Anyway! We find out what's been going on with Hinata and Sasuke all this time. Perhaps you will be surprised, reviewers. Muwahahaha!

Prodigals

Chapter 01

Stares, Glares, and Past Affairs

Uzumaki Naruto was girlfriend-less.

It wasn't for lack of admirers. Oh no, his fan club had many members and was growing rapidly. What at first had been a funny irony, given that he was so hated in his youth by girls, was now just an annoyance.

It wasn't for laziness on his part either. He had gone on plenty of dates in the past years, some ending better than others. He remembered the catastrophe with the obsessed fan girl ("I AM Mrs. Uzumaki Naruto!") and shuddered.

No, it was just that none of the girls seemed to stick. They are all too… something. Too tall, too tan, too blonde, too outgoing.

"I know I'm not very strong right now, but I promise, the next time we meet, I'll be stronger. Okay, Naruto-kun?"

It was her fault. Every time he hooked up with a girl, he could only think of her and how whoever his current date was so different from her. Either that or he imagined her in the girl, which made him feel so guilty he broke up with the poor thing right away. It was driving him insane.

You better find your way home soon.

-

Hiko's Hotel, Room 304, 2 PM.

Hinata stifled a moan and slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the bright lights of the small and decidedly gross hotel room. She tried to sit up, only realized that she already was upright and tightly bound.

"Morning," said Sasuke quietly, voice lower than usual. He was back to back with her, each tied separately and then tied again as a pair.

"Where are we?"

"No idea. I just woke up a minute ago."

"Who has us?"

"Again, no idea." He'd had a dream that it was Kakashi. Ha. Right. Wishful thinking on my part.

"Well, I want to surprise them, whoever they are."

"Hn."

Suddenly, there was a creaking on the wooden floorboards outside the door. They both tensed, Sasuke pressing a certain combination of symbols into her hand. She nodded her head in agreement.

The door opened. They were poised and ready to fight however they needed to get free. Chakra glowed softly on the soles of Hinata's feet, ready for a super-charged kick. They were both surprised by the person that opened the door. A glint of green, a twinkle of teeth…

"Hello, my youthful captives!" He smiled, nearly blinding them.

"GAI?" They said together, gaping. Hinata recovered first.

"Obviously, they intend to torture us," she whispered thoughtfully.

"…hn."

Gai gasped. "I sense that the springtime of youth still resides in you!" He clapped his hands excitedly. "COME! We must get you to Konoha as soon as possible!"

"Konoha, sir? As in Konohagakure no Sato?"

The muted excitement in Hinata's voice was obvious. His teeth sparkled and she winced. "The very same! Now come! Your transport is waiting downstairs!"

'Transport', as they soon found out, was obviously keyword for 'pack mule', because they were going to be carted around on the back of their former sensei. Once Hinata and Sasuke were firmly attached to Kurenai and Kakashi respectively, not to mention gagged, they began to the long and uncomfortable journey to Konoha. But both of the youthful captives were grinning uncontrollably.

They were finally going home.

-

Konohagakure No Sato, the Hokage's Office, 9 AM. The Next Day.

Her coffee had gone bad and had not cured her vicious hangover. She had lost half her month's pay when gambling the previous day. The eggs she was cooking had burned, and subsequently set the curtains in her kitchen on fire. A document of completed mission reports had flown out of her hands that morning and landed in a large muddy puddle. In attempting to retrieve said documents, she had gotten her outfit completely dirty. To top it all off, Jiraiya had a perverted moment at her expense when she bent down to pick up the papers.

The Godaime was not having a good day.

So when Kotetsu walked into her office and proclaimed that the two missing-nin Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke (both M.I.A.) had been captured at the border of the Fire and Grass countries, she nearly went on a rampage.

"HA HA HA!" She screamed, not in the least bit amused. "Kotetsu made a funny! One more joke and your sorry ass is suspended, buddy!"

The chuunin cowered under her fierce gaze, seemingly shrinking. "H-h-hokage-sama, I'm not j-j-j-joking!"

