I set out earlier in the evening, heading towards the royal city. I hope that I'll be able to get out to the spot before Ibiki and his team, otherwise, this could get very awkward and dangerous. Well, more dangerous than it already is.

During the run, I think of how I signed the summoning contract yesterday. I needed to have it done in advance of this little visit to the interrogation room, but there's potential for it to go badly- what if one of the toads summons me to Mount Myoboku while I'm being questioned? The difficulty in getting to Mount Myoboku would give me time to get away, but they would still know where I'd been, and might persuade one of the toads to summon me back.

For most of the run, though, I'm thinking of how I'll handle the interrogation. I think Raiko would be what Ibiki calls a snake: someone who gets defensive and twists around, avoiding really saying anything at all. I think Raiko would get very, very defensive, and try to distract Ibiki with insults. And how would she react to meeting Obito or Sasuke? ...I think she would be defensive and cautious around them, too. Raiko isn't the trusting type, and she would be just as wary of someone claiming to be an Uchiha as Obito or Sasuke would. That is, if she were actually an Uchiha, like she claimed to be. But she isn't. That's what worries me most about the interrogation, how convincing I'll have to be. I'll of course be found out to be a fake, but the answer can't come too easily, as that would be very dangerous for Ibiki as well as me.

Hopefully, after the interrogation this whole mess with Raiko will disappear. There won't be anymore running from or avoiding the ninja of my own village, and my life will get back to something resembling normal. For a while my mind naturally settles into the sort of trance it goes into while I'm on long runs, and I focus on finding the path while moving in and out of the moonlight. Then, as it happens while I'm on a long-distance run, it seems as if I'm surfacing from a dream, and I'm nearing my destination. The forest is very patchy near here, sporadically shading the rolling hills. I stop for a moment behind a tree, and activate my Byakugan. I narrow its focus and stretch it out as far as I can, slowly turning in a circle as I scan my surroundings; it's clear. I then turn to the Chakra Sensing Technique, again going to the limit of my range, and again the area is clear. Next I use the Flickering Tongue Jutsu, getting a taste of the trees and grass. It's not pleasant, and as it's been a while since the last time I used the jutsu, it takes me a minute to recover.

As far as I can tell, the area's clear. I make a note of how the shadows fall between the trees and connect with each other, and head a little farther into the forest before picking a spot to make "camp". I set up my tent and make a small fire pit, but don't light anything. I work up my chakra, finding my reserves have increased just a bit from all I did in the royal city. Turning towards the city, and form the hand seals I need, and blow out my black mist jutsu, keeping it mostly in the shadows and occasionally forming shadow-like stretches where there are fewer trees. I blow it out as far as I can stretch it, and then sit down next to my tent and wait. The passage of nocturnal animals through the mist keeps me sharp, and anxious moments of silence expand until their edges are out of sight. Ibiki and I agreed that though capture would be the goal, neither of us should hold back if there was a battle. Although I don't particularly want to see it first-hand I'll admit I'm a bit interested to see how a man like Ibiki fights. And as I think of that, I guess at who would be a likely candidate to come along with him. Perhaps an expert tracker, someone who wouldn't need to get too close to find their target- like my old teammate Shino. Or maybe someone who's a genjutsu specialist, and would be able to see through all the tricks Raiko is known for. And, it just makes too much sense for Obito or Sasuke to come along with Ibiki for it not to happen. I don't know which one of them I'd like to face less, to be honest.

While I'm in the middle of formulating plans for facing the Uchiha in battle, I finally sense Ibiki and his team approaching. Their path suggests they're retracing a route, and not in a hurry. I sigh, and take out two kunai. I strike them against each other, and from the sparks that makes the black mist ignites. As quick as I can, I stand and drop the kunai, and use the Black Rain Jutsu, pushing out the dark cloud far out until it's over where I sensed Ibiki. As the mist catches flame I lose sense of them, and then I pick up one of the kunai and fling it up and away into the cloud before triggering the explosive tag. The rain and cloud burst into flame, and now in theory there's nowhere for Ibiki's team to go. I take a moment to use the Chakra Sensing Technique, and find that the team is sitting in one place. I nod and let go of the jutsu, and turn back into the forest, when Ibiki's team suddenly appears.

"You caught us by surprise, but that's all you're going to get," Obito says.

"Your little game ends here, Rainmaker," Ibiki says, taking a step forwards. Right while I'm thinking of the jutsu and forming the hand seals Ibiki and the Uchiha spring forwards; thankfully, the vortex of water I called up with the jutsu deflects their attacks. As the shark takes shape I launch it straight up and dash away, flinging kunai to try to force them back under the shark-shaped vortex of water. I see that it catches Obito's sleeve, but then his arm passes through the water, and before I know what's happening he's disappeared and then comes up behind me and holds me in a chickenwing with a kunai to my throat.

"Got her."

Sasuke walks up, patting out a small fire on his shirt without even looking at it. He's staring at me, and I do my best to stare back, unafraid. "What makes you think you're one of us."

