CHAPTER TWO
BYAKUGAN
The following morning's check-up for her lame foot found Takara in slightly higher spirits. After another round of healing from the medic's skilled palm technique, her ankle felt almost as good as new. She could now stroll unhindered by crutches down the thoroughfare, enjoying her free hours before she had to go in to work. Along the way, she paused to sit on a bench and eat some dango while watching a group of academy students run laps around the village.
She closed her eyes and allowed the sun to warm her face as she savored her last bite of dumpling. After swallowing, she contentedly sucked the remaining syrup from her skewer. Caught up in the flavor of mitarashi, it took the woman a moment to notice the subtle change of light behind her eyelids as something abstructed the sun directly in front of her. Slowly opening her blue orbs to investigate, Takara nearly inhaled the small wooden stick in her shock.
Doubling over in a fit of coughs, the young woman once again recieved the honor of thoroughly entertaining Tenmei with her graceful ineptitute. His laughter, heartier than ever before, cut through the morning air while his thin, strong hand patted her firmly on the back.
"Sorry, sorry," he kept repeating between chortles, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..."
She glared up at him through streaming eyes, "Then why did you sneak up and stand there like a creep without saying anything!"
"Well," he sank down on the bench beside her, "you just looked like you were enjoying yourself so much, I hated to interrupt you."
"You are horrible!" She wiped her face with the back of her hand as she cleared her throat.
"Yes, I know, I know," he grinned.
Takara was so irritated at the moment that she'd forgotten to be glad to see him. She straightened up at last, taking a few deep breaths, and turned an annoyed look on the man.
"What are you doing here?"
He appeared unphased by her abruptness. "I thought I'd already answered that before."
She rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean! I never know when you're going to just materialize out of nowere - it's so frustrating!"
"Sorry," he appologised yet again, "I'll try to make my presence known to you at all times from now on."
Takara threw her hands up in exhasperation, but said nothing. She looked at him once again, noticing his appearance for the first time. He had dark circles under his eyes that she hadn't seen there before and the lids drooped heavily over them. Meanwhile, his already lank hair looked dirty and separated while his face seemed to have sprouted sparse patches of gingery fuzz.
"How long have you been on that wall," she asked incredulously.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why, is it really that bad," he asked as he rubbed his whiskery chin.
"Well no - you just kind of look like you've been under seige for a couple of weeks, that's all."
Tenmei seemed to consider this with some consternation. "My last break was yesterday when I had lunch over at your diner," he admitted.
Takara looked at him aghast, "What, that long ago? Do they even let you sleep?"
"...A little bit."
"Why do they need you to work so much with all those people up there?"
He shrugged, "It's just my job while I'm here."
"Really," she began, trying to sound casual, "how long will you be here?"
He shrugged again, "I don't really know; whenever the team I came with returns."
"I didn't realize you were with a team."
He smirked, "Well, I'm not always with them; they're a bunch of ANBU fellows so they're a little cliquish."
"ANBU," she repeated questioningly "isn't that an assasination squad?" (She'd been given something of an education on the Black Ops of the Great Shinobi Villages by a former boyfriend.)
Tenmei, however, quickly brushed off the subject, "Actually, I did have a purpose for coming down here other than tormenting you - as enjoyable as that is. I was hoping to find some breakfast."
The woman started, "Oh right, you're probably starving," she suddenly paused as she remebered something - she couldn't believe the serendipity of the moment. "To be honest, I know a place right now that's serving delicious food - and the best part of all is - it's free."
000
A few minutes later, found the two of them sitting at Takara's dinning room table consuming all of the food she'd spent last night preparing. To her delight, Tenmei seemed to honestly be enjoying her cooking - sure it was probably the first meal he'd eaten since the one she'd cooked for him yesterday - but it was still gratifying to watch. His table manners, as always, remained flawless, but Takara noticed that his chopsticks moved with a bit more intensity than she'd seen before.
"You must be doing a really good job up there," she said to him now, "I've heard some of the guards mention you at the diner."
He nodded without looking up from his stir-fry.
She hesitated before continuing, "If you don't mind my asking - what exactly makes you so special?"
Tenmei briefly tore his eyes away from his meal to look at her. He chewed a few more times, then swallowed before replying, "Makes me so special - what do you mean exactly?"
"Well," she glanced down at her bowl, then blurted out, "it's just that I heard someone mention you had a kekkei genkai..." The woman hazarded another peek at her guest who was staring blankly back at her. Her cheeks inadvertently reddened, she hoped she hadn't asked anything inappropriate or stupid. Had she been completely wrong after all?
