Well, I guess the shut down brought you that chapter far faster than expected.
Here is chapter 5 (betaed by Deece, thank you).
Hopefully, you will like it and don't hesitate to leave a small review; always appreciated!
Chapter 5: Where is my epic music?
Not today, she thought with gritted determination.
They won't die today. Heart beating with the strength of the earth moving, she indicated a small alcove a bit further. "Let's hide there."
Their feet stumbling around was all she could hear, a soft buzzing muting everything around. They were running up the street toward the side of the mountain with one train of thought in mind: hide in the caves, as everyone else did. Join the others, join safety.
Miru nodded curtly, abiding by her idea. They picked up the pace, wind whistling past their ears until they reached the small alcove.
Anxiousness and unease crawled across her skin, the feeling of something wrong happening choked her before it released its hold the next second. She shook her head, leaning against the building for support.
It was weird; the colors were grimmer than she was used to; almost like the island was losing its life. The wind was starting to pick up, dark clouds hovering and growling. A tempest was coming. They needed to get to the caves as fast as they could!
Yukio cuddled her side, seeking comfort and almost melting against her leg. His small heart was beating uncomfortably fast, not unlike her own.
She felt a pulse in her hand, an urge, an itch that made her fingers twitched. To provide comfort, to give reassurance. Her hand ghosted over his hair delicately, freezing and almost recoiling when her shaking wouldn't cease. Fear was nestling in her guts and clogging her throat and she feared that her false bravado act wouldn't hold for much longer.
She took a deep breath. "We need to reach the-"
A subtle thought, one drilled into her by Yakihiro-sensei suddenly forced its way in her mind. Never, absolutely never, reveal the localization of the civilians. Walls have ears and may not be friendly.
She bit her tongue.
"The?" Miru asked expectantly, barely out of breath unlike she was.
"To safety," Nagisa corrected herself, patting her brother's head. "You okay?" She whispered and he nodded against her legs, a small whimper barely leaving his mouth. "You're a very brave boy, I'm glad you are my brother."
"But where is safety?" Miru urged and Nagisa frowned. There was something wrong here, but… she couldn't put a name on it.
"You know where it is… Everyone knows where it is."
Even without living on Uzushio but on one of the smaller islands further away, the citizens knew that. It was taught at the Academy.
She gasped, clutching her shirt. A new kind of urgency shot through her; she needed to get to safety. She wanted to be protected. She felt so small and so weak, even the tiniest breeze would break her and-
Yukio fiercely clung to her hand, eyes spilling tears. "Make it go away…" His voice was weak as if in pain and Nagisa felt a new kind of panic surge through her.
"What- What's happening? Yukio, what's wrong?"
And with a small sob, he answered: "The noise. It's so loud."
The… noise? What noise? She couldn't hear any noise.
...
She couldn't hear any noise.
It dawned on her, finally, that the street was calm. Too calm for an invasion, so why? Where was everyone else? It was then that she realized tiny details that made no sense. Why Miru wasn't exhausted. Why the sky was so dark. Why the building felt so wrong.
Her teeth sunk into her cheeks, hard and her hands formed the appropriate sign. "Release!"
The reality was very different.
Screams and songs of metal clashing. The storm bell ringing. The smell of smoke and blood, of death. A bright sky that illuminated the alcove enough and a man holding a knife – it wasn't a kunai – to Miru's throat who looked as terrified and as panicked as a child in her situation could be.
It was chaos, and Nagisa wanted to slap herself for not expecting that. She never thought invasion – and war – was messy. In her mind, whenever she heard about wars, she always figured them to be ordered and tactical
Nagisa clutched Yukio, keeping her behind her and out of the man's sight.
"You should have stayed in that genjutsu, it would have been easier for you. You wouldn't have seen death coming, you wouldn't have felt a thing… But you had to release the genjutsu and without even answering the question…"
She could barely see his eyes. He must have been triple her size. A burly man. Lips opened, revealing crooked and yellow teeth. Spots and acne scars.
"You've been a very bad girl, little Uzumaki. And bad girls are punished."
"Wha-?" She choked, head spinning and ready to throw up, feeling dizzy beyond her mind or maybe it was due to the rancid fear that suddenly crawled over her.
The air felt as though it had been crushed from her lungs and clogged her throat. Her heart fluttered against her ribs, speeding up until it felt like it would burst. He was threatening her. No, he was promising her.
"But I could change my mind if you were to reveal the location of the civilians."
Miru choked something, eyes wide and watering, and Yukio sobbed harder in her back.
"I-" The situation was spiraling out of control and Nagisa had no idea what to do.
"If you don't start to talk, I will start with your friend." He brought the Daiba girl closer and her fear couldn't have been more transparent as broken pleas spilled from her lips.
"Wait- I-" What to do? What to say? Her mind was reeling. She should go, leave her and protect her brother. It would be bad for her conscience and she would break her unspoken promise but at the end of the day, she was a stranger. Yukio was her treasure.
But…
But she couldn't, not anymore, not like she used to.
There were values deeply ingrained in her since rebirth; Uzushio was a community, united. Everyone protected the community and the community protected them. No one was left behind – except the poor and disabled but that wasn't something they talked about.
