Shifting Sands Chapter 11

The next day they packed up and Hina breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to go home. She wanted a warm shower and her bed. Oh god she missed her bed. She eagerly packed away her belongings, clearing the camp meticulously under Orochimaru's sharp gaze. Once their camp looked like no one had been there to begin with, like all traces of them were gone, they finally left.

Hina followed behind Orochimaru, trying to fill the silence with conversation. She liked to ask questions, good ones, because she didn't think Orochimaru would suffer through inane conversation.

"The Akimichi use their fat to convert energy into chakra. Is Chakra just energy? If so, where do we get it from?" Hina asked.

"That is a question that I could lecture you for hours on and barely scratch the surface."

Hina wanted to point out that they did in fact have at least two hours of walking.

"I know the basic concept. We use spiritual and physical energy, combining it and channelling it through our tenketsu system to create physical effects. I understand the energy that comes from our Yang half, the physical side. It works akin to stamina. But Yin energy… the soul, experience—how exactly does that provide energy?"

Orochimaru regarded her for a moment, and then sighed as if resigned to explaining everything instead of walking silently in peace. She didn't feel guilty. He was her sensei, so this was essentially his job, and since he was being paid for it, she had no qualms bombarding him with questions.

"There is… a mystical element to it that one cannot explain solely through science. Or at least our level of knowledge is substandard. But no, Chakra does not break the law of conservation. We understand only the basics of how chakra capacities in our bodies work, but it is produced from within us. There is give and take."

"On some level does our bodies consume fat or muscle to produce chakra?" Hina pressed.

"It does. The Akimichi have simply turned it into an art. However the capacity for chakra can be increased through physical and spiritual means, of which there is no scientific explanation… yet," he tacked on at the end.

"That's fascinating. Do Shinobi give their bodies up for science once they die? I'd love to study a cadavers tenketsu system. We didn't have any at the hospital. It was all purely living subjects there."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Orochimaru was staring right into her soul, pausing in his step. She coughed into her palms and looked at anything but him. Thankfully he decided to continue walking.

"If there's any bodies to be studied it would be an enemy Shinobis," Orochimaru said with a finality.

"Oh yeah… makes sense," she replied awkwardly.

For the first time that day, Orochimaru got his wish, and they travelled in silence.

Hina thoroughly beat herself up over the head about her earlier statement about cadavers. She'd gotten so carried away that she forgot that this wasn't her old world with a code of ethics, and substantial hoops to jump to conduct safe experiments. This was Orochimaru, someone who she suspected may have vivisected a human alive. And she'd gone yapping her mouth off about getting her hands on a human Shinobi to play around with. He probably thought she was as insane as him.

Hina submerged her head in the bathwater and screamed out her frustration. Then once she got out her mortification she emerged out into the chilling air and sighed. The hot bath was relaxing, or it should have been, but all she could think about was Orochimaru. He invaded every thought in her head like a festering petulance that demanded attention. He was strong, sure, but also way more dangerous than literally anyone else she could have gotten as a sensei. What if he decided to cut her open one day for asking too many questions? What would happen if he turned traitor, and she was hated by everyone in Konoha for being his student? What if he decided to give her a cursed hickey?

She really didn't want a cursed hickey.

She bemoaned her situation for a long time, until even Taichi was annoyed at her for hogging the bathroom for so long. She got out of the now lukewarm water with great reluctance, turning to the mirror and grimacing at her appearance. If there was one thing she couldn't get used to, it was the unnatural colour of her eyes and hair. People had green eyes in her old world, but they were earthy tones. Natural. Her eyes were bright, clear teal greens. Her hair was even worse a dark green at her roots and ending in one of the most vibrant green at the tip. She considered dying it a black or a brown, but it was the one thing that connected her to her family here. She was reluctant to change it solely for that reason. At least it wasn't pink.

"Kami, Hi-chan, are you going to live in there forever?" Taichi asked.

"I'm coming out. Give me some time to blow dry my hair!"

"Ugh you're so annoying!"

"I'm not the one yelling at me! I haven't taken a bath in weeks! Weeks!"

Hina squabbled with her brother for another few minutes until Tsukiya started crying.

"Hina! Taichi! I just got him to sleep!" Yua shouted angrily.

