Soul Fire a NaruHina fan fic

Volume 3

Chapter 25: Spark of hope

"Sakura, where are those intelligence reports?" the Hokage yelled.

The young medical ninja hung her head and sighed. "Just a minute, I've got them right here." She dragged her feet as she carried the stack of documents into the Hokage's office.

"Is this all of them?" Tsunade asked as she searched through the jumbled mass of paper strewn across her desk.

"Um... well..." the pink haired girl looked around the room nervously, trying to avoid the Hokage's gaze. "I-I think so."

Tsunade slapped her forehead and groaned in frustration. "Why didn't you tell me I was so far behind on all this paperwork?"

"But I did tell you," the young woman insisted. "I kept trying to warn you about it, but you always said you had something more important to do."

Now it was Tsunade's turn to avoid eye contact. "Well I didn't think it was this bad." She pushed herself back from her desk and started rubbing her temples. "I can't take much more of this," she sighed. "I need a break. Go get me something to drink, would you?"

Sakura dumped the stack of files on top of another and frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not old enough to buy alcohol!" she growled through her teeth.

Tsunade buried her face in her hands and groaned loudly. "Alright, just see if you can find that duty roster."

Sakura gladly left the room and went back to her temporary station behind Shizune's desk. She slumped into her chair and let her head fall down onto yet another stack of papers. 'How on earth does Shizune handle this?' she wondered. 'She's barely been gone for two weeks and this whole place is falling apart. Where on earth did she go, anyway? Lady Tsunade wouldn't tell me anything.' She sighed once again. 'I just hope she comes back soon.'

A moment later, the sound of footsteps reached her ears. The pink haired girl jerked her head up when she heard the voices of two women talking and laughing as they made their way down the hall toward the Hokage's office.

"So when was the last time you saw Masaru?" one of the women asked the other.

Sakura immediately recognised that voice. For her it was the voice of salvation. She leapt out of her chair and burst through the door into the hallway. "Shizune, you're back!" she exclaimed, practically bursting with happiness and relief. "I'm so glad you're here. It's been a nightmare trying... to..." She trailed off when she noticed the person Shizune was with. "Oh, I uh..."

"Sakura, it's good to see you," Shizune beamed. "Here, I want you to meet someone." She tossed away the dango skewer she'd been chewing on and gestured to her companion. "This is one of my oldest and best friends, Hitomi Haruka. Hitomi, this is Sakura Haruno."

"Oh right," the woman mumbled around a mouthful of dango. She slipped off her rectangular framed sunglasses and gave the pink haired girl a lop-sided smile. "So you're Tsunade's new student, huh? Shizune's told me about you. She says you're quite the young prodigy."

All the pink haired girl could do was nod in response. She stared, dumbstruck, at the woman in front of her. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, about the same age as Shizune. She clearly wasn't a noble or a civilian. She had the figure of a ninja and wore an outfit that only a ninja could get away with. A strange lopsided skirt, split at the sides, hung halfway down her hips over a pair of slim-fitting shorts. She wore a baggy tank top over a tight mesh shirt, and a well worn short sleeved jacket which seemed to be at least one or two sizes too small for her. Her loose fitting sandals also looked well worn, as did the travel bag hung over her shoulder.

But all of that barely even registered to the young ninja. What grabbed her attention the moment she saw the woman was her hair. A flowing mantle of brilliant snow white hair fell around Hitomi's shoulders, hanging down all the way to her knees. Sakura caught herself gawking at it. She could hardly believe it was real. Nobody she knew, not Ino, not even Lady Tsunade could claim to have such a long and gorgeous head of hair. It almost seemed to shine with an inner light. She was so transfixed by it that it took her a while to realise that the woman's face was also breathtakingly beautiful... despite the smear of sticky dango coating that stained her cheek.

"So, it looks like you've been having a little trouble while I've been gone."

Sakura managed to shake herself out of her trance once Shizune's comment registered in her brain. "Oh, uh yeah..." She tore her eyes away from the mysterious woman to look at the piles of documents on the desk. "Uh, things have kinda gotten out of hand. Lady Hokage has been putting off her paperwork, as usual."

