Sasuke hid in the bushes and remained quiet as he kept a vigilant eye over his surroundings. His current target was a particularly large animal with an equally large appetite to match. Work was difficult to find for a vagabond like himself, especially since most of the requests and demands were levied towards guilds, something he was adamant about avoiding. This was one of the few requests that he received not only as a freelancer but as a kid as well since very few were willing to take him seriously. This particular client was desperate enough to hire him.
But finding the creature was easier said than done. Despite its supposed size, it was quite elusive and difficult to track. Fortunately, its voracious appetite would be its undoing as it was exactly what Sasuke exploited to draw it out. Placing a large morsel of fruits and wild vegetables that he gathered out into the open, Sasuke waited patiently for his target to take the bait.
And sure enough, a large boar came grunting out of the woods sniffing the ground for food. With a bulky build consisting of massive arms, legs, and a menacing pair of tusks, this was a creature that most people would not trifle with. But its intimidating appearance did little to deter Sasuke, who had spent years facing larger and more dangerous creatures.
The Uchiha watched closely as the beast began gorging on the bait before deciding to come out of his hiding spot to face the creature head-on. The client had requested for someone to bring in a tusk of this particular species in exchange for what many considered a cheap sum that did not reflect on the difficulty of the mission.
The boar's ears twitched at the sound of footsteps coming from behind him as he turned around to see a young human staring him down. The beasts let out a roar, warning the human to back off lest it faces the consequences.
Sasuke remained firm as he stood his ground, completely unaffected by the animal's threats. Realizing what was going to happen next, Sasuke readied himself as the beast stomped the ground and began to position itself for an attack.
The instant the boar charged, Sasuke dashed forward as well. He had enough experience dealing with these kinds of creatures that he had no need for the Sharingan as the movements of the animal were predictable enough already.
As the distance between them closed, Sasuke drew his sword and dove forward, slicing the right tusk of the creature. Before the boar could turn around or even register what had happened, Sasuke grabbed the tusk as before it fell to the ground and disappeared out of sight, leaving the creature confused as it looked around everywhere for Sasuke.
The boar eventually gave up and went back to what it was doing as it began gorging on the food once more, oblivious to the fact that it had lost a tusk in the process. Sasuke looked on from atop a tree before placing the tusk inside of his pouch and taking his leave. He had no interest in killing the creature and the client had only requested for the tusk. In a way, seeing the boar reminded him of the time he tried to help Itachi chase one away from the village a long time ago. That memory was enough to leave a small smile on his face, if only for a moment. Now that he got what was asked of him, it was time to return back to the town.
…..
"Here's the tusk you wanted" Sasuke stated as he handed over the item to the merchant.
"To be honest kid, I thought I was crazy hiring you to do this. I was scared that I'd killed you or something" the merchant tried to laugh it off, but there was relief in his voice, "Never would've thought you'd pull it off."
The merchant spent a few minutes examining the tusk before smiling. "Yes, this is the one! Now I'll be able to make enough cash to buy medicine for my daughter."
The merchant took out a small bundle of cash and handed them over to Sasuke. "Six hundred and seventy-five Jewels as promised," he said. As he learned more about this world, Sasuke also learned the economy of this land and the value each Jewel carried: 600 was dirt cheap by everyone's standards. Despite his profession as a merchant, Sasuke noticed that he wasn't doing very well with his business, probably due to some unforeseen circumstances. It made sense as to why he was desperate enough to hire a kid for such a lowly price.
But to Sasuke, the bare minimum was more than adequate enough to survive as he kept moving from place to place. "Thanks," Sasuke said, taking the money before turning around to leave.
"Hold on" the merchant called out, causing the boy to look back. "You risked your life for this, so I kinda feel bad giving you chump change, kid. Why don't you stick around and wait for me to sell this thing, that way I can give you whatever extra cash I got left from it. It'll be your share."
The Uchiha pondered on that offer. It seemed like a reasonable and generous deal, not to mention tempting. But he also knew the dangers of sticking around longer than he should. "I got what I needed, so that won't be necessary" he declined
"W-what?" the merchant asked, baffled by his answer.
"Keep what extra money you got to fix your business" Sasuke continued, walking away. "Take care of your daughter."
And with those final parting words, the eyepatch-wearing boy was back on the road once more while the merchant looked on with visible confusion on his face.
"What a weird kid," he said to himself as his face eventually rested into a smile. The boy was strange but thoughtful enough to help him for so little and even declined any further rewards beyond what was agreed. It made him feel a bit guilty seeing as it looked like he got the better end of that bargain while the kid was left with scraps, but he resolved to make sure he would repay that boy one day.
"Stop right there!" a large man shouted as he chased after a little girl alongside two men.
The young girl ran for her life as she held on to a loaf of bread as tightly as she could. Nimbly moving past the crowds and swarms of people, she cut a corner and ran into an alleyway. The sound of the men yelling grew fainter and fainter, compelling her to look back to see if they had caught up to her. However, that also made her oblivious to what was in front of her as she accidentally collided with another person.
Falling flat on the ground, the girl looked up to see an intimidating boy with an eye patch staring down on her. The mere sight of his cold dead eye froze her in place and sent a shiver down her spine. Even if he didn't do anything, he was now blocking the path to the other side of the street which meant that she was eventually going to get caught.
She had no choice but to brace for the worst.
The three men eventually caught up and reached the alleyway where the girl ran off too. But the moment they reached the spot, the girl was nowhere in sight. In her place, a kid wearing a tattered cloak and an eye patch stood in front of them.
While the other two searched the area, the de facto leader of the group approached Sasuke. "Hey kid, you seen a little girl around here?" he asked, towering over the boy.