She bristled angrily, looking like a volcano ready to explode. Before Mount Tsunade could erupt, however, she was stopped by a voice from outside the room.

"Tsunade-sama!" said Asuma. "We have Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke in custody!" The door slid open. Both Kakashi and Kurenai were escorting two ninja, along with a few ANBU just to make sure they didn't escape. All the self-righteous fury seemed to the leave the Hokage like air leaving an inflated balloon.

"…oh. My apologies, Kotetsu." He gulped and retreated to his post outside as she straightened her green-colored robes and took the seat behind her desk. "So. It seems you actually have retrieved Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke."

"That's correct. Permission to gather the specialists needed to prove their identities, Hokage-sama."

"Permission granted, Asuma. All three of you go. The ANBU can handle things from here." The jounin nodded at her before vanishing. Tsunade turned her sharp brown eyes towards the pale-skinned pair in front of her. The ANBU had already bound them each to a chair with special techniques that did not allow for escape. Tsunade's fingers arched into a steeple and she raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

"This is quite the odd coincidence. Two of Konoha's missing nin showing up together; same year in the Academy; both important to the same people…

"Naturally, I can't just let you waltz in here. Your identities have to be confirmed. Tests will be performed." No signs of nervousness. They could be the real deal, or very good liars. "Any objections?" Not that they'll matter.

They shook their heads negatively.

"Good." A tall, spindly-looking man walked in at that moment holding a few odd-looking tools and a computer. One particularly pointy-looking gizmo glinted ominously in the bright light of the office. Sasuke and Hinata exchanged a glance while the Hokage smirked.

"Then let the testing commence."

-

Hinata and Sasuke were equally exhausted. They had been poked and prodded for nearly four hours by various people with various pointy objects, various "psychic" abilities, and subjected the occasional polygraph test and neither was very happy about it. Not to mention that Hinata was feeling slightly nervous, after several furtive conversations between the Hokage and the examiners.

"Excellent so far. You've passed all tests with flying colors," said Tsunade. "However, there is one more. This one has never failed me yet."

Inuzuka Hana opened the door, a huge, white dog in tow. It was definitely big enough to ride on. Her face, rather than being (as Hinata remembered when she had met Kiba's immediate family) grinning fiercely as it usually did, was blank, much like Sasuke's own.

Hana gave it some kind of wordless command and it walked towards the two bound shinobi, sniffing ferociously first at Sasuke, who bore it well. Hinata was next, and it took extra time sniffing her out. It especially found her stomach interesting, which made her very self-conscience. When it was done, it did something that surprised her. Putting its front paws on the arm of the chair, it reached up and licked her face.

"Down, Akamaru," said Hana, but she was smiling. Hinata looked at the dog, gaping. That was her little Akamaru? Tsunade was smiling as well, though to a lesser extent.

"Congratulations. You both pass. Welcome home."

Their bonds were released and the ANBU stepped back. However, they did choose to stay in the room.

Sasuke stood up and rubbed the circulation back into his wrists while Hinata immediately bent down and started petting the hulking dog. He barked happily.

"Good boy!" said Hinata, smiling softly. "Kiba's okay, right?" Akamaru barked an affirmative. "Good. Now... get him!"

He leapt upon the Sasuke and licked his face until it shone with dog slobber. The Uchiha lay prone on the floor for a few moments, barely stirring aside from the random twitch.

"I hope you're not dead… I just got back home. I don't want to be locked up for homicide."

"Serve you right, wouldn't it…"

"We have much to discuss," interrupted the Hokage suddenly. "Especially you, Miss Hyuuga. I'm still not quite sure you are who you say you are, especially if what all the chakra specialist told me is true." All the humor fled from Hinata's face as she nodded solemnly.

The Hokage inclined her head at Sasuke.

"You. What happened after your escape from Orochimaru?"

Sasuke smiled bitterly. "It wasn't an escape. I was captured. By Kumogakure shinobi."

"What do they have to do with anything?"

Hinata smiled as well, albeit acrimoniously. "If I may interrupt, they've got to do with everything."

