Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road We Walked ❯ Nobody Said It Would Be This Hard ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Summary Note: It’d be much appreciated if ya’ll were to leave a review every now and then. Original characters are a sensitive area, and I would like nothing more than to create characters readers will enjoy. Drop me a line anytime if you think my little guys are in danger of becoming the terrible Mary-Sue.

Characters: Hebiza Mikazuki, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Himura Chizuko, Tsunade, Uchiha Sasuke.

Rating: T

Warnings: I can’t write TOTAL yaoi, but it’s present in the background because that is about as much as I’m capable of. So be warned.



Her despondent gaze fell on her hands, gauze wrapped tightly, ensnaring her injured palms.

Chizuko sighed. She could have done better; she should have done better. She was an ANBU now. Well…not technically, but still. Despite being forewarned of possible encounters with the Akatsuki, she had been completely unprepared. She was certain that, had she been alone and without Hatake, she would not still be alive at this moment. Coupled with the knowledge that Hatake had been forced to cover for her – she had never felt so ashamed. The only reason she was here now to revel in her incompetence was because the Akatsuki man’s partner had arrived.

Mika had completely missed the action. The damn girl had been gone the entire time, though Chizuko had suspected that perhaps it had been the other Akatsuki man’s doing. She could not recall their names from the files the Hokage had given them, but she could certainly never forget the taller of the two, her opponent, with his large, chakra-eating sword. If she wasn’t so relieved that Mika had come out of the encounter unscathed, she would have been angry with the girl for being so useless.

“You’re awake.”

Chizuko smirked at the greeting, finding strange humor in it. Looking up, she gave her friend a grin, dimmed a little by her exhaustion and self-depreciating thoughts. “Obviously.”

When Mika didn’t take a seat at the chair placed conveniently at her bedside, Chizuko knew her friend had no intentions to stay for long. “I should have been there.”

“I’m not dead,” Chizuko teased, knowing better than to take her friend’s words as an indirect apology but indulging all the same. “Don’t tell me you were worried?”

Mika smirked. “Disappointed is the word.”

“Ouch. If you can make mean comments like that, you’re way too healthy.”

Mika snorted – what passed for a laugh with Hebiza Mikazuki – and she shook her head. “Do you plan to lie on your ass all day or are you ready to report in?”

“Shut up,” Chizuko groused, sitting up and slipping out of the bed. She was still in her Jounin pants and skivvies and felt dirtier than she cared to be. Mika had her vest and handed it to her with a distracted look in her eyes Chizuko recognized well enough to know she wouldn’t be able to read. And probably wouldn’t get any answers for, but she asked anyway. “What’s with you? You’ve got an ugly frown on your face. Not very attractive at all.”

Mika didn’t even glare, turning around and leaving the room.

“Kakashi has provided me with the details pertaining to your mission. I can assure you, though, that you will both be inducted into the ANBU officially.

Chizuko stared at the Hokage with a look of confusion she didn’t bother to hide. “But the mission …”

“Was a failure. Yes.”

That’s it? was left hanging in the air but Chizuko refrained. Mika would have probably been impressed by her restraint. Instead, she nodded and followed Mika’s lead half a second later when the other girl bowed. Behind them, the door opened, and Chizuko glanced back to see Shizune enter with Haruno Sakura. She bit back a grimace and turned back to the Hokage.

She couldn’t stand the girl.

Chizuko could already feel Mika’s exasperation – however well hidden it may have been – and knew she was not doing as well of a job hiding her aversion as she thought she was.

Both medics were oblivious. Haruno was the one who spoke. “Shishou, you wanted to talk to me?”

Shishou. Shishou. Shishou. What-the-fuck-ever. I remember when that little brat couldn’t even wipe her own snot. Now she thinks she’s all that ‘cause she’s got the Godaime teaching her. Pfft! Chizuko tried to keep her eyes focused on in front of her and put all her effort into not allowing her expression to belay her dislike.

“In a moment,” the Hokage replied, settling her eyes back upon Chizuko and Mika. “As for you two, you’re dismissed. Unless you can think of anything Kakashi may have missed …” If Chizuko hadn’t been too busy trying to ignore Haruno Sakura’s existence, she would have sworn she saw the Hokage give Mika a rather pointed look as she trailed off. “Then you are free to go. Don’t expect any missions for a while. I’m placing you both on guard duty for the time being.”

Chizuko didn’t groan, though she had the strongest urge to do so. She followed Mika out of the office and passed the Haruno girl with a derisive snort, receiving a cutting glare from her dark-haired friend in return. With a scowl, she said nothing as they left the headquarters and merged with the thin noon crowd of civilians.

They walked in a silence, Chizuko unconsciously scanning the streets for something to eat. She hadn’t eaten since … probably not since the mission, which was an awful long time when one considered a Himura’s appetite.

“Right! Next stop, straight to Ichiraku ramen!!”

A blond mass of hair suddenly collided into her, but Chizuko caught herself before she could lose balance, grasping the blond’s shoulders. That was a mistake, she realized, when she felt the pain shoot up her arms – her palms burned. Pulling them from the boy quickly, her lips twisted into a frown. The other nin seemed more startled, but his face quickly settled into an indignant scowl when he met her glare.

“Watch where the fuck you’re going, brat!” Chizuko snapped.

“Hey! I’m not a brat, you hag!”

Chizuko scowled, “Excuse me? Apologize, brat, before I beat the shit out of you!”

“Like hell am I going to apologize to a hag like you!” He snapped back, stepping back to establish a glare of his own. She felt brow twitch, and gritted her teeth in anger. About to retort, she cut off short when a man came up, punching the boy upside the head.

“You haven’t grown up at all.” Kakashi drawled, leveling his gaze on the boy.

Chizuko blinked, “You know this kid?”

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms, “I’m fifteen! I am so not a kid, hag!”

Chizuko made a face, not about to let the boy get away with insulting her. Admittedly, he was taller than her, but that was completely beside the point.

“Well I’m twenty-one, four years older than you! Beat that!”

“I take it from your outfit you’re with the ANBU. Is that really any way to be behaving?”

Chizuko startled at the significantly deeper voice and looked past Kakashi to see a taller man. His words registered a second after she recognized him, and any retorts died on her tongue. One of the Legendary Sannin, it was Jiraiya himself whom she was staring at, and the mortification set in slowly as she realized what a complete ass she had just been making of herself. He looked caught between amusement and annoyance and something more – she couldn’t even bring herself to meet Kakashi’s eyes, fearing the expression she might see in that single eye.

The blond started laughing, and she felt a tick start up just under her left eye – he was quickly silenced by another sharp bop to the head, this time courtesy of the Sannin.

“Ouch! Hey!”

“Stop being such a loudmouth.”

“I wasn’t--!”

Kakashi sighed, and it was all Chizuko not to shrivel to a pile of ash in her embarrassment. “So, how are you two? Any missions foreseeable in the near future?”

Mika answered when it was apparent Chizuko could not. “Well, we’re on guard duty.”

“Sounds stimulating,” Kakashi replied pityingly.

“Hn.” This, in Mika-nese, roughly translated to: “Yeah, that’s right. It’s going to be a pain in the ass, so don’t give me sass.”

The blond seemed to find her response amusing. He cracked another grin, “Wow. You sound just like that bastard!”

Chizuko frowned at the boy, but he didn’t clarify, entertained by his own thoughts. Mika expression seemed to shift as she studied him for a moment, before she looked away, and as Chizuko did a once-over of the boy, she finally recognized him. Blond hair, blue eyes, annoying as hell, and those whisker marks on his cheeks. He definitely fit the criteria of one Uzumaki Naruto. She grimaced outwards unintentionally, and she had a feeling the older men might have caught it given their suddenly stony expressions. But Uzumaki Naruto? That was just … Ew.