Work, knowledge, and community. They were the three prominent values on which Uzushio was built on.
The man suddenly tensed before pushing Miru away. He barely had the time to deflect two kunais that a shinobi fell from the rooftop. The man slashed at him in a wide arc, the shinobi countered with his own blade and with a series of kicks, the knife was sent to Nagisa's feet.
The shinobi's blade found its way in the man's throat with a sickening noise.
Nagisa winced and kept Yukio's face pressed against her while Miru was stopping the blood flow in her other arm.
"You okay, kids?" The shinobi's voice was rough but gentle. Nagisa nodded. "Alright, let's bring you to safety."
Ignoring the blood and the gore, Nagisa urged her brother and Miru to jump on his back before collecting the knife for herself. "I can follow." She said when the shinobi looked at her expectantly.
"Really? It would be faster if I carry you." He tilted his head, eyeing her strangely.
"You need your hands to defend yourself. I can do it." Nagisa squared her shoulders with determination.
She had learned tree-walking last year and was currently on her way to master water-walking. Yakihiro-sensei also taught her how to strengthen her body with chakra, giving her extra boosts. He even had her running around a lot of time – to buy groceries in his stead, the asshole.
She wouldn't be as fast as he was but she could follow decently.
The shinobi nodded. "Then keep up." And jumped over the rooftop, Nagisa right behind him.
It was chaos, Nagisa didn't linger too much but from the little she saw, it was pure unadulterated chaos. Something caught her gaze. Shinobis and invaders were fighting across the blue-green sea with two huge ships. The Uzumaki, a huge battleship with three masts and swirls on the sails, churned and turned to face two smaller ships with blue sails and white strips.
"Kid." Nagisa jumped, a hand reaching for the blade. The shinobi was watching her expectantly. "We can't linger here."
"Yes," Nagisa nodded, sage decision, and remained focused on his back. "What's your name?"
He adjusted his grip on Yukio, who whimpered and sobbed against his neck, before glancing over his shoulder. "Why?"
"I want to know the name of the man who saved me and my brother's life." Nagisa rolled her eyes. Paranoid shinobi, she thought despite knowing she ought to be more on guard.
"And Miru's life too," she added after a second, eyeing the drips of snots and tears the girl was leaving on his back.
"Sora Wakatake."
"A pleasure, I'm Nagisa Uzumaki and that's Yukio, my brother, and Miru Daiba." Nagisa jumped over a chimney and stumbled on a loose tilt.
"You know, you're awfully calm and chatty for the situation."
"Delayed shock reaction, I guess." Nagisa hummed, contemplating her lack of emotions. She shrugged, better that than a panic attack, I guess.
Sora grunted, taking the lead once more.
They were going up, she realized, away from safety. She grimaced.
"Hey, why-"
"Watch out!"
The whistling sound of a kunai slicing through the air reached her ears too late. The shinobi threw his own kunai to deflect it while she pained to comprehend what happened. She watched the tag of a kunai buried in the roof near her foot with growing horror. Her eyes reached a new width, ready to pop out of their sockets.
The next second, the tag went off and the roof exploded.
She would have shared the same tragic fate of the roof and its tiles were it not for the arm that caught her chest and sent them a few roofs away. She crashed against a chest and they rolled some more.
"Kid!" Over the nasty ringing in her ears and the screaming of her brother, she heard Sora called for her.
"Here!" Her savior grumbled – screamed? At this point, she couldn't tell the difference. "Get the kids out of here, I'm taking care of the brat."
Brat…?
She breathed in the scent of sea, smoke, and blood, her hand clutching his shirt desperately just as the newly reformed link between her brother and she snapped once more.
"You okay, brat?"
"Sensei!" She choked out, all of her emotions kicking her in the throat and amongst them, relief was the strongest.
Shock time was over it would seem.
One hand firmly pressed against her shoulder blade, Yakihiro-sensei rolled to his feet, pulling her up with him.
"Now is not the time for that, Nagisa. The enemies are coming. Survive first, cry later." Nagisa nodded, swallowing the growing knot before she took the kunai he was presenting her. "Stay close and dodge. Go for the kill only if you're sure you can make it, otherwise distract them and I will take care of them. Stay sharp-"
He may have tried to tell her other things but two invaders reached their roof. Nagisa shook her head.
She couldn't afford to get lost in her own head right now unless she wanted to die.
Taking deep, slow breaths, Nagisa felt herself settle, little by little as she watched the two shinobi enemies circled around them.
She wanted to go back to Kaa-san and Yukio, she wanted to return to the Lighthouse and bothered her grandpa and she wanted to learn more.
There hadn't been much choice, but she'd been overall happy as Nagisa. She'd loved most of the training she'd been doing, and a lot of it had been outright fun.
She could do this. She could survive.
She highly doubted she was the kind of person who'd rather kill themselves than hurt anyone else, anyway. She was too selfish.
She wanted to live.
