Once upon a time, there was a prince who died.

A lord was siphoning the wealth of his land into his own pouch when he should have funneled it back to help his subjects. He ignored all royal decrees to correct it, secure with his fingers in some of the major trade routes of the coast. Wretched, impoverished, starving...a brave bridge builder risked unimaginable consequences to get word to the Hokage. The Sandaime Hokage sent the prince's team.

The greedy lord sent demons.

The Demon of the Mist was a wanted criminal of the Moon Kingdom, a terror in his own right, but his shadow held the icy touch of death.

His teammates have bled for him countless times, so when the world blurred, and then blurred again, into ephemeral shadows that foretold their death, the prince moved without hesitation. There was no escape, so the prince faced death with crimson eyes.

When the prince woke, his teammate told him the tragedy of the demon and his shadow, of a bloodstained past under similar lords in their own land. When the greedy lord arrived with all his men, the demons turned on him and sacrificed their lives to slaughter them all.

Not even the prince himself knew if his tears were because of the strain of his new ability or the circumstances of their life.

And so, the prince began to see the truth of the world.

Prey for the Hunted

By Airyo

Chapter 27

Hinata pressed herself into the tree, trying in vain to conserve body heat by drawing the slick, stiff fabric of her waxed cloak closer to herself. It made little difference, as she was high up enough to catch the worst of the sleet. She wrapped an arm around the trunk to balance herself against the tug of the wind and squinted against the sunrise in an unconscious gesture to focus her Byakugan on the city before her.

Liang was a port city, cradled in the short stretch where two major rivers of the Moon Kingdom ran parallel to each other. All manner of transport barges passed by it, if not stopping altogether. Merchants flocked in from all corners of the kingdom to buy wares, make business deals, or simply keep an ear on the latest whisperings of the lands. There was a method, however, to the mess of people flowing in and out, on and off, over and under the countless exits and entrances. After three days of observation, Hinata was only beginning to understand the pattern of the guards directing Liang's visitors.

The sheer amount of goods bottlenecked at Liang made it a shining gem, prime pickings for any with a quick hand. And like anything universally valued, it was also viciously protected. Guards patrolled the battlements, ready to pincushion anyone suspicious with cross bolts. All boats had to go through a checkpoint to continue down either river, and if they wanted to dock, they were filtered through three more gates before even allowing sight of the main inner port. It was the same organization for those who traveled by land, though during the worst of the season, there was little difference between the roads and the rivers. Hinata wondered how the entire city itself hadn't been swept downstream years ago.

A strong gust caught the branches around her, and made the hem of her hood slap against her face. The tree Hinata was perched in gave a groan. She pushed her sodden hair back and jumped down. Despite her graceful landing, the ground still gave a squelch as one foot slid too deep into a soft spot. Hinata gripped her leg and pulled, only to pitch back with a squeak when her foot popped free, boot still hostage. She glowered at the mud as she hopped over to yank her boot free, tug it back on, and then retreated to the tent before she could be bested by mud again.

"Too damb wed," Kankuro muttered as she secured the door flap behind her. He made a face when Hinata glanced at him. The absence of a bad pickup line was indicative of the desert native's misery since even Gaara at his crankiest had never been a complete deterrent to Kankuro's unique personality. The humidity made his makeup runny, giving him a sad, droopy appearance, but he refused to forsake his trademark. Hinata didn't bother pushing, because while it made him memorable, it also made his disguise variable.

Also, he looked really funny.

"Rain makes people drowsy and short-tempered," she said. And careless.

Kankuro paused, as any snappish response would only prove her right. "Dey're lade," he finally said.

"Not late enough to warrant worry," Hinata said. The target caravan, and the other half of their team, had been due three days ago. With the unusual precipitation this late in the season, there was no doubt the roads would muddy and difficult to navigate. The rivers, bloated with runoff, would be no faster if the travelers preferred to arrive upright and breathing, rather than face down in the water. "Not yet," she added to herself. She peeled off her cloak and hung it to dry in the corner. Kankuro grumbled to himself, unable to muster much motivation for small talk.

Wet, squelching footsteps drew their attention. Hinata peeked outside and then stepped back to give Gaara room to squeeze into their tent. He pulled back his hood and blinked the water out of his eyes. Against the dreary light, the green of his eyes glowed like a cat's.

"Nothing," he said. "The last caravan to arrive got in before the storm began three days ago."

"We can't afford to wait too long," Hinata admitted. "The Harvest Moon festival is too good a chance to pass up."

In a way, entering Liang undetected was more difficult than trying to infiltrate the capital of either the Moon or Sun Kingdoms. The capitals were sprawling cities tucked into the heart of the land where power was no longer a straightforward consequence of gold and physical strength. The equation was more complex and had more variables. More margins of error to slip in between.

But Liang was smaller, focused on only one trade, and it straddled the border between the second and third circular districts. The affluent second circle, closer to the heart of the kingdom, was ruled by the wax and wane of wealth. The third circle, while not quite the wild outermost fourth layer, was ruled more by strength and blunt force.

In short, infiltrating Liang would be nasty business without the convenient cover of a merchant.

"Can'd you -?" Hinata closed her telltale Hyuuga eyes and shook her head.

"My appearance is a great advantage, true," she said. "But at most, I can rely on it twice, maybe three times before someone important notices."

"Bah, woman, leb me finish." They looked at him expectantly.

He sneezed.

"Bless you," Gaara and Hinata said.

"Danks." Kankuro blew his nose with a series of loud honks. He took a deep breath and exhaled with a sigh of contentment before continuing. "Anyways, I was going to say instead of trying to blend in, one of us pose as some overblown noble. You had the most exposure to those moneybags, so you know how they act best."

Hinata's expression dimmed. "Our teammates have our papers. We won't be able to forge passable ones in time."

"Good," Kankuro said with a sharp smile that reminded them that his foolish mien was only that - a mien. "Then they won't look further when they 'discover' the secret that we're harmless civilians from the border who think themselves worthy of joining the festival. Most people won't think there's another secret identity underneath."

Hinata thought it over. Gaara had no visible reaction and studied his brother.

"It's like the congestion keeps the intelligence from leaking out," he said.

"Shaddup."

When Matsuri and Baki returned from their scouting assignments, Kankuro reiterated his idea. With Hinata's blessing, they slipped back out to procure the necessary paraphernalia for their overblown cover. A day later, a stagecoach designed for more fancy than function creaked up the main road into Liang, groaning from fighting the elements.

"Halt!" a guard called. Baki, bent in the driver's box, pulled the reins feebly, and hooves and wheels skid several strides before coming to a complete stop.

