The Pulse of A Dragon – Chapter 3
He was weak, his hair was turning a light gray, his bones were creaking with more severity than someone his age's should, he was aging rapidly. It wasn't a thought he often acknowledged, nor was it something that he gave the severity it deserved. Yasu was growing into a fine young woman, capable now of decent conversation and the minimal jutsu that he was capable of teaching her.
"Do you know what it means to 'pass on'?"
Yasu's attention was pulled from the coloring book in front of her as she caught her father's abrupt stare. She would shake her head negatively. She had an inkling of an idea, but it wasn't something her father had taught her in great detail. She didn't think it was important to know, frankly. "Isn't it something about saying goodbye for the last time?"
"In a sense, yes." It was a rather awkward way of phrasing things, but it got the point across at least. This would make things easier than having to somehow teach the concept from scratch. He leaned back into his comforter.
"You and I, and everyone else on this earth, are only allowed to be here for a certain amount of time. And when that time is up, we have to say goodbye to that person for the last time. Like you said." He was trying his hardest to explain things in as simple a way as he could, but it was a topic that easily turned complex and convoluted. He wanted to avoid that. "Do you know what 'pain' is?"
"It's the opposite of 'feeling good'!" Yasu responded quickly with the same enthusiasm as a student who knew the answer to a math problem.
"You've caused me lots of pain, Yasu."
A silence enveloped the room, a heavy weight hung on their shoulders. Yasu only stared at her father's form, sinking deeper into the cushions beneath where he sat. A deep frown covered his lips.
"You've been very lucky with the life you've led so far. You've had no responsibility, you've had no reason to want for anything, you've had no reason to leave this fucking—" he took a deep breath before he could let himself finish.
He knew there was no fortune in the life that he constructed for her, no meaning in the shallow cave they shared. This was torture. The problem was that he was aware of this, she was not.
"A day will come that nothing I've shown you will prepare you for. You will need to be independent in a world that nobody has shown you anything about, and I think that's disgusting." He sneered, mostly to himself. Yasu only listened, realizing the importance of what was being said but not knowing the appropriate way to respond.
"Then show me."
Yasu's solution was so simple, he was surprised he hadn't thought of it himself. Too bad he was too old and weak. He ran his fingers through his now greyed hair, ignoring the creak and groan of his weary bones.
"I can't show you anything, Yasu. You know that." Closing his eyes, "Sometimes your words are more painful to listen to than your skin is to touch. It's much too tragic."
It was late into the night and during Hinata's turn to watch over her sleeping allies that Yasu finally tossed and turned for the last time. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, she had no idea why she was even trying. The anxiety was too strong, a feeling deep in her soul told her that this whole situation was too good to be true and that she would be taken back to captivity before the sun rose in the morning. Or, even worse, these new captors would turn out to be nothing like they seemed. Either situation was a gamble, but at least this one seemed safer for the moment.
Hinata would turn suddenly, Byakugan activated threateningly towards the sound of Yasu rising from the ground. Yasu raised one arm in acknowledgment, using the other to lightly dust the dirt from her clothing. "It's just me,"
"Why are you awake?" Hinata lowered her stance slightly but kept her Byakugan activated. They must not have fully trusted her yet. Wasn't surprising, it wasn't as if Yasu trusted them fully either.
"Can't sleep. It's been a long day." Yasu snapped, causing Hinata to lightly flinch. After a moment, Hinata was at ease once again. "These clothes aren't helping either."
Hinata nodded, noting that Yasu still wore her heavily endowed garb. It must have been worth thousands, but not something comfortable to rest in. "Did they not give you other clothes?"
"Nope." Yasu plopped down beside where Hinata stood, far enough away as to ensure they wouldn't accidentally touch. Hinata sat down herself a few seconds after.
"I thought they would treat their God better than that." Hinata finally responded a few moments later, carefully inspecting her words before she spoke them. It was obvious that she was nervous, not yet able to fully let her guard down around Yasu.
"I promise that I'm not judgmental, especially after hanging around those guys for so long," Yasu tried to ease Hinata's reservedness with this comment, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. She seemed more embarrassed by being called out than relieved over not being judged. Maybe Hinata just wasn't as outspoken as the other two. "How are you holding up by the way?"
Hinata inspected the arm that Yasu had grabbed hold of earlier in the day, tightening and loosening her fist as a quick test. The pain had subsided, but there was a clear discomfort that continued to linger. "It's… better. It should be fine in the morning."
"That's good," Yasu sighed in relief, mostly to herself. Hinata sent a quizzical look for a brief moment before just as quickly turning away. Yasu caught the action. "Are you not going to ask about how I did that?"
"Not if you don't want to talk about it."
Yasu wasn't happy about the apparent care they were taking when talking to her, the careful way in which they tiptoed around talking about Yasu's story or condition. She would have rather they grilled her about it, as she was sure any other ninja would have done.
