CHAPTER SIX
KONOHA
The next morning, she and Hiro were once again on their own. Ojiichan had taken ill a couple days ago and was still confined to his bed, leaving the two co-workers to argue over whose turn it was to prepare food.
"You always say how you don't get the chance to cook enough," pointed out the woman, tying her red hair back in a pink, flowery scarf for work.
"But you always say that whenever I cook, I always stink up the kitchen," the brunet argued back.
"That's only because you don't pay attention to what you're doing," sighed Takara, tossing her head back, "besides, I can't stand the smell of our food today."
"You're not pregnant anymore; you can't use that excuse."
She narrowed her eyes until they were a pair of glinting blue diamonds, "Don't make me pull rank on you."
"Fine - if it'll get you to shut up I'll cook, but I don't wanna hear any complaining from you."
"Then you'd better hope none of the customers complain," she shot back as she went off to finish setting up, leaving the boy to grumble behind her back.
Like the vast majority of his gender, Hiro had a tendency to become mysteriously incompetent at even the slightest thing outside his field of interest. Not to say that the young man didn't know how to cook, he'd been making his way around the cramped kitchen for well over a year, however he had a funny way of forgetting how to prepare the simplest meals after an hour or two of standing over the hot stove.
She'd fallen for his ploy the first several times, exhasperatedly snatching his spoon away to show him the proper way to stir, only to have him sneakily slip off to wait on customers while she was left effectively stranded at the stove. Not anymore though; she'd finally caught on to his routine and she intended to ensure that he serve the entire duration of his alloted time in the kitchen - no matter what.
"Takaraaaa," a wheedling voice called out from within the suspiciously smoking kitchen later on as the waitress paused to wipe a neaby counter, "I think I burned the vegetables..."
"Well, turn on the fan and cook 'em again," she snarked back, "I'm not setting one foot in that gas chamber."
She turned back to her work, letting Hiro alone to slam things around in the mess he'd created.
She was still grinning satisfactorily to herself when she looked up to see someone she wouldn't have minded never laying eyes on again suddenly striding purposefully in her direction from across the street. The hated guard from the Village Head's office immediately met her gaze with his infuriatingly deadpan expression. Takara turned back to bussing, purposefully ignoring him in the hopes that he would vanish like a bad dream or possibly get smashed by a large falling object. Unfortunately, neither was the case as the businesslike nin approached her.
"Pardon me Takara san," he announced to her averted form, "I have been sent to inform you that the representatives from Leaf have arrived and are requesting the presence of you and your son at the office of the Village Head."
The highly volitile woman spun round and fixed the messenger with a look that, had it been a ninjutsu, would have melted his face off. "Does it look like I'm at a point were I can drop everything and go with you," she snapped, "I'm right in the middle of work!"
The chunin (not suprisingly) appeared unphased by her outright hostility: "I appologise, but the representatives have traveled a long way for the sole purpose of examining your baby."
Takara could feel her insides rumbling like a heavily shaken can of cola about to explode; she had absolutely no words for this insufferable person. She wished she had the 'representatives from Leaf' standing in front of her at that moment, she would have shouted at them from the top of her lungs in front of the entire lunch crowd and all of Kusa and told them exactly what she thought of their 'sole purpose' for coming to Grass, and how even though she was never going to hand Souta over to them, perhapse they should contract malaria from Grass Country's formidable mosquito population instead.
Before she had the chance to give any sort of response to the tactless man before her, however, she was abruptly beaten to the punch as two large, burly hands from behind landed themselves roughly on the messenger's shoulders. Kaemon's gravelly voice was calm, but the menace in his tone was unmistakable as he leaned down toward the younger ninja's ear.
"Maybe you didn't hear Takara-san very clearly - she's busy right now; so what you need to do is go back and tell those representatives they might as well get comfortable. Takara-san will meet with them when she's finished tending to her regular responsibilities, understand, Keiji-kun?"
"Ah, pardon me K-Kaemon-sempai," the flustered kohai stammered, stubbornly attempting to stand his ground, "but I was sent here by Shimeji-sama to-"
"Then tell him the same thing," interrupted the special jounin, "I'm sure he'll understand."
"I can't just tell Shimeji-sama that!"
"Yo, what's up?" Without warning, Asa and one of the regular kunoichi from wall guard were standing on either side of the waitress, staring down the obstinant chunin. It was with some shock that Takara suddenly became aware that she had mysteriously aquired a posse.
The Village Head's guard took a deep breath as he looked placatingly around at the growing crowd, "If you please, I'm just trying to do my job!"