"Yeah, she ran off towards the other side and cut off to the left, you can't miss her" the Uchiha answered, pointing towards the other end of the alleyway while showing no signs of being intimidated by the man's presence.
The man eyed the boy with suspicion before looking over to his men. "Find anything?" he asked them.
"Nope"
"Nothing here"
After scanning the area for signs of the girl with no luck, the man finally let his guard down as he accepted the boys' answer. "Alright, thanks kid" he nodded, before calling out to the other men, "You two, let's go. The brat's this way."
Sasuke looked on as the men continued their way towards their intended target before disappearing from sight. Once he was sure that they were completely gone, the Uchiha looked at the two trash bags in front of him and formed a single hand sign. In an instant, one of the bags disappeared in a puff of smoke, as the girl appeared in its place.
Looking like she had an out-of-body experience, the little girl still held on to the bread as she looked up towards Sasuke, who only stared back in silence. Something about the girl seemed familiar to Sasuke, almost as If he had seen her somewhere before. The color of her eyes and hair were what triggered a sense of déjà vu.
"You should leave now that you have the chance or else they'll be back" Sasuke instructed, only to be met with cold silence as the girl bit her lip and moved her gaze away from him, almost as if she didn't want to talk to him. The cold reception meant little to Sasuke; however, as he simply shrugged it off and carried on with his business. He made a vow to help others whenever he could on his journey, whether they were grateful for it or not was not his concern.
As the boy disappeared from the sight, the image of his cold stare etched into the girl's mind as she jolted back with widened eyes. Looking at him made her remember something; a very obscure part of her memory, but one she needed to fully recollect in order to reach for her goals.
…
As Sasuke made his way out of the little town, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being followed. Years of honing his instinct as a shinobi had taught him the importance of tailing people unnoticed and to know when he was the one being followed.
He turned around and discovered that it was the girl he met in the alleyway who was following him, though he had no idea why. The only thing that came to his mind was that she probably wanted to thank him for helping her that time or ask him some questions; those two usually went hand in hand.
"What do want?" he asked.
The young girl gulped and hesitated for a bit before slowly opening her mouth while still holding onto that piece of bread. "You're from Rosemary village, aren't you?"
Sasuke narrowed his brow as he firmly stared at the girl. It was unlikely for just anyone to know about a backwater village in the middle of nowhere. Was she a resident there as well? Perhaps she was one of the lucky few to have escaped the attack. "I was" he bluntly answered, "How did you guess?"
His words seemed to have triggered a reaction in the girl as she jerked back a bit before looking at him again. "It's just…..you look like him" she replied in a quiet tone.
"Him?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
"That boy with the evil eye" she answered.
Sasuke warily stared at the girl before letting out a sigh. "Guess it all makes sense now," he thought to himself, gently rubbing the eye patch. He never really thought that someone would still recognize him after all this time but it seems he was wrong.
The look on the boy's face was all that was needed for the girl to realize that her guess might actually turn out to be true. Still, it was better to have full confirmation on everything rather than just assume everything. "So it's true, isn't it?" she questioned him.
Sasuke wondered what she would say or do if he told her the answer she wanted to hear. Would she run away from him? Accuse him of being responsible for the suffering she had to endure and attack him? They were plausible scenarios and he wouldn't blame her if she reacted in those ways. These days, he felt like he really was cursed as some sort of punishment, not just in the eye, so perhaps her misfortune was part of his doing as well.
"Yeah" he confirmed, turning his back on her and slowly walking away, "And if you know what's good for, then you should stay away from me."
At any moment, he expected her to scream at him and call him names or better yet, attack him. He had no issue with any of those scenarios. He'd take all those abuses in without complaint and if she were to attack him, he'd be ready.
But as the seconds passed, he couldn't hear anything or even feel her coming up behind him to stab him in the back. Was silence the answer he was getting? He wanted to look back but felt it was better to just keep moving forwa-
"Wait!"
Sasuke heard the girl call out to him. "What do you want now?" he turned his face to glance at the girl with his right eye while sporting an irritated look on his face, "And didn't I tell you to stay away from me?"
The young girl ignored his complaint as she slowly approached him, closing the distance between them. "Have you seen my brother?" she inquired.
Her words gave Sasuke pause as he turned to face her once more. "You brother?" he stated, puzzled by her request as it did very little to narrow down the person she was asking for. "You'll have to be more specific. What does he look like? What's his name? Things like that"
The girl stared blankly until she realized her mistake. "Oh right…" she began, "His name was Simon. He's about this tall…"
The young girl raised her left hand to try and show his height. But by that point, Sasuke was barely listening to half of what she was saying. Just that one word had become stuck in his mind: Simon. Now he realized why she looked so familiar to him.
"Does he have a surname?"
The girl blinked when he heard his question. One moment he was looking annoyed and disinterested and now, he seemed just as curious as she was about him. "It's Mikazuchi" she replied, her eyes lingering on that eye patch of his.
Sasuke's eye widened with disbelief the moment she blurted out that surname. Did she really mean that 'Simon Mikazuchi'? The friend who once betrayed him but ultimately risked his life to redeem himself? The friend that he was forced to abandon before either of them had to chance to reconcile?
Simon always talked about his sister, wondering if she was alright. His own experiences with Itachi made him understand the strong bond that Simon had with her. And now, that beloved sister, whom he thought the world of, was standing there before Sasuke. And if she really was Simon's sister, then that would mean that her name was Kagura. This couldn't be just some mere coincidence, for two people who are connected by a individual to have a chance encounter. It felt like some cosmic force had a hand in placing them together.
