Hola, readers! Hoped you more or less liked last chapter, and now we begin getting into the more canon part of the story. Yay! And disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wish I did, but then the art would be terrible.

Chapter 25

Team 9 breathed steadily as they ran in long strides on the lake's shore near their usual training grounds. The sand was soft under their feet, but it constantly itched the bottoms of them, getting in between the sandal and their foot. They ignored it though. Neji and Naruto were neck and neck, and TenTen only lagged a stride behind. Guy was at the end of the shore, arms crossed.

Naruto pulled ahead in the last ten meters, and they all finished within the same second. Not one of them was out of breath, piquing the blonde's curiosity. "Hey, sensei," he asked, "Why the easy workout?" He received an elbow from TenTen for the question, and he raised an eyebrow at her before Guy answered.

"Because," he replied a bit theatrically, "I am going to show you a little trick that you'll find absolutely amazing." He gestured toward the forest twenty feet from the lake. "You remember tree-walking?" They nodded. "Can you still do it?" Instead of nodding, they each picked a tree and walked up the trunk and hung upside down from the lowermost branch. Neji had an irritated look, Naruto a curious one, and TenTen a bored one.

She voiced her boredom. "C'mon, sensei, we know this. If this has got to do with what you're gonna show us, we've got it in the bag." She then grinned and asked, "Whatcha gonna show us anyway? How to walk on water?" She had meant the last part as a joke, but then Guy matched her grin with one of his own. He stepped back onto the lake's surface, and his students stared at his feet, magically suspended on the water. TenTen resembled a fish for a minute while Naruto's eyes were wide. Neji showed nothing but a slight raise of his brow.

"Well?" said Guy, "Think you got this in the bag now, TenTen?" She scowled and looked away guiltily, and Naruto bounded toward him excitedly. He peered down at Guy's feet and then glanced up at his sensei, a question in the look. The Jonin stepped back onto land and smiled at his students. "Water-walking," he declared, "It's one of the milestones in a Genin's development. I'm late, very late, in showing you this, but we haven't needed it."

"How do you do it?" asked Naruto eagerly.

"You focus chakra to your feet like tree-walking, but it's a much more delicate process..." Soon the three were wading in the shallows of the lake, raising a foot above the water and placing it on the surface. They would test it, and TenTen fell most often here, not focusing enough chakra to her feet. Naruto fell when he managed to plant both feet on the surface, but he didn't so much as fall as fly forward due to the force of the chakra output. Neji had the best grip on the technique, but the water still reached his ankles.

Guy kept shouting encouragement as they struggled. "C'mon, show me that youth! Let the Power of Youth flow in and out, in and out! TenTen, I know you can do better than that! Naruto, quit skidding across the water and start walking on it! Good job, Neji!" The Hyuuga rolled his eyes, and TenTen, her hair askew and lank, scowled. Naruto couldn't react because he had flown across the lake again.

The blonde extracted himself from a tangle of bushes on the opposite side of the lake and snorted in frustration as he saw TenTen and Neji balance precariously on the water. He put a single foot forward and nearly blasted his entire leg off, and Naruto roared in frustration. Guy waved at him merrily across the lake when he did. "Keep at it, Naruto!" He snorted again.

Neji, with both of his feet completely resting on the water, took a tentative step forward. His foot sank slightly, but he kept forward, and with each step he gained more and more confidence. TenTen watched him for a minute before following him. Her steps were less sure, but soon the two were walking at a slow pace atop the water. TenTen grinned over at Naruto who wobbled in mid-shin water. "How you doin', Blondie?"

He glared at her and slowly leveled out his chakra output, rising to the surface. He took a step forward and crashed through the water. He thrashed for a second before treading water, and he swam back to the shore. He shivered as a breeze blew, and he took off his jacket and shirt and hung them from a branch. TenTen hid a smirk as he shivered again.

