Hello~
Next chapter my friends – and we've hit 600 reviews! You lovely, lovely people.
As promised, 10 facts about Suna (to say good-bye) below.
Oh yes: two or three chapters more until we're done with BaH. Please remember there'll be a sequel, so don't be confused.
BTW: I've made a new poll, if you're interested. You can choose what you want next after BaH+sequel. I've provided a few details about the stories you can choose (pick 3), but for more information please visit my tumblr:)
When Hisana opens her eyes, the first thing she sees is the moon.
She's lying on a bench, and for one blissful heartbeat she really can't explain herself why. If Sasuke left me here I will kill him, she thinks nonsensically, head pleasantly fuzzy. But then she registers the biting cold of the desert night and memories come rushing back to her. She's alive.
She's alive! What the hell happened? Hisana sits up, swaying when all her blood rushes to her head. Inside her chest her heart is already kicking into overdrive. Adrenaline heats up her limbs almost instantly. Everything in her is looking, reaching for the enemy, but there is none. No malicious chakra. No chakra at all in the vicinity even.
Disoriented Hisana stumbles away from the bench, trying to fit the image of this street to her memory of the fight. This isn't where she fought Gaara. The street is perfectly still and dark; across from her bench Hisana recognizes the food stall where team 11 likes to eat breakfast. The grumpy old lady who runs it has left her basket outside. Hisana lifts her hand to her face. By all rights it should be bruised all to hell, but it's perfectly fine. Incredulously she flexes her fingers; not even a twinge of pain.
The last thing she remembers are the Ichibi's eyes on her. More importantly, its claws on her. She pats down her torso and finds not even a single tender spot. Only the dirt on her vest and a rip in her sleeve are proof that it wasn't all just a terribly vivid dream. Unconsciousness has eased a little of her shellshock, Hisana finds, but not nearly all of it. She slumps back onto the bench, all energy leaving her as abruptly as it came. Her inner clock says that it's probably around three in the morning. In a few short hours the sun will come up; Kohaku-sensei said they'll leave before that. She really needs to go now, leave the open, exposed streets, but her legs won't cooperate.
Panic attack? No, not quite.
Breathe in ... breathe out.
Breathe in ... Breathe. The. Fuck. Out.
After a few repetitions her head starts to clear. With wobbly arms Hisana pushes herself off the bench; the cold wind bites at her exposed skin, driving her forward. She can't stay here. Whatever happened tonight, she won't get any explanation here. And for the first time since Hisana opened her eyes to this strange world of ninjas, she feels she needs to talk to someone.
When she stumbles into her hotel room it's under Kohaku-sensei's admonishing eyes. Hisana ducks into the bathroom, intent on avoiding any conversation, and when she gets back out the look on his face has changed. Whether he caught sight of her dirty, ripped clothes or maybe the look in her eyes, but her teacher appears to have scented trouble.
For the first time ever Hisana thanks the heavens for Sensei's inability to be a normal human being. She does want to tell someone, but Sensei is still a Hyuuga. She loves him, the way she loves both her boys, team 7, even stupid Kakashi-shishou – but she won't tell any of them, because they're all dangerous in their own way. While her friends are inexperienced and telling them would accomplish nothing but trouble them, her teachers are a different story. Kakashi-shishou would tell the Hokage. He would need to. And from there on the affair would be in the council's hands. There's nothing Hisana wants less than that.
And Kohaku-sensei … he would need to report to his head of clan. At this point handing Hyuuga Hiashi anything on her still feels like suicide.
Without a word she slips into bed and closes her eyes. Sensei won't ask, she knows, because he doesn't know how. She also knows that she probably won't shake his suspicious looks the whole way back home. Slowly but surely Hisana's breathing evens out. The room's other occupant never does go back to sleep.
The next morning comes far too early.
Whatever sleep Hisana managed to get last night didn't erase the heaviness of her bones; she strongly suspects it was less sleeping and more losing consciousness. Haru's hand catches her elbow, squeezing comfortingly. "Are you ok?" He's frowning; seriousness always looks a bit out of place on his face. "Did Hanada-san … say anything to you?"
From the corner of her eye Hisana can see the rest of her team eying them like hawks.
"No," she drawls, trying to drudge up some sort of humor. "Mami-chan and I are super best friends now."
