SS, I really hope you like this chapter. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far xxx

Chapter Seven.

Having agreed for Hinata to put her glasses back on as she walked through the hospital to Ao's bedside, Kiba and Chōjūrō quickly donned theirs and with Shino on her left, Kiba and Akamaru to her right, Chōjūrō leading them to the patient and the medical-nin to her rear, they flew through the hospital corridors, leaving an aura of unity and strength behind them.

She felt like they were an assassination squad from the feel of the glasses to the way they walked and moved. Kiba was smiling and starting to strut, making Shino roll his eyes when he knew had had caught Hinata's gaze which in turn was making her laugh. She hated the fact that each step was taking her closer to the bastard who took her aunt away forever and all she could do was make him squirm for the shortest of moments before she revealed they were there to save him. She was going to make the bastard sweat for what he did to her aunt … the original Hanabi. No! Hinata thought. I refuse to stoop to that level and be so evil to another person. That is not my nindo. Thank Kami her friends were there. She owed them everything and KNEW, with thanks to them, that not only she could do this without pissing anyone off or hurting anyone.

She gently took their hands in her as Chōjūrō announced they had reached the ward and they both squeezed hers back reassuringly. Akamaru growled lightly before shaking his head putting on a goofy dog expression. It was time for her to put her game face on too. Copying Akamaru, without stopping, she shook her head clear of any worry or doubt and put on a confident expression with a slight curl upwards at the end of her lips. Shino remained the same whilst Kiba dropped the grin and after the three of them looked at each other, shook her hand and letting her gently go walked through the corridor of the ward towards the bed of a man who looked like he was doing his best to punch the woman who had just taken a blood sample out of his arm.

Ao looked as he saw Chōjūrō approach.

"What the hell are doing here? I told you, no more visits." He wanted to yell more but then noticed as Chōjūrō moved towards where the nurse was standing that he left behind him a large group of people. His left eye bulged horribly at the sight and he started to sweat profusely. The group looked at the middle-aged who sported an eye patch over his right eye and long paper earrings in each ear. He looked like he was about to have kittens and Hinata tried to stop herself from enjoying every moment of his discomfort.

"Ao-Sama?" Hinata spoke calmly and professionally. She left a small smile upon her lips which was seeming to be freaking Ao out but no-one could say that she was intentionally making him feel like that, it merely looked like she was just trying to smile nicely at him. If only I really was allowed to kill him with kindness… oh well. She fought hard with herself to get a grip and cut out the spiteful crap she was pulling, but it wasn't easy.

"Wh-who are you?" He said.

"My friends and I are from Konoha. We've been asked by the Mizukage to come here to help treat you."

"HA!" He exclaimed loudly, almost laughing at the idea that outsiders could help him. "There is nothing you fools can do that these bloody stupid sons and bitches haven't already tried."

"Byakugan!" Shouted Hinata and the veins around her eyes popped out. Ao's look of terror came back instantly as he realised what she was and he sat upright, springing to his knees and backing up as far as he could against the wall. She examined the chakra flowing around his body and focused upon the eye underneath the patch of leather. "The chakra flow from your Byakugan is blocked. You must be in a lot of pain."

"What?" Ao asked, totally confused beyond control. He expected her to have attacked him but this was out of all of his expectation – concern?

"The chakra flow from your…"

"Yeah, I heard. But nothing can be done about that. That was done deliberately."

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"To stop her from entering into me." Ao said, shaking at the prospect of her characteristics and perhaps memories merging with his. He just could not take that. Hinata then clenched her fists and fought hard to make sure she did not say or act out of anger. But her nindo slipped.

"I see." She said flatly. "It might help you feel better and aid your recovery. So would letting your eye get some exposure to the light."

"Same could be said for yourself, Hyuuga." He almost purred her surname out and Hinata wanted to take his life away… but she wouldn't let such a bastard make HER lose her head.

