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runespoorTitle: Things that could have happened had Hizashi been the older son. (or: a cage is a cage is a curse, dammit.)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
runespoor7
Rating: PG-13
Summary: series of unrelated drabbles/fics. So far, series include various flavours of implied Neji-Hina-Naru combinations, but it's really Hyuuga centered gen with occasional cameos of other characters.
Notes: This was written a long, long time ago. I'm only posting it because I thought it might amuse some of you, and for the sake of getting rid of that false hope of ever editing/rewriting it.
On top of background history being extremely outdated, be warned that I don't like this version of Hinata at all. She teeters on the brink of Hinata!Sue and there are several other issues, only I'm not going to read through the fic again to find what they are, otherwise I'll ever post it.
If you'd like to leave concrit, please do, though. :/ Any idea of how this could have been better.
Also, I'm sorry, there's a sequel to this. -_- So, so sorry.
previously: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14. Sound
The shadows were thick like a blanket, and rippled with quiet anticipation. Kabuto had left the door slightly ajar, knowingly of course, like everything he did, but Hinata chose to take the opportunity anyway, and she slunk closer. Yes; she was right. She could make out his calm murmur as clearly as if he was breathing into her ear.
She listened attentively, forcing her jaw unclenched when the other spoke, in a breathy, smug tone, as if he didn't realise his voice was quivering; as if he didn't realise he was laying on his death bed.
Orochimaru-sama should've had him killed a long time ago, she resentfully thought.
Now his presence was casting a shadow of looming, persistent death upon Orochimaru-sama's dwellings. The only reason she'd never taken it upon herself to go into that room and sweep his worthless life away was that she knew he was a part of Kabuto's most valuable experiences. The only thing that made her viciously happy about this situation was that he was completely uninformed of this – of the usefulness he was to them even in that sad, sad state of his.
Even Jiroubou would be able to take him out now.
Hinata hated Kimimaro.
She always had, from the very moment she'd laid her eyes on him, when Orochimaru-sama had come back from a quick travel with it in tow. Hinata had been about three at the time, and it was the very first time Orochimaru had ever seen her less than good-natured, he assured her. Hinata understood that he liked that Hinata loathed his bone-coloured protégé, as did Kabuto.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, never missed an occasion of remarking primly that Hinata was lacking respect toward the master. He didn't like her either, but unlike her, he didn't seem to get that this petty enmity amused Orochimaru-sama.
It was one of the reasons why her skin crawled with disgust and she shook with rage at the thought that he might actually be fated to become Orochimaru-sama's chosen. He didn't deserve it, if he wasn't clever enough to figure out, without being told, what pleased Orochimaru-sama and what didn't.
Thus it was understandable that when she heard Kabuto allowing him to go and bring Orochimaru-sama's new vessel back, and when Kimimaro walked past her – pale and gaunt like a ghost, without even sensing a presence her shock made almost palpable – she stiffened in… she wasn't sure what it was, but it ordered her to go after him and make sure the mission was successfully completed, and he really did die, like Kabuto had just requested of him. Kimimaro was unsubtle enough that he might actually not make any effort to get himself suitably killed.
If she was fast enough, she might even manage to warn the other five about Kimimaro's arrival. They weren't particularly close, but they hated Kimimaro almost as much as she did, though they never showed their discontent to their master. And Kimimaro wielded a simulacrum of authority over them which he lacked over Hinata.
She was just about to creep away when Kabuto's gentle tone stopped her in her tracks.
"No, don't go."
She turned around, the protest already on her lips, not really surprised that he should choose to have a word rather than just let her roam free and do as she'd understood. She was less dense than Kimimaro, that was a given; but she didn't have Kabuto's hindsight on Orochimaru-sama's plans. Still, she really wanted to say that honestly, given Kimimaro's physical condition, he would be more of a hindrance than a help to the Four, and if they weren't back by now, then maybe they really should think about sending assistance.
He forestalled her objection with a raised hand, and smiled when Hinata didn't speak, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes in an expression of benevolence.
"You should know better than to interfere with Kimimaro-kun's decisions by now," he chided. "Especially when they are taken out of gratitude for Orochimaru-sama, as a last thanking gesture."
Hinata bit her lip.
Kabuto's glasses shone for a moment.
She didn't want to mention that she didn't trust Kimimaro any further than Tayuya could throw him – Tayuya without the curse seal – when it came to not mess this up. Not now, no when Kabuto had let him go, losing his research because Orochimaru-sama's immediate well-being was more important; not when Orochimaru-sama… it would be disparaging to speak wrongly about Kimimaro. At such a time, it would sound as if she was criticising him.
