Kingdom by the Sea

It would be a long time til Hinamei would be able to enjoy a hot bath again. Which was going to be her excuse when Yukio would angrily demand why she took two hours in the bath when it was supposed to be his turn. Lazily, she rubbed at her eyes, clearing the water that had blurred her vision momentarily. When she blinked and looked around, she felt a sad sort of longing coiling in her gut. She would miss this place, and for the first time she felt it hadn't been a complete waste coming back to the village. Even if it had been a short one full of unnecessary realizations and misplaced warnings. At least, she thought with a deep breath, she had gotten a well deserved bath and a hot meal.

"You're not the only one who likes to get clean Hinamei!" The sole devil spoke loudly through the door. Hinamei rolled her eyes and blew out a stream of bubbles underneath the water. She sat up fully and wrung out her hair.

"Yeah, fine. I'm getting out. Then you can have it all to yourself." Yukio's footsteps faded away and Hinamei grudgingly moved from the bath and quickly wrapped a towel around her body. Sliding open the bathroom door, she peeked out and upon realizing Yukio wasn't in the hallway, ran into the room and shut the door behind her.

"You're getting the floor all wet." The girl whipped around, hand groping to make sure her towel didn't go flying off in the process, she narrowed her eyes at the boy that was lounging across the bed. He had one blue eye open and the other closed, a smirk playing on his lips. If she hadn't been mistaken he was definitely taking in an eyeful.

"Get out you pervert." She said wryly, turning back to stalk towards her closet. "If you don't get in the bath, I will. Again."

"Fine," Yukio waved a hand and brought himself upwards. "I'm going. But have some clothes on next time I see you, alright?" Hinamei mumbled a threat under her breath and waited for the door to close before hastily discarding her towel. She went through the racks of old clothes until she finally settled on a simple dress that at one time reached her knees, it now swayed in close to the middle of her thigh but she'd seen worse so she hardly thought twice about it. During the duration of the time without Yukio, Hinamei braided her hair and made a pot of tea. By the time Yukio walked in, hair damp and freshly clothed, she had two cups of tea on the table.

"Wanna sit?" She asked, looking up from the spirals in her cup. Wordlessly, he joined her, wrapping a hand around the smooth defined sides of his cup. They sat in an awkward silence for a short while, waiting for their tea to cool, until Hinamei decided she couldn't take it anymore. Though it did give her the perfect excuse to bring up something she had always forgotten to ask about. "Can I ask you something?" She asked curiously.

"Hm?" Yukio mumbled, testing his tea to his lips. He winced and slid the cup back to the table, feeling jilted.

"You're pretty young to be away from home without a reason. Will you tell me why you're on the run?"

"I'm not on the run!" He snapped back defensively. Hinamei shot him a look and sourly, he withdrew himself. "And no, I won't tell you."

"Oh come on," Hinamei whined. "You know practically everything about me, not all of us can have mind reading powers you know."

"Stop talking about like it's a good thing." Hinamei blinked and tightened her mouth. Yukio's voice had gone from sharp to suddenly timid, his attention was focused intently on his tea while he gingerly dipped a fingertip in. "It's far from it." Feeling like she had gotten somewhere, Hinamei leaned forward and urged him on.

"Why do you say that?"

"Must you know?" Yukio sighed, finally looking up at her impatiently. "I guess it's only fair I tell you, after all, I have learned a lot about you without your permission." Before she got a chance to question his statement, he began, placing his hand under his chin and staring off behind Hinamei almost dreamily. Until he spoke, and she knew whatever he had to say would by no means be easy to retrace. "I guess I'll start from the beginning..."

*****

Everyone said he looked like his mother. A lovely woman with a soft voice and an even softer touch. She liked to sew, everyday while his father went to tend to the village, she sat on her chair and sewed. For as long as he could remember he wore clothes that she had made by hand, and even as he had gotten older, he found their charm never really left.

And so was life in his village. Like the rest of the children, Yukio thought life could never get better. Until he reached the age where he realized everything changes, even those things you felt could never change. It all started on a late summer evening. The air was warm and humid, bugs swarmed the air outside if you weren't careful enough and a quiet fell over the town only a village as small as theirs could appreciate. Which was why when the banging started, he woke up instantly out of his sleep. "Open this door now! Bitch, I know you're in there!" Someone angrily yelled from the front of the house. Yukio, fourteen at the time, rubbed at his eyes and slid out of bed. But a hand over his mouth stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't make a sound darling." His mother's soft voice touched at his ear. "Something bad has happened." With her hand still tightly over his mouth, she moved him towards the closet. From the kitchen, the door splintered open and heavy footfalls came barreling in. "Promise me, you won't make a sound." Yukio nodded and she kissed him lightly on the forehead. As soon as she released him, she lightly pushed him into the closet and slid shut the door. It bounced as it hit the wood, leaving a fraction of a sliver open. But neither him nor his mother had time to react as his own door was slammed open and two men, both he realized were shinobi of the village, staggered in looking nothing short of livid. Yukio clapped a hand to his mouth as he almost screamed out for his mother. The look on her face under the moonlight was nothing short of bloodless. Her eyes were wide and those slender hands that had made so many things, shook with fear. He had never heard such a cry come out of her mouth as she released when the first one grabbed her.

