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Chapter Text

Cover for 'A bounty hunter's fortune'

Dark eyes and a quick pace set, the young girl strode forward, leaving her village far behind. Her father's smithy, her mother's grave.

Her father was a well-known swordsmith that delivered swords all around the county, even going so far as to teach his own daughter how to wield one. Her iai-nami was strapped onto her back, held by a distinctive type of cloth that was very common in the area she was born in, the Land of Rivers - Kawa no Kuni - that lay between Suna and Konoha, two of the biggest countries in the elemental nations that had an array of the finest ninjas one could encounter. The cloth that the land of Rivers produced, was very light-weight and had a bluish colour that eerily resembled the water that one could see when making their way to the beautiful coasts of the Land of Rivers. The girl wielded her blade like one of the old kenjutsu masters, having learnt that type of sword wielding from her father, who himself was very profound at laidō, a specific style of kenjutsu that was rare nowadays. The girl wasn't as good as her father at using the blade that was provided to her, and nowhere near the masters of this kenjutsu style that mostly originated from the ninja village of Kawa no Kuni - Tanigakure - that was destroyed nearly fifty years ago and still remained deeply embedded into the memories of the people that visited it.

Tanigakure, the only Hidden village that the Land of Rivers ever managed to sustain, was destroyed after having agreed to a ceasefire with Konohagakure. The survivors scattered and lost all of their bounds to their village and only the legend of the Village Hidden in Valleys remained that every little child in Rivers heard about when the elders sang songs about the village’s glory. The girl, whose father was one of the last descendants of said village, heard a lot about Tanigakure and it's legendary kenjutsu and taijutsu masters, having grown up with stories about strong shinobi that protected their country until their very last breath. It was an intimidating heritage, one that she swore to live up to when she was still very young, barely old enough to hold her own katana. Since then she had trained as much as she could, until blood and sweat drenched the ground and until she felt she was proficient enough at one specific move - she was one of the only people in the whole country that was good enough at the Nitou kenjutsu, the use of two swords at the same time. The girl hid her strength, knowing that she wouldn't be allowed to practice it as it took a lot of muscle strength - muscle she didn't have. She couldn't count the times that she had hurt herself wielding those two blades at the same time. Her second sword - a normal Shobu-zukuri - wasn't strapped onto her back like her iai-nami was but was draped over her chest, close to her thigh and always ready to be drawn. She was alert and her eyes were on the deep forest she slowly moved through. The Land of Rivers may had a lot of rivers and valleys indeed, but the most of it turned out to be forest. She didn't even look back once at her village that was deep in sorrow after the death of three of their members - a family that was loved and cherished and the richest one of the village that was very generous with their money. The girl knew them very well, having been friends with the little girl of the family that always smiled from ear to ear when seeing her 'nee-san'.

Her father hadn't been close with them but he still managed to keep up simple relationships with the other villages, despite being in the smithy most of the time. It was exactly that - this type of withdrawn behaviour her father displayed - that made the other villagers suspicious of him. Maybe it was exactly that, that - in the end - delivered the last blade that pushed him down. He wasn’t exactly social - nor was his daughter for that matter - and this turned out to be a problem as everyone felt like they didn't know him. It made them all believe the cruel things he was accused of - murder of a family of three, the exact same family that the village now mourned in her absence. The girl had left shortly after her father had escaped, leaving in the dead of the night, sure to leave nothing behind in the smithy that could be used again. The village that had betrayed her father and immediately decided to put a bounty on his head - a million ryo. The girl had made sure to hide her most distinctive feature - her grey-silver hair that she had inherited from her father's side of the family and that made it easy for her to be spotted across a great distance and would be counterproductive if she really wanted to wield the sword as fluently and silently as her father could.

She wore a black bandana that covered most of her short hair, that she normally wore in the smithy and her dark pants and the dark, unispiring cloth that covered her upper body. She had left her traditional Hakama at home, it was too restrictive to be used in combat even though it was normal for traditional samurai to wear them - but the girl, despite the blades - wasn't a samurai. She was a kenjutsu masters of the Nitou type and she couldn't afford to take a bit more clothes with her and have her movement restricted even a bit. She left almost everything at home, it had burnt with the smithy and all the precious things she couldn't take with her. Her mother's necklace, her father's yukata - everything. The new blades they had forged earlier that day.

Everything was gone.

She had cried bitterly and then left, the pain being replaced by deep numbness. She had left quickly after burning down their smithy, she heard the yells in the background when some people realised that the smithy was engulfed in deep orange flames that devoured everything that the girl loved. She made her way - on silent feet that were dressed in sandals - through the deepest, darkest parts of the forest, knowing that should bandits attack, she would be able to defend herself. A little sound, the bushes rustled and she slowly drew her sword that was strapped on her chest. Her other hand made it's way towards the katana that was strapped over her back and her stance shifted into the first form of the Nitou style. Her breathing quickened and her eyes darted towards the bushes and trees. "Come out!", she yelled loudly, ignoring one of the first rules that was drilled into her: Be silent.

Nothing.

Her breathing slowed and she shifted her stance again, her hand loosening around the sword hilt of her iai-nami. She still held her other katana in her hand, focusing her eyes on the bushes but relaxing audibly. She was too paranoid. Noone would follow her. They'd probably be happy to be rid of her, considering her father's supposed betrayal. She sighed deeply and pushed the sword back into it's sheath. Her position shifted again, she slowly walked forward, never letting her eyes tire and her hands stay unoccupied, as she took out the sword, that was strapped over her back, out of it's cloth, taking on the formal kenjutsu stance that was the first form of every kenjutsu style in existence. She held out her sword and paried and invisible enemy, controlling her movements fluently, albeit a bit uncertain as it was the style she wasn't sure of yet. Laidō was hard to learn but she has promised herself to master it before going out to find her father, to revenge him and to make sure the murders wouldn't go unpunished.

Her father had told the other villagers that the murderer was Gosunkugi. Gosunkugi, a name she wasn't familiar with but would be soon when she got his head delivered to the military police of Kawa no Kuni. Her breathing quickened as she imagined the enemy she would slay with her swords, the blood that would drench the dirty ground. With a yell, she took a swing with her sword, rammed it into the ground and gasped loudly. She wasn't proficient enough at laidō.

She sighed in frustration and ripped her sword out of the ground, cleaning it off with her dark shirt. She put it back into it's sheath and kept going, eyes narrowing and a hard gleam present in her dark eyes. She would beat them all, revenge her father, Tokichi, and kill everyone who dared to stand up against her.

She would master laidō and become the best master to ever wield two blades.

She ran off into the woods, breathing evenly, eyes gleaming and a wide grin on her pale face.

Chapter Text

Takuo was a police officer that prided himself in being proficient at what he did. Sometimes he was even involved in hunting down people who had a bounty on their head. And it was always their head. Some had bounties on their weapons or even their hands, but most of the bounties were on their heads - of course, if they themselves caught a bounty, there wouldn't be any money to get out of it because the rule was that the military police wouldn't get the bounty - it was their job to hunt down criminals so why would they be paid otherwise?

It was a fickle rule though and some of Takuo's colleagues were part-time bounty hunters, some of them collecting millions of ryo. Most of them quit being police officers when they saw that being a bounty hunter would bring them more money than they even knew what to do with. It wasn't something that Takuo wanted to achieve - hunting people was a difficult sport and you had much more competition than you even knew about. Bounty hunters weren't forced to wear an official badge or something like that to identify themselves but acted anonymously. Most of them only showed themselves after the bounty was killed and collected - they had to when they brought in the heads - and occasional bodyparts - to the police station. The military police had a big catalogue of all bounty hunters that they knew of and the bounties they collected - by name. So every person that wanted to hunt after those bounties, had to identify themselves with the police when they turned the bodies in. Many of them worked undercover though, collecting the bounties through third-parties and never facing the police after all.

