NOTE: this has been edited in Feb. 2022. Thank you so much to my Beta Hybris! She helped soo much
"And in fragmented darkness,
I knew that his lunar smile
would captivate the moon
and always be the reason
for my soul's eclipse"
Chapter 1
"And you're done for the day, Saito-san. Thank you for visiting the Leaf Palm Spa."
Cleaning up the oil from the elderly man's back, Hakaze smiled as he sat up, groaning in relief as he flexed his muscles. It was always nice to see people appreciate her hard work.
"Oof! Goodness, you certainly do have magical hands, don't you? My back has never felt better."
Hakaze wiped her hands clean as she put the used towels in the hamper, humming absently as the old man continued to prattle on. He rarely listened to her unless he was looking for some agreeing words to what he was talking about, so her humming wasn't too disruptive.
"Now that the war has paused for peace talks, hopefully, I can bring my son-in-law over here." Saito mused, stretching his back to and fro, as he sighed in satisfaction.
"He works in the nearby town, as a farmhand. Seasonal work, you know, especially since my daughter died. The poor boy has been intent on keeping himself busy." Hakaze handed him his button-up shirt as he continued to talk about his dead daughter, lost during a crossfire in the current territorial skirmishes that kept popping up at the borders.
Hakaze didn't comment as he recounted the event, both because she didn't want to set him off on a half-hour tangent again and because knew very well how those skirmishes turned out. Once he'd reached the door and paused for breath, she politely bowed, as she watched the old man grab his cane and start to hobble out the doors. "Please come back again."
"Of course! How could I not visit my favorite massage therapist? Though it's a shame you don't work here full time. Do you want me to put in a good word for you to the boss? He and I go way back!"
Saito seemed to find something about this funny, as he started to laugh loudly in a proud manner. Hakaze wondered how often she would have to answer this question; this was the third time he had asked her this month.
"Thank you for your kind words, but I'm afraid I have another job I also enjoy." While she had not initially chosen her career for the passion of it, and it could be grueling and thankless, she did enjoy working at the hospital. Seeing a patient get better, managing to bring some form of happiness to their loved ones, always made the dark days worth it.
'It's not much but if I can help one more person… If I can rescue them from death and bring them back to their friends and family, then that will be enough.' Hakaze mused, her smile turning a bit more genuine.
"Well... If you're sure. See you again at our next appointment!" Hakaze waved him off before turning back to clean up the room; it really was jarring at the difference between how civilians treated her work compared to how ninja treated her work.
'It's interesting to think I was kinda like them, once upon a time. Though…Considering how old-fashioned this world is, maybe the old me would fit somewhere between the two groups?'
Hakaze quickly cleaned up the space, ignoring the pangs of homesickness that still plagued her every now and then, before mentally noting which oils needed replenishing.
'Looks like we're all out of the ginger essential oil. I'm gonna have to see if the Spa has enough budget to order more for next week.' Making a mental note to ask her boss, Hakaze locked up the room and made her way down the sterile white hallway. Hakaze smiled cheerfully as her other coworkers called out to her as she made her way through the hall.
"Great work, Hanae-chan!"
"Thank you, but it's Hakaze." Nodding her head in acknowledgment, Hakaze smoothly reminded him as he started to walk closer to her.
'Honestly, he's as persistent as the devil and not nearly as charming.' She could barely resist the urge to roll her eyes as he continued to hound her like a commissioned sales associate.
"And what a beautiful name it is, Hanae-chan. Say are you free after work for-" Hakaze sharply turned the corner, keeping a polite smile on her face as he nearly walked into one of the floor plants. Completely ignoring his slipping smile, she waved him off, making a random comment on how busy she was and that she never mixed work with pleasure.
"We got lots of good reviews again today, Hanae-chan." Risa croaked, withered hands fixing her oversized glasses before she finished packing up the reception area, "Though we'd have more if you worked faster, instead of yapping away with every client."
'I swear that old woman can't give a compliment unless it's backhanded or paired with a complaint to negate it' Hakaze was vividly reminded of another receptionist who had a similar vibe, 'Now what did she always say again? Oh yes, "I'm watching you, Wazowski. Always watching." Yes, that fits Risa-san to a T.'
"That is great news!" Hakaze smiled even wider as she ignored the second part of the sentence, "And it's still Hakaze, Risa-san."
