Hi everyone. Here is the latest update on the story. My schedule is going to become less busy in the near future, so hopefully we can return to a more frequent update schedule soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much to those of you who review and check in. It's a big encouragement for me to sit down and work on a chapter when everyone has such interesting questions and thoughts about the story. I look forward to hearing from you all!
The soft knock on the door roused Beki from her sleep. She pulled herself out of the drool pile on her pillow. "What's up?"
"You have a visitor," Hinata peeked in the room. When she saw her friend's disheveled state, her face pulled into a concerned frown. "Um, Beki, I'll buy you some time to freshen up."
Beki, still in her drunken half asleep state, nodded. "Oh, yeah, thanks."
Hinata closed the door and Beki rose clumsily. She made her way into the bathroom and washed her face. She had no idea why she was getting ready but her routine was so automatic it didn't matter. After she had brushed her hair, Beki adjusted her shirt and pulled on the pair of sweatpants she had laid out on the floor beside her bed. She plodded down the stairs two at a time.
"Hey what's up?" Beki called out ahead of her, her eyes on her feet as she descended.
Beki stopped short at the familiar sight of scarlet hair. "Gaara?" she blurted as she came to a dead stop two steps from the bottom of the stairs.
He looked up at her with thinly veiled concern on his face. "Sorry, were you sleeping?"
"It's okay," Beki looked at the clock. It was well past nine thirty, which might as well have been noon in the Hyuga compound. "It was time for me to get up anyway." As she took the last two steps, Beki could sense she had interrupted a conversation. Based on the way the words hung in the air with guilt it was a safe guess that she had been the topic of conversation. Hinata had taken up position beside Naruto in the kitchen. The pair were the picture of domestic harmony; Naruto washing dishes while Hinata dried them with a fluffy white towel. Beki took a deep breath. "We have a lot to talk about. Come on, let's go for a walk." Beki slid on her shoes and took hold of Gaara's hand.
"Aren't you hungry?" Hinata called out, her maternal instincts kicking in.
Beki shook her head. "It's okay, I can eat when we get back. Skipping a meal won't kill me, Hinata."
Gaara allowed himself to be led outside as he surveyed his girlfriend. Physically, Beki was paler than usual. Everything about her seemed subdued, like a reflection in murky water. He waited for her to start talking but Beki never spoke. They were well past the gates of the Hyuga compound when he decided she was waiting for him. "It's almost been two months since I've heard from you Beki. What's been going on?"
Beki heaved a sigh. "The short version is my uncle kidnapped my father, murdered him, framed it on me, and then tried to stage my suicide to take my job."
Gaara blinked. "You're going to have to do better than that. Slow down and start over, Beki."
They had reached the woods. Beki could feel some of the tension she had developed from the surprise visit beginning to ease. Feeling Gaara's physical presence was almost as comforting as the knowledge that they were away from people. It made up for the fact that Beki didn't want to talk about what had happened for what felt like the hundredth time. It was exhausting to go through the same events over and over, answering the same questions. Each time she told the story she felt herself detaching from it, as if it hadn't happened to her. Knowing the topic would come up every time she met with someone she hadn't seen since it happened made her hate leaving the house. All Beki wanted to do was to get past this, to move on with her life and start feeling normal again. She would have told Gaara as much but he deserved an explanation. Beki would just have to swallow the bitterness creeping up her throat and tell her tale again.
"My father disappeared and Yasahiro came from Getsu to name me as my father's temporary replacement."
"I know that much," Gaara shook his head. "You can skip ahead to-"
"The murder, yes, of course," Beki couldn't help but interrupt. It wasn't enough that she had to tell the story over and over, no one let her tell it how she wanted to. No one wanted to make it easy for her. They needed to know what they wanted to know. Apparently Gaara was no exception. "I had decided to go out and look for my father on my own when I ran into my uncle. Yasahiro told me he had a lead on where my father was, so of course I followed him out of the village." Beki explained. "It was this burned-out cottage; Yasahiro said my dad was probably in the cellar. He said he would take the front if I took the back entrance. I couldn't sense anyone, so I went down there."
"Why didn't you take anyone with you, Beki?" Gaara interrupted.
"Because he was my uncle and up until then I had no reason to doubt him, Gaara," Beki kept her voice even but she was already boiling under the surface. She gave his hand a squeeze to remind herself that she liked him and it wasn't his fault he was just like everyone else. "So, my dad was down there. He was in terrible shape. I tried to help him but then I was attacked." Beki paused. A lot of what happened that night was still foggy, bits of memory mired in the stuff of her repeating nightmares. "I don't remember much from that night. Yasahiro killed my father and I awakened the Burned Maiden. I killed Yasahiro's men and injured him. Konoha shinobi came out and rescued us both."
