So, Jiraiya was back in town.

His arrival was met with much cheer, uplifting after the chaos that was the first stage of the chunin exams. It was met with increased moral and strangely, rumors of him running into a electricity pole.

Hm.

Haruhi shrugged, holding still as Kakashi frantically tried to scrub the paint off her arms. He had seen her and Naruto just as they were putting their finishing touches on the Hokage monument, just coming back from his mission. He freaked, and swooped them back to their respective houses.

"Really Haruhi, what were you thinking?" Kakashi sounded amused, but she heard the undercurrent of worry in his voice, and felt guilty.

"Well, I don't know, Naruto offered, and it's just been so depressing lately, I thought it would be fun."

The circular motions on her shoulder slowed, and Kakashi's hand slid from her forearm to weave with her hand. His thumb rubbed circled into the back of her hand and her heartbeat picked up. The arm holding the washcloth dropped it into the warm water and wrapped around her shoulders pulling her into a hug.

It was incredibly comforting.

"I know it's been hard lately, and I have been busy lately. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you guys."

Haruhi sighed into his shoulder, absentmindedly watching the spot where she had a bath in a teacup.

"-But you can't keep doing this."

Wait. What?

Haruhi pulled away, shooting him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She said, a bit defensively. She felt her ears grow warm.

"This, Haruhi."

"Alright, I won't paint the hokage mountain-"

"-That's not what I meant either."

Her mouth audible clicked shut.

"You cannot keep going to those meetings. With Kasumi. Akira, Kizashi, and Inari. It's not that I don't support or agree with you guys, but it's too dangerous."

"Then w-why did you give me the planner and backpack!?"

"Because I thought you would be more discreet! But now you have a target on you back, you're putting yourself in danger!"

"Oh please! I've had a target on my back since the very beginning and you damn well know it!"

"..."

"A-and very hypocritical of you, Mr ninja! Telling me I can't do something because its dangerous."

The visible parts of his face flushed.

"That's different! I can defend myself! I'm just trying to keep you alive!"

"Why? Because It's your mission? Is that what I am to you? The sad little c-rank civilian?"

Hearing her voice wobble, he backtracked.

"No! No... You're…"

His voice trailed off. Haruhi's face darkened.

"Right." She said flatly. "I'm going to Kizashi's for another cooking meet. See you later."

She jumped off the counter and brushed past Kakashi. She changed into fresh clothes, got her book bag with all her things, and rushed out the door. She was exhausted, her eye bags were huge, but she was also on the verge of tears, and was afraid she'd cry if she stayed a minute longer.

She didn't know why Kakashi telling her to stop bothered her so much. But it did. She hardly noticed the pitying looks as she power walked towards the Haruno family home, blinking rapidly.

The door opened before she could knock, and Mebuki pulled her into a hug. It was warm and comforting like a mothers, and it reminded Haruhi of her own mother, all alone now, and she only cried harder.

Mebuki sat her down on the comfy chair and wrapped her in a blanket while Kizashi made her tea.

Haruhi tried to apologize for barging in, because despite what she said to Kakashi there was no actual cooking class today. It was Thursday, and cooking class was held on Sunday. But they didn't seem to mind, instead, patiently waiting and comforting her.

"What's wrong, dear?" Mebuki said. Haruhi had seen her last at Kasumi's Tuesday. She was looking well. Glowing, actually. She had a healthy radiance to her, and was plumper than she was a few months ago.

"Well, It's nothing really!"

To Haruhi's surprise, Anko walked in. She was wearing Mebuki's shirt, Kizashi's overlarge trouser and had bead head. She was carrying some of Kizashi's cooking.

"A-anko!" Haruhi hadn't seen her since the trial. She looked much better.

"Who do I need to beat up?" She said, half jokingly.

Mebuki and Kizashi smiled in greeting before going back to Haruhi.

"Ah! Stop devaluing yourself Haruhi! You always brush your own problems under the rug! We wanna hear it!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay then. I um, ah, Kakashi said that I should stop going to all these meetings. He said they were to..that I was attracting the wrong sorts of attention."

Mebuki, Anko, and Kizashi exchanged looks.

"First fight, huh?" Kizashi said.

"Haruhi..these meetings aren't exactly going to make you popular among the Konoha higher ups. We make it so they can't actually bring us in for anything, but still…"

Haruhi flushed. So they were taking his side?

"I know that!" Haruhi snapped.

They blinked at her sharp tone.

