Precipice — Chapter Six
Hinata sat on the restless grass, enjoying the pull on her hamstrings as she pushed herself into a stretch. Kakashi stood against one of the trees that surrounded her home, 'finishing the chapter.' Hinata had humphed at his excuse, guessing the pages were all well ingrained into his memory by now.
The sun continued its descent into night, passing it's peak hours ago. The air still hung heavy, the wind pointlessly blowing the thick air about.
Kakashi begrudgingly pocketed his book. He glanced to the cloudless sky before studying Hinata.
"Do you have any questions?"
Hinata looked up with scrunched brows.
"About last night, morning. Anything?" He clarified, staring off at Hinata's tiny home.
Hinata crossed her legs, her hands playing with the peeling fabric of her shoes. "Inoichi-sama couldn't find anything?"
Kakashi's gaze lilted. He shook his head.
"Is… Is that bad?"
Kakashi exhaled through the fabric of his mask. Turning his complete attention to Hinata, he explained, "The person who you encountered was highly skilled in genjutsu—at a different level. They were able to place blocks in your mind to prevent you from remembering last night and anyone else from viewing those memories. The Hokage wants me to work with you to try and receive these memories so we can have a better understanding of the attackers."
"Oh," Hinata said with furrowed brows. Her eyes sparked as a thought passed her mind, "Pakkun? Was he…?"
"He got me. He's fine."
Hinata's entire body slumped in relief, her hands slapping the ground.
Amused, Kakashi smiled. With a few handsigns he summoned his trusted ninken.
The miniature pug looked up. "What do you want?"
Kakashi's eyebrow twitched. He jerked his head towards Hinata.
Ears perked and brown eyes glimmered. Throwing a warning look at an entertained Kakashi, Pakkun waltzed up to the beaming girl.
Hinata reached forward, scratching the top of his head. "Thank you for getting help yesterday."
"All in a day's work," he drawled. He pattered closer, sitting next to Hinata's leg.
"I'm starting to think you like her more than me," Kakashi teased.
"I thought I was making it more obvious."
There was that same twitch of his eyebrow. Kakashi's eye rolled as he mumbled something under his breath.
Hinata giggled, moving her hand to scratch at his favourite place behind his ear. "You didn't see their faces?" She asked Pakkun.
He craned his neck, "No. I sensed two Jōnin level near you. Following Kakashi's orders I went to get him." The flabby skin of Pakkun's face scrunched as he attempted a reprimanding glare, "You were concealing your chakra and your scent was weak, you're lucky I found you so quickly."
Hinata's eyes flashed with something unknown as she processed the information. "I'm sorry, Pakkun." Her expression wilted.
"It's fine."
Kakashi held back a laugh. Now it was his cheeks twitching from the strain. "Any other questions?"
Hinata stared at the ground, contemplating if she should voice her deduction. Her lips pursed slightly, swishing to the side. She trusted Kakashi. "You know who they were…"
Kakashi's body stayed languid, but his roaming eye flew to Hinata. He chuckled. "We have a guess."
Hinata pulled at her weights, enjoying when the breeze ducked down and cooled the irritated skin. She drew her thumb along the rough material.
Kakashi stared at Hinata expectantly.
"Uchiha Itachi… You think it was him…"
Kakashi's jaw dropped before he quickly snapped it shut. "Ah," he cleared his throat to produce a much more loquacious, "Um."
"It had to be an Uchiha…" She explained in a whisper. "He's the only other Uchiha," she swallowed, "alive. It just… makes sense." Her blank eyes stared off to the side, 'And those eyes,' she thought. They wouldn't leave her mind.
"Interesting," Kakashi mussed. He glanced behind Hinata. "We can talk about that after your warmup."
Hinata tilted her head.
Kakashi jutted his head towards where he had been looking. "Get Sasuke before he does something stupid."
"Wha-What?"
"Sasuke." Kakashi repeated.
Pushing her confusion to the side, Hinata activated her Byakugan. A spiderweb of veins protruded around her eyes as she searched for the aforementioned Uchiha. She pushed her sight farther, spotting him charging at the village walls.
Her Byakugan shut off. She restrained an itching eye roll as she shot up and flew after Sasuke.
He wasn't far.
Hinata slammed him into the cement, her forearm a steel bar across his upper back. "Uchiha-san," she acknowledged.
With a grunt he futilely tried to free himself.
Hinata dug her other arm into the back of his neck, squishing his face against the hot stone.
"Let… me… go," Sasuke spat, his words crushed against the wall.
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Orders."
"Let me go!"
Hinata sighed. With a flick of her wrist the side of her hand struck the crook of Sasuke's neck. She watched as his body crumpled. Ducking underneath him, she caught him before he hit the ground. With a few awkward manoeuvres she somehow managed to fold his larger frame over her shoulder.
