So, once again, I've lied. Turns out, Himawari has a much longer route than her brother. I tried, I really tried to finish it in two parts, but I'm going to have to spread it out over three. Then Himawari will be done. I promise. It's just that unlike Boruto, Himawari took years to discover her path. Her's was an accumulation of many things rather than one big thing. It's taking a bit of time. Either way, here's part 2 (3?).

I think I've caught most of the grammar and spelling mistakes, but I can never be a hundred percent sure. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my headcanons and the plot.

Expectations

Part 3: Himawari the Kunoichi

Uzumaki Himawari was ten-years-old the first time she fell in love.

Unlike most people, Himawari's first love wasn't a person. It was a flower.

The blossom, a beautiful blue thing that reminded her of her mother, was hidden in the very back of the Yamanaka flower shop, in an area Himawari was only recently allowed to wander through. Ino-oba-chan still didn't like her going there by herself, but Himawari had grown up in a household with a sensor father and a Byakugan wielding mother. If there was one thing she could pride herself on it was her stealth.

At this point she had already been working in the shop for about a year. Like Chouchou predicted, once Himawari asked Ino-oba-chan really did hire her and pay her with flowers. She got money too, but that was only a small portion of her paycheck. The other part was a new flower for her collection. She would take a few seeds, bring the flower to the cemetery, and then plant the seeds in her garden back home. Ino-oba-chan sometimes joked that she'd run her out of business if she ever decided to sell them. She wouldn't of course, but Himawari did admit she probably had enough to do so.

But this flower, this beautiful blue bloom was unlike any of the others Himawari had ever seen. It was rich in color and much different from the sage she normally associated with her mother. If anything, she would have thought it was like Sarada-nee if not for the fact that it seemed to shy away from the rest of the flowers. It sat in the shade, not seeking out the sunlight, and on its pot two simple words were written in her aunt's neat handwriting:

Aconitum napellus.

Himawari had the sneaking suspicion there was something about the plant she was supposed to know, but she swatted the notion away with only brief hesitation. It was just so beautiful. She found herself walking towards it, the little ceramic pots she was supposed to be putting away left forgotten by the doorway. She stepped over hoses and ducked under misters until she was barely a foot away from the lonely little thing. It certainly was a strange looking plant; a hooded petal sheltering the others from any harm. Himawari had never seen such a shape before.

Her little fingers reached out to touch the petals – she could only imagine how soft they must be – when suddenly a larger hand wrapped around her wrist and wrenched her away. She let out a strangled cry as the world tilted and it was only sheer luck she didn't fall. Her head whipped around to see Ino-oba-chan staring at her in anger.

"Did you touch it?" She asked, her voice hard and unlike anything Himawari had ever heard from her before.

"Wha-"

"Did you touch it?" Ino asked again. Her eyes were frantically looking the girl over and it was only then that Himawari realized the woman wasn't angry; she was scared.

"Ino-oba-chan? What-I-"

"Just answer the question, Himawari."

The girl shook her head. "No. I didn't touch it."

All the anger and fear seemed to leave the Yamanaka as her body sagged. Himawari was still very confused. Why was her aunt so worried? She just wanted to touch the flower. Surely, that couldn't have done anything. Ino-oba-chan let her play with the plants all the time.

"Ino-oba-chan, I don't-I don't understand. I just wanted to feel the petals," she gazed longingly at the blue blooms and wondered if maybe now that she explained her honorary aunt would let her.

Instead, Ino sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "Himawari that plant is very dangerous. You can't just touch it like that."

"Dangerous?" How could a flower be dangerous?

Ino nodded. "Yes. It's very poisonous. Even touching the petals could be potentially harmful."

Poisonous? That little thing? Himawari had learned about poisons in class, but she had imagined them to be more, well, liquid-y. And bad looking. This flower was pretty.

As if catching what she was thinking, Ino pointed to the plant and said, "This is aconite; sometimes called monkshood, wolfsbane, and numerous other unkind things. It's one of deadliest plants in the world, and certainly one of the deadliest I have in the shop."

"But why do you have such a bad plant here?"

Her aunt gave her a very pointed look. "This is a shinobi village, Himawari. I know you are not that naïve."

And, indeed, Himawari was not, but this was the back room, far away from where any potential customer could see it. She looked around at the other plants and a thought struck her. Were all of these flowers…?

"Ino-oba-chan?" she asked, her eyes still cautiously flickering to gaze at all the numerous plants surrounding them. "Are-are all these plants poisonous?"

Her aunt didn't answer right away. She just gazed down at Himawari with a look the little girl couldn't quite discern. It seemed to be a mix between cautious, fearful, resigned, and, if Himawari wasn't mistaken, even a little bit excited.

"Ino-oba-chan?"

"Why do you want to know, Himawari-chan?"

The girl's eyes widened. "W-well, they're not up front with all the other flowers and you almost never let Inojin or me back here, so I thought maybe that could be why." She gazed up imploringly. "Is it?"

Ino paused again, but her expression relaxed into something a bit more resigned than anything else. After about a minute of thinking she said, "I guess Forehead wins. You did get your mother's brains. To answer your question though, you're right." She pointed to another plant a bit further down. "See that one? That's oleander. It can be very deadly if ingested. And the one next to it? That's dumb cane. The leaves can lead to oral irritation if chewed. Too much and your mouth will swell, cutting of the airways. You'd die a very painful death of asphyxiation."

Himawari wasn't sure what was more interesting: the plants or the way Ino-oba-chan seemed to revel in the descriptions. It was like she was getting lost in what they could do, the very possibilities they presented, and Himawari couldn't help but get lost with her. They were so very beautiful: from the aconite to the oleander to the dumb cane. Such tiny, innocuous little things – and there were so many more to discover in just this room alone. How many weren't here? How many more could she find outside? The possibilities were endless and Himawari wanted to learn more. She needed to learn more.

"Oba-chan? Can I have aconite seeds for my next paycheck? You don't even have to give me any money."

Ino looked startled. "W-what? Himawari, it's a very dangerous plant. I can't just let you grow it at home."

"Why not? I'll take really good care of it and I'll always wear gloves and I won't let anyone get hurt. I'll even put it in a special room like you did."

"Hima-chan, that's not the point. This plant is dangerous. There's a reason I don't let you or Inojin in here and it's not because I don't think you won't take care of the plants. Each one of these requires very specific methods of care, both for your safety and for the plant itself. Besides which, I don't think your parents would be very happy with me sending you home with something lethal."

"I bring home kunai all the time."

"That's not quite what I meant and you know it."

"But oba-chan, I really really want it! You can teach me how to take care of it and how to stay safe. I'll listen, I promise."

"Himawari, teaching you how to take care of them would be more like teaching you about poison."

"Exactly!"

Her aunt gazed down at her in surprise. Okay, so maybe she shouldn't have sounded so enthusiastic, but she really wanted to learn. If poisons could come from such pretty things then she wanted to know all about them: how they worked, what they did, how to get them out of the flowers. Was it possible to combine two kinds of poison to make them stronger, or would one maybe negate the other?

"Himawari, I'm going to ask this only once and I expect a clear answer, okay?" Himawari nodded vigorously. "Why do you want to learn?"

Why did she want to learn? Hadn't she made that clear? Apparently not. "They're so small. You can't see them. All you see are pretty flowers – pretty, fragile flowers. Who's gonna suspect that? I just wanna know what they can do."

As she spoke, Ino appeared to be assessing her. Taking each word she spoke and analyzing it for something else. Her eyes flickered, assessing her for any lie she may be spitting. No wonder she was the Head of Konoha Torture and Interrogation with a gaze like that. Finally, she nodded as if reaching a decision.

"I'll teach you on one condition." Himawari looked up excitedly. At this point, she'd do anything. "You have to ask your parents. If they say no, then you have to wait until you're a genin, if you're even still interested by then. Deal?"

"Deal!" She already had a plan forming on how to get her parents to agree, though there were numerous flaws she would have to correct before she asked. Maybe she could get Boruto to help her.

"Alright. Well, it's about time you left anyway. I suggest you think a little more on this if you're really serious. I'll give you a week for an answer."

"I won't need a week, oba-chan! You'll have my answer way before then."

Ino laughed. "We'll see, Hima-chan. We'll see."

