Upload Date: 09/19/2022

Obligatory statement that these characters are not and will not be mine.

Chapter 2 - The False Sea

The guard was silent as he led Hinata and Neji through the center of town, where seafood was being sold left and right to the general populace and Hinata had to fight through her queasiness as the stench invaded her nostrils.

"We get used to the smell, milady. Trust me, the food smells lots better when it's cooked." The guard spoke, visibly amused at her reaction despite his masked face.

"Oh yes. Sorry, I-" Hinata stammered, blushing harshly as her awkwardness became obvious.

The guard, Zabuza, let out a bellowing laugh as he stopped in front of a small building, slightly hidden between the large vine-filled trees.

"It's no problem. Here's the clinic. Miss Haruno should still be working. Want me to stay with you both to escort you back to your quarters?"

"No need," Neji supplied. "We can find our way back easily. Thank you for the offer."

"Alright, then have a good evening." Zabuza bowed shortly, and disappeared instantly.

Neji held out his hand for Hinata as she peered at him.

"Lady Mei seemed very nice, brother."

"Of course. Her husband became Mizukage by killing a Konoha ninja. He advertised to the world that he couldn't win on his own power and now she enjoys the spoils of his victory." His tone was more bitter than she'd anticipated and a frown crossed her face.

"War has been over for quite some time, brother."

"That doesn't mean we let go of the past," he murmured, gripping her hand tightly as they began to walk up the stairs. "It means we hide it deep until the next war."

Neji had never been one to hate peace, he quite reveled in it, but to Hinata the words he spoke were of impending doom. Almost as if he expected the world to fall into chaos again.

She brushed the thought aside as they walked inside the clinic where was a nurse who looked at them immediately with an annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry madam, but we are closed for the evening."

"Oh! That's quite alright. I was hoping to speak with Miss Haruno-"

"Yes, but as I've said, we are closed."

"We're here to speak with Miss Haruno about a personal matter." Neji spoke up, removing his hat as he leaned forward.

The nurse blushed and Hinata had to hide her smile as the nurse nodded at him and went to look for Sakura.

"Careful brother, or Tenten may get jealous." Hinata whispered, a slightly mischievous smile crossing her face.

Neji blanched. "That's preposterous!" But he couldn't help but adjust his vest and hat muttering quietly to himself as Hinata kept smiling.

"Hinata? Neji?" Sakura's stunned voice peered over them and a wide smile crossed her face.

She looked radiant, or well as radiant as she could covered in a disheveled nurse's uniform with her hair halfway ruined.

"Oh my goodness it is you! Hina-I mean Lady Hinata and Sir Neji it's so wonderful to see you both!" Sakura exclaimed as she embraced both Hinata and Neji.

"Please just use our names. We've known each other for years. No titles are necessary between us." Hinata spoke and Neji nodded curtly.

It had been years since Hinata had seen Sakura. They'd trained together, very briefly when they were younger, but eventually both of them had outgrown the minimal training provided to women. Sakura had been incredibly strong, but disillusioned with the favor the men in the village had, she had trained under Lady Tsunade, eventually leaving Konoha at fifteen.

She had not been to the village once since leaving.

"It's good to see you again Sakura. We wanted to talk to you a bit before you left. Is now a bad time?" Neji spoke.

"Oh no, not at all! Allow me a couple of minutes to change and freshen up and I'll be right out."

Sakura changed into a simple light pink dress that complimented her short locks and they began to walk towards a small restaurant that Sakura promised was wonderful. As they began to sit and get comfortable, their talk steered away from pleasantries into actual conversation.

"How long have you been living here Sakura?"

"Oh, I've been here for…what, about three years? It's a wonderful place once you get used to it. And Lady Mei has been so agreeable to me teaching many nurses. I've almost lost count!" Sakura laughed.

"I had no idea you were here that long! Where have you been since you left Konoha?" Hinata asked, sipping on her glass of water.

"Ah well, at the beginning I trained in Suna. I was there for about a year and a half before I moved here to Kiri. I suppose Suna was beautiful too, but definitely a lot drier."