"Explain." Hinata took a deep breath. Reliving her experiences at that place was not something she was looking forward to. Akamaru slipped his head under her hand and whined.

"Well, it was them who convinced me to go to Kumogakure. And they captured Sasuke from Orochimaru. They have a religion there; it's a form of weather worship. They believe that Solis, the sun, is the supreme ruler of the heavens and earth. They also believe that, because it is always cloudy in Kumogakure, that the world is in a time of great moral distress, and that it is their job to fix it."

"So they're zealots."

"Yes, the majority. The Raikage, however, is a different story. He knows what a load of BS it all is. Besides being the most powerful ninja in the village, he pretends to be their divine vessel from Solis. He propagates their beliefs, blowing them out of proportion. Where there was once a healthy –"

"- And sane –"

"– population, there is now an army of extremists, waiting to spread the faith."

"I see. Now tell me what this has to do with you two."

"I can explain that one," Sasuke said. "The people of Kumo believe that defacing the human body with seals is a great moral evil. For years, they've been trying to get a hold of live Branch house Hyuuga members to experiment on, trying to remove the seal 'in the name of Solis'. In my case, they'd been carting away Curse Seal-bearers for years from Orochimaru, with his willing consent, for the same reason. That's the only reason they allied with him. He gave them a steady supply of test subjects. A means to their end, basically."

Tsunade smirked. "I'm betting he didn't like it too much when they took you."

"No, I don't imagine he did, especially when it was within a year of when he was supposed to inhabit my body. I think that's when he sent troops out to every shinobi nation, looking for me."

"I remember that," she said, leaning back in her chair and reminiscing. "They were quite aggressive. He seemed to think that Konoha was responsible for your disappearance."

"He never had any idea I was in Kumogakure. He probably still doesn't know where I was at that time. However, he probably did know where I was before I was brought back here by Kakashi."

"So he probably knows that you're here now."

"Yes. But what he doesn't know is that my seal was removed."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Well, the Cloud is good for one thing – seal removal." The Hokage's questioning gaze moved to Hinata's still-covered forehead, and she nodded.

"To tell you the truth, we'd rather keep all this under wraps," Hinata said. "So if we could just keep this between us, I'd appreciate that. Not to mention that our experiences there weren't exactly pleasant." Akamaru whined again from her side and pressed his cold, wet nose against her neck. She smiled grimly at nothing in particular, eyes closed.

"What –"

"A serial number," Sasuke said quietly. He turned around and lifted his ponytail away from his neck. The Godaime leaned closer, squinting.

The letter-number combination YZ163864429 had been burned onto the back of his neck, as cattle would be branded. The numbers, though fading, were still prominent.

"The YZ refers to my cell block. 1-6-3-8-6 refers to the numbered ID code of the doctors who worked on me. Nobody goes by name. 4-4-2-9 is my number. Every project there has one."

"Yes, me as well," said Hinata at Tsunade's questioning look. She nervously fingered the area around her neck but did not get up.

"How bad was it, exactly? What did they do?"

"…most of the time, nobody was in pain. It was observation. But when…tests were conducted, they were excruciating. Afterwards, they would put you in an Environment Cube, which was basically like an eight by eight foot box that you lived in. It had all the necessary facilities for survival and it was furnished like a regular bedroom or apartment would be… but you were under constant surveillance to see how the test affected you in daily life, if it caused any pain or debilitated you in any way. Depending on how you…functioned, they would modify the next test."

"It was all very sterile," said Sasuke, eyes far away. "Unnaturally clean."

"It was torture," Hinata added, eyes paling with dark nostalgia. "You would sit and wait in your little box, waiting for the next time they'd haul you out again for another round. To keep us sane, they had routine mental health tests and things to amuse us."

"I wasn't in for as long as Hinata was. I was still being defiant and pissed off while she planned the entire escape. Completely idiot-proof. Maybe even Naruto-proof."

"I doubt that," said Hinata wryly. The Hokage smirked.

"But it was pretty thorough."

"I guess that's what happens when you plan something for two and half years."

