Natural selection is the gradual process by which biological traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of the effect of inherited traits on the differential reproductive success of organisms interacting with their environment. It is a key mechanism of evolution. Variation exists within all populations of organisms. This occurs partly because random mutations occur in the genome of an individual organism, and these mutations can be passed to offspring. Throughout the individuals' lives, their genomes interact with their environments to cause variations in traits.
Due to the nature of shinobushido the natural selection within the ninja world has evolved immensely from the first shinobi, Yamato Takeru; his appearance and existence is depicted in the Kojiki, his simple parlour tricks acting as the foundations for shinobi world. As the need for stealthier tactics has grown the human body has adapted with it; within Konoha many formidable shinobi families hold techniques specific to their genetics, they varying from family to family.
Each clan has genetic traits that are embedded in their DNA just like any family trait; the Uchiha's have their dark features and allure of the sharingan, it hypnotising people almost instantaneously. Whereas Hyuugas have their pastel features and all seeing orbs; they having the ability to peer into even the darkest of souls. Like both of these prestigious clans the Hitori's have their ever changing eye colour, it evolving in sync alongside their kekkai genkai; those born in to the clan are often born with brown eyes, they then morphing gold if the bloodline is present.
But the shinobi life is not for everyone, some choose to venture a different path to that of espionage and bloodshed. Natsuko Hitori was one of them people. The only child of Hidekazu and Tomo Hitori, Natsuko was a free spirit relishing the natural world and the people that inhabited it. Unlike her father, Natsuko had no affirmation for the ninja lifestyle, nor did she inherit the soujuu kekkai genkai; instead she was taken under the wing of her Uncle: Atsushi Himura. She soon found her niche in politics, it contributing to her love of the world outside of Konoha giving her the chance to travel and see the world through new eyes.
It was upon her travels of the world that Natsuko met Taimu Mizushima, a native farmer of Tsuki no Kuni; being the child of summer that she was Natsuko found herself amidst a summer romance with Taimu, it eventually resulting in her falling pregnant- and that was the last thing on her list. However they say that home is where the heart is so Natsuko fled back to Konoha, Taimu hot on her heels; most say that summer romances are exactly that, a summer fling, but Natsuko and Taimu proved them all wrong.
Throughout her pregnancy and even after the birth of Reina, Taimu and Natsuko continued to fall deeper and deeper in love with one another, their affections shining through their chocolate orbs constantly. But all that came to an end when they visited a foreign town; all's that it took was a protest that got out of hand and resulted in mass panic and death.
It was that day Taimu and Natsuko left the land of the living and began their new life in Yomi leaving a grieving daughter at home; but they still had one another, even after their hearts stopped beating and their eyes closed for a final time. Yet amidst the spilled tears and passing weeks of condolences, there was one who felt no such sorrow for such an untimely tragedy; Atsushi despite surround by sadness felt nothing but relief and satisfaction. His inability to restrain his gloating would be his downfall one day; his selfish and ambitious ways adding to his inevitable demise.
And it was time.
Buried deep under a mountain of unsigned mission logs and unclosed incident cases sat Reina; in the immediate space in front of her were neatly stacked piles of paper, each one having been meticulously examined before sorted into its necessary mound. The previous night had taken its toll on her both physically and mentally, having explained everything to her grandmother a slight weight had been lifted from her chest; but knowing that death could be imminent left her heart heavy knowing so many words would go unsaid.
Sighing softly she sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair running her hand through her bangs whilst the rest of her dark locks were held neatly in place with a single pen, a habit from marking test papers in the academy. Reina laced her hands together allowing them to rest on her stomach as she stared idly at the remaining paperwork that surrounded her; having been told that field missions were most likely indefinitely off of her agenda, this was the sight she was going to have to get used to.
Time had passed so quickly in the small office that each ink blotted word had begun to merge into the next whilst the sun's shadow pranced from one side of the room to the next, casting obscure shapes as it went. The effects of the indenture were worsening with each day since Reina sealed the doomed deal; the colours of the winter morns becoming duller whilst scriptures became hazier. With tired eyes Reina sat up from her short break, ready to attend to the seemingly regrouping piles of papers once more; as her gold orbs took in each individual word her stomach would drop and sink.
"What is this?"Reina muttered, her brows furrowing in confusion. Sifting through a nearby pile of reports once more a list of familiar names began to accumulate and form a pattern. Within minutes the specific names and companies had been highlighted and chronologically ordered; by now her stomach was twisted in knots. "No, this can't be right." She continued, her mouth dropping in shock.
