"I found you."
She smiled at the dark-haired boy, but it was not returned unlike the usual.
"You were not in our usual spot. You didn't come so I went looking for you. I knew you'd be here." But there was still no response.
She already expected as much, so she just sat beside him. Silence enveloped them both, lost in their own thoughts. There was really nothing to say. No words could take the pain away.
She heard the news while she was looking for him. It was hard not to since it was the talk of the town. That was all everyone could talk about.
The massacre.
That was how she figured that he would be here at the dock. He usually went here when he had to do some thinking.
They spent a lot of time together and became close enough to know how dearly he loved his brother. He was the main topic of their conversations most of the time and she could see the admiration when her friend talked. That was why when she heard what happened and who did it, she understood why he did not arrive at their meeting place and went looking for him as fast as she could.
She knew how it felt to lose someone. After all, she lost her family too. It was painful and she was miserable then. But still, she could not fathom how her friend was feeling right now. He was the only survivor, whilst the rest of his clan was killed by the very person that he regarded highly.
Horrified? Devastated? Probably no existing word would be enough to describe how he was feeling.
So she just let her friend mull over his thoughts. The sun was starting to set, but she stayed. There was not much that she can do, but she knew that at times like this, having someone was preferable than having no one at all. Though, she doubted that her friend would admit it.
They stayed like that, quietly sitting side by side as the sky got darker. Everything was going to change from now on, most especially the boy beside her. It was inevitable, especially with the recent event. So that day, she promised herself that she would protect him as much as a she could. She would always be there for him. When he becomes a full-fledged shinobi, she would be there to welcome him home after every mission. He was so dear to her that she knew she would still accept him, even after hearing the only words that he uttered throughout the night.
"I will kill him."