"There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language." William Osler
Chapter 13: Observation
It wasn't because I found myself in another body, that I would change my behaviour. So I changed into a sports outfit and prepared myself to run. But because I was now acting as Yamanaka Ino, I had to ask about their training grounds. This is how I met a few of her clan members who had been informed of our misadventure. Actually they were really nice to me, calming me down after I had been so angry with Sasuke.
As we started a slow jog, they started asking questions. I wasn't the sort of person to spill my life to anyone else. Except that these guys (Inomaru, Chieko and Asaki?) were either working in the T&I department or in the psychiatric department. They knew how to look at things. They knew what questions to ask. They were all Chuunin. Asaki (blonde shoulder-long hair in a ponytail and a goatee) and Chieko (blonde hair in a bun, rond glasses that made her blue eyes bigger) were in their mid-twenties, probably brother and sister (she was older than him). Inomaru looked in his thirties with his short hair and clean shave, but his grey eyes seemed older.
"Inokane-San is your therapist?" the only girl had inquired. "How weird, I thought she had stopped working in this field and became a reservist."
"Well I see her regularly. Like once a week or so, in the evenings."
A reservist? I knew for sure that some of the people called 'reservists' were in fact ANBU members. I wouldn't have known my therapist was one. She didn't look that strong. But appearances were often deceptive. All that mattered to me was that I had been told to see her. I was reluctant at first, but she had been relatively helpful (except that she couldn't make the dreams stop. I couldn't tell if I was more bothered by the Red and Black illusion or the memories from my past). In the end I had been used to see her, talk about stuff.
I should cancel our next appointment by the way, with Ino-San in my body.
"But really, I thought she had stop consulting. You're privileged, Uchiha-San." Asaki-San said.
Yes, someone had really chosen my therapist for me, since everyone seemed surprised by who she was. Now that I thought about it, there really was something fishy.
My lungs were starting to burn, but I kept running. My spirit may be weak; I was strong in effort. Plus, not having that pang in my left side felt great. The three Chuunin had to stop me in the end, because I wouldn't stop. After that we started some stretching. Ino-San's stamina wasn't as good as mine; my head was spinning a bit.
"Careful, Uchiha-San, don't train too hard. Our heir never trained her body as much as you do."
"Does she train her spirit, then?" I asked, amazed how this body didn't creak at all when I moved. "I did a very nice Genjutsu yesterday."
"What kind of Genjutsu? On your body? On a zone? On someone else?"
"On one of my teammates who thought he could underestimate me while I wasn't at my best. I induced fear inside of him."
"That's impressive." Inomaru-San remarked. "It's close to our clan techniques of invading other's minds, so things might have been easier. But I'd advise you do that carefully. You might traumatize someone by mistake."
"But it stops when I'm not faking their brain signals with my chakra or when they realize they are fake. I just want my illusions to look the most real. Then I can force my enemies to do mistakes."
"And you're using your Sharingan in that fashion in your matches?"
"I used to, but Gai-Sensei forces me to do without it. I might say I had to focus on my opponent's body language since I don't have my dôjutsu to make things easier."
"Your Sensei knows his stuff, being friends with Kakashi-San." Asaki-San said.
"Our department used to work with the Police force too. Don't hesitate asking us questions." Chieko-San said with a smile.
I slightly froze when she said that. Inomaru-San nudged her in the side, sensing my discomfort. I sighed and looked away. With everything Sasuke-Chan had said earlier, I couldn't help but think of all the deceased. For the first time in a while I thought my clan members; not like when they were under those white shrouds or piles of ash in little boxes, but as beings of flesh and blood. These Yamanaka had known them too, worked with them, talked to them, befriended them maybe.
They didn't ask if I missed them, or any silly question like that. They didn't need to. I had my eyes in the vague, smoothly doing my katas without thinking.
"I don't know… how to talk to him…" I heard myself say.
Asaki opened his mouth, but Inomaru clicked his tongue in annoyance. I heavily leaned against a tree in the training field. Someone gave me a bottle of water. The cold feeling in my throat it felt wonderful.
"I just don't know what to say anymore. I mean, I'm just full of doubts about what happened, about what will happen later…"
At that point I started to rant about Sasuke-Chan and how thick he was. However, I managed to keep my tongue about my real concerns, about what I thought about Itachi-Sama. Yet, somehow they seemed to think I was admiring the guy or something. I couldn't tell. I never spoke about Itachi-Sama to anyone, especially because I had only recently remembered how present he had been for me.
