Chapter Two
The Way He's Built
"We're all here? Good."
Capitan Yamato was a man in his mid twenties with short brown hair and, to put it bluntly, and Naruto always put things bluntly, big freaky eyes. Yamato had been on the team that went to protect Hotaru from those who would have liked to steal The Forbidden Jutsu. He now surveyed what he had to work with.
Naruto, Sakura and Sai had all been on The Forbidden Jutsu mission with him. Hotaru, now standing next to Sakura, was not going to be of much use in battle, but was a vital source of information and might prove a very important emotional chip where Utakata was concerned.
Team Gai was present. It consisted of a Jounin, Hyūga Neji, and two Chuunin, Rock Lee and Tenten. The team had been chosen because it had worked with Team Kakashi on infiltrating an Akatsuki hideout before. It didn't take a genius to guess that that might just be what they would have to do again.
And then there was Kiba and Akamaru. It was rare for a solo man to be separated from his team to join another squad. However, this was a special case. Since Kakashi was not going to be traveling with them they were going to need Kiba. Kiba was the man. Akamaru was the great white dog whose head reached up to Kiba's shoulder. He was massive. Kiba's nose was even better than Akamaru's. He was one of the best trackers in the Hidden Leaf. They were going to need him.
Kiba smirked as he looked about him at the gathering ninjas, his hand stroking Akamaru's fur automatically. He had been with Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Captains Kakashi and Yamato on the last Sasuke-Rescue mission, which had failed– like all the others. It had been as they were returning to the village empty handed that Lady Katsuyu, Lady Tsunade's slug and friend, had been summoned to the tree branch just ahead of them. She informed them that a clan that the Hidden Leaf was allied with was in trouble. Team Kakashi, headed by Capitan Yamato, were called away immediately. The rest had proceeded to the village. Kiba had been a little annoyed. As exhausted as he had been from the days of tracking, he would have liked a mission to get the taste of abject failure out of his mouth.
Well, this was his chance. Apparently Naruto hadn't managed to wrap up the mission as cleanly as he could have. A Jinchuuriki and the Akatsuki were now involved. Kiba was sure they would all be debriefed on the way. As it was, despite the dangers, Kiba couldn't help but get a little bit excited. He eyed Hotaru some twenty feet away from him. This mission might just have some perks to it...
"Alright everyone, I want your attention," Yamato called out, drawing everyone's heads towards him. "This is a Jinchuuriki retrieval mission. Most of you know what that means. Due to the success of the previous mission, when you rescued the Kazekage, Gaara, you have been assembled in almost the identical team formation. Maito Gai will not be joining us because he is on a solo mission in the Wave Country right now. We are to apprehend and rescue the Jinchuuriki Utakata-san and bring him back to our village for the time being. We can assume fairly certainly that his kidnappers were Akatsuki. I need hardly tell you that there are far fewer Akatsuki members now than there were when the Kazekage was captured. I'd like to say that that's in our favor. But frankly, I really don't know. It may just mean that they've brought out the big guns. … While I said that you were all chosen because of the success of the previous mission, I know that you all know that no two missions are alike. Keep on your guard. Hopefully Kakashi will attain some extra information for us from the Hidden Mist and will rejoin with us before we reach the Akatsuki base holding Utakata-san. Kiba, you will lead. Hotaru, if you please."
Hotaru nodded and presented the Bubble Blower to Kiba, who flashed her a toothy grin. The boy took it in hand, brought it to his nose, and took in a deep breath. He looked like a connoisseur appraising the vintage of a wine. He frowned.
"What's up?" Naruto looked over his shoulder.
"The soap… It's an overpowering smell of soap. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a human smell off of this."
"EH?!" Naruto nearly cart wheeled. "What the hell!? Weren't you the one telling all of us how your nose is even better than a freakin' nin-dog's?! What do you mean you can't-"
"Found it."
Silence. "…You suck, man."
