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A strange new life. [Naruto]

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    • I woke up the next day not refreshed, but feeling better, ready to get out of the bed and start a new day. The trauma hadn't gone away, but it was contained, after a fashion. A memory of the laboratory surfaced, and I had to close my eyes, force the shaking to stop. I wasn't going to have another mental breakdown. Not here, at least. I was sure I'd be able to complete the mission. Delving deeper into the nature of what happened to me, and what it really meant could wait until I was back at home safe, sound, and hopefully happy.

    Maybe I should try counseling? Did Konoha even have the concept of therapy?

    A thought flashed in my mind, I imagined how a therapy session would be like in Konoha: A comfortable room, and a comfortable chaise lounge. On a similar comfortable chair opposite the chaise sat Yamanaka Inoichi, with a book in hand titled: The secrets of the mind. With his grave voice he would say. "Now, relax and open your mind. This won't hurt a bit."

    I shook the silly thought away. My chest burned with thirst, my stomach growled in hunger. More than that, I needed to find the loo. It was a matter of life and death.

    That need spurned me out of the warm blankets and into a new day. The water jug had been replaced at some point, and the bowl of food swapped to bread, cheese and a few dried fruits. I remember those. We purchased them back in the town to complement our own supplies.

    Before the day really started, I pushed my chakra, out popped another me. She had bed hair, lines on her face from the blanket, eyes still crusty, clothes in disarray from staying in bed for days without removing her ninja gear. But her eyes, while sad, weren't despairing. Her mouth curved with a small smile.

    I hopped closer, gave her a big hug, then kissed her forehead. I know what you're thinking, but don't blame me too much. I just decided I was done lying to myself and ignoring my own loneliness. With my particular set of skills, I could actually give myself a hug, so why not? Other me gave me a cheeky grin, like she knew what I was thinking, then another hug before unpopping herself.

    I ran toward the restroom and worked on my business, relieved myself before things got even more awkward. Done with my morning ablutions, I swapped for a cleaner outfit, adjusted the weight seals, made sure I was presentable. It was time to face the music.

    Yamato's default house was a two story building with the bedrooms on the upper floor, living room, small rooms that I thought of as offices and the kitchen. Given how dark and cold the house was, the sun hadn't risen yet. I climbed down the stairs, and found Sai sitting cross legged on a cushion. His eyes were closed, hand in front of his stomach, with each finger meeting the opposite hand counterpart.

    Cadaver pale Sai opened his eyes, maybe alerted by the sound of my footsteps. The light was dim, but I could see him glance my way. He gave me a nod, I waved back. Then he closed his eyes again. Behind his facade of calm politeness, I saw something else: indifference, contempt, annoyance.

    It wasn't the first time I had the impression Sai didn't like me. But it was the first time the feeling was this strong. What was that about? Hold on, was Sai jelly of Yamato taking care of me? I wouldn't be that, would it? Imagine it, Sai wanted some of Daddy Yamato's care.

    I held in a chuckle at that inappropriate thought. I had no idea about Sai's situation, and had made no attempt to understand him. It wasn't fair of me to make fun of him, even in the privacy of my own mind. I was trying to be a better, more honest person.

    Kitchen work kept me occupied for the next few minutes. An early breakfast might help with the hard day to come. I decided to splurge. Took out of my seals, a few prepared supplies. Before leaving Konoha, I knew I wouldn't have much time to bake stuff. The purchased pastries were good enough for my pre-defined good impression kits, but I wanted something better, and I had a few hours to burn before morning.

    I rolled up my metaphorical sleeves, and got to work. Breakfast wasn't going to cook itself.






    Later, after I was done with baking the cake, I larded the hot slice with butter. I don't think doing so was common even in the before, but it was one of my comfort foods. On another plate, I put another slice of cake, a small pot with butter, and a knife. Together with that, was the thermos with tea. I carried all that to the living room where Sai was still keeping vigil.

    Not long after I started to prepare breakfast, Sai sent out a few more of his ink birds. At first, I was a bit confused about what he was doing. I could sense his chakra moving, then bits of chakra moving away from the camp. It took a second to link those small bundles of chakra with his ink constructs.

    I walked near Sai, placed breakfast in front of him. He opened his eyes again. Looked at the food, then to me. Gave me another nod and got to eating.

    I sat on another cushion and ate my butter heavy slice of cake. We didn't talk. For one, I wasn't in the mood to talk. This was just my first step to trying to mend a relationship that hadn't been there at all. Again, we might not ever be friends, that was what my gut kept telling me, but I wanted at least a cordial working relationship.

    The aroma of fresh baked cake roused the rest of the team. First Yamato. He walked down the stairs, prim and proper. Nodded at both of us, and went to the kitchen to get his own slice of cake. Hayase showed up a few moments later. Bed hair and bed face, barefooted and scratching his stomach. He let out a big yawn, said something I decided meant good morning, and also disappeared inside the kitchen to get his food.

    We ate in silence.

    After we finished the meal, Yamato was the first to break the silence. "I'm glad you're feeling better today, Hinata-san." I got up and bowed in thanks to the jounin. He'd done a lot for me. "If things go as planned, I'll break into the vaults today. I can tackle the laboratories tomorrow, while you help Hayase catalog the vault's contents. We'll also need your help to store the contents in storage seals for ease of transportation."

    Sai glanced from Yamato to me, while Hayase nodded.

    I popped out my board, considered my words. I was aware Yamato fudged the truth a little and was giving me an out to avoid the labs. I didn't want to avoid the place. I wrote my response. "Thanks, Taicho. I'd really like a chance to make up for the lab. I'd appreciate it even more if you came with me."

    Yamato read the words, his big eyes stared into my soul. "Are you sure?"

    I nodded.

    "Help me with the vault then. Once we finish there, we can move toward the lab and work there together."

    "Are you sure it's safe?" Hayase, who still looked ready to sleep more, asked. "Whatever that trap was, I don't think I ever heard something screaming like that." He glanced my way, gave me a chagrined shrug before looking at Yamato again.

    The jounin sipped his tea. "It might be, but we still have to investigate the lab. It was my mistake splitting up from Hinata-san, and sending her to investigate the rest of the complex while I dealt with the vault. A mistake I won't make again."

    I looked down. I didn't like this. Yamato was taking the blame for something he hadn't done. It felt nice knowing he was ready to take the fall if it meant keeping others from asking about my mental breakdown, but I also felt indignant that he was coddling me that much. I might be only twelve, but I was proud of being a ninja.

    With those conflicting feelings bubbling inside my chest, I followed Yamato into the snake's lair again. I won't say I was over all the things that had happened. I was still confused with my own feelings and reactions, but this felt too important to ignore. And, somehow, Yamato wasn't trying to keep me away from learning.

    For some reason, I was expecting that if we ever found anything important related to Orochimaru's experiments, Yamato would try to keep me as far away from it as possible. It didn't look like that to me. The man just looked worried for me.

    Weird. Was he actually on my corner, and not a spy for the village? I mean, there were all these confusing signals from him. If his goal wasn't to keep me under surveillance, why did he always hide some of his transmission seeds on my stuff? This wasn't a new thing, he'd been doing it since hell month when he started to train me. I never really minded the privacy invasion because I didn't have anything I actually wanted to hide from him, and guessed the man was just following orders.

    And he was probably aware I could feel the chakra in the seeds. Yes, I couldn't tap into that connection and transmission to learn what he was seeing, but Kakashi-sensei knew I could sense chakra. The seed still had chakra inside it, even if it was a tiny bit.

    So many mixed signals messing with my head.





    Tried to generate more images without the grit from hell-month. Some of those look nice. AI can't decide if it wants an older or younger Hinata, tho.

     
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    • Crouched down in the dark tunnel, I studied the walls, floor and ceiling.

    There was a hole in the wall that created a direct path from the vaults to the labs. That was an interesting way to use a jutsu. Would Yamato teach me that one if I asked him? I guess I just found what to do on the trip back to Konoha. Thinking about that, I might as well try to leech that water bullet jutsu from Hayase as well.

    In the original story, Hinata's Nature Type was fire and lightning. I'm guessing my affinity to earth came from the implanted Senju cells. Wood release was, after all, a mix of earth and water. If that theory holds true, I could potentially excel in four out of five types of elements. Missing only wind to join the exalted group of very rare ninjas capable of using all five basic elements.

    The entrance to the lab had been sealed by a barrier created out of wood. Yamato's attempt to keep the place out of reach? Said jounin stood by my side, observing me carefully. He didn't press me, for which I was thankful.

    We'd managed to break into the vault a few hours ago. Thankfully, the insides weren't trapped. There were a lot of things there. Books, scrolls, papers, curios, organic samples sealed inside glass containers. It was a lot. From a quick glance, most of that was in some sort of code. We left Hayase to catalog the contents while we tackled the lab, as Yamato had suggested at breakfast.

    Sai was still outside, keeping vigil at the hideout entrance. True to his word, Yamato was being a lot more careful this time. He left a wood clone with Sai, another with Hayase. I tried to leave a shadow clone as well. I wanted, after all, to do my part. But Yamato told me not to.

