Getting eaten alive by this story, ladies and gentlemen.

RIP

Ink Child

Much love from the other side.

OH I was going to just leave my AN at that but my darling flamer is back. Here I had thought you got tired of me, sweets. Where have you been? What does SI mean? O_o am I out of the loop of some of your infantile lingo? Or did you just trip your face on the keyboard? It happens to some people. No worries. Love you muchly, dearest.- Inky

She had been young the first time her father had set her against multiple opponents. The courtyard had been busy and she had been embarrassed by the defeat. It had taken hardly any time at all to overwhelm her soundly, earning her a black eye that her mother had been firm should never happen again in training.

Her mother's gaze had turned to Neji then, standing only a few inches taller and with hardly a year more wisdom to his name. But being told before leaving the womb that your job is to do whatever possible to keep the heir of the Clan alive had made the impulse second nature. His Calling had been carved into his bones, and then more soundly into his heart as he grew with his young cousin.

In no time at all Neji begun to drill her, again and again. At that point only Lee had submitted himself into Neji's service and the two boys worked Hinata hard any chance they had. Launching at her without warning. She had learned to feel the incoming flow of kicks and punches, well aimed elbows and flat handed slaps to her ear that made her head dizzy and her eardrum ache.

When Kiba and Shino joined her soon after she had faced all four, twirling bamboo poles first to build the muscles of her wrists and forearms and then weighted staffs to simulate the glaive that one day would grow to be an extension of her hands.

But it was when Tenten finally joined in the last year that the sparring resulted in Hinata's elegant form, in her rapid fire reflexes, in the seeing of weaknesses in her opponent's stance by her blessed gaze. With the four shadows and her cousin to hone all of her senses she had moved from knowing others thought her a weapon to actually being one.

Sasuke had hoped that taking the knife from her would even the odds some. That perhaps without a a hilt in her hand she would find herself at enough of a loss that the battle would mark her less than adequate- that it would keep her from Lord Utterance's covetous eye.

He was wrong.

Had ever seen her at her best? Rested, fed, with all wounds healed and energy fully restored by the blood that flowed within him?

He realized as the battle exploded that he had not. He would remember such a thing as clearly as he remembered his own name. A petal on the breeze twisting through the shafts of sunlight, that was what she was. The Chattels were simply mud beneath her dance.

They moved together, coordinated by an invisible thread and so like links in the same chain they swarmed, blades shifting, slicing through the air as one, blades rising into a pyramid of sharpness.

Hinata's hair flared, a snap of magic ripped through the arena in a hiss of hot and cold air and with a silence more unnerving even than that of the Chattels, she moved.

Behind her one Chattel's sword clattered on the invisible solidity of a half shield, protecting Hinata's back as she kicked hard the sword hand of the girl to her right sending the blade flying overhead, before twisting out of the way of the second blade slicing down on her. Her tunic was baggy on her hips and it flared like her hair as she pirouetted, throwing an elbow expertly into the nose of the one still armed girl not blocked by her shield.

The crack of bone on bone was drowned out by the Chattel's wet gasp and blood erupted on her face as she stumbled backwards. Without giving her time to regain her footing Hinata kicked her legs from under her. With her ears humming a warning she grunted hard, throwing a hand up behind her, the flash of magic throwing another half shield up that sparkled in the light. It erupted like a blast of wind and sent the two girls who had regained their footing crashing into the impenetrable glass.

Their unsteady step was all she needed, muscles coiled within her leggings released and moved with the molten steel grace of predators. Her gaze caught the uneven steps of their boots, the wave of their arms signalling weakness in their sword training.

This was an unfair fight, she felt it in her bones even as she winced against their fury and loathing when her eyes met theirs.

Whatever she had done to earn their distrust, their hatred, it was fueling their movements. It made their limbs ache to bleed her and for that reason alone she needed to end this quickly, before someone was hurt.

She was fairly certain it would not be her.

Releasing the shield as she threw herself at them she ducked, knocking the sword arm of the first girl swinging out of the way with a sharp elbow and with a kick to the torso of the other sent her careening off her feet and to the floor, her sword skidding out of her grip and hissing on the stone.

Suddenly alone to face the hurricane that the Star's waif-like servant had become, the last standing Chattel gasped, face panicked and pale as she stumbled back, sword evidently useless against the force approaching her.

A beehive hiss of danger at the base of her neck had Hinata ducking, feeling the slice of the third Chattel's blade above her head.

Despite the torrent of blood pouring down the front of her face from her broken nose the slave girl was in the fray, eyes steely with her blatant dislike and Hinata paused, panting on the other end of the marble after rolling away from her vicious onslaught.

The three girls gathered themselves, wiping sweat from their foreheads and blood from their chins, their own chests rising and falling in rapid desperate breaths.

Lord Utterance's laugh from behind them drew Hinata's gaze to where he and Sasuke watched.

"My, my... I will admit I am not completely disappointed by the Hawk Eyed. I had thought perhaps they were all simply a bloated myth. "

Sasuke said nothing, eyes staring at Hinata fiercely, whether furious that she was no listening to his instructions to let them slice her to ribbons where she stood or something else she was not sure.

Choking down the confusion and panic of such a request she gasped, twisting out of the way of the first swing as her enemies moved forward. Tired now of such a pointless battle she ducked beneath their swings, her elbow crashing with the wielder's face, harder than the first time she connected with a nose. It sent the girl reeling backwards in a heap that she did not rise from.