"I think he's angry I still have a high value of his brother." I summed up.
"Don't you think he's just jealous?" Chieko-San asked.
"Jealous?"
"You said he was angry at your Hyuuga teammate as well." She remarked.
I blinked, not sure about what she was speaking about. Didn't Tenten said Sasuke-Chan was looking like an angry cat when jealous?
"Jealous of what? I don't understand."
"Maybe he doesn't want to share your affection."
"Is that so? He didn't seem to bother yesterday evening when we were pillow fighting." I pouted. "And he wasn't complaining when we were playing hide and seek."
Well that might have been because I had coldly reprimanded him in the living room earlier when Neji-San and him were groaning at each other.
"Is that so? You seem to think otherwise." Inomaru remarked.
Tsk. I looked away. Damn those experts at interrogation and body language!
"He was just annoying because of Neji-San."
"Neji-San… The Hyuuga genius?" Chieko-San asked.
I looked at her interrogatively. She explained his mother worked at the Hospital. I raised my brows: I had always assumed both his parents were dead. Anyway everything was annoying about that boy. At the Academy he had been a real eyesore with all his 'fate' speeches. Now I'd like everyone to stop thinking we were an item. And he was even more annoying that he wasn't denying these silly thoughts!
"I don't know what happened while I had been asleep, but Neji-San and Sasuke-Chan were acting like pricks."
A silence fell. I felt the immediate need to fill it with my thoughts. I bit my lips before running my mouth again. These people were skilled. They were ninjas. I felt impressed. Even though the ambiance was good, even though I had this feeling of being secure. I was about sure they were doing a soothing thing, even without using chakra. A cold chill ran down my spine: the criminals going through their hands might have a hard time resisting them (and they were only the I part of the T&I).
They were waiting for me to fill the silences they left. They were made for me to think, but also spill the beans. No wonder a gossiping civilian like Nana-San married their clan Head.
"They were acting like pricks?" Asaki-San repeated.
I looked at him. I was learning some of their tricks. Was that intentional? They looked like they were genuinely helping me. There was always a catch. So what was it? Inomaru-San offered me a warm smile.
"You really are observant, Yanagi-San, aren't you?" he asked.
"I have to, don't I?"
"Well did you know your Sensei used to work for T&I?" he said and I gaped at him. "Yes, I guess it's hard to tell with Gai-San's personality. We heard that you'd be entering the Chuunin exam soon. Given who you are, and what might happen to you in the future, how about entering our department?"
Was he offering me a job? Like already thinking I'd be promoted next January. Thing were going too fast. I wasn't that good. I wasn't incredible. I was just a crazy girl who had exchanged her body with her clan Heir. I would normally have had nothing to do with them.
"Sorry." He laughed. "I might be too quick to business. But my offer is honest. Even if you end up in the Genin Corpse, I'd still like to have you in our department."
"I'm flattered but I don't really understand…"
His grey eyes twinkled.
"Uchiha-San, you have an excellent background, given the clan you are from. Plus, you are really adaptable, and you're a good reader of body language. You have real qualities of reflexion, and you were able to detect most of our techniques of interrogation."
By falling in them, yes. I looked away.
"One learns better by understanding their mistakes." he said slyly.
I resisted the urge to pout, and tried to look him in the eye. I failed. He smirked.
"Is that really fun, teasing me?" I asked.
"Do people tease you often?"
"I'm not a people person."
"What about your cousin and your teammate being pricks?" he added.
I felt the brother and sister smiling at each other. My eyes wandered on them, wary.
"Right, sorry." Chieko-San apologized. "We don't mean to make fun of you, you know."
"Damn, sis! You're let things go so easily with kids!" Asaki-San grumbled.
"I'll give you a piece of advice. Don't think too much about it, Uchiha-San. I don't want to direct your reflexion. When I said I think your cousin's jealous, I'm quite sure he only minded the guys."
I cocked my head to the side. Yesterday Sasuke-Chan had met my teammates for the first time. I didn't think he had much thoughts about Lee-San, especially because the green-clad boy was monopolizing Sakura-Chan's attention. But he had remarked Neji-San, and I assumed he did because of the other boy's attitude.
