Thankfully, Hisako's eye was fine after the recommended week of rest. She was glad to be back to seeing with both eyes again. The last week was difficult, and Neji was becoming tired of her bumping into everything. Sasuke and Team 7 also went on another mission. Sasuke came back beat up and had been in the hospital for a few days. From what Sakura told Hisako, the mission was grueling, and there was a point where she thought she and Sasuke were going to die. But, they ended up succeeding in the mission.

Neji wasn't thrilled about Hisako seeing Sasuke, especially after she told him that Sasuke was the one responsible for her injured eye. But, Hisako still needed to be there for Sasuke. He was going down a dark path, and she wanted to at least try to stop him.

She was making her way to his hospital room when she saw Sasuke on his feet, walking out of the room with Naruto trailing him. Sakura was following the two boys, and the air felt thick. There was something about the way Naruto was glaring at Sasuke's back. All traces of the normal joking, easy going Naruto was gone. On the other hand, Sakura's pale green eyes were damp with tears. Shaking hands clasped in front of her chest as she followed a few steps behind the boys.

"Sakura! What on Earth is going on?" Hisako asked as she walked to her best friend.

Sakura turned a concerned, almost horrified look to Hisako, her chin trembling. "Sasuke challenged Naruto to a fight! They're going to fight!"

"What?" Hisako exclaimed, picking up the pace as the two girls followed Naruto and Sasuke. "Sasuke! What's the meaning of this? You can't be serious!"

"Stay out of it, Hisako!" Sasuke shouted over his shoulder.

"Like Hell!" Hisako retorted.

Sasuke took them to the rooftop of the hospital where sheets were left out to dry in the wind. Hisako was about to interfere, but that was when Naruto broke the silence between them.

"Put on your headband," Naruto ordered to Sasuke.

Sasuke's Sharingan activated as he smiled and pointed to his forehead. "Why? You're not gonna put a single scratch on my forehead!"

"That's not the point!" Naruto retorted. "You know just as much as I do that a headband is a symbol of two Shinobi fighting on even ground!"

Hisako's eyes widened and she took a step back. She understood this, now. This wasn't just a fight between rivals. Naruto knew something was up with Sasuke, too. He knew Sasuke was slipping, that Sasuke was about to do something bad. This was Naruto's way to try and snap him out of it. As she continued to watch their banter, she realized that Naruto was trying to reach his friend.

And Hisako knew that if anyone else could reach Sasuke, it would be Naruto.

She stayed back with Sakura as the fight between the two unfolded right in front of them. It was a brutal fight; neither one of them was holding back. Both Sakura and Hisako had their hands clasped in front of them, Hisako's hand grabbed her crystal necklace. She didn't want to, but if she had to, she would interfere. She would stop this duel.

Somewhere during the match, she activated her own Sharingan. And that was when she saw Sasuke perform the Fire Ball Jutsu. Her eyes widened in fear and she took a few steps out from the safety of the stairwell where they were watching the fight.

"Sasuke! Stop this!" Hisako shouted.

Sakura realized what was going to happen and even though she was crying and screaming with Hisako, she grabbed Hisako and dragged them back into the stairwell right as the flames engulfed the cement where Hisako was standing.

"I'm going to stop this battle. I have to," Hisako told Sakura, both of them holding onto the other.

That was when Hisako saw Naruto perform a jutsu she was unfamiliar with. It was almost like the Chidori in the sense that it was pure chakra. But, it was more condensed, and it was blue. It looked like the chakra was in perfect balance in his hand. While the Chidori was more chaotic in nature, this jutsu that Naruto was using seemed to be in perfect resonance. It rotated in the palm of his hand like a ball of pure spiraling energy and it dissipated the fire around Naruto, saving him from being burned. She couldn't imagine the pure devastation that jutsu could cause. But… Now that she's seen that jutsu, she could copy it.

At the same time, Sasuke shouted, "Chidori! One Thousand Birds!"

