Trembling Steps - Intermission
The square block of paper went damp.
"Damn, looks like you have a water nature."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, our clan techniques are based on fire-natured chakra. Perhaps you should look into doing something else? Your brother is already set to take over the clan."
The young boy crushed the paper in his hands.
"Like hell! One day no one will doubt that Haruka Hiteien is the strongest member of our clan!"
Haruka Hiteien
Three ninja spied on a camp.
"Damn it, why are we here? We should be fighting with everyone else."
"We are fighting. This is where we can accomplish the most."
The young man scoffed to himself in response.
Then why is my brother not here with us? This is just because they don't see me as useful.
"Fine. Let's get this done with."
…
The ninja were out of the camp again.
"Alright, blow the tags on my signal."
"Pft, screw that, blow it on my signal."
"Haruka!"
Haruka hopped up in a tree.
"Oi you damn treehuggers, it's about time you all woke up!
The camp began to churn...
"Haruka Hiteien is here and you're under attack!"
…then abruptly blew up.
"See ya suckers!"
"Haruka, that was reckless."
"How else am I going to get my name out there?"
…
"Oi!"
…
"Suckers!"
…
"Remember the name Haruka!"
"Honey, meet your son."
Haruka held the baby in his hands.
He handed the baby a bracelet sized metal ring, a Hiteien clan tradition.
It giggled and his entire world shifted.
…
"We go in, do our work, and then get out. No funny business Haruka."
The man nodded with a serious expression.
"Of course sir."
A reputation won't get me home to my son.
…
Haruka became the father of two more children.
…
It was with relief that Haruka learned that the second great ninja war came to an end.
"They're not ready!"
"It doesn't matter. Haruka, the clans are in agreement on this, we need to send all our able-bodied ninja's to keep up with our neighbours."
"13, 12, and 10. My youngest is 10!"
"The decision is made, but…"
His brother puts a hand on his shoulder.
"...no one shall harm our clansmen as long as I stand. I can promise you that."
…
The promise was kept.
The Hiteien clan was cut in half, and Haruka's brother was the first to fall.
Haruka could only be relieved that his children weren't counted among the dead.
…
The third great ninja war ended, and Haruka had to do his best to advise his nephew on how to run the clan.
"The daimyo calls upon the clans, we are to battle the land of hot water."
"This is a bad idea."
"No offence uncle, but it is my decision to make."
Haruka assented.
…
The hidden cloud and hidden leaf intervened.
Haruka had to bury his first child.
He takes back the ring and ties it in his hair.
…
Haruka's vengeance put his name in the bingo book.
…
By the end of the war, Haruka had two more rings tied in his hair. His daughter had 2 as well.
…
"We're attacking the hidden leaf."
"No."
"We don't have a choice, we are bound by oath."
Haruka slams his hand against the table.
"Forget the oath, forget our contract! We're barely recovered from the last pointless war. Yes, the hidden leaf is still reeling from the attack of the nine tails, but they're also itching to lash out. Whoever pisses them off first is going to suffer!"
"Fine, we'll stay back."
…
As Haruka predicted, the hidden leaf retaliated hard.
Despite not involving themselves, the Hitein clan was caught in the crossfire.
…
Haruka's bounty went up and he gained a new title: Haruka of the 13 rings.
…
His rage burnt out, and all that was left was wearines.
"Haruka, old friend, I'm glad you agreed to meet me."
"Cut to the chase Shikyou."
"As you wish. I'm sure you've heard of my new charge?"
"The damn daimyo brat you mean? I don't understand what madness compelled you when you made that decision. Like I said before, I'm not giving up my grudge for some pretty words."
"Haha, I guess you could call it madness. The girl is talented, Haruka. I don't just mean in the ninja arts. I have reason to believe she's outright clairvoyant. On top of that she's kind, a rare trait for people like us, and really, it is a sign of her greatest trait: her indomitable will."
Shikyou leaned in close.
"...but as you said, my words aren't going to matter here. So I'd like to propose a wager. Take her on as your student. If she doesn't impress you within 3 years, you win."
"Fine, but I'm not teaching her anything."
"Not yet at least."
One chance.
She stands to attention when he approaches.
Stiff, respects authority. Probably a daddy's girl.
He dismissed her immediately.
…
"I don't have enough chakra to continue…"
Bullshit.
"How far did you get?"
