Hi everyone. Firstly sorry for the long gap between updates (it turns out that discovering Fairy Tail and Attack on Titan at the same time as Uni finals is not a good combination for productive activity) and I promise to have a quicker turnout from now on. As for the story, we finaly get to see the first real beginnings of romantic feeling here, so enjoy.
Chapter 9: Bittersweet Victory
Konohamaru was silent. Something that under any other circumstance would garner the notice of his teammates, yet now it was overlooked for the threat of the enemy they faced. The explosions from Hamaki's delaying defence had been lost to the distance behind them as the seven leaf ninja made their way through the newly forming tunnel. He was unsure of what to feel in this situation; up until recently he had truly believed himself up to the challenges of higher graded missions, yet this failure had proven otherwise. Iruka sensei had told him that it wasn't a failure, that the enemy was stronger than the intelligence had suggested and that they had stopped the raid on the caravan. But all of that did little to placate Konohamaru's sense of shame. They had lost 18 prisoners and possibly a leaf Jonin in this escape; it was hard to see it as anything but a failure.
His friends were showing their worry; Udon looked perpetually worried so there was little difference but Moegi was quietly crying, emotional she may be but Konohamaru hadn't seen her cry since his grandfather's, the third Hokage's funeral. As for their teammate, Futan looked concerned for his master but also angry at the circumstances that had forced them to this; he continued to clench and unclench his fist and often resettled the weight of the prisoner on his shoulder.
He looked across at his own teammates. Kai showed little discomfort, his scary level of calm would fool most into thinking him at ease, but the fact that he was not folding cranes as they walked spoke volumes to those who knew him, he was on edge. Hanabi likewise looked nervous, though it was well hidden to most behind a trade mark Hyuga impassiveness. She was constantly fiddling with her headband, a new habit that had formed since she had moved it to her forehead, as though it didn't sit right. He had noticed that Hanabi's recent attitude resurgence had subsided greatly since they had entered the tunnel, it was the small things; she walked with less confidence and her teeth were slightly gritted beneath the careful poise of her face. This worried him, he did not want the sad and defeated looking Hanabi back, but what worried him more was that he didn't know why he didn't want that. They fought less and she stopped showing him up in training, there was no logical downside as far as he could see it, yet the more he saw her confidence slip or her mood deteriorate something in his gut felt off. He couldn't quite place the feeling, somewhere between an ache and strong pressure. These weird feelings had surfaced when she first changed her aesthetic, and had been the cause of his own, less brash behaviour during their last few weeks of training. While he didn't fully understand these feelings he knew one thing, he needed to get to the bottom of Hanabi's loss of confidence.
Hanabi walked silently, in the centre of the group. Her face a motionless mask, hiding the whirring thoughts and clashing emotions that warred just beneath the surface. She had not seen any sign of followers or any enemy action, surely that meant her plan was a success, yet Hamaki was left behind, surely a failure. These two opposing views formed and crashed against each other continuously in her mind, a deafening chorus of self doubt and reassuring logic being thrown against the already tattered remains of her self-worth. She had been taught her whole life that being a Hyuga was to peruse excellence in the name of the clan, which meant successfully completing missions and earning promotions. Yet at the same time she had been taught that being a Leaf ninja meant looking out for your comrades. Was sacrificing a fellow Leaf ninja worth these two prisoners? Was her first allegiance to Hyuga reputation or Leaf Village camaraderie? She wasn't sure if that question could be answered, not now. The mark on her head had changed everything, she was no longer a member of the village nobility, and she had lost her purpose. Before everything had been about gearing herself to be prepared for leadership of the Hyuga clan, but now that is no longer possible and her dream is shattered, what is left; a Hyuga failure or a Leaf ninja who abandoned her comrade?
She deliberately interrupted her own train of thought by scanning the surface with her Byakugan. Still clear, the plan had worked. Did that make it worthwhile, did that make it right? She knew Iruka would point out that Hamaki was the most experienced and highest ranked ninja present and thus the final decision had been his, but it was still her plan and she should have been able to come up with a better one. She was supposed to be a prodigy, yet she had nothing better than a suicide distraction.
Her self-pity was cut short by the familiar sight of the village finally coming into view in the distance, only a few hundred meters away. They had made it. She relayed this information to Iruka who decided to continue underground for a couple hundred more meters and come up within sight of the gate guards, just for added security.
Konohamaru was glad to be so close to the village. At least they would be able to get some information out of these prisoners, it wasn't all a failure. His thoughts strayed to Hamaki and his sacrifice. His grandfather had always hated that part of his job was sending people to their death but he also knew it was necessary to secure the peace. He was a hero, loved by his people and respected by his enemies. Could it really be called a victory if they had lost a comrade? It seemed crazy, but then hadn't the Third Hokage sacrificed himself to protect the village from Orochimaru, and the Fourth to protect them from the Nine Tails? Perhaps Konohamaru was missing the point, maybe Hamaki was simply following in their example, protecting his charges with his life, but even so that sharp pain of failure still struck whenever he thought back to how powerless against this enemy he was.
