Hisako knocked on Lord Hokage's office door and waited till she heard Lord Hokage's voice say from the other side, "Enter,"
As Hisako's hand hesitated on the handle of the door, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she felt fear wash through her. She was walking in there to approach Lord Hokage about wrongdoing he's committed against a member of his village. She was walking in there to defend Naruto and the disservice this village had done to him. But, on top of that, she was doing this and she wasn't born here in this village. This could end very horribly for her, but she also knew that she couldn't allow Naruto to suffer any longer.
"Lord Hokage," Hisako greeted, finally finding enough courage to enter his office and walk to his desk.
She had to gulp down the doubt that crept up as Lord Hokage's dark gaze made contact with Hisako. Lord Hokage's pipe was in his hand, the smoke withering above his head, but, she could feel that he wasn't too pleased with Hisako. His eyes were narrowed and he choose to be silent for a few heartbeats, almost like he was letting Hisako contemplate her next words. Or regret them.
Hisako didn't speak first. She didn't have the courage to be the first to speak. Besides, she felt that if she did speak first, she would lose this debate they were about to have. What Hisako didn't understand was how Lord Hokage already knew that she had done something that would probably upset him. Or maybe how he knew that she was about to do something that would start a conflict.
"I see you have figured out who Naruto's parents are," Lord Hokage finally said, his voice even and emotionless.
"Yes, I did," Hisako confirmed, keeping her voice as calm as she could, she was afraid that her voice betrayed her and she could have sworn she heard her words shake.
Lord Hokage let out a long, controlled sigh as he took a long drag from his pipe. He took his time blowing out the smoke and the suspense almost drove Hisako to insanity as she quietly observed Lord Hokage's every move.
"I'll be honest, I was expecting someone like Shikamaru to figure it out first. He's a smart kid and it seems he gets into trouble with Naruto at the Academy quite often. I suppose doing that type of research wasn't something he choose to do." Lord Hokage finally said.
His words started to put Hisako at ease. Maybe she wasn't in trouble? She supposed since he was expecting someone to find out and tell Naruto, maybe he was expecting this day. But, she knew better than to let herself relax. This conversation was far from over.
"But, I am curious as to why you felt inclined to do the research into Naruto's lineage," Lord Hokage continued, leveling a scrutinizing stare onto Hisako.
Hisako gulped and shifted in her stance uncomfortably as she sorted through the words in her head, "at first, I didn't," she replied calmly, "feel inclined to do that research," she clarified, "at first I was looking into the Jinchuuriki, which eventually lead me to the Nine-Tail's attack on the Leaf Village, and the questions started popping up as I came across popular names, Lord Hokage the Fourth, Minato Namikaze, the Uzumaki Clan and a family tree I saw with the name Kushina Uzumaki and I began thinking, wondering. Was Naruto connected to the Nine-Tails attack somehow?"
"I see. So tell me, what did you find out?" Lord Hokage asked.
Hisako bit back a sigh of exasperation. He already knew what she found. She didn't need to repeat herself.
"I know he's the son of the late Fourth Hokage and his First Lady, Kushina Uzumaki. I know he's from a prestigious clan that is on the verge of extinction and that he's the son of a Hokage. Which, when I learned that, something still didn't make sense. Even though I am an outsider, I wasn't born in this village, it wasn't difficult to observe that Naruto was ostracized by the villagers. He was outcasted and left alone and people seemed to fear him. I never understood why, and frankly, it annoyed me. Why would people ostracize someone from their own village?
"Then, as I was doing research into the Nine-Tail's attack, I came across some more information. Naruto's birth, he was born the day the Nine-Tails attacked, the same day both of his parents lost their lives. He is the son of a Hokage and a member of the Uzumaki Clan. With both of those taken into consideration, he should have been seen as royalty almost. He should have been honored and loved. Not outcasted. So I realized, Lord Hokage, that Naruto is the Jinchuuriki for the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon."
