The Logical Conclusion

Chapter Five: Reasons

Sasuke stared at the ceiling in his hospital room contemplating murder. Damn that Orochimaru! He mentally added the snake Sanin's name to the list of people he was going to kill. There were now a grand total of two people on that list.

Itachi.

Orochimaru

Sasuke mulled over the order and mentally rearranged it. He'd heard something about Itachi being better and stronger than Orochimaru so perhaps he should set his sights on killing the Sanin first and using him as a stepping-stone towards his ultimate goal of defeating Itachi.

Orochimaru

Itachi

It made sense.

He tried to sit up in bed but collapsed with a pained huff as the seal on his shoulder burned against his skin. He let out a pained gasp and tried to control his breathing, relaxing his muscles and dealing with the contractions of pain as it came in waves.

Stupid Snake Bastard

Sasuke had been practicing some of his moves with the Sharingan under Kakashi's supervision when the seal all of a sudden just activated and this time, as the dark marks spread through his body, it felt like his skin was being burned off with acid and he'd collapsed on his knees with a pained exclamation.

His chakra had been nowhere near depleted and there was no need for the seal to suddenly activate when it did. Through the haze of pain he'd seen Kakashi run up to him, heard Sakura call out his name and saw Hyuuga Hinata take a step back in surprise at the black chakra that enveloped his entire body as he writhed in agony. He figured he pretty much blacked out after that since he couldn't remember anything else that had happened.

How annoying.

Sakura had visited them earlier today and told him he'd been knocked out for a good three days, today being the fourth day. The Hokage had apparently examined him and the progression of the curse seal. As far as Sasuke knew, the curse seal didn't evolve past Level 2 but for some reason, Sakura had informed him that Tsunade-sama thought that the curse seal on his shoulder was mutating somehow.

Sasuke really, really didn't like the sound of that.

He winced as another bout of pain attacked him. At least it wasn't as painful at it had been a while ago. The trick, he'd figured, was to remain as calm as possible. Like water. Just flow with the pain and eventually the waves would calm back down and the surface would return to being placid. To do that, he needed to stop thinking about the people on his hit-list and just stop thinking about anything at all since his whole existence seemed chock full of annoyances.

There was a soft knock on the door before it was pushed open and Sakura peeked inside. "Sasuke-kun, are you awake?"

He wondered if he should just fake it and pretend to be asleep. He didn't feel up to talking to her right now, not to anyone.

"I brought you lunch…"

Screw it. He was hungry. "Uhn…"

Sakura smiled and pushed open the door, holding a pink bento box with Cherry Blossom motif. "I didn't think you'd enjoy the hospital food so I went home and made these. I hope you like them," she murmured with a smile as she pulled up a chair near his bed and presented the lunch to him.

Sasuke accepted the package with a word of thanks and lifted the lid. The aroma of delicious food hit him hard and made him aware of how famished he was but he held control of himself and picked up the chopsticks casually, like he didn't want to stuff his face with the food (even though he really did).

"Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei were very worried about you. I told them you were fine and awake already. They wanted to visit today but I told them they should just come tomorrow. I figured you might not want to see a lot of people yet…"

She was right. He nodded at her. After the first few bites, Sasuke glanced over at Sakura through the dark black locks that obscured his eyes. She was sitting there with a small smile on her lips as she watched him through lowered lashes, a light blush staining her cheeks.

She was always watching him.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked suddenly.

Sakura's blush intensified and she looked down, fiddling with the ends of her long pink hair. "Doing what?" she asked.

"Why do you do these kinds of things? Why do you always look at me? Why do you…why did you bring me lunch?"

Sasukeknew she had a crush on him back in their genin days and she'd said she loved him before but…did she still love him? Why? He'd never done anything to merit it. Naruto was the one who tried to catch her attention, not him. He'd always told her to leave him alone. He'd always told her she was annoying. So why did she continue to look at him and watch him?

"I wanted to," Sakura said simply as she looked up to meet his dark black eyes. "I like you Sasuke and I want to take care of you…" she looked down, her face heating up.

"But…why?"

"Why?"

"Yes. Why?"

Sakura didn't know what to say. "I…I guess it's because…I just do…I admire your skills but that's not all…I just…I can't explain it. I've always liked you, even when I was just a little girl. When I first saw you, I realized how cool and wonderful you were and I rushed to tell my friends how I met the coolest, greatest, cutest guy in the world! I didn't even know your name then. I didn't know you were an Uchiha but my other friends did."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He hadn't even realized people had been watching him, even back then. He'd been so focused on his brother and training to be as good as Itachi that he'd never really paid attention to anything outside of that.