Taking her time she wobbled into the clearing that surrounded her house.
Kakashi watched with raised eyebrows as Hinata silently dropped his student against a tree, went into her house, exited with rope, and walked back to Sasuke.
She walked behind the thick trunk. Grasping both ends of the rope with her calloused hands, she pulled them tight, tying them in an intricate knot. She patted the bulb twice.
With her gaze concentrated on her twiddling hands she shuffled to the exact place she was seated and lowered into a sit, crossing her legs into the same position.
Hinata didn't lift her eyes as she asked, "Is that who you think?" Resuming as if unhindered.
"One of them," Kakashi admitted, ignoring his tied up, unconscious student.
Hinata glanced up, meeting his stare. "Okay."
"Well, that's good for the day," Kakashi said brightly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'll let you process that."
Hinata pouted, her brows furrowed. "Tr-training?"
"Hm?" Kakashi, already beginning to walk away, turned back. His book in hand.
Hinata's hands clenched her weights as irritation bloomed in her chest, rooting to the pit of her stomach. "You said Hokage-sama wanted you to help me get my memories."
"Did I now?"
"Yes. And you promised me earlier to work on genjutsu."
Kakashi chuckled while scratching the back of his head. "You remembered that, did you?"
Hinata didn't deign him with a response. She stared. Waiting. Expectant.
She beamed a bright smile as Kakashi's postured slumped in defeat.
"This is why I like you, kid," Pakkun stated as he watched Kakashi slug back to them.
Snapping down into a squat, Kakashi fell into a sitting position in front of Hinata. Lifting his arm he reached for the crooked hitai-ate that covered his left eye. Pulling it into his nest of hair, his crimson red Sharingan was revealed.
Hinata stared in a daze at the rare Kekkei Genkai.
She had seen his before, when he had told her his story those months ago.
He'd found her balled up against the memorial stone, the tears on her face mixing with the streaks of rain. Without a word he'd placed his heavy vest over her shoulders before taking a seat a couple paces over, giving her space.
He'd said, 'It doesn't get any easier, doesn't get any better, but you get stronger.'
He shared his story with her, his voice devoid of emotions. It only made her tears fall faster. She cried as it all came crashing down. It wasn't just her. It was the world they lived in. Her heart shattered—how many times could this happen before the pieces became too small to place back together—as she learned the truth. Her heart hurt as he walked her to the Hokage Tower hours later, but by the end she no longer felt as alone.
"We won't go on for too long," Kakashi's tone left no room for debate. "Genjutsu can cause certain effects on the synapse of the brain. Pathways recreate; meaning it can show you some not so pleasant memories. Usually in the form of a nightmare. We don't want that, now do we?"
Hinata bit her lip—not looking forward to the dreams her mind could conjure later.
"Itachi is… gifted in this field. We're not aiming to prevent that level. We'll start slow and see how you do."
Hinata gave another nod before she was pulled into a different world.
Hinata stared at the dark circles that lined her eyes through the mirror that sat overtop her porcelain sink. She brushed her teeth, her mind not focused on the task. Her arms lagged with every stroke, but it was her mind that laid limp in exhaustion. She blinked, her sandpaper lids making her eyes tear.
With her own Kekkei Genkai they found she could dispel almost all the genjutsu Kakashi could cast without the use of his Sharingan. All she had to do was push her sight past the horizon of the created realm.
With, was completely different.
Though rumoured to evolve from the Byakugan, the Sharingan was its antithesis. A yin and yang comparison. One pulled in while the other pushed out.
The Sharingan created a new world.
The Byakugan sought only to see this one.
Hinata spat the frothy liquid into the sink. Clad in the same pyjama's as the previous night, she exited through her backdoor. Her toes scrunched against the rough wooden porch, sharp splinters pricking her in warning. Her eyes drifted to Sasuke: unconscious with no sign of waking.
"He sure is a heavy sleeper."
Hinata glanced down at Pakkun. "Maybe I hit him too hard," she twiddled her lower lip with her teeth.
He tilted his head to the side. "Maybe. Don't worry about it. Kakashi's wanted to hit that kid for a while now."
Hinata gasped, "He - He has not!"
Pakkun peeked at Hinata through his peripherals. His little paws tapping, he walked in a circle before laying down and resting his head on his front legs. "Believe what you want."
Hinata pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowed. With a sigh she relaxed and lugged herself across her yard. She slid down the rough bark beside Sasuke before her bum hit the ground.
Her eyes closed and minutes later her body melted into the tree.
"Hinata! Run!"
Blood. So much blood.
The metallic stench bit her, hanging in the air for her to taste with each breath.
