Sum of our Parts

Memories of the Past

***No ownership implied by me at all. ***

"Le gasp!" normal talking

'das fuken?' normal thinking

"set-you-on-fire-no-jutsu" Jutsu and other techniques

"I will murder you!" Tailed beast talking

***SooP***

"So whose up for a celebratory ramen bowl!?" The Blonde Uzumaki exclaimed, as she and the other members of Konoha's Genin teams walked out of the stadium, minus Sasuke who had been taken by Kakashi after his match, and the two Hyuga who had been taken for a clan meeting.

"You know Natsuko, eating that much ramen isn't good for you." Ino chimed in seeking to add another of her female classmates to the diet plan she had created.

"BLASPHEMY UNTO THE LORD!"

"Natsuko takes her ramen very seriously Ino-San. Believe me I have tried to dissuade her from it to no success." The redheaded Uzumaki replied.

"Troublesome…"

"Ramen is good and all, but have you ever had my families famous barbecue ribs Natsuko? They are super awesome" the Akimichi praised, while shoveling food from a nearby vending machine into his mouth.

As the conversations continued the Genin neared the exit of the building, only to be stopped by a voice from behind.

"Akane and Natsuko Uzumaki, could you two wait for a second please?"

The two Kunoichi turned around, to see a much taller and slightly older version of their Uchiha classmate walking towards them.

Itachi Uchiha.

"We will catch up with you guys later." The blonde waved the other Genin on, who shrugged and continued on, much to the lament of Sakura and Ino, who wanted to stare at the man for a little longer.

"What's up Uchiha-kun?" Natsuko called out happily, earning a slight smile from the man in front of them at her happiness.

"I wish to speak with you about the events during your mission to Wave."

"You mean what happened on the bridge?" Akane accurately assumed, earning a nod from the Uchiha.

"Yes, I have been informed that had it not been for you three my younger brother would have most likely come back far worse from that mission, if he had come back at all. I have already spoken with his two teammates and his Jonin sensei, and apologized to the three of them for his behavior. As I understand it he acted very foolishly during the fight and put all of you in unnecessary danger."

"Aw don't worry about that Uchiha-kun it was nothing we couldn't handle."

"Regardless thank you for your efforts in protecting him. I understand that you attempted to protect him and Kiba during their battle Natsuko."

The blonde happily nodded.

"I also have heard that you directly protected him and were injured in the process Akane?"

"There is no reason to thank me I did not do it to rescue him. Kakashi-Sama asked me to protect him."

"I was not aware that he was close enough to communicate with you." The somewhat surprised ANBU responded.

"I could see it in his eyes, besides it lead to our victory so there is no reason to comment on it further."

"Regardless, thank you for your assistance." Itachi reached out to put a comforting hand on the redhead, only to receive a reaction that he had never dreamed of.

Akane immediately grabbed her sister and jumped backwards, keeping the blonde behind her, while drawing a kunai with her free hand.

As they landed, with their backs to the wall, Akane glanced back and forth, as if expecting an attack from either direction.

Itachi stood in the same spot, almost frozen in place at the young girl's response to his attempt at an affectionate thanks.

Moments later the group of Jonin Sensei casually strolled into the tunnel, and gaze curiously at the event that was taking place.

"Is something going on here?" Gai inquired, noticing that the two female Jonin were immediately tense at the stance that Akane had taken.

"No of course not, onee-chan just slipped and I caught her, that's all." The blonde laughed out, trying to diffuse the situation.

"I'm sorry I… have to go." The redhead mumbled, before hastily leaving the tunnel, followed closely by her sister.

"Okay... well that was weird…" Asuma muttered out, his gaze following after the two girls.

Anko's sight however was fixed on Itachi.

"What was that all about?" the snake mistress inquired, her tone implying that she would not take anything but the truth as an answer.

"I am not sure…." was the Sharingan wielder's reply.

Kakashi merely let out a deep sigh, earning a curious glance from the Genin's Sensei.