"Well yesterday he seemed angry at Neji-San, but I think it's because they are both very proud of their own abilities as a ninja. I mean Neji-San is always showing off, and Sasuke-Chan never trains enough..."
My voice trailed. Their clear eyes were analysing me. I felt like being a piece of meat. And I still had that thought with everyone assuming Neji-San and I were an item. Ah! Then maybe that was why Sasuke-Chan was angry, and why Tenten said he didn't want me to date. And now that I thought of it, he had been angry when I had invited Naruto-Kun at our apartment, quite like the time I had organised his birthday.
I remembered the promised I had made the night he discovered I wasn't dead. That night I had almost injured him, mistaking him for the man who tried to murder me. And then I promised him I wouldn't leave him. Never, ever leave him. Standing by him. Protecting him.
Yet I was the one who left out of anger.
I felt awful. But I couldn't let go. I knew there was something wrong with the Uchiha Massacre. And I didn't want to apologize to him only because I was more open-minded!
But I was done with the confidences for now. I had reached a point where I wouldn't say anything. So I changed the subject.
"Please teach me to use my current sensing abilities."
The Hokage wanted me to use that (and probably anything I could use to analyse my target's behaviour). So they taught me everything that could be taught in a day. I think one of them might have send a message to Yamanaka Nana so that she would reassure my friends about my whereabouts. I was sorry for Tenten, leaving her with Ino-San's ranting about girl's things, the shy Sakura-San and my brooding cousin.
My head was pounding with all the knowledge I had accumulated that day. Seriously, these Chuunin took a time for me in a day they should rest… Well, not really, since all ninja people were rather thrilled about training. I think it had to do a lot with how people were educated in a clan. We were war people after all.
I refused to talk to Sasuke, even when we found ourselves seated together at dinner. He had already blown on me in the hospital, and he had done the same for the same reasons. His opinion was rushed and totally based on emotions; such a thing a ninja shouldn't do. I was blatantly ignoring him, exchanging tips with Ino-San. I was starting to wonder about the girl: she played the silly girl in love, but I could see more and more of her manipulative traits.
I also had the occasion to meet with her friends Shikamaru Nara (probably the one who pushed her to be friends with Sakura-San, and certainly one of the smartest person I knew) and Akimichi Chôji (nice and plump, rather friendly, I had no real interaction with him). They helped me playing Ino-San's role, since she was well-known in the Village and I wouldn't know where I would be spying my own body. In short, the slouching kid advised me to play an "angry bitch who wishes to look nice", and the pudgy one says I had to criticize everything and everyone. Well they mostly said that before being hit by the girl. I think she was quite content she could pack a punch with my body.
"It's incredible the way your body moves! I have to be careful all the time, I can't control it."
"That's because I'm not making you wear my weights. They might still be at the hospital; I don't think I have picked them up." I explained.
"Training weights?" Sakura-San asked.
"How much do you carry every day?" Ino-San frowned.
"I have arm and leg weights, so I think I'm at something like 80 kilos?" I guessed. "I'm not sure since Sensei adjusted them throw-out my training."
The Academy students were gaping at me.
"What? It's a proper muscle development exercise, you know?"
"Isn't it a bit too extreme?" the Nara pointed.
"It's tiring at first. And whenever you're exercising too much but you get used to it. It's very good for quick muscle growth."
Ino-San was showing off in my body, appreciating the way the muscles played under her skin.
"Isn't that dangerous for your health? What about tearing your muscles?" Sakura-San worried.
"I'm not worried. Lee-San is wearing way more than I am and still moves around fester than I do. Actually the exercise forces your body to enhance the chakra flow in your muscles and bones."
I saw Sasuke opening his mouth several times during the conversation, but I didn't turn to him. I wouldn't answer to his futile pleas.
Then we went to bed again and it would be a long week playing Yamanaka Ino-San's role and spying on myself.
Tac. Tac. Tac. Tac.
The metronome was regularly clicking. I was trying to follow the move of its arm. I had to stay in time. I had to remain graceful. I had to move around in these silly garment.
I felt like a little girl in disguise under the eye of my stepmother.
Tac. I tuned on my heels. Tac. I moved an arm forward. Tac. I moved the other arm.
It felt not like dance. I felt the moves of a warrior in these. I wanted to complete them with efficiency. Beauty had nothing to do with battle. Why being graceful when it slows you down and endangers you. I couldn't help glaring at the woman teaching me the fan dance.
