Chapter Text
“Permission to enter Zone 6,” Hinata said.
She was on foot, standing in front of the parking garage. All day, she’d acted like a civilian, leaving the airport with a baseball cap––a new one, from Hong Kong with Peppa Pig on it––slung low over her eyes. She tucked her short hair into the cap. She wore baggy sweatpants, a long-sleeve shirt that hugged her figure, and kitten heels. All these things, she’d gotten from Kiba before she left. Coyly, as she frowned at the shoes, she’d asked, you have a lot of women over, huh?
Kiba turned pink. Hinata would cherish the expression on his face, his surprise that she would be so lewd, and his smile when he saw the silly outfit they’d made together. “I think it’s trendy, actually,” Hinata commented, looking at herself in the mirror.
“Absolutely,” Kiba agreed, handing her brown-colored contacts, which she stuck into her eyes without issue. She knew that people would be looking for her. She put a face mask over her mouth and nose. She had to throw them off for as long as possible.
But what could she do, besides pray for luck? She was in Konoha now. She was home. And nobody could help her.
So she did what any civilian would do: she called a Taxi. She took it to a made-up address several blocks from Headquarters and got out in front of the cute, boxy home with orange lights warming the front window. It was dark, by now. Nearly 10 at night, and Hinata was starving.
She could not think of that. The boxy home had an adorable, lavender bike sitting amongst a gaggle of Red Spider Lilies, swaying in the evening breeze. Hinata took the bike without a second thought, placed her kitten-heeled feet on the pedals, and rode away.
Still, she thought it strange that no one followed her. No one seemed to be on her trail. No danger spiked along her spine as she left Konoha International Airport. She biked in the early autumn breeze like everything was normal and simple. Like she wasn’t a fugitive. Like she wasn’t wanted. Like she wasn’t going from one death sentence to another.
It was a nice bike ride. She appreciated it as she breathed in the familiar-smelling air. The streets were full of people who looked like her, who sounded like her, who reflected her. She didn’t know how much she had missed Japan until she was back, biking up and down her hills, listening to the cicadas singing their dying songs.
“ Hello,” Myagi said. “ Please verify your identity and sequence number.”
“Dove,” Hinata said, taking off her baseball cap. Her hair fell against her neck like wind. “Number 7.”
“ Thank you. Please place your hand. I will now scan the perimeter.”
A panel opened up beside the closed door. Hinata placed her hand against the scanner and felt the prick of her middle finger as Myagi collected the blood sample. It lit up green once it confirmed her identity. Hinata waited by the door. It was rare she ever entered this way, but not unheard of.
“ We have not identified any threats in your vicinity. Permission granted, DOVE. Your handler, PRODIGY will meet you on the 7th floor. Please report directly.”
The door opened as anxiety throbbed in Hinata’s chest. She held it in and stepped into the threshold, immediately meeting an elevator that took her directly to the 7th floor. She barely had any time to prepare–––
She breathed through her mouth, letting information pass through her mind as the elevator lifted. Yes, it made sense she should see Neji first; Hinata hadn’t been seen or heard from in months. No, Neji was not a threat to her…was he? He had no reason to be suspicious of her, did he? This was normal procedure, right?
She’d been away for so long, that she was unused to how clean everything was. The metallic of the elevator gleamed so brightly that she could see her own reflection: the mud brown contacts that washed out her face, her smooth skin, the pitch-black outfit that clung to her skin. Unfortunately, the bruising around her neck hadn’t completely healed, and Neji would certainly be wondering about that.
The hustle and bustle of the 7th floor was normal and it relieved Hinata to see all the agents darting around. It was less damning to be sent to this floor; it was where agents convened casually. They booked rooms to sleep in if they weren’t from the area, found corners to talk in if they needed some decompression, and generally relaxed and readied themselves for missions during downtime. Still, there was clearly some sort of note put on her return: they had been awaiting her presence one way or another.
“Dove,” Prodigy’s voice behind her made the hairs stand up on her neck, but she wouldn’t let him see her anxiety. She couldn’t. “It’s a miracle you’re alive.”
He was being sarcastic, but Hinata laughed to think of the morbid truth hiding within the statement. She turned and placed a smile upon her mouth, showing teeth. She watched Neji watch her, his eyes darting from her contact lenses to her freshly tanned skin, pausing, briefly, on her bruised neck.
