Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 10
Waiting out the Storm
Hello there my fellow fanfictioners! I told you guys I'd be back didn't I? ;)
Sorry to have kept you waiting but I am still writing exams and was only able to write this little by little in my spare time.
A gracious thanks to all those who have reviewed this story so far. It warms the heart to hear from you and really motivated me to get this to you guys as soon as possible.
Thanks also to all those who have taken the time to read this story the traffic has been unbelievable on it and I'm so happy.
Now then enough of my senseless prattling and on to the story!
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. These belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Whittlebone Canyon
Himawari wasn't sure of many things in her life. She didn't know her past or why she was the way she was. The girl didn't know how she came to be so injured or why there were so many people after her or why they were killing those who were in their way in order to do so but there was one thing that the Hyuuga was certain off beyond any shadow of doubt.
She was sore all over.
Her empty eye socket felt like someone had stuck a needle into it, stirred it around and then punched said instrument through the socket and into her brain. Her throat was as dry as sandpaper and her clothes were damp with sweat.
What happened to me? The last thing I remember… What was the last thing she remembered?
Keeping still and her good eye closed Himawari focused on what little memory she possessed and thankfully an image started to form. She remembered resting against Sasuke's back because she was tired, more tired than she had ever remembered being in her life. She remembered seeing the gargantuan entrance to Whittlebone Canyon and their entry into one of its passages.
The rest of it was all a blur and sharp pains resonated throughout her skull when she tried too hard to remember the rest.
Her body was cold and resting on something hard. Whatever the surface was it was not the most comfortable thing and made her body ache dully. Thankfully the ache and stiffness were more annoying than painful. Whatever her head was rested upon was soft though.
She couldn't tell much about it other than it was made of some thick material but pliant as well, her head sinking into it comfortably.
But above all else at the moment she was cold and Himawari couldn't help but shiver. There was this constant whistling noise close by that only served to aggravate her headache further and she winced whenever the sound raised and lowered its pitch at random.
Above the din of the whistling sounds she could discern the sounds of someone close by. She smelled burning wood and heard the sounds of shuffling, tired feet across stone.
"You're awake." Himawari could only give a slight nod in response to Sasuke's observation wincing as she did so.
Absently she noted the sound of him moving next to her and felt his hand place itself on her forehead. Removing the appendage, he seemed to move away from her once again.
"Your temperature has dropped so that's a good sign at least." Sasuke informed her, fiddling around inside of the medicinal satchel and let out an annoyed snort when he couldn't immediately find what he was looking for. "You'll be fine I think, you're just dehydrated."
Locating his prize Sasuke shuffled around for a few minutes before he returned to her side.
I wish he'd make less noise. Himawari thought to herself silently, each sound like someone tapping a dull kunai into her brain.
"Drink this." Sasuke ordered firmly, placing the rim of a simple wooden cup against her lips. Himawari really didn't think that she had the strength to defy him and so she readily complied.
Whatever it was smelled horrible, like raw sewage and tasted similarly as well.
This is poison! Himawari thought as she bolted up after her first swallow, eye now wide open and glaring.
Inconveniently the Uchiha had placed himself within her blind spot and when she turned her head to face him she was rewarded with blinding pain and flashes of white covering her remaining field of vision. Sasuke for his part merely raised an eyebrow in amusement at the girl's reaction.
"What the hell is this!?" She demanded furiously, her tiny form trembling from rage now rather than the cold as Sasuke couldn't prevent a small chuckle from escaping him.
"Medicine." He told her in between chuckles while his hands made their way in front of her eye, working quickly to cover her form with a thick blanket.
"What's in it?" Himawari asked eyeing the black liquid within the cup suspiciously.
Sasuke let a snort of amusement escape from him as he remembered the first time he had taken Kakashi's signature 'Hangover Elixir'.
"Trust me when I say that you really don't know. Just make sure you drink it all. If it helps then pinch your nose and try to down it in one go."
The amnesiac girl wasn't entirely too sure of the quality of his advice but for lack of a better option decided to risk it. Taking a deep breath and shutting her eye she tipped back the cup and began to chug the concoction within as quickly as possible.
It felt like she had swallowed a bucketful of slugs and now the things were crawling around in her intestines.
Sasuke couldn't help the smirk from appearing on his face.
Reminds me of my first swig of the stuff.