"But still. That was… amazing."

"Sasuke, I know the mind of a woman is a hard thing for you to comprehend… but that's just what we do. We're amazing. In fact, we even put up with men. Isn't that amazing?"

"You know what? That's what happens every time I try to give you a compliment. You spit in my face."

"I'm sorry if I hurt your fragile ego. It won't happen again unless you commit yet another unutterably stupid act."

"Don't you have anything to add? You know, like 'which shouldn't be too soon' or 'as we know, those aren't too few and far between when it comes to you, Sasuke'?"

"I was going to, but why do I need to when you do it for me?"

"… I hate you."

"Don't lie to yourself. It's a horrible cycle."

Sasuke sat and sulked. Hinata smiled peaceably. Tsunade had already deduced that their wordplay was a diversion from the somewhat untouchable topic of their stay at the Cloud. Naturally, they don't want to talk about it. I certainly don't blame them.

"So, what exactly did this amazing plan encompass?"

"Naturally, I was the tiniest bit upset at my imprisonment," said Hinata, examining her polished nails nonchalantly. "So, my plan was essentially my revenge. There was no killing involved, but it was pretty – well, let's be honest here. It was pretty bitchy.

"Anyway, I made it so that I took all of their important documents, freed everyone in my cell block, and prevented the scientists there from getting help to reel us back in. I also had to make sure that we escaped without notice, which was difficult, but doable. It was maybe a week before they realized that we were gone."

"Sent out search parties like mad," Sasuke said, reminiscing again. "They were mainly targeting us, I think. We were the two most prominent people there." His sarcasm was palpable. "Cell block royalty."

"But they never caught up, at least to us," finished Hinata. "Then we were basically roaming, until Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei picked us up."

"Basically roaming?" asked the Hokage, eyebrow raised. "What about your little visitor?"

Hinata, reverting back to her younger ways, slunk down in her seat, eyes concentrated on the floor. She almost began to fiddle with her fingers before Sasuke slapped his hand smartly on her own. She shot up, annoyance in her eyes.

"You're not twelve anymore. Don't act like it."

Sighing, she sat back up in her seat and firmly linked her fingers together. "It was… only about a few months after we escaped that I met the jinchuuriki of the Five-Tailed Demon Dog, the Gobi no Hoko. Her name was Mansamusa Kioko."

"That famous healer girl?"

"Yes. However famous she was, though, she was a terror of a girl. Spoiled to the core by both her parents, gifted with their genius daughter; swelled in the head because of her skill; and worst of all, uncaring of how her actions affected others. I couldn't stand her, to tell you the truth."

"Sounds easy enough," muttered Tsunade. And for a while, people had been calling this girl the next Tsunade? The Hokage snorted in her head. Please.

"In later years, she realized her parents only kept her around because she brought in the money – people came from far and wide to get treated by Kioko. But secretly, they hated her, because she was the jailer of the Gobi. Because of that, not only was the spoiled, arrogant, and oblivious of the pains of others, she was also bitter. She was twenty-five when she hired me and Sasuke as bodyguards in the temple where she lived and worked. The monks there did her every bidding; they were at her beck and call, convinced of her righteousness, despite the atrocious way she acted. It sickened me, especially after what happened in Kumo. We… argued."

"I think 'attempted to beat each other to death with words' is a more apt phrase for that particular situation."

"Shut up, Sasuke. After that, we were always at each other's throats at any given opportunity. I think it's safe to say we loathed each other at first. But there was mutual respect there." Hinata smiled. "It was almost like a routine, fighting with her. Her attitude improved a lot. But soon Kioko was being targeted by different people for different reasons. The temple was attacked.

"This ambush was completely unexpected. They beat us into the inner rooms of the temple. Sasuke and I had been separated; a huge shuriken had pinned me to the wall. I was severely injured. Kio was hit next. She took me down from the wall, despite the wound in her side. She started healing me. That's when it happened." Hinata hesitated slightly in her narration. "The Gobi… jumped from her into me."

"It did WHAT?"

