Hello all, As Promised, here is the monthly update

-(Standard Disclaimer)-
-(Standard Adult Language and situation warning)-

Just keep in mind that this is rated R for a reason

Naruto nodded, and with great effort pulled himself to his feet and hobbled over to Neji and Hinata. Wrapping the once-again sobbing Hinata in a hug Naruto turned to Neji.

"You may want to hold on tight."

Neji looked shocked for a moment before he grabbed Naruto's shoulders tightly. Seeing this Kenchi swooped down, and in a flash the whole group disappeared.

"Sasuke-kun! Lee-san! Sebeki-Chan! Have you heard?"

Sasuke and lee both paused their training as Sakura came running up. Sebeki put down the scroll she had been studying a moment before, it was odd to see Sakura anywhere but the Hokage's tower or at home sleeping off her exhaustion. For her to be out in the middle of the afternoon something big must have happened. Wiping his forehead Sasuke walked over to a nearby tree and waited to see the outcome, not because he was to 'Cool' to take part in the conversation, but because He was barely being tolerated, he knew it, and frankly he didn't want to do anything that would give Lee and Sebeki a reason to leave him alone again.

"What happened Sakura-Chan?"

Sasuke, watching the group, noticed Sebeki wince at the question

Odd, what does she know?

"There was an attack on the Hyuuga last night!"

That simple sentence was enough to completely drive any thought of Sebeki out of Sasuke's head, and he and lee sounded like an odd stereo as they both shouted

"WHAT!"

Sebeki closed her eyes

Oh boy, time to see how badly the rumor mill has managed to mangle this one

"The story I heard is that last night someone snuck into the Hyuuga Mansion and Kidnapped Hinata! They say there was at least two dozen assailants, and that nobody knows who it was, Most people think it was The Akatsuki getting retribution for some perceived slight, but some people think that it was mist since they already tried to kidnap her once and failed. Apparently most of the ANBU and Jounin know, but nobody is saying anything! All I can get out of Tsunade is that Hinata will 'Be all right eventually'. She looked pretty grim though."

Sasuke and Lee of course immediately began discussing what might be done, how many people should be on the rescue team, and who should go, Sebeki was mentally writing up a report to Tsunade about the state of the city, and what the rumors were suggesting had happened, but Sakura wasn't done yet.

"You know what's worse?"

Both Sasuke and Lee leaned foreword in morbid fascination

"Nobody has seen Haishi since last night, rumor says that he's in the hospital and nearly dead from wounds received while defending Hinata, I even checked the register. He's not listed of course, but as a prince he can ask to keep his name out of our files, and there are TWO new patients listed as NTK."

Sasuke and Lee both looked confused for a moment before Sebeki spoke up.

"NTK is Need To Know, something none of you will probably get."

The three students traded glances at the cold fury on Sebeki's face as she stood and rolled up the scroll she was studying.

"Sasuke, class is cancelled for the day. With news like this I doubt you would pay much attention. Lee, I would ask that you keep an eye on him for me, as I need to leave. Sakura, I don't know why you are away from your post, but I assume that you have received permission, I would not waste a free day on Idle and unconfirmed rumors."

With that Sebeki turned and began walking purposefully toward the Hokage's tower. Sasuke, Lee, and Sakura once again traded questioning looks, until Sebeki suddenly stopped and spun on her heel so that she was facing them.

"Oh, and for spreading unconfirmed rumors the three of you will do five laps around the city walls. You are all supposed to be adults, Start acting like it."

With that parting shot, she turned and walked away

Unconfirmed Rumors… Bloody hell there will be NOW! Really, that girl needs to be taught how to keep her mouth shut. She's nearly as bad as that Ino girl.

Sebeki's foul mood was rather obvious, and she knew it. She was pissed however, and if she had not been a Jounin she would probably have just teleported away. That would be irresponsible though, it would lead to more rumors. No, she had to get a safe distance away first. Just out of their view

Bloody bastard was injured PROTECTING her? Where in Dante's seven levels of hell did THAT come from? The Hyuuga? One of the late arriving Jounin? No, Tsunade replayed the whole thing for those of us who caught the end… It MUST have been the Hyuuga…Ooh, when Tsunade hears about THIS there is going to be hell to pay!

