Chapter 8 - Massacre
"Shishou!" Hinata shouted, running up to Hayate who was waiting for her in the Hyūga training grounds and jumped up to give him a running hug, which he promptly side-stepped.
"Alright *cough* Hinata-chan. How are you?" He looked down at the girl in front of him. It had been a week since he last saw his apprentice, outwardly, she didn't look any different. More confidant? Maybe?
"I'm good! I've made a lot of friends at the academy, and I've been practicing taijutsu and shurikenjutsu with Uchiha Sasuke every day after classes." She explained, picking herself up off the ground.
"Good to hear. Have you been *cough cough* keeping up with your kenjutsu regimen?"
"Of course. I can't even forget even if I tried. Not only do I always have my bokken on my back reminding me, but okaasan also still sneaks into my room at night to try and beat me with a bokken. I need my beauty sleep sensei! I have bags under my eyes like yours, this needs to stop."
"You're 8, you don't need any beauty *cough* sleep." He sighed. "And it's important to be able to wake up when someone gets near you, and be able *cough* to react in time to draw your sword to defend yourself."
"Yeah but seriously, I'm starting to get paranoid. I actually trapped my door the other night, so she came in through my window. Now I have my window trapped as well. This is no way to live."
"Welcome *cough* to being a kunoichi. A certain level of paranoid is good. It will keep you alive." He watched her look at him dejectedly and shook his head. "Alright, I want to see where you're at in your training. We'll start with speed first, then work our way *cough cough* through kenjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, ninjutsu, and *cough* strength in that order. I want to get a feel for everything you *cough* can do now."
"We're not just focusing on kenjutsu and genjutsu now?" Hinata asked with some excitement.
"Now that I'm *cough* officially your shishou, I'm responsible for all aspects of your training. Your father will still be focusing on taijutsu *cough* and the Hyūga techniques, but everything falls under my purview." Hayate explained to her. "Start with running. 20 laps."
"Yes, shishou." Hinata said as she took off around the training grounds.
Hayate smiled as he watched her run. Even after complaining about lack of sleep, the sheer amount of energy the girl had to burn off was incredible. 'Like a hyperactive rabbit' He thought to himself.
One aspect about having an apprentice that he didn't think about before, was the need to improve himself as well. He was constantly pushing himself in his own free time in order to get stronger both in and outside of his comfort zone of kenjutsu and genjutsu. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if his apprentice grew stronger than himself before she became a jōnin.
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Hayate continued through the afternoon testing Hinata on her progress over the last week. He was quite content with what he saw. He had honestly never practiced much taijutsu with her before today, and he realized he had thoroughly underestimated her. 'This girl is a prodigy of taijutsu at the same level Hatake was with ninjutsu.' he thought to himself. 'Hiashi surely pushed the girl like crazy... '
He had heard the story from Hiashi about her defeating her chūnin teacher in a fair spar, but he honestly thought the chūnin must have been going easy on her. He didn't believe that now. Her strikes, while not strong, were strong enough to do damage if she hit certain vital spots, like when her heel slammed into Mizuki's temple.
But the primary thing was the girl was slippery. He had been relentlessly attacking her at a chūnin level for 20 minutes and had only hit her a few times in grazing blows. Besides the bruises on her palms and forearms from blocking, she was almost completely unharmed.
Her speed was above average, she was flexible to the point he wasn't sure if her bones were actually solid, was competent in genjutsu, ninjutsu, and her shurikenjutsu was being improved daily thanks to the Uchiha kid. Her strength was lower than average for her age, but that can be excused due to her small frame. She was built more for speed and precision strikes than raw power. It might change in the future, he doubted it, but there was always that possibility.
It was a bit difficult to decide where she fell when compared to other shinobi though. Her taijutsu was at chūnin level already, her genjutsu was passable for genin and her ninjutsu and shuriken jutsu were a little under genin level. It was her kenjutsu he was honestly the most worried about. The girl wasn't spectacular, average at best, honestly the only reason he took her as his official disciple was because he grew to like her. She was good natured, obedient, and easy to train.
But Hayate had a plan after sparring with her in taijutsu.
"Hinata." He said looking down at his apprentice who was sitting in the grass doing stretches and catching her breath. "I'm *cough* changing your kenjutsu training. Honestly, you don't have the talent to take the standard stances to master level."
