Tsunade was on her worst mood ever, a first for Shizune, she prayed in silence for the poor souls on with her on the room right now. The team Soujiro had taken arrived late, worn out and injured but alive. Hiashi, Neji and Hinata were looking after Hanabi who was sleeping on her bed at the hospital. They reported back all what happened, after checking no one had a serious injury Tsunade leaved quickly. Hiashi bowed briefly with the same hard expression to the orange haired boy whom was looking at the window next to Hanabi bed. Yue hand was better but he had to take it easy for a couple of days, he didn't wanted to sleep there. His sensei left with Ryoga, since his partner was the only one whom could leave.
However at the first chance Yue escaped, his mind was elsewhere. Strolling with no direction, free to do as he pleased but… what?
"You should rest" Harumi voice answered on his mind, Yue sighed, entering the market.
"I can't"
"Is something bothering you?" She kindly asked. Frankly, Yue had been disappointed with himself. That mission could have gone better. Not to mention he wasn't comfortable lying and wanted to left out this fighting but…
"You have done well. Don't overthink it" Harumi answered, he just nodded. "We could train, you don't need both arms with me" That actually improved his mood, he accepted and looked out for a good place. Searching long and hard for a nice place. A solitaire patch was the perfect spot, Harumi then advised mental training was the best option, so he sit down and meditated.
Anyone who didn't knew might think it was ordinary meditation, breathing exercises, yet for people like him it involved much more. On the mind domain he confronted spiritually Harumi, with no physical restriction their souls resounded with the natural flow of live around them. With no water neither had the advantage, an equal dance of blows helped in the eventual soul bond required for battles. This was the best way spirit and vessel synchronized, for the time their minds mingled Yue left his concerns wore off.
Not sure how much time had passed Harumi end their fight, it was time, she said. The inevitable silence of their home greeted him, he sighed and did the usual. After taking a hot bath and eating dinner Yue stared at his empty bed. The next day he planned to engaged on another round of training, what he didn't expected was going back home to face a woman. Long raven hair, lavender foggy eyes and fair skin of a Hyuga, with a basket on her hands staring at the door of the state.
"Can I help you?" The woman jumped slightly, until then he recognized her as the visitor from yesterday at his teammate room.
"I-I just… wanted to thank you because my sister will not…"
"Yeah, I know. Am, Hinata-san… right?" She nodded, he decided inviting her for some tea. Since it was one of his guardian close friends, Yue was specially patient with the woman. Polite, gentle but too quiet, it was like having another piece of furniture on the house. Tasting one of the muffins on the basket, frowning… it was different.
"You don't like them?" She asked, Yue blinked, unsure if he give himself away but he didn't want to upset her.
"No, but you didn't have to do this. She is my teammate, it's natural to protect each other, don't we?"
Hinata smiled, Yue turned searching for the honey and jars with tea leaves for her to pick one. "How are you feeling?" She asked once her tea was done.
"Much better, thanks. I had seen worse" Even now, he felt reluctant sharing more details.
"If there is anything I can do for you please let me know"
Feeling oddly uncomfortable at the warm on those pale eyes. Technically he didn't saved Hanabi, taking credit for it was not right. "hum… I… I have to prepare the next batch and tend the flowers"
His escape didn't worked, she offered her time and now both were working on the garden. The manner in which she moved around with confident care and diligence made him ask.
"Have you been here before?"
She paused at mid work, blushed but continued watering the flowers. "From time to time. When she left, we knew how important it was her garden and… eventually managed keeping it alive."
Her stare and posture had his curiosity, Yue had heard stories from this village, sometimes wondering the truth on it. Meeting said people set a list of varied impressions, eventually he got curious about the names her caretaker spoke with a nostalgic tone.
However, he didn't asked. It was like a taboo, just like mentioning his… parents. Not because he wanted to forget them, but the kind of effect it had after such tragedy was… shocking.
"Are you ok?" her worry cut his mind track, Yue gazed down, not planning to open up his mouth.
"Sorry, I didn't want to pry"
He just nodded, it was not her fault. Fortunately, Hinata didn't asked more and we focused on our task, we had finished more than half of the job when accidentally Yue broke a box of jars. While Hinata cleaned up he ran to the basement looking for another stuck of jars. Sure they have leave it somewhere when they cleaned up last time. But not all the boxes were labeled, scattered around or piled up on a dangerous position. The dust had accumulated a little making it difficult to pick between the new and older boxes. The light poor and blinking at times, he had to change the bulb after that. It took a lot of his time when he finally spotted the right box, tiptoeing just to reach out the corners but Hinata scream surprised him enough to end buried on the mess.
When Hinata found him he was hugging the box, surrounded by lots of papers, books, clothes, notebooks. "They… are fine" Yue groaned, his arm throbbed, but he didn't break more glass jars so it was ok.
The woman helped him stuff everything where it belonged, but as he passed on some papers with appalling drawings probably a child had done did Hinata laugh distracted him.
