Chapter Two.

"Have you finished packing already?"

Neji said, stating it rather than asking a question as he saw the small bundle she had prepared to take with her. She would be gone for at least a year and yet she was literally taking the bare minimum.

"Neji-Sama, I am ready." She spoke quietly with a small smile but factually. She saw no point in taking any more than what was necessary. It was the people she had to leave behind that made her feel unprepared to go. She'd miss her family, her friends and Sensei very much but there was nothing she could do.

"They are so arrogant to ask you to do this. I hate that knuckle-headed brat for his stupidity." The anger though controlled was felt strongly in his voice. Neji was the only one to convey his complete outrage at this request by the number one knuckle-headed Hokage at the meeting. At first, the meeting between the Hokage and the Hyuuga elders went very badly. It was only after the Hokage discussed with them the potential benefits the family would receive for their kindness and heartache -a formal apology from the Mizukage, the promise of the stolen Byakugan to be returned and for special privileges to be bestowed upon them that the other Elders (including Hanabi) started to consider. Neji looked like he was about to lay an egg and was spitting feathers.

He expressed to Naruto exactly how extremely angry the family STILL was and asking for a branch member to come and help the murderer was dangerous for Hinata and very unnerving for the family. Neji asked that there at least must be a condition for guarantying Hinata's safety and for no one to dare attempt to touch her eyes lest they risk a war. Naruto agreed to this and sent word to the Mizukage of the arrangement and mission officially being accepted - Hinata was to leave the next day for Kirigakure to help the Mizukage save her bodyguard.

Hinata walked up to her cousin and hugged him. He froze at the embrace before holding her tightly to him. "If they do anything to you…" Neji said venomously. "I'll kill them all." He meant it. His aunt was murdered too and now his cousin has to risk her life to save the murders! How crazy this was.

Hinata felt touched by her cousin's emotion and letting him go slowly, smiled and tried to assure him. "My Master and Brother, I'll be absolutely fine. We made sure of that." She smiled at him whilst his face twitched at what she had said, his eyes falling to the ground with his head. Hinata began picking up the small bundle of clothes, kunai and scrolls, placed it on her back and walked towards the main entrance way. All the family had gathered to wish her well. She could see behind the fake smiles in front of her and saw the minute traces of anger and worry behind their moon-like eyes.

Everyone had mixed feelings, including Hinata but she did not show it. She put on her best polite smile, looking at everyone in turn confidently yet demurely. She could not let her family be affected anymore by showing how much this was hurting her – it would only hurt them more and she would never forgive herself if she did that. She patted the young children she had taught on the head, assuring them she would come back and how quickly a year can pass by. As she was approaching the main gate way, she saw her sister and her father, waiting to bid her farewell.

Hinata walked up to her little sister… well, not so little now. She had grown up so quickly and if not for her femininity, she'd be the double of their father -long, dark hair with a strong forehead, elegant expression and quick reactions. Hanabi was tall, slender yet strong and skilful with it. Hinata grinned at Hanabi and opening her arms gracefully embraced the young leader – she was very proud of her.

"If there are ANY problems," Hanabi stressed any with a very clear emphasis. "You must report it to us immediately. The Hokage has truly placed us in an impossible situation where we had no choice but to honour this request. YOU are NOT to put up with any kind of intolerable situations except this one. If HE…" she spat the word 'he' out furiously and Hinata seeing her sister's anger grow squeezed her shoulders gently and slowly letting her go so they could see each other's faces, spoke to her leader and sister.

"Mistress Hanabi," she smiled with pride as she spoke her sister's title and her eyes sparkled when she saw the slight pink colour light Hanabi's face. "Everything will go well. I will not let you or our family down and besides, I would like to ask them a favour in return."

Hanabi and Hiashi's right eyebrows rose at exactly the same time and when Hinata had stepped back and saw their faces looked exactly the same, she tried hard not to giggle out loud.

"I would like to ask them for the remains of our family member and to pay my respects. So much was not known about how she died and for them to refuse the person who can save this man's life would be unthinkable."

