Sakura and Sasuke gathered around Kakashi as they left the arena. Sasuke had a smug look of satisfaction on his face, while Sakura on the other hand looked less than enthused. In fact, 'she looks downright pensive,' the silver haired jonin thought. 'Not too surprising given that she fluked her way to final and is up against Haku no less. After what she's seen him do in the forest and here against Gaara, she's right to be nervous. And that's good, it means she's taking this seriously,' he thought, 'it seems this exam has been a wake-up call for her. Let's hope it sticks this time. The one she had in the Land of Wave seemed like it was wearing off.'

Kakashi mulled over the situation thoughtfully, 'reassuring her is going to be tough, especially since my first choice to train her is occupied. Shame that Kurenai is going to be occupied with Hinata, but it was always likely that at least one of her students would pass.' He dismissed the raven-haired beauty from his mind with a slight shake of the head. 'At least I've others to call on.'

"Good job, you two. The whole team's made me proud by advancing to the finals, but our work is not done yet. We have a full month of preparation ahead of us," Kakashi announced. "I'll give you the rest of the day off to clean up, eat well and rest. Enjoy it, it'll be the last of your free time until the exam passes."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, obviously not thinking too highly of the idea of free time. "What time and at which training ground are we meeting tomorrow?" The boy asked.

"We?" Kakashi teased with a questioning tone. "This is a time for personal, one on one instruction. After all we can't have you training with each other when you're going to be competing against one another in the finals."

"Then who are we being trained by?" Sakura asked in annoyance, as Sasuke grunted in irritation.

"Naruto's going to be trained by his Godfather," Kakashi answered. Sakura opened her mouth, so he cut her off to answer the coming question. "Haku is advanced enough to manage his own training with minimal supervision."

"What about me?" Sasuke asked bluntly, arms folded.

"Our fighting styles are quite similar, and only I can teach you to take advantage of your sharingan, so I'll be teaching you personally," the jonin explained to the boy. Then he turned to Sakura, "For you, I've called in a personal favor and gotten an old friend to sign on and teach you." He gave a little smile through his mask, the kind that crinkled his visible eye. "You've actually met before. You know her as the proctor of the second stage of the exam, Anko Mitarashi."

"What!?" Sakura objected, her temper picking up steam as she went. "The boys kicked butt in this exam, and they get legendary shinobi to train them, I struggle and I get some nobody who pushes papers! How am I supposed to ever catch up?"

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Kakashi caught his shifting eyes darting around furtively, as if expecting the sadistic woman to descend from nowhere upon the uppity genin to punish her. He was to be disappointed, Kakashi could feel the special jonin at the edge of his senses, seething with anger, but she made no move to make herself seen. 'That's a bad sign.' Kakashi thought with a wince, 'tomorrow's training is going to be beyond brutal, but... that's just how shinobi life is.'

The jonin crooked a little smile, "I wouldn't say things like that if I were you, you never know who's listening." The girl scowled, but before she could explode once again, Kakashi cut her off. "Such jealousy is beneath you Sakura. You know full well that the reasons that Naruto and Sasuke have the instructors they do are valid. Jaraiya and Naruto are family, Sasuke and I have the sharingan. Now I concede that just because the reasons are valid doesn't make them fair, but that's life and its random cruelties are a blade that cuts both ways. After all, how is it fair that you have your parents while everyone else on this team is an orphan?

The girl flinched like she'd been slapped in the face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's just...just that I don't want to be left behind," she said in a more normal tone of voice. "The boys are making great strides, while I seem to be treading water."

"You're making strides Sakura," he reassured the girl. "Internal strength is the most important power a ninja can have, and you've grown much more mature since the mission in Wave. Anko can help you with everything else. I'm sure you noticed she doesn't really have the personality for the rear echelon missions she's been given," he said with a sly grin. "She's wild and aggressive and more than good to have been named a jonin already."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at that, "Then why hasn't she?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Politics, the usual bullshit you see anywhere, but the stakes are higher with us. People just don't want to let go of the past, even if what happened then is disconnected from the present."

