Suiren, Chapter Thirteen: Wolves… (Draft 2)

Okay, here’s the lowdown: this draft of ‘Wolves’ includes a number of small edits throughout the chapter, as well as some slight tweaking of the Kurenai section. No, i didn’t change how events actually transpired, but hopefully the background behind them is a bit clearer now, without being too overly exposition-ey. I’m still not comfortable with knowledgeable and savvy characters like Kurenai thinking so hard about things that they would normally take for granted, simply for the purpose of enlightening the audience, but… eh… perhaps this will work -_-;…

 
 
 

Looking up from her mostly empty notepad, Hachimaki Kaede lifted the right earcup of her headphones and turned to peer over her shoulder. A moment later the door behind her swung open, revealing a tall, slender brunette in a cross-striped green kimono.

Hachimaki Momiji offered a silent smile, shutting the door and holding up a tray laden with crackers and tea. Relaxing, Kaede let her attention return to conversation going on in her other ear, while out of the corner of her eye she saw her twin set down the tray and begin undressing.

When Momiji was finished, the other girl pulled out a chair at the end of the security console and sat down, putting her feet up. In a nod to modesty, she’d let her hair down so that her dark locks fell over the front of her mesh undershirt, but she hadn’t donned the rest of her armor, leaving her in her underwear.

Kaede breathed a tiny sigh, but didn’t comment. Instead, she gave her sister a probing look. “So?” she demanded expectantly.

A childish grin split Momiji’s face. “She looks well. She’s cut her hair short again; it’s cute!” Beaming in anticipation, Momiji crossed her arms over her chest and cast a bemused glance at the ceiling. “The Hyuuga girl is cute too; not at all what I was expecting.”

Kaede nodded. She was also having a hard time reconciling the cold, merciless ‘Hyuuga Clan’ of her grandmother’s stories with the timid, earnest-sounding girl that their Sakura-chan so obviously adored- and on the topic of mind-bending revelations: “If you think that’s wrong, you should’ve been here a second ago; Sakura-chan’s got a mouth on her like you wouldn’t believe!”

From Momiji’s squint, it was clear that she didn’t believe. Kaede elaborated, “They were undressing to bathe, and the Hyuuga girl must have shown Sakura-chan something pretty shocking, because she just lost it; she started cursing like a sailor, and then the Hyuuga started cracking up and swearing as well, and they… hey! It’s true! I’m not joking!” Stiffening in annoyance, Kaede glared at her sister.

“Okay, okay- I believe you!” Covering her smirk with one hand, Momiji turned mirth-filled brown eyes to the darkened bank of screens in front of them. “Do we really need to leave the monitors off?” she asked slyly. “It’s all girls here.”

“I guess not,” Kaede conceded with a reluctant frown. Normally, Kaede preferred to let Sakura have as much privacy as possible when she visited the castle- especially since she’d become a self-conscious, body-conscious, boy-conscious and all-around slightly neurotic teenager.

This time, though, Kaede was worried. In Sakura and Hinata’s voices, she could practically feel the tension that filled the steamy air of the bathroom above, and several of the half-said things that had passed between the two young kunoichi were more than a little troubling. Leaning down, Kaede switched on the monitors and external speakers.

“-Besides,” the slowly warming image of Sakura rumbled in a throaty, predatory purr, “maybe I’m a bad girl who deserves to be punished.” Sinuously wrapping her wet, naked body around her furiously blushing companion, Sakura punctuated her words with a physical exclamation point, grinning hungrily and wiggling in a way that almost made it look like she was grinding her hips against the other girl’s stomach.

“S-s-saa-Sakura-chan?!” Hyuuga Hinata sputtered, and Kaede noted with half a mind that Hinata was indeed very cute. Short black hair and a round, honest face framed a pair of huge, expressive silvery eyes that didn’t look threatening at all when they were brimming with shock and panic. Squirming helplessly, the poor girl was so red, it looked like she might burst into flame at any moment. “W-wait! I-”

Coming to her senses, Kaede lunged forward and stabbed the master kill switch. Instantly, the screens went dark and silent, but not before they caught a glimpse of Sakura slithering around Hinata’s body to place her lips at her quivering captive’s ear. It was a terrible, tantalizing image, and Kaede almost wished she had waited just a moment longer, but that was just- she couldn’t believe that Sakura was-

Coughing sheepishly, Kaede folded her hands in her lap and stared at the floor, ignoring her roiling stomach and burning cheeks and the way her sister’s glassy, uncomprehending eyes were still glued to screen. After a long, long moment that felt like it teetered on the edge of a yawning precipice, Momiji finally shook herself and took her feet off of the console.

“Well… I guess she finally got over that Uchiha kid…”

 
 
 

WOLVES…

 
 
 

“Sakura-chan?”

“Hmm?”

Looking up, Hinata found Sakura kneeling at her side, staring down at her watchfully. The pink-haired girl seemed less flustered than earlier, but her listless posture told Hinata that her mood hadn’t really improved. Sakura tried to put on a reassuring smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Hinata forgot what she was going to say as a stab of guilt tightened her chest. The dizziness and fatigue had faded, and she probably could have gotten up long ago, but there she was, still lying on chilly bathroom floor, putting Sakura through hell while she tried to figure out how the atmosphere had gotten so awkward.

‘I love you too, Hinata-chan.’