"What do you know about kekkei genkai," he asked after a long pause.
"Well, I'm not completely ignorant about ninja techniques," she said a little defensively, "I know about Uchiha, for instance."
The man appeared to repress a snort, "Of course, but who hasn't heard of them?"
She smiled slightly at his reaction, "Obviously I don't know as much as you do; I just know that sharingan is probably the most famous blood-line ability anywhere in the ninja world."
Tenmei shook his head as he picked through his stir-fry, a wry smile spread across his mouth, "If sharingan is the only thing you know about, then you really don't know very much."
She cocked her head, a wicked grin curling across her own face. "Really? I wonder what you could teach me; you have some interesting eyes," she teased, "would you happen to have an eye jutsu like Uchiha?"
"A better way to put it," he said, turning those polished marble orbs on her, "would be to say that Uchiha has an eye justu like me."
Takara started. She hadn't really been serious about the eye justu comment - "Are you kidding?"
Laying his chopsticks carefully down on his napkin, Tenmei brought his hands together and formed a seal. Takara watched with facination as networks of veins suddenly sprang up around his eyes like roads leading into a pair of metropolises on the map of his face. His pupils, while remaining white, were all at once defined from his irises by the torrents of blood apparently gushing into them from the veins popping out of his cheeks.
The woman let out an involutary gasp - simultaneously spellbound and creeped out by the display. After a moment, the ninja shut his eyes and the swollen veins gradually subsided back under the surface of his pale skin. Slowly, his lids fluttered back open and he looked at her.
"Oh - that was really, uh..."
"Heh, gross? Creepy?"
"That's not what I was going to say!"
"But that was what you were thinking."
"No," she denied vehemently, "I definitely didn't think that!"
"It's fine," he assured, "there's no need to deny it - my eye technique is actually very good at picking up on body language - among other things."
Takara's traitorous face flushed yet again and Tenmei (naturally) laughed.
"So what exactly is your technique," she asked agrivated, yet relieved that he wasn't offended.
"Byakugan," he stated simply.
"And what does it do?"
He shrugged, "Basically, it allows me to see...well...virtually everything."
She leaned away from him, frowning, "What do you mean by 'everything'?"
"Up close, far away, through things, into things, all around and all at once," he rattled off.
"Is that so," she said, attempting to wrap her mind around what he'd just told her.
"Sharingan," he further declared, "is actually nothing more than a bastardized off-shoot from my clan's doujutsu - Uchiha gets too much credit."
The meal was over by now and Tenmei, after thanking her for the feast, helped her clear the table.
"I have a few hours before I have to be back on duty," he told her when she asked him about his plans for the day, "so I'll probably go up and sleep until then."
Takara placed the dishes in her sink and turned to look at him, "You even sleep up there?"
"It's the most convenient thing to do," he reasoned.
"Well, as you can see, I live right next to the wall, so it would be just as convenient and, I would imagine, even more comfortable to sleep here instead."
Tenmei blinked in an almost startled way, but quickly recovered before answering most graciously, "You're far too kind, but I couldn't possibly put you out any further than I already have..."
"Don't be rediculous," she dismissed his polite protests, "I'm just paying you back for what you did. Now then," walking over to a closet and pulling out a futon, she pointed imperially to the bathroom, "go shower, and don't forget to leave your clothes out so I can wash them."
Takara noticed with some satisfaction that it was finally Tenmei's turn to go pink in the face.
000
There's a naked Leaf ninja in my bathroom right now, the woman thought with a giggle as she tended to said shinobi's soiled garments. She never would have imagined herself in the middle of her current situation only a few hours ago, but odd circumstances had a funny way of sneaking up on you while you were so engrosed in mitarashi dango that you were completely oblivious to everything else around you.
Takara held up the dark blue shirt, wringing out the excess water before pinning it up to dry along with his canvas pants in front of the open window. Finished with all the ordinary articles, she cast a look at the bulky flak jacket and forehead protector sitting on the floor beside her and decided to give them both a good scrubbing as well.
While she worked, she tried to recall her past conversations with Tenmei in light of her new found knowledge of byakugan. Suddenly some of the things he'd said began to take on a new dimension - especially the comment he'd made yesterday about having 'seen' her while on the wall. If what he said was true and this doujutsu of his really could percieve everything all around - even look through objects - then what would stop it from looking right through the walls of her apartment?