The last time she had checked – which, granted, was some three years ago – Uzumaki Naruto had still been the number one most disliked ninja. She saw no reason why that would change now. He seemed just as obnoxious and annoying as ever.

“Alright, well, let’s go get that ramen, eh Naruto?” the Sannin said, Kakashi nodding.

Chizuko watched the two adults leave with the energetic blond and waited until she was sure they were out of hearing distance before letting out a string of curses. Groaning, she turned her face to the skies, wishing they would open up and swallow her. “Oh my God. Why did you let me make such a complete fool of myself?”

Mika didn’t miss a beat, replying dryly, “You do it so often; it’s not worth the effort keeping on you every five seconds.”

Chizuko was not amused. “You are seriously the worst friend, like, ever.”

“I do try my hardest.”

Sneering, the redhead started forward hotly. “Do you? I figured it just came natural to you. Being a bitch and all.”

Mika didn’t reply, but Chizuko could practically feel the smugness radiating off of her.


Several weeks after their disappointment of a mission and they’d only had guard duty to look forward to. Somehow, she found it hard to believe that missions were really all so scarce.

Mika wandered down the Northern District of her estates, nodding to the passing guards. It was utterly silent, in daylight and at night – always consistently the same. No sound. Only painful memories. She didn’t linger on them. It had become a sort of art ignoring the painful – a necessity. Quiet nights like these were the kind she spent thinking about her brother. Those memories had long since stopped being painfully. She liked to focus on the memories she had of him rather than the memories she had been robbed.

At least, that’s what she tried to convince herself.

She didn’t stop walking until she was well beyond the Hebiza estates – normally, one wasn’t allowed past midnight, but given who she was, no one had the ability to pull rank on her. There was forest that stretched from the farther north side of the village near the estates. It was the only thing separating the Hebiza land from the Uchihas’ – though it was completely vacant at this point. Her grandmother had suggested buying the property but the Hyuugas had made too much of a protest, and the elders certainly did not intend to agree to that.

The Uchiha property would continue to sit there, unoccupied. Eventually, it would fade away with time, until only the lumber of those homes would remain. A prestigious clan, to be sure, but not without their own dark secrets. Mika’s eyes narrowed as her thoughts started on a familiar course. She stopped just before entering the wooded area and stared ahead into the darkness, as if she could see the estates on the other side if she looked hard enough.

“It’s been a while, Mika-chan.”

“Who are you?”

“My partner is preoccupied with your friends at the moment, so it’s just the two of us.”

“I have no intention of fighting you.”

“So you’re stalling, then?”

When she was little, a mere child – even before she could remember anything, even before she began at the academy – the Uchihas and Hebizas were always in dispute. Always on the verge of a truce, and yet somehow stubbornness and sheer pride seemed to be what prolonged the agreement for so long. Despite the feuds, the two clans were always aiming to please each other, while furtively scheming against the other. She recalled countless events with the main family of the Uchiha. It was how she came to know Uchiha Itachi.

If anyone had thought that because they were both prodigy heirs to their clans that either Itachi or herself would find a soul mate in one another, or even a lifelong rival, they were mistaken. Apathy described best what they felt for each other, although there may have been some annoyance on the Uchiha’s part because for a long part of their time together, she had been a mere child. People assumed she must have looked up to the older prodigy because they were always training with each other. She had admired him to some extent, but her arrogance had not permitted any form of reverence for the other.

The only one she had ever admired had been her older brother.

To Uchiha Itachi, she had probably never been more than another pestering child – much like his baby brother Sasuke. Sasuke had been a different matter. As children, they had been good friends - mostly due to their clans' efforts. She clearly remembered how much he'd adored his aniki and how he spent as much time as he could with the older boy as Itachi’s schedule allowed. And it wasn't as thought she never spoke with Itachi - he'd been a constant presence so long as she'd been friends with Sasuke, and eventually she grew comfortable enough to speak with him as casually as she would with Sasuke, but it wasn't the same.

The Itachi she had known was a man completely different than the one he really was. He was a missing-nin, wanted for mass murder. The fear and hate he still inspired amongst her fellow Leaf-nin was extraordinary and verged on legendary. He wasn’t the quiet prodigy that loved his brother dearly and served his village dutifully. There was really nothing she could claim to have known about the man, and now more than ever she realized just how little she knew of him. She’d been perhaps one of the few to know him during his youth.

“It’s a little late to be out at this time, don’t you think?”

Mika blinked, but wasn’t startled. It took her a moment to place a name with the voice. “I could say the same to you, Hatake-san. What are you doing on Hebiza property?”

Kakashi was perched on the lowest branch of the tree just to her right. She didn’t look at him, hoping he had a message to relay and wasn’t here for a chat. “Oh, is it? I wasn’t aware of that. You know how sketchy that boundary is between what’s Uchiha and what’s Hebiza and what’s neutral. It’d be so much easier if we could all just learn to share, don’t you think?”

She was not amused, and annoyance, coupled with exhaustion, was willing her to turn her back on the Jounin Elite and find her room. “Did you need something?”

“Oh, come on. Don’t sound so cold,” Kakashi called out to her. “I haven’t really seen you since you were a kid. I remember that if you weren’t with Uchiha Itachi, then you were with–“

“Right,” she cut him off sharply, casting him a frigid stare. Amber eyes met his single-eyed stare. There was a seriousness there she recognized from other adults. It always meant bad news. “What are you really here for, Hatake-san?”

This time, Kakashi didn’t give her his piece of psychoanalytic gibberish crap. He was silent for a moment, thoughtful.

“Why did you let him go?”

“Who?” she asked, needlessly. She knew who.

She felt his gaze try to pierce her and scowled, staring ahead into the darkness. “So it’s like that,” he murmured, more to himself than her it seemed.

“Why does it matter? My orders were to avoid conflict with them at all costs, and I merely obeyed,” she said at last because she could already imagine what was churning inside of his head. “I’m not conspiring with him.”

“You expect me to believe he would just let you go?” Kakashi asked stonily. She glanced up at him and he sighed, a little more resigned. “Obviously he did. But why?”

“He’s never been the type to start a conflict where it isn’t needed.”

“How noble of him.”

Frowning, Mika crossed her arms. “I’m not going to defend him to you. He’s a missing-nin. But he’s Itachi.”

“And let me guess,” Kakashi started, a touch of disdain in his tone. “You know him.”

“Not at all. I don’t presume to understand him. I didn’t know him back then, and I definitely don’t now.”

“Then why do you think he’d let you go? What is he after? You have to admit, it is suspicious.”

“I know.”

After a while, she turned her back to him. It was late, and the last thing she’d had in mind when she’d gone out for her walk was being cornered into an interrogation with the Copy Ninja.

“You can ask me all the questions in the world, Hatake-san, but it won’t change the fact that I simply do not know.”

As it turned out, instead of going home, like she should have, to bed where she could catch up on her much needed rest, she turned up at the front door of the Himura household. It was past the hour of decorum, and she had no excuse nor reason to be here, but that she wanted to speak to her friend. She needed someone to help her loosen up a bit or she wouldn’t be going to bed at all tonight.

“My, you haven’t come by to visit in a while now, have you?”

It was Kazihiro who opened the door, Chizuko’s older step-brother. He was a tall man, in his early twenties, and infallibly well-mannered. He was wearing a pair of loose pants and lacked a shirt – and judging by the perspiration on his chest and brow, she guessed she must have caught him just as he was finishing work downstairs in his father’s workshop.

She bowed her head to him and he chuckled. “Is Chizuko up?”

He gave her a wry smile, which was the equivalent to an eye roll, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Well, why don’t you come in and check? I have to go pick up Ami from her friend’s house.”

