Reaching
LilacLilyFlower © 2009
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.
Credits to my friend (codename: Scuro) for playing beta!
-O-O-O-O-
Chapter 2
Genjutsu. A technique that is employed via chakra and handseals, like Ninjutsu. However, unlike Ninjutsu, Genjutsu attacks the target's chakra paths in the brain, causing an illusory, not physical, effect.
And Hikari couldn't cast one.
She had the imagination. She had the chakra control. She had the subtlety. She had knowledge of Yin Release and its effects.
But she couldn't perform it.
Her chakra worked fine for Yang and Yin-Yang release; she had enough physical and spiritual chakra for Ninjutsu and other shinobi arts.
But Yin Release. It just wouldn't work.
Takahiro sneered at her. Hikari had been paired with him, and they were supposed to cast a minor E-Rank auditory Genjutsu on each other. Although minor, the possibilities of this Genjutsu were endless. It could be used to throw sound from a different direction and thus confuse the enemy, or silence the noises one made. Most shinobi tended to recognize visual Genjutsu, but auditory Genjutsu were harder to point out, mainly due to the lack of visual input from one's ear.
Takahiro-more like Bakahiro, she thought bitterly- had placed her under a Genjutsu of him yapping about his superiority and her inferiority because she was a girl. When she had failed, repeatedly, to cast the Genjutsu, he had crowed that this proved his point.
She kept trying, leaking chakra with abandon. The Genjutsu didn't really require control, just a set amount of chakra, so she could let it trickle without affecting the success of her Genjutsu.
Finally, Hikari sighed and gave up, biting her lip and ignoring Takahiro's lording. Approaching Ichirou's desk, she said, "Ichirou-sensei, my chakra won't conform into Yin chakra."
He glanced up from his paper grading briefly, and noncommittally hummed. "I guess you won't become a medic-nin, then."
She gnawed at her lip in frustration and uncertainty. Hikari wasn't planning on pursuing a career in the Medical Corps, but learning some medical Ninjutsu as first-aid seemed like a good idea, one that was closed off to her until she found a way to convert her chakra to Yin chakra.
-O-O-O-O-
"Alright, remember to read about Replacement Theory and practice the handseals for the Body Replacement Jutsu," Ichirou called as students filed out of the room, done with school for the day.
Hikari bolted out of her seat, chakra sense in full effect. She could afford being an hour or so late to Fuinjutsu instruction since Kakashi wouldn't show up for at least two. She was determined to find him today; she needed to know who he was.
Naruto.
"Hey, Strawberry, why are you in such a rush?" Takahiro asked as she brushed past him.
She took no notice, scanning the building as she ran down the hallway, dodging around other students. She searched intently for the sun, and yellow.
Hikari skidded to a halt at the end of the hall, brow furrowed. He wasn't in the building. She stepped outside and sighed.
And a flash of yellow caught her eye.
The world stopped.
And she felt the sun.
The sudden rush of something in her brought tears to her eyes, and she blinked furiously to keep them from falling. Her brother was in front of her, an actual living body, not just a memory of a small mass of warmth. Her brother. Family.
Hikari studied him avidly, committing his features to memory. He was sitting on the swing in front of the Academy, idly kicking at the ground. He was wearing a dark green long sleeve (like her, she realized with a twitch of the lips) with a white shirt pulled over, and black shorts. His hair was sunlight, and his eyes were the sky, but his face (which was quite cute with its whisker markings) was pulled into a cloudy, yearning scowl towards the other children leaving.
He shouldn't be unhappy.
The reflexive anger Hikari felt was so sudden that she brought a hand up to her mouth, surprised by the loss of control over her emotions and the raw fury she felt. She hated his sadness. Someone she remembered as so warm and bright shouldn't be sad.
She vowed, in that moment, to do anything necessary to keep him in the light, even if that meant walking in darkness.
I need to hear his voice.