But Himawari wasn't listening. She had already exchanged her apron for her coat, and was out the door without so much as a good-bye to Inojin. The blond boy just stood there in the entranceway staring after her. Himawari was never in a rush to leave.

"Mom! You're starting to scare Himawari away, too!"

His mother laughed.

Himawari didn't hear it, too focused on getting home and convincing her parents to let her bring a potentially lethal plant into the house. They had let her keep her cat, how much different could a flower be? Though, she did admit they couldn't really refuse the cat. She had been a gift from one of the first lords Himawari ever met. He had been a very smart man; able to pick out the exact kitten her parents had said 'no' to not a week prior. The flower shouldn't be much different. It wouldn't even require as much attention as Eikichi did. So really, they shouldn't complain.

"You want to what?" Her father asked as soon as the question was out of her mouth.

Her parents were seated opposite her on the couch of their admittedly large living room. Naruto, who at the start had been relaxing, his arm wrapped around Hinata's shoulders, now sat on the edge of the sofa, hands on his knees, staring at his daughter in disbelief. For her part, Hinata remained mostly composed, though her hands twisted awkwardly on her lap.

Maybe she should have worded it better. Or waited for Boruto. He would have backed her up.

Himawari took a deep breath. "I want to study poisons."

"Why?"

"They're so cool, daddy! You should have seen the flower Ino-oba-chan had in the shop. It was all purple and pretty and perfect, and she said it was really dangerous. I just…I need to study it! Just think about what I could do."

"Oh, we're thinking…"

"Himawari, you're not even a genin yet," her mother interjected, sending her father an indiscernible look. "Why don't you wait a little while? You already have so many plants you need to take care of."

"But mama, I really really want to learn."

"I understand that, honey, but these are dangerous plants. What if someone accidentally touched them without meaning too? Or what if Eikichi tried to eat one? This isn't the same as bringing home a new set of kunai."

"I know that, but-but what if I put all them in a different spot?"

"And where is this spot?" Her mother asked with a raised eyebrow. She folded her arms and looked at her daughter knowingly.

For her part, Himawari realized she was caught. She had no idea where she could put her poisonous plants and her mother knew it. She did some frantic thinking. Where could she put them that would be safe, but still accessible? Himawari thought and thought and thought, becoming increasingly aware that both her parents were now looking at her in expectation. If she couldn't come up with something soon, that would be the end of it. She couldn't let that happen.

"W-well, what about the mansion?" She said, naming the first semi-abandoned place she could think of. "No one really lives there except for us and that's only when we have special visitors. I could put them in one of the rooms there."

"And what if one of the lords found them?" Her mother asked.

"I'll put them in my room. None of the people should have any reason to go in there. They won't find them."

"I'm not so sure I like the idea of you surrounding yourself with poisons," Naruto said.

"I'll build up an immunity?"

Both her parents sighed and exchanged silent looks. Himawari crossed her fingers in hope. She knew they were being worn down; she just needed push a little bit further.

"Ino-oba-chan said she'd teach me how to take care of them and be safe. She wouldn't let me get hurt. I'll pay extra extra attention to everything she says, I promise. And-and," she grasped around for something else. An idea struck. "I'll go with Boru-nii to his medic lessons. That way I can learn how to deal with poisons. I'll be extra safe, I promise. Just please let me do this."

She topped it off by clenching her eyes shut and folding her hands in the universal gesture for begging. After a few seconds without a response, she pried one eye open to look at her parents. She could see their auras flare in indecision, but they were quickly suppressed. Her parents knew her well enough to know what she would try.

Himawari lowered her hands and sent a pleading look to her father. "Please daddy. Just let me start with one plant. If something goes wrong, I'll stop."

"This is assuming you're alive after something goes wrong," Naruto muttered. He let out a sigh and turned to look at his wife. After a second, she nodded, if reluctantly, and he turned back towards his daughter. He leveled her with a very stern expression. "One. You get one chance, Hima. If anything goes wrong, and I mean anything, you're done. Am I understood, 'ttebayo?"

Himawari stopped listening after he said she had a chance. She jumped up from the chair and bounded over to her parents. Embracing them in a very tight hug, she said, "Thank you, daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you, mama! I won't let you down, I promise. Thank you, thank you!" She then let go of them and went to put on her coat. "I have to tell Ino-oba-chan. Thank you!"

And she was out the door, her parents smiling bemusedly in her wake. They figured her fixation wouldn't last too long. Everything would go back to normal soon.

They were wrong.

From that moment onwards, Himawari dedicated herself to poisons. She stayed true to her promise and listened to every word Ino said. From safety, to care, to extraction, Himawari learned it all. Within a month, her collection of plants had grown from one to four, and she could name each one and their uses off the top of her head. Aconite remained her favorite, but the others each held a special place in her heart.

She also followed Boruto to his medic classes every day. Most of the stuff went over her head, but she found she was frighteningly good at chemistry. Anatomy proved a harder endeavor. To Himawari, most of the organs looked exactly the same. The only reason she even managed to remember pressure points was because Hiashi-ojii-sama made them memorize the tenketsu years ago. Without that background, Himawari doubted she would have been able to remember any of it. Boruto was much better at it than she was.

But Himawari forged on. She went to classes during the day, worked at the flower shop and followed her brother to the hospital. Before she knew it, three months had passed and today was the day she took the next step. She hadn't told anyone what she was doing, not even daddy and mama. The only person in the know was Kankuro-oji-san and that was because he was helping her. Even Ino-oba-san was kept in the dark.

She was technically free for the first time in ages that day. Class had ended early for some sort of conference, and Himawari told her parents she was going to spend the day with Chouchou and Sarada. She wasn't, of course, but both girls said they would cover for her. So after making a bit of a show of meeting up with them for her brother's sake, Himawari separated from the two and headed for training ground 31.

It was a perfectly normal training ground, surrounded by trees and foliage useful for keeping the users hidden from prying eyes. A few training posts were situated off to the side and small pond lay not far from them. Needless to say, it was exactly what Himawari needed.

In the center of the field was a man dressed in black. He sat on the ground, a flask in his hand and small fire blazing before him. Above the fire hung a pot. Judging by the pot's movement, whatever it contained was boiling. Himawari made her way over to the man and sat next to him.

"You're on time. That's good, jaan," he said, sizing her up. He raised an eyebrow. "Have you grown again?"

Himawari puffed out her cheeks. "That's what happens when you don't see someone in a year."

The man waved her comment away. "Yeah, yeah, no need to be so snippy, jaan. Man, you're almost as bad as your father."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

He snorted in amusement. "You want a list, jaan?"

"Kankuro-oji-san!"

This time he actually laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are the girl who managed to convince us all to wear flower crowns during the last Kage Summit." He glared at her. "Don't do that again, jaan."

"But you looked so pretty!" She exclaimed. Her eyes glimmered with mirth at the memory of all five Kage and their bodyguards waltzing about Konoha with daisy crowns on their heads. "And I have a whole bunch of new flowers I can make them out of now too."

"Oh-hoho, don't even try it, sprout. Making poisonous flower crowns won't endear you to anyone."

"But they might applaud my effort and creativity."

"Oh sure, after we all finish hunting you down, jaan."

"But I'm too cute to hunt! Look at me, I'm sweet as candy." She smiled really wide and put her index fingers to her cheeks. It created an overly ridiculous impression that made both of them laugh.

"Oh sprout, you're so sweet, you're rotting," Kankuro said. "Speaking of rotting, are you ready to start tearing away at your insides, bit by bit in the hopes of not dying from your own stupidity?"

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Eh, sugar coating it won't do jack. Now are we gonna do this or did I waste valuable time setting this up?"

Himawari glared at the man. "No, I wanna do it."

"Good," Kankuro nodded. "Take this," he said, holding out the flask. "And this." He ladled out some of the soupy mixture into the container. Then he grinned. "Drink up."

Himawari didn't hesitate. She put the flask to her lips and downed the liquid in one gulp. It was disgusting. The heat helped, but it did nothing for the overwhelming bitterness that made her lips purse and her eyes squeeze shut. A shudder ran through her body. She momentarily lost control and the world became alive with colors. Kankuro's violet swirled and mixed with varying colors of the surrounding wildlife. She regained control a second later, but it was still enough to give her a massive headache.

