At first, Hyori had expected Hanako to react joyfully, but she never expected the reaction she had. Hanako looked back at her with narrowed eyes. She was sitting on the couch, with Ryusuke and Hayato at either side of her. They had both grown big, about 10 years old already. They were holding Hanako tightly, as if they were afraid she would disappear again, with tears flowing down their cheeks. Hanako didn't even look at them, but let them hold her. Hyori knew that maybe those two would soften Hanako's heart once again, but she never expected them to cause the opposite effect.
"Why did you bring them here?" Hanako asked lowly, but high enough for Hyori to hear her.
The Senju sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "They deserve to be with you, Hanako. You're the only family they have left." Hanako's eyes softened. "You weren't there when we had to tell them about the massacre before they heard it from the villagers. They were broken, Hanako, they thought all of you were dead. Even I thought you were dead! That's why we took them in!"
Hanako could feel tears in her eyes but her eyes stayed glued to the ground. "It's about time you explained everything to us, you might not want us to but we care a lot about you. If you are not going to talk to us, maybe you'll want to talk to your brothers and explain why you abandoned them in the first place."
Hanako didn't say anything at first, but Hayato's stare made it difficult for her to stay silent. From the two twins, Ryusuke was the most serious but soft hearted, Hayato was the extroverted one but he didn't stand when people lied to him. Hayabusa stood at the window sill, watching the three of them with keen interest. Hanako was the only one with brown hair. Both twins had spiky black hair, Ryusuke liked it long while Hayato kept it short. "I just wanted to keep you safe," Hanako began to say, "from Orochimaru, from the Akatsuki, from anyone that might be after me. I wanted them to think my entire family was dead and that I left my friends behind; so that they wouldn't have anything to blackmail me with. You would be safe."
"We feel safer with you, Hanako-neechan." Ryusuke smiled as he hugged her tighter. For the first time, Hanako smiled and returned the gesture. She couldn't lie and say she didn't miss them, because she did. She had dreamed a few times of this encounter, and she probably ruined it with exaggerated thoughts. If the twins were both with her, it was easier to watch over them.
"We missed you, a lot." Hayato sobbed and cried into her lap. Hanako patted his head. She had also the urge to cry, but she couldn't cry in front of her brothers. They needed her to stay strong.
"These five years... I've spent them moving from country to country, from lair to lair with Orochimaru," the Uchiha continued to say. Hyori looked at her with interest. "I met a lot of people. People with interesting abilities, people who are willing to help me, people who have sworn their life to protect me.
"We formed a team. We were called the Genso no Rokunin, and there were six of us. I was the fourth member to join, and yet Orochimaru decided I was the most fit to become the leader. The first one was Kai, he's still around, probably somewhere near the outskirts of the village. Kai controls silver and metals in general. He can mold them to form original weapons. A Kekkei Genkai called the Kouton.
"The second one was Guren, a girl of the same age as me. Guren controls crystal with her Shouton. Our personalities crashed at first, but we learned to care about each other. Maybe more than we should have.
"The third was Miyu, also the same age as me. Miyu could control plants and has a special affinity for the Suiton. She was Guren's best friend and sort of her minion.
"I was the fourth. The fifth was a little girl, Yuu. Now she must be around 13 years old; I rescued her in Kirigakure. The ANBU were looking for her to execute her because of her Kekkei Genkai, the Hyouton. Yuu controls ice. Even if she appears to be a young innocent soul, Yuu is merciless. She killed for fun, but she changed a lot when she joined us.
"The sixth and last was Doku, the oldest of us all. Doku is a mute poison expert, thanks to his clan's Kekkei Genkai. The six of us worked together for Orochimaru, doing his dirty work. We killed, we tortured and destroyed entire villages. We were worse than any mercenary organization or criminal band could ever be. We were feared cross-countries. For some reason, they feared me the most. I was the leader, with demon red eyes that resembled deadly flowers. That's where my nickname comes from: Shi no Hana, the Flower of Death.
"At the same time we did all those horrible things, I discovered a little more of myself. I learned how to use Essence, while becoming partially blind in the process. And I also found out about my second Kekkei Genkai."
During the whole monologue, Hyori and the twins had remained silent. But at the mention of a new ability they all jumped and looked at Hanako with wide eyes. "Second Kekkei Genkai?!" asked the Senju, wondering if she had heard right. Hanako looked at her seriously, standing up from the couch.