"I know. I didn't believe it myself at first. I certainly wasn't born with a demon inside me." Hinata took a deep breath. "The enormous output of energy sapped any life-chakra Kioko had left. She died."

"You are… a much worthier person than I… y-you can use that damn demon to help people, l-like your Naruto-kun… never become like me…"

"K-kio…"

"Hush… tell m-my f-father… I s-still… l-l-l…"

Hinata shut her eyes slowly.

"Is that allowed?"

"It was sort of a one in a million thing. You probably won't believe me..." Hinata grinned sheepishly. "One of the ancestors on my mother's side of my family did her a favor. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great - well, a great grandmother of mine did Gobi no Hoko a favor. So I got on her good side I guess."

"Huh, what are the chances… how did that change you? Your fighting abilities, your attitude… Besides the obvious, 'I now had a demon in me' answer."

Hinata continued to smile, obviously a little more comfortable and forthcoming with this topic. "The Five Tails is the demon dog. I immediately had better hearing and smell, though my eyesight stays the same for the most part. Each of the five tails controls an element – fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning. I had immediately mastery over all of any jutsu of those elements. I don't even need hand seals and it only takes me about one fourth as much chakra as a normal person, out of my own personal chakra supply, to use those jutsu. Not to mention that because I work more as a partner with my bijuu than as a vessel, I am able to more easily control both our chakra. She gives me tips."

"She?"

"The bijuu have gender," said Hinata, smirking a bit when she heard a rudely-phrased grumble in the back of her mind. "Most are male, but a couple are female, like the Nibi no Nekomata, the two-tailed demon cat or my own Gobi. They also have names; those things that we call them are more like… titles, like I might call you Hokage-sama, when your name is Tsunade." Tsunade nodded, still stunned at the new information.

"On other jinchuuriki, there is physical evidence of their particular bijuu on them. For instance, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, Gaara no Sabaku, has black-rimmed eyes, resembling the tanuki-like Shukaku."

"Ah, another benefit of my precise chakra control. There is physical evidence of my bijuu – it's just a different manifestation, because I can manage how I use the chakra. For instance, my hair grows very quickly and easily, and is much stronger than a normal person's hair. My nails and teeth are much more durable than someone without a bijuu. However, I can't control it completely. I have a little fang action in my mouth, but it's hard to spot, usually."

"Fascinating," murmured the Hokage. "That's absolutely amazing. I can hardly believe it, but the tests don't lie. It seems so against everything I've been taught about bijuu."

Hinata looked at Tsunade knowingly. "You mean the whole 'bloodthirsty killers' issue? Yes, they can get a little territorial. But the bijuu aren't stupid. There's a reason for everything they do. These are hundreds upon thousands of years old creatures. Eons old. Everything they do is calculated and well-thought out. Even revenge."

"Are you telling me that the Kyuubi had groundsfor attacking this village?" It was still a sensitive subject for many of the population. She should know, having endured many complaints about the "Kyuubi" – Naruto. Hinata looked at her evenly.

"The Kyuubi, being the most powerful tailed beast, is also the oldest and one of the wisest. Obviously, something that upset or otherwise offended him was tied to this village. Whether someone here was responsible or not, we may never know and I'm not saying it's justified, by any stretch; but the fact is, he probably did have a reason." Hinata thought of telling this story to the Hyuuga Clan Council. Smiling sardonically to herself, she agreed that she had also contemplated her imminent demise at one point or another.

"That's quite an argument you have there, Miss Hyuuga. I'd like to see you take it to the Village Elders." Hinata winced as Tsunade smirked.

"I'd rather not if it's all the same to you, O wise Hokage. I don't need the whole torches and pitchforks routine."

-

Sakura was worried about Naruto.

No longer was he the bumbling and good-meaning idiot of youth, but a cold, machine-like man. In some ways, she was reminded of Sasuke; however, his behavior was not in any way attractive as Sasuke's mysteriousness had been in her youth, but rather repulsive coming from her blonde teammate. He seemed so cut off from the world around him. He rarely opened up to anyone, even her or Kakashi. He was always surly and noncommittal, refusing help and company. Rather than happen in a flash, it seemed to creep in over the years, which made it almost impossible to pinpoint the cause.

