Part Two: The Search

Chapter Ten

It was warm, very warm. She could hear a crackling fire nearby and smell hot cocoa in the air. She could feel soft, heavy quilts hugging her body and a feathered bed cradling beneath. Smiling, squeezing her eyes with mirth, Hinata dug her face into the pillow and drew her knees up to her chest, balling herself further into the bed. She sighed and a giggle escaped her mouth. It was deliciously infectious to know that she was safe and warm.

Someone snorted from behind her. "By God, she's bubbly," he muttered. "Shouldn't have come. Damn Kame."

Hinata blinked, and slowly rose from the bed. Several things were registered immediately: she was in an inn, there was a fireplace at one corner, the window showed a wintery scene ("Lightning Country," she surmised at once), a covered mug of hot cocoa stood on the nightstand, and Tora was on the bed beside her.

She paused, watching the lazy Tiger open an eye to look up at her, not all impressed by the bed head she had contracted overnight. Even after having shrunk down from his gargantuan size, Tora was still large enough to take up one half of the queen-sized bed. In fact, Hinata was sure if one of her senseis came in, they would see the bed lopsided, slanted down by the summon's weight.

Hinata grinned. He had stayed. He had not stridden off to find his nasty summoner... whatever-his-name-was.

"Nagato," she reminded herself vindictively.

She was not likely to forget again.

Satisfied, Hinata fell back against her pillows with another giggle, not noticing how Tora's ears twitched irritably at the sound.

"Good morning, Tora!" she cheered, eyes bright and face flushed.

She so wanted to hug him, but she didn't want to scare him off.

"Humph!" the Tiger huffed. "Maybe it is to you, but I had to wake up to the stupid blatherings of a girl."

Hinata faltered, but her discomfort didn't last long when she reached for the hot cocoa. As she lifted the lid, she was careful in not letting the gathered condensation drip onto the beautiful pink quilt, and took a small, experimental sip.

"Yum!" she exclaimed before taking a large gulp.

Tora rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many calories you just drank?"

Hinata's reply was but a smile.

"Crazy girl," the Tiger mumbled, loud enough so she'd hear. "Aren't you even curious as to where you are, or how I got to this size?"

Lowering the mug, Hinata rubbed the porcelain thoughtfully and said, "I'm in an inn in the Lightning Country. After I fainted, my senseis brought me here." She wiggled her feet. "You are smaller now because you... you used your s-summoner's chakra to change yourself... I know that Hou-ou and Ryujin can change sizes too."

Tora sniffed, miffed. "At least you have some brains."

Hinata hid her smile by finishing off the hot cocoa, a little disappointed that it was all gone. Looking up, she heard a knock come from the door before Tsume-sensei came in with another tray of hot cocoa! Immediately Hinata smiled again as Kuromaru rushed to her side, brushing his cold nose against her cheek.

"Kuromaru!" Hinata squeaked delightfully, hugging the dog enthusiastically.

"My, my," Tsume-sensei hushed, placing the hot cocoa onto the nightstand. "It's good to see you finally awake, Hinata-chan."

Hinata straightened, smelling eggs and bacon from the tray. "Was I asleep for a long time?"

"Only a few days," Tsume-sensei answered.

Tora had stayed with the group for more than a day? Hinata was happy. At least he hadn't taken the chance to hunt down Nagato (wherever he was).

"You should eat now," Tsume-sensei said gently, handing her the plate of breakfast. "We'll be returning to Konoha soon."

Startled at the idea, Hinata was left speechless. Although she wanted to see ojiisan again and a certain... blond boy... Hinata was going to miss the adventures. Perhaps she had been so excited and happy during the whole mission that she had forgotten that at the end, once she found Tora, she'd have to return... return to her father.

She paused.

Hinata remembered her father believing that she was off somewhere recovering from a previous injury. If that were so then she couldn't possibly see Tsume-sensei and Shibi-sensei again, otherwise he would suspect something strange. And then there was Tora. How was she going to keep him a secret?

"Hinata-chan?" Tsume-sensei called worriedly.

"Hm?" the girl sounded.

"What's wrong?" the Inuzuka asked, running a hand over Hinata's forehead. "Do you feel sick?"

