One year after. Seven years before est.
It's still hard without her eyes, but bit by bit she was finding a new way to be independent. She had developed her chakra skills to a fine art; she could see almost anything through chakra as long as it wasn't entirely man made. She struggled with plastics, and some clothing, but anything that could host chakra (or anything from the earth) she could see in a general kind of way.
Sometimes when she lost focus, so did the world around her, but the more she relied on her chakra the more instinctive it became. So when she asked Gai to spar again, nobody was really surprised.
Fighting is an entirely new world for her. She can't see anything in the air, she was getting better at guessing the trajectory of weapons or even of Gai flying through the air but she had a huge vulnerability she wasn't sure she could compensate for.
"That's enough for today!" Gai called to her, jogging over to where she was laid on the floor trying to get her breath back.
"You're getting much better Shoko," He told her, standing over her "you're even starting to use earth jujtsu again! An excellent step!"
She mumbled a thanks, but stayed down on the ground. She had taken to wearing only shorts and a cropped top for these sessions to give her more points of contact with the earth and she found herself comfortable in the dirt. She'd been thinking lately about what her next steps were.
It was likely she wouldn't be able to return to active duty for a long time, but there was still a lot she could do within the village but she knew what she wanted to do. Naruto was the biggest part of this world, he and Sasuke would be too but she knew he would be out of reach to her. Even if she could find a way to get to meet him, after the massacre he would put up walls that would take a lifetime to bring down and she didn't have that time.
But Naruto, Naruto was there to be moulded. From what she had learnt from Sakura, Naruto had been essentially abandoned after he hit about five or six, left to fend for himself with some meagre orphanage funds to keep him going. It really ground her up inside, that a kid that age could be cast out like that.
She had set a few things in motion the last month or so, and now she had to take the final step. She sat up and let Gai help her to her feet.
"Do you have much planned for the rest of the day?" He asked her, Kakashi was away on a mission right now, and whenever he went away Gai took it upon himself to make sure Shoko was alright until he got home.
"I've got to speak to my brother," She told him "I'm moving out of the compound."
He frowned "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
She nodded, she'd never felt surer about anything. She'd lived her whole first life in the compound and had never even considered the idea of living outside of its walls but she knew if she wanted to help Naruto then that was her only option. Nobody had tried to get too close to Naruto before, and she wasn't sure the Hokage would allow it if she was still in the compound.
"I can't stay there anymore." She told him "I can't be treated like a china doll any longer."
Gai understood her frustration. Her family meant well, but since her brother's untimely passing and her near-death mission to the sand her brother had been overly protective of all his closest kin. Neji found his uncle overbearing and loathed the man with a fire no child should hold, and Hinata adored her aunt but was frightened of her cousin's hostility.
"Would you like me to escort you to the compound?" He asked her, offering her an arm which she smiled and took.
Gai was always a true gentleman, and the Hyuuga's that met him at the gate always greeted him warmly. Kakashi was no longer barred from the compound, but the guards glowered at him whenever he came to see her. She bid him farewell and headed inside, following the map she had created in her mind of the compound.
That was the other thing she'd had to improve without her eyes, her memory. She no longer had visual clues to remind her where she was, and it had taken her ages to learn the way in and out of all the many rooms inside the compound and the various buildings that filled it. Still, she knew how to get to her room and to her brothers office, as well as Neji and Hinata's room and she rarely went anywhere else in the compound.
So it was easy enough for her to find said office, with said brother sat inside with his head laid on his desk. She didn't knock; she just walked in and cleared her throat to gain his attention.
"Yes Shoko?" He asked, not taking his head from the desk.
"I want to move out of the compound."
He lifted his head just enough so that he could look at her, wishing she could see the aggravation he currently held. He wasn't entirely surprised, people tip-toed around her and she'd always been a fierce girl. Well, ever since the nine tails attack anyway.
"You want permission?" He asked her, all Hyuuga had to ask to move out of the compound; for the most part it was all for show and he hadn't ever needed to deny anyone their request.
"I do. I've found a nice apartment that I can afford, just across from the academy." She told him, he sighed and finally sat up properly in his chair, cracking the soreness out of his neck.
"I understand, will you at least allow me to set up a fund for you? I know you don't want to, but you won't have mission income and I'm loathe to let you go without at least that in place."
She nodded "I'll take a fund, I'm not sure I'll need it but I'll let you set it up for me."
As a 'vulnerable' member of the community, Shoko was entitled to a village funded bursary every month. It wasn't a lot but it would ensure that if she ever found herself in need of some emergency repairs and such she would be able to afford it. She knew she had enough money from her clan wage (she knew that would come to an end eventually too, but she would be ready when it did) but it didn't hurt to have some extra to save away.
She'd thought it all out and planned it thoroughly, she'd even picked the location outside the academy so she had a higher chance of running into Naruto once he joined the academy in about a years' time. Neji had made his disgust at the academy very clear to them all but it couldn't be helped.
There weren't enough Hyuuga children to continue with their internal education, and it was about time they learned to live amongst the village like everyone else did.
"Neji will be upset."
"There's a spare room I'm going to have for him," She told him "as long as you allow it he can come visit whenever he likes, and hopefully that will keep him from getting too upset."
Neji relied so much on her, her brother thought, more than he did on his uncle. It hurt him inside, but he understood. Until the day came where he could tell Neji the truth, he would always harbour hatred for him.
"Alright then Shoko," He told her, looking up at those scarred eyes "I hope you know what you're doing."
She smiled at him.
"Always brother."
Hi guys,
Sorry about the delay in getting this out there. As I'm sure you all know, things have been crazy these last few weeks. I hope you are all safe and keeping well.