“Seems like you ran into some trouble,” Neji said, gesturing toward an open door to their left. “Why am I not surprised?”
Hinata went into the conference room; there were several on this floor, all soundproof and unhackable. As she watched Neji close and lock the door, she shrugged and said, “weren’t–––weren’t you the one who told me to try seduction?”
She watched Neji’s mouth twitch just slightly, and thought––for the very first time in her life––maybe she had the upper hand.
-:-
Hinata put her mouth in the place between his neck and shoulder and bit down. Wine glasses twinkled. His father called him a failure, his voice strong and strange. A bullet whizzed past his ear. Sakura kissed his earlobe. Naruto laughed. A bullet whizzed past his ear, Sakura kissed his earlobe, Naruto laughed and his father called him a failure, his voice strong and strange. Hinata put her mouth in the place between his neck and shoulder and bit down as wine glasses twinkled, his father’s voice was strong and strange as he called him a failure. A bullet whizzed passed his earlobe and Naruto laughed when Sakura kissed his ear. Wine glasses twinkled as Hinata put her mouth in the place between his neck and shoulder and bit down when his father called him a failure as a bullet whizzed passed, his voice strong and strange when Naruto laughed and Sakura kissed and Hinata bit and Naruto laughed and his father said and hinataputhermouthintheplacebetweenhisneckandshoulderandbitdown andsmiled,smiled,smiled aswineglassestwinkledlikestarsandthentherewasthegunshotalwaysthegunshotwhizzingpasthisearandhisfathercalledhimafailureandsakurakissedhisearlobeandnarutolaughedandthenightwaslonganddenseashinataputhermouthintheplace between his neck and shoulder and bit down.
Sasuke woke up out of breath on a Shikifuton. He was shirtless in a small room in his brother’s temporary home on the Compound. Only a few hours ago, Itachi had stopped the madness happening in their mother’s living room, demanding that they all speak together in the morning to decide what must be done.
Izumi and a maid led Mikoto to bed while Itachi convinced Sasuke to stay the night. Sasuke was in too much shock to drive anywhere, so he just nodded, his world tilted on an axis while he watched Itachi unroll the futon in the empty guest room. The moon glowed in the window against the swaying trees. Sasuke swore it looked red.
“But how? Brother––” Sasuke spoke finally, breaking the silence that droned on like static. “Where?”
“Not now, Sasuke,” Itachi said, his eyes sinking, as he tossed a blanket from the closet.
“Itachi,” Sasuke’s voice felt raw, but came out like a growl. What he wanted to say was, it’s not fair .
“Please,” Itachi pushed the words out and Sasuke could hear the pain in them. “It is late. We weren’t expecting you until morning.”
It wasn’t fair, not really, but Sasuke relented because what could he process besides the pounding in his chest? The hollow feeling that filled his mind? The empty, dark room that faced him suddenly?
“We tried to call you,” Itachi said before he slid the door closed, the light from the hallway disappearing.
Sasuke slept after hours of laying awake, then woke to a nightmare that threatened to send him to a bar. He turned his head to gaze out the window, seeing that it was still night, and wanted to cry. But he couldn’t cry, not when there was still much more to do, to think about, to find out.
His father was dead. Uchiha Fugaku was dead. He had been killed.
Sasuke turned on his back, staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t liked his father, but he loved him. His father was a leader. He was smart. He was stealthy. He kept the Uchiha together.
What now?
Sasuke turned on his side as his heartbeat in his chest. There would be a reckoning, this he knew. Hell to pay. Roles to change. Changes in leadership meant dangerous waters. These were never easy things for Uchihas.
Sasuke turned on his back again. Slowly, he built his armor, starting with his heart. He’d been vulnerable for too long. Everything would have to change.
He would have to change. His vulnerability would become dangerous.
-:-
“I am told Italy,” Neji was saying, as they settled on a pair of couches, glasses of water, and a laptop on the table between them. “Could you not have sent us a message?”
“It was sudden,” Hinata explained, making the kind of eye contact that Prodigy would not expect of her. His hand was better––no longer wrapped in a brace. His hair was just as brown and silky as before, different from her hair licking her neck. She thrummed her fingers through it for comfort. “After the baby shower. I think Fugaku sent them early because Suigetsu attacked them.”