"That's quite a long time. I assume you'll be leaving for Konoha soon. Is that where you're headed?" Neji inquired, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Hinata noticed the tightness around Sakura's knuckles as she gave Neji a soft smile. "Perhaps. I haven't quite made up my mind yet. I will be traveling to the Land of Fire tomorrow, but I may not head to Konoha…"

There was a beat of silence, "…but maybe I'll pop by and visit. Who really knows?" she remarked.

There was something wrong. Hinata couldn't quite tell what exactly, but her cheerful voice wasn't reaching her eyes.

Neji met Hinata's eyes and then turned to Sakura. "You're more than welcome to travel with us Sakura. We're actually headed back to Konoha tomorrow afternoon."

"I couldn't possibly burden you both with that-"

"It's not a burden, Sakura." Hinata reassured, taking Sakura's hand in her own, "We have more than enough room on our ship."

Sakura squeezed Hinata's hand as she smiled. "Thank you. In that case I'll be more than obliged to accompany you both."

They went late into the evening, talking and reminiscing about their Konoha classmates and of Sakura's adventures on the island of Kiri. With full bellies and happy thoughts they eventually bid adieu to Sakura to head back to their inn, preparing to slumber to awaken early to inspect the merchandise.

The crates were inspected the next morning and Neji and Hinata both confirmed, along with the rest of their Hyuuga relatives that they had the right materials and quantity of jewels. Slowly, each Hyuuga relative, except for Hinata, used their Byakugan to carefully trace over each crate.

Contrary to her family's warnings about deceit on behalf of Kiri folk, there was no such deceit present at this particular exchange and they were able to depart on good terms with Lady Mei and their company boarded the ship once more.

And they were off again, traveling in the warm waters of Kiri as Hinata leaned dreamily on the rail. The warm sunset beginning to mold itself into darkness as the evening began to settle.

"The sea has entranced you my dear." Sakura murmured as Hinata blushed at being caught daydreaming.

"I'm afraid I don't have much opportunity for travel. And the sea is so blue..." Hinata trailed off and didn't notice as Sakura tilted her head slightly.

"It is beautiful." Sakura agreed, smiling softly as she pushed some of her short pink strands back. "A bit too tumultuous for myself, but I got to see it for years. Certain magic of it has worn off."

Hinata shook her head, still looking out towards the sea. "I can't imagine ever getting tired of it."

A few moments of silence passed before Hinata noticed that Sakura was no longer smiling. Her eyes looked forlorn and the tranquil expression was not one of peace, but of resignation.

"Sakura…?" Hinata asked gently, causing Sakura to jump slightly. "Why did you leave Konoha?"

"To pursue my medical education. There are so many people out in the world who don't have proper care. I needed to do my duty as a medic." Sakura responded easily.

The response felt so rehearsed to Hinata that all she could do was shake her head.

"Is that really the whole reason?" Hinata asked quietly, resting her hand on Sakura's shoulder in comfort.

Sakura turned away and her lower lip trembled as her piercing eyes filled with moisture. "Caught me, haven't you? Sometimes I forget that those eyes of yours can see everything even if they're not activated."

There was a long silence that passed between them and Hinata did not press Sakura further.

"He-he's still in the village."

Sakura didn't let her tears fall and instead breathed deeply as she closed her eyes at hearing Hinata's words. When she opened them again, they were steady.

"Is he now?" She murmured, feigning disinterest.

Hinata nodded. "He's been taking care of his family's estate. Have you…written to him at all?"

"Not a word. But Lord Sasuke has many things to handle now. Correspondence with an old teammate is the least of his worries, I'm sure." Sakura voiced, gripping the rails as she leaned over to view the crashing waves.

"I'm sure he'd like to hear from you-"

"I doubt that tremendously. I can't imagine his new wife allowing him to write to other women." There was a small edge to her voice that made her words sound bitter.

Hinata raised her eyes. "Sakura, he's not married."

Sakura turned to face her again. "What do you mean? Ino had written that he was engaged over a year ago. I had assumed that by now-"

"The marriage didn't go forward. For some reason they parted ways. It was quite the scandal for a time." Hinata reassured, slowly understanding. The forlorn expression in her eyes, the tightness of her knuckles clutched into fists, and the rolling waves of anxiousness coming off her body…

Yes, they were all signs of brokenness.