"Hey," a shrill, cracking voice presently called out from the direction of the kitchen, "is there some kind of problem out here?" Hiro, not waiting for an answer, was already striding toward the group of people, his hot brown eyes locked in on the presumptuous guard. "You, stop harassing Takara and get outta my diner before I throw you out!"
The not quite fifteen-year-old genin stood inches from the elite hand-chosen guard's face, his expression begged the far more skilled ninja to disobey his orders.
The unfortunate messenger, facing quite possibly the most powerful outpouring of resistance he'd ever encountered - at least from his fellow Grass nin - gazed discomfittedly around at the unfriendly faces, then set his own coutenance back into an unreadable poker face.
"Very well, I will inform the Village Head and the representatives of your decision, Takara-san."
As the bearer of bad news turned to leave, the server belatedly began to wonder if refusing the summons of the Village Leader was really such a good idea after all. She waffled for a moment, before calling after the guard's retreating back, "I-It's just that there isn't anyone else here to work accept for Hiro and I - otherwise I would go with you..."
"Don't worry about him, Takara-san," assured Kaemon, "that fellow's head is denser than the fog in Cloud Village; Shimeji sama understands that you have to work - besides, those bastards from Leaf aren't going anywhere."
"I'd like to have one of those snooty representatives in front of me right now, I'd give them some Grass hospitality to take back home with them," declared Hiro to a few mutters of agreement.
Despite herself, Takara couldn't help the grateful smile that spread over her weary face.
"Don't let it get to you," Asa put in, placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "I really don't see how Konoha has a leg to stand on."
The troubled mother could only hope he was right.
000
The remainder of Takara's work day was bearable soley because of the reinforcement she recieved from their numerous patrons, all of whom had also heard about the unwelcome arrivals from Konoha. Before very long, however, lunch hours drew to a close and she was left to collect her son from Hakuai and make the long fateful walk to the Village Head's office.
She attempted to keep herself in good spirits, playing with and talking to Souta as she went, trying to put off as much as possible the gnawing anxiety that had been building up within her chest for over a week. The baby boy babbled happily, seeming to sense none of his mother's inner turmoil as he enjoyed what appeared to him as merely another one of their pleasant outings. She held the child closer as they approached the looming building as if to shield him from a sleeping beast that might awake at any moment and devour him from her arms.
The moment she stepped inside, Takara had no time to collect herself before the receptioninst, upon spotting her, instantly ushered the civilian into Shimeji's office.
The first thing to catch the wary mother's attention was the presence of three strangers as she entered the room. Upon examination, the woman realized with little suprise that each one bore the famous white eyes posessed by members of the Hyuuga clan, and for a split second she was overcome with nostalgia for the fleeting time she'd spent with Tenmei.
"Takara-san, thank you for coming; please allow me to introduce our visitors," The Village Head stood and gestured to the two men and one woman who also rose to their feet to greet the new arrivals. "This is Hyuuga Hiashi, the leader of Hyuuga clan."
The man in the center, a severe, lordly individual who appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties, gave a short bow to the red-head. She returned the gesture automatically.
"And these are two other members of his clan: Hiashi-san's personal assistant, Akiko-san," here the woman bowed, and gave Takara a genuine smile, "and Youta-san - the operative responsible for first spotting Souta."
Takara felt her stomach wrench. The cold white eyes of the instigator gazed unappologetically back, his mouth twisted into an insolent smirk as he also dipped his head toward her. Only the baby's brief grunt of discomfort brought her back to her senses long enough for her to realize she was clutching him too tightly.
"Youta was on assignment to check over the surrounding area after that altercation that happened a little over a year ago when several our village's ANBU opperatives were chased into Kusagakure," explained Hyuuga's leader, possibly noting the woman's reaction to the man in question. "The discovery of the child was merely by chance."
The unappeased mother simply gave a rigid nod while still holding Souta protectively against her.
"Please have a seat, Takara-san," Shimeji gestured to a chair across from the representatives on the other side of his desk. "I realize this must be a difficult task for you, but I assure you that Hiashi-sama merely wants to examine your son for the time being - simply to know whether he even has the ability of the byakugan."
Takara glanced back in the direction of the three; Hiashi's stern expression could have been disapproving, but it was difficult to tell. Meanwhile, the narrow eyes of Youta were fixed squarely on the back of her baby's head. The woman known as Akiko merely stared down at the floor in front of her.
"Yes well," began the clan head to the village head, "as we've already been waiting for a while now, perhapse we can move forward with the matter at hand." He cast his gaze over to mother and child, "If you would please turn the baby toward us."
