Hinata ran through the woods until she found the edge. She saw the civilian village down the hill and she hoped they would take her in. She made her way down there and every shop closed down the moment she did. She bit her lip and her eyes began to water. That...that awful man. She had sympathized that he had been hurt by Madara even when he had been truly despicable, but...now...instead of being immobilized...she wished he would have just ended his pitiful existence. She hit her knees as she ran out the other side of the village.

She slammed her fists into the ground. Her tears darkened the dry dirt beneath her fists and she sobbed. She heard movement to her left and she leaned back to sit on her feet and she looked up at the sky. His chakra, despite it being threatening and fear inducing to most; gave her a sense of relief. He walked around in front of her and prodded her with the sheath of his blade. "Who are you?" he asked and she looked up at him. He took a few steps back and unsheathed his blade. "How did you get those eyes?!" he snapped and she stood. "They were a gift from a friend who gave his life for his younger brother. He...he wanted to save us both...I was going blind and someone was threatening his brother..." she said, but the blade didn't remove itself from her vision.

She watched as he relaxed a bit. "So what exactly happened to you for him to allow you to have his eyes?" he asked after watching her for a bit. Hinata dug her feet into the ground, this was painful for her... "This man...Butsuma Senju... he attempted to take my eyes... I held the last of the Byakugan and he tried to take them...my eyes had begun deteriorating and Izanagi gave me his eyes when he was near death, he had failed to kill the bandits, but had saved his brother, only for his brother to die of a severe illness." She said and he watched her even more carefully.

"Butsuma Senju...The previous head of the Senju clan. Why would he target you, other than for your eyes? That man only has his anger set towards us Uchiha. So why attack an innocent?" he asked and Hinata smiled softly. "Because...I want to help save the Uchiha...and the Senju. I want to kill the clan war before it gets any worse, but...Butsuma has begun spreading rumors of me...he says I am a spy." She said and Madara's chakra spiked. "You are Hinata Hyuuga then." He said and she nodded.

"I am not a spy, I promise. I would lay down my life for you..." she said and he furrowed his brows and spun on his heels. "Do not follow me home. Do not trust anyone...and do not lay your life down for me. Desperation will get you nowhere in this war." He said harshly as he strolled away. "What would I have to do to prove to you that I want to help?!" she asked and he stopped walking, only to turn his head to the side to look at her. "All you need to do to help us...Is stay out of our way. Do not interfere." He said and her heart sank.

"I have lost everything because I w-wanted to help you...my family...my friends...everything...it's all gone." She sobbed and he scoffed audibly. "That is why I said to stay out of this." He said without a single bit of sympathy as he strode swiftly out of view. She hit her knees once more as the tears continued to fall. She needed to find the paradox that the Veil of time left behind and she needed to destroy it so that she wouldn't have to deal with this once she fixed this entire mess.

:-:-:-:-:

Madara strolled home; the woman had made him distraught. He hadn't believed the rumors that Butsuma had spouted, but now that the woman had been identified; he felt a pull to her. Deep down, he felt he should trust the woman more than he should trust the desperate Senju man. His father would be more willing not to trust anyone, so he wouldn't trust the woman, nor would he trust the Senju. He took tentative steps into the door way and looked both ways before he walked in. he sighed in relief when his family wasn't up and about. He took one step past the doorway to the kitchen and a chill rolled down his spine.

He looked into the doorway to see his mother standing there, tapping her foot with irritation on her face. "And where were you?" she asked and he scoffed audibly. "I went to the civilian village. Where else." He snapped and she fumed at him. "Now listen here you obnoxious little-" she began and he rolled his eyes. "The Hyuuga woman is real. I encountered her today." He said and she blinked at him, her anger was obviously diffused.

"So was she as he had said?" she asked and pushed a chair out for him to sit. He shrugged. "She seemed lost, like she didn't know what to do with herself..." he said and she furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" she asked and he sighed, he really hated explaining things. "She claimed that because she was trying to help us Uchiha, her family was gone and everything she had ever had was gone...because of Butsuma." He said and she frowned. "I wouldn't put it past her to lie. But I also wouldn't put it past Butsuma to kill off an entire clan like his father had." She sighed and her ruby red eyes clashed with her son's onyx ones.

