Chapter Nineteen: A Grave Error
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In the dim room, shadows slanted deep and long. A chink in the window in back of a large table let the crescent moon in, which lost the battle against the steadily advancing darkness too soon. The scribblings and scratchings of the wooden pen on the scroll were bouncing off the walls, magnified in silence. There stood three figures in the room: one with hands clasped behind his back; one with a steel-straight spine, arms hanging almost stiffly at his sides; and one with fingers knotted like a clumsy rope-knot in front. Their shadows stretched out in front—much taller and bigger than themselves as the candle behind them, sitting on an unusually small table, flickered in the draft.
The scribbling stopped, and the beautiful woman sitting comfortably in the chair that ruled Leaf lifted her brown eyes, narrowing them slightly, gazing at the tall men whose faces were hidden deeply under the shadows. She dipped the wooden pen into the black ink bottle and began to roll up the scroll. The ink had dried out a moment ago.
She inhaled a little loudly, as if to grasp their attention, and placed the rolled scroll aside. "Very rash, Itachi," she paused and moved her eyes to look at the younger brother, hidden safely behind night's tricks. "Sasuke is a very young Captain, but you accepted a mission because Mizukage requested it of him? I did not expect this from you. He should have been reproached by you for taking it up, yet you backed him despite being his superior? I am disappointed in you."
Sasuke did not intervene and stood straight and waited for his brother to speak. "They tricked us," Itachi began with a deep sigh, "it was a B-Rank mission, and Sasuke asked for my authorisation. I checked the details and authorised it. He had to dispatch Rogue Shinobis in the area. He did not require my help, but he asked for it to train a new recruit. She was to stay behind me at all times and acquire Field Experience. I can assure you that we, or rather, Sasuke, had no intention of taking part in an S-Rank mission without my approval."
Her brown eyes deepened into a burnished axinite when smoke lines from the candle on her table rose between their gazes. "Words from a coddling brother . . . how much weight do they carry?" Tsunade asked, and her face split into a meaningful smile.
Itachi was quiet; a look of calm remained plastered to his face, a fresh skin on a snake. Something menacing glinted in his eyes, but it died away quickly; and, behind the shadow's smear upon his face, she could not catch it fast enough to recognise its intensity. Beside him, Sasuke's blank face remained untouched like a skilled chameleon that was trying its hardest to take on its brother's colour: he was successful—for now.
"You don't expect me to believe this, do you? It seems to me that you're covering for your brother, who," she broke off, placed her hands on the table, and directed the heavy gaze of her warm eyes upon Sasuke, "seldom pays any heed to what I have to say and has a high disdain for authority!"
"Whatever happened in regard to my complaints against your student has nothing to do with Nii-Sama. You should—"
"Sasuke, stay quiet," Itachi cut across him and Sasuke fell silent. He took a step forward and appeared out of the shadows' grasp as if a thick black smoke had slinked back, with utmost obedience, to reveal him. "This is neither fair, nor just. What good will come out of this accusation? Why would Sasuke undertake an S-Rank mission from the Kage of another village? Where are you steering a simple matter of misinformation?" he asked and tilted his head very slightly as though he was straining to get a good look at her face, obscured behind smoke, his eyes red and ominous, void of emotion and frightening by nature.
Tsunade kept looking into his eyes, and, as though their intensity hurt her, she lowered her gaze to look at the scroll. All the ink had dried and appeared like twisted and broken hairs that created a scroll full of words. "This is standard inquiry—not something you're unaccustomed to," she said and moved the scrolls around to busy herself. "I don't know why you're surprised."
"Your questions present more than an element of surprise. I am only trying to clear my name and that of my brother's. If it concerns you so much, I will pay the Mizukage a visit and demand an official Letter of Apology for her unbecoming and unprofessional behaviour. She did try to fool us," he spoke in such a calm voice that it forcefully seduced Tsunade's eyes to look up at him. The red in his eyes was gone . . . Sasuke was a thing he guarded ruthlessly like an insatiable serpent.
"Fool you?" she asked incredulously, stressing upon the final word.
"Yes, I am ashamed to admit to it, but it is true. Though I am not certain if she is very wise . . . or very foolish," Itachi spoke, his voice lowered to a mere whisper.
"Perhaps you should grade and gauge Kages. You seem to have a knack for criticism," Tsunade taunted as a look of irritation came into her fair face.
"I did not know rulers were Kami. I always thought they were lucky people from amongst us who win the chair's favour," he spoke and looked to her with a hard-as-stone face that no emotion was powerful enough to breach, "but common folk like us are too simple-minded to guess these mechanics. I do not think I am clever enough to see through these threads of man-made fates—foolishness courses through a common man's blood, after all."