But she couldn't just keep silent either – no matter how out of place – no matter how preposterous it would be to think she would find a flaw in Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto's plans, when she didn't even have the big picture.
She opened her lips anyway, deliberately, to point out that it would still be surer if she went as well to retrieve Orochimaru-sama's host body, or at least to suggest that Orochimaru-sama might take hers over if time was running out – there was a knot in her throat at that idea, but it was Orochimaru-sama. Kabuto's eyes twinkled.
"Don't you think your own position is infinitely more important than Kimimaro-kun's, now? He will never come back alive."
Hinata looked down. Logically she knew she should be chastised, and in a way she was, but…
"I don't have a position anymore." Her voice came out slightly muffled with her doubts. "I – I can't even be of use to bring the new vessel, and I can't take Orochimaru-sama into my body." And it has been a long time since you last researched my Byakugan.
He chuckled softly, amused. "Is that all it is?"
Hinata didn't move when he came closer, his steps softly echoing on the stone ground, and when he crooked his fingers under her chin, gently making her raise it. It was only then that she finally looked at him in the eyes, fluttering her eyelids in hesitation before she got a hold on herself.
"Hinata-chan… Has it been long since you first started thinking this?"
Her chin jerked into a tiny negating movement, then she shook her head more vigorously, without taking her eyes away from Kabuto's. It was a lie; more than a few months, at any rate. But she didn't want to –
Of course Kabuto saw right through her feeble lie.
"We have been neglectful." The regret in his tone made her wince, and her eyes widened when he continued. "We should have told you more than we did; you would have liked that, Hinata-chan?"
His voice was like a caress on her skin, the twin of his hand stroking her cheek. Her breath caught in her throat. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint them. The last thing she wanted was to make them think her childish, spoiled; unworthy. She was a ninja, she was a weapon, she was at Orochimaru-sama's disposal; she could take anything they wanted her to do.
She kept silent, biting the denials back. She was at fault. The only thing that could make it better was to endure the consequences and not make a fuss.
After all, what she'd done was much, much graver than demanding to be taught new jutsus and thus having Orochimaru's whole attention for a few hours. Everyone did that, except Kimimaro who stiffly requested the same, with a subservience that made it clear he didn't realise it wasn't lacking respect to demand it, quite the contrary - and Dosu, who'd been sent to the Konoha chuunin exams, and who'd seemed to deem it under him somehow, as if he could learn better on his own.
(The Four had mocked him and Zaku, who had strutted around as if they were being chosen as Orochimaru-sama's new personal guard rather than being shipped off in a second-rate exam as pawns, mere scouts; but in truth, Hinata would had done anything to even be part of that same mission, the way she knew any of the Four would have done as well, to be able to prove to Orochimaru that she could be of use somehow.
But of course, the exam was taking place in Konoha, and thus she would have been the last to be sent there, even if Orochimaru-sama had decided to send those among his protégés who had seals there. Hinata knew that out of the three who had been sent, Kin especially was hoping she might earn a seal if she proved herself remarkable enough.
…And then Orochimaru-sama had gone as well, and Kabuto was taking part in the exam himself.
Sound had been a sad, empty place.
Hinata had diverted her anger and sorrow by goading Kimimaro into attacking her; Orochimaru-sama had made her promise she wouldn't attack him, and he'd told Kimimaro that he wasn't to spar, under any circumstances, because of his illness.
The loophole was obvious to her, though it had taken a considerable amount of time to make Kimimaro disregard what he'd perceived as absolute laws.
The Four had stopped them before she could kill him; Kidoumaru had talked Kimimaro into his senses again, and she'd been restrained. She hadn't turned against them because she knew Orochimaru wouldn't have liked that, the way his eyes and smirk had said he enjoyed the news when he came back and Kimimaro and Hinata had told him about their fight. Kimimaro as if he was confessing a sin, Hinata conveying with her whole body language that she hoped the news pleased Orochimaru-sama.
They had, immensely; she could see that. But Kabuto hadn't confirmed it to her afterwards, and had instead gone to experiment on Kimimaro some more.
She'd stayed alone, defeated, for a moment; then she'd gone to join the Four.)
No; what she'd done was pretty much doubting Orochimaru. She must know he had plans for her, knew where and how he would be best employed; and she knew that, but… it was nice to have a confirmation.
To know that he hadn't forgotten her.