Slowly, carefully, she nonchalantly strolled towards him at a casual pace. When she was halfway to him, there was a poof and a hand clasped down onto her shoulder, and a whoosh before her surroundings suddenly jerked and changed.
Bewildered, Hikari looked up and saw a shock of silver hair and a slanted Hitai-ate. Her eyes widened, before a murderous expression flashed across her face and mild Killing Intent filled the air.
She spun around and dashed back in the direction of the Academy, but she ended up running into an olive green flak vest. Hikari tried ducking around Kakashi, but he kept catching her.
"Get. Out. OF. MY. WAY!" she screamed, hurling herself at Kakashi. She punched and kicked and even bit at whatever openings she could find, but none of her attacks landed. She growled and sped up, slapping down seals everywhere while crying and howling about the different ways she would tear him apart.
He let her attack, blocking but not retaliating. Eventually, her barrage ceased, and her crying was the only sound that echoed in the damaged clearing.
Wrists held gently by Kakashi, Hikari collapsed and sobbed into his vest, "I want my brother, I want my family, I want my brother..." as he awkwardly patted her head.
When she was calm again sometime later, she said, embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you, right?"
He gave her a look that clearly said "I'm-an-Elite-Jounin-and-you-are-a-six-year-old-Academy-student".
"Right," she muttered, scrubbing at the tears that just would not stop.
She heard a sigh and looked up.
"I think," Kakashi said, "We need to have a discussion."
-O-O-O-O-
They sat in the middle of the decimated training ground, face to face. Kakashi didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.
"You're overly dependent on your brother."
She opened her mouth to argue that no, she was not overly dependent on Naruto, she could cook and wash and dress herself, but he cut her off.
"If he left Konoha at this instant, would you follow? Or would you stay and report him, possibly getting him killed?"
She mulled over the question. Her initial response was to say that she would stop him but not report him either. Then, she realized the point of the question, and snorted bitterly.
Family versus village.
She wanted to say village. It was the right answer, after all. But she just found the only family she had, and she wasn't going to give that up.
Instead, she chose to stay silent, avoiding Kakashi's eye.
"Uzumaki Hikari," he said, "You will be given a mission."
She started, but wasn't very surprised that he knew her surname. Curious, she gave him her full attention.
"This mission is of the upmost importance. The safety of the village depends on it," Kakashi informed gravely, somehow looming over her.
Hikari's eyes widened, confused. Why was something like this delegated to her? Also, wasn't the Hokage supposed to assign things, not Elite Jounin?
"Your mission is to… make a friend."
-O-O-O-O-
(Takahiro's POV)
He couldn't stand Strawberry.
When she had been unable to cast the Genjutsu on him, he had felt a surge of triumph. He could do something that the Fuinjutsu prodigy couldn't; he'd tell his parents and they'd stop going on about how she's such a poor thing, she has no family but she's so strong.
Although she hadn't said anything, everyone knew that she was being taught by Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin, and that Ichirou-sensei was the one who had gotten him as a teacher for her.
It wasn't fair. If she was so good at Fuinjutsu, why couldn't he get a mentor for his Taijutsu, since he was best in his class in that subject? Why would anyone even care about that stupid Strawberry anyways? She was just an orphan with no name.
He felt guilty for the last thought. Even though his parents overlooked him sometimes, he still had a family.
And it wasn't like she went around bragging about herself either. Takahiro knew that he was just jealous of the attention she was getting, although she ignored it. She obviously had something going on, because of the way she rushed past him the day before with a desperate look in her eyes.
That's why, when she approached him and asked if he could help her with Genjutsu, he didn't say anything about her needing help.
But Kami, it was frustrating.
"No, you need to push out the chakra like it's grains of sand, not drops of water!"
Her brow furrowed. "But I am. I'm releasing it the way the books say to."
He scratched his cheek, unsure of what else to do. Then, he had a revelation so brilliant that he could feel the light of the heavens shining down on him.
"Your chakra sense! Use your chakra sense!"
