Hinata ran her hand through her hair in frustration. This was such a shit show.

Everything she's worked hard for. Days, weeks, MONTHS of work just gone. Slipped from her grasps thanks to the Akatsuki, some masked odd ball. Hinata knew she should have been more alert. She knew the man was an unknown to her and if she didn't have detailed knowledge on an opponent she KNEW she should have dug deeper and not have engaged until she knew the utmost about her opponent.

Hinata felt absolutely sick of herself.

She was currently still staring at the spot that the Uchiha and Akatsuki member disappeared from. Silently still fuming and utterly feeling miserable just looking at the spot.

How could she tell Lord Danzo that she failed him? This would have been 300 for her!

How could she tell him that Sasuke got away and she had him within seconds of drawing his last breath. That she let EMOTIONS of her cousin get in the way that she failed a mission due to this. She was still so weak. So fucking stupid and weak. He was going to be so disappointed in her. After everything he's done for her. It made her look so ungrateful.

Hinata wanted to point blame at any and everyone at the scene right now. In particular she wanted to point her anger towards Uzumaki Naruto. Having him near her just made her upset.

The irony of years ago having him near her would make her heart skip a beat in joy. She was feeling everything but joy and happiness looking at the blond at the moment.

Just why couldn't he kill the Uchiha? Why? He had the capabilities. She freaking knew he did! Why did he have to be such a nuisance? All he had to do was finish the Uchiha. Sasuke was already injured from their fight and from the explosion. Instead what does he do? Tell him to stay down because he's injured.

Just WHY?!

It made no sense to her. The Uchiha betrayed Naruto, the village and his teammates. He has tried to kill them multiple times and has said the vilest things to them and yet Naruto still pursues a lost friendship? They were still going with the whole FRIENDSHIP thing!?

Bullshit.

Now Hinata had to think. She had to come up with a plan to find Sasuke again. Because she WAS going to find him, and this time even if it cost Hinata her own filthy tainted life than she would make the sacrifice and kill that piece of shit of a human being.

Yes, she was that far gone. Now all she needed to do was think.

"Wire."

She looked up to the sound of Kakashi calling her name, "I am guessing you had the same mission as Sai did at one point and that was to kill Sasuke?"

She nodded her head and continued to stare at him, "I figured as much…is this really something that you want to do?"

Even though her mind was in a haze from the panic attack she just created for herself Hinata still managed to collect what he said and blinked at Kakashi, "I was ordered to do it. This is my mission. I do not really think about what I want to do."

Kakashi looked at her for a moment. Hinata thought he'd be angry at her and say something rude considering she almost killed his former student. A student he personally took under his wing.

Instead Kakashi gave her a closed eyed smile, "Aww, that would make perfect sense if you didn't basically ruin your mission to save Neji. Am I right."

She wanted to grip both her fist and burry them into her face out of frustration and scream, but she decided against doing that and she just let out a small agitated breath. "You are correct. I did ruin my mission. I will take responsibility of my disobedience and take whatever repercussions Lord Danzo has in store for me. That being said, this will never happen again. Next time I will be successful."

Naruto frowned at her words. After all of this she was still going to try to kill Sasuke. Couldn't she see that this Danzo guy was using her?

He started having flashbacks of the night prior. Of Hinata asking him who she had to kill for him to hate her came flooding back into his mind frame. She didn't care if Danzo was using her, it seemed like she didn't care about anyone anymore.

"You won't be a part of our team with this hidden agenda of yours thanHinata." He wanted her to fully understand that he didn't give two shits about this 'Wire' persona.'Wire'could kiss his ass and go to hell.

Hinata's body became painfully stiff and she slowly craned her neck towards Naruto. "That is fine with me Uzumaki. I don't have to be a part of any team to know where Uchiha OR you are at. Do you think it is a coincidence that he showed up randomly earlier? Do you think I didn't already know where he was? About his team he assembled after killing Orochimaru. Every detail about them. If I know this much about him I am sure you can imagine how much I have acquired about you Uzumaki. I do not NEED to be on a team. I can complete my mission alone."

Hinata was not surprised to see Naruto able to walk again with new energy so soon. Naruto walked up to her and the two stared daggers at one another face to face. His chakra was almost suffocating, and he didn't care. He knew that she knew where it was coming from.

