Chapter 17: Kirigakure's Retaliation.

After Hinata nearly fainted, and Kosuke shouted out things, then stood there laughing his head off, and after Sakura and Yamato had blown their cover of being farmers completely by demanding things and information off of Miaka, Asa thought he should really get involved and put a stop to the Konoha Ninja's suspicion.

They were in Kosuke's house, and Miaka was in the kitchen with Shira's mother, Hamako, who was making Dinner. Kumo was fast asleep in Asa's arms, and he himself looked very tired. Hinata felt a pang of guilt that she hadn't been able to help Asa more, since he did have an awful lot on his plate, but Kosuke always just told her to either, not worry about it or he'd tell her to bugger off and mind her own business if he was irritated.

"Yamato-san, my good man, calm down. This girl has been under our watch since her birth practically. She grew up in a children's home, and has never had dealings with any suspicious persons. Kosuke" he said, and Kosuke handed a report to Yamato. Hinata leaned over, and was disgusted to see that it was a file on Miaka's entire life. She wondered what Kirigakure had on her and her team. It was obvious they were thorough with everything. They even had her rough weight throughout the years. However, the new information about her being of Uchiha descent, had not been put into it.

"I don't think she's like those Uchiha siblings, what's their names? Itachi and Sasuke. Nothing like them, with their many illustrious activities" he said, waving his free hand tiredly. Hinata watched Sakura, but, she didn't show it if she was bothered about Sasuke's casual mention.

"No, I don't either" Hinata piped up, and crossed her arms stubbornly, "I've been teaching her for about a month, and she had little to no experience with real Taijutsu, but, she picks it up as fast as any Uchiha would. I saw her today learn to stand on water from scratch in under an hour" she explained, and Sakura's eyes flickered to her.

"That's a hell of a lot faster than Sasuke-kun. It took him at least 3 days to learn to climb a tree effectively" Sakura informed them, and Shino contradicted her in saying that she picked it up immediately. It just differs from person to person.

Hinata let the discussions continue, interjecting occasionally to defend Miaka. In the end, she had to pose a question to them all.

"But!" she had to raise her voice to quieten down Yamato and Sakura's heated discussion. "I think we're kind of missing the point here people. What will happen to Miaka now? What will she be treated like, as the only Uchiha person in all of Kirigakure? And what the hell are we going to tell her, since she's probably heard this entire conversation, isn't that right, Miaka?" Hinata called out, turning her activated Byakugan to the door, where an activated Sharingan, with only 1 point on both pinwheels stared back at her.

She watched as Miyuki jumped, and she nodded, before calling out, "A bit, yeah" and her voice floated clearly through the doors. Asa sighed, and rubbed his eyes.

"We'll have to keep her here. She will be trained under Amaya watch, and she will have her quarters in our Ninja district, and she will work to earn a living. From now on, she's as Genin status, and will need a Kirigakure Headband. Hinata and Kosuke, you'll look after her, and you lot can tell her whatever the hell you like, I'm going to bed" he said, and gently stood up, and took a sleeping Kumo out of the room, and off to his quarters.

"The truth, I say" Shino said suddenly, and Hinata looked at him gratefully, before nodding her approval. "The truth, she's heard too much" she said sadly, and Sakura looked indecisive, before agreeing. Yamato heaved a sigh:

"I don't like this, y'know. This seemed a bit too strange. Uchiha's are an extinct clan. Uchiha Itachi made sure of that. We haven't heard of any other Uchiha before now, even though Kosuke, you say you fought one" he said, and Kosuke shrugged.

"As far as I'm aware. But, the odd thing is" he said, and paused a fraction of a second to highlight his point. "I met that Uchiha, while researching Miaka-san for this file" he said, and tapped Miaka's file. "I could've been on to something, or it could've been a relative of her's, or something" he suggested, and Hinata shrugged.

"Just, come one, we've got to let her rest. Get her in here" Sakura said, and Hinata stood, and went to let Miaka in. She walked in, looking positively alarmed, and she sat down by herself on a sofa, and the 4 Konoha ninja, Kosuke and Shira (who was actually asleep in the corner, he wasn't really interested in this) faced her. Hinata began.