A long silence stretched out between Lord Hokage and Hisako. Lord Hokage's face was completely unreadable to Hisako and she couldn't get a read on his lack of expressions, whether he was angry, impressed, or about to let all Hell rain down on her, she couldn't tell. The silence started to become heavier the longer it continued. But, she didn't break it. She couldn't break it.
Finally, Lord Hokage shifted in his seat, "You are correct on all accounts, Hisako." Lord Hokage finally confirmed, closing his eyes for a moment.
She let herself relax slightly at that, but a moment later her guard went up and she approached the desk, her voice becoming stern, "this leads me to my next question, Lord Hokage,"
He looked up at her from his desk, completely calm and unphased despite the swirling emotions going through Hisako right now. The most powerful being anger. Anger towards this village for treating Naruto the way they have when they should have been treating him as a hero. Anger that Lord Hokage would allow such behavior. Fury that Naruto has had to suffer the way that he has had for so long.
"Why have you allowed Naruto to be treated the way he has been treated all this time?"
Lord Hokage was silent, and he didn't respond to her question.
Hisako took another step forward, and pressed her position on this subject, "Lord Hokage, is it right that this boy, who was a victim of circumstance, who was innocent, is treated like a villain? Like a monster? Is it right that a boy who lost his parents, who were both held in high regard, be damned to live a life of complete solitude and loneliness? How can you, as the
Hokage condone these actions? How could you have allowed it to happen?"
Hisako's voice was rising as her emotions began to get the better of her and Lord Hokage watched her in almost fascination as she ranted about the unfair situation Naruto has been forced to endure his entire life.
"It isn't that simple, Hisako," Lord Hokage tried to say, his voice still soft but Hisako could tell from how he set his pipe down that he was slowly losing his patience.
"Like Hell it is!" Hisako exclaimed.
She stopped herself, taking a step back to compose herself and reign in her turbulent emotions. She had to stay calm. She couldn't win this if she just started shouting and yelling at the Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, you told me yourself that a Kage is just the reflection of their people. Is that not so?"
Lord Hokage let out a long sigh, but nodded his head, "that is correct,"
"Since that is true, then, the treatment of the villagers towards Naruto, is that reflective of you as well?"
He paused, and just for a split second, she could have sworn she saw regret flash in his dark eyes. He didn't answer her question.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto needs help. He needs to be understood, seen. What he has had to suffer through is a fate no one should have to endure! The type of loneliness and solidarity that he's had to live through, can cause one's heart to be tainted with rage and hatred. Are you willing to accept a fate in which Naruto grows up despising the village his parents gave their lives for? Would you be okay with accepting an outcome where Naruto becomes our enemy out of revenge for what disservice the people have done to him? This needs to end! His loneliness needs to stop! And you need to fix it!"
Lord Hokage was silent for a long while before finally speaking up, "what have you told him?"
Hisako was startled at his response, and she tripped over her words before composing herself again, "J-Just about his parents. I haven't told him about the Nine-Tails or about him being the Jinchuuriki for it."
"That was good judgment on your part," Lord Hokage praised as he stood up from his desk, "since you told him about his parents, I will go talk with him. Answer any questions he may have. Provide support where I can."
Hisako was silent as she watched Lord Hokage exit his office. He stopped in the doorway, turning to look at Hisako over his shoulder, "you have come far, Hisako."
A few hours later, Hisako was sitting on the roof of the Hyuga Estate as she stared up at the stars. Her heart was still pounding and the adrenaline was still rushing through her veins as she tried to calm herself from that encounter with Lord Hokage. She kept replaying the encounter over and over again in her head. She couldn't believe how insane she was. How reckless. Had he been the Hyogakage, she shuttered at the thought.
She may not be alive to tell the tale today.
She raised her hands to her head, grabbing at her hair and shaking her head back and forth groaning as she tried to chase the memory away. The horror that was her gutsy approach with the Hokage today. What had gotten into her? Why did she even do that?
"I can't believe I did that!" she shrieked, letting herself fall back onto the roof of the house with a grunt.
"Can't believe you did what?" a familiar voice asked from overhead.
