Reaching
LilacLilyFlower © 2009
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately. Or Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap, or Pentatonix's We are Ninjas.
-O-O-O-O-
Chapter 10
A month passed.
In team training, before they stopped rotations to focus on drills, sparring, and teamwork, they'd found out that Takahiro didn't have much talent for Iryo-ninjutsu, but that he could form the chakra. Eisuke got a good handle on Fuinjutsu, and Hikari had learned that she had to develop her own style of Taijutsu, because her body was too slender for a heavy-hitting style, or even the basic Academy style. She needed to be fast, limber, and unpredictable, but she had no idea where to start, so Shoumaru had set up meetings with a Taijutsu expert to help her.
Who was one, memorable, Maito Gai.
He'd taken one look at her and proclaimed that he would do his best to teach her, teach her even better than Kakashi had been. And Kakashi had been trying extremely hard lately to become a mentor to her, so Hikari found herself being worn to the ground between an overly enthusiastic Taijutsu instructor and a hovering Fuinjutsu teacher. She had no time to visit with Naruto or Sasuke, or go to the library anymore. She woke up, ate breakfast, went to team training, had lunch, learned from Kakashi, took a quick break, and developed a new Taijutsu style with Gai until dinner, when she hauled her tired and beaten body to Takahiro's door because she couldn't muster the energy to make her own dinner. Most days, she also slept in the spare bedroom, which was slowly gathering more of her belongings as time went on.
Of course, she helped around the house to repay the Kurosawas for hosting her. And sometimes, after dinner, Hikari and Takahiro studied from the ninjutsu scrolls that Shoumaru gave them. Eisuke joined them these days, shyly apologizing for intruding. Hikari received a water scroll, while Takahiro turned out to have fire-natured chakra. Eisuke, surprisingly, had lightning-natured chakra, which was supposedly a bad chakra nature to have as a medic, but his natural talent with Yin chakra neutralized that barrier. "I never had much difficulty," he admitted sheepishly as Hikari gave him a grumpy look.
Then, came the day for their first mission.
"Finally!" Takahiro cheered when Shoumaru collected them to bring to the mission desk in Hokage Tower. "It's about time!"
"Calm yourself," Shoumaru said. "It's a D-rank."
'But it's still a mission! Missions mean money. More specifically, pocket money," Takahiro shot back as they began trekking to the tower, mouth open and slightly drooling as he imagined piles of money. "I can buy as many things as I want, like food, new gear, a sword..."
"I doubt a D-rank will provide enough money for you to buy all that," Hikari said wryly. Besides, Takahiro was rich, even though his parents gave him a small allowance.
"It might," Eisuke butt in. He reddened as Takahiro and Hikari turned their attention on him. "My dad is a chunin, and he told me that if you're careful, the amount of money you get from a D-rank can provide for your needs and last for about five days. C-ranks are a step up, lasting about a month on average, because the skill level required varies widely. Same for B-ranks, but you get a lot more money as you move up. Since D-ranks are less important than others, they're given out by chunin at the mission desk."
"So that means around six D-ranks is the equivalent of the average C-rank," Hikari quickly deduced. "Sensei, how many D-rank missions can we do each day?"
"That depends on how quickly you finish them. I'll give you a hint: it'll go by faster if you work together."
They entered the room, standing before the mission desk in a single line. Manning the desk was a chunin who looked incredibly bored.
"Team One, right?" he asked stiffly, shifting through some papers. "Here for your first mission, huh?"
"Yes. What D-ranks are there for today?" Shoumaru replied.
"The hospital needs restocking, a merchant requested house repair, and the Daimyo's wife's kitten needs to be found."
Shoumaru turned to them. "What do you want to do?"
They exchanged glances with each other, agreeing on the same thing. Takahiro spoke for them. "We'll find the kitten."
The chunin nodded and slid a photo over. "This is what it looks like. Its name is Tora. You have until sunset."
-O-O-O-O-
"Damn it," Takahiro cursed as he touched down next to Hikari. "The stupid cat keeps running away. It's been an hour already!"
Eisuke joined them, jumping down from a rooftop. "Shoumaru-sensei said to work together," he said, scrunching his brows, "but I'm not exactly sure what he means. We're looking for it together, aren't we?"
