There was a great deal of tension in the air between Ren and her brother. Despite her assurance that she would trust Osamu's judgment, a constant nagging worry ate at the back of her mind.
They remained silent for the entire time they prepared their meal, and except for a short giving of thanks for the food, this continued well into its consumption. Neither ate very much, and she could see her brother's growing consternation.
"You can't hide it from me, Nee-san, so just say what's on your mind," he finally burst out.
The anger in his words caused her own temper to flare, "I told you I would trust you on the matter."
"But you don't, do you?" Osamu grated out. Nearby, their felines looked to one another in worry. It was exceedingly rare for the siblings to fight this way.
"I just... you don't know what it was like, Osa-kun," she couldn't seem to find the right words, "I just can't wrap my head around trusting him... not after what his village did."
"I don't know because you won't talk about it," he shot back angrily, "You refuse to share the burden with me."
"How dare you!" she cried in frustration, "I do that to protect you!"
"You do it because you're afraid, Nee-san," he shot back, using his gift to dig into his sisters psyche, "You're afraid of those memories and the feelings they inspire. The rage and desire for revenge."
"That's not true..." she protested weekly.
"Isn't it?" he countered hotly, "I saw how your anger flared when Sensei was here. I saw the way you almost palmed a kunai from your sleeve."
She knew he had probably seen her emotions, but she hadn't thought him good enough to see such a subtle movement yet. Even the jonin hadn't noticed it. She could see the judgment in his eyes, and the hurt that brought on caused her fury to rise again.
"What does it matter if I told you or not?" she asked coldly, "You couldn't possibly understand what it was like that night. What it was like to lose everything I loved. What it was like to lose our parents."
She immediately regretted those words when Osamu's face blanked completely of all emotion. He had a natural tendency to mask his emotions, but never to the point where a perceptive individual couldn't read him. Only when he was angered beyond where most people would lose reason did he get like this. She had only seen it twice before, and she hated herself for bringing it on again.
"You're right, Nee-san," he agreed in a flat tone devoid of all feeling, "I don't know what it was like to lose our parents."
He stood up and began to make his way to his room, "I do, however, know what it's like to never have known them."
Ren felt all the anger drain away, only to be replaced by deep regret. Tears began to fall from her eyes when she heard the soft thump of her brother's door. She had just made a terrible mistake, and she wasn't sure how to make it right.
XxXxXxX
Floating. Like the serene sensation of drifting in water. That was how it felt. The first time the dreams had come to him, they had scared Osamu a great deal. Now he was immensely thankful to his bound spirit for its timing. He hadn't wanted to sleep, dreading the nightmares he knew would follow his first kill and the terrible fight he'd just had with his sister.
He opened his eyes to the strange vista he had come to associate with the void spirit. Bright points of light shined from all directions as he floated in nothingness. To his right he could see a massive cloud-like formation in colors spanning the spectrum from yellow to red with small areas of bright blue mixed in. It was lit from within at multiple points by some unknown sources.
He felt the Garandou no Seirei's presence begin to coalesce. With it came a myriad of whispering voices ranging from the high tenor of a young girl to the deep bass of a large man to the wheezing of the ancient. The voices all seemed to be talking about different things at once, creating a cacophony of sounds and words. Soon they began to line up, and the spirit spoke to him.
"Hello, Osamu," the voices were never completely in sync, giving the spirit's speech an echoing quality, "You have grown since last we spoke."
"It has been six months," he replied, "I'm no bigger than I was."
"Your physical form is of no consequence to me except that it currently houses your spirit," the whispers explained, "You have gained some small wisdom recently; though, the cost was your innocence."
"You mean the man I killed..." his voice was now no louder than the individual ones that composed the spirit he spoke to, "What wisdom does killing provide?"
"It is not the act of killing, but the exposure to death and mortality," the spirit told him, "You know now how easy it is to take away life. What you do with that knowledge will define you."
"I couldn't save him from the spirit that possessed him," he lamented sadly, "He didn't need to die."
"Perhaps," Garandou allowed, "But, what did taking the life of his whole family do to him? His mind was broken. You released his spirit back into the cycle to be cleansed."
