Himawari

A/N: I apologize for not writing for a while. I hope that this story won't end up like one of my unfinished stories. Anyway, enjoy. :)

Chapter 4

On and off showers characterized Mitue's early morning trip with clouds prepared to sprinkle droplets on her head. She barely noticed since she only looked forward towards the sun. Taking in a generous amount of clean air, Mitsue believed that it would help her grow tall and strong as her mother taught her.

Exploring the town during this quiet morning, her legs travelled a good distance away from the hotel. A gentle old man greeted her as she passed by watching him garden a few flowers at a small park. The collage of the greens with various highlights from blue to red compelled her eyes to acknowledge them. But the colour that stood out the most was the yellow in the soft petals as she told him. The gardener chuckled when an amber-winged butterfly seemed to be attracted to the saffron flower as well.

Looking past the garden, she walked to lean against a tree trunk to see that the garden was on a hill and a playground could seen below. The old man waved good-bye to her as she stared at the swings and sand box recollecting memories.

A relentless sequence of knocks on the door finally got Shikamaru up and out of his bed. Walking to turn the knob, he wavered with his eyes barely opened. He awoke once he heard Ino's words.

"Mitsue's gone."

"Where the heck could she be?" Shikamaru, annoyed, rushed to check out their rooms. "If she went back home..."

Flustered, Ino and Shikamaru marched out of the hotel but suddenly realizing that they didn't know where to start searching. Chouji was uncomfortable with this agitated mood his friends were in but hoping that Mitsue was not kidnapped.

While Ino and Shikamaru tried to figure out where to go, Chouji stepped out ahead of the two and paused. He suddenly darted towards the east. Bewildered, Ino and Shikamaru chased after him.

"Chouji, where are you going?" yelled out Ino. Chouji didn't answer until Shikamaru took a hold of him.

"I smelled something," he said blankly. By now a few sprinkles showered their hair.

"This isn't time for food, Chouji!" Ino scolded him. But Chouji had begun to run again.

Shikamaru, sensing her frustration, told her, "It's not food, Ino." He knew he had to rely on Chouji, to rely on his intuition. He hoped that Ino would realize that Chouji was not only about food. There was something more important to him.

"Get out of here. Annoying little girl. You're just another pest." A boy had thrown the girl to the ground. His friends laughed. Shaking, she couldn't dare to look into the teen's eyes. She backed away to the edge of the sand box when the boy further diminished her spirit. "Such a weak little girl. Ninjas beat on others to gain power. That's how it works around here in the world of shinobi."

The girl touched her knee and noticed it was bleeding from the impact. But it wasn't only blood that covered parts of her body. Dirt was smeared on both of her legs. Sand hid the scrape on her elbow. This girl, turned filthy and dirty, started to cry.

Mitsue's lip trembled as her eyes watched the scene unfold. Those same eyes watered as she saw the young girl's brother take a stand.

"Don't you dare talk like that to my sister!"

Thwack.

Her brother's eye pulsed from the impact. A cut above his eyebrow began to drip blood. But he still stood, and protected his younger sibling.

Mitsue's body pulsed from the sight of the brother's love. The love that sacrifices. The love that hurts.

"Onii-chan!" the girl cried when she saw the group of boys approach her brother. He took several more of their punches but still stood.

Shaking, Mitsue's memories flooded back. Clutching her face with her hands, she didn't want to see her brother take the punishment of a weak little girl again.

"You should run now," her brother told her.

Mitsue had run. And never looked back – until now. The regret ate at her soul bit by bit.

"No," the young girl was firm with her answer.

A punch to the stomach was felt by Mitsue. Regret had gnawed a chunk off. Why didn't Mitsue done the same? Why didn't she stand up?

"I guess you want a beating as well, little girl."

Closing her eyes, Mitsue braced for the impact on the girl. But Shikamaru had stepped in and held the punch from the girl.

"Ninjas protect others even at the cost of their own lives," he told him. "It's their duty. That's how it works in the world of shinobi."

He patted the courageous brother on the head as Ino tended his cuts and bruises. Chouji had found Mitsue curled up against the trunk and held her in his arms.

'Ninjas' and 'protection' were never related to each other according to Mitsue. Her brother had died from ninjas. Like the bully, Mitsue's definition of a ninja had been perverted. But all in all, she avoided the fact that she had run away. She had surrendered to her fear. But right now she couldn't escape from that fact – that she was a coward.

"It's okay to be scared," Chouji consoled her. Still in his arms, Mitsue eased up realizing the one who terrorized her and the one who comforted her were not the same being.

Choji explained Mitsue's story to Ino and Shikamaru – that her father was killed by ninjas and that her brother was killed the same way in front of her eyes in protecting her. Shikamaru never really liked Mitsue but now understood why she was resentful towards them although it was her fault to classify all ninjas as the same.

But one sentence came back to haunt Ino. 'It's just like a ninja to be controlling.' It didn't affect her much when Mitsue said that before, but now she realised the hurt behind that sentence. Ino saw that she wasn't the only victim from ninjas abusing their power.

***

"I love you, Ino."

"Too bad. I love Sasuke."

"But I still love you best," the little boy hugged Ino tightly.

"Ow. Stop," Ino tried to squirm her way out. "Sasuke's going to see." Kanubu Hiro just laughed. He obviously didn't want to let go of Ino.

"Wait..." Hiro looked at Ino. "What's going on?" Ino asked as she pointed across the road from the Academy.

A mob of people walked on the road. Hiro's father shamefully was in the front along with Ino's father leading him towards the Hokage's. Ino felt the anger of her father that day. His anger was indescribable. Ino didn't understand what was happening then.

Little Hiro was gone.

She was naive then. The first day he didn't come to school, she focused all of her attention and energy on Sasuke, not bothering to check up on Hiro. But then, he didn't come the next day or the day after. A week had passed and only then, she had finally begun to worry.

"Dad, where's Hiro?" She hoped he knew since he was close with Kanubu-otosan. But the look on his face told her something else. Once again, she could feel his anger and disappointment.

Ino later found out what had happened through Shikamaru. During their spy mission, her dad thought it was rather suspicious that Hiro's father seemed very familiar with the Lightning Country. He mentioned this to Shikaku. So one day, the two of them knocked Kanubu unconscious so that Inoichi could investigate his mind. But instead, he discovered that he was not at all a spy for the Cloud Village, but he was a spy for the Sand over ten years ago.

Inoichi couldn't stand that fact that one of his comrades had deceived him for ten years. Once he found more evidence, he informed the Hokage to confront him. But because Kanubu had stayed loyal to the Leaf by remaining for ten years, the Hokage forgave him even when Ino's father didn't. Inoichi was reckless and too proud to let Hiro's father get away with deceiving him. As a result, somehow, he forced the Kanubus to leave Konoha and that was all Ino knew.

Ino wondered once in a while how things would have turned out if Hiro was still with them. She wondered what jutsus he had learned, which team he would have been on. Whenever she wondered, in the end, she always blamed her father for abusing his power. Things would have stayed the same if he didn't act on his suspicion. There are some things better left to be unknown because there's always someone who doesn't know how to handle the information.

Now, Ino doesn't know if she wanted to inherit that jutsu. She doesn't know if she'll be corrupted by its power. But she knows her family, comrades, and the village would be proud of her and that same power could protect them. She can only hope that when she does learn the jutsu that she won't abuse it.

A/N: Please review/ comment/ criticise. :D