Panting and now anxious to be done she kicked the other sword from the next Chattel, slamming her hand flat against her head and sending her stumbling right off the arena as the agony of her ear drum aching knocked her balance askew.

The last swung wildly, her blade hissing as she stabbed and slashed with no form in her blows. There was no precision to her attack, nothing but the blood pouring down her face coating her lips in a crimson stain of gore and her eyes blazing with hatred above it.

Hinata cried out, feeling the bite of the sword nick her arm as the girl continued her relentless charge, swinging hard. Grunting with the effort of ignoring the bleeding slash, the Hawk Eyed princess kicked hard the moment her eyes saw the stumble, the wild swings opening her opponent to imbalance. The kick slammed into the Chattel's hand and she cried out in pain as the the blade went flying overhead. Lord Utterance cackled as he stepped out of the way of it's path, watching with amusement as it stabbed into the dark soil of the flower bed behind him.

"Excellent!" He mused, turning back to Hinata with interest. "Much more entertaining than that bar brawl Anko barely managed."

Panting only slightly Hinata let her eyes flutter to Sasuke for a moment, pale gaze glinting in the light of the two suns. She had been expecting disappointment, perhaps even contempt at her insubordination and therefore was not prepared for the awe, slack jawed wide eyed shock that had overtaken his pale ill face.

It was her one weakness, and Neji scolded her for it every time she was beaten. Despite the bruises and the losses and the scoldings however, he could never get her to stop trusting and believing that others were as kind as herself.

The bleeding disarmed Chattel threw herself at her back, tackling her to the marble stone so hard the world split into a million sparkling fireworks with the collision of her skull to the stone.

"Oh my." Lord Utterance mused, watching as the wounded slave girl slammed herself on top of Hinata, straddling her waist, hands shoved hard at her throat.

It took a moment for the dizziness of the blow to her head to fade enough for her to start thrashing beneath the Chattel's weight, legs kicking, hands flying to peel the fingers from around her throat.

Beside Lord Utterance Sasuke watched, the pulse of his heart so loud in his ears he could hardly hear. Everything in him ached, poised like a strung bow to release him onto the marble, to throw the creature from Hinata, to tear the being harming her apart.

Calmly, he cleared his throat.

"Do you intend to destroy my property? I removed her only weapon for a reason and yet here you are, souring me to your master."

"I thought she was of no importance." Lord Utterance mused in surprise, turning to look at Sasuke with mock shock.

Out of his periphery Sasuke watched as Hinata struggled, attempting to shift the slave girl's relentless weight on her torso, her arms feeble from the crash of her head to the ground.

Behind Sasuke, Kabuto and Anko watched in horror, mouths pressed tightly into thin lines, turning away as the Chattel pressed on Hinata's throat harder and harder.

"I have few enough possessions," Sasuke replied smoothly. ",to at least want them in working order."

Lord Utterance hummed thoughtfully, as if pondering.

After an eternity of silence he sighed. "I suppose that is true enough. Chattel, stop."

There was no stopping her, the girl panted heavily, her hoarse gasps smattering blood on Hinata's face with every grunt. The hatred on her face was demonic, her eyes blood shot and her guttural animal sounds as brutal as Hinata's flailing limbs and straining hands trying to rip her off.

Lord Utterance frowned. "Chattel. Stop."

Kabuto rose, moving rapidly before Sasuke allowed himself to climb onto the marble. With a kick that sent the brown clad girl sprawling onto the marble in a heap the blonde removed her from Hinata. Coughing hard and gasping Hinata choked, blinking the black patches and stars from her vision, laying prone on the arena.

"Ah, there it is." Lord Utterance sighed absently. "She breathes."

Beside him Sasuke was decidedly not breathing.

"Excellent, Kabuto. Please, get these women to stop bleeding over everything. What a mess it makes. Lord Star, shall we continue?"

Tearing his gaze from Hinata, Sasuke nodded. Numb fingers twitching at his sides as he moved to follow after Lord Utterance already heading back along the cobblestone towards the palace.

"I figure the wager was a little stacked on my Master's end. I wouldn't mind showing you the gallery after dinner, if you are interested. Surely you'd like to see the priceless remedies my master has gathered over a thousand years?"

Sasuke hardly heard, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kabuto helped Hinata sit up slowly. Her pale eyes focused with shock and disbelief on him as he turned the corner and left without another word.

It did dawn on Hanabi that leaving the Valley without a single heir to the Hawk Eyed Clan was exacty what her battle axe of a grandmother had hoped and dreamed. She was not callous enough of course to think that she would want her own grandchildren dead but out of the way of her political ploys was great and if they removed themselves then so much the better.

Still, she could not come to terms with the idea that she had done something wrong when Konohamaru smiled at her the way that he did the night of their departure. Heavy laden with sacks of food they had had to pilfer from the cellars over the course of several days and armed to the teeth they had thought their escape had gone unnoticed.

Until of course, her mother's own father had found them at the bottom of the hill towards the Villa, standing in the halo of a dragonmoth lamp that flickered and twitched with the shifting insects within it. Beside him was her own father. Hiashi's face was carved of stone, his jaw tight and his frown deep.

It was only when she heard him speak her name, the crack in his voice and the tremble of his chin that made her realize perhaps she had misjudged him.