"Its like, when I look at you I feel this rush of giddiness and happiness…" Sakura blushed, feeling faint. Here was Sasuke, with his full attention on her asking her why she liked him. She didn't really know why but she knew she did. "I just want to see you smile all the time, that's all. You look beautiful when you smile."

Sasuke looked back down at the assortment of sushi and rice balls neatly arranged inside the bento box. "I see…"

There was an uncomfortable silence before Sakura recovered and smiled at him. "Well, I guess since you're awake and feeling better, I should go fetch Tsunade-sama…" she said as she stood up and quickly left the room.

Sasuke turned towards the door when he heard it close.

He didn't know exactly why he'd asked Sakura that question except that he'd been feeling strangely empty, like he was floating around and there was nothing to anchor him to life.

Maybe it was because he was looking for something to define himself as, other than an Avenger or The Uchiha Survivor.

Perhaps he thought that since Sakura professed that she loved him, she saw something in him that might have missed, something worthy, something that would validate his existence.

'The Coolest, Greatest, Cutest guy in the world!' didn't seem enough.

xxx

Hinata was just about finished with pruning the roses in her garden when a wayward thorn snagged her thumb. She jerked her hand back in automatic reaction and stared at the dark red blood welling up in her skin. Her hand was so pale, she was so pale, she sometimes wondered if she looked like a ghost to other people.

Hinata was just about to heal her injury with a minor jutsu but remembered Tsunade-sama's words.

Conserve your chakra. You're going to need it.

She sighed and brought her finger up to her lips and sucked at the blood. Hinata stood up and walked over to the shed, which was more of a small hut really, near the far side of her garden. It served as a second home for Hinata and a haven where she would spend most of her free time.

She rinsed her wound with water from the faucet and rummaged through the medical jars on the cupboard, selecting one and applying the salve on her small wound to prevent any possibility of infection. She wrapped it up in a white bandage and mused at how little difference her color pigment was to that of the stark white cloth she used to cover her wound.

Hinata decided to have some tea and arranged her chawan (tea bowl) and chasen (tea whisk) on the table before she set the kettle on the stove and sat down to wait for the water to boil.

She hadn't really expected her visit to Kurenai-sensei's house to end up the way it had. First, her awkward and unexpected meeting with the Uchiha survivor, and then while she'd volunteered to set the table for lunch, Kakashi-sensei had thrust Kaori-chan in her arms and asked her if she would go and fetch Sasuke. Then there was that embarrassing moment when she'd inadvertently interrupted Sakura and Uchiha-san's little 'talk' with Kaori-chan making that giggling noise.

Hinata didn't think it could get any worse, but again, she was proven wrong.

She been inside with Kaori-chan and Kurenai-sensei when she'd heard Sakura scream and she'd rushed out just in time to see Uchiha-san suddenly collapse on his knees. Hinata had taken a step back in surprised confusion and fear at the black cloud of chakra that surrounded Sasuke and the dark black markings that she could see spreading through his skin. Kakashi-sensei had been beside Sasuke in an instant and Sakura had rushed over to his aid.

Hinatahad realized at that moment that she was seeing what the others had seen when Sasuke had first transformed back in their Genin days in the Forest of Death.

The kettle whistled, signaling that the hot water was ready and distracting Hinata from her thoughts. She stood up and turned the stove off. Hinata lifted the tea scoop and tea container and placed three scoops of tea into the chawan. She poured some hot water into the tea bowl and whisked it with the chasen to create a thin paste.

There had always been something about the act of preparing tea that Hinata found soothing. It was why she found tea ceremonies so rejuvenating when most people her age thought it was boring and tedious.

Neji was different.

Neji liked tea ceremonies too.

He said he found them relaxing.

They were similar like that.

It had been so long since they'd shared afternoon tea together and Hinata found that she missed him. Nowadays, they hardly ever saw each other anymore, both seeking refuge in their work to escape the Hyuuga House and the preparations for the celebration that neither one of them felt like celebrating.

She missed Neji's company and being able to just sit quietly with him and enjoy his presence and his nearness.

It was Neji who had told her about the incident a while back when Sasuke had defeated the three genins from Sound during the first Chuunin Exam they had taken. She, Kiba and Shino had already been on their way to the tower but apparently the other two genin teams from her class at the academy, as well as Neji-niisan's team had been present to witness the event.

