Rokudaime

Chapter 3: Out of Ashes

Hinata and Kurenai arrived at Tsunade’s office building just in time to meet up with Iruka. He greeted them quietly, eyes resting only for a moment on Hinata, and then raising his eyebrows towards Kurenai. She shrugged almost imperceptibly and continued into the building. The three walked to the desk in silence.

“We need to see Hokage-sama,” Kurenai said firmly, placing both hands flat on the wood.

“I’m sorry, she’s not back from lunch yet,” the secretary behind the desk replied. “She should be back…” He trailed off as the door opened, and the Godaime Hokage entered, busily tying her hair back and to all appearances, preparing for a hard afternoon of work.

“Hokage-sama,” Iruka began. She cut him off with a slice of her hand.

“Iruka,” she sighed. “Do I really have to say anything?” She glanced around him and down at Hinata. “And the Hyuugas, no less.”

“This is serious, Hokage-sama,” he continued instead. “We need to speak to you.”

“I don’t have time for your imagined conflicts, Iruka. Your students are perfectly fine without your interference,” she snapped back, slamming her office door open. “The entire village suffers because you are wasting my time.”

Iruka was speechless for a moment. Luckily, Kurenai stepped in with her own response. “Hokage-sama, once you hear what our concern is, I don’t believe you’ll think we’re wasting your time anymore.”

Tsunade paused as she realized that Kurenai was there also. “You have five minutes,” she grudgingly answered, beckoning them into her office. “I have a meeting, so let’s get to it.”

“It’s the Hyuugas,” Iruka started quickly, taking a seat on a wooden chair. He sat nervously on the edge of it, hands clasped formally in front of him. “They’re having some problems with their…” He trailed off, searching for the right word. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, clearly running out of patience.

“They want to kill Hinata,” Kurenai cut in bluntly. “They’ve already sent one assassin after her, and they’re probably going to send more. We need to do something.”

In her position standing by the door, Hinata sucked in a quick breath and uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot. Kurenai never had had an outstanding sense of tact, but sometimes directness helped. Unfortunately, it looked as if tact would have been the correct choice in this direction. The expression on Kurenai’s face showed that she also realized that.

Tsunade’s face had closed up, her brown eyes hardening into stone. Her lips were set in a thin line as she glared from Kurenai to Iruka and back, steadily avoiding looking at Hinata. “I do not wish to discuss this,” she said icily, folding her hands in front of her and resting them on her desk. “The Hyuugas…”

“We have to help her!” Iruka interrupted, jumping up from his chair, hands balled into fists. Tsunade slowly shifted her stare to him, mouth curling into a sneer.

“I dislike meddling in the affairs of the Houses,” she said crisply, the pressure of her eyes forcing the chuunin back down into his chair.

“You take part in the conflict between the Uchihas! How is this any different?!” Iruka replied heatedly, voice full of fire, rocking forward in his chair once more.

“It is much more different than you can imagine,” Tsunade replied, answering Iruka’s heat with her own cold. “Both Sasuke and Itachi are dangers to the village.”

“How do you know that the Hyuuga fights won’t be a danger? They threaten the life of one of our own!”

Kurenai shifted in her chair and crossed her legs, watching the proceedings with interest. Somehow, she sensed that Iruka had things under control, although it certainly didn’t appear so. She glanced over at Hinata, noticing she had sidled over on the wall to sit on a small stool in the corner. The tiny black cat sat in her lap. Puzzled, Kurenai wondered how she hadn’t noticed the cat when they’d left. She shrugged and turned back to the conversation in time to catch Tsunade’s returning comment.

“The Hyuugas are the most powerful House in our village,” Tsunade told Iruka, steadily and firmly informing him that she had almost reached her tolerance level, and that the argument was over. “They can handle their own problems, and they’ll need no help from either you or anybody else.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Kurenai finally had some input. “We can’t just leave her in this situation.”

“What are your plans?” Tsunade asked, turning her attention to the other female ninja.

“I want to get her out of the village, first of all,” Kurenai began. Tsunade stopped her and pulled a dossier out of the drawer in front of her.

“Try this, then,” Tsunade told her, pushing the folder towards Kurenai. “I’ve been waiting for someone to take the thing.”

Kurenai skimmed the mission profile, looked up at Tsunade, and then grinned. “You must read minds, Hokage-sama. This is actually the exact mission I wanted.” The Hokage’s face twisted for a moment before Kurenai explained. “You’ve been hinting at it long enough, I still figured that nobody had taken it, and therefore, that it’d be open for me to put together a team to take it.”

“That takes care of that, then,” Iruka interrupted. “But you can’t stay on a mission forever.”

“Just as long as possible,” Kurenai muttered.

