Chapter 24 – What's Left Of Me

Her hands came to her face, covering her mouth in muted horror, as they fell to the ground around her.

Upon hearing the commotion, she had come rushing – not to Naruto's defence, but Sakura's. She had learned long ago through watching the dysfunctional team not to involve herself in their disputes. Too many times, Sakura had been caught in the middle, her feelings trampled on mercilessly. Even if she hadn't, she would have come to Sakura's aid rather than Naruto's. Naruto could handle himself. Her friend, at that moment in time, was vulnerable.

There were several gasps behind her, but fortunately the civilians were kept back by her cousin and his teammate, allowing her the chance to collect herself and approach Sakura's motionless body.

"Genjutsu," noted Kakashi. He'd taken it upon himself to check Itachi, perhaps wishing to soothe the civilians' concerns for their leader. His sharingan was revealed and he followed a trail, single eye narrowing on the eldest Uchiha in the room. "Shisui-san's doing."

"They won't be getting out of this until he releases them, then," Genma informed them all and he huffed, lifting Shisui and propping him into a seated position against the wall. From what she could see of him, the Uchiha was relaxed, almost peaceful. "Probably for the best given what we heard."

Was Shisui truly that powerful? Of course, she'd heard rumours, however, seeing the power for herself was a different matter entirely. "There are sharingan users among them," she began, frowning slightly. "Will they be capable of releasing the genjutsu?"

"No," Kakashi replied simply before copying Genma's example, setting Itachi down beside his friend. "Shisui-san possesses the most powerful sharingan of them all – it is rumoured to be the most powerful since Uchiha Madara's."

Madara, she had definitely heard of. The elders of her clan had spoken multiple times of him and each time, it was with great displeasure. To shorten the war stories of old men: he fell victim to the Curse of Hatred, becoming a menace to Konoha, one who could only be defeated by their honourable first Hokage. To think that there were another set of eyes out there, powerful enough to be labelled as on par with Madara's, was frightening.

"Can you move her, Hinata?"

Yes, of course she could, she wanted to say in disbelief. Instead, Hinata smiled and knelt beside her friend, turning her onto her back, only to freeze at the blood soaking through her shirt. Instantly, Kakashi was by their side, nodding once to her to quickly examine the wound on her stomach. It sickened her doing so, the sight of the Uchiha emblem that marred her once flawless skin oozing with fresh blood.

"It must have pulled open when she fell," she explained to him and looked to her cousin, asking, "Neji-nii-san, please could you escort the civilians back to the main hall?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama."

It only took a handful of moments for them to gain more privacy and she smiled in thanks when Tenten returned with medical supplies, allowing her to cleanse and redress the wound. Apparently, she was not the only one who found it difficult to look at, for Kakashi spared it a single glance and averted his gaze, his fists clenching on the ground. Biting the inside of her cheek, she leaned Sakura's chin against her shoulder and switched her shirt, handing the bloodied shirt to Tenten to dispose of.

"That will never heal, will it?"

Sadly not. "Even Tsunade-sama would have struggled to reduce the scarring," she admitted to him and feeling self-conscious for her friend, she tugged the shirt further down, wishing more than anything that she could remove it for her. "It would take skin grafts to cover the… mark." It was a struggle even calling the brand a simple mark. "Even then, she would remain scarred in some way."

"Random scars would be better than that," Genma stated. She'd forgotten he was even there, since he was on her blind side. "The bastard branded her."

How far into Sakura's mind Danzo had been able to get and was any of it true, she couldn't help but wonder. How deep was her love for all three men laid out before them? They all seemed calm, yet devoid of all emotion as she gently placed Sakura between the two eldest of the three Uchiha, her expression equally as relaxed. It was on odd picture, she had to admit.

Throughout their years at the academy, Hinata had often heard Sakura's proclaims of love and boasting of how she would become an Uchiha one day. Like herself, they had all assumed it would be through marriage with Sasuke, given how close they grew during their days as Team Seven. But what if that wasn't the case? What if Sakura was right about marrying an Uchiha, but wrong about which one? She disliked getting involved in others' business, however for Sakura's sake, Hinata truly hoped she would not marry Uchiha Sasuke.

She liked to believe that she was the last person to judge another, for nobody held that right, but Hinata couldn't deny that Sasuke was an awful person – no, that was wrong of her to say, wasn't it? Naruto would be incredibly disappointed. In his eyes, his dearest friend was lost and from the rumours she'd heard: he was lost to the Curse of Hatred. It was a fate that wreaked havoc, devastating the lives of all those who came into contact with it.

A strong emotion filled her chest and Hinata leaned forward, brushing the coarse hair from Sakura's forehead. Already, her friend had been deeply affected by Sasuke's hatred. Despite her love for him, she had been ready to kill him, wishing to free Sasuke from his torment, but while she had reluctantly made that decision, it appeared Sasuke had tried to kill her in a moment of blind rage.

According to Naruto, Sasuke did love Sakura. He loved her, but didn't understand said love. It was why he felt so betrayed, why he felt so helpless. Tilting her head to the side, she peered over in his direction, eye drawn to the blood dripping off his chin as he was sat upright beside his brother.