"Ten-Ten and I arrived to see a battered Lee. Naruto was still out cold and the Haruno girl was beaten up pretty badly. Chouji, Ino and Shikamaru tried protecting Team 7 but they look pretty worse for wear as well.

Sasuke woke up a minute or so after Ten-Ten and I arrived. I felt his chakra first; it was strange. When he woke up from his unconscious state, a dark cloud of chakra surrounded him as black marks, like tattoos, spread through his skin.

Do you remember the guy Shino faced in the exam? The one wearing a cast and who used Air Blast attacks? Sasuke was the one who had dislocated his shoulder. His teammates surrendered their scrolls so Sasuke would let them leave alive. He didn't look sane at all."

"But during the Exam preliminary Exam when the Hokage explained to us what the Chuunin Exam really was, I was standing next to Uchiha-san in line and he didn't have any black marks on him at all…"

"That's because the Haruno girl ran to Uchiha and hugged him from behind. I forgot what she said but the marks on Uchiha started to pull back and he seemed to regain more control of himself."

Hinata remembered standing beside Sasuke and seeing him turn to speak to Sakura who was standing behind him. The proprietor, Hayate-san had asked if anyone didn't feel up to the challenge of the preliminary matches and wanted to quit. Kabuto had raised his hand and left but no one else followed.

From the corner of her eye, Hinata had seen Sakura start to raise her hand and Sasuke had grabbed it before she could fully raise it up. Sakura had said something about being worried about him, that he was already injured and that she was scared something bad would happen to him. Sasuke had replied with something along the lines of Sakura minding her own business, that he was an Avenger and this was the path he chose and how he didn't want her to say anything to the others.

That path he had chosen.

It had led him away from Konoha and his friends and delivered him into the hands of Orochimaru.

He was lucky he came to his senses before it was too late.

The thin paste was ready and Hinata added more water and whisked it into a thick liquid; a tea called koicha.

She waited for it to cool before she took a sip.

xxx

About thirty minutes after Sakura left, the Hokage had entered Sasuke's room to re-examine him. After taking a look at his chart, she glanced at him and asked how he was feeling.

"Fine," he replied. Sasuke wondered why Tsunade herself had made an appearance in his room and if it was a sign of exactly how bad his situation was.

"Nothing hurts at all? No aches, pains, burning sensation around the seal?"

"There is…sometimes."

"Aches, pains, burning sensation? Take your pick."

"All of the above."

"I see," Tsunade a note in her clipboard and glanced at Uchiha. His color was better now that it had been a few days ago when he'd first been admitted. Sakura had been near hysterics in panic. For a smart girl, Tsunade wondered how her apprentice could be so easily affected by this young man. "You probably know about the seal mutating."

"Yes. Sakura mentioned something like that to me but I don't think it's possible. The curse seal can only reach Level 2 and I've already activated that. That's the highest it can go."

"Supposedly yes, but Orochimaru is constantly experimenting and the test results show that your curse seal is changing to cope with the sudden growth of your chakra reserves. Your own abilities have now exceeded that of what a ninja with a Level 2 curse seal can do and that's probably why Orochimaru's mark is adapting to your new level of strength. Was there any changes that you felt when it suddenly activated?"

"It was different. When it was spreading, it felt like my skin was peeling off, being burned of my acid."

A thoughtful look crossed Tsunade's face as she wrote something down on the clipboard. "I see. How often do you feel the pain?"

"I'm not sure…it comes and goes at random intervals. If I try to use chakra, it hurts the worst."

"Well the seal that Kakashi had placed around Orochimaru's curse seal is holding up due to your will power. It hasn't broken yet. However, I don't think it would be strong enough to hold for long. We'll have to place another, stronger seal around it to hold off the effects of Orochimaru's mark."

Dark eyes narrowed and burned intensely. "So, I will have this for life? Each time I grow stronger, I will have to deal with the curse seal re-adapting itself to my current level of strength?"

"Yes. There is a possibility that you would have to spend the rest of your life coping with the seal's effects."

Sasuke kept his face impassive though the sentence made his insides twist in disgust at himself. What had he been thinking, taking such a stupid risk and running off with that snake bastard? Look where it got him. He kept silent.

Tsunade studied Sasuke's expression, not really surprised when the teenager showed no reaction at all. "While you've been laid out, we've been conducting tests to see just how far the seal has developed and how strongly it has integrated itself into your system. The results are being examined.

