The second part of revelations, although there aren't many revelations in here.

Many, many thanks to my beta, Tomas the Betrayer, for making this chapter what it is.

Also, as a side note, I will be revising the first few chapters in the near future. Therefore, there might be a few changes in the layout, but definitely not in the plot.

Standard disclaimer applies.

Chapter 18

Revelations: Part Two

The unfortunate thing about awkward conversations was they tended to be… awkward.

If the conversation in question included the very uncomfortable subject of a series of secret trysts between two future relatives involving one endeavoring to train the other, well then, the discomfort of both parties increased exponentially.

Now imagine a third party has stumbled upon the two of you together and proceeded to question you as to the nature of the situation. Add the fact that your interrogator happened to be your overprotective cousin's best friend, and also incapable of keeping a secret from said cousin to save his life, and you have been neatly presented with the shovel to start digging your own grave.

Still, better your own grave than someone else's, especially when you were indebted to that person. All Hyuuga had morals and codes to live by, after all. They may hate the Uchiha, but if there was one thing that Hiashi had taught his eldest daughter, it was to always uphold your honour and never let anybody question your clan's character.

Which was why Hinata was currently sitting on the same rock that her trainer had occupied barely half an hour previously, wringing her hands together and biting her lip, wondering as to how she might proceed with this embarrassing confession.

Across from her, Rock Lee sat unblinking, occasionally diverting his eyes to the 'villain' in this piece every once in a while. His furrowed eyebrows were now in danger of meeting over his nose and combining their prodigious mass together to form a unibrow. He was so eager to hear the explanation for this bizarre turn of events that he had even refrained from making any 'youthful' comments for the last few minutes.

For his part, Uchiha Sasuke had refrained from massacring the bowl-cut leprechaun for assaulting him. He was scowling ferociously, intending to intimidate the other male in the group, but the effect was sadly dampened because of the pout attempting to make an appearance on his lips. However, being an Uchiha, and all that this implied, Sasuke did everything he could to prevent the offending expression from making a debut, for it would undoubtedly ruin his reputation.

And so here they all were.

Hinata opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, breathing shakily. Lee's eyebrows, if possible, became even more pronounced, and Sasuke let out a bored sigh.

Somewhere, a cuckoo cooed.

Hinata started to speak once more, let out a sound similar to 'eep', and then closed her mouth, wringing her hands as a barmaid would wring the dirty shirt thrown off by a particularly drunk customer who happened to be dancing to the blues. Lee's prodigious facial hair now threatened to engulf the rest of his face. Sasuke watched this display with a sort of dreary fascination.

The cuckoo continued its song.

Hinata tried to start a conversation, made it up to 'Uh', then gave up on vocal communication and sat licking her lips nervously. Were they actually a dish towel, her hands would now be completely wrung out of moisture. Lee's eyebrows had seemingly achieved full independence from his control and were preparing to strike out on their own against the rest of his body and the world. Sasuke vaguely wondered as to their odds.

Elsewhere, the cuckoo's performance reached a triumphant note.

At this point Sasuke lost his temper and snapped, "Oh, for God's sake, just tell him already!"

The laws of the universe are so very important that if a single deviation takes place, the entire scene changes. It was quite clear to all supernatural and natural flora and fauna present in the above scene that the balance of things, the flow, should not be interrupted. Hinata should open her mouth, let out an embarrassing sound, close it again, practice drying out cloth on her hands, and then repeat the process. Lee should let his eyebrows claim dominion over all earth and sky. Sasuke should continue to be bored by this silent interlude. And the cuckoo should rock out again and again.

But a disruption had occurred. One person had forsaken his duty along with the natural order of things. He had spoken out of turn. And so the perfect equilibrium was disturbed.

Lee shot up faster than Sasuke could say 'Boo!' and yelled, "Uchiha Sasuke! As the Green Beast of Konoha (in training), I declare you unfit to raise your voice towards the lovely and youthful flower that is Hinata-san! Your utter lack of youthfulness and determination makes you the lowest of the low, and I, as Konoha's Saviour, cannot allow you to tarnish this delicate rose. Your gloominess and oppressive nature must not be permitted to ruin the delicate growth of Konoha's youthful shinobi! You have already exuded your influence on Naruto-kun and my beloved Sakura-chan, but no longer! I, as the Green Beast-in-training, will challenge your black power, and eradicate your evil influence from this world! Your sour nature shall not destroy the youth that defines the strength of Konoha! I hereby challenge you to a battle to the death!"

Sasuke's mouth was gaping so wide open that several birds were considering it as their nesting place.