Tsunade's red lips were pressed into a thin line, anger etched into every line that appeared on her forehead. She chose not to press this matter any further. Itachi was always difficult to deal with. He was shrewd, too wicked to read, direct, and control. He always exuded a strange aura. He was dangerous. She did not like him and enjoyed his company even less . . .
"This report is unsatisfactory. I hope you have a damn good reason to keep that Mist Missing-Nin," she hissed, teeth clenching, and chose not to meet Itachi's gaze that burrowed into her mind; it ruffled her thoughts' threads and picked them apart one by one—piece by piece. Sometimes, she thought he frightened her.
"The report in your hand is incomplete. I will add more details when I interrogate him," he spoke, with no change in the flat tone of his voice. "They would not have tried to trick us if it was a simple matter of Missing-Nins. They had created a small army. Hinata is lucky to be alive," he added, not turning to look at Hinata standing quietly next to Sasuke, with shoulders hunched and head bent.
Tsunade shifted in her chair a little and bent her gaze on Hinata: she was pale, so pale that she was giving off a sickly glow in the candle's orange light. There were shadows under her eyes, but her black fringes curtained them to hide her emotions.
"Itachi told me that you performed well, Hinata," Tsunade said, stood up, pushed the heavy chair back.
Hinata's head jerked up as if someone had forcefully yanked at her hair. She enclosed her right hand on her left wrist and looked at Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes. Darkness clung to him—a leech above his lips. She could not see his eyes or the rest of his face. She brought her gaze back to Tsunade but said nothing.
"For someone who's been out of training for so long, I'm surprised you handled a Chūnin on your own. Your father must be proud," Tsunade said warmly and walked around the edge of the table.
Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but lost her voice—she knew her father did not care. She wavered a little as if on the edge of speech but remained silent. "Sasuke," she began by leaning against the table that was large and bulky, taller than her hips; she probably placed a few cushions underneath her buttocks to raise herself to a proper height, "your report on Hinata is absent. Why?"
"The rogues and the prisoner in Nii-Sama's custody were more pressing matters. I didn't think it was necessary to make a report without talking to my subordinate first," Sasuke said in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.
"You don't get to decide which reports take precedence. Hinata's your subordinate, and her performance against a Chūnin—"
"Had Nii-Sama not thrown a kunai in that rogue's spine, she would've lost her head on the first strike. His injury affected his reflexes and he missed repeatedly. As Nii-Sama said, she's lucky to be alive," he said, without removing his gaze from Tsunade's face that appeared to show a prominent pink of anger.
"And you didn't think that required a report?" she asked, as if shocked by his honesty. Her gaze slightly drifted to Hinata and saw a bright hue of shame flood her cheeks.
"I just got here. I need a little time to talk to her and get a few details. I'm not a magician," he said in a quiet, thoughtful voice, not bothered by Tsunade's face that crumpled up with rage.
"How dare you!" she hissed and marched and stopped a few inches short of him. Then she drew herself up to her full height and peered at the darkness that stood over his face. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I can remove you from your post. The only reason I've given you a leeway is because of your performance. Don't test my patience!"
Sasuke opened his mouth to speak again but subsided into silence when Itachi spoke first, quite softly, "Sasuke, stay quiet." He turned fully to look down at Tsunade. "You will get the report in a few hours. Sasuke and I returned an hour ago. He did not get a chance to speak to her. He had to make a report of the Border Investigation conducted by Suigetsu and Jūgo. It should be under my report. I myself did not think Hinata's performance required any elaboration. It was just a field experience gone awry. A few lines at the end of the Mission Report would do."
"Her father would require one—so would I," Tsunade said, still keeping her eyes on Sasuke as if to stop him from speaking or running away.
"Why would her father require a field experience report?" Itachi asked and moved his head slightly to the right. A mild look of surprise came into his face, but then it vanished.
"She was expecting and lost her child a year ago—she'd strained herself. He thinks it'd be for the best if her missions are monitored by her family. They have her best interest at heart," she said and stepped back, hands on her hips.
"But I—" Hinata began, darting her eyes here and there as if she had made a grave mistake by speaking up, "—I-I don't want to report my missions to my father!"
Tsunade gave Sasuke a hard look and then brought her eyes to Hinata whose cheeks were red . . . and not from embarrassment this time. "Why? He's your father. I'm sure a copy of this report would keep him well-informed of your missions," she said and smiled a smile of motherly kindness. She had dealt with her miscarriages and knew how delicate she was.
