NejiSasu, chapter 1 (untitled)
So here is the final Prologue + 1st Chapter of the as-yet untitled NejiSasu fic. The timeline is after the whole thing blows over (of course in canon, we don't know how things turned out, which is why I've taken some liberties. XD), provided that everyone was intact. I didn't include the Bijuu arc though, not only because it tampers too much with unresolved issues in canon, but also because having Itachi in the story physically, and not just a mental spectre-device-thing to flesh out Sasuke's character would be too troublesome, so to speak.
I really like the Hyuuga family. And several things I've written actually coincided with other canon material. ^^ without me knowing of course. ^^
“You do understand why you, of all the other clan members of the Leaf, have been called to this duty, don’t you?”
The Fifth’s sharp voice reminded him of the predicament at hand, and with a mental sigh he carefully directed his attention back to the stern-looking woman in front of him. “Yes, Hokage-sama. However, if you may not mind me asking, why must the term be indefinite?”
A smirk made its way to Tsunade’s face, giving her an overall sly look. “I would enumerate a dozen assets your kind has in this sort of situation, but I’m sure both of us know what I have to say and thus I need not say it. However, let me remind you of the situation: we have retrieved the last of the Uchiha children and he is now lying, all the worse for wear, in the intensive care unit of the hospital. His physical injuries are nothing that cannot be healed given a couple of weeks of medical attention, but the mutations brought about by the curse seal Orochimaru left the boy are gone.”
She leaned forward, resting her cheek on her hand. “But as you now know his chakra highways aren’t quite… ‘cleansed’ yet, so to speak, and this will take more than the typical medic nin ministrations. Your kind do this sort of thing almost methodically, I’m told; thus it is to you that I entrust the therapy of the Uchiha brat.”
He frowned a little at that, ages-old clan pride bristling a bit even under the command of the mighty Hokage. “My house has several noteworthy medic nins to its name, Hokage-sama, and I am sure they will attend to the Uchiha to the utmost. However-“
“However, as we all know, he was hand-picked by Orochimaru himself, to be his ‘vessel’, and thus we may assume that the bastard slowly ‘moved house’ so to speak, by slowly transfusing his chakra into the boy, through the three-year span,” Tsunade’s eyes darkened at the thought, familiar with the ways her former teammate performed his ghastly inversions of the healing jutsu taught to medic nin.
It was a day of much grief on the one hand; newly-made chuunin had not lived to see their next mission, experienced jounin had suffered from massive chakra poisoning and the remnants of negative chakra purged from the body by painful healing jutsu hung in the room like so much wasted breath.
On the other hand, there was also cause for rejoicing. Naruto managed to bring home his errant teammate Sasuke, by now almost unrecognizable in the horrendous mutations the curse seal in its advanced level had wrought him. It had been a gruesome fight, which drained both boys and devastated the Hidden Village of Sound, so much so that only three days after the fight had been concluded, a council was called to decide the standing of the hidden villages, particularly that of the Otogakure. By then there had been no solid community left to be called a “village” much less a “clan”, and thus the records had to be set straight.
“The Sharingan is a valuable asset to the Leaf,” she mused aloud, immediately noticing the very subtle dilation of her guest’s almost-invisible pupils. “Orochimaru very nearly succeeded in using it against us.” She stared at the clan head seated across her pointedly.
His jaw tightened as the full implications of what the Hokage had said dawned on him. “You are asking my house to monitor and contain this…this Uchiha boy. In the event that something goes wrong, and a part of Orochimaru is strong enough to override the boy’s conscience as it did then.”
“Because no other house is strong enough to do so,” she finished for him. “That is why the tenure is indefinite. Surely you hold no grudge against a house that has been, for the last eight years, non-existent and out of commission, do you?” There was a slight mocking tone to her voice; Tsunade always found inter-clan grudges incredulous, especially if these grudges were maintained by the most inane of reasons.
For his part, he had respected the Uchiha clan as worthy equals and dutiful shinobi. He would have gladly accepted the request-no, the demand-imposed upon him, had personal circumstances not been too glaring to dismiss.
“No, Hokage-sama,” he replied. “And I am quite sure that had the situations been reversed, the Uchiha would do what I must as well.”
“They would have, indeed!” Tsunade leaned back against her leather chair. She kept her gaze level. “I expect you to put aside your familial trouble as of the moment, Hyuuga Hiashi, messy and complicated as it may seem.”
He flinched at the knowing look his superior cast his way. But of course the Hokage would know everything. He nodded his assent, however, because he was a man of his word, and he had promised to house the prodigal Leaf shinobi.
“Understood, Hokage-sama. He shall be kept under close watch. I will personally see to it that the medic nin in my family attend to the Uchiha boy as his regimen demands it.”
The Fifth broke to a crooked smile. “It doesn’t really matter whether you put him in the Main House or in one of the Branch House buildings. And you needn’t go to such pains, Hiashi-san; every other day a team will pay a visit to the Uchiha brat and implement his rehabilitation. What you can do is to oversee that this is followed. Although…” she paused thoughtfully for a quick moment before adding, “it would be good if he doesn’t have visitors save for the medical team, until further notice. He is unstable in mind, body, and spirit, you must understand, and to see the faces that could only bring him painful memories will only do more harm than good.” A flicker of sadness crossed Tsunade’s face.
Hiashi rose to leave, bowing low before the Hokage in the old way. “I shall make preparations, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha shall be given protection and aide, and I shall be answerable to his welfare until such time as seen fit for the boy to…move to his own quarters.”
There was a pause before Tsunade broke out into harsh laughter. “Oh, so polite. Very well then. Expect him in the early evening; currently the chakra surgeons are still correcting major curse diffusions in his highway. I am counting on you, Hyuuga Hiashi.”
He left the office more troubled than when he had entered it. Truth be told, his reasons were rather petty, and the presence of the Uchiha would only strain particular ties that he had been working to mend within his family.
But this was a duty to the village, and it was, albeit on a grander scale, a comrade-to-comrade call for assistance; and it would be a sorry day in all of history if the Hyuuga, strongest clan of the Hidden Leaf, could not step up to this obligation because it was busy tripping itself up on its own feet.
He would certainly put the boy amongst the Branch Family’s quarters. It was actually a major compliment, this task assigned to his family, and deep in the recesses of his heart, pride welled. If indeed they were to protect the boy against the fugitives after him, he had to ensure measures to protect his family against the boy as well.
It is like erecting double walls, he thought. Which serve not only to protect us from the plausible threat of the Uchiha boy’s infected body, but which will also isolate us from each other-as if the house stratifications weren’t enough already.
A family meeting would have to be called later in the evening, of course, but right now, he had to appoint a stand-in who would serve as his ‘eye’ so to speak. He knew where to find the one person he knew he could count on given the situation. Hiashi only hoped that he would make his point clear without having to unnecessarily open up old wounds.
Team Gai had spent most of the morning in what their rather strange teacher called “dynamic meditation.” Despite its rather outrageous name, it was a pretty solid system of concentrated chakra channeling that Gai had helped each one of them adapt to, in accordance to their specialties.
Lee, for example, regulated a steady flow of chakra as he bent himself into almost inhuman angles, testing the flexibility of his muscles and the versatility of his bones. It was a fascinating yoga-type exercise to watch, the concentration in the young shinobi’s face apparent as he held a particular difficult pose.
Tenten, for her part, whipped about with a birch bo, perching herself precariously on singular wooden blocks. Each block measured some four to five feet off the ground, around several short inches wide. These were arranged in a circle, allowing her to focus her chakra into the simultaneous movement of the longstaff and into her feet, as she quickly switched positions from pole to pole, hopping from one to the other whilst keeping up with the exercise pace and keeping her balance.
They weren’t very difficult to locate. Despite the largeness of the practice grounds, and despite the fact that they were, quite essentially, meditating, their teacher was busy cheering them on.
“That’s it, Lee, twist those bendy bones of yours and render them like rubber! Remember that is the gift of youth-adaptability and flexibility!”
Hiashi watched them quietly from where he stood, shaking his head slightly. This was probably a more rigorous sort of ‘meditation’ than it seemed at first, as the younger shinobi had to forcibly shut off the loud shouts of encouragement directed at them every few minutes.
“Tenten, let the staff act as your third foot! All weapons are extensions of a weapons-master’s body. As the leaves that rustle in the summer wind are one with the branch and the tree that holds them, so must you be one with your weapons!”
It was generally very difficult to take Maitou Gai seriously. However surprising as it would seem though, there was some convoluted wisdom to the man’s words, often smothered in superfluous speech and an almost nonsensical gibberish that was so characteristic of Gai.
“Neji! You must feel the metal without touching it! Extend your chakra onto your object!”
From the corner of Hiashi’s eye he saw his nephew. Upside-down under a high branch, Neji sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration. His hands faced each other, fingers splayed out and twitching ever-so-slightly. In the small distance between his palms, two very sharp kunai spun in opposing directions (rather like two frenzied hands of a clock) kept suspended and rotating by a constant flow of chakra. Only a couple of hairs’ breadth separated the sharp tips from Neji’s exposed fingers, so that the slightest miscalculation would nick the flesh ever so slightly.
Hiashi mentally applauded the eccentric jounin teacher; he had designed exercises that fit each of his students’ specialties very well. He was quite sorry to have to interrupt what they were doing so well, but he had very important matters to attend to. Soundlessly, he approached the quartet, keeping himself hidden from view.
“Hyuuga-dono,” Gai greeted, as soon as he got close enough for the jounin teacher to detect his subtle presence. “It is a lovely day in the late spring to find you walking in the practice grounds. What brings you here?” It was all a matter of formality, of course; both men knew why Hiashi was here.
“I wish to speak with Neji for a bit, if you do not mind, Gai-sensei,” he requested in a low voice. Without turning his head Hiashi could see his nephew’s face twitch slightly in surprise; the boy had seen him. “It is… of utmost importance.”