Kiba just smirked. "Follow me," he said cockily as hes mounted Akamaru like a horse and they shot off into the forest.
Sakura bit her lip as she watched them all launch off into the air, and thought back to the conversation she'd had not an hour ago with the Hokage.
…
"Sakura, ready yourself. You and Lady Hotaru are leaving within the hour."
"Eh?" Both girls looked up as the Hokage entered the room. They had been sitting on an office couch, with Sakura coaxing tea into a now slightly-calmer Hotaru.
"Lady Hotaru, Yamato is gathering everyone. Naruto nearly broke the floor, he shot off so fast and Sakura's the best medic-nin I have. At least for now, everything is under control," the Hokage smiled reassuringly at the girl. She was already looking better.
Hotaru smiled and her shoulders slumped as relief washed over her. "Thank you so much…"
"Lady Hokage."
"Hm?" Tsunade looked from Hotaru to Sakura, who beckoned her to the side.
"A word in your ear, if I may." The two walked out of the room and into the hallway. "Master, I must ask you: let Hotaru remain here while she is recovering. She's in no state to travel."
"Sakura…"
"She's weak. She traveled without rest just to get here! She's been on her feet for over twenty-four hours. She's a delicate girl. Not an advanced ninja by any stretch of the imagination and she is completely exhausted."
"Sakura. Does this have anything to do with Naruto?"
Sakura stiffened a little. Just a little. Tsunade smirked.
"I saw the way you looked at him hugging her. Sakura, you know-"
"I was too proud to let him hug me when I lost Sasuke-kun," Sakura said curtly, not fully meeting her master's eyes. "I was broken, but still too proud. Or rather… I thought I was salvaging my last scrap of pride." She smirked, and met her gaze again. "Don't let her go, Master. She'll only be hurt worse. And Naruto… you must have realized that he's using this as a way to soften the pain of failing to catch up with Saskue-kun once again. That last rescue mission… We were so close. I don't want her to see him fail. And I don't want him to see her see him fail!"
There was silence. "You don't really believe that." Tsunade said, her eyes sparkling. "You tell yourself you should, but you really don't. You don't really believe that Naruto will fail in bringing this Sir Utakata back to Lady Hotaru." Just as you don't really believe that Naruto will fail to bring Sasuke back to you.
It didn't need to be said.
"It's just that she'd recover so much better if…"
"Did you recover at all, knowing Naruto was out there, risking his life fighting to bring Sasuke back?" The silence was heavy in the hallway.
"…I'll go pack." With a final bow, Sakura excused herself.
…
"Lee!" Sakura grabbed hold of Lee's shoulder just as he was about to follow the other's into the tree tops. "I have a favor to ask you."
Lee was a miniature of his Team Capitan, Gai.
That wasn't a complement.
The boy wore a skin tight body suite of green spandex with only sandals, orange leg warmers, and a green vest. In short, an accessory everywhere but where it was really needed. He had a bowler haircut of black hair and the most enormous eyebrows that had ever been seen on the face of the earth. Or on the face of any human being on the earth. He was also extremely strong, extremely brave, extremely kind, and had a huge crush on Sakura.
In short, in Sakura's opinion, a very good man with very bad taste in clothing and very good taste in women.
"What is it, Sakura-san?" He said, casting an anxious glance to the trees into which their companions had already disappeared. He may have a crush on her, but he was also the most openly competitive ninja in the Hidden Leaf, and he didn't want to fall behind.
Sakura nodded at Hotaru. "Would you please carry Lady Hotaru, Lee? I remember you mentioning something about piggybacks and training…and she is still very exhausted, and isn't a qualified ninja, so while she can tree-travel for short distances I would prefer if-"
"But of course!" In the blink of an eye, Lee was kneeling before Hotaru, her hands in his. "Dear lady! Please fear not! I shall carry you as gently as if you were my own mother! And I shall protect you from harm as if you were my own sister! Now, if you would be so good as it climb onto my back, we shall set forth to find this Sir Utakata, to whom you are, undoubtedly, a most beloved mistress!"