"So I helped him?" Osamu asked with no small amount of incredulity.
"Death is inevitable for your kind, Osamu," the spirit told him, "Would you have had him live to the end of his days with memories of his family tormenting him?"
"I..." he didn't really have an answer for that, "I don't know. You don't see death like we do."
"I know this," it agreed, "As a spirit I have no body and no mind. I simply am. It is the same for your soul. The intersection of flesh and spirit creates an entity that is a conundrum to me."
Osamu sighed, "There is no good answer, is there?"
"Perhaps," it hedged, "In any case, it is time for you to learn something new. Tell me what you have gained from me already."
"You've taught me to manipulate fear, anger, and sadness so far," Osamu ticked off on his fingers.
"You will soon have the basis for all of your ancestor's techniques," the spirit informed him, "After this next lesson, you must find your own way."
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
"I am going to teach you how to bring peace to ones emotions," Garandou explained, "Pay close attention, child. This is perhaps the most important thing I can teach you."
XxXxXxX
The sun had long since risen, and Masaru was awake to greet it.
He had been that way for some time. Sleep had been hard to come by, and when he did doze off, he was greeted by a horrid nightmare.
He finally lifted himself up to begin his day. There were things he needed to get done, and he had agreed to meet with his friends to discuss the test.
He suddenly didn't want to go, but he doubted Hotaka or Osamu wouldn't show. The idea that they hadn't completed their task never entered his mind. Considering their respective goals, neither could afford decommissioning.
He wondered how they were handling their first kills. Better than him, he hoped.
XxXxXxX
Hotaka stared at his food and fiddled with his chopsticks listlessly. He was seeing again the running pyre he had turned Aito into. A shudder went up his spine, not from horror or guilt, but from the satisfaction it gave him. It scared him to find no remorse in his heart from the act.
He sighed and set his chopsticks down.
"What's wrong, Hotaka?" his mother asked him from across the table where she was eating.
He just shook his head and stood, "I don't want to talk about it."
He left before she could wheedle him. She would work the information out of him, and he didn't want to break down in front of her again. He was an adult by the standards of his village, so he would act like one.
He left the house to meet with his friends. He didn't really want to face them. Masaru likely wasn't nearly as conflicted as him, and Osamu was so determined he wouldn't let his worries slow him down.
Maybe their strength would help him overcome his own troubles.
XxXxXxX
Osamu leapt from his window and landed lightly just outside their property line. He began to walk down the street in search of a quick meal to satiate his hunger.
His night had been blessedly free of nightmares thanks to his spirit, but it didn't help his waking worries. The argument he'd had with his sister after his Sensei left had been nothing short of epic. That plus the weight of guilt for the death of what he saw as an innocent man had him dragging his feet.
He felt a little bad for leaving the house without saying anything, but he couldn't face Ren right now. She didn't even know about his first kill yet. He didn't know how to tell her; she had never taken a life.
His troubles swirled in his mind as he walked, and soon he was at the park where he and his friends had played as young children and trained more recently. He'd forgotten to find something to eat, but his stomach had seemed to tighten as he walked.
A inquisitive trill drew his attention down. When he saw Yancha at his feet he palmed his face.
"I'm sorry, girl," he told her, "I totally forgot to wake you, didn't I."
'You did,' she began to clean herself. It was a morning ritual for her to groom her long golden fur, 'You are still sad?'
He nodded but didn't say much else. Soon he saw his two friends approaching. He stopped suppressing his reikimokushi to get a better look at their emotional states and found them both to be in a great deal of turmoil.
In a way, that made him feel better. He had somehow come to the conclusion that both of them would handle this better than him.
They came to a stop in a rough triangle and looked at each other in silence.
"She killed seventeen people, nine women and eight men," Masaru finally broke the silence, "but no matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of my guilt."
Hotaka closed his eyes, "I'm having the opposite problem. I can't bring myself to feel any remorse for the arsonist who burned a whole family alive. What if... what if I'm just like him."