***TRwP***

"Onee-chan wait…" The girl huffed out, trying to keep up with her sister who had long since broken into a run through the forest.

"Wait up…." Still the redhead continued on, not even looking back, as if running would allow her to escape some hidden demons.

"AKANE-CHAN!" This time the girl froze in place, allowing the shorter Kunoichi to catch up, albeit a bit out of breath from the experience.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm sorry…."

"Akane-chan, why are you…"

"I know it must be hard…. being my sister. I am difficult to be around with other people, I am untrusting, I am jumpy, and I see all the glares that we get in the village, they are always worse when I am with you… clinging to you like I do…. It can't be easy having to spend so much time with me rather than the others, being my only friend…"

"Of course not! I love you Akane-chan! I just want to know what's wrong, I want to help!"

"There's nothing you can help with Natsuko… I just can't…. when he reached out for me…"

"It reminded you of that week…"

"I can't get passed it… no matter how much I try I can't put it behind me, I can't be comfortable around others, with others so close…"

"It's okay Akane-chan… just… talk to me, tell me what happened. I know you never would before but please… I want you to be happy."

"I can't tell you, it's nothing you should hear."

"I'm your sister, let me in please!"

"I…"

"Akane-chan please!"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY DID TO ME!? WHAT I GAVE UP FOR YOU!?" Finally the girl broke down falling to the ground sobbing as all of the emotions she had tried so hard to suppress came bursting out.

Natsuko was at her side in an instant, holding her close, letting her sister cry into her chest.

***TRwP***

After a few minutes Natsuko had managed to help her sister reach their apartment without being seen by any of the villagers, not really all that difficult when you spend your life outrunning mobs.

As she laid the vulnerable girl down she was even more surprised to find the redhead clinging to her like a lifeline.

She remembered doing the same to Akane when she had been scared or lonely growing up.

She remembered feeling helpless and so afraid back then, and now it was her sister's turn to need comforting, to need protection.

The blonde wrapped her arms around the girl, just like how Akane had done with her growing up, and slowly rocked back and forth, lulling the girl to sleep.

"Don't worry Akane-chan, I promise I will not let anyone hurt you, now it is my turn to take care of you." The young Uzumaki whispered her face set in a look of determination that few would have taken lightly.

***TRwP***

"Welcome Neji and Hinata. I am pleased to hear that you have both passed the preliminary round of the Chunin tournament."

"Yes father, as was fated I have easily passed."

Hinata merely nodded, not feeling any inclination to verbally responded unless directly forced to.

"Very good, I would have been most disappointed if either of you had been disqualified so early on, though it would not have been so shocking in certain cases…" The man's gaze focused on Hinata, who did not shrink back like she normally would have, instead her gaze remained focused on the ground in front of her.

"The Hyuga council and I have been making some discussions and due to the high likely hood that you will be promoted Neji we wish to offer you an early congratulations." The boy nodded, pride in his eyes as he stared back at his father.

"Thank you father, I will make the Hyuga proud in the upcoming matches and decimate my opponents."

"I have no doubt, I am eager to see your eventual match against the Uchiha."

The boy confidently nodded in agreement.

"As you for Hinata, since you will be fighting against Neji in your first battle I have no doubt that you will fail to move on, however this is to be expected of the branch clan so there is no shame in this. I expect you to put up a halfway decent attempt before either forfeiting or being defeated. Neji I expect you not to show any high level Hyuga techniques during the first match, especially against a branch clan member."

The two Genin merely nodded, one in confidence, the other far more subtly.

"Very good, now then on to business, since you are both entering the correct age and Neji at least will make Chunin the council and I have decided to begin each of your courtship processes to find you both a strong mate. Neji we already have several powerful and skilled Hyuga Kunoichi in mind, so much so that we may be looking into a loophole to allow you multiple wives should that be desired. Hinata there are several branch clan members who appear to be interested in you as well, obviously we will determine which would be the best match for you and if the fates allow then you will be able to conceive this year. If your child is seen as strong then we may even pass on the privilege to your sister in a year or two as well."

