[OP: "I Was Wrong"--The Oh Hellos]

Mabui, on her part, was hating every second of this investigation.

At first she'd been focused on simply doing what Ay had asked and getting a chance to prove herself.

But Team Zoe's continual selflessness of saying they would do it for the people even if it didn't help them with Cloud made her feel shallow for wishing that.

Not many ninja worried hard about anyone outside their own Village.

These people were not the same. Even the ones who should have been.

That was before they even got to the village.

Now she was getting a mental picture of what had happened, and it was far worse hearing it in person. She'd never handled a kidnapping case before, and she never wanted to again after this.

And Dabi was not making it any easier.

The man loved to rub in every single issue he had with Cloud, at any opportunity. Clearly he despised it for the things it had done...and why could she never think of anything to really silence him on it?

At first she'd just been annoyed by this--or appalled at his lack of respect--but, facing all this in person, she was starting to understand how hard it was to justify something...something Dabi himself had done to and no longer supported. That was new.

Typical of the Kazakage's team, though. His literal claim to peace was that he'd once been bloodthirsty and cruel and now he no longer wanted death.

Still, she couldn't allow that Dabi's disdain for Cloud was completely justified... What would it say about them if it was?

Even if the Village turned on her, she would not turn on it.

Yet...her own situation proved that Cloud was not always fair--or always factual.

And the question of why Ay had allowed a kidnapping of the Hyuga girl was pressing on her mind now. They weren't just faceless Leaf now, they were real people, ones who had nearly gotten killed while watching her...which she'd taken to be an insult at the time, but now knew had been because they were concerned about her safety.

Mabui couldn't find any way to side with it that satisfied her. On the one hand, all shinobi must be loyal to their Village and not speak badly of it to outsiders, and they must see the best in it. On the other hand, all shinobi need to show gratitude to people who protect them and act honorably.

And...there was nothing dishonorable in them hating the kidnapping thing. They weren't Cloud; they could certainly see it as wrong without any disloyalty.

This was her problem. She could see the contradiction in logic--but not how to get out of it without turning her back on either her faith in her Village, or her conviction that hypocrisy was not acceptable.

She also could tell, with some bitterness, that Dabi didn't think she had that conviction, and she was too proud to own up to it, not with him insulting them constantly.

The worst thing about it was how right he was about most of it. You couldn't argue against it without sounding like you were condoning crimes, but his tone was so obnoxious and judgmental that you would rather have just drop-kicked him into the wall than admitted he was right.

The few time she'd made herself do it anyway, he hadn't seemed to alter his mind in the least.

She hoped that didn't speak for everyone else in Team Zoe. She thought Miss Likstar was a more balanced person, but she was still strange. Most of them were strange. Even Lord Gaara had started acting a little different than before, not as patient as she recalled him in the war.

Still, it wasn't like she knew him that well. Maybe this was how he normally was.

She braced herself for the next house.

It took a while to find the hidden tag here, but finally Hinata thought to look under a lamp that was in the room.

This person, also a girl, had been about 15. The young age of all this made it worse, but it wasn't uncommon for cults to target young children who were weaker and more easily subdued.

The "recording" on this tag was much like the first. The girl made some signs of waking up and struggling, but clearly the attackers were too strong for her.

One of them said something about the recording again, but gave no other details on it that would help them.

If they were all like this, then the discovery was only going to be mildly helpful.

The third house finally had a change.

This was the family that had lost the 20-year old. Actually it was just her sister, no one else.

"I slept through it," the sister said, sounding distraught. "We were in the same room...but I was left behind. I can't understand it."

"Any difference between you and your sister?" Dabi asked. "Are you single?"

"Uh...no, I have a man," she replied. "Why is that relevant?"

"It can be," Dabi shrugged. "I hope not for the reason I'm thinking. Your sister ever have a 'man', in your words?"

"No, I guess she never found anyone she liked," the woman replied.

"Worst fears confirmed," Dabi said.

"Why?" Hinata asked him.

"You don't want me to explain," Dabi said. "Trust me. Day Time Girl, just find the tag and let's get out of here."

"I find it surprising that this woman did not wake up," Mabui spoke for the first time in a while to them. "I would say she's not lying though, but it sounds like genjutsu to me. It can suppress memory."

"We knew that," Dabi said flatly.

He was always so angry!