Taking note of her now green complexion the Uchiha moved back just in case she couldn't hold her drink down.
"Don't throw it up." He warned her "Else you'll have to drink another."
Himawari's eye teared up as she began a violent coughing fit instead, slapping her chest a few times in an effort to keep her composure.
"You think it's bad now you should've tasted it before I began adding sweetener." Sasuke informed her with a shudder as he made his way over to the other side of the fire.
It was a good call to put supplies for a fire like this in a sealing scroll.
Seating himself down on the ground, the Uchiha leaned back against Kamui who had long since fallen asleep. If the steed had any issue with the added weight on her stomach she chose not to show it save for a short snort before falling silent once more. Sasuke for his part let himself relax and enjoy the motions caused by Kamui's breathing.
"Your horse…" Himawari began to say but cut herself off halfway through. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in response, curious now as to what she wanted to say.
"What about my horse?" He pressed. The Hyuuga bit her lip in thought for a while before deciding to answer him.
"You're a shinobi… why do you need a horse?" Her voice was small and came out as more of a squeak. Instead of being offended the Uchiha closed his eyes and smiled softly.
"Kamui was a gift from my sensei."
Himawari found herself becoming more aware and she slowly sat up, making sure to grab the poncho she had been using as a pillow and covered herself with the garb. The material had a slight, scratchy quality when it pressed against her bare skin but she found that the warmth that the poncho provided against the cold air to be a suitable trade-off.
Her eye remained trained on her companion as she waited for further explanation on the matter. For a minute, it seemed as if that was all that the Uchiha had to say on the matter but then he continued to speak.
"I was never very good at sticking around when it came to my home village. It was a quality that never sat well with my teammates and I upset them both more than a few times whenever I… displayed that quality." Though it seemed on the surface to be a casual declaration, Himawari couldn't help but notice some underlying emotion as well. It seemed familiar but she couldn't quite place it.
"When I left for the last time my sensei met me at the gates" Sasuke couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at the memory of Kakashi standing at the gates, holding Kamui by the reigns and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. The smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and the Uchiha continued.
"He told me I would always need a friend out there on the road."
Himawari cocked her head at him curiously. It seemed like there was more that the Uchiha wanted to say about his sensei but he didn't know how to say it. Deciding to take the initiative she pressed him for more.
"It seemed like a nice thing for him to do." It almost seemed the wrong thing to say as the man barked a short laugh in reply.
Sasuke reached out and patted Kamui's neck affectionately. "I didn't want her. Flat out refused and began walking away until Kakashi caught up with me. The man had to practically force the reigns into my hands and make me promise to keep the beast."
"So why did you end up taking her?" Himawari asked now genuinely curious.
Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say as Sasuke fists clenched angrily before he lifted his head and glared at her. "You ask too many questions Himawari." He growled before letting his head fall back again.
Immediately Himawari shut her mouth, heat flooding her cheeks in shame for annoying the man who had saved her life several times now. Unconsciously she began to shiver as a gust of wind blew briefly into the cave. Eyeing the fire and Sasuke's prone form, the Hyuuga's eye narrowed and she got to her feet slowly but determinedly.
Sasuke paid no mind to the girl or the shuffling of her feet across the rocky cave surface. He of all people knew the restlessness that came with recovery and that the simple act of walking around slowly could do much to help clear one's mind.
Which is why he was so caught off guard by what happened next. It took all he had not to jump to his feet and despite this his body jerked upwards slightly as he felt the girl fall to the ground next to him and lean herself against his side.
Looking at the girl with mild irritation he took note of her shivering form and decided not to say anything. Himawari gripped the poncho tightly and burrowed into the man's side, too tired and cold to feel embarrassed at the situation.
"I'm cold and you're warm." She told him shortly and that seemed to be the only explanation that he was going to receive.
He tries anything funny or says something weird then I'm going to show him just how hard a little girl can hit.
The Uchiha's gaze lingered on her tiny form curiously for a few moments before he replied with a nonchalant 'Hn' and closed his eyes. "Sleep well Himawari, we'll talk more in the morning."
In Konoha
If someone had told Hinata Uzumaki exactly how her day was going to turn out then she would've jumped out of bed and run to the village gates immediately.