The Hyuga head then opened up a scroll on his desk and began searching through a list of names, oblivious to the shocked expressions on the two Genin's faces.

"F-father do you not think this is a bit early for my courtship? I have not even become a Chunin yet. I was hoping to push back any eventual marriages until after I made Jonin at least."

"An admirable goal Neji but the fact is that we have not completely recovered from the Kyuubi attack, add to that all of the number of Kumo Ninja who have been allowed to participate in the exams and we may very well be looking at another incident with them in the future."

"Hizashi-Sama, with all due respect I believe that both my sister and I are too young to be thinking of bearing children. If we were it would most likely put a halt to or outright end our careers as Kunoichi."

"Yes we are aware of that Hinata, and that is the unfortunate price that the Hyuga clan must pay for continuing the existence of our clan. Now I am sure you are aware that you will be expected to become pregnant within one month of your marriage, and should your body show the correct signs of resilience then we will require one child every year for the first three years of marriage."

Hinata's eyes were water with unshed tears, she had always known this would be the fate of Hanabi and herself… but to hear this man so casually talk of being turned into breeding stock was…

"Father I understand that it is the council's wish that Hinata and her sister continue the bloodline but I agree with her, Hanabi is far too young to be bearing children she is only nine years old. At least let her wait until her Chunin…"

"Enough Neji, I understand that she is a bit young but you are also aware that pregnancies are able to happen as young as eight in some cases. The fact of the matter is that we need to bolster the Hyuga clan as soon as possible. The only reason I am waiting until after the Chunin exam for Hinata is to prevent any potential damage to the baby, as well as the appearance of the clan if we were to pull our Kunoichi out of the tournament before the second phase."

When the man was met with silence he gave a casual wave, dismissing both Ninja from the room.

"Hinata…. I know we have never been friends of any kind, but for what it's worth… I am sorry." Neji muttered out, a bit of emotion entering his voice before he walked away toward his personal quarters.

Hinata just stood, her mind trying to cope with what she had been told and desperately attempting to come up with a solution to protect herself, and more importantly, her sister.

***TRwP***

Hiruzen Sarutobi was enjoying a new flavor of Tobacco, recently imported from Wave, when a knock on his door earned his attention.

"Enter"

The group of Jonin Sensei shuffled in, along with Yugao, Hayate, and Anko.

The eldest man's eye quirked up in curiosity as he noticed the concerned looks on several of their faces.

"What can I do for all of you today?"

"Hello Hokage-Sama, apologies for coming in on such short notice but there are several issues we wish to speak with you about."

"Think nothing of it Gai, now what are these concerns you all seem to have?"

"First off is the fact that there is another Jinchuriki in the Chunin exams." Asuma responded, earning a concerned glance from his father.

The older man thought for a moment before replying back, "Gaara of Suna I take it?"

"You knew?" Kakashi inquired, finally putting away his orange book during the meeting.

"No, but he would be the most obvious candidate for it with his skill level. How were all of you made aware of this?"

"Natsuko and Akane warned us when Choji was about to fight him." The Sarutobi replied, feeling more and more grateful towards the two sisters with each passing day.

"Ah, I have heard that Jinchuriki are able to sense each other to an extent."

"More pressing than that though is what are we doing about Orochimaru?" Anko blurted out.

"We have already detained and are in the process of interrogating Kabuto, but if there is a Jinchuriki here as well I am sure it is due to his planning. That is far too much of a coincidence not to be." The Hokage answered, ignoring the startled gapes from the uninformed Jonin.

"Wh-what the hell does that monster want?" Yugao asked, feeling her skin crawl at the knowledge she had of the infamous traitor.

"It seems he wants Sasuke for some purpose, probably for his Sharingan." Kakashi answered, having already placed the suppression seal on his student to help counter its effects.

"We need to do something about this dad, if this is true all of our students could be in danger."

"Do not be too concerned, I have already contacted Jiraiya and he will be arriving today. All ANBU have been placed on high alert and no one is to journey in anything less than a group of three at all times."