"I give you the blessings of our people and the stars who guide your path this night." Her grandfather whispered when Hiashi was unable to continue. Shaky wrinkled hands had risen to consecrate her forehead with a soft touch. Long ago, so long that it was hardly remembered there had once been spells cast upon the children of powerful clans. The Hawk Eyed then had been known by Hyuuga, a name long lost to the passage of time and the fame of their blessed eyes.

Back then the children not to inherit but of direct line to the title were marked on the forehead with a spell with which the touch of the heir could bring them to their knees in agony. Forced into the service as shadows without choice this touch was a sign of power. The loathed gesture of a hand to the forehead turned into a blessing only after the end of the cruel regime, a thing her grandfather had always lamented did not happen sooner. His own grandfather had borne the shadow seal on his forehead.

Now he placed his soft trembling fingers to his granddaughters brow, a sign that without a spell he anticipated her work to be for the clan, her life for it's survival, her courage for it's flourishing. And trusted her to do what she saw fit to achieve those goals.

"Let the stars of heaven bless you as they blessed our ancestors." Turning to Konohamaru his ancient gaze hardened not with displeasure but with the acknowledgement of one man to another. "You have one of our most prized possessions in your company and therefore in your care." He let out a shaky breath, perhaps not entirely due to his age. "And you have our utmost confidence in your ability to serve faithfully."

Konohamaru's bow was short, his throat closed and refusing words of thankfulness to pass although it had not been necessary. His eyes so wide in his face had gifted all the emotion his tongue was unable to convey.

That had been weeks ago, and Hanabi had to admit that although she worried for the fate of the Clan and the Valley should she fall it was not until the night she heard the ululating calls of the invaders that she wondered if she had made a mistake.

For the first time in her life she was in Konohamaru's company, alone and with no eyes to see, no mouths to whisper. His respectful distance never wavered, her determination to keep their friendship and camaraderie comfortable kept her calm, but for the snatched moments when his gaze would linger, when his touch would send her insides to fire within her.

If only for that, for the moments of hyper heart beats and anxious thoughts both painful and beautiful she was glad of the choice she had made, even if she fell in the doing.

The falling seemed much more likely the night of the invader's march. Huddled together on a cedar branch Hanabi had watched as what seemed like shadows shifted in the darkness of the trees while Konohamaru rested. They moved with a liquid grace, like oil on the surface of slow moving water. There was never a sharp edge or a jutting twist of limb or bone.

And then the smell of the rot on their skin hit her like a brick to the face, causing her nose so used to the beautiful scents of resin and earth, wild wind and summer flowers to ache. Her shudder, which she had been unable to suppress woke Konohamaru who shifted beside her on the branch, freezing before speaking at the touch of her hand on his mouth.

In the dark she could see as clearly as a cat, her pupils dilating so that her usually white eyes loomed dark and ominous at him, directing his gaze towards what she was certain was men shifting through the foliage slowly.

She need not have bothered, after a moment a woman's irritated voice called out.

"That's enough. The perimeter is as safe as it's ever going to be. Set up watch and gather wood for a fire. We're camping here tonight."

Only a handful of trees away the figures moved and began the quiet murmurs of a camp settling for a rest. There were wounded among them and Hanabi winced to hear a cough from more than one that made even her own chest ache.

"We're out of Kabuto's drought." The woman continued. "You're going to have to just bear it. We're hardly two weeks from the Valley, according to the map."

Hanabi's fingers were suddenly being gripped in Konohamaru's firm hand, even as her mouth went dry and her heart lurched in her chest.

"At least there's plenty to eat." Someone murmured, and then another voice grunted something that sounded like a curse of displeasure.

"Look on the bright side, at least... We could be dead or starving-"

"Or wandering around in the woods when the rest of our people slave away for that cursed demon worm."

The silence that descended on the camp was only broken by the rustle of branches grating wood, the start of a fire crackling after much rubbing of stick on rough bark.

"Focus on our mission." The woman snapped suddenly, her voice crackling like the creak and snap of the branches being eaten by the fire. "The white eyed witches will know what we need to hunt down that damn star." The sound of her spitting on the fire gave a sizzle as the saliva landed on hot wood.

"If we're going to do anything about this, focus on the goal. Getting there, and getting back with the heads of all the Hawk Eyed on spikes."

Konohamaru didn't have to be told, silent as the light of the moon shifting eerily through the branches of the trees he slipped his pack back onto his shoulders, waiting for Hanabi to unfreeze from her stupor, watching the camp and the fire, the shadows. Her eyes ripped through the bracken and leaf, searching out bodies, counting heads.

Dozens. There were dozens.

When she turned Konohamaru did not ask where they were going, did not question her lithe deadly movements or the choice of her direction as they headed determinedly back the way they had come.

Her sister, the star, her cousin would all have to wait.

She had a Village to protect. Her Calling now sang from within the marrow of her bones with it's urgency, there would be no denying it now.

There was something wrong with him. Something more than just tiredness, more than just the blood he had passed on to Hinata in the wasteland. He stared at himself in the mirror and watched as the water trickled down his face, gathering into droplets at his chin.

In his chest his heart lurched and stuttered, aching in a way that he knew had something to do with the damned Rot Clan and the fang that had carved into his neck. Whatever it had achieved was now rearing it's ugly head. A hand to his neck did nothing but soothe the same way that putting pressure on a gushing wound soothed.