"Hm, Remember that we pay you by the customer, not the hour. Don't stay late. It's bad manners." She grumbled, before making her way to the women's change room.
Keeping her smile on, Hakaze marched forward, wondering if the old woman just didn't like her or honestly believed that her name was Hanae.
"Boss wants to see you before you leave okay, Hanae-chan?" A mischievous voice called out to her before soft arms wrapped around her own, causing Hakaze to abort her instinct to detain her, as she stared at an innocent smile beamed up back at her
"Rika-san…What did you do?" Hakaze sighed, giving the sweet-looking girl a fonder smile.
"Oh I didn't do anything, but I did see what you did Ha-nae-chan~!" Rika snickered in glee as she twirled Hakaze around before letting her go, "You tease, playing with poor Arata-san's heart."
Throwing her hair over her shoulder, Rika bounced away cackling at Hakaze's politely confused smile.
"Save some of the cute guys for me, okay Hanae-chan? You can't play with all of them!" The young teen threw over her shoulder, grabbing nearby workers into a twirl as she danced down the corridor.
"Didn't play with anyone Rika-san! And it's pronounced Hakaze! Have a good night!" Waving at the clearly not-listening teenager, Hakaze sighed as she spotted Rika throwing herself at one of the cute cleaners, before chatting up a storm with him.
'Ito Rika, ex-academy student and full-time flirt; she's gonna get herself into some trouble someday, I can tell,' Sighing through her nose, Hakaze fixed her clothes a bit before going through the back doors to the staff area. It was a little frustrating that no one could get her name right… But they weren't bad people.
'How does one go about correcting an entire Company and their clients? I really wish the boss hadn't promoted my services with that name. How do you get Hanae from Hakaze, anyway?'
In hindsight, it had been a rookie move to give her actual name to the Spa owner when she was going to the trouble of altering her appearance. But she had been just so frustrated at being unable to find an accommodating side job, had been rejected from four other options before she tried the Spa, she had slipped up when he had asked her name.
'What I would give to get my hours back at the hospital, instead of being subtly punished for trying to do something about helping the mental health of our own damn comrades.' Everyone in the hospital knew that the current Director of the Hospital was in the elders' collective pocket. 'Fucking Danzo'.
Coming to a stop, she took a look at herself in one of the many mirrors by the wall.
Hair dyed brown, natural foundation hiding the sea of freckles on her face and a little bit of makeup to make her eyes wider.
'A little contouring to change how my face is shaped, hair styled a little differently, standard vest binder to help change my body shape, atop the Spa uniform?' Giving a little turn in the mirror, Hakaze smiled at the willowy, curveless silhouette.
'At first glance, no one would ever guess I was the purple-haired medic-nin working on the Addiction Program, especially when I'm not using any henge.' It was standard practice to suppress your chakra when among civilians; some were sensitive to chakra, too sensitive, making life as a ninja impossible for them.
'I wouldn't be able to fool the elite but, thankfully, not many like to come to the civilian sectors for more than just border patrol.' Which, in combination with the standard practice of chakra suppression, meant that her strategy would continue to work.
For now, though, she needed to figure out what the boss wanted, grab her paycheck and go home so she could treat herself to a little bit of tender love and care!
'I saw a great sale on some flour on my way over, so maybe I can make myself a proper Ginger-Glazed Lemon Bundt tonight.'
Mentally drooling at the thought, Hakaze silently cheered as she saw her boss, Tanaka Hiroto, sitting in the Spa's garden space.
"Oh? Hanae-chan, what are you doing here so late?" The sun nearly had his gray hair shining white, and as he turned to look for his glasses it was hard not to notice his liver spots had multiplied. He made a pleased little sound as he found the glasses, slipping them on to peer up at her with the kind of bloodshot eyes that were common with men of his age.
Twitching slightly at the remark and how clueless he looked, she reminded herself to stay calm and figure out what was going on.
"Rika-san said that you had asked for me?" She prompted the old man, keeping her smile professional.
"Did I? Haha! Where is my mind these days… Now, what did I want you for?" Tanaka gave her a clueless look as he tilted his head in thought, voice trailing off as he gazed into the distance. The minutes slowly passed as he hummed softly, the sunset washing its dying rays over the two of them. Hakaze had to sourly wonder if there would be any flour left by the time she left here.
