. The intelligence, the beauty and the softness.

But just like Hōtaru, Hinata was unable to finish what she started. He remembered ten-year old Hinata facing five-year old Hanabi during that decisive battle. It was true that Hinata had been weaker than Hanabi. However she had never truly needed more strength. She had had a natural capacity to sense an opponent's weaknesses.

Just like her mother. Like Tokuma.

Hiashi had seen the opening that had offered itself to Hinata. She could have stricken Hanabi down. She had led Hanabi to let her guard down. And yet, Hinata had hesitated. She had not hit her younger sibling. She had willingly lost the match.

It had been her first rebellion. Hinata had refused the leadership of the clan at age ten. She would have never accepted it that way. Not at the price of humiliating her sister. Her pale eyes had screamed their reproach at Hiashi. And he, her father, had hated her for it. Hinata had given up the same way Hōtaru had.

She had been too weak. They were living in a military clan. In a military village. There was no place for pity. Hanabi had been stronger. She had not hesitated to strike her sister down. And that had made her the heiress of the Hyūga Clan the first time. And again, a few years later, Hinata had refused to battle Hanabi. Not because she had been scared to lose. No. She had been worried Hanabi would get sealed if she ever won. Stupid daughter.

And all this fucking mess surrounding the Uchiha. What the hell was Hinata doing?!

Kō's cold eyes made Hiashi snap out of his thoughts. Rabid dog. If there was another person Hiashi did not trust, it was Hyūga Kō. The man had nothing better to do, so he helped Hiashi for the pleasure of pissing Hiruka off. However, as soon as that pleasure faded, Hiashi could imagine Kō coming after his own ass. That is what he had been trained for. Kill powerful, capable shinobi. But Hiashi kept him because he knew the Elder better than anyone.

"Tokuma-san is a danger."

Yeah, no shit. Hiashi was becoming perspicacious, for fuck's sake. At that point, Kō would be scared the asshole discovered their plan. Not. Tilting his head to the side, the servant simply blinked. His duty was to listen, not speak. Just that Hiashi was a little late on his pops.

Hiruka knew Kō had been Tokuma's Ryōshi. Hiashi had no fucking idea about it. And it wasn't in Hiruka's interest to reveal it. His son had after all made one of the biggest genocides by hunting down all the Shinigami. Massive execution. The streets had been overflowing with blood. He would screw Hiashi over by telling him his pet-dog had in fact been Tokuma's slave.

And then Hiashi would demand the execution of the last Sōgiya remaining. And there went Hiruka's plans to make Tokuma his heir. And to use the remaining Ryōshi as a shock unit.

"You have always been loyal to our interests."

The sarcasm was not lost on Kō's part. Hiashi knew very well just how loyal Kō had been. His loyalty smelled of betrayal. However, to his greatest horror, the leader had his hands tied. And he'd been left alone. All alone. He had but one loyal general, Hōheto. A righteous, strong man that placed his ideals above everything.

How fucking low had Hiashi fallen when he was left to rely on Hyūga Kō for help. Hiashi knew he would end up losing his head. This business was getting dangerously bloody. Had he only known Uchiha Sasuke would have destabilized the clan to this extent, he would have … He would have done nothing because Hiashi had forgotten long ago what it meant to battle. He had only been doing damage control for many years now. Fuck.

"My only duty has always been to serve your interests, Hiashi-sama."

The hiss of a snake. This was Hiashi's last hope. This man who looked at him with all defiance in the world. The only reason Kō had remained close to the leading family had been Hinata. So why was he still seated in front of Hiashi? Because he sensed the danger Hinata was in?

"If Hiruka-san succeeds in his plans, Hinata's presence will become superfluous. Everything leads to believe he will get rid of her."

A muscle jumped in Kō's jaw. Hiashi noticed it. And here you had the roaring lion becoming a fucking pussycat. The leader was right not to trust Kō. However the knowledge Hinata still had that effect on the man made everything so much easier. As long as Hinata remained unharmed while in a dangerous situation, the dog would do as told.

All his life, Hyūga Hiashi had been alone. Hizashi had been their father's spy. Hiashi couldn't have taken a fucking piss without Hizashi standing behind his back. And of course, it had all only developed Hiashi's natural sense for rebellion. More than once, especially as ANBU, had he found himself running away. Wilderness, liberty, the forbidden had always called to him.

Staring at Kō's expressionless, homely features, Hiashi remembered the scorching July sun seeping through the leaves of a tall tree. She reappeared in front of his eyes, lying naked on a bed of leaves. A small, provocative smile etched on her pulp, chapped lips. She had not been a beautiful woman. But she had been his. Wild. Free. Her long dry hair had gotten entangled more than once in his fingers as he had caressed her shoulder-blades.

He had lost Tsume because of Hizashi. He had lost Hana because of Tsume. He had lost Hizashi because of Hiruka. He had lost Hōtaru and Hinata because of his stupidity, greed and fright.

The only ones he had left were Hanabi, Hōheto and Kō. Kō would betray him at the first occasion. Hōheto would not know how to help. And Hanabi would eventually be given to Hyūga Tokuma.

"Don't you miss it? The liberty. You were HISS lieutenant and Konoha jōnin after all."

Kō would fucking punch the cocksucker. What did the asshole have to remind him about Hinata and that liberty he had never had?! He had not been a fucking Sōke. No. His whole life, he had been nothing but a tool, a thing. First he had served Hiruka, then they had transformed him into a fucking baby-sitter and here he was cleaning Hiashi's shit. What liberty had Hyūga Kō ever known? The liberty of kissing the ground on which Hōtaru and Hinata walked? The liberty of desperately trying to keep Tokuma's head out of water? He was a goddamn nanny. A fucking nanny.

"I am your caged bird, Hiashi-sama. I only sing for your pleasure."

"I want you to serve Hinata's interests", the leader retorted.

Kō slightly bowed his head, shooting Hiashi a suspicious glance. Like a dog, the man truly was like a dog. How did one train a dog? Hiashi had spent enough time with Inuzuka Tsume to know that the best method was to alternate punishments and rewards. Kō had been punished enough. It was time to reward him.

Leaning in, Hiashi waved his fingers in front of Kō's eyes. The young man bent towards his leader immediately. Bringing his lips close to the servant's ear, Hiashi whispered a few orders.

"From now on, I want you to follow Tokuma wherever he goes. I want to know everything about his whereabouts. Whom he speaks to, whom he sees, what he does. You know how to exit the compound without being seen. I want this to remain an absolute secret. You are under my direct orders from this moment onward. Hunt him down. And if need arises, kill him. I trust your judgment."

Kō's heart beat in his throat. Had he fucking known that Uchiha Sasuke would open the door to his cage; he would have been more civil to the piece of shit. Hyūga Hiashi had just made everything so much easier for them. Tokuma would become Kō's excuse from this moment. He was free. Finally.

Straightening up, Hiashi examined the daring gleam in the servant's eyes. So this is what a dog that had been unleashed looked like? As soon as the Uchiha's situation was addressed, Hiashi would have to find a way to get rid of Hyūga Kō. Poison or assassination? He still had some time left to decide.

"You can withdraw now."

Kō jumped to his feet and, without bowing his head or offering Hiashi any special mark of respect, disappeared once again in a flurry of leaves.

x.x.x

Nothing like a little midnight stroll in the middle of December. As his soles touched the side of a building, he sent some chakra to his feet and propelled himself towards the roof of some shop. Honestly, trust the fuckers of the Front for the Liberation of Konoha, or FLK as they liked to call themselves, to have their headquarters in the middle of the village.

Why did his having business with them make his balls shrivel so much?! Maybe because they were fucking idiots. He had not liked working with Mitarashi Anko back in the days; he didn't like working with her now. That is when he felt him. It had not been an ANBU. ANBU got no shit on Tokuma. They wouldn't be able to sense him if he stood in front of them. With his tongue barely an inch from their noses. And he had the best Byakugan in the clan. He could see them at a fucking two-kilometer radius. Just that it gave him a migraine.

Nah, this body that followed him knew him. Disappearing at once, Tokuma wondered whether the shadow would trail. And fair enough, look at it sticking to his ass. It was a Hyūga. However, not an enemy. And certainly not a spy. The guy was way too relaxed to want to come after Tokuma. He let the shadow reach him without even going through the trouble of activating his Byakugan. Count on Hiruka's pet to be all arrogance.

Confident to the point of letting the shadow punch him in the shoulder, Tokuma let himself fall down the building's roof. In midair, mostly out of feline reflex, he turned around and landed on his feet. Tokuma was a little rusty, granted. But he always fell back on his feet. And was ready to do some damage.

But there would be no need for that. He could recognize the shabby black coat that appeared in front of his eyes anywhere. Been a while he'd left the compound. At least since Hinata's sealing, a good two and a half years ago.

"What the hell are you doing outside?! Hiashi will freak out if you don't bring him his warm milk at five past three, little doggy."

Kō shuffled his feet, his face hidden under a crummy hood.

"I stick to your ass from now on. Gotta obey the big boss."

The only thing visible under Tokuma's own hood was a mocking smirk. Well, well. At that point, no need to fucking plot. The leader and Elder did it for him. He just had the impression a bag of gold had fallen out of nowhere on his lap. Made his fucking balls swell in ease.

"He is panicking."

Nothing as satisfying as the knowledge a fierce warrior pissed himself at the thought of Tokuma.

"He is running scared."

Licking his lips, one of the two was calculating. The other shuffled his feet nervously, preparing for a potential attack.

"Let's move. Where are you going?"

"FLK."

"Been a while I haven't seen the fuckers. Can I join?", Kō drawled.

"Don't follow on a close distance. Take a different path. We will meet in the alley."

"Understood."

Tokuma disappeared in front of his eyes. Kō simply walked away and into the main street. It had been such a long while. Two years and a half he had not seen Konoha. And yet, he did not feel any joy. He remembered when Hinata had been small. She had had the bad habit of running away, disappearing out of the blue. For the heck of it. Especially after Hōtaru's death. And Kō had been stuck sniffing through the streets of Konoha. Looking for her under every rock. In every bush. Like the good dog that he was.

However, there had never been any snow. Winter had always been a season of sadness for Hinata. The knowledge she got older made her lethargic. Every year, she had changed a little more and it had driven her self-confidence into a ditch. He remembered how much she had hated the changes in her physiognomy. Had cried bitterly at each and every one of her birthdays. Wanting to remain a little girl forever. A five-year old girl that was loved by both her parents. She had wanted to go back to the period when her father didn't call her a failure.

And Kō had held onto her small, sobbing body every year. Until she had turned twelve and gone away. Yes, she had changed. And it had not only been physical. Seven years later, she had run off for the last time, hadn't she? With the Uchiha. At the thought of Sasuke, Kō's jaw contracted and he sent chakra to his feet. In no time, he was jumping from building to building, hoping no ANBU would appear on his path.

There were two things Hyūga Kō fucking missed. Hinata. And a functional Byakugan. It had come to the point he was scared to activate the shit from fear of ending up blind. Fifteen minutes later however, he used a concealing jutsu and let himself fall into a dark alley. Yippee, he had made it alive. There weren't many people walking the streets at midnight, anyways. If he had met up with someone, it would have been an ANBU. Potentially a Hyūga ANBU. Shit would have gone down.

And he was a tidbit rusty, so to say. Plus, he didn't have his katana with him. The shit had been confiscated eighteen years ago, anyways. He was no nobleman, no right to carry the damn thing.

"Calm down", Tokuma whispered to Kō's ear, appearing from behind a garbage container. Trust a Hyūga to see an invisible Hyūga. Why even bother with the fucking jutsu?! Deactivating it, Kō reappeared in a twirl of smoke.

Tokuma motioned towards the small wooden door of a food cellar. Attached to a restaurant. Good ol' Ichiraku's. The last time Kō had eaten their shit had been eight years ago. Hinata had been twelve and smitten with Uzumaki Naruto. Kō had hated rāmen ever since. Not that people ate that type of crap in the Hyūga Clan.

Activating his Byakugan, Tokuma scanned the surroundings. Fair enough, the fuckers had erected a chakra wall. He couldn't see their tenketsu. Funny how the assholes forgot the Byakugan also had an X-ray add-on. And of course, they weren't wearing lead vests. Tokuma could easily observe them shifting around. And they felt Kō and him. Ten of them.

"How many?"

"Ten."

"So, we're gonna move? My balls are freezing."

Tokuma clicked his tongue in disgust. Kō had always been such a fucking cowboy. It made the more refined Tokuma want to punch a goat. Elegance and class, all the way.

"Hōtaru was right. You are such a rooster, Kokorikō."

"I remember how fat your were before they put you on a diet, Kumaneko. A real panda-bear."

They smirked at each other before hunching down. Tokuma flattened his hand against the wooden door and sent a chakra wave through it. The padlock around the handle exploded and in no time, they were sneaking into the cellar. As soon as they were in, the door snapped shut.

"Well, well. What do we have here? The rat pack."

A deep, annoying voice that made Tokuma's balls shrivel. Had he mentioned how much he fucking hated working with Mitarashi Anko?! Her leg shut out from the dark. And her foot came to rest on Tokuma's shoulder. To his greatest pleasure. It got him off to play the little bitch for a sex-crazed butch. Anko however liked the idea of having that Hyūga fucker under her foot.

"You're fucking late, Hyūga."

No shit, genius?!

"Mitarashi-san, it is always a pleasure to see you", Tokuma coldly retorted, grabbing onto her ankle. Removing her foot from his shoulder. Squeezing a little harder than necessary.

As Kō and himself stood up, they pulled their hoods off as a sign of trust. And in no time, they were surrounded by shinobi. Nervous much? They wanted to dance? Kō hadn't broken anyone's arm or leg for a good three years. Was left to wonder whether he still got the skills. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, kicking his chin up, he tried to give them his best fucking rooster-titude.

It was too dark for him to see them. And activating the Byakugan was out of question. He didn't need to knock himself out for their benefit. Honestly, the shit with FLK was that they were paranoid. So was Kō. Putting them together in a goddamn closet was not a good idea. Not having his Byakugan made him feel like a little bitch. And what do little bitches do when they feel threatened? They kick you in the fucking balls.

"Let's go", Anko snapped, making her way between wooden barrels. Pushing aside pieces of meat hanging from the ceiling. Her shinobi followed, while Tokuma grabbed onto Kō's arm and squeezed hard. Don't fuck up, let me talk.

Yeah, yeah. Kō knew how shit went down. When it came to the FLK, Tokuma was left to manage them. And he did a damn good job at it. Usually. Just that they weren't happy with the Uchiha's wedding. There had been something like a little disagreement between Tokuma and them a few years ago. It had made them send their alliance to hell.

Tokuma hadn't seen the need to inform them about the Uchiha. And without an insider, there was no fucking chance to get any info on the Hyūga. The Uchiha had forced them to reach out to Tokuma again. He honestly didn't understand why people didn't like him. He was so fucking lovable, come on.

Stooping down in front of a precise barrel, Anko kicked it aside violently. And fair enough, through the cracks of the wooden panels covering the floor seeped some light. A knock or two later, a voice demanded the password. Obviously, good ol' Anko didn't scream it out loud for everyone to hear. Had to be kept secret, y'know.

As she flattened her mouth against the fissures, Tokuma wondered what it would feel to just kick her in the ass. Since she was perfectly positioned for the deed. Turning his head slightly, he noticed how some of her shinobi were checking her out and refrained from chuckling. What was it with testosterone surges? Sure, he fucked too. But it was political. He had never gone to the trouble of checking a female out. Wasn't his fucking cup of tea.

Power turned him on. Pussies turned him off. Big time. Ever seen a goddamn vagina up close?! The thought of it made him shiver slightly. The small tremor got all of Kō's muscles to contract instantaneously.

