Voices From The Past
Sasuke stared at the small scroll in front of him, his face a mixture of disbelief and rage. His initial burst of anger had come simply when he recognized the handwriting after breaking the seal of the scroll the messenger hawk had delivered. The neat, tidy script was unmistakable. After five years he thought he had put that part of his life behind him.
Unfortunately she had not. And her chakra detection skills were obviously honed to a high level if she had been able to sense his location with this much time and distance separating them.
Karin.
But it wasn't just the fact that she dared to contact him that triggered his ire. The actual content of her message was equally disturbing if not more so. He started to tear the paper in two but stopped himself in case he might need to study it later for clues as to what her actual game was. Instead he crumpled it in disgust and then straightened it out again to read it a second and then a third time.
Mouthing the words silently to himself he pored over them one more time then shook his head. It was absolutely preposterous what Karin was alleging. And yet, Konoha and it's leadership had been responsible over the years for more than one atrocity. Although, he mused, he was surprised that Tsunade would allow something like this on her watch. During his time with the snake sannin, he had heard Orochimaru grumble often enough about Tsunade's inflated sense of moral superiority.
Orochimaru.
Another name from his past. Only this one dredged up even more uncomfortable memories. Karin's threat had always been veiled and somewhat ludicrous – she never wanted to specifically harm him, only use him for her own ridiculous romantic purposes. Purposes which he easily brushed aside.
But the time he spent with Orochimaru had been far more dangerous and damaging, an unhealthy symbiosis. He had consented to the sannin's experiments because he needed to be trained by him in order to advance his techniques. Those experiments had been at times painful and at other times humiliating. And one of them apparently had left him in the situation he faced now.
Konoha was trying to breed a Sharingan user.
His stomach lurched over. Who the hell were they to play god with his clan, his family, his genes?
He forced himself to re-read Karin's letter yet again, this time trying to not let rage cloud his ability to look for clues in what she had written.
Konoha had obtained his DNA. They had recovered it from a labyrinthine lair he had occupied with Orochimaru in the past. And they were now planning to convince a Hyuuga woman to bear a child who could grow up to one day activate its own Sharingan. There were a lot more flowery phrases from Karin and promises to do anything at all she could to help thrown in but that was the gist of it. The purple prose she had surrounded it with simply brought back to mind all too clearly how nauseatingly close she had tried to get to him while a member of Team Hebi.
Team Hebi.
Team Hebi was no more. Juugo and Suigetsu had died and he had assumed Karin had simply abandoned the team. Not that he cared. After Itachi's death he'd had no need of her special skill and she was only marginally adept at any other practical techniques he might make use of. When she didn't come back one time he hadn't even bothered to find out where or why she'd gone. It hadn't even been worth the effort and truth to tell he was glad to be rid of her. He eventually learned she'd gone with the Leaf ninja contingent after an encounter and he was content to just leave her there. He'd reasoned he would deal with her when he took care of the rest of the Leaf.
After the dissolution of the original Team Hebi Sasuke had headed south to recover from the battles for and with Madara. He'd endangered his own life for the man and that could not be allowed to happen. His original plan had been to occupy one of the snake-sannin's unused facilities in the south and prepare for his own final revenge on Konoha. The village would be obliterated and there would be a new Uchiha clan someday but on his terms, not as a result of some Orochimaru-esque eugenics program.
South and west he'd gone to begin again. The new Team Taka he'd assembled here was not even close to being the equal of the originals' skills but they served as efficient subordinates. He kept a low profile and that was why Karin's note was even more surprising.
Was it really possible that her chakra-sense was that keen? If that were true then it was most unsettling.
But the other point he had to consider was that the entire story was a fabrication of Karin's. Perhaps this was some elaborate ruse to lure him out of hiding. Or the delusions of an emotionally and mentally unstable woman? Why would she concoct such a far-fetched tale if there wasn't some truth behind it?
He couldn't take the chance. He knew the possibility existed. That alone was enough to prompt him to take action. Sasuke would have to infiltrate Konoha and neutralize this new threat. The nature of the matter was so embarrassing, so delicate that he could not trust it to anyone else. There was no one he could confide in.
He would deal with Karin at the same time he removed this threat to his own family's lineage. The rest of Konoha might have to wait a little longer for his revenge but two kunoichi shouldn't be particularly hard to deal with.
There was a further complication, though. Karin's senses were too sharp. She would detect his approach.
"Seito," he called for one of the newer shinobi to join up with him.
"Yes, Sasuke-sama?" a teenage boy of medium height and build with straight brown hair answered pausing at the doorway to bow lightly before entering.
"We're leaving. Tell the others."
"Immediately," he replied. "Where shall I tell them we're going and when will we return?"
Sasuke glared at the boy. "You won't tell them anything other than that you and I are leaving. We'll return when we return," he said sharply.
"Yes, Sasuke-sama," Seito acknowledged then bowed once more a little more formally and left to do as he was instructed.
Seito was a reliable shinobi with an interesting ninjutsu. He could mask his own chakra. It made him a useful espionage agent. Sasuke was hoping he could extend that cloaking ability to his own chakra signature as well, or at least mute it enough so that Karin would not recognize it. He hoped Seito could sustain the masking long enough for the seven day trip to Konoha.
Sasuke looked at the note in his hand once more then incinerated it. He couldn't take a chance on leaving it lying around.