“A little late for her to be out…”

He sighed, “Yeah, well, she was going to spend the night. But that was before I found out she lied to me about who she was spending the night with.”

Mika watched him go with a quirked brow. She shook her head when he disappeared down the street. It was warm inside as she entered the Himura house and closed the door behind him.

The Himura house was small, with only three bedrooms for a family of five. The basement downstairs was for the workshop where Chizuko’s step-father produced special made weapons that worked well with nearly any chakra element. It was a side business to help with the finances. Now that Chizuko was with ANBU, though, Mika didn’t expect they’d be facing as many problems as they had in the past.

“Nee-chan!”

Kenji emerged from the walk-in kitchen and she lifted a hand in a sort of half-way. A wide grin broke out on his chubby face, and standing on his tiptoes to set the platter of cookies he’d been carrying on the dining table, he ran at her, enveloping her waist in his short-armed embrace. His wide, rusty colored eyes were squeezed tight, and she ruffled his hair affectionately, one hand on his shoulder, but didn’t return the hug.

“Your sister?” she asked, hoping to avoid any questions the boy might have for her. If allowed, he could very well go for hours without a breath, she was sure. She had no intention of finding out.

He pointed to the hall, and she followed his little finger. “Bathroom. But she’s being a meanie! She hit me!”

“Alright,” she murmured indulgently, “Let me go talk to her. Shouldn’t you be going to bed?”

He wouldn’t pull away, but she heard his pout. “Can you help me with kunai throwing? Please? Chizuko-nee never helps me and I don’t wanna ask Kazi-nii ‘cause he’s always so busy.”

And I’m not? But she wouldn’t say that to the boy, and smiled down at him with an ease only his youthful eyes could bring about in her. “I’m sure he is. Another time perhaps, Kenji-kun. It’s rather late.”

He looked properly dejected, and she felt a tug at her heart for putting such an expression on his face. She continued to smile, and he eventually sighed when he realized she wouldn’t be caving. “Okay … Night then,” he muttered sulkily, tightening his arms around her waist briefly before leaving to retrieve his platter of confectionaries and disappear into another room.

She found the bathroom door after she heard the boy’s bedroom shut in some other part of the small house. Knocking produced only a litany of curses Mika wasn’t sure to be amused by or annoyed.

“I told you to leave me the fuck alone, Kenji!!”

Annoyed it was. “It’s Mika.”

Silence followed, though she suspected she might have heard another muttered curse or two before the door opened a short second after to reveal a scantly clothed Chizuko. A fine brow arched as she took in her friend’s attire – or lack of. Foam dribbled from Chizuko’s mouth as she spoke, the red end of her toothbrush hanging loosely at the corner of her mouth. Mika didn’t bother concealing her disgust.

“Wha’ ah oo ooin’ hee?”

“Please…” Mika nearly groaned, nose crinkling.

Chizuko only blinked at her owlishly and completely oblivious to the frothy paste dribbling from the corner of her mouth and over the curve of her chin. Shaking her head, she pushed her way past the older girl and into the cramped little bathroom. She found purchase on the edge of the bathtub, planting her feet down on the linoleum floor and setting her elbows on her knees, leaning forward. She looked up at Chizuko with a blank expression.

“Quit staring at me and spit. You look rabid.”

Chizuko threw her a dirty glare but did as told. It took her only about a minute to finish brushing her teeth and rinse her mouth, completely nonchalant throughout the routine as to Mika’s sudden and unannounced arrival. Mika studied the linen closet directly opposite of her in the hall while her mind drifted. She remembered when she was much younger – eight or nine perhaps; only a year or so after graduating from the academy – when Chizuko and herself had been nearly attached at the hip.

Their friendship had always been a strange one. There was no logic nor reason to their relationship with one another. Their friendship was contradictory. Rarely, if ever, did they agree on any one thing. Their views were drastically different, and their personas were just the polar opposite of the other. Yet somehow, they’d managed to maintain a friendship to outlast nearly anyone else.

“So? What’s up?” Chizuko asked when she had finished with her cleansing rituals; water stained her red top a dark crimson color and a little face wash still clung just under her chin. Mika didn’t endeavor to point it out to the other girl as the redhead planted herself, cross-legged, on the rug in front of the sink.

To be honest, she hadn’t had a reason to cross the village just to pay a visit to the Himura. It had been a spur of the moment thing inspired by her frustration with the Copy Ninja who’d left her in such a mental state that she’d known before he’d even left sleep would not be coming to her that night. She hadn’t prepared something to say in advance for Chizuko, although a part of her had already known the girl would not allow her to get away with coming over in the middle of the night without a proper explanation. Chizuko would find a way to pry some sort of information from Mika the latter had not meant to share in the first place.

But she hadn’t realized she’d already had something intended to discuss with the older girl until the words came tumbling out. “It’s Toshimasa’s birthday today.”

To her credit, Chizuko didn’t make a great event of the sudden statement. “Do you mean yesterday, or today? You realize it’s way past midnight, right?”

“Today,” Mika affirmed staidly, eyes focused on a spot on the linoleum floor between her feet.

“Toshimasa as in your brother Toshimasa?” This time, Mika didn’t bother to dignify her idiotic friend with a response. She could see Chizuko nodding to herself out of her peripheral. “Right. So, what about him?”

Her words, although Mika doubted it was intentional, rang a little callous to her ear. What about him? Toshimasa had been a brother to Chizuko in a similar way Kazihiro had been a brother to Mika. So, what about him? seemed a little insensitive and Mika felt her eyes narrow though she didn’t look up at the older girl to deliver the glare. Mika didn’t offer a reply while she tried to find a suitable answer instead. What did she have to say about Tochi but that she missed him terribly and wanted him back? She was supposed to be past this but it was a little easier to convince others than herself – although there were times she could fool both parties quite well.

She couldn’t very well say any of that out loud, either. Admitting that she longed for her brother’s assuring presence would lead to questions. Chizuko was under the impression that he had moved away – or something to the like. Mika had never taken the time to sit the girl down and properly come up with a story – merely given some vague, passing statement that wouldn’t contain enough to get the older girl thinking. Chizuko wasn’t exceptionally analytical, but that didn’t change the fact that the girl was frighteningly astute in recognizing a lie. Chizuko’s prowess was in the battlefield – not in mind games.

“Okay, how about this,” Chizuko said suddenly, a note of exasperation in her voice that wasn’t exactly annoyance. “Why don’t we go outside or somewhere that isn’t the bathroom and you can spill whatever’s on your mind. Hm? Sound good?”

Mika flicked the other girl a flat look and the two stared each other down for a full minute before Mika consented and stood.

Fifteen minutes later found them on the roof of the Himura house, gazing up into the night without a word between them. Mika’s mind continued to run a mile a second, but she found herself incapable or unwilling to voice her thoughts. If she didn’t keep her guard up, she sometimes found it was all too easy to go on about herself carelessly with Chizuko. A part of her knew that, with friendship, it was almost expected of one to be able to share their problems and thoughts with another. But, quite frankly, friend or not, she was not comfortable with the idea of giving someone that much ammunition against her.

Chizuko knew this. For the most part, the Himura would pretend it didn’t bother her that Mika was so reluctant to share any of her more intimate thoughts with Chizuko, despite the ten years of friendship between them. Sometimes, however, it was the very cause for quarrels between them. Mika couldn’t expect the other girl to ever be entirely fine with her introverted qualities when Chizuko herself was such an extrovert. Mika recognized the imbalance in their friendship well enough – where one gave and the other refused to neither give nor receive.