The genin exchanged a puzzled look, so Kakashi carried on. "Anko was the apprentice of Orochimaru. They... had a falling out when it turned out he was a mass murdering psychopath. Some of the elders are reluctant to trust her because of that history. Training you will be good for her, personally and professionally. If all goes well as expected, it may convince the powers that be to finally promote her and trust her with a genin team."

The manor of the Hyūga clan head was as spacious as one would expect, richly decorated in a restrained and tasteful style that bespoke of both wealth and class. Furniture made of polished hardwoods from across the sea shined, while delicate ink paintings and roughhewn stone sculpture, placed just so, drew the eye.

Haku had arrived at the compound gates at noon; it had been easy enough to set up the meeting. He'd simply caught up with Hinata after she fled the arena, apologized for his master's harassment and asked her to petition her father for an appointment. He'd gotten confirmation that evening from a courier, as well as more ribbing from his master over 'already meeting a girl's father.'

He'd been ushered into a private dining hall, where Hiashi was beginning a sumptuous lunch, attended on by only his youngest daughter. The clan head had simply waved him to kneel down at the table and join the meal.

Hanabi, was quiet, only responding when spoken to, but she was calm and poised. She held herself with a confidence that was lacking in sister. Haku didn't bother to ask where she was, no doubt she was training for the final.

Conversation was a bit stiff at first, with the Hyūga asking insightful questions on foreign conditions that he thought Haku may have observed in his travels. But despite probing a bit too close to classified missions with his questions, he never crossed the line, and Haku began to enjoy the verbal sparring.

It was a feeling that quickly faded, once Hiashi dismissed his daughter and got down to business.

"Pleasant as this lunch and conversation has been, let us get to the point. Why did you request this audience with me?" Hiashi asked as he polished off a bunch of purple grapes.

"I have mastered water and ice, and know what I must do to master wind," Haku answered. "My taijutsu on the other hand is merely competent. My slim frame and the more precise and restrained styles of combat I favor, do not lend themselves to mastering the physically brutal taijutsu that my sensei practices." He left it at that, sure that the Hyūga could see where he was going.

Hiashi raised an eyebrow at that. "And you find the gentle fist much more appealing? That's flattering, but it's also futile. No one lacking the byakugan can see the tenketsu upon which the art is based." That he the Hyūga would not teach anyone even if that was not the case was obvious and left unsaid.

"I'm well aware that I can't learn the gentle fist as the Hyūga practice it, but I do believe that you can help me develop my own version... let's call it the Frost Fist for now," Haku said with a little grin. 'It's a little cliché, but then what technique name isn't?' he thought.

"Go on," the Hyūga patriarch motioned with a roll of his hand.

Haku nodded, "I may not be able to close tenketsu, but my love of precision aside, I don't think I need to be that exact to inflict similar effects. I can generate a deep, numbing cold with these hands and I want to design a style of taijutsu that utilizes that effect to shut down an enemy's body."

Hiashi hummed in thought, seemingly lost in the haze of days gone by. "Hmm...when I was young I heard tales that some Yuki shinobi were able to inflict frostbite or hypothermia on their opponents through taijutsu, but though formidable, the stories made it seem an art that was still in its formative stages. Most Yuki did not practice it and the style never had a renowned master." He shook his head sadly, "whatever they developed was lost with your kin Haku, but with my help I'm sure we will not only resurrect it, we can perfect it. For a price of course." He added that last bit on with seeming indifference.

Haku wasn't fooled, whatever favor Hiashi asked for would be a steep one. "And what price would that be," the teen asked, "support by Lord Jiraiya for some sort of foreign policy shift or domestic political dispute?"

The older man gave a small smile of paternal benevolence, "Lord Jiraiya's support would be valuable in either of those cases, but I have a far more long-term plans in mind."

"What exactly do you mean?" Haku asked in confusion.

"Sasuke is a pure blooded Uchiha," Hiashi said, seemingly changing the subject. "Both of his parents had the sharingan, as did all four his grandparents and thus it is almost certain that he bears two copies of the genes that code for it."

Haku was taken aback by the shift, "I'm not sure I see the relevance."

