A/N: Finally, I got it done in time! Beta'd by Alice J.

Chapter 36 - Freedom

I frowned at the scene in front of me, in fact, I wasn't even sure that we should be here at all. The two-story building wasn't blown to pieces completely, which was good news. It seemed that the Iwa-nin had only used the cheapest explosive tags for the distraction. The fire was flashy, so was the sound, therefore it only destroyed some supporting structures on the first floor, causing the building to become lopsided.

At the start of the mission, we had screened through most of the merchant groups that crossed the border in this area and observed them for three days, before actually determining the identity of the Iwa-nin. From there, we followed the buyer in order to catch the seller, but the foremost objective of the mission was always the elimination of the foreign shinobi buyer. Our team put a surveillance on the Iwa-nin for hours before the trade and all the way after the trade. It didn't make sense for them to have the time to put these land mines in place. Unless, of course, it was already set up before we even got here. After all, there were two sides to the negotiations and these low-level explosive tags don't necessarily require any chakra; they could be activated by a single spark of fire.

Using Owl's x-ray vision, we had already determined that some had already died on the left side from being crushed by the second floor. However, most people on the second floor and the right side of the first floor were still alive. Injured, but still alive. The biggest problem was the fact that the building was on fire.

We should leave, honestly, we should. The Shinobi from the border patrol would come and take care of this. However, despite the messenger hawk I had sent them, Falcon had confirmed that the friendly chakra signatures of our border patrol were still at least ten miles away, showing that they wouldn't be here for at least twenty minutes. By then, the building would really collapse.

"Take off your masks and put on some generic transformation jutsu. We are not going in as Anbu; we'll just pretend to be the border patrol," I finally commanded. Anbu shouldn't be seen by the civilians, so we would just borrow the border patrol's identity for a while and shoot them a message later.

"All civilians please move away from the scene," I yelled out to the crowd and immediately I got more screams back asking for what the hell had happened. For a second, I was tempted to yell 'shut up'.

"A formal investigation will be conducted later once the immediate threat has been taken care of. Now, if you don't want to get hurt, please get as far away as you physically can, the jutsu don't have eyes, okay?" There were a few grunted responses, but most of them were happy to move away from the threatening fire. Quickly, I turned my eyes back to the burning building.

"Falcon, Zebra, use earth releases to stabilise the structure, so things that want to fall, don't fall," I ordered the two men quickly. The building had to be stabilised first before we could flood the water in. As soon as a few earth walls rose from the ground and provided the structural support for the second floor, I started to make the hand seals for a water release.

"Raven, Owl, water release, right now, the wooden structure won't last very long." As soon as the words left my mouth, a wave of water rolled out of my palm, wetting the muddy ground, the burning wood and the survivors alike. Very soon, a few more small waves joined in as well.

It was painful, trying to get the fire under control, considering the fact that there were no rivers running through nearby. It was so much easier when I was on the burning side instead of the rescuing side. I added a few more earth releases in the meantime to consolidate the structures, and most importantly, prying open that entrance to the first floor.

After five minutes, the fire around the first floor was extinguished, but since fire likes to travel up, it had climbed all the way to the roof. I narrowed my eyes at the building, trying to figure out the best way of approaching it.

"How many are still alive?" I asked Owl.

"Twenty on the second floor, there are only five on the first. The left side of the building is way too damaged for any of them to survive … even the right side, most of them are injured, they can't get out on their own," he responded diligently.

"But most of the second floor people can?" After a second of examination, he nodded.

"Keep up with the water jutsu for a while longer," I said to him briefly before changing the hand seals for an earth release. A moment later, I flickered to the left side of the slanting building and clapped my hand on the ground.

A tall mud wall rose from the ground at a slanted angle and collided with the wall of the second floor, smashing a hole through the wood. As soon as the structure was made, I yelled to Falcon and Zebra, "Tell them to get out through the ramp and carry any injured with them. Add earth releases as you see fit if the ramp is about to die." Then, I turned my attention to the first floor.

"So, here's the plan. Owl will give me the directions, I will use earth release to hold up the building and Raven will get the injured out, one by one. There will be things falling down trying to impale you, so be careful, understand?" I explained swiftly. I would definitely need some help with the Earth Release for this, so straightaway, I bit my thumb and let the black lines expand from the ground.

"Oh, little rabbit, what did you do this time?" Really, that was the first thing that came to her mind when she saw fire?

"Unfortunately, I'm not the one who committed arson." I pointed at the entrance held open by messy stone spikes, "I need some more earth releases." Upon hearing that, she let out an excited smirk. Before I could say any more, I felt an annoyed glare drilling into the back of my head. Shaking my head at my difficult teammate, I marched into the little dark hole, hoping that there were still people salvageable.

The inside was full of smoke, all gathered up in the tight space with protruding wooden splinters. In the murky area, I could hear sounds of sobbing and groaning, telling me that there were some signs of life.

Quickly, we got into the routine like a conveyer belt. Owl would give me the coordinates, telling Fuyuki and me where to place the columns or walls, then, once he was sure that the structure was supported, Raven would go and get the civilian out.

"There's one more left, 36 degrees down your right, 9.73 metres away. Be careful, there's an unexploded tag near that area." Following Owl's voice, I glanced at the direction he mentioned. A few fallen wooden beams blocking the way, so they have to be moved manually.