The guard took in the ragtag group. One eyebrow disappeared above the brim of his helmet as he held out an expectant hand for their papers. Kankuro blinked at him for several moments before grinning sheepishly and ruffling through his waist pouch. He walked forward and handed the guard a folded sheaf of parchment. Hinata, face hidden with a veil, leaned her head out the window to watch the proceedings.

"Lady Shui of Nali," the guard read. His other eyebrow joined its counterpart as he looked back up at them. They looked back at him, strained expressions belying their awareness that the moniker translated to "Lady Who of Where". "And do you have the seal for this great city of...Nali?"

"Here," Hinata said with a dismissive wave. She tossed several gold coins towards the guard. The coins hit his chest armor with a faint plink before dropping into the mud with a wet plop. "The entry fee or whatever tiresome detail."

"Bribes will do no good, Lady Shui." The guard spoke as if he were lecturing to a dumb child. "You will show me the seal and allow for an inspection."

"Oy, yer talkin to a highborn lady. How dare you -" Kankuro sneezed so hard he nearly headbutted the guard who grimaced and wiped the spittle from his face.

"Sorry," Hinata said with a sniff that negated all sincerity. "I don't know why my honored Father would so cruelly saddle me with such disgusting servants. Will 30 gold soothe this fool's transgression?" Kankuro hunched his shoulders in a show of contriteness and backed up several paces.

"As I was saying," the guard said flatly. "Bribes will not buy you entrance."

Hinata paused just long enough to give the guard a sense that she might be hiding something and then made an exaggerated noise of frustration. "Whatever," she huffed, jabbing a painted finger at Kankuro. "You. Fix this. I'm not missing the festival because of some guard so full of hot air he'd float away if he didn't wear armor."

"Hope the rain keeps up then," the guard muttered.

"Oy!" Kankuro jumped in close to the guard. "Don'd you dare speak to my lady like that!" Then he, conveniently, sneezed again. To the guard's credit, he just wiped his face again and calmly turned to his partner.

"We have a group trying to force their way in to attend the festival," he said in a low tone civilians wouldn't have been able to hear. "Should I call for their removal?"

With a surprising flare for dramatics, Matsuri took the time to jump out from the back of the carriage and send Kankuro toppling with a flying kick to the face. "Idiot!" she screeched, "You're just making things worse!" Kankuro squawked, fumbling in the mud for several moments before he was able to regain his footing. Baki tried to scold them, only to dissolve into a series of debilitating coughs that nearly unseated him. Hinata massaged her temple with one hand.

"No need," the other guard said with the telltale wobble in his voice of someone trying to hold back snickers. "You seem to be handling them just fine. None of them fit the description, so just stamp them for the main festival area only." He raised his voice to an audible level. "The watchmen will catch them if they act suspiciously."

The guard sighed and did as suggested. Kankuro leaned in close, as if to thank him and he waved him away with a grimace. "Just...just go. Please."

Kankuro sulked until they were lost in the crowd, where he broke character with a hacking laugh. "I should get sick more often."

"Gross," Matsuri said.

Sasuke smirked at Naruto. "Forgot me already, Dead-Last?"

Naruto tensed, but did not duck away from him. "Sasuke?" he asked. The hopeful tone in his voice made him sound like a child. Sasuke jumped back a good distance from the current Team 7 - Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and Naruto.

"I'm not going with you. That's all I came to tell you," he said flatly. He turned to leave.

"Stop, Sasuke. You know that we can't let you go," Sakura said. She held up her hands, gloved and empty. It was meaningless, not when he knew she could split the earth with nothing else.

"You're going to try to make me?" he said with an incredulous laugh. "Convince me of deep bonds of friendship and truth and loyalty?" To their credit they didn't flinch. If there was guilt, there was very little of it. Sasuke wondered what he should take from it.

"No need to make a fuss. Sasuke, the council will hear your side of the story if you come voluntarily," Kakashi offered.

"I won't," Sasuke replied flatly. His old team leader gave a dejected sigh as his weight shifted. To the untrained eye, it appeared as if he was slumping in defeat, but Sasuke knew it meant the Copy-Cat was battle ready.

They weren't going to accept anything other than acquiescence.

"So it has come to this, Itachi," Sasuke murmured. He closed his eyes. It bothered him more than it should. He had already decided where his heart was aligned, what was allowed to make his blood sing and burn. Traitors should not be among them.

When Sasuke opened his eyes, his irises were laced with crimson. Kakashi shook his head and pushed up his headband to reveal a matching eye.

"Please don't do this, Sasuke," Sakura whispered. She looked hurt, of all things. He hated how she played the weak, clingy fool even as she gathered enough chakra in her hands to crush him.

He might have believed them, if they weren't prepared to take him down like a mad dog, cuffed and collared for his master. Then Sasuke looked at Naruto, and his distrust faltered. Naruto kept his hands loose at his side and his weight evenly back on his heels with a frown on his whiskered face. It was only a split second's difference, but it was the difference between who would remain standing, and who was left bleeding out on the ground.

It was arrogant. Stupid. Naruto was neither.

Yet he remained at ease, shoulders squared toward Sasuke, eyes like the fathomless sky above, boring into his for an answer. He always was easy to read.

"I have no other choice," Sasuke replied. He needed to end it quickly, because he will not be able to last in a battle of attrition against the new Team 7. Not easily anyways. "But for old times' sake, how about a one-on-one?"

"Sure, Bastard," Naruto said at the same time as Sakura and Kakashi protested the idea.

"Dickless, have you lost your brain as well?" Sai asked. He sounded sharp, even worried. That was a surprise to him- perhaps Sai was replacing him in more than just appearance.

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped. Naruto was ready this time for his attack. He ducked under Sasuke's arm, dropping low to strike at his knees. Sasuke jumped up, using Naruto's face as a foothold to kick backwards out of reach of three more clones.

He didn't give them time to cluster around him, landing, sinking deep into his stance, and immediately flipping high over their heads. At the crest of his trajectory, he took in the upside-down scene of Sakura punching the ground. The Sharingan showed him the way earth would split, and the ghostly wisps of ink to his left. Sasuke reached out, grabbed the hair of the nearest Naruto beneath him, and used the clone to pivot. His cloak fanned out around him, obfuscating his form enough to dodge the series of punches from Kakashi.

The Copy-Nin pulled back before getting tangled in the fabric. It fell in a harmless, empty bundle on the ground.

"Here," Sasuke called from the other side of the clearing. He grabbed the nearest clone by the collar of his tunic, using his forward momentum to slingshot his protesting projectile at Sai. His cousin leaned to the side the exact degree needed to evade the clone's flailing limbs, his brush barely pausing in the creation of an army of mice. Sasuke blasted the area with ink-black flames.

