16: Prodigious Tanuki.

"Set it to loud," Hiashi said sternly.

My thumb trembled as I pressed the button for the speaker. If he answered with his name, it was all over.

It tooted twice, three times, then finally someone picked up, it rustled from the speakers and Genma's bassy voice said, "Hey, Hinata.."

"Hi, Shino," I greeted immediately, trying not to sound too shaky. Genma didn't say anything and I prayed that he would understand me. "Um.." I threw a shy glance up at Hiashi and Kaguya. "Do you have time right now?"

"What's up?" he asked in a tone that conveyed innocent curiosity. Heavens, I loved this guy for his quick thinking.

"M-my father would like to meet you." I squinted my eyes at the stutterer. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"Mhhh," Genma thoughtfully and only made me shudder with this sound. WHY NOW OF ALL TIMES?! "I would like to come. But is it lactose-free? Otherwise, the toilet will be my best friend tonight." That was clear. He wanted to know what danger was imminent.

"Good question, I don't know exactly. You'd better bring your pills with you." I laughed nervously.

"Okay, I'll do. When should I come?"

Again a flitting of the eyes to my father. "Now?"

"Phew, you're always so spontaneous, but ok. I just put on something fitting and then come right away. About twenty minutes?"

"Sounds great," I replied and hung up after his "See ya, darling".

Hiashi snorted. "What will he think if he does not get any dinner?"

Kaguya laughed, but I felt sick. Please, dear Gods, don't let me have signed Genma's death warrant.

I was sent upstairs to put some clothes on again. On my path of shame, Neji met me, eyed me with a strange expression that made my bile run up my throat. I felt dirty. You might think I would have felt that after having sex with Kakashi or Madara, but the last half hour had been so much more humiliating than anything the two men had done to me. As I stood in front of the mirror in my room and closed the lower buttons of my pastel green blouse, a thought hit my brain like a grenade: Isshiki Ootsutsuki was dead. And not only dead, he had been tortured. His penis had been cut off. I had the faint suspicion that his death and the phone call Madara had made earlier this morning were no coincidences. I smiled briefly at my reflection. The Uchiha might be obsessed with me, but at least he took care of me. Truly a dark knight. Mine. I still hated him.

Tokuma knocked and said, "Hinata-sama, it's time."

Without answering, I left my room and went ahead of him down the stairs to the ground floor. I also felt his greedy look on the back of my neck. Good heavens, had they never seen breasts in their lives?! As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang. Hiashi was already standing at the door, Kaguya next to him, he looked at me briefly, probably to check if my clothes were presentable, and opened. Outside on the gravel path stood Genma. Today he wasn't wearing one of his tight T-shirts, but a white button-front shirt with – pussy forbid – sleeves pushed up that showed off his veiny forearms well, had at least dispensed with his toothpick and held a small bouquet of flowers in his hand that looked a lot like a gas station. Shit. Only now did I notice again how hot he was. He grinned his crooked :} grin and let his warm, brown eyes wander from Hiashi over Kaguya and Tokuma to me. Not a muscle twisted in his attractive face. I knew he was scanning the situation closely, but he was good at his job. He bowed and said kindly, "Good afternoon, my name is Shino Watanabe." Oh thank God I hadn't told my dad Shino's last name, otherwise we were both screwed before the show had even begun. Genma held out the cheap bouquet to Hiashi. "For you, sir.. um.. I would have liked to get something prettier, but in a hurry that was all I could get."

Hiashi smiled artificially. "Thank you very much. Come in." I knew that the bouquet would end up in the trash after Genma's disappearance. But hey, the gesture mattered.

Genma nodded and entered the genkan, where he politely took off his shoes. At least one with manners, not like that ice queen Kaguya, who stood there in her white pumps like a god-like personality. Arrogant pig. Genma addressed her directly. "Good afternoon to you too. Are you Hinata's mother? She told me a little bit about you, but clearly understated your beauty." He had charm.

Kaguya didn't smile, didn't move any further, just said, "No, I'm not her mother."