"I don't care one way or the other," Yasu snapped once again, "This isn't some taboo thing, and I don't get why you're all trying so hard to be polite to someone that you barely know. It's so frustrating and pretentious."
Hinata paused for a moment, "Fine. Why does it burn to touch you?"
"Because I'm a freak, I don't know."
Another pause, "You shouldn't say that about yourself."
An exasperated groan as Yasu took a handful of dirt from beneath her and threw it haphazardly to the side. Her insides were so confused, her emotions twisting and turning into a singular mass of discomfort. Hinata was unwilling to press the issue further, and that was the whole problem. There were so many things Yasu wanted to confide in the woman beside her, things she wanted to get off her chest. Maybe that wasn't entirely fair.
"I don't even know your names yet," Yasu finally spoke aloud, mostly to herself. A foreword she must have entirely skipped over.
"I'm Hinata Hyuga." The dark-haired nin pointed to herself, then one by one to her comrades. "Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka."
Yasu took mental note of the names, repeating and mouthing them to herself until she knew she would not forget them. It was the least she owed them. Hinata continued, "What's your clan name?"
"Not really much of a 'clan' per se, but my full name is Yasu Kemono." She fully introduced herself, much more formally than she had upon first meeting them. Hinata tapped her chin in deep thought.
"I haven't heard of Kemono so I can't be sure, but…" Hinata spoke, "Maybe that burning is a kind of Kekkei Genkai?"
"Kekkei what now?"
"Kekkei Genkai. A clan ability. Something you're born being able to do." Hinata clarified.
"That makes sense." Yasu relinquished sullenly. It wasn't as if knowing that this was the case changed anything. She already knew that she'd been this way since she was born, a fancy name didn't mean much at this point.
A somewhat awkward silence befell the two, or at least it was awkward to Yasu. Hinata seemed content with not talking, but Yasu was left to pluck at her fingertips impatiently. "You can go to sleep, you know. I already said that I can't. I can keep watch."
"We can't just leave you alone, you're half the reason we're keeping watch."
Yasu already knew that this was the case, but hearing it come from Hinata's mouth still stung. There was no reason for Yasu to be given the benefit of the doubt, she already knew that. There was even less reason for Yasu herself to not take similar precautions, which she was. In her own way at least.
"What am I gonna do, run away and have no idea where I'm going?"
Hinata shook her head. That didn't answer her question
"Fine, I'll try to go to sleep again." Yasu stood with a puff, kicking the dirt as she went. "Don't look over here, I'm taking off this annoying outfit."
It took only a moment to strip down to her underwear, and Hinata took the warning to keep her eyes forward.
Of course, the mission was taking longer than expected. Tenten frowned. Somehow, in a way that only Shikamaru knew how, he had turned an afternoon's shopping trip into something that had taken an entire day and night. And Tenten was the one stuck having to hear Tsunade complain about it.
"At what point should we send a team out looking for them?" Tsunade mused, clearly only halfway serious about what she was saying. As far as Tenten was concerned, the whole conversation was just a long-winded excuse to ignore the paperwork piling up on every flat surface in the room.
"I really don't think that's necessary, Tsunade-sama. I think the more pressing matter is the paperwork you've yet to complete." Was Tenten's only response, spoken in forced professionalism that even Shizune would have been impressed by. Though Tenten doubted that Shizune wanted to know that this was one of the only things she had picked up on since accepting the position as her assistant. The assistant's assistant wasn't exactly the busiest role, but Shizune still managed to somehow convince herself that Tenten was forcing some kind of productivity from Tsunade when she took the day off. Clearly, this wasn't the case.
The two kunoichis were used to Shikamaru's antics by that point, the way that he would take these menial missions at the pace of a genin squad. Tsunade had surmised that having to work on his day off would inspire Shikamaru to finish the mission quickly so that he could get back to relaxing, but apparently, this wasn't what happened. Tenten could have seen this coming, but she most likely knew Shikamaru better than anyone else in the village.
Before Tsunade could pick up the quill on her desk (which she reached for rather slowly, in all fairness), there was a short and sudden emission from her transceiver. Excited for the sudden excuse, Tsunade tapped the speaker and spoke. Tenten's frown deepened.
"Tsunade speaking."
"Shikamaru's team is back, they've brought back an… interesting product." A nameless voice spoke, a jounin working the gate that Tenten couldn't remember the name of for the life of her. "We think you and Shizune should check things out for yourself."
"Shizune is off today, but Tenten and I will check things out. Send them our way."
A long pause, then a sigh, "That's... fine. They're headed your way now."
