Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

{{A/N- I’m not the first to play with some of the concepts that enter the next few chapters. And though I forget who it was that first toyed with the ideas, thanks for the inspiration.
In reply to the reviews I’m current with… I’ve got several chapters written already, hehehe. This gets better. Trust me. And thanks for the support and inspiration. C.D. }}
Making Promises - Part III

Sakura sat in the bench, letting the afternoon sun warm her back. *Alright… My name is as safe as it’s going to get. Damn it. On to the next problem; Hinata…*
Sakura opened her eyes, the first and most painfully obvious answer sat before her.
*I wonder if it’s that easy…*
She got up and crossed the street. The sign high over the street spoke simply; ‘Konoha Central Library’.
The wide double doors had been left open to the warm afternoon breeze, though the subtle smells of the inside still dominated the air inside.
Sakura smiled. Dust, paper, and ink. The smells of higher learning. *Well, that and spent chakra.*
The receptionist nodded and smiled as Sakura approached her, “Good afternoon, young konouchi, how may I help you today?”
Sakura smiled back and lifted her goggles, “I’m looking for information on the Hyuuga clan. I’m curious about them, but my friend doesn’t really like to talk about it much.”
The receptionist nodded again, “We have a lot of information. Are you more interested in history, genealogy, or more technical information?”
Sakura blinked. *That easy?* “You have technical information? I was here for history, but I suppose a quick peek wouldn’t hurt.”
The girl nodded again, “Very well. You’ll find history in the area marked ‘villages’. Go down to ‘Clans of Konoha’ and the Hyuuga section should be close by. The listings are alphabetical.”
“Naturally.” Sakura beamed, “Thank you.” She turned toward the area she’d been pointed to and forced herself to walk a slow, steady pace. *Damn that lady nods a lot.*
Finding the Hyuuga section proved easier than she had imagined, due mostly to its sheer size. The genealogy section was massive and the clan history seemed large enough to predate the creation of Konoha.
She read the end caps quickly, going faster as dates grew older.
The oldest one was high up, though not unreachable. *Librarians almost have to be ninja just to get this stuff put away…* She leapt upward, gently lifting the scroll as she peaked and landing softly.
The thick dust had fallen off in a plume as Sakura had fallen and the linen parchment was a little stiff. The preservation jutsu was an older style, and in need of attention.
Sakura traced the pattern on the end cap and pricked her finger on the old needle, letting it take the requisite blood.
The linen changed color drastically and tightened around the scroll, the lettering grew crisp and legible once more. *Who let these get so old?* Sakura shook the dust from her hands and spun the scroll to the beginning.
*Lady Setoshin Selena and her husband to be, Lord Hyuuga Itachjiro, have sword fealty to the Lord Hokage and the Village Hidden in the Leaf. A long time friend of the Uchiha clan, Lady Setoshin has proven herself a valuable asset to the growth of Konoha in the face of rival villages.*
Sakura sighed, *This isn’t what I need…*
“The history of the Hyuuga clan is very detailed and very long.”
Sakura jumped. The receptionist stood nearby. *Damn she’s sneaky.* “Yeah. But my real interest is the byukaguran.”
“Many are interested in the all seeing eye.” The receptionist pulled a scroll from the shelf. Dust fell from the document and the mottling pattern of mildew coursed the linen as she unrolled it, “But I’m afraid so much has been lost… Insects, mold, time itself even.”
“Hasn’t anyone shown you how to renew the preservation jutsu?” Sakura could hardly believe the blank stare she received.
“Look.” She put the scroll she held up to the light, “I renewed the jutsu on this one a few moments ago.” She pointed out the damaged portions briefly, “It will never be new again, but it won’t get any worse for a while. Long enough for someone to…”
The girl just stared at her, stepping back, hands trembling. Her jaw quivered, yet steadily came open.
*Aww, nutbunnies…*
“ANBU!!” The echo of the girl’s shriek powdered the classic library silence.
Sakura didn’t have time to panic before three blasts of chakra smoke landed. She dropped the scroll and stepped back, hands up. *Don’t panic… don’t panic…* The hammering of her heart clearly wasn’t listening.
The smoke cleared quickly and swords were drawn. The lead anbu looked Sakura over, then turned to the receptionist.
“What seems to be the problem here?”
The girl pointed at Sakura, “Her! There she is! Don’t let her escape!!”
Sakura shrugged, “I’m seriously not going anywhere.”
The leader looked to one of the others.
The second sniffed deeply under his mask, “Faint chakra. Perhaps three units fresh. There was a blood focus involved.”
“She was handling that scroll there! The one at her feet!”
The leader turned to face the receptionist, his shoulders slackening as his sword fell to his side. “You called us because someone was reading?”
“NO!” The girl flushed, “She was using jutsu!”