"Are you sure that will be enough sir?" Hayate inquired, earning a sigh from his leader.

"No but we can't have armies of ANBU roaming the streets, the political impact would be damaging enough, this is the same reason we cannot act on Gaara or his siblings."

"Plus we would need to explain the fact we are using our own Jinchuriki as weapons against Genin as well." Kurenai practically growled out, remembering just how mad she was at her students being used in this fashion.

The Hokage tilted his hat down to avoid the glares of the Kunoichi before continuing his briefing.

"Yes that too… Was there anything else?"

"Actually yes Hokage-Dono there was I would like to know why it is that certain members of this village know more about my students than I do. Some that have no reason to know so much in fact."

"What do you mean Kurenai?"

"I mean, why is it that you and Kakashi seem to have knowledge about why Akane acts the way she does and why Natsuko is so secretive about it, but I have never been given any information at all."

"It's not really a Ninja matter per se Kurenai-San it is something personal that happened a long time ago." The Cyclopean Shinobi replied.

"If that is true then why do you seem to know so much about it? Why doesn't Anko know anything either?" The Kunoichi pressed, trying to figure out what was happening to her students.

"Did you ever meet Akane when she was younger Kurenai?" The Hokage suddenly interrupted a faraway look in his eyes.

"I can't really recall doing so, why?"

"You probably did and just never put two and two together. If you stood them side by side and had a conversation with both I doubt anyone would think of them as the same person."

"What do you mean Hokage-Sama?" Anko inquired.

"When she was young Akane was…. very similar to Natsuko, if a bit more mature. She was always running around, laughing, giggling, and shouting about how she would eventually become a great Kunoichi and Hokage someday. She was such a happy child…"

"What happened?" Kurenai whispered out, fearing what events could lead to such a dramatic change.

"We don't really know."

The heads in the room turned to Kakashi, whose face was downcast, as he stared at the floor, as if in shame.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

"I was often assigned to watch over the girls when I was in ANBU, a job that few others wanted but that I was happy to undertake. Until one day I was given a far off mission. It took over a month to complete and when I returned…. She was so quiet, so… Well she had changed into what you now see."

"What happened during that month?" the snake mistress asked out, not directing the question at anyone in particular.

"Even I do not know exactly, it seems as though fate was not on their side as I was also called away on an emergency diplomatic meeting two days after Kakashi was assigned his task. All I know is that something occurred during that time which drastically changed the young girl's life. Not only did she become drawn in and anti-social but her protectiveness towards Natsuko was amplified tremendously." The oldest Ninja replied.

"Does anyone have any idea on what occurred?"

"I tried to talk to Akane about it one time, but she immediately shut me out. I even tried to ask Natsuko but she was surprisingly silent about the event as well. Unfortunately the girls did not have any close friends at the time to confide in which probably only made the situation worse. You could try the Ichiraku's, as far as I am aware they are the only other people that the girls would have trusted at the time."

The two Kunoichi nodded as the group departed, still lacking in answers to what the future and past held.

***TRwP***

'Worrying' was not how Jiraiya would have chosen to describe the situation he now found himself and Konoha in. No that was a word that the Toad Sage would use to describe a considerably less troublesome situation, such as having to undertake an S-Rank mission, or running from a horde of angry women.

Having Orochimaru infiltrating the Chunin exams with his two Goddaughters along with an unstable Jinchuriki from Suna and a host of other hostile Genin from other nations which do not get along with Konoha was more like 'a potential catastrophe'.

Now the Sannin was leaping among rooftops, attempting to locate either one of the two sisters, or a hot spring that he could use for some 'research'.

The more concerning thing was how difficult it was to locate a blonde and a redhead in a village where those two hair colors were rare to say the least.

Suddenly the white haired man caught a flash of blonde, and after coming to a halt nearby spotted the two girls.

'Now time to make an entrance befitting one of my stature, then bask in their wonderment and awe.' The older man planned before leaping through the air in an impressive flip and landing a dozen feet in front of the two girls.

