~Chapter 2~
Hope
Kinata looked up to see her mother. The little girl's bottom tooth was lost, leaving a gap amongst her cheesy smile. Her cropped brunette hair waved limply in the warm breeze. The light yellow kimono she wore seemed to shimmer back at the sun, leaving her mother a little dazed. She hadn't realized the fabric would be so flamboyant in the sun's rays.
"Did I do it right?" The young girl asked, keeping her excitement hidden by putting her hands behind her back. Her face gave it all away though. They were in training mode, as the played one of Kinata's favorite games. She had to beat her mother at it.
She would dart out to the shuriken in the yard, and then whip them at the target to the four corners of improvised stick people. Three flips in the air had to be mastered while in the midst of leaping passed the obstacles set. She then had to rush over to the clearing after to see if she'd broken her record. So far, she was at 9 minutes. Her mother could do it in 2.
"You did wonderful." Her mother had light auburn hair twisted around in a bun, loose and curly. Kinata admired it in the sunlight, so entranced by the image and so forgetting her place. Her mother smiled gently down at her, ruffling her daughter's hair.
"Almost 8 minutes this time!" The little girl exclaimed, her voice rising as it usually did when excited about a small accomplishment. She was usually reminded to watch herself on that.
"One must try to have control over one's voice. Control is a difficult but valuable tool."
Her mother was a wise woman.
Suddenly Kinata saw her mother's eyes dart away and mouth drop slightly. Kinata blinked up in wonder at her. The woman always seemed lost in thoughts from simple gestures to words. It would leave her silent for a moment, while her daughter waited patiently for her mother to return to reality.
Finally, the beautiful face of Orihime turned to her daughter, smiling gracefully and kneeing down to meet her daughter's gaze.
"Time is important. I am proud you know this instinctively." She paused at Kinata's immediate distaste to large words. She tried to keep up, but her mother rambled in intricate syllables. It could leave the girl puzzled at times. "But time can dictate what means most to you. If pushing yourself passed your limit for a better time means most, than be careful. You are then misunderstanding the main focus of time."
Just then a high-pitched squeal arose from inside their now grand quarters, built like those from their original homes. Though the clan had been through much disaster, the foundation of their new village had prospered quickly. Her mother held Kinata's tense shoulders, who had tried to leap towards their house. The girl spun her head around to see her composed mother frowning at her.
"Calm yourself. Your uncle has arrived with Puko." Kinata relaxed, grinning a little. She'd acted without truly thinking, so of course her mother would be scolding her.
"I didn't sense them." The girl had known her fond uncle and his ninja dog from birth, and usually she could identify their chakras without a problem.
""Mhm. Focus more, remember?" Her mother said it as she began to stroll back to the premises. Kinata huphed quietly, the hurried lecture a dismissal of today's training. But she loved it when her uncle would visit with Puko. So she took off where her mother had gone.
As she entered, she began to giggle. Her three year old half sister Rin was standing on a wooden table, her hands over her ears as Puko barked recklessly at her. The dog was friendly, but loud. It mad a sensitive-eared Rin grouchy.
"Enough Puko. Let's getchya outside ya big brute." A man of great stature bellowed, lifting the black-furred, husky like ninja dog away. Kinata followed them right back out, excited about the Chase. It was an old game between Puko and herself. He was a smart dog, able to speak like Kinata's mother. But he had the energy to spend running relentlessly around with the young girl
Kinata embraced the man after he gave Puko a quick tousle on the head.
"Uncle! I missed you!" He had been absent from their lives for 2 months. The village had been sending men out on missions involving the tracking of travelers. Lately, the rumors were getting worse. The Feudal Lord of the Fire Nation had left their clan alone for a good five years, but men that crossed the water borders would come back, speaking dark truths of what the enemy lands were planning. Schemes were at hand, and it left their clan restless. Despite the legends of Ryukotse, shinobi of mulish manner would seek their kind forever.
Her uncle picked her up, holding her so that she could sit on his muscled arm like a bench. She gave him her infamous cheesy grin. He chuckled.
"Ahh have I missed ya too! See you've lost one, hmm?" His serious eyes did little scaring from the effects of his genuine smile. He nodded to her teeth and she giggled.