Takara gave an inquiring glance at Shimeji who nodded for her to do as requested. Reluctantly, the waitress lifted the boy in her lap and sat him facing out toward his awaiting audience. The six-month-old stared wonderingly around at the strange people and surroundings as every eye in the room stared right back at him; all at once he seemed to grow uncomfortable at the excessive attention and attempted to wriggle back around to the security of his mother's bosom.
"My, what a pretty shade of blue," mused the Hyuuga assistant mildly.
The leader of of the clan grunted noncommitally.
"Well, Hiashi-sama, what do you gather," Shimeji inquired of the cryptically quiet man.
Hiashi, whose frowning face had shown no variation throughout the meeting so far, continued to maintain the same severe expression as he spoke, "From external appearances alone, the eyes point to the presence of byakugan, however in order to know the full extent of the child's potential we must perform a more thorough examination."
Takara wondered with growing dread what such an 'examination' would entail and braced herself to get between these ninja and her baby if necessary, however, the only move Hiashi made was a simple chakara-molding gesture she'd seen other ninja perform on numerous occasions. Suddenly, the veins burst forth around his colorless eyes, startling her. Takara sat frozen, her fingers twined securely around Souta's midsection as the clan leader directed his intense gaze at the little boy who was still trying distressfully to get back into his mother's arms.
Moments passed, but at last the veins receded back into his temples and Hiashi sat back with a look of satisfaction on his grim face.
"Have you finished," inquired the village head with mild suprise.
"As expected, the child indeed has the potential to activate byakugan," the Hyuuga leader stated.
Takara felt the knot in her stomach clench tighter as Souta finally succeeded in sqirming out of her grip and away from the white stares across from them. She had neither the desire nor the emotional fortitude to ask any futher questions concerning her son's future plans as Hyuuga saw them.
"You're certain of this," Shimeji asked the other leader soberly.
Hiashi shot the village head a somewhat indignant look, "Of course."
The middle-aged Commander of Kusa released a deep sigh and gingerly rubbed his ample forehead, "Then I suppose the next thing we need to discuss is what agreement our two villages can come to concerning where he'll stay."
The three visiters stirred slightly at this statement. "There really isn't anything to discuss," replied Hiashi loftily, "the infant must be taken to Konoha and raised as a Hyuuga."
"You can't," shouted Takara without thinking, she flew to her feet, gripping the startled and now crying Souta protectively.
"Takara-san, please," Shimeji held a hand up toward her, indicating that she should sit down and be still. He turned an irritable expression on Hiashi, "I don't think now is the time to be making snap decisions concerning the lives of a very small child and his mother; after all, we don't even have the consultation of the Hokage on this matter."
"Nevertheless," answered the head of Hyuuga dispassionately, "the Hokage will agree with me on this - Konoha cannot afford for the secrets of byakugan to fall into the hands of our enemies - that is why we guard it so carefully."
Takara, now working hard to soothe the still weeping Souta, allowed for the man's words to sink in for a moment. Through her distress, she paused to consider how this was affecting Tenmei wherever he was; the way Hiashi-sama spoke, she was fairly certain he would be considered a traitor by his obviously ruthless clan - but how did they treat traitors? Souta's pale eyes were peering tearily up at her as his crying subsided, and her thoughts shifted to the plight of the unknowing baby: what did having byakugan mean for his future? Never had she imagined what a curse simply being born with a kekkei genkai actuallly was.
"That remains to be seen, with all due respect," said the Village Head, "I, on the other hand would like to propose that the baby remain in Grass where he was born. You may monitor him periodically if you wish, but our village, though small, is plenty capable of overseeing his protection."
Hiashi, however, would not budge, "Once again, it is out of the question for him to remain here - it is a law that everyone with the Hyuuga blood-inheritance must reside within the walls of Konoha."
"Of course, Souta-chan would be very well taken care of," put in the clan head's personal assistant, looking compassionately in Takara's direction.
"Why wouldn't he be," the red-haired woman quickly retorted, "if Souta has to live in Leaf Village, then I'm comming too - I'm his mother!"
"Getting your citizenship transferred to Fire - that's easier said than done," remarked the man responsible for exposing her son to Leaf in the first place, snarkily.
Takara met his gaze, her cool blue eyes suddenly flashing fire, she would have called down flesh-eating locusts from the sky to devour him, starting with those arrogant, empty, spying white orbs of his if she could have.
"In that case," Shimeji supplied, turning a much more subtle, yet no less frightening look on the pompous operative, "it doesn't seem that a decision will be reached today - you're going to need the backing of a higher authority before I'm willing to discuss taking the baby out of Grass."
The Head of Hyuuga did not look at all pleased (not that he ever had in the first place) at this statement. "Very well, if you wish to needlessly prolong this process - but I assure you it will make no difference in the results."
