Hinata of the White Lotus

Hinata's Long Day

"This way! Come on!" Naruto called as he skipped ahead of the two girls, urging them to hurry forward.

"This place really all that good?" Tayuya asked, lugging her heavy feet forward, every step a work of effort. She hadn't eaten practically all day and had then been subjected to hours of interrogation and mind-dives. To say she was starving… well, the number of things she wouldn't eat right now was pretty much zero.

"It's quite delicious." Hinata answered. Considering how many bowls she ate in one setting the last time she was there, her words were probably underselling it. Either way, Tayuya would find out for herself soon enough and if she continued to hang out with Naruto, would end up eating here more often than not.

And it was very likely that they would be hanging out from now on. After all, they were both Uzumaki. The only two in the village. Yet while Naruto's excitement at finding a member of his family was extremely obvious, Tayuya hadn't actually given any indication on how she felt about the whole thing.

Something about that made Hinata feel uneasy. She wanted them to get along from here on out. Not just because it was what Naruto wanted, but because it would help Tayuya as well. She just didn't know how to go about asking this girl for her feelings. They weren't that close, after all.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started to say, earning a curious glance from Tayuya. "He was always alone. Yet despite that… he's always been a bright person on the outside. Almost the complete opposite of me. I was drawn to his radiance… his ability to endure even when he had nothing. It was only recently that I realized he was actually only acting that way to hide his pain and loneliness. I… I don't know exactly why I'm tell you this. I guess, I just hope you'll treat him nicely." She felt her cheeks heat up and she was glad Naruto was too far ahead to hear them.

"…I see." Tayuya responded. It seemed like Hinata's strategy had been a failure. She wasn't even sure why she decided to tell Tayuya all that, it wasn't like she had asked. Just as Hinata had given up, Tayuya found her thoughts. "After my mother died, I gave up on ever having something like a family again. And as you may have noticed… I'm not exactly soft around the edges. But… I'll try to make things work. Naruto fought for me even when I couldn't fight for myself, and that was before he knew my last name. He's earned at least that much." It was hard to tell in the setting sun, but Hinata could have sworn she saw Tayuya's cheeks also heating up.

"Thank you." Hinata smiled. It wasn't much, but she felt that she was a little closer with Tayuya now.

"Here we are!" Naruto called back to them, gesturing wildly to the small ramen stand he stood in front of now. "The most delicious ramen in all of Konoha!" The three of them entered together, greeted enthusiastically by the stall owner and his daughter.

After placing their orders, Naruto began enthusiastically chatting at Tayuya, telling her all about his recommendations and things to do in the village. Hinata sat on the other side of Tayuya, listening to Naruto rant on with a small smile on her face. Nothing he told her was new, as she already knew about all his favorite places. Yet to hear him talk about how much he loved the village- in spite of all the reasons he had not to- she couldn't help but be happy about it.

"One bowl of Miso for The White Lotus." Ayame sang out, earning an immediate blush from Hinata.

"P-Please do not refer to me by that title." She stuttered meekly, unable to lift her eyes from the counter. It would seem the rumors had spread even further than she had anticipated. It wasn't just her fellow Shinobi, but the civilians of the village that had caught wind of her reputation.

"Why not? I think it's cute." Ayame said earnestly. Hinata glanced up for a moment, just to check her face and make sure she wasn't making fun of her. To her surprise, Ayame's smile was genuine and there was no hint of ulterior motives. "We saw your fight at the tournament too, you know? You were awesome down there against the red-haired freak." Before Hinata could form a rebuttal, Ayame's father let out a laugh.

"I knew to keep an eye on her ever since she first came to our stall." As he praised her, he was already working on the next bowl, no doubt anticipating that Hinata would eat her fill once again. She hated the idea of disappointing him too, so instead of coming up with any kind of excuses, she quietly dug into her noodles.

Eight bowls of ramen and a full belly later, the three of them left the stall.

"Holy shit, you can really eat." Tayuya looked at Hinata as if seeing an entirely new side to her.

"I lost again…" Naruto grumbled, both hands over his stomach. He had managed to eat seven bowls this time… but was practically on the urge of throwing up the last one. Not that Hinata had been competing with him, but like before she had gotten so swept away by the taste she practically lost track of her surroundings entirely. Before she knew what had happened, she had eaten eight bowls.

