Hey, hey!

Kind of a long chapter here. Mainly because a lot will go on in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

'Reading a letter'

'Intense talking'

Right now. The Hokage's funeral was happening. Thousands in Konoha were gathered outside in the rain as they mourned over their leader. The third Hokage died protecting the village from the monster named Orochimaru, who ended up getting away. Tensions were high, but morale wasn't low. A fifth Hokage was named. The first female in history for the village.

Senji Tsunade.

Said person couldn't attend the funeral for long because there was a hidden matter that she had to attend to. The disappearance of Hinata and Neji Hyuga.

Kakashi sat in a chair in Tsunade's newly appointed office. He was bouncing one leg up and down, as his elbows were propped on his knees and his knuckles supported his chin. His own way of distracting himself from the mere presence of Hiashi.

The Hyuga clan leader was pacing back and forward in front of Kakashi. Purposely to show that Hiashi was putting full blame on him. "My daughter is gone Hatake. Wasn't she supposed to be in your care?"

Kakashi rolled his neck in obvious aggravation and looked up at Hiashi. "She is a ninja. She had ninja duties. Let me remind you 'Lord Hyuga' that this happened during the invasion of the hidden leaf village."

Hiashi stopped pacing and stood in front of Kakashi's face. Looking him straight in the eyes. He could care less if there was an invasion. He wouldn't care if there were several invasions. HE never let his daughter be successfully taken.

"You gave me your word. That she would be fine with you. That she would be able to defend herself better with your training her. When you've done nothing for her except be a divider between her and her family. This would not have happened in my care. I knew not to trust you, but I went along with all of this nonsense so Hinata would get it through her thick skull to stop trusting you as well."

Kakashi's eyes widened at hearing Hiashi. He was a divider? HE was the reason Hinata was a nervous mental wreck? HE was the reason she stuttered and was pushed to an alcohol addiction? No Hiashi. He was the reason she was a fighter now.

Tsunade saw the switch in Kakashi go off as he stood up to face Hiashi. She stood up between the two men before a fight started and Kakashi dug his career in the grave. "That's enough you two! Besides, Hiashi. I was the one to direct Hinata and Neji to check out the security breech at the west side of the village. If you want to blame anyone, blame me."

Hiashi looked at Tsunade before turning to look out the Hokage's window. Oh don't worry, he blamed her as well.

Jiraiya folded his arms as he stood next to Naruto and Sasuke, who looked just as miserable and on edge as Kakashi. "It's been over 48 hours. Do you have a fully written report of the sightings and what happened yet Tsunade?"

She nodded her head and sat at her new desk with a sigh. "Yeah. It's looking like a targeted kidnapping and the perpetrator's aren't going to make you happy at all. Everyone sit down. Including you Hyuga." She sent Hiashi an expression that said she wasn't asking.

When everyone sat down Tsunade pulled out a folder and began to read the report inside it. "Mind you. There is no connection between these kidnappers and Orochimaru. They weren't working together. It was a freak of nature all of this happened at once."

Tsunade looked at the papers in her hand and clicked her tongue against her teeth. "At 11:50 in the morning, Orochimaru started his assault with Sound and Sand-nin against Konoha. At exactly 12 in the afternoon, there were alerts from the west wing of our gates being infiltrated. No one was killed, but they were knocked out. Some traumatized heavily by genjutsu. I know for a fact at 12:10 in the afternoon that was when I sent Neji and Hinata to aid in the breech. It had to have taken them about five minutes or so to get there if they were traveling by roof top."

She turned the page on the report and braced herself for a series of questions. "The kidnappers are part of a terrorist organization that has been causing harm and deaths to other villages. They're called the Akatsuki. That's what our intel tells us. One of the kidnappers was a tall, blue, shark-like looking man with a gigantic sword. A notorious and dangerous missing-nin named Kisame. The other was a shorter man. Black long hair. He possessed the Sharingan and was identified as Uchiha Itachi."

"What?" Sasuke was silent all the way up to this point. This couldn't be happening. "He took Hinata?" Sasuke blinked repeatedly and shook his head in disbelief as he was trying to get a grip on himself. He hissed in pain from his curse mark and Naruto held his lower back for support because Sasuke looked like he was going to either pass out or was going to go off the deep end right now.

Tsunade rubbed her face as she picked out the best words to say to Sasuke. She could only imagine how he was feeling at this very moment. She felt this way many times when she lost a loved one. She…she really did try to warn them.