"BEHOLD THE AMAZING JIRAIYA OF THE SANNIN, GREATEST OF THE TOAD SAGES, AND SUPER PERVERT HAS ARRIVED!" The man proclaimed while striking an 'awesome pose' in front of the two girls.

Jiraiya had received quite a few reactions to his entrance before. He had watched children stare in awe, adults scowl, and women glare furiously. There were times that he had found himself under attack from not only enemy Ninja but also enraged females who knew of his Icha Icha stories. There was even a child who had asked for his autograph.

But never in all of his years had the Sannin ever been completely and utterly ignored.

The two Uzumaki sisters continued walking, stepping to his right as if he were just a rock in the middle of the road.

'What in the hell?'

Maybe they were so involved in their conversation that they hadn't heard him? Yeah that had to be it. After all who could actually ignore such an amazing Ninja as himself?

So Jiraiya tried again, once more leaping directly into the girl's path. Before taking a huge breath to loudly proclaim himself

"I said… BEHOLD THE AMAZING AND GALIANT JIRAIYA, LEGENDARY TOAD SAGE, WRITER OF THE GREATEST NOVELS OF ALL TIME, AND WORLD CLASS PERVERT HAS APPEARED!"

"We heard you the first time." The redhead's monotone called out, immediately bringing a halt to the man's excitement.

"Uh of course you did! If that is so why did you ignore more amazing entrance?"

"We've seen better." The blonde replied, her tone just slightly more interested than her sister's

"B-b-b-but I worked really hard on that…" The white haired man pouted, as he sat down in a corner and began to cry in a depressed tone.

Instead of comforting him, or smacking him like so many others had, the two Kunoichi just continued down the street, further irritating the Shinobi.

"Excuse me where the heck are you two going?"

"To train."

"Train eh? Well I suppose if you ask really nicely and can impress me then I can…" the two girls hadn't even stopped walking…. They were ignoring him!

This time he jumped in front of them with emphasis.

"Why do I get the feeling that you two are ignoring me…."

"Probably because we are trying to do so. If you could stop interrupting our training time though it would be appreciated though." Akane responded, before attempting to step around the man again with her sister, but this time Jiraiya wasn't having it, and stepped to block her path.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

The two girls became deathly serious as they stared back at the man.

"Why did you ignore us?" Surprisingly it was the blonde that replied, in a tone harsher than Jiraiya would have thought capable of the energetic blonde.

"What are you talking about? I was the one trying to introduce myself and you kept walking around me!" The older man lamented, his mind was busy trying to figure out what the heck the two Genin were talking about.

"Not today, she means why have you ignored us our entire lives until today, 'Godfather'." The redhead practically spat out the last word, as if it was poison.

The Sage froze. Sarutobi had ensured him that they were unaware of their origins, unless the two older Kunoichi had said something. But even then he was expecting them to have confronted the Hokage rather than him.

"Wh-what do…"

"It was surprisingly hard to track down any kind of information on our parentage, even the hospitals confidential files listed us as unknown orphans. Interestingly enough though they listed our legal guardian as two of the three Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade." The more mature of the two females replied, glaring at the man who stood before them.

"Oh… uh well you see I had a spy network, and research, and…"

"So your just another adult who makes excuses on why we are too far down on the list to take notice of. If that's the case then leave, onee-chan and I have done fine without you for our lives up until now and we certainly don't need anything that you can teach us now, especially since it just so happens that you show up when we start showing skill as Ninja. It just shows that we are only seen as tools to you."

"NO, I mean... Your right, I have been a crappy guardian, I'm not asking you to forgive me just…. Can I have a chance to make it up to you? Maybe spend some time with you both?"

The two glanced between each other before a subtle nod from Natsuko gained a sigh of defeat from her sister.

"Alright, but we do have a few stipulations."

Jiraiya fist pumped into the air, as he gave out a shout of victory.

***TRwP***

"Alright then the first part of your training will involve the two of you signing the LEGENDARY TOAD SUMMONING CONTRACT!" Jiraiya exclaimed as the three Ninja sat just outside the main part of the village.