"No!" Hinata protested loudly, shocking Tsunade. "Forgive me, H-Hokage-Sama, but this is a private matter. I'm not a child, and I don't want my family to interfere in my life all the . . . t-time," she muttered the last word and then fell silent again.
"Did you put her up to this?" Tsunade demanded and returned her anger-struck eyes to Sasuke.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Her family matters don't concern me, and had she not performed well in this mission, I would've sent her home—where she could've picked stitches and cleaned her house and that absurdly vast garden to her heart's content," he said in such a dry voice that his honesty hurt Hinata. A pain seared her throat and her eyes stung, but she fought back the tears and, for the first time in her life, succeeded in concealing her grief.
"A little softness would do that face a world of good," she said, eyeing his unnaturally beautiful face that appeared hazy behind the receding darkness, but Sasuke merely sniffed the air in response. "A lot of things seem to be wasted on you," she added resentfully and looked at Hinata for a moment before directing her gaze to Itachi.
"Is there anything else you require of me?" Itachi asked and created a sweet little smile that was as subtle and ghostly as his other smiles; he appeared to be unperturbed, even amused, by Sasuke's behaviour . . . and it irritated her: Itachi really had coddled him so much.
"Just go, Itachi, and take this rude boy with you—and teach him some manners!" she shouted at Itachi and Sasuke. "I need to speak to Hinata—and I want those reports on my table by tomorrow evening, Sasuke, if you know what's good for you," Tsunade added in the stiffest voice; she fixed her gaze on Itachi as he gave an amused smile and a little tilt of his head, and then Sasuke who simply turned and left the room behind his brother, without sparing Hinata a moment's glance.
Hinata's heart picked up the pace, pounding. She looked at Sasuke for any response, but he had not given any indication that she was even in the room. His attitude made her feel abandoned. Her thoughts raced: is that how Sasuke is to his lovers—cold and distant, after he gets bored of them? The thought stabbed her heart like a kunai. No, he can't—he wouldn't—I-I . . . her thoughts ran the race and stopped dead in their tracks.
Her lips trembled, and she hid her face behind the convenient smoke of shadows. Even in her thoughts, the words seemed to shame her, beat her pride, haunt her. Would she admit to herself that she felt something more for the man who remained unaware of her desire? She closed her fingers, her knuckles turning white, blood draining from her hands. It was hard to face up to the wish from her heart and spirit—a heart that was left blank and empty as she stitched up the white cloth that was meant to remain protected . . . torn, holed, dirtied by everyone (with just a few rosy stains in the middle . . . ).
But deep down, down and down, right under the depths where no light existed, she knew what she felt for him: perhaps something delicate; perhaps love. The thought washed over her like waves crashing on a battered man, stranded on the edges of a turbulent shore, his hands scrabbling to grab hold of a solid rock to save his life. She took in a heaving breath, as if she had just strained herself out of the surface of bloods to draw in lungfuls of life-granting breaths.
It was hard to face that word and truth that had been hitting at her conscience the moment Naruto betrayed her, and her heart strayed beyond the lines of marriage, honour, loyalty—beyond the rigid lines, beyond the quaint customs she was taught from her childhood: "Hinata, be good. Be loyal. Be someone who can make her Otō-Sama proud. Be a girl who would bring honour to our family . . . Hinata, you're a wonderful girl—a good girl . . . a woman's body is a temple. Remember that." The words from her mother's lips, which appeared pink in all white, echoed in her memories, ringing, as if the voice had made it from beyond the life's curtains to reproach her for her misdeeds.
Her breath came as a dull sob, unheard by the woman who was pacing about the office, with papers and scrolls in her hands. Her mother was dead; she had no right on her life anymore; she lost it the moment she left her at life's mercy. Her body was not a temple for Naruto to visit if he wanted, desecrate if he did not enjoy, defile with relics of another woman's affection if he hated. No, she had made it her own and created a sweet disposition for herself to find happiness. It was heretical, but life was joyless without wickedness . . .
Hinata wanted, no, desired Sasuke with a fervour that it created a little creature of fear in her that wriggled and twisted warily whenever she looked at him. It sang a song of desperation that came from her depths—a song that lamented her betrayals and sang of the hot blood in her veins with joy; the blood that was willing to course through her body that yearned for him to touch it; the blood that seethed, unwilling to stop till it was not over for her. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cool air inside the room, thinking . . . she had broken her vows . . . Okā-San . . .
Yes, she accepted it . . . embraced something of him she could not name—not yet. A smile broke the dull features. Tsunade knocked her right knuckle gently against the table, and the sound intruded into her thoughts, almost immediately. The Hokage was shaking her head over something and muttering under her breath. Hinata caught 'rude Uchiha boys' and 'think they can fool me' before she left whatever business she was attending to and turned around and looked at Hinata full in the face.
