They were disgusting. Every single one of them.

She hated it when someone demeaned themselves, when someone tried to make themselves appear like an object more worthy of pity. As if shrinking their form and falling to the ground would serve a purpose other than making them an easier target for her boots. Did they think that she had a soft spot for short people? Did they think she wouldn't dare harm someone incapable of defending themselves?

What then was hunting, if not the annihilation of one weaker than you? A step on the ladder to further yourself at the expense of something less worthy of life? That's precisely what it was. The creatures running from arrows and Kunai never faced their attacker; they never squirmed on the ground and begged for mercy. They knew that there were two options: freedom or death. The bumbling creatures showing their proverbial bellies at this very moment were searching for a third option that didn't exist as far as Yasu was concerned.

She brought her leg down hard upon his knuckles, a loud fracture reverberating around the entire room. There was no direct response to the pain itself, only a light whimper that continued before and after the strike had made an impact. She spat upon the figure.

"Yasu, that is enough." A firm hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her to the side. The force momentarily made her lose her balance, a rare and short glimmer into a person who was not in control. She didn't often show this side of herself. Despite this, only happiness covered her face.

"Sasuke! You're back!"

Her enthusiasm was not met in turn, quite the opposite. He was looking at her like one would look at a bug, the same way she had been viewing the man from only a few moments ago, the man still lying crumpled on the ground behind them.

"You. Leave."

With Sasuke's words, the man had met his fate and earned one of the two options. He had earned freedom over death. And so, clutching his horridly misshapen hand, the man scampered towards the exit hall.

"You. Explain."

"Explain?"

Sasuke was shaking the hand he had previously used to pull Yasu away, lightening the burning sensation that still lingered. Gaze unchanged, he ponders around the room to view the remnants of Yasu's actions. Stains and cracks, prominent and unscathed. "What have you been doing here?"

"Orochimaru brought him back, said he wasn't worth anything and that I was free to do what I wanted."

"And this is what you wanted to do?"

"I mean…"

That much should have gone without saying. Yasu was puzzled, confused at the line of questioning. What was Sasuke getting at?

"If there's one thing to take from this place, it's empathy. You are no better than these people." His logic seemed flawed to a gross extent, and Yasu could only scoff.

"But you're better than these people."

"Since when does that extend to you?"

"Since always." Yasu would turn her head and stick out her tongue defiantly. It had always been this way since she first saw Sasuke in the desert and thought to follow him to Orochimaru's lair. He would keep her cautiously at arm's length, but Yasu knew the truth. If he had been entirely uncaring, he would have left her to die. So she learned to only half listen to what Sasuke told her, only half believe what he would try to convey.

Sasuke paused momentarily but had yet to lighten the power behind his eyes. His sharp Sharingan illuminated the space around them, but Yasu was not phased.

"You are not an extension of me, child," Sasuke spat, "you're no different from any of the other play things."

Yasu would grimace at the hostility behind those words. And without having enough time to collect her thoughts and form a reply, Sasuke had turned his back and left the same way he had come.

But again, Yasu learned to only half listen to whatever Sasuke told her. She would stash this encounter as part of the half she would disregard.

Three days had passed since her last encounter with Tsunade, and Yasu was just beginning to feel the rhythm of her new everyday life. She had grown comfortable with the area surrounding Tenten's house and would often spend time in the woods, only a few minute's walk outside of town.

Her closet was nearly full to bursting with the new luxuries afforded to her, none of which she had to pay for, mind you. Tenten seemed less than stingy with the expense sheet she was allotted, electing to sneak some gifts for herself into the report along with Yasu's supplies. It wasn't like Tsunade would even look at the expense report, much less find a problem with the money spent. Yasu had already gotten a feel for Tsunade, outside of her limited interaction with her, based on Tenten's complaints about the job and the woman's sometimes lacking work ethic.

Along with general everyday necessities such as clothes and food, Yasu was also outfitted with a rather extensive array of ninja tools. Kunai, scrolls, smoke bombs, the whole nine yards. She was also gifted a dark purple jumpsuit that would quickly become Yasu's most worn article of clothing.

Despite not having any genuine interest in becoming a ninja for Konoha, Yasu reasoned to herself that this didn't mean she should be entirely ignorant in combat. Instead of spending all her time lazing around and doing nothing, Yasu elected to familiarize herself with some basics.

Yasu would borrow the target practice area outside the schoolyard whenever the children weren't using it, which often meant she practiced late into the night. She would throw Kunai at the targets until she could consistently hit the vital points marked with thinning red paint. She would work her muscles to exhaustion and often find herself back asleep in her room only as the sun began to rise. Thankfully, Tenten didn't have a problem with this outside of a few snarky, joke comments about how Yasu spent too much time at the local pubs.

