"I hope that you aren't going to let what happened between Naruto and Sakura to question your judgement when it comes to decision making," said Sasuke as we walked to Tenten's apartment.

"No, it will not. I am not even thinking about it anymore," I said.

Sasuke made a noise that told me he did not believe me.

I glanced at him warily. "R-Regardless, I cannot afford to ponder on it. My family's safety is more important than fixating on the deception my friend and the man I used to love performed together."

Sasuke stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I stopped walking and looked up at him in question.

"Do… Do you…" His face turned pink as he fought with himself to speak.

"Yes?"

Timidly, he averted his gaze once my eyes locked with his. Then, like the flip of a switch, the pink tint taking over his features disappeared as he told himself "This is stupid." Now void of all bashful emotion, he asked me "Do you still have feelings for Naruto?"

The question surprised me, which I let him see. "No. I do not have feelings for Naruto." I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Are you asking me that because you think that is the reason why the news hurt me?"

"I knew it hurt you because Sakura, your friend, took advantage of Naruto's love for her while knowing how you felt about him. But the possibility of you still loving that idiot also came to mind."

Smiling, I gripped his poncho to support me as I stood on my toes so I could reach him. Gently, I kissed him on the lips. When I pulled away, I said "I love you, Sasuke. No one else can compare to or replace the spot you hold in my heart."

Sasuke smirked. "You kissed me first this time. Keep up this behavior and everyone will stop calling you the Leaf Village's sweetheart."

"That name will be denounced from me once they see who I am dating."

He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against him. "I guess my reputation proceeds me. Are you sure you want to be involved with someone like me?"

I smiled. "Since you are not as bad as people make you out to be, I will take my chances."

He leaned to kiss me, making my breath catch in my throat. I anticipated the feeling of his lips smashing against mine, but the kiss never came because we were interrupted.

Leaning in the doorway of the weapon shop, Shikamaru said "Once you guys decide that you're done swapping spit, we'll be upstairs waiting to form a plan of action."

Embarrassed, I wiggled out of Sasuke's hold. "S-Sorry. We are coming."

"Since Ko is so reluctant to speak, I think you should talk to him alone first to loosen him up to the idea of sharing information with us," said Shikamaru.

I nodded.

While Shikamaru went upstairs to Tenten's apartment to fetch Ko, Sasuke waited with me on the first floor. Moments later, Ko rushed down the stairs to meet me, hugging me in a way that felt friendlier than most. As my bodyguard embraced me, I could feel Sasuke's eyes on us, which prompted me to cut his hug short before he decided to do something that would mortally injure him. After all, we were surrounded by weapons.

"I'll be upstairs," said Sasuke. It was directed towards me, but he glared at my bodyguard as he spoke.

Ko did not seem to notice. Once he was gone, he said enthusiastically "Lady Hinata, I am relieved to know that you are safe. I have spent countless days and nights searching for you in the Land of Iron. Are you well?"

"Yes, I am fine, though I will be much better once you tell me the condition of the Hyuga estate after you escaped. Are my father and sister alright?"

"Lord Hiashi and Lady Hanabi are fine, but I doubt they will be for long. Toneri Otsutsuki is becoming less patient of your return with each passing day."

I wandered farther into the shop. "Has he harmed anyone?"

"To my knowledge, no, he has not. He did not harm anyone before I left with several other clansmen, but that was about two weeks ago. Toneri is a smart man. He must know that some of us found a way out of the estate, so it is uncertain what he has done after we left."

I felt the color drain from my skin. "So, there is a chance that my father and sister have been harmed?"

Ko placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "You must have faith that they are fine. Lord Hiashi is unbeatable and Lady Hanabi is very capable for her age. There is-"

Removing Ko's hand from my shoulder, I said "Faith is not what I need. Had you not chosen to search for me instead of remaining by their side, I would worry less for their well-being. Yes, you are my bodyguard, however, the safety of the leader to the Hyuga clan and the potential heiress's lives come before mine, considering that I might have been dead. As opposed to looking for me, you should have remained at home where you could protect them since the enemy is in there and not out here."

