one_long_mission | [Open] It was a rare day off...

Entry tags:

[Open] It was a rare day off...

...and Hanabi didn't see them often. She considered herself, at this point, little more than a drone of the Hyuuga estate, fated to take on the much respected, prestigious role of heiress, and subsequently fated to losing much of her childhood to training, studies, and other assorted etiquette lessons and fine arts like calligraphy, weaving, ikebana and tea ceremony. All to ensure she grew to be a splendid young lady.

She certainly didn't feel splendid. She felt exhausted.

But it was a lovely day in the midst of winter, and for once, Hanabi was in the midst of Konoha, breathing in cold hair and watching mist form in front of her mouth. Hoheto, her Branch companion of the day, stood some distance behind her and followed her slowly, as if to appear as though he weren't directly watching her.

She felt self-conscious, being fourteen and still needing a keeper to tag along everywhere, but Hanabi learned quickly that this was life, and a privilege to have so many people dedicated to keeping her in the best of physical health.

Still, thinking dark thoughts wasn't going to improve the day, so Hanabi wanted to make the best of it. She walked slowly up to a shop selling yams and bought one, savoring the taste (though it wasn't as good as the ones spiced by Hyuuga hands).

It was cold, but it was a beautiful day. A day of freedom.

If you ignored the bodyguard tailing you.

Hanabi had tried an inordinate amount of times to ditch them, and failed every time; they were jounin, and she was decidedly not. Still, with every new year of training, she dreamed of escape.

Escape, the thought spread a fuzz over her brain that felt like drinking warm hot chocolate.

With the sight of the Byakugan, she eyed Hoheto's location.

She could make it.
She could.
She would.

With a small signal, a bunshin and a kawarimi no jutsu later, she was running giddily toward the forest. At the longest limits of her vision, she could see Hoheto was not following, and shortly, he'd be out of range.

"Well, it seems like you're having fun," an eerily familiar voice said...just before something hit Hanabi couldn't see hit her squarely in the gut and made the world black.

* * * * * * *

The first thing she noticed was that she was cold. Then, slowly, as sensation returned to her body, she realized her mouth was dry, like she hadn't had a drink in days, and her head and stomach hurt terribly. Shifting alone gave her gut-wrenching cramps. When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by white.

Snow.

Snow? In Konoha?

No. Not Konoha. Definitely not.

Instantly, Hanabi assumed the worst. She must've been abducted. Kidnapped to blackmail her father. The snow was probably genjutsu...it would be silly to leave precious cargo lying about to freeze to death.

She shakily lifted her hand to make the seal of the ram. "...kai..." Hanabi whispered, hoping the genjutsu could be released simply.

Too hopeful, she chided, staring up at the snow that didn't fade, and the chill that was starting to make her clothing wet.

Hanabi was sure that she was in over her head. For a day of freedom, this was the punishment.

No. Move. Get up. Find out what's going on.

Get up, Hanabi ordered her body. Get. Up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He gave her a soft, amused smile. "Did I kill either of my teammates? Did I crawl deep into Konoha and spring the attack among the civilians?" He leaned in, holding her gaze. "Or did I only go after Sensei, someone strong enough to fight me off if he wanted, and place my attack in an area that could be -defended-?"

Truthfully, Orochimaru hadn't killed either of his teammates, but they were Sannin...killing them would've been difficult, so it meant little. But did he attack civilians? Not directly...

"You coupled with Suna and between you they sprung attacks on the citizens. Civilians did die, even if you didn't attack them directly. And...by that time, the Third Hokage was a very old man. It was all he could do to keep you at bay."

"He is known as the God of Shinobi. He would not die unless he was ready to die." He shook his head slightly. "It sounds to me that I saw a weakness in Konoha and sought to remedy the situation. After all, if I did not plan the attack to start on the inside, then it was not truly meant to get anywhere. I have lived war."

Hanabi's look turned to a glare. "If you really are Orochimaru from before the attack on Konoha, how is it that you're so casual about hearing the terrible things you will go on to do? Don't you fear it will become true? Or...do you not because it's something you've already thought of?"