She stared at him with a blank face. He shifted, uncomfortable, until she finally spoke, slowly as if with a young child (which they both were, but it's the thought that counts). "I've already tried that, Bakahiro-san."
"What did you just call me? You stupid Strawberry!" he spluttered.
"Bakahiro-san! Don't you think I would have tried using my chakra sense? Do you really think I'm that dumb?"
"Well, you can't do Genjutsu, so I guess you are!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
They glared at each other, eyes crackling with lightning. Then, suddenly, she relaxed, laughing softly before shooting him a shy smile.
"Thanks."
He blinked, confused about her sudden mood swing, before realizing something with fascination.
Her smile is pretty. She's really, really pretty when she smiles.
He examined himself for a quickening heart, sweaty hands, flushed cheeks. Nothing. Even more confused, he turned to her, when she added, with a teasing glint, "Even though you suck at teaching and didn't really help me."
"STRAWBERRY!"
-O-O-O-O-
(Back to Hikari!)
It had been nice, acting like she was in a rivalry with Takahiro.
But that was all it was: acting.
And it had been difficult, smiling and laughing on command. Kunoichi classes weren't even at the point of faking reactions yet. It had felt unnatural, pretending to be feeling happy when she wasn't.
Why would she be happy? Her Genjutsu hadn't improved at all. How would she protect her little brother if she couldn't perform one of the basic Shinobi Arts?
It didn't surprise her when she thought of Naruto as younger than her. He was vulnerable, something to be protected. And Kakashi wouldn't teach her or even let her see or contact Naruto until he had proof that she had a friend. And how was she supposed to give him proof? You can't prove a friendship, right?
She didn't have time for friends. She needed to get to Naruto.
Besides, from the books she had read, all friendships were fake; there were always people lying and backstabbing each other. The only thing she could rely on was family.
But, to be honest, bantering with Takahiro had been…fun. He had brought out a side she didn't know she had. A new, immature, childish side.
Which is why she couldn't become friends with him. Takahiro interfered with her goal of reaching Naruto.
She reported to Kakashi, seeing as how this wasn't an official mission. "Objective accomplished," she lied.
"Nope," Kakashi rejected.
Her jaw dropped. How in the name of the Fourth Hokage did he know? "You don't know if I'm lying or not."
"Actually, I do," he countered, finally looking up from his book.
She waited impatiently for him to explain, but when no explanation came forth, she rolled her eyes before asking, "How do you know?"
His eye curved as he said, "Because you're basically the me from the past!"
That made absolutely no sense. If Hikari imagined Kakashi as a six year old, she saw a miniature version of him, infuriating and frustrating, without the flak vest. "I'm pretty sure I'm more serious than you were."
"You'd be surprised," he mused.
She continued, ignoring his comment. "And wouldn't that mean you have friends now?" Somehow, I don't think his stellar personality would let him have many friends. Not that I'm that approachable either.
"Ah. Well you see, I have someone that's somewhat-"
"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" a voice boomed as a green blur appeared out of nowhere. Hikari squeaked (which she denied ever happened later) and darted behind Kakashi, clutching his vest.
"I CHALLENGE YOU TO A CONTEST!" the voice continued. Hikari peeked out from behind Kakashi to see a man in a spandex-eww-jumpsuit, flak vest, and super thick black eyebrows. And a bowl cut.
This is Kakashi-sensei's friend? Rival?
"Oh, hello there Gai. Did you say something?" Kakashi drawled.
The man-Gai-gasped and clutched his heart. "THE COOL, HIP EXTERIOR! I WILL DEFEAT IT ONE DAY!" He spotted Hikari and dashed into her face.
"WHY, HELLO THERE, YOUNG BLOSSOM! I SEE YOU FOUND MY ETERNAL RIVAL AS A TEACHER! TELL ME, does he teach well?" Gai said, rubbing his chin with a glint in his eye.
Before Hikari could answer, Kakashi cut off her view of Gai with an arm. "Gai, you should stop before she becomes even more traumatized than she already is."
