Chapter Three
"Hirohashi Sadako!"
The girl in question flinched at the screech that left Masumi's lips. As their company drew closer to the cottage, the woman stalked towards them with menacing steps that made Sadako cringe with trepidation. Beside her, she thought Sasuke snorted softly; she aimed another kick at his leg.
The moment Masumi reached them, she went for Sadako's ear with a grip tighter than a bird's beak. "Ow! Baka-Masumi! Lemme go, lemme go –"
"I saw that! How dare you kick a guest of our household! I thought I raised you better, Sadako!" While the girl grumbled to herself, Masumi fixed a firm smile of greeting on her face as she faced the man accompanying her two – non-biological – daughters. "Forgive my niece, sir. I'm sure she's caused you lots of trouble already – I assume that's why you're here?"
"Hey!" Sadako shouted indignantly. "That's got nothing to do with it! I just invited him for dinner, that's all."
"Hmm, I'm sure that's all." Masumi rolled her eyes and turned to the stranger. "If you wouldn't mind enlightening me –"
Abruptly Masumi broke off her sentence; Sadako gazed up at her curiously, and blanched when she saw pure shock written on her foster-mothers' features. For a moment, all she did was stare at Sasuke, the atmosphere becoming so awkward Sadako almost felt compelled to point it out, before saying in a shaky voice, "Wh-What… did you say your name was?"
"I didn't," was all he replied.
When neither party decided to comment further, Sadako loosened herself from Masumi's frozen grip and subtly inserted herself in front of the older boy. "Uh, Masumi-chan, this here is… Hayashi. Hayashi Daiki."
"H-Hayashi… Daiki," the woman confirmed shakily. "What part of town are you from, Hayashi-kun?"
"I'm a traveller," Sasuke supplied evenly, not appearing in the least perturbed by Masumi's strange behaviour.
"A traveller –"
Suddenly, Hiroki called out to them from where he was standing in the doorway. "Oi, you lot! You just gonna stand there or are ya comin' in?"
"We're coming!" Sadako hollered back. She took one last questioning look at Masumi before grabbing Sasuke's sleeve and pulling him toward the house. "Come on, it's time for dinner…"
Masumi looked like she was about to protest, but then reluctantly conceded with a nod. Then she spotted Himuro, and smiled dotingly. "Ah, Himuro-kun, are you joining us for dinner?"
The boy glanced from Masumi's grinning face to Sadako's stony one – and quickly made up his mind. "Ah… Thank you, Masumi-sama, but I think I should be getting home. Papa must be worried by now…"
"Ah, yes," she agreed with a smile. "I'm sure that's the case. Then you'd better hurry home, Himuro-kun."
He nodded. "Yes… Uh, I'll see you later, Reiko-chan! Sadako-chan…"
"See ya, Muro-tan!" Reiko said with a cheery wave. Sadako made a vague hand motion in his direction and hurried inside.
True to his word, Sasuke shed his shoes by the door and murmured quietly, almost to himself, "I'm coming in…"
As she followed them inside, Masumi tugged on her daughter's shirt. "Sadako-chan, did you get what I needed from the markets today?"
"Hai," she replied, holding up the potatoes and vegetables. "Sasu – uh, Daiki-tan got the rice…"
Instantly the woman inflated with anger. "Sadako, you're going around accepting charity from strangers now?"
"No!" she exclaimed angrily. "Daiki-tan bumped into me at the markets today and knocked the rice everywhere, so he bought me some to replace it, and I offered him dinner for the trouble! Satisfied?" She crossed her arms with a scowl.
Masumi considered the girl for a moment, and then swooped down to envelop her in a giant bear-hug. "Hai… I'm satisfied. Now can you stop being a grumpy old crone and smile for a change?"
"Ah – hey! Stop it –! ARGH!" Sadako futilely pushed at the woman's face. "Let me go, Baka-Masumi!" Masumi chuckled and finally released the girl with an affectionate pat on the head. Despite her irritated expression, Sadako felt her frustration slowly ebbing away.