For a brief but hilarious moment Haru loses control of his face and it scrunches up in a mix of horror and fear. Hisana snorts at him. "No. Believe me, nothing Hanada could say or do would make me lose sleep the way I did last night. It's excitement I guess – finally going home. 'Course I'm paying for it now."
He hums in agreement. "You're not going to miss Suna?"
Trudging through the streets, heavy bag on her shoulder and the excited chatter of the Konoha crowd all around, does make her a little nostalgic. Hisana turns around, watching as the Kazekage building gets smaller and smaller. She's lucky to be alive. Logically she should be more eager to leave, put as much distance between her and Gaara as possible. But she can't help but feel that the danger has passed for now. Whatever the Kazekage wanted from her, it hadn't been her life. And Suna is a beautiful city. The hard wind, the searing heat … It's going to be weird to be back in Konoha's more temperate climate just when she's gotten used to it all. She shrugs.
"A little maybe."
"Me too," Sora asserts loudly from her left. "The people were so friendly."
Snickers rise from the around them before Kohaku-sensei's forbidding look quells them. 'Spoilsport,' Sora mouths at them, but Hisana is following their teacher's eyes to something far above their heads. Sitting on a roof not far away she can make out a figure dangling its legs. Temari raises a hand at her, face carefully blank.
Out of her teammates' sight Hisana waves back.
On the way back through the desert there is considerably less complaining. Hisana wonders whether everyone is either too shamed by their failure or too adult to complain now that they've made chuunin. Or maybe, she thinks, they have simply gotten used to sand everywhere the way she did.
But when the sandy desert turns into steppe everyone still breathes a collective sigh of relief. Home is getting closer with every step.
When the Konoha gates come into view some of her companions are visibly struggling not to dash ahead. The nervous, happy energy is contagious. And then a jounin teacher lets his team run the last few yards with an eye roll, and under Kohaku-sensei's appalled eyes the entire formation falls apart.
"Well then," he allows, "If you must."
Before Hisana can fully appreciate what he just said Sora is already hop-skipping away. She and Haru share an amused look before following him. Two vaguely familiar faces let them scribble their names into the little red book, Konoha symbol stamped on the front. A lot of teasing and shoulder clapping ensues, and then they are finally ushered inside. Hisana has barely time to process what she is seeing before someone crashes into her. Her arms close instinctually around Naruto's slight shoulders. He's not quite as small as she remembers and his weight nearly takes her off her feet.
"Nee-chan – I thought you were never coming back?" he wails.
"What?" she chokes out, amused and alarmed in equal parts. From her right Sakura latches onto her arm.
"Shut up, baka!" she gripes. "We told you she was coming back. You're so ridiculous!"
The girl's pink head very nearly reaches Hisana's chin by now, and sheesh is that girl going to keep growing like this?
Sasuke hasn't joined his team. He's awkwardly standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. When the rest of team 7 finally releases her, Hisana walks over to him with measured steps. Can't be uncool, she thinks in amusement. "What, no hug? Do you want to shake hands instead?"
He glowers at her, not deigning that with an answer. "You took too long."
"Yes, well, I won the tournament if that counts for anything." She plucks at her chuunin vest and Sasuke's scowl smoothes out into something vaguely pleased.
"Of course you did. It's good you're back, Genma is a huge pain."
"You are a huge pain," Shiki's voice drawls and Hisana whirls around to come face to face with her friends. "We wanted to take care of your family while you were away – that ungrateful brat shut the door in our faces."
"I'm here for two minutes and you're already complaining." Despite her words Hisana can't help but grin at the other girl.
"I was super grateful," Sakura pipes up from somewhere behind her. Shizuha, quiet until now, reaches out to fuss with Hisana's vest, before unexpectedly reaching out to hug her. Hisana directs helpless eyes at Shiki who shrugs and smirks.
"She missed you."
Before she has to make a decision – awkward back patting or bear hug? – Shizuha gives a satisfied little noise and releases her. "Welcome back."
Not much changes at first. Team 11 has been disbanded but they still train together. Hisana will still see Kohaku-sensei – or is it Kohaku-senpai now? – every weekend when she beats the crap out of Neji. The only difference now is that she can take solo missions now or choose to be put into different make-shift teams.
