[Gala day 2] Desperate Times [Sachiko & Hinaji w/ Kiba & Sakurai]
Sachiko watched Sakurai vanish into the crowd, his fervent promises to return as quickly as he was able still in her ears. It certainly wasn't his fault that he was needed, but his going and her staying meant she was without the buffer she needed to fend off and/or deal with unwanted would-be suitors.

She had hoped the news of her attempted defection would have reached the Daimyo's court and therefore would have garnered the scorn of most (if not all) of the civilians present. No such luck. While the court did know, a number of them and all of them male seemed to take her presence with the Konoha entourage as a sign that she had been forgiven her trespasses and accepted back into the village as a full member of the military. Tsurude would be pleased, Sachiko reflected sourly, that his plan had worked. Unfortunately it also meant that the pompous lords were eying her speculatively. Already a few of them had approached her when Sakurai was there, inquiring as to how she was and asking questions that while a bit probing on the surface (they were just curious; they'd heard quite a bit about her!) really weren't that rude to the casual observer.

But a shinobi was taught to look underneath the underneath, and her genjutsu training with Kureno-sensei and with Sakurai was also helping her to see what wasn't obvious. And she detested the thought that these people seemed more intent on whatever prestige might come with linking their family with The Last Uchiha (the way some said it, it sounded like a marketing label), whatever wealth might come as a "dowry" as by virtue of being the last Uchiha had pretty much inherited everything (and if she died without heirs, everything would go to the village), or even the notion of having the opportunity to be 'personally involved' with the rebuilding of the clan, either directly or via a son. That they would concern themselves with her insofar as how they would advance and/or benefit with little regard for her take on anything made remaining civil very, very difficult. But she had promised Tsurude she would be on her best behaviour, and Ibiki would be making sure Sachiko held up that promise.

But it was so hard in the face of being complimented and flattered and praised and charmed to not simply haul off and slug someone. She wouldn't have to even touch them, either: wrap her hand in the sleeve of her furisode (Such a lovely color, Uchiha-san, it really compliments the shine of your hair, and the pattern and colors are so vivid and alive) and punch 'em. Too bad it wouldn't be worth the problems it would cause.

And then Call-me-Akahito-kun,-please spotted her without Sakurai. The young lordling's face lit up like Kakami seeing a porn shop that had the latest Icha Icha book (which, considering how much of Sachiko's former sensei's face was covered, was quite a feat) before he excused himself from whomever he was speaking to and made for her direction.

Sachiko wisely decided to make her exit at that point. Sakurai would be able to find her, being a shinobi after all.

Outside in one of the enclosed gardens that dotted the palace, the sun still hadn't quite broken over the eastern roof. Gods, was it still only the morning? How did people stand doing this for days on end? How did people stand court life, period?

Perhaps it was only chance that she spotted Hinaji on a stone bench, alone. She still glanced around to see if Kiba was nearby. Not spotting the other girl, Sachiko decided she may as well take advantage of Kiba's absence. "Hinaji," she asked stiffly after a moment's pause, "would you help me with something?" She hoped he would. Yet he was a Hyuuga, and while he wasn't like the rest of his clan, she still maintained a certain caution around him that had partly to do with her inherent dislike of Hyuuga and partly to do with she wasn't sure how to address him, the former classmate and Kiba's significant other. The choice to speak bluntly she made so if he decided against aiding her, she needed to see about moving the hell on before Akahito caught up.



The party sounded loud to Hinaji's ears, even outside as he was. All the mulling around, the constant stares and whispers had finally gotten to him. He wasn't as self-conscious as he used to be, but he could only stand hearing the name Hyuuga mentioned so many times without knowing the context.

So he grabbed Kiba's hand and asked her to go outside with him. Being Kiba, he didn't think she'd mind. The problem was getting outside, though, and with everyone crowding around and pawing at them (he would never, ever get used to that--just because they flirted with him didn't mean they could touch him) he'd lost his teammate.

So he found a bench and sat to wait.