It was possible that Hinata's tears had slowed down the poison and made him think he had been healed. Bruises had formed at the place where the pink scar had once been, three dark shapes in a swirl that made him grind his teeth just to see in the mirror.

If it was poison then it made sense that his blood would have been less potent in Hinata's body, dragging on it's healing over the course of days when it should have restored her at the touch of a silver drop on her tongue.

The other option of course was that his hatred, the tinge of black on his wings so deep and single mindedness in destroying his brother was starting to stain him in more ways than just his wings.

Gifted as he was with angelic heritage he should have been able to fight a poison, and the tears Hinata had shed should have begun to redact the black from his feathers. Her willingness should have lightened the load of his hatred on his heart.

Nothing was going as planned.

A knock on the door of his chambers had him glaring with distaste. He could not look at any of the slave girls. Their similar faces and dark hair, their collared necks and brown dresses were all too similar. All he could see everywhere he looked was the same vicious woman who had thrown Hinata to the marble ground, climbed onto her torso and forcefully begun the process of squeezing the life from her throat.

All the training of his many years on the moon had had to work hard to keep him in his place. His jaw ached with the clenching of his teeth, his heart already feeling weaker than usual had throbbed behind his sternum as he watched, realizing with the calculated knowledge of a tactician that he was badly outnumbered. Attacking the slave girl would have been simple, but he was no fool. Kabuto was a force to be reckoned with.

And Lord Utterance, for all his sly feminine manners had the same walk of a panther on the hunt and the cunning slick gaze of a snake. There was something about the man that made Sasuke's nerves fray. It would be, he knew it in his bones, his last mistake to underestimate him, or anyone in the palace.

He had walked straight into the lion's den and dragged Hinata with him.

Another knock on the door echoed and growling softly he grabbed a towel off the rack by the stone basin and rubbed his face dry as he walked to it, ripping it open with enough force to startle the young girl standing on the other side.

This was not the usual young woman in brown, collared and silent, fuming with contained hatred. This was a child.

He stared, stunned and completely thrown by the little girl. Hardly reaching to his ribs she flinched from him, curling dark hair cascading down her back in rivulets of brown, face pale as death at the sight of him.

They stared back and forth for a moment until realizing she was not going to be able to gather herself he murmured. "What is it?" trying his best to keep his voice from biting.

Her flinch made his stomach seize and looking at the marble she gripped her hands together tightly. "You are requested in the gallery...L...Lord Star."

Unwilling to be quippy with the youngster Sasuke sighed, having aimed to tell whoever came to go away. Wondering what kind of punishments Lord Utterance might have for the slaves when they misbehaved or did not accomplish the tasks that he demanded of them made an image of Kabuto and the girl Anko slashing at each other flash in his mind.

Without another word he stepped back inside, only stopping to gather the bow and arrow he had stashed in the wardrobe before closing his door and nodding at the young thing. "Lead on." Yes, it would seem that Lord Utterance was indeed as cunning as Sasuke feared him to be.

He was running out of time. The ache in his neck hinted that strength was waning and so then did any protection he could offer Hinata. He would see the Scaled Worm, he would see the monster whether he wanted to be seen or not, and if things went sour...

He would have to trust that Hinata had the strength to protect herself, and that the urge for freedom would afford her the courage she would need to fight her way out of this prison and back home.

Picturing her elegant dance on the marble, the fierce calm of her face and the unwavering instinct of her movements he allowed himself a moment of wistful yearning, wondering if he would be able to see more of the elegance of her body in battle or if when he left her to face the Scaled Worm it would be an unofficial goodbye. For her sake, he hoped it was the later.

"Hold still." Kabuto's face was white as a sheet but he worked with the steady hand of someone experienced in his field and Hinata was glad of it.

Ignoring to the best of her abilities the dizziness that was still plaguing her after smashing her head so forcefully against the marble ground she helped as Kabuto cleared the table in his Dispensary and together they assisted Anko onto it.

Her hissing winces were enough to have Hinata biting her lip and with her hands bunched in her discarded blue robe she pressed hard onto the wound, confused by Kabuto's panicky movements as he gathered the supplies to stitch her up.

"Stop fussing." Anko grunted irritably. "You hardly cut at all."

Hinata stared wide eyed at her then, even as Kabuto ignored her and dumped his equipment onto the table beside her head in a clatter.

"W...why would he...?" Hinata tried and then stopped, her mind reeling from the battles, the wounds, and the rising nausea.

"He likes the sport." Anko explained softly, wiping the sweat beading on her upper lip with her sleeve as she watched Kabuto thread a needle with rock steady hands. "Since we've been here-"

"Why are you here?" The questions were now rushing out of Hinata and unsteadily she slid against the wall to the floor, burying her hands into her hair at the back and feeling the slick wet of her blood. The blow had been bad, worse than she had first realized. Of course, she had been distracted by the weight of another human trying to wring her life from her throat.

"Why?" Kabuto snapped then, sounding furious and his tone made her look up, startled. "We're here because we have to be." With no care for the fabric of Anko's clothes he was ripping at the blue cloth, making her hiss in pain as he exposed her smooth pale stomach soaked in the blood from the slash across it.