She was willing to be free with this information. She had to protect herself first and that meant convincing Neji of her continued participation in the mission. This all seemed like a test that she was planning on passing, especially if she could glimpse her sister.
“I’ve heard they are connecting him with Orochimaru,” she said.
Neji shrugged as if this was old news. “If not that, then something else. Your target is KMP. We’re causing dissolution in other ways.”
This made something stir in Dove’s belly. She peered at him, confused. “I’m sorry––what do you mean?”
Or, more accurately, who’s we? Was this mission solely hers, or not?
“Surely you don’t think you’re the only agent working the biggest Syndicate in the city, do you?” Neji’s tone bordered on rude. He was smiling at her. “And at the rate you’re going, it would take ten years. No. With Itachi’s election, we need to attack on all sides.”
Hinata tried to maintain her composure, but panic was starting to build. What the hell was Neji saying? “Don’t you…” she took a deep breath. “Don’t you think it would benefit my position, my mission objective, to know how these…other ‘dissolutions’ are coming into play?”
For God’s Sake, she had practically lived with the Uchihas for over a month! Why would B6 leave out something so huge? They could’ve been helping her this whole time.
Neji shrugged, taking a sip from his water. “Like I said. You are taking too long. Tell me about the trip. What happened?”
“Well,” Hinata said, eyebrows creasing. Worry intensified, but she hid it. “We-we went to Suna Chiyo’s residence. Sasuke was asking for something, but it didn’t seem to go well. We left without results.”
“You don’t know what he was asking for?”
“No, I––”
“Of course you don’t. No matter,” Neji was dismissive. “It’s a good thing the meeting went wrong. We have guys targeting Suna, as well. It’s not helpful to have Yakuza helping each other, it's better to inspire dissent.”
“Like KMP?” Hinata intuited, thinking that her rendezvous with Gaara may have been to B6’s benefit, afterall.
“Well, yes.” Neji just looked at her like she was an idiot. Like she was dirt under his shoe. “Gang wars, dissent, confusion. The goal is to take the Uchihas down from the inside, I thought that was obvious. Anything to throw Itachi’s campaign.”
Hinata sat in silence as Neji typed notes onto the computer. Her body hummed with the new information, but she couldn’t help but feel silly. Why did she think she was the only person working to take down the Uchihas? Perhaps she was the only one working as closely with Sasuke and his family, but still, she felt like she should have at least been aware to do her job to the best capacity possible. It felt isolating to know that she had not been trusted with at least this. It reminded her of how Kurenai vouched for her––asking for Hinata specifically to do this mission. Perhaps she would not have even been a consideration if it hadn’t been for the councilwoman.
Nonetheless, it reminded Hinata of her original failure: killing Sakura. Hinata chewed her lip, thinking, at least, they think I’m on the right track, still.
Not that she knew, in a tangible way, what her next move would be. It didn’t matter yet. Neji still thought she was working.
I’m okay , she thought quietly to herself, as she did breathing exercises to control her rapid heartbeat. Now that it was clear her family was not suspicious of her, she turned to yet another topic that concerned her greatly.
“How is Swan? I haven’t seen her.”
Neji closed the laptop with a light tap, already gathering his belongings now that the debrief was over. He didn’t care to ask about Hinata’s needs in the slightest. His eyes passed over her, pausing with disgust on her contacts.
“For God’s sake, take those things out,” he huffed. “Why are you wearing them, anyway? The Uchiha know you are Hyuga.”
Hinata paused. She had forgotten about the contacts! And smiled. “It’s just a fashion trend, Prodigy. Everyone at University of Konoha wears––”
“Whatever.” Neji slid open the door, stepping back into the busy hallways of the 7th floor. “Swan is fine. You should know, she goes by Ghost now.”
Hinata's eyes widened. “Ghost?”
Neji did not dignify her with a response and shut the door behind him. Hinata was left to ruminate on the fact of her little sister's promotion.
Hinata should be relieved–– no re-training ––but instead her chest was full of dread.
-:-
The very next morning was strange.
They ate breakfast, and no one spoke of revenge. Or of Fugaku. Or of the fact of his death.