"Reiko-chan, why don't you show Hayashi-kun to the wash basin to prepare for dinner?"
"Hai!" the little girl replied. She murmured softly to the hummingbird, and then walked to the window to release it. It flew off with a series of frantic whistles.
Reiko flounced over to the raven-haired Uchiha and grasped his large hand in both of hers. He fought the urge to shake it off, deciding to just grit his teeth and bare it as the small girl began pulling him towards a hallway leading away from the kitchen on his left. When he was shown to a small room containing a toilet and basin, he politely but firmly pulled his hand from her grasp and began washing his hands. When he was done, he glanced down questioningly at the hovering girl.
"What?"
"Do you want me to take your coat and put it on the rack?" she asked with those large blue eyes.
"That won't be necessary." It wouldn't be wise to expose his weaponry to the woman, who was already uneasy from his presence alone –
"You can put your weapons in my room if you want?"
Sasuke blinked down at the small girl who continued to throw him. How had she known about those, when he'd gone out of his way to conceal the shapes from even the keenest eyes? When she just stared at him questioningly, he acquiesced with a nod. She beamed happily and showed him to her small room, where he removed his weapons and placed them just behind the door.
He followed the girl back to the living room; she pranced over to the rack beside the door and tried in vain to throw his coat over the hooks there. Sasuke sighed at her pitiful attempts, taking the coat from her grasp and placing it over the hook himself. When he glanced down, she was grinning up at him, barely taller than his knee.
…What am I doing here? But he didn't have time to dwell on the sensible question.
Soon they were all seated at the table, dishing up cooked rice and a large bowl of steamed curry. Despite his aversion to people, Sasuke couldn't help but appreciate the fact that he was about to eat a home-cooked meal; something he hadn't had since before his clan had been destroyed.
"Itadakimasu," he murmured, and then dug in.
As soon as the food entered his mouth, he froze with shock. He glanced down at the curry, then up at the woman responsible for the dish. It was – delicious. More than delicious. He'd been without such an appetising meal for months…
At the head of the table, the husband groaned with relish and nodded appreciatively. "My love, this dish is scrumptious! My wife sure can cook, huh Hayashi?" Sasuke nodded but didn't reply – he was too busy focusing on the meal in question. Across from him, beside her mother, Sadako grinned knowingly, her smug face saying, 'I-told-you-so'.
After a few minutes of eating, Masumi placed her chopsticks on the bench and fixed him with a searching gaze. "So, Hayashi-kun… You said you were a traveller? How did you come across my daughters in your travels?"
Sadako met his eyes, and with unspoken consent it was decided that the attack on Reiko earlier that day would remain a secret from her mother. Since the culprits were already dead, there was no use worrying Masumi over useless things. That aside, Sadako began to explain the events leading up to now, but was interrupted by Masumi's raised hand. "I don't believe I asked for your input, Sadako-chan. I was talking to Hayashi-kun. Please don't interrupt."
The girl blushed at the jibe. "Sorry…"
Sasuke swallowed the food in his mouth and set his chopsticks aside as well. With halting words, he recalled for the woman the events of the afternoon, excluding the incident involving the bandits in the woods. Masumi listened with interest, and when he finished his explanation, gave him a smile of gratitude. "Well, I'm glad it was you who bumped into Sadako-chan and not a local; they would have been far less understanding."
He chose not to reply, instead tucking back into the unfinished food.
"What are your plans after you're finished here, Hayashi-kun?"
Sasuke fought the urge to sigh impatiently. "I haven't decided. I'm still learning about this world and the people in it."
Masumi blinked at the depth of his statement. "Is that so… May I ask what you have learned so far?"
"I have not yet arrived at a valid opinion. But… if you desire, I can tell you when I form one."
She studied him quizzically, but then a small smile softened her features. "I think I would like that very much."
Sasuke nodded in acquiescence. For the rest of the meal there was spattering of conversation here and there, but he wasn't required to give another long-winded speech again. When he was finished the meal, he stood with finality and thanked the family for the meal. "Sadako wasn't lying; your curry truly is the best I have tasted."