Anko's mark has grown dormant through the years. We'll be comparing both your curse seals to try and see if can find away to induce a similar state in yours. You will have to be tested again for a more in depth analysis later today. We're going to see exactly how deep Orochimaru got his claws into you, and then we'll see if we can do something about it."

xxx

Tsunade had sent Sakura to fetch Hinata and Sakura ran as fast as she could to the Hyuuga part of the Village. It wasn't that difficult for her to gain entry past the guards that watched over the gates since Hinata had already informed them to expect someone from the hospital to fetch her. Besides that, Sakura herself was already a respected medic and apprentice to the Hokage herself and it gave her a certain amount of authority in Konoha.

One inside the gates, Sakura realized she had no idea where to go. The Hyuuga Estate was far larger than the Uchiha's and Sakura had never been here before. She didn't know where to start looking for Hinata. The guards seemed to sense her quandary and one of them told her that she would most likely find Hinata-sama in her private garden.

Sakura had no idea where that was.

The guard seemed to pick up on that also and told her to follow him.

Sakura smiled, relieved and nodded her thanks.

As she walked, Sakura realized exactly how large a Clan the Hyuugas were. The grounds of the estate looked imposing and utterly impressive. It was so large and the structures were grand in its simplicity and austere elegance. Hinata was the Hyuuga heiress and one day she would be head of the noblest family in Konoha.

Sakura really didn't understand her sometimes. Why has Hinata so shy most of the time? She was so timid and nervous around people. She was an heiress and part of the noblest clan not only in Konoha but also in the whole of Fire Country. She had all the reasons to hold her head up high and lord her position over everyone else.

Instead Hinata behaved meekly and was always quiet and soft spoken. Sakura had never really gotten to know the other girl that well. She was always with Naruto and Sasuke but perhaps she should spend more time with Hinata too. In a way she admired Hinata because she didn't grow up snobby and pretentious like some of the other girls from rich families.

She was a very nice person and perhaps she could help the Hyuuga heiress catch a certain blonde's eye. Hinata was pretty, it was just that she needed to be more confident and assertive and Sakura could help her out with that too. Sakura could remember Hinata always watching Naruto from the sidelines. She recalled how Hinata had blushed prettily when Naruto had spoken to her that time at the hospital grounds when he complimented her about the ribbon and her hair.

Naruto was sweet but he didn't seem to realize that Hinata liked him. He didn't notice her. Sakura knew, quite painfully, what it felt like to not be acknowledged by the one you love and she didn't want Hinata to suffer that feeling any longer. Besides, Naruto deserved someone to love him wholeheartedly, someone who would appreciate him.

It was time those two got together.

xxx

"Hinata-sama…"

"Come in."

The shoji slid open and a Hyuuga Branch House member bowed to her in greeting. "Hinata-sama, a Haruno Sakura is here to see you. She said she has been sent by the Hokage to fetch you."

So it was time already.

Uchiha Sasuke was awake.

She felt so nervous that she barely managed a smile, "A-Arigato Seiji-san."

Hinata blinked when she saw Sakura peek out from behind Seiji and wave at her.

Seiji for his part; was surprised that Hinata-sama knew his name, though his expression didn't show it. Then again, Hinata-sama seemed to know everyone's names. Even those from the Branch House like him. No wonder Neji-san was so protective of her. No wonder some of the Branch House members were lamenting the fact that she was being forced to step down as heir. Seiji bowed once more, this time more deeply to show his respect, before he took his leave.

As soon as Seiji left, Sakura burst into a big smile and rushed to Hinata. "Hinata, he's awake! Sasuke-kun's awake already!"

"I'm glad to hear that Sakura-san," Hinata said honestly. She'd felt bad, watching Sakura cry and worry over Sasuke non-stop. She really cared for him, a lot and it was clear that Sasuke's condition pained Sakura greatly.

Sakura beamed. "You will be examining him, right? You'll see if his seal can be made dormant like Anko-san's, right?"

She was nervous about that part. Hinata smiled faintly, "Hai."

Four days ago, Sasuke Uchiha had collapsed and been rushed to the hospital. After hearing of his condition and what had caused it, the Godaime Hokage herself had examined him and stabilized his condition. After that, there was nothing else to be done but wait for him to wake up.

Sakura had spent most of her time by his bedside looking after him. Hinata knew how it felt to wait and be scared and she felt sympathetic towards the pink haired kunoichi.

The day after Uchiha Sasuke's admission to the hospital, Tsunade had called on Anko so to analyze the workings of her seal. Anko had been able to cope well with her seal and it had actually faded from her skin in the past. The only reason it had resurfaced again had been because she had come in contact with Orochimaru once more. That had been years ago and Anko's seal was dormant once again.