Hinata shook her head quietly, avoiding eye contact as she crammed toast into her mouth - an excuse from speaking.

Tora rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what she was doing.

Not very subtle of her, of course.

Hinata drew the quilt up to her mouth when Shikaku-sensei entered the room and took up the chair beside the bed, as if the fabric could somehow shield her from what was to come. Tsume-sensei had left right after breakfast, leaving the two - three including Tora - alone for a talk Hinata had known was coming.

Shikaku-sensei sighed, leaning back on the chair. The front legs lifted as the chair craned back, accompanied by the usual crunch, crunch of the toothpick grinding between his teeth. He crossed his arms, momentarily scratching the scar at the side of her forehead. The furrowing of his brows told Hinata that he, too, was having a difficult time with their situation. Evidently, Hinata was not the only one who had enjoyed their journey - the traveling, the discovering, the candy...

Hinata shrugged the quilt down to her waist and sat up. She would meet the news bravely, albeit a tad disappointed.

"Hinata," he said finally.

She nodded.

"We'll be leaving for Konoha tomorrow."

Her eyes lowered and her shoulders fell. It wasn't that she didn't want to return to Konoha, but rather she didn't want to return... home. Home: where the walls were tall, thick and impenetrable; where the windows and doors were paper-thin but web-like; where even the trees, gnarled and rough with age, were just as overbearing as what little sky could be seen in the caged courtyard framed by the walls. Home: full of white, all-seeing eyes and blank expressions of nothing. Home: the Hyuga Compound.

Hinata drew in a shaky breath and didn't meet Shikaku-sensei's eyes when she smiled ruefully. "O-Okay."

The shaky nod accompanied by her stammer didn't even fool Hinata herself, and no doubt it didn't fool Shikaku-sensei either.

Shikaku-sensei muttered, "Troublesome," and scratched his unshaven chin irritably. No doubt, indeed.

Hinata bit her lower lip anxiously, which only elicited a sigh from him.

"Hinata..." he trailed, clearing his throat. If Hinata didn't know any better, she'd say that Shikaku-sensei was nervous. "I know it's soon, but don't forget, we're in Lightning Country."

The words instantly brought Hinata up short, her whole body going rigid. The bed shook when her spine straightened post-haste and she almost let out a worrisome whine. She had almost forgotten about the Cloud-nin.

Tora, who was resting his head on his front paws, rolled his large yellow eyes at her sudden movement.

"Calm down, girl," he chided gruffly, closing his eyes. "Some of us are trying to nap here."

"S-Sorry," Hinata mumbled, thoroughly scolded, and minimized her movements so that she wouldn't disturb Tora and his... cat nap.

She giggled, and then quickly planted her hands over her mouth when the summon opened an eye unhappily.

"Don't worry," Shikaku-sensei said, smiling himself. "We're safe for now. If we leave tomorrow morning and make it to Fire Country by the end of the week, then we'll be safe."

Hinata knew that "safe" was not a word in the ninja dictionary, but she nodded anyways, if only to show Shikaku-sensei that she was responsive and up for the challenge.

Shikaku-sensei placed the chair back onto the ground and stood with a stretch. "Well, just rest for today, all right? And promise not to kill each other." He gave the Tiger a look from the corner of his eyes, and the summon only snorted.

"Yeah, yeah," the large cat grumbled. "As if she's even worth the energy. Can't you nins see that I'm trying to sleep?"

Hinata ducked her head to hide her smile. Tiger was a funny cat, and by the smirk on Shikaku-sensei's face, he thought so too. With a nod, Shikaku-sensei left the room and quietly closed the door, leaving Hinata to her hot cocoa.

The next morning came upon them as heavy and fog-filled. The sun was but strips of iridescent light flashing through the scattered grey beads of a kaleidoscope. As Hinata rubbed her eyes awake, Tsume-sensei was busy zippering up her coat as Anko-sensei packed her little, pink bunny backpack, now worn and greying at the ears. It was a testament of their adventures and how Hinata felt, worn and tired.

Hinata yawned, not noticing how Anko-sensei was eyeing Tora beadily.

"What?" the Tiger humphed at last.