"Would you like to come with me, so I can tell you about it?"
Unbidden, she felt herself nodding.
Kabuto smiled.
"Yes, please," she breathed.
-
"Take a seat," Kabuto intoned as he closed the door behind him.
Hinata looked around, taking in the two chairs, and heading towards the consultation table instead. She didn't look at him as she hopped and sat there, her legs hanging, slightly slouching forward. The cold wood was familiar under her hands – from before Kabuto had stopped studying her bloodline. Now, her examinations were only taking place in her room.
She has missed the place.
A small, amused sound left his lips. She watched him from behind her long hair, head tipped forward; he went to the shelves. His back to her, he asked: "Do you mind if I conduct a few tests, while we are here?"
Her head snapped up. Jaw dropped, she watched him. He had his back to her, and he was obviously waiting for an answer.
She shook herself.
"No – no," she sputtered, "of course not."
He was laughing at her, she knew. But she couldn't care less; she couldn't shake the feeling of exhilaration spreading through her, the sheer relish that at last, she could repay all she owed them somehow. And Kimimaro would not. Not ever again.
She shivered when she saw him carefully pick out tools, metal sliding and gleaming, with precise, natural, effortless moves. She recognised each one of the instruments, even knew their names. She'd learned the names and uses as a child, and whenever Kabuto used a new one with her, he always showed it to her and gave her its name, answering whatever question she might have had.
Once upon a time she'd even witnessed Kabuto's examination of other people in Sound – and torture sessions. She'd even been allowed to lead a few interrogations under Kabuto's supervision. Kabuto had been pleased, and later Orochimaru had commended her on it. She'd blushed in contentment.
It wasn't standard teachings of Orochimaru's, and she took pride in the fact that she knew more about things more various than Kimimaro had ever been trained, but he was too stupid to notice.
"What do you want to know?" Kabuto asked casually as he walked toward her, the thin chakra-regulating thread in his right hand, and a couple of other instruments in his left.
"What is he like?" she immediately asked.
"The new vessel?"
Hinata nodded, knowing Kabuto would sense it even when he wasn't facing her. What does he have that I don't, was implied.
"He is the last Uchiha in Konoha," Kabuto replied as he slipped behind her and swept her hair out of the way. "He has the Sharingan, and he is Uchiha Itachi's brother."
Uchiha Itachi. Hinata knew that name; he was a member of Akatsuki. She didn't have any factual proof of her feeling, but from what she'd believed Orochimaru-sama had left unsaid whenever he spoke about him, Hinata had known he was an enemy.
She couldn't compete with the Sharingan. There was a whole clan of Byakugan wielders in Konoha; her bloodline wasn't anywhere as rare and desirable as the Sharingan. She was lucky Orochimaru-sama had chosen to take her on in spite of the commonness of her own ability.
"His name is Sasuke; he's your age," Kabuto went on.
Hinata immediately sat straight, her sense of duty piqued.
"Am I to do something about him?" she inquired. She ruthlessly repressed the hope that he wasn't another Kimimaro. (She wasn't sure she'd be able to work with him if he was.) This wasn't about her.
Kabuto leaned until his mouth was an inch from her ear. Hinata quelled her physical reaction – not leaning back into his chest, not arching her back, ignoring the teasing warmth behind her.
She sometimes wondered if he knew what effect he had on her. She refused to act on those urges anyway; she was no child, she could keep herself under control. Maybe later, she would let him know about it, but not now, not when she hadn't given him any proof that she could be trusted, not when she hadn't regained Orochimaru-sama's favour.
"Just be yourself."
Then he straightened. Hinata congratulated herself on not having shuddered when he spoke. His breath hadn't even brushed against her skin.
"He will be difficult," Kabuto went on as if nothing had happened, "but I think you will like him. He has the same seal as you do," he added.
Hinata was silent for a moment. Everything Kabuto did had a reason; if he told her that, then he wanted more from her than to respond mindlessly. That was what Kimimaro had done, she remembered, when Kabuto had told him that, and he'd only parroted his usual unwitting 'it's not my place to question'.
"Why?" she asked after a moment of thought.
He chuckled in approval. It was a friendly sound, and it was what encouraged Hinata to press. "Kabuto-niisan? Why would we both bear the same mark?"
"Maybe it's because Orochimaru-sama didn't want to risk another tension to follow up on that of Kimimaro and you, dictated by equal, opposing marks," he joked.
"I would have hated Kimimaro no matter what mark he sported," Hinata pointed out, obediently closing her eyes as he raised his hand to them.
