บท 2: Chapter 2
A young girl with waist length, dirty-blonde hair, and lavender eyes looked up at the tan man with a blank expression. He scratched his cheek slightly, hitting the ridge of the scar that was across his nose, and fought back a sigh. This girl was starting to unnerve him, loathe as he was to admit it. She was able to keep constant eye contact with him even though most of the children under his care were unable to do so.
"Umino-San, this is Yamanaka Yuzuki," A woman with long brown hair tied up in low ponytail informed him, "She's starting the academy a little late due to the death of her parents."
Well, that explained why she seemed so blank. He looked back down at the girl with a bit of sympathy in his eyes and watched as she narrowed her's at him in annoyance. She certainly didn't live up to her name, gentle moon, she seemed dangerous even for a child. She sighed and looked away from him.
"Her eyes, is she a…" He trailed off as he looked back at the woman.
"Yes, she's part Hyuuga, but her father was able to use the Yamanaka clan to stop her from having the seal on her," The woman explained with a dainty sniff, "She's expected to go to the Hyuuga compound every afternoon to learn from her uncle."
He didn't need to know that, but he knew that she told him in case Yuzuki went missing after the academy was done. He studied the girl once again and watched as she tapped her fingers against her thighs in a rhythmic way. She was tapping to a song that only she could hear, and only she knew. He almost smiled at the sight of something normal.
It was a nervous tick, something she had yet learn how to control.
"It's nice to have you join the class, Yuzuki-chan," He said, and she looked back to him and stopped fidgeting.
"Thank you for having me, Iruka-sensei," She quietly replied with a small bow.
Hyuuga mannerisms, ones that were deeply ingrained. The long hair was also a trait that was held within that clan, but the part of it that covered her right eye was all Yamanaka. She looked towards the door where the rest of the class was, and he noticed a somewhat nervous expression on her face. It would most likely be her first time around children her age that weren't from a clan.
He didn't know that she wasn't looking forward to being around children. Her Uncle treated her like an adult, which she was thankful for, and she wasn't looking forward to being treated like she was an idiot because she was young. It was bad enough that the Yamanaka Clan's Matriarch treated her as such, especially when she got strong armed into helping around the flower shop when her daughter went to play with friends. She started to pick at the grey kimono top she was wearing, the Yamanaka symbol on the back had been sewn there by her mother before her death.
"Behave, Yuzuki," The woman at her side ordered in a cold tone.
"Yes, Naomi-San," Yuzuki muttered with a slight frown.
Some of the Yamanaka weren't as fond of her as her Uncle Yuna. She watched as her new teacher, who was easily taller than her six-year-old form, went and opened the door. She grimaced at the sound that came from the opened sliding doors. It increased when she caught the smell that wafted from it.
The children were loud, and all the different smells were too much for her.
She knew that it was going to be worse when she finally went inside to be introduced to her new classmates, but still. She could pick out individual scents from her spot outside. Someone smelt of wet dog and another smelt of smoke. She came from a mixed family of sensor nin and ninjas who understood the inner workings of the mind and had their own techniques. The sharp nose came from her father, surprisingly, it was something that appeared after years of using dog summons.
"Yuzuki-chan, come in please," Iruka told her as his head poked out from between the open doors.
She reluctantly walked into the classroom and quickly surveyed the room. This class had two of her cousins. Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino. She also noticed a few clan heirs as well. She let out a very quiet sigh and stood up straight yet gained a bored expression to her face. She was ignoring the churning of her stomach from all the smells.
"Everyone, this is Yamanaka Yuzuki," Iruka introduced her, "She's starting late due to personal reasons."
"It's nice to meet everyone," She monotoned as she gave a slight bow.
All eyes turned towards a grimacing Ino. She understood her cousin could be considered weird, but she was nice when you got past her way of speaking. She didn't mind it, but she knew that it was going to cause the slightly taller girl problems. Some might call her a half-breed due to being from two different clans.
"Please sit next to, Nara Shikamaru," Iruka told her, "Shikamaru-kun, raise your hand please."
