I will be honest; any and all updates will be sporadic at best. I can't guarantee speedy chapter updates, but I haven't forgotten about it. Thank you to everyone still reading.
As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.
Naomi ran from the emergency shelter as soon as the last of the civilians they'd found were stowed safely behind a strong layer of guards to protect from any enemy who found their way or followed them there. A Hyuuga didn't doubt her vision, but it was hard to believe her own eyes as she searched for those in need of aid, her heart screaming the longer she went without seeing those she loved along the way. To think Suna was foolish enough to attack them. Surely this would mean war again, and her children were somewhere in this mess. They were skilled, but neither had witnessed a battle of this scale before. Her gaze drifted to the barrier erected on the far side of the village like a giant infection eating away at their heart. She'd wished they never would see it.
Naomi jumped into the streets to help a shinobi about to be flanked on the corner and silently cursed herself for agreeing to be on duty today. She could have been at the stadium with her family as they'd planned, but with Neji no longer a participant she didn't balk when they asked her to fill in the patrols, which were thinned by the extra security needed at the exam. She thought the time away would give her chance to figure out what to say to Hinata. She'd joined Hizashi that morning at the stadium to see her, but Hinata remained surrounded by the safety of her teammates, offering them only a smile and a wave. When they saw the hesitation in her eyes, she and Hizashi agreed to leave her be until after the exam ended. It was only a few more hours, and Hinata seemed so at ease with Kiba and Shino they couldn't bring themselves to ruin it when she still needed to cheer for her teammate. Now a sick feeling lodged itself into her gut that made Naomi wish she'd just hugged Hinata and told her she was still her daughter. The sealing seemed so unimportant in the face of Suna's invasion.
The sound of howling drew Naomi west. Above her she saw familiar faces hurrying along the rooftop. "Tsume! Hana!"
The group of humans and dogs slowed enough for Naomi to catch up, each of them still scanning the area for those who needed help pushing Suna back.
"Have you seen the kids?" she asked.
"Last I heard they were at the stadium," Tsume answered, her usual crassness subdued by necessity. "Weren't you there?"
Naomi shook her head. "Only before the fights started. I was filling in for the patrols. We just finished getting the civilians to safety."
"Good, now we can go all out," Tsume said with a dark smile. "And don't worry about the runt; Kiba will watch out for her."
Hana and Tsume leapt down into the streets and left Naomi with little comfort. Kiba was a good kid, but it wouldn't be as if they were working together like normal. Hinata still wasn't fully recovered from her injury.
Jumping across the street, Naomi headed for the compound. She was required to search for any civilians that they might have missed, but she that didn't mean she couldn't take a route that might ease her mind and let her focus without distraction. Surely Hizashi would have taken Hinata back to the compound to keep her safe.
There were no civilians on the way to the compound, thankfully, though she had to detour several times to come to the aid of those fighting. As much as she hated it, the village had to come before her maternal worries; the loss of the village would ensure that none of them would be safe.
"Hizashi-sama's inside!" A voice called before she even landed on the street below. Isamu and Osamu were the only Hyuugas she could see, and both were in careful engagement with four enemy shinobi. Neither physically acknowledged her presence—too busy evading oncoming attacks with frightening ease—but one was definitely the source of the voice. "Don't worry about us. We'll handle this."
Inside the compound far more were fighting, but not as many as they had. So many must have been in the village when the attack began. The wall separating the compound from the rest of the village was badly damaged and the main house seemed worse for wear, but there were enough broken enemy bodies to show who was in control of the area.
She finally found Hizashi with a couple other Hyuugas near the meeting hall between the main and branch houses, a dozen or so bodies on the ground around them as they picked off the last few nearby.
"Hizashi! Are Hinata and Neji here? Are they safe?"
Hizashi left the last enemy to the others and quickly hurried to his wife. For just a moment, he took her hand and she could see his body relax slightly as they touched. "Neji and his team are with Hinata and Kiba back at the stadium. There was a mass genjutsu there—don't worry, they weren't caught in it—and they stayed behind to watch over the civilians."
"You left them?!" she cried with more accusation than she meant.
"I had to get here and make sure the clan was safe. They wanted to help and there were fewer enemies at the stadium since most of the people there were unconscious. They're strong; they'll be okay together."
Naomi looked away, her mind racing with renewed worry.
"She knows," Hizashi said, reading the truth in her fear. "She's always known you love her. When this is over, you can tell her again."
Taking a deep breath to restore her calm, Naomi nodded. They had a job to do. She knew that, and as long as she was a shinobi of Konoha, she would do it. "I have to finish searching for any more civilians."
"Good luck. Once we've secured the compound, we'll spread into the village."
It was Naomi's turn to take his hand. "Be safe."
She'd hoped to make a run by the stadium during her search, but the outskirts of the village held pockets of civilians trapped by the initial invasion force. Each time she got one back to the safe zones, she'd find another on the way. Time passed in a blur of frightened people and running shinobi. Naomi didn't know how long she'd been out, but by the time she made it to the stadium, Konoha was pushing the invaders out more than simply defending.
There were only a couple scattered shinobi defending the stadium, so it didn't take long for her to find a familiar face standing sentry at the top of the stands. She just wished it was one of her children instead.
"Tenten, where are the others?"
The young girl threw a handful of shuriken, which all found their mark in the legs of several fleeing Suna nin. "The people started waking up. Neji's escorting them to the safe zone. Lee woke up a bit ago and is keeping anyone else who does down below until Neji gets back."
A part of her felt the kind of relief only a parent—a mother who carried a child inside her—could feel knowing her child was safe. But she couldn't fully relax. Born from her or not, she had another child to worry about. "What about Hinata and Kiba? Hizashi said they were with you."