She and Neji were balancing easily on the water, and Neji was even jogging slowly at times to test his control. She strolled over to where Naruto was standing and watched as he shakily stepped onto the lake. He took a step forward again, and his foot sank up to his knee, but he didn't fall. He put the other foot forward, and it settled higher than the other. He kept going, each foot higher than the next. Soon, he was walking on water. Neji stopped his jogging to watch him, and TenTen clapped him on the back to congratulate him. Unfortunately, it was enough force to topple Naruto's perilous balance, and he fell back into the water.

TenTen burst into laughter as Naruto surfaced, and Neji wore a smirk that grated on his nerves. The blonde muttered darkly and swam back to shore. He frowned at the water before trying again. This time, he had no difficulties and walked with a slow gait across the water. He grinned at TenTen. "Ha! There you go, Buns! Happy?"

"Always, Blondie." A single clap brought their attention back to Guy, and he smiled proudly before launching three shuriken at them. The instinct of all them was to block, and the shuriken clanged against tonfa, staff, and kunai. He launched three again, and again they blocked them. "Sensei!" shouted TenTen, "What the hell?"

"Dodge them!" he shouted back, "It's good practice!" He threw again, and Naruto comically scrambled out of the way, nearly falling through the water as he did. Neji had a better grip and swayed from the shuriken's path. TenTen took a quick step to the side, and the shuriken whistled past her. Again, Guy threw, but this time he kept throwing one after another. He aimed randomly, and the Genin were put under considerable pressure. It would've been child's play on land, but with the fact they had to dodge shuriken and focus on their water-walking made it much more difficult.

Naruto skidded to halt and nearly sank as a shuriken passed in front of him, but then he balanced by taking a step backward. He crouched, and one went over his head. Guy then turned to Neji who kept swaying gracefully out of the shurikens' path. Guy frowned, and then he threw five in a star pattern. Neji narrowed his eyes and leaped away, landing perfectly back on the water. TenTen dodged a shuriken as Guy turned on her, and she ran across the water, not daring to stay still. Guy aimed in front of her, and she skidded and spun to run in the other direction.

Guy had a satisfied smile on his face when he finally stopped. His students panted, and Naruto had an annoyed expression. He had only fully grasped the trick of dodging and weaving in the last minute of the exercise. Neji and TenTen had been moving effortlessly long before that. He shook his head like a dog, spraying flecks of sweat and water on his teammates.

TenTen protested, "Naruto! Quit it! That's sweat, y'know!" Naruto frowned at her and stopped. She glared, and Guy clapped to gain their attention.

"How was that for a warmup?" he asked cheerfully.

"That was a warmup?" demanded TenTen.

"Indeed! Now we move on to the tougher part." He pointed at Naruto. "Attack!" The blonde blinked in confusion before jumping out of the way of TenTen's staff. He looked at her wildly before Neji charged forward, tonfa at the ready.

"Hey! Wait! What the-!" He ducked as Neji swung with both tonfa, and he kicked out. Neji stepped back and swiped with a tonfa, and Naruto leaped back and nearly crashed through the water. He struggled to balance, and TenTen attempted to smash his arm with her hammer. He dodged just in time and made a handsign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Nine clones burst into existence, and the ten Narutos instantly scattered. "Gotta find me first!"

Neji scowled, wishing he still possessed the Byakugan. With it, he could have easily identified the real Naruto. He hefted his tonfa; he'd have to do the hard way. He and TenTen each chased after one, and after ten minutes there was one left. TenTen grinned mischievously. "Give it up, Naruto. We got you!" Naruto looked panicked for a moment before he went up in smoke. She gaped, and Naruto popped up from the water behind her.

"Gotcha!" He cackled as TenTen whirled and swung, but then Guy called out,

"Attack TenTen!" She glanced at him wildly before flipping to avoid Neji's tonfa. She blocked a kick from Naruto and punched him in the gut. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she turned and swept out another Naruto's legs from under him. Neji slammed down on her with his tonfa, but then she was enveloped in a smoke cloud, a log taking her place. She appeared not far from the pair, staff at the ready.