Quietly, Sasuke stewed in his seat, letting miso soup burn his throat so that his words wouldn’t. Izumi and Shisui tended to Mikoto without stopping, while Itachi stared out of an open window and watched a pair of cardinals dip their beaks into the pond. Eventually, Naruto showed up.
“Teme?” He said, finding Sasuke eating quietly––or trying to, because nothing tasted like anything, or everything tasted like nothing––and slid into a seat beside him. “What’s going on? Why’s everyone acting so weird?”
Sasuke said nothing, feeling the fury climb. It wasn’t that Naruto shouldn’t be there; Fugaku had been his father-figure, too, it was just that Sasuke didn’t necessarily want to see him right now, of all times.
“Good. Everyone’s here,” Itachi said, turning his head from the window and the birds. “I will start by saying––”
“I need tea,” Mikoto interrupted, her voice thin in an otherwise silent room. “Before we start. Please.”
Itachi nodded and left to go get the kettle despite Shisui volunteering to get it himself. Naruto eyed them all while slowly grabbing a bowl of rice and bringing it closer to him. He leaned close to Sasuke, whispering. “Hey, why didn’t you come home? Sakura told me she was calling you all night but you––”
“Please don’t make me kill you,” Sasuke said, closing his eyes. He felt the microscopic patience he did have seep out of him. “It would be so easy.”
“As if we need any more death,” Izumi muttered as she collected a bowl for Mikoto. Some of the color was starting to return to her face, along with the sarcastic comments––different from last night. Sasuke felt grateful for it.
Naruto just looked between them both, perturbed. He didn’t know which comment to address first, so he slowly grabbed the chopsticks beside Sasuke and gathered his own bowl of rice. He looked towards the end of the table, where Fugaku used to sit, and opened his mouth.
“Let’s not speak,” Shisui suggested, seeing this play out; Sasuke’s building fury, Naruto’s blunt confusion. He poured water. “Until Itachi returns. Then all questions will be answered to your satisfaction. Both of your questions.”
Sasuke, feeling like a child, contemplated flipping the table, but he was grateful when Naruto pressed his lips together in constipated silence. Yet, something else began to bug Sasuke the longer they waited for Itachi with the godforsaken kettle.
Izumi, across the table, was trying to get a pale Mikoto to eat, pulling the miso to her as well as a ceramic bowl full of her medication. “Okaasan please,” she was saying. “You know you must eat to take your––”
“Leave her alone,” Sasuke barked across the table, causing even Mikoto to jump. “Can’t you see you’re stressing her out?! If she doesn’t want to eat, then––”
“Otouto,” Itachi said, using a fond term to soften the edge in his voice when he came into the room. “I would appreciate it if you did not speak to my wife in that tone. Everyone is upset, that is true. Mother, Izumi is right, you must eat. What would Father say?”
Mikoto just looked at her sons blankly, her eyes glassy with the beginning of tears. She stood abruptly from the table and left, her movements slow, but measured as she opened the paper door and slammed it shut.
Sasuke stood, but Itachi stopped him. He nodded to Izumi who stood and left the room after her mother-in-law without a second thought.
“It would be improper to discuss with her here anyway,” Shisui said, placing his chopsticks on the table in front of him. Itachi merely grunted, squatting to sit as well. For a few long moments, the four men sat in silence, listening only to the sparrows that danced across the trees just outside the room. The dining room door was open, displaying a beautiful view of Mikoto's gardens. Soon, the leaves would go red.
“Fugaku was killed two nights ago,” Itachi finally said, lifting his head. “He was not home. He was running an errand near the docks and was found shot in his car.”
Naruto choked. Everyone ignored him.
“What dock? What errand?” Sasuke demanded.
“We don’t know. Shisui has theories.” Itachi cut eyes and Shisui looked ruefully back.
“What dock?” Sasuke repeated, headache building. He didn’t realize his hands were fisted until he tried to grab his buzzing phone from his pocket. He already knew that it was Sakura, and he calmly stood up from the table, stood at the lip of the engawa, and dropped it into the pond that bubbled below it.
“Near the dive bar,” Itachi sighed, watching him, a hand on his head. “How are we supposed to contact you now, little brother?”
“I’ll get a new one,” Sasuke spit. Hopefully one with a new number. “Which dive bar? Do we own it?”
“Location number 15: The Accordion . Near the shipping port, but his car was parked by the shipping container graveyard––”
“––We think he was meeting with someone.” Shisui cut in.