He pulled back, only to thrust a fist in Kakashi's face. "THEN I CHALLENGE YOU TO A ROUND OF JANKENPON!"
Humming in agreement, Kakashi put his book away and flexed his fingers. He curled them into a fist, and Hikari could feel chakra pooling in his hands, before Gai and Kakashi shouted.
"JANKENPON!"
This is ridiculous. Hikari left before the results of the match came out, in case that Gai person started crying or something. Besides, Kakashi-sensei would win.
She headed back towards her apartment, stopping at the grocery store along the way. The old lady behind the counter smiled at her and gave her a lollipop after billing her groceries. Hikari thanked her and turned to leave, only to sense Takahiro's shivering chakra.
I might as well try being friends with him now, she thought as she exited and stuck the lollipop in her mouth. She walked a little further to the source of the chakra, and saw the familiar, sandy ponytail.
"Takahiro-san!" she called, as he jolted and whisked around. He pulled a face, but before he could speak, a woman behind him-must be his mother, she thought with a pang-exclaimed, "Oh, Takahiro! I didn't know you were friends with this girl!"
She halted in her tracks. This girl. Why did the woman speak of her like that? She plastered a smile on her face and advanced forward.
"I'm sorry, I never caught your name," Hikari chirped. Inwardly, she shuddered at her tone.
"Oh, you're so cute! I'm Natsuko. You can call me Oba-san. Why don't you join us for dinner?" the woman fired in quick succession.
Hikari blinked until she caught up with the replies. She shot a glance at Takahiro, who refused to meet her eyes with a dark scowl on his face.
"Ah, sorry. I need to go put my groceries away and study, but thank you for the offer," she replied.
Natsuko turned to her son. "She's so responsible and polite! You could learn a few things from her!"
Takahiro's face merely twisted further.
"Don't make that face at me! Your grades are so low, and your classmate is already being taught by Hatake Kakashi! Can't you step it up and have something for us to be proud about too?"
Takahiro exploded. "Well, my genius classmate needed my help today in Genjutsu! Maybe you should pay attention to me instead of a nobody! You would know that I'm best in class for Taijutsu!"
Hikari almost dropped her bags, but she got a hold of herself and slowly backed away.
"Sorry, Natsuko-san. I need to be somewhere," she choked out before sprinting away. She could hear Natsuko lecturing Takahiro as she left.
"Don't call her that! How would you feel if your father and I…"
Arriving at her apartment, Hikari released a breath she didn't know she was holding. The situation had been so tense, and she had never seen Takahiro like that.
Although, it does explain why he acts the way he does…
She flopped into her bed after storing away her groceries, eyes closing. She could review Replacement in the morning.
-O-O-O-O-
Omake (after Kakashi assigns the mission)
"You're not serious, right?"
"I assure you, I am very serious. You need to make a friend. You're too lonely for your age."
She let herself fall onto her back in hopelessness. "Does it even matter to you? Aren't you doing this because Hokage-sama told you to?"
"Well, yes, but this impedes your progress, and I need to keep my teaching record clean," Kakashi retorted, internally laughing at the irony of his statement. "Any questions?"
Hikari was quiet, before saying, "Yes, actually. How old are you?"
Caught off guard, Kakashi replied truthfully. "Nineteen."
"Oh, so your hair is natural, not from old age."
"What about my hair? Are you calling me old?"
"Ojii-san-sensei!"
"Get back here!"
-O-O-O-O-
A/N: Here's Chapter 2! This is the last time I'm going to update this quickly, and I'm going to start following my schedule of at least once every two weeks.
I included an omake for my reviewers, because you guys are all so amazing! Especially the ones who reviewed again, like tsubame. hayakaze and Superanonymouscarrots. Thank you all!
This chapter was a little dramatic, and very "I don't have time for friends", which is kinda…Mary Sueish…
I cry.
But there wasn't really a way to phrase it differently, so please forgive me!
Anyways, see you all in (maybe) two weeks!