It was as if the two of them were connected. Which they were. Deeply. Perfectly. There was no person that understood Tokuma better than Kō. That was more loyal, more willing to satisfy Tokuma's needs. He had started to train a ten-year old Kō at age five. Conditioned him to understand everything at half-word. Used him and Suzuki to satiate his craving for affection, since Hōtaru and Matsushi had always been off-limits, would have attracted unwanted attention. Hence, Kō had been forced to love Tokuma.

At least, so it had been before the Shinigami had gone to hell. Since then, Kō had replaced Tokuma with that snivelling bitch. The boy had been conditioned to be self-centered and possessive. He did not appreciate having someone stepping onto his territory. Even if it was a two-year old Sōke hime. In the end, Kō had always loved Hōtaru more than Tokuma, and loved Hinata as an extension of Hōtaru.

"Relax", Tokuma whispered once again.

He didn't need to have his rooster go full atomic on Mitarashi Anko. She had after all been Orochimaru's own pet-project. She might have looked pretty dumb. She was everything but. Tokuma could guarantee, having worked with her.

In no time, the wooden panels were being torn out of the flooring and what seemed to be a hole appeared. A feeble yellow light flew out. Weakly lighting the cellar and giving Kō a good idea of what Anko's shinobi looked like. And voices reached their ears. Motioning with her hand, the rat pack, as she had always called the Hyūga dissidents, had to face the attack of half a dozen hands groping them. Yippee, Tokuma loved being fondled. He loved it so much he wanted to tear those arms out of their sockets. Kō for his part stiffened all over.

Their coats were being thorn off. The cocksuckers got a good feel of their asses. Why not go for their fucking junk, while they were at it?! Yep, a shinobi had to grab onto Kō's dick, as if he would be hiding a kunai or a shuriken inches away from his big soldier.

"You want me to unsheathe my sword, sweetie", he hissed through his teeth.

The shinobi shot him a hateful glare. Yeah, well, what did he want Kō to tell him?! He wasn't all that happy having a Konoha asshole exciting himself on his ass either.

"Unarmed", one of the guards concluded.

They were Hyūga. They didn't need any goddamn weapons. As long as they had their hands and their eyes, they were good to go. Kō should've honestly invested into artillery at that point, with how functional his Byakugan was.

"Keep the coats in case", Anko ordered.

Wait, wait. Oy! They were dressed in nothing but sleeveless turtlenecks, ANBU-style. They would freeze their balls off. Unless Morino had decided to finally install a heating system. Why not, eh?! They squatted the place; they could at least try and make it convivial. With a fireplace and some highbrow, stuck-up armchairs. Maybe a library containing all the great revolutionary pamphlets written by the likes of Inuzuka Kiba.

Was the guy even literate? The knowledge they would meet up again made Kō's balls shrivel. He'd never liked the asshole. The hatred had been mutual, too. Had to do with Kō breaking Kiba's nose. After he had tried to climb the compound's walls. Fucktard.

As Tokuma and Kō approached Anko, they examined the feeble light that created shadows all over the woman's features. A bad omen, surely. Her little sycophants shifted their feet. The two Hyūga had always been outsiders. Unwelcome outsiders. They might have been precious to the FLK during Neji's lifetime. It wasn't the case anymore however. Now they were more like an eyesore. A dangerous eyesore. Ever since Neji's death, the Konoha revolutionaries have regarded them with certain suspicion.

Heh. They weren't all that stupid, after all, were they? There was a difference between a boy such as Neji that had been in the system for his whole life. System being the fact he had attended the academy, been trained in a genin unit, become chūnin and died protecting Konoha's interests. Not exactly how it had been with the other two Hyūga.

Kō had appeared out of the wilderness to pass genin exams, barely evolved in a trinome for a year or so, become chūnin, then been mostly sent to missions regarding the Hyūga. Become a respected jōnin eventually. Why he hadn't infiltrated the ANBU was top secret information, it seemed. Because no one fucking knew.

Tokuma had been even stranger. He had been vomited out by the Hyūga Clan at age ten. And considered as pure perfection by the village. The boy had had all the characteristics of an excellent shinobi. Compliant, hard-working, brilliant. Serious, ever so serious. With big pale eyes looking up at his superiors. Analyzing their weaknesses. Finding ways to use their desires and cravings against them. The childish eyes of an adult. And that sickening desire to please that had charmed everything on his path.

Tokuma had been meant for great things. And obviously, the Sandaime had taken personal interest in that Hyūga prodigy, already formed and ready to be employed at age ten. He had done everything in his power to stop the boy from climbing up the hierarchical ladder. Tokubetsu jōnin. That's what he'd made Tokuma. Had Tokuma known, he would've killed the old piece of shit by himself. Wouldn't have left Orochimaru the fucking pleasure.

Before jumping down the hole, Tokuma took an instant to stand in front of Anko, looking her up and down. They were playing a game of domination, Kō knew. It had the feel of a fucking pissing contest. She was their brake. She was the one that had tipped the Konoha revolutionaries off. Like recognizes like. Just that Mitarashi Anko's intelligence was animalistic, instinctual, the type of shit that got a wild boar to go after your ass. Hyūga Tokuma's was analytical, refined, the type that manipulated and enemy into auto-destruction. Offering her a small, cold smile, the man disappeared in front of her eyes, leaving her behind with Hyūga Kō.

Those two fuckers thought they were the shit, didn't they? Especially Tokuma, with that morbidly obese ego of his. Anko wondered how he could pass the doorway with that dead mass he would've called self-esteem following him everywhere. Hyūga Kō was another story, though. The guy had the fucking eyes of a stray. Should've given him to Inuzuka Hana, the bitch would've known how to train him into obedience. Sneering, Anko indicated the hole.

"After you."

Kō hadn't needed her invitation, he would've gone either way. A little too late not to. As his feet made contact with the ground, a cloud of dust surrounded him for an instant, blinding him. As the shit settled, he found himself only inches away from a tall, middle-aged man. With a face covered in scars. The type you only saw in your worst nightmares. However, there was nothing cruel in that torn mouth of his. In fact, the dude was smiling amenably. Kō would have preferred for the asshole to throw a few shuriken at him. Would've made him feel more welcome.

Anko jumped down herself, right beside Kō. Had anyone said Kō was paranoid?! As soon as Mitarashi Anko's feet made contact with terra firma, Kō spun around, in gentle-fist mode. Had Tokuma not appeared in front of his partner instantly, Anko would've gotten defibrillated big time. Not a great way to start the meeting. At once, all the revolutionaries present encircled the two Hyūga. One of them even fucking growled at the duo. Let's all calm the fuck down, ok?!

"Hyūga Kō-san. A pleasure to see you after so many years. And in such good … shape."

Was the asshole threatening Kō?! Because that sounded very much like in good shape … for now. Kō didn't have it in himself to smile stupidly at Morino Ibiki. The shit with the FLK was that they made one tired so fast.

"Morino-san", he whispered through his teeth.

Tokuma shot Kō a menacing glare. The guy was like a fucking bomb, had he exploded two seconds ago, Tokuma would have had to do a shitload of unnecessary damage control. If this was the way he would act each and every time, Kō would simply not be invited to the goddamn tea-party anymore.

"Fuck the civilities, let's get to the point", Anko snapped.

Without going to the trouble of looking around himself, Kō registered a few faces he recognized. Tokuma clicked his tongue at so much movement around him. He was also pretty fucking nervous by nature. And all these youngsters made him feel pretty old, too.

Long blond hair, killer body she had no qualms in exposing. Yamanaka Ino. By her side, the likes of a grease ball with a goatee. Akimichi Chōji. Shifting their feet nervously, a tall girl with a long brown, braid and a guy dressed in fucking green spandex. Tenten and Lee. Returning to the shadows at the back of the room, two hooded giants. Most probably Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba.

A sardonic smirk appeared on Kō's lips. All young, all stupid. Manipulated and exploited by the likes of Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko and Inuzuka Hana. Inuzuka Hana whose nostrils palpitated as she examined Kō with those cold, impenetrable dark eyes. So alike Hiashi's. At least according to Tokuma. Her lips parted. One would have expected her to scream like other Inuzuka did. She didn't however. Went a great way to commend her, didn't it?

"I take in account you came to report."

Tokuma bowed his head mockingly at her. He didn't fucking report to the likes of Inuzuka. But he would let that pass. Inuzuka Hana was intelligent by default. In comparison to other Inuzuka, she might have been considered brilliant. Her greatest quality was that she could link up facts. Like a tracker linked up clues. That was it. She was no match for Tokuma, really.

"Indeed, we have, Inuzuka-san", Tokuma replied coldly, "However, you must be aware of the outcome already, am I right?"

Anko shot Hana a look. The two of them detested each other. Inuzuka Hana was exactly like the Hyūga. A cocksucking wildcard. From the very moment her stupid mother had pulled her into their organization, she had tried to stir them into a certain direction. Most probably profitable to the Inuzuka Clan.

Why the fuck would an Inuzuka, thrifty people in general, bet everything she did and didn't have into a venture that would not bring her any direct benefit?! What the hell did she think?! That they didn't see right through her fucking game?! Well, Anko did. Here you had the future leader of the Inuzuka trying to plot unrest in the Hyūga Clan. And they had to believe that it was for the wellbeing of the country and village?! Please, bitch. Had Tokuma known he and Anko had come to the same conclusion, he would have been very chagrined.

"The plan failed. Hinata saw through it half an hour after being informed", Tokuma drawled, his eyes shifting to Ibiki's.

"You can admit right away you told her", Hana snapped back.

"Unfair accusation, Inuzuka-san. It is more to our advantage than yours to get rid of Hinata. However, the plan was simply clumsy. To say the least."

And here they went. Anko and Kō sighed simultaneously. Shot each other a dirty glare. The youngsters shifted nervously. Only the two at the back of the room remained calm, hidden under their hoods.

"You see, Tokuma-san. That was what we call a backup plan. It is used as a last resort. Why? Because it is often not a very good alternative. However, had you gone to the trouble of informing us beforehand about Uchiha Sasuke wanting a Hyūga bride, we might have taken care of the situation before it became a problem."

Ok. Inuzuka Hana was pissed. Tokuma's temple started to pound. It was truly difficult to be surrounded by people that did not understand his genius. Here you had this woman that was planning on destabilizing both village and Hyūga Clan so that she could grasp power herself. Under the pretense of the Inuzuka Clan having certain claims. Power-crazed much?

Then again, Tokuma understood her perfectly. The problem was the following. It was very much in his fucking interest that the village and the clan be destabilized. At the same time. However, he was also planning on making a very clean, very fast coup. The type of shit that lasted twenty-four fucking hours. Then? Then, the Hyūga forces, under his lead, would charge against the Konoha revolutionaries. And break this pissy bullshit revolution they were planning. There was no way Tokuma would permit for the daimyō to be toppled.

Because that is what it all went back to. Inuzuka Hana and Mitarashi Anko had passed a deal, hadn't they? The two bitches hated each other's guts. And here they were, sticking to one another's ass ever so loyally. So let Tokuma get this right. Mitarashi Anko needed to make sure that Konoha was defenseless. While the non-shinobi population of Hi no Kuni started a revolution. That would lead to the instauration of a fully parliamentarian, democratic (the word made his skin creep) legislative and executive governmental system.

To make sure Konoha was harmless during the duration of all the shit, Inuzuka Hana and her little crew of political misfits were plotting a coup against the village. They would be using Oto as an excuse, or some other shit. Feed the poor, down with colonialism. Urgh. You would have expected Tokuma to be more on the egalitarian side since he wanted to abolish the Bunke and fully implement the seal. Well, he fucking wasn't.

Of course, the Hyūga Clan would do its best to defend the village, and the country (they actually liked the daimyō just fine). So it had to be neutralized. The Inuzuka wouldn't be able to as much as break one of Hiashi's nails. What did they do to remediate to the stiutation? They made friendy friends with Hyūga dissidents. A.k.a Tokuma. Wasn't all this a cocksucking carebear wonderland?!

Neutralize the Hyūga by stimulating unrest. Take care of the village by organizing terrorist attacks. Topple the daimyō with the help of a revolution. Then, as the new government takes over (and who doubts it would be Anko's party?!), all the nice little terrorists are liberated, proclaimed national heroes and other BS. And the Hyūga?! Why, the Hyūga are mowed down because they are loyalists. Tada! Was this the moment Tokuma started to clap?!

"Hana-san, since it seems we have become intimate enough to call each other by our little names. Hana-san, may I remind you kindly that your … organization has cut off all ties with us. What makes you believe that we should have informed you about anything concerning the Hyūga Clan? However, as you see, we are always happy to rekindle with you. Especially in such a warm atmosphere."

The fucker had a point, didn't he?! And whose fault had it been?! Mitarashi Anko's of course. Hana honestly didn't like having that nosy bitch anywhere close by. She screwed everything up in a record time.

"Indeed, Tokuma-san. We appreciate the promptitude with which you have answered our desire to ally once again."

Tokuma bowed his head at Ibiki. Ibiki was the dangerous one of the lot. He was the only one to whom the whole shit didn't make a difference. The guy had a good job. He was respected. Unless he wanted to become Secretary for Defense or even Hōkage, Tokuma really didn't see why the fuck he was throwing everything through the window. Ideals?! Pff, please. Ideals were for the likes of Kō. And the poor guy had been fear-conditioned to have some. It wasn't even goddamn natural.

"However, you must understand, Tokuma-san, that it is quite worrisome to see the Hyūga heiress prancing in and out of Uchiha Sasuke's apartment. It is in our interest to know that you, of all people, have a good control over all the members of the leading family."

"Ibiki-san, I thank you greatly for your concern. I can assure you that regarding Hanabi, I do not see a problem in the fact she has some special attachment to her older sister. It is quite natural, no?"

Anko sighed loudly. Ok. She would have to do some translating here because obviously Tokuma wasn't getting a word of what was being said.

"Let me translate this to you, Tokuma. What we mean by all this bullshit is that we doubt you have any control over the cocksucking leading family. We think that you are a fucking scam. A little bit delusional, granted. But as dangerous as a cuddly newborn kitten."

A snicker at the back of the room. Enough to get Kō to flex his forearms. He didn't appreciate people treating Tokuma like crap. To say the least. Or maybe was it the fact they were not taken seriously by a bunch of pussies that had learned just yesterday how to wipe their asses.

"Then why call me to you, Anko? If you are able to take care of the problem by yourselves, do so. To us, Uchiha Sasuke is no bother. What damage would he do to us? How would he hinder our plans? What interests does Uchiha Sasuke really have in the Hyūga Clan's inner workings? None, really. Am I right, Ibiki-san?"

Ibiki smiled evasively, the scar on his face distorting. Hyūga Tokuma was everything but a stupid man. Hell, a man that had been able all by himself to sniff them out was everything but a retard. And Anko knew so better than anyone. She was trying to get him to open his goddamn piehole and spill the shit. Just that it wouldn't work. It never worked on the likes of Tokuma.

Torture wouldn't do much either on that type of guy, Ibiki could assure. The fucker had been torture-trained most probably. He would just go catatonic on them as soon as they inserted electrodes up his anus. Kō would have been a better target. By a long shot. But there was no way to get to him. He was nothing but Tokuma's accessory. Whatever Kō knew was something Tokuma wanted the FLK to discover. And Hyūga Kō wasn't stupid enough not to know that.

If ever the FLK got to him, they wouldn't even have to use their fists. The son of a bitch would just start singing like a canary. Tell them fucking everything. He blindly obeyed Tokuma; hence the asshole didn't even have to tell him anything. Kō would do as said without discussing. Ibiki had no goddamn idea why the hell they worked the way they did. And he didn't give a shit. Just that he didn't like the notion of getting fucked up by Hyūga. It left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

"Tokuma-san, you came here to propose something, am I right?"