“We can’t have that, Kurenai,” Tsunade cut in. “We need all available shinobi back as soon as possible from every mission. We’re running low as it is. We had too many deaths in the attack.”

“Okay then.” Kurenai stalled for a moment. “Then what do we do when we get back?”

“I can work on some sort of plan, maybe,” Tsunade said slowly, twisting her hands together nervously.

“And I can work with Hinata while we’re gone,” Kurenai continued, glancing quickly behind her at her student.

“The Hyuugas will need some convincing,” Iruka added. “They won’t take kindly to any solution we can come up with, but their solution is completely unacceptable.”

“Then we’ll have to come to a compromise,” Tsunade finished. “That’s our only option now. Kurenai, you go meet with the Hyuugas. Iruka, stay out of it for now.” Iruka grimly noticed the firm emphasis on the last six words. Behind them, someone knocked on the door.

The secretary poked his head in. “Hokage-sama, your next meeting is ready in the conference room,” he said quickly and quietly before he disappeared. Tsunade nodded and stood up. “I have to go. I take it you can show yourselves out.” She collected a stack of folders and piled some other papers on top, precariously balancing her coffee cup on top of that. Slowly, she staggered out of her office, unable to see over the top of her supplies. “See me when you get back, Kurenai,” she grunted as a farewell. Silently, the remaining three got up and left the room. Iruka left for his classroom, bidding the other two a quiet goodbye.

“Do you want to go directly to your house, Hinata?” Kurenai asked. “You can get some of your clothes and your stuff, and we can tell your father what’s going on.” When Hinata did not respond, Kurenai stopped and turned to look at her student. “You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to, but I, at least, have to go.”

Hinata only mumbled something in reply, continuing to walk while staring at her feet. Yasuo wriggled in her arms, meowing impatiently. Finally, she let him go, knowing that he would follow her on his own.

“Hinata?”

“I want to go with,” Hinata spoke up firmly. “They need to understand that I don’t want to be there anymore.”

“That’s very wise of you, Hinata,” Kurenai replied, beginning to walk once more. The pair completed their trip in silence. Hinata did not look up once.

When they arrived at Hinata’s home, Hinata finally looked up apprehensively, face completely blank. Kurenai watched her out of the corner of her eye, noticing with interest that only once did Hinata’s mouth turn down into a frown. Finally, it hardened into resolve and Hinata led the way into her home. Once they were inside the door, Hiashi was already waiting for them. The long hallway was dark, lit only by a few single skylights from above. “What do you want?” he demanded sharply of Kurenai. “I have told you before that I don’t wish you to meddle in our lives.”

“I’m not meddling. I only mean the best for you and your daughter,” Kurenai responded, keeping her voice level with effort.

“Do you think I don’t promote my own child’s welfare?” Hiashi asked, lip curling in annoyance. “I know what she needs, and I can assure you, Hinata is doing perfectly…”

“No, you don’t know!” Kurenai burst out. “You’re mistreating your daughter, and abusing her!” She stomped her foot angrily. At her sides, her fingernails began to make dents in the skin of her palms.

“I do not abuse my daughter,” Hiashi answered icily, rising to his full height. “Hinata, go to your room.”

“Pack your things,” Kurenai called after her.

Quietly, Hinata exited the tense situation and entered her own bedroom. To her surprise, Hanabi sat at the low table beside the window, studiously working on an academy assignment. “Hanabi?” Hinata asked quietly. “What are you doing in my room?”

The younger girl whipped around, eyes hardening as she saw her older sister. “I think the real question is what are you doing here? Father said you’d left,” she sneered in response.

“I am leaving,” Hinata answered, beginning to collect the few things she wanted.

“That’s good. We’re better off,” Hanabi replied flippantly, returning to her assignment.

“Why is that?” Hinata asked calmly, jaw clenching in repressed anger and sorrow.

“Because Father is going to make your room into another practice area for me,” Hanabi informed Hinata quietly, the emphasis on the first word making her reverence of her father clear. “He’s already told me that he’ll be glad if you leave.”

“He didn’t seem like that when he talked to Kurenai and me a few seconds ago.”

“You know how he is. He changes his image depending on who he’s talking to.”

“Yes, he does,” Hinata replied, gathering the last of her things. Finally, she began to move the cabinet to get at her medicines in the wall.

“What are you doing?” Hanabi scoffed. “Father certainly won’t let you take the furniture with.”

Wordlessly, Hinata removed her chest full of medicines from their place inside the wall. “What is that?” Hanabi asked, rising from the floor to investigate. With the curiosity only a seven-year-old possesses, she reached out and flipped the silver latches. Before Hinata could push her away, the younger girl had opened the box and gazed in disdain at its contents. “Medicines?” she asked, her mouth curving in a sneer Hinata last remembered seeing on the face of her father.