Hina stumbled out of the shower, hair still sopping wet as Yua grabbed both her children by the ear and twisted.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sorry kaasan!" Taichi cried.

"We're really sorry," Hina tagged in.

They were promptly let go and the siblings rubbed their stinging ears with grimaces. Yua stood over them, hands crossed menacingly. Once she got over the humiliation of being reprimanded at her age, it seemed to feel… right. She looked up and smiled at her brother and mother. Yua catching the expression, seemingly confused by her reaction to being scolded. Somehow the domesticity of this made her feel warm. Then it hit her. This was the first time her mother had actually disciplined her for something outside of Shinobi related matters.

Yua caught her expression and the emotions in her face shuttered. Without another word she stormed off, and she was left with a glaring Taichi. Her older brother pushed her aside.

"Now you've made kaasan mad and I'm about to pee myself!"

He slammed the door and Hina sighed. Tsukiya continued crying in the room next door. She ruffled her hair glaring at the floor in frustration. How was she meant to fix this?

Hina had a day to relax before she was expected to meet Orochimaru for her first mission. She decided to use it to nap for a few hours, and then went out to spend some time on herself. She hardly did anything relaxing in her life. It was always go, go, go. Never stop and think. She thought she'd go to a street food vendor, and then go buy some clothes. She didn't expect to see Kakashi and Guy in the middle of a rock paper scissors game. Kakashi was actually concentrating on watching Guy's hand movements. Just before Guy would form a fist or point out his fingers, he would change his tactic, and Guy would as well. It was fascinating to watch them do it so quickly. Kakashi closed his fist just as he hit his palm. Guy had chosen scissors.

"Ahhh not again!" he groaned loudly.

"Heya."

Both boys startled back as Hina made her position clear behind them. Kakashi recovered quickly, glaring at her as Guy held his heart in his hands.

"Hina-chan! You are so stealthy!"

"Nah, I think you two were just really into that game," she said, smiling fondly at the two boys.

Kakashi sighed. "I've wasted enough time. Now that I've played along, I have to go."

"Go where? You have another mission soon?" Hina asked.

He hesitated. So that was a no, she thought happily. She'd initially expected to spend the day alone. But Kakashi and Guy were here. It was rare now that they were all available at the same time. Mission rosters were chaotic at best.

"Oh, then we gotta go to that new barbeque place that opened up. Anyone want some grilled chicken?" Hina asked.

"That's a great idea!" Guy said, eagerly.

Hina and Guy turned to look at Kakashi with the biggest puppy dog eyes possible. If Hina layered a tiny bit of genjutsu to make her eyes seem a little more sparkly than usual, no one needed to know. Kakashi's eye twitched but he slumped in defeat not a moment later.

"Yes! Time for food," Hina said eagerly.

They walked to an Akimichi joint. Kakashi and Guy looked at her with an odd look, pulling out their wallets with furrowed brows. Hina grinned knowingly as she pulled out a black and gold card. The two boys gasped in visible shock.

"I-Is that…"

"—A free to eat voucher!" Hina declared.

Kakashi and Guy's hands twitched with reverence. The two boys were looking at it like they found actual gold. Hina had never seen Kakashi so visibly emotional.

"Free barbeque?" Guy said, mouth drooling.

"How did you come by such a thing?" Kakashi asked.

"Why, I'm a Nara of course, and I'm friends with the future Akimichi heir."

While Inoichi had never come to visit the Nara compound, the same couldn't be said for Chozo. The Akimichi heir was the only one in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio that hadn't succeeded his Clan yet. His father and mother were very much alive and continuing Clan duties.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I suppose I'm free this evening…"

The three kids entered the establishment. The waiter gave them a look that clearly read as suspicion, until Hina held out her voucher. The man blinked, taking the voucher, and inspecting whether it was a fake or not. Hina suspected he would have questioned it if it weren't for both her and Kakashi's headbands.

"Alright then, this way," he said, ushering them all into a booth.

"I've never eaten here before! Always wanted to try it," Guy said eagerly.

"I know all the best meat cuts of course. Leave the ordering to me," Hina said.

And so they got several plates of different beef and chicken cuts. Hina had a lot of fun cooking for the boys on the hotplate in front of them as several side dishes were served. She hadn't had such a ridiculously relaxing day in her life.

