She sat with Naruto in the waiting room of the hospital. Sasuke had dumped the body here and took off immediately, probably towards the police station. Kakashi had been the next to go, mumbling a half-hearted excuse about visiting the memorial stone. Oki hadn't wanted to leave, but someone needed to inform Konohamaru, Ino and Sai what had happened, and Naruto clearly wasn't going anywhere.

That left Hisa and Naruto sitting in the waiting room of Konoha Hospital. Hinata had sent word that she was delayed by Hyuga clan affairs but would be there as soon as she could. Obito was on a mission, but would be back in a day or two. For now, it was just the two of them.

Naruto couldn't stay still. Every few minutes, he jumped up and went into the operation theatre to check on Sakura. Every time this happened, he walked back out with a little less hope in his eyes. After the tenth time, Hisa asked what was happening.

"It doesn't look good." Naruto said quietly. "Parts of her brain have already shut down. They say she won't make it."

"I'm sorry." Hisa said softly, unsure of what else to say.

Naruto shook his head, determination in his eyes.

"Don't be." he said firmly "I won't believe that it's too late until the medics tell me that she's completely dead. Sakura will make it, I won't let there be another option!"

His words were strong, but Hisa could see the desperation in his eyes. Naruto would never back down, but this wasn't his fight. There was nothing he could do to save her. She didn't want to say it, and she knew he wouldn't, but deep down, they both knew the truth. Sakura wasn't walking out of that room.

But saying that wouldn't help him. Naruto needed to come to this conclusion himself. So she sat quietly on the chair and thought about just how messed up everything had become.

Back when she had gone to the Academy there had been lessons on how much Naruto had changed the world. She had believed them obviously, because the changes were all around her. When reading about the times when the villages backstabbed each other and their own soldiers, when there was no trust to be found, it was hard for Hisa to imagine a world like that when her own world seemed so much safer. But now she was starting to doubt if any of it had been true in the first place. If Naruto had changed history, then why was Nawaki out there somewhere, full of grief and anger and confusion? Why were they preparing for another attack on Konoha from Uchiha? Why was history still repeating itself?

Hisa doubted she would ever find the answers. These questions were too big, and she was just a shinobi. She would play her part in the upcoming fight, whatever it may be. That was all any of them could do.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when the door burst open. Sai stormed into the room, a coldly furious look on his face. It was the truest emotion Hisa had ever seen him display. He stormed right over to Naruto and slammed him against the wall.

"What happened?" he snarled, "Why wasn't I told anything? I come home and Oki is waiting for me. She tells me that you, Emo and Kakashi tried to capture Sakura and ended up stabbing a chidori through her heart? Is this true?"

Naruto remained calm, staring Sai down.

"You really have to stop calling Sasuke that; he's going to snap one of these days."

Sai increased the pressure and Hisa winced. Naruto wasn't showing it, but it had to hurt. She looked back to see Ino and Oki enter. Oki was watching Sai and Naruto nervously, while Ino looked completely shell-shocked. Her eyes locked desperately onto Hisa.

"Is it true?" she whispered "Is Sakura…" she nodded her head towards the operation theatre.

Hisa nodded, wishing she knew what to say. Ino's eyes snapped wide for a split second before she squeezed them tightly shut. She turned abruptly and stormed out of the room. Oki quickly ran after her, leaving Hisa to watch Sai and Naruto.

"Why?" Sai asked "Why didn't I know about this? I'm a member of Team 7 too! Why didn't I get to go? Why didn't I get the chance to help her?"

"It wasn't about the team." Naruto replied, "It was about Sasuke, the rest of us were there because we were powerful enough to contain the damage if things got out of hand. Hisa and Oki were there because of Nawaki. Think Sai. With Sasuke, Kakashi and me all out trying to capture Sakura, who else could I afford to take with me? I left Konohamaru in charge, but if word got out that we were all gone I needed you in the village to defend against attacks. You're one of the highest-ranking ANBU captains. You were too valuable to take with me."

Sai's expression didn't change, but he released his grip on Naruto. Naruto slid down the wall, looking completely unruffled, as if the incident had never happened.

