Shifting Sands Chapter 20

Hina entered like a thief in the night. The light tap of her feet creaking along with the natural sounds of old weathered wood. The estate was aged, but well-maintained, and though it was sizeable enough for a noble it was nowhere near the opulence of her employer. She cleared her mind, taking in deep breaths as she moved as silently as she could. The footsteps of servants caught her ear, and from there all she could was the sound of her own heartbeat as she spun to hide behind a wall. She winced slightly as one of the servants turned to look in her direction. She was out of her depth here. She'd been extensively trained in fighting, but stealth lessons had been something a little more theoretical in school. They'd never had to actually practice it since it was something Genin weren't expected to do anyway outside of the bare minimum subtlety in the field, especially during wartime.

The servant girl left for a good minute before Hina felt comfortable sneaking into the kitchen. She pulled out the vile and held it over the water source. This was the easiest way to go about things. She'd simply slip it in, then the poison would do its work, but anyone else who drank from it would die too. Sloppy work for a Shinobi… but more importantly it was completely unethical. Well—murder was unethical in general, but she'd come to accept that part of her career. But there was a difference between killing another Shinobi in battle and poisoning a civilian in the safety of his own home. Her fingers shook as she moved to drop death into their food.

"Hanitsumi, I forgot the master's pickled plum. I'll bring that along with the tea."

Catching the servant girls sudden entry into the room, Hina ducked away and into the pantry's corner. The servant girl went about setting up her master's meal and Hina wondered what kind of punishment awaited her should this mission succeed. There were two lives being ruined here today. She grit her teeth, breathing in deeply as she decided to do something stupid. This girl didn't deserve to be blamed for her and Konoha's greed. As long as Konoha couldn't be obviously tied back to this murder it shouldn't matter, and honestly Hina was feeling petty enough to want Danzo's sick plans to fall apart if it came down to it. She couldn't fail her mission, but she darn well could make Danzo's and Orochimaru's life harder for pulling shit like this on her.

Swiftly she moved behind the girl, hitting the back of her neck and knocking her out. It was laughably easy. The civilian dropped like a sack of potatoes and Hina was amazed by how weak and prone to death they were. Was this how easily a Shinobi could take advantage of her own family? Shaking away those distracting thoughts she began to bound and gag the girl, leaving her in the pantry for the servants to find later. It would be obvious that she was impersonated now, but that left one less victim for her to regret in the future.

Hina studied her appearance for a brief moment, taking in the details of her outfit as best she could before transforming into her. The illusionary side of Henge was something she was pretty good at since it technically was Genjutsu. It was one of the things the academy had graded her the highest on. She used this to make her way into the Nobles home, grabbing the tea and pickled plum like the girl had broadcasted earlier. She walked quickly through the halls, avoiding as many of the other servants as she could. She knew where the master's room was, but she'd missed one turn and had to backtrack for a moment in her haste. The walk felt like one of the longest she'd ever done, and it had only taken a minute.

Standing before his door was not any better. Hina knelt in front of the wooden entrance, knocking twice on the side. Then when he acknowledged her, she opened the sliding door, holding back a grimace as she was met with the brightly lit interior of his dining room. The man in front of her was slightly above average in his looks, only heightened by the finery of his clothes, but he looked happy. His wife, she presumed was sitting next to him, smiling softly as she picked up a sweet to eat. Hina found her gaze transfixed on the man's child, a small toddler of maybe 3 or 4 sitting on his lap. She felt disgusted by herself as she slipped the poison into a singular cup as she approached him and began placing the cups in front of each of them. It took everything in her to stop the trembling in her hands, or to focus on what the man was asking when all she could hear was the static in her ear.

"After the election, I think we should take Yuto to the koi gardens. You know how much he loves the fish," the woman said.

Her target looked pleased with the idea, despite the worry showing on his face. Hina saw him glance briefly her way before she lowered her gaze and began pouring his tea for him. If she had been in a better state of mind, she might have noticed how he stopped himself from talking sensitive information with his wife due to her presence, or that the maid who had been serving them earlier stopped picking up the plates. It was only pure instinct and adrenaline that allowed for Hina to dodge a kunai to her throat.

