Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings: Quiet Moments
Quiet Moments
The morning light filtered through the small, high window of the apartment, casting a pale glow over the bare space. In the bathroom, Hikari stood before the cracked mirror, finishing up their morning ritual as usual. With a light tug, they tightened their headband around their forehead, ensuring the heavy cloth completely concealed the seal etched into their skin.
Satisfied, they let their long, dark hair fall back down, the strands obscuring the knot of the headband. Outside the bathroom door, the apartment was quiet, yet the building itself hummed with life. From the floor below, the muffled sounds of children shouting echoed up through the floorboards. It wasn't an argument, thankfully, just the chaotic, high-pitched excitement of kids playing in a space far too small for their energy.
Hikari moved toward the small stove stationed nearby. It hadn't been easy finding a place within their means, but the money from the mission to the Land of Waves had proved to be very helpful. That payout had provided just enough leeway to secure a modest unit and with their sensei's help, they’d found this complex – a place that primarily catered to independent genin. And orphans.
Technically, Hikari wasn't an orphan, but the principle was the same in every way that mattered. To their family, Hikari might as well have been dead for years.
The Hyuga watched the water begin to bubble and grabbed a small ceramic bowl from the cabinet. Their movements were calm and almost meditative as they rinsed a measure of rice and as the water slowly ran clear, they found themselves mentally tallying their budget for the week.
Rent had already been paid for the month so that was out of the way. The mission to retrieve their fallen teammate had drained much of what was left, but sensei was already asking for more D-ranks. Money would be tight for a while, but for the first time in their life, the air they breathed was their own.
A few minutes later, Hikari sat by the window, eating their rice and watching a scruffy alley cat groom itself atop a dumpster next door when the silence was broken by a rhythmic knock at the door. The Hyuga paused, bowl in hand, before rising to answer it.
The door opened, and Hikari blinked as they saw their pink-haired teammate standing on the other side, one hand raised to knock again.
They stared at each other for a long moment, before Sakura’s eyes darted past Hikari’s shoulder, scanning the cramped, one-room apartment. A small frown tugged at her lips as she took in the peeling wallpaper and the lack of furniture, and Hikari felt a momentary prickle of embarrassment that they managed to push aside.
“Good morning, Sakura,” Hikari greeted. “What are you doing here?”
Sakura’s eyes snapped back to Hikari, her expression softening into something uncomfortably empathetic. “I heard about your family,” she said, her voice a whisper.
Hikari’s chest squeezed. They hadn't exactly planned on keeping it a secret, but they'd hoped to hide it for a little bit longer.
“Ah,” was all they could manage.
The silence stretched between them again before Hikari stepped aside, gesturing into the room. “Would you like to come in?”
Sakura nodded and stepped inside, and only then did Hikari notice the heavy grocery bag clutched in her hand. As the door clicked shut, Sakura set the bag on the small counter.
“I brought some vegetables and a few staples,” Sakura said, her back to them as she started pulling out the contents. Hikari idled near the door, watching as she spread cans and produce across the small counter.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Hikari said, feeling both touched and slightly mortified. They may not have been as prideful as the rest of their family, but they were still a Hyuga. To be provided for like this, pitied, made them feel slightly ashamed.
“I know I didn’t,” Sakura countered, giving them a sharp look over her shoulder. “But I also know there’s an adjustment period when you first move out. Dealing with a budget is a nightmare, take it from the merchant's daughter.
Hikari opened their mouth to protest, but the look in Sakura’s eyes narrowed. “No. You can't refuse. Just... think of it as a housewarming gift, okay?”
The look in those green eyes let Hikari know that arguing was a losing battle. They sighed, a warm feeling strangling their throat, and stepped forward to help her put the items away.
“I still can’t believe they just kicked you out like that,” Sakura muttered, her brow furrowed as she tucked a carton of eggs onto the shelf in the fridge .
“It was only a matter of time,” Hikari replied simply.