"Lady Hokage," the snow haired woman repeated with a snort and a light chuckle. "I still can't believe it. I'd never imagine anyone would choose her to be Hokage. I suppose luck isn't one of the prerequisites."

"Oh come on, Hitomi," Shizune said with a giggle of her own. "She taught you half of what you know. You have to admit she's good enough for the job."

"Oh, so you were her student, too?" Sakura asked.

Hitomi looked back at the pink haired girl, her cool-blue eyes smiling. "For a while, yeah. I travelled with her and Shizune for a year or so, when we were younger." Her gaze lingered on the young woman for a while. "Hmm... so all three of us are Tsunade's students, huh? We should get together and have a drink some time. I bet we've all got some juicy stories to share about the old bat," she said with a mischievous smile.

A very flustered Shizune nudged her arm. "Hitomi, don't say that. She'll hear you," the brunette hissed. "Besides, Sakura is a little young to be drinking."

"Oh yeah, the age limit thing." Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Still, that didn't stop us the first time, did it, Shizune?" She grabbed the other woman around the shoulders and leaned in close to her ear. "Remember that time when we were fifteen and we snuck out late one night and went to a bar?"

Shizune paled.

"I didn't think that one little cup would be so bad, but it just went straight to your head, didn't it, Shizu?" Hitomi said, grinning mischievously. "And then you spotted the karaoke machine."

Shizune's face went from ash white to bright red.

The snow haired woman giggled. "Boy, did you attract a lot of attention. Though I'm not sure if it was the singing or that rather... suggestive little dance you were doing."

By now, Shizune was frozen in place, staring straight ahead and quivering. Her head looked like it was getting ready to explode.

"Remind me, what was that guy's name again?" Hitomi asked teasingly. "He seemed to be particularly impressed with your performance. You know you're lucky Tsunade found us when she did, 'cause if you'd shown him any more leg, I'm pretty sure they would've had to arrest him."

Sakura just stood and goggled at the two older women. 'Shizune did what?'

The red faced brunette shoved her giggling companion aside. "Hitomi!"

"Okay, okay..." The snow haired woman waved off her furious friend. Then she leaned in Sakura's direction. "I'll tell you the rest later," she whispered behind her hand, though it was more than loud enough for the brunette to hear.

Shizune cleared her throat loudly. "So is she in her office?" she asked, clearly eager to change the subject.

"Oh, y-yes, you can go right in," Sakura answered eventually. Her cheeks almost matched her hair. She couldn't imagine her straight-laced older sister figure acting like that. The candy haired girl could only wonder what else these two women had gotten up to in the past.

"Hmm, I can't believe it's been so long," the snow haired woman mumbled around her dango coated fingers as she tried to lick them clean. "See you around, Pinky."

Sakura blinked. 'Pinky?'

The Hokage looked up from her mountain of paperwork as the door to her office opened. "Did you find that roster Sa..." She stopped in mid sentence when she saw who had entered.

"Good afternoon, Lady Hokage," Hitomi said with a stifled giggle and a mocking salute.

Tsunade slowly rose out of her chair, her amber eyes locked on the smirking figure. She marched around the desk and squared off in front of her. Both women looked each other up and down for a few tense moments.

Hitomi slipped her bag off her shoulder and tossed it against the wall without breaking Tsunade's stare. A cocky smirk was spread wide across her face.

Hands on her hips, Tsunade took a few slow, deliberate steps forward. "Hitomi Haruka, you've been keeping your little secret from me for long enough."

Hitomi twirled a strand of snowy hair around her finger and looked up at the ceiling. "Why, Lady Hokage, whatever do you mean?" she asked in mock innocence.

The blonde was clearly unimpressed. She leaned in close to her face and scowled. "Spill it!" she ordered.

Hitomi folded her arms and snorted. "Not a chance," she said, still smirking arrogantly.

Tsunade fixed the younger woman with her most venomous stare – a stare that had been known to shake the hearts of even the stoutest shinobi. "I'm going to get it out of you, Hitomi, one way or another," she hissed.

Hitomi stared back without flinching. "You already know my price."