Yasu would also begin attempting to teach herself the basics of chakra control, but this was something that one couldn't quickly learn without the guidance of another. The thought crossed her mind to ask Tenten for a tutoring session. No, she thought better of the idea when considering that Tenten's work schedule and Yasu's practice schedule gave few opportunities for collaboration. Unless Tenten was okay with being awake for 24 hours straight, that is. Even on the off chance that Tenten was willing to go without sleep, it wasn't something Yasu necessarily wanted to ask of her. Tenten had already done enough.

On one of these nights spent in the practice yard, Yasu would feel the presence of someone watching her practice. Yasu decided not to pay it any mind, instead using the presence as motivation to hit five perfect shots in a row. She didn't want to look incompetent around a stranger, after all.

"You've been practicing, huh?"

A familiar voice approached from behind, and Yasu didn't even have to look at him to know exactly who it was. With a light smirk, "How can you tell?"

"When you first got here I wasn't sure if you were capable of washing yourself," Shikamaru mused, only half serious, coming to a stop a few feet behind Yasu. When he stopped moving, Yasu turned to face him, "Now… well, you could fool me into thinking you're an actual ninja."

Yasu smiled proudly at the compliment. It had been a long time since she had been motivated to work towards something and even longer since she improved enough at something to warrant a pleasant gesture from someone she respected. She could get used to it. "Thanks, I figured this was better than just doing nothing all day."

"I hope you aren't pushing yourself too hard," Shikamaru was suddenly overcome with a severe expression as he let himself fall to a sitting position. Yasu followed suit unconsciously. "I think you've earned the right to do nothing for a while."

Yasu suddenly caught herself struggling to maintain eye contact with the shinobi before her. Something about his demeanor reminded Yasu of the rare instances when her father would scold her as a child. This nostalgia targeted only her positive chemical receptors. Instead of the disappointment that came with letting down a parental figure, Yasu only felt the warmth of someone looking out for her.

While Yasu's eyes wandered to avoid Shikamaru's piercing gaze, she finally noticed how Shikamaru was dressed. His hair was pulled into a tighter ponytail than usual, and no loose hair fell from his hair tie. His clothes were much more casual than anything Yasu had seen him wear before. A pair of sleek, black trousers and a collared shirt with floral designs tucked into them. Yasu could almost be fooled into saying he looked… handsome. For some reason, this thought made her face warm slightly.

"What's with the getup?" Yasu questioned after swallowing hard, refusing to allow her voice to waver in any way whatsoever. She didn't want to give Shikamaru the wrong idea.

"Oh, I was out with some friends. That is, I should have been out with some friends. Something came up and they all bailed."

"Why don't you sound disappointed then?"

"Oh, I am." Shikamaru assured, "The evening still could have gone worse though. I ran into Tenten at Shushu-ya and we had some drinks. Well… she had some drinks."

Shushu-ya, the bar, quickly came to Yasu's recollection. Yasu tried to pull her focus away from her negative experiences during her last visit and instead think about how quaint it seemed. The owner was kind, the food and water were good…. Now that Yasu thought about it, she never told anyone she had ever gone to Shushu-ya. It probably wouldn't have been a big deal to say she had gone, but she figured it wasn't important enough to say anything.

"'She had some drinks', what's that supposed to mean?" Yasu smirked to herself in pleasant and soft excitement to hear the story.

"Tenten was already pretty drunk by the time I got there. Something about me showing up made her want to drink another 6 shots in very, very quick succession." Shikamaru smiled as he recalled Tenten's flushed cheeks and slurred speech. Yasu herself had an idea about why Shikamaru's presence had made Tenten want to drink so much more quickly. Shikamaru continued, "If Tenten remembers half the things she said to me in the morning I think she will jump off the roof. Your job is to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Duly noted." Yasu laughed, "What was she saying?"

Shikamaru forced a subdued cough, "Well… I'm not sure if I should repeat."

Yasu focused her eyes into a playful glare and inched toward Shikamaru's face. Now, it was Shikamaru's turn to avoid eye contact. Yasu barked, "anything about me?"

Shikamaru laughed at Yasu's selfish question. It never crossed his mind that Yasu would be one for 'he-said-she-said' type gossip, but he figured it made sense given that every other woman he knew was the same way. "Just a few things."

"Things like…" Yasu pressured Shikamaru forward.

"Well," Shikamaru started, facetiously placing his chin upon his pointer finger as if collecting from a million different thoughts. Finally, "she says you're like a child."