"Butsuma didn't kill her clan, his father did. The woman was truly a Hyuuga." He said and his mother rubbed her chin with an unreadable look on her face. She turned to look up at him once more and he furrowed his brow. "Stay away from her...we don't truly know her motives...I suggest you stay away from her." His mother said and he nodded. He wasn't quite sure if he should obey, there was a part of him that said to disobey. That tiny little rebellious part of him that wanted him to go and see her...That tiny little part that was the power hungry and deceptive part. In all reality, he wanted to test her; to see what she was worth.

He really wanted to test her eyes, what she could be capable of...he wanted to test her limits...and break them. He smirked and his mother glared at him. "Don't do anything reckless, Madara...we can't do whatever want, you know this...don't get into any trouble you can't get out of." She said as she stood and whisked her way out of the room before he could even begin to try and say anything to her. He sighed and his fingers massaged his temples where he felt the oncoming headache.

"I'm going to the training grounds...I don't have time for this." He sighed and made his way outside, where he saw some of the other clan members training as well. He decided not to train with them and made his way past them and out of the compound once more. No one in his family was a challenge. Izuna was at par with him and everyone else wasn't even close to being anywhere near his level. So, as per usual...he was out searching for trouble. He was doing exactly what he did best.

He heard the slight crunch of the fall leaves beneath his feet and he smirked and let his feet drop heavier and his chakra flare. He was going to make it easy on himself; he was going to draw people to him. It wouldn't take long with all his stomping and chakra flaring. Madara wasn't stupid...there were always mercenaries roaming these woods, and he sought to lure them out. He curled up his upper lip when he noticed no one was falling for his trap.

He felt a massive jolt in a chakra source and he ran to it. He skidded to a stop when he saw the Hyuuga woman surrounded by Senju, Hashirama and Tobirama at the back of the fight, waiting for her to be weakened enough for them to take her out. He took a few steps back and watched from the sidelines. He decided not to interfere; he was going to get a second hand show of her strength without actually having to witness it.

Hinata cut her eyes over towards the tree line where she had seen Madara stumble out. "You know...it isn't very smart to look away from those who wish death upon you." One of the Senju scoffed and Hinata rolled her head to face them, a pleading look filled her eyes as she looked over the ten Senju that surrounded her; that wasn't even counting the brothers who stood off to the side and waited for their men to attack. "As I asked earlier...please don't force this upon me...I know who the true threat is and I don't wish to hurt those who were led into this blindly. I don't want to hurt anyone...but if I am forced to...then it shall be so." She said softly and the Senju men laughed loudly.

"Women are weak, that is why they are always working in the pubs and stay at home. That is where they belong." One man said and Hinata looked at the ground. "I see...so those are your views then..." she whispered and the men ran at her. "I will not kill you...but I doubt you will walk away on your own two feet...I tried to settle this civilly." She whispered and her chest clenched, she really didn't want to have to hurt them but if she didn't fight back...they would try to kill her.

Her left hand deftly blocked one hand that had come for her and she whispered a sincere 'sorry' as her flat palm connected with his gut and she used the air palm and sent him flying backwards. She spun on her heel and sent another man flying with a swift kick to the head. She ran at one man and catapulted herself at him and both of her feet connected with his chest and she pushed off of him to send herself flying towards another man. She landed on her hands behind him and her legs wrapped around his throat and she threw him with the momentum of her legs flipping over her so she could land in a crouched position.

'four down...' she thought sadly as she fell into the clan's fighting stance and the veins around her eyes bulged out. 'the final six...are all in my range...' she thought as she swiftly began knitting the expansive net of chakra around her. "Get back!" Tobirama ordered the men but as they all attempted to run, the net of chakra expanded faster than the eye could see and the men hit the ground unconscious. She felt bad...she hadn't killed them...but the disrupted chakra flow would take a while to heal being as the Senju didn't have medics...

Water rushed at her and she held out a hand and the water swirled around her. Tobirama appeared surprised. She then made the water form a dragon and she stood upon it. "In my spare time as a child...I trained with water...I figured it would help me learn better chakra control..." she said softly and Tobirama rushed at her and she frowned. She really didn't want to have to fight them...hadn't she fought with them enough already? Why did fate have to be so cruel and take her entire world from her?

