Things could have been different…so much different. The pain she felt…it was nothing…nothing compared to the fact she had still failed. She felt useless, just as useless as everyone had called her. The looks, the words, their actions towards her, they all said she was a failure. What right did she have to attempt to save the future by saving the past? Perhaps someone stronger could have…like Neji…but no, it had been her to attempt to do so. His dark eyes screamed out to her, just as he appeared to actually be yelling…but she couldn't hear anything.

His eyes were glistening, but she knew he wasn't about to cry; he wouldn't…not for her…would he? No. The only ones he cried for were the ones she failed to save. He had grown cold, but every time she had failed him, she had seen him cry…then she had seen the hatred. This man…was fearless now. Cold, fearless, and he hated her. She knew he did…she had proven herself to be quite useless in his eyes.

Her eyes drifted down to her stomach, the shining metal was coated in her blood. This was all a mistake, she should have never come to this time…not for him…not for anyone…but, she could have made it out of this alive. If she hadn't gotten to know him the way she had…if she hadn't fallen in love with the dark soul he was. Everyone makes mistakes…but this was the biggest mistake she had ever made. She didn't regret falling for him; he had been the perfect person for any Kunoichi to fall for. He was strong…brave…he wasn't loud or obnoxious…he had once held a kind heart but her failures had turned him cold…he in his own right was the meaning of perfection, she had just brought him down with her...

Her heartbeat slowed; her lips felt like ice compared to the warmth her blood gave them. She had done this for him, as one last chance to say she was sorry; sorry that she had failed them all. The sword had been removed a little earlier and now the blood trickled freely from her opened mouth. It…it burned to breathe. She closed her eyes as she felt herself going cold; she knew she was fading away and wouldn't be alive much longer. She had fallen to her knees, but she didn't feel anything. Her vision began dulling and she could hardly see.

What she did see was the man before her, crying. He hadn't meant to kill her…he was fighting the other man, the one she cared so deeply for, but she had gotten in the way. She could tell he hadn't meant to hurt her; he had quickly removed the blade once his shock had worn off. He held her in his arms, her head lolling to his upper arm. He held her to himself tightly, she could understand why…or so she thought. He had just caused the death of an innocent; she figured that's what his thoughts were. She hadn't trusted him, nor had she trusted his brother; but she had understood them. She figured that they thought of her as a younger sister, even though she had been weary of them. Even so, they had treated her like she belonged. She had lived with him…they had taken care of her; but she betrayed them…for the one they were fighting…

Her eyes drifted over to the dark eyed man that had fallen to his knees, his hand outstretched to her; his eyes held pain…regret…sorrow…and the emotion that she had seen every time he had looked at his younger brother…she saw the love in his eyes, it was pained…but it was still love, although subtle. But something wasn't right about him either, he appeared to have blood on his lips, she figured he had gotten hit or something…she had taken the end of the blade for him, hadn't she?

She breathed a shaky breath and forced herself to smile. "T-this…" she managed, her eyes shaking as tears fell from them. "This…could ha-have been di-different…" she managed as the light faded from her eyes and she fell limp in his arms, sad how in the end; the one who had been the one to take her life, cradled her body in her last moments. Her eyes drifted to him, the one she loved. The last words she ever heard him speak were ones that would have made her heart skip a beat; she never would have known that those words were words of war, as her last breath left her; she had thought the best of those words; even if the deceit and hatred behind them wasn't subtle. "If it were different…I never would have found my purpose…"

-:-:-:-seventeen months earlier-:-:-:-

Her eyes opened and she knew this was what had to be done. She brought the blade up and with swift movements, her hair fell around her; inky blue-black strands stood out against the green grass. She bound her chest tightly, but not too tightly; if she was going to pretend to be a guy, she had to have the same body shape of a guy, not a well-endowed woman. She had come to this time, knowing almost exactly what she was running head first into. She wrapped medical gauze around her eyes, her eyes were extremely feminine; but she also knew her eyes were rare; the Senju had slaughtered the clan for the existence of the jumper. They had taken the jumper down with the rest of the clan, defeating the purpose of their mission.

Her hair was shoulder length and spiky now, her bangs in front choppy and jutting out in spikes. Her hairstyle now reminded her of a combination of Naruto and Sasuke's hair; dark and spiky, yet longer than both of theirs. She focused on steeling her nerves; sooner or later she was going to encounter Madara. She was here to save him from his fate of hatred and war, but the fates seemed to hate her. She had no idea how to do so…she didn't know what triggered his anger and rage…she had no idea how to fix any of this. She had run in blindly and now she couldn't leave.