"Our intel says yes. From what the report says, one of the Akatsuki men were headed towards the east side of Konoha. Where Naruto's apartment is. Which makes sense because I heard the main goal of the Akatsuki is to collect all the tailed beasts and use them to dominate the world. So…yeah they're after you Naruto."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto before he looked back at Tsunade. "Was that Itachi?" Tsunade nodded her head. "Yeah. He was after Naruto, but the big guy was making his way to the Hyuga compound. So, it seems the goal all along was Naruto and Hinata. Maybe because Hyuga's could probably give Itachi a run for his money it was better for them to send that giant shark beast to the Hyuga clan. Itachi's notorious and deadly, but I don't think he would be able to take on all of the Hyuga clan including their clan leader. People respect your clan for a reason Hiashi."

Tsunade turned to the next page and continued to read the report. "Apparently Hinata picked up on one of the Akatsuki men going to the Hyuga compound. She could have picked up on both of them, but Konoha-nin saw Hinata advise Neji to alter their destination to the Hyuga compound."

Hiashi frowned at this. He shook his head in frustration and squared his jaw. "After Hinata's fight. I sent Hanabi back home with one of our guards. So she was at the compound at the time of that man coming."

Tsunade slowly nodded her head. "So. It's clear that Hinata and Neji went to defend the Hyuga compound and to get Hanabi. They must have stopped him before he even made it close to the compound, and that's when he got them. Naruto wasn't in his apartment, so at least that's the good part of all of this."

Tsunade cursed under her breath because that was very irresponsible for her to say in such a delicate situation. "I didn't mean it like-"

"Does your intel suggest that my daughter and nephew might be dead?" Hiashi gave Tsunade an icy look before looking off out the window. "If you say no. Then I will issue out an internal manhunt for them. I've learned a long time ago not to rely on…others for my family's safety."

Tsunade frowned at him as she looked at Hiashi, "Hey. It's not like the cloud village situation. There are no signs that point to Akatsuki killing Hinata or Neji. I have the slightest clue why they kidnapped them."

Jiraiya cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "If I may. It's widely known about the Byakugan. It's capabilities and what not. No secrets about the Byakugan are leaked, but we all know about the 'all seeing eyes'. Their useful, we get it. Let's use our heads though. There is a reason they took two Hyuga's. One can be used as a hostage to get the other to comply. Typically is how it goes in these scenario's. So, the real question is. What do you think the Akatsuki can do with those two? Or is this a personal matter that Itachi and Kisame are dealing with?"

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya confused. "Hinata is a brand new Chunin and while Neji is gifted and an upcoming Jonin. He still has much to learn. What damage could those two do?"

Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. I just know they're not dead. That would be pointless, but I'm sure we'll see them again and soon."

Naruto sat on Sasuke's balcony outside in thought.

There was a terrorist organization out here after him because he was the jailer of the nine tails. There was a snake monster out there trying to take Sasuke and had the power to resurrect his father. He almost saw his dead father as an enemy. That terrorist organization out to get him, kidnapped someone he holds dear to his heart. On top of that, the person that kidnapped Hinata was Itachi fucking Uchiha.

Naruto heard the door to the balcony open and close and Sasuke came to sit with him. "So, what now? We just sit? Wait for Hinata and Neji to pop back up?" Sasuke was quiet for a moment as he stared off to the sun setting. "What do you suppose we do Naruto? Run off and find her when we don't even know where to look."

Naruto looked down at his lap and shook his head silently. Sasuke continued to look out into the open view and gave a hollow smile, "I was hoping you would say yes, because that's what I want to do."

Naruto smiled for a second at what Sasuke said before he looked back up at the setting sun. "Why is all of this happening to us? Team seven. Hinata is going through hell. I'm slowly being consumed by a fucking demon fox and you're being tortured by your brother without him even seeing you. Plus…some grown weird man wants you to join his side so he can eventually steal your body."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a saddened grin. He shook his head and continued to look into the distance. "Don't worry about Orochimaru. That…is the last thing on my mind believe it or not. Even when finding out about Itachi taking Hinata. The thought of leaving the village to join forces with Orochimaru never crossed my mind. I…literally hate that man. Why would I stoop so low to join him?"

Sasuke heard Naruto let out a heavy sigh of relief. Obviously this was something heavy on Naruto's mind. "Anyways. It's been two days and we haven't heard anything from her Naruto. If Konoha can't think of anything to save Hinata, I won't join Orochimaru, but I will leave to find her."

Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the air blow past him in a comforting manner. It was raining earlier so the air was still a bit muggy and had the smell of rain in the air. Naruto sniffed the air and opened his eyes. "She's alive. I agree with pervy sage on that one. She's for sure alive."

Sasuke looked at him again. A curious expression. "You can smell her?" Naruto nodded his head as he continued to look at the view. "You're getting a lot of the nine tails traits lately."

If Hinata wasn't missing. Sasuke would have brought up this whole 'merge' thing. However, now wasn't the time. Sasuke would wait on that topic.