"The man I killed was deranged... and likely possessed," Osamu said quietly when it was his turn, "I worry that I took the life of an innocent man."
They all roughly sat down at the same time.
"I figured you guys would be better at this than me," Hotaka admitted with a bitter laugh.
"Funny," Masaru replied, "I thought the same thing."
"That makes three of us," Osamu agreed with a mirthless smirk.
"What now?" Hotaka asked, "I'm afraid of what I might become if I have to do this again."
Masaru shrugged, "I guess we could quit. I'm sure Hiroto-sensei would help us get decommissioned if we ask."
It really hit home the turmoil they were in when he suggested that. Each had dreamed of being a shinobi for years, and now, after they had made it, they weren't sure if they could continue.
"I won't quit," Osamu finally said with conviction, "I won't let this stop me. Haru might have been innocent, but I can't help others like him if I give up here."
The other two frowned in thought. Finally Masaru looked up and fixed his eyes on Osamu.
"I can't let my guilt stop me either," he said quietly, "Kaa-san protected this village with everything she had during the last war, and she killed hundreds to do it. If that's what it takes to protect our home, I'll do it too."
Hotaka remained silent for some time, and his face grew conflicted.
"You'll still be our friend one way or the other, Hotaka," Osamu told him, "I know you're afraid, and there's nothing wrong with that."
Masaru nodded in agreement and the two of them shot Hotaka supportive smiles.
He smiled back sadly, "I don't feel any remorse for killing Aito, but I could never forgive myself if I left you two without any real combat support. I'm in."
A collective weight seemed to lift from their shoulders. They were far from okay, but together they found their shared burden felt far less heavy.
As one their stomachs growled, forming an odd chorus of hunger.
"Guess I wasn't the only one who skipped out on breakfast," Masaru observed, and they shared a much needed, if greatly subdued, laugh.
XxXxXxX
Nearby, watching silently from a tree, Anko smiled. When Mayu had told her about Hiroto's test, she had been torn between professional admiration and familial rage. She was an orphan and a pariah due to her Sensei, but she considered each of those boys as little brothers. She knew that they felt she was an older sister, too, despite her schedule keeping her from visiting very often.
She had taken a day of leave to see how they would handle the trial, but her worry proved unfounded. They were on their way to being good shinobi and a great team.
She snuck away shortly after they had left to seek sustenance and made her way to Ren's place. Mayu had asked her to meet there after she was satisfied.
Anko found the boys' guardians around the Sakibou table with cups of tea. Ren was shaking slightly and had a look of immense worry on her face.
"Kami... he's killed a man," she whispered, "I said some terrible things to him last night, too. I... I didn't know."
Anko sat next to her peer and put an arm around her, "If it makes you feel any better, he's going to be okay."
Mayu and Natsumi nodded their agreement.
"What about Masa-kun and Hota-kun?" she asked, looking from person to person with sad eyes, "They're all so young..."
"They are shinobi now," Mayu told her, "They were bound to go through this sooner or later. Hiroto-san may have done them a favor by having them do it in a controlled environment."
"You were singing a different tune when we talked yesterday, Mayu," Anko smirked at her.
The crippled woman sighed, "True enough, but I had some time to think last night. Perhaps we're lucky he defected. Kumo lost a great shinobi in him."
Ren tensed under Anko's arm, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"What would you have done with the information," Natsumi asked neutrally, "Gotten Osa-kun reassigned? The old man knows what he's doing, Ren-chan."
"I know," she closed her eyes, and her face screwed up in consternation, "Everything I've heard about the man leads me to believe he is trustworthy, but I just can't forget what his old village did."
"Maybe you should confront him directly," Anko suggested, "Hiroto's not a bad guy. Treated me with respect even knowing my history. Even saved my life. Nearly got himself killed doing it, too."
"But what if it's just an act?" Ren held stubbornly to her fears.
"For twelve years?" Anko countered.
"Twelve?" Ren's face screwed up in confusion, "His service record is only just over ten years long."
"First off: How do you have access to personnel reports?" Anko asked dubiously, "Secondly: Do you really think the Hokage would just let a defector into the Corps. without some sort of probationary period?"
