Groaning as she walked into her office, Tsunade sat down behind her desk. "I swear I hate having to be cooped up in this damned office all the time."
With a glare as she crossed her arms, Shizune sighed. "My Lady, if you would just do your paperwork and stop putting it off all the time you wouldn't have to stay in here all the time."
"Well Shizune…" Turning her glare to her assistant, Tsunade crossed her arms. "If someone else wouldn't keep shoving more paper work on my desk as I clear some I might also get done faster."
Not backing down, Shizune narrowed her eyes back. "I have to do that because you are three weeks, three weeks behind in your paper work!"
Rolling her eyes, Tsunade closed them as she looked away from Shizune. "Don't you have something else that you need to be doing?"
But before Shizune could say anything back, they both looked at the door as a keeper flung it open and raced to the desk. Stepping up as the Keeper was handing the scroll to Tsunade, Shizune blinked. "What is it?"
Standing and looking at Shizune, the keeper was breathing hard. "It was marked urgent and comes from a village that is right on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind."
Standing up as she slammed her hands down on her desk, Tsunade drew the attention of them both. "Shizune I want you to go and get a squad together. Right now."
With a nod, Shizune turned to leave to get together some ninja for something that was clearly important. 'I wonder what is going on?
"I don't want just any ninja for this." When Shizune turned back and looked at her, Tsunade was all work mode right now. "I want Neji, Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru and Ino for this one. Bring them here right now."
"My Lady." Shizune was then gone in a puff of smoke.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, the keeper looked at Tsunade with an odd look. "Lady Hokage what is going on?"
Going to look out the window, Tsunade glared. "The Akatsuki. They are up to no good again, but this time they are not after a tailed beast. This time they are targeting someone who is more pure than anyone else in the world could be."
"I do not understand My Lady."
Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade fisted her hands. "They are right now trying to go after the miko of the Aizawa Shine. But there is a secret to that miko that we can't let them get."
X
In the middle of the large training area outside the main house, Neji squared off with Hinata again. Ever since the first Chunin Exam, he has watched as she tried and tried to get stronger in hopes that she would impress her father. But her father has been so focused on him and getting him strong that he didn't see how much she was trying to get strong. However, he knew that soon he was going to be squaring off and helping Hanabi to get stronger. Hinata, right now needed it because of what going to happen to her very soon. He wasn't going to let her take this next step without being strong. "Again Hinata."
With a nod as she was breathing hard, Hinata took her stance. "Right Neji."
"Stop!"
Just before he started to go toward Hinata, Neji stopped and turned to see the doors to the house fling open, to reveal Shizune who was breathing hard, along with Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru and Ino with her. "Lady Shizune what is it?"
"Lady Tsunade wants to see you along with the others with me at her office at once." Taking a deep breath, Shizune saw the the question in his eyes. "I don't know what is going on but I know she was all work mode for it. She doesn't do that unless it is serious. And she asked for everyone I am getting by name."
"Right." Turning back to his cousin, Neji sighed. "Until the next time I am home then Hinata?"
"Right cousin." Hinata then blinked as they were all just gone. "I wonder what is going on?"
X
Looking out the window, Tsunade let out a sigh now that everyone was there she would give them the rundown of the mission. And why she had them specifically. "Well now that everyone is here, I will detail the mission." Turning and going to sit in her chair she let her eyes meet with Neji's. "This mission is high priority right now. And it is going to be especially crucial to the Hyuuga Family as well."
His eyes narrowing, Neji crossed his arms. "How is that?"
Reaching up and pulling a small stack of papers off the corner of her desk, Tsunade sighed. "While Shizune was gathering you all, I was in another room here looking at the little information that we have on the Aizawa Clan."
Gasping and pulling all eyes to her, Ino stepped forward. "Aizawa Clan? Like as in the Aizawa Shrine?"
"That is right Ino." Looking back down at the papers, Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "Actually the miko that is head of the shrine right now is eighteen. One year younger than you Ino. And…"
Pulling her attention back to him, Neji let out a sigh as he stepped around in front of Ino. "What exactly does this have to do with the Hyuuga?"
Narrowing her own eyes Tsunade met his. "Bluntly. Your great, great grandfather and his best friend both welcomed children on the same day. Your great grandfather and a future head of the clan. For his best friend, he welcomed a baby girl. Branch family to start with, he and his wife knew that one day she would have to bear the same mark that you do now. However, she didn't get it after all."
Flashes of his uncle putting his foot down before Hitoshi that Hanabi was not going to get the same mark that he had, Neji's eyes went wide. "How did that happen? As far as I know Hanabi is the only Hyuuga that got out of it. That was because Uncle put his foot down on that."