"Forgive me, Ao-Sama." She removed the glasses, letting Ao see her face clearly and the look on his face changed. It went slightly softer around his eyes and it reminded him of seeing her face again. He almost lost control but found the strength within him to keep still.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga. These gentlemen are my friends Aburame-Sama, Inuzuka-Sama and Akamaru-Sama." Akamaru barked and Ao yelled out loud.

"What kind of stupid hospital lets bloody dogs in? Infectious rats!" He spat out and Kiba growled loudly.

"Ao-Sama, Akamaru-Sama is with me. He is here to help you. As we all are." Hinata retorted, earning a lick from Akamaru.

"Like hell you can." Ao said, smirking now at how good it felt to have struck a nerve amongst the strangers.

"We will get you better, Ao-Sama." Hinata spoke with conviction and she realised she meant it. If she could unblock the chakra that had been stuck in the chakra pathway between the Byakugan and Ao's optical nerve, a part of her Aunt would be able to at least survive. "I am first going to correct the chakra flow around your body. First though, I want to ask for your permission and that of the medical team behind us."

Ao laughed. Hard. He realised he hadn't laughed in years and how good it felt. "You think that I would really let you do the very thing I DO NOT, AT ALL COSTS, WANT."

"Ao-Sama, it will help. The Byakugan will start to work for you again. I could tell that you had not been able to use it for some time now. We can then see if it will ease the rejection process and what we can then do to prevent you from losing it or losing or life." When she said that, it wiped the smirk from his face.

"Is my life seriously at risk?" He asked, not sure whether to believe her or not.

"Yes." She closed her eyes in sincerity. "It seems your health has been getting worse since your admittance here and everyone is concerned. That is why the Mizukage sent for me. My friends wanted to make sure I arrived safely and Chōjūrō-Sama has guided and befriended us."

"Oh, I bet he has!" Ao arched an eyebrow at the other bluenette and laughed lightly.

"Ao-Sama," Shino said. "Chōjūrō has been professional throughout our stay here and trust us, you should be proud of him."

"Proud of him." Mimicked Ao, trying not to burst into laughter again. "The surviving member of the legendary 'Severn Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist' … look at him. He's barely out of his teens and with respect, Chōjūrō, you are a bit of a wet fish, aren't you?" Ao looked kinder at the young man beside him and turned his head back, putting him bum back on the bed and laying his legs flat. "He's come and seen me every day since the war ended. Even when I refused to see him or open my door, he left fruit and food for me outside my door. Sometimes a newspaper or a bottle of Sake. He even left me a cake when it was my birthday." He smiled proudly at the memory and Chōjūrō's bottom lip quivered.

"Ao-Sama," Chōjūrō said. "The Mizukage needs you healthy, we all do. I do."

Hinata felt like she had been stabbed when Ao had said what he did and the soppy expressions which had come over him and Chōjūrō. How could a murderer, a killer, a man of such hatred and disgust pretend like this? It made her feel sick with anger… but she knew how to play the game. She knew how to punish him best.

"Do you all agree?" Hinata asked and the medical team behind her in different ways agreed. "Ao-Sama? Will you help your Mizukage now?"

"I have no choice." He said dejectedly. That made Hinata feel amazing. She prepared herself and focusing her chakra into her for fingers assumed a fighting stance from where she stood. Ao began to shake again and back up against the headboard of his bed. She smiled a horrible smile on the inside as she spoke the words of her jitsu and thrust forward her left forefinger: "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm: Gentle Touch."

A large draft of air then seemed to quickly shift from her finger and towards Ao's covered eye. It was strong and fast, making him shake more visibly and the beads of sweat pour down his face like tears. He felt it travel through the patch, through the eye and along his optic nerve. He then felt the chakra flow like a river from the eye into his own and he burst into tears. "I failed you." He sobbed, ripping off the patch and throwing it onto the ground.