"L-Lee-san!" Hinata whimpered, hating herself for stuttering. "You p-pr-promised that you would l-listen to m-m-me!"

Sasuke became aware of the fact that he looked like an idiot of the highest order and snapped his mouth shut, upsetting a daring bluejay in the process.

For his part, Rock Lee seemed to be in full challenger mode. "Hinata-san, this black mark on the name of Konoha cannot be allowed to ruin the tender bud of youth! Without youth, there is no love, and without love, there is no Sakura-chan!"

"What the hell?" Sasuke snarled, incensed. "How did Sakura come into the middle of this?"

The taijutsu master struck what his sensei had assured him was a manly pose, fists clenched and one held up to emphasize his point. "Sakura-chan is the embodiment of all that is youthful and beautiful in this world! Her entire demeanor resembles the grace and power of the rising sun! Her hair is so very tender, like her nature, and her face – oh, her face! Youthfulness shines through every crevice in her sculpted features. She is like a goddess in the moonlight, a titan in the sunlight, and a nymph everywhere else. Her features exude grace and beauty and serenity, and her strength – oh, what determination! Her voice is like an angelic choir, her lips like sun-kissed apples, and her eyes shine like jade jewels that were a present from some privileged prince to his princess! She is the very incarnation of love, and worthy of nothing less than the mightiest shinobi!"

Silence. A drop of water fell from a tree. If someone had walked in on their little group right then, he would have thought it was a brilliant stage for a play. Hinata was still crouching on the rock, arms wrapped around herself, face a mixture of terror and awe. Sasuke's lower jaw was collecting dust on the forest floor, still somehow managing to convey a vague disgust. Lee was standing upright, his eyes shining, hair swirling around his head dramatically, arms upraised as though he was communicating with God as to the true inner beauty of Sakura Haruno.

Sasuke managed to retract his lower mandible sufficiently to utter one remark. "You're insane."

And then all hell broke loose.

The same observer who would have been quite shocked by their previous setup might have a seizure if he came upon the same setting two minutes later. Sasuke was flat on his back gurgling, his eyes rolling back in his head and his face turning an alarming shade of purple. Lee was on top of him, his hands encircled around Sasuke's neck, eyes flashing with an unholy fire, spouting off some nonsense about 'honour, youth, avenge, goddess, youth, eternal, undying love, youth, challenge, etc.'

And Hinata, timid little Hinata, had both her arms locked around Lee's biceps, tugging him back as hard as she could and only succeeding in suffocating Sasuke even harder. Her eyes were filled with horror, and her voice was desperately gabbling out words such as "Let him go, Lee-san!" and "He didn't mean it, Lee-san!"

At this point, a glimpse into the minds of the characters would be quite beneficial to understanding them. While posture and expressions usually explain most of what is going through a mind (even a shinobi mind), the intricate library of neural pathways that is our brain gives even more detail to all that the person in question is currently contemplating.

Sasuke, for all that he was being strangled, currently hosted several lines of thought in his mind. First and foremost, was, of course, to somehow detach the freakishly strong hold of this amorous lunatic. The second was wondering as to whether some form of help would arrive should he fail in the previous objective. The third was trying to listen to the words of a certain rescuer who was failing miserably in her attempt to save his life (or at least, his trachea and vocal cords).

But it was the fourth that was the real eye-catcher.

It concerned his teammate, Haruno Sakura. Or more specifically, it wondered as to whether she knew some strange medical ninjutsu that caused people to fall madly in love with her and worship her. This led to the question as to whether, if such a technique existed and Sakura knew it, then if the Honourable Hokage, Tsunade-sama, also known as 'Raving Bitch', had taught her this technique. Which, considering the amount of men running after the Hokage despite her extremely abnormal and frankly dangeroustendencies, would certainly explain Sakura's inexplicable popularity among young men.

Moving to another example of mental inventory, Rock Lee's mind was quite different from our suffocating protagonist's. He was currently multi-tasking with his own thought strands. The most prominent of those concerned simultaneously throttling Sasuke for his blatant disrespect (not only towards his beloved Sakura-chan, but also towards Hinata-san) while throwing off those small, feeble hands that were currently hooked underneath his armpits. The second wondered over what the aforementioned Hinata-san could possibly mean when she said that it was 'her fault'. The third was still exclaiming over the many virtues of his beloved Sakura-chan. And the fourth, strangely, or perhaps not so much, was alternating between worshipping Gai-sensei, training schedules, and considering the 'delicate flower of youth'.