Quickly averting her gaze, Hinata felt the temperature rise by several degrees as the memory washed over her like a physical thing, all breath and touch and ravenous green eyes. Hinata didn’t know how to feel about Sakura’s… attack, and it pained her that she couldn’t think of it any other way. She was almost certain that Sakura didn’t mean it that way, but-

Of course Hinata had heard the rumors that Sakura was attracted to girls, and that she’d… done things with the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. It was almost impossible for her to ignore the rumors, since Kiba had started them, but Kiba swore by his claims and Hinata didn’t believe that he’d originally borne Sakura any malice.

Still, it was possible that Kiba was mistaken. Hinata had wanted to keep an open mind, but her own bias had outed itself when Sakura asked her how she felt about it. ‘I- I like you a lot, Sakura chan! But not like- I mean, I really admire you!’ At least Sakura hadn’t taken it badly. In fact, Sakura seemed content to let Hinata believe that she liked girls, as long as Hinata still liked her.

That was the part that confused Hinata. Since they’d arrived at the bath, the pink-haired girl had given every indication that she was very sensitive about Hinata’s opinion of her. Sakura had been on the verge of tears after accidentally revealing her impressively crude vocabulary, and she’d grown even more skittish and agitated while they were washing, culminating in that painfully earnest plea for Hinata’s feelings.

Hinata was starting to suspect that Sakura was just hypersensitive in general- but if Sakura was actually attracted to her, then she might be over-thinking. She needed to figure out which it was before she made matters worse. Biting her lower lip, Hinata forced herself to look at Sakura again. “Sakura-chan… Um, W-why did you-”

Squirming uncomfortably under her friend’s curious gaze, Hinata wasn’t able to finish, but Sakura seemed to get the idea. A terrific, cherry-red blush spread from the tops of the other girl’s shoulders to the bottom of her limp coral bangs. “I’m so sorry, Hinata-chan!” Sakura blurted, flush with mortification. “I- I just…”

Trailing off, Sakura looked away, and Hinata had a premonition of doom. As quickly as it had risen, the room temperature suddenly plummeted to sub-arctic levels as a shroud of melancholy descended upon the pink-haired girl.

“I don’t know,” Sakura whispered, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Holding up her hands, Sakura stared at them like they belonged to a stranger- some disgusting criminal. “It’s just-” Turning to Hinata, Sakura’s haunted gaze sent a wave of goose bumps crawling over the pale girl’s skin.

“You’re so shy,” Sakura accused, wringing a flinch from the cowering kunoichi. “And you’re so cute, and you refuse to see how great you are! It just makes me want to-” Swallowing, Sakura closed her eyes tightly. “-to grab you and tease you and make you blush and cry and melt in embarrassment.” Hugging her shoulders, Sakura hung her head in shame.

For a moment, Hinata couldn’t think of anything to say. She had been hoping that Sakura was just overreacting, but… wow; that’s what was bothering her? Hinata almost started laughing, but she knew Sakura would take that badly.

Sakura really was incredible. That someone so self-conscious could be so warm and open and passionate… it gave Hinata hope, even as her heart ached with sympathy. It also made her feel a little bit guilty; Hinata was secretly glad that Sakura wasn’t strong all the time, since it gave her a chance to help her friend.

Gathering herself, Hinata took a deep breath and fixed Sakura with a determined frown. “Then… you don’t like me?” she asked, her voice tinged with real hurt.

Lost in a maze of self-doubt (a feeling Hinata understood all too well), Sakura didn’t react immediately, but when she did it was explosive. “Wha- NO!” Sputtering in surprise, Sakura whipped around to stare at Hinata, flinging water droplets from her hair. Leaning in close, Sakura planted one hand beside Hinata’s hip. “No! Hinata-chan, that’s not it at all!” she denied, tears finally coming. “I like you a lot! I just-”

“-like to tease?” Hinata supplied helpfully. “Even people you like?”

“Yes!”

Reaching over, Hinata hesitantly placed her hand on top of Sakura’s, bracing herself like she was about to grab a livewire. To her relief, Sakura didn’t actually explode, but her pulse almost vibrated under Hinata’s palm. “Then it’s okay,” Hinata declared. This time Hinata did allow herself a tiny giggle as Sakura’s face went slack with disbelief.

“No it’s not!” Sakura screeched, as if the idea of Hinata forgiving her was unthinkable.

“Why not?”

“B-because you fainted, Hinata-chan!” Sakura huffed in exasperation.

Hinata felt the tension creep back into her shoulders at this unexpected resistance. “I… yes, but that’s-” That accusation was harder to brush off; she had fainted, after all. Hinata certainly didn’t like fainting, and Sakura had embarrassed her on purpose.

“That’s not your fault,” Hinata finished lamely. “I’m just-” Struggling with the words, Hinata gave Sakura’s hand a squeeze, willing her to understand. “S-sometimes I get… anxious around people I like. I get so scared I might say or do something wrong that I can’t- I can’t do anything. B-but I want to get better! I want to be strong enough to-”

Hinata was surprised when she felt Sakura’s hand turn to grip her own with almost desperate strength. “You’ve gotta be crazy to be my friend, not strong,” Sakura whispered softly, cutting her off. When Hinata looked up she found a fragile smile tugging at Sakura’s tear stained cheeks. “If you’re not crazy now, you will be soon,” Sakura promised.

