Whirlwind [P, IO, NK]

Hanako stared into the mirror in front of her, her single seeing eye glaring into the reflection's two emerald. Once, those eyes had been so... beautiful. Now, though, they were just dull. Dull, and glossed over, hard and sleek like glass. They were emotionless, numb eyes.

Just like how she felt. Then again, eyes were the windows to the soul, were they not?

The currently 12 year old girl sighed, her thin little fingers balling into fists. She was still too thin, but at least her bruises had faded and her cuts had healed to little pink scars. Besides, she decided that she liked thin on her frame. She looked less like a child now. One would think that, with her past experiences, Hanako would want to look as lacking and far from womanly as possible, to deter onlooking eyes, right? Instead, her memories made her want to look older. With age came strength, the strength Hanako felt she needed, and so she kept it up.

Another sigh passed through her soft lips, and she ran a hand through her hair. It was... much longer now, than it had been when she had first been locked up. It trailed to well past her shoulders, framing her face nicely, and was finally back to a healthy light brown color. It was soft to the touch and trimmed, and Hanako realized she liked it a lot. Well, as much as she could like something anyway, let alone about herself.

See, she wasn't sure how she felt. On one side, she hated. Hanako hated the world and it's people with a fiery passion so fierce it could engulf her. She also hated herself. Still, on the other side, she didn't care. Not about the world, about it's people, it's lies. She didn't care for herself. Honestly, it was conflicting, made worse for the remaining shreds of self-worth she DID possess. Still, though, one thing she could always agree on was luck. Life might have made her it's toy, but a least she wasn't pregnant. Because that would be troublesome, to say the least.

The genin clenched her jaw tightly, memories resurfacing. She felt that ever-present chill of fear running up her spine, and she loathed it. There were things Hana still feared and things she still hated without a doubt, and she was sick and tired of being so weak. People like her shouldn't be weak, 12 years old or otherwise.

Yeah...

Hanako was done...

A fierce glint entered Hanako's otherwise lifeless eyes, and she snatched up the bottle of pills that sat on the sink counter beside her. She popped the top and shook out all five pills into her palm, glaring at them with determination. She was going to change herself tonight, for the better.

And so she swallowed them all.

It was a strange sensation, the moments that followed. She could feel her body stretching and growing, some areas filling out while others grew thinner. Her bone structure changed and she could feel things move beneath her expanding skin. Everything was tingling, tickling yet ripping and burning, and she couldn't even scream.

But, as quickly as it came, it was gone, leaving Hanako breathless but otherwise fine. Carefully, she rose her eyes to the girl in the mirror, and was shocked at what she saw. Gone was the little girl she had come to know, replaced with a 17 year old woman. A beautiful one, at that. Perhaps it was a side effect of the pills, but 3-second puberty had done her well, giving her a lean, gently curved figure and long legs. For the first time in a long time, Hanako felt as beautiful as she was. But that only lasted for a moment.

Soon enough, she had tuned and left the bathroom, heading to her room to find the clothes she had stocked on. Surely something would end up fitting her.

————–————–————
(Time skip as she dresses and readies)
————–————–————

As she came to find out, most of her articles of clothing fit her nicely. A bit too nicely. Honestly, the way they fit her, hugged in all the right places, she looked older than she was - and technically, from then on, she was 17.

She had decided while getting ready (she refused to call it primping) that a bar setting would be nice. She could easily pass for 18, and many of the local sellers knew her father (and owed him) which made getting in all the easier if she had to. So, having to face her anxieties, she chose a rather revealing number.

All she really wore for clothing was a tiny, strapless soft-pink dress, wrapping around her breast-back section and then opening to cover only her stomach. Black leather strings wove intricately but sparsely down her back, connecting with the edges of the stomach-covering area, before morphing into silver and lacing about over her midriff. Various silver chains and buckles, all metal and all thin, were snug around her breast area, while thicker ones hung loosely all around her hips in loops, where the back opening closed. It ended up being about as short as she could pull off, brushing high on her thighs, and was longer in the back (the back reaching to mid thigh) than the front as well, but there was nothing to worry over! Thin, tight black leggings, splotched with shiny silver, covered her from waistline to ankles, covering parts she would rather leave unseen. To top everything off, fingerless gloves of the same material and pattern of the leggings covered her hands and arms to about 3/4 the way up her bicep, while pink heels (these but the color of her dress) wove their way up from her ankles to her knees, over the leggings.