Naruto grinned as he looked at Sasuke, "Jealous? You can have it, along with the voices that pop up sometimes in my head. I can smell Hinata, but it's faint. Like just a reminder that she is out there. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

Sasuke shook his head as he leaned on the rails of his balcony. "I want no parts of being the jailer for the nine tails. I don't even want this curse mark. I don't care what powers it could grant me. What honor would I have, using that to kill my brother instead of my own skills and techniques."

If he used the curse mark as a powerup to kill Itachi. His brother would laugh at him until he reached hell. Meanwhile Sasuke would live with that shame.

Naruto and Sasuke watched as the sun completely went down and the night sky started to come to life. Naruto leaned on the railings as well. "So, on a scale of one through ten. Ten being the highest. How angry and completely destroyed are you that your brother came to the village? That he took Hinata."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them Naruto was impressed to see no Sharingan burning with rage. "A ten. I want him dead. I want to kill him, but for him taking Hinata, I don't care who kills him at this point."

Naruto reached over and placed his hand over Sasuke's, as he noticed Sasuke gripping the rails till his knuckles turned red. "Sasuke. How hard do you think it would be to kill him?" Sasuke let out a sigh, realization hitting him at how much his brother outclassed him. "Harder than it would be to kill Orochimaru."

Sasuke let out another heavy breath and Naruto could tell it was taking every ounce in Sasuke's soul to not have a mental breakdown. "Sasuke."

"You told her you loved her. I didn't even tell her yet. I don't know why I haven't. When it's obvious. If there is one thing I'll live to regret for the rest of my life. It's the fact I never told her how I feel."

Naruto watched Sasuke swallow multiple times as he continued to struggle. "It seems like everyone is trying to find her, yet they're moving so fucking slow. We're just sitting here doing nothing. I'm losing it Naruto. I can't…lose anymore people."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he inched closer to Sasuke. He wrapped one arm around him and pulled Sasuke to him. So Sasuke could cry on his shoulder. "Well. How about this. Since there is absolutely no point in us getting riled up now and jumping to go find Hinata. Just to probably get caught by your brother."

Naruto felt Sasuke actually chuckle at the dark joke. "Tomorrow. We wake up. If there is still no progress from the higher up's in finding Princess. Then fuck it Sasuke. We'll go get Hinata. We'll find her ourselves. I'll use every fox trait I can to find Hinata. I'll promise this demon anything he wants, as long as we can get Hinata back. I'll lose my fucking mind if it means you and Hinata smile for me again. Even if it's the last smiles I see."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and was stuck frozen at the dark look in Naruto's eyes. It felt like that demon fox took over Naruto, but it didn't look like it. "Naruto."

"When I find Hinata. The three of us. It'll just be the three of us. We can do whatever we want Sasuke. This time, will you follow me?"

The logical side of Sasuke. He wanted to say no and to tell Naruto to calm down. However, everything was different now. Their girl was gone. Hinata was in danger. All logical and ethical deals were off the table. "If tomorrow they still have nothing. Yeah. We'll do it your way."

Naruto smiled at this and took Sasuke's hand. "I…would do anything for Hinata, and for you Sasuke. Some good and some bad. Remember that."

Sasuke felt Naruto squeeze his hand in a comforting manner, but Sasuke shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand though. Itachi is a murderer. He joined this insane terrorist organization that does nothing but spill blood. Why kidnap Hinata and her cousin? He doesn't even know Hinata is on a team with me or you. None of this makes sense."

What was Itachi planning?

Hinata hid behind a tree in the middle of the forest on the Nara's deer farm. She had just accessed their cellar of medication that the Nara clan kept locked out here and retrieved the medicine. Just like the directions said in the scrolls she had earlier taken from the Hokage's forbidden vault.

One thing about being on a team of misfits with Naruto and Sasuke, you pick up a thing or two on breaking and entering. Hinata leaned against the tree to rest. Her face was blue and purple. Swollen and she had a cut across her lip. That Kisame man smacked her so hard he cut her lip open.

Her body hurt and she felt ashamed. She gave into criminals and they still beat her for no reason. Sometimes Hinata wanted to know what went through the mind of criminals. Outlaws with no sense of ethics.

The last thing Hinata remembered before running off to collect the scrolls and medication was Kisame hitting Neji for what felt like the 30th time. Reason why she wanted to hurry back. Reason why she had to finish this, so she could save Neji. He was only trying to protect her and she could only pray he forgave her for giving into demands for these monsters.

Oddly enough. Itachi. He didn't participate in the beatings. He made sure Kisame didn't cross the path of it being life ending. This didn't make Hinata feel anything positive about Itachi. She knew that if he had to. He would hurt them.