“That’s terrible,” Sakura insisted. “Parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally. To care for them, no matter what.”
Hikari paused, a bag of rice in their hands. They looked at the closed door, then back at their teammate. “Perhaps for other families. For the Hyuga, love is anything but unconditional.”
Sakura stopped moving. She looked at Hikari with a profound, quiet sadness. “That’s terrible,” she repeated.
Hikari didn't argue.
Once the groceries were stowed and the dishes on the stove taken care of, Hikari and Sakura stood in the middle of the roomz shuffling awkwardly. Hikari didn't have any furniture besides the futon laying in the corner and the nightstand next to it, so they had nowhere to sit and chat. Not that this was really the most comfortable place to do such a thing.
“Thank you for the food, Sakura,” Hikari said after a long pause.“I had resigned myself to eating rice and meat for the rest of the month, but it seems I don't have to.”
“I'll bring you some spices too,” Sakura smiled, pushing away a lock of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. “Tou-sama always brings a bunch of stuff back from the Land of Wind and we don't need nearly as much as we have.”
Hikari wanted to protest, but they knew it would be a futile endeavor. Instead, they simply nodded, accepting the charity for what it was.
Sakura’s smile wider. “Anyway, I actually came by to ask if you wanted to come with me to get some ninja supplies since I've been running low but then I heard what happened and we'll… I got a little sidetracked.” Sakura bit her lip in embarrassment, a gesture that Hikari found strangely endearing.
Hikari’s interest perked up at the mention of fresh supplies, then immediately deflated. “I don't have much money left for gear, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Sakura said, a small, mischievous glint appearing in her eyes. “But actually, I think I have a solution to that.”
Hikari tilted their head, curious despite themselves. “Is that so?”
~~~
A few minutes later, the Hyuga found themselves following their friend into a shop that smelled of fresh cedar, oil, and metal shavings. It was a spacious establishment, its walls lined with everything from standard kunai to specialized chain-sickles.
“Sakura! Back so soon?” a voice called out from behind the counter. A dark-haired man with a friendly, weathered face looked up, grinning as Sakura approached.
“Hey, Tachi,” Sakura said, her voice bright. “Yeah, I'm just here to resupply.”
“Already? You must be training like a demon preparing for those exams,” the man laughed, leaning his elbows on the glass counter. “I look forward to seeing what you do out there, kid. You're gonna knock ‘em dead.”
His eyes then slid to Hikari and widened slightly. Hikari understood how reaction; Hyufa typically frequented more prestigious clan-affiliated smiths, not the local shops in this part of the village.
“Tachi, this is my teammate, Hikari,” Sakura introduced, noting his stare.
Hikari offered a respectful bow. “It is a pleasure. I had been wondering where Sakura managed to find such high-quality tools on a genin’s wages.”
Tachi smiled proudly. “I provide quality goods for even better prices! Though,” he added with a laugh, “I try to keep them fair.”
Hikari scanned the price tags on a nearby rack of shuriken. The prices were fair, certainly, but still just outside the reach of their current budget. They looked toward Sakura to suggest they leave, but she beat them to the punch.
“I’m looking for a new outfit for the exams and a full restock on my wire and senbon,” Sakura said, leaning in. “Any chance for a bulk discount since I’m bringing in a new customer?”
Tachi hummed, his gaze lingering on Sakura’s bandaged hand for a moment before shifting back to Hikari. He saw the way the Hyuga was eyeing the gear with, and then he looked back at Sakura, who gave him a hopeful look.
The shopkeeper’s grin widened. “Sure thing, kid. Tell you what, I’ve got some slightly inventory in the back that I’m looking to clear out. Top-tier steel, just a few cosmetic scratches. If you’re buying in bulk, I can let it go at a discount.”
He gestured toward the back of the shop. “Sakura, come on back and we’ll find your size. Hikari, look around. Pick out what you need and we’ll put it on Sakura's tab..”