Naruto grinned and threw a single shuriken. She raised her staff to deflect it, but then he switched with it and drew back his fist. TenTen reacted a split second before he threw his punch and kicked him in the gut. He went down and fell through the water, and Neji took his place, using the opening the kick created. He swung in an arc and leaped back in the same motion, and she swung. He knocked it away and jabbed with the short end of the tonfa. She winced as it connected to her ribs; it was a bruising blow, but nothing else.

She backed up, and Neji watched her warily, the counterattack-only mentality ingrained into his mind. Guy nodded, and then he said, "Attack Neji!" Naruto, just now standing back on the water, smirked and flitted to Neji, throwing a wild barrage of punches. Neji slipped between them and thwacked him under the jaw, and Naruto stumbled back, holding his mouth. TenTen brought her staff down like a hammer onto Neji who crossed his tonfa to catch it. Recognizing the move, TenTen lashed out with a kick, but Neji let her staff slide off and leaped away.

Naruto, the bruise on his jaw already fading to yellow, scowled at Neji before blurring left and right to confuse him. Neji raised his tonfa defensively, eyes darting to follow Naruto's outline. He shifted his weight to his back foot, and Naruto made his appearance in a sudden headlong charge just meters from him. The blonde grinned, but then a step sank below the water and he tumbled harmlessly past Neji, swearing colorfully.

Guy called out again, reverting to Naruto as the target. This went on for an hour, and by the end of it, TenTen and Neji were having trouble staying above water due to chakra depletion. Naruto was fine, having the stamina to water-walk for days, but he still had problems with multitasking. He couldn't yet perform jutsu while on water like Neji or TenTen. Jutsu like Shadow Clone Jutsu were easy because they required little or no focus beyond the initial output. It was jutsu like Great Breakthrough or Grand Fireball that were trouble because of the concentration to change the nature and to consistently extend the jutsu. Other than that, Naruto had it down.

Guy was proud of his students as they rested under the trees. Each were doing something during their break; Neji was meditating, TenTen carving the twin wolves from wood, and Naruto, having retrieved his shirt and jacket, had his nose buried in a fuinjutsu scroll. He let them rest for fifteen minutes before they were at it again. This time, Naruto mastered it, and he grinned as he unleashed a Scorching Grand Fireball to defend himself. His teammates dodged, and TenTen shouted, "Dammit, Blondie! You singed my eyebrows with that!"

"Exactly what I was aiming for," he said sarcastically. Guy signaled for them to stop, and the team walked over to him but stayed on the water as he addressed them.

"You've all done well today," he congratulated, "Very, very well. I'm proud, and now I end our practice." He pointed toward in a random direction. "Go out and be youthful!" Everyone rolled their eyes in exasperation, and Neji and TenTen left almost immediately. Naruto lingered for a minute, prompting a question from his sensei. "Naruto, are you going to stay for my and Lee's spars?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm a bit too tired today," he answered, appearing distracted a fraction, "I'll just...take a walk." He walked off, head down, and Guy bit his lip in worry. Two weeks had passed since Iruka's funeral, and apparently Naruto was still coping. He didn't really show it in training, but Iruka's death still bothered him, and Guy had no advice for the young blonde. That frustrated him, but he reasoned that Naruto would discover something to help him cope. He was resilient like that.

Neji walked through the Hyuuga complex gate and started for the well. When he arrived, Hyoto wasn't there with his usual emotionless, rigid posture. A frown creased his features. Hyoto was never late. Never. Neji couldn't even think of what kind of excuse Hyoto would make, the man was so direct and honest. The frown deepened, but then Neji shrugged. He could wait. Hyoto would explain his tardiness when he came.

