Rokudaime

Chapter 2: Complications

Slices of sunlight broke through the morning clouds, cutting directly through Kurenai’s sleep. Rolling a little stiffly off the couch, she stood and stretched, reaching for the ceiling. She wandered absently into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, watching it with bleary eyes as it slowly began to fill. While she was waiting, she took the opportunity to change her clothes and check on Hinata. Peeking into her bedroom, she smiled at the sight of her sleeping student. The tiny black cat was curled up beside her on the pillow, sleeping. Silently, she shut the door and went out to get herself a cup of coffee.

Sucking down a cup of the hot, black liquid, she strolled to the door and opened it, surprising Iruka. The chuunin had his hand halfway to the door, but sheepishly lowered it when he saw the female jounin in the doorway. “Good morning, Kurenai,” he muttered, blushing a bright red.

“Heard about the meeting, did you?” she replied, ushering him in. “I swear, if it has anything to do with one of your former students, you always hear about it. You want a cup of coffee?”

Gladly accepting the mug she offered him, the teacher added a little sugar to the coffee before taking an appreciative sip. “Kakashi should be coming in a few minutes. You know how he’s always late.”

Rolling her eyes, Kurenai nodded, taking a seat on an old, overstuffed chair. Absently, she picked at the fraying red upholstery on the arm of the chair. “Take a seat. We’ll be here for a while.” Nodding, Iruka nervously took a seat across from her, sitting cautiously on the edge of the chair.

Hinata woke at the sound of conversation from outside her room. Staring at the ceiling, she tried to remember where she was. Beside her, she could hear the purr of the tiny cat next to her head. Beginning to sit up, she grimaced in pain at the stiffness in her arms. Moving carefully, she examined herself, noting the expertly applied bandages and wraps. This must be Kurenai’s house, her bedroom, even. These thoughts were confirmed by an arrangement of photographs arranged on the wall. Kurenai had never told them a lot about herself, or even much about her own training. The top photo was Kurenai, wearing her flak jacket. She looks so happy, Hinata thought. She must have just passed the exam. The next picture below that was Kurenai, Kakashi and Asuma. Kakashi was holding the other two apart, uneasy smile hidden beneath his mask. Both Asuma and Kurenai looked disgruntled, perhaps finishing up another of their big debates. Hinata smiled, knowing full-well Kurenai’s short temper. The final picture on the wall was Kurenai with her three students. Shino stood to the side, one hand pushing up his glasses. Kiba was in the middle, huge grin on his face, Akamaru on his head like always. Hinata herself stood off to the opposite side, twisting her fingers together nervously. She hated having her picture taken. Kurenai stood behind the three, smile on her own face.

Hinata smiled at the memory, and then slowly got out of the bed, slowly and cautiously pulling her sweatshirt on over her bandaged arms. The black kitten still sat on the bed, tail wrapped delicately around small paws. His green eyes stared unblinkingly at her, demanding he be picked up. Smiling, she picked him up, tucking him under one arm. He mewed and struggled free, using his claws to climb to a position on her shoulder and then rubbing against the side of her face.

Hinata began to run through possible names for the kitten, rapidly discarding many of them as unsuitable. Finally, she settled on one. “Yasuo,” she announced, glancing at the cat out of the corner of her eye. “It means ‘peaceful one.’ You like?” In response, he began to purr. “I’m glad you approve.”

Hinata made her way to the door, and was just turning the handle when she heard the voices again from outside her room. The sound of the door opening and shutting, and then more talk. Focusing her chakra once more, she expanded her vision past the wall to what was apparently Kurenai’s living room. Iruka and Kurenai were already seated, and Kakashi had just entered, and was finding his own chair. Now that she could see the speakers, the voices became much easier to interpret.

“You’re late, Kakashi,” Kurenai muttered, glaring at Kakashi.

“I got lost,” the older ninja replied, sitting down.

“You live practically next door.”

Kakashi did not reply, choosing instead to examine the ceiling carefully. At last, he looked back down. “All right. Let’s get down to business,” he announced. “Where is she?”

“She’s asleep. You saw her last night; it’ll take her a while to recover from that,” Kurenai responded.

“True. So what’s the plan then?”

“It’s simple. She has to go to her home,” Iruka cut in briskly, crossing his arms.

“We can’t let her go home. You know that,” Kurenai snapped bad-naturedly, glaring at Iruka.

“Very well, but she’s not like a stray animal you pick up off the street and take home with you. She’s underage, and by law, belongs with her rightful parents until they are proven incompetent,” Iruka explained calmly. “I only want the best for Hinata, like all the rest of my students, but we cannot break the law to do it.”

“Even if it breaks her apart? I don’t intend to leave her with her ‘rightful’ family, Iruka!” Kurenai snarled, rising to her feet. “You’re not even her teacher anymore. You’re not in any place to make the decisions here.”