"Sasuke isn't here now. What did he say to you?" she demanded, her hands firmly fisted on her hips as if she was ready to punch and knock out anyone who would dare enter her office.
Not understanding a word, Hinata's expression assumed a confused look. "I don't understand, H-Hokage-Sama?" she said in that same stuttering voice she hated with passion now, but this hair-trigger experience had knocked out bits of shyness from her.
"Did he tell you that you shouldn't report back to your father? Sage knows that boy doesn't even want birds pooping in his garden without his permission," she said heatedly and pursed her lips, colour rising hotly in her cheeks again.
Hinata imagined a strange image of Sasuke wagging his finger at the birds that trained their posteriors with great accuracy at his garden and dropped sticky droppings everywhere, angering him till he was forced to pull out his whizzing Sharingan and Genjutsu as many of them as possible; and then Itachi finally coming out and patting him on the head. "Sasuke, I love you with all my heart. Today, you have made me proud again by saving my Uchiha garden from these unpleasant bird droppings. Long live Uchiha pride and long live our garden."
"Nii-Sama, you're always so amazing!" Sasuke spoke, stars sparkling in his eyes, weeping.
Hinata had a strong urge to let out a laugh, but she bit her lower lip instead. "No—Sasuke—Sasuke-Sama never said that. We're only not allowed to talk about the details. It was my choice," she said with honesty and stared back with a calm that resided in her eyes when Tsunade grabbed her shoulders, looking concerned.
"Hinata," she paused, as if gathering her wits to speak, "you know your uterus is too fragile to withstand such burdens. You can die if you push yourself too hard. That doesn't scare you? You want to bear a child for—"
"I don't want to bear any children for now," she replied and placed her hand on Tsunade's, meeting her shocked eyes with the same calm that washed over her. "I don't want this right now. I'd appreciate it if you kept this b-between us. Don't tell anyone—not even Shizune-San . . . and Sakura," she hissed out her name, but Tsunade did not notice it—she still appeared to be positively shocked.
The older woman kept staring at her in disbelief. Her face was white and pink at the cheeks, curtained between smooth gold hair. Hinata saw sweat bursting from the many pores on her forehead, but the look of absolute shock was slowly disappearing. Suddenly, a smile graced Tsunade's red lips and she backed away. "Hinata's all grown up," she said with a smile and patted her head lovingly. "You're finally thinking about your own life. You never did in the past . . . "
Hinata stood in silence, and her eyes lowered in adoration. Tsunade had been kind to her; she looked after her during the tough days when she suffered the pains from miscarriage and nearly died on the hospital bed from excessive bleeding. Naruto looked repulsed that day; and that was the last time he ever lay with her. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but she would always be grateful to her.
"Change," Tsunade breathed out and looked up at the cobweb dangling between the blades of an old fan; a spider had hidden itself away before it could complete its task—she was sure it would be back again to complete its intricate home. The fan was old and needed to be dusted clean. "It's a good thing—for you, even better. I'll ask Shizune to send you the medicine you need to be sterile for a year." She looked down and settled her softer gaze on Hinata.
"But—what if my—"
"Don't worry about Hiashi or Minato. I'll tell them that you're unwell to bear any children for now—not till you get your strength back," she assured and brought out a warm smile and a robust colour on Hinata's pallid face. "Now, run along. You've had a long day. I know Sasuke. He likes to give people a hard time. Rude boy . . ."
Hinata bowed before her and jogged out of the office. She felt like a child—free of burdens for the first time in her life. When she made it outside, moon was shining by having won the battle against night, looking down upon Konoha. She was a bit disappointed to find that Sasuke had left; but she smiled up at it and, feeling freer than ever, ran off to her home!
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The bizarre Shuriken patterns in his eyes lapsed back to their calm state, and commas re-appeared, and their perfunctory circling came to a slowest halt. The prisoner's head was bent. He looked haggard and weary. A deep stoop to his back made him look like a decrepit old man on the verge of starvation. Fresh sweat broke out on his young forehead that had yet to bear the deep marks of age. The drops dried quickly in the chill of the room. It must have stung him, but the siblings did not know—nor cared.
"The seal on him is strong," Itachi spoke and placed his hand on the prisoner's shoulder. "I cannot seem to get through, even with Genjutsu." He twisted his neck and created a calm exterior as he looked back to Sasuke. It was a sham, a mask he loved to wear upon his face, but he always regarded Sasuke with fond eyes, quelling his Mangekyō before it unintentionally snared his younger brother's senses.