“Of course, Hyuuga-dono,” Gai intoned. Then, in his loud voice, he addressed his team. “Everyone! Your efforts for the morning merit a recess. A shinobi cannot function on an empty stomach. As it is nearing lunchtime, our mission is to keep the harmonious flow of our chakra by feasting on good, healthy food!” He posed exuberantly. “Who is up for a bowl of ramen or two?”
“That’s not healthy food,” Tenten pointed out, jumping down from her perch and laying her staff aside. “And I’m sure, at this hour, the Ichiraku will be full. I suggest we-“
“YES GAI-SENSEI!” Lee cried out. “And I shall finish three bowls in thirty seconds else I shall run a hundred laps around the Academy Oval on my hands!”
“Then, I must finish four bowls in twenty seconds, or I will run three hundred laps on one hand!”
“YOSH!!”
“Good grief, both of you, it’s just lunch you know. Neji, won’t you be coming along?” Tenten called up to him.
The two whirring kunai wobbled from their axes, and whispered against the tip of Neji’s fingers. “I haven’t reached my one million one thousand and one hundredth spin yet, but you all go on ahead.” He kept his eyes closed, but Hiashi knew Neji was looking at him questioningly.
“Alright, but if you don’t join us in thirty minutes we’re bringing you food, okay?”
They watched as the three made their way out of the practice grounds and to the street towards the Ichiraku, with Lee and Gai gesticulating colorfully about the various challenges they set up against each other, and Tenten shaking her head and snickering. A stillness settled in the glade then, restful and easy.
“They are a good team,” Hiashi murmured out loud. “No, don’t, continue with what you are doing,” he chided Neji, as the younger shinobi made to stop and to properly face the head of his clan. “It is an interesting exercise. Perhaps a modification of it will suit Hanabi and the younger children very well. It teaches excellent chakra control.”
A very faint emotion flashed across Neji’s face in an instant. The Hyuuga were a very stern kind, and compliments were either implied in silence, or in the most meager of words and the most indirect gestures. Even more so between different House members.
“You are all recovering very well, given the month-long tenure that has lapsed after that big fight,” Hiashi began. “It has certainly resulted in a big political mess, but the Council of Five will have their last two meetings at the end of the week. We are fortunate to have powerful allies such as the Sand on our side.”
He was careful to pick his words. The boy was exceptionally perceptive, and could predict conversations and small situational outcomes based on words and bodily affectations. It required subtlety that was a skill to be earned, and not inherited.
There was silence for the briefest moment. “Is Gai-sensei training you all for an upcoming mission?” Hiashi asked.
The twin kunai continued to whirr in their axis between Neji’s fingers. “There will be an upcoming mission two days from now, or so I’ve gathered,” he said carefully. “Bodyguarding the Fire Country delegates who will represent the country in the more bureaucratic meetings among non-shinobi.”
“Is this the one that will be held in Tea Country?”
“Yes, uncle. A B-rank mission.”
The older Hyuuga thought about it for a moment. “Is this something particularly dangerous?”
Neji inclined his head. “I can excuse myself if you wish, uncle. They are a good team, after all.” His lip twitched.
Hiashi hid a smile. Perceptive indeed, and straight to the point. “Yes, request a leave from your team. Your duty will be to the village this time, specifically to the House of Hyuuga. Both houses.”
The sharp projectiles he was spinning between his hands increased their speed ever so slightly. “Is there… is there a danger?” Neji asked, brows furrowed.
He is no doubt thinking of that time, Hiashi observed, and wondered (as he did every so often) what would have become of the boy had his father not taken on such an obligatory sacrifice. “No, Neji. Nothing of the sort you are thinking,” he said quietly, and the boy visibly relaxed.
Another silence announced itself. Only the humming of Neji’s kunai and the occasional forest bird taking flight could be heard.
“This is,” Hiashi began again, “however, something akin to a one-man mission.”
A soft hissing noise. Hiashi glanced up to see Neji gritting his teeth, still intent on his exercise. His left index finger however, bled from a nick. For someone who knew the boy, it wasn’t hard to guess that he was now quite excited about the proposition. Well. Let him enjoy it for the moment.
“It helps you to control your chakra fully, eh?” It was a reprimand, and Neji took it, head bowing slightly in embarrassment. “Well, keep at it, because this is precisely what will be asked of you.”
He turned to leave, paused, and continued. “You are on your nine thousandth mark?”
“Eight and five hundred,” Neji answered, voice edging.
Hiashi nodded. “After your eight millionth turn, take your leave. I shall have all you need prepared in your room.” Thus the older Hyuuga disappeared, leaving Neji vexed and alone with his slighted pride and his cut finger, ignoring lunch, ignoring the small trickle of blood, and ignoring his team, who had fussed about him the moment they returned.
Sakura watched apprehensively from behind the glass as the three medic nin carefully handled the tubes and the seal-blanket, preparing to transfer into the improvised gurney the body of her beloved teammate.
In her agitation she had barked out reproofs at the three special chuunin, fussing about a slightly tangled IV line here, a clumsily juxtaposed sealing kanji there. She could not help but be extremely worried, and she had cause to be as well. Tsunade had only agreed for her to ‘oversee’ the preparations made to the transferring bed, strictly forbidding her to much less touch its most fragile passenger.
“Do you understand how extremely sensitive he is now with his chakra system held open?” The Fifth had scolded her earlier, as she begged to be allowed to care for the comatose Uchiha. “The poisons must be purged from his system, because they have seeped in too deep. He has to be kept stable; the sudden aura of a very familiar person which would normally trigger an emotional response would ruin this equilibrium. Do not tell me you do not understand!”
Sakura sighed at the memory, twisting the hem of her medic apron quite forcefully.
“Put in an extra saline pack, for the love Shodai,” she snapped into the speaker phone, hearing her voice echo mechanically inside the room. “And put the talismans where he cannot reach for them. There, there. There, by the foot of the bed.” Wordlessly, a tall tattooed medic nin moved to comply.
Tsunade had specifically named her, Naruto, Kakashi, and the entire Team 10. They were to stay away from Uchiha Sasuke, as far away as the next room, and they were to mask their aura best they could. The only people allowed to handle the boy were anonymous medic nin, and the Fifth herself.
So much so that he has to be put away in a strange place for the duration of his recovery, Sakura thought bitterly, eyes scanning the scene before her, looking for the slightest mistake.
“Sakura-chan, it’s fine. The medic nin are doing their best.”
This snapped Sakura, and she whirled around and spat, “Oh, and you think I am not? That is Sasuke-kun in there and-” She bit back on the rest of the sentence however, at the wince in the other person’s face.
She had not meant to sound so harsh but it could not be helped.
Beside her, heavily bandaged, Naruto came up on his wheelchair. He too leaned slightly forward so he could see what was going on inside the room.
“Sorry,” she said more calmly. “Why are you here?”
“The same reason you are, Sakura-chan,” Naruto replied, and then fell silent.
This did not let up Sakura’s anxiety, so she gritted out, “You’re not supposed to be here, you know. You’re supposed to be resting. In your room.”
“I know,” her blonde teammate replied calmly. There was a weary undertone in his voice that Sakura could not quite name. “But I want to see how they’re going to take care of Sasuke.” Bruised lips curved upward slightly in a pained grin. “Damn guy always needs to be taken care of anyway.”
“You’re all the worse for wear yourself! I shall call for your nurse-“
“Don’t, Asura-sempai’s off to Ichiraku.”
She blinked at him in disbelief. “You. You bribed him?”
Naruto absently scratched his cheek with a finger. “Well him, Sora-sempai and Miyami-san,” he said matter-of-factly, naming the three medics responsible for his well-being. “I had coupons enough for two, and Miyami-san says she doesn’t eat a lot.”
“Oh Naruto. You are a complete idiot.”
“…heh. I guess.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Since recovering from his own trauma, a little over a week ago (he healed more quickly than Sasuke, due to the Kyuubi in his body), Naruto had been strangely silent. She had to admit that the boy’s babble was comforting to hear in the direst situations, because he somehow echoed everyone else’s fears, and by voicing out his apprehensions he unconsciously helped others get over theirs as well. To have him as still and as silent like this…
“Don’t tell me you aren’t worried too!” She glared at him balefully, hoping to provoke him to speech. “They’re taking him away from the hospital, to some unknown retreat. And how are we to know that such a retreat is safe? How are we to know that Sasuke-kun will be in good hands, that he will heal safely?”
Naruto mused for a long moment. “Sasuke will be fine,” was all he said, but the conviction in his tone was solid. “I trust them.” He nodded towards the medical personnel in the room.
Sakura frowned. “I don’t understand you. How could-“
“Looks like he’s ready.”
Sakura turned her attention back to the room. A fourth medic nin, in the long, white gown of a chakra surgeon, entered from an inner side door and took one very quick run-through with the preparations. Something inside Sakura soured at how the surgeon could be so close to Sasuke, how she could freely, as she was now doing, retrace the kanji seals etched in blood around the unconscious boy’s face.
Immediately after she had finished, the first three finally buckled everything in place, and proceeded to wheel him out of the room.
She was about to open her mouth to retort, to complain, anything to delay the moving of Sasuke, when Naruto turned slightly and smiled, addressing the surgeon who had now come out of the room and was standing behind Sakura.
“Yo, doc.”
“He-hello, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san.”
At the familiar voice, Sakura turned in surprise. Slowly pulling down the surgeon’s mask that obscured her face, Hyuuga Hinata offered the pair a shy, uncertain smile.
“How’s the bastard?” Naruto asked casually, the familiar lilt of mischief in his words. “He giving you trouble? He’s trouble enough awake, heh.”
