Capítulo 16: Chapter 31
I followed Inoichi out of the administrative building. We almost matched with him in his black uniform and coat, identifying him as a member of Ibiki's Torture and Interrogation Force, and me in my own personal homage to Kingdom Hearts, although I could think of at least a few anime characters with similar coats. "Maybe I should change to red? Too bad guns here suck. Maybe if my arm ever gets cut off." That very real possibility gave me a chill.
"How is the academy, Haru-chan?" Inoichi asked with a smile.
I took my hood off, as it kind of felt wrong to talk to my old boss while hiding my face. "I've learned a bit. It can be boring sometimes. Some of Iruka's lectures make me miss having Ebisu around."
The man laughed warmly in response. "You know, Ino told me that you were in her class."
"Are you allowed to tell me what she said?" I asked, not wanting to intrude on something said in private.
"She said she was surprised that you were younger than her. I was surprised too, when I learned how old you were. You always acted so mature that it was hard to believe you were only three years old. I have to admit that it was a bit unusual," Inoichi said sheepishly over his shoulder.
"Is it really that strange?"
"A bit. And then today I learn that you're inventing completely new jutsu in your first year at the Academy. Don't take this the wrong way, Haru-chan. Even though I knew a precocious child, it's a bit much to take in. I thought you would be talented but this is...I just don't know what to make of it," he admitted somberly.
"Yamanaka-san, have you ever read my mind before?"
"I haven't. Although a friend of mine has. I did read the report though. It said that you were mostly normal, with a lot of imagined stories." The tall, blond man sighed. "The Hokage feels that a more thorough examination would be good. I will admit, I'm curious what I'll find in there," he said as he tapped my head with his finger.
"I'm curious too," I admitted.
I could see a building ahead with a plaque that read 'Konoha Intelligence Division'. Inoichi turned to me and held a hand out to present the building, "Welcome to my work!" He lead me into the building and through a maze of hallways and doors and stairs, such that I wouldn't be able to find my way out if I got separated from my guide.
We finally entered an unmarked room. Inside, three ninja stood behind a round stone counter that wrapped around a crescent shaped design on the floor with a chair in the center of the inner crescent. Apparently I was getting the full treatment. Even Ibiki Morino, in the same coat as Inoichi, was sitting in a chair on the side of the room.
The scar-faced man stood up at our arrival and spoke to Yamanaka, "So this is the kid?" He looked me over. "Isn't this a bit excessive for a little girl? What is the Hokage thinking? Even if she does have good taste in clothing," he said snidely.
Inoichi belted out a loud laugh and answered, "Maybe! But you know full well that Haru is an unusual case. The Hokage just wants to be sure."
I just sighed, giving up. I definitely did not want to ever tell Ibiki Morino that he was mistaken about anything, lest I get on his bad side.
"Alright, kid, have a seat," Ibiki ordered.
I sat in the chair and in an instant, I was encased in stone up to my neck. I assumed the three chunin behind me had their palms on the fuinjutsu covered table to help Inoichi's Mind Reading Technique. I merely gave a deadpan, half smile as Inoichi stepped in front of me and laid his hand on my head. I couldn't see his face as he said, "I'm sorry, Haru."
Then I fell asleep.
When I awoke, I was lying in a bed. It didn't look like a hospital room. I was probably still in the Intelligence Division building, judging from the plain room. Inoichi was sitting in a chair next to me.
Inoichi frowned. With his eyes closed and his brow furrowed in concentration, he asked me. "Haru, do you have memory problems?"
I wasn't sure what he was referring to. I always considered myself to have a pretty good memory, especially when it came down information about Naruto. Maybe he was talking about my amnesia of my past life? "Kind of," I answered. Honestly, anything to explain my strange extra memories would be appreciated. "Sometimes I feel like I've forgotten something, like there should be more but there isn't," I said, not telling him that I basically had no idea who I was outside of the last six years, assuming that the fleeting images that weren't associated with some kind of fiction were indeed another life.
"I have to say, you've got a lot going on in there," Inoichi said solemnly. "I can see why they said you had an active imagination. You had a lot of memories about other people. Do you write stories, Haru?"
"No."
Inoichi's lips squirmed as he considered what to say. He seemed disappointed by my answer. "I saw a lot of things that can really only be called imaginative. But none of it happened to you. You didn't meet anyone from your memories. You never heard about them from anyone. There are so many things in your head that couldn't possibly exist. You also had images of many people who actually exist, or existed. Even my daughter. You have an image of her, I think she's older, but how could you know what she will look like?"
"If you read my mind, you should know. Why are you asking me?"
