Chapter Twenty-four: Naria's Pov

I pulled on my gloves as I stood in my room, having already tied my hair up a moment ago. My father was outside of my bedroom, the room he had slept in rather well last night. We had talked a little last night, after the awkwardness had passed – well, there was still awkwardness, but of course there was going to be – and I had mainly talked about myself. Mostly, he just wanted to know about my likes and dislikes, and about me. I'd ended up telling him that my favourite colour was any blue and forest green, my favourite foods are sushi, takoyaki, dango, strawberry dafuki, chestnuts, strawberries and blueberries, along with many others, my least favourite foods were ramen (not a big fan of it the first time I ate it) and anything spicy and that's about it. My hobbies were cooking, making medicine, gardening, cloud-watching, star-gazing and reading. There was still more I could have told him, but we left it at that. I did learn that he loved takoyaki too and that he thought my healthy style of eating was a good thing, as well as not being too fussed about what I eat. I still wasn't sure why I wasn't the biggest fan of ramen, but eventually I'd try different styles. I don't think it was the whole thing I disliked, just something in the one I ate.

I sighed and walked out of my bedroom, seeing my father standing at the kitchen table. When he heard me though, he turned around and smiled when he saw me.

"That suits you, but I'm not the biggest fan of the hair." Dad said and I smiled. That was his way of saying that he preferred me this way, and so did I. I wasn't surprised he didn't like the hair, even I was thinking of changing it. I'd picked it at random back when I didn't care. "Before we go, I actually have something to give you."

I walked over to him and watched as he produced two swing blades in holders from his bag. This swing blade curved around in a U so I could hold the handle in my hand and the long blade part would sit in front of my arm. On the curved part there were little groves to catch weapons in, and this weapon would be perfect for fighting, especially with wind style. They were also really good for fighting with.

"I made these for you a while ago, thinking they'd be a better fit for you than a sword after watching how you moved as a little girl. They're chakra blades too, so they can also absorb your chakra." Dad explained and I picked them up, holding one in each hand. Funnily enough, they were perfectly balanced and as I swung them I found that they were really easy to use. "What do you think?"

I smiled at him. "I think they're perfect for me and my style of fighting." I said, placing them back away in their sheaths. "Want to help me attach them to my back?" I asked.

Dad nodded and grabbed them, and after a little while they were attached to my back so I could easily grab them. It was actually kinda nice having a weapon I could use my wind style with and having one that was made for me.

"Thanks." I said, before I leant down and grabbed my bag off of the floor. It was packed with everything I thought we might need and even some things we might not. "We should get going, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Dad placed a hand on my shoulder. "Naria, I know that this awkwardness isn't about to just disappear but promise me you won't be short with me. I'm not made of glass, I won't break if you say something harsh."

I sighed. "I know that and I won't, but remember that I'm not used to this. I used to wish that I didn't care about anything for years and pretended I didn't, but coming here just made me see everything clearly. I realized that I do care, but my problem it that I care about everything too much. I have to get used to letting people close to me again and dealing with my emotions, not ignoring them because I thought ignoring them was easier." I explained, because it was true. "I also have to get used to the fact that I might have a family again, the one thing I've wanted for ten years, and that things might be better this time. Not to mention the fact that I have to get used to being a daughter and a younger sister again and learn how to be an older sister."

He smiled sadly. "I understand, trust me. I wasn't blind to what you went through before Naria and I won't stand back and let it happen again." He said and I nodded.

"Well that's something we can talk about later. First we have to find them." I said, because that was looking to be the hardest thing for us right now.

- Line breaker -

I was actually a little surprised to see Ashita waiting at the gate for us, as I had been pretty sure that he was still going to be sleeping. That, or he'd bump into a pretty girl on the way here and get distracted.

"Naria?" I heard a male voice say and I turned to see Neji heading my way, a bag over his shoulder.

"I'll go talk to your sensei." Dad said and I looked up to see him smile as he walked away. Was he going to look at me this way anytime a guy talked to me or I brought one up?

I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at Neji. "Hey. Are you heading off on a mission?" I asked.

"No, I just got back, but from the looks of it, you are going on one." He said and I sighed.

"Not exactly. This isn't a mission from the Hokage, though it is a mission." I said and he raised an eyebrow. "That man that was with me is my father and I'm going with him to help save my family." I explained and his eyebrow stayed raised. Well, I couldn't blame him for being confused. "Before you remind me of what I said to you that day, things are complicated and not entirely what I thought they were."

