Hi! Thank you for reading, and for reviewing if you have done so far. If not... *smiles* please do. Now, for chapter 12, please enjoy. Not much actually happens- I wrote it for the feels. :)

Chapter 12- The Weakened Seal

Itachi was right. Kana had not yet found a person in the village who would betray a comrade. This culture of helping the weak instead of killing them was soothing to watch, despite the sadistic thoughts in the back of her head that told her it was this softness that made people weak in the first place. Kana had, in recent days, seen a genin return from a mission with her teammates and sensei, having caused the team to fail. The sensei had patted her on the head, and given her advice on how to improve. It was a far cry from Kana's experiences with her past training sessions with Orochimaru. It reminded her a little of Itachi.

Several days had passed since her arrival, and though many ninja still regarded her with a mix of contempt and fear, Sai and Kakashi had been her saving grace. She didn't know what would have happened if they weren't there.

"Sai," she asked that day, "Do you live on your own?" They were strolling away from a trip to the dango shop, food in hands.

Sai took another bite and deliberated for a second, before smiling. "Yes, I do. Why are you asking me this?"

"It's just that I've never heard you talk about your family. Don't you have any?"

"I did once. I had a brother. An older brother." Though his smile was there, it turned transparent and empty. Kana watched him curiously for a few moments, forgetting about her dango. He shook himself out of his momentary lapse in composure.

"So did I," she said. "It's something special, that's for sure. The bond, I mean."

"Yes. Naruto said something like that, too. You're a lot like him. He believes in the bonds that motivate people as well. It's not something I know much about, but it intrigues me."

"Naruto does? I suppose you're right. He seems like the type. He won't let anything stand in his way when it comes to his 'bond' with Sasuke, and for some reason he makes you believe he can actually do it. Bring him back, I mean."

"He has that effect on people. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be out here today. I would probably be dead, having tried to kill Sasuke. He convinced me to abandon my mission. There isn't proof of a stronger person than that."

Kana silently accepted this revelation. He took another bite of his dango, lost in thought, and she followed suit. She threw the empty stick in a nearby bin and looked sympathetically at Sai, who stared back with the same unassuming expression she had grown accustomed to. In his free hand he clutched a small bag and a sketchpad. He always carried this around with him, constantly on the watch for inspiration. Kana envied him for having a hobby like that, something to be passionate about- as passionate as Sai could be, anyway. The horror of Itachi's death hung like a rainy cloud over her head, preventing her from finding anything useful to do or even smile.

Her thoughts faded into nothing. Feeling a little odd, she cringed. What was this painful emptiness inside her head? Suddenly, her mind surged with power, the world came rushing over her, and she found herself face down in the dirt.

Someone was slapping her face.

"Kana is your name, isn't it? Wake up, already. Please, wake up," a voice urged. "You! The one who was with her! Sai, right? Come over here and tell me what happened."

Kana sluggishly opened an eye to see a male ninja fixing her gaze with intense yet pale lavender eyes. He brought her to a sitting position and with utter embarrassment, she realised that she was still in the main street, surrounded by hoards of passers by. As she caught the male's eye, he ran a hand restlessly through his short russet hair and sighed.
Sai approached them both and knelt down to their level, looking confused. Kana thought that he had no right to be that confused, not when she was the one who had just fainted. She regarded him with slight irritation, but was too dazed at the moment to say much.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled faintly. "I don't know what happened though."

Sai opened his mouth to speak, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "We were having a conversation when you came over quiet, and suddenly dropped your head and your chakra surged unbelievably. A moment later, you fainted." He sounded just as bewildered.

This had happened before, albeit very, very occasionally. She recalled it happening twice, maybe three times since her and Itachi had met, and once before. This power, whatever it was that Madara believed her to have, was not something she could control any more. The unknown force keeping it sealed in was weakening; she could feel it in her mind.

The boy nodded, apparently too absorbed in thought to reply properly, and stood up.

"Everyone, please leave. It's over now."

The crowd of citizens begrudgingly obeyed, and finally Kana was left in relative peace with Sai and this new, odd stranger. The boy, who looked as if he could be around seventeen or so, pulled her to her feet and gave her another look of concern. She sighed and endured it, still feeling a quite sick from the fall. No, she felt utterly exhausted.

"My name is Hajime Hyuuga," he said, holding out a hand, "You must be Kana, the ex-Akatsuki member."

"I'm not just that. I'm a Leaf shinobi now," she replied. She shook his hand with measured caution.

"That you are…" He seemed to relax a little, and broke into a tiny smile. "Don't you remember seeing me? I was on the jounin council when you were appointed a shinobi of this village. I don't imagine you would, considering I didn't speak."

"Oh, er, no, I'm sorry." So he was a jounin, like Kakashi, one of the high ranking ninja. And he was important enough to be on the council in situations like hers.

"It's fine. I didn't expect you to, anyway. I was never very vocal."

"You were just now," she pointed out. He took control of the situation straightaway.

"I am a squad leader; it's natural for us to react quickly to worrying situations." The low, rumbling laugh in his chest was warm, warmer than his initial impression. "All I saw was you fainting in the street. It would have been a disaster to ignore that."

Kana couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile as well, for the first time since she could remember. "It was a decent test for you, then!"

Sai interjected, "Kana, are you sure you won't faint again?"

"Could you help Kana back to her apartment?" Hajime asked him. Sai nodded.

"I said I'm fine!"

Back in her apartment, Kana stared up at the plain ceiling from her bed and contemplated her day. Waking up, getting dressed, going with Sai to buy some dango sticks, and her power coming unsealed and taking over her mind. Truthfully, the thought of possibly going berserk at people who were now her comrades, or fainting again, scared her. She was scared of herself, what she was becoming.