"So-Sorry, it's just that… I have forgotten about this" She had one of those drawings on her hands, laughing when finally he realized what was on the paper. He could recognize those golden eyes everywhere.
"Hi-Hika" Yue could not even talk, it was just too much. What in the world did Hikaru was doing dancing with pineapples? Something pink was on fire, or swimming on a red pool of tomato with a lemon in his opinion. Something yellow wrapped up on orange was exploding and a black duck firing the pineapple, some shining dogs spitting out of a gray spooky.
"She draw this after a mission they did with Shika team. We laughed a lot"
"Did mo-I mean… she draw this?" Yue and her sat there just smiling as the woman left now and again some memories slip of what she remembered. It took time determining what each of them belonged. The pink was Sakura, the gray was Kakashi, the yellow was Naruto but he was more interested on the blacks ones. Because on some drawings they were more than one and it was the color most repeated.
His curiosity got the best of him as his fingers opened few of the books and notebooks. Some of them of academic matter with little notes or drawings here and there. Two of them were like diaries, but it confused him a bit since it started always with a greeting and ended with a little note for someone, much like a letter. Their names familiar, but Yue remembered just minor details of her final and only story of the Uchihas.
Reading just few paragraphs of them did he felt as if it was speaking to him, like he was on the head of her adoptive mother. Honestly, he might felt guilty for intruding on something personal but it was just like those notebooks were calling for him. They were forgotten for a long time just pleading for some hungry reader like him.
"I-I should not suggest this but… take these" Hinata voice scared him a little, he got carried away on his imagination. The woman smiling tenderly and giving him a little pile of… photos. Feeling the heat of his impending embarrassment didn't detered his curiosity. Few, barely a dozen, the first one has easy to recognize a tiny Kaoru, Hikaru and another woman besides them. Gazing at Hinata finally having the courage to admit, he was delighted but confused.
"Why…?" Because, for him, it was the most rational thing just being careful around people. However Hinata soft tone and gaze of "Know it all" did trapped him bare handed with the next few words.
"Isn't it normal for a son to love her mom?" She knew, the treacherous woman knew and he could do nothing about it. Unable to look straight feeling his blush deepen, but… but… Yue was out of words. No, he didn't wanted Kaoru knowing, still it felt super awkward trying to call her… mom. Not because she was a terrible one, but, Yue was just too… shy and a bit paranoid that if he said it… he will be rejected. A bit stupid said one part of his mind, the other agreed with the rejection since, he had not been kind with her at first. Ii may even attract some kind of misfortune, like a bad luck charm tht activated if he said THAT word. Hinata knowingly give him the push to take them and swear keeping his secret.
It was late in the afternoon and so far she wanted to get out of here. Her first mission as a shaman was not what she expected. After Isamu messed up with Tsunade she was send to the Fire Temple where Kaoru meet the most rude teenager on her life. Brash, and blunt, she lost her patience when they met near a tomb, Isamu said she had to seal it away. Unfortunately the boy jumped to conclusions and attacked, proved useless after Kaoru leaved him unconscious, she hadn't seen a monk before so when the rest of their team came… she apologized.
He had been on her toes since then, Naruto had little patience with him, Sai was completely indifferent and Yamato being the reliable captain had to act as a mediator between us. Right now she was outside on the cold night with no care of the world at the temple yard fighting with Isamu restless. Why? The kid had said something so nasty, it hurted her feelings, because it was an accurate description of whom she was. His soul guardian was awfully quiet, pissed on a different level, he understood and let her get away with it. However her mind was not there, her swings were clumsy, her hits a mess and her aim failed more than once. Isamu then stopped the fight, strangely surrounding her with his arms and she didn't noticed she was crying until her white hakama stained.
"I had to go… would you be ok?" I just nodded, he left soon and I was trying to calm down. Footsteps approaching put her on guard, but it was just Sai, who stood few paces away gazing his surroundings.
"It's too late. "
"Sai… did… something came up?" He denied, I brushed the remaining tears on my face and walked back.
"Naruto went after him." Sai said, I didn't wanted to hear it. "Whatever he did… just remember that we had a mission"
"I know" Was all I could say, because it was pointless, he was right and we came here to help these people regardless if I like them or not.
As Kaoru had warned, the bodies were not there, they tagged along to where their coffins gathered. It was so obvious it was a trap, she tried to talk out Yamato for scanning the area around since the jutsu range won't deter from 10 kilometers but Sora completely messed up everything jumping the cliff with Naruto in tow. We didn't have another option but follow, and like I predicted a trap popped in, literally we were separated, Sai and I flew safely on his ink bird looking for an exit.
The rocky landscape closed the way, it was sure to assume the enemy had control over earth jutsu, Sai and I were cautelous on the enemy sudden appearance. The good thing about working with him it was his remarkable intellect and tactics, deceive and retreat was a key. While our clones distracted the enemy, we studied from afar the pattern of attacks.
"It's tracking the movements too accurately"
"Something attached on my clone, I noticed. We must inmobilize once the enemy reveal itselves."