"Excuse my clarifying. You didn't know about the verbally-released chakra, so I can't assume," she replied coldly.

"Dabi, you didn't know about chakra being in that?" Hinata said.

"Wasn't in the memo, kid." Dabi frowned. "Just get on with it."

"Maybe it's hidden inside something this time," Hinata suggested.

Dabi shuffled around the floor, and then one of the boards shifted under his weight.

He looked down. Then he pried up the board he'd stepped on. The tag was on the underside of it.

"That seems like an unusual amount of effort," Mabui noted.

"Maybe there's something else on this recording they didn't want anyone finding out sooner." Dabi broke it with his hands, and they all went quiet.

For a second there was nothing, and then there was the sound of a window opening again.

But adults tend to sleep a little lighter than children. Perhaps that's why they at once heard a woman's voice saying, "What? Who are you? Get out of my house!"

Then they heard a scuffling sound and then a crash.

"The b---h!" one of the male voices said. "Watch that broken glass!"

They heard a thud like they'd slammed the woman into the wall or floor.

The voice of the sister they'd talked to: "What? Who are you? Let her go!"

"Grab her." A male voice. "We don't want that one. Suppress her memories."

"It's just as well, she's older anyway," said a different voice. 

"Let go of me!" The sister's voice.

"Leave her alone!" The first one's voice, and she seemed to be restrained.

Then the sister's voice did not speak again.

"Hide this one well and good," said the male voice. "They talked too much."

"Where's that gag?" said one of the males. "She's biting me, the little devi-ow!"

"All 3 of you will die for this!" the woman cried. "They'll find you! You're not shinobi, just a bunch of filthy rogues--ah!" She must have been hit hard in the stomach or some other vulnerable point, based on the sound of her voice.

Hinata covered her mouth.

The recording cut off after that.

Silence.

Dabi stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Clever woman," he said, grudgingly, Mabui thought. "She told us there were at least three of them. Three to two, huh? Well, better odds that I'd expect. And maybe that they were dressed like ninjas. That's something. Not much, but something. I like her better. She at least fought back."

"It was horrible to listen to that." Hinata lowered her hands. "But, we learned a little bit...and her sister would remember too, if they had not suppressed her memories. Can you undo it?"

"Hmm...I've never tried. Can't you?" Dabi said.

"Either of us probably could," Hinata said. "If she would let us."

"You can undo genjutsu?" Mabui asked.

"So what?" Dabi frowned.

Mabui looked away. "Your list of abilities is ever growing, that's all."

"I only just learned how," Hinata said, as if that made it make more sense. "But I did undo a memory suppression one before."

They went back out to where the sister was waiting.

They explained to her what they'd learned and why she remembered nothing.

It was a relief for her to hear she had not just slept through it--then more upsetting for her to learn she'd been brainwashed, essentially.

"Can you undo it, really?" she asked.

"Yes," Hinata said. "But I can't just tear at her chakra points. The mind is too delicate for that... Dabi? Do you know how?"

"Maybe just say it?" Dabi suggested.

He held up a hand, and flame blazed over it. "Release genjutsu."

Hinata put her hand on the woman's forehead and repeated those words and then added some others in a low voice.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then...

The sister's eyes widened. "I remember... Tohru was yelling, and I woke up, and there were those men in dark ninja clothing in the room. They had knives and...some strange hand signs. I tried to get up, and they pushed me down and grabbed my head. She was yelling at them, and I was too. Then my mind clouded."

"Do you remember anything else about how they looked?" Mabui asked.

The woman strained. "They weren't all very big, I think, but they were menacing anyway. They broke our clay pot."

"That was your sister actually," Dabi said.

"Oh...well, then I don't remember anything else. It was dark," the woman said. "I'm sorry. Is she...is she gone for good?"

"We hope not," Hinata said quietly. "I'm sorry. If this happened to my sister, I would be devastated." [Knock on wood, Hinata. The moon movie is coming.]

Dabi winced at that.

"It begs the question that, if they could suppress memory, why did they not do that on all their victims?" Mabui mused. "They must not have been able to use it for long. These tags they made must be the work of days, storing up chakra in them. Why use them at all if they had the chakra themselves to do it? They weren't very strong attackers, I would say. Just have dirty tricks."

"So you think they're dirty tricks now, not just clever ways not to get caught?" Dabi said.

Mabui looked at him sharply, and then she walked out of the area.