    I could guess his reasons. If I had another breakdown, the clones might disperse and cause confusion.

    All these considerations were just me trying to procrastinate. I was serious about facing this head on, but wanting was one thing, going forward with it, another. I got up, took a deep breath. Nodded to Yamato, who nodded back.

    His hands flashed with seals, and the wood sealing the lab retreated, leaving the door unbarred.

    I closed my fists. Took another deep breath. Repeated in my mind one, maybe ten times, that it was going to be alright. I wasn't in any danger. Whatever truth I found inside could only help. There was no lower point to fall anymore. I was already aware and living the worst case scenario: I could be a living clone with a ticking bomb inside her body, mistrusted by her own village, with her staunchest ally in this whole thing dead, because she failed to save him.

    The only way things would get worse was if there was some possession shit waiting for me inside that lab. I didn't think that was probable.

    Eyes open, head held high, I entered the damn laboratory.

    It hadn't changed from the last time I was here. The corpse was still on the table. There was a medical trolley by the operating table I hadn't seen the first time. The green goop inside the vats was ever more polluted with brown and flecks of red. The computer was still bulky and out of power.

    Yamato didn't enter. He stayed at the door, surveyed the place with a quick glance. "I made sure there's no traps, you don't need to worry about that."

    I looked back at the jounin.

    "I'll wait outside. Please call me if you need my help." I gave the man a serious nod. He left after that.

    Yamato hadn't given me any orders regarding the lab. My guess was that he was leaving it up to me to decide what to do, or maybe it was another test of loyalty. At this point, I wasn't sure I would be able to tell. I did have an idea of how to deal with the lab. It had been on my mind all day long. A bit of anxiety and dread building at the idea of what I was about to do.

    From the entrance, I moved to the vats. I needed to confirm if any of the clones were still alive. I should have done it the first time I was here, but I hadn't been in the right frame of mind to think about it. I walked down the rolls of tubes, inspecting the copies of me inside them.

    Now that I was paying more attention, I noticed something strange. While those girls inside the vat were undeniably copies of myself, they weren't perfect ones. There were subtle changes to each of them. One had a smaller nose. Another, a bigger mouth. There was one with a different bone structure, her face more elongated than what seemed normal. It wasn't just the face. Some of the clones had different body structure, skin color, one had longer legs, while another thicker arms. I even saw one, looking about a year old, with male genitalia.

    There was another, one of the oldest, that I couldn't even say it was me any longer. It was still my own face, if square-ish, but the body shape was all wrong.

    Her body resembled one of an adult, but she had no breasts, nor any genitalia I could see. Her shoulders were winder, hands larger, but her waist was still thin and curvy. The sense of wrongness was so strong I had to look away. My stomach churned, and the world swayed a little. I doubled over, hands on my knees, taking deep breaths. I refused to have another breakdown.

    None of the clones were alive.

    With a noiseless groan, I pushed myself up, and turned back toward the computer near the entrance. There was, I noticed now, a filing cabinet that had been hidden by the bulky machine, as well as a chair and a desk with writing implements on top of it.

    Walking to the table, my attention was on this new discovery. The papers didn't seem disturbed. It was like Orochimaru left it there, expecting to be back a few hours later to keep experimenting. The notes were all in that strange code of his, but even a cursory glance told me they were important. On one of the parchments, there was a sketch of a skeleton, and a number of seals carved on the bones.

    The drawings there were a lot more complex than the ones I was familiar with. Was this an improved version? I scanned all the available information. There were more drawings, but nothing that made sense to me. I'd need to understand Orochimaru's personal code to read his notes. I gathered all the papers into a neat pile, and turned to the filing cabinet.

    The first drawer was filled to the brim with even more notes, drawings and sketches. Was all of this related to this one particular experiment? I would find out, one way or another.

    I gathered all available dossiers, notes, and parchments into a pile. There wasn't time right now to try deciphering them. That would take a lot of time and effort. From my own seals, I unsealed a bigger piece of parchment. Placed it on the ground, my hand at the center. Before I pushed my chakra, an idea struck me. I blamed Hayase and his endearing dorkness of all things code related.

    The idea was simple. What if I could create a cipher of my own, but for my storage seals? That sparkled another thought. How would I go about it? A subdued smile found its way to my face. Now that I think about it, Seal-chan and her many iterations had already figured that, back in hell month. Sure, at the time, I failed in tying the beacon to my chakra signature in particular, but I did learn how to infuse it with my own jutsu. So, I just needed…

    I took another piece of parchment, a small one this time. I modified the seal, created more building blocks from my own vocabulary. These were simple, they'd take the chakra of the person activating the seals, and change the end result. That way, only a person with that same chakra signature would be able to release the seal contents. I pushed my chakra, and inscribed the new seal. Took one of the pencils from the table, placed it on top of the experimental version and activated it. With a puff of smoke, the pencil disappeared, the sealing complete.

    Somewhat giddy at how easy it had been, I tapped the seal with my finger, willed the seal undone. Out popped a pencil. Slightly worn, marks of abuse, a cracked end. It was the same.


    That changed things. This new version of my seals did need more chakra, but I thought it was a worthy trade. Not everything would need this security measure, but the contents of this laboratory? It wasn't even worth considering not using the new yet to be named jutsu.

    I turned back to the bigger parchment, keeping the shape of the new seal in my mind, Shikoku Fuin did the rest. Guided by my will, the chakra spread through the parchment, creating in seconds a seal that would have taken me minutes to inscribe with ink.

    I owed Kakashi-sensei a hug. I never really thanked the man for this jutsu. It saved so much time.

    That done, I scoured the lab for any other note, paper or drawing I could find. I placed everything on top of my prepared storage seal, pushed in my chakra, and sealed everything away. Now I just needed to think of a way of keeping this information to myself without those geezers in the village taking it off from me. Problems for the future.

    The next part was a lot less interesting. I walked to the table, pulled the inscribed fabric off the corpse's face. She was almost an exact copy of my own, maybe one or two years older. Out of curiosity, I opened her eyes. Lifeless black eyes stared back at me. Gently sliding my hand over her face, I closed her eyes again.

    "I'm sorry," I whispered to the dead version of me.

    My hands hovered over the trolley. With one last deep breath, I took a scalpel. Gruesome as it might be, I wasn't about to pass on the chance to see with my own eyes if she also had other seals in her body. It could be a clue to understand what the ones in my heart and eyes did. A clue to disabling the ticking time bomb the seals on my bones were.

    This decision made me feel like I was following in Orochimaru's footsteps. I wasn't happy about that.
     
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    • Absentminded, I cleaned my hands against the apron. Lines of red decorating the white fabric. My forehead was damp with sweat. I worked very hard for the past hours, but I was almost done. With firm steps, I walked to the last tube. Holding a kunai, I struck the container. Glass broke and green goop poured out.

    My hands shot inside the broken container and supported the corpse before it fell down as well. I unplugged the many sensors tied to her body. Those things were small, wicked needles-like thingies that gave me the heebie-jeebies. Soon after, I pulled the tube out of her mouth. It came away flecked with blood and more. I was past trying to keep my hands clean. That ship sailed with the autopsy. Thus the apron.

    I took the corpse in my arms, walked back to the middle of the room. With deliberate care, I placed her together with the others. From embryo to adult, I left none behind. Around the bodies, six kunais were placed in a rough circle, inside a formation of four other kunais. Each of those kunais had a tag on them.

    No, I wasn't about to explode my clones. I liked explosions, but it had its time and place. Those six tags were a modified version meant to produce fire. The outer ones, a simple barrier setup to contain the blaze. The second barrier also prevented the fire from burning all oxygen underground and giving me CO poisoning. That led me into a rabbit-hole trying to understand how to make jutsu fire still burn in an enclosed space. Despite all those implications, the answer was simple: Burn chakra, instead of oxygen. Modifying the seal hadn't taken long when I decided what I wanted to do. I wasn't about to take the corpses back to the village. No chance in hell I would deliver this many versions of myself to those codgers.

    I guess that after the emo phase, I finally hit the teenage angst phase. Rebelling against authority. How normal of me.

    With one last look at the bodies, I stepped out of the prepared area, activating the seals.






    The blaze burned for hours. In the end, all that was left were ashes. My work wasn't done, however. While the pyre burned, I went about dismantling and storing the beast of an old computer. The thing was too unwieldy to store in one single seal. I tried my best to not break anything, but I might have forced some cables out of their place with a little more fervor than delicate bulky machinery should be dealt with. I guess I'd trust the Intelligence nerdy ninjas to fix the thing.

    Imagine that, Shinobi IT Geeks.

    When I was done, my eyes felt heavy, and I was tired. I think it was already the next day when I was finally finished with everything I wanted to do. The lab looked like a hurricane swept past it. Broken glass everywhere, green goop making the floor slippery, a huge patch of burned stuff in the middle. A few cables and wires stuck out where the computer once was. The operation table tossed aside.