"So that's how I beat Obito in the most youthful spar!" Guy concluded his story.

"So Guy, I heard that your Taijutsu is becoming quite formidable," Hina said, starting up the conversation.

"Oh yewsh!" he said through food in his mouth, before gulping it down to continue "I have been training diligently! Tsusuya-sensei said if I continue, I can graduate next year!"

That would make Guy 9 years old. Far too young to be going off to war. Hina was unable to hide the displeasure on her face, but just as quickly as it appeared she flattened out her face. Kakashi must have noticed but Guy was blissfully unaware, focused entirely on eating.

Guy beamed, continuing on about how his father was drilling him in a new kata now that he'd progressed from the others. Hina ate as Guy spoke and Kakashi listened, and after a hearty meal she was done. The boys however… continued eating and eating. She wondered if they had an endless pit of a stomach.

"I heard your sensei was Orochimaru," Kakashi said, sparking conversation for the first time.

Hina tried not to let the apprehensive look on her face give her away. She nodded uncertainly at Kakashi.

"A Sannin! To have such an established Shinobi such as Orochimaru as your sensei in your springtime of youth! Truly a blessing," Guy said, hugging her.

Hina laughed nervously as she pried the dramatic boy off her side. She turned to Kakashi who was regarding her with his keen eye. She sighed. First thing she would train with Inoichi and Shikaku the next time she saw them was her ability to control her facial expressions. It was an essential skill for Shinobi she didn't have. She had two modes; expressive, and her customer service face. It was fine in her old world, but right now it would do her no good. Kakashi would catch her on her lie, so there was no point hiding how apprehensive she was about Orochimaru.

"He's strong for sure… but I don't know about him. Maybe I just need time to get used to his… quirks," she settled on saying.

In truth, she wished she had Kushina as her sensei. Not that a Jinchuriki would have been allowed a Genin team either way. Having an Uzumaki who was taught by Mito herself would have been a boon. She knew Kushina had deigned Minato fit to be taught her Clan's sealing techniques, so it wouldn't have been a stretch to say she could have taught her Genin too. But Hina wasn't her Genin. She had limited access to Minato, and therefore limited access to Kushina. She doubted the red head would accept a random civilian child with average chakra reserves to learn her chakra exhaustive Clan Sealing techniques.

She could have none of that now. Instead she was stuck with a snake who could very well give her a cursed hickey and ruin her reputation in the village. She was at the beginnings of a very precarious position, one she tried not to think about too much, because if she did it sent her into a panic. It wasn't bad enough that Orochimaru was a mad scientist maniac, but he also worked with the biggest internal threat to Konoha.

Danzo…

Another maniac who abused children, made them kill each other, and sent people to their deaths without any mercy or thought to their humanity. Hina was suddenly very glad she personally knew and kept in touch with Shikaku. She wasn't some no-name orphan they could whisk away and turn into the perfect pawn. She had people who would miss her, who would question her disappearance. That didn't negate the fact that she was sure Danzo wouldn't appreciate her presence. Orochimaru was part of ROOT proper. No doubt she was keeping him away from mission roster now that he had to take care of a weak little Genin.

"Minato-san is also an upcoming Hokage-hopeful, isn't he? Trained by Jiraiya-sama himself." Hina said, changing the subject.

"He's nothing like that toad Sannin," Kakashi said with unhidden distaste.

"You've talked to Jiraiya before? What about Tsunade?" Hina asked.

If she was being a little honest, she was a little jealous of Kakashi. He had access to Minato, Jiraiya and most importantly Kushina. The chance to learn the flying Raijin would be way cooler than getting a cursed seal that would compromise you as a person and degrade your mental health.

She shook her head. She couldn't keep worrying about that stuff right now. Orochimaru wouldn't defect until much later and it wouldn't be until after Minato was dead and gone. She had time, limited as it was, to be prepared for whatever it was Orochimaru could do to her. She didn't think it was enough time to be as powerful as the strongest Sannin. She didn't give him that title lightly either.

