Disclaimer: I do not, in fact, own Naruto. Maybe that's the point?

Chapter 3

As soon as the racket started, okaa-san was there. Her eyes widened when she saw us. And then there were four of her. One picked me up, another Itachi-nii, and brought us inside. They stood guard over us for a couple of seconds, then suddenly relaxed. And then I was whisked to the bathroom.

Okaa-san bathed me in silence. We hadn't done this in months. I'd long since insisted on bathing by myself, tired of having others do it at the hospital. But right now, having her touch me, mother me, made me feel like, somehow, it was going to be okay. Even if I'd screwed up.

Some time after, she fished me out of the tub and up into her arms. I looked down at the water, and it was rose colored. She dressed me, took me into her room, and sat with me on the bed.

She humming a song, running her fingers though my hair, her other hand wrapped tightly around me, patting my back. It was so relaxing... And then I started crying. I hadn't even realized I was holding it until now.

It felt like hours before my wailing and sniveling subsided. She never stopped singing until I did. And then she let me slide a bit farther away, and looked into my eyes.

"Do you feel a bit better?" I nodded, though I was still sobbing. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I told her how I'd been having trouble with my chakra control. How it had been agitated back then. How Haku had died. There wasn't that much to cover, but I kept having to stop to bawl into her some more. She listened impassively, still petting my head. Once I was finished, she just nodded and pressed me back against her.

Uchiha Mikoto was worried. Her clone at Military Police Headquarters had dispelled itself and informed her there was already civilian outcry to get Hinote expelled from the compound, if not from the village. She looked down at her daughter, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

Even if she weren't forced out of home, what would happen to her? She would be ostracized as a danger, the girl who made things explode. No parent would let their kid near her. Would she even be allowed in the academy? Into the village? Will she be allowed to live, asked the darker part of her.

Mikoto knew how the clan worked. She and Fugaku had some clout, yes, but this was shaping to be bigger than they could contain. The fact that the demon child–for that was what they were calling her girl–was hers and Fugaku's didn't help their position. Already there were calls for Fugaku to be removed from his position.

She felt her clone dispel itself in the children's bedroom, where Itachi had fallen asleep. It seemed he wasn't afraid of his sister, which she thanked her luck for. Hinote was already certain to distance herself once she fully realized what had happened, and she didn't need to have her own brother shun her.

I woke up feeling both better and worse. Better, because I wasn't panicking anymore. Worse, because I realized just how close I had come to killing Itachi-nii. To killing okaa-san. What if I had lost control again while she comforted me? The fact that she certainly knew that, but had still done it... It meant the world.

I wished I was Helen. Because I wasn't, not really, just as I wasn't just Hinote. Helen was an adult. She was strong. She would have known what to do. I was just Helen enough at this point to realize I had been wrong to believe okaa-san could somehow make it all better. As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, she wasn't invincible. No one was.

Okaa-san extended her arms for me, but I shook my head and slid to the floor. I couldn't have her touch me. Couldn't put her in danger again, just because I felt a little lost. She sat in front of me, and offered a little smile.

Otou-san came in and sat beside her. He looked very serious. I knew why. In concealing the fact that my chakra had been wild lately, deciding on my own it wasn't important, I had endangered Itachi-nii and everyone else in the clan. What would be done about it, I didn't know. He spoke, and his voice was hoarse, his tone tired.

"Hinote. What happened today... I want you to know that it is not your fault and that we don't blame you. Never forget that. Still, it upset a lot of people in the clan, and in the village." He paused there. His shoulders sagged. He took out a crumpled scroll from his robes, and drew in a sharp breath.

"Uchiha Hinote. As of this day, the council of elders has declared you to be cast off from the clan. As such, you are expelled from the grounds under pain of imprisonment. As evidence has been presented that you cannot activate your Sharingan, no removal of the eyes shall be required. You have until next sunrise to vacate the clan grounds."

I looked at both of them in shock. I had thought I expected it. I had thought I was prepared. But still, it seemed, some part of me had hoped, had wished, that they could protect me. It wasn't they who failed me, I couldn't help but think. It was I who failed them. Look at me, getting expelled from home again. How long will the next one last? A month?

"I understand." I managed to squeeze out the words.

"I have talked to Kushina-chan. She insisted she and Minato-kun take you in, at least until we can... resolve this issue. She'll be arriving soon." Okaa-san didn't sound confident.

"I'll pack my things". I got up, and walked to my room. Itachi-nii was there, still sleeping. I moved my eyes away from him. If I kept looking at him, I'd start crying again. I started taking my clothes off from the wardrobe I shared with him. I had a few tees, shorts, and skirts. I hadn't liked dresses ever since I died–they reminded me too much of hospital gowns.

Once I had all my tops and bottoms in neat piles on my bed, I started getting my underwear and socks. Looking at all my clothes together, I sighed. Even my underwear had uchiwa themed prints on it. I then looked around, but felt dumb when I realized I didn't have a suitcase.

"Let me help you with those." I hadn't noticed okaa-san had followed me. She had a scroll in her hands, which she extended on the bed. When I finished placing my clothes on it, she pressed both hands to it and they disappeared into a puff of smoke.

We went around gathering a few toy kunai, and I got Tora-kun, my stuffed cat. His pointy white beard and kindly eyes reminded me of Professor Haard. While I hadn't consciously noticed that until recently, I had gotten so attached to the toy I had once almost suffocated myself with it.

I grabbed the sealing scroll and tied it together with my note-scrolls, then carried them to the front of the house. I sat there by the door, and in a few moments otou-san and okaa-san were there with me.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Otou-san gave me a hug. I tried to escape, but he wouldn't let me. He squeezed me tightly, and I thought I could feel something wet on my left shoulder. But it couldn't be. Otou-san never cried.

"Remember, Hinote: you're our daughter and we love you. No matter what."

Then it was okaa-san, and this time I was sure she was crying. And now I was crying too, bawling into her shoulder and getting her dress wet. Otou-san opened the door and welcomed in an embarrassed Minato-kun.

"Kushina thought it would be better if we avoided the streets. It's a bit hectic out there."

Okaa-san was about to hand me to him when he was tackled by a black blur, which turned out to be furious Itachi-nii.

"Where are you taking Hino-nee? You can't! You can't! You can't…" He quickly went from pounding ineffectually at Minato-kun to wailing on the floor. Okaa-san handed me to Minato-kun in order to pick up onii-chan. I took notice of how he avoided touching my exposed skin when he grabbed me.

And then, in a flash, we were gone.

A/N: This one was hard. The characters wanted to run away with the story, and otherwise think of spoilery things. In trying to keep them in line, I ended up writing a first version which shall never see the light of day. I'd like to thank my friend for being honest with me on that. Once again, you know who you are.

Reviews are welcome. Please tell me what's good, what's bad, and what's horrible. I promise I don't bite, and I don't turn into a crying wreck either.