He paused for a moment, considering how to answer this. After a moment, he turned to face her fully. "I am a selfish, untrusting man who clings to what few ideals I hold dear. I fully expect to some day say the wrong thing to the wrong person and have it go badly for me. The only ones I truly trust are my teammates, and that's how it should be. All this sort of talk does is confirm to me that some day, what little faith I have will be broken, because people give nothing without pricetags, not in Konoha, and not anywhere else either."

Hanabi's face iced over. "Yes. There is nothing in this world without a price." And she had learned that lesson well. All her life she'd been told that she was privileged; rich, well-fed, safe from harm and due to inherit a prestigious empire of shinobi.

And in return she was not even allowed the trust between teammates, friends her own age, even an understanding of the warmth of human touch.

"Especially not in Konoha."

He studied her and then shifted over, draping his arm around her shoulders. "You're welcome here whenever you wish to be here Hanabi-chan. I believe you'll be good company."

Hanabi scuttled quickly away from his touch. "I would be interested in talking to you more...but I do wish you wouldn't touch me. Hyuuga do not touch."

"Untrue. The twins touched each other all the time." He rolled a shoulder, dismissing it. Admittedly more subtle, but it existed. As for you." He pointed at her. "I see no reason to aid your efforts of withering away by keeping my hands to myself."

"My father doesn't touch," she reiterated, before noticing that she might've accidentally revealed that her father was one of those twins.

"Maybe he just doesn't touch -you-." He tilted his head to the side, then leaned and pulled her back in against his side. "Relax. I have no interest in your virtue."

Hanabi did not like that comment, and she shoved Orochimaru. "Why wouldn't he just not touch me? That doesn't make any sense. He didn't touch my sister either!"

"Is his brother dead?" His words were blunt, and he leaned to peer into her face, not allowing himself to be dislodged.

Hanabi lifted a slender, calloused hand and moved to smack Orochimaru as hard as she could across the face. "Don't talk about my father."

Damn. She'd only clinched that her father was in fact, one of the twins.

He reached up and grabbed her hand before she could even make contact. "So yes. That explains it right there. If half of -you- was dead, would you want to reach out to anyone? I think not." He put her hand back in her lap.

Hanabi's glare became more intense. "I wouldn't bother to have children if that were the case."

"Maybe he thought it would help." He held her gaze, unphased by the glare. "Or maybe he just wanted you."

"Hn," Hanabi snorted derisively, looking away. "You don't know my father."

"It seems I know him better than you do Hanabi-chan." He watched her and sighed, resting his cheek on her head. "But, it's never too late to learn."

Hanabi was learning...she leaned away before Orochimaru's hand could touch her cheek. "It would be illogical for me to learn about my father from someone who only knows him as a teenager, long before my birth. The person he was then isn't the one he is now."

Why was she bothering? This genjutsu probably didn't have a clue about her father...but, he had known her uncle Hizashi, the uncle that'd died before she could know him. Then again...if there were some Yamanaka style jutsu at play in tandem...a mind jutsu, it would be easy to get that information from Hanabi's head.

No. That wasn't likely. She needed to keep her wits.

He huffed as she dodged his attempt to lean on her, instead just tightening the arm around her. "Who someone was is a very large part of who they become Hanabi, never forget that." With that, he turned her loose, leaning back.

"It's not as if that doesn't make sense logically, but who a father is shapes his children. Like I said...some people just have darkness inside them. The reason only matters if that person can be fixed. The effect on others is what's most important." Hanabi let out a sigh of relief when he removed his arm, moving to sit a good distance away from him.

"I never said anything about -changing- him. Perception is a lot in the world. The deeper you look into things, the more you'll understand that." He tilted his head a little. "The most amazing things were created because of shifts in perception. It's what it is to be Shinobi."

"Perception isn't helping the situation at the moment," she returned. On top of which, it isn't like she got to properly experience being a shinobi, not like her sister, or her cousin.

"Would you like to learn?" He studied her for a moment. "Though I understand if you decline."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject