Still, she placed it into her bag among a few changes of clothes, a case of basic healing ointments (she made her own), and a smallish case of throwing needles (just thirty). Most of her colleagues wouldn’t consider that enough for even one very light skirmish. Hinata generally agreed, but if she needed any more weapons, she would have to acquire them in the field. That was nothing new, though.
Being minimally armed was probably important here. One of the details of the mission she’d just been assigned was that she had to be a bodyguard without APPEARING to be so. The girl she would be protecting was unaware of her true function; the service had been requisitioned by the girl’s family without informing her of it.
Hinata thought they were being irrational and paranoid, but it was their money; soon to be HER money. And if it turned out that Hinata was wrong and the girl’s life truly was in danger, well, Hinata’s attention would have been fully on the mission from the start. No matter what Hinata or anyone else did, time would flow as it always had, from past to present and onward. Death was never very far away for a ninja.
She closed her bag, lifted it from her bed, and placed it on the floor. The weapons case rattled slightly, but she knew nothing would be out of place. They couldn’t have moved very much. The medicine case did not rattle.
She looked around, at the walls of her room, and at her various belongings in their places. There weren’t many; she’d never really collected anything and she wasn’t given to keeping things she didn't need. Her clothes were utilitarian and largely as unflattering as possible. Once something had worn out its usefulness, Hinata discarded it.
Her walls were painted in deep green, and were almost bare of decoration; there were a few small pictures of landscapes here and there about the walls. Her desk was made of cheap pine, sanded and lacquered. It was a flat surface with no drawers, and it had most likely been originally destined as a light workbench for a machine shop. A few notebooks were on top, along with a cup full of pens. She disliked brushes and ink because of the inefficiency; pens were faster and more precise. It was one of her more amusing joys that Hanabi and Neji agreed with her, while her father didn’t. She had a bookshelf with some novels and a few manga. Also on the bookshelf were some CD’s of music she enjoyed listening to when she had the chance, which wasn’t often. All together, though the bookshelf had quite a few things on it, it was mostly empty, like her bedroom overall.
The one treasure that remained unpacked was a stuffed bear. She’d had it so long she didn’t remember getting it. She didn’t want to leave it, as she’d never been without it as long as she would be if she left it behind; but she didn’t want to take it along, because it could be damaged. In her mind, a war raged between love and logic. Logic won through attrition. The bear would stay here.
Deciding that what she’d packed was all she needed for the moment, she picked up her bag and walked out of her room, then locked the door behind her. Every room in the house had locks on the doors. Considering that everyone born into the family could eventually see through walls, and anyone who married into the family could easily pick physical locks, Hinata thought the locks were completely pointless, but their use was a family rule and this sort of rebellion wasn’t worth the effort.
She walked down the long hallway and made a few turns around twisting corners until she got to the sitting room. Her sister was there, sitting on the floor, legs crossed beneath her as if she was meditating. At the moment, Hanabi’s back was to her, but Hinata knew that Hanabi knew perfectly well that Hinata was there; Hinata hadn’t made any effort to disguise her presence, or her footsteps, so she would have been sensed and heard.
Still, Hanabi made no effort to acknowledge Hinata’s presence. This didn’t bother Hinata. Deciding to be something that might pass for amiable, she joined her younger sister in the exercise of sitting down, facing forward, and saying nothing. She closed her eyes.
When she reopened them some time later, Hanabi was facing her. The younger girl had still not said anything and didn’t appear inclined to do so. Hinata decided to wait her out. She knew it wouldn’t last long.
After nearly an hour, it still hadn’t ended. Perhaps, Hinata mused, Hanabi was learning some patience after all. She decided this was good. She then thought it might be stubbornness. That was equally possible, probably even more likely. She wondered if it was a good thing that she second-guessed herself so often, at least when she wasn’t on a mission. Maybe that was her difficulty with the world, or at least one of them. That made sense, though it didn’t explain everything.