All in an instant, the cup she had poisoned was shattered, a flash of light startled her out of her sight and Hina dismissed her summon as a kunai embedded itself into her arm. A sudden weight crashed into her, slamming her back down onto the table beneath her as she blinked back her sight. The startled sounds behind her were droned out by the terror of having a larger foe, dig their knee into her abdomen. She couldn't maintain her Henge, and for once she was glad of the ROOT mask covering the sheer terror on her face as she was pinned with a knife to her throat.

"You should really brush up on your situational awareness. Now mind telling me what Village sent you here to die?" the woman asked.

Hina was stumped. How had she not noticed another Shinobi in the room? This woman was clearly strong. There was no doubt about it. The killing intent she sent her way made Hina's knees wobble. It took a considerable amount of determination to keep a straight face and not pathetically cry out in terror as the blade drew blood from her neck.

"An Assassin," the man breathed out, his voice wobbling slightly.

"Well Shiro-san, that's why you hired me isn't it?" the Shinobi on top of her said, with a particularly satisfied smile, before she turned her attention back to Hina, using her free hand to unmask her.

"A child?!" the wife said in disbelief.

"Don't let her baby face fool you. She had poured poison into your cup, the one you like to share with your son. Would have killed the both of you without blinking an eye because she's Konoha-spawn. Am I right?"

Hina didn't say anything. Mostly because she was contemplating her life right now. All 8 years of this life, that was. Of course she was going to die here on her first botched assassination attempt. She'd died choking on vegetables on her previous life. This was marginally more understandable of a death. She probably deserved this one for nearly killing a father and his barely 4-year-old child.

"Give me a verbal confirmation of your allegiance and I might consider letting you go kid. I don't take pleasure in killing baby Genin," she said.

It was clearly a lie, but the part of her that wanted to live and was driven purely by survival instinct almost had her blurt out she was from Konoha. Hina kept quiet though, because if she was going to die anyway, she could go with some dignity at least. Instead she let out a defeated sigh and lay her head back on the table.

"Wow, this is just pathetic. You wanna die that badly kid?" the woman asked her.

"If you're going to do it, then do it. Don't make this more embarrassing than it already is," Hina groaned.

The part of her that was raised by Nara had her reconsider her work and time spent struggling like this. Was this all her life amounted to? Clearly all the effort she put in wasn't worth shit if this was how she died. It was all… troublesome. But in some way Hina knew if she died here, it wouldn't be too bad. Clearly, she'd made all the wrong decisions she could in her short 8 years of life, and considering how she was about to kill an innocent civilian and potentially a toddler, maybe she didn't deserve to keep going… maybe all that awaited her was more and more horrible decisions. For a brief moment death seemed like the moral choice to make.

But she wanted to live. She wanted to see Kakashi again, wanted to race Guy, and tease Taichi, and hold Tsukiya. She wanted to keep living, because she'd struggled for so long, just to get a glimpse of happiness with all of them.

"Sensei!" she cried out.

There was a brief moment of silence before the window to her right was flung open and the weight off her chest was knocked away. She gasped as she turned to see Orochimaru now holding the woman up by her neck, his sword through her chest. It was all so impossibly sudden, and she was too disoriented to really feel bad for the lady or the mother screaming in terror as she held her crying child. Orochimaru simply dropped the woman's body on the floor, as her stomach spilled out and she spat out blood. Hina could not stop looking at the sheer terror on her face, all of the bravado from before gone. Then Orochimaru's disappointment turned to her, and she felt her stomach drop. He picked up the woman's knife and turned to the man.

"Shiro, was it? This could have been entirely painless for you and your family. Looks like your hired help was useless though. Kiri… really?" he asked.

"Anything is better than bowing to you Konoha scum. All you've done is exploit, murder, and starve our people for a war we have no part in," Shiro hissed.

"A few years of hunger suffered in silence could have kept you and your family alive. Your kind really shouldn't be testing our patience," Orochimaru said nonchalantly as he threw the kunai.