"If you want you can go in and talk to her." he said, gesturing towards the door. "They're operating on her, but they said that anyone whose voice is familiar to her will help keep her brain from shutting down completely."

"Why would I want to go in if she's coming out soon anyways?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Sai closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"I see." he said "So she's dying. I didn't know that it was like that."

"She's not dying!" Naruto yelled.

Sai continued as if he hadn't said a word.

"I suppose, in that case, I will go in. I'd like to say a few last words to her. I believe that's the custom, correct?"

"There's no need!" Naruto cried "She'll be out of that room in no time! You can talk to her then."

"That's precisely why I want to talk to her now." Sai stated, "After all, there's no point talking to a corpse, they can't hear you anyway."

He walked into the theatre before Naruto could reply.

!

The first instruction Obito gave was not to use the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"It's only for emergencies, or if there's no other way to win the fight." he explained. "Every time you use it your eyesight will grow worse. The only way to stop the blindness is by getting the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, like your father has."

"Don't call him that." Nawaki said firmly. "He's not my father. He's never been my father."

Obito raised an eyebrow. Nawaki knew that it was immature of him, but he couldn't help it. His mind was still a mess, and he still had no idea what he was doing. He just wanted to ease the pain and grief he was feeling and Obito seemed certain that killing Sasuke would help.

"Very well then." Obito said, "Would you prefer if I call him 'that man' or perhaps He Who Must Not Be Named?"

"No." Nawaki sighed. "Just call him Sasuke. I don't want… I don't want to have any connection with him."

"Except for the bond of hate." Obito added.

"Except for that." Nawaki amended "I don't want that connection either, but it's there whether I want it or not."

"Exactly." said Obito. "Now, to get back to what I was saying, don't use the Mangekyo. I'll try to keep you out of fights until you get the opportunity to fight Sasuke. Only in that fight must you go all out. If you win, no, when you win, you can take his eyes. It won't be as strong as eyes from a sibling, but it should stop most of the blindness."

"Take his eyes?" Nawaki gasped "I can't do that! I can't kill him and take his eyes!"

"Why not?" Obito asked, sounding irritated.

"Because it's wrong!" Nawaki yelled. "I'll kill him to avenge Sakura, but I won't stoop to his level. I won't take his eyes unless he gives me permission, which he won't, because I'll be trying to kill him."

"So you are content to go blind?" Obito snapped. "That man is the reason you now have the Mangekyo. Surely it is right for you to take back what he stole?"

"Killing him is enough." Nawaki said shortly. "I'm not taking his eyes, end of story."

Obito sighed, and gave Nawaki another annoyed look.

"You're stubborn." he admitted. "But not stupidly so. Well then, let's move on. I'll train you nonstop for three weeks. At the end of the third week, we move towards Konoha."

"Then what?" Nawaki asked.

"We defeat anyone who gets in our way. I'll create a distraction in Konoha, which should hopefully keep Naruto and most of the village occupied. You head towards the police station and find Sasuke. Using the training I will give you, you will defeat him and avenge your mother."

"Then what?" Nawaki asked again, unsure this time.

"We escape and hide until it all dies down. I will keep training you, and after a few years when the incident has been forgotten, you will go back to Konoha."

"And they'll let me back just like that?" Nawaki asked sceptically.

"Of course not." Obito agreed. "You will probably be put on trial and sentenced to either prison or probation. If you explain yourself Naruto should convince the council not to give you the death penalty."

"Really?" Nawaki asked incredulously. "Naruto's forgiving and understanding, but you're saying he'll be sympathetic towards me after I kill his best friend."

Obito shrugged.

"Pein killed three of his sensei and all he did was talk. I'm still not sure how he convinced Pein to commit suicide, but hey, he did it without needing violence. Obviously he needed to take down the other Peins, but he didn't touch the real one. All he needed to do was show Pein this old book. If it worked for Pein it will probably work for you."

