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the-silver-peahen-residence · 11 days

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||An Officer's Corruption part Fourteen||

Hello there dears, Peahen mom here but It's time to add another part to this mini series so lets add another one shall we?

If you wish to see how or where everything is going, you can follow up on the chapters down below.

||Previous Chapters 1-7||((Click here))

((Previous chapters 8-13)) (Click here))

((Your reading part fourteen))

||OVA Chapters 1-7|| ((Written by my amazing friend demon mun)) (Click here))

||Warning||

~Violence will be seen in this

~Blood will be seen in this

||Drabble Summary||

With the news spreading all around New York about what happened to Kinie ger's prison, it was pretty shocking. Even Luna heard about it but Oblivion hopes everyone was alright. Meanwhile, seems Kinie had something to say to both Van ink and Kali but what could it be? Also, it seems Jaron was going to be speaking to someone back where he was. Now who could that be? Read to find out.

||Guests in Drabble||

Ira"Kali" Vin-Shia, Ink Vanguard, Oblivion Daitengu, Kinie Ger, Joshua Star, and Jaron Jackal belongs to my amazing Rp partner @demon-blood-youths

Rex oxford mills, Yuuka Nakano, and Ashley Butterfly are my oc's that belong to me and the same for Sukuna Ryomen comes from Jujutsu Kaisen but also me due to having him as a muse.

((Note: Their will be grammar mistakes and errors in this drabble as others have this warning. But like I state before, this is written for fun. So I hope you like it and my friend too. Enjoy))

The next morning, Kinie was in her office looking out at the window but she was waiting thinking about Sukuna's offer. Right now, she saw some construction being brought here but it told her it will begin in the morning. Though, she was nervous which she never shows around anyone but her baby sister Taz who was being baby sit by a close friends in the junior officer academy.

"......" Though, she sighed knowing this was going to be a pain to explain to the other two. For now, she looks to the paper on the desk but goes to turn in for the night before speaking to the two tomorrow morning.

~~~~~~Meanwhile back at Roosevelt Island~~~~~~~~

Luna and Oblivion heard the news about what happened at Kinie's prison. It was a shock for everyone even her. Knowing a giant riot happened but with so many dead it was hard to explain it. Though, they got word that everything was taken care of.

"Geez, your officer chief is something else Oblivion. I can't believe she did that." Luna said.

"Knowing Ink she is always like that. Though, I'm glad to know that they are alright." she had her arms crossed and yet, it worried her deep down. Whoever caused it gave a clear warning anyone can get hit like that.

"Well, even so, at least everything is alright." Luna said but she looks seeing Officer Halls comes over while looking at the two.

"Oh hey Swan. You okay?" Luna asked but she nods.

"Yes, I'm alright. It's just..it's time for miss Nakano's shot.." she mutters but Oblivion blinks. Wait, shot?

"Care to explain?" Oblivion asked.

"Well, it's something the mayor said. Because of the incidents involving Yuuka's quirk..it was given a rule we were to give her a shot that numbs it. I don't want to give her the shot but if we don't do it, they have other officers do it." Luna said but Oblivion blinks not knowing this.

"Hold on, when was this?" she asked.

"When they brought her to us. Though, she tends not to just take the shot. She fights back so they wouldn't or breaks the vial.." she explains but Oblivion didn't like that. What the hell made such a rule?! Thinking about it, she looks to Swan but sighed.

"So wait, who gives her the shot?"

"I do...but.....she almost poisoned me when I tried to give it to her." she said. "But I wanna help her so she isn't so violent. She seems like someone that used to be nice."

".....I bet she was.....but here, let me give her the shot."

This made both Swan and Luna shocked. "Hold on, you wanna give her the shot? Is that a wise idea-"

"I can handle her but..at least she might rethink about poisoning me. I can get close without her doing that." she said holding her hand out for the shot. The two looks at one another worried then at Oblivion.

"Please..I can give her the shot or maybe we can think about making it a pill she can take for medicine."

"........*Sighs* I can put a request for that." Luna said.

"I can do that...but here....be careful Oblivion." Swan said handing her the shot. She takes it but nods, turning to find Yuuka. She opens the door to head to her cell but Yuuka remains quiet while looking at the Tv near her cell. Seems she saw the news but it annoyed her. Those cops almost got killed because of a damn riot. It was almost funny to see before she heard the door looking.

"Oh great; you again. What do you want today?" she said.

"...Just checking on you...and I guess you saw the news?" she said but Yuuka looks away then back at the Tv.

"I did....though I Heard your leader head chief is at that same prison. Better hope she didn't die there." she smirked to Oblivion but the other didn't say too much but looks to her.

"Well, no. She is fine. Her and the other two officer guards are alright." she said that the smile leaves Yuu's lips to frown.

"Tch.....geez, are cops some pests or what? It's like no matter what goes on your always coming back." she grumbled looking from Oblivion but heard her walking to the cell door.

"You don't need to be like that. Besides, I came to check on you..and to give you something." she said.

"..Give me something?" she said but Oblivion shows the shot that made Yuuka right away tense. Oh great; she almost forgot the damn shot! Oblivion blinks seeing her now looking scared instead of angry. Was the shot that bad?

"..Yuuka? You okay-"

"You stay away from me with that damn needle! I don't want anymore of those drugs in me again!" she barked ready to attack Oblivion but she was shocked to see this. When did she react so badly to this!?

"Woah, easy. I had no idea you were given these.."

"Oh yeah right!? All the damn fucking cops gives me that damn shot! It makes me itchy and feels sick! I hate it and it messes with my quirk! Just stay away from me with that!" she would have used her toxic flames to burn her but when Oblivion looks to the shot and gets in Yuu's view, she shakes nervous.

"........"

"Easy Yuuka. I'm not going to-"

"GET OUT OF MY CELL! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" she screams throwing a purple flame at the cell door that Oblivion dodges seeing it hit the wall. However, this triggers a collar strap as it beeps. Right away, two guards rushes in and goes to calm her down. Oblivion tenses seeing them go in and holding her down.

"GET OFF OF ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Stop struggling! Just calm down!" One said but Yuu kicks him in the face before the other holds her arm and shows the same shot. Right away, he injects the shot into her that Yuuka screams out thrashing again.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER!" Oblivion said but the other two kept holding Yuu down before the thrashing slows down till she goes limp. The two panted to see this but saw Yuuka knocked out but they sighed in relief but goes to carefully lay her down. When they did...

"You two...." They tense from a angry tone but slowly turns meeting with a very angry Oblivion. "What. The fuck..did you do?"

~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~~

"HUH!?! YOU MADE A DEAL WITH WHO!?" Kali and Ink said at the same time in shock but Kinie covers their mouths to hush them while speaking to them in the morning.

"Will you two stop shouting?! Geez, your so loud!" Kinie groans covering their mouths but lowers them to look. "Yes, it's true I made a agreement with him. But if you just listen I'll explain." she said.

She sees they were focused indeed. "For one, he gave me a offer that would help rebuild the prison that took damage. He said it would be starting today with that to get everything better." she said.

"Okay but it had to have been expensive if that's the case." ink said but sniffs still recovering from her cold.

"Yeah, how in the world could you-"

"He was paying for it so I won't have to. As you saw or heard, they are already working on fixing it up so it should be back up within a few months. I know we have a back up prison behind this one in case something happened before being relocated again." she said with arms crossed.

"Ummm pardon my interruption but their had to be a catch to this. No way that guy would.....let you have this with out a payment." Kali said and yet Kinie sighed.

"You are right, their was something. A list of requests." she said.

"Requests?"

"Yes. He had a few but...it did involve some people." she said but the other two were confused. "For the first one..Officer Vin-Shia, the prisoner Rex oxford mills will be going on patrol soon meaning he will have his bail paid for by him and will be let go within two months. The same goes for his teammates in two months. I already sent a message to the wardens that has the maidens..." she said.

"WHAT!?!?" she shouted standing up to slam her hands on the table.

"SIT DOWN!" Kinie said as Kali said nothing to sit.

"Yes. He said for the first request is Rex be released and bail paid. It was due to another request of his sister being let out as well. For him, he will be under your watch Kali so I suggest you get to him a lot more longer." she said.

"You have got to be kidding me.."

"No. As for the next request, two more will be released a bit faster. One that Officer knight is watching over even if he is already on being released for good behavior. Another is the one that Officer Narong is watching over. So they will be release as he already paid for their bail."

"Uhhhhh, and why does this involve me too?" Ink asked tilting her head.

"*Sighs* Because the Six claws will also be released since he paid for their bail as well-"

"WAIT, HE DID!?" Ink gasped but Kinie growls to stand and bonk them both on the head.

"OWIE!!"

"OW! WHAT DID i DO!?"

"I SAID STOP SHOUTING!!!" Kinie said to them mad but she sighs to try calming down. "Anyway, that's his requests for now but if anything else is added, he'll let me know. So, I'm trusting you two please keep this private between you but the time will come with the others will know. Do i make myself clear?" she said.

"...Yes ma'am."

"Good..." With that, Kinie got up to leave them be but she didn't tell them the last request but that means she'll have to see him soon or one day for the date.

"I can't believe this! Their going to be let out! Isn't that great, Kali!?" she said but Kali looks to her but looks ahead to slam her head in her hands groaning. She had a headache now.