A bored looking boy with his unruly hair up in a ponytail raised his arm. It was barely up, but she knew who Iruka was referring to. She quickly headed up the stairs and sat down in the empty spot next to the lazy boy. She barely sent him a glance and took out a scroll from her backpack. She took out a pencil and waited for the lesson to begin.
She could feel her cousin's friend watching her, but acted as though she didn't. She took neat notes, her characters tidy and somewhat elegant compared to the others around her. Hours upon hours of being forced to write them, by her aunt, made sure that they were neat.
She would admit that it was nice to be back in a proper school- well if one could call the ninja academy that- it had been far too long. It had been six years since she had last been in school, and then another six here. She had been out of school for a full twelve years, but it was like riding a bike. It was a little rocky at first, she wasn't used to taking notes, but then her writing became clear and she was able to write notes in a way that anyone reading them could understand what she was learning.
Taking the notes also made it seem as though time was going faster than it was.
"You didn't even try to talk to anyone," A bored voice informed her as she put away her full scroll and reached for the piece of fruit that was to be her lunch.
"I didn't realize that I had to," She muttered as she looked towards her desk mate, "You usually aren't the type to care, Shikamaru."
"I don't," He sighed, "It just seems as though you might get lonely."
It was quiet for a few seconds and he looked towards her. He thought he had upset her with those words until he saw her thoughtful expression. She gave a slight shrug and bit into the apple in her hand as she watched the other children go off with their friends to eat lunch. There wasn't any kind of want or sadness in her eyes.
"That's fine," She quietly admitted, "I don't have time for friends."
"You'll be sad," He countered.
"There are two types of people in the world, those who prefer to be sad among others and those who prefer to be sad alone," She quoted.
He stared at her as she simply continued to eat her fruit. She had quoted Krauss Nicole from the History of Love. She couldn't help herself; she had spent far too much time reading and consuming media in her past life not to have a bunch of quotes to use. She just had to figure out the right one for the right time.
"You spend too much time around Yuna-San," Shikamaru muttered.
He saw her mouth twitch upwards in amusement. Of course, her uncle was always able to cheer her up, even if it was just a mention of him. The man was a literal ball of sunshine, something that was odd considering the clan he came from. Shikamaru thought it was too bothersome to be around him, but was thankful when he saw some of that happiness rub off on her. He'd known her as long as Ino, and had clicked better with her than the blonde.
He knew that the blonde would end up being his teammate in the future, the three heirs were very aware of that as much as Ino wanted to ignore it, but he would always be better friends with Yuzuki. She was sardonic and sarcastic at best, but when she would wordlessly share her food with him showed more than she let on. The fact that she played shogi with him without complaining and would make him try had nothing to do with it.
"You think Inuzuka knows that he smells of wet dog?" She quietly asked him with a slight grimace.
"You could always wear a mask on your face," He offered with a raised brow.
"That's too bothersome," She muttered as she finished her banana, "Besides, I'd look like I was trying to be in ANBU."
Sometimes she said things that made him start. That was one of them. Granted, she was usually cryptic with her moods and sometimes it bordered on the existential that typically ended up with her staring at a spot in the distance for hours on end in thought.
"How bothersome," He sighed, and she couldn't help but agree with him.
She leaned forward on the desk and eyed the children around them. There were cliques already, the popular girls, the Uchiha fan's, and the clan kids. There were a few civilians that weren't in cliques and just sat there reading scrolls or eating lunch. She didn't pay them any mind; they wouldn't make it through the academy.
She was able to read people well, enough to get by and work her ways up the rank when she was in the Navy, and she knew their type. It was sad, but she understood why they left. They wanted a safer life, not the one that they would read about in the history books. Sometimes the family would run out of money to send their children to the academy. She came from two clans who would send her to the academy whether she wanted to or not.
She had wanted to simply because living a civilian life would've been too boring. She would most likely work her way up the ranks. She had her eyes on assassination or torture and interrogation. She would be good for both, with her Byakugan and Mind Jutsu she would be difficult to beat. It was a leg up, something she was grateful for in this life. She could use it to have any career she wanted. Even if she was put on a full-frontal assault team, she could still be useful. She could see a full three-sixty degrees and the chakra paths of a body. A sensor nin at their finest. She looked down at the banana peel on her desk and rose from her chair to go throw it away.