Nawaki shook his head slightly. This conversation was starting to get confusing. Secretly, he had his own plan. He didn't trust Obito. The man clearly didn't care how hurt Nawaki got, as long as he completed his own agenda. As soon as he killed Sasuke, he was taking off on his own before Obito could find him. Obito seemed determined that he would go back to Konoha, but Nawaki didn't like that idea. He had experience as a wandering fugitive, so he was fairly certain that he could survive moving from town to town. Why would he go back to Konoha? Once Sasuke was dead, what was there for him?

Images of faces flashed in his mind. Naruto, Ino, Sai, Hinata, Konohamaru, Hisa.

Oki.

He shook his head harder this time. He couldn't think about any of that just yet. His feelings towards all of them were confused. He didn't hate them, but they conflicted with his anger towards Sakura's death. Right now, thinking of any of them only brought him pain.

"Forget that for now, there's only one thing I want to be clear on." Nawaki said.

"Oh?" Obito said curiously "What's that?"

"This 'distraction' that you're going to cause," Nawaki began, "Will people die in it? This is between me and Sasuke, so as far as I'm concerned the people of Konoha are all innocent bystanders. I don't want them to get hurt."

"I don't know the future Nawaki." Obito replied. "Perhaps people will get hurt accidentally, it will be a fight after all, but I will try my best not to hurt or kill unless it's necessary."

Nawaki looked into Obito's visible eye, and knew that his own definition of 'necessary' was very different to Obito's. Obito did have a point however. It was a fight, so people were going to get hurt. Nawaki knew that it wasn't going to go as easily as planned, and doubts plagued his mind every time he allowed it to wander. Was this the right thing to do? He didn't know anymore. He was far too deep over his head, but he couldn't see any way to turn back.

"Fine." he sighed, "Let's continue the training."

Obito was staring curiously at him. Nawaki stared back, puzzled.

"What?" he asked.

"Why do you want to spare the people of Konoha? After all, they were involved in the death of your mother. Don't you feel any hatred towards them?"

Nawaki grew angry. Was Obito trying to make him hate the world? What was the point of that?

"Maybe I would hate them if you explained to me why exactly she was killed!" he yelled.

"I can't do that." Obito replied coolly.

"Then I can't feel hatred towards them." Nawaki said simply. "For all I know, Sakura could have been planning an invasion and they needed to take her down. Since you insist that I must not know, I can't decide whether I should hate them or not. For now, the only one I need to kill is Sasuke."

"She wasn't planning an invasion." Obito said. "She wasn't planning to attack or hurt Konoha at all. They came after her, not the other way around."

Enough was enough. Nawaki was sick of Obito holding this secret over his head.

"Stop with the cryptic bullshit." he said "Either tell me the full story or don't tell me anything at all, but don't keep bringing it up and dropping little hints. I'm not interested in playing mind games."

Even with his back turned, Nawaki could feel Obito's sinister smile.

"Shall we continue the training?" Obito asked.

Nawaki nodded once, and they walked out of the cave.

!

"It's almost over."

That was what the medics had said. Two days of waiting with Naruto in the hospital, and this was the result.

Naruto's face had crumpled when he had heard that. Luckily, Hinata had arrived the day before, and had been with him ever since. She let Naruto bury his head in her shoulder and rubbed his back soothingly as he cried, her face filled with sorrow

Hisa hadn't been sure how to react. Even though he was her dad, and he was often goofy around his family, he was Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage. She had never seen him in a fight where he didn't overpower his opponent after ten seconds. He was a legend, the invincible, unbreakable Hokage. Yet here he was, looking completely broken.

Hinata noticed her staring, and gave her a gentle smile.

"He'll be alright." she said softly "It's just that Sakura is very special to him. She's more than a person to him; she stood for everything he fought for when he was a child. Even as he grew older, she was one of the people in the centre of his world. It's a hard blow, but we'll all help him cope."

Hisa nodded, unsure of what else to say. It was still uncomfortable seeing him like this. Hinata seemed to understand.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" she suggested. "Obito should be back from his mission soon, and it would help if someone was home to explain to him where we are."

It sounded appealing to Hisa, but she didn't feel like she could abandon her dad when he was this distraught. Once again, Hinata seemed to read her thoughts and understand.

