Title: My Triumph lasted till the Drums
Chapter 12: Sent us of the Air—
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
AN: Sorry for the silence. I could list a million excuses, but truly I have just been busy. Aside from life, I have begun writing my own novel. Also, I have rediscovered my love for FMA and FMA:B. If you know any good OC fanfic in that category, let me know. I'm thinking of writing something for FMA soon. Also, I know its short, but I have to spend my time writing for many other projects now. I'll try and write some more for this soon. Thank you for your patience friends~
Dear Nanami,
I am sending you this letter with the highest regard and to wish you a happy birthday. Neji has been doing well in your absence. He is progressing at an alarming rate, and I am proud to say he is following his older sister's pace in maturity. The main house has taken a liking to him, a situation I am relieved about. Unfortunately, he will have to grow up baring the burden of the branch family, but I am comforted that he will be surrounded by you and loved ones.
My brother has told me that his beloved has become pregnant with their first born. They are very excited for a new heir. While this is good news among the clan, I can't help but feel guilt for hating the family system and yearning for change, for Neji's sake.
As Neji's first birthday approaches, I will need to go on more active missions and leave him to the family's care. Hopefully when you return to visit your new sibling in October, you will also make some time for Neji.
I hope you are doing well Nanami-chan. I have attached an envelope to this letter with some money. I hope you use it to get something special for yourself.
Awaiting your return,
-Hizashi Hyuuga
Nanami rose with the sun. For as long as she could remember, she had been both a morning person and an evening person, leaving only a few hours during the night for sleep. She had never minded, seeing sleep as a hindrance to her objectives. When the light from the sun shone through the blinds of her hotel room, Nanami brought her tiny firsts to her eyes, and began wiping away her sleepiness.
She quietly looked to her right after she recovered some visual clarity, only to see her sensei, half naked and sprawled out along her futon. She had been drinking heavily the night before and most likely wouldn't be up until noon. Typically, Nanami would wash up and head out in the early morning to practice her katas, and do some chakra control exercises in a more serene place. However, since they had arrived in the Land of Wind, she had had a difficult time finding a place that wasn't filled with sand.
The desert was horrendous. During her travels Nanami had learned that she loved the climate of Konoha, it was second to none. After travelling through the snow, wetlands, mountains and now the desert, Nanami could definitively say this. Regardless, Nanami left the hotel with her Encyclopedia of Poisons and Antidotes neatly placed in her bag to find something to occupy her, it was her birthday after all.
She had received some money and letters from her family, friends and her adorable Itachin. Lately, she had been feeling more and more homesick. Nanami had been preoccupied in her thoughts when she realized she had run into something hard, causing her to fall back on her bottom.
"Sorry," she said looking up at the figure, "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
The man above her had simply stared down at the small girl not showing any emotion on his pale face. This close, Nanami could feel his dangerously large chakra reserves. She quickly got up to her feet, nervous that the stranger was angry.
"Well, I'll be going now," Nanami sputtered as she turned to walk away. However, before she could start walking the man grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"You dropped this," he said, his deep voice filling the morning silence. Nanami, turned back around and looked at the book that had fallen out of her bag.
"Oh, thank you sir."
"You're interested in poison," the question came off as more of a statement.
"Um, yes. I travelled here with my master to learn more about poison and antidotes. I'm practicing to be a medical ninja someday," Nanami replied, looking at the pale hand that still had a tight grip on her wrist.
The man seemed to take in the information in slowly, his hand still gripping the newly six-year-old's wrist. Suddenly, he let the girl go and brought the hand that was on Nanami's wrist to the large encyclopedia in his hand. He began flipping through the text, pausing on certain pages, then moving quickly through the rest of the text.
Nanami felt uncomfortable at the man's presence. He had been the only other person awake this early in the morning, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing skulking around. Then again, she could also be considered suspicious by that logic. While contemplating the man's level of suspiciousness, and toying with letting him keep the book and running away, she was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of the book being snapped shut.
Nanami looked up at the man as he extended the book down to her. She took it gently and looked back at him, questioning his actions.
"I had the same book, they haven't update most of the information in it for many years," he explained, seeming to sense her curiosity.
"You use poison?" Nanami asked, genuinely curious.
"Yes."
"Then do you have any tips? Like, what book should I use in place of this one? What is your favorite poison to mix?" Nanami asked, unable to hide the excitement in a new source of knowledge.
She seemed to recognize that he enthusiasm made the stranger uncomfortable and began to apologize.
"Learn everything in this book," he began, interested in the young girl's intelligence. "Then when you've gained experience, make your own poison. All notable poison masters have their own unique formulas so others cannot solve their mysteries easily," he said a small smirk making its way to his mouth. "And, when they are solved, the masters create something new."
The sun had begun to climb higher in the sky and more early risers in the village began to shuffle about. The man turned his look at the road containing many vendor's stands that sold fruit, clothing and jewelry. The vendors had begun preparing their shops by unloading their merchandise out to their two-wheeled wagons.