Neji leaned against the well's lip, arms crossed and face turned to the sky. He drummed his fingers against his arm impatiently for a while, half-mindedly wondering why his sensei was late. Hyoto finally showed up, his expression stonier than usual. Before Neji could ask about his late arrival, he gestured soundlessly for him to follow. Neji raised an eyebrow, and he followed Hyoto carefully. They went down winding alleys, slid through narrow cracks, crawled under debris Neji never knew existed. Apprehension started to gnaw at Neji's insides. They had never taken a route like this before. It was if Hyoto was nervous about being discovered, or he was trying to hide something.

Neji came to a halt as Hyoto vanished into the strange, fuinjutsu field, and he regarded the spot where Hyoto had been distrustfully before a hand appeared in mid-air and beckoned him forward. He gave it a deadpan look before obeying. Again, he expected to feel something as he passed through the field's boundaries, but again nothing was felt. However, what, or rather who, was on the other side sent shockwaves of fear through his body.

Hiashi stood calmly in the center of the field, and what Neji wanted to do more than anything at that moment was to run, but the clan leader had saw him and pinned him down with a piercing gaze. Hyoto was next to Neji, and the boy's eyes moved between him and Hiashi. Hyoto quietly reassured him, "It is not what you believe, Neji-san. Hiashi-sama is here to help us." Neji looked at them doubtfully, and Hyoto continued, "He knows of someone who could potentially restore your Byakugan."

"Wh-what?" croaked Neji in response.

Hiashi took over. "You're not the first to lose your Byakugan through death," he explained, "Other people have died and then come back without their Byakugan. I have always directed them to one person, and he has never failed at restoring it." Neji crossed his arms skeptically. Hiashi read it."I cannot tell his name here. You will most likely know him, however." He turned to head out of the field. "Follow me." He disappeared outside, and Neji and Hyoto followed briskly.

As they strode behind Hiashi, Neji whispered demandingly to his sensei, "What is this? How does he know?"

"I've known for quite a while," answered Hiashi without turning, "About a week after you started, Hyoto told me about your meetings." Neji glowered accusingly at Hyoto who didn't respond. Hiashi kept on, "I allowed them to continue because I thought it a partial repayment of my debt to you and my brother. I didn't know how else I could pay." They turned onto a crowded street, and Hiashi parted the sea of people in front of them. Neji vaguely recognized where they were, but then Hiashi stopped at a door that looked like any other.

He opened it and waved them inside. As he entered, Neji became puzzled at the familiar shop surroundings and even more so when he laid on eyes on the person standing patiently behind the counter. Motama, leaning heavily on his cane, grinned lopsidedly as he saw the Hyuuga. "Hiashi-sama!" he exclaimed, bowing, "What can a humble tailor like myself do for you today?"

"Cut the act, Motama-san," said Hiashi in a no-nonsense manner, "We need your services, services that only you can provide for the Hyuuga."

Motama's posture instantly changed. Suddenly, he was leaning on the cane, and the grandfatherly aura was replaced with an air of wise solemnness. Neji knew he had been an ANBU captain, but he had taken it with a grain of salt. But now, with those eyes that seemed to have seen everything, Neji knew he had not been lying. "Ah," sighed the old man wisely, "So does this man here need them?" He nodded toward Hyoto. "Odd thing to bring your son to, sonny."

"I'm not his son," interrupted Neji, "And I'm the one who lost the Byakugan." Motama gave him an appraising look before nodding.

"Alright then." He turned to go into the back of the store. "Come, come." He led them to a small room with two chairs. A window criss-crossed with rusting iron bars let in the afternoon sun, but then Motama jerked a thick, black curtain over it and lit a small lantern. He hung it from a hook jutting out roughly from the ceiling and gestured for Neji to take a seat in one of the chairs. He sat cautiously, watching the tailor warily as he too sat. Hiashi and Hyoto stayed near the door.

"Alright, Neji," said Motama softly, "Take off your headband." Neji felt his stomach twist and turn, and he reached with shaking hands to untie his headband. It fell off into his lap, and Neji thought he saw a flicker of confusion in Motama's eyes before it was quickly snuffed out. His blank forehead felt exposed and naked which was how most Side Family members felt without their headbands. Motama brushed his fingers against it, biting his lip contemplatively. "How strange," he mumbled, "How strange indeed."