Hina turned their way, expecting to see a knife lodged through the Noble man's heart, but instead it stuck in the toddler's head. The mother holding her child screamed but her distress was cut short before Hina could blink an eye. Her head dropped to the floor, clean and concise. She stopped breathing as the man looked on with pure horror at his dead wife and child. No sound came out of his mouth but a muffled sob, as if he couldn't quite understand what had just happened.

"W-Why?" the man asked, voice completely broken.

"I thought you'd appreciate how quick I ended it for them. Don't worry, I'll afford you a painless death as well," Orochimaru said before pulling the knife out of the fallen toddler's head and pushing it deep into the man's chest.

After that Hina could barely think, let alone remember where she was until suddenly, she was outside in the frigid cold once again. Orochimaru was in front of her startling her as she jumped back to get away from him. Then all the numbness she felt from before left with nothing more than a jumble of confusing emotions. Had her hands always been shaking?

"Why didn't you simply poison the pot? Did you think you were smart enough to waltz into a noble-man's room as a servant girl without any prior spying? They all have security on them, and their servants are trained to present themselves a certain way in case a Shinobi impersonates them," Orochimaru said.

Hina could barely hear his admonishment over the images of the brutal murder in her mind. How could he have killed a family like that without blinking an eye. That boy was a baby, a small child. He was only four years younger than she was…

Oh.

It hit her that she was eight. To everyone else in this world she was a third grader. Someone who should be in elementary school. Killing her was as mundane as killing a baby or a toddler. Orochimaru probably killed many children before this one. Had Minato? Had Shikaku? Had she been surrounding herself with people who wouldn't blink an eye killing a civilian child? Had she been humanising people like Fan who were already irredeemable?

"Did you sustain a concussion?" Orochimaru asked, his hands now on her forehead.

Hina slapped him away and took a step back. He tilted his head in confusion before understanding sparked in his eyes. Instead of explaining himself or getting angry he simply smiled. That smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Did I scare you?"

"Y-you just killed them… no hesitation, no remorse," she said.

"I cried the first time I did it, you know," he said.

The suddenness and lack of any hesitation from his admission caught her off guard. Instead of threatening her or getting mad, he simply took a step forward, ignoring her need for space. His hands went back to checking her for injuries.

"H-How could you just—they were just a child," she said.

"They weren't really anything. Just another body that would have eventually died. You will be as well, if you continue this pathetic display for long…" he said, trailing off as he looked in the direction of the dead bodies.

Then, I'll personally put you down myself, his eyes seemed to say. Hina buried her head in her hands and tried not to feel comforted when Orochimaru put his hand on her head.

"Don't worry, it gets easier. Or you just realise it's always been easy," he said, before pulling away. "I won't punish you for your mistake since it was your first time trying. But we will be practicing on a smaller scale. I'll scout for some bandits on the way to get you started."

He said it like they were hunting for deer. Like human lives were simply something to play with. Hina was too numb to fight back. Shinobi were monsters, she came to realise.

So what did that make her?

The ROOT mask had no right to be such a comforting presence on her face. It seemed to detach her slightly from the reality of her situation. Orochimaru had gone back and meticulously changed the crime scene to make it look like the Kiri Jounin killed the family and then herself out of some sort of shame. Anyone with eyes could have told you that it was clearly not her doing. But in reality, as long as nothing was tied back to Konoha, it didn't really matter if Shinobi in general were blamed. Conflicting word of mouth on the changes to the crime scene would also add a lair of suspicion and confusion on what exactly happened. According to Orochimaru, that meant civilians who didn't get the full story would simply keeps spinning tales of their own until the truth would mean very little.

And Hazubeki won, being the only default treasurer to take over Shiro's position after his murder. The filthy rapist kept his position, power, and money, and Hina couldn't wash her hands clean from her complicity in this mission. She felt like a piece of shit as she stood outside the filthy man's room. She had been content to stay out of any mission briefing and let Orochimaru talk to the man. She simply remained outside where she could pretend she didn't exist for a moment. Or that's what she wanted to do when the woman from before, the one she hadn't lifted a finger to save from her tormentor, came down the hallway holding a tray of food. Hina wondered what she was still doing here, and then caught the angle of her robes, how it revealed bare breasts underneath and she felt sick all over again.