"You're lucky though. Minato-san is so—"

She blushed as she turned around to see both him and Kushina by the door. She hoped to Kami they hadn't heard her almost fawn over the pretty man. She melted into her seat for a moment as Guy gave her a confused look, and Kakashi rolled his eyes. Hina knew Kushina when she saw her. That red hair was iconically Uzumaki of her. Now that Hina got a good look at Kushina's face she was surprised by how pretty the woman was.

Minato was a little cooler looking, in the manly kind of way, but Kushina looked simultaneously youthful and stunning. The red hair was admittedly cool too. Hina wanted to pass away. There was no reason for her eyes to be blessed by such beauty. She was pretty sure either of them could have had a more successful career as professional models than Shinobi.

"Oh Kakashi! What a nice surprise to find you here gaki," Kushina said, bounding over to ruffle the annoyed white-haired boy.

"Kushina," he said, exasperated.

Though if one looked closely, they'd notice a tinge of fondness to his tone. Hina smiled as she realised, he hadn't stopped her despite his protest. If she did something as audacious as ruffle Kakashi's hair he would probably have pummelled her into a mush. Kushina must have been one scary lady to have tamed Kakashi.

"Introduce us to your friends," she chastised.

Kakashi let out a long-suffering sigh before relenting. "This is Suzuki Hina, and Might Guy."

"You are Kakashi's youthful senseis?!" Guy asked, standing up to eagerly shake both Minato and Kushina's hands.

The red headed woman let out a startled laugh but seemed to somehow match Guy's energy. She smiled with sharp canines. A bit of the fox in her, Hina wondered curiously. It reminded her that this was a Jinchuriki, a human sacrifice. What an unsavoury term for victims of their village's greed.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Suzuki Hina. N-Nice to meet you Uzumaki-san," she said, feeling her heart skip a beat.

"Polite and adorable," Kushina noted.

Her adorable? Hina thought her face must have been the same colour of Kushina's hair. She had a weakness of pretty boys and girls. It didn't help that Kushina was incredibly physical with her affection, picking Hina up and squishing her face into her chest. Hina thought she could die happy now. Was the world spinning or was that just her?

"Alright Kushina, I think you've had your fun," Minato said, prying Kushina off Hina.

Hina felt her soul leave her body as she sunk back into the seat next to Kakashi who was sending her a judgmental look. Kushina and Minato decided to invite themselves to her table now too.

"I didn't know a Genin salary could pay for this," Kushina noted.

"Hina-chan had vouchers to eat here for free!" Guy piped in.

"Hahaha yeah, perks of having Chozo-san as a pseudo uncle," she said grinning widely.

"Oh no fair. I want him as my uncle now too," Kushina whined as she scooted over Guy to sit next to him.

So that was how the party of three became a party of five. Hina wasn't complaining. She would pay for the couple just to be graced by their beauty. Seriously, good eye candy was hard to come by. When Minato casually put his arm over Kushina, Hina nearly choked.

"Kami, they're so pretty together," she swooned.

Kakashi whacked her over her head, forcing her out of her fangirling state. She held her throbbing head and pouted his way, but he ignored her, somehow eating a bite before she could get a look at his face. Taking her good senses as an opportunity to get what she wanted, she looked over at Kushina with the biggest puppy dog eyes she could.

"Kushina-san, you're an Uzumaki right?" she asked.

There was a glint of wariness suddenly in the woman's deep blue eyes, but as quickly as it came it left. Her hands moved to touch her hair, but she stopped herself before the subconscious tick became even more noticeable.

"That's right!"

"You must be amazing at sealing. There's very little in the library in way of information. There's basic explosion tags, but I think they just expect us to get very good at copying the seals," she said.

Kushina blinked up in surprise. "You actually want to learn sealing?"

Was that really a surprise? Hina thought sealing was one of the most versatile and underrated Shinobi arts. It had so many varied effects and was essentially jutsu that could break several rules of physics when done properly. Heck the Flying Raijin let someone teleport. Both Tobirama and Minato were the only ones to ever be able to crack that code, and it wasn't easy to just replicate an existing Raijin seal. It had as much to do with your own chakra as it did the enemies, unlike a basic explosive tag anyone with enough training could replicate.