'Calm down, Hakaze. Don't work yourself up. In, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three, four, five.' Subtly continuing her breathing exercises, Hakaze patiently waited as Tanaka seemed to come back to the present.
"Ah yes! Your paycheque! Good job again, Hanae-chan! Please come by Monday to pick up your schedule for next weekend. Have a good night."
Huffing softly in exasperation, she gave Tanaka a soft smile as he beamed happily at her.
"Thank you, Sir. Before I forget, we are running low on some of the essential oils used for the customers. Do we have enough budget to order more?"
"Hmmm… Let's talk about that later, Hanae-chan. The Spa has been doing well to survive during the war, so hopefully, we will continue to grow during this less stressful time." Tanaka gave her a fond smile as he subtly dismissed her.
Giving him one last bow, Hakaze slipped away, making her way back to the changeroom before heading home.
Taking a deep whiff of the smell of her lemon bundt, Hakaze set it to cool in the pan for ten minutes, as she took out the homemade ginger glaze and sugared cranberries.
'Nothing beats stress baking after a long day at work.' Smiling cheerfully at the spread of confectionery, Hakaze paused at the sound of a soft meow from the window. Staring at her from the darkness of her window, were two glowing yellow orbs.
"Oh! Ko-kun! What are you doing here?" Opening the window, Hakaze giggled as the large cat headbutted her chin and made himself comfortable on her table.
'Who would have guessed that this world would have Maine Coons? At least, I'm pretty sure he's a Maine Coon cat.' Pulling out a small fish, she quickly descaled it and sliced it into small bite-size pieces. A loud purr filled the silence as she placed the plate of fish by the cat.
"Here you go, Ko-kun! Goodness, don't you look gorgeous today?" She had always adored cats, ever since she was small. She had never had one as a pet though, not even when she had lived on her own back in the other world.
'Pets were always so expensive; not exactly easy for a single person to support unless I made way more money than they ever paid me.' Besides, no apartment she could afford back then would allow pets, even if she could have found the time for a cat.
'Course, Kohaku-kun isn't a pet either.' Nin-animals were always very sensitive about that designation, no matter how much they enjoyed being pampered. Washing her hands thoroughly, she grinned at the happy mwerp noises her friend was making as he ate.
"Ne, Ko-kun? Want to hear some music?" Laughing at his condescending nod, Hakaze focused on the tune in her mind. Pulling a little bit of chakra around her, she bled it back into the air, grinning as the genjutsu came to life and began to fill the room with illusory music.
'Man, do I miss those live Lo-fi Hip Hop Beats; they were the perfect thing to pop on for background noise while baking.' Bobbing her head in time with the beat, she drizzled the homemade glaze over the cake, making sure to have it seep into the curved layers made from the pan. Adding the sugared cranberries as the pièce de résistance, Hakaze grinned at another successful baking experiment.
"Et voilà! What do you think, Ko-kun? Looks yummy?" The cat just tilted its head at her before turning back to his fish.
"Not your taste, huh? Well no worries, I'm sure some of my coworkers and patients at the hospital will like a bite." Cutting it up into smaller pieces, she gently placed them in her assortment of bento boxes.
'It might still be new, but the Addict Program clients and therapists always liked it when I left some snacks during their meetings, even if some of them didn't trust their poison detection enough to try my baking.' It wasn't easy, introducing new and foreign treats to traumatized and barely coping elite shinobi. Pausing to look at her hands, Hakaze rubbed them gently, feeling the callouses in completely different places from before.
'I lost… Everything. I don't care if it's suspicious, baking is all I have left from that world.' All that she had of her family, really. The only other thing she could do wasn't even available to her here. 'There are no violins in this region…maybe in this whole world.' The one thing that had tied her to her father was…out of reach to her. Hakaze chuckled bitterly as she recalled how this body's — her body's — mother had thrown her away after failing to abort her. 'And my sperm donor died before meeting me.'
In some ways, she was glad she didn't have any new parents, as it let her hold on even tighter the memories of her past one. 'Mom would have teased me like crazy for not eating the first slice,; she always said it was the most delicious one of the pastries.' Pausing a bit to fix her shirt, Hakaze hummed a bit as she realized the shirt was a bit snug, 'But I've been eating a bit too heavy lately for someone who's not hitting the training fields regularly, so, not tonight.'