Tsume-sensei placed Hinata carefully behind her when that spark entered Anko-sensei's eyes. "That spark" was not exactly foreign to any of the humans, but the summon had no idea what it meant. Hinata shifted uncomfortably, suddenly wide awake.

"Okay, kitty cat." Anko-sensei grinned and held open the bunny bag. "You shrink and put yourself right in here, 'kay?"

Tora's ears twitched, a flash of teeth, and his hair stood on end. "Ha! Think again, you insignificant, scantily clad-"

"U-Um, Tora?" Hinata meeped, not liking how Anko-sensei's eyes narrowed in that oh, so I-have-something-sharp-and-pointy-just-for-you way. "Anko-sensei's right." Anko-sensei smirked smugly. "You can't travel freely the way you are."

The Tiger growled. "I can turn into air; that's how I got here in the first place!"

Hinata was stumped and a little giddy at the prospect of Tora's strength.

"Yeah!" Anko-sensei barked sarcastically. "That's why you went into a dead faint the moment you stepped into the room."

Tora snarled, but Hinata was more worried about the Tiger's condition. Of course, she realized, he was still hurt. After being frozen for so long, his bones were still rickety and his own energies must not be flowing smoothly. How could she not have noticed?

She reached out a tentative hand and paused. She knew he wouldn't like her so near, but she had to make sure that he was fine. Carefully, Hinata rested her palm against his coarse fur and felt herself relax. He was breathing and alive, at the very least.

For a second, Tora's rumble lowered and his muscles eased under her touch, but just as soon he jumped back, knocking her hand away, not caring if she flinched or hurt.

Seeing this, Tsume-sensei showed a couple of her own fangs at the Tiger.

"That's enough," Tsume-sensei scolded Tora, placing an encouraging hand on Hinata's shoulder. "We all know you'll go into the bag because you're smart enough to see that it's the only way you can travel while conserving your energy. Now before we waste more time arguing over the matter, I suggest you enter the bag, because the more time we spend in Lightning Country, the more likely the Cloud-nins will find us, savvy?"

Tora bent down low on the bed, looking ready to jump, his yellow eyes lolling from Tsume-sensei to Anko-sensei. Clearly Hinata wasn't a threat. But, just as Tsume-sensei had said, Tora was smarter than that. Better in a group where a little girl was present to take hostage, than with the Cloud-nin and whatever they're capable of.

With a huff that caused his whiskers to shake, Tora shrunk down to the size of a small puppy and, with a snarl, stepped into the bag. He didn't even look back when Anko-sensei closed the top and smiled successfully.

"And that takes care of the cat," Anko-sensei announced with a confident nod.

"I can hear you, you old hag," Tora insulted from inside the bag.

"OLD?" fumed Anko-sensei, growing red in the face.

Tsume-sensei sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Not now, Anko. We have to go before the first ship leaves."

When Anko-sensei looked ready to tear the bag apart to grab hold of the summon's neck, Hinata placed her hand in Anko-sensei's grasp, immediately calming the jounin down.

"W-We should go, Anko-sensei," Hinata suggested.

Panting from her temper, Anko-sensei went tight-lipped and roughly handed Hinata the bag. Complacently, Hinata put the bag on and let Tsume-sensei tie a bandage over her eyes. With one hand in Anko-sensei's hold and the other in Tsume-sensei's, Hinata in a group of girls made her way down the stairs to meet up with the boys; Kuromaru at attention by the last step, serious and dutiful.

Although Hinata was sad to hear that Jiraiya-san had left the group to do some scouting on his own, she understood that he was not one to stay in one place. Perhaps they would meet again in the future? In fact, she had a feeling that they most certainly would. Jiraiya-san was someone who liked attention.

"Ready?" Shikaku-sensei perked a brow.

Tsume-sensei let out a flustered breath as if she had just dealt with her own brood of children. "Ready."

With that said, the group gathered their coats close and braved the harsh, foggy winter of the Lightning Country. Placed firmly between her two female senseis, Hinata peeked out from under her hood at the broad backs of Shikaku-sensei and Shibi-sensei up front. She didn't have to look to know that Kuromaru was behind them, and with a Legendary Summon now hitching a free ride in her backpack, Hinata felt that she should feel safe.