But Chizuko was not without her own ascetic properties. The girl was loud and brash and flamboyant, but that fiery exterior belayed just as much as the icy one Mika enshrouded herself in. The only difference was that Chizuko did not recognize her own subconscious attempts to prevent others from seeing too much of her inner vulnerability. Chizuko didn’t even acknowledge her own vulnerability to Mika’s knowledge. Chizuko had managed to convince even herself that the tough façade she carried around was truly her own. It was that Chizuko both longed and loathed for bonds to share with others and she pushed others away under the guise of trying to make friends whereas Mika gave no such disillusions – Mika wanted solitude, not friends.

Mika pushed away those thoughts, feeling a tinge of bitterness.

They were lying on their backs and the shingled roof beneath her was slightly uncomfortable. The sky was speckled with stars that were gradually being swallowed by the oncoming clouds. Despite the clouds, she didn’t expect rain for another couple of day, nor any snow.

“Hey,” Chizuko broke the silence, tone considerably more sedate than the vociferous quality it usually contained. “I heard something funny the other day…”

Mika hummed up at the stars, indicating for Chizuko to continue.

“Some people have been saying that …” Chizuko was mumbling, but she still seemed unable to find the right words. “Well, I’ve heard that … that ...” A frustrated sigh from the Himura and Mika heard the girl shift beside her while above her amber eyes the constellations seemed to shift. “Is it true that … about you and … that Hyuuga guy?”

Oh. Mika blinked, slowly turning her head to look at Chizuko. The redhead was on her side, upper body supported by an elbow and expression one of curiosity and incredulity. Those red eyes were scanning over Mika’s face, as if looking for clues to the answer.

“It’s not set in stone,” was her eventual response.

Chizuko’s eyes widened and her expression dissolved to shock. “Wait – So, for real? You and him? But–“

“I said it’s not set in stone,” Mika turned her gaze to the skies again and tried to find where she’d left off. “As in, nothing has been decided.”

“But … are you guys, like, together?”

She took her time answering, realizing where Chizuko’s thoughts had led her. Mika tried not to sigh in annoyance, feeling as though she was being forced to explain a very simple matter to a child. “Chizuko, this is an arrangement between our families. Hyuuga Neji and I are not an item.”

“Oh.”

“Understand?” And if her tone was a little condescending, well, she’d never claimed to be a patient person.

“Yeah.” Mika almost felt like she owed the girl a better explanation by the lost tone Chizuko had taken on. And then the older girl continued. “That’s so weird though. You and that guy … are like – it’s just a really bad match, in my opinion.”

Mika couldn’t resist, snorting softly as a smirk took her lips and she closed her eyes as a memory came unbidden. “Better than with whom they’d intended, I suppose.”

“Huh? Who? What are you talking about?”

Shaking her head, she pushed away the silly memory of her childhood. “Never mind. Forget it.”

“What? No, tell me! I wanna know!” Chizuko insisted. Mika opened her eyes to see the girl sitting up now, looking eager for more.

“I don’t think so,” Mika said, shaking her head again and pulling herself upright, straightening her back to get rid of any cricks. Something occurred to her after a moment and she glanced at her friend with a mild frown. “How did you hear about this, anyway? It’s not exactly common news.”

Her curiosity behind her, Chizuko snorted with the change of topic. “Tell that to that Inuzuka boy. He was telling everyone about it.” Chizuko grinned, shrugging, oblivious to the irritation that had slowly begun to steal Mika’s expression. She did not care to be the topic of break-room gossip. “I’spose it was his little Hyuuga friend - that little girl, what’s-her-name - that told him. She’s pretty dumb to think a loud mouth like him could keep a secret.”

It wasn’t that she was embarrassed or anything of that sort. It wasn’t even that she cared all that much about having people gossiping about her. Frankly, she didn’t care what they had to say. As if anyone had anything bad to say about a union between two prodigal heirs, anyway. But as nothing had yet to be decided, she knew that having people talking about them would make things unnecessarily difficult at work. Not only that, but the pressure of so many expectant people could be what finally pushed Hokori to finally accept the proposal. It was a smart match, she knew, and it would benefit both clans tremendously, she was sure. However, she was simply not ready to settle down and become a housewife any time soon. Starting a family was the furthest thing from her mind.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to start one. She was just not meant to be a mother.

“Speaking of loudmouths,” Chizuko continued, “I didn’t know Hatake was that kid’s teacher. That Uzumaki brat. Man, how can he stand him? And wasn’t that Uchiha kid on his Genin team, too? Wow. He might be, like, all that and whatever, but with students like that? I dunno … Guess I expected better.”

“Haruno Sakura was on the team as well,” Mika supplied absently, glad to be off the topic of herself and her family matters. “She’s one of our best medics.”

“She’s not that great. And it’s only because she had the Godaime to teach her,” Chizuko sneered. “I hate that girl. I mean, who does she think she is? She thinks she’s so special… Probably thinks learning a couple medic techniques will help bring back her precious Sasuke-kun. She’s just like all those other prissy little girls, only, at least the other girls had the sense to get over the punk-brat after he ditched our village.”

Ayame had shown promise in medical jutsus, since her family owned an apothecary and pharmacy. Chizuko was of the belief that if anyone should have become the Godaime’s assistant, it should have been Ayame. It seemed like a foolish reason to hold a grudge against someone, especially when that someone had no idea.

“You realize that becoming a medic nin requires a lot of chakra control, right? It’s not something just anyone can do,” Mika pointed out. Chizuko scowled at her but Mika wasn’t about to assuage the girl’s damaged ego. Nor was she going to play along with Chizuko’s need to trash anything and everything about Haruno.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t get upset,” Mika murmured, bending her knees and crossing her arms over them. “I was just pointing out–“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Whatever. I don’t care. Let’s drop this.”

Burying her face into her arms, she hid the smile that came upon her lips. “Yes. Let’s.”

Chizuko awoke feeling better than she had in a long time with the knowledge that she wouldn’t be taking on a shift around Konoha’s perimeter. As she splayed out against the mattress, moaning in content, she brought her hands up to her face, grinning despite herself. Back and ready for action. Maybe the Hokage would finally give her a mission, instead of guard duty, as she’d been giving them every morning for the last four weeks. Hopping out of bed, she even bothered to tend to the sheets. She walked to her wardrobe, pulling out her Jounin uniform, whistling tunelessly as she carried her clothes into the bathroom, setting her things down on the counter.

She took a chance, glancing at herself in the mirror, and couldn’t help but cringe.

Chizuko swiped a hand through her crimson hair, tangling her fingers in the process within some particularly stubborn locks. She glared at her reflection in the mirror, cursing as she slipped out of her clothing. Stupid hair. Hate it.

She was thoughtful enough to finish up her shower before she took up all of the hot water and finished washing the essentials in about a minute or two. Slipping into her uniform, she grabbed her hairbrush from the bathroom counter and quickly untangling the wet strands. When she’d managed to tame the crimson hair and brushing her teeth, she left the bathroom to the impatient Ami and followed the scent of breakfast into the kitchen.

Four plates of omuraisu, each with a separate drink were awaiting the Himura siblings at the dining table; her father was already eating, slurping his coffee noisily at intervals. Subaru looked up from his plate when she took her seat beside him, grinning wolfishly. She shook her head in bemusement, “What’s the hurry?”

He swallowed, taking a long sip of his coffee. “Gotta open up early today.” He said no more, reaching across the counter to ruffle her hair before speeding out the door.

Chizuko chuckled, poking into her omelet with her chopsticks, digging out the rice and mixing it with the ketchup. By the time she was done, Ami and Kenji had barely made it to the kitchen, arguing about socks of all things. She didn’t bother to scold them, taking her plate to the sink and rinsing it out, swallowing the remainder of her coffee in one gulp. It was a foolish endeavor trying to get two children to get along anyway. Chizuko left before they could drag her into their dispute with the sudden inspiration to visit her Hebiza friend.