"You okay there, jaan?" Kankuro asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

The little girl swatted the hand away and nodded her head. Even that small gesture made her dizzy.

She could hear Kankuro chuckle. "Welcome to the world of immunity, sprout. We've only just gotten started."

For the next hour after Himawari regained control of herself, Kankuro taught the girl how to create her own toxic mixtures. Thanks to Ino, she already knew how to extract poisons from the plants, but Kankuro made sure she knew how much to dose herself with in the beginning to build up her immunity. He was also kind enough to help her through the worst of the pains when the poison started taking effect. It was nice, if a little strange. Kankuro, for all his many skills, was absolutely rubbish at comforting children.

He sent her home with the remaining mixture, telling her to dose herself again in few days. As he was only there for the week, it was up to her to continue on her own. He advised her to talk to Ino about it, but she was hesitant to do so. Telling Ino-oba-chan meant telling her parents and Himawari wasn't sure she really wanted them to know just yet. She didn't think they'd be happy. While Kankuro understood, he did tell her to let someone know. It didn't have to be an adult, just someone she could trust in case something happened.

In the end, she chose her brother.

For a second, Boruto just looked at her as if she had suddenly grown an extra head. He then picked up his textbook, opened it up to the bookmarked page, and continued studying. She thought he might have muttered something under his breath, but it was too low for her to hear. Either way, it was the end of the conversation.

She continued dosing herself for the next few months without incident, her natural Uzumaki healing and Boruto's growing expertise in said area helping immensely. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and her parents eventually found out during the Academy's routine fitness exam. Boy were they angry. She'd never seen such looks on her parents' faces before. Ino-oba-chan wasn't particularly pleased either, giving her a four-hour lecture on the perils of mithridatism. Himawari happily threw Kankuro under the bus for that one.

But considering how far along she was, those involved all (begrudgingly) agreed to allow her to continue so long as she did it in the presence of an adult. Himawari didn't mind. As long as she could still build up her immunity, she didn't care about the stipulations, and once they got used to the idea, her parents even started helping her. They would slip the doses into her food, her clothes, her soaps. Naruto and Hinata were still shinobi and they understood that if they wanted their daughter to actually live to see the next sunrise it was imperative they help her. They didn't like it, but they weren't going to stop her unless she did something really stupid.

In fact, the only time she could remember them seriously disapproving was when she tried to build up Eikichi's immunity. She hadn't taken into consideration the difference in body mass and it resulted in some not so favorable results.

"Daddy, look! I poisoned Eikichi. See, she's foaming!"

"Boruto! Pop quiz! Heal the cat!"

It resulted in another long lecture, this one from Sakura-ba-chan about the importance of knowing your target. What works for one person might not work on another, and a non-lethal dose doesn't mean squat when you're comparing adults to children. It was a lesson Himawari was keen on remembering.

As time passed and Himawari grew more confident, she took to carrying her poisons everywhere she went. It wasn't obvious, of course, but those who knew what to look for began walking just the slightest bit away from her. She weaved the pretty monkshood flowers through her braids, and doctored up two castor oil seeds into a pair of earrings. She was even attempting to make a form of poisonous perfume, but the project was slow going.

Either way you looked at, Himawari was quickly growing into Konoha's own poison expert and all before she even graduated from the Academy. It put people a little on edge, though the girl in question didn't seem to notice, or, if she did, didn't care. All she cared about was learning more; more poisons, more flowers, more experiments. She wanted to learn it all.

Poison, she found, was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Uzumaki Himawari was twelve-years-old the first time she felt fear.

She had been scared before. When she was little, she had been afraid of the monsters under the bed and the shadows on her walls. She had been terrified for her brother when he was hurt as a child and every time after. But this, this deep rooted, all-encompassing fear for her own life was different. It was a heart stopping, panic inducing, and gut wrenching difference.

It started with an explosion.

Actually, no, backtrack. It really started a few months prior when she first got her hitai-ate. It was easily one of the best days of her life, and it only got better when she discovered who was on her team. Inuzuka Naku and Aburame Shiro were two of her very best friends outside of her brother's friends, and to be put on a team with them was the very best thing ever. She took that back when she discovered Sarutobi Mirai was going to be their sensei, and declared that was actually the best thing ever.

Having grown up with all three of them, their test was more of a joke than anything else, and they passed without really having to try. It was easy to settle into a routine of training and missions when they were already so comfortable with each other. Naku could never really decide whether he was part dog or part cat, but for the most part, he and his partner Chamaru leaned more towards the dog side of the family. Always running around, always in the middle of the crowd, Naku was very much an Inuzuka. Shiro was more laid-back. He tended to go along with the group so long as they weren't in danger of killing him. That and Himawari was very persuasive.

Under Mirai's tutelage, the group grew into a very cohesive unit, not unlike their parents before them. While Himawari had not inherited the Byakugan, it quickly became apparent that she did inherit something else. Her grandmother's special chakra lived on and with it came the ability to manifest the Uzumaki Clan's chakra chains. Words could not describe how excited the girl became the first time they formed. It didn't even matter to her that they left her dangling from a cliff.

As time passed and the three genin started training more in their own specialties, Himawari found to her pleasure that she had a particular proclivity towards genjutsu. The little girl's imagination was never-ending and so she was able to come up with some truly creative and terrifying illusions. Mirai eventually handed her over to her mother to learn more, a decision Himawari's teammates came to regret. Naku, in particular, rued the day she started learning genjutsu.

"Yo, Hima-hime, why do you spend so much time learning illusions anyway? They're not even real," the boy badgered a few months in.

"Not real?" She raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Yeah. I mean they're illusions. What are they really gonna do besides cause a distraction?"

"Naku…" Shiro started, edging away from their female teammate.

"What?"

The Aburame didn't have enough time to warn the boy as Naku felt a tingling sensation encompass him. It wasn't a bad feeling, just…odd. But odd, when used in in conjunction with Himawari just spelled Bad News. He knew she did something, something he wouldn't like and Shiro's expression clinched it. It was difficult to get the Aburame to show much in the way of expressions – he was as stoic as the rest of his clan – so the fact that the boy had to actually turn away in order to keep his composure was not reassuring.

"What did you do?" He turned to his female teammate and didn't like the expression on her face. Her lips trembled with repressed laughter and her eyes were glistening with mirth.

"N-nothing," she squeaked. Shiro snorted.

Naku didn't believe her for a second. Since he couldn't see anything different he made the assumption it was something about him and not his surroundings.

He lifted his hands to feel his body and stopped short. His hands – his beautiful, perfect, wonderfully manicured hands – were old and gnarled. The claws he was so proud of were chipped and yellowed. It was almost like they had aged fifty years in the span of a second.

Horror filled him. She wouldn't…

Naku made a mad dash for the nearby pond, jumping over a stunned Chamaru and kneeling down to see his reflection. He paused for a moment, terrified at what he might see, before steeling himself. He had to know. Ignoring the snorts from behind him, Naku turned his gaze to the pool. He howled. Then he screeched.

"My face! My beautiful face!" Old hands reached up to cup the face of a sixty-year-old man. The worst part was that he knew it was a genjutsu, but for some reason he just couldn't break out of it. Biting his lip did nothing and disrupting his chakra only made him feel dizzy.

"Himawari!" He yelled, spinning around to pin the girl with an angry gaze. "Take it off!"

"Why? It's only an illusion," she teased, gasping for breath. It was just too much; she couldn't stop laughing.

"It's not funny, Himawari," he growled.

"I think it is," she said, grinning. "Look at you; you're too angry to move."

"Angry? Oh, I'll show you angry." He tried to make a move towards her, but something was wrong. He felt too slow. It was like he had actually aged in the span of a few seconds.

"Your brain thinks you're old, so your muscles think so too." She was no longer laughing, just smiling; perfectly guileless and as innocent as a two-year-old with a marker in their hand. It was an expression he knew too well, one he associated with convoluted plans to con politicians out of their wealth and missions to the cookie jar. His hackles rose.

It was too late. Himawari appeared behind him and he was too slow now to get out of her way. She grabbed at his shoulders, and he immediately found himself paralyzed from the neck down. The tingling went away and he was young once more.

Shiro stood shaking his head and Himawari held up a senbon with a wide smile. She dangled the weapon in front of his face and continued to grin, though now it was decidedly smug.

