Summoner-nin
Part Three: Team Kage
Chapter Twelve
"Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto grinned, taking Hinata's offered sugar cookie.
"I-I-I – y-y-you – u-u-um," she stuttered, her face turning an outrageous red.
Kiba chuckled and decided to save her. "C'mon, Naruto. We gotta go before Iruka-sensei finds out!"
"Oh, yeah!" Naruto agreed, stuffing the cookie into his mouth enthusiastically. "Let's go!"
"Bye, guys!" Kiba said, running out of the schoolyard with Akamaru at his tail; Naruto following close after with a wave of his hand.
Hinata took a deep breath and put a hand over her heart in hopes stilling the thundering rate it was beating at. He was so bright and enthusiastic and could keep up with Kiba's speed that his very presence seemed to sweep her off her feet. His ability to keep on smiling despite being bullied and looked down up was astounding. His strength was unparalleled by any other. She could still feel his chakra floating in the vicinity even after he was long gone.
Shino, who was beside her, calmly sat down on their bench and counted the ants crawling in the flowerbed. After a good minute or two, Hinata somehow managed to find her bearings and sat down beside him, still out of breath. It was so obvious to her friends why she was the way she was in front of Naruto Uzumaki. Fortunately her friends were mostly boys and they weren't going to rat her out.
As for Ino… Well, Ino mostly kept to her girlfriends and only occasionally talked to Hinata, so there was no breach of security on that front… Hinata smiled. It was strange how she began to view everything in her life like a mission.
At eleven, Hinata still couldn't talk to Naruto without either making a fool out of herself… or faint (which also constituted as "making a fool out of herself"). She had thought by now, what with Naruto being friends with most of her friends, that she would be able to hold some sort of conversation with him!
Hinata really was useless in that aspect.
Zero, on the other hand, was perfecting dang fine!
"Are you upset, Hinata?" Shino asked. "Why? The boys have decided to skip class again."
Hinata forced a smile and shook her head. "No, Shino. I… I just hope they won't get in trouble."
Shino frowned. "They will. Why? Their behaviour is unacceptable by the Academy's regulations."
She sighed and turned her attention to the sky. She knew that somewhere in Konoha, but certainly not within the Academy's grounds, that Shikamaru was looking up at the clouds too. She wondered what the boys did when they skipped classes – did they all go cloud watching with Shikamaru? At all that expansive white, so thick and fathomless? So blank and gazing.
So like the Byakugan.
Her eyes drifted downwards. There was a few times in which she had seen her cousin in school, and even fewer acknowledgement from him. He was like a ghost, floating down the halls and across the schoolyard – there, but not there. Not for her anyway. It was even more disorienting to cross his path within the Hyuga Compound where he was, according to rules and traditions, obliged to acknowledge her with a bow. But it was in his eyes, so white and blank and filled with hate, that made those encounters stifling, made her want to hold him and tell him that it was alright to cry…
He had not accepted his birthday gift last year either.
He was to graduate at the end of this year.
Hinata looked to her folded hands.
Hanabi was progressing well in the Hyuga Juken.
Hinata swallowed.
Everyone was growing up so fast that it felt like her life was going out-of-control. Only Zero's life had some consistency. Mission after mission after mission – it was all very straight forward and without complications (besides the threat of injury and death, of course). There were no cousins who hated Zero. There were no sisters to be protected by Zero. There were no fathers to satisfy for Zero. There were no clans threatening her with the Cursed Seal.
There was only Zero.
There was only Team Kage, and there certainly wasn't going to be any sealing within the team.
No, Hinata thought sombrely, it was not complicated at all.
If only it could last forever.
xxx
She cradled his injured hand in her lap and used the light from moon to better examine the knife wound across his palm. It was not deep and it was a clean cut, but she winced nevertheless, her mask hiding her reaction – a good measure of security when her reaction may have triggered his panic. Carefully, softly, she drew out the small med kit from her trench coat and took out the disinfectant.
At the sight of the small bottle, he cringed and shifted his body, but otherwise stayed seated in the tiny, dark alleyway. From his position, he could see the fallen bandits behind her – the ones she had taken out as easily as she had taken out those drunken men three years ago.
Three years. Had it been that long?
Zero dabbed the disinfectant along his palm with cotton tips and he hissed at the pain, his face scrunching up, his whiskers gleaming in the moonlight. But he allowed her to continue. If he had been expecting an apology from her, it never came. He understood that she never spoke, much less reveal her face to him. It was good enough, he had figured years ago. It was good enough to have her, if only for a moment, to himself.
It was good enough that someone cared.
Zero put the stopper back onto the disinfectant bottle and took out a small red feather from her pocket. He was familiar with the feather – feathers – in her arsenal. He supposed it was a sort of medical jutsu he had never heard of. He didn't know, but Zero had learnt a lot about her Phoenix Summons. They were more than just fire and destruction, but also warmth and healing.