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, pressing his entire hand on Neji's forehead. He looked directly into Neji's eyes. "This will hurt. A lot. You'll have to stay still." Neji nodded, and then Motama's hand began to feel warm, and his eyes began to itch. The itch grew incessant, but he didn't dare try to ease it. The hand then grew hot, unbearably hot, and Neji squeezed shut his eyes that now burned as if doused with acid. He grunted in pain, and then his body erupted into flames of pain. He screamed but still did not move. His fingers clenched white around the seat of his chair. He had to pull through this. He could not, would not, move, not when the prize was so close.

His vision turned red, and Neji was aware of Hyoto calling for Motama to stop. "No!" Neji managed roughly, "Keep going!" Hyoto ignored him and still urged the tailor to stop. Neji wanted to shout again, but then another explosion of pain left him breathless as he screamed, "Keep...going!" Blackness began to crack the edges of the red, and before the glass broke and Neji fell unconscious, he felt Motama lift his hand.

Hyoto caught him before he slumped to the floor and set him back in the chair. He glared at Motama who looked haggard and tired. "You should have stopped long before," accused Hyoto, "I have witnessed this before. It does not hurt close to anything to what Neji experienced." Motama didn't defend himself, and he wrung his hands.

"I shouldn't have tried," he said abruptly.

"What?"

"When I saw that his Curse Mark was gone..." he trailed off, mentally kicking himself. Hiashi threw him a inquisitive look before Neji groaned and blinked open his eyes. He froze when he saw the unfamiliar room.

"Where am I?"

"You're in Motama-san's shop," answered Hiashi, "Do you know what just happened?"

Neji furrowed his brow, and then he winced as the memory came back. "My Byakugan..."

"Yes. He was going to restore it. Can you use it?" Neji tried, focusing chakra to his eyes, but what seemed like a wall greeted him. He tried again, and again he hit the wall. He even tried with the activating handsign, but no luck. His heart dropped; maybe he had truly lost his dojutsu forever. He sank back into the chair and let out a dejected breath.

"No. I can't."

"I should've expected that," said Motama, half to himself and half to them, "I shouldn't have done anything without the Curse Mark!"

"Wha-what do you mean by that?" asked Neji.

"I need the Curse Mark intact in order to heal the chakra pathways leading to the eyes," he explained, head bent in shame, "You're the first one I've seen whose Mark has been totally removed. There's nothing left it. Nothing." He looked back up at Neji.

"But the Curse Mark is removed when the bearer dies. Isn't my case normal?"

"No, not in the slightest. It usually comes back if the bearer comes back too. My guess is that it bonds to the soul." Motama scrutinized him. " But why did yours come off? How did it come off?" He looked over at Hiashi with a frown. "And why didn't you tell me that he didn't have the Curse Mark anymore?"

"I did not think it mattered," replied the clan leader truthfully.

Motama grunted, and Neji told him about his vision, thinking maybe an explanation lied in it. As he retold it for perhaps the fifth time, Neji focused on the glowing white orb that had passed between him and his parents. His expression turned thoughtful. 'Now, accept our gift to you.' Those had been his parents' words, and he had inwardly knew they had taken the curse away but at the price of his eyes. But now, hearing what Motama claimed that it truly did come back, he truly appreciated what they had done. If they hadn't given him their gift, he would have still bore the Curse Mark. He smiled grimly; even death could not stop the monstrosity.

"So your parents removed it," muttered Motama, "Interesting. Never heard a story quite like that, I'll be honest." He tapped his chin. "I'm sorry," he finally said, "I can't do anything without the Curse Mark. You could always be rebranded-,"

"No," said Hiashi, Hyoto, and Neji in unison.

"-or I could contact someone who has precise enough medical ninjutsu to fix your eyes." He chewed his lip. "The only person talented enough that I know is hard to track down, though."