Ren silently berated herself for letting on that she could get at normally classified files. Outwardly she said, "That would put his defection around the same time as the attack..."
Mayu shrugged, "Maybe he wasn't happy about the idea of wiping out a clan, and left as a protest."
"Why not warn them, then?" Natsumi asked seriously, "It's what I would have done in that position."
"Maybe he couldn't," Anko suggested reasonably, "Nukenin don't exactly get to go where ever they please."
Ren frowned, "I suppose the actual time of his defection raises a few questions, but I still don't know enough to actually trust him. Especially not with Osa-kun's life."
"He would have been interviewed extensively by T&I," Anko explained, "I wasn't there for it, but Ibiki was. Maybe he can tell me something."
"I would appreciate it, Anko," Ren leaned into her.
No problem, Ren," it made Anko happy to help. If the boys were little brothers to her, then Ren was most certainly a sister.
XxXxXxX
"Nii-san!" the shout cut through the blissful oblivion he had drunk himself into last night, "Wake up already. It's past noon!"
"Ugh..." Hiroto tried to roll over and away from the loud blonde only to find he was lying on the couch and not his bed. He fell off the edge and was forced fully awake.
"How late were you up?" his little brother ask with worry.
"Past three hundred, I think," he answered groggily.
When he looked up, Naruto pushed a glass of water and a bottle of pills in his face, "Here... get cleaned up. I got a surprise for you."
"It's not like the one where you tried to set off fireworks in the apartment is it?" he asked before swallowing a couple of the painkillers and downing the water.
"Nah," Naruto didn't even show a hint of shame for that debacle, "This is really good."
Hiroto dragged himself up, wobbled a bit, then made his way to the bathroom.
"You haven't drank like this in a long time, Nii-san," Naruto called after him. There was undisguised concern in his voice, "You weren't... you didn't do any drawings did you?"
Hiroto froze at the bathroom door, "How do you know about those?" his voice came out as barely a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Nii-san," the blonde was rubbing his hands together nervously, "I found one under the couch a few months back while cleaning. It was... scary."
The jonin rubbed his face, "The memories that spawn them are far scarier."
"Does it have to do with you leaving your old village?" Naruto asked.
He nodded in reply, "It was a terrible night, Naruto. Please... please don't ask me any more about it."
"O-okay, Nii-san," the teen agreed uncertainly. He summoned an uneasy smile, "Well get ready, cause this surprise is going to blow you away."
XxXxXxX
Hinata wasn't quite exhausted. Tired, yes, but the success of her team in Kurenai's test had her feeling slightly giddy. Osamu had been right about her teammates. Kiba was generally friendly in a loud way, and Shino was nice, if a bit weird.
Kurenai had put them through the ringer. She took them outside of Konoha and told them if they made it back within forty-eight hours, they passed. What she didn't tell them upfront was that she would be throwing just about every trap and genjutsu she could come up with. To make things worse, she seemed to have ways to circumvent the natural defenses the groups heightened senses gave them against illusions.
Shino suspected that she had been using a combination of illusions and an unknown set of chemicals to throw him off, as his kikaichu colony should not have been fooled by any pure genjutsu. Kiba had seconded the notion when his and Akamaru nose had been put out of commission by a scent blinder on a few occasions. Hinata wasn't sure what her Sensei was doing to circumvent her eyes, but it had been frustrating. The tactics taught them to rely on each others senses and instincts rather quickly.
They had only been five kilometers from Konoha when they started, but Kurenai had informed them when they reached the gate that they had traveled roughly thirty. Considering they had started an hour after noon and taken a four hour rest, coming in at around fifteen hundred wasn't too bad.
Hinata was amazed at the praise she had received from both her teammates and her sensei. She knew she had contributed something since there were times only she had spotted a trap or found the way, but she couldn't quite accept that she had been equal to either of the others. At least they didn't outright dismiss her like her family.
The thought of her family broke her out of the reverie she had slipped into while walking home. As if on cue, the gates to the Hyuuga compound loomed up before her. She suppressed a shudder as the gates opened to admit her.