If anything, she'd have been all the more motivated to get rid of him. How would he dare bear the same mark as she did and be the insufferable prick he was. She hoped this Uchiha Sasuke would be less of a stick-in-the-mud. Then he wouldn't turn her offers for a spar down when they weren't ordered to by Orochimaru-sama. Then they'd attract his attention more.
He hummed in approval. The warm wave of his chakra pricked beneath her eyelids. Not for the first time, Hinata wondered what he was seeing – reading.
"Who else do you know is a bearer of the Heaven seal?" he asked in a distracted tone.
She kept from frowning. He needed her brow and eyelids as smooth and immobile as a statue, she knew that.
"Mitarashi Anko," she finally answered. She didn't feel the need to spit on the ground as she spoke that name, the way Kidoumaru did, but her accent had turned colder without even her willing it.
"Good," he laughed lightly, almost as if she'd surprised him by her quick thinking. She knew she hadn't, not really, but she welcomed the fuzzy feeling all the same; it was kind of him to make her try and feel better. "And what do you, Mitarashi Anko, and Uchiha Sasuke all have in common?"
She was silent for a moment.
"It's Konoha, isn't it," she muttered. "We all come from Konoha."
The usual pang of guilt stabbed her, twisting in her gut, settling into a hating bitterness. Konoha.
She'd destroy that village; she'd be there when Orochimaru-sama strode into the place and took the Hokage hat from the fallen, bloodied, dying Hokage with a flourish. He'd make a show of examining it under every angle, this hat they'd denied him; and when he was sure the Hokage's widened eyes were on him, full of fear at the oh-so-symbolic sight, dreading the moment that he'd put it on and laugh at their foolishness, he would grin and rip the hat apart without speaking a word.
And then they would burn Konoha into the ground, and cover the earth with a sheet of salt.
At some point she'd believed in her origin lay the secret to why Orochimaru-sama wouldn't take her as his host body. She carried Konoha impurity in her blood.
Knowing that Orochima-sama's new vessel came from that village… It didn't make her jealous. On the contrary; it assured her that she could be useful to him in spite of it.
"Yes," Kabuto agreed. "And that is the reason why Orochimaru-sama keeps you here. They don't know you exist, after all, and it would be foolish to let them know that beforehand, wouldn't it?"
There was more to it than that, even Kimimaro would have picked up on that, but it was a reason Hinata was perfectly disposed to accept. She nodded.
Kabuto patted her on the head.
"Would you like to welcome Sasuke-kun into our midst once he arrives?"
She nodded again, not entirely trusting herself to speak.
"He'll be delighted to have a playmate from his own village," Kabuto muttered, eyes sparkling with mischief. Hinata didn't conceal her answering smile; traitor from a village of traitors.
-
Sasuke, she thought when she saw him, was a skinny boy with ill-kempt hair and a sulky, arrogant countenance. He was very beautiful, she noted; and from the way he acted, she knew that their relationship would be better than the one she'd had with Kimimaro.
She stayed and observed until he had finished his number. Orochimaru-sama met her eyes when he left. His body was very different; she wished she'd offered hers, but she guessed he liked being taller. Hopefully he'd recover his usual appearance soon enough. Until then, she was afraid she wouldn't manage to get used to seeing Orochimaru-sama's entrancing golden eyes under those shorter, brighter bangs.
"Hinata-chan, could you show Sasuke-kun his room?"
She slid out of the shade without a word, still watching the boy. He started and whirled around when Kabuto called for her name, glaring at her already. His shirt was torn in the back – Second Level Curse Seal. His eyes widened when he saw her face.
"Of course." She watched Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes as she turned around, in the direction where she'd been instructed he was to be staying; not very far from her own room. "Follow me," she added for his benefit.
She could have bet Sasuke bristled, but didn't use her Byakugan to make sure of it.
He didn't ask as she took him to his room, and she reflected that she might work with this one.
Author:
runespoor7Rating: PG-13
Summary: series of unrelated drabbles/fics. So far, series include various flavours of implied Neji-Hina-Naru combinations, but it's really Hyuuga centered gen with occasional cameos of other characters.
Notes: This was written a long, long time ago. I'm only posting it because I thought it might amuse some of you, and for the sake of getting rid of that false hope of ever editing/rewriting it.
On top of background history being extremely outdated, be warned that I don't like this version of Hinata at all. She teeters on the brink of Hinata!Sue and there are several other issues, only I'm not going to read through the fic again to find what they are, otherwise I'll ever post it.