It took all he had not to fling himself through the doors, but even he knew, there wasn't anything he could do to stop them. "You people, do you realize what danger you've put everyone in?" One angrily hissed out, bringing his mother in closer to his face. She shuddered under his grip and shook her head. "Your husband, it was all his fault! How long have you been hiding your Kekkei Genkei?"

"Please, we never meant to hurt anyone!" She cried out, her hands flat against the man's chest. Yukio watched with wide eyes as she struggled, and when the man picked her up and threw her against the wall like a ragdoll, he could no longer hide. He pushed open the closet door with a yell and threw himself out. His fingers digging into the first thing he could grab. But these men were shinobi for a reason, and before he could even get a strike in, the second man reached around and delivered a deafening blow to his head.

He wanted to save her, he really did. But then, everything went dark and he knew there was no hope for either of them.

"Yukio? Yuki, please, wake up darling." Though it hurt to do so, the call of his mothers voice brought him out of his darkness. He blinked wearily at the dim light, and as his vision cleared, he looked around only to find they were in a cell. Around them were others, some crying, some sleeping. Some were bleeding, almost fatally so. But he recognized all of them. All these prisoners, they were of his clan. The Zuishi clan.

"What's happened?" He questioned weakly. He looked back over into his mother's blue eyes and she forced a small smile, running a tender hand over his thin, wispy hair.

"I have a lot to tell you, and I must ask for your forgiveness. I never thought such a thing would happen."

He came to find out that for generations the Zuishi clan had kept secret of their Kekkei Genkei, a power that he didn't know existed until now. The power to retrieve memories off of objects, a very dangerous tool in the hands of the wrong person. And they all knew this, which is why they kept it hidden so as to not upset the powers and lose any kind of freedom they once had. Which was exactly what his father had ruined.

His father was a well known shinobi, it was his job to disappear for days on end without notice. His mother never question it so neither did Yukio. Which was why when his father never came home two days ago, neither thought twice. Little had they know, his father had gotten caught on an espionage mission by the enemy, and like a coward would, sank under pressure and relayed information about the village private to only the leader of the smoke village in exchange for his freedom. When a small attack was made on the outer village, it didn't take long for word to spread of his father's betrayal. And just how the information came to be uncovered. He had sold out the entire clan, and for nothing. After his confession to the village leader, they slit his throat and bled him out. And then the rest of the shinobi came for the them.

It was obvious they couldn't be trusted. No one knew how much the clan knew, what secrets they had uncovered just by touching things. It was unheard of and instead of slaughtering them all, the only thing to do was imprison them and make sure no one could betray them again.

For months they sat in their cells. Sometimes a few of them would leave, but after a while, he'd stop expecting them to come back. His mother grew more and more sick as the days wore on and even he knew she didn't have long. "I've done it!" A voice hissed from his left. Both him and his mother looked over at the small circle that had been sitting there quietly most of the time. "I've mastered the jutsu."

"What jutsu?" Yukio chimed in curiously. The man's eyes looked over at Yukio's and smiled. Unlike most people, no one blamed Yukio nor his mother for his father's betrayal.

"My transportation jutsu. I've mastered it, we're going to get help."

"Who is?" Yukio leaned forward on his hands and looked around the room. Most of the men of the clan had been taken and never came back. There were six of them left, including himself. The rest were now all woman and children.

"We are. The five of us, you just stay here, we'll come back I promise you." The five men stood up tall, wobbling dangerously from exhaustion.

"Take Yukio with you, please." Everyone turned to look towards his mother, her frightening thin frame shook as she spoke and those once soft and gentle eyes looked up from within her sockets and pleaded quietly. She knew help wasn't coming, they were all going to die if they didn't leave now. "It's his only chance." The man with the jutsu stalled, looking over at her and then Yukio. Finally he nodded and turned around.

"Say goodbye kid, it's going to be a while." Yukio whipped back towards his mother, the defiance clear across his face.

"I'm not leaving you! You can go with us, please, don't stay here." He cupped her hands with his and his bright eyes flashed between hers. "Please, I can't go alone."