Masumi blushed a little. "Nonsense… There's no need to over-exaggerate, Hayashi-kun."
He didn't bother to contradict her – he never over-exaggerated, but he didn't care either way if the woman knew it or not.
Sadako scowled at the bench as he stood. "You're leaving right away?"
He gazed down at her impassively. "I have things I must do tonight."
"Yeah, I know," she muttered sullenly. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. Thanks for the rice, I guess…"
Beside her, Masumi chuckled at her expression. "Sadako-chan, he can't stick around all night. I'm sure he's a busy man."
"I know that! I'm not an idiot…" Still, that face stayed in place.
Sasuke retreated to the room to gather his stashed weapons – and was met at the door by a smiling Reiko, arms piled high with his tools. He patted her head in thanks before donning them; while he did, she ran around him, and returned with his coat. "Hey, mister, you're not coming back, right?" He was silent at first, but then nodded in affirmation. "Then, can you do me a favour?"
"What is it?" he asked warily.
Blue eyes gazing directly into his, she said in a firm voice, "Protect the world."
Sasuke stared at the little girl whose eyes held such a blazing conviction, wondering what kind of people her parents had been to have produced such a strange child. Protect the world… Give me a break… No matter the extent of his power, it was impossible.
"I'll do my best," he replied evenly.
The girl stared at him for a while longer, taking in his measure and conviction, and then nodded once, satisfied. "Alright, I believe you. Oh," she remembered suddenly, hurrying back into her room and emerging with gloves. "Don't forget these. It gets cold outside, dontcha know?"
He nodded in appreciation, then turned away. Sadako was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, while her father was nowhere to be seen – Masumi, however, was standing by the doorway waiting for him. He approached warily. "Thank you for the meal. I'll take my leave now."
The woman smiled gratefully at his words. "No, I must thank you for taking care of my girls today. Ordinarily I would repay you with ten home-cooked meals, but something tells me you're only going to be around for the one…" When he nodded an affirmative, she gazed at him with those penetrating eyes – again. "Tell me Hayashi-kun, do you have any family?"
"No."
When she noted the firm set to his jaw, she glanced away awkwardly and shuffled her feet. "I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said something so tactless."
"It's fine."
She shot him an apologetic grin. "It's really not, but I appreciate your kindness. Safe travels to you, Hayashi-kun."
He nodded his thanks once more before sweeping past the threshold and into the night.
From her place in the kitchen, Sadako steadfastly refused to turn and face the man who had probably saved her little sister's life today. For some reason, her nerves were shot, and she felt he was the cause. Voices drifted in from the doorway, muttering thanks to each other, and she picked the exact moment he left the house. It was like a weight lifting off her shoulders. Man, he must have some immense power.
Masumi entered the kitchen just as she was finishing. "Sadako-chan, you're not going to say goodbye?"
"Why would I?" she retorted. "I owed him a favour, and now it's done. There's nothing more to it."
The woman chuckled at her words before pulling into another consuming hug. "Ah, you're so cute when you're upset! You admired him, didn't you?"
"What?! No!" She shrugged out of her mother's hold with a grimace. "You're spouting nonsense again, old hag. I don't admire him!"
Out of nowhere, Masumi produced her notorious wooden spoon to rap the girl over the head with. "Watch your mouth! Else I'll be tempted to wash it out with soap…"
"Ow!" Sadako rubbed the lump on her head and grumbled under her breath. Her mother watched reprovingly for a moment longer, but then laughed and patted her head.
"Go check on your sister, Sadako-chan. Ask her if she wants to play a game with us tonight, would you?"
Still muttering darkly, she stalked to Reiko's room and threw open the door without knocking. "Oi, Reiko-chan, Masumi wants to know if – where in the bloody hell did you get that?!"
On the bed, Reiko froze mid-lunge and blinked innocently down at her sister. In her hand was a wooden stick that was obviously serving as some sort of makeshift sword, and atop her brow sat a hidden leaf shinobi headband that was stroked through the middle. Sadako blanched when she recognised it; it had been on Sasuke's waist since the moment she'd met him. Oh, man… He's gonna be so mad.