"Fake," Kakashi gestured to his team. The split-second delay to communicate it was enough for Sasuke to weave an illusion, and fray the lines of their defense to escape.

"So quick to leave without a goodbye," Kakashi said as he fell in step with Sasuke, tone as dry as the desert air around them. "Isn't that a little rude, my cute little student?"

"Fuck you, old man," his cute little student said automatically. Sasuke grimaced. He had made a mistake engaging in banter with Team 7 in the beginning. It continued the illusion that he wanted to return with them.

"Maa…" Kakashi said with a sigh. "You've lost all your manners without my help. Maybe some-"

"Lord Hatake, do you really think reenacting a mockery of our previous relationship will be effective?" Sasuke asked coldly. He turned to face Kakashi, drawing satisfaction from the tightness around his old teacher's eye. Said eye widened when Sasuke pinched the air before his lips and blew.

Kakashi dodged. The enormous fireball slammed into Naruto instead. The blond yowled, barely shaking off the flames in time to sidestep the blades peppering where he paused moments earlier.

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing?"

Sasuke replied with an elbow aimed for his gut. Naruto darted backwards, parrying the increasingly hostile blows. Sasuke twisted out of the way of the Rasengan from a different set of clones and leaped back several feet. He steadied himself as the ground shook.

"Why don't-" Sakura's fist missed Sasuke's ribs by a hair, purely by the stroke of luck that he was exhaling rather than breathing in "- you trust us?" He gave her an incredulous look as he bent back at a painful angle to avoid a broken jaw by a subsequent roundhouse kick.

"Why should I?" Sasuke asked. He lashed out with a whip of fire, forcing several Naruto clones to jump rope like schoolgirls for several steps. Sakura darted out of the way. None of them mentioned how the same scenario had played out in a spar years before, ending only when they keeled over from laughing too hard.

"Why should you?" Naruto echoed with a snarl. A blast of chakra-aided wind disassembled Sasuke's construct. "You've already decided that we're guilty. You don't even need proof."

Sasuke paused. Shaking off the comment in time to bat away several of Naruto's punches and kicks. It was true. "I don't need proof. The circumstances are too convenient," he said.

"GIVE ME ONE REAL REASON!" Naruto roared, his face contorted with wrath. Sasuke twitched at the demonic energy that washed over him. He retreated back several paces away and took a deep breath.

"She's alive," he blurted, the words a rush of emotion. They stared at him blankly for several heartbeats, and then Sakura gasped. Her expression softened, and Sasuke wondered how she - how all of his old team - would react to Nori. Sakura and Naruto would bend over backwards, and keep bending into a tangle of idiots, to please her. And for Kakashi's gruff exterior, he'd be wrapped around Nori's devious little finger in a moment.

Kakashi's eyes flicked to Sakura, to the two-tone cloak puddled on the ground to the side, and then back to Sasuke. "Hinata?" he asked gently. Sasuke hesitated. He glanced at Sai.

"It's okay," Naruto said, "you can trust him."

At that assurance, all remaining expression drained from Sasuke's face. Sai was a known spy. He'd pointed his blade at him. At Hinata. Maybe he'd done some great deed to earn their trust, but all Sasuke had was their word. The same words that professed loyalty to Itachi.

Hinata's survival was a seed of doubt for them against the kingdom they blindly loved, but he would have to kill them if they discovered Nori. They were obliged to bring such information back to Itachi. And Sai would bring it to even more dangerous enemies.

Sasuke turned and began to walk away. A burst of familiar chakra made him tense. He whirled towards Sakura just as she used a chakra scalpel to slice the tip of her thumb. She had never bothered with a contract before. Was she trying to capture him with some sort of summon?

"No!" Naruto barked "NOT YET!" Sakura faltered, dispelling her summon in a hurry. Black feathers fluttered around her like autumn leaves. Sasuke darted past Kakashi's defense and then back out of reach. He studied the black feather held between his index and middle fingers. Bile rose in the back of his throat.

"Did Itachi give you this?" he asked, his voice a sibilant hiss.

"It's not-"

"Do you deny it?" he asked, watching her with half-lidded eyes. He wanted to believe them - in his team's stubborn affection for each other. Once, he had known, had reveled in how Uchiha Sasuke fit in Team 7, like the final turn of a lock where all the tumblers inside fell into place. Unlocking had been easy, again and again.

He had turned his back on them first, forgetting them in the cracks of his selfish, broken heart. It was only natural they had re-shuffled the jagged pieces left on the floor and reassembled into something new. They continued on. They moved on.

It eased the heavy ache of something like farewell and untangled the final knot in his chest that he had kept curled close with hope that he could return to how things had been. They will not let him go. He had to make them.

He reached back and gripped his sword. In a smooth motion that made his opponents tense, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at them. "I have no patience for this farce of a battle. If you must capture me, I will make it the last thing you attempt."

Kakashi stiffened as Sasuke began to form the seals, and he made a sound like a wounded animal. Then the sound of birds filled Sasuke's ears, deafening as it blocked away the distractions. It was easier to concentrate in the eye of a storm, all the chaos spiraling down to stark truth. He could feel the steady thump-thump of his heart against his sternum as the ghostly possibilities of the next few moments played out for his Sharingan.

He didn't want to hurt them. They didn't want to hurt him, not by the way they pulled their attacks, just enough to keep him for escaping them. But it was a status quo at best, and neither faction was willing to give.

Kakashi was moving as if he was underwater: legs curling, arms thrown back in preparation to move. He was too far away. Time pulled back, taut like a drawn bow. One breath. Two breaths. And then everything was thrown hurtling forward.

Sasuke moved. He reversed his grip on his katana, the world blurring around him. Pink, orange, white, black, and yellowyellowendlessyellow. He kept his opposite hand on the pommel, forcing his hand to follow through. A hard jab. A twist that sent electricity skittering across his skin. Then, all motion around them seemed to cease.

Sasuke didn't look up, his wide eyes locked on the steady bloom of crimson around where his katana disappeared into Naruto's chest. How...did he…?

"You were supposed to dodge," he said. His voice rasped like he'd swallowed sand. His ears buzzed with the echoes of lightning, of violence. "You idiot." It was supposed to be a shoulder wound, something that bled dramatically but was easily within Sakura's (and Kyuubi's) abilities. It wasn't supposed to-

"Sa.." He let go of his katana as it burned, with Naruto still impaled on it. Without its support, the blond staggered and fell to his knees. "...suke..." His name bubbled at Naruto's lips even as his clear, blue eyes locked on him. Sasuke dropped his gaze to the dark, wet spots on the sand.