"I'll secure the ceiling and the walls, can you go move the beams?" Ryuu just carried out a man, so Owl would have to do the heavy lifting. This time, he followed the order promptly with no questions. Life and death situations were included in the rare instances when he would refrain from arguing with me.

Owl chopped the wooden beams apart with well-placed chakra releases at the weak points. However, once he was done and therefore revealing the women trapped in the corner, something unexpected happened.

She could still walk, actually; she was just trapped behind the fallen beams. Usually, that would be a good news, except for the fact that she tried to move too soon. "Miss, please don't―" I didn't even get to finished the sentence before she accidentally touched the explosive tag while trying to push herself up using the wall.

At that moment, I had a lot of things planned in my head, including a few defensive strategies to get my teammate, and maybe perhaps the women, out of there. However, before I could do anything, Owl reached her first. I could see the torrent of uncontrollable chakra released from all the tenketsu of his body and rotating insanely.

It was evident that unlike his usual, well-controlled chakra releases, this one was wild, uncertain, and disorderly. He didn't have control over the rotation, nor did he have confidence that he could control it.

The dome of chakra was very effective in bouncing off all the fallen rocks and wooden splinters. The bad news was, the high-speed rotation sent all of them towards me and Fuyuki, with no warning at all.

My Sharingan saw the incoming rock first, and then I felt the pain before I could react. Without hesitation, I raised the silver skeleton, covering myself and a shocked Fuyuki alike. When the smoke and dust cleared again, there was a hole on the right side of the building as well.

"Get out!" I screamed at my stunned teammate, waking him out of a trance-like state. He jumped out of the building immediately, carrying the woman with him. A second later, I walked out with Fuyuki beside me, using the silver giant as a cover to keep the fallen beams away. As soon as I was out, I dispelled the silver chakra instantly.

Blood was running down my left arm, but it was the crack earlier that had really scared me. A stray rock had hit my left arm before I could even react, which said something about the speed and unpredictability of that jutsu Owl had used. I was able to expand the silver giant before it could crush my arm completely, but it still left considerable damage to the bone.

There was a low growl beside me before Fuyuki pounced on Owl and bashed him onto the ground. "Fuyuki, no!" I managed to stop her before she could actually bring down her threatening jaws.

"Get off of my teammate," I demanded, and after a few seconds of a staring contest between Fuyuki and Owl, she stepped off and returned to my side.

"What the hell was that explosion? And what happened to your arm?" Falcon asked worriedly as my teammates rushed to us. I glanced beyond them and saw the victims - most injured and covered in dust - standing or lying on the ground. In total, twenty-five of them had escaped in a group of thirty-two.

"Let me see that arm." Obediently, I gave my arm to Zebra. After a basic check, he explained, "You're lucky, it's a non-displaced fracture, I can put it back together and start the healing process. There shouldn't be any long-term effects if you rest it well for the next few days." Despite the stressed syllable, I decided to ignore his patronising tone.

"So, how did this happen?" I heard Falcon ask as the cloud of healing chakra soaked into my left arm. I was about to say 'accidental friendly fire'; it wasn't a big deal, accidents happen. Perhaps, a warning would be nice next time if he ever planned to use that unstable technique again. But before I could, someone interjected the conversation.

"It's my fault. I didn't listen." Wait, what? I looked at Owl in surprise. "She asked me for coordinates of the remaining explosive tags. I was distracted by the last victim, so I went to help the woman instead of answering. Then, it suddenly exploded, rocks fell on us before she could use a technique to shield us."

Hang on, let me get this straight. Did he just use an excuse of insubordination and negligence in order to get out of the charge of friendly fire? No matter how I evaluated the situation, it wasn't a trade anyone would be willing to make.

"You're kidding, right?" Falcon glared at Owl as he shouted angrily. "You had one job, a job our captain assigned you. I don't care what kind of personal problem you have with her, you were putting your teammate in danger."

"Wait, no―"

"I'm sorry. I apologise deeply for my inappropriate actions." First of all, did he just cut me off and secondly, did he just apologise to me like he actually meant it? I opened my mouth to say something again because the situation was getting out of hand and the truth had gotten twisted somewhere along the way. But then, I saw Owl's eyes.

Ah, he actually looked scared. Horrified even, for reasons I didn't know.

"You know what, we have to leave. The civilians are getting agitated now that the building actually collapsed and I don't want to stay here when they want to blame someone." I decided that however this thing should be resolved, it should be decided later. Falcon wanted to say something else, but I stopped him promptly.

"No, don't argue. We need to get that man you tied to the tree for interrogation and you are going to send a message to the border patrol, telling them to back up our identities," I barked at Falcon, forcing him to move on from the topic, and then, I turned to Owl.

"And once we get back to Konoha, we are going to talk about this … incident. Don't try to run away."

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

He ran away.

We got the information from the weapon dealer through some minor interrogation methods, and by that, I meant that I was experimenting with some genjutsu that focused on the sensory neurons. It turned out, the Fire Country official who sanctioned the illegal trades was quite high up on the ladder, and therefore, we would have to keep our mouths shut and let the Hokage deal with the politics. Furthermore, it seemed that the explosive tags on the civilian building was planted way before the deal and was actually ordered by this Fire Country official instead of the Iwa-nin. I supposed that it would be easy to blame this hit on bandits or neighbouring enemies in order to cease control of this village near the border. It would have made controlling a secure smuggling route much easier.