~~~~~~~~Later back at Fin's prison~~~~~~~~

Jaron was still on patrol right now but while he was checking on the inmates, he saw that Bradly was put under detention due to his behavior. However, he was told to try calming him down because of it. So, he was heading to the cell detention block to see the room.

He was healed from the beat down he got that night and yet, he was under lockdown with his wrists hand cuffed behind his back and sitting on the cell bed looking down. Even if he was disgusted in seeing this horrible man, he held back since he was to see how he was.

"......" Jaron closed the cell door but this made Bradley look up to see him. "...The hell are you doing here?" he asked and yet Jaron sighed to look at him.

"I was asked by Fin to check on you and bring you some food." he said and yet Bradley blinks only to sigh to snicker. "????"

"Wow, I didn't know that damn mutt cared a bit. Whatever, I guess I can eat something even if it's a woman.." he grumbled but he looks to the food while going to pick it up. "But I guess it's food so..." he sets it down on the bed but begins trying to eat it.

"........Seems your eating so I'll let you." Jaron said turning to walk off.

"Whatever. By the way, hows the sexy minx of yours? Is she healing well?" He said that made Jaron stop but he didn't face him.

"..........."

"I heard she along with the others were sooooo scared that night but you know? It's been soooooo long since females were to guard crazy inmates like us you know. *Sighs* I really wish I could just find one and grope her tits and shit." he snickered but Jaron said nothing even if he was holding back from wanting to punch him.

".....It's none of your concern to what is going on and I suggest you don't speak of Officer brooks in such a disgusting manner." he warns.

"Ha?!? Why???? Ohhhhh I'm sorry, I didn't know I insulted your partner so badly. It's not my bad she looks sexy to fuck. Or..*gaps* You two done it! Damn and here I thought I had the chance if you didn't...." he said.

"Besides, I would have enjoyed playing with her if I had the chance. But she's really cute and so soft too....smelled just like flowers..and tasted just like cookies after having a little bite~" he teased.

