As the four Ninja leapt from tree to tree, they were on high alert. Only hours ago they had skirted around the camp where the information was last kept and were beginning to spread out a little to search for its keeper. They were kind of going in blind with no knowledge of the Ninja who escaped, or any idea of where they might be going.
Still, they moved Northwestward of the camp, assuming that the opponent would be trying to get the information back to the enemy as quickly as possible. There was no small talk now, they were in full mission mode, preparing for anything.
After several hours of no trace, Kakashi spotted a footprint in some wet mud. On a warm and sunny day like that one, the mud would have to be freshly made or else it would have dried much earlier in the day.
What seemed odd, to Hasuka at least, were the bits of mud in the grass around the small puddle. They seemed to be moving in a direction almost opposite to their own, east, whereas the footprint was definitely planted to look like the movement was in the direction they were heading.
"We should keep moving foreword, this is obviously a sign that we're on to something," Obito suggests, taking a glance at the falling sun. The shadows caused by the light loomed ominously about them, goading them on in whatever direction they chose.
"We'll head east for an hour before resuming towards the north, if we don't see Ninja we'll stop for the night," Kakashi orders instead.
"What? Why? The footprint is obviously showing that they were heading northwest still," Obito questions, pointing at the indentation.
"In order to make the mud, the prisoner must have used a water jutsu and with the way that the grass and the mud itself is flattened out, they used the jutsu in an eastward direction. Why would they stand in an area less than a meter's length between the mud and the tree unless they came from that direction?"
"They could have just-"
"We're heading east idiot, and that's final."
"Okay..."
"Let's go."
The team moves towards the fleeing enemy, closing in on them. Abruptly, Kakashi switches direction, heading north instead. After another hour in that direction, they pause in a clearing surrounded by large trees for the night. As always, Kakashi takes first watch while Hasuka is left to decide how much she actually trusts him.
He probably wouldn't go out of his way to kill her at this point but if she just happens to contract a deadly virus out here Kakashi wouldn't be doing a whole lot to stop it. Not like he could anyway but it'a the principle of the idea.
Hasuka lied down on the grass, preparing for sleep as the sky faded into reds and oranges and finally purple and navy. Staring up at the sky, she smiled softly, seeing the constellations appear as the night deepened. The air was cooling rapidly, and she shivered as everyone else quietly fell asleep or began their watch.
Sighing heavily, she wasn't sure if she would be able to accomplish either task. Sleep still didn't come easily, but she was also aware that she would need it if she wanted to be useful on this mission. Instead, she chose to have the two meet in the middle and meditate.
Slipping on her sweater over her usual Ninja clothes, Hasuka came out from between her sleeping bag and sat cross-legged on top of it instead. Above the trio, Kakashi sat in a tree, gazing out at the forest.
Removing him from her thoughts, Hasuka opened either palm, placing them gently on top of her knees. She breathed in deeply with eyes closed before relaxing her shoulders and body on the breath out.
As thoughts flitted past her mind, she would only entertain them a moment before letting it go and moving to the next. After some time, the rush of memories and thoughts slowed, the only two remaining being in and out in reference to the timing of her breath.
Once that happened, she gradually became more aware of her surroundings. First came the feeling of a light breeze and the sleeping bag beneath her. Then the sounds of the inhabitants of the woods became known to her. Hasuka's heart twinged, remembering Garoma, but it was less than before.
On some level, she was worried about how she didn't feel as sad about his words, but at the same time the saying "time heals all wounds" must have come from somewhere. In any case, she continued with her meditation.
Quickly. You must keep moving quickly, the Ninja told herself. She just had to make it past the border and she'd be fine. The border would provide safety from enemies. Sometimes, she wondered why she did this, running and capturing and killing and fleeing.
When those thoughts came up, she remembered her promise. "Hey!" Her precious toddler called out to her. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to make sure that everyone is safe," she replies with a small smile.
"But I want you to stay here!" The younger one shouted. He was too young to understand that she had to be off to war, especially that he might never see her again.
"Don't worry kiddo. I'll be back before you know it!"
"Promise!"
"Fine fine, as long as you promise not to trouble your father too much in my absence."
"Okay!" The memory faded away, the woman having lost much of her vivacity and joy in the months sense. She looked tired, older than she should have with dull eyes. Still, she ran on, not pausing for more than a second.
Spotting a small clearing, no more than a few meters in any direction, she slowed down to rest. Dropping from the tree line, the woman miscalculated her landing, a sickening sound the only audible noise for a moment. She stumbled, her momentum still headed foreword, straight into a prickly plant.
The sharp stem was imbedded into her shoulder, the rest of her body left to hang limply for a moment against the thorns. The shock stopped her senses from feeling the pain for a second, only for it to rush at her suddenly. With a scream, she tries to tear herself away from the trap but her hair and clothes are snagged in it's possessive fingers.
"Oh no, oh god please no. Let me go!" She yells, becoming hysterical. Each jerk of the wounded shoulder sends an overwhelming amount of pain through her. With what strength she has left, the tear-stained woman wrenches herself from the prickly bush, the gash bleeding heavily.