With that thought and a final step Sebeki Teleported away, intent on reaching the Hokage.

Shikato frowned slightly at his morning cup of Coffee; the things he had seen last night were nearly beyond comprehension. Naruto, Little Naruto the prankster was REALLY the son of the fourth? He had always assumed that it was just a legacy name given to an orphan. The fight last night though… there could be no doubt about it, only Arishi's son would have been able to Use that Jutsu, only an Uzumaki would be able to stand up to a Hyuuga and win. This left him in a rather difficult spot though. He owed Arishi his life, but the boy was the Kyuubi's container… The Kyuubi… Just the name made him want to shudder. He had been there all those years ago, he had seen Arishi's last stand, seen the Look of Bloodlust and madness in the Kyuubi's eyes, smelled the blood of the fallen, and the burnt and burning flesh of the wounded. Even today he still occasionally woke from nightmares about it, the screams of his comrades still ringing in his ears. Sighing he tried to focus on the newspaper as his wife came downstairs. She didn't say anything as she got a cup of coffee herself and sat down. She rarely needed to say things anymore. Mneme (1) Nara had come from a family at the very border of leaf, and was known for her empathy, she and Shikato had fallen in love at first sight, and even though she occasionally got a little pushy with their unmotivated son, she was a wonderful women with deep insights and leaps in logic that rarely proved false. After a moment she spoke up.

"Can you tell me?"

Shikato frowned a little bit. He hadn't exactly been forbidden to speak about it but…

"I see. Can you tell me why you are so conflicted at least?"

Shikato leaned back and studied his wife of almost 20 years; it never ceased to amaze him how she seemed to be able to read his emotions.

"It involves… Him."

"Ahh"

Mneme hadn't seen the attack of the Kyuubi. Good as she was, she was no fighter, and had been evacuated to the far side of the village with the rest of the townspeople, awaiting either news of victory, or their impending deaths. She knew from long experience that when her husband spoke of 'Him' in that tone of voice it could only be one person.

"What does Arishi have to do with this dilemma? He has been dead for a while now."

Shikato ran his fingers though his hair confused and uncertain how much to tell her when she suddenly gasped

"NO! It… I mean HE is Arishi's son isn't he?"

Shikato stared at his wife in amazement for a moment.

How the hell does she do that?

Finally however he sighed.

"Yes, Naruto is Arishi's son. I don't know how it's possible, but it appears to be true."

"And you don't know how to treat him."

Shikato nodded and Mneme sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She hated doing this, but for her husband she would try. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly she Jerked Upright in her chair, sitting as stiff as a board. When she opened her Eyes, the deep purple Iris' seemed to glow slightly, and Shikato was shocked, he knew that she hated this ability, and that it left her exceptionally tired, for her do use it meant that she could see how torn he was. Leaning foreword he gently held her upright, She and her sister sometimes acted as oracles, nobody knew why, but everyone knew to pay attention, for the message was usually very straight foreword and always, ALWAYS true.

"The Lost lord has reclaimed his own, and the terror has been unleashed. The shadow lord has stood alone, a pillar of Promise rising out of the sea of hatred. To the sea he was thrown, and from the sea he has returned. Once clay, molded at a touch he has become like tempered steel, forged in the heat of battle and passion. Alone no longer he strides into the gathering twilight, a beacon for others to follow.

The demons dark have strained and toiled, working for long millennia to break their dingy prison and once again touch the world of man. The never sealed he walks alone, sowing chaos in his wake. His dark plans finally coming to fruitarian. He seeks that which was hidden, and he nears his goal.

The reviled one no more reviled, the beast within set free, the lord of power humbled is and serves on bended knee. The Star of Light she shines so Bright, a Helper for the times ahead, Her Love Undimmed though tarnished be, a cleansing soon shall see.

The lost lord has reclaimed his own, the sun His Mate shall be. Before them shall the world be changed, and shall the darkness flee.