Hikari tugged on a lock of her hair as she pondered his words. "Maybe," she mused, "maybe we're supposed to use Shinobi Arts."
"Against a cat?" Takahiro deadpanned. "Seriously?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and flipped her hair. "Do you have any other ideas? Please tell us if you do. It would make this go by faster."
He pouted at her, puffing up his cheeks. "I'm just saying that it seems a little extreme."
"Nothing else is working. Let's try it," Eisuke suggested. "I saw an alleyway that ends in a dead-end a few meters back. The top is fenced in, like a ceiling, so Tora can't escape if we box him in."
"I'll do perimeter control," Hikari volunteered. "I'm the fastest out of all of us, so I can catch it if it runs away, and I can set up a barrier with seals."
"We'll do the actual cornering, then. No weapons, but smoke bombs are allowed," Eisuke decided.
"Actually," Hikari said as she dug through her pouch, "I have smoke tags. You can set them off by attaching ninja wire and channeling chakra through it. The wire can be used to set a trap too. Non-razor wire, of course, since we need Tora alive."
"Unfortunately," Takahiro muttered as he took the tags from her. "Best of luck to you, Private Hikari," he said, forcing his face into an overly serious mask. He saluted her, standing rigidly.
"You as well, Colonel Takahiro, General Eisuke," she replied, mirroring his stance and expression. Eisuke started.
"E-eh? General? I'm not-"
"You're our leader," Takahiro said. Hikari nodded in agreement.
"Majority rules. You're in charge," she sniped. She turned, but stopped as Takahiro called out to her.
"Come back safe! Don't die!"
Hikari rolled her eyes and ran to the alleyway that Eisuke mentioned. She took out her brush and ink set, and drew out the seals for a barrier across the entire entrance to the alleyway.
Then, she waited.
-O-O-O-O-
She hummed happily, almost skipping as they left the building.
"Three missions," she sang. "Three missions done in one day, glorious, glorious money!" Eisuke eyed her as she pranced past him, subtly shuffling away from her.
"I think Hikari has gone insane," he whispered to Takahiro.
"No, she was always insane," he muttered back. "It's just showing at the moment." Then, a choking noise left his throat, alarming Eisuke.
The culprit turned out to be Hikari, whose hand was extended with her thumb folded into her palm and her fingers pointing out stiffly. "Huh," she said, examining her hand carefully. "Gai-sensei was right. This style suits me more."
"Hikari-chan," Shoumaru warned. "Don't attack your teammates."
"Sorry, Sensei," she chirped. She bowed. "I have to leave now for Fuinjutsu training."
Shoumaru nodded, and Hikari was off, racing towards Training Ground 3. She skidded to a stop in front of an amused Kakashi.
"Well, you seem unusually chipper today," he said, closing his ever present book.
"I got paid for finishing three missions."
"Ah, yes," Kakashi reminisced. "The pride of receiving money for work you did is always great. Except it gets old really quickly."
This brought Hikari out of her happy daze. She wilted noticeably, but perked back up into her normal demeanor. "What am I learning today?"
"Nothing."
She blinked once in surprise. "That's new. Lately you've been so vehement about teaching me."
Kakashi sighed. "You're not learning anything because there's nothing left to teach."
No, that wasn't possible. Her Fuinjutsu was still basic. "But I haven't learned everything," she protested.
"You haven't," Kakashi agreed. "But I taught you everything I know, which is the basics. And really, all you need to know are the basics. It's up to you now to apply them and form your own style of Fuinjutsu."
Hikari was at a loss. For years, Kakashi was a constant in her life. He watched over her when she was much younger (not that she wasn't young at the moment), taught her, teased her, and flaked on her (but there was always the guarantee that he would return). And now, it was all over.
Kakashi pat her on the head for one final time. "You were a good student, Hikari. I'm proud to have been called your teacher."
Her eyes were filling with tears (as they always were around him, her stupid, amazing teacher). She wiped them away, smiled brightly at him, and bowed.
"Thank you for having taught me."
-O-O-O-O-
Now that Fuinjutsu lessons were over, she didn't know what to do with the extra time. Tomorrow, she would reschedule her meetings with Gai, but for today, she decided to give herself a break.