Sakura meanwhile looked shocked and utterly dazed at the news. She clutched her free hand against her chest as she steadied herself, as only a medical kunoichi could do until her breathing was even again.

Of course. It was no secret that Sakura Haruno had fallen in love with Sasuke Uchiha as children, but something drastic must have happened for her to not even want to speak about him. He was her teammate just like…

Hinata couldn't even bear to think of his name and she grabbed Sakura's hand in comfort as she pressed it gently. "Please forgive me. I didn't mean to bring up something you were uncomfortable with."

Sakura smiled at brushed her arm over Hinata's shoulders as she rested her head against hers. "You needn't worry, milady. Talking with a good friend brings me comfort, despite the not-so lovely topic."

Finally, the spark was back in her green eyes and Hinata couldn't help but chuckle.

"That antisocial teammate of mine never changes." Sakura mused. "Forever crushing women's hearts, I see. I pity the lady who becomes his wife."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's sarcastic drawl.

"Naruto on the other hand is as loyal as can-be. I hear from him at least once a month. Quite an amazing friend, that one." Sakura said, squeezing Hinata's shoulders.

Hinata took in a sharp breath at the mention of his name.

Naruto…

He had left two months after Sakura had on a journey with his master until Lord Jiraiya's untimely death at sea a little over three years ago. Naruto had only returned only long enough to build him a grave before he'd left and since then, he had not stepped foot back into Konoha.

"Hinata?"

She blinked and looked back at Sakura. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

Her pink hair was being tussled by the wind. "Nothing important. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"I really don't mind."

"Hmm." Sakura gave a noncommittal response. "He hasn't married yet. Says he won't, but sometimes I feel like someone should look over him."

It had been so long since Hinata had heard anything from him that she felt her heart crave Sakura's words. She clutched at her chest with her free hand and smiled.

If mere words and notations from others were all she could have that would be enough.

"Milady!"

Hoheto's voice carried loud across the crashing waves and both Sakura and Hinata turned in alarm.

"Lady Hinata! Miss Sakura! You have to come inside now!"

"What's the matter?" Sakura inquired, visibly uneasy.

Hoheto was gasping as he ran to them and yanked on Hinata and Sakura's arms. "Please! We have to get inside! Pirates are headed this way!"

Instantly Sakura sprang into action, yanking Hinata along as Hoheto led them inside where Neji and the others were frantically preparing their weapons.

"Brother, is it true?" Hinata shouted, above the other yells from her clansmen. The captain was turning as much as he could, but the ship wasn't budging from their course.

The heavy dread was present in his eyes. "I need you and Sakura to hide below deck. No matter what happens. I need you to promise me that you will not move."

"Brother!"

Neji gripped her shoulders so tightly Hinata knew there would be a bruise. "Hinata listen to me! Stay below deck. The pirates are coming fast towards us. We cannot avoid them and the rest of us have to fight them off."

"Just let them have the jewels brother! Surely they'll-"

"Have you no pride?" Neji interrupted, a shocked expression on his face. "We are ninja from Konoha. We do not bow to scoundrels. And scoundrels like these would steal everything from us, including our life if given the chance. We must not give them the opportunity."

Hinata was stunned and hot tears were forming in her eyes and Sakura glanced at the others, already heading towards the front to begin their assault.

"Neji, make sure none of our ninjas die. I can heal those who need it urgently, but-"

"No promises, but I'll try my best to protect my men." Neji bowed to Sakura as he tightened his grip on his kunai.

The ship suddenly shook violently, as a large wave of water crashed over the cabin and the loud, rowdy screams from outside began to overwhelm her as the darkness took over.

"Move. Now!"

Neji's yell pushed Sakura into action who was forced to drag Hinata down the stairs almost in complete darkness.

They pushed behind some of the crates stored below and Sakura enveloped Hinata against her, ripping her dress in the process.

"We'll be alright…won't we Sakura?" Hinata was trembling against Sakura's arms, while Sakura pressed even further into the corner, straining to hear above the commotion outside.