"…"
Swept up as she was by a new wave of shock, and not saying a word, Hotaru very gingerly climbed onto Lee's back. The second he felt her securely settled he shot up into the trees, eager to catch up with his comrades. "To Youth! YOUTH! YOUUUTH!"
Sakura snorted and, smiling for the first time since this whole nasty sequel of an adventure had crashed down upon them, took off after Lee and Hotaru.
…
Kakashi bowed low to the Mizukage.
"Sharingan Kakashi, what brings you to my village?" Terumii Mei said, carefully examining her nails. Red hair cascading in every direction, a figure to die for and a powerful aura of femme fatale: he could see the similarities between her and the Hokage. They were alone in a great hall, apart from a white-haired boy standing behind her throne, looking very sheepish and very pre-pubescent. Her bodyguard and aid, Kakashi presumed.
"Madam," he said, unbending, and cutting right to the chase, "you are familiar with the name Utakata?" It was a risk to start so. Of course she was familiar with the name Utakata. Jinchuuriki were only ever picked from the families of the kages, or those who were favored to become kages in the near future. Originally it had been an attempt to ensure their loyalty. She would know the name. Most likely his name was a black smudge upon her family tree. Still, it was a risk not to start so, and to beat around the bush. If he had learned one thing from the Hokage, it was that powerful, beautiful women tended to have short tempers. A potential lose-lose situation.
The anger Kakashi feared did not come. Yet. She bit her lower lip delicately, thinking. "Utakata… Utakata…" And then she clucked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and sneered a little. "Of course. That brat. You know he reeked quite a bit of damage here. I believe I sent an ANBU squad to deal with him not too long ago…" she thought for a moment more. "Yes. Yes I believe I did. Anyway, what is our little missing nin to you?" she asked, finally fixing her eyes onto Kakashi. Ah. Now he saw it. Her eyes were sparkling with malice.
Moment of truth. Did he lay all of his cards on the table or not?
Well… maybe not all.
"We believe that the ANBU you sent out was obliterated by Akatsuki. Apparently Utakata was in contact with the ANBU, whilst clearing his name. They, the ANBU, were caught in the crossfire. He, Utakata, the Jinchuuriki, was taken captive by the Akatsuki."
A violent hiss escaped the Mizkage and before Kakashi could even blink she was standing flush up against him, a clawed hand gripping into his hair. "Ooh," she hissed into his ear, "you have some nerve to go blurting out classified information like that without even blinking that one eye of yours." She was fast. Kakashi could feel her nails scraping along his skull and suppressed the urge to shiver. Keep absolutely still. "So~" she said, pulling away from him, her anger seemingly gone completely, except from her eyes, "How do you know about our little Jinchuuriki and, more importantly, what is the Hidden Leaf's concern with him?"
Kakashi swallowed hard. "As I am sure you know, Akatsuki is an organization comprised of missing-nins on the S-class level who have, for a while now, been collecting Jinchuuriki and extracting the Bijuu from within their bodies. Memorably they targeted the Kazekage Gaara about half a year ago. We in Konoha, the Hidden Leaf, happen to know Utakata personally through one of our neighboring Fire Nation clans, the Tsuchigumo Clan, which he became involved with."
The Mizukage quirked an eyebrow at that, but if she was in any way actually curious, she suppressed it. "Humpf," she turned away from him, taking a leisurely – and very sensual – walk across the great hall.
"That, coupled with the desire to keep yet another Bijuu from falling into the lap of the Akatsuki, has brought me here. I implore that you disclose to me all the files concerning Utakata, his master, for whose death he has been branded a missing nin, and," he swallowed again, "the process of Bijuu extraction which his master was working on before his death."