The guards on the inside nodded in greeting, but their faces remained stoic. What she would have given to see smiles on those faces. While she hated the expectations heaped onto her and her inevitable failure to meet them, she hated the coldness of the clan more. She would have given anything for the Hyuuga to be more open.
She came upon the main house and was about to enter when the door opened suddenly. Her older cousin stepped out, and she could almost feel the anger radiating off of him.
"H-hello, Neji-nii-san..." she greeted timidly, with a hint of worry. She had never seen him so openly mad.
His glare stopped her short. It wasn't just the intensity of it, but the dark bruises around his white eyes.
"What h-happened?" she gasped out.
Neji just stormed off in a huff.
"Some crippled taijutsu teacher gave him a 'personal lesson,'" Hinata turned to see her younger sister in the door with a faint smirk on her face, "Tenten-san told me all about it when she and that crazy green idiot brought him back yesterday."
Before Hinata could process that and respond, Hanabi changed gears on her, "Otou-sama wishes to see you about your genin test."
At that, she was gone. No 'How did you do, Nee-san?' or 'Welcome home, Hinata.' Just some gossip and a cold relaying of orders. She sighed sadly and made her way to her father's study.
XxXxXxX
The trip through Konaha was a bit surreal for Hiroto. He hadn't gotten such dirty looks since his first days in Konoha. He thought at first they were being directed at Naruto since the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack was coming up soon. He finally began to realize that the glares were his, and his alone, when he began to catch snatches of conversation.
He kept hearing references to a boy or child, and he wondered if it was already out how he had tested his team. He tossed out that idea soon after forming it since there was never mention of more than one person. He soon caught on that they were talking about Naruto after one mentioned the 'demon child.'
He knew it was extremely dangerous to focus chakra to sensory organs without knowledge of a specific technique to do so safely, but his curiosity soon had him ignoring that as he trickled minute amounts to his ears.
"... better off without him anyway," he heard a woman's voice say.
"Are you a fool?" a man replied to her, "If he takes the demon child away, that's just one more weapon for Kumo."
He ceased the chakra flow when he began to hear a ringing, but he had learned enough. People had the notion he planned to abscond back to Kumo with Naruto. Where they were getting that ridiculous idea, he had no idea. He had a feeling it had to do with the attempt on his life, though.
He put it out of his mind when they entered the back alleys of their home. Naruto was bursting with excitement as he led the way, and soon they arrived at a dead-end with a shop at the back of it.
"We're here!" Naruto announced excitedly, "Welcome to Shuji-san's shop!"
Hiroto's brain did a back flip, "Wait... the Shuji? The one who supplies ANBU? The one who is such a good smith he invites you to buy from him?"
"Yep!" Naruto looked up at him, eyes shining with pride.
"Okay... this is a great surprise," Hiroto allowed.
Naruto led the way in, and the jonin was blown away by the huge amount of finely crafted weapons he saw.
"Welcome back, Naruto-kun," the large smith greeted warmly when they entered the establishment, "And good day to you, Hiroto-san."
Shuji's eyes did not convey the same warmth for Hiroto as they had for his little brother, but the jonin didn't really care. All that mattered was that Shuji seemed honestly friendly towards the young pariah. Something in the man's eyes told Hiroto that his visit came with strings, and that they should be kept private from the blonde.
"You have a practice yard, Shuji-san?" he asked politely. When the man nodded, Hiroto grabbed a ninja-to and tossed it to a wide eyed Naruto, "Go try that out, kiddo. Don't kill yourself."
"Sure thing, Nii-san," he chirped happily and left out a door the smith indicated to him.
The smile dropped from Shuji's face, though it didn't take on a hostile mien, "Ryoukou Hiroto. Defector from Kumogakure, jonin of Konohagakure, captain and sensei of Genin Team Five, artist, recovering alcoholic, legal guardian of Uzumaki Naruto... I know you are all these things, but not who you are."