“I know who she is. She’s been my student for years. There is a reason why I’m sitting here talking to you, you know,” Iruka responded, raising his hands in a calming gesture. “But how can you prove her current lifestyle is doing her harm? I hate to play devil’s advocate, but we need to have proof before we can change anything.”

“They tried to kill her, Iruka!” Kurenai shouted, outraged. “They’re sending assassins after their own daughter! If that’s not proof of their intent to harm her, what is?”

“What’s their reasoning?” Kakashi calmly interjected, making an attempt at soothing the situation. He gestured Kurenai back towards her chair, and she grudgingly took a seat, crossing her arms in a pout. “Why do they want to kill her?” Kakashi continued, glancing back and forth between the other two ninja.

“I don’t know,” Kurenai answered, rolling her eyes and resting her head exasperatedly against the back of her crimson chair. “From what I’ve seen the Hyuugas are absolutely insane. Ever since that girl Hanabi was born, they just don’t give a shit about Hinata.” She sighed and buried her face in her hands. “You know how insecure and unconfident she is. That’s because of her own family. Every day she spends with them does more and more damage to her. I’m afraid that in the end, she’s just going to crack.”

“They don’t think she’s strong enough to inherit the name,” Kakashi interjected. “Her fight with Neji only proves that to them. Hinata is strong standing alone, but compared to Neji’s immense strength, she just can’t match up.”

“They are sparing her that, at least,” Iruka added. “If they wanted, they could just disinherit Hinata, and make Hanabi the rightful heir. They’re at least sparing her a bit of emotional pain.”

“By trying to kill her? They’re only trying to cover their own asses while they get rid of Hinata. If they disinherited her straight off, they’d look bad, and they don’t want that,” Kurenai growled, lip curling in a sneer. “They know perfectly well they’re the strongest clan in the village, and they want to keep it that way.”

“It is possible that their concerns are well-founded,” Iruka told the others, closing his eyes as he worked things out in his head. “The Main House is supposed to control the Branch House. If the Branch House is stronger…” He trailed off suggestively.

“Maybe so, but a lot of the duty of making her strong should have fallen to her family. They failed her there, Iruka,” Kurenai snapped back.

“They really did try,” Iruka told her, shifting his weight in his chair uncomfortably. “It was just when Hanabi began to show a different sort of personality when it became a problem. Frankly, I worry about Hanabi. That girl is vicious, and doesn’t care who she hurts on her way to the top. Rather like our Sasuke.” He paused, trying to put his thoughts into words. “Hanabi is the total opposite of Hinata, personality-wise. Unfortunately, the Hyuuga’s like Hanabi’s driven attitude much more. Their desire for strength and power does not suit Hinata well, but they demand it of her.”

“That only makes it worse. Hanabi’s only seven. Five years younger than Hinata, but that much stronger,” Kurenai stated. “Hinata’s caught in a vicious cycle. Her own family doesn’t believe in her, so she doesn’t believe in herself. Then because she doesn’t think she’s strong, she grows afraid. And because she’s afraid, she thinks she’s weak, so the whole cycle continues again.”

“Good point, yes. Now that we’ve practically beat this topic to death with a stick, what are we going to do about it?” Iruka asked, tapping his fingers impatiently against his leg. “I have a class to get to, and I’d like to resolve this first.”

“Speaking of death, that is one of her greatest fears,” Kurenai said quietly, staring up at the ceiling. “That’s why I’m more worried than I normally would be.”

“I noticed,” Iruka commented dryly.

She glared at him before continuing. “Anyways,” she continued with firm resolve, “that’s why I’m a…afraid.” The ninja had trouble getting the word out. “I already said I thought she was getting close to cracking. I’m afraid this may be the final step to put her over the edge.”

“We can’t not inform her about what’s going on,” Iruka protested, leaning forward in his chair. “We have to tell her.”

“But if we tell her, do we put her in more danger?”

“No. Even if she knew, she wouldn’t do anything about it. It would only make her more cautious, I think.”

“Yeah, but what’s the best plan for now?” Kurenai asked, eyes boring into Kakashi and Iruka. “I vote we get her out of the village, at least for a while. We can tell her immediately, and then remove her from the village on a mission right away. That should give her a chance to recuperate from that information and perhaps protect her from assassins.”

“That may be the best course of action in your mind, but we’re still taking her away from her parents,” Kakashi brought up.

“Nope,” Kurenai shook her head, grinning smugly. “We have a legitimate reason if we go on a mission.”

“With your team?”

“Actually, I was thinking more of with Ino and Sakura,” Kurenai answered slowly, nodding towards Kakashi. “I’d need to borrow Sakura, but it’s for a good cause.”

“We’re not going on any missions soon, at least not ones that require three people,” Kakashi said thoughtfully. “Sasuke and Naruto can train instead. How long are you expecting to be gone?”