Sachiko's voice surprised him; of all the people to approach him, he never would have expected her. If there was bad blood between the Branch and Main, the resentment between the two clans could be said to be even greater. But he bowed his head in acknowledgement despite any misgivings he still had towards the other ninja. Kiba trusted her, so that was enough for him.

"Sachiko-san. ...What is it that you need?"



"Would you mind being my temporary escort until Sakurai gets back? Or Kiba," Sachiko added. Her dark eyes glittered in a frustrated annoyance not directed at the person in front of her. "There's this one guy who's about to come out here after me and would of course be upset and offended that I should be by myself and therefore be duty, nay, honor-bound to accompany me until such time as he no longer could. Which would be about the time I chewed my arm off." Clearly, despite outward appearances of being mostly capable of handling this social situation (those etiquette classes had been good ones, and she'd cheated a little with Sharingan to get a few mannerisms down pat), she wasn't doing so well.

At least no one had been injured, killed, or trapped in an illusion. Sachiko was trying very hard to be good.



Hinaji blinked, caught off guard. She wanted him to escort her? That wasn't his first guess for what she would request, but he could understand wanting to find a way out of talking with the nobles. They were worse than the Elders on a bad day.

"I will escort you." He stood and bowed slightly. Part of him was almost amused--he figured that was Kiba's influence. "Will he cause many problems, do you think?" Ibiki would have their heads if even the hint of an altercation happened.



"I hope not," Sachiko muttered as she stepped closer to him and placed her hand so her fingers were featherweights on the crook of his elbow. "I don't need troubles with Morino-san on top of everything else. Thanks."

No sooner had she finished speaking that Akahito swept into the garden, still glowing with eagerness in his brightly colored, fashionably-cut kimono. Subtle jewelry accents in his hair and on his hands still managed to wink brightly even out of direct light. He was a decent-looking guy even by her standards, and a bit more intelligent than most, but she absolutely despised the calculated way he regarded her when he thought she wasn't looking. He was one of the people who made her feel like a thing to be petted and coddled and ruled. And he'd been too patronizing to Sakurai as well, which pissed her off more.

Pity I have to be nice, she thought as his grin dimmed some at seeing her with Hinaji. Sachiko was, after all, at her caustic best when she was pissed off.

"Uchiha-san," Akahito began, all smiles while ignoring Hinaji, "I had hoped we might have another chance to talk again. I did so enjoy our conversation last night."

Sachiko's smile was one of sweetness with just a hint of venom. "Apologies, my lord Nakahara, but Hyuuga-san already asked me to walk with him."

The look Akahito cast Hinaji was cool and dismissive. "Did you accept?" the lordling inquired, offering a way she might disengage from the Hyuuga to walk with him.

"As a matter of fact, I did," she replied.

"Perhaps later today, then," he conceded with a gentle smile that itched Sachiko's nerves. "Uchiha-san." And then a slight pause, "Hyuuga-san." One slight bow for the both of them, and he left though his eyes lingered on her.

The moment he was gone Sachiko dropped her face into a more normal scowl. "I cannot wait to get home again." That he left so easily made her wonder how soon he would be trying again. The thought made her groan mentally.



Hinaji could understand exactly why Sachiko wanted away from Nakahara as soon as the man spotted them. He had an air around him that was almost cloying. Hinaji's family was prideful, but even the most arrogant of Hyuuga would find this nobleman tough competition. And, bad feelings between them or not, Hinaji didn't like the way the man eyed Sachiko.

"Are they all like that?" he asked softly after she'd brushed the man off. He didn't push her hand away from her arm--he wasn't naive enough to think they weren't being watched in some way--but he did relax a little. "How do you put up with it?"

He glanced around as he talked and then started towards another bench, farther from the party, making sure Sachiko's hand was still on his arm. "It should be quieter over here if you want to rest." Or search for Sakurai or Kiba. Seeing how the Uchiha was being treated made him worry more about his missing friend. She didn't have as good of a control on her temper as Sachiko did, and he couldn't imagine her being pushed too far without exploding in some way.

