Kibaki didn't want to teach Hitomi right away. She first wanted to get a feel for the girl, to understand her better. She wanted to understand where the drive in her large red eyes was coming from and to where it could lead her. Such a gleam in similar scarlet depths had led more than one Yūhi woman to their death. Would this one end up just like the others? She had already made powerful enemies, if what Aotsuki said of that disgusting serpent-face Orochimaru was true. Snakes had a strange status in the cats' eyes: not quite prey but not quite predator either. They were enemies now, that was for certain. Cats followed the Lords and Ladies Summoners and took their adversaries on as well.

After a while, Hitomi left her guests in the garden to go get refreshments. Her gait was both lighter and more self-assured, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She stretched in the living-room and started humming a tune as she prepared lemonade for the humans and filled a bucket of fresh water for the giant cats. Her mother, who was coming back from one of her daily visits to the hospital, found her there.

"Ah, Hitomi, perfect! I wanted to see you, sweetheart, I have wonderful news. The medics say Hinata will be able to receive visits from tomorrow on. They aren't waking her up yet, so her heart can rest and get better, but she doesn't need to be in a sterile room anymore! Could I take some of your novels to read to her? They aren't sure if she can hear us, so, just in case…"

"Sure, of course you can! I'll prepare some for you to take tomorrow." She relaxed and let her mother catch her in a side-hug as she finished with the lemonade and bucket. She had been worried for Hinata, even though she had known – read – that she would pull through. Doubts had never left her: she had changed so many things in this world already, and she didn't understand how most of those changes had even happened in the first place. Who was to say that she hadn't changed the duration of Hinata's life already? Certainly not her.

"I… I guess no one from her clan will go see her…"

"Your guess is correct, alas. I was there every day and I didn't see her father even once. Only her sister, yesterday, and one of her cousins stopped her before she even reached the corridor where the sterile bedroom is. We couldn't go in, only see through the glass pane, but she looked like she really wanted to see her."

"Those bastards… What about Kiba and Shino?"

"Kiba was with me most of the time. Shino came twice but, since he's in the tournament, I told him to go train with his clan. His little brother, in Hanabi's class, came often too. A really cute boy."

Hitomi had met the kid, Sugi, and she wholeheartedly agreed. She had spent a lot of time with Shino on his clan's lands because he had a great garden, quiet and fresh, where they both liked to study. Before her generation united, it had been rare for members of one clan to welcome members from another on their land – only the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi were close enough for that. The Aburame were particularly secretive and had always been, but they hadn't been able to refuse anything to their heir, who had seemed so overjoyed to have friends in his group, too.

"I'll see her soon," Hitomi promised. "I don't think Kibaki-san will give me a lot of free time the first few days but, after that, I should be able to negotiate."

"Not if Ensui requires you then!" Kurenai teased.

Mother and daughter had a moment of shared hilarity then Hitomi went back to her hostess duties. She was right, predicting that Kibaki wouldn't give her any respite: the she-cat demanded to be summoned before sunrise so she could get to work with Hitomi as soon as she was done greeting the sun, until far after dark. When it wasn't Kibaki, Yoshino or Ensui got their hooks into her. She didn't have time to stop, didn't have time to think, didn't have time to breathe. It was perfect.

When she had time on her hands, dark thoughts came back like irons around her wrists, their acrid and bitter taste at the back of her tongue as constant as the discouraging song in her ears. She would feel the need to curl up in a corner, to be alone, but her training didn't allow for any of that. She had to be open, to communicate again and again. Her mind constantly busy, she was able to ignore her problems just a bit longer.

"Do you know why your Kekkei Genkai is called the 'Whisper'? Your ancestors called it that, because they didn't know any better word to describe the word guiding them into battle. You can only ignore its pull up to a point, right? You already lost control over it, I see that in your eyes."

Hitomi thought about the Forest of Death, about Shikamaru and the terrified look on his face, about Gaara and his sand dome. She didn't want to be reminded of it but couldn't help it, not when Kibaki was putting such precise words on what had happened to her.

"There's no miraculous way of keeping the upper hand over it. The only way you can manage is by having a stronger will, and I think you have this strength in you, or I'd have asked your shishou to seal your Whisper forever. The first step is to understand how your power works. Once your opponent is wounded, you can access their meridians through their injuries and steal their chakra. You'll have to enhance your speed and strength to use it in battle, of course. Then, after stealing even a little bit of chakra, you have two choices: send it back through their veins to kill them quickly, or keep it for use it later."

"I… I think I understand. Yoshino, who teaches me medical ninjutsu, taught me the differences between neutral, pure and normal chakra. It's the pure chakra that is stripped from the victim then sent to their veins, isn't it?"