But as a ninja, she knew better. She must always be aware of her surroundings, that was why she had her byakugan activated underneath the bandages.

"Careful now," Shikaku-sensei warned as they climbed onto the ship.

A man ahead of them almost slipped on a patch of snow on the steps, but fortunately his wife straightened him right away.

"Walk a little gentler, won't you?" Tora grumbled quietly in her bag, surprising Hinata.

"Eep!" she squeaked, glad that Kuromaru was near to steady her.

Shifting her backpack, Hinata found a place by the edge of the ship to lean upon. With her byakugan expanding from horizon to horizon, she kept a close eye for any signs of enemy ninjas and held her breath when the ship finally pulled up the anchor. She didn't dare to step away from the edge of the ship until they were far into the ocean waters.

"Come, Hinata-chan, it's cold out here," Tsume-sensei coaxed, taking one of Hinata's mitten hands.

Hinata nodded and deactivated her bloodline limit as they retreated to the insides of the ship. It was a nice ship, almost hotel-like; half for passengers making for the warmer climates of the Fire Country while the other half was cargo, mostly empty for some of the exotic fruits Fire exported.

"We'll be stopping for fuel in four days, and the other three will be a direct route to Fire Country," Shibi-sensei informed in the women's cabin.

Tora was now out of the bag, eyes closed contently on one of the bunk beds and pretending not to pay attention as Shikaku-sensei nodded. Smiling, Hinata took a seat right by the window, her eyes unbound and watching the lull of the cold waves. It was simply breath-taking, how the water churned against the foggy curtain, and every now and again catching what little sunlight to be had.

With a finger, she traced the swirling waters against the cool pane of the glass, feeling the flow of the ocean, the way the water moved, and with one sharp tug of her finger, a single wispy pillar of ice-water shot up from the ocean unnaturally.

"Hinata," Shikaku-sensei chided.

She jerked back from the window guiltily. She hadn't expected to manipulate the ocean like that... she hadn't even been touching the water.

Shikaku-sensei sighed. "Let's do some review for the Ninja Academy. You've missed almost two months' worth of work."

Although Hinata knew all the Academy's teachings by heart, and many other teachings not taught in the Academy, she was still very eager for review. Wrapping her coat close, she settled on the bed and faced Shikaku-sensei.

"Taijustu," Shikaku-sensei said.

Back straight and head high, Hinata answered, "Body techniques that require physical strength, not always chakra, but chakra would enhance the attacks."

"Ninjutsu."

"Ninja techniques that require chakra and mostly hand seals to be effective. These abilities manipulate chakra to perform a jutsu to attack the opponent's body."

"Genjustu."

"Illusionary techniques are similar to ninjutsu in that it also requires chakra and hand seals to be effective. The purpose of genjutsu is different, however, in that it attacks the opponent's mind, not body."

"Bunshin no jutsu."

And so their lesson lasted for hours in which Hinata was required to define every term thrown her way, and being corrected when she was wrong. It was a good way to pass the time, Hinata knew, as her other senseis began to chime in themselves, going as far as to illustrate mission situations for her to solve.

"If your charge is taken as hostage," Shikaku-sensei said, "which type of technique is the simplest solution to your problem?"

By now, Hinata was lying on the bed beside Tora and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Her breath was coming out long and slow, her limbs cuddled together.

"Gen-" She yawned. "-justu."

With a breathy sigh, Hinata crawled over to Tora, wanting his warmth, and settled before his fur, sound asleep. But no sooner did her head hit the pillow did Tora jump back, absolutely mortified by how close he had let her be.

"Down, kitty," Anko-sensei snickered, in which Tora all but growl.

Four days later the ship anchored near the shores of a passing country. Since she was too large to go ashore, the country sent her own ship filled with fuel for the Lightning Country ship. Although they were far from Lightning Country, none of the Leaf-nin dared to relax. Nowhere was safe until they were within the confines of their Hidden Village, and even then it'd be a skeptical safety.