In theory she should be doing the bulk of her missions with her shishou now, but Kakashi is conspicuously absent. When she asked for how long, the office chuunin at the mission desk only shrugged. Even Gai-senpai, lured by the news of her promotion, had no insight to offer. "My youthful rival is always supremely busy!" he insisted. "No need to worry yourself – he will return successfully or I will run two-hundred laps around Konoha on my hands!"
Without Kakashi-shishou to take up a good third of her day, Hisana finds with more time on her hands than she'd like. Sasuke isn't far from graduation, so his training has become more intense. She loves to poke and prod at his weaknesses, point out what exactly he could be doing better to score higher marks, but he will only put up with it so often. Her absence has done him well in some ways, she thinks. He's still attached to her, but nowadays it seems to be less expressed in physical proximity and more with pointed questions about her day and general well-being.
He has also taken on a larger share of the housework, which is in equal parts disturbing and amazing. Disturbing, because if there's one thing more bizarre than watching Uchiha Sasuke cook, it's watching him scrub the bathroom. Amazing, because he's actually very good at both. His anal retentiveness pays off that way, she guesses. Maybe there's still hope that he'll turn into a well-adjusted adult one day.
Opening her little notebook to the last pages – she really needs a new one – Hisana skims through her notes of the last few weeks. 'Clan recipe?' it says on one of them, underlined twice. The bottle of Nara pills is still half full, but … it's time. Hisana really needs to visit the Uchiha compound before Sasuke graduates. This reason is as good as any. But before that she still has something else to do.
The Aburame compound is picturesque as ever in the evening. While the Inuzuka compound a few streets over is slowly descending into chaos as the adults try to round up any wayward kids, there are only a few people actively wandering around here. Hisana figures that most of the Aburame children have no problem with their bed tiem; she knows Shizuha likes to go to bed ridiculously early if she can.
Hisana sticks out like a sore thumb, trudging through the dimly lit gardens, but nobody tries to stop her. When she reaches Shizuha's family home the girl is already waiting on the front porch. "Hisana-chan," she greets quietly, a cup of coffee in hand and glasses slightly askew. "It is good to see you, but I will have to leave in a short while." There is a mission bag packed and ready at her feet.
Hisana reaches out to straighten out her friend's glasses before smiling sheepishly at her.
"Sorry, but that's not why I'm here anyway. I need to talk to your dad."
If Shizuha is surprised it she doesn't show it.
"He is in his study," she offers, making way to let her inside.
Aburame Shigeru is the quiet sort, even for one of his clan. He only speaks when spoken to and those who know him only superficially know that his wife likes to take the lead in any given situation. Few people outside of his yearmates are aware that he is also Aburame Shibi's younger brother and once made a dangerously valiant attempt to take the title of heir from him.
Sitting across from him without his good natured wife or daughter as a buffer is intimidating. Not as intimidating as if it would be to face Shiki's father, Hisana reminds herself firmly. He never invites her to speak, but his body language seems comparatively approachable, so she claps her hands together in apology.
"I'm very sorry to bother you, but I believe I'm in trouble and I don't know who else to ask for advice." Silence. – But no rebuff or dismissal either. Hisana stumbles through her story with only the barest idea of what she is getting into. To her mortification she can feel tears rising up as she finally chokes out, "I don't have anyone else to ask. Shishou and Sensei wouldn't be able to help me and … the Nara scare me."
For a moment she is caught up in her own confession. Then the sound of glasses clicking down on a desk pull Hisana from her dark thoughts. Aburame Shigeru is pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I do not understand," he says quietly, "what the Kazekage was thinking. That was … akin to committing political and economic suicide."
His eyes, Hisana thinks, look a lot like his daughters'. He pulls a stack of papers from his desk, shuffles them irately and then takes a few surprisingly sloppy notes. Upside down Hisana can read the angry strokes of a "council meeting" as well as the date of next Thursday.
"I agree that the Elder Council should not be made aware sooner than it needs to," he finally decides. "However, it would be beneficial to inform a few selected members of the larger council. I will need to speak to my brother, as well as Nara Shikaku." At Hisana's apprehensive look he only shakes his head. "The only reason he would do this is because the potential gains outweigh the potential losses. This attack on you was only the beginning. Suna has been a shaky ally for years now; if they decide to turn against us the Hokage has to know. The Nara clan has repeatedly spoken in your favor already. There is no need to fear them."
