Hanare swore silently under her breath at the cruel bite of the cold, the relentless humidity of the woods easily getting under her white cloak causing goose-bumps to arise on her skin. The brown-haired kunoichi was perched up a tree, scanning the silent night with tired eyes as her guard duty requested of her.
Her team had been split up since one of their member had been injured and was still in recovery. The injury in itself had been healed for the most part but their partner would have to train for a while before he could regain the full flexibility of muscles and speed that was required in this battle. Therefore Sasuke had decided to send him back to Konoha for now, effectively leaving them a not fully operational team. Sasuke had then spent more and more time with the decision-makers down in that muddy cave and she had been left to her own wanderings.
The tall brunette decided in the absence of a team and a Captain to volunteer for watch duty around the camp, sleeping only a few hours in the early morning before helping out in the camp and spending long, lonely nights scanning through the darkness. Sometimes, the tiredness in her body and unrelenting tension in the air made her almost wish for an enemy to appear, so that she could lash out her anger and frustration at someone, the consequences be damned. But the rogues rarely trusted themselves to come this close to their encampment. She was outside of the chakra-barrier zone, left to her own devices and relying only on the sharpness of her own skills. Watch and guard duty had never been one of her favorite and sometimes she asked herself why she was willing to sit through all this. Her set of fighting skills definitely did not consist of being idle and silent. Plus she barely had above average chakra-detecting abilities. But since there was a shortage of able fighters willing to take the post, most being too eager to volunteer for actual combat, she guessed someone had to do it… and here she was.
Although that was not her main reason for staying behind. She could have enrolled in another platoon having a missing member. That is what most did when their team got split. But Sasuke stayed behind and somehow she felt like she had to as well. It was unusual for him to stay away from the field for such an extended period of time, and she could not help but wonder what the cause of this change of behavior was. Was their strategic plan failing? There was so little information regular soldiers like her actually knew. Only a handful had access to the full knowledge of what was playing out there and how accurate their chances of putting an end to this fight could be. Sasuke was one of them, and it seemed that for now, being at the center of the decision-making process was what mattered to him most.
As a Captain, he had never really been one to sit and assess situations. Long talks about strategic focus had always bored him. Hanare had seen first-hand how he preferred to rely on his instincts, how being in the face of danger excited him, triggering the fighter in him to come out. And what a magnificent fighter he was. Few could witness Sasuke Uchiha in action and walk away not wondering how such a level of skill was possible. He was really a wonder to watch.
However now his priorities seemed to lie elsewhere, and he was not bound to the field as he used to in the past. Maybe he was using this opportunity to further assess his authority on the Captain's council. After all, thus far he had preferred to stay silent, focus on his own team and missions, leaving the power struggle at the very top to Kakashi. Did that change? And if yes, what caused such a drastic change? He had seemed content being left to his own business, enjoying the respite other clan leaders, ANBU Captains, elite ninjas and other leading factions in Konoha had granted him. Kakashi and Naruto had saved him a place at the top but he had very rarely stepped up there and actually used it. So what then had urged him to do so now?
A sudden rustle of leaves caught her attention and her whole body tensed in response, one hand reaching for her pouch and grabbing a kunai instinctively. The seconds ticked by and no other sound came to her ears, only the eerie silence of the night. She slowly relaxed her stance but kept the kunai in her sweaty palm. Minutes stretched into hours and the exhaustion started to cripple her body. It should be illegal to make them stand for hours on alert, every muscle tensed and ready to launch an attack while having to stay completely still. Even predators did not put themselves through such pain to catch their prey. Her replacement came as the dawn was settling in, slowly conquering the dark sky. After a brief report of the uneventful night, she left him and ran full speed through the branches her sore muscles screaming in agony at being pushed so violently. But the rush of adrenaline cleared her head in the most delightful way so she decided to ignore the pain.
Soon she was landing soundly on the muddy ground in front of the chakra barrier. She stayed crouched on the floor until one of the chakra-sensors guards identified her and lifted the barrier so that she could walk through uninjured. When the buzzing stopped, she stood back up and walked slowly toward the camp, her sore legs definitely protesting against the act.
The sight of the ugly brownish green tents and buzzing activity was a relief after a night spent expecting an attack and getting lost in her thoughts. Some medics waived at her politely, hurrying between the tents hosting her supplies and the big central tent where most injured were being taken care of. Hanare headed for the wooden barracks which had been erected a few weeks ago. Yamato-san and had offered them a significantly more comfortable showering routine by building small wooden cubicles by the stream running through their base.
With a sigh of relief, Hanare entered one such cubicle on the far left, and after having closed the door, proceeded to remove her now heavy ANBU gear. Calloused hands then tore at her undershirt and bindings in a rush and tired legs kicked her muddy pants away. The early morning air was freezing against her naked skin, but nothing would stop her from getting that shower. The clever system designed by the wood-user allowed her to step under a warm fall of water, and she let a groan escape her lips at the soothing contact of the water. The brunette woman decided to indulge in a minute of selfishness and allowed herself to just stand under the shower spay, head bent backward so as to allow the water to run down her face.
