10 - Bloom 咲く
an epiphany
of white; tainted, tarnished soil
smudged from green to grey
She bleeds.
Twigs crack and leaves float around her as Hisa steps back into the kata, chakra flowing through her messy form. The fan rises again, billowing red crashing down onto the ground as soil smudges everywhere. But it's her last chance. It takes a second for the kunai to whizz under her ear; she wobbles, distracted as her feet almost crash down into the rocks.
"Your taijutsu will never rise to great heights," Haru predicts again like he always does, and she believes him, knows that it's true because her body just can't bend to her will. It must be to do with chakra pathways. And then he sighs. "Of course, I will try and remedy that, but I'll have better luck with Shisui."
Her brother, in question, is toddling out, arms stretching as he attempts to improve his flexibility. "Aneki!" he calls out. "Look!"
Hisa groans, brushing her hair from her forehead and twisting around again. Her palms reach out in front of her, flat as she presses on to the tree for support.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she mutters, sotto voce. "You're great at this, I'm not."
Satisfies with this statement, Shisui grins. Both of them don't notice as Haru disappears back into the shadows, summoned on yet another mission.
Shisui chooses that moment to ask a question. "I've only seen you use your fan, aniki, isn't it better if you use your fists?"
"I'm not like you," Hisa replies, not wanting to admit that she's just weak, that she cannot in any way measure up to his training.
His voice rings out again as she falls down, her face assembled into one of annoyance. Activating her sharingan for a better view, she scans the area for the faintest presence of human chakra.
None.
Slowly, a smile appears across her face. Without warning, Hisa pulls her brother so that they're both standing under the shade of the same tree, then presses a finger to her lips.
"Hey, do you want me to teach you a technique?"
He nods enthusiastically, marvelling at the way her hands twist into the first hand-seal.
"Okay, but you mustn't tell anyone, promise?"
"Yeah!" he exclaims with another vigorous jolt of his head. "I promise aneki, I won't tell anyone!"
"Fine, now watch carefully," she orders. His eyes follow over her every move as she disappears in a puff of smoke. Her legs fumble while she runs, then they land on hard earth, far on the other side of the training grounds.
At first, he calls out, expecting her to reappear again, but those careful eyes pick her apart against the gate to the grounds.
"It's called the shunshin," she explains proudly, "The body flicker technique. I can do it for quite a far distance, but I'm still practicing."
"A teleportation jutsu? Can you go anywhere?"
"No, otouto," she sighs. "It's just being really fast, you know, so that it looks that way. Like running, but the other person can't see exactly what you're doing."
"Where did you learn that?" Shisui asks. "Do they teach you that in the Academy?"
"Yeah," Hisa says. "It's a simple technique, I'll be tested on it in the genin exam, I think."
"Can you do it without the smoke?" her brother asks curiously.
She bites her lip. "It's meant to be really hard; you have to mask your movements anyway - so there's no point. Maybe you can try when you're older."
Shisui pouts, then subsides from asking anything else. "You're not that much older than me anyway, Hisa-nee, only a year!"
"Two," Hisa corrects. Then, just as he wonders if he should make a comeback, she shunshins away, body colliding seconds later with the ground of the marketplace. Not perfect. Yet.
No-one seems to notice as she picks herself up and brushes off the dust. The atmosphere is busy, bustling at the peak time of day, when many come around to shop in markets and stalls randomly spread around the area.
Directing some chakra to her feet, she rushes past half the stalls at an enhanced speed until she finds what she's looking for. There. The sign, though hanging from its hinges, is brightly polished, and the glazed windows stretch from top to bottom. Peering inside the café, it looks around half-full, spare chairs hastily dotted around potted plants and dimmed lanterns.
A café? Has her impeccable, sharingan-aided memory failed to do what it does best - remember? In confusion, Hisa's hand strays back into her pocket, drawing out the folded note. The loopy handwriting is clear and the address is bold all the same.
She decides to go inside. A bell rings as she steps over the threshold, the customers pausing to stare at her for a second before going back to their everyday chatter. Waiting awkwardly, her eyes rest back on the painted walls and the vintage décor which doesn't really seem to keep up with the modern trend.