“Well, I need to get approval from Tsunade-sama first, but I’m expecting to go to Cloud Village to gather information. The dignitaries from there have been remarkably quiet lately, I’ve heard.”

“You won’t be the only team going, I assume.”

“Of course. There are the permanent teams assigned there, and a few extra since the latest attack,” she answered.

“I approve, but you’ll have to talk to Asuma and Tsunade,” Kakashi replied, nodding his head.

“Good, then we’re settled,” Iruka said, getting up and stretching. “I have to go. You can probably meet with Tsunade later this afternoon though, if you get there right after lunch.” Silently, he walked out of the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

“He’s right,” Kakashi continued. “However, Tsunade does tend to take long lunches, so you probably don’t need to be at her office until three or later.” He stood and walked to the door. “I take it you’ll talk to Hinata. Do you want me to talk to Sakura?”

Kurenai nodded. “Yes, please.” She stood herself and opened the door for him.

“You might want to do some damage control. I have a feeling we were being watched,” he told her, gesturing to the bedroom door. Kurenai looked over at the door, eyes widening. When she looked back, Kakashi was gone.

In the bedroom, Hinata turned her back to the wall, leaning against it miserably. It was her own family trying to kill her. Looking over to the bed, she noted the yellow and red Hyuuga crest lying on the white pillow. It was all too obvious. It wasn’t even the Branch House trying to kill her, it was the Main. She was truly unwanted. Of course, it only confirmed what she’d known along. Somehow, some small part of her hadn’t believed it. She had truly believed her father had loved her. Believed she was part of the family. Believed she was loved at all. Now even that small dream was shattered, crushed beneath the weight of the high aspirations of an already high-ranked clan.

Her eyes began to sting as she suppressed tears. Her depressed thoughts from yesterday were true. In one instant, her whole life had changed. Yasuo meowed on her shoulder, his purring slowly quieting. Beside her, the door opened, and Kurenai stepped in. The older ninja knelt on the floor, gathering Hinata in her arms. The jounin had already thought out what had happened. All she could do now was comfort her student.

Being a ninja was a hard life, and it seemed sometimes like not everybody knew it. A life surrounded by death, blood and fear. A life of imagination and simple illusions. A life of crushed hopes and shattered dreams. Whether the death was one of your closest friends, or one you had caused yourself, it was a constant companion. Fear was another common emotion. Every ninja traveled with these as a constant shadow in the back of their mind. It was only the strong who survived these feelings, and learned how to deal with these. Sometimes, Kurenai felt that that was the whole purpose of the genin level. Even Kurenai, at the jounin level, had not gotten over her own fear of death. You needed people to depend on, and Hinata had just lost more from an already thin pool of supports. A fragile tower only needed the loss of one supporting bar to tumble to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Hinata,” Kurenai whispered, loosening her grip. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“I know,” Hinata replied sadly, looking steadily down at her hands. “I don’t what there is to be done.”

“You heard. We don’t need to have an answer yet,” Kurenai reassured her. Yasuo yowled demandingly, bumping his head against Kurenai’s leg. “I bet you’re hungry, little guy,” she said softly to him, picking him up and handing him to Hinata. “Look, how about we eat now, and figure something out later?”

Wordlessly, Hinata nodded and began to stand, holding Yasuo tightly in her arms. Slowly, she followed Kurenai to the kitchen and sat down at the table, setting the cat in the chair next to her. He poked his head up above the side of the table, and then rested his chin and paws on the red plastic of the tabletop. Kurenai rummaged through the cupboards, making various noises of disgust at the severe lack of food. “I don’t have much here for food, I’m afraid,” she told Hinata, plunking a box of cereal down on the laminate tabletop.

She turned and pulled bowls out, pouring cereal into each of them. Opening the fridge, she frowned as she opened the milk carton. Waving it under her nose, she winced and her eyelid twitched. “Dry cereal okay with you?” she finally asked Hinata brightly. The genin nodded and accepted the spoon Kurenai offered her. Silently, she began to eat. Yasuo meowed again, ears erect, voice demanding.

Kurenai returned to the cupboards, searching for something usable as cat food. At last, she emerged with a can of tuna, opened it and dumped it on a plate, setting it in front of the cat. Yasuo meowed and happily began eating, burying his face in the fish.

“So…what do you think?” Kurenai asked after a long silence, broken only by the cat’s happy grunts of contentment and the crunch of cereal.

“Of my…situation?” Hinata replied quietly, looking up through her bangs at her teacher. “I...don’t know.”

Kurenai stood up and dumped her utensils in the sink, absently running some water of them. “Hinata,” she began, and then stopped, turning to the sink while she gathered her thoughts. She turned and took the chair next to Hinata, across from the kitten. “You have to have known this was going to happen. If you think about it, it’s been like this your entire life.”

