Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
The Savior:
"Yoji is dead," announced Hikari.
"I would expect nothing less from one of the finest kunoichi I've seen in a while," chuckled the old man.
"Oh please," she smiled. "I can't even consider myself a kunoichi, ojii-san!"
"And why is that?"
"I'm a horrible fighter and have horrible stamina. My ninjutsu and genjutsu are subpar at best. I am no kunoichi," she admitted.
"Hikari, I knew from the moment I met you that you've had potential. Your knowledge on herbal remedies and poisons are beyond your years. Your ability to concoct a remedy for any and every poison is impressive. Not to mention your superb acting skills and ability to seduce men."
The old man walked towards the young girl and placed a gentle hand on her head.
"Hikari, you are quite the little assassin. You look like a harmless butterfly, but who knew that you're as dangerous as the most venomous spider."
He turned his back towards her.
"Deceiving appearances are," he chuckled.
"Ojii-san," Hikari called out. "I would not be here if not for you."
Hikari stared down at the ground remembering how the man in front of her saved her from the horrible fate of the Rinha.
Flashback~
Hikari left the village at 10 years old. She wandered and wandered, searching for the only remaining family she had left, the Rinha clan. After two years of wandering, she had finally found them. They were a small clan that specialized in medicine and plants. When they had heard that she was Daiki's child, they willingly took her under their care.
It turned out that all of her immediate family was no longer alive. Her grandparents had passed away and Daiki had no siblings, but an older woman whose husband lived in a different village running a business took her in. She had no children of her own, so having a young girl around would be much needed company.
"Obaa-chan," chirped young Hikari. "Where is your husband?"
"He's in Iwa," she calmly replied.
"Why isn't he here with you?" asked the young girl.
"He runs a business in Iwa that's very important to our clan. He comes to visit once in a while."
"Do you miss him?"
"Yes," the older woman replied. "I miss him dearly."
The years passed quickly and Hikari was slowly growing from little girl to a woman. She was trained in medicinal herbs and the basics of medical ninjutsu. In no way were those years easy. In order to master medical ninjustus, one must have extensive knowledge of the human body as well as advanced chakra control. As the years passed, with extensive training under the shinobi of her village, she became quite good at chakra control.
Along with her medical ninjutsu training, she was trained in the arts of the kunoichi. Knowing that she wasn't the best at taijutsu and genjutsu, she was trained more in things that would help with undercover missions, such as flower arranging, tea ceremonies, the art of conversation and seduction. Her training was based on teaching her how to used her gender to her advantage.
She never thought being a ninja was her thing, but being here in the village of her father, she just wanted to make him proud. She wanted the recognition of the clan members. She yearned to hear phrases like "That's Daiki's child.." or "Daiki would be so proud if he were still here."
Those phrases were what kept her going. In all honesty, being in the clan was like being in a prison. She was constantly watched over and wasn't allowed to leave without another clan member. She yearned to see the world. She yearned to see Sasuke again.
However, she trained and trained, exhausting her body day after day, month after month, year after year.
All until the week before her 16th birthday.
One week before Hikari was to turn 16, the clan elders sat her down to discuss with her what was expected.
"Hikari-chan, you've been training hard these past years," spoke the First Elder.
"Yes, your father would be extremely proud if he were to see you now," chimed the Second Elder.
Hikari couldn't help but smile at his statement and feel pride within her accomplishment.
"As you know," began the Third Elder. "Your 16th birthday is coming up…"
Hikari felt the beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead.
"For us in the Rinha clan, the 16th birthday of a young kunoichi marks a significant time. It is time for the haka."
Hikari gulped and continued to sit in silence as the elders explained the haka.
"The haka is the deflowering of a young kunoichi at the age of sixteen," spoke the First Elder.
"It's important because one cannot be pure when sent on missions pertaining to the seduction of men," continued the Second Elder.
"It'd be a shame if you were to lose your innocence in the midst of a mission," spoke the Third Elder. "And therefore, we'll arrange for your haka to be on the night of your sixteenth birthday."
"But Elder," protested Hikari. "I want my first time to be with someone I love."