With that mindset, she headed towards the Academy, determined to visit her old class.
As she passed one of the recess fields, a girl's voice called out, "Hey, you with the red hair!"
Hikari looked around, and her eyes finally landed on a blonde girl who was standing slightly in front of a girl with pink hair. "Yes?"
"You're a genin, right?" she asked firmly. Hikari nodded and took a cautious step back when the blonde's baby blue eyes widened. She rushed up to her, pulling the pink-haired girl with her. "Wow! You're the one who graduated and ended up on a team with another early graduate, right? My name is Yamanaka Ino, and this is Haruno Sakura," Ino chattered, gesturing to the pink-haired girl.
Hikari smiled slightly as she learned Sakura's name. Cherry blossom of spring, she thought. What a fitting name.
"My name is Hikari," she replied. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Ino answered for both herself and Sakura.
"What class are you in?" Hikari asked.
"Iruka-sensei's class," Sakura said, finally speaking. "We're probably going to graduate at the regular age."
Oh, they were in Naruto's class. "I have friends in your class," she said. "Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Do you know them?"
Ino and Sakura exchanged looks. "Yeah, we know them," Ino said hesitantly. Hikari's eyes narrowed at her tone, and Ino noticed. She hurriedly explained. "It's just weird."
"What is?"
"Well…"
Sakura took over. "Sasuke-kun is very talented and brave, but Naruto is… well, he's not the best in class. He's always playing pranks on everyone and shouting out things when we should be silent. My parents don't want me to be around him, but he's always with Sasuke-kun, and my parents want me to be friends with him because he's very strong."
"He's annoying," Ino said bluntly. Sakura turned to her with a gasp.
"Ino!"
"What? It's true," Ino said. "He's annoying and an idiot, and he's always disrupting the class. But he's also fun to be around, and Sasuke is friends with him, so he can't be too bad."
"Do you not like him?"
The question flew out of her mouth without her knowing it. If Ino and Sakura didn't answer correctly, Hikari didn't know what she would do. After all, it was Naruto that they were talking about. Naruto, her precious twin brother.
"The grownups—"
"I'm not asking about the grownups. I'm asking about you guys," Hikari interrupted.
Ino and Sakura exchanged another glance.
"He's okay," Ino declared. "And my parents don't really talk about him much anyways. I don't think they care."
Hikari scoffed at the ridiculousness of her statement. Of course Ino's parents cared; Naruto was the vessel of a demon that could flatten half of Konoha with a swipe of one of its tails.
"What about you?" she asked, turning to Sakura. Sakura flushed prettily from the undivided attention.
"Me too! I think he's okay too."
They waited for her reply awkwardly. Hikari spared them a smile. "Then you guys are okay to me."
The two girls beamed at her, and attacked her with a flurry of questions. Soon, a sizeable group (of which included Naruto and Sasuke, who plopped down next to her) of Academy students had formed, interested in learning about Genin life.
"…my teammates are Kurosawa Takahiro, the other early graduate, and Oshiro Eisuke. Takahiro is really good at Taijutsu, and Eisuke is learning Iryo-ninjutsu. They're both good teammates."
"What about you? What's your specialization?" someone asked.
"Fuinjutsu!" Naruto crowed, happy that he could answer for her. "Kari is really good at sealing!"
"Don't forget sensing," Sasuke cut in. "She can sense chakra too."
"Does your teacher know enough to help you with your guys' specialization?"
"I doubt it," a new voice interrupted, cold and biting. "Kitagawa Shoumaru is a disgrace to all shinobi."
Everyone grew silent at the harsh words and turned to see who badmouthed Hikari's teacher. A boy with long, dark hair and white eyes stood with his arms crossed. Hikari's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he met her glare with one of his own.
Hyuuga.
"Shoumaru-sensei is a Jounin," Hikari said, almost whispering. "He's an all-rounder who has completely many missions successfully, and he's really strong."
"That doesn't matter," the boy retorted. "He has brought dishonor to the Hyuuga clan, and is therefore a disgrace to us, and to all shinobi. You'll fail if you stay under his tutelage."
"What has he ever done to you?" she demanded. "He's an amazing shinobi that any clan would be proud to claim."
