Sakura was reading a book in her room when a chameleon appeared on her window sill with a message in handwriting she'd never seen before.

It's only right for you to know that the way your diamond shines is in the hands of the leaves that gather.

::

"Sasuke, we've been back for a week and you still haven't gone to see your family."

A scowl.

"Hey, don't give me that. You need to go back at some point."

On their first off day back, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura decided to walk one of Konoha's many park trails and spend their sunny morning talking at one of the picnic tables that lined the path. Naruto sprawled himself across the table top, his casual black shirt riding up halfway with his cargo pants filled with all kinds of small snacks. Sasuke had on a purple tank top (too reminiscent of Orochimaru's coloring for Sakura's liking) and plain black joggers as he idly picked out some hard candies from Naruto's pockets.

"How was your first week at work, Sakura?" he asked. She sighed as she leaned back against the tree by the table.

"The old man's been running me ragged ever since I got promoted. You know those errands he and Genma had me do before? Now it's official and Anko jumped in on the fun. Paperwork sucks."

Upon their return to Konoha and delivering the news to Dan, she was granted her flak jacket and an official position in T&I. There, she worked on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays filing paperwork and being assistant to her three sensei.

"But enough about me," she said. "This is about you and the fact that you need to go home."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes.

"Then what? I attacked a clan member before leaving the exams and came back a genin. I'm a main house member and all I have to show for it is being a disappointment. Tou-sama hates failure, and I know that's all I am to him."

He unwrapped one of the hard candies and popped it into his mouth. He didn't appear too bothered by the fact and was more resigned than anything, like he'd been sitting on such a depressing thought for quite a long while.

Naruto sat up.

"Wait. Hold on- is... is that what you really think?" he questioned worriedly. Sakura scooted closer to her friend and narrowed her eyes in thought. Sasuke shrugged and reached for another candy.

"Clans work a certain way, especially main houses. If the eldest heir is more than enough, the younger ones don't matter. Uchiha Itachi is my brother," he stressed. "He became ANBU Captain at thirteen and made chuunin his first try at my age. I failed and he passed with flying colors."

Naruto sputtered incredulously.

"Bu-But you're still his son!"

"His second son. He never cared before."

Sasuke glanced towards the grass.

"He never cared until the mangekyou. Then they all started breathing down my neck because of it."

A short breeze flitted through the air.

"I don't like being at home," he muttered quietly. "When I'm there, I feel like I can't breathe."

Naruto looked torn between trying to comfort him and holding his tongue because he didn't quite know what to say about it. He never had problems that involved family like that before. First he had no one, then he had Sakura and Sasuke, then he was able to make his group of loved ones even bigger with the addition of Iruka and Mari.

The only family he'd even known loved him unconditionally.

He didn't know what it was like to be a prisoner in his own home.

Sakura, on the other hand, observed her friend with a scrutinizing eye. She imagined that if Sasuke's family never died, he'd be happier in the life he would be living. But there was still that familiar bitterness of low self-worth. Not as much as before, but it was there.

Bubbling. Culminating.

She didn't want him to become what he was before.

"Are you willing to try, at least?"

Sasuke looked at her.

"Try what?"

"To show your father that he's wrong," she said. "Yeah, you're his second son and you might not have the achievements your brother has, but that's not a bad thing. You're not him and Fugaku-sama might not realize that now, but he will. When he sees that you're your own person who can make his own decisions and progress at his own pace, than that's good, right? You have to go home and try, though."

Naruto popped in excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah! And I mean, it's okay if you don't wanna stay at your place everyday if, uh, you feel... strangled... again, you can stay with me or Sakura-chan 'cause we think sleepovers are cool!" he exclaimed. "So just-just try to talk to them, okay? We don't want to see you so sad."

Sasuke stared at the hopeful, supporting looks the two were giving him and felt a warm feeling flowing through his chest. He nodded.

"Okay."

::

Hinata knew she wasn't someone overly exceptional. She wasn't the strongest Hyuuga, she was very shy and soft-spoken, and she had a stuttering problem she couldn't fix no matter how much she tried. Because of such things most people thought were her 'personality flaws', she was widely left to be without making a single friend.

Until her.

When she saw her on the first day of school, she was floored. The girl had a head held high above squared shoulders and stood to the left of the boy who everyone called a monster: Uzumaki Naruto. He always looked so miserable and lonely when she saw him, but he was completely content as he dragged his two companions- the other an Uchiha- to an empty row.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! Sasuke!"

So Sakura was her name. It was pretty.