Marking each box with sticky notes, Hakaze made sure to double-check on how many boxes she had. Lately, a few would go missing and she'd later find them empty in her cupboards. It was starting to unnerve her. This was more than absent-mindedness, she knew it. Swallowing down the fear that suddenly rose at the thought that her home wasn't safe anymore, Hakaze made a mental note to ask Yamanaka for advice on how to up the security at her home. There was very, very rarely such a thing as being too paranoid in a shinobi village.
'My gut wants to blame Danzo, but my mind knows that if that man wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already.' Still, it did make her feel better cursing him for everything. It was like his name was her own personal curse word. Biting her lip, Hakaze sighed again, as she could practically hear one of her ex-boyfriend's voices mocking her in her head for being so childish.
'I don't care if it's childish. It makes me feel better, so, fuck you Ken!'
Pushing the distracting thoughts out of her head, Hakaze wondered if Yamanaka-san would have time to chat tomorrow. She did her best, but even in her past life, she hadn't studied therapy intensely enough to be a master at it. Mental health awareness and beginner's steps were more her thing.
'You need an introductory workshop? I'm your girl! Anything else… Ehhhh, I'm better at referring people to the professionals.' Thank god Yamanaka had gotten curious enough to get involved. If they hadn't, who knows if Hakaze's program would even survive all of the scrutinies from the Director of the Hospital, let alone the Civilian and Shinobi Councils.
'The look on the Director's face when she told me that Yamanaka-sama —that a clan head! — and one of his clansmen, Yamanaka Haruka, had shown interest in the program… That was a good day.' Aoki was a difficult woman to work with, just as stubborn and narrow-minded as her father was before he retired. They hated new programs that weren't pitched by the Elders or Shinobi Council.
'Both of them willing to pass any rule or guideline that the Elders 'suggested' regardless of how it actually affected the actual people working there.' Danzo especially liked to visit, and had nearly given her a heart attack the first time she almost bumped into him. '"Just checking in and making sure we see that the Elders care", my ass. Though, at least that's better than his visits to the dying and those who'll never be able to be shinobi again… No one else mentions it, but I know there's a hike in the likelihood of suicide attempts in the survivors after one of his visits.'
Shaking her head slightly, Hakaze shook off thoughts of Danzo and her struggles. For now, it was time to indulge in her own cooking and Kohaku's sinfully soft fur as she relaxed for the night. Moving back to the stove, she began to throw together a quick, Chashu – Japanese style braised pork belly – and luckily for her, she had all the ingredients to make the sauce, as well as some green onions and an egg to boil on the side.
'Quick, easy, and delicious.' With a full belly and her tasks for the night finished, she turned her attention to the waiting nin-cat. Pampering her friend with a soft brush, Hakaze spent the rest of her evening grooming and playing with her friend. A few hours later, she kissed her furry friend goodbye as the cat bristled in embarrassment.
"Have a good night, Ko-kun. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" A soft bop on her nose from the sheepish animal had her giggle with fond affection; he was too adorable.
'I still wonder if he can speak? I know some of the Inuzuka nin-dogs are able to talk, though not all can…' Humming to herself softly, Hakaze pushed down the rising fear now that she was alone in her home. Quickly entering the bathroom for a brisk shower, Hakaze placed exploding tags close to the ledge, while strapping a couple of Kunai and shuriken in her waterproof garters. Making sure to keep a hand near the tags, should she suddenly be attacked, Hakaze focused her chakra as she did the hand signs for her Byouretsu no Jutsu.
'The range of this technique may be small, but at least it'll cover my bathroom and just outside the space.' This jutsu had saved her ass so many times during the second world war, its range ensuring that any enemy-nin that got close was exposed to her subtle chakra, seeping into their body and attacking key points so they would turn violently ill for a few minutes. 'Just long enough for me to be able to properly defend myself and get out of range.'
Hakaze finished her shower quickly, deciding to wash her hair tomorrow, she reequipped her mesh armor and stepped back into her hallway, missing the masked intruders who had made their way into her kitchen and snuck two bento boxes from the fridge. A slight scuffle between other masked people commenced on her rooftop as she uneasily got ready to get into bed, activating and rearming her traps by the door and window.
Taking off her makeup, Hakaze weaved some senbon into her braid, ensuring that it wouldn't prick her during the night and is easy to reach.
'I need to get this place secured again… Or else I'm gonna have to find another place to live in.''