"Really? AWESOME!" the blonde happily replied as the man summoned a small toad who produced the scroll.

Suddenly Natsuko stopped, just short of signing the large item, and glanced over to her sister.

"Ummmm this is a Ninjutsu correct?"

"But of course! I JIRAIYA THE LEGENDARY SAGE am an expert at Ninjutsu. I have so many things to teach you two!"

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea…" the normally perky sister mumbled out, as she pulled back a bit.

"Wha-what do you mean?" the larger man stuttered out, hoping he hadn't forgotten something and lost his chance with the two girls.

"It's just that…."

"I cannot do Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

The Shinobi quirked his eyebrow in curiosity, "What do you mean 'you can't'. You have the Chakra for it I can sense it from here, all you need is the proper…"

"It won't work, Hokage-Dono confirmed it. My Chakra is too dense to be used and shaped like that. But don't worry about me, go ahead and sign the contract Natsuko. Just because I can't doesn't mean you shouldn't."

"But Akane-chan…"

Meanwhile the Sage was fuming. His Sensei had always replied to his inquiries about the two with nothing but positives, he never mentioned anything like this.

"Oh Akane-chan what about…."

"No Natsuko."

"But…

"I said no."

"What are you two talking about?"

The older man interrupted the two girls, as the blonde looked shyly between her sister and Godfather.

"Akane-chan does have one really amazing talent that we haven't told anyone about and maybe…"

"That's because it is too rare of a skill, besides a Ninja should never give away all their secrets."

"Akane, if there is something I can help you with I would be honored to try. I promise you both that I will not speak a word of it to anyone, including the Hokage."

"Please Akane-chan?" The blonde looked toward her sister, and widened her eyes pitifully.

'Oh no…. the Puppy eye Jutsu…' Jiraiya thought, already fearing what the adorable blonde could do with it.

"I said no Natsuko…."

"P-Please….." The girls lip began to twitch slightly, and she sniffled a bit.

'Puppy eye Jutsu: stage two! Good Kami in heaven who taught her that!?'

"That isn't going to work on me Natsuko…"

Tears began forming at the young girl's eyes as a slight whimper escaped her throat.

'S-S-Stage three!' The Sannin looked on in horror, before starting to go through his inventory of items and Jutsu, seeking to give the teenager something to cheer her up.

"Fine…."

"YAY!"

"Stupid Jutsu should be labeled as 'forbidden'." The redhead muttered to herself as she glanced toward the still panicking Shinobi.

"Before we talk about this though, I have a request for you, and a condition for all of this."

"Wha? Uh sure yeah of course!"

"What we are going to reveal, and what will most likely be revealed during the exam… is going to change everything. I want you to swear that if things take a turn for the worst, you will take Natsuko out of this village, no matter what you might be ordered to do."

A second later the redhead produced two scrolls, before handing them to the man.

After unraveling them the man's eyes widened in shock, only to receive nods of confirmation from both girls.

The man's gaze hardened before giving a nod.

"I swear on my life, my pride, and my soul that I won't let anything happen to you two."

"Thank you."

"ALRIGHT THEN LET'S SIGN THIS SCROLL!"

The blonde happily complied and the small toad nodded before disappearing.

"Alright then all you have to do now is summon a toad and boom we are in business. Don't worry if you can't summon a very large one, once we work on harnessing the Kyuubi's Chakra…"

The two girls became deathly quiet, earning another strange look from the man.

"Is everything alright?"

"I refuse to do anything concerning that abomination."

Jiraiya looked at the redhead, a bit confused before slowly nodding his head.

"Ummmm okay…. That's understandable what about…"

"I can already use Kyuubi-chan's Chakra."

The man face faulted.

Did a Genin just call the Nine Tailed Fox 'Kyuubi-chan'?

"Wait you said you can already harness it?"

"Yup!"

"Uh… could I see?"

The blonde nodded happily before a shroud of red energy swirled around her, forming one tail and distorting the girl's appearance.