Normally a student would take the new hard, and Hinata did feel a bit queasy, but Hayate had yet to disappoint her. She decided to hear what he had to say, before deciding if she was going to break down into an inconsolable mess for the second time in a week.
"So what's the new plan shishou?" She asked, tilting her head to look at him as she stretched her legs.
"Honestly this is because *cough* I failed to recognize exactly where your talents were. So you're *cough cough* learning this three years late. I apologize. Before, I kept correcting you because you kept leaving the stances I taught you, in favor of keeping your body moving. I thought *cough* you were just falling back into a comfort zone, so I tried to break you of that habit."
Hinata listened with growing interest.
"I had a theory for a while, but it wasn't until sparring with you and seeing you in action that I realized that your body was meant to flow free like a river. Constantly moving around attacks, instead of trying to take them head on. I've talked *cough* to your father about this as well. Even he has noticed that in spars, there are times when you could obviously block an attack, but instead choose to redirect it and move your position."
He paused and took out a scroll before continuing.
"We are going *cough* to be breaking some new ground here. The fighting style you're suited for isn't completely in my repertoire, but I'm going to do the best I can to help. It's going to take a lot of practice on your part though."
He opened the scroll and inserted some chakra into it, in a puff of smoke a new blade and bokken were in his hands. They were unlike any blade Hinata had ever seen. A hand large enough for only one hand and no hand guard. The blade extended straight for about 10 centimeters before dropping down and forming almost a perfect half circle. The blade was about 80 centimeters (~30 inches) long, but the point of the blade was only about 45 centimeters (~17 ½ inches) away from the hilt. It looked like a crescent moon. There was also a small loop on the end of the hilt, large enough only for about 1 finger to fit in, and tied to it was a silver ribbon about 1.5 meters (~5 feet) long.
"This blade *cough cough* is called Mikazuki. It's design was created in Hana no Kuni (The Land of Flowers) after a brutal war *cough* in which even the men and women civilians were forced to fight for their lives. Hana no Kuni is extremely rich *cough* in agriculture and many of the women who fought, were forced to wield light weapons that they had on hand, mainly farming equipment such as sickles."
Hayate handed the blade over to Hinata so she could check it out.
"Obviously, the blade *cough* has been heavily altered from its original form of a sickle. Which is good *cough* because I won't have my disciple using farming equipment as a weapon."
Hayate watched Hinata feel the weight of the sword in her hands and test its balance as he went into full on lecture mode.
"The blade was originally created as a way to remember the sacrifices of the woman peasants that fought and died for Hana no Kuni. It was designed to be used in dance on stage and theatre, with the ribbon flowing like water *cough cough* around the dancer. However it was eventually, *cough* turned into an actual combat style, mainly used by kunoichi in Hana no Kuni."
"What's interesting, is that the three sword techniques I showed you before you started at the academy all originate from Hana no Kuni as well. They were based off of the steps the sword dancers performed on stage, so they emphasize speed *cough* and grace. It's only with this blade however their true grace will appear."
Hinata was now examining the ribbon when she asked a question. "Shishou, what is the ribbon used for? It seems like it will just get in the way."
"Good question. The *cough* ribbon, is used for three things primarily. Restraint, distraction, and range. As *cough* you can see, Mikazuki is a one handed blade, it's lightweight, and meant for slashing, not thrusting. When you wield it, you will *cough cough* hold the blade in your right hand, and the ribbon in your left. Mikazuki is meant to be used in very close quarters where you are moving constantly around an opponent, and slashing at *cough* their unguarded points."
Hinata was trying out what he said and trying to get used to the concept.
"The ribbon can be used to wrap around opponents wrists and arms when they punch, or ankles when they kick. You can use it to entrap them and knock them off balance, or restrain their movements. If you let the ribbon flow around you, it can serve as a distraction and block their sight of your movements. The ribbon is made from a special material that makes it highly resistant to damage, and eventually, *cough cough* you will learn to channel chakra through it."
"The ribbon can also be used to extend your reach. If you grasp the *cough* ribbon, you'll be able to use it to swing the sword out and spin it around for attacks at range."
He watched as Hinata tried what he said, and had to back up to avoid getting hit by the blade now spinning around her.