Yasu gasped with earnest offense, "she said I'm like a CHILD?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, think about it." Shikamaru waved his hands to put out the proverbial fire coming from Yasu's tensed forehead. "You don't really know a lot about how things work in Konoha, so she's having to teach you things like you're a baby. I don't think she actually meant that you act like a baby."

"I'd hope so." Yasu deadpanned. "I know how to change myself, and I can assure you that diapers were not on the expense report that she turned into Tsunade."

"Speaking of changing though," Shikamaru smiled deviously, "Tenten did go on for quite a while about how she was jealous of your body."

Yasu blushed hard, and her cheeks immediately became flushed. She convinced herself that a comment like this wouldn't have bothered her under normal circumstances. Still, something about Shikamaru talking about her body made her lose her breath. What was Shikamaru even getting at?

After quickly catching herself and praying that Shikamaru didn't notice the brief pause, "She did have a lot to say about that when we went to the bathhouse together…"

Shikamaru softly waved his hand, "We don't gotta get into it. I just thought it'd be funny to see you all flustered like this."

So Shikamaru did notice. Yasu groaned loudly as her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. There were a few moments when Yasu's mind went blank. In those moments, Yasu had the brilliant idea of punching Shikamaru's shoulder as hard as possible.

"Fuck!" The reaction was instantaneous, as was Yasu's realization of what she had just done. The playful nature of their conversation and Yasu's embarrassment faded in but a moment, replaced with a deep regret. Shikamaru grasped at the spot where Yasu's fist had met his shoulder and croaked a soft whimper.

"It's. Fine." Shikamaru forced a smile as he deliberately choked out each of those words and separated them from each other. Yasu's entire atmosphere softened, and her hands hovered just above where Shikamaru was hurt. She was lost in how to offer support to her friend when she knew that touching him at all would only make things worse.

"A-are you sure? Should I get help?" Yasu was uncharacteristically sensitive about her mistake and sounded like she was about to burst into tears. Shikamaru couldn't help being curious. It wasn't as if this were the first time Yasu had accidentally brushed up against someone and caused them to feel her signature burning. What was so different this time around?

After a few moments, Shikamaru finally released the grasp on his shoulder as the burning sensation faded to nothing but a dull thump that he could easily ignore. He turned his head curiously as he addressed Yasu. "That was… different from how you normally react. What's up?"

Yasu was still fighting to hold back the tears threatening to fall down her eyelids. Don't get her wrong, this wasn't like it was the end of the world or anything. Yasu knew that even in the worst cases, she would have only released a few tiny tear drops; she wasn't melodramatic. But still, a couple was more than she would have wanted to admit.

Was she capable of telling Shikamaru that she was happy with how the conversation was going? Was she able to give thanks to the fact that she could almost physically see them growing closer? Was she willing to tell Shikamaru that something about the evening and his outfit made things feel more intimate than their usual banter? Was she capable of acknowledging her disappointment that the burning had killed all the momentum she had going for her? The answer to all those questions was no, she wasn't.

"I just- I don't know." Yasu sniffed hard to force herself back to normalcy. A quiet cough strengthened her voice. "Sometimes it just sucks knowing how hard it is to have a normal conversation with someone."

Shikamaru slowly nodded. He didn't want to say that he didn't believe her, but there was definitely more that Yasu was purposefully leaving out. "I bet I know something that'll cheer you up." Yasu's interest was piqued. Shikamaru pointed at the target Yasu had previously been throwing Kunai at. "Hit that bullseye 10 times in a row then let me walk you home cause it's late and Tenten might need a hand with how drunk she is. I'm sure it'll be a sight to behold."

Yasu nodded softly yet happily.

Hinata feigned sleep for as long as she possibly could. Longer than what she thought would create safety, longer than what she thought would be entirely necessary. The extra length gave her heaps of insurance in knowing that there was no way anyone in the compound was still awake. It was only then that Hinata finally stood from her futon.

During her long walk towards the primary household, Hinata's thoughts wandered to her conversation with Neji earlier that evening. Was she about to do the right thing? What exactly was she giving up by making the decision she was about to make? That was the least she could come to terms with.

The Bufula had godlike healing properties and had the potential to heal almost every person within the leaf village. By making the decision she was about to make, she took the opportunity from everyone else who might have needed the Bufula. By making the decision she was about to make, she was indirectly condemning hundreds to their death. This fact weighed heavy on Hinata's soul.

What alternative was there? What action could be taken instead of the one she was about to take? This was a similarly minimum level of understanding she had to have.