But, the size of Sasuke's Chidori… Hisako's heart sped up in horror. He wasn't just doing this battle for fun. He wasn't going at Naruto just to test each other's strengths. The intensity of the Chidori told Hisako that Sasuke was out for blood.

Hisako gasped looking at her cousin in horror. "Stop this!"

"Sasuke! Don't!" Sakura shouted at the same time.

Both of the girls lunged from the safety of the stairwell at the same time. They both had the same idea. This fight has gone on for far too long. They had to stop it. Now. Before either Naruto or Sasuke got seriously hurt, or worse.

But before either Sakura or Hisako could stop them, Kakashi Sensei was there, redirecting the two boy's blows. Both boys flew through the air, Sasuke hitting a metal container with his Chidori, and Naruto was sent flying into a water storage tank. Hisako stumbled, relief swelling inside as tears pressed behind her eyes.

Kakashi Sensei stopped, dropping his stance as he turned to the two boys, a hand resting on his hip. Sakura and Hisako stood behind him.

"What are you two doing? That was a little intense for a simple sparring match, What's wrong with you two?" Kakashi Sensei asked, keeping his voice and expression emotionless as he stared at his two students.

Kakashi Sensei suddenly disappeared from where he was and appeared right above Sasuke. Hisako deactivated her Sharingan. She didn't need to see or hear anymore. Kakashi Sensei was going to handle this, but by the look on Kakashi's face, he was having a stern conversation with Sasuke. And Sasuke wasn't too thrilled.

Sasuke didn't even respond before he jumped over the side of the building. A wave of concern washed through Hisako. What was running through Sasuke's mind? To top it off, she had a really bad feeling in her gut. Something bad was going to happen; she just didn't know what.

Sakura was crying beside Hisako and Hisako's gaze was dropped in defeat. There was nothing Hisako could tell her friend to comfort her. She was feeling useless herself. Anything she told Sakura would have been a lie.

But, before Hisako had to try and comfort her friend, Kakashi Sensei jumped down to the two of them. They both lifted teary eyes to their Sensei.

"Sakura, Hisako, it'll be alright. Don't you two worry. We'll have those two back to their old selves again. Cheer up, okay? I'll see you two soon."

Both Sakura and Hisako stood in silence at his words before he jumped away. Hisako tried to feel a little lighter, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling in her gut. She spared a glance at Sakura and her friend's tears had dried up. She had a small smile on her face. Hisako couldn't ruin Sakura's hope. Hisako's gaze dropped again when Naruto walked over to the two of them.

Hisako and Sakura turned to Naruto at the same time and Hisako couldn't hold back the small tremble from the look in Naruto's blue eyes. He looked pissed. His hands were in fists at his sides, and Hisako brought her hands up grasping her necklace. Seeing Naruto look so serious, made her stomach turn even more.

"You two need to stay out of this. This is between me and Sasuke."

Hisako was taken aback by Naruto's words, her hands tightening around her necklace, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Naruto! But I just can't do that. Sasuke is my cousin. He's the only family I have left!"

"Hisako!"

Hisako gasped, her eyes shooting back up to Naruto's, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at his steady blue eyes.

"I will take care of Sasuke. He's your cousin, but you've already tried to get through to him! And what has that gotten you? I'm not blind to how he has been treating you! I'm his teammate and I will get through to him. You need to stay out of this!"

Hisako took a step back, her hands trembling as she stared at him wide-eyed. Naruto was right. Everything Hisako has done up till this point has been useless.

Before she could reply, Naruto jumped away. Her head dropped and she hid her face in her hands as she sobbed. Sakura wrapped her arms around her, consoling her as they cried.

She heard rapid footsteps approaching them and lifted her gaze to see Neji approaching the two girls.

"N-Neji?" Hisako asked, wiping at her eyes angrily.

Neji's lavender eyes were narrowed, his gaze never leaving Hisako's. "Sasuke did this to you,"

Both Sakura and Hisako stiffened at his statement and Hisako's gaze dropped in defeat.