Sakura hovered outside the room, peeking around the doorframe fearfully. She could feel the tension building between the two women. The pink haired girl knew the Hokage well. She only ever got this serious in a true life or death situation. What secret could this mysterious woman be holding, she wondered.

Tsunade's nose wrinkled and she growled through her teeth, "Mark my words, Hitomi Haruka. I will have your secret hair cream recipe."

Sakura's jaw dropped. 'Her what recipe?'

Hitomi Haruka ran a hand through her radiant, silken hair and grinned. "Two million ryou and it's all yours, Sensei."

Both women burst out laughing and embraced each other warmly.

"Oh, Hitomi, it's been far too long," the Hokage sighed.

"I missed you, Sensei," Hitomi replied with a giggle.

Tsunade held her at arm's length and looked her up and down. "My my, you've certainly grown up, haven't you? You look more beautiful than ever."

Hitomi gave her a cheeky sideways look. "And you look older."

Tsunade glared at her indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hitomi laughed again. "Don't you remember? The last time we were together, you were disguising yourself as a teenager, the same age as Shizune and me."

Tsunade hung her head and chuckled. "That's right. I'd forgotten about that. The three of us sure attracted a lot of attention, didn't we?" She turned to her assistant. "Good to have you back, Shizune. I'm afraid things have gotten a little messy around here."

Shizune was staring in horror at the vast piles of paperwork strewn across the Hokage's desk. "I can see that," she replied shakily.

"Well I hate to ruin the moment," Tsunade said, "but I didn't call you here just for a friendly visit, Hitomi. I need to talk to you in private." She looked at the other two women in the room. "You two have got a lot of work to catch up on."

Sakura and Shizune both sighed in unison. The pink haired girl shuffled her way out of the office, waited for Shizune to follow, and took one last look at the mysterious woman before closing the door.

'Who is she?' the young med ninja wondered. 'And what's so important that she sent Shizune on a two week trip to find her?'

Tsunade sat back down behind her desk. "Alright, let's get down to business. First of all, how much do you know about the current political situation?"

Hitomi took a seat opposite her. "You mean the Land of Water? Well from what I've heard, it was a coup d'état and the new Feudal Lord is just a puppet of the Mizukage. There's also a lot of rumours floating around that he's beginning a major build-up of the nation's military."

"You're well informed," Tsunade noted. "Now here's what you don't know. The new Mizukage is Satou Chishio, head of the Chishio clan, and the new Feudal Lord is his former student, Kusari Assaiki. They took control of the Land of Water in a coup d'état, as you said, but they weren't working alone." Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "They were aided in their takeover by the Sound Village."

"You mean your old team mate?" Hitomi asked, her voice low.

Tsunade nodded, glaring at her balled fists. "Orochimaru," she spat the name disgustedly. "He formed an alliance with Satou and helped him wrest control of the Land of Water. And now they're preparing for an invasion."

Hitomi's brow wrinkled into a frown. "So I guess you've got your hands full, huh?"

Tsunade gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "You have no idea. An impending war is only our latest problem." She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "We're in trouble, Hitomi. The truth is this village was already stretched to its limits. Now it looks like we're going to get dragged into a war that we may not be able to win."

"I'm guessing that's got something to do with why I'm here, yes?" Hitomi asked, while trying to remove the recently discovered dango stain on her cheek.

"Well I'm not going to ask you to fight for us, but I do need your help." Tsunade caught her eye. "I've got a problem – something I can't deal with myself. I need a favour... a big favour."

Hitomi laughed. "Come on, Sensei. You know I'd do anything for you. There's no way I could ever pay you back."

Tsunade chuckled dryly and shook her head. "Oh believe me, after this I'll owe you big time."

Just then, both women turned when a figure landed on the roof outside.

The Toad Sage stepped through the window, interrupting their conversation. "Okay, Tsunade, I did what you asked, but I..." The massive Sannin stopped mid sentence when he caught sight of the other woman in the room. "Whoa-ho-ho!" he exclaimed, his jaw dropping to the floor. "My my, where did you come from, little lady?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm sure I haven't seen you around here before."

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade growled menacingly.