She paused, and slowly turned, her eyes narrowed on him. "…You really must have known Utakata well. Not only that, but this confirms what you say about the fact that he was in association with our ANBU, as it was that scrap of information, top secret information, that they were charged to relate to him – that it was the Bijuu's extraction and not the Jinchuuriki's death that Harusame was attempting to achieve."
So… Utakata's master's name had been Harusame…
She bit her lower lip again, eyebrows raised, and looked him up and down very slowly. It was like a snake eyeing a particularly plump mouse. She smirked. "You may be the real deal after all, Sharingan Kakashi. However," she moved back to her throne and collapsed into it, dangling her legs expertly off the armchair. Kakashi was beginning to change his mind. She was infinitely worse than the Hokage. And he never thought he would live to see the day when that happened. "What you ask for is completely out of the question. We, like every other nation, guard our Jinchuuriki secrets very jealously, Kakashi." She was once again examining her nails. "And we simply cannot go disclosing them to every-" her eyes fell upon the scroll Kakashi had pulled out of his pack.
A perfectly ordinary looking scroll.
"Is that…"
"Yes," Kakashi said. The time for facts was over. The last card, so to speak. Flattery, full speed ahead. This was the reason he had been chosen for this mission. "The Fifth Hokage's most jealously guarded jutsu and the source to all of her power." He raised the scroll a little higher. "The Hyakugou Seal. The jutsu which, when executed correctly, can safeguard the user's appearance of youth… forever." He smirked under his mask. "When she works, sleeps," he spun the scroll between his fingers, "or wakes up in the morning with a bad hair day, she looks in the mirror at a twenty-five year old self."
The Mizikage stiffened. A woman's appearance in the morning was a secret and taboo discussion. If he was implying…
"However, I suppose this was a waste to bring," Kakahsi said, repocketing the scroll. "After all, seeing you in person, I can tell that you certainly don't need such a technique, and surely never will. It was in insult of the Hokage even to suggest I bring it for any future usage and for that I entirely apologize," he said, forming a low bow. "I was a fool to ask for so much while offering so little. My Lady, I wish you all the happiness in the world, and I'm sorry for having taken up your precious, ever beautiful, time." He made to leave.
"Wait."
Kakashi turned, one eyebrow raised in mock-surprise.
The Mizukage, her lips pursed and her eyes hungry, gestured to the boy behind her who had been completely still until now.
"…Take Sharingan Kakashi to our archives and provide him with the information that he requires."
She turned back to Kakashi. "Put that Sharingan of yours to use, Copy Ninja. The original documents stay here. Present the Hyakugou Seal scroll to Chojuro here before leaving. Anything funny and he has my permission to snap you in two."
Kakashi directed his attention back to the boy who now smiled nervously at Kakashi…. with very sharp little teeth. A little rattled, Kakashi looked once again to the Mizukage, and bowed. "Lady Mizukage, it has been an honor."
She nodded at him, as if she quite agreed and, with a single gesture that seemed almost identical to Tsunade's, she compelled him from the room.
…
Hotaru held on as tightly as she could. She remembered another time, like this one, when someone had carried her through the trees at top speed. Only then, she hadn't had to hold on. He'd carried her bridal-style, close enough to his chest that she could hear his heartbeat just as clearly as she could the curses and cries of their pursuers. That had been only a week ago. Now they were not running from, but to their enemies. And now…she had to not fall off. She needed to not fall off. But she was so… so tired. How long had she been running? When had she last slept? Well, that was easy enough to answer…
Those tears of bubbles… haunting…
"Lady Hotaru-"
She jerked awake. The young man carrying her had just said something. "Y-yes?"
"I said you don't need to worry about holding on. I've got you and I shan't let you fall! On my life!"