"Yes," she said, walking towards the window. "The result of combining wind style with fire style, my two natural affinities. My second Kekkei Genkai is the Shakuton, scorch style." Hanako looked through the glass and smiled when a tree across the road suddenly burst into flames. Every person walking by looked at it in awe and fear. Hyori was stunned as she approached the window.
"You did that..." she muttered and Hanako nodded. She pulled away from the window and looked back at her brothers with a smile. They were looking at her with silent awe.
"Sugoi, Nee-chan!" Hayato exclaimed with shining eyes. He looked at the burning tree amazed.
"Poor tree, what did he do for you to scorch him, Hanako-nee?" Ryusuke asked with puffy cheeks, which made Hanako laugh.
"He didn't do anything, Ryu. I was just making my point." Hanako pointed the tree and it stopped burning. The flames slowly died down, leaving black burnt marks behind. "It'll be alright, don't worry."
"How does it work?" Hyori asked. Hanako straightened her palm and a small sphere formed over it and floated, guided by Hanako's will.
"These small spheres are made entirely of scorch style chakra. They move at my will, and any object that comes in contact with them dries out of any kind of liquid and then bursts into flames. The temperature of these balls can compare to that of the sun's surface, which means they can even melt any metal they come across."
"That small thing has so much power in it?" Hyori looked at the sphere in disbelief.
"I can grow them too," Hanako said as the sphere grew to cover her entire palm. The Senju and the twins started to fan themselves with their hands at the sudden increase of the temperature. The sphere had a yellow color. "I can make it hotter," the sphere turned blue and they all collapsed on the ground due to the heat, "colder," the sphere became a dark red color while they all experienced a decrease in temperature. Hyori and the twins somehow managed to stand again. Hanako wasn't affected at all by it. "I can also make it explode, but I won't do that." The sphere in Hanako's hand suddenly disintegrated.
"Interesting," Hyori sighed. "And here I thought I would ever catch up to you."
Hayato laughed. "Don't underestimate Hanako-neechan's abilities. Mom said once that even the Uchiha leader acknowledged her strength."
"That was a long time ago," Hanako smiled at them before looking back at Hyori. "What are you going to do now? It's almost midnight."
"I'm going home, can they both stay with you here for a while?" Hyori looked at her with wide grin. Both twins looked at their sister with glittery eyes.
"Pretty pleeeeease?" They both begged in unison and Hanako sighed.
"Fine. Just for tonight, though, since it's late. Tomorrow you're going back to Kaichi's house."
"Awww, whyyy?" Hayato puffed his cheeks.
"My apartment only has one bed, you expect me to sleep on the couch while you guys keep the bed?" Hanako crossed her arms with smirk. "Not happening."
"Hanako-neechan, you're mean!"
"No, just rational." She chuckled. "I'll visit, okay? I promise."
"Can we come at least for the weekends?" Ryusuke asked softly. Hanako looked at him and smiled before she hugged them both.
"Fine, you can stay on the weekends."
* * *
That night, Hanako slept on the couch. She had stolen a blanket from her bed and returned to the living room. Having her brothers stay in her house, had finally given her the need to lock her doors and windows; not for herself but for them.
Even though she tossed and turned around in her place for quite a few times, Hanako managed to fall asleep within minutes. She hadn't been sleeping well, she would always have the same nightmares all over again. Nightmares from the Uchiha massacre, nightmares from Orochimaru's jobs, nightmares of Amane's past, her past.
But that night was different. The dream she had wasn't about her, but about the Hokage. Hiruzen was wearing black ninja gear, and a white big ape stood beside him. They both looked at the person in front of them with rage and determination to win. It seemed to Hanako that they were in a fight to death.
"So, it has come to this, Orochimaru..." said Hiruzen with an apologetic voice.
The snake man only laughed. Hanako snorted in her sleep. "There's nothing you can do to stop me, old man. I think you should have retired a long time ago, why are you still pulling the strings around here, Sarutobi-sensei?"
Hanako had failed to realize that Orochimaru used to be the Third's student. She vaguely remembered Danzo calling him his pupil, but she couldn't take anything Danzo said seriously anymore.
They both fought each other. Hanako was only a spectator of their fight, she was trapped outside a purple barrier —unable to do anything. She could only watch as Orochimaru summoned three coffins, but one of them failed and returned to where it had come from. The other two opened, and two people she recognized walked out of them. Hanako shouldn't have known who they were, but they were too familiar to her. The previous Hokages, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.
