Chapter 4

Sorry for the wait, I'm just not as motivated as I was when I started this. I feel like I'm not doing the characters justice ='(

Hopefully I didn't terribly butcher the characters too much -_-

On with the chapter!

"Are you sure she went this way Hanabi?" Neji followed after his younger cousin at a rapid pace.

"I'm positive, my sources tell me she and Temari went this way," the young mermaid pumped her dark green tail faster.

I'm afraid to ask but, "And exactly who or what are your sources?" Hanabi barely glanced back at Neji before turning her head back on track.

"Trade secret."

Neji grimaced, I don't like that answer.

"Would you hurry up feather fins? If my intuition is correct she's headed off with the wrong kind of company," Hanabi's brows furrowed as she fiddled with the hem of her tunic uncomfortably.

Neji noted the very Hinata-like gesture before frowning, "Temari's a friend, why would we need to be worried? Sure she's not exactly the best role model but she'd never bring harm to Hinata-sama."

"That's just the thing bro, Temari always consults me before she plans anything devious involving sis, or when she's simply taking onee-chan out for some fresh water. I know she'd never knowingly hurt sis but the thing is, this time, I don't think she's taking sis out off her own accord."

Neji's frown deepened, "Elaborate."

"That's not the Temari we're used to and if she's headed where I think she's headed with sis then I think they're both in for deep trouble."

"Where do you think they're headed?"

"Anko's place"

"You see Hime, the only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself, legs, feet, and all."

Hinata gasped, "Can you do that?"

Anko avoided her gaze, "Well, I do posses the knowledge and experience to perform such a procedure…" she trailed off and looked distractedly into a book of what looked like poisons from what Hinata could see from the cover.

The Hyuga's brow furrowed, "But?"

Anko looked up for a moment and pulled at the collar of her coat, "This little bad boy's gonna complicate things just a tad."

The violet tailed mermaid laid her moonlike eyes on the seal snaking its way down Anko's collarbone. The seal had an eerie greenish glow trailed along her skin. Hinata's eyes widened in recognition, "That seal, I know it! It's the-"

"Same seal that your family uses on branch members to remove any possibility of a betrayal. A few minor alterations, yes, but it's essentially the same as the rest of the branch seals. Your daddy was the one who sealed me before casting me out to sea, hime," Anko waved her hand flippantly before returning to her book.

Hinata put two and two together, "You want me to remove the seal?"

"Mhmm, and that's all you'll have to do in order for me to turn you into a human, darling," Anko grinned and moved to select a bottle from her vast collection of various items.

"If I remove the seal, I'll be going against my father," Hinata watched the container in Anko's hands cautiously.

Anko chuckled and bit off the cork of the bottle, "And you think your father won't mind you swimming off and turning yourself into a human?"

Hinata chewed on her bottom lip. Does she take me for an idiot? She glanced at the sea witch's oh-so-innocent look. If I want to get anywhere near Itachi I'm going to need a lot of help. Unfortunately she's the only one willing to offer it. Hinata twisted the hem of her shirt. I only need to remove the seal for a moment. I don't necessarily need to do exactly what she says. She nodded her head, "I'll do it."

Anko smiled downed the contents of the bottle, "Excellent."

The two Hyugas gaped at the enormous whale carcass.

"And you think Hinata-sama went in there?" Neji raised a skeptical brow.

Hanabi nodded her head. With a sigh and a swish of his dark grey tail, Neji made his way down towards the entrance, "Only one way to find out for sure."

Hanabi quickly darted after her older cousin only to stop short to avoid crashing into his broad back. Turning his head slightly he nodded towards the split in the hallway, "Which way?" Hanabi floated from behind him. Looking from left to right she grew silent as she heard voices filter in from the right. Locking gazes with Neji they both nodded before hiding behind some rotted hanging seaweed.

Hanabi's eyes widened as she heard a familiar strangled voice mumble incoherent words.

"Calm down Miss Sabaku, you've served your purpose. Now you can simply wait in this cozy little room while your princess friend makes up her mind," peeking from a gap in the seaweed, Neji narrowed his eyes as a white haired merman lugged a struggling body over his shoulder.