Hinata rolled the slice of salmon over the wasabi delicately before carefully plopping the sashimi into her mouth. With a satisfied moan, she chewed and let both the flavour and aroma slide delicately from her tongue down to her throat. She could feel the salmon rest lightly, and comfortably, at the bottom of her stomach like rich silk.

She was exaggerating her eating habits, of course, but that didn't make it taste any less good. She opened her eyes (she had closed them to savour the taste), and saw that Tora was peeking up from the edge of the bed, his eyes aimed directly at the fatty tuna on her plate.

With her legs tucked gracefully under her, Hinata pushed the plate ever so lightly across the bed, and set the plate of sashimi directly under Tora's nose. As expected, the Tiger snorted, his whiskers fluttering at the motion, and turned his head purposely away. He would never accept her... or so Hinata had believed until she saw how his tail swooshed in the air almost playfully.

If Hinata had been any other eight-year-old child in Konoha, she would have leapt up at once and tried to catch the cat by his tail, but seeing as Hinata was a (ahem, ahem) kunoichi, she only giggled instead.

"Stop that confounding sound, girl!" quipped Tora. "Don't you have any pride as a ninja?"

"Mmm... this squid is so good," Hinata responded, her cheeks full and round.

Tora fumed, but did not deem it right to lower himself to her level.

"Yummy!" she squealed happily, picking up another salmon. "Too bad there's so many. I'm going to have to throw the rest away!"

That was it. She had crossed the line.

"Guuurl!" he growled. "Don't you know anything as a human being? You spoiled brat! Never waste food-"

He was cut off when Hinata flung a well-aimed piece of mackerel into his mouth.

"Wh-a-at!" he spluttered, almost choking at the offending piece of... really good meat.

"Chew and swallow," Hinata instructed patiently.

Realizing that being open-mouthed with a piece of damn sashimi on his tongue did not make the most graceful of pictures, Tora clamped his maw together and chewed as she told him to. A moment later, a swallow later, and he couldn't keep the satisfied purr from escaping his voice box. Hinata could tell that after so many years of being frozen, Tora must have missed food quite a bit.

Hinata knew that she would.

"Here, have the rest of it," she offered with a sure gesture towards the plate.

The Tiger grumbled and hesitated, eyes narrowed and ever suspicious, but when Hinata didn't lift her gaze from his, the summon knew that he had lost. He was hungry, they both knew that, and had yet to fully recover from the many decades of being frozen in the glacier. So, without another second wasted on an agitated, useless staring contest, Tora leapt up onto the bed and with one large sweep of his tongue, the remaining sashimi was down his throat before Hinata could even blink.

"Wow," she thought admirably. "You're fast."

Tora drew himself up to his full height and preened. "Of course, girl. Who did you think I am? Kame?"

Hinata ignored the jibe directed at the Tortoise summon and proceeded to pour some tea onto the plate Tora had just swiped clean. With a dusting of healing herbs, she presented the dish to the Tiger, who merely rolled his eyes, but conceded.

With his tail swishing like that in the air, Hinata held back the impulse to pet the cat. He wasn't ready, she knew that. Thus, for the next passing days, Hinata played the subtle Hyuga lady by cleverly tricking Tora into taking medicine. After a good meal, Hinata would always hand him a dish of herbal tea, and after the third day, the Tiger was starting to catch on, but he was closed-mouthed about it, as always. But Hinata knew he was appreciative of her efforts, especially when his fur was beginning to take that lustre shine again.

"Careful," Tsume-sensei said, helping Hinata off the ship.

When the first time Hinata had left the sea for land, her legs had felt wobbly and unstable, but now she felt as if nothing was wrong. It was proof that her body had adjusted quite well to travel, and as she fixed the straps of her bunny bag (careful of Tora's comfort), Hinata smiled.

"Ready to go, Hinata-chan?" Tsume-sensei asked with a quirky smile.

Half filled with dread and half filled with anticipation, Hinata could only nod for she didn't trust her voice, and with each step she took closer to the heart of the Fire Country, the more and more vivid the image of the cold, Hyuga walls seemed to be. She could tell that her senseis had noticed her growing silence for the rest of their journey that even Kuromaru and the kikaichu hovered purposely close to keep her company.

"If I didn't know any better," Tora surmised lowly, "I'd say you don't want to return to Konoha."