Hinata's mind was focused on a single thought, even though it did house others. Her primary focus was on somehow disentangling Lee's hands from Sasuke's throat. Another was currently hyperventilating over the fact that Lee might tell Neji about her precious secret – that is, the fact that she was training with thearchenemy, an Uchiha of all people. The third had immediately followed the link from 'Sakura' to 'Naruto-kun's crush' to 'Naruto-kun' himself, and was blushing like an overwrought fangirl confronted with her 'one true love'.

The fourth was contemplating whether to use Jyuuken to subdue the troublesome round-eyed madman.

Sasuke turned a little more purple, and she made up her mind.

Swiftly standing straight, she raised her hands to the traditional position and said a single word – "Byakugan!"

Immediately, the entire world was bathed in stark shades of blue, and she could clearly see the tiny twinkles of all the pressure points in Lee's body. Pursing her lips, she targeted the nerve cluster at the base of his neck, and, with a swift jab, promptly knocked him out.

Lee, for his part, was too caught up in strangulation and thinking about Sakura to even notice the tiny little kuniochi behind him, much less guard himself from her attack. In the midst of youthful euphoria, his nervous system suddenly blew like a balloon that an overenthusiastic child had popped during a birthday party, and everything went black.

Sasuke, in the middle of thinking about strange plots between the Hokage and his most persistent fangirl, suddenly found that the crushing force on his windpipe had disappeared and that he was able to breathe again, albeit with a considerable amount of discomfort.

He took in a few deep breaths, before looking up to see an unconscious Lee with drool leaking out of his open mouth, and a strangely emotional Hinata with her Byakugan activated and fingers outstretched towards where Lee's skull must have been moments ago.

Slowly the dizzy youth stood up and surveyed the scene. The three of them were the only sentient beings in a one-mile radius. The clearing would grow back to its natural state if they left now, leaving no trace of their ever having been here. Lee was unconscious. And the finger-shaped bruises throbbing on his neck were very uncomfortable.

There was only one reasonable thing to do.

"I say we stick a kunai in his throat and hightail it out of here."

"S-Sasuke!"

Tsunade slammed a heavy fist down on her desk, exclaiming, "What the hell is she thinking?"

The table groaned and, having suffered constant abuse for its entire existence, promptly broke into two unequal halves, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Sitting in the most comfortable armchair in the entire room, Jiraiya raised a lazy eyebrow at Tsunade's antics, anticipating the ear-rattling scolding that Shizune was sure to give the Hokage for her blatant disregard towards the physical state of her furniture. "Just to specify, which she are we talking about here?"

"That dratted Hyuuga girl, of course!" Tsunade swore, tugging at tufts of her white-blonde hair. "Every time I think of exactly how to approach her situation, she changes her modus operandi! First, she starts cozying up with that younger Uchiha boy, and just when I've made up plans for the two of them, she's following Itachi like a lost duckling! She can't seem to make up her mind!"

Jiraiya would have been vastly amused by the sheer level of perplexity that Tsunade was displaying, but was far more interested in something else that she had mentioned. "What younger Uchiha? I was under the impression that Hinata was engaged to Uchiha Itachi."

"She's hanging around his younger brother, Sasuke or whatever. He's training her apparently." The last sentence came out in a sneer.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow again. "And you know this how?"

"Because! I have Ibiki keeping tabs on her. And he says that they meet almost every day at one of the more remote training grounds to practice. Apparently, they have moments."

The Toad Sage wondered if he had heard that right. "Wait a minute. You're assigning Ibiki Morino, torture master extraordinaire, to spy on two innocent kids training?"

This perfectly understandable statement garnered him a contemptuous look from the beautiful warrior. "They're hardly innocent, Jiraiya. You know as well as I do that this is the prime time in a person's maturation in which they make foolish, impulsive decisions. Add to that the pressure of an impending arranged marriage and we have a recipe for disaster! I needed someone trustworthy to watch over the Hyuuga girl when she isn't in her house. God knows what she can do if left alone with an attractive member of the opposite sex."

"Yes, of course, don't trust that sweet, innocent girl. Force her to marry someone, sure, but don't trust her, because she's foolish and impulsive and could destroy your plans, right?" Jiraiya's voice was colder than the Snow Country's worst frost.

Those cool and lofty tones melted against the heat of her ire. "You know as well as I do that this isn't my fault at all! If anyone is to blame, it's Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuuga Hiashi, and Sarutobi-sensei!"

The jab to her honorable predecessor awakened the laid-back man's ire. "Tsunade, do you honestly expect me to believe that you had no hand in the making of the contract? That all the medical implications were simply hidden to you? That you, who had been so enthusiastic about the intermixing of blood limits, would be indifferent towards the possibilities generated from a Hyuuga-Uchiha union? I know you think that I am a flirt and a pervert and a useless entity, but please don't go so far as to mistake me for a fool."