To be honest, Hanako felt like a hooker or something, but this was conquering a fear. Having all eyes on her would be a victory, especially in this attire. Especially around men. Besides, she could defend herself... Right?

Definitely!

So why was she so tense?

The girl flipped her hair back across her shoulder, glancing in the mirror she kept in her room. Not only was her outfit spiffy, but the makeup she wore truly showed that she was far from the 12 year old girl she once was. Deep purple covered her lids, lighter to her inner eye and slowly growing darker outwards and dusted with metallic copper. The same could be said for her eyeliner, lighter to the front and slowly going darker, while blackish-purple mascara made her eyes pop. Her lips were the color of her dress, and very faint blush covered what was left of the faint bruising. Her brown hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders, accented with a silver headband, and glittering pink/black earrings dangling from her ears.

Hanako looked at herself for a few moments in the mirror. She was beautiful. For the first time in a long, long time, she felt free. She felt like she might be worth something.

These thoughts, though, were dangerous, and she quickly subdued them. The Subarashi genin reverted back to her more numb self, her made-up eyelids dropping in what seemed like boredom. Even positive emotions had to be removed from her life... Because what went up, had to come down.

With a final glance in the mirror, she turned and left her apartment, walking in her heels with a skill that must have been inherited from Akemi.

————–————–————
(Time skip as she travels)
————–————–————

As Hanako stepped into the bar, she could feel a chill run up her spine and goosebumps form over her skin. The smell of alcohol, sweat, overdone perfume and other things, all odors she hoped never to smell again, were strong in the air. They suffocated her, almost sending her into a relapse of darker times, but with a stubborn mind, she kept herself grounded. Live music resonated throughout the establishment, guitars, drums, and smooth male voices spinning out verse after verse, but it all sounded like noise to Hanako, what with the shouts and drunken giggles from the bar's customers.

Hanako sat herself in a seat at a table, waiting to be served. First fear to be conquered: alcohol, and she would do so by drinking some herself. She shuddered at the thought of that - drinking. The beast her father turned into when drunk was a thing of nightmares, a monster that still haunted her dreams at night, but no matter. She had heard that drinking can bring on good feelings as well, and besides. Hanako wasn't about to get drunk - no, only a little of this booze stuff.

It wasn't long before a bartender came up to take her order and check her age. The woman was a short yet busty one, no older than 20, with multiple piercings and pixie-style hair dyed white and neon green. Thick black eyeliner and mascara framed her grey eyes, and lipstick of the same shade coated her pierced lips. The woman, who Hydeko could now see went by Suppai (suggestive name, fake probably, Hanako noted), looked at her with a bored expression. "How old." It was more of a statement than a question.

Hanako met the cold eyes with an evenly matched pair, icy numbness seeping into her gaze. She noticed the way the waitress shifted where she stood, uncomfortable with the way eyes so young could be so lifeless. In an even tone, Hanako responded, "I'm a Shinobi. If I'm old enough to die, I'm old enough to drink."

Suppai scoffed, but didn't argue. Hana was in the clear. "So, what the hell do you want then?" she demanded rudely, annoyed with the customer.

"Something light, how about?" Hanako responded. The waitress just turned and left, assumedly to fetch the drink. Sour, that woman was. Hana decided the woman lived up to her name.

As she waited to be served, Hanako became aware of a set of eyes set comfortably on the back of her head. She tried to ignore it at first, but found she couldn't when two hands suddenly enveloped her eyes. The girl went still, her body rigid at the contact and the forced lack of sight. There was only one person she knew that would dare do something as cruel as that. He did it even when she was blinded, addin insult to injury, but nowadays he did it just to frighten her. Suddenly, Hanako was scared.

"Hello, my little bird... A bit far from the nest, I see!"

Kimu. Kimu was here.

One of Daiki's closer aquaintances, Kimu was often around the house. He called her his bird, his little robin. Kimu was there to laugh mockingly when she was beaten, and to assist in... other situations. She hated this set of calloused hands almost as much as those of her late father, but Hanako had one advantage. Unlike before, she was in the watchful sight of the public, and he couldn't touch her lest he be imprisoned. "Kimu," she said quietly, firmly, "get your god damn hands off my face."