Their eyes met and Sasuke's Sharingan pulsed forcefully to life to resonate with his brother's, as if it were alive and desired the other intensely. It was something all Uchihas shared—something bizarre and grotesque that had its own romantic notions. They cherished this bond of visions, this dance of shared perspectives; it was their pride, their vanity, their eternal romance with the idea of 'see all and know all'.
Sasuke's face appeared blotchy behind the deformed shadows of trees thrown across his visage. He stood in the long, wavering beams of the lanterns' lights. As they swayed, his face appeared to take on different shades. His eyes defiantly shone on his face. He looked ghastly, standing aloof like a spectre in the dark. Hinata stood just ten feet from him, her eyes flitting from Sasuke's stone-cold face to the prisoner's. He was wheezing, trapped in a nightmare no one saw. She could not bear to look anymore . . .
"They will ask for him when the night falls again," Sasuke said, with a strong note of bitterness in his voice. "What's the use of keeping him alive? Cut his throat. He's better dead than alive to us."
Itachi got to his feet and cast a curious eye over the young man, thinking. Sasuke, at times, was too hot-headed and hasty in his eyes, but there was merit in his words. "The seal was probably placed on him more than twenty-four hours ago. At this rate, he will not survive the night," he spoke, his voice measured.
"A Curse Mark?" Sasuke asked and looked down his nose at the prisoner as if he was something filthy that would dirty his sandals and soil his new uniform.
Itachi brought his finger to his lips and looked up; something suddenly invaded his calm, impenetrable thoughts. "Where is Karin? She should have returned with the counter-seal by now."
"Poking around her trunk with a damn stick to find the scroll . . . imbecile," Sasuke said, his features changing with unpleasantness as if his brother's pride was being mocked by Karin's unpunctuality and girl-ish giddiness: they always were her shortcomings.
"I might try something, but it is risky," Itachi spoke, and his eyes met his brother's with such intensity that Sasuke felt the coldest shiver skitter down his spine in a zigzag manner—like a pesky spider. His playful illusions always got under his skin. Even though his hide was thick, his exterior a blossoming mirage, he was still a little too clumsy, a little too innocent for his beloved older brother's sinister tricks.
"Risky enough to end his miserable life?" Sasuke asked and stepped out of the blue beam coming from the shaking lantern outside.
"Less risky than cutting his throat," Itachi spoke, a smile's trace playing about his lips.
Colour flooded Sasuke's pale cheeks. "Nii-Sama, you mock me—and in front of my subordinate?" he said heavily, his jaw set.
"I forgot she was here," Itachi spoke in mock surprise, his tone soft, and stretched his hand to pat Sasuke's head. "I want to wait till Karin's return. If she does not have anything on her, I will leave him in a painless Tsukuyomi for a moment, though he will not survive it."
"If it's a Curse Seal, we won't even get a chance to use the counter-seal. He might die during transition," Sasuke said, adopting a low voice that died quickly against the wind's whistle as it sped through the gaps between the lanterns.
"I wondered why they did not persist to take him—a little strange that I assumed it to be a simple matter," Itachi spoke, his voice growing stern.
Sasuke said nothing, watched the evening's deep hue that was absorbed by the little room's walls.
Outside, lanterns clanked and knocked into one another. Autumn wind sawed through the stillness. It was still steady and pleasant, carrying with it odours of earth and flora from outside. They permeated the room that was filled with the last glints of tangerines, broken severely by distorted purples; the room was a scroll-painting of messy colours.
Sounds of girls trilling and children laughing poured into the room through the window—the only window in the room. Hinata's Byakugan could see the chakra of many passing by just beyond the garden walls. The trees' dry branches crackled as if in pain from being caressed by the cold wind's hands. Suddenly, Hinata saw a body with an incredibly intense chakra enter through the gate.
"K-Karin's back!" she stammered out so suddenly and loudly that Sasuke and Itachi turned around and whipped out their deadly weapons like lightning bolts.
"That gave us a fright," Itachi spoke, a bit amused by Hinata's disposition, which was unlike a Shinobi's, and stowed his sharp kunai away. He looked at Hinata who pulled her lips back in embarrassment, showing too many teeth.
"Keep it down," Sasuke rasped and pushed his sword back into the leather sheath. Hinata let out a squeak of frustration and hid her blush under shadows' shrouds, which accumulated steadily at the corners.
Soft steps sounded on the other side and not a breath escaped their lips when Karin swung open the door. She stood there, framed in the door, staring at the prisoner like a baffled idiot left alone at an overcrowded circus.