He was willing to go bat shit crazy if it meant it was towards this hateful person that called herself Wire.

This girl is not the Hinata he once remembered. She was the devil's advocate and was a horrible, selfish, evil bitch.

He never in his life thought he would put 'Bitch' and 'Hinata' in the same category. However, he just couldn't admit that this person in front of him was Hyuga Hinata.

"Fine HINATA…you wanted me to leave you alone. To give you the cold shoulder, well that's fine. Now you have it. I just want to let you know that as long as I'm breathing you will not lay a finger on Sasuke. You don't know or understand him. You don't understand anyone for that matter! You let these people tear you down into an evil horrible person. All because you're nothing but a quitter."

"Naruto this is unnecessary." Neji frowned at the blonde and looked between him and Hinata. She saved his life when she was supposed to sacrifice anyone and anything if it meant her mission was complete. There was still life in her if she sacrificed the mission for her 'estranged' cousin.

"Neji! It's true! I believe her now when she said she volunteered to be a member of ROOT. It fitted her this whole time." Naruto said all of this while glaring at Hinata, who he will FOREVER call Hinata. She in return just gave him an owl look before slowly nodding her head in agreeance with him.

"Thank you for being truthful with him Uzumaki. You are more tolerable when you are being authentic. I must say…I feel bad for the woman that falls in love with you Uzumaki. For she will always come second when it comes to Uchiha Sasuke."

She turned around to end the conversation and made sure Naruto got a face full of her hair before walking off. She never got to witness how RED Naruto's face had gotten. How ANGRY he had just become from her jab at his manhood. Naruto actually snarled at her turning her back on him, "Ohhh you."

Kakashi snatched Naruto by the collar stopping him from pursing Hinata. Naruto struggled a little but overall due to his respect for Kakashi just let it go. A thought of what Sasuke said did appear in his mind though, something about 'Itachi andherbeing murderers'.

"Hinata!"

The former person ignored him and continued to stare off into the distance waiting for the group to wrap everything up and head back to the village. The mission was beyond salvageable and was over. "Sasuke called you a murderer. Who was it? Who did you kill?"

Well that was a vague question. Who didn't she at this point in her career.

She wasn't going to answer him initially. She was going to continue to ignore him and act like she didn't even hear him talk or breathe. However, she knew the two Jonin present were going to end up investigating her on the matter and she didn't have time for that. She had to continue to form a plan against the Uchiha. Both the Uchiha's now.

She turn around and looked at Naruto and the teams present, "I terminated Jugo. That was the man's name that was also on Uchiha's team. My shadow clone has been pursuing Uchiha for months and I was able to gather information about Uchiha and his team. Jugo possessed Sage Mode and was something Orochimaru based his curse seal off of to induce anger and rage to his victims. I am sure Uchiha went through rage during the early trials of his curse mark. Jugo possessed unstable behavior and would have been a nuisance down the road for the Uchiha. I took Jugo out to get the Uchiha to come the direction were at. It worked considering Uchiha had some type of…connection with the man and sought vengeance."

The silence that followed was everything Hinata always wanted.

Tsunade sat in her office reading the report from the two teams and looked up at the group of young men and women in front of her. She made a loud sigh and rubbed her face to ease the tension. "Something TOLD me this was the case with Danzo. Hina…Wire…whatever look, you can't stay and work within the ranks if you are just going to be a vigilante and only listen to Danzo."

It was a new day, and everyone seemed to have gotten themselves fresh and clean and was meeting at the Hokage's office together. Hinata was in her full ROOT uniform with her cloak and mask on.

While having Tsunade basically kick her out the ninja ranks and send her back to ROOT would have been fine with her. It would displease Lord Danzo, he gave no instruction for this to happen and she was in enough hot water.

"Hokage-sama if I may?" As polite as ever Hinata waited for permission to speak, Tsunade held up her hand to deny the request and began to speak, "Before I let you talk let me ask you something? DidI tell youto kill Sasuke? Was that anywhere in my mission statement I gave you?"

Hinata was silent for a moment before slowly shaking her head no. "Okay than. That is how you disobeyed me. You listened to nothing I instructed and did your own thing."

Hinata took her mask off her face in a rare sign of frustration and confusion before looking at Tsunade with a stumped expression. Lord Danzo and the Hokage both represented the Hidden Leaf Village. His orders would have to be in relation to her wishes, correct? Just like Anbu. She was just a ninja that did what other ninjas didn't want to do. Right?