"You have to, for me." His mother leaned back against the wall and sighed deeply. "I don't have much longer and I can't die knowing I've left you in a cell to rot. What kind of mother would I be?"

"If you wanna come, come on." The man interrupted worriedly. Yukio shook his head but his mother wouldn't have it. She smiled sweetly and lifted one frail hand to brush his cheek.

"Everything will be okay Yuki darling. Stay strong for me and don't ever let them catch you. And remember, no matter what happens to me, I will always love you."

"I-I love you too." He choked out, dropping his head so no one else would see him cry. "I'll come back for you, I won't let you die here I promise." She patted his hands and he slowly withdrew them, standing up and quickly wiping away the hot flash of tears that had briefly overwhelmed him. He looked back at her as he joined in the circle, falling in closer with the small crowd around the man. They held on tight to wherever they could grab and then in a flash, he couldn't see his mother any longer.

*****

"I went back like I said I would, but it was pointless, they had killed everybody the minute they found us gone. One of the men got caught, they murdered him on the spot. After we disbanded, I don't know what became of the rest of them, but I know that even to this minute, we're being hunted. Who knows, I could be the last of my clan left." Yukio's eyes glanced up at Hinamei and sensing the trouble within her, he forced a gentle smile. "Looks like we've got more in common than you thought."

"I-" Hinamei started, blinking back the soft flow of tears she hadn't realized were there. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Yukio replied softly. But Hinamei shook her head and pulled back from her chair. He watched on wordlessly as she came closer, and even when she fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around his shoulders he still didn't say anything. Instead, he inclined his head towards hers and closed his eyes. It was nice feeling her warmth creep onto him.

"You should have told me sooner." Hinamei whispered, "no one should have to face such an awful past alone."

"You're not one to talk." He replied, nuzzling into the smell of her sweet spring time hair. From years ago, this smell, this comfort, it reminded him so dearly of his lost mother and how much he would give just to feel the gentle sweep of her fingers across his face once more. When Hinamei moved to pull away he felt inclined to drag her closer towards him but instead, he withdrew shyly and looked at his knees. "I've been meaning to tell you something," he said darkly, a thought having strayed into his head when he was lost in memory. Yukio looked up at Hinamei, his hands moving to catch hers before she withdrew. A startled, fleeting look of shock distressed her face but quickly she regained control. "I've got a really bad feeling. Lately, I've noticed..." he looked down, unsure of himself.

"What is it?" Hinamei asked brashly, though her intrigue quickly wiped away any hint of arrogance.

"When I left my mother, I had this feeling she wasn't going to make it. And it wasn't just because she was sick, it was everybody. Like I knew they were all going to die whether we got help or not. And-" His mouth strayed open for a second and then he closed it, bringing his hands back. He felt stupid with his far fetched premonitions. "And I feel that same way about us. Like something terrible is going to happen soon and neither of us will have the power to stop it." When he looked back up at the girl across from him, her expression was unreadable, but not in the way that he had initially expected.

"I feel the same way." She finally said, rocking back on her heels to stand up. "But," she said, a sudden wave of confidence coming over her. "There's nothing we can do to stop it if it does, all we can do is prepare right?"

"...Right." Yukio said, his own confidence much lower than Hinamei's was. "But aren't you afraid of dying?" She put a slender finger to her lips and tapped, finally turning back to him with a smug smirk on her mouth.

"No, I've witnessed it too many times to count, it doesn't look that bad really," she said dryly. "But no one ever said we're going to die. No, my feelings are much different. Bad, but not tragic." Despite her upbeat attitude, Yukio still looked troubled, so she quickly changed the subject. "You know, we haven't changed that bandage of yours in a while. Come on, let's change it before your arm falls off."

He followed wordlessly, but nonetheless, he followed.

*****

The night air prickled at her skin as she walked with her hands deep in her coat and her eyes firmly ahead. The sun had gone down an hour ago and the night air was bright with a curious silence blanketing it.

The day had been uneventful. After their talk Yukio seemed to withdraw into himself, not that Hinamei minded, in fact it looked like he really needed his own time anyway. After what he had been through (the last couple of weeks mainly) he needed some recuperation. While he stayed quiet, Hinamei packed what she could. She spent a little time cleaning but after she had finished that there was hardly anything left.

So she decided, if Yukio had his little trip down memory lane, why not her? After all, her last walk had been rudely interrupted by a certain ghost from the past and there was still a lot she had wanted to see, or better yet remember. And it wasn't like there was anything else to do. Hinamei walked on for a while at a slow, cautious space. Keeping her attention on the look out for anything or anyone that wasn't supposed to be there. The only time she did let her guard falter was when she came to a crawling pace in front of a certain house.