Takuo hated that kind of hunters as they were hard to catch up with and mostly left bloody work behind that the police had to get rid of. Catching bounties under the radar of the police was illegal after all, so it was Takuo's job to catch the bounty hunters that worked illegally. It was harsh - he rarely found one. Bounty hunters were good at what they did - hiding und jumping out of the bushes when their prey was most vulnerable - which is why it was hard to find any of them, even the registered ones.

Their most recent case was a bounty hunter who himself had a bounty on his head for having killed a family back in his hometown - Tokichi, who occasionally seemed to be called Sazanami. He had a million ryo on his head that his hometown posted as soon as the man fled his village. The police officers had been after him for quite some time and he seemed almost invisible. What made him distinctive though, was the blade he wielded. Possibly River country metal, if Takuo would've been asked, and strong. Tokichi had to be a monster to wield such a heavy blade.

Well, he wasn’t, Takuo concluded when he stood right before said bounty hunter, a tall, but not overly muscular, man in his mid-thirties, who had unkempt, grayish hair and stared at him with fiery eyes. That's what Tokichi, the bounty hunter, looked like? Takuo wondered why the wanted posters failed to convey Tokichi's looks properly. The man on the flyer had looked almost innocent, a normal man, albeit a bladesmith, but still - nothing like the hardened, battle-ready man that stood before Takuo now. Scars marred his pale face and he wore the clothes of a samurai, holding his sword as if he was one too. Takuo rarely felt fear, he couldn't allow himself to in the kind of job he worked at. He didn't have any family, only an old aunt and her son, that had a curry shop in Kawa no Kuni, where Tokichi himself originated from.

Takuo paled drastically when he saw how Tokichi held his sword, the stance of a kenjutsu master and a slight grin on the once pretty features the man possessed. "So? What's it that you want?", the man's deep voice awoke Takuo's sense for a good battle and the police officer shifted into his own stance, getting his knife out of a pocket. "You're an illegal bounty hunter and have a big bounty on your head", he answered stoically and tried to reward the other man with a angry glare that failed when he realised that his arms were trembling. Tokichi grinned wider. "And? I just need to catch one man and all of this will be over", he smirked and Takuo shook his head slowly.

He had heard that Tokichi still blamed Gosunkugi for the death of the family that he himself has murdered. Though, Takuo's mind supplied, he could be right after all - Gosunkugi was a feared criminal that was notorious for killing people just for money. The gears in the man's head were turning faster.

Maybe Tokichi was in the right?

But still, he was an illegal bounty hunter and even if he himself didn't murder the family, he still had to obey the law. "I don’t care", Takuo said short-handed and Tokichi frowned slightly, not answering and staying silent. "I don’t care if Gosunkugi did it or if you did it or anything about it really. It's just my job to get you to registrate yourself as an official bounty hunter. It's not my job to enforce law and order by taking you in for that bounty that has been placed on your head", he added and held his knife tight, turning it upwards. "Look, I just need Gosunkugi, then this whole bounty hunter thing is going to be over anyway", Tokichi uttered through gritted teeth, a dangerous look on his face that made the brave Takuo tremble again.

Takuo knew that if it came one on one, he wouldn't have any kind of chance against the experienced blade wielder. He just had to try to make Tokichi talk as long as possible so he could get backup to take the man down. "If you registrate, you will be able to catch Gosunkugi faster because the police won't be after you", Takuo muttered and slowly looked up at the taller man, that came nearer and now grinned at Takuo with a grim facial expression. "I know that that's a lie, officer. I would still be hunted - be it the police or other bounty hunters - because my village still placed a bounty on my head", Tokichi scoffed and Takuo sighed.

"I know I'm right", the bounty hunter snapped and Takuo gripped his knife tighter, bringing it up to his chest to push it into Tokichi's chest should the bounty hunter come any closer. "Oh, I get it. You police officers don't care who's right or wrong", Tokichi raged and himself gripped his sword tighter, holding it steady. "I don’t care about your stupid registration!" Takuo cleared his throat and aimed his knife towards Tokichi's chest. "Then I will either need to kill you or take you in", he explained in a tight voice and Tokichi suddenly grinned widely.

It scared Takuo even more than his yells.

"Not if I kill you." The last thing Takuo saw was a blur of grey and dark colours run towards him, blade aimed at his heart before he fell backwards. His knife fell on the ground and blood gushed out of the wound the blade had inflicted. A gargle escaped his punctured lungs as they were filled with blood, and he twitched as his life force escaped his body in a scary speed that even made the bounty hunter himself twitch who had killed nearly twenty people at his point. Takuo's twitching hand reached out towards the knife, blindly trying to grab the blade and ram it into Tokichi's heart but his movements seemed oddly slow, and his mind couldn't keep up with it anymore.

His last thoughts were of the Curry he ate at his aunt's restaurant in the winter when it was cold, and the curry was the only thing that was able to warm him.

Tokichi buried him next to the clearing the man was killed at, cleaned his blade and moved on, searching for the man he swore to kill, his mind breaking a bit further with every killing blow he delivered.

Chapter Text

The young woman smiled as the dark-haired man sat down next to her, a treacherous smile on his thin lips. "So, what brings you to this part of Suna, Himiko-san?", he hummed and said woman smiled again, this time a little more uncertain. "Well, you see, I wanted to become a ninja." She looked down on her hands, realising that one could see the bruises where she had hit the tree. She tried to hide her hands behind her yukata, cheeringly smiling up at the man who shook his head in played exasperation.

"Himiko-chan, being a ninja is really dangerous, you could get hurt. It's nothing a good woman like you should do", he said and sighted in disappointment. "You should be a wife to a lucky man and have a few children", he added, and a lecherous grin made its way to his pretty face - which it really was despite his ugly character. Himiko seemed saddened by his words and her shoulders slumped down. "Maybe you can find a ninja to be your husband", the man soothed when he saw her disappointment and instinctively reached out to her with his rough hands that seemed as if he never put down the blade they must be holding daily.

"I even know one who would be quite interested", the man appealed and Himiko listened attentively, her dark eyes widened. "Really, Masaru-san?", she asked, hope colouring her bright voice and Masaru flattered her with a soft touch of his hands that slid down her arm. Her heart fluttered despite the disgust she felt. "Yes, really, though, your hair would really need to be longer for that. No ninja likes his wife to have short hair", he hummed and shook his head in amusement. Himiko gritted her teeth, and her hand grabbed a handful of her silver hair that was cut short and reached her chin in a boyish cut that she preferred. "You're right, Masaru-san", she chirped and smiled at the man who held out his arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here, Himiko-chan, I know a good hotel just few streets down." He stood up and Himiko held onto his arm, giggling and fluttering her eyelashes that made her dark eyes seem even more seducing. Luckily her yukata hid her rather boyish figure so Masaru couldn't figure out what she looked like under it. "You're so kind, Masaru-san", he gushed and followed him out of the bar, eyes steady on the taller man that started blabbering on about some topic she wasn't interested in. "Oh, hold on, I think my undershirt has come undone!", Himiko suddenly gasped and blushed, making the older man grin again. "Don't be shy, Himiko-chan. I will fix it for you."

Himiko thanked him and blushed even more when he touched her back. Before Masaru could even get close to her undershirt, his eyes widened.

The blade that stuck in his stomach only barely managed to conceal the fact that there was blood oozing out of it. He gasped and his face was contorted into a mask of pain, his unsteady hand reaching for Himiko who took a step backwards, locking her gaze on his. "That's for the girls you raped", she hissed, and Masaru tried to answer but couldn't as he slowly lost the ability to even form coherent sentences, his coordination weakening.

He slowly sank down to the ground, dirt and blood mixing and his death rattle forming itself in his lungs. He gasped once more, trying desperately to draw in some air and then stilled, eyes looking upwards into the clouded, sandy sky of Suna. Himiko ripped the blade out of his stomach and cleaned it properly with her yukata, sighing deeply and looking upwards too.