Was that how Itachi felt? When he tried to hang onto his true self?

These thoughts consumed her along with the navy veil of darkness that was now hanging over the village. The lights from lanterns in the streets gave the sky a fading hue, slightly concealing the silver stars, obscuring Kana's chance to see clearly when she turned her head to look out the window.
Not a sound was made around her immediate, peaceful area, but in the distance she heard the muffled din of the townspeople going about their evening business, and all the sounds laced in together were almost soothing.

The sounds of a village were so different, it was interesting just to listen. The twitter of the night creatures, the flutters of bats in caves and the gentle rustling of tree leaves were the sounds she had grown up with, though somewhere in the back of her mind, the memory of a small wooden village, bustling with activity, the loving arms of 'mama', resonated and remained alive. These memories seemed like fantasy stories, or morel like tragic fairy tales with bad endings. Kana was able to look back at these things without a flicker of emotion, but still, the night time undertakings of this village reminded her of her first life.

She rose up and went to stand by the window, when her head was overcome by an unbelievable amount of pain. When she opened her eyes again, the world was completely different. It was in negative colours, fragmented, sharp, terrifying. Time flowed slowly, and quickly, and it stopped in odd places, and the pain was getting too much to bear. Just when she thought she would scream, it stopped.

"What the hell was that?" she breathed. Small beads of sweat ran down her forehead. "I'm going mad."

This couldn't be good.

"Are you okay, Kana?" She heard a voice from the street below.

She leant out the window, trying to hide her discomfort, "Kakashi, what do you want?" She noticed the people beside him. "And why is Danzou and the Hokage here too?"

"Just passing through on some important business," Danzou said.

"Not so important that you couldn't stop and chat to your favourite ex-rogue," she countered. "Can this wait? I'm kind of in a bad mood at the moment."

Kana jumped from the window and landed before them to make the conversation easier.
It was clear after a while that their intention was to question her again about Itachi, and about his death.

"I'm not going to talk!"

"We're only asking you some questions," Kakashi eased.

"Nope!"

"You don't have to be so defensive. I understand that he was your mentor, but we need to understand why Sasuke Uchiha won't return to the village."

"He should be executed like a criminal," Danzou disagreed. "Maybe we can use you to do it."

"You will not," Tsunade said firmly. "Under any circumstances. You cannot use my subjects in this way."

"Sasuke is revenge-seeking monster!" she growled. "He was the source of all Itachi's pain and suffering! In my opinion, he deserves worse than death, but in honour of Itachi's wishes, I'll not kill him. So Danzou, your option is invalid."

The Hokage and Kakashi took a step back each. Maybe they could sense that this may come to blows.

"Itachi Uchiha was a criminal who murdered his entire clan-"

"Except Sasuke! He couldn't do it!"

"You can scarcely comprehend even half of our village's business, young girl." He glanced backward at a silently observing pair. Kana's perception was such that she noticed the minute inflection of anxiety in such an iron voice. His expression was incomprehensible, but her well-trained eyes saw through this façade, just like everyone else's, just like Itachi's.

She dropped her voice down, "I'll tell everyone the whole truth, about your little games with the fate of the Uchiha, about what you put him through, everything. I know it all, Danzou, so be warned."

"Threats are no use against me, girl."

"You're at my mercy now. Don't think I won't do it."

Tsunade could not refrain from speaking any longer. "Kana, explain. Danzou, stand down, now."

"I refuse."

"This is an order. I am your Hokage, whether you like it or not, so do as I say! This is a matter of importance!"

Kana's dark eyes followed Danzou's relentlessly, even as he stepped back to stand with Kakashi. She fixed him with a forcefulness that made his steel will weaken to soldering metal, and it would melt soon. If what Itachi said was correct, which it was, Danzou was in a hell of a lot of trouble right now.

"Kana, you can talk freely now."

"Fine! I will!"

They didn't believe her. She could tell. Nobody interrupted her, not for the whole story, although somewhere in the middle, Danzou had disappeared with a single body flicker. She spoke upward to the lantern-lit twilight, in a quiet voice. She felt like she had been doing him a notorious wrong. Hadn't Itachi wanted to remain an anonymous criminal? Hated, scorned? Yes, and leaving Sasuke to be the hero. It was the one thing she wouldn't stand for. Tsunade looked wordlessly infuriated, and the subject of her burning rage was unknown. Kakashi stood, indecipherably blank-faced and deep in thought.
No-one said a word when she finished. Never before had a silence had so much gravity as this. The tension was crushing her insides.

"Believe what you want," Kana said softly, "but I know Itachi's legacy ends with me. I'll defend this village till the end, and I'll stop Sasuke without killing him. That's a promise."

She bade them goodnight and returned to her bed, where the soft pillow awaited her tears. How long she stayed there exactly was mystery, but by the time Kana came to her senses, the Leaf was filled with the hue of the Fire country's burnt orange sunrise. Still in her mail vest and shorts, hair in a mess from lying down, she went to her window and breathed in the morning air, and the chakra which she couldn't ignore, no matter how much she tried. Lots of chakras, lacing in with each other, and some standing out. Kakashi's, regret, and Sai's confusion over where to lay his duty, it was all in their chakra. Her ability to read these things was much stronger than it was three years ago, it had grown over time.
As she pondered this, something caught her attention.

In the distance, soaring closer and closer. It was a familiar crushing sensation, a tension so overwhelming it made her shiver. The chakra was unbelievable. It was right outside the village. Her heart stopped.

She punched the wall.

"Dammit. Damn you, Leader… I knew it. You'd come for the Kyuubi yourself."