Genma twisted his mouth. "Oh, sorry."

"How old are you?" she asked briskly and looked at Genma critically.

"Huh," he laughed convincingly nervously, scratching the back of his head, "twenty-three. I know, I know, I look older. That's what my mother says all the time. But I can show you my ID."

"No, it's all right," Kaguya fended off frigidly. "Do you still live with your mother? At twenty-three?" How dismissive could someone actually sound?!

"Oh, no, my mother lives in a nursing home," Genma replied.

"Is she sick?" How insensitive. And then I thought I couldn't get along well with people.

"Well, that's how you can put it." Genma rocked up and down on his feet once. "She had a serious accident and has been paraplegic ever since."

"So she's in a wheelchair, sitting all day long."

Gradually you could see that Genma was getting uncomfortable with this conversation, and I wondered if he was lying about his mother at all. "She's bedridden. She can't sit anymore."

"Mh," Kaguya said, without putting a trace of empathy in her voice. "So you live alone?"

Genma raised his eyebrows. "No, I share an apartment with my best friend."

"Male or female?"

"Female."

"And there are no problems with sex?"

For a brief moment, Genma's eyes darted to me, who stood silently a little further away and watched the scenery monotonously. "No, she's a lesbian."

Kaguya nodded. "Ah, one of those."

I clearly saw how Genma had to take a deep breath and his jaw muscles tensed. But when he spoke, he had lost none of his politeness. "I'm afraid I didn't hear your name, ma'am."

Kaguya looked at him disparagingly and said simply, "Kaguya."

Genma grinned crookedly again. "Nice to meet you."

"Shino," Hiashi suddenly brought himself back into the conversation. "I would like to talk to you about something. Would you like to come to my office?"

"Of course, sir."

"Oh, but I do not want to stop you from greeting my daughter. Please." My father took a step to the side.

Genma looked at me, intensified his grin and came up to me with a "Hey, darling". I smiled back and mentally prepared myself to kiss him, but he only smooched my cheek briefly and somewhat scratchily with his lips, threw me a meaningful sparkle, which might have conveyed whatever to me at that moment, in the few seconds in which he blocked Hiashi's and Kaguya's view of our faces with his broad back, took my hand in his cool one and turned back to my father. He beckoned us to follow him, and as I had done almost an hour ago, I went to the west wing. With a quick swipe of my eyes into the one corner before the bend, I wondered if Madara was watching us and what he might be thinking to see me in the company of another man, holding hands and plodding after my father, flanked by Kaguya Ootsutsuki and Takumo Hyuuga. Would he be jealous? Just a bit..? Genma's fingers twitched a little from time to time and I also wondered, after I had resolved to ignore Madara's existence as best I could at the moment, how nervous the Shiranui really was. After all, he was in the house of a yakuza boss he had been monitoring for years. It must have been nerve-wracking for him to be here.

Shortly before the door to Hiashi's office, however, I noticed that his twitching had a steady rhythm. He indeed relied on me to notice his signal immediately every time. He told me by Morse code: L A C ?

Lac? What was that supposed to mean? I squeezed my hand a little, trying to make him understand that I had no answer. He squeezed back and took a deep breath. My answer was not satisfactory and I became nervous again. I really wanted to help him, not to get him into even more trouble, but how? I asked by tapping my fingers: B U P ?

He morsed back: G

Slowly I understood his abbreviations. Ten people were posted somewhere around the house, he was bugged and they could storm the house if things got dicey. At least something, only whether they were fast enough if Hiashi or Kaguya really had his death in mind was questionable. In our silent conversation, we entered Hiashi's office. The master of the house sat down behind the desk again, Kaguya set up at the window as before, Tokuma guarded the door and Genma and I still held hands in front of Hiashi, who looked at us with his usual critical look. I didn't let go of Genma, although my father's slid-together brows as he looked at our wedged hands would have given me enough incentive. But I didn't want to let the communication break off and besides, I had the crazy feeling that I could somehow protect Genma by doing so. Or whatever. No idea. I was in a panic. I just wanted us both to get out of this alive.

