Chapter 105 - Magpie Cuckoo

Ino had gone with her family to her father's house.

Inoichi had taken them in without a moment's hesitation. Karai and Nadeshiko shared a room with their mother; Hajime, injured and in need of space, got Inoichi's room; Inou and his grandfather set up futons in the living room for the rest of them. And after the children had finished setting up for that first night, though most of them were unsettled and not willing to sleep, Inoichi made certain to get some privacy so he could hold his daughter and hear everything from her.

Ino hugged him for a very long time, midway through her explanation.

"I'm so scared, Daddy," she whispered into his shoulder. "What if he comes here and does something, I don't want him to do anything to the kids, you already saw what he did to Hajime…"

"If he takes even one step inside this compound then I'll have him spending the next two weeks thinking he's a housecat," Inoichi replied.

The response brought out no laughter, but Ino at least felt comfort in this promise of her family's protection.

(She'd been too terrified to turn to them before, because surely they thought little of the woman that married the Uchiha, the war criminal.)

(Nobody would want to help her. They'd just tell her, "I told you so." That they saw it coming.)

A night's rest was enough for Ino to neatly fold away her own, insubstantial troubles and focus on more pressing matters.

Hajime needed her.

Inoichi took up breakfast duty, in the morning. And Nadeshiko and the younger children ate ravenously, in the kitchen, though Takeru took a plate and ate apart from them all by the sink, since there wasn't a bedroom for him to retreat into.

Hajime was still sleeping. So once Ino had eaten her fill, she went inside to check on him.

The boy was curled under the blankets, his face away from her. She sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sweetheart, are you all right?"

"Do you think I'm all right, Mom," he replied.

She stroked his back, and his body tensed. "Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"Everywhere."

"Why don't you sit up and show me. I'll help."

"Mom, leave me alone…"

But she managed to coax him upright, eventually. And she started with his arms, the yellow light through the window-shades mixing with the green of her healing hands.

When she got to his back, Hajime finally spoke. "She didn't even tell me, Mom…"

"What's that, honey?"

"Ninako, she… she didn't even tell me that she was…" His head hung lower.

"Oh, honey…" Ino stopped healing him to begin rubbing his back instead. "You mean you didn't know?"

Hajime shook his head. "No, they… her clan head told me last night, she told me I either had to take it in or… or they'd get rid of it…"

"You mean the… baby?" Ino was almost whispering.

"Yes, but… but they didn't even ask me what I wanted to do, they just kept… talking to Dad, and you can probably guess what he wanted…"

Ino pulled her breath in, struggling with the right words to say. "Hajime, what do you want?"

"I don't know, I don't know." He was shaking his head again, his eyes closed tightly. "I wanna talk to Ninako, but… but they said she's not allowed to see me again…"

"What? But you should talk to her, I mean, if she didn't tell you what was going on…"

"But I can't, they'll keep me from seeing her…" Hajime let out a whining moan, like a child about to cry. "But I want to know how she's doing, and, and if they went to me and Dad then obviously she doesn't have a choice and… Mom, what do I do…"

Ino shushed and stroked his back further. "You should go and talk to her. Your grandfather and I can go with you and convince them; you do remember that your grandfather is the head of his clan, yes? They'll listen to him."

"…Mom, you don't need to do that…"

"We'll do it if we need to," Ino replied, firmly. "What's important for you is that you get your chance to go back there and have your say. Because I get the feeling that… your father sort of kept you from that. It's only fair."

Hajime sniffed, and rubbed one of his eyes roughly. "Mom, I'm so confused…"

Ino leaned in against his shoulder and pressed her head against his cheek. "I know, honey. And I can only imagine how scared you must feel, too. But I want you to forget everything your father said last night and think about what you want. We're going to get through this. All right?"

Hajime sniffed again and thought for a long while, staring at his lap.

"…I'll go talk to them. Alone," he said. "But… if I need you or Grandpa's help, then I'll come get you."

He tried to smile. It was the first smile she'd seen out of Hajime in several days, small and shaking, but present.

"But… but don't worry about me too much, though, Karai and Inou need your support too, Mom…" he continued.