"...Why are the men all acting that way, anyway?"



"Around me, personally, or something else?" Sachiko asked.



"In general." He sat down with her and glanced back at the party. "I've only really seen someone act that way with you, but there's something off about all of them. As though they find us amusing, or something." Or strange. Perhaps they had notions about what ninja were and they didn't match the reality.



She snorted softly and used her other hand to adjust how the fabric of her furisode fell over her legs. "Biggest difference between us and them is that we're shinobi and they're civilians. We do stuff, we face stuff that, if we do our job well, they'll never have to worry about. They lead lives that we never will, so their perceptions are different. We're quaint in that while we show good manners, we're obviously not courtiers. It probably is amusing to them to see us dressed up in finery instead of the standard uniform." A flick of her free hand and a small fan appeared from where she had tucked it up her sleeve. Snapping it open, she used it to blow some cooler air over her (because capital or no, it was still humid here) face and neck, the single little red-and-white uchiwa flashing from the center the blue background.

"In regards to how they behave towards me..." She trailed off with an aggravated sigh. "I'm the last of my clan. Despite any problems I have a hunch that Konoha honestly does not want the Sharingan to die out. I want to restart the clan at some point. I've inherited everything of my clan's, giving me an impressive dowry to bestow upon the husband I choose. Then there's the whole prestige thing of attaching one's family to the Uchiha name, nevermind siring a new generation. And last but certainly not least I've had the misfortune of good genetics." Here she grimaced. "The fanboys were bad enough during my academy years. This is, to me, much worse. I don't have a clan head to answer to, but there's nothing saying the Hokage or the Council couldn't make 'match recommendations'.

"As to how I stand it? Getting treated like a prize cut of meat isn't so bad as other things that've happened." She shrugged a shoulder. "It's a matter of keeping it in perspective, really. That and lots of practice in dealing with this sort of crap."



Hinaji listened silently, nodding slightly as she spoke. His circumstances were much different, but he could understand somewhat. These nobles were all about privelege and money. They didn't have to know a lick about ninja or the society as long as they knew that Sachiko was from a large, prestigious clan. A clan with no one left, but tons of money. It made him angry to think of anyone, even Sachiko, being used for such a shallow reason.

"...I don't think I would be able to stand it," he said softly, leaning over slightly, elbows on his knees. After everything she'd been through, though, he supposed what she said was true; there were many worse things to happen to her than overzealous idiot suitors.



Sachiko glanced at him. No, I don't think you could. She didn't mean it as an insult. However much she pretty much never interacted with him, she had seen him both in class and (rarely) around the village. And she had heard stuff about him, too. He housed a very gentle personality; so gentle as to be called weak by his own clan. She had winced inside when she had heard that; she was someone who could understand how deep the label affected a person.

"At least you've got Kiba to help keep annoyances away," she said. "Or if that fails, just stare at them while keeping your face blank. That should scare them off."



Over the years Hinaji had been working hard to keep himself from his blushing reflex. Sachiko very quickly ruined that. "Is my face really so frightening?" He knew his eyes could be unsettling to people at times, but he'd never heard it put so bluntly. Especially not by a fellow doujutsu user.

Especially not by a Sharingan user.



"Your face is fine." A bit pretty for a guy, but fine; anyway from what she'd seen of Hanabi the effeminate features didn't seem to be limited to Hinaji. "It's more your eyes," she continued carefully, trying hard to not come off as insulting. Call it reflex--if you were a doujutsu user, you did not bad-mouth another's eyes unless they were really, really, really bad. Even then, unless they were absolutely abysmal and inept despite every chance to redeem themself, you used tact. "The fact they're a solid white without even a hint of a pupil can a bit unsettling. Put a little force behind it, and your gaze could be a weapon without you ever doing anything."



An eyebrow went up at that. The girl with the swirly eyes was telling him his eyes were unsettling? It was actually rather amusing.