As she did so, she could hear the gaggle of girls that liked the Uchiha gossiping about her. Apparently, she was nothing like Ino. That should've been obvious to them, she didn't look anything like her blonde cousin. She didn't have that childlike innocence anymore. She had seen people die in battle, she herself had died and that had left a scar that couldn't be seen.
It didn't help that she had to identify her parent's bodies when they were retrieved from a mission that had turned sour.
That was enough to get rid of any innocence that she had regained in being reborn. The fact that the ANBU that had been sent to retrieve her parents had simply ruffled her hair as though she would be able to get over what happened. She had been treated as though she was stupid and didn't understand what had happened, and it had thoroughly pissed her off. That white haired ANBU had made a very tiny enemy by doing that, if she ever ran into him again she was going to punch him in the crotch. She was at nut punching height and she was going to use it to her advantage. Even thinking about it made her angry.
"A-Ano, Yuzuki-Chan," A soft voice caught her attention and she turned to see her cousin.
"Hinata-Sama," She greeted the clan heir with the right title.
"H-How many t-times do I-I have to say, i-it's just Hinata," Hinata quietly chastised her with a furious blush.
"Ah, sorry," Yuzuki softly apologized, "It's something that my Uncle told me to say."
Hinata looked at her for a few seconds before giving a very soft smile. She got a small one in return. A bell rang out and they both headed back to class, whatever her cousin had come to say she didn't get the chance to do so. She had run out of time, but was relieved by the fact that she would have a chance to talk to her on their way to the Hyuuga compound.
As the lesson dragged on, Yuzuki thought about what she had learned about her family. Her mother and father were married to make clan ties between the Yamanaka and Hyuuga. She was the product of a political marriage. They were kind, but they left her to her own devices, not that she went out of her way to try and foster a relationship with them. Her disposition was cold compared to other children her age. She truly was glad that they hadn't been abusive like some of the arranged marriages that happened within the clans.
She had witnessed it when she was first testing out her Byakugan at the compound. She had been startled out of her concentration by such a thing. It had taken her Uncle hours to calm her down afterwards and he had bought her some Dango as an apology. He hated it when things like that happened as well. It didn't help that he would give her a thoughtful look whenever he thought she wasn't looking.
The academy ended and she stood next to the smaller Hyuuga with a tiny smile. The shy girl was making sure she had everything before the two of them walked to the compound. Both had to train with their respective family members. A taller boy walked up to them, a slightly sour expression on his face.
"Hinata-Sama, Cousin Yuzuki," He greeted in a stilted manner, "Are you two ready to go?"
"Y-Yes, Neji-Nii," Hinata quietly answered.
"Yes," Yuzuki nodded.
They started to walk together, Hinata couldn't say what she wanted to earlier. Neji was someone who would give Yuzuki a stern talking to if they started to grow closer. He seemed to agree with the clan head that their cousin was dangerous to teach. She didn't think so, she knew her cousin better than others would like to believe.
Yuzuki glanced at the swing that hung from the old tree in the academy courtyard. There was a blonde boy sitting on it, watching as the parents came to pick up their kids. Blue meet pale lavender and she gave him a small nod of greeting, he simply looked away with a slight pout. So, that was the Naruto she heard so much about. He seemed truly lonely, Shikamaru should worry more about him than her. She turned her attention towards the rooftops where she saw some Ninja using them to get around quicker. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to do that, she hated the fact that the village was built like a labyrinth. It was difficult to get from point A to point B.
As they neared the Hyuuga compound a single figure stood outside of it. Long dark brown hair was tied in a low ponytail and a single hand was waving back and forth. Hinata and Yuzuki perked up at the sight of the man. That was Yuna, he held a happy grin on his face as he spotted them.
"Yuzu-Chan!" Her Uncle called, "Hinata-Hime!"
"Idiot," Neji muttered and he caught the glare that was sent his way by Yuzuki.
She had heard him and was more likely to hit him for his words. She adored her uncle and would happily decimate anyone who dared to insult him. He was probably the only reason why she wanted to become a Ninja. A part of her didn't really care about the village, but she had people that did. She would gladly give her life to protect it so they stayed safe and happy.