A growl at the back of the room. Some youngsters shifting their feet in discomfort. Yeah, no one liked it when Hyūga Tokuma proposed something. Not because it was stupid shit. Just because everyone felt the way the atmosphere changed. As soon as Tokuma smelled their weakness, his balls swelled so much they took all the space. The motherfucker's ego was morbidly obese as stated previously.

A slow, calculating smile reappeared on the Hyūga's lips. Even Kō relaxed ever so slightly. The dog recognized his master's moods. They were taking over the cocksucking show. Tokuma would give those fuckers a taste of how shit was done around here.

"Just a suggestion to help the FLK. We are not vengeful or vindictive. The Hyūga will always side with their allies. You are worried about Uchiha Sasuke. It is impossible for us to control him in any way, I will be frank. Kō is a mere servant and I have my own responsibilities. It would certainly not be in our interest to attract too much attention by trying to deepen our relationship with the Uchiha, Hinata or Hanabi. However there are people that already have power over the Uchiha. Why not put them in a good position to control him and the Hyūga Clan at the same time?"

As soon as Tokuma mentioned the Hyūga Clan, Mitarashi Anko knew he was ripping them a new one with whatever his idea was. There was no way that megalomaniac cocksucker would let anyone get close to his clan. It was his goddamn playground. He had marked his territory by pissing all over the leading family. Unless, of course, he had the situation perfectly under control. For fuck's sake. Why had Aburame Muta been the one to die?! She would've preferred it to be Tokuma any day.

"Namely, make Hatake Kakashi Hōkage. After all Tsunade-dōnō has always been a transitional government. It is time to topple her and instate Kakashi."

One. Two. Three. Bingo. Inuzuka Hana snorted in disdain. Disdain or panic?! With a nose as good as hers, Tokuma could bet she could smell her own fear. Hatake Kakashi would see his head roll if ever the revolution took place. And Tokuma was sure that behind that sturdy little husk of hers, Hiashi's beloved first-born (all the shit you find out serving the Hyūga Elders) was walking on the steps of her daddy. Tokuma would make her a brake to the revolution. Either she would have Hatake Kakashi's death on her conscience either she would find a way to destabilize the FLK to save him. How much did you want to bet the dimwit was in love with the fucker?!

"Great idea, Tokuma-san! Because, of course, you can force Tsunade to just step down like that."

How stupid could the girl be? Well, she had tried to make Tokuma believe that the information she retrieved from the Kage Tower was solid. When they all knew Kakashi left false scrolls all over the fucking place to see what clans actually tried to use the shit. The dude was Secretary of Defense and ANBU būchō. He wasn't retarded. And Hana wasn't retarded enough to believe him retarted. Just retarded enough to believe Tokuma was retarded enough to think Kakashi retarded.

Hana knew that the documents she brought back were bogus. But Nara Shikamaru didn't need any better. Be it the truth or a lie, he could use it just fine. And the fact they did not try to exploit those documents in any way reassured Kakashi about Hana. She was just spying on him for the benefit of the Inuzuka Clan. The same way Akimichi Chōji did for the Akimichi or any Hyūga for the Hyūga. Betrayal was so rampant Kakashi could keep on having all of them around him without feeling too threatened. As long as he believed he had everything under control. But thinking Tokuma considered what they got as solid shit was an insult to his intelligence.

And here came his revenge. He would make Inuzuka Hana play his game. The way he wanted. Women were such easy preys, with their unruly feelings. Calmly opening his mouth under Morino Ibiki's amused glance; Tokuma swept his forefinger under his canine and retrieved something the size of a pill. A small, cylindrical piece of metal. Something Mitarashi Anko and the guys keeping guard above their heads would have never found without a Byakugan.

In a flick of the thumb, the thing shot up in the air. The sound of a small-scale explosion resounded throughout the room, or whatever this fucking hole was. As thick fumes appeared, something along the lines of a small transparent plastic file materialized and was grabbed in midair by Tokuma. The joys of being a shinobi and having cool gadgets. As the smoke dissipated, the Hyūga simply presented Morino Ibiki with the folder, his pale eyes glistening.

The scarred shinobi accepted the proffered document warily. He didn't trust anything the Hyūga dissidents willingly offered. Before he had the time to familiarize himself with the papers, the shit was snatched away by Anko. Who almost tore the goddamn papers out. With great pleasure, Tokuma observed Hana shooting a glance over Anko's shoulders. As soon as she scanned the first page, the Inuzuka blanched considerably. Yes, Inuzuka Hana would play their game. The way they wanted it.

"What do you say, Hana-san? Is that good enough of a – ah, motivation? I am quite sure the Gōdaime will see it as such. And Hatake Kakashi deserves the promotion, wouldn't you agree?"

Tens and tens of documents. All signed by Tsunade. Proofs that she taken out loans in Konoha's name. Been lent money.

By the Hyūga Clan.

The fear of having the documents made public would incite her to step down. The only thing the FLK would have to do was send them to the right person. Not Tsunade. Surely not. But Hatake Kakashi. As Anko's hand trembled in excitement, Hana's lips trembled in fear. It had all started with her desire for revenge. It had snowballed into hatred. And now Kakashi, of all people, would have to pay. No, Hana would not permit it. And Hyūga Tokuma knew it.

x.x.x

Kō's lungs burned as he followed Tokuma on a distance. He had not just done that. Tokuma could not be serious about making that nosy piece of shit Hatake Kakashi the next Hōkage. The guy was a major pain in the ass. He would want to shove his enormous honker into Hyūga business. They did not need that, for fuck's sake. And yet, Kō had not said a word back at Ichiraku's cellar. Why? Because the FLK had to believe the Hyūga dissidents were perfectly in sync.

Back in the days, they had been. There had been something strange in getting bossed around by a five-year old brat at age ten. However, Tokuma had always been more mature than Kō. At age five, he had felt like an old man whose only pleasure was playing . Funny shit, whenever he had played Hiruka, Tokuma had lost. But when he had played against anyone else, it had taken him less than ten minutes to get rid of the opponent. That said a lot about Tokuma's character. And Kō had always acted accordingly.

Tokuma lost strategically. He gave in when need arose. There was no such thing as pride in him. His obese ego fed on something else, just that Kō had no fucking idea what it was. Domination, most probably. Even when he lost, Tokuma dominated. He had taught Kō to trust him unconditionally. And to do as he said. Whatever Tokuma had decided, Kō had followed. Sometimes it had cost them. But in the long run, it had always paid off. That didn't mean Kō had no right to bitch. He bitched, alright. He didn't discuss, he always obeyed. But he bitched like a pussy. And he would not forego the pleasure that evening.

At five hundred meters in front of him, Tokuma turned left. Kō did the same, disappearing in an alley once again. They were heading towards the forest. It had been their favorite hiding spot when shit had gone bad in Konoha. It was easier to standardize one's chakra with a tree's than to glitch. Especially when they might have ended up fighting a horde of Konoha shinobi.

That had been one of their games, in the Shinigami. How to imitate the chakra of living beings that had nothing to do with ninja. When you started playing, you imitated civilians. The very talented ones were able to delocalize their chakra completely. And use it as a reserve. Kō had seen fuckers imitate the chakra networks of birds. In other words, their fucking chakra was floating in the goddamn atmosphere while they remained on the ground, running gleefully in a field of motherfucking flowers. Not even visible to Hyūga. How fucked up was that?!

The forest had always made it easier for all the Shinigami to disappear into the wilderness. When Hiashi had started his purge, some of them had tried to make it through the forest and into the countryside. Had they succeeded, they would have just emigrated. Made their way into some non-military country. But count on Hiashi to foresee the bullshit. He had spun some shit about elopements and the likes. Just for Konoha to let him hunt them all down without bitching too much. Or sniffing the Hyūga up.

The Sōgiya had been intelligent. However, intelligence was not enough to save you from an enraged herd of bloodhounds. Most of them had not even tried to escape the compound, that's how intelligent they were. The majority, in a display of ultimate nihilism, had not given Hiashi the pleasure of killing them. They had committed suicide. Mittei had been too retarded. The more developed ones had tried to make it to the forest. The less developed ones had simply held out their necks and accepted death obediently. Some Ryōshi had remained and taken the change of master quite well. Kō had been one of them. Others had also tried to run away and been terminated.

The cold wind was whipping Kō's face. He couldn't even feel his lips anymore. His whole jaw was frozen. So cold he had simply stopped shivering. There was no heat left in his body at that point. And he couldn't care less. Liberty was worth it. Just the fact he was running, moving, appearing, disappearing. He could be struck down, Kō wouldn't regret it. It almost felt like he was a shinobi again. Which was bullshit, he was a wreck. However, some people paid a shitload of money for the impression they were useful. Kō got that for free, sticking to Tokuma's ass. It was worth it. He would never regret being struck down.

He made it to the forest by barely avoiding a bunch of ANBU less than a kilometer from him. No one liked having them too close by. Better never to take them for granted. Even if their rate of success when it came to pinning down Hyūga was pretty low. There had been a switch of guards by the forest. Making it possible for Kō to rush past a few fluffy tress without being noticed. He did almost crash into a tree trunk, however. If he wanted to spot Tokuma, he had no other choice but to activate his goddamn Byakugan. And here went nothing. Directing some chakra to his eyes, Kō grimaced at the pain that lanced through his temple.

Trees. Some squirrels hibernating inside of the trees. Not Tokuma surely. Some shit hibernating under the trees. No birds, they had all made their way towards the south. Aha. At about two hundred meters. A mole. Moles were nocturnal animals, fair enough. Shit was, what mole would get the fuck out of its hole in the middle of December?! Moles hibernated as well. Tokuma had concentrated his chakra to imitate the tenketsu network of a mole. The guy needed a psychiatrist. Fucking honestly. And yet, a smirk appeared on Kō's mouth.

Deactivating the shit he used as a Byakugan, Kō slowly made his way towards the spot he believed Tokuma to be. Focusing his chakra so it took the shape of a deer. A fucking deer with insomnia. He hoped no ANBU excited themselves on his ass. Deer were rare around the place. They usually stuck about Nara territory. But whenever a goddamn Bambi had the bad idea of venturing into the forest, it didn't make it out alive. Bambis were delicious, ok?! Just that Kō wasn't exactly a cute woodling critter. He was more along the lines of a sanguinary boar. ANBU be warned.

Fair enough, sitting on the snow, his back to a tree trunk, Tokuma waited for Kō. Tilting his chin up, the young man did not go to the trouble of smiling. He had never learned to do it properly. He felt pleasure when he shouldn't, so he fucking smiled, freaking the shit out of people around him. And when he should laugh or smile, he didn't get it and remained as expressive as a piece of wood. Fuck his life, seriously. But he had never needed such bullshit with Kō. They wouldn't start with the simpering today.

Letting himself fall in front of Tokuma, Kō did as if his ass hadn't become wet instantaneously. Elbow on knee, chin settling in his palm, he did his fucking best to shoot his … whatever Tokuma was to him, a stern glare. That shit had never worked on the guy. Not even when he had been five. Fuck man, Kō still remembered five-year old Tokuma. He had the impression he had seen him just yesterday. A kid that demanded attention. So much fucking attention. So unlike Hinata who had always avoided it.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Well, that had not gotten out the way he had wanted. One had to be careful not to ruffle Tokuma's feathers. The guy could be a real asshole. But he as well had gotten accustomed to Kō's un-Hyūga side. They all had their different personalities, just that they followed specific guidelines in and outside of the compound's walls. They made the front crumble as soon as they could.

"Where did the blind faith go?"

"Well, fuck, I didn't exactly expect you to do that."

Tilting his head to the side, Tokuma shot Kō a falsely curious glance. He fucking hated it when people contradicted him. Kō liked to bitch, fine by Tokuma. But this would end up in a discussion, which implied him being contradicted. He was right. Always. And if his only aid, the only person that he could rely on the slightest bit started doubting him, they could both send this all to fucking hell.

"Do what?"

It was infuriating how calm Tokuma could remain. He was like a goddamn ice stalactite. Trenchant. Unbreakable. The type of shit that bore right through your skull if it fell on you. Just that unlike a fucking ice pick, you couldn't melt Tokuma. Long gone were the days when he would let anyone get close to him. In the end, all those he had cared for had ended up dead. Mostly killed by his own hand. He didn't want to have to get rid of Kō as well.

In a swift movement, Tokuma shifted around to be hunching in front of the last person he had left. An inch away from Kō's face. They would have to nip this one in the bud if they wanted the plan to succeed.

"Do not doubt me. Ever."

"Have I ever doubted you?"

"You are doubting me now."

"The Hyūga Clan, we included, has kept Hatake Kakashi away from power for a reason, Tokuma. The guy is a nosy piece of shit that has a grudge against the clan. Hiashi and him aren't exactly chummy chummy, if you see what I mean."

"And you still don't see the interest of making him Hōkage, Kō?"

"What I fucking see is Hiruka and Hiashi panicking. They will start a purge as soon as those documents resurface. Our heads will roll. Or at least mine. And for your information, I like my cocksucking head attached to my shoulders, thank you very much."

"You are such a rooster."

A forced chuckle ensued.

"Don't ruffle your feathers. And don't be so short-sighted, you know it gets on my nerves. I always told you to keep your mouth shut when you don't understand shit. It makes you look more intelligent than you truly are."

At those words, Kō brought his face even closer to Tokuma's, staring directly into his eyes. A muscle jumped in his jaw and his eyebrows furrowed. The shit with Tokuma was that he had an inferiority complex. Yes, a goddamn inferiority complex.

The guy had been born in a poor family that had almost lived in the Bunke area. The Bunke were excused of being poor, they were the inferior race after all. Sōke though had no excuse of being indigent, really. Tokuma had lived to see his cousin and father treated as less than Bunke during his childhood. That natural disgust for poverty had driven him to develop such a flagrant inferiority complex that it had mutated into a stiffening superiority complex.

It made Tokuma feel good to belittle others. Of course, it didn't show because of his utterly cold and perfectly serious front. But whenever he felt secure enough to express himself, he ended up finding a victim to tear into pieces. Namely Kō.

"Those documents will never resurface. Hatake Kakashi isn't fucking dumb enough to pick a fight with the Hyūga. At least, not that way. It is not in his interest to lose a potential ally. He will think it to be an insider sending him such documents. Something along the lines of a second Neji, yes? He will convince Tsunade to keep her trap shut. Hiruka and Hiashi will believe she had just admitted everything to Kakashi and been forced to step down. She is a weak-willed alcoholic after all. The clan will brace itself to face the new Hōkage. Without even sniffing up your ass, Kō. You will never become that important to them, trust me."

They were so close Kō could almost hear Tokuma's heart beat. He must have felt so lonely. Especially after the Shinigami had exploded from the inside. Tokuma had been saved in extremis by Hiruka. Kō didn't have any idea what it was that Hiruka had told Hiashi. But he was quite sure Hōtaru had been the one to convince her husband to let her cousin live. And shrewd, hungry little Tokuma had been taken way. Kō had not wanted it to happen. Death would have been better for him than this. This rage, this fright, these tortured shadows slowly passing through his pale eyes.

And yet, the mutual fascination remained. As soon as they had met up again, years after Hōtaru's death, it had started all over. This intimate knowledge of each other. The dog and his master. Kō always knew where Tokuma was without even having to ask. Tokuma always knew Kō's most secret desires without even being told about them. They completed each other. But one piece lacked. The puzzle would never be finished. Suzuki.