"Could I help?" asked Hiashi.

"No, no, it's fine. If she's like she's always been, I can just follow the path of suddenly rich poker players. And bruises."

Naruto leaned against the tall wooden fence along one of the village's streets and stared up at the sky. It was a light blue with high, translucent clouds, and a single bird flapped its wings amid the telephone poles. He picked out shapes in the clouds. A dragon. A horse. A deer. A shuriken.

He winced as the memory of Iruka being sliced by Mizuki's shuriken jumped out at him, but then he blinked back the images and tears. Two weeks. Two weeks since Iruka's death, and still it affected as if it had happened yesterday. Part of him wasn't surprised; Iruka had been like a brother to him, even sometimes like a father, and losing someone that close stayed with people for a long time. The rest of him was almost exasperated. Why couldn't he cope with it and move on?

He shook his head to rid it of these thoughts and started walking. He wanted to walk until he forgot all about it, until he escaped it, but nothing seemed to help him long enough. Training worked, and he was alive during it because it distracted him, kept his mind off of Iruka. But when training stopped...Iruka came back to haunt him. He pushed his mind off those grim thoughts again and focused on counting step after step after step.

His feet reached white rock wet with droplets of water and then wood wet with the same water droplets. Naruto paused and looked up. He was in front of the hot springs of all places, and he could hear the murmurs of conversations over the fence. Naruto shrugged and went back to counting steps, but then a giggle caught his attention.

He looked back up and saw a white mane of hair over a red haori and a large scroll tied to the back of a man peeping into the women's bath. Naruto arched a brow and cleared his throat. The man ignored him, another giggle escaping him. Naruto cleared his throat again, but when the man still didn't register him, he kicked him in the seat of his pants. "Hey, old man, quit it," he ordered monotonously. The man froze and turned his head to scowl at him.

The blonde widened his eyes and flitted back as a gigantic toad fell from nowhere onto where he had been, and the peeping Tom jumped onto its head and struck a pose. "The Sage of Mount Myoboku," he announced, "the winner of hearts of women everywhere, the master of seduction! I am Jiraiya, the Toad Sage!"

Hee-hee, I'm very excited to write this. So very, very excited. Anyway, thanks for reading and leave a review if you feel like it. And guess what: omake! Or rather, a memory/flashback-thingy. Once you see the title, you'll know what I mean. You don't need to read this, but I really wanted to write it.

The Trial

Eighteen years ago:

A much younger Hyoto lay awake in the early hours of the morning, vainly trying to fall back asleep. He tossed and turned, the bed cold beside him. He wished it wasn't so. She would have lain beside him right now if it had not been for that fiasco of a mission. How had it gone so wrong? She had done everything perfectly, but still...He shuddered when he thought about it and again longed for her company.

The trial would be today.

That was what was plaguing him. Her trial was to be held in a matter of hours, and all the evidence was stacked against her. She stubbornly stood by her version of what had happened, but the Hokage would take a single look at what the evidence entailed and sentence her. What exactly would be her sentence was debatable.

Hyoto sighed and laid awake until the dawn sun shined into his bedroom. He closed his eyes, and, wishing for her again, he rose and dressed and headed out the door, intending to check on his older sister before he left for the trial. His sister had been sick for weeks, and since she had never married, Hyoto felt responsible to check on her everyday. She had been the one to teach him forbidden Main Family techniques, after all, and he was a loyal younger brother.

He slid back the door to her house and stepped inside. His sister lay in her futon at the other end of the small, dark room. She'd had migraines for the past week, and the persistent cough never seemed to better any. She opened her eyes and winced when the sunlight hit her, and Hyoto quickly closed the door and knelt beside her. He took her hand. "Do you feel any better, Yuzu-nee-chan?"

Yuzu smiled weakly at him. "No, but thanks for asking." She sat up and grimaced as pain shot through her head. "The migraines seem to get worse with each day." She tried to ease Hyoto's worry with a soft laugh, and she patted his hand. "I'm fine, Otouto. I really am." Her blank forehead was shiny with sweat. She really had not improved any, and Hyoto was conflicted between staying with her and going to the trial. Both involved women he cared deeply for, and he wished he could tear himself in two.

