On The Search [Private]

[Honnou]

One wouldn’t have to get too close to the grounds of Honnou’s family before feeling a stronger gust than before. He had reached a level in his legacy where he was finally trying to master the Kaiten, in which he spent days and nights honing what his father had to teach him. His promotion was one factor to the sudden hype; after having become a Chuunin, Honnou wished dearly to strengthen himself so that he could be useful to those around him. His father, on the other hand, felt that he was forcing himself a bit too much… he had spectated Honnou’s untiring nights out at the garden where he simply meditated, not letting out a single snore as he focused his chakra…

Perhaps, what Honnou truly needed today, was a well-deserved free day. Therefore, when Honnou was already putting on his green blouse, his father knocked on the door. It led to the young Hyuuga being suggested to take the day off and go downtown, you know, breathe some fresh, non-stressful air. He did as told, and that was how the dark-eyed Hyuuga found himself here at the middle of Susukino District. A rather good chunk of Kumogakure where all the stores, restaurants, and general public places were located. Scratching his head, Honnou noticed his headband still attached to his forehead ever since he began his training - never once did he take it off. He decided to do so now as he put it back down in his shoulder bag and looked around, only to find an elder person surrounded by kids around his age.

“… Okay, that should prove sufficient to check out.”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

With the guys not being home, she felt a little bit lost now that she had a day to fill. Wandering the streets with so many people around still felt somewhat lonely. Dodging two kids almost running into her she watched them disappear around the corner with something akin to a map between the first one’s hands. With a soft smile, she watched them go before turning around to continue her walk. That’s when she gently bumped into whoever had been crossing the street.

“Oh, apologies,” the young Senju offered with a disarming smile. Her green eyes studied the young guy in front of her. He was a bit taller, and slightly older, probably. Unsure of the latter she stared at him for a little bit longer. Dark hair, lighter eyes, quite tan, but what caught her gaze was the red strand of hair marking his forehead. It was vaguely familiar from somewhere. She had seen this one before, or at least someone who looked like him.

Frowning briefly she forced her brain to creak as it came into motion, trying to remember where they had met before. It hadn’t been a class. She would have recognized him immediately if it had been one of the guys from her group.

Perhaps they had crossed paths at the Academy? Him being from another group could be, but.. She tilted her head a little to the side as if looking at him from another angle would help her train of thoughts. It didn’t. Unless he had graduated the year she joined forgetting him didn’t make a lot of sense.

And then, out of nowhere, her eyes started to glow recognition. “You went to Tea!” Oh lord, yes. “You were one of those responsible for the fireworks!”

Smiling widely she found herself trying to hide the chuckle crawling up her throat. Her cheeks hurt a little from the strain as she recalled the faces of their instructors when the picture had formed in the sky. That was quite an entrance!

“My name’s Senju Shizuka!” The girl nodded, offering him a hand.


**

 

[Honnou]

He was about to approach the small group of children around the elder, moving a foot up from the ground and turning towards that direction. However, his body gave a jolt when someone suddenly bumped into him from the side as his eyes almost spun more than 90 degrees towards the figure. It was a young girl around his age, one with dark hair and jade-green eyes… she looked familiar. She wasn’t among his usual class-gang, so the only option could be that she had passed by him at the ship back then. The ship was filled with all kinds of young shinobis, and the more Honnou thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. Yeah, she must’ve been from that trip to Tea… that also indicated that she, too, was a shinobi. Rather, it felt like the case…

“U-Uhm… it’s fine, it’s fine,” he assured her that there was no problem. Usually, he would’ve kept going on with his life as if nothing happened in cases like this one; however, given the fact that he recognized her made him curious about her. That curiosity increased when she suddenly scanned him as if he was a dressmaker’s dummy, turning her head, tilting it, looking from different angles and such. He dropped a sweat pearl by the actions, but alas, it helped her recognize him too without him saying anything. If she just remembered something better than that related event with the flag…

“I-I wasn’t responsible...!” he strongly corrected her with flailing hands and a worried face, “I-I just found myself at the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all…” Either way, it was of the past, so he couldn’t worry too much about it. She cheerfully greeted him with her name, Senju Shizuka, and he was gentle enough to greet back quickly: “I’m Hyuuga Honnou!”

The children from the group near the elder began to scatter intensely. It even caught the corner of his eye as he turned his head towards the now lonely elder who carried a lot of papers stacked upon his back. “Hey… are those treasure maps?” he asked out in curiosity; he struggled to zoom in to the content of one of the papers, and he saw a well-drawn portrait of Kumogakure and its borders. Combined with the running kids, it could most likely be a treasure map. “…” Without further to say, he grabbed Shizuka’s hand and moved, his red bang waving and bristling as he approached the elder who was already ready to give out a paper to the newcomers.