Before long the only available wall space was now occupied with a complete atlas, various drawing pins and lengths of cotton string scattered across the various cities and villages. Knocking gently on the door Neji waited patiently before entering the already claustrophobic room; managing to close the door behind he leaned against the door whilst his lavender orbs took in the organised chaos that surrounded him and the preoccupied Hitori heiress.
"I do not believe that sticking tacks to an atlas is alphabetising reports." He murmured softly, a quiet smile shining in his pale eyes; it had been so long since their last meeting before her mission. He wasn't even there when she returned and it pained him to see her cooped up in the tiny offices rather than out in the fresh open air. Reina stopped mid-pin, her entire body freezing before turning on her heels, the first smile in a long time erupting onto her face.
"Neji…" Reina closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around the dark haired male and hugging him closely, relieved to see that Pein had indeed been true to his word and left him unharmed. Neji smiled his forever rare smile, burying his face into her own dark locks, a familiar sensation of relief flooding his own stomach at seeing her in well health. He had heard the extent of her injuries and was beyond shocked, it was meant to be a simple retrieval mission, instead she had ventured to hell and back, unbeknownst to him she had done exactly that.
"When did you get back?" Reina asked, relinquishing her hold on the Hyuuga male noting a peculiar look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head to side curiously. Neji paused prior to answering, his face set in a peculiar expression that bordered both pain and relief.
"I looked for you. I upturned every leaf and followed every clue but nothing, everything just led to a dead end…" Neji murmured, his lilac eyes glued to the parquet flooring; Reina stared at him softly, her heart wrenching with the very sentiment that was obvious in his orbs. Gently she took his hand and squeezed it ever so lightly, the gesture but a mere reassurance between the pair.
"I know you did…but…" Reina paused inhaling deeply before continuing. "But so did the Akatsuki. They knew you were near and looking for me; so they presented me with a deal- one I was in no position to refuse. So I bargained myself for your safe passage." Neji's eyes widened, they shooting up from the patterned floor to meet Reina's gold ones; raising her hands in gesture to let her continue Reina smiled meekly. "They were true to their word and here you are safe and sound. I on the other hand am bound to Itachi Uchiha; an indenture in fact is what binds us and sooner or later, when death knocks upon either's door, the other will follow."
Neji stared in utter awe as each of her words sunk in; this couldn't be true, surely not? Surely she had not undergone such tribulations just to keep him safe? Surely she wasn't linked to the killer of the Uchiha clan? "Neji? Say something to me, please?" Reina asked quietly, a blank yet tentative look etched onto her freckled features. Neji, shaking himself from his self-induced shock couldn't help but pull Reina into another hug, this time holding her even closer if it was possible.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there Reina. I could have helped you I could have~" Neji muttered lowly, clutching his best friend to his chest, feeling his stomach bubble with a mixture of anger and disappointment. Reina smiled to herself squeezing him lightly before patting him on the back; teary eyed Reina pulled away, wiping her eyes before murmuring.
"You can help me now."
•●•
"Thus by creating this business alliance we would be strengthening not only the Hitori and Himura clan but you, the Fujimoto clan too. With a few transactions between our two villages we can restore our clans to their former glory, solidifying our foundations so our future can remain bright and fruitful." The entire room erupted into applause as the elders of the Fujimoto clan stood to applaud their newly established brethren; Atsushi stood before the gathered crowd with a forever proud expression plastered on his weathered features.
One step at a time was all that it took, for in the end it was the tortoise that surpassed the eager hare; he would climb the ever stretching hierarchy of society and with each step came new power and new allies. Though allies was not the exact term that Atsushi would use, in the terms of progression and power these people were more like pawns in an all-important game of life like that of chess or pai sho. They would break their backs working and he would reap the rewards whilst they remained none the wiser and he rose up the ladder once more.
It wasn't the first time he had bargained with foreign clans, and he highly doubted it would be his last encounter. Despite living with his sister Tomo, Atsushi remained the patriarch of the Himura clan, overseeing the internal and external affairs whilst attempting to take the Hitori clan under his yukata wing ever since the death of Hidekazu. Above all Atsushi treasured ambition and power, it was a commodity he could not afford to live without; power was a modern currency, it could be used to trade and influence even the proudest and most honourable of people.
And those who refused him or stood in his way? Well, they were taken care of.