"The style of sword fighting, when performed correctly, will look *cough* like a dance. You will always be moving around and under the *cough* enemy's guard, slashing as you move, without ever stopping your feet. Like I said earlier, I'm not proficient in this sword style myself, but I believe you will be a natural at it. I'll be able *cough* to point out mistakes here and there, and I'll spar with you, but a lot of it will have to be learned through trial and error. As *cough* far as I know, there isn't a user of this style anywhere in Hi no Kuni."
Hayate took back the Mikazuki sword from her and gave her the bokken version of it.
"You'll still be training with a bokken. I'll give you the real blade when you've become more proficient in the style."
"Yes, Hayate-shishou."
"Ok, we're going to do some sparring. We'll move slow to start with until you get a feel for the new sword. I want you to focus on making sure you keep moving, never standing in one spot."
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Hinata was in love with her new weapon and took to it like a fish in water.
'No more stuffy stances! No more standing still waiting for an attack to come! This is how fighting is meant to be. Hayate-shishou was holding out on me this time!' Hinata was practically singing in her mind as she used her new sword. The ribbon would take some getting used to, but it was beautiful as it moved with her, always trailing the spot she was at a second before.
She could see now that the ribbon was very similar to the after images left by the Mikazuki no Mai (Dance of the Crescent Moon) technique Hayate had shown her before. It was obvious to her now to see the origin.
They sparred for much longer that day, finishing their training after the sun had already gone down and it was starting to get dark.
Hayate had been correct, she was already catching up to her skill level in kenjutsu that she was at with the normal katana. Seeing her use this blade just pointed out how awkward she had been using her previous sword. When she dropped the ribbon, she was able to use her left hand to attack and redirect moves as well, using the gentle fist style taijutsu in some weird, beautiful, mashup of styles.
Hinata went to sleep that night with a face flush of excitement and exhaustion.
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The days passed by and Hinata fell back into her old routine of morning training, bath, school, training, dinner, training, bath, then finally the sweet release of sleep. It was four days after she had gotten Mikazuki (which all of the girls in her class were gushing over, asking her where she got it and who was training her to use it. Hinata told them all proudly the best swordsman in Konohagakure was her shishou. He wasn't the best swordsman, but she would never admit that blatant slander to his name.) that something interesting happened.
They were currently in Iruka's ninjutsu class practicing their bunshin no jutsu, when Naruto ran up to the front of the class and yelled out "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!".
All of a sudden, 5 Narutos stood in the front of the classroom. Everyone in the class except Hinata was shocked, and Naruto had the smuggest look on his face as he said "What do you think of me now Sasuke, I bet you can't do this!"
At which point, Sasuke's surprise quickly turned to annoyance, and when Naruto kept rubbing it in his face, his annoyance turned to anger. They ended up on the floor trying to beat the shit out of each other with Iruka trying to keep them apart.
Hinata ran up to Naruto after class. "Congratulations Naruto! I knew you'd be able to do it!"
"Oh well, you know." Naruto said, blushing and rubbing his nose. "It was really nothing, I can't become Hokage if I can't do at least this much right? Also, Iruka-sensei told me it was you who came up with the idea for me to learn this technique. Thanks a lot Hinata-chan!"
"I didn't really do anything special though. I just came across the information in my studies. You Uzumaki have ridiculous chakra reserves, honestly I'm impressed you got as far as you did with the regular bunshin." Hinata responded with a smile. "But you're right, I think you'll need this technique if you want to become Hokage. You should focus on making it your staple. Don't forget, anything your clones learn, you'll learn when you dismiss them. You should use it as a training tool. But I know you'll become Hokage! I think you'll make a great one too!"
Hinata said her piece and turned to leave when Naruto stepped in front of her with a surprised face, and pointed at her.
"Crying girl!" he said, all but screaming.
"Huh!?" Hinata took a step back, unsure of what was going on.
"You said we met before and I couldn't remember when! I remember now! You were that little girl that was crying in the snow!" Naruto said, still with a look of shock on his face. "You really do cry a lot don't you."
"That last part wasn't needed!" Hinata said feigning anger. "But yeah that was me. I'm glad you finally remembered Naruto-kun."
"Hahahaa.." Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head." It was a really long time ago. I'm surprised you remember honestly."