"He took us, sent his creatures after our villages in the mountains. Isolated we had no idea he was coming, that village by village he was clearing the mountain range of clans."

Anko did not interrupt, her eyes closed tightly and Hinata wondered if it was because of the needle he was now holding to the bleeding wound or his words.

"We're here for the same reason you're here. We are owned." Taking a deep steadying breath he slowed, glancing at Hinata before pouring something on Anko's stomach liberally that smelled heavily of ice.

"Your master made you fight as did ours. Why are you so confused?" His gaze was sharp as he darted from looking at his work stitching up Anko's now freezing stomach to Hinata's stunned face. "How are you any different?"

Bile rose in Hinata's mouth then. It was hard to say what caused it. Was it the monumental blow to the head? Was it the sight of his eyes so hopeless and scared or was it his words, the ugly tang of truth that ached on her eardrums.

Scrambling to her feet she launched to the door, grabbing the basin filled with rubbish from cuttings and medicine making, vomiting before she could stop herself.

"She's bleeding from the head." Anko sighed, her voice much more calm than it had been moments before Kabuto put the icy liquid on her stomach. "Give her something, what if the Star calls for her and she's vomiting?"

Wordlessly Kabuto did as he was told, leaving the barely begun stitches along Anko's torso for a moment to rummage on his heavy laden shelves and among his books for a tonic.

Breathing hard Hinata leaned against the door frame, trying to piece together everything and finding she felt there were pieces missing from the puzzle. Despite it all, despite her incredulity at Sasuke's behaviour she felt the pang of want in her mouth and her mind shuddered with the undeniable desire for the silver ichor that passed through his veins.

Disgusted with her thoughts she looked up as Kabuto approached, extending the small vial in his grip. "It's not the best we have, obviously. The gallery is where all the really potent things are but he would never allow us to use them despite our wounds." Irritable he turned back to Anko's stitching.

"But the root of the star flower should alleviate the dizziness and nausea. Unfortunately there's not a lot I can do about the bloody skull the Chattels managed to give you."

"Those daughters of dogs." Anko hissed then groggily. "They should be ashamed."

Hinata uncorked the vial with a pop, sniffing at the contents and finding there was no scent. Nothing flowed from within and the liquid seemed to be an innocent watery broth shade, cloudy but not unpleasant.

Considering Anko's complete trust in Kabuto despite his sword having just slashed across her stomach Hinata downed it, surprised at the watery bland flavor.

Moments later she was thankful she had not hesitated. The knock on the door had Kabuto sighing heavily with wariness, refusing to turn and stop the stitches he was placing along the smooth stomach of the girl on the table.

"Please, open it."

Worriedly Hinata did as she was told and nearly stumbled back, stopping only when she realized that this girl was not one of the Chattels. Her neck bled slowly from the leather collar around her neck and with eyes firmly pressed to the ground she waited, silent.

Opening the door wider so that she could see Kabuto and Anko Hinata stepped back, unnerved by the silence from their guest.

"What is it?" Kabuto snapped, glancing back over his shoulder. His hands were bloody up to his wrists and absently he shoved his glasses back up his nose with his forearm.

"Lord Utterance requests your service for the wine during dinner, and the Lord Star requires his slave." She glanced from beneath her lashes at Hinata standing unsteadily by a shelf.

Silently Kabuto stared at the slave, jaw clenched until he turned to Anko.

"I will send one of the women to finish this."

"Yes." Anko nodded, glancing at Hinata who was straightening her clothing with shaking fingers and a determined expression. "Go with her. I will join you when this is done."

"Nonsense. Do not leave here-"

"I will join you when my stitches are in place." Anko interrupted firmly. Kabuto glared a moment longer and then pushed away, moving to rinse his hands in a bowl of water that sat for that purpose on one of the shelves.

"Where are they now?" He snapped at the girl impatiently, drying his hands as he moved towards the door.

"The Gallery." The girl replied simply.

"Go to the kitchens and fetch someone to finish Anko's stitches. Right this moment, don't dawdle. And-" Kabuto paused, turning to Hinata and finding he did not know what to call her. "What is your name?"

Feeling finally the clearing of her mind that the medicine promised start to take root in her head she looked at him, smiling weakly. "Hinata."

Anko made a noise that was likely supposed to be a laugh although it lacked all amusement and seemed choked. "Sunshine." She whispered. "The thing we need the most in this dark place."

Kabuto did not say more, only motioned for Hinata to follow and as she did she wondered what she could possibly do to change the brutal ways of those living in the palace of the Scaled Worm. It seemed to her that they would need more than just sunshine.

They needed the whole sun.

They needed a pure star.

The Gallery as Lord Utterance called it was not so much a chamber as a well decorated cave.

A skylight made almost entirely of glass had been carved into the roof letting in the afternoon light and with it could be seen the rough walls of black and gray slate that made up the arches leading to dozens of smaller clearings where pictures hung on walls in gold frames, images that sometimes seemed to move when you turned your head to look away.

There were portraits of people that Sasuke found no interest in, and scenes from the Veil that he had witnessed. The red and black leaves of the iron tree saplings. Waterfalls that coursed from giant silkweed trees, causing ponds to form at the roots of their ancient hosts.

The waste, painted to look dramatic on canvas with the sky so blue and the soil so red it was almost beautiful.

Almost.