She smiled sleepily, experimentally relaxing her hold a little and feeling that he did indeed have a good grip on her. How nice…
"If I may ask, Lady Hotaru," he said, again pulling her from the semi-sleep that she had begun to slip into, "how long has it been since you have had a proper rest?" Again he lurched off of a tree branch. Again she felt a little bit of herself left behind in the speed. It somehow felt easier and less alarming when she was doing the jumping. Then again, it was probably also easier and less alarming when she was in a better physical and mental state. Hotaru leaned in against Lee's back and allowed herself to relax a little more.
"…The night I realized he was gone I plowed into the forest without much thought. I didn't really come to my senses until I'd found his Bubble Blower… When I did, I realized I'd completely lost my way. I was in the forest… and I had been so frantic upon waking that I hadn't even taken my backpack with me when I'd woken up." Another jump. Another lurch. She closed her eyes. Lack of sleep and excess of travel were making her queasy. "I didn't have any paper on which to write… so I couldn't even send Konoha a messenger pigeon." Jump. "I wandered around the forest… and finally came to a road a little after dawn." Jump. "I suppose that was just as well… A girl traveling alone on the road at night…" Jump. "I made for Konoha… where Naruto-san was. Then finally… I got…"
"Don't worry, Lady Hotaru!"
Again, Hotaru jolted awake. "Eh?"
"Naruto will doubtlessly save him!"
Hotaru smiled. "You really think so?"
"No!" he said, sending her heart directly to the forest floor. "I know so! After all, he saved my own best friend and comrade, Neji!"
Hotaru shifted a little, waking up even more now. Neji-san? She had been introduced to everyone before they had all set out and if she was not mistaken Neji-san was the gentleman with the long black hair and the distinguished profile. He seemed a relic from an old feudal age which even she did not adhere to, as traditional as her grandfather had been. He did not seem like the type that allowed himself to be saved. But then, neither did Sir Utakata.
"…What did Naruto-san save him from?" Jump.
"Himself," Lee answered promptly, landing hard on yet another branch and pushing off again. "Neji was the victim of his own blinding ideas of fate and family, which were swiftly driving him into the ground. Naruto, during the Chuunin Exams, in one single epic battle, shattered twelve years of self hatred and perfected failure, and thus you now have the Neji of today! The only Jounin of our age group and a worthy rival to yours truly, Rock Lee! The Green B-"
"I have counseled you about talking too much and the discretion that being a Chuunin entails, have I not?"
Neji, the man himself, his black hair whipping out behind him as he skimmed across tree branches, was on level with Lee and Hotaru.
Hotraru blushed furiously. He had been listening to every word of their conversation!
Lee, however, was undaunted. "Ah! Neji! Why don't you tell her how Naruto beat some sense into you!? Lady Hotaru is clearly worried about her beloved, and thus it is our duty as gentlemen to assuage her worries!"
"Again, your indiscretion knows no bounds," Neji said coolly, keeping in stride with Lee. "Firstly, we were told nothing more of this Utakata character than that he is Lady Hotaru's master and educator. You will refer to him as such." Hotaru blushed even more. It was true. She had the highest regard for Sir Utakata, but had never actually thought of him in the manner that Rock Lee had described. She had sought him out for his skills as a ninja, and those alone. Though why she was blushing now, she couldn't say… "Secondly, we will not give false hope. We are up against a very formidable opponent: the Akatsuki. Idle promises are the same as idle breathe, and that is a commodity only the weak ninja can afford. And slow your pace. It is clear that, besides your unseemly enthusiasm, which is hard to stomach for any reasonable ninja, your speed is making the Lady ill." Having spoken, Neji fell into a distinguished silence.
Lee huffed at him. "You say that, but you've still sped up to keep half a branch ahead of me!"
Neji nearly tripped. "N-nonsense! Do not carry your adolescence over onto me!"
"How dare you call Lady Hotaru an adolescent! She is a seemly young woman!"
"I- I didn't call her an adolescent! And what do you mean!? 'Seemly young woman!' Where is your decorum as a gentleman!?"
