Chapter 6 - Boom
Upon becoming the Hokage, Naruto learned that occasionally staring into space was a big part of the job. Having a private one-on-one with yourself was sometimes the best way to go over a complex issue. Naruto was basically having a summit meeting in his head that evening.
"You still thinking about what Yusano Hanimura was going on about?" Shikamaru asked while filing documents into one of the office cabinets.
Naruto spun in his chair, mimicking his own thoughts somewhat.
"For the record, I'm calling BS on every word that came out of that guy's mouth," Shikamaru continued.
"You think he was lying?"
"I hope he was lying. Otherwise, he's just insane. You don't really think what he told us about the 'bird' was true, do you?"
"What he told us might end up putting his head at the top of every powerful yakuza clan's hit list. I doubt he'd take that type of risk just to mess with the Hokage and his chief adviser's head."
"I think you're going out of your way to believe that guy, Naruto."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because... Yusano's a lot like you. He's got a son who hates him for, what he perceives as, ignoring his family." Shikamaru closed the cabinet. "…and he's got a daughter who he loves more than anything else in the world."
Naruto watched his chief adviser open a new cabinet, and finger through folders while slipping documents in. He started staring into space again.
'Yeah... That Yusano really does love his little girl, doesn't he?' he thought.
The first thing anyone who entered the Hanimura estate would notice was the constant chirping of birds. Everywhere you turned, you would find a birdbath, a nest nestled in the branches of a tree or the remnants of egg left behind by a recently hatched fledgling. Many feathered creatures called the Hanimura estate home, and they joyously flocked around Ryoma when she returned.
Ryoma raised a finger and hummingbird landed on it. She scratched under its chin.
"Did I worry you and the others? I hope none of you lost feathers over me," she said with a smile.
"The birds aren't the only ones, Ryoma. Everyone in the clan has been fretting over your absence" Shojiro said.
Ryoma glanced at her brother before returning her attention to the bird. She knew one person who probably hadn't batted an eyelash since she went missing.
"Did Father say anything when I disappeared?" she asked her sibling.
"He displayed his concern through other methods..."
"Just say 'no,' Brother. I'm already ten years of age. I don't need you to feed me your half-lies."
Shojiro gave a disheartened sigh as Fudai escorted the siblings to the main house. Upon entering, they found a traditionally dressed young woman waiting at the entrance.
"Welcome home, Lady Ryoma. Everyone in the clan is relieved by your safe return," the chief of staff Tomoe said.
Ryoma bowed back humbly. "I apologize for worrying you all. I shouldn't have gone out without a guardian. Forgive me, cousin Tomoe."
Tomoe nodded. She approached her third cousins to take their coats and jackets.
"Tomoe, has our father returned?" Shojiro asked while removing his sandals.
"Yes, young master. Lord Yusano has just recently returned from his meeting... with the Hokage."
Shojiro, Ryoma and Fudai all made the same irked expression. Tomoe lowered her gaze as though she was ashamed of what she had just told them. Yusano had broken the first of the three laws that everyone in the yakuza had to abide by:
1. Never go to the authorities.
2. Never share private yakuza information with an outsider.
3. Never do anything to harm the yakuza itself; only specific parties within it.
By speaking to the Hokage – the second highest power in the Land of Fire – Yusano had already broken the first rule, and chances are he broke the latter two as well. If the other clans ever heard of this, taking Yusano's head would become their number one priority. Shojiro was already angry about how his father had ignored Ryoma's disappearance, and now he learned about this.
'Father... are you insane?!' he thought was storming deeper into the main house.
"Brother, wait for-"
Ryoma was about to start after Shojiro when Fudai's large hand caught her shoulder. He shook his head. Even Tomoe stepped in front of her.
"It's best you stay out of this, Lady Ryoma," she explained.
A scowl spilled over Ryoma's face. She had only just returned and they were already ignoring her again. She sighed and headed for her room.
''Nothing ever changes around here...'