"Sorry...but I know what i'm getting into. I know what this means, by getting involved in these grassroots things. I was involved back at my home too. I know what can happen to me if I get caught. I did get caught. You three were there hugging Sakura outside the courtroom! I'm doing this in spite of the danger, because these meetings are what I truly believe in. I truly think they can make a difference."

They sat, stunned by her words.

"And I know I like to play the fool, but I'm not. My Great-Great Grandmother was a slave on a plantation in the south. You don't know what this means, but she freed herself by running up north, and then became apart of the underground railroad. She saved hundreds, through great risk to herself, by hiding them, feeding them, teaching them skills to hide themselves and find work. I grew up listening to stories of her and her bravery. And this world needs more people like her. I can be one of them. We are all one of them!"

Mebuki blinked, and Kizashi nodded his head.

"You are also taking great risks, to teach ninja how to cope, to view themselves with kindness. In feeding them, and teaching them skills they need to survive. In a village that wants their ninja to view themselves as disposable tools, what you are doing is revolutionary! To teach them to value themselves when they are supposed to have no value! You could be executed! Yet you think it's worth it! We know It is! I know it is. You two have been great friends to me, and a big part of why is because you understand why this is so important."

Haruhi sighed.

"So I understand why you agree with Kakashi, and why he doesn't want me to do this, but I want to. I need to."

"..."

Kizashi started clapping, wiping away a tear. Mebuki nodded, impressed. Anko raised a glass of alcohol she had somehow procured, before tipping it all back. Haruhi blushed at their antics. She watched as Mebuki camly rejected Anko's offer for a drink and smiled.

"Did anyone ever say you have a gift with words?"

"Once or twice."

"Did you tell Kakashi this?"

Haruhi felt her face flush, which was answer enough.

"Well, why don't you have something to eat, and then you can go and talk to him about this."

Haruhi nodded, but balked when Kizashi stood up to grab her some sweets. They were high in calories, and she was fat enough, but Haruhi didn't want to be rude and say no, so she took one.

Just as she was about to take a bite, the door burst open.

"Mom! Dad! Anko! Me and Sasuke have something to ask-oh, Haruhi-sensei!"

Haruhi waved awkwardly, wondering what Sasuke was doing here. She had just seen them not a few hours ago, so seeing them again was kinda weird.

"Ask me what?"

Sakura blinked, and shook her head. Haruhi used the distraction to discreetly throw the chocolate away.

"Well, we were talking, and Sasuke wants to clean up the Uchiha compound. And, Like, a lot of the homes have a lot of damage from age and stuff, so he needs someone to check the electrical. And not to mention the plumbing and the building structures."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Business is slow after the damage from Orochimaru was fixed. I'd love to work on the districts. But are most of the houses cleared out?"

"I've got five shadow clones working on it right now. I also got Naruto from his apartment, and he's a huge help too, with even more shadow clones. We've already covered half the houses. Certain things that are valuable enough go to the… the main house. Things damaged beyond repair are throw out. Pantry food still in date is donated to the homeless shelters."

After the attack the village simply didn't have the funds or didn't care when lower class civilians houses were destroyed. Haruhi thought it was both. The shelters were crowded and constantly low on supplies.

"Kasumi's brother is a carpenter. Talk to Kasumi about it. And Tenten's sister also works with metal too. Maybe you could talk to her as well." Haruhi said, remembering how he made her mini stairs, and talking to Emi at some of the meetings Here.

"Sasuke, what do you plan to do with the houses once they're clean and renovated?" Kizashi asked.

Sasuke hesitated.

"I wanted to make it a shelter. Many people lost their homes in the attack, which they can't pay to fix up. And even more were out on the street before that. I want to give them a place to live, and all these homes are there. Empty. I'm not sure if anyone wants to live in a place where a massacre happened, but I figured I could try."

"Don't you need to be clan head for much of this?" Mebuki asked.

Sasuke scowled.

"Yeah, I do. The other clan heads need to majority vote me into the position, since there is no more Uchiha to do it."

And Danzo was one of the clan heads. This could pose a problem.

"That part is gonna be a challenge, but in the meantime, I have access to enough resources to clean and renovate the place. Naruto is an expert on traps, and is disabling them. A lot of houses need to be completely torn down, and I was thinking of getting rid of the wall separating the compound from the rest of the village entirely, and creating more bridges so it's not so isolated. And the buffer zone between the compound and the rest of the village, the parts that aren't the Naka river floodplain, I figured we could build there."

"Sasuke! I'm gonna go talk to Ino! A lot of the Rookie nine are clan heirs or close to it! If we can convince them to make you heir, maybe they can convince their parents!" Sakura shouted.