She placed the feather over his wound and it floated over his cut, disappearing in soft red and gold sparkles. A second later and the cut was gone, replaced by smooth, new skin. His palm was better than before it had been injured.
"Thanks, ninja girl," Naruto said with a sheepish smile, his eyes mere crescents in his joy and relief.
Zero nodded and began to pack up her med kit to go.
He watched her stand sadly. They never spent much time together.
"U-Um," he began, placing his hands on his lap and feeling clumsy. "I…"
Zero nodded for him to continue.
"Do you think," he whispered, head down, bangs over his eyes for he couldn't meet her in the eye, "you can tell me your name?"
Zero did not reply. He had asked her of it before, and her answer was always her silence.
A Bat startled and flew from his perch some blocks away, and before Zero could register it, Two appeared beside her and flashed them out from the alley in a blink of an eye.
Someone had been watching Zero.
xxx
Hinata felt the tenketsu in her right arm close off when her opponent's hit landed. It was not hard, but a soft touch that rendered her arm immobile for the rest of her match. She rolled to the ground to avoid another hit and attempted, somewhat, to trip the other person, only for the girl to land a hit on her right leg. She was now paralyzed on the right side.
There was no victory to be had in this match.
Not the sort of victory their father hoped for.
Hinata finally laid motionless on the ground when Hanabi cut off her left leg in a matter of moments, and the match was decided. Even with Hinata's years of experience with the Byakugan, she could not compare to Hanabi's one year. It was not true, of course, but she let her father believe it.
In honesty, however, Hanabi was quite skilled with their family kekkei genkai. Not only had she unlocked the Byakugan early, much like Neji had done with his, but under their father's tutelage, Hanabi was going to be the Rookie of her Year once she attended the Academy. A part of Hinata was jealous of her younger sister – to be so adept in their clan's abilities, but another part of her was relieved. Hanabi was able to protect herself, not only physically, but from the scrutiny of the clan.
If Hinata wasn't the Summoner-nin, then she would have lost to Hanabi fair and square.
It was a crippling revelation.
"I see that you have yet to improve," Hiashi sounded darkly.
Hinata said nothing.
Hiashi narrowed his eyes and stood from the side of the dojo. Without another word, he left the room in a furl of his robes. Hanabi, who had recuperated her breath from their duel, silently slid to her sister's side and carefully opened several of Hinata's tenketsu. She was not yet very adept at it, as proven by the way Hinata's body jerked, but it was enough for Hinata to stand unsteadily.
"I…" Hanabi faltered and narrowed her eyes. "I apologize, onee-sama."
Hinata gave her a wry smile and placed a hand on her head. "Don't be. You did well."
Hanabi was quiet as she helped her sister back to her room. There was still so much to apologize for – for taking their father's attention, for not scolding the servants who spoke ill of her, for being more than her, for being a threat – but they were left unsaid. There was only silence, there was nothingness – there was only the blank of their eyes that said nothing.
The Byakugan.
The nothingness of their clan.
xxx
Neji graduated as the Rookie of the Year, hailed by the Branch House as a genius – a prodigy. Even her father, the Head of the Hyuga, acknowledged his capabilities. Neji was the son he had wanted. Hanabi was the daughter he had expected. Hinata was the reminder that not even the best genetics and teachings could be successful.
But despite that, Hinata baked her shortbread cookies and placed a container full of them in front of her cousin's room. She was proud of her cousin; rejoiced in his accomplishments… even after she found the cookies in the garbage.
It was alright.
As long as he didn't ignore them, then it was alright.
xxx
The first time Hinata met Neji's team, she was too startled to speak. There was her cousin, among his two teammates and sensei, looking so out-of-place, but still in-place. He was speaking willingly – willingly – to one of his teammates, a male who was wearing green spandex. The other teammate was a girl, bearing that same confidence Ino had in her gait, and that sheer audacity of Sakura's, but with a humbleness and pride that Hinata found in Hanabi. Neji's sensei was not like the sort of sensei Hinata expected him to have: loud, exuberant, hyperbolic and also wearing green spandex.
But those short impressions were just that – impressions. Brief, distorted, silent, and did not tell her much about Neji's life outside of the Academy, outside of the Hyuga. It was all blank, like a canvas, and Hinata just couldn't read it. And when she thought that she had seen enough, everything twisted nauseatingly when Neji's sensei, Might Guy, summoned a Tortoise.
At first, she thought she was seeing things, but after activating the Byakugan, she realized that it was not a genjutsu. It was real. It was red and yellow with an orange sash around one leg and a Konoha forehead protector around its neck. And it spoke. It was a he.