Hinata wasn't expecting Hashirama to jump in the moment she had sent Tobirama flying with a kick to the chest. She flipped mid air to avoid the roots that came at her from one side, and twisted to avoid the dragon that launched at her left. She hit the ground and watched the brothers exchange glances. That was when the mist seeped in and she felt their chakra spike. She knew they were really going to try and kill her...

Madara furrowed his brows, he couldn't see what was going on, but he could feel the chakra that had permeated the air. It felt sinister...his eyes drifted to his arms and he saw the goose bumps that had risen on his skin. His pulse raced within his veins and sweat dripped down his brow. He felt cold and the urge to run was overwhelming. He shivered and his brow furrowed...was it that he...could it have been possible that he was...scared? His eyes drifted to his hands where they were shaking and he grit his teeth.

What the hell could be so bad that he, Madara Uchiha, was scared? His question was answered when a huge blade of chakra hit the ground right in front of him and actually made him land on his rump. His eyes were wide and he stared at the woman inside the giant white chakra beast. Her eyes flashed dangerously and she was breathing hard. It had both Tobirama and Hashirama in one hand. He watched as her eyes rolled up and she fell face first into the ground. The beast faded away and Tobirama and Hashirama hit the ground in a crouched position.

"What the hell was that?" Tobirama asked and Hashirama watched the girl as he cautiously strolled closer to her. He took a shocked step back when she forced herself to stand even though he could tell she wasn't going to make it far. "What are you trying to do?" he asked with a frown. "Trying not to...to hurt you." She said with one eye closed in pain as the green glow washed over her. She jerked in surprise when she felt herself healing, she had felt this before but this time it was stronger than ever. Hashirama took a few more steps back and placed a hand on Tobirama's chest to keep him from getting any closer to her.

"Hashirama...that's..." Tobirama began and Hinata winced as she felt something crawling across her face. "My jutsu. I know." He said and she shakily stood and stared at her hands as if in utter shock. Madara chose that moment to walk out. "I would advise you all to leave." He said and she looked at him. She turned her head away from him and then her slow footsteps followed. "I believe I will go. Neither of you want my assistance. And neither of you are smart enough to break from tradition and listen." She said and her voice sounded sad and sorrowful.

Hashirama and Tobirama gave him a look but said nothing as they gathered their men and made their way home. Madara on the other hand had other plans. He ran after her, he wasn't letting her get away that easy. He hadn't had to run far, she had collapsed against a tree about a hundred feet away. He walked over and sat on the back side of the tree. "What do you want now?" she asked and he could tell she was crying. Her voice trembled, her silent sniffles didn't go unnoticed either.

He peered around the side of the tree and saw her picking at the blades of grass nearest her fingers. One by one she plucked the defenseless strands and tossed them with a flick of her index and middle fingers. "Who are you really?" he asked and her delicate fingers paused over a particularly long blade of grass. "I...I don't know anymore...One minute I'm some ordinary fifteen year old girl who couldn't impress her father no matter what she did, that stumbled upon a long lost family secret...then I was a seventeen year old with a massive crush on the village fool, then I am attempting to sacrifice my life for him because a man attacked our home..." she said and he furrowed his brow at the mention of a village...there were no villages.

"Then...I had found a magnificent blade...and automatically I become some sort of fearsome warrior...no one ever thought about how I would feel to be so used...but in the end...it was worth it. I had a family...I had met someone new and... we made a family together...and about three months after I had gone home to let him meet my family...I watched everything fall apart before my eyes...And then I woke up here...in the middle of the Senju forest...with Butsuma Senju laughing at my misfortune he created...taunting me because I wasn't strong enough to stop him myself..." she cursed herself as her voice trembled more and he heard the ruffle of her clothes as she covered her face in her hands to stifle her sobs.

"I'm sorry this happened to you..." he said softly and she slowly looked at him. She sniffled as she watched him from around the tree. "I thought you didn't trust me..." she said trying not to let her voice tremble as she did so, but failed. "No one...could ever fake that much pain and despair..." he said softly and she looked down at her hands as her tears dripped onto them. "Pain and despair? I g-guess that could sum up what it looks like to another who isn't feeling i-it..." she whispered and he blinked and looked at her.