She could take the Bufula to Tsunade just as Neji had pleaded for her to do. Tsunade could use her skills in medicine to attempt to bring the Bufula back from extinction. But this would take months, years even, and that was if it even worked at all. There was a real possibility that Tsunade would fail in her experiments and steal all the usefulness from the Bufula with absolutely nothing to show for it. And even if, by some miracle, Tsunade was successful, would Hinata's father survive long enough to reap the benefits?

Hinata told Neji she believed in her father and thought he would improve. It didn't take a genius to interpret this as a lie. There was a reason that she was one of the last to care for him, especially in the previous month that Neji had spent on his mission. Nobody else stepped foot in that room. Nobody else wanted to see the dignity leave the leader of the Hyuga. Nobody else wanted to watch his form slowly fade away to nothingness. Hinata knew the same as everyone else in the Hyuga clan that she was watching her father deteriorate right before her eyes, day after day after day after day. No, she couldn't wait.

And that left one last question for Hinata to ponder, one last question that hung heavy on her shoulders. Was it worth saving her father if it meant the death of so many others? Was it worth giving others the opportunity for healing if it meant her father would die?

If she chose her father, he would survive. He would stay, and so many others would be without hope. If she picked the others, her father would surely die. Her father would surely die, and there was no guarantee that Tsunade would be successful in saving anyone at all.

At the end of the day, Hinata had to choose between selfishness and selflessness. Selflessness was easier to justify to others, but selfishness was easier to explain to herself. And at the end of the day, she was the only one listening.

Hinata entered the primary household quietly and snaked along the wooden flooring. Careful steps between the boards she knew were secure and the boards she knew would make a creaking sound if they were stepped upon. After this detailed motion, she gave herself a seat next to her father.

The candle she held in her left hand was placed on the floor close enough to her father's face to illuminate his eyebrows and cast a long shadow across the room. It felt almost creepy in design, a gentle whisper in the shadows that urged Hinata forward.

The Bufula was in the left breast pocket of her jinbei, deeper into the folds than Hinata remembered placing it. This was the reason Hinata fumbled her fingers and failed to grasp the feather upon first grazing against it; that was the only explanation. The second try was similarly unsuccessful. The third try brought the feather into the candlelight, spreading a second, long shadow across the room and halfway up the wall.

Hinata gulped loudly. Was she really capable of this? How disappointed would Neji be? What if Tsunade discovered the true value of the Bufula and heard of what Hinata had done with it? This couldn't be considered anything less than treason. Was Hinata overthinking? Hinata could think of only one solution to overthinking: not thinking.

With this blank head, Hinata pushed the feather against her father's forehead and covered it with both hands. She focused her chakra up her torso, along her shoulders, down her arms, and to the tips of her fingers. The warmth was a comfort.

The Bufula reacted to the chakra in as soft a display as Hinata could have imagined. One moment, the feather was beneath Hinata's hands; the next, it was not. Hinata lifted her palms from her father's forehead and placed interlocked fingers atop her lap. Had it worked?

There was no grand reaction, no straightforward telling of whether or not the feather had served its purpose. Hinata sat still for a moment longer. There was no visible change in her father's appearance or breathing pattern. Hinata sat still for a moment longer. And when Hinata felt her legs begin to numb under the weight of her body, Hinata sat still for even a moment longer.

Hinata finally stood. She was shell-shocked. There was no point in continuing to sit still. Hinata knew that the fatigue of aimlessly waiting for a change in her father's rest would only create pain and anxiety for herself. She reached for the candle with her left fist and exited the primary household.

An echo of Neji's voice,

"He will pull through, Hinata. You have to trust him. We can't be selfish. It isn't what he would want."

"But it's what I want."

"He will pull through. Trust him."

"I do."

This time, she wasn't lying.

Forgot about this guy, didn't ya?

Sorry for the delay; past few months have been way too crazy x.x

But yo, hey! What a doozy this chapter was, huh? Yasu used to be a crazy psycho woman? Shikamaru and Yasu sparks be flying? Hinata acting up? That's absolutely CRAZY!

I fall in love with this premise all over again every time I write a new chapter. I really enjoy writing this and have some big ideas of where the story is going. I'm really excited to hear what you guys think of some parts coming up here in the next few chapters, so stay in the loop if you aint!

It's been a minute so I'd love to hear from ya if you're still around and reading :p it really does make my day when I see someone give this story some love, so thank you so so so much if you decide to review or favorite the story or whatever 3 you guys are the best

Until next chapter ~~~ (which should come out within the next couple weeks) ~~~~~~~