But beyond the teleportation, she was curious about sealing her own mind or memories. The mindscape was something she'd been trying to enter for a long time. The level of meditative resonance one needed to enter that space was difficult, and many had been unable to get to that stage even after a lifetime of practice. Seals were known for keeping things in, but what if one could be opened up. Sealing could help her properly access her memories without a Yamanaka invading her mind. Not only that, but Kushina could summon the goddamn Shinigami. She had no doubt it would be incredibly difficult to get the sealing technique from the woman. Heck it had been so secret even Orochimaru didn't know about it. The only reason Minato learnt was because he was essentially family to Kushina, and therefore worthy of the Uzumaki Clan's deepest secrets.

Now if only Hina could have married Kushina…

"I love learning new things, especially challenging sciences," she said.

"A certified paper ninja," Kakashi said, although it was clearly not a compliment.

"Sure am," Hina agreed, unashamed.

Kushina hummed, but sadly didn't seem convinced, at least until Minato reassuringly held her hand. Hina nearly squealed at how cute they were. Thankfully she didn't because Kushina sighed and looked at her with a smile.

"Alright kid, sure. I'll help you learn some basics."

Hina nodded eagerly. She was certain she could have just asked Orochimaru for the basics, but it felt weird to go to a murderous psychopath for more lessons than she needed to. Kushina was pretty and more her vibe anyway.

"I'll drop Kakashi some reading material, and if you have any questions, come find me."

So it was more of a hands-off approach. She could take that. The woman just met her, and Shinobi were notorious for hiding their techniques to anyone but their students. She didn't expect one conversation to have Kushina open the depths of the Uzumaki Clan Sealing Techniques to her… although that would have been so nice.

"It takes time and dedication to learn sealing techniques," Minato warned.

"I love learning," Hina said.

It was the truth and nothing but the truth.

Minato looked at her oddly for a moment. "You really do resemble your sensei."

Somehow, she didn't know how to take that. She picked up a piece of fried pork and bit into it to ignore that little comment. She was nothing like Orochimaru. She would never be anything like him. Hina was her own person, and not to mention, definitely not a psychotic mad scientist. Maybe she'd never be like Orochimaru, but it wouldn't hurt to try and make him a little more like her.

She had managed to do the impossible after their feast. Hina managed to get both Kakashi and Guy to play in a park like normal kids without having them break out into ridiculous challenges or spar each other until they collapsed. Just three children playing on a swing set, challenging each other to go as high as possible, until Guy went and ruined it by somehow managing to do a loop de loop on a swing set, flinging himself into a nearby tree. Kakashi burst out into laughter, and Hina followed as she helped up the poor sore kid. She grinned happily at the two boys, wishing for this to become normal one day. She wanted to see them just being kids, enjoying their childhood, mucking around and laughing. But all good days came to an end and Might Duy came to pick up his son as both Kakashi and Hina waved their goodbyes.

Hina went home feeling incredibly sleepy. She'd eaten a little too much, but it was totally worth it to see Guy and Kakashi genuinely happy for once. They trained too much and did work kids their age shouldn't have to do. They were only eight years old. This was an age where they should have been running around playing with hot wheels and bay blades, or whatever the equivalent of that was in this world. Hina couldn't give herself that same excuse. She died when she was 35 years old, young, but not a child. She had experienced a normal childhood, made friends, found herself a boyfriend and broke up, went to high school and graduated college. She'd partied and got shit faced with her friends, and then spent hours working hard at her job for a pay raise. She'd found true love only to lose it. She couldn't remember the details, but deep inside she knew she'd experienced it all.

So why was she still alive?

By all means she should have stayed dead, or if this body really was her reincarnation, she shouldn't have remembered another world and another life. It was unnatural. Wrong. She'd ignored the feeling for as long as she could, but looking down at her baby brother in his crib, she wondered if by any chance he was like her. It made her stomach drop in anticipation. She held out a finger and the baby grabbed back, bright green eyes looking curiously up at her. Back when she'd been a baby she thought she'd go insane. It was like being trapped in a tight space with her thoughts all jumbled, unable to do anything but cry in distress at her situation. She couldn't even sit up. She briefly wondered if she'd blocked out the trauma from those years immobile and delirious in her undeveloped baby form.

"Tsukiya… nod if you understand me. Do you remember a past life too?" she whispered to the baby.