Kimu just giggled in his criticizing way, bending close to her ear. "Big words, from such a little bird. Perhaps we should seal your pretty little lips, too, just like with your eyes... Hmm~?" he cooed to her in a whispery voice.

Hanako kept herself from trembling, but just barely. This man wasn't good, and it seemed he didn't mind being in public. Her mind went blank as his hand, the one over her blind eye, moved to her hair. "Get up, wench." She wouldn't do it though, and so he tightened his grip. Hanako refused to flinch.

Just as he was about to forcefully drag her from the establishment, a gruff, feminine voice cut through the air. "You're free to go, Kimu, but leave the girl here. I've had enough of your kind," the woman said.

It seemed the woman knew Kimu, as well.

As the hands were removed from her head, Hanako opened her eyes wide, looking for her savior. Before her stood Suppai, her gaze harder than it was before and simmering with loathe. However, her quiet rage wasn't directed at her, but at Kimu.

"Go to hell, Suppai," the man muttered at Suppai, but left their table anyway. He disappeared into the crowds silently, and Hanako had to pretend she was okay with the fact that he was not exiting the bar. She looked to Suppai, the slightest glimmer of gratitude showing on her features. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Suppai smiled a soft smile, pain and wisdom beyond her years behind it. "No problem, kid. Kimu's an ass anyway," she said, before sliding Hanako her drink. Hanako took it gratefully, though she held it loosely, as if touching it was a sin. Suppai noticed this and flashed her a knowing and relating glance, before silently slipping away into the crowds herself.

Hanako's big emerald eyes grew stormy as she eyed the foul-smelling liquid. She wasn't sure what it was, but it still smelled like booze, and it made her want to dump the drink on the floor and run away from the bar. However, she needed to woman up and overcome her fear, and so she rose the glass to her lips with a shaking hand.

It took all her willpower just to take a sip of the putrid liquid, and as soon as she did, she had to fight not to spit it out. It burned her throat as she swallowed and left a foul taste in her mouth. Too many memories connected to the taste and odor that nothing specific even arose, just a mass of swirling something that she didn't like. Still, she forced herself to finish it (getting no symptoms of being drunk, as it was light) and order a second, to which she refused to even sip.

Scrunching her nose up in disgust, the girl rose from her seat and began to walk amongst the crowds, trying to get her mind off her memories. The second drink was still in her hands, for emergency purposes, but she didn't plan on drinking any more of it. Quickly enough, Hanako found a small opening near the wall, and took a breather from the writhing mass of smelly drunks. She couldn't stand contact with others, especially males, and so this crowd was hell for her.

She decided then and there that she hated bars with a passion.

All of a sudden, Hanako was ripped from her thoughts by a weight all but tackling her and holding her to the wall. Half her drink sloshed on her dress, drenching it (luckily without staining), and she was left smelling like just another club-goer. She lifted her slightly startled eyes to her assaulter, only to be met with the drunken, grinning face of Kimu. Well, more drunken than he was before, and a wasted Kimu was a dangerous one.

Seconds later, she found herself lip-locked with the 24 year old.

Again.

She didn't try to fight, but she didn't respond, reverting back to a completely numb she'll of herself as she had so many times before. "Pretty little bird, hmm... So pretty when she's older...~" However, as he pulled away, his hands resting low on her hips, she gained a spark in her eyes he had not yet seen. "I'm not your damn bird!" Hanako dealt a swift punch to his throat, before darting away, aiming to leave the forsaken place.

She only made it a few steps when she felt a hand grab at her long hair, whirling her around. Kimu was furious, and was not about to take no for an answer. Hanako, though, had other plans. "Gaudy little bi-!" She cut him off by smashing her half-full cup into the side of his face, glass and booze mingling and spraying into both of his eyes. Kimu screamed a very unmanly scream and stumbled backwards, and Hanako took this as her cue to book it.

Within moments, she was outside the bar. Hanako leaned against the dark brick wall and took a moment to calm herself. It didn't take much for her to bury her emotions and grow numb again, as she had so many times before. The chilled air and starry sky was soothing to the sort-of-17-year-old, and she let them take her in their embrace.

Hana hoped that the night would have no more conflict and ghosts from her past.

She felt her knees buckle, though she didn't slid down the wall. Instead, she just leaned more weight into her stance, her emerald eyes gazing up into the stars.

Honestly, though... This night felt like one big whirlwind.

What had she been thinking?