Hinata shook her head vigorously. “Oh no, no, Sasuke-kun is cooperating. For someone with such a high level of infection, he’s doing amazingly well. Not as well as we would all like to think,” she added quickly, “but it has been only one month and now-now most of the blockages in his chakra highway are clearing out.”
She still spoke quietly, but it now carried the confidence of profession. Sakura knew that Hinata, along with a few others, had taken some medical training (because the presence of a medic was mandatory in a team), but she had not expected the once fearfully shy girl to attain the level of surgeon. She had not even heard of Hinata save in passing, and she had been working in the shinobi hospital in and out for the past three years now, as Tsunade’s apprentice.
Naruto scrunched his face. “Is this a good thing?”
Hinata glanced into the room before answering. “It is, and to an extent it is not. That is why he must be transferred to a place where he can rest, undisturbed, among people he has not had contact with prior to the-the incident.” Hinata almost reverted to her old habit of twiddling fingers. “Even here, in the hospital, it holds…it holds memories for him. And… and the aura of different people might confuse him and thus worsen his state.
“The physical surgeons did very well,” she continued, and nodded at Sakura. “Sakura-san may even know most of them. Hokage-sama herself monitored several sessions. While his body is back to normal, it will now be his non-physical properties that will need healing.”
Images of Sasuke rampaging in a deadly level-3 curse mode flashed through Sakura’s mind, and a sob almost hitched in her throat. Pale eyes slid in her direction before quickly averting away.
“That-that is why he’ll have to go under retreat. Well-protected, of course. Hokage-sama has informed us of the possible dangers. Please don’t worry. I myself shall be present when he undergoes rehabilitation.”
Sakura watched in growing dismay as the figure in the gurney was slowly moved toward the inner side door that Hinata had used to enter the room. It was not that she did not trust Hinata ; in fact, she was grateful to have her care for Sasuke but…
“I don’t even know where he is going to,” she murmured quietly.
The pale-eyed surgeon laid a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, and gestured for both of them to look back into the room. Hinata then reached for the button of the speaker.
“Yukio-san, Inoue-san, Ryuko-san,” she called out, “Please proceed to the teleportation area and wait for me there. Please make sure nobody else is in the room, and proceed to draw the seals for teleportation.”
All three medic nin in the room stopped for a moment, and turned fully to where Hinata stood.
“Yes, Hinata-sama.”
It was then that Sakura realized that the three she had been so callously ordering around all had the same almost-white eyes of Hinata beside her. Realization crept in, and suddenly she understood the entire situation perfectly. In the back of her mind, she thanked her shishou for having such foresight.
Naruto only smirked knowingly. “You just tell me if he makes trouble, ne, Hinata? Sasuke-bastard… man, I’d love to get a tour of your place someday. Iruka-sensei says it’s the biggest compound in the whole of Konoha. Are those castles you live in, Hinata?” He was starting to prattle again, a comforting sound.
He noticed, thought Sakura, and immediately felt guilty for exploding at him. Naruto knew all along, which was why he acted so confident about the move. I’m sorry yet again, Naruto. She felt strangely drained now that her nervousness had left.
“Well,” she started, breaking in, “I suppose it’s all good now. It’s your turn to go back to your room, Naruto, unless you want me to drag you there by force. And don’t you dare think I won’t beat you up to get you back in.” She ignored Naruto’s protests as she made to wheel him back into his quarters down the hallway.
She paused. “Hinata-san, thank you for… everything.” She bowed in gratitude to the pale-eyed girl before her, not knowing what else to say and how else to say it.
“I will do my best Sakura-san,” Hinata replied, and watched the pair make their way down the hallway bickering. Hinata smiled to herself, thinking that perhaps she knew exactly what Sakura was feeling.
It was late in the afternoon when Neji had completed his eight millionth spin. By then, the rest of his team had finished with their exercises, and were absently sparring with their sensei. They left him be, after he refused to acknowledge their fuss, even with Rock Lee making a great show of devouring the ramen they’d bought for him, and Tenten concernedly eyeing two more of his slightly bleeding cuts.
“He is deep in magna-dynamic meditation,” Gai reasoned seriously. “He is expanding his youthful spirit.”
At this Lee had stared up, in awe of the philosophical explanation, vowing loudly to expand his youthful spirit too, and reach his alpha-magna-supra-dynamic core through vigorous spine bends. Tenten only sighed in defeat and took to her posts once again.
She now stopped in mid-lunge and looked at him questioningly as he slowly walked down the tree from his perch, bending slightly here and there to right his circulation.
“Someone got carried away,” she said, grinning.
Gai straightened up from his fighting stance and nodded to his team. “Yo~sh. Now that all of you have attained dynamic calm, it is now time to talk about the mission.” He ducked a flying kick, and reached for a scroll inside of his vest.
Lee yelled victoriously and pumped a fist in the air, performing several more backflips in sheer excitement. “Is this the one you’ve been training us for, Gai-sensei? Will this involve us twisting to get in tight spaces and dodging dangerous weapons? Would this-“ he would have continued, had Tenten not bapped him smartly with the end of her stick.
“Can you just calm down so that sensei can talk about it, Lee?”
They kept at it for a bit, and as Gai brought out the two mission scrolls and laid them out on the ground, he turned and nodded very briefly to Neji. Granting permission to leave. Neji acknowledged this and turned to walk away.
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Both Tenten and Lee turned in surprise to watch their retreating teammate’s back.
“But-Neji? Aren’t you going to listen to the mission briefing?” Tenten was still eyeing his cut fingers, most of which had now stopped bleeding.
This is akin to a one-man mission. It had vexed him terribly, and he could not explain why. It was an exciting prospect, certainly, to be accorded the honor of carrying out a one-man mission (these were rare missions assigned only to trusted nin of ANBU and Hunter level, this much he knew); much less a one-man mission that involved the Hyuuga name.
He had time to think of the possibilities, as he concentrated on spinning the two kunai. It was probably more of a reconnaissance-type of mission, which would probably entail him spying on, and investigating individuals that either threatened the house from the outside (non-family members for example, who dealt with the Hyuuga closely), or investigating his own family members, who threatened to tarnish the name by engaging in questionable deals.
He had more or less settled for the possibly of it being an inter-house situation; he knew his family, large and (to an extent) bureaucratic as it was. He knew that despite the bitterness that still lingered in the sentiments of his Branch House kin, they were still loyal to the house itself. Hiashi-sama, being the clan head, would have known anyway, and would have put a stop to it himself.
“That is why he is leaving,” Gai replied. He turned to Neji, the somber expression replaced by a flashy smile of encouragement. “Go, my pupil, and hold your youthful fire true! Perform exemplarily in your mission!” The jounin struck his Nice Guy Pose.
They are a good team. He felt his lip twitch despite himself. “The three of you as well,” Neji replied, and so saying, he made a few seals and disappeared in a clap of smoke, willing the teleportation jutsu to carry him to his home.
The Hyuuga compound was the biggest by far in the Konohagakure. It housed seven families, two of the first degree (those families were Hinata’s and Neji’s), three of the second degree, and two of the third. The First Family lived in the four-storey pseudo-tower in the middle of the compound, while the four slightly smaller structures flanked it on it four corners. Neji’s family, and several of the second degree family members lived in the North house. The rest were loosely distributed among the other three. Each sub-house had a large courtyard at the center, where members liked to practice in the early hours of the morning.
Neji now entered the North entrance, and was slightly disturbed to see that the medic nin were stationed in idle attention near the stairwell. He had not heard of anyone birthing; perhaps one of the children, while training, wounded himself, or herself badly.
He knew Yukio and Ryuko; they were Branch members of the second degree, quiet kids who had incurred the favor of many of the Main House. He only knew Inoue because he once lived in the North house, in the small room on the first floor, once when he was Genin.
They now eyed him respectfully as he passed them by, and made for the stairwell that led to the second floor. The vexed sensation that pervaded his senses all day long amplified, and he unconsciously felt the cuts on his fingers in agitation.
But surely they have nothing to do with this mission Uncle has for me, he thought. As he ascended the stairs that led to the corridor, he could feel all three eyes of the medic nin follow him curiously. Do they know of this, he wondered, as he walked down the hallway to his room.
He passed by an open door, and from the corner of his eye saw his uncle seated, back towards him, deep, it seemed, in the middle of a solitary tea ceremony.
His uncle’s telltale presence snapped his reserve, and Neji strode now, the bad feeling rising with every step like so much troubled chakra.
He felt her presence even before he saw her come out of his room.
“Hinata-sama!?” he called out.
She turned, jumping slightly at the tone of his voice, and nearly dropped the large medical kit she was holding. “Ne-Neji-niisan,” she greeted a little shakily, taking in his somber face. “I-I was just leaving, I was just-just making sure everything was okay, because I-I’m the only one who knows how to fix such things-“ Her pale eyes shifted for the briefest moment before she directed them again at him.
Neji hastily reigned in his emotions and managed a calm smile. “I am sorry, Hinata-sama,” he amended. “I must admit, I am quite keyed up with the prospective of this mission. Please excuse me. Is everything ready?” He knew she was sensitive to chakra emissions, since she was, after all, a surgeon.
Hinata only looked at him questioningly before slowly nodding. “The-the set-up is complete, Neji-niisan. Your room couldn’t have been more perfect, as it is quite compatible with his much-depleted air-based chakra and-“
“His?!”
Hinata yelped as Neji pushed her aside, and slid open the door of his room. He sucked in a breath as he beheld the sight, gaze centering on the new occupant settled in the low white mattress-bed.
The sealing blanket draped in and over the bed, and kanji ran like elongated spiders over the bandages that wrapped around pale limbs. Two IV tubes dripped life into semi-listless veins that throbbed under the small pressure. Smaller tubes ran under pale fingers, needles inserted into the skin below the joints. Each ended with a character from the kujikiri mantra; purification tubes that filtered out the chakra that entered and left the body’s chakra system.