In all practicality, she knew that was probably not the brightest idea to have ever occurred to her. Mika hated to be visited at her own home and made a point to ground this fact every time Chizuko quite conveniently forgot.

It took nearly half an hour on foot to get to the Hebiza estates. As with the other larger clans, the Hebiza estates were placed a fair distance from the hustle and bustle of the village. She knew when she found the right place when a massive wall appeared out of the thick foliage that made up part of the Nara forest. The Hebiza and Uchiha estates were very close to one another as far as placement went, separated by the Nara’s forest. The Nara family itself lived nowhere near either clan.

There were guards at the entrance to the compound, unsurprisingly, and Chizuko inwardly groaned. If Mika was annoying, her clan was worse by tenfold. It must have been some sort of Hebiza trait, but even Mika wasn’t so condescending and self-assured. As she approached, she could practically feel the glares they wanted to direct on her – neither bore an expression, faces carefully frigid. Chizuko would have been unnerved if she hadn’t spent so long familiarizing herself with Mika’s glacial variations of that same look.

“What business do you have here?” The guard to the left snapped.

“Don’t play dumb. I’m here to see Mika.” As a kid, she’d tried several tactics in dealing with the other Hebizas. She had learned not to waste her time feigning good manners with these people. The notoriously dark clan knew her well enough anyway to know she had no ulterior motives – she was best friends with their heir, after all – but that didn’t mean they liked her.

“Mikazuki-sama is in a meeting at the moment and she cannot be disturbed.” He sneered.

She crossed her arms over her chest hotly, “Listen, I came here to talk to Mika, and I’m going to talk to her like it or not.” She stated defiantly, “Just tell her Chizuko's here to see her.”

This time, the guard to the right spoke. “Mikazuki-sama is in a meeting. Come back another time if it is so urgent.”

“No. I want to talk to her now. I can wait for the stupid meeting to finish.” Deciding to take a chance, she smirked, “You don’t want to make her mad by refusing to let me in, right? You remember her warning.”

She didn’t mention that the same warning had been rebuked that same day some years ago by Mika’s grandfather himself. Or that Mika, in all likelihood, wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if Chizuko had to wait outside all day long for her to finish with her meeting. I told you not to bother me at home, she could just imagine the younger girl saying unsympathetically. In any event, it didn’t seem that these two guards had ever heard of Meiyo’s warning– “Do not presume to simple waltz in here whenever you please, you foolish child. This is my home, and I do not care if my granddaughter has extended an invitation to your entire family. My word is law, and if I should decide your presence here is no longer acceptable, then neither you nor she will have a say in my decision.”

Chizuko suspected that scaring her guards into letting her in was one of those things Meiyo wouldn’t find ‘acceptable’.

Her empty threat seemed to work on the two Hebiza, who were obviously going to severely reprimanded later, but Chizuko couldn’t find it in herself to feel guilty. They stiffened considerably, exchanging nervous glances. After a moment, they conceded, forcing the large gate open, grumbling all the same and shooting her dark glares. She felt like grinning and did – So much for the impenetrable Hebiza façade. Glad to know I’m capable of pissing off anyone with the Hebiza blood.

Years ago Chizuko had concluded that she would never be able to win over the Hebiza clan, and especially no one of the main family. Mika and Tochi must have been some sort of defects for turning up into the world with some humanity intact. She didn’t think she was exaggerating. Although, she sometimes wondered if Mika wasn’t losing that little humanity as well – and she said little because Hebiza Mikazuki was a damn cold bitch if you didn’t happen to be on her good graces and Chizuko was just glad she’d met the girl when she’d had Toshimasa around to thaw her. But raised in such an emotionally stolid environment, Chizuko wouldn’t have been able to fault the girl for becoming a little frosty.

Chizuko's hand twitched restlessly at her sides as she examined the room around her and mulled over the Hebizas. It was always with some sense of awe that she would ponder the clan of one of Konoha’s most ancient and still come to the conclusion that it was the very same clan her dearest friend belonged to. It also gave her a headache, and nearly ten minutes since she’d been cast off into this little room to wait for Mika, she was beginning to lose her patience.

She was sitting in a tea room that served as a sort of waiting room for (unwanted) guests where that old bat Kaede – the woman who had led her to this room and instructed her, in that very grave and simultaneously condescending tone, not to leave this room – was probably hoping to see how many hours it would take before Chizuko gave up at last. Chizuko would think the hag would get tired of making each visit such hell, but surmised it was the only entertainment the woman had.

Glad to be of service.

The room was fairly quaint, with antique furnishings and walls covered with beautifully painted rice paper shoji. The center table was surrounded with tatami, while the rest of the floor remained a rich chestnut. The clay pitcher and cups were solid ebon, the centerpiece a narrow vase with two winding serpents along its length and a single black rose within.

When the shoji door slid open what must have been two hours later, it was to reveal the devil’s maid herself, Kaede, followed by an elegantly robed young woman. It took a great effort of will not to choke when she recognized the young woman as Mika – who, in turn, was regarding her with an expression of mild ire. “Chizuko.”

Words wouldn’t come to her – she was torn between openly gaping, or laughing outright. Mika must have been able to read her mind, because those amber eyes narrowed a fraction upon Chizuko and quelled both urges quite effectively. The shock took a little longer to ebb away. Mika seemed to be running on particularly low patience as she crossed her arms over her chest, prettily made up features twisting into a scowl few of her Hebiza kin would allow.

“Um, hey,” Chizuko replied intelligently, forcing a smile to conceal her discomfort. “You look … nice?”

Scary would have been a more fitting adjective. Admittedly, with her long, sleek black hair free of its usual confines to frame her small, heart-shaped face, Mika looked particularly more feminine and especially stunning. Her lips were in bright contrast to the rest of her pale face, a soft rosy hue, and her golden-amber eyes were sharp and emphasized in dark kohl. Mika was the very essence of a traditional Japanese beauty, without a hint of foreign blood to taint her genetics. Unlike Chizuko herself who had inherited her crimson hair and eyes from her mother. Kenji, who shared genes with their step-father Subaru, actually bore his dark head of hair as proof.

Mika’s face was blank and unreadable as she stepped forward, dismissing Kaede. The woman bowed lowly, quickly exiting.

The disturbing thing about Mika, quite frankly, was that she looked far older than her age. Mika, for once, looked completely like the prodigal heir that she was. Chizuko had never cared to ever ponder too deeply how remarkable her friendship with the other girl was. She supposed she took for granted how very few Mika allowed herself to become close too, not only because of her natural inclination to push people away, but because of her status. Mika was the heir to one of Konoha’s most powerful clans. She came from a family that still actually arranged marriages with other clans as one would to settle a business transaction. That Chizuko could call her a friend had never before seemed like such an incredible thing.

“I sincerely hope you have a good reason for being here.” Mika said in a tone Chizuko recognized with some trepidation.

With her sudden revelation, Chizuko felt herself become somber, something heavy and unpleasant settling in her stomach.

She felt she had lost a friend, but she knew that was foolish. She had only uncovered another layer to her remarkably mysterious friend. Those golden eyes were watching her with a degree that matched the tone their owner had adopted. Eyes far too knowing, piercing any mental barriers and raiding your thoughts mercilessly. That steely gaze that was too fathomless to belong to the friend Chizuko had come to know over many years. It was a gaze that belonged more to Mikazuki, who lacked expression and emotion and a human conscience alike; the very same Chizuko had encountered on missions, killing mercilessly because it was a necessity without batting an eyes even at the age of eight.

