Hi everyone! I'm really glad I could get another chapter out this weekend. I don't know if I can manage a third, but depending on how it all goes this weekend I'll try. I really appreciate any/all feedback I get on these chapters. I wrote a lot of this story a long time ago, so I like to hear what you all think. If I'm still pretty new to this and I'm not used to writing things that other people actually end up reading. That being said, thank you for reading up through chapter 17 of ToTM. See you on the other side!

The rest of Beki's walk home to the Hyuga compound ended uneventfully. Seiichiro had asked Ebisu to take a few days off so he could assess Beki's progress. This evening, her father had challenged her to match of hand to hand combat. She prepared by cleaning and oiling the gauntlets and braiding her hair in a coiling halo around her crown. In the last few bouts of hand to hand combat, Ebisu had grabbed at her hair. Her father was like to employ the same tactic and she would rather not cut it, so conch braid it was. It was nearly sunset. Her father would be finishing up with his meeting soon. Beki walked down to the training yard they always used when he was in town. It was empty at this time of day; the setting sun cast the field in a warm golden glow and it was perfectly quiet save the happy babbling of a nearby brook. Not wanting to tire herself out before her father arrived, she sat down on a dry patch of grass and started meditating.

This was a practice Beki tended to neglect. Stillness was a problem for her, because just like a mirror still lake there was always a current beneath the surface. Beki's difficulties with meditation directly contradicted the skills of her parents. Stillness was what Yukihana had been best at. She meditated so deeply sometimes they would come out the next morning in the winter to find her lightly dusted with snow. Her father prayed all the time, which was pretty much the same thing.

The meditating made Beki be still, but it also made her try to make things quiet on the inside. Beki did not like what happened when she stopped the mechanisms of her mind. When she emptied her mind, something would disturb the smooth surface of her thoughts. It was like something woke up inside her when she clocked out and started clawing its way free. Whenever Beki tried meditating and she felt the thing stirring, she would immediately open her eyes and do something physical. It could be to go for a run, or to stand up and shake her head. Anything to wrench back control and bury the shadow.

It had been months since the last incident, and today was the day she decided she was going to overcome it. The meditating was starting off well. She focused on her breathing and pictured herself turning off the tap of her thoughts slowly, one quarter turn at a time. Finally, when the trickle had stopped and her mind was free of thoughts, she just tried to be. She tried to feel the energy behind everything, to feel connected to the world and to find peace and comfort in that connection. She was so busy strumming the strings of the energy around her she didn't feel the first ripples of the ominous something rising to the surface. She was reaching a perfect void state, something that had seldom happened for her, and she breathed deeply and peacefully. Beki was finally beginning to understand why people meditated. It was nice to be so free.

Then everything went very wrong very fast. In the darkness behind her eyes, the thing broke the surface. She found herself watching in horror, unable to respond as something rose from the waters of her mind.

It was a mangled thing, so misshapen it was hard to tell if it had ever been human. It was pale and its skin was a paper thin covering on top of bones sticking out at odd angles. What she had at first thought to be the black water pouring off of its head turned out to be miles of sodden hair plastered to its body. The waters of her mind were polluted with it, and she could see the sea inside her was slowly being choked with the stuff. The waters began to rise as the thing moved toward her with its jerky broken gait. It shambled and spasmed like a corpse being moved on strings. She found herself both unable to wake up or to scream. The water rose up above Beki's chin and she gasped for air, but her lungs simply filled with water. The thing reached her and grabbed her face with its horrible twisted hands. It forced her to look at it. This thing, this horrifying nightmarish creature, smiled back at her with her own face.

Beki was struck hard across the face. The blow violently knocked her out of her trance and back into reality. She vomited up water, gasping her air. When she had finished retching she fell down onto her back and gulped in the air. Her father stood over her with a panicked expression on his face.

"What happened to me?" She asked between breaths.

"I don't know," Her father said, hovering over her worriedly. "When I got here, I called out to you and you didn't respond. Then water started spilling out of your mouth and your hair turned black."

Beki laid there as the sensation of drowning passed. This had to be some kind of bad omen.

"I don't think I should meditate anymore," She said after a long silence.

"If that's what happens to you, I don't think you should either," Her father grabbed her hand and helped her up. He looked her over and sighed. "Let's just do some light cardio today. I don't think it would be wise to have you do much else."

"Alright," Beki steadied herself on her father's arm. They walked off the training field to jog through the woods.