Izumo and Kotetsu sat at the small wooden desk within the gate guard's station, the quiet boredom of their task lulling them into an inattentive daydream. The imaginings of the two best friends were cast aside as they were ripped from their stupor by a loud rumbling which sundered the peaceful quiet that had been permeating the entire village. The two readied themselves, kunai in hand, as the source of the noise became evident as the ground began to crumble about a hundred meters from the gate. To both their surprise it was a Hyuga's head that poked up from the newly formed hole.
Hanabi beckoned to the two Chunin, who hesitated for a moment before seeing Iruka follow the former heiress with one of the prisoners slung over his shoulder. They rushed over and relieved the obviously fatigued Jonin of his burden. The rest of the Genin followed and soon they all found themselves standing in front of the Hokage's desk, the two prisoners had been sent to Ibiki for interrogation. Tsunade listened to Iruka's report with a clenched fist and a heavy heart. The situation was obviously more serious than she had first thought, these rouge ninja were not simple bandits, and their high level of skill suggested that at least one Jonin level threat was present within their ranks. She noted Hamaki's absence with sad sigh and a reminder to the rest of his experience and skill; he could make it back yet. As they filed out of her office to get some well deserved rest she asked Iruka to stay back.
"How are Hamaki's students holding up?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
"They're doing ok; I think they're still convinced on some level that he can make it back,"
"And you don't think that is going to happen?" her analytical mind roaring into gear.
"No, the enemy were too strong. They were fast enough to avoid Hamaki's and my own senses as well as Hanabi's Byakugan," his voice was flat, void of emotion; the fear and sorrow too fresh and too painful.
"I see... He was a good Ninja. I will send out a search party immediately, just in case," She sighed heavily. "By the way, speaking of Hanabi, she seemed off today, is her father's decision taking a toll on her?"
"Yes, but that isn't all of it anymore," Iruka explained, "She was the one who devised the plan to escape via the tunnel and leave behind the distraction, so I think she blames herself for Hamaki,"
"Damn, she just can't catch a break recently, can she? I want you to keep an eye on her for now, and keep me informed," with this the Hokage dismissed the weary ninja in front of her to go rest and recover and went to her personnel folders to select a suitable team to remove this threat from her nation once Ibiki discovered where they live.
Ibiki regarded the prisoners with naked irritation. They had been revived from Iruka's genjutsu and questioned. Both seemed to know very little, it was clear they were grunts, low on the food chain. However it was the slight inconsistencies in their stories that interested him. Both claimed to be from the same village but couldn't agree on the name, neither could name the village's elders or mayor and whenever he asked them where they had been recruited into the bandit outfit or by whom they couldn't remember. Ibiki was a professional, he knew a mind job where he saw it, this would require a more nuanced and subtle touch than his own. Moments later Yamanaka Inoichi entered the room. Ibiki explained the situation to his colleague who quickly agreed with his theory of telepathic meddling. He approached the closest of the two prisoners and placed both his hands upon the man's head, reaching into his mind with his family's secret technique.
Inside the man's mind was a complete mess. Memories lay scattered and abandoned all over the place; some half formed others seemingly in the process of being deleted. What memories that remained were rudimentary at best, vague images of a small rural village, a wish to be rich, a large gap where Inoichi supposed the recruitment should be and then some basic training in ninja skills.
He left the prisoner's mind and turned back to Ibiki, "This is definitely the work of a telepathy type ninjutsu, but it's sloppy; the user is either ill trained or inexperienced,"
"Hmm, not good," Ibiki retorted, "We're not going to get much out of them if their minds hve been scrambled,"
"We may be in luck, some of the memories that were supposed to be destroyed are still half formed in there, and with some time I should be able to piece some of it together,"
Ibiki sighed, "At least it's something. What about the jutsu itself, any giveaways that could tell what village these rouge nin are from?"
"I hesitate to mention it, but it would seem that some of the hallmarks of my own Yamanaka style Mind Jutsu are present, though the form has not been perfected," Inoichi replied,
"You don't think it could have been a Yamanaka, has your clan had any deserters in recent history?" Ibiki probed; hopeful they could ID their target.
"No, there hasn't been a Yamanaka deserter since my grandfather was head of the clan, and no one else knows the secrets of our techniques,"
"Not even the Nara or the Akimichi?" Ibiki inquired.
"They know of our jutsu, and their effects and weaknesses, but they don't know how to perform them," Inoichi answered, "However, just to be sure I'll ask Choza and Shikaku,"
"Good idea, I'll go inform the Hokage,"
As the sun set and night settled over the Leaf Village, a lone figure approached the gate. Izumo recognised the Leaf Village head protector on the person's bandana and stepped forward to greet the ninja. He stopped dead in his tracks as the man stepped into the light. Wounds covered his body, burns marked half his face and he had a severe limp. As he neared Izumo and noticed the chunin's shocked face he let out a single sentence, "You should see the other guys," before he fell forwards and feinted as Izumo caught him.
Well that was interesting, I wonder who that guy at the end was ;) or the guy who's been messing with the bandit's heads. Plus what will Konohamaru do with these new feelings and how will Hanabi deal with her new stresses, you'll just have to tune in next time to find out.
