The few words scribbled on the page by Gaara made Hitomi jump on her feet. She knew it would happen, of course, but not this early. Her heart thundering in her chest so hard it was painful, she took a pen and answered hastily.
Go find Temari and explain. She'll help you. I'm gonna ask Ensui-shishou to go there as quickly as he can. I love you, Gaara. Be brave. You're not alone.
As soon as the page was infused with chakra, she put a jumper on over her nightgown and opened her window wide. Her notebook in hand, she jumped to the garden one floor down, strengthening her legs to handle the fall. Without losing anything, she started running. Ensui's house was on the other side of the Nara lands, not so far from the entrance, but she got there faster than she ever had and started pounding on the door, calling her master in a panicked voice.
"Hitomi? Are you okay? What is it?"
For once, she didn't notice his pyjamas or his sleepy eyes. "It's Gaara, shishou! He's been attacked by his uncle and begged for help. He… He needs help. Please. Can you go to Suna and protect him? Please, I'll do whatever you want."
The shinobi stiffened with shock, unable to hide his emotions for a second. He got a hold of himself and put a reassuring hand on his apprentice's shoulder. Even in the dark, he saw how frantic she was. This feeling wasn't of any use for ninjas, but she was still so young… she would learn. "Show me his message, kiddo. Calm down, take deep, slow breaths."
Her hands shaking violently, she obeyed, opening her notebook to the correct page to show him. Gaara's message hadn't disappeared yet. It made her almost physically sick to watch the clumsy kanji on the page – the young boy was always so careful to write them precisely, he must have been really terrified to let go of this habit. Hitomi's powerlessness made her throat constrict, made her breathing shallow and laboured. She wanted to go help Gaara, to go now, but she knew it was impossible. She was too slow… and what could she do, anyway, against trained Sunajin Jōnin?
"Okay… Listen carefully, Hitomi. I'm gonna go prepare and leave as soon as I can. Tell Gaara that I'll be with him in three to four days. Until then, he has to stay with his sister at all times. If his father is behind all this, other shinobi won't want to take the risk to hurt her. Before returning home, go find Shikaku at his place and tell him everything. Tell him I'll come back when your friend is safe. I'll keep you posted with his notebook. Take care, kiddo."
Ensui's voice, so calm and decisive, appeased Hitomi immediately. He always knew what to do. She nodded, her bravery coming back to her like a warm wave, and opened her notebook again as he came back inside.
Gaara, are you with Temari yet? Don't leave her side. Your father's men won't dare to approach you if there's a risk she could step in to defend you and get wounded. Ensui-shishou will take three to four days before he gets to Sunagakure, just the time to run there. Take good care of yourself, the both of you, and keep me posted.
Hitomi.
The message sent, she turned her back on her mentor's house. She didn't want to wait, to see him go. That would be too painful, even if she knew it was for a good cause. She ran to Shikaku's place, ignoring her protesting lungs and the cold air on her naked legs. He was probably getting ready for bed when she knocked: he opened the door, still in his uniform, except for pyjama pants. Still, he listened to what she had to say, probably worried by the distress he could see on her face.
"I see," he sighed. "Keep me in the loop, Hitomi, and do your best for your friend."
Hitomi nodded then went back home. She felt so cold inside, so weak. By the living room window, she saw that a lamp had been switched on and made out her mother's silhouette, pacing around the coffee table. She had probably heard her go out; not much escaped Kurenai's vigilance, especially not a first-year Academy student, no matter how good she was.
"Where were you?" the mother asked when her daughter got to her. Hitomi was relieved that she didn't hear any accusation in her voice, only a gentle and sincere concern. To the brink of tears, she ran in her arms and nuzzled her head against her neck, where the skin was so soft, so warm. She needed this, needed it so much.
"I went to see Ensui-shishou. There's… There's turmoil in Sunagakure. Gaara's father has tried to get him killed. I'm so scared for him, Mom…" She didn't need to say more. Her mother's arms wrapped around her and held her close, with gentle strokes against her back. It soothed her a bit: her body relaxed at least, but her mind still agitated. She hated feeling so useless.