Hanako screamed when they both attacked the Hokage. Hashirama summoned a forest, Tobirama's water almost caused a flood inside the barrier, and Orochimaru could only stare at the Third's demise with pleasure.
Hanako woke to find herself covered in sweat. She was panting heavily and just as usual, her Mangekyou was activated. She hadn't had visions in a while, not since her sight started to deteriorate. After Zetsu had healed her, she had the same eyes from when she was 10. Visions would now come to her like they used to, which meant for her that she wouldn't have any peaceful sleep anymore.
Hanako stood from the couch and went to look for a glass of water. She wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, not now that she knew the Hokage's death was certain. Orochimaru was planning to kill him, and then destroy the Village. With the Third out of line, the elders would be forced to choose a Fifth and that's where Danzo benefitted from all this, he wanted to be chosen as the Fifth Hokage.
It all made sense now, but who would believe her? No one. Not even Kakashi, probably not Hyori. Definitely not Kazuki nor Takeshi, she couldn't rely on her little brothers since they were still in the Academy. Itachi was probably the only who would listen to her, but what could Itachi do? He was also hated by the elders, and he was a rogue-nin. And he was probably out of the Fire Country by now, maybe she should send a note to him. Just to let him know.
"Not able to sleep?" Hanako looked over her shoulder at Hayabusa, he had appeared again.
"I had a vision." The falcon straightened up and looked at her with cold eyes.
"Is it bad?"
"The Third Hokage dies." Hanako sat down at the kitchen table with her glass of water. She took small sips of it, as she slowly processed all the information she had. "Should I warn him?" she wondered out loud.
Hayabusa stood beside her. Hanako looked at him and caressed his feathers. He liked it, since he moved his head closer. "I think you should," he said. "You might not agree with Konoha in general, but at least the Hokage was kind to you when you first got here."
Hanako thought about it. "You're right," she nodded after a while. "I'll talk to him." She stood up from a table, and searched the cabinets for a pencil and paper.
"Are you going to write him a letter?" asked the bird.
"No, I'll go look for him in his office tomorrow morning." She sat back down on the table.
"Then who's that for?"
"Itachi," she said simply. "He should know what's going on as well, Orochimaru is definitely going to attack the Village."
"And you think he can do something about it?"
"He can't." Hanako's tone was blunt as she looked back the bird. "But he deserves to be warned."
After that, none of them spoke again. The twins continued to sleep. When Hanako finished the letter, Hayabusa went to deliver it. Hanako lay again back on the couch and closed her eyes, she couldn't sleep but at least pretended to.
* * *
"Will you pick us up after school is over?" Ryusuke asked with curious eyes. Hayato also looked at his sister. Hanako had agreed to take them to the Academy that morning because she had no other choice and apparently, she had no other choice than to pick them up at the end of the day.
Hanako sighed. "Fine. I'm taking you back to Kaichi's house, though."
"Well," Hayato rolled his eyes. "That's all we're going to get, I guess."
"You're a quick learner, I'm proud of you." Hanako smiled at them and said her good-byes before they both disappeared into the Academy building.
The Academy was close to the Hokage building, so the Uchiha took advantage of the detour to think about what she was going to say to the Third. When she got to his office, a pair of ANBU appeared on each side of the door and stopped her —pointing their swords at her. "State your business," said one of them.
"I'm just here to talk to the Hokage." Hanako narrowed her eyes at both ANBU. She never liked them, in time they all became ruthless Shinobi without purpose. She loathed any person who fought without personal missions, people who killed for someone else. She hated the most the fact that she had become like that.
"You need an appointment to talk to him," said the ANBU. Hanako looked at him, curiously arching an eyebrow.
"An appointment? That's new." She smirked. "Tell me, how and when should I ask for an appointment?"
"You'll need to ask the elders, but I'm not sure they're going to give you one."
Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line as her hands curled up into fists. "What was that?" she hissed lowly.
"You heard me pretty well."
"What's going on here?" The Hokage opened the door and looked at the two ANBU guards with dubious eyes. Then, his eyes fixed on the Uchiha girl, who kept her menacing posture towards the Shinobi. "Hanako...Uchiha?" he asked. Hanako looked at him and relaxed.
"Yeah..."
"What brings you here?" he asked again.
Hanako thought for a moment to abort the conversation, but this was something he needed to hear. Whether he believed her or not, it was his problem and not hers. "There's something urgent," she started saying, "that I need to talk to you about."
"Why...you..." the ANBU started to mutter but the Hokage silenced them with an upturn of his hand.
"Come inside."