Standing as she turned away from him, Tsunade let her eyes look in the direction of the Hyuuga. "His best friend was your great, great grandfather. However he was also good friends with the Second Hokage. When their daughter was barely a week old they went to him with her to plead their case. They wanted their daughter to have a pure life free from the pain o the curse mark. Though the second, having never liked the use of the curse mark, had never had it before him. He knew that there were only two ways to keep the infant from having it done to her. Kill her. Or send her away from the village."
Stepping up next to Neji, Tenten pulled all eyes to her as she gave Tsunade a shocked look. "Wait the second Hokage wouldn't have really have just let the Byakugan leave the village without something to seal it right?"
With a smile, Tsunade looked at the Second's picture and sighed. "He did. After talking at length to her parents, it was clear what they wanted for her. And they agreed to giving her away so that they could watch her grow and happy from afar. Free of the pain and suffering that came with the curse mark. So he took her to the Aizawa Village and handed her over to a family more than willing to take her in. She grew and married and they had one daughter. Her daughter married and they had one son. He married the miko of his generation. They had a son, then a daughter. Akako Aizawa. She is the current miko of the shrine. And has full use of the Byakugan. And is said to be able to use more purification than any other recorded miko anywhere."
Had it been ten years ago, Neji would have had an instant grudge against that infant girl and her entire family after it, all the way down to the miko. However, he has seen actively how Hiashi was trying to change the way of the Hyuuga and do away with the curse mark. He has seen many changes, and understands that it was nothing personal why he had it, and has a better understanding what happened to his father. "Very well. What are we doing and who is in charge?"
"You are lead, Shikamaru is your back up. The mission is very simple." Her eyes hard hard, Tsunade handed him a picture of Akako from three years ago when she was fifteen and took on the role of Village Miko. "Get there and make sure that you keep her safe. Bring her back to the village as soon as possible." When they all nodded and turned to leave, Tsunade sighed. "One more thing." When they all turned back to her, Tsunade had hard eyes as she met each one of theirs. "The Akatsuki are involved. If she isn't there when you get there, don't come back until you get her back. Understood?"
"My Lady." Neji turned with hard eyes. There was no way that he would ever leave anyone to the mercy of the Akatsuki. Let alone someone that is as strong as a miko with the Byakugan.
With a sigh as she watched as they just vanished once they left the building, already headed out, Tsunade took a deep breath. "Shizune. Go and get me Hiashi Hyuuga. I need to have a word with him."
"My Lady."
X
Walking into her office, Hiashi had an odd look for Tsuande. "You wished to see me Lady Hokage?"
Not even looking up from her paper at the moment, Tsuande nodded. "I did. You and I need to have a talk."
Blinking, Hiashi just stood there. "Is this about Hinata?" When she didn't say anything, he dropped his head and closed his eyes. "My Lady if this is about my daughter I did not think that it would be a problem if we gave…."
Smiling as she looked up, Tsuande shook her head. "This has nothing to do with Hinata. With as much as I see the Leaf and Sand hawks flying back and forth, I figured that someone was going to either join the Leaf from the Sand, or leave the Leaf for the Sand. I have no problem with it being Hinata." Opening her glaring eyes she crossed her arms. "But the Elders of the Hyuuga are going to be rather upset and you need to figure out what you are going to do about it."
Giving her an odd look, Hiashi didn't know what she was talking about. "My Lady? What are they going to be upset about this time? Hitoshi still hasn't gotten over the fact that I refuse to allow anyone to put the curse mark on Hanabi."
Her eyes narrowing, Tsuande didn't move. "The Akatsuki attacked the Aizawa Shrine."
Flinching, Hiashi gasped as his eyes went wide. "But wait…the miko there has the Byakugan!"
"Exactly." Sitting back in her chair, Tsuande sighed. "I have sent Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten and Lee to go and bring her back to the village. They are not to come back at all if they don't have her."
"I see. Yes this is going to be a time of some upset for the Hyuuga and not just because she is coming to the village." When he got an odd look, Hiashi smiled. "I have a plan that is going to truly take the power the elders think that they have over the rest of the Hyuuga. I will come back when they get here." He then turned and left.
In just about a week give or take, Hinata was going to be married and leaving the Leaf to go and be with Gaara as his wife in the Sand. Without a curse mark, and without any seal on her eyes or her chakra. She was going to be as free there as she is now.
But with the miko coming to the village, it was going to be time to finally see if he can break the code on that damned scroll. It was the one scroll that when he tried to look at it, something would always come up, or he would be watched like a hawk with it, even being the Head of the Clan. 'But now that there are going to be upsets with the miko in the village and no curse mark. It is time to finally see what is in that scroll. If it is what I think it is, my nephew is finally going to get what he deserves.'