Suddenly, a thud was heard with a grunt as the tray of food hits the ground but Bradley was forced against the wall while Jaron was showing a angry expression with his other fist held up after he punched Bradley breaking his nose.

"Ow!? The fuck you asshole!"

"Shut up!" Jaron said that his eyes glowed orange but he saw Bradley be quiet right away as he was nervous again. The angry jackal walks over but he grabs Bradley who trembles.

"H..Hold on! Dude, it's a joke, a fucking j-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!"

"..........."

"You will NOT ever...speak of her like that ever again, you fucking hear me!? I will be sure you suffer for that if you do!" He said but Jaron keeps Bradley where he was while his eyes were dark that the other shook scared.

"I'm going to only warn you this once..you better watch your mouth and leave her and the other women alone. If you keep being an asshole..I'll see to it you'll never live a happier life or get out of this place. And don't you ever.....touch her again. Or else. You understand me!?" he said seeing Bradley nod quickly scared that Jaron growls to drop him as Bradley looks that he saw Jaron walk off to close the cell door but Bradley shook that a trickle noise was heard seeing that he wet himself.

Jaron was leaving the detention area but when he got back he stops to calm down while the hat covered his upper face. He never got that angry before but his jackals show whining in hope he was alright. He looks to hear them but lets out a slow break but pets them.

"I'm fine....sorry you had to see that." he mutters but the dark feeling remains in him deep down before going to look at them. "How about we head back up hmm?" he said seeing them following him but it seems Jaron will check on Melinda later on but he hopes what that freak said was wrong.

Oh, how wrong he was. He will talk to her later but he won't like what he will find out.

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daifukumochiin · 2 years

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Dépaysement

Alternate title: Where the Nakano River Flows, I Pray You’re in Good Health

Well beyond her expectations surprising even herself, there was a swelling, persistent sort of desperation, a lump forming in her throat, upon hearing confirmation of the rumors straight from the doctor himself.

“So you are leaving…” Hinata mumbled to herself. “My parents were talking about it. Once you leave, soon as I’m out of work… I am to be married. To Naruto Uzumaki.”

The doctor stopped midway unbuttoning his shirt. “The mayor’s lieutenant nephew?” he asked, his tone cautious and guarded, trying not to pry too much upon hearing a man’s name fall from her lips. “How so?” He cleared his throat. “What I meant to say is, that seems promising.”

Hinata looked away out of courtesy, seeing the doctor’s shadow cast on the wall by candlelight taking off his shirt.

Hinata isn’t one to plead when refused her humble ideas. There had only been one instance, a period back in her childhood, when she found herself driven with want, a desire so strong, so dictating of her whole being, that once she realized there was only so much she could do–that the greater part of the river was the portion beyond which she could never cross past–all will and motivation seemed to have abandoned her and left her empty, most days, in words and deeds.

“What do you think if I… If I…”

Can I come with you?

More privileged girls might say it in this manner, as easily as one might say the sky is blue, or the water is clear-colored. Like her sister, who had only been a babe before and during the times of war and had seen much prosperity in their family in her latter childhood, exposed to basic education and withheld from responsibilities around the house—a more cherished girl.

Soon as she heard fabric fall on the floor, the shirt, then the trousers, she knelt to gather the divested clothing. Slowly, she stood, her eyes kept on the floor reflecting candlelight, and the doctor’s socked foot with his big toe poking through a conspicuous hole gave her ideas.

“W-what if I come with you? I can mend your clothes—” she bit the inside of her cheek, her courage faltering seeing the doctor look down at his foot, wiggling his toe albeit good-humoredly, “--I’ll sew, shine your shoes. I’ll do housework like always. O-of course, I’ll work harder on my reading. I’ll learn how to write prescriptions for your patients, then I would be of greater help.”

The doctor put on the fresh set of clothes that Hinata had laid on his bed. “Don’t bind yourself to me, dear Hinata. I do not require that of you…” said the doctor, his voice low and gentle. Drawing close, his shadow merging with hers, the doctor rested his palm on the top of her head. “There’s more to life still waiting ahead of you.”

“That is not true,” said Hinata. “I see nothing in this town. There is nothing for me here. Being with you kept me going. So, I intend to spend the rest of my life serving you, doctor.”

As she let her gaze bore deep into the doctor’s uncovered eye and even to the other covered by a dark eye patch, the doctor trailed his fingers along her chin, inching his mouth to hers. She quickly drew in a breath, lungs clenching it in, and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body stiffening. She reminded her of the flowering weeds bordering Konoha, the way they waggle to the passing wind. No one tends to them. Nobody looks forward to their blooming or their wilting. Nobody knows their name. And yet they dare resist. The reeds by the river do better than they, nimble and accepting of the caressing breeze.

“You know how I’d take those words. You know what I want,” the doctor whispered, the sadness evident in his voice as he took in the scent of her hair. “And we both know you never truly mean it.”

Tears started pooling in her eyelids.

“Oh, dear Hinata.” Tenderly, the doctor brushed his thumbs on her cheeks, cupping her small face altogether as if he were scooping her up and rescuing her from turbulent polar waters, shivering at the looming threat of calamitous emotions rippling upon her calm façade. “You are closer to my heart than anyone else has ever been. And for the longest time since I knew you, I’ve wanted nothing more than to keep you by my side, protected in my arms from any harm. But often I find your gaze lost somewhere. Like you want to be anywhere else but here. Like you’d rather be in a conversation with someone else. And it’s not pure boredom, I see, no... You never tell me what you want. And I fear I’ll never be able to give you that for the rest of my life.” The doctor sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let his arms fall to his sides. “There is a longing in your eyes and it’s not meant for me.”