The third anbu coughed, his fit degenerating into a chuckle as he turned away.
The second scooped up the scroll, examining it. “I don’t need forensics to tell you this scroll has not been damaged.” He rerolled it carefully. “It’s probably in better condition for whatever she did to it.”
Sakura cleared her throat, “If I may…?” She reached slowly for a random scroll.
The anbu all watched her carefully, their swords coming up as their grips tightened.
Sakura slowly traced the glyph on the end cap and pricked her finger.
The paper crinkled almost loudly in the vacuum of sound, dust falling away as the age was repaired.
The lead anbu put two fingers to his masked brow. ‘You called us…” He turned to the receptionist, his voice rising to a growl, ‘Because someone, a nin more specifically, was using jutsu. And that jutsu was repairing what years of neglect have caused.” He ripped the scroll the girl held out of her grip and thrust it into her face, “When more than half the library is reduced to this!?”
The girl stepped back as the anbu sheathed his blade.
“Your life Will be in danger the next time you call upon us.” He punctuated his promise with his teleport away, the others a blink behind him.
The receptionist’s eyes burned with her inner fires. She stepped on the scroll as she leaned forward, “You will not get away with this! The Lord Hokage will be informed and you will not survive the night!”
“Say what you like to me, but take your foot off of the scroll. It deserves no such disrespect.”
“Disrespect this!” The girl spit in Sakura’s face. “You speak with strength you do not possess.”
Sakura felt her face harden and her fists clench. *This bitch is grinding my last nerve!*
Sakura pulled down the wetted face wraps. She stepped forward, ‘You want to make bones about it? Fine. I’m going to finish what I came here for. I’ll be exiting the same door I entered in twenty minutes. We’ll see who’s got the malice to back up her attitude.” Sakura stepped forward again.
The girl stepped back, keeping out of arm’s length.
“I thought as much.” And she picked up the abused scroll. She began to restore the scroll, turning her side to the girl, “Goodbye.”
The receptionist’s face cracked into a dark sneer and she stormed away, her footfalls echoing like hammers on the marble. Sakura looked up in surprise, *Damn. She really was bluffing… Maybe she‘ll wait outside. After Neji‘s crap, I could stand to…*
Sakura’s mind derailed as two words reached out and grabbed her. ‘Byukaguran’s formation’.
Sakura straightened the linen parchment, reading quickly; *The Byukagurna’s formation in later generations seems to be not only stable, but strong. Normally a sign of a thriving clan, the Hyuuga Main Branch has become increasingly paranoid and fearful of the strength displayed by the Branch families.*
*Is this it…?* Sakura licked dry lips in anticipation…
*The use of a ‘protection seal’, while frowned upon by the older generations, is gaining momentum as a method of control over the branch families and has already been used for ill purpose. This, however, seems to have no effect upon stemming the tide of families the seal is thrust upon. Those that resist are put to the blade by their brethren.
*Perhaps the only useful detail of these events is the news that the Elder Lords have convinced the council to keep the secrets of both the Byukaguran and the Hyuuga protection curse secret in the deepest chambers of the Compound library.*
*DAMN!!* Sakura looked around guiltily as the word echoed.
*The last hope is that the use of this curse seal is some sort of sick fad that will fade with time.*
Sakura rolled the scroll quickly, sliding it back into the cubby.
*Great. Now all I have to do is break into the Hyuuga Complex.* She blew her bangs upward, *Only slightly impossible and relatively insane!*
She let gravity pull her back against the shelf behind her, wincing as an offset scroll jabbed her in the back.
“What kind of two bit library is this!” She whispered harshly.
The scroll was one of two labeled clearly, ‘Hanuro’. And it appeared to be quite new.
She spun it open. The whole thing was blank, save for a few simple lines of text; *Lady Hanuro Sakura from an unknown region entered Konoha and claimed the ruined quarter of Konoha, once known as the Uchiha Compound. The Compound is currently slated for reconstruction during the summer months.*
Sakura rolled the scroll and slipped it away.
*I thought Neji was subtle, but he’s slick too.* Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, *Itachi is gonna be pissed.*
Sakura’s eyes opened, almost drawn to the aged scroll. ‘Hanuro’.
She pulled it out, her hand trembling. Her hands were sweaty suddenly, forcing Sakura to wipe them on her vest. She wound the scroll slowly, coming to the top, surprised to see so much history.
*The Hanuro clan was one of the early clans to pledge itself to Konoha, earning a seat of authority in the council despite the Lord Hanuro’s obvious lack of fighting prowess. He was, however, a skilled diplomat and modestly accepts the honor of guiding Konoha through its early years and convincing many clans to join the Village Hidden in the Leaf.
*The Lady Hanuro is not to be forgotten. Her greatest achievement was the foundation of Konoha’s Ninja Academy. All of Konoha’s early Genin were instructed by Lady Hanuro until her death at the age of ninety.