"When was all this going on?" Gaara furrowed his brow.
"About a month ago," Beki was already feeling weary. Maybe it was the walking or the talking or both. She wanted to go home and crawl back into bed with her cat.
Gaara shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have helped you."
"They locked me up. No one knew what happened that night but Yasahiro and I, and I was disoriented. It looked bad for me. A lot of people thought I had killed my father and the rumors Yasahiro was spreading reinforced those assumptions." Beki shook her head. "About a week ago he sent a bunch of mercenaries to kidnap me, take me to that cottage, and stage my suicide. He wanted it to look like I had killed myself out of guilt for killing my father."
"Who rescued you?" Gaara asked. "Did the Konoha shinobi respond that quickly to the abduction?"
Beki shook her head. "They showed up but I had taken care of it."
Gaara walked along beside her quietly for a moment. "I'm glad you're all right."
Beki let out a sigh of relief. If anyone understood extreme family dysfunction, it was Gaara. She had owed him an explanation and now it was over. They could move on and she could enjoy the company of the man she loved. Maybe if he was there beside her, Beki could brave going into town. The two could have a normal date like they used to. A smile began to tug at the corner of her mouth. It might take a while for her to fully recover but this was one area of her life she could just pick up again.
"This wouldn't have happened if you were in Suna," Gaara shook his head. "This is exactly the sort of thing I've been telling you, Beki. I could protect you better."
A chill ran down Beki's spine as her happy vision for their day shattered. "What?"
"Are you going to be the ambassador for this part of the world?" Gaara asked.
Beki tucked her hair behind her ear. "I don't know, Gaara. I haven't talked to Ishida about it. Usually the junior ambassador lives in Getsu."
"No," Gaara shook his head. "That's where all these problems came from. You would be in danger and no one could help you if you went home."
"I know," Beki sighed. "But what am I supposed to do? I know it doesn't seem like it but I'm an active shinobi for Getsugakure. Wherever I'm told to serve, I have to go."
"Then quit." The words came out of Gaara's mouth as casually as if he had suggested they get some ice cream, but they shocked Beki to the core.
"Absolutely not!" She took her hand out of his. "Gaara, I will not run away from my problems. I will not dishonor my father's death by letting his work go to waste and his murderers unpunished."
"Then just come home with me. You can work things out with Ishida so you can serve from Suna," Gaara reached out and took ahold of Beki's arm. It was surprisingly hot to the touch, so much so he jerked his hand away in surprise.
"You're hearing me but you aren't listening!" Beki stomped her foot. "I will not move to Suna with you, Gaara! Am I supposed to live in your house and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for you to get out of work every day?!"
Gaara kept his voice low and steady. "Am I supposed to lose you? You were kidnapped and almost murdered, Beki. I hadn't heard from you for months. I have been walking around, worried so sick I've been useless at my job. I will not allow this to continue."
"How would I be any safer there?!" Beki couldn't help but yell. "The Akatsuki didn't have a very hard time taking you out, did they?! No one is safe anywhere, Gaara. Safety is an illusion. I thought my father was undefeatable. I thought he was a pillar of steel that could never be toppled and his own brother murdered him."
"I have done my best respecting your wishes in our relationship," Gaara folded his arms. "I have done my best to accommodate you. I have asked you to come live with me before and you have refused. I think this proves you aren't capable of taking care of yourself and that Hinata Hyuga isn't enough to keep you safe."
"How dare you," Beki was so furious she could feel her stomach turning. "Do you know what I've had to do to stay alive? Do you know what I've become?!"
"Do you really want to talk to me about going too far to survive?" Gaara shook his head. "You're acting like a child, Beki. You don't understand the gravity of the situation you're in. You won't listen to reason, you won't accept help; I don't know what to do with you!"
"I'm not a child who needs to be taken care of," Beki could hear the telltale clicking of her anger reaching the boiling point. "It isn't your job to look out for my wellbeing. You have no faith in me at all if this is how you really feel."
"I don't have time for this," Gaara snarled. "You get to fall off the grid for months and get pitch a fit that I'm upset."
"You're upset?!" Beki threw up her hands. "It's not like I watched my father get murdered and was locked up for a month because everyone thought I did it! It's hard for me to leave the damned house and your feelings are hurt because I didn't answer your letter fast enough!"