There have been villains in her life. The doctor is not one of them. Though, in trying to rip her open from the inside out with his interrogations, he might as well have been. She clung tightly to the doctor’s sleeves, gasping for air, her vision darkening, squeezing every ounce of strength in her fingers till they were choking red.

“P-please don’t leave me alone,” she pleaded.

The doctor, overcome with love and pity at the sight of her, welcomed Hinata into his embrace, supporting all her weight until she was calm enough to speak.

“Tell me, dear. I promise I won’t leave,” said the doctor, soothing her with his caresses on her back. “Tell me your story, the one you haven’t told anyone… Where is your love that you can’t seem to belong anywhere anymore?”

“Nowhere,” she said–

Nowhere. Such a novel word. Like biting raw on a large chunk of cold butter. Like a lie. But it is the truth as far as everyone involved is concerned, only it mattered too little, too minuscule to make ripples ache in the water. There, she let her mind wander elsewhere yet again, idly for a moment, in the dark outside the glass window, dissolving herself in the space between the skull. Softly, like dust motes. Silently, like the single tear escaping the corner of her eye.

It was between a lightning-struck oak, a boulder, and a subtle ledge—the place where they first met. The air was crisp and chill, piercing to fresh, open wounds and bruises. In the hollow on the ground caused by the overturned roots of the oak, Hinata lay coiled into herself like a millipede. It was her nest-like respite, absorbing her tears and nursing her bruises. There, nymphs from surrounding vegetation hopped to probe her clothes, her arms, and her neck, curiously trying to find answers to the state of her affairs. Out of nowhere came screaming and struggling. The swing of a bat. The sound of the bat hitting solid.

“Nowhere, doctor. He is long dead...”

***

“Brother! I will not do it again! I will not do it again…”

Over and over, the boy’s pleadings went unheard.

As soon as it turned quiet, Hinata looked over. Tall, dry grass hid her head. She wasn’t expecting to be found. But he had eyes as dark and piercing as a crow’s or a hawk’s. She dared not to look away. It was his dark raven hair that kept her fastened there, his pale thinnish skin and the purple-yellow bruise on his left cheek mantling his bones jutting out in fair symmetry.

Barely able to stand up as he limped on one leg, the beautiful boy told her,

“Tell me what you want. I’ll give it to you.”

He had mistaken her for a beggar even when he himself didn’t have the most appealing entrance.

The boy’s name was Sasuke Uchiha. Or so he told her proudly.

His family belonged to a traveling troupe that chanced upon the village a few days prior and had settled in since, exchanging food and straw for tricks, breathing fire, and performing stunts with fans of various sizes. With the straw, they sold hats, a welcome trade in a village of farmers.

Their friendship blossomed quietly. When she took her father’s goats to graze in the field, he’d always be there waiting for her by the fallen oak. They never spoke about happenings at home and never had plenty to talk about. Children were nuisances from the viewpoint of bustling adults. Sasuke was the leader and Hinata the follower.

Together, they took on adventures: trees and insects had names anew; the mountain range surrounding the town a mere veil that hid lands of his imaginings.

He never made it seem like he needed comfort.

Sasuke had a way of diverting the mind with the persistence in his eyes, his bony hands into fists, his jaws clenched watching the horizon as though he could feel marching foot soldiers off to war just beyond the endless wall of wilderness at a time when wars had long been won and iron used in artillery were molten for railroad tracks. He spoke so convincingly about them that Hinata had learned to yearn for things herself.

“I wanna ride a train. The railroads will connect all places. Hop on one and you’ll get anywhere... What about you?” he said.

Hinata gaped like a fish, her gaze shimmering as Sasuke scooped water from the river and slowly lifted it to her wounded mouth. She could drink some, but mostly, it hurt that it made her tear up.

“I want something sweet…” She sighed. “Just a little sweetness.”

He learned to forage for honey. To brook punishment of the bees just to feed her honeycomb and rub honey on her wounds to soothe the stinging.

“How did you know?”

“What?”

“That this would heal…”

Sasuke shrugged and reached for the cut on her lip, smearing it gently with honey, his fixation making her face hot.

He wore rain boots he lugged around, his gait reminiscent of a duck. He wore the same black shirt for days that hung loosely around his bony frame. But he knew how to count money and boldly talked with adults.

She’d follow him anywhere, she knew. And she’d do it with no hesitation.

No one else had hands that would hold her so tenderly as he did, inviting the swell of her cheek in the cradle of their warmth. For the first time in her life, she dreamt of becoming someone’s wife. They’ll ride a train just as he wanted. She’d cook him the best meals, and they would sleep together in a soft, clean bed, their baby safe and warm between them.

Then, one afternoon, it happened.

It had been pleasant before the storm came. They had been gathering smooth stones by the river; she told Sasuke she never had meat. To young girls like her, even fish was considered a luxury. Meat belonged first to her father, then to her eldest cousin, and then, finally, to her nursing mother. She only had rice to eat daily, and hearing about this, much to her surprise, but flattering altogether, caused a vehement reaction in Sasuke. He was having none of it. She’ll have meat and he shall make it happen. After they gathered stones, Sasuke hunted for birds with his slingshot, while Hinata searched for dry kindling and prepared a fire in the small cave by the riverbank to cook Sasuke’s quarry with.

But the rain soon came and Hinata must hurry to collect her father’s goats. They hated getting rained on as much as she did, and yet she was aware she was of lower value than the animals in her father’s eyes.

She hauled them across the grassy plains to the village, all ten of them, a rowdier bunch than usual (than she could handle, really). Adding on to their difficult temperament was the slippery, muddy trek home which she braved alone barefooted, her straw sandals long lost, mired down in the chaos.