Hinata tensed just inches off the ground, her hands outstretched for a couple of dried branches at the snow-laden forest floor, and felt like the ground had just opened and swallowed her up. But just as quick, she recovered with a shiver and plucked the branches and placed them into her bunny bag before straightening and continued on her way as if nothing had happened.

Tora followed close behind, a little maliciously and obviously amused, and wondered to himself aloud, "Now I wonder why? Obviously you are not cold towards the notion of a 'home,' are you?" Hinata didn't reply. "You are a Hyuga, aren't you? Hailed as an honourable member of the great clan, yes? What has it left you wanting, exactly?"

"Nothing," she muttered, almost bitterly. "Come, let's return."

Her terse, curt sentences sliced like the sharpest katana by the most skilled of samurais, and Tora was tempted to push just a little more if not for the glowering eyes of Kuromaru watching him from the fields. The kikaichu were itchy bugs too.

"One more day!" Anko-sensei cheered when Hinata and Tora arrived at their camp. Already there was a small fire going, warm enough to fight off the winter's chill, not that winter in the Fire Country was exuberantly cold. But nevertheless, Hinata was quick to add a few more branches to get the tea going. "One more day and we'd be home!"

Hinata watched the teapot boil with a morose expression. One more day and she'd be home, not that she minded Konoha of course. But she feared the moment of reunion with her father. She had tasted freedom, tasted what it was like to be okay to fail, and know what it was truly like to be something other than a Hyuga.

And yet, a part of her silently admonished her, a part that sounded suspiciously like her father. There was nothing more honourable than being a Hyuga, only perhaps being a Hyuga and a ninja, perhaps a Hyuga and a really, really good ninja.

"You must be excited, aren't you Hinata-chan?" Tsume-sensei attempted to comfort her. "You haven't seen your sister in a while, am I right?"

At that, Hinata startled. Of course, her sister... Hinata didn't think she'd ever think badly of Hanabi. In fact, Hanabi was probably the only one she looked forward to seeing... except, of course, him. Hinata beat down a blush when bright, blue eyes and a glowing smile flashed before her eyes.

"Y-Yes," she stammered. "I do miss Hanabi." And then she smiled for the first time in days.

"Ah," Shikaku-sensei sighed lazily, and pleased. "We still have lots of training to do when we get back. I think you're ready to learn how to set bones."

Anko-sensei cringed, but Hinata was absolutely enthralled and hopeful.

He couldn't possibly be suggesting...?

"Well, you can teach her that," Anko-sensei sounded pompously, "but I think I'll start teaching her about poisons!" She turned to Hinata avidly. "And, of course, going over some jutsus in preparation for your graduation!"

Hinata became starry-eyed. She couldn't possibly be suggesting...?

"She's only eight!" Tsume-sensei cut in, a tad flustered. "She still has four years left at the Ninja Academy!"

"It is never too early to start," Shibi-sensei put in his two cents; two cents Hinata greatly appreciated.

Tsume-sensei shook her head. "Never mind them, Hinata-chan. When you feel overworked," She gave a pointed look at Shikaku-sensei and Anko-sensei both, "come over to the Inuzuka manor and play." Kuromaru barked a welcome. "I have a son your age, a little rough, but I'm hoping you'll put a dent in that, won't you?"

"I, too, have a son your age," Shibi-sensei said. "He is very quiet and not at all rough." The kikaichu buzzed excitedly. "He would appreciate your company."

Were they suggesting...?

"Not as much as my son, of course," Tsume-sensei quipped. "You'd like talking to him."

Shibi-sensei's brow twitched. "I beg your pardon, Inuzuka, but I believe Hinata would value a comfortable silence than a loud barbaric-"

Hinata burst into grateful tears and launched herself into Shibi-sensei's arms, surprising the lot of them. Tora was certainly irritated at the noise.

"S-So we'll st-still get to s-see each other?" Hinata sobbed.

At that, the senseis eased, suddenly realizing why she had been so quiet.

"Was that what you were worried about, Hinata-chan?" Tsume-sensei, brushing the tears from Hinata's cheek.