"Yep! During training too!" He nodded, putting her down as Orihime walked over, her face solemn.
"Mm. Training going well I assume?" He directed the question to Kinata, always making her feel like a grown up. She nodded enthusiastically, beaming up to her mother, whose eyes became soft at the mention of her aspiring daughter.
"Mother could answer better. But I enjoy it!" He gave another small chuckle, ruffling her hair.
"Keep that attitude. You'll make it far thinking like that." Kinata didn't understand his meaning but nodded nonetheless. Her mother noticed this, chiding her to go off and play with Puko.
The two adults made their way to the kitchen to drink some tea, giving them a chance to talk. She boiled the water, waiting a moment before pouring it in the cups her first husband, Daisuke, had given her. She could see that her brother across from her acknowledged this minor fact. He knew how hurt his sister still was, and how challenging it had been to move on and find love with another. She had to live every day and night to fulfill a wish rooted from her husband's sacrifice. The pain that she endured was incredible, just to ensure survival for her children and fellow kin.
"So…are the rumors true then?" His voice was quiet, taking a sip slowly from the clay tea cup, watching his sister before him take a seat. She sighed, grabbing her own cup.
"I am doing fine, thank you. And how are you faring my dear brother?" Her tone was mocking his stern character, as he always wanted to get straight to the point. A childish side had typically laid vacant in her, especially when it came to manners. He smirked.
"Ha ha. I know. My apologies. But my inquires are only because I worry." He remained sincere and rueful to his sister. She was recognized as the noble lady of their village. She frowned.
"Yes, I understand this. And yes, the rumors are true. She activated it a week ago. I had her training with Master Yamamoto that day." They were both looking out the opened bamboo doors, where off in the distance the two little girls ran about, laughing endlessly with a gigantic dog in tow.
"What if the daimyo hears of this?" She snapped her head back to him.
"He won't. Not if I can help it." Her brother sighed beside her.
"And if it cannot be helped…what then, Orihime?" She glared at the floor.
"What would you have me do? Any member caught with that kekkei genkai is found and killed. So I must make sure she is never found out." She curtly said. He leaned back, studying his sister's stressed face. She had clearly lost many nights of sleep over this. He brushed a hand through his hair.
"You must be prepared. He will find out. Eventually. It's what weasels like him do. You cannot hide her forever. I only came to offer my assistance and allies, if ya need it." She gave him a hard look, but it softened once she realized he wasn't joking or scorning her.
"Thank you Takashien. Our clan is dying out. There are so few I can trust now." He nodded.
"Hmph. Believe me, I know. Outside our borders lay few who want us alive. I'd rather you be weary. I want my nieces alive and well, kept safe from this mess they have no involvement in." Orihime nodded lightly, gazing back out to see her innocent children playing.
"I'll risk everything to make sure of it." She replied, her grip tightening on her cup.
A month flew by. Orihime was becoming edgy. The villagers were beginning to talk freely about her eldest daughter beholding the dangerous and controversial kekkie genkai. The beast's name amongst them had always remained a whisper on their lips. Her mother feared the worst after having witnessed it herself.
Kinata was the first female clan member to possess the Ryukoste. Though Orihime figured it had much to do with the bloodline of Kinata's father, who had enhanced the daunting chakra to evolved standards. He had been the last wielder to the jutsu which triggered such immense powers. It was the main reason for the banishment of their clan. The lord had burned Daisuke's body that night after he'd retrieved it from the Uchiha clan, unable to extract the eyes of Ryukotse. The Leaf Village had signed a treaty entitling their police force to eliminate the "threatening consumption of any who were possessed by the dragon beast," as was described to one of the clan's shinobi (one who'd been a double agent and undercover).
Orihime refused to ignite a war over the need to eliminate her daughter. News of Kinata having the Ryukotse at her disposal would prompt greedy lords (especially of the Land of Fire), assassins, and anxious shinobi land wide. She couldn't risky the countless lives that such a situation would take.
So she took her brother's advice. Orihime set accordingly preparations for both her daughters, whilst she waited to endure the oncoming threat.