"Um… Um… Lee-san… Neji-san… There… there really is no need…"
Naruto grinned, watching the three of them from a little ways behind. It was fun to watch Neji and Lee go at each other. In a way it was like watching a "what if" scenario. He liked to think that it was how he and Sasuke would have acted in the here and now.
…
It was nightfall, and they were all sitting around the campfire, chatting. They had been debriefed, and those who had not been up to speed on the mission of the previous week were now on the same page as those who had actually partaken in it. Capitan Yamato, who was a specialist in wood ninjutsu, had erected a cabin for them to sleep in. However, it was dinner time, so for the moment the entire crew was outside. Naruto had discovered earlier that Hotaru had an affinity with water ninjutsu. An affinity he had not qualms exploiting, as he asked her to fill every single of one his cups of Instant Ramen with water. He was now heating one such cup over the fire. It was a delicate process. The flames were hot, meaning he had to use makeshift wood pliers to uphold his cup. However, wood burned; hence he had asked Hotaru to wet the pliers as well. Really, it would have all been so much easier if Hotaru could just produce boiling water, like a kettle. Alas, she wasn't there yet. Now, clasping a Styrofoam ramen cup with soggy wooden sticks – pliers – without breaking the sticks or setting the Styrofoam on fire was exceedingly difficult. However, there was a greater incentive than even ramen to do the job properly. If he dropped the cup or allowed it to burn through, the water would spill and extinguish the fire and Sakura would pummel him half to death, leaving him beaten and without ramen.
Yes, truly a great incentive.
"Yo!" Kiba plopped down on the ground next to him, almost forcing him to drop his ramen.
"GAH! What do ya want!?" Naruto howled, pulling the ramen in against his chest protectively. Oh screw it, it was warm enough! A little too hastily he stuffed a mouthful between his teeth and the night air resonated with the crunch of half-cooked noodles.
Kiba quirked an eyebrow, and leaned back against a tree. "Uh…hu." He shrugged. "Actually I was just wondering what you could tell me about the little Lady Hotaru~" he said, nodding across the campfire.
Something akin to a cold drop of water trickled up Naruto's spine. He turned to look at the lounging Kiba, and then looked back over the fire. There, flickering between the flames was Hotaru, deep in conversation with Lee. They seemed to have become fast friends. Everything Hotaru said was quirky and everything Lee said was laughable. They worked.
"Sooo?" Kiba prompted.
Naruto looked at him again, his eyes narrowing. Kiba was a guy his own age, with a mane of brown hair on his head, two fang-like markings down his cheeks and rather sharp little canines. Naruto had once overheard him described as "the cool, suave version of Naruto." That had pissed him off. Of course, that had also been before Naruto had beaten the crap out of him during the Chuunin Exams. Still… Kiba was definitely someone to keep an eye on.
He swallowed his crunchy noodles. "Why do ya care?"
Kiba quirked a smug eyebrow at him. "Seriously? Dude just look at those…" he raised his two clawed hands as if cupping two orbs… on chest-level.
AND A PUNCH TO THE FACE!
"You pervy pooch!" Naruto had straddled Kiba and was beating the ever-loving-life out of him. "You sick, little, pervert!" Punch. Punch. Punch. "You're like the Pervy Sage! Except depraved and without the awesome streak!"
Akamaru howled from across the camp and lunged over the fire to join the fray. "Oh yeah?!" Kiba gasped as Akamaru tackled Naruto off his master. "Well I'm not the little shit-for-brains who can't even spell Depraved!"
"I can too! D-E-A-PAGFgh!" Kiba and Naruto's heads met twin fists that came down like Heaven's retribution.
Naruto look up, his eyes tearing and his head splitting. "S…Sakura-chan…"
"You…" he couldn't see her eyes, the way the fire was dancing shadows in this forest. "You spilled the ramen. On the fire."
Oh fuck.