"Jiraiya?" Hitomi regarded the lecherous old man with a sultry smile. "Don't tell me this is another of the legendary Sannin?" she asked in fascinated surprise.

"Well well, it looks like my reputation precedes me," Jiraiya said, sliding toward her. The perverted hermit looked her up and down, practically drooling. "So you've heard of me, huh – Jiraiya the wise and powerful Toad Mountain Sage?"

"Why of course," Hitomi replied. The blue eyed beauty rose from her seat, flicking her pure white hair over her shoulders. She sauntered over to the grinning old man, swaying her hips deliberately. "Everyone's heard stories about the legendary Sannin." She looked up at him coyly, licked a dango flavoured finger and ran it down his chest.

The Toad Sage could hardly believe his luck. He giggled to himself like an adolescent school boy and wiggled his fingers at her.

Tsunade could only watch the scene unfolding before her in astonishment.

"I know a lot about you three and your amazing exploits," Hitomi continued as she slipped in even closer to the old pervert, "especially about you, Master Jiraiya."

"Oh really? Then please tell me what you've heard, I'll be happy to fill in any blanks for you," Jiraiya said, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Hmm, now let me think," Hitomi said, wrinkling her nose and tapping a finger on her chin in thought. "What have I heard about the Sannin? Well, there's Tsunade, the drunken gambler who couldn't hold on to money if you sewed it into her pants," she said innocently.

"What? Hey!" Tsunade shouted in protest, much to Jiraiya's amusement.

"And then there's Orochimaru," Hitomi continued, "the crazy old snake man who wants to destroy the world just because the poor baby didn't get to be Hokage."

Jiraiya snickered, drawing his face closer to hers.

She licked her lips and looked up into the pervert's eyes suggestively. "And then there's you, Master Jiraiya," She lifted a hand and stroked his cheek delicately, "the dirty old man that has to peek at women through a telescope because he can't even get them to talk to him without paying for it."

"Huh?" A look of confusion dropped onto the Toad Sage's face.

"And what was that other thing I heard about you?" Hitomi asked herself, her silken voice dripping with sarcasm. "Ah yes, of course." She smiled as she leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.

Jiraiya's eyes bulged and his jaw fell open like a trap door. He stood frozen in place as Hitomi brushed his hand off her shoulder and stepped aside.

She turned to the Hokage, an innocent smile playing across her lips. "So, what was it you were going to ask me, Sensei?"

Tsunade tried desperately to stifle a laugh. "Follow me. I think I'd better show you."

The two women stepped out of the room, leaving behind the perverted hermit, still frozen in shock.

The ANBU guards parted at the Hokage's approach and let them enter the room. A young teenager with deep indigo hair lay in the bed, an array of medical equipment surrounding her.

"So what's she gotten herself into?" Hitomi asked with disinterest.

"Take a look for yourself," Tsunade replied. "You should start with her eyes."

Flicking her long white hair over her shoulders, Hitomi bent over the girl to examine her. She paused when she noticed the faint pink lines around her temples. Carefully she opened one of her eyelids. Looking into the pupil-less lavender orb, the woman froze. For a moment she just stared. Hitomi let the girl's eye close and hesitantly brushed aside the deep blue fringe obscuring her forehead. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." The snow haired woman slowly stood herself straight and turned to the Hokage. "Is this girl who I think she is?"

Tsunade nodded solemnly. "She is Hinata Hyuuga, eldest daughter of Lord Hiashi Hyuuga."

"You could have told me earlier, Sensei." Hitomi said, with more than a hint of worry.

"I'll explain everything," Tsunade assured her. "But first you need to take a good look at her injuries."

"I shouldn't even touch her with a ten-foot pole!" Hitomi declared. She was looking at the comatose girl as if she were a nest of vipers. "In fact, I shouldn't even be within a hundred miles of this village. And if Shizune hadn't begged me to come, I wouldn't be."

"It's alright, Hitomi," the Hokage reassured her. "I know you're taking a big risk, and you have my thanks for that. I wouldn't have asked you to come here unless I knew I could keep you safe. Please, just take a closer look at her."