"So," Hiashi started talking and leaned back in his chair. "Tell me. How did you meet my daughter?"

Fuck. We should have used the time for me to explain to Genma the lies I had told my father about him. But once again he proved that I should not underestimate him. He knew my story and knew that there was only one way we could have met. "I'm also studying law and we have a few courses together. That's when we started talking and we quickly realized that we got along well."

"A little too well, right? For such a short time," Hiashi teased and my hand cramped.

Genma cleared his throat. "Excuse me, sir, that's.. well.."

"It is all right," Hiashi fended off. "Hinata is eighteen and even though you are a good deal older, you are both of age." Huh. Genma had made himself almost ten years younger. Or he really was twenty-three and just looked older. Everything was possible. But Hiashi said this as if my parents weren't thirteen years apart. Fucking moral apostle. "I am just surprised that my daughter finds someone in such a short time who shows such preferences so quickly and leaves visible marks on her."

Genma typed a question mark on the back of my hand while Hiashi was still speaking. My fingers became sweaty when I answered: S M, and his twitched as a result. Super. Now he knew what I was liked in bed. Was that useful to me in any way? At least a bit, because he answered with only a short pause due to Morse code, "We were just experimenting."

"Aha," Hiashi nodded slowly. "So you communicate about things like that."

"Yes, sir, communication is important."

"Do you also talk a lot about other things?"

"Of course, sir," Genma replied and I pressed my fingernails into his skin briefly. Sure, he had to play the unknowing, but here we had reached the topic of why he was here. He confirmed my warning with a squeeze.

Hiashi lifted the corners of his mouth, but at the same time narrowed his eyes. "Come over here."

I wanted to grab Genma, throw myself in front of him, tackle him to the ground, anything, the main thing was that it ensured his soundness. But he let go of my hand, which trembled incessantly and which I therefore clasped tightly with my other, stepped closer to the desk and Hiashi stood up. My father was shorter than Genma, but much more intimidating. "What did my daughter tell you?"

"Uh.. well..", Genma said with convincing pauses for thought. "We've talked a lot, sir. Our hobbies, movies we like to watch, favorite music, things like that."

"What do you do in your free time?"

"I train, go dancing, watch good movies in the cinema.."

"Your favorite movie?"

Genma uttered a thoughtful tone. "Huuh, that's hard, I admit. But I grew up with Pixar. So Toy Story, I would say. But part three, that one was great."

"Children's films? Interesting."

"I simply call them animated films," Genma dared a courageous attempt to stand up to my father. "Graphic representation is only a medium, not a genre."

Hiashi's face darkened briefly. It was clear that he disapproved of the contradiction. "What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked now a little more testy.

"American hip-hop," Genma replied promptly. "Outkast, Childish Gambino, Travis Scott – stuff like that."

"But then you do not have that much in common with my daughter," Hiashi realized, a 'What do you know about my taste in music?!' flashed through my head and he finally came to the crucial point, "And did you also talk about her family? Me?"

"She only mentioned that she lives here with her parents, her little sister and her cousin. She often raves about her mother's cooking skills." He glanced sideways at Kaguya, as if the Shino he was portraying was still unsure of her role. Genma, on the other hand, certainly knew exactly who she was. "And that she gets along well with her sister." Oh no. Don't bring Hanabi into play!

"Have you met her?"

"Her sister?"

"Yes."

"No. I saw a photo and she really is Hinata's look-alike."

"Are you sexually attracted to her?"

"Excuse me?"

"To Hinata."

"Oh.. Uh, yes, sir." He said it meekly, convincingly, like someone who was reluctant to admit to the father of his girlfriend, who was apparently five years younger, that he wanted to sleep with her. But to me it sounded pretty honest. Was that just his talent as a Tanuki or..?

"Do you know the name Ootsutsuki?" Kaguya suddenly interjected.

Genma turned to her. "No, ma'am." That sounded damn honest and immediately I questioned my own idea that he could really be into me. He could lie, definitely.