"You've been a great help to him, staying here for two full days. But you don't need to do it on your own. I'll look after him until it's over. You take this time to relax, and deal with your own problems. We all need a break at some point, and I can see just by looking at you that you need yours now."

Hisa shot her a grateful smile. She placed her hand on her dad's shoulder and gripped it firmly for a few seconds. Then she walked out the door and headed for home.

She walked along the bustling streets, wrapped up in her own thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she spied Kawa, but she didn't feel like talking to him today. Hinata was right, she was exhausted.

Suddenly, she noticed that someone was blocking her path. She looked up to find one of the shopkeepers staring down at her curiously. He was staring down at her closed right eye, to be precise.

"Excuse me." she muttered, stepping to the side.

He shifted slightly so that he was still blocking her path. She sighed mentally; it always annoyed her when this happened.

"What's the deal with your eye?" he asked curiously. "Did you lose it in a fight, or are you hiding something in it? People are saying that you have the Sharingan, you know."

She gritted her teeth. Who even was this guy? According to people like him, being the Hokage's daughter meant that you should be willing to talk to every random stranger you meet. It wasn't like he actually cared about her, he was just wanted some gossip.

"Get out of the way." she snapped. "It's none of your business."

He let her go this time, but she heard him mumble "Stuck-up little bitch." as she walked past. She ignored him and kept walking. This wasn't the first, or even the tenth time that this had happened. She had developed a thick skin to comments like that years ago.

As she walked, she heard a crash from behind. She turned around to see the shopkeeper being shoved against the wall. To her surprise, it was her brother who was pushing him, Kawa snarling at his side.

"What did you just call my sister?" Obito snarled.

The shopkeeper looked like he was about to wet himself. Hisa quickly ran back and pushed Obito's hand off the man. Obito let her, but kept the man pinned with his glare.

"What did she ever do to you?" he yelled. "What gives you the right to call her anything like that? She's not here to answer your questions!"

"Obito! Let it go." Hisa interrupted. She was surprised by her brother's attitude. He was normally friendly and peaceful, but he looked livid now. Kawa had yet to say anything, but was sending the man an ugly glare.

"Didn't you here what he called you? He shouldn't say that to you! I was watching what happened; you didn't do anything to deserve being called that! Why didn't you stick up for yourself?"

Hisa struggled to keep her voice calm and level when she replied.

"Well I used to push them through walls when they said stuff like that, but that didn't really make them like me a lot. Just let him go, this is pointless."

Obito scowled, but did what she said. Giving the man one last dirty look, he turned around and followed Hisa and Kawa down the street.

"How long has this been going on for?" Kawa asked.

Hisa shrugged.

"The random strangers asking me questions? It's been happening since I was a kid. It got more frequent after I got the Rinnegan, but then it died down. Then when I got the Sharingan, it started becoming the popular thing to do again, but by this time I had learnt not to let it get to me."

She turned and smiled at Obito.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, but you didn't have to do that. I'm used to this kind of stuff. Besides, I probably did push him through a wall years ago. You on the other hand, have a great reputation with the villagers. Don't ruin it because of me."

Obito grinned down at her and began to whistle.

"I'm your big brother, it's a part of my job description to get mad at people for saying things like that. Besides, when have I ever cared about my reputation?"

Hisa felt warmth grow in the pit of her stomach. It felt nice walking beside the two of them, listening and laughing with them. She found that the villagers' stares were easier to ignore this way.

As Kawa launched into a description of their latest mission, Hisa zoned out for a bit. She couldn't stop thinking of Nawaki. Being here and enjoying herself felt wrong when she knew Nawaki was out there in pain. Sometimes if she focused hard enough, she could catch a flicker of emotion sweeping through her. She could be mistaken, but it felt like she was experiencing one of Nawaki's emotions. It had only happened once or twice, so she couldn't be sure, but both of those times she had felt irrationally angry and hurt. The first time was when she was buying ice-cream from the vendor at the hospital, so it definitely didn't feel natural then.

Obito's laugh jolted her out of her thoughts. As she joined in with the conversation, she realised that there was no point worrying about Nawaki now. Hinata had been right; she should rest while she could. Sooner or later Nawaki would confront them, but for today it was peaceful.

She was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.