Unfortunately, that wasn't quite how life worked. Instead her day began with a phone call from Naruto's teammate, Sakura Haruno, who wanted to invite her over for tea around noon. Seeing no reason to decline Hinata softly accepted before preparing herself for the day.
She began to perform her usual morning routine; waking Naruto up with a soft kiss and a soft 'good morning' so that her husband could begin to get himself ready for his daily responsibilities as Hokage. Next the two would shower and dress before Naruto began preparations to head out for the Hokage tower to continue to tackle the day-to-day running of the village in the form of a never-ending stack of paperwork.
The Uzumaki matriarch for her would then wake up her son, who was only too eager to get out of the house and meet up with his team. Boruto's relationship with his father had been strained before Himawari's disappearance but now that she was gone…
Hinata could feel her chest tightening as a sharp pain tore through her heart whenever the thought crossed her mind.
Her son believed his little sister to be dead and his father the one to blame. The two rarely spoke anymore and the young Uzumaki seemed to take any chance he could get to get away from the Hokage residence.
Shaking herself from her stupor, Hinata hurried about to complete certain chores such as making breakfast, an awkward affair for the men of the family, prepare their lunch bento boxes, see them off and ensure that everything around their home that needed to be taken care of was. By the time she was done, Hinata looked up at the clock and noticed that it was almost time to meet Sakura and so the woman left the building, locking it behind her and began making her way across town to the Haruno home.
It took her some time as the new village had been greatly expanded over the old one. The former Hyuuga felt no immediate need to rush despite the time and instead chose to enjoy the trip, greeting those she knew on the street politely as she passed by and making small conversations with old friends where she encountered them.
Nevertheless the mother found herself in front of Sakura's front door and with a small breath to centre herself she rang the door and waited with her hands folded behind her back. Sure, enough she heard a muffled "Coming!" from inside and the sound of several locks being undone.
The door opened and Hinata's eyes widened in mild surprise. She hadn't expected to be met by her at this time of the day but after a moment to recover Hinata smiled warmly.
"Hello Sarada."
It was early when Himawari woke, beams of grey sunlight streaming in from the cave entrance and the smell of ash thick in the air from the now long dead fire. With a yawn, the young girl rose to her feet and began a series of stretches to relieve some of the tension in her muscles that had been built up, a consequence of the last few weeks rigours and adventures.
Her eyepatch felt uncomfortable itchy this morning so she decided to take it off for a while letting out a small sigh of relief as the socket was met with the open air.
Becoming more aware of her surroundings she noticed that she was entirely alone and without Sasuke's poncho which she had worn the night before. Confusedly Himawari took note that at some point her human pillow had been replaced with her backpack. Both Sasuke and the horse were nowhere to be found and for the briefest moment Himawari began to panic. The thought flitted across her mind that Sasuke had decided that she was too much trouble and had gone on his way. Thankfully her panic abated when she took note of the horse's saddlebags resting up against one of the cave walls, originally hidden in her blind field of view and to which Himawari couldn't help but curse once more her disability.
Hearing footsteps behind her she spun around to face the cave entrance only to see Sasuke leading Kamui back into the cave.
The Uchiha took in her missing eye without a blink before guiding Kamui over to the saddlebags.
"It's good that you're up. Go and relieve yourself now if you need to, we'll be heading out soon and there will be no stops for a while." He told her bluntly even as he made his way over to the saddlebags to begin strapping the gear to Kamui.
Himawari's jaw felt like it had fallen to the floor and she could almost feel her face turn scarlet. The poor girl tried speaking a few times but only managed an enraged squeak which served to only make her madder. Finally, she managed to get her tongue and throat working again cohesively and some of the blackest filth she had ever heard from Kouda, she repeated to Sasuke hoping to generate some sort of shamed response.
Unfortunately, his eyebrows merely raised slightly and he replied with another simple 'Hn'.
The Uchiha for his part found this to be highly amusing and turned back to Kamui to hide the small smile that graced his features. It had been a long time since he had done that to someone.
A silence fell between them as Sasuke continued to prepare his gear for the journey ahead and Himawari occupied herself with studying her surroundings and doing her best to cool off. Unfortunately, her anger seemed to have no effect other than amusement on the man which in turn served to aggravate herself even further.
That was until she noticed something peculiar. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed something glint upon the shinobi's person. Stubbornly she forced herself not to look but as the minutes started to tick by in silence her curiosity grew.