He frowned. "You are correct – I should have remained at the estate. Their well-being is always within my interests, but you were at the forefront of my concerns. When I learned that you were missing, you were all that I could think about."

Disbelief took over me as his words reached my ears. "I was your concern? Do you hear yourself Ko? Are you telling me that I am more important than my father, the Hyuga clan leader? That is unfathomable!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "You have made a grave mistake."

His face was sullen as he looked at me. He then sat on the floor, rested his hands in front of him, and he leaned over to bow at my feet. "My deepest apologizes, Lady Hinata."

"You know our teachings just as well as I do, so you have no excuse as to why you left your leader to locate me. You and I have history dating back to my birth, so I can understand why you felt the need to abandon your priorities, but you know fully well that you absolutely cannot allow personal feelings to get in the way of your duty. If something happens to my father or sister, your punishment, along with everyone else who left, will be severe. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand Lady Hinata."

"Good. You may rise."

He did, and when his pupiless eyes met mine, they were filled with an intensity that I have never seen him harbor.

"You can punish me in any way you see fit, Lady Hinata, and I will understand. You can relinquish my duty as your personal bodyguard, I will understand. You can send me to the side branch and brand me with the curse mark. I will understand." He stepped closer to me, his gaze never leaving mine. "But I wish for you to know that I will do it again without hesitation no matter what you choose to do with me. If I ever lost you, I would lose all meaning in life."

I regarded him carefully. "What are you trying to say, Ko?"

"You will not enjoy hearing this, but I must say it." My heart pounded under the intensity. "I cannot put Lord Hiashi's life or Lady Hanabi's life before yours."

Afraid to press further, I pushed myself to ask "Why?"

His large hand found my cheek, cupping it tenderly. The intensity never left his gaze, but a familiar emotion joined it, giving me shivers up my spine. "Because I am in with love you."

My heart stopped and when it started up again, it ached. It ached even more so when Ko leaned in for a kiss. I turned away, removing his hand from my face.

Without facing him, I said "We cannot do this."

"Toneri is an unfit suitor. Once he is gone, perhaps you can consider my feelings."

"No. I cannot do that either." I looked back at him, back at his love filled white eyes, and a surge of pain ran through me. "What I am going to tell you will displease you in unimaginable ways."

"There is nothing you could do to ever displease me, Lady Hinata."

"Unfortunately, this will." I took a breath. "I fell in love."

His face twisted into one of confusion with a pang of hurt. "How? When did this occur?"

"On my journey back to the Land of Fire." I watched his features come to realization. "I did not expect it to happen, but it did."

Angry, he said "No. It cannot be with him. You will lose everything if you choose to be with him."

"I know. I am fully aware of that, but he is the man I wish to be with, and I am the woman that he wishes to be with. There is no denying it."

"If you decide to be with an Uchiha, you cannot lead the Hyuga clan. The child, should you have one, will not just have the Byakugan – it will also have the Sharingan. It will be an abomination of Uchiha and Hyuga blood."

I chose to ignore that he called my nonexistence child an abomination. "I know."

Ko gave me an expression that told me he did not understand. "Why?"

"I love him."

Ko took a few paces away from me, hurt taking over every emotion that he was feeling. For a moment, he appeared as though he was going to cry, but after he cleared his throat, all indications of tears disappeared as he returned to one of business. "I assume that you want me to share with your friends the conditions of the Hyuga estate's inner walls?"

"Ko…"

He walked towards the staircase. "We do not want to keep them waiting any longer, Lady Hinata."

I wanted to speak more with him, but he would not give me the opportunity. I followed him into Tenten's apartment, noticing that when he passed by Sasuke that he gave him a frigid glare. Once I took my place beside Sasuke, who had ignored the glare, I immediately pressed for questions.

I said "Ko, I was told that you and other members of our clan can touch the barrier surrounding our home without having chakra depleted from you. Is this true?"

The ghost of heartbreak lingering in his expression whenever he looked at me pained me, though I did not allow him to see that. I kept my face emotionless.

He said "Yes, we attempted to destroy the barrier from the outside since attacks from the inside were impervious; however, even with our strength combined, it had little to no effect. That was when we left the Leaf Village to find you."