"Miaka-san, my name is Hyuuga Hinata, pleased to meet you" she said, and bowed her head. Miaka bowed in return, "Uchiha Miaka, apparently…" she mumbled back.

"Yamato"

"Aburame Shino"

"Haruno Sakura"

"Amaya Kosuke. Yes, I really am him" Kosuke said finally, and Miaka giggled.

"Miaka-san, you've injured your neck. Will you let me heal it?" Sakura offered, and Miaka complied, wiping away the dry blood off her neck. Once a few pleasantries had been passed, Hinata made them all sit on the floor, on cushions, like a traditional Japanese household. Sheltered by the sofas, and upon moving away a coffee table, they were a lot closer together, and it was a great deal warmer, something Hinata appreciated.

Hinata sat next to Miaka, and Kosuke seated himself close behind Hinata, and the rest followed suit into the rough circle pattern, all eyes on Miaka.

"Now, Miaka" Hinata began, and she shifted as she felt Kosuke's arm brush against her, "you must have some questions. You may ask us anything now, and we will answer them as fully as we can. If we cannot, we shall tell you, and we will give you an adequate reason why we can't" she said, and trapped the rest of the Ninja into telling the truth to the best of their ability.

"What exactly happened to the Uchiha's?" she asked, and they fell silent.

"Well, no one really knows. The way it was, was that the Uchiha's were very similar to this noble house of Amaya. They formed a police force, which is now devoid of all Uchiha's, obviously, as a truce to the First Hokage. And they protected our village for generations. They were exceptional fighters. Their Kekkei Genkai enabled them to become vicious, and dedicated fighters. Their teachings were sometimes strict, and children would often grow up to dislike their parents. The amount of Uchiha ANBU I knew who wouldn't lift a finger to defend their parents, it was quite disturbing. However, good Kids did appear, and it wasn't a genetic trait of Uchiha's to be miserable" Yamato flashed a grin at Miaka, and she choked out a sad laugh.

"Anyway, they kept their Uchiha secrets very close to their chest, keeping the scrolls detailing their techniques in their Uchiha households, all in various places in the fire country and in other places. Naturally, Konoha did try and get a sneaky peek at the scrolls, but, only Uchiha's bearing a Sharingan can see them. They recently updated it so that only people with both eyes containing Sharingan can view them. A precaution that was required when a member outside of the Uchiha clan acquired the Sharingan in one eye" Yamato explained as briefly as he could. He didn't like to talk about sensitive issues in a Kirigakure household. But, it was inevitable.

"So, Itachi was one of these children who were less than fond of their over bearing parents. Sasuke was a younger brother to a child prodigy, so, was always in the shadow of his brother. He didn't resent him though, just felt inadequate next to him. Admired him mostly. So, as you can imagine, when Itachi wiped out the entire clan, and we're talking an awful lot of people here, it had a bit of an bad side affect on young Sasuke. However, Itachi didn't kill him, instead ordered him to hate him, and use that hate to become strong enough to kill him one day. And that's the sad truth of it, I'm afraid. I can offer you no glitter to this story. Itachi was affiliated with the S-class ninja group, Akatsuki, and Sasuke went off to the evil Sannin Orochimaru, who killed the third Hokage of Konoha. Sasuke wanted to gain power to be able to defeat his brother, and, in the end killed Orochimaru. He wanted to regenerate into Sasuke's body, because of his Sharingan. Sasuke left Orochimaru, gathered his own Ninja team together, and Sasuke found Itachi, and killed him. Sasuke's whereabouts and intentions now are unknown" he concluded, rather grimly at his morbid summary of the Uchiha Sibling's painful life.

"Oh" Miaka said, and sighed. "I hope I'm not closely related to them two. Crazy seems to run in that family…" she muttered out, and Yamato chuckled lightly. She frowned at the floor for a second, before straightening suddenly.