It was strange, standing there when it seemed like only yesterday she was sitting on those same stairs waiting for Itachi to come home. Her eyebrows knitted close together and she stifled a sigh as she stepped closer. her fingers reached out and grazed the wood from the small staircase and carefully she stepped up onto the porch. It was hardly noticeable as she slipped into the front door and raked her eyes over the dark, lumpy shadows in front of her. Every piece of furniture that remained was covered in thick, heavy sheets. Layers and layers of dust sat a top that but still, not much had changed. Images flashed behind her eyes as she walked around from the first day she step foot in this house to the last. It was almost like being stuck in a dream as she walked down the narrow hall to the old bedroom that once belonged to Sasuke and Itachi.

As she stood in the doorway she frowned. She shouldn't be here. Hadn't she had enough of Itachi the past few weeks? Why had she wandered in and why was she feeling the sudden pang of pity as she remembered just how close her and Itachi once had been. It didn't make any sense. Or at least, she hoped it didn't. It was enough to feel like she was still in love with him, but to want him back, no, that was entirely different. And on a scale of bad to worse, that definitely hit the highest. It took everything she had to turn away, to walk back down the hall with her head held up high and her eyes unwavering. She didn't breathe until she was back outside, shuddering on the porch in the dead of night. As she crumpled down and was forced to hold herself up with her shaking, weak hands, she couldn't help but wonder how she got here. This pathetic, crying fool who was being hunted for the sake of what?

Hadn't she experienced enough hardship to learn a lesson? All her life she struggled to be a good person and none of it paid off. To her, even Itachi lived a better life and he hadn't done one good thing with the exception of sparing Sasuke. But truth be told, he shouldn't have killed everybody else in the first place. Her shoulders shook and she couldn't contain it anymore, she hoped the world heard her.

As a child, Hinamei was notorious for being sensitive. Everything made her cry, most of it stemmed from one boy in particular though. As she grew up she desperately tried to leave that little girl behind. It wasn't what she wanted to be but some things really never change. Like the undeniable love she had for a certain criminal or her never ending vendetta against the world to prove something. But most of all, it was her sweet and sensitive nature that was truly unshakable.

She could almost hear Shisui calling her a crybaby while he laughed, while Itachi only looked away irritated but always inwardly concerned.

That moment on Itachi's old porch, she cried for her boys. For the fate of the world and for everything else she had forgotten to cry about since the night Itachi forced her to leave.

*****

For people like Hinamei, who are burdened with a life of undeserved hardships, it is said that they are simply born with bad luck. Which was a theory she had considered many times before. It wasn't until later that night did she decide that nothing would ever get easier and she was forever cursed to endure what honestly felt endurable.

It happened when she was walking back home. The night air hadn't changed, still stifled with a crown of eerie silence and chill. Her face was slightly swollen and red from crying and every now and then she'd take a tremble of air in as she recovered from her deep emotional release. Although her body seemed to be taking the hits from her turmoil, her mind felt ten burdens lighter as she walked. Most people don't understand what a good cry is, and that's exactly what she chose to refer to it as. A good, long, needed cry. But in those ten minutes of calming thought, Hinamei let her guard fall down to the point that it appeared she had a death wish.

And in ways, if she were to look back, she could have seen the next series of events as the only stroke of good luck she ever had.

"Who are you?" Hinamei's foot stopped before it hit the ground and her shoulder's tensed. With her eyes wide and straight ahead she was almost afraid to turn around. "Did you hear me?" Her guest asked a little more sharply this time. "Tell me who you are." Time seemed to come to a crawl as Hinamei gently stepped down and slowly looked over her shoulder.

The person behind her stood several heads below her, his arms were dangling at his sides, fingers flexing in and out of a fist. His mouth was slightly down turned, but not in a sad way, more than anything he looked concerned, maybe even a touch frightened. But it was those eyes that were most unsettling. They were dark, narrowed and untrusting and for a slight second, recognizing. "I-I..." Hinamei began, but Sasuke tilted his head up and his expression became nothing short of confused.

"You're the girl Kakashi was speaking to earlier today. But what are you doing in here? This place is off limit's you know, you can't just walk around like this." He said sharply, his arms crossing defensively. Though she was still nervous and slightly perplexed, she relaxed at the thought that Sasuke still didn't seem to recognize her. A small defeated smile touched at her lips and she turned half circle to face the smaller boy.

"If that's so, then why are you here?" Sasuke pulled his lips into a thin line and looked away from her, a look she had seen countless times before.