“T-that’s fine,” Hinata replied weakly, out of breath and emotionally spent. “Please take care of me.”

“Hah!” A laugh forced its way out of Sakura’s throat as her smile widened into a full-blown ironic grin, but she didn’t argue this time.

The two of them stayed that way for a while, simply holding hands and enjoying the silence, until Hinata’s embarrassment began to fade and the tiles under her backside started to feel unpleasantly chilly again. “I- I think I’m ready to get up now,” Hinata decided with a shiver, planting her free hand beside her.

Nodding, Sakura helped her to her feet. Casting a glance at the bath, which steamed invitingly, she gave Hinata a hesitant look. “Um… if you want, I can wait outside while you-”

“Didn’t you say you wanted me to keep you company?” Hinata reminded her, gently pulling Sakura toward the bath.

It took a couple tries to budge the stubborn pink-haired kunoichi, but in the end Sakura allowed herself be led. “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly, “just… hit me or something if I-”

“Sakura-chan!”

“-if I start acting weird again!” Sakura finished firmly. Stepping over the lip of the bath, Sakura sat down on the wide, polished wooden shelf but didn’t enter the water. “I- I practically gave you a lap dance,” she muttered, turning deep red and kicking her feet unhappily.

Hinata wasn’t entirely certain what a ‘lap dance’ was, but she could guess. Her pale skin quickly darkened to match Sakura’s own lobsterish complexion. Turning to the towel rack beside the bath, Hinata deliberately selected a small washcloth. “It- it would be pretty easy to get the wrong idea,” she agreed, trying to keep her voice light.

“I know!” Throwing her hands up in the air, Sakura slapped her palms over her eyes and tilted her head back to growl at the ceiling in frustration. “Gods, I’m such a fucking idiot! And a pervert!”

Hinata started to protest that Sakura wasn’t that bad, but something made her hesitate. Instead, she simply climbed into the bath beside Sakura and sat down, folding her legs to the side. After hours of running through the rain in soaked clothes and lying naked on the cold bathroom floor, the hot water made Hinata hiss in discomfort.

Feeling Hinata’s shoulder touch her knee, Sakura looked down at the simmering kunoichi. She almost seemed to wilt as the anger ran out of her, leaving her looking quite bewildered. Sakura gripped the lip of the bath and lowered herself into the water, leaning back against the wall to regard Hinata dubiously.

“W-what?” Hinata was finally forced to ask, after Sakura’s examination had continued for several seconds.

A smile curled Sakura’s lips. “Nothing,” she replied in a voice that said it was anything but. Drawing her legs to her chest, Sakura laced her fingers in front of her and rested her chin on her knees. “You’re a lot stronger than you think you are,” she quipped mysteriously. “Shino-kun would be freaking out by now.”

Initially, Hinata was warmed by the compliment, but then the rest of Sakura’s words clicked in her head. She’d done this with Shino too? No, Sakura didn’t say that! She must have meant something else! A girl doing that to a boy was- but if Sakura liked girls, then-

Her shock must have shown, for Sakura’s expression froze, then became extremely strained. Burying her face between her knees, Sakura emitted a groan of despair. “Dammit! This has to be her fault…” she whispered, the last part so low that Hinata didn’t think that she was meant to hear.

After a minute or so of stewing in her own juices, Sakura turned to peer askance at Hinata. Her gaze was cool, but Hinata didn’t miss the way her fingers started playing with each other, sending little ripples across the surface of the water. “So…” Sakura began, her voice tinged with sarcasm. “Still think I’m ‘amazing?’”

A bead of sweat formed on Hinata’s brow that had nothing to do with the water temperature. Why was it that every time she felt like she was finally in the clear, she suddenly found herself right back in the middle of the mine field? Treading with care, Hinata put on a shaky smile. “Well… that’s kind of amazing too,” she suggested.

Hinata prayed that Sakura didn’t take that the wrong way. Hinata couldn’t even talk to boys without losing her nerve, so the notion touching one like that was almost too much to bear, and when she thought of who she might want to touch- in a heartbeat, Hinata found herself staring at her hands, trying to wipe that image from her mind before she fainted again.

Neither of them spoke for a while after that. Ashamed by how badly she’d failed at comforting her friend, Hinata decided that it was her duty to break the silence. “Um… s-so you’ve done this before?” she asked, voicing the first question that came to mind- and instantly regretted it. Bracing herself for the worst, Hinata forced herself to look up.

As expected, Sakura was gaping at her in disbelief, but before Hinata could even stutter out an apology, the pink-haired girl’s expression softened into a smile. It was a snarky sort of smile, like she’d just realized she was the butt of a very embarrassing joke, but it was still a smile.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Sakura admitted with a long sigh, staring down at her knees. “To Shino-kun… and Ino,” Sakura must have caught a hint of apprehension in Hinata face, for her lips dipped into a tiny frown. “I haven’t done it to that doofus, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she muttered, sounding a little offended. “-or Sasuke-kun,” she added more quietly.

Hinata let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. She felt a little safer knowing that Sakura didn’t make a constant habit of… embarrassing people with her body, but the idea that she’d thrown herself at Shino like that still made Hinata’s head spin. Now that she thought about it, though, Shino had been acting odd lately.