"...This isn't exactly how I'd planned a family reunion. Heh. 'What makes you think you're one of us?' Well, what makes you think I'm not?" I glance over my shoulder at Obito, and take a look at his face. "And aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"None of us has anything to gain by this happening. My work against Taizo is done, and I wouldn't go back near that little shitstain if you made me kage of all the hidden villages. Let me walk, and I can go back to being a myth, and you and your little cousin here can live in Konoha happily ever after."

Obito says in low voice, "I don't know if you've noticed this, but us Uchiha don't exactly get happy endings."

"Tie her up," Ibiki orders, and Obito makes a cut on my neck with his kunai. Just how bad can my luck get? Ibiki doesn't even say anything about doing this and watches blankly as my hands are bound. We set a moderate pace, and I realize why Obito cut my neck. It isn't directly lethal, but if I try to run my heart rate will go up and the possibility of bleeding out arises.

The walk goes on in silence, but I can feel volumes of anger and resentment in Obito and Sasuke just barely being held back, waiting to be unleashed on me. I forgot how much I hate blade cuts, and the one on my neck is a reminder of why. I just hope it doesn't get infected…

The sky is turning gray as the first hints of dawn start to touch the sky when Konoha finally in sight. I'm feeling very faint from a lack of sleep and the loss of blood, and I get even more nervous as the walls approach- there's a very good chance some of the ninja will already be up, and see me as Raiko. My vision blurs and swims for a second, and it takes everything I have to keep my focus. If I let the Transformation Jutsu slip now…

I regain my focus, and find myself in a tunnel. "I'll let one of you have a few minutes with her first while I get ready," Ibiki says. "I need this to be thorough."

"Am I allowed to use a little encouragement?" Obito asks. Ugh. He doesn't leave anything to chance, does he?

"Sure, just don't take it too far. I want her lucid." Obito nods, and my spirits sink even lower. For several more minutes the tunnel continues to twist and turn, then without warning a door swings out and I'm in the interrogation room. Sasuke sends me one last piercing look, then follows Ibiki out.

Obito stands in front of me, his arms folded across his chest. "...Why."

"I could ask you the same thing, you know. Why? And you know, I could give the same answer. The person I used to be doesn't exist anymore. I can't let my past catch up to me for one second, because if I have one single moment of weakness then all my work will have been for nothing!"

"I understand the need to be on the right side of history, but I can tell you right now you are on the wrong side. This 'work', as you call it, will not get you anything worthwhile. It will not get you your own place in the world, it will not get you a safe home to go back to, it will not get you any comrades to rely on, it will not get Konoha or the Land of Fire-"

"A monster is lecturing me on being a monster? How quaint. We've both fought the darkness for too long not to become a part of it, and we've both fought monsters for too long to think the world will ever be free of them. It does not matter who I am or become as long as I can make a difference, and I will not have you talk down to me because of that, or let you think you will be able to stop what I've already put in motion!"

"This isn't about stopping what you've put in place, it's about getting the truth out of you... I can almost agree with you, but you should know that if you keep this up, you won't have a place in the world you're trying to create."

"What an amateur mistake. You of all people should know not to give someone with nothing to lose a chance to die for their cause." Amazingly, it looks like that one got under Obito's skin a little.

"One way or the other, no Uchiha will have a part of what you've started." Obito seems to inflate into a ghoulish mirage, and I mentally curse my luck again. The world twists into an inverted color version of itself, and I find myself bound on a T shaped block. The cut on my neck buzzes with pain, and the sensation spreads like insects are crawling through my veins. "I only have two questions-"

"My measurements and age are staying a secret," I hiss through my teeth. The crawling pain fizzes and pops, and my bindings tighten.

"How did Itachi never find you?"

"The same way he couldn't find you. I was away when it happened, on an undercover mission. When I got the news, I decided to join the rest of my clan."

"...Why did you never come back?"

"Because sometimes it's better for people to stay-" My vision blacks out, and the pain forces a cry out of me. "Because… I thought I would be of more use to the Land of Fire dead, than alive…" The dim light of the interrogation room returns, and Obito is walking away. I almost lose my balance for a second, and a couple moments later Ibiki comes in with a medic nin. They quickly perform the Healing Jutsu on the cut on my neck, and the pain fades from a cold throb to a slight ache.

Ibiki hold a small ball-shaped pill out in front of me. "This is a plasma pill; it'll help replenish your blood supply. I highly recommend you take it."

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. As much as I might want to do it, I don't think Raiko would take a pill from a notorious torturer like Ibiki. "I'm a woman, I'm used to losing blood. Keep the pill." Ibiki sighs and returns the plasma pill to one of his coat pockets.

"You just mentioned you were away when the massacre happened. Where, exactly, were you?"

"In Kumo, posing as an insider giving information in order for them to carry out the kidnapping of Hinata Hyuga." I see the corner of Ibiki's mouth very slightly twitch, but he remains serious as he continues.