Trembling arms lifted as gaping eyes stared at hands covered in red satin gloves. A twitch of her finger and the thick liquid pulled apart, dropping onto the stained dirt.
"Ahh!"
The short, shrill scream pierced her ears. Her throat burned and she realized the foreign sound was retched from her own raw throat.
Fingers knotted in her hair as she was pulled back into a broad chest. Her bruised body cried, her nerves whimpering in pain.
"What I'm gonna do to you, little Hyūga," the demon whispered in her ear.
She could feel his breath against the side of her face. Feel his hand on her waist.
Bile rose up her throat.
"They're all gone."
Her heart contracted. Chains pulled tight.
"It's all your fault."
"Pathetic."
"Weak."
"Disgusting."
"Hyūga…"
"You're a disgrace."
Her father.
"Hyūga!"
"… Waste… Sit tight for a few years… Until we can put you to good use."
Another demon.
"Hyūga!"
Hinata's eyes snapped open, her Byakugan activated on instinct without her command. From her curled position on the ground she snapped forwards, her hand wrapping around a scrawny neck.
'Tighter.'
She heard the thought and obeyed its order. Her nails dug into the skin.
'Tighter.'
Her muscles flexed. She felt the windpipe shift under her grasp.
A sharp pain in her opposite hand shocked her senses, enough to pull her from her trance. With a gasp she released the neck from her clutch. Falling back, her entire body shook as she stared at the pale and wheezing Sasuke.
"I-I…" The words wouldn't form.
She glanced at her hand. Two puncture wounds inflamed her skin. A single drop of blood fell from the injury, streaking a path along her porcelain skin. Her other hand shot up to wipe away the liquid.
Her chest shook as she exhaled. Her fingers curled as the blood stained her other hand.
"Hinata. You had a nightmare. You're safe."
Hinata's head twitched towards Pakkun's voice, but her eyes remained on her shaking hands.
She could still see their blood. Still feel it. It was in every crevice, spreading, staining, dirtying her skin.
"I need you to look at me, Hinata." Pakkun's voice remained calm, patient.
Hinata managed to drag her eyes to Pakkun.
"It was a nightmare. You're safe," he repeated.
Hinata closed her dry mouth and gave a tiny nod of her head.
"Tell me, what's five things you can see right now?"
Hinata had gone back to gaping at the shadowed forest. "Wha-" she began to question.
"Five things you can see."
"T-Trees… ah, um, my home," she swallowed. "Th-the grass. Weights-s." Her eyes went up, "The stars." Hinata's gaze didn't falter from the twinkling lights.
Seeing that Hinata was slowly coming back, Pakkun gave her a moment before asking, "Three things you can hear?" He purposefully skipped over feel.
"You… The wind. Crickets." Hinata's breathing returned to normal as her hands intertwined in an attempt to stop their shaking.
"Two you can taste?"
Hinata glanced at Pakkun. "Wh-what would I be a-able to taste?" Her cheeks lifted as she attempted a smile. The circles around her eyes had darkened, nearly matching the backdrop of the night sky.
Pakkun chuckled to himself. "Kakashi used to say the same thing."
Hinata looked at her hands again, focusing on every breath.
"I'm sorry," Pakkun stated, his own eyes on the puncture wounds. "You didn't hear me."
Hinata shook her head. "N-No. Thank you." She cringed as she pressed her fingers against the bite mark.
A gravelly cough took her from her trance.
Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "I-I'm so sorry, Sasuke." She shuffled on her knees. With a feather-like touch she brushed the pads of her fingers against the already bruising skin of his neck.
She snapped her hand into her chest when Sasuke smacked it away.
"It's fine," a bit of colour returned to his cheeks. He looked off in the distance, "Shouldn't have woken you up that way," he mumbled.
"You should have listened to me," Pakkun scolded with a bite Hinata had not yet heard from the ninken.
"Whatever."
In the returning silence, Hinata's attention went to her hands.
"Untie me."
Hinata took a deep breath. "I can't let you leave the village."
"Why?"
Hinata began to respond when Sasuke interrupted.
"Don't say orders."
Hinata pressed her quivering lips into a thin line. Standing up she walked to untie the knot, watching as the rope loosened on the ground.
Without looking back she strode to her house. "Do what you want."
Hinata shut the door behind her. Her hand didn't leave the door knob as she paused in the threshold. A shaky breath left her lips as she took another step.
The dark halls closed in on her. Creeping closer, they pulled her deeper, suffocating the light from her dimming eyes.
Each step dragged heavier until she collapsed in her bedroom corner.
She pulled her knees to her chest—a protective wall.
Her arms wrapped around—trying to hold everything together as the tears flowed out.