*Haruno Himie was the first of his clan to be born in Konoha and was a close friend of the Second Hokage, inspiring him along his meteoric rise through the ranks.*
“My clan… We were important in Konoha once…Here anyways…” Sakura muttered to herself. Her mind wandered for a moment. Poking into the shadows of old memory, seeing if her clan had been half as glorious in her own home.
She rolled downward, past battle awards and domestic citations of honor. Past the standard records of deaths and births. Down To the final entry.
*The Hanuro Clan, old and respected in Konoha, has been without strong contribution to Konoha for some time. Some speculate that the clan has exhausted itself, burned out.
*Others believe the time is near for a great work, that the ancestors of the clan have pooled their power and await a single heir destined for greatness.
*However, despite either belief, the clan has ended. The Lord Hanuro was assassinated recently, the culprit and impact are unknown and without leads, with the exception that an Uchiha technique, the Chidori, was used. The Lady Hanuro and their young daughter and sole heiress were assassinated shortly after while attending the late Lord’s funeral rites. An Uchiha technique was also used then, the famed Blaze of Glory.
*The Uchiha are believed to be innocent, as the clan suffered a massacre some weeks beforehand, only a few hidden members survive. This is the last entry.*
Sakura let the scroll fall away. She herself had slowly fallen as she read, now sitting on the floor.
*Everyone…Dead. Even me. Burned to death as a baby.* She rolled the scroll, *At my father’s funeral…* She stood, replacing the scroll quietly.
The thought of visiting her own grave unnerved her.
Sakura walked slowly, her eyes scanning the study area. She didn’t recognize anyone. And most seemed to be quite young or very old.
She spotted the card catalogue. Perched out in the open where one would expect to find it. A young man was slowly shifting through one of the drawers.
With a meandering stride, she approached the catalogue and pulled open the ‘H’ drawer.
She began to flick through them aimlessly, stopping as her own name stood out at her. “Hanuro…”
The boy looked up, “Could you keep that open for me? I’m was going to look that up next.”
“Hm? Alright…” Sakura flexed the cards, keeping the entry open, “For all the good it will do you.”
The boy looked up, leaving his hand over the his own drawer. *U…? Move your hand!*
“What do you mean?”
Sakura shrugged, “I came here seeing if there was anything elsewhere. They’ve got nothing on the Lady Hanuro. And the only other Hanuro references are all history. Stuff about the clan that the Uchiha bumped off.”
The boy lifted his hand, “I was hoping to find a connection to Lady Hanuro through the Uchiha, but there’s nothing. The woman is a ghost, so far.”
“You trying to do a report or something?”
The boy shook his head, “Naw. My old man wanted me to contact her.” He slid the drawer closed, “But this was the last stop. I can’t find anything about her anywhere.”
“What’s he do?” Sakura swallowed her apprehension.
“What’s it to you?”
“Just curious is all.”
The boy glared, “Be curious someplace else. This isn’t really your business.”
Inner Sakura bristled, “Maybe it is. Maybe I need to know what’s in it for your business before I can decide if it really is my business or not.”
“Only way it’s concern of your is if you work for the Lady Hanuro.” He fumed back, “So it either is, or isn’t. No middle ground.”
‘Ooh, well then. Perhaps it may just really be my business. You looking to off the Lady? Rub her out and claim the ruins for yourselves?” Sakura crossed her arms and leaned on the catalogue.
“No!”
“Then what? Money? Leverage? Favors?”
The boy growled. And Sakura watched as his resolve crumbled like dry clay, “The Uchiha Complex was once the most beautiful architecture in the whole Fire country. The prestige that would go with restoring it to even half as great would cement my clan and our business in a firm position for years.” They boy leaned back against the filing cabinet, “We do construction. The contract is the biggest one to hit Konoha in decades. We’re a small company, but this would be a huge boon.”
Sakura chuckled as her fear lifted.
“What’s so funny?” The boy levered himself off of the catalogue. His eyes crinched at the edges, his mouth tightening.
“There now, was that really so hard?” Sakura composed herself. “Have you got a business card?”
The boy reached into his vest pocket and pulled one of the small card out, offering it to Sakura.
“Good. Take it down to Iruka’s and give it to the old man.”
The boy’s brow raised.
Sakura nodded, “And tell him to give it to Hinata.”
“Hinata who?” His voice carried a slight edge, like the claw of an upset house cat.
“Just Hinata. He’ll know who.”
The boy scowled at her, “Listen. I’m not into wild goose chases.”
Sakura shrugged and turned and walked away, “Whatever, kid. Do as you please.”
“Who the hell are you?” He called to her, his voice ringing in the empty heights of the ceiling.
“Does it really matter?” She spoke loud enough for him to hear her, but the echo was a mutter.