"Ready to train" Yuna asked his Niece.
"Yeah," Yuzuki replied with a smile.
He gave a curt nod to Neji and a happy smile to Hinata before leading his Niece to their training area. He sat down on a chair and turned to her as she put her backpack down next to him and tied her hair back with an annoyed expression. He was amused to see that she still hated long hair, even when she was four she hated having it long and made sure the Hyuuga's knew it. He knew that one day she was going to come back with short hair and make the clan leader angry.
He couldn't control her, so there wasn't much that he could do without making the Yamanaka head angry.
"Go through the forms of the Juken," He ordered as she looked to him for instruction, "We'll see what needs to be worked on."
"Right," She murmured.
She held up her hands and slowly went through the motions before picking up speed. She knew that if she was in a fight she wouldn't have the time to work herself into the right speed, but since she was still learning the Juken she knew that it would be okay. She remembered reading a book about Hakkesho, which was like the Juken. It was something that reminded her of her old world.
She would love to learn the Trigrams, but that was reserved for the main branch. Though, one could easily figure it out through trial and error or watching the main branch as they trained. She wondered how the branch family hadn't figured it out yet, it seemed like a simple thing to do. She would do it in secret though, if she had the chance to work through it and figure it out. She really didn't want the seal on her. The Yamanaka head could only do so much to protect her from that fate.
It was part of the agreement when her parents married that any child they had would be a Yamanaka but be taught the arts of both clans.
If her eyes got stolen, then the Hyuuga would never branch out and try marriage between clans again. She had to train to make sure that wouldn't happen. She wanted other branch members to have children who didn't have to worry about having that seal on them.
"You need to work on your speed," Yuna said as she finished going through the motions, "You're slow, if I was your opponent I would've been able to defeat you by now."
"Thanks," She said in a sarcastic tone and he gave a slight grin.
"We'll introduce sparing," He said as she gained an excited glint to her eyes, "It will help your speed."
He got into the stance as well and she followed. He wouldn't use Chakra, not yet anyway, so that it would be a somewhat fair spar. He moved first and put her on the defensive. She was good with her foot work, but was indecisive on what to do with her hands. She winced after each hit her uncle got on her. Small circular bruises began to show up on her skin, and she tried to pick up speed and hit him back.
She was able to get one hit on him, out of the hundreds he had. She was stuck rubbing at the bruises on her arms and he searched through his sleeves and pulled out a small jar of bruise balm. He handed the container to her and she accepted it. She put it into a pocket in her sleeves and looked up at him with an owlish expression.
"Use it before you go to bed," He told her, "It'll help with some of the soreness if you do, and the bruises will be gone in the morning."
"Thank you, Uncle Yuna," She muttered and her flicked her forehead.
"Learn to speak up, Kiddo," He sighed with an amused smile as she sent him a glare, "I know that you used to be quite the loudmouth."
She didn't know how to respond to that and simply looked away with a slight frown. Things had changed, granted she had always been quiet compared to other children, but she had her moments where she was loud. Those were gone, she didn't need them anymore. She didn't have anyone to yell at anymore.
She was sent home. She took the streets slowly, there wasn't anyone waiting for her at home. She looked down at her sandal cladded feet and let out a very loud sigh. She pushed her hair back from her face and looked out of the corner of her eye towards the roofs. There was an ANBU up on the roof, she had caught their attention.
It wasn't the best thing to have, but she'd rather have an ANBU watching over her than someone who was after her eyes. She put her hands into her capri pockets and continued on her way. She needed to act as though she hadn't noticed them. It was the best thing she could do. She didn't want to engage with them, it might be the white haired one.
She walked into the small area where the Yamanaka clan lived and went directly to her house. She entered and waited at the door. That ANBU was still there, and she didn't know why. She didn't get paid to understand the inner mechanism of an ANBU's mind, nor did she care. She looked towards the small clock in the hallway and let out a quiet yawn.
She was going to stop worrying about it and go to bed. It was above her pay-grade and none of her business. Also, she wanted to get that bruise ointment on her as soon as possible, because she was starting to feel the bruises. Her bruises had bruises. So, with a quick bath she put on the ointment and went to sleep.
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