Hiashi and Kaguya exchanged glances. Then they both looked at Genma again, who looked from one to the other a little irritated.

"All right," Hiashi sighed and smiled slyly. "The question and answer session is over. We do not want to steal your time any further, Shino.. what was your name again?"

"Watanabe," Genma said immediately. I was impressed. Such a detail was often the first thing that was quickly forgotten. I would really like to sit in his brain and watch the synapses process and forward information at breakneck speed.

Hiashi laughed. "Yes, correct, Watanabe. Are you related to an Akito Watanabe?"

"No, not that I know," Genma shook his head thoughtfully.

"Of course," my father sighed heavily. "But the name is more common, right?"

"Mh, true," Genma grinned. "I've met many Watanabes in my life and each time the question came up: Shit, are we distant cousins or not?" Three fake laughs filled the room, which quickly died away.

"I do not want to steal more of your precious time," Hiashi said, coming around the desk and holding out his hand to Genma, who took it politely and I could tell from their knuckles that they were both gripping tightly.

"Um, Otoo-sama..?" I ask quietly and had to summon up all my courage to open my mouth in the presence of my father without being asked. "What about dinner?"

Hiashi's flashing, silver eyes were fixed on me and he said stiffly, "Your mother is still too busy, Hinata. It will not be finished in time and when Shino is also studying law, he certainly has a lot to learn."

"You don't have any ideas, Hinata and I can hardly get our heads out of the books," Genma grinned and he was assessed by Hiashi again. "Excuse me, but I must ask you to leave now. I cannot let you be alone with my daughter in my house. You surely understand that, right?"

"Yes, of course," Genma replied quickly. "That's probably how every good father reacts."

A smile glided over Hiashi's stern face. "That is true. Good fathers do everything they can to protect their daughters." Had he just confirmed that he was not a good father? After all, he would sell Hanabi and me for the Gin'nome-kai. Huh. "I wish you a pleasant evening."

"Same to you, sir," Genma bowed his head in farewell.

"Tokuma, please take our guest out," Hiashi ordered his employee, who nodded, opened the door and wordlessly asked Genma and me to leave the room. I took a final look over my shoulder at Hiashi and Kaguya, who released her arms, stood in front of Hiashi and started talking before Tokuma closed the door again and led us through the long hallway out of the west wing. On the way, Genma took my hand again, which was comparatively warm by now. So his nervousness indeed became noticeable physically. Without hesitation, he typed on the back of my hand: L A C ?

With a flash of inspiration, I finally understood what he was asking: LAC was the abbreviation for lactose and he wanted to ask me if he or I were in danger. I was unsure about myself, but since Genma had been dismissed without any subliminal threats, I just hoped that my message wasn't a lie: N O

Arriving at the front door, Genma put his shoes back on. Since he was now standing lower than me, we were about the same height. He took another deep breath, enveloping me in a warm cloud of peppermint. "Alright then.."

"Shino, will you call me later?" I asked and looked him seriously in the face.

His gaze became a little wistful and I knew his true answer. "Of course, darling, and we'll see each other at the university tomorrow anyway." Did he at least mean that as he said it? I had to let myself be surprised.

"Okay," I nodded. I raised my arm, paused, looked deep into Genma's eyes, then pulled him to me by the neck and kissed him. Only very softly I breathed, "Thank you.."

It could have stayed that way, just a little kiss, nothing more. Kinda an alibi for Tokuma, who would surely tell Hiashi what he had seen and heard. Genma wouldn't have had to do anything else, it would have been enough. But I felt his lips return the pressure, he put his hands on my neck, gently stroked my jaw with his thumbs, triggering something in me that I had thought impossible. And finally I understood his text message. I understood what he meant when he wrote: [Things have developed in a direction that I can no longer handle professionally.] Not all of his answers to Hiashi had been lies, I was sure of that now. He was here, wasn't he? He had wanted to stay away from me, and yet he had appeared as soon as I had called for him. Just as Madara was a matt black knight, Genma was one in shining white armor.