There had been an unspoken agreement that Nagisa was unaware of going on because the next instant, they all moved and she was left to defend herself.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, her opponent wasn't as skilled as he could have been. He was young, strong and not experimented, just like her – except for the strong part. She was small and quick on her feet. She could easily dodge. And she did.
She kept dodging, knuckles white around the handle of the kunai, jumping, rolling, sliding, and dancing around his swings with all the grace of her family's taijutsu. Sometimes she had to deflect. Sometimes it grazed her.
But it was clear that the shinobi was growing more and more upset by her evasiveness. Ah! Wasn't she glad that Yakihiro-sensei drilled into her the fine art of dodging?! It had been a pain and a half to learn but now it was paying off.
The blade nicked her cheek; Nagisa took a bigger leap back. It was enough for the shinobi to drop his blade and weave signs.
Nagisa jumped off the roof just as a water dragon closed his jaws where she had been a second earlier. With a roll, she ran out of the alley, barely missing the kunai sent her way.
Two kunais whistled near her ears, one for her, the other to stop the first.
At least, she knew Yakihiro-sensei was still watching over her. Nagisa jumped around and faced her opponent once more.
They danced again, until she slipped on a pebble, the wide slash aiming for her throat cut her chin deeply.
She bit her cheek, tasting blood.
His face was so close, too close, get away- and in her panic, she threw her kunai. It reached its destination – because, come on, the man was hovering her – and the shinobi grunted but remained in her face.
She rolled, crying out when his knife cut her side. He wasn't given her time to breathe and she wouldn't keep up much longer and that fucking scared her.
"Sensei!" She screamed, because she needed his help and now, but she never received an answer.
The glint in her opponent's eyes told her it was the end. "This is where you die."
As he raised his blade, Nagisa moved.
"Yes," A kunai pierced through his throat; the man went wide-eyed before gurgling something, "this is where you die."
Lo and behold, Yakihiro-sensei appeared behind the man, swiftly pulling out his kunai. Nagisa could have cried her happiness if it wasn't for the rush of adrenaline that muted her emotions.
The man fell on his back, a knife that didn't belong to her sensei deeply buried in the man's chest and her kunai jammed in his leg. Sensei blinked.
"Sorry for taking so long. Those Yohei bastards are like weeds, you take one out and ten others take his place."
"I'm not sure that's the right comparison." She panted, heart fluttering like a panicked bird. The adrenaline was making her giddy and itchy.
Sensei shrugged as he pulled the knife out before presenting her. "Here, I believe this is yours."
Nagisa reached for it with trembling and bloody hands. Deep breaths, slow and easy.
Ignoring the way her breath trembled ever so slightly, Nagisa clenched her teeth. It shouldn't be that hard to take one knife but each time she tried to take it, each time she felt the blood dripping down the handle on her hands, she faltered.
Yakihiro-sensei was looking, she could feel it, but she chose to ignore it. Come on, just take it already. She armed herself with stubbornness and finally took the knife.
It felt heavier in her grip, and she-
"It's okay," he pushed her in an alley, one hand on her back. "It's a perfectly normal reaction."
Nagisa tried to nod, she tried to do something- but she couldn't.
"It's your first time." She hated the kind tone he took; it was soothing. She hated, even more, the fact that it was working. She tried to keep her breathing under control. "You did great, I will get you to safety now."
"What about the kunai?" She asked with a small voice. It was getting harder to think; that cold veil her mind conjured was lifting and the buzzing thoughts started again.
"Leave it, someone will need it." He rubbed her shoulders, sending a small amount in her muscles to help her relax. "You can let it go now."
She burst into tears, heaving and leaning against her sensei for support. He gently took her knife away and put it between that kind of obi and her tunic. Once that was done, he gently shifted her on his back and they left.
Nagisa immediately buried her face against his neck.
Sensei brought her to the Lighthouse and the intense feeling of its chakra against her coils relaxed her more than it should. Home, safety.
She took a deep breath.
"Nagisa?" Sensei asked, tightening his hold on her leg. She tilted her head slightly. "I didn't ask but are you hurt?"
"My chin. He cut it. I also broke my nose earlier. Some cuts too." She croaked, slightly blinking at the man. He hummed.
"He must have grazed your chin, then, there wasn't any wound when I found you."
"What?" She sluggishly patted her chin, frowning, and found that he was right. Weird, she could have sworn… "But… I felt the blade cutting. I felt the blood running down my neck, and I'm sure it's still here and-"
"Calm down, brat." He slowly put her back on her feet despite her protest. He finally knelt to meet her eyes. "You were filled to the brim with adrenaline, I wouldn't put it past you to have fallen into a state of hyper-awareness during your fight. Every one of your senses would have been heightened to the point of being painful. It happens, nothing wrong with that. Got it?"
"But-" Nagisa closed her mouth, swallowing a retort and nodded slowly, brows moving this and that way. But my nose isn't broken anymore…
Instead, she focused on Yakihiro. He looked paler than he should, his skin was clammy and his face spasmed a bit as if he was covering a grimace under a careful mask of calm.
"Are you alright, Sensei?"
Nagisa frowned when he didn't immediately answer, stared straight at him until he sighed.