Not even a day ago she was at home, in her bed reading. The village had begun being rebuilt after Pein had destroyed it. She had been perfectly fine dealing with the upcoming war as well, but then she got this ridiculous idea. "Hey! Let me go save Madara and restore the world to peace by making sure this never happens! Yeah! That will work!" she muttered angrily. The guy was bound to be like… a hundred and fifty in her time…but no…the masked man had to claim to be Madara Uchiha. And yes…she had to go back with her kind hearted self and try and stop every bad thing from happening.

What a genius she was…She activated her Byakugan and searched the surrounding area. Not a soul in sight as far as she could see, which was pretty far; judging on how she was at the border of fire country and could see konoha's birthplace from here. Obviously, the village wasn't there yet, there were only two compounds that were pretty far apart. One was in the center of the forest, while another was located by where the Hokage stone faces would be. She pulled on the black shinobi tunic over heavy fishnets. She wore slightly baggy pants as well. The off white armor was the last thing she put on.

Attracting attention was the last thing she needed, so she would avoid the civilian village; where rumors flew like a flock of birds. She headed straight for the shinobi inn, when she got there, heads turned and eyes narrowed. Men were drinking at the bar and women were shaking slightly. Hinata sat in a booth in the corner and a woman walked over to her. "C-can I get you something, sir?" she asked and Hinata frowned; is that what she sounded like when she stuttered? "Just water please…" she said and the woman nodded frantically, not even caring how Hinata sounded.

Hinata spoke in whispers, so her voice could not be detected as a woman's. A few men from the bar walked over and sat around her, nudging her and trying to get her attention. Hinata's frown became and annoyed sneer. "Don't touch me." She hissed, trying to be intimidating. "Oh did we piss off the newbie?" they chuckled and she sighed, this wasn't going to work. They punched her shoulder hard; Hinata's brows furrowed and she grit her teeth. "Touch me one more time…" she began but they laughed and punched her again. The moment her glass touched the table, the three men's heads hit the table; Hinata having struck the three in the neck with her gentle fist.

She thanked the meek woman and stood, leaving her water behind. The fact she took out those three caused an uproar in the inn. Five more guys rushed on her and she fluidly avoided their drunken hits and kicks. She swiftly took them out, not hesitating for an instant. She then made her way up to the bar and looked at the bar maid, who flinched in fear; despite not being able to tell if Hinata were actually looking at her. "I need a room." Hinata said and she nodded frantically. "Yes sir!" she stammered and Hinata nodded as she handed her a key.

Hinata felt the eyes staring from the bar; she knew they held other intentions. She knew it was a Senju, and she knew that he was going to run straight to his clan leader and tell him of the blind shinobi that took out a bar because they bothered him. She knew that staying longer than one night in this particular inn, was not going to be good for her health. She slipped into her room and before she could get settled, a knock was at her door. She furrowed her brow and walked over to the door. She peeked through the crack between the door and wall and her eyes widened. This was not who she had been expecting. Her hands trembled and her heart raced…what could she do? Could she hide? Could she tell him go away?

"I know you are in there, and I know what you are." His deep voice rumbled from behind the door. Her heart raced even faster, her breathing rapid. Her shaking hands reached for the doorknob and her nails tapped against the doorknob in her fear. "I promise I'm not here to hurt you…" his voice rumbled once more. She tightened her grip on the knob and she pulled it open and took a few shaky steps back. He looked both ways down the hall before he entered the room. He shut the door behind him as he strolled in leisurely.

"How do you know what I am?" she whispered and he smirked lightly. "Only a woman has flexibility like that." He said and her eyes went wide, she was not expecting that. She thought he knew she was a Hyuuga. "So I can't really fool your eyes then can I?" she asked and he chuckled. "My brother pointed it out. I had no idea until he told me, to be honest. But I thought I would test his theory." He chuckled and she laughed lightly. He was different from what she had imagined him to be. She thought that he would be like Sasuke, cold and uncaring…but he didn't seem to be so.

"What's your name?" he asked and she ran a hand through her hair softly. "Hinata…" she said and he raised a brow. "Well that's just not going to work…" he said and she looked at him oddly. "You need a guy name, you can't be acting like a guy and named like a girl. How about Hiro? Or Ryuu? Ryuu is pretty cool…same for Okami…" he said offhandedly and she begun to feel at ease, he didn't seem that bad…"Ryuu…as in dragon and Okami as in wolf?" she asked and he nodded. "Dragons have a flame that I see within you. Or maybe Hibiki...you seem to need an echo." He chuckled and she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips. "Okami, is fine, it makes me feel kinda fierce. Thank you." She said lightly and he nodded.