"Yes. The affinities and other particularities in that chakra, like the potential for a Kekkei Genkai, are dormant in pure chakra. When they are mixed with blood, however, these dormant elements attack the white cells inside it. It's so violent that the blood boils right away."

Hitomi nodded, looking down at her hands. So that was what had happened… Yoshino had taught her that chakra and blood never mixed inside the body. When a living being was wounded, the meridians sealed up immediately, an innate reflex carved in the genetic code of all creatures. Forcing chakra through the veins of a human or animal was a quick, but incredibly painful death. And Hitomi… Hitomi had inflicted that upon her opponents in the forest. That idea didn't even horrify her, and she was afraid of what it said about her. She could only think two things about that: they deserved it, and she would do it again without any hesitation. Did that mean that she was bloodthirsty, or only that she wouldn't let anything hold her back when she had loved ones to protect?

One afternoon, Yoshino and Ensui dove on Hitomi in concert right as she wanted to take advantage of the emergency that had called Kibaki back to the spiritual realm to take a well-deserved shower. Her master stole the towel from her hand as her aunt took her by the arm and led her back to the garden under Asuma's amused eyes. The man was busy sharpening Kurenai's weapon so she could cook dinner; Hitomi barely had time to glare at him with a wicked smile, just enough to make him shudder, before she stood in front of the table the medic used for her teaching material.

"No time to rest, young lady!" the woman said with an utterly energic grin. "It's more than time for you to learn how to draw a stasis seal!"

"Hum… Okay?"

"Yoshino-sama's right, Hitomi. You won't ever be an excellent medic because you already have too many subjects to work on, but stasis seals will allow you to save your comrades' lives if they are too seriously injured for you to heal them yourself."

Hitomi immediately perked up, interested. Those words were enough to push her weariness back, to blow it out as surely as a candle flame. She looked down on the diagrams spread in front of her, brushed her fingertips against the old ink, noting how old the parchment was. Just another sign of her field dying. One day, she would find a way to revive it. She looked up into Ensui's eyes. Her master smiled tenderly; he was the only one who understood her fascination with the subject, the only one who knew how far she wanted to go with it.

"There are two main stasis seals. You'll learn the first, which works like a barrier around the person you want to put in that state. For the second, you'll have to wait, you don't have the skills yet. The first seal is called the Seal of Empty Sky, it's halfway between basic and corporal seals. To draw it, you don't use your ink or blood, but the blood of the person at its centre."

Her features studious, the teenage girl listened to her master's explanations. She foresaw the implications and weaknesses of such a seal, and yet, how useful it could be for her. She wouldn't ever be much of a medic, her shishou had said so. But seals? Seals she excelled at. Her priority for massive injuries wouldn't be to try and close them. It would be to stabilise and put the patient in stasis. She could leave to others the incredibly important work of saving their lives. She was so much better at bringing death than life to those surrounding her. It made sense.

During all the time she spent working on that seal, she couldn't help but see future events dance in front of her eyes. How long before she'd have to use it? She couldn't wait to be skilled enough for the second seal. Finally, as the sun was setting, Yoshino activated a storage and stasis seal scroll and a mortally wounded rabbit appeared on the table, slowly bleeding out from a wound on its belly. A few years prior, Hitomi would have frozen in horror. Now… Now she wasn't troubled anymore by blood, or by the idea of testing her skills on animals. Better them than her brothers or friends. At least she was certain that the rabbit, deeply anesthetized as it was, wasn't suffering. In silence, she dipped her fingers in its blood and started to draw her seal.

It took her ten attempts, as many rabbits and most of the night to master the seal. The symbols ran in her mind like a river, beautiful and redoubtable, full of power and wild. Each of her attempts inched closer to the perfection her mentor and aunt expected from her. They didn't look tired, so she stifled yawns and aches until it finally paid off. She touched the blood with pure chakra then watched as long red chains wrapped around the body. The rabbit stopped breathing, everything in its little body suspended in time.

"Loosen the seal," Yoshino instructed.

Hitomi obeyed and, immediately, life came back to the animal. With a satisfied nod, the medic put a hand on the wound she had inflicted herself hours earlier and mended it with her chakra. It looked so easy for her, as easy as breathing. Hitomi wished she shared this instinctive talent her aunt possessed, but she knew she never would. She could only work to become as good as she could, and accept that she didn't have predispositions for every shinobi skill.

"You were very good tonight, Hitomi-chan. Go to bed and, for once, sleep 'til noon. You deserve it. When you wake up, you'll be working with me again. It's more than time for you to learn the Mystical Palm Technique."