Tenten kept her eyes on the area around them while they talked, projectiles flying every few moments. "We lost track of them a while ago. They went to find Shino soon after the attack started. By the time Neji went to check on them, they were all gone. Wherever they went, the three of them must be together."
Was fate conspiring to keep Naomi from finding Hinata? Was this some kind of punishment for not protecting her from Hyobe? For wondering if the sealing would change them, instead of knowing—as she did at that moment—that the sealing could never matter as much as her daughter.
The sound of Lee calling up with news of more awake forced Naomi back to the present and her duty. She thanked Tenten and went to collect the newly wakened people in need of help. It was what she had to do. It was all she could do.
For as endless as the battle seemed, it ended strangely quickly. Jiraiya's summons was hard to miss, and anyone, Konoha, Suna, or Oto, knew that toad meant one of the legendary Sannin was fighting. The tide of the battle turned with the fall of the snakes, and the nightmare left the village hollow, an emptiness to be filled with grief as the bodies became names and the names became loved ones never to come home. And still Naomi found no trace of Hinata, Kiba, or Shino.
The hospitals were overwhelmed and no one was certain who was where. Lists were being made as they collected the dead together. Naomi deposited the body she carried next to the ever growing line going down the street and ran to the list maker, who shook his head as he had each time she returned. For a moment she felt relief, Hinata wasn't on the list yet, but then the terror of not knowing would return and make going back to the collection so much harder.
She wanted to go and search herself, but this was the price she paid for returning to duty; she did not have the luxury to choose the clan over the village. Hizashi and Hyobe promised to find Hinata, but in truth neither knew where to look, and the longer Naomi went without word, the more difficult it became to keep the blame from her heart. Why did Hizashi let her out of his sight? Why did Neji? Why did she not just tell them no when they asked her to work?
. . . why didn't she talk to Hinata when she had the chance?
Hyuugas were assigned to search the area of and around the compound. It made finding friends lost more painful, but it also increased the chances that the bodies would be quickly identified. So many dead, though. The clan would feel much smaller after today. The village uncertain. Knowing Sandaime rested among the rows of dead left them all frightened and kept Naomi focused on her task. It was vital now more than ever that everyone continue to do their duty. The village had to stand together, as hard as that was to do.
"Mom!" Neji called from the rooftop as she searched the now desolate streets. "Hinata's team is back. She's okay."
Naomi was at Neji's side seconds later, the need to confirm it with her own eyes boiling within her. Not even her son's affirmation was enough to quell the worry. "Show me."
Neji led her north, following the road that led from the compound to the edge of the village. Not many were in the street below, long since cleaned of the bulk of the battle, but soon enough a small group grew larger in the distance. Four people, three significantly shorter than the fourth. Naomi couldn't wait to get close; she activated byakugan and found—finally—who she'd been searching for all day. Hinata was alive.
Hinata stood sandwiched between Shino and Kiba, all three looking battered and ready for a long sleep. The fourth wasn't Hizashi, but Shibi, who remained as impassive to read as ever. Hinata was easier. Her body showed no attempts at deception, and Naomi wasn't sure she'd have the energy for it if she wanted to try. She stumbled every few steps, with her teammates compensating on either side, and her eyes struggled to stay open. Every once in a while she scratched at small wounds on her arms, only to have Shino push her hands down. The boys weren't much better, but they seemed to have more command of themselves.
Once close enough, Naomi leapt down and ran to the girl she'd been searching for all day. "Hinata, thank god you're all right."
"I'm great," Hinata answered in a slur of words. "We won."
"And that puppet-bastard didn't go down easy," Kiba added in well-deserved puffery.
Hinata started scratching at her arms again, so Naomi turned her arm over between her hands. A sticky substance covered fresh cuts below her elbows.
"Hinata suffered minor poisoning," Shibi explained. "She created a balm to slow its spread. My kikaichuu have removed the remaining poison." At his words, a number of small bugs crawled out from beneath the edges of the cut and flew back to their master.
"So many bugs," Kiba said with a shudder.
As if he wasn't interrupted, Shibi continued. "Some damage will need to be healed, but the poison should be clear of her system."
"Thank you. Thank you for finding her."
"They are a strong team." Shibi's head lowered, turning to each child. "You should trust them."
Naomi stared up at the Aburame. Everyone had trusted Hinata today. Hizashi knew she'd be safe with Neji. Neji knew her team would take care of each other. Hinata had trusted her teammates without question. Naomi was the only one who couldn't see success. Perhaps it was a mother's worry (though Tsume trusted Kiba with ease). Perhaps it was the memory of a child who couldn't take care of herself. Perhaps it was her own guilt blinding her to how much this child had grown. But she hadn't trusted this young woman in front of her to be everything Naomi knew she could be.
"Thank you," she repeated, and Shibi urged the two boys to move again.
"Hey," Kiba balked, "I can get home by myself now."
When Shibi continued on, Shino explained, "He wants your mother to know she owes him."
Shibi neither confirmed nor denied the statement, but merely raised a hand to cough.
Once they were far enough to give the three Hyuugas an illusion of privacy, Naomi knelt down and pulled Hinata into a tight hug that she didn't want to release. All the day's fears spilled out of her in one winded confession. "I am sorry, Hinata, for so very much. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you this morning. I should have told you right when I saw you how much I love you. How much I will always love—"
"It's okay." Hinata's head lolled to rest against Naomi's. "I love you, too, Mom."
Soft even breath followed, signaling Hinata's exhausted slumber in her aunt's arms. Neji stood nearby, his eyes wide and searching the area to make sure no one else heard the slip that never would have happened if she'd been fully awake, while tears fell freely down Naomi's face. In the midst of the village's grief, she smiled.
Hizashi was right. Hinata always knew she was their daughter.