~Disclaimer: All characters involved belong to their respective owners. All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Haruka, Takeru, and Taiyanme Kuroshi belong to AmyTheHedgehog on deviantArt. Hana Namikaze belongs to me.~
Ch. 1
Hana stared out the window of the small room, watching the steadily falling rain. Oh, how she wanted to be outside right now. But, going outside meant that she would need an escort, and that was the last thing she wanted; her escorts were usually members of the ANBU Black Ops. She felt like a prisoner; and, in a way, she was.
Hana had been taken away from Otogakure almost three years ago by members of the 'Root' division of the ANBU Black Ops, who were under orders from Danzo. Their original target had been Orochimaru, but, in an effort to save his life, Hana offered to take his place.
But, Hana had no idea about what awaited her in Konoha.
During the first few weeks of Hana's captivity, she was subject to various forms of torture; having her fingernails ripped out when she tried to escape (she learned her lesson after the third attempt) was the worst, by far.
If Tsunade hadn't intervened when she did, Hana was almost certain that she would have been dead by now.
Hana was soon placed in the care of Haruka and Takeru Kuroshi; her friend Taiyanme's parents. These people were like family to her. But, that didn't change the fact that Hana was still a prisoner.
There were certain rules that she had to follow. Most of them were alright, but there was one that Hana despised; the rule was that she couldn't wander around the village alone. She hated it. Whenever she got upset about something, she would like to go for a walk so she could clear her thoughts, and she liked to be alone. But, now she had to walk around with an assigned escort. So, to avoid this, she would stay holed up in her room. It was the only place where she could be truly alone.
Hana was drawn from her thoughts when she heard someone knocking on her door.
"Come in…" she said softly.
The door opened and in walked Haruka.
"Hana, are you alright? You've been in your room all day." she asked.
Hana didn't even bother to turn around.
"Yes ma'am, I'm fine…perfectly fine." she replied; her voice devoid of almost any emotion.
Haruka walked over to Hana and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hana…are you sure you're alright? You've been so reclusive lately; I'm starting to worry." she said.
Hana felt tears welling up in her eyes. Keeping up with her unemotional side was already taking its toll on her. She couldn't keep lying.
"Haruka-san…I…I just…I want to go home." she said weakly.
Hana let the tears role down her cheeks, and her body began to shake. She was trying her best to keep her composure, but it was proving to be futile.
"…I hate it here; I hate being in this village. No one gives a damn about me; they still treat me like shit. I wish…I wish I could go back to Otogakure; at least I'm respected there." she said.
Haruka sighed.
"Hana, I know you want to go back to Otogakure, but you know that the Hokage won't allow it. She and the elders don't want Orochimaru to take you back." she said, solemnly.
"Don't you think I know that already?!" Hana shouted, a look of outrage etched on her face, "I don't care what those people say; I WILL go back to Orochimaru, and I don't care what it takes! I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in this place!"
"Hana, you know that he's a criminal."
Hana sighed loudly.
"Yeah; I am too. I've committed my share of crimes. What's your point?"
"That's why they don't want you to go back. They think you've been corrupted by that man."
Hana rubbed the back of her head and growled in annoyance.
"You see, that's what I hate about the people in the village. Some of them are so closed-minded. They think someone is pure evil, just because they went a little overboard with something. Even after that person has left the village, they continue to belittle them and cause trouble for those who are closest to them. Yeah…I know Orochimaru has done some really messed up stuff; I know about his research and his experiments. But, I don't care. Those people are wrong about him; he's not pure evil, he's not a monster, and he hasn't corrupted me. All of my actions were out of loyalty and were committed on my own free will."
Haruka smiled.
"So, I guess all you wanted to do was make him happy, right?
Hana nodded.
"Yeah; that's all I really want. But, no matter how many times I try to explain this to people, they don't listen. It's useless trying to convince these people."
Haruka smiled.
"Well, I'll see if Lady Tsunade will discuss this with you. She's the only one who can make that decision."
"Well, I'm just gonna warn you ahead of time; be prepared for one hell of a shouting match. Tsunade and I don't really get along."
Haruka gave Hana a curious look. She was about to ask why, but Hana butted in and said, "It's a long story, and I really don't want to talk about it."
Haruka smiled softly.
"Alright, alright, I won't ask," she said, turning towards the door, "I'll be back to check on you later. Try to get some rest, ok?"
Hana nodded slowly.
"Yes, ma'am…I will." she replied.
Haruka smiled and walked out of Hana's room. Hana sighed and flopped onto her bed, face first. She rubbed the side of her head and winced.
Great, now she had a headache.
Hana sighed and pulled a blanket over her head; it was normal for her to do this when she wasn't feeling well.
"Ugh…why must I be put through all of this? It's much too stressful." she said to herself.
She turned onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was the only barrier keeping her from, literally, flying away. She felt trapped…
Hana felt hot, fresh tears running down her cheeks. It was all she could do now.
She rubbed her eyes, trying to get the tears to stop flowing, but they just wouldn't stop. She turned back onto her side, facing the window.
She took a deep breath and began whispering the lyrics of a song.
"Is it a kind of a dream
Floating out on the tide
Following the river of death downstream
Oh is it a dream?
There's a fog along the horizon
A strange glow in the sky
And nobody seems to know where it goes
And what does it mean?
Oh is it a dream?
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly,
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes
Is it a kind of a shadow
Reaching into the night
Wandering over the hills unseen
Oh is it a dream?
There's a high wind in the trees
A cold sound in the air
And nobody ever knows where you go
And where do you start?
Oh into the dark
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly,
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes
Bright eyes, burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly,
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes…"
Hana felt her eyes grow heavy. She let a yawn slip free and she pulled the blanket down around her shoulders.
"Maybe…maybe things will go my way. At least…I hope they do." she whispered.
Hana let her eyes slide shut and she fell into a deep sleep.