Ever since the infamous ‘Ramen Shop’ incident, Kiba had become absolutely dogged in his efforts to make Shino divulge what he knew of Sakura’s techniques. For the most part, Shino had remained as stoic and closemouthed as ever, but once or twice Hinata could have sworn that she’d actually seen the bug-user blush at some of Kiba’s more suggestive lines of inquiry.

As curious as that was, however, Hinata was more intrigued by one name that hadn’t appeared on Sakura’s list of ‘victims.’ While she was loath to pry, Sakura seemed to be in a sharing mood, so Hinata decided to take the risk. “And… Mitarashi-san?” she queried hesitantly.

To her relief, the other girl just snorted in annoyance. “It’s the other way around with Anko-nee,” Sakura grumbled. “She’s such a child! Most of the time she treats me more like a toy than a student!”

Hinata took a moment to digest that information. If the second examiner was as bad as Sakura was when it came to ‘teasing’ people… well, at least that might explain some of the things that Kiba had seen; poor Sakura-chan. Hinata silently thanked her ancestors that Kurenai-sensei wasn’t like that, though she did feel a twinge of envy at how close Sakura seemed to her instructor.

“So Mitarashi-san is your teacher now?” Hinata prompted. The ‘Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai’ handled many critical and sensitive tasks in addition to assassinations, but they weren’t known for taking on students.

“In theory,” Sakura allowed grudgingly. “She’s not very good at it, and we haven’t been able to do anything since-” Lowering her head, Sakura let the irritation drain from her, leaving only lonely melancholy. “-since the war. Hokage-sama arranged it that morning, and then… since then, we’ve both been too busy. I guess it’s not her fault.”

Hinata bowed her head in sympathy; she’d hardly seen Kurenai-sensei at all in the last two weeks. Every veteran ninja in Konoha was working nonstop to keep on top of the village’s mission backlog, and while rookies like her and Sakura could also theoretically be called on to carry out missions, most often they were left to their own devices while their instructors performed more important duties.

But Sakura had said they’d both been busy. Hinata couldn’t see it now, but the stylized leaf tattoo on Sakura’s left shoulder suddenly tickled her memory. What had Sakura been doing since the end of the war, to have changed so much? Hinata’s curiosity burned, but if it was ANBU business then Sakura probably wouldn’t be able to tell her.

Glancing around at the sumptuous bathroom they were currently relaxing in, Hinata felt her stomach twist into a knot of worry. A jounin and a new ANBU were departing on an urgent diplomatic mission that involved petitioning the aid of a stridently anti-Konoha lord who also happened to be the ANBU’s grandfather? No wonder the gate guard had looked so confused!

Suddenly, Hinata was very glad that Sakura hadn’t briefed her on the mission yet; whatever was going on here, she was getting in way over her head! Turning to Sakura, Hinata swallowed the suffocating lump in her throat and tried to catch her breath. “S-Sakura-chan!” she gasped urgently, her voice shrilling in panic. “I- I need to tell you something!”

Sensing her mood, Sakura uncurled and leaned closer. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Hinata screwed her eyes shut, cursing herself for not thinking things through. Why did she have to choose this time to do something stupid and impulsive? Why couldn’t she have just waited until Kurenai-sensei got back? Why couldn’t she do anything right?

Shaking her head, she forced those useless thoughts aide. It wasn’t too late; she could still fix things. Taking a deep breath, Hinata almost hiccupped in surprise when Sakura took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

The gesture helped, though. By the time she opened her eyes, Hinata had calmed down enough to offer Sakura a sincere look of apology. “I- I’m not supposed to be on this mission,” she explained unhappily.

Hinata could almost see the little pink gears grinding to a halt as Sakura’s face assumed the unreal stillness of a carnival mask. “Whaaat?” Sakura managed to gasp, her voice singing like an over-wound spring. “But- then- why were you at the gate?”

“I wanted to catch Kurenai-sensei before she left- to ask if I could go,” Hinata replied. “I- I couldn’t before, because… it was too dangerous… because I was the heir…” Despite her efforts to stay upbeat, Hinata trailed off as her voice began to sound weak and uncertain in her ears. “But I’m not the heir anymore,” she added with a note of finality.

Lowering her head, Hinata resisted the urge to touch the stinging brand that now graced her brow. The room was too bright for her to see her reflection in the water, but even without looking she could trace every painful line that had been etched into her skin.

“Hinata…” Sakura whispered, steeping the name with such concern and intimacy that Hinata couldn’t bear to even imagine the expression Sakura’s face. “When did- when did they…?” Sakura asked softly.

“L-last night,” Hinata stuttered, not looking up.

Sakura’s hand tightened almost painfully around her own. “Last night?” In an instant Sakura was kneeling before her, green eyes filled with worry as they searched Hinata’s face. “Jeez, are you okay? Should you be resting or something?”

“Mm-mm,” Hinata shook her head in denial, “I- I’m fine. The Hyuuga have been doing this for a long time; the procedure is safe.” Reaching up to touch the seal, to prove that she could, Hinata allowed herself a tiny grimace- the kind she’d seen the boys wear when they wanted to show that they could endure.

“I- it doesn’t even hurt much anymore,” she declared with all the bravado she could muster, affirming it for herself as much as for Sakura. Hinata didn’t mention the fact that it would be days before she’d be able to use the Byakugan again, or that she felt naked and useless without it; she wasn’t going on the mission anyway, so it wouldn’t matter. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that her strong front had done anything to allay the pink-haired girl’s concerns. Sakura did move back to Hinata’s side, but her doubts about Hinata’s wellbeing were plain on her face.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sakura pressed, leaning against Hinata’s shoulder. “I mean- why now? It just seems so sudden; it must have been a huge shock.”