"What is your interest in me?" Hiroto asked seriously. He was keeping his hands away from his obvious weapons. Shuji wasn't just a phenomenal smith, he was said to be an expert in every weapon he could make.
"You've heard the rumors flying about?" the larger man asked.
"Surely you don't believe such tripe?" Hiroto laughed, "What would I gain? Despite what this village has done to him, Naruto loves it."
"I don't believe them," Shuji agreed easily, "And I know we have you to thank for teaching Naruto-kun to love this place despite the hardships it has placed on him."
"So why bring them up?" Hiroto was getting a bit confused.
"Because I helped start them," Shuji explained, "I was against informing you, but the Hokage insisted you should know what might be coming."
"Those rumors were sanctioned by Hokage-sama?" Hiroto asked with a frown.
"Not exactly..." Shuji winced, "I can't get into the specifics, but we operate relatively independent of official channels."
"We?" he inquired with interest. He knew there were layers of groups in service to the Hokage, but not what they were or who worked in them.
"When he found out what we were doing," Shuji went on as if the question had never popped up, "Hokage-sama insisted you should at least be warned."
"So what should I expect?" Hiroto decided to let the question of identity drop as a courtesy.
"There is a group in Konoha not in the direct control of the Hokage," Shuji explained, "They have already made one attempt on you, but we think its a ploy to direct attention away from the real target."
"Naruto," he breathed out, "He's alone out there right now."
"There are measures in place to keep an eye on him," Shuji patted the air, trying to allay his worry, "My daughter is out in the yard, too. Calm down."
"So why the rumors about me kidnapping him?" Hiroto tried hard to reign in his worry with only mild success.
"To refocus their efforts," Shuji smiled, "If they think you are about to run off with him, they will attempt to neutralize you first. Meanwhile, we have time to investigate why they are after Naruto-kun."
"That should be obvious," Hiroto deadpanned.
"Well... there is that," Shuji agreed reluctantly, "but, this is the first aggressive play they've made since his birth."
They lapsed into silence as Hiroto considered the possibilities.
"So I get to dodge attacks while looking after Naruto and my team," he finally said, "Great..."
"We don't think they will make any overt moves while your genin are around," Shuji countered, "Natsu would go on a warpath if anyone hurt her boy."
"Ren-san and Mayu-san would do the same," Hiroto added with a smirk.
He noted the tiniest bit of anger leak into the man's face at the mention of Hotaka's mother, but decided it was none of his business.
"I suppose there will be people keeping an eye on me as well?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.
"There always were, Hiroto-san," Shuji smiled again.
"Tou-san!" a teenage girl with brown hair pulled up into a pair of buns came storming in dragging Naruto, bleeding from a cut high on his arm, behind her, "What are you doing giving long blades to fresh genin? He nearly took his own arm off!"
"I'm fine!" the blonde protested as he tried to twist away from the older girl.
Hiroto moved to Naruto with calm certainty, his hands already glowing green with healing chakra, "I got him."
"Oh... are you a medic?" the girl asked curiously, "I've been thinking about going that route."
"Not exactly... sit still, idiot," he answered and ordered Naruto at the same time, "I dabble in just about everything."
The wound closed up faster than he expected, and he soon ended his first aid technique.
"Thanks, Nii-san," Naruto smiled up at him, "The blade slipped."
"That's cause your grip was all wrong," the girl bopped him on the head.
"Hey!"
"Tenten, what have I told you about hitting customers," Shuji said in exasperation. He was smiling despite the rebuke.
"Sorry, Tou-san," she took the ninja-to from Naruto and gave a shallow bow, "I'm Tenten. I do the woodwork for Tou-san since he sucks at it."
"Thanks," her father said sarcastically, "Since you've got time to insult me, you've got time to watch the shop while I get some real work done."
Tenten began to grumble about needing to practice more but soon turned to Hiroto and Naruto with a smile, "Well, might as well introduce yourselves. We don't get many customers whose names I get to know."
Naruto jumped forward like the hyperactive child he was and nearly shouted, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be the Hokage some day!"
Tenten's only answer was a snort of amusement, but she otherwise didn't comment.