    I placed the last explosive tag by the door. This time, it was the best of my best supplies. I hadn't skimped on it either. By the time I was done, there would be no more lab, and hopefully no trace of the travesty perpetuated inside. All that would be left were my memories, trauma, and stuff I stored on my seals.

    I didn't see Yamato when I walked outside the lab. Had he left me alone? I took the path leading toward the entrance, but before I could have walked more than a few meters, Yamato phased through the walls. Damn, that was another jutsu I really wanted. At this point, I was considering if I should really lean into the daughter's disguise. I mean, dad Yamato would have to teach me his jutsu, not just the mokuton stuff, right?

    I didn't stop. Yamato matched my pace and together we walked to the hideout entrance. Before we left I stopped. There was this angry part of me that didn't want to obey my orders and follow the mission, but if anything, now wasn't the time to rock the boat. From what I remembered, Tsunade would be a good Hokage. I was more than willing to give her the benefit of a doubt before taking more drastic actions. Not that I had any idea what those drastic actions would be. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

    I would argue my case with her. I didn't want the information and knowledge I found in the lab being disseminated. It just felt wrong.

    Facing the jounin, I produced the many scrolls with all the stuff I deemed I could take away. Held it in both hands with a death grip. All rolled neatly into a pile of seals. The contents of the labs I had sealed away with the improved version of my storage seal. It might be naive of me, but if the village took it away, I could at least use the fact that without me they couldn't access the contents as leverage. Leverage for what, I wasn't sure yet.

    Out popped my comms board. My threads wrote my message. "I burned all of the corpses." A lie I hoped Yamato would forgive me for. I kept one. "A few of them had white eyes, but most didn't. I didn't take any." That at least, wasn't a lie. I had no idea what changes Orochimaru made to those clones, more than that, they were dead for how long? Were those eyes even still alive? I wasn't about to try plucking an eye from a weeks old corpse and plug it into my head.

    That sparked a different thought: what about the eye from Orochimaru? What kind of setup were they using to keep it alive? Do dojutsu eyes even need to be kept alive? Had I made a massive mistake by burning everything? It had been a spurn of the moment decision, one I didn't regret, but now I was left wondering.

    I shook my head, wrote more words. "Gathered all the documents I could find. Dismantled the computer and stored it away."

    Yamato didn't say anything.

    I pushed the rolled scrolls toward him. "Here." My threads wrote.

    Yamato nodded, extended his hands, but didn't take the scrolls. He pushed it back to me. "Keep them. Once we're back at Konoha, I might be able to delay things for a couple of days. Do you think that would be enough to make a copy you could use?"

    When I walked out of that lab, I was ready for some push back, maybe pressure from Yamato for the information, an order to give away everything I found. My hands tightened around the parchments. It crinkled under my grip. I hadn't expected him to try to fudge things again in my favor.

    I couldn't look the man in the eyes, but I nodded. Maybe I blinked away some dust in my eyes. His hand found my head and ruffled my hair. I grumbled, slapped away the offending appendage. He chuckled. Why people liked doing that I would never understand.

    "Hayase still isn't done with cataloging the vault, but he learned some important things." Yamato looked towards the outside, took a step in that direction, I followed. "The sun is almost up, we can talk about it over breakfast, what do you think?"

    Nodding, I erased my board. There was one more piece of information I needed to pass on. Threads worked their way into writing the words. "I jury rigged the whole lab with my best explosives. A few dozen of them."

    Yamato read my message, stumbled. Blinked. "Those explosives you used in the battle?" I gave the man a serious look, shook my head. His shoulders sagged with relief.

    I erased the words on my board, wrote others. "Those were my good ones. I meant what I said. Only my best."

    His hand pinched the bridge of his nose. His voice sounded strained. Body tense. "When are they going to go off?"

    I shrugged. Who did he think I was? "On command."

    Yamato's shoulder sagged again. "Hinata-san, we'll need to talk about acceptable levels of destructive force sometime soon."

    I shrugged again. There wasn't much to talk about. Explosion made things go boom. The bigger the boom, the better.

    Outside the house, patrolling the perimeter, we found a tired looking Hayase. When he noticed us leaving the hideout, he walked closer, then came to a screeching halt when he saw me. He pointed at me, then looked from Yamato to me a few times.

    "Why are you wearing a bloody apron?" The chunin demanded.

    I looked at myself. Hands covered in dried blood, apron splashed with red and bloody handprints.

    I scratched my head. Oops?






    We sat around a small table in the dining area of the camp. On the table, crumbles of cupcakes and an empty tea thermos. I was still tired, and a bit sleepy, but the sugar fix gave me a few motes of energy back into my body.

    Hayase was still giving me strange glances from time to time. Even after I removed the apron, took a bath, donned a new outfit, and made sure the blood under my nails was gone, it still didn't seem enough for him. Might be because I played that off as an everyday occasion, answering as if walking out of a madman hideout covered in blood was the most normal thing in the world.

    Huh, who would have thought that was where he drew the line.

    Yamato took a last sip of his tea, placed it down and looked at me. "Hinata-san, report." He ordered.
     
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    • I had, again, made attempts to smooth things over with Sai. I prepared breakfast —pancakes, yay— and even unpopped a few of my cupcakes. Once the food had been served, I tried to strike a conversation. It went something like this:

    "Hello Sai-kun, are you feeling better? Any trouble with the injuries?"

    I know those weren't the best ice breaking conversation starters, but I was a bit lost on what else to talk about with the guy. I thought his jutsu was cool, and was curious if his hobby was painting, but it would have been strange to ask that directly, when he was just coming out of a battle injury.

    Sai looked at me. Nodded. "I am well." He answered in a tone that made clear the conversation wasn't going anywhere.

    I wasn't going to push. Maybe I'd try a few more times, just to make sure I didn't catch him on a bad day.

    Yamato didn't let the silence linger for long. We had already finished eating when he ordered. "Report."

    That command always made fangirl-chan happy. Today wasn't any different. She was still giddy, but a more subdued kind of happy. I understood her. I'd give her a hug if I could. I saluted, then took out my board. Words flowed. There was a lot to report.

    "I finished the lab investigation. Disposed of all organic matter that wasn't fit to be stored or transported. Gathered all available information. Disassembled the computer and stored it as well."

    I gave the boys time to read my report while I wrote on the other side of the board. When I was finished, I flipped it, showing the second part of the report. "I placed explosives at the lab and am ready to trigger them at any point to make sure anything that I missed won't fall on the wrong hands."

    Well, guess what, my report wasn't that long.

    Yamato gave time for the other chunin to read before he addressed me again. "Good job Hinata-san. You'll have to coordinate with Hayase today to pack and store the vault contents. I know it's a lot to ask, but you're the only one in our team capable of creating those storage seals."

    I gave the man a nod. I didn't mind using jutsu. It was cool, and awesome, and fun.

    "Sai, report." Yamato ordered again.

    The pale boy nodded. "My scouts are keeping the area under surveillance. Nothing new to report."

    I'm guessing he wasn't direct and curt with only me. Good to know. Yamato didn't seem to mind the curt report. "Thank you Sai, and good job." Lastly, he turned to Hayase, who had leaned forward, feet bouncing. "Hayase, report." Yamato ordered again.

    "Yes, taicho!" Hayase said, engaged nerd mode, and disgorged the exposition. "Most of the information is protected by a code that is unlike anything we've seen before. It doesn't resemble anything the intelligence department is aware of. At this point, my conjecture is that we're dealing with Orochimaru's personal encryption. I haven't tried to break it yet, but even at a quick glance, that won't be easy, unless we find the cipher."

    Three heads nodded. That wouldn't be easy. Even in the before with the use of supercomputers, breaking encryption was difficult.

    "I've cataloged and listed most of the stuff in the vault. Weapons, jutsu, a lot of ledgers, money, and correspondences. Again, most of that is protected by code, but not all." Hayase stopped here, looked each of us in the eye before continuing. Was he enjoying being dramatic? "I did find, however, that Orochimaru had at least two other hideouts, maybe even up to four."

    I ransacked my brain trying to remember. Knowing that stuff should be right up my alley, but me and fangirl-chan stared in frustrated disbelief when my brain decided to play dead and turn in no memory whatsoever regarding this topic.

    "Are you sure?" Sai, who usually didn't participate much in these talks, asked.

    Hayase nodded, serious. "Yes. One of the notes that wasn't protected by code suggests there's a hideout near Kusagakure, but there were no clues to the precise location. The second hideout is a place named Southern hideout."

    Hayase pulled a rolled scroll next to his seat. I got up, cleaned the table before he made a mess. The chunin gave me a nod, then a smile, before remembering he was still freaked out with me and looking away. Silly boy.

    Yamato coughed, which was enough to dispel the awkwardness. Hayase laid the map open. It was a good version of the known lands. His fingers tapped a group of islands in the Land of Waves.

    "I'm pretty sure I know where the Southern Hideout is." He tapped the islands again. "These islands. If you look here," the chunin took a few more papers, handed them out to us, "There's mention of prisoner transportations to this facility, and this one," he handed Yamato another parchment, "even indicates where are the secret passages Orochimaru uses to reach the hideout in island."