Hinata hid behind a deer and quietly followed the animals silhouette until she was at the exit of the farm and sprinted out into the night.

She sprinted so fast. In her mind it's been hours. Six hours had easily went by in Hinata's mind. When in reality, it was two and a half hours. As Hinata got deeper in the woods and closer to the hide out that the two men had her and Neji held in, she was snatched from behind and her mouth was covered.

"You're stealth skills are lacking. I can easily tell you are emotional because you are frantically sprinting in the middle of the forest for anyone to pick up on your trail. I hope you weren't careless like this in the Hokage's office or the Nara's ranch. If that was the case I could have done this myself."

Itachi spoke as he silently took Hinata back into the underground hideout he held them in. He walked down the stairs still holding Hinata tight and with her mouth covered. When he walked next to Neji, he dropped Hinata ungracefully on the hard, cold floor. "Give me the scrolls and medicine."

Hinata first looked at Neji, and even though his face and body looked just as beaten and bruised as hers, he was still breathing. Barely awake, but he was going to be okay. She just had to get them out of this. She dug in the inside of her hoodie and took everything out. Placing the medicine in Itachi hands.

Itachi looked at the vial and studied it for a moment. Reading what it said and making sure it was exactly what he was looking for. "Looks like you are useful. If you by chance know him, he's around your age. Tell my brother Sasuke that you possibly saved my life." Hinata's eyes widened as Itachi opened the vial and downed the bottle in one gulp.

He didn't show signs if the medication was disgusting or not. He just swallowed it. He placed one of the scrolls in the inside of his cloak and he reached out to Hinata to give her the other scroll that she retrieved. "As a gift for proving yourself. Open it. Now."

Hinata just looked at the scroll that Itachi shoved in her face. "Don't make me repeat myself." She quickly took the scroll and opened it so she didn't have to see Itachi's demanding face again. "Good. Now read it. All of it."

She flinched slightly, but Hinata began to read the scroll to herself. It was dated seventeen years ago.

On January, at 8 in the morning. The Konoha council meeting has begun. The hearing is the abolishing of the Hyuga clan seal.

It has been stated, as a whole, the Hyuga clan wishes to abolish the caged bird seal. It was a unanimous decision within the clan. Hyuga Hiashi is standing before Konoha council to show evidence and bring awareness that the Hyuga clan could prosper and grow more effectively if they removed the seal. The clan could grow wider and bring more prosperity.

This has been approved on a clan level and now has to be approved by Konoha's council. Due to the fact that the Hyuga clan is one of the oldest clans in the village and brings multiple advantages to Konoha to differ it from other villages.

As of 11 in the morning, January 15th. The motion for the abolishment of the caged bird seal within the Hyuga clan has been DENIED by the higher power of Konoha's council.

The decision was based on the possibility that the caged bird seal secures the chances of others outside the village discovering Hyuga clan secrets. Thus discovering Konoha's secrets. The Byakugan is much too important for it to fall in the wrong hands.

As of 12 in the afternoon, January 15th. The second motion for Hyuga Hizashi to have a child through hidden adoption is granted. Hyuga Hiashi is given permission to have a child with his wife and to let his brother, Hizashi raise it on his own. This will be a closed adoption and will not be spoken about. The Hyuga clan and any other entity is banned from speaking of this.

Hyuga Hizashi will be deemed the father of Hiashi's child.

Meeting is adjourned at 1:00 in the afternoon on January 15th.

Hinata dropped the scroll and it rolled over to Neji, who picked it up to read what had Hinata so upset. She looked up at Itachi and he watched as black veins started to creep up her neck. "Y-Y-You…LIE. You planted this. This is a LIE."

Itachi tilted his head as he looked at her. What the hell…was going on with this girl? Was this why she held back from attacking them? She didn't want to lose control from whatever was happening to her.

"When I leave you'll have the opportunity to see if I would waste my time to do such a thing. Let me guess you want to know how I knew about these scrolls." Hinata didn't say anything back to him, but her face expression showed that she wanted to know.

"My father was on the council at the time this decision was made. Before he was kicked off. Apparently he was one of the select few to agree to abolish the caged bird seal. You should be thankful I am sharing this with you. I'm being polite because you did something for me…that's how business partners work."

A small smirk graced Itachi's face for a split second before it disappeared. "I'm sure you'll be seeing me again." He turned around to walk up the stairs and out the hideout, "You'll soon realize the Uzumaki, Uchiha and Hyuga clan has to stick together after all. So, now we're partners."

Hinata gripped her head in pain as Kisame walked by her. The dark chakra in her burned her body more than usual. It was taking over her whole being at the moment.

Neji watched the two men disappear and quietly secured the scroll inside his pocket. He leaned back against the wall of the darkened room. "I'm still chained."