"Our ninjas are strong." She responded simply. "You must have faith, Hinata."

Sakura then turned to the opening above as another wave of water crashed against the ship and rocked them violently. "But as a medic I cannot simply stay here. I have to help our men."

"Sakura!"

"You stay here!" she whispered harshly as she pried her fingers from Hinata's hands. "You're a lady. Your presence has to stay hidden. If they notice me, I'm sure I could handle myself at least a little."

And then she had slipped away as another large wave rocked the boat.

"Sakura!" The whisper didn't carry far above the shouting and Hinata couldn't see well in the dark.

Noble ladies couldn't fight. Noble ladies couldn't use their chakra past childhood. It was unbecoming and undignified. The men would be the ones to fight and grow their power. Noble ladies had to prepare themselves to run the household, serve their husband, and raise their children.

Hinata was meek and weak, but Neji's words rang in her ears as a she swallowed her whimpers as she pressed her hand into her mouth to quiet her breathing.

As weak as she was, she was still a Hyuuga.

She allowed herself a brief moment of nervousness as she brought her hands together and formed a hand-sign that she'd been prohibited from doing in years and slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness as the chakra began to flow.

The comfort was immediate as the darkness lifted from her vision. It was as if she'd never stopped practicing. As if her chakra was still as strong as ever.

She could see Sakura hiding amongst the dusty crates a distance in front of her and Hinata anxiously headed towards her, crawling on the floor to prevent making too much noise. "Sakura!"

Her whisper was loud enough. Sakura turned around with worry deep in her green eyes. There was shock that was quickly hidden away as she gripped Hinata's hand tightly. She had noticed Hinata's Byakugan. "I need you to look above for me."

Biting her lip, Hinata turned to the ceiling and let the chakra flow freely into her eyes, the scene turning clearer and her hands began to tremble.

"I-I can't distinguish them too clearly-"

"That's alright. That's alright." Sakura breathed, placing her hands on Hinata's shoulders. "I just need you to tell me if anybody's injured. I need to help them Hinata, please."

Sakura could see the veins around Hinata's eyes pop out more as she concentrated further. She was trying her best to hide her fear from Hinata, but there were so many shouts. So many distinct yells and screams. In the open ocean like this, there wasn't much chance of help from outside sources.

The fear she was feeling was being squashed by her impeccable training and nothing more as she kept pressing reassuringly against the Hyuuga heir.

"I-I think one of our clansmen is on the floor, near the back of the ship. His eyes still have chakra in them. He's wounded in his chest. There's so much blood. Oh god Sakura there's so much blood-"

"Okay, that's enough." Sakura's quiet voice was soothing, amidst the shouting and yells above. "You did great. Don't overuse your Byakugan. I'm sure it's been years since you've used it."

Hinata was still trembling, the anxiousness in her chest growing with each shout that made her wince in terror while Sakura looked nervous, but still overall calm.

"Hinata, I must go. Please stay hidden."

She opened her mouth to protest and Sakura firmly covered her mouth, a sad smile covering her face. "I cannot just let our people die. Understand me, this is my life."

Silent tears ran down Hinata's face as she hugged Sakura tightly, before she pried herself away and began to ascend the stairs. There was less noise around them now and despite Sakura's warning, Hinata used her Byakugan again.

"Head towards the right. He's near the rails." She whispered, cowering behind a crate as a loud scream rang throughout the cabin.

She saw a flash of a short smile and pink hair and she was gone.

The screaming was now louder to her ears, without the distraction of someone else. She could hear yelling and loud sounds that she could only imagine to be someone's jutsu. She hugged her arms as someone up above began shouting, the accent too strong to understand above the never-ending roaring waves.

The fear in her chest was growing wildly and she focused her eyes above her where people were running and fighting still, but eventually it did not take long for the sounds to quiet down and heavy footsteps rang above her.

There was a loud voice that yelled among the rest and the response was earth shatteringly quiet and she crouched further behind the crates and tried to make herself as small as possible.

The doorway opened with a harsh bang and a muscular man, began to walk down, his heavy footsteps loud against the wooden boards.