"He was born."
As the Hyuuga boy turned to walk away, remnants of a conversation drifted across her mind.
I have Hyuuga eyes because my mother was a Hyuuga. I'm half.
"So what you're saying is that he is at fault for being unable to choose who his parents are, right?"
The boy stopped walking. "It's fate," he said stiffly.
"That's bullshit," she snapped. The others around her began to whisper from her choice of words, but she ignored them in favor of her back, which was beginning to burn in a familiar way.
"Say what you will," he replied coolly. "It doesn't change the facts."
What facts? she wanted to demand, but she was stopped by Sasuke's arm.
"Hyuuga," Sasuke called. "What are you even doing out right now? It's not your class's recess time."
"Our teacher let us out early for recess, Uchiha. Stop fussing over menial things."
This time, Naruto leapt into the fray. "Don't talk like that to Sasuke! Don't talk like that to anyone! You have no right to walk around all high and mighty when you're not even a genin!"
"You're not a genin either," he shot back.
"I am," Hikari said, inserting herself back into the conversation, feeling calm again. "So watch what you're saying, Academy student." She turned her back to him intentionally, and said to Naruto and Sasuke, "I'll see you guys later today. Ichiraku's?" They nodded back.
Then, she sought out Ino and Sakura. When she found them, she said, "I'll see you guys later."
Hikari left the field, feeling like a general who won a battle.
-O-O-O-O-
After dinner with Naruto and Sasuke, Hikari hauled herself to her apartment, intent on sleeping in her own bed. Gai had been especially tough on her today because he heard from Shoumaru about how she used an attack in her style successfully on Takahiro, so it was with a completely exhausted body that she locked herself into the bathroom and took a shower.
She sang a song that was popular among shinobi lately (at least, according to Kakashi, when Hikari had discovered his taste in music) as she massaged shampoo into her hair.
"Lyrics, fill in the gap, drop that bass and get the NINJA RAP, feel it, if you know what I mean, give it up, for those heroes in green," she chanted. She continued rapping— or, trying to rap— as she ran over the usual safety tips that Kakashi had drilled into her brain. Everything had seemed to be in order and in its proper place when she came into the apartment, so she cast out her chakra sense, which she minimized when she was tired, and froze.
Someone was in her bedroom.
Dread and terror pooled together in her stomach, but she continued with the song to seem as if nothing was wrong.
"We are ninjas, we are awesome, we will save the day. We are someday gonna be the one to lead the way," she warbled, honing her chakra sense in on the intruder. The chakra was so suppressed that she couldn't tell if it was someone she knew, just that someone was in her bedroom and hadn't been there before when she entered the bathroom.
Still humming slightly, she got out of the shower and used the stopper to plug the drainhole. While she waited for water to collect (because she was tired and couldn't afford to waste chakra by converting it to water, and instead needed to use already existing water), she got into her bathrobe and slid several kunai up the sleeves. Hikari dried her hair as quickly as she could with a towel, and shut off the showerhead.
Then, she threw the bathroom door open and flung the first kunai.
A hand reached up, lightning quick, and stopped it with two fingers around the blade. The intruder lowered his hand, eyes sparking with amusement.
"Hello, Hikari-san. Your voice is very lovely."
Hikari stared back, eyes wide with disbelief as she took in the form that was sitting at her desk. She stopped breathing as memories of blood and dull eyes and flashing smiles and matted hair assaulted her in an onslaught of tragedy. Finally, she grabbed another kunai, trembling so badly that her aim would be off, and croaked out a single name.
"Itachi."
-O-O-O-O-
A/N: Hey guys, I'm back!
It's been a while, hasn't it? Thankfully, I overcame my writer's block, and summer classes are done too, so I'll have more time to write.
This chapter is shorter than my usual, but hey, come on, I had to cut it off where I did. Dramatic effect is very important in creating suspense.
To my reviewers, favoriters, and followers: As usual, thank you. Your feedback, encouragement, and favoriting/following really help! While I don't necessarily write for you guys (except requests for Strawberry Days, which you guys should request for ;) ), because I write for myself, knowing that many people enjoy my writing is a huge morale boost. Once again, thank you.
Remember, look forward to an Omake Special!
See you next time!