"Oh, hey, Hisa-chan!" Kurenai waves at her, an an apron tied loosely around her clothing.
"You work here?" Hisa asks spotting the plates in her friend's hand. "Here, let me help," she offers, picking up a few and following her to the sink.
"Yeah, well, you know," Kurenai lowers her voice, "We're not really doing so well, I guess. I'm helping out because it's much cheaper, but once I become a chūnin or a jōnin, I'll probably get much more pay."
"I thought your otou-sama is a shinobi?" Hisa questions.
"Kaa-san wants to run the shop, since one shinobi isn't always enough to support the full family. He - well, he can't go on all missions, you see, and they're relying on me to become one."
"Yeah," Hisa falters, "But then I guess we might never-"
"Oh, that reminds me!" Kurenai says brightly, "I'll be back for training in a few minutes, just wait here. I need to wash these plates and then I'll get ready."
Slowly, Hisa turns back to another waitress standing nearby. "I think I'll have a tea while I wait," she requests. "With three teaspoons of sugar, please."
After, when they're outside, worn out by training, Hisa asks Kurenai if she'll try out for the chūnin exam.
"Nope," Kurenai declines with a wave of her hand as they flop onto the grass. "I'm nowhere near that level, even if I do want to get higher pay. Possibly in a few years, but definitely not now. I mean, I'm a genin because of the war and all, but I wouldn't be if there wasn't one. I really don't think there's any chance that I'd be a chūnin for a long time."
"That's good," Hisa assures. "I mean, genin aren't necessarily sent out on the front lines, and you wouldn't want to die early, know what I mean?"
"They might be..." Kurenai answers, lost in thought. "If there's not enough chūnin...hey, your genin exam is in a few weeks, right?"
"Yeah, otou-san is making me do it," Hisa groans. "But then, I'd rather not be bored all day. I'd rather not go to school at all."
Kurenai laughs. "Wow, Uchiha. Never heard them say that one before. Wonder how your cute little brother will be like."
"Demented," Hisa huffs. "You don't know how he's like, I swear, he'd have surpassed me if I didn't have the sharingan! But then, I wish I didn't have it at all."
She does not exactly share the same sentiment when the exam finally comes, autumn shadowed by the burnt sienna leaves and the hum of cinnamon in all its glory. It is remarkably easy to pass, let alone get the highest marks, and she knows she must opt for the latter to gain Haru's approval.
Tying the silver forehead protector over her neck, Hisa feels a glint of pride, even as she recalls the few E-rank jutsu needed to complete the test. About three quarters of the class have managed to pass, the other stragglers already deemed troublemakers since years before.
That night, all is quiet except for the dim murmur of candles and the soft clink of chopsticks as they knock together. At the hitai-ate, Haru hesitates, then nods in silent approval. Shisui stares, though his fingers do not stray far as he hastily races to swallow down his food.
"Genin already, hm?" her father says, in an effort to dispel the awkwardness between them. "Good. Perhaps you should try for chūnin soon." A steely glint enters his eyes. "And Shisui - I hope very much that you'll follow in your sister's footsteps."
Clink. Clink.
Shisui exhales. "Yes, otou-san." Is he already feeling the pressure?
"We should visit Mikoto-nee," Hisa suggests, her tone clearly emphasising that there's no room for argument. "Isn't that right, Shisui?"
Her brother enthusiastically shakes his head, and Haru has no choice but to give in.
"I suppose I must make a formal visit to celebrate their baby's birth," he concedes, his face still mulling it over. "We need a gift. Something small..."
"I'll go and tell Mikoto-nee," Hisa offers, disappearing before she even gets a reply.
Haru shakes his head with a light chuckle. "That girl..."
Shisui only looks on, confused.
After they've paid their respects to the clan head (which includes no more than a simple display of homage), Shisui follows Mikoto into the nursery to find Itachi quietly sleeping.
"Aneki!" he pouts. "You pr-"
"Shush!" she quiets, clamping a hand over his mouth. "Itachi is sleeping. Let him be."
Shisui squirms a little more as he finally manages to struggle out of her grip. Mikoto laughs at their antics, then lifts the baby out of his cradle.