"Oh it's you," she said, eyes staring with a kind of tiredness that betrayed little else.

Hina hesitated for a moment. "Why… why do you not run?"

"What's the point? So my master can hire one of you to hunt me down for my disobedience?" she asked.

The words cut her deeply. Hina struggled to find some solution to this problem. "But slavery isn't allowed. There has to be some kind of way to bring him to court."

The girl laughed this time, hollow and mocking. "The rich and powerful can simply do what they want with us little people, and there's nothing we can do about it. Not when monsters rule the world. There's only three options little girl, die, suffer, or become one of them. Choose your pic. Now let me pass, I don't want to talk to you unless you plan on killing me."

Hina stepped aside, too ashamed to offer any form of comfort or justice herself. What was she meant to do? She was just a dumb genin, a child despite her years of life before, too weak to manage any meaningful change, and too complacent to strive for it. So as the woman went to serve her rapist, all Hina could do was stand by and let it all happen. She found herself spiralling in her thoughts until she noticed Fan right in front of her. The woman's dark hair curtained over Hina almost protectively. Through the blank mask, betraying no emotion, was the smallest tilt of her head asking her silently if she was okay. Hina shook her head, trembling hands grabbing onto Fan's flack jacket as she allowed her tears to stain the mask she wore.

"A Shinobi must show no weakness," Fan reminded her.

"I'm a terrible Shinobi," Hina said through a sob.

"Similar to building callouses on your fist as you punch the sand, the pain grows duller with every kill. It is a natural instinct born of human weakness, one that must be hammered out through every life we take, be it by our hands or others."

Fan spoke like someone repeating a phrase they had heard many times before. Despite everything, despite the horror of how inhumane the people she was surrounding herself with were, all Hina could think was how much easier it would be if she didn't feel like this. There was no way out of her position. The death that would follow was a death keeping her family safe and out of the way of Danzo. The thought of Tsukiya with a kunai lodged into his head made her throw up in her mouth.

"Orochimaru-sama has tasked me with teaching you how to cull lives. I've scouted traitors to Konoha by the merchants route, smuggling resources into Frost. It is permitted for us to kill traitors and criminals so there will be no protests for any change to our mission course. Follow me."

"R-right now?" Hina asked, breath shaky.

"It is better to get used to these things early and before word of Shiro Kuroseki's murder takes wind to his followers. Don't worry, I will ensure your safety throughout the attack. You simply focus on your task," she said.

Hina found herself following after Fan, leaving the mission with Orochimaru. She felt drained and yet too jittery to ever consider sleeping. The killing from the few hours prior was still fresh on her mind and Hina wasn't sure how Fan expected her to commit cold blooded murder right after witnessing such a thing. Suddenly she wasn't so sure if she had what it took to be a Shinobi anymore.

The trip to the warehouse by the merchant's road was out of the way from the Nobility's quarters in the Rice Village, being situated somewhere in the outskirts of town. There was no large wall surrounding Rice Village like there was in Konoha. Rather farms of all kinds were scattered around the outer corners with smaller smithy's, bakeries, and other common stores situated in the middle. Yet there was only rudimentary electricity and technological amenities here, compared to Konoha. The warehouse was one of the smaller ones she had seen, and they stopped outside the entry way, perched on top of a tree.

"Two targets guarding the entrance below. We will take them out first," Fan noted.

Hina found herself shaking her head. "I-I can't Fan. I don't think I can take a life."

Fan ignored her comment and continued on. "To complete your mission as assigned by your superior Jounin, you must kill each and every one of them. I will aid but cannot take their lives."

"Fan you're not listening!" Hina said in frustration.

"Show me your conviction," Fan demanded.

Her voice had gone cold, any semblance of empathy drained out. Hina clutched her katana tightly, hesitating to make the leap.

"Don't think, just do," Fan ordered.

