As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

It was still strange to enter the Hokage's office and not find Sarutobi behind it. He was a part of Konoha. After the Nine-Tails and the death of Yondaime, Sarutobi held them together, a steadfast reminder that Konoha would endure. Now that he was gone, Hizashi had to wonder how well Tsunade would do with the Hokage's mantle on her shoulders. Her reputation was unimpeachable, of course, and her lineage worthy of such a position, but she had not been in the village for years. How could she lead a people she didn't know?

"I had a feeling I'd be seeing the old clans pretty soon," Tsunade remarked, pushing away a pile of paperwork that seemed to disgust her in favor of their meeting, not that she showed much more anticipation for that.

"There are many things to explain." Hizashi sat in the chair opposite her desk and remained straight-backed. He would show her all due respect, but the ease in which he used to visit Sarutobi was nowhere in his countenance. "Sandaime-sama and I had several understandings between us that I hope you will continue."

"Understandings? That's a bit cryptic."

Hizashi forced himself to keep eye contact with his new Hokage despite the discomfort he felt knowing what he had to do. Hyuugas did not speak of the clan to outsiders they didn't know very well, and Hizashi loathed the necessity to do so. "As Hokage, there are things about our clan that you need to be aware of."

What nonchalance she had at his entrance sobered as he explained events that strangely felt like a lifetime ago. He told of the seal and the restrictions of the branch house, of Hiashi's death and Hinata's importance, of his tenuous power as clan head and his family's position. Tsunade listened without interruption, quietly absorbing the strange tale with an idle look that hid the seriousness of her concentration.

When he finished, Tsunade rested back in her chair. "Well, you sure are good at keeping things quiet. I'll give you that."

"We don't like gossip about the clan, and with Hinata being a genin, we've needed to keep her importance within the clan."

"After hearing all that, I'm surprised you let her become genin at all."

Hizashi let his gaze shift for a moment as the memories resurfaced. "It was the best choice for her. She will be a better clan head for it, but that is one of the understandings I had with Sandaime-sama. My decision to allow it was not supported by many in the clan. It was agreed that she would remain on duty until she became a chuunin, and she doesn't plan to seriously take the chuunin exam for many years."

"And he agreed? That seems rather restrictive to her team."

"As I said, there was an understanding between us. Just because she would be genin, didn't mean her team wasn't capable."

"I see," Tsunade said, pushing a loose sheet of paper back and forth across her desk. "Any other understandings I should be aware of?"

Hizashi nodded. "My wife is an active woman. She's on the duty roster, but since I'm clan head there are times she must be home. We give ample notice when that is."

Tsunade stopped playing with the paper and settled her hands on the arms of her chair. "I'm willing to work with you, but we're shorthanded now. I need every body I can get working."

That was understandable. They lost so many in the attack, and the clan needed to support the village in times of crisis. "I believe the clan can do without Naomi for now."

Tsunade nodded. "If that's all—"

"There is one other thing," Hizashi interrupted with proper deference. "I'm well aware of what it's like taking over leadership and how overwhelming it can be; however, if you could find time to see Hinata, we have a medical problem."

Tsunade sighed, and for a moment her gaze passed over a folder trapped beneath a pile of paperwork. Given her reputation, his was probably not the only request she'd gotten. "No offense, but there are a lot of doctors and mednins and only one very busy Hokage."

"I understand, but the request came from our main healer, Yumi. Hinata was severely injured during the chuunin exam. She was slowly recovering, but during the attack she was poisoned. The poisoning was dealt with, but since then she's been continually sick. Yumi believes that she can tend to it over time; the bigger issue is that she thinks this is a reoccurring illness. Hinata was very ill when she was young, as was her mother. Yumi has searched everything she can. She was hoping you might see something she didn't. If this is the same as Atsuko, then we need to be prepared; she may have died from it."