"You need an invitation?" Sasuke asked, and his face worked into a scowl—an expression Karin recognised all too well.
Karin stepped daintily into the room, a wide grin on her face. There was playfulness in the way she moved, and Sasuke was losing patience. Stopping close to Sasuke, she pulled out the scroll, with an exaggerated gesture. She let out a nervous laugh at the look on Sasuke's face and then fell silent.
"I hope this is worth everyone's time," Sasuke said in a grave voice, casting an indifferent glance her way.
"I had to make changes to the counter-seal. It wasn't easy," Karin returned, her voice confident, and avoided Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke opened his mouth but Itachi forestalled him: "will this work? The curse-seal is well past the point of return. Look at him—he is dying," Itachi spoke, his voice too soft and too calm, his face an exquisite mask of coldness. The man wheezed by his feet. His forehead pressed against the room's floor. He looked miserable . . . and close to death.
"You'll just have to put a little faith in me, Itachi-Sama," Karin said, a smile in her voice.
"Faith is a precarious thing. I do not like to put all of my fruits in one basket," Itachi spoke, looking at her with curiosity: she struck him as someone delightfully odd in mannerism.
"Sasuke really takes a lot after you. I always thought it was just the beautiful face and that amazing body," Karin teased, her voice vibrating with glee. (Sasuke frowned at her directness, but said nothing.)
Itachi gave a short, quick sigh that may have hidden a soft laugh. "Please, proceed," Itachi spoke, his tone of voice flat, a smile on his lips. Yes, she was odd. "We shall soon find out whether faith falls behind you or not."
"I don't think it's right to keep all of them here. Karin can sense. You and I have to be at the Hokage's office for the report. That just leaves Hinata," Sasuke said and turned his eyes slowly to Hinata who stiffened under his gaze that was harder than last time. He seemed displeased with her . . .
"Send her out—at this time when the night is almost upon us? Sasuke, that is not wise. She is not well-trained for this sort of task," Itachi spoke, his eyes on Karin's back as she settled herself down by the prisoner and made symbols on the back of his damp head, to begin the counter-seal process. (Her talent at seal-making made him delightfully curious . . . )
"Our Hokage thinks I'm a fool for suggesting that, and she's quite accomplished. Well, aren't you, Hinata?" he asked and worked himself into anger again . . . though, halting carefully short of that nature to imitate his brother's colder charms, he only managed a little frown.
"I-I didn't say anything. She assumed that on her own. I swear!" Hinata said meekly and pressed her hand to her breast.
"Liar," Sasuke said and gave an amused chuckle afterwards. "Your time has come at last—you can finally prove yourself tonight by standing at the northern border of the village. Make sure you cover few kilometres—till morning."
"I-I—" she fumbled helplessly for words, fresh sweat breaking from her every pore, her shirt's front straining from deep and nervous breaths. This was insane!
"Don't move from where I station you. Keep your Byakugan on at all times. Take supplies to replenish your chakra—as many as you need. If you see anything, you contact me by sending a distress signal into the air. You won't engage, you won't follow, and you won't play the role of a foolish hero. Clear, Hyūga girl?" Sasuke turned fully to look at her, and his face changed with a harder smile—this time.
"Someone's in trouble!" Karin lilted from the corner.
"Karin, concentrate on the counter-seal and stay quiet," Sasuke said, but his words fell on deaf ears as they had yet to knock the giddy girl out of her. She pressed her finger over her lips and let out a loud 'shhh'. Her behaviour was beginning to irritate him.
"Then why don't you make yourself useful, as well? The night-patrol of the other portion would do—now that the counter-seal's almost done."
"That's twenty kilometres. It'll be muddy outside—and dark! That's the patrol team's job," Karin protested and sprang to her feet. "Besides, I might have to watch over him. The counter-seal business is tricky." She touched her glasses and pushed her sheet of red hair back. Sasuke looked unimpressed—unconvinced, too.
"Do as you're told," Sasuke said, voice low, face impassive. "As soon as the counter-seal starts showing its effects, you'll leave and watch the border to the South. I don't want any patrol interrupting my work here."
"No one is aware that we have a prisoner with us. I informed the Hokage of this. She believes it is safe that no one but her knows what we plan to do. Leaving out our trusted shinobis amongst the patrol is a wise decision. Karin, you should make haste. This is a delicate matter. Do not slight it," Itachi spoke and curled his fingers under his chin, his eyes on the prisoner.
