A Mirror for the Sun
Chapter 2.
AN. IMPORTANT. So, it's recently dawned on me that Danzou is head of ROOT, and not ANBU. This is slightly problematic to this story, so I'm going to change it to what I originally thought the power…succession…thing…was. Haha.
SO: in this story, Tsunade is the head honcho, the direct commander of ANBU (just like in the manga), but Danzou is also the head of ANBU, but more of a army general way (idk if this is easier to understand, I don't know if I even understand, but kind of a commander in a secretary of defense kind of way…). Anyway, he's just really important in ANBU, whereas in the manga I think he's just someone powerful who is in charge of ROOT. If you guys were confused, I hope that cleared everything up.
One more quickie: I am not a med student, or in any kind of medicine. I know nada about medicine. Nothing. so if terms are wrong or things in general just don't make sense to all you in the medical profession, just correct me or ignore it and tell yourself that it's fantasy. haha.
As always, a very appreciative thanks to my lovely Beta Celia. :)
"Hinata has just erased the past three years from this child's memory."
Neji was speechless. He and his cousin hadn't been close since they were toddlers, but he would have thought that he would have been informed of such abilities.
"Genma. Hori," Tsunade called. The two jounin appeared.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The duo chorused.
"Hori--take the child to an O.R. now. His injuries need immediate operation. When he wakes up he will be a civilian--make sure the nurses know that. Genma, accompany Danzou back to his office. He is to be shadowed every second of the day."
The two nodded. Immediately the woman disappeared with the child, but Danzou stalled. "Take care of yourself, Hokage-sama," he bowed, smiling mockingly.
Tsunade bared her teeth at him in a poor imitation of a smile. "You should take infinitely more care of yourself," she shot back.
Danzou ignored the thinly veiled threat and allowed himself to be led out of the messy office. Tsunade turned to Neji.
"Hyuuga Neji, you will accompany me. We need to take Hinata to the ICU."
Neji hesitated. He had a lot work to finish, and more importantly, thoughts that needed sorting out. With one look from Tsunade, however, he dutifully replied, "Yes, Hokage-sama."
After carefully placing Hinata on a stretcher and attaching a chakra IV to her arm, Tsunade spoke once more.
"Before we leave my office, Neji, it should be understood that the events that occurred in my office just now remain secret."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"You have witnessed first-hand what Hinata's…unique…abilities are. Knowing this, you should be aware that she can also reverse those effects."
"She can give memory back?" he asked, barely hiding his incredulity behind a stoic mask. He really knew nothing about his younger cousin.
"Only if she has inflicted the memory loss. Let's go. Don't ask any questions right now, save them for a less pressing time."
Neji frowned; who did she think he was, Uzumaki Naruto? Still, he said nothing. As he pushed Hinata's gurney, he turned to the Hokage.
"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked lowly.
Tsunade's mouth tightened. Though she was the Hokage, Neji could easily decipher her body language; her shifting eyes indicated a severe distrust of her surroundings, while her pursed lips screamed impatience. "You will understand later, when Hinata is conscious. You have seen enough for today. What I will tell you is that you must understand that Danzou was not meant to have seen her abilities," she said in a much quieter voice. "It was a terrible mistake on my part, and something that Hinata may have to pay for. In the meanwhile, stay with her until I can send someone else to watch over her." They turned into the ICU. "Hinata will wake up in two, three days--tops. You will receive a mission then."
Nurses clamored around Hinata and transferred her into a bed. In a flurry of movements, Hinata was changed and given an IV. Neji was distantly impressed with the efficiency of the hospital.
"She cannot be alone in her present state at this moment," came the hurried voice of the Hokage. "I'm sure you understand." Neji nodded. There was an extremely high possibility that Danzou would pay Hinata a personal visit. "Do not leave her bedside until Haruno Sakura shows up. She will relieve you of this duty."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
With a few steps, she was gone.
Neji sighed imperceptibly. Seating himself in a nearby wooden chair, he lightly massaged the bridge of his nose as he watched the nurses work.
A twinge of pity arose as he looked at his frail cousin; shadows from the nurses' blue chakra danced across her pale skin. The dim light made it a little difficult to see her face, but once the photoreceptors in his eyes adjusted, Neji could easily make out the dark circles around her eyes. With some surprise, he noted that her small face was hollow; almost gaunt.
Neji wondered what Hinata could have possibly seen or done that would have changed her face so drastically since the last time he really talked to her—about two years ago.
Neji walked into the large menagerie, where the Hyuuga kept all their messenger birds.
