Chapter 24 - An inuzuka's thoughts
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{Hana pov}
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Looking over to her pale friend she smiled as his care free demeanor as they walked along towards her home. Itachi, after eating nothing but junk food, excused himself and ran off home. No doubt his mother would scold the boy for indulging in such a unhealthy habit.
As she held herself close against him she could feel his surprisingly warm skin brush against her own as the walked along down the emptying streets, nightfall already overtaking the sky as the sun was barely visible on the horizon.
"I meant what I said you know, about celebrating your birthday." She spoke out as they continued on to which she could feel her friend tense for a moment. She knew all too well the treatment he received from the villagers on that specific night. If he was within her clan compound she was sure no commoner would dare enter their property. Not unless they wished to receive severe fines and punishment.
But...Hana wasn't sure that would deter them. It frightened her to a degree how vicious the average citizens could be despite the friendly demeanor they exuded. It was the same with the Shinobi. Both her teachers and the chunin and jonin were just as vengeful. It..scared her to the point of never truly being able to trust any villager who praised or showed kindness to her...
The blatant hypocrisy made her skin crawl...
It was that exact reason why she hadn't been severely bothered by Houzu's violent actions towards the entire populous. Who wouldn't do so if treated less than human and hunted for sport for such a long period of time.
"Hana...hana..."
"Huh?" The inuzuka heiress questioned as she seemed to have spaced out during their trek. In front of her peripheral vision was the gate to her clan's territory. "Oh...we're already here?" She asked in confusion as her pale friend chuckled at her bewildered expression to which she puffed out her cheeks in irritation and embarrassment.
"This is as far as I go, I'll...see you tomorrow Allright?" Houzu smiled as he placed his hand atop her head. "Mm!" She squeaked as the unexpected gesture made her jump in surprise causing him to chuckle once more.
"Y-yeah...I'll see you tomorrow!" Hana responded as the boy nodded and walked back the way they came.
The moment her comrade was out of sight the poor girl turned towards the gates and walked on ahead. Walking across the stone path to the front door she placed her hand on the spot where houzu's palm once layed.
Looking back towards the towering tree far beyond she smiled with tiny blush upon her round cheeks. "Sweet dreams houzu." Grabbing ahold of the door nob she stepped through into her shared abode. The ever familiar scent of mut and leftover dishes invading her sensitive nostrils.
Seeing the pile of dirty dishes and bowls in the sink and her passed our mother resting her head on the table with an empty sake bottle in hand she couldn't help but sigh.
It's always been this way almost every night since their father ran away...
Her mother may look aggressive and strong willed, but even she had been devastated by his abandonment.
Continuing on the girl retrieved a blanket from the living room and carried it over to her mother and draped it over her body. Turning her attention to the sink she wasted no time in getting to work.
Getting her personal stool in order to reach a adequate height to conduct her task efficiently she reached over to the lever by the faucet and gave it a turn and watch the water come forth.
As she scrubbed dish after dish a thought suddenly occurred to her.
"Wait...does houzu even sleep?"
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{Houzu pov}
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Letting out a sigh the pale boy took his time to return home. Doing so gave him the much needed enjoyment at seeing the civilians frightened faces as he passed by.
But of course...that fun was soon squashed by the arrival of an anbu appearing behind him in a blur.
Stopping in his tracks he glared at the masked shinobi and let out a bit of killing intent to which the anbu stepped back two paces.
"What is it?" Houzu grumbled as the ninja straightened into a professional manner.
"Lord third wishes to see you. He needs your report on the...'enemy.'" Giving a curt nod to the cloaked being he jumped to the roof top nearby and ran at an incredible speed towards the kage tower. The moment the anbu was finally alone they body flickered away into a nearby alley and gasped repeatedly in terror.
"That kid....truly is a monster."
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~ Kage tower ~
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In a blur houzu appeared before the front gate to the building to which those nearby subtly moved away to avoid the child.
Paying the civilians no mind he took his time walking into the building as those within looked to see him entry. While most of the office employees made themselves scarce the chunin and few jonin in the large area tensed.
No doubt they could sense his overwhelming amount of chakra. Even though the old man taught him to suppress it he never bothered to in order to show his 'superiors' how inferior they were in terms of their power. Striding cockily passed the receptionist she merely trembled while pretending to conduct paper work.
In his earlier days the middle aged woman would always find any reason to deny him entry to the hokages office. Whether it was his clothes, his mood, or emplimenting a fake rule that didn't exist. To which he would be thrown out by a pair of chunin. Come to think of it...they were in the building right now.
But with his now superior strength and training the two were more likely to voluntarily shit themselves then come a single meter near him. Aaah~ so satisfying.
Lost in thought he soon realized he had already made his way up the stairs and stood in front of the old man's office door.
Slamming his fist onto the delicate structure to the point of causing the walls to shake he could hear the sounds of paper and desk appliances fall to the ground inside.
"Houzu!"
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[Word count] - 1054