Hanabi and she were a lot different, Hinata thought, as she studied her younger sister’s appearance. The first difference was the age; Hinata was nearing eighteen while Hanabi was twelve. The physical differences were numerous; in height, for example, Hanabi was already about an inch taller than Hinata, and might grow more yet, while Hinata was probably at her full height. Hanabi was lithe, rather than obnoxiously curvy. Hanabi’s hair was dyed stoplight red (for the moment), and her hair tumbled in curls (from wearing curlers) midway down her back, whereas Hinata’s hair was its natural black-purple, and fell straight to nearly her waist.
The meaningful differences were strength: Hanabi had far more chakra than Hinata did at the same age, and nearly as much chakra as Hinata had now; skill, Hanabi was at least as good as Neji had been at twelve, if not thirteen; and in the way they walked. Where Hinata stepped silently, Hanabi glided as if she didn’t need the ground at all.
It didn’t make for a good relationship between the two.
“You’ve been given a mission,” Hinata heard her sister begin. “Am I correct?”
Hinata nodded.
“I thought so,” Hanabi continued. “I didn’t believe there were many other likely possibilities for the length of your absence. Respected father is attending the council at this time.”
Hinata didn’t have a response to this, so Hanabi continued. “Do you know how long you’ll be on the assignment?”
Hinata shook her head. “I only know it’s long-term. There weren’t many specifics.”
Hanabi took some time to process that. “Where will you be headed?”
“Water Country”, Hinata replied. “One of the larger cities in Water Country.” That wasn’t quite true. She WAS heading to a large city, but in fact it was not merely one of the larger cities, it was the LARGEST city.
“Will you be in danger?” The voice was much softer than normal. Hinata’s voice was quiet – at its loudest, most people would think it was a normal speaking voice. Hanabi’s voice was powerful and commanding.
Hinata nodded. “I walk alongside Death.” This was close to false from her perspective; she didn’t expect the danger of this mission to be even close to that, but in most of her missions she was at high risk for nearly the whole affair. But that was the nature of most A-class missions: you became either killer or victim, sometimes by the width of a sheet of paper.
Hinata saw that Hanabi had looked away, and her eyes were cast to the ground. Hinata remembered that, for all her sister’s greater power and skill, she was still an innocent. She’d never killed anyone. She’d never watched as someone bled to death from a mortal, but not INSTANTLY mortal, wound that she’d inflicted; she’d never watched as someone stopped breathing as their neck broke from being strangled; she’d never watched as their chakra circulatory system shut down and the light left their eyes and their soul, if souls existed, left this world. Hinata had watched those and more.
For the briefest of moments, Hinata hoped she never would see those things. But she knew that was impossible. Was that why Tsunade drew all those emotions out of her? Because she herself was innocent, compared to the amount of blood that soaked Tsunade’s hands?
It made too much sense. She wanted to cry again, but she wouldn’t allow herself to do that.
“Respected father wishes you a safe return, older sister. I do as well.”
Not for the first time, Hinata wished Hanabi would stop being so formal. On a whim, she extended her hand.
It took Hanabi far too long to hold it. And it was far too soon before the younger girl withdrew her hand. But still, there had been tangible warmth. Hinata would live in that moment forever.
“You be safe,” Hinata began, “and whole. You stay loyal. And above all else, remember who you are, lest we meet again on the other side.” It was a speech she’d given many times before. She began to walk towards the exit.
“Safe travels, older sister”, she heard Hanabi call, in a voice that had more warmth than Hinata had ever felt from her.
“Nothing other”, she replied, smiling.
The walk to Konoha’s east gate was much more pleasant than the walk to the administration building had been. The temperature was still ferociously cold; in fact, it had grown even colder. The wind was stronger. The sky was darker, for night had fallen.
And yet, Hinata could not summon any fear. Instead she was filled with a stew of warmth and purpose.
When she reached the gate, she reached into a pocket and produced her ID cards. The guard checked them, and cleared her to pass. Hinata thanked him in a loud voice, but she was not heard.