Atsushi bowed to the Fujimoto clan representatives, the greyish hues of his yukata reflecting the monotonous shades of his personality. The air was ridden with a sense of self accomplishment that oozed from the grey haired male, that very accomplishment was what was going to be his downfall- he simply didn't realise it was going to fall upon him so soon.
Suddenly the shoji screen door slammed open revealing Tomo and Reina: and they were not happy.
"Honourable guests, allow me to introduce the leader of our established clan, Tomo Hitori-sama." Atsushi announced, though his tone was polite inwardly his words dripped with the most toxic of venoms and pure resentment. Tomo entered the room, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her black yukata; the winter scene depicted on the trailing silk gleamed vibrant silver, each individual detailed snowflake standing out against the obsidian fabric. Reina followed behind her grandmother, a stoic look plastered on her face as a long lost truth had finally come to light; but it was not merely the two stony faced females that entered the room. Hot on their heels was a small brigade of shinobi police, a rolled up piece of parchment held tightly in their hands.
"What are the police doing here?" Atsushi muttered lowly, his dark eyes narrowing as the group of shinobi circle the trio; Tomo took a moment to collect her thoughts and centre her emotions, the truth still stinging her ears and eating away at her heart. Atsushi, receiving no answer growled and clenched his fists until the blood ran away from his skin as he resisted the urge to shake the answers he sought from Tomo's frail body.
"They're here to arrest you. They have evidence of all your past tribulations which you tried to hide; including the involvement in the death of my daughter and son in law and attempted murder of Reina. You need not attempt to defend yourself as I have seen the evidence with my own eyes. How could you Atsushi? Your own flesh and blood?" Tomo finished, her voice ridden with hurt and disbelief; this was her brother, the person she grew up with and had been by her side since she could remember.
Atsushi grit his teeth together, the anger in his stomach hissing and bubbling away as her words sunk in; he thought he had gotten away with it all. It had been so perfect when he had organised it, back when Natsuko and Taimu travelled for the political summit uneasiness filled the land where they travelled and it was assumed a mere tragedy that they were caught in the cross-fire of the attack. But not everything was as it seemed, Atsushi, in order to gain providence in the area made a deal with the residing criminals.
The Akatsuki.
"Are you seriously going to believe that traitor? She is the one who was gallivanting about with that Uchiha! She is a disgrace!" Atsushi spat viciously, he was like a cornered animal who was willing to do anything to avoid capture; Reina felt her stomach drop before it too began to sizzle with pure hatred. Before she knew what had happened Atsushi was holding his face, drops of blood now dotted on the woven tatami mats; Reina gasped and turned, staring at her grandmother who was the cause of the spilled blood.
"No Atsushi. It is you who is the disgrace. You are hereby banished from this clan as well as relinquished from your role of Himura clan leader." Tomo responded, stepping aside and allowing the silently waiting shinobi to arrest her brother; the Fujimoto members stood in awe at the scene that had unravelled before them. Reina watched silently as the shinobi read out his rights and bound him with a thin rope of chakra around his wrists; she wanted a more befitting punishment rather than incarceration but she knew that taking away his ability to manipulate and weave lies to further himself was the best possible punishment for him.
Reina cast her eyes to her grandmother whose face was full of emotional turmoil and Reina couldn't say she could blame her for Tomo had just found out the truth of her daughter's death twelve years too late. Reina too felt that familiar feeling of emotional turmoil but at the same time the wrongs that her uncle had committed were going to be put right; it wouldn't bring her parents back nor change anything else that he had done, but it was the end of an era for them and they were now able to start a fresh without his darkening shadow looming over their every move.
"Obaa-chan?" Reina asked softly, her words tentative as she laid her hand on her grandmother's arm reassuringly; Tomo blinked and broke her daze looking at her granddaughter with a gentile smile as she pulled her into a close hug. Reina was all Tomo had left, sure there were relatives of her beloved Hidekazu but Reina was her world, everything in her entirety. Reina smiled in relief and held her grandmother close noting the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders; the pair broke apart and Tomo cleared her throat before speaking to the remaining, and astounded, Fujimoto clan members.
"Forgive that outburst, if you are available to reschedule I will happily oversee the arrangements that were promised to you. But for now I will have to cancel this meeting due to unforeseen circumstances." Tomo bowed and watched as they murmured amongst themselves and filtered out of the small meeting room; she knew it was only a matter of time before Reina was handling such affairs of the clan but she knew that when that came, and it would be soon, that she would do a marvellous job.