'How could I not remember meeting the protagonist, future Hokage, and savior of the shinobi world.' Hinata thought to herself. "It's not often you meet a random boy that shouts to the world "I'm going to become the Hokage!" and then runs off into the night." She laughed while talking.
"I never really forgot that night y'know?" Naruto said in a softer voice than usual. "I just didn't realize it was you until just now. You were the first person that ever acknowledged my dream. Thanks for that."
"Alright, alright, enough of this mushy crap. C'mon, we're gonna be late for our next class." Hinata said, leaving the room.
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The academy had finally found someone to replace Mizuki as well. It was a chūnin shinobi by the name of Tatami Iwashi. He was a very by-the-books type of person, but as long as you were respectful, he would always listen to what you had to say before making a judgment. He was essentially the exact opposite of Mizuki, which is what they were probably going for.
Their next classes passed by seemingly quickly and Hinata was currently waiting for Sasuke at the front of the building, so they could walk to the training ground together.
Hinata saw Sasuke walking towards her and she waved. "You, Sasuke-kun. Took you a while."
"Iruka-sensei pulled Naruto and I aside to talk about fighting in class." He pulled a face at that. "I just can't stand that brat."
"Hah! Well you're not using honorifics when you talk about him, so obviously the constant fight has made you two rather close." Hinata teased him while Sasuke gave her a withering look.
The two rushed their way to the training grounds, using the travel there as a prelude to their work out and training. They never really talked that much, Sasuke was a very quiet person, but Hinata enjoyed the peace as well. They had become rather good friends, all things considered. It was a nice change from the constant noise and excitement around Ino and Sakura.
They spent the hours sparring and working on their respective weak points together. Honestly, Hinata had gotten to a point where she didn't need his help in guiding her shurikenjutsu anymore, but she needed an excuse to make sure she was in the area when the massacre happened; she also enjoyed having a partner to train with that was around her skill level.
They had decided to train quite late tonight, Hinata was working on her control over Mikazuki and Sasuke was intrigued in the fight style, so he helped her out with her training. By the time they finished their training, they were both drained and the sun had long since set.
"Hah.. Hah.. Hah.." Hinata was breathing hard. "I think… I think that's enough for today Sasuke."
"Hoh..?" he wasn't quite as winded as Hinata. He seemed to have more stamina than she did. "No honorifics?"
"I… Can't… Be bothered… " She panted out between breaths.
"Tch. Fine. Don't worry about it then. C'mon, you can stop at my place and get dinner. You won't be home until late anyways." Sasuke said, offering her a hand to get her back off the ground.
"Hahhh… Fine let's go. Only a light jog though yeah? Or better yet, we could walk. A nice, non-exhausting, walk." Hinata said half-jokingly.
"We'll jog." Sasuke said with a straight face, and head off without waiting for her to reply.
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About an hour earlier.
Kō still wasn't sure what he was doing. A little over a week ago he got an order from Hinata, who had managed to convince her father to give her command completely over Kō as her right hand, and now, like usual, he was hidden on top of a building in the Uchiha compound.
He didn't know why he was here exactly, he only knew that he was following a very simple order. Hinata told him "Kō, I want you to stake out the house belonging to a genin. Her name is Uchiha Izumi."
Kō knew as soon as he heard that, that while it was a simple order, it was not going to be a simple mission. The Uchiha were no pushovers, and remaining hidden in their compound for any length of time was both difficult and stressful.
"Kō." Hinata told him. "One of these nights, I'm not sure when exactly, but someone is going to try and kill this girl."
Kō wanted to interrupt and ask her why they were going to try and kill a 13 year old genin, or better yet, how Hinata knew someone was going to try and kill this girl, but he didn't ask. He was her guard and under her command. It wasn't his place to ask.
"Make sure to keep watch with the byakugan, when you see someone heading to her house, and you believe she is in danger, take her and run. Don't try and fight. Take her back to my house. Knock her unconscious if you have to."
They were strange orders, but straight forward. He could do that, simple. She's a genin and asleep, knock her out, run away. What surprised him however, was the person heading towards her house right now, fucking Uchiha Itachi.
Kō instantly knew something was wrong when he saw the look on Itachi's face, hand gripped around a sword and making a bee-line towards Izumi's house. There was a mixture of grief and resolution in his eyes. Kō recognized the look that someone had when they were about to do something they knew would always haunt them. When he saw that look, he instantly knew things were more complicated than he originally thought, and this mission became a lot messier.