"Well, it was good at least." Tayuya added, almost as if she was trying to cheer Naruto up. "Better than the shit we had to eat in the Sound Village anyways." When put that way, it wasn't exactly much of a compliment, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

"So what now?" Naruto asked, already planning where to take her next. He was so excited to spend more time with his new family, which is exactly why Hinata felt so bad for what she had to say next.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. However, I need to return home and report to my family." She paused, knowing he was going to like the next part the least. "Tayuya-san will have to come with me. It was part of the stipulation for letting her out from the cell the interrogation squad intended for her." She hoped that by wording it that way, he would be more willing to understand her reasoning.

"Ah… I see." Naruto's expression once again fell, but he seemed to bounce back just as quickly. "We can hang out tomorrow though, right?" He looked at Tayuya expectantly.

"Fine with me." Tayuya said with a shrug, trying to appear aloof about it. "I gotta head back to the interrogation squad for the morning, but if you can somehow manage to drag me outa there around noon, we can hang out the rest of the day." The whole time she spoke, she didn't dare look Naruto in the eyes. A similar tactic Hinata used when trying to hide her embarrassment. It was cute, seeing this side of her, but Hinata fought against herself, knowing that a giggle now would likely earn her a swear-filled rant.

"Awesome! I'll see you then!" Naruto's grin was enough to brighten the whole street. After that, the three of them said their goodbyes for the evening, Naruto heading one way, Tayuya and Hinata heading the opposite.

As the two girls walked through the village, Tayuya glanced sideways at Hinata.

"So for how long have you had a crush on him?" She asked casually. Almost like it wasn't even a big deal she had figured it out so quickly, when even he had yet to realize it.

"I-It's not really a crush!" Hinata didn't even know why she tried to deny it. The redness of her cheeks alone had already given her away. Yet she pushed the lie anyway. "It's just that I really respect him and he inspires me to be more confident." These things were at least true as well.

"Yeah, okay." Tayuya rolled her eyes in a way that said she hadn't fallen for it even a little. "Look, girl-talk about love and feelings and all that shit ain't my jam, so I won't say this again. But you need to make a move while you can. There's no telling what's gonna happen in this world." It was obvious those words were from personal experience, but Hinata didn't actually know who she was speaking about.

"…You're right, of course." Hinata relented, turning her attention to the street they walked on. "I've liked him for a long time, but it was only recently he even realized I exist. To be honest, I've just been happy with this little progress. To wish for anything more than this, with everything that's already expected of me-" Now that the exams were over and Kurenai's life wasn't in danger, she had to uphold her promise to Kali and begin properly taking care of her tasks as the successor of the Nichiren Byakugan.

"Well, I'll help you with that where I can." Tayuya said. "I don't know how much help I'm actually going to be, but if I can manage to take even just a little bit of that burden off your shoulders, then you should use it to make time for personal stuff." It was what her mother had done too, helping out Hinata's predecessor.

"Thank you." Hinata said quietly. Just knowing there was someone to help her share the burden was a great weight off her shoulders.

From there, the two of them walked in silence until they reached the Hyuga compound. It wasn't much farther anyway, and it was obvious to them both that they preferred the quiet to some forced conversation. Not everyone could be like Naruto, after all.

"Here we are." Hinata said, stopping outside the entrance to the main clan household. The Hyuga compound itself consisted of many different families. Most of the branch clans lived in their own family units in smaller houses of their own. In the center of this residential district was the largest home, in the old traditional style from before the founding of villages. This was where Hinata had been raised her whole life.

And for at least a little while, Tayuya would call it home too.

Pushing the main gate open, the two of them entered together. From there, they walked up the stone pathway leading to the main residence. It was hard for Hinata to ignore Tayuya's gawking gaze, taking in the tall house and the lavish garden surrounding it. The Hyuga clan was one of Konoha's oldest and most proud families. It was something Hinata took for granted, but every time someone came here for the first time, she was reminded of this fact.

Finally, they reached the main house and she pushed the door open. Standing just behind it was her little sister, Hanabi. It seemed like every time Hinata had returned since their reconciliation, that Hanabi was there to welcome her sister home. As if watching with her Byakugan for her to return.

"Onee-sama." Hanabi bowed respectfully in lieu of the hug she usually greeted her big sister with. Hinata had no doubt this was her way of keeping up appearances in front of the as-of-yet unknown guest.

"Hanabi. I'm home." Hinata didn't really pay any mind to this, closing the distance between them to grab her sister and pull her into a tight hug. She had been in such a hurry to leave and save Kurenai, she hadn't gotten the chance to bid her goodbye. This was her way of trying to make up for that.

"Welcome home." Hanabi returned the hug, pushing her face into Hinata's chest and gripping her tightly. There was no doubt the rumors of what had happened during the mission had reached her family as well. While Hinata had prevailed against those overwhelming odds, it had been perilous more than once. It was in some ways a miracle Hinata had returned at all.