Tomo turned back to Reina only to gasp in shock; staring at her now crimson ladened hand Reina was mesmerised by the iron infused liquid as small speckles fell to the ground along with the already inhabiting blood. She glanced up at her grandmother with an almost dazed look on her pallid face.
"It's happening." Reina whispered before falling to the floor in one fell swoop.
Everything seemed to happen in one quick blur that Tomo couldn't even remember how they arrived at the hospital; but once again she was at Reina's unconscious form holding onto her IV infused hand. Tomo found out about the pact Reina had formed with Itachi Uchiha as well as the rest of the tale; she simply couldn't believe that her baby girl was on the verge of death again. Within moment Reina had been bleeding from various places, the irises of her golden orbs hazing like gathering storm clouds; Tomo realised that whatever wounds Itachi had endured in his final battle with Sasuke were indeed reflected upon Reina.
And the worst part was he had no idea.
Tomo continued to watch Reina sleep hoping that despite her heinous injuries her dreams or thought were pleasant ones; little did Tomo know that Reina was far from sleeping peacefully. There standing behind Tomo was Reina; looking down at her fragile body Reina stared in incredulity before inspecting her semi-translucent form. She had only heard tales of the Ikiryō in past, otherwise known as 'living ghosts', assuming that it was mere folklore but she should have known better after experiencing such monsters in the night that nothing in the world was impossible nor implausible. To put her newly acquired state to the test Reina waved a hand in front of her grandmother, but she received no such reaction.
She was separated from her body, left merely as a soul without a retainer. But then she noticed the most peculiar thing that she never expected to see again: the red string of fate around her wrist. Reina had an idea of whom the string belonged to and intended to give them a rude reality check. But before she left Reina placed a swift kiss upon her grandmother's cheek, smiling when Tomo turned and stared around the room prior to a small smile of her own forming on her lips.
"Be safe my child, wherever you are. Be safe."
•●•
Complete darkness enveloped the small Ryokan room which by some stroke of oddity was as dark as the cave where he had first awoken since the accursed battle. Sasuke lay on the lump futon, his entire body covered in a variety of bandages and bruises; yet the most predominant bruising was in the form of shadowy bags that gathered beneath his own onyx orbs. To say he shed a tear in news of his brother's sacrifice was the truth, but if anyone questioned his emotional weakness he would cut them down before they could utter another word.
To think that he had eaten the lies his brother and the village had fed him all these years made him feel like an imbecile, how could it not have seen the pain in his brother's eyes, like he had seen in his final moments? Konoha would pay for what they had done to his family, but most of all they would pay for what they put Itachi through. He had overcome the one barrier in his life that stood between him and the power he sort after, so why now did he feel so weak? Sasuke sighed softly and pushed himself up from the futon growling ever so quietly as his ribs ached and cried out in pain along with the rest of his body.
Slowly he made his way to the small en suite washroom, staring at his reflection prior to splashing cold water on his stinging eyes; allowing the water to fall where it pleased he returned to his room only to freeze, feeling every hair on his body rise to attention. Instinctively his orbs flared a dangerous scarlet as they darted about the cramped room for the cause of his edginess until they fell upon what they sort after.
Reina.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke muttered, his eyes narrowing at the young heiress's presence; Reina leaned against the shadowed wall, the moonlight that peeked through the papered doors casting an eerie glow on her snowy skin.
"I came for you." Reina replied, eyeing his battered form closely noting the bags beneath his eyes; Sasuke frowned instantly perplexed by her words, she had never sort after him once he had left the village, she had said so herself in their last meeting.
"How did you find me? No one knows I'm here." Sasuke murmured, taking in her appearance before the obvious hit him- he could see right through her. "You're dead?" He somewhat stated as he reached out a hand to prove his own words; Reina stared at him, ignoring the twang in her heart at knowing he was the reason Itachi was gone and she was in this state.
"We're bound to one another Sasuke-san. Upon sealing the indenture with your brother we unknowingly sealed it with every other member of our families." Reina susurrated quietly raising her own hand to meet his, his warmth radiated against her own icy touch; Sasuke recoiled his hand at first, slightly taken back but then placed his palm back against hers noting the thin crimson twine that bound both their pale wrists.
"So what do you want?" He asked now staring her in the eyes; Reina's gaze remained as blank as a canvas as she uttered the next sentence that would test both of them beyond comprehensible means.
"You're going to help me bring your brother back."