He looked up in time to catch the glint of Kakashi's blade before it slashed through him from shoulder to opposite hip, carving his torso in two. Sasuke grunted in surprise. Then the pieces of him disintegrated into a flock of crows. His crimson irises lingered on Kakashi for a moment before Sasuke closed his eyes and became mere smog.

From afar, he watched as Sakura eased Naruto to the ground. Sai was directing ink into Naruto's vein, presumably to keep his blood circulating while Sakura pieced together his heart. Kakashi stood guard. Even though he was so far away even his Mangekyou strained to see them, Kakashi tensed when Sasuke directed a burst of chakra to his eyes. A low breeze snarled the hem of the lord's cloak, nearly obscuring the sharp movement as he looked over his shoulder. One rage-red eye pinned Sasuke.

But then, Kakashi's posture changed, making him seem old and brittle. He turned back to his team. For the first time, Sasuke felt like an intruder, like he should look away from Team 7. It stopped being his business when the tip of his blade broke Naruto's skin. His throat burned.

They will no longer hinder his departure. Mercy, or a lack of interest...he wasn't sure.

Sasuke pivoted, gripping the empty sheath at his side, and left.

Hinata grimaced at the feel of damp silk plastered against her skin, feeling vulnerable without her leathers or her naginata at her back. Unfortunately, with their current cover, the most she could carry without suspicion was a decorative dagger with tassels. She could appear only so impractical without some truth backing her attire. Not that it prevented her from concealing an entire brace of smaller daggers in the folds of her voluminous skirts.

Even with a glance from the inside, the tight patrol formations were not a habit but rather a symptom of something else. The guards were occupied with more dangerous characters than a few self-important fools. It was luck that they got past the first gates, between the truly awful weather and a bigger bad lurking somewhere where Liang did not want it. Just what kind of luck it was remained subjective.

Hinata turned to the rest of their team and spoke after making sure they had no unwanted ears. "We only have access to the lower levels of Liang where much of the festival is held." Hinata scanned the crowd, frowning at the odd thrum of tension in the marketplace. "They're trying to keep something out of the public eye here. It may be to our advantage for entering, but also means they're more likely to shoot and ask questions later." She pointedly did not look at the guards on the inner walkway of the wall. "Priority is infiltration of the upper levels, as well as any news of the rest of our team. Matsuri, you're with me. Checkpoint back here in 3 hours."

Despite their unusual looks, her desert friends melted into the crowds like bright scales in a koi pond - eye catching, and just as easily dismissed. It was a good thing they were all dressed in the gaudy, impractical fabrics so favored by the nouveau rich. While distinctive, it made it easier to swap out costumes later. Hinata readjusted her veil and followed her teammates into anonymity.

Several streets down, Lady Shui stopped to admire a sparkly hair ornament, distracted just long enough for her oblivious handmaid to lose her in the crowd. When she realized she was alone, she foolishly wandered about in search of her servant. The poor choice drew the attention of a trio of sailors loitering at the edge of the marketplace. They followed as she turned down an isolated street.

"Hey beautiful, I've lost my way," one man said with a shark-like leer. "Do you know the way to under your skirts?" Shui tensed, but kept walking with her gaze forward. The man blocked her path. "Don't be shy, now."

She wanted to disappear, to duck away so quickly it would leave them blinking in confusion, but a pampered young lady like her cover didn't possess the skills to do so. She knew there were eyes on them, even if the guards couldn't intervene until actual crime had been committed.

"Get your filthy hands off me," she demanded, aristocratic accent sharpening each syllable in her mouth with an edge of arrogance. They laughed at her.

He tripped on the crossbolt that suddenly sprouted from the cobblestone in front of his foot. The sailors cursed only as sailors could as they retreated. Hinata looked up. The shadow on the roof unfurled, revealing the silhouette of a guard. The distinctive top piece on his helmet marked him at captain level.

Hinata bowed, purposely letting her eyes drop away from him. He inclined his head once, letting the light slip around the brim of his helmet. Then he crouched and melded back into the lines of the roof.

Hinata forced herself to move with the tentative mannerisms of a naive girl whose rose-tinted lenses had cracked. She drifted to where the buildings were not hunched over narrow streets, graduating advancing to one of the rivers that flowed through the city.

The river was calm after filtering through a series of dams and iron grates, but it still carried the scent of damp earth and rain with it. Hinata walked on the stones stacked along it the river, following it towards a small bridge. Few animals were willing to tolerate the unwelcoming climate, but where there were people, there were always pigeons and rats no matter how clean the city was. Liang was pristine given the kind of traffic that passed through its streets. Hinata watched an industrious rat drag what looked to be an entire slice of meat pie. She wasn't squeamish, but she still waited until the rat was well out of sight before continuing.

"Oy, lady." Hinata didn't need to fake her flinch. She was letting herself get distracted if a homeless man could startle her. He shook a can at her. It sounded like it contained more water than money. "Can ya spare a few coins?"

He peered up at her from behind a mop of dirty, gray hair before looking back down. He was bundled in rags, slumped against where the underside of the bridge curved down to meet cobblestone. A stained canvas tarp covered his stack of worldly positions.

Hinata studied him for a moment, getting the sense that he was making fun of her. At least her disguise was working. "Would food be alright?" she asked, shuffling her feet.

He gave her a snaggle-toothed smile. "That's just fine, too."

She made the motion of peeking out for her the sailors before stepping out to the nearest food stall. She returned with two skewers of cuttlefish wrapped in wax paper, still piping hot from the grill, and set them on the tarp near him. She left after a stiff bow.

"Thanks lady," he called out after her. Hinata kept walking, keeping her seemingly random path until she met back up with her handmaid at their secondary checkpoint.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" she whined. "I'm cold and hungry. Get me something that's not fish." She leaned close to ostensibly give her handmaid money, but also whispered her latest instructions in a low voice. "I need to check something. Go meet the rest of our squad. I'll meet up at the inn before sunset."

"Yes, Lady Shenma," Matsuri said, purposely bungling her cover's moniker. Hinata visibly balked.

"It's Lady Shui, you idiot!" she hissed loud enough for civilian passerby to give her a curious glance.

"Ah, yes, sorry, Lady Shui," Matsuri stuttered out, bobbing her head obsequiously. She handed a waxed cloak and turned to do her lady's bidding. Hinata moped about until she was sure all watchers had dismissed her as a petulant princess, before donning the cloak and disappearing into a nearby alleyway.