Sasuke was in a predicament. Should he tell her the truth? If that were the case, she'd likely try to make her way to the Tower of Heaven, only to be killed or kidnapped. Sure, there was a good chance that they'd get to be reunited but it would be as slaves. Sometimes the truth wasn't the best answer, especially when it could break people. Perhaps he should lie instead: it'd be a cruel thing to do, to let her continue wandering aimlessly in search of a brother she'll never find but at least, she'd still have a purpose and not fall into despair.
It was an unwinnable situation since both answers felt manipulative and unkind.
"So….do you know anything about him? Anything at all?" Kagura snapped him out of his stupor and looked at him with earnest eyes.
It made Sasuke uneasy, especially seeing that hopeful look on her face. Either way, he had to make a choice.
"I….." he paused for a second before speaking again "I don't know anything about your brother. I'm sorry"
"I see" Kagura averted her gaze from Sasuke, looking almost dejected.
Sasuke was surprised by how she easily believed him, though that didn't make it any better for him either. He felt terrible for lying to her but in the end; he figured that the benefits of the lie outweighed any good telling the truth might have been. He would've essentially been handing her over to Jellal if he told her what happened to Simon.
"Umm…thanks anyways" the girl nodded with a smile as she broke off a piece of bread and handed on half of it to Sasuke.
"What's it for?" the Uchiha asked, feeling like her smile was forced.
"For helping me earlier" Kagura answered.
Deep down, Sasuke knew that she was probably disappointed with the fact that she came up short in the search for her brother once again. He hardly felt deserving of the bread considering he just lied to her face but he didn't want to ruin the moment. "Thanks" he nodded back, taking the bread she offered.
But then came the question of what was going to happen next. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her predicament, even though he had not spoken to her until now. He and Simon never got the chance to make things right with each other and sadly, they probably never will. Perhaps the least he could do was help his little sister.
Sasuke didn't feel too comfortable with the idea of her sticking around him, lest something terrible happen to her. But at the same time, he didn't want to leave her in this pitiful state, barely scraping by just to survive. Ultimately, he came up with a solution.
"So what's your name?" he asked a rhetorical question. He already knew what it was but decided to play along with the lie.
The girl looked surprised but answered anyway. "It's Kagura."
"Kagura huh..." Sasuke muttered, "Do you have any plans for finding your brother?"
"Ummm….not really, I don't have any" she nervously answered, clutching her remaining half of the bread.
"Then do you wanna come with me, instead?"
Kagura froze the moment she heard what he just said. "What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled by what he was saying.
"What I mean is…..I'm willing to help teach you to learn how to fight and take care of yourself" he answered, staring at the bread, "That way, you can still look for your brother and you won't have to risk your life stealing all the time just to eat."
Kagura was beginning to realize what he was offering. The boy looked like he was of the same age as her brother and seemed to be doing well for himself, even if he was walking around looking like a thug. She was still hesitant about accepting an offer from the cursed boy himself but that strange eye was nowhere to be seen or at least, covered by the eye patch. On top of that, he had been nothing but kind and helpful to her.
"You don't have to accept this if you don't want to" Sasuke's face lightened up a bit as he looked a Kagura once more, "I just think you can do better than this"
The way he spoke and looked at her, reminded her so much of Simon even if they were hardly anything alike. He was the first person to show her such kindness after a long time and so, after years of wandering all alone, the offer didn't seem so bad.
"Okay," she answered.
"I take it that's a yes?" Sasuke inquired once more for confirmation to which the girl nodded. It was enough for Sasuke as he turned to walk away from the town. "Alright then, but remember, it's only till we reach the next town. I'll teach you everything I know until then, but after that, we'll go our separate ways."
"Only till the next town?" Kagura mused on what he just said as she watched him walk away.
"That's right, now try to keep up or I'll leave you behind"
"Right!" she said, running towards Sasuke to catch up to him.
"This is pointless" Kagura grumbled as she sat huddled next to a riverbank, patiently waiting for a fish to take the bait. When Sasuke said that he would teach her how to survive, fishing was not the first thing that came to her mind. She could hear the sound of footsteps approaching her, though looking at the reflection in the river; she knew exactly who it was.
"What's wrong? Not catching anything?" Sasuke asked as he came up from behind.
"No" she answered dejectedly.
"Is that so?" Sasuke glanced at her sideways, "Or is something else bothering you?"
"Of course not" Kagura denied the accusation, though Sasuke wasn't buying it.
"Liar" Sasuke uttered to himself. From his own experience, he knew when someone was brooding and feeling angsty. "You don't have to hide it from me, you know. If you want, you can talk to me about it. I'll listen."
"I told you, it's nothing like that" Kagura said, but the Uchiha could easily see through her denial as she rubbed her eyes, probably to wipe away any tears.
He narrowed his eye, clearly expressing doubt in her words. It seems she isn't as open about her feelings as Erza was, so in a way, at least he and Kagura had that much in common. And if that's what she wanted, then he figured there was no point prodding her further as he sat quietly to her right, with enough distance to give her space.
The silence went on for a minute or so before Kagura decided to finally open up a little. "I was just thinking about Simon," she admitted, gazing at the river with a melancholic look, "Whenever I look at the river, it reminds me of the times I spent with my big brother. We were poor and didn't have much but we were happy…..until that is…"
He knew where she was going with this, more so than she realized. There was a feeling of guilt swelling within him for withholding crucial information about Simon from her, but even now, it felt like there was no turning back from that lie.
"So what about you Sasuke?" Kagura asked, looking over to him, "Do you have someone like that too?"
Sasuke looked back at Kagura with a blank stare before turning his attention towards the river again. "I had an older brother, just like you."