Voices came to be heard in the nearby cubicles and doors slapped shut loudly, causing the brunette to groan in frustration at the interruption of her relaxing moment. She tried her best to shut the voices out of her mind, not interested in the chatter of fellow fighters. For a while, she succeeded in preventing her mind from registering what was going on around her, effectively closing herself off from the outside world and allowing her mind and body some well-deserved rest. After some time, she reluctantly closed the water tap system and hugged herself in her white cloak, goose-bumps appearing on her skin now that her source of heat had been shut. The other cubicles seemed to have been emptied too and the surrounding silence added once more a chill in the already cold air.
That is until she could make out some voices.
"You should never have done this," snapped a woman's voice.
"This is none of your business!" shouted the other participant in the conversation back, voice laced with anger. Hanare's mind struggled to identify the owner of that voice while she was rubbing the cloak against her skin in an attempt to dry herself. She was sure that she had heard it before.
"What did the girl ever do to you? Uh? Was any of this justified?" asked the angry woman. "You were supposed to protect her, not mess her up!" she added.
"The girl did that to herself," replied the male voice. "She was already messed up, trust me. I will hear no more of this!"
"Is that what you tell yourself to be able to live in peace with your conscience?" asked the woman, incredulity obvious in her questioning tone.
"Will you shut it already?" boomed the male voice.
"None of your pathetic excuses justify what you did. The way you acted is despicable," replied the woman, unimpressed by his attempts at shutting her up. "And you know she never asked for that. You just manipulated her," accused the female voice.
"Mei, for fuck's sake will you shut it already!"
Hanare's brain was thinking at full speed. Mei… Mei… She knew that name somehow. But she could not put a face on that name.
"You took advantage of the hold you had over her and used her to get over your own guilt-"
"Do not bring that up," the guy interrupted, voice laced with a dangerous undertone. "You do not know what you are talking about."
"But I do, Shinji. I was there after all. I was there when she died."
"Shut i-"
"I was there," said the woman in a softer voice, one almost carrying pity. "I saw it all with my own eyes. She did not deserve to die, but it happened anyway. And there is nothing that can be done about it. We all know the risks our job entails."
"She would not have died if it hadn't been for that stupid Hokage's orders!" countered the man.
"You do not know that. If it hadn't been that mission then it would have been the next one, or a year later. Chinami was brave and talented. But even her kekkei genkai could not save her from that battle. Sometimes, fate is just stronger than our pitiful attempts at living in this world."
"She was a Hyuuga. She should not have died this easily."
At the mention of that, Hanare collected the dots together and finally unveiled the identity of the persons whose conversation she was eavesdropping on. Chinami had been a young ANBU recruit about a year ago. The leaders had high expectations for her since it was rare for members of the Hyuuga clan to opt for a career in ANBU, especially for a member of the main branch. Hanare had talked to Chinami a few times; she had been a rare beauty, almost looking too delicate to be part of this ruthless business that was ANBU. She now remembered that the young Hyuuga had been assigned on the same team as Mei, Ashai and Shinji. She had died on a mission a couple months ago, one she should not have been assigned to being still a rookie in ANBU. But most likely, their leaders had decided to overlook her lack of experience as they often did in dire times.
"You had feelings for her," said Mei carefully. "But you never acted on it and now Chinami is gone."
"You do not know what you are talking about," repeated Shinji in a low voice, as if exhausted.
"Oh, I do. I saw the way you looked at her. Just as I see the way you look at Sakura now. Only this time it's different. It's just lust for you and you just see her as a way to get all your anger and frustration out. She has no part in all of what happened to Chinami."
"I know she doesn't," replied Shinji.
"Then why are you doing this to her? Yes, the girl made some stupid decisions by letting herself being entangled with you, but that does not excuse you pressuring her after she told you to stop," said Mei with force.
"Did she talk?" asked the ANBU Captain warily.
"Sakura never talks. But again, Shinji, I am not as stupid as everyone seems to think I am. Ashai may not be able to pick up on basic social clues but I am."
Shinji sighed wearily.
"How is she doing anyway? With her undercover mission?"
"She was still alive last time I saw her," whispered Shinji, his voice so low, that Hanare almost had to lean against the thin wooden frame to be able to make out the words. . "Which I guess is proof enough of her abilities given the circumstances."
"Sakura has been gone for six weeks now," said Mei slowly. "Most undercovers are either dead or recalled by that point."
"She's strong," supplied Shinji. "She'll make it."
Both of them got silent at this point and Hanare wondered if she should make her presence known now so as to avoid an awkward situation later if they somehow happened to sense her chakra knowing that the showers were not running at the moment.
"If you think she is strong as you say, they why are you doing everything in your power to crush that strength of hers. She is not guilty of Chinami's death nor did she ask to be her replacement. Are you targeting her because she's the Hokage's apprentice? Is that it?"
Shinji did not bother to answer.
"You just stay away from her. Whatever your reasons or what you are going through… nothing justify the sick way you handle her," spat Mei with venom.
"So what are you gonna do then?" asked Shinji with a humorless laugh. "Are you going to tell them everything that happened? Do you think that scares me?"
"I don't… I just don't think I know who you are anymore… nor do I want to. You became a monster Shinji."
With that, audible steps could be heard and Hanare felt rather than heard the other presence leave shortly after. What was that all about? She had never knew Sakura had any kind of trouble in ANBU. Sure she seemed kind of distant and cold, but then again, most turned that way when they entered ANBU. Did Sasuke know? She doubted he did, otherwise Shinji Nakahara would not be walking around unscathed. But what had Mei been hinting at exactly?