"He's gonna update you on the situation, right? You have already done the best you could by sending him Ensui, sweetheart. He already left, right?"
"Yeah… He told me it was gonna take him three to four days to get there." Hitomi knew very well how much time it took a shinobi to travel that distance. It felt so short, and an eternity at the same time. In three days, Gaara could die a thousand times. It was terrifying for her to know she had done everything she could and that it could still possibly not be enough.
Gaara would only be six in a few weeks, which meant someone had pushed the Kazekage to act earlier than planned against his son. Could it be her? What if, by stabilising him, giving friendship and tenderness, she had distracted him from the hatred that was supposed to turn him into a weapon like his father had wanted? A jinchūriki that didn't obey blindly was no use to such a man.
And yet the idea that she had even the slightest influence on a fucking Kazekage seemed preposterous. She was just a kid, for fuck's sake! She wasn't even supposed to have influence over her own family – and, yeah, okay, she had some, but only because she had developed an unfair weapon, the Stare, and not because she had real power over them. The Stare most definitely hadn't made the Kazekage even more of a fucker than he already was.
"You should try to sleep now, sweetheart. It's late and you have school tomorrow."
The girl nodded, understanding. She could have just asked for the permission to stay home, but what good would it have done for anyone? She would, in the long run, be more useful to Gaara if she didn't miss a class and tried her best to surpass her own performance every day. Staying home wouldn't bring them any benefit.
However, the next morning, she realised how anxious the whole situation made her feel. She could barely listen to what Iruka was teaching them – fortunately, listening was enough for her to never forget. She kept a hand on her communication notebook at all times just in case it would turn cold, afraid she'd miss a message if she stopped touching it even for a second. She had received one in the middle of the night: Gaara had informed her that he had found Temari and she had taken him to safety, in a disused guarding post along an old border. Now the country had spread a hundred miles further in that direction, so no one ever used it anymore. It was barely a few hours from the Sunajin Gates, so it would be easy for the two children to find Ensui there.
The true surprise, for Hitomi, had been to read that Kankurō had been included in their plans, and was helping them too. One year Temari's junior, he had just graduated from the Sunajin Academy, whereas his sister had one year of experience on the field. They were only nine and ten years old – according to Gaara, Sunagakure didn't have the same standards as Konoha about their shinobi – and yet they were brave enough to help their little brother in a time of need.
At least Gaara was in better company than she could have hoped for. Admittedly, his siblings weren't exactly the kind of strong shinobi she would have liked to guard him, but they could fend for themselves. Besides, they would bring him the kind of emotional support he truly needed. He would feel loved, cherished, more than Hitomi could ever make him feel through their letters.
And never mind her heart screaming that she should get back to Sunagakure. Never mind the feeling of emptiness, of coldness that invaded her mind when she realised how powerless she was to help him. She could at least continue talking to him, and in the long run she'd help more by being stronger, by graduating, by being free to travel through the Elemental Nations without an escort. As for the girls who glared at her because she had beaten their idol once… Well, when they'd be a real threat, perhaps she'd worry about it.
When she got back home, she was surprised to see her mother getting ready to go out, and not only to run a grocery errand. Was she already seeing Asuma or was it someone else? She didn't dare to ask. Kurenai was secretive about her feelings and her relationships.
"Ibiki-san will babysit you tonight, okay sweetheart? Ensui is away on a mission with your uncle and Yoshino is away with Shikamaru to see her family. Ibiki-san owed me a favour so… You'll be good, right?"
Hitomi quickly hid any sign of nervousness she could have let slip through the net and nodded in answer with a quiet smile, not even looking up from the book she had to finish reading before the following Monday for Iruka's class. She still had to explain the last few chapters to Naruto so he would understand them. "Yep, don't worry. Uh, before you go, could Naruto sleep here tonight? We have to study for the Academy."
It was the perfect excuse so she wouldn't have to spend the evening and the night – probably – alone under the same roof with the best interrogator from the Torture and Intelligence fucking Department. To Hitomi's relief, her mom nodded in acceptance. She closed her book and ran outside, decided to fetch her friend and come back before nightfall.