For a moment She remained upright her eyes shining beacons, seeing beyond most mortal comprehension and Illuminating the family's small kitchen, and then the flames died. Slowly she slumped foreword into her husbands waiting arms, apparently sleeping from the effort required, after a minute or two her eyes fluttered open, and she stared into the loving gaze of her husband.

"You didn't have to do that you know."

Mneme smiled a little at his soft voice,

"I know love, I didn't do it because I had to. I did it because I could. Because seeing you at peace is worth the world to me."

Shikato smiled a little at this.

"You do realize that I am going to pamper you merciless for this right?"

Mneme grinned at him, the color returning slowly to her cheeks

"Deary me, whatever shall I do?"

Shikato laughed aloud at that and scooped her up into his arms and headed back upstairs to their bedroom, twenty years together, and she still loved him, what else mattered?

In her office Tsunade sighed, It had been a long day yesterday, and today wasn't shaping up to be much better, Since early this morning she had been putting out fires, everyone had heard about what happened last night, but none of them had come even close to the truth, and she had already had to break up two separate mobs, one of which wanted to go after Haishi to finish of the job that she had supposedly started Last night, and the other of which wanted to go after anyone with bloodlines in general. Thankfully that had been a rather small group, but Hiashi's reticent attitude had been making the sentiment increasingly popular. Now this, in her hand Tsunade held a field reports from Sebeki, Kurenai, Gai, and even Shikamaru. The rumors were multiplying far to quickly. As much as she hated it, Tsunade knew that she would have to do it.

"Shizune?"

There was only a moment's pause before Tsunade's second in command popped her head in

"Yes Tsunade-sama?"

"Call the elders… I am going to have a town meeting."

It was dark, Not the bad kind of dark really, it was a comfortable dark, dimly he thought he heard muffled sounds, but they seemed to be coming from quite a distance, they were coming closer though, in fact they were beginning to impinging upon his peaceful darkness, he fought them for a moment more, and then with a Herculean effort, he did the near impossible, He opened his eyes.
"He's going to be fine, full recovery."

"Are you sure? I think that he probably had one to many shocks for the night."

"Look, do you trust my judgment or not?"

There was a brief pause

"Do keep in mind that I can still have you confined to your bed for a couple of days."

"NANI! No need to get nasty! I was just trying to come up with a form of flattery that was a little more subtle than 'Of course Tsunade, You are always right about these types of things.'"

"Actually that is fairly accurate."

"Don't you ever get tired of being right?"

"Oh hush, I think he's coming around."

Opening his eyes Neji blinked at the sight that met him, Standing at the foot of his bed was Tsunade and Naruto

Huh, They must have been the people fighting

"How are you feeling Neji?"

"Come on Nee-Chan, He's a Uzumaki now, He'll be fine in a minute or two."

Tsunade turned and gave a mock glare at Naruto, and Neji couldn't stop a small grin from forming on his face. It was taking some doing, but Neji was finding that it was a great deal more effort to be as happy and Hyper as Naruto rather than the dour and Reserved that Hiashi insisted on.

"I am… Feeling better… I assume that it wasn't some twisted dream then?"

"What? You mean me pounding the crap outta ol Hiashi? HAH, I could have done that blindfolded."

"That can be arranged."

Naruto paled comically for a moment at Tsunade's idle threat.

"Eh-Heh… Just kidding Onee-chan, I … erm… don't want to show off."

Neji's smile grew a little wider at the minor feuding that the two of them were doing. If he hadn't known better Neji might have thought that they were actually siblings.

"How is Hinata?"

The question seemed to catch both Naruto and Tsunade off guard a little bit, but after a moment Tsunade replied

"Physically she is coming along quite well, it appears that Kenchi, Naruto's Phoenix friend, took a liking to her, while we weren't looking he went and healed the physical problems. Mentally…. I'm going to be blunt Neji. We don't know how she is doing in her head, she was mentally abused for a number of years, and this seems to have brought up all her old feelings of insecurity. Luckily the worlds leading expert on mental healing issues was here on leave… What did you say her name was again Naruto?"