Tsukiya blinked owlishly back at her. Hina held her breath, waiting for something, anything. Nothing happened. Her baby brother started sucking on her finger he'd grabbed, and she melted. Hina picked him up and held him close. She'd never had a kid before. It was a good thing since the child would have been young when she'd passed away. She recalled that she'd been busy with work. All she could remember was work. She remembered her job in vivid detail, but she never remembered the faces of her coworkers, let alone the faces of her family and friends. But she did get the vague impression that they weren't around much, that she'd been overworking herself day and night before she died. Chasing after something desperately, that probably didn't matter anymore.

There was a knock on the door. Hina went down to take it. She opened the door to be met with a mission scroll laying on the ground in front of her. Her first mission. The start of her new career. Tsukiya made grabby hands, but for once she didn't indulge him. Instead she put him down on his raised chair and opened the scroll.

Mission Rank: A

Objective: Ensure key trade ports and areas of interest are sabotaged and destroyed for potential use in the future.

Risk Factors:

Encounters with Bandits and Shinobi: Anticipate a high likelihood of confrontations with both bandit factions and rogue Shinobi during the mission. Implement strategic measures to mitigate potential threats.

Hostile Wildlife in the Land of Frost: The mission area is inhabited by predatory wildlife, including Giant Wolverines and Silver Taloned Wolves.

Geography: Ensure all Shinobi are equipped with appropriate attire for freezing temperatures and carry long-term provisions to navigate encounters with predatory creatures. Additional climbing gear and survival equipment made for snowy weather will be provided for at the mission desk prior to deployment.

Mission Deployment: Assemble at North Gate 12 at 0600 hours in 10 days for deployment. Proceed to Shimogakure and employ any means necessary to eliminate one key outpost and five trade ports. Civilian casualties are deemed acceptable in the pursuit of mission success. Further directives will be provided by our contact at Tankakuhi Village Dam.

Key Targets:

1. South-East Checkpoint into Kumogakure

2. Tankakuhi Village Dam

3. Kakuhi Village Dock

4. Naruhito Trading Dock

5. Sansohara Shipment Dock

6. Southside Railway Track

Hina rolled up the scroll, feeling a little lightheaded. An A-Rank as her first mission. She ignored the tugging on her arm. It felt like the world closed in on this small scroll, a heavy weight lodged in her hand. She tried to swallow but her throat felt dry. This didn't feel right. Something was very, very wrong.

Did someone want her dead?

"Hina!"

She blinked and turned to her right to see Taichi standing there, frowning at her with worry. She blinked herself back to reality.

"Are you okay? You weren't responding."

"Yes… yes, I'm okay. What do you want?"

"The shutters. Kaasan asked for you to close them since we've finished up for the day," he said.

"Yes… yeah, I'll do that," she said, taking in a deep breath.

Taichi stopped her, holding her hand and frowning. He put a hand on her forehead and Hina blinked slowly.

"You're not sick, are you?" he asked.

It meant more than that. Taichi had seen her faint in fits of fever from her chakra imbalance. She had only just recently been recovering well enough to be considered healthy. He worried twice as much as her parents did, and Hina would have thought it was cute if he genuinely wasn't traumatised by her poor health. She sent him a reassuring smile, even though the worry hadn't entirely left her.

"No I'm fine. Promise okay."

He didn't believe her. Instead he got her an ice block from the fridge and sat her down.

"I'll close down shop. You go to sleep."

Hina held his hand this time to stop him. She felt immensely out of her depth suddenly. It was just really hitting her that she'd signed up to be a soldier in a war. Her first mission wasn't something inane like a D rank where she'd pull weeds out of garden beds. It wasn't even a couriers job where she'd potentially encounter a bandit or two. This was an A rank mission, something seasoned Chunins and Jounins attended. It wasn't something a green horn Genin would be assigned to. She could die from this so easily. This could be the last time she saw Taichi.

"Can… can you braid my hair?" she asked him.

Taichi cast an odd glance her way but acknowledged with a nod. "You don't like it braided."

"I do now."

He smiled, and she smiled back. There was an unease in her stomach, a trembling in her arms. Like adrenaline had spiked from a feeling of impending death. She wondered if she would ever get used to it.

A/N

Just a little bit of levity before shit hits the fan for real. Also I've posted art up for this in AO3, under the same story name, and author name Jaz_hop.