Hanako held Madara's gaze as he continued to analyze her. "No?" he asked again. "Well, then... I guess I can trust you."
She took a deep breath. She had no idea of what to expect from a man like Madara Uchiha. He could be planning anything, from killing her to kidnapping her at that very moment and hide her in an empty corner where no one would find her. "What do you mean by that?"
Madara chuckled. His dark voice resonated in the walls as a low frequency echo. "What I mean is: I can finally tell you the whole truth."
That caught her off guard. "Whole truth?"
Madara started to slowly approach her. There was something grim about the way he walked. "I have to admit, I didn't tell you everything the day I told you about my plan." Hanako frowned.
"You lied to me?"
Madara smirked. "No. I did not lie. I told you a half-truth, which doesn't really count as lying."
Hanako smiled. "I don't really see a difference there, Gramps."
"You think you made a mistake." Madara stated, which took Hanako by surprise. "You regret ever asking me train you, because somewhere deep inside you, you feel as if you're making a deal with the Devil."
Hanako looked away from him, pressing her lips into a thin line. Could she make it anymore obvious that she felt uncomfortable with him?
"You think I'm the villain?" Madara asked, truly concerned in her answer.
"I feel uneasy," Hanako spoke. "I feel like someone is trying to kill me, and is putting images in my head to make me weak."
Madara frowned at this. "What are you talking about?"
Hanako took a deep breath. "I keep having this nightmare, about the whole clan getting wiped out in a single night." She looked at him. "Does this have anything to do with you?"
Madara sighed. "So you're finally having omens?"
Hanako tilted her head in curiosity. "Omens?"
"Amane used to have them too." He explained. "Your dreams are like visions of a possible future. No one is planning to kill you specifically, but someone is planning to wipe out the Uchiha."
Hanako gave Madara an incredulous look. "What? Who would do that?"
Madara chuckled. "A lot of people actually. The Uchiha have never been exactly loved by everyone in Konoha. I believe there are people who still want us gone."
Hanako had a lack of air. Madara noticed this and approached her. He put a hand on the top of her head and smiled.
"If you want to be at peace of mind, tell the leader of the Clan about those dreams. And let him handle the rest. A kid like you shouldn't be worrying about politics." Hanako looked up at him, and felt a little calmer at the look he was giving her. It was, for once, reassuring. She smiled and nodded.
At the moment Hanako stared into Madara's eyes, she was dragged into a white world. She felt lost for a minute, and even more when she looked at Madara. He was ages younger than he originally was. There wasn't a single crease on his face, and his hair was pure black with no tint of gray or white in it.
"What is this place?" she asked. Madara chuckled again, this time his voice was a little warmer.
"This is my own personal world. In here, I can be whatever I want, with whomever I want, wherever I want and do what I want." He said with a big smile in his face. "So, how about I give you a History lesson?"
Hanako looked at him strangely, the surrounding passage changed into a river. Its water didn't seem to be deep. Hanako could hear the water flowing, and smiled. She could even feel the grass underneath her feet. She leaned down and moved her fingers across the earth. "It feels so real," she muttered.
Madara smiled and kneeled right beside her. "While we're in here, it's practically real." Hanako looked at the man from the tip of her eye, and took a deep breath. Inside his Genjutsu there wasn't really anything she could do to escape. She would have to listen to anything that he was supposed to say.
Madara seemed to get the hint and looked at the girl with a straight face. "What I'm about to tell you, I refer to as the 'Eye of the Moon Plan'."
* * *
Hikari looked at the clock and frowned. Hanako was late again. It was almost midnight and the girl hadn't arrived yet. She had been in her room studying jutsu until she decided to go down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Then she realized, her younger sister wasn't home yet.
Baby cries were suddenly heard throughout the hall, and then Hikari's mom lulling the twins back to sleep. Hikari went to her mother's room to find her leaning against the crib where both babies lay and smiled.
"Having trouble to sleep?" Akira asked, looking at her older daughter. The babies had stopped crying, but were still wide awake.
"They must be hungry," Hikari said. "Babies eat all the time."
"Has Hanako arrived yet?" her mother asked again, but this time with a frown in her face.
Hikari just shook her head, looking at the ground. Akira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know I shouldn't worry that much. I know Hanako is now an Anbu, and that she can take care of herself. Anbu shifts tend to last longer than normal Genin or Chuunin missions, but I'm still uncertain."
Hikari approached her mother and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be worried, Mom. That's your job after all. Hanako might be an Anbu now, but she's still a kid."
"Do you think she is busying herself after Yusuke's death?" She let out a small sob. "She's probably grieving."
Hikari smiled. "Hanako still remembers what happened, but she doesn't have time to think about it every day. That's probably why I think it's best she joined an Anbu squad to keep herself busy."
Akira looked down at her children and smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right." She reached her finger to caress both her babies' foreheads. "Ryuusuke, Hayato... tomorrow we're going to meet your father." Hikari sighed and looked out the window.
I should probably search for her.
