Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 11
The Meaning of Family
Hello there my fellow fanfictioners! It seems that I was visited by a troll last chapter (Oh my stars and garters!) 😉
Well I can honestly say that I was just a tad hurt. Perhaps because it's my first ever flamer (also strangely honoured.). All I can say to my anonymous guest reviewer is this: Before you start quoting canon as an insult perhaps you should google what a fanfiction is.
If you wish to provide criticism then awesome, it can help my writing otherwise if you're going to flame then please get an account and we can have a lively PM debate as Naruto fans (which could be kind of fun! I love debates!).
To all my readers, new and old, I wish to say thank you for the continued support and please don't hesitate to point out any inconsistencies or mistakes in my story (I want this to be a good piece of fanfiction).
Apologies for the long delay, I was bogged down with work, exams and various technical issues.
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. These are both the property of the legendary Masashi Kishimoto.
The Desert of the Wind
The past two days trekking through the immense desert that covered the majority of the land of Wind had been… difficult and tiring to say the least. Himawari had proven to be an exceptionally quick study and seemed to master the basic chakra techniques in just a few hours, a discovery which greatly surprised the Uchiha though he did not show it. It took her just a few hours before she was able to keep a piece of parchment stuck to her forehead for a little over a minute using only her chakra.
By all standards she was a prodigy.
'It's possible that she received some prior training.' The thought came unbidden but the more he dwelled on it the more Sasuke found that the idea wasn't just plausible but likely as well.
During their journey Sasuke continued to consult his journals and maps of the area. The Uchiha had only been through the great desert a few times before and the need to make sure that they were still on course was imperative. Wandering off the beaten path, so to speak, in this place would only result in a slow and painful death from dehydration and heat exhaustion. It was far too easy to lose one's way in the desolate wasteland that stretched around them.
According to his maps, Corsair's Oasis was only a few miles away.
It was a hidden gem smackdab in the middle of the desert, one that he had discovered through one of his old contacts in Suna. The Oasis had once served as an old smuggler's pit stop and cache now reclaimed by nature as the oasis fell into disuse as the years went by. It had been in a sorry state ever since Gaara Subaku had initiated a purge of the Smuggler's Guild at the start of his reign as Kazekage.
Himawari's gasp of surprise as the oasis finally came into view was enjoyable to watch and a small smile threatened to tug at the corner of his lips. Composing himself and spurring Kamui forwards they made their way to the hideaway.
The oasis was truly a miracle of nature, small as it was. Sand turned to lush, green grass and Himawari almost sighed in pleasure at the sound of wind rustling through the leaves of the various palm trees that were dotted throughout the oasis. At its center lay a large shimmering pool of water, the sun seeming to sparkle off the surface like diamons and Himawari fidgeted in the saddle, clearly eager to take a dip into the water's cool depths. Sasuke said nothing about this and maintained his stoic composure as he dismounted and led Kamui to the water to take a drink.
This day… it wasn't so bad.
Perhaps it was the relief brought on by the shade or the sight of Himawari bounding forward to run along the water's edge, giggling as she did so.
She's so young...
The Desert of the Wind- Corsair's Oasis
"Rub your chest." Sasuke told her absently as he turned the makeshift spit over, allowing for the pair of rabbits skewered upon the piece of wood to cook through from the other side. There was always food in the desert if one knew where to look. He could hear the sound of Himawari's teeth chattering, drowning out the usual sounds of the night. Staring at her, the shinobi remembered how the Hyuuga had ended up in such an amusing state.
After they had settled the Uchiha had decided to test the little Hyuuga's skill and began showing her how to apply chakra to the soles of her feet correctly to be able to adhere to different surfaces such as the side of a tree or, in this case, the water of the pool. She had spent half of the day learning to walk up the side of a nearby palm tree before attempting to cross the body of water.
To be fair Sasuke had been impressed as she had made it a full three, albeit shaky, steps across the water's surface before she dropped like a rock with a yelp and a splash.
It was the first time since he was a child that the Uchiha had let out a full-blown laugh.
Now the pair found themselves seated in front of the fire, a very drenched Hyuuga child wrapped in a blanket and shaking like a leaf in the wind and one smirking Uchiha sitting on the opposite side of their campfire.
"W-w-w-w-what?" Himawari managed to stutter out while rubbing her arms furiously in an attempt to stop her bout of uncontrollable shivering. Clearly, she didn't understand his instruction and so he decided to reiterate.
Finished for now with their dinner Sasuke looked at her directly this time.
"Rub. Your. Chest." He emphasized, continuing to speak before the child could retort in some manner. "It's where most of your body heat is contained, your arms will look after themselves."
