[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 leaned out of the way, then righted himself. "Hmmm I wonder how much more you have in you before you collapse?"

[hyuugachild]

Twenty-four hours worth, she thought to herself, not missing a beat.

Continuing, she threw another set of kunai at Orochimaru, and slid to a stop, holding her hands out.

String. Tied to each kunai. She pulled back, bringing them flinging back at Orochimaru, in a circular pattern, with him in the center.

[smallstepstopower]

Well that was simple. Where he'd stood a moment before was one of the rugs, and he was back behind her. "Not bad, for an untried genin."

[hyuugachild]

"Not yet," Hanabi insisted, leaping back and throwing another set of kunai at Orochimaru before following up with a run directly at him.

But the body running wasn't real; it was a bunshin, and on those kunai were...exploding tags.

With the seal of the ram, Hanabi set them off.

[smallstepstopower]

Well, she tried, and while it seemed like an effective tactic, there was no sign of him at all in the wake of the explosion.

[hyuugachild]

She cursed, watching the room carefully with the Byakugan. Oily snake, wasn't he?

[smallstepstopower]

There was a moment of perfect stillness, then he was -there-, sliding up from the ground all at once and hugging her, pinning her arms to her sides with his hands on her wrists to keep her hands turned against her. "And next time, no pills. Very bad habit, relying on those."

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi bent her legs, sticking her butt out to press Orochimaru as far away from her body as possible, the veins in her eyes growing before she shot chakra from every tenketsu all at once.

Hyuuga were dangerous when you got close. Hands were just part of that.

[smallstepstopower]

Well, that disrupted the form... which promptly turned to mud which collapsed all over her where it wasn't fully shoved away.

[hyuugachild]

A quick use of the kaiten dispelled the mud, and Hanabi's eyes trailed around the room. How long did he want her to keep this up? Was he waiting for something in particular?

[smallstepstopower]

It was at that point that a volley of kunai came her way, though there was no Orochimaru in sight.

[hyuugachild]

Easy enough to avoid with the Kaiten. Hanabi paid close attention to every small motion in the cave, stepping lightly so as not to get caught in any traps.

[smallstepstopower]

And then another volley. This time, however, her Kaiten backfired and the second her chakra hit them, they exploded.

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi screamed as heat seared her skin, and when she emerged, still mobile from the smoke, she was stumbling. She wasn't built to take damage, and she knew it. Between the first blast, and this one, her stamina was going to run out.

And, her thigh was bleeding.

Ripping the extra weight from the clothes Orochimaru had given her, she binds her leg quickly and puts her hands up again. She wasn't done. Nowhere near done.

[smallstepstopower]

He smiled to himself and started flicking kunai at her again, untagged this time.

[hyuugachild]

Her speed had slowed again, but she tried to bring it back up as she adjusted to the pain of moving, dodging and deflecting kunai with one of her own.

She wanted to ask him how long they were going to do it for, but she didn't want to seem like a bad worker, or a complainer. No. Hanabi would last as long as Orochimaru felt she needed to.

Time passed...Hanabi lost track of how long, but eventually, she fell to one knee, shaking. A little longer. Keep it together a little longer.

[smallstepstopower]

He finally emerged properly then, walking along the wall up side down as he uncurled from an out of the way corner near the ceiling. "Finally feeling a bit worn Hanabi-chan?"

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi was hyperventilating, but had no intention of letting it go that easily. Ignoring the pain forming in her body, she forced herself to her feet. "I'm fine. Let's go."

Every neuron screamed the opposite.

[smallstepstopower]

"Walk up the wall to me." He stood in the center of the ceiling, staring down at her.

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi took another deep breath and ran full speed up the wall, making it to the ceiling. She was so close to him, so--

But her legs had turned to jelly, and her body simply wouldn't take it anymore. Halfway through a punch, she passed out, the chakra in her feet disconnecting and leaving her hurtling head first to the floor.

[smallstepstopower]

He hopped down, snatching the child out of the air and hugging her close. "Silly child." Shaking his head, he went to go change her into something clean and tucked her into a nest of blankets in the room with the fire. She'd be fine. He was even kind enough to put her kunai and weapons in the new clothes.

But none of the pills. She wasn't going to be using -any- more of those for a while.

[hyuugachild]

Hanabi woke hours later, sitting up abruptly and feeling ravenous. "Sensei?" she called out, hoping there was something she could eat.

She checked her person--that--!! He had taken her soldier pills! Could genjutsu DO that?!

[smallstepstopower]

It took a minute, but he emerged. "Oh you're awake! Feel better?"

[hyuugachild]

"I'm really sore...and hungry. Perhaps there's something..." Hanabi was a 14 year old girl! What did one expect from them? They could eat like boys in some cases!

[smallstepstopower]

"There's food." He waved her along. "The kitchen is where we left it."