The moment we got back and dropped the man off to the interrogation unit, Owl disappeared from the grid. Because of the strong encouragement from Zebra, I went to the hospital first to get a cast. After that, he had already changed his equipment and left the locker room. I knew that I could probably find him in the Hyūga Compound, but I doubted that the Hyūga clan head would appreciate it.

The electric senbon sizzled at the tip of my finger, threatening to blow up. Perhaps, it was feeling my agitation. Before the senbon made of a mini Chidori could explode in my hand, I flicked it out towards the already-battered dummy on the other side. It wobbled because of the electric discharge in the air and missed the target, only for it to blow up near the seal boundary.

Training facilities in Anbu had a few rooms lined with chakra seals that could negate chakra and record the signature. It was the perfect place for practising unstable ninjutsu without blowing up anything other than ourselves. I turned to glance at the pile of uncompleted reports in the corner of the room, just to make sure that I hadn't burned it yet, before turning my attention back to the ninjutsu problem at hand.

Chidori, by essence, was not that much different from normal lightning chakra. However, what gave it its unique attacking power was its concentrated form. Normal lightning chakra focused on properties like paralysis, burn, and the wide coverage. However, Chidori went to extreme lengths for speed and penetration by concentrating the chakra at one point instead of spreading it out. Kakashi uses his hand as that gathering point, but I preferred to use my sword because after using them for so long, they were like natural extensions of my arms. For me, sending the chakra to my sword was no different from gathering the chakra near the tenketsu at my hand.

Lightning was a wild chakra to use; it had a tendency spread to wherever it can. Therefore, moulding a high concentration of lightning chakra required extensive control to keep it from expanding. Using that logic, all the variants that I had devised for long-ranged attacks and increasing the area of effect - the Extending Chidori Blade, Chidori Electrifying Web, and the Chidori version of Raiton: Rairyū no Mai - required more chakra to control because they still carried some of the traditional lightning release's characteristics. Adding the concentrated Chidori chakra did, in fact, increase its speed and attacking power by quite a bit, but still not as significant of an increase as between using normal lightning to coat the sword and using the sword as a gathering point for close range Chidori.

Shape transformation to senbon was another problem. Chidori senbon was not used as simply as using explosive tags, rather, my idea behind it was to take advantage of the fact that Chidori lightning was way more concentrated than normal lightning. By compressing as much Chidori lightning into one thin senbon, it could penetrate small areas while containing way more chakra than it looked like, allowing it to penetrate a target's body with ease and subtly damaging them from the inside. However, the problem was how much Chidori lightning could be compressed into one senbon. Too much, and it will blow up; too little, it couldn't be called a Chidori version anymore.

Not feeling like giving up, I tried again. A ball of Chidori chirped and crackled in my right hand and carefully, I added some pure chakra for the shape transformation and long-range control. The ball of sizzling lightning separated over and over until a line up of fifty tiny senbon appeared above my hand.

And here comes the hard part, I thought as I released the icy-blue needles all at once. Between the fifteen metre distance from me to the dummy, twenty exploded, another twenty crashed into each other and exploded. Only ten hit the dummy, and even then, it was blowing small holes on the mannequin's surface instead of piercing them through.

Maybe, I should relinquish the chakra for long-range control and use them to keep the shape stable instead. These senbons are going too fast for me to control the trajectory right now anyway. Experimentally, I gathered as much lightning chakra as I could compress within one ten-centimetre senbon until I could at least hear the whisper of birds chirping and sent it off towards the dummy's forehead.

The penetration was better. It actually pierced into the dummy and then exploded inside of it. On an actual shinobi human, once the senbon enters the body, it could explode and cause quite a bit of internal damage. If it was accurate enough to penetrate a tenketsu spot, since chakra liked to follow the lead of other chakra, it could potentially damage their chakra flow or even blow up their chakra circuit depending on the point of entry.

The aim, however … I wanted to cover my face in shame. I was aiming for the head, but it hit somewhere near the left chest. Yep, definitely need to work on that chakra control. The senbon shape had to be completely maintained, meaning no accidental electric discharges or crooked shapes during flight.

A small warning beep sounded above my head, telling me that I had exceeded the maximum chakra load in the barrier for the hour, or maybe it was the smoke detector. Reluctantly, I grabbed the files from the corner of the room - surprisingly, they were still intact, how disappointing, there went my excuse - and signed out of the training facility.

The arm sling was still hanging on my neck awkwardly as I walked down the hall of the Anbu locker room. I still wasn't sure what to write on the mission report now that several versions were bouncing everywhere. Also, Owl obviously didn't want me to write the truth down, but making up another story that dumps all the responsibility on him seemed like an over exaggeration to me.

Of course, I didn't know his reason, but I would if he had bothered to have that conversation with me ten hours ago. So yes, to say that I was irritated was a severe understatement.

It was Anbu protocol that every injury on a mission had to be reported and accounted for. Friendly fires are considered accidents, so as long as the situation was explained, no one would get in trouble. However, if the injury was caused by insubordination and negligence, it was a different story. Depending on the severity, the punishment varied from suspension to forced removal. If Owl was going to continue with that story, I would have to give him a punishment, even if it was just a light one, to show that the protocol was being followed.