Yusano sat calmly on his knees, drinking his tea while looking out at the rock garden before him. Though it was dark out, he could still see the rocks easily. The Hanimura weren't nocturnal, but they all had amazing eyesight. There was one thing Yusano couldn't see, however. The fifth rock – it was always hidden. There were always five rocks in a rock garden, but no matter which angle he observed the garden from, no matter how good your eyes where, you could only see four at a time.
"A beautiful metaphor..." Yusano said to himself.
He heard footsteps and looked to his right. His only son, Shojiro appeared, his eyes lit with fury.
"Is that how you look at your father, Shojiro?"
"When he does something foolish, yes," his son answered.
Yusano glanced at his son. Then he smirked and chuckled.
"It seems as though Ryoma had taught you a few things. I can only remember one other time you spoke to me so disrespectfully."
"Yes... at Mother's funeral. I remember. It was probably the only time I can I say I truly despised you."
Yusano took a sip of his hot tea. "Well? What have you come here for?"
Shojiro got on his knees and placed both hands on his thighs. "I heard you had a meeting with the Hokage earlier today."
"You heard correctly. Why does it bother you?"
"Because when the other clans hear of this, they'll come for you! Not for our clan – for you!"
Yusano continued gazing out at the rock garden. "Is that all you came here to say? I'm already aware of that."
"Then why would you-"
"Shojiro. When was the first time you ever looked out at this garden with me?"
Shojiro paused. His brows were almost pressing against each other. He glanced toward the rock garden.
"When I three... I think."
"And you're sixteen now. In thirteen years, have you ever seen the fifth rock before?"
Shojiro blinked, then pointed. "It's hidden behind that large rock sitting by itself, isn't it?"
"I didn't ask where it was, I asked had you ever seen it."
"...No, but does it matter?"
"It does. Thinking you know something is different from seeing it. For all we know, there is no fifth rock. The person who first designed this garden could just be playing some elaborate trick on us."
"You mean he might have lied?"
"Perhaps. We will never know unless we see that final rock."
Yusano sipped his tea again. Shojiro watched him. His anger from earlier had lessened somewhat, but he still found his father's actions to be irresponsible and a threat to the clan's well being.
"Say what you will, Father. Right now, I'm only concerned about the things in front of me."
"I can see that. What do plan to do then, Shojiro?"
"I'm going to request a summit meeting with all the prominent yakuza clans in the city. Before word leaks out about you breaking the three laws, I'll confront the clans about it myself. I was planning on doing that anyway, so I could find out which clan was going after Ryoma."
Yusano chuckled again. "So you've got it all figured out, it seems. What are going to do about Ryoma until then?"
"She shall stay inside of the estate, under close watch from our clan's chunnin. When the attacks have been stopped, she will be able to roam outside again."
"What about school? Are you just going to keep her from going to the academy?"
"Her safety takes priority. She can be home schooled by one of the clan's jounin, until then."
"So you plan to lock your little sister in a safe prison?"
"Better than leaving her in the open where anyone could reach her. Unlike you, Father, I'm keeping Ryoma's best interests at hear-"
A loud "bang" came from the wall behind Yusano and next to Shojiro. The latter jumped a bit when he heard it.
"W-w-what was that?!" Shojiro asked frantically.
"I would assume Ryoma. She must have been listening in on our conversation just now," Yusano answered while calmly swirling the leaf stem in his tea.
"She what?!"
"Instead of making strange faces, you should hurry and chase after her. She's likely going to run away again."
Shojiro made one more strange face before hastily leaving his father's side. Yusano sighed and sipped his tea once again. He returned his attention to the rock garden. He kept focusing on where he believed the fifth rock was. Suddenly, one of the birds around the estate flew into the garden. It pecked at the infertile ground a few times, fruitlessly looking for food. Then it flew over to one of the rocks. It dropped down, but it still stood higher then Yusano expected it to. It must have been standing on the hidden fifth rock.
'So the fifth rock was actually over there...' he thought while the bird flew off. 'Shojiro... you may think that you have Ryoma's best interests at heart, but your overprotective nature is actually blinding you. The most important things are sometimes the ones that you can't see.' He sipped his tea. 'Hmph. ...Not that I have any right to speak.'