"That's none of your business. Now answer my question," he said hotly, that anger flashing back up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Hinamei finally admitted. "I can't. Now if you'd please excuse me." She made to turn around, her gaze shifting around, she needed to be careful she didn't guide Sasuke back to Yukio or her whole cover would be blown. Slowly, she started walking in the opposite direction her house was, knowing that her answer wouldn't be enough for Sasuke.

"Stop!" He snapped and she firmly ignored him. "Stop now or I'll have you removed from this village immediately." His tone made her halt and she turned coyly over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised.

"What's stopping you?" At her question Sasuke stepped back, for a second he considered, not sure himself why he was stalling.

"Because I saw you," he finally said. "I saw you go into that house back there and I saw you crying." Though she was far from surprised, she was slightly taken aback that it had taken him so long to come forth, but then it made sense. He didn't come out armed because to him, she wasn't a threat. She was a curiosity that he was just dying to figure out. After all, no one had cried over his lost clan for years and he hadn't expected anyone to start, let alone a stranger. "So tell me, why are you here?"

"Will you walk with me?" Hinamei blurted out. "I'll tell you everything." She said smartly when she noticed his hesitation. Sasuke uncrossed his arms and took a step forward. Though it was obvious he wanted to do anything but follow her, he reluctantly moved forward till he stood near her. Hinamei looked down at him, a small surge of pride flowing through herself. But at that moment her focus wasn't on Sasuke but instead the direction she was walking. it was vital she keep herself looking natural while she fabricated a complete story of lies. She needed Sasuke out of the area and she told herself, as soon as it was clear, Yukio and herself would move out.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Sasuke said, interrupting her thoughts. It was obvious the boy didn't have much of a patience, but that didn't surprise her. She wondered if her knew just how much he was like his brother.

"Yeah, calm down kid," Hinamei replied. "A long time ago, I knew your family." She said quietly, glancing down at Sasuke to see his reaction. His eyes were widened and his mouth fell open slightly but he quickly regained himself. "When I moved here, from a small tea village about eleven years ago, I met your brother to be more precise. You were just a small child at the time, you wouldn't remember me." She tacked on when he started to study her face. "I didn't stay long in the leaf village, I left only a year after I arrived to travel with my own family. But," Hinamei's eyes studied the sky, her own emotions clouding her judgment. She wanted to tell him the truth more than anything. Kneel down in front of him and beg him to remember. When she let her eyes fall she realized, she wouldn't just be putting herself in danger, but Sasuke too.

"But what?" The boy said quietly, all seriousness.

"Oh?" Hinamei looked over at him and smiled wryly. "Sorry, I'm a little more spacey than usual." He nodded in recognition and kept his head forward. "What I was saying is your family left an impact on my life that I could never erase. The news reached me of the massacre only a couple months ago, a little late obviously, and I came as soon as I could to give my prayers. Being in that house brought back some memories, very cherished memories of mine that I had thought I'd forgotten. It was a little bit painful so I'm sorry if I scared you."

"You didn't scare me," he said suddenly looking up at her. "You just, reminded me of someone I guess."

"Who?" She asked quietly, unable to resist.

"No one, just someone who died with the rest of them. It's not important." When he lifted his head she saw years of bottled up anguish threatening to spill out, but even if she didn't understand what kind of person Sasuke had grown to become, she knew he wouldn't let it out even if it killed him. And that thought nearly broke her heart. Hinamei stopped walking, turned towards Sasuke and pouted. When he looked up to face her curiously he was more than taken aback when her arms flew towards his neck and the taller woman threw herself at him. She was hunched over, burying her face into the crook of his neck and was crying again. To Sasuke, the situation was so bizarre he didn't even want to move.

When Hinamei realized he wasn't going to give in, she pulled away, a watery smile on her face. "I'm sorry." Sasuke took an eager step back and unruffled his clothes. "I didn't mean to jump you like that."

"Right," Sasuke replied, unsure how to handle the situation, the girl included. "I need to be leaving though now, it's getting late." Though she was slightly offended to hear she had nearly scared him off, a wave of relief washed over her that the whole thing would soon be over.

"Of course!" Hinamei said happily, "me too. I'm leaving the village tomorrow morning actually." She said hoping that her words were a little less obvious than they sounded. "It was nice talking to you though." She tacked on. Sasuke gave a small, familiar 'hn' and turned to walk away but stalled last second and turned around.

"Be careful out there." Even though his words sounded forced and unfamiliar she couldn't help but beam at him as he turned and walked away. And it wasn't until Sasuke was completely out of sight did Hinamei dart back in the opposite direction towards her old house. Desperate to leave as soon as possible and try as hard as she can to not look back.

For good this time.