Tac. Tac. Tac. I was losing focus. I kept my time, but my form was sloppy.
"No! No! No! Yanagi-San you're supposed to be as agile as a cat, not stumping around like a bear!" she shrieked.
"Hn." I said.
There was no point arguing with that woman. She just wanted to make the perfect bride out of me. I didn't want that. I didn't want to stop being a ninja. Father had taught me how to be one. And even though Brother didn't want me to be too talented, I wanted to be good enough for him. Maybe one day I'd be allowed to follow him in a mission.
But no, my adoptive family only used me as a political means. They would marry me off, maybe to their own son Tekka (so I'd marry my own adoptive brother, sick but not unheard).
I didn't want to marry. Peace warriors like Shisui-Nii or Itachi-Sama certainly didn't care about marriage.
And boys were icky!
"Stop dreaming!" the woman snapped.
I started dancing again.
I woke as early as I was used to, dressing with Ino-San's clothes. Fortunately, being born in a ninja clan and even though her mother was a civilian, she did possessed clothes that suited my need. I put on stretch camouflage pants matching a camouflage headband (she didn't ant me to cut her hair, and they were definitely too pale and too long for my taste). A plain green top reinforced with a meshed shirt did the rest. My team would most likely train in green areas, so I would try to make myself as discreet as I could.
I left a bunshin in my stead (I wished I could do a corporal one instead of an illusion) and went to wake my own body up.
"Hey girl." I whispered, shaking her awake
"What time is is?" she whispered, still half-asleep.
"About 6 in the morning. I let you sleep longer than I would, but it's time for 'your' morning training."
"Senpai you're too intense…" she grumbled.
She did as she was told, though. Actually I think she was still amazed by what my body could do. I told her not to overexert herself (my teammates and Sensei would do enough today), and I started following her as she jog outside to reach the compound.
I could tell she wasn't me by looking at her: our body language was very different. I had troubles imitating her walk while stalking her. I finally gave the act up: my clone would do the trick in the academy. As I was following from afar, I realized how easy it was to follow our mixed chakra signature. It matched the one I was concealing inside of me, and my body had better chakra reserves than hers (because I trained my ninjutsu a lot or because of the weights I was carrying? I couldn't tell).
She wasn't running as efficiently as I was. I remembered that I had learned a lot observing the way Gai-Sensei moved. I had saved a lot of energy doing so, even though my moves weren't as efficient as his. We were approaching my old compound. I stayed behind as she went inside the foest path I was always running in. She stopped near the ruins.
"Is that…?" she asked in a whisper.
"Yes." I muttered.
She jumped a bit, my body immediately taking a defensive stance.
"Wow! I didn't know you were that close. I could feel you around, but you're way too close!"
"I told you my sensing abilities were crap. I think this ability is mostly yours, I just happen to be a favourable terrain to exploit them."
"Oh, I see. Maybe you'll be more capable in that field after we've exchanged our bodies again."
"Maybe." I shrugged.
"I wonder what I'll gain from you."
"Who knows?"
"Boobs?" she offered with a hopeful tone.
"You wish!" I chuckled. "Run to the cemetery now, and offer your respects to my family."
"You're doing that every morning? Wow, your Oedipus complex is even deeper than I thought."
"Shut up." I replied.
I let her run alone for a bit. I felt like we were being observed. Who would be so interested in two girls in training? Was it about the Hokage's mission? No, it couldn't be. They would have contacted my body at another time. Plus, I felt like I recognized this chakra signature somehow, but I couldn't tell precisely.
I looked around. There was a crow on a branch. He was hopping a little, observing my body and totally ignoring me. That bird felt weird. I mean, every animal had energy, but this one felt almost like a human being. An invocation? It was highly possible, Crows were a minor invocation of our clan, but most of our people preferred the Falcons. I would have taken the Cats for my part, if I had known where the scroll laid.
I didn't know who had signed the Crows Contract. It made very little sense for an invocation to be near our clan without having been called beforehand. So either someone had called them (and since Sasuke and I didn't sign any contract yet, it was most likely Itachi-Sama), or there was another reason for this bird to be here, or I was totally mistaken and that crow had a weird chakra signature for another reason.
I wanted to call to it, but I didn't dare. I wasn't Uchiha Yanagi for the time being, or at least not completely.
