KITAI
Hello there my fellow fanfictioners! It has certainly been a while hasn't it? I just finished my exams so hopefully my time should free up a lot more now. (I say that a lot don't I? :))
Just a little information about the nature of this one-shot. It is set after Those Who Are Lost (I know, I know, I haven't even finished that one yet) but before that story's planned sequel Those Who Are Found.
The shot itself will have only a minor impact on the story of the sequel.
I would also like to dedicate this one-shot to fanofthisfiction for their amazing contribution not only to fanfiction but also to the Fanfiction Review Movement (FRM).
Now this is hardly my best work and I do plan to 'touch it up' when I finish Those Who Are Lost before moving onto the sequel. Nevertheless I hope that you guys enjoy this and that you are as excited for me to finish Those Who Are Lost as I am and its sequel Those Who Are Found.
Now then, enough of my senseless prattling and let's move onto the story.
The Land of Waves
"Why?" Himawari called down to him even as she passed from one tree branch to another.
"Why what?" Sasuke retorted keeping Kamui's reigns loosely in one hand while the other came up to scratch an itch that had appeared in his beard.
The beard was a recent addition. A natural consequence of spending a few weeks on the open road without stopping to shave. That was the official reason anyway. The other was that when he let Himawari try to cut it after she offered, he ended up with a small, brand new scar on his jawline. It had hurt like hell for a week after that and he learned never to let his new daughter near him with a razor ever again.
If he was being honest with himself though, he liked the look of the beard on his face.
"Why did we have to come here?" Himawari asked again. This time Sasuke could almost feel her rolling her eyes as she was forced to expand on her previous question.
"Is there something wrong with here?" Sasuke replied lightly, doing his best to hide a small smirk as he heard Himawari huff in annoyance.
"No…. it's just… you're being very secretive about all of this." Himawari's voice bordered on whining and the Uchiha couldn't help but laugh openly.
Since he had met Himawari he had smiled more than he had in his entire life. Since he had taken her into his clan he had even begun laughing. It was something about her demeanour. Her happy, sweet albeit sometimes clumsy nature that just seemed to bring out the best in him.
"You're absolutely right." Sasuke informed her.
"Then why here?" Himawari pressed.
"You answered your own question there. It's a secret."
Himawari landed on the ground next to him, kicking up a small cloud of dust from the trail as she impacted with the ground.
Kamui, used to such things, merely snorted and flicked her tail at Himawari in admonishment as she carried her rider past the girl.
Himawari smiled at the horse's antics before catching up and walking beside the steed. The smile remained affixed to her face though the nature of it had changed. Where it had been a smile of amusement now it was a smile tinged with sadness.
Initially, Sasuke said nothing. He understood all too well that with all the things that the two of them had been through, that moments of melancholy were to be expected.
Kami knows I understand those moments.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke said after a few minutes of waiting to see whether she would snap herself out of her stupor.
"Nothing… I just don't like this time of year is all." Himawari mumbled in reply, lowering her gaze to the ground so that she wouldn't have to look up at him.
"The winter festival you mean?" The Uchiha pushed.
Himawari nodded, still refusing to lift her head.
"You know you enjoyed it. You enjoy every festival we go to." The Uchiha couldn't help but chide.
"I know, I just…" Himawari trailed off, refusing to meet Sasuke's gaze.
"You can trust me when I say that I know this is the hardest thing in the world, but you have to let it go." He said in an attempt to reassure her.
Himawari continued to look away from him.
"What happened at the Fire Temple was bad, but you can't let it control the rest of your life." The words came out jerkily and Sasuke cursed himself for not being better at this kind of conversation.
"I know. I just need time." Himawari mumbled.
"So, this is the Land of Waves?" Himawari asked curiously. The buildings were all low, the wood damp and there was this pungent, ever present smell of fish on the air.
"Well, it's not the name of the village of course but yes, this is the Land of Waves." Sasuke answered with a small smirk.
The two of them made their way through the village at a pace which surprised Himawari. At least until she saw that people were beginning to stop and stare, some of them pointing at Sasuke and Kamui.
"What's with all the…" Himawari began only for the question to die on her lips as they rounded a corner and saw what lay ahead.
"They know me here." Sasuke answered with an embarrassed cough.
Himawari rounded on him, her eye wide with an incredulous expression on her face.