"Had?" Kagura inquired, looking surprised by this revelation.
"His name was Itachi. When I was little, he was someone I admired and looked up to" Sasuke explained, his eye narrowing with each word, "But, a lot of things changed over the years. The village we grew up in forced him to do things that made him become hated by everyone else for the sake of peace. He spent the rest of his life being known as a criminal who slaughtered his entire clan until the day he died."
Kagura covered her mouth, horrified by things she had heard. "B-but why he would do that?" she questioned.
"To make sure I lived. To Itachi, if it meant that I would survive, being hated by the world was worth it" he answered back, rising from the ground. "He did things no one would be proud of and when he died, people only knew him as a criminal who got what he deserved. No one ever knew of the lengths he went through to protect everyone and probably no one ever will."
Kagura listened to Sasuke's story attentively, amazed by the lengths that an older brother would go to for the sake of his sibling. If she were in his shoes, she'd do the same for Simon. "Your brother went through so much for you, didn't he? Still, I think it would've been better if he never had to do those things in the first place."
Sasuke was surprised by how quickly Kagura caught on and how acute she was with her statement. He had to agree with what she was saying: Itachi never should've been forced to do those things in the first place. "Maybe" he stated, "But that's just the kind of world we live in: broken and messed up. Even after I came here, things didn't change at all."
"So it's the same everywhere, figures…." Kagura noted, looking sullen in the process.
"Of course that doesn't mean we should just sit back and let everything bad happen our way" Sasuke stated, hoping to steer the conversation to where he could push her towards something more positive, "If we have the power to change, to make things better, then we should do it."
"Make things better?"
"Exactly" he nodded, "It's true that we can't always change the world like we want to but even the little things matter, like making life better for the people around us."
"Is that why you helped me back then?" Kagura asked, tilting her head.
"In a way….I guess" Sasuke replied.
Suddenly, the line from Kagura's rod started moving as the girl quickly held on to it. "I think I finally got something!" she said, pulling the rod with all her might.
The young girl was struggling with whatever it was that she was trying to reel in while Sasuke simply stood back and looked on. Seems like their dinner hinged on whether or not she could pull it off. "It's so heavy!" she yelled, still having a hard time.
"Are you giving up?" Sasuke asked though it was more of a way to encourage her.
"No way!" Kagura answered in defiance. She mustered up all her strength to give out on final pull as she drew in a large trout. "I got it!" she happily yelled out as she held the fish in her hands before quickly realizing that Sasuke was still looking at her and had now witnessed a different side to her. She quickly regained her composure, closed her eyes, and looked away with an annoyed "hmph."
Sasuke for his part simply responded with a smirk.
"Here I come!" Kagura charged forward with a swinging kick, only for Sasuke to easily catch it with his hand. She quickly retracted and tried for a jab, cross combo but each successive strike barely made the Uchiha flinch as he parried them all.
Frustrated with her progress, Kagura decided to mix things up and added in a few kicks to make her attacks feel a bit more unpredictable. They managed to at least make Sasuke take a step back as she continued her barrage of strikes before falling back.
Confident that she could hurt him a bit more now, Kagura rolled forward before trying to sweep Sasuke's legs who countered by simply jumping. Without wasting a single motion, Kagura used the momentum from the leg sweep to initiate a spinning back fist, hoping to hit Sasuke just as he came to the ground.
The Uchiha caught the back fist before twisting her wrist and locking her elbow behind her back, trapping her. "Not bad" he commented, "But you can do better."
"Then how about this?" Kagura smirked.
Before Sasuke could react, Kagura threw a fistful of dirt towards his face with her free hand, forcing him to let go of her to cover his eye. Taking advantage of his disorientation, Kagura sprinted before extending her right hand with an open palm to strike at Sasuke.
But the Uchiha recovered quickly and parried the strike before grabbing her arm with his left hand, pulling her towards him, and then taking hold of the back of her head with his right hand. Using the momentum of her strike, Sasuke stepped to the side with her arm and head on hold as he tossed her forward until she came crashing down to the ground.
"You've still got a long way to go" Sasuke noted, watching Kagura wince in pain, "But you've improved since your first day."
Kagura did not respond to his praise as she simply groaned in pain. She watched Sasuke walked up to her and offered her his hand and looked away for a moment before reluctantly taking it.
The two walked back to their resting spot which was situated in a small clearing near a river. Kagura sat in the one of makeshift seats that were made of leaves as she tried to nurse her bruises while Sasuke sat a little further from her near a tree trunk.
Kagura glanced at Sasuke and quickly noticed that he was opening the sword from its sheathe and cleaning it with an unused cloth. She had witnessed firsthand how sharp it was and was told that it had to be cleaned and maintained regularly in order to keep that edge. What struck her curiosity even more was where he got it from and from whom he learned to wield it with such efficiency?
"Hey Sasuke?" she said, causing the boy to take notice, "I was wondering where you learned how to do all of this?"
"This?" Sasuke repeated, puzzled by her question.
"You know, how to fight" Kagura clarified, "Did somebody teach you?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and took a pause before resuming his work. "I had a lot of teachers during my lifetime, though there were some things that I had to learn by myself."
"So what were they like?" Kagura asked as she continued watching Sasuke clean his blade.
"Not all of them were good people" he stated, his mind wandering off towards Orochimaru the moment he thought of flawed mentors, though just as quickly did he remember Kakashi as well. "But there were some exceptions."
"I see" she muttered, "Do you miss any of them?"
"One of them" Sasuke bluntly replied, "He was a….peculiar teacher but a good a man."