She got back to Hinata's right around dinnertime. She stripped off her training gear and slipped into some leggings and a sweater before she joined them. It was a balmy summer night, but after what happened earlier she felt like she would never be warm again. Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi all looked concerned, but no one pressed her for answers. Hanabi even refrained from her usual snippy remarks and did her best to keep things semi pleasant.

After dinner, on the walk back to Hinata's house, Hinata wrapped an arm around Beki's waist.

"Beki, what's wrong, are you unwell?"

"I don't know," Beki shook her head. "I've felt like garbage since before I trained today."

Hinata gave her a squeeze.

"I think you're pushing yourself too hard," Hinata frowned. "You know what, the girls and I were planning on going to the hot spring tomorrow. You should join us."

Beki didn't want to be near water any deeper than a bathtub after her afternoon, but she couldn't shake the need to feel warm again.

"Yeah, that would probably perk me up," Beki nodded.

Hinata was still eyeing Beki hard. She reached up and put the back of her hand to Beki's forehead and said:

"You're burning up,"

"I am?" Beki blinked. It would make sense that if she had a fever, what happened earlier could have just been a hallucination.

"Go get cleaned up," Hinata patted her back. "I can't leave you unattended if you have a fever."

"What are you going to do, stay up watching me all night?" Beki stumbled up the stairs.

"No," Hinata sighed and steadied her. "I'll just sleep in your room with you."

Beki took a shower and changed into her pajamas. Hinata came in with some chamomile tea for her and they climbed into Beki's bed. Beki sipped on her tea while they chatted.

"So," Hinata asked. "Did you get to see the Kazekage today?"

"Yes," Beki smiled weakly. "I gave him a cactus."

Hinata laughed.

"You would give someone from the desert a cactus."

Beki pouted. Was she really that predictable?

"My logic was that cacti are the trees of the desert, so by giving him a baby cactus it was like giving him a no-stress bonsai." Beki explained, which only made Hinata laugh harder.

"He said that cacti are his favorite," Beki pouted again. "Those were his words exactly,"

"So you're two for two on the picking plants for people based on your odd logic system," Hinata chuckled.

"Ain't so odd, then is it?" Beki folded her arms smugly.

"Does your father know you like the Kazekage?" Hinata asked.

"No," Beki laughed. "He told me to stay as far away from him as possible. He said during the chunin exams 'that kid popped people. Like balloons.'"

"He did do that," Hinata shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh," Beki blinked.

"He changed a lot after he met Naruto," Hinata explained. "They're both jinchuriki and they were both mistreated, so when Naruto talked to him he kind of changed his perspective on things. Gaara worked very hard for his village from then on. The villagers admired how he had changed so much they made him Kazekage."

"I can see that. He's very...thoughtful," Beki furrowed her brow in thought. "That's the word I would use."

"I would have never thought you would go for the mature and dignified type, Beki." Hinata smiled.

"And I would have never pegged you for the type to go for the wild child," Beki poked Hinata's nose.

"Opposites attract, I guess." Hinata's smiled turned sad.

"Wait, are you saying you don't think I'm mature or dignified?" Beki asked suspiciously.

"I did have to fish you out of a pond when we first met," Hinata nudged her playfully.

"Fair point," Beki frowned.

The girls continued chatting until the tea did its work and Beki drifted off to sleep. Hinata watched her for a while, periodically checking her temperature until she too fell asleep.

The next morning Beki's fever had receded a little, so the girls got ready to go to meet with the other girls at the hot spring.

"Hina chan, I need to go shopping for a new swimsuit," Beki said.

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I mean, we're probably going to end up going swimming with everyone this summer," Beki held up her swimsuit. It was faded blue with white polka dots and it looked too small for her. "I think I went up a cup size since the last time I wore this puppy."

Hinata blushed a little. There was a good chance she'd gone up two cup sizes since the last time she bought a swimsuit a year ago.

"Would you get another one piece?" Hinata asked, trying not to be obvious as she was fishing for information.

"Maybe a bikini, one of the ones that show off your butt a little. And a halter top for a little boob security," She said as she disdainfully her old suit on the bed. "Don't get me wrong, a one piece has its time and place, like when you're out with the family and stuff, but I'm kind of sad I let myself get this...resigned."

"Resigned to what?" Hinata blinked.

"Being painfully single," Beki frowned. "Painfully single and more interested in my comfort than looking cute and 15."

Hinata bit her lip and thought about it.

"The girls would probably be up for a trip like that," Hinata said, thinking it would be easier to run an errand like that in a pack than to go out on her own and have all the shop people hounding her.