Though she had long left bounty hunting behind her, slipping back into the hunter's mindset was as easy as pulling on an old pair of gloves. Three separate barkeeps all pointed her to the Tickled Trout. Given Liang's dependence on the rivers, it made an odd sort of sense that the city's bounty booth is in the back of a fishing shop.

She didn't locate the shop in time to avoid the current bout of rain. She pushed the door shut behind her, shaking her head to get the worst of it off her hood. The sopping rug at the entrance did little to soak up the rivulets from the hem of her cloak, welling up muddy water around her boots as she stepped past. She left wet footprints until halfway inside.

Fish oil lamps illuminated the neat storefront, casting the wooden display cases lining the perimeter in a honey-colored glow. Tapestries depicting fishermen and mermaids filled the rest of the wall space. It was almost homely despite the display of harpoons with wicked serrated blades on one wall.

"Can I help you?" the clerk asked. He leaned forward, weathered hands splayed out on the countertop. Hinata's gaze caught the space where his left pinky had been before she met his eyes.

"The bounty board," she said. "I'm tracking Zabuza." The clerk peered at her face, trying to discern her features through the veil. When the lamp light revealed nothing, he glanced at her empty hands.

"Bounty board? I haven't seen him, if that is your question," he said. Over-enunciation was a telltale sign that he was withholding information. He knew Zabuza's bounty had been claimed over a decade ago.

Unlike out by the border where they handed out the codes like promotional flyers, the bounty hunters closer to the capital were much more cautious. For good reason, too, because the bounties found here tended to be more politically charged. And illegal.

Ninja were in the service of the Moon Kingdom, and while they had no shortage of sneaky maneuverings, their missions were only assigned when it benefitted the kingdom. So while the Moon Kingdom might not have grievances against a hypothetical Lord Shui, hypothetical Lord Nali might be nursing a grudge. Perhaps Lord Shui snubbed the betrothal offer between their children. It was common for someone in Lord Nali's position to post a bounty that targeted Lord Shui's daughter, or even Lord Shui himself.

While assassinating fellow nobility was frowned upon, the need for such secrecy often stemmed from another layer of complexity, for example, Lord Shui's close ties with the Hyuuga. In that context, Lord Nali's bounty now took on a rather treasonous light.

"I'd be impressed if you saw him" Hinata said, "considering he's an S-rank missing nin who died years ago." She needed to prove she wasn't tied to the Hyuuga, wasn't an infiltrator tasked with uncovering the illegal bounties. She had keep to keep her veil over her eyes for her heritage made the endeavour rather difficult. But he seemed unlikely to trust her if she remained masked.

Hinata shuffled her feet as she debated her options. The clerk's expression sharpened.

"Does he like to fish or something?" he asked.

"Probably not," Hinata admitted, confused by the line of questioning. "Maybe the harpoons. But not for the fish." The clerk shrugged.

"Let me show you our special stock," he said. "And you can decide." He stepped out from behind the counter, locked the door to his shop, before motioning for her to follow him into the back. He led her into a narrow hallway. "Third door on the left." He left her alone after Hinata thanked him.

She opened the third door to a small space that could only be called a closet. The walls were plastered with bounty notices, thousands of black-and-white faces staring at her. Her own renewed bounty was probably still somewhere in the crowd, buried by more recent postings.

A scream pierced the air. It was the hair-raising scream of a dying rabbit, of a quiet creature fighting for its last breath. Hinata dropped the sheaf of bounties she was leafing through and ran back out, slowing only to catch the harpoon the clerk tossed her. "On the house if you take down that piece of scum." She admired how the blade curved back like a hook and gave him a parting nod.

She found the source of the scream in a small, deserted courtyard, tucked between the wheels of two abandoned food carts. The smell of grease from fried seafood mixed with the heavy metallic tang of blood made her stomach churn even before she saw what happened. The young man's mouth was still open in a silent cry, terrified gaze locked skyward. Hinata pulled out a small handkerchief from her hip pouch and covered his face. One white corner fell over where his neck abruptly ended, and began to turn red.

Hinata's head jerked up at a sob. The homeless man from before had a woman trapped at the far side of the courtyard. He was playing with her. Everytime she tried to escape, he slashed at her with an enormous sword that was nearly as tall and broad as him in one hand. Each time, she was rewarded with a thin line of red on her body. His playtime wouldn't last long, given how quickly he'd discarded his previous plaything.

The odd line of the shadows on the ground drew her eyes up. A line of guards were crowded along the wall, crossbows searching for a clean shot at the homeless man.

She bent her knees and clicked the toe of her boot on the ground. She tilted her harpoon, enough to let the watery sunlight dance off the blade. One of the guards on the wall turned his head and she recognized the odd angle of top piece - it was the guard who had helped her before. He studied her for a moment, no doubt also recognizing the gaudy colors of her skirts peeking out from the split of her cloak. He held up a hand. All the men on the roof lifted their crossbows in unison.

There were a line of carts along the curve of the courtyard wall. Hinata leaped up to the top of the nearest cart and ran soundlessly along the roofs. A hail of crossbolts kept the homeless man's attention on the guards and his current victim.

Hinata dived, and grabbed the woman, and tumbled and hoped.

"Huh?" he snarled at the empty place where his victim had been. "What the fuck?" He glanced up, across the clearing where Hinata lifted the woman to her feet. She gave the woman a push to the alley behind them.

"Go," she urged. The woman didn't need to be told again. She gave Hinata's hand a quick squeeze. Then she gathered up her skirts and ran.

"Seriously?!" he whined as he walked towards Hinata. He swung his sword, sending a food cart flying and crashing down the street. "I was having so much fun."

"She wasn't," Hinata said. She reached back and tightened the knot holding the gauze over her eyes in place. With all the witnesses lining the roofs around them, it was like a makeshift amphitheatre where they can see every vulnerability.

"I was going to spare you, too," he muttered. "Even if you bought me the shittiest possible food."

"Those were fresh," she said with a frown.

"I hate cuttlefish!" he yelled, gnashing his pointed teeth. "It's the fucking worst!"

"I'm sorry," Hinata said sincerely. He blinked at her in shock for a moment before laughing.

"A polite bounty hunter, huh? If you're really sorry you can make it up to me then," he said with a grin. "Let me cut you up instead."

"No, thank you," Hinata shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, feeling the wet crunch of gravel under her boots. She kept the harpoon loosely balanced in hand.

"You don't even use a real sword," he complained. "A fucking harpoon...going to cut your head off last for that..." With a disgusted sigh, he hefted his sword up to rest on his shoulder. Despite his lackadaisical movements, Hinata noted the careful way he didn't let the edge of his blade drag needlessly against the cobblestone. "Fine, fight me."