The meeting adjourned, the three representatives rose to leave Shimeji-sama's office for the evening, each giving the Grass Leader and Takara a dutiful bow before retiring. Though the assembly had been fairly brief, the troubled woman was feeling more haggard and desperate than ever before. She didn't know what to do or say as she turned dull eyes toward the Village Head - so weary was she of having her and her son's future decided by everyone accept herself.
The Head gave her an attempt at an encouraging smile, and urged her to not to be discouraged. Takara, however, was too numb to feel much of anything, though it was still an improvement to the nearly constant anxiety she'd endured for the past several days. She almost felt resigned at that point - though not quite - the appeal to give up hope was strong. It was only hours later as she lay down to sleep, watching Souta's tiny chest rise and fall in slumber, that her dulled heart began to thaw and her tearducts to flow freely once again.
000
"Are you ready, Takara-san," asked Akiko as the group gathered round the entrace of Kusagakure.
"Um, yes," the other woman responded distractedly, reaching out to take Souta back from Hakuai.
Her friend pulled the red-head into a tight hug as she passed the baby over to his mother, "Please be careful on your journey, Takara."
"I will, thank you." She turned her attention to Hiro who hung back with a look of contrived disinterest, "Well, aren't you going to wish me luck?"
"Yeah, good luck," he shrugged, without turning toward her.
"Thanks," she smiled and put her arms around him.
The young man let out a heavy sigh, reluctantly placing his lean, brown hand on her back, "Just have a safe trip and get back soon."
"Yeah," she agreed around the knot forming in her throat. She took a deep breath of her own as she released him, blinking away the residual tears. Now fully composed once more, she turned from her gathering of friends and headed over to join the group of Leaf ninja.
The initial three Leaf representatives had, in the past several days, increased to include not only the Sandaime Hokage, but also two accompanying ANBU guards. Takara had not been privy to the ensuing discussion between the leaders, but it wasn't long before they reached their inevitabile decision and let her know that Souta would indeed have to leave Grass.
"I deeply appologise," Shimeji-sama had said dejectedly to her, "but Konoha will not budge on the matter, and this village simply cannot afford to make enemies with Fire."
Weeping, Takara conceded that she understood, she didn't want to be responsible for any more trouble and only wanted to be able to go where her son went.
The Hokage was more than willing to allow her to accompany the rest of the group back to Konoha, and even permitted her to stay and make sure that Souta was well taken care of; however, until she became a legitimate citizen of Fire Country she would be unable to recieve support nor secure lodging or employment within Leaf Village. Although the process would take anywhere between several months to over a year, immigrating from Grass Country was the only thing Takara could do now in order to be near her son, and so she intended to begin the process as soon as she reached Leaf's hidden village.
When Hiro had found out about his co-worker's plan, he'd become uncharacteristically quiet. For the last day she'd worked with him he'd said less than five words to her. She got the feeling that her decision had somehow upset him, but even Hiro had to understand her reasoning. She hoped he would eventually come around even as he'd had to do after finding out about her pregnancy.
"Would you like to come with me," asked the woman known as Akiko, "We want to be able to move quickly through this bamboo forest and reach Fire as soon as possible."
"Well, you know there are paths to take," Takara pointed out.
"Yes, but we'll be cutting across them for a large part of the way," explained the thirty-something-year-old assistant, "You can just hold onto Souta-chan, and I'll hold onto you."
Takara looked back one last time to see a growing number of villagers gathered to watch the group leave - many faces were guards from the wall: not many were smiling. She noticed, among them, her long-time customer Kaemon gazing darkly and steadily at the back of Hyuuga Youta's head. Standing several feet away, his younger colleague Asa spoke in a clandestine manner to another guard as they watched the Hokage approach with his personal bodyguards in tow. Even Hakuai's brave smile seemed pained and out of place, while beside her, Hiro simply appeared dejected.
Taking a few steadying breaths, Takara prepared to follow the rest of the company as they passed out of the entrance to Grass Village headed for Leaf. With those few steps, mother and child's fate were now sealed; no matter what happened, from this moment on, hers and Souta's lives were going to change drastically. All she could do was hope and pray she posessed the strength to face whatever was in store for them.
The trip lasted two and a half days - a day longer than it normally would have taken an average group of shinobi to reach Konoha from Kusa, but they were traveling with a six-month-old who frequetly needed to be fed and changed - not to mention the toll of being toted around like a piece of luggage took out on both mom and baby. Eventually, however, the longest journey of both their lives came to a stop at the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
000
Takara couldn't help but be impressed with what she saw; she'd expected Fire Country's hidden village to be large (which indeed it was) but everything else about it was so strikingly different from her own home in Grass. Whereas most of the structures in Kusa were squat and low to the ground or construted from bamboo, the buildings in Leaf were as tall as and often incorporated into easily the most massive trees she'd ever seen. Everything in Konoha - in fact - seemed to have a rounded edge to it - like a whole city carved out enormous tree trunks.