The Hyuuga had quietly watched from the back, half curiously half shyly, as they took their seats and started conversing among themselves and another chubby boy who sat in the row behind them. She squeaked when the pink haired girl turned to meet her gaze and gave a genuine smile.

Hinata was sure that was the moment she found out how it was to really like someone in a non-familial sense.

Years passed and she saw that Sakura was so much more than kind and beautiful. She was strong enough to defend her friend against their teacher's prejudice, skilled enough to be the top of the class both physically and academically, and wise enough to know right from wrong no matter what anyone told her.

Haruno Sakura was everything she wasn't, and for a short time, she was envious of that fact.

How could someone be so perfect? No matter what Hinata did, she couldn't stop being the weird, shy kid who couldn't speak a coherent sentence without staring at the ground and twiddling her fingers. She was so sure that with the way she was, and how much of a disappointment she was proving herself to be, she was never going to be like Sakura.

But when she started hanging out with the prodigy more and more, she began to realize something.

Sakura was an amazing person, but Hinata didn't want to be like her.

She-

"Hinata!" Hiashi snapped. The eleven year old girl was snapped from her daydream and dragged back to the scene of the open field within the main house in the Hyuuga Estate. "Repeat the series!"

Series... oh.

She slid her feet in position to begin the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms maneuver. Her father had been trying to teach her the technique all morning to no avail. She would always get to sixteen hits before her formation broke or she aimed her hands at the wrong angle, and her father would stop her mid-strike to have her perform it from the very beginning.

This time was no different.

At the fifteenth hit, left foot skid just a centimeter to the right and she was stopped. Hiashi regarded her with heavy displeasure before walking back into the house. As the man retreated to leave his eldest alone to rethink her incapability, Hinata ducked her head and left the estate once he disappeared from sight.

She knew it was hard for her to pick up some concepts as her family expected her to. She was the heiress to a prestigious noble clan that was to act as the leader the branch family looked up to in fear and respect.

And she couldn't even learn a simple technique in one day.

Hinata hurried down a familiar path to the other side of the village. She couldn't keep this up, failing over and over against just to eventually shove her title and responsibility onto her little sister's shoulders.

How could she possibly think of doing such a thing to Hanabi? In order to keep her from falling into the deep-set grip of the Hyuuga, she had to become stronger.

So her feet carried her to the find the one person who could possibly help her to be better.

And that person was currently working at the T&I building.

::

"S-Sakura-san, can I, u-um, c-can I please speak with y-you?" Hinata stammered. Sakura looked up from marking and editing public documents. She wore the typical gray uniform of those who worked for T&I, but had her gray button-up open to reveal a red tank top and sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Out of standard, but begrudgingly allowed.

"Sure," she replied easily. "I can take my break once I'm done submitting these. Can you wait in the old man's office until I get back?"

The Hyuuga nodded meekly and blushed as Sakura beamed and walked away. The chuunin wandered next door to the Cryptanalysis building, a thoughtful expression on her face. It was an odd encounter for Hinata to come with a request during one of her workdays. All her friends knew when she didn't have much time to spare and understood her current restraints and made their visits scarce unless they had an emergency.

Hinata, the shy little thing she was, was the last person she expected to drop by unannounced.

Interesting. And she had a pretty good idea of what it was about.

But Sakura put that thought aside for only a moment as she mulled over the most recent letters Sasori sent through Yori and new additions from Hidan received from his less subtle alligator summons.

Everything about Nagato turned up blank or missing. He doesn't want to be found and I must say, he's doing a damn fine job of it. He's been back for how long? Probably more than ten years? He's got the upper hand.

~Marionette

Being what I am has been more of a cover than anything. I must be a fantastic actor for these damn idiots not to realize what I'm really capable of. Fucking morons. Anyway, I've gotten to comb through a lot of the different countries after I came back.

I'm real fucking skeptical that he's on the mainland. There's too much attention for that.

Hidan didn't sign with an alias or initial like she and Sasori had done, but with the symbol that marked his old faith. Obscure and if ever traced, it wouldn't be linked to him or his current affiliation.

Smart.

But of course all their leads would be dead ends. Nagato too was smart and in possession of one of the most powerful doujutsu known to shinobi. The three of them against him alone might be enough of a force to make him stand down, but if he had access to his paths...

Sakura sighed and left to where she was positive Hinata was still patiently waiting for her. The problem was quickly escalating into something that should be far out of her reach.

She was never meant to hold her friend's futures in her hands.