A rush of excitement rose inside Hitomi's mind like a tsunami and she couldn't restrain a little tremor that made Ensui laugh. He put a large and warm hand on his apprentice's shoulder – one moment later, she was in her room. The Shunshin was such a convenient technique. "Imma learn that too," she mumbled.

"If you still have time before the tournament."

"Promise?"

"Promise, sweet girl. Sleep now."

He was still there as she fell asleep but was gone when she woke up. Hoshihi was there, curled up against her back. He had found a way to put Hai in her arms, since the not-so-little kitten was nuzzling against her shoulder when she opened her eyes. She stretched, finding solace in the little aches all over her back and fingers – the mark of a work well done. She could be proud of herself, since Ensui and Yoshino both obviously were.

Like Shikamaru's mother had promised, she taught Hitomi how the Mystical Palm worked when the girl met her in the garden, in their usual spot. It was one of the main medical techniques. It excited the cells around a wound to encourage them to multiply and heal quicker. An excellent chakra control was required to use the technique: too little and it had no effect over the cells, too much and they burst instantly. Hitomi's attempts that day all failed.

The next day and all the following, Kibaki took over. The she-cat trained her relentlessly with a clear goal in mind: before she went back to the spiritual world for the last time, Hitomi had to master her Whisper for good. That was easier said than done. The girl still found keeping control with the Kekkei Genkai activate to be hard, and it was even harder when she could smell blood around her. She had attacked her feline instructor numerous times – fortunately, since she didn't belong to that plane of existence, Kibaki couldn't die because of chakra exhaustion, nor because of contact between her chakra and blood. Apparently, it was the same for all of Hitomi's cats.

"It's okay," the old cat assured her student when she almost broke down in tears after a particularly violent attack. "No one can master it in barely a week of training. You're already far better with it than I would have thought, kit. In a few days, you'll be good to go."

"I'd just… I'd just like to convince it to let me keep my wits about me…" Hitomi's voice probably sounded discouraged, but she could only hide her feelings up to a point. She was working so hard, and yet the progress Kibaki was hinting at seemed so insignificant in her eyes. The ache in her muscles and the bruises on her skin from the times when the cat shook her off didn't help her to remain confident. She hurt and was slowly starting to feel like she couldn't do it. Each time she gave into the voice, the rush of euphoria took over and blinded her, no matter how hard she fought in her mind for the upper hand.

"Come on, kit, stand up. I know you can do it. Clear your mind."

She closed her eyes and dove into her Library. She built a chakra bubble in the centre of her refuge, above the cage when her meridians' feelings floated idly. The Whisper was everywhere, in every shadow and every ray of light, in the smell of dust and old paper that comforted her so much. It slid like water in the smallest opening she'd give it, voluntarily or not and, when it reached her, it hit like a fist of killing intent, violence and exaltation. She wouldn't do any good by opposing it with sheer will, because the Whisper knew her inner strength better than she ever would.

So she ended up trying something else. She spent long hours meditating, always on the edge of the cliff, before she finally found the deep balance she needed to open herself to the Whisper without holding back. The tempting chant filled her ears as she opened her eyes, her whole body perfectly still except for that. The effort she was producing was visible in the way her muscles coiled under her skin, by the sweat on her brow. She didn't move, not even when Kibaki approached and pressed her nose against her shoulder. The cat breathed in deeply. Could she smell the changes and nuances in her once the Whisper awoke?

After that, Ensui and Shikaku weren't needed in her training anymore. She could always hold the Whisper in check now, even when Kibaki made her fight under its influence. She never lost her grip, part of her own chakra constantly muzzling her own murderous impulses if necessary. The day after her discovery, the old she-cat allowed her to steal her chakra, strange and wild, consciously. That way, she could understand what her own Kekkei Genkai felt like without getting carried away by bloodlust.

Stealing chakra hurt a lot. The energy burned as it went up her arms then bloomed as a fire of agony and relief alike inside her Gates, dilating them beyond what they were supposed to contain. She lost consciousness several times, then learned to simply deal with it. With the pain as much as the shameful pleasure that followed it like a shadow, addictive, pernicious, tainted.

"I've nothing more to teach you for now, kit," Kibaki said one afternoon.

Hitomi slowly let go of the rabbit she had used as a way to practice the more deadly aspects of the Whisper. The animal only had a little wound on its neck, splattering its brown fur with specks of red, but life had left it as surely as if the girl had cut its throat, all its blood boiled and chakra gone. It was a terrible way to die – but she had to train on something if she wanted to use her Kekkei Genkai in battle without putting her comrades in harm's way.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

The cat, titan-like and yet perfectly silent, approached and took the rabbit from where her student had let it fall in the grass. In three mouthfuls, almost all its flesh was gone. It took her less than a minute to clean the bones. "Ah… Prey tastes so much better in the physical world. If only they were bigger…"

"Kibaki-sama?"