He looked at his hands for a moment before focusing chakra to them and one by one he broke the chains. "I should have done that earlier, but I'm sure that shark man would have just obliterated me for doing so."

Neji looked over at Hinata as she still was breathing hard and was slowly getting herself back together. She was somewhat in control, but the black veins wouldn't fade. "I want to congratulate you for controlling the dark chakra, but another side of me wants you to rage against our village and kill everyone in your path."

Hinata rolled on her back and looked at the dark ceiling. "I…I think I am going to be sick." Neji held his jaw that felt like it was hanging broken from Kisame punching him so many times there. It was numb to the touch and he could imagine how he looked. "I'm there with you Hinata."

He was quiet for a moment before he looked over at her. "I know I told you to never negotiate with the enemy…but in this moment I'm glad you did. Not because we are alive, but because of what we discovered. What you discovered. In the future I will never question your motives again. Whatever you want to do. I'll have your back."

Hinata slowly rolled on her stomach and pushed herself up. The room was spinning to her and she felt so battered and broken. Physically and mentally. They couldn't stay still though, they had to get out of there. She reached her hand out to Neji to help him up. "We…We have to go back."

Neji looked at her hand, then looked back up to her face. "To Konoha? Do you want to? Seriously. That place is our hell. Not because we just found this out either Hinata. Let's be real with ourselves here. We've talked about running away from the Hyuga compound since you were five. Those pervs will still be there when we get back Hinata. Those people that ruined our childhood. Silenced us for years. You seriously want to go back?"

Hinata's brows furrowed together and she swallowed a sob. "No, but I don't know what else to do Neji. What are we supposed to do?"

Neji took her hand and slowly stood up. His ribs were surely broken and his body was screaming for a medic. "I have your back. I'm not going to leave you again…and I don't want to put the idea in your head because I know you're such a follower right now Hinata. However, we have options on what to do. It'll take time, but we have options. You think about what those options are. You make the plan and I'll follow."

It was two in the morning and there was a loud urgent knock on Sasuke's front door. He sprung up from his bed in alarm and looked at the foot of his bed to make sure Naruto was still there. After finding out Naruto was a target of the Akatsuki, Sasuke wanted Naruto to sleep at his apartment for reassurance.

Naruto almost fell off the bed from the loud sound. His nerves already a wreck from the last few days. Naruto was about to run to open the door, but Sasuke pulled him back and gave him an annoyed look. "Don't be stupid. You don't even know who's at the door. It's still night outside. Use your brain!"

Sasuke whispered this heatedly at Naruto and told Naruto to stay out of sight as he opened it. Just to reveal Kakashi. "Took you long enough. You and Naruto get dressed and come down to the hospital. Neji and Hinata are back."

Naruto and Sasuke wasted no time in throwing on their regular ninja attire and running out the apartment in record time of 3 minutes. Still securing their sandals on as they were running to the hospital. As they were entering the building Naruto looked at Kakashi completely confused. "I don't get it. You're saying they just walked back into the village?"

Kakashi focused on following the coordinates Lady Tsunade gave him earlier before he went to retrieve Naruto and Sasuke. "That's what I was told. They aren't in the best of shape. Couple of broken bones, gashes and bruises. Nothing they cannot recover from." Sasuke sent Kakashi a sharp look. That was nothing to him?

"Hey. This way. Over here." Kakashi stopped walking and looked to his left to see Tsunade poked out a door. He looked at her quizzically because it wasn't an exam room. Tsuande rolled her eyes and ushered them to follow, which the three ended up doing.

Tsunade shut the door and it was a dark room that had a giant glass window to it. "We can see them, but without their Byakugan active, they can't see us. Which they know not to use them." Kakashi looked at Tsunade before she put a single finger to her lips to hush him. "They have the basic symptoms of prisoners that were held captive."

Naruto and Sasuke walked up closer to the window while they listened to Tsunade. "They're quiet. Give short answers. Very…guarded. Neji, I'm not going to lie. Neji got beat pretty bad. True to his duty, you can tell he gave his all to protect Hinata. Neji kept asking for Hiashi too. Which I was surprised because, well Neji hates the guy. You don't have to be a genius to see that. I don't know. Maybe they have a little brainwash going on. Itachi is very experienced in genjutsu and two and a half days is more than enough time for him to brainwash them."

Naruto focused on Hinata. She was in white hospital robes and her black veins had fully taken over her entire body. Her face had taken a serious pounding. She had a long cut across her lips and her hands were purple. Her legs shown were bruised and she had her head bandaged up. Who knows what else was damaged.

Neji was no better. His face worse than Hinata's. His head bandaged to support his jaw that looked broken. He was in a pair of loose shorts and his torso was heavily bandaged showing he had broken ribs. Neji did look like he took far more damage than Hinata and Naruto figured it was because he was trying to protect her.

