Thank you for reviewing, Little Kunai, Fk306 animelover, and Sora Hoshi!
-Chapter Nine-
Thanks to the Weasley twins, there were all sorts of ways to avoid class, now. Puking Pastils, Fever Fudge, Nosebleed Nougats . . . These, however, were easily countered, and would bring up suspicion. The question would be asked about why she wanted to skip out on the first day of katas, when everyone else was so eager to start. No, she needed something that seemed accidental, and something that would definitely prevent her from doing anything physical while permitting her to still go to other classes . . . with help, of course. Sabrina and Jessica would help her, she knew, even though it stung to have to lie to them, as well. That sting was lessened, unfortunately, and conversely strengthened by the fact that she had been lying to everyone for six whole years. Her greatest concern was how Gaara would view her, as he was the Kazekage of the Hidden Village she hoped to join. She had to be trustworthy, and by the end of the year, that's what she hoped to be.
So in light of all this, that was why she was running late to class – literally. It sure looked like a frantic run, but it was nowhere near the speed of which she was capable. Down the hill she went in her exercise clothes, eyes sharp to look for the little hole in the ground she had noticed in the days before. She could make do without it, but if she stepped just right . . .
And just according to plan, her foot found its place in the small pit. She went down rolling, crying out as her ankle was twisted sharply. Yes, it was what she wanted, but it still freakin' hurt!
She lay still on the ground for a moment as she prepared herself for movement, knowing it would be rather painful when she did sit up. She had ninja training that allowed her to cope with the pain, but for now, she was ignoring that training and letting her response show in order to engender sympathy and to meet the taijutsu instructors' low expectations of the students' pain tolerances.
Hikari hissed as she moved, her leg shifting as she sat up. Her left ankle was already swollen, she could immediately see, and the fact that it was sprained was obvious to her.
A hand touched the injured joint, and she hissed again, having not expected that at all. Fingers probed gently, careful not to inflict more pain, but largely unsuccessful in that endeavor. At another twinge, she had to force herself not to jerk her leg away. "Itai!" she complained, scowling. "I think we've established that it's sprained, Kazekage-sama."
Gaara glanced up and met her eyes, calm and unperturbed at her outburst. "What were you doing to bring this about?"
Hikari winced at another twinge of pain. "I was late, so I was running. I didn't notice the hole until I stepped in it. By then, it was too late for me. Oi, oi! Itai! What-"
She cut herself off as the arm hooked under her knees was joined by an arm beneath her shoulders. Gaara lifted her up, and turned to his watching siblings, who had also come running at her pained yelp. "Continue with the class. I will take Hikari-san to the Hospital Wing."
Hikari truly was in a slight state of shock at his actions. She was held close, then the sand swirled around them, and she felt the change from outdoors to inside a stone-lined room.
Madam Pomfrey rushed over as the Kazekage laid a pink-faced Hikari on one of the beds. "A-arigato," she murmured, very much embarrassed. Gaara nodded once and sat on the bed next to hers, allowing Madam Pomfrey to do her job.
The school's medi-witch turned the predictable fussy as soon as she saw the problem. "What on earth did you do, Hikari? Two years ago, you were in here unconscious with a broken arm. Last year, you were all banged up after the battle. Don't tell me you're going to be making a pattern of this."
Hikari scowled, ignoring Gaara's sudden interest. "I'll thank you not to bring those up again, Pomfrey-sama. And I sprained my ankle running to class. One cannot simply point a wand at the ground and say, 'Hocus pocus, let there be no more holes.'"
Madam Pomfrey harumphed. "At least you still have that sense of humor. Now, let me take a look."
"Itai! It is sprained! Poking it is not going to make it get better!"
Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes and went to fetch a potion. Hikari avoided Gaara's amused gaze while she did, knowing this was new to the Kazekage. In the past two weeks, she knew he had seen her joking around with the twins, and in moods ranging from calm and quiet to moody and introspective to laughing and animated. This was the first time, however, she had shown such annoyance, pained or not. And, apparently, the former Jinchuuriki found her behavior entertaining.
The nurse returned, two bottles in hand. "Drink these," she instructed. "One is for the pain, the other for the inflammation. I'll bring the swelling down and fix the ankle with a spell, but you shouldn't put weight on it for at least twelve hours. That means, Hikari, you will stay here for now, and we'll have someone levitate you to your bed later. I want to keep you here for now, so that I can verify that you're taking it easy."