"Blasted, Sasuke is in a really bad place right now. Don't get involved, Hisako! He'll only hurt you more," Neji scolded, though his voice was still gentle as he rested a firm hand on her upper arm.

Hisako shook her head pathetically. "I just can't leave him! I just can't uninvolve myself! He's my cousin, the only family I have left in this world! I've been entangled in this mess with him from the moment we were both bitten by Orochimaru!"

"Hisako," Sakura whispered, her voice thick with sorrow.

"I'm-I'm sorry. I just need some time to think," Hisako said.

She pulled away from the two of them, turning her back to them both. She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the buildings and trees blurring as she angrily wiped at her eyes. She needed peace. Distance. A break. She needed some sort of breakthrough with Sasuke, clarity. She felt like she was drowning. Torn between wanting to help her cousin, and fighting the urge to just stay out of it. Save herself the drama. She felt like she was being pulled in two.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke sitting alone against a tree. His eyes were so distant, so torn. She bit her lip. She had to keep trying. She couldn't give up. Not on him. Not yet.

"Sasuke," she said his name quietly as she landed on the tree in front of him.

He didn't look up at her; he didn't even acknowledge her. Hisako let out a small sigh. This seemed better than them fighting, though. She sat down a few feet in front of him on the large branch staying silent as she watched him. He was as still as a statue.

Did Kakashi finally get through to him? She was too afraid to ask.

They sat there for a long time not doing anything when they were suddenly surrounded by a squad of four shinobi. They both stood up at the same time.

"Hisako, get behind me!" Sasuke ordered, grabbing her wrist and forcing her behind him.

Hisako growled but didn't argue much more.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, he sunk down low in his stance preparing to fight.

"We're the Sound Ninja Four."

Hisako couldn't hold back her gasp. She recognized them now. These four were the same who helped Orochimaru escape that day that Lord Hokage the Third was killed! She specifically recognized the man with the six arms as the guy who… The guy who killed her. She trembled behind Sasuke, moving closer to him.

"I recognize them… They work for Orochimaru," Hisako whispered to her cousin. "We have to fight them together."

The guy with the six arms continued, "I'm Kidomaru of the East Gate."

A second one, one with grey hair and what looked like two heads, one in the front, one in the back, spoke up next, "I am Sakon of the West Gate."

"I am Jirobo of the South Gate," the guy was more enormous than the others and looked like he was more muscle than intelligence, and was mostly bald except for some red hair splotches.

The last one to speak was a girl with long spiky red hair and an odd looking hat with three metal wires coming out of them, "And I am Tayuya of the North Gate."

They didn't give Sasuke or Hisako time to answer before they disappeared. Hisako saw them jumping between the branches, and she pressed her lips into a fine line. For some reason, Sasuke wasn't activating his Sharingan, but she wasn't willing to take that risk. She activated her Sharingan and gasped as the six armed freak appeared between Sasuke and Hisako.

She saw chakra build up in his throat and her eyes widened when she realized too late it was a jutsu. She screamed as sticky spider webs covered Hisako's body knocking her down to the branch restrained and useless.

"H-Hey!" Hisako shouted, struggling against the spider webs.

Sasuke intercepted the man and threw him over Hisako, having him hit the tree hard. Sasuke grabbed Hisako by the back of her collar and threw her onto the nearby roof of a building. Hisako shrieked in protest as she landed on the hard roof grunting. Sasuke was still fighting the four people who attacked them.

Hisako scoffed and closed her eyes in concentration. She had to break free of these restraints. She had to help Sasuke. She concentrated on her chakra on the spiderwebs that restrained her. She could do this. With her chakra, she could free herself. She concentrated her chakra into her hands, struggling to loosen the spider webs on her as she withered in the entanglement.

Finally, she felt some of the spiderwebs loosen around her hands and was able to move a little more freely in the sticky restraints she found herself in. She heard a crashing noise and looked up to see Sasuke beaten and bloody on the roof of the building they were on, a wall broken behind him.

"S-Sasuke!" Hisako screamed.