Unless it's the obvious one, thought Sakura. Sasuke.

When their teammate had left for Orochimaru, Naruto had been the most affected. He had been the one had failed in the final attempt. Hyuuga Hinata, a girl in their year, had also disappeared before the Chuunin exam finals, but Sakura was doubtful she related to her teammate's problem. Naruto had barely paid any attention to the girl, no matter how obvious her huge crush on him was.

"Sakura, you alright?" asked Naruto, voice apathetic. She jumped slightly as his voice broke her thought bubble and forced a weak smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Should we get going? We'll reach home soon if we go a little faster."

"Sure." The rest of the Rookie Nine nodded wearily from behind. Home was not far off.

Unfortunately for them, bad news was waiting at the gates of their hometown. Kakashi and Kurenai met them a few steps from Konoha's north wall.

"Just got some news," said Kakashi, voice blank.

"A fully-fledged Otogakure patrol is lurking a few kilometers from the East Gate," supplied Kurenai. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but…"

"You're short a jounin or two, and could we please go wrap the situation up?" asked Kiba, head hanging with disappointment, exhaustion, and a resigned air. Kurenai simply smiled at him with empathy. "Well…" The Inuzuka moaned.

"Awww maaaaaaan…"

"Troublesome," murmured Shikamaru, looking at their former mentors with slight suspicion. Something seemed off. "Quiet, Kiba. Let's go." The seven nodded to one another before taking off, leaving no trace that they had ever been there. Kurenai suddenly smirked.

"I wish they'd let me finish…"

"Is baiting them like that really necessary?"

"No, but it sure is fun." Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly.

"Can't argue with that."

-

The Oto squad was a group with a serious mission: retrieve Uchiha Sasuke to the Sound Village at any cost necessary. What they didn't know was that they were simply a lure to ensnare the Uchiha and confirm his presence in the village.

They had just done that, with an added bonus: the Hyuuga girl. Patrol Captain Kudo was convinced that these two would be an easy catch. He had seen them in action – fought against them, actually, before he had joined the Sound village, when they were both about fifteen and fresh out of Kumogakure. He grinned confidently.

"Why, Kudo-san! I haven't seen you in a while!" called Hinata jovially as she emerged from the forest with a graceful jump. Sasuke soon followed, looking unconcerned that they were outnumbered more than one to ten. Kudo managed a smile back at her, slightly unnerved. This was their amazing defending force? The two people they were sent to capture? Either they were very stupid, or very… different from when they last fought. He hoped it was the former – no, he knew it was the former. Nobody could stand up to a full squad of Sound shinobi with only two people. He began to hiss orders to his underlings without looking away from the two people across from him.

"We're doing a pincer movement – Tasaki, you take half, and Musou, you take the other half – and we'll surround them. I want two of you to –"

A kunai buried itself in the ground by his feet. In the second he stared at the kunai, Sasuke and Hinata were on the move, among them like a pair of wolves among helpless lambs. In a number of moments, half the patrol had been wiped out, dead by kunai moving faster than the eye could see; a good number had been wounded beyond fighting effectively and three had been trussed up with steel-braided rope. Kudo watched the devastation around him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

"Quite a few things have changed, Kudo-san. We are no longer the children you encountered," said Hinata in the same quietly cheerful voice. With a clean blow to his temple, Kudo crumpled to the ground, senseless. The "Shadow Siblings" exchanged a glance.

"Easy," said Sasuke.

"Too easy," agreed Hinata. Stretching, she began to turn around. "It was just a bait patrol… I think we sh – should… we… I…"

Naruto was staring straight at her.

So, what do you think? I had to get all that history crap out of the way, so now we can get onto the present action and character development. Mistakes? Spelling/grammar/characterization/storyline good-bad-confusing? C'mon people, tell me!

And next chapter: Reuniting the Rookie Nine.

-FPC