Hinata shook her head again, feeling a bit steadier as the comfortable fog of resignation seeped into her bones. “It’s not, really. F-father had already decided to make Hanabi his heir, so-”

“Your sister is nine years old,” Sakura interrupted with a sniff of dismissal. “Just because your father thinks she’s better than you, that doesn’t mean he’s right! You tried so hard in the exam; I’m sure you could’ve changed his mind!”

A small, rueful smile crept onto Hinata’s lips. Sakura was so smart, but she still didn’t understand. Hinata didn’t like that. Now, more than any other time in her life, Hinata wanted- no, Hinata needed the people she cared about to understand how she felt.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head once more. “It was decided a long time ago, when I was sent to the Academy,” she replied slowly, proud that her voice hadn’t wavered even once.

“Normally the heir of the Main House isn’t sent to the academy,” Hinata continued. “The Main House is responsible for the preservation of the clan, so their loyalty must always be to the clan first and the village second. For this reason, the clan head always trains his successor personally, but… Father hasn’t trained me since I turned nine.

“That’s when he sent me to the academy, so he could focus on training Hanabi,” Hinata clarified; she doubted even Sakura would remember that she’d enrolled late. By that time all the cliques had solidified, and after her initial introduction everyone had pretty much ignored her.

“Father wanted to name Hanabi his heir immediately, but the clan elders convinced him to wait until- until Hanabi was older,” and until they could arrange a face-saving political marriage for her, so they would be able to forget that the purest blood of the Hyuuga clan had sired such a worthless child.  

“It- it would have been better if Father hadn’t listened to them,” Hinata whispered, for the first voicing a hint of the bitterness that had been brewing in the pit of her stomach since graduation. “The heir’s life belongs to the clan, not to- not to her team. Sometimes, even on simple missions, if the elders thought it was too dangerous-”

Blinking her itchy eyes, Hinata felt hot tears rolling down her cheeks. “I hated that,” she choked. “I hated letting everyone down like that, so after Kurenai-sensei left I begged Father to make Hanabi the heir and put me in the Branch family. This time, Father agreed.”

Hinata knew that her Father understood how she felt. His face had been unreadable when he’d agreed to her request, but his expression had soon become sad and a distant as he placed the Branch Family seal on her. Perhaps he’d been thinking of her uncle or Neji-niisama, wondering what all that pain and sacrifice had been really been for.

It wasn’t unexpected this time, but Hinata still couldn’t help but gasp as Sakura grabbed her up and crushed the breath out of her lungs with another fierce embrace. “Dammit, Hinata!” Sakura growled hoarsely between wet sniffles. “Don’t ever fuckin’ say that you’re not strong again! I only wish I was as strong as you!”

Getting her knees under her, Hinata reached around Sakura’s back to return the hug. “T-thank you, Sakura-chan,” Hinata mumbled gratefully, blinking away more tears that quickly bled into Sakura’s floral-scented hair.

“I mean it!” Sakura barked, easing off enough for Hinata to see the slightly crooked smile that tugged at her lips. “If you do, I’ll do bad things to you!” she warned, straightening and drawing Hinata close again so that their stomachs touched and Hinata’s breasts were pressed up between them.

“I- I understand,” Hinata blurted, feeling her skin light up like a freshly-stoked furnace. Sakura breath and heartbeat filled her senses, merging with a thousand less describable sensations that threatened to send her flying into a panic, but Sakura’s eyes were puffy and red and sincere.

Releasing her, Sakura leaned away held up her arms as if to say that she was done… for now. “Sorry,” she apologized, though the playful smile remained on the petite kunoichi’s lips as she disentangled their legs and shuffled backward so that she was sitting in the middle of the bath, facing Hinata.

“T-that’s okay,” Hinata replied, wetting and wringing out her washcloth as an excuse to tear her eyes away from her dangerous friend. In the last five minutes, Sakura had apparently lost any reservations she’d had about subjecting Hinata to her own peculiar form of ‘tough love,’ and Hinata wasn’t sure if she should be pleased by that, or terrified.

“So… if it’s not a problem with your clan anymore, why can’t you come on the mission?” Sakura prompted, gently nudging Hinata’s knee.

Hinata’s mind went totally blank. It was like everything before the hug had been completely wiped away, leaving Hinata feeling queasy and giddy, but otherwise fine. On top of that, the smug look on Sakura’s face made her wonder if that hadn’t been the idea all along. 

With a beleaguered sigh, Hinata held the washcloth to her forehead and eyed Sakura’s forward shoulder, where the ANBU tattoo loomed ominously. “I’d just be in your way, Sakura-chan,” she noted seriously; ANBU only handled dangerous A and S-class missions.

Following Hinata’s gaze, Sakura grimaced. “You think this is-?” Looking up, Sakura bit her lip, as if considering how much she could afford to say. “It’s not like that,” she finally decided. “It’s just a regular escort mission. The clients are important, and the place we’re going might be dangerous, but I think Kurenai-san would let you go if you asked.” 

“Really?” Hinata asked skeptically, scarcely daring to hope.

“Really,” Sakura confirmed with a confident smile that immediately transformed into a wolfish grin. “And if she doesn’t, I’ll just hire you as my personal ‘bodyguard.’ That way, she won’t be able to refuse!”