"That's supposed to make you special?" Gaara gestured back towards the house. "How many people do you know are orphans? Hinata's mother's dead, Naruto and I are orphans. You don't see any of us shutting down and avoiding living our lives."
Beki shook her head. "You really are a shitty boyfriend, you know that?"
Gaara's eyes widened in surprise. Almost immediately he recovered his composure and his gaze became steely. "Because I won't let you sit here and whine like a child about how hard your life is?"
"No, because I think you could literally replace me with any other girl in the world right now and you'd be behaving the same. You don't really know me, you don't really care about me, you just like the idea of me. The idea of a girlfriend."
"You say I'm treating you like a child. How else am I supposed to treat you when this is how you're acting?" Gaara sighed. "Let me know when you're done throwing a tantrum and we can talk like adults."
"Just get on your sand cloud and fly back to gourd-land already," Beki pressed against her throbbing temples. "I need some space."
Gaara threw out his arms. "Be my guest."
Beki watched him fly away and felt the bile roiling in her stomach. She swallowed the rising acid and bit her lip to hold back tears. The last thing Beki wanted to do was to cry again but she was so upset with Gaara it was the only thing she could do. She tasted blood but it was no use. The tears welling up in her eyes spilled over and she heaved one sob, then another. The clicking started up again but Beki didn't have the fortitude to stop it. As she cried, Beki buried her face in her hands and collapsed to her knees. Her body caught fire and the smell of burning cotton filled the air. Beki cried harder knowing that was another set of good clothes wasted thanks to her inability to keep it together.
…
Yukihana blew gently on the opening of the lid of her thermos before taking a sip of the scalding jasmine tea. The summer heat had finally broken, so from her vantage point in the shade of a great tree she was feeling chilled. In any other situation, Yuki would coat herself with a thin layer of ice, trapping her body's warmth within the chakra regulated bodysuit. Using jutsu would give away her position, however, so today it was hot tea and a sweater that kept Yuki warm.
Haruka ambled through the woods beside a young man Yuki could only assume was her lover. He was tall and carried himself with the quiet dignity of someone of rank. That ended her positive appraisal of the lad. He was garish and gaudy. The boy was covered from head to toe in scarlet like freshly fallen blood on snow. He stuck out against the muted background drawing far too much attention to himself for any shinobi worth respecting. For a moment, Yuki wondered if she was being weird and overprotective. Her boyfriend was the bad boy rockstar type, which in retrospect was exactly what had attracted Yuki to Seiichiro. He had been rebellion incarnate. Perhaps Seiichiro had been too strict with his daughter and this is how Haruka stood in defiance of his tyranny.
No, Yuki shook her head. Seii would have never been overbearing like his dad. This must be something else.
The conversation was taking a sour turn. As Yuki watched undetected, the pair of teens' body language made an about face. They went from holding hands to squaring off in moments. Yuki strained to hear through the rustle of leaves and chirping of irritated birds. It didn't take long for the disagreement to escalate to the point where Yuki could hear what they were saying plainly.
"You're hearing me but you aren't listening!" Haruka stomped her foot, which brought a smile to Yuki's face. Some things never change. Her mother regretted smiling at her daughter in a time of distress but it was reassuring to see the five-year-old she remembered was in there somewhere.
"It wouldn't matter if I was in Suna. I wouldn't be any safer there than I am here!" Beki folded her arms.
The boy didn't raise his voice. Yuki had to wonder whether he was patient and composed or if his anger was like Seiichiro's. Her husband had always had a terrifying temper in that he grew quieter the more furious he was. Yuki watched closely. The aura around the boy grew darker, sucking energy from the air around him like a black hole. Yuki screwed up her face in suspicion; that was not a normal phenomenon. Her hand twitched subconsciously, itching to respond to the threat against her daughter. Haruka appeared to take no notice of the ominous chakra vortex. Their spat continued, escalating to a shouting match. Yuki couldn't catch it all but it sounded like the boy was trying to get Haruka to go somewhere. Haruka's clothes began to smoke but the boy took no notice, eventually the container on his back burst open and what looked like sand came pouring out. Yuki watched closely as it formed under his feet and raised him off the ground.
The boy in red flew away, leaving Haruka standing alone in the copse of trees. The girl's knees gave out and she collapsed, burying her face in her hands. Her clothes burst into flame and her skin glowed in a fascinating swirl of orange, gold, ochre, and crimson. Yuki smiled. The rumors were true: her daughter had awakened the Burned Maiden. Back at the shrine, Yukihana remembered reading about the legendary Tsukimori women and was pleased to see that in person it was as gorgeous as she imagined. Yuki could feel the heat all the way up in her tree. The glow the girl cast set the woods in a soft otherworldly radiance.