Naruto had grown very serious at Neji's Question, and his answer was quite solemn.

"Berra… Her name is Berra."

After a moment's hesitation it seemed like he was going to say more, but apparently decided not to, and instead closed his mouth with a slight 'click' and changed the topic

"So, feel like getting some ramen when they let you out?"

"What is your name?"

Shuddering Hinata whispered

"Hyuuga Hinata"

"Why are you before us?"

"To… to seek cleansing of the spirit."

The Tigress looked her in the eye as though weighing her worth. She may have suggested this ceremony to Hinata, but with four of the elders in attendance she had to be as impartial as possible. Her station demanded she do no less.

"And why do you feel the need for this cleansing?"

Hinata straightened a little bit.

"Because this taint I feel is keeping me from my loved one."

Again Berra looked deeply into the girl's eyes, carefully sorting though her memories, her intentions, and her feelings, Feeling the very essence of her soul. Hinata had been right, There WAS a taint there, Berra's eyes could see it clearly, like a light coat of filth skimmed over a fountain of pure water.

"And how have you become tainted child? What have you done to cause this?"

Berra glanced sharply at the elder who had spoken, a foul tempered hermit named Nishin. Hinata's head bowed, She had been physically healed of her wounds by Kenchi yesterday evening when Naruto first rescued her, but the pain of what her own father had done was still too fresh in her mind for Hinata to say it aloud. Berra however could see it clearly.

"I see. Not something you've done, but something done TO you. Was this a physical violation?"

Hinata shuddered again.

"Not… Not completely but his… no…it… IT'S touch was so foul… so… so LOATHSOME… I just can't remove this feeling of being sullied."

At this answer Berra shared a glance with the other elders. They had known for years that the dark demon's power was growing, but if he was now able to spread his dark essence but touch alone…

"Where did he touch you child?"

Hinata shuddered a little as she was forced to recall the feel of the creature's hand against bare flesh. Without saying a word she traced the path his hands had followed, down her chest, around her back curling in intricate loops, and terminating just above the junction her thighs. It was enough for them to see on top of her clothes, to describe it would have been too much. Internally Berra and the other elders of her clan all breathed a sigh of relief, what Hinata had traced was a series of runes designed to cause corruption. If the demon had been able to taint her without them… Berra shuddered to think about it.

"Can… Can you help me?"

For a moment there was silence they had nearly forgotten that she was there they had been so lost in their relief.

"It depends child… Do you trust us?"

Hinata's head lifted a fraction

"Why do you ask?"

The response was a little disconcerting for those gathered to witness the removal; normally anyone who came to them was willing to do anything to be cleansed. That Hinata wanted to know what it entailed raised their estimation of her considerably.

"It will be difficult child, you need to brace yourself."

"What are you going to ask me to do?"

"You will need to focus inward, to allow us to guide you, and you must Put your trust in us and do exactly as we tell you with no hesitation and without..."

Hinata was beginning to become angry at this point. She had just spent almost three days in her own personal hell, and then after being promised help by this Berra she had been brought here and forced to re-live what had taken place, now they expected her to just trust them? Without any knowledge of what to expect? Perhaps it was the fact that she was tired, or perhaps the fact that she was fed up with the lack of information or their secrecy, but she was close to snapping, and so she interrupted.

"For the third and final time, what do I have to do? And will you help me?"

Berra was slightly shocked, of all the humans she had ever met, this was the one she would have thought would be polite and keep her temper, None-the-less she was bound by the same rule of three that all Youki were. (2)

"We need you to remove your clothes so that we can see the damage, and then we need you to give us control of your chakra."

Of all the emotions that Berra had expected to see played out across Hinata's face, Betrayal was the one she had expected least. Forcing herself to take several deep breaths Hinata controlled her temper.

What the FUCK do you mean? Let you dominate me the way that… that… BASTARD did? Oh no, No chance in HELL that you are going to do that. Take off my clothes indeed. There is only one person on the Planet I would even consider letting me see that way, and right now I'd turn him down too.