Hinata had almost fainted from anxiety when the Hokage had called for her to use her Byakugan to scan Anko-san's seal. She'd been so scared she'd trigger it somehow. All she knew about seals had been from past studies and diagrams.

She'd never done anything that involved a live person before.

It was dangerous work, not only for her but also for the bearer of the seal, which was why Tsunade-sama was there in the ready in case anything went wrong.

"I'm here Hinata, I won't let anything happen. You know what to do. You've been studying up on this for a long time. It's time to put it to practice. Just relax and do your work, you can do it."

Hinata had bitten her lip and nodded, taking a deep calming breath before proceeding. She kept repeating to herself that the Tsunade-sama was there and that the Hokage would not let anything bad happen. She needed to do this. to be a good medic, she shouldn't let herself be controlled by her anxieties and fears. The life of her patient was more important than her hang-ups.

This was the first step to better understanding curse seals.

Someday, she might be able to find a way to erase the ugly mark of a caged bird that separated her family.

She might be able to free Neji at last.

Hinata concentrated on the task at hand.

Activating her Byakugan, Hinata's vision penetrated through the layer of skin and into the inner system. She enveloped the area around the curse seal with chakra to prevent the seal from activating and followed the path that it wove around Anko-san's body. The second step was to figure out how the chakra from the seal passed through the body's chakra highways and which route it took. Hinata had almost passed out from chakra depletion at the exertion and Hokage-sama had had her admitted to a room in the hospital for the night and the next morning, she was ordered to go home, rest up and conserve her chakra because she was going to need it.

Sakura was so happy that she gave Hinata a hug. "Thank you so much. I'm so happy he's awake…and you're going to help make him better. Thank you so much!"

Hinata blushed. "A-Anou…Sakura-san…uh…I'm not d-doing that much...I'll just be examining him…"

"That's the most important job. Don't try to play it down Hinata. You're amazing!" Sakura smiled when Hinata remained embarrassed. "I'm sure you'll do great. Now come on let's go. Tsunade-sama is expecting us. By the way Hinata, your house is huge!" Sakura said as they hurried off to the front of the estate.

"Uh…its not mine. It's the clan's…"

"Yeah but you're the heiress right?"

"Uhm…" Not for long…

xxx

Shikamaru and his Genin Team were on their way back to Konoha after yet another successful escort mission, this time to Wave Country. It was so strange to walk through The Great Naruto Bridge and even stranger to run into Naruto and his perverted-sensei as they were being chased by enraged women from a near-by bathhouse.

Naruto had kept yelling curses at Jiraiya-san whom he called 'ero-senin', saying it was all his fault and asking why such an old man had to be such a pervert.

Jiraiya had retorted that he'd been doing research for his next book and that things would have been just fine if Naruto hadn't shown up and yelled at him to stop peeping, therefore alerting the women that there was indeed someone peeping on them.

It had been quite troublesome.

Why was the Hokage so fond of giving his team C-rank missions anyway? The only reason he'd signed up for Jounin instructor had been because he was looking forward to 'supervising' his team as they weeded out someone else's garden, leaving him free to watch the clouds at his leisure.

"Neh, Shikamaru-sensei, do you think Yamanaka-sensei would like my gift for her?"

"Yes Yutaro, I'm sure Ino would love that bracelet," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. All the way back, Yutaro had been asking the same question over and over again, wanting to know if he thought Yamanaka-sensei would like the piece of jewelry he'd picked in Wave country. "Ino likes anything sparkly so she'll like that for sure."

Yutaro grinned seemingly satisfied with that, but Shikamaru wasn't fooled. He'd give the genin about five, ten minutes tops before he started asking 'the question' again.

"Nara-sensei, you walk too slow! You're so lazy!" Suzume Miyazawa complained from a few feet ahead, her blonde pigtails swinging perkily with each step she took.

This from the girl who called him 'Nara-sensei' instead of his preferred 'Shikamaru-sensei' because apparently, Shikamaru was too long a name. "You can go on ahead Miyazawa, we'll catch up," he replied.

Miyazawa gave him the evil eye before turning ahead and mumbling something about telling Ino-sensei about his shameful behavior. What was it about blondes and being troublesome, Shikamaru wondered as he thought of Ino, Temari and the latest addition to his troublesome blonde collection, Suzume Miyazawa. He glanced at Daisuke, Chouji's cousin, who was the only one walking quietly beside him while eating his ever-present bag of chips.

Honestly, where did they hide those in their clothes? Chouji had been the same way, ever able to produce a snack seemingly out of thin air.