When Tsunade had first accepted her position as Hokage, the village had no idea who Shizune was. As time passed, they came to rely on Shizune in some affairs even more so than Tsunade herself. A two-for-one deal essentially; one Tsunade to save face and use their almost mythical abilities to protect the village and its people, and one Shizune to deal with the more administrative side of things. Shizune employing Tenten as her assistant was akin to Tsunade herself hiring a "side-Hokage". It was unheard of, and the village was more than happy to voice its uneasiness at the expense of Tenten's work. She was used to it by now.
Even still, the clear and uncensored way that the nin of the village aired their grievances still hurt Tenten deep down.
Before Tenten could delve deeper into the incriminating thoughts, a sharp barrage of knocks on the door. She unconsciously opened the door for the guests, hardly taking note of the three nin as they entered the room. That was until she saw just what kind of… product, to use the same words as the ninja at the entrance, followed along behind them.
"Welcome back Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata." Nodding towards the three nin as she addressed them, Tsunade paused and squinted her eyes at the new arrival, "I do not believe we've had the pleasure of making acquaintance."
"Yasu Kemono." Yasu stood straight and clasped her hands together at the front, not experienced in dealing with this type of authority but letting her reflexes do the thinking for her.
"Yasu Kemono, I don't think I'm aware of such a clan name. From what village do you hail?"
She hailed from no village but didn't know how to say as such. She could have been blunt with her response, but something told her that wouldn't be appropriate given the atmosphere in the room. She opened her mouth but shut it a moment later as Hinata, thankfully, cut her off.
"She doesn't know where she's from, we found her at the market being sold as a 'God'".
Tsunade took a moment to digest the new information but withheld her assumptions. "Thank you, Hinata, but I believe the woman can speak for herself."
Hinata withdrew in apparent embarrassment, a newfound patch of pinkish blush enveloping her cheeks. Tsunade was right of course, it wasn't like Hinata was saying anything Yasu couldn't have said herself.
She wasn't sure why her words lied dead in her throat while in the presence of this older woman, it wasn't as if her travel companions were acting that much different than usual. Sure, there was an air of clear respect lingering in the air for the nin they spoke to, but that alone was hardly enough reason for the second-guessing of her speech.
Maybe it was the culture shock that she felt upon entering the bustling town of Konoha. Bright colors surrounded her entirely and a pleasantly quaint atmosphere was visible on every person she passed. She felt so many eyes inspecting her, assumedly because of her strangely attention-grabbing garb. Dealing with and seeing more people than she ever had at once in her entire life didn't help with her social ineptness either, she surmised.
"Tell me your story, Yasu. I'd like to hear it in your own words before hearing my ninja's secondhand version." She interlocked her fingers atop her desk.
"I—"
What was her story? Where did it begin? She was given another open-ended question that she could have used to get anything off her chest – but she once again fell flat with what exactly she wanted to tell. This was beginning to turn into an unfortunately constant occurrence.
"Can you be more specific?" Yasu finally asked, uncomfortably rubbing her upper arm. Tsunade nodded.
"Why were you being sold as a 'God'?" Tsunade finally asked, "Are you a God?"
"I'm not sure. I… don't think so." Yasu concluded after a moment's thought. Yasu hadn't thought about it before, about whether or not she was truly a God. There had to be a reason the traveling nin were so enthralled by her, but she honestly didn't know. Her kekkei genkai only gave her so much interest as a human being. Tsunade expected the answer to continue, but Yasu's explanation ended there.
"Alright then. Why do they think you're a god?"
The logical follow-up question that Yasu didn't entirely know how to answer. She answered as a question for herself, "My kekkei genkai?"
"Which is?"
"Go ahead and shake her hand."
Shikamaru interjected much in the same way that Hinata had but was reacted to very differently. Yasu could only assume it was because he was the 'leader' of sorts. Tsunade hummed a quiet drone of confusion and held her hand out towards Yasu. Yasu gave a concerned glance to Shikamaru, who nodded in approval. Yasu met Tsunade's palm halfway between the two of them.
Tsunade held the grip for maybe a couple of seconds before retracting her hand in a quick flurry, hissing and shaking it aggressively as it burned. It was like she had just cooked her skin in a campfire, the only difference being that the pain she felt lingered much longer than a regular burn. She looked to see if there was any visible damage, but what she saw was even more surprising. Her entire hand was pruned, wrinkled to the true indication of her age. Had this woman somehow interrupted the anti-aging jutsu?
Tenten had remained the silent observer since the new arrivals had entered, but she sprung to attention at the first sign of Tsunade's discomfort. Taking a step forward she was quickly hushed by Tsunade's waving hand. Tenten didn't argue but kept herself all the more attentive just in case. "It's alright Tenten. It was just a demonstration."
"It doesn't just stop there," Shikamaru continued, taking a moment for Tsunade to reapply her hand's youthful shade, "She was helping us escape and grabbed onto Hinata's arm. She was incapacitated for nearly an hour."