The park was dark, lonely and quiet. It fit Sarada's mood perfectly. She gently swung on one of the swings and watched her feet leave tracks in the dirt. It was approaching 10:30 pm. Sarada wondered if her parents finally noticed that she was gone.
'Maybe they think I just went to bed early. I wouldn't put it pass them...'
She stopped. Really, what was she doing? What was she trying to prove by staying out so late? What did she expect was going to happen? The young girl thought it all over and sighed deeply. She wanted to just go home, but for some reason, she couldn't. Something in her chest wouldn't allow it.
"Excuse me, but is that other swing open?" a familiar voice asked.
Sarada looked up. Though it was dark, the Uchiha could easily make out Ryoma's face. She wanted to ask what her was doing there, but instead she just shook her head to the yakuza girl's question. Ryoma sat in the swing next to Sarada and swung gently like the latter had before.
"Did you run away from home as well?" Ryoma asked.
"Technically, I never went home in the first place. Are you sure you should be out here alone like this? You might get attacked again."
"It's fine. I'm sure my brother sent some of our clansmen after me. They are likely watching over us as we speak."
Sarada surveyed the park looking for them. "I can't find them at all. They must be really good."
Ryoma hummed in agreement. "The Hanimura clan has trackers that rival the Inuzuka and their ninja hounds. They won't be found so easily."
"You sound proud. You must really admire your clan."
"Of course. Did you expect me to hate them?"
"Well... seeing how you were acting before..."
"That had nothing to do with my clan itself. Though, I do dislike how we involve ourselves with a crime syndicate like the yakuza, I love and respect the Hanimura clan earnestly. It is those two in particular who continue to irk me... My father and my brother. The first pretends I don't exist, and the second ignores my feelings entirely. Just recently, he proposed locking me inside our home like some caged bird! He claims to have best interests at heart, but he doesn't even-"
"...know what your interests are in the first place?" Sarada finished.
Ryoma looked at Sarada curiously. She couldn't believe that her thoughts had been guessed so accurately. Then she saw the look on Sarada's face. It resembled her own.
"Sarada... is your will being ignored as well? I would be surprised if that was case. You seem to have such a loving family. Lady Sakura is very sweet and kind, and Hana..." Sarada tightened the grip on the chains of her swing when she heard his name. "He is a very impressive boy. He even came to my rescue before. Yet despite that strength, he still has a such a gentle air about him. You're lucky to have such a brother."
'He's not my brother... He's not my brother!' Sarada kept repeating in her thoughts.
"...thanks," she said to Ryoma.
She didn't want to trample over the knightly young girl's words, so she bottled up her true feelings. Keeping everything inside wasn't anything new for her.
"Ryoma, can I ask you something?"
"If you wish."
"Why were those guys from the yakuza after you yesterday?"
Ryoma stopped swinging, and Sarada saw her face get noticeably more grim.
"It's alright if you don't want to say anything."
"No. I think it would be better if I shared for once. I'll be breaking the yakuza's second law, but I doubt it'll matter."
Ryoma unzipped her jacket and dug around for something. After a while, she brought out a scroll. She completely disregarded the men she claimed to be watching her and Sarada, and unrolled it over her lap. She made the tiger hand sign and a cloud of white smoke poofed out of the scroll. When the smoke died down, a silver egg was sitting in the middle of the scroll.
"This is what everyone in the yakuza is after. The 'bird' they all are chasing," Ryoma said.
"So... the 'bird' is an actual bird?"
"It will be eventually. It is a rare species, possibly the rarest species of bird on the continent. It hails from the Land of Iron."
'The Land of Iron? So it's just like Hana, then?'
"Not many birds are native to that country do to it severely low climate, but this species can survive there easily. It's known as a tiger falcon. It's talons and beak are as hard as iron, and its feathers never molt. ...it's endangered."
"Was it hunted?"
"More like 'collected.' You see, all birds have a migratory sense that helps them travel in-between seasons. Tiger falcons do not. Mostly because they don't need it. Secondarily because they have a substitute sense. They can sense mineral deposits."