Shikamaru considered looking skyward as he walked, just to see if there were any interesting clouds floating above his head but he decided against it.

It was too troublesome to be bothered with.

xxx

There was a four point seal etched on the floor connecting the north, east, south and west points. In the middle sat Sasuke, his torso bare to allow easier access and analysis on the seal on his shoulder. Hinata was at the middle, kneeling behind getting ready to start the process. Sakura finished connecting the four points of the seal and nodded to Hinata.

Shizune and Tsunade both watched as Hinata's fingers flew through the familiar hand seals as she activated her Byakugan. Veins bulged out from the corners of her eyes as her vision narrowed and penetrated the layer of skin. Hinata concentrated on the chakra pathways and sought out the seal.

There it was; black, ugly and pulsing.

Her initial reaction was to cringe.

It was somewhat similar to Anko-san's but the design in Sasuke's curse seal was so much more complex. It not only swamped his chakra pathways when she allowed it to activate a bit but it had almost integrated itself around Sasuke's spine so that trying to sever it might just render the Uchiha paralyzed.

She allowed a little more of the seal to trickle out and activate under her palms. Hinata felt the muscles on Sasuke's back jump in reaction to the sting of pain the seal's activation forced on him. "Gomen…" Hinata murmured as she continued to survey the extent of Orochimaru's hold on Uchiha-san's body.

Halfway through the process, Hinata began to feel lightheaded but she pushed the feeling away and tried to see the extent of the seal. She tried to probe it with little chakra shots to see if the black mass reacted to her chakra at all. There was something strange in how it moved…maybe she could divert the flow and reroute it in on itself? It was almost like a virus or poison in the way that it spreads. If she could maybe find a way to reroute it…

Just as she was following a path that might divert the route the seal took and loop it on itself, Hinata's vision dimmed, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she blacked out.

The last thing Hinata was aware of was a pair of arms catching her as she fell backward and Tsunade-sama's voice ordering Shizune to check her pulse.

xxx

The Hyuuga Estate was enveloped in quiet as the family members retired to their rooms to sleep. Hanabi stood by her window and looked out at the grounds being patrolled by several Branch House members to keep the perimeter safe and free from intruders.

She waited thirty minutes before she turned away from the window and headed back to her bed. She would need to wake up early tomorrow morning and she needed sleep, but even as she lay in bed, she couldn't quite make her mind stop thinking.

Hinata wasn't home yet.

Hinata probably won't be coming home tonight. She was most likely at the hospital, where she always was.

Hanabi knew this, only because she'd heard the others in the family discussing it. How Hinata was a medic-nin now and how she was still a lowly Chuunin, failing the Jounin Exam and tarnishing the Hyuuga name yet again.

Hanabi also heard mention of her sister from some of her former classmates in the Academy and her teammates.

It always made her feel weird that other people knew more about her Hinata than she did.

The last straw had been a few days ago when someone she barely knew had approached her about her sister.

"Oi neh Hanabi-san, I heard your sister is Hinata-chan from the hospital? Is it true?"

"Hinata? Yes, she is." Hanabi replied, wondering why this inconsequential genin was even speaking to her. Then she remembered he had been her classmate at the Academy and he had failed the Chuunin Exam. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, see my brother got back from a mission with a really bad wound and they said he wasn't going to be able to use his left leg anymore, but guess what Hanabi…he got better! He says that Hinata Hyuuga was the one who helped him and that she was super nice too!"

Hanabi raised an eyebrow and said nothing, thinking the conversation was over.

"Neh Hanabi-san, you must be so proud huh? Your sister is one of the Hokage's apprentice, cool huh?"

That had gotten Hanabi's attention. She hadn't known about Hinata being the Hokage's apprentice. That meant she was really skilled but…why did everyone keep saying that Hinata was worthless and weak and unworthy?

It didn't make sense at all.

There were a lot of things in her family that she didn't understand.

Hanabi didn't understand her cousin or her sister.

She remembered that Neji was supposed to hate the Main House, especially Hinata. He'd even almost killed her once before during the Chuunin Exams. Then, Neji had suddenly started acting nice (for Neji) and protecting Hinata. Hanabi had been surprised when Otousan started to train Neji like he did her. He would even let her spar with Neji sometimes because it was good to test her skills against the Hyuuga genius.

She heard the other members of the Main House talk about the breach of conduct that teaching a Branch House member Main House skills was, but they could do nothing about it for Hiashi was the Clan Head and they had no power over him.