"I'll take your word for it. I doubt you'd lie about that." He said and I chuckled.

"Yeah, it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing." I said, before I let out a small sigh and looked him in the eye. "Um, Neji, I'm sorry for how rude I acted at times through our mission together."

"I wasn't offended, but I prefer you acting like yourself. It's a lot easier to get along with you when you're not acting cold." He said and I was surprised that he had noticed it was a façade, but then again, I wouldn't have said sorry before.

"Well I don't plan on acting like that any longer. I got tired of pretending I don't care." I admitted, because while I'd previously said that I didn't want everyone seeing that I wasn't as cold as I pretended to be, I was tired of acting that way.

"Then I wish you luck. I doubt what you're about to do is going to be easy for you." He said and I let out a small laugh.

"It's not likely, but thank you." I said. "I guess I'll see you when I get back."

"You're coming back?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, that's my intention. No matter what happens, this is my home and I'm happy here." I said.

"Then I'll see you then." He replied, a very small smile present, before he headed off in the direction of the Hokage tower. He obviously had to go report to the Hokage about his mission. I actually had to wonder if he knew what happened here while he was gone.

I turned around and saw my father and Ashita talking and I was kinda worried about just what they were talking about. I hadn't been paying enough attention to hear what it was.

Ashita's Pov

I stood at the gate and watched as Naria and a man with black hair and brown eyes walked towards me, only for them to stop when Neji called out Naria's name. A moment later the man I'm sure was Naria's father walked towards me without her and I was now curious as to what kind of man Naria's father was going to be. Once she'd told me he was back and alive, I wanted to meet him because of her.

"You're Naria's sensei correct?" He asked as he reached me and I nodded.

"I'm Kazuma Ashita and yes, I'm her sensei, not that you would have known it a little while ago." I said and he chuckled as he shook my hand.

"It's good to meet you. I'm Yukina Itaru, Naria's father." He introduced, even though I already knew who he was considering Naria told me, but it was nice to know his name now. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, I don't think you can class what I've been doing as taking care of her, because she doesn't need much taking care of. I was originally put with her to watch her because of many reasons, but after a lot of coaxing, we actually formed a teacher student relationship and she trusts me now. I value that a lot because of how much she's been through, and how messed up she was when she first got here. She pretended to just be cold, but it was clear she wasn't okay." I said, but that's when I removed my hand from his. "Which actually leads to why I actually came here this morning."

"I figured when Naria said you were coming that it was more than you just wanting to see her off, so go ahead." He said. Obviously, he was prepared for me being blunt.

"Alright then. Don't you dare hurt her or put her through hell again." I said and he went to say something, but I shook my head. "Naria explained everything and I understand that it wasn't entirely your fault, but I've seen what the outcome of what happened before did to her, you haven't. You've never seen her at her worst and that worst was brought on by pain. When Naria got here, she was so afraid of being hurt that she pretended like she didn't feel a thing, but she did. The abandonment, abuse and loneliness she's felt over the years has left scars and I know she's dealing with them now, but they'll be there forever. It's taken a lot for her to drop the walls she created and let people in again, which is when you've chosen to arrive, so you haven't seen what she was like before. I hope you never do too, because I don't want her to go back to that and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to either."

I watched as he stared back at me, before looking over at her. "You know, I wish I hadn't grown suspicious of my brother, because then I would have been open about my feelings for her, even if it tore the valley apart and made people choose sides, but I did and he used that to blame everything on her when she was far too young to have to deal with that. Still, it scares me to think of what would have happened if he couldn't blame it on her, so I don't know if what I did was right or not." He said before looking back at me and I could see the sadness in his eyes. I wasn't blind to the fact that he hated himself for what happened, but I had a habit of saying what I thought and I wasn't going to spare his feeling now. "But I'm not letting that happen again. I know she plans on coming back here once this is all over and I'm not going to stop her from doing that; I'd never ask her to go back to the valley after what happened last time, but I want a relationship with her that isn't barred by my duties as lord. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be separated from her again, but it's obvious that she's independent and her life is here, and I love her enough to let my daughter do what she wants and be happy. I'm also going to do what I want this time, which is to never be lord again."

"You say it like you hated being lord." I said and he shrugged.