Her clothes in tatters, she rips what she can off and tries to tie the filthy cloth around the hole. In her struggle, she drops it several times before giving up because her hands are shaking so much. The sight of her own blood pouring from the wound and down her tattered clothing to the ground makes her want to faint but she tries to hold onto consciousness.
She's not a medical ninja by far, but she knows that to do so would be death. With struggling limbs, the woman, Isakai, pushes herself up off of the ground, crawling her way to a nearby tree. Her fingers, slick with blood, find no purchase against the grainy wood and her attempts to use it as an aid only serve to decrease her hope.
Resigned to her death, Isakai turns herself around with difficulty, staring vacantly at the trail of blood that she had left. All of this, just for a scroll, a scrap of information. What was the point? Had her life's work led to death by bush? She couldn't believe the ridiculousness of it. Suddenly tired, Isakai let her eyes fall closed, the pain blurring out any thought but that of her promise, her child, her family.
"Everyone wake up," Kakashi calls sternly. Hasuka jumped up, shaken suddenly from where she had fallen asleep. She hadn't wanted to fall asleep, but it seems that her lack of energy got the best of her. "We have to move quickly and gain back any lost ground."
Her other two teammates were still groggy as they packed up and continued their movements, this time almost directly East. Two hours later, two vultures flew over their head, descending sharply only slightly to the North of their position. Without missing a beat, their team were drawn by their flight, no words needed to change their direction.
Upon arrival, three shocked expressions and one hidden one greeted the scene. The birds had fled at the sight of them, leaving the body on full display for them. No one spoke as they examined the scene, all lost in their own thoughts as to what could have happened. One look at the body and the events of the previous night fell into place.
Obito rifled through her meager possessions, pulling out their target, a small and unassuming scroll. Rin gave confirmation that he woman was in fact dead and they left the scene, no questions asked. The woman looked in pain at her death, and Hasuka shuddered to think that they could easily make the same mistake at any time.
It had looked either suicide or accident, and she wanted to think of neither. Death had always been a possibility, more than once she had brushed it's gentle fingers fated to claim her one day, but it had never seemed real. She was a ninja, so she could die. Not much more thought had gone into the idea in several months and for it to become so blatantly obvious now came as a shock.
She might not die gloriously in some war, on some mission, or even on her own terms. With a single step her life could be over, gone in an instant, nothing and no one to remember her by. It scared her. Her mind just kept reeling with these thoughts as they travelled back to Konoha, a cloud hanging over each of them individually.
For Rin, she worried that if something like that happened, she wouldn't be able to save her teammate. For Obito, he worried that something like that would happen to him. He knew he wasn't strong, nothing to show for himself in the eyes of his team or his family. Kakashi worried that the sight would have lasting effects on his team. Not listening to them chitchat was a welcome change, but it was unnatural and could become a hinderance to their fighting later.
As the leader, Kakashi took it upon himself to deliver the scroll to the Hokage once they reached the gates, leaving his three teammates behind. The three stood there for a moment, not speaking a word to the others. It was exceedingly awkward not knowing what to say to the others, but an idea had been reinforced in Hasuka's mind.
If death or can come at any time, then why make bonds with others? The bond of being a team wouldn't go away anytime soon, but that's where the relationship could, and should end. Now that she was thinking about it, why would she have thought any different?
These people didn't know who she was or anything about her. Sure, a few shared stories had been nice conversation, and she had enjoyed that. But at the moment her main objective was self-preservation. Don't do anything wrong, don't do anything right. Exist, watch, and learn.
Someday this trio might turn against her, she certainly knew Kakashi would in a heartbeat. If that happened, she did not want anything dragging her down, nothing to keep her here if someday she had to leave again. No reason to stay, no reason to leave, just exist.
Perhaps Kakashi was right, perhaps it was time for another body, story, and name. Escape the burden of a past life by creating another. In her lonely room that night, she creates a different person, one with long black hair and the pink eyes of her mother. Hasuka takes some time, looking over her new appearance and the other subtle changes that she made.
After some time however, she realizes that she can't do it. Dropping the jutsu once more, she releases a sigh, untying her medical forehead protector, holding the cool metal in her hand. They already knew who she was so there was no point in trying to become someone else, much less becoming someone who wasn't her.
In that dark room, Hasuka let a single tear fall on the headpiece, frustrated at herself. If she can't even fake a personality, how can you become a good enough Ninja? Yeah, she became a Chunin, but there was always more that could be done. She hadn't unlocked half of her potential, even if what she had could be useful.
Her teammates were wonderful, but this was a war. Anyone can die at any time. It was at this moment that Kakashi's words came back to her. "My team's blood will be on your hands, not mine," he had said. He despised her, that much was obvious. Every second in his presence reminded her of that fact.
The leader of team...um...Minato, was it? He trusted her the least out of everyone. If he was the strongest, she would just have to become better than him, just to prove that she would not let them down. They were her team now, she was a part of them. Becoming stronger could only help them perform better. Perhaps next time, the target would not have to die.