The smoldering remains of Haruka's clothes had all turned to ash. Yuki watched as the smoke cleared and the light from within the girl ebbed away. The time had finally come for her to approach her daughter.
As she hopped down from her post, Yuki's heart began to race. What do I say? Hi honey, its momma? The closer she came to the girl; the more Yuki's confidence began to falter. She had just watched her daughter in a domestic, not to mention the fact she was completely naked now. How strange would it be for a woman she didn't know to come up and strike a conversation with her? Haruka's eyes lifted and her gaze fell upon Yuki, whose stomach lurched instantly. I can't.
Yuki peeled off her sweater and held it out to the girl. "Sorry, I was out on a walk and I saw everything. I figured you could use this."
Beki blinked in surprise. "Really? Thanks." She wiped the tears away with her sooty hands and accepted the sweater.
"Is this something that happens to you often?" Yuki stuck her hands in her pants pockets, trying her best to seem a casual bystander.
Beki nodded. "Somehow I end up naked in public way more than a person should. The first time was during the chunin exams when I had my shirt torn open. More recently it's been my body catching fire and burning away my clothes. It's almost at the point where people in town don't notice anymore."
This was the closest Yuki had come to her daughter since she had reawakened. Parts of the girl she remembered were there. Haruka had grown up to be a pretty girl but she had a few features that society would have docked points for. Her daughter had taken after her father's side of the family in most ways: tall, broad shouldered, and a jaw that could have cut glass. Yuki couldn't help but smile, though. The sight of those things reminded her right away of Seiichiro and although they weren't typical features one could call beautiful, they all seemed to suit Haruka just fine. As her daughter donned the borrowed jacket, Yuki caught sight of her breasts and recognized a familiar feature.
"You've got my tits," She said half to herself.
"What?" Beki looked up at her in surprise.
Yuki pointed at the girl's jawline. "You've got zits. I was just surprised because I would think with catching fire, all those puppies would have popped."
Beki let out a frustrated sigh. "You would think, right? It's not bad enough I'm a hormonal teenager but a fire monster to boot." The girl rose, the hem of the sweater long enough to cover all the interesting parts of her body. She buttoned the cardigan up as high as it would go, but the v neck was meant to have a shirt under it. The cleavage wasn't enough to be considered scandalous but would still draw the attention of wandering eyes. "Thanks for the sweater. I'll get it cleaned up and return it to you. Where can I find you?"
Yuki gave her a dismissive wave. "I'm sure we'll run into each other again sometime soon. Don't worry about it."
Beki shrugged and started her long barefoot trek back to the compound. "Thanks again!" She said with a wave.
Yuki returned the gesture and sighed. She had spent the better part of the previous night imagining all the ways that the two could strike up a conversation. In all the possibilities Yuki had come up with, not even one of them involved her daughter fighting with her boyfriend or spontaneously bursting into flame. She took a sip of her now room temperature tea and considered her options. Now at least the ice had been broken; through the lending of the sweater there was a debt between them and the promise of another encounter. Hungry and defeated, Yukihana decided to mill over her options with a good meal. She headed into town to find a hot meal and her confidence.
…
Yuki was midbite when a familiar figure took up the seat beside her. "So, how did it go?"
She put down her spoon and looked up at Kakashi. "Well, you see…"
"You still haven't talked to her yet?" Kakashi shook his head. "That's pathetic, Yukihana."
"I did talk to her. I told her she had my tits," Yuki finished her bite and Kakashi balked.
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was," Yuki shrugged. "I mean, she was naked and right in front of me. She looks so much like her father that I spotted something of mine and blurted it out. When you're trapped in ice, you don't talk. All you have is what's in your head. Now that I'm out in the world there's no filter. I think it, I say it."
Kakashi held up his hands. "Wait a second, you're going to have to explain."
"So, I was up in a tree waiting for her and she came by and got in a fight with this gaudy kid I'm assuming is her boyfriend. He flew off and she burst into flames- "Yuki explained.
"And you walked up and told her she had your breasts?" Kakashi shook his head. "That's…I don't even know what to say."
Yuki held up her hand. "I gave her my sweater. While she was putting it on I just happened to notice, okay?"
"You say that like it helps," Kakashi sighed. "A tree? Really?" Yuki opened her mouth to contest but he stopped her with a look. "Let me get this straight: you were spying on a teenage girl up in a tree and eavesdropped on her private conversation with her boyfriend. You then walked up to the naked girl that had just been on fire, gave her your sweater, commented on her breasts, and I presume at that point you ran away?"