"Now…I have to go, but be safe….Okami-chan." He chuckled and she nodded. "By the way…my name is Madara, if you ever need help, just call." He said and Hinata nodded. "Goodbye…Madara." She said and shut her door as he gave her a one handed wave. She yanked the gauze from her eyes; it was starting to irritate her eyes. She needed to find something else to hide her eyes instead of the gauze, a mask would do; but she would have to find one first. She smiled slightly, preferably a wolf mask to match her given name.

She rested in the inn for the night, but was gone before dawn, she knew if she had stayed any longer then she wouldn't have made it out; judging on the amount of Senju she could see motivating towards the inn. She bit her lip and sighed in relief, her heartbeat began to slow after her fright. They had been knocking on every door they walked past, asking for the man, Okami. She had heard the barmaid's sniveling and knew she had to run. Her thoughts drifted to Madara, he seemed nice enough, but she wasn't sure she could trust him so easily.

A crunch behind her let her know that someone was on her trail. She activated Byakugan, hoping to see Madara's chakra signature; but it was not him. It was four Senju, she knew she could take them; they didn't have very well developed chakra signatures. Her chakra system was far more advanced than theirs were; their chakra systems looked more like the chakra system of a civilian. Did they not believe in training those in their clan? She whirled on them and they dropped into taijutsu stances.

"So this is how you fight?" she asked quietly and fell into her own sloppy Hyuuga stance. They lunged and her arms swiftly knitted the net of chakra around her and it expanded and sent them flying back. They stood back up and Hinata focused her chakra into her blade that she pulled off her back. They pulled their own blades and prepared to attack again but with one swipe of her blade, theirs shattered before their eyes. "Interesting…I came out here thinking you would be in need of help, Okami-san. How wrong was I?" Madara's voice rumbled from behind her. 'Great, now because of him I'm stuck right in the middle of the feuding clans…' Hinata thought with a frown.

She prepared to use a kage bunshin, but tree roots wrapped around her and Madara jumped backwards. "Hashirama!" he exclaimed excitedly and the man who had his hands in position to hold the jutsu sighed. "Madara." He said simply, but then he turned to her. "I wish to speak with you, Blind warrior." Hashirama said and Hinata tried not to snort at how retarded that sounded. "You realize, I am not blind correct? I am just very good at fighting without using my eyes." She said and Hashirama raised a brow.

"Then why didn't you dodge, I'm assuming you can see clearly even through the gauze, am I correct?" Hashirama asked and Hinata began to fret. Was he saying he knew what she was? "Well, it's time for me to bid the two of you adieu." Hinata said lightly and her clone exploded, sending shards of wood all over so Madara could get away as well. Madara chose not to confront Hashirama at the moment; he had to report to his father. Hinata hit the ground running; the wind whipped her hair all over the place. She was breathing fast, her heart racing. She was scared, there was no doubt about that…

She lost her footing on the tree branch and slipped; she hit the ground and hard, she felt the crack as it happened. A scream ripped from her throat and tears soaked through her bandages covering her eyes. She gently brushed her fingers over her leg to feel for the break. She winced once her fingers brushed over it, her hand glowed green and the green chakra forced the bone back into place swiftly with a second resounding crack. She heard two soft thuds on the ground and she looked up to see glowing red eyes.

"Okami-san, are you alright?" Madara asked as he looked around. "I'm fine, I had broken my leg is all." Hinata whispered and used the medical kit from her pack to create a makeshift splint to keep the bone form moving back out of place. "Break a leg doesn't mean literally do so, you know." Izuna sighed and dropped something in front of her. Hinata looked up at them but they were gone. She lifted the wrapped item up and stared at it in slight surprise. It was a wolf mask much like the Anbu wore in her time. She smiled lightly and ripped the gauze from her eyes as she placed the mask over her face and secured it.

She whimpered as she tried to stand and failed to do so. Three thuds landed in front of her and she looked through the small eye holes in her mask to see the fearsome three: Butsuma, Hashirama, and Tobirama. She forced herself to stand and stumbled back, trying to ignore the pain in her leg. "Suiton: water barrier." She whispered and a barrier of water surrounded her as they walked closer. "Okami-san, please drop the water barrier, we do not wish to fight you." Butsuma said and Hinata glared at him through her mask, she knew he could feel the anger from her.