And Hinaji found he was smiling, if only slightly.

"I'm sure they would run once your eyes turned blood red and began to swirl, too," he said softly, a little teasingly. He'd learned a lot from Kiba, humor being one of the big things. He was sure Sachiko hadn't meant to be mean (at least, he hoped she hadn't), so a little bit of humor could convey that.

And he couldn't deny it felt nice to jab at an Uchiha. Hinaji wasn't like much of his clan, but the enmity between the Hyuuga and Uchiha had seeped into his mind, if only a little.



Sachiko paused a moment, automatically tensing, though she relaxed a little at the faint smile that wasn't condescending. "Feh," she exhaled, "but it's a conscious decision to change my eyes. With yours... There's supposed to be a hole there. How can it be white?" And wasn't that most of it? Though, a speck of black in a field of white would probably also be creepy, but at least then you could better tell which way a Hyuuga was looking. "The pupil," she continued at his blank look. "It's supposed to be a hole to let the light in to touch your retina. How can an empty space be white?"



Hinaji blushed again. His eyes weren't that strange, were they? "I don't know," he admitted. It wasn't really something he thought about; the Hyuuga were the Hyuuga. That was just how things were. Now that she'd brought it up, though, he was curious. He would have to check the records back home, go through the libraries and family histories. Even if his mother knew, he wasn't sure she would tell him as it wasn't exactly something he needed to know.



"See?" Sachiko returned. "It's weird." All of what she had said was very matter-of-fact. She wasn't trying to be insulting or mean, but how no one else seemed to notice how odd the Hyuuga eyes were was something that escaped her.



"...At least my eyes don't turn," he said a bit defensively. "That's weird." If anything, color-changing, spinning eyes were far stranger than pure white ones. Although he had to admit seeing the Byakugan could be a little weird.



Sachiko paused before replying, as she recalled the way Itae's Sharingan would spin and somehow managed to suppress a shiver.

"...No argument there."



Hinaji nodded, and then shrugged a bit. "...I did see a child cry once, seeing a clan member use the Byakugan." He knew it didn't make sense, but he felt a bit bad making her doujutsu out to be terrifying. Some balance was always nice.



"Mm." Sachiko scratched lightly at the back of her neck, being careful not to disturb the hairstyle. Another downside to dressing up all fancy like this. "I don't think I've seen anyone have a bad reaction to seeing a Sharingan, but admittedly the only ones I saw see the doujutsu were other Uchiha. Though..." She trailed off, quickly deciding if she would say more. Then she decided she had already started, might as well continue. "The first time I saw it, it was a bit....odd, yes. Eyes aren't normally red, either."

She glanced at him. "So learning that Kureno-sensei's eyes were red all the time.... that was not quite as unsettling as the Byakugan, if only because I'm more used to red."



His sensei's name brought a bitter smile to his face. He missed his teacher. "I've always liked Kureno-sensei's eyes. They're...pretty." He paused, the bitter smile morphing to a frown. "...The Sharingan is still more frightening." Pure white or red eyes weren't exactly natural, but there was something about the spinning that made the Sharingan something more than the other doujutsu. Hinaji was used to weird looking eyes, but he would never get used to seeing those tomoe.

And it was easier to fall back on that answer than it was to think more on his teacher. This trip was uncomfortable enough without the problems with his team.



Frightening? You don't know the half of it. But all Sachiko replied with was a quiet, "Yeah, it is."

The mangekyou Sharingan, anyway. Kakami-sensei's eye in its normal state didn't scare her.



Hinaji never would have imagined himself having this conversation, let alone with Sachiko. Bad blood didn't heal very well in his clan, and such a long-standing enmity was nigh-impossible to fix. But he found himself almost enjoying this. His family was far from talkative, and while his team tried to understand him, those without doujutsu never really could.

"The first time I saw the Byakugan in use was frightening." He could remember it well, when his mother first taught him how to use the thing that was both helping and hurting him. Her eyes had terrified him.