Wrapping her arms protectively about herself, she shot a suspicious glare at the bathroom door. Moments later, the blood-line user emerged in a white cotton robe she'd provided him with. Being a little large on her, the thin garment fit the slight man well - somehow white seemed to suit him.
"What," he asked when her cold stare landed on him. He took a quick glance down at himself, checking that his robe was properly fastened.
"Nothing," she muttered, shaking the paranoid feelings from her mind. "I've almost finished with your clothes, and the futon is ready whenever you are."
Tenmei walked over to the bedding; he paused, then turned back to look at her, "I haven't slept in an actual bed for weeks..."
"It's fine," she waved off his gratitude, "stay for as long as you'd like - I actually have to be leaving for work soon."
"This is certainly enough to make us even," he said as he slid his body between the sheets.
She beamed, "It's my pleasure."
She watched as he situated himself until he was lying flat on his back; he then shut his eyes and fell instantly asleep. Takara, however, felt pretty sure that it wouldn't take much to rouse him (most of the ninja she knew were the like that) so she was careful be relatively quiet as she went about getting ready for work.
When she finally left a few minutes later he was still lying in the same position on her bed, breathing evenly. She couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointed that he would be gone when she returned.
Throughout the entire afternoon, the young red-headed woman was indefatigable despite the hordes of customers that flocked in and out all day long. Takara hadn't arrived a minute too soon: poor Ojiichan was up to his ears in lunch orders and Hiro had been obliged to go between helping with the prep work and waiting and bussing tables. Takara immediately took over the cooking so that the old man could take care of preparation and Hiro could stay up front.
Despite the semi seclusion of the kitchen, she was able to catch snipets of conversation going on outside and had learned how to gauge the overall mood of the customers even when she couldn't physically be in front of them. Though it might just have been her imagination, today she thought she could detect a certain level of disquiet among the patrons even while their speech and actions remained fairly normal. The thought dawned on her that, perhaps, this was something that had been present for a while now and she was only just consciously picking up on it. Admittedly, she'd been rather distracted the past couple days.
Takara looked at Hayato Ojiichan as he methodically sliced vegetables. She wondered if he or Hiro had heard anything. The more she thought about it, she wondered exactly what Tenmei's presence in Kusa meant - and Konoha's ANBU, what were they doing in Grass Country? These were yet more questions she wanted to put to the white-eyed ninja, though she doubted he'd give her a straight answer.
000
The following morning, as she opened, she half expected Tenmei to show up for his break - though he never did.
Today Takara worked the front of house while Ojiichan cooked in the back; Hiro had the day off. She cheerfully went about greeting and serving customers, hopeful for any information from the village wall or otherwise that might clue her in on what, if anything, was going on.
Some time late in the afternoon a pair of guards sat down to lunch, and the young woman eagerly went over to welcome them.
"Good afternoon, Asa-san, Kaemon-san - how are things going today?"
The bearded man known as Kaemon smiled at the server, "Don't you worry, Takara-san, as long as Asa and I are up there, the village is in good hands."
"Oops, well you're not up there right now, so what should I think," she laughed.
"Ah well," waved off the man, "I suppose those other guys will hold things down until we get back."
She took their orders.
"So," she asked in what she hoped was a casual manner, "how is your new guard from Leaf working out?'
"Funny you should ask," Asa, the younger ninja, spoke up, "he actually collapsed a little more than an hour ago and they had to carry him to the hospital."
Takara's breath caught in her throat. "He what?"
"Yeah," Kaemon agreed, "we mostly think he just used up too much chakra; hopefully he'll make a quick recovery."
"I guess the ninja from Konoha aren't all that hearty if simple guard duty is too much for them to handle," laughed Asa, and his sempai joined in.
The waitress plastered a grin on her face and quickly left to fill the two men's orders. She was shocked. Thinking back on yesterday, she remembered how tired and haggard he'd looked, but she'd hoped that a little food and sleep would restore him. What if there was something more serious than simply chakra loss wrong with him - like an illness. Silently she made a note to get to the hospital and see him tonight before visiting hours were over.
000
By the time she and Hayato Ojiichan had finished closing up, it was already early evening and she practically sprinted the entire way to the hospital. Finally arriving breathless but in time, Takara hurried over to the front desk where she was directed to a room on the second floor.
Giving a light knock on the already open door, Takara peered into the dimness, but all she could make out was a window with closed blinds rising over the foot of a bed recessed further into the room. She didn't known what exactly to expect or what, if anything, to bring with her. Reminding herself once again that she hardly knew the man, she wondered if showing up unexpectedly to visit him here was beginning to overstep her boundaries as a casual acquaintance... or had that already happened when she left him sleeping in her bed wearing her houserobe the other day?