Hanabi wondered why her father still did not train Hinata but she never asked. Hinata was never a topic her father liked to discuss with her. He always got that look, like her was displeased and Hanabi hated displeasing her father so she never mentioned Hinata to him again.

One time, she was practicing her Byakugan trying to see how far she could extend her sight. Quite by accident, she saw Neji teaching Hinata how to fight using the techniques Hanabi and he had already mastered weeks before. At first, Hanabi had thought that her cousin had been attacking her sister. Neji had been standing over a bruised and bleeding Hinata who was panting on the ground, clearly on the verge of passing out.

Hanabi thought Hinata would not stand up, it was clear she was in too much pain.

She saw Neji's lips move and read his words.

"Would you prove them right, Hinata-sama…?"

Hanabi's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she watched her sister start to rise slowly from the ground. Hinata assumed the fighting position and attacked, their training commencing once more.

If Hinata was supposedly weak, why did she get up?

If Neji hated the Main House, why did he help the heir?

Hanabi didn't understand them at all.

She did understand one thing though.

Neji and Hinata were both purposely avoiding going home.

XXX

To Be Continued

XXX

A/N: Thanks everyone for your reviews I really appreciate them! Argh, this chapter was so hard to write! It's somewhat a filler chapter I suppose. About the curse seal and stuff about chakra and all, I made most of them up and I hope you guys don't mind. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Originally this chapter was longer because it had the Neji scene and all but I decided to cut it in half because it was too long. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and please REVIEW!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

ABC Otaku – Babies wearing animal costumes are super kawaii. They're adorable!

Ayumi-dono – Here you go, I updated! I hope you enjoyed it! please review!

Random Reviewer – I love NejiHina too! I'm not sure which I like more though. NejiHina or SasuHina though there are more well written NejiHina fics than SasuHina fics. Love triangles are always fun!

Khmer Shinobi – Yup. A sort of one-sided SasuSaku. You can't write Sasuke without Sakura in love with him or getting over her love for him. As for Kaede, he'll show up soon so don't worry.

Fractured Wings 01 – Why would I tease you? I'm glad you like my story! Anytime you have any suggestions or ideas, feel free to share them if you want! I'm really glad you like my story and I hope you liked this chapter!

Lady of Genesis – Oh you read those two stories already? Aren't they cool? Do you have any story recommendations for me? I haven't been in the Naruto fandom for long so I don't know, maybe I'm missing some fabulously written fics out there. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!

Shells – When Sasuke starts to see Hinata as potential wife material, its going to be hilarious and dramatic too. As for everyone's reactions it will vary but mostly they'll probably be like O.o; hehehe

Lesha – I'm so happy you like my portrayal of Hinata. She's my favorite character! As for team 8, SasuHina moments and Kaede, more will be coming up soon, don't worry! I hope you liked this chapter!

Hokai Amplifier – I know, I don't like Sakura at all. She annoys me to no end. To bad she's like, one of the main characters. Hinata is so much cooler than her, why was she chosen as the apprentice of the Hokage anyway? Grrrr. (I'm so mean to Sakura) Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I read your fics too and I hope you update soon!

Endless – I love Kakashi and he's a funny character to write. Devious yet silly. I've always wondered who would win too. Byakugan or Sharingan? I'm glad you liked last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too!

The Gandhara – I know, its somewhat hard to get Hinata's hair correctly. (I draw and its hard to draw her hair, I had to do it a ton of times before I got it right) As for the Kakashi Kurenai show, I love it too and there will be more of them next chapter and in the following chapters. I hope Hinata shows up after the time jump and I hope she's gorgeous and confident and strong!

Frosted Shadowz – I think the Sasuke/Kaori picture would be precious. Especially if Sasuke is looking away from the camera and blushing while Kaori gums his thumb and smiles at the camera! Kawaii! As for Neji, he'll be showing up next chapter!

Hiei Jaganshis Flame – Oh yeah, I love Era and can't wait for the Romance part to begin. Sasuke seems so mysterious in that fic. Did you try out Kuro Shi's fic, No turning Back? It's very good too. I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job on making things more realistic! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter!

Felonious – Actually, Kakashi wasn't born with the Sharingan so no, Kaori won't be inheriting a Sharingan eye.

Qwerty – Thanks! I'm glad you like my story! I love Kakashi and Kurenai together. The moment I saw them, I immediately thought they would be cute together! I guess it's my subconscious's way of refusing to accept the Kakashi/Sakura pairing. (grins)

Ah-choo – I haven't asked anyone to draw Kaori yet but if you wanna draw her, I don't mind! (grins) Anyway, I really like the Kurenai/Kakashi pairing for some reason. I refuse to accept a Kurenai/Asuma pairing, I just like her better with Kakashi. Hehehe. As for Sakura's reaction to Hinata…well things are going to be interesting soon.