If you'd like to leave concrit, please do, though. :/ Any idea of how this could have been better.
Also, I'm sorry, there's a sequel to this. -_- So, so sorry.
previously: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14. Sound
The shadows were thick like a blanket, and rippled with quiet anticipation. Kabuto had left the door slightly ajar, knowingly of course, like everything he did, but Hinata chose to take the opportunity anyway, and she slunk closer. Yes; she was right. She could make out his calm murmur as clearly as if he was breathing into her ear.
She listened attentively, forcing her jaw unclenched when the other spoke, in a breathy, smug tone, as if he didn't realise his voice was quivering; as if he didn't realise he was laying on his death bed.
Orochimaru-sama should've had him killed a long time ago, she resentfully thought.
Now his presence was casting a shadow of looming, persistent death upon Orochimaru-sama's dwellings. The only reason she'd never taken it upon herself to go into that room and sweep his worthless life away was that she knew he was a part of Kabuto's most valuable experiences. The only thing that made her viciously happy about this situation was that he was completely uninformed of this – of the usefulness he was to them even in that sad, sad state of his.
Even Jiroubou would be able to take him out now.
Hinata hated Kimimaro.
She always had, from the very moment she'd laid her eyes on him, when Orochimaru-sama had come back from a quick travel with it in tow. Hinata had been about three at the time, and it was the very first time Orochimaru had ever seen her less than good-natured, he assured her. Hinata understood that he liked that Hinata loathed his bone-coloured protégé, as did Kabuto.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, never missed an occasion of remarking primly that Hinata was lacking respect toward the master. He didn't like her either, but unlike her, he didn't seem to get that this petty enmity amused Orochimaru-sama.
It was one of the reasons why her skin crawled with disgust and she shook with rage at the thought that he might actually be fated to become Orochimaru-sama's chosen. He didn't deserve it, if he wasn't clever enough to figure out, without being told, what pleased Orochimaru-sama and what didn't.
Thus it was understandable that when she heard Kabuto allowing him to go and bring Orochimaru-sama's new vessel back, and when Kimimaro walked past her – pale and gaunt like a ghost, without even sensing a presence her shock made almost palpable – she stiffened in… she wasn't sure what it was, but it ordered her to go after him and make sure the mission was successfully completed, and he really did die, like Kabuto had just requested of him. Kimimaro was unsubtle enough that he might actually not make any effort to get himself suitably killed.
If she was fast enough, she might even manage to warn the other five about Kimimaro's arrival. They weren't particularly close, but they hated Kimimaro almost as much as she did, though they never showed their discontent to their master. And Kimimaro wielded a simulacrum of authority over them which he lacked over Hinata.
She was just about to creep away when Kabuto's gentle tone stopped her in her tracks.
"No, don't go."
She turned around, the protest already on her lips, not really surprised that he should choose to have a word rather than just let her roam free and do as she'd understood. She was less dense than Kimimaro, that was a given; but she didn't have Kabuto's hindsight on Orochimaru-sama's plans. Still, she really wanted to say that honestly, given Kimimaro's physical condition, he would be more of a hindrance than a help to the Four, and if they weren't back by now, then maybe they really should think about sending assistance.
He forestalled her objection with a raised hand, and smiled when Hinata didn't speak, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes in an expression of benevolence.
"You should know better than to interfere with Kimimaro-kun's decisions by now," he chided. "Especially when they are taken out of gratitude for Orochimaru-sama, as a last thanking gesture."
Hinata bit her lip.
Kabuto's glasses shone for a moment.
She didn't want to mention that she didn't trust Kimimaro any further than Tayuya could throw him – Tayuya without the curse seal – when it came to not mess this up. Not now, no when Kabuto had let him go, losing his research because Orochimaru-sama's immediate well-being was more important; not when Orochimaru-sama… it would be disparaging to speak wrongly about Kimimaro. At such a time, it would sound as if she was criticising him.
But she couldn't just keep silent either – no matter how out of place – no matter how preposterous it would be to think she would find a flaw in Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto's plans, when she didn't even have the big picture.
She opened her lips anyway, deliberately, to point out that it would still be surer if she went as well to retrieve Orochimaru-sama's host body, or at least to suggest that Orochimaru-sama might take hers over if time was running out – there was a knot in her throat at that idea, but it was Orochimaru-sama. Kabuto's eyes twinkled.
"Don't you think your own position is infinitely more important than Kimimaro-kun's, now? He will never come back alive."