Hisako's eyes shot open and she saw Neji standing over her, staring down at her. She sat up as he moved to sit down beside her on the roof. It's become a common thing for them to sit on the roof together and star gaze. It's become one of Hisako's favorite parts of life here in the Leaf Village.
Hisako let out a long groan, rubbing her face with her hands, "Would you believe me if I told you I approached the Hokage today and pretty much yelled at him?"
Neji's eyes grew wide in shock, "You did what?" he asked in complete disbelief.
"I know! I can hardly believe it myself! But, I had to,"
Neji gave Hisako a quizzical look, and Hisako recounted the day's events to him. Everything from her research to the library to her conversation with Naruto, then to the conversation she had with Lord Hokage.
"At the end, he said I 'have come far' so it doesn't seem like I'm in any sort of trouble, but, ugh! Neji! That was so crazy of me!"
"That was reckless," Neji agreed.
Hisako peeked out from behind her hands to give Neji a harsh glare in response groaning again, "I scolded the Hokage. Granted, he kinda deserved it after the Hell he's put Naruto through, including the entire village, but still. When did I get so…"
"Brave?" Neji offered.
Hisako dropped her hands from her face to see Neji giving her a gentle smile, "you've always been like that, Hisako," Neji continued, "you've stood up for people. Tried to help them even if they didn't want your help. You've rushed into situations without thinking all because you've wanted to help. While I do think that is one of your weaknesses and that it can get you into trouble, it can also be your strength. I know you haven't told me what your destiny is yet, I know you're still sworn to secrecy with that for some unknown reason, but, I feel that it's intertwined with your destiny somehow."
Hisako's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. Maybe he was right. Maybe that's what Lord Hokage meant. A Kage is meant to embody the will of their people. So maybe she was finding her own will? Even if it was just her own and she didn't have a village to share it with.
Selfishly, she prayed she would never have a village to share it with.
The next day, they had training again with Team Guy. Today, they were working on sparring with one another to test each other's strengths and weaknesses. Hisako went up against Lee first. It was a difficult sparring match. Hisako was able to keep up with Lee's speed, but that was only because of all of her extra training with Neji and Kakashi Sensei. If it wasn't for that, she would have been totally outmatched. However, she was outmatched when it came to strength. Lee was a lot stronger than Hisako.
Every time she couldn't dodge a punch and had to block one of Lee's attacks, she felt her bones groaning in resistance. She couldn't figure out how to get through Lee's defenses. She could, but, his physical strength was enough to where she couldn't land an effective hit on him. And since this was Guy Sensei, he wanted his students to concentrate on their Taijutsu today more than anything else. Which, Hisako was proficient in, but obviously not as skilled as Lee or Neji. That's why she had her Ninjutsu.
Lee spun, and Hisako's green eyes widened in sheer panic as she saw the kick coming her way but could do nothing to avoid the kick. She brought her arms up and took the full force of the kick with her left arm, her right hand trying to brace her arm to lessen the impact. It didn't have much of an effect. She screamed in pain as the kick knocked her off her feet and she fell sprawling into the dirt a few feet away. Her wrist was throbbing, and as she grabbed her wrist, her fingers brushed an old scar on the back of her hand.
Her gaze softened and grew painful at the old memory. The Uchiha Clan had done this to her. Just weeks before they were destroyed. They tried destroying her hands to prevent her from "learning our jutsus". They almost succeeded had Itachi not stepped in.
"You win, Lee. I need to work on my Taijutsu more," Hisako said calmly, bowing her head as she conceded her defeat.
Lee sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he let out a nervous giggle, "Sorry about that last kick, I didn't hurt you right?"
"What's wrong with your wrist, Hisako?" Neji asked, motioning to how she cradled her left wrist to her chest.
"O-Oh," Hisako stammered, looking down at her wrist, "it's okay. Just an old injury was aggravated that's all," she replied, rubbing at her wrist.
It was the first time in a long time her wrist had caused her pain like that. When it initially happened, the physical therapists warned her that it could be weaker than her right wrist, but up until now, it hasn't had to block such an aggressive attack. Obviously, her wrist had its limits.
"Alright, students! Onto the next sparring session, Neji, Lee, you're up!" Guy Sensei ordered, raising his hands.