…
About an hour later Naruto came 'round. The fire was blazing again, and he had been slumped back to back against Kiba, like a broken toy. Akamaru was a healthy distance from the two, kept there under the hostile eyes of Sakura.
"She's taken," he finally rasped.
"Heh. Really now. I thought you were all about Saakuuraa-chaan." Kiba chided back with difficulty, trying his best to keep his eyes from crossing.
Naruto wished he could pummel him again. He tried to move. Oh that doesn't feel good.
"The guy we're going to save…"
"This Utakata guy?" Kiba rolled his head around. "I thought he was her master?"
"He's our age. A year older." Naruto muttered.
"And she calls him Master?" Kiba sounded amused. "Kinky."
Naruto's face flushed up. "Don't be such a prick. It's not like that!"
"Come on, idiot. Don't be so naïve. A girl like that and-"
"She was entrusted into his care by her guardian and her village," Naruto snarled quietly, trying to focus his gaze on the fire. He remembered the confidence with which Tonbee had looked at Utakata. "Hotaru…she was Tonbee's reason for life," he went on. "He wouldn't have trusted her into anyone's care but Utakata's." He smirked. "Because… because he knew that Utakata was secretly crazy about her, but would never hurt her. He's honorable. Really honorable. Hell, I'm pretty sure that even Hotaru doesn't know how he feels… or how she feels, really… And Utakata… that's just the way he's built. …Honorable." His eyes slid from the fire and to the back of Kiba's head. "That's why, if you even think about touching her while Utakata's in the hands of the Akatsuki, I'll break every bone in your body."
There was silence between the two of them while everyone else continued to murmur softly and the fire continued to snap and crack. Silence. "Shit…" Kiba didn't meet Naruto's eye. "Sorry."
"Yeah, you better be," Naruto nodded, finally mustering up the strength to stand, which caused Kiba to fall on his back. Naruto teetered over to his hoard of Instant Ramen.
Utakata… you'd better still be alive, he thought, his head pounding as he thrust another cup in the fire at stick-pliers-distance.
…
Seventeen years old, and this was where his life would end. Could he really complain though? Ninjas were never expected to live to old age. Not really. And a Jinchuuriki among ninjas… well…
His head was pounding. The blood had gone to it, what with the way he was slung over the man's shoulder. How many were there again?
Shit… he was going to die.
He cracked his lips open, and let out air. "Hhhhh…Hhhhhh…" Hotaru…
At least she was safe. Hopefully the bubbles laced with genjutsu had found their way to her. Hopefully she had not woken up until hours later, by which time he and his captors were long gone. He had been able to see her through one of those bubbles, as he drifted high above that field of yellow flowers, and looked down on that mop of sandy yellow hair.
It was the last image he would ever have of her. Utakata conjured it, and treasured it in his delirious mind.
Had he done right? He had left an unprotected girl, alone, in a field, asleep. What if someone had come, one of the villagers who still bore her ill will, what if he had… Utakata closed his eyes more tightly. No. No, he couldn't think like that. The field they had stopped in was not a common haunt, nor a common rout. And it was covered in yellow flowers. If she were just to lie down among them, her very presence might go unnoticed.
My Bubble Blower… where is my Bubble Blower… He twitched the fingers of his left hand and pain shot up his arm. Ah yes, he remembered…Just after sending that last farewell to Hotaru one of his attackers had jumped down the landslide and had brought his heel down on Utakata's hand, twisting it, cracking it, and had then taken the Bubble Blower from his grasp. A second twist. A second crack. He was powerless.
I'm sorry I could not become the teacher you wanted me to be.
I'm sorry I could not become the man I wanted so badly to become.
I'm sorry… we could not… "I'm so sorry, Hotaru…"
He felt a hand grab hold of his hair, pull, and then felt his head smash against the spine of whoever it was that was carrying him. The bearer did not even flinch. For Utakata, however, Oblivion.