"Guess who finally managed to buy their own pack of senbon? How's that for 'not real,' kitten?" She cooed.

Naku could only growl, still under the effects of the toxin. He really wanted to take a swing at her. Chamaru whined from beside Shiro, burying his nose in his paws as if embarrassed to know him. "Tch, lucky shot," he muttered. But he didn't make any mention of the art again and steered clear of the girl whenever she practiced. She was a little terrifying.

They continued in this vein for the next few months, taking harder and harder missions, eventually graduating from consecutive D-ranks to the odd C-rank. This worked out well up until the fourth one. It was a supposed to be a normal mission. It had started out very very normal. The team went undercover in a town near the edge of Hi no Kuni. Their client, a rather portly man with wealth to rival the daimyo, wanted information on his business rival. Playing the role of servants, Team 4 managed to easily integrate themselves into the household within a few weeks. It wasn't hard and servants talked. Getting information out of them was easy; it was finding out a way to get info from their target that proved somewhat more difficult.

The target was paranoid, and rightfully so. As rich as their client and head of one of the more prosperous businesses in the country, Nobuyaga Hiiro was a prime target for assassination and he knew it. Everyday, more and more guards seemed to appear out of the woodwork. It made getting close to him rather difficult. Luckily for Team 4, Chairman Nobuyaga – paranoid though he was – also had a weak spot for pretty young girls.

At first, Mirai had been wary. Sexual espionage missions were never C-ranks, nor were they given to genin teams, but her fears were soon allayed when she discovered there was nothing sexual about it. Nobuyaga just really liked to talk to young beautiful women. Small talk was the man's stress reliever and it helped when his conversant was female. Under normal circumstances, the jounin would have immediately assumed the role, but there was a small part of her that warred with the idea.

It wasn't often that genin got the opportunity to go undercover and converse with their target one-on-one. Even more rare was the opportunity to do so under these circumstances where the fear of being…taken advantage of was relatively low. So Mirai was in a quandary. On the one hand, she could take up the position, get the information and report back. On the other hand, she could send in Himawari to get some valuable experience in a (relatively) controlled environment. Ultimately, the other hand won.

After a few nights of finagling and hinting, Himawari sat alone before the target in her nicest serving uniform. A small part of her wanted to vomit, but a larger, more dominant part, was tittering in nervous excitement. Her hand shook a bit as she poured his tea, and she had to take a few deep breaths before she could even look at the man.

"Do I make you nervous, Hina-san?" The man's baritone voice cut through the silence.

Himawari – hair henged brown and whisker marks covered by makeup – shook her head vigorously. She was lucky she had spent so long responding to the fake name or else she might have given herself away. It was imperative she didn't insult the man. He had to like her. "I-I apologize Nobuyaga-sama. I do not wish to offend."

"No offense taken, Hina-san. I merely wish for you to be comfortable," he said, blowing on the tea and taking a sip. "Perfection. You are very good."

"Nobuyaga-sama is too kind," the genin said. She could feel her face heating up at the compliment and struggled to stop her shaking hands.

"I only speak the truth. This tea is excellent. Is it too much to ask who instructed you?"

"My mother, sir."

"Ah yes. She has done a fine job."

"Thank you, sir."

"You are very reserved, Hina-san. Please, talk. I admit the sound of a woman talking is very pleasing to me."

"W-well," Himawari stumbled, trying not to let on how creepy she found this man. There was just something…off. His aura was a nice neutral yellow, calm and flat in its countenance. It was perfectly normal for a man of his position, and, while a bit thin, there was nothing there to suggest anything strange. Despite that, there was just something about him that niggled at the back of her mind. It was irritating, but at the same time oddly enticing. There was a thrill about the danger she couldn't help but enjoy. It was enough to keep her from running out of the room. Well, that and the mission. She needed to get him talking about something other than tea. "I do not wish to assume familiarity with one as esteemed as yourself."

"It is no issue. Please, tell me what is on your mind at this moment."

"My brother, sir," she said, grasping for the first thing to enter her mind. Boruto was an easy enough topic to discuss.

"Oh? Do you have many brothers?"

"Three, sir. And an older sister," Himawari replied. Mirai, Naku, and Shiro were posing as her siblings for the mission, but considering the type of information she needed, Boruto was the easiest and best person to discuss.

"I see. May I ask which brother you were thinking about?"

"Boru, sir. He's a lot older than the rest of us and works far away."

"You miss him," Nobuyaga stated, sending her an indistinguishable look.

Himawari ducked her head. "Very much." And she did. She had never been away from home for so long before and she missed her brother's inane antics more than she thought she would. "He's training to be a doctor," she continued, perking up with real pride and adding a bashful grin. "He's going to be an amazing doctor some day, even if he does hate studying." She giggled into her hand – the same giggle that got her a kitten all those years ago – and inwardly sighed with relief as Nobuyaga did the same. This was getting fun. Who knew talking to courtiers would be so helpful?

"Well, if you believe it then I have no doubt he will succeed."

"He will, I know it," she chirped. "But he always complains that the equipment they get is out of date. It makes him really angry."

"Out of date?" Bingo.

Himawari cheered a bit in her head and forced a small frown. "Yes. The company they buy their supplies from isn't very good. I think it's Irototsuni or something like that. He complains about them a lot."

She kept her head down, but watched the man's expression through the fringe of her bangs. He seemed to alternate between being somewhat smug and amused. Smug she could get, what with him stealing all of their client's business, but the amusement was unexpected. She checked his aura again. Nope, still the same. Had she said something funny? It could only work in her favor if she did. Her nerves from earlier were being replaced by anticipation. A jolt ran down her spine as she continued to watch the emotions flit across the man's face. It was as if she was standing on a cliff and one wrong move could make her fall. It was exhilarating, the danger she was in. Both Nobuyaga and their client were major medical supply corporations. If he didn't fall for this, Himawari would have to do some quick thinking to get him talking.

"Ahh, I see. I believe you are referring of the Irotsuni Corporation. Yes, they have been having some problems," the man said with an odd note in his voice.

"Problems?"

"Yes, it is unfortunate, but Irotsuni-san has made some bad dealings lately," the man sighed, though he didn't look particularly sympathetic. He reached across the small table and patted her hand. It was sweaty and large and he held on for a much longer amount of time than Himawari was comfortable with. "But that's besides the point. I'm sure a fine young lady such as yourself has no interest in hearing the perils of business."

"O-oh, no, no!" She shook her head quickly and pulled her hand free to wave her it back and forth. How to save the conversation, how to save the conversation? "I-I think it's very interesting, Nobuyaga-sama. You are a very knowledgeable man." She forced on an embarrassed smile. "I'm honored you are so willing to speak of it with one such as me."

"Oh?" Nobuyaga raised an eyebrow. For a moment, Himawari was afraid she had tipped him off, but with his grin her fears were assuaged. "You have an interest in business?"

Himawari nodded. "Yes sir, but I do not know much. You are a very successful man and I admit I am curious at to how your company works compared to Irotsuni-san. Perhaps I can let my brother know," she finished off with a small, innocent grin.

"Well, if you're truly interested," Nobuyaga mused. He nodded to himself and began to go into a more in depth description of his company's methods as compared to Irotsuni's.

He just talked and talked and talked. All Himawari had to do was smile, nod, and comment here and there. Apparently, Nobuyaga had out-sourced much of his development team and partnered with some group in Oto no Kuni. She remembered some of the other servants discussing the partnership, but when Himawari tried asking about it, the man brushed it off and directed the conversation in another direction to the point where she couldn't find a way to bring it up again without looking suspicious. Considering her long-standing grievance with Oto, it left Himawari with a feeling of inadequacy. Still, by the time the tea was done and the treats eaten, she was reasonably sure she had gotten enough information. Hopefully, their client would be satisfied.

"I must say, Hina-san, I have very much enjoyed our conversation," Nobuyaga said. He placed his empty teacup on the table and sighed in contentment. "You are a very intelligent young lady."

"Thank you, Nobuyaga-sama. I too have enjoyed our conversation."

"I should very much like to speak with you again one of these days. Perhaps I will discuss it with the Head of Staff."

"Y-you are too kind, sir. I am honored that you should wish to talk with me again," Himawari said, trying to keep the convoluted mix of dread and excitement at such a meeting hidden.