"Great idea! Sakura, you go do that, I'll go talk to Kasumi's brother and talk to Tenten's blacksmith adopted sister, and the rest of you go back and evaluate the compound."

Mebuki grinned, cracking her knuckles.

"Alright let's get to it!"

Karin bit her lip as Tenten studied Neji's seal, humming and comparing it to her notes. Hinata poked her fingers nervously in the background.

"Well?" Neji ground out. He was incredibly tense.

"This seal is an abomination." Tenten's voice was flat with disgust.

"Yes it is." Hinata said, sounding ashamed.

"No you don't get it! Activate your eyes and look, really look at the seal, and how its connected to Neji's chakra. Neji, try to perform lion fist."

Lion fist was a main branch technique.

Neji tried to perform it, but Karin felt his chakra flicker and die right before it could be completed. And the origin of the flicker...right from the seal.

Hinata gasped in horror.

"I can't say for sure, because I'm not a medic nin, but I'm pretty sure the seal is destroying his chakra pathways and nerves. The more intensely he trains with his eyes activated, the worse it gets."

Hinata begins to cry and Neji closes his eyes.

"Well, where do we get a medic nin?"

Tenten was about to answer, when the doorbell chimed loudly downstairs, signifying a customer.

"Kizashi! What a surprise!" It was Emi.

"Sakura's father?" Tenten murmured.

They talked, voices barely above a whisper, before Emi called upstairs.

"Tenten, I'm leaving! Make sure to manage the shop today!"

"Okay!"

The bell chimed again as they left.

"As I was saying, does anyone here know a medic nin we can trust? I would get Sakura, but I don't think she has enough experience for this." Tenten said.

"W-well, some of the Hyuga are medics." Hinata said.

"Yes, but we can't risk being found out this early on." Neji said.

"I may know someone."

They all looked at her.

After living with Haku for over a month now in Naruto's apartment, they had gotten pretty close. They did each others makeup in the mornings, and Karin helped her style her hair. They both helped each other cover up their scars with foundation, like how Fumi taught them.

"Haku is very secretive. She's been training to be a medic nin since she was a child. She has more experience than Sakura, and has been working on restoring damaged nerves with Ino and herself."

Tenten nodded.

"Go get her."

Karin jumped out the window. She dashed to the hospital as fast as she could, jumping over rooftops and around buildings to get there. She entered through an open window and ran through the halls, concentrated on Haku's cool as ice signature.

There were four others with her.

Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and...Sakura.

Karin slowed to a stop.

Sakura had never quite forgiven her for not helping Ino with her healing powers. But Karin remembered their hands and mouths on her and she just couldn't.

Haku, being a sensor herself, had already emerged from the room and closed the door behind her. Sakura was talking intently to the other three, who were listening intently.

"Hello Karin, it your makeup okay?"

Haku helped her put makeup on the parts she couldn't reach. Karin help Haku pick feminine clothings and put on her stuffed bra that Fumi had given her.

"No, its, uh, something else. Something discreet."

Haku's eye narrowed behind the mask Kakashi gave her. Before Haku had come to Konoha, she and Zabuza worked for the revolution in Kiri. Karin new about it because Grass nin had sometimes traded with rebels. Haku would sometimes tell her and Naruto over Dinner about what she and Zabuza would do to fund the revolution. No small part of that was Haku using her healing skills.

"I have a tail, since the chunin exams. First we shake him and then we can go."

Karin reached out her senses and at the very edge, was the tail. Their chakra was all weird and messed up. The normally vibrant emotions were almost non existent, suppressed under layers of trauma, and..blankness.

Haku and Karin nodded, and then jumped off. They weaved and dodged around trees and through the village, the tail keeping pace, if falling behind a bit. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't shake him.

"We need to confront them."

Haku nodded.

"I have meet them once before."

"Really?"

"Yes. They have been tailing for probably as long as I've been in the village. They know I was involved in the Kiri revolution. They are suspicious of me. The tail is a boy no older than either of us. He is so pale, I often think he spent his whole life underground and in the night, where light does not touch."

Karin nodded.

The boy landed in the clearing with them, and he was just as pale as Haku said. Karin saw more color on corpses. He was dressed in combat gear, and strangly, a porcelain mask.

When it became clear he wasn't going to speak first, Haku cleared her throat.

"Leave. Stop following us."

He tilted his head.

"What is your name?" Karin asked.

For the briefest moment, she felt his chakra flicker in surprise, and then...gratitude?