Quietly, disturbed and jaded, she went home and summoned Kame at once for an explanation. She was, to her knowledge, the only one who could summon the Legendary Tortoise. The Tortoise was Bound to her until her death. It was one of the reasons why she could not have the Legendary Tiger, because the Tiger was Bound to another. She wanted an explanation!
"He is a Tortoise," Kame said, slowly craning his neck to where Tora was rolling his eyes. The Tiger had grown in size over the years. "But he is not a Legendary Tortoise."
"I-I d-don't u-understand," Hinata fumbled, twisting her fingers together.
"We are cousins, but our functions are different," the Tortoise King explained. "Back in the old days, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, the Tortoise broke off into branches. Some of us wanted to stay loyal to one summoner, in particular the Summoner-nin. The others wanted other masters. In their quest to have other masters, they gave up the privilege of Legendary Powers. They are, essentially, weaker. However, they are more versatile because they have multiple Summoning Scrolls."
"They cater to the masses," Tora sneered, his whiskers twitching. "Us, Tigers, had the same fuss."
Kame nodded. "Therefore, Mistress, do not distress yourself over this matter. We would never betray you."
Hinata shook her head. "I-I d-didn't think you would…" She pressed her lips together uncertainly, turning away from Tora. "I… I thought that perhaps there was another way to… summon a Legendary…"
She had thought that she could Bind Tora to her in some other way. She did not say it, but they understood her.
"Idiot," Tora sniffed affectionately. "Don't worry. I'm already yours."
Hinata's eyes lifted and she blushed.
Sometimes white, like the white of Tora's fur, was not as empty as she believed.
Not like the Byakugan at all.
xxx
"Sakura!" Naruto's exclamation of adoration was not unusual for the class…
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura shouted.
…and neither was Sakura's hit on the blond's noggin.
"Idiot," Sasuke mumbled audibly.
From the back of the class, Hinata pressed her fingers together and ignored the way her heart ached at Naruto's blatant crush on Sakura. It was such a strange relationship though, how Naruto continued to be devoted to the pink-haired girl despite the punches she threw and the bruises he obtained. Love hurt, Hinata supposed… just how she hurt every time she saw him look at Sakura the way she looked at him…
She startled when Sakura sent Naruto barrelling down the stairs of the classroom and knocking into Iruka-sensei's desk.
His eye was going to bruise…
In fact, Hinata was so sure of it that she – Zero – found herself scrambling up his apartment that night to deliver him a jar of medicinal salve. She didn't understand why she was so worried or why she just had to see him, just to make sure that he was fine. It wasn't like she had just returned from a mission. No. She had simply waited until nightfall to see (spy on) him. It was ridiculous. It was beyond ridiculous.
It was not very Hyuga of her.
It was not ninja.
She silently berated herself as she slid into his balcony and set the small jar on his balcony, much like she had done with his St. Valentine's chocolates for the past two years. Adjusting her coat, she was just about to bolt from his balcony when-
"Hi!" Naruto piped cheerfully.
Zero jumped, literally jumped, and collided with the balcony ledge, her head hitting the wall a bit too hard.
"Oops," he chuckled sheepishly, sliding the balcony open even further. "Didn't mean to scare you."
Zero composed herself at once and saw that there was, indeed, a bruise over Naruto's right eye. It looked ugly and painful.
"Is this for me?" Naruto enquired, reaching out for the jar.
Zero swiped it up from the balcony, a little embarrassed, and made the motion for him to sit, a motion he was familiar with by now. Obediently he sat on his knees and watched her open the jar. The scent of flowers and herbs settled over the night like a gentle cloud and Zero moved forward to rub some of the cream over his eye.
"That feels good," Naruto admitted, keeping one eye open to watch her.
He didn't know, on account of her mask, but she was blushing. Instead, she nodded and marvelled how warm and soft his skin was. It was not like the calluses on Four's knuckles, or the scars on One's cheek. It was like a baby's – a person who was not yet a ninja. Someone who had yet to see the bloodshed, feel the draining of life, taste the bitterness of loss and combat…
She did not deserve to touch him.
Zero slowly withdrew her hand from his face and busied herself with replacing the lid on the jar. She did not want him to think that something was wrong, or that something had changed.
"Ya know," he said with a large grin, "you don't have to tell me your name anymore."
Zero blinked, pausing in mid-twist of the lid on the jar.
"I'm gonna be Hokage one day, ya know?" Naruto announced, his teeth like pearls in the moonlight. "And then I'll look up your file and find you! Believe it!"
Zero exhaled with a soft smile, a smile he could not see, and set the jar into his hands with a nod. With his eyes shining like that, with his smile large like that, she believed that he could do anything, and be anything, including the next Hokage and whatever the heck he wanted.
He was simply brilliant.
A Bat took to the sky some ways off and Naruto had barely a moment's time to breathe when Two appeared and the two ninjas were gone in an instant.
Someone had been watching Zero.
xxx
the point