Turning Hinata looked into Berra's face, the mistrust evident in her eyes.

"I am afraid that I really must decline Berra, however if you are willing to guide me through the steps I am going to attempt to do so myself. Fully clothed of course."

Berra was shocked, the elders were nearly cationic.

She Refused? Has that EVER happened before?

"I'm sorry Hinata, I must have heard wrong. Are you refusing our help?"

Hinata shook her head

"Oh no, I'd welcome your help, I just don't intend to do this your way. If you are willing to guide me however…"

Berra shook her head.

"Give me a moment Hinata-Chan… I think I need to confer with the elders"

Shaking her head Berra quickly moved toward the council members, and Hinata watched as a small argument broke out between them, Berra was gesturing and motioning, and apparently becoming rather agitated at the results she was getting. Two of the three elders present seemed determined not to listen, and a third one seemed to be wavering between one and the other. Only One was solidly on Berra's side. After Ten minutes or so the third one apparently made up his mind and sided with the three who were disagreeing. Shaking her head again Berra gave a slight bow and turned around. She may have accepted their judgment, but apparently she didn't much care for the answer.

Shikamaru Took a deep breathe and sighed again.

How is that possible? He never even touched Kyuubi's chakra… And where were Hiashi's guards?

Nara Shikamaru was feeling uneasy, and he didn't like it. Being a genius had given him certain assumptions about his ability to figure out any problem, but this one had him stumped. He had been talking with Kurenai last night when the call had come for all-available ANBU and Jounin to move to the Hokage's tower with all possible haste. While He was none of the above, he had gone anyway, His strong natural curiosity canceling out his desire to avoid all things 'Troublesome'.

Ino must be having a bad effect on me, a year ago I would have just gone home and slept.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn't Instead he had been witness to one of the most shocking and disturbing things he had ever seen in his life. Hyuuga Hiashi, his face twisted into a grimace of pure Undiluted Hatred trying to Kill Naruto. He had of course been there when Tsunade re-played the fight so nobody could misinterpret what they had seen, but He had thought even then that the Hokage had left out something critical, and just at the end he had figured out what it was. It was rather Ironic really, the thing that had tipped him off was the lack of Naruto's customary Bright orange jacket Looking for it his eyes had instead fallen on a Much-changed Neji cradling his cousin who was, Oddly enough, Wrapped in a Leather jacket which had Naruto's spiral stitched onto the shoulders in his customary Fluorescent orange.

Why were they even present? And why was she wrapped in his coat? The temperature must have been sweltering in there from the way both Naruto and Neji were perspiring. Why was she so bruised up? Was it Naruto that stopped the Kidnapping that recent rumors have been talking about? If so why was he fighting Hiashi?

The Answer was there, and he almost had it, he could feel the slight tingle that usually signaled the fact that all the pieces were coming together.

If Naruto was fighting Hiashi… and Neji and Hinata were just watching… Hiashi's bodyguard was nowhere in sight… Hinata was bruised… She was…

He never managed to finish the thought though as something bounced off his forehead protector with a sharp 'Ding'.

"Hey Shika, Why the long face?"

KUSO, I was SO close.

Looking up with just the smallest amount of annoyance (Any more than a small amount wasn't worth the effort) he registered the fact the Ino had apparently walked over and sat down next to him Un-noticed while he was thinking. Sighing he felt the anger evaporating.

"Just trying to decipher some of the rumors I've been hearing"

Ino Nodded and then flopped back onto the grass.

"Ya, I figured that. I wouldn't have bothered you, but you hadn't moved in about five minutes, and the fan-girls were starting to drool over your 'stoic Disposition' or something like that."

Sparing a moment to shoot an annoyed glance at the girls who were gathered about twenty feet away (Which just made them all twitter excitedly since he had noticed them) he too leaned back to stare at the sky. For a moment neither of them said anything, Shikamaru was fairly content with this however, and another minute or two passed as they just enjoyed each other presence, After a bit however Ino Spoke up again.

"You know something more than the rumors are implying don't you."