After that, the Hokage walked back in, waiting for the Uchiha to follow him. Hanako looked at both the ANBU with a victorious smirk. They both reluctantly moved away from the door, glaring daggers at the brunette. Hanako shoved them aside as she walked inside the office. She didn't like them either, and she wasn't afraid of making them understand it. "So, what is this urgent matter?" The Hokage had sat back in his desk and lit up his pipe. Smoke emerged from it and vanished into the air.
"You remember about the vision I had about the Uchiha massacre?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She decided to stay by the door. In other way, she might start pacing around the room while getting lost in her thoughts, but what she had come to say was firm and certain. She couldn't show the Hokage any doubt and miss any chance of him believing her.
"I do. Three years before it happened, you dreamt about it, didn't you?"
"That's right," Hanako nodded.
"And what does it have to do with what you are about to tell me?" The Hokage had been looking out the window, but now he was looking straight at her.
Hanako's words were stuck in her throat and she gulped. "I had a new vision, concerning you, Third."
The Hokage slowly put his pipe down. "Orochimaru will carry out his plan, won't he?"
"Yes, sir."
"When?"
"During the final stage of the Chunnin Exams."
The Hokage took a deep breath and stood from the table. "What is the probability of your vision coming true?"
Hanako looked at the ground, "At least a 90%." She looked back at the old man. "I can't think of any possible way to avoid it, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry."
"Will it happen the same way as you saw it?"
"There are different means to the same end," Hanako sighed. "Some dreams are merely metaphorical, it might mean the end of your realm as the Third. But this was the same as the massacre, too blunt. I'm afraid your death was certain in this one."
The Hokage chuckled dryly. "What a way to start a beautiful morning," he looked back at the window. "The Angel of Death comes to pay me a visit and give me a deadline to hand over my soul."
"Either way, it means you're getting off the hook," Hanako narrowed her eyes. "And then leave the path free for Danzo to take over."
"That's what got you worried?" The Third looked back at the Uchiha. He sighed again and turned her body fully to look at her. "Not my death, but who will be my successor? You're too cold, Hanako."
"Not for my sake," she explained. "My brothers are still here, and I want your successor to have nothing against my family."
"True, that if your vision comes true and I die, you will be forced to leave the village as a rogue and never come back. The elders do not agree with your presence in Konoha and I'm going to be truthful to you: they disagree with the idea of your stay." Hanako looked away. The Hokage was staring hardly at her. "They hate you because you remind them of Madara, of the man who swore to destroy Konoha. And they're not very wrong, are they?" Hanako looked at the Hokage with a frown. "You hate Konoha." It wasn't a question, and Hanako knew it. The Hokage could understand her feelings probably better than she did.
"You ordered Kakashi to watch over me, and report back to you," Hanako accused with a broken voice.
"But you don't hate me for it, do you?" He smiled. "You hate the village because they fail to trust you as a fellow comrade; you hate the village because you cannot walk on the streets without being stared at like some kind of monster; you hate the village because this was your home and yet they still reject you." The Hokage stroke all the nails regarding Hanako's feelings. She thought that probably she had never glared so furiously at someone like she was glaring at the Hokage. "That's why Danzo is afraid of you, because unlike him, you are capable of getting your way. He won't be the next Hokage, even the elders know better than to choose someone who is under domiciliary arrest."
The Hokage turned away from her again. "You shouldn't be afraid, Hanako. You should instead enjoy your last month as a Konoha Shinobi, even though it won't be a peaceful one. Do you know what you're going to do after I'm gone?"
Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. "The Akatsuki gave me an offer, a place to stay, and a home to belong to. I think I'm going to accept it."
"So, you'll be walking straight into the enemy's lair?"
Hanako was ready to leave, with her hand wrapped around the door handle. "No, from my point of view, I'm escaping from it within a month."
Hiruzen smiled when he heard the door click closed behind him. "I wish this could have been different, Hanako Uchiha."
* * *
'If your vision comes true and I die, you will be forced to leave the village as a rogue and never come back.'
That thought was ever present in Hanako's mind after she left the Hokage's office. She had been thinking about leaving, but she found comfort in the existence of an option to stay; now there wasn't. The Hokage's death might be a speculation for now but it would become a fact sooner or later.
Hanako had been so submerged in her thoughts that for a moment she had forgotten she was still walking. She found herself in front of the hot springs when Naruto's voice snapped her from her trance.
