The girl has long since exhausted herself, unconscious in a restless slumber against his shoulder. Jumping nimbly through the boughs of trees, Uchiha Shisui, the Body Flicker, reflects upon the circumstances leading to his discovery of the new jinchuuriki of the Two-Tailed Beast. Glancing down at the tangled mass of rose-colored hair bouncing against his collarbone, he marvels at the impossibilities of so small a child surviving the transfer of Matatabi, done hastily and outside of a village's jurisdiction, without support of any kind. Yugito must have truly been desperate, he muses, quickening his pace.
The Hokage had been clear about the purpose of his mission - to infiltrate the village and position himself as the right-hand man of the brash leader of that contingency, responsible for hunting down Yugito Nii and returning the escaped jinchuuriki to Kumo. Shisui knew, he thinks, three months into what was meant to be a short-term mission that the jinchuuriki for Matatabi had not wanted to be found. When her trail disappeared abruptly, the leader of their group had all but destroyed the landscape in his rage, until the scent of blood drew them to a battleground, a small cabin in the distance with blood tracked through the threshold. With a minute shudder, he thinks of the distorted body of the former jinchuuriki, bloodied from her apparent ambush, her face frozen in pain and despair.
Now, at the end of his mission, he finds himself amused despite the horrors he has left behind. His mission, infiltration and the gathering of important information, as well as political pieces for Konohagakure's advantage, was meant to end with the capture and subsequent arrival of Yugito Nii to his Hidden Village. The move had been intended to ensure Konoha's safety as tensions grew between the various Hidden Villages. The change of ownership of the Tailed Beast, not only for Kumo and Konoha, but for Yugito and Sakura, marked one of few times that Shisui had to end a mission on uncertain terms of success. The Hokage had been expecting a fully-trained ninja with excellent control over her Beast, not a tiny child without any training to speak of, nor any family to support her.
Shifting his charge in his arms, the Uchiha leaps forward once more, cradling the child closer as the wind buffets his form, a storm bearing down upon them. May she remain asleep, he prays, even as rain soaks him swiftly. She will need her strength very soon, and I must be ready to protect her. I can only hope that Rie understands.
A/N - Hello, my loves! I'm so happy to have received thoughtful reviews to this story so far; each one is surprising, because I never expect my stories to be so well-liked. That said, I am posting this short scene as an apology for my absence. My life is a bit hectic right now - my grandmother may be dying, my family is in three different places at once, and I am having to make some quick decisions that directly impact my future. However, I'm not writing this to ask for pity; you all deserve an explanation for my absence, and, being that today is Thanksgiving, I want to tell you that I am thankful each and every one of you, my lovely readers. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it feels, knowing that what I write is being appreciated. Each review, follow, or favorite I see makes my day instantly better, and I want to give something back to all of you. So, even though it's not as long as I feel you deserve from me, I give you the third chapter of Affinity. The story will be progressing differently than the canon of the Naruto universe - things will be picking up soon, though.
Thank you so much for remaining patient with me... I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, and I will see you next chapter! XOXOXO - AT