Sitting on the floor beside Akamaru, Kiba crossed his arms. "There were few casualties for Leaf ninja who tried to break the barrier. Their state after their chakra was sapped was almost like Shino's state when he touched the energy vessel back in the Three-Head's Prison."

"No. The results were uncanny," corrected Shino. "What happened to them was the exact same, except for the fact that I'm alive and they are now dead."

"If that is true, then the energy supplying the barrier is the same as the energy vessels we have encountered thus far," I said. I then asked everyone "When you were searching for me, did you come across large floating golden spheres?"

Sai placed a hand on his hip. "Naruto, Sakura, and I found plenty of them. Since we couldn't touch them, we had no choice other than to leave them alone."

Kiba said "Shino and I found some too. Luckily, some of your clansmen showed up and they were able to break a few."

Upon learning that, hope washed over me. "They can break the vessels as well?"

Kiba shrugged. "It must be in your blood. But even though they can break them, it takes at least three of them at once to destroy one when you can do it single-handedly."

"That is simply because Lady Hinata is stronger than them," said Ko. Even though he acknowledged me, he refused to meet my gaze.

Leaning against the wall by the kitchen with his fingers cupping his chin thought, Shikamaru said "I don't know if that's the case. Maybe Toneri wants Hinata as his wife for that reason. Hinata must be special."

Drawing my attention from Ko's back, I looked at Shikamaru. "I figured that Toneri wished to marry me because he wants control over the Hyuga clan. To think of any other reason seems unlikely."

"It isn't like you're Hiashi's only daughter. If Toneri wanted control over the clan as badly as you might think, he would wait for Hanabi to come of age. You've been causing him a lot of trouble by destroying those energy vessels, so taking you out of the picture would have been the easiest thing to do."

When I think back to the moment where Toneri's puppet saved me from the ronin, Shikamaru's theory convinced me that it might not be as farfetched as one might assume. Alone and injured, the puppet had every opportunity to kill me, but it did not. I did not wish to rest on the fact that I might be special, however, that possibility ruled out more than others since I have indeed been causing him trouble.

"You may be right, but I cannot think of anything special about me," I mentioned.

After shifting his position, Sasuke said "Throughout the time we spent together, I haven't noticed anything that made Hinata stand out from the rest of her clan."

Choji said "You might be overthinking things, Shikamaru."

Fingers still cupping his chin, Shikamaru said "I don't think I am."

"Oh, come on people!" Ino exclaimed, annoyed. "It's obvious that Toneri is doing this because he loves Hinata."

Crinkling my eyebrows in confusion, I said "No. That does not make any sense, Ino."

"Really? It makes sense to me," she said. "Obsession with marriage, refusal to kill you, and he hasn't harmed Lord Hiashi or Hanabi. In my eyes, he's doing this because he loves you and he wants you to love him too."

An overwhelming sense of repulsion took over me. To even think of someone harming others in the name of love made me sick. Simply because I did not believe that Toneri was cable of having emotions, I dismissed her speculation.

Shikamaru shot Ino a doubtful expression before saying "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of trying to figure out what makes Hinata so special with the Hyugas' lives on the line. Toneri is the only person with that answer."

"It's a shame that we can't just go in to ask," said Sai.

An idea within me sparked to life. "You cannot, but I can." I looked around the room. "If he truly has been waiting for me this entire time, surely he will let me in with the intent of marriage."

Ko finally looked back at me, the shadow of hurt still prominent. "That is too dangerous, Lady Hinata. We do not know what Toneri is planning."

Sasuke said "It isn't like she's going to go in there without a plan."

"That is not what I assumed," said Ko, agitation thickly coating his words. My bodyguard turned to me, mouth in the form of a frown. "Do you intend to marry him to save our clan?"

I shook my head. "I intend to kill him."

Silence filled the room as all attention directed towards me after I announced my revelation. All who are acquainted with me know that when it comes to make a finalized decision, I choose the route that ends with little to no bloodshed. I do not like taking lives, even when it is necessary, but Toneri leaves me no choice. He must die.

