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

[hyuugachild]

...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.

Comments

[smallstepstopower]

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."

[hyuugachild]

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."

[smallstepstopower]

"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."

[hyuugachild]

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

[smallstepstopower]

"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."

[hyuugachild]

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!"

[smallstepstopower]

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

[hyuugachild]

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.

[smallstepstopower]

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.

[hyuugachild]

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

[smallstepstopower]

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

[hyuugachild]

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

[smallstepstopower]

"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."

[hyuugachild]

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.

[smallstepstopower]

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.

[hyuugachild]

"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.

[smallstepstopower]

"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."

[hyuugachild]

"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.

[smallstepstopower]

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

[hyuugachild]

"Jutsu?" Hanabi said instantly, revealing an unfortunately large tidbit about herself in the process.

[smallstepstopower]

He blinked, then inclined his head. "If you show any affinities that aren't simply your family style."

[hyuugachild]

This was stupid. She was asking a genjutsu to train her. This was absurd, this was--

"I'm a raiton user. I tested it myself when I was 9 years old." When she'd been beaten so badly by Neji she took soldier pills for a month in an attempt to catch up on training and nearly had a heart attack.

[smallstepstopower]

He drummed his fingers for a moment on his knee, thinking. "I know very little about that element, unfortunately, compared to my other skills. I am primarily a wind user myself, though it's hardly my only affinity."

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi's excitement (which looked mild, but was rather intense) subsided back into blandness. "Oh. I...perhaps you could teach me the Kuchiyose. How to summon snakes. Or--" No. He hadn't developed those jutsu yet. "Anything you know, I'd be glad to learn..."

[smallstepstopower]

"I didn't say I was incapable." His tone was amused, and he leaned in close. "Do you -really- think the snakes would be to your liking? They're not known for their friendliness."