    There was a moment of silence while we digested that information. Hayase's look of glee told me he was enjoying this.

    "Amazing work Hayase." Yamato praised. The chunin preened. "How long until you're finished with cataloging the vault's contents?"

    Hayase had started nodding even before Yamato finished his question. "I should be done with it today. The part I think will take the longest is storing everything in seals." He cast me a glance, one that had pity written all over.

    I shook my head. Silly boy, he didn't know that was the easiest, and most enjoyable part of the work. Seals were cool. I took my board, wrote my words. "If everything is already organized and prepared, it shouldn't take me long. Watch." I let the boys read the words then dug into my pouch for a small parchment. I placed it on the table, and put my finger on top of it. With an effort of will, my chakra spread over the paper, drawing squiggly black lines. After that, I took the empty thermos, placed it on the seal, activated it.

    Under three pairs of eyes, I stored my trusty thermos with my other stuff.

    Under three pairs of eyes, I gave them a V for victory.

    Under three pairs of confused eyes, my shoulders slumped. Damn, when would they start learning the cool modern symbols?

    "That's impressive Hinata-san." Yamato said when the silence stretched for too long. I just hung my head, defeated. If only they understood. Did I need to become Hokage to start some cool new trends? I shook my head. Forget it. That was sunshine's brat dream. I wanted no part of it.

    "That's decided then." Unaware of my despair, Yamato continued. "Tomorrow we leave for the Land of Waves."

    I perked up. Not Konoha?

    "Not Konoha?" Hayase mirrored my question.

    "No, this is too important to afford the delay." Yamato traced a line in the map. "We'll cut through the Land of Hot Waters. Speed is our priority now. If that facility was used to hold prisoners we need to find it as soon as possible." We nodded, but Yamato wasn't done with his orders. "Sai, I'll trouble you to contact the village with your ink constructs. You'll relay the basics of the information and request reinforcements."

    There were more technical details after that. New protocols to follow. Land of Waves was, after all, home to Kiri. Transgressing into another hidden village's domain was asking for trouble. I wasn't sure how Yamato planned to smooth things over, if he even planned to. My guess was that our best bet was to just not get found out.

    But even with all that important information being bandied about, something else was on my mind. Land of Waves means Naruto's Bridge. That made me think of Tsunami. There was this strange fluttering feeling in my belly. Silly as it might be, I wouldn't mind being mommied over again by her. Her mom's energy was top notch, and now that I decided to stop deceiving myself, I did enjoy being fussed over by her. It made me think of my own mom in the before.

    I missed her.
     
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    • 5.23 New
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    • Packing up everything left me empty of chakra and exhausted. Hayase chatted all day long about this or that code, often trying for minutes to understand some new piece of information or another. I could understand his enthusiasm, but I just wasn't feeling the same. Mental breakdowns and gruesome autopsies weren't conducive to a happy mood. Even so, I nodded at the appropriate times, displaying the appropriate level of tired, but genuine interest. I liked that stuff, after all. I think Hayase got so into his own geekness he forgot to be weirded out by me.

    That night, chakra depleted and tired, Yamato excused me from the watch rotation. I wasn't going to complain. If ordered, I would have tried, but I don't think I was in any condition to stay awake and concentrate all night.

    Warm blankets embraced me. My eyes drooped. Before I fell asleep, I pushed my chakra one last time. Another Hinata-chan joined me under the blankets. It felt nice to cuddle with her. Sleep found me soon after.






    The feeling of being watched woke me up. The side of the bed was empty, my other self dispersed when I fell asleep. I cast my senses out, trying to feel anything that could point out why this kept happening.

    Two bundles of chakra, one was the familiar earthy flavored one that I knew was Yamato. Something about that was nagging at my mind, chakra flavor? Another, this one smaller, slept in the adjacent room. By the size, I knew it was Hayase. Which left the one at the living room as Sai.

    All around, other smaller bundles of chakras were moving around the camp. Sai's ink constructs. Somehow, my sensing range seemed to have expanded, or Sai was keeping his constructs closer. While I was still looking for the source of the disturbance, Sai's chakra churned. He held the new small bundle for a while, and soon after it left the house. It flew out of my perception range. I guess Sai was doing a staggered recon area. For a moment I thought my range had gone up.

    I brushed those thoughts away, sleepiness making me think strange things. I kept searching for what had woken me up, but when I caught myself dozing for the third time, I called it a bad job, tucked back into covers, and fell asleep once more. When I catch the peeping bastard, I'd teach them a lesson.






    We departed the next morning before dawn. Yamato unsummoned his awesome portable house. I adjusted my travel bag. Somehow, it fell to me to carry all the stuff we gathered. It was just paper seals, but outside their storage, they were bulky. I think Yamato was bullying me, or maybe obfuscating the fact he left me with the laboratory data. I wasn't sure.

    Yamato turned to our team, specifically the pale boy. "Sai, please report our new plans to Konoha. We'll use the same details we discussed yesterday."

    Sai nodded, pulled out a seal scroll, pencil and ink. With a flourish, he created an ink bird. The construct flew up and landed on his shoulders. Next, Sai took a more mundane piece of parchment, and held it to the bird. The ink thing swallowed the paper, fluttered its wings, took off flying.

    I followed the construct until it left the range of my chakra perception.

    "Stay focused, we will travel fast." Yamato advised, then started running.

    We stopped a few miles later. I judged that was far enough. Yamato gave me a considering look, Hayase looked nervous, Sai was just indifferent. That was fine, it was my moment. My hands flashed, out popped a clone. She was alert and ready. Eyes sparkling and face open in a full-wicked smile. Body swaying in anticipation. I understood her, I wanted to smile myself. But I didn't. I had better self control than my clones. I adjusted my footing. Found something to hold on to quiet questing hands.

    My clone, the awesomest Bomber-chan, gave me a nod, a salute. With a quick hop my way and a devious smirk, she took me into a hug and planted a kiss on my cheek. The gall of that gal! Three pairs of startled eyes stared at me. My ears burned. Damn it. The clones were getting out of control.

    With another cheeky grin, Bomber-chan saluted the three flabbergasted boys, then flickered away. I endured their curious gazes until I knew it was time. They might have asked more than a few questions. I didn't bother with answers. Pretended I hadn't heard it. I raised my hand, fingers splayed, then lowered one by one.

    5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I hoped they understood.

    The explosion was a muted thump that shook the world. It was glorious. Even prepared as I was, I windmilled to keep my balance. There was no plume of smoke or blast of fire. The hideout was too deep underground for that, but I did see a huge swath of trees toppling in the distance. Nice! Another good memory. I needed more of those.

    Yamato had crouched, both hands on the ground for support. Sai, fast on the uptake, had copied the jounin. Hayase was still trying to ask silly questions. Served him right, now he was picking himself up from the ground. With one last salute to Bomber-chan, the ever short lived, I turned around and led the way away. They wouldn't ask questions if we kept running, right?

    This time, we weren't worried about not being seen. Our pace was fast and demanding. We kept out of traveled paths, preferring to tree hop in a direct line toward our destination. Yamato set a grueling pace even for shinobis. We didn't even stop for lunch. The devil!

    Boy was I glad I didn't arrive in Middle Earth. With my size, I'm pretty sure I'd be a hobbit and that just wouldn't do. Imagine having to run all day long without second and third breakfast, without lunch even. Madness.

    We stopped when night fell. Yamato found us another hidden place among a copse of trees and summoned up another portable house. He didn't look tired. He barely looked winded. The cheating bastard.

    I shambled inside. An entire day of running was a different sort of torture. I might have gone a bit overboard with the weight seals too. It felt good to push myself. It wasn't as bad as hell month though. Hayase looked worse than me. He all but collapsed on the first cushion he could get his hands on.

    Sai, surprisingly, didn't look all that bad. His cheeks had a bit of color. An entire day of running was all that it took to put some color back on his skin. I guess I couldn't judge by appearances. I was expecting Sai to be the one half dead, with Hayase doing better at the prolonged exercise. Teaches me to make assumptions.

    My shambling took me to the kitchen. Yamato peeked inside before I could start cooking.

    "Something light Hinata-san. It won't end well if you cook anything heavy after an entire day of physical exertion."

    I nodded. That was a shame. I was in a mood for something more complex. In the end, I made a light veggie stew. It wasn't the best, but it was tasty. I served the food, got my bowl and sat by Sai's side. The boy cast a glance at me that I couldn't really understand. What was going on inside his head?

    I sipped my soup, popped my board. Tried again to mend a bridge I don't even know how I burned. "Bit of a silly question, but is painting your hobby?" I gave the pale boy a cheeky grin. I mean, I knew the question was silly. I was trying to appeal to his sense of humor here.

    Sai looked from his food to me, to the board, to the food again. I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. "No." He answered again in a tone that screamed: stop bothering me.