"We’ll get to that,” Sasuke said, sitting back down. He pushed away his tea. He wanted brandy instead. “Who found him?”
“Me,” Itachi said, and his voice darkened, breaking at the vowel, and swallowed by grief. “I got a text from his phone to meet him there, but I didn’t see it. Izumi was having abdominal pain so we were at the ER until morning. By the time I saw my phone, it had been three hours. He wasn’t home when I finally dropped Izumi off, so I went to find him. If I had seen his messages, things might be different.”
“Hold on,” Shisui was displeased by this response. “You don’t know that, ‘tachi. They could’ve been targeting you, too.”
"Is Izumi okay?” Naruto muttered. Sasuke had forgotten about him. This whole time, he had his head down on the table, his face hidden. Losing his second father figure must be hard, but Sasuke couldn’t give less of a f*ck at this moment.
“She’s fine,” Itachi said, voice returning to normal. “She’s in her third trimester. The doctor said it was normal.”
“That baby saved your life,” Shisui said curtly.
Itachi looked devastatingly angry at this response, but he took a deep breath and focused his attention on his brother. Sasuke understood this: information was more important than feelings. Shisui was reacting on a hunch. Itachi had been there to see the bullet through their father’s head.
“Anyway. I called in some guys and had Father taken to our coroner. No one else knows yet, but I will leak it to the press tonight and say he had a medical condition.”
“Why leak it? It will make us look weak,” said Sasuke.
“It will help my campaign. Father invested a lot in this endeavor, I can’t just stop because he’s dead,” Itachi sighed and rubbed his eyes. The sun, through the open doors, became strong. “Besides, his death and your initiation will symbolize a new era for the Uchiha.”
The room quieted. Sasuke slowly looked up at his brother, his eyes darkening. “My––My initiation?”
Shisui and Naruto looked down at their cold food as brothers stared at each other. The intimacy of this moment was not lost on either of them.
“Yes, Sasuke. You are to be Oyabun, as Father has willed it. My political career is too delicate for me to take on that role. It is yours.”
Sasuke’s mind swirled. Sure, some part of him thought he would take control, but not so suddenly––and not alone. Oyabun. Leader. He didn’t even know if he could trust himself in this moment, let alone trust himself to command hundreds––thousands, internationally––of men.
“You are the eldest son,” Sasuke managed to say, stupefied.
“And I will help you at every step you take, little brother. But Father has willed this. I can show you the document he signed to me over a year ago, if I must.”
Sasuke sat back, unable to process. Outside a Great Blue heron came swooping into the garden, its wings spread like a beacon, its mouth open: wanting.
-:-
Alarms woke Hinata up from her brief slumber.
Shortly after meeting with Neji, Hinata booked a sleeping pod for herself on the very same floor. The pods were small, just one twin-sized bed, an outlet, and a nightlight, but they were perfect for Hinata who felt like she hadn’t slept in days. At least the lemon-scented sheets and overly clean white walls were comforting in that they were familiar. She wanted to think about what she should do next, but sleep took her fast, and she let it.
Five hours later, an alarm was sounding. Alarms weren’t unusual at Headquarters; it just meant that some specific agents On Call were being summoned to some emergency––local, national, or otherwise. Still, Hinata woke, sitting straight up, to hear shuffling footsteps. She put back on her sweatpants and signed out of the pod, going into the hallway to witness the quiet shuffle of On Call agents.
“Dove!” Someone said as Hinata turned a corner into a rec room. “You’re back!”
Hinata turned to see Brave leaning against the wall. She looked like she was just waking up as she slid her foot into a combat boot, using both hands to grip the rough, leather material. Next to her was her belt of weapons of choice––knives mostly, and a handgun––and a few bobby pins to hold down her hair.
Unused to hearing someone sound so excited about seeing her, Hinata broke into a smile at the familiar face. She opened her mouth to respond when Myagi came on the intercom.
“Attention: All ANBU Agents report for duty. I repeat: all ANBU Agents report for duty. Please go to the 13th floor to be briefed. Thank you.”
“Good to see you,” Hinata said, rubbing her ears. She was directly under the speaker. “Um. What’s going on?”