"Yeah, I'd be game," Beki smiled. "That would be kind of fun, actually."

The girls finished getting ready and headed for the hot spring district.

"It just blows my mind that Konoha is so big that it has a hot spring district and a red light district." Beki said.

"Wait, it does?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah," Beki chuckled. "Didn't you like, grow up here?"

"Sorry, I guess I just never had any business on that side of town," Hinata said in her meek version of a snippy tone. "What were you doing in the red light district?"

"Dad always taught me to get to know the red light district of a village," Beki explained. "If you ever have to disappear fast, those types of places are the best ones to go to. Cash only, no questions, no one saw anything."

For someone who didn't know a lot about being a shinobi, Beki knew a lot about street life. Hinata wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

When they arrived, they were some of the first ones there. The only girl who had beat them was Tenten.

"Hey girls," Tenten waved.

"Good morning, Tenten," Hinata smiled shyly.

"So are the others going to be fashionably late?" Beki asked.

"Sakura will probably be here any minute," Tenten said. "Ino is probably still putting on her face."

"But… we're going into the hot spring," Beki said incredulously.

"I know," Tenten shook her head. "And Ino knows that, too. But she never leaves her house without a full palette of makeup on."

Beki started to braid her hair in a halo around her crown. Her hair was very thick and banana clips usually weren't enough to hold her hair in place. She eyed Tenten and Hinata's hair enviously. She was sure Tenten's hair was thin and pretty like Hinata's. If it wasn't, it wouldn't stay so perfectly in those double buns. Soon they saw Sakura coming up the path with Ino. It was too far to make out what they were saying, but it was obvious they were arguing.

"Those two, I swear," Tenten crossed her arms. "I wish they'd just kiss and makeup."

"What are they always fighting about?" Beki asked.

"Sasuke," Tenten and Hinata said in unison.

"Who?" Beki looked puzzled.

"He was the third member of Team 7 with Naruto and Sakura. She developed a crush on him at the same time as Ino," Tenten explained. "They used to be best friends, but that kind of broke them up."

"Is there a reason I haven't met Sasuke yet?" Beki asked Hinata.

"Well he's not in Konoha at the moment," Hinata replied, deftly evading the question.

Beki was too sharp to be led off the path of good gossip so quickly.

"This is a story that'll take a while, yeah?"

"Yeah, and around those two isn't the best time to do it." Tenten whispered as the girls approached the group.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Sakura smiled apologetically.

"No, we were just a little early," Hinata said graciously.

"Alright, let's go get naked!" Ino yelled. Both Tenten and Hinata folded their arms across their chests nervously and followed along with the group.

They all piled through the doors loudly, gossiping and giggling amongst themselves. Thankfully, the place was all but empty so no one complained. Hinata kept stride with Beki, although she didn't add much to the conversation. Ino and Sakura continued their argument, but now the rest of the girls started chiming in.

"I'm just saying there's nothing wrong with kissing on the first date!" Ino cried out looking to Tenten for support.

Sakura shook her head.

"Where's the line? I would understand a quick peck, but we both know you mean more than that."

Tenten flushed.

"I don't think I could kiss a boy on our first date."

Ino jumped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"But what if he was 'The One' and everything was going so perfectly it was like something out of a chick flick daydream?"

"If he was 'The One', maybe," Beki interrupted. Both Ino and TenTen turned to look at her. "The question is; how do you know a guy is 'The One' on the first date? You can't. You would have to have known him a long time so that the whole dating thing is just a formality."

"Then what if you're on the date, and everything is so magical, and the chemistry is just right," Ino clasped her hands together dreamily. "He's just too much of a gentleman to lean in and do what you're both thinking."

Beki found herself thinking about Gaara. Would she kiss him first?

"I don't know," Beki shook her head. "I think this is one of those things where there's no universal right. It depends on the guy."

"So, is it okay to kiss on the first date?" Ino squared off with her to look her dead in the eye.

"I'll give you a very solid 'maybe'," Beki smirked.

Sakura though for a moment.

"I still think that if it's the right guy then he won't try for a kiss on the first date. A relationship isn't a race."

"Well then how can you let him know for sure that you want another date?" Ino asked.

"The person here with the most experience is being the quietest," Sakura side eyed Hinata. "How'd it go for you, Ms. Long-term Relationship?"

Hinata blushed a deep shade of crimson as she thought about the first time her and Naruto kissed.

"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell." Hinata gave them a weak smile.

