A Lethal Weapon

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: The Sweet Smell of a Flower

"But do you know why?" Shisui finally said, shutting Hanako. "Do you know why they're so interested in you?"

Hanako took a deep breath and turned back to the lake. "No. They never bothered to tell me."

Shisui pondered, should he tell her about Amane and why Fugaku swore she was her reincarnation, or should he tell her later when she calmed down a bit? He voted 'later', pressing his lips into a thin line. With a shake of his head, he changed the subject. "So," Shisui sat back down next to her. "What did the Iwa ninja told you before he..."

"Died?" Shisui nodded. "Well, he told me about his mother, that they were in that village to buy some groceries and visiting their father, who was also one of the ninja who participated in the ambush. Shun knew that I was the one who killed them but he didn't say anything until now." Hanako furrowed her brows.

"I see... You know, this year the participants in the Chunnin Exam were mostly from Konoha and Iwa." The elder Uchiha commented, "Without a doubt, the Tsuchikage will be coming to watch the final matches."

"The Tsuchikage?" Hanako looked at him surprised, the last subject forgotten. Shisui only nodded.

"Supposedly, Konoha and Iwa had signed a peace treaty... But after what happened, I don't think it's going to work."

"A peace treaty?" Hanako stood up. "If they signed it then why the hell did they ambush us?!"

"I don't know." Shisui narrowed his eyes. "That's what's got me worried." Hanako sighed. They were left in silence until the brunette spoke again.

"Shouldn't you be watching the rest of the preliminaries? You are a proctor after all, and you're going to miss Itachi's fight if you stay here."

"Don't worry, I already know Itachi's going to win," he said with a smirk. He stood up and walked beside her. "Anyway, I was meaning to ask, why are you covered in bandages?" he asked as he placed his finger over the patch on her cheek.

"Burns," she replied as she untied the bandage in her arm to show him, but was surprised to find it already healed.

"Wow, that's a pretty serious burn. You should go to the hospital to get it checked." Shisui raised an eyebrow at her.

"This is weird..." Hanako mumbled. "It's only been five days; a burn doesn't heal that quickly." She untied all the bandages around her arms, to find them as healthy as ever.

"Maybe you're just a fast healer." He shrugged as he took off the patch on her cheek.

"Yeah, it was probably the ointment Ren gave me." Shisui stared up and down at her, as if analyzing her intently. Hanako started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

"Didn't you receive cuts in your battle with Shun?" Hanako thought about it and realized that he was right. She checked herself and noticed that there wasn't a single cut on her skin; even under her cut clothes she was intact.

"Well, now...this is weird." Shisui pulled out a kunai from his pouch and took Hanako's arm, grazing it with the knife. "Hey! What the hell...?" She started saying but instantly shut up as both Uchiha observed amazed at how the wound started to heal itself and disappeared without leaving any trace of being on her skin.

"Okay...healing abilities...You always surprise me with something new, Hanako..." Shisui stared at her. "But this explains why I've never seen a single wound on you ¾not even after receiving a serious beating¾, what else do you hide?"

"What do you mean by that?" Hanako narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't even know myself."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." He threw the kunai, nailing it on a tree at the other side of the lake. "And we've got a month of training before the final exam," he added, observing the girl with a devious smirk.