Without a word the man began walking the opposite way for the road. Nanami stayed still, unsure is the man wanted to be followed or not, but she couldn't help but feel sad as her newly discovered resource's steps grew quieter. The sound of his footsteps paused, and Nanami looked up to see the man turn back to her.
"Practice. I expect to see you do well someday," he said, before turning back around and flickered away.
Nanami looked at the spot the man disappeared at for a while afterwards, contemplating his words. She didn't know why, but she wanted to follow through and impress the stranger she had met early in the streets of Sunagakure. She didn't know how the man would know if she progressed or if he would remember their conversation, but she knew that she would remember his advice and his comically bright red head of hair.
Dear Hizashi-san,
Thank you for the update on Neji. I cannot wait to see him again. I am glad that you read my letters to him, so hopefully he'll remember me when I return. I have begun writing letters to my little sibling too. I have so many letters to write now, I'm feeling paranoid that I'll accidently forget somebody.
Thank you for the birthday wishes and money, even though I asked you not to send me anything. I did use it to buy an updated encyclopedia on poisons and antidotes, and I am really excited to get started.
As for your clan news, I am sorry to hear about the recent struggles. I will be there to support Neji every step of the way. Please keep me updates, I can be there quickly if anything were to happen.
I am sorry to cut the letter short, but I must finish my other letters and thank you notes to the others who sent me presents for my birthday. Please stay healthy until I return.
Best,
-Nanami Uchiha
Omake: Happy Birthday Nana-chan!
"Happy birthday Nana-chan!" Shizune said to her younger training partner in the corner booth of the bar their sensei had dragged them into earlier that evening. Apparently, when Tsunade said they could celebrate her birth, she meant that she would celebrate by getting drunk, leaning the younger girls to order whatever they wanted to eat. Nanami had ordered savory dumplings with miso soup and a side of strawberry dango for desert.
"You're just excited you don't have to study tonight Shizune-san. And please refrain from calling me that," Nanami stated to her older companion. Shizune looked annoyed at her statement, but didn't protest the truth.
"Sooooooo Nana-chan," Nanami's eyebrow twitched at the use of her nickname once again, "I noticed you get a lot of letters from home, and from one person in particular. You're pretty young to have a boyfriend aren't you Nanami?" Shizune said, teasing the younger girl.
While the two got along decently during their travels, the preferred to spend their time separately. Nanami theorized it was because of her superior learning ability that Shizune grew jealous of her.
"He's not my boyfriend, just a childhood friend of mine," Nanami explained, finishing up her meal, and beginning to eat her dango.
"It's Itachi Uchiha right? He's pretty cute. Maybe when he's older I take a chance. I mean if you're not dating him, he must be available, right?" she said, a smirk growing on her face as she saw the younger girl pause in her action of eating her dango.
Shizune's personal victory was short lived when Nanami's hand came down on the booth table, cracking the table in half and knocking any remaining food onto the ground. Shizune froze in fear at the abrupt demonstration of the girl's monster strength.
"I'm just kidding Nana-chan!" Shizune laughed nervously, trying to not to upset the girl any further.
"Oh, oops. I guess I reacted a little too strongly there, didn't I?" Nanami said, looking at the mess in front of her. She saw her spilled dango on the ground of the bar and grew sad that she wouldn't be able to eat the rest of her birthday treat. "What a waste of dango."
Omake 2: Choosing a present.
The streets of Konoha grew busy after the 3:30pm. Itachi Uchiha had never paid much attention to that fact, as he always went straight to the clan compound after his lessons at the academy to avoid dallying and fangirls. However, today was different. He was wondering the unfamiliar streets trying to find something. Though that something was still a mystery to him.
If it was logical, he would just send Nanami dango for her birthday. It was the food of the gods, and he was happy that his friend agreed with him on that belief. Though, he knew that sending dango would be messy and unrealistic. He had to find something else suitable to her, but he didn't realize how difficult that would be until he tried.
Nanami wasn't a flashy girl, she didn't care for jewelry and she never was too interested in clothes beyond their functionality. Flowers would die before they reached her, and she already had all the weapons she needed. He had asked his Kaa-san what girls wanted for presents, but her answer was unhelpful.
You'll know it when you see it.
No, that was not helpful at all in narrowing down his options. He figured he could always send her some money or a book, but those seemed to impersonal, like gifts an acquaintance would get her, not her best friend.
After wondering the streets for an hour, and spending most of his time dodging girls from school, he finally understood what his mother meant. The stand had several ribbons on display, the kind that tied long hair back. He knew that Nanami's hair had grown long since she hadn't had time to cut it, and it would be inconvenient as she practiced and studied with her hair falling in her face. He liked the idea of her with long hair as he pictured the long locks pouring over her shoulders, contrasting her periwinkle eyes. Yes, he would buy the periwinkle ribbon he saw in the store window, and write a letter requesting her hair be long enough to use it when she returned. He just wanted to know what it would look like after all.