“Here, here young boys and girls-“ the elder male spoke up merrily, “Locate the treasure by using this map. The reward is everlasting~”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

That’s what most would say about mischief that got out of hand, but whether he was responsible or not was of little importance now. Perhaps he would tell her some more about his version of the events later on, she thought while smiling at the Hyuuga. The smile faded and her eyes narrowed when he spoke up again. Something had caught his attention (or still held it from before their little collision). Quickly she followed his gaze with her own.

“Treasure.. maps?” Wondering aloud didn’t get her far because before she knew he was already dragging her with him. Well, dragging was a strong word, he tugged her along without actually hurting her or anything. She let her feet carry her forth, following Honnou with slightly raised eyebrows.

Unsure of what was expected of them or where things were heading she still took one of the many maps the elder man was holding onto. Kumogakure stared back at her from the paper. Streets, bridges, buildings, she could see the hospital and the academy right away. The first clue, however, wasn’t near either of those. Instead, it was on a patch of green land.

“Do you think it’s buried somewhere there or hung in the tree?”

Common kids would have some difficulty getting into the tree, but at the same time a treasure hunt had to be a challenge, right? Well, for them it could be a nice walk, if the Hyuuga was up for it.

“Want to check it out?”


**

 

[Honnou]

Honnou tried his best to synch his voice with Shizuka’s as they asked: “Treasure… maps?” It was a good way to express his childish nature that often laid dormant and overshadowed by the collected Honnou. It was also a funny way to socialize and strengthen bonds, and he hoped that it didn’t make him stand out as a weird one. AS the map was given to them, Honnou took a deep look at the piece of paper. They had a fine map over Kumogakure and outer plains… and their first clue was a mark at a clot of vegetation.

Looking closer, there were two other marks similar to the first one. At first, Honnou felt that they had to reach each mark in order to receive the full reward. Either way, experience would teach them very well, in which the Hyuuga boy nodded. “Sure,” he answered happily. The green land wasn’t exactly the closest spot - it was actually the farthest place to look at - but that would be convenient for their return back to downtown. “We should get going now. There’s a good chunk of roads to the location…”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

“Yeah, it seems like they’ve really put time into making these..” she laughed gently. “Not the maps, the plans, I mean. Must have spent effort on thinking it all out and organizing everything.” Nodding she wondered if some Genin had been a part of the team to organize this. Maybe even Academy students who wanted to get some extra credits for their classes. They frequently got offered small missions and tasks to show their performance, help the village with minor things, and get their scores up enough to pass a class. Shizuka had always liked doing those, they easily beat the hard drills and boring lectures on the school grounds.

“Have you participated in a lot of these? Because it’s my first time and well.. you’ll have to help me out.”

Of course, map reading wasn’t the problem here. It was more about how normal people went about these types of things. There was always the possibility that the clues would be obvious like simply picking up a new paper and get to the next location. However, should puzzles and the like appear, then she would turn to the Hyuuga. Exercises and jutsu were her thing, and drawing!

Stopping on the corner of the street, she tilted the map toward him. “We can always start in another spot if you think that to be easier.”

“If not, we might want to take a shortcut.” A mischievous smile crossed her lips while she motioned toward the roofs. Why walk around the obstacles if you could climb over them, right?


**

 

[Honnou]

Yeah, if any Academy Students volunteered to help on this, Honnou couldn’t help but think that some of them could be mischievous enough to plot up the most brain-ripping riddles and clues as well as a completely unfathomable reward. But then again, that would make things much more interesting, wouldn’t it? “It seems so, yeah,” he confirmed Shizuka’s statement, “And it kind of brings me joy that they did so… or rather, a sense of gratitude… uhh… uh, I’m happy. I’m very happy, yeah.” In the end, he still had problems expressing himself in very soft and relaxed ways - and without making it sound as if he was writing an essay. Whoever watched over him - Raiden, the divines, the stars, the spirits - please forgive him…

“I’ve participated in one before…” he admitted. It was a private one, though; he just found some random map back in his young days and decided to let his childish spirits guide him the way. It was a wasted effort, and he was half-lost midway. It wouldn’t be the same today, though, as he had grown and matured much more. Shizuka suddenly suggested that they might take a shortcut, a sneaky idea from the sneaky girl. “Ohh?” he responded mischievously, “Then let’s go to the grass plain at the south of Kumo. Aaand go..!” His words ended with a quick leap up to the nearest roof, having his eyes locked on the beauty that was to accompany him. He hoped that she could follow up, though, as he was quite ambitious in nature, always advancing for the goal without breaks or reconsiderations…

 

[Senju Shizuka]

“Sure,” she easily agreed with a light smile crossing her lips. And then, a second later, off they went. It was during moments like these, silly, playful and careless times, that she was quite satisfied with her ability to walk on surfaces that weren’t meant for walking. Of course, originally it was meant for escaping and attacking during a fight, on some mission, but she thought that using it for daily matters was as pleasing if not more. Here, with one foot above someone’s window, she was being free and content. There was no danger, nobody glaring at her for not being serious. She didn’t even have to hurry if she didn’t want to. The Hyuuga boy would definitely wait if she took a bit longer to cross because there was no need to rush. The day was full of sunlight and potential adventures. It was one of those times that she felt excited while running. Chakra beamed through her system, and came out at the base of her feet, through her shoes.