Another aspect of Leaf that caught her eye was the sheer amount and diversity of the people, from the plainest most unassuming individual to some of the most colorful, outrageous-looking characters she'd ever seen. She wondered exactly what the ninja/civilian ratio was here - would she be able to fit in easily?
At the same time a heavy realization abruptly hit her: somewhere in this large town dwelt Souta's father, Tenmei - the fact that he was so near caused her to seriously give pause. Should she even attempt to make contact with the man she'd long ago given up ever seeing again? At the same time, could she now afford to pass up such a glaring opportunity to check up on and actually show their child to him if it were possible? What Tenmei's present feelings were toward his son or toward her she could only speculate, but didn't he have the right to at least see the tiny person that he had a part in bringing into the world?
Latching onto that thought and suddenly running wild with it, a small, irrational voice inside her head began to whisper about possibilities that Takara quickly pushed aside. Still, the thoughts persisted - was it too late for the three of them to become a proper family? Were she to perhapse marry Tenmei, then she could be assured citizenship in Fire Country and Souta could grow up knowing both his parents - it was the ideal situation. Admittedly, they'd only known one another for a brief period, and had since become strangers once again, but Takara's hopeless brain couldn't quite let go of the fantasy. Perhapse they could even grow to truely love each other if only...
She abruptly broke off her train of thought and forced herself back to reality; she couldn't rely on silly dreams to accomplish her goals. Without the luxury of time on her side, she knew she needed to get busy as soon as possible. After checking into her room at the inn, Takara went to find Hiashi-sama's assistant, Akiko, who was waiting for her.
"Well, there isn't much on the agenda today accept to gather the elders together and discuss possible families to adopt Souta," said the Hyuuga woman in a business-like manner.
Takara ignored the churning in her innards at the statement. Of the three clan representatives that first arrived in Kusa, she found Akiko to be easily the most relatable and sympatheic one. However, between Lord Hiashi's almost frigid indifference and Youta's barely veiled contempt, that wasn't necessarily saying much. As far as Takara was was concerned, they were all the enemy for wanting to take Souta away from her, but Akiko, perhapse with her sympathy for the plight of another female, was at least tollerable.
"Souta is free to remain with me as long as I'm here in Leaf, correct," inquired the mother calmly.
"Yes, of course," Akiko nodded.
"In that case, I was wondering if you might direct me to the place where I can begin filling out the proper citizenship papers for this country."
Akiko frowned, "If I were you I would start at the Administration Building."
Takara thanked her and prepared to head for what the assistant described as an unmistakable cluster of large beehive-shaped structures located directly below a mountain bearing the heads of all Konoha's Hokage. Abruptly, she paused and spun back round toward the other woman.
"Akiko-san," she called to the now retreating Hyuuga.
The assistant turned and glanced over her shoulder as the red-head stepped forward uncertainly. Takara hadn't planned on asking anything further and now felt suddenly flustered, "I - ah - I was just wondering - um - well - about Tenmei I guess..."
The other woman continued to stare blankly back.
"I was wondering if you could tell me where he is now," she pressed on, "I mean I don't know anything about what happened to him after he left Grass all those months ago."
Akiko's expression slowly grew more pensive, a wrinkle creasing her puckered brow. "Well, I can't say I actually know everything that's happened to him since you last saw him; I don't..."
"What about since Leaf found out about Souta - he does know about Souta doesn't he?"
"Uh, yes, he does," replied the white-eyed woman uncomfortably.
Takara opened her mouth, paused, then said, "It may be none of my business, but might I ask how his relationship is with your clan after all that's taken place?"
Akiko blinked as if something small and irritating had flown into her eye, she did not meet the younger woman's gaze, "That's not really something I can discuss, however he is no longer residing in the Hyuuga compound."
"I see," nodded Takara, shifting Souta over to her other arm, "well, thank you anyway; I won't waste any more of your time."
000
To say she had a difficult time finding her way around the large and imposing Administration Buildings with their numerous offices and divisions was putting it mildly. Takara felt like she used up half the day simply trying to figure out where she was supposed to go, meanwhile toting an increasingly cranky infant around with her.
After finally managing to find the correct office and filling out the paperwork, all the while trying to keep Souta from sqirming out of her lap or devouring whole sheets of paper before she could even begin writing on them (she only hoped the drool wouldn't be too noticable once it dried) the exhausted Grass resident plopped herself down on a bench with a long sigh. While relishing the feeling of relief radiating from her grateful feet, Takara fished through the baby's tote bag for his bottle.