"Come in," came a groggy male voice.
Her cheeks reddened slightly - there was no time now to change her mind.
"Hello," Takara smiled as she timidly entered the tomb-like chamber.
Upon recognizing his visitor, the patient appeared somewhat startled. Abruptly, he lifted his head from the pillow and tried to sit up.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, immediately panicking at his reaction, "I just heard that you were in the hospital and I was a little concerned, but if you want me to go that's fine." Even as she spoke, she was retreating for the door.
"Takara-san," he called after her in a strong, clear voice that took her by suprise. She could feel the redness on her face deepening - it was the first time she'd ever heard him say her name.
Hoping the dim light would be enough to hide her burning cheeks, she slowly poked her head back into the room, "yes?"
She could plainly hear the teasing laughter coming out in his tone. "What are you acting so afraid for; come in if you want to."
Meekly she obeyed, "I just wasn't sure..." she trailed off. Her eyes studied him as she approached, he still looked as tired as he had yesterday - even if a little neater. His hair, the color of dried roses, draped limply across his bare forehead. Stray shafts of sunlight from the haphazard blinds cast a strange greenish glow there on the space just above his eyebrows.
"Did I wake you up," she asked.
He shook his head, "No, I was just resting my eyes, please sit down."
Though it was obviously a lie, she didn't argue with him. Pulling a chair over, she sat down next to his bed.
"So who told you I was in the hospital," he asked while staring sleepily up at the ceiling.
"Just some guards at lunch time; they said you'd run low on chakra."
Tenmei gave a soft grunt, "It was my own fault for not paying attention - it was a stupid, genin-level mistake."
"How did it happen," she asked.
"I was just focusing too hard on 'out there' and not watching what's in here," he placed his hand over his chest.
"Can you even watch your own chakra," she grinned.
"Yes," he aswered gravely, "seeing chakra is primarily why byakugan exists...if you can know all about what your enemy's chakra is doing at all times, then it gives you a pretty good advantage."
"Oh," said Takara.
"But having it on almost constanly for nearly four days now," he went on, "on top of not eating and sleeping - I guess I overestimated myself."
"Well, you need to take better care of yourself," she admonished, "Take more breaks - I'm not always going to be there to make you eat and sleep!"
He turned his head toward her and they smirked at one another. The strange glow she'd seen on his forehead was still there, but now she could tell that it definitely wasn't an illusion created by the hazy lighting - they were markings.
A pallid green manji peaked above the space between his brows like the keystone in an archway, while running along either side of it, two hooked shafts swiped at the trapped symbol. The pale design made an overall eery contrast with the warm-colored vines of hair that attempted to cover over it.
Tenmei's sharp glance caught where she was looking and his smile faded. Once again, he turned to face the ceiling.
"What is that," she blurted out before she could stop herself. "Um, sorry, you don't have to answer."
"This," he said, touching his fingertips to his head, "is the good-luck charm of Hyuuga: it protects the clan - while forever reminding us of our place in it." There was unmistakable bitterness beneath his mockingly cheerful tone, but he did not give Takara the opportunity to question him further.
"But now I'd like to hear more about you, Takara-san; for instance, how does such a pretty, young, non-ninja woman remain so independant - even going so far as to wander carefreely through bandit infested woods all by yourself?"
"For the last time, they're not bandit infested," she snapped, "and I've been traveling through them ever since I was fourteen!"
"Where were you coming from the day we first met," he asked.
"I was in Ito visiting relatives."
"Oh? Is that where you're from originally?"
Takara shook her head, "No, I'm actually from a small village that was destroyed during the war - I've just been living here in Kusagakure since then."
Tenmei frowned curiously at her, "A ninja village seems like a strange place for anyone to move to - especially a civilian; do you have ninja relatives?"
"No," she laughed, "and it may seem like a strange choice, but it's still the most secure place in Grass Country."
"Alright, I'll give you that," agreed the man, "but technically speaking Kusa is still a hidden village - how did you manage to find it?"
"Well," she sighed, preparing for what might be a long story, "I had a little help getting there." She looked at Tenmei who was still staring inquisitively back - she couldn't remember the last time anyone had made the waitress feel so interesting.