Kō had pretty decent control and range of his byakugan and had plenty of time to act. He mumbled to himself: "I hope you know what you're doing Hinata-hime…" and sprung into action.
In one fell swoop, he jumped down into the house through the window shattering it. He didn't have time to sneak in. As soon as he saw Itachi, he knew it became a smash and grab mission.
The girl, Izumi, woke up in shock. Just in time to feel something make contact with her head and knock her unconscious. She slumped over and Kō picked her up and put her over his shoulder, jumping out into the dark streets of the Uchiha compound, and running off towards Hinata's home.
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Itachi knew exactly what to expect. Pain, for killing his loved ones and betraying the clan. Fear, for the little brother he'd leave behind to an uncertain future. Self loathing, for willingly making the choice to commit this massacre. Hatred, for the man that gave him this ultimatum, and the man that so easily agreed to help him.
What he didn't expect however, was that when he arrived at Izumi's house, she was already gone, her window smashed in and clearly abducted.
"SHIT!" Itachi yelled. "This wasn't supposed to happen! I staked her out for weeks! She follows the same routine, how could someone get her first! And on this night…"
He grit his teeth. Madara was already in action at the Uchiha police headquarters, and Sasuke should have almost finished training with that Hyūga girl he goes on and on about.
He snorted to himself. 'I need to concentrate, I can't waste time thinking about Sasuke right now.'
He was lying to himself though. He was always thinking about his little brother, and how he didn't spend enough time with him. How he should have treated him better. How he should have trained him personally. Sasuke was the reason he was doing all of this. To keep him safe!
Itachi angrily pushed the contents of a table off to the ground to try and vent some anger.
He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. He had a job to do, and should feel relieved that at least Izumi was going to be safe. She'd never forgive him, but maybe she and Sasuke could watch out for each other. He'd have to believe in that hope.
Itachi looked out the window and gripped his sword tight enough his knuckles started turning white. He had to take action.
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Present.
Sasuke knew something was wrong the moment they entered the compound. The air smelled of blood, excrement, and other bodily fluids. It smelled of death.
His face went white and he took off at a full sprint towards his house.
"Sasuke, wait!" He could hear Hinata call out to him, he could hear her footsteps behind him as they ran. But he couldn't wait, he wouldn't wait.
He had to know. He had to know if his parents were safe. He needed to make sure.
Hinata chased after Sasuke with all her might. She activated her byakugan as soon as she smelled the scent of death.
'Shit! It was tonight!? Of course it was tonight! I just had to work myself to exhaustion tonight, of all nights. I need to hang back though, I can't be seen. I know Itachi won't kill Sasuke, but I don't have the guarantee he won't kill me.'
"Sasuke." Hinata whispered to him, unsure if he was listening. "I'm pulling back some, I have eyes on you with the byakugan, if something happens I will help, but running together into an unknown situation isn't the right course of action."
Sasuke simply nodded and kept running.
Hinata was trying her best to hold back the vomit that was threatening to come up. The smell of death was so much worse than what she expected. The blood, she knew would be awful, and she expected it. But the other smells. She gagged again, trying her best not to notice the lifeless bodies of all ages that were littered on the ground within the range of her extended range of vision.
'Itachi did.. All of this?' She thought to herself. 'I know he was acting on orders, and doing what he thought was best, but some of these bodies are infants, women and children that couldn't hurt anyone… I don't care what reasons he had… orders or not… this is not the work of a good man.'
Eventually, she saw him. Itachi was standing on a roof, in the darkness watching his own house, waiting for Sasuke to arrive. Hinata jumped and rolled into a house through an open window, moving as quietly as possible. She had her eyes on both Sasuke as he arrived at his, and on Itachi.
Sasuke entered his home and saw the bodies of parents. He screamed and cried when he saw them. He then heard someone behind him and saw the eyes of his own brother. They weren't the eyes he remembered. His sharingan was different, and he looked… tired? Sad? Guilty. He looked guilty.