She finally freed a hand and using her chakra, began to loosen the rest of the spiderwebs. A sense of urgency washed through her. She's spent too much time bound up like this. She had to break free now so she could save Sasuke. She freed her other hand but that was when she felt someone's hand dig into her hair, forcing her up. She shrieked in pain wiggling in the webs. They were getting loose, but not fast enough.

"Look at you two. You're pathetic!" one of them yelled laughing. "Sasuke, really? You can't even beat one of us! What is this village doing to you? If you stay here, all you're going to be is useless! A dead weight!"

Sasuke growled, and Hisako paused as she saw the curse mark on his neck flare up. One of his hands was over the mark, like it was causing him pain. But, it seemed like he was allowing the mark to overtake his body.

"Sasuke! Don't do it!" Hisako yelled, "Just you wait, all of you! Once I get out of these restraints, I'll kick all of your butts! Bring it on!"

Kidomaru, the one who had the six arms and the abilities with the spiderwebs laughed. He brought Hisako to his face, smiling, sneering at her as she paused in her struggles to stare back at him, keeping her gaze unwavering.

"And you, you're even more pathetic. Everyone has to save you. You're always the damsel. You're weak. Useless. Powerless. You couldn't save a loved one even if you wanted to."

Hisako froze, her eyes widening, angry tears pressing behind her eyes as her resolve shook. He was right. She was useless. She was the first to break eye contact, her shoulders sagging in defeat. A twinge of pain radiated from her neck, where the mark was, and she grimaced.

"That seal will only be as strong as your resolve."

That was the warning Kakashi Sensei had given her. And now, just with one statement, this man had destroyed whatever resolve she may have thought she had.

He laughed at her dismay, and she felt weightless for a second as he let go of her hair. She grunted as his fist slammed into her gut and she was thrown back landing in the rubble right next to Sasuke, the spiderwebs vanishing.

Sasuke was silent as he got to his feet, allowing the cursemark to surge through his body as he stood up, the black marks appearing on his skin again, standing in front of Hisako. She slowly got to her feet as well.

"I wouldn't use that cursemark if I were you, boy," Sakon warned Sasuke, "it isn't stable with you yet. You need to be trained on how to use it so it doesn't kill you. But, if you want power, we'll be waiting for you. Tonight. Outside of the village. We'll be waiting for both of you."

The four of them disappeared after that. Hisako fell to the ground in defeat, her hand covering the mark over her neck as she stared up at her cousin. He didn't look at her, his hand was covering his mark as well as the black marks finally began to recede again.

"Go home, Hisako," Sasuke ordered his voice so quiet she barely heard him.

Her gaze dropped. She didn't know what to tell him. He was closed off, distant from her. More so than normal. She couldn't even catch his dark gaze. A wave of crushing defeat coursed through her body and a shiver ran down her spine as she stood up. She knew what Sasuke was thinking. Knew his intentions. He would go tonight.

And she would stop him.

Sasuke jumped onto a nearby roof and disappeared, leaving Hisako alone on the destroyed roof. She wasn't sure how long she was there for, but it didn't feel like long at all before Neji found her. There was a very long and awkward silence between the two of them as Neji took in the state of the building. Hisako didn't make eye contact with him, her hand still covering Orochimaru's curse mark.

"What. Happened." Neji asked, his voice tight with barely contained anger.

She was sure it wasn't directed at her, but whatever mess she had gotten herself in. It always seemed like she was being pulled into Uchiha Clan drama. And she was disowned by the clan before she was born! She grimaced at Neji's tone, the demand in his voice.

"Sasuke and I were approached by Orochimaru's men," she admitted quietly.

Neji's gaze narrowed on Hisako, "What?"

She finally raised her eyes, and even though internally she was afraid and also angry she kept her gaze steady and kept her emotions on a tight leash. "Orochimaru will make his move to obtain Sasuke. Soon. I need to speak with Lady Hokage in regard to that."