"What do you mean?" the woman asked.

"Nothing, just an old debate," Dabi said.

He and Hinata left the house.

"That was very harsh," Hinata said as soon as they were out of earshot. "To Mabui-san. She was upset, I cold tell."

"Nice change of pace for any of them to be upset about kidnapping."

"Dabi-san!" Hinata said, so sharply that he actually flinched. "We're not all the same. I was the one they tried to kidnap. I remember very little of it...and I have spent years feeling guilty for my uncle dying and my cousin being left an orphan because of it...but I do not blame her or anyone in Cloud who had nothing to do with it. Any more than we should all be responsible for the Uchiha massacre, as you yourself have said. There will be corrupt deeds in every Village, I know this. Leaf is still my home, after the many mistakes they've made. Neji found his place outside it, but, I feel I must commit myself to making it better. It's still home."

Dabi looked down. "I've never felt that way about my home."

"You did not feel loved in your home." Hinata surprisingly had a pretty perceptive answer--not that she might not have normally seen this, but that she would say it out loud was surprising. "And you felt, like I did, that it was your own fault for being so weak, didn't you?"

"What?" Dabi said, but it was true.

"I'm sorry for the pain that caused you," Hinata went on, more softly. "Yet, Neji, the strong one, did not suffer less than I did. And my sister, the chosen one, did not necessarily not suffer. We must not hold all the idea of pain to ourselves. It's on all sides...which means all sides need to heal also and to change. Our family has a vicious cycle. The Head made the Branch resent them with that curse mark, but the resentment of the Branch made them want to hurt the Head, which justified it in their minds. The Uchiha were proof that family can turn on itself... I don't mean that the Head should do what it does, but I understand it. Because if we could nullify a threat, I think many of us would... I hope I would no longer give in to such temptations. I never had to worry about it--I never could harm anyone even if I wanted to... If that has changed...I don't want my character to change with it. Surely you don't want to disregard what other people have been through... The truth is Cloud is not without their suffering and losses because of Leaf. What they did to us was wrong, but so was what we did to them, I'm sure. We don't talk about it, but I know there must have been grievances. Kidnapping is not where it stops, either... And, while they shouldn't have demanded my father's death for their crime, I also see that they did not want to sacrifice their own people. Few people will sacrifice their own family for someone else, even if they're not guilty... Blood ties are strong in our world."

"They're strong in my world too. I just can't feel them," Dabi said. "And I can't understand it."

"Maybe you just see it more clearly than others do, then," Hinata said quietly. "Maybe that is your gift, to never fear who you are making angry with your actions...but it's not my gift. I have to struggle so much to even stand up to my family at all... I feel weak... I just wonder if Miss Mabui feels the same way. This is not just about what's wrong about the kidnapping... We're not supposed to turn on our Village, no matter what. I know how you feel about that blind loyalty, but it's all she or we have ever been taught. We've had a hard time not thinking that way, and we've known you for years... She's known you for days. I think you're being too harsh."

Dabi knew she had a point, he just didn't want to admit it.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Hinata added, since she was still mild even now.

"Don't apologize. You said what you thought," Dabi said. "That's not my problem. I just wish I didn't hate what you said so much... Maybe it sounds right, but Cloud is arrogant and drives me crazy. Leaf is a little more humble, not much maybe, but a little."

"Cloud has never had a massacre of its own people, has it?" Hinata said. "I'm not sure, but I don't think so... Unlike Mist or Sand or maybe even Stone... Cloud is internally more sound than we have been, from what we've seen... I wish I didn't have to admit that they seem to understand that better than we did. But it's true that I could not even say this at home... We just don't talk about it."

"You know the silence gets deafening to those of us who are under the boot of society," Dabi said.

"And I'm sorry for that, really, but I cannot change the past. I can't even change the future all by myself." Hinata put her fingers together. "I think...you can expect too much of people, sometimes, just like Shoto. Or...maybe you don't expect it, but you have contempt for them for not being able to meet impossible expectations. We are just human...not angels. And they don't even know the true way... Do you follow your code perfectly all the time?"

[Hinata's nervous pose image]

Dabi scowled. Of course the answer was no.

"I don't need you to pick up our battle for us," Hinata added. "I'm...glad you feel worried about Hanabi and me--and Hanabi looks up to you, in her way, because of your boldness to speak your mind...but I worry she is going to learn to disregard what other people have suffered to make them keep silent. Some people need a friend first... I know I did."