He dumped the body unceremoniously into a small cavern and bent down to pin their fins to the floor with a shackle. With a slight chuckle he straightened his back and shut the barred door behind him with a single flick of his tail. The figure turned and put a lock onto the cell door, "Don't worry you probably won't be waiting long. If what Anko-san said is correct, and it usually is, Hime-sama will probably be out of here in no time," he pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger and went on his way.

The two Hyugas waited for the newcomer to leave before approaching the jail-cell of a room, "T-Temari?" Hanabi whispered.

"Yes?" a voice behind them called.

The two whipped around to see said mermaid before them, hands on her hips.

"Mhhhmmhm!" The figure in the cell tried to call out from behind the gag in her mouth.

Hanabi glanced from the mermaid before them back to the mermaid in the cell, "Uhh Neji? Either Temari has an evil twin sister or I've got a severe case of double vision."

Neji nodded, "With the situation present it doesn't seem very hard to tell which one's the real one."

Hanabi raised a hand to her face and stroked an imaginary beard, "Hmm, I'm not sure. It could be either one really. They both have that hulking 'fear me' air to them. Y'know what I mean?"

The figure locked in the room thrashed madly about before the tie around her mouth unfastened slightly. Working her jaw furiously, the gag popped out of her mouth and hung loosely around her neck, "C'mon Hanabi! That thing behind you is a fake! Get me out of here guys!"

Hanabi raised an eyebrow, "No please? Yup, this one's the real one."

"Hanabi, would you quit fooling around? We have to go find Hinata-sama!"

"Not while I'm here," neither Hanabi nor Neji had a chance to react before the pseudo-Temari charged them.

Acting on impulse, Neji was nothing but a flurry of bubbles as he raised his arms and struck out. The clone dodged and parried each blow with exceptional speed. Neji grunted but kept at it, he leapt at Temari with a swirling tail whip.

Seeing as the two were occupied at the moment, Hanabi turned to the door. With a smirk she looked at Temari, "Time me," she pulled a pin out of her hair with one hand and held the lock in her other.

Temari rolled her eyes, "Is this really the time Hanabi?"

"Done." The door swung open with and the youngest Hyuga flowed into the room, "C'mon let's get you outta these ties,"

"Duck!"

Hanabi barely bobbed her head, engrossed in the task at hand, as the pseudo-Temari was thrown overhead. Hanabi picked through the lock at Temari's fins with a practiced ease and had her out of the room in a heartbeat.

Neji slammed the door and attached the lock. Panting slightly, he inclined his head to the newly rescued mermaid, "Which way?"

"Aniki that's the third time I've won this week, what the hell is wrong with you?"

The two Uchiha brothers had been sparring outside the palace for quite some time. The harsh rays of the sun seemed to have given up on tiring out the brothers. Instead it beat down halfheartedly on the two princes as they moved about the grassy field.

With a slight grin Itachi threw his little brother an analyzing look, "Hn, ever think you're simply getting better at fighting me?"

Sasuke scowled, "Yeah right, there are only two times I ever beat you: when you let me win, or when you're seriously delusional. Right now I'm leaning towards the second option."

Itachi gave a dry smile, "Very observant, little brother. You really are getting smarter," he smirked, "I didn't think that would be happening anytime soon." Sasuke frowned and flipped Itachi the finger to which the older brother simply chuckled, "Cute."

The two bickered their way to the nearby tree that sheltered their belongings. Itachi sat down at the roots and took a chug from his water bottle. Looking up at his little brother he sighed, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke stayed silent for a moment, opting instead to angrily stare his brother down.

"…"

"… Really aniki?"

Itachi sighed, "You know Sasuke, despite whatever you seem bent on believing, I am not 'all knowing'. If something is bothering you don't be scared to voice your opinion," he blinked when Sasuke's empty water bottle crashed into the side of his head.

"You fucking hypocrite!"

Itachi pulled his eyebrows together, "What?" He took note of Sasuke's clenched fists.

"You're seriously telling me off for keeping my problems to myself? Itachi I'm worried about you! Everybody's worried about you! You've been out of it ever since you started ranting about how you were saved by a mermaid, which in itself is a worrying sign."