Tsunade sat down heavily in her chair, leaning back to rest her neck. If the table had still been intact, then she no doubt would have utilized it to bang her head against repeatedly, but the damage had already been done.

Silence ruled in the Hokage's chamber for a few moments – silence that arose from the heavy weight of Jiraiya's accusations. Tsunade knew that he was no fool, and yet the idea that this lazy lecher had deciphered her role in the impending Uchiha-Hyuuga union so quickly and precisely was frightening. Despite their long and storied history, Jiraiya would always be the weak link in the legendary Sannin team, inferior to both her and Orochimaru's brilliance, and incapable of touching the heights that the two of them could achieve. Therefore his cold and calculated deduction of the exact balance of power in this extremely important alliance scared her a little, and made her wonder about the exact motivation behind his offer to be personal trainer to the Hyuuga girl. Perhaps he was only pretending to be an instructor so that he could watch from the best spot on the sidelines and keep himself as informed as possible.

Whatever the case, Tsunade's cleverly concealed but still prejudiced persona bristled under the disapproving gaze of Jiraiya. Even though he was a sannin in his own right, the very idea that puny little Jiraiya, the least impressive person in their team, was actually behaving condescendingly towards her, who was not only closely related to both the first and the second Hokage, but also a highly accomplished medical ninja, a sannin, and Hokage of Konoha to boot, was as disagreeable to her as an unexplained winning streak at the gambling table.

Fidgeting under his gaze, she hastily strove towards reverting the subject back to its original focus. "I didn't even know that she had it in her. The Hyuuga girl, I mean. Stringing along two boys like that…"

The remark was cruel and cutting. Like most bad-willed comments, it too suffered a sharp comeback. "You would understand, though, wouldn't you, Tsunade? What it means to string along two men at the same time, breaking both their hearts? I think you would be the foremost expert on that subject."

Jiraiya's fury, though concealed, filled the whole room with deadly intent. Its target flushed bright red. Her mouth immediately opened to deliver another stinging line, but closed again, knowing that thiswas one accusation she could not refute. A vague guilt rose in her, inspired by the antics of a younger version of herself. She vaguely remembered days of delight over the pain that she was putting her two teammates through, the way they slaved over her every wish.

But she wasn't that person now, and Tsunade wished she never had been.

She almost apologized to Jiraiya at that very moment, almost begged for forgiveness for the torture that she had put him through, but stopped at the very last second. She knew that he would not believe her, that he would assume that she was only spouting those words as a half-hearted attempt to change the subject. Jiraiya was sweet-natured, but in matters of forgiveness, he was as hard as a rock, and Tsunade knew that for all his friendliness towards her, this was one subject on which he would not budge. He resented her for her attitude when she was younger, and he always would.

"The Kazekage is arriving tomorrow," Jiraiya suddenly remarked, his voice muted.

She glanced up, surprised. The topic was obviously not of any interest to him, but he was obliging her, trying to defuse the unhelpful mood. She felt a wave of gratitude wash over her for his consideration. He had evolved from the hard, bitter man he used to be into someone far more considerate and caring.

"Yes," she said, clearing her throat. "Yes, that's right. I have made accommodations for him at the Hyuuga compound. If anyone in this village knows how to meet all their guests' needs, then it is the Hyuuga."

"Do you have any idea as to why he is coming here?" Her old teammate's voice was quiet, uninterested, but his eyes were sharp.

Tsunade stood up once more and began to pace the length of the room. "There is no confirmed reason as of yet, but…" She hesitated.

He was quick to pick up on her obvious reluctance. "But what?" he pressed.

"My… acquaintances… in Suna's system seem to think that it is because the Kazekage is looking for a Protection Pact under Konoha."

Jiraiya's eyebrows all but disappeared into his hair. "A Protection Pact? Are you sure, Tsunade? This is Suna we are talking about – one of the five great Shinobi nations. If they form a Protection Pact with us, then they will become subservient to us. Suna has never shown any inclination to come underneath anyone before. They are proud and independent."

"Suna's never quite been in the same situation before, either." Tsunade bit her bottom lip. "They're under constant threat from an unknown force, their shinobi population is severely decimated, extensive rebuilding is taking place. For the past few months, we have assisted them with their reinforcements, but with the recall of our shinobi…" She trailed off.

The tightening around her eyes got his immediate attention. "Are you considering taking them under your protection?" It was a loaded question, full of thick implications.