"A quarter of the way-"
Haruka stopped listening.
Lazy.
He tossed her a scroll and a ration bar.
"15 minutes. Eat, and familiarise yourself with that. Then get back to work."
…
She was asleep when he came back.
Lazy. Probably used to everyone else doing things for her.
He wasn't going to let her get away with that.
…
"Are you done?"
"Yes sir, but Yumika is out of commission."
What?
He looked her over.
She seems fine. No, wait…
Her eyes are unfocused, and she has no reaction to any of her surroundings.
"Can she still function?"
"Yes sir."
"Fine, carry her."
…
He noted that she spends almost the entire trip meditating, excluding when Isoaki forces her to sleep, eat, or drop off supplies.
She seemed fine by their next departure.
The faster we finish these deliveries, the less I have to suffer her presence.
He didn't even give any thought to the two tagalongs. He passed the point of caring a long time ago.
…
"Hiteien, sir? Can we slow down?"
"No."
Rookies don't know their limits. The first and second time they want to slow down they're usually fine.
She's lazy, so make it 3rd and 4th as well.
To his surprise, she only asked one more time.
…
"Not won't, can't. I don't have the chakra, and won't anytime soon because I had to pop a soldier pill just to keep up with your tempo since you wouldn't slow down. I'm also quite sure that my body is probably tearing itself apart, so unless you want to drag a corpse with you the rest of the way, I'm visiting a medic. Sir."
Not lazy then. Congratulations, you've been promoted from worse than trash to trash.
…
Fools.
The girl got herself captured, but the conscripts couldn't even be useful and finish the job.
3 years to impress me? I doubt she could do it in 30.
"Shikyou put an awful lot of faith in you. I don't see it."
She didn't care.
She buried the two bodies.
"She's kind."
Haruka didn't agree.
She's naive.
The later encounter with the bandits only reassured him of that fact, even as he noticed that the only feeling she has for the fools is pity.
He noticed that she started talking to the ninja they met. He noticed her methodically adjusting the same conversation to get a measure of loyalty.
What're you up to?
The letter delivery business she started befuddled him, but he allowed it anyway. It was something he'd wished for in the past.
…
She hadn't noticed that he observed her during her time off.
That's a strange chakra control exercise…
It was probably just a game. She was a child after all.
…
She convinced one conscript to cooperate more willingly, and brought back the other who tried to flee.
A fluke.
…
It kept happening.
He let her handle all the future cases.
A bleeding heart and silver tongue don't make a good ninja.
He watched her meet the daimyo.
The daimyo's guards clearly aren't chosen for their skill.
None of them noticed him.
"My daughter is dead."
Rage burned in his veins. He was tempted to go down and finish the man himself, but more than that…
It was like looking into a dark mirror.
Haruka evaded the doubts that began to form and chased after the girl instead.
…
Genjutsu…
The ninja practically admitted to manipulating the daimyo.
How long has this been happening?
Haruka recalled that the war against the hidden leaf was utter madness and Orochimaru's name was added to Haruka's list.
Unfortunately, Haruka couldn't touch Orochimaru yet. His goons on the other hand…
"...but it's an excellent excuse to see you all buried."
…
The girl looked completely broken.
Even his apathy had limits.
"C'mon, let's get you home."
…
He made a dash for the village.
"Haruka? It's midnight, what are you doing here?"
"The daimyo's guards tried to kill Yumika."
Shikyou discarded his fatigue immediately.
"Tell me everything."
[...]
"Right… this lines up with my own investigations."
"You had your doubts?"
Shikyou shook his head.
"No, she did."
Suddenly all the girl's actions clicked into place.
There are eyes on her now. If she continues as normal the whole plot will fall apart.
"Can you get us missions out of the country?"
"I'll see what I can do."
…
Haruka made it back in time to depart for their mission.
It was the first time Haruka tried passing on his skills as an infiltrator.
He wasn't sure if he was a good teacher or if Yumika was a talented student.
…
She latched onto him and the fake family.
Of course she has…
She was just given a taste of proper familial interaction, and had it violently ripped from her.
Haruka didn't know how to deal with it, so he made her use Hei instead.
He tried to ignore her pained disappointment when he told her.
…
He minimised her interactions with the sound ninja.
She might need those persona's to evade Orochimaru himself.
…
"The rain is a sensing technique-"
There's no way she could know that.