Sighing in frustration, she drifted off into a very light sleep as a ninja was thrown off her neighbor's roof.
Something was wrong, Hakaze tried to figure out what was throwing her off as her hair kept changing from purple to brown to black.
"Ehh?! You stopped watching it? Why?" A shocked face shoved itself in her space, causing Hakaze to lean back as her friend –Sarah?— grabbed Hakaze's fries and sat back with a look of betrayal.
Giving her an annoyed look, Hakaze took a sip from her milkshake before cutting off her friend's rant by shoving a french fry in her mouth
"It got too long, and the plot didn't go anywhere for way too many episodes! Plus, the manga stopped advancing the plot" Eating a couple more fires, Hakaze stared her incredulous friend down as she finally confessed, "You know I don't have a very long attention span! I got bored!"
"But it's finally finished! Aren't you gonna finish it?" Rolling her eyes at Sarah, Hakaze picked up her hamburger, absently noticing her hands changing shape from slim hands to more tanned, wider hands with spider-like fingers. 'Piano hands… Who told me I had those kinds of hands?' Taking a large bite, she took her time chewing, enjoying the growing frustration on Sarah's face.
"Nope." The complete outrage on her face had Hakaze giggling up a storm, knocking over her milkshake and making a giant mess. A waiter came by, throat slashed with a kunai sticking out of it and a Hitai-ate with Iwa's symbol on it. The rotting corpse cleaned up the milkshake spill, leaving behind blood stains on the table before staggering away, collapsing into a scroll with a black band around it. It then rolled itself up with a crisp snap.
"But! But! We finally got to see the Fourth Hokage!" Sarah swooned as she waxed poetry over the fictional man's looks, losing Hakaze's focus. Glancing around the Food
Plaza, Hakaze spotted children with blank dead eyes lying on the other chairs and hanging from the play place, all of them genin from the Genin Corps. Looking away in unease, Hakaze took a bite out of her onigiri, wondering why she was eating onigiri with fries.
'What a weird combination.'
Sarah snapped her fingers in front of Hakaze's face, bringing her attention back to her friend.
"Are you listening to me?!" She pouted, huffing in frustration at Hakaze's sheepish smile, "Anyway we found out that ROOT, you know, the really bad black ops that was disbanded but continued to run illegally? It's headed by Danzo who is… Get this, "The Root of all Evil"!" Sarah cackled at her own joke, her neck snapping at an odd angle before re-adjusting.
"What do you mean "Root of all Evil"? Like he's the evil behind ROOT or…?" Finishing off her hamburger, Hakaze brushed off the rice grains on her shirt.
"I mean, every enemy Konoha has ever had during the series was influenced or affected by Danzo's decisions. Basically, every time he got involved, a villain was the result!" Sarah gave her a wide smile that only got wider and wider until eventually, her face looked like she had a Glasgow smile. Hakaze ignored the blood that dripped from the widened smile.
"..Isn't that taking away any agency the villains had?" Hakaze huffed, looking away from Sarah as she was not impressed by this news at all.
"I'm serious! Annnd, he also killed off or corrupted every single ninja that was a candidate for being Hokage!" Hakaze's eyes caught the gaze of a sad-looking Hatake Sakumo, his guts spilling out from his body and staining his son who stood underneath him. The dim light in his black eyes snuffed out, and he toppled away to the side, leaving behind the faceless, bloodstained child.
Sarah stood up, caught up in her passion, and blocked Hakaze's view as she continued to rave, "He is the rot in the root, the poison in the soul, the-"
"I get it, he's the devil himself. So... What then? Everyone else got bitch smacked into listening to the Power of Friendship speech and became good guys?" A chuckle echoed from behind her as a blonde woman in pigtails screamed at the waiter for another bottle of sake. A hauntingly familiar chunin sat near her, convulsing to the ground as his liver gave up on him. Tsunade walked over his body to reach a poker table, stopping to frisk one of the genin for cash to use in the game. Hakaze gripped the table in grief as her eyes welled up with tears.
"Eh, pretty much. There are a few exceptions, but even then that's debatable." Sarah tsked, pulling Hakaze back as Sarah's dress became a nurse's uniform. Wiping at her eyes, Hakaze gave her friend a sour look at the remark.