Hikari recalled the stories of her mother and father and how the shared true love. Her mind even flashed back to the image of the young Uchiha that she had left behind back in Konoha.
"Love," began the Second Elder. "Is a useless thing. It makes people vulnerable and weak. It's pointless."
"But Elder," Hikari blurted out. "I refuse!"
"You have no choice," calmly stated the First Elder. "We've trained you from the time you came seeking out our clan. We've cared for you and now you will follow our traditions. You will be sent out on your first mission soon, and we can't have some filthy man deflowering our precious Hikari."
Hikari stormed home, tears streaming down her face.
"Hikari-chan?" chimed Granny. "What's wrong?"
"Obaa-chan," cried Hikari.
Granny just held Hikari tightly, knowing what had just happened.
"It's almost time for your haka isn't it?"
"You knew?" asked Hikari.
"It's.." began Granny. "A tradition of our clan. Every kunoichi must undergo the haka. It isn't frequent because we don't have very many kunoichi from our village. Most of the ninja are men."
Granny had a grim look on her face.
"It's such an old tradition," Hikari grumbled. "I wish they would just put an end to it."
Granny took Hikari's face into her hands.
"I'll talk to them, my child."
Hikari woke up the next day stressed beyond compare. She sat up in her bed and quickly lay back down. She did not feel like doing anything today.
"I'm home," sang an unfamiliar voice. "Honey?"
Hikari heard granny squeal in excitement. She quickly put the pieces together.
"That must be her husband," she muttered.
Hikari sat up once again and got out of bed. She made her way into the small living room to see the couple embracing lovingly.
Love. True love. That's what she wanted. At that moment, she couldn't help but think about Sasuke. What was he up to? She wondered how much he had grown and whether or not he looks the same.
"Hikari," Granny squeaked. "This is my husband."
The old man took Hikari's hand and gently shook it.
"My my, what a beautiful young lady," spoke the old man. "My wife has told me much about you. Feel free to call me Ojii-san!"
"Oh," interrupted Granny. "We need to meet with the council of elders today."
Granny gave a concerned look towards Gramps, and all he did in return was nod.
Before the meeting with the elders, all Hikari could hear was mumbled conversation between the couple.
"She's really…"
"But she.."
"If maybe.."
".. I don't know"
"Just try…"
Hikari was getting nervous. Time had passed slowly and before she knew it, it was time for their second meeting.
Hikari and Granny walked into the room, followed by Gramps.
The two women proceeded to bow when suddenly the three Elders shot up from out of the seats and met them with a bow instead.
Hikari was extremely confused. Never did the elders ever bow to her. Then, she turned around and noticed Gramps. He walked past her and Granny and towards the council of elders.
"Grand Elder," bellowed the First Elder.
"Why did you not tell us about your return," chirped the Second Elder.
"We would've prepared a small celebration for you," croaked the Third Elder.
What was going on? So Gramps was actually the Grand Elder of the council who was away on business? The same Gramps who was away from Granny because he had a business in Iwa? So much was going on at the moment, it took a while for Hikari to process everything.
"This is exactly what I didn't want," chirped Gramps. "I don't need a party or any type of celebration. I just wanted to see my beautiful wife."
He gestured towards Granny and a smile spread across her face as a blush crept onto her cheeks.
"Now, I have a proposition for you," he began.
"Yes, Grand Elder?" bellowed the Third Elder.
"I understand that Hikari's haka is coming up."
The three elders nodded their heads.
"Cancel it."
The three elders looked flabbergasted at his statement.
"What are you trying to say, Grand Elder?" questioned the First Elder.
"It's a tradition within our clan," chimed the Second Elder.
"It's outdated," interrupted Gramps. "I understand that it's a clan tradition, but it's pointless."
"But.. but," stuttered the Third Elder.
"I said there's no point in it. We can discuss the haka later but as of now we'll agree that the haka ceremony will not need to take place. She's about the age where she should see the world anyways," Gramps calmly spoke. "But I'm not saying she can just leave the clan."
He turned to face Hikari then back to the council of Elders.
"My proposition is," he began. "That Hikari come with me to Iwa. There, she will help me complete a few missions that are beneficial to the Rinha clan. After those missions are complete, Hikari will be free to roam the world."