Yet she was clearly adamant.
It had been more than a decade since he'd heard about a successful infiltration into the hidden rain.
We haven't heard from any of our agents in rain anyway…
"Fine, we circle around."
You weren't kidding, Shikyou.
…
They were in the land of fire.
He'd seen these sights before.
It was a reminder of his worst days. Day's filled with blind rage.
The distraction was probably why they didn't manage to avoid the hidden leaf patrol.
…
Fighting a leaf ninja was like reliving the past.
He was tired of it.
The fighting, the rage, all of it.
He could have won, even as the enemy shinobi tried to counter Haruka's tactics. It was nothing Haruka hadn't seen before.
Death by treehugger doesn't sound too bad…
It might make things right in the end.
"Child, move."
What are you doing?
"...you're after the wrong person."
"Yumika-"
"Shut up, don't care."
"...a sign of her greatest train: her indomitable will."
Haruka saw it clearly, and was too weak to stop what happened next.
"Sensei, you can't be serious!"
"No need to be alarmed, I only knocked her out."
Hayama Shirakumo, hidden leaf jonin, turned to address him.
"As alarmed as I am to have to be reminded by a child, she is right: we are better than this, and she deserves better than you."
The enemy picked up her unconscious form.
"I'm going to let you go, Haruka. As much as the world would be better off without you, you don't deserve peace, and I'm not going to let you use me to get it. Live with your mistakes."
Haruka was left on his own again.
Alive, despite his best efforts.
The Hidden Leaf Village
"Okay Waho, one more time!"
She rolled her eyes and put her hands together.
Dog. Boar. Ram.
Waho disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Beniyo was faced with a copy of herself.
"Haha, you did it."
"Was there any doubt?"
"Well…"
Waho waved her hand dismissively.
"Yes, I did flounder a bit due to Mizuki's abysmal advice, but it was simple to overcome."
Beniyo reached over and grabbed a fistful of 'not Beniyo's shirt.
"Doesn't feel real though."
"That is to be expected, it is merely an imitation."
Beniyo entered a contemplative state.
"...it kind of feels like Rukia."
Waho offered her friend an inquisitively raised brow.
"You remember what Rukia feels like?"
"Hey! She enjoyed hugs and I remember it being really weird!"
"Fair. That obviously must mean that she was a transformation herself."
"Wait… so she could be fine!? I spent the last 4 years thinking we killed her!"
"Whether or not she is fine, you won't find out if you don't pass graduation."
"Urgh, I know."
"I'm not sure you do, you're literally the lowest ranking student in the class at the moment."
"I still beat you in taijutsu-"
"Which is the only reason you're not a dropout. That and the fact that you seemed to have befriended the whole class, all our teachers, and whoever else is willing to give you a bit of advice when they have the time."
Before Beniyo could retort, another pair of figures approached. Asuri and a hidden leaf jonin with a scar on his lip.
"Waho, Beniyo. This is Hayama Shirakumo. He wants to ask us some questions."
Asuri explained before lining up with the other two.
"Sure! Wha'd'ya need?" Beniyo asked as she bounced up to her feet, glad to escape Waho's lecture.
The jonin nodded seriously.
"I'm going to need you to keep this information close, we captured a hidden sound genin who looks to be your age, and was wondering if you could tell us anything about them. Their name is Yumika Nogawa."
It was like a sudden chill had encroached on the trio of girls.
"Yumika was in our 'class'." Beniyo explained.
"We explained how our training was in the hidden sound when we got here, have you read the file?" Waho added.
To which Hayama nodded.
"Before Asuri and the other clan kids joined up, Yumika dominated the fights. He was like a machine. If you weren't fighting him, you didn't exist, and if you were fighting him he maximised his own improvement." Waho continued.
"There's more to it than that." Asuri interjected.
"What d'you mean?" Beniyo asked.
"You two didn't have much experience or ability to rely on so you probably couldn't tell, but it was a completely different story for those of us from the ninja clans."
"I mean, yeah, he lost to some of you guys but-"
"I wasn't done."
Beniyo shut up.
"Yumika… wasn't that strong, all things considered. He had poor physical abilities and decent taijutsu, but there was something frightening about the way he fought. He figures out how you work, how you fight, and tears it apart. He will do whatever it takes to win, even when he doesn't need to."
"...like how he killed Mitsutada." Waho added.
