Author's Note: Please read the very end Author's Note in Trust is a Sacred Vow. It is EXTREMELY relevant to this story. If you have not read Trust is a Sacred Vow, the beginning of this story, you will be confused far later down the line. For the time being, it should not confuse anyone.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of its affiliates. That right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. However, I do own any original characters or original jutsu in this story. No one is permitted to use any of said characters or jutsu without permission from me. In other words, never.
This story is slightly AU in some aspects. For more information, read the first AN at the end of Trust is a Sacred Vow.
This story is rated M for Mature, mainly pertaining to adult scenes, gore, and language.
I: Prologue
A Story Renewed, A Fairy-Tale Replaced
The story you have heard before, one of Kobayashi Sayomi, is one of woe and heartache unmatched. I know, because I had read her journal; the key to her soul was written in words that brought tears to my eyes. I wept for her and the woman she was, what she had been through, yet I cannot weep to the end of my own days on her account.
I will not bore you with an account of her life, one you have already heard. Where she found herself surrounded by hatred and pain, I cannot say to the fullest that I have. Yes, I have experienced the death of those I love. Yes, I have seen things I will never be able to put into words.
But her story is not my own, not completely.
Where she was strong, I am weak in many ways. That woman, Kobayashi Sayomi- the fabled Za Youma I had heard so many rumors of-, is dead. Her hopes and dreams remain, an unrequited love story that ended in tragedy. No, I will never fully be like her.
I am Sagase Maname.
Years ago, my son found her journal. I do not know how my child came to possess it, but he had and we had read it together with the other man that lived with us, one that I cared for. No, not in the way you might think. He was another part of my family, but that is a tale you will soon hear.
Years had passed since the end of her heartache, the time when she disappeared from the face of the planet. Things had changed and war was close at hand amongst the entirety of the shinobi world.
Back then, during this war, I was a Medical Nin that did everything I could to make my name known. And I did. Though I did not rival the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade of the Slugs, I had made myself known in my homeland, Kumogakure no Sato.
I wanted to keep those around me from having to experience the pain of loss, the pain of knowing you would never see your loved ones again. I was selfish and I was selfless as well. In a way, I did it only for my family so I could assure their well being for the rest of what I hoped to be long lives.
Yet, what was it for?
Devastation and carnage still rocked the very foundation of our world. I could not keep myself held up in Kumogakure for long and soon, I found myself in the middle of this carnage. I was not alone, but I wished I had been. Then maybe I could have saved myself from the hurt that followed.
As I said, I am selfish.
But I had met him. He was a beacon in dark times, like a shooting star, like the sun. Perhaps he was even the very day itself. Yes, I believe he was just that. She had been right...
Ah, I am getting off track, it would seem. I have a story to tell, one that I hope all will listen to and all will learn from.
Secrets come in droves and with them, the unsaid becomes unbearable. Let me tell you now of another kunoichi, one that is nothing like the great Kobayashi Sayomi, Za Youma, or any other name of the sort.
I am here to tell you the story of Sagase Maname and those I loved.
Until the very end.
And so begins Part Two of TIASV. I hope all of you are ready for what I have in store for all of you. Please read the AN at the end of TIASV for details on various contests and etcetera.
Next in 'Our Sweetest Memory':
Love is found in many forms. Some say it is the feeling between friends, lovers, but in reality, it is the bond of family. The Sagase family is no exception; they love one another deeply. It is time they were brought to light and the things they would later do be told as grand stories. They were ready... It was time to take part in the devastating war.