Kagura blinked but moved forward, curious as to whom this teacher was. "Really? So what was he like? And what did he teach you?"
"Let's see…" Sasuke contemplated, putting his sword back into its sheathe, "Frankly, I thought he was an idiot when I first met him. He looked bored and didn't seem to care about anything. But the more I got to know him, the more I realized that there was more to him than what I expected."
Kagura listened keenly to what Sasuke was saying. In a way, it reminded her of the times Simon would tell her stories, except Sasuke's stories were just not as funny as Simon's. But at the moment, it was the feeling that mattered, not the content or the way it was explained, and learning more about him was still interesting in its own way. It was clear that Sasuke had a lot of stories to tell, provided he was willing to speak about them in the first place.
"He was someone who cared about his comrades and it was something that he made sure I remembered many times over" the Uchiha continued, "he taught me many things, including abilities that could easily kill people."
"Kill?" Kagura flinched she heard him mention that word, though it made sense as to why he was so good with the sword.
"Yes," Sasuke affirmed, "But he taught them to me for another purpose."
Placing the sword on the ground, Sasuke got up and weaved the hand signs needed for the Chidori. Soon enough, a high concentration of electricity gathered around his left hand with its distinct sound. Kagura almost looked frightened of it, until that fear was eventually overtaken by awe.
"This is one of the many things he taught me" Sasuke explained, "It's a deadly weapon, one that could kill most people with a single strike. But that wasn't the reason why he taught it to me: to him, it was a weapon of incredible power, meant to be used only to protect friends and loved ones."
"Friends and loved ones…" Kagura repeated, continuing to look at the Chidori with wonder before it dissipated. "That's amazing! So are you going to teach me that?"
"I can't" Sasuke shook his head, "it's not something that just anybody can learn here."
Disappointment fell on Kagura's face as her eyes looked to the ground though this was a reaction that Sasuke had come to expect considering that she wasn't the first person to ask him that question. He saw that same look in Erza a long time ago.
"Kagura," he said in a gentle tone, "you don't need to learn the Chidori to be strong. Someday, you'll have abilities all your own, ones that I'll never be able to do."
"Abilities of my own?" Kagura looked up, feeling a bit more hopeful, "Like magic?"
"Yeah" Sasuke confirmed with a nod. If his own experience witnessing Erza's growth was anything to go by; Kagura had the same potential to grow into a splendid warrior in her own right. He just needed to make sure she walked down the right path.
"But more than anything else, the most important that you need to have…." He voiced his opinion as he placed a hand on his chest, "is this."
Kagura tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled by his words before eventually deducing what he meant. "You mean a heart?" she guessed.
"You have a dream, don't you? To look for your older brother?" The Uchiha gave a rhetorical question.
"That's what I want, yes"
"And I also told you that it was important to make things better for other people, didn't I?"
"Uh-huh"
"Well, those two things overlap with each other" he finished explaining.
Kagura scratched her head as she tried to make sense of what Sasuke was trying to convey to her. She looked over to see Sasuke sitting quietly, patiently waiting for her verdict. Eventually, she managed to put two and two together and came up with an answer, "So what you're trying to say is that the most important thing to have is both a dream and the desire to help others while we're at it."
Sasuke couldn't help but let out a small smile. He was glad that she got what he was trying to tell her and that meant she already on the first step towards a better path than he was. "Kagura," he said, his smile gone and replaced by a stern look, one that the girl was familiar with and caused her to snap to attention, "When you're looking for your brother, make sure you won't forsake yourself. That you won't use what I taught you to hurt innocent people, that you'll only use them to protect yourself or those precious to you."
Kagura was a little taken aback by how forward he was. He looked even more serious than he usually was and that was saying something. "What are you talking about? If I have to survive, you know I'll have to fight."
"That much is obvious" Sasuke had his reasons for teaching her all of this, but he also wanted to take a page out of Kakashi's book to make sure she didn't let her newfound skills go to her head. "But it's easy to get lost in your emotions in the heat of battle. More than that, you can lose yourself to hatred and become the very thing you fight against."
"But how do you know all of this? Did it happen to you as well?"
That question instantly made Sasuke quiet as his eye darted to the side, quietly groaning. Kagura realized that she didn't need him to speak on the matter to know the answer, as his silence and reluctance were proof enough that he had witnessed something similar. Still, he had done a lot for her, and it wasn't her place to pry on it.
"I-I get it. If it makes you feel any better, I'll do what ask me to. I promise I won't lose myself" she gave her answer.
It was enough for Sasuke to look her in the eyes once more as he gave an approving nod. "Good"
Kagura was still uncertain about the things he spoke of, about the promise he asked her to keep. Maybe it had something to do with the village? It could explain why he always looked so dour? It could be that he had a story of his own just like she did. Perhaps someday, she'd understand what he was talking about now.
Months had passed since their first encounter and by now Kagura had become more accustomed to being around Sasuke as they journeyed through the wilderness, learning to fight and fend for herself. They had gotten close enough that Kagura was beginning to see Sasuke as an older brother of sorts, one she could rely on and even display a more childish side.
It was another warm day as Sasuke sat atop a cliff overlooking a lake. Below him, Kagura was busy climbing to the top with only one hand, something she insisted on doing the moment she saw Sasuke pull it off with ease. Despite his insistence on doing it with two hands in her case, the girl was set in her ways.
Luckily for her, the Uchiha didn't mind her stubbornness as this meant that she was determined to work hard and grow into a strong individual. On top of that, the bottom of the cliff consisted of deep waters, meaning that if the worst happened, he'd be able to immediately cushion her fall.