Dabi shuffled. She was making him feel more guilty.

"Why are you so hard on that lady anyway?" Hinata went on. "She's had a rough time because of us, and you even helped her...but then you speak to her so awfully. I don't understand it. It's like you can't make up your mind."

"Is she the worst Cloud? No," Dabi said. "But she's not willing to admit they did anything wrong." [You know, if that's the worst thing you could say about her, and she's a shinobi, that's really not so bad. I mean, not that being complicit in crime is okay, but, for a ninja, it's Iike the least bloody option.]

"I wouldn't admit it to you if you talked to me that way." Hinata was clipped for her. "No one would talk about my family that way to me, even if I don't always agree with them. I live with them. I see them at their best and worst. Perhaps, if you knew them as such, I would listen to you, but you don't...and you have never spoken of the Hyugas as harshly as Cloud Village. And we have a long history of hurting each other. I know I'm no one to criticize you. I just truly do not understand it."

Dabi thought.

"I guess that's a good point," he finally admitted in a sullen tone. "I am being harsher this time. That woman makes me uneasy. She's too quiet. Well, when she's not, she's got a temper, but she keeps it in line so much she's hard to read. I guess I keep waiting for her to admit how she really feels."

"This is the way to get that? Attacking her? Why not just be honest about knowing that it's not all bad in Cloud...? Maybe then she could be honest also, if that is so important to you. But why? She helped us in her way. She's been more than willing to cooperate and to defend us when she could do it discreetly. That's more than most anyone would do in any Village. More than we did in Leaf, and you accepted us."

"She had her reasons."

"It's not wrong to want to get her name cleared," Hinata argued. "And we had our reasons too... Having a need is a problem for you?"

"Well, no, I suppose that makes sense." Dabi couldn't believe that Hinata was the one making him feel stupid right now.

"So she makes you uneasy for what reason then?" Hinata said. "Just because she's not explosive like Lord Ay...? I like that about her. She's not frightening."

"Maybe I like frightening people more. At least they make sense."

Hinata frowned at him. "That's not a good reason to be unkind to anyone. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Hearing you say all this is so shocking, I can't even be as snarky as usual," Dabi admitted. "I'm afraid you'd Soft-Hand me in the solar plexus."

"No, no, I wouldn't." Hinata shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you... I thought you'd not want to hurt anyone either."

That still felt like a hit to the solar plexus in a way.

"I think I won't keep pestering you," Hinata then added. "This is...strange for me anyway... I'm sorry if I overstepped. I suppose it was that I felt sorry for her because she looked so sad...and I feel bad for the Village tormenting her over our team... I think we should not torment her also, but, you have your reasons. I can't treat you like a stranger either. You're our respected teammate. But I know you can be kinder than this. I've seen it before."

She tugged her hair. "I'll go on to the next house...and I want to update Likstar-sensei on what we found."

She quickened her pace.

Dabi felt more guilty than before. Since when did these speeches actually bother him?

Hinata could be just as bad as some of the sassier girls, he decided. You didn't see it coming with her--that made it worse.

[I agree: "A gentle word can break a bone". [Proverbs 25:15]

* * *

Mabui had gone to stand by one of the wells of the town (it still had some; whether or not it had faucets or not was unclear) and to try to regain her composure.

That last dig was unnecessary, but she could never think of anything to say that wouldn't be horrifyingly unprofessional, and she didn't want to blow up like that again.

She saw the older Hyuga girl pass by and then stop to write a message, but she herself didn't budge yet. She just drew some deep breaths.

Then Dabi walked up to her.

She braced herself or more insults--or maybe just more details on the results. Either option was unpleasant. One was more useful.

Dabi looked down like he felt uncomfortable. She didn't feel sorry for him.

"What I said back there was...a little out of line," he said, sounding like he hated saying it. "Took it too far."

Was that his idea of an apology?

Ninjas didn't usually apologize, so this was about what she'd have expected from anyone else, but Team Zoe seemed more open about such things.

"Which part?" she said aloud, not wanting to accept it that easily.

"Any or all of them." Dabi was still looking down. "It's been pointed out to me that I'm looking at things very narrowly...I guess."

"You guess?" Mabui repeated.

"Are you gonna make this difficult on purpose?" he grumbled.