“Sakura-chan!”

 
 
 

Looking up from her untouched tea, Kurenai Yuuhi carefully moved the cup to one side of the table and folded her hands in her lap. Three sets of heavy footsteps now approached, two of them moving with the faintly uneven stride of men wearing swords.

Her hosts were timely- but then, they probably wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. The lord Haruno did not suffer lightly the presence of ninja. For this reason, it came as a shock when the door of the guest lobby opened and the lord himself strode in, followed closely by a pair of samurai.

Haruno Seinan looked much as Kurenai remembered him: tall and somewhat gaunt of build, with dark hair, smooth skin and a hawkish face- and too young. He’d looked too young to have a teenaged son the last time she’d seen him and he looked far too young to have a teenaged granddaughter now.

Even worse, the man seemed to revel in the awkwardness this caused. Today he wore a pair of charcoal suit pants and a thin, wine colored shirt, the top few buttons undone. He wore no tie and his long, unbound hair fell in a curtain around his shoulders. A single katana, sheath in hand rather than pushed through his belt, completed the image of a third rate mobster spoiling for a fight.

It was a comparison he wanted her to make, Kurenai realized. Most lords cultivated an air of dignity and detachment from mundane concerns, regardless of their actual wealth or status (or lack thereof). Lord Haruno wanted her to see that he knew his ‘true’ place in the world, and wasn’t above acting like the petty thug that many in Konoha took him for.

The two samurai that flanked him were dressed more traditionally, in dark blue kimono and black hakama, but one had a shaved head and wore round, tinted spectacles, while the other sported thick brown hair pulled back in a topknot and sideburns that almost reached his chin. Both were similarly armed and looked every bit as menacing as their master, though more guarded than bombastic.

If he thought such posturing would throw her, however, the Lord Haruno would be sorely disappointed. Placing her hands on the tatami mat in front of her, Kurenai bowed her head with the full respect due a man of his stature. “Lord Haruno, it is an honor. I did not expect you to receive me personally, especially on such short notice.”

“Thank my traitorous granddaughter,” Haruno Seinan replied, glancing in the direction of the castle. “I would have sent her or your subordinate instead, but it seems they expected you to arrive later, and they’ve retired to the bath.” Kurenai thought she detected a note of irony in his voice then, like that wouldn’t normally have stopped him, but there were other circumstances that didn’t bear mentioning.

“Besides,” the lord continued, sitting haphazardly on the other side of the table with his sword at his side, “it’s been such a long time since I last entertained an envoy from my dear neighbors in Konoha, I couldn’t resist.” He favored Kurenai with a long, appreciative stare. “I’m not paranoid, after all, just well informed- though I’m afraid I haven’t heard your name yet, Miss-?”

“Yuuhi Kurenai, jounin of the Hidden Leaf,” Kurenai intoned formally.

“Kurenai?” the lord repeated, his gaze wandering north to settle on her crimson eyes. “A fitting name,” he decided with a shallow nod of respect. As his eyes lingered, however, a hint of recognition crept into his face. “Have we met before, Yuuhi Kurenai of the Hidden Leaf?” he asked.

Kurenai cursed her luck. “I do not believe so, milord,” she replied with her best poker face. It had been over a decade since they’d last been within ten meters of each other, and they’d never been formally introduced, so it was best to just play dumb unless he confronted her directly.

“No?” Lord Haruno quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t appear upset. “Of course you are correct; I would definitely remember meeting such a beautiful young woman- especially one with such an arresting gaze. Perhaps you simply resemble one of the over-eager vixens that I see hanging off my sons whenever I go to court,” he quipped lightly.

“Perhaps,” Kurenai agreed with an edge of irritation; perhaps if she appeared insulted by his lack of tact, she could instill some doubt as to the accuracy of that last riposte. “May I assume that milord has been apprised of the need for a representative of Ryuuzen Province to witness the formal cessation of hostilities between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

“You may,” Lord Haruno replied, unfazed by her brusque change of subject. Reaching behind his back, the dark-haired man produced the letter that had been addressed to Sakura. “Still, it sounds like your council of elders is even more well informed than I am,” he observed, flipping open the letter with mocking flourish. “This is the first I’ve heard of Sakura-chan being declared a ‘lady’ of the Fire Country.”

Kurenai could offer no real response to that. Her own investigation had led straight to the village council, and that was as far as she’d gotten. “Mistakes are made in haste, and this is a matter of some urgency,” she conceded. “Your granddaughter informed us of the error, but circumstances did not permit the drafting of a new letter of intent, so Sakura-dono offered to receive Konoha’s request in a civilian capacity and convey it to the proper head of household.”

“That’s an interesting way to put it,” Haruno Seinan mused dryly, leaving Kurenai to wonder just how Sakura had described her situation. The nobleman didn’t give her long to think about it, however. Tossing the letter onto the table, Lord Haruno leaned forward, face hard, his sword propped up in one hand. “I will be brief: this is a laughable charade of diplomacy, and I can’t decide whether to be insulted or amused by how poorly it’s been carried out.”

Sitting back again, the lord gave Kurenai a look of disdain. “That said, your request is not unreasonable. In the interest of upholding the peace within the borders of the Fire Country, I will grant you your representative- but I expect every effort to be made to ensure my men’s safety. I will not pay for this service and I will not be beholden to whatever ridiculous schedule you’re laboring under. It may take days to find a suitable candidate that doesn’t have more important duties to attend to.”