    I sighed. Well, this was getting sillier by the moment. I couldn't force someone to be my friend. I wasn't about to do a Naruto and annoy the shit outta of the guy until he became my best friend. I wasn't that patient, or desperate. I tried, that was more than enough for me. If he didn't want to connect, it was his loss, not mine. Now I could badmouth him in peace in the quiet of my mind.

    Yamato had observed the whole exchange. Hayase too. Awkward. I wonder what they were thinking. I unpopped my board, picked up my food, got up and went to sit with Hayase. It was time to geek over encrypted messages and learn more about them. I would need that knowledge soon enough if I was going to decipher Orochimaru's notes. And I guess geeking out with the older chunin would help him forget to be weirded out by all that lab business.






    The grueling travel pace continued until we had crossed the Land of Hot waters and arrived near the port city we would use to reach the Land of Waves. There, we had to assume our disguises again. There wasn't much to say about that leg of the trip. We purchased more supplies, purchased passage, contacted Konoha's spies for another report and updated info. I was glad to unload on those poor spies the loot from Orochimaru's hideout. Carrying that many dangerous, and potentially valuable, seals was nerve wracking.

    I kept the ones from the lab though, for a few reasons. Yamato agreed that giving those away before I had a chance to make a copy for myself could set me back for a while. The intelligence department wasn't in the business of giving away forbidden and valuable information. Orochimaru's experimentation data was highly valuable. I also hadn't told Yamato about the changed seals. I didn't want others to know about them just yet.

    As it was expected, Konoha wasn't prepared to send a full contingent of reinforcements. The situation was a cauldron waiting to boil over back at home. The jounin commander, however, promised at least one more team to support us. It just would take some time for them to arrive. A couple of days at earliest.

    That tidbit of information didn't change our plans. Yamato was right, we couldn't delay the mission to wait for reinforcements.

    We left the port city the day after we arrived.

    It wasn't a long journey, from Hot Waters to the Land of Waves. A full day's worth with the boat we managed to get passage on. For this next part, I cut back on the weight training. It was enemy territory now, and I wanted to be in top shape for the hideout. It might take one or two days to get the soreness out of my muscles, but based on the information we had, it would take a few days to arrive at the southern hideout.

    We didn't discuss the mission, nor did we use jutsu. We were inside enemy territory now, and any lack of focus could spell disaster. Inside our quarters, we had another coded conversation. Yamato reinforced the need for secrecy now. It was best to stay under the radar than cause a political incident for the village at this critical stage.

    A day of travel later, seasick and nauseated, we arrived at Mists territory. A distant part of my mind cursed Yamato's decision to play the civilian again. Why couldn't we just run over the water until we arrived here? Another part of me was sad that our path didn't take us close to The Great Naruto's Bridge. Maybe on the way back, I hoped. Another not so distant part wondered if Fate-kun would conspire against me and put Haku on my path again. That would be funny, wouldn't it?

    Disguised as traveling companions, we left the port city. There was no running today. Our objective was to reach the coast, near where the island was, and scout from there, while we waited for the reinforcements. We could have reached there in a few hours at a ninja go brrr speed, but again, we wanted to stay unnoticed. There was no way to say if the people in the hideout had spies nearby, nor did we want to alert Kiri about our presence.

    Problem was, the world didn't want us unnoticed.

    When we were a few hours away from the city, I noticed the first bundle of chakra. Further than I normally would. Did my perception range really increase? I thought it was dumb sleepy brain thoughts. Did confronting my inner demons give me a power up? I scoffed at that last thought.

    Noticing the chakra wasn't all that uncommon, sometimes, a blip of chakra passed near my perception. It happened often enough on Konoha or on the road that a single blip wasn't really worrying. But then there was a second, and a third, and a fourth and more. Worse, they were all around us. At the distance they were, they had stopped just shy of what once was my previous sensory range.

    How? Why? What gave us away? I looked up, Sai's bird was a small black dot in the sky, barely visible. How had these shinobi escaped Sai's notice?

    Urgency building inside me, I skipped forward closer to Yamato while still keeping up with my excited daughter persona. Tapped his shoulder, hands flashing with my code. A part of me really hoped these were our promised reinforcements. Waring. Shinobi. Strong. Surrounded. Quantity unknown.

    I was expecting Yamato to try to play it cool, try to investigate. It didn't happen. The man's hand flashed with seals. Out popped two wood clones, he barked orders and all hell broke loose.

    The enemy attacked. Each I could see was dressed in a dark uniform, with no visible markings. A featureless white mask with no opening for the mouth or nose. Kunais, exploding tags, smoke bombs, enemies flickering and trying to stab us in the back. More and more chakra blazes appeared around us. From the intensity, I couldn't think of anything else than chunins and jounins. My hands trembled. I gripped a kunai in return.

    The first few moments of the ambush was utter chaos. It also managed to separate our team.

    Out popped a shadow clone, just in time to intercept a shinobi trying to stab me. I whirled, parried another attack. I flickered to avoid a thrown shuriken, only to be hit by a chunk of earth protruding from the ground. I threw my explosive, in the ensuing boom, I took two other explosive tags, threw them and flickered again. Yamato wasn't far away, but there were so many shinobi between me and him that I couldn't approach. I tried.

    I kept fighting, and injuries kept pilling. I failed to dodge a punch. A shuriken found its way into my leg. A group attack from three other ninjas left me with a kunai stuck to my sides and having to flicker wildly to escape. Not even pumping my body full of chakra was enough. No matter what I tried, the enemy was prepared. My speed, which I considered my best asset, was matched and surpassed. It was like they knew everything that I could do.

    At some point, I found myself back to back with Sai, panting and trying to catch my breath. The nausea from the seasickness hadn't left me entirely. My legs still hurt from all that running.

    Sai stumbled into me when I was being attacked by two other shinobis, with my clone too far away to help fend them off. His ink counstructs swarmed the attacking enemies, forcing them to retreat.

    Now, I guarded his back and he guarded mine. Sai looked ragged and hurt, but still in better shape than me. His ink constructs were all over the place: birds, tigers, giants and more. Great distractions, keeping the enemy busy. Giving us a chance to breathe. By this point, I was about to throw caution to the wind. Using mokuton would leave me chakra drained, but what other choice did I have?

    I was cursing myself for not having prepared a beacon for my prototype thunder god jutsu. I had no idea where Hayase was, or what happened to Yamato. At some point, they just weren't in the range of my perception anymore.

    Before I pulled the big guns and burned myself with mokuton, I whispered a question to Sai. In the original story, the chunin was someone Danzo considered a prodigy. He was also more prepared, fit and powerful in battle than Hayase, who was years older. Even here, he managed to push away enemies I was having trouble dealing with. "Do you have a plan?" The pain on my throat was nothing compared to my worry about the others.

    There was a moment of silence, then I felt a prickle of pain on my neck. My body froze, my breath hitched. I couldn't move, couldn't keep my balance. I fell down. Sai's indifferent face made its way into my field of vision. Looked down on me.

    "Yes." He answered, voice emotionless. "It's working perfectly."

    His foot found my face and darkness claimed me.





    That's it for ARC5. I hope you guys enjoyed (and will forgive me for the massive cliff.)


    Proofreader: Awesomest of cakes, CakeEight.




    Overall, what you guys think?
    I tried to add a few hints of Sai's disposition from the start, like his instant "dislike" for Hinata, or the failed attempts to create rapport. There was also a few instances of Sai "sending" his ink birds in the middle of the night that Hinata took as him just performing recon, the biggest one being on the same day they found the destroyed village.
    That day, Sai sent out birds even when wasn't his time to be on lookout.
    This last chapter, there's a bit of difference, Hinata's perception range did increased. More on why will be left for future parts of the story, but she mistook the bird flying away as him just scouting further. The key point here is the bird staying near him for a some time.
    The scene with Yamato ordering Sai to send a message was just to contrast with the part where he did the same just a few paragraphs early. Again, the key point being the bird staying on his shoulder for a moment before flying away. It was a mirror to the previous action: the bird didn't flew immediately away because Sai was giving it messages to carry.
    Not sure if I was being too subtle with my hints here. I did try. I mean, I called him Cadaver Pale Sai. Can't get more foreshadowing than that, can it?





    Thank you again for reading.
     
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    • Chapter 6: Ginger, Honey and a Dash of Purple. New
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    • Two days after the Sunagakure and Otogakure attack.



    Scattered piles of reports, slips of encrypted communication piled on a ceramic bowl, rolls of opened archived scrolls for reference, drawings, analysis, speculations, facts. Nara Shikaku's mind churned with cause and effect, choices and possibilities. He considered what he knew and the Third Hokage's last request.

    A knock at the door disturbed his concentration. The person outside didn't wait to be invited in. Inoichi's face looked even more drawn in and hard. His long-time friend pulled a chair and sat in front of Shikaku's desk, back pressing against the chair's rest, face turned to the ceiling, eyes closed.

    "You owe me a big one." Inoichi said without opening his eyes.

    Shikaku pulled back on his chair, hands resting on the desk. He waited. He knew his friend. There would be more said.

