Tsunade sat inside the Akimichi house waiting for the young woman to enter the living room. Choji and Shikamaru walked in just as Hotaru strolled languidly down the hall. If the two jonin had not known otherwise, she would have looked as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Lady Tsunade." Hotaru said. She walked past the friends and looked to the Hokage. Shikamaru and Choji were about to walk in when the ANBU stopped them. "It's okay. They can be here." Tsunade looked to the guard. He nodded his head and let to two young men pass. Choza guided his niece to the chair opposite Tsunade. The young woman sat down with some difficulty, as if her joints were locking up from her lack of movement.

"After learning of your… friend, Hajime, last week I sent word to the Mizukage, asking for any information concerning him and his disappearance from the Mist." Tsunade handed the girl the documents. "Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of information on him, but what they did have -"

"What the hell is this?" Hotaru asked, looking up from the papers in her hand. She held up an entry from one of Kirikagure's old bingo books. On the sheet were pictures of Hajime when he had been about 14 years old.

"His real name is Iwamoto Tsuyoshi and was an S-rank missing nin who left the Mist ten years ago… After killing his direct superior and four of his comrades. No one knows why he went on a killing spree. Two years after he went rogue, a Mist Hunter Nin found him fleeing from Water Country into Fire. The nin was able to get word back to Mist that he had been spotted in the company of Miyoshi Yoshiro, one of Water Country's mob kingpins. She had an abundance of information blatantly stating that, together, they were running multiple gambling rings. But Kirigakure never got another report from her, and her body was never found - I suspect she was taken hostage in much the same way you were."

Hotaru looked at the picture of Hajime's bingo book entry, trying to listen to what the Hokage was saying. Her breath hitched in her throat, letting out an involuntary sigh. Slowly, she began pilfering through the papers she held, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

This could not be. Hajime was not a S-rank criminal, he was not Yoshiro's lackey. He was her protector and friend. He cared for her. He died for her.

"The man I knew would have never done something like this."

"Hotaru, he kept you in a dungeon for almost half of your life -"

"No! Boss kept me. Hajime helped me. He understood everything that I had to do. He was not Iwamoto Tsuyohsi! He was Hajime!"

"Tanaka Hajime was one of the men that Tsuyoshi murdered." Tsunade spoke as she grabbed a photograph from the mess Hotaru had made. The two men could have been brothers except for Tanaka's bright purple eyes. "From what I can tell, this Hajime was Tsuyoshi's best friend. The man you knew may not have acted like the man in the bingo book, but Hotaru, the Hajime you knew was … He was a fairy tale, created to lull you into a comfortable relationship and keep you from rebelling."

"No!" Hotaru spat as she threw the documents from her lap. Papers fluttered about the room. "The man I knew died for me. Whoever that man was, was not Hajime."

The young woman stood and began walking out of the room.

"You told me that Hajime was the one who pulled you out of the river the night you disappeared?"

"So?"

"If he had been bound to the complex in the same manner as you had, how was he so far away from the arena that night? If the seal that kept you prisoner for seven years was as strong as you believed, how could anyone be at least a two day's journey away? So, was he really sealed and bound there, or was it all an illusion to keep you immobilized? Didn't you ever feel like the others were wary of you not because of your ability to survive, but because of who you were associated with?"

The nickname she had been given - 'Boss' Whore' - suddenly burst into her mind. She had always assumed that people called her that because she had her own quarters. But in truth, the rumors didn't start until after she had been discovered sneaking into Hajime's room because of a nightmare. If Hajime had been another fighter, the others would have ignored it. Plenty of them had paired off, seeking one last carnal refuge before a fight. But, if Hajime was this Tsuyoshi, and he was Yoshiro's second in command…

Hotaru stood quietly contemplating what Tsunade had just asked. Her knuckles cracked as she clenched her fists. The young woman said nothing as she left the room. Everyone watched her as the ANBU followed. When they heard the door slam, all eyes turned to the Hokage. She quietly dismissed herself, hoping that the Akimichis would be able to handle whatever Hotaru's reaction would be. Choji was about to speak when the sound of glass shattering pulled them all to their feet.