Gently, I stroked the tip of my tongue over the narrow gap between his lips. It was only a timid rush, perhaps a signal that I had understood, but Genma reacted to it. He opened his mouth slightly and my tongue met his. We gently nudged each other, slowly feeling our way into each other's oral cavity. I tasted the freshness of his saliva and smelled the wood in his perfume, which made me much more fuzzy than I was allowed to be given our position and above all our situation.

With a soft smacking we broke away, I felt a small thread of spit shattering on my lower lip and bit into it slightly. When I opened my eyes, I noticed Genma's gaze. It showed.. I didn't even know. It was a lot and I didn't like all of it. "Bye.. Hinata."

"Yes," I whispered back, took my hands out of his neck and watched him leave the house before I turned around and heard Tokuma roll his eyes in exasperation. I puffed myself up indignantly. "I'm in my room in case my father is looking for me."

Tokuma, obviously ashamed of his action, jerked his head. "Yes, Hinata-sama."

A little grumpy about Tokuma, but mainly relieved about the outcome of this afternoon, I went upstairs. My feet carried me directly into the small bathroom, where I immediately smeared the horse ointment on my face before the slight redness on my cheek became even darker. As many times as my father had beaten me in the last week, I had the impression that the violent melting pot I was currently living in was running at full speed and would soon liquefy me into a puny lump of pure torment if I didn't escape it soon. All the tensions, Hiashi's statements about my and Hanabi's worth, now the thing with the Kaminone-kai – gradually the situation became precarious. I wondered if Genma would be willing to actively help me again after today. I understood that he wanted to and probably should keep his distance because of his feelings towards me, however strong they might be, but he was the only one I could rely on. If my father really expected a large supply of weapons, it was only a matter of time before the impending war dragged us into its depths. I had a decision to make. Either I kept my feet still, rested on my injured ego, just let things happen, and led my sister and me to certain death. Or I finally pinched my ass cheeks, put the crackle between Genma and me on the back burner and made sure that my father's game was put to a stop as quickly as possible.

The door to Hanabi's room opened. My sister stopped jerkily at the sight of me, looked at my face and put on a pitiful expression. I only had to see her sad eyes and knew immediately which of the two options I had chosen. "It's all good," I lied, holding out my hand.

"What happened?" Hanabi asked, shoving her warm fingers between mine and together we made ourselves comfortable on my futon. "Mother sent me up. I tried to listen, but you can't hear anything up here. Who was this woman?"

I sighed. I knew that I couldn't panic Hanabi, but I still had to explain the situation to her sensitively so that she would be prepared if Hiashi was arrested or if the war between the clans broke out beforehand. "You remember the man I protected you from on Tuesday, don't you?"

"Mh-hm."

"That was his wife. He's dead and she suspected father of having something to do with it."

"What..?", Hanabi gasped in horror. "But.. How? Why father? Did the man have an accident or something and father is to blame for it?"

Why was there no guide card for something like this that I could follow now?! "Hana-neechan..", I began, took a deep breath and decided to just throw us both in at the deep end. "Our father is a yakuza." I watched my sister. She blinked confusedly, so I asked, "Do you know what that means?"

"Yakuza are.." She swallowed loudly. "Aren't they criminals?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Very bad ones, the technical term for it is 'organized crime'. There are so-called syndicates, the Hyuuga clan is called Gin'nome-kai, in which there is a hierarchy, a boss, many smaller bosses and at the end the errand boys. You have to think of it like a company, except that the business that is done is illegal."

"Wait, illegal?" Hanabi probed, obviously having trouble really grasping the words. "Do you mean like..", she lowered her voice, ".. murder and stuff?"

I jerked my head briefly. "And other things too. Drugs, weapons.." I couldn't say 'human trafficking' and 'prostitution'. To explain that would be too much for her little brain. In addition, I would then be afraid that Hanabi could conclude what happened to me or what should have happened to her on Tuesday. No, she wasn't ready for that yet. "Our father is not just strict; he is not a good man. He hurts people and in return, other people plan revenge." I grabbed my sister by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "Hana-neechan, you have to promise me that this will stay between us."