A smaller sealing blanket covered the patient’s face from the nose up, held firmly in place by hooks in the edges that fitted into small metal snags on the mattress made for that purpose. A small altar torch blazed blue flame over the victim’s head, flanked by two earthen bowls filled with water.
No mission scrolls and carefully-laid out ninja instruments, ready to be packed for a journey. No debriefing papers and lists of names to investigate, no records for reference that he had all imagined would be waiting for him when he had finished his eight millionth turn.
“What…” He turned slowly to face Hinata, eyes veining around the edges as he finished surveying the scene, “…is this.”
“That-that is-“ Hinata started, casting worried glances at the body in the room behind Neji, more concerned about the now slightly bubbling water in the bowls than of her looming cousin before her.
“That is your mission, jounin.”
Hiashi laid a firm hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Hinata, have Shirin-baasan bring up two more spare sets of clothes for our guest, and another spare altar lamp.” He said this while watching Neji carefully, as the younger jounin struggled to keep his anger in check.
“Right away, father.” She glanced apologetically at her cousin before walking quickly away. Uncle and nephew were left staring at each other; one in angry inquiry, the other in calm scrutiny, as Hinata’s soft footfalls echoed and eventually disappeared.
“Neji,” Hiashi said finally, ominously, “Step away from that room, and follow me.” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead stepped away and into the corridor, entering the room Neji saw him in earlier. His nephew was hot on his heels, and as Hiashi calmly seated himself to continue grinding the tea leaves, Neji stood at a respectful distance, struggling to maintain his composure.
“It is no stranger lying in there,” Hiashi said at length, carefully setting the nearby pot to a boil.
“I know who it is,” Neji replied testily.
“Then that makes things easier,” his uncle merely continued, readying two ancient tea cups, gesturing for him to come forward. “I suppose I needn’t explain how he came to be there, and why he has fallen into your scope of responsibility either, do I?”
Stiffly, Neji took a seat in front of his uncle, his balled fists not quite relaxing. He inhaled sharply. “He does not deserve this.”
He frowned in the memory of four years past, and how several lives were almost lost in that desperate rescue attempt.
“He is a shinobi of the Leaf,” Hiashi replied levelly, handling the crushed tea essences.
“He is a traitor to the Leaf,” Neji answered.
“Those were his circumstances, and it is not for you to judge,” the clan head continued, lifting the steaming pot and tipping it gently against the first cup. “Uchiha Sasuke belongs to a clan that has been deeply rooted in the history of this village. He too is a holder of a Bloodline Limit.”
Neji was silent at this, fuming. He understood all too well how precious the presence of an Advanced Bloodline was, particularly because the traits particular to a bloodline depended solely on genetics, not training. A village’s trump card was the number of bloodlines it had in its name. It was by a lucky streak that they were able to take back the errant shinobi alive, and with him, the Sharingan.
To date, Sasuke was the only remaining member of the Uchiha and the last natural wielder of the Sharingan. While his brother (the similarly errant Itachi) had killed off virtually their entire clan, Sasuke himself sought and eventually dealt with his brother in the three years he had been Orochimaru’s understudy.
Now, it seemed, the question of the Sharingan’s complete extinction depended on the comatose body resting a few rooms away.
“The Uchiha are an undependable lot,” Neji muttered sourly. Irresponsible! The need to excel as an individual only extended insofar as one’s abilities contributed to the village strength as a whole. As a family gifted with a bloodline limit, they certainly allowed such selfish motives amongst their members.
Hiashi paused to glance at his nephew before resuming what he was doing, discreetly hiding a smile. He knew exactly what the boy was thinking, but chose to keep his reprimand to himself. He poured for the second cup, and slid it across the floor towards Neji.
“And I trust that the Hyuuga shall never be,” was all he said, watching Neji’s fist tighten a little before relaxing, the full implications of the statement clear to both of them.
The younger Hyuuga stared hard at the cup steaming before him, indecision apparent. This was akin to a one-man mission, after all. He had been to more difficult field work, after all. An irony indeed, that he was now called upon to involve himself with the very person whose retrieval almost cost him his life.
There was a moment’s hesitation before Neji finally took the cup, gingerly taking a sip.
He has grown in maturity, Hiashi observed, satisfied. Several years ago perhaps, the boy would have done it only through sheer coercion-possibly with the use of outright threat, and then Hiashi would have asked someone to watch over Neji himself.
“I understand the dangers implicit, Hiashi-sama,” Neji said. “If this is indeed a mission, you chose a good place to hold it.” An ironic gleam flashed through his pale eyes.
Yet still very bitter. Although the once very vindictive boy had mellowed down after fully understanding what had actually happened between the House’s twin sons, there was still a tinge of resentment. It would always be there, Hiashi thought, for as long as there exists the familial divide.
But divisions were always necessary to keep a unit whole. He only allowed a knowing smirk to return that remark. But of course the Uchiha would be situated in a Branch House. Perhaps the only Main House member to have regular contact with the boy would be Hinata, but that was out of necessity; she was a very, very talented chakra surgeon, for her age.
“It is a one-man mission after all,” he said. On the other hand, consider it an honor on your part, Hyuuga Neji. “You are dealing with the last member of what was once a very formidable clan.”
Neji opened his mouth to say something, but Hiashi had already nodded, acknowledging Hinata who stood outside. She padded quietly into the room, and took a seat to her father’s left. Hiashi then bowed slightly, signaling the end of the ceremony, and stood up.
Neji refused to meet his eye, and Hiashi could sense the boy controlling his apparent distaste of the entire situation.
Wordlessly, he walked past, but just as he was about to leave the room, Hiashi said, “I hope you realize. To the Uchiha, you are all the Hyuuga.”
Hiashi did not need to see behind him how Neji reacted. He knew where the proud straightening of the shoulders and the slight upward tilt of the chin came from.
He is you in the flesh, Hizashi. One day… And then he stopped. There would be another time for other matters.
The clan head descended the stairs, quite satisfied with how it had turned out, while in the room, Hinata had begun to explain to her cousin the nuances of the rehabilitation.
It was evening when they finally finished. He had asked a lot of questions, much to Hinata’s surprise (as she had expected him to only half-listen, to scoff several times, and to leave in a wake of indifference).
Of course, being Neji, he had veiled his questions (most out of curiosity, she noted, although several were out of concern) regarding his impromptu roommate, and how he played a part in all of it.
“You aren’t required to stay in at all times, Neji-niisan,” Hinata explained. “As far as I know you may take missions, but only those that don’t require more than seventy-two hours of being away from the village, travel time included.”
“And why must it be in my room?” He sneered slightly. “I understand part of what Hiashi-sama has in mind, but that can’t possibly be the only reason, if I am after all allowed to go out for missions.”
“There are, in fact, several more reasons, Neji-niisan, most of them pertaining to medical matters.” She had unrolled a small floor plan of the North House. “Sasuke-kun’s chakra highways are severely blockaded with Orochimaru’s energies, thus stopping the natural flow. What is happening now is that his main pathways are opened, to purge it out of him. However, much of his own natural chakra is let out as well.”
He let his gaze scan over the room now, as he stood in the doorway, overlooking its unconscious occupant. The Branch House members who lived in the North House with him were all now in the dining hall, leaving the rest of the house immersed in a twilight silence.
She had explained to him how the different chakra-sustaining mediums were put up to coincide with the naturally-occuring chakra flows in his room.
“The placement of your room favors air energies, Neji-niisan,” she said, drawing an elemental chart. “You are an air energy yourself, and thus there is enough for Sasuke-kun to draw from. It’s a very good coincidence, as most of his air-based chakra was used to take out the biggest blockages, thus depleting his natural reserves.
“The bowls are filled to the brim, and do not react to physical handling, only to chakra handling. Sasuke-kun’s water energies are dangerously low as well, and are probably the most reactive.” She had looked him square in the face in quiet warning. “Especially from air-based chakra emitted in unregulated amounts.”
She was warning him to keep his own chakra rhythms in check. He could not help but think of how timely Gai-sensei had introduced to him his own “dynamic meditation”. Irony, it seemed, was Fate’s favorite underhand move. Absently, he felt the cuts he’d garnered from the exercise, all reduced to papercuts, thanks to Hinata’s insistence.
She had also explained how the rest of the other elements worked in on the best juxtaposition for healing. There would be a medic nin who would check in on him during the day, and an entire team would survey him twice a week. It was more of a loose vigil he had to keep on Sasuke, and as all vigils went, it would either result to nothing, or to something very wrong.
He paid close attention to everything, rather like paying attention to a mission briefing: formal, detached, focused. It seemed strange, yet again, to be taking briefings from a lower-ranked ninja, from Hinata of all people, whom he’d hated long before.
It had been quite some time since he felt like killing a fellow Leaf shinobi, and he was glad for it. He had to admit, that it was useless to hate how Fate moved her pieces. Because really, we are given enough to go by, and we pick our own way from there.
But here in the dwindling dusk, where late shadows of trees swaying in the lamplight, it was easy to forget that simple fact. In the dim light, Neji squinted, saw the placid movement of Uchiha Sasuke’s blood, and deeper still, the colorful regulation of his ailing chakra system.
Disgust roiled in his mind, for this person who had ruined so many lives simply by existing. And the worst part is that Uchiha Sasuke does not know it.
Rather like Hinata-sama, he thought in retrospect, but that was a different story altogether. He narrowed his eyes dangerously, as he regarded the sleeping form. He could not begin to count how many people were ruined because of this once-traitor, most of them being his trusted comrades.
Here, in the deepening twilight, watching this last, most obstinate member of one long-lost obstinate clan, Neji found it all too easy to remember how to hate.
-------------
NOtes:
[1] the sealing blanket is much like what was draped over Kimimaro's face when he was still in bed recuperating.
[2] Er, some feng-shui concepts at work here. ^^ Hope what I researched in wasn't a dud ^^; I also referenced the way Chouji was set-up for healing by the medic nins after his fight with Jiroubu. Healing can be pretty scary. o_o
I really like the Hyuuga family. And several things I've written actually coincided with other canon material. ^^ without me knowing of course. ^^
“You do understand why you, of all the other clan members of the Leaf, have been called to this duty, don’t you?”
The Fifth’s sharp voice reminded him of the predicament at hand, and with a mental sigh he carefully directed his attention back to the stern-looking woman in front of him. “Yes, Hokage-sama. However, if you may not mind me asking, why must the term be indefinite?”
A smirk made its way to Tsunade’s face, giving her an overall sly look. “I would enumerate a dozen assets your kind has in this sort of situation, but I’m sure both of us know what I have to say and thus I need not say it. However, let me remind you of the situation: we have retrieved the last of the Uchiha children and he is now lying, all the worse for wear, in the intensive care unit of the hospital. His physical injuries are nothing that cannot be healed given a couple of weeks of medical attention, but the mutations brought about by the curse seal Orochimaru left the boy are gone.”
She leaned forward, resting her cheek on her hand. “But as you now know his chakra highways aren’t quite… ‘cleansed’ yet, so to speak, and this will take more than the typical medic nin ministrations. Your kind do this sort of thing almost methodically, I’m told; thus it is to you that I entrust the therapy of the Uchiha brat.”
He frowned a little at that, ages-old clan pride bristling a bit even under the command of the mighty Hokage. “My house has several noteworthy medic nins to its name, Hokage-sama, and I am sure they will attend to the Uchiha to the utmost. However-“
“However, as we all know, he was hand-picked by Orochimaru himself, to be his ‘vessel’, and thus we may assume that the bastard slowly ‘moved house’ so to speak, by slowly transfusing his chakra into the boy, through the three-year span,” Tsunade’s eyes darkened at the thought, familiar with the ways her former teammate performed his ghastly inversions of the healing jutsu taught to medic nin.
It was a day of much grief on the one hand; newly-made chuunin had not lived to see their next mission, experienced jounin had suffered from massive chakra poisoning and the remnants of negative chakra purged from the body by painful healing jutsu hung in the room like so much wasted breath.
On the other hand, there was also cause for rejoicing. Naruto managed to bring home his errant teammate Sasuke, by now almost unrecognizable in the horrendous mutations the curse seal in its advanced level had wrought him. It had been a gruesome fight, which drained both boys and devastated the Hidden Village of Sound, so much so that only three days after the fight had been concluded, a council was called to decide the standing of the hidden villages, particularly that of the Otogakure. By then there had been no solid community left to be called a “village” much less a “clan”, and thus the records had to be set straight.
“The Sharingan is a valuable asset to the Leaf,” she mused aloud, immediately noticing the very subtle dilation of her guest’s almost-invisible pupils. “Orochimaru very nearly succeeded in using it against us.” She stared at the clan head seated across her pointedly.
His jaw tightened as the full implications of what the Hokage had said dawned on him. “You are asking my house to monitor and contain this…this Uchiha boy. In the event that something goes wrong, and a part of Orochimaru is strong enough to override the boy’s conscience as it did then.”
“Because no other house is strong enough to do so,” she finished for him. “That is why the tenure is indefinite. Surely you hold no grudge against a house that has been, for the last eight years, non-existent and out of commission, do you?” There was a slight mocking tone to her voice; Tsunade always found inter-clan grudges incredulous, especially if these grudges were maintained by the most inane of reasons.
For his part, he had respected the Uchiha clan as worthy equals and dutiful shinobi. He would have gladly accepted the request-no, the demand-imposed upon him, had personal circumstances not been too glaring to dismiss.
“No, Hokage-sama,” he replied. “And I am quite sure that had the situations been reversed, the Uchiha would do what I must as well.”
“They would have, indeed!” Tsunade leaned back against her leather chair. She kept her gaze level. “I expect you to put aside your familial trouble as of the moment, Hyuuga Hiashi, messy and complicated as it may seem.”
He flinched at the knowing look his superior cast his way. But of course the Hokage would know everything. He nodded his assent, however, because he was a man of his word, and he had promised to house the prodigal Leaf shinobi.
“Understood, Hokage-sama. He shall be kept under close watch. I will personally see to it that the medic nin in my family attend to the Uchiha boy as his regimen demands it.”
The Fifth broke to a crooked smile. “It doesn’t really matter whether you put him in the Main House or in one of the Branch House buildings. And you needn’t go to such pains, Hiashi-san; every other day a team will pay a visit to the Uchiha brat and implement his rehabilitation. What you can do is to oversee that this is followed. Although…” she paused thoughtfully for a quick moment before adding, “it would be good if he doesn’t have visitors save for the medical team, until further notice. He is unstable in mind, body, and spirit, you must understand, and to see the faces that could only bring him painful memories will only do more harm than good.” A flicker of sadness crossed Tsunade’s face.
Hiashi rose to leave, bowing low before the Hokage in the old way. “I shall make preparations, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha shall be given protection and aide, and I shall be answerable to his welfare until such time as seen fit for the boy to…move to his own quarters.”
There was a pause before Tsunade broke out into harsh laughter. “Oh, so polite. Very well then. Expect him in the early evening; currently the chakra surgeons are still correcting major curse diffusions in his highway. I am counting on you, Hyuuga Hiashi.”
He left the office more troubled than when he had entered it. Truth be told, his reasons were rather petty, and the presence of the Uchiha would only strain particular ties that he had been working to mend within his family.
But this was a duty to the village, and it was, albeit on a grander scale, a comrade-to-comrade call for assistance; and it would be a sorry day in all of history if the Hyuuga, strongest clan of the Hidden Leaf, could not step up to this obligation because it was busy tripping itself up on its own feet.
He would certainly put the boy amongst the Branch Family’s quarters. It was actually a major compliment, this task assigned to his family, and deep in the recesses of his heart, pride welled. If indeed they were to protect the boy against the fugitives after him, he had to ensure measures to protect his family against the boy as well.
It is like erecting double walls, he thought. Which serve not only to protect us from the plausible threat of the Uchiha boy’s infected body, but which will also isolate us from each other-as if the house stratifications weren’t enough already.
A family meeting would have to be called later in the evening, of course, but right now, he had to appoint a stand-in who would serve as his ‘eye’ so to speak. He knew where to find the one person he knew he could count on given the situation. Hiashi only hoped that he would make his point clear without having to unnecessarily open up old wounds.
Team Gai had spent most of the morning in what their rather strange teacher called “dynamic meditation.” Despite its rather outrageous name, it was a pretty solid system of concentrated chakra channeling that Gai had helped each one of them adapt to, in accordance to their specialties.
Lee, for example, regulated a steady flow of chakra as he bent himself into almost inhuman angles, testing the flexibility of his muscles and the versatility of his bones. It was a fascinating yoga-type exercise to watch, the concentration in the young shinobi’s face apparent as he held a particular difficult pose.
Tenten, for her part, whipped about with a birch bo, perching herself precariously on singular wooden blocks. Each block measured some four to five feet off the ground, around several short inches wide. These were arranged in a circle, allowing her to focus her chakra into the simultaneous movement of the longstaff and into her feet, as she quickly switched positions from pole to pole, hopping from one to the other whilst keeping up with the exercise pace and keeping her balance.
They weren’t very difficult to locate. Despite the largeness of the practice grounds, and despite the fact that they were, quite essentially, meditating, their teacher was busy cheering them on.
“That’s it, Lee, twist those bendy bones of yours and render them like rubber! Remember that is the gift of youth-adaptability and flexibility!”
Hiashi watched them quietly from where he stood, shaking his head slightly. This was probably a more rigorous sort of ‘meditation’ than it seemed at first, as the younger shinobi had to forcibly shut off the loud shouts of encouragement directed at them every few minutes.
“Tenten, let the staff act as your third foot! All weapons are extensions of a weapons-master’s body. As the leaves that rustle in the summer wind are one with the branch and the tree that holds them, so must you be one with your weapons!”
It was generally very difficult to take Maitou Gai seriously. However surprising as it would seem though, there was some convoluted wisdom to the man’s words, often smothered in superfluous speech and an almost nonsensical gibberish that was so characteristic of Gai.
“Neji! You must feel the metal without touching it! Extend your chakra onto your object!”
From the corner of Hiashi’s eye he saw his nephew. Upside-down under a high branch, Neji sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration. His hands faced each other, fingers splayed out and twitching ever-so-slightly. In the small distance between his palms, two very sharp kunai spun in opposing directions (rather like two frenzied hands of a clock) kept suspended and rotating by a constant flow of chakra. Only a couple of hairs’ breadth separated the sharp tips from Neji’s exposed fingers, so that the slightest miscalculation would nick the flesh ever so slightly.
Hiashi mentally applauded the eccentric jounin teacher; he had designed exercises that fit each of his students’ specialties very well. He was quite sorry to have to interrupt what they were doing so well, but he had very important matters to attend to. Soundlessly, he approached the quartet, keeping himself hidden from view.
“Hyuuga-dono,” Gai greeted, as soon as he got close enough for the jounin teacher to detect his subtle presence. “It is a lovely day in the late spring to find you walking in the practice grounds. What brings you here?” It was all a matter of formality, of course; both men knew why Hiashi was here.
“I wish to speak with Neji for a bit, if you do not mind, Gai-sensei,” he requested in a low voice. Without turning his head Hiashi could see his nephew’s face twitch slightly in surprise; the boy had seen him. “It is… of utmost importance.”