Growing frustrated with the goats, she turned around, hoping to talk them into submission when she saw a familiar face passing in the rain. His clothes were bloody and dangling in his right hand was a bloody bat. It was Sasuke’s elder brother. The one called Itachi.

Hacked a wild boar with it earlier in the day, she heard him say to the old man by the liquor store who invited him in to take shelter from the rain. Her knees shook and her fingers trembled. There were no words to explain the dread. The only thing she knew: she must run away from him. And ran away she did, the goats obediently trailing behind her for they, too, must’ve been frightened and resisted no further.

“You imbecile!—“

One. Two. Three.

“Such a simple task you can’t—!”

Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Each smack of her father’s paddle against her wet clothes left a burning sensation on her damp skin, reverberating to her bones. She could only curl her fingers into fists and let tears roll down her cheeks.

“Mister Hiashi, she will be unable to work tomorrow if you continue that way. Just lock her up with the goats and she will have learned her lesson,” said her mother, a breast dangling out while the baby greedily suckled.

As lightning clashed in the evening sky overhead, Hinata’s heart was just as restless, her guts writhing about from hunger and a sharp sense of unexplained fear. It was cold in the goat’s shelter. Too smelly to be tolerated even for a few hours. Nobody to hear her cries. But more than fearing for her situation, she thought of Sasuke and his brother with the bloodied bat. Darkness walled in around her with no respite. So she turned her gaze upwards, in the small opening that revealed a small piece of the sky, and somehow found herself not as suffocated.

Hands clasped tightly together in a plea to the heavens, she prayed for all the good things she could think of, all that she could convene with her limited imagination, to pour out to Sasuke.

Please keep him safe. Please make his wounds heal. Please make him warm with good food and a nice bed to sleep in tonight.

They were shamefully few, she found, barely scratching the surface of the depth of feeling in her young heart. So, she kept praying for the same things over and over again, throughout the night, until all strength left her.

The news came around the neighborhood the next day. Keep an eye on your children, they said. The youngest member of the traveling troupe had drowned in the river. They couldn’t find the body. The eldest son had only recovered the boy’s bloody lost shirt. Their mother went mad with grief and the rest went on with their lives unbothered.

Everyone else, except Hinata.

Multiple times, Hinata searched, following the direction of the Nakano River. With begged-for materials that carpenter Yamato had no use for in his shop, Hinata built a raft.

She was never successful.

“Hinata?”

She had almost drowned several times and received punishment for it. Her young mind couldn’t fully wrap itself around the very idea: she could bury the birds Sasuke caught that day left in the cave, and yet they couldn’t find his body. No remnant left of him. Disappearing like smoke. Passing on like the invisible wind.

***

The lieutenant’s raspy voice shook her out of her trance. He smiled too brightly that it almost hurt.

“I’m sorry,” he said, somewhat bashfully, as he scratched the back of his head. He has straight blond hair cut close to his scalp, each strand easily catching sunlight that one could easily make out the outline of his skull, the rest of it a permanent halo on his head. “You didn’t act when I called Miss Hyuga so I…” His clear blue eyes turned into crescent slits, his Military Medal of Honor catching a glint of sunlight as it dangled on his left chest in his uniform, making Hinata shield her eyes.

He isn’t bad. Not at all. In fact, he’s too good. For her. For her family. And yet…

“Would you mind telling me more, Lieutenant Uzumaki?” She wasn’t curious about the answers, really. It never mattered anyhow, if only to keep the conversation going until the man decided it was time for her to head home. “Who else do you know from around here?”

She directed her gaze elsewhere out in the several hectares of wheat fields her father had been awarded by the empire for saving an injured general’s life during the war and absently popped in her mouth a grape from the bunch that the military man had gifted her.

“I heard from drinking with pals the other day. There used to be Uchiha around here. I had one Uchiha in my platoon.”

Hinata stopped chewing, the juice turning pronounced acid on her tongue. “Really…?”

“I… What was his name again…” The military man sought the sky for recall. “He kept to himself and didn’t mingle with the rest of us. So when he got caught in an ambush, I guess you could say none of us felt very much of a loss.” He shrugged. “I…. I…” He rubbed his chin pensively. “Itachi? Itachi I think. Do you know any Itachi?”

Hinata swallowed her grape, a corner of her dry lips curling into a secretive smile. “Something good after all,” she mumbled.

“Hm? Come again?”

She smiled at the curious military man who was ever trying to lean in too close to her. She leaned back. “The grapes… They’re good,” she said. “I’m feeling a little numb in my legs.”

“Oh. Shall we head home?”

The military man helped her up from the picnic blanket and his medal glinted again, flashing her eye. When she accepted his good hand, his ears reddened, his eyes melting with giddiness. A giddiness she didn’t share. Not for any nationalistic sentimentality or any other sentimentalities.

“He may have lost an arm, but he’s useful in many other ways. He lost it in the war and that’s a good thing, or so they say. So don’t mind it too much,” said her mother during dinner that evening. She never mentioned anything about the lieutenant’s arm or any qualms about it. Her mother, on the other hand, would have unease strewn about in the bridge of her nose as she quietly sat back in a dark corner, contemplating the lieutenant’s predicament every time he visits.

“As if she’ll ever have it again this good. He is pearls cast before a swine, you hear me?” said her father. “You’re not good at chores and you’re not as smart as your younger sister. So quit showing that long face to him like you’re getting the short end of the stick. You’re making him feel bad, and you’re making the food taste bad!”

Hinata stared at the fish on her plate. Even if the food before her had changed, the taste hadn’t, the flavor of the words even.