By the time she was partway through the climb, Kagura was already beginning to feel exhausted. Her muscles were aching and her whole body was sweating like crazy. Making matters worse was the fact that the sweat was beginning to make it difficult to hold onto things. It almost felt like she was going to slip and fall to the lake.
But she wasn't going to give up so easily, not when she was getting close to the top. Using every ounce of strength left at her disposal, Kagura soldiered on until she could reach the top where Sasuke was waiting.
Several more minutes passed with Kagura nowhere to be seen. However, Sasuke eventually spotted a hand stick out from underneath the cliffside before it pulled the rest of the body upwards. "Honestly, I didn't think you would make it" Sasuke admitted, starting at an exhausted Kagura who was lying on the floor, looking up at the sky and panting heavily.
"So…tired" was the only thing Kagura could muster up. She felt lightheaded as if her mind was going blank and as for her body, she couldn't move a single muscle.
Sasuke groaned and shook his head. "I told you not to push yourself too hard" he admonished her, mostly for being so foolhardy, "Now you're gonna be in pain all night long."
It seems Kagura didn't have to energy to answer back, which suited Sasuke just fine. She had become more energetic and playful the past few months; a slight change from the quieter demeanor that she initially displayed. The Uchiha never thought she'd have such energy but he assumed that this was how she normally was around Simon. Thus, for the moment, Sasuke simply decided to keep watch over Kagura as he let her recover.
Kagura's rest lasted only for a minute as she trained her eyes towards the side, looking at an unwary Sasuke, who was facing the lake. A mischievous grin formed on her face as she slowly rose up and decided to creep up on him from behind.
Slowly crawling over to him while making sure not to make a sound, Kagura was mere inches away from his back. Taking a deep breath, the young girl prepared herself to yell loudly behind him, enough to scare him into falling to the lake.
"Don't even think about it"
Kagura froze before lowering her hands as she pouted in disappointment. This was the difference between him and Simon: Sasuke was always too serious about everything and never once thought about having any fun while Simon would at least try to play with her.
Suddenly, an idea came over Kagura's head the moment she realized that Sasuke was only a step away from falling into the lake. The grin on her face returned as she readied herself for her backup plan; she was going to get him to smile and maybe even have fun, no matter what it took to do so.
Believing that they had done enough for today, Sasuke turned around and got ready to call out Kagura. "We should head bac-"
The Uchiha was interrupted mid-sentence as the young girl tackled him to the edge of the cliff. His eyes widened as he felt himself falling over.
"Got you!" she proclaimed as they both descended to the waters below. The two plummeted towards the lake with a loud splash as they sank to the bottom before quickly swimming back to the surface.
As they floated on the surface, Sasuke could hear Kagura audibly giggle from behind him. Turning himself around, Sasuke glared at her with an annoyed look which was enough to bring her mood down as it gave way to a look of shame and sadness.
"So this was what she wanted," Sasuke thought to himself as he saw her looking dejected. Her antiques were annoying but the more he thought on it, the more Sasuke felt that this was preferable to being an depressed loner like he was. At least now, she was growing up as a normal kid so for this one moment, he decided to simply sigh and let it pass before giving out a smile.
Seeing him give out a genuine smile surprised Kagura as she stared in disbelief. But that also meant that she had succeeded and that he enjoyed the dive, which was enough to restore her mood as she let out a bashful grin.
"Idiot" Sasuke muttered to himself all the while still smiling.
….
"Achoo!"
Kagura sneezed continuously while lying on a makeshift bed. A running nose and a fever were the least of her worries however, as she was now forced to down a cup's worth of unpleasant medicine, courtesy of Sasuke.
"Like I said, you shouldn't have pushed yourself too hard" Sasuke reminded her, all the while helping her drink the medicine. She squirmed as her face cringed from the sheer bitterness of the concoction, but eventually, Sasuke managed to get her to finish the last drop of the green stuff which essentially consisted of a few herbs mashed together and boiled with water. The sight of the girl's unpleasant face as she dealt with the aftertaste felt like an appropriate punishment for tackling him earlier in the afternoon.
"Sorry" she apologized as she laid down on the bed, using Sasuke's dried cloak as a blanket.
"You'll be fine. Just make sure to get some rest now" he instructed as he moved away from the girl and sat a nearby log across the campfire, "the medicine will do the rest."
Kagura quietly nodded before slowly closing her eyes. Soon enough, she was fast asleep while Sasuke kept a vigilant watch over her. It was going to be a long night, but the Uchiha had no choice but to endure it.
"First you ditch everyone in the tower and now you lie to her about her brother? I gotta say, you're becoming closer to who you were"
Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar voice, one that hadn't spoken to him in a long time. It sounded proud, almost as if it was gloating over being proven right in the Tower of Heaven. Honestly, he wished he didn't have to deal with this since he preferred peace and quiet. "So what of it?" he called out, "Didn't I already tell you that if it happened, I'd accept the responsibility?"
"Maybe, but remember that the more darkness you feel in your heart, the closer you and I will get to becoming whole again. Which, in turn, means our Sharingan will get stronger as well."
Sasuke held his tongue as he continued listening to his counterpart. "You don't need to remind me" he addressed with an irritated scowl.
"Then I also don't need to remind you of what's going to happen to her if you let her stick around for too long. Especially when it looks like she's getting a bit too close to you. Of course, I don't mind that one bit"
.As insufferable as he was, Sasuke had to admit that he had a point. As he looked on at the sleeping Kagura, he knew that he was putting her in danger the longer she stayed with him. He had promised to part ways with her once they reached the next town and that was exactly what he was going to do.
"Sasuke"
The Sage of Six Paths called his name out. He was surprised to hear him speak after so long and was curious as to what he felt about the whole ordeal.