"Ryoukou Hiroto," the jonin offered with a smirk.
"Good to meet you both," she said brightly, "Anything you would like to purchase?"
Naruto's eyes brightened in excitement, "That sword was awes..."
"No!" both Tenten and Hiroto shouted at once.
While he pouted, his guardian asked, "How much will ten basic load-outs cost me?"
The teen looked at him, surprised, for a moment, "T-ten? That's 10,000..."
"Done," he said then muttered, "I'll dodge assassins all day for that price."
"What was that?" Naruto asked as the girl went behind the counter to fill the order.
"Hmm... Nothing," no sense in worrying the kid.
When Tenten had the goods piled on the counter, Hiroto made to hand her the money. Instead of taking it, she suddenly gripped his wrist and tugged his arm closer. He was halfway to stabbing her when he realized she was just trying to get a better look at the tiger tattoo on him forearm. He sheepishly put away his kunai, but she hadn't even noticed him drawing it.
"This is amazing work," she breathed out in admiration, "The seal is literally worked into the tattoo as part of the stripes. No one without seal training would recognize it, and even then, they would need to see it this close."
Hiroto cleared his throat to catch her attention, "Can I have my arm back now?"
"Huh?" she looked up at his face, "Oh!"
She released him and gathered up the money he had dropped on the counter, "I'm sorry. I just don't get to see such excellent fuuinjutsu that often. Did you do them yourself?"
"Not exactly," he hedged. He wasn't sure he wanted her to see the Toratate. Considering her interest in seals and side profession as a crafter of weapons, she would probably go bonkers over the shields.
She just smiled at his vague answer, "I understand. Gotta keep that edge of surprise and all. Is there anything else I can get you?"
Naruto looked as if he was about to mention the ninja-to again, so Hiroto pushed him towards the door, "No... thank you, Tenten-chan. It was good to meet you."
"You too!" she called after them as they exited, "Come again!"
XxXxXxX
"O-otou-sama," his eldest daughters soft voice coming through the rice paper of his office door made him jump slightly, "You w-wished to see m-me."
Damned girl was like a ghost. He wondered if she would even show up to his Byakugan. He quickly tossed away the idle musing and composed himself.
"Enter," he said with quiet authority.
Hinata slid the door open and entered. She took a seat on a cushion before his writing table and touched her forehead to the floor in deference to him.
He nearly sighed in exasperation. His heir shouldn't have been bothering with such foolishness. Hell... he would have been fine if no one did that for him. Traditions were growing tiresome.
"Raise your head child," he ordered, "Tell me about your team. You had success during your test?"
"Y-yes, Otou-sama," Hinata confirmed, "We w-were given forty-eight h-hours and passed w-with over t-twenty to spare."
Every little stutter made Hiashi wince internally and curse the duties heaped on him. After his wife had died during the birth of their second daughter, the responsibilities of raising the children had been taken up by the clan elders; his own father specifically. His eldest had responded very poorly to her grandfather's traditional ideas of child rearing.
At first, Hiashi had been grateful to his father for taking on the burden of raising the children. Between the still fresh guilt for his brother's death years before, grief from losing his wife, and the duties to the clan, he hadn't noticed the damage being done to his daughter's psyche until it was too late to simply reverse it.
He suspected his father may have done some of it purposely. After Hizashi had died to protect him, Hiashi had sworn to change the clan for the better to honor his brother. His father hadn't liked that idea in the least. Traditions were paramount to him.
If Hiashi was going to make his changes really stick, he needed a strong heir who was also kind. Hinata had learned kindness from her mother, and Hiashi had planned to teach her to lead when she was ready. Her grandfather had ruined that possibility by damaging her confidence and trust. The slightest correction or chastisement from Hiashi would send her into depression, and he was hard pressed to find things to honestly praise her for since she shied away from challenges... not that she believed any praise she received.
The hardest part for him was considering dropping her as the heir. Hanabi was proving better in every way than her older sister, and the elders were putting pressure on him to name her the next clan leader. As much as he wanted a strong Hinata to take over, he had to see reality and make practical decisions. At some point he would have to give up on his dream and, worse, his daughter.