Yuzu read his mind. "Go to the trial. I know you want to."

"But-,"

"I'll be fine," she assured, "Now go, Otouto-kun." He nodded, conflict still openly shown on his face, and left. He hurried through the streets of the Leaf to the Hokage Tower. The Tower held a courtroom on its lower level, and all shinobi were tried there. Once he arrived at the door to the courtroom, he saw that there was a small crowd of high-ranking ninja around it. Many were her family, but Minato Namikaze, his former Genin teammate, waved at him and walked over.

His blue eyes were troubled. "Crazy, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically, "I heard she just killed her team without thinking. I even heard that she laughed while she did it. And they were this close-," He held two fingers within a hair of each other, "-to catching their target!"

"Do you think the target somehow controlled her?" asked Hyoto.

"Her? No! It'd have to be a high-level seal or genjutsu to wrestle her mind under control. No, I think she did it under her own volition."

Hyoto could help but grin. "'Volition' is a big word for someone like you, Minato."

"Be quiet, Hyoto." The doors opened, and the crowd poured in and took their seats in the benches in front of two tables and a judge's bench. Hyoto and Minato sat together, and the family sat on the other side. Hyoto saw others beside the family: Motama, his former captain; Misuro Jinta, the talented weapons-user; Kakashi Hatake, the Copycat Ninja; Kushina Uzumaki, one of the last of the Uzumaki clan. She smiled brightly over at Minato who blushed, receiving a teasing nudge to side from Hyoto.

"Lovebirds."

"Be quiet." As the spectators settled in, the Hokage walked in and stood behind the judge's bench. The old veteran's eyes had tired bags and shadows under them, but his voice was strong as he asked the bailiff standing at the door to bring in the defendant. In a few minutes, she was pushed through the door by the Head Torturer, a burly, brutish man, and Ibiki Morino, the Head Interrogator.

Hyoto's heart nearly cracked at the sight of her. Her raven hair was lank and dirty, and her skin was covered with cuts and bruises, her clothes being in the same poor condition. Her deep, chocolate eyes were wide with terror, and her gait was stiff and uncoordinated. He wanted nothing else than to leap up and hold her close and whisper soothingly in her ear, but with her family here and her sentence in the balance, he restrained himself.

"The defendant is Sayuri Uchiha," declared the Hokage, "She is charged with the murder of her ANBU squad on the mission to capture one of Orochimaru's contacts. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?"

"I didn't do it!" she screamed desperately, "I've told you once, I'll tell you a thousand times, I didn't do it!" Her bottom lip trembled like a child's. "I didn't do it," she argued, voice choking, "I-I couldn't move. I couldn't control my body. I could only watch as someone-something-killed my squad using my hands! I swear on my life I didn't kill them!" She burst into tears, and a few of the colder Uchiha tittered. Hyoto wanted to strangle them.

The Hokage studied her closely, and he motioned for the bailiff to bring in someone else. The leader of the Yamanaka clan walked in, and, taking a glance at Sayuri, handed a paper to the Hokage and walked out. The old man examined it before looking back up at her.

"The Yamanaka clan reports no memory lapses during that time. The report says that you should remember every part of it."

"I do! But it wasn't me!"

"It also says you were in control the entire time."

"I-I...I wasn't, though." Her voice was weak. "The target...something happened. He must've taken control of me." She shivered. "All I remember were these snake-like eyes..." The Hokage frowned, and again he motioned for the bailiff to bring in someone else.

The Head Torturer and Ibiki came in, and the former person sneered nastily at Sayuri who flinched. "She's definitely guilty," spat the brute, "It was fun forcing the truth from her." Hyoto sent him looks that could have killed, and Ibiki, face not yet scarred, nodded his agreement, adding in a softer tone that his interrogations extracted evidence against her.