Shikamaru Scowled slightly. Ino was a lot like his mother in this respect; She sometimes had leaps of intuition that left his Intellect trying desperately to catch up. He allowed another moment to pass before grudging replying.

"Yes, yes I do."

There was a brief pause and then he asked

"How did you know?"

Rolling onto her side Ino faced him and gave a small knowing smile

"You never pay attention to rumor unless you are lacking information."

Internally grimacing Shikamaru thought about her comment for a second before allowing a small smile to form.

"Lets play a game Ino."

Ino's eyebrow twitched upward eeeever so slightly at the abrupt change of conversation.

"What are we playing?"

"Well, Lets just say, Hypothetically speaking of course, That there was a fight, Lets say for the sake of argument that this fight took place last night."

"Who was fighting?"

"Oh… for the sake of argument, Lets say that one of them was… Um... I don't know… Hyuuga Hiashi."

"And the other?"

"I don't know… could have been anyone, you, me, pick a person."

"Lets say it was Naruto."

For a moment Shikamaru's eyes widened a little bit, but he covered it quickly and nodded.

"Ok, for the purpose of this Hypothetical fight it was Naruto. Now lets say that…"

Ino gave a small smile as Shikamaru continued his 'Hypothetical' challenge.

He really shouldn't underestimate me like that, but I'll let it slide this time. So I was right eh? Poor Shika-kun, You just confirmed what I suspected when I found out that nobody knew where Naruto was this morning…

"Anno-sa Berra, But you don't look like you have any news that I am going to like hearing."

Berra sighed and seemed to sag into herself slightly, her eyes betraying the age that her body kept at bay.

"They have refused Hinata. I am to inform you that either you let them do it, or you learn to live with it, because they will not give our techniques to a human anymore."

Externally Hinata was Ice cold, but internally she was ready to explode, She felt that more than enough had happened to her. Taking a deep breath she began to slowly count to ten.

One

"It gets worse."

Two

"They are also demanding"

Three

"Not requesting mind you, Demanding"

Four

"That you give them a formal apology before they will even consider healing you

Fiv… Oh screw it, this is getting me nowhere

"Then I would Suggest Berra-san, that you step back aways."

Not knowing why, Berra did as she asked. Stepping backwards, rather quickly too, There was something in the girl's eye that spoke of Danger, and a deep and Burning power about to be unleashed. Focusing inward Hinata delved into her chakra, Years of experience in training with her family allowed her to quickly find the pathways. Moving quickly along them she mentally noted the places where the taint seemed to be emanating from, But for now she didn't stop. She needed a picture of the whole problem before she could begin fixing it. After she had meticulously finished tracing and mentally mapping Every Point of contamination Hinata reached downward, feeling for the Pulse of her life-force, the Purest from of energy that the body contained, the place from where all humans drew their chakra for both Physical and Mental. Carefully she reached into the deep places of the soul where her chakra was wild and unfettered, Unrefined having not yet passed though her chakra pathways.

Good Kami in heaven! It CAN'T be!

Unknown to her, Hinata had begun to glow with an otherworldly light as she reached into the very core of her being. An Aura, highly similar to the Kyuubi's blazing red had sprung up around her, but this one was very different, both in color, and in strength. Strength-wise it was nowhere near the power of Kyuubi's, but the color, it was nearly Pure Unadulterated White, only the slightest bit of a lavender tint kept it from being absolutly white, and it blazed like the sun. The Demon's Kanji Standing out in stark Black, Floating like a shadow across the noonday sky. This everyone saw, but what they didn't see that Berra did were two Points of Energy Almost lost in the Aura, but steadily growing stronger

It IS! She is the New Avatar!

Unlike most humans, or even most demons, the Youki Snow tiger tribe believed in re-incarnation. Not because of an old Edict, not because of a religion, but because they could SEE the color of people's souls. Colors re-cycled on occasion, but never were their two Identical colors at the same time, Always the Aura's were at least a slight shade off, But Hinata. She was manifesting the Same aura as the greatest of the Healers to ever walk the face of the earth, The one Being who had taught the Tiger Youki everything they knew about the mind, A soul that was thought to have been destroyed in the last battle of the sealing.