"For what it's worth, I believe you did the right thing, not only in the tower but also in helping this young girl. That being said, I do not think this self-imposed exile will do you any good."
"The right thing?" he repeated, his mind wandering to the lectures that Kakashi drilled into his head over and over again. "All I did was choose Erza's life over my eye, that's all. As for what I do now, it's best for everyone that I stay far away from them. I don't want another repeat of the village or the tower again."
"If that is what your wish, then I will respect it. Though, speaking of the Rinnegan, have you decided on a course of plan to retrieve it?"
"Hmm, that is an interesting question. What are you going to do about the Rinnegan?"
Sasuke was at a loss for words. They were individually annoying on their own, but now with both of them agreeing on something, the two voices were becoming a major source of headache. "I….." he gritted his teeth and tried to answer, but nothing could come out of his mouth.
"So you're just wandering around with no plan at all. Brilliant."
"Though, given the circumstances of his exile and the dangers posed should he try to return to the tower, it is understandable"
"For someone so strong, you're as soft as ever, Sage of Six Paths."
"Power isn't everything, boy"
The bickering between Hagoromo and the other Sasuke was getting on the Uchiha's nerves. It felt like having a migraine that would never go away.
"Enough!" Sasuke stated, getting both of them to keep quiet. "If you two have any better ideas, then let's hear them."
"Easy: just go back to the tower and let Jellal kill everyone there. Their deaths will fuel our power, possibly enough to crush Jellal and take back that eye. Heck, we might even get the Mangekyo Sharingan in the process"
That was a straightforward yet morbid and heartless approach. The old Sasuke would've probably done it without a second thought. But that wasn't who he was now. "No. I won't let Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna die just so I can get that eye back."
"Pfft, do what you want."
Sasuke could clearly hear the disdain in his dark counterpart's voice. But that suited him just fine.
"If I may, while I cannot offer a solution, I can suggest something."
"What is it?" Sasuke asked, curious as to what the ancient being might be offering.
"If the Rinnegan is still intact, then you can use your connection to your left eye to monitor and see from its perspective. At least, that way you can know what is going on"
"And you never thought to tell me this before?" he narrowed his eyes and questioned the Sage, one who was always so cryptic and spoke in riddles.
"There is no guarantee that it will work flawlessly and rarely has such anomalies ever occurred in the history of the shinobi world."
Sasuke grumbled but eventually realized that he might have a point: If he could easily see from his left eye, then he'd be doing so whenever he slept. "Alright, so what do I do?" he conceded and asked for instructions.
"Cover your right eye and focus on trying to see from your left eye."
Sasuke did as instructed and covered his right eye. It was harder than he expected since there was nothing but darkness for an entire minute or so. Blocking out every external and internal noise, Sasuke focused only on the task at hand.
It took more than ten minutes, but tiny static images finally began to appear. They were hazy and trying to concentrate was painful, but Sasuke managed to make out just enough details to know what was going on. From what he could gather, the eye was being stored in some sort of container; that much was obvious. But what was surprising to him, was the fact that Jellal was absent. Instead, in his place were a group of armed men standing guard and wearing uniforms that were completely different from the clothing that the cultists wore.
But the thing the sparked his interest the most was the presence of an old man; one who looked like their leader as he commanded the others. Whoever he was, Sasuke thought it was plausible that he was the current owner of the Rinnegan.
Eventually, Sasuke had to let go and open his right eye once more as the strain was a bit too much to bear.
"So what did you see?"
"I don't know" Sasuke stated, trying to collect his thoughts before speaking again, "but I couldn't see Jellal anywhere and it looked like somebody else has the Rinnegan now."
"Hmmm, I do recall the young man, in his twisted state of mind, stating that he going to give the eye as an offering to their God, the one called Zeref. It is possible, that he gave it away to another party"
"Maybe" the Uchiha replied, acknowledging the logic behind that theory, though it still didn't confirm anything yet. "The people didn't look like the cult members we dealt with…..they had a different insignia," Sasuke said as he began tracing the symbol on the ground, "and it looks like they're being led by some old man. It's possible he had something to do with the tower."
"That is a sound theory. So what will you do now, Sasuke?"
"There's still a lot that I don't know yet" Sasuke rubbed his chin and answered, " and you did say that you suppressed all of the abilities of the Rinnegan, didn't you?"
"I did. And without chakra, I do not think it will be possible to use any of its abilities. That being said, this 'Magic' is an unfamiliar element, a variable whose nature I do not properly know yet. There is the possibility of it acting as a substitute, though I can neither confirm nor deny."
Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. The unpredictable nature of magic was what worried him. If it ever came to a scenario where these people could, in fact, use the Rinnegan with magic, then it wouldn't bode well for this world. If the tower was anything to go by, they weren't good people and that eye was his responsibility. Still, he had to look at the silver lining, anything that could give him something to work with. "But even if they did learn to use it, wouldn't it require a lot of power just to use one since the eye doesn't belong to them?" he pointed out.
"It is possible that the use of the Rinnegan's abilities would be taxing even if they used magic: If they can use it in the first place, that is. Let us keep this in mind as we move forward."
"Dammit!" Sasuke clenched his fists and growled, "we're still getting nowhere with this."
"That is quite alright. It is for the best that we do not rush with matters such as these. Better to take your time, my dear Sasuke."
Sasuke quietly nodded in agreement, looking over at Kagura once more. Seeing how peaceful she was sleeping made him realize that parting ways with her would be difficult. But it was something that he had to do, for her sake. The path he was walking on would put her in danger and that was something that he had to remind himself over and over again.