Hinata looked down. Logically she knew she should be chastised, and in a way she was, but…
"I don't have a position anymore." Her voice came out slightly muffled with her doubts. "I – I can't even be of use to bring the new vessel, and I can't take Orochimaru-sama into my body." And it has been a long time since you last researched my Byakugan.
He chuckled softly, amused. "Is that all it is?"
Hinata didn't move when he came closer, his steps softly echoing on the stone ground, and when he crooked his fingers under her chin, gently making her raise it. It was only then that she finally looked at him in the eyes, fluttering her eyelids in hesitation before she got a hold on herself.
"Hinata-chan… Has it been long since you first started thinking this?"
Her chin jerked into a tiny negating movement, then she shook her head more vigorously, without taking her eyes away from Kabuto's. It was a lie; more than a few months, at any rate. But she didn't want to –
Of course Kabuto saw right through her feeble lie.
"We have been neglectful." The regret in his tone made her wince, and her eyes widened when he continued. "We should have told you more than we did; you would have liked that, Hinata-chan?"
His voice was like a caress on her skin, the twin of his hand stroking her cheek. Her breath caught in her throat. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint them. The last thing she wanted was to make them think her childish, spoiled; unworthy. She was a ninja, she was a weapon, she was at Orochimaru-sama's disposal; she could take anything they wanted her to do.
She kept silent, biting the denials back. She was at fault. The only thing that could make it better was to endure the consequences and not make a fuss.
After all, what she'd done was much, much graver than demanding to be taught new jutsus and thus having Orochimaru's whole attention for a few hours. Everyone did that, except Kimimaro who stiffly requested the same, with a subservience that made it clear he didn't realise it wasn't lacking respect to demand it, quite the contrary - and Dosu, who'd been sent to the Konoha chuunin exams, and who'd seemed to deem it under him somehow, as if he could learn better on his own.
(The Four had mocked him and Zaku, who had strutted around as if they were being chosen as Orochimaru-sama's new personal guard rather than being shipped off in a second-rate exam as pawns, mere scouts; but in truth, Hinata would had done anything to even be part of that same mission, the way she knew any of the Four would have done as well, to be able to prove to Orochimaru that she could be of use somehow.
But of course, the exam was taking place in Konoha, and thus she would have been the last to be sent there, even if Orochimaru-sama had decided to send those among his protégés who had seals there. Hinata knew that out of the three who had been sent, Kin especially was hoping she might earn a seal if she proved herself remarkable enough.
…And then Orochimaru-sama had gone as well, and Kabuto was taking part in the exam himself.
Sound had been a sad, empty place.
Hinata had diverted her anger and sorrow by goading Kimimaro into attacking her; Orochimaru-sama had made her promise she wouldn't attack him, and he'd told Kimimaro that he wasn't to spar, under any circumstances, because of his illness.
The loophole was obvious to her, though it had taken a considerable amount of time to make Kimimaro disregard what he'd perceived as absolute laws.
The Four had stopped them before she could kill him; Kidoumaru had talked Kimimaro into his senses again, and she'd been restrained. She hadn't turned against them because she knew Orochimaru wouldn't have liked that, the way his eyes and smirk had said he enjoyed the news when he came back and Kimimaro and Hinata had told him about their fight. Kimimaro as if he was confessing a sin, Hinata conveying with her whole body language that she hoped the news pleased Orochimaru-sama.
They had, immensely; she could see that. But Kabuto hadn't confirmed it to her afterwards, and had instead gone to experiment on Kimimaro some more.
She'd stayed alone, defeated, for a moment; then she'd gone to join the Four.)
No; what she'd done was pretty much doubting Orochimaru. She must know he had plans for her, knew where and how he would be best employed; and she knew that, but… it was nice to have a confirmation.
To know that he hadn't forgotten her.
"Would you like to come with me, so I can tell you about it?"
Unbidden, she felt herself nodding.
Kabuto smiled.
"Yes, please," she breathed.
-
"Take a seat," Kabuto intoned as he closed the door behind him.
Hinata looked around, taking in the two chairs, and heading towards the consultation table instead. She didn't look at him as she hopped and sat there, her legs hanging, slightly slouching forward. The cold wood was familiar under her hands – from before Kabuto had stopped studying her bloodline. Now, her examinations were only taking place in her room.
She has missed the place.
A small, amused sound left his lips. She watched him from behind her long hair, head tipped forward; he went to the shelves. His back to her, he asked: "Do you mind if I conduct a few tests, while we are here?"