"Asshole broke my arm." He mumbled sheepishly, scratching his head and in this instant, he looked like his age: a young adult with hair brighter and too many responsibilities on his shoulders. She had no idea training her was that tiring.
Her eyes widened almost comically and he put a hand on her head before she could flail. "Calm down. We're going to see the medic."
Nagisa nodded dumbly, biting down on the thread of guilt that was menacing to choke her.
He carried her while being hurt…
The lighthouse was buzzing with activities; stern shinobis everywhere, moving quickly and quietly. Nagisa had never seen that many shinobis in the Lighthouse before.
She watched Sensei talking with someone dispassionately. To be fair, she was feeling quite out of it, so that probably was why she couldn't muster the courage to understand what they were saying. After a brief moment, the shinobi indicated a direction and they were off.
After many turns and some row of stairs - ugh…-, they reached unfamiliar ground; she never had explored that part before. Finally, Yakihiro pulsed his chakra and they entered a room. Multiple things happened at the same time.
"Nagisa!" A familiar voice called, followed shortly by a gasp.
She turned around quickly and spotted Kazashi with Yukio in her arms and the girl by her side. Yukio burst into tears when their eyes met.
"Kaa-san," she took one step their way before she was swiftly pulled back. "Wha-"
Yakihiro eyed her sternly, "Medic first, and try to mind your voice. This is the medical bay."
"But I'm fine," Nagisa argued weakly, " and Kaa-san is waiting."
Did he not see her family waiting for her? She needed to see them, to check that Yukio was well. Kaa-san had been home when it happened, so she wasn't very worried. But Yukio…
"I'm sure, Kazashi-san would prefer waiting a bit more and being sure you're fine than having you injured."
A sound argument, one that Nagisa couldn't counter. She knew when she was defeated -even if admitting it was like swallowing a hot kunai. "Fine…" And mouthed off an apology to her mother who simply shook her head with sad eyes.
The medic that checked on her has been kind, his chakra, warm like a small flame and he didn't look like the typical native of Uzushio. Uh, a refugee. Nagisa let him do his magic. Then, he took her to a small room with the order to wash.
If he realized that Nagisa scrubbed her hands more firmly than necessary, he didn't say anything.
Finally. Finally, after that was done, Nagisa was allowed to join her family. And she would have jumped in her Kaa-san's arms if she hadn't been tackled first.
"Miru," Nagisa called dryly. It's not that she was unhappy seeing the girl well but she wasn't family and Nagisa wanted her family.
She wasn't prepared in the slightest for the rain of snots, tears, and apologies that fell from the girl's face.
Yet, between her "I'm so sorry" pleas and her "I thought you die" sobs, Nagisa couldn't help but remark how her insides warmed.
It felt kind of weird to have someone out of her family worried about her.
After that, Nagisa reached her family and cried on her mother for hours; cried because she had been scared, cried because she felt terrible - stabbing someone was easy, too easy -, cried because she was relieved. Her mother cried a bit with her. They didn't talk, basking in the presence of the others.
Nagisa remained in her arms even after the bells rang once again, signaling the end of the raid.
She had no idea when she fell asleep.
She was on her feet, the knife in hand before she could fully proceed what happened. Her mother's pained stare greeted her.
"What- What are you doing?" She said. Was she panting? It felt hard to breathe.
What had happened? She had been asleep in her room one moment and on her feet the very next. Why was her heart beating so loudly?
"Angelfish…? Are you okay?"
Nagisa nodded curtly.
"Then why are you protecting Yukio from us?" Daichi pointed out with tired eyes. Her hold on the kunai tightened for a second. She hadn't seen him here, she hadn't even felt him.
Her mother took a tentative step forward only to be pushed back by her father.
"I'm not-"
But she was.
She unconsciously placed herself between them and her little brother – whose looks of terrors and tears tore her heart – and she had adopted a fighting stance. She was protecting Yukio from her parents.
It finally sunk in.
Oh no…
Consciously unclenching her hand, she waited until the blade dropped to the ground to kick it away and take a few steps aside.
Yukio flung himself to her mother and cried in her embrace, rubbing his face in her shoulder and hiccupping about some monsters trying to hurt him.
So, that was it. The reason why she had been awakened battle-ready was that her little brother had a nightmare and she kept him from reaching their parents, comfort.
She swallowed loudly, the growing knot making it far too difficult. Guilt really was the worst, uh? She breathed through the nose.
Neither Nagisa nor Maria had ever been prone to nightmares before, so she couldn't really relate to him. To be fair, Nagisa couldn't remember her dream most times, she just fell into a void to wake up later – except that one time she smoked with her Uchiha, which had given her some pretty weird dreams.
"Nagisa?" She perked up, eyeing her father with a sad face, "Come with me."
He led them outside, face blank, nothing betraying his thoughts. What was going to happen? Would she get scolded? They stared at each other, Nagisa slowly losing her cool.
He sighed as she opened her mouth.
"I've heard what happened," his shoulders visibly sagged as he sat on the stairs. "First kill, uh?"
She nodded slowly. She did not kill him on her own but she participated and that was enough. She knew she shouldn't feel like that. Terrible. Sad. Guilty.