“Of course, Hyuuga-dono,” Gai intoned. Then, in his loud voice, he addressed his team. “Everyone! Your efforts for the morning merit a recess. A shinobi cannot function on an empty stomach. As it is nearing lunchtime, our mission is to keep the harmonious flow of our chakra by feasting on good, healthy food!” He posed exuberantly. “Who is up for a bowl of ramen or two?”
“That’s not healthy food,” Tenten pointed out, jumping down from her perch and laying her staff aside. “And I’m sure, at this hour, the Ichiraku will be full. I suggest we-“
“YES GAI-SENSEI!” Lee cried out. “And I shall finish three bowls in thirty seconds else I shall run a hundred laps around the Academy Oval on my hands!”
“Then, I must finish four bowls in twenty seconds, or I will run three hundred laps on one hand!”
“YOSH!!”
“Good grief, both of you, it’s just lunch you know. Neji, won’t you be coming along?” Tenten called up to him.
The two whirring kunai wobbled from their axes, and whispered against the tip of Neji’s fingers. “I haven’t reached my one million one thousand and one hundredth spin yet, but you all go on ahead.” He kept his eyes closed, but Hiashi knew Neji was looking at him questioningly.
“Alright, but if you don’t join us in thirty minutes we’re bringing you food, okay?”
They watched as the three made their way out of the practice grounds and to the street towards the Ichiraku, with Lee and Gai gesticulating colorfully about the various challenges they set up against each other, and Tenten shaking her head and snickering. A stillness settled in the glade then, restful and easy.
“They are a good team,” Hiashi murmured out loud. “No, don’t, continue with what you are doing,” he chided Neji, as the younger shinobi made to stop and to properly face the head of his clan. “It is an interesting exercise. Perhaps a modification of it will suit Hanabi and the younger children very well. It teaches excellent chakra control.”
A very faint emotion flashed across Neji’s face in an instant. The Hyuuga were a very stern kind, and compliments were either implied in silence, or in the most meager of words and the most indirect gestures. Even more so between different House members.
“You are all recovering very well, given the month-long tenure that has lapsed after that big fight,” Hiashi began. “It has certainly resulted in a big political mess, but the Council of Five will have their last two meetings at the end of the week. We are fortunate to have powerful allies such as the Sand on our side.”
He was careful to pick his words. The boy was exceptionally perceptive, and could predict conversations and small situational outcomes based on words and bodily affectations. It required subtlety that was a skill to be earned, and not inherited.
There was silence for the briefest moment. “Is Gai-sensei training you all for an upcoming mission?” Hiashi asked.
The twin kunai continued to whirr in their axis between Neji’s fingers. “There will be an upcoming mission two days from now, or so I’ve gathered,” he said carefully. “Bodyguarding the Fire Country delegates who will represent the country in the more bureaucratic meetings among non-shinobi.”
“Is this the one that will be held in Tea Country?”
“Yes, uncle. A B-rank mission.”
The older Hyuuga thought about it for a moment. “Is this something particularly dangerous?”
Neji inclined his head. “I can excuse myself if you wish, uncle. They are a good team, after all.” His lip twitched.
Hiashi hid a smile. Perceptive indeed, and straight to the point. “Yes, request a leave from your team. Your duty will be to the village this time, specifically to the House of Hyuuga. Both houses.”
The sharp projectiles he was spinning between his hands increased their speed ever so slightly. “Is there… is there a danger?” Neji asked, brows furrowed.
He is no doubt thinking of that time, Hiashi observed, and wondered (as he did every so often) what would have become of the boy had his father not taken on such an obligatory sacrifice. “No, Neji. Nothing of the sort you are thinking,” he said quietly, and the boy visibly relaxed.
Another silence announced itself. Only the humming of Neji’s kunai and the occasional forest bird taking flight could be heard.
“This is,” Hiashi began again, “however, something akin to a one-man mission.”
A soft hissing noise. Hiashi glanced up to see Neji gritting his teeth, still intent on his exercise. His left index finger however, bled from a nick. For someone who knew the boy, it wasn’t hard to guess that he was now quite excited about the proposition. Well. Let him enjoy it for the moment.
“It helps you to control your chakra fully, eh?” It was a reprimand, and Neji took it, head bowing slightly in embarrassment. “Well, keep at it, because this is precisely what will be asked of you.”
He turned to leave, paused, and continued. “You are on your nine thousandth mark?”
“Eight and five hundred,” Neji answered, voice edging.
Hiashi nodded. “After your eight millionth turn, take your leave. I shall have all you need prepared in your room.” Thus the older Hyuuga disappeared, leaving Neji vexed and alone with his slighted pride and his cut finger, ignoring lunch, ignoring the small trickle of blood, and ignoring his team, who had fussed about him the moment they returned.
Sakura watched apprehensively from behind the glass as the three medic nin carefully handled the tubes and the seal-blanket, preparing to transfer into the improvised gurney the body of her beloved teammate.
In her agitation she had barked out reproofs at the three special chuunin, fussing about a slightly tangled IV line here, a clumsily juxtaposed sealing kanji there. She could not help but be extremely worried, and she had cause to be as well. Tsunade had only agreed for her to ‘oversee’ the preparations made to the transferring bed, strictly forbidding her to much less touch its most fragile passenger.
“Do you understand how extremely sensitive he is now with his chakra system held open?” The Fifth had scolded her earlier, as she begged to be allowed to care for the comatose Uchiha. “The poisons must be purged from his system, because they have seeped in too deep. He has to be kept stable; the sudden aura of a very familiar person which would normally trigger an emotional response would ruin this equilibrium. Do not tell me you do not understand!”
Sakura sighed at the memory, twisting the hem of her medic apron quite forcefully.
“Put in an extra saline pack, for the love Shodai,” she snapped into the speaker phone, hearing her voice echo mechanically inside the room. “And put the talismans where he cannot reach for them. There, there. There, by the foot of the bed.” Wordlessly, a tall tattooed medic nin moved to comply.
Tsunade had specifically named her, Naruto, Kakashi, and the entire Team 10. They were to stay away from Uchiha Sasuke, as far away as the next room, and they were to mask their aura best they could. The only people allowed to handle the boy were anonymous medic nin, and the Fifth herself.
So much so that he has to be put away in a strange place for the duration of his recovery, Sakura thought bitterly, eyes scanning the scene before her, looking for the slightest mistake.
“Sakura-chan, it’s fine. The medic nin are doing their best.”
This snapped Sakura, and she whirled around and spat, “Oh, and you think I am not? That is Sasuke-kun in there and-” She bit back on the rest of the sentence however, at the wince in the other person’s face.
She had not meant to sound so harsh but it could not be helped.
Beside her, heavily bandaged, Naruto came up on his wheelchair. He too leaned slightly forward so he could see what was going on inside the room.
“Sorry,” she said more calmly. “Why are you here?”
“The same reason you are, Sakura-chan,” Naruto replied, and then fell silent.
This did not let up Sakura’s anxiety, so she gritted out, “You’re not supposed to be here, you know. You’re supposed to be resting. In your room.”
“I know,” her blonde teammate replied calmly. There was a weary undertone in his voice that Sakura could not quite name. “But I want to see how they’re going to take care of Sasuke.” Bruised lips curved upward slightly in a pained grin. “Damn guy always needs to be taken care of anyway.”
“You’re all the worse for wear yourself! I shall call for your nurse-“
“Don’t, Asura-sempai’s off to Ichiraku.”
She blinked at him in disbelief. “You. You bribed him?”
Naruto absently scratched his cheek with a finger. “Well him, Sora-sempai and Miyami-san,” he said matter-of-factly, naming the three medics responsible for his well-being. “I had coupons enough for two, and Miyami-san says she doesn’t eat a lot.”
“Oh Naruto. You are a complete idiot.”
“…heh. I guess.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Since recovering from his own trauma, a little over a week ago (he healed more quickly than Sasuke, due to the Kyuubi in his body), Naruto had been strangely silent. She had to admit that the boy’s babble was comforting to hear in the direst situations, because he somehow echoed everyone else’s fears, and by voicing out his apprehensions he unconsciously helped others get over theirs as well. To have him as still and as silent like this…
“Don’t tell me you aren’t worried too!” She glared at him balefully, hoping to provoke him to speech. “They’re taking him away from the hospital, to some unknown retreat. And how are we to know that such a retreat is safe? How are we to know that Sasuke-kun will be in good hands, that he will heal safely?”
Naruto mused for a long moment. “Sasuke will be fine,” was all he said, but the conviction in his tone was solid. “I trust them.” He nodded towards the medical personnel in the room.
Sakura frowned. “I don’t understand you. How could-“
“Looks like he’s ready.”
Sakura turned her attention back to the room. A fourth medic nin, in the long, white gown of a chakra surgeon, entered from an inner side door and took one very quick run-through with the preparations. Something inside Sakura soured at how the surgeon could be so close to Sasuke, how she could freely, as she was now doing, retrace the kanji seals etched in blood around the unconscious boy’s face.
Immediately after she had finished, the first three finally buckled everything in place, and proceeded to wheel him out of the room.
She was about to open her mouth to retort, to complain, anything to delay the moving of Sasuke, when Naruto turned slightly and smiled, addressing the surgeon who had now come out of the room and was standing behind Sakura.
“Yo, doc.”
“He-hello, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san.”
At the familiar voice, Sakura turned in surprise. Slowly pulling down the surgeon’s mask that obscured her face, Hyuuga Hinata offered the pair a shy, uncertain smile.
“How’s the bastard?” Naruto asked casually, the familiar lilt of mischief in his words. “He giving you trouble? He’s trouble enough awake, heh.”
Hinata shook her head vigorously. “Oh no, no, Sasuke-kun is cooperating. For someone with such a high level of infection, he’s doing amazingly well. Not as well as we would all like to think,” she added quickly, “but it has been only one month and now-now most of the blockages in his chakra highway are clearing out.”