“I still think the doctor wasn’t too bad. He’s leaving by the morrow, isn’t he? Hinata?” asked her mother.

“Pour me a drink, woman,” insisted her father. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should use that yapper of yours. That doctor’s got nothing. Comparing him to the mayor’s nephew’s like comparing weeds to wheat that gets delivered to his majesty’s kitchen, do you understand?”

Once the house turned quiet, Hinata put a scarf around her head, packed her clothes in a bundle inside a blanket, some taffy for a little sweetness, and then left some money she earned from the doctor’s place and various other odd jobs in her mother’s coin box. She took one last bow in front of the house and faded into the fogs before daybreak.

She soon arrived at the tracks and saw a lone familiar silhouette standing by the shed of the village’s meager station.

“Doctor!” she called out. And the doctor waved at her.

He was checking his pocket watch and just as he was about to put it back in, the roaring blast of the train’s whistle pierced the early morning calm, the bell clanking, the ground rumbling in rolling waves at its persistent advance. The rails whimpered as they slowed to a halt.

She almost forgot to breathe, seeing its magnificent build, hand on her head steadying her scarf, fearing it might get blown away by the wind and the otherworldly whirls of steam cascading about the locomotive.

The doctor stepped onto the small track of stairs of the train and held out his hand.

“Hinata?”

Hinata took in a deep breath, gulped, and never once looked back as she placed her hand in the doctor’s palm.

The doctor led her to a cabin, and once the train gradually sped again, by the window, the station grew smaller until she could see it no longer.

“Didn’t you ask me one time what my favorite flowers were?” Hinata asked, still gazing out the window, at her reflection in the glass superimposed against the mountain view peeking through the fogs.

“Hm?”

“And I told you I haven’t thought about it,” she said. “Well, I have now.”

The doctor reached for a cigar in his pocket and lit it. “You have? Interesting. Tell me.”

“Weeds,” she said, turning to face him, “Nameless flowering weeds doctor. Perhaps they do have a name and I haven’t heard about it. But I like them.”

The doctor seemed amused. “Why no one would’ve even thought of it. But I do. Some medicine, some poison… Which one specifically might you be referring to?”

Hinata turned to the window again. “I don’t know. Just any flowering weed no one cared about. Forgotten, not tended to. Unbothered, undisturbed. Hurting nobody. Just living. And yet they still grow. Because you see, even his elder brother died in the war. Just like my cousin. And I had no hand in it.”

“Whose elder brother?”

Suddenly, darkness swallowed the light, squeezing in her head, making it hard to breathe. Everywhere was pitch black, and the only speck of light left was the tip of the doctor’s cigar. It was terrible being unable to see the floor inside a moving vessel, the overwhelming thrum of it, outside and within the hollow of her chest, her mind convinced she was being spun, and the rickety sounds of its parts threatening it might come apart if some wind willed it to. Hinata panicked, close to tears.

The doctor pulled her next to him and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s alright, it’s alright, dear Hinata. Just close your eyes. There’s nothing to fear. Once we reach the end of the tunnel, there’s nothing to fear…”

She couldn’t clearly see the doctor’s face, but she trusted him in that moment, the light of his cigar, the smell of smoke, and his warmth, and allowed herself to be comforted by them, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Only then was her body reminded that she hadn’t slept a wink throughout the night.

While wrestling against the haze of sleep, an image bubbled and popped. She and the doctor sitting by a fireplace in a nice house, in a place far away. Perhaps the place she was looking for. That when the darkness ended, drowsily peering at the doctor’s face touched by sunlight, the gentleness of his gaze at her, the firmness and the warmth of him, Hinata could almost feel the syllables of his name roll off her tongue.

Kakashi.

The fearful throb of her heart settled to a calm. And she began feeling a subtle sort of sweetness frothing and spilling about her body at being protected by the doctor.

She started awake at the conductor knocking on the cabin wall, feeling cold on her toes. The train can proceed no further. The tracks had frozen.

“… Sasuke,” she mumbled, briefly reminded of the question the doctor had posed earlier before they entered the tunnel as she drifted into sleep.

***

“He had already left, two stations ago.” The conductor looked at her confusingly.

She started awake at the conductor knocking on the cabin wall, feeling cold on her toes. The train can proceed no further. The tracks had frozen.

“Where’s… Where’s the doctor? The man I was with?” The doctor had put a blanket over her and his long coat as her pillow.

Hinata scrambled to get up. “But I… I… That can’t be right.” Then a piece of paper fell from the doctor’s long coat. It was the doctor’s handwriting. She picked it up.

“If memory serves me right,” continued the conductor, “the man handed me two different tickets. One for the Sound County and one for the Iron Town.”

Hinata focused on reading each word, making sure she understood its meaning. Unable to believe in her own reading, she handed the note to the conductor for him to read.

“Read it carefully for me, please,” she said, her breath like a wisp of smoke dispelled in the air. How peculiar it was. How daunting. She rubbed her hands together.

“Dear Hinata,” read the conductor.

In the letter, he disclosed he’s found her a job. At an old acquaintance’s place in Iron Town, someone he grew up with back in Sound County. A man named Mifune. She’d be in good hands. He’ll be waiting for her at the train station so she’d have no problems locating the place.

“… So he was from Sound County. He went home.” And left her alone.

Hinata fixed the scarf around her head and went about gathering her things.

Looking outside, the cold felt more domineering. There was nothing but pure white everywhere: on the ground, in the sky, and in the space in between.

“Where am I, Mister?” she asked the conductor.

“Just about half a mile ahead and you’ll reach Iron Town, Miss.”

“How far is Sound County from here?”

“Hnn… Should be about two hours. But not in this weather, Miss, if you’re planning to go after that man. No train’s traveling in this weather.”