After Hisako finished updating Lady Hokage on the most recent incident, Lady Hokage assured Hisako that Sasuke would have the proper protection to prevent him from following Orochimaru. But, something still didn't feel okay with Hisako. Somehow, she knew that it would fail, that the guards she placed secretly around Sasuke would fail.

She knew she had to stop Sasuke herself.

Neji stayed by her side the rest of the day. They got some training in, but Hisako was distracted the entire time. She couldn't shake off her worry for Sasuke. And for some reason, that began to piss her off.

"Why?!" Hisako suddenly yelled, letting out a low growl in anger as she dug her hands in her hair.

The early night stars twinkled overhead as she sat on the roof of the Hyuga Estate. Neji hadn't joined her yet. He needed to wash up from their training earlier.

"Why can't I just let Sasuke do whatever the Hell Sasuke wants to do? It's not even like he cares about me. In fact, he doesn't care about me! The entire Uchiha Clan has never cared, so why should I?"

Hisako paused her rambling, rubbing the heels of her hands on her eyes. "Why should I care, when Sasuke never cared about my pain, my suffering? He was always content with letting me suffer the loss of my village alone after the Uchiha Clan was destroyed… Didn't he know I was suffering too? Didn't he ever give a damn?!"

She threw her hands down, turning her face up to the darkened sky as few tears slipped down her cheeks. Her hand went up to cover the cursemark again. The pain had subsided hours ago, but it still was a constant reminder to her. And it seemed to respond to her anger. She could feel the cursemark fighting against Kakashi's seal. And that terrified her.

"So then why am I going to risk everything now to try and stop him from ruining his life? I'm so happy here… With Neji, with my team. If he wants to ruin that, then shouldn't I let him? But…" her gaze drifted to where the bath house was, where she knew Neji was and her shoulders trembled.

She knew what she had to do. Not what she wanted to do, but, a part of her still felt like she had a duty to her cousin. She had to save him from himself. She might be the only one who could.

A few more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry Neji. Please. Forgive me. But, I have to stop him."

Once those words were spoken, she steeled herself against the inevitable and jumped off the roof of the Hyuga Estate towards the location of the Sound Four, or whatever they were called, mentioned earlier.

She wasn't expecting to find Sakura, unconscious on a park bench leading out of the Leaf Village. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and she had a bag with her like she was intending to leave the village herself. Hisako jumped down from the tree she was in, rushing over to her unconscious friend.

She was relieved to find her pulse was normal. But Sakura was out cold. Sasuke had most likely done this to her. Sakura was intelligent. Hisako had no idea how Sakura would have known that Sasuke was intending to leave the village, but it was evident that she knew. Sakura had tried to stop Sasuke, or maybe, if her bag was any indication, join him. But, she was unsuccessful.

Hisako shook off her doubt and took to the trees. She had to make it in time to stop Sasuke.

She found him with the Sound Four right outside of the village, just like they promised. Sasuke was conversing with them, but she didn't hear what he was saying. She stopped a few yards shy of them.

"Sasuke! What do you think you're doing? Do you really intend to go with Orochimaru? To leave us?" Hisako shouted.

This grabbed their attention and all of them turned to her. Hisako, despite the warning in her brain to run, stood her ground.

"I'm not going alone," Sasuke started, his voice calm. "I've realized that you need to join me. Whether you want to or not."

"Excuse me?" Hisako interrupted, incredulous that he would even suggest something like that.

What he was saying, how he said it… He intended to force her to go with him? Against her will? She was disgusted with just the thought.

"You are still an Uchiha. I can't fathom why you are not full of hatred as I am, how you can stand there and still speak about good and justice when all you should want is revenge. But, I also know that you are weak. You need to get stronger. And I need to keep you where I can protect you."

Hisako was too stunned to speak. Her green eyes were glued to her cousin, her body was completely still, and her jaw dropped in disbelief.

"You… You've lost your mind…" Hisako whispered.

"Alright! Enough chit chat, let's get going with this!" the six armed freak, what was his name? Kidomaru? Screamed.