“Yes, medicines,” Hinata answered, slamming the chest with a hard clack. She fastened the latches and closed her bags, slinging one over her shoulder.

“Knowing you, you’re probably really bad at that too,” Hanabi snarled, turning back to her work.

“Why would you say that?” Hinata asked, an audible edge to her voice. Her gaze narrowed as her smaller, younger sibling turned back to look at her.

Hanabi turned up her nose as she stared back at her older sister. “Everybody in the village knows. You’re not good at anything, especially being a ninja and all that other…”

Before Hinata realized it, her hand connected solidly with Hanabi’s face. “Don’t say that,” she growled darkly. Hanabi raised both hands to her cheek, stunned that her own sister had attacked her like that. Hanabi’s gaze shifted to one of betrayal and hurt, and Hinata’s stomach suddenly turned. Why had she done that? What had she been thinking?

“You’re just a bitch, Hinata,” Hanabi snarled. Hinata’s eyes widened at the younger child’s callous words. She’d never heard her use any words like that before, ever. “A good-for-nothing, stupid, dumb bitch!” Angrily, Hanabi stepped towards her sister, rage evident on her young face.

Suppressing tears, Hinata quickly snatched up her bags, awkwardly gathered her medicine chest and raced out of the room, breath coming fast in panic. In the hallway outside the main entrance, she stopped as she heard raised voices. Kurenai and her father were still arguing. Prominently, she entered the room.

Abruptly, both adults stopped their argument, both looking over at her. Kurenai was the first to speak. “Hinata, are you ready to go?” she asked, crossing the room to assist the younger girl with her luggage.

“She is not ready to go. I’ve told you this already, Kurenai,” Hiashi snapped. “She is staying here. This is where she belongs.”

“It doesn’t matter if you treat her like she’s not wanted!” Kurenai replied, exasperated.

“And it would be better if she lived with you?”

“She’ll get better training from me, and she’ll have a better quality of life,” Kurenai explained, sounding as if she had repeated this a few times. Behind her, she could hear the quiet sound of weeping. Turning, she saw Hinata was hunched against the wall, face buried in her hands. Seizing the opportunity, Kurenai went on the attack. “Is this how you want your daughter to live? If you only knew how much she feels like this, you’d agree with me!” she stated, staring into Hiashi’s eyes. Unfortunately, Hiashi’s bland expression betrayed no emotion.

“She is like that because she is not strong. There is no purpose to a child who does not have strength. She is useless,” Hiashi said mildly, turning away.

“You don’t even know your own daughter. She has so many skills, so many strengths, that you just don’t know about,” Kurenai pleaded. “Let her leave here. Let her come with me.”

“I see I’ll get nowhere speaking with you,” Hiashi answered, turning. Raising one eyebrow, he turned to his oldest daughter, still hunched by the wall. “So I will leave it up to Hinata.”

At the mention of her name, Hinata glanced up, eyes slightly red from crying. Hiashi continued, “Why do you want to leave here, Hinata? Do you even wish to leave?”

Slowly, Hinata stood, using the wall behind her as a support for shaky legs. Why did she want to leave? There were so many things she just couldn’t tell her father. But did it matter? She was leaving. Her heart rose into her throat as she began to speak. “Father, I do want to leave. There is nothing else left here for me. You don’t care for me; I don’t think you ever have.” As she continued, her voice began to rise. “I have no friends here. I’m sick of this clan. I don’t want to be part of this power struggle. Everybody has given up on me, i-including myself. But now I want to change.” Suddenly, her voice dropped, almost to a whisper. “You may have given up on me, Father, but now, I have decided that I will never give up on myself.”

Glancing quickly over at Hiashi, Kurenai smiled at the man’s look of shock. Turning, she grinned at Hinata, who still stood, wide-eyed, apparently amazed at her own audacity. Finally, Hiashi nodded once, a single, precise, definite movement. “You may leave,” he stated slowly, and then turned, leaving the room.

“Let’s go, Hinata,” Kurenai called to Hinata, beckoning her. Slowly, Hinata moved towards the door, seemingly moving in a daze. Crossing the threshold of her family house, Hinata felt as if she’d been a ghost all her life, and had finally just come alive. The haze over her vision vanished, and everything suddenly seemed much brighter. A face stained with tears suddenly came alive with a smile. To Kurenai, it seemed like the brightest smile she had ever seen. Meowing, Yasuo met them again, rising from his nap in the warm sun outside. Hinata crouched to pick him up.

Strolling back to Kurenai’s apartment, the jounin slung an arm around her student’s shoulders. “You really have changed, Hinata,” she told her, smiling down at her.

Hinata only nodded, and continued walking towards her new home, and to her, a whole new life.

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