The girl self-consciously began pushing her pointer-fingers together. "Umm… Well, I… got it off Daiki-tan?"
"Yeah, I gathered that! Why?! Don't you know he'll be missing that soon?"
She blushed under Sadako's reproving glare. "Well, yeah… I know… I'm kind of counting on it, dontcha know?"
Sadako groaned and slapped her forehead. "Don't tell me you took it on purpose so he would come back here?! Baka! He's just gonna get mad at you!"
Reiko pouted. "No he won't… Daiki-tan is too nice. He'll forgive me." The sulky expression melted away under a cheery grin. "And then we can hang out some more, dontcha know?"
"That," Sadako growled, stomping over to snatch the headband off her head, "Is the dumbest thing I've heard you say. You're just causing him trouble." She sighed deeply and scrubbed a hand over her face. "I'm gonna have to give this back to him before he realises it's gone… If he hasn't already."
"Huh?" her little sister exclaimed loudly – Sadako quickly shushed her before Masumi noticed.
"What's your problem?" she demanded with a fierce scowl.
Reiko returned it with her own glower. "How come you get to go see him? I wanna come, too!"
"No. It's dark, and I don't wanna have to worry about you as well as myself." When she made to let loose another cry, Sadako smacked her head gently. "Baka. There're bears and wolves out there. If you don't know where you're going, you can get into serious trouble."
And I'm not gonna let that happen again, she vowed fiercely to herself.
"But I wanna cooooooome!"
"Dammit, no!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Reiko's eyes watered. Sadako blanched and quickly thought of something to prevent the incoming tantrum. "Uh… Hey, I know! How about I tell Sasu – Daiki-tan to come over for breakfast tomorrow? I'm pretty sure he's staying in town for the night. I'll find him and ask him for you, alright?"
As quickly as her tears pooled, they dissipated. Reiko beamed and agreed with an enthusiastic, "Hai!" before launching herself off the bed. She made for the door, but then stopped and glanced back at her older sister. "Oh, and you might wanna go through my window, Nee-chan."
Sadako frowned. "What're you talking about?"
"You don't want Masumi-tan to know you're leaving, right? Then you'd better take the window out." She grinned again. "I'll tell her you went for a walk; that way when she finds out what you did, she can't say I lied, dontcha know!"
She shook her head at the younger girl. "You're pretty smart for your age, huh Reiko-chan?"
"Hai!" Her light giggle followed her out of the door.
When she was alone, Sadako scrubbed the back of her head with a sigh. "It's actually kinda scary sometimes…"
It was going to be cold out; with that in mind, she raided Reiko's cupboard for a jacket just in case she got too chilly while walking –
"Oh! That little thief!" She hissed angrily as she pulled a familiar black coat from her sister's drawer. "I've been looking for this for ages! Oh… You're so dead when I get back…!"
Jacket in hand, she snatched up the headband from the bed and silently opened the window, immersing herself into the night like a shadow.
A lone figure walked leisurely through the bustling streets of Tanigakure. Around him, people paid little heed to his presence other than a passing glance, or a mildly surprised hmph when they recognised him as a traveller. Underneath the shadow of his fringe, his eyes took in every detail around him, noting the positions of shopping merchants – and village shinobi in particular – looking for any signs of trouble. Strangely, the first thing he noticed was the odd wariness the locals of the village held in their posture, as though waiting for something to happen. It only served to increase his wariness of this place.
Something's not right.
But it would have to wait for a later time; he had more important tasks. Closing his eyes, he tapped into his chakra supply and waited for the flare of chakra he'd sent out earlier that day to show itself.
… There you are.
His eyes snapped open, and he made his way through the crowd to a small hotel not far from his location. He stopped before it, quickly assessing the layout of the building and noting all possible exits; not for him, but his prey. Once they realised who they were dealing with, they would be sure to scatter like roaches fleeing from a fire. He followed the thread of chakra to the third floor, ignoring the staff that gave him strange looks as he walked past – That's going to be annoying later… He'd have to wrap this up quickly.