She still spoke quietly, but it now carried the confidence of profession. Sakura knew that Hinata, along with a few others, had taken some medical training (because the presence of a medic was mandatory in a team), but she had not expected the once fearfully shy girl to attain the level of surgeon. She had not even heard of Hinata save in passing, and she had been working in the shinobi hospital in and out for the past three years now, as Tsunade’s apprentice.
Naruto scrunched his face. “Is this a good thing?”
Hinata glanced into the room before answering. “It is, and to an extent it is not. That is why he must be transferred to a place where he can rest, undisturbed, among people he has not had contact with prior to the-the incident.” Hinata almost reverted to her old habit of twiddling fingers. “Even here, in the hospital, it holds…it holds memories for him. And… and the aura of different people might confuse him and thus worsen his state.
“The physical surgeons did very well,” she continued, and nodded at Sakura. “Sakura-san may even know most of them. Hokage-sama herself monitored several sessions. While his body is back to normal, it will now be his non-physical properties that will need healing.”
Images of Sasuke rampaging in a deadly level-3 curse mode flashed through Sakura’s mind, and a sob almost hitched in her throat. Pale eyes slid in her direction before quickly averting away.
“That-that is why he’ll have to go under retreat. Well-protected, of course. Hokage-sama has informed us of the possible dangers. Please don’t worry. I myself shall be present when he undergoes rehabilitation.”
Sakura watched in growing dismay as the figure in the gurney was slowly moved toward the inner side door that Hinata had used to enter the room. It was not that she did not trust Hinata ; in fact, she was grateful to have her care for Sasuke but…
“I don’t even know where he is going to,” she murmured quietly.
The pale-eyed surgeon laid a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, and gestured for both of them to look back into the room. Hinata then reached for the button of the speaker.
“Yukio-san, Inoue-san, Ryuko-san,” she called out, “Please proceed to the teleportation area and wait for me there. Please make sure nobody else is in the room, and proceed to draw the seals for teleportation.”
All three medic nin in the room stopped for a moment, and turned fully to where Hinata stood.
“Yes, Hinata-sama.”
It was then that Sakura realized that the three she had been so callously ordering around all had the same almost-white eyes of Hinata beside her. Realization crept in, and suddenly she understood the entire situation perfectly. In the back of her mind, she thanked her shishou for having such foresight.
Naruto only smirked knowingly. “You just tell me if he makes trouble, ne, Hinata? Sasuke-bastard… man, I’d love to get a tour of your place someday. Iruka-sensei says it’s the biggest compound in the whole of Konoha. Are those castles you live in, Hinata?” He was starting to prattle again, a comforting sound.
He noticed, thought Sakura, and immediately felt guilty for exploding at him. Naruto knew all along, which was why he acted so confident about the move. I’m sorry yet again, Naruto. She felt strangely drained now that her nervousness had left.
“Well,” she started, breaking in, “I suppose it’s all good now. It’s your turn to go back to your room, Naruto, unless you want me to drag you there by force. And don’t you dare think I won’t beat you up to get you back in.” She ignored Naruto’s protests as she made to wheel him back into his quarters down the hallway.
She paused. “Hinata-san, thank you for… everything.” She bowed in gratitude to the pale-eyed girl before her, not knowing what else to say and how else to say it.
“I will do my best Sakura-san,” Hinata replied, and watched the pair make their way down the hallway bickering. Hinata smiled to herself, thinking that perhaps she knew exactly what Sakura was feeling.
It was late in the afternoon when Neji had completed his eight millionth spin. By then, the rest of his team had finished with their exercises, and were absently sparring with their sensei. They left him be, after he refused to acknowledge their fuss, even with Rock Lee making a great show of devouring the ramen they’d bought for him, and Tenten concernedly eyeing two more of his slightly bleeding cuts.
“He is deep in magna-dynamic meditation,” Gai reasoned seriously. “He is expanding his youthful spirit.”
At this Lee had stared up, in awe of the philosophical explanation, vowing loudly to expand his youthful spirit too, and reach his alpha-magna-supra-dynamic core through vigorous spine bends. Tenten only sighed in defeat and took to her posts once again.
She now stopped in mid-lunge and looked at him questioningly as he slowly walked down the tree from his perch, bending slightly here and there to right his circulation.
“Someone got carried away,” she said, grinning.
Gai straightened up from his fighting stance and nodded to his team. “Yo~sh. Now that all of you have attained dynamic calm, it is now time to talk about the mission.” He ducked a flying kick, and reached for a scroll inside of his vest.
Lee yelled victoriously and pumped a fist in the air, performing several more backflips in sheer excitement. “Is this the one you’ve been training us for, Gai-sensei? Will this involve us twisting to get in tight spaces and dodging dangerous weapons? Would this-“ he would have continued, had Tenten not bapped him smartly with the end of her stick.
“Can you just calm down so that sensei can talk about it, Lee?”
They kept at it for a bit, and as Gai brought out the two mission scrolls and laid them out on the ground, he turned and nodded very briefly to Neji. Granting permission to leave. Neji acknowledged this and turned to walk away.
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Both Tenten and Lee turned in surprise to watch their retreating teammate’s back.
“But-Neji? Aren’t you going to listen to the mission briefing?” Tenten was still eyeing his cut fingers, most of which had now stopped bleeding.
This is akin to a one-man mission. It had vexed him terribly, and he could not explain why. It was an exciting prospect, certainly, to be accorded the honor of carrying out a one-man mission (these were rare missions assigned only to trusted nin of ANBU and Hunter level, this much he knew); much less a one-man mission that involved the Hyuuga name.
He had time to think of the possibilities, as he concentrated on spinning the two kunai. It was probably more of a reconnaissance-type of mission, which would probably entail him spying on, and investigating individuals that either threatened the house from the outside (non-family members for example, who dealt with the Hyuuga closely), or investigating his own family members, who threatened to tarnish the name by engaging in questionable deals.
He had more or less settled for the possibly of it being an inter-house situation; he knew his family, large and (to an extent) bureaucratic as it was. He knew that despite the bitterness that still lingered in the sentiments of his Branch House kin, they were still loyal to the house itself. Hiashi-sama, being the clan head, would have known anyway, and would have put a stop to it himself.
“That is why he is leaving,” Gai replied. He turned to Neji, the somber expression replaced by a flashy smile of encouragement. “Go, my pupil, and hold your youthful fire true! Perform exemplarily in your mission!” The jounin struck his Nice Guy Pose.
They are a good team. He felt his lip twitch despite himself. “The three of you as well,” Neji replied, and so saying, he made a few seals and disappeared in a clap of smoke, willing the teleportation jutsu to carry him to his home.
The Hyuuga compound was the biggest by far in the Konohagakure. It housed seven families, two of the first degree (those families were Hinata’s and Neji’s), three of the second degree, and two of the third. The First Family lived in the four-storey pseudo-tower in the middle of the compound, while the four slightly smaller structures flanked it on it four corners. Neji’s family, and several of the second degree family members lived in the North house. The rest were loosely distributed among the other three. Each sub-house had a large courtyard at the center, where members liked to practice in the early hours of the morning.
Neji now entered the North entrance, and was slightly disturbed to see that the medic nin were stationed in idle attention near the stairwell. He had not heard of anyone birthing; perhaps one of the children, while training, wounded himself, or herself badly.
He knew Yukio and Ryuko; they were Branch members of the second degree, quiet kids who had incurred the favor of many of the Main House. He only knew Inoue because he once lived in the North house, in the small room on the first floor, once when he was Genin.
They now eyed him respectfully as he passed them by, and made for the stairwell that led to the second floor. The vexed sensation that pervaded his senses all day long amplified, and he unconsciously felt the cuts on his fingers in agitation.
But surely they have nothing to do with this mission Uncle has for me, he thought. As he ascended the stairs that led to the corridor, he could feel all three eyes of the medic nin follow him curiously. Do they know of this, he wondered, as he walked down the hallway to his room.
He passed by an open door, and from the corner of his eye saw his uncle seated, back towards him, deep, it seemed, in the middle of a solitary tea ceremony.
His uncle’s telltale presence snapped his reserve, and Neji strode now, the bad feeling rising with every step like so much troubled chakra.
He felt her presence even before he saw her come out of his room.
“Hinata-sama!?” he called out.
She turned, jumping slightly at the tone of his voice, and nearly dropped the large medical kit she was holding. “Ne-Neji-niisan,” she greeted a little shakily, taking in his somber face. “I-I was just leaving, I was just-just making sure everything was okay, because I-I’m the only one who knows how to fix such things-“ Her pale eyes shifted for the briefest moment before she directed them again at him.
Neji hastily reigned in his emotions and managed a calm smile. “I am sorry, Hinata-sama,” he amended. “I must admit, I am quite keyed up with the prospective of this mission. Please excuse me. Is everything ready?” He knew she was sensitive to chakra emissions, since she was, after all, a surgeon.
Hinata only looked at him questioningly before slowly nodding. “The-the set-up is complete, Neji-niisan. Your room couldn’t have been more perfect, as it is quite compatible with his much-depleted air-based chakra and-“
“His?!”
Hinata yelped as Neji pushed her aside, and slid open the door of his room. He sucked in a breath as he beheld the sight, gaze centering on the new occupant settled in the low white mattress-bed.
The sealing blanket draped in and over the bed, and kanji ran like elongated spiders over the bandages that wrapped around pale limbs. Two IV tubes dripped life into semi-listless veins that throbbed under the small pressure. Smaller tubes ran under pale fingers, needles inserted into the skin below the joints. Each ended with a character from the kujikiri mantra; purification tubes that filtered out the chakra that entered and left the body’s chakra system.
A smaller sealing blanket covered the patient’s face from the nose up, held firmly in place by hooks in the edges that fitted into small metal snags on the mattress made for that purpose. A small altar torch blazed blue flame over the victim’s head, flanked by two earthen bowls filled with water.