It never got easier, even if her target was someone as disgusting as Masaru, who had raped and killed many women. She hid the blade under her andon hakama and made her way to the place her blades were hidden to cut of Masaru's head to collect the bounty. Her heart seemed to be ripped out of her chest as she passed the corpse and acid rose in her throat. She desperately needed to wash her hands.

*

The Kazekage knew that his day was about to become even more annoying when his secretary sent in a bounty hunter who was here to collect the bounty set out on Koeda Masaru's head. The man sighed and looked at the short woman that stood before his desk, eyes fierce and her mouth drawn into a thin line.

He hadn't heard of her before, ever.

He sighed again and looked with visible disgust at the bloody head she had thrown into his office. It was now laying on his carpet, sullied it with blood that would take ages to get out of. Gaara looked up at the woman again and cleared his throat. "How much ryo was on his head?", he asked slowly and looked towards his brother who sat on a table next to his own, being made his unofficial secretary. "Oh, I don't know", the woman grinned and Gaara groaned while Kankuro cleared his throat and murmured: "It seems that the Yondaime Kazekage placed a bounty of seven million ryo on his head." Gaara groaned again. So much money. Money that they couldn't really afford to lose. "Look", he started slowly and watched every reaction the woman displayed.

"Look, Himiko-san, we'll give you a million ryo now and get the rest of the money to you later, as soon as you're registered with the military police as an official bounty hunter." The woman frowned and Gaara wondered if it was about the money, but then she asked with confusion tainting her voice: "Registration? I have to registrate?" Gaara groaned and his head nearly hit his table.

"Of course, you do", Kankuro answered for him and reached deep into one of the folders that lay open on his table - probably one that Gaara himself was supposed to look at. Kankuro held out the registration to Himiko who stared at it curiously. "So, where do I have to register?", she asked and read the registration slowly. "With the military police", Gaara repeated in a deadly tone that Himiko didn't even seem to notice as she read further, her eyes darting over the page. "Seems good enough. Why do I have to use my own name?", she questioned and Gaara seemed ready to kill her for asking further questions so Kankuro quickly answered: “So they can identify your properly."

Himiko nodded slowly and then reached for a pen that lay on Gaara's table who's murderous gaze was looked on her. She quickly filled in the blank spaces on the paper and handed it back to Kankuro with a grin. "All done. Would you be so nice? I won't be able to stop by the police department on my way out." Kankuro grunted an affirmative and Himiko looked up at Gaara who contemplated real murder at this point. "Where can I pick up my money?" Gaara sighed and pointed towards the door. "We need to verify the headfirst but then you'll be able to pick up your money with Garuki Kao at department five. Just show him the official slip my secretary will give you." Himiko nodded a thanks and rushed out of the door.

Gaara finally let his head drop on the table, closed his eyes and was ready to finish his day, when Kankuro started sputtering next to him. "What's going on?", Gaara grumbled and lifted his head. Kankuro just reached out to him, holding the registration paper. Gaara grabbed it and his eyes darted over the page. He groaned loudly.

His day had just gotten way more difficult than it had already been.

Chapter Text

As Himiko made her way out of Suna, beads of sweat trickled down her cloth-covered forehead and she sighed deeply, gazing up into the blaring heat of Suna.

The ryo in her pockets weighed down on her - literally - and she knotted her bandana tighter, making her short hair disappear under it completely. She had cut it much shorter since she had left her village and it suited her much more, she felt.

It was also more practical as it was easier to hide and she had more freedom to move around. She had changed her wide, dark clothes to something akin to the clothes that samurai wore - an umanori hakama, that was mostly worn by field or forest workers and was looser in the waist and narrowest at her ankles. It was useful to move around and it could hold quite a few spare daggers. She still wore her two blades and wielded them both equally at this point.

She wore both of them strapped over her back, neither of them in the cloth the Land of Rivers used as it was too distinctive and would immediately recognises. Instead, her blades were in their sheaths and both of them were tied around her shoulders down to her waist, were they connected again. It was a much more useful way to tie them back. 

Himiko felt much more at ease in Suna than she did in her own home country.

She didn't really know what it was that made her feel uncomfortable but something had been going on in Kawa no Kuni - something that made her want to turn around and never come back. She sighed.

The life as a wandering samurai and part-time bounty hunter wasn't the easiest but she made do of what she had. She worked small jobs here and there and helped little villages along the way.

She only ever got into the big Hidden villages to catch bounties.

Bounties like Koeda Masaru who was notorious for kidnapping and luring women into the place he stayed at, raping and killing them. It wasn't too hard to find him anyway - he loved to boast. Himiko's face took on a disgusted note.

Having been in both Taki and Iwa, she knew that some ninja felt like the rules didn't apply to them because they were more powerful than others - Masaru had just been another example of that species.

Last year, around the same time, Himiko had encountered a woman who had tried to get everyone to worship her, believing herself to be a goddess. The woman's face contorted into a pained grimaced as she thought back on that specific encounter. She sighed again and walked towards the path that marked the way to the Land of Stone. It may have been a barren landscape but it was supposed to be the place that Gosunkugi was last sighted.

Her fists clenched as her thoughts drifted back to the criminal that was at fault for the disappearance of her father. She grimaced and picked up her speed, determined to make it to the Land of Stone before dawn set. 

*

She would've never thought that of all people to encounter in this small village, it would be three Konoha genin.

She entered the bar they loudly walked into silently, hiding her blades under the wide cloak she had bought a few villages earlier. The bar seemed to burst with criminals and people who had bounties on their head. Himiko could at least spot five or six people, even Ujori, a well-known thief.

Her eyes darted through the room as she took in the atmosphere that tensed as the three genin loudly demanded food that the bar definitely wouldn't serve. Himiko sat down in one of the tables far away from the angry looking barkeeper and watched the situation. "Huh, if it isn't Hiko-chan?", a deep voice sounded to her left and she twitched audibly, glaring at the man that had talked to her.

"Gatsu", she muttered, acknowledging her colleague with a short nod. She and Gatsu had crossed paths a few times in the past, being after the same bounties - it mostly ended in a draw and they had decided to share the money. "Are you onto Sazanami as well then?", Gatsu breathed and Himiko nodded shortly.

She had never heard of 'Sazanami' but if Gatsu was after the person, it may have been worth another look.

It couldn't hurt to stay in the business anyway. Before her thoughts could drift off, the ruckus the three genin had caused, finally exploded and a bounty hunter - another one, really?! - with a large straw hat that hid his face, intervened and brought down another man whose bounty was supposed to pay the damage the genin had inflicted.

Gatsu grinned slightly and Himiko sighed. "Is that Sazanami?", she whispered, annoyance colouring her voice and Gatsu laughed loudly, drawing all the attention of the people in the bar on him. Luckily the genin and 'Sazanami' had already left, though Himiko could hear loud, childish voices. "That's the guy!", Gatsu grinned and ushered her out of her comfortable place.

"Let's get going, it's time for a new bet."

Himiko slumped after him, wallowing in self-pity at Kami's unfairness. She had just wanted to find Gosunkugi and was involved in another bounty hunt apparently. Gatsu walked down the dirty, sandy streets of the small village, whistling an odd tune that made Himiko listen with vigor.

"What's that tune?", she asked curiously and Gatsu stopped to turn around to her. "The tune of my people, ya know. I never told ya that I'm originally from Kumo, did I?" Himiko shook her head slowly, denying it. Gatsu shrugged and a bit of melancholy stole it's way into his eyes as his gaze seemed to see much more than the streets. "We used to whistle it any time we came across enemies as to warn our comrades", he smiled and started whistling again.

Himiko nodded slowly, though she felt a bit weird at the sudden sharing of information - she and Gatsu had never talked much the past years and she hadn't even known where he had come from. They walked in silence, with Gatsu whistling the occasional song, and Himiko taking out her blade after a while, practicing while walking. "Why are we even running after Sazanami?", she questioned after a while and Gatsu turned around, looking her up and down as if to measure his answer. "Got a million ryo on his head, that guy", he clarified and Himiko's confused face must've made him impatient because he sighed deeply and added:"It's not really about the money - Sazanami is as much a bounty hunter as a bounty himself. He's one of the best in this part of the elemental nations and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world to see him turned in."