Tobirama stood with his arms crossed, no surprise there…her eyes went wide when his fingers twitched and her water rippled. She slammed her hands together and made an ice shell around herself by using the freezing winds to drop the temperature of the water. She began to feel the drain now; she had barely slept since she had been here. Most of the time she had either been on the run or fighting people off. She dropped her hands and stared at them. "What do you want with me? You don't even know where I came from, who I am, or why I'm here." She said, and her brows knitted together.

"That may be so, but we request alliance with you, Okami-san." Butsuma said and Hinata put her hands out to both sides and her ice barrier shattered. "How do you won't violate an agreement?" she asked and Butsuma frowned. "I can assure you we speak nothing of the truth." He said and a wicked smirk crossed her lips. "Even if I am not what you think I am?" she asked and they all furrowed their brows and made an effort to drop into a fighting stance. "Please…I'm not going to fight you all, I know when to give up. I would have given up if it were only Hashirama and he had me trapped somewhere I couldn't escape." She sighed and Hashirama furrowed his brows.

"You're a-" he began but she held up her hand to politely silence him. "I'm nothing important, I'm not an idiot. I will join you, but under one condition." She said and Butsuma nodded. "And what would that be?" he asked and she frowned. "That you don't send Hashirama, Tobirama, Kawarama, or Itama after me if I choose to leave your compound." She said and he frowned. "You wouldn't be meeting with Uchiha would you?" he asked and she shook her head. "No, I have no alliances at the moment, I was free roam shinobi." She said and Butsuma narrowed his eyes. "How old are you, and what clan are you from?" he asked, he was obviously suspicious of her, well what he thought to be him.

"I am eighteen, I am not an Uchiha. I have no clan, their existence was wiped off the face of the earth long ago, so what do they matter now?" she asked and he frowned. "Very well." He said and she followed behind them at a distance, she was not going to get close to them. She followed them to their compound but she was just as weary of them as they were of her. She was shown to her room where she collapsed onto the bed she was given.

She hadn't even been able to dose off when a knock was at her door. She sat up and forced herself to stand, her leg was on fire and she really wanted to sleep. She hobbled over to the door and reached to open it, but before she could even touch the knob of the door, it burst open and someone forced her back onto the bed with a kunai at her throat. "Who are you really?!" they sneered and Hinata opened her eyes to see a beautiful white haired woman over her with a fierce look in her eyes. "Akane…Senju…" Hinata said in disbelief. The woman grit her teeth and dug the blade deeper into her neck. "Why do you wear this mask? Are you hiding something, Okami-san?" she hissed and knocked on the mask with the kunai.

"Yes…" Hinata said and slowly reached up to slide the mask up and to the side. Akane's eyes went wide as Hinata revealed her face to the older woman. "You are…a Kunoichi…A Hyuuga no less." She whispered and swiftly slid Hinata's mask back over her face. "Keep yourself hidden, you took out an entire inn of shinobi, they will kill you if they find out you are a woman." She said and Hinata smiled slightly beneath her mask. "If I am meant to die, I will die in battle fighting for someone whom I care for." Hinata whispered and Akane smiled a feral smile. "That's how we Kunoichi do it, we die for the ones we love." She said and left the room. Hinata sighed in relief, Akane's movements were predatory; she reminded Hinata of the Inuzuka. They were always feral and they walked like Akane.

-:-:-:-

Hinata left the Senju compound after a week of nothing but training with the Senju boys and Butsuma. She strolled through the civilian village and was looking at all the things they had to offer. She could feel their eyes on her, their eyes were filled with hatred and anger. She turned towards a woman and she stumbled away and knocked something over. Hinata strolled silently, the fact they feared her made her wonder if this is what it felt like to be exceptionally powerful…

She frowned beneath the mask as she ruffled her spiky hair; she didn't think she would ever get used to this hairstyle. She strolled past one vendor, stopped then returned to the vendor. They had weapons laid out on the shelf and Hinata leaned in to get a closer look at them. The man attempted to hide them away but a katana touched their neck and they froze. "Madara-san." She greeted and she could feel the smirk cross his lips. "Do not hide the weapons from the shinobi…" he said and the man shakily stepped away from the weapons. Izuna stood on the other side and she could feel his eyes roaming her backside as she looked over the weaponry.

"There is nothing of very good value here, they just look pretty. The weapons are obviously not sturdy or sharp enough to do any true damage." Hinata said and grabbed a kunai and attempted to dig the blade into her arm, but it couldn't even cut the cloth. She held the blade within her palm and crushed it. "Useless weapons that would do nothing in a fight for someone's life, are you trying to get someone killed?" she asked and he shook, he was scared beyond belief.