Hisako went to go sit at the base of a tree as she watched Lee and Neji take their turns sparring. It was rather interesting watching them spar. Their Taijutsu forms were so different. While Lee had more of a frontal approach, muscles over anything else, the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan was more graceful and delicate. Neji seemed to use Lee's momentum against Lee and was easily able to duck and dodge Lee's attacks while getting in a few attacks of his own. Lee never even stood a chance against Neji's Gentle Fist.
The match was over before it even began and a few minutes in, Lee was flat on his back panting in the dirt and Neji was victorious in his sparring match.
"Well then," Guy Sensei muttered as Lee struggled to get back on his feet again, "training's done for the day, Lee, let's get some extra training in. Just you and me,"
"Right Guy Sensei!" Lee exclaimed, turning to salute their Sensei.
A few minutes later, Hisako and Neji left the training area and were back in the main area of the village.
"How's your wrist?" Neji asked, quietly.
Hisako shrugged, "It's alright. It's a little sore. It's good to know my limits, but Lee can really throw a kick,"
"I think we need to get more sparring in ourselves, you need to learn how to dodge better or use his energy against him. Taijutsu isn't a strong suit for you, but that's okay. You specialize in Ninjutsu and that balances our team out well. But, if we can strengthen your Taijutsu then you'll be stronger in battle,"
"Yeah, I know," Hisako replied with a sigh.
The next morning Hisako and Neji were training in the Hyuga's training area when a messenger bird squawked overhead as it circled in the air on the invisible currents. Hisako and Neji stopped their training to look up at the graceful bird as it looped down towards the two of them its black feathers glistening in the early morning light.
Neji held out his arm so the bird could land and Hisako stood beside him patiently as he pulled out the letter.
"It's a letter from Lord Hokage. It seems that Team Guy has another mission and we are to report to Lord Hokage's office immediately for mission instructions. It's also said that we need to be prepared to depart the village immediately," Neji explained.
"Depart the village? Meaning we're going on a mission outside of the village already? That's rather quick. But, it's rather exciting too," Hisako replied walking towards her room to gather what she needed to depart from the village.
A few minutes later, Hisako and Neji were walking out of the Hyuga Estate and towards the Hokage's Estate.
Once there, they were greeted by an excited Lee who seemed to be barely controlling himself as he stood at attention for Lord Hokage and Guy Sensei who beamed like a proud father.
"This is so exciting! My team, fresh out of the academy, has proved themselves worthy and strong enough to take on a mission outside of the village so soon!" Guy Sensei exclaimed, a fire lighting up his eyes, "It has been only through the Power of Youth that this has become possible!"
"Yes, Guy Sensei!" Lee shouted back, the same fire lighting up in his eyes as Guy Sensei's.
Lord Hokage cleared his throat to grab the team's attention as Neji and Hisako took their spots on the team, "yes, well, it will be a simple C-ranked mission. Mostly intelligence gathering. Given Neji's Byakugan and Hisako's Sharingan, I figured this will be the perfect mission for Team Guy," Lord Hokage explained.
"Intelligence gathering?" Guy Sensei repeated in question as they all stood at attention.
"Yes. It seems that a neighboring town is being harassed by a creature that they thought was a myth. This creature seems to be stealing produce and goods and causing all sorts of inconveniences and mischief in the town. Your job is to go to this town and gather data on the creature. Once you've gathered enough data and reported back to the town's headman, he will inform you of your next steps. Whether they want you to dispose of the creature, or if there needs to be another course of action taken. If it is the mythical creature they believe it to be, then you may have to assist them in creating a shrine to honor the creature in hopes that the creature is only causing mischief out of anger that it isn't being honored.
"Given your team's track record with your previous successful mission, I figured this will be the perfect mission for you." Lord Hokage explained.
"Yes, it shall!" Guy Sensei yelled, giving the Hokage a thumbs up, "We'll leave immediately and have this mission completed as quickly as possible!"
"Good. You're dismissed," Lord Hokage replied, nodding his head.