He continued, "And I think I saw the Hokage fighting the Snake Sannin inside Konoha by himself! Why would you think that would ever happen? Why would you think that a single person could level all of Konoha. The most puzzling thing is that in your memories you never existed. No one ever told you about these things. It's like they just appear in your mind from thin air. The best explanation is that you simply created these memories in your imagination, these memories that have no connection with your life whatsoever. Most of them have nothing to do with Konoha at all. But some of the things I saw, I wanted to ask, do you think you are seeing the future?"
I could see tiredness in Inoichi's face. I said, "I taught Naruto the Rasengan when we were four years old. You're supposed to be telling me how I know it, Mind Reader-san." I was tired too. "You know about as much as I do, Yamanaka-san. I've just always been this way. I've just always known these things. I don't know why. I just assumed that if the things I know are things that will happen, then I should do something about it."
"Also, Haru, you have a strange phenomenon with your mind. As soon as you hear or read any words, they immediately turn into gibberish. It's present throughout your whole life. I have no idea what to make of it. It's almost like a code but it started before you even learned to talk or read."
"Is he talking about English?" I felt both relieved that he hadn't read my thoughts and a little disappointed that he couldn't. If he understood English, he probably would have understood the entirety of Naruto's life minus me. For him, it was probably like watching raw, unsubbed episodes. He wouldn't have any idea what was happening. I almost wished he knew everything, just so I wouldn't have to carry the burden alone.
I asked him something I had been curious about since I realized he would be in my mind, "Yamanaka-san, are there any memories of before the Nine-Tails' attack? Is there anything about my parents?"
Inoichi looked down as he answered, "I'm sorry, there wasn't. It was almost like most of your memories started that night. But that might just be because it was the Nine-Tails. A lot of people have vivid memories of that night."
"So now what, Yamanaka-san?"
"Well, you get to go home, Haru-chan." He smiled warmly for the first time since I woke up. "And I get to fill out a lot of paperwork and try to figure out why your mind is a mess," Inoichi said with a sigh.
When I arrived home, it was night. The sun had gone down while I was with Inoichi. I was surprised to find a blue haired girl with straight cut bangs sleeping against my door.
"Hyuga-san...Hinata." I sat down against the wall next to the girl. She was wearing her jacket from my memories, with the fire symbol on her sleeves. I wondered when she would start wearing that to school instead of the light colored robes she wore in Iruka's class.
She woke up with a start, pushing herself away from me. "Ah, ah, Haru-san, I wanted to talk to you."
"Well, I'm here," I said, resting against the wall of my apartment.
"Why did you hold back in our duel? I saw how you fought Naruto and you didn't fight like that with me." Hinata seemed almost angry despite her quiet voice.
"Hyuga-san. When you fought me, you completely incapacitated my arm with the Gentle Fist. And then you literally dodged my genjutsu. I didn't even know that was possible. Naruto is a strong opponent. But with him I was having fun more than anything. With you, when I didn't know who I was fighting, I was scared. And finally when I tried to counter the Gentle Fist, you still creamed me with simple taijutsu. Your strengths are different from Naruto's strengths, and that's why our fight went differently. Don't tell me you wanted me to use the Rasengan on you."
Hinata started to blush and looked away. She scooted even farther away. She whispered, "Do you really think I'm strong?"
"Of course. Why do you think I challenged you to a rematch? You and Naruto are probably the strongest students in our year."
"I'm sorry you have to still make lunch for Naruto," she said. Apparently she didn't actually want her prize for winning, as she had declined the responsibility for Naruto's lunch after our duel.
"Nah. Naruto says I'm a great cook. I don't mind. I just thought it would be a good chance for you and Naruto to become closer. He's not a very picky eater, you know," I told her, resting my cheek on my fist.
"No, I...I don't care about Naruto," Hinata said with her face buried in her knees.
"But, the duel. I thought..."
Hinata interrupted me to explain, "When I told my sister about you, I thought you were a bad person. I, um, knew you weren't a girl even though you were in kunoichi lessons, because of the Byakugan. I thought you were tricking Naruto."
"What are you..."
"I told you about how Naruto beat some bullies who were picking on me. But Naruto saved me so effortlessly. I felt useless, humiliated. I thought that maybe if I could return the favor, if I could save Naruto from you," she chuckled wistfully, "that I might prove to myself that I wasn't worthless. That I was more than just a disappointment to the clan, to my father. When we fought, I felt...powerful. I felt like I didn't have to be me. Like for once I could be strong. Yes, I was scared. But when we fought, I felt like I could finally win at something for once." Hinata continued to stare at her feet as she sat across from me, fidgeting with her fingers. "I felt happy."
"What? What is this? This isn't happening. This is a bad dream induced by Inoichi. Oh, god, I have to explain to Hinata why she can't have a crush on me." I just stared at the girl. She was probably cold from falling asleep outside. It would be better to explain things over tea, to let her down gently.
"Hinata, do you want to come inside?" I offered.
"Yes," she answered directly.
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