"Once we have Kakashi where we want him, we just liberated two places to fill. Secretary of Defense and ANBU-būchō. I will suggest for Hiruka to make Uchiha Sasuke ANBU-būchō–"

"What about Uzumaki Naruto. He is an ANBU as well. And unlike Uchiha, he is actually a war hero. Not a criminal."

Another chuckle. More sincere, this time.

"Let me finish. I will tell Hiruka to force Kakashi to make Uchiha Sasuke ANBU-būchō. But before, I will suggest getting rid of Uzumaki Naruto. Pay an Oto hitman to kill him, more precisely."

Kō was more lost than ever. What the fuck would killing Uzumaki Naruto bring them, very honestly?! And why did it have to be an Oto assassin?! Not that anyone would be able to kill the asshole that easily.

"You don't get it yet? It is not in our advantage for Uzumaki Naruto to die. We need him. I will leak the plan in such a manner that Inuzuka Kiba gets wind of it. You know how him and that Aburame like to sniff around. Especially when shit concerns Oto. He will run to his sister and spill it all. Count on the bitch going to Kakashi and warning him. Hence, Uzumaki Naruto will not be killed. To the village, it will look like an attempt of the Oto dissidents to get rid of Konoha's most revered hero. To the FLK, it will look like the Hyūga Clan returning fire for Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi will want to protect Uzumaki Naruto. Making him ANBU-būchō certainly isn't the best way. The ANBU are fleeting shadows that do not exist. They are protected only by their own abilities. Making Uzumaki Naruto public property though will ensure him being kept alive. Hiruka will panic of course. The plan went to hell, yada yada. I will get an earful and shit. Whatever. I will just tell him to threaten Kakashi with Tsunade's loans. Kakashi will freak out. Not the type of scandal they need, especially not at the beginning of his career. He will make Uchiha general. And give Naruto the position of Secretary of Defense. He will become public property and be placed in a good position to neutralize Sasuke if ever the need arose."

At that point, Kō's jaw dropped. Uno, why the fuck was Tokuma telling him all that?! What if it fucking leaked?! Well, he would be sure Kō was a backstabbing son of a bitch if ever it did leak. Secundo, how the hell could Tokuma be so sure everything would happen the way he had planned?! Like, honestly.

"Wait, if it happens the way you just said, you will tip Kakashi off about the clan, about Inuzuka Hana and about the Uchiha."

Softly, slowly, a true, genuine smile stretched the corners of Tokuma's lips. Tilting his head downwards and looking at his interlocutor through his long, dark eyelashes, he appeared almost shy. There was something of Tokuma in Hinata. This way they had of expressing delight.

"Yes. We neutralized Inuzuka Hana by making her suspicious to Kakashi. We neutralized the Hyūga Clan by having Uzumaki Naruto in a good position to police Uchiha Sasuke and by having Kakashi wary. While the FLK, try to hide their traces, Hiruka and Hiashi will be stuck facing each other. And Kakashi. Uchiha Sasuke will be left all alone with Uzumaki Naruto. I will have all the time in the world to reorganize my Ryōshi. Kill the generals. Conquer the heiress."

"How are you so sure Inuzuka Hana will fall for it? You are expecting her to send all their plans to hell?"

The smile faltered. The pale eyes crystallized in rage. Not a question to ask a man that had seen his closest friend, or the closest thing to a friend, be manipulated by the likes of a spoiled Hyūga-hime. Had Kō not seen all the idiotic shit he had done himself when Hinata had been concerned?! Had he not sent their plans to hell?! Had he not sent Tokuma to hell for that sniffy bitch?!

"I have seen what women in love do, don't you remember? Their unruly feelings make them treacherous and snide. There is nothing holy for them. She will fall for it, I can guarantee."

Tokuma felt so tired. So very tired. At times he wondered whether he would ever see that new clan he wanted to build. A clan where there would be no Bunke. Where everyone would be Bunke. Besides him. He would never be part of the inferior race. And when everyone would become special, no one would be special anymore.

Oy. How the fuck did Tokuma know Inuzuka Hana was in love with Hatake Kakashi?! The fact she fucked him was known to a certain extent. Not like anyone was hiding the shit. She was Inuzuka, she could smell Kakashi a mile away. She knew he was ANBU-būchō. And the ANBU knew she knew. Trying to hide such shit from Hyūga and Inuzuka was a lost cause. However, unless he spent his goddamn time staring at them doing each other, there was no way Tokuma could be sure she felt anything genuine towards Kakashi. Why did the idea of Tokuma eating popcorn while Byakugan-ing Inuzuka Hana and Hatake Kakashi seem so realistic?!

Whatever. Kō was too tired to ask for details. And Tokuma would go full-blown atomic on him if he started getting snoopy. It would look like him not trusting the big boss. And the big boss got bitchy ever so easily. Fuck, man. Kō would honestly end up with his goddamn head detached from his body.

From his hunching position, Tokuma let his knees slide into the cold snow. His beautiful head fell on Kō's shoulder. A heavy mass. A burden for Kō to bear. However, the same way Hōtaru had left him Hinata, she had left him Tokuma. Kō's hands were cold. He had buried them into the snow for whatever strange reason. Retrieving one, he placed it on top of Tokuma's head, the way a brother would have.

"Kō?"

"What?"

"Do you remember Suzuki?"

Suzuki. Small, strange Suzuki. With those opaque eyes that understood but the simplest orders. Suzuki with her long, messy brown hair and her small, pulp lips. Tokuma's most beloved toy, his thing. Kō's stomach lurched. He would have preferred not to remember her. Not remember all the things he had seen Tokuma do to her. Nine-year old Tokuma and eleven-year old Suzuki. A violent shiver crossed Kō's spine.

"I knew you haven't forgotten her", Tokuma's whispered against the skin of his neck.

He hadn't forgotten her either. She had after all been his Suzuki. Tokuma had been cruel to her at times. He had scored her flesh. Broken her bones. Hit her ever so often. But Suzuki's only desire had always been to obey him. And she, unlike Kō, had never doubted him. Even while he had been killing her, she had not been scared.

Suzuki had smiled at him while his hands had gone for her throat and pressed hard. Tokuma still remembered their kiss. His first kiss. Before the last gleam in her stupid, pale eyes had dwindled and her last breath escaped her lungs, he had leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Suzuki had not bled and Tokuma regretted it somewhat.

Blood made everything so much sweeter.

"I loved her more than you. But I killed her."

At those last words, Kō's hand froze in Tokuma's hair. He had … killed her. They had found Suzuki's tumefied body in an alley of the Shura District. She had been killed by strangulation. Had not presented any evidence of struggle. Her eyes had been wide-open and her mouth stretched into a smile. Her yukata had not been torn or displaced. A corpse that had remained dressed from head to toe.

Everyone had known it had been Tokuma. Why? No evidence of it having been him. In the Shinigami, no evidence of a crime being committed by a Sōgiya meant he had committed it. But the lack of proofs had permitted for Kō to butter his eyes with shit. He had tried to convince himself someone else had done it. Some psychopath. Some rapist. Whatever.

Fucking A. That made so much damn sense. Not even the ANBU could catch a well-trained Mittei. But here you had one killed by the first goddamn passerby. The extent to which Kō could live in denial was impressive, honestly. Just because he hadn't been able to accept that his Tokuma had done what any Sōgiya would have. He had cold-bloodedly killed a defenseless child.

"Do you know why I killed her?"

Tokuma's head shifted as he brought his lips to Kō's ear. The warm breath that played along his neck made Kō's skin burn. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to know what had gone through Tokuma's mind at that moment. Kō needed to believe Tokuma hadn't become a psychopath. Still today he saw the chubby, needy kid of old in him. Kō wanted for Tokuma to manipulate him some more, so that he didn't crash into reality.

"I won't tell you."

Tokuma wouldn't tell Kō Hiruka would have demanded for Suzuki to be executed. He already knew anyways. He wouldn't tell him that he, as the Ryōshi, would have been stuck doing the deed. Kō would have refused, who doubted. His fucking standards and other bullshit. And both he and Suzuki would have been slayed. Leaving Tokuma alone. So, so alone.

Tokuma feared death. And loneliness. But at the end of the day, he feared loneliness way more than death. For loneliness was hell. Those that had not walked the world as shadows would never know what a tyranny of souls that truly was. Existing but not being acknowledged as a being. Breathing but not being considered alive. It was a deeply frightening experience.

It was hell. Seeing thousands of bodies walking by you but being unable to reach out to them. That is why the units had existed. To make the Sōgiya believe he connected to someone, anyone.

Wasn't that the reason Tokuma had stayed with Hiruka, after all? Kō had left him. Suzuki had been long gone. He had needed someone, anyone. To make him believe he was connected to the world he lived in. And if that meant satisfying Hiruka's sick needs, he couldn't fucking care less. Yet, after all these years, Tokuma still had the impression he was living a nightmare. That he would wake up to find Suzuki looking down at him with her stupid, pale eyes and that mysterious smile of hers. The mysterious smile of a woman without a tongue.

He had loved Suzuki. Unlike Hōtaru and Kō; unlike his father and Hiruka, Suzuki had needed Tokuma. She had not been able to survive without him. Had there been no Shinigami maybe Tokuma and her would have met as small children. She would have had all ten of her fingers and her tongue. He would have taught her to read. To look at the beauty of the wind through the leaves of a tree. To understand what no one else in their fucked up clan understood. They would have been each other's everything. Suzuki would have needed him. And loved him.

And then what?! Suzuki would have been mangled in the way all prostitutes were before being sold off. She would have been encaged between the walls of a brothel. Opened her thighs for anyone that came to her. She would have been used, abused and thrown away. The same way it had gone with the fucking Shinigami.

And the same way he had not been able to save her from the Shinigami, he would not have been able to save her from the Shura District.

The only thing Tokuma had given her was a happy death and a first and last kiss. Because to Suzuki, Tokuma had been happiness. The only type she had ever been allowed to know.

Pushing away from Kō, the young man shot his elder a look of pure hatred. A glare that froze Kō's blood in his veins. Yes, Tokuma would never tell Kō why he had killed Suzuki. Tokuma had loved her thousands of times more than Kō could ever love the likes of Hinata. In fact, it was quite risible the asshole fancied himself in love with her. What man of thirty-three could love a girl of twenty? A girl he had cared for from her youngest years.

Sickness. Kō was disturbed. Sick. Sick. Sick. And Tokuma would cure him from that disease of his. Because he loved him too. Not as much as Suzuki, but enough to keep him by his side. Forever. The only thing he needed was Uchiha Sasuke.

Hyūga Hinata was maybe after all somewhat like Hōtaru. She was a firefly. With those fragile, translucent wings. And Tokuma would find a way to make Uchiha Sasuke tear them into pieces. The bitch had cost Tokuma both Neji and Kō. Her husband wasn't the only avenger around here. She would feel Tokuma's wrath. Not only because he would take her sister from her. He would take Kō as well. Her father. And Uchiha Sasuke.

As the thought of a suffering Hyūga Hinata sank in, Tokuma's eyes softened and a small, serious smile pulled the corners of his mouth up. Kō had always hated the way he smiled. It was a sign bad shit was going to go down.

"You do realize that if some Hyūga ANBU is patrolling at the moment, he sees a mole discussing with a deer, right?"

x.x.x

"She moved again."

He let those words linger between them. And now he would have appreciated the fucking scarab to go away. Years later, he still couldn't bear Shino's ugly-ass bugs. They gave him the fucking creeps, okay?! Plus, the asshole had the bad habit of eating through them since he was too lazy to use his fucking chopsticks. There was nothing grosser than Shino's bugs crawling through food while the prick stared at you from the other side of the table.

Hana tilted her head to the side, her nostrils palpitating ever so slightly. They had been discovered as soon as they had sneaked through the Inuzuka compound's concrete wall. Their secret entrance was as secret as Tsunade being Hyūga Hiashi's lapdog. Plus, Kiba didn't live with them anymore. So, whenever he showed his ass, the whole compound startled a little bit. Even if it was the middle of the night.

Sure as hell wasn't good news. Hana didn't need people sniffing her ass. Even if those were her own people. It had become too dangerous for her to walk around like that. In the middle of the night. She was starting to attract too much fucking attention. She had no other choice but to –

"I won't be going to reunions anymore."

And Anko should've done the same. Kiba's shoulders contracted. Unexpected, eh? Hana giving up?!

"I am not giving up, Kiba. But I attract too much attention. We were lucky tonight. Next time we might be less lucky, if you see what I mean."

"You'll smell out whoever follows us."

"And then I'll have to kill him, bury his corpse, etc. The village will realize his disappearance sooner or later. Shit will truly go done. Decades of work going to hell."

She had a point. Hana always had a cocksucking point. And Kiba fucking hated it. He was the goddamn retard of the family. Tsume had been a genius back in the days. Hana was the successful, brilliant one. Kiba was left to be the black sheep. Fuck. And now this?! Hana was putting way too much pressure on him.

"This means you'll have twice as much work, do you get it? You'll represent me during those meetings. You'll relay any info between them and me. While taking care of the rest."

Yeah, well, if she wanted him to start with taking care of the rest, she better let him go now. Because this might be the only chance he ever gets. For whatever damn reason, you had Hinata prancing around the village in the middle of the night. Most probably snivelling. Shino was monitoring her at the very moment. She was alone.

"She is alone and moving around. I better go if I want to catch her."

Before he had the time to turn around, Hana's hand shot out and grabbed onto his arm. Squeezing painfully. His sister was so small to him. Back in the days, when they had been children, Kiba had thought there was no one taller and more intelligent than Inuzuka Hana. Time had proven him wrong. Now he was the one towering her. And she was the one dependent on him. Funny shit, it didn't feel all that great.

"This isn't about you, Kiba. Don't forget. This fucking isn't about you."

Fuck her. This was about Kiba. Hinata and him went way back and tonight they would settle the score.

"I don't want any damage. Your job is to attract her, not break her into pieces, understood? We need her."

The tall man growled, shooting the young woman a hateful glance. He was too old to have Hana lecturing him. He and Hinata went way back, as mentioned. He would settle the fucking score between them tonight. Shit had to be said. Too much crap had been left to rot between the two of them. And he didn't give a fuck whether it sent everything to hell. Kiba had already lost everything. A little more, a little less, what difference did it make?!

"Kiba", she growled back, warning him.

Yeah, yeah. He wouldn't damage the little Hyūga-hime. At least, not too much. A bad smile appeared on his lips, making Hana scowl. The idea of being dependent on Kiba wasn't to her taste. She loved her younger brother. He was her Kiba. Her baby. However, when it came to Hinata, she knew he would do some shit either way. Kiba had always had trouble finding an equilibrium in life.

As a child, he had never had any friends. Being an Inuzuka had condemned him before he had had the chance to even start to live. Akamaru had been without a doubt the most important part of his life. And Hana understood. All Inuzuka had a symbiotic relationship with their dogs. Leaving the Haimaru Sankyōdai behind whenever she went to meetings or the Tower made her feel emotionally insecure. And that is what Kiba had always been, emotionally immature and insecure.

Before the war, he had had Kurenai, Shino and Hinata. Kurenai's pregnancy had not been welcome news and having his team split had come as a shock to his system. Kiba had not fucking liked it. But the war had taken care of him. And the man that was standing in front of her worried Hana. She had no other choice but to rely on him though.

"Do you think you can do it? Be frank."

"You are fucking kidding me?!"

Leaning in, Kiba rubbed his nose against his sister's. A show of affection in the clan. But Hana did not return the gesture. She simply stared right into her brother's eyes. He had always hated Hana's eyes. So un-Inuzuka. Not even their father had had such eyes. Where they came from was unknown. He had spent his younger years trying to find the pupil in their murky depths. Unsuccessfully. Fucked up. Sighing, he straightened up, passing a wary hand through his hair.