Before Hikari could protest, Sakura gave them a playful wink and disappeared behind the curtain with Tachi.
The Hyuga stood in the center of the shop, stunned. They looked at the shelves of wire, gloves , and weighted kunai, then back at the curtain where Sakura had vanished.
Slowly, their raised hackles lowered and a small smile finally slid across their face and they chuckled.
Well played, Sakura, Hikari thought wryly, realizing what their friend had done.
~~~
A little while later, Hikari stood by the front counter, their hands full of essential tools and a set of reinforced kunai that had caught their guilty eye, when the curtain at the back of the shop rustled, and Sakura emerged.
Hikari blinked at her new appearance. The change was striking. She had kept her dark pants and her sandals were still the same, but the rest of her outfit had undergone a complete overhaul.
Though before, red had been the main color she donned, it had been almost entirely stripped form her new attire. She now wore a base layer of chain netting beneath a sleeveless black shirt that allowed for a full range of motion. Plated fingerless gloves – clearly meant to prevent the incident in Wave from happening again – slid all the way up her forearms and she had draped a deep green hooded shawl over the whole ensemble. Her hitai-ate was no longer around her neck, instead, finding its place tied firmly around her upper arm, still plainly in view.
Hikari noted that she was clutching a small vial of dark liquid in one hand. The Hyuga tilted their head as she approached, reading the label. “Facepaint?”
Sakura grinned, shaking the bottle of liquid with a nod. “Tradition,” she said. “Suna is coming to the Exams, so I figured I should do what they do, right? If I’m going to represent puppetry in Konoha, I might as well look the part.”
Hikari gave her a confused look, trying to imagine Sakura with the kind of war paint seen in Suna’s puppet corps, and Sakura chuckled as she placed the vial on the counter. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to go too crazy with it. Just enough to let them know I’m not easy pickings.”
Tachi began to ring up the items, his hands moving quickly as he tallied what they had grabbed. After a minute, he tapped the final number into his register and whistled low.
“The total comes to a little under two-hundred thousand ryo,” he said.
Hikari balked. That was a staggering sum, nearly the entirety of their A-rank payout. They opened their mouth to offer to put their gear back, but Tachi was already crossing out the number.
“But,” the shopkeeper continued, looking at Sakura and then back at Hikari with a small smirk, "given our deal and Sakura’s promise to make the other villages look like amateurs... we’ll call it a flat one-hundred and eighty thousand for the lot.”
Sakura didn’t even flinch as she pulled out her purse, counting out the money and handing it over.
“Welp, I’m broke again,” the pinkette said with a shrug as they stepped out of the shop and back into the midday sun.
Hikari looked at the heavy bag in their hand, a flash of guilt crossing their features. “Sakura, that was a lot. You didn’t have to–”
“Stop,” Sakura interrupted, waving them off. “If you can’t fight at your best, neither can I. We’re a team, Hikari, and that means having each other’s backs no matter what.”
Hikari watched her, not quite staring but certainly studying the intense expression on her face. Sakura would not be swayed and after a moment, the Hyuga was forced to relent, much to her pleasure.
As they walked back through the village, the conversation turned once again to Hikari's living situation. And just like before, Sakura was very blunt in her opinions of Hikari’s situation.
“I’m serious,” Sakura said, her voice dropping into a fierce tone. “If they kicked you out just because you wanted to branch out a bit and learn some new techniques, they aren’t family.”
“Perhaps not, but they are still all I was given,” Hikari responded. Sakura huffed.
“That’s not what I… Look, if things get too tight at that apartment, or if they start bothering you, you have a place at my house,” she continued. “My parents are loud and my sister can be super clingy, but they’d welcome you in a heartbeat. You don’t ever have to go back there if you don’t want to.”
Hikari paused, genuinely touched by the offer. They knew that in Konoha’s political climate, taking in an ousted Hyuga was a move that could draw unwanted attention from the clan elders. Sakura didn't seem to care – or perhaps she didn't know – but the sincerity of the offer still moved them greatly.