Sarada pushed up her glasses. "What? How can they do that?"
"They're diet can consist of insects, but the most delicious delicacy to a tiger falcon are things like iron and steel. They can even drink oil instead of water. Because of this strange appetite, they have developed an innate sense that helps them find deposits of these minerals."
"So they can find oil and iron whenever they want?"
Ryoma nodded. Sarada understood at once. She got why the yakuza would find the tiger falcon to be so valuable. No wonder the bird was endangered, and it was also no wonder why the yakuza would want to keep such a treasure under wraps. Owning a tiger falcon was essentially the same thing as owning a gold mine. Precious minerals would be at the owner's fingertips.
" ...there's still one thing that's bothering me. Why do you have the egg?" Sarada asked.
Ryoma made a face like she didn't know herself. "Well, apparently, I am-"
"Sarada!" a voice yelled from across the park.
Sarada looked. She saw Sasuke heading toward her. Ryoma hastily sealed the tiger falcon's egg back into the scroll and hid it back inside her jacket.
"Sarada, who is that man?" she asked.
" ...nobody. I have to go!"
Sarada jumped out the swing and started running the opposite way. Sasuke ran after her.
"Sarada, why are you running?!" he shouted.
Sarada didn't answer she just kept running. She would have cleared the park if Ryoma hadn't grabbed her arm.
"Let go!" she exclaimed while trying to yank herself free.
"Sarada, that man... he is your father, is he not? Why do you run from him so urgently?"
"None of your business! Now let go!"
"It is none of my business – in that, you are correct. Still, coming from a family where passivity is common; where nobody acknowledges each others' feelings, I can't help but feel sorry for your father who is trying his hardest to convey how he feels."
"Convey how he feels? He doesn't feel anything!" Sarada exclaimed while still fighting Ryoma off. "And he's never listened to how I feel either!"
"Have you ever asked him too?"
" ...what?"
"Have you ever asked him 'Father will you spend some time with me?'"
Sarada paused. She relaxed the arm that Ryoma was holding. Eventually, Ryoma let go.
"I don't know the specifics of you and your father's relationship, but I do know that you two will never get anywhere if when every time someone takes a step forward, the other takes a step back."
Sarada was silent. Her eyes levitated up to her father who had stopped in front of her. He was trying to take the first step for once, so why was she the one stepping back? She carefully approached him.
"Dad... I'm sorry that I-"
Before Sarada could finish, Sasuke embraced her in his arms. He rubbed the back of her head while he held her.
"Thank god you're safe..." he whispered.
After recovering from the shock, Sarada squeezed her arms between his, and returned the hug.
'When was the last time we did this?' shewondered. She couldn't recall a memory that wasn't blurry.
Ryoma smiled at their embrace. Without saying a word, she left the park. Her guardians followed her while sticking to the shadows.
"At least somebody got to make up with their family tonight..." she muttered while walking home.
Hana sighed in disappointment after coming to a dead end for the third time. He didn't know Konoha that well, so searching for Sarada in it was a task currently beyond him.
"I should have just stuck with Master. I wonder if he's found her already?" Hana asked himself while leaving the alley. While his attention was elsewhere, he bumped into someone and heard groceries hit the street. "Ah! I'm sorry. Here, let me help you."
"Hey now. No need to sweat over something like this," the stranger said. "It's not that big a deal."
Hana was already picking the loose vegetables off the ground and stuffing them back inside the bag. He stood and handed the bag to the stranger with a smile.
"Here you go, Mis...ter..." Hana's eyes widened once he recognized the stranger's face.
The stranger, likewise, grinned when he recognized Hana's.
"The name you're looking for is Onbara. You haven't forgotten me already, have ya kiddo?"
Hana certainly hadn't forgotten Onbara, nor had he forgotten his skill. Hana looked back down at the bag he was holding. He realized that several miniature explosive tags were stuck to it.
Before he could throw the bag away, Onbara smirked and put up two fingers. "Boom."