Chapter Twenty – Dark Horse
Saya didn't expect any answers that night. She wanted to speak to her father, get to know him, tell him about herself, and just...talk. As she sat with him for dinner, she observed him. His features resembled her own, and his mannerisms and gestures were just like hers. Misa was confused, but Kentarou was kind enough to earn her trust just like that. Misa went to bed right after dinner, and both father and daughter just sat there, speechless. Saya looked at him once more, his green eyes a little dull, his wavy black hair which was a little shabby. His half smile, which made him look as though he was deep in thought. Finally bringing her out of her thoughts, "Did you know that I was the one who named you?" he said, now looking at her.
"Yeah, mum told me once. Why did you pick the name Saya?" she asked, trying desperately to keep the conversation going. "Hmmm… forgive me for what I'm about to say, but to actually prove to myself about something, I tried to drop you when you were an infant, but you didn't-""…fall. It was because of Shift, wasn't it?" Kentarou looked at her, and nodded. "Saya means fast arrow, and the first form of Shift is speed, which you had always. It was very quick for the kekkei genkai to show in you. A really rare case for an infant to develop the trait, so there you go. I love the name Saya." He smiled, and so did Saya.
They spoke random things like that all night. Kentarou told her about falling for Trisha, and she told him about Seth, Yuri, Nodoka and the others. "Nodoka Yamanaka? I knew her mother really well. She was a few years elder to me in the academy and also, she was a teammate in my Jonin squad." That was something Saya didn't know. Nodoka's mother wasn't a ninja anymore. She looked a lot like Nodoka, and was a very kind woman. Saya's father wasn't shocked about Eriol's and Jellal's characters. "They're not like him…" Saya said. Kentarou held her hand. "I'm sorry to have to put you through all this. I really am." "Come back to the village! This'll all end if you do! I could've just snuck up to the Hokage and told her what happened, Seth would've been off the hook, and Daichi would've been arrested. I didn't do that because, I needed to find you! And, Hidaeki needs to be safe. The village can't know about him. That's the reason I succumbed to everything! If you come back, things will go back to normal. We can explain to them that Hidaekiwas…um…we'll do something! We'll figure it out! Please, come back…father…" Saya said, desperately. Kentarou looked pained. "I can't…Saya." "But why not?" She yelled. "It's late, you better get some sleep. I'll explain tomorrow. Good night, love." He kissed her on the forehead, and went out, leaving Saya, baffled and expressionless.
The next day, she woke to find her father making breakfast, and Ryu was there too. Misa wasn't around. "Where's Misa? And how come-""You are not the only one who can summon me Saya. Your father is my original master." Saya didn't know whether or not to be offended. "Eat, first and then I'll tell you all you need to know."
"When I left the leaf, you and Seth were just a year old. I couldn't think of any place to go to, other than the dragon kingdom. I stayed there for as long as I could, but I needed to see you all, my children, and my wife. I stayed in the dragon kingdom for five years, and then I came to the leaf to find out that Trisha was dead. I didn't understand, but then I was almost killed by someone, and painfully for me, it was my brother. I was betrayed, and I couldn't do anything. I was sure I would die, but Ryu saved me. I then told him to look after you, and temporarily cancelled the contract with him. The clan heads, they all have passed away now, the clan disrupted; there isn't a need for this feud. But he wouldn't listen. I woke up in a building, this building. An old man, Momoru, and a lady and a man my age, were there, and a new born baby girl, Misa. The very next week her parents passed away in a terrible land slide and Momoru had a heart attack. I then pretended to be Momoru, and looked after her, to keep you three safe. I never summoned Ryu after that. I knew that staying away from you, would keep you safe, but it didn't for long. I let Kai know through Jellal that I was here. He had found me, and I didn't understand how. That's all I've to say to you." "Why aren't you coming back?" Saya asked quickly, as if all of what he said up till now, didn't matter. "It's too late now Saya… A lot of things have happened from when I defected…There's nothing that I can do about it now… The village thinks I'm dead…""Ryu was right…I am a lot like you. I used to be scared all the time…I never had confidence in myself. But, ever since these terrible things occurred, I've realized one thing. I have people to protect. And, my fears don't matter. And in that way, I'm different from you dad… I looked past my fears, you didn't. I expected to see someone brave and mighty whenever I thought about my father…I just didn't expect him to be a coward." Saya said, and walked out of the house, and before she left, she muttered a silent goodbye to her father. "I don't blame you for not understanding Saya… but killing my brother is a little too hard for me to handle and it's not something I can ever do. I'm sorry. I really am. And there are certain things you still don't know. And I can't help in any of those things. You'll see. I'm sorry." Kentarou said, quietly almost to himself.
Saya understood that her father was hiding something, but her anger toward the latter was far too great to calm herself down. She kept walking blindly, until she started to run. She felt dirty all of a sudden. She looked down to what she was wearing, and observed herself. Her hair was let down, it had grown since her defection from the leaf. A tight fitting white tank top and black shorts. She just sat down under a tree and sighed. "Makes no sense to me…all that I've been through, I thought he could help…but why is he…" Saya couldn't cry for some reason. She felt let down, immensely. Then there was a sound. A kunai. Saya gasped, and tried to remain quiet. She crept towards the noise, and to her surprise, she saw something which she wouldn't have dreamt of seeing. More like, she saw someone. She couldn't take her eyes off of that shirtless back of a certain boy. A few feet in front of him was a very creepy looking serpent like man, with gold eyes. 'Sasuke?' she thought.
"What's the matter Sasuke? Is something distracting you? Or is it still the death of that girl you were so close to?" The snake man said.
Sasuke looked a little shocked that Orochimaru knew something like that, but his expression quickly changed to his usual emotionless façade. Saya was quietly observing their conversation, her heart in her mouth. "Don't worry Sasuke, I knew all about you and your secret lover…what was her name? Saya?" "She's dead now. And that's it. Now train me." Sasuke stated. "That's all for today Sasuke, we'll continue tomorrow." The snake man said and walked away leaving Sasuke behind. Saya desperately wanted to go and hug him tight, but fought the urge to do it. 'He's defected too, he won't tell anyone about my-'"Who's there?" Sasuke said, turning toward where Saya was. Now Saya didn't know what to do. She stayed quiet. And a few uncomfortable minutes later, Sasuke walked away. Saya couldn't hold back tears. 'I knew all about you and your secret lover'. 'What the hell?' she thought, before taking a tough strong decision.
She summoned Ryu and said, "Train me." Ryu blinked. "Not here… you know where." Ryu just nodded and they both vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving everything she ever endeavored for, behind without a second glance.