"Hinata-sama. You wanted to see me?" he asked, a hint of disapproval coloring his words. He'd been looking everywhere for her, and using the byakugan in areas other than the Hyuuga training ground was strictly forbidden, making finding her especially irritating.
Neji would not have been nearly as annoyed if she hadn't summoned him—almost as if he were some kind of servant. He was a busy man. However, the logical side of his brain argued that she had the right as heiress to summon him; not only was he her appointed protector, but he was of the branch house. He needed to do anything she asked.
The seventeen year old heiress turned to her cousin, holding a small scroll in her hand.
"Neji-onii-san!" she exclaimed, startled. "That was fast," she said, though it was more to herself. She toyed with the frayed edges of the scroll. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to get here so quickly, otherwise I wouldn't have made you wander around looking for me."
He nodded curtly.
She rolled up the tiny scroll. "I-I was just sending a letter," she explained, unnecessarily.
"I see," he replied, looking at the messenger bird--a hawk.
"Um. Okay. Well…I asked you to meet me for a reason." She attached the scroll to the hawk's leg.
Neji waited, his impatience skillfully hidden.
With a sigh, Hinata started again, not looking at him.
"You no longer need to be my protector." She paused a second, and turned to him, clarifying her shocking statement. Her face was determined. "You are hereby released of your duties to me."
Neji's eyes widened, and all his irritation disappeared. "Hinata-sama…I—" he stopped. "I refuse."
Hinata's eyebrows shot up. She was sure he would happily (or as happily as Neji could manage tobe, anyway) accept and leave. She did not anticipate this. Was that anger on his face? Oh why oh why couldn't she be more tactful--
"It is my duty to protect you, Hinata-sama. I took an oath, I promised my father—
"Oh. Well, Neji-nii-san," she said meekly, "I haven't needed your protection since I was a child." At his confused look, she explained gently, but with bluntness he should have expected: "The chuunin exams?"
The three words hit him with a force not unlike the uppercut he received from Naruto in that same disastrous exam. He thought she'd forgiven him for those beatings, though he'd never asked her explicitly for it. He thought his following actions of encouragement and general geniality were enough for them.
Did she want a verbal apology from him? Was that what this is about, he wondered with some amount of astonishment. "I apologize for that—
"Oh, no, no, no!" she interrupted hastily. "Neji-nii-san, I forgave you for that. It wasn't my intention to guilt you, not at all!"
"I don't understand." His frustration seeped into his words.
"I'm releasing you from your duties because…it's because I know that the title has been a burden to you."
"It has not," he replied immediately, as calmly as he could.
Hinata shook her head. "It has." Her voice is quiet. "I know you've asked my father about joining ANBU. And I know you have been denied permission exclusively because of your role to protect the heiress."
He didn't deny it.
"I don't want to be the reason you can't achieve your dream. A hindrance."
Hinata walked to the large window and let the messenger hawk out. After a few moments of silence, and upon concluding that Neji would not respond, she spoke.
"You know," she started, almost conversationally, "that particular bird is called a Cooper's hawk. I read up on them a few years ago." She turned to him. "They usually lead very dangerous lifestyles. And it is particularly vicious when it meets its prey, killing it with many consecutive hits." She gave him a small, genuine smile. "I think it would be appropriate for you."
Neji gave a jerky nod. Hinata smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her kimono.
"I filled out all the papers, so you don't need to worry. Goodbye, Neji-onii-san," she said, leaving the menagerie. "And I wish you the best of luck."
Neji was left standing in the middle of menagerie, listening to the chirping and hooting of the caged birds.
Neji unconsciously felt for his ANBU mask, located in the secret compartment on the inside of his vest. His fingers roamed over the carvings in the mask and traced the rough welts of paint he knew gave the impression of a hawk.
Neji rested his eyes; he, like Hinata, had just come back from a tiring mission a few hours ago.
He sighed.
Somehow…
Even when she cut him free…
Somehow, it always came back to Hinata.
He fell asleep with that thought.
Neji heard the loud footsteps before they even stepped in the hallway. By the time the doorknob opened, the haziness of his slumber completely faded, replaced by cutting alertness. He rose smoothly.
"Neji-san, how very nice to see you again."
Pink hair. Bright green eyes. One lovelorn Naruto trailing after.
"Haruno Sakura-san," he responded, not impolitely.
"That's me," she responded tiredly, having too much on her plate to bother questioning her acquaintance's oddities.
"NEEEEEEJJJJJIIIIII!" bounced in Naruto loudly. "HOW THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Before Neji could ask him to be quiet so that Hinata could rest, Sakura beat him.
"Naruto," she hissed, "lower your goddamn voice, this is the ICU!"