Behind her impassive mask, Kurenai allowed herself to relax slightly. Those were terms she could accept. “Konoha humbly accepts your generous patronage, Lord Haruno,” Kurenai replied, bowing once more. His demand for selection time might even work to her advantage, as long as he didn’t need longer than a week to decide.

Straightening, the red-eyed kunoichi gestured to the scroll case at her hip. “If I may?” she asked. At the lord’s nod, Kurenai carefully opened the case and extracted the Rank A escort contract that had been prepared for Sakura. Unsealing the scroll, Kurenai spread it out on the table in front of them.

“If these terms are to your satisfaction, Konoha asks that you indicate your approval and acceptance of this contract by placing your official seal here,” she instructed, gesturing at the appropriate blank on the page.

Lord Haruno spent several minutes reviewing the scroll silently before he finally gestured to the hirsute man on his left, who produced a small jar of red seal paste from his sleeve and placed it on the table. The lord then did something that Kurenai found utterly bizarre: he began disassembling his sword.

It wasn’t until he was finished that Kurenai realized that the lord’s official seal was actually impressed into the square face of his sword’s hand guard. Kurenai didn’t comment, but she did allow herself a look of interest. She’d never heard of such a custom before, but it certainly fit the lord’s personality; none could lay hands on the authority of the Haruno Clan without risking violence.

After the seal was pressed and cleaned, the lord reassembled his sword and rolled up the scroll, handing it to the man on his right. “I will have my scribe make a copy of this and return it to Konoha,” he explained. “Now then, if we’ve no further business, I’ll have my men see you out. My representative will meet you at the north gate of Osawaramachi within five days.” With that, the lord stood to leave.

“Lord Haruno?” Kurenai called, rushing through her final obligatory bow to catch him before the door opened. “If it would be acceptable, I would prefer to wait here for my subordinate to return.”

The lord must have noticed her urgency, for the shadow of a smirk darkened his face. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” he replied airily. “My granddaughter has extended to your student our house’s hospitality, which makes her our honored guest. You, however, have quite overstayed your welcome- but don’t worry; we’ll be sending her along presently.”

Kurenai opened her mouth to protest, but then she caught a flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye. Before she could turn to look, a blinding, white-hot bar of pain lashed across the back of her neck and she saw no more.

 
 
 

Reaching for the threadbare roll of toilet paper in the corner of the stall, Kurenai tensed involuntarily as a phantom blade kissed the back of her neck. Dulled by the remove of memory, the pain was still vivid enough to make her roll her shoulders and tilt her head after it passed. It’d been a long time since she’d last been ‘decapitated.’

Kurenai bit back a curse; she intensely disliked using Kagebunshin. The technique was a pure gamble in terms of cost vs. benefit, and the feedback effect caused by the integration of memories was downright dangerous, since it bypassed most forms of genjutsu defense. Kurenai could think of far too many unpleasant ways to exploit that ‘feature.’

Still, her doppelganger’s metaphysical death rattle was a sobering reminder of the technique’s usefulness. Closing her eyes, the wavy-haired jounin thought back to the last few minutes, combing her new memories for details of the events that had led to ‘her’ demise.

Shortly thereafter, Kurenai was very thankful that she was already sitting down, and doubly so that it was in the privacy of a bathroom stall. The green pressboard walls offered scant defense against intrusion, but at least they allowed her a shred of dignity as she crossed her arms over her thighs and hung her head with a long, despairing sigh.

In terms of mission objectives, she supposed things could have gone worse. Lord Haruno had agreed to provide them with a representative within a reasonable time frame- assuming he’d spoken in good faith. She would have to send a clone back to Konoha to confirm that the signed mission scroll had been returned, so they could at least lodge a formal complaint with the Daimyo if he reneged on his word.

Beyond that… Kurenai was hesitant to report her violent ejection from the castle. Given that the lord had said his envoy would meet her at Osawaramachi, it was quite possible that he’d known he was dealing with a bunshin. It wasn’t uncommon for noblemen to retain monks, priests or onmyouji for various purposes, and some of these so-called spiritualists were as adept at ferreting out illusions as any ninja.

As such, Kurenai had to hope that her mock ‘execution’ was simply the lord’s way of expressing his displeasure at Konoha’s presumption, and not an actual attempt on her life. If she reported it, angry voices would be raised on the village council, but since the net result was little more than a particularly daring slap in the face, nothing else would come of it.

Though the martial power of the samurai class was at a historical low, the ‘Warlord’ of Ryuuzen still enjoyed a rather privileged place amongst the Fire Country’s nobility. As the (now, largely ceremonial) head of the country’s military, he held one of the few positions that the Daimyo could not directly appoint or dismiss.

The current Lord Haruno practically wallowed in this impunity, taking every opportunity to thumb his nose at the ninja that had usurped his ‘rightful’ place on the battlefield. This earned him equal measures of scorn and praise from the country’s other nobles- though much of the latter was only whispered behind closed doors, and few wished to be nearby on the day that he finally managed to push Konoha too far.

For their part, Konoha simply tried to avoid dealing with him as much as possible while they waited for one of his sons to take his place- and they watched him very, very carefully. As he’d implied with his little ‘gangster’ masquerade, the Lord Haruno wasn’t above playing dirty as long as he thought he could get away with it, and Konoha was well aware that he was far from alone in this sentiment.