Hikari groaned, shoulders slumping. She had been hoping to get to her other classes. The things I do, she mused. And all this just to let Taiki surprise everyone with me. Ah, well, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't let him join in the fun? He'll be here in two days. I can say my ankle is still a little tender to get me out of katas. If that doesn't work, I suppose I can just try and do them poorly . . .
A hand settled on her shoulder, and she jumped, startled. When she turned, she saw Gaara looking down at her. "Get some rest," he instructed. "I will ask Temari to take you to your room later."
"That's all right," Hikari assured him, forcing back the slight blush that threatened to rise. Hey, who wouldn't blush? "I'm sure my roommates will visit, and they can practice their levitation spells."
"Mhmm." He didn't seem too dissuaded. "I'll check up on you later. We'll figure it out then."
Hikari frowned at him. "Why such concern?"
He paused at that, and she could see the brief flicker of confusion. "I'm not sure . . ." Turning away, he glanced back at her. "Get some rest, Hikari-san."
She lay back, and wondered if that would even be possible.
........
"No! Stop it! Moriko-sensei!"
Her anguished cries were ignored, her mother-figure's screams of pain echoing loudly in her ears. The blurred faces of her tormenters were painted with sadistic grins, and black orbs in place of eyes. Then the screams faded away into nothing, eerie silence taking over as the murderers leered down at the girl. Only . . . she wasn't just a girl. She was a sixteen-year-old, clad in a hospital gown with a splint on her arm, and Dumbledore lay dead at her feet. Horrified, she turned, thirteen years old, to see a cliff before her. A girl's broken body lay at the bottom, soulless eyes staring vacantly at the sky. Screams erupted around her, and she was moving, seventeen years old now, kunai in hand and bathed in blood. Death Eaters and dark creatures fell one after another to her ruthless hands, silent reducto curses blasting at heads and torsos and shuriken and kunai burying themselves in their vital organs. Just as she sliced the throat of one, it withered away into dust, joined by the bodies of all the others, including the live ones. She stood alone in a vast plain covered inch-deep in blood, bare feet chilled and sickeningly warmed by it all. She looked down at her seventeen, going on eighteen-year-old body, and saw that she was wearing simple shorts and a shirt, drab and brown, the shorts ten shades darker than her top. When she looked up again, she saw . . . herself, just standing there. Her clone's eyes were dead to the world, unaware. Then, to her horror, the clone's body began to shift, changing into a grotesque figure that could only be categorized as . . . a monter. Black eyes were alight with hunger for blood, a gaping, salivating maw lined with sharp, pointed teeth. It was covered in blood, and it raised a kunai toward her. However, it did not attack. Instead, it spoke.
"We are."
She looked down at her hands, and instead of seeing slender fingers, she saw blood-drenched appendages, gnarly fingers ending in long, hooked nails better classified as claws or talons. The kunai clenched in them dropped with a splash, and she jerked back, letting out a blood-curdling scream.
"Woah, easy now!"
Hikari's first instinct was to attack the woman speaking as she came to sudden wakefulness, but that soon changed to clinging to her like a lifeline, trembling in mixed terror, grief, and relief. A gentle hand pat her on the back, as arms reached around to hold her. "Shh . . . You're safe. It's all right."
Hikari buried her face in her comforter's shirt, her mind not yet registering the voice. It sounded familiar, was all she knew, along with the fact that it was friendly, and that was enough for her at the moment. It had been a while since she had last had that nightmare, and it always changed a little bit. The new part this time was the Death Eater battle, and she had to forcibly remind herself of Ichiraku's words to her that summer.
'You have nothing to be ashamed of, no reason to regret. You're not a monster, Hikari. You don't slaughter people for no reason.'
A male voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey . . . Is she okay?"
"Kankuro, hush!"
Hikari tensed, suddenly realizing who was holding her. And if she was here, and Kankuro, then . . .
"Easy, you two," came the expected voice. "Are you all right, Hikari-san?"
Hikari blushed hard, torn between the desire to answer him and reassure the Kazekage, and the desire to curl up in a ball in her humiliation. Each of the shinobi had now seen her in one of her worst states. Finally, she nodded, but kept her face hidden.
The arms around her squeezed once, gently. "You can relax, Hikari-san. Gaara, Kankuro, can you give us a minute?"
Hikari pushed away, sitting up and massaging her temples. "Iie . . . It is okay. It is too late, anyhow."
"Well, if you're sure . . ." Temari trailed off in concern.
Hikari gave her a dry look. "I can't un-humiliate myself."
Kankuro's face popped into view. "You okay, Hikari-san? We were wondering if we should wake you when we came in and saw you tossing and turning, and then that scream . . . I haven't heard many civilians give one like that."