Ah, maybe I do need to go to the Hyūga Compound and just shout for him. Eventually, he'll get embarrassed and come out, or I might get bombarded with the Gentle Fist first.

While I was passing my own locker room, the door was suddenly opened. A hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. I was quite certain of the identity of my attacker, but it didn't stop me from kicking him in the knee. As a low grunt of pain sounded in the background, I shook off his hand and closed the door behind me.

"Attacking a person who just had her arm broken, not a smart choice." I dropped the incomplete report on the bench and glared at the Hyūga in front of me. Ah, why does he look so guilty? When he didn't answer me, I spoke up again.

"So, are we ready to have the conversation about the mission?" When I heard the silence again, I sighed and turned around.

"Can you report the story I told earlier?" I heard him ask in a small voice as I opened the locker and placed the mask inside. After a pause, he added, "Please."

"And why would I do that? Actually, the real question would be, why would you want that?" I asked, pulling out a jacket from my locker in the meantime. There was another long pause that ensued, it seemed like I would have to do most of the talking today.

"Do you know that if an instance of insubordination resulted in an injury, the lightest punishment will be a suspension. Since you are so eager to say it out loud in front of all team members, I can't just write that story and let you off the hook. That would be negligence on my part." I sat down the bench, still glaring at him, my eyes full of criticism.

"So you better give me a damn good reason why I should lie for you, and maybe I'll think about it." Silence, silence, and silence. Why did it feel like I was yelling at a foreigner who couldn't speak my language?

"Was it pride? What, your great eyes with its 359-degree vision couldn't have made a mistake?" I was definitely getting angrier at his silence. He put me in this position and now he was using passiveness to fight everything; it was infuriating. "Accidents happen sometimes, trust me, I've had shuriken cuts from friendly fires before. If I just write down everything in detail to explain the dire situation, no one will blame you."

When he refused to answer again, that was when I decided that my limit was approaching. "You have five seconds before I leave to go write my report," I said to him coldly as I slipped on the jacket, fully ready to get out and blend into the Konoha streets.

"You can't write down the details of what happened in there." Just as I was about to open the door, he spoke up.

"No one can know the jutsu I used back then, not even a description. I can't … my clan can't know." I turned around and locked my gaze on him. I tried to determine if he was screwing with me, but the pupil-less eyes were always the worst for determining emotions from. Slowly, I walked back to the bench and sat down. I signalled for him to sit down as well, seeing that it was going to be a long conversation.

"I'm going to need more than that if I am even considering omitting details. So start talking." After another moment of slight pause, he sat down as well.

"The Hyūga clan is separated into the main house and the branch house. There are many differences between the two houses, but one of them is the fact that there are some techniques that are only passed down through the main house. As a branch member, I don't get to learn those techniques." As he started the explanation, I crossed my arm in front of my chest and listened attentively.

"The technique I used during the mission, it's not taught to us through any means, but we can observe them in motion. That technique, Eight Trigram Palm Rotation, it's a defensive technique to counter the blind spot. I have been seeing the main house perform that technique for eight years, but I have never thought of trying it myself, not until you beat me using my blind spot." Perhaps, that tone was just pure spite. I still narrowed my eyes at him because of his words. The Hyūga Clan was definitely very different from the Uchiha Clan if Owl was willing to tell me this much, he must be desperate.

"Can you even do it, learning that technique through sheer observation?" I asked suddenly.

"Me, I don't know, but like I've told you before, I'm far from the most talented in my clan. One of the branch members, he learned all the Eight Trigram techniques through observation and sheer talent when he was ten. He's the pride of the branch house, our hope, even."

"I'm merely trying out that one technique, and even then, I can't control it. In a proper Palm Rotation, the size and the speed of the rotation can be thoroughly controlled, so what happened on the mission should have never happened. During that explosion, I panicked and used the first thing I could think of. For that, I'm really sorry." He eyed my broken arm, before dipping his head low apologetically.

"Did that branch member get any punishment for …" I was struggling to find the right word since 'snooping' didn't seem to be the right one, "... self-studying the techniques?"

"Neji? No. He is one of the most talented Hyūga the clan has ever seen, the Clan Head was proud of his show of strength." He paused a bit before continuing, "However, his techniques were complete and acknowledged, while mine is far from that. I used an incomplete technique that was not taught, which in turn injured an Anbu Captain. I will bring shame to the clan … and I will get punished."

I leaned back on the cold metal locker, trying to process everything I had just heard. I had made a promise not to get in any clan's business, they saw me as a nuisance and an unwelcomed surprise, and I wouldn't disagree. At that moment, I wanted to kick him again and break some joints without him fighting back.

"So you came up with a really lame excuse about insubordination and negligence? Tell me, do you even value your career in Anbu?" I exclaimed, full of disbelief. Couldn't he have picked something else like, oh, I don't know, I tripped and fell? It might have made me look stupid and I would be mad at him for a long time, but at least I didn't have to deal with this.

"Your wolf attacked me. Anyone with an eye could see that I was the cause of your injury and … I do feel responsible for it. I wasn't even controlling the rotation, if you didn't have that technique, the speed of the debris would have crushed you and collapsed the building."