"So, what does having this…Sharingan, Actually mean? I don't know much about Kekkei Genkai's, but, aren't they really bad things? Like, totally out of control, and devastating. Couldn't I be killed if people find out about this? I mean, that's the general thoughts in Kirigakure! That people with Kekkei Genkai's are killed! What's going to happen?" Miaka demanded, her alarm increasing by the second as it dawned on her what situation she was in.

Hinata touched her hand lightly, and soother her gently, so they could get a word in edgeways. "Now, I don't know about the Amaya, but, you're a citizen of Konoha if you're one of our noble families. You have about 3 acres of land all to yourself back at Konoha, along with several households dotted about the country. You're the owner now, and your Eyes prove it" She said, and she felt Kosuke shift behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, and was surprised to see him stand up. Hinata turned, so she could see his face, and felt a jolt of fear as he was scowling at the floor.

"Is that what you honestly think of Amaya?" he asked in a flat tone of voice, something that scared Hinata. The rest of them steadily rose to their feet.

"Kosuke…" Hinata said, at a loss for words.

"Is that what you think of Amaya? Of my family? Of Us? Of me?" he demanded, gesturing to his house, and Shira, now awake and scowling out the window next to him, then finally to himself.

"You think we're just some farmers, look after our stock, and just put down the ones unworthy? You think we're that cruel?" He demanded, and Hinata flinched.

"Kosuke-san, i-i-I, well, th-the s-s-stories we've b-been told about, Kiri-Kirigakure, i-well, i- j-just…" she trailed off as Kosuke sighed, and turned the full force of his fiery gaze upon her.

"Stories. You should know better than that, really. No one outside of this room will learn of her Kekkei Genkai, or yours, or Yamato's. We aren't the people who hate Kekkei Genkai. The people of Kirigakure are led on by stupid gang bosses who just can't take responsibility for their own misgivings" He spat out at her, and stood up straight, his judgement ripping through her strength.

Suddenly, a leg cam out of nowhere and hit Kosuke across the face. He span and stumbled to the floor, utterly surprised by the sudden attack. Miaka stood, panting slightly, her eyes glowing red, as another pin in her wheel appeared in her eye.

"Don't you DARE speak to Nanami-sensei like that, Kosuke-sama" she spat out with equal venom to him just a second ago. "She is your guest in this country, and she doesn't know our ways and customs. And, may I remind you, that even if you don't spill the beans about Kekkei Genkai, you sure as hell keep a thorough record on 4 year olds" she shouted and him, and threw her own file in his face.

He stood up, shocked at her sudden outburst in defence of Hinata. "Treating a young girl like you did Kosuke, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!" she said, and stood on her tiptoes to gain a little bit of height on Kosuke. He just, spluttered, "but, I didn't know about you really, it's not my fault-" he stopped short as Sakura now got involved by slapping him across the face, something that sent him tumbling in the other direction.

"What were you just saying about 'people who can't take responsibility for their own misgivings'? It's never your fault, is it Kosuke? Its always someone else, and when it IS actually someone else, you run around blaming yourself, and be all angry! Just, calm down a second, and think like a rational person. You cannot shout at a person for being ignorant of the rules and regulations of a different country. She was merely acting on her first instinct, and the fact that she's had to fight off some vicious men since she came here, so you can't tell her off for being suspicious of some of the members of your family. And, you hypocrite, I've bet you've got files exactly like that one" she jerked a finger at Miaka's file on the floor, "on family members you don't trust. So don't you get all angry at Hinata, and strip away the little confidence she's got because you're too fucking proud!" Sakura eventually took a deep breath, and scowled at him.

Hinata expected him to cave in and apologise, like he normally does, but, she guessed that something must have really hit home. He suddenly whirled round, and stormed out the room, ruining a sliding paper door, and disappearing off into the house.

Miaka and Sakura crossed their arms and huffed in unison, which made Hinata giggle lightly.

"Nanami-I mean, Hinata-sensei, why didn't you just Kick his ass? You're not scared of him, I've seen you shout at him before, and humble him. You could take him" Miaka said, turning to her. Hinata just smiled, and suddenly pulled Miaka into a hug. She felt the poor girl stiffen under her touch, but she immediately responded to her and hugged her back.