Later on, as the rain patters down, Haru calls Hisa into Fugaku's study. Evidently, they've been talking for a while.
"Congratulations," Fugaku proffers, as if he is anything but. "You are a genin now. A kunoichi, to hold up and represent the Uchiha clan's standards."
"Not clan heir?" Hisa blurts out. Haru's eyes flash with anger at her momentary slip-up, but he soon glasses his eyes over into blankness.
Fugaku doesn't seem to notice, even though she knows his mind calculates through every single thing he says, filing it away for another day. "Not any longer. Itachi will be clan heir, perhaps fully inaugurated when he becomes genin."
His position is secure, Hisa realises, guarded by the power imbalance between the two sexes. Only now, he has the power to tilt the scale, to tip it over until it all comes crashing down.
What if...what if it was all reversed? If Shisui had been older than her, if she'd merely been born a few years later. If it was her fault, all her fault that Mariko died.
"And later?" she asks, her throat dry. Haru gives almost a growl, as if in warning, but she cannot help the question that comes out of her lips.
"You will not always be in the public eye, Hisana Uchiha," he replies. It is the only information that he extends out to her willingly, and she knows she cannot cross another line, however young she is. After all, he feels the need to illustrate her last name, to show where her loyalties lie.
"She will turn five next month, Fugaku-sama." Haru reminds him, almost as if he is looking for some leniency in the other man.
"She must turn chūnin before seven," the clan head replies, and they both know that there is no escape.
Over the few weeks, her fifth birthday comes and goes; the only remnants of the occasion is a neat, hand-written note from Shisui, perhaps halfway close to a birthday card.
Then she's sitting on one of the Academy benches for the last time, sensei's voice booming out with majestic pride.
"Team Four - Uchiha Hisana, Akitake Satōru, Yamanaka Issei."
Huh. They're in the next class; she's probably never seen them before, or doesn't remember them. Still, at least there's a Yamanaka on her team. Not a clan heir, by any chance, but still a wonderfullly astute addition to a logically symbiotic partnership.
The other boy...her mind doesn't dwell on him too much. He can't be more than from a lesser clan, but then again - there's more chance he's civilian. She'll have to shape him up, meld him into a greater shinobi than his name provides scope for.
Surprisingly, there's no opposition from the other classes. The groups have accordingly been sorted, albeit with a bit of an imbalance, but the overall teams are somewhat fair. Each with their ups and downs.
Hisa is so focused on her team that it takes a while to realise that she doesn't know the name of their teacher yet, their jōnin sensei. Directed towards a spare classroom mere minutes later, she takes her time to scrutinise her future team members. Yamanaka Issei seems to have the same idea too.
"Hey, I'm Satōru! Nice to meet you both, I hope you'll take care of me!" the boy grins, waving a hand at them. Way too cheerful. Hisa knows she's being a little too harsh, but that smile will soon be wiped clean off his face.
"Akitake-kun," she nods in acknowledgement. The other boy's eyebrows furrow at her cold greeting.
"Uchiha...right?" the Yamanaka speaks, a slow drawl slipping along his words. Not a question - a mocking statement.
"Well...?" Hisa answers rhetorically, a small smile creeping across her lips. Satōru's eyes tilt in confusion for a second, and then his face morphs back into a beam.
"You two are clan members, right? Do you know any cool jutsu?"
"If we told you, we'd have to kill you," Hisa replies on point, her sarcasm clearly conveyed across.
With a slight tip of his blond hair, Issei nods. "My otou-san will teach me soon," he responds. "Though I don't think dear Hisana-chan would know anything yet. What are you, a baby?"
Hisa rolls her eyes as the height difference between them becomes all the more painfully accurate. "Well, at least a baby wouldn't have your arrogance and your selfishness. Get a life."
Satōru tries to calm them down. "Guys, guys-"
"I have a life, hm?"
"Guys!" they both turn to look at him, astonished at the force of his voice.
Hisa doesn't retaliate, however much it bruises her not to have the last word. Instead, she slumps down in her seat as Issei sulks on the other side. Satōru sits between them, a physical and mental barrier separating them as they try to glare daggers at each other.
Conveniently, their sensei finds it the right time to jump in from the window.