After an entire day of running with very little rest, Team Guy made it to the small town of Namanamashi as the sun was setting over the horizon. It was a long, and boring run with Lee spending most of the trip attempting to pronounce the name of the town for hours on end.
"Namanamashi," Lee grumbled to himself for what felt like the millionth time that day.
Hisako couldn't hold back a groan of annoyance as she hid her face in the palms of her hands.
"Namanamashi," he mumbled again.
Hisako lost her patience, "Lee! Will you stop saying that name? For crying out loud! You've been repeating the name of this town all day!"
"Yes, that is because I want to make sure I'm pronouncing it right for when we meet the headman of Namanamashi!" Lee exclaimed, a proud look on his face.
"You're pronouncing it right, Lee," Hisako and Neji both said in unison even though Hisako's voice sounded a lot more strained than Neji's.
"Really? You think so?" Lee asked, forming his hands into fists in front of him.
Hisako let out a long groan, and even though Neji was concealing his annoyance a lot better than Hisako, she saw his eyebrow twitch and he closed his eyes, turning his posture away from Lee.
"Well, you better have the pronunciation right Lee, 'cause here we are!" Guy Sensei yelled, raising his arms up to embrace the dark, quiet town as they walked under the gateway into the town.
"The town is so tiny!" Lee exclaimed in a whisper as they walked down the deserted streets.
"Yes. From what I know of this town, they're a poverty-stricken town. I know very little of this town other than they used to worship some sort of deity that they call Bake-Danuki. I guess it was a mischievous creature that would leave the town alone, and even protect the people as long as the town would set out an offering of food and sake every night." Hisako explained quietly as Guy Sensei went up to a larger house.
This house looked nicer than the others. The windows weren't boarded up, the roof was patched and it was in decent condition. The other houses that they passed were the exact opposite. Dilapidated, small, and seems to be almost ancient. A lot of the houses in this town didn't even have roofs that looked like it could withstand a summer storm.
Guy Sensei gently knocked on the door and a younger man answered the door, peeking out from the crack in the door. His eyes were narrowed, and suspicious as he regarded the group of Shinobi.
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice stern and cold.
"We are the Shinobi from the Leaf Village, responding to your job request, sir, are you the Headman by chance?" Guy Sensei replied confidently and calmly.
The Headman's guard seemed to drop just slightly and he opened his door further with a sigh, "I apologize for my behavior, I knew you were coming, however, with the creatures running amok in my town, it could have been them."
"We understand. We're here to put a stop to the mischief in your town. May we come in?" Guy Sensei replied.
The Headman opened his door fully and let the team of Shinobi enter his home. Even though the house was in a better state, the Headman didn't have a lot of lavish items in his humble home. A decorative fan, a vase decorated with Cherry Blossoms holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and a nice tea set, but otherwise, it was a quaint little house.
They all sat around a small but sturdy wooden table as the Headman told the story that Hisako just told the team while they were walking into the village. The legend of the Bake-Danuki. The only part Hisako forgot about was that apparently, the Bake-Danuki were shapeshifters. They could take on the forms of humans.
"That'll make this mission interesting," Hisako muttered with a frown.
Neji humphed beside her, shifting his gaze away from the Headman, "I don't believe in such fantasies. There's no way those creatures actually exist," he replied, his tone defiant and disbelieving.
"Who knows Neji? Maybe legends hold more truth than it first seems?" Hisako replied nonchalantly.
For some reason though, as she said those words, they resonated with her. Rebounded off of old wounds in her heart that she had forgotten. She felt like she's heard that same warning from someone before, but she couldn't remember who had warned her of that. It was a fuzzy, distant memory that she couldn't see clearly. Like she was trying to look out a foggy window.
She shook the thoughts away and turned her attention back to the Headman.
"Don't you worry Headman," Guy Sensei said, "we'll figure out if it's the Bake-Danuki causing all this chaos or if it's something else. Once we find out, we'll notify you immediately so we can decide what our next best course of action needs to be,"
Guy Sensei stood up and his students followed suit following him out of the house and into the seemingly deserted town.