"Come on, Souta, are you hungry?" The tearful boy turned toward her and took the proffered object, sucking it gratefully. She idly twirlled his tuft of red hair round her finger as she watched him drink, likewise the baby reached out a tiny hand and grabbed a strand of his mom's curls, giving them a contented tug.
Once his hunger had been largely sated, she decided she probably ought to do something about her own as well. "Maybe we should go get some dumplings - how does that sound to you," she asked the now smiling Souta. "Yeah, I thought you might like that; what kind do you want, anko?"
She stood with Souta clasped at her side, preparing to head for the tea stand she'd noticed earlier. The streets of Konoha were crowded - at least to her they were. Everybody seemed to have business to attend to or something important to do; the atmosphere was definitely more fast paced than what she was used to in Grass. Takara paused to once again take in the sight of so many diverse people:
She now observed the progress of a particularly large man (both in height and girth) with a shock of crimson hair similar in color to her own, yet wild and cascading down his armor-clad back. As he walked, he towered over his two companions like the Hokage Monument over Konoha's Administration Buildings. Seconds later, a girl with a pate of cherry-blossom colored hair (chasing after a towheaded boy in a bright orange tracksuit and shouting baka at the top of her lungs) shot past Takara, going down the opposite side of the thoroughfare. An amused grin spread slowly across Takara's face despite herself as she watched them pass.
All at once, another sight immediately attracted her attention and Takara's stomach gave a sudden lurch as her roaming glance caught the retreating form of an individual with unmistakable salmon-brown tresses atop a lean frame. Could she possibly have glimpsed that person?
Perhapse she really was allowing her fantasy-prone mind to run away with her - how many people in the entire village of Leaf owned hair that color and a body-shape similar to her old Konoha flame? Probably dozens at least...still what if it were him? Takara gasped as the mysterious, rapidly moving person vanished, swallowed up by the crowded street.
Her feet immediately began to move without her permission. Impulsively, she dove into the sea of bodies, craning to see over the tops of heads, but like an incompetent swimmer, soon found herself struggling uselessly against the turbulence.
Takara's budding hope was quickly quenched by a deep disappointment that suprised even her - she hadn't realised how much she'd actually wanted to see him. She stood inert for a moment, not caring that she was in the middle of high pedestrian traffic. Staring dully around, she presently noticed something that suddenly spurred her back to life. Only a few yards away stood an apartment building perched advantageously on a large knoll with a second storey balcony. Takara scurried over to the structure and climbed the stairs, her eyes once again sweeping the street in search of the elusive odd-colored head.
"Can I help you," a voice from behind her said without warning. Starting, the woman quickly spun around to see a young man with hair the shade and appearace of seaweed hanging down over his eyes; he sat leaning out of his open window, a cigarette dangled from the fingers of his extended hand.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, flusteredly, "I was just - um - trying to find someone down on the street; I didn't realise anyone was - sorry, I'll just be going..."
The man's bemused face abruptly split into a large grin, "That's okay, I don't mind!"
"R-really?"
"Sure, go right ahead," he waved his cigarette dismissively, "it seems important."
"Th-thank you very much," she bowed before whirling back to scan the street once again. She searched for what must have been ten minutes, but could find no trace of the man that she may or may not have seen in the first place down below. Takara at last let out a defeated sigh.
"No luck," asked the man from the window.
She shook her head slowly, "No, it doesn't look like it; maybe I was wrong about seeing him in the first place. I'm really sorry to have bothered you."
"No problem," he shrugged, "sorry you couldn't find who you were looking for."
The woman gazed glumly down at the yawning Souta, "Yeah, thanks for letting me use your porch anyway; I guess I'd better get going."
The green-haired man nodded; he glanced briefly down at the rapidly wilting infant, "Cute kid."
000
Takara sat at the counter of the tea stand, sipping quietly from her cup. On her lap, Souta nibbled contentedly on a dumpling. Soon she would head back to the inn and meet up with Akiko or someone else from Hyuuga who would update her on their latest plans for her son. She only wished the naturalization process didn't have to take so long - she didn't want to have to leave her baby for even a second in the hands of some stranger.
Now that Souta had had his snack, he was even more drowsy than before, and his mother scooped him up to let him lay his head on her shoulder. She stood and prepared to leave, then had to reorient herself to the different surroundings in order to remember which direction the inn was located. After a long pause, she decided to go straight. The streets were suddenly much less crowded and now took on a different appearance to her unacquainted eye. Thinking there was a turn she was supposed to take soon, the woman began glancing to her left. She knew if she could just find her way back to the Administration Building, then she could find the inn.
