Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Legend of the Five Rings. No financial gain is made from this. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Despite what people could whisper at her back, Hina loved her daughters. She loved them so much that she was willing to do anything just so they didn't have to live what she did. Of course, Hachiro was a loving husband and he would take good care of her until his last breath.
What Hina resented was the humiliation of being negated marriage into the family she aspired to belong to. She had been negated to marry a Hyūga; her gift, her eyes, would finish with her in her family line. It was sacrilegious.
She just wanted the best for her daughters, so she married them off to the best of their qualities. To Akemi, a spring child, she gave a husband that could cherish her like the most delicate flower in a garden. To Chiyo, touched by the autumn rain, she gave a suitor to her intellect. To Michiko, whose skin was the color of the winter snow, she found someone to empower her. Naoko would marry to a lower clan, her simplicity required to be away from the predicaments of the complex socialites. Her fifth daughter would be no less.
Despite her grumbling when she dressed her up to look her cutest, despite her yawning when she tried to teach her manners, despite her disinterest from any of the womanly chores she tried to instill, Sumi would be no less. That meant that if playing ninja for a while would get her in the perfect marriage, the one that would bring her true happiness, then Hina would grit her teeth and play by those rules.
"My mother told me to give you this and say it was my gift to you," Sumi said as she offered the wrapped gift. The Academy day was over and soon parents would flood the entrance. Her mother had specified the perfect moment to give him his graduation gift. She told her what to say, but of course, she did not obey. She also told her to be cheerful, but Sumi did not follow that through. How could she when she was going to lose her friend? The other kids spoke about things she did not understand at first, they made fun sometimes of her obliviousness to the ninja world. He opened the package and found a pretty pouch. "She told me it was the most expensive one."
"Thank you," Kakashi said. He did not understand how such a care-free girl could suddenly look so mournful. He started to leave when she called, "Wait!"
"I actually wanted to give you this," she said. Her palm opened over his and he received a single marble. "It is my favorite one. You never learned to play, so I guess you don't need it, but..."
He remembered it from five months ago; she had said it looked like a cat's eye. He had thought it daft. "Maybe we can play someday," he lied.
"You will be busy being a real ninja, going on missions..."
He put the marble in his pocket. "Then maybe you should graduate too. Or are you planning on being in the Academy for the rest of your life?"
She looked up, a big smile in her face. Then she ran towards her mother, who contemplated them from afar. He did not understand her. His father was there too and he ran to meet them. Many people congratulated him that day, but he only felt the warmth in his chest when his father told him how proud of him he was.
The year and a half, almost two passed in blissful uneventfulness. Or as much as war allowed. Hina was satisfied. Sakumo was happy. Kakashi evolved well as a genin and eventually chūnin. Sumi applied herself dutifully at her studies. Hachiro was joyful that everybody got along.
Hina proposed Sakumo to take care of Kakashi while he was in missions. He denied at first - 'Kakashi knows how to handle himself'. But Hina insisted - 'No six year old will stay alone at home when I can take care of him. I don't mind cooking for one more mouth'. He ended up relenting. Hina took it as a first victory. Not only because it played at her favor in her plans on marrying off their children, but also because Sumi's spirits had dropped since Kakashi's graduation.
On that note, she discovered that where Akemi was cheerfulness, Chiyo was intelligence, Michiko was beauty, and Naoko was simplicity, Sumi was passion and will. When she was not training with Kakashi, she was training by herself, and she soon started to have positive remarks from her teachers. And to her surprise, she felt honored and delighted, very close to the satisfaction she felt when she had seen her oldest daughter's marriage.
But even if two years might seem long, their bubble of happiness felt like a heartbeat when it exploded.
"But mom, I don't understand!" six years old Sumi complained.
"There is nothing to understand, Sumi, now help your sisters with the dishes."
Sumi scoffed and turned to her father, who sat still at the dinner table. "Dad?"