Despite his offer, he charged first. He swung with lethal precision for her neck. Hinata leaped over him, adding further insult by kicking the flat of his blade to flip herself out of range of the next swipe. She landed behind him and caught his next strike on the serrated edges of her harpoon. Her hands went numb, bones aching - ringing - from the force of the attack. She could feel the staff of the harpoon groan like a tree against a winter storm.

"You're not bad," he said, baring his teeth with a maniacal grin. "I might even add your weird harpoon thingy to my collection afterwards." A flare of chakra, and his arms bulged with terrifying bulk. Hinata disengaged just as her strength failed her, only to pull short with a choked gasp.

He gave the end of her cloak another harsh tug, sneering when it came back empty with the ties cut. Hinata leaped back, pelting him with daggers. He smirked as they passed through him. "You should do your research, lady. Physical attacks don't work against me." He dropped the cloak, now that it was more holes than fabric.

"I do know who you are, Hozuki Suigetsu," Hinata said. His visage was unmistakable from his picture on his wanted poster. She gave her harpoon several twirls before dropping into a ready stance, the staff held close to her cheek like a notched arrow. "Younger brother of the Hozuki Mangetsu, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Little note any crime until 3 years ago, when you started killing in various Moon Kingdom cities. B-rank swordsmanship with an ability to liq-."

"Only B-rank?!" Suigetsu spat to the side, any sign of good humor gone. "I'll show you B-rank." He flicked a hand, launching a hail of pressurized water at her. Hinata jumped to the side. The perforated wall behind her collapsed, sending rubble rolling underfoot. He pressed his advantage, raining hard strike after hard strike on her. He wielded the enormous sword like it was made of paper, but her arms keened with agony with each blow as she tried not to stumble. The harpoon was not designed to bear such force and it compounded the abuse back on her.

She loosened her hold, just enough for the weakness to seem involuntary. He took the bait. Hinata shifted so the jab only split the thin silk of her dress, and grabbed the dull part of the blade. He swung his weapon to flick her off like a bug. Hinata curled into his movement, rendering it useless. At the lowest point of his swing, she lunged for him, jabbing for his neck.

Suigetsu laughed at her as it passed harmlessly through him. Hinata threw herself to the side, narrowly evading getting bisected.

He wasn't succumbing to anything she tried. She had to see, had to pick apart his secret. She activated her Byakugan with a hand seal and a mere flick of chakra. His violet eyes followed her hand, wide with recognition.

"Fuck! You're a Hyu-" she interrupted Suigetsu with a boot to the face. Her foot splashed through him, as she'd expected, and was sufficient distraction from the fingers she brushed by his side. She spun to a steady landing several paces away. Her skirts clung to her legs like flower petals after rain, ripped and wilted. His head sloshed and then reformed with a scowl on his face. He studied her with narrowed eyes and then glanced at the thirty odd crossbolts still pointed at him. Suigetsu grinned wider. The unnerving zig-zag of his teeth overtook most of his face.

The twang of a bowstring hung in the air like an unfinished sentence. Hinata stared at the dark shaft of the arrow protruding from Suigetsu's chest as she reminded herself that water muffled sound.

"You should be begging me for mercy. Groveling on the ground like the bitch you are," Suigetsu told her. He grabbed the arrow around the fletching and with a violent motion, ripped it out sideways through his ribs. The part of the arrow that had been inside his body wasn't even damp. Suigetsu used it to point at their silent spectators as he smirked at her.

He had recognized the chakra pattern of the Byakugan, which meant he had experience with a Byakugan user. While she had none of the weaknesses of a traditional Hyuuga warrior he could leverage, she made the mistake of violently trying to cut off his declaration of her family name. He knew she was Hyuuga, and he also knew she wanted to hide it from the guards.

Hinata needed to end it quickly.

She didn't bother preparing her stance. One moment she was standing, wary and watching with her weight too evenly distributed between her feet. The next, she was glaring up at him under his guard, damp hair billowing around her pale face like tentacles. He liquified completely, a haphazard defensive move out of surprise.

Suigetsu resolidified in a crouch, and leaped for her with a scream.

They blurred. Their blades clashed so quickly there is only enough white noise to fill the space of a breath. They broke apart.

He landed on his feet.

She did not.

Hinata tumbled to the ground with a soft cry, clutching the raw mess of her thigh. The pieces of the harpoon fell around her in a clatter.

Suigetsu turned, blinking his swelling eyes against the fog that should be overtaking his vision. "Bitsch, whad did ou…" He staggered towards her, bringing his sword crashing down where she'd been moments earlier. "...do to…meh..." Hinata rolled to her feet, one hand applying pressure to the wound on her leg, and the other poised with a dagger. The difference between their weapons was laughable.

He lunged for her with an ugly snarl. Mid-attack, his body rippled, and then became transparent. His legs folded under him like a newborn colt's and he slumped to the ground. His sword followed him with a dull clang.

She waited several more breaths. In and out. In and out. Her breaths and heartbeat grated together in her chest as she fought to keep her own swimming vision focused.

Suigetsu remained motionless.

Shoulders relaxing, Hinata tucked her dagger back into her belt. She eased herself to the ground, wincing at the fresh gush of blood from her injured leg, and began to rip up the bottom of her stained skirts to make a tourniquet.

"You idiot." She looked up, blinking back the black encroaching her vision. Gaara's hair was bright against the cloudy sky. He frowned as he kneeled by her, but his hands were gentle as he pushed her handfuls of muddy silk aside. He pulled a fresh roll of bandages from his hip pouch and began to wind it around her thigh.

"He was going to kill her." She grunted in pain when he pulled a knot tighter than necessary.

"I should have been here," he said when he finished. He offered her a hand, and when he saw the minute tremble in hers, he swept her up in princess hold. She was too tired to protest, and leaned her head against his chest with her eyes closed. The guards from the roofs were filtering down to the courtyard. Their cover as the spoiled noble crew was in tatters after her battle with Suigetsu, so Hinata didn't protest when Gaara asked to be pointed to the nearest medical facility.

"You are not my bodyguard," she said when he'd turned down an isolated street. It wasn't his job to shadow her and protect her from her own recklessness.

"Nori and your asshole prince will never allow me peace if I don't try," he muttered. She laughed softly, half at his choice of epithet for Sasuke, and half in relief that they were speaking again after their fight.

"No rest for the wicked," she teased.

"Apparently," he said.

Sasuke stared at the clearing. The mottled reds and browns of the earth made it hard to focus on any particular detail, but he had the Sharingan even if he had nothing else left. But even his bloodline limit could detect no trace of where Seidou had been.