"I can't take on Kosuke" Hinata said, and Sakura and Shino immediately began to protest at her putting down of herself. She waved her hands to shush them, and turned to Miaka.

"Kosuke, even though it pains me to say, has some inner strength that only certain people can posses. You have it, he has it, and a friend of mine back at Konoha has it. They have this huge drive to just do that they want to, and they have something that makes them want to protect people. You can develop this drive, but it usually develops under odd circumstances" Hinata explained, and smiled to Miaka.

"Just then, when Kosuke was protecting the image of his family, I could not have harmed a hair on that boy's head. I'm fast, but, Kosuke's faster. I'm strong, but Kosuke's stronger. I'm driven, but he's run on fire itself. That's the way it goes. I knew that. I don't blame him for his anger. I should go talk to him, I think…" she trailed away as Shira suddenly stood up, and moved towards her.

"I'll talk to him first. He's had a bit of a rough day. I'll quiet him down. He got very worked up tracking down those ninja. Thankfully, I was there to stop him totally beating those ninja into a bloody pulp. He was real pissed off. And seeing you in a hostage situation, both of you. I'm surprised he didn't tear the dead body apart. Usually when he's that angry, that's what he does"

Hinata considered Shira's grave face, before nodding quietly, casting her eyes to the floor. Miaka and Sakura acted out of an instinct to protect her from Kosuke, but, really, every one of them were in the wrong, and too hasty to act without thinking. They had all done wrong by each other, and Hinata could see that the strains in their lives were impeding their relationships. They needed to get along to survive.

Shira quickly hurried from the room as a loud bang echoed through the halls, which signified Kosuke had ruined something. Hinata sighed and sat down, and looked at Sakura and Miaka to follow her lead.

"Listen" she began, hold each of their stares so they would listen. Asa was out of view, but, she knew he'd be listening intently. "We need to work together. Everyone of us. I don't know Kirigakure, but, none of you can deny that they're less than impressed about a Kekkei Genkai. You cannot deny that fact. So we must stick together, as suspicions are being raised of out presence, I'm trying to do a good thing with my girls and to distance myself with us, and we're trying to hide all of this from the Mizukage" she said, and Miaka looked at her bewildered.

"Why? I mean, I know he's a complete git, but, why not include him?" she queried. Hinata looked at her, considering how much exactly to tell her. She was an outcast, but she could still be loyal to her country. So she spun a half truth.

"He has enough on his plate right now, and, we don't want him to think that Amaya are so weak they can't even defend themselves. It would instil distrust in him, in a time when working together is our greatest strategy" she concluded, feeling guilty for spinning Miaka a line. But, Miaka did not need to know about her country's misgivings and teething problems.

Shira stood up suddenly, "Go to bed" he said simply, and began extinguishing candles. Hinata hadn't realised it had grown so late. She quickly rustled up a room and some bed clothes for Miaka, checking she had everything she needed, before shutting the bedroom door behind her.

She glanced around the corridor, trying to place her direction. In the dim light the hallways looked the same, and the light played tricks on her. She wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, before promptly climbing out a window and onto the room, where it was less confusing. Kneeling right by the edge of the roof, she inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet night air.

"Nanami-sama!" a voice called out. Hinata turned, to see a young stable boy, scrambling across the roofs to her. She could literally smell the panic and fear on him.

"Something Terrible has happened!"

Hinata landed in the stables, hurtling through the door, and running straight into Kosuke. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, but her face was contorted with rage.

"What Happened?" she demanded, pushing past Kosuke to see the mess of the once beautiful and proud stallion.

Shun had been strapped down, to stop him from hurting himself even more than usual. He had been attacked on the way back to the stables. He had been carrying all the young girls. Hinata stared down at the wide rolling eye of the horse. The other had been bandaged up. He had great welts and chunks taken out of his flanks, but Hinata also saw blood on his hoofs. He hoped they were the blood of the attackers.

Hinata turned to look at Kosuke when he didn't reply. What she saw made her heart just break. Kosuke had silent tears streaming down a stony face. She could see the grief raging behind his glazed look.