"Oops," he giggled guiltily. "Sorry."
"Anyway, Neji-san, Naruto is here to take over for a while. You are formally ordered to come back when Hinata-san wakes up. Naruto, can you give him the scroll?"
"Yeah, sure." He handed the official summons scroll to his old friend.
"Naruto will take your place the moment you leave this hospital. Though, admittedly, I doubt he's fit to watch over a plant, let alone an unconscious patient…" she muttered.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I'll take good care of Hinata," Naruto said, his voice getting serious.
Sakura smiled, her cheeks dimpling. Naruto knocked over an IV. She sighed and pretended to ignore it.
"Well," she said over Naruto's noisy scrambling to fix said IV. "I'll just leave you two alone. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."
"No. I must leave." Without another word, Neji left the room.
Naruto stopped messing around. His eyes darkened to a smoky blue.
"Are you happy to have seen Neji-san now, Naruto? Isn't that the reason you volunteered to watch over Hinata-san?"
Naruto looked down. "He's different. Something's weird."
"What do you mean?"
"He's…I don't know exactly…quieter, I guess."
Sakura frowned. "He's never exactly been you. I didn't notice anything that different."
"He's quieter," Naruto emphasized. "He would have at least exchanged insults with me."
"Who knows?" she asked, rummaging through Hinata's charts distractedly. "You've been away for a year, and he's constantly on missions. It's inevitable that your friendship becomes more impersonal."
"Maybe," he said unbelievingly. His normally loud voice dwindled down a few notches. Sakura looked up.
"It's not your fault," she said emphatically. "You can't control how everyone's lives turn out."
"He's my friend. I should be able to help him."
"Neji-san is in ANBU now. I heard he's strictly kept in the assassinating department. So it isn't really a surprise that he's a little different now."
"He wouldn't be like this if Hinata didn't—" he started bitterly.
"Stop looking to play the blame game," she said sternly. "She gifted him with the power to choose, and he chose ANBU. He may not be happy right now, but I imagine he's grateful for his choices."
Naruto's downfallen face tugged at Sakura's heartstrings.
"Hey," she said, punching his arm lightly. "Just hang in there for a few hours, and when I get off my shift, I'll treat you to some ramen."
Though the promise of ramen didn't rouse him as much as it would have when he was a genin, Naruto found he couldn't refuse.
Neji went directly to his apartment after he left the hospital, and, after tossing his weapons and vest onto a chair, headed for the freezer. He pulled out a bottle of vodka and took a swig straight from the enormous container.
It tasted disgusting.
His face contorted in revulsion, but he took another mouthful, and another, and swallowed, the alcohol leaving a burning trail from his throat to the bottom of his stomach. It was enough for now.
After downing a shot, he set down the bottle none-too-gently and sagged into the couch. He switched the television on and closed his eyes, ignoring the shelf of weapons that rested on the wall directly above his source of entertainment.
They were the only decoration in the blank room, which contained precisely 5 other items, each of which served some kind of sensible function: a rug, which would keep his feet somewhat warm; a lamp and a set of curtains, needed for obvious reasons; a television, which Neji kept only to fall asleep to; and a couch, for Neji to sleep on, despite his having a large bedroom (which was used only when he entertained guests of a more pleasurable nature).
Finally, there was the weapons shelf.
It served no practical purpose to Neji, and on more than a few occasions he'd thought of getting rid of the shelf's occupants, and the nightmarish memories accompanying each weapon. Any time he'd even thought to throw out the numerous shuriken and daggers, katana and other weaponry, he'd quickly squelched the thoughts and gotten back to his work.
He would never throw out reminders of his dead companions.
The rusted weapons weighed heavily in his soul, each a morbid reminder of his failures as ANBU captain to his subordinates. There was a distinct story behind each weapon, and Neji could easily recall the gruesome history of each weapon.
The katana on the top of the shelf, for example, had been messily sliced through the heart of Arisawa Hotaru, a newly initiated ANBU who was foolishly excited to be going on her first SS ranked mission. She died roughly one day into the assignment. Neji killed her assailant not long after and kept his weapon as a tribute to honor Hotaru; it was a grim ritual he started honoring when his first subordinate was killed in action.
Flakes of her blood still remained on the katana. The other weapons were similarly unclean, each having been bathed in blood. Time dried up the red fluid and crusted it along each silvery surface.
Neji downed some more vodka and, listening to the sound of television commercials, passed out on the couch.
Two days passed before Hinata woke up for the first time. She looked around at her surroundings, nestled her head back into the surprisingly soft pillow, and fell back into a deep slumber.
A few hours later, Hinata woke up to rustling. She yawned, attracting the blonde nurse's attention.