"I heard your question, kit. I can't teach you anything more for now. There are other things you can do with the Whisper, but you're far too young and too new at it to be able to learn them. It would be a waste of both your and my time. Once you're older, I'll come back to you if you don't figure it out all by yourself. In the meantime, I'll make sure the cats contracted to you, even little Hai-chan, are trained in the Whisper's ways. They have many things to learn to adapt to your Kekkei Genkai and its weaknesses."

A spark of understanding gleamed in Hitomi's eyes. Kibaki had explained at length all the ways the Whisper could become a danger for her, especially in pitched battle. The pain as she drew chakra from her victim would most certainly force her to stay still for a few moments, which meant any other opponent would have time to kill her. Her cats would have to protect her, to defend her. They would also have to make sure, during large battles, that she didn't turn against her allies under the Whisper's influence. Their chakra would become a beacon for her, show her who to kill, who to spare.

Fortunately, such cooperation was instinctive. The Whisper would push her towards them naturally, their strange and wild chakra different enough from any human that she'd find them easily even in a crowd with her meridians alone. Hoshihi would be her main guide; she knew his chakra as well as she did hers. Kibaki had told her that, in ancient times, when the wars allowed it, the Nara often fought close to the Yūhi, just in case bloodlust made them dangerous to their own camp.

"Don't summon your cats for two days or I'll have to punish you, kit. When you call them after that, they'll be ready."

"So soon?"

"Time passes differently in the spiritual world, you know that already. Two days in your world is almost three weeks in ours. See you in a few years, kit. Take care of yourself."

Hitomi docilely said goodbye to Hoshihi and Hai, who had quickly gotten the habit of watching parts of her training, lying in a patch of light. Kibaki seemed very eager to train them. The three cats disappeared in a puff of smoke, her summons waving their tails at her. She was alone then, suddenly, with only the ghost of their warm chakra as company. Slowly, her eyes looking around the garden, she wrapped her arms around her midsection. Loneliness was already bitter on her tongue and painful on her mind.

The house was empty as well. Sasuke and Naruto were still gone, probably deeply immersed in the training regimen Kakashi and Jiraiya had planned for them. Kurenai was training Shino with his clan at this time, and Asuma was busy with Shikamaru. The Sand Siblings were training as well. Hitomi had brought this situation upon herself by forfeiting the tournament in favour of her cousin. She had to face the consequences of her actions, all the consequences. To clear her mind, she cleaned throughout the house, from the cold ceiling to the dusty attic, filled almost to the brim with toys she had loved as a child. It took her thirty-six hours, and not once did anyone walk into the house.

Then Ensui came back, looking tired but satisfied. Shikaku had sent him to accomplish a mission while Hitomi was requisitioned by Kibaki. He hadn't explained the details to his young apprentice, but she knew it was clan business. It was always clan business. She welcomed him by throwing herself in his arms and he caught her with a laugh, his large, callused hands already buried in the dishevelled mass of her hair. Her face against his torso, she breathed in as deep as she could, the scent of herbs and wood soothing her like nothing else could.

"Shikaku-sama told me you were alone in the house and had been for a while now. Wanna play shōgi?"

She nodded, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Master and student ignored this detail as they settled in the living-room, glasses of lemonade within easy reach. Their playing styles had evolved since their last game, which seemed to be eons old – barely a few days ago. Hitomi's communion with the Whisper made her more merciless, quicker to sacrifice a piece if it allowed her to save another that had her favour, while Ensui's defence had become more flexible, more adaptative. Of course, he won that game, and all the others that followed. He had almost taught her everything she knew, he knew her far too well.

He stayed in the living-room when she went to bed, giving the house a presence she needed to sleep. He ended up relaxing too: after a while, he put his weapons on the coffee table and laid down on the couch, the muscles of his neck uncoiling as a heavy sigh left him. His eyelids slowly closed down and, in his mind, he started counting seconds until he fell asleep.

It was the middle of the night when Hitomi jumped awake. Something had torn her away from sleep, and she didn't know what. Her eyes searched her bedroom, critical. The bedroom was open, and in the wind entering through it, she smelled…

Blood.

Hi! Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews. If you want more, I started writing a similar fanfic in the Harry Potter fandom. You'll find it on my profile. Just like this one, it's going to be crossposted on AO3!