Too cold to argue and not trusting her speech as it was the Hyuuga nodded minutely before doing as he instructed. Sasuke bobbed his head slightly in satisfaction before returning his attention to their meal preparations.
'Not so bad at all.' Sasuke thought to himself, his eyes crinkling in amusement at the unmistakable sound of a stomach grumbling. The girl let out a small 'eep' before hiding her face behind her knees.
And here I thought there was only one shy Hyuuga.
The next few minutes passed between them with a comfortable silence before he heard her small voice speak out.
"Is it ready yet?" Himawari asked meekly poking her forefingers together nervously.
Sasuke grunted, lifting one of the skewers out of the fire pit before reaching over to offer it to her. Himawari wasted no time in snatching the offering from his grasp and, in a remarkably un-Hyuuga-like fashion began tearing into the meat with a kind of voracious hunger that reminded him of Naruto.
'Or an Akimichi. If that Choji fellow were here I'm sure he'd be impressed.'
"Slow down or you'll choke and I don't know much first aid." It was a small lie but it served its purpose as Himawari actually took the time to chew her food before swallowing it.
'I'm going to hazard a guess and say she likes my cooking.' Sasuke thought to himself, observing the massive grin that graced the tiny Hyuuga's face as she gorged herself.
'Wonder how long it's been since she's kept to a steady diet?' This thought was unwelcome as he took in the child's thin frame. At the time, he hadn't paid much attention to it but when he looked back on it now…
When checking the progress of the poison her ribs had been showing through… It wasn't a good sign. Grabbing his own rabbit from the fire the Uchiha pushed such thoughts from his mind and began to eat as well.
He turned his gaze upwards and took in the tranquility of the stars as the two of them ate in silence. In the end, the Uchiha was content after eating only a quarter of his kill and so, with the intention of storing the surplus in a scroll for later, rose to his feet and made to procure the item from one of the saddlebags.
He had only begun to undo one of the straps when he felt a small tug on the end of his poncho. Looking back, he saw Himawari standing awkwardly behind him, her eye's gaze affixed firmly to the skewer in his free hand.
"What is it?" He asked her shortly, her shyness beginning to grate on him after the events of the day. At least she was dry now. In the moonlight, he could make out just the slightest hint of red dusting the Hyuuga's cheeks.
"Can I have it?" She mumbled, pointing at the rabbit shyly. Sasuke hesitated for a split second before handing it over to Himawari with a small 'Hn'. Immediately the girl's demeanor brightened and she practically snatched the thing from his hand before skipping back to the fireplace, humming some tune to herself as she did so.
'I guess she's warm again.'
Shaking his head, the ninja walked back over to the fire pit and lay down on the ground, arms behind his head and gazed at the heavens once more. He remained like that until he heard Himawari throw away the last bone and let out a satisfied sigh.
Getting to his feet with a small heave Sasuke made his way over to his supplies and removed a small jar from the medicine satchel before heading to the girl who sat propped up against her backpack. She eyed him curiously as he knelt down next to her.
"I need to check the injury" He told her pointing at her side as he spoke. Himawari nodded slowly before lifting her arm to allow him access to the area.
Gently the Uchiha lifted the hem of her shirt taking care to lift the apparel only as far as was necessary to expose her bandaged side. It seemed his head wrappings were doing a good job of keeping the salve he had originally applied to the wound in place. Carefully, he undid the wrappings and wiped away the salve, taking a closer look at the injury.
As he worked he could feel Himawari gaze at him from the corner of her eye. Pausing for a moment to look at her he quirked an eyebrow in question but the girl didn't shy away from the attention.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked shortly feeling oddly uncomfortable under her gaze. Himawari said nothing at first, having a moment of internal conflict of how she wanted to word her question. Shaking her head Himawari decided that a blunt approach might be best.
"Why did you help me? The real reason."
To say that it was expected wouldn't have been the truth. Sasuke hesitated before continuing to wipe away traces of the salve with the wrappings.
"Does it matter?" He asked curiously. Himawari seemed to think on it for a moment before nodding decidedly.
"Maybe it's because you remind me of me." Sasuke answered simply with a shrug of his shoulders.
"How so?" The Hyuuga pressed.
"When I was around your age I may have known my name and where I came from but I didn't know who I really was." Himawari looked at him in confusion as he said this but chose to remain silent, waiting for him to continue. "I chose the wrong path so many times. Eventually, one really annoying idiot I know set me straight though it certainly wasn't for lack of trying on his part."
"So, you're helping me because I remind you of you?" She sounded uncertain and confused and so the Uchiha decided to elaborate further.
"I'm helping you because it's what the idiot would do."