Then she pushed her off the tree. Hina careered to the ground but caught herself from crashing last minute and saw the startled expression of the two guards in front of her. She panicked. Every lesson she'd learnt in the Academy advised to never let a guard alert the others.

She shot forward in a mad dash, pulling out her katana and slicing through the man's neck. The other made a strangled sound which was promptly muffled. Hina looked at the guard gasping his last breath beneath her feet and then turned around to see Fan deadlocking their secondary target. The terror in his sea green eyes seemed to reflect hers. She shakily pulled the blade to his chest, letting out a few ragged exhales as she tried to remember where the heart was. A quick stroke was all that was needed, just like she'd learnt in the Academy. Hina pictured the dummy and then she plunged the blade in. Fan held the dying civilian in a tight hold until his groaning ceased.

"There are about 8 more left," Fan said.

Hina couldn't stop the way her breathing had turned harsh as the blood from her blade slowly dripped down onto her palms. She tried to grab the hilt tighter as the katana slipped from her shaky fingers. Fan put a hand on hers, squeezing it and forcing Hina to keep the blade firm.

"Don't think," she said.

All she could do was think. Think about the terror and the blood, and how she'd just taken two lives in the span of a minute. How easily her blade had pierced into flesh and bone. But Fan was unrelenting, grabbing her by her arm and running up the warehouse walls to the window above. She opened it slowly, dragging Hina behind her onto the support beams up top.

"Use your shuriken. It is easier to take them out from the shadows. The rest we will finish before they can run."

Hina fumbled at her pack on her thighs pulling out the sharp throwing blades. Her hands were trembling, and she wasn't sure how exactly she was meant to kill someone when she couldn't even breathe properly. A near hysteric laugh nearly left her throat but Fan was there to grab the back of her neck, locking her in place. The threat of violence in some unusual form had her snap back to reality. She couldn't afford to mess up again.

Orochimaru-sensei would be disappointed.

He'll kill you.

They're all just pigs to the slaughter.

"T-they're just pigs," she whispered, gripping the shuriken so hard her palms bled.

Just pigs.

She repeated the mantra a dozen time and then nodded. Fan withdrew her hand and Hina began raining down murder onto the unsuspecting people below. Three fell almost immediately, another injured as the shuriken ripped through his tendon, nearly severing his feet from his leg.

"Go on. The rest should be easy pickings," Fan said.

Just pigs

Hina jumped down and pulled out her katana once more. She felt her vision blur with tears as she began slicing through the men one by one, easily blocking their weak attacks. They used pitchforks and scythes. Farmers, she thought in horror. They were farmers. She was slaughtering innocent hard-working folk who just wanted their work to be a reward to their family instead of feeding the war machine.

No they were just pigs.

The last man alive was on his back, crawling away from her. He was crying and begging. Hina hated that she was crying too, like she deserved to feel any form of pain when she was the one committing such horrors.

"P-please I have a son- I have a wife! Please don't take me from them. They'll starve," he begged.

Hina closed her eyes.

"No, no, no... no you're not. You're just... you're just a p-pig," she whispered, closing her eyes.

She let out a cry as she dropped the blade down on his chest. The man writhed and kicked underneath her and Hina allowed him to clock her on the face and claw at her neck as she kept the blade there. He didn't struggle for long. But she stayed on top of him, unable to let go of the blade, as she turned to vomit on the ground next to her.

"It is done. Report your mission to Orochimaru by tomorrow morning," Fan said.

Hina didn't have the energy to give an acknowledgement. She could feel Fan behind her, hesitating for a moment.

"...Take as much time as you need."

Fan disappeared in a flutter of leaves. Hina stayed there for... she wasn't sure how long. She felt like she was in a daze, like the world was submerged under water. It took a long time to breathe properly, and even longer for her to stumble up and out. She fell down a few times, unsure why it was so difficult to stay coordinated. When she collapsed into a bush, she wondered why she was even trying. She stayed there, even as an angry spider bit her arm for destroying its home.

She stared up at the moon and screamed.

A/N

Wow that was incredibly fucked up... hope you enjoyed the misery.

As Brandon Sanderson says, always put your characters through a hard time. Don't worry there's more to come.