They'd left him behind.

A bubble of hysteria filled his throat, and he wasn't sure if it would present itself as laughter or tears. He swallowed the urge when he felt Jugo approach.

"Did Kimimaro tell you to stay?" Sasuke asked.

"No." At this, he looked up. Jugo looked back at him with a steady belief in him that made Sasuke want to rage and punch something. Instead, he sighed and looked back to the hazy outline of Moon Kingdom mountains in the distance.

"I may have killed the man I considered my best friend. I drove my blade through his heart and stopped it with lightning." Sasuke rested a hand on the empty sheath at his side. "I can't return." He will never forget the feel of cold sweat on his brow from Kakashi's killer intent. There was no one to go back to. Not in the Sun Kingdom, and apparently, not in Seidou.

"I'm sorry," Jugo said.

Sasuke gave him a measuring glance. He couldn't trust himself. Once, he had made the mistake of trusting his king, his brother, instead. And now, he had even less reason to trust in the man who made no show to hide his loyalties to Kimimaro, a man that had aimed to kill his daughter.

Friends and family could betray him, but Jugo was neither. An ally by strange circumstances, at most.

Sasuke did not trust him. But he could trust in his motivations. Jugo, Kimimaro, and Anko were a group deal, the bonds forged by trauma between them so twisted and twined that it was hard to imagine them otherwise. Jugo standing by himself looked unbalanced, just a little bit off.

"Don't be," Sasuke said with a faint sneer. "That's not why you're here."

"I go where you go," Jugo said, looking at his feet like an overgrown teenager. Sasuke twitched a shoulder.

"Just don't hold me back," Sasuke said. He drew up his hood so Jugo's bright spiky hair didn't tug at his peripheral vision.

He didn't know what he would do or where he would go. He was only capable of breaking and burning everything around him. He couldn't go back, so he walked forwards, facing a jagged horizon so faint it might be a mirage.

Jugo followed him, silent as a ghost.

They did not exchange any words until the lights of the mountain village winked into view, bright and sharp like stars.

"Are we bunking here for the night?" Jugo asked. Sasuke nodded, making a beeline for the first inn that looked like it wasn't infested with rodents.

The young woman gave them a once over, blushing slightly when she took in Sasuke's face. But she shook her head. "I'm sorry. We're just a small inn," she said. Jugo shuffled his feet. Sasuke gave no visible reaction despite the uncharacteristic graceless movement. The clerk tilted her head, and then smiled. "But...we might have two rooms open if you don't mind the smoke from the festivities in celebration of the Harvest Moon."

"Of course not," Sasuke said. The clerk gave them their room numbers and keys. Sasuke stopped them at the top of the stairs. "What was that?" he asked.

"Young Oushou taught me a code. He said that Lady Hinata had created many contacts that we may rely on."

"I see." Five years was a long time to disappear, after all. Hinata had been busy. He handed Jugo his key in a clear dismissal.

"Good night," Jugo said with small nod. Sasuke made a noise of acknowledgement before unlocking his door and shutting it behind him. He didn't bother with lighting, and opened the windows. Silvery moonlight spilled into the room. The cool night air was gentle against his skin as it rustled his bangs. The smoke was no worse than the fog in the Sun Kingdom barracks.

It would have been refreshing save the incessant flashbacks to earlier that day, remembered in perfect detail. "Sa...suke…" Sky eyes clung to him. His hands spasmed, still feeling the wet crunch of bone and sinew, and he could still smell the bright copper tang of blood. His skin felt tight and itchy, as if it was too small for him.

Sasuke sat on the floor, near the faint rectangle moonlight. He traced the shape of his left canine with the pad of his thumb. Though the knotted scar tissue on his fingers had faded over the past years of avoiding Mozou, it was much harder to draw blood when he bit down. His fingers, however, remember the seals perfectly.

"Do you even remember who the hell I am, kid?" Mozou asked. He pecked at Sasuke's hand. Sasuke didn't dodge, watching blood well out of the side of his index finger like juice out of a rotten fruit. Mozou cocked his head to eye him suspiciously. Sasuke wiped his hand on the side of his pants and regarded the raven with a cold look.

"Not my summon, apparently," he said. The truth of the words lingered like the taste of ash. He thought back to how Itachi had first introduced the querulous bird to him - just introduced. Sasuke had never signed a contract with the ravens, and simply assumed that it was another quirk of his elder brother's vast powers. Of their vast powers. He had been so naive. "How convenient that I am prone to make assumptions," he mused. "How many more lies has Itachi allowed me to believe?"

Mozou hopped from one foot to another in agitation. Then he shook his wings, scattering pitch-black feathers across the blanket. By the dim light of the stars, they looked like rips in the fabric. "Can't comment," he groused with a shrug. "That's my answer."

The sense of claustrophobia was back, pressing down on him like the heavy hand of his late father. That was the answer - no one could really say except Itachi.

"I've held my part of the deal," Sasuke said in a low voice. "He got all the information I could find on Orochimaru. Tell Itachi to call off the trackers." Mozou opened his beak. "And no bacon, just do it," Sasuke added with a sneer.

The raven let out a caw of laughter. "He said that you would say that. He says to tell you 'No, foolish little brother. It is time you retu-'."Sasuke struck out at Mozou with a snarl, but only grasped smoke. It curled away from his fingers as it dissipated. The raven was gone. Probably already whispering his updates into Itachi's ear.

Sasuke stared at his hand for a long moment. The open wound on his index gleamed like wet ink. He smeared it with his thumb, drawing a dark line down the length of his finger. Then he stood and went to the restroom to wash his hands. He scrubbed at his wounds with harsh soap until the water ran clear. He splashed his face, slicking back his hair and letting the rest drip down his back. His reflection stared back at him with dark shadows under his eyes that looked like bruises. Sasuke splashed his face again.

When he felt almost human, Sasuke wrapped his finger, and went to Jugo's room. He knocked. No response. He knocked again. Nothing. Sasuke knocked a third time, loud enough that one of the neighboring tenants poked his head out. And then immediately retreated upon meeting Sasuke's gimlet eye.

Jugo opened up just as Sasuke was about to kick down the door. His orange hair was dark with moisture and a towel was draped over his shoulders. He angled his head, squeezing himself through the short doorframe to join Sasuke in the hallway.

"How tired are you actually?" he asked. Jugo gave him a knowing look.

"I'm fit for travel," he said.

"Then get your pack," Sasuke said. "We're going to find Karin."

Even if Karin couldn't sense Hinata, she could certainly find a parasite named Gaara.