"Naria's not the only one who didn't like their title because of the chains." He said and I was surprised by that. "When I was younger, I was a free spirit and I wanted to follow my own path in life; I wanted to be my own person and not be defined by a title, my family or how people thought my life should be led. I didn't want to rule anyone, I just wanted to fight to protect them and be a person who was allowed to live a life without strict rules. I stuck to my own beliefs, which caused me to clash with my parents at times and some elders, and spoke my mind often, which got me in trouble because princes aren't supposed to speak their mind all the time. I loved the outdoors and hated the mere thought of arranged marriages, but in the end, I had to let go of what I wanted and agree to one because of my father's poor health. Don't get me wrong, I got along with Ayana until Naria was born and respected her dedication, but that's it. I lost out on so many things I wanted in my life and I'll always regret it forever, but I got the one thing that I always wanted: children, and look what happened there. I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I told my parents that I wouldn't marry Ayana and married for love, and how my kids' lives would have turned out. I also wonder what things would have been like if I wasn't born into a high-class family." He explained and I actually started to smile and let out a small laugh, which made him look at me.

"I suggest you tell Naria that story if you haven't already, because I think you'll find that she's a lot like you." I said and Itaru chuckled.

"That sounds about right. She has some of her mother's looks, though she originally did have my hair colour, and my personality, which is a good thing." He said, which is when Naria decided to join us of course.

Naria's Pov

As I reached them I was surprised to hear my father say that I had my mother's look, but his personality. That was a good thing in my opinion because my mother had a very bad personality. Sure, no one would have known it, as when she was around the people or people she wanted to impress, she was polite and would complement everyone. Basically, she would say anything to get people to like her. In real life though, she was self-centred, self-orientated, narrow-minded, rude, supercilious, arrogant and said some incredibly stupid things. She expected us all to be perfect and acted like just the lady of the village instead of our mother. Her outlook on life was terrible and her view of people was even worse.

"I'm glad I don't have her personality, she was terrible." I said bluntly.

"You really hate your mother, don't you?" Ashita said as a statement and I shook my head.

"I did once, but now I don't. Life's too short to hold onto hate." I said, because I was finally learning that. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like her and I'll never forget what she did to me, but she's gone now and she's just not worth hating."

"You've changed, and in a good way." Ashita said and I smiled.

"I know, and I'm happy about that too." I said, before I looked at my father. "We should get going; we have a lot of looking to do and sooner is better. Who knows what Tadao has planned; Ayame obviously ran away for a reason."

"I unfortunately agree with you." Dad said, before looking back at Ashita. "It was nice to meet you Ashita."

"Same here." Ashita said, before he looked at me and ruffled my hair, causing me to scroll at him. "I'll see you when you get back kiddo. Be careful, but kick your evil uncle's ass."

"Will do." I said with a smile and I turned around with my father by my side, and with that we started running, which made me glad that my father had grown up fighting.

"He cares about you." Dad said as we ran and I looked ahead with a small smile on my face.

"I know he does." I said, because it was obvious that Ashita cared about me and I cared about him too. He was my teacher and he'd helped me a lot.

I looked forward as we kept moving.

- Line Breaker -

We travelled until it started dusk was an hour away, which is when we decided to make camp. I made a fire quite easily and I watched as Dad dropped his bag, before coming over to me. I looked up at him and saw him smiling down at me. "What?"

"I thought I should check out how you are with your blades." He said and I looked up at him.

"Okay." I said and I stood up, pulling out my swing blades. I walked over to a clearing and waited for him. He came over and stood a little way away from me.

"Now, don't go easy on me." He said and I didn't say it, but I was going to go easy on him.

"Go ahead." I said and he unsheathed his sword, which is when he ran at me. He swung his sword before getting to me and a blade of wind came at me. I swung both my blades and two blades of wind flew towards his. My two wiped out his and I dashed forward quickly, appearing in front of him in a moment and placing my right blade against his throat, shocking him. "Well, how'd I do?" I asked.

"Incredibly well; even better than I thought. I didn't even see you move." He said, before his eyes narrowed. "You went easy on me, didn't you?"

"Yep." I said and he sighed.

"I guess I really don't need to see your skill with the blades. You've obviously become an exceptional ninja." He said and I smiled at him.

"It's what I wanted. I'd say becoming a ninja is the greatest thing I wanted in life, but it always came second to wanting to have a family that loved me for what I am." I admitted. "I guess I'm slowly getting that now."