Hitomi stared at the young woman for a moment more. "Okay, Sensei. But only because it's you that's asking."

She took a deep breath and started examining the girl. "Well, I'm seeing massive damage to her chakra pathways, and signs of extreme stress throughout her whole network. But the damage to her ocular pathways is so bad she should have died, or at least been blinded for life!" she said in astonishment. "It's amazing she's recovering at all, but it is happening slowly."

"You haven't seen the worst of it yet." Tsunade indicated the girl's bandaged right hand.

Hitomi looked over it thoroughly. Her ice blue eyes widened. "Yikes! I've never seen anything like this. What the crap happened to this kid?"

Tsunade sighed. "I was hoping you could tell me."

"So this is what you called me here for?" Hitomi asked. "You're not losing your touch, are you, Sensei? I mean this is serious, alright, but she'll make a full recovery with your treatments. I don't see what you need me for."

"I'd appreciate any help you could give in healing her injuries – this kind of thing is your speciality, after all – but that's not why I wanted you to come here." Tsunade looked at her former student seriously. "Her wounds are the least of this girl's troubles."

Hitomi planted her hands on her hips. "Okay, spill it. What's going on here, Sensei?"

Tsunade took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Alright..."

Hitomi listened as Tsunade explained the situation with Hinata and the Hyuuga clan, as she understood it. The Hokage recounted everything, from Hiashi taking her from the hospital to the current unrest within the clan.

Hitomi furrowed her brows in thought as Tsunade finished her explanation. "So her and this... boy attacked her father. And now you expect him to demand his blood, and perhaps hers as well, in order to make an example," Hitomi summarised.

"That's about it," Tsunade nodded.

"That still doesn't explain why I'm here."

Tsunade sighed once again. "I can't let Hiashi use her as a scapegoat. I need to get her out of the village for some time, at least until things calm down."

Realisation dawned, and Hitomi stared at her old teacher in disbelief. "Oh, you are not serious."

Tsunade looked the woman in the eye. "I can't send any of my own ninja. And she wouldn't last five minutes out there alone. I need somebody I can trust, that can keep her hidden and out of trouble."

"You want me... me... to run off with the heir to the Hyuuga clan?"

Tsunade just nodded.

"You haven't forgotten about," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "my family, have you?"

"Why do you think I chose you?" Tsunade replied simply. "You've been keeping yourselves hidden from the Hyuuga for decades. I doubt they even know that your family exists anymore."

"And that's the way we'd like to keep it," Hitomi said sharply. "I mean it's not like I'm all that close to them, but still. If they ever found out I've been anywhere near the eldest daughter of the Hyuuga clan leader, or even this village..." She rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. "I mean, Hell, I'm on thin ice with them as it is!"

Tsunade smirked. "That's strange. You never seemed to care what they thought before."

Hitomi sighed heavily and looked back to the girl lying in the hospital bed. A hint of sadness tugged at her features. "So what do you think they'll do to her?"

"I don't know," Tsunade replied solemnly. "At the very least, they'll put that damn seal on her. Other than that, she could be tried and put in prison for years. And if she's not, her father will probably keep her locked up in her own home, instead."

Hitomi's face twisted into a scowl. "Damn them," she whispered harshly, "just like they've always been..."

For a moment there was silence. Hitomi closed her eyes tight in contemplation, flexing her fingers angrily. "Well," she said at last, "I said I'd do anything for you, Sensei, and I'll stick to that."

"Wait," Tsunade held up a hand to stop her from going any further. "You only know half the story. I can't let you make a decision yet."

"You're saying there's more?" she groaned, more apprehensive than ever.

"This is something else that you have to see."

Tsunade led her out of the room, down the corridor and into another room guarded by ANBU.

"So this is the 'big hero', huh?" Hitomi said dryly, looking down at the blonde haired boy. "What's his story?"

Tsunade stepped over to the side of his bed and lifted his shirt. She ran through a few hand signs and traced a spiral across his stomach. "Take a look," she said quietly.