Hinata shivered with anticipation as she stood outside the door to Konoha's medical center. She rubbed her upper left arm gently, remembering the last two weeks of HCG shots she'd received in order to stimulate ovulation. There was no pain only the memory of them as testament to what she was about to do.
The medical center was nearly empty. This procedure like all her visits for the shots preceding it had been scheduled for late in the day. The council and Tsunade were still keeping this under tight secrecy. Only the original eight who had been in on the negotiations and the top level Hyuuga clan representatives were aware of what was going on.
Kurenai was waiting for her at the door. "Ready?" she smiled warmly at her.
Hinata grinned herself. "Ready as I'll ever be I suppose." She paused then added most sincerely, "Thank you again, Kurenai-sensei, for coming with me."
"Hinata. Of course I'm here for you…and my future godchild," she said conspiratorially as she linked her arm through the younger woman's and together they went into the center.
As they entered the procedure room Hinata was struck by the sterile and decidedly medical surroundings. She didn't know what she had expected, it was basically just a regular examination room. The two kunoichi waited a few moments and then Shizune came in.
"So, Hinata, how are you feeling? Any side effects from the injections?" she asked flipping through her charts.
"No. I mean, I'm feeling fine, no side effects," Hinata responded. "Well, maybe just a little anxious, that's all."
Shizune smiled. "I think that's to be expected. Okay, let me explain the procedure to you. With intrauterine placement we have about a 25% chance of success for women with fertility problems. Given your age and overall health plus no known fertility problems there's an excellent chance that pregnancy will result from one procedure today. If not, we can continue the injections in a few more weeks and try again next month."
"W-when will I know, Shizune-san?" Hinata asked.
"Two weeks. Give it two weeks before you try a pregnancy test. Okay?"
"Two weeks?" Hinata sounded surprised.
"Sometimes it takes a day or two after the procedure for a woman to actually conceive. And then it can take several days before your hormones settle down enough to give a reliable indication."
"O-okay," Hinata said then grinned, "it's just that's it's going to be difficult to wait that long."
"I imagine so. Well, there's no harm in peeing on a stick earlier if you want to, but don't assume that if the first test is negative that you're not pregnant. Let's see if you can hold out at least seven days before trying a test, okay?"
"Okay," Hinata agreed and all three women laughed.
"Right, then, well, I'll leave you get changed and then be back in a few minutes," Shizune said. She paused before turning to leave. "Hinata, Tsunade wanted me to make sure you understood why she's not the one here doing the medical procedure."
"I know. I understand. She told me herself already," Hinata answered. Tsunade had called her to her office for a long conversation after the meeting with the elders. At first Hinata had been terrified that Tsunade disagreed with her decision. But the older woman had just wanted to make sure the Hyuuga girl knew that she respected her right to make that decision. Although not what Tsunade herself would have chosen, she assured Hinata that she supported her and would help her in any way possible. They had had several more conversations over the last few days and Hinata could see why Sakura was so devoted to her teacher. Although not quite as warm as Kurenai, she was caring in her own way.
One of their later talks had turned to the general topic of the good of the village. Tsunade felt compelled to let Hinata know that she had to decline being the one to perform the procedure. As Hokage, she felt the topic was already too politically sensitive and she couldn't afford any conflict of interests between her medical and leadership responsibilities.
"Tsunade just wanted me to be sure you knew she supports you 100%," Shizune said.
"Yes, I know. Please tell her for me," Hinata reassured the medical specialist.
"Right, then, well, I'll just let you…slip into something more comfortable while I get things ready," Shizune said with a faint grin as she handed Hinata a standard examination gown. She and Kurenai left the room for Hinata to change, with Kurenai waiting in the hall.
Hinata changed into the gown, folding her own clothes neatly on the counter. "You can come back in now Kurenai," she said softly to her friend out in the hallway.
"How do I look?" she asked when Kurenai re-entered.
"You don't really want me to answer that, do you, Hinata?" she replied drolly and both women laughed.
"It's not exactly wedding night material," Hinata mused as she hopped up onto the table.
"You're not exactly getting married you know," Kurenai pointed out and there was another round of excited nervous laughter.
Soon there was a light knock on the door. Kurenai arched an eyebrow up as if to say to Hinata 'this is it.' Hinata nodded then called out, "Come in Shizune."
"Ready?" Shizune asked as she peeked in the door before entering.
"Ready," Hinata affirmed. "What do I do?"
"At this point, Hinata," Shizune chuckled, "You don't need to do anything but lie back and…think of Konoha."
Hinata complied and Kurenai moved to stand beside her student at the head of the bed, taking one of Hinata's small hands in her own.
"All right, Hinata, this shouldn't be too uncomfortable, possibly some slight cramping, nothing more," Shizune talked softly as she worked. Hinata kept her gaze fixed on Kurenai.
After just a couple of moments, Shizune announced. "Okay, we're done."
Hinata's brow knit, confused. "That's it? That's all there is to it?"
"Yes, well, you're probably not the first girl to make that observation," Shizune said dryly but with a gleam in her eye as she turned to begin putting things away.
Kurenai burst out laughing. It took Hinata a moment to get the joke and when she did she blushed furiously.
"So what should I do now?" she asked after regaining her composure.
"Lie here and wait a few minutes, say ten or twenty, then go home, get plenty of rest, eat well, stay healthy and come back and see me in a couple of weeks. We'll see if you're pregnant."