Immediately, Hanabi said, "By Wasabi-san's soundness," and we made our secret handshake. "I will remain silent."

"You can't react in any way," I admonished her. "You're training your mask, aren't you?" She nodded eagerly. "Good. Never put it down, no matter what you hear or think. There is a reason why I am telling you all this. Well, for one thing, I don't want you to find out the painful way. I had to back then and.." I lost myself briefly in my younger self, who had not yet understood the world around her. God, how I missed this girl. "Well.. It's not nice. But I've already been through that and that's why I want to protect you from it. Because the second reason why it is important that you know all this is that at some point in the near future it will become very dangerous for us. You remember Itachi, right?"

Hanabi's eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes, I could never forget him."

Involuntarily, I had to smile. Should I rub him in the face that my little sister was drooling over him? No, that might be inappropriate. But it was still cute. "Hm, true. Well. Itachi. He is from a syndicate called Akaiisan-kai."

"Huh? He's also a criminal?" asked Hanabi, visibly shocked.

If you put it that way.. "Kind of, yes, but.. I don't know. He is mainly a bodyguard and protects the clan leader of the Uchiha, his name is Madara." Chop-chop, back to your corner, you lustful thought! We hate him, have you forgotten? In addition, I have to concentrate on packing as much information as possible into as child-friendly words as possible. Hinata, shame on you to think about Madara's cock now. "He's planning something, and that's why our father has now allied himself with a third big syndicate, the Kaminone-kai, i.e. the Ootsutsuki."

Hanabi frowned. "Do I have to remember all the names?"

"No," I giggled. "I just want you to understand that there are three big syndicates in Kyoto, three societies. The Hyuuga, that's us, the Ootsutsuki and the Uchiha. The man from last week, who is now dead, was the husband of the woman from today. They are Ootsutsuki and have an alliance with our father to fight against the Uchiha."

"Mh, like in Harry Potter," Hanabi nodded knowingly. "There is the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army also at war with the Death Eaters. Correct?"

"To put it simply, yes. Whereas, in the analogy, everyone is kinda evil."

"So.. is Itachi too?"

"You like Malfoy, don't you?" I asked with a smile and Hanabi's cheeks turned red. Oh dear, prepubescent crushes on fictional characters. We've all been through it. "He's Itachi, so to speak. In some way he is evil, because he's going along with it and stuff, but actually he just wants to.." Yes, what actually? What did Itachi want? ".. well, he wants to.. Whatever. But he's not really evil. He's just on the wrong side."

"But.. are we the good side?" she asked timidly.

"No," I replied immediately. "There is no good side here. The good guys are the policemen, well.. the Ministry of Magic. And that exactly is the problem. We were practically born into the evil Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore is really, really shit and doesn't intend to protect us from Voldemort."

This comparison was basically perfect. Hanabi adored Dumbledore, a bit like she adored our father – respected, yes, feared, yes, but still adored, and heavens, I just took that feeling away from her. Was I now evil too? Hanabi's shaky voice seemed as if an important part of her childhood had just died. "Does he.. Does he not?"

Sighing silently, I took my sister in my arms. "No, Hana-neechan, he does not.." I stroked her dark brown hair, humming softly, as I had always done when she was sad. "But I do, do you hear? I protect you, from everyone."

"And Itachi?"

"He protects you too. I told you he's on our side."

"And Kou? And Tokuma? And Iroha? And Neji-oniisan? And Okaa-san?"

My fingers on the back of Hanabi's head cramped briefly. "No.. None of them will. We only have ourselves."

Hanabi pulled away from me and stared at the white opal that lay on my sternum, shimmering blood-red in the light of the setting sun. "Are they all Yakuza?"

"Mother is not, but because she's Hiashi's wife, it's like she is one. You can't trust her either. Really, Hana-neechan, you are not allowed to talk to anyone about it, do you understand me?"

