I guess this is one of those rare periods of peace where not too many people get missions. Naruto made it back into the village this morning, and I'm on my way over to his house. I start to quiver as I get near to his door and the watched feeling meanders over me, making my trembling worse. I jog up the steps to his door, and knock. It's quickly answered. "Oh, hey, Hinata! Come on in! I finally got rid of the stink bomb smell." I noticed right when he opened the door, and I smile. "I was just watching some old Kamen Rider reruns, nothing too crazy. So what's up?"
"I just wanted to talk for a little bit. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure!" We walk over to sit on the edge of his bed, facing the TV.
"I was just... wondering about Gaara." I say, the watched feeling almost staring out of me at Naruto.
"What about him?"
"Did he ever talk to you about the second Tsuchikage?"
"Not really. I think the only thing he said was that he respected him as a Kage, but not a person."
"Do you know how he could have detected his presence?"
"Probably with his sand, like everything else," Naruto says with a shrug. Aha! That must be it. Even if he was invisible and untraceable, he still would have taken up space. As I think of ways to do that kind of perception jutsu with water natured chakra, Naruto continues. "I know he can do this weird thing where he makes an eye with his sand, but the Tsuchikage was supposed to have been an ace with cloaking jutsu, so I bet it wasn't with that. Maybe used his sand as a kind of mist or something, like a balloon filled with paint, ya know?"
"Balloon filled with paint?"
"Yeah, like, if someone was using a cloaking jutsu, and you hit them with the balloon, you could see the paint dripping off of 'em."
Like a mist. Of course! In fact, I think I even saw the Hidden in Mist Technique in that jutsu scroll. I smile at Naruto, and begin to enjoy watching the Kamen Rider episode. It's something of an escape, being able to watch a show for younger kids like this. Involuntarily- well, maybe not- I scoot a bit closer to Naruto. The watched feeling is boring through me, almost nailing me to Naruto. After watching and waiting for year after year, the ghostly feeling has worn down my resistance and I give in, leaning over and kissing Naruto on the cheek. He begins to pull away but I wrap my arms around him, now kissing him full on the mouth. Just the beginning of this would have been enough, but I feel compelled to carry on by the watched feeling. I straddle Naruto, and almost immediately the watched feeling surges up into a very private area, hungrily searching. I gasp, and sit back beside Naruto. The Kamen Rider episode babbles on in the background, a wave of white noise breaking over an island of silence.
"H- Hinata... I... I'm a guy, and as a guy I don't mind that kind of thing, but..." He looks at me, and we both know he won't have to finish the sentence.
"...That's okay," I say, even though I'm not exactly okay with it only many levels. "I, I don't know what I was thinking. I- I know that... you're... I should go." I stand and turn to leave, walking to the door.
"Hinata, wait!" He grabs me by the wrist, and pulls me in, holding me by the shoulders. "We..." He looks away for a second, then continues. "We both know who I like as a girlfriend. But in a different way, I like you even more than them. You stood up to Pain for me, and there was no one else who did that. And that's not even counting the tons of things you've done for me besides that. I'm kinda lucky to have lots of friends, but... I need you. I need you if I'm going to be me."
"Exactly. And that's the problem, Naruto: you don't need me the way you need her." Naruto gulps.
"Just this once, I guess. If you want, that- um... if you want to..." As much as it pains me to, I'm not going to take the offer; I don't want it given out of pity. Trying not to cry, I turn around and leave Naruto's apartment.
Later in the day, I'm at the library in the Hokage Tower. Only active chunin and jonin with no demerits(a group I'm fortunate to be a part of) are allowed in, and today it's very quiet. I'm still in a low mood from my visit to Naruto's apartment earlier, but I'm here with a purpose. Among the personal books and maps of the previous Hokage are a number of jutsu scrolls. The bulk of these come from the third Hokage, who was said to know every jutsu in the village. They're organized by the colored dots on the scroll handles, red for Fire Release, blue for Water, and so on. Their are a number of colors I don't recognize, but I'm here for water jutsu, so I pick one with a blue dot on the handle and move to the nearest table.
"Hinata! Hello." I look over, and it's Lady Tsunade's assistant Shizune walking towards me. "How are things? I don't see you in here that often."
"Oh, well, they're going just fine, I suppose." I hold up the scroll I just took off the shelf. "I was poking around for water jutsu to study."
"In Lord Third's section? I think you might want to try Lord Second's instead, as that was his native element." I nod, and Shizune continues. "What type of water jutsu, specifically?"
"Well, I was wondering about elemental sensory jutsu. Do you know of any?"
Surprised, she answers, "Yes. Can't remember if anyone's asked about them before, though. Hmm..." Shizune sits down at the table, and I do the same, taking the seat next to her. "So, let's see. The Fire Release one I know of is the Vital Flame Torch, which allows you to sense body heat. Fairly useful if you're in dark or cold environments. Lightning Release, that would be Divine Spark, which picks up on bio-electric charges- but Tsunade's told me the control it requires would be better spent on another method. Earth, that's... Echoing Footstep Technique, which senses tremors in the ground, but I've heard there's another way to use Earth Release for tracking. With Wind Release there's the Sky Net jutsu, a technique from the Aozora clan, but they keep it locked up fairly well... and you said water, right?"