The Hyūga patriarch continued, "The sharingan is a dominant trait, which means all of his children will bear those blood-stained eyes, and given what I've heard of his plans from my daughter it seems he will be having quite a few. Enough to ensure the reestablishment of the Uchiha clan and the survival of the sharingan as a bloodline. And while I don't begrudge any man the right to ensure his family legacy, I must look out for my own. The Hyūga have become Konoha's premier clan, and I mean to keep it that way, not see it fall by the wayside of a resurrected Uchiha clan."

"I'm not sure I see how I or my master can help you with that." Haku said. He wasn't sure where Hiashi was going with this, but he was getting a feeling that he wasn't going to like the destination.

His host gently shook his head as if amused that his guest did not see what he was aiming at. "It's quite simple Haku, elemental bloodlines are dominant as well, and the stretch of genes that express them fall on a completely different chromosome from those ocular bloodlines like the Sharingan or the Bayakugan. Moreover, I know for a fact from my sources at the hospital that like Sasuke, you too bear both copies of the gene in questions."

Haku recoiled with a sharp intake of breath. He felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. Once by the understanding of what Hiashi wanted, and a second time by the implication about his father. "It's not possible," he argued passionately. "When he found out about me and my mother he became deranged. There is no way that he bore the bloodline as well."

Hiashi shrugged, "Perhaps he was unaware. After all, there are many bloodlines which only become active under certain conditions, be they environmental or situational. Perhaps he simply never encountered the triggers while he was young," he theorized. "It is said such bloodlines become more and more difficult to awaken as the years pass by. By the time one becomes an adult one's chakra pathways are just too stable." The older man paused, collecting his thoughts, "or perhaps he was in denial or struggling beneath a burden of 'self-hatred and seeing what he considered a curse passed down to the next generation caused him to snap. It's hard to say, one can never know the heart of a man."

"I... I don't know what to say," the troubled youth said. He was lost in his memories, going over everything he could recall from before that terrible day. Try as he might he couldn't see any signs of what was to come, not even with hindsight. All he could remember were halcyon days.

"The past is important," Hiashi counseled, "but one should not focus on it to the exclusion of the present or the future."

Haku swallowed deeply, pushing down his conflicted feelings and focusing on the man before him. "You want me to marry Hinata?"

Hiashi shook his head, "Hinata and Hanabi."

Haku's mouth fell open, nearly bolting right up out of his chair. "Hanabi is far too young!" He exclaimed, appalled at the prospect. "Even Hinata is too young, she's only twelve."

The older man huffed in exasperation. "I didn't say you'd marry them tomorrow. Marriage can wait until they're sixteen."

Haku settled back into his seat. "Well, that's more reasonable, but both of them?"

"To cement this alliance, there needs to be children, both to ensure the continuation of the Hyōton bloodline and for reasons of internal clan politics." Hiashi explained.

The boy's eye's hardened, "There is no way on the Sage's green earth that a wife of mine will be branded with something as heinous as the caged bird curse seal."

Hiashi bore a sad smile. "Nothing would please me more, for I know well the pain the cursed seal can inflict. I see it every day I look in my nephew's eyes...and every day I look in the mirror."

"Then why have you not already abolished it?" Haku asked, knowing full well that it wasn't as simple as that.

"The seal cannot be removed from those who already bear the mark." Hiashi replied with a shake of his head, "at best we can decide to stop applying it to new victims. However, the elders of the main house, and even many in the branch house are against that. The cursed seal has been a constant in their life as long as they can remember, and while some of them may have borne it as heavily as Neji when they were young, one cannot live like that forever. It wears too heavily on the soul," he sighed. "Those with a flexible mind have long since justified it to themselves, while those who couldn't have thrown their lives away in battle."

"I can see how that would work," Haku said slowly. "People want to believe their lives have meaning and that they have control, so they convince themselves the path they're on is a righteous one. But as someone on the outside observing the situation, my mind hasn't changed. I won't marry a girl bound by a cursed seal."

"You won't have to; their mental constructs are fragile. Give them a valid excuse and they'll take it." He pointed at Haku, "You're that excuse. The addition of your bloodline to the clan will be the most momentous event in our history since we decided to join Konoha. If I tell them that you will only consent to a marriage if we do away with the cursed seal, they will accept it."