Himiko's thoughts drifted to her father and wondered if someone had already claimed the bounty on his head - she immediately suppressed those thoughts as fear and a slight panic crept slowly into her heart, making her irrational. He had to be alive, otherwise all of her endeavours were for naught. 

Himiko grabbed her dagger with a steadier hand and followed the older man, keeping her gaze locked on his broad back. "But if he's the best, how do you intend to capture him?", she wondered after a while, knowing exactly exactly it would provoke Gatsu - a foxy grin made it's way to her pale features.

Gatsu turned around again, a sneer present on his face. "You should worry about how you are going to be able to take him on then!", he rebutted and Himiko just shrugged, still grinning widely. "I know that I can take him on, just worried about you, old friend", she taunted and the man just grunted, not reacting to her provocation anymore, making her frown in disappointment.

Her verbal fights with Gatsu were the most favourite thing about their random encounters.

"Well, we're here", Gatsu suddenly declared and Himiko slowly went to stand next to him, staring at the little hut. "Here?", she snorted and Gatsu just looked at her with contempt. "I will go first!", he glowered and before Himiko could say anything, he had already opened the door with way more force than necessary.

Chapter Text

It was only a moment until Gatsu was beaten, by the three Genin no less who had him running away, whining on.

Himiko shrank back into the shadows, knowing exactly that taking on skilled shinobi wouldn't do. Gatsu wasn't the strongest by far - especially not if the things he had said about Sazanami were true - but Himiko's own fighting style took time and she needed to prepare for it in order to carry out laidō the way it was supposed to. She drew her blades nonetheless, the metallic sound echoing in the darkness. Her breathing quickened but she tried to keep her movements steady. The door had already been closed and she heard voices coming from inside the hut.

She knew that her chance was over and slowly crept back into the landscape she had come from, promising herself to have a go again the next day. Now, she had just had to find an inn she could stay at for the night.

She groaned loudly.

When morning came, she quickly stood up, dressed, knotted her bandana behind her head and sheathed her swords. Her eyes were fiery and she was sure of herself, being certain that she would catch Sazanami AND Gusunkugi.

She grinned widely and walked towards the hut, not knowing that it had already been deserted. She was bitterly disappointed when she reached it and it was as empty as always. She groaned in frustration and tried to pick up any kind of trail that would lead her to the other bounty hunter. She knew that Gatsu had deserted so there was no way she could count on him.

Maybe it was her arrogance that made her want to best Gatsu and catch Sazanami, or maybe it was her pride as a bounty hunter - it didn't matter anyway, she was determined to find the man. 

She walked down a big path that led to a big river and suddenly stood still, hearing loud voices coming from the river. Was it the kids?She picked up her speed and ran faster, her swords in both hands and a fierce look on her face.

Nobody in this business was allowed to hurt children.

Her breathing was shallow as she finally stopped, eyes narrowing to get a better view of the situation. Her eyes widened comically. The three children were swimming in the water - a blond head, a dark-haired girl and the boy with the dog on his head. Further down the river, there was a boat with a big, golden bell on it and two men.

She narrowed her eyes again and then jumped, catching onto the boat as it passed her. She groaned as the wood dug into her side and hauled herself on board, staring at the two man. One of them - Sazanami - was chained to the bell, gaze as fiery as her own. Her gaze wandered to the other man and immediately she gritted her teeth, gripping her swords tighter.

"GOSUNKUGI!", she yelled while the older man grimaced slightly. "And who are you?", he grunted and Himiko took on the stance of her favoured style, the Nitou kenjutsu, both swords gripped tight and held out in a specific posture.

She lowered herself slowly and grinned. "I've been looking for you for ages, Gosunkugi. You'll pay for what you did to my father!", she growled and the man who was chained to the bell panted loudly. She looked over to him and her eyes widened again. "You're not Sazanami", she said slowly, blood rushing through her body in a fast tempo, making her feel angsty and on edge.

Her father just looked at her, an odd gleam in his dark eyes and she looked over the new scars that marred his ways and the way his shaggy hair lay limply on his shoulders.

"Is this a family reunion?", Gusunkugi mocked and two, identical eyes snapped over to him and he grinned disgustingly. "Well, I-"

But before he could utter another word, a bounty hunter and a few police officers appeared on the other side of the river, with the bounty hunter - a well-known one - holding the chain that tied Sazanami to the bell and smiling warmly.

Gosunkugi tried to flee at that point but Himiko quickly acted and brought him down with the blunt side of her sword, grimacing slightly as the big man tumbled across the deck and then sank down next to the bell.

"Gosunkugi was caught by the bounty hunter who hunted Sazanami, catching them both in the end and bringing them to justice!", the bounty hunter smiled and Himiko immediately gripped her blades and yelled:"I will kill you if you touch him! He's innocent!"

The bounty hunter frowned in confusion. "Gosunkugi?", he asked and Himiko shook her head forcefully. "No! Tokichi is!", she objected and the bounty hunter sighed. "We'll see about that. I just want justice." 'Sazanami' grinned at Himiko with a lightly pained face and told her:"Don't worry, Himiko, I'll make sure that Gosunkugi gets what he deserves."

His daughter hesitated but he smiled again, this time his real smile that she knew from when she was a child. "Don't go against the law for your old tou-san, he can do well himself", Tokichi chuckled and Himiko relaxed and let her swords fall down with a clank, sighing audibly. It was over for now.

Gosunkugi and Tokichi were both brought to prison shortly after, with the bounty hunter - whose name was Yurai Iwao - interrogating both of them.

Himiko didn't sleep well during those days and when it was time for the final condemnation, she travelled back to her village for the first time in four years, now aged seventeen, and stood before the gates, all the hate she felt towards the villagers, suddenly disappearing as soon as she saw her father on his knees before them. She quickly made her way over to them and he looked up, spotting her and grinning conspiratorial, making her shoulders sag down a bit. Iwao cleared his throat and all the villagers listened attentively, not even noticing that Himiko was present.

"I'm here to bring justice to the man who harmed your community and killed three of your own", Iwao's loud voice boomed and a quick glance at Tokichi followed. "But this", he gestured to Tokichi, "Is NOT the man who's responsible for this!", he concluded and loud whispering broke out, with some demanding answers and other just watching fearfully.

Himiko's own heart threatened to burst at this point and she listened with rapid attention. "It was Gosunkugi, who himself committed these crimes and confessed! Tokichi is a free an innocent man!" The villagers just stared at him as he brought out Tokichi's wanted posters and crossed it over.

"I never kill a man without first asking for his view. And it's good I did it or I wouldn't condemned an innocent man", Iwao added after a short pause and Himiko felt tears threatening to break free, after years of searching for her father and Gosunkugi, he was finally cleared of the cruel things they suspected him of doing.

The villagers apologised deeply and freed Tokichi from his ties, begging him for forgiveness. Her father just smiled and nodded slowly, answering their prayers with forgiveness.

Himiko finally started tearing up, drops falling down onto the dirty ground, as she felt strong, calloused hands grabbing her shoulders. She looked up as tears slid down her cheeks and looked into her father's older, but still warm face, that regarded her with a warmth she hadn't seen for years. She grabbed onto him and wailed like the child she still was while he murmured soothing words. "Tou-san", she whispered almost tonelessly and the words seemed to be stuck in her throat.

She looked up at him, only to see his wet cheeks as tears spilled out of his own eyes and hugged him again, hoping that it would never end again.

Chapter Text

They worked on the smithy for a few weeks - after all, it had to be repaired and Himiko blushed when her father wondered what had happened to the old smithy before confessing that she had burnt it down. He had just smiled and went on to work on his next sword.

The villagers had been very firm in their demands for new swords, almost as if they just wanted him to earn more and more money in order to forgive them. Himiko didn't like it. It felt really hypocritical.