"The chick thinks herself a heart-bleeding martyr or shit. Plus, hubby obviously isn't into her. Hina isn't the type to sit around and count snowflakes falling. Let me take care of her, Hana. I told you from the beginning Anko's dumbass plan would only make it fucking worse. Shino and I are the only ones to truly know her."

Hana would have trusted him were she not aware he had a grudge against the girl.

"Plus she has that burn. Y'know, that nice-girl-gone-wild complex. All blushy and fidgety on the outside. And then doing crazy-ass shit like facing Pein by herself, out of the blue. She was always cracked like that. Count on her not liking being caged in an apartment, doing fucking nothing."

"How sure are you about the Hagewashi? We need to keep her occupied for now, but we can't run the risk of getting her killed before her time. I don't want her to ask too many questions. But I do want you to work her, if you see what I mean."

A snort.

"Pff. She is a Hyūga. She will see shit coming at a ten-kilometer radius. And I always come back in one piece, don't I? Nothing will happen to her. We don't need a kunoichi, we just need an archivist of sorts. As long as she has a Byakugan. As for the rest, let me take care of it. A little trip to Oto will be more than enough to win her over. We'll take her to the Red-Light District. You know she has a sweet spot for kids."

At those words, the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth morphed into a full-blown grimace. And yet, something fucking broke inside of him. Whenever he thought of Hinata, something broke inside of Kiba. Their fucking lives had not gone as planned. Shino should have become Super-Bug, some type of ANBU-genius screwing over bad guys. And giving Kiba a break. Hinata would have become the heiress of her clan. Changed the world and other bullshit. And Kiba … Kiba would have been with Akamaru.

But that is not how things had gone down. Akamaru was dead. Shino would die sooner rather than later. Yuina grow up. Kurenai age. And Hinata? Hinata had abandoned them. Left them behind. Thrown them away like so much dirt on the side of the road. That's always how shit went with Hyūga Hinata. When life got tough, she bailed. When shit got tough for her, she bailed. As if they were too retarded to help her. Never good enough. And she had been right. She had been so fucking right. Kiba wasn't able to fucking help himself. Help Shino. Help Kurenai. Let alone Hinata.

So why did he hate her so much? Why the fuck did he want to hurt her more?! Maybe because you didn't go to hell all by your lonesome self like Hinata had done. Where was the girl that had stood up for her beliefs?! The girl that had told her father to go fuck himself?! Ok, she hadn't really said that. But she had flushed all his prejudice down the drain, at least.

And then? Then she had let them pull her into their fucked up compound, let them do fucked up shit to her. And refused to see Kiba, Shino, Kurenai. Over and over again. Her marriage to that cocksucker had only been the cherry on the goddamn sundae. At the end of the day, Inuzuka Kiba fucking hated Hyūga Hinata. He hated her. He hated her. He hated her. He loved her. The way he desperately loved Shino, his sister, little Yuina. Kiba loved Hinata to the point of wanting to hurt her for having hurt him.

He had needed her. Where had she been? She had been hidden behind the high walls of the Hyūga compound. Letting her family use and abuse her. Letting them tear her wings out. Slowly. Until they had thrown her away in the same manner she had done with the remnants of Team Eight. Oh, he would hurt her.

He would make her bleed. Hinata wanted to suffer?! Kiba would show her what suffering was. And she would beg for more. Yes, Inuzuka Kiba could guarantee it; Hyūga Hinata would join the revolution. They would turn her against her own family. Against the man she called her husband. She liked being a fucking thing, a toy?! She'd get exactly what she asked for.

Reaching out, Hana's cold fingers made contact with her brother's cheek. Pain, that is what she felt when she looked up into his lost, ruined eyes. This was not Kiba anymore. Not her Kiba. This haggard man that looked down on her with all the rage in the world had nothing to do with the arrogant, loud-mouthed boy that had tried to run off from the Academy on a daily basis. It was dangerous to let him do as he pleased. But Hana was not only his sister. She was the future leader of the Inuzuka Clan. She had to prove the world what it meant to be Inuzuka. She had to prove Hyūga Hiashi who truly led the game.

And if that meant using her own brother, what other choice did she have? They needed Hyūga Hinata. For a simple reason. Tokuma. Hyūga Tokuma forgot that Inuzuka had a good nose. And the shit she smelled whenever their paths crossed was a good indicator of the asshole's weakness. He wanted to fucking dance by pulling Kakashi in? She would slam his face into a brick wall. A brick wall called Hyūga Kō.

Hyūga Kō who years ago had saturated their headquarters with Hyūga Hinata's smell whenever he had showed his ass. He had reeked of her to the point of making Hana nauseous. His hair. His neck. His hands. All had smelled of that sickening innocence. Sickening because such perfume should have never enveloped a man such as him. The same way Hyūga Kō wore Hinata as a second skin, Hyūga Tokuma wore Kō. The scent that was purely Kō had followed the asshole around since the first day he had appeared out of the blue.

What would happen if Hana pulled Hinata into the FLK? Kō would become putty in her claws. Feelings had a smell as well. Even fucking obsession had its own olfactory fingerprint. If the little girl demanded for him to cut his own foot off like a trapped wolf, he would do so. Without thinking twice about it. Loneliness and dependence for their part reeked like a corpse in decomposition. Tokuma had nobody but Kō. The fucker was completely hooked on the guy. How about turning Hyūga Kō against Hyūga Tokuma by using Hinata? That way Hana would ensure the Hyūga didn't try to screw her over when time came.

Slowly caressing her brother's stubbly chin, she smirked at him. Yes, this was the only way they could insure things went smoothly. Just that Hana would have preferred for Kiba not to be meddled into it. He would do something fucking rash, she knew. Oh, well. They would do some damage control if the need arose.

"Don't do too much damage, we clear?"

Grabbing onto Hana's hand, Kiba brought her pinky finger to his mouth and bit hard onto the first phalange. She didn't flinch. Hana could be fucking anal like that.

"Just enough, promised. Trust me, nee-chan. You know I am a high risk, high profit type of venture. Let Shino and us take care of this shit. Hinata will become your little pet-dog in no time. Told ya, a trip to Oto to make her play dolly with the little girls of the Red-Light District will be more than enough. Who knows, she might meet up with someone she knows. Wanna bet hubby hasn't told her about his stint in Oto? That's the type of shit that turns her inner goody-two-shoes on big time."

Rolling her dark eyes at him, Hana let her hand trail down his neck and sweep over his shoulder before sashaying away.

"Don't screw up or I'll maim you, Kiba."

Heh. He was already maimed beyond repair. They both knew as much. And the idea she was using her brother's weaknesses to her advantage was truly disgusting. Walking away, she ducked her head for a split of a second, feeling Kiba retreating to the shadows. But it did not last. Leaders did not doubt. Or at least, they did not fucking show it. Hyūga Hiashi was a good example.

Sealing his daughter. Throwing her at the first politically-profitable entity that came his way. Spreading Hyūga domination over the world, even if that meant robbing thousands of children of their future. Even if that meant transforming millions of human beings into material commodities. A leader's only worry was to elevate his own clan. Morals and other bullshit she left for Clan Meetings, just to fuck over those old geezers. She knew better than anyone that you didn't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

And yet, and yet, she felt shame. Deep-rooted, all-consuming shame. The type that deprived someone from peace the day and from sleep the night. But that was her own cross to bear.

Kiba looked at Hana walking back to the compound. The guards had smelled them out before they had even reached the place. They would not say a word, even if the Hōkage came demanding it herself. But that wasn't enough for Kiba. He honestly didn't need people knowing about his whereabouts. Especially since he wasn't considered Inuzuka all that much anymore. At least so he thought.

He disappeared as he had come, through a secret passage everyone knew about. It took him some time to orient himself through the narrow corridors that led to the outside world. But as he pointed his nose, he was welcomed by someone shoving his face right into Kiba's.

"Oy, Shino", he whispered through clenched teeth, "Don't do shit like that. You want me to have a damn heart attack, my man?!"

"She's moving towards Daisan Enshūjō", Kiba's partner coldly replied, his whole face engulfed by a heavy hood.

"Bad habits die hard", Kiba retorted, trying to wiggle himself out from a narrow slit in the wall. Which he painfully succeeded, almost dislocating his left shoulder. Before he had the time to slide the mask on the side of his head over his face, an iron grip took hold of his thick wrist.

"You are going in there jacked up, Kiba. You'll do something stupid."

Aww, fuck. He honestly needed Shino to give him a damn break. Why did everyone consider Kiba as a ticking time-bomb?! He was cool. He got his shit together. He would punch her maybe, maybe an uppercut to the stomach, make her bleed a little. Hinata had a masochist side to herself, she wouldn't mind all that much. The type of shit that seemed to get her wet.

Kiba tore his wrist away, glaring at where he believed Shino's eyes would be. The fucker always wore those cocksucking gangster sunglasses of his. Must have suffered from some damn severe strabismus, Kiba would bet his balls on it. And God knew he didn't bet his gold sacks unless he was sure of shit.

"Don't excite yourself on my ass, dude. We gotta do some damage to get to her, you know how she is. Worked with that Neji asshole back in the days, eh."

Kiba took a step forward, his shoulder colliding with Shino's. Aburame were not stubborn people by nature, and he didn't see the need to get into a pushing contest with the likes of Inuzuka Kiba. But that didn't mean he was all that happy of them going to meet up with Hinata. If there was one thing Shino believed in, it was live and let live. Hinata and him had done their best to live on that precept. Whenever Kiba or him had needed space, she had given it to them. And not because she hadn't cared. Shino had always trusted Hinata the same way she had trusted them. He had let her take her own decisions concerning her life. She could do it.

The girl hadn't needed some fancy encouragements or to be taught badass jutsu. Hinata had just needed for people to let her do her own shit, not always look down on her because she was the weak one. Fuck that BS. She hadn't been any weaker than Sakura or Tenten. The same way Kiba had not been any weaker than Naruto. Just that Sakura had had a Sannin to guide her through life, bequeath her some fancy-ass jutsu and the likes. And Naruto had had a demon enclosed in his body. Uchiha Sasuke hadn't been a big-shot before Orochimaru had gone for his twelve-year old butt either.

Give people the same opportunities, challenge them in the same way and they would rise for the stars in the same fashion. Hierarchy was the biggest elitist crap that had ever been invented, according to Shino. As long as two children were healthy, both mentally and physically, and if they were taught in the same conditions, they would end up at the same place in life. And that was completely independent of family, social status and all that other shit that society tried to sell people. And then interests would kick in. Some kids were into genjutsu, other into ninjutsu. Whatever. Diversity wasn't bad.

What was bad though was looking down on a girl because she stuttered and driving her into the ground because her sister supposedly learned at the same rate as her. As if the fucking Hyūga had never had siblings before Hiashi's daughters had appeared.

Younger children often looked up to their elders and wanted to imitate them. But unlike their older siblings, they did not have that performance pressure that made them stagnate. No wonder Hinata's younger sister had developed fast. She had spent her time looking at Hinata and imitating her for shits and giggles. For the fun of it. But as soon as Hinata had been discarded and her sister instated as heiress, the younger sibling had started slowing down in her development. Pff, clans and their dumbass expectations had a way of destroying generations of potential geniuses, as they liked to call them.

Geniuses, some more elitist gibberish. Shino had counted as a genius back in the days, especially in his clan. So had Shikamaru. Lee. And there had been Neji as well. Genius. A magic word to hide all the work behind their success.

Neji had been a workaholic. Whenever you saw the fucker, he was training. Training himself to exhaustion. Training himself to death. Pretty much like Lee. Shikamaru had always hanged around adults. The type of adults that played . Talked about politics. He had followed tacticians of the Nara Clan around like a chick followed its mother-hen. As for Shino. He had had Shibi. Anyone that considered him as relax and laid back was a fucking idiot. You had to live with Shino's old man to see how relaxed he was when he gave you a spanking because of you slacking off.

All of that went back to why Shino did his best to let Hyūga Hinata breathe. She took her own decisions. There was no one in the world that could convince Shino Hinata had not chosen to do things the way she had. She was stuttery, fidgety, shy and prone to hyperventilation, sure. But she also was the toughest nut to crack in the whole village.

When she was set on something (which didn't happen all that often, granted), the only way to make her let go was … pretty much kill her. Had Neji been alive, he would've testified. Kiba had called her bulldog-Hina whenever they had clashed. There was a reason to that. She was mistakenly considered as lenient and the type to give in to pressure by those that did not know her. Pff. Had she been like that, she would have never challenged the ideological foundations of the most powerful clan in the world. She would not have started training with even more zeal after her battle with Neji. She would not have faced Pein. Gone to war.

Shino was adamant. Hinata had chosen to be pulled into the Hyūga Clan. She was not afraid to die. She most probably was the person least frightened by death in the whole village. Hell, how many times had she been the only one to put her life at stake in desperate situations?! The Hyūga had most probably threatened her with something that had nothing to do with her own life. However, had there been a way to avoid playing their game, she would have found it.

She was smart. And didn't like being forced into doing things that went against her ideals. Hinata had accepted to be married off to Uchiha Sasuke. Had she not wanted to be sealed, she would have fought her whole family. Had she not wanted to remain hidden behind the walls of the Hyūga compound, she would have tried to escape. Had she not wanted Uchiha Sasuke, she would have not taken him. Either way, the village would have heard about it. Since they hadn't heard anything, she most probably had not resisted.

Shino trusted Hinata's abilities. She knew what she was doing. And that was the reason he had not went atomic at her sealing. He had not hyperventilated because of her marriage. And he had not begrudged the fact she hadn't called him to her. Unlike Kiba. Kiba who had always had that stifling overprotective stance where Hinata had been concerned.

And here they were, hunting down Hyūga Hinata at the end of the day. Turning on his heels, Shino followed his partner into the darkness of the night. He buried his hand under the hood that covered his head. Retrieve a white mask. And slid it over his own face, disappearing behind the ceramic. It was blank at first sight, a few barely visible green leaves decorating it. Two very narrow, long slits for the eyes had been sliced into it. You could hardly see anything through them though. On the forehead a faint sign. Konoha's emblem. Visible for those that knew what to look for. Invisible for the rest of the world.

As a swirl of snow snaked around Shino's silhouette, his dark coat gradually lightened, becoming white. As with the mask, the only things adorning the pale fabric were barely visible green leaves. At three meters in front of him marched another form in a similar disguise.

They were the Konoha Hagewashi.

In a twirl of leaves carried around by an arctic wind, Kiba was the first to vanish. Shino followed suite.

Hagewashi. Konoha's elite mercenaries.

Corpse-hunters as the world called them. Konoha Oinin as the ANBU liked to mock them. Because of their faggot uniform.

There was no battleground holy to them. They had been present in Ame. They had wrecked Taki. They had sniffed around Oto.

No nation. No pride. No honor. Only a price. Needed something? Whoever you were. Wherever you came from. As long as you could pay. They were at your service.

x.x.x

As soon as Sasuke had disappeared, Hinata had jumped to her feet and went for her coat. Certainly not to follow him. She had been suffocating. Suffocating in her perfectly sparkly, gorgeous, postmodern, elegantly simplistic, posh downtown suite. It had felt like being in a dark cell. In the dark cell of a psychiatric ward. Where she belonged, actually.

She had not gone to the trouble of finding a scarf and gloves. If she were to go down with pneumonia, she would. Gloves wouldn't change the probability of that happening. And honestly, she had been in no state to think rationally. Hinata had been plagued by the expression of Uchiha Sasuke's dark eyes. How could women feel anything for the likes of that damn man?!

