Fifty
Her life was half-over. Already her story was in the middle of its weathered pages. And she was ashamed of it.
That year she went back to the mountain village. When she reached it, she found it deserted, a ghost town. It had been attacked, she learned from examination, by a force that had demolished it. She had screamed then, a haunted, animal sound that echoed on and on.
No matter how much she tried to hold onto things, they slipped away.
The year before, Lee had died, his body mangled by enemies. His name was added to the memorial. A hero. They all were.
She had found her father on that slab of marble: Haruno Kouji. He was a hero too? She hadn't known, hadn't remembered. Was she to be a failure in a line of legends?
Yes.
Thirty-eight years ago, her only dream was to marry a certain boy. Twenty-five years ago, she had left this place. Ten years past, she was back. And now?
She truly didn't know.