She sighed.

It was time to leave.

She took a look at her village that wasn't really her village anymore, thought about Tanigakure that was destroyed by Konoha ninjas, thought about the old samurai who were adapt at laidō and who she wanted to surpass. She gripped her iai-nami tighter, having strapped her katana over her back. She smiled and waved to her father who had one of his rare emotional breakouts, crying all over his best friend as she left them all behind.

She would be gone for a long time, she could feel it.

Himiko took a deep breath and sniffed the clear air that accompanied her everywhere she went - freedom. She grinned widely and waved harder, attaining a wave back and teary eyes that watched her departure. Her father had known for a few days that she would be leaving; she hadn't said anything until the last possible moment but they both knew that she wouldn't be staying.

She had spent too much time outside of her village, lived a life that was very much different from the one she had lived before - being a bounty hunter, a freelancing wannabe samurai. It was her dream. She would become one of the greatest out there.

Her smile evolved into a wolfish grin and she touched her bandana, tightening it until only the silver-white tips of her hair peeked out. She didn't turn back again but promised to write her father whenever she could - he had just lost her for four years and now she had seen her again and she was all grown up and independent. It must've hurt.

Himiko sighed and walked faster, without any kind of aim or target, just on her way to find something to do. Her thoughts churned as she walked over the crunchy leaves that autumn has thrown out of the big trees. She needed a place to go to. She smiled bitterly as a thought entered her mind -

why not go to Konoha?

It was just a stone's throw away and it had a big Hidden village where she could find work for a bit, maybe even sharpen her sword skills. She didn't know of any kenjutsu masters that lived in Konoha but that didn't mean that there weren't people that were good at it. She grinned again, albeit more confident and marched on, a clear goal in her head this time.

She arrived at the border to Konoha about three hours later. Kawa no Kuni and Konoha were only separated by a thin flag, that conveyed the idea of a border. Himiko's expression became grim. No wonder, that Konoha was simply able to march into Tanigakure and smash it to the ground if this was what the border looked like fourty years ago when the countries were at war. Himiko had fastened her two kantanas that were now slung over her shoulders, not tied over her chest as she previously had. It was uncomfortable for long walks. 

Himiko took a deep breath and entered the Land of Fire, knowing secretly that she would probably never come back home. It was just an inkling she had and it scared her but at the same time she felt it was appropriate - she was no longer a citizen of Kawa no Kuni, but a wandering samurai and - she grinned foxily - a bounty hunter who had at least three big bounties under her belt.

She fastened her umanori hakama, having donned the traditional kenjutsu clothing one wore when sparring in a traditional manner. It wasn't something she should wear for fights - it was more for show and very expensive - but she knew it would only have advantages for her to be regarded as a samurai. 

Her walk was long and exhausting and she took two breaks and slept a long time right under the stars. It confused her to no end that she didn't meet anyone but she justified it with the fact that Konoha had been attacked only a few months ago and it was probably still working on reparations and didn't have any ninja to spare to look out for enemies.

Himiko got lost a few times - why did Konoha only have forests? - and finally arrived at the gates of Konohagakure after another long, cold day. She counted herself lucky for having donned her winter sandals that were closed off at the top.

She registrated herself with the two man who stood at the gate and who regarded her clothing with curious eyes. "Alright, Himiko-san", one of them said and held out his hand.

"You'll be able to stay in Konoha for a month until you'll need to registrate for a semi-permanent or a permanent stay." He smiled at her but she just growled and the men exchanged a glance.

"Always those fucking registrations", she muttered as she made her way through the gate and caught the confused expressions on the guards faces, staring at them disapprovingly.

Why did everything only work with registrations?

She hoped her bounty hunter registration had at least gone through, even if she was registered in Suna. She pulled the cloths over her katana as she entered the village and was surprised to find it bustling with life. It was more lively than she had expected it to be. Her curious, lazy eyes skipped over the stalls, taking in all the new expressions. As she walked through the biggest street, whispers began to form as she passed.

"Kami, I didn't know the White Fang reproduced more than once!", one yelled out and Himiko turned around, frowning and gripping her sword hilt. The man who had yelled saw that her hand was reaching for her katana and immediately quieted, exchanging glances with the person next to him. Himiko gritted her teeth and moved on. She didn't know what was going on but she didn't stay to find out. 

She blinked nervously as the streets narrowed down and walked aimlessly through the small alleys. She twitched as the sounds of a ninja disappearing was heard right above her and turned her head upwards to see leaves sailing down the roof. She had seen ninjas disappearing before - of course she had visited Sunagakure - and it still managed to make her feel unwell.

She walked towards what she assumed to be a school, her eyes wandering around as she loosened her bandana, hair sweaty from the long walk and breathed freely, smiling at the cold breeze that made her short hair curl itself. She had to cut it again, she decided as she touched a strand that threatened to curl itself upwards again. Her hair was unmanageable and untamable, always protruding in every direction which is why it was easier and more comfortable to wear something on her head.

In this strange village where nobody had ever seen hair such as hers - as this distinctive type of colour was only present in her family and it's small secondary branches - it felt right to wear it. Her family had mostly died out so there weren't many people left with that kind of hair, she mused and smiled in melancholy.

Even her own father only had the hair colour that came with it but the wild, untamable hair was the one her grandfather and his forefathers had possessed.

She watched curiously as a few children with their teacher, a ninja, came out of the school, standing down in small groups and taking little bokken, katanas that were made out of wood, out of a basket. She smiled wistfully as she thought back on her own childhood, holding a heavy bokken that was her father's and bruising herself with it over hours of training. Two of the kids started moving around each other, their movement barely resembling a kenjutsu style, until one of them - a brown-haired boy with a long, blue scarf - lunged forward, bokken held high, and crashing it down on his opponent's blade who swayed under the impact.

Himiko smiled and managed to break away from the scene, leaving the school grounds and walking back into the heart of the village where - she supposed - the kage tower was. 

Chapter Text

"Hokage-sama, the letter from Suna came per bird. Do you want me to open it?" The Godaime sighed as she regarded her secretary with a damning glare. The secretary twitched and scampered out of her office with murmurs of apology.

Shizune had work to do in thr hospital so everything was left to the Hokage herself. Tsunade sighed and grabbed the letter from the Kazekage, scanning it tiredly before her eyes widened comically. "Oi, Kaedo-san! Get me Hatake Kakashi in here! Within the next two hours. It's important business!", she yelled loudly and the hushed steps of her secretary told her that the man had made his way to the staircase and out of her mind.

She sighed again.

Why did her sensei have to die and leave her with this job?

*

Himiko walked towards the village's center and stared at the Hokage building and the kanji for 'Fire' that seemed so different from what she was used to in the Land of Rivers that didn't have nearly as much woods and forests as Fire had. And especially the buildings were different, built way stronger to withstand floods and storms that frequented the Land every year.

Her eyes wandered around the market and the shinobi that jumped over the roofs, wondering if this was what it felt like to live in a Hidden village.

Feeling safe?

She sighed deeply and pushed her fiddling hands into her pockets, slowly walking towards a weapon stand where a man with dark hair stood, praising his kunai and shuriken. She nodded at him and browsed through the different array of shinobi weapons, only having seen them from far away. She grabbed a kunai and weighed it in her hands. Himiko frowned and grinned in amusement.

"How is one supposed to use them?", she wondered out loud, garnering the vendor's attention. "They're way too light", she explained at his confused expression and the vendor spluttered in rage. "My ware is very good!", he protested and Himiko realised that he thought that she meant the quality of the kunai. "No, no!", she grinned.

"It's just- I use katana which are heavy and good to grab and kunai just seem to small for one to be able to fight with them", she added and the vendor grabbed one of his kunai, holding it out to her.

"Throw it!", he demanded, eyebrows furrowing and his lips tightly presses together. Himiko hesitated and then grabbed the kunai, weighing it in her hands. "How am I supposed to throw it?", she mused and the vendor grabbed her arms roughly, impatiently tightening her hand placement. "That's how you do it", he grunted and then pointing towards a bamboo plate that stood at the far end of his stall.