He was like Pandora's box. Unlocking the secrets of that cold, deep soul would most probably unleash a plague of sins over the village. And yet, Hinata had wanted for him to deepen the kiss. She had desired for him to–

Honestly, she disgusted herself. Just because, as cold and dark as they might have been, his eyes were profoundly beautiful. She had thrown herself at his feet just because he had beautiful eyes. False. She had thrown herself at his feet because he had saved her from being sent to Suna. Separated from Hanabi. And neutralized in the most humiliating fashion.

As well, her rage at the moment had all to do with the fact he most probably had plans of his own concerning her. It had absolutely nothing to do with the idea her Hyūga pride had been trampled and pulled into the mud. Because of him refusing for the second time what she offered so willingly. She hated Uchiha Sasuke. Hated him to the point of rushing after him, tears in her eyes.

The security guard honestly had no idea what to do with the tenants of the fifteenth floor. Must have been the full moon or something. Hinata had stepped into the darkness of the night badly dressed for the tenth time of the evening. Shivering and defeated, without even knowing where she was going, she had turned to her right. Surely distancing herself from her husband without knowing.

No sane woman would have walked the streets of Konoha in the middle of the night unprotected. Not even a kunoichi. Shinobi were not the sanest men around, so to say. Seeing suffering, death and torture on a regular basis desensitized them fast enough. Those that did not develop a natural indifference to human torment often ended up killing themselves. Or doing shit more fucked up than raping the first girl that passed by.

But, even rapists cared for their comfort. It was freezing outside. Tough luck of getting hard at minus thirty. Good thing she didn't know that her husband was the exception that confirmed the rule. Haggard and lost, Hinata did not realize her luck. In fact, she did not realize much. Instinct guided her. Made her turn into dark alleys she would have never stepped in had she been in a normal state. Made her pick up pace. Slow down. She was frozen, frozen to the core. Hinata had let herself down so many times in the last few months. All the promises she had made had crumbled. Because of Uchiha Sasuke. What was wrong with her?!

That very evening, she had fought with all the energy of her being. Hinata had faced fierce enemies. But none had compared to her father, who still made her shake in her shoes whenever she met up with him. She had looked death directly into the eyes more than once. And fright had never frozen her. Never like Hiashi could freeze her. She had been aware numerous times she would die. But she had charged straight at the Grim Reaper.

Why?! Because no one else had done so. Others had always found excuses not to gamble with their lives. Not to offer their last breath for the village. She however had had nothing left but her ideals. She had had nothing but that undying belief that hard work, perseverance and ultimate sacrifice paid off in a way or another. At least, Hinata had believed she had had nothing until Neji had died. That's when she had realized she had had everything. But had been unable to appreciate it till she lost it.

As wind and snowflakes twirled around her, numbing her skin, her thoughts went back to Neji. She would have found a way to love him. She would have forced herself to love him. She would have given herself to him. Wholly. Because he had loved her. He had suffered for her.

Neji had suffered because of her. And yet, she had been blind. The Byakugan could not help against blindness of the soul. This caustic agony that spread through her whole body was his curse. Neji's vengeance for her not having understood.

He had been fifteen when their grandfather had attached them to the weeping willow. Autumn, if she remembered well. It had been fourteen-year old Hinata's fault. She had no idea who it was that had whipped them, but she still had perfectly straight, white scares covering a certain part of her back. Hinata had been the one to pervert Neji. She had been the one to pull him into the darkest corners of the compound. And he had obeyed. He had followed. Each and every time. Even when she had demanded they went to the District. He had obeyed. Because he had loved her. Because he had known that reasoning with her was pointless.

His face had been turned towards her. He had not cried. He had not screamed. He had let the whip bite into his skin, unnoticeable tremors travelling his shoulders. Hinata however had screamed in anguish. Cried. But not begged. Never begged. Her eyes had devoured his perfectly serene visage. His eyes had been set on her contorting features. What man would have let himself get whipped for a stupid girl had he not loved her?!

But in the end that is where the problem had lied. From age thirteen, Neji had been a man. His mind had been formed. His desires had been fierce and unwavering. His rage devastating. There had never been anything of the child, nothing hesitant in him. And Hinata? Hinata was still a girl at age twenty. And would most probably remain one until her last breath. That she believed would come sooner rather than later.

She had been too stupid to understand Neji. His needs. His wishes. What he had craved for. Hinata had spent years running after a shadow. An idol she had worshipped in the form of another man. To finally realize that she would have killed Uzumaki Naruto with her own hands just for another kiss from Neji. She would have destroyed the compound. Slain each and every Hyūga that had crossed her path. Just to go back to that fatal day their grandfather had tied them to the weeping willow and look into Neji's pale eyes the way they had deserved. With feeling. With affection, if not love. She would have given herself to him, had she only known.

But that is not how things went in life. Neji had died and his curse was ravaging what was left of Hinata. Haruno Sakura had saved her from death when she had begged her not to. Uzumaki Naruto had become yet another entity in her pantheon of evil deities. Kō had went against her wishes and fought for her disgraceful existence. Her battered body was giving in. The clan was plotting against her Hanabi. Uchiha Sasuke was refusing her, shaming her, pulling her into the mud.

It was easy to put the fault on Sasuke. But, at the end of the day, he didn't know her, he didn't owe her. Why should he have cared for her desires?! And what were her desires?! She did not know herself. Stumbling here and there, she passed a quivering hand over her forehead. Her hair whipped her face. Had she encountered anyone, they would have run from her. For, she looked very much like a faded spirit waiting for the right soul to haunt.

Hinata had not noticed how the winds had become fiercer. There were no more buildings to shield her from the violent gusts that in an instant made her lose equilibrium and fall to her knees. Again. As she sank into the thick snow, she whipped her head up in astonishment. And that is when she saw them. The tall, wooden posts of Daisan Enshūjō. To her left, high white trees leading to the forest. She had spent years hidden behind those trees. Observing Naruto training. In fact, they had met for the first time not far from there, in a clearing.

She had been so desperate for a friend she had attached herself to the first person that had been the least bit considerate towards her. Kō had never counted as a friend. He had been a caretaker. Had had no other choice but to be nice to Hinata. And to love her. The same way slaves ended up loving their masters. Unless he had wanted to be gruesomely punished. Naruto however had faced older children to protect her. The same way he had faced Madara and Kaguya to protect the village and world. It was in his blood to play the hero. His mother and father had been the same, so said the villagers at least.

Years lost observing Naruto. Yearning for him. Desiring for him to turn his head and just throw a look her way. And now? She did not feel hatred towards him as she sometimes fancied. No. Hatred would have been better. It would have been the outcome of unrequited love. Hyūga Hinata felt indifference. Looking around herself, she felt such utter indifference. She had wanted to offer Naruto a scarf when they had been children. A scarf she had made herself. He had refused it obviously, screaming at her. What had he said? She did not remember. What had happened to the scarf? She could not recall.

Standing up, she carelessly patted her knees before making her way towards one of the posts. Was that the post Naruto had used to train on? She had no fucking idea. Twelve years of her life. Twelve years of yearning, craving. Everything flushed down the drain. She realized it. Hinata had believed following on Naruto's steps would have led her to happiness. The only thing it had led her to was losing herself.

Who was Hyūga Hinata? Hyūga Hinata did not know.

Because for twelve years of her life, she had been nothing but Uzumaki Naruto's shadow. His goddamn shadow. Sure, she had developed to a certain extent. Mostly because of Kurenai that had let Hinata follow her heart … to a certain extent. And known when to appear on Hinata's path. And deviate her. But Hinata could have been so much more. She could have been so much more had she accepted Naruto's ideology without venerating the boy behind it. Because in the end, Uzumaki Naruto was nothing but a boy, with his flaws and qualities. The same way Hinata was nothing but a girl, with his flaws added to her own.

For example, Hinata had always been attracted towards Water Release Jutsu. And yet, she had stubbornly focused on Fire and Lightning Release Jutsu. Because that is what Hyūga used. And she had obstinately wanted to prove the Hyūga she was worthy of bearing their name. She had succeeded. But at what price? It had been the wrong decision. The regret she felt was enough of a proof, thank you very much. Success wasn't repeating the same action over and over again hoping for a different outcome. That was called insanity, actually.

Success was finding a way to get around a problem if you were unable to solve it. She should have explored Water Release Jutsu. Even if there was not one specialist in Konoha. She should have built Hinata. Not this monster hybrid between Uzumaki Naruto and your average Hyūga she had become before realizing what had happened to her. Realizing by losing Neji.

The snow was making her legs heavy and her footsteps clumsy. No one would have ever believed she had been a kunoichi barely three years ago. When she reached the pillar of interest, Hinata flattened her palm against the icy wood. It was too late. Too late now to take a different decision. She was not a kunoichi anymore. Nope. Just a ruin. A broken doll that trembled like a pepper shaker. Slowly leaning in, her forehead made contact with the post as a sigh of defeat escaped her lips.

"It's t-too late", she whispered under her breath.

"Never too late for those that wish to repent", a mocking voice hissed back, its breath caressing her ear.

She had not felt him coming. And before she had the time to turn her head to the side, he had disappeared. Or at least, she could not feel him anywhere close. She was rusty. Very rusty. And careless. Walking around in the middle of the night with an inactivated Byakugan. Tsk, Hinata should have known better.

Her response had been immediate. Spinning around, her Byakugan activated, Hinata's heartbeats picked up pace. That voice. That guttural, mocking voice. Sixty degrees to the left. Coming for her at great speed was one body. Right above her head, seated on top of the wood pole was yet another. She was surrounded.

The only thing she could do before the belligerent mass of chakra mowed her down was step aside in extremis. He had gotten faster. Much faster. For one, he did not lose equilibrium as she escaped his fist. Even if he had wanted to punch her to the ground. On the contrary, he let himself deliberately fall forward so he could lift his foot and kick her shoulder blade brutally. Propelling her into the snow and making her slide a good three meters away.

As her chest made contact with the earth underneath the snow, her breath escaped her and Hinata was left to cough painfully. That had been unexpected. And yet, she had been training with Hanabi even after the sealing. Hinata could have avoided that kick. She had seen it coming. What she had not expected was for Kiba to truly send her to the ground. Well, she better get her mind around the fact that the man that was approaching her from behind had little to do with the Kiba of old.

"Kiba", Shino, seated on top of Naruto's old training post, snapped in warning.

"Well, well, someone's fucking rusty", Kiba growled, ignoring his partner's threatening tone.

Slowly, like a wolf approaching his wounded prey, Kiba made his way to a panting Hinata. Unfortunately, even if he believed she was rusty, he forgot an important point. There was no one in the world that knew him better than Kurenai, Shino … and Hinata. And if there was one thing that never changed, it was Kiba's enormous ego.

A steel boot nudged Hinata's face roughly.

"Fuck this shit, Shino. She's out cold already. She'll be useless."

Hunching down, he grabbed a handful of dark hair and dragged her head up. But before he could get a good look at this new Hinata, she twisted around, jerked her head so that Kiba lost balance and almost fell on her. One hand slid into the snow by Hinata's ribs, making an opening for her.

Kiba didn't have the time to push away. He was completely defenseless as Hinata used the Shōtei on his stomach. Shoulders. Pectorals. Fast, precise, efficient. As the heel of her small palms pushed into his flesh, he let the familiar feel of foreign chakra penetrating his tenketsu settle in. He would never learn not to fucking underestimate her.

Bringing her knees to her chest, Hinata set her boots onto Kiba's ribs and kicked him away from her. She had expected him to stay paralyzed for a while. But that didn't sound all that good to him. Under her horrified eyes, Kiba's tenketsu started deforming. She had already noticed they were abnormal. There was something deeply wrong in the way chakra oozed from them, without any control. And without getting depleted.

The nice round shape that characterized healthy tenketsu was replaced by delocalized metastases all over his body. Connected by immature channels leading towards the main tenketsu all shinobi had. There was an overflow of chakra that had made unformed vesicles of energy evolve into delocalized pseudo-autonomous tenketsu. What the–

Hinata scrambled to her feet as Kiba threw an arm over his eyes, laughing mirthlessly. As he snickered, substantial quantities of chakra delocalized from the metastases and travelled at counter-current until reaching the main tenketsu. As if it were nothing but child's game, Hinata looked at her own chakra being expulsed out of Kiba's body. Liberating his reserves. Neutralizing her technique.

Sitting up, she noticed how he seemed to be engulfed by all the snow around him. He was wearing a strange white mantle that would have made him disappear had it not been for the shock of brown hair on top of his head. Keeping her attention focused on him, she did take a good look at Shino still seated on the post, not making a movement towards them.

He was wearing the same type of coat. Special forces? What branch? Not ANBU, surely. Standing up, a pale mask strapped to the back of his head, Kiba shot her a carnivorous smile. It would get better, he could fucking guarantee it. Tilting his head to the side, he examined her. Hinata. Their Hinata. She had changed so fucking much. Then again, people said Shino and Kiba had changed like shit as well.

The woman that was standing in front of him made him want to break something of hers. Was it him or her hair had darkened? Wasn't her skin paler? She was taller, that was for sure. But to Kiba and Shino, that had undergone a pretty drastic growth spurt, she was still the same, small Hinata of old.

But unlike the Hinata of old, this woman that was standing between them shook like a leaf. And was sealed. Her hands placed in front of herself in a protective gesture, she looked at Kiba will all the sadness in the world. Fuck her. Fuck Hyūga Hinata. He did not need her pity. And he did not need to look at her sadness. He did not need that smell of approaching death, the smell he confronted on a daily basis with Shino, to intensify with her presence.

Standing there, engulfed by the snow that flew around her, she was a spectre. Not a real being. One moment she was there, the next she disappeared. And he suffered. Kiba suffered. Looking at her like that, he realized that soon he would be left alone again. Fuck him, why the hell had he wanted to see Hyūga Hinata?! This was a tyranny of souls. A pain so unbearable Kiba would have torn his own soul out.

"Steady now, Kiba", Shino called out, shifting ever so slightly on top of his post.

Hinata tensed immediately, placing herself as to be able to defend a double attack. Why?! Why were they doing this to her?! Three years. It had been three long years. And naïve, stupid Hinata … wanted to throw herself, body and soul, at Kiba. She wanted to grab onto his head and bring it to her shoulder. Caress his harsh, brown locks, longer than what she remembered, and tell him she was sorry. But, Shino and Kiba had not come for excuses, so much was clear. Why, then?

"Why?", she murmured, her voice carried away by the wind.

But count on Kiba to hear everything. His hearing was better than ever. Why?! She fucking dared to ask why?! Hyūga Hinata was pushing all of Kiba's buttons at the fucking moment. The bitch was in for it. She really was. If he only could stop looking into those deep, pale and broken eyes that would fill with tears sooner or later.

"We have an offer for you, Hyūga. But shit with you is, you have to get beaten up to listen."

At those words that were more growled than said, shit truly went down. As the mass of muscles Kiba has become started advancing towards her again, the impossible quantities of chakra she had seen agglomerating inside of him passed right through his body. And slowly, by his side, another Kiba started taking form. At first, Hinata believed he was cloning himself. However, as the relocated quantity of chakra grew, she realized that this was not a clone. It was another Kiba in chakra equivalent.

It was the same technique Akamaru and him had used back in the days, an Inuzuka arcane. Just that Akamaru was no more. Looking at those two Kiba, their heads ducked, staring at her with all the rage in the world, Hinata understood. The overflow of chakra. Chakra Kiba must have absorbed from his best friend as he had been dying. And that technique? A proof of how scared he was of remaining all alone. Hinata regretted. She regretted not having been there. But she had had no other choice.