It was never supposed to be her to be their hero. She wasn't made for that.

Upon returning to Ibiki's office, Hinata (who sat shyly on the couch) shot to her feet and approached Sakura with a nervous smile.

"U-Um, Sakura-s-san? About m-my question..."

Sakura nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"What's up, Hinata?"

She jumped a bit when the heiress suddenly dropped her torso to be parallel to the ground and pleaded in a strong voice.

"Please, train me!"

::

Shino didn't mind when he was sought out for in the middle of his weekly insect scouting. Sakura had come up to him about an hour ago with a strange request-one he had to consider for a few minutes before delivering a suitable answer.

"Are there any bugs you don't mind losing?"

...

"Mosquitoes. Although their larvae act as filter feeders and are food for some aquatic species, they carry deadly diseases and aren't a prime choosing for the Aburame to control," he said. He gave her an odd look through his dark lenses. "Why? Are you going to conduct an experiment that may lead to their untimely deaths?"

Sakura grinned.

"Something like that, but's it's for Hinata. Want to help out?"

He already summonsed his tracer colony and spanned them out in all directions.

"Hm."

An hour later, Shino, Sakura, and Hinata gathered at a training ground close to a shallow river. The latter stood ankle-deep in the water with the others waiting and watching from the bank, each holding a jar of buzzing black masses.

"I know you haven't learned how to walk on water yet, but this should be fine. Hiashi-sama's been teaching you some clan techniques or something like that, I'm guessing," Sakura said. Are you familiar with the Mizu Hari?"

The Mizu Hari, or water needle, was a move able to be used with the chakra control granted by the gentle fist style, therefore only mostly accessible by the Hyuuga. When in or on water, the user's concentrated chakra created small vortexes that launched senbon-like blasts towards targets. If Sakura remembered correctly, the old Naruto told her a thirteen year old Hinata was capable of it.

An eleven year old Hinata should only have some trouble.

She nodded.

"Y-Yes, I've seen many cl-clan members perform th-the Mizu Hari," she replied. It took a few seconds, but her face eventually paled when she realized what was being asked of her. "Wa-Wa-Wait-!

Shino cut her off.

"I will release five mosquitoes at a time and you'll try to attack them using the Mizu Hari. I assure you, the ones that were infected have been eradicated," he promised. Sakura smiled as Hinata grew even more horrified.

"Don't worry, if any of them get too close I won't let them touch you. And I know you can do it."

The heiress sincerely doubted that, but activated her byakugan anyways. She wouldn't let them down too.

True, Sakura was an amazing person, but Hinata didn't want to be like her.

She wanted to be strong enough to stand beside her.

"Y-Yes!"

::

Dinner was a silent affair at the main Uchiha household. A handful of days passed since Sasuke finally returned home and Mikoto welcomed him back with tears and open arms. But even then, neither his father or brother had very much to say to him.

And, they'd created a routine around the aching gap of their strained relationship. Sasuke would wake up earlier than everyone else, make himself something to eat, then leave the house just as his mother came down the stairs to make breakfast. He would be absent until dinner where Sasuke wouldn't utter one word before retiring to his room for him to repeat the process the very next day.

Until one seemingly unfortunate night when Fugaku decided enough was enough.

"Sasuke."

The boy set down his chopsticks and brought his tea cup close to his lips. He blew the steam.

"Tou-sama," he returned coolly. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Mikoto and Itachi exchanged uncomfortable glances. Fugaku frowned. His youngest had never shown such level-headedness and courage towards him before.

"Prior to your... disappearance, it came to my attention that you attacked one of our own. I've already heard what happened from those who witnessed and I understand your cousins were the ones in the wrong. I would like to hear your side," he demanded firmly. Sasuke was quiet for a beat, then set his cup back down onto the table's wooden surface.

"I don't know what you want me to say. First they started treating people like objects, then they publicly insulted someone because they thought they were different," the boy explained. "I told the stranger what I honestly thought- that they looked nice and they should ignore the things my cousins said."

He turned his head.

"One of them justified their actions by saying the stranger was a faggot who didn't need decency."

The vile word rolled off his tongue like a mouthful of dirt and kerosene. Mikoto covered her mouth in surprise.

"Then you punched him?" she ventured. He nodded.

"I couldn't control my anger and I'm sorry for that," Sasuke said. "But I won't apologize to them for what I did because I don't regret my actions. I'd do it again if I had to."