Thankfully Sasuke remained seemingly unaware of her struggle as she found herself drawn to whatever it was she had seen like a magpie.
Finally, Himawari could take it no more and practically spun around on the spot. It was difficult to make out from between the gaps in Sasuke's poncho but the shape of it looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before. It took her a few moments but finally she made the connection and her eye widened in shock and terror.
It was a headband. One an awful lot like the one she had seen on the monster whose life she had taken.
"You have a headband." Himawari managed to whisper, unable to keep the fear from flooding her tone. Sasuke went unnaturally still for a moment before patting the object once and resuming his work.
"I do." He told her, his voice giving nothing away. Himawari on the other hand had already begun to back away from him and towards the entrance of the cave.
"A-are you g-going to kill m-me?" She mumbled numbly, her mouth dry and her tongue numb all of a sudden. The Uchiha merely snorted before tightening one final strap and turning to face her, his expression unreadable.
"What are you talking about kid?" He asked her monotonously.
"You have a headband, one that looks just like theirs!" Himawari accused, feeling bold in the face of Sasuke's nonplussed reaction.
The Uchiha's look turned from one of blank marble to that of mild confusion before his eyes widened ever so slightly as he figured out what was happening. Reaching beneath his poncho he untied his hitai-ate before lifting it up to show to her.
"You mean this thing?" Sasuke asked her in confirmation.
Himawari couldn't make out the symbol on the headband from where she was and with her singular vision but she could make out that there was something engraved on the metal and that was good enough for her.
"Y-yes" She replied, cursing herself internally as the stutter returned to her speech. The shinobi remained unconvinced and let out a small sigh.
"Here." He told her, throwing the hitai-ate to her. Himawari was caught off guard and while she managed to catch it with only a slight fumble she also let out a surprised squeak at the action. Feeling her cheeks begin to heat up she focused instead on the headband in her hand.
Upon closer inspection, she found the symbol wasn't a musical note like the ones held by her pursuers. What she found was something else entirely. The engraving was some kind of spiral with a diagonal line at the top of it and a small triangle at the opposite, bottom corner.
Himawari found that if she tilted her head slightly it reminded her of a snail. What really caught her eye though was the long, jagged line running horizontally from one end of the band to the other straight through the symbol.
Sasuke made his way over to her, slowly so as not to startle her. "It's the symbol of the leaf. Konohagakure is my home village." He explained to her.
This symbol… why do I know this symbol? Himawari couldn't help but think to herself.
Her head hurt terribly all of a sudden even as she stared dazedly at the leaf engraving. Taking note of her state Sasuke moved to intervene. Covering the symbol with his hand he gently took repossession of his hitai-ate, snapping Himawari out of her daze in the process, and reattached the memento to his hip followed by patting it once to ensure it remained secure.
Himawari said nothing as the headband was hidden from sight once more by the long coverall. She remained silent and deep in thought even as she followed the last Uchiha to Kamui who was now whinnying, impatient to get some exercise.
Sasuke grabbed a hold of the saddle and was just about to hoist himself up when Himawari decided to speak.
"Who are you?"
Sasuke stilled once more. For a few moments, the Uchiha did nothing except consider the implications of her words and what it was the girl was really asking. Who was he?
It was a far more difficult question than it appeared to be and several potential answers flitted across his mind.
Orphan
Loner
Shinobi
Traitor
Avenger
Monster
Villain
Lost
Brother
Hero
Father
Wanderer
His life had been long and he had done much, going through so much that while it was true that he was all of these things and probably more none seemed to fit as an answer to her question. That was until one more thought crossed his mind. It was simple and perfect. A word that described him perfectly and would tell the girl all she needed to know.
Sasuke's head tilted back to look at her.
"I'm a survivor."
Himawari was taken aback briefly before her eye narrowed and she matched his stare. Taking a deep breath, she decided to take the plunge.
"Teach me."
Well there you go! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to be back up and writing normally again sometime next week with another chapter shortly after.
I know I cut off Hinata's story pretty quickly but it must be remembered that the focus of this story is on Himawari and Sasuke. As such all the other characters who are written about serve as a side-story so to speak in order to reveal things about the history of the world and what has changed. It also serves to show what is going on in the minds of Himawari's family.
Pretty please leave me a review if you like it.
Until next time!