However, she had to keep in mind that her father was working on the angle that their attacker had been silent and striking without notice. If they went public with everything, the culprits would likely scatter back to where they had come from. Leaving the Hyuga clan no more wise as to the identity of those squirrel-using scum.
So Hanabi/Kurochan kept quiet. Hanabi/Kurochan just watched and decided to sort out her feelings on the whole thing.
On the one hand, or paw at the moment, she was ready to sneer at this sister of hers for acting all timid and indecisive and weak. This was NOT the sort of behavior that a potential heir of a clan of warrior-ninja should indulge in.
On the other hand, she'd had the chance to see firsthand the skills and power that Naruto Uzumaki could bring to bear with his hijutsu. If Uzumaki were to be a clan that would eventually rebuild - it could be a quite powerful one someday. A strong alliance between the Hyuga and the Uzumaki would benefit the Hyuga in such a case.
On the other paw, or hand or whatever, with Hinata being about ready to faint from just TALKING with the boy she was engaged to - Hinata might end up past childbearing years by the time she'd actually marshalled up enough courage just to get past the kissing stage. If she could even go THAT far. Since she'd already acknowledged Naruto as being strong and potentially even stronger - didn't the thunder-wielder deserve a stronger partner?
Finally, the jonin Kakashi Hatake cleared his throat and Naruto broke off to rejoin his team - leaving Hinata clutching that apartment key so tightly her knuckles went white. Hanabi silently noted that, and kept an eye on her sister as they left the village.
She'd have to sort out how she felt about this. Her sister was weak, but still a member of the Hyuga clan and still her sister. If her sister ended up with a marriage-seal and part of the new Uzumaki clan - that neatly took her out of the 'potential heir' dispute without having to have a Caged Bird Seal and immediately confirmed Hanabi's own position as heir.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, what's the plan? Do you want me on high-guard?"
"High-guard?" asked Tazuna, the old drunk still smelling of strong drink and even less savory things.
"No, Naruto," answered Kakashi, "if you're flying overhead - you might spot potential attackers easier - but you also might give away our position to those same attackers. Best to remain on the ground for now."
"'flying'?" asked Tazuna, clearly skeptical.
"Yes, 'flying,'" said Hanabi/Kurochan, reminding the bridge-builder that there was a talking cat present. "You wanted a ninja team capable of defending you from bandits. You got a ninja team capable of defending you from bandits. You get what you pay for."
Tazuna mumbled something about how much he could afford and how there might be other dangers.
Tazuna, clearly, had not counted on Hanabi's excellent hearing. Judging from the look that both Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi gave the bridge-builder, they'd both caught part of that as well. Hmmm.
"By the way, Sakura - isn't it?" asked Kurochan. "You returned with your abilities upgraded by some of Naruto's friends as I understand it. What exactly are you capable of?"
"Well, I need to be wound up every day by Sasuke," said the living doll. "Until Naruto's friends back at the Time/Space Bureau can rebuild my old body. Upgrading this just made it more likely I'd survive until then. My strength is greater and I've got a few built-in tricks like my arm-cannon to make contributions. The downsides are that I don't heal from injuries - I've got to be repaired. I need to be wound up. I also don't have as much of a sense of touch or smell. I have no sense of taste since I don't actually eat anything. That's taking a lot of getting used to."
Tazuna stared as Sakura held up one arm.
Hanabi, of course, had excellent vision even without turning on her Byakugan. At this range she could see the thin bronze edgings of the various seams that indicated the internal compartments and workings within the transformed girl.
Hanabi activated her Byakugan and looked deeper as they continued walking, another advantage of being in cat form and riding on someone's shoulder. Easier to do things like that. Hmmm. Metal parts, wood - though of a dense type she wasn't familiar with, crystals, chakra conduits, an elaborate double seal engraved into something that looked like bronze at first glance but clearly wasn't when you were using the Hyuga bloodline gift.
Little bits and bobs that didn't make much sense at all to her sight. Wait though, those hinges there and those sliders and that cable. Oh. That could be interesting.
Kurochan/Hanabi turned her attention briefly to the surrounding area before shutting off her technique. She'd just flick it on every so often to further practice her Byakugan. There was a lot more than just the Jyuuken to it after all. Even if the main branch of the family DID focus in on that part more than the rest. The idea was to let the branch family members mostly focus on the other aspects, such as scouting and spying.
Kurochan rode the shoulder for a few hours that way, ignoring the occasional complaint from the drunk. It was a C-Class mission, nothing to sneeze at. She was going to accomplish it and then have it on her record when all this was done, and before she'd even graduated the Academy. So putting up with the occasional drunken rant was worth it.
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(Posted Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:00)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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