Outside the room, he paused to ensure no one was watching before slipping through the door quiet as a whisper, the lock not hindering him in the least. Once inside, he took advantage of the shadows and cloaked his presence to ensure that even the most sensitive ninja would have trouble noticing him. Three men were lounging throughout the room. No, he realised, not lounging. The man by the window was assessing the streets around them with eyes keen as a hawk; the other man in the chair was leaning his head into his hand and tapping his foot impatiently; and the young boy among them simply stared at the clock on the wall whilst twirling a large scythe in his grip. Clearly he was the strongest of the three.
The men waited silently for a long time, not moving too much other than a shuffle of the feet and a sporadic twitching of the nose – clear outward signs of nervousness from the older men. All the while the young boy stared at the clock with no change in countenance.
He waited for over an hour, a shadow in the shadows, until finally –
"They're late. We should've heard from them by now," the man by the window muttered, effectively breaking the silence.
The boy's gaze remained fixed to the clock as he replied, "Yes."
"Shouldn't you send me to investigate?"
"No."
He gritted his teeth. "So we're just going to sit here and do nothing? We have to report back to the boss by morning."
The man in the chair sighed. "Relax, Kou. They said they might have some fun on the mission, so I can guarantee you that they're having some 'fun'."
His partner scowled at that. "Stupid bastards. They're gonna get all of us in trouble, all because they couldn't keep it in their pants… They're always like this!"
"Yeah, but can you blame 'em? Things haven't been very exciting for us rogue ninja these past two years…" He chuckled when that scowl remained in place. "Maybe they're just taking their time with the mission?"
Hawk-eyes glanced away, unconvinced. "Yeah, maybe…"
The boy spoke up then. "Or maybe," he said softly, "They've failed the mission, given up all intel regarding our identities and status, and Sasuke Uchiha is on his way here right now to terminate us all."
Both men turned to their younger comrade with equal expressions of shock, which wasn't made better when they noticed the lack of emotion decorating his. "Seriously? You think they're all dead? Aren't you a little too unconcerned about this?"
"Unconcerned?" the boy echoed, his head cocking a little. "I wouldn't say that… In fact, I can't help but feel a tiny bit thrilled, just thinking about it."
There was silence. Then – "You're a messed-up kid, aren't you?"
He shrugged once and didn't reply. But his words had had a negative effect on his comrades, who glanced back and forth between the door and the window uneasily. Once hesitantly asked, "Do you think he really killed all three of them?"
"Possibly." But the boy's eyes were more than certain.
"Could he have had help?" Hawk-eyes suggested. "You said he was on a farm; maybe there were other Shinobi lying in wait."
At this, the boy turned and fixed his wide-eyed stare on the man. "You doubt Fukisawa-sama's prowess?"
The man visibly paled. "N-No. I didn't mean that –"
"Fukisawa-sama stated quite clearly that he was travelling alone. He tapped into Takao's chakra network and pin-pointed the source of Sasuke Uchiha's chakra pattern; he is staying on a nice farm with a nice family, and he is completely alone. Those were Fukisawa-sama's exact words."
"I got it," Kou grumbled, glancing away uneasily. "But what if –"
A commotion from the room on the right drew their attention; there was a muffled thump followed by a low groan. The boy sighed. "Kou, go make sure Takao hasn't broken out of his bonds. It'll be troublesome if he has another try at killing us…"
Using the movement as a screen, the man in the shadows focused on blurring his image as he slipped around the corner to the front door, where he made no sound as he emerged from the room. A split second later he was lifting throwing open the closest window and swiftly leaping from it, strong legs laced with chakra absorbing the three-story fall with ease. Then he was off, racing through the streets of Tanigakure with a speed that he hadn't used in months.
He ground his teeth as images of what was going on at that farm entered his mind, unable to shake them off as he flew through the trees. Dammit! Dammit, dammit! Hold on, Sadako, Reiko. I'm coming.