"Neji really does love Hinata. All this time he just faked it." Naruto mumbled this to himself.

Sasuke hands coiled into fists as he looked at Hinata. Itachi was going to pay for this. If it took everything in him, Itachi was going to pay. How could he do this? To Hinata of all people. "What are we waiting for?" He looked at Tsunade, who was still looking at Neji and Hinata. "I'm waiting for them to let their guard down."

Neji was sitting on the same hospital bed as Hinata. Refusing to leave her side. He was sitting cross-legged facing her and she was sitting facing the door. Her legs dangled over the bed and she was busying her hands with the bed sheet closest to Neji. After several minutes of everyone waiting, Neji finally spoke as he looked at Hinata's dazed face. "They're going to keep watching us."

Hinata's jaw clenched slightly and her black veins could be seen pulsating. They stretched so far they were in the veins on her lips. It had never gotten this bad. It was consuming her.

The glass window was on the side of Hinata as the hospital bed was pushed against the glass window. Showing her defeated face and Neji's blank one. Kakashi furrowed his brows together. The two weren't too out of it, because they could sense everyone watching them. Neji called them out, but Kakashi felt as if Hinata just ignored them.

Something wasn't right. Hinata's aura was shifting.

Hinata's swollen right eye twitched as she listened to Neji. "I understand. Our situation is…confusing." Her voice was barely a whisper. Hinata was defeated.

Neji looked down at Hinata's hand before speaking again. "I guess they do not trust us. That's funny right. You know, he was right all along. Your father. He was right and we foolishly thought that people outside of our home cared about us. That they could save us from our misery at home."

Hinata could hear the amusement in Neji's voice. She lifted her head to look at the ceiling. The white, empty ceiling. "Hinata. Look at me."

Naruto's jaw squared as he listened to Neji talk to Hinata. Looking at Hinata's face. He could tell she agreed with Neji. Something happened out there that made them feel this way. Naruto shook his head repeatedly because her father WASN'T right. He cared about her. Naruto cared for Hinata greatly.

Naruto felt Kakashi place his hand on his shoulder to settle his nerves and Naruto only calmed down because Sasuke leaned his forehead on Naruto's temple and whispered for him to stop.

Hinata did as Neji requested. She craned her neck and looked at him with watery eyes. "I do not want to see a tear fall Hinata. Now you know your title was never stripped. You will be a leader soon. They do not cry. Do you understand?" Hinata swallowed another sob and nodded her head in understanding. "Good. We don't even know if all of this is real. If any of this is true."

Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling like her body was growing hot again from anger. When she opened her eyes they were black with a grey ring around them. She was fully submitting to the darkness. Why not? It was the only thing keeping her warm at the moment.

She needed to stay warm. She needed to escape. Hinata needed to drink. "We'll find out Neji, and when we do. If it's true? Then what? What am I supposed to do nii-san?"

Neji looked at the glass window that just showed his reflection and scowled. "You can do whatever you want to do. I'll be there…so you won't be alone. Like I said before, I'll never doubt you ever again. Whatever you want to do in the future, I will be there. I'm not Kakashi. I'm not Naruto or Sasuke. I'm not Lady Tsunade. I'm not going to give you ideas Hinata. You're going to be the leader. You have to create your own narrative."

Hinata looked over at Neji and finally smiled at him. Neji returned the smile and held two of his hands up close to his face. Hinata held her own two hands up across from his and their two chakra's lit up and embraced their hands. Comforting one another. Neji took note on how similar their chakra was.

He's always been stuck in being angry and bitter against Hinata, that he never stopped to really see what him and Hinata had in common other than Hanabi.

Fuck, maybe this was all true.

Neji blinked rapidly in shock as he really started to feel the connection. He let out a wet laugh as he watched Hinata's chakra mold perfectly with his. Like family. Like true brothers and sisters.

Hinata smiled gently at Neji with her calm hooded eyes. Her dark chakra receding now. Going back to lay doormat. The two made eye contact and Neji finally smiled genuinely. "Hinata."

"Neji. I won't let them get away with this. We…will do that other option. My way." Hinata said this as she gazed in Neji's eyes and he closed his mouth tightly and firmly nodded his head.

So that is what will happen. This is what they've become. What they will become. "I'll follow you Hinata."

Hinata smiled again and the two lowered their hands. Sensing that people were coming to the door.

The two heard a knock and just as fast Tsunade and the others walked into the room. Hinata eyes immediately focused on Naruto and Sasuke, who were just as zeroed in on her. They could since she wasn't alright. That something was terribly wrong. Hinata's eyes weren't black anymore, but it seemed like her soul now was.