Hotaru was shrieking as she threw things about her room. Loud crashes interrupted her screams as more and more items were catapulted at her walls. The woman would stop wailing long enough to grab hold of something to be chucked and broken. The four people ran to the back of the house where they found the ANBU desperately trying to break down the door.

"She's managed to block it somehow." He yelled above the screaming girl. Something hit the door and shattered.

"Stand back." Choza hollered over the girl's screaming. He was going to use the partial expansion technique when all noise inside the room stopped. Yamato pushed on the door, which now opened with ease. Choji dashed into the room to find Hotaru collapsed on the floor. She was surrounded by the shattered remains of everything she owned, and was gasping for breath.

He walked lightly, trying not to cut himself on a shard of glass. The Akimichi male gently pulled his adoptive sister to her feet. As soon as she was upright, she violently pushed the boy away.

"Don't touch me!" She shrieked as the palms of her hands connected with Choji's chest. The cousin desperately tried to grab hold of her flailing wrists, but doing so only made her angrier. Hotaru was about to punch him square in the nose, when her hand stopped mid-throw. A black shadow snaked around her body, forcing her to become immobile.

Hotaru growled as her entire body shook with fury. She was pushing back against the shadow bind, slowly forcing it to retreat. The girl was running on pure adrenaline and strength. Shikamaru wouldn't be able to hold her much longer. He had just about lost control of the girl when four wooden pillars appeared and wrapped themselves around Hotaru's arms and legs. Shikamaru released the shadow as she desperately fought against the wooden restraints. The ANBU stepped forward, pulling a syringe out of one of his pockets. He dosed the girl with a mild tranquilizer. She fell limp against the wood almost immediately. Yamato released the restraints, catching the girl before she fell to the ground. He gently sat Hotaru on her bed before turning to face the concerned Akimichis.

"If you would like, I can confine her to her bed." He said monotonously. Choza shook his head 'no' with some reluctance.

"We'll see how she is when she wakes up." The clan head replied.

"A report should be made with the Hokage. As her only guard on duty, I cannot leave -"

"I will talk with Lady Tsunade." Mrs. Akimichi offered. She sadly walked away from the grief-stricken bedroom. Choza followed her to the front of the estate.

Without a word, Choji bent down to begin picking up the pieces of Hotaru's shattered room. Shikamaru joined him. Quietly, the Nara boy asked his friend, "are you okay?"

"She tried to hit me…" Choji muttered quietly, looking over to the tranquilized girl. "Lady Tsunade should have never come here. She should have just left Hotaru's memory of Hajime alone."

"Would you have really wanted her to, Choji?"

"Yes! Hotaru had one good thing happen in her life, and it was Hajime. She deserved what little happiness she felt with him. She told us he was everything to her, and now Tsunade has destroyed that." Angry with the Hokage, Choji threw the rubble he had been collecting into the trash.

"If he really was using Hotaru, she deserved to know -"

"Shut up!" Choji snapped at his best friend. "If you cared about her as much as you claim to - if the Shikamaru that was so heartbroken over loosing her was listening - you would want her to be able to keep what made her happy. Even if it meant lying to her."

Shikamaru stood up as he threw away the broken pieces of Hotaru's life. "Man, you're so troublesome," was all he muttered as he left the Akimichi estate. How dare Choji try to use his own emotions against him. How dare that stupid Akimichi think that he didn't care for Hotaru because he would rather tell her the truth.

'This is what happens when you become invested in someone!' Shikamaru screamed inside his head. 'This is why relationships are too troublesome to be worthwhile. They are nothing more than greedy grabs at lies and false hopes. All people want is to manipulate you and twist your own feelings against you. She's not worth all this trouble. She's not worth all of the anger and worry and doubt. She's just some insane, violent child who is beyond anyone's help. Choji was being the selfish one; rather keeping her in a false sense of happiness than telling her the truth. The truth was she was being used by a criminal and a manipulative bastard. He didn't love her and want to protect her. All he cared about was keeping Hotaru complacent and making money off of her. Someone like him didn't care about her. He might have gotten to be with her, but he didn't know what it meant to really hold her. He didn't know what it was like to be in love with her … Dammit! Why is she so troublesome!?'