"Now I definitely don't want to watch it or read it. What's the point if your villains never face the consequences or get their just desserts?" Hakaze scoffed. She had never been a fan of the idea that during a high-stakes battle, the protagonist could just yell hard truths at the antagonist and make him suddenly change his personality because of his dedication and sincerity behind his words. If that was all it took, then why would the antagonist have come to this point?
'That's not how trauma works, that's not how healing works either.'
Sarah screeched in denial, "Noo! You have to! The fillers are so good!"
"Who are you, and what have you done to my friend? In what world are fillers any good? They're cash-cow stalling tactics!" Hakaze snapped back, completely done with this conversation.
"But these ones actually add depth! We get to see Shino and his bugs laugh, learn more about the Clans, and really cool people are introduced." Sarah protested, grasping her iPhone to show her the scene.
"And I bet we never see them, ever again, after their one episode to shine." Hakaze groaned, pushing the phone out of her face, feeling slightly confused as to why she didn't have her phone with her.
"So? They're still fun. Plus we get our own zombie apocalypse too." Sarah cheered, the corpses all around the room standing up slowly before their heads turned to look at the two girls.
"...You're kidding me right?" Hakaze wasn't the biggest fan of zombie apocalypse movies, the short run time making it hard for her to get immersed into it.
"Also, also! Everyone dies and aliens invade! Am I making you curious?" Sarah leaned into Hakaze's space, color leaching away from one half of her face as the other half became pitch black, eyes turning luminescent yellow.
"No. You and your trolling ways won't convince me to slog through so many chapters and episodes on a series that grew more and more disappointing with their representation of women and Sasuke obsession." Hakaze scoffed, shoving her face away from her as Sarah's nurse outfit became a black cloak with red clouds on it.
"The one thing they had going for them was their antagonists, and now you're telling me they couldn't get even that right? Hell to the No." She hissed, uncomfortable with the corpses shuffling closer to their table,
"Come on! You'll like it, I promise. You'll love this plant guy called Zetsu! He's also behind a lot of stuff! So let's order some pizza and have a Naruto Marathon this weekend!" Sarah smiled, the hair slowly shortening into a spikey mess.
"How about this, you order the pizza and we watch some episodes of Bleach or something else instead." Hakaze broke out into a light sweat as the corpses surrounded their table, blocking them from leaving the space.
"But ninjas and ṭ̴̄h̴̳͊ê̶̝ ̶̥́ẑ̴̦o̶̱̿m̷͚̋b̸̖̕i̵͙͊e̴̖͌ ̸̢̋a̴͎̕p̴͇͆o̷̱͋c̵͚̅a̵̦̾l̵̫͠y̴͍͑p̴͓͊ș̶̏è̶̦!̶͙́"̵̗͆ Sarah– was it still Sarah? – cried, voice turning distorted and alien at the end.
"My couch, my rules. Now let's go." Hakaze declared, standing up as the corpses' hands reached out to grab her.
Sunlight streamed into her room as Hakaze bolted up from her bed, kunai in her hand and senbon clutched in the other. Sensing no one in the room, she slowly put the kunai away before sliding the senbon back into her messy braid.
Running a hand through her tangled locks, Hakaze wondered if maybe her paranoia from yesterday had caused her to dream of…. That.
'I remember meeting up with Sarah for hamburgers, but what the hell was with that nightmare fuel?' Shuddering at the creepy imagery, she pulled herself out of her bed and towards the bathroom.
'But, seriously, how could I have guessed my life would depend on how much I remember about Naruto?' The world could at least have her reborn into a Clan or give her a kekkei genkai or something! She should have had some compensation after being thrown into such a disaster show.
'This wasn't even my favorite anime series! Ugh!' Isn't that how this sort of thing was supposed to work? You're reborn into your favorite series? Standing in front of her mirror, Hakaze sighed and took a moment to look at herself. 'I also seem to recall you're supposed to become a bombshell beauty, which is another thing that didn't happen.'
Tilting her head to the side, she looked herself over before making up her mind,'I may look… Weird, but I'm not ugly. No great beauty though. I just make it to "pretty" if I doll myself up, according to everyone's unasked-for opinion.'
A mess of brown hair stood out in her reflection — hiding the shock of lilac-colored hair —while her abundant freckles clashed against her pale skin. Narrowing her eyes at herself in the mirror, vicious black, phoenix eyes glared back, making her look like some villain in one of those otome games. Squinting closer to the mirror, Hakaze prayed that they wouldn't be so bloodshot by the time she got to work.