"You did good, Nagisa. You survive and I'm glad you did." Her father stated as a matter of fact. "They attacked us first and we protected ourselves. It was you or them, Uzushio or them. And maybe I shouldn't say that but if it brought you back here I'm going to tell you to kill as many people as you must."
She burst, once more, into tears.
It felt so wrong; ending a life. It felt wrong because when he died, all she could feel was relief. Relief and a tiny, tiny bit of elation hidden behind her guilt. She felt powerful like she finally was the master of her destiny. And she needed someone's death to feel that.
She didn't like that.
"What if I hurt other people?" She gritted her teeth. It was hard to put words on her emotions at the moment. "What if I hurt my comrades? What if I hurt Yukio?" She finally hissed out, expressing the root of her fears.
If stabbing someone was so easy, how could she trust yourself not to do it inadvertently?
"I'm not good at this." Daichi deplored, rubbing his face.
Nagisa blinked. Her father stroked her tears away. What?
"I- what? What do you mean, Tou-san?"
"What you are feeling, your reactions and fears, it will only grow worse as you grow," her stomach fell to the ground. "It takes discipline and trust. Trust yourself because you are the one in control and as long as you don't want to hurt your loved ones, the chance of you killing them will be low."
She didn't know what to say. Her father seemed to have aged ten years more. "This life is very hard. That's why you need to find hobbies to cut you from this life or else… You might hurt the people you care about."
Nagisa nodded slowly, digesting the information. A hobby, uh? "Dancing?"
Daichi shook his head, "No, dancing is linked to taijutsu, it won't cut you from it. We introduce it that way because it's easier for the future shinobis to learn it. Funnier too, I guess."
He shrugged. Nagisa exhaled slowly.
No dancing and no calligraphy either.
One had to marvel at how quickly and efficiently the citizens worked to rebuild the city. Armed with a shovel and a hammer, they moved around, helped the others and worked diligently until life in Uzushio resumed.
The week after the attack, they threw a feast. Smiles and shining eyes returned, music and alcohol too. Nagisa actually joined them - despite her mother's protests -, asking around what they were celebrating.
"Life," a kind old man answered, cheeks red and eyes glassy. "Would you care for a dance, little lady?"
She danced the whole night away, completely forgetting her promise to return before the moon reached its peak.
Her practices with Yakihiro-sensei had been reduced until his arm was healed; he had her train her aims in the meantime.
"Sensei, why didn't we run as Wakatake-san did?"
Her tone was a bit bitter and maybe she was resenting him a bit for that. Old habits die hard and Nagisa would have preferred if they simply ran, indulging in her instincts.
He hummed a bit. "They would have attacked him, so we stayed behind to cover them."
Nagisa nodded thoughtfully; it made sense.
It was a warm afternoon and Nagisa decided to take Yukio out to the beach. They settled near the forest, on the grass. Flowers were blooming nicely and Nagisa saw no harm in plucking them before weaving them into a flower crown.
She tried to teach Yukio the fine art of twisting flowers and grasses together but the boy was too relentless to stay in one spot. So she let him roam, keeping track of his chakra and continued her flower crowns.
It was strangely relaxing. It kept her hands busy and her mind quiet.
Perhaps, I should give them? Nodding to herself, she set to work.
By the time Yukio ran back to her, Nagisa had weaved three crowns and was on her way to finish her fourth. She didn't immediately register the anxious rolling out of the boy but when she did, her hands froze.
"Yukio, what is it?" She pursed her lips when he didn't immediately answer. If she had a tail right now, Nagisa imagined it would be whipping about in agitation.
"It's- Oh! It's pretty." Nagisa blinked, realizing her brother was talking about her art. "Can I touch it?"
"Better," she smirked, putting one - her prettiest - on his head. "You can have one."
Yukio beamed at her before he delicately touched the flowers on his head.
"So, what did you want?"
Yukio blinked at her, once, twice, thrice before the light bulb switched on. "It's the girl, Kishi is mean to her."
Ah.
Quick as a sparrow, Nagisa shot to her feet. His explanation has been vague enough to tickle her curiosity.
"Where?"
Yukio took her hand and they were off.
"What did you say? You shouldn't talk to me-"
Nagisa knew they reached their destination before she saw them. Kishi, her kinda estranged cousin, had always a sneer in his voice and was the reason why she refused to go to their family's dinner anymore. He had mastered the ability to get on her nerves in less than ten seconds.
"Don't you know who I am? I'm-"
"Kishi, that's enough." She didn't mean to interrupt him - no, jokes, she totally did it on purpose.
Her sort-of cousin and his two friends - because, of course, he couldn't be alone - whipped their heads toward her as one man. Neither of the three could be older than thirteen but one had hit a growth spurt early and was big enough to give Nagisa a pause.
The corner of Kishi's eyes crinkled, a mean glint shining in his eyes. He fully turned toward her.