Hikari's eyes lit up at Gramp's proposition. She could leave the confines of the clan that contained the memory and essence of her father, but was like a prison to her.
"What do you all say," questioned Gramps.
The council of Elders highly respected their Grand Elder. He was the one who left his home and clan in order to do business which has helped the Rinha clan thrive. He's sacrificed so much for the well being of the clan, that the most they could do was comply with her suggestion.
The three nodded simultaneously.
Hikari jumped into the arms of Granny.
"Obaa-chan," she chirped.
Gramps turned around to be met with the embrace of the young girl.
"Ojii-san," She mumbled. "Thank you so much."
"Thus, we agreed that once you were to kill off my list of targets, that you were free to go," spoke Gramps. "That Yoji fool was the last guy."
"If you had not come back to the clan that day, I don't now where I'd be," she mumbled. "You were kind enough to take me under your wing, train me until I was ready. You trusted me and have freed me from the confines of the clan and for that, I can never thank you enough."
"Come here, my child."
Hikari rushed over to Gramps and gave him a long hug.
"Your tasks are finally done," he chuckled. "A fine kunoichi you've become and now, like I promised, you're free to roam the world."
"I know what you've done," Hikari spoke. "The men.. the men that you told me to kill. All of them were people who've harmed the village.. drug lords, sex traffickers, mafia members."
Gramps chuckled and sheepishly grinned.
"How'd you find out?" he laughed.
Hikari hugged him again.
"Ojii-san, you're such a good person."
Gramps placed a comforting hand on Hikari's head.
"That Sasuke fella must be waiting for you," he began. "He better take good care of you or else I'm gonna have to kick his ass."
Hikari giggled.
"I'm gonna miss you so much, Ojii-san."
"Not as much as I'll miss you, child. Remember, I'll be here whenever you need me."
Hikari grabbed the rest of the herbs and supplies that Gramps had given her and stuffed them into her bag. With one last hug, Hikari parted with the man that saved her. He was the man that believed in her and trained her. Not only that, but he was family.
Sasuke impatiently waited at the hotel, pacing back and forth anticipating Hikari's return. When he heard the footsteps, he sprang onto the bed and laid there, pretending not to care.
"Sasuke-kun?" whispered Hikari. "Are you awake?"
"Hn," he replied.
"You can see fireworks from the roof," she began. "Would you like to watch them with me?"
A jolt of excitement ran through Sasuke, but he tried his best to hide that. Thus, he lazily sat up.
"Sure, I guess," he replied.
Hikari walked over to the raven-haired boy in front of her and gently took his hand, leading him up to the roof top.
"Are you mad?" questioned Hikari.
"About what?" asked Sasuke.
"That I left you," she mumbled.
Sasuke paused for a moment, averting his gaze from the lights in the sky to look at the petit girl in front of him.
"Of course I'm mad," he began.
Hikari didn't know why she asked him that. She obviously didn't want to hear the answer. All those years she spent thinking about Sasuke were pointless because he was angry at her anyways. He probably won't ever forgive her for abandoning him. The worst part was that she couldn't even tell him to his face that she was leaving. How lonely he must've felt. There was probably no redeeming herself, and yet she couldn't help but feel like the feelings that were there in their childhood were still here. Maybe not extreme passionate feelings of love, but something subtle was still there. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something in her still loved and always will love Sasuke.
"But you're here with me now, and that's all that matters."
Hikari looked at Sasuke and quickly turned away as a blush crept up on her cheeks. Yup, something was still definitely there.
Sasuke was furious at this girl before, but having her there with him, he forgot about all the feelings of anger and resentment. Have you ever been so mad at someone for something they did, but the minute you see them, you forgot why you were ever mad? Yeah, that feeling.
Hikari scooted closer to Sasuke, gently resting her head on his shoulder. They both sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the small bit of physical contact between them, and enjoying the beauty of the fireworks that night.
I hope you all liked it ^^ I apologize if there are a bunch of errors D: I wanted to get this out to all ya'll asap! Plus it was pretty late at night and i got tired. Anyways, review pl0x ^^