Naruto wasn't hard to convince; the two children were already working, bent over their books, when Ibiki arrived. Hitomi had to bite her inner cheek to stop herself from smiling as she caught the very discreet hesitation in the man's behaviour when he saw the young jinchūriki. It was subtle, because you didn't end up leading the Torture and Intelligence Department by throwing up your emotions in other people's faces, but still, she had seen it.
The girl hugged her mother goodbye, watching her leave the house and walk down the alley. She seemed so relaxed, so happy, eager and impatient to join her date for the night. She was so beautiful in her dark green dress, the wind playing with her hair. Glorious, really, in the sweetest way a kunoichi ever could be. When Hitomi couldn't see her anymore, she focused on Naruto, not caring one bit about Ibiki after he had greeted them both.
"So, the Elemental Nations are called that name because each of their names is one of the elements the chakra can naturally take in a shinobi's Gates. We live in the Land of Fire; the other ones are the Land of Wind, the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth. Those five are considered the most powerful on several fronts, mostly military and economic. They all have a Hidden Village, like Konoha, but other countries have ninja villages that are too small to deserve that title."
"Ah, I see!" Naruto beamed. "Do they do everything like us there?"
"Uh… No, not exactly. For example, after graduation at Konoha, Genin are paired in groups of three, each under the orders of a Jōnin-sensei. At Kumogakure, Hidden Village of the Land of Lightning, shinobi are often organised in teams of two. Sunagakure, Hidden Village of the Land of Wind, organised its ninjas by squadrons based on their skills until recently, but, at least for their Genin, they started to copy Konoha's system. They saw it was efficient during the Chūnin exams, which are public."
"Sunagakure, it's the Village where you went with your shishou, right?"
"Yeah, that's the one. Gaara, the friend I made there, would like you very much. You could be good friends! He's really sweet, just like you." Without even trying to be subtle – sometimes, manipulating from the shadows was less efficient than throwing her intentions in the face of her victims – she stared at Ibiki, whose posture stiffened somewhat in the chair where he sat. He had listened carefully to Hitomi's explanations, sometimes nodding with approval.
He cooked dinner for them as Hitomi helped Naruto with his calligraphy. He was still pretty bad at it and hadn't passed any of Iruka's tests. In the shinobi world, learning disabilities like the one the jinchūriki probably suffered from weren't at all taken into consideration. You had to follow the rhythm or be left behind. As if Naruto would ever surrender.
After dinner – which she had to admit was quite good – Hitomi took Naruto to the garden. She felt Ibiki's chakra behind her back; he had obviously decided to guard them perfectly. Maybe he was afraid of Kurenai's reaction if something happened to her friend or her. After all, if gossip was to be trusted, her mother had the reputation of being terrifying when she was crossed. She had won her Chūnin exam's tournament and had only used genjutsu from the beginning of the exam to its very end. All of that meant something in Konoha.
Darkness was falling slowly over Konoha, but that didn't bother the girl at all. She could feel Naruto's chakra; before her journey with Ensui, the boy's very proximity would have made her scream in pain, but now she could manage and only felt a wave of warmth when he stood in front of her. Her voice gentle and confident, she taught him the opening kata Ensui had taught her an eternity ago, correcting his stance again and again. She congratulated him after each bit of progress, each success, and the infinite motivation in his big blue eyes was her reward.
Later, when Naruto was in the shower, she went to Ibiki, determined. "Do you play shōgi?" she asked while looking him in the eyes.
He had a little husky laugh, a deep and gravelly sound who reminded Hitomi of Shikaku. "You really are a Nara, ain't you? Yeah, I play. Would you like a game or two?"
She nodded and went to fetch her board, settling the pieces in a few quick movements. When Naruto left the bathroom, still drying his hair, he found them both bent over the board, frowning and focused on the game. Of course, Hitomi lost that one, but Ibiki looked at her with interest as she put the pieces away.
"You have a peculiar style, d'you know that?" Ibiki asked.
"Learning to play with Nara Ensui, Shikamaru and Shikaku would do that to anyone, right?"
He laughed again then went back to his duties as the kids focused on their books again. Hitomi foresaw a test just after the weekend and it was out of question for Naruto to fail that one.