Hitomi leaned in close and stared intently at the design that appeared before her cool-blue eyes. "Amazing!" she breathed as she ran her hands over the symbols. "A double tetragram seal reinforced with an eight sign seal. This is the most powerful sealing jutsu I've ever seen! What could possibly require..." She paused for a moment, and then pulled her hand away as though she'd been burned.

Hitomi straightened and looked the Hokage square in the eye. "How old is this boy?"

Tsunade looked back, her face blank. "Fifteen."

"He wouldn't happen to have been born in October, would he?"

"October the tenth."

Hitomi slowly turned her gaze back to the seal, then to the whisker marks on the boy's face. "The Nine Tails," she breathed, her voice quivering.

"That's right," Tsunade said solemnly. "This boy has been keeping the world safe from that monster since the day he was born." She reached down and gently ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "He's carrying a burden greater than any I could imagine, and I've never once heard him complain." Her face betrayed a mixture of anger and sadness. "I can't let them hurt him."

"I think I can see where you're going with this, Sensei," Hitomi said, her face paling, "and I'm not sure I like it."

"I told you it was going to be a big favour."

The snow haired woman groaned. "I'm guessing there's a whole lot more I need to know."

"Yes," Tsunade agreed, sighing heavily. "I'll give you all the details. First of all, have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?"

For well over two hours the women sat in the small hospital room, disturbed only by the beeping of the boy's heart monitor. By the time the Hokage was finished, the sun was beginning to redden the sky outside.

"Wow, this punk sure has a lot of troubles," Hitomi commented. "And now you want me to keep the two of them away from all these people that are after their blood?"

"I know it's a lot to ask," Tsunade said.

"You aren't kidding." She leaned back in her chair and frowned over at the unconscious young man. "Look, if you really need me to, I guess I could take the girl off your hands. But the boy..."

"No deal," Tsunade cut her off before she could finish. "You either take both of them together, or I find somebody else to look after them."

Hitomi frowned at her old teacher. "Why?"

Tsunade avoided eye contact. "I have my reasons."

Hitomi studied her sensei's face suspiciously. "Wait a minute! Those two aren't... 'involved', are they?"

Tsunade allowed herself a light chuckle. "No, don't worry about that. He's got a crush on my student, Sakura."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Pinky? And how does she feel about all this?"

"She doesn't know yet," Tsunade answered wearily. "I'm not sure how she'd take it. Sakura doesn't exactly share his feelings, but they're still close."

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Well at least he won't be leaving a girlfriend behind. I don't think I could stand dealing with a love-sick teenager," she said with a shudder. Then her expression turned serious. She looked at the Hokage squarely. "Are you sure this is a good idea, making them run off like this?"

Tsunade took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "His teachers and I both agreed. They can't stay in the village. We've got to get them out of here as soon as we can." She stood and looked out at the setting sun. "But I don't expect you to make a decision right away. They won't be going anywhere for a while yet. For now, I'm just going to ask you to stay in the village until they're well enough to leave. After all, they're the ones that are going to pay for this, whether they leave or stay. They should be allowed to make their own choice."

"Well, I can't say I'm keen to stick around," Hitomi said, "but since I'm already here, I guess I wouldn't mind spending some time catching up with you and Shizune."

Tsunade gave her a smile. "Thank you, Hitomi." She started making her way to the door. "Now come on, let's grab Shizune and go find something to drink."

"Oh Hell yes! I think we all need to get drunk immediately," Hitomi said with that mischievous smile of hers, "just as long as you're paying, of course."

Tsunade laughed. "Alright," she leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "but you just have to tell me what it was you said to that old pervert."

Authors Notes:

So here's the first appearance of my OC, Hitomi Haruka. I'm interested to hear what you guys think of her. In the original version, her character was a bit of a mess. I hadn't planned out her personality and background very well before I introduced her. As such, I made quite a few changes to her during my edit. The original version on dA recieved mixed reviews regarding Hitomi's character. Some readers liked her, others hated her guts with a vengeance. I changed her personality to make her more consistent and less generic, but reviews have been sparse since then. Most of all I want to hear the oppinions of people who haven't read the later, unedited chapters on dA. From reading only these edited chapters, what do you think of Hitomi? You may want to wait until I've posted a few more, but if you have anything to say, please review.