He reaches out to put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "If all goes well, you will have no need to worry. The Hyuuga will not dare to openly dismiss your story and I know that Inuzuka Tsume is fond of you."
"Do I … need to speak in front of them?" The idea of telling the story again, maybe even in front of Danzo, is unsettling.
"The Hokage may want to hear it. But concerning the council, all is well in hand."
It's the most comforting thing she's heard in months.
The next morning Hisana waits until her cousin has left the house. There are keys to the compound's front gates hidden in her night drawer. Originally she placed them there to keep Sasuke from thinking about his old home. By now she simply doesn't want him to get ideas. Hisana has no idea what happened during the massacre and for the past few years she had no desire to find out. The Uchiha compound is full of ghosts and discarded possessions.
The village has put most personal items in storage – Hisana hates the thought of having Sasuke go through them one day, deciding what to keep and which teddy bear to keep for his children – but the furniture remains, and Sasuke's and Hisana's childhood homes haven't been touched at all.
She's a bit curious about what sort of person Hisana was, but mostly the thought of this dead little girl whose body she's wearing makes her feel ill. Seeing her family photos, touching her possessions, seems wrong somehow. But she needs to go. Once Sasuke graduates he will be made head of the clan, and that means the compound will be open to him despite her wishes. And Hisana currently has no idea what he would find there. Would he puzzle together what happened? Did Itachi leave a trail of bread crumbs for him to follow?
The possibility alone is unacceptable. And if she finds those records about the Mangekyou she's going to destroy them. The thought feels right somehow. The secret of the Sharingan would die with her and Itachi. And Madara, a little voice whispers in her head.
She shakes off the thought. Madara will have to wait. It's eight in the morning and she has a lot to do already.
10 facts about Suna
1. Suna's specialty is not actually anything shocking such as fried insects. It's a kind of rice pudding with sweetened goat milk and ground up chili. It's so hot, civilians give it to the sick to 'sweat out the sickness'.
2. Water is not as hard to come by as some may think. The small pond in which Elders Chiyo and Ebizo like to fish is fed by an underground spring. Ponds like that exist in most bigger buildings. The downside of this is that most of Suna is built on the cavernous system that houses this spring and the resulting stream, and every once in a while some parts cave in.
3. The stream resurfaces somewhere in Ame. Nobody has figured that out yet though.
4. The drink Temari gave Hisana actually a mix of three things: water, rice syrup imported from Ame, and pomegranate juice.
5. The red-headed children and proctor of the first and second task are part of the Ando clan. Their kekkei genkai is earth based at works a little like Suigetsu's: While they don't turn into stone, they can harden their skins considerably and mold earth and stone like clay. Gaara's maternal grandmother was an Ando; that's where he gets his hair.
6. The old woman who put the genjutsu on the contestants before the first task was Elder Chiyo. While not active in politics anymore she does enjoy making life hard for people.
7. It's true that Suna doesn't have guests often. The Kazekage actually expected far less people to show up, so they were in a spot of trouble when a few business men showed up and there were no special seats for them. Baki suggested they put them next to the contestant seats.
He was also made to deal with them when they complained about the sweaty smell later.
8. While Suna may look impressive, many of the stucco buildings are actually empty. It's not that they were left over after a mass exodus, but rather they were designed to be empty. It makes the streets a little more difficult to navigate for intruders and they give shade. Many of them only hide the entrance to underground rooms.
9. Temari's bodyguards, Ueda and Gorou, are in fact both career genin. Only Ueda, however, is in fact a career genin. He works in intelligence and uses his rank to gather information for the Kazekage directly. He forfeited before the matches started as not to draw attention.
Saitou Gorou on the other hand is a man of brute force and keeps screwing up his match fights. Consensus is that he'll never be promoted.
10. Temari deliberately took Hisana to a bar full of ninjas. The entire conversation was watched by at least six on-duty ninjas who immediately reported to Baki. The barkeeper was also the one who reported her and Hanada's departure, so that Gaara could be maneuvered into the right position before she arrived.