"Of course we'll see each other," Anko-sensei huffed, almost offended. "I'm still your sensei, aren't I?"

"And I doubt I can get the old man to give me a break," Shikaku-sensei muttered.

Hinata laughed and Tora shook his head. Her senseis gave her more than just happiness and security, but hope and freedom from the Hyuga manor to break up the mundane, depressing life under the clan members. They gave her the love she refused to give up.

One more day, and a new life was to begin.

Hinata laughed again and snuggled closer into Shibi-sensei's arms, and let herself relaz when his hands passed over the strands of her hair.

"Hinata," he said. "You will need to get your hair cut when we return."

"Why?" Tsume-sensei snapped, and then softer, "I think you'd look nice with long hair, Hinata-chan."

Hinata blushed and buried her face into Shibi-sensei's neck.

"But it's impractical," Shikaku-sensei sounded reasonably.

"She can always tie it up," Anko-sensei countered with a firm nod.

Shikaku-sensei raised a brow. "Are we really going to argue about this?"

"YES!" the women chorused.

As for Hinata, she was just content sitting in Shibi-sensei's hold, happy to just watch the proceedings.

"That's it!" Anko-sensei screamed when Shikaku-sensei said something particularly jabbing. "SNOWBALL FIGHT! Girls versus guys! Whoever wins, Hinata will either grow her hair out or cut it!"

"Do we-"

"YES!" the women chorused, cutting Shikaku-sensei off. "Let's do this!"

Hinata was bid to sit at the sidelines for they feared she'd be caught up in a nasty mess, and they didn't want to start another argument as to whose side Hinata should be on. So after the women decided on the rules of the game and whether or not Kuromaru and the kikaichus could participate (yes, they could), Hinata played audience alongside Tora.

"These are your senseis?" Tora said insultingly.

Hinata watched, wide-eyed, as hundreds and hundreds of snowballs were pelted into the air, smashing piteously against the forts of their opponents. All ninja abilities were allowed, of course.

"Yep!" Hinata replied merrily, clapping her hands.

Tora snorted and rolled his eyes at the jounins' childish antics. Anko-sensei, he could understand, but someone as level-headed as Shibi-sensei? He only rolled his again.

Thus, hours into the spectacle, when the sun was beginning to dip over the horizon and Anko-sensei and Tsume-sensei's shadows stretched long across the bloody (snowy) battlefield, Shikaku-sensei snatched them both up with his shadow technique and - wallah! - the men won.

But honestly, by the death glares the women were throwing at the Nara, Hinata didn't think she should clap for the winners.

"Fine!" Anko-sensei humphed. "You win... this time."

But really, Hinata thought to herself, would there ever be a "next time?"

But all thoughts of play were forgotten the next day when they finally arrived at their intended destination. Konoha was as exactly as Hinata remembered her to be: tall, big and stunningly beautiful. Even when all she could see were the walls and the gate she had left month ago, the thin layer of winter-frost brought a nostalgia over Hinata, memories of catching snowflakes with her mama. (She wondered if anyone had tended to her garden or even bothered to prepare the soil for the winter.)

But what was sweeter than the memories of the past, was making memories presently, for when the wide, strong gates of Konoha opened, she gasped delightfully. The lone figure of ojisan, draped in his Hokage robes with that red, flat, conical hat, was there to greet them with a warm smile.

"Ojisan!" Hinata cried out, running into his outstretched arms.

The Sandaine eagerly received her, almost falling over when her small body collided into his. "Hello there, Hinata." He gave her a soft squeeze, as if to reassure himself of her well-being. "Welcome home."

Hinata nodded into his robes, trying not to cry. "I-I'm home."

Brushing aside her hair, he drew back to take a good look at her, and his smile widened at what he saw. "I got a surprise for you, Hinata."

She brightened even more as he rummaged through his robes and drew out-

"A lollipop!" Hinata chimed. "Thank you!"

Ojisan laughed, his wrinkles turning into laugh lines, and gladly handed over the candy.

"Hokage-sama," Shikaku-sensei greeted with a bow alongside the rest of the group.

The Sandaime was more than a little relieved to see them all fine. "Come. Tell me everything."

Boy, Hinata knew, there was a lot to tell.

the point