She disliked Kishi from the very first time she met him. Kishi was not a shinobi, nor was he planning to be one, so he had been raised with the mindset of a civilian. He was sexist. The first thing he told her was that a woman could never be a good ninja and that she should focus on learning how to be a good wife instead. She had been four and him, nine. Adding to that, he was the first grandson of her grandfather's brother. As a result, he had been spoiled rotten and ended being an arrogant, sexist asshole.
But it wasn't any of these personality traits that made her unable to stand him. It made him despicable, yes, but Nagisa could deal with that. In small doses. No, what stopped her was simple.
In the middle of their triangle, crumpled on the ground, Miru looked at her with glassy, furious and desperate eyes.
Kishi was a bully.
"Well, well, well. Look at that, it's the princess who wished to be born as a prince."
Nagisa took a deep breath, calming that twisted dark side of her that thirsted for retribution. Funny how this side of her only manifested with assholes. She raised a brow instead.
"Is that all you've got?" She crossed her arms, cocking her hip. "No, because you always say the same things as some broken parrot. You should try again when you learn some comebacks, okay?"
She smiled sweetly with Yukio looking confused next to her.
He didn't expect that and Nagisa took great joy in watching the colors draining from his face. Kishi squared his shoulders while his two goons sneered at her, grumbling some insults.
Well, that sure calmed the-
"But you didn't come alone, you brought your little brother. Or sister?"
Yukio fell into his trap and responded fiercely. "No, I'm a boy!"
"Really? But you're wearing a crown, like a girl." Regaining his confidence, Kishi took a step toward them.
Nagisa lost track of the stupidity he was saying as she watched Miru standing up but she was quickly pushed back down. Nagisa scowled.
"Hey-"
Yukio took her hand, hiding behind her. Kishi scoffed.
"So, you're just a useless coward who needs the protection of his sister."
Nagisa flushed red as his goons laughed at her brother.
Red of what? Shame? Humiliation?
None of that.
The warmth she was feeling came from something else. It was a fierce flame of defiance that ignited her guts, pumped her heart and colored her cheeks. One that craved retribution and will stop at nothing to get it.
They insulted her baby brother.
They could go fuck themselves.
They will learn, though, that angering her wasn't the brightest idea.
She threw the first punch. What followed was more a brawl than a fight.
She watched Kishi and his friends limping back toward the city with dark satisfaction. She won, naturally. But, Nagisa scowled as she moved her jaw, they still managed to land some punches. Which implied that she needed to train more and against multiple opponents. That was going to be a pain...
There had been changes in her attitude after that attack. Changes triggered by her will to live. She had been struck by desperation and fear. And she could still taste that fear. It was in the way she chakra searched her surroundings. In the way her hands twitched when startled. And the fact that she always carried a kunai now.
She froze and if it wasn't for sensei, she would have died. It couldn't happen again. She needed to become stronger and faster. She needed to train seriously.
Turning on her heels, she tilted her head, watching Miru dusting herself as blood trickled down her nose.
Hopefully, Nagisa mused, it's not broken.
She had tried to join the brawl at some point. It didn't end well for her.
Yukio tugged her hand. "Nee-san, are you okay?"
She nodded. She was fine, annoyed that they landed some punches, but fine. The bruise blooming on her cheek would disappear soon enough.
His face, initially shining with worry, morphed into an adorable expression of awe, eyes shining like sapphires, small mouth open and chakra churning excitedly. The dam was broken and a flow of words left his lips.
"That was so cool! You win like it was nothing! You were like bam-", he punched the air, "-sha -", a kick, "-and they were like 'kyaa' and 'ouch'. And it was so so sooo cool. Can you teach me?"
Nagisa couldn't help it, she laughed. It was a deep laugh that came from the belly and shook her shoulders while her insides were turning into a warm mush of fondness.
"Maybe," she hovered him with a smile and, without really thinking, she bopped his nose, " when you are older, okay?"
Yukio crossed his arm and pursed his lips, and on his chubby face, it was completely adorable. He looked like a pug - minus the wrinkles, mind you - with his tiny, chubby cheeks and his big eyes and she had such a cute brother.
"Fine," he sighed. "You promise-"
" -I didn't need your help!"
Nagisa blinked, Woah, she actually forgot about her, and straightened.
Miru had fallen into a weird stance. Her fists were raised as if to attack but she was hunched over, to protect herself. She snarled and showed her teeth but her eyes shone with a lost and scared glint. She was like an injured pup snapping its maw in a warning.
"Meh, alright, if you think so." Nagisa shrugged, not in the mood to deal with that.
"Wh-what?" Whatever Miru had been expecting, it wasn't that.
"You heard me," She scratched her head, leaning a bit backward when her brother decided to use her as a wall. "If you think you could have taken them all by yourself then okay."
She watched as surprise and confusion colored her face, her stance faltering as she tried to regain her bearing before she puffed up.
"What? Are you making fun of me?" Nagisa raised a finger and opened her mouth to counter. Miru didn't let her the time. "You think I'm weak or something? I will show you wrong!"
And she was off, leaving Nagisa and Yukio watching the trail of dust she left behind.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked curiously.
She shook her head. "I have no idea… Want to make more flower crowns?"
Her brother cheered, raising his hands, and led the way back.