Hisako jumped at the outburst, and she was reminded as to why she was here. What her mission was. To stop Sasuke. To keep him here in this village. But, what she couldn't understand was if Sasuke was supposed to have hidden shinobi guarding him, why weren't they stepping in? Why weren't they stopping Sasuke? There was something not right about this.

Hisako tsked in frustration, brushing her hair behind her back to try and act nonchalant, like she had this entire situation under control even though she knew she didn't. She knew she was so in over her head she didn't even know if she could make it out of this. Especially now that she knew Sasuke's plans. She knew he was going to force her to join him if she didn't win this altercation.

"I won't let you go with Orochimaru, Sasuke. I don't care if that means you're thrown into prison to keep you here. To go with the enemy is unforgivable. Go down this path now, and there will be no turning back. Don't make an enemy out of the Leaf, Sasuke! Don't make an enemy out of me."

"It's too late," Sasuke responded, his voice more dangerous than Hisako anticipated.

She saw him disappear for just a second, and knew this meant that the altercation she was afraid of had begun. She activated her Sharingan, and had just enough time to step back, redirecting his punch that was aimed right for her gut. He wanted to knock her out cold, but, she wouldn't go down that easily. She wouldn't fall for Sasuke's cheap tricks like Sakura did.

She raised a closed fist, aiming it for Sasuke's nose, but he blocked her too. They knew eachothers fighting styles like the back of their hands. They had spent an entire month training together to learn the Chidori. Now, they were evenly matched. Even with Hisako's current handicap. Every attack one threw, the other countered. Neither one gaining any ground. Sasuke was the first to break the dance of fists and kicks and jumped away from Hisako. Both were panting but neither one seemed to have taken any real damage.

"Are you kidding? I'm not here to watch a family feud!" Kidomaru screamed.

"Just stay out of it!" Sasuke barked back, turning his attention away from Hisako.

Hisako saw her opening, she lunged for Sasuke, and a sense of satisfaction went through her as her fist connected with Sasuke's jaw. Her punch was strong enough to send him spiraling in the dirt a few feet from her, blood on his chin from his split lip.

"You're staying here, in the village, Sasuke," Hisako ordered, stepping up to stand above Sasuke.

Why aren't the ANBU getting involved? Neji thought to himself, his entire body was filled with barely contained rage and anger. He knew he couldn't get involved. If he did, they would kill him. And he would be no help to Hisako dead. But, why was it that even though Hisako told him earlier that day there would be ANBU stationed around Sasuke to stop this from happening, with his Byakugan, he couldn't see a single ANBU in this entire area.

Why was Hisako the only one trying to stop him? Neji was furious.

He found Hisako sneaking away from the Hyuga Estate after he had finished washing up. He read her lips, saw her apologize for something before she had left.y He was glad he decided to follow her, but now, all he could do was sit in this blasted tree and watch the fight below.

"You're staying here, in the village, Sasuke."

Neji's attention was drawn to Kidomaru. He moved. And Hisako didn't seem to notice. Neji bared his teeth, his muscles coiling in a desire to leap forward, to protect Hisako, but he knew he had to stay where he was. He couldn't fight the entire group himself. If it was just Sasuke, he could win that fight. But the other four? Maybe he could take one on, but not all of them. If he made his presence known, it would end in disaster.

He had to watch helplessly as Kidomaru landed a good hit to Hisako's neck with his hand. Neji watched Hisako fall to the ground unconscious. Sasuke stood up, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

"I told you to stay out of it! This didn't concern you!" Sasuke shouted.

Kidomaru stepped over Hisako, his face inches from Sasuke's. "Look, I'm not here to let you two brats duel it here on this hill where we can be caught! Now let's get moving before someone finds out!"

Neji heard and seen enough. He jumped from the branch he was on, and ran back to the village. He had to report this to Lady Hokage immediately. They had to send a retrieval team to stop Sasuke and Hisako from falling into Orochimaru's hands. Before it was too late.