Her pursed lips crinkled into a smile and she threw the kunai, making sure to put some strength into it. To her disappointment, the kunai didn't even reach the bamboo plate and the vendor gave a deep belly-laugh, grinning widely.

"I told ya, it's not easy." Himiko grunted in acknowledgement and then held out her hands. "Let me try again!", she demanded and was handed another kunai. She threw again, with even more strength put into it, and this time the kunai grazed the bamboo plate before falling to the ground.

The vendor rubbed his cleft chin and then faltered: "Well, most of the kids learn it early on, but I think you just need to throw it more precise. You got katana with you, don't ya? Imagine the first stance of Nuki, light and fast and then throw it only with the tips of your fingers."

Himiko frowned and roughly grabbed another kunai, rushing into the first stance of laidō - Nuki was just the western word for it -, moving her feet graciously and preparing her arms as if she wanted to strike her opponent.

She held the kunai between her finger tips, nearly letting it fall down, and threw. She grinned widely as the kunai hit into the bamboo plate, albeit the outer part, but she managed to aim it correctly. The vendor laughed again, clapping his hands.

"So, samurai-san, you'll need to pay for all those kunai you wasted", his grin turned wolfish and Himiko groaned loudly, grabbing her pouch which would be way more empty soon. 

*

Grumbling, she made her way to the Hokage tower, her pouch that contained her money being a lot lighter while her weapon pouch was a lot heavier.

She looked up at the tower, curious and made her way to open the big doors, as she was suddenly jumped out of nowhere.

With a angry scream, she grabbed her newly bought kunai and held it out in the way she held out her katana.

"Maa, don't stand in the way, samurai-san", a lazy voice sounded next to her ear and she twitched, glancing over her shoulder. Masked face, a Konoha headband and eyes curved into a smile - a Konoha shinobi.

Her jaw went slack when she saw his hair and she sputtered.

"H-how? You can't have this h-hair!"

The man opened his eye again - why was his headband over the other eye? - and looked at her curiously. "Why not?" He questioned and his voice didn't sound as amused as before. "T-that's a Hatake trait!", Himiko hissed loudly and the shinobi stiffened.

"Ah", he made and Himiko grabbed the kunai harder, wishing she would've grabbed her katana instead.

"I'm an Hatake, you see", the man countered and his eye curved again, as if to convey that he was smiling. "Impossible!", Himiko yelled and pointed at the shinobi, throwing all caution away. "Why's that?", the wannabe Hatake asked and she grinned widely.

"Because me and my father are the last ones!" Knowing that she had now beaten his statement, she pushed her kunai back into her pouch and crossed her arms. The shinobi probably smiled again and rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

"Ahh, well, I'm Hatake Kakashi." Himiko firmly shook her head and glared at Kakashi. "I'm Hatake Himiko, but well, there's no way that YOU are an Hatake!" Kakashi looked at the sky, seemingly in thoughts, before he looked at her again, taking in her wild, silver hair, her dark eyes and the scowl on her pale face and - especially - the little beauty mark next to her mouth. It was scarily familiar. "Ah, my father was Hatake Sakumo, he came to Konoha as a little boy", he suggested and Himiko frowned, thinking quickly before her eyes widened.

"Not Hatake Dansei's nephew?", she questioned quietly and Kakashi shrugged. "Maa, I don't know, but his father's name was Hatake Danji", he clarified and Himiko's eyes widened again, her jaw slack and hands dangled uselessly next to her narrow hips.

"Ah, that's my grandfather's brother", she muttered and Kakashi smiled. "See? I'm an Hatake, through and through." Himiko nodded mutely, feeling numb.

"Ah, I thought the line would die with me", she murmured, embarrassed. Kakashi shrugged, rubbing his arm where - unknowingly to Himiko - his ANBU tattoo lay. Before any of them could utter another word, a breathless, young man appeared next to them, grabbing Kakashi by the arm.

"Hatake-san! You can't run away from me anymore, the Hokage wants to see you now!"

Kakashi held up his hands in defeat, motioning to Himiko and said: "I was just talking to this unlucky woman who has lost her husband." The man stared slack-jawed at Himiko and his eyes bulged out comically.

"Hatake-san! I didn't know you had a sister!" Himiko sputtered, Kakashi chuckled slightly and the man shook his head and pointed at them.

"You're both coming with me!", he glowered and dragged them by their hands in the direction of the Hokage tower. 

Chapter Text

Tsunade, who had her hands full with organising the academy children's trip, sighed as a loud knock sounded through her office. "Come in, Hatake", she said loudly and the door opened.

She blinked once, twice and then started laughing loudly, making the two silver-haired people frown in confusion. "I was just looking for you, brat!", Tsunade yelled and pointed at the more feminine one of the silver-haired duo, making the woman recoil in fear, a slight widening of her eyes and the curling of her lip being a indicator of the way she felt.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and reached for his pouch, getting out his book.

"Maa, Hokage-sama, she's just come to the village because of her husband's de-"

Tsunade stomped once and jumped up, glaring at the elite ninja. "Don't give me your crappy excuses, Kakashi!" Her eyes were fixed on Himiko, a slight smile on her lips, her fists curled tightly.

"Hatake Himiko, you're a bounty hunter, aren't you?"

The woman smiled slightly, her nervousness showing but she stood taller, straightening her back and nodding. "Well", Tsunade muttered and sat back down, eyes fixed on the two look-alikes.

"The Kazekage sent me a note telling me about a bounty hunter registrating under the Hatake name. He felt it was worth a missile. Are there more of you, girl?", Tsunade questioned, looking closely at the practiced motions the girl made after she stepped forward, shaking her head slowly.

"No, just me and my father, Hatake Tokichi", Himiko replied, making Kakashi move a bit behind her, hiding his disappearing masterly. "Hm, well, you're a samurai, right?" Another nod.

"Would you be interested in spending a few months here, training with the village's kenjutsu master?"

Tsunade smiled but it wasn't nice at all as Himiko misinterpreted it as such. The girl smiled widely and nodded vigorously. "That's one of the reasons I left my village, Hokage-sama. I want to become a master at the laidō kenjutsu technique", the girl explained, eyes twinkling and a slight smile grazing her thin lips.

Tsunade noticed that she seemed very passionate about kenjutsu, leaning back into her chair with a satisfied nod. "All right, we'll give you the address for a shinobi building around here that has a few, small apartments left. It wouldn't do for Konoha to make a guest sleep at the hotel for months, no?"

Another foxy grin, eerily similar to Naruto's, as Kakashi noticed with a twitch, and Himiko bowed at the waist, unable to hide her excitement.

"Yes, Godaime-sama! Thank you so much for the opportunity, I won't disappoint you!"

Tsunade yelled after Kaedo, her secretary, who rushed into the room, bringing a stack of papers with him that made Tsunade want to bang her head against the wall. "You'll show Himiko-san the way to the Gyaku, won't you?"

Kaedo grumbled something that sounded affirmative and pushed the papers onto Tsunade's desk before he motioned for Himiko to follow him. The girl herself could barely contain her happiness, following Kaedo on light feet.

*

After the door had closed, Tsunade'a gaze fixed itself on Kakashi who had his face buried deep in his book. Tsunade's left eye twitched and she grabbed the younger man by his Jonin vest.

"Listen here, I don't want to see those dirty books (TM) anymore, understood?!", she raged and Kakashi nodded slowly, unfazed at the Hokage's anger. Tsunade took a deep breath and let Kakashi down, motioning for him to sit on a chair.

"What's your opinion on this whole matter?", she asked quietly and the man shrugged, staring into space. "Ah, well, she's an Hatake, I would think. The information she has on my family isn't exactly public knowledge. Well, ah, the haircolour is right too but you can't know for sure, huh? Send her to Ibiki for a bit", Kakashi concluded, hands wandering to his pouch before he twitched slightly and left his hands were they were before. Tsunade nodded slowly, sighing.