"My name is Sai." He says.

Karin feels his chakra rolls with that statement. He is someone. This is very significant for him and Haku can feel it as well. Some of Haku's hostility fades, and she speaks again.

"Well, Sai, would it be possible for you to stop following us?'

"No."

"Why not?"

Sai internally struggled.

"I cannot say."

He lifted his mask, and opened his mouth. There is a seal on his tongue.

Both of the gasped in horror. Karin wasn't a master like her mother, or even as proficient as Tenten, but she has spent the past two weeks or so studying the content of her stomach seal with Tenten, reviewing her old lessons with her mother, and working with Neji and Hinata-these two seals were incredibly alike.

"I'm sorry." Karin said.

Again, she felt surprise from him. He could not comprehend that someone could feel compassion for him.

"We can help you, if you help us. If I make clones, and you follow them, I promise to do everything I can to help you." Haku said.

"Me too!"

Sai nodded, and Haku performed the ice clone jutsu.

After a second, Sai followed the clones. Just to be sure they were alone now, Karin flared out her chakra.

It was just them.

"So, Karin, what was it that you had to show me?"

This was something that had to be seen.

"Follow me."

And they were off. Hair streaming behind them, glinting ruby red and inky black in the sun, as they streaked through treetops as one. They slowed to a stop on the outer edge of Tenten's window and knocked.

Some clicking, and Tenten's face appeared, grim.

Haku, having already sensed the other signatures, immediately got to work.

"We need you to check and see how far the seals chakra goes into the brain, how it affects the nervous system and the chakra coils, and if it's safe to remove."

Haku nodded, and covered the ugly slave seal with a glowing green hand.

Feeling Haku's chakra freeze in horror, and then burn with rage was not a nice feeling.

"Neji, I need you to try and perform a main branch move for me. Hinata, watch his arms."

Neji did as instructed, and Karin focused as hard as she could.

And there, at the end of his extremities, the move flickered and died just before completion.

Haku exhaled harshly.

"The seal isn't just damaging the chakra and nerves in the brain. It's affecting the whole body. The more you use the byakugan the worse it gets. Neji's is already so bad, his coils will collapse within the year, the rate he's training at."

Tenten gasped in horror. Karin covered her mouth. Neji and Hinata cried.

"Can y-you remove it?" Hinata sobbed.

"I can't. We need to do some deep healing first before we can even think to attempt to remove it. Once we try, Tenten will need to use every ounce of her skill, as will I. Even then, it won't work."

"Why?!"

"Because the seal is connected to the main branch. The moment its removed, it'll send a signal to the clan head, alerting would all be executed."

"..."

The silence is heavy; one of crushed dreams.

"There is still hope. Hinata, you can activate the seal, can't you?"

"I-I-"

"Can't you?"

Hinata looked down ashamed. Neji sent her a shocked look. Karin new he was thinking of all their past fights, and how she could have ended it right there, but didn't.

"Y-yes."

"That means a portion of all the seals are connected to you. How long has your sister been training for the position of clan head?

"Three years."

"Hm. So the connection is not as strong as it is with you, but if my hypothesis is right, then if we gather you two close to Neji when we remove the seal, your signatures should be enough to redirect the alert to you two, instead of your father."

"...That could work." Tenten murmerd. "This seal, while stuck on tight, is very shoddily made. The alarm seal in this half baked thing doesn't work properly."

Karin once again feels everyone's chakra spike with hope and excitement. It's a nice feeling, like a shot of happiness directly to the heart.

"Do you think you could talk to your little sister, Hinata?" Haku asked.

"I-I don't know. It's been so long, and our relationship is, um, not good. But I will do everything in my power to convince her!"

The sudden determination was uncharacteristic of Hinata, but Karin felt her sincerity.

Tenten's eyes sparkled.

"Alright. For now we work on Neji and getting him prepped for removal. Hinata will work on her strategy to talk to Hanabi, and try to uncover more about the seal if she can. Neji, after this, will cut back on training, and try to see if there's any other branch members willing to give this a shot. It might be easier to remove their's than his. In the meantime, I'll try to see if I can recruit Sakura-chan as well. We're gonna need all the help we can get, but I have a feeling we can do this!"

WOOOOOO! Viva la revolution!

The corrupt shinobi mentality works hard, but these kids work harder.

And snow day, lmao! Its sooooo cold where I am, like negative 30, and that's not even an exaggeration! Schools out!

Stay warm readers!

Question of the chapter: What do you think about the Konoha eleven and their shifts away from the Shinobi ideology?