Tsunade sighed, turning to face the window that looked out on the rest of the village. "I don't know yet, Jiraiya. The Sand is our valuable ally, and they may take offense if I refuse to accept them. On the other hand, we are already under threat, and to spread out our shinobi to Sand territory will only further weaken our defenses, making us vulnerable for another attack."

"The Sand is not more important than Konoha, Tsunade."

"You don't understand!" his superior exclaimed in frustration, slamming her hand down on the broken remnants of her desk. "If I say no to the Sand, then they will undoubtedly seek assistance from the Grass and the Lightning. And those two have already made it clear that they want nothing to do with the Sand as long as we are affiliated with them, so the Sand will break off with Konoha for assistance from our enemies. That turns threegreat villages against us, not to mention the Sound. And the Mist isn't too eager to come to our rescue, either. We will be virtually defenseless against the combined force of the four villages. We can't afford those kinds of odds, Jiraiya, not again. We've lost enough as it is."

"Do you have any more information about the threat against us?" he asked gravely.

The Hidden Leaf Village leader sighed, wearily turning back to the window. "I've sent ANBU out, but there isn't much information. All I know is that Orochimaru is moving his troops near Grass territory, and that several of our foreign contacts have been overwhelmed suddenly. All our communications with the Grass and the Lightning have stopped, and the Cloud is acting distinctly unfriendly. There have been reports of Lightning shinobi moving closer to the Mist, and even encroaching upon the Land of Fire. This worries me, because if the Mist is ambushed at the same time as Konoha, then we will have no way to protect each other."

"The Sand will be more of a liability than an asset in case a war breaks out, Tsunade. If they are ambushed again, then we will be forced to send our shinobi, thereby weakening our defenses."

"I know that, but I also know that the Sand cannot survive without assistance for now. In case a war does break out, then isn't it better to sacrifice a few of our shinobi for their defense and keep an ally instead of estranging them and lose our shinobi against their attack? If the Sand will not receive assistance from us, then I have no doubt that they will approach the Grass or the Lightning, and that will immediately nullify their relationship with us."

She slumped back heavily in her seat, leaning her head against one hand and regarding him steadily. "Furthermore, Orochimaru is lurking in the shadows. We cannot afford to ignore him, Jiraiya. Konoha pretends that the Sound is a mere fantasy, a weak establishment, but the truth is that it is very strong, and that its ruler has sworn to eradicate us at all costs. The previous Sand-Sound attack was devastating, and a combined onslaught from not only the Sand and the Sound, but also the Lightning and the Grass is frightening. We are still recovering from the attack five years ago. Our economy is crippled and built on slow equity and loans, and our merchants are indebted to our enemies. Our slain shinobi have yet to be replaced, and our resources are depleted. Even if we do somehow manage to survive the war, we would be virtually impoverished at its end, and many shinobi would die. It will be another Great War, and who will suffer? We will. Not just the shinobi, but also the civilians. We will all die, without an ally to support us. The few survivors will be systematically eradicated by the Sand, the Lightning, the Grass, or the Sound. They will have no place to go, and they will die, Jiraiya."

Her former lover leaned forward in his seat and settled his hands on his knees. "What about the Cloud? Are they amenable towards us?"

Tsunade gave a snort. "Using the Cloud would be the biggest folly ever committed, and I do not intend to be the Hokage who goes down in history for making that blunder. You know that it was Cloud ninja who kidnapped the Hyuuga heiress. Despise her though they might, the Hyuuga are very tight-knit in clan matters, and they will take great offense if their enemies became our allies. Their children are our shinobi, but they might just detach themselves from our ranks and join some other village. It's been done before. If the Hyuuga leave Konoha, then not only will our defenses be reduced, but our economy will also be severely crippled. They provide the support for our merchants and traders to go about their business. Furthermore, they played an invaluable role in fending off the previous attackers. Do you really want to lose the Byakugan?"

"To say nothing of the fact that the Cloud isn't a Great Village anymore," she continued. "Not really. Two years ago, they too were attacked in the same manner that Suna was, and they have never really recovered from the backlash. They will be more of a liability than an asset. They are close to the Lightning, but the Lighting is cautious, and does not let its shinobi roam far. Not that I blame them – with an unpredictable Orochimaru rising, there was little that anybody could do but keep on their guard."

"So what will you do when the Suna convoy arrives?" Jiraiya continued to press her without mercy. If anyone had earned the right to question the Hokage this much, it was him. "What if the Kazekage's demands are too high?"

And Tsunade closed her eyes. "I don't know, Jiraiya. We'll just have to wait and watch, I suppose."

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