"Kosuke, its okay, Shun will get better. He's not prime anymore, but, he will survive at least" she soothed. He just frowned and looked confused, before a look of realisation appeared.

"Oh Hinata… They Killed Mai" he said shortly. Hinata was nearly sick then. She thought of the young Amaya, so loud and confident. Her student, so bright, so much potential. Hinata Collapsed to the floor, clawing at her constricting chest. Kosuke fell to his knees beside her, his tears quiet.

Hinata just punched the floor, and gritted her teeth together, trying to pull herself together.

"How? Why?" she screeched, her hand moving over to grip tightly on the front of his clothes. He cleared his throat, waited a second, then spoke, in a choked up disjointed voice.

"They attacked all the girls on the way back, when they attacked us. It was just a distraction. They didn't mean to Kill us. If they did, they wouldn't have sent just 2 people, not against me and you. In the tunnel… They found a few unconscious girls, some of them had ran away, but in that tunnel… Its only for horse travel, not for young girls, on their own" he stopped, shook his head and wiped his eyes. "They weren't found till ten minutes ago when Shun limped back up here, dragging one of his legs, with most of the girls following him. The eldest among them told us what happened. They went down, as quick as possible, and brought back all the kids, and only realised Mai… When they were up. They meant to kill her. It looks like Shun Killed three of them, the good lad… Her injuries were obvious, it was brutal…" he sniffed, and shook under her hand.

"The rest of the girls were unharmed, maybe 1 or two bruises. But she…" he sobbed then, and suddenly grabbed Hinata and dragged her into his chest, where he squeezed. She felt the wet tears on the top of her head.

"Oh, Hinata, they tortured her… Because she was Amaya. They said we would pay, but this is way beyond what we expected. They must be really pissed off. They have initiated a war against us" he then pushed her back to look in her eyes. "There's a good chance you will be targeted, as both Kimi the Farmer and Nanami the ninja" he said, and cast his eyes down. "This isn't in your contract, you're not a ninja here… I am revoking all your contracts, as our threat is visible now, and not lurking" he said then cleared his throat.

Hinata pressed her fingers to his lips. "If they come for me, I will fight. Make no mistake of that. I am not leaving, not now. I wouldn't feel right, by Mai" she whispered to him. He looked at her, his eyes bloodshot, his cheeks wet, and he saw a Hyuuga in her. Proud, strong and elegant in everything. Her pain was clear in her features, but her eyes were steady as they met his. He sucked in his breath, and nodded.

"Okay, I'll be the one to tell my father then" He shivered "he's gunna be seriously angry"

Hinata had been to too many funerals at this place for her liking. This funeral was less grand, with only Amaya and friends turning up to pay their respects, and not the entire town. They held it in the compound, and she was buried with honour in the graveyard. The girls eventually told the Amaya what happened, and Mai died protecting the others against their attackers. Hinata Abandoned a lot of pretence, and let others decide if she was Kimi or Nanami at the moment. She just wanted to be Hinata for a while. She had the same duty as with Miyuki's funeral, the Lookout. Her Mask covered her face, and her vision was stretched far. Kosuke had told her to hope the enemies knew nothing, but assume they knew everything. Any medical ninja could extract truth from people's mind, and someone, somewhere has probably figured everything out. Its just if that someone is an enemy or a friend.

As it happened, the funeral went down without any major problems. That is, until Oki Setsuna, the Mizukage, turned up to give his condolences. When Hinata saw him arrive, (normal vision, not Hyuuga) her eyes immediately flickered around searching for Natsuo, Miyuki's relative, and Kosuke's cousin. But of course, this was an Amaya funeral, so he would not be here. Setsuna made a beeline for the parents, sharing his condolences, before turning and coming to where they were, to Asa. His face was grim, and Hinata felt her curiosity rise in this man. Where does he stand in the killing of innocent girls?