"We had no deep cover missions involved in-"

"Just like everything with my clan's massacre was completely above ground, right?"

"...We have the story from nearly every angle from everyone involved. Where were you, really?"

"Oh, you have the story from every angle, huh? Tell me, where are those people now? How many of them are around to back you up on that claim?"

"...Enough to prove you didn't have the role you say you did."

"And just what would those people say if they could see this, a ninja of Konoha being interrogated like some common traitor? If you knew enough to find me, then you should know enough to be aware of the fact that no, I do not mean to drive our village and the Land of Fire into the dirt. You may question me, but the fact that you are makes me wonder if I really should be trying to change the course our village is on."

"Just because someone is headed in the same direction as you does not mean that they are your ally. Quit dodging the question- where were you the night that the Uchiha clan was massacred?"

"...I wasn't in our quarter. I was in the Hyuga estate, gathering information for my cover."

"I find that unlikely. If you were in Konoha on the same night as the massacre, Itachi would have gotten to you. Why weren't you with the Uchiha?"

"I wasn't deemed 'important' enough to be in on the whole affair. I was younger, and just starting to make my way as a ninja. I saw no problems whatsoever being out and preparing for what would have been my most important mission."

"Why haven't you claimed to be an Uchiha before now?"

"Why would I? There wouldn't be any benefit to it, being known as a member of this ill-fated and possibly treasonous clan that just never seemed to know its place. I wasn't highly esteemed within the Uchiha to begin with, so what would revealing my bloodline accomplish? I'll tell you what: nothing. It would not get me anything worthwhile, it would not help me carve out a place for myself in the world, it would not make my home safe to go back to, it certainly wouldn't get me any comrades to rely on, and most of all, especially after the most recent ninja war, would not get Konoha or the Land of Fire back on the right path. I made a mistake. I thought that pulling the bogeyman out of the closet to scare an absurdly naive girl would have no consequences. But I guess this is just what us Uchiha get; we've never had many happy endings."

"Sit her down," Ibiki orders. The medic nin who has been standing by at the edge of the room comes over, and roughly places me on the metal folding chair. As he turns to walk away I stick my foot out and trip him up.

"Why don't you have him stand behind me? Mouth breathers are worse than anything you could stick me with."

"I was just nervous! I never like being in the room for interrogations!"

Ibiki nods in agreement. "And besides, I do happen to think I'll be needing him. Tohru, watch with Obito and Sasuke. I'll signal you in when I'm ready." Ibiki keeps his eyes on me as Tohru makes his exit. Though my neck hurts when I turn it, I do my best to look over and wink at the one-way glass. "Raiko, have you heard of the Daiyagan?" Uh-oh. Ibiki looks back at the one-way glass, and it seems he's giving some kind of non-verbal communication to someone on the other side. "You see, the Daiyagan-"

"I know what it does, it's just a piss-poor imitation of the Sharingan. Seeing emotions is useless because emotions are useless for a ninja."

"And yet, they're incredibly useful in interrogations, where I am free to reduce you to your most animalistic state. You see, Tohru was no ordinary medic-"

"Nice try, but I've seen the Daiyagan and Tohru didn't have it. It's like the Byakugan, and overrides the natural iris color."

"...As I was saying, Tohru was no ordinary medic. He watched while Obito questioned you, and was able to spot lies all over your responses. I had him use the Transformation Jutsu before he came in with me-"

"Transformation Jutsu? Was he doing that to compensate for something?" I get really light-headed and dizzy for a second, and almost fall out of the chair. Ibiki stares into my eyes for a second, then turns to the one-way glass.

"I'm taking her down to solitary, she needs time before the next session." The door in the wall swings open, and Ibiki hauls me up. Once we're out of the interrogation room, he leans down to whisper, "First corridor on the right, then first left all the way to the ladder at the back."

"What…?"

"You did good. I'm going to take a clone down to the cells."

"Sh- shouldn't I…"

"No, you need to get home and sleep." I open my mouth to answer, and Ibiki pops the plasma pill into my mouth. "In the afternoon 'you' will fall into a coma, and then pass away during the night. Sleep good, Hinata." With that, Ibiki walks on ahead down the tunnel, leaving me behind. I take a moment to steady myself against the wall, then keep my hand against it as I go on. The first right comes soon, and I tumble down onto the floor. I stay there for a second, shaky from the blood loss and Tsukuyomi. After a few moments that felt like hours I get up, feeling along the wall for the first left. A couple minutes later it comes up, and it goes on and on straight back...

When I step out, it's daylight, and I'm in the middle of Konoha. I almost get lost on the way back home, still very woozy from everything that just happened. At the gates I suddenly remember the cut on my neck, and pull my hair over to the side to cover it up. My jacket is stained, and I take it off and carry it turned inside out. I see my family and my clan members on my way to my room, but smile and walk past them quietly, as if nothing has happened and this is just like any other morning. Once I'm in my room I collapse down on my bed, and everything comes out in a stinging rush of tears. Before I can think to put my jacket away, I fall asleep.