The trial pressed on, and each person called upon further weakened Sayuri's story. Coroners reported that the slash marks on the body were made by her blade and that the brains were affected by high-caliber genjutsu only she could have cast. The Inuzuka confirmed the fact that she had been covered in her squadmates' blood. All the while, Sayuri kept repeating with evaporating strength, "I didn't do it. It wasn't me. Please, please, believe me."

When the final decision came, it was awaited with bated breath. Hyoto was wringing his hands. He believed her whole-heartedly, but the evidence spoke for itself. Minato had crossed his arms and leaned back in the bench, eyes watchful and keen. Sayuri trembled at the defendant's table as the Hokage readied his sentence. He peered at her over his glasses.

His next words stopped Hyoto's heart cold. "I hereby find Sayuri Uchiha guilty of five counts of murder and sentence her to life in Hozukijo for the murder of her squadmates." There was a moment of fragile silence before Sayuri let go a bloodcurdling scream as the bailiff reached for her. She struggled fiercely and managed to get free. She threw herself against the bar and pleaded to the crowd, "Fugaku! Mikoto! Help me! I didn't do it! They're lying! Please, help me!"

Hyoto prayed for her not to see him, but then her fear-stricken eyes found him. "Hyo-kun! Help me, please! For the sake of us, convince them I didn't do it! For the sake of our child-," Her mouth was gagged with a seal, and she was dragged from the courtroom. A buzz of dread filled Hyoto as he stared at the ground in front of him, rigid with shock Her last words...he nearly wanted to defy Leaf law and free her, but he was still, hearing the murmurs of people around him. He couldn't move, wouldn't move because of the fear he felt in front of the Uchiha, of the Hokage.

Grief and shame slammed into him like a train, and Hyoto gripped the bench until his knuckles were white. Minato looked at him oddly, and Hyoto quickly rose and exited the courtroom. Outside, he clenched a fist and punched the wall. He'd done nothing! Absolutely nothing! He had said nothing, defended nothing, done nothing for the woman he loved! What kind of man was he? He punched the wall again. Why had he done nothing?

He took heavy, shuddering breaths, and someone stood next to him. Hyoto looked up into the eyes of Sayuri's older brother, Fugaku. A memory came unbidden to the front of Hyoto's mind.

Sayuri lay a soft hand on his chest and smiled warmly up at him. They were in his bedroom, and Hyoto could clearly see her porcelain white skin against the black of the room. Happiness jumped in her eyes as she whispered excitedly, "Fugaku and Mikoto are going to have a child. They're going to name him Itachi. I'm going to be an aunt."

"And you will be a great aunt," said Hyoto, wrapping an arm around her, "The best one a nephew could hope."

She gave a tinkling laugh and pressed a kiss to his lips. "And you'll be the greatest uncle ever."

Hyoto felt another pang of misery, but he didn't let it show.

"Yes, Fugaku-san?"

"I was wondering about you and Sayuri," he said curiously, "She said, 'For the sake of us' to you. I didn't quite catch the last part, and I was wondering if you could tell what she said. What's between you two, exactly?" The knowing look in his eye told Hyoto that he knew exactly what Sayuri had said but wanted to see the Hyuuga squirm. Hyoto gritted his teeth. He had never liked any of the other Uchiha to begin with, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

"I didn't catch the last part either. Sayuri and I were simply co-workers, that is all."

"Ah, co-workers, yes," said Fugaku with a mocking air, "Yes, you two worked very close, I think?" Hyoto said nothing, and Fugaku leaned in to whisper insidiously, "A pity we won't see my darling nephew, now is it?" Hyoto froze, and anger flashed through his body. He wanted to kill the future leader of the Uchiha, wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. But, again, Hyoto didn't move, and Fugaku walked away.

Hyoto stared at where his fist was now bloody, stared at it until it stopped bleeding. How many people would he have to lose before he would be able to act? How many would have to die?

The answer would be all too many.