Tsunade sighed, her head dropping back against her chair in an exhaustion Hizashi remembered well. "Have her work up full medical histories for mother and child and get me blood samples from the entire immediate family. If I see anything, I'll tell you."

Hizashi stood and bowed. "Thank you."

Hinata wrapped the cover tighter around her shoulders as she stared at the small tray laden with broth, rice, and bread. She knew she needed to eat—eating would give her nutrients and increase her strength—but Hinata was really tired of throwing up. Her entire mid-section was sore from the contractions needed to force her food back up, and though she was starting to get an appetite back, the thought of being sick again filled her with trepidation. Slowly, she picked up the bowl of broth and brought it to her lips. The warm liquid coated her empty stomach, and Hinata waited to see if the nausea would follow.

She was really tired of being sick.

"Hey," Neji called, peeking in through the partially open door before opening it all the way. "How're you feeling? Any better?"

Hinata readily took the distraction rather than tempt her stomach anymore. "I haven't thrown up today. That's progress. And Grandma says my fever's finally breaking."

"Good." Neji's knowing gaze assessed the tray of food for a moment. "You should try and eat."

"I'm trying," Hinata grumbled and curled into her cover. "How's everything out there in the non-sick world?"

Neji ruffled her hair and sat down next to her. "Busy. There's a lot to do still to get things back to normal. Lee's going into surgery tomorrow. Tsunade-sama thinks she might be able to fix him up. It will be nice to have the team back together, just don't tell Lee that."

Hinata laughed an airy, whistling sound that made her grab her chest. "You sound like Kiba-kun and Shino-kun."

"All teams probably end up a bit like that. But if you're our Tenten, you'd better eat up so you can get back to them. Without you, they're probably on the verge of killing each other."

She giggled again imagining it. "Kiba-kun will be ready to kill Shino-kun, who will intentionally ignore him, because he knows it will make him mad."

Neji smiled and picked up her bowl of rice, offering it to her, but a knock on the wood frame of her door stopped her from taking it. When she called to enter, an older servant bowed low, never entering the room.

"Hizashi-sama has called for you. The Hokage's assistant is here; Hizashi-sama said you may come as you are."

Neji and Hinata shared a glance that spoke of curiosity, confusion, and understood solidarity. He helped her stand, adjusting the blanket to cover her, before the two followed the servant to a small sitting room, which informed them both that this was more formal than her dress implied. A young woman with black hair sat across from Hizashi, Naomi, Hyobe, and Yumi. Between them was a closed folder, resting like a curled up snake no one wanted to disturb.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Shizune-san," Neji said. He must have met her because of Lee.

Shizune smiled at them both, and Hizashi motioned for them to sit. Hinata kept the cover close around her, not comfortable being so underdressed in front of company. Once she and Neji were settled to the side of the adults, Shizune pulled the folder close and opened it.

"Tsunade-sama put me in charge of looking into your situation. Please do not see this as a slight; everything I know I have learned directly from Tsunade-sama, and I consulted her with everything I found."

"Then you did find something?" Yumi asked, leaning forward ever so slightly to try and see what was in the folder.

"In a way," Shizune said, slowly. Flipping through several pages, she handed one off to Yumi. "It is not an illness or disease. We believe it's a hereditary immune deficiency, and judging from the tests I did on the rest of the family, it's most likely a recessive trait."

"Hereditary would mean it's passed through the family," Hizashi commented as way of confirmation, to which Shizune nodded. "So we all have it?"

"As I said, I believe it's a recessive trait, so both parents must be carriers at least. You do carry it, Hizashi-sama, which would imply Hinata's father did as well, and, given her history, her mother was most likely the same as Hinata. The only person in the immediate family that doesn't carry it at all is Naomi, while only Hinata had both markers."

Hinata was surprised to see Hyobe's confusion so close to the surface. Obviously this wasn't what he had expected to learn. "If we're carriers, how have we not had this happen more often?"