* * *
When Hanako opened her eyes, she found herself in the middle of the woods. The sky had a soft purple color and the sun was slowly rising. Exasperated, she jumped to her feet and looked around. What's supposed to be Madara's hideout was not even close to the place she was now. "Took you awhile to wake up." Hanako turned around to find Obito sitting on a boulder. He had his orange spiraled mask on, and was looking at her intently while flicking a kunai through his fingers. Hanako could see his glowing Sharingan through the one hole in his mask.
"Where's Madara?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"He had a couple of things to finish, which don't involve you." Obito stood, his long spiky hair moving slightly with the wind. "I understand you're now aware of our plan." Hanako observed him cautiously as he approached her. She felt a strange dark chakra behind him, and looked up to see a dark humanoid silhouette with bright green orbs without a pupil as eyes. It seemed to be laughing at them, but it didn't produce a sound.
As soon as Obito noticed Hanako was staring at something, he turned. The thing was gone as soon as Obito looked at it, forcing Hanako to return her attention to the man in front of her.
"Are you mocking me?" Obito asked with an angry tone.
Hanako smirked, "Not my fault. You know the saying: The curiosity killed the cat."
In a moment, Obito's hand was around her throat, clenching it tightly. Hanako reached her hands to try to pull away from him, trying to catch a breath. "Look. I'm not exactly a patient man. I will respect Madara's wishes to let you know our purpose, but that doesn't mean I trust you." He clenched his hand even more, drawing the last breath Hanako had in her lungs. "If you even think for a moment to tell even a soul about it, I will kill you."
He let go of the girl. She fell to the ground coughing. Breathing deeply, she returned his look and chuckled. "Fine, I didn't want to trust you either. Let's have a mutual agreement of distrust then."
Obito frowned. "You have changed, since your father died." He turned his back to her. "But you're still a kid. And there's still only so much a kid can do. Don't think ever for a minute that I'll be easy with you just because you're a kid."
"It's because I'm a kid that you shouldn't underestimate me," Hanako retorted, holding her neck.
Obito smirked. "That stubbornness will get you killed." He disappeared in a spiraled portal. Hanako sighed and slowly stood back up. She heard a dog barking. The sound was coming her way.
Not long after, Kakashi appeared among the trees, following a small pug. "You never told me you were a dog trainer," Hanako commented, looking down at a brown puppy with a headband on the top part of his small head.
"I know what you're thinking, I'm not a puppy and I'm not cute," said the dog bluntly. Hanako smiled.
"It speaks, how convenient." She kneeled in front of him. "What's your name?"
"Pakkun," Kakashi said. "Stop teasing him, he bites."
Hanako looked up at the Anbu and raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry." She stood back.
"What did you think you were doing?" Kakashi frowned at her.
"Taking a walk." Hanako smiled, putting her hands back down. "I needed to clear my mind. Please, don't tell Ibiki-sensei about this. It's embarrassing."
Pakkun interrupted her. "There is not a single trace of your smell that leads back to the village. You just appeared here." Kakashi nodded and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Care to explain how you did that?"
Hanako looked at the dog with cold eyes. He likes to play smart, huh. "It's only natural for me to hide my tracks from animals like you as well. Don't take it personally, though, Pakkun." The dog smirked. Hanako became suddenly furious. "Why is the dog smirking?"
"Because I'm a pro. Not even an Inuzuka can hide its smell from me, you get it?" Pakkun said. "It leaves me with only two options. You're either a user of Time-Space Ninjutsu, or you're not and someone brought you here."
Hanako smirked. "Did you know, Pakkun..." Hanako closed her eyes, and opened them again with the Sharingan, "...dogs hate heights." Pakkun disappeared and in his place was left a broken twig. Kakashi widened his eyes and looked all around.
"Time-Space Ninjutsu?!" Hanako looked up when she heard a scream.
She extended her arms and caught the falling pug. He was trembling heavily, but still managed to glare up at the girl. Her eyes were back to a black color. "I was dying to try that, Pakkun, thank you for your cooperation." She smiled down at him and put him back to the ground. She petted him and started to walk back to the village. "Next time, think twice before angering me like that. I might not catch you," she said without turning around.
She stopped, when she felt another chakra coming their way. Hikari stood beside a tree trunk, looking at her with crossed arms. Kakashi was now behind her, with Pakkun lying over his head. He was still trembling, probably dizzy. Hanako closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't explain the truth to them, or Obito would hunt her down and kill her. She would have to lie, again.
Focusing on her sister again, Hanako narrowed her eyes. Hikari was smiling brightly when she looked at her. What had got into her all of a sudden?
Did she know?
"Nice to see the two of you out here. What are you doing?" Her eyes posed on Kakashi. "You don't like my sister, do you?"
Kakashi looked away. "I was just patrolling and found Hanako here. We weren't together or anything..."
Hanako chuckled at his uneasiness. "What are you doing here Hikari? Looking for me?"
Hikari got serious and looked at Hanako. "Yeah, we need to talk."
Now, that's more like it.