"I feel...as if everything I have worked for...fought to protect and save...has been ripped from my reach and the Kami are laughing at me...like my life is some cruel game. The one I love...is right in my reach...but he doesn't remember me...he thinks I'm a traitor...a spy...he thinks I am nothing useful...the Kami are dangling him right in front of me and laughing their cruel laughter while I'm sitting here with him right beyond my reach...despair...doesn't even begin to compare..." she whispered as her shoulders jerked with her sobs.

"Utter hopelessness...can't even begin to compare...if I could... I would scream my emotions to the world, but I don't even know what they are...rage...anger...hate...self hate...who knows...desperation? I don't know anymore...I just want to have that all back...but unless a few things change...I can never have it back...My special clan jutsu is useless...I can't use it because apparently there is another way to fix this other than killing Butsuma before this happened." She sobbed and he furrowed his brow.

"Before this happened? What do you mean?" he asked and she sniffed. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have even said anything...forgive me..." she whispered and he sighed. "Alright...there is a river down that way...you can fish and there is a cave not far from it...do as you wish..." he said and he stood. She looked over at him with wide eyes and he nodded. "I'm trying to help, so please take it as a kindness." He said as he walked away. Madara slipped back in over the fence of his compound and saw that his clan members were getting tired.

They all bowed to him as he passed and he nodded at them in recognition. He slowly crept through his home as to not wake his mother who would rain down the wrath of hell upon him if she found he had been out attempting to cause trouble again like his clan members knew he had been attempting to do. He stepped on one excessively creaky board and he flinched as he looked towards his parents room to see if his hellion of a mother had awoke. When he as sure she hadn't, he made his way to his room. He flopped on his bed and his brother laughed from the doorway.

"Strongest shinobi in the clan my ass, you're lucky you didn't wake mom." He said and Madara glared at Izuna. "Go to bed." He snapped and crammed his face into the pillow. Izuna chuckled as he made his way back to his own room and flopped on his bed as well. Madara couldn't help but wonder what Hinata had meant by everything she had said...not a lick of it had made any sense...

:-:-:-:-:

Hinata wiped her eyes and stood carefully. She felt drained, physically, mentally and emotionally. Her feet crunched lightly on the crisp leaves beneath her feet. Her bones hurt, her muscles hurt...and her head hurt. She stumbled forward on aching feet and hit the ground. She sighed, but pushed herself off the ground and forced herself to trudge on forward. It hadn't been long before she found the river Madara had spoken of. She hit her knees beside the edge of the river and she dipped her hands into the crisp surface of the water.

It was near ice cold but that was refreshing against her heated skin as she splashed the water onto her face. The pain in her side wouldn't fade and she wasn't surprised in the slightest. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that she had fallen so swiftly, even when she had used the Susanoo...Hashirama was a fast one...her eyes drifted to her side at the place that the wound hadn't healed. With careful tugs, she pulled the blood stained cloth from her side.

Her fingers brushed the cause of the injury and a scream ripped from her throat despite how she had tried to hold it in. she was steadily healing it, but she couldn't heal it completely until the cause of it was gone. She carefully picked at the cloth that was inside the wound, but fresh tears sprung forth and she couldn't do much to keep herself from whimpering. She cupped one hand in the river and gathered some water in it, only to dump the cold water on her wound and whimper loudly.

She tore her shirt and twisted it into a rag and bit down on it. she then proceeded to pour more water on her wound, biting down on the cloth as she did so. She took a few deep breaths then carefully dug her fingers into the wound and grasped the large piece of wood that had fractured off of her susanoo's blade and gone through her Susanoo in its entirety. With one swift tug the three inch long piece of wood was wrenched from her side and she screamed as it came out.

She threw it to the side and panted as she held a hand over her wound. Her shirt was clinging to it and blood poured from it now. She rinsed it once more with water then began healing it. Once her wound was mostly healed she attempted to stand, which was lots easier now that she didn't have that awful pain in her side. She walked for a while in what appeared to be circles, but she eventually found the cave. She made her way over to the cave and she looked out to the night sky. "What plans do you have for me now?" she asked quietly as she made her way into the darkness of the cave where she then placed her back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position.

She wouldn't be able to sleep heavily tonight...she knew the Senju or the Uchiha had most likely heard her pained screams...so she closed her eyes, and slept lightly.