Her mind was turning gears and she was telling herself mentally to not get involved in Lord Danzo's business. This was none of her concern and was between the Hokage and him. Still she was utterly CONFUSED, and it showed.

Tsunade smiled at her before reclining in her chair and tilting her head to the side, "Well Ms. Hyuga are you starting to think for yourself because you look confused."

The look didn't go unnoted by Naruto either. Even though the very thought of her made him want to choke her on the spot. He was confused why she was confused. It peaked his interest if only slightly.

Hinata's face immediately changed, and she looked at Tsunade with her cool look again, still her eyes stated she was still…lost. "You are right Hokage-sama I did not listen to your orders. This will never happen again if I am given the chance."

She bowed low to Tsunade and listened to the woman make an annoyed sigh, "Hinata stand up. What I wanted you to say was you believed that me and Danzo were on the same page and the orders you received from him are actually orders given by me. So I could tell you that you're wrong and that you have been played like a Yo-Yo for years. Hinata use your brain…think for yourself. I know you see this. I'm sure this is what you were thinking."

The only reaction she got in return was a slight clenched jaw from the ROOT-nin in front of her, but other than that Hinata was indifferent. Tsunade still kept calm when looking at her, "You were ready to die just for the sake of killing that Uchiha brat."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Anything for the mission. Right? That is how you were trained. Your life means little to nothing as long as you are successful."

"…Yes Hokage-sama." Hinata was beginning to look at the female sannin sideways. Was she going to hit her? She felt like it was one of those built up situations where the sannin lost her temper.

"You were ready to die to kill Sasuke, but you were not ready to sacrifice Neji to complete your mission…do you see where I'm getting at with this Hinata?"

'I know I'm weak, I know I'm pathetic. There is no need to harp on this.'

"Yes Hokage-sama."

Tsunade laughed at this. This girl was so lost and confused, "You have the slightest clue! It means that you KNOW what is right and what is wrong. You KNOW the orders given to you by Danzo is a crock of shit. You KNOW some of the things you are doing is ethically wrong. Yet…you still follow his orders. Why? That is what confuses me and honestly, it makes me worried."

The older woman finally got serious as she looked at the young woman standing in the spotlight in front of her, "What does he have on you Hinata? What happened?" Her eyes drifted over to the male Hyuga, "Neji, you stand beside her. These secrets you Hyuga's carry are becoming a conflict of interest to what is needed to complete my missions I assign you. This gets addressed and fixed NOW. I let it slide earlier, but not now."

Neji quickly walked over and stood next to Hinata. Both standing in a 'attention' manner. Yet, they were both still silent. Neither willing to speak. The rest of Team Guy and 7 stood in the background. Leaning against a wall with his arms folding across his chest were cold blue eyes burning holes towards Hinata.

"Neji. Just…say something." Neji continued to stare straight and ignored his sensei. It pained him to ignore his superior, but he couldn't do this to Hinata. Couldn't they see that she went through enough, he went through enough. The Hyuga's have SUFFERED enough.

Tsunade started to tap her nails on her desk and looked at the two, not fully annoyed but it was creeping up. "Hmm, so this is that Hyuga clan loyalty and bond bullshit I hear is unbreakable. Your father has been tight lipped on the affair too Hinata. The funny thing is…you messed up Hinata. All it takes is that one moment for you to falter. I know one of your weaknesses…and he is standing right beside you. Now, if you really wanted me to show how ruthless I can be, I do recall you having a little sister-"

"That will be unnecessary Hokage-sama." Neji closed his eyes as he heard Hinata speak up. For the first time in over four years he felt that he was standing near Hinata again. For the Hinata he knew wouldn't care if it was the Hokage, Danzo or the strongest person in the world, no one was going to harm Hanabi.

"I will tell you. There is no reason to get her involved."

It was an evil trick that Tsunade didn't like to resort to, but it had to be done. She had to stoop to Danzo's level to get a reaction from Hinata.

Tsunade gave a hand motion telling her to go ahead, "I joined ROOT because I was to be sealed with the Hyuga curse seal. Hiashi-sama…he was getting into political trouble within the Hyuga clan for trying to exempt me and Hanabi from being branded. The Hyuga elders decided for me to get branded and he kept declining. He was running out of options…I was running out of options. If I really refused and fought the notion, if anyone outside got too involved they would have sealed Hanabi in my place."