“I understand that much. Thank you.” Hinata sighed and proceeded out of the cabin. The rest of the train had already been empty, the blowing wind whistling through every crevice it could get into.

“Ah, Miss! Wait. There’s still something written in the back.”

Hinata turned back ever so slightly, in her slow way, leaving the conductor mum for a few good seconds. After he’d gathered about his wits, he took off his cap, and awkwardly gawked at the back of the note.

“He said… um, he said if you’d ever meet again… if circumstances make it so you’d meet again, he’d take it as a sign. But for now, he’s giving up so you find what you’re truly looking for.”

“Thank you. You’re very kind,” she said, giving a polite smile.

Overcome with concern for the lonely lovely lady, the conductor, led by his dog, helped Hinata through the blizzard. Her feet, wearing shoes inappropriate for the frigid weather, were beginning to hurt. She couldn’t withstand opening her eyes to the onslaught of wind and frozen water particles prickling her skin. Like a blind person, she let the stranger and his dog guide her to safety. When they reached the train station, it was considerably larger than the one in Konoha with more people in silhouettes crouched over, trying to fend against the cold. She, too, was wet and freezing all over.

“It seems that the blizzard’s snuffed the electricity out,” said the conductor. “I must go back to the train now, Miss… Though I’d hate to leave you. I can stay until you find the person waiting for you.”

“Oh no. I’ll be alright. Thank you. How can I ever repay you?” she said. At this point, she could hardly feel her toes and could hardly stop her jaws from smattering.

The conductor blushed in spite of the cold gesturing with his hands in front of him declining any payment. Hinata decided to give him taffy and petted his white, furry dog to thank it for helping them out in the blizzard.

She scouted the dim train station from end to end, hoping she’d stumble across someone looking for somebody… anybody. But no one was. Bystanders ignored her, busying themselves with getting warm. When the cold became unbearable, she drew near a group circling a fire drum, some holding their hands out, some playing cards.

“You’re not from here, are you?” A woman with a reddish mane approached her, half of her scalp shaved, her ears dripped with piercings. “Of course not,” she added after looking at Hinata from head to toe.

Hinata had to step back until the other woman had her pressed up against the wall.

“U-um… I…”

“Let me tell you the rules round here, you don’t get something without paying for it, you hear me?! Now pay up if you wanna get warm!”

Then the people behind her heckled, their laughs like beasts eyeing her way for prey, their shadows eerily dancing over the light of the flames. Taking advantage of her confused state, the woman forcefully took her luggage and pushed her hard on the cold concrete ground. They burned her clothing, assessing them of now value, emptied what remained in her purse, and even took all her taffy.

When the blizzard died down, she had grown considerably colder. The doctor’s long coat bogged down by water weight, could hardly keep her warm anymore. Still, she kept it on herself, perched on the bench in the waiting area closest to the rails, blowing whatever’s left of her warmth into her frozen fingers. She reminded herself of a wet bird. The birds Sasuke caught that afternoon were huddled and damp when she found them. In the end, she wasn’t entirely faultless. If she didn’t say she wanted meat, then Sasuke wouldn’t have bothered. He wouldn’t have been by the river. His brother wouldn’t have easily carried out the crime. She wondered about his last moments. If he had hurt as much as she is hurting now. If sleeping helped ease it.

Before she could completely close her eyes, someone grabbed her shoulder and shook her hard.

“Hey you, don’t sleep here!” said the gruff voice. “Do you wanna die?”

She could hardly tell the man’s face for he wore a furry sort of cap that covered his ears and his scarf covered until his nose.

“If you plan on dying, don’t bother people with your dead body. There’s plenteous space in the field in front of you. You won’t be found rotting until spring.”

“I-I’m sorry, I was only waiting for someone to find me,” she said, staring purposely at the stranger trying to understand his line of questioning when she had done him no wrong. “I only thought it’d be easier to find me here.”

She stood up from her perched position on the bench and slipped into her worn-out, damp shoes. The stranger didn’t go on about his business, whatever that was, and kept observing her.

“Anything else you wish to say?”

“Do you know anyone named Kakashi Hatake?”

“Y-yes…” Hinata paused. “Are you by any chance Mister Mifune?”

“No,” said the man. “I’m the one he sent to get you. That old man’s bones are wilting in this weather. He’s completely useless at times like this. If you’re planning on coming with me, get rid of that wet coat and wear this.” The man took off his coat and handed it to her. “And get rid of those shoes as well. I knew you come for somewhere sunny all year round so I brought this.” He thrust out the snow boots he brought along, which at one glance, Hinata could tell were many sizes too big.

“I-I’m fine wearing this.” She clung to the doctor’s long coat.

The gruff-sounding man huffed annoyedly. “There’s only a few more hours left to the daylight, Miss. And electricity’s out. I’ll spare none of it for chitchat, you understand?” He took it upon himself to take the long coat of her, which, much to his dismay, had clung to her clothes, making it harder to pull.

He put the coat on her, pulled at her limbs like she was a rag doll, and stuffed her freezing feet in each boot.

“Where’s your luggage?”

“…”

“Fine. Don’t answer. All the better for the both of us.”

When she tried to pick up the doctor’s long coat, he stopped her. “Leave it.”

“No!”

“It’s only gonna make you colder carrying that. I’m not carrying that for you, miss.”

She defended with the last ounce of resistance she could afford until she was completely overpowered and he was able to tear it out from her hands and tossed it outside across the rails on the snow.

She stood mouth agape near the edge remembering the doctor, his comforting presence, his tender eyes when they got out of the tunnel.

“Are you coming or not?” said the man. “I can leave you here if you want. I’d have no problem with that.”