"Thank you, Hanabi." Hinata stroked her long hair for several seconds, enjoying the moment. They weren't allowed more than that, as Tayuya's awkward fiddling behind them turned their attention towards their guest. "I'd like to introduce you. This is my little sister, Hanabi." Hinata said, breaking the hug just enough to turn and face her guest. "And this is Uzumaki Tayuya. She'll be staying with us. I was assigned a mission to watch over her." To be more exact, she had volunteered herself for that mission. The details could come later, however.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Uzumaki-san." Hanabi greeted, pushing back several strands of brown hair and bowing as much as she could with Hinata still having one arm wrapped around her.

"Yeah, same here." Tayuya replied casually, slipping her hands into her pockets and giving what could at best be interpreted as a polite nod. "Also, just call me Tayuya. No need for all that formal crap." It wasn't much, but for Tayuya's standards, it was about the most polite they could expect her to get.

"I understand. Tayuya it is then." Hanabi corrected herself, not entirely dropping the formal manner of speech. Even when speaking with Hinata, she had a hard time not using it, having to constantly correct herself.

"Hinata." The stern voice of their father interrupted any further introductions. All three of them turned to face him, even Tayuya standing somewhat straighter under the intense gaze of the Hyuga clan head. "Welcome home. I know it is sudden, but I ask you to accompany me." It would seem things were right to business. Despite the fact that her father had been warmer to her as of late, he was still as serious as ever.

"Yes, father." Hinata answered before turning back to Tayuya and smiling apologetically. "Please have Hanabi show you to my room. There are some scrolls in my cabinet. If you find the documents written by a girl named Youko, you're welcome to read them. She was my predecessor and there might be some mention of your mother in there." At the mention of her mother, Tayuya's eyes widened.

"Is it really okay to show her those?" Hanabi asked. As far as she knew, Tayuya was still a total stranger, and revealing the documents left behind by previous users of the Nichiren Byakugan was taboo even under normal circumstances. However, if there was a chance Tayuya could find a way to reconnect with her lost mother, then Hinata wanted to give her that chance.

"She has a right to see them." Hinata answered vaguely, not wanting to keep her father waiting for too long. She stepped away from the two of them, bowing quickly before leaving them to go together to her room.

As she joined her father's side, he turned and began to walk further into the compound. Hinata walked just a pace behind him, head bowed out of habit. For the first several seconds, they walked in complete silence.

"Word of your accomplishments seems to have spread throughout the village." Hiashi said, his tone impossible for her to read. "They say you slayed the clan killer, a man single-handedly capable of wiping out the entire Uchiha clan by himself. This is to say nothing of besting a member of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen. And then using your White Lotus technique to purify some rampaging beast, earning you the same epithet." When he put all those things side-by-side like that, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"The truth was simply exaggerated." Hinata said the same thing she tried to tell everyone else. Despite the fact that no one seemed to actually believe her. These rumors were growing more wild and out of control by the day. If she didn't put a stop to them, she was going to end up in situations way over her head.

"I assumed as much." Hiashi nodded, and despite the harshness of his words, Hinata found she for once didn't mind so much that he was underestimating her. "Do not misunderstand my intent." He quickly amended. "You have grown much stronger in an incredibly short amount of time, Hinata. And I am proud of your growth. However, we must also be realistic about our limits." It seemed his intent was to make sure the rumors hadn't gotten to her head.

"Yes, father." Hinata agreed with him. "I know those victories cannot be attributed to my strength alone." Even just ignoring that her strength had come from Kali, she had been helped by her team and the circumstances surrounding the battles. There was no way she could assume she had been strong enough to overcome such obstacles by herself.

"Good." Hiashi nodded, but his expression remained grim-set. "Regardless, the public will not be convinced of this. You bring honor to our clan, but at great peril to yourself. For better or worse, the deeds of a select few are how legends are born. Yet we forget all those who helped them along the way. As such, it is now your duty to not forget them." His words struck a chord deep inside her. It was a lesson she had subconsciously already known, but she hadn't been able to put it in words before now.

"Thank you, father. I will." Hinata said, finding herself rarely self-assured. Perhaps it was because these were words of wisdom given by her father, something she had desired since before she could remember. Maybe even more than words of praise from Naruto, she felt reassured by her father's wisdom.

"I know you will." Hiashi smiled for the briefest of moments, before it settled back into his usual stoic expression. "Now then, there is another matter for which you and I have both put off for far too long." In almost an instant, Hinata knew what he was talking about. She hadn't expected to deal with it so early upon returning to the village, but there was no way she could run from it any longer either.