"Nii-Sama, why don't you make crows to watch the areas to the East and West? The fewer loopholes we have, the better," Sasuke suggested, shoving his hand inside his pocket. He stole a glance at the sky and then looked at the dark wicks in the lanterns. It was nearly dark now. The lanterns outside had gone out. He would have to ask Yuu to rekindle them.
"Birds of a feather," Itachi spoke and smiled, but kept looking at the rippling seal, which fascinated him so (where did Sasuke find a girl like Karin?). They used to spy on the neighbouring houses in the past in this manner to learn of their secrets on the Boar Hunting Game—to set up traps at the convenient spots. Sabotaging them was just a dream every team equally shared: they equally shared disappointments, too, when the mischievous Uchiha brothers always won. It was an innocent childhood pleasure, but one they thoroughly enjoyed.
Sasuke chuckled, his coal-black eyes glinting in the faint purple from the last lantern that still burnt, defiant against the steady draft. "We play to win," Sasuke said, a playful smile breaking his face. He hung his head slightly to the right and flicked Hinata a curious glance. "Get going. We have a whole night ahead of us."
He left after whispering something to Itachi, which she could not catch as the wind's whistling grew louder by the second. "Come with me," Itachi spoke after Sasuke left and gestured Hinata from the door to follow him.
When they made it outside, Itachi created several crows. They all flew in different directions, except for one that sat calmly on his shoulder. "I am leaving this one to follow you. If a foe appears, it will cast a powerful Genjutsu upon him. That will give you enough time to make your escape," he paused and looked up at the moon, distracted by the sliver of the last golden lights, "I will not be able to watch all places at once. I expect you to be wise."
"But Sasuke-Sama said—"
He held up his hand to silence her. "Do not worry about Sasuke. I will reason with him, but he is right. I am not concerned with what you said before the Hokage and I will not press you, nor would I call you a liar. However, she believes that you believe yourself to be ready. She said to Sasuke as much, when we both know you need time to hone your skills—work hard and stop relying on my brother. He is very young and hemmed in by troubles as it is." He looked at her with such expressionless eyes that it wrung a little sigh out of her.
"Thank you, Itachi-Sama. I won't let you down!" She said in the smallest voice she could manage and lifted her head up to watch as the crow flew up and perched itself on a naked branch and looked down at her with keen, human eyes that frightened her.
"I am doing you an immense favour. Do not expect me to intervene in my brother's decisions again. Speak wisely and think ahead. Your tongue seems to get the best of you and your mind. Let your mind instruct your body and tongue. Do not leave its reins in their inexperienced hands. Otherwise, you will end up with regrets," Itachi spoke, his voice was calm but full of warning.
Hinata felt naked before him. He knew and she felt humiliated! Did Sasuke really confide in his brother—told him of something so personal? No, it could not be! The crow cawed as if urging her to move on. She looked in Itachi's direction, but he disappeared behind the shadows.
Do not speak to me and dissolve into the depths of passions that have swayed my heart, Hinata thought of these words she had read in a famous Romance Folktale so long ago; she stood alone under the pattering rain in the dead of the night. It was her first mission alone.
She had been standing here for hours and had watched the sun dip below the tenuous line of clouds. Gradually, they became thicker and swallowed up the autumn sun that was merciful at this time of the year. Now, it was darkness all around. A dull, cloud-filtered moonlight barely touched the branches overhead, and then it disappeared—almost entirely.
The forest was ominous and she felt alone. Sasuke, at least, was generous enough to let her stock up as many chakra-replenishing supplies her fanny pack allowed her; but being left to her own devices was still terrifying. She shuffled nervously, and her sandal landed into the mud. She did not bother to look down; it was a part and parcel of her shinobi life now.
Hinata cracked her cold-coated knuckles. She was resentful: Sasuke was pushing her forward too soon; Tsunade was that incessant woman in his view, who needed a bitter taste of reality. Her rose-tinted spectacles did not allow her to see Hinata's less-than-satisfactory shinobi skills; so to make it a point and teach Hinata a lesson to not spin yarns behind his back, he sent her out all alone.
Hinata could hear the thuds of her own heart, faint in the sounds from rain. She looked up and saw Itachi's crow staring down at her with its red eye shining like that eye of a bird of ill-omen. The Sharingan in its right eye whirled—its three commas slowly moved in circles.
It let out a loud caw and shook its body. It did not feel right having it around, perched on a branch right above her head. Itachi had the best of intentions, but she felt humiliated at his persistence to aid her. He was only proving Sasuke right! She was not even sure if he did it for her . . . or Sasuke. His words had left her in shock. He always talked in riddles, but even if Sasuke had told Itachi of the intimacy between them, it was not as though she would confess. It was pointless to linger on the matter any longer.