The snow was almost up to the knees on the main roads. She had a hard time keeping up with him. Each step forward could drown, and the sky turned overcast, making it hard to see. Before she knew it, he was a smaller figure, far from here. She tried to run only to end up tripping, one of the boots trapped in the snow. There was also a certain comforting quality to the snow, she found. So white and pure that tears would disappear as soon as they fell on it. The gruff man was right, she could be buried underneath, and no one would know. She sat on the snow, unmindful of the wetness seeping through her bottom as she pushed the snow away to find the boot in the hole where her right foot had been.

"Why didn't you call out?" said the gruff voice behind her.

"I'm used to it," she said.

“Hop on,” he said with an exhausted sigh, lowering his back to her. She didn’t answer and continued pulling out the boot. She put it back on her other foot and was surprised when she was abruptly lifted from the ground.

“What are you---?!”

“Keep still or I’ll dump you on the side of the road.”

The man whose name she doesn’t know was rude and unkind but he was definitely strong. Not once did he falter carrying her through the pile of snow. Perhaps he served in the military. But perhaps not. The Iron seemed a more progressive place than Konoha. People aren’t desperate to be conscripted just to eat white rice once they enter the military, especially in times of low harvest, as was the case with her cousin and with plenty of young men, heirs to family names in their town.

He stopped in an alley, set her down, and opened the door. It was even dimmer inside.

“Come in,” he said, unwinding the scarf around his neck as he went inside.

She took a few steps in and closed the door behind her, enclosing them in darkness, though she could see a hint of light on the floor further away.

The man scratched a matchstick against the wall, blue flame sparking in the whoosh. Guarding it with his other hand with great caution, the man guided it to the candlestick set on top of a small table. The flame bit the candle wicks and casted a brighter yellow glow in the room, revealing floral patterned walls and small decorative plates on the shelves. The room then led to a hallway with doors on each side.

“Leave the boots in there. All your wet clothes,” said the man.

And she could see now his raven hair where the light touched, the outline of his nose, his shoulders, the girth of his body. The cut of him matched a pattern in her mind. And in that uncanny instant, it was as if her spirit had taken the air out of her body, taking all her strength and feeling along with it.

“I mean, not all your clothes, of course.” He scrunched his brows and cleared his throat. She clearly saw then how dark his eyes were, how piercing, and the shape of his face, matured and chiseled, not child-like in every way. “Don’t get the hallway wet. Follow me.”

Cautiously, and with what presence of mind she had left, she stepped out of the boots, left the coat next to where he left his winter wear, and floated behind him.

“This here’s the living room, where Mifune stays most days nowadays---” Noticing she hadn’t been paying attention to where he intended to and had merely kept her eyes at him, he waved the candlelight in front of her, trying to catch the light in her eyes. “Hey, I said, Mifune. The man you’re supposed to meet... Well, that’s Master Mifune for you.”

Hinata blinked and directed her gaze inside the room where a man slept on the couch buried in piles of blankets next to the fireplace, open-mouthed with an open book on his chest.

“Once he’s like that, there’s no helping him. He hadn’t even had dinner yet,” the man groused. “Anyway, I suggest you hit the sack and see him in the morning.”

He proceeded past the other rooms and stopped at the one at the end. “You sleep here for the evening. I’ll bring you things to dry yourself with and some spare attire. You don’t mind men’s clothes, do you?” He turned to her, his face waiting for an answer.

“…”

“Hello? Good evening?”

“…”

“Hey, Miss. Let me tell you one thing. You may have not seen a face as good as mine back where you’re from, but you can’t survive here if you keep behaving out of it, do you understand?” He stooped down her line of sight, exposing his face fully to the light to prove his point.

Hinata gasped, stepping back, trembling hands covering her mouth.

Oh, it was him. She was sure of it now. The impression of his boyish face persisted in her mind even as tears crowded her view and blurred the sight of him.

“S-Sasuke…” she exhaled a shaky breath.

The man narrowed his eyes, visibly taken aback. “Yes, my name’s Sasuke… I haven’t introduced myself. How do you know that?”

Hinata shook her head, wiping her tears, and smiled in spite of it. “Is this place good? Are you able to eat three times a day?... Sleep in a good bed?... Is it a happy place here?”

Sasuke’s forehead crinkled, finding her line of questioning peculiar. “I guess… You know, dinner bread’s available just down the hallway to the left. I mean right. With some borscht. Yeah.” He walked away looking spooked.

“Wait.” He stopped and turned in her direction.

Hinata took refuge in the nook of the door frame, wishing herself to be so small and thin as a sheet that she would fit into the smallest of crannies. She couldn’t bear to see him a moment longer. Not now. For there was no sign of recognition for her anywhere in his eyes. Not even a hint of it. But what relief to see him strong, to see him in good health. She tried to open the door, pushed desperately against it, and before she could fully figure out how the whole mechanism worked, Sasuke charged in, caught her wrist, and pushed her against the wall, so they see eye to eye.

“… Who are you again?”

The mere contact was severe. Like lightning, it shook and set her ablaze, deep into the bone.

“It’s me… It’s Hinata.”

He needed to know. She wanted him to know. Even perhaps, with the rippleless, selfish desire of nameless flowering weeds when no one tends to them, nobody looks forward to their blooming or their wilting, and nobody knows their name. Yet they dare resist.

End.

This was originally my response to PianoCoat’s prompt for Sasuke’s birthday in the shmonth discord server. A story that contains the following objects in no particular order: train station, lost shirt, candle, blizzard, and “Wait... who are you?”

I hope you enjoyed it:)

#day3 #dépaysement #sasuhinamonth2022 #shmonth2022 #SasuHina

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