Itachi looked down at his half eaten meal. He didn't particularly agree with Sasuke's rather violent course of discipline, but he had to admit his brother was more mature than he thought. Standing up for what he believed in, having an open-mind, and going against family for the sake of doing what he thought was right.

... When did Sasuke have the chance to grow up when he wasn't looking?

Fugaku narrowed his eyes.

"And who taught you to think this way?" he questioned. A flash of discomfort crossed Sasuke's face as he picked up his chopsticks and stared into his rice.

"I'm my own person," he replied quietly. "I can think for myself."

The conversation quickly fell apart after that, an eleven year old's words cutting longer and deeper than they prepared themselves for. This was a boy who prematurely activated a path towards and Uchiha's most feared hatred, but only used it to benefit others, never just himself.

And they all thought he was just a kid who didn't know what it really meat to be a shinobi.

Dinner continued, just as silent as when it began, but with a new light cast upon the boy they never regarded as highly as his brother.

::

Kakashi eyed the line up on his training field with an unimpressed raised brow. Naruto, present. Sasuke, present. Sakura, unfortunately present. And a pearly-eyed girl he never met before but was familiar-looking enough to know that she had to be one of Hyuuga Hiashi's daughters.

He stared at her.

"Who are you?"

"Hy-Hyuuga Hinata, s-sir."

"Why are you here?"

She shifted from foot to foot and twiddled her fingers.

"I, u-um, Sa-Sakura-san..."

He blinked, impassive and wholly unamused. Or course it had something to do with Sakura. Everything that intentionally threw him off course or aimed to make a mockery of him more than likely had to do with her. Kakashi restrained a sigh and turned towards the bane of his existence.

"You're going to hijack my training session again, aren't you?"

Sakura grinned.

"Aw, look at you, Kakashi! Finally learning!" she exclaimed. She stepped in front of her teacher and covered him as much as her smaller self could to regard her team and new 'student'. "I'm taking over for today. Naruto!"

He straightened at the call and listened attentively.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"Work on your chakra control. You know how you stand on water, make your clones, then fall in because you can't keep a constant flow? Practice that until you can keep steady on the surface," she ordered. Naruto saluted and jumped the bridge to land on top of the river as Sakura faced the remaining two.

"Sasuke, you'll spar Hinata. Taijutsu only, gentle fist allowed, doujutsu required. Don't hold back and if the fight is too overwhelming, don't feel ashamed to yield and take breaks."

Both the genin of noble clans nodded and drifted off to the far edge of the grounds so that any damage they'd make wouldn't reach Naruto, Kakashi, or Sakura. At their departure, the certified jounin instructor crossed his arms and stared after the newcomer.

"That girl... isn't she one of your friends from the Academy? Who should still be in class?" he questioned. Sakura waved her hand dismissively.

"I told Iruka-sensei why she wouldn't be in today and to not tell any of the Hyuuga about it," she shrugged. "She came by during my shift the other day and asked me to train her. I've roped Shino to help with her accuracy and Sasuke agreed to be her sparring partner every now and again. A friendly competition between the sharingan and the byakugan should be healthy, right?"

Kakashi grunted. Using his training time to help a friend crawled across his nerves, but that sort of irritation was starting to become annoyingly normal for him. Her tyranny didn't burrow under his skin anymore and her cheeky remarks unwittingly tugged the edge of his mouth.

Not to mention Naruto's boisterousness and Sasuke's snark was starting to amuse him.

God, he hated them. He hated them so much.

"Not that I'm saying you shouldn't go to lengths to help her," he started. "But she has a high standing on the shinobi social hierarchy. There's never a shortage of people that can help her."

They stayed lounging on that red bridge, the sun on their skin and the sounds of splashing water and a symphony of battle cries encasing their ears. Sakura wondered that if it had been like this before- if they all were trying to help more- her old life wouldn't have turned out the way it did.

"...kura."

She tipped her head.

"What?"

"I asked why you decided to go out of your way for her."

"Well..." she trailed off. She let some seconds tick by before shrugging again. "...well, it's like you said. We're friends. I'd go out of my way for them any day."

His gaze lingered on her for a moment before moving towards Naruto.

...Friends, was it?

::

Neji loathed the main family.

What right did they have to hold fear and authority over the branches? What right did they have to hold the clan's power in their hands be able to kill any other member by the simple curling of their fingers. What right did they have to dictate others' destiny by tattooing a mark of shame on their foreheads for the world to see that they were nothing but disposables?!

And this noble clan- these dignified shinobi would eventually by succeeded by a sorry excuse of an heiress who couldn't even master a simple technique!