“I don’t think I would be allowed back if I begged on my hands and knees but…” they smiled softly, “Thank you, Sakura.”
They finished the rest of their errands in a comfortable silence, but as they neared the edge of the shinobi district, Hikari paused. They looked at Sakura, hesitation in their pale eyes before it gave way to acceptance.
“Sakura... would you accompany me somewhere?”
Sakura nodded, happy to spend more time with her friend.“Sure, where to?”
“This way,” was all they said, turning to lead the way.
Though confused, Sakura followed dutifully, trailing after Hikari as the Hyuga trailed through the crowded streets like a ghost, leading the way into a much more private section of Konoha.
~~~
Sakura was perplexed by her teammate’s sudden shift in demeanor. She wasn’t sure what had caused it – they had simply been shopping but now it seemed that something had overtaken the quiet Hyuga. As she followed along, she wondered what was going on.
Her confusion only grew as they continued their journey. Slowly but surely, the crowded shops and bustle of the village gave way to a serene quiet that made the world around them seem just a tad too still. The varied colors of Konoha shifted to a dull monotone, as did the people, and suddenly, Sakura was surrounded by dark-haired, pale-eyed statues that seemed to glide rather than walk.
They stared at Sakura as she passed, but the presence of Hikari seemed to stave off any questions, though she certainly still received some looks that she didn’t really appreciate. Superiority seemed to ooze off the walls in this place.
“Stay close,” Hikari said, their voice so quiet Sakura almost had to strain to hear them, “They won’t say anything as long as I’m with you.”
Sakura wasn’t too sure about that but her faith in her friend, sticking by their side as they approached a tall wooden gate surrounded by even taller stone walls. A pair of Hyuga eyed them as they approached, before the one on the right stepped forward.
“State your business.”
“I am here to honor my fallen kin,” Hikari said, and Sakura was taken aback at the sudden shift their tone had taken, falling from the gentle quiet that she knew into something much more harsh and rigid.
She didn’t like it, but it seemed to appease the guard. He nodded once, before narrowing his eyes at Sakura, “You are permitted to enter, but she must stay. Those from outside the clan are not permitted here, as you know.”
Sakura’s face scrunched in protest but Hikari cut in quickly, “She is my teammate. I will be responsible for everything she does while inside.”
The mention of the word teammate seemed to somewhat mollify the man. In Konoha, teammates may as well have been family; that was what made them distinct from the other great nations, a sentiment written into the very foundations of the village. The Hyuga shared a look with his partner who nodded, and then looked back at them.
“Very well,” he stepped to the side, waving them through as the other man opened the gate, “but be quick and do not disturb the other visitors.”
“Thank you,” Hikari bowed and stepped forward. After a beat, Sakura followed her, stepping through the gate and trying to ignore the eyes of the other Hyuga burning into her back as she did so.
Inside the gate was the most beautiful graveyard that Sakura had ever seen. It was well-maintained, with not an inch of moss covering a single headstone and paved paths between each and every one of them. Colorful flowers were on display every direction Sakura turned, though white was certainly the most prominent among them.
Hikari weaved through graves with an ease that spoke of years of practice, bringing Sakura to a small plot just outside of the shade of a nearby tree. They stopped in front of a single headstone, and Sakura slowly stepped forward, reading the name etched on the face.
Hiroki Hyuga
“My brother,” Hikari said softly, answering Sakura’s unasked question. The pinkette’s eyes widened and she went still, “Tomorrow is the anniversary of his death and I normally visit on that day but… I wanted you to meet him.”
Sakura stared, wide-eyed at the grave before her. She didn’t even know Hikari had a brother, but here she was being presented to him. It was clear to her that this was a point of potent grief for her friend so she held back her initial astonished reaction, searching for something more respectful to say while her mind tried to come to terms with this sudden turn of events.