"Excellent," the chairman said, smiling down at her. "Now, I feel it is getting late and we both have much to do in the morning. Until next time, Hina-chan."

"Thank you, Nobuyaga-sama. I wish you a good night." The girl quickly bowed her head and calmly walked from the room. She could feel the man's piercing gaze as she opened the office door and stepped out into the safety of the hallway. Even when she heard the door close she still had the feeling he was watching her.

She made her way back to the servants quarters as fast as she could without looking suspicious. To her immense relief, Mirai-sensei appeared beside her about halfway there and the two kunoichi walked in silence back to their quarters. Families generally had their own rooms within this area of the estate so the team was safe to talk and make plans without too much worry. A slight genjutsu on the cameras and voila! Instant privacy.

Naku and Shiro met the two immediately upon their return, both still looking somewhat disgruntled at not having been allowed to look in on the session. Well, Naku looked annoyed. Shiro's arms were crossed and his eyebrow was raised, both of which were more than enough to convey his discomfort over the situation.

Mirai took one look at them both and sighed. "Oh, get over it, you two. She's fine."

"She doesn't look fine," Naku grumbled, his eyes sweeping over Himawari's pensive form.

"He didn't try anything, scruffy. Hima-hime handled him like a pro."

"But-"

"Naku, I'm fine," Himawari insisted, even though she was still trying to get off the high the interrogation had given her. "Really. He was just a bit creepy."

"A bit creepy coming from you says a lot," Naku retorted.

"Is that supposed to imply something?"

"Yes."

"Your hair is turning grey."

"You take that back!"

"Alright, that's enough," Mirai said, drawing the two genin out of their budding argument. "Naku, stop trying to get a reaction. Himawari, cool it with the taunts. I get you're both nervous, but right now is not the time."

"Sorry, sensei."

Mirai nodded. "Better." She turned to look at her last genin. "Shiro, how many of the staff have you managed to bug?"

Shiro adjusted his shades and said, "Sixteen people, sensei. This is because I did not wish to stretch my colony too far should a fight be unavoidable."

"Good. Have they reported back anything suspicious?"

"No, sensei."

"Even better," Mirai said, grinning. "Alright munchkins, gather round. We need to pool information."

"Can't we do it tomorrow? I need my beauty sleep," Naku whined. His eyes were starting to droop and Chamaru's warm weight on his lap wasn't helping him stay awake.

"Nah-ah, not this time, pup."

"Damn it."

"Yeah, yeah, we're all tired. Don't worry it won't take long." The group meandered over towards their beds and sat in a circle. Mirai unsealed a scroll from her pouch and prepared to write down all the information they had uncovered. "Alright, so what do we know so far?"

"We know that Nobuyaga has been stealing most of our client's business at a rate that should not be possible," Shiro began. "Nobuyaga has been able to increase his profit at a rate of 260 percent in the last six months."

"The servants have also seen a lot of strange men around the complex," Naku added. "They come in groups of four, stay a few days, and then leave. Each group comes around every two weeks or so and they only interact with Nobuyaga and his assistant."

"Bokuwara-san is the new assistant," Himawari said. "He was hired about seven months ago after the previous assistant died."

"Dude's sketchy as hell," Naku stated.

Mirai sent him a bemused look. "I don't remember that bit."

"Have you seen the guy? He has that evil puppet master/deranged 'loyal-only-to-thy-master' servant look down pat."

"Now that you mention it…" Himawari mused. "He does. But Nobuyaga is really sketchy too. His aura was too…flat."

"Flat?" Mirai asked, looking puzzled. "Is that...bad?"

"Well, no, but it's just..." the girl struggled to answer. "Okay, so you know how everyone has little quirks? Like how Naku cares more about his nails than his kunai – don't deny it – or how Shiro can't keep his bugs to himself. Well, things like that are usually reflected in their auras. It's just a slight quirk, the way it moves or flickers around the body. Nobuyaga's was a bit thin, but I would still expect some kind of movement. There was nothing. It was like his aura was too tired to move so it didn't even try."

The jounin looked apprehensive with this new information. "Is it possible for this to be his quirk?"

"I guess. It's not like I've ever met the guy before."

"But you've never seen anything like this in anyone else?"

"Maybe?" Himawari tried to think if she had ever seen anything so bland. "It looked kinda similar to people who are low on chakra, but I mean it's not like I have a lot of experience with people outside the village."

"I see. What about the servants? Are they in any way similar?"

"I haven't really looked. Too many auras at once kinda gives me a headache, but I could check," She shrugged her shoulders and quirked a slight smile. "Do you think I should try and get close to Bokuwara?"

"No, not yet at least. We don't even know if it's of any concern and I don't want to risk it. Nobuyaga is a known subject, Bokuwara is not."

"And Bokuwara is an evil servant."

Mirai sighed and rolled her eyes. "Naku, we're on a mission, not scouting out actors for a B-grade horror film."

"But it makes sense – ow!"

"Shiro…"

"Yes, sensei?"

"Just – never mind." Mirai shook her head. "So let's combine this with what we learned tonight. Himawari," the genin looked expectantly at her teacher, "you did good, especially for your first undercover interrogation. There are just a few things you need to be aware of for the future. First, calm down." She sent the girl a knowing look. Himawari smiled sheepishly and tapped her forefingers together in a nervous gesture. "It works now because of your youth and your looks, but as you get older, people will expect you to have more of a calm demeanor. Also, I noticed how you mentioned your brother by name. 'Boru' isn't particularly common and your family is not unknown. It wouldn't take much digging to make a connection, and with this mystery group we don't know what we can expect."

"Wait, so I might have just blown our cover?"

"I doubt it, but you have to be careful in the future. You and your brother are very well known if only because of your parents. Giving out names, even partial names, can be dangerous. There was also the issue of your knowledge. You don't want anything to seem too convenient. The fact that your brother used our client's products could be seen as suspicious. I don't think Nobuyaga caught it, but his partners might." Mirai noticed the girl's face gradually getting paler and moved to assuage her. "Don't think you did everything wrong, Hima. You did quite well. I'm really proud of you. Besides that, the fact that you got him to talk so much about his dealings was impressive. Not everyone will be as forthcoming, but I won't knock what worked."

"Experience?"

"Experience," Mirai nodded. "And we did get a lot of information from the guy. When the staff said he was a chatterbox, they really meant it."

"With his inability to keep information hidden, it is a wonder his opponent needed shinobi to discover his secrets," Shiro said.

"Exactly. Which means this unknown group might be doing more behind the scenes that Nobuyaga doesn't know about."

"Where are they from?"

"Oto no Kuni."

"Well, that's never good. Oto's always up to something bad."

"It isn't good to presume, Naku."

"But is it presumptive or merely a logical conclusion based on previous events?" Shiro inquired. "What would Oto achieve from partnering with a medical supply company in Hi no Kuni?"

"And is it Oto no Kuni or Otogakure?" Himawari supplied. "Because those could mean two different things."

Mirai gave a nod, proud they reached the right conclusions. "We need more information."

"Do you think I could go back, sensei?"

The jounin gave her student a surprised look. "You actually want to go back?"

Himawari shrugged, an odd glint in her eyes. "I-I think it could help. He already asked for me."

"But do you want to go back?"

"I-" she paused to think about it. Did she really want to go back with that man? Even if Mirai couldn't act as backup? The man was off, in a way she most definitely wasn't comfortable with, but there was something about being in that room, needling information out of him that awoke something in her. It was like when Ino-oba-chan let her take care of the monkshood for the first time without supervision: terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. She needed it. She needed that adrenaline. "I want to go back. I can get more out of him, I know I can."

"If you're sure, I don't have a problem with it. You've already built up a rapport with him and I can't deny the value in it. Just remember, I might not be able to be in the room with you every time. Do you think you can handle it?"

Himawari nodded, determined. "Yes, sensei."

"Then I'll talk to the Head of Staff tomorrow."

Tomorrow came and went, and Himawari was instructed to meet with Nobuyaga the next night. She went with quite a bit of apprehension, but managed to make it through the evening without any mishaps. Nobuyaga was happy to see her again and they chatted the night away, though the girl was unable to get much new information out of him. The only thing she was able to glean was that Bokuwara, the new assistant, had been the one to suggest partnering with Oto no Kuni. He made no mention of Otogakure.