"Mitsutada?"
The three girls looked at each other, then up to Hayama.
"Do you recall the incident three years ago at the academy? The teacher who almost killed one of the students?" Waho asked.
"I do."
"We had something similar. Mitsutada, who was our first chunin instructor, almost killed Yumika after he embarrassed a girl called Isae… 3 months later Yumika killed him."
"Yeah, it wasn't even an assasination or poison, Yumika straight up challenged him to a spar and won!" Beniyo exclaimed.
"It was quite frankly terrifying to watch. The fight played out like she could read the future."
"From what I learned, the incident officially granted him the rank of genin." Asuri commented. "Following that, my clan and several others had standing orders to kill him given the opportunity. Neither myself, nor any of the other kids managed to pull it off."
Hayama closed the notebook he'd been using to log the conversation.
"Thank you. Now, just to be clear, this is the Yumika you're all talking about right?"
He pulled out a picture of said girl.
"That's the one."
Hayama nodded to himself.
"Very well, just needed to be sure. For your information, we believe that she was masquerading as a boy at the time. Also, if she is cooperative she may be given the freedom to wander the village."
"Yeah, we'll be sure to avoid him- her."
"Thank you for your time."
The Hidden Cloud Village
"Uh, it must suck to be Motoe right now. Graduation spar and he's up against… him."
"He'll be fine." Funida said.
"Motoe's taijutsu is horrendous, he can't do genjutsu, and his ninjutsu is subpar. He's going to be annihilated."
"I'd be more worried for his opponent." Funida said.
"You're joking right? He is super strong."
"Yeah, and this is the graduation match: Motoe is allowed to use his staff."
"I really don't see how that stick is going to make a difference-"
"Begin!"
Thunk. Boom.
"What was that?!"
Funida smirked back.
"A simple block and strike. Four years and it's still the only thing he trains."
…
"Funida, Tatsuoki, Motor. Your sensei is Saigorou."
Yorihiro
Yorihiro was worried.
His brother had disappeared again. Nothing new there, but now everyone was acting like he didn't exist. Like he had a dead sister.
Yorihiro had a sibling, Yumika.
Yumika was his brother. It didn't matter to him if they were a boy or a girl. He didn't have a sister.
He'd tried asking his father about it.
That was the first time he'd been scared of his father.
He was not doing that again.
Isoaki
Isoaki may have been in charge, but he knew better than most that Yumika was the one keeping things together.
From a purely practical perspective, the operation lived on the communication lines she ran.
"Oh, but anyone could do that."
He could practically hear her deny it, but he knew better. She saw the strengths and weaknesses of her position and acted upon them expertly. That decision making was reflected in other areas as well. Problems Isoaki struggled with for weeks, she'd solve in the 3 minute window they had to talk. Which made it all the more of a shame that he only had 3 minutes to talk whenever she stopped by.
She was also practically the only source of new recruits. The conscripts were kept separate from each other to prevent exactly that, the rebel sound ninja didn't know who they could trust, and Isoaki didn't meet enough people for it to matter.
Finally, there was the morale component. With every little delivery there'd be supporting words or friendly advice, but more importantly than that, she had this strange confidence. She spoke of a chance, an opportunity that would come with certainty. Like she knew something that no one else did.
The rebellion put their faith in Isoaki because Yumika did, and because everyone had their faith in her.
So naturally, things started falling apart when she disappeared.
Communication ground to a halt. Isoaki had managed to implement some half-measures to deal with the problem, but they couldn't operate like before. Plans and tactics needed to change. Now the rebellion was split into cells with local leaders, making sure everyone stayed okay and that no one got caught.
Recruitment ground to a halt, he would have to make do with the manpower they had.
Finally, they were getting impatient. They hadn't actually done anything yet. Only planned and prepared for an opportunity that no one seemed to believe would come anymore. Isoaki was beginning to agree.
This only got worse when the rumours of Yumika's death spread.
Isoaki himself knew better, he heard the rumours before Yumika stopped by, just before she left the country.
Then Haruka came back alone.
A decision needed to be made.
"Remember, if you don't work around Orochimaru, this will fail."
Isoaki scoured his intel, looking for any hint that would put Orochimaru out of the picture. If she really did know something, it had to do with this.
That's it!
A year from now, Orochimaru was going to the land of wind, he'd be gone for weeks.
"That's when we make our move."