And while he knew he perhaps shouldn't be sharing this information...he couldn't really stop, either. Knowing someone understood helped. "It hurts a bit, too, before you get used to it."



"Really?" The Sharingan hadn't hurt when it first awoke, but then again, it had been during the fight with Haku on the to-be-christened Great Naruko Bridge, and the senbon stabbing her all over in conjunction with body-slowing cold had been much more distracting.

Actually, each of her evolutions had been during some life-or-death struggle: Haku on the bridge, Orochimayu in the Forest of Death, and Naruko at the Valley. The first two times she had been in too much pain to notice, but at the Valley... It hadn't hurt at all. She just could suddenly pre-See Naruko's movements (red chakra aside; now that she knew the Kyuubi was inside Naruko she could know why she couldn't guess that chakra's intent) where she hadn't before. It was only some time after her release from incarceration that she had had the chance to look in a mirror and see that she had achieved a full Sharingan.



Her surprise gave him a start. Was it really that odd? He'd always thought any doujutsu caused the same problems his did. "It's disorienting." To say the least. But now he was curious about the Sharingan. If the two were once the same, why such a different reaction?



Sachiko considered Hinaji's reply with due seriousness. Frankly, it had to suck to have one's own eyes cause you pain. (Eyestrain excluded; that was normal.) But Byakugan Saw things differently. And Seeing something went beyond normal vision, so... And yet the Sharingan didn't hurt beyond dizziness and sometimes nausea. Both of those effects she hadn't had for some time, thankfully. She was used to it.

For Hinaji, however: "You've got such a wide field of vision," she acknowledged with a nod, "and your brain's got to learn how to process it all." Learning how to control the Sharingan had been an exercise in "fun". But because of Byakugan's three-sixty-degree vision, that was a lot of stimuli to take in all at once. Sachiko felt glad her extra perceptions were limited to an area that she was already used to handling normally. Man, she couldn't even really begin to actually guess how much Byakugan might make her head hurt, but she could understand.



"Exactly. That's why it hurts." Born nearly blind, with nothing but shadows to see, and suddenly you can see everything. Not just in front of you, but behind, above, below, through... "The veins are only a part of that." He shuddered a little, remembering. He was young when his Byakugan formed, but he could still remember what it was like to have a sudden, blaring flash of light when before everything was dim. And he'd been older than normal for a Hyuuga to earn their sight.

Which made him wonder, again, about the differences between the two doujutsu. If the Sharingan was descended from the Byakugan, wouldn't similar rules apply?

"...Doesn't the Sharingan change your vision, too?" He knew they could memorize what they saw and use powerful genjutsu, but did it go deeper than that?



"Well, yes, and while it was disorienting at first, it didn't hurt," Sachiko explained. It felt weird, being so openly talkative about the Sharingan and to a Hyuuga to boot, but at the same time it was nice. Kakami-sensei wasn't born to the Sharingan, so she couldn't completely understand. Not that Kakami-sensei didn't try, but... it wasn't the same because it wasn't natural to her. "When it's active, I have to kind of pick and choose what I See. My field of vision doesn't change; I just... I See more.

"I can pre-See someone's intent, if that makes sense. I know what they'll do before they've done it, and I can tell how long it will take them to do it. My mind perceives the intent as a series of snapshots that ghost over a person. .....It was very confusing until I realized which is the actual person, and which is the intent. And then the intent can always change, so I have to be able to react fast enough to change with it."



Intent, huh? He couldn't quite understand, but he nodded. "The Byakugan has something similar--not intent or anything like that, but layers you have to interpret. Learning the layers--directly ahead, or behind, or above, below, far away--is the most difficult thing to learn." Most Hyuuga of genin level were still mastering it, which was what made the kaiten so hard. That Nejiko had mastered it at her age was a feat rarely repeated.

"It's what makes us able to see, too. Before all the synapses form together it's hard to see almost anything." It occurred to him that he shouldn't be sharing this much info, but he trusted her not to say anything to anyone else. She was giving away secrets as well. "It's like seeing in shadows and suddenly being able to see nothing but bright light and colors, even when you close your eyes. It's not...very easy to adjust to."