"You think?! There's a damn statue of you and your horse!" She growled, gesturing wildly in the direction of the gilded work of iron.
The statue stood at around ten feet in height and depicted a serious looking Sasuke sitting astride Kamui, his gaze directed downwards as if to stare into the soul of all those who passed beneath it.
There was a small plaque with an inscription at the base of the statue. Upon closer inspection and despite Sasuke's attempts to steer her away from the effigy.
In honour of the great and noble Sasuke Uchiha. Hero of the Land of Waves. Created in honour of his defence of the innocent against the vile hordes of the Warlord Shugoki.
Sasuke merely snorted in amusement at her antics as her mouth just dropped open in shock.
"This is nothing." He told her lightly. Himawari's eyebrows rose to her hairline.
"What do you mean?" She asked warily. Sasuke merely smiled, turned Kamui around and motioned for her to follow him. It took an hour or so of navigating through the wooden maze of the town before they arrived at their mysterious stop. Himawari's jaw dropped yet again and she found herself wondering if the world around her would ever cease with its surprises.
"The Great Naruto Bridge?" Himawari questioned reading the name aloud.
"Is that….?" Himawari began to ask only for Sasuke to interrupt.
"Yup. Same Naruto."
Himawari let out a low whistle as she took in the magnitude of the bridge. It stretched so far across the water that she could not make out the other side of it. It was also wide enough to accommodate at least forty men side-by-side.
"Talk about an ego." Himawari murmured still trying to drink in the sight of it all.
That set Sasuke off and the Uchiha found that he couldn't stop the rumble of laughter erupting from his chest.
"Inari." Sasuke said in greeting.
"Sasuke! It's been a long time!" The young man exclaimed in surprise. The two of them moved closer to each other, shook hands and began to exchange pleasantries. Himawari took the opportunity to inspect this stranger.
Dressed in simple peasant garb, Inari possessed few distinguishing features. Dark brown hair complemented by equally dark brown eyes and five-o-clock shadow that Himawari couldn't help but feel would look much better on her father in place of that mess that he called a beard.
He needs to shave that thing off. How long can he hold a grudge anyway?
It appeared that her examination had not gone unnoticed and Inari narrowed his eyes at her causing her to flinch slightly in response and her cheeks couldn't help but turn crimson in embarrassment.
"And who might you be?" Inari growled. Sasuke held a hand in front of Himawari defensively.
"Her name is Himawari. She's family." The Uchiha told him quietly but firmly. Inari raised an eyebrow and scrutinized her with a look mixed with curiosity and suspicion. After a moment or two had passed, during which Himawari had to control herself so she wouldn't wilt under the inspection, Inari reached past Sasuke and slapped her shoulder heartily, letting out a loud laugh as he did so.
"Any family of Sasuke's is family of mine." The man told her with a big grin that Himawari couldn't help but return.
"So, what brings you to me? Other than festive cheer and my wife's famous cooking" Inari asked, turning his attention back to Sasuke.
"Much as I love your wife's cooking, I'm afraid we won't be staying for long." Sasuke told him.
"Then why you have you come? Just to say hello?" Inari asked with a questioning frown on his face. Here, Himawari's attention sharpened to a razor-sharp edge. She was also interested to know the answer to this question.
After all, Sasuke had dragged them for over a week across the Elemental Nations to get here and the entire time the reasoning had been kept a secret.
"To call in the favour you owe me." Sasuke informed him shortly.
In response Inari crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, taking an overall more defensive stance.
"Alright, although we both know that you won't be able to resist my wife's cooking for long." Inari began with a smile after a moment of contemplation. "So… what can I do for you?"
"I'm here for a horse."
"So, I can pick any one?" Himawari asked for what felt to be the umpteenth time. For his part Inari only nodded and gave her a small smile.
"You can ask as many times as you like little one, but the answer will always be the same. You can pick any one you like." The young man reassured her.
The teenager could hardly keep herself from bouncing on her feet, so filled with excitement as she was. A horse of her own!
One to take care of and bond with. Himawari would finally be able to ride next to Sasuke side by side as they travelled the world and went on their adventures.
Sasuke himself had decided not to join her and had instead made himself busy at the small cottage a little way up the road from the stables. He had said something about trying out Tamaki's roasted tomatoes.
From the way Inari had laughed Himawari had to assume that this 'Tamaki' was his wife and that the cooking must be what swayed Sasuke in the end.