Chizuko had not realized how many times she had in fact come across that other persona within her dear friend. Mikazuki of the Hebiza clan who assessed every situation with an analytical prowess that rivaled the Nara prodigy himself. The Mika she knew was a sarcastic and blunt and valued the importance of her comrades over the mission; Mikazuki, on the other hand, was willing to make any sacrifices necessary for the better of the village and the ultimate success of the mission.

Right now she was looking at Mikazuki herself, and Chizuko wasn’t sure if she felt better for uncovering the little secret of Mika’s double personalities.

And just as she was about to come up with some excuse to leave without angering her friend in the process, Mikazuki vanished. A mere softening of the severe expression Mika had worn, and the slightest amount of warmth began to trickle back into those dangerous eyes. Suddenly Chizuko was looking at her best friend again and she released a breath she hadn’t been holding.

“Did something happen?” Mika asked, slender brows tugging together in concern.

Chizuko relaxed, scolding herself for being so foolish, and smiled up at the girl instead. “No, no. Sorry … I was kinda spacin’ out, huh?”

The worry that had begun to reflect in amber eyes quickly became annoyance and Mika rolled her eyes. “Chizuko…”

Just then, the door slid open again, this time revealing a tall, wiry man, and cold, calculating pallid green eyes that fell immediately upon her. “You.”

Chizuko grimaced a smile, “Hi?”

Hebiza Hokori was not amused. Chizuko saw Mika step away from the door, looking back at her grandfather with an unreadable expression; Chizuko was mildly glad to see the girl didn’t revert to Mikazuki, though she suspected the man before them was the very same who brought that side out in her friend.

“Hokori-sama,” Mika started diplomatically, drawing his heavy glare away from Chizuko. “I was the one who asked her to come–“

Chizuko couldn’t believe the girl was lying for her, and her eyes widened. Hokori didn’t seem to be buying it either, for he sneered. “Do not lie to me, girl. I know you well enough to know you would have had the forethought to alert the guards and maids so they could entertain this little friend of yours.”

“It was a last minute thing. I apologize. I did forget–“

“And not only that – she has the audacity to call for you, interrupting a very important meeting,” he snapped, cutting Mika off again.

“I have already apologized once, Hokori-sama.” Mika retorted calmly. If it were not for her serene expression – though her eyes were anything but – her words may have seemed impudent. Chizuko stilled, tensing in suspense for the girl, who seemed entirely unperturbed to be faced with the glare Hokori had settled upon her.

Chizuko didn’t catch what was said between them as Hokori stepped forward to murmur something into Mika’s ear. There was nothing welcoming about the gesture, and Chizuko had the feeling she had just made more problems for her friend and her vindictive grandfather. When he left, the room seemed to return to appropriate temperatures. Chizuko made a face after him, finding it easier to breathe, and glanced at Mika, who stared after her departed grandfather with a stony look on her face. Whatever message he had left her with, Chizuko didn’t doubt it was more unpleasantness.

Guilty, she tried to wave off the terse mood. “He gives me the creeps. Why’s he such a stiff?” Mika turned and met her eyes. She didn’t speak for a long moment, and Chizuko began to feel uneasy under the gaze. Looking away, Chizuko brought a hand to her forehead, fiddling with her hitai-ate. “Hey look, Mika … I didn’t mean to get ya in trouble or whatever. Sorry.”

“Why are you here, Chizuko?” Mika asked instead, dismissing the apology. She situated herself on the opposite end of the table, slipping off her sandals and kneeling before the table with ease. There was a certain formal air that had returned to her, inspired, no doubt, by the Hebiza head.

Chizuko choked, “Oh. Just … visiting.” Hardly an adequate response, considering the commotion “just a visit” had stirred. Mika seemed to agree, casting a steadily unreadable look while she started on the tea. Feeling abashed, she watched as Mika went about slipping a mixture of herbs into the tea pot before settling the lid, then taking two cups from their stead and sitting them right side up in front of her.

“Just visiting,” Mika repeated in a way that sounded more like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Chizuko snorted, crossing her arms across her chest with a huff, “Well, what? I’m not allowed to visit my friend?” Mika sent her a look that told her immediately to be silent. Chizuko frowned. “Alright. I’m sorry. Stupid idea.”

“Your poor timing may have cost my Meiyo-sama her argument,” Mika said offhandedly. “Not that it matters.”

Chizuko blinked, “What?”

“We were meeting with the Hyuugas regarding the arrangement we spoke of last night,” she explained casually. Mika slid the sleeve of her robe up along her forearm, neatly folding the tea towel and wrapping it around the handle of the pot. She lifted it with a steady hand and poured the hot substance into each cup, the tea steaming in defiance. She handed Chizuko a cup, careful not to burn either, and then took her own. Following the girl’s lead, she took a sip and nearly sighed into the cup. The instant bitterness of the tea was countered by the sweet taste of honey and mint, forming a soothing and serene tang on her tongue.

Shaking herself mentally – Let’s not get all poetic over a cup of tea, now, Chizuko, she reprimanded herself – she registered the Hebiza’s words at last. “You mean … about the whole … marriage thing?”

Mika nodded and Chizuko groaned.

“Aw man, sorry ‘bout that,” she grumbled, genuinely apologetic. “But, hey, are you really okay with that? With letting your clan decide who you’re going to marry?”

“It’s just how things are done in families like ours.”

“It’s dumb! I mean, you don’t even know him!” Chizuko refuted, knowing the argument was moot.

It wasn’t as though she’d ever pegged her friend to be the romantic type anyway. If anything, an arranged marriage suited the girl perfectly. It just didn’t sit well with Chizuko. She searched her friend for a flicker of anything in those golden eyes of hers that would tell her the girl was as opposed to the idea as Chizuko was – but she found nothing. Mika’s face remained perfectly composed as she sipped her tea silently, as though the arrangement was nothing at all to concern herself with. It seemed as though Mika had made her peace with situation, and it bothered Chizuko, because she didn’t want her friend to be the type who gave in to her family’s whims simple because it was her duty as heir.

“Are you okay with it? Seriously?” Chizuko pressed when Mika said nothing.

Of all the responses, Chizuko certainly did not expect the careless shrug the girl offered her. Mika met her eyes again over the rim of her teacup. “It doesn’t really matter what I think. I don’t have a say in the matter.”

Chizuko had the forethought to set down the cup in her hands before she broke something, sitting straighter. “And you’re okay with that? Aren’t you upset?”

Mika sighed, regarding her for a long moment. “This was inevitable, Chizuko. I knew eventually the time would come – it was only a matter of when and with whom.”

“But don’t you want to be able to choose your own husband? Someone you actually want to spend the rest of your life with? Someone you–“

Mika smiled. “Love?” Chizuko looked away, frowning. “Love has nothing to do with this. I’m not interested in love, I can assure you that. If nothing else, I should be grateful.”

Chizuko blinked, meeting Mika’s gaze reluctantly. “Grateful?”

She took one last sip before setting down her cup and shrugging again. The smile, Chizuko noticed, did not reach her eyes. “Neji-san is a very intelligent and a worthy husband. He is one of our best Jounin. It would be an honor to marry him.”

“You’re lying.”

The smile didn’t falter. Small, and soft, it gave her away.

“That’s just the way things are.”

“We’re here.”

“And where exactly … is this?” Chizuko asked, staring up at the long wall of shoji, then back Mika.

Opening the door, Mika stepped inside. “Dojo. We might as well do something productive today.”

Chizuko grinned, having absolutely no qualms with that. Mika pulled her hair up into a low ponytail and Chizuko sniggered as the girl became a little more recognizable, despite the makeup she wore. On their way to the dojo, they had venture past Mika's bedroom, where the younger girl had changed into something considerably less formal. Mika must have heard the snort, for she glared, turning her back on the redhead almost haughtily it nearly had Chizuko on the floor laughing.