The two of them entered the guest room. Like all the rooms in the Hyuga compound, the floor was made entirely of tatami mats. In the middle was a low table. And sitting at the head of the table was a single soul.

Hyuga Neji.

Everything for Hinata had started in her battle against Neji. When he tried to kill her, striking her heart with his Jyuken. Despite his intentions, it had been what allowed Hinata to awaken this new power and connect with Kali.

In truth, things had begun far before that even. On the night of Hinata's third birthday, she had awakened the Nichiren Byakugan for the first time. A man from Kumogakure had tried to kidnap her and she struck him down, ending his life. However, she had only recently regained this memory and only a select few knew this truth.

The story as most knew it went like this: Hiashi had been the one to kill the emissary from Kumogakure. And in order to avoid war, they demanded his head in return. So to avoid war, Konoha had given up Hiashi… allegedly. In actuality, they had sacrificed Hizashi in his place. Neji's father.

This was the truth as Neji knew it too, leading him to hate the main family.

He didn't even seem to notice they had entered the room yet. No, that wasn't entirely correct. He knew they were here, he was just studying the scroll unrolled before him with such intent that he didn't even bother to lift his head to acknowledge them.

As Hinata and her father sat down side-by-side on the opposite end of the table, Hiashi did something Hinata had only ever seen him do once before; He prostrated himself, bowing in apology to Neji. This was exactly like when he had told Hinata the truth about the Nichiren Byakugan and his past actions in trying to awaken it.

"Wha-?" Neji gasped in audible shock, having finally looked up from the scroll he had been reading to acknowledge them. The sight that greeted him was Hinata sitting next to her prostrating father. "Hiashi-sama, raise your head." He urged him, but it was hard to tell if his tone was embarrassed or angry.

"Everything you read in that scroll is true." Hiashi spoke directly into the floor, not lifting his head. "However, that is not the whole story. That is why I've brought Hinata here with me. She desires to tell you the rest of what happened."

"The whole truth?" Neji asked, turning to Hinata for answers. He had agreed to hear Hinata out already. Originally it had been conditional on defeating Gaara in the exams, but after watching the fight, he had decided to hear her out no matter the outcome.

"Yes." Hinata hesitated. Of course, she knew what truth her father spoke of. However, the scroll in Neji's hands gave her pause. She didn't know what it even was.

"Ah, this?" Neji asked, noticing her gaze. "It's my father's final words to me. How he made the choice to die, in order to protect his brother. I think… it's his way of telling me to choose my own fate." His expression was strangely peaceful. Which was all the more reason Hinata had to tell him the truth.

So she did. She told him how it had been her to strike down the man that had kidnapped her, not her father like everyone believed. How everything that happened was her fault. She then told him about the Nichiren Byakugan and the powers she had awakened during their battle. When she finished, she mimicked her father, prostrating herself before her cousin.

"Please, raise your heads." Neji said with a weary sigh. Finally, Hiashi returned to an upright sitting position and Hinata followed his lead. "I understand what you're trying to say." Neji continued. "That the reason my father gave his life was based on a misunderstanding. However, I ask that you please don't taint his sacrifice like that by trying to take the blame for it. My father chose his own fate with the information he had, and even if he knew the truth, I think- I know he would make the same decision. In his final moments, he was free." He emphasized.

Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut. Finally, finally, she felt like she understood. She had tried to apologize to Kurenai for failing her, but had been rebuffed. She had tried to apologize to Lee, for the same thing. And now once again with Neji. All three of them assured her that she was in no way responsible for what happened.

Hinata felt responsible for everything, but in a way wasn't that egotistical of her to do so? Everyone made their own choices for their own reasons. It wasn't just her. She didn't have to bear all these burdens on her own. Why was it only now she was realizing that?

"You've matured, my nephew." Hiashi praised. When he looked at Neji, it was the same pride with which he stared at Hinata and Hanabi. As if he was his son.

The only thing separating them now was that mark on Neji's head. The one that branded him as a caged bird. A member of the branch family, whereas they were the main.

Hinata could feel the weight of the Moonfire Elixir in her backpack. She wanted to give it to him now. To make it so Neji was no longer just her cousin, but her brother. However, she couldn't just yet. Not until she knew it was safe to do so.

For that reason, she really hoped Itachi survived using the elixir and that it burned away his curse mark.

Itachi gasped audibly, as if he had just been drowning, and shot into an upright sitting position.

"Wh- what happened?" He asked, feeling a strange shortness of breath. His whole body was burning up, despite the fact his shirt had been removed and he wore only his undergarments.