She indicated a nod and then lowered her head. "I always thought we had so many security guards in the house because father is rich. Then they're all here because he's a criminal?"

It hurt me to see my sister like that, but at least she took it better than I did back then. "You know..", I dared to try to cheer her up a bit, ".. our father is not a good person. I'd like to lie to you and say the opposite, but I don't think you should live in a false sense of security." Should I..? No.. I couldn't scare her any more. "But don't worry, little sister, I'll make sure that we get out of here soon and that no one will hurt us anymore."

"How?" she asked, raising her eyes.

"I.." I cleared my throat. "Strictest secrecy?"

"Wasabi-san, have you forgotten yet?"

I smiled. "No.. Well.. I'm something like a spy. I'm helping the police to have enough against our father to arrest him. I don't know exactly when this will happen, but I promise you, it won't be long now. I'll tell them everything I know, then they'll prevent the war between the syndicates and we'll get out of here."

"Mhh," Hanabi thoughtfully. "But.. Hina-oneesan..?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we supposed to go if they are all arrested?"

Fuck. My sister had asked a question to which I had absolutely no answer. I would be old enough, I could look for a job, finance my own life, but she? She was twelve, she needed a guardian for another six years and whether I could or was allowed to be that was written in the stars. I wanted to be honest with her, not lie to her any more. I had already hidden the real horror behind the meetings to protect her, and now I had to tell the truth to do just that. "I don't know. I don't know what will happen when all this is over. But I promise you, Hana-neechan, with all I can give: I will not abandon you. No matter where we go, no matter if we're going to be there together or not, I'll always be there for you."

Hanabi smiled, kissed me and snuggled up to my neck. "Thank you, Hina-oneesan. You're the best big sister I can have."

With a wistful feeling in my chest, I stroked her soft hair again. "I'm sorry I don't know what the future will bring. I don't want to scare you, but it may not be easy. That's why I have to demand something from you."

"What is it?" Hanabi asked into my blouse.

"If I realize that we're not safe here anymore and we have to leave, you have to follow me without objection, okay? When the time comes, we must not hesitate, we must not look back."

"Do we make a code word for this?"

"Sure. Which one do you want?"

"Bellatrix. I don't like her." I snorted in amusement. Who did? "If you tell me that, I'll follow you everywhere."

"Agreed. When Bellatrix comes, we'll flee."

It became quiet. I heard my sister's breath on my neck and felt a slight tremor on her shoulders. She didn't even know the full truth, and yet I had scared her. But it had been necessary. She had to be prepared when the worst came to the worst.

A knock tore us out of the embrace. "Hinata-sama?" asked Kou on the other side of the door.

We were startled. Was it already eight?! Hanabi pressed a last kiss on my lips, jumped up and silently hurried into the bathroom and her own room. "Yes!" I shouted in our evening ritual.

From next door I heard a "Hanabi-sama?" and my sister answered. Exhausted, I lay down, pulled the blanket up to the tip of my nose and turned off the light. Outside the sky was still a bit bluish and so it was not completely dark. The shadows of the leaves from the cherry tree right outside my window danced across the ceiling. No sound came from my sister's room. It was only logical that Hanabi needed some rest after all this information. I just hoped that I hadn't put her in danger now.

Groaning, I turned on my side. I hadn't had such an eventful day for a long time. This morning I had been lying in Madara's bed and had been happy. And now? My gaze darted to the shelf on which a hidden camera had stood until a few hours ago, and this hatred bubbled up in me again, which I skilfully swallowed. I didn't want to get upset about it again, I had done enough already. Madara should stay out of my thoughts, just like any other of those men who turned my head. Tomorrow, I knew, I would have to deal with Genma to get the mechanism going that was about to save Hanabi and me. But apart from that, it was slowly becoming too much for me. All my confused feelings towards Kakashi, Madara, Itachi and Genma became too much for me. Out of an inexplicable impulse, I picked up my smartphone from the floor, opened my-desire and the chat with King and typed: [I miss you..] before locking it, pressing it to my chest and falling asleep on the spot from sheer exhaustion.