"Oh!" The nurse swiftly turned around. "You're awake!"
"Ino-san," croaked Hinata with just as much surprise. She winced, hating that her voice sounded like a chain smoker's, which shouldn't have surprised her; she, after all, hadn't spoken for hours, or even days.
She sat up against the pillow. "What are you doing here?"
"Changing the sheets."
"Why?"
Ino had the grace to blush. "Tsunade-sama is punishing me—she caught me and that hot medic—you know the one who was on your cousin's team a few times? Well, she walked in on us in a pretty compromising position on the hospital beds."
"Goodness."
"Yeah. She said she didn't know which other beds I 'tainted' and then said that if I have time to be having sex during work then I have time to change all the sheets and bedpans."
"Ouch." Hinata couldn't help smiling tiredly at her friend. It was so very Ino of her.
"So why are you in here, Hinata?" Ino asked with wide blue eyes. She settled down comfortably in the wide sofa next to Hinata's bed. "I was going to read your chart but I didn't know if you would be offended in case it was something embarrassing…"
"No, it's fine. Probably over-exhaustion."
Ino grabbed the silver chart located at the foot of the bed and flipped it open. She whistled. "Wow… It says here that you used, like, 96 percent of your chakra! Must have been a crazy mission…"
"Yes," Hinata nodded ruefully, "you could say that."
Ino continued reading. "It says here in big red letters that Tsunade-sama is to be notified the minute you wake up. Hmm, maybe I should go do that. Be right back!"
"Ino-san, wait—" but Ino had already left. Two minutes later she reappeared with Tsunade.
"Hinata, how are you feeling?" the busty woman asked.
"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama. I'm just a little tired."
"That's to be expected," she nodded. She turned to Ino. "Don't you have bedpans that need cleaning?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she muttered, leaving.
The door closed and Tsunade came close. "Hinata, I hate to do this to you so soon, but I absolutely need to assign you a mission as soon as Neji gets here. I can't tell you everything about your mission in front of the usual panel—this mission is too serious and too important, and I know that Danzou has spies in my office." She took in Hinata's exhausted face. "You won't have to leave anytime too soon," she assured her, "but I need to tell you what you'll be up against as soon as possible."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." What else could she say?
Together they waited for Neji.
"Message for Hyuuga Neji-san!" a messenger called. "It's directly from the Hokage, of the utmost importance!"
Neji took the scroll and scanned it behind his painted ANBU mask, fully aware that Danzou was carefully watching him. It read:
'HYUUGA HINATA IS NOW AWAKE. REPORT TO ICU IMMEDIATELY.'
Neji folded the scroll and tucked it into his vest pocket. He walked to Danzou.
"Hokage-sama wishes to see me."
"Then by all means, see her," Danzou said, smiling. It was crooked, and a few teeth were missing. "Actually, a minute, if you will, Kyoko-chan."
A few of the ANBU in the room snickered.
"The rest may leave." In less than a second the ANBU forces disappeared without a trace.
Neji slipped off his porcelain hawk mask, revealing a blank visage. Despite his outward coolness, his breath stopped: Did Danzou find out what Tsunade told him?
"You know, I would pay mountains of money to see you lose that other mask you wear all the time."
An unimpressed look momentarily twisted Neji's face.
"Ah, well that was no fun, Neji-kun!" Danzou laughed before landing himself in a coughing fit. "You shouldn't have shown that face to me, I wanted to tease you more," he ended, his voice raspy.
"If that's all, Commander…" Neji stated, his tone a practiced mix of impatience and artificial respect.
"Just a minute, you," Danzou said sharply, with all the authority of a Special Operatives commander. "Mind telling me what else that pretty little cousin of yours can do?"
"I cannot," Neji replied stiffly, "as I was completely unaware of those abilities until yesterday, sir."
"Huh." He eyed Neji suspiciously for a few moments and then walked away, apparently satisfied with his subordinate's response. "Well, you Hyuuga are pretty damn secretive, anyway. Don't you worry about Hinata-sama, Neji-chan," he called derisively, not stopping. "I'll find out what she can do myself."
Danzou turned at looked at Neji with his good eye.
"Report for duty tomorrow at 7 sharp, Hyuuga." The door slammed shut, the noise echoing in the room.
Damnit.
Neji slid on his mask and immediately left for Konoha's hospital.
A/N. Hi guuuuuuuysss. I'm so sorry it's been so long. A lot's been going on, you don't even want to know. I've been really stressed, what with school and boys and school and family and school and…did I say school? Anyway, if you would leave a comment it would make me feel better!
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the amazing reviews!