The meetings continued for another week or so and still no new information. Mirai was starting to wonder if they should call the mission complete and return to their client with the information they had, but something held her back. There was something else, something they just weren't finding, and it was putting her on edge. Truth be told, she was starting to regret sending Himawari in if only because it made her so noticeable.

It was now the fifth meeting Himawari had been to and Mirai's senses were going haywire. She would have said she was just being paranoid if not for a few key things. First, she was a jounin. She had been on enough missions and in enough life or death situations to know to listen to her gut. Then there was the fact that Chamaru and Naku had been jumping at every little thing that came their way, and Shiro said his bugs were getting restless. If anything, she knew not to disregard an Inuzuka or Aburame's senses, no matter their age or experience. It's what made them such good trackers. And finally, Himawari mentioned that their target's strange aura was starting to expand, to the point where she couldn't even attempt to look at anyone else's because all she would see was his. That was not normal, not even by shinobi standards.

"Sensei?"

Mirai gazed down at her student and noticed the apprehensive look on his face. He was holding his partner tightly in his arms and looking every which way as if to find an escape.

"Yes, Naku?"

"I think…I think something's wrong."

That put her on alert. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but doesn't it seem a little quiet to you?"

She had noticed the manor seemed abnormally silent, but chalked it up to the time of night. In hindsight, this was rather stupid, but now that she was paying attention it was obvious something wasn't right. Mirai turned to her other student and said, "Shiro, is Hima still with the target?"

The Aburame boy paused for a moment to communicate with his kikaichu and shook his head. "No, sensei. She is on her way back."

"Through the main hallway?"

Another pause. "Yes."

"Good," she said. She didn't know why, but something in her gut made her move towards the door. "Let's meet her halfway."

"Sensei?"

"No questions. You two ready to leave?"

"Yes, sensei. We are prepared for an emergency exit."

"That's what I like to hear."

It was a good thing Mirai listened to her gut because not a minute after the trio met up with Himawari all hell broke loose. There was an explosion somewhere in the corridor they had just come from that forced the group to the floor. Screams filled the air and fire engulfed the area. The team was forced to crawl along the floor until they reached the next hall.

"You three alright?" Mirai asked, looking her students over with a critical eye.

"Yes, sensei," they chorused back. A bark came back from Chamaru. She couldn't tell if any of them were injured through all the soot, but she didn't see any blood.

"Good. I'm declaring our mission over. We need to find the best escape route and get back to the client. I don't care what get's in our way, we need to leave."

"But what about the other people here?" Himawari asked, eyes wide at the thought of abandoning them to the onslaught.

"Leave them. I doubt the staff is the target. They should be fine. Right now, our priority is getting out so we can complete our mission. Is that clear?"

"But-"

"Is that clear?"

The trio nodded, though they didn't look particularly enthusiastic. Mirai could understand their concern, but they needed to complete the mission. Sticking around would only endanger them.

"Shiro, send a few bugs ahead. See if they can find an exit. Naku, Chamaru, how're your noses?"

"Not good. There's too much smoke."

"Damn." She bit her lip in thought. "What about your ears?"

"Better than our noses."

"It'll have to do. Keep alert and let us know if you hear anything incoming."

"What about me?"

Mirai smirked down at the girl. "You ever try to read someone's aura in the middle of an attack?"

For a moment, Himawari stared at her teacher in shock. Was Mirai-sensei suggesting what she thought she was suggesting? Right now? In the middle of all this mess? Her teacher could not be serious. She tried to find the joke in her sensei's words, but found nothing. The woman was serious. Well, if that was the case…Himawari's surprise gave way to excitement at the prospect of practicing her abilities on real enemies rather than the friends she was used to. It was a definite step up even if the timing could have been a little better. Perhaps the added pressure would help.

The group followed Shiro through a maze of deserted passageways. Since they didn't know the target of the attack, they needed to maintain as low a profile as possible, meaning they couldn't just blow up a wall and escape. It made the whole situation at lot harder than it would have otherwise been.

"And we were so close too," Naku murmured under his breath.

"So close to what?" Himawari whispered back. Her eyes were flitting every which way in search of an enemy, and the smoke was starting to affect her vision and breathing.

"What, you still think this is a C-rank?" Naku turned to grin at her.

Himawari thought for a second before the reality sunk in. No, this was definitely not a C-rank anymore. "Crap. Daddy's not going to be happy."

"We were almost a normal team," the Inuzuka laughed. Himawari couldn't help but join him. The thought that anyone with their families' histories could have a normal shinobi career was laughable.

"I do not believe this is a time for jokes…or speaking." And there was Shiro with his ability to bring reality crashing back down.

"You know, Shiro, this might be your last chance to laugh. Don't you want to get one last dig at me before we're destroyed in a fiery explosion?"

"Tempting."

"See? And this is why-"

"Naku!"

Himawari felt it before anything else. The force of the blast was enough to blow out the windows and create a gaping hole in the opposing wall. Naku, who had been in direct range of the attack, just barely managed to avoid being burned alive. He and Chamaru jumped back and fell onto Himawari, the three landing in a heap on the floor. Shiro was flung forward and only remained conscious through the timely action of his kikaichu.

Before any of the three genin could comprehend what was going on, Mirai was letting loose a powerful suiton jutsu, dousing the flames and engaging their attackers at the same time. She moved through the throng at a terrifying speed, chakra knives whirling and slicing away at the enemy in a bloody dance of death. Unfortunately, there were more assailants than Mirai could counter at once.

It was an all out free-for-all. Walls were destroyed, craters formed in wood floors, and any luxury item was damaged beyond repair. The enemy, Otogakure shinobi by the looks of them, weren't particularly powerful, but they did have numbers. While Mirai was able to eliminate the bulk of them during the initial encounter, at least a few of the smarter ones broke off from the group and raced towards the disoriented genin. The three children and one dog found themselves separated within a matter of minutes, their opponents not giving them any time to regroup.

Himawari ducked under an incoming kick. She rolled across the floor and threw a kunai at her assailant, but it did nothing. The man deflected the weapon with his own and continued towards her. Himawari found herself immediately on the defensive, blocking a swarm of kicks and punches that refused to give her any room for retaliation. She tried to hit him with a jyuuken strike, but without the Byakugan she overshot her palm. Her opponent took advantage of the mistake to grab her wrist and send her flying through the air. She ended up crashing through a crumbling wall and landed with a groan on the floor.

There was barely enough time from when she landed to when the other shinobi was upon her, but it was enough.

"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu."

She saw the moment the genjutsu took hold. There was a pause, brief but noticeable, that allowed her to quickly get out of the man's direct line of sight. Unfortunately, this man was not a genin or a bandit like she was used to. Unlike her teammates, the Oto shinobi was able to brush off the technique with ease.

The man chuckled. "Is that all you Konoha-nin can do?"

Himawari froze. How did he-?

"You really should be more careful when you talk, Hima-hime."

He knew her name. He knew her name.

"Wha-" But he didn't give her any time to finish the question. A volley of senbon flew in her direction and she only just managed to avoid being hit. She had never been so grateful to her mother's taijutsu training as she was now. Power be damned, flexibility was key.

The genin ducked and weaved, reaching for her own senbon in a desperate attempt at landing a blow on the man. Each one fell flat. Was this the difference between a genin and a chuunin? Or a genin and a jounin? Either way, Himawari was in over her head. She frantically tried to come up with something that would help her out of this mess, or at least give her a little breathing room. She could already tell her chains would be useless; she hadn't practiced with them nearly enough. Her skills in ninjutsu were just abysmal. Poisons and genjutsu were where she excelled, but her repertoire wasn't nearly as vast as she needed right now. She was still unable to make aerosol toxins and she had very few genjutsu above C-rank. With the ease her opponent threw off her first one, she didn't know how well that would work either. Maybe if she had a wider area to move in? Her eyes flitted around to find an exit, but could only see the hole she entered through. If she moved fast enough she could make it. She gathered chakra to her legs and pushed.

Himawari darted through the hole in the wall and back out into the hallway. Most of the lower ranking shinobi were dead, but she could see Naku and Shiro battling it out with their own opponents. Mirai-sensei was nowhere to be seen.

"Katon: Karyū Endan!" Holy shit, he was releasing that in here?