She turned and walked away from the vendor. She decided to spend the day with Madara, which he happily obliged to. "So…you have an alliance with the Senju?" he asked and she turned to look at him and shrugged. "I could give you information if you wish, although they insist that they must train me ruthlessly." She said and he chuckled. "Hashirama once told me of his father and their absurd training regimens." He chuckled and she smiled at him slightly. He really wasn't that bad of a person…

"Allow us to introduce you to our mother…" Madara said and Izuna tore his eyes from her and he smiled lightly as they strode up to a blue-black haired woman, she wasn't very tall; but she reminded her of a princess. She was dressed in a beautiful red and white kimono with the Uchiha fan on the back. She turned to face them and her smile was absolutely beautiful, it made Hinata jealous. "Lady Aurora, my name is Okami." Hinata said and the woman smiled. "I know who you are, Hinata. Madara and Izuna have told me about you. It is my pleasure to grace your presence. You are very brave to fight as a shinobi." She said and Hinata blushed beneath the mask.

"T-thank you…" she mumbled hesitantly. Aurora's elegant fingers traced over the mask and gently lifted it. "You are very pretty, young Hyuuga…" she whispered and the blush still coated her cheeks. "Thank you again…" she said shyly. "Come by here next week on Tuesday and we can do some shopping together, as women…what do you say?" Aurora asked and Hinata smiled a bit. "I guess that couldn't hurt, but I would have to change before I get here and before I leave." Hinata said and Aurora smiled. "Of course! Okami-san's identity shall not be revealed!" she whispered and Hinata smiled, this woman made her feel right at home, she reminded her of her own mother.

Hinata bowed and slid her mask back into place before bowing politely and vanishing into a swirl of leaves and mist. She appeared back in front of the Senju forest. She could see a lake nearby, the urge to practice her water jutsu was tempting; but she knew this wasn't home; she couldn't just do as she pleased here. She walked silently through the forest as Kawarama and Itama appeared from nowhere and she smiled as they landed by her sides.

"Nii-san says you are pathetic, but we don't think so…we think you are pretty cool!" Itama said and she smiled. "Which one? Mr. grumpy?" she asked and both of the younger males burst out laughing. "Yes, Tobirama doesn't think you are strong enough to be an ally of the Senju, but we have seen you practice with father, you are really impressive Okami-san." They said and she smiled. "Well how about I blow your Nii-san off his high horse with one of my water jutsu." She offered and the two cheered happily.

"And how exactly will you do that, you pathetic little wolf?" he grumbled and she glared at him from beneath the mask. "Exactly as I said I was going to, you ego-statistical-" "Enough!" Butsuma yelled and they turned to him. "Both of you are excellent at your own jutsu, so shut the hell up and deal with it Tobirama, Okami-san is none of your concern. Whether or not he is strong is defiantly none of your concern, I haven't seen someone with such advanced taijutsu skills since the Hyuuga were killed off by my father. It would do you well to show respect to show your superior respect, boy; since your taijutsu lacks significantly." Butsuma said and Hinata frowned, this was not good.

Hashirama followed her and the two younger children back to the compound while Butsuma disciplined his second eldest. Hinata frowned and looked at the ground. "Are you ok Okami-kun?" Itama asked and she turned to look at him. "I got Tobirama-san in trouble…I don't very much care for him…but it isn't right that he should be disciplined for something I started." She said softly and Hashirama frowned. "That's just how father is…he doesn't like to be deceived, disobeyed, or disrespected." Hashirama said and the frown that was etched into his lips made him seem older than he was.

"Forgive me…" Hinata whispered as she looked back to see Tobirama get a fist to the face. "I didn't mean for you to get in trouble." She whispered and her tears splashed the inside of her mask. She really didn't trust the Senju, but she didn't like seeing the abuse either. It was ruthless, even the two youngest would get beaten if they did something wrong. Butsuma was a tyrant in his own family, all he looked forward to was taking out the Uchiha clan…his own family didn't matter to him, and she could see that his sons knew it. Kawarama knew this, and not long after the last beating his father gave him, he was found dead on a battlefield, cloaked in his own blood.

Hinata had cleaned him up the best she could for burial…but…he still looked scared…he still looked proud…he looked like what Butsuma had made him to be…the poor innocent child was only a pawn for Butsuma's sacrificial game…A tool that he sent off to die and he hadn't even once shed a tear. When his sons Hashirama and Itama had cried or debated on whether this was right or wrong, Butsuma beat them again and again until they stopped making noise. When he left, Hinata healed them; she couldn't let them be hurt. Not by that tyrant they called father…his awful reign would end soon enough…or so she hoped…