“Come here and choose your weapon,” Mika instructed from the large collection of weapons along the left wall of the room – which looked to be the only solid wall in the room.

Chizuko already had a weapon in mind – after all, her father produced weapons for a living – but she waited to see what Mika would choose in order to properly counter. She wasn’t too surprised when Mika took out a bokken. The wooden weapon was worn, but Chizuko didn’t doubt its durability – especially not in the hands of a swords expert like the Hebiza heir.

She examined each weapon carefully, taken aback by the assortment of weapons displayed. Of course, being as wealthy as she was, Mika would have nearly every weapon imaginable in her arsenal. A couple minutes longer spent searching before something occurred to her and she turned back to Mika, who had already begun to perform her katas in the middle of the room.

“Hey, you wanna switch out weapons?”

“Why?”

“Because, I’m not fighting you steel against wood.”

“It matters not what weapon you choose, but how you wield it.” Was Mika’s clever response, and she could hear the smirk in that tone.

Chizuko sighed in irritation, “Just change the fuckin’ weapon!”

She heard the girl’s quiescent sigh behind her. “Fine. Hand me the katana.”

Chizuko had only enough time to spin around and catch the bokken, glaring at the girl for the lack of warning. Setting the bokken back where she assumed it belonged – in the only empty space amongst all the other swords – she grabbed a katana and held it out for the girl to see.

Mika shook her head, “That’s the dai-katana. The katana should be by the kodachi.”

“Don’t see the difference,” she grumbled, returning the dai-katana. Pulling out swords at random and showing them to the younger girl, she eventually found the right one. She wasn’t sure who was more frustrated by the time she finally collected her own weapon – the Fuuma Shuriken – and met the Hebiza at the center of the mat. Unlike Mika, she wasn’t adept in kenjutsu. Mika had been taught as a child, among many other things. Either way, Chizuko had never been good with handling swords such as the ones Mika practiced and fought with.

She felt the smooth girth of the katana rest against her cheek and gasped, startled.

“Stop daydreaming, and hurry. I don’t have all day.” Mika retracted the blade, sliding it back into the sheath. Chizuko turned around, smirking.

“Heh, patience is a virtue. Didn’t you always use to tell me that?”

Mika’s face remained blank, “You are going to use the fuuma shuriken against my katana?” She asked with an air of incredulity. Chizuko shrugged, twirling the blade in her hand, letting the four blades separate, spinning rapidly now. With a lingering smirk, she formed a quick seal with her free hand and started the match with a little disappearing act.

There were little to no places to hide here, and it would prove difficult to sneak up behind Mika without her notice. She would have to keep her distance. The katana was an effective and potentially deadly weapon. The first, and sometimes maybe even final attack, was the most effective and dangerous. Not that either one of them were aiming to kill, but it wasn’t a match if they didn’t keep their intentions close. Inflict as much damage as possible without doing any permanent harm, illustrating both restraint and strength. Close range assaults would be foolish to try on Mika; she’d fought the other enough to know.

There was little she could do at the moment, and would have to rely on her speed. Mika remained, standing still and completely unmoving, in the center of the arena, her right forearm stretched across her stomach and resting on the hilt of her blade, gripping it loosely.

Charging her chakra, she let it seep into the fuuma shuriken, enlarging the weapon and sharpening the edges – she’d chosen the Fuuma for this specific purpose. Every fuuma shuriken employed by a Konoha nin was made by none other than Subaru, and the metals he used to forge his weapons were all the same in that they were adaptable to nearly any element of chakra. Chizuko paused and flung the shuriken at the amber-eyed girl, chakra swirling around the blade, causing a small but effective whirlwind of crimson.

Mika dodged and rushed forward in quick, light steps, hand forming a fist around the leather hilt of her katana.

A whisper as the blade was released from its confines, slicing through the air and then redirecting horizontally was the only warning Chizuko got as Mika made her first move. The metal glinted a reflection of the pallid light in the room. She bent back, taking a step back to steady herself, then crouching low and aiming a kick. Mika jumped to avoid the blow, flipping back and landing softly on the lustrous cinnamon of the wood.

From her vantage, Chizuko saw the slight widening of eyes and smirked as Mika just narrowly avoided being severed in half as her shuriken came back, soaring through the air like a boomerang. She watched Mika frown, stumbling back and clutching her abdomen with her free hand. The thin cloth of her dark top was torn through, and she cringed, glancing down at the damage. Her palm came back covered in blood and she sent Chizuko a flat glare.

Chizuko caught the shuriken in her hand deftly, smirk widening to a grin, “You underestimated me.” The blades were clean, but it hadn’t been the weapon itself that had penetrated Mika’s defenses, for she could have easily avoided it at any moment. Rather, it had been the chakra that still vibrantly pulsed through the shuriken.

Mika grumbled something inaudible, shaking her head and glaring as she placed both hands on the handgrip or her katana once again, twisting slightly, then pulling herself to a more defensive stance. Chizuko let the large shuriken spin easily in her hand, regarding Mika with some humor. The two friends circled each other now in search for a proper opening; a thin trail of blood marred the polished wood floor. They continued this, going in for an attack sparingly and only when it counted. Mika had managed to successfully parry her move and injure her arm, using the dull side of the blade rather than the edge.

Panting, Chizuko let the shuriken spring to life once more in her right hand, twirling it widely in her grasp before swinging it down at Mika, at the same time rushing forward with a well-aimed punch.

Mika stepped to the right of the shuriken, just inside Chizuko’s defenses. The punch that Chizuko had ready still tried to do some damage, though she knew she had already been caught. Mika used her left ridge-hand to connect with Chizuko’s right elbow and she lost her grip on the shuriken; with her right hand, Mika caught the punch, directing it away from herself and retracted both hands back towards her own chest, palms forward, then thrust forward into Chizuko’s chest. Chizuko was aware of each move independently, even as she was thrown back with the force behind that double-palmed and chakra-enhanced strike. She had seen them only through sheer experience that didn’t compensate for her lack of speed and foresight.

She fell back and rolled, coming back to her feet and scanning the room for her shuriken. Mika didn’t let her dally, and the girl sheathed her weapon as she rushed forward. Chizuko saw the punch coming but didn’t try to block it – half a second before the fist could connect, Mika disappeared and Chizuko stretched her senses to be able to sense her. She turned and cross-blocked the triple kick that came at her from behind, and then charged forward before Mika had a chance to land back on the mat. Chizuko’s punch met a forearm, and Mika captured her wrist, twisting her smaller body around and jerking Chizuko forward into a reverse side kick.

Her shoulder and chest throbbed in unison from the abuse. “Goddammit! I think you dislocated my shoulder!”

Mika straightened, her mouth opened for a reply, but something seemed to catch her eye. Chizuko followed the girl’s gaze, still clutching her shoulder, and saw the wall clock posted on the wall of weapons. 1:45 it read. Chizuko was sure that they hadn’t been sparring for more than half an hour.

“I have to go,” Mika said suddenly, not unexpectedly.

Chizuko groaned, “Yeah, yeah. You’re just running away.”

Mika didn’t respond, turning away to fetch her katana and the Fuuma Shuriken. A little put off, Chizuko tested her shoulder, rolling it experimentally. It was sore, but it wasn’t otherwise terribly damaged. She should have known better than to take the younger girl on in close combat. Though Chizuko appeared physically stronger, Mika was actually quite strong, and ridiculously quick. And she liked to use her opponent’s weight against them if she caught them in close combat, given how much slighter of built she was than most other nin they encountered.