The genin narrowly avoided being incinerated by leaping out of an opening she thought might have at one point been a window. She landed in the courtyard, though it was probably more apt to call it a battlefield. Hundreds of people crowded the once beautiful area. Guards and residents were quickly falling to enemy shinobi.

Something flickered at the edge of her vision. She spun around to look, but found no one there. Her eyes darted this way and that hoping to find the source. Nothing appeared. But she had no time to dwell on the oddity as a voice yelled out, "Katon: Gōenka!"

A multitude of fireballs rained down from where Himawari had just escaped. She let out a yell as one of them landed too close, singeing her skin and distracting her from the incoming shinobi. A kick to the abdomen sent her flying. She managed to right herself by flipping in the air and landed a fair distance from the man.

"Are you really the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto?" The man chuckled. "You're not putting up much of a fight."

Himawari grit her teeth, but bit back a retort. She fingered one of her kunai.

"Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't expect much from a Konoha-nin, no matter who their father is."

"How-" she swallowed down her nerves. "How do you know who I am?"

"Hmm?" The Oto-nin looked confused for a second. He then let out a horrible, grating chortle and smiled at her. "Oh that's right. Silly me."

He made a kage bunshin. Himawari took a step back as both men's skin seemed to…ripple. Bones moved underneath the flesh. The original's hair receded, while the clone's extended. Their faces began to form new features: higher cheekbones, rounder eyes, a square jaw on one and a wider face with sagging skin on the other. Who-?

Himawari's eyes went wide.

"Bokuwara-san…Nobuyaga-san…"

"Hmm, not quite," the man on the right said. She had never talked to him personally, but he had appeared occasionally after her meetings with Nobuyaga. But if one was a clone, then whom had she been speaking to this whole time. The clone popped out of existence. "You know, it's surprising. I would have thought your sensei would have been able to sense me. It's amazing the fodder they'll promote to jounin these days."

"Mirai-sensei is not fodder!" How dare he! Mirai was one of the best jounin in the village. She even impressed Sasuke-oji-san and gods knew how rare that was.

"Well, I suppose 'fodder' is a little mean." The man pretended to contemplate it. "She was rather impressive against my men. And I guess I can't really expect her to sense me. After all, I did cheat a little." He showed her his arms where a multitude of seals could be seen.

"You-you sealed your chakra?" It certainly explained the aura, but that was ridiculously dangerous! Shinobi had died from sealing their chakra for too long.

"Close, but no cigar. I merely shielded my chakra presence. Crude, but effective."

"Who are you?" Himawari edged back even further. To feel the need to shield their chakra…there shouldn't have been a need, not around civilians.

The realization hit her with all the strength of a freight train. "You knew who we were."

"Give the princess a prize," he mocked. A terrible grin stretched across his now normal face and he stepped towards her. "You know, I'm enjoying this much more than I did with your brother. Granted, I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh on the boy; he wasn't exactly a shinobi back then," he taunted. Himawari's eyes went wide at the implications. This man was – "As for who I am…well, I don't really think you need to know."

Anger coursed through her. This was the man who hurt her brother. She had never forgotten the promise she made all those years ago. Everything she had ever done was to get back at the people who hurt him.

The man got closer and she found she had nowhere to run. If she could just keep him talking…"Why are you here? What does Oto gain by forming a medical supply company in another country?"

Rather than tease her as he had been doing, the man sagged as if disappointed by the question. "I take back the prize. Obviously you don't get it. Oh well, if the rumors of your father are true I shouldn't be surprised. Too bad, so sad." He looked above her for a moment, but he was close enough now that it was just what Himawari needed.

The girl struck out with her elbow, landing a surprise blow to the man's stomach. Not giving him a chance to recover, she spun up and landed two kicks to his chest before activating the genjutsu.

Kōyōmu

Himawari used her opponent's distraction to disappear into the sudden mist and reappear behind him. She quickly reached out with a kunai to strike the man in the back. He managed to react fast enough so as not to be stabbed, but he couldn't avoid being cut.

"Well, what do you know," he sneered. "The little princess can fight. It almost makes me regret having to end this so quickly."

A kunai came barreling towards her at a speed too fast for her to avoid. She froze.

Am I…am I going to die? She thought, as the weapon got closer. All she could do was stand there and wait for the pain. A second passed, then two, then three. She didn't even realize her eyes were closed until a full five seconds had passed and there was still no pain.

What-?

A wall of insects was the first thing she saw. In that moment, she could have kissed Shiro.

"You should not have attacked my friend." The quietest member of their team appeared beside her and she really did almost kiss him. "If you try to kill my friends, I will try to kill you."

The man looked amused. He didn't seem the least bit perturbed that he failed in killing her. "How sweet. The princess has a bodyguard."

"The princess has friends," another voice chimed in. "Gatsūga!"

A whirling sound pierced through the screams still filling the courtyard as a giant drill barreled down on the enemy shinobi. Shiro's bugs retreated back to show Naku and Chamaru leaping back from a large hole in the ground. The Oto-nin was nowhere to be seen.

"Did-did you get him?" Himawari asked, glancing around for the man.

Slow clapping sounded above them and the three genin spun around to look at the opposite roof. "I must say, well done. If you hadn't yelled out beforehand I might have even been hurt." He smiled at them like an adult would a naïve child. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. Bosses to talk to, information to pass on, you know how it is. But you've entertained me; so let me leave you with a little parting gift. I do so hope you get out of it alive."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, you-" But the man was already gone, disappearing into the night as if he were never there.

Naku whirled around to look at his teammates. "What do you think he meant – shit!" The whole manor shook with explosions and, if people weren't panicking before, they were now. The Oto-nin were now hacking away at anyone who attempted to escape the inferno. It was an all out massacre.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Naku yelled, trying to make himself heard over the din.

Himawari looked around in a panic. "Where's Mirai-sensei?"

"Here," the jounin said, appearing behind the three. "Head south and don't stop for anything. I'll bring up the rear."

"But the people-"

"No time!"

Another explosion rocked the courtyard. The team immediately leapt into action, heading south and staying as close to each other as possible. They ran and jumped and leapt and vaulted themselves passed everything in their way. The screams of the dying followed them even as they pulled further and further away.

That was when the last explosion struck.

Up until then, Himawari had been working off pure adrenaline. Her prior fear fueled her, forcing her to think and move and dodge and attack. Now, further away and out of immediate danger, the genin found herself looking back.

And she was horrified.

From the team's vantage amongst the trees, the people in the courtyard looked like tiny ants scurrying around in chaos. She couldn't stop herself if she tried; all her control just snapped and before she knew it, little flashes of color invaded her vision. She had worked so hard with Santa-sensei to able to dim the colors, to turn them into mere sheens on peripheral of her vison, but all those lessons abandoned her. The colors churned lashed with fear and bloodlust, shinobi and civilian blending together in a mishmash of swirling light. In that moment, Himawari could only be glad she hadn't inherited her father's ability to feel others' emotions. She probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. The colors were terrifying enough.

Then, one-by-one, the colors flickered and died.

Himawari had never seen anything like it. The bright beacons of light she associated with the fleeing staff just disappeared. Darkness – hollowed voids of color – clouded her vision as the butchering shinobi tore the civilians apart. It took her a moment for her brain to catch up with what she was seeing. When it did, everything switched off.

She was watching people die.

She was watching people kill.

Himawari felt fear like she had never felt before. The monsters under the bed were nothing compared to this. She was terrified out of her mind.

"Himawari!"

The girl didn't even hear her teammate. The colors kept flickering – bright, then dark, then gone. She was falling, her body flying towards the ground. A coarse hand grabbed her's, but she was already too far-gone to notice. Her vision went black.

Himawari awoke to the sound of her teammates arguing.

"Cut it out you oversized beehive!"

"Must you be so insulting when others are trying to aid you?"

"Your bugs are nomming at my flesh!"

"They are attempting to reduced the risk of infection."

"I need a shower. I feel so unclean."

"Perhaps if you would stop whining you'd feel better."

"I have shit-eating bugs prancing over my beautiful, perfect skin!"

"They are not flies. They do not eat fecal matter."

"Oh yeah, because rotting flesh is so much better."

"If you are so against it, I can just let your arm become infected."

Naku grumbled something under his breath, but Himawari didn't catch what he said. Whatever it was, Shiro slapped him upside the head for it. Must have been pretty good then. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around.