"Well, now it's the right time to take up the Hatake clan restoration program that was put on hold a few years ago, right?", she asked with a mischievous grin and the silved-haired shinobi sputtered, enraged. "She's a child, Hokage-sama!" The Hokage herself laughed and shook her head.

"She isn't. She's a few years older than your genin, only a bit younger than Genma, if I'm right", she countered, making the man pale considerably. "You can't really consider...not Genma..!" The Hokage shrugged, grinning and watched as the Hatake flew out of her window, shattering it in the process and laughed madly, probably giving Kakashi nightmares for the next seven years.

Tsunade grinned slightly, chuckling to herself and was satisfied with the knowledge that he didn't know didn't want to use anyone for the restauration of his Clan - her thoughts on the whole restauration program were, that it was a waste of time and was condemned to fail anyway.

They would take the Hatake child in should it be proven that she indeed was an Hatake, of course and should she want to stay in the village.

Tsunade grinned again, frightening Kaedo, who had just come in and muttered to herself: "We will find something to ensure that."

Kaedo nearly pissed himself then and there, trembling before the might of his Hokage who he normally stood up to, but when she was in one of her moods, it was better to act as if you don’t exist.

He took the files he had wanted to bring in back to his desk, sighing inaudible as he was able to sit down quietly without her coming for him. "KAEDO!" He had been much too happy about the silence and was now punished by Kami. Kaedo muttered quietly under his breath as he dragged himself back to Tsunade's office, looking at her with his punishable expression. Her murderous glaze quieted him within a second and he pushed back his fear, standing up straight and clearing his throat.

"How can I be of help, Hokage-sama?", he asked, tone only slightly off and Tsunade grunted.

"Ah, I need Genma Shiranui", she replied, her anger having finally dissipated and Kaedo nodded, content with his task as Genma-san was one of the shinobi that was easy to find. He bowed by the waist and made his way out of the office, running down the staircase as fast as he could. 

Chapter Text

Genma sighed tiredly as he watched the girl pary his strikes fast, but sloppy. They had been doing the same thing for the past month with no improvements.

"Are you trying to do the Nantou technique?" he questioned, frowning and grabbing his own katana, weighing it in his hands. Himiko nodded, her breath coming in short intervals and sweat drenched her Hakama and the sleeveless shirt she wore under her normal clothes and tucked it into her nagoya obi, that was tied around her waist.

"You're even worse at it than I first anticipated", Genma sighed and Himiko immediately stopped moving, staring at him, her eyes narrowed. "I was the best one in my village at Nantou, even better than my father!", she protested and wiped away the sweat that dripped down her forehead. Genma taked and shook his head, mimicking her gesture as he wiped over his neck with the back of his hands that were clad in dark gloves.

"Well, then your father isn't good at Nantou. How do you ever want to learn laidō if you focus on your bad Nantou? Maybe two blades aren't the right thing for you", the Jonin objected, taking in the way here forehead furrowed and her lips were pressed tight, her posture going rigid.

"I can do laidō and I will be the best at it!", she snapped, glaring at him and Genma raised his hands in a gesture of submission, taking out a senbon and pushing it in between his lips, a comfortable gesture that he had done thousands of times.

"Your footwork is even more sloppy than that of an academy student", he ticked off, holding up his hands for her to see.

"You're too arrogant in your strikes, thinking you can overpower your enemy with just that", he went on. "And you can't balance, for Kami's sake. Just one katana is hard for you to hold, but two? It looks like a drunk chicken", he concluded and Himiko gritted her teeth.

He had pushed her quite a lot, Genma concluded, chewing on his senbon.

"I'm not arrogant! I've killed men with those blades and I will do it again because I'm good at it!", she retorted, drawing her blades again and pushing herself into the first stance of Nantou.

Genma stopped dead in his tracks and grinned widely, confusing the woman. "That's it!", he exclaimed, grabbing his senbon. "You're not made for two katana and you're not made for fighting!" Himiko frowned, ready to fight him again but he held up his hands, grinning foxily.

"That's just it, Himiko-chan" - her eyebrows ticked - ,,You're good for killing, you can assassinate with one katana, but fights? Not your thing. You're fast but you don't like confrontation. Your work is sloppy but could be improved if you only use one blade. It's neither laidō nor Nantou for you - it's the simple style of an assasin that you should learn."

He grinned widely, spread his arms and looked at her. She just stood there, arms hanging limp, her katana still in her hands but her eyes were looking far away.

"You may be right", she hesitantly admitted and Genma nodded. "Of course I am", he snorted and grinned cocky which made her sent him a glare. "We should work with that", Genma said and reached for one of her katana that she hesitantly gave away.

He put it down next to him and looked up at her again. She seemed unsure of what to do next and Genma sighed impatiently. "Take the blade with both of your hands", he ordered and she did just that, grabbing it slightly lighter than he wanted her to but he kept quiet for now.

"Now, you'll hit me", Genma smiled and Himiko frowned again. "Am I supposed to kill you?", she questioned with a sceptical expression and Genma shook his head.

"No, but you'll want to kill him. Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!", he yelled the last words and three copies of him appeared. Himiko stared at them, slack-jawed and began stuttering. "H-how?" Genma just grinned.

"It's a ninja technique, something you should learn, by the way. It's always easier if you know some jutsu", he answered and his clones stepped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning bloodthirsty at Himiko, who gripped her katana harder.

"Go on", Genma ordered his clones and a started whistling a tune as his clones launched themselves into the open space before them, fleeing from Himiko who ran after them, sword held high and a murderous expression on her pale face.

Genma pushed his hands into his pockets and pushed his senbon back into his mouth, walking happily whistling towards the end of training ground 9, making his way to his favourite dango place.

-

Himiko coughed loudly as she tried to draw in another breath, letting herself fall onto the dirty ground that smelled like grass and fall leaves. She smiled slightly, being reminded of home as she touched the wet ground and rubbed the dirt between her fingers, looking at it intently.

She missed Rivers.

She sighed and tried to calm her unorganised mind that threatened to convert into a headache. There was no use in trying to tell herself that she could come back to her home - It wasn't her home anymore. Her mind wandered to her father, Tokichi, who she had left and her eyes began to burn.

She sniffed slightly and rubbed her dirt covered arm over her eyes, trying to wish away the tears that threatened to fall.

"Oi, crybaby!", Genma's loud voice sounded through the training ground and Himiko groaned, rolling herself onto her back, staring up at the Jonin, who smirked at her and tied his hitai-ate bandana back.

"Have you been laying here for the whole twenty minutes I've been gone?", he asked, pulling out another senbon from his pouch and handing it to her.

Himiko roughly pushed herself up with her hands, blinking the sweat away and reached up for the senbon, looking at it with confusion. "What am I supposed to do with that? I've just gotten the hang of kunai", she muttered and Genma shrugged.

"Start chewing on it", he advised. "It looks cool", he added, grinning widely and Himiko sighed again, pushing the senbon in between her thin lips, feeling the unfamiliar feeling with her tongue and finally biting down on it, blinking.

"It's relaxing", she murmured and Genma nodded, his shoulders dropping. "It's time to talk to the Hokage about your improvement", he said, pulling her up with his right hand and reaching for a scroll that was pushed into his pouch with his left hand. He threw it to her and she caught it, her balance wavering ever so slightly.

"Read it." She opened the scroll and her eyes darted over it, taking in the words and she frowned. "What's that?", she questioned, her voice dripping with a slightly veiled anger. "Katon-jutsu", Genma answered, not being fazed by her glares. "I don’t need jutsu! I'm not a ninja! I can't do anything with my chakra-thing!", she snapped and Genma sighed.

"We'll need to start on the basic chakra control exercises anyway, just like with out academy students but I wanted to show you what you could do if you learned to use your chakra."

He finished his argument and quickly went through his hand signs, taking a deep breath and breathing out a large ball of fire, that burnt down the nearest tree.