"Escaped?" Tsunade cocked her head. The gears were beginning to turn. Nobody in the room wanted to clarify.
It was Kiba who finally broke the silence. Kicking his feet as a distraction of sorts, "We might have… kidnapped her?"
"Kidnapped her?!"
Tsunade rose from her desk in a quick and sudden movement, knocking her chair over behind her and bellowing in a deep, thunderous howl. Everyone in the room shrunk under the fiery glare they were now underneath. Kiba went as far as to physically cover his eyes, "What?! They wanted hundreds of millions for her!"
"Lady Tsunade…" Tenten's timid voice from the corner of the room, not yet fully versed in the best way to deal with Tsunade's… temper. It was times like these she wished Shizune were around.
"HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS?!" The tension in the air was almost palpable, anyone in the room could have sworn they saw the air turn a darker shade of yellow. "WE ARE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN DEBT TO THE SHONIN?"
It was more money than Tsunade had seen in her entire life, manifesting itself as the timid woman before her that she was currently scaring the crap out of. All the gambling debt she could have avoided, all the gambling she could have partaken in. Why for this woman, just because she hurt to touch? The Shonin were harsh capitalists, but it wasn't like them to needlessly raise prices for no reason. No, something about this woman wasn't stacking up to expectation.
"Lady Tsunade, please. We have a guest, and we still haven't heard the full story." Tenten interjected in little more than a whisper. Thankfully, and far beyond her expectations, Tsunade heeded the interruption. She sat back down with a scowl, clearly not happy but in a better place to hear them out.
"Well, if we're gonna go ahead and burn that bridge, did you at least come out of this whole thing with more than just her?" Tsunade whipped her wrist in the direction of Yasu, hardly acknowledging her as a person. Yasu frowned bitterly.
"We managed to get these as well," Hinata spoke softly, placing the herbs that had been rustling in her ninja bag onto the Hokage's desk. Tsunade took a once over at the procured items and nodded. It wasn't immediately apparent, but her demeanor did soften slightly.
"I'll have Tenten bring these to the hospital when we're done here. Until then…" Tsunade used her forearm to push the items into a desk shelf haphazardly.
"Actually, I have a request Hokage-sama," Hinata spoke up again, uncharacteristically bold in this meeting. Tsunade faced her with a 'hmm' of a question, "That feather, I'd like to take it to the Hyuga compound."
"This?" Tsunade withdrew the item from the shelf, a feather that Kiba and Shikamaru immediately recognized as the Bufula. 'Magic'. Nobody knew that Hinata had managed to smuggle it through their escape. Regardless, none of the nin cared to ask any questions and even less cared to divulge its 50 million ryo price tag. "Fine."
Hinata took the item from Tsunade's outstretched hand and gingerly replaced it into her bag. Bowing in thanks, Hinata returned to her spot behind her companions.
"Now what do we do with that?" Tsunade pointed a finger towards Yasu, again showing no signs of respect. Yasu bit her tongue a moment too late.
"My name is Yasu like I said." A snarky comment that Tsunade's death glare immediately made her regret.
"I don't care what your name is. All I know about you is that you're worth millions of ryo and we don't have any right to keep you here." Tsunade growled, zeroing her vision in on the small woman as she shrunk under the gaze, "I don't particularly enjoy the Shonin going around selling human beings like cattle, but I really wish we weren't the ones that did something about it. The one time I wish Shikamaru had taken the easy way out…"
As if in response to his name being mentioned, Shikamaru butted in, "We might not have to deal with the Shonin. They didn't chase us when we left or try to get her back, they just let her go."
"The Shonin aren't stupid, Shikamaru," Tsunade's death glare now fell on Shikamaru, "Why would they chase you when they know who you are? They know where you went. And now we're so much in debt to them that they could buy half the village with the first month of INTEREST."
Shikamaru backed down, realizing that she was right. The momentary respite of not being the center of attention quickly passed, and Yasu was once again stuck being inspected under the Hokage's glare. She gulped loudly.
"Tenten."
From the corner of the room, Tenten stood at attention from the sudden mention of her name. It had been drilled into her by now.
"Take the girl," Tsunade sounded almost defeated, finally letting herself sink into her chair as she rubbed away the headache she could feel coming on. "Find something useful for her to do, but don't let her out of your sight. We don't know anything about her and she's potentially dangerous."
With one last bite of conceit, Tsunade addressed the four, "Be happy we aren't locking her up. Leave."
They didn't have to be told twice. Tenten rose her finger for a protest but felt all but powerless as soon as she was left alone with only Tsunade in the room. That, and letting Yasu leave without Tenten following would surely be strike one already.
Tenten quickly exited the room. Shikamaru and Yasu were the only ones left in the hallway, as Kiba and Hinata surely had taken the opportunity to escape to their respective homes. Tenten jogged down the hallway to catch up with them.