"Yes. Are there any Water Release sensory jutsu?"
"Yeah, and a pretty famous one, at that. For years and years it rained on Ame- everyone knows that- but what none of the civilians know was that the rain was actually a jutsu Nagato used: the Rainmaker Jutsu. Whenever the rain created by the jutsu is obstructed by an unfamiliar chakra signature he'd be able to know where." Shizune looks away towards the shelves, and I begin to wonder if she knows every jutsu in the village, too. She eyes the Water Release section of Lord Third's scrolls, and then looks back over at mine. "And you just randomly picked that out?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Well, it's in there, about four fifths of the way to the back." Shizune looks around, and leans in to whisper, "I think it'd be fine if you snuck that one off, most people come here for the maps and treaty records."
"I- I'll just copy it; I brought some paper and a pen with me."
Shizune nods, then starts. "Almost forgot what I came here for." She flashes a quick smile, then gets up and wanders farther back into the library. I turn back to the scroll and roll it open, and after a quick search I find the Rainmaker Jutsu. It requires good chakra control, which I like to think I have, but the scale makes it impractical to use for most ninja. Well, I don't intend to use it over a whole city, I don't have that much chakra; with the height I'd need to reach up I could cover a street, at most. Though, that would not be so bad in some situations. I nod, and get started copying the jutsu. With this and the mist one I'm going to develop, I think I'll be able to have all my bases covered: my Byakugan and natural sight, the normal Chakra Sensing Technique, the Rainmaker Jutsu for less constricted spaces, and the mist one for tighter spaces.
With the Rainmaker Jutsu copied, I put back the scroll and head off to my house. There are still a handful of hours of daylight left, so I decide to train instead, taking a couple nutrient bars with me in case I'm late for supper.
I'm on the way out to my spot deep in the training grounds when I decide to stop for a moment, and try out the range of my Chakra Sensing Technique. I get calm, and work up the chakra I need- I've just been practicing in the main house of my family's estate, but stretch out farther, and find I can keep going. Before I stop I sense several people moving around- and one is near the area of the clearing I'm headed to. I nod, feeling good about the range. It's not monstrously large like an experienced sensor's, but does cover an area big enough to hide a squad or two of ninja. I hurry off to the clearing, and coming to it, I see a young genin there, standing still. "Hello, Konohamaru!"
"Hey Hinata. Wasn't there a cliff here the other day?"
"Yes; this is just a genjutsu. I'll dispel it, hold on a moment..." I put up the genjutsu I normally use for privacy out here, the double layered Optic Delusory Technique. Konohamaru nods, but then turns towards me and squints. "Give my best to Moegi and Udon," I say, right before turning to walk off of the "cliff". Once in the clearing I get out my water jutsu scroll, opening it up to where the Hidden in Mist Technique is. Like many of my favorite taijutsu and ninjutsu, it's simple and refined. It won't require all that much chakra, even. I smile a bit, and, on my first try, execute it properly. As I begin to work it to see if Yin Release can sustain it, I think of how I'll unify it with my sensory abilities. After several minutes and many tries, I find a balance where the Hidden Mist Technique is also Yin Release. It's mostly Yin, which I think is fitting, as mist has a very ethereal quality to it. I'm not sure what difference it has between the normal version, but I make a note to check that later, and move on.
As I inferred from the Rainmaker Jutsu's description, I have to stay "connected" for the sensory side to work. I think that will be almost the same here, though I wonder if I could connect after performing it, or if that would just be the normal Chakra Sensing Technique. I decide to go the first way, and after taking a deep breath, make the hand seal and exhale the technique. At first I can't sense anything as it billows out, but shortly it creeps past the edge of the clearing and I can sense someone, their form slowly fading in- Konohamaru, probably. A success, then! It will take a bit of doing to get used to this hybrid technique, but I feel proud to know that it's possible. But then, I hear Konohamaru screaming. I step out, and he's on his back, flailing his limbs- he must have dispelled the first layer of the genjutsu. I dispel the second, but he doesn't stop screaming immediately. The mist is surrounding him, and he begins to almost hyperventilate.
"What- where...!" I walk over and pick him up, and he almost shoves me away. "Oh... Hinata..." But then he scowls, and squints at me. "What was that, just now..."
"I was working on a jutsu, this mist you see here," I say, gesturing towards the clearing. "But, Konohamaru, if you see the cliff genjutsu here, that means I would like a bit of privacy."
"This mist isn't even that interesting, it just looks like a normal light mist!" He says, kicking through the cloud at our feet.
"True, but this jutsu is only today's task. I may be working on something else, or trying to meditate." Konohamaru harrumphs and folds his arms, looking grouchy.
"Alright, fine. And what is this mist for, anyways?"
"It's part of a chakra sensing jutsu."
"What?"
"There might be times when the normal Chakra Sensing Technique is inadequate, so I developed this one for those situations. You know, I've heard there's a Fire Release sensory technique. You should ask Shizune about it sometime..." I smile, and start to walk back towards the village with Konohamaru.