Taking the first intersecting street, Takara decided to simply keep walking until she saw something familiar or could ask someone for directions. Before long, she found herself in the middle of a subdivision and became quickly distracted looking at houses. Images of herself dwelling in some of the nicer abodes she encountered along the way popped unbidden into her head as she found herself wistfully house-hunting. Realistic or not, her fantasies were atleast something pleasant to dwell on.
She glanced down to ask Souta his opinion on a quaint yellow cottage that had caught her eye, but the small boy was already dead to the world and snoring softly on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed, "We really should be getting back before all those annoying people start to wonder where we are." A miscevious smirk slowly spread over her face, "Unless, you'd rather we just make a break for it now, huh? What do ya say, Souta, maybe we could find a nice little place somewhere out in River Country - just the two of us? I'll bet they'd never be able to track us down with their super-power eye jutsu."
"Oh I think you'd be suprised," Admonished a familiar voice out of nowhere.
Takara froze, not daring to move lest she accidentally break whatever enchantment she now found herself under.
Suddenly, materializing at her side like some sort of street illusionist, was the man she'd hoped to glimpse ever since reaching Leaf. Hyuuga Tenmei looked almost exactly as she'd remembered him from over a year ago - accept he now wore civilian clothes in place of his flak jacket and ninja gear, without which his frame seemed even slimmer than she remembered. His face, although smiling, appeared strained as if stretched into an expression it was no longer accustomed to. He stood beside her, but made no move to approach or embrace her in any way.
After several moments of the two dumbly staring at each other in the strained silence, the woman finally found her voice. "I - I don't believe it; I thought I saw you on the street, but then you were gone, so I figured I must be halucinating."
He shook his brownish head somewhat sheepishly at this, "No, it was me; I noticed you and I guess I wasn't quite ready to meet with you just yet...sorry."
"Oh," the red head nodded, "of course; I understand - I mean, it's not like I really expected to see you at all while I was here anyway. Konoha is such a big village..." She glanced uncomfortably around and abruptly remembered that she was holding Souta.
"I assume," she continued nervously, "that you know about why I'm here, then?"
His eyes traveled briefly to the baby slumped over her shoulder and he gave a faint nod.
"Um, this is Souta," Takara hastily patted the boy on the back, "sorry he isn't awake right now for you to meet him."
"No, it's fine," waved off Tenmei, he then cleared his throat awkwardly, "so the fact that you're here must mean that he's got byakugan after all."
"Yeah," she sighed, "they're making him live in Konoha - some rule of your village or clan."
"Right," he agreed in a rueful tone.
"But," the woman paused, she looked concernedly into his pupiless orbs, "what about you, Tenmei; what are you doing now?"
He gave a hollow laugh, "What has Hyuuga done about me, you mean?"
Takara knew that her face was beet-red, yet this did not seem to amuse the man as it had so often in the past, "Is it bad?"
"Well, let's just say I'm no longer welcome at the family reunions."
She hung her head, "Tenmei, I'm so sorry to hear that."
Brushing aside her sympathy, he brusquely changed the subject, "So what are you going to do now, Takara; move to Leaf?"
"Well, I want to - I mean I will - I just have to get my citizenship to Fire taken care of in order to be official..." Takara's mind abruptly began drifting like a boat without an anchor at the thought; considering her cost of living so far, she didn't know how long she could actually afford to stay within the village, and she didn't know how she'd survive if she had to leave her baby and go back to Grass.
"Takara?"
"Huh," she started. She suddenly realized she had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Sorry," she appologised, dashing away the streaks of moisture, "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Tenmei gave her a small yet genuine smile. "He's got your hair I've noticed," he said at last, gesturing toward the baby's swooping scarlet mohawk.
She laughed, "And your eyes, of course - well, accept that they're slightly bluer."
The man nodded, "That's nice."
"Tenmei..."
"What is it?"
"I've missed you."
The two looked at one another for a long moment. When he made no reply, she continued, her heart pounding faster, "I don't know how it's been for you, but I've thought about you a lot over the past."
"Well, it must have been difficult caring for a baby all by yourself," he slowly conceded.
Takara unconciously stroked the sleeping child's back as she spoke, "It certainly hasn't been without its challenges - especially on my salary, but I have no regrets - and we've managed."
"I'm glad to hear that."
He appeared to think hard for a few seconds before he spoke again, "You don't need to worry, though; I'm sure Hyuuga will see to it that he's taken care of."
"I don't want Hyuuga to take care of my baby!"