He raised his head from his book. "Sumi," by his tone she knew she was not going to like what he was going to say, "your mother is right. Sakumo might have been a dear friend in the past, but remember that we are nothing without honor. I counted Konoha's loses because of his careless actions. You said it yourself once: ninjas work to protect the village. He did not do that when he decided to quit his mission." Sumi's eyes fell to the floor, her arms shaking with rage and extreme sadness. Hina looked over her with satisfaction. "Nonetheless, kids should not pay for their parent's mistakes. And I do not think we should forbid you from seeing a friend during a time of need."
Sumi took the issue as settled, but as she left the next day to go to the Academy, with the idea in mind to pass by her friend's house later, her mother hissed at her, "If you are seen with that Kakashi boy you will be rejected by the whole village and nobody will take you as a real shinobi. Anyways, would you really befriend the son of a traitor? He must be the same, those things run in the blood."
Sumi felt disappointed at how things had come to be. It was the first time life was cruel to her and she was too young to understand most of the things that were going on. Instead of dwelling in the bad moments they were experiencing she focused on the good years, on the comfort of her old bubble.
"Be careful," she had said when he had taken his first chūnin mission.
But she had not dared to move closer as she saw Kakashi leaving the village with his new team. No, they were chūnins and Sumi was still in the Academy by then. It was the first time she felt that the infancy ties were breaking. She had always imagined them being shinobis together. She would even admit that she had already pictured them in the same team, carrying out missions together. But it wouldn't be the case. Selfishly, Sumi had felt her dreams stolen, but she could not direct her hatred towards anyone, for everything had depended on her.
She had come back home with a single idea in mind: training. Her father had helped her to install some dummies to practice in the courtyard, for he enjoyed watching his daughter improve.
"Hello, sweetie," her mother had greeted her. "Did you wish luck to Kakashi?"
Sumi had not said anything.
"You gave him the gift you bought? Did he like it?"
Hina saw the discarded package by the entrance door and her mother's instincts kicked in. "Is everything okay, Sumi?"
"I am just going to train a bit."
Hina had left the towel she was using to dry dishes and kneeled next to her daughter. "Why are you sad, darling? Your friend is going to be okay. He is a great shinobi. Everybody says that he is a genius."
It was then that the little girl started to cry. "Sumi..."
"I am not good... I should stop..."
"Sumi, you are only six. You started later. Don't be hard on yourself. You are the best shinobi of this family." Hina took a shuriken from her daughter's bag. "Please, kunoichi, teach me how to throw it?"
Sumi didn't answer as tears ran down her chubby cheeks. So Hina just threw the shuriken to the nearest tree, already regretting it for the well-being of her precious garden; luckily the shuriken bounced off the tree and fell. That made the young girl smile and Hina smiled back.
"Maybe I will also enroll in the Academy..."
The little girl laughed. "You cannot do that!"
"Why?"
"You are too old!"
Hina had grinned. "Then I will be the best middle aged kunoichi in the Academy!"
"Here, mommy, I'll teach you how to throw it!"
Sumi grabbed at her hair. How could that be the same person that now broke all her dreams?
But maybe Hina was right, for when she met her friend she did not know any longer how to act around him. She tried to cheer him up, but he did not want to be cheered. Sakumo's degradation was also his son's and his character changed. It did not last long though.
It was the first time she was in front of a tombstone. She was unconsciously nervous. She had dressed black, for she had heard that it must be like that when you go to a funeral. Sumi had celebrated her seventh birthday a few weeks ago. Next to the tomb, there was a single person, a boy not much older than her. It was Kakashi Hatake.
No one else showed up for Sakumo Hatake's funeral.
Sumi came closer slowly and placed the flowers in her hand in front of the tomb. She didn't know if she had picked up the right flowers or if it was something you should do in a funeral. The flowers were not pretty like those you could see in the Yamanaka's shop; she had just picked up these flowers from her own house's garden. She didn't own money to buy real ones and nobody could know that she was there.
He kicked the flowers away and left.
She did not tell him that she had graduated from the Academy.
They didn't cross any word that day.
Neither would they ever speak about Sakumo's suicide.