Her head snapped up. Jaw dropped, she watched him. He had his back to her, and he was obviously waiting for an answer.
She shook herself.
"No – no," she sputtered, "of course not."
He was laughing at her, she knew. But she couldn't care less; she couldn't shake the feeling of exhilaration spreading through her, the sheer relish that at last, she could repay all she owed them somehow. And Kimimaro would not. Not ever again.
She shivered when she saw him carefully pick out tools, metal sliding and gleaming, with precise, natural, effortless moves. She recognised each one of the instruments, even knew their names. She'd learned the names and uses as a child, and whenever Kabuto used a new one with her, he always showed it to her and gave her its name, answering whatever question she might have had.
Once upon a time she'd even witnessed Kabuto's examination of other people in Sound – and torture sessions. She'd even been allowed to lead a few interrogations under Kabuto's supervision. Kabuto had been pleased, and later Orochimaru had commended her on it. She'd blushed in contentment.
It wasn't standard teachings of Orochimaru's, and she took pride in the fact that she knew more about things more various than Kimimaro had ever been trained, but he was too stupid to notice.
"What do you want to know?" Kabuto asked casually as he walked toward her, the thin chakra-regulating thread in his right hand, and a couple of other instruments in his left.
"What is he like?" she immediately asked.
"The new vessel?"
Hinata nodded, knowing Kabuto would sense it even when he wasn't facing her. What does he have that I don't, was implied.
"He is the last Uchiha in Konoha," Kabuto replied as he slipped behind her and swept her hair out of the way. "He has the Sharingan, and he is Uchiha Itachi's brother."
Uchiha Itachi. Hinata knew that name; he was a member of Akatsuki. She didn't have any factual proof of her feeling, but from what she'd believed Orochimaru-sama had left unsaid whenever he spoke about him, Hinata had known he was an enemy.
She couldn't compete with the Sharingan. There was a whole clan of Byakugan wielders in Konoha; her bloodline wasn't anywhere as rare and desirable as the Sharingan. She was lucky Orochimaru-sama had chosen to take her on in spite of the commonness of her own ability.
"His name is Sasuke; he's your age," Kabuto went on.
Hinata immediately sat straight, her sense of duty piqued.
"Am I to do something about him?" she inquired. She ruthlessly repressed the hope that he wasn't another Kimimaro. (She wasn't sure she'd be able to work with him if he was.) This wasn't about her.
Kabuto leaned until his mouth was an inch from her ear. Hinata quelled her physical reaction – not leaning back into his chest, not arching her back, ignoring the teasing warmth behind her.
She sometimes wondered if he knew what effect he had on her. She refused to act on those urges anyway; she was no child, she could keep herself under control. Maybe later, she would let him know about it, but not now, not when she hadn't given him any proof that she could be trusted, not when she hadn't regained Orochimaru-sama's favour.
"Just be yourself."
Then he straightened. Hinata congratulated herself on not having shuddered when he spoke. His breath hadn't even brushed against her skin.
"He will be difficult," Kabuto went on as if nothing had happened, "but I think you will like him. He has the same seal as you do," he added.
Hinata was silent for a moment. Everything Kabuto did had a reason; if he told her that, then he wanted more from her than to respond mindlessly. That was what Kimimaro had done, she remembered, when Kabuto had told him that, and he'd only parroted his usual unwitting 'it's not my place to question'.
"Why?" she asked after a moment of thought.
He chuckled in approval. It was a friendly sound, and it was what encouraged Hinata to press. "Kabuto-niisan? Why would we both bear the same mark?"
"Maybe it's because Orochimaru-sama didn't want to risk another tension to follow up on that of Kimimaro and you, dictated by equal, opposing marks," he joked.
"I would have hated Kimimaro no matter what mark he sported," Hinata pointed out, obediently closing her eyes as he raised his hand to them.
If anything, she'd have been all the more motivated to get rid of him. How would he dare bear the same mark as she did and be the insufferable prick he was. She hoped this Uchiha Sasuke would be less of a stick-in-the-mud. Then he wouldn't turn her offers for a spar down when they weren't ordered to by Orochimaru-sama. Then they'd attract his attention more.
He hummed in approval. The warm wave of his chakra pricked beneath her eyelids. Not for the first time, Hinata wondered what he was seeing – reading.
"Who else do you know is a bearer of the Heaven seal?" he asked in a distracted tone.
She kept from frowning. He needed her brow and eyelids as smooth and immobile as a statue, she knew that.