I focused more on the bird, and he seemed to feel my intrusion because he looked straight at me. One of his eyes was of a deep black colour. The other was a Sharingan. I froze. I unconsciously looked at the path Ino-San was running on with my body. I still saw a little silhouette far away. The crow croaked at me, it sounded threatening.
I ran after my body. If someone had implanted a Sharingan inside an invocation, then she might be in danger. I ran as fast as I could, noticing that the bird was chasing me. Ino-San's body wasn't fast enough for this. I had to focus. I couldn't panic.
The bird flew faster than I ran. He was circling above my head, croaking and croaking Like he was telling someone about my presence here. I focused on his trail. Too bad it was an invocation. I should be able to drive him away with a few shuriken. I didn't want to hurt the bird. I wished I had listened to Tenten more about how to hit moving targets: I sucked at this.
The bird looked straight into my eyes, evading all my projectiles. I was started to be annoyed. I was getting closer to the cemetary. I saw myself passing Kakashi-San. I had to find an idea quick.
"SENPAI!" I called to the top of Ino-San's lungs. "WAIT FOR ME! YOU PROMISED TO TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT SASUKE-KUN!"
She instantly froze. There was a dumb look on her face. She hadn't anticipated me to yell like a mad woman. In the same time Kakashi-San disappeared from before the KIA stone, and my body started cursing me for frightening her so much, and making her disrespect the spirits of the dead.
I practically didn't feel the Jounin moving towards me. One minute I was observing the flight of a crow, the other I was being thrown on a muscular shoulder. The man smelled of fresh sweat and generic soap. My face was pressed on his green jacket. I landed near the stone. The bird was gone.
"What the heck do you think you're doing!" Ino-San yelled.
I stopped her with a gesture of the hand. Where was the bird? Where was Kakashi-San? Hopefully he would take care of it. Or I supposed.
"For short, there's an invocation of the Uchiha clan flying around with a transplanted Kekkei Genkai. Didn't know if it was aiming you or me? No idea why it did so. Now just act like nothing happed."
I used a Kawairimi no Jutsu several times to get away from here. I crouched on the high grass, concealing everything of my presence. My chakra was no more. My breathing was measured, hidden by gusts of wind. I observed my body huffing in exasperation and stomping before clean tombstones. She seemed upset by the number of it.
I didn't jump when Kakashi-San appeared out of nowhere, casually leaning on the ground near me. One of my hands had a Kunai and I was ready to jump. I wasn't fast enough. Had he been an enemy I would be dead. And I couldn't only accuse the bad reflexes of the body I was in.
He threw an appreciative stare at my clothes and position.
"You've lost some weight, Yanagi-San." He said.
"Shut up." I replied, not letting my body out of my sight.
"I thought women liked being told those things."
"Well it's irrelevant here. The crow?"
"Flew away."
"Know anything about his Sharingan? Or his invocator?"
"The only people who have worked with crows are Uchiha Itachi and Yamashiro Aoba, a Tokubetsu Jounin of Konoha."
"Could you ask some questions to that guy? I don't think I'm really in a position to do this interrogation right now."
I gestured at my body.
"Coming from the daughter of the T&I department, that's rich." He commented.
"You know what I mean." I scowled. "How did you know I wasn't her."
"Apart from the scene that just happened? Probably because I'm used working around Uchiha girls."
I focused on him. He too had a transplanted Sharingan from this Uchiha Obito. The signature was close to the one I had found on the crow, but not that much. Close enough to be related by blood? I couldn't really tell; I wasn't proficient in this field.
"Say, who did your transplant?" I asked.
He flinched slightly. I only saw the micro expression flickering on his face (surprise, anger, regret) before he put his goofy mask on again.
"Does it matter?" he asked, and his eyes slightly flickered on the KIA stone.
"Dead end, then." I muttered.
"You're not funny."
"Didn't meant to. So you'll interrogate that Yamashiro Aoba guy for me?"
"Consider it done."
We stood up as Ino-San ran towards the city again. I pictured Neji-San coming to her. She would be safe. I couldn't tell if he would be safe from her, though.
"You're loud." Kakashi-San said. "Muffle your sounds with chakra."
"How do you do it."
"Copy. And guess."
He was gone. Thanks Kakashi-San, you're being very helpful.
That was as I was running inside of the town that I heard the distinct sound of a camera. The Sannin Jiraya was stalking my body. I thought I was dreaming. But that was right when a crow plought into my face and properly knocked me out.
Thanks for reading!
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