"Amaya-san… I am, truly sorry for this. I wish I knew what was happening" with this, he looked pointedly at Hinata, "and you should know I would not wish this upon any family, and I wish I could support you" he sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "I do not know what to do with these rebellious ninja's, rising up in my own ranks. It disgusts me they would sink to the level of old, when we used to encourage the murder of kids… I had so hoped they had learned" his sentence trailed off, as he stared into the distance. "What am I to do, Asa?" he whispered, looking at Asa, who carried his little girl, Kumo, close to him. Asa just held a level stare, and with a dark voice he replied; "turn a blind eye to keep your Mizukage status. Help us to right the wrongs put against us, and bring rules back to these people. Help them, and kill all of our innocent children" with which he passed Kumo over to Setsuna to hold. The young girl stared up at Setsuna, then laughed, and babbled with bubbles and spit falling down her clothes.

Hinata watched anxiously, but was relieved to see Setsuna's face melt, and he held Kumo close. "I love this country, and my own ninja's fed me lies about the Amaya Clan. Said that you were the evil unforgiving ones. That these people" he waved a hand towards Hinata, Yamato, Sakura and Shino, "were assassins, out to kill me" he sighed. "If that were true, I'm sure Hinata-san would've killed be by now" he said, and smiled sadly at Hinata.

"Why do you call her Hinata, Mizukage-sama?" questioned Kosuke, his whole body tense while Setsuna held Kumo.

"Oh, the others, they know she's the Hyuuga Heiress, Hyuuga Hinata, as well as the identities of the rest of you, except Yamato" he said, his eyes flickering between them. "They told me in an attempt to gain my favour, to prove these were Konoha Ninja. I don't know what to believe, except that you four are fighting for Amaya, and you protected these good people thus far. And, that among you, you have suffered a great deal for being here" his eyes then stared at Hinata, and he remained silent for a while, before heaving a sigh, and giving Kumo back to Asa.

"Amaya-sama, you know I can't choose sides. Just, please, make sure my people are safe…" his voice trailed off, he heaved a sigh, and cast his gaze around there group. Which was when he spotted Miaka. He froze, staring at the girl, then looked at Kosuke.

"Oki Miaka…?" he questioned, and Kosuke just shrugged.

"Huge talent" he said shortly, then gestured to Hinata. "Nanami's student" was his only explanation. Setsuna just gave a grim nod, and turned sharply before melting into the mist.

Hinata let out her breath before she suffocated and looked around at the dispersing people. Mai's parents stood close to her grave, which was now being covered up solemnly, and Hinata guessed they wouldn't move for hours. "I think I'll go to my room, if that's alright" she said, and those around her just nodded, and let her go.

Hinata later was lying flat on her back, just staring at the ceiling. Sakura had knocked and quietly asked if she was alright, as had Shino, but she had convinced both she just needed a sleep. Her mind was so chaotic, Hinata knew that's exactly what she did need, but, she would never get there. Instead she rolled once again, and clutched at blankets, trying to hug something, grasping for any sort of comfort. In fact, instead of being on the verge of sleep, Hinata was on the verge of tears, willing with all her strength that they would just evaporate before they fell. A knock at the door frightened her, making a stray tear roll down her cheek.

"Hinata" Kosuke's smooth voice called out to her.

"I'm alright Kosuke-kun" she called back, just about able to stop her voice from breaking.

Kosuke opened the door, and walked in anyway, gently shutting the door behind himself.

Kosuke looked at Hinata, and sighed at her harassed star, and shaking body. He literally had no control over his actions as he walked fluidly over and circled his arms round her, pulled her down on the bed and just held her close. He felt maybe he needed that hug more than her. He could feel her tense under his arms, and his heart ached even more at the horror those close to the Amaya must suffer at the hands of these people.

"Hinata, I swear, if it costs me my life, I will stop these people terrorising us" he whispered, and Hinata relaxed against him, wrapping her thin arms around him in response.

She felt a small amount of comfort in his touch, but not as much as she hoped. Kosuke was a mystery to her. He seemed so happy, so loving, but Hinata had been among the people to see an enormous amount of ferocity that burned away beneath the surface, powered by huge strength. In a way, he reminded her of Neji, except he didn't act strong, and powerful.

Hinata thought that this gave him an advantage about Neji, because people would seriously underestimate him.

For the moment however, she would enjoy his calm side. Because, surely, murdering Mai was only the beginning of their assault.