“Yes,” Hinata murmured, looking down at the ground. Her eyes burned, holding back tears. “I just never wanted to believe it.” The tears came, unable to be stopped. Before she knew it, her shoulders were shaking as she began to sob.

With a sigh, Kurenai shifted her chair next to Hinata’s and embraced her again. Yasuo meowed, and jumped into Hinata’s lap, looking up at her with wide, concerned eyes. The trio sat like that for a few minutes before Kurenai broke the silence. “People love you, Hinata. They’re just not bound by blood. But the bonds created by love are sometimes stronger than the ones born of a family,” she said softly. Hinata took a shuddering sigh and began to pull away from Kurenai’s grasp.

When she felt the grip loosening, her stomach rolled inside of her and she stopped. She didn’t want to move. Nobody had hugged her, truly hugged her, since she was very small. In fact, she could barely remember it. Somehow, it just made the whole bond stronger when they were connected by blood also, but the way everything had turned out, she supposed love would have to be enough.

Both of them jumped when someone pounded heavily on the door. Hinata jerked up out of her chair, quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeves. Kurenai crossed to the door and peeked through the view hole. She opened the door to admit Kiba and Akamaru, the boy grinning widely, the dog barking insanely. “Good morning, Kiba,” she greeted him. “What’re you doing today?”

“Just screwing around,” he replied. “What happened yesterday? You and Hinata just disappeared.”

“We had some difficulties,” Kurenai answered slowly, unsure of how much to tell him.

“Difficulties?” He frowned. “Everyone’s okay, right?”

“Yes, of course,” Kurenai reassured him.

“Well, what happened?” Kurenai paused, trying to come up with something to cover Hinata’s story with. Akamaru came back from his explorations of the apartment, happily yipping at Kiba’s ankles. Distracted, Kiba ignored his previous question. “Where’s Hinata?” he asked sharply, gaze hardening. Kurenai stepped back, a little surprised at Kiba’s sudden intensity.

“She’s eating,” the jounin explained, casually placing her body between Kiba and the kitchen where Hinata still sat.

“Why’s she here?” He asked, brow creasing in a frown.

“I told you. Difficulties.” Kurenai knew that this delaying tactic wouldn’t last long, especially against Kiba’s abrasive tendencies.

In the kitchen, Hinata listened to the conversation, taking deep breaths to calm herself from her recent crying. Finally, she stood and walked out to peek around Kurenai at Kiba. “Good morning, Kiba-kun,” she said quietly, looking down at her shoes.

“Hinata!” he exclaimed, surprised that she had appeared. “What’s going on?”

“N-nothing,” she stammered, finding it hard to lie to her teammate.

“Uh huh,” Kiba replied archly, raising his eyebrows. “Sure. Well, I know the way you girls work,” he said with blatant disdain. “If you don’t want to tell me something, I’m not going to find out what it is, no matter how much I bug you.” He sighed dramatically. “It’s just not gonna happen.” He turned back to the door, leaned down and picked Akamaru up, tucking the dog into his jacket. “Well, I’ll see you guys later.” He heaved a tremendous, dramatic sigh. “Girls,” he groaned. “Whatever.”

“Actually, Kiba,” Kurenai called out after him. “I was going to say that we’re leaving soon.”

“Really?” He turned around, eyes bright and excited.

Grimacing, Kurenai burst his bubble. “Sorry, Kiba. Just Hinata and me.”

He groaned, slumping. “Ugh!” he grunted, gently kicking the door frame. “You mean I don’t get to have any fun?”

“No. It’s absolutely forbidden,” Kurenai said sternly. “Tell Shino for me, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, slouching off down the hallway. He continued muttering all the way down the stairs. Closing the door behind him, Kurenai turned to Hinata.

“If Kiba’s out of bed, you know what that means, right?”

“It’s after noon?” Hinata asked tentatively.

Kurenai laughed. “Yeah, it’s after noon. Not only that, but I’m about to be late for a very important meeting. Want to come with?”

“Umm…yes,” Hinata finally said. “I’m kind of…afraid to be alone.”

“All right then, we better get going,” Kurenai announced. For the sake of appearances, she ran to the closet in her bedroom and dug through it, finally pulling out her flak jacket and slipping it on. “You ready?”

Hinata nodded her assent, and walked out the door, followed closely by her teacher. Kurenai didn’t bother to lock the door. In order to prevent break-ins in a world populated by ninjas, you’d have to have a lot better locks than were currently invented. With that, the two headed off for Tsunade’s office, preparing to make the changes to create a better life.

NOTE: I know that Hinata was kidnapped when she was 3, but I figure at age 3, she wouldn’t remember much of it, and if she did, it would be mostly a blur. In any case, a mission is a mission. It can’t really be refused.

Write to Alina-Cantha
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