I rubbed my temple, trying to ease my headache. So, what were my choices? I could stick with the truth and get it over with. To be fair, Owl's mission record might not even be read by anyone other than the Hokage.

"You still haven't answered me. Do you value your career in Anbu?" I suddenly asked, trying to figure out this man so different from me in terms of his situation in the clan. "Do you care? Because I value mine."

"I do, very much. The Branch House was born in a lower status than the Main House; we were born to be bodyguards to the main family. I might not feel happy about it from time to time, but I understand my responsibilities. If the time arises, I will protect the main family with my life. But other times, when my life is still mine, working directly under Hokage-sama is liberating. No offence, but the clan could care less if I get a minor suspension under a captain who is an Uchiha." Despite the 'no offence' and the hushed tone, I took every offence to that. He was using my family name as a tool to fool his clan, dragging me into a complicated place.

"However, if the Hyūga Clan caught word that I was learning the technique privy to the main house and failed to succeed, they can force me to resign from Anbu. I can't say no, nor do I honestly want to say no to the Main House." It was unfair that he was pleading to me. I was angry, very much so. But at the same time, I could hear the guilt and desperation leaking out of his voice.

He sounded genuine to me, or maybe he had gotten me with that speech about liberation. I supposed that he was trying to take the punishment to say sorry. The Hyūga Clan business was complicated and I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near that. However, when in Anbu, I had every right to protect my subordinates from harassments.

"Two weeks. That's the punishment I would assign to a minor insubordination of this degree. Don't worry, I survived two months once, it will pass in the blink of an eye." Upon hearing my words, I swore his eyes shone with relief and excitement.

"Now, I have some conditions, so listen up," I said while flipping over the empty report, filling in missing information as I continued to speak. "One, I'm doing this for your sake, so if you dare to use it against me in any way, shape, or form, I will rip you apart, piece by piece, and then you will really see what the Mangekyou Sharingan can do."

"I won't. I swear on my life and my clan," he interjected immediately. I raised my head to examine him, just to make sure that he actually meant it. Feeling my critical glare, he added, "Seriously, I'm not that kind of a person." Hn, I'll be the judge of that.

"Two, you are not to use that technique again, you're right, it's too dangerous. Now that I know you don't actually have control over it, a two-week suspension is a fair punishment for that reckless disregard for my life and my summon's." He nodded obediently, although he looked a bit disappointed at the prospect of me banning his effort in trying to learn a jutsu to cover his weak spot. With that, I let out an internal sigh.

"Don't use that technique, at least, not until you can control it. In the meantime, as long as you don't use it in public, I will forget that I know anything about it." Think about the good side, Maiko, I kept on telling myself, now you have a powerful defence technique to practice your ninjutsu with.

"So, by that, you mean, I can still practice it while we are sparring privately?" He asked tentatively. Whoa, he caught on quickly.

"I am not confirming that. Don't put words in my mouth." I defended immediately, but I knew that he was both smart and brazen enough to disregard my words. I stayed for a while longer to finish up the report while Owl watched me from the side. I could not express the amount of discomfort I was feeling when my writing was being carefully examined by the Byakugan. So by the end of the report, I was ready to kick him, punch him, do something.

"Three, get your face away from my report, it's especially creepy with the white eyes." I squeezed the words out of my mouth as I was finishing up the last page. Reluctantly, he turned his face away.

"Last chance to back out, once I send in the report, your two-week suspension starts now." I raised the finished report and asked him one last time. Firmly, he nodded, not at all wavering at the impending fate of being stuck in the village.

"Well, then, I'll see you in two weeks." I lazily waved him goodbye before stepping out of the locker room. When I was closing a door, I thought I heard a rare mutter of 'thank you'. That was the first instance of 'thank you' that I had gotten from a hostile Hyūga in ten months, and probably the only one I would hear, ever.

After I handed in the file at the Hokage's office, I dropped by the Uchiha Compound. The construction was still under way. However, with my promotion in Anbu, and therefore a promotion in salary, I was able to get more of the project done than I had expected. The roof of the main house had been changed, the burnt floor, completely refurbished, and the doors, replaced. In fact, the main house was in a livable condition if we discounted the wooden walls with several holes in them.

At night, somehow, I found myself back in the underground Anbu facility. It was two in the morning, so despite the fact that the time of the day doesn't really matter to Anbu agents, the hall was mostly empty. Those who wanted to sleep went back to their locker rooms and those who needed to leave left their locker rooms in a hurry.

So catching this time of peace and tranquillity, I was lying down on one of the benches over the railing that oversaw the training of new recruits. They were just in a middle of their first morning shift, and truly, my heart felt for them. I wondered if Hokage-sama put the Hyūga on my team for some wise reasons other than 'hey, this has never been done before'. Perhaps he was trying to test to see if this unusual cooperation could work out. Now, if Owl and I could pull that off, that would be schema-breaking.

"Are you extending your natural habitat from the locker room to the whole Anbu facility now?" I heard the familiar voice mocking me from above. Slowly, I opened my eyes, letting the mellow lights soak in. The prime reason why I liked to stay here for small rests was because of its lighting. Not too harsh and not too dim, unlike the locker room, where it was either all or nothing.