"You have no problem doing it for everyone else," Mabui replied, before she could stop herself.

Pause.

Then Dabi chuckled wryly and finally looked up. "Well, there it was... I probably deserved that. At least it was kind of weak compared to what you could have said, but that would involve some pretty unrefined language."

"Perhaps you can think of it yourself then." Mabui was not pacified. "Ever since this started, you've been insufferable... I had hoped you would be more respectful after...the other day." Which still made her feel emotional to think about. "But I see that words and actions do not line up for you."

"Hey, lady, the way I grew up, you were lucky if people's actions were nicer than their words." Dabi bristled. "Better the jabs than getting beat up."

"I can't speak for you, but I was raised to think neither of those things was good," Mabui answered , undaunted. "Is civility beneath you?"

"I'm going to take that as apology not accepted. Fine. That's your right. I just was trying something. "

Mabui folded her arms. "Do you think I'm enjoying doing this?"

"No..." Dabi didn't know why she was asking him that but thought he was about to find out.

"Right," Mabui said, in a tone that hit harder than blows did. "I'm not. You don't care about the difficulty of the situation for me, and that's 'your right'." With cutting emphasis. "But not my problem, then, if you regret some of your ill-thought out comments. Whether you actually say them or not, it's what you think."

Dabi stared at her, and then he muttered, "Is that what it's like to be on the other end of that?"

"What?" 

"Nothing... I'm confused, are you angry or not?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry? Did you say something that would be infuriating?" Again with sarcasm.

"So yes."

She scowled. "Didn't you want me to get angry?"

"I did," Dabi admitted. "Look, it sounds weird to say it, but something about you just doesn't make sense to me. Anger is easier ot understand. Most people find me pretty infuriating to begin with, so that's nothing new. And you did too, you just tried to hide it."

Mabui didn't know what kind of apology this was supposed to be. "So you don't like that I have a milligram of self control, and that gives you the right to provoke me until I lose it?"

"Not the right, but the inclination is there," Dabi explained. "I'm not saying it's a good thing. I'm a jerk, I know it. The others don't really expect any different from me, if you didn't get the memo."

"Whatever that means, I don't see why I'd want to get it," she replied icily. "What? So your reason for behaving badly is just because you can?"

Pause.

"Well, I can because..." Dabi stopped as if realizing that would sound stupid. "I guess..."

"I'm not impressed," Mabui said. "Your contempt for all Cloud shinobi has been clear. Why eat your words now? Nothing we do will change your mind... The past is the past. I understand that. A very ninja way to think, actually."

Dabi felt as if she'd slapped him.

"Now wait a minute," he said. "This is not personal. If I had done something to Cloud, sure, it would be unfair to expect any different, but I haven't."

"Perhaps you haven't done anything, but it is personal for you," Mabui retorted.

"In what way?" Dabi frowned. "Just 'cause I'm on Gaara's team? That's not what I'm basing this on."

"No, because, in your mind, Cloud has hurt people you care about," Mabui replied.

"What?"

"Why are you acting as if I'm a fool?" Mabui asked. "Oh...yes, that's a foolish question. I suppose that proves your point. I mean the Hyuga girls...especially the younger one. You're close to them."

"Don't make this sound weird," Dabi balked. "I just get along okay with Firecracker because she's got a rebellious streak."

"I don't really know that the reason matters. The fact is you are fond of her and her sister perhaps...so you're offended on their behalf, though they themselves seem to be taking it more in stride." Mabui looked at the distance for a moment. "It's normal to be angry on someone else's behalf at times...but it can cloud our judgement. There's nothing we can do to appease that kind of anger, in our Village. The past cannot be changed. And it's not the reason they were attacked again... It could have been anyone, but they were in the wrong place at the wrong time...and since they followed me, I suppose I could see incurring some resentment by extension. Though, it was not my intention to endanger them."

"I don't blame you for that." Dabi was too surprised to be subtle.

She paused.

He didn't?

But then why...?

"At the time I wasn't sure, but I guess I see it now," Dabi had to admit to himself. "That's not it."

"Then it's just that I'm a Cloud?" Mabui said. "It's all about Cloud? I shouldn't take this personally? I suppose that's a nicer thing to hear." Her tone said otherwise.

"Cloud is known to look down on outsiders too," Dabi said. 

"As you say, if it goes both ways. Who can complain?" she replied.

Dabi was silent.