No mission scrolls and carefully-laid out ninja instruments, ready to be packed for a journey. No debriefing papers and lists of names to investigate, no records for reference that he had all imagined would be waiting for him when he had finished his eight millionth turn.
“What…” He turned slowly to face Hinata, eyes veining around the edges as he finished surveying the scene, “…is this.”
“That-that is-“ Hinata started, casting worried glances at the body in the room behind Neji, more concerned about the now slightly bubbling water in the bowls than of her looming cousin before her.
“That is your mission, jounin.”
Hiashi laid a firm hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Hinata, have Shirin-baasan bring up two more spare sets of clothes for our guest, and another spare altar lamp.” He said this while watching Neji carefully, as the younger jounin struggled to keep his anger in check.
“Right away, father.” She glanced apologetically at her cousin before walking quickly away. Uncle and nephew were left staring at each other; one in angry inquiry, the other in calm scrutiny, as Hinata’s soft footfalls echoed and eventually disappeared.
“Neji,” Hiashi said finally, ominously, “Step away from that room, and follow me.” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead stepped away and into the corridor, entering the room Neji saw him in earlier. His nephew was hot on his heels, and as Hiashi calmly seated himself to continue grinding the tea leaves, Neji stood at a respectful distance, struggling to maintain his composure.
“It is no stranger lying in there,” Hiashi said at length, carefully setting the nearby pot to a boil.
“I know who it is,” Neji replied testily.
“Then that makes things easier,” his uncle merely continued, readying two ancient tea cups, gesturing for him to come forward. “I suppose I needn’t explain how he came to be there, and why he has fallen into your scope of responsibility either, do I?”
Stiffly, Neji took a seat in front of his uncle, his balled fists not quite relaxing. He inhaled sharply. “He does not deserve this.”
He frowned in the memory of four years past, and how several lives were almost lost in that desperate rescue attempt.
“He is a shinobi of the Leaf,” Hiashi replied levelly, handling the crushed tea essences.
“He is a traitor to the Leaf,” Neji answered.
“Those were his circumstances, and it is not for you to judge,” the clan head continued, lifting the steaming pot and tipping it gently against the first cup. “Uchiha Sasuke belongs to a clan that has been deeply rooted in the history of this village. He too is a holder of a Bloodline Limit.”
Neji was silent at this, fuming. He understood all too well how precious the presence of an Advanced Bloodline was, particularly because the traits particular to a bloodline depended solely on genetics, not training. A village’s trump card was the number of bloodlines it had in its name. It was by a lucky streak that they were able to take back the errant shinobi alive, and with him, the Sharingan.
To date, Sasuke was the only remaining member of the Uchiha and the last natural wielder of the Sharingan. While his brother (the similarly errant Itachi) had killed off virtually their entire clan, Sasuke himself sought and eventually dealt with his brother in the three years he had been Orochimaru’s understudy.
Now, it seemed, the question of the Sharingan’s complete extinction depended on the comatose body resting a few rooms away.
“The Uchiha are an undependable lot,” Neji muttered sourly. Irresponsible! The need to excel as an individual only extended insofar as one’s abilities contributed to the village strength as a whole. As a family gifted with a bloodline limit, they certainly allowed such selfish motives amongst their members.
Hiashi paused to glance at his nephew before resuming what he was doing, discreetly hiding a smile. He knew exactly what the boy was thinking, but chose to keep his reprimand to himself. He poured for the second cup, and slid it across the floor towards Neji.
“And I trust that the Hyuuga shall never be,” was all he said, watching Neji’s fist tighten a little before relaxing, the full implications of the statement clear to both of them.
The younger Hyuuga stared hard at the cup steaming before him, indecision apparent. This was akin to a one-man mission, after all. He had been to more difficult field work, after all. An irony indeed, that he was now called upon to involve himself with the very person whose retrieval almost cost him his life.
There was a moment’s hesitation before Neji finally took the cup, gingerly taking a sip.
He has grown in maturity, Hiashi observed, satisfied. Several years ago perhaps, the boy would have done it only through sheer coercion-possibly with the use of outright threat, and then Hiashi would have asked someone to watch over Neji himself.
“I understand the dangers implicit, Hiashi-sama,” Neji said. “If this is indeed a mission, you chose a good place to hold it.” An ironic gleam flashed through his pale eyes.
Yet still very bitter. Although the once very vindictive boy had mellowed down after fully understanding what had actually happened between the House’s twin sons, there was still a tinge of resentment. It would always be there, Hiashi thought, for as long as there exists the familial divide.
But divisions were always necessary to keep a unit whole. He only allowed a knowing smirk to return that remark. But of course the Uchiha would be situated in a Branch House. Perhaps the only Main House member to have regular contact with the boy would be Hinata, but that was out of necessity; she was a very, very talented chakra surgeon, for her age.
“It is a one-man mission after all,” he said. On the other hand, consider it an honor on your part, Hyuuga Neji. “You are dealing with the last member of what was once a very formidable clan.”
Neji opened his mouth to say something, but Hiashi had already nodded, acknowledging Hinata who stood outside. She padded quietly into the room, and took a seat to her father’s left. Hiashi then bowed slightly, signaling the end of the ceremony, and stood up.
Neji refused to meet his eye, and Hiashi could sense the boy controlling his apparent distaste of the entire situation.
Wordlessly, he walked past, but just as he was about to leave the room, Hiashi said, “I hope you realize. To the Uchiha, you are all the Hyuuga.”
Hiashi did not need to see behind him how Neji reacted. He knew where the proud straightening of the shoulders and the slight upward tilt of the chin came from.
He is you in the flesh, Hizashi. One day… And then he stopped. There would be another time for other matters.
The clan head descended the stairs, quite satisfied with how it had turned out, while in the room, Hinata had begun to explain to her cousin the nuances of the rehabilitation.
It was evening when they finally finished. He had asked a lot of questions, much to Hinata’s surprise (as she had expected him to only half-listen, to scoff several times, and to leave in a wake of indifference).
Of course, being Neji, he had veiled his questions (most out of curiosity, she noted, although several were out of concern) regarding his impromptu roommate, and how he played a part in all of it.
“You aren’t required to stay in at all times, Neji-niisan,” Hinata explained. “As far as I know you may take missions, but only those that don’t require more than seventy-two hours of being away from the village, travel time included.”
“And why must it be in my room?” He sneered slightly. “I understand part of what Hiashi-sama has in mind, but that can’t possibly be the only reason, if I am after all allowed to go out for missions.”
“There are, in fact, several more reasons, Neji-niisan, most of them pertaining to medical matters.” She had unrolled a small floor plan of the North House. “Sasuke-kun’s chakra highways are severely blockaded with Orochimaru’s energies, thus stopping the natural flow. What is happening now is that his main pathways are opened, to purge it out of him. However, much of his own natural chakra is let out as well.”
He let his gaze scan over the room now, as he stood in the doorway, overlooking its unconscious occupant. The Branch House members who lived in the North House with him were all now in the dining hall, leaving the rest of the house immersed in a twilight silence.
She had explained to him how the different chakra-sustaining mediums were put up to coincide with the naturally-occuring chakra flows in his room.
“The placement of your room favors air energies, Neji-niisan,” she said, drawing an elemental chart. “You are an air energy yourself, and thus there is enough for Sasuke-kun to draw from. It’s a very good coincidence, as most of his air-based chakra was used to take out the biggest blockages, thus depleting his natural reserves.
“The bowls are filled to the brim, and do not react to physical handling, only to chakra handling. Sasuke-kun’s water energies are dangerously low as well, and are probably the most reactive.” She had looked him square in the face in quiet warning. “Especially from air-based chakra emitted in unregulated amounts.”
She was warning him to keep his own chakra rhythms in check. He could not help but think of how timely Gai-sensei had introduced to him his own “dynamic meditation”. Irony, it seemed, was Fate’s favorite underhand move. Absently, he felt the cuts he’d garnered from the exercise, all reduced to papercuts, thanks to Hinata’s insistence.
She had also explained how the rest of the other elements worked in on the best juxtaposition for healing. There would be a medic nin who would check in on him during the day, and an entire team would survey him twice a week. It was more of a loose vigil he had to keep on Sasuke, and as all vigils went, it would either result to nothing, or to something very wrong.
He paid close attention to everything, rather like paying attention to a mission briefing: formal, detached, focused. It seemed strange, yet again, to be taking briefings from a lower-ranked ninja, from Hinata of all people, whom he’d hated long before.
It had been quite some time since he felt like killing a fellow Leaf shinobi, and he was glad for it. He had to admit, that it was useless to hate how Fate moved her pieces. Because really, we are given enough to go by, and we pick our own way from there.
But here in the dwindling dusk, where late shadows of trees swaying in the lamplight, it was easy to forget that simple fact. In the dim light, Neji squinted, saw the placid movement of Uchiha Sasuke’s blood, and deeper still, the colorful regulation of his ailing chakra system.
Disgust roiled in his mind, for this person who had ruined so many lives simply by existing. And the worst part is that Uchiha Sasuke does not know it.
Rather like Hinata-sama, he thought in retrospect, but that was a different story altogether. He narrowed his eyes dangerously, as he regarded the sleeping form. He could not begin to count how many people were ruined because of this once-traitor, most of them being his trusted comrades.
Here, in the deepening twilight, watching this last, most obstinate member of one long-lost obstinate clan, Neji found it all too easy to remember how to hate.
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NOtes:
[1] the sealing blanket is much like what was draped over Kimimaro's face when he was still in bed recuperating.
[2] Er, some feng-shui concepts at work here. ^^ Hope what I researched in wasn't a dud ^^; I also referenced the way Chouji was set-up for healing by the medic nins after his fight with Jiroubu. Healing can be pretty scary. o_o