"Kankuro! Some tact!"
Hikari heaved a sigh. "It is fine. I am fine. It was just a nightmare. I did fight in a war last year."
"Right . . ." Each of them had their doubts, she could tell, looking from Temari, to Kankuro, to Gaara. Sheepish, she tucked a brown lock behind her left ear. "Ano . . . Where is Pomfrey-sama?"
"In her office," Temari answered. "She came running out when you woke up screaming, but went back inside when Gaara waved her away."
"Oh." She moved to stand up, but two sets of hands clamped down on each of her shoulders and pushed her back.
"Ah!" came the chastising cry. "Don't even think it."
Gaara stepped forward as his sister continued to glare at the injured girl, amusement flickering across his face. "Pomfrey-san warned us you would do this. How is your ankle?"
Hikari shrugged, glad he had not asked the same question his siblings had. "It is fine for now. Still a little tender, I suppose. We'll see how it is tomorrow. I may not want to do anything too strenuous with it yet."
Kankuro pouted in disappointment. "Then you won't be able to do katas tomorrow?"
"Probably not," she answered apologetically. "Sorry."
"Maa, it's not like you can help it. Want me to take you back to your room?"
"No," three voices chorused. Hikari stifled a giggle, amused at how pitiful he looked when he pulled a sad face. Good looks definitely ran in his family.
Did I really just think that? she wondered incredulously. She glanced at his siblings, and was surprised to see the extent of the Kazekage's annoyance that showed on his face. He was usually very reserved, showing no emotion, except for what he let through.
What brought that on? She didn't stop to think about that for too long, though, as Gaara stepped forward, impassive once more. "Temari, would you take Hikari-san back to her room? Or to the Hufflepuff common room, at least. One of her roommates may be able to help you after that."
"You sure I can't just walk?" Hikari asked hopefully. She hated having to rely on anyone.
Gaara nodded. "Doctor's orders. Do you wish to injure your ankle even further?"
". . . No . . ."
"Then Temari will carry you." The Kazekage looked at the clock, then nodded at his siblings. "I should go. I have paperwork to finish, and I'll be bringing the team here tomorrow at breakfast."
"Team?" questioned Hikari.
"Oh, that's right," Kankuro answered. "You weren't at class. Well, a team of newly graduated ninja are coming with their Jounin-sensei to see what this place is like and to help teach you guys the katas. They're some of the best of their class at taijutsu, so they'll be a big help. Especially with the younger kids, who will be able to connect better with them."
"Hmm. I look forward to meeting them. Oyasumi, Kazekage-sama, Kankuro-sensei."
Gaara nodded again. "Oyasumi. Temari, if you would . . ."
Hikari climbed reluctantly onto Temari's back, not the happiest about having to be carried. Temari was fast, though, she had to admit, and soon they had arrived at the still life in the basement that guarded the Hufflepuff common room. "Pegasus," the injured girl supplied, and the painting swung open to reveal a room decorated with yellow hangings and fat armchairs. Two tunnels branched off from the common room, leading to the dorms, and Temari started down the right-hand one, ignoring the students seated around the fire. When she came to Hikari's room, though, they had a dilemma.
This was solved by Sylvia Wilson, Hikari's third roommate. The Irish witch had followed them from the common room, worried for her friend, and quickly moved to open the circular door when she saw Temari's problem.
Temari nodded at her. "Arigato. Hikari-san, which is your bed?"
"That one," Hikari answered, and pointed to the bed closest to the door. Temari dropped her off, then pressed a vial into her hands.
"Courtesy of Madam Pomfrey," she explained. "It's a dreamless sleep potion. That should keep away the nightmares tonight."
Hikari smiled gratefully. "Thank her for me, please. And arigato for bringing me here."
Temari clapped her on the shoulder. "No problem. Rest up, now. I'll see you in the morning."
The student nodded, and watched as the taijutsu instructor left. As much as she disliked relying on people, having help was nice sometimes. Training or not, walking on an injured ankle was no fun at all.
Sylvia tossed her a set of pajamas. "Need any help?"
Hikari shook her head. This, at least, she could do on her own. "Iie. Goodnight, Sylvia."
The redhead of the group of four girls offered back a smile. "All right. Goodnight, Hikari."
She left, and Hikari was alone.
It was only after she had changed and taken the potion, drifting off to sleep, that she thought to wonder why the Kazekage's return with the Genin team tomorrow bothered her so much . . .
Japanese--English translations:
Oi--Hey
Itai--Ow