“Can you tell me about him?” She finally settled on. Hikari didn’t speak for a long moment, and Sakura worried that she had already overstepped, before they began.
“He was a good person,” they finally said, voice choked with emotion, “Warm, caring, woefully stubborn – everything a Hyuga shouldn’t be but everything a big brother should. Even when he was being a prideful idiot, he always had my best interests at heart. He shielded me from the worst of our father’s beliefs, comforted me after training and at the end of every bad day… he was the best brother I could have asked for.”
Sakura watched as Hikari brought a hand up, running it across the smooth band of cloth covering their pale forehead. Their stoic eyes were filled with an incredible amount of pain, face twisted in sorrow. She swallowed, taken by the sheer emotion in those milky eyes.
“What happened?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“A mission,” Hikari said gently. “Hiroki was… desperate for our father’s approval; it was the one flaw he maintained above all else. Unfortunately, our father is not the type to give praise easily, and that drove him to further and further extremes until one day… he took a mission he should never have been assigned and was killed for it.”
Hikari stared at the headstone, voice trembling, “He was sixteen and barely qualified for chunin during his exam the year before. I don’t know how or why he was approved to join a squad of jonin on a mission into enemy territory, but he was the only one who didn’t make it back. When they returned with his headband, I felt like a part of me died with him.”
Sakura couldn’t even imagine the kind of pain her friend was going through. If she lost Hanami, or anyone close to her like that, she wasn’t sure what she would do.
Wanting to soothe her friend’s grief in any way she could, Sakura reached out and put a hand on the Hyuga’s shoulder. Hikari’s own hand immediately grabbed hers, squeezing tightly as if to ground themselves.
“I still hear his voice, even to this day,” they said softly, “For a few years, I tried to succeed where he failed, to live up to father’s impossible standard hoping that his acceptance might put my brother’s soul at ease, but I never succeeded. In the end, I simply decided to emulate the best parts of him. My way of carrying on his legacy, I suppose. I hope I’m doing right by it.”
“You have,” Sakura promised. “If he was even half of the person that you are now, then the world is worse off without him.”
Hikari made a keening noise in their throat and closed their eyes. “Thank you.”
As her friend took deep, shuddering breaths to maintain their composure, Sakura looked at the grave, eyes shining with emotion.
“May I... say a few words?”
Hikari nodded, stepping back while Sakura took their place, hands clasped in front of her as she lowered her head to address the deceased. “I didn’t know you, but I wish I did. I know Hikari and if they said you were a good person, then it must be true. I’m sorry you felt like you had to prove yourself to someone who refused to see you; nobody deserves that.”
Sakura licked her lips, trying to find the words, “They’re a member of my team now: Team 3. We’re all really good friends and I don’t think any of us would be able to live without one another. I won’t let anything happen to them, I promise. Even if the whole Hyuga clan comes to get them, I’ll bite their throats out before they lay a finger on my friend.”
Standing behind her, Hikari felt something within them shift at her words. The devotion Sakura professed to them, the surety behind the ludicrous promise to fight off an entire clan just to keep them safe, moved them more than she could ever know. For their entire life – until Team 3, at least – they had to fight for every scrap of affection they ever received, but Sakura’s affection was freely given, and so much stronger than anything they had ever received before.
They didn’t know what to do with it, but they refused to bury it like the rest of the scary emotions they failed to process. That was the Hyuga way, and though they bore the name, Hikari could no longer lay claim to their traditions.
Instead, they just allowed themselves to feel, to examine these emotions and come to terms with them on their own time. And as the two genin exited the graveyard, Sakura turned back toward them, her expression soft. “I’m here for you, Hikari. If you need anything. Anything at all.”
Hikari looked at her and offered a small, sincere smile, warmth flooding their chest and leaving them warmer than ever before “You’ve done more than enough, Sakura. I’ll be okay.”
And this time, it was true.