Was that how an Uchiha loved? Through fits of rage so great it blinded them entirely to the bigger picture? To the extent that, seeing a single fault in the one they loved, caused such an explosion? And when said love was threatened, it began the Curse of Hatred? That was how they loved another? She pitied the Uchiha clan for such an unfortunate curse, she really, truly did. However, that was not love. Not a healthy love, anyway and it certainly was not what Sakura deserved.

Would she support her friend if she decided to pursue a relationship with Sasuke? Hinata sighed deeply and stood. Yes, she would support her. If anything, Hinata would support Sakura more, given how toxic the Uchiha love was.

"Maybe you should cut it while she's out," came her sister's serene words, startling Hinata since she hadn't seen her arrive. "It can't be comfortable."

No, it wasn't. However, to cut her hair while she was unconscious, without her permission and while knowing how big a deal her hair was to her, was asking for trouble. Had Yamanaka Ino been around, perhaps even catastrophic, although, Hinata supposed, the blonde had always been capable of aiding Sakura in making decisions. Perhaps if she'd been there with them, or she and Ino had switched places, Sakura wouldn't be half as lost as she currently was?

"Are you doubting yourself, O-nee-sama?"

She eyed the men in the room, noticing how they watched their interactions, watched even closer at how Sakura was managing in the world Shisui had conjured in his genjutsu.

The torture Sakura had endured while Danzo's captive was nothing short of horrific – and that was just physically. A mere glance in her friend's direction strongly indicated the war zone that was now her mind, alerting them of her instability. The dishevelled appearance, the zoning out or focusing on things that weren't there, the talking to herself and the inability to differentiate reality from lies. There was a strict protocol for the mentally ill in her clan: lock them away. They could not be seen. To have outsiders know of the issues within their clan was disastrous to their reputation. Hence why those with flaws or weaknesses were looked over or locked away entirely.

"O-nee-sama?

There was extra enunciation on her sister's words and Hinata felt the blood rush to her cheeks in response, the red shade deepening when she found the others were watching her, also. "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, much to her own annoyance. "I cannot cut Sakura-san's hair without her permission, Hanabi."

"Father-"

"We are not in our clan's district anymore," she told her sternly. "We cannot control others as Father controlled us."

Knowing how to handle her younger sister had always been tricky, for Hanabi was her total opposite. Growing up, Hinata had believed she needed to be gentle with her, to be a caring, protective older sister, however, she had been wrong. Hanabi was tough – far tougher than Hinata was – and didn't need to be babied. The best approach, the best way to get through to her younger sister, was to be honest and firm in her stance. To be any different was an insult, in Hanabi's eyes.

"Was he ever wrong?" she countered. Like their father, like many others in their clan, Hanabi had mastered the stern pokerface, the perfect expression-less mask. "Did Father ever make a bad decision?"

That was difficult to judge. To an outsider, yes. Their father would have made several decisions they did not agree with or viewed to be 'bad'. To their clansmen? No, probably not. To them, everything happened for a reason, for a bigger purpose, to help shape their clan's future. Every person within their clan withstood an awful amount because to go against decisions made by their elders or patriarch, meant to go against the clan. It was the ultimate betrayal and was punishable by death.

"When it comes to the clan, no, Father was not wrong," she told her honestly. It wasn't a complete lie, merely saving herself from being labelled as a traitor.

"That hardly matters right now," Kakashi intervened when Hanabi's eyes widened a fraction, much to Hinata's gratefulness, her heart skipping a beat with fear. "Sakura is not having a haircut, no matter how bad it looks. She will cut it when she's ready."

"It's hardly a priority."

A twitch in Shisui's features grabbed their attention and she frowned. What happened? They looked closer, trying to spot the cause of the movement, but there was nothing and nothing happened to any of the others, either.

Biting her lip, Hinata looked over to Naruto's unmoving body beside Sasuke's and tried to ignore the shiver that ran up her spine at his unnatural stillness. It wasn't him. Uzumaki Naruto was a man full of life and positivity – someone who was capable of inspiring others in the direst of situations. He was the one who woke her up to her clan's unhealthy, manipulative ways. It was because of him, that she was who she'd become.

"They'll be okay," said Kakashi. "I doubt Shisui-san would do anything to harm them."

No, he hoped Shisui wouldn't do anything. What did they actually know about the Uchiha who'd been missing for eight long years without a single explanation? Without even an attempt at an explanation? One didn't simply disappear off the face of the earth, no matter how strange and chaotic their lives as ninja were. He could have been–

"Hatake-san!"

Her thoughts were halted abruptly by the civilian woman who rushed into the room, her child clinging to her, crying hysterically into her chest. Releasing a quivering breath, making it apparent she'd been running with her son for a while, she shifted, awkwardly shuffling him closer, her arms coming around him more securely.

"What is it?"

Despair washed over her features when she caught sight of the unconscious Uchiha Itachi, tears filling her eyes. "It's Danzo," she cried helplessly. "Danzo has found us."