"It probably has, but you've never realized it. It's not an illness, but it would make the person more susceptible to illness, especially in infancy, old age, and times of trauma or extreme stress. Since we already expect young children and the elderly to suffer more from illness, you may have dismissed it or explained away unexpected deaths. I would test the clan. There's a good chance you have more cases of it than you think, especially if you have a high rate of intra-clan marriage."

"So what does it mean for Hinata to have it?" Hizashi asked, looking on her with unmasked concern.

Hinata shifted in her seat. She wanted to know that too, but with everything that had already been said, she didn't want to hear. Her mother had died young.

"Given her age, normal physical health, and high activity level, she should be fine. She may get sick more than average, and when she is sick, she'll probably stay sick longer and have difficulty recovering, but as long as she remains healthy, normal illnesses shouldn't be too dangerous. The times to watch her are whenever she's seriously injured or her body's under extreme stress. Such things would normally compromise her immune system, but with her it will make her very susceptible to other illness. That's most likely what happened here."

Shizune paused and searched for a page in the folder. "I'd suggest using her mother's history as a guide. It says she became ill during and after her pregnancy, I'd expect that for Hinata as well."

"Did she die from it?" Yumi asked. Grief was in her face, and her eyes remained low.

"Mental or emotional trauma can have physical effects. It's possible her husband's death weakened her even more. A person wouldn't die from this deficiency, but it will make what happens to them much worse."

"Is there a cure?" Hinata asked, her voice oddly stronger than she felt entering the conversation. But this was about her, and she understood medical issues more than the average person.

Shizune offered a sorry smile."Unfortunately not. Changing your diet to boost immune function and keeping healthy and physically active will help though. Always take getting sick seriously; rest and recovery is better than pushing yourself in this case. Avoid people who have a contagious illness; you're more likely to contract it. Other than that, there's not much else that can be done. But it shouldn't severely impair your life."

"Thank you, and please thank Tsunade-sama as well. If there's nothing else we need to know . . ."

Shizune nodded and handed the rest of the folder to Yumi. "I've detailed how to test for it in here. I'm sorry it couldn't be something we could heal."

"You've done plenty for us," Hizashi said, bowing his head to her and motioning to the servants to show Shizune out.

"We will need to start testing the clan immediately," Hyobe said once only the family was left.

"Agreed." Hizashi said, his eyes focused on no one in particular, which was a sign he was thinking. "All marriages should be aware of their chances of passing it on as well. It's not fatal, so I don't think banning clan to clan marriages is necessary, but prospective parents should be prepared."

"It may be prudent to encourage out of clan marriages for while, though," Yumi suggested.

Despite the annoyance tightening Hyobe's face, he nodded. "This will affect the prospective husbands for Hinata as well. In order to avoid passing it on, she will have to marry someone who does not carry the trait at all. That may limit suitable choices considerably."

Hinata reached out to take Neji's hand. Listening to them make plans and talk about her was more than she could take after Shizune's explanation. She felt him squeeze it in return.

"If you don't need her, I'll take Hinata back to her room to rest." Neji helped her to stand and waited for the final dismissal from his father before leading her out. Hinata wasn't sure how to feel about what Shizune said. She didn't like being sick or weakened because of it. And she hated that it triggered her mother's death and would be with her the rest of her life. But—finally—she had a reason. A reason for her weakness as a child that started everything in her life.

If she hadn't been sick when she was small she wouldn't have been underdeveloped when she began training, she wouldn't have been condemned for not being strong enough, she wouldn't have had to fight so hard just to be normal. Everything that happened to her came from that, and now it wasn't her fault. She'd spent so much time blaming herself for her weakness—why wasn't she better, more worthy—how did she let that go?

"Are you all right, Hinata?" Neji asked once they were in the safety of her room again.

She was silent a moment, her tired mind still racing. Then, in a voice as filled with disbelief as understanding, she whispered, "It's not my fault."

It's not my fault.