    Inoichi looked down. His face was even more haggard. "Ino will never forgive me if she learns of this. She's taken with Hinata."

    Shikaku shook his head, eyes finding the picture of his wife and son on the desk. He knew all too well how women could make life a living hell. He tore his gaze away from the images. It wasn't time to reminisce. "What did you find?"

    Inoichi shrugged. "Nothing we didn't already know." The jounin looked around.

    Shikaku noticed those details. His fingers moved, one of their signals from their time on the same team. 'Safe, private, speak freely.'

    "She's hiding something. I can't enter her mind. I don't believe she has any harmful intentions toward Konoha. I don't believe she's a willing spy, if she's a spy at all." The man shrugged. "I've read the reports, same as you did. They didn't let us make any attempts to earn her trust, why is the council now mad that she's keeping her secrets?"

    "Your opinion then?" It was just a formality. Shikaku already knew his friend's answer.

    "I'm endorsing her promotion to Chunin. It's the least I can do after interrogating her like that."

    Shikaku took a piece of paper, handed it over.

    "You're sending her away then?"

    The jounin commander looked at the pile of papers and reports again. "That's the best option we have."






    One day after Hinata left for her mission.



    "Those were not your orders." Mitokado Homura's calm voice wasn't enough to hide the man's dissatisfaction. "You were told to apprehend the girl, not promote her."

    Shikaku glanced from Homura to his counterpart, Koharu. As he often did these days, he wondered if they indeed held Konoha's best interests in mind, or about their fixation with Hinata. Those two, along with Danzo, have pushed for more drastic measures since day one.

    Shikaku shrugged. "I followed my orders."

    Koharu shifted on her seat, permanent squinting eyes and frowny face not making it easy to read the woman's mood. "Those were not—"

    It seemed it was now time for Koharu to push her rhetoric. Shikaku was tired of this. There was so much to do. He had to appease the Hyuga, send delegations to Sunagakure and Kirigakure to sound for an alliance, send a formal diplomatic mission to Iwagakure and Kumogakure. There might still be a chance to avoid war altogether. Some of the new information provided by Lord Jiraiya was a concern not only to Konoha. And yet, those two kept taking his time with pointless questions.

    "The Third Hokage's orders." He interrupted. The councilmen looked at each other, a thousand words with a glance.

    He considered saying more. Maybe appeal to their sense and explain the looming crisis. Or maybe remind them they couldn't order him around like they seem to think they could. In the end, he didn't have the time or patience. Shikaku's goal was to hold the fort until a new Hokage was appointed. After that, he could dump this pile into their lap and return to his real work.

    He got up and left the meeting room without being dismissed, his mind already preoccupied with the more pressing issues. However, a nagging thought kept returning to his mind: both councilmen were acting, in many ways, the same way when Danzo was still a council member. Had the man left at all?






    Around two weeks after the start of Hinata's mission.



    Not for the first time, Shikaku tried to decipher the mystery that Hinata was. How had she known about Danzo's actions and plans? Even Danzo had been taken by surprise by that knowledge. The old traitor reacted fast when an ANBU squad was assembled to interrogate him, but not fast enough to get rid of all the evidence.

    The details of ROOT activity, human experimentation, forbidden seals to ensure compliance, plans to deal with the Uchiha clan. Worse yet, the confirmation that he had a stolen Sharingan beneath that bandaged face. One that no one could trace the source of. None of the clan's records had information about a missing eye. By all accounts, every dead Uchiha was accounted for.

    In the end, how had Hinata known? He read the transcription of her reports. Seven years ago, Hinata already knew about Akatsuki, even pointed them out by name and described some of their members, as well Orochimaru's involvement with that group. She also implied they were behind the Kyuubi attack eleven years ago.

    Shikaku could understand the many frustrated egos regarding this situation. Hinata's secrets could be invaluable. And instead of fostering her trust, the council made sure she was alienated. Shikaku put the paper down, looked back at the picture of his loving, fierce wife. Was this their plan all along? Drive Hinata away from the village?

    A knock interrupted his thoughts. Shikaku shelved that analysis to pick it up again later. He hid the secret reports, all the confidential information, disabled the privacy seal. Once he was ready, he called out. "Come in."

    The visitor was one of the Intelligence department chunin in charge of external communication. The boy had a rolled up parchment in his hand. "A report from Yamato, sir."

    Shikaku waved the boy closer, took the still sealed parchment. "Thank you." He dismissed, mind already full with the implications. Once the chunin left, he broke the seal and read the report.

    It was surprisingly light on details. They found a hideout, cleared the place, found a lead to a second place in Kirigakure where Orochimaru kept prisoners. Something about the report bothered Shikaku. He got up from his desk, moved to the door. Poked his head out. The intelligence room was still the same, frantic organized chaos it ever was.

    "I need to speak with Hatake Kakashi, send a bird, please?"

    He didn't wait for a response. Shikaku got back to his table and started to consider options. Who could he send? If he wanted to change things and start fostering Hinata's loyalty, a familiar face would be preferable. Kakashi, perhaps? He discarded that idea. Kakashi's expertise was needed elsewhere. Naruto was away with Lord Jiraiya, searching for Tsunade. Sasuke wasn't in any condition to travel, the young Uchiha's heir suffering from some unknown malediction.

    That left only one option. Inoichi would have his head for this.

    Before he got up, he felt the presence in his room. He looked up. Kakashi was inside his office, leaning by the door. Never one to abide by protocol, that one. He met with the detached eyes of the white haired jounin. "Thank you for coming. I need your expertise." He got up, walked closer and handed Kakashi the report from Yamato.

    Kakashi read the report, then reread it. "ANBU code. There isn't much aside from that he couldn't put that information on the report. Too dangerous for long distance communication."

    Shikaku sighed. That didn't make things easy. More plans started to form. Could he still send Ino's team?

    "I heard of your disagreement with the council," Kakashi's voice interrupted Shikaku's thoughts.

    The jounin commander looked back at Team Seven's leader, all too aware of Kakashi's opinion regarding Hinata. "I fear that's a mistake we'll all pay for." He didn't say more. There was no need.

    Kakashi nodded. Turned and left without saying anything else. Shikaku made up his mind. Poked his head out of the door again. "Please send a bird for Sarutobi Azuma. There's a new urgent mission for his team."

    Maybe he could still salvage this situation.
     
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    • 6.2.i New
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    • "Pack up, we're leaving for a mission."

    Ino looked up from her food to Asuma-sensei. The trio had started eating while they waited for their teacher. The man looked haggard and tired. He hadn't even sat down yet and was already dropping bombs. Team Ten was at their usual barbeque place, Yakiniku Q. Choji was stuffing his face like usual, Shikamaru looked even more annoyed than normal.

    "Troublesome."

    Choji despaired. "What? No! We just started lunch!"

    Ino put the chopsticks down, cleaned her mouth with a napkin. She was as annoyed, if not more so, than the rest of the team, but there was no need to be immature about it. "What is the mission?"

    Asuma-sensei looked at the table, the food, and the empty chair that was his usual place. He sighed, sat down. "Another team has requested reinforcements for an infiltration, asset acquisition and possible extraction mission."

    Shikamaru scowled. "Why the hell are they sending us?"

    Asuma-sensei sighed again, lit a cigarette. "Short staffed."

    Shikamaru's scowl didn't go away. Ino knew him well enough to know that they would only waste time if she didn't change the talk to something more productive. "What are the mission details? What do we need to prepare?"

    Asuma-sensei nipped the cigarette at the table. He hadn't taken a single puff. He looked at the food, took a piece of meat, chewed, spoke after he swallowed. "The details are confidential and are not to be discussed outside our team. Not to friends, family, or any other shinobi that might ask, do you understand?"

    Ino nodded. Shikamaru shrugged. Choji stuffed his face even more.

    Asuma-sensei placed both hands on the table. "About two weeks ago, a team left looking for the hideout of the enemy that attacked Konoha. They—"

    "A single four-man cell?" Shikamaru interrupted. Ino glared at the chunin, but he wasn't paying attention to her; his face was grave. Asuma-sensei's answer was a single nod. "A full complement of jounin?" Sensei shook his head. "Shit."

    "The team succeeded. They found the hideout, and there, they found information about where captured enemies are kept. The jounin in command sent a notice requesting reinforcements, and his team went ahead to scout and prepare a plan of attack in this new location."

    "What will we be up against?" Ino asked.

    Asuma-sensei shrugged. "No idea. The first place they found was teeming with traps but abandoned. There was some experiment gone wrong rampaging nearby, which they put down. There was no information on whether this new place was still in use or what defenses there were."

    "Who is the other team? What are their capabilities? What do we need to prepare?" Shikamaru shot in quick succession.

    "A jounin and three chunin. The jounin's name is Yamato, age twenty-four. Graduated from the academy at six, and was promoted to chunin that same year. He has the same ability as the first Hokage to control wood."

    Choji dropped his food. Shikamaru cursed. Ino didn't know what to think. Chunin at six? What sort of bullshit was that?