He coughed slightly, fire not being his element, and turned around to Himiko who's eyes were fixed onto the burnt tree, her gaze glazed over and her mouth open.

"That's brilliant", she breathed and Genma knew that he had finally reached her, after he nagged her for so long about being a ninja.

"You can be both", he said, voice quiet. "A samurai and a kunoichi. They don't cancel each other out", he added and grabbed her shoulders, locking her wide eyes with his. He smiled, his first real smile in her presence and then realised that the girl had really grown on him.

He took a step back, rubbing his arm where his ANBU tattoo lay and his smile dropped.

"Only if you want to, of course. You'd need to stay here and learn what it means to be a ninja of Konoha." She twitched, hesitating, but her eyes darted back to tree, she shrugged and then looked back at him, her eyes shining with hesitancy.

"Decide until tomorrow", he ordered. "We'll tell the Hokage of your decision when we talk to her about your improvement." He turned around, walking towards the end of the training ground and then looked back at her.

"You'd be a good kunoichi", he smiled and the shunshined away, leaving Himiko with dangling arms and burning eyes, her heart fluttering.

She had finally something that could be her own.

Could belong. 

Chapter Text

The Godaime stared at the two people standing before her: Genma, hands deep in the pockets of his anbu pants and a lazy grin on his face, and Kakashi's cousin that seemed to gain more confidence the longer the silence reigned.

"You want to become a kunoichi?", Tsunade repeated what Himiko had just thrown into the room and sighed when the girl nodded furiously, pale complexion reddening with excitement.

Tsunade rubbed her aching head. "Well, ah, I don't know what the proper procedure would be but we can't exactly find a genin team for you, can't we? And we don't even know if you have enough chakra to be a kunoichi as of yet", she explained sensibly and then looked at Shizune, her assistant, who smiled warmly at Himiko.

"Himiko-san, we could find you an older shinobi who has experience in training genin and who isn't on mission roll right now", she said and Himiko nodded shortly, her shoulders sagging down. She had been scared they would turn her down because of her missing experience.

"Hatake Kakashi would be the obvious choice but he's been put on mission roll again after his team- ah, well, he's on a mission right now anyway", Tsunade pondered and Himiko shrugged, not really wanting to admit that she didn't care for a cousin she had never known and only seen twice since she entered the village.

Suddenly, Tsunade began grinning maliciously and her gaze wandered to Genma, who had pushed a senbon into his mouth, staring into space.

"Genma!", she yelled and the shinobi nearly twitched, but year-long experience in ANBU kept him from doing so. "Hokage-sama", he replied, muttering quietly.

"Your job will be to teach the basics of what it means to be a kunoichi to Himiko-san. I want you to instruct her well - start from the beginning like you would with- ah, with Naruto probably", she commanded, grinning when reaching the last part of her order and Genma sighed deeply.

"I will, Hokage-sama", he murmured while Himiko frowned. "Who's this Naruto and who would name their child after a Ramen ingredient?", she wondered, shuddering at the thought and Genma finally twitched, sputtering.

Before he could utter another S-rank secret - yes, there was a LONG story behind that - Tsunade answered: "One of our most troublesome genin." Himiko grunted as an answer but was a bit miffed at the thought of being compared to a troublemaker child.

Genma sighed deeply and reached into his pouch, pushing a senbon into Himiko's hands who took it smiling. Tsunade watched the exchange with raised eyebrows, grinning widely before Genma shot her an irritated look.

"Well, Hokage-sama, I'll take my leave now, got to get my affairs in order before I'm chained to an academy student for the rest of my shinobi career", he announced loudly and shunshined away as Tsunade snorted loudly, amused at the man's antics while Himiko crossed her arms with a petulant look on her pale face.

Tsunade sighed again, looking the woman up and down. "I don’t know whether you'll be successful in your endeavour", she admitted and Himiko stiffened immediately. "But I do hope so", Tsunade added, grabbing the paper Shizune had filled out for her after Himiko had expressed her desire to stay in Konoha.

"You'll take this to the third door down the hallway", she convinced and Himiko nodded hesitantly, grabbing the paper and reading it quickly.

"This is the document for the registration for a permanent stay in Konoha", she whispered, eyes widening and Tsunade nodded, satisfied with the reaction.

"It is, the semi-permanent stay only allows up to five years and you'll need to stay longer to fulfill the requirements we expect chuunin or jonin to fulfill", she explained and Himiko nodded hesitantly, her mind feeling numb.

This would seal her future.

Staying in Konoha for a long time it was.

She sighed and grabbed a pen, signing the paper quickly before she could give her mind any time to ponder about it. "It would be an honor, Hokage-sama", she smiled and it felt as if a big burden had been taken away from her.

No more hunting people, even though she had been good at it. No more running around and waiting for a place to sleep at. She would have a home again.

"Go on, girl", Tsunade grunted and Himiko nearly floated out of the room, her relief nearly touchable. "And take that damned senbon out!", Tsunade yelled after her, making her grin widely. 

-

Himiko's eyes burnt as she made her way out of the Hokage tower and she stilled and let her way wander over the buildings and the people - shinobi and civilians - alike that made their way to whatever business they had.

Is this home? she wondered and rubbed her eyes. She sniffed slightly and then halted in her thoughts. Why was she crying? Tears spilled over her flushed cheeks and she hiccuped once, twice and then took a deep breath.

"It's fine", she murmured and rubbed her arms over her eyes viciously, willing the traitorous tears to go away.

"I'm home. Tou-san's safe and happy and there won't be any bounties to hunt", she calmly collected herself, taking in another deep breath and hunched her shoulders, her eyes dropping into their usual, lazy position and she pushed her hands deep into her pockets and chewed the senbon mechanically.

"Time to go home!", she grinned widely and her mood picked up as she bounced through the streets towards her new home that she hadn't loved properly until then. The Gyaku building where she had lived the past month, was a recently renovated building for retired shinobi - which there were a lot of and they tended to be a bit... louder.

Himiko shuddered as she remembered the screams from her neighbour, a man in his thirties that had lost both legs in the Kyuubi attack and apparently had vicious, vivid nightmares that even haunted him when he was awake - his eyes were always widened and he rushed around a lot, panic clear on his sunken-in face.

She acted as if she didn't see the kunai he always held in his hand when he made his way out of the building. She hadn't seen much of him as of yet - just the screaming remained. 

-

It was one of the things that had made her hesitate in her decision. She was scared of what might happen to her - something could scar her just as much as the man and she would never be the same. She could lose limbs or even her life - something that she really valued.

Himiko's mind was rushing through its thoughts as she opened the door to her little apartment. 

It was sparsely furnitured, all of it had been passed down from the guy who had lived here before but it seemed more homely the more Himiko lived in it. Himiko sighed and sat down on the little, dark red couch.

Her eyes wandered over her little home, a warm feeling in her chest and she started untying her obi, that was part of the traditional clothing for samurai.

Oh, Kami, she would need new clothes if she wanted to become a shinobi, her mind supplied, panicking and Himiko groaned, stripping off her hakama until she was only clad in her underwear, shivering.

"They need to do something about the heating here", she muttered to herself and sighed as she left her clothes, crumpled, on the couch in favor of her comfier clothes that she kept in the little closet by her bed. She had mourned the existence of a futon, definitely, but she could admit that a bed has its own advantages. 

She took out simple trousers and a wide, long shirt, throwing both on and then sat down on her bed, staring at the two katana that were leaning onto the wall, clad in their sheaths.

She grabbed her iai-nami, weighing it in her hand and smiled as she saw the little curbs in the sheath that came from using it as much as she did.

Her eyes wandered to her shobu-zukuri that she had discarded in favor of the much older blade. She let the iai-nami drop onto her bed and grabbed the shobu-zukuri.

She let her hand glide over the black blade, smiling at the memory of her father forging the blade. She pushed it back into its sheath and leaned it against the wall, letting herself fall onto her bed, dark eyes towards the ceiling and she smiled slightly.