"O-otou-sama?" Hinata had raised her voice some. He hadn't been paying any attention to her report, but she seemed hopeful. Perhaps she wasn't so far gone she couldn't be helped.
"Well done, Hinata," he told her. She gave him a cautious smile and he quietly celebrated his small victory, "You may skip this afternoon's training session to recover from the trial. I expect you in top form tomorrow."
"Thank y-you, Otou-s-sama. I will d-do my best," her expression fell a little at the thought of training, "M-may I be e-excused?"
"You are dismissed, child," he told her.
She rose from her kneeling position, bowed low and left.
As soon as the door shut, Hiashi's face fell from calm neutrality into frustrated despair. His last hope for Hinata was her new Sensei. He hoped a strong female influence, like Kurenai, would inspire her. If not, he would settle for Hinata at least overcoming her inferiority complex.
XxXxXxX
He could smell the worry coming off of his sister from the door. It reminded him of the smoke from a campfire, and had he been less concerned with how to make things right, it might have puzzled him.
He had left his friends thirty minutes ago with assurances he would be at their team's first real meeting. He had spent about fifteen of that standing at his front door trying to find the right words to apologize to Ren for the cruel words they had exchanged.
He was unsure why she was so worried right now. Perhaps she was going through the same ordeal he was, or was just concerned that he had left without a word that morning.
Another five minutes crept by, and he could feel Yancha's impatience finally spill over. She darted through the flap in the door meowing loudly before Osamu could react.
It took a moment, but soon Ren's aura was approaching. The door opened suddenly, and the siblings looked at one another with none of the vitriol that had been tossed around the previous night.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ren finally asked. There was a note of hurt in her voice, but she was more concerned then anything. It clicked in Osamu's mind what she had been worrying over.
"I didn't know how," he admitted, looking down in guilt, "How do you just talk about... killing someone?"
She gathered him into a hug, and he knew then that she had forgiven him for the night before. It didn't stop him from saying what he felt he needed.
"I'm sorry, Nee-san," he whispered into her shoulder, "I shouldn't have said those things."
"No... you were right," she disagreed softly, "Harsh but right."
"What about Hiroto-sensei?" he asked her cautiously, "I know what you went through was terrible, but he isn't out to get us."
"I know," she sighed, "It isn't that easy to get rid of my mistrust, but I will try."
"Thank you, Nee-san," Osamu pulled away and smiled.
"Do you need to talk about your test?" she asked him seriously in response.
His smile faded, "Actually, there are things we need to discuss."
A/N: I swear I have a good reason for being late. That's a lie... I don't, but it doesn't matter all that much. About 2/3 through this chapter I realized I did not like the way it was shaping. I stepped away from it for a couple of days and came back to reread it. This is the result.
I want to explain ryo (the money used in Naruto) real quick. Narutopedia says 1 ryo = 10 Yen. For a better comparison (for those of us not used to Asian money), the exchange rate of Yen to USD is currently close to 90 Yen to 1 USD (~120 Yen = 1 Euro for my European readers). Round that off to 100 Yen to the Dollar and Hiroto spent roughly $1000.00 on gear ($100.00 per kit). Considering how much actually comes in one of those pouches and the fact that Shuji is a primo smith, that's actually pretty reasonable (Good throwing knives can be bought online for about $30 - $40 for a set of three. Those aren't meant to be expendable like kunai and shuriken, though).
EDIT: Keja-B was kind enough to point out an error I made. The rate of Ryo to Yen has been corrected from my original 10:1 ratio. I also adjusted the price that Hiroto paid in light of this down from 100,000. Thanks again to Keja-B and sorry for the error.
Kononkyou (Soul Echo)
Type: Kekkei Genkai (Chakra Based)
Rank: Varies
Effect: This strange bloodline allows the wielder to directly manipulate emotion with his/her chakra. This power comes at a price, however; the wielder's chakra is permanently imbalanced towards the spiritual. This prevents body enhancement, most ninjutsu, and certain chakra manipulation techniques (such as water walking).