As soon as Sasuke met Itachi's eyes, his eyes clouded over, trapped inside of a vision. He saw Itachi walking down the streets killing anything that breathed. He saw him strike down the young and defenseless. He saw him enjoy it. He watched as Itachi entered his own home and killed his own mother and father. He saw the look of hatred and betrayal on his father's face, and the look of horror and failure that haunted his mother's eyes.
"Do you know the reason why I don't kill you Sasuke?" he asked. "It's because you're weak. You're not worth it for me to kill."
Sasuke hated him. He hated his brother, who he was always chasing. He hated his brother, who he always idolized. He hated his brother, who he always loved. And he hated himself, for not realizing the type of man his own brother was.
"One day Sasuke, when you have the same eyes as I, come before me!" Itachi said to him as he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Sasuke yelled at him and gave chase.
'Damnit Sasuke!' Hinata groaned to herself and gave chase as well, making sure to keep them both in sight and within hearing range.
Sasuke, chasing after his brother, threw kunai at him. Itachi easily blocked them as he ran. One of the kunai slipped passed his guard and struck his headband, knocking it off.
Itachi stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Sasuke looking at him with rage in his heartbroken eyes. Itachi watched as Sasuke slumped over unconscious from exhaustion and the trauma of the night.
Itachi bent over and picked up his headband before jumping up to a nearby roof to meet his partner.
"It's over." Itachi said, but paused for a second as he looked to his left back the way he came.
Hinata held her breath. Itachi saw her. He was looking right into her eyes. She was completely hidden in a house, no part of her in sight, but he saw her. She could just barely hear their voices. They had thought no one was alive to hear them, they had no need to speak quietly, so she thought it would be a good opportunity to listen to their conversation. And now she might die for it.
The fear she felt when his gaze locked into her own was immense. It was a primal fear. One of a predator looking at prey. She knew this man could kill her without even trying. She was going to die.
And then his gaze shifted away. The feeling left, but she was still shaking. She refused to breath.
'Maybe… maybe, he didn't actually see me? Maybe he doesn't know I'm here…' She lied to herself to try and calm herself down.
"What's the matter?" The man in the mask, who she knew to be either Madara or Obito, she was never certain who it was at this point in time, asked.
"...Nothing…" Itachi said, shifting his gaze back to the man. "Like I said, it's done."
"Mm. Good." Madara/Obito said.
"I still need to confirm with the higher ups. Go one ahead."
Madara/Obito teleported himself away in a swirl, and left Itachi behind.
Itachi turned his gaze back towards where he thought he noticed something, but eventually decided not to act. He was done with killing for one night, if there was even anything there at all. He wasn't sure, but he ignored his curiosity, turned in the direction of the Hokage's office, and left.
Hinata finally let out a sigh of relief, but soon grit her teeth. It all happened faster than she expected, but she still wasn't done. She planned to take Danzō down tonight. Or at least do most of the leg work. And there was only one man that could help her. But first…
Hinata made her way to Sasuke. She again cursed herself for being so fatigued, and picked him up. She slumped him over her shoulder. He was taller than her by a good margin and was awkward to carry, but someone she made due. She was pretty much running on pure adrenalin and hate at this point.
She ran. She ran faster than she had ever run. She was working with very limited time, and had to at least leave the Uchiha compound before the ANBU arrived.
Eventually she got to the exit, Sasuke still unconscious on her back, in some sort of impromptu piggy back ride. She kept running though, taking the back alley ways through the city in a shortcut to the Hyūga compound.
She always told people she "enjoyed exploring the city" and it was true, she did enjoy it. But she did it for a reason mainly. She had this plan in mind for a while, and spent time memorizing the most efficient path from the Uchiha compound to her own home. It finally paid off as she saw the Hyūga clan sign hanging above the gate to their territory.
"Hinata-hime!" Kō shouted as he dropped in front of her.
"Kō, thank god…" Hinata panted. Take us home, the Uchiha clan was wiped out. Try to make sure no one sees us. I need to speak with my father immediately. We can't let anyone know Sasuke and Izumi are here yet. You did get her right?" She asked as she handed Sasuke over.
"Yes, a while ago. I wanted to go back, but your orders were to stay here and wait. Come on, I'll carry you." Kō picked Hinata up under one arm and had Sasuke under his other.
Kō turned and ran towards Hinata's house. Hinata finally felt a sense of relief and weariness wash over her. She had to fight it off though. Her plans for the night weren't over yet.