Tsunade eyed the two Hyuga's before she placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "Okay. Well, the good news is you're alive. You're not in perfect shape or dolled up, but you'll recover. The medics addressed your wounds and all you need is rest at home. Just like you asked, Hiashi is on his way. Now let's get to the main points shall we."

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked at Neji and Hinata. "You're not dead and that's a routine thing for Akatsuki members to do. They don't typically leave their victims 'alive'. So, what did you do that was so different that convinced them to leave you alive?"

Hinata looked at Tsunade and frowned. Disappointed in herself again. "It is my fault. Neji told me not to negotiate with the enemy, but I just wanted them to stop hurting him. I asked them to just take my Byakugan and to leave Neji alone. They then told me they didn't want my Byakugan and that they needed something from within Konoha that required my dōjutsu."

Tsunade nodded her head. Hinata didn't look deceitful, she could tell Hinata was telling the truth. "As you can see Hinata. This is why we don't have family and loved ones go on missions together. You are willing to do things like this. Not because you are weak, but because you want to save them."

Hinata nodded her head. "It is my fault. Neji didn't-"

"It's not her fault. We were sent together to go to the west entrance of the village. One of them were headed to the Hyuga compound. Our duty is to protect the village and in addition our clan. What were we supposed to do? Hokage-sama."

Tsunade glared at Neji from hearing the condescending tone he had when he addressed her. "That's right. I am your Hokage now."

Neji stared at her and didn't drop the eye contact. He knew of about the legendary female sannin, but Neji didn't care. She could kill him. Crush him. So what? So could the very people he called family. So could those two Akatsuki men. At this point, Tsunade's overwhelming aura wasn't enough to put Neji in submission.

He's been living in hell for 16 years. She didn't scare him.

Tsunade walked up closer to him. "Is there anything you want to say Neji Hyuga? Is there anything you want to tell your Hokage?"

Hinata looked at Neji. Giving him a disapproving look. Tsunade was someone special to her. She didn't like Neji disrespecting her.

Neji picked up on the silent stare from Hinata and bowed his head down apologetically. Hinata looked at Tsunade and decided to bring the attention off Neji and to speak up. "I-I…believe the Uchiha that kidnapped us is sick. Itachi Uchiha. He wanted me to go into the Nara's deer farm and to get a certain medication. When I got it for him and returned, he said that I possibly saved his life. He…said if I knew his brother to tell him I saved his life. I…I am so sorry Sasuke-kun."

Hinata hung her head in shame again and refused to look at Sasuke or Naruto. She was gripping her free hand until her knuckles turned white and was shaking from humiliation. "I…did not protect the village. I cooperated with the enemy. I should not have the trust of my comrades. I am…scum. I am so sorry."

She squeezed her eyes shut to make sure she didn't cry. Sasuke walked up to Hinata and her face was so numb from the bruises that she barely felt him cup her cheeks. "I'm not angry at you Hinata. Listen to Neji. Don't cry. There is nothing to cry over because you did what you had to do."

She felt Naruto pick up her scarred hand and held it in a comforting manner. "I'm proud of you Hinata. You came back to us. I don't care how you did it." Naruto looked over at Tsunade before he looked back at Hinata. "I really don't care how you did it."

Tsunade clicked her tongue against her teeth. "So you got medication for him. That's good intel though. He's sick and in need of medical services. So, he's probably not in his prime right now. A little concerning though because while he's still sick, he was easily able to defeat our ninja when invading Konoha."

Neji looked down at Hinata's hand he was still holding. "That man he was with was the muscle of the group. He's the one to knock out me and Hinata with ease. That being said, Itachi is still functioning as if he is in his 'prime' if you want my opinion on it. I…could see he was sick though. My Byakugan picked up on it, but who's to say the medication he was so desperate to get will even work."

Tsunade looked to be in thought. She looked at Hinata curiously, "That's it? You went and got the medication he wanted and then they left you and Neji? What were you two talking about earlier? Since 'Mr. Wise-Ass Hyuga' knew we were behind the glass. Which by the way wasn't because I didn't trust you. I do. I just had to see mentally where you two were. How you communicated with the nurses and what not. You two do have positive signs of PTSD that will slowly be overcome after much needed rest and a little break from strenuous ninja duties. So, I'll put you two on light duty for a bit."

She smiled at Hinata, but Neji still gave her a guarded look. "On top of that you didn't trust us. You wanted to see if we would say anything different while we thought we were alone."

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders. "Oh so what. You got me! So, tell me what you don't believe is real? Did Itachi put you under some genjutsu or something?"