"Yes, I suppose so. Between missions, I spent over half of my time here, holed up underground." I responded with a bland tone as I awkwardly propped myself up with one arm, freeing up half of the bench for Kakashi to sit down.

"How's your new job treating you?" He asked casually, his one eye glancing down at the new recruits. They had only started their entrance training a few days ago, meaning they still had to suffer through quite a long bit of time. Thinking back on those days, I felt that it had been so long ago despite it having been only around three to four years since then.

"It's … difficult. I had to decide on some difficult choices, but it's not long enough for the outcome of my decision to sink in. So now, I am left wondering about the consequences," I answered. He wouldn't necessarily respond to my problems, but at the very least, he would listen sometimes, if I were lucky.

"I heard you hurt your arm because of a teammate, is that true?" And this is why Owl was worried about the information leak. Anbu was a pretty tight network since there were some problems that Anbu agents could only talk about with other agents. Besides, a suspension was not a common thing to happen and therefore, easily noticed.

"Team dynamic is a part of the issue, but then again, accidents happen and people panic. I didn't want to give out any punishments, I don't know how you would've done it," I said, half complaining, half asking for advice.

"You're in a difficult situation, I get it. Trying to prove that you are capable, fair, and of course, sane. That's why you're thinking too hard. Pick a punishment and stick with it, if it's wrong, the Hokage and the Anbu Commander wouldn't have approved of it. If it's being adjusted, then you can go back to contemplation and start to stress your brain out. Relax, you'll get a better grasp with time." His voice was very calm. Reassuring, perhaps; light-hearted, definitely.

Time, it was a magical thing. It brought change to people, to events, and to hearts. However, at the same time, time could be arbitrary in terms of quality. Three and a half years in Anbu, I wholehearted believed that it taught me more than my eighteen years in OLYMPUS did.

"I remember when you were nine, you were so abhorred by the idea of Anbu. Yet, a few years later, here you are, trying to make a life in here. Are you seeing the iron?" He teased. And yes, I did see the irony. But really, time was a magical thing, and so were people.

"Come on, let me off the hook. I was a child back then, full of prejudice gained from bedtime stories. But now, I know that those preconceived notions are not true and … I like it here," I murmured, wondering exactly when had I stopped seeing Anbu as OLYMPUS. A month in? A year in? I couldn't tell. Time was an ambiguous thing.

"Oh? And what kind of prejudice was that? Do enlighten me on the things they tell in bedtime stories. Nowadays, merciless killers seem to equate Anbu in most civilians' mind."

"It's not so much as the killer part. I've done my fair share, not that hard when you are trying to survive. It's the freedom part. As you may or may not have noticed over the years, freedom was my blind spot." I spared a glance at Kakashi, before returning the gaze at the thirty-some recruits below. They were a new generation, full of potential.

"What, you think that the Konoha Anbu is like Kiri, or …" I could tell that he dropped the last word of the sentence in a hurry, and it triggered my curiosity.

"Or what? Mind finishing the sentence?" At that point, I completely forgot the old saying that curiosity killed the cat.

"Nothing, I was just trying to think of another example, but then I realised that I don't actually know that much about other villages to care." Like usual, his excuses were as smooth as water.

"Well, then, I'm going to go home for today. It's not like I can take missions for the next two days with this arm." I fumbled around for my mask, unsure of where I had put it before. I had finally decided to give up on confidentiality. Helpfully, Kakashi grabbed the mask from the ground and placed it on my face.

During that time, I was happy. Or perhaps, a better word would be content. I was content with my life, or rather, choices in life, completely unaware of the fact that in three days, my life would be thrown into hell once more.

Danzō broke into my life three days later and before I knew it, I was already caught up in his web of truths and lies.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

"Hokage-sama wishes to speak to you." They caught me just as I was locking up locker room 29. They were wearing the Anbu issued black outfit, but their masks were pure white. The masks resembled the one I wore during my trainee days, but somehow, just from their composures, I was sure that the two in front of me had more than a few months' experiences under their belt.

"If that's true, then why didn't Hokage-sama summon me through the tattoo?" Without any pause, I walked past them. However, one of them shifted in front me and blocked my path.

"Hokage-sama doesn't wish for this to gain any public attention nor does he want to wait." The one in front of me said to me calmly, not a spec of emotion in his voice. I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out what he wanted. But just like his mask, he seemed like a void, with no identifiable trace on him whatsoever.

"Are you going to force me against my will?" I asked again.

"It's an order from Hokage-sama, therefore, it should be your will to follow it." Now that would be a semi-valid argument if it actually came from Hokage-sama. I looked around the empty Anbu facility beside the corridor, seeing no one in sight. However, if a fight were to break out, I was sure that people would rush here before I could break either of their arms. And that not only meant trouble for them but for me as well.

"Lead the way, whoever you are." Finally, I said after much thinking. First of all, there was no point having an impasse here; secondly, I would really like to know who wanted to have a word with me so bad that they would use Hokage-sama's name; and lastly, I would really like to go home after another long day at Anbu.

The two Anbu-but-maybe-not led me out of the Anbu facility through a backdoor that I didn't know existed. But before I could get a glimpse of where I actually was, they ushered me into some intricate underground tunnels.

"You are not taking me to the Hokage," I knew I was stating the obvious, but someone had to say it. They ignored me but the two of them - one in front of me and one behind - closed in the space just a bit, as if trying to prevent me from escaping.