On this occasion, Kurenai’s gut instinct told her that it wasn’t a bluff; the lord had agreed to their request far too easily, and he wanted her to worry about it. He had to have some sort of angle, and until she figured out what it was, it was going to hang over her like a heavy sword waiting to fall.

In fact, when she visualized it, Kurenai realized that she had a veritable arsenal of uncertainties hovering over her head; it was like they were multiplying. The Lord Haruno couldn’t possibly have known about most of them, but that didn’t mean that his animosity toward Konoha couldn’t be used to exacerbate them.

The ultimate source of all her current woes was that damn mission request. Sent by their envoy in the Hidden Sand, the mission called for three specific people that each had very valid reasons for not participating, and all of those reasons were now coming to roost, one by one, like vultures at a gristly feast.

First had been Kurenai’s own selection as mission lead. From the ages of twelve to sixteen, Kurenai had served as a spy within the Fire Country Imperial Court, impersonating the daughter of an obscure and recently dead noble house that Konoha had ‘resurrected’ for the purpose of keeping tabs on their wealthiest clients.

As such, she was rarely assigned to missions involving nobles of the Fire Country, to prevent her from coming in contact with her former ‘peers.’ She’d taken great pains to fake her own death when Konoha had called her home in the wake of the Kyuubi attack, but there was still a small chance that someone might recognize her and become suspicious.

But she had been assigned to the mission anyway, and Lord Haruno had recognized her. Perhaps this shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it had. Lord Haruno was widely known as the most paranoid man in the Fire Country; he was the last person she should be interacting with.

The entire situation reeked of contrivance. Someone had either altered the mission request or interfered directly in the selection process. Unfortunately, Kurenai wouldn’t be able to investigate further until they arrived in the Hidden Sand. For now, she could only hope that the lord took the incident as a case of mistaken identity, or things could get messy.

Speaking of messy, Kurenai didn’t even want to think about how Sakura would react if she ever found out that Kurenai had slept with her father when they were younger. It hadn’t exactly been a romantic entanglement, just the sort brief dalliance that was expected of lords and ladies at court, but Sakura probably wouldn’t see it that way.

Sakura’s involvement was the second big ‘oops’ in the mission request. By mistakenly naming her ‘Lady Haruno Sakura of Ryuuzen,’ the author of the request had made Konoha appear both incompetent and conniving in the eyes of the lord. Again, this stunk of deliberate sabotage, though Lord Haruno’s already low opinion of Konoha may have blunted its impact somewhat.

More troubling were Sakura’s ‘personal problems.’ After speaking with an ANBU medic that had been working with her, Kurenai had been given access to Sakura’s psychiatric profile. Sakura apparently suffered from a number of complex, dissociated emotional states that bordered on distinct personalities.

It was suggested that this was a preexisting condition that had been exacerbated by Sakura’s use of an experimental mind-control genjutsu. In Kurenai’s professional opinion, Sakura should have been kept under observation for at least another month, but the medic had assured her that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Morino Ibiki, ANBU’s own head of torture and interrogation, had even gone so far as to declare Sakura sane and stable enough to return to active duty.

Given that Ibiki had once given Mitarashi Anko that same assessment, Kurenai wasn’t sure she trusted the man’s definition of ’sane and stable.’ Still, even had Sakura been in perfect mental health, Kurenai would’ve been troubled by this ‘Kitsune Tsuki.’

Details about the technique were incredibly slim, and apparently ANBU was still in the process of classifying it, but the file clearly stated that the technique was activated by touch and could not be reliably deactivated. Sakura had effectively turned herself into a flakey, psychoactive landmine.

A landmine that was currently sitting in her apprentice’s lap- though hopefully not in the literal sense. Kurenai had no idea what to make of Hinata’s presence at the front gates that morning, but she was sorely tempted to return to Ryuuzai castle in person to collect her wayward ward before anything happened to her, the lord’s ‘warning’ notwithstanding.

The Hyuuga clan elders were utterly unyielding when it came to the matter of Hinata’s safety- or rather, the safety of her eyes. When Kurenai had gone to the clan compound the previous night to inform Hinata of her absence, she hadn’t even suggested that Hinata accompany her; it went without saying that they’d never approve of their precious ‘heir’ going on such a risky mission.

Hinata had accepted the news with polite resignation, though the disappointment in her eyes had been almost painful to behold. After the second exam, Kurenai had promised Hinata that she would make time to train with her, and Kurenai still hoped to keep that promise, but that would only be possible if Hinata didn’t get herself ‘retired’ for this shocking stunt.

Kurenai was reasonably certain she could prevent it from coming to that, as long as there weren’t any complications, but ‘complicating’ things seemed to be a Haruno family specialty. Finishing her business in the bathroom, Kurenai meticulously washed her hands and checked her composure in the mirror before walking out into the restaurant proper.

Noting her return, the final billed player in this dangerous comedy of errors pushed off of a nearby wall and stalked closer. A low-brimmed straw hat concealed much of the younger girl’s face, as did the sandy blond hair that fell free and wild around her shoulders, but Kurenai had no trouble seeing the scowl of impatience that tightened Sabaku no Temari’s lips.

 
 
 

S U I R E N

To be continued…