"What was the 'idiot's' name?"
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Saying the name still made his lip curl slightly in distaste. As much as Naruto was his brother the baka still grated on his nerves.
"Isn't that a ramen topping?" Himawari queried with a finger to her lips as she tried to recall a picture from one of Kouda's cookbooks.
An image of Naruto swimming in a bowl of ramen with a massive grin on his face flitted across the Uchiha's mind. At this thought Sasuke let out a loud chuckle before abruptly and, uncharacteristically, slapping a hand over his mouth to cover the sound.
Himawari gazed at him, her eye wide in shock at the shinobi's reaction. Despite his best efforts Sasuke kept on letting loose quiet chuckles under his breath as he finished his initial work and took a closer look at Himawari's side.
The flesh had healed nicely though the skin was still raw and pink. A dark scab had formed where the kunai had sliced through Himawari's side. All things considered and taking into account that only a few days had passed since she had received the wound it was remarkable progress.
Guess she's a fast healer.
Removing the lid of the salve, Sasuke applied a fresh coat of balm before rebinding his head wrappings around her side once more.
'I'll have to throw those away next time. Maybe buy some bandages next time we hit civilization.'
The two of them said nothing as the shinobi performed his final acts. His task complete, Sasuke made his way over to the other side of the campfire and took up his usual resting spot against Kamui who had long since fallen asleep.
"Why are you so desperate to get to the Fire Temple?" He had meant to ask the question to himself but it came out loud enough that Himawari heard it and thought it was directed at her.
"The person who helped me after my accident… he said he knew someone at the temple who could tell me who my family is." Himawari explained.
Sasuke sat up at this and gave her a strange look, one that continued for several moments before he scoffed and lay back down again.
"You're an idiot." He told her simply as he settled himself more comfortably against Kamui's stomach. Instead of the outraged squeak that he had come to expect from the child, Himawari merely let out a small sigh.
"Why is that?" She asked eventually.
Sasuke for a moment looked as though he wanted to say something but then thought better of it. Shaking his head, he chose not to answer and instead lay back and closed his eyes preparing to sleep.
"Get some sleep girl. We've got a long journey tomorrow and we'll need all our strength."
Himawari snorted in annoyance but decided to do nothing about it and instead made herself comfortable as well.
It was this dream again. Strange. Then again, it's said variety is the flavor of life. If that was true then life was bitter.
…
She was so beautiful. Small and fragile in his arms but nevertheless beautiful to behold.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called out to him, his voice unsure and containing a note of fear uncharacteristic of the blonde.
He remained unresponsive as the Uzumaki came to a stop standing over him. Sasuke took no notice of his friend though, his attention fixated only on the girl in his arms.
"I'm sorry Sasuke." The words came from the mouth of his best friend but they sounded hollow to his ears.
Her tiny locks of pink hair sat gently upon her head and with her eyes closed she seemed to take on a serene expression even as she lay within his arms.
Father. It was a word he never thought he would have associated with himself but here he was.
His perfect little girl. His beautiful Mikoto Uchiha. Stillborn in his embrace and yet still so perfect.
Stillborn…
"Sasuke… I'm so sorry." Naruto tried again. It was clear from his voice that the future Hokage had no idea what to say.
To be fair what could someone say to him now that would mean anything?
Sasuke only knew in that particular moment that he didn't care what the blonde idiot had to offer.
"Save your apologies" Sasuke hissed tightening his grip on his daughter, still refusing to meet the Uzumaki's eyes but at least painfully aware of his presence.
"Teme… we need to take it away… the nurses are too scared to come near you so they called me." Naruto told him with a hesitant and nervous laugh. This got the Uchiha's attention and Naruto found himself on the receiving end of a Sharingan and Rinnegan combo.
Scarlet and violet orbs glowed brilliantly in the dim lighting of the hospital doorway and the sight of it caused Naruto to freeze. He may be able to take Sasuke on in a straight fight but if the Uchiha were to barrage him with genjutsu then it could turn out to be a very different kind of battle. One that wouldn't necessarily end well for him.
"Don't touch her!"
"I'm sorry Sasuke but this is for your own good." Naruto told him sadly before moving forward. Something struck Sasuke across the back of his head causing his vision to flash red. During this agony induced haze, the Uchiha lost his grip on Mikoto and in that moment Naruto snatched his baby girl and retreated a few steps.
"Thanks, I owe you one." Naruto called out to his attacker over his shoulder before retreating hurriedly.
The knock to his head wasn't the only damage the blow seemed to have caused. Try as he might Sasuke found he couldn't move his body. He remained seated as he was unable to move save for his neck albeit with considerable effort.