"I guess that's one way to infiltrate a well-guarded city," Kankuro commented as they waved to the last of the adoring Liang citizens. "Though you kind of blew the whole low-profile thing out of the water."

Hinata sighed in relief when the cart pulled around a turn in the road and the forest obscured the last of the city from view. Days later, and she was still uncomfortable with the attention her battle with Suigetsu garnered. Especially since they'd ended up dedicating this year's Harvest Moon Festival to her. And holding a parade in her honor. And then a feast. And then dance. And then a ceremony where the mayor gifted her an enormous, white gold medallion. It reminded her of one of Lee's training weights and knocked painfully against her sternum.

"It played to our benefit," Baki said, looking back from his position at the front of the cart. "Unconventional as it was. Every merchant there thinks of you fondly."

"Murder tends to put a damper on business, after all," Gaara said. Matsuri giggled as Kankuro mimicked his brother's last sentence in jest behind him.

"I got lucky with the poison on my daggers," Hinata said. Suigetsu's technique tended to dilute most poisons, so she'd hoped for a sensitivity since the one she used was sourced from the desert. "I didn't realize he had a severe allergy." Which had been emphasized when she'd managed to partially shut down his kidneys.

"Tell that to the guy pickling in his own juices," Kankuro said with a strained laugh as he dodged Gaara's sand. "Do you think he'll curdle like milk if he dies?" She made a face at the imagery.

"Neither," she said, "since the poison is nonlethal. We can't behead him in that state and his bounty is high enough that we need to go to a bounty hunter booth that has larger resources. We won't be around to see what they want to do with him."

Inconvenient, but it would be suspicious if she declined to take Suigetsu to retrieve her bounty. She had to play the bounty hunter to the end, now that everyone in Liang now knew about them. The clerk at the Tickled Trout had been delighted to provide them a large glass jug as a temporary prison. He had insisted that it was made for fishermen who wanted to preserve their greatest catches against the humid climate of the central Moon Kingdom, but no matter how Hinata studied it, it just resembled an oversized perfume bottle that was nearly as tall as her.

They managed to sell the stagecoach and horses, which was just enough to secure a more practical wooden cart and a large blanket to conceal their unusual cargo. Liang was still a capitalist city, and while there could be gifts aplenty when merchants smelled a business development opportunity, good deals in of themselves were a limited commodity.

She lifted the blanket. Suigetsu's prison was nested between Gaara's gourd and Suigetsu's sword collection. He swirled to face her, squinting at the sudden light, and then bubbled inside his prison in a personification of liquid rage.

"Do you need more water?" she asked. One of the Liang craftsmen had helped them create a one-way stopper for the jug that let them pour in water without the risk of escape. After she had caught Matsuri and Kankuro trying to add food coloring and hot sauce, respectively, Hinata secured it with a lock with a combination known only to herself and Baki. She would have given it to Gaara as well, but she had seen him purchase a packet of pesticide earlier that day. "I'm not sure what we can feed you either. Are you hungry?"

Suigetsu gurgled something graphic about playing cat's cradle with her intestines. Hinata interpreted it as a negative and covered him back up.

"What is our plan now?" Matsuri asked.

"We need to find out what happened to the other half of our team," she said as she tried to shift into a more comfortable position. She leaned back against the side of the cart so the rumble of the wheels didn't jostle her still-tender injuries. "We would have known if they made it to Liang"

"Rumor has it there is a powerful sensor that's started taking commissions," Baki said. "Started up a little over a month ago. Maybe he or she can help."

Gaara looked up. "That timeline is noteworthy. One of Orochimaru's experiments? We may have an advantage as most of them hate him."

"I'm not sure," Baki said. "The sensor has only started claiming lost-and-found bounties, nothing combat oriented."

"First, let's see if there are any leads in the city of Taiyang," Hinata said. "Shino's team should have passed by there. If we meet another dead end, then, we look for the sensor."

AN (it's a long one):

-In Chinese, "Lady Shui of Nali" is basically "Lady Who of the Where". Disregarding intonation, "shui" is also "water". Basically 1.5 awful puns for the price of one.

-Thank you, Rhinst, for betaing! You keep me from sounding like an idiot and I end up getting all the credit for that.

-I'm also in the process of posting PftH on A03 now for any who prefers that format. This will depend on when I stop being lazy.

On pairings...

-I'll be the first to say that Yamato-Sakura is not working. I can't. Tried to give poor Plateface a chance but he just became….Kakashi-ish. (This is where I blame the rich well of talent in the KakaSaku fandom.) But it's my bed so I'm going to cuddle the hell out of this pairing and never speak of it again after this fic.

-KimiAnko I'm feeling as more of a bromance. Since Anko is very Orochimaru-ish and Kimimaro would latch onto that whilst working through the idea of Orochimaru had thrown him aside.

- Naruto-Ayame I will defend to the grave and back. Fight me.

Extra 1:

"I know who you are, Hozuki Suigetsu," Hinata said. "Younger brother of the Hozuki Mangetsu, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Little of note any crime until 3 years ago, when you started killing in various Moon Kingdom cities. A-rank swordsmanship with a special ability to liquify his body. Favorite foods include jello and yogurt. Hates cuttlefish."

"Wait...you bitch!" Suigetsu howled. "You fed me shit on purpose!"

"Beggars can't be choosers," Hinata said with a frown. "And food is expensive here."

"Fine, thank you, whatever," he grumbled. "It's not like I'm completely without manners. I'll just chop off your arms and leave the head, mmkay?"

"I appreciate the offer," Hinata said, "but, no thank you."

"Just one arm?" he wheeled. She shook her head.

"Your loss," he said with a shrug.

Extra 2:

Matsuri glanced up when Hinata unlocked the door to their inn room and limped inside. She leaped up at the sight of the bloody bandages.

"What happened?" she asked as she pulled their medical supplies from her pack.

"I caught a rather...contrary jellyfish," Hinata said. She held up an enormous glass jug and gave it shake. Matsuri stared at the gelatinous form of...a man? "He was harassing people," she added at Matsuri's horrified expression.

When the Sand native continued staring at her, Hinata edged away. "I'm going to go clean up. Please don't open the jar...he'll leak over the floorboards." Matsuri nodded, giving the man in the jar a contemplative look.

He was a very pretty pale blue color. She'd overheard gossip at the market of a beautiful rare artifact called a "lava lamp" and the jar of...whatever-he-was matched the description well. The lava aspect sounded dangerous, but she also really wanted a pretty lamp for her tent.

At the very least, maybe Hinata will let her hang him up and use him as mood lighting.

(AN: Suigetsu's full name is something along the lines of "Demon Lantern Water Moon". Yes, I am hilarious.)