Face The Future
Remiel sat at the foot of his bed, deeply troubled. The war room meetings were ongoing, and tomorrow, they marched, into battle…into war…
Into the future.
Hinata woke from her sleep beside him, and softly yawned.
"What's wrong Remiel-kun?" she asked sleepily.
Remiel looked into her eyes, pale lavender with the slightest hint of blue, and found concern within.
"It's just that, for the first time, in a long time, I don't know what's gonna happen. Who lives, who dies…I don't know….I just don't know." He said, holding his head in his hands.
"Look, you can't save everyone. Be content in knowing that you're helping to save Konoha."
She planted a kiss on his cheek, and gave him a kiss on the lips.
"Now get some rest, you can't fight for Konoha, if you fall asleep on the battlefield."
With that, Hinata lay back down to bed, but Remiel stayed up. It was a few weeks after Pein's Invasion, and the rebuilding of Konoha was almost complete, and in the momentary lulls in-between fixing the village, Remiel and Hinata trained.
They trained to master flight. They trained to control the halves of the beasts sealed within them. They trained to master their weapons.
Remiel had been given the Tempest Blade, a gift from the Archangels after his first use of the Seraph Form had proved his skill, and had trained with it extensively, till it was almost an extension of his body. Meanwhile Hinata mastered the Glaives that had appeared at her bedside that day she had awoken. Since Remiel was not an expert nor did he have an inkling of skill in glaive fighting, Hinata was trained by Valdescir with what knowledge he had of glaive fighting.
Which was a lot.
She had held herself in a fight against Remiel a few days ago, using their respective weapons.
He had been so proud that day, the timid wallflower he had met and fell in love with a long time ago had become a battle-worthy warrior. He only wished that her skills would not be put to the test so soon.
Sleep did not come easy that night, with much tossing and turning in between.
The figure entered the apartment quietly.
She was silent, giving pride to her status as ninja. She moved through the shadows, unseen, unheard, till she reached the bedroom.
She opened the door slowly, barely making a sound.
A flicker of movement, and she found herself pinned by her left hand to the wall facing the bedroom door. A second later, the white-haired ninja reappeared next to her, his hand wrapped around his sword.
"Who are you?" asked the white-haired ninja.
She kept her silence.
"Answer me."
"Your death!"
A senbon shot out of her right sleeve, and she moved to stab it deep into his neck. The white-haired ninja caught her wrist in a vice-like grip, and saw the senbon shine with an oily gleam in the moonlight streaming in from the bedroom.
"Poisoned. Impressive. Not taking any chances are you? Now tell me…who are you, and who sent you? Answer me, or I will snap off your wrist!" he growled, his grip tightening till she could bear no more.
"Aghh, Karin!" said the assassin.
"Karin? The prisoner? How did you escape?" said the white-haired ninja, noting that Karin's eyes had the disturbing habit of wandering over his bare chest.
"Womanly wiles, of course. Agghh, goddamnit stop squeezing!"
He lessened his grip, but did not let go.
"What did you hope to achieve with my death? Sasuke's betrayed you, can't you see that? He fuckin' near-killed you! All just get to Danzo! Doesn't that give you the hint that he's out of his GODDAMNED MIND?"
Hinata stirred slightly in the bedroom at Remiel's outburst in the end, distracting him momentarily. Karin used this to her advantage, and tried to pull away.
Remiel almost lost his grip, but regained it immediately. He tightened his grip, tight enough to leave bruises. Karin stopped struggling.
"He loves me… I know he loves me. He did that so he could finish his mission…I know he loves me" said Karin softly, her eyes brimming with tears. She slumped onto the floor, defeated, and began to weep. Remiel loosened his grip, and realized that she was not the enemy.
She was human, just like Hinata, just like him…fragile, easily hurt, and lonely.
He pulled out his sword, and pinned her right sleeve onto the wall as well. He could do nothing for her, she was caught up in her fantasy, and only a large dose of reality could snap her out of it.
The ninjas who were supposed to be guarding her arrived about five minutes later, Karin had cried herself to sleep, and Remiel was meditating in the living room.
"What took you guys so long?" he asked, not rising from his meditation.
"Uhh, if you don't mind, we'll be taking her now."
"Go ahead, she's pretty sneaky though. You better watch out for her right sleeve, it's got a senbon dispenser up there."
The two ninjas pulled out Remiel's sword, lifted Karin up, and carried her out, leaving Remiel to his thoughts.