She felt confused. Was it an act just now? He truly seemed upset now and that made her feel worst of all. She hated herself for her spite and hateful attitude. She did not know what had come over her. Maybe she wanted more than simple revenge. She had lost her mum and when her aunt went missing, she realised she'd lost another woman she loved dearly… maybe she was trying to blame this man too much.

"I am so sorry, Ao-Sama." Tears came running down her face at the sight of this man sobbing his heart out and a frantic Chōjūrō looking for tissues. She took a handkerchief from her trouser pocket and walked towards him, offering it to him. He looked at the token between sniffs and gently took it from her.

"Thank you, Hyuuga-Sama." He said and blew hard.

"Ao-Sama, you're welcome." Hinata said with a genuine small smile on her face. She walked back to the rest of the party and a very proud group of friends nodded to her as she approached and stood beside them. "We should let you rest while your eye and body adjust to each other. Please take good care of yourself and we'll come back tomorrow. Do you need anything?"

"No thank you, dear." He said, putting one hand over his mouth when he realised he said "dear" to her. Chōjūrō smirked and started to laugh hard and happily, holding his ribs tight.

"Shut up boy." He said defensively but nothing could change the smile that was now burning brightly on Chōjūrō's face. He tried his best for Ao's sake to stop laughing but kept hold of his ribs in case an attack of laughter threatened to come out.

Hinata looked as if she was in pain and shock when he spoke the word "dear" at her. The voice was Ao's but the tone… it was her Aunt Hanabi. She regretted her spiteful behaviour earlier in tormenting the man – there is no excuse to act like that to anyone. It made her feel ill what she had done and she couldn't change what she did. It looked like she got what she wanted plus interest.

Kiba and Shino helped guide Hinata back through the corridors when Chōjūrō and everyone had done some rudimentary health checks and made their goodbyes. After agreeing to meet up with the medical team the next day, the group headed back to their building and were invited into Chōjūrō's room for a meal and chat. Hinata slumped into the comfortable, soft baby-blue couch in Chōjūrō's living room and everyone gathered around the coffee table there and sitting comfortably, discussed what had happened and what they should do next.

"He's going to be experiencing a lot of changes and will need our support." Chōjūrō stated, everyone nodding in agreement. "Is there anything we can do to make it easier for him? He's breaking his heart over this and I've never seen him like this over anything."

"We need to know why he is so upset." Shino said. "If he can tell us why then that would make helping him very simple."

"He won't." Chōjūrō responded, shaking his head and grinding his sharp teeth into a grimace. "It's frustrating but he won't."

"He needs time to adjust to things first and we need to be gentle as we do things." Kiba commented and Hinata nodded.

"At least now he should stop being as sick and that will certainly have an effect."

And it did. Over the next 5 days, Ao had stopped being sick, was calmer and even began eating solid food again. The doctors were pleased at his progress and even though he could seem unusually emotional at times and moody; the changes in his personality were not vast. He seemed to be more comfortable within himself and every day the Konoha ninja, accompanied with Chōjūrō would meet and greet the medics and visit Ao with chocolates, toiletries and newspapers. Hinata too appeared calm and happy with life in the village and as more people had heard about her eyes, they seemed more curious than angry or afraid. People would walk up to her, Kiba or Shino and ask questions: 'Can you see through me?' 'Is it true you can kill me if you remove those glasses just by looking at me?' 'Are you from the moon and that's why your eyes are like that?'

They always smiled and answered the questions respectfully and honestly. Without them knowing, two men were following them most of the time they were walking around the village and observing what they were doing.

"We need to get that Chōjūrō away from them. We will act tonight." One said to the other from a small alleyway.

"Sounds good to me, I hate hanging around. Do you need any back up?"

"Nah! This should be easy. Stick around though if you want to see me with my trophy."

"Why do you want this so badly?"

"It's my brother's dream and my dream. He may be dead but I sure as hell am not going to give up."

They both then proceeded to tail the group as they went back to the tower they lived in and waited for the night to fall.