000
Takara had been born and raised in Suimura, a little town in central Grass almost directly between the countries of Earth and Fire for which the Third Great Shinobi War had proved to be devastating. The day the Iwa-nin appeared had been a complete shock for the unsuspecting inhabitants of Kusa - but most especially for Suimura, who'd been among the first villages hit.
Specific details remained elusive to Takara who'd been barely fourteen at the time. All she could recall was the absolute chaos: fire, screaming, flashes of movement, explosions, billowing black clouds, the press of frantic people fleeing for their lives. She'd been visiting the market at the time of the first deafening blast. Scrambling to get home to her parents, she remembered being thrown to the ground - whether by an explosion, jutsu or just a hand she couldn't tell. Almost as soon as she hit the dirt, she'd not so much felt as heard the thud before everything went black.
When she awoke, she found herself bound and slung over the shoulder of a bolting ninja. She had no idea what had become of her parents or the rest of the village much less where she was headed now, or what would happen to her once she got there. Too terrified to struggle, the girl simply lay still and hoped to somehow make herself magically disappear from her horrible circumstances.
Unfortunately, it wasn't very long before they came to a stop and Takara was hoisted to the ground. The petrified girl found herself staring up into the face of a large, wild-haired Stone-nin who leered back down at her. She didn't even want to imagine what might have happened next. Mercifully she didn't have to, for right at that moment she was saved.
A long, thin projectile, seemingly shot out of nowhere, suddenly buried itself into the side of the Iwa-nin's neck. The large man swung round, kunai suddenly in hand, with such swiftness Takara's eyes could barely follow the motion. However, almost as rapidly, a figure zoomed out from the opposite direction, delivering a bone-shattering kick to the ninja's jaw that sent him flying. The figure landed lithely before the cowering girl who now realized it was a woman. The purple-haired kunoichi shot her an appraising look before pulling out a scythe which she used to cut away Takara's bindings.
Several feet away another burgundy-haired woman and a man had appeared and were surrounding the downed ninja.
"Don't be afraid," the young purple-haired woman told her, "you'll be safe with us." Beside her, yet another man appeared - this one wearing a mask that covered nearly his entire face.
He turned to the two securing the Stone-nin, "Hurry up and finish him off; we'll meet you again soon."
With that, Takara was lifted up and carried off once again - this time at least with her wrists and ankles freed - by the purple-haired kunoichi.
They traveled for what seemed close to fifteen minutes through forrests of bamboo. The two ninja leapt from stalk to stalk, using momentum to gain speed as they went until finally coming to land at the edge of a waterfall cascading into a deep ravine.
Striding forward, the masked man performed a string of hand seals and instantly the torrential water drew apart like a curtain in the center, revealing the opening of a large cave.
"Right this way," offered the young woman, carrying Takara down over the slippery rocks and into the mouth of the cave. Once inside, and on her own feet again, the bewildered girl strained to see the obstacles before her in the dark cavern when a light suddenly flooded the rocky chamber. The red-head turned toward the source of the glow only to find yet another mysterious person squatting in front of a crackling fire.
A boy close to her age with breathtaking magenta eyes looked up and smiled as the group entered, "Back so soon?" His attention then flicked to Takara and the grin dissolved.
"She'd been carried off by a Stone-nin," explained the masked man, "the others are taking care of him right now."
The older girl now turned to her, "where do you live?"
Takara told her.
She was uncomfortable to feel the eyes of everyone in the cave immediately on her.
"P-please," she stammered, "I need to get back and find my parents - I don't know what's happened to them."
The three ninja exchanged guarded looks.
"I'm afraid that would be a problem," said the masked man slowly, "that village has been completely destroyed."
000
Takara, however, refused to believe her parents were dead. She was convinced that they'd escaped the raid and fled someplace safe - possibly to Ito where they had family. She clung tenaciously to this belief all through the duration of the war and it comforted her.
Her group of five rescuers - all originally Grass ninja - had for one reason or another, deserted their village and were now considered outlaws. Being as such, none of them were able or willing to risk exposure by going to the ruins of Suimura to search for the girl's parents or try discovering their status. The shinobi of Kusagakure were already steaked out around the area and whatever aid was to be had for the victims of the Stone ninjas' raid would have to be left to them.
"I can't say there's no chance that they survived," the mysterious masked leader of the group told a hopeful Takara, "but the fact is you can't go looking for them right now; this entire country is a war zone - you aren't even safe with us."
"We should at least try and find a relatively safe place to leave the girl," the woman with the curly red-brown hair proposed.
"Could you take me to Ito," pleaded the fourteen-year-old.