The room around him was painfully bright and it took him a couple seconds to recognize it. This was the Hokage's personal operation room, located in a basement beneath the tower.

"So you're alive, Itachi." Hiruzen sat next to the operating table Itachi had jolted up from. His tobacco pipe was notably missing, as he was no doubt allowed to bring it in here, even though this was technically a room made specifically for him.

It wasn't just the Third Hokage in the room, but two nurses as well. They had seen Itachi's face, but that didn't matter. He had cast them under the Kotoamatsukami Genjutsu, meaning they would never tell a soul about his existence. It was only upon seeing them here that he remembered what had happened.

"The elixir…" Itachi whispered. "Did it work?" He had taken the Moonfire Elixir that Hinata had given him. Before doing so, he had arranged all of this in order to increase the chances of success.

"The caged bird seal isn't something to be taken lightly." Hiruzen answered cryptically. "It can only be removed in death. The elixir gave you a terrible fever. It was like your body had caught fire."

"You're saying… I died?" Itachi asked to clarify. It wouldn't have been the first time, as he had also used Izanagi to reverse his death once already. This was exactly as Kali had predicted, no less. She theorized that the elixir might kill him in order to destroy the seal.

"Yes, it seems nothing short of death will remove the seal." Hiruzen nodded. "Yet like a phoenix, the fever caused by the elixir also brought you back. It would appear that Orochimaru had been onto something when he was hunting for the flower. It might not be an elixir of immortality like he had hoped, but its properties are beyond incredible."

"So the seal is gone then?" Itachi turned to one of the nurses who silently brought him a mirror. He looked into it, inspecting his forehead to see no sign of the caged bird seal. The tomoe of his left eye transformed into the Seven-pronged Shuriken, a sign of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan that he obtained by implanting Shisui's eye.

And in his right eye, there was a simple three-pronged Shuriken. His original Mangekyo.

The second nurse stepped forward now, holding a small candle. The wick of the candle was lit in a warm orange flame. Staring intently at the candle, Itachi called on the power of his right eye.

"Amaterasu!" The orange flame was consumed by a fire that was blacker than night. It had worked, his Jutsu was restored. In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered Kali's warning. Amaterasu was supposedly a real goddess of some kind and it was her he was borrowing such an ability from. However, he needed this power in order to do what came next.

"What's the situation on Danzo?" Itachi asked, turning his attention away from superstitious warnings. It had been Danzo who forced Itachi into sacrificing his clan. And now, Danzo was gunning for the position of Hokage. Something to which Itachi stood in his way of.

"His Root operatives have been making a lot of moves." Hiruzen answered, eyes drifting to the floor. He and Danzo had once been best friends. In truth, he blamed himself for having put all the darkness of the village on Danzo that things turned out the way they had. "He has at least one member from each influential clan in his agency. I believe his intention is to turn the clan heads against me… and if he discovers your existence and reveals it to them, it is likely he'll succeed."

"So for now we should play it safe. Analyze things calmly and wait for our opportunity." Which was the way Itachi preferred to do things anyway. Being in the shadow of the Hokage was trickier than he had imagined. Certainly, he was the one running the operations of the village right now, but it was inefficient. Especially with Danzo trying to muddy the waters. "If he does discover me, he will also move for Sasuke. I need you to place the Copy Ninja on him. Make sure Danzo doesn't try anything."

"Kakashi?" Hiruzen grimaced. "I sent him to Sunagakure right after the invasion to oversee a joint-investigation into the whereabouts of the Fourth Kazekage. I can have him recalled, but it will likely take him time to return."

"Do it." Itachi ordered. He couldn't take any chances with Sasuke. Only someone with the Sharingan could look after him. He regretted not having placed the order before now, and he only hoped it wasn't too late.

Someday soon, he intended to reveal himself to Sasuke. To explain to him everything that had happened and beg him for his forgiveness. Itachi had at one point intended to be killed by Sasuke's hand. However, that meeting with Kali changed all that.

The moment Itachi lost one of his eyes, he could no longer give them to Sasuke. He was only thankful that Sasuke had failed to unlock the Mangekyo before now, otherwise he would already be going blind. In order to prevent this, Itachi now had a reason to live. Even still, asking Sasuke to forgive him wouldn't be easy. In the worst case scenario, Itachi would have to use Kotoamatsukami to… persuade him.

That couldn't be done until Danzo was dealt with. After all, Danzo had Shisui's other eye. If anyone could counter Kotoamatsukami, then it was him. The hidden war beneath Konoha was about to begin.

Itachi just hoped it didn't destroy the village in the process.