Something had been done to his chakra network. It was sluggish and almost unresponsive to his will.
"Never thought the great Sasuke Uchiha would be brought so low so easily." The words were directed at him almost conversationally. With great strain, the Avenger lifted his head to meet the gaze of his attacker who had since moved to stand in front of him.
Opal eyes stared back at him. She was young, looking as though she had barely hit her twenties and possessed slender features framed by long deep brown locks of hair. His eyes narrowed in recognition as he took another moment to study her features and identify his assailant.
Hinata's sister.
'Hana? Hinaba?'
'…Hanabi.' That was it. It was definitely Hanabi.
Hanabi stared back at him, her eyes gleaming with some unknown anger and just a hint of arrogance. She lowered herself to better look at his sorry state, resting on her haunches and staring without fear directly into his eyes, now blazing scarlet.
"You took my daughter from me." He spat to which the young woman responded by cocking her head and raising a single eyebrow.
"It wasn't a baby. It was a corpse." She told him coldly. Sasuke could almost feel the rage coursing through his veins at this comment and his Sharingan began to morph into the Mangekyou form. This, sparked a nervous reaction from the Hyuuga as she stood up quickly and broke eye contact to focus on his forehead instead of his eyes.
"Look traitor just calm do-" Hanabi began to say but the words were lost on deaf ears as the veil of pain and anger blinded him to almost everything.
"I'm going to kill you." He promised her darkly. This caused her to shut up and Sasuke took a vicious pleasure in seeing her mouth open and shut wordlessly as she tried to formulate some sort of response. Not wanting to give her a chance he pressed on.
"It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow but I promise you this. The next time we cross paths I am going to crush your heart in my hand."
Sasuke woke up gasping and covered in a sweat despite the cool night air of the desert. Holding back the sob from escaping him he wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. Frowning, the Uchiha looked at his hand and noticed that he had his hitai-ate gripped tightly to his chest.
"You had a dream?" Sasuke almost didn't hear Himawari speak over the sound of his own gasping but after taking a few moments to compose himself he looked at her. Himawari had lain close to the fire and a single azure orb looked at him with concern through the darkness and the flame.
Shaking his head Sasuke lay back down and gazed at the stars in the hopes that the image would help to soothe his troubled thoughts.
"A nightmare." He told her softly.
"Was it bad?" From the way she said it, it was clear that the girl didn't know quite what to say to him.
"Yes. It was very bad." He responded simply as he rubbed his temples in an attempt to clear away the bad thoughts zipping through his mind.
"You've had them every night since we started traveling." She informed him worriedly. Sasuke let out a humorless laugh at that one. Her concern was almost endearing.
"I have them every night. Have since I was a kid."
He could almost hear her index fingers poking together worriedly.
"That sounds bad." Himawari told him to which the ninja simply snorted in reply.
"It is what it is kid."
A long silence followed before Sasuke turned on his side and tried to fall asleep once more. Before he tried though he had one last thing to say to her.
"You're wrong about all of this." He told her.
"What do you mean?" She replied, her voice heavy with weariness.
"You don't need to spend your life searching for family. I've done it and it didn't help me in the slightest. It took me the longest time to figure out one simple truth."
"What truth is that?" Himawari didn't know why she asked. She didn't want to know but she couldn't bring herself to stop the man from saying what it was he wanted to say.
"That when you have no family it's up to you to find your new one. You choose your family from the people who mean the most to you." It was an odd thing to say but it made perfect sense. "Just remember Himawari. Even if you don't find your relatives it isn't the end."
"Family is a choice." Blood wasn't an exclusive factor of family.
Strangely, he meant every word. Naruto had become his brother, Kakashi his father and Sakura… Sakura had been something else entirely. At times, when he looked hard at Himawari's features he could see Naruto. It wasn't the whisker marks she possessed as while they were an uncommon sight they were hardly exclusive to the dobe. It was her eyes.
Bright blue and filled with a kind of pain he understood all too well. The pain of losing everything. For just a moment before he fell back into the oblivion of sleep he imagined that it was his daughter in Himawari's place. Onyx eyes gazing at him sleepily instead of a single azure one.
It was a comforting thought.
Himawari said something but he didn't hear it as exhaustion pulled him back into the world of nightmares.
Definitely not my best chapter but for some reason I really struggled to write this one. I kept putting it off and whenever I was in the mood to write I was never near my laptop.
As I said it is not my best work so I do plan on posting a remaster at a later date.
Hopefully you guys didn't mind it too much and are still willing to stick this story out with me 😉
As always a round of applause to all my usual readers and a warm welcome to all the new ones.
See you next time on Those Who Are Lost.