Himawari couldn't help but to skip from one stable stall to the next, admiring each of the mares and stallions in turn, stroking the manes of the friendly ones and eyeing the more nervous ones from a distance.
A particularly lively chestnut had caught her eye and she was about to reach a decision before she noticed another stall tucked away in the corner of the large stables.
Nawaki followed her gaze and hurried to place himself between her and the stall in question.
"Not that one. Not a good match for you." Inari said, his mouth set in a thin line.
Wrong thing to say.
Now her curiosity was peaked. With little effort Himawari slipped past Inari and hurried over to the stall, ignoring Inari's call to stop.
What she saw took her breath away. A large stallion, black as midnight occupied the stall turned away from her so she couldn't see its features. The most she could tell was that the creature, oddly enough, possessed a mane and tail of storm grey in contrast to the black of the horse's coat.
While the horse was certainly of uncommon colouring Himawari failed to see why Inari would want to keep her from seeing him.
"You won't want this one." He told her with a sigh, moving to stand next to her.
Himawari frowned and opened her mouth to ask him why when the horse turned around and the question died on her lips.
The horse gazed at her with one black eye. Only one though. The other orb was milky white and garnished with a long-jagged scar that ran from the ear to the nostril. A terrible gash that marred the otherwise perfect features.
"This one was one of the few survivors of the Ame wars." Inari began, tensing as Himawari moved closer to the horse. The horse in turn watched the girl with a wariness that made even the stable-owner nervous.
"The poor guy took a naginata to the eye as you can see. Now he won't let anyone touch him, gets all riled up even when I try." Inari told her with a strained grin.
Himawari maintained eye contact with the steed even as she undid the latch and entered the stall, batting away Inari's hand when he tried to grab her shoulder.
"Himawari I don't think that's-" Inari tried only for Himawari to hold up a hand.
"Shhhh… We're talking to each other!" The Hyuuga commanded, keeping her volume and tone as level as possible so as to not spook the horse who had backed up as far as it could into the stall.
Himawari moved slowly toward the creature keeping her hands raised and in sight of the horse's good eye.
"It's okay boy." Himawari whispered comfortingly even as she continued to sidle closer to the beast. The horse began to whinny in discomfort and Inari gripped the stall door so tightly that the wood creaked under the strain.
Dimly, Himawari noted that the man behind her was cursing under his breath. All she could make out were the words 'Sasuke' and 'crazy-ass daughter' before she ignored him and returned her attention to the horse who looked about ready to rear up and kick her.
Himawari slowly took off her eyepatch and showed the horse her own injury.
"I understand boy, I'm in the same boat as you." Oddly enough the horse no longer looked ready to kick her into the dirt and, most likely, an early grave. The creature was still incredibly tense though, its head shaking back and forth slightly and snorting heavily, making sure to keep Himawari in sight of its singular eye at all times.
Likewise, Himawari made sure to keep herself visible at all times as well and slowly, but surely she came to a stop beside the animal and placed her hand on the creatures mane.
"Hell…? How the hell did you do that?" Inari whispered in awe. "That horse crippled my last stablehand for trying to brush him!"
Himawari shrugged and continued to pet the horse who calmed down more and more with each passing of her hand.
"I think he just needed a like-minded soul to connect with." Himawari said by way of reply. "What's his name?"
Nawaki let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I honestly don't know." He admitted. This caught Himawari's attention and she turned to face him, eyebrow raised in question.
"He wandered into town one day. Only way I knew where he was from was due to the sigil on the saddle and the armour of his dead rider." The man explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
"He's beautiful." Himawari whispered pressing her forehead against the bridge of the horse's nose. "I'll take him."
Inari swallowed deeply.
"You sure? I have horses that are more docile. Last thing I want is Sasuke coming back to me a month from now because the horse threw you and you broke your neck." Inari asked, his voice coloured with worry.
Himawari looked back at the man, her eye glowed white with the power of the Byakugan and there was a fierceness to it that made Inari take a step back.
"I'm taking him." Himawari repeated.
"He-he'll need a name." Inari told her.
Himawari turned back to the horse and smiled gently.
"I've got the perfect name for this little guy." Himawari said.
"Oh?" Inari enquired.
"Kitai."
Who here remembers Inari from the show? ;)
Anyway thank you for reading my one-shot and I hope that you enjoyed it at least somewhat.
See you guys next time and have a great new year!