Yuki looked up at the ceiling, nodded, and gave him a smile. "Yeah, that about sums it up. You're good at this."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You're really something."
"What was I supposed to do?" Yuki threw up her hands in exasperation. "Say, 'Hey, I know you're naked but look' and flash my breasts at her and go 'Samesies!' It's hard enough figuring out what to say to your long-lost daughter. I went through hundreds of possible conversations in my head last night and none of them involved her being naked or on fire."
Kakashi sighed. "I suppose that's fair." He put his face in his hands and inhaled deeply. After a moment, he shook his head and exhaled. "I can't take this anymore."
Yuki furrowed her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I'm going to help you," Kakashi gave her an exhausted look. "This is just too painful for me to allow it to continue."
Yuki beamed. "Really? That would…that just might work." She took a deep breath and looked down into her soup. "Okay. I can do this." She tapped her spoon pensively on the counter. "Okay, so do I go with the casual mentions of things that only I would know about or should I ease her in with an explanation about where I've been all these years…?"
"Ease her in," Kakashi said as he rose from his seat. "You're kind of a lot to handle."
…
Beki had gone home and somehow managed to avoid Hinata and Naruto as she cleaned up. She had showered, washed the sweater she had been lent, and redressed. After the morning's incident, Beki had burned through her last bra and pair of training shoes. As much as she hated to venture back into town she was left without a choice. Beki was forced to wear a swimsuit top under her clothes, which left her bouncing with every step. Beki folded her arms over her chest self-consciously as she walked, lamenting over her clothes' pitiable fates. She wondered to herself if there was an armor specialist in Konoha she could see about making her flame retardant undergarments.
Fortunately, the shop had her size bra in stock and so she bought five of them. The clerk gave her an odd look. Beki paid it no notice, accepting that she would probably have to put up with a lot of that sort of treatment from now on. She was on her way to the shoe store when she heard someone call her name. Beki turned around to see Kakashi sensei and the woman that had lent her the sweater earlier.
"Oh, hi," Beki waved. She unzipped her bag and fished out the freshly laundered sweater. "Thanks for this earlier. It made the walk home less awkward."
"Yeah, of course," Yuki accepted the sweater. It was a strange feeling, being so anxious. Here her daughter was, calm as could be, completely unaware of the bomb that was about to be dropped on her.
Beki looked between the two. "You guys know each other?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, this is my friend Yuki- "
"I'm your mother!" Yuki blurted out, unable to hold herself back any longer.
"What?" Beki narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Sorry, I think I heard you wrong."
Kakashi turned his head and stared at Yukihana with a look of amazement.
"I..I'm your mom. I know you think I've been dead for years but I was just frozen. I tried to tell you earlier but I choked. I'm sorry. It's just so weird to see you all grown up. I have all this stuff in my head that I want to say and the second I see you it all just goes out the window."
"Is this some kind of joke?" Beki's expression was wounded as she glanced at Kakashi. "This isn't funny."
"This isn't a joke-" Kakashi held up his hands as a sign of reassurance. Maybe it was still early enough he could do some damage control.
"Frogs!" Yuki blurted, regaining both of their attention. "When we went up to the shrine you would hop along after the frogs. When they croaked, you would say "be-ki, be-ki. You were two. Everyone started calling you Beki as a joke and the name stuck."
"I don't understand," Beki screwed up her face in confusion. "None of this is making any sense."
"I know this is a lot to take in," Yuki reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but Beki jerked away. "I'm sorry. What do you need me to do?"
Beki took a step back. "What you're saying can't be true. I don't know who you are or how you know that but my mother has been dead for twelve years. Orochimaru killed her."
"Haruka, please listen-" Yuki began but Beki had enough.
"Stay away from me!" Beki yelled as she ran, leaving her mother and Kakashi to draw all the confused looks. They stood there for a moment in silence before Kakashi found his voice.
"I'm astounded. What happened to easing her into this?"
Yuki shook her head. "Sorry. I guess after all this time I just wanted to get it over with."
"You succeeded in scaring her off," Kakashi stared out after the escaping teen. "How do you plan on recovering this?"
Yuki kicked at the dirt. "Shit, I don't know. From the second I crawled out of the ice I've been busting my ass to get back to my family and look at what's happened to me so far." Yuki sighed. "No, this isn't the end. We can get past this. I'll give her a little time to process and go back to see her."
Kakashi pat her on the back. "I hope that works. For both of your sakes."