The gates closed behind her, but she did not look back. The mission was eastward; and though Konoha was suddenly more inviting than it had been in a long time, her duty was first and foremost. Whether it be in a month or ten years hence, she only knew that she would return, one way or another.
On a night some time between three and four years ago, closer to three than four it must be said, the sky was without clouds and the stars were as bright as she could remember. It was chilly but not cold. There was no wind.
There had been rain that day, but only in the morning. The clouds had moved on before nightfall. The moon was full that night, and silvery as it always seemed to her. She wondered if she and Dan would have made love under the moonlight, if he’d still been alive and not dead for more than a decade even then. They’d done that many times; it thrilled her anyway. Her view of romance was rather banal, she would sometimes reflect with a hint of bitterness. There was too much bloody reality to be imaginative.
She was Tsunade of The Three, and for about two years now she had been The Fifth. She hated both titles, and not for the first time, she wished that she hadn’t been anything special as a ninja. But there wasn’t any time to wallow in the past. In about a week she would leave for Hidden Stone village in Earth Country, escorted by ANBU-AS members as normal, to help in the supervision and execution of the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exam. Shizune had given her a list a few days ago, with the names of the Leaf genin who had agreed to participate. She’d glanced at it, seeing a few familiar names, but also others that were not known to her. She knew that, per normal, some of the genin would be young and strong but inexperienced, and might have a real shot; she also knew that some of them would be older, seasoned, and without any real hope. It was funny how that worked, because it shouldn’t be that way, and yet it often was.
Goddess above, she hated her job. But there were precious few she’d trust it to, and two of them were dead. The first of those was the old pervert Sarutobi, her teacher; dead two years now. He had been The Third. And the second was Jiraiya’s young prize student Kazama Arashi, he’d been The Fourth; he was dead fourteen years now. He’d returned the job to Sarutobi with his death.
Her job had been offered to Jiraiya, but he’d rejected it. She didn’t want to think about who it would have fallen to if she’d done the same. Most likely, she thought, it would have gone to someone entirely unworthy of it and unprepared for it. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Konoha had scores of strong people with potential to lead. But the job needed someone special. And so she would tend it until she could pass it along.
Enough. She was distracting herself from her walk, and from her surroundings. That was never a good idea, even within the bounds of Konoha.
As she looked around, she noticed that her footsteps had instinctively guided her to one of her favorite training grounds. It wasn’t the wreck she’d left some fields in. Here, she practiced chakra flow, within and without; never molding it, simply pushing it. Only people who truly stunning control could move it in the fashion she did when she trained on this ground.
As she looked around, she noticed that she was not alone. Unconsciously, she shifted into full guard. But as she waited, no threat emerged.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure moving in the dark. Within a moment, she held four throwing needles in her right hand, chakra ready.
But, as before, no threat emerged. She could make out details of the figure. Female, she saw; shorter and smaller than herself, so probably younger. The girl had straight and moderately long hair, black in color, but it seemed to also be purple. Perhaps it had a glint.
The girl was dancing, Tsunade saw. Dancing in ways that Tsunade thought only she knew. The movements weren’t as expert or as flowing, but the flow was skilled and the expertise could come in time.
Clearly, this was someone with exceptional control; someone to be aware of, though not strong enough to be a threat.
Unbidden, a nickname for this girl whom she had yet to recognize came into her mind. And then through the darkness, she saw the girl’s eyes. They were white like drifts of snow. The girl was a Hyuuga, certainly. She wondered who, exactly, and then she remembered. She did know this girl, although only from a record and a few photographs.
Hyuuga Hinata. That was the girl’s name. Hyuuga Hinata, whose given name meant “sunny place” was now, and forever, “moon-daughter”.
Tsunade smiled as she walked away. She didn’t know if the younger girl had noticed her presence, but it didn’t matter. She thought, actually, it would be better if some things were left unknown.
The sky seemed a little clearer that night.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by nuclear death frog
(Posted Fri, 16 Dec 2005 03:05)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.