Hiashi developed a small smile on his face despite the hurt he felt when he mentioned his sister's remains. Both his daughters were developing wonderfully into two clever, strong girls. He knew Hinata would have been kind and strong enough emotionally to deal with this mission (and she had really shown him and the family what she was prepared to do to protect by her actions earlier that day) but to also know she had a hidden agenda that could make him and their family cope with the situation better made him feel extremely hopeful. Maybe this terrible, shameful mission could be turned into something better for his daughter and family. He almost got lost in watching his eldest talk and had not heard what she was saying. Hinata had no idea how lost in his thoughts her father was but the small smile told her all she needed to know.

"… I will report to you with any news I learn."

Hanabi took her sisters hand and squeezed it hard, her eyes now closed and face relaxed. "Be careful, my sister. I love you."

Hinata squeezed her sibling's hand back affectionately and her smile grew. She then gently let her sister's hand go and turning away from them, waved at the rest of her family and proceeded to walk towards the main gates of the village. Friends and well-wishers watched her as she left and made their goodbyes. At the main gateway, she saw her friends and former team mates.

"Shino? Kiba? Akamaru?" She had not expected to meet them. Last night they and all of her former classmates had met up for a farewell dinner. Meeting them again to say goodbye once more felt too much. When she said goodbye to Kurenai-Sensei and her god son she burst into tears. When she said goodbye to her closest, this was the worst. She loved her family and these men, her teacher and god child were as close flesh and blood. She adored them. How was she going to get through this?

Her face dropped into sadness and they could see tears softly falling from her eyes. Kiba sniffed loudly as Shino patted him on the back. Akamaru simply leapt on her, making her fall down as he attempted to lick her face off, panting crazily. They all started to laugh and Hinata gave the big dog a big hug and stroked the top of his head, calming him. He then rolled onto his back in comfort and closed his eyes.

"Hinata…" Kiba didn't know what to say and before he knew it Hinata jumped off the ground and wrapping one arm around each man's waist, pulled them into a three-way hug. Her boldness shocked them but it was exactly the right thing to do. A soft whine was heard from Akamaru to which Kiba whined back in response.

"Hinata-Chan, he doesn't want you to go…" Kiba trailed off, wanting to add more but couldn't find the words.

"WE ALL don't want you to go." Shino spoke it for Kiba… for them both. It was simply and truly what they all felt.

"I don't want to either, but I have too." Her tears returned and they huddle closer now, forming a circle into which Akamaru crawled into the centre of.

"Hinata, we love you." Shino and Kiba said at the same time and Hinata smirked and looked at them both in turn.

"I love you too." She meant it. The love she felt for them was beyond that of a typical team bond. They were a family and were bonded together in many ways. These men had supported her in her darkest moments and although she did not love them in a romantic sense or them her, in every other sense she did.

"20 days is a long time to just simply travel to another land. We want to make sure you arrive there safely." Kiba spoke.

"We are going to escort you there." Shino stated.

That made her feel so incredibly happy that she could hardly contain it. She moved her arms from around their waists to around their necks and holding their heads close to her head whispered… "Thank you!"

Shino looked up towards her and shuddered slightly. She then removed her arms from them and they moved away from each other. Akamaru barked, feeling a bit left out and Hinata kissed him on the top of the head.

"Will you three get in trouble for doing this?" Hinata asked, thinking about all duties the alpha-males of the Inuzuka tribe and Aburame clan had now.

"No way!" Kiba grinned brightly, his fangs showing for the entire world to see.

"Our families can manage very well without us for a while." Shino said. He was always so calm when he spoke but this time there was a slight change in his voice and Hinata and Kiba both noticed it and looked at him in concern. He remained stoic and calm. In some ways, Shino so opposite to Kiba in terms of personality… but Hinata knew them well. She knew how much all three of them had the same values and ways of looking on things. They would always be there for each other.

"Let's go, Hinata!" Yelled Kiba and an excited Akamaru barked loudly as they all started to walk out of the village and along the main road towards Kirigakure.

Hinata rubbed her forehead and Shino noticed that as she rubbed, he could see again the thing that made him shudder. She saw he was watching her and she blushed slightly.

"Hinata. I noticed it earlier. Did you agree with them doing that to you?"