Someone asked about ages, so here they are. The age gap between Neji and Tenten and Hinata is a bit too big for my liking, but it has to make sense because Neji and Tenten are executives.

Hinata-17

Sasuke-18

Hanabi- 12 (five when she was kidnapped)

Neji- 25

Tenten-24

"This is Hanabi."

For a second, Hinata stood paralyzed, but then a flood of memories came pouring back. Her family, the curse, and the screams as they died... and yet... Hanabi was supposed to be dead, the overwhelming guilt that led to tears each night testified to that. So how was she here?

"Hanabi...?" Hinata wanted to greet her sister, but her mind came up blank as she searched for something to say. Something... anything, she wanted to hug and embrace her sister, but then again... she was afraid that she was mistaken, that Neji was mistaken... that perhaps this was someone else.

And then Hanabi, when she heard her name being called, gazed at Hinata with a baffled look.

"Who are you?"

Neji hurriedly responded for Hinata, who didn't know what to say in reply to such a question, "This is your sister Hinata, Hanabi."

It was strange, that when the two sisters were finally reunited, to each the other was a stranger, and they had no words to say between them; not of the suffering they had gone through, not of the pain they had felt when separated. But then it had been seven years ago, when they were both small children, when they had last met, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising that they felt like the other was a stranger.

Neji cleared his throat, breaking the stunned spell that had fallen, and capturing the attention of the occupants of the room. "Hanabi was quite young when she was…. kidnapped, so she doesn't remember any of us. Tsunade-san is currently taking care of her and she's slowly recovering, but she's still quite weak from her ordeal. I'm going to place her with Hinata until she's completely better. "

Then as an afterthought, he added, mainly to reassure Hinata, "Hanabi seems to have some degree of immunity to the curse, as her kidnapping seemed to actually protect her from the… the fate that the other Hyuugas suffered. Tsunade-san will visit often to make sure she's recovering properly, and I'll hire tutors to get her caught up."

Hanabi just stood there motionless, still staring down at the tiles, clearly not caring that they were discussing her.

Hinata finally found the strength to protest, "B-but Neji-san, are you sure that she's completely safe?" Her eyes glanced downward at her sister, before she jerked away her gaze guiltily at the lost look in Hanabi's eyes.

"I don't think it'll work on someone twice," Neji answered, though his reply seemed more to reassure himself than Hinata, and was directed at the Uchihas, mainly Mikoto.

Hinata was still unsure of what to say, everything was so... so much. Hanabi, whom Hinata thought was dead for years, was still alive. She was breathing, and though she had no memory of the past, it really was her.

Then Mikoto stood up. "Ah-hem, I would also like to say something." She looked quite shaken, but there was determination in her eyes as she gazed at Hinata, and then at her son, "Since these two young children are engaged, I was going to have Hinata stay in the Uchiha household so they could become more familiar."

Neji flinched, but it was subtle, and only Sasuke caught it.

"But... since a member of the Hyuuga family has been found, something none of us were prepared for, I think I'll have it wait. Meanwhile, I think we should do as we discussed earlier." She looked pointedly at Neji, as if waiting for him to continue.

"Uh, yes, but meanwhile…" Neji gestured at Hanabi. Neji heaved an inward sigh; he knew he should have explained everything to Hanabi before confronting the Uchihas, but he hadn't had time to plan everything out due to all the paperwork necessary to make sure Hanabi stayed a secret until the general public was ready to hear about it.

Mikoto seemed to understand his unspoken signal; she stood up, and signaled for her husband to do the same. "Alright then, you can explain to them what we had discussed," she told Neji, suddenly looking very tired. "Sasuke, you stay here; we'll send the limo for you later."

Neji nodded gratefully at the woman. "Sasuke will explain to you how Hanabi came back," he added, noting the politely detached curiosity evident in her eyes.

"I think we'll take our leave also," Tsunade added, already heading to the door. She and Shizune had helped Hanabi to her seat but the girl only picked at the food on her plate, as she seemed to have already eaten, despite her still skinny frame.

As the door closed behind the last person to walk out, Neji let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright, I'll start from the beginning," Neji said rather reluctantly, sitting back down at the table. "Hanabi, you'd better listen too."

The pale girl glanced up at Neji, a spark of interest in her eyes.

Neji took a breath, "Hanabi was kidnapped seven years ago by the Akatsuki. Their leader was Itachi" At this, Hinata noticed that Sasuke had flinched, and remembered that Itachi was his brother. She realized that the kidnapping must have been what caused the rift between their clans, which were once on extremely good terms.

"They originally wanted to kidnap Hinata, the heiress, to use as blackmail, maybe for a ransom, but they lost their opportunity during the Hyuuga Clan massacre," Neji continued. Hanabi didn't seem fazed by what her captors might have used her for, but appeared enraptured in the tale, her eyes fixed intently on Neji. "The massacre… happened when the Cloud, fearful of the Akatsuki's rising power, also tried to kidnap Hinata-sama. A fight broke out between the two, and most of our clan were killed during the crossfire." Neji's voice turned slightly hoarse, as if he were imagining the things that had happened.

Dimly, Hinata remembered hiding in a closet, screams echoing through the mansion. Her father had shoved her inside, telling her to stay until it was over. Neji had been there too, squeezed in beside her. She remembered crying out for Hanabi, realizing she wasn't there, but had been shushed by Neji, who promised she would see her sister again. Now Hinata realized he had kept his promise, however belated it was.

"The police came, but it was too late." Neji paused to take a sip of water. "Our clan was gone, except for the two of us." He gestured at Hinata and him. "We couldn't find Hanabi's body, but we were forced to give up the search due to the clan's destruction. We assumed she was dead. It was only recently that I began to investigate the case once more, and the detectives I hired found her to be alive, so we recovered her with the help of the police."

"N-neji-san, why didn't you tell me she was alive?" Hinata weakly protested. Hinata glanced at her sister, expecting anger at them abandoning her, but she was met again by the unnerving blank look.

Neji looked away, and an uncomfortable silence ensued, broken by the unexpected sound of Hanabi's voice.

"Why… didn't they kill me?" Hanabi whispered, her voice rough from misuse. Her eyes stared at Neji expectantly, demanding an answer.

Neji flinched visibly, as did Hinata. How could her sister speak of her own death so calmly? What had they done to her?

"I believe they wanted to use you as blackmail, because although our clan was destroyed, it's remaining members still held a lot of power, both economical and political. However, Itachi was killed during the fight with the Cloud, so there was a resulting power struggle among the Akatsuki, and they didn't have the opportunity to ransom you." Neji concluded.

"I h-have a question," Hinata stuttered, diverting the attention of the room's occupants. She turned to face Sasuke, who had sat in stony silence throughout Neji's narrating. "Why d-did your brother, I-I mean Itachi," she quickly corrected as Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of their relation. "Why was he t-the leader of Akatsuki?"

"How would I know?" Sasuke hissed. "He enjoyed power too much I suppose. He used our family's influence to get to the top."

Neji cleared his throat, and Sasuke's turned around to glare at him instead.

"Anyways," he continued, "About earlier, Mikoto, Fugaku, and I have made a decision regarding the remainder your educations."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke snapped, his eyes narrowing at Neji.

"Starting on Wednesday, you'll both be tutored. Together."