Her hand was still on her mouth as she willed herself to control her breathing, to not shake with dread and fear that was slowly overpowering her senses.

It was for naught, however, as the man broke the crate directly in front of her, exposing herself to his eyes. It didn't take long for him to grab her as more footsteps descended the stairs.

"Hey boss." He called, a toothless grin covering his face as Hinata's squirmed from his grip. "I think I found ya a princess."

Instinct took over as the man gripped her waist and she dug her fingertips into her chest, right into his heart and he yelped in pain as he let her go.

Another man reached and grabbed her by her shoulders. If this was a normal situation, Hinata may have blushed at having a man she wasn't married to, touching her…

But this was a criminal, and despite her disgust at his hands touching her, the most potent emotion coursing through her body was fury.

She twisted her hands to press behind herself into his lower abdomen, effectively making him drop her and she fell down and began to run as a swipe of sword cut off her path.

The wind from the sword made her dizzy, and she collapsed on the ground, her eyes barely making out the figure in front of her.

"Isn't she a doll. This must be Lady Hyuuga herself. My, my what a prize." He grinned; his teeth as sharp as the curious sword in his hand.

"M-My chakra!"

"Gone. My sharkskin blade can cut and devour chakra. Those pesky eyes of yours won't be giving us any more trouble."

That accent, it was recognizable now…she swallowed hard as she looked up at him. This man was from Kiri.

He gripped her by the waist as he hoisted her up, and she struggled, her fists powerless against his strong arms.

The moonlit sea was barely enough for her to make out the figures around her. There were plenty of wounded, but she was relieved to see that all of her kinsmen were at least still breathing, from the moans and gasps of pain that they emitted. Meanwhile a good amount of the Kiri pirates were lying motionless.

She saw Sakura, with her arms pinned behind her as she struggled against the Kiri ninja guarding her.

"I already said that she's just a Hyuuga maid. I'm a famous medical ninja. Surely, I'm enough to satisfy your demands for ransom, am I not?"

"Maybe." The captain, Hinata presumed, gripped her waist tightly causing her to yelp in pain as he looked down at her, his eyes darkening. "But maybe I can get something for her too. Her eyes should be worth some gold at least."

The captain glanced back towards Sakura and frowned. "Plus, a normal woman wouldn't fight for her maid that much. It's obvious that she's a lady. Maybe even a noble one at that."

Hinata heard someone coughing and she saw Neji on his knees, his body bloodied and clothes shredded as another ninja behind him yanked him by the hair. His hands were bound behind his back.

He did not acknowledge her and instead looked towards Sakura as he struggled to swallow and instead coughed up more blood.

The moonlight illuminated Neji's face as the captain laughed.

"Change of plans. Burn the ship and dump their bodies overboard."

"No!" Sakura and Hinata both screamed simultaneously as they were dragged away, their knees scraping the bloody, wooden deck as they struggled to remain with Neji.

"Captain, you didn't want to sell their eyes?"

"You didn't recognize him? That's Neji Hyuuga, a ninja from Konoha, which means…" he brought his face close enough that Hinata could smell the sweat from his body as she struggled against him. "That this here's Princess Hyuuga herself. Worth a lot more than her kinsmen's eyes."

The captain with the shark teeth hoisted his sword on his back before leaping onto the smaller ship dragging a kicking Sakura behind him as she swore and cursed.

Hinata was flung into the smaller ship in a similar manner, but she screamed at the Kiri pirate, to not throw her kinsmen overboard to a sure death as they were without chakra and without use of their arms.

Her screams were in vain as the men set the ship ablaze and tossed out the body of Neji Hyuuga into the ocean, while she begged them to stop.

The last thing she saw was the bright flames overcoming the ship as it burned and plunged into nothingness below.

Author's Note: Thanks all for the faves, follows, and reviews on the last chapter! I really appreciate all the support. I do want to encourage folks to review if they're able. Updates will be roughly weekly from this point forward. I currently do work about 1-2 chapters ahead of the one currently posted and my hope is to continue to do that going forward. Also, while I anticipated being much further along, it does seem like this will end up being a lengthier story. Join the ride :)