    "Hayase, age eighteen. Member of the intelligence department. From the mission briefing I received, his main role is support. Data analysis and strategy."

    "Sai, age fourteen. Combat ninjutsu specialist. Can summon an array of ink constructs, which he uses for communication, recon, and combat."

    Asuma-sensei stopped, looked at the rest of the team, then fixed his eyes on Ino. Her stomach churned. She didn't like the look in his eyes.

    "Hinata, age twelve. Logistics specialist."

    Choji choked on his food. It was Ino's time to scowl. From what she understood, the mission was almost like a suicide one; why the hell was Hinata involved? Was that because of her storage seals? Ino knew they were good; she saw them often enough to know it wasn't the normal fare. And chunin, since when? Was this what her father was hiding from her? Ino knew him well enough to know something had happened and he was keeping it a secret.

    Choji removed the food from his mouth only to stick his foot. "Hinata? Why? She lost to Naruto. What's she doing on such a mission? And since when is she a chunin?"

    Shikamaru face-palmed. Ino just shook her head. Asuma-sensei's face, however, was grave.

    "Hinata, age twelve. Logistic specialist." The man repeated, eyes not leaving Choji. "Former member of the Hyuga clan, proficient at combat, can use shadow clones, can use jutsu without hand seals, is effectively immune to genjutsu. Like Yamato, she can use mokuton. She fought and killed three chunin during the attack. She killed the full Otogakure team during the Forest of Death preliminary exam, fought and survived a battle against an S-Rank missing-nin, fought and survived against an A-Rank missing-nin on her first mission outside the village. Created a new type of explosive tag with at least five times the yield of normal ones. Created a new type of storage seal that can store four times more while using three times less space."

    The silence stretched. No one said anything.

    Asuma-sensei pressed. "Yes, that Hinata." He sighed. "Look, Choji, I know you're trying, but yes, that silly-looking, happy-go-lucky girl who likes to give candy to everyone is the most dangerous person on that team beside the jounin. You can't judge a ninja just from their appearance. Hinata has done an excellent job of building a harmless persona. Don't be tricked like many others."

    Ino disagreed with Asuma's assessment. She didn't believe for a second that Hinata was putting on an act. That was just how she was. Ino's lips curled into a smile. It was fitting, she guessed. Cute on the outside, deadly when provoked. Like an adorable kitten.

    "What are you smiling about?" Choji complained. "You got tricked by her too!"

    Asuma got up and lit another cigarette. "Finish eating, pack up everything you think might help. We'll meet at the mission hall in one hour." He didn't wait for their response and flickered away.

    "What? No!" Choji cried out. "What about dessert?"

    "How troublesome," Shikamaru complained again.

    Ino pushed the food away. Her appetite was gone. "See you guys in a bit." She turned around, left for her house. One hour wasn't enough time to prepare. She took to the roofs, or as Hinata liked to say, Konoha's Shinobi exclusive lanes. Ino rolled her eyes and smiled. Strange. When did remembering Hinata's silliness become nostalgic?

    She dropped at the store entrance and rushed inside. Her mother was at the counter; there were no clients in the store. "Mom, I got a mission. It's confidential. I'm leaving in one hour." She didn't wait for an answer. She rushed up to her room and started packing.

    Kunai, explosives, wire, parchment, makeup, skincare, haircare, bandages—she made sure the essentials were secured. Her eyes found the letter Naruto had delivered a few weeks back. She took it, read the neatly written letters, pulled the parchment closer, smelled it—cherry blossoms. Another smile came to Ino's face. Hinata wasn't one to use perfume herself, but it was a nice touch to send a perfumed parchment.

    She folded the letter again, then, after a moment of deliberation, stored it in her pouch as well. Lastly, she packed the few remaining seals she received from Hinata. Those were supposed to last for months. Hinata knew she might be away for a long time. Ino was ashamed to admit she might have… over indulged. Maybe just a bit.

    "That's fine." She said to no one in particular. "Just need to help her finish the mission and return. Then I can get more."
     
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    • Hidden in the tree's canopy, squirrel-Ino nibbled the nut, looked at the lone shinobi in the clearing.

    The shinobi wore the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit with a green haori and white trimmings over it. She had a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped twice around the waist. She wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as the kimono. The hair gathered in a white bun holder while two locks fell loose, framing a beautiful face. A dainty hand pulled the hair out of the girl's face. The nail polish on her fingernails matched her toenails—soft blue-green. The shinobi wore a black forehead protector with the Kirigakure's symbol.

    This whole mission had become a mess of untold proportions. Konoha's spies, who should have greeted them at the port city, prepared Team Ten disguise and transportation, were AWOL. That forced Team Ten to water-run the whole night to reach the main island.

    The main island wasn't any better. Kirigakure shinobi squads fighting each other and attacking without provocation, aggressive locals, corrupt officials—it was one problem after another. What should have taken four days had turned into a week-long slog of hiding, evading, or fleeing enemies. Now, they arrived at the meeting point, only to find a lone Kiri shinobi waiting for them.

    It had to be a trap, but it was so out there that Ino wasn't sure, not anymore.

    The shinobi description also sparked something in her mind. Maybe something Hinata said? Ino wasn't sure. Squirrel-Ino took one last nibble of the treat, then she released the jutsu, already regretting not having finished eating the acorn. Now back where her body rested and her team was gathered, she organized her thoughts. "There's a single Kirigakure shinobi waiting there in the open. I don't think it's a trap."

    Asuma-sensei scratched his chin, gave them new orders. "I'll meet with them. Get ready to back me up if things go south."

    Team Ten moved into formation, with Ino ready to use her family jutsu again, Shikamaru to take over the enemy's shadow, and Choji to smash, if needed.

    Ino didn't like this situation. Political considerations aside, why was a Kirigakure shinobi waiting where Hinata's team was supposed to be? A gnawing pit of worry ravaged her stomach. She felt sick. Her hands itched.

    Asuma-sensei walked inside the clearing. The target noticed him. Waved. The jounin stopped a few paces away. Words were exchanged.

    "Can you hear what they're saying?" Ino found herself asking Shikamaru. The genin shook his head. Ino bit her lip, eyes scanning the surroundings for an ambush.

    Down in the clearing, Asuma turned toward them, signaled to approach. Ino moved from her position until she was by Asuma's side.

    "This is my team." Sensei said, gesturing to each in turn. "Shikamaru, Ino and Choji."

    The shinobi, a pretty teenage girl a few years older than Ino, looked at each of them in turn. Bowed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Haku."

    That name was familiar. Shikamaru tsked, looked away. Choji looked smitten. Ino tilted her head. The memory was almost there. Then she remembered; a conversation Hinata mostly glossed over. As usual, the mute girl was more interested in talking about the sweets and the people who got to eat them. "That Haku?" The words escaped her mouth. It wouldn't be that same person, would it? That Haku wasn't a Kirigakure shinobi, but allied with a missing-nin named Zabuza. No, wait, what was it that Hinata said? That Haku pretended to be a Kirigakure shinobi, but they had become somewhat friends by the end.

    Asuma turned her way, one eyebrow up.

    "Do we know each other?" Haku's melodious voice asked.

    Ino blinked, shuffled under their scrutiny. She got distracted. "Ah, no. A friend told me about someone she met once with that name." How was she supposed to pass on the information to Asuma-sensei without causing a commotion? Ino regretted not dedicating more time to learn and train her family jutsu. If she'd only learned that one that let her send mental messages to her teammates.

    "Haku is a representative of Kirigakure," Asuma said, his voice neutral. "We're invited to meet with one of their leaders regarding an incident from a few days ago."

    Choji, who had finally stopped looking at Haku's face, asked. "Which incident?"

    "A group of unknown shinobi caused a commotion nearby." Another voice answered. Ino turned to look. This time it was a tall, muscular man with grayish skin and short spiky black hair. He wore bandages like a mask, covering the lower part of his face, and the forehead protector sideways. He wore a black shirt and trousers under a gray flak jacket. A huge sword on his back. Ino noticed, the man was missing an arm.

    Asuma was instantly on guard, he moved between his team and the newcomer, trench knife in hand. Tension skyrocketed at the newcomer's arrival.

    "You're Momochi Zabuza!" Ino blurted out.

    For the second time, all eyes were on her. The man, she remembered his nickname now, Demon of the Mist, chuckled. It was creepy. "Even little girls know of me now? I'm flattered."

    "You're a missing-nin, what are you doing here?" Ino blurted.

    Zabuza looked at them, posture relaxed, like facing a whole team from Konoha wasn't an issue. "That's a topic we can discuss in another place. You'll come with us. There's someone that wants to meet you."

    Asuma's face was serious. "And what if we don't?"

    The missing-nin shrugged, unimpressed. His sole hand went to the sword pommel, and he gripped it. "Then someone will die."

    Before things could escalate further, Haku sighed. "You're doing this on purpose." She cursed. "Are you still holding a grudge?"