"Masumi-tan! That's cheating!" Reiko exclaimed with an accusing finger.
Masumi blinked innocently at her daughter, glancing at her husband questioningly as she replied, "Reiko-chan! What could have possibly made you think such a thing?"
"I saw you looking at the mirror, dontcha know! You're not allowed to look at your card! Now we have to start all over!" The girl grumbled and slapped the card she'd been holding to her forehead down on the table. "I almost had mine, too!"
"Same here!" Hiroki pouted; he jerked a little at the answering looks he received from both girls. "Huh? Whatcha lookin' like that for?"
"You were nowhere near your mark, sweetheart."
"Yeah. You repeated a question before. Twice."
He flushed in embarrassment. "O-Oh…"
Reiko giggled at his clueless expression. "It's alright, Hiroki-tan! We'll try again next round, alright?"
"Y-Yeah… I could go for a break, though. We'll play again when I get back, sound good?" Without waiting for an answer, he took off down the hall towards the bathroom.
Masumi sighed as she watched him go, tapping on her chin with a finger. "I wish Sadako-chan were here right now. Instead she ditches us to take a night stroll? That kid, geez…"
Reiko smiled, trying to make her expression as neutral as possible. "A-Ah, yeah! But she said she might be a while…"
"Hmm…" she hummed to herself. "I guess Hayashi-kun had more of an effect on her than I would've guessed… What is this, young love?" She laughed aloud at that, and Reiko joined in her laughter somewhat awkwardly. "Well anyway, it's time for her to come back. I'll go fetch her now. I'll be right back, Reiko-chan."
As she made to stand up, Reiko leaned forward and clasped her mother's hand. "Uh… You probably shouldn't do that, Masumi-tan…"
Masumi frowned at the girl. "Why is that?"
"Because…" Unable to find an adequate excuse, she rushed out, "Well, it's because of me, really. You see, I stole Daiki-tan's headband and Sadako found me with it, so she got up me and said that taking Daiki-tan's special headband would only make him angry – but I only took it so he would come back and visit again! I didn't mean to make him angry, dontcha know! So now…"
Masumi, who had remained silent, leaned forward and impatiently prompted, "So now?"
"So now Sadako has gone to give it back to him – but she said it was alright and that she could do it! She just didn't want you to freak out about her leaving, so I kept silent this whole time…" Reiko trembled when her mother's face began to turn thunderous. "B-But she should be back soon, Masumi-tan –"
"No. I'm going to get her now." Masumi stood. "She could have been hurt. She could be out there right now, alone in the darkness, unable to move because she's been attacked by a bear or a wolf or something equally terrible. What was she thinking!" As she turned away, a small hand reached out and snagged her wrist; she swung around. "Reiko-chan, please let me go – Reiko-chan?"
She saw that the girl wasn't looking at her at all; instead, her eyes were focused on something down the end of the hall that Hiroki had disappeared down. "Reiko, what is it?"
Masumi followed the girl's wide-eyed stare – and let loose an ear-piercing shriek of horror.
A single figure was shuffling towards them with halting steps, shrouded in darkness. At first she couldn't make out any individual details, but then the light from the lamp caught onto and illuminated the figure's face, and she screamed deafeningly again.
Hiroki was stumbling towards them with a wide, gaping throat, blood gushing from the fatal wound down his chest and onto the floor, where it formed large puddles. Masumi's eyes glued there, flaring at the amount of blood soaking the floorboards. She'd had no idea her husband's body could hold so much of it…
She stood frozen in fear as he finally halted, and it was then she realised that he wasn't in fact alone. He gurgled one last time and crumpled to the floor, where he lay twitching at the feet of a red-haired woman. In her hand was a bloody knife, which she brought to her mouth with a malicious smile. Behind her, two more figures stepped into the light, both wearing similar sinister grins.
She licked her husband's blood from the blade, moaning. "Hmm, delicious… For an old guy." Then she pointed the knife at the two remaining victims. "It makes me wonder what yours will taste like."
