Konohagakure no Sato, Saturday Afternoon (Fandom Time) / Feb. 15th (Konoha Time)

[intraspective]

Really, it had been a month and a half now and Ino had to admit that she was—feeling better. Between her father teaching Zack (and water walking had proved to be quite a hilarious thing to watch) and her father teaching her, she was feeling useful and busy without it being anything too taxing.

She hadn’t seen either of her previous teammates, which stung, but Ino stomped down firmly on that as she disentangled her mind from her father’s and ignored his look. It wasn’t the first time she’d avoided… whatever it was he’d wanted to talk about.

And she doubted it would be the last.

“That’s enough for now,” he said, after a moment. “How about you go and get some air?”

It was phrased as a suggestion, but Ino was well used to her father’s orders. With a quick kiss to his cheek, she left the room, went down the long, dark hall and out into the sunshine. It was a lovely day—February, already, which made her head hurt if she thought too hard about the days and how they related to Fandom—but, Ino thought, as she leaned against the balcony and pulled out her phone, hitting speed dial, maybe all that time had been what she’d needed.

And, across universes, her phone call reached…

[For ze raspberried one. Mwahaha. NFB.]

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[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

The one good thing, Hinata thought, was that they’d gotten their non-combatants out. Not just Hyuuga Clan, but all of those in their area, sweeping them up with the efficiency of manner and steely determination that their Clan was known for.

It was solely the person who led them that left people surprised.

Hinata worked as hard as any, her Byakugan active and enabling her to keep up with the others, spotting civilians who'd lost their minds and were hiding rather than properly evacuating. It might get them in trouble, after, the doors that Hinata ordered broken down in a firm, but soft voice, as she went about saving the lives of those who'd not save themselves. But that was a small consideration.

Property damage, after all, could be repaid. Lives could not be given back once lost. Hinata gauged her orders accordingly and the Hyuuga moved with her words.

It was absolutely terrifying. Standing on the edge, caught between the heiress and herself, and not allowed to waver even once for fear that her fear would infect the others and bring it all crashing down around their ears. Things had to keep moving, things couldn't wait, there was no time to be scared and yet every particle of her was.

And that changed nothing.

Orders still had to be given, people still needed to evacuate and people kept looking at her for guidance when she felt like she had none to give. Hinata stuck to common sense. Stuck to what was obvious--get the people out; drag them if they wouldn't come on their own. Whatever was coming was bad and the village was in desperate disarray. There would be no help coming if they messed up.

That, at least, she knew better than to tell her people, for they were her people, however unlikely a leader she may have been for them. Telling them that would lead to panic, needlessly so. Better to lie with a steady voice and far-seeing eyes and say that things were fine in this area and they could do it all themselves and it was best to let the aide go to more desperate quarters.

And, in believing, in that faith, Hinata was quietly pleased under the terror of she was going to screw this up more than anything, to see that people were moving, people were believing and people were getting it done. Street after street the village was emptying out. She could do nothing for the streets further away and yet steadily, they were emptying out at least one major area of the village. Children moving, eyes wide and with trembling lips, parents with grim determination and pale worry etched in equal amounts over their faces. There was, for all of the confusion, less sound than there might have been.

Konohagakure no Sato was a village that knew about war very well. This might have been war, this might not have been, they had no way of telling yet--either way, it was an attack and, as an attack, it was being treated, now, in peace exactly the same way it would have been in war.

People moved. People left and fled to the shelters built to survive anything.

Then the world exploded around them and she bowed her head, wrapping her hands around her midsection to protect Yei before remembering that she'd given Yei to another girl, a tiny Hyuuga child with hair still in the tufted pony tails of infants, and asked her to keep the keep safe. The woman's nurse had promised.

And that, Hinata thought, closing her eyes and seeing everything anyway as she crouched low, protected by two others of her Clan, was all they could do. Promise to survive and do their best.

And rise from the ashes.