Ino sighed deeply. "All right, Hajime. Are you feeling better?"

"I guess."

"Good. Come have some breakfast now."

Hajime shook his head. "No, I'm… gonna get dressed and go see Ninako."

"What, already? Hajime, you should rest today," Ino said, pressing almost urgently on his shoulders.

But he shook his head again. "If I wait it might be too late. I need to go now."

"…well at least have some toast, all right?" Ino replied. "For your nerves."

"I will, Mom."

And Ino kissed him on the cheek. "I love you so much, honey. It's gonna be okay."

Hajime just nodded, shrugging her aside, and waved her out of the room so he could get dressed.

He grabbed a slice of toast on his way out. Nobody said anything to him when he got on his boots and left, though many eyes followed him.

He had to stop several times along the way, to take several deep breaths, to regain his courage.

Come on, he could do this, he would just walk in and demand to see her.

But what if they said no?

They wouldn't say no. It would be okay.

He walked on.

Stopped.

But, but what about after that? What would he say to her?

That he was sorry? But he wanted answers!

He… would know what to say when he saw her.

A couple more steps.

A dead halt.

But what about the baby?

He had to almost gasp for breath to keep the panic from rising too high.

He…

Had two options.

It could be gotten rid of—though would it be aborted, or was it too late for that?—and that only made him feel terrible for Ninako in every way possible.

Or he could take it in.

But…

But he wasn't ready. He was barely 22! And it wasn't like he had planned for this, he and Ninako had been careful, and…

But if they got rid of it, it would be like nothing had ever happened between them.

But it had still happened.

Hajime would remember.

He took a few more breaths.

He had to talk to Ninako.

He couldn't decide this all by himself.

He had to talk to Ninako.

Because if he didn't, he wouldn't know what to do.

He took his last deep breath as he approached the Hyuuga compound's gate. And he wandered in, gathering his courage, looking to see if there was anyone he could talk to, anyone that could get him in to speak with Ninako, wherever she was.

"Excuse me, young man."

The adult Hyuuga women all seemed to speak the same, so sharply and politely. Hajime turned around.

It was Hinata, the clan leader's sister. She had a perplexed expression on her round face. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh… I want to talk to Ninako," Hajime replied.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're forbidden from seeing her, Hajime-san," she replied.

"I… I know, but I don't care. I need to talk to her."

Hinata smiled, gently, sighing. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Come with me, I'll take you to her."

Hajime swallowed and followed the woman. His heart felt more like it was in his throat than in his chest.

She took him to a house in the corner of the compound, near the building where he and Sasuke had been taken the night before.

"Through the courtyard," Hinata said, almost whispering. "We don't want to raise a fuss."

And they passed through the courtyard, populated by willows and wild, pale-colored flowers. With a hand gesture, she indicated for Hajime to take his shoes off, and led him with quiet feet down a hallway, to a room.

"I'll keep watch outside. I'll let you stay as long as I can manage, unless something happens," she said, her hand on the sliding door.

"Th-thank you," Hajime said, and when she opened the door, he awkwardly stepped inside.

Ninako was curled up on her side in a white sleeping kimono, on top of her futon. But as soon as the door closed, she rolled over, and gasped.

"Hajime?"

"Hey," he replied, feeling incredibly stupid afterwards.

Ninako, of course, didn't care. She got up and ran to him and threw her arms around him, clinging to him tightly, tighter than any of the other, desperate embraces in his memory.

(And Hajime became uncomfortably aware of her belly pressed against his. But he didn't say anything.)

"Hajime, what are you doing here?" she said, from below his ear. "Hanabi-sama said you weren't allowed to see me again."

"I know, but I don't care," Hajime replied. "Her sister let me in, but… but I would have found you no matter what."

"Aunt Hinata?"

"She's outside, she said she was going to keep watch."

Ninako covered an eye and part of her forehead with her hand. "Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness…"

"Ninako, though, are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine." Ninako waved the hand that wasn't on her face at him, to offset the tight sadness in her voice. "Are you okay? I… heard about what happened when you were called to talk with Hanabi-sama, because my dad and Aunt Hinata were there…"

"I'm fine, Ninako…" Hajime said.