"Ladies and gentleman of the council, I fear you have just made a Grave Mistake."

Pausing for a moment Hinata concentrated on the Mental Image of the taint,

It is the strongest HERE and HERE, and the rest seems to simply be a pathway to feed power and allow it to gain momentum, so if I start unraveling it HERE…

The council watched in Awe as the Demonic script suddenly began to burn black, Fighting what Hinata was trying to accomplish, and then slowly the ending point began lifting off, turning to an acrid black smoke and drifting away as the words slowly erased themselves.

"I do believe that you have just refused aid to the New Sun-soul."

Internally Hinata was fighting, it was a Very difficult battle, and she could tell that a single slip would be disastrous. Were she to lose focus for even a moment the black taint would take control, and then she would be in real trouble. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she could feel it trying to. Attempting to break free, trying to corrupt the very essence of her being. And then, with a sudden certainty she knew that she wasn't strong enough to finish what she had started.

"Be reasonable Berra-sama, She may have a Very Similar Aura, but the sun-soul was lost. You know as well as we do the Her abilities had to be passed to another before her death or they would be lost, and Unfortunately, They Were Lost!"

The taint was lifting, she could see it unraveling, But she also knew without a doubt that the unraveling was slowing down, She could feel what little remained of her chakra fighting Valiantly to remove the last of it, but there was still Half to remove, and she was down to the final Quarter of her chakra.

"I know that as well as any of you, but you know as well as I do that none of us saw her demise! I'm telling you that she managed to pass on the gifts!"

"HOW Berra! Why have they not manifested before? Why would they manifest now? And why in a HUMAN of all beings! Always has it manifested in the Greater Creatures, ALWAYS. Not always in our line, But Never outside of the Great lords. I'm telling you that it's JUST NOT POSSIBLE!"

Naruto-kun…

"And I'm telling you that I Can SEE the power of the sun-soul within the child, She cannot touch it yet But it is there, biding it's time."

I'm so sorry. I don't want to leave you but I don't think I will be able to finish what I have started.

"HAH! Why would it not have come forth by now? We can all see that she is failing! She has the right Idea, but she doesn't have the strength. She has killed herself."

I'm sorry I have failed you.

"Then Let's HELP HER! We have the strength to lend? Why should we hold back?"

I wish, Futile though it be, that I had managed to tell you.

"Pfft, The council has spoken, she refused our aid, it's not our responsibility anymore, if she wants to kill herself fighting what she has no hope of defeating why should we feel obligated to save her?"

For you I will fight to the last of my strength but it's fading fast.

"WHY YOU POMPOUS OLD BASTARD! NO WONDER THE SUN-SOUL LEFT US! WE HAVE BECOME EVEN WORSE THEN THEM!"

I just wish that I could say...

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A MANNER! I AM THE ELDEST! YOU WILL OBEY ME!"

That I could just once tell you...

"You are a fool, and she is about to prove it to you, and when this is over, I shall remove you from power if I have to do it One Limb At A Time."

That I love you.

For a Brief moment Nothing happened, Hinata strained, the last of her chakra slipping though her fingers like water though sand, and at that moment, just as the darkness rejoiced, two Bright Points of light Flew into action, throwing themselves between Hinata's soul and the darkness that was trying to claim her, For a second it appeared they had lost, and then the world exploded leaving nothing but white light.

(1)Named for one of the Greek Muses, the goddess of memory

(2)For Youki the rule of three states that if asked a question three times you have no choice but to answer truthfully and completely.

A/N: I know that you all hate me again :-) The next update should be this one again rather than 'Redemption' as it was last month. Yes I am still working on them both, Yes Reviews are VERY welcome, Thank you all very much for leaving your encouragement, Critism, flames, and what Have you. If you havn't left one of the afforementioned comments yet (Or recently) Please do, It's always great to get feedback, even if it is just 'Keep up the good work'.

Sincerly,
Manatheron