“You should probably get that healed,” she said, referring to Mika’s earliest wound if only for the satisfaction of reminding her friend and rival that she had been the one to inflict the most damage – whether or not Mika won the match. Which she didn’t. But still …

Mika nodded absently and led the way out of the dojo once she had organized her weapons back into order. Chizuko followed with a mild sense of irritation when the girl didn’t rise to the bait. They walked only three doors down from a dojo. The door they stood before held the Hebiza crest and, below it, written in beautiful kanji, was the characters for infirmary. Mika slid the door back and walked inside without introduction. As soon as they entered, another door in the room opened and a relatively middle aged woman entered, freezing when she saw Mika.

“Mikazuki-sama. What can I do for you?”

“A quick heal. I would do it myself, but it is chakra induced.” Mika explained simply, glancing at Chizuko. The Himura grinned, crossing her arms, rather pleased with herself. The woman gestured for Mika to take a seat on the small medical cot, keeping her eyes carefully on the ground the entire time.

“Hey, you know what? I think Kazi said something about getting promoted to Commander.”

Mika hummed thoughtfully, holding her shirt up to reveal her injury and lying back on the cot. “That’s good. What is he now? Lieutenant?”

Chizuko tried not to stare at the wounded flesh, but it was hard to look away from the angry red of the wound that cut diagonally from Mika's left hip and over taut abdominal muscles. “Yeah …” Blinking, she tore her gaze away and looked up at Mika’s face. She almost choked in surprise to find those amber eyes already watching her. Scrambling to find a distraction, she felt as though she’d been caught peeping. “Hey, I’m hungry.”

“Didn’t you eat anything before you came over?”

“Yeah… But I got hungry again after training.” And as if to emphasize the point, her stomach grumbled. Thank God.

“Fine. I’ll show you to the kitchens. Then you’re going home, got it?”

Chizuko saluted, “Yes, sir!”


“Is this a coincidence?”

Mika appraised the other Jounin blankly, his unreadable eyes, pale and silvery, doing the same to her. He was much taller than her and she had to crane her head to properly meet his gaze. His hair, long and dark, was pulled back into a low, loose tail. He was rather handsome, Mika would admit. To be sure, her grandfather’s choice in a husband for her could have resulted in some horrendously disfigured man – and that was another good thing; Hyuuga Neji was her age and not some middle aged man, which now she realized had been one of her reservations.

“Remarkably enough, it is,” he replied, glancing over her to his teammate. “Tenten, go on ahead without me. Tell Gai-sensei I’ll be late.”

Mika stepped to the side to look at both nin, from the Hyuuga’s stoic face to his teammate’s rather bewildered one. The girl – Tenten – looked reluctant to leave, looking between Mika and Neji. When she was gone, Mika turned back to Neji with an arched brow. “That was unnecessary. I have nothing to discuss with you.” Her words came off more callous and dismissing than she’d intended, and she almost thought about correcting herself – it would not do to come off as rude to her prospective husband.

“I am merely curious. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” He started walking, and she blinked, following him without prompting.

“We were introduced today. What more were you looking for?” She was feeling vaguely uncertain with herself. Her words came out clipped and succinct against her will. She couldn’t seem to control her tone for once. She imagined she appeared a little annoyed, though she certainly wasn’t – more confused. It was that she didn’t know how to present herself to the other. She had not anticipated speaking with him at any point before the marriage – that wasn’t even final yet – outside of the meetings held between their families. She was terribly confused and their walk didn’t seem to have any destination.

“That can hardly be considered a proper introduction.”

She frowned slightly, staring ahead of her as they maneuvered slowly through the traffic of people. She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

“What would you consider a proper introduction, then?”

He didn’t say anything for a long time, and Mika noticed that some people had begun to stare and she recalled Chizuko’s comment. Word gets around fast. Eyes narrowing, she ignored the inquisitive looks and murmurs. People would probably see their talking with one another as some sort of clue or confirmation to the rumors going around about them. She was disgusted that people evidently had nothing better to do than to gossip about herself and the Hyuuga.

“You’re right, I suppose,” Neji said at last. She was only half listening to him, focusing on keeping her annoyance from her face. “This arrangement doesn’t really require us to know each other, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed absently, voice low to avoid eavesdropping

“You’ve been recently promoted to ANBU, I hear.”

This time, Mika frowned. She didn’t say anything until the Hyuuga led them past the main crowd and into a small dango shop. She didn’t question him as he ordered two mugs of green tea and a plate of goma dango. The little shop was entirely empty. They found a table to occupy furthest from the entrance and the young woman attending at the counter – who was eyeing the Hyuuga with adoring eyes that even Mika was not oblivious to. It was well past noon – almost three in the afternoon, in fact – which explained why business was so low. Usually, people were working or running errands at this time of day. Children were still at the academy and Genin teams were kept busy with simple missions.

The situation was entirely too foreign to her. She suspected the Hyuuga had something to say, but couldn’t fathom what.

When Chizuko had left her home, Mika had gone to speak with her grandfather to assuage any damage her friend’s presence had done, grateful to catch him alone and without her grandmother. He was still upset with the matter of Chizuko, but there had been nothing she could have said to change his mood on that. Hokori and Meiyo both despised Chizuko greatly. The intensity of their distaste sometimes startled her. Over the years, Hokori had grown used to the Himura’s role in Mika’s life. He had finally stepped back and let things be, and perhaps had even grown to tolerate Chizuko. His hostility towards her seemed to be more habitual than anything else, but Meiyo … Mika’s grandmother had her own basis for hating Chizuko, and was not entirely forthcoming with the reasons.

Taking a small sip of the tea, she closed her eyes against the thoughts of her grandmother.

After ensuring her abrupt departure from the meeting had not worsened things for her grandfather – Hyuuga Hiashi had become suddenly difficult in the last couple of meetings, and her grandfather was wondering if the man wasn’t intending to recline the proposal – she had left to pick up her schedule from the Hokage’s office. She hadn’t expected to run into Hyuuga Neji and his teammate on her way out, and certainly hadn’t anticipated this little rendezvous.

“I would like to be completely honest with you,” the Hyuuga said suddenly. She looked up from her mug of tea to see him staring at her with his unreadable pale eyes; she sipped her tea quietly, watching him watch her over the rim of her mug, and waited for him to continue. “I have no intention of marrying someone I know nothing about. If I am to spend the rest of my life with someone, I would have it be someone I can trust implicitly.”

She was careful not to display her surprise, keeping the mug of tea cradled between her hands and over her mouth.

“What I’m saying is,” he continued quietly; she noticed for the first time he hadn’t touched his tea. “We should postpone any final decisions until we can decide for ourselves if this is what we want to do.”

Mika frowned. “We?”

His eyes never left her, and she wondered if he’d found what he was searching for with as long as he’d been staring at her. “Yes. We. My uncle and I will not press you into a marriage if you hold any qualms.”

“I don’t understand,” she admitted, setting down her tea and allowing her perplexity to show. “My grandfather–“

“Yes, I know you are fully willing to abide your grandfather’s wishes by marrying whomever he chooses. I’m not talking about your grandfather. I’m talking about you.”

Her lips parted to form words but she had none. What he was implying, if she wasn’t misunderstanding, seemed farfetched and suspicious.

“Mikazuki-san, an arrangement like this between our families could serve to be very beneficial to both clans. However, in our clan, such marriages are not made without the consent of both parties involved – in this case, you and I. Not my uncle and not your grandfather.”

It took her a moment to collect herself. When she did, she quickly wiped her confusion from her face and met his gaze evenly. “Are you talking about love?”

Neji smirked. “Not at all. That would be foolish.”

Mika frowned, “Then what are you saying, Neji-san? Because quite frankly, I don’t think I understand what you are trying to tell me.”

“As outlandish as this may sound, I’m asking you what you want. I want to be certain you are perfectly agreeable before we go through with an actual marriage.”





Review? Are they getting annoying yet? Chizuko kinda is...