Kiba and his replica launched for her. And she was scared. Peeing herself actually. She had trained taijutsu with Hanabi for the last three years. It had been nothing but warming up for her sibling, before she went in and faced their father. Hinata had held her own though, always. Mostly because Hanabi was still naïve and there were things one only learned in times of war. However, when it came to chakra, she was still, after all these years, on the losing end of the spectrum. Especially since she hadn't used any for so long a time. But the little she had she could control it perfectly. That was her specialty actually. And even if Kiba and her went for hand-to-hand, she would be no match for him. She was a featherweight. He was a heavyweight champion.

There was only one thing she could do. She wanted to use Water Release?! Well, here was her chance. Just why did she have the impression she was betting her miserable existence on it? She had wanted to become a fallen during the war. Getting mowed down by one of her best friends, or ex-best friends with how the situation was developing, was not as honorable, but it would do. Just that Hinata did not want to go down without a battle. And deep inside of herself, she knew Kiba would not hurt her. As mad as he might have been, he would not hurt her badly. She knew. Shino knew. And Kiba knew just as much. But he might break something of hers.

"W-we need to talk."

Oy, the fuck?! Now they needed to talk?! What about three years ago?! What about when she had been sealed?! Hinata had needed them, just as much as they had needed her. And yet, she had rejected them. She had not let them get close to her. Kiba did not understand. Before the war, they had solved their fucking problems together. Even when their team had been broken up, they had remained Team Eight. The pariah team. The ones that shouldn't have made the cut.

And after everything they had faced together, Hinata had turned her back on them. Leaving them to suffer at the idea of what was happening to her. For fuck's sake, hadn't Kiba had enough of his own pain?! But she had added to it by disappearing and cutting off all communication.

Kiba did not want to talk, obviously. Hinata would have to do something she had loved doing back in the days. Design yet another jutsu. Ok, she would mix and match. The good thing with Water Release Jutsu was that it was not purely based on chakra. It took a certain quantity of chakra to organize water, but that was it. The rest was a question of substance properties.

Water Release was the most chakra-economic alternative to all the jutsu. The very reason why Kiri was so dangerous. There was water everywhere. Even in the desert. And humans were made up of more than seventy percent of it. Once you got over the problematic of extracting, you had to invest very little chakra to control it. And Hinata didn't have chakra to waste. One Water Release up her sleeve. And there always was good ol' Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō. Her baby. Heh. She would replace the chakra blades with Mizu Hari and give Inuzuka Kiba a run for his money.

If there was one thing Hinata still was, it was flexible. Very much so. As Kiba and his replica were about to slam into her, one on each side, sharp water blades formed under their feet, bursting out of the snow. Well, Kiba still hadn't learned not to fucking underestimate her. She on the other hand had never underestimated him. With the quantity of chakra he was producing and the way he was controlling it, Hinata knew he was going easy on her. Well, he wanted to be a gentleman?! His loss. Not that there was anything gentlemanly about attacking a woman at night.

Kiba lifted his coat's sleeve to shield his face, letting the needles bite into his forearms and legs. The lost focus made his replica halt its own movements. Should've put on his goddamn mask, but he had taken it off to give Hinata a good view of his face. And his badass goatie. Ok, Kiba admitted it. He fucking loved his facial hair. It gave him a bad-boy vibe. A real bitch-magnet. And there went his concentration. Shino had always warned him about his moonlighting. Don't let your part-time jobs get in the way of your efficiency on the field. Yada, yada.

That short respite Kiba gave her was enough for Hinata to step back and form an offensive Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō made of Mizu Hari. In no time, the snow at her feet melted and shut up in the form of thin, sharp blades. Effectively spreading across her attack range. Defensive while offensive, that would become her new nindō. If ever she made it through in one piece, that is. And good thing she had been fast because there was just so much plain water needles could do against Inuzuka Kiba. As soon as her defensive shell had been formed, Kiba and his replica's fists made contact with a few of her blades.

Decreasing her attack range, she brought both Kiba closer to her body so she could start pushing the needles into human Kiba's tenketsu while destabilizing chakra-ball Kiba's energy flow. And Kiba had to give her props. Her Byakugan, allied to Hinata's unexploited speed and flexibility, made for a pretty efficient offensive-defensive weapon. And her using water needles instead of chakra blades?! She had gotten smarter with age. Recognized her weakness. Wouldn't be all that useless, after all. Tough luck, Kiba was in no mood to recognize how worthy an opponent Hyūga Hinata … well, Uchiha Hinata now, was.

And the fact he was stuck looking at her bending over, rotating on her hips and effectively sending him to hell did not help to improve his mood. At all. Fair enough, it took her no time, concentrating on his alter ego, to disrupt its chakra enough so Kiba had no choice but to reabsorb it. Fuck. Well, she wanted to play, eh?! They would play, alright. One thing Kiba remembered quite well about Hyūga were their two major flaws. Flaws that had pushed them into the background back in the days the Uchiha had existed.

Hyūga did not move their fucking legs. Or barely. He remembered having seen Hyūga Neji spin once or twice. That's where the shit had ended. And, they had zero depth. Hell, their dumb arcane was such that their adversaries had the impression they were fighting in their bubble. Was cute and shit. As long as their opponents didn't have the necessary chakra quantity to stand in the way of their tenketsu-blocking techniques. Kiba would've liked for them Hyūga to try their shit on Uchiha Sasuke or Uzumaki Naruto, would've given him a good laugh.

Then again, Hinata had been a smartass. And had invested a lot of time in learning all the techniques that gave her some distance, sometimes even adapting them. Not that it had been appreciated by her charming clan. And then, she had gone on inventing her own shit. Like a big girl. A big girl that had still to learn to move her fucking legs.

Sad thing with her little water blades was that they went from her feet and over her head to make a nice dome BS. But what was it that was under her feet? Earth. Snow-covered earth, ok. But earth nonetheless. And what was Kiba a specialist of? Earth Release Jutsu. Fair enough, Hinata did not have the time to simultaneously push two needles into his stomach since he simply jumped back, landing on his hands and propelling himself into the air. As his feet made contact with the ground, he bent over and slammed his fists into the snow. The power and speed at which his knuckles hit the ground sent the snow fucking cavitating. Like, it really started boiling. Was this the moment he blew over his hands in satisfaction?!

Kiba had concentrated enough energy into that movement that the ground shut up in the form of rigid stalagmites, right under Hinata's feet. His blades were bigger than hers, heh. He wasn't honestly comparing his blades to a chick's?! Why had Hana become a veterinarian instead of a psychiatrist, again? Losing equilibrium, Hinata got carried away by the vibrations of the ground before falling to the ground. Her needles flew to all sides as she hit her head hard. Dizzied, Hinata barely felt a heavy mass settling onto her hips.

"To make sure you are all ears", someone growled as she desperately tried to focus her sight.

A fist made contact with her face, snapping her head to the side. Something warm started oozing from her nose, and the flesh of her lips cracked open like a ripe fruit dropped to the ground. He had not used chakra. Kiba had not used chakra. Still, after all this time, he was going easy on her. Shino wouldn't have done the same. Maybe it was better she was facing Kiba and not him, after all.

"Don't make this a schoolyard brawl, Kiba."

For fuck's sake. Kiba's old man had put his sperm into an incubator so that Shino could be his mom, or what?! Was starting to honestly rub him in the wrong way. Big time. Ignoring his partner, he leaned into the body he was straddling. Hyūga Hinata. Blood seeped from her nose and dyed her lips crimson. She desperately tried to regain some semblance of control over her own body, her head oscillating from one side to the other. A pained moan bubbled from her throat. Kiba regretted immediately. He regretted.

And it had nothing to do with the fact he had pretty much punched her in the face. Made her nose bleed. And maybe given her a concussion. No, looking at her thin, long neck and at how her face had lost all its baby fat, made him wonder whether he should not have been more insistent. Not given up on her after the sealing. Maybe he should have kept on getting his nose broken. Before the sealing, that asshole Kō had almost punched his damn nose in. Kiba hadn't been able to smell shit for a good two weeks. He had been sure his olfactory sense had gone to hell.

Bullshit. Kiba was serving himself some bullshit again. Hinata, poor, darling martyr Hinata, had not wanted to see them. She had not cared one fucking bit about them. Had she cared she would have at least sent a message. At least sent a message after she had gotten married. Kiba would have forgiven. He would have found a way to convince himself she had been forced into stepping away from public life. He would have believed she had been forced into her bullshit union with Uchiha Sasuke. Oh, it hurt. It hurt Kiba, hearing about how the fucker treated Hinata. It ripped his heart right out of his chest, for whatever pussy reason. At the end of the day, Hinata reminded him of Hana. She had always been like a second sister. Someone his family had wholly and fully accepted, to his own astonishment.

Why had she let them do that to her?! Why had she let the Hyūga seal her, transforming her into this shaking porcelain doll?! A damn tough porcelain doll, nonetheless. 'Cause Hina was the toughest nut to crack in the whole village. Why was he thinking about nuts?! Why had she accepted to be thrown away to the pigs by marrying the Uchiha?! Why was she letting him humiliate her?! He didn't touch her. Kiba could barely sense him. His smell only lingered in her hair and on her lips, faint and uninformative.

All those whys only fucked Kiba's mood up further. She should have asked them for help. Screw that, she should have let them help her. Or at least, let them take the fall together. Like a real team.

"Look at what you have become", he murmured against her ear, "Good for nothing. Where is the fucking Hyūga that went about boring the pants off people about her dumb nindō now?! Never giving up, eh? You've given up, Hyūga."

Her jaw contracted ever so slightly as Kiba's words sunk in. How dense could he really be?! He could not understand. He would never understand. Because he was not a Hyūga. He did not know what it was having your own family making you sign papers. Papers you could not read because you were blind. Being threatened that if you didn't ask to be honorably discharged, all the Bunke that had followed you in battle would end up executed. For disobedience. Inuzuka Kiba would never know what it meant to have the lives of tens of men between his hands.

"No wonder the Uchiha doesn't want you."

At those words, Kiba's cold nose made contact with the underside of her chin, caressing it slowly, inhaling her scent.

"He doesn't even touch you. How does that feel to know that you have failed at all aspects of life?! Forsaken heiress of the Hyūga Clan. Mediocre kunoichi. Discarded wife."

Kiba chuckled cheerlessly, almost starting to cry. Hinata slowly refocused, finally able to take a good look at the cruel djinn torturing her. Torturing her with the truth. He looked so sad. Kiba looked so very sad. Abandoned. Frightened. Alone. His mouth might have been pulled into an arrogant smile, but this was not the boy Hinata had known back in the days. The loudmouth goofball that had wanted to become Hōkage. So he could instate a dog holiday, of all things. No, the man she was staring up at was ruined beyond repair. He had already lost everything. He only waited for the bailiff to come and collect the due.

Shifting uncomfortably, Hinata dragged her arm out from the heavy snow. It was lifted slowly, so that Kiba could track each of her movements. He had taught her that with dogs, one always had to pass his hand in front of their eyes so they knew where it would land. There was nothing more frightening to an animal than feeling an unexpected touch. Same went with Inuzuka Kiba. As her soft palm made contact with his tattooed cheek, he tensed all over. Hinata had always been soft. Very soft. And comforting. Not the type to press herself against others, or to curl like a vine. Left that shit to the likes of Yamanaka Ino. But her faint touches had always been soothing.

"I am s-sorry."

She really was, too. This man seated above her made her wonder. Wonder whether she should not have done things differently. Was this life?! Sacrifice one soul to save tens of them? Sure, that should have been a no-brainer, right?! Well, it wasn't. The guilt remained the same. Whether tens of souls suffer from your decision, or only one, the outcome is the same. Kiba had been right; her eyes would water up eventually. And they did. Hinata knew she could not have saved Kiba. No one could. The loss he had sustained had been too big. But she should have been present. She should have been there to see him fall and pick him up when his body hit the ground. It had been her duty as a friend. The same way protecting the lives of all the men that had charged with her during the war had been her duty as a leader.

Would it always be said that Hyūga Hinata and human Hinata would walk the world in conflict with each other?!

Violently, Kiba jerked his head away from the soft, cold touch of her fingers. She was sorry?! She was fucking sorry?! Hinata was so full of shit, honestly. Was easy to be sorry when you had a mass of muscles seated on you and ready to punch the lights out of your dumb face.

"This isn't about me", he hissed.

It was all about him. Got Shino to roll his eyes, still seated on top of his post. This was honestly ridiculous. They had to cut the crap and get to the point because it was three thirty a.m. and they didn't need to have kiddies flooding the place to train. But count on Hinata piercing the abscess and Kiba going crazy.

"It s-shouldn't have happened t-this way."

Bam.

"Should not have happened this way?!" Kiba screamed down at her.

Double bam.

And in fifteen minutes from now ANBU would show their dumb faces. Sure, Hagewashi had immunity between the walls of the village. As long as they did nothing illegal, the ANBU were not allowed to as much as look at them the wrong way. But the cocksuckers would find a way to make it look like self-defence. Or even better, they would make it sound like Kiba had tried to molest Uchiha Hinata. Just great, especially since her fucker of a husband was in the forces as well.

"Should not have happened this way, Hyūga?! How should it have happened then, for fuck's sake?! You abandoned us. You fucking threw us away. Like so much shit on the side of the road. But you know what, it was my fucking fault. My fucking fault, always trying to get passed the cocksucking guards to see you. You needed us. And yet, you didn't let us get close to you. And look at what you have become."

"I had n-no other ch–"

"Shut up! I don't want to listen to your fucking lies. Where were you when Akamaru died?! Where were you when Shino ended up in the gutter?! Where were you when Kurenai needed you?! We needed you. The only thing we ever had was each other. We didn't have highbrow traditions to keep us together. We didn't have Sannin to spoon-feed us powerful techniques. We weren't genius material. Don't you fucking remember, Hyūga?! The failure, the idiot and the weirdo, that's how they called us behind our backs. We didn't care though, because we stuck to each other. But count on Hyūga Hinata bailing when it got really tough. Hiding behind the walls of the Hyūga compound, like the selfish hime that she is."

Selfish? Hinata had not been selfish. She rarely got mad. In fact, she did not remember a moment she had been mad enough to hurt someone. Until then. This time, slowness went to hell as the base of her palm made contact with Kiba's nose, toppling him over effectively. Shōtei might have been basic, but it was efficient at times.

Pushing up, she threw herself at his body, straddling his hips the way he had hers. Good thing she was pissed, because that position was way too suggestive for meek, sweet Hinata. She was really pissed. Sending some more chakra to her fist, she punched Inuzuka Kiba. Punched him damn hard. To the point of eliciting a cracking sound from his nose.

She just fucking broke his damn nose, oy! But Hinata saw red, to the point of feeling nothing, realizing nothing. All the pent-up frustration she had been accumulating for the last three years, all the pain, the tears had exploded a dam inside of her. And it had come out in the form of a punch.

In the end, Kiba had always been Hinata's catharsis. He had screamed for her. Laughed for her. Been the lighthearted, silly, arrogant goofball she would have wanted to be herself. Just to be closer to Uzumaki Naruto.

"L-Look at me", she ordered in a high-pitched voice.

He did not turn his head, stubbornly letting the blood seep from his nose and into the white snow. Well, at the least they were quit. She had a nosebleed, so did he.

"Y-You w-wanted to l-look at me, d-didn't you?! Do it now! W-Why d-don't you look straight into m-my eyes, Inuzuka? You s-smell it, d-don't you?! You s-smell d-death all over me."

At those hiccupped words, a droplet of water fell on Kiba's cheek. Tears. Hinata's tears. She had always cried so much. And he had never known how to help her. That's where the problem had lied, right? Kiba had always wanted to help her, save her, be her knight in shining armor. He had just never known how to go about it.

"Look at me", she screamed into the wind.