Nagisa's steps faltered and she threw one last glance Miru's way. She shrugged to herself.
It wasn't like she would come back.
Nagisa was wrong. She was very, very wrong.
Miru tried again, and again, and again, and she was nothing if not stubborn.
Worst, most of the time Miru tried to contest her to a fight. A. FIGHT. Like didn't she realize that Nagisa was training to be a shinobi and Miru was definitely not? Did she lose some of her brain cells?
And each time, she was deftly deflected, tossed aside, knocked back, as if her attacks meant nothing. Though Nagisa had a hard time incapacitating her without hurting her, so at least, it taught her how to be more mindful of her strength.
Nagisa evaded a punch and took two steps back for the kick to completely miss her. She danced around her third attack to end behind her and with a lateral kick, swipe her feet from under her. Miru growled.
Nagisa took a step back and waited, eyes going half-lidded dispassionately. Those contests were starting to get old very quickly.
"Are we done?"
Miru's eyes shone fiercely; her fingers racked the earth. Nagisa was so sure she was going to be insulted when-
"Teach me!" Miru bowed.
Her eyes bulged from her head. "What?"
Nagisa was startled. No, scratch that, she was gobsmacked.
"Teach me how to fight like you. Teach me how to be strong like you." It was the most incredible thing she had ever seen.
Nagisa spluttered, her mind overheating, and she completely shut down.
W-What?
Miru became a quick friend. They bounded over fighting and their mutual hate for Kishi.
It took over three weeks for the school to be rebuilt, and three weeks more before Nagisa-sensei scheduled a meeting with her parents. Strangely enough, it was her father who came to the meeting. At first, they exchanged pleasantries and talked about her grades. Then, when her father started to show signs of boredom, Nagisa-sensei dropped the bomb.
"I've talked with Nagisa-chan about the possibility of finding her a tutor as her level is above anyone that could teach her here. She has potential and I would hate to be the one that curbed it, so, with her consent, I went ahead and found someone." She waited to gauge their reactions. "Do you still want it?"
Nagisa nodded firmly. She needed to learn more. Nagisa-sensei smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Instead, she looked at her with something akin to pity in her eyes.
"Very well, your instructor will wait for you in the library." Then, she added as an afterthought, "His name is Sumi Uzumaki."
Daichi took a deep breath and winced. Dread pooled in her stomach. Her father winced. He turned toward her.
"Well, lionfish," Woah, the return of the nickname. Nagisa feared the worst now. "good luck with him."
Nagisa sweat profusely.
"What are you doing here?" Yakihiro-sensei asked in his usual mood, which was acting like an annoyed cat. Though, since the attack, he was less rough.
"Hello to you too, Sensei!" Nagisa greeted with a teasing voice. "I'm glad to see you out of your bandages."
It took him a month and four days to heal.
"Your aunt died, Nagisa. What are you doing here?" Blood rushed out of her cheeks as her heart sank into her stomach. Her good mood plummeted. What? She may well have said it as Yakihiro-sensei repeated.
"Your aunt died last night." A look at her blank face told him everything he needed to know. "You didn't know."
She shook her head mindlessly.
Her aunt died?
…
"W-which aunt are we talking about?" Nagisa swallowed the nauseating knot in her throat, eyes burning.
"Uzumaki Mizu."
Her shoulders sagged.
Nagisa hated herself. She hated herself for not remembering immediately who she was. She hated herself for feeling that affected when she barely saw her.
"I see… If you will excuse me, I'll take my leave."
And most of all, she hated herself for feeling relieved that it wasn't Rina.
There was a massive funeral for the wife of the second son of the Uzu-leader, civilians, and shinobi alike dressed in black to honor the woman's memory. Celebrate her life and acknowledge her passing. Mourn her.
Mizu died due to pregnancy complications and both the baby and her died, leaving behind two people.
Flowers were thrown on the path to the altar Namiyo and his daughter had to take. Drums produced a sad and slow rhythm until one shinobi dressed in black and red appeared. Then, it was silence.
Everyone could watch the shinobi approaching the two, kneeling in front of Namiyo before giving him a golden scroll.
During the whole ceremony, Daichi looked pale, tense and dazed, as if he wasn't really there.
And then, people went in a line to express their sorrows to the family. When it was Nagisa's turn, she didn't even dare to look at one of them. She expressed her well-wishes and her sorrows and gave the girl - her cousin that she still couldn't remember the name - a flower crow of blue peonies and sea-water lilies.
Namiyo choked on his breath, one hand curling into a fist. The girl broke down in tears and Nagisa was ready to panic.
"Nagisa?" With great difficulty, she managed to look at his face, concentrating on his nose. "Blue peonies were her favorite flowers. Thank you."
One more thing she didn't know about her aunt.
She was ready to go cry in a corner. She hadn't expected that. Closing her eyes and trying very hard to keep her tears from flowing, she nodded and left.
She immediately stopped when she heard a crash and turned around to spot- "Tou-san!" -hovering Namiyo with a fist raised as if, as if he punched him down.
"It's your fault," he roared at his brother and Nagisa took a step back. "It's your fault if she died!"