She took a leap from one roof to the other, grabbed the edge, planted her feet into the wall and pulled herself up to continue this game of imaginary tag. The air was pleasantly caressing her skin. Her hair danced behind her as she hurried to catch up and perhaps surpass the Hyuuga. Being quite small and thin, she was like a young cat on a hunt. Using both hands and feet to rush across their village’s buildings, the Senju grinned widely when landing parallel to her newfound friend.

“So, are you still at the Academy or have you left the wooden benches behind now?” she wondered aloud while putting one of the more stubborn locks behind her right ear. There was genuine curiosity glimmering in her green eyes when she turned to face him.

Everything was so light at the moment, it felt so right. This was truly something she needed, and has missed with the guys not being around. Turning, she tilted her head enough to see where they had to go next. Not that the route was too complicated. Pretty much all the kids knew the Cloud pretty well. Especially with the random tasks given to them from time to time. Bring a package here, get some papers there.. She blinked, knowing that zoning out would cost her the first place for sure. It was time to continue the ‘race’.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Firing another question, she darted forward, heading toward a fence she could use as a connection between the two buildings.


**

 

[Honnou]

Upon their way to the huge grass plain of Kumo, Honnou’s watchful eyes proved handy as Shizuka approached him enthusiastically. Today was going to be a carefree day, wasn’t it? He could already feel the bubbling chemicals of youth inside his belly - or it could be the classic growl of hunger, who knew. Although it was sudden, he smiled a little when she expressed her curiosity concerning his relation to the Academy. His age fitted well for an Academy Student, but he had said his farewells to that place as a main cell of education. Honnou had, indeed, become a ge- wait… that was right. He was more than a Genin now, wasn’t he? He had just taken the exam… and he passed. Looking at Shizuka, a chill went through his spine as he could have been her teacher right now. And they were approximately the same age. Hahah…

How should he explain it? He didn’t want to openly proclaim his rank - he wasn’t used to that kind of stuff - so he replied as such: “Y-Yeah, I’ve graduated from the Academy. I’m quite an experienced shinobi by now…” Despite sounding a little shy, which was to cover the insecurity in his voice, he wasn’t lying. It was more like holding something back for later - obviously, he’d have to tell her at some point. Maybe he could hint it like a game, just like this treasure game hinted different locations. “Let’s just say… that I’ve left the nest, and my feathers have grown a bit,” he phrased it. Leaving the nest was the first step to become a splendid shinobi, the day when you graduate from the Academy. Although it would still take a couple other steps to grow out your feathers and fly like a majestic eagle, and therefore he explained his case as ‘grown a bit’. A little mystique here and there wasn’t harmful…

“Uhm… I’m an only child,” he replied as she asked about his blood relations aka family, “But my family is big enough, so it doesn’t bother me much. I have many brothers and sisters like that, if you know what I mean.” His next smile came from the heart, because the first type of brother - or clan brother - that came in mind was Hoshi. The bond that those two Hyuugas had was truly like that of brothers.

The grass plain was large and ripe with green shrubbery and lively younglings who all dared to locate the treasure. “We’re here, chestnut.”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Then he was probably a Genin, she thought. Mostly because she had her doubts that a Chuunin would have been interested in doing some treasure hunt with an Academy student. At the same time everyone spent their free time in their own way, so there was still a chance there. Not that it mattered. As long as they had fun his rank didn’t have to come into play in any way. She just had the habit to ask about things to make conversation now and then.

Nodding at the family comment she figured he was talking about the village. They had been taught to look after one another, even in battle. In theory missions went above all, she knew that from her parents’ talking, but for students it was equally important. They had to support each other in order to succeed. Being the weakest of this shinobi pyramide wasn’t always easy.

She was still a bit buried in thoughts when he called out to her. Chestnut? How dared he?

“I can see that, spike head.” Raising one of her eyebrows a little, she glared at him. Though, soon enough it was clear that he hadn’t meant it in any harmful way. And neither did she. It was a reflexive answer with a bit of annoyance but mostly amusement. Of course, if he were to press the matter and turn vicious then so would she. However, she doubted that would be the case.

“So, what’s the plan.” she asked, looking around the place - kids were all over the field seemingly looking for something. Would it be a chest? A spot they had to dig at in order to get to some other map? She really had no idea at this point.