They all groaned in frustration as they walked into the changing room. The girls lined up along a set of lockers and began to disrobe. Beki had gone through this procedure before, but at mixed bath onsens with her father. She hadn't been to one in a while and it was a little daunting to disrobe in front of girls she hadn't known long. Oh well, she thought. It's nothing they haven't seen before.

In spite of herself, and just for comparison's sake, Beki took discrete side glances at her companions. They were all obviously very athletic, but even within that category their bodies varied. Sakura was as flat as a washboard but she was the most muscular of them all. Tenten had a bit more going on up top, but she was probably the shortest and thinnest in the group. Ino's body looked almost the same out of clothes as it did in them. She was thin and shapely in the way that boys liked, with an equal amount of bump in the front at the back. Beki would have been jealous if she didn't find Ino a totally repulsive slut. Beki was the most curious but also the most uncomfortable about sizing Hinata up.

Hinata was her friend and roommate, and she had helped Beki into the bath, so it only seemed fair Beki would get to see her naked too. She was probably the softest looking out of all the girls, with the least amount of visible muscle tone, and the biggest breasts in the room. Beki probably landed somewhere in the middle in terms of boobs. Hinata's were the best, and then it was a toss-up between Beki and Ino for second. Ino's were shapelier than Beki's, but Beki's were larger overall. Then it would be Tenten and then Sakura. Poor girl, Beki thought. Sakura had the best arms and back, Ino had the best legs, Tenten had this overall cute dainty thing going on, and that left Beki with having arguably the best butt in the room. I can live with that, Beki thought.

She had been doing her best to keep up with the conversation as she sized the other girls up.

"Are you part of a squad, Beki?" Tenten asked.

Beki had been hoping his question didn't come up. She was, but it was a squad where they tossed all the loners that didn't quite fit in in other groups.

"Yes," She responded. "I'm in a squad with my friend Ren and a boy we went to school with, Daiske."

The whole group broke out into mumbling.

"Two girls on a squad, huh?" Sakura asked. "I've never heard of that."

Beki heard that statement as "It doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Well, we've done a lot of missions, but most of it has been in house," Beki sighed in frustration. "My father is the ambassador, so the king thought he was doing dad a favor by keeping me out of the dangerous stuff. Unfortunately, that gives my squad a bad rep because they all think it's favoritism and we aren't as good as they are."

"Oof," Ino pantomimed being hit in the gut. "Sorry we asked."

They all started to make their way into the hot spring, continuing their conversation as they climbed in.

"What do they have to be so high and mighty about?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Beki sighed. "Most of the talk lately is about how I'm basically being kept here as a piece of collateral and not doing anything productive at all for our village."

A brief silence passed over the girls, due to the realization that Beki was in fact officially in the village as a guarantee and not a person.

"Well, they sound like bitches," Ino said flatly.

Beki smiled. Maybe Ino wasn't so bad after all. Ino's eyes lit up.

"Hey, you know what's been bothering me? Who did you buy that cactus for?"

All eyes turned on Beki and Hinata giggled softly behind her hand.

"No one," Beki lied, badly.

"By 'no one' could you mean the Kazekage?" Ino drilled her.

Beki felt the heat rising in her body. She was probably as red as Hinata gets when someone says the word "sex". Her silence was going to give it away. Beki had to say something quick. Knowing smiles were already forming on all of their faces.

"It was just a thank you for not starting an international incident over the whole flour debacle," Beki explained in a puff.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask why there are pictures of you in the grocery stores saying 'do not sell flour to this person'?" Tenten asked.

"Oh my god you didn't hear about that?" Ino blurted in surprise. "So Bitchi here-"

Beki cringed. It was like Ino specialized in being unbearably annoying.

"Wanted to get revenge on Kiba for having Akamaru pee on her a couple times, so she went and bought a bag of flour and waited around a corner for him," Ino explained.

Beki kept her mouth shut. No one needed to know about the week of recon spent tracking his movements, timing his walking speed, and comparing different flour brands for their gratifying "poof" factor.

"So, when she thought Kiba was coming around the corner, she jumped out and smacked him in the face with it, and it exploded like an overstuffed pillow. The whole street looked like freaking Christmas," Ino continued. "It all would have been hilarious, if it hadn't been the Kazekage she'd hit in the face and knocked out."

Tenten's eyes bulged.

"You incapped Gaara with a bag of flour?!"

Beki smiled nervously. This is how she would always be remembered; she just knew it. The flour sack ninja.