Itachi glared at his little brother, "What are you implying?"

Sasuke gave and exasperated grunt, "It's getting to your head man! That's what sirens do. They screw with your mind so you can't think straight, and it's working dammit! You haven't been yourself in months! You're not as focused on everything around you and you've just been blankly gazing out into the ocean. You've lost your edge bro, and you're gonna inherit the kingdom in a couple of months? Fuckin' terrible timing if you ask me!"

Itachi didn't reply. Sasuke watched his older brother avert his gaze towards the goddamn sea once again. Shaking his head Sasuke turned around, "That's it aniki, I give. If you want to waste your time chasing demons then feel free. Just don't tell mother, it'd break her heart."

"So here's the deal sweat heart," Anko lugged an empty scroll down from one of the surrounding shelves, "You're gonna undergo one shell of a metamorphosis in the next six hours. I'm just warning you ahead of time, it's gonna hurt like anything. For every step you take on those human feet of yours it's gonna feel like you're stepping across broken glass. On the bright side, you'll be the most graceful being to ever walk the Earth. Pretty good plus if you ask me. Also, if you get your dear princy to marry you, those legs will be yours to keep. Thing is, he's gotta love you with his whole being; heart and soul. If you don't think he'd be willing to forget his mother and father for you then you better call it quits here darling because the moment he falls for another chick you'll shrivel up and burst into a thousand little bubbles. Literally," she finished in one breath. Once again Anko's cheerfully creepy smile made its appearance, "Any questions?"

Hinata chewed on her knuckle, "What will you do after I remove the seal?"

Anko answered without missing a beat, "Well, first I'm going to fill this scroll with a powerful enough transformation spell so that you can go running after prince charming," then she paused and brought a finger to her chin, "After that I'll probably think up some way to make up for my past mistakes. It gets lonely down here; I want to do something that'll get me back into the company of other merfolk."

Hinata nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, "I accept your terms then," she floated over to Anko and placed a delicate hand over her collarbone. The seal glowed brighter in response.

As she worked to remove the seal, Anko kept at the scroll; dipping her paintbrush into the ink and spreading it across the page. A few tremors raced through Anko's system, some of the more violent ones forcing her to abandon the brush.

"It's done," Hinata whispered, panting slightly from the effort, "I wasn't able to completely remove it, but you should be able to move freely now."

Anko smiled and flexed her fingers. Little sparks of power danced between them. She licked her lips and relished in the feel of it, "Wonderful, absolutely marvelous!" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Before Hinata could blink Anko's eyes flew open and lightning jolted from her finger tips to the scroll in front of her.

The scroll lit up with the energy and snapped shut; a luminescent seal glowed on the front.

"Anko, it seems we have some visitors."

The two merwomen turned their heads towards the new voice, "Well let them in Kabuto."

The white haired merman bowed at the waist and gestured for the people behind him to come in. A flock of security guards swept into the room. Hinata gasped at the familiar faces locked among the crowd.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji struggled against the much bigger merman holding him in place.

"Neji nii-san!" With a sudden burst of anger, Hinata turned to Anko, "What is the meaning of this?"

Anko's disturbing cackle filtered through the water, "Doesn't really matter now does it princess?" She tossed the finished scroll to Hinata, "I've upheld my part of the deal just as you've done yours," with a snap of her fingers, two more guards clamped down on each of Hinata's arm with an iron grip. "Get them outta here."

Hinata struggled against the brawny henchmen; "You tricked me!" she kept thrashing about as she, Neji, Hanabi, and Temari were dragged through the hallways and tossed outside.

Before Hinata could race back inside and correct her mistake, Neji grabbed her arm, "Come on Hinata-sama we should get back to the palace," he moved to take the scroll from her hands.

"NO!" Hinata shouted, hugging the item closer to her chest.

Shocked faces stared back at her, "Sis?" Hinata looked at every one of them with a teary expression, her lip quivering.

Neji shook his head and placed an arm on her shoulder gently, "What have you done this time?"

Chapter end.

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