"Ah, there he is." Lord Utterance mused as he approached. The little girl had showed him the double doors to the gallery and when he had opened the door had fled nearly at a run, reminding him of the first slave he had had lead him to dinner only the day before.

"Come, come. There is much to see in the gallery. Although I think the thing that would interest you the most would be the-"

'I need to see my -" Sasuke winced, furious with himself and the hesitation that he hoped had not been heard in his voice. "-slave."

"Oh, certainly. After dinner I will have Kabuto-"

"No." Sasuke snapped, and his temper finally seemed brittle enough to make Lord Utterance pause, mouth no longer doing the fake smile he seemed so fond of. "I need to see her now."

Curiosity seemed to take a back seat to survival and Lord Utterance looked behind him where the three Chattels stood frozen, heads bowed and cleaned up as though they had not just been trying to skin Hinata alive hardly an hour past. All of them bore bruises on their faces where Hinata had managed to land her defenses, and one of them was purple on so much of her face it looked as though she had smudged the juice of plums along her nose and cheeks. Sasuke had a sick feeling this was the one who had sat on Hinata's chest with hands tight on her throat, ignoring the blood pouring off her own face for the pleasure of destroying another.

"Chattels." The single word had one of the young women moving down the hall and away to do Sasuke's bidding and Lord Utterance turned once more to face him with his jaw set in an uncharacteristic seriousness.

"There is no need to be armed, Lord Star." His eyes flickered to the bow on his shoulder and the quiver strap across his chest. "Although the bow itself is beautiful. Is that a token brought from your home realm?"

Sasuke stared at him for a long moment. "No."

"Ah." Clearing his throat Lord Utterance motioned down the hall. "Let me show you some of the more interesting things in the-"

"I have no interest in-"

"Yes, I know. However I think this might make you reconsider the game you play now." The tone of voice which had always seemed on the more playful and careless side had dropped away and Sasuke frowned, following the Lord down the hall in which he vanished with his remaining Chattels close at his heels.

The black slate darkened the world in the halls where the skylights were not present and so eyes took a moment to adjust from brightness to darkness and back as he passed from the marble floored clearing filled with paintings of the Veil into another lined with tall ivory shelves carved from a stone so white it seemed to be bone.

Each item was placed carefully on a satin square or circle depending on what suited it best and as Sasuke looked at the dozens of trinkets he felt his skin tighten in disgust.

"Although everything in here is... priceless..." Lord Utterance murmured, motioning to the dust covered objects. "It is this particular thing that is the most valuable."

On the shelves were tiny wooden boxes, orbs of glass that seemed to shine with planets and stars, bowls filled to the brim with liquids that seemed to glow. Plants grew from pots and spilled down the length of the shelf to the floor, curling and curling and curling into themselves even as he watched, only to bloom, and die, wither and restart again before his very eyes.

Lord Utterance paid no attention to any of the things that had clearly been gathered over hundreds of years, priceless treasures that someone had obviously traded for something the Scaled Worm alone could do.

"How does one accumulate so much not through thievery?" He snapped, and Lord Utterance let out a laugh that had none of his faux amusement in it. At the center of the room he stood before a dais made of black lava stone like glass. Rough edges had been left in place to tear at skin that was not careful on approach and sitting on a cushion dusty with it's lack of use was a small vial of glass, filled and corked, sealed with wax but even through the dust Sasuke started.

"There is no need to steal, Lord Star. Not when people come bearing their most prized possessions willingly for the sake of something else." He shrugged again.

"This," He continued ",is filled with the tears of an angel child, innocent and freely given and therefore able to heal almost anything."

Sasuke watched as he picked up the vial, dusted it off and set the light that shone from within free to sparkle in the room.

Angels rarely wept for pure reasons. There were only a handful of times where joy could draw blessed tears from their eyes and song from their mouths. One of which was the cry of a star being born. The most innocent of tears held the ability to heal almost anything, save perhaps death but still not many bothered to bottle it, for it came at a price not many were willing to pay. This Sasuke knew, had seen the bottle his mother had of Itachi's tears and his own. It had been given to him after his sudden orphanhood, recovered among many other things from his home by Master Kakashi. He had thrown it away.

"To be used." Lord Utterance smirked. "It must be given by someone willing, of course. For it requires an exchange. If undertaken with an unwilling pair it could easily kill one or both- it's all very complicated my master understands it much better than I can explain. But I show you this." He shook the bottle lightly, setting sparkles rattling about inside. "Because I think perhaps you come to my master with no plan and no tokens with which to bargain. What can you offer him that he could possibly want, hm?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly, the electric pops so common when irritated began through the room. "What makes you think I will discuss my business with your master with you?"

Lord Utterance smiled crookedly.

"I, as his speaker am often well versed in his tastes and moods. One might even say his desires. I had thought that since your wings were not pure and therefore not as useful as those of a less hateful being then perhaps the creatures you brought with you had some special quality with which you wished to trade. But it appears from the reports of my servants that the horkney is a half wild thing not even fully grown. A full grown domesticated beast might have made my master at least curious but alas, this one seems to be attached to you and you alone." He shrugged.

"And then there's the slave girl."

The throb on Sasuke's neck pulsed a deep ache that settled into his shoulder and felt as though it radiated down his chest and shoulder blade. Determinedly he stared at Lord Utterance, his hair wild with the unsteady breeze of his magic sluicing through the air.