But Ninako put a hand on his face, and her thumb brushed over the scab on his lip. "You're hurt. Please tell me my family didn't do this to you…"

"No, it… was my dad." His head lowered. "We had a fight last night, but it's nothing you should be worried about, it's nothing, I'm fine."

Ninako looked up at him, sucking in her lips, blinking far too much. She lowered her head before long, but it did nothing to hide her tears.

"Hajime, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" She started clumsily wiping at her eyes.

Hajime gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Ninako, please, it's all right…"

"No, no, it's not," she replied. "I can't imagine how much trouble you're in, I'm so sorry…"

Hajime took her in his arms again, pressing her head against his chest. "All that matters is if you're okay. I'm fine. I can handle this."

Ninako rubbed her eyes into his shirt, sniffling, apologizing quietly.

"…I just want to know why you didn't tell me, Ninako," he continued, after a while.

Ninako hiccup-swallowed, pulling herself out of his arms. She kept her eyes down. "…to be honest, I didn't even know if I was really…" Her mouth fumbled with the word. "P-pregnant or not until maybe last month… I was still bleeding, so I thought maybe it was just in my head, but then I started feeling something… m-moving inside of me last month and I got so scared, I didn't know what to do…"

Last month… "Was this… when you got sick, at Karin-san's house…?" Hajime asked.

"Around then, yeah…" She sniffed again. "I had no idea how… far along I was, because I wasn't really gaining weight, but… but then m-my mom and Hanabi-sama pulled me aside and asked if I… if I honestly thought that I could k-keep it… My mom, she, she waited because she thought I was gonna g-get rid of it on my own, but…"

"But how did she know?" Hajime said.

"…she sensed the… the chakra system. Of the…" She swallowed. "Of the baby, from where it was growing. And she… she told me she wanted me to…" She inhaled a few times, quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I have to sit down…"

Hajime followed her to the floor, his knees touching hers where he sat.

"I just… I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again after this. To keep another 'm-mistake' from happening, that's what Hanabi-sama said…" Ninako was starting to really cry again. "I wanted to keep it, so… so at least a part of you could stay with me, but I can't, I'm not allowed… I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid…"

"Ninako, please…" Hajime leaned forward to put a hand on her hand.

"Do you know what she told me?" There were hiccups of air between her sentences now. "She told me, I had to get rid of it now, or else they'd… they'd take it after it's born a-and drown it…"

("And I don't need to tell you which is less painful," Hanabi had concluded.)

"But, but Aunt Hinata, she… she told me that they'd let it live if y-your family took it, then they'd… then it would be allowed to live. But they had to ask y-your dad and after I heard about it… Hajime, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I'm so stupid…"

He put another hand on her hand. Trying to stay composed, for her sake.

"I can't… I can't force this on you, neither of us are ready, but… but if it'll make your life easier, I'll have them a-abort it, it'll be like it never happened, and…"

Hajime let go of her hand, and after he moved his legs to be more comfortable, he reached forward to embrace her around her shoulders.

"Ninako, it's… it's okay. You're not stupid, and this isn't your fault. It's mine too," he said. "If you… if you want our child to live, then I'll take it. I don't care what my dad says, I'll take responsibility. Especially if… it's the only thing left of us, after this."

Ninako buried her face in her hands, pressing her forehead against his shoulder.

"Hajime, no, you don't have to, I'm just being stupid…" she said. "This is a-all my fault, I'm so sorry…"

He held her tighter. "Stop… saying that. It's my fault too, but at least I can do something about it…"

"No, no, you don't understand…" She left his arms, and wiped her eyes clear. "H-Hanabi-sama, she told me… if, if I ended up having it then it would be deformed, she said. It's… it's why we don't have half-Hyuugas, because something always goes wrong when we… when we have children with outsiders…"

A very cold and very painful feeling entered Hajime's stomach. His hands rested limply at his sides.