"That's so unlike you," said Ino as she leaned forward on the couch with interest.

Instinctively, my eyebrows furrowed. "Unfortunately, there is no other option. If I spare his life, there is still a chance that he can still cause harm to my family and others. He has concocted a serum that can erase my clan. If I simply decide to give him to Ibiki Morino, my legacy is still threatened. Once I kill him, the serum will die with him as well, and I will no longer have to worry about the future of my clan."

The silence resumed as they shared uncertain glances with one another. They did not agree with my plan.

Sasuke said "Hinata is right. As long as he's alive, not only will the Hyuga clan will be at risk for extinction, the world will be too. Those energy vessels power weapons that are a threat to humanity, and the vessels themselves can make even the strongest shinobi mortally sick."

"You do not have to follow us," I said. "Sasuke and I are going to do this whether you want to help us or not. I need to save my family."

They continued to displayed expressions filled with uncertainty when Ko told me "I will follow you anywhere, Lady Hinata."

I smiled though my heart still ached. "Thank you."

Ino shot up from the couch and clung onto an unsuspecting Sai's arm. His dark eyes widened in surprise when she grabbed him but he did not attempt to shake her off. Instead, he looked down at her nervously, a faint shade of red covering his pale cheeks.

"Sai and I will help too," said Ino with enthusiasm.

"W-We will?" asked Sai uneasily.

"Yes, we will."

It was obvious that Sai wanted to refuse, but Ino's kind face had a frightening underlying meaning as she stared up at him. Her intentions if he turned her down were unknown, and I assume that scared him enough to convince him to comply with Ino's offer.

"I'll help as well," said Shino.

After giving Akamaru a friendly pat on the side, Kiba said "Me too. I'd feel like a jerk if I didn't."

Upon thinking it over a bit longer, Choji, Shikamaru, and Lee also decided to join in. And just when we were about to form a plan of action, Tenten rushed in from the kitchen with the weapon I gave to her in her hands. Her face was a mixture of triumph and concern as she stared at me.

"I figured it out," she said. "I call this tool a propulsion gun. It absorbs energy from those vessel things you were talking about. The more energy that is stored in the vessels, the stronger the force of the weapon is."

Sasuke and I exchanged glances. Sasuke said "So, it's taking energy from people to fuel the weapons?"

"Yes, I guess? Though, I actually didn't know that part," said Tenten as she scratched her head. "I traced the source of power to an energy vessel behind the Hokage mansion where I could study both of them at the same time. It turns out that the vessel is not only storage for energy, it's also a magnet."

Confused, I said "A magnet? A magnet for what?"

Tenten shrugged. "I don't know. I couldn't figure that out."

"I knew this extended beyond the Hyuga clan," said Sasuke. "We've come across plenty of vessels in several countries. If they are all magnets, what does Toneri plan to do with them? What is he trying to pull in to Earth?"

"That's an answer only Toneri has," said Shikamaru.

"Which is another reason to infiltrate the Hyuga estate," I mentioned.

Together, we sat in Tenten's living room to form a solid plan. With Ko's help, we learned that Toneri installed something in the basement of the estate that could be projecting the barrier. If I can manage to destroy that, it might break the barrier which will make it possible to grant everyone entry. We spent about an hour initiating a plan before I left the apartment to go home. Sasuke walked with me, but he did not accompany me the entire way. Instead, about four meters from the estate, he stopped me.

"Be careful," he said.

"I will." Anxiety festered within me as I stared up at him. "Sasuke, in order to convince Toneri that I am willing to marry him, I may have to do things that neither of us will like. I might have to allow him to kiss me. I might have to kiss him in return."

"I know. It's okay."

Eyes wide, I met his gaze. "Are you certain?"

"Partially," he said, shrugging. "When I imagine him kissing you, I get the urge to run my sword through his body, but I know you're doing this for your clan. If I were in your position, I would do the same."

"I will be thinking of you the entire time."

He smiled. "I would kiss you right now, but Toneri's puppets might be in the area… You should go."

I gave him one last look before I walked away. On the way there, my heart raced rapidly in anticipation.