"A Hawk Eyed comes with some interesting aspects, he might be intrigued in her simply because of the blood in her veins. I received a report only moments ago telling me that she had no adverse effects at all in the Rot, or so Kabuto says." He cocked his head. "I wonder how that came about? You would not have been sharing your ichor, now would you?"

Frowning instantly Sasuke glared. "Why would I care how she managed not to die on the Rot?"

"Well, perhaps my master's curiosity for powerful things, surviving things, has begun to rub off on me." Lord Utterance shrugged coyly and played with the bottle in his hand, watching the light coming from within twinkle and shine.

"If he requests the girl at least then you will not have qualms about giving her up, no?"

The Chattel which had been sent to fetch the subject of their conversation returned and bowing slightly to Lord Utterance he sighed before Sasuke could formulate an answer.

"Well, it appears dinner is ready and I don't know about you but that walk has me famished."

Without giving Sasuke a moment to say anything more he was gone, chatting away as though Sasuke were right at his elbow very much interested in his conversation.

Glancing about the room one last time Sasuke froze catching sight of an unsanded edge of white ivory shelf and wincing.

What he had taken for stone the color of bone was something much more sinister. Like the spear heads of the Rot Clan the opaque white was deceiving but it did not take a genius to figure out that what he was seeing was skeletons taken apart and used as building blocks. Not when jaw bone protruded from one shelf, the teeth of the deceased glinting in the light.

Bottling his fury for the coming conversation he stormed off after his host.

She had not yet seen the dining hall and so the sight of food making a giant table so heavy laden made her start.

It was somewhat nerve wrecking that the smell of the cooked meat made her recently nauseated body ache with hunger and as she watched slave girls move about setting out dishes for two and filling decanters with spirits she couldn't help but wonder why the Scaled Worm would do what he was doing. What did it serve to keep a star as turbulent and impatient as Sasuke waiting?

Stiffly Hinata stood next to Kabuto who instructed her in whispers to keep her head down, to say nothing unless spoken to and to not move if at all possible.

"Sometimes just scratching your nose catches their eye." He grumbled with a tone that spoke of experience. "Next thing you know you've been beaten within an inch of your life and you can't even remember why."

This statement made the confusion in Hinata flourish all the more. She would have said even earlier in the morning that she did not understand this. Sasuke had never treated her in such a manner, not even at the very start of their trip when her dislike of him had been about as tangible as his dislike of her.

Then again, she had the terrible throb of a cracked skull on the back of her head to contend with now, negating her opinion, making her wonder if perhaps she had been naive.

They entered together, Lord Utterance speaking endlessly. Coming up behind him Sasuke was a storm cloud where he was a butterfly bedecked in jewels.

His magic was awake and flaring and upon his entry every spine in the room straightened and shoulders tightened. Including Kabuto who stood beside her, eyeing the two Lords with wide eyes behind his spectacles.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered over the room and landed hard on Hinata. It was impossible not to look back at him when his gaze held so much weight and beneath it she quailed, straining to keep herself from wincing, or glaring back.

Part of her was terrified that he would ask her to do another impossible thing, something else to line her neck with bruises and her head with blood. The other part stared in wonder at his face so very pale, his magic so raw in the air, the circles beneath his eyes so stark.

Something was not right, it nagged at the back of her mind, a sliver so small she could not see it only feel it digging painfully out of sight.

"I do not intend to wait any longer." Turning away from her with renewed energy Sasuke's gaze focused on Lord Utterance and with his focus so then did his magic rise. Hinata watched, able for the first time not to just feel but see the pops of static that flickered through the air, the rustle of wind that drifted in swirls around Sasuke made his hair dance and his clothing whisper.

Lord Utterance did the foolish or brave thing of ignoring him, settling in his chair with a sigh.

"Lord Star, please. I only do as my Master requests, surely you must understand-"

It was the wrong thing to say.

Kabuto's cry was stunned and Hinata would have cried out herself if the air had not slipped out of her lungs in terror. The blast of magic that came from Sasuke's body was a heat wave and a cold front clashing, tearing at their hair and clothes, exploding with the thunderous chirping hiss of electricity and lightning.

Flat against the wall Hinata watched as the food, all the effort and time that had been placed on the table went scattering in a clatter over the floor, smashing as the hurricane of his magic rampaged through the room.

She had never seen him like this.

She had never understood.

Hanabi... what fools we were.

His steps were calm in the chaos as he moved towards Lord Utterance who stayed carefully frozen in his chair watching with some growing semblance of awe as the lightning intensified within Sasuke's hand. The muscles of his forearm and wrist stood to attention, within the cage of his fingers light spat and hissed, and as he lifted his fist he glared through the power at the Lord now immobile before him.

"Take me to him now, or I will end you where you stand and find him regardless. It will be easy after all the slaves see the red smear that will be all that's left of you. Surely then they will be encouraged to speak."

It was difficult to breath as the magic spun in a hurricane through the dining wall, shaking the chandeliers above and setting candles clattering to the table and marble, splattering on the overturned dishes on the other side. Sasuke waited a beat longer as Lord Utterance seemed to swallow his terror and carefully replied.