That was quite the understatement.



"Sounds painful." Makes them be able to see? So were Hyuuga partially blind before they developed the Byakugan? Ugh. But--wait. This didn't make sense. Hinaji had seemed like he could see just fine the entire time at the academy. So then...

"...What age did you start using Byakugan?" she wanted to know.



Hinaji hmm'd as he thought back. "Young. Hanabi and Nejiko-neesan developed theirs at a younger age, and I was a bit older than normal, but..." He replayed the moment in his head, trying to pinpoint when exactly the pain began. "I was about three or so. I vaguely remember my birthday, so..."



Sachiko gaped at him in pure shock, eyes wide and mouth half-open. "T--Three? Your doujutsu manifested when you were three??" Okay, yes, she knew the Hyuuga blood was potent (considering they all had the white eyes), but---age three? Damn!

Her mind began spluttering incoherently at this, while she waited impatiently for his response.



Sachiko's vehemence surprised him, and for a moment Hinaji thought he'd said something wrong. "...is that bad?" True, for the (then) Heir he'd developed it late, but... He hadn't thought it that strange, really.



She shook her head, the surprised incredulity remaining on her features. Dear gods. Age three. "I... Even my sister didn't awaken her Sharingan until she was about four, I think. From what I've read, in general Sharingan rarely showed up before ten. It was thought that puberty provided the catalyst for formation, but... not always." She herself had been a bit of a late bloomer--her first tomoe hadn't formed until she was twelve.



Age ten? Hinaji couldn't fathom that. But if the Sharingan wasn't connected to their actual eyesight... "You can see fine without the Sharingan, right?" He hoped so, anyway. She seemed fine in the Academy. "The Byakugan is needed for us to see normally, so naturally it would develop sooner. Everyone in the clan has it." A sea of white eyes and black hair staring emotionlessly forward.

"We have to have those connections. It's almost like a right of passage into the clan."



...Huh. Interesting. Very, very interesting. She never would have guessed that the Byakugan was necessary to see normally. She had thought it was like the Sharingan--an extra way of seeing everything around you (literally, in Hinaji's case), and that was it. Certainly not everyone in the Uchiha clan awoke their Sharingan, and not everyone developed it fully.

"Mn. I guess the goukakyuu no jutsu is kind of like that for us," she murmured aloud. "You weren't really considered an Uchiha until you could do it successfully." Sachiko had needed two weeks of constant practice to get it right. Itae, of course, had gotten it perfectly on the first try.



So rights of passage existed in her clan as well. That was to be assumed, considering they were descended from the Hyuuga. High standards were genetic, apparently. "It's strange how things have changed between us since the Sharingan developed." He kicked at the ground a bit, rubbing a gouge in the dirt with his toe. "It started as a mutation and became something entirely alien from us."



Sachiko nodded. "Sometimes, sometimes I really wonder how far back our respective clans go. Because our doujutsu are so different while also being so prevalent as to be found in two whole clans of people. Genes like that... Well, the Sharingan needed time to deviate from the Byakugan before it could be something all its own. It's amazing, really."



"It is." Their clans were both so powerful, and so different. That they were at one time the same was almost hard to believe now. He laughed a little after a second, the sound loud in the sudden silence. "This is a weird conversation." He smiled at her, no trace of malice or distrust evident. "I never expected to discuss the Byakugan with anyone, especially not an Uchiha. But it's not bad."



A half-grin formed as Sachiko chuckled. "Heh. Never expected to discuss Sharingan with a Hyuuga," she returned easily. Especially a Hyuuga. If only because her parents had always been wary just in passing a Hyuuga on the street when Sachiko went out of the compound with them. "But you're right: it's not bad at all."

And... it helped to make her feel a bit more less alone. Because she could actually talk to someone--or, at least here and now, had the chance to talk to someone who understood doujutsu.