Sighing, she slumped back against the tree. The crow cawed again, and its sharp sound echoed in the night-filled space, magnified by stillness, broken by patterings. The warmth and swell of a night bird's song disturbed the coldest air. She looked up and saw the crow twisting its neck and looking to the right as if something had captured its curiosity. Suddenly, it flew away, startling Hinata.
"Wait!" Hinata called out and made to stand up straight, but fell back against the tree again. Sasuke had warned her not to move from her position. Stupid—stupid! she scolded herself and knelt down on the muddy ground, but quickly got to her feet when she saw chakra of several people rushing to her from the North. Her face worked into a soft look of panic. Other than her blind spot, there were people behind her, as well. Where did they come from? She had been looking this whole time! Oh, no—she was in trouble!
She reached into her bag and pulled out the Chakra Flare Stick, only to realize that the powder inside it had got wet from the raindrops. She had forgotten to zip up her fanny-bag! "Oh, no—Sage no!" she whispered, panicked! She rubbed it hard against her sleeves, but it was still wet. Fear washed over her in waves. The crow was gone and she was all alone . . .
She ducked as if evading Ninjutsu attacks and looked everywhere. The people behind her were gone save two, but as she strained to look ahead, she saw three people hiding about a hundred feet from her in the bushes. It was hard to tell whether they were men or women, but they had a good amount of chakra in their system: she would never outlast them. The crow suddenly came back and cawed madly overhead.
"W-What—what should I do?" she asked it frantically and craned her neck; but it would not stop cawing. She wanted to shoo it away, but it would only direct the attention of those shinobis towards her. One of them was speeding towards her—She had to think fast!
She rubbed the flare-stick against her jacket's front again. It had dried up a bit. She tried to pass her chakra through it, but the wetness of the powder did not let it pass through the whole stick. It was designed to convert any chakra-type to flame and launch it upwards. She had bungled such an important mission. Her throat hurt and raindrops stood in her eyes, misting them.
Hinata had to act. Clumsily, she scrambled to her feet as if she had just got loose from someone's strong grip and ran ahead, thinking that, as long she did not wander off too far, Karin should be able to cover an area by the Uchiha Village; she should be able to keep a track of the area behind her.
She had barely made it a couple of feet ahead when the crow landed on the branch just above her and let out an ear-splitting caw. "S-Stop it!" she snapped at it, her voice quite shaky, and vigorously rubbed the flare-stick on her jacket again; but the crow would not silence itself: its beak opened and closed rapidly, putting out grating sounds so loud that she felt as if she was sitting amidst countless of them.
Sensing that it had distracted her, she ran ahead, astonished to find that someone had just collapsed a shrine there. She could see nothing beyond a few feet beneath the broken rocks. The man standing a few metres away . . . disappeared. "No—a Kage Bunshin," she whispered in defeat. It was a trap!
She hastily retraced her steps. The other men were nowhere to be found. She sprinted as fast as she could. Finally, her chakra made it through the flare-stick and a long and blinding red light sped up into the air that cut the darkness in half through the middle. Throwing the flare-stick away, she did not stop to look up and kept running and running. Her breaths came out as short, ragged gasps. Her forehead stained with cold sweat as she felt puffed, out of wind from covering a large distance in mad haste without a break.
Hinata jumped over a rotting bark ahead but lost her footing. She slipped in the mud and crashed to the ground and sprained her ankle; but she did not stop. The night pulsed with life around her, but the only thing on her mind was Sasuke: he would never forgive her if the prisoner died; he would let her go; he would stop loving her. The trees passed by her, a dirty-grey blur. She did not care. She did not stop. She kept running till she reached the threshold of Uchiha Village. Not stopping, she ran down the quiet street and ran past quieter houses, with an awkward gait, lanterns swaying above her head, lights falling upon her soaking cheeks. Inside, her heart awoke in noise; outside, his village slept in silence behind lights. She stumbled into the garden, her eyes swollen and red with the assault of tears.
She slapped her hand onto the smooth wall of the old house and raised herself up. Her half-mast eyes shone in the light coming from the stairs going underground. Settling her hands on her bosom, she braced herself. Her feet moved before she even measured her first thought. She stopped at the door, her eyes wide as she stared at the fresh blood that gushed in streams from the hole where the prisoner's heart should have been. Sasuke stood over him with his back to her.
He turned around, his face contorted by such anger. His lower lip trembled. He stopped close to her and parted his lips and hissed, with all the contempt he could muster from his breast: "you're useless." Then he stormed out of the prison-cell. The prisoner was dead . . .
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