"But... Lord Star if you could just-"

It should not have moved so easily but either his temper had enraged him beyond his usual strength or Hinata had never realized the amount of care he took handling her. The kick to the table, long enough to seat dozens had it cracking, it's own weight so heavy that when he slammed his boot to the side and sent it toppling over the centipede length of it snapped the wood in the middle. Its thunderous crash joined the peal of the rushing wind and the crackle of lightning in his hand as he grabbed a hold of Lord Utterance by the throat, lifting him overhead.

"Enough." The dancing shadows on his face made his dark eyes pits as the lightning chirruped and thrashed in his grip, eager for slaughter.

"A-all right!" Just as his toes were about to leave the ground Lord Utterance tapped on Sasuke's arm, a polite furtive sort of touch that didn't much fit the situation. "All right, I- I will take you to his laboratory. I will do so now." He half choked out, eyes wide.

Kabuto's arm had somehow snaked around Hinata's shoulders and he pressed her back into the pillars of the room, hiding in the shadows.

With a snap the wind died and in the sudden silence Hinata could hear the whimpers of women in the other corner. The slaves meant to serve cowering from the force of Sasuke's magic. If it had been hard for her, a user of the earth's energy to breathe, then she could not imagine the pressure they would have endured in his presence.

"Hinata." Sasuke's snap as he dropped Lord Utterance gasping and rubbing his throat made her start, Kabuto's grip around her shoulders tightening.

His eyes froze on her then, dark eyes flickering to Kabuto and back to her with a momentary flash of confusion before he removed the quiver and tossed it onto the ground at her feet with the bow.

"Stay here."

Panting hard Hinata stared, heart hammering in her chest as she watched Lord Utterance frown openly at him and then glance at her, a gleam of something nasty flickering in his gaze.

The nagging feeling intensified, her warriors sense so long questioned buzzing like a beehive in her head.

"P-please let me... let me come with you."

She must have moved as if to step forward, Kabuto's grip on her shoulders tightened, drawing her back and for a second she almost elbowed him off. The silence was broken only by Lord Utterance dragging in ragged breaths as though he were still recovering from Sasuke's choking hold when only that morning he had been unfazed by Hinata being pinned beneath his own Chattels.

In the quiet Sasuke's dark gaze softened, and Hinata felt the world grow quiet, if only for a moment she watched the subtle tightening of his lips and felt in every particle of her being that she was missing something, that there were things being said she could not hear.

And with a breath the moment ended.

Sasuke turned away impatiently, glaring at Lord Utterance. "Move."

The Lord scampered towards the door, Sasuke right at his heels and without looking back he murmured, almost as an afterthought. "Stay there."

The door closed, and the moment it did the women in the corner were dashing out of the dining hall by the servants entrance, sobbing into their hands, holding each other, their collars reflecting the light of the evening suns coming in through the giant windows now splattered with the remains of the banquet.

"What were you doing?" Kabuto snapped, turning her around and giving her a shake. "Why would you ask to go with him? Are you mad?"

Hinata stared, stunned by his outburst. "H...he is not well, I can see it, I can tell- something is..." she stopped, shocked at her words, at all she was giving away in her confusion. Swallowing the rest she pushed his hands gently away stepping back.

"You should be glad that he left you here, glad that you are of no value to him." Kabuto muttered picking up the bow and arrow that Sasuke had thrown on the ground so carelessly.

Silent now, Hinata watched as he studied the careful carvings Sasuke had spent so long on, tracing them with his finger slowly.

"Anything anyone cares about the Scaled Worm covets, and what he covets eventually he owns." He lifted his gaze then, watching as Hinata's eyes widened, moments from the last two days falling into place at his words.

"You should be going." Slowly the blonde extended the bow and quiver to her, jaw set. "This is your chance, while he is busy."

Hinata took the weapon in a trance, slung it on her body with her thoughts rushing in her mind like flooded rivers breaching their banks. Pressing her hands to her eyes to think she breathed slowly. The familiar weight of the bow and quiver on her shoulder anchoring her to the marble, clearing her mind.

"Hinata, did you hear me?" Kabuto's voice was impatient, his grip on her elbow hard as he shook her. "This is your chance. You could run now, and get away. You could escape."

Sasuke had called her a trophy, had kept her usefulness in her tears a secret, had asked her to lose a battle to mark her as unimpressive, unworthy of attention, had downplayed her in every way possible.

"Is that so? Here I thought perhaps you came to offer her as a...down payment, for my Lord's assistance."

"I doubt he would take her."

"I suppose it would depend first and foremost on what her value was to you."

"Hinata. Listen to me." Kabuto shook her again, and Hinata snapped out of it, looking past him at the doors where Sasuke had just vanished.

"Listen." Taking her chin Kabuto turned her sharply towards him. "Right now you have a chance to get out of here. You have a chance to get away. Anko and I can help you but it must be now. While my Master destroys yours. He will be so giddy from the victory it will be days before he remembers you exist but only if you go. Go now."

Hinata shook herself free, taking a step back in surprise, her heart hammering in her chest so hard it hurt. "Why would he...what makes you think that they're going to-"

"Did he face the Rot Clan?"

Mouth wide, Hinata searched his face, saw the seriousness in his gaze, felt her stomach sink within her, twisting cold and painful.

"Y..yes."

Kabuto's eyes held no shred of jest, no inkling of distaste at the thought of Sasuke's imminent fall. Cooly and with the same knowing firmness of a scholar on a subject he felt was factual he sighed.

"Then the Scaled Worm won this fight long before it even started."

TBC