"Mitarashi Anko," she finally answered. She didn't feel the need to spit on the ground as she spoke that name, the way Kidoumaru did, but her accent had turned colder without even her willing it.
"Good," he laughed lightly, almost as if she'd surprised him by her quick thinking. She knew she hadn't, not really, but she welcomed the fuzzy feeling all the same; it was kind of him to make her try and feel better. "And what do you, Mitarashi Anko, and Uchiha Sasuke all have in common?"
She was silent for a moment.
"It's Konoha, isn't it," she muttered. "We all come from Konoha."
The usual pang of guilt stabbed her, twisting in her gut, settling into a hating bitterness. Konoha.
She'd destroy that village; she'd be there when Orochimaru-sama strode into the place and took the Hokage hat from the fallen, bloodied, dying Hokage with a flourish. He'd make a show of examining it under every angle, this hat they'd denied him; and when he was sure the Hokage's widened eyes were on him, full of fear at the oh-so-symbolic sight, dreading the moment that he'd put it on and laugh at their foolishness, he would grin and rip the hat apart without speaking a word.
And then they would burn Konoha into the ground, and cover the earth with a sheet of salt.
At some point she'd believed in her origin lay the secret to why Orochimaru-sama wouldn't take her as his host body. She carried Konoha impurity in her blood.
Knowing that Orochima-sama's new vessel came from that village… It didn't make her jealous. On the contrary; it assured her that she could be useful to him in spite of it.
"Yes," Kabuto agreed. "And that is the reason why Orochimaru-sama keeps you here. They don't know you exist, after all, and it would be foolish to let them know that beforehand, wouldn't it?"
There was more to it than that, even Kimimaro would have picked up on that, but it was a reason Hinata was perfectly disposed to accept. She nodded.
Kabuto patted her on the head.
"Would you like to welcome Sasuke-kun into our midst once he arrives?"
She nodded again, not entirely trusting herself to speak.
"He'll be delighted to have a playmate from his own village," Kabuto muttered, eyes sparkling with mischief. Hinata didn't conceal her answering smile; traitor from a village of traitors.
-
Sasuke, she thought when she saw him, was a skinny boy with ill-kempt hair and a sulky, arrogant countenance. He was very beautiful, she noted; and from the way he acted, she knew that their relationship would be better than the one she'd had with Kimimaro.
She stayed and observed until he had finished his number. Orochimaru-sama met her eyes when he left. His body was very different; she wished she'd offered hers, but she guessed he liked being taller. Hopefully he'd recover his usual appearance soon enough. Until then, she was afraid she wouldn't manage to get used to seeing Orochimaru-sama's entrancing golden eyes under those shorter, brighter bangs.
"Hinata-chan, could you show Sasuke-kun his room?"
She slid out of the shade without a word, still watching the boy. He started and whirled around when Kabuto called for her name, glaring at her already. His shirt was torn in the back – Second Level Curse Seal. His eyes widened when he saw her face.
"Of course." She watched Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes as she turned around, in the direction where she'd been instructed he was to be staying; not very far from her own room. "Follow me," she added for his benefit.
She could have bet Sasuke bristled, but didn't use her Byakugan to make sure of it.
He didn't ask as she took him to his room, and she reflected that she might work with this one.
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Date: 2008-06-07 12:21 am (UTC)My fears of Hinata!Sue were also due to the fact that she's omg like the sixth of the Sound
FourFive. And I felt like I was pushing the envelop, especially with the fact that Kabuto = niisan. *bows to your enjoyment of Hinata's brother issues*I like the description Orotard!Hinata better than Evil!Hinata, I think, since the latter would imply she had taken some sort steps to get there. (We can add passivity to the list of issues I have with her.)
How Hinata came to Sound: I think of this as a variation to the Hinata-is-a-hooker!verse (http://runespoor7.livejournal.com/28243.html#cutid1), one where Oro was informed/found out that there was a stray Hyuuga toddler in the middle of Fire Country, and lost no time in retrieving the Precious Specimen.
I'm really not sure what you're worried about in regards to the background history--is it just because Suigetsu/Karin/Juugo aren't there or mentioned?
Got it in one. T_T I hate having backgroung diverging from what we're given in canon. hatahatehatehatehate.
That could pretty easily be explained away as them being at different bases than Hinata, plus Juugo and Suigetsu being little better than research subjects, so there's not really a reason for Hinata to see them or know about them, especially since it seems like Juugo was kept in what basically amounted to solitary confinement.
That's what I've been telling myself. *mantra*