Tsunade continued to look at the two standing in front of her, "So…Hiashi got desperate. It's all making sense now. So…you did have an option."

"I was told to either stay in the Hyuga home. Have my titled stripped and become branded or to leave and join ROOT. I…am a coward. I was scared, I didn't want to be sealed. If I didn't get sealed or joined ROOT than it would fall on to Hanabi if I fought the issue any longer. She does not deserve such a thing. Just like Neji didn't. Neji found out about what was happening and confronted me the night I was to leave. I asked him to care for Hanabi and to not speak of this to anyone. The next day I was told by Lord Danzo I was disowned, which I expected. The last communication I got from the Hyuga clan was sent by my father who stated Neji has taken up being Hanabi's guardian and Neji was under investigation internally in the clan about my whereabouts. They felt like Neji was being dishonest and if they ever found out that he was hiding this Neji would be punished by the seal. Hokage-sama…the Hyuga clan…they don't have to know about this."

Hinata was winded and still kept a cool look on her face, her eyes looked exhausted though. Tsunade rubbed her neck and looked at the two, "You're right about that. The Hyuga clan doesn't need to know. What I gather was your father was just doing what a father is supposed to do. He is head of the Hyuga clan. You all were placed in tough situations. You're not a coward Hinata…you don't have to look at Danzo as if he saved you from death."

Hinata eyes shifted off to the side before looking back at Tsunade, "I am a coward. I have accepted that. Lord Danzo did save me, because no one else could have at that time."

The words 'Not even you Lady Tsunade' hung in the air and Tsunade could feel it was on the tip of Hinata and Neji's tongue.

In Hinata's mind Danzo saved her and she was a coward. In the future when dealing with the Hyuga clan she would not be a coward anymore. She would never forget what they did to her. What they made her do.

Tsunade had to suppress a solemn look, "I will accept this Hinata…we will talk later, but I will accept this for now. You don't have to worry about this getting out to your clan. You can trust the people in this room. Still…I want you to know of a little story. Take this story with you and cherish it. Think about it long and hard."

Hinata looked at Tsunade with her usual blank face but Tsunade knew she had her attention.

"Older siblings love and cherish their siblings. They would do anything for them. Older siblings play with them no matter how the older sibling is feeling. Happy, sad, depressed, you name it. Now similar to you, this older sibling had to be strong and had to lead the clan someday. This older sibling was a ninja and loved his little brother. He made outstanding leaps in the ninja ranks and this ninja…lost his way. He became lost, confused and tainted. This older brother killed everything and everyone he loved. You want to know what I want you to cherish from this story Hinata?"

She got a small head shake 'no' as a response.

"I have a theory. Just a theory, but in this story the older brother also believed in a man named Danzo…now cherish that Hinata."

Would it make her a foolish person if she still chose to follow Lord Danzo?

That maybe there was some truth in what Lady Tsunade was saying but she still relied heavily on his support and would still follow his unethical ways. Did that make her foolish?

Hinata and Neji sat in silence at an abandoned old training field. Hinata choosing to wear her cloak and mask again. She sat on the ground against the tree and Neji sat beside her in a comfortable silence. They basically had to stand in front of the Hokage and go through the humiliation of exposing Hyuga clan affairs. It was degrading to say the least.

"It may not mean much to you but thank you for saving me out there."

Hinata continued to sit in silence after Neji's words for a little while longer, "I…would risk my life for whatever mission Lord Danzo gives me Neji."

He leaned his head against the tree and let out a sigh. Prepared to tell her in an exhausted manner 'I know'.

"But I would also risk my life for my precious people. Everything…everything from me has been taken. I won't let them take you or Hanabi."

Neji's head slowly turned to her and in a rare moment a big smile came across his face. He watched as Hinata stood up and held out her hand for him to take, "I must be going. I am sure Lord Danzo has many words for me. I failed my first mission from him of course."

Neji's smile soon turned to a frown, "You will always have a choice Hinata…you do not have to be in this organization."

Hinata was silent for a moment, like she was pondering something. "I understand that. Still, my choice is to complete my mission…than possibly retirement."

Neji didn't know if Hinata knew or not, but people didn't 'retire' from ROOT.