'God, the last time I walked in with my eyes so bloodshot from bad sleep, everyone in the whole damn floor kept coming by to "console me" for getting rejected by some patient I didn't even remember the name of! I talked to him once! Just once while he was getting discharged!' He had been a chunin who had been hurt badly during the war, and honestly, she had only made him a treat once — just once! — to cheer him up after being told he was being benched for months due to the severity of his wounds. Sighing through her nose, Hakaze leaned back from the mirror in annoyance.
'I do not want another day of that, especially not with their attitude about my Program atop it all.' She was beyond sick of people thinking that because she was so plain looking, she got rejected every time a man talked to her and then walked away.
'What's wrong with freckles anyway? I still don't get why they're my "greatest flaw".' Her alarm went off, letting Hakaze know that she had to hurry up to get to work on time. Having a quick shower, she took out the brown hair dye and brushed her lilac-purple hair out before braiding it into a french bun — though could she still call it that if France didn't exist here? — before she tied her hitai-ate on her upper arm as she finished putting on her uniform.
'Hm, this uniform is a bit tight. Damn, I need to go training more.' The last thing she wanted is more snide marks about how she was trying to make her bust bigger with such a tight uniform, and how "wasted" it was on a plain thing like her. It didn't help that Hakaze had a wider shoulder width than her hips, highlighting her rack more than the other, more willowy nurses and doctors.
'Honestly, it feels like I'm at a high school again, with snide upperclassmen hiding their insecurities through picking on others,' Good to know some things never change, no matter what world you land in. Making up her mind, Hakaze decided that If the hospital still wouldn't give her more time then she would use it to train harder. There was only so much time the Spa would give her, so it would be better to keep herself fit before she got surprised by one of those mandatory fitness tests,
'Now… To count how many bento boxes I have this morning.' Grabbing the bento boxes from the fridge, she narrowed her eyes as she recounted them again; two were missing. Rummaging through her cupboard, she found them stored, washed and packed away where the other bento boxes are usually kept.
'Motherfucker.' Grabbing a sealed scroll from the floorboard of the kitchen, Hakaze unsealed a poison kit and began testing each and every slice of cake to ensure that no foreign substances had been added to the bunch.
'Thank Kami, it looks like all the others are untouched and poison-free.' Breathing in through her nose as she came down from her stressed state, Hakaze sealed the remaining boxes before locking up and beginning to roof jump all the way to the hospital.
'Yes! Just in time!' Landing in front of the building, Hakaze pulled up her customer service smile as she waved to a few of her senpai. Making it to her booked room, she rushed around, setting up the room for the Addiction Program. The morning group, Group A, was scheduled to have a session today. Spotting the updated list of today's members, Hakaze smiled as she noted a few new names.
"Looks like we have a few new members." Grinning at the concrete proof that her program was worth fighting for, Hakaze prayed the new members would manage to finish and succeed in rehabilitation.
'Let's see, looks like we have someone named Ito-san as well as a Nara-san joining us today.' Unsealing some of her bento boxes, Hakaze began to set the cakes on the display plate just as Yamanaka came into the room. Having learned her lesson the last time she didn't keep an eye on her boxes around this one, she was able to spot a hand reaching out towards one of the boxes on the edge. "Yamanaka-san." She said with a determined smile that wanted to slip at the thought of a third box getting snatched before a single patient saw one, "Yours will be available when the patients arrive."
That earned her a shameless chuckle that Hakaze was a bit ashamed to admit lowered her irritation and made it easier to exchange a more genuine smile with the would-be thief. Making her way to her makeshift receptionist desk, as she was the only person who could take on that role with how pressed they were, Hakaze began putting her things to rights.
'You know what? Theft aside, it looks like it's going to be a good day.' Placing a pen on the sign-in board, she sat back and waited for the members to start arriving.
EndNote: The jutsu Hakaze uses "Byouretsu no Jutsu (Violent Sickness Technique)" is from the Game "Naruto: d20"
An observation from my beta:
Hakaze, earning money with cunning: I will show them, I will show them ALL.
Horrifically surreal night-terrors: Are you sure all this effort is worth it?
Hakaze: takes out the shovel and wacks her traumas before burying them again. I am going to do it.
Thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns below!