"You are the worst teacher I've ever seen!" Naruto yelled at a knocked out Ebisu. When Hanako looked at them, she frowned. There was no one around, but if there were, she would pretend she didn't know them. "How can you be defeated so easily by an Ero-sennin?!"
"Naruto?" Hanako asked. The blond jumped slightly and looked at her with wide eyes.
"Hanako-nee!" He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Hey, you're supposed to be my teacher too. Aren't you supposed to be training me for the final stage or something?"
Hanako arched an eyebrow. "Says who?"
Naruto bluffed. "Come on! Ebisu-sensei is a mess! He got a K.O. in less than a minute. How can I be trained by someone like that?! Besides, he's just making me walk on water. I don't want to walk on water, I want to kick some ass, drop jaws in awe—!"
"Okay, okay," Hanako shut Naruto by covering his mouth with her hand. "That's more than enough."
Naruto spoke again, but all sounds were muffled by the Uchiha's hand. Hanako rolled her eyes, Naruto was a stubborn child, probably even more than what she used to be with Shisui.
Girls suddenly screamed; and a man was kicked out of the hot springs. Naruto's eyes widened as he pointed at the man with one hand and pushed Hanako's away with the other. "Ero-sennin!"
Hanako's lips tilted upwards. "Get out of here, you pervert!" A flying disk landed on the man's head at the same time the door of the springs was slid closed.
"Aye... women have become too violent in this village since last time..." he muttered painfully. Naruto ran at him and stood in front of him.
"YOU!" The blond pointed at him. "You knocked my teacher out, you should take responsibility for it and train me yourself!" He blurted out.
The man looked at Naruto with tired eyes as he got into his feet. "Hey, kid, I'm quite a busy man, I don't have time to deal with your whining." He straightened himself. "Now, if you would excuse me..."
"What important business could a Pervy-Sage like you have?" Naruto scoffed.
"Don't call me that," hissed the man as he looked at the blond. "I already told you that my name is—"
"Jiraiya," Hanako butted into the conversation as she looked at the man with narrowed eyes and an interested smirk. "One of the Sannin, am I wrong?"
Jiraiya looked at Hanako and approached her. "No, you're not mistaken. I'm flattered that a pretty girl like yourself acknowledges me, but I'm afraid I don't know who you are." He leaned closer, "Would you please enlighten me?"
"Hanako Uchiha." She took a few steps back, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the sudden proximity. Jiraiya halted his movements and retreated slowly.
"Huh?" Naruto looked in between the two with a frown.
"Anyway..." Jiraiya muttered with a slight shake with his head, "I have to continue my research."
"What research?" Naruto snapped again. "This? You're just spying on naked woman, that's not cool."
"I'm not spying," Jiraiya covered Naruto's mouth before someone close could hear him. Hanako raised an eyebrow at him. "It's research for my book," he hissed. "But of course, how could you know about Icha Icha, those books are for 18 and older."
"Icha Icha?" Hanako asked, "So, you're the author of those hentai books Kakashi reads..." there was noticeable disappointment in her voice.
"It's not hentai!" Jiraiya breathed heavily. "You don't understand the magic of literature."
"Sure," Hanako chuckled. "Look, how about we put it this way." She looked at Jiraiya with an accomplice smile, "You train Naruto, or else, your next book won't be happening."
"That's not fair, young lady." Jiraiya smirk. "You cannot threat me like that, I don't care who you are. But, I am willing to bargain if that's what you're looking for." He chuckled mischievously. "I'll train the brat, if you model for the cover of my next book."
"Ooooh," Naruto looked at Hanako with wide eyes. "Hanako-nee, would you be a model for me?"
Hanako frowned. "I'm not exactly modeling material."
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya scanned her. "You got it all, I understand why Kakashi has his eyes set on you." That comment made her blush furiously.
"What?!"
"Hanako-neechan and Kakashi-sensei? Isn't he a little bit too old for you, though?"
Hanako looked at the blond. "It's not like that! Not anymore, anyways..." that last thing she muttered to herself.
"Do we have a deal?" Jiraiya asked one last time. "The second book of the series Icha Icha Violence is soon to be released, we'll take to photo tomorrow and then our training begins."
"Please, please! I will be strong and you will be famous!" Naruto had taken Jiraiya's side, for Hanako's displeasure.
Hanako growled, making Naruto take a step back in fear. "Fine, I'll be your freaking model," she looked at Jiraiya who smiled happily. "But, I refuse to do anything erotic, understood?!"
Jiraiya sighed in disappointment as he slumped his shoulders, "Fine."