Chunin Duties 7.11
Hisana walked away from her meeting with the Hokage feeling on top of the world. Tsunade had been concerned for her, yes, but she'd also been helpful - been willing to offer advice and suggestions. Hisana had at least a dozen minor changes she wanted to implement - nothing that would improve her combat performance exactly, but they would all make her seals much safer without comprising it.
Her Lightning Blood seal's automatic cutoff was currently based on a timer, for example. She could instead link it to several very small medical seals that would actually monitor her brain and activate the cutoff when she began to enter the danger zone, rather than relying on her best guess. She'd been conservative with her best guess, sure, but Hisana had felt more than a little uneasy after Tsunade had explained just how things could change the safe time period on her seal - everything from the temperature to jutsu use could change it.
When she returned to the Uchiha compound, Hisana noticed that it was strangely absent of familiar faces. There were still plenty of people there, but none of the people she would stop and chat with. She felt tension run through her, felt her relaxes sharpen and chakra rush to her eyes - but then she reached out with her senses and smiled. A large number of very familiar chakra signatures were clustered at her house.
She didn't know what they were doing there, but they all seemed fine - so it couldn't be that bad. She released the chakra from her eyes, red fading to black, and felt her body relax. Her hands left the hilt of her sword. Her breathing returned to normal, and she deliberately let her senses fade. She was safe. There was nobody lurking around who meant her harm.
The flicker at the edge of her peripheral vision wasn't Itachi. Or Danzo. Just a kid running to catch up with her friends.
The Uchiha compound was a lively place, these days. None of the people there apart from her or Sasuke were members of the clan, of course, but there were plenty of clanless Shinobi who rented houses, and many times more civilians. Hisana was less like the head of a ninja clan and more the mayor of a small town.
She and Sasuke lived in a stately house at the end of a street, backing onto the large gardens at the compound's centre. The old Clan Head's house had been behind its own set of fortified walls, and was now an emergency shelter - it had been more damaged than most in the fighting, and neither Hisana nor Sasuke had wanted to restore it as a house.
Hisana pushed the sliding door to her home's entryway open, intent on finding out why so many people were there and blinked as she saw the large, hand-painted banner hanging over the corridor.
The large, hand-painted banner that said 'Happy Birthday Hisana'. People poured out of poorly disguised hiding places, and Hisana laughed. She had forgotten her own damn birthday. It hadn't even occurred to her what everyone might be here for. She was still laughing when Naruto caught her in a tackle-hug that nearly floored her.
Naruto and Sasuke were there, of course. Kakashi-sensei had been on time for once in his life, which was a rare gift. Karin was there. Everyone from her class at the Academy who was in Konoha was there. Kurenai and Asuma were there, and they had clearly been roped into it by their genin. A man in the traditional clothes of Snow Country was there, standing awkwardly to the side with several other over-dressed people. The old lady who ran the pork bun stand at the entrance to the Compound was there. Hisana hadn't known that so many people could fit in her house.
All of them seemed determined to wish her happy birthday at once, and she was fairly certain that most of the people old enough to drink were already at least tipsy. Even Kakashi-sensei looked a little rosy.
"Oh, let's take pity on the poor envoys," Hisana said, smiling a little. Everyone laughed, and she felt the good humour of the party infect her. She made her way to a somewhat more central position, tried to look as dignified as she could, and motioned for them to come forward.
"Her highness, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, congratulates you on this most auspicious occasion and sends her best wishes. Please accept this gift…" the envoy from Snow began, and so did the others. Koyuki had given Hisana a really rather lovely set of Ice-Leviathan horn hairpins, carved with spring flower patterns. She smiled as she saw the sharp edge on the metal cap.
The other envoys were from places like the Royal Court of the Land of Fire and many vassal courts, and Hisana felt a vague sense of panic that she'd be expected to send gifts when the third son of the Count of wherever turned thirteen. She needed to hire a dedicated birthdays, holidays, and celebrations secretary, she decided. Someone who would buy tasteful gifts. Maybe she could just send everyone weapons. That would be a fun gift to get from a ninja.
Once that was done, Hisana tried to speak with everyone. She felt overwhelmed by the occasion - she had celebrated her birthday before, here, but it had never been like this. She knew thirteen was an important milestone in Konoha, but this was over the top.
"I can't believe you forgot your own birthday, sis," Naruto said to Hisana, laughing as he spoke.
"It's not that funny,"
"It is. What did you think everyone was here for?" Sasuke asked.
"I had no idea, honestly. I guess since we were so busy preparing for the chunin exams when you turned thirteen, the possibility just sort of didn't occur to me," Hisana replied.
Choji walked by them, carrying a plate full of food, and he gave Hisana a sort of cheerful smile. She and Choji weren't close, exactly, but you couldn't dislike Choji - he was just so... nice. Which was an odd thing for a ninja to be, but it was true.
"I can't believe our Hisana is already so grown up," Karin said, as she and Kakashi made their way over through a crowd of people.
"Aren't you already thirteen?" she asked Karin, who waved a hand at Hisana in response.
"But you seem so much older. Maybe it's all the politeness and responsibility," Kakashi said.
"Just watch, she'll devolve into a boy-mad bad girl right before our eyes," Karin said. Hisana tried to control her emotions. To not let anyone see her reaction. Some things were better-kept secret, she thought. Sasuke and Naruto devolved into barely concealed laughter.