He couldn't. He smelled it. Yes, he smelled it. And it broke him further. In the end, he would truly be left all alone. Akamaru. Shino. Hinata. Kiba sensed a searing quantity of chakra crash into the ground by his head. And he heard it too. Besides the crackling of the frozen earth that shot up, there was something else. The delicate, soft sound of bones breaking. Hinata had just slammed her fragile, small fist into the ground. Effectively crushing the knuckles of her right hand.

"Look at me", she whispered agonizingly, her voice thick with pain.

Kiba did turn his head this time, however. His eyes moist and glassy. Hers were scrunched shot, leaking with tears.

"What do you s-see?"

He did not answer.

"W-Would you have been able to shoulder this? To carry me a-around. Don't I look like a heavy burden to you?!"

Yes, she did. She did look like a heavy burden to carry around. Heavy with the souls of a whole people. The Hyūga. Why the fuck had Hinata let them do this to her?! She was wrecked. Her body was giving in. Kiba could not have pinpointed the exact date of her death, like with Shino. For all he knew, she could be found dead tomorrow, or live another sixty years.

But he felt the degeneration. She shook, yes. She would shake more. And more. And more. It was the seal. The eyes. Unhealthy chakra travelling through her whole head. Similar to what Shino had going on. Just that in his case, his bugs had broken through the brain-blood barrier. Something else had broken through Hinata's brain, however. The seal. Nothing could escape his nose. Every type of chakra had its own aroma. Even a fucking seal. Kiba could have buried his nose in Hinata's hair and followed the trails the shit left all over her brain. Not that he wanted to.

When wounded, Inuzuka Kiba acted like any wild animal. He attacked. At the moment, looking up at this shaking woman that he could not recognize, he had no pity. He would give her the coup de grâce. Parting his lips, he showed off his hardware. Acerated white fangs that could have broken through the skin of her neck and pulled Hinata's trachea out had Kiba only wanted.

"Are you not sick of it, Hyūga? Have you no pride? Or does it get you off to know you are not even a woman? In the end, that is the only thing you are good at, being a doormat. I just came to clean my boots, is all, Hyūga."

Her already bruised ego anesthesized the throb in Hinata's hand. Uchiha Sasuke. Wherever she was, Uchiha Sasuke was with her, wasn't he?! She carried him around like a burden. A foul smell. Hyūga Hinata might have been a heavy burden to carry around; Uchiha Sasuke was just as heavy. He had humiliated her in the eyes of the world. And Hinata would wear his rejection as a stain on her purity for the rest of her life.

Pulling her hand out of the ground, she raised it above Kiba's head. She would hurt him. She would hurt Kiba for saying the truth. She would hurt him for knowing her better than anyone. Better than her family. For being an expert at hurting her so much. Selfish. Failure. Doormat. All words he full-well knew would make her spiral back into self-hatred.

She looked down on him, with her hand in the air. His carnivorous smile was as fake as could be. Kiba wanted her to punch him so he could have a reason to hate her more. Because, deep inside of himself, he knew Hinata would not have abandoned them had she not had a good reason. But he wasn't generous, he was a selfish prick. He had wanted for her to choose them. For once. For Hinata to choose them. Instead of choosing the clan. Instead of choosing the village. Instead of choosing fucking Uzumaki Naruto. And now Uchiha Sasuke. Inuzuka Kiba had always worried he was the dependent one of the gang. Shino and Hinata had always seemed self-sufficient. Ready to leave him behind.

And she saw it. She had been blind and deaf for most of her life, hadn't she? She saw how Kiba accused her. How Kiba screamed at her without even opening his mouth. She had been nice to him. But niceness was not what Kiba had wanted. He had always treated her as family, as his second sister. He had been overbearing, he had been overprotective. It had annoyed her. But in the end, he had only always been worried for her. Kiba had only wanted for her to acknowledge him as part of her family.

"I am s-sorry", she whispered.

How many people do we end up hurting in life? It is a bargain. You hurt some to save others. It all stems from a hierarchical process. What people are more worthy to be happy than others? How do you judge that? How had she judged Naruto to be more worthy of notice than Neji? How had she decided it was better to retire into the compound because of shame rather than embrace the disgrace for the sake of those that had fought alongside her for a little less than a decade?

She didn't know. And she was sorry.

Something warm snaked around her wrist. Hinata whipped her head around immediately. Strange reflex for a Hyūga. Standing above her, his eyes hidden under a new style of sunglasses, was Shino. His hair not being fluffy anymore was the first thing she noticed. She was crazy. He looked like a gangster with his bandana. A very tall gangster clad in white, with a mask turned to the side of his head.

"Enough", he mouthed at them. "You are acting like children."

They had always been acting like children according to him. But he had never been one to scold them. Since that would have required for him to actually open his mouth and talk. Not his favorite activity. But this was going overboard. For one, Hinata had wrecked Kiba's mask. They would need to get a new one … and if it didn't smell the right way, Kiba would not want it. Supposedly ceramic had a specific smell as well. For God's sake.

Pulling at her wrist some more, Shino forced Hinata to stand up. She had wrecked her hand alright. A glance shot at her fist was enough to convince him she would have to reset the bones of the metacarpus. Would be painful. And delicate. As Kiba made a movement to push up, his partner placed his boot on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"Oy, asshole. What the fuck?"

Shino was being a dick. Which got Kiba to jump up immediately, leaving behind the pieces of his broken porcelain mask. He shot them an enraged glare. The furious scowl of a wild dog. There weren't many people that could tame him into obedience. Besides maybe Kurenai.

"I guess she is ready to listen now", Shino drawled darkly, not letting go of Hinata.

While Kiba and Shino were silently threatening each other, Hinata had all the leisure to examine her old teammate. Her Byakugan still activated unveiled strange secrets to her. Things that made her stomach lurch and her breath hitch. She could see faint pinpricks of energy travelling through Shino's skull. And she could ensure it wasn't his own chakra going wonky. Insects. His insects. Making a movement with her hand, Hinata wanted to touch her old teammate's forehead. But before her fingers made contact with the skin of his temple, another claw grabbed onto her left wrist.

Pulling her against his chest, Kiba brought his face down to hers. His nose was crooked and blood had coagulated above his upper lip. A I-missed-you gift from Hinata. Then again, her cheeks were covered in blood as well.

"I am going for sainthood, here, Hyūga. Listen up, because this is an once-in-a-lifetime type of deal."

Shino advanced towards them. Hinata could almost feel the heat radiating from his front and into her back. They had effectively blocked her path. She as stuck listening to whatever it was that they wanted to tell her. Kiba had had a point. She needed to get beaten up to listen.

"We have some missions for you. Tracking, recuperating and neutralizing. Shit we've done in the past."

Was he making fun of her?! How dared he?! Glaring at Kiba, she almost forgot how much her right hand hurt. She could very well tear it out of Shino's grasp and punch his nose in.

"I am n-not a k-kunoichi anymore."

Those words she was obliged to whisper hurt her more than any wound Kiba could have inflicted on her body. But it was the truth. It could not be changed. Hinata was not a kunoichi anymore.

"We don't need a kunoichi. Just a Hyūga."

Shino dismissed her objections as if they were insignificant worries. They did not need a kunoichi?! Wait. Using her abilities without being registered as a shinobi was … illegal.

"T-That is … illegal."

Kiba smirked patronizingly down at her. Was the bitch fucking kiddin' them?! Count on Hyūga Hinata to still be anal retentive about morals. Fuck, man. Where had morals gotten her of lately?

"You're sick of it, Hina. You're fucking sick of being caged in this shithole. You want out. Don't you remember it, the freedom? The way we ran about the place, hunting preys down. You would have been big, Hina. You know you would have. You would've become Tokubetsu without a doubt. Maybe even ANBU. And look at you now. Do you honestly think some pissy morals are worth it?!"

It all felt sleazy to Shino. They were trying to pull Hinata in in one of the most disgusting ways there were. Trampling her ego. But Kiba had gotten good at manipulating people. And their old teammate was his new prey of choice.

"What … are y-you?"

Adrenaline was cursing through her veins. And it had nothing to do with fright. Hinata was wired the wrong way. They all knew it, didn't they?! And they used it against her. She knew she could not be a kunoichi anymore. And of course, as soon as you tell Hyūga Hinata she can't be something, she has to prove you wrong.

"Hagewashi", Shino whispered against her ear.

"You know, Hina. Vultures eat all type of shit, whatever they pick up. Bacteria and other crap included. And then, they vomit all over themselves to get the poisonous bullshit out. Now, do you know what the difference between vultures and us is? We don't vomit all over ourselves."

Her eyes widened in realization. Vultures. She had heard of vultures a long while ago. When she had still been a genin. They had gone on some type of mission with Kurenai; she couldn't remember exactly what it had been. However, she recalled arriving there and having Kurenai looking around worriedly. Her words came back to her immediately.

'The vultures are coming. We need to move.'

The face Kurenai had made Hinata would never forget. Disgust and some type of hatred had been painted on her features, as if the very concept of vulture was too revolting to be dwelled upon. But Hinata had known from that moment on that they must have been some type of criminals.

"C-Criminals … Y-You-ve become–"

"Cut the fucking crap, Hyūga. You don't know anything about us. Go and ask around how illegal we are. Just be prepared to have the Kage Tower sniffing your ass up. They don't like it, when people ask too much about us, y'know."

"Mercenaries", Shino simply added.

"Legal."

She tried to wriggle her unwounded wrist out of Kiba's grip, eliciting nothing but a cold chuckle from him. Oh, she would give in. As soon as Shino had said legal, Kiba had seen her eyes lighting up like fucking Christmas. She was half-cooked, they just had to jack up the heat and she would melt like goddamn ice cream.

"I c-can't … S-Sasuke …"

"Uchiha, eh? Scared he is going to catch you? Tell me, Hina. Don't you want to take revenge for what he is doing to you? It is after all his fault, isn't it? What if I tell you that he will never doubt a shit? What if I swear on my soul?"

"How–"

"We know everything about him. Where and when he goes on missions. What shit he does. When he takes a fucking dump. How he doesn't even get it up sleeping in the same bed as you."

Hinata's blood thundered in her ears, making it almost impossible for her to follow Kiba's words. They knew about … Sasuke?!

"Come on, Hina. You, of all people, don't believe in shit like honor, nation, pride anymore. When you are dying of hunger with your mouth open, there is no place for such BS. Let the Hyūga in you roar. After all, don't you come from a race that has set Ame, Taki, Oto on fire?! Ripped them open and feasted upon their loins. We were nothing but vultures passing behind you and recuperating what recuperated could be."

Jerking her arm some more, her glare became as trenchant as steel.

"I am n-nothing like them."

Heh. What bullshit. The little girl went off marrying ANBU-stallion and thought she could wash away the blood that stained her hands?! She was honestly delusional. Her beautiful, well-groomed locks, her expensive coat and pretty little boots, all on her smelled off blood. Or at least, Kiba would have wanted it to be the case. He might have been the delusional one after all. Hinata could be dropped into a blood bath and still come out a white as a sacrificial lamb. It made Kiba want to only pervert her more. Pull her in deep.

And maybe set the score between himself and Uchiha Sasuke. They went way back. Oto. He had to admit he wouldn't mind ripping Hyūga Kō a new one for having broken his nose either. Fuck, this was the second time a cocksucking Hyūga broke his nose.

"We can pay you well, Hyūga. Very well. Tell you things no one knows."

Got her to snort. Or at least she tried to pull something like that off. She was losing the battle, she knew. Inuzuka Kiba spoke tongues of fire. Inflaming her desires. Freedom. The word reverberated through her. But she could not accept it. She could not accept it. She needed to remain in Konoha, always. Close by. So she could protect Hanabi's interests.

"You d-don't k-know anything."

"Hmm? What about how Hyūga Hiashi broke out of the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"

She gasped audibly.

"Kiba", Shino snapped.

"Shut up, Bug-man. How did that go again, Hyūga? Daddy-o was dreaming of doing some paper work and realized he couldn't read a shit. Since people can't read in a dream. That's when he understood, right? Damn, Kaguya should have done a better job with that one. It didn't take long for the Big Boss to find a chakra trail and break through it. Undoing the chakra net Kaguya had created."

As Hinata desperately tried to rip her hand out for the tenth time of the night, Kiba let go and she slammed right into Shino, who was still holding her still.

"Now, here comes the interesting part, right? Hiashi snapped out of the fucking genjutsu and could have woken up each and every Konoha shinobi had he only wanted. Would have taken a good quantity of chakra, granted. But not impossible. Funny shit, it didn't happen like that. Only the Hyūga woke up. Why, Hina? Maybe because the Hyūga were so sure Kaguya would win. And would have happily tried to bargain their way out of this one. After all, bargaining is your guys' forte, isn't it?"

How had he–

"Or maybe, tell you shit concerning yourself? Your blindness after the war?"

That– No one had known about that. The Hyūga had kept it a secret. All had been worried she would become the first blind Hyūga hime. Of course, after a good while, she had regained her eyesight. However, the Hyūga had taken advantage of that period of utter vulnerability to pull her in.

"There are other things we know. What about–"

"Kiba", Shino snarled, starting to buzz in rage.

Hinata felt the vibration of his chest through the thick fabric of her coat.

"Let me fucking speak", Kiba countered, just as pissed.

"What about your sister, Hina? That's what this is all about in the end. It is because of her you have become like this, right?"

Hinata chose that moment to start hyperventilating. They did not know anything. They. Did. Not. Know. Anything. Because if they did and informed Konoha, the Hyūga would reorganize. There had been crisis situations in the history of the clan before. And they had all resulted in restructuration. There was nothing more dangerous than restructurating. Hyūga were much more adaptable than what they were credited for.

Sure, they looked all rigid from the outside. But who knew the clan knew that traditions meant just so much to them. If the Hyūga felt threatened, they had no qualms in attacking the very fundaments of their philosophy and distorting them. Like religious fanatics. The first step would be to instate a new leadership. And it was doubtful that Hanabi would take over.

"Help us, and we will help you. We will show you the true face of the man you call husband … And if you are really good–"

Instead of finishing, Kiba grabbed onto his crooked nose. In one dry movement, without even moaning, he reset it under Hinata's horrified eyes. A cracking sound reverberated against the wooden posts.

"And if you are really good, we might have some shit for you. About Hyūga Tokuma. Kō. And Neji."

Lifting his hand and sadly looking down on her, Kiba's rage dissipated at once. She was so small. After all these years, she was still so small to him. And she shook now. Like a scared puppy. Had she only let them, they would have found a way to help her. Fuck, Kiba would have sold his own soul for her. As the tip of his forefinger made contact with her skin, a shiver travelled through his arm.

There was nothing more painful than looking at a member of your family suffering. Sneaking his other arm around her waist, he brought her flush against him. His hug was desperate, stifling, needy. Kiba's chin settled on the top of her. Shino raised her wounded hand, softly prying her fingers open. Hinata whimpered at the pain. The physical pain wasn't the most tormenting one.

"At the count of three", Shino informed.

"One."

Hanabi.

"Two."

Tokuma.

"Three."

Kō.

As the last number dropped, Shino violently snapped Hinata's bones back into place. Kiba tightened his hold on her as she convulsed from pain, screaming against his chest. Small crystalline snowflakes fell all around them, enlightened by the first rays of sun. It would be a new day.

"You overdid it, Inuzuka", the Aburame hissed under his breath, eliciting nothing but a sleepy smile from his partner.

"Don't be scared, Hina. We will never hurt you. We will not let them hurt you."

Never hurt her?! Nah, they would just punch her face in from time to time. Why did she have the impression she just got swindled into participating in a damn shady affair?! But then, they had said all the right things. In the end, there was no one that knew her better than Kiba and Shino.