He scowled as he combed through the training grounds around Konoha. Hinata was supposed to be back two hours ago and he was sent to find her. Where was she?! She had a duty to her clan and there was no room for her to slack off, especially with the horrible way she presented herself.

Her the heiress. How desperate did this family had to be to slot a weak-willed mouse into the clan head position?

"Again!" a shout echoed from somewhere ahead of him. Neji followed the sound to somewhere on one of the genin training grounds. Odd... it was typically far too late at night for lower-ranking to be on their own.

Metal clashed against metal, and the dull thud of a body hitting the ground echoed through the air.

"Again!" the same voice snapped. He frowned and hid himself in the surrounding foliage the closer he got to the commotion. Soon he was met with a clearing showered with moonlight and the glow of several lanterns, but scorched with chakra burns and weapon marks.

Two figures fought in center, though maybe 'fought' was too strong of a word.

The first, Neji recognized, was the pink-haired girl who made herself a common visitor to the Estate. Her bandaged arms blocked every hit she received with astounding precision and every blow of her own she dealt- as scarce as they were- felled her opponent in one strike.

Like now, when a punch to the back sent the other sprawling forward into the grass.

Sakura wiped her brow.

"Again!" she barked. The other caught their breath as they pushed themselves onto unstable legs. Blooming bruises, cuts and scratches, and a war cry of retaliation-

"... Hinata-sama?" he mouthed disbelievingly. Hinata, caked in dirt and sweat and slips of blood, attacked her friend in a flurry of gentle fist impacts in a way she never displayed to her father or the elders. There was determination, vigor, skill, strength! Things he'd never seen in her before!

"This is where she's been practicing for the past few weeks," a new voice mentioned from his side. "Were you aware?"

Neji quickly turned his head and nearly brought it back down in resistant respect.

"No, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi hummed and returned his attention to the fight. Much to his expectation, Sakura was having little to no trouble blocking each jab in her direction. Unlike his daughter, she showed no injury or struggle and would send Hinata crashing to the ground every few minutes.

"Again!"

And Hinata would stand up.

"Did you want me to see her?" Neji questioned bitterly. It changed nothing. There was no difference to whether she was shirking her duties or not, he wouldn't see her in a better light. She would never be good enough for the head position, and she could never have what it took to be the person the Hyuuga looked up to.

"Perhaps," Hiashi replied. "Maybe it's because it's something you need to understand."

When his cousin was dropped again for the who-knows-what time. Sakura placed her hands on her hips and regarded her friend worriedly.

"We can stop for the night, you know. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep going," she said. Hinata coughed and jerkily shook her head. She tried to stand another time, but it was obvious to all her saw that her muscles and reserves couldn't take any more.

"I have to..." she whispered. She tried once more to get up to her feet and ended up careening straight into the chuunin's arms. "... to... t-to... can't let... anyone down... any... m-more..."

She went limp.

"Over-exertion is a thing, Hinata," Sakura sighed. She lifted her friend into her arms and started walking towards their hidden audience, noticing that Neji had already gone. A shame. "I'm putting her out of commission for the rest of the week, Hyuuga-sama. Give her some time to let her injuries heal and to rest her eyes."

She delivered the unconscious girl into her father's waiting arms. He tilted his head.

"Yes, I remember your instructions from when you first informed me of her circumstances those few weeks ago," he said. "It's not everyday that she would rather seek help from a friend rather than those at the Estate, nor did I think you would personally come and explain her situation me me."

She rolled her shoulders.

"It's the least I could do," she answered. "After all, I never knew the Hyuuga were tied to chameleons the way the Uchiha were tied to cats."

Hiashi paid her no mind.

"I know nothing of what you speak of."

"The way my diamond shines is in the hands of the leaves that gather..." she recited slowly. Sakura bent to pick up a stray kunai and held it up towards the sky, letting the soft glimmer reflect off its edges. "You were talking about the Clans of Konoha meeting, weren't you? About how my future in this village was discussed?"

He angled himself towards the direction of his home.

"I am returning to the estate. Your kindness to my daughter will be remembered," Hiashi said tonelessly. He began to walk away, not stopping even when Sakura called after him.

"Thank you for telling me, Hyuuga-sama."

He said nothing, instead disappearing into the night without a hint of acknowledgement. She sighed a second time and proceeded with the arduous task of cleaning up the training grounds. Hopefully, she'd be back before midnight and prepare to head out earlier than usual before going to work.

Because she made an appointment with the former Hokage with only one question she needed answered:

Was Danzo right?