My gratitude to these people for reviewing: dumdeedum, zisaidwut, busi sibeko1, and Komorebi-chama.

Thanks for reading!

oOo

Chapter Sixteen: Echo

Hinata kneeled in front of her father in his office. He sat behind his desk, pulling a long, thin box from a pocket in his robes. About half the size of Hinata's forearm and skinny, the lacquered wood gleamed in the dim light.

"I want to thank you," he began. He set the box on his desk and pushed it towards her. "You've been doing very well."

He paused before sighing. He appeared so old, suddenly. Then, he sat up, and the steel returned to his eyes.

He continued. "Madara and Obito killed so many of our clan and many other people from the village. The Uchiha were responsible for so much loss. And yet, the elders still broke the treaty with the Hyuga and made an Uchiha the Hokage."

"The Hyuga gave the Uchiha the land for Konoha," Hinata murmured quietly.

Pleased, Hiashi smiled. "And…?"

Hinata, her hands hidden in her robes, dug her nails into her thighs. "And the Hyuga will take Konoha back."

Hiashi's cold eyes gleamed. "Legally, we have the right to do so."

The worst thing, Hinata thought, about this whole situation? Legally, the Hyuga did have the right. Neji, Shizune, and Tsunade poured over old contracts signed in blood. Hiashi was correct.

But the Hyuga did not have the right to assassinate a whole clan. The village changed over time. If the Hyuga tried to continue this coup and did not succeed, the Hyuga would be wiped off the face of the earth.

Hiashi's voice cut into Hinata's internal panic. "It's a gift." He gestured to the box. "It was your mother's."

Hinata opened the lid and her eyes widened. Inside sat a beautiful, delicate hairpin sculpted in the shape of a pink peony. She recognized this hairpin. It belonged to her before her demotion.

She looked up at her father, wondering if he knew about this pin. His indulgent expression gave nothing away.

"A gift?" she tried.

"Hm. I want you to wear it to work."

She touched her hair self-consciously. "I-It's not within regulation."

He waved it off. "Shizune never needed to wear her nin regulation wear. Per precedent, the Uchiha is obligated to allow you your little indulgences. Even better, tell him someone special gave it to you. He won't be able to argue then."

She reached out, thankful her hand held steady. Holding it close to her body, she nodded. "Thank you, Father."

"No. Thank you for making this possible."

oOo

Hinata quietly padded into the Radio Communications department. Haruko, sitting hunched over a table, turned. She grinned, ready to greet her cousin. Hinata quickly held a finger to her lips and shook her head.

Haruko's brows furrowed. Hinata pulled the box out of a pocket on her vest. Carefully setting the box on Haruko's workstation, she opened it, to reveal the hairpin sitting on rich velvet.

Hinata used field signs to get her point across. Listening device?

Haruko's eyes widened. She set her jaw and nodded. Pulling out a blocky, blinking device that sat in her palm, she scanned over the accessory.

An ANBU flickered into existence next to Hinata. She quickly gestured for silence again. The ANBU nodded, before he too, began to sign.

Neji on mission. I will be on duty until he returns.

Hinata's eyes widened as she registered the man behind the mask. She could not help herself, reaching forward and folding her best friend into a hug. Shino allowed it and gently patted her hair before she let him go.

"All clear," Haruko announced.

The two other nin crowded close to her chair.

The younger woman continued. "You were right, Hinata. It's a listening device."

Hinata sighed. "I knew I recognized it. I wonder if my father knows."

"I think it is safe to assume he does," Shino said.

Haruko passed Hinata another small box. She heard a tiny fan whir inside and felt the warmth and vibrations in her hand.

"It's a white noise machine," Haruko explained. "Keep it in your desk. The range is about a meter, but my supervisor was talking the other day about installing white noise machines in the Hokage's office anyway."

"If you give me a couple more of those machines, I will install them in the office until then," Shino murmured.

Haruko did so. With a little nod, Shino body flickered out of existence.

Hinata grimaced down at the hairpin. "My father told me to tell Hokage-sama that the hairpin is a gift from someone special."

Haruko made a face. "As in… a boyfriend? Like a special someone. Or… a 'special someone?'"

"I don't even know," Hinata sighed. "Every time I think I know what my father is thinking, he pulls out something new. He just said the Hokage would not stop me from wearing it if he thought it was important to me. But it's my mother's. Of course, it's important to me."

Haruko studied Hinata for a long moment. "Does the Hokage see you as a woman?"

Hinata could feel her shoulders hunch up as her ears grew hot. "I don't know. Should he?"

Haruko stood and moved behind her cousin. Gently grabbing her cousin's hair, she twisted it in a low bun, and pinned it into place with the hair accessory. Moving back in front, Haruko checked her work.

"You look sad," Haruko said. "Beautiful. But sad."

"I'm tired. And I miss Hanabi."

Haruko leaned in and kissed Hinata on the cheek, right over the seal that bound her life to her father's.

"Thank you for doing this for us… I… I think that the Hokage would be stupid not to see you as a woman. But it would make you even more sad. Don't break your own heart."

Hinata's return smile felt shaky. "I'll try my best."

oOo

"Wow, Hinata." Sasuke raised his brow when he walked into the office to visit his brother. "That's a pretty hairpin. I didn't know you liked that sort of thing."

Hinata blushed and tugged at a lock of her bangs. She felt exposed with her hair pinned away from her face. "It's not really."

He placed a hand on her desk and lazily leaned close. "Then why are you wearing it?"

"Um…" She glanced up from under her lashes. "Someone special gave it to me."

She could feel Itachi's curious stare on the side of her face.

oOo

Coming up: There's another meeting with the clan heads. Itachi does not have a good time.