They were in a campsite. She was situated in her sleeping bag, close enough to the fire pit so as to stay warm but not risk alighting herself. Across from her, Naku and Shiro sat on a log, the Aburame boy attempting to heal his teammate's sluggishly bleeding wound. She didn't remember him having it earlier, but it didn't look too deep – at least, not from where she sat. She looked around again.

"Where's Mirai-sensei?"

Both of her teammates shot up from their argument and beamed at her. Well, okay, Naku beamed, Shiro just smiled and released his hold on the Inuzuka's arm.

"Hey, you're awake!" Naku proclaimed. Chamaru barked from his spot beside his partner and moved to lick her. She petted his head graciously. "About time you got up. We were afraid we'd have to drag you back to Konoha."

"Don't be ridiculous. Mirai-sensei said it was just the adrenaline."

"Killjoy," Naku muttered. "Mirai-sensei's setting up traps. It's too late now to continue and the mission's a bust anyway."

"What?" Himawari was confused. How could the mission be a bust? They still had to report back to their client.

"Mirai-sensei sent a clone ahead. Irotsuni-san is dead. The mission is a failure."

"W-what? How is that possible? What happened?" She asked, trying to wrap her head around the situation.

Naku and Shiro exchanged a look. "We don't know. Even sensei doesn't know what to make of it."

"He knew we were there," she mumbled. The girl drew her knees up and hugged them to try and gain semblance of comfort. "He knew we were coming. He knew my name. He said-"

"Who? That creepy guy?"

"Yeah. He was…he was Nobuyaga-san and Bokuwara-san. A kage bunshin. He said I put up a better fight than my brother."

"I find it difficult to believe Boruto-san fought this man and never mentioned it."

Himawari looked away, not surprised that they had already figured out the connection between the two men. "My brother was attacked by Oto shinobi when he was seven." She didn't have to look to know they were surprised. "Remember that time I kept staying over at your houses? Boru-nii was in the hospital. I didn't really understand until a few years ago, but I remember daddy saying something about Oto," she sighed. "I promised Boru-nii I'd find the people who hurt him. I just didn't expect it to be like this."

"Maybe he was just trying to get under your skin."

She scoffed. "It worked."

"So make it not work," Naku said. "Look, Hima, we just had some nasty shit thrown at us. We're kinda gonna need steel guts for this one. If you really promised your brother you'd find those bastards, then now's not the time for wallowing."

Himawari stared at him. "Your pep talks leave a lot to be desired."

"But did it work?"

"Not really."

Naku frowned. "Damn. Well are you feeling better at least? Not in the head, obviously, but you did collapse."

"That was kind of an 'in the head' thing too."

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked, adjusting his goggles so that the campfire reflected in the black plastic.

"You know how Santa-sensei has been working with me to control my whole seeing colors thing?" The boys nodded. "Okay, well sometimes I lose control. Like when my emotions get too out of control or I get tired and I can't push the colors away. It wasn't a big deal really, I just…"

"Just…?"

Himawari heaved a sigh. "I've never seen someone die before. The colors just…vanished. It was a shock."

"I can imagine. It is a physical reminder than a life has been taken."

"That's some messed up shit."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "At least I'm not like daddy or Boru-nii. They can actually feel people dying."

"That has to be terrifying."

"And Boru-nii wants to be a medic. I couldn't do it."

"You're damn right you couldn't," Naku spoke up and grinned at the way they both looked at him in disbelief at his insensitivity. "Hima, you know I love you in a totally platonic-friendly-sisterly way, but I'm sorry; when it comes to healing, I wouldn't trust you with a paper cut."

There was a beat of silence, and then Himawari let out a peal of laughter. Her mouth opened real wide and she had to close her eyes she was laughing so hard. Falling back on the blanket, she continued to shake with mirth. Naku and Chamaru barked right along side her, and even Shiro chuckled. It was a much-needed moment of levity.

"Better?" Naku asked after their laughter had subsided.

Himawari smiled. "Actually, yeah."

"Good. 'Cause you all sad and mopey really isn't right. It's almost worse than when you're happy, and I know the dangerous shit you do when you're happy."

"I turn you into an old man?"

"Okay, that's not funny. We don't joke about things like that. I will remain young and beautiful even if I have to pry that genjutsu from Godaime-sama's sober claws."

"Wow, you are dedicated."

"Damn straight," he smiled. "But seriously, you suck at healing and I'd rather have Shiro's shit bugs patch me up than let you near me with anything other than a bandage."

"My bugs do not eat feces and you know it," Shiro stated, his eyebrow drawn together in displeasure.

"Oh right, they just eat corpses," Naku remarked.

Shiro didn't speak right away, but his lip twitched and Himawari knew enough to back away. Within seconds, a steady stream of kikaichu flew out from Shiro's jacket and headed straight for Naku. The Inuzuka was already up and running, bugs hot on his tail.

"Damn you, Shiro! Chamaru, help!" The little brown puppy ran after his partner, but it was obvious from his movements that he was enjoying himself much more than Naku was.

Himawari turned to her other teammate and said, "You dad won't like that you're setting your bugs on allies."

Shiro shrugged. "Are you telling?" Himawari smiled. "Then I have nothing to fear."

The girl only smiled wider.

"Please don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" She asked, still smiling.

"Like you want to wrap me up in your chains, carry me away, and hide me in some dank underground lair that only you know the coordinates to."

"Shiro, it's not nice to sabotage my plans."

"My apologies."

"Accepted."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, only broken every once in a while by the sound of Naku's cries. Eventually, Himawari turned to her teammate and said, "Shiro? Do you think we'll have missions like this often?"

"Missions that go wrong or missions where we must face the possibility of death?"

"Both."

"Most probably. The missions office is not infallible and people fake ranks all the time so as pay less. As shinobi, death is simply a natural part of our lifestyle. Just because we are much more peaceful now than in previous years, doesn't mean crime and vagrancy has stopped. It is inevitable that we will face more death. What is important is that we do not lose ourselves to it. I will always be Shiro. You will always be Himawari. If you can remember that, then nothing else matters."

Himawari stared at her friend for a second. "You've really thought this through haven't you?"

"Many times."

"Heh," she grinned. "Well, then I guess I should stop wallowing, huh? Gotta admit, I'm not a big fan. My aura's all depressed."

"That's not good."

"Absolutely not. I'm gonna need a lot of dorayaki when we get home. I can't think straight when I'm sad." It was true. She really couldn't. Himawari liked being happy. She was at her best when she wasn't thinking about enemies and death and all things morbid. It made her aura so much pinker. She couldn't allow this to ruin her life. Sitting up straighter, her eyes hardening in determination, Himawari said, "Alright, that's it. When we get home, we're all going out for sweets. And then we're gonna train until our arms fall off."

"That's not quite-"

"We're going to train until our arms fall off," she repeated, a manic gleam to her.

Shiro to did the smart thing and nodded. "Right."

"Good. Now, I'm off to bed. Night Shiro. Thanks for cheering me up."

A beat. "You're welcome, Himawari. Goodnight."

The girl smiled and listened to the sound of bugs returning to their host and Naku's heavy footsteps. The other boy was grumbling under his breath about sweat and grass stains, but she paid him no real mind. It was humorous in its normalcy. She let her eyes close shut.

For a moment, she saw flickering lights and dying colors underneath her eyelids, but she shook them off with pure strength of will. She couldn't help them. She could do nothing for them. The dark, lusting colors of the attackers struggled to take their place, and somewhere in the back of her mind, the niggling idea that these were the colors of shinobi tried to take root. Himawari ripped the thought away.

If those were the colors of shinobi, then she refused to be like them. They were angry colors, hateful colors, colors of death and destruction. She would not be like them. She would be happy. She would smile. If death came looking for her, she would laugh in its face. That was the kind of kunoichi she would be.

She would never be afraid again.

And that's it for part two. Part three will be the conclusion to Himawari's arc. I'm still considering continuing this with the other children in the next generation, but they probably won't be out as fast. There are a few other ideas I have that I want to get out first. Then again, I can never be sure. I still need to flesh out some of my headcanons.

Let me know what you think and where it may need improvement. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please don't flame. That's not nice and isn't helpful.

Anywho, have a wonderful day/night!

~Alabaster Ink