"I had an idea, let's do it!"
Right on time when our clones got dispersed Sai was the first to ambush the right, speed was not a problem for me and did not hesitated to use my Spiritual Rope on the enemy nin. It struggled as I absorbed its energy slowly, because there was no way escape route for this.
"Surrender now, let my friends out or else…" linked to her body I just give a taste of what happened when you blocked out for a second the path to her hands.
"Wha… what is this? My hands!" Sai draw ink snakes and enclosed the now useless hands.
"Time is running out. Who is your objective?"
"As...As if I will tell you that easily." Sai pressured more, I decided to quit her legs as well. "It… it won't work, I didn't make this. You had the wrong person"
"Do you think we are stupid? Fine, in any case we will take you with us." I didn't waited for more, taking the necessary, rendering her unconscious. Sai took a look at her things then, while I searched for a scroll on my pouch.
"This map seems like a key, if only we could use it to locate the others…"
"We can, seal her away on this scroll while I'm at it." We changed position, since I had a well image of my team chakra I studied closely the map on the scroll. Taking in every detail, it was a summoning scroll, but it was my first time seeing a whole terrain being summoned. Recalling on what I had studied about them I risked all with an idea. Fingers glowing with Reishi touched one part of the map near our current location, the structure collapsed abruptly. Then using chakra she repeated the action, it just collapsed a part of it. She had to be careful or her friends might end up hurt.
Now that she had an insight did Kaoru tried to reach out with her Reishi sense for their chakra. Being cautious on which direction she took with her finger around the map, for too long did she felt nothing. If she was less patient and reckless she might already gave up, but little by little did each zone reduced until she spotted Naruto.
"Sai, lend me your ink"
Confused he did as told, she draw the perimeter around where Naruto chakra flared and continued looking for Yamato.
"Won't we have to go there?"
"We are far, might as well loss time running, what I'm thinking is to point them on the map and destroy the remaining terrain. That way neither our enemy or us will have other option but change tactics."
"Could you do that?"
"Yes… ugh I can't find that stupid kid. That is suspicious" Kaoru said while she continued looking out.
"We will have a better view on the sky" Sai draw a bird huge enough for us, it took more time but when I finally spotted both and confirmed their actual positions I concentrated the reishi. With glowing hands I started, it had to be a wave of pulsing Reishi that smashed the safe areas and Sai didn't relaxed his hold on me while his bird flew up more.
By the time I finished I felt a bit tired but fine, unfortunately the debris blocked out most of it so I had to call for Isamu energy. I just needed enough of wind to blow out, so I had to gather more. The purple glow surrounded me the wings of my back finally materialized, it won't last so I had to be quick. Fluttering them, sending huge vortex of wind until the debris . They disappeared and when I thought my legs give up Sai catched me, breathing hard, feeling sweat on my forehead.
"Are you ok?" Sai black eyes and surprise made me grin a bit. It was nice watching actual emotion on his face for once.
"Don't worry, we still have to kick some butts"
We approached Naruto first, Sai and I intercepted another woman with long hair. What we didn't take on was that she had more than one elemental nature, we could not live under my barrier forever. The three combined attacks hit on spot, or we thought so until she appeared behind me, Sai tried to shield me and got injured. At least his last attack send her rolling and Naruto clones surrounded her, I fired up at the first chance.
When the thunder dispersed a rocky dome surprised us and another man joined the battle. I took Sai out of danger but was not quick enough. Nothing serious just a cut on my arm, then it came that kid out of nowhere and we managed for few minutes when Yamato and the monks appeared. As soon as they came, the enemy disappeared and I turned my attention on Sai arm.
"It's nothing serious, I will fix it right away. Hold still" It was the least I could do for him, a broken bone can heal with reishi and chakra, besides she didn't wanted Sai suffering. His other hand suddenly touched her forehead, cleaning the sweat.
"You need to rest"
I declined politely, they were my priority. Once I was sure his arm was fixed, I chased my next patient. Naruto tried to talk me out of it but it was in vain.
"Really, I'm alright! You came right on time!"
"No, you are not." I paused, just rechecking his energy since his body seemed fine. "What did that woman do? Your chakra feels different"
And so it did, the usual blue was tinted with orange, unusual in a sense, because instead of lowering his chakra it was slowly filling up. I tried to touch it, suddenly feeling as if a thunder shock pushed. An image of something flashed quickly then, feral and wild, like an animal. She was looking at his chest holding herself feeling her legs tremble, not because it scared her… the shock also filled up a raw emotion of despair and fury.
It was like feeling the old times once again, when she could not hold the emotions of others and the symptoms manifested on her body.
"Kao-chan! What is wrong? Yamato-taicho, we have to go back now!" I barely heard him as he suddenly carried me away. I had no idea what it was the thing inside my friend. It worried me a second, but the pressure still lingered making it difficult to stay awake. His warmth a relief of the coldness it gave, the last thing I see was his blue concerned eyes.