"I don't think there's much chance of that," Kakashi said, lightly. Hisana's heart beat unpleasantly fast.
"Hehe, yeah Kakashi-sensei, she'd probably go mad if she tried to act like Ino," Naruto said.
"Ino's not that bad. In fact, I see her just over there. Maybe I should call her over..." Hisana said, savouring the look of panic in Sasuke's eyes.
Hisana took the chance to go to talk to Ino and Sakura, who seemed to be much more pleasant to each other these days. She had always felt very awkward over their Sasuke-related spat. Hisana had wanted to prevent it, but she'd had no idea how to and hadn't been very successful.
"Hisana!" Ino said, smiling as she approached.
"Ino, Sakura. It's good to see you both," Hisana said.
"Oh Hisana, you have to hear Sakura's news," Ino said.
"It's not that big a deal," Sakura said awkwardly.
"Not that big a deal? Tsunade herself is going to teach you and that's not a big deal?"
"Wow, that's incredible, Sakura. I've only talked to Lady Tsunade a little about my seals, and she was so helpful. She must be a great teacher," Hisana said, shamefully relieved that Sakura had found her way to her mentor despite not being on Team Seven. That she hadn't stolen this girl's chance at greatness.
"Oh, um... I heard you were going to get your medic certification?" Sakura said, in a desperate bid to change the subject.
"I don't think I'd ever go for being a medic-nin, but I've done enough study to at least get the certification," Hisana said.
"I'm surrounded by overachievers. Surrounded!" Ino said.
Hisana made sure to speak with everyone who had come for at least a few moments. She smiled as she saw Hinata and Naruto talking, and met Kurenai's knowing gaze. Asuma and Kurenai were certainly close to one another, and Hisana hoped that they'd have better luck in this timeline. She had ideas for Hidan.
"Hey, Hisana. Got you something. Ino told me it was my job to give it you, seeing as how... well, uh, I'll give you some lessons too," Karin said, handing a wooden box over to Hisana. She opened it and saw a basic makeup kit in it. Hisana blinked. She had never really used it of her own accord, and the classes at the Academy had only covered courtly styles. Courtly styles Hisana was very bad at.
"Thanks, Karin. I - well, I've never really used it. I'll have to take you up on that," Hisana said. It was tradition, she knew, although the part Karin had left out was that it was generally supposed to be an aunt or a sister. There were other traditional gifts. Sasuke gave her a war-fan, which she had no idea how to use but appreciated all the same.
Some were less traditional, like the stuffed toy pony Kakashi gave her. She erupted into laughter when she saw it, as she remembered his words about how she could just buy her own.
After everyone had filtered out and gone home, after the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, Hisana found herself sitting on the little dock looking out over the lake. Sasuke sat next to her, their legs dangling above the open water. The surface of the lake was a shimmering sunset, the water still as a mirror.
"Thank you, Sasuke. For today," Hisana said, as the two of them sat there and watched the sunset.
The next day Hisana reported to the hospital bright and early. The certification course wasn't long - only a week of intensive tests and refresher training. Sakura had already taken it, in the month before the Chunin Exams finals, and none of the others in Hisana's year who had the inclination were ready for it yet.
It was taught in a drab classroom that could have come from any school Mary or Hisana had attended, the only distinguishing features were the medical posters and charts on the walls. Their instructor was a woman in her early fifties, her hair streaked with grey. For a ninja - even a medic-ninja - that meant she was someone to be listened to.
"Right, you lot. All of you are non-medical track ninja who think you can double as a field medic in a pinch. Some of you are intel or R&D types, and some of you aren't. Those of you who think you're hot shit in combat, listen up - if you get called to act as a Field Medic, things have gone to shit. Someone, somewhere has fucked up, and you're there to get 'em out," she said, her smoker's voice harsh.
Hisana sat still, trying not to let her emotions show. She knew the medical ninja's code - there was a reason she wasn't one.
"You might be assigned to a field medic team if one's taken losses, in wartime. If there's not enough of us around. When you're there, your priority isn't fighting enemy ninja, or completing the objective - it's getting our ninja home safe and alive. That is your priority. That's why Konoha's rate of wounded to killed is far better than anyone else's. That means no getting into avoidable fights, no sticking around to help out once you've got the casualties. You get the wounded, stabilise them, and get them out. Now, let's see if you're up to it," the medic-nin continued.
What modification to her Reactive Chakra Armour, inspired by the Camo Cloaks' seals, does Hisana make, after consulting with Tsunade?
[x] Sealing Art: Lightning Chakra Armour. This is the most direct adaption, cannibalizing the elemental nature of the Camo Cloak's shields to create a more efficient defensive technique. This lowers the chakra cost of Reactive Chakra Armour.
[x] Sealing Art: Wind Shroud Anchor. This adds jutsu formula to her reactive chakra armour arrays, allowing them to interface and enhance her chakra shroud and any further developments along the path of nintaijutsu.
[x] Sealing Art: Reactive Earth Reinforcement. This adaption adds Earth-natured chakra as a second layer to Hisana's reactive chakra armour, reinforcing her body in the event of a breach. This is even more expensive than her chakra armour but should help mitigate the broken bones the force of a blow breaking through her armour has left her with in the past.
