Sacrifice and Surrender

10: Absence

Lord Tobirama stood with arms crossed and a surly expression on his face in the middle of the training field and Hikari immediately gripped Shouta's arm.

"I don't want to do this," she whispered, frantically.

Shouta shrugged her off. "It's training. Lord Hokage gave us orders, and the Nara kid is coming today too. Do you want to make Lady Sakura look bad by not showing up?"

Hikari gritted her teeth. She definitely didn't want that. Lady Sakura was teaching her how to be a great medic and a great shinobi. She regularly trained with Lord Tobirama, so Hikari could do it too.

"When did you become such a big fan of Lady Sakura?" Hikari asked Shouta, changing the topic. "I thought you didn't care either way."

Shouta shot her an irritated look.

"You're just a kid. You wouldn't understand," he muttered.

Hikari glared at him. "You're such a.. ugh! I am not a kid!"

Shouta ignored her and kept walking towards Lord Tobirama. Hikari stared at his back and her fists shook in anger. He was so annoying! She ran after him and within moments, they stood before Lord Tobirama. Hikari immediately felt her cheeks heat up. He was so intimidating but so handsome. His hair was so cool, and his face was so strong, his red marks made his angular features stand out even more. Hikari just didn't know how to function around him. She was scared, and also flustered, and everything in between. Lord Tobirama looked down at them, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"Where's the Nara?" He asked gruffly.

Shouta shrugged. Hikari noticed the looked Lord Tobirama was giving Shouta. She narrowed her eyes slightly. He seemed to be judging him, looking down on him. Hikari pursed her lips, recognising that look from many of the men in her clan as one they gave to those they considered lesser. Tobirama's eyes flickered up and Hikari turned to see what he was looking at. The Nara kid was coming. He had his hands in his pockets, his hair was tied up in a spiked pony-tail, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"You're late," Lord Tobirama said with disapproval.

"I wasn't going to come," the Nara shrugged. "The deal was training with Sakura, not you."

Hikari stared at the Nara with shock. He was being so impolite to Lord Tobirama, and he wasn't using Lady Sakura's title. Either he was brave or stupid.

"She's away," Tobirama replied shortly.

The Nara smirked.

"I wonder whose fault that is," he said, staring knowingly at Tobirama.

Hikari swallowed. The two were giving each other hard looks like they knew something that she and Shouta didn't. She glanced at Shouta, who was watching the exchange with interest. Hikari stepped forward, wanting to break the tension.

"Hi, I'm Hikari Shimura," she said, holding out her hand to the Nara.

He blinked, breaking his contact with Lord Tobirama and stared at her. Hikari kept her smile in place, but the more seconds ticked by, the more she wanted to move away from this rude kid. Eventually, he took her hand.

"Shikata Nara," he replied.

"This is Shouta Uchiha," Hikari introduced Shouta, knowing he wouldn't do it himself.

"So your the heir to the Nara?" Shouta asked.

Shikata shrugged disinterestedly. Hikari immediately understood why he was impolite. He was basically the same social rank as Lord Tobirama, except that he was just a kid and it was totally unacceptable to act like that to someone who was your superior.