"You didn't have weights in it?" Tenten asked. "It was just a regular bag of flour? And you weren't using any jutsu?"

"No," Beki explained. "I clipped him just right and it was just unexpected enough to catch him off guard, I guess."

"But Lee and Naruto are the only ones I've ever heard of landing a hit on him," Tenten shook her head. "And Lee is the fastest person in the village and Naruto is the strongest."

"Most stubborn, I would say." Sakura corrected.

"How could your they say you aren't doing anything for your village?" Ino asked sheepishly. "You almost pulled off a political assassination!"

"Oh shove it, Ino," Beki rolled her eyes.

"I would have bought that guy a lot more than a cactus, that's for sure," Tenten said.

"At least offered him more, anyway," Ino said flirtatiously.

"Oh my god, Ino," Beki was losing her patience. "It's not like you could walk up to the Kazekage and be all "Oh, hey, I'm the girl that almost killed you with a bag of flour. Wanna have sex?"

Hinata immediately burst out laughing. They all stared at her bug eyed.

"I'm sorry Beki," She said between bouts of laughter. "It's just I can almost see you doing something like that."

"Hinata!" Beki yelled, feeling a little betrayed.

"Maybe not offering him sex, but," Hinata explained, "Just being so casual about something that ridiculous."

"Well, I mean," Beki deflated a little. "if you did something crazy, you should own it."

After the girls had soaked and gossiped their cares away, they started heading toward town for vittles. Beki wasn't sure if it was the heat, the embarrassment, or the self-inflicted near drowning of the day before that was making her feel off. Regardless, she needed to go home and lay down.

"So what should we get?" Hinata asked.

"Actually Hina-chan, I want to go home and lay down for a bit," Beki said.

"You are a little red," Hinata put the back of her hand to her forehead. "And you are warm."

"Could just be the hot spring," Ino suggested.

"Or it could be the fever coming back," Hinata countered. "Maybe we should just call it a day."

After all the time in the hot spring with the other girls, some alone time actually sounded pretty good to Beki. It would give her a chance to be alone with her thoughts and reflect on the conversations they had had without having to keep up with new ones.

"No, that's okay Hinata," Beki shook her head. "You guys go out and get something to eat. I'll make some toast and tea and read a book or something."

"If you're sick I can't let you go home by yourself-" Hinata protested.

"My god, Hinata, she's a grown up!" Sakura barked. "She can walk home by herself!"

Hinata shrunk back a little. She looked at Beki and then back at the rest of the girls, torn. Beki could feel the inner conflict and looked around for an out for her friend.

"Neji!" Beki called out, waving.

Neji had been walking along further up the road. He turned at his name, and when he saw Beki waving he made his way over to the group.

"Something I can help you ladies with?" He asked.

"Neji, could I bother you to walk me home?" Beki walked over beside him so she was looking up at him from his side. It was a trick she used with her dad all the time. Looking up at a boy made them feel protective of you.

He looked at the other girls, as if thinking "Why me?"

"The other girls wanted to go out to eat but I'm not feeling well and I don't want to spoil their fun," Beki looped her arm through his. There was no getting out of it now.

He sighed.

"Yes, I can walk you home."

"You girls go on and have fun!" Beki waved with her free arm. Neji started to turn them toward home but Beki held on to him.

"Just wave at them til they round the corner," Beki said under her breath.

Neji followed suit, trying to hide his confusion. After the girls went out of sight he looked at Beki.

"What's going on here?"

"Look, you don't have to walk me home," Beki released his arm. "Hinata was worried about me and wanted to walk me, but if she did that I know she'd just stay in to take care of me for the night."

"That was very considerate of you," Neji looked at Beki with surprise.

"She puppy dog guards me all the time," Beki explained. "I know she doesn't get to go out and spend enough time with her friends. Thanks for playing along."

Neji considered Beki for another moment before he spoke.

"Something's troubling you."

"No, I'm not feeling well is all," Beki tucked her hair behind her ear.

It was hard lying to someone who with a look could see inside your body for the telltale signs of dishonesty. Elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, activation of the adrenal system; she couldn't hide those things. She hoped he wouldn't trigger the Byakugan.

"What's making you feel ill?" He pushed.

"I just had a bad day at training," Beki sighed. "I overexerted myself and I'm just really exhausted now."

"Then I think I will walk you home," He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her toward home.

"No, really Neji, I'm okay-" she began.

"Tsukimori, you aren't talking your way out of this," he interrupted.

After a few blocks she sighed.

"Thanks, Neji."

"Of course," he smiled slightly.