    Zabuza released the sword and chuckled again. Still creepy. "An unknown enemy force attacked a group of shinobi from Konohagakure. Two of yours escaped the ambush. One of them is injured and not in condition to travel. We found them, took them in."

    Ino's heart rate spiked. Was that Hinata's team? And only two? What happened to the other two? "Are you keeping them hostages?"

    It was Haku who answered. She shook her head. "No, but also yes."

    Asuma-sensei gripped his trench knives tighter, Shikamaru cursed under his breath. Choji complained. "What is that supposed to mean?"

    "The fourth Mizukage learned about this incident, and has taken an interest in our guests."

    Ino remembered her lessons. Karatachi Yagura was considered a bloody, despotic leader, and the reason why Kirigakure was also known as Bloody Mist. "What does he want with them?"

    "What do you think, little girl?" Zabuza mocked. "What does a bloody tyrant do with spies from an enemy village?"

    "What Zabuza is trying to say," Haku interrupted again before things could escalate, "Is that unless we do something about it, the two Konohagakure shinobi are in deep trouble."

    "You're talking about a coup." Shikamaru, who had been silent until now, spoke. "And you're using Konoha shinobi as leverage to force our hand."

    Zabuza looked at Shikamaru. "Look at that. At least one of these brats can think."

    "I'm not a brat," Ino muttered, but no one paid her any attention.

    "We'll follow you." Asuma-sensei said finally, "But if there is any sign of treachery, we'll end you."

    Zabuza laughed. He turned to Asuma-sensei. "Sarutobi Asuma. You were in my bingo book. But you're no Sharingan Kakashi. I may have lost an arm, but you're still no match for me." His gaze turned to the rest of the team; it was intense and full of madness.

    Sweat beaded on Ino's brow, she could barely breathe. A wave of dread washed over her. She wanted to scream, and she wanted to flee. Her legs felt weak, she felt like spilling her guts.

    "And these brats are useless. A bit of killing intent and they're already quaking like little ducks."

    Before Ino could do anything, Hinata's face flashed in her mind. She remembered that one time she asked the mute girl about the person who attacked her in the forest. The one now Ino knew was an S-Class shinobi. She remembered Hinata's faraway look and shudder. She also remembered that Hinata fought and survived.

    "Stop it, or I'll put you down," Asuma growled.

    Ino bit down on the insides of her cheek. Coppery taste filled her mouth, but the need to flee lessened. "Who— " she started, coughed. "Who are you keeping hostage?"

    Zabuza gave her a considering look. The wave of dread lessened and then disappeared entirely. "The Mokuton Shinobi and the injured guy he was lugging around."

    The world fell from under Ino's feet at his words.
     
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    • The evil turtle roared in the distance, soon followed by yet more explosions.

    Ino wiped the blood off her mouth with her one good hand. She tried moving the other, winced at the pain. She'd been too late to release the jutsu, suffered some of the damage as well.

    Out in the distance, the chaos of battle was dying down. The gigantic three-tailed spiky turtle was finally defeated, with limbs bound in wood, and the parts not tied down covered in boiling lava. It was a mess. How did a simple meeting with that woman, Terumi Mei, turn into such a disaster?

    She looked around, tears falling from her eyes. The field was in ruins, littered with craters and bodies and blood.

    "You're alright?" Choji's hoarse voice found Ino's ears. She heard sniffling, then a muffled sob. "I thought… I thought."

    Ino looked up from where her body had been propped against a rock. Choji's chakra still burned in soft blue light, covering his fists, sprouting from his back, like butterfly wings. The chubby boy was no more. He looked gaunt, like someone who lived a lifetime of starvation.

    "Thank—" He started, but his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he toppled forward.

    "Choji!" Ino cried out, tried to get up, then cried out again. One of her legs was broken, bent in the wrong direction. She looked around. There was no one near her that she trusted to help. She couldn't find Shikamaru or Asuma-sensei.

    Gritting her teeth, Ino crawled closer to the unconscious boy. Time was of the essence here. She crawled to his side and, once there, dug into his pockets and pouches until she found the antidote. She pried open Choji's mouth and put the small pill inside. With luck, it would be enough to cancel the effects of his clan's secret medicine.

    Ino tried to stand, but her arm gave away, and she fell on top of Choji. She didn't try to get up again. It hurt too much, and she was too tired. The last thing she thought was: At least now Choji can say a beauty fell all over him.






    Ino gripped her crutches with white-knuckled fingers. Choji was still unconscious, but not in danger anymore. Shikamaru had suffered injuries, but his injuries were the least serious of the team. Asuma-sensei's injuries were serious, but the man behaved like they were nothing at all. With the three of them was the other Konoha shinobi, the mokuton user called Yamato.

    The man looked even more haggard than Choji had been. Dark circle under his already large dark eyes. His uniform was in need of serious repair, and the blotches of dried blood glared against the green color of the flak jacket.

    Ino wasn't supposed to be here. By all accounts, she should be in bed, resting. But she had to hear it.

    "We were attacked by a large force of shinobi, at least a dozen." Yamato said, shoulders slump. "Somehow, the enemy knew our team's capabilities, and how to disable my tracking method. Soon after the battle started, I lost track of Sai and Hinata."

    "Is she—" Ino choked. Eyes turned toward her, but she couldn't finish the question.

    Yamato shook his head. "Unlikely." He looked around, like searching for an invisible person. "Haku told me disturbing news that might be tied to this. For years now, bloodlimit shinobi have gone missing. They suspect the same group is responsible for the ambush."

    Ino worked her jaw, trying to speak through a full throat. "And you think they took her because of her ability to manipulate wood?"

    Yamato cast a brief glance at Asuma-sensei. Ino didn't miss the silent communication between both jounin. "It could be," he said finally.

    Ino pressed. "Can't you locate her? You said you had a way to track your team."

    Asuma looked at her. Shook his head. "Ino, enough."

    "My tracking method only lasts for a certain period of time," Yamato admitted, looking away. "With the ease Hinata-san seal's provided, we kept everything stored. All her personal items were lost in the ambush."

    With trembling hands, Ino took the envelope from her pouch, then the perfumed letter from inside it. Under intense eyes, she took the seals with the stored cupcakes. "Could we track her with this? She gave me this before leaving for her mission."






    Ino stood at the cubicle entrance, hands gripping the forehead protector and black shirt that were part of Hinata's outfit. She noticed the patches of dried blood scattered on the ground and walls. Her eyes fixed on the bloody chains hung from the ceiling. Was this where they kept her? Was this where they tortured her? Ino's chest hurt. She had trouble breathing.

    With the letter and seals and a lot of effort, a hunter team from Kirigakure managed to track down this hidden prison. Only the place was already empty. There were signs of battle outside and inside. Blood, explosion and discarded items that hadn't been taken away. Among those, they found the remains of Hinata's clothing. Remains that Ino now clung to her chest.

    They knew that, somehow, Hinata had managed to escape the cell. Yamato confirmed the dead shinobis outside had the hallmark of Hinata's explosions all around. There was also another trail that led away, one that ended up near a cave a few hours out. There were a lot more trails, other shinobi in pursuit. But from there, the trails just disappeared. It was like Hinata vanished out of thin air. What did her captors do to prevent her from being tracked? There were no signs of struggle at the end of the trail. How had they taken Hinata again, and where had they taken her after?

    Asuma-sensei approached, placed a hand on Ino's shoulder. The touch should have been comforting, but it wasn't. Ino held in a shudder.

    "Come, Ino. We have to leave. We're returning to Konoha."

    Ino didn't look away from the bloody chains. Her voice was flat. "Are they giving up on her?"

    "No," Asuma-sensei said after a brief pause. "But the trail has gone cold. Without any new clues, there's nothing we can do here. Returning to Konoha and reporting the situation is our best bet."

    Excuses after excuses. They were giving up. Ino knew it in her gut. She nodded, turned, and left.






    The mission to Kirigakure was reclassified as S-Rank. Her first S-Rank mission, and Ino couldn't muster the will to care about it. Her dad tried to talk about it, but Ino ignored the attempt. She hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done to Hinata. Her mother hinted she was there if Ino needed anything, but it felt hollow.

    In the days following her return to Konoha, Ino talked less and less with her friends, spending more and more time training. Sometimes, she'd meet with Naruto, who had also returned from a month-long trip. He cried when he heard the news. Ino cried telling him the news.

    A few times, she met with Sasuke, who was still sick, but getting better. More often, she met with Sakura, but her friend was distracted. Ino knew the signs: Boy trouble, and it wasn't Sasuke.

    A new Hokage was appointed, Ino didn't participate in the ceremony. Shikamaru was promoted to chunin, Ino wasn't in the mood to celebrate with her team.

    It was silly, but all Ino could think about was getting stronger. If she were stronger, she could look for her friend on her own. If she were stronger, Choji wouldn't have to eat his clan's secret medicine to protect her. If she were stronger, Hinata wouldn't need to leave Ino behind.

    She punched the wooden dummy again. Her fist was bloodied. The tears hadn't stopped falling.

    Ino knew it was irrational. She didn't care.
     
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