I'm trying to make the breaks between the past and present a little more noticeable. If it works, I'd love to know. I got used to doing my little oOo line-breaks and I can't stop because I pronounce them: "Ooh-oohs" in my head and now I'm emotionally attached haha. I don't know how to pronounce OooO but I'll figure it out.
Many thanks to these people for reviewing: Annadidit, AliasTesin, neonobara, dumdeedum, Somernacht, Bloodberrylicious, and Bear2022.
Enjoy!
oOo
OooO THEN OooO
Shisui walked slowly as he scowled down at an unfurled map in his hands. He mentally did the distance calculations, not wanting to stop to write them down. Hinata kept pace next to him, Hakuto in her arms.
Hinata did not say anything. Shisui tried to carefully monitor her chakra levels to see if her energy was flagging. But he could not quite keep up the attention on Hakuto's chakra, the math in his head, and Hinata at the same time. Instead, he comforted himself by listening to Hinata's even breath. If it deepened with exhaustion, he would take Hakuto again.
He huffed before carefully folding the map back into a little square, instead of crumpling it in frustration. "What is your opinion?"
Hinata blinked. "On where to go?"
He thought the answer to her question obvious, with the map in his hand. Yes, on where to go. His mood was foul, so he resisted the urge to speak, knowing it would turn into something harsh.
Hinata must have caught something on his face. Her lips pressed together, and she turned her gaze away from him. Shisui internally cursed his short temper.
"I've never had a team leader ask me my opinion on something like this before," Hinata explained quietly.
Now Shisui felt even more like an absolute ass.
She continued before he could apologize. "It's between going to a safehouse, which is closer, or straight to Konoha, correct?"
"Yes," he said in a contrite tone.
Hinata's brows furrowed, and she stopped walking. She stared at Hakuto's sallow face for a long moment.
Shisui stepped close. He placed a hand on Hakuto's forehead. "She still has a fever."
Hinata nodded. "She's not doing well. And… even if we go to the safehouse, we have no guarantee that the medics will make it on time to save her. But she will get immediate medical attention as soon as we get to the village. Even if it takes us an extra day."
Shisui bent his head a little to meet her eyes. "We're going to have to run the whole way. With little to no breaks."
"I know. But we can go South, to the safehouse. Or we can go Southwest to Konoha. I vote for Southwest."
"Okay. We'll go to Konoha."
He felt relieved. He wanted to go to Konoha too. Yet, Hinata knew more about Hakuto's condition than he did. If Hinata wanted the safehouse, he would have listened to her.
He reached for Hakuto, but Hinata shook her head.
"Put her on my back. On my shoulders," she said firmly. "It'll hurt her, but she's not really in a position to feel it."
Shisui did not know whether to argue or not. "I can take her," he pointed out mildly.
"I can carry her for a few hours and if I'm holding her arms and legs, then it'll be easier for me. If I'm being honest, by the third day, I might not be able to carry her at all. Let me do this now, please. Because I'll need your help."
Shisui nodded. He respected her honesty about her limits.
"Let me take your pack, and let's get her on your back, then," he murmured.
oOo
OooO NOW OooO
oOo
Shisui stands at the edge of a bluff, watching the sky slowly turn pink and orange with oncoming dawn. The trees are mostly gone now, giving way to arid grasslands and rocky outcroppings. He only needs to cross this rift valley and then he will enter Lightning country.
It sounds easy enough. But the valley spreads out as far as his eyes can see. It will take him a day to get to the border, and then another half day to get to the capital city. But he does not know if Hinata is in the city.
He rifles through his pockets and pulls out two ration bars. He tucks one into the collar of his vest while he opens the paper wrapper of the other. Chewing, he thinks over his plan of attack. Will he inspect the surrounding towns before going to the capital? Or will it be a straight shot to the capital?
Pausing in the middle of a bite, he feels something in his chakra flutter. The part of him that is tied to his summons is pulling insistently on him.
He summons his crow without a second thought. It pops into existence in a puff of smoke.
They do not insist on seeing him often, so when they do, he makes sure to listen.
The crow flies one loop around Shisui's head, before hovering in front of him. It holds something in its beak.
Shisui gingerly trades the remnants of his ration bar for the object. The crow lands on the ground to peck at its meal.
Shisui is gifted a torn piece of yellowed paper, but its significance does not register until he turns it over. He should have recognized the half rectangle. On the paper is half of a summoning seal. It is the summoning seal he gave to Hinata before she left on her mission.
Dread sweeps over him. He recognizes a couple of splotches on the paper as blood. Is it Hinata's?
"Where did you get this?" Shisui asks, but this crow does not speak human language.
The bird puffs out its feathers then shakes as if discomforted. He does that sometimes, when in enemy territory.
Shisui pushes a bit of chakra through the paper in an inquiry. The seal is inert but still buzzing with chakra that is not Shisui's own. The torn seal must have summoned this crow anyway.
The first rays of morning light hits Shisui's face as the sun finally peeks over the horizon.
"You know where she is," he breathes.
The crow lets out a loud caw in affirmative.
Hope, new and surprising washes over him.
"Can you take me to her?"
The crow flaps upwards and lands heavily on Shisui's shoulder. It leans forward and pecks at the second ration bar still stuck in the collar of Shisui's flak jacket.
It startles a laugh out of Shisui. He carefully unwraps that one for the crow, sticks the trash in his pocket, and pulls out more food for himself.
They can spare a few minutes.
oOo
Coming up: Shisui enters Lightning.