“Hmm.. I would say we could collect some intel from the other kids.. but that might be a bit mean.” Afterall, they weren’t raised the way she and Honnou were.


**

 

[Honnou]

Ah, this place smelled fresh… it had rained a while ago, but the drops were still visible on the green grass. Taking a deep breath through his nostrils, he suddenly coughed funnily to her reply. Spike head, huh… he wondered if his cute nickname got on her nerves. He even met her gaze as she glared at him, a drop of sweat trickling down. “… A-Anyway,” he continued, a little embarrassed, “Let’s check the map…” Opening the map in front of them both, the mark painted on the grass field was placed a little to the bottom right of the field.

Byakugan!

… A quick glance over the area revealed very little, especially when Honnou focused his enhanced sight towards the very location of the mark where most of the kids were running around. “Man, they’ve been around there for a while, now…” he mumbled to Shizuka. It would have been a little odd not to find anything yet, especially since some of the kids were using apparent Ninjutsu to dig up small portions of ground only to express such disappointed faces. His Byakugan revealed those feelings through their facial muscles way too clearly, so he concluded that something was odd… or thoroughly planned…

It was a little clear now. The old man who made this map must’ve planned something special with the locations. Taking another look, Honnou’s Byakugan eyes calculated as much as possible - calculation time - and came with an unlikely hypothesis.

“… Hey, Shizuka,” he asked, pointing towards a random area in the middle of the map, “Do you know that place? It’s a little hard to tell if it’s a road or a complex…” His hypothesis was based on the forms of the marks, the three marks put on the map in each specific location - they were formed as small arrows! That meant that, if the old man was sneaky, then the location of the true treasure must’ve been at the collision of the three arrows!

Ingenius!

 

[Senju Shizuka]

They did, check the map, that is. She stared at it for a moment, unsure what she was looking at until he turned it a little. Now, with the sun out of her eyes, she got a better look on the details. They were where they had to be at, sort of. Looking up to ask if he had an idea she took a sudden step back when his eyes shifted. Colorless and tense - his gaze travelled across the field in front of them. She found it a little creepy but also quite fascinating. This had to be the famous dojutsu of the Hyuuga clan, right?

She was impressed. More so when he appeared to have found something. His eyes went back, then to the map. He pointed. She followed his motion. “Hmm?” was all that left her lips. Squeezing her eyes didn’t help. She had, apparently, missed something.

“Ehm.. I’m not sure, to be honest. We can check it out. You think it’s the place?”

From what she could see this wasn’t the place. It was mostly all dug up, anyway. So, someone would have found something by now if there was anything to be found here. Right?

“Wait.. isn’t that one of the monumental parks? You know, with a bridge and a small graveyard on the other side?” Unsure, she tried to get a better look on the map again. The road was near, the little signs could be monuments. More roads, something akin to a bridge on the side. Yes, this could be the place. Though, who hid a treasure there? If they were to dig up the place, surely there would be some retaliation from the higher-ups. Unless.. it wasn’t hidden beneath the ground and her thinking had been wrong all along.

“Let’s go there!” she hyped, pulling at his sleeve as she darted toward the new location.

* * *​

 

[Honnou]

”Yup. I think it’s here,” Hon expressed whilst pointing a finger at the monumental place on the map, “It… It’s a clever trick made by those goozers.” He would scratch his nose with his index finger in a goofy way as he explained, “Y-You see, my hypothesis states… I mean… wait… *thinking* oh, I’m guessing that they made those marks around the map as actual arrows to point towards the real location of the treasures. But because of our reasonable thinking, we all assumed-“ He was sharply interrupted as Shizuka was eager to go to the monumental place already, pulling Hon along as he held onto the map for dear life.

Assuming that no other kids had found out as well…

The two shinobis found themselves arriving at the monumental park; a large, traditional bridge stretching over walls and concrete blocks containing the remembrance of fallen shinobis who gave their life for the village and its future. The treasure would, theoretically, be stored here… Hon would stand atop the bridge and look down at the memorial stones when he spotted a strange coincidence. The place was rather empty compared to downtown… and he just now spotted the presence of three kids eyeing him and Shizuka from a roof nearby.

Are they here for the treasure too? They must think that I haven’t spotted them yet…

“Hey, give it up already; you’re far from the only smart ones here, and you’re definitely not smarter than me!!!”

…

The three kids descended right at the two edges of the bridge, two at one side and one at the other side. Were they resorting to force just to get to the treasure first? It did appear so given by their raised fists… now, Hon couldn’t just attack who appeared to be students, but he could play the passive role and support Shizuka. He hadn’t the slightest idea of what her capabilities were…

The adult side of him was showing too much... maybe he should cover it behind a goofy scream, a frightened face? Although, that would be too silly...