Tenmei looked back at her, startled; Takara herself was suprised by the force of her unintentional outburst, but immediately felt a wave of relief wash over her as she uttered the declaration. She needed to get these painful emotions off her chest, and all at once, words began to tumble from her lips. "I don't care where I live, but I want to raise my child - I want him to know who his mother is. Even though they agreed to bring me to Leaf, I don't get the feeling that your clan really wants me here, and they're certainly not about to lift a finger to help me establish myself in this country...I don't know what to do!"
The white-eyed man merely inclined his head in a weary sort of way, and Takara got the impression that he could relate. After all, hadn't the same people also cast him aside and shunned him - one of their own?
She let out heavy sigh, "I'm sorry to bog you down with all of my problems - you obviously have plenty of your own."
"Why didn't you ever tell me about him," he blurted out, casting a glance toward the baby on her shoulder.
The woman was taken aback, "What?"
"Was it because you knew they'd come to take him?"
"No," she shook her head vigorously, "I had no idea they'd do anything like this, I just didn't know how to contact you or what to even say. I didn't want you to feel like I expected you to do anything for me; I realize that a few days together doesn't constitute a relationship." Gently, she lifted the increasingly heavy boy and nestled him comfortably in her arms, looking steadily back at the Hyuuga, "If you were to become involved with Souta, I'd want it to be because you wanted to."
Takara could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she held his snowy gaze meaningfully in her own. At last it was Tenmei who broke eye contact. "You should know...that I'm married."
Her breath involuntarily caught; she got the sensation she'd suddenly been doused in ice water.
"At least," he continued while fixating on his sandals, "I was; my wife wants a divorce."
"I had no idea - you never said anything about being married."
He made no attempt at defending himself while he meekly withstood her accusing glare, "You're right, I didn't."
Grappling with all the torrential emotions within her, Takara attempted to supress the flaring anger and hurt that rose up at this new revelation. She slowly returned her gaze to the slumbering face of her son as he lay peacefully in the crook of her arm, and thought about what the future might possibly have in store for him. Souta's best interest was something she'd do anything to ensure, so it was with tremendous effort that she swallowed her injured pride and looked back up at the ever astonishing man in front of her.
"So what will you do now?"
Casting his eyes back to the ground, Tenmei gave a listless shrug. "Whatever I need to do in order to survive without the support of the clan I suppose."
"Do you have any other children - besides Souta that is?"
She thought she detected the slightest flinch cross his placid features, "No."
"I see." Takara could feel her natural frankness taking over even as the words came fast and free, "Listen, Tenmei, I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other or had any sort of contact at all, and also that a lot has happened to both of us since then. We may not know each other any more - or maybe we never really did, but perhapse...maybe we still could..."
He opened his mouth to interrupt, but she quickly pressed on, her urgency rising. She knew this was her one and only chance to express her desires to him, and she had to make it count. "I also realise that your marriage is coming to an end, and that you probably aren't ready for some forgotten fling like me to come waltzing back into your life, but two things at least are true: our son will have to live in Konoha, and I want to be with him. I also would like to know you, and I'd like Souta to know his father..."
With the Hyuuga's mysterious eyes staring back like a blank sheet of white paper, Takara's courage rapidly began to wain and she lost the nerve to finish her thought.
"You want me to marry you so that you can become a citizen and stay with your baby," he finished helpfully.
The woman glanced away, painfully aware of how crass the statement sounded on his prim mouth. "That isn't all there is to it...but it would mean I'd be able to find a job and begin supporting myself and Souta; I don't expect you to do anything for me - not if you didn't want to."
"Takara..."
She could hear the pained tone of pity creeping into his voice as her hopes slowly began to unravel. She'd tried so hard not to appear desperate - to appeal to his desire to know their son, but the truth glared through her denial like the sun through a cloud break. Tenmei didn't want anything to do with Souta or, most likely, her either.
"Can't you help me," she pleaded, trying heedlessly to reach whatever sense of responsibility he might feel toward the child he'd helped in concieving, "I wouldn't be asking such a thing if it weren't extremely important - over the past almost year-and-a-half have I ever asked you for anything?"
For a moment it looked as if her guilt trip might be working as the man's glance darted from her to the baby and uncomfortably away again.
"It wouldn't have to be anything other than a sham mariage if you wanted - I would understand if you didn't want to live with me or have anything to do with Souta, but if you did want to be a family... if you ever cared anything about me, then please help me become a citizen!"
The silence between them for several moments was deafening. Takara held the reluctant Tenmei firmly within her cerulean gaze. However, on the inside, she was a flag twisting violently in the wind, tethered to him as to a teetering pole while she awaited his response. At last, he returned her awaiting stare; his lips slowly parted to deliver his decision.
Takara held her breath.