"That was the plan, Uchiha-san. But unfortunately, Hokage-sama is currently busy, so I will be talking to you if you don't mind." Actually, I do mind, but we both knew that was more of a command than a question.

Shimura Danzō stood a few metres in front of me behind a desk. Half of his body was painted black by the shadow; the other half was more or less covered in black clothes that glowed slightly yellow from the only light source in the room: a metallic desk lamp that was common in interrogation rooms.

"Elder Shimura, I would like an explanation for this meeting," I said calmly. Like always, I couldn't see any inner desires on his half-hidden face, nor could I read his motives just by the way he stood like a statue. However, that feeling of being trapped and played under his fingers never disappeared once since I had met him.

"It was nothing formal, Uchiha-san. Congratulation on the promotion, it seemed like your career is treating you well." Very slightly, he moved his hand and signalled for me to sit down on the metal chair in front of the table. After a moment of hesitation, I obliged.

"Thank you, Elder Shimura. However, I believe that you want to talk more than just my promotion." I didn't have much skill in politics, but one thing I did know was how to say the polite version of 'let's cut the crap and get to the chase.'

"Have you considered your career? Is there anything you want to accomplish?" He acted like he was oblivious to my impolite attitude and asked in a mellow voice that was a clear imitation of the Hokage. Thankfully, I had pre-choreographed an answer to this particular question.

"Nothing out of ordinary. I would like to continue to serve Hokage-sama in Anbu. I would like to rebuild the Uchiha name. Also…" I want to find my brother and kill him. I stopped myself immediately when I realised what I was about to say - the thought that seemed to come out of nowhere - but the abruptly cut-off line seemed awfully suspicious.

"Also?" I could see Danzō raise his visible eyebrow and suddenly, I felt so very self-conscious. Why am I feeling like I have something to hide when he was the one that tricked me here?

Also, I would like to kill my brother and take revenge. "Nothing." That was all I could say to wrench myself out of the strange line of thought. I had no idea why I would think of something like that now, but… it felt right to say it out loud.

"What about your brother, Uchiha Itachi, don't you want to kill him for revenge? Your younger brother seemed very confident in admitting it." I do, I really do. I opened my mouth for the natural answer, but then the feeling of something not quite right stopped me, leaving only a hint of gagging in my voice.

"There is no need to hide, my child. It's an understandable sentiment and you can speak to me about it." Isn't it? Is it so wrong that I want the revenge? The desk lamp was casting off wavering lights, and the sharp contrast between the harsh light and the overwhelming shadow was starting to give me a headache.

"Let me ask you once again, do you want revenge or not?" The way he said it, it sounded so urgent and pressing, but so smooth and trustworthy at the same time. He is the only one who understands, and he is the only one I can talk to without being branded an outcast for showing my true emotions… right?

"Yes…" My voice still sounded uncertain, but this time, the word finally came out.

"Good, my child. Now that you know you can trust me, tell me, is Sarutobi Hiruzen letting you do that?" But can I really trust you? It sounded so wrong. Me, trusting Danzō? Was that even possible? But … I had already told him my deep dark secret. Under the dim flickering light, there was just something in the air that made my head feel like mush. Something was wrong, but I just couldn't figure out what. Before I could stop the flow, everything was pouring out.

"No, Hokage-sama refuses to tell me anything about him, nor would he tell me about any search missions. He isn't letting me do what I want, he has never trusted me anyway." I answered him, sounding way too desperate than I had ever intended. Then again, I never intended to tell him anything at all. "Sometimes, I feel like Hokage-sama is lying to me." I looked up and saw Danzō's emotionless eyes, but I could swear that I saw some sympathy and understanding.

"I think that's a mistake, don't you?" Yes, I agree. "I, on the other hand, think that you deserve your chance. After all, you do have the skills to counter his Sharingan, don't you?" Yes, finally, someone understands!

But it all just sounded so wrong. Why was I talking to him in the first place, let alone the topic of Itachi? It was the light; it was the atmosphere; it was something, but before I could figure out what and clear my head, he was already pressing on.

"I would like to offer you a position, of course, you will still be in Anbu. However, you will be joining a special faction of Anbu. In there, I can provide you with information, training, personnel… all the resources you need to take your revenge." Something was so very wrong in those sentences he was feeding me. First of all, there shouldn't be any special factions within Anbu, and secondly…

I didn't want to take revenge. Revenge had never been my goal. Somewhere along our conversation, my words, or my thoughts, got twisted.

Instinctively, my eyes spun into the three tomoe and chakra flared in my circuit … Nothing changed. The elder was still sitting in front of me, amiable, harmless, guileless.

"I need an answer, my child. I don't have much time, so you need to make your decision before you leave." His mellow words only made my headache worse. Unconsciously, I brought my hands up and clutched onto my head, trying to stop the confusion.

"Make your decision now…" I could hear the echoing words, urging me to take his offer, because it was so tempting. I needed it, I didn't have any help, I never had any help. So tempting… Just say yes and the headache will stop.

"Yes … I mean … I need more time to think." Eventually, I squeezed the words out of my mouth and immediately, Danzō's aura changed. The pressure, it was definitely heavier, like an adult patronising a child, telling me that I needed to apologise and say the opposite. He is getting impatient, and I need to say yes before he casts me aside.