Kuro Shi – Thanks! I'm glad you liked this chapter! I saw that you updated and I'm so excited to read it, I just wanted to get this chapter done first though. Anyway, yeah I know what you mean about people not knowing each other well and then suddenly falling in love at first sight. It kind of seems superficial and sometimes annoying. I don't like it when a story is about Hinata growing up really beautiful and then the guys just start paying attention to her because of that, it kind of lacks depth in a way. I don't like Sakura all that much and I haven no idea what happens after the time jump so my views of her might be outdated already but I see her as annoying and I don't like it when she's mean to Naruto when she's even more useless than he is, Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Toorikosu – (hugs) You loved the prism scene! Yay! That was my most favorite scene in the whole chapter and I'm glad you liked it! (hugs) I think Kakashi and Kurenai so belong together! Ha! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Megdeity – I'm not exactly sure if you flamed me or if that was a review. Well anyway, I hope this chapter was more to your liking! (smiles)

Muchachangistariray – hi there! Wow, so you're reading my other fics as well huh? Thanks and I'm glad that you enjoy them. Give Only With You a try. It's one of my favorite stories that I have written so far. Yup, SasuHina development should be slow and I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one too!

Audriel – I completely agree with everything you said! Hinata I think is the best candidate for Sasuke because she sees him as he is. She isn't blinded by his good looks and she doesn't measure someone through their ability, strength or looks (obviously since she fell for Naruto even when he was still dead last) She sees what's inside a person's heart. She also would be able to understand Sasuke's drive for strength. Sakura always hinders Sasuke telling him not to push himself too hard because he might get hurt. I think Hinata would understand him better because she herself trains to exhaustion. They would be good together I think. Plus I doubt if Sasuke would actually want future Uchihas to have pink hair.

Lems – LOL! Yeah, I'm not very fond of Sakura too so I agree with your views. Wait a few more chapters, I'm looking forward to making Sakura jealous actually. I like getting on her nerves too. I think she's kind of mean in the anime and superficial and too boy crazy. She's always putting Naruto down. (sigh) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Kanamey – Thanks! I'm glad you like the story progression. Yup, I love Kakashi, he's so cool! As for Sakura, that's just my view of her and I'm glad you think I'm writing her in character. I don't like her much but I don't like to bash characters in fics because each one has a reason for behaving the way that they do.

OspreyAnimeG – Thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad you think I write well and that you're enjoying my story! I hope you enjoyed this update!

ShirakuTo – Thanks! Yup, I think Kaori and Hinata would be cute! I'm glad you like this story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

CuteXenni – Here you go, I wrote more! Hope you liked it! Please review!

NanamiYatsumaki – I'm glad you like Kaori! As for Sakura, yeah, I think so too. She's always going on and on about Sasuke, it gets annoying. I haven't yet gone very far in the anime and I haven't seen anything after the time jump so I guess my view of her is outdated but I'm just not a big Sakura fan. Hinata rocks, so does Ino and Ten-Ten and Temari!

No Name – Hi! Thanks for the wonderful review again! You read my other fics as well right? I know what you mean about fics like that. I've read quite a few of those too and I always think how unfair that is to Hinata's development. She comes from a very strict and traditional family and on top of that, she's shy so she wouldn't just go kiss some guy and start 'frenching' him even though she does love him. It would take some time for her to be comfortable enough. Don't worry about long reviews, I love receiving them!

ALS – I'm glad you're willing to wait. I'll try to make sure the wait is worth it! As for Neji, he will be appearing next chapter. I tried to put his scene here but it would have made the whole chapter too long.

Kaylene-chan – Oh yeah, I think NejiHina are so cute together too! Yup, I feel the same way about Sakura but I am trying to give her good points so sorry if its like I'm bashing her. It's just the way I see how her mind works. Most of the things she does are usually for Sasuke so that's why. I will try to cut her some slack. Sorry if it felt like I was bashing her or something. It wasn't my intention. As for Hinata, she's my favorite character and yeah, I do believe she has a lot of potential. I'm glad you don't think my portrayal of characters are OC. I'm trying very hard to keep them as much in character as possible.

Thanks for the reviews!

They inspire me and prompt me to update faster!

Press the Go button please and don't forget to review!

Thanks!