Then another tail formed.

The Chakra was beginning to become overwhelming as the man called a halt, fearing any notice from the village.

"That's…. incredible! I am a bit curious as to why you don't seem to be upset that your sister is using the Chakra though Akane."

"Because she has the Yin half."

The Sannin stared at the girl blankly for a moment.

"Uhm… what?"

"Natsuko has the Yin half of the Kyuubi sealed inside of her, it contains reason and compassion along with half its Chakra. I have the Yang half, which is more or less evil and rage."

"Oh…. Ummmmm I'm sorry…."

"It isn't your fault."

"Well then go ahead and summon…"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"JIRAIYA, WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME!"

The old man paled as the Toad boss himself appeared.

***TRwP***

"Hinata-chan what's wrong?" Natsuko inquired, after opening the door and seeing her teammate on the other side, her eyes red from crying and worry.

"N-Natsuko-chan I-I didn't know where to go…"

"Come on in."

The Hyuga slowly entered the apartment, and nearly wept at what she saw.

The living conditions were terrible even by slum standards. There were holes in the walls, cracks in the ceiling, the furniture was falling apart, and the lights flickered near constantly.

"What happened Hinata-chan?"

Turning around the pale eyed girl could only give the blonde a shocked expression, before bursting into tears.

The blonde looked so worried for her teammate, so utterly concerned for another human being when she lived in such terrible conditions.

How could anyone ever hate someone who was that pure? How could anyone ever even assume that such a girl was a demon in disguise?

"Natsuko, what's wrong?" a tired voice called out as Akane walked out from where she had been resting.

Hinata raised her head and looked towards the other Uzumaki sister, and immediately her heart wrenched in pain once more. The girl looked worse, if that was even possible, than the Byakugan wielder did.

Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess, she looked…. exhausted.

"I-I'm sorry I-I d-didn't realize th-that I was in-interrupting… I-I need to go…." But before she could take a step Akane had already crossed the distance, with speed that still shocked Hinata no matter how many times she had seen the redhead move, and lightly grabbed ahold of the Hyuga.

"Hinata… what's wrong?"

The poor girl looked up into the two sisters faces, and saw nothing but worry and concern.

Concern for her…

Hinata broke down again.

***TRwP***

After explaining the situation involving her clan and their decision, along with another ten minutes of sobbing, Hinata finally reached a point of resting quietly on one of the few 'comfortable' couch cushions.

Akane was making some tea for comfort.

Natsuko was busy glancing between the two girls, worry evident in every direction her gaze fell.

"So what are we going to do Akane-chan?" Natsuko called out.

Hinata immediately noticed the change and glanced between the two.

"I-is everything okay Natsuko-chan?"

"Obviously not if you are sobbing Hinata-chan, that's why I want to see if my sister has any ideas."

The redhead had paused, while waiting for the tea kettle to finish heating, a contemplative expression on her face.

"Obviously we aren't going to let those bastards do that to you or your sister Hinata, the question now is how do we stop them from even attempting it…"

"We could try our backup plan." The blonde suggested, earning a curious gaze from the Hyuga.

"A nice idea but it's too early I think. Plus I doubt Hanabi would be able to handle it."

Natsuko nodded before going back to her 'adorable' thinking pose.

The tea was finished moments after and Akane had poured three cups full shortly afterwards.

Just as HInata was taking a sip Natsuko let out a triumphant cry.

"I GOT IT, WE THREATEN THE BASTARDS!"

The pale eyed Kunoichi began coughing violently, not just from the startling shout but also from what was just implied. Did the Uzumaki really believe they could just threaten one of the most powerful clans in Konoha?

"Natsuko-chan I don't think that…."

"Actually that sounds like a pretty good idea." The redhead chimed in, earning a shocked gasp from her teammate.

"You two can't be serious right? I mean what can we threaten the entire Hyuga clan with?"

"Oh we won't threaten the entire clan just the Main clan." Akane corrected, as a smirk slowly formed on her face.

***A/N***