"I wouldn't have cared, if it were… disabled or misshapen, I would have raised it anyway," Ninako continued, her arms holding each other. "Because it's… my punishment, I'd have taken it-"

"Ninako don't say that," he said, because he couldn't say anything else. "This child, it… it's not a… punishment. All right?" His voice creaked. He couldn't cry, not in front of her…

"Hajime, you don't deserve this, you don't…" she said. "This isn't your fault, your dad's already hurt you enough…"

But Hajime shook his head. "I don't care what… what he thinks, or what he might do to me… Besides," he added, his voice much lower, "he's not really my dad any more…"

She looked up. The edges of her eyes were blood-in-the-water red. "Hajime, what do you mean?"

"I more or less got disowned over this. Frankly," he added, his voice gaining strength, "I don't think it's so bad. He's out of my life now. I can… I can make my own decisions."

She looked back at him, her head slightly tilted. "But your family…"

"It'll work out." He tried to stretch a smile across his mouth. "So, Ninako, when's our baby coming?" he said, with a plastic parody of brightness.

She closed her eyes tightly, a barrier against the tears leaking down her cheeks again. "January," she replied. "I'm supposed to be due in January."

"Then I'll be ready by then. I promise." He leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'll make sure that… that our kid gets more than enough love to make up for the both of us. I won't let you down, Ninako. I love you."

An unsure hand began wandering above and over Ninako's lap, and it came to rest on her stomach. Her skin under the kimono felt warm, and the flesh curved slightly under Hajime's palm.

"I love you so much," he said again, much more quietly, "and I'm so sorry that I did this to you."

He felt one of Ninako's arms hook itself over his shoulder, and her other hand joined his at her waist.

"No more apologizing," she whispered. "And I love you too."

They did not let go of each other for a very, very long time, not saying anything, just trying to remember the smells and shapes of each other, because both of them knew that they would probably never get the opportunity again.

But eventually, the door behind them opened, and they separated.

It was Hinata, still. "Hajime-kun, you might want to leave soon, I don't want you to get caught," she said, softly.

"Ah, right, right, thank you…" Hajime mumbled. He leaned forward and gave Ninako a very tender kiss, with his hand beneath her jaw. And he stood, and Hinata closed the door behind him.

This was the second separation.

(And the one that felt like the longest.)

"I'll be sure to tell my sister of your decision, and have the child given to you, when it's born," Hinata told Hajime, on their way out. "After all, you are technically the head of your own clan now, if what you said was true about your father and what happened last night… So there will be no need to call upon him again."

Hajime was somewhat taken aback. "You would really do that?"

"Consider it done," she replied, with a painting-like smile.

Hajime had to swallow to keep himself from welling up. "Thank you… Thank you so much…"

"I think I should be the one thanking you," Hinata replied, looking forward. "There are very few men who would have been as brave as you at this age, in this situation."

Hajime looked down, in modesty, in shame.

But as he and Hinata neared the gate, the uncomfortable weight of ice in his stomach was regurgitated. "Ninako said… the baby will be deformed, when it's born…" He kept his eyes to the ground. "What… did she mean by that? I mean," he added, an excuse, "so I can prepare…"

Hinata kept her own eyes down, as she thought.

"I can't say," she replied. "But any sort of care will be more than enough, I think. You should be fine."

"…thank you, then," Hajime said. He bowed, and began on his way home.

Hinata turned back into the compound, and began on her way to her sister's residence.

Though she wound by Neji's house, first. For, sure enough, he was there in the courtyard, sitting beneath one of the willows. Trying not to listen, or worry.

"The boy came back," Hinata said, standing beside him, by the trunk. "Uchiha Hajime."

"I know," Neji replied. "I saw you enter with him. What did he and my daughter decide?"

"He's going to take the child in, once it's born," she replied. "It will be spared."

Neji was quiet, for a while. A few leaves fell and floated by on the breeze.

"That boy," he said, shaking his head. "I never expected such a decent soul to come out of the Uchiha clan."

"The circumstances of one's birth can mean surprisingly little, sometimes," Hinata replied.

Neji, despite himself, smiled.

(Even though he knew he'd have to tell his wife of the decision, eventually. He did not look forward to this.)

(She wanted the mistake gone almost more than Hanabi.)