Nagisa was frozen. She has never seen her father this… this angry, and hurt, and… He was devastated. It was almost too much to watch the raw pain etched on his face. His voice broke.
When he made a move to strike again, though, two shinobis appeared to stop him. Nagisa watched her father being dragged out of the funeral with something like horror painted on her face.
Nagisa remained frozen in the middle of the alley until her mother came to collect her. Her face expressed nothing, but her eyes did and Nagisa nearly cried when she saw that.
The library was hidden inside the mountain and the only access was through a cave at the bottom of the island. A cave and an ungodly amount of stairs. The path to knowledge was full of stairs and Nagisa was already dreading it.
Panting, sweating and flushing red, she finally reached the library; the guard protecting it was watching with mirth in his eyes before he threw her his canteen of water. Nagisa gladly drank it all.
"Good climb?" She could hear the laugh in his voice.
"The best. And it's not like I will need to do that every day or something, uh?" She grumbled back, wipe sweat from her brows.
"Ah. You're the Sumi's new student, then." The guard was giving her a tight smile, patting her shoulder. "Good luck with him."
Nagisa frowned. Why was everyone wish her luck? Was he that terrible?
Shaking her head, Nagisa entered the library.
The inside was breathtakingly beautiful. Despite being inside the mountain, it was bright. And the light, Nagisa realized, comes from inscriptions on the walls, from seals and… and quotes. The interior of the library was made of stone, rich burgundy and gold. And there were books, too, rows and rows of books, so many that it caught Nagisa's breath and her steps faltered. Every wall was lined with shelves, bigger and higher than a whale, and stone spirals that reached the higher shelf. Every book was protected by a door of glass. And Nagisa could see no end to the room.
The library was vaster than she could imagine, with thousands of scrolls and books. It must be, Nagisa thought a bit delirious, a library of a thousand cities.
And the smell of ink, papers, and a hint of sea salt made her head spun. If Nagisa had to describe it, it was the smell of knowledge.
Shivers of excitement ran up and down her body and the urge to brush her hand against books, to read the titles, to feel the weight of them was impossibly hard to calm. There was so much to see, so much to learn and discover; it was like a part of her, one that had been denied for so long finally resurfaced.
She stepped closer to one wall, hand brushing against it with reverence: 'True knowledge of ourselves is knowledge of our power. Our strength comes from the power we give to words. Our power comes from knowledge.' The light the quote emitted was bright and-
A chair scraped against the floor and Nagisa turned around. It took her a few seconds to see - because she had blind herself with the quote - and when she did, her stomach fell.
"Hello," she tried, her smile wobbling, only to be hushed by someone somewhere - which rude -.
Her cousin only gave her a sad, tired glance before she went back reading her book.
Okay… And now, the silence is awkward.
She made things awkward and now, didn't she? Nagisa wanted to flee. God, was it bad if she fled? Would Sumi-sensei scold her? Did she have to make things awkward? Well, kinda, because the last time she met her cousin it was at the funeral of her mother where her father punched Namiyo. Excuse her for being awkward.
Nagisa was slowly fidgetting on her spot, toes curling in her shoes. A bead of sweat was rolling down the back of her neck.
Her cousin had red hair and fat cheeks - like every young child -, an oval face and big, dark rings under her eyes like she hadn't slept for a while. She looked miserable and it resonated with a part of her. Nagisa felt a sad pang vibrated in her chest and hitting some sore spots.
In a way, she knew what she was feeling. She lost someone that she cared deeply, that she loved and Nagisa could relate to her situation. Just like she lost Shisui, her cousin lost her mother and her unborn sibling.
"Ah," Nagisa jumped at the unfamiliar voice, "there you are. I thought you would be late. Good. Mito, Nagisa come."
The man was an old man; his hair was murky and dull, he had deep wrinkles and a severe face. He had a terrifying presence.
Nagisa glumped.
And-
Mito!
Of course, her name was Mito. Now she remembered, Mizu's bundle was named Mito. Mito Uzumaki.
A cold shiver ran down her body.
Her name was… Mito… Uzumaki.
Her heart drummed with more force than it should.
Nagisa was older than her Sango-obaa-san and Sango-obaa-san was younger than the legendary Mito. And Nagisa was born in the main family… just like Mito.
Her breath itched.
Mito was her cousin. Mito lived during the Warring States. That meant-
Oh.
She knew when she was.
Oh.
Mito Uzumaki was her cousin.
Oh no.
And here, we have it. Mito is here, Nagisa realized just how far back she is, and you will have a full chapter with Mito after this one. Also, next chapter is fuinjutsu, so be prepared!
True knowledge of ourselves is knowledge of our power is a quote written by Hale White.
So, what can I say about this chapter? One, Nagisa wasn't supposed to draw her first blood now. But she met Miru and she made a friend! A FRIEND! Yay!
Nagisa is a bit of a nerd when it comes to knowledge. And now, you learned a bit more about Uzushio and its library ( - totally inspired by the Library of Alexandria). I mean, the Uzumaki's strength comes from fuinjutsu; they totally are scholars.
So that's it for me!
I'm out!