But no. Something was very wrong, and I couldn't say yes without my instincts telling me that I was making a huge mistake.

"This could be troublesome if you can't make up your mind, Uchiha-san. Perhaps there is something else I can offer you, regarding your brother, Sasuke." Suddenly, I raised my head and stared at Danzō, his expression was still as empty as ever. No sign of smugness, confidence, or greed. But, something had changed. Didn't someone else also try to use Sasuke to tempt me before? Yes, Orochimaru, and things ended really badly for him.

"I heard from Hiruzen that he needs protection, from Orochimaru and many others. I can offer that protection which the Hokage can't, or is unwilling to, if you put him in my care. The faction can protect him 24/7, and my offer for training applies to him as well." His words were like a bucket of cold water pouring over my body, and it washed off every bit of confusion I had ever had.

It was so clear now that something was very wrong. Because there was no way that I would give Sasuke to him. I would never ever let Shimura Danzō, that spider full of avarice, touch my brother.

"Stop talking." I cut him off with a voice as cold as ice. "What did you do to my mind." It was not a question; it was a statement. From the way his mouth widened slightly before returning back to its original state, I'd say that he definitely did something to screw with my head.

"Nothing, my child. These are all your deepest desires, your truthful confessions, are they not?" He stared back at me with feigned innocence, as if this was all my fault.

"If you want to twist my words, at least get your facts straight," I mocked and stood up from the metallic chair. The two men who led me here tensed and rested their hands on their weapons, but I ignored them and kept my eyes on the one who orchestrated all of this.

"I don't want to kill Itachi because I don't believe that what you told me is all there is. I will find out the truth behind the massacre, and if you try to pull something like this again, I will not forgive so easily like this time." Actually, I wasn't even planning to forgive him this time, but at the moment, I needed to leave this hellhole. Slowly, Danzō stood up as well and his ailing figure towered over me. I stood my ground and bravely stared back, although I was very aware of the sounds of blades being drawn behind me.

"Be careful with your words, girl. Your confidence may very well become arrogance and bring about your downfall, just like your clan. I will ask one more time, will you join me or not?" His voice exerted a sense of control, trying to pressure me like before and turn my brain back into that pot of mush. But it wouldn't work this time. Never again.

"No thank you, Elder Shimura. Now if you'll excuse me, I will take my leave." After dropping my last words, I turned around and moved towards the exit. Immediately, one of the masked men appeared in front of me with a blade blocking my path. Really, you plan to stop me with one sword? Before the man could look away, my eyes had already connected with his. A second later, he dropped to the ground as his body spasmed.

"Lead our guest out, Dajimu. Uchiha-san, I believe that it is for your benefit not to talk to anyone about our meeting. After all, there were secrets spilt in here." When I heard his unconcerned words with that hint of mockery, I almost wanted to smash him apart just like I did with Orochimaru. Secrets? You mean the words you tricked me into saying while you were playing around with my mind?

Nevertheless, I needed to get out of here. I still couldn't figure out what he had done to my head, and staying here was just asking for myself to be controlled again. Without looking at his fallen partner, the other Anbu bowed to Danzō and led me out of the dark corridors.

The moment I was back in the Anbu facility and left alone by Danzō's lackey, I leaned back onto the wall and let the dread wash over me.

I almost fell into his trap. I was so close to losing control of my own mind. Even now, my brain was in a state of haziness. If that statement about Sasuke didn't backfire, I really didn't know what would have happened. All these emotions that I stopped feeling years ago, just five minutes with him, and they had all returned. The anger, the betrayal, the insecurity, and the desperation. One sentence and he had triggered them all.

"What just happened?" I mumbled to myself, trying to make sense of what the hell I was thinking. I blinked again, this time, more forceful in exerting chakra from my eyes to the brain. Still, I couldn't feel anything wrong in my chakra circuit. No sign of genjutsu or foreign chakra.

Then why am I doing everything I can to resist the urge of going back to Elder Shimura and beg for forgiveness, despite realising how ludicrous that was? What is wrong with me?

"What the hell just happened?" That seemed to be all that I could say, but it was the one question that I didn't have an answer to.

A/N: so here we have Danzō. Kotoamatsukami is very vague to me, so I have to come up with some more details on how it works. I believe that Danzō's Koto is much much weaker than Shisui's due to it being a transplant, therefore, while Shisui can affect a whole Clan using two eyes with absolute compulsion, Danzō's version is crap (remember this is like four years before when Danzoō used it on Mifune, therefore, his own lack of understanding also plays a part). Since Koto puts thoughts in one's mind, I think it has to be plausible to some degree for it to work, at least when Danzō is using his one eye diluted version. It worked on Mifune because he is impartial and therefore the command of 'choosing Danzō' is very plausible and therefore easily accepted. However, Maiko's very biased from the beginning and therefore, Danzō's koto is not undetectable. Some people describe a person's action as having three part: instinct (the heart), thoughts (mind), and the body, and based on my understanding of Koto, it affects the mind, the thoughts and therefore a good one will override the heart and control the body, but a forced one will alert the individual of inconsistency between the three parts. Does that make sense?

Oh, also, the next chapter will probably take two weeks, I'm not sure. I have several exams next week along with a baggage of study materials for the final final exams...