Tenten shrugged. She was ANBU, an Agent who responded immediately when On Call, aside from her regular duties. Years ago, Tenten told her she signed up just because she “liked the drama.”
“Could be anything,” Tenten said as she moved on to sticking bobby pins into her hair. “Lately, though, there have been some minor terrorist attacks. You haven’t heard?”
Hinata just stared at her, mouth dropping as Tenten secured her belt. The sleepiness was finally leaving her gaze as she laughed at Hinata’s expression. “No, no of course you haven’t. Prodigy tells me you’ve been overseas. Good for you, right?”
“Yeah,” Hinata nodded, trying to match Tenten’s energy, but she was too confused to do much else. Looks like she had her own research to do before she was prepared to enter the “real” world. On top of, well, everything else she needed to figure out. “Th-that’s crazy, though. I’ll have to catch up on my current events. Is everything alright?”
“ All ANBU Agents please meet on Floor 13 to be briefed. All ANBU please report for duty.”
Hinata winced and even Tenten grimaced at the sound. She grabbed her jacket and turned her grimace to a Cheshire grin once she looked at Hinata. “Nothing to worry about, Dove. Happens once in a blue moon.”
“Okay,” Hinata said cautiously. “Alright, well, be safe out there, Brave.”
“You too!” Tenten threw out a hand in a wave as she headed towards the staircase, “It’s good knowing you’re alive!”
Once the alarms died down, Hinata wandered to the cafeteria on the 5th floor.
It was empty, as most of the ANBU Agents were out due to the alarm––usually, only agents On Call stayed at Headquarters as long as Hinata had, so the dissolution made sense. Hinata was only staying because she wasn’t sure what her next move should be; if she went to her studio apartment, her father would be suspicious of the legitimacy of the mission; if she went back to her fancy law-student apartment, Sasuke and the Uchihas would find her. Plus, Itachi’s campaign manager lived down the hall.
No, Hinata could not go back there. But she couldn’t stay here for much longer either. Everything looked suspicious.
She chewed on her nails as she filled her tray with various foods she hadn’t eaten in weeks: okonomiyaki, onigiri, and dango. Hinata had no phone or laptop anymore so she checked out a macbook from the supply cart and sat down at the table she and Kiba used to share.
She missed him dearly. She would have to remind herself to send a message to the private server, once she left Headquarters, to let him know that she had arrived safely. He would probably want to know that she was still alive, somehow.
I’ve managed it again, Hinata thought as a depression fell over her like a fog. I’ve beat the odds once again. And no one I care about is here to witness it.
She ate the food––quite good, they had one of the best chefs in the country––as she browsed the web for “terrorist attacks, Konoha” only finding one news report about an attempted country club bombing.
Country Club officials say a “mysterious backpack” was allegedly left poolside last Friday Night. Upon inspecting it, they elected to call in the Police Department. State Officials and Special K-9 unit were brought in to identify the bomb. It was successfully deactivated by Federal Agents. Investigators are still searching for a suspect and motive.
Hinata clicked out of it, disappointed. Tenten’s notion that something like this happened “Once every blue moon” bugged her, and she reasoned that if B6 Agents were cleaning up messes, she wasn’t likely going to find anything online about their aftermaths. She got up to return the laptop, thinking: I’ve got bigger problems.
And perhaps, she just wanted something to think about that wasn’t her problem. But as she was returning the laptop to the desk, she swore she saw her baby sister out of the corner of her eye. Hyuga Hanabi, with her slick brown hair and petite figure, just flashing out of view and into the stair corridor.
Hinata dropped the laptop onto the desk and ran to follow her, calling her name. “Hanabi!” cried Hinata, her dreams of pomegranates and sacrifices flooding her vision. She was the reason Hinata was even there. “Swan! Hanabi!” She cried as she wrenched open the stairway door, but there was no one else there. The cream walls assaulted her vision. The echo in the chamber ( Hanabi!) mocked her.
Then, she remembered, and braced herself on the railing, putting all of her voice into one scream, “ GHOST!”
The silence resonated. It pained Hinata and she refused to give up. Just as Hinata was about to place her foot on a stair going down, Myagi came to life, beckoning: “DOVE, Agent 7. Please report to COMMAND directly.”
“f*ck!” Hinata swore, quite unlike herself, as she felt the walls closing in around her. “f*ck!” she said.
f*ck.