There were people EVERYWHERE.

Kiba had tried hard to stay by Hinaji's side, and had readily agreed to going outside to get away from the noise and smells of everyone. But it had literally been a crush of people and despite her best efforts to keep hold of him, she'd lost him. That had been a bit upsetting, but she had been confident that she'd be able to find him very soon. That was, however, before she'd been noticed by some of the males who were here. And somehow, SOMEHOW... they found her, in all her tattooed, clawed, and fanged glory to somehow be attractive. Or maybe it was just her clan status.

It was still weird.

After quite some talking and awkwardness (AND WHY WERE THEY TOUCHING HER STOP IT), Kiba managed to slip away and flee outside. After a few seconds, she managed to pick up Hinaji's scent and hurriedly headed that way without trying to look like she was hurrying. There was some surprise at seeing Sachiko and Hinaji talking together, but she couldn't muster up much jealousy or anything even similar. She finally slowed when she was in front of them, look vaguely traumatized. "... please don't ever leave me again. They swarm. They must SMELL fear. And possibly clan status."



Kiba's voice made Hinaji look up quickly, and a large smile spread across his face. "Kiba-chan." He stood and reached out to touch her hands for a few moments before looking back at Sachiko and bowing politely.

"Thank you for the conversation. It was enjoyable." It really was, too. Thinking back, he'd begun the talk with some distrust and ended feeling closer to Sachiko than he could ever have imagined. He could see now why Kiba had befriended her.

But now that Kiba was here, Sachiko would be left to the wolves, so to speak. Hinaji didn't really want to leave her alone with all those suitors prowling around. "Would you like us to stay or help you find Sakurai-san?"



Sachiko stood and nodded in reply when Hinaji thanked her. The feeling was mutual after all.

She did have to take a moment to think about his offer, though. "...That would be great, actually, if you would help me find him." That way she needn't waste time trying to find him herself, which then left her open to be talked to by the civilians.



Hinaji smiled and bowed again. "Then we'll help you find him." He looked at Kiba again to make sure she was alright with that as well, and squeezed her hand gently as he did. "Did you see him around?"



"I was too busy fleeing in terror." Kiba said dryly, moving a bit closer to Hinaji. She was significantly calmer now, now that Hinaji's hand was in hers and two of the people she trusted most were with her and close by. There was a slight squeeze of Hinaji's hand back, but she nodded to Sachiko.

"Don't worry," she grinned a bit, to the Uchiha. "We're a tracking team."



Sachiko closed her eyes and smirked back. "He's the only guy here with pastel pink hair. I would hope he can't be that hard to find." But she appreciated it nevertheless.



Pastel pink hair, right. Sometimes it was easy to forget that outside of a ninja village some of them looked weird. But it did make things easier. The milling people didn't diminish as the day grew, though, and it was hard sometimes to stay in a group when they tried to push past him to reach the women. But eventually Hinaji did spot a tuft of pink hair (he'd been afraid to use the Byakugan lest he scare someone, although by the fifth time he'd been pushed aside he was seriously considering changing that attitude), and he paused and gently touched Sachiko's arm.

"Over there."



Sachiko had to push herself up on tiptoe, but she saw him all the same. "Thank you, Hinaji. You too, Kiba." Dipping her head in a quick bow to the both of them, she removed her hand from the inside of his elbow where it had been since they began pushing through the crowd so she could slide easily between people to reach Sakurai. When she reached him, she touched his arm to let him know she was there.



Sakurai turned around and smiled. "Ah, Sachiko-chan, there you are. I was looking for you. Sorry I took so long. Were you okay?"



She nodded, giving him a faint smile back. "Hinaji kept me company," she replied. "Everything okay with whatever?"



"Yeah, all taken care of." Word gets around you're a medic (a pupil of the Hokage no less) and suddenly every noble with a papercut wants you to look at them. What a pain.

He held his arm out to Sachiko. "Shall we?"



"Please." And she quite happily took his arm. Safe(r) at last!