But the boy close to her age was quick to dismiss the idea, "There's too much fighting going on between here and Ito - we're liable to get caught up in it."
"Still," pointed out, the man with a scar running diagonally across his face, "maybe there's a safer place that's closer and easier to get to."
Silence ensued for several moments.
"...What about Kusa," suggested the magenta-eyed youth.
The purple-haired kunoichi, gave him a sharp look, "You've got to be kidding, Daichi!"
"No, think about it - what place in all of Grass would be safer from Stone-nin?"
"Here you're worried about Stone-nin, but what do you think will happen if we show our faces around Grass Village?"
"Of course we'd need to be discreet," the curly-haired woman pointed out, "but frankly Grass has more important things to think about than a handful of minor missing nin at the moment."
"Who you callin' minor," snorted the man with the scar. The woman dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
"We wouldn't all have to go," the one named Daichi went on, "I could take her just outside the perameters and at least make sure she gets in okay."
"Do you seriously think that's a good idea," challenged his violet-headed friend.
The young man shrugged, "I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't."
All of them now turned to their leader for a decisive answer. The obscured man seemed to consider the plan for a moment before turning to Takara, "Obviously, the Village Hidden In Grass is the most protected place in the country if Daichi wishes to take you there. If not, we can easily drop you off at any local village, however Ito is out of the question."
Crestfallen, the girl stared down at her lap. She had only a vague notion that her parents were in Ito, and nothing else beyond that. On the other hand, one place she knew they weren't was in a ninja village. She paused when her uncertain blue eyes suddenly met the dark pink irises of the handsome boy.
"I know how you feel; I miss my family too, but if you ever want to find out about them you need to stay safe in the meantime," His reassuring smile caused her heart to almost burst, making it impossible for her to speak for several moments.
"Alright," she managed at last, "I'll go to the ninja village."
The trip took the majority of a day to make, and only the two younger ninja traveled with her, but at last they found themselves before what she gradually realized was a massive wall of bamboo stretching on either side as far as she could see among the forest of already naturally growing stalks of giant bamboo they stood in.
"You'll have to go up to it and ask for admittance," Daichi told her as they hung back a safe distance from the village literally hidden in grass.
"What if they won't let me in or want to know how I got here," she asked nervously.
"They'll definitely investigate you," Ranbu, the woman with purple hair, assured, "but obviously you're not a threat to them - they should allow you inside."
"We'll watch from here until then," promised the young man.
After a few moments of gathering her courage, Takara thanked the pair of them for all they'd done and started forward. She cast one final glance behind her at the teenagers who'd all but dissolved into the surrounding vegetation - it would be the last she ever saw of them.
000
"And so that is how I ended up in Kusagakure," concluded Takara.
"Where you've lived ever since," Tenmei mused, "Did you ever learn anything about your parents?"
The woman shook her head, "Only that they never really had a chance to escape; when I was able to return to Suimura, there was scarcely a building still standing. Our home was obliterated. Barely anyone survived, and the bodies were all buried in a mass grave."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied quietly.
"Well," she sighed, "I can't say that this village hasn't been good to me - whatever problems it may have." She gave the man in the bed a curious look as something important reentered her mind, "That reminds me, there was something I wanted to ask you."
He returned her quizzical expression, "Yes?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but you mentioned before that you'd traveled to Grass with a team...an ANBU team. I was just wondering exactly what that meant," her voice rose slightly as she continued, "I mean, you're obviously on that wall for some special reason, aren't you? So what's going on; could you tell me anything?"
The Hyuuga gave an agitated glance toward the open door, then stared evasively out the covered window, "I'm sorry, I can't talk about those things."
She let out another deep sigh, "Right; I knew that - I just had to ask anyway."
For a moment he lay there silently as if pondering, then turning his head toward her, he opened his mouth to speak but abruptly paused. The light but brisque tappping of rubber-soled shoes on the linolium floor suddenly alerted them to an approaching nurse. A diminutive young woman in her early twenties presently stuck her head through the doorway, "Pardon me, but visiting hours are over for the day."
Takara nodded to her, "Alright." She turned back to the reposing Tenmei, "I guess I'd better be going now - I hope you feel better soon."
"I will," he assured her, "I'm glad you came to visit me."
She smiled, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."
"I should be out of here by then - do you happen to work tomorrow?'
"Yes," she replied, "until five-o-clock."
He said nothing but nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, goodbye." She gave a final wave as she stepped out of the hospital room, his smile following her through the door.