The door opened. No knock or anything and revealed Hiashi. He looked at the group of people in the room and cleared his throat. "Hokage-sama." Tsunade gave him an annoyed look. She watched as Hiashi took a rolled-up piece of paper and handed it to her. She almost snatched the thing from him and grumpily looked at it.

The Hokage eyes scanned the document before her face grew red with anger. "Is that what you were busy doing? That's why it took you so long to get here? You were meeting with the council behind my back?!"

Hiashi looked at Tsunade calmly. "Well. You told me Neji personally requested me Hokage-sama. Which is a silent way of telling me he really needed my help. He is my family. So, I took things a little further and held an urgent meeting to postpone the investigation until the morning. They need time to sleep Lord Hokage. Please respect that this was a unanimous decision, so please don't be upset."

The room grew dangerously quiet. Tsunade slowly looked at Neji and Hinata. Neji was a sneak, but Tsunade knew Hinata knew what Neji was doing. Hinata didn't warn her or even look nervous about what Neji was doing. Hinata was siding with Neji and wanted this.

Kakashi watched as Tsunade started to glare at Neji, but really Kakashi didn't know if he could put all the blame on Neji. Hinata could have spoken up, but she wanted her father. Meaning she was falling back to what was safe for her. Just like in Mist. Meaning, Hinata was craving right now and was being manipulative. Hiding it in plain sight.

Tsunade glared at Hiashi before looking back at Neji. "You knew he was going to do this. That's why you asked me to contact him. You little-" Tsunade stopped herself and took a deep breath. She was still learning to be a Hokage. Politics were not her thing. She couldn't step on toes this early on. "Fine. Take Neji. He's in your hands. Hinata is with Kakashi anyways. Right?"

Hiashi shook his head politely. "No ma'am. I will be taking Hinata home with me as well. She needs rest. We can all follow up in the morning. If that is fine with you of course."

Tsunade eyes widened before she looked back at Hinata. "Is that what you want? If you tell me no, I'll fight it Hinata."

Hinata looked at Tsunade and smiled. "It's okay Hokage-sama. I will go." Tsunade looked stunned by the reply. She looked at Hinata slightly confused and could see the guarded look Neji held earlier, now on Hinata's face.

Hinata didn't trust her anymore. What had happened? "Hinata?"

Hiashi cleared his throat again. "Ma'am. Are they 'free to go' per say?" Tsunade gave Hiashi a menacing look. "Yes. They are. Don't make me regret my decision Hyuga Hiashi. That is a threat, just in case you were questioning if it was."

Hiashi nodded his head. More amused than anything. "Of course. Hokage-sama. Neji, Hinata. Come with me. I'll be waiting at the main exit." With that, Hiashi turned around to leave. Neji stood up to walk to the door, but was stopped by Tsunade.

"You're playing with your career and fire, Neji. I advise you to not do that EVER again. Or I'll strip you of your rank. I don't care how talented you are." Neji bowed to Tsunade. "My apologies. Hokage-sama-"

Tsunade waved him off. "Get out my sight." She turned to look at Hinata, who was being re-examined at the moment by Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto frowned, even though Hinata was giving him a comforting smile. "I'm not going to question what you're doing Hinata. Just be careful. Okay?"

Hinata nodded her head as she looked at Naruto. Her eyes went to Sasuke when he touched her red ear. Sasuke could see she didn't hold the same guarded look with him and Naruto as she did with Tsunade. Something happened, but they would have to wait to find out. He didn't need to say anything to Hinata, the two just smiled at one another in silent understanding.

Hinata slowly slid off the examination bed and bowed to Tsunade respectfully. "I will report back in the morning Hokage-sama. Thank you for allowing me and Neji time to rest."

Tsunade just stared at Hinata silently as she watched Hinata walk out the room with Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi leaned against the exam bed and crossed his arms now that it was just him and Tsunade. "Itachi did something to them. Neji is a cold person, but never has he been disrespectful like that. Plus, never have I seen the Hyuga family actually act like a family before like this. So, something happened for them to all of a sudden ban together."

Tsunade looked over at Kakashi. "Well. She seems to still trust you. Find out for me."

End of chapter!

So, let's talk.

This will be the official beginning of things becoming Hyuga-centric. More Neji and Hinata interaction will come from now on. You'll read hints and clues of their upbringing more throughout the story now too.

So during the Chunin exams we had Naruhina bonding, Sasuhina bonding and this chapter NaruSasu bonding. All of their bonding moments included them expressing their feelings for the three of them. I think that's what makes the poly relationship actually work. Being able to bond separately and still find a connection for the third person.

This chapter kind of explains Hiashi's cold, evil personality. When Hinata and Neji read the scrolls. Also this touches on why Itachi reached out to them, however when Itachi makes his debut again, it will really explain why he chose Neji and Hinata.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you Wednesday!