"I don't know..." Haku spluttered. "An arranged marriage to someone I've only met once? I never envisioned something like that for myself. After all, I know how bad marriages can go." He could see this wasn't having any effect on the man. "And what about your daughters?" He asked, grasping for straws. "They're so young. They haven't lived their lives at all, and you're going to decide it for them just like that? I know Hinata has eyes for another, if you take that choice away from her, how is that different from the cursed seal?"

Hanabi was looking at the two of them argue over her future, eyes wide, but otherwise still perfectly poised, formally kneeling and looking as if nothing unusual was going on, let alone her how life being turned upside down and planed in detail for decades to come.

Hiashi was shaking his head in disagreement, "The cursed seal is unnatural. It compels those it wore to obey orders through the threat of pain. A father arranging a marriage for his daughter is not. It is something done out of love and affection with the aim to improving her life, even if she cannot yet understand that." He breathed in, "I know of her crush on Naruto. He's a bit rough, but he has good intentions and great potential. He may even fulfill his dream to be Hokage, but even if he does that would only benefit our family during his lifetime. But if you join our family it will benefit our family for as long as it lasts." Those blank white eyes seemed to bore into him as Hiashi intoned, "preserve your bloodline, strengthen the village, and heal the Hyūga, saying yes will accomplish all these things."

"Well, when you put it like that I can hardly say no," Haku said in defeat, "I accept."

"Thank you, this means everything for our family." Hiashi's voice was earnest.

The young man nodded heavily in acknowledgement, and brought his cup of sake to his lips. He was going to need this drink.

"No need to looks so dour boy," the clan head said. "I know that a betrothal can feel like a chain that's tying you down and preventing you from reaping the enjoyment of youth, especially given how long away the wedding is. Three and a half years is a long time. You're a healthy young man, and like any young man you have certain needs. No one expects you to remain celibate while you wait for my daughters to grow up."

Haku was choking on the sake that had gone down the wrong way at that pronouncement, but Hiashi continued on as if nothing was amiss. "As long as you keep things discreet and limited, unlike that sordid harem that Uchiha Sasuke plans on gathering, then it can be overlooked. In fact, a beautiful mistress can be a mark of refinement that garners respect from the powers that be. A local girl would be best, a civilian with shinobi ancestry who can have a few kids without harming her career. If she already has one or two by the time the wedding occurs that will help smooth things over with any diehards still opposing the abolishment of the cursed seal."

'This guy is unbelievable,' Haku thought, incensed. 'He's already mulling over arranging marriages with children that haven't been born yet, from some theoretical woman I haven't even met yet, someone I may never meet.'

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Lord Hiashi. I've barely come to terms with being engaged. As for a mistress..." he paused, a little incredulous that he had to say something this obvious. "I may be Jiraiya's apprentice, but it should be apparent that I don't take after him in that facet of personality."

"We shall see," the clan patriarch said. "Missions as dangerous as the ones Lord Jiraiya is likely to send you on, have a way of concentrating the mind and the body, and changing one's perspective."

Haku politely demurred, and with that they continued their lunch.

The Kazekage's palanquin sway in the breeze as it approached the great gates of Konoha, Orochimaru nesting inside wearing a transformation intricate enough to fool a Kage. Even the man himself and his children couldn't tell the difference. 'It's unfortunate that I didn't have the opportunity to use it against them as planned,' he thought with a veiled smile, cold and cruel. 'The irony would have been delicious.'

The smile turned into a sneer as he reflected on his recent misfortune. 'Sasuke evading my cursed kiss and that fool raccoon dog getting himself killed. All due to Jiraiya's little pet. All my plans upended into a trash can by that arrogant little punk. I had to change them all to reflect the lack of the jinchuriki, worst of all I had to leave the Kazekage alive.' He didn't like having to work with someone who could challenge him, politically or on the battlefield, but without Gaara it was necessary. 'I need someone strong enough to distract Jiraiya and hold his attention while I entertain my old sensei.'

He mulled over the coming battle as the palanquin entered the walls. 'There is one benefit to having the Kazekage do the deed instead of Gaara. He has a mind of his own, and while that may be dangerous after the battle, it will be invaluable during it. He'll be much more dangerous opponent for my old friend than an out of control Shukaku would ever be.'