Relief was the first thing on Kagura's mind the moment they reached the first town in what felt like months. She happily followed behind Sasuke as they walked through the streets, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of civilization.
As tempting and pretty as some of the things that were being put on sale were, the young girl knew that neither she nor he could afford most of the items, which was fine with her as she was used to this lifestyle even when she was with Simon. Instead, she spent the entirety of the day, performing odd jobs with Sasuke to earn money. She didn't mind the meager pay, so long as it meant that she could learn and spend more time with Sasuke. Sadly, little did she know that it would be the last time they would spend together.
"Whew, what a day!" Kagura said, stretching her arms as she sat on the grassy fields. After a long day of work, having a decent meal and a chance to sleep under the stars felt like heaven. "Right Sasuke?"
Taking note of his silence, she looked over to her right to see Sasuke looking up at the stars, looking contemplative as usual. She always wondered what he was thinking about or what his dreams were since he never told them.
Deciding to take the initiative, she walked over to the boy and sat next to him, who remained obliviously to her presence. But by this point, Kagura had gotten used to his silence and thus, opted to simply watch the stars alongside him.
"They're pretty, aren't they?" Kagura said, with a small smile on her face, "It makes me want to fly up and touch them."
"Yeah" Sasuke replied.
"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" she asked him.
"Tomorrow?" he said, thinking deeply on it, "I don't…really know."
"Well, that's okay. I don't really mind what we do tomorrow as long as it's with you" she reassured him.
Sasuke looked over to Kagura, confused by what she said only to see her give him a hopeful smile. 'Kagura…I" he paused before starting again, "Kagura, you still remember your dream, don't you?"
It was now Kagura who mirrored his confusion before realizing what he asking about: she hadn't forgotten about looking for Simon. "Yeah, of course, I remember!" she answered.
"Then you know what's going to happen tomorrow, right?"
Hearing his words made Kagura pause and stare at him. It had been such a long time since they met that she had almost forgotten about the deal they made when they first started out. At first, she really didn't think much about it….but now…
"No!" she lunged forward and put her arms around Sasuke, resting her head on his chest before he could say another word.
Sasuke was taken aback by her actions, unsure of what to do as Kagura began sobbing like a newborn child, her tears spilling all over his cloak.
"I want to look for Simon and get him back. I know that's my dream, to find my brother but…." She continued bawling her eyes out, "I don't want to lose the one I have right now!"
Hearing those words from her only made it more painful for Sasuke to go through with the act. Those words had proven his fears true: she had gotten attached to him, perhaps too much. What was even worse was the fact that he himself may have gotten attached to her as well. She was a child who lost the only family she had to monsters wearing human skin and was all alone in the world. Just when she had found someone else to fill in that void, fate made it so that particular person was Sasuke. He really wished it wasn't so.
But he realized that if he truly cared for her and wanted what was best, then he would have to leave. His cursed life meant that she would suffer a worse fate just by being near him and he didn't want that for her or anyone else.
"Promise me…promise that you won't leave!"
Listening to her demands, he wanted so badly to say yes, but that would only make things worse. "I…..I'll think about it" he solemnly answered, as he hugged her back and petted her head.
He took her silence to assume that she believed he'd stay. With a sad look on his face, Sasuke remained still as he let her cry her eyes out till they would dry.
If only things were so simple.
…
By the dawn of the next day, Kagura woke up to an empty field with Sasuke nowhere in sight. His lack of presence caused her to immediately panic as she began frantically calling out for him as she looked left and right.
"Sasuke?"
"Sasuke!"
There was no answer, only the wind blowing her way, and a set of items lying beneath her feet. The items in question consisted of a small pouch and what looked like his sword.
As she inspected the items, she began to notice a strange piece of paper sticking out of the pouch. Taking the paper out, she realized that it was a letter addressed to her:
Kagura,
If you're reading this, then I'm already gone, so don't bother trying to come after me. The path I'm taking is rife with misery and despair. If I continued to let you follow me, you'd only experience pain and regret, so it's best I go at it alone from here on out.
You have your own path to take and it's a better path than mine. I think you have a great future ahead of you and I know you'll find your brother someday. And it's for that reason that I'm leaving behind all the money I have and my sword. Keep them, they're yours now.
I hope we'll meet again soon. I'm all for it, so don't give up.
-Sasuke.
Once she had finished reading the contents, her hands shook as her grip began crumpling the piece of paper.
Tears began falling from her cheeks as she gritted her teeth. She was all alone again, just as she was finally starting to feel happy again. He was like a brother to her, someone who protected her, taught her, and took care of her, only for him to abandon her just like everyone else did.
The crying only got worse as she fell to the ground, bawling her eyes out at the thought of her pathetic existence. Her hands balled into fists as she slammed them to the ground only for one of them to collide with the sword.
Wiping the tears out, Kagura took a good look at the weapon Sasuke had left her. It looked crude and cheaply made, but as she unsheathes the weapon, the blade itself was of decent quality. Looking at the contents inside the pouch, it seems he really did leave all his money behind for her as well, which meant that he was now going around with nothing but the clothes on his back.
"Idiot," she said as she closed the pouch and drew the weapon back to its sheathe.
As she did so, the memories came flooding back: memories of him training her, teaching her to not forsake herself or lose her way, memories of her having fun with him, tacking him into a lake, memories of watching in awe at his displays of magic. But they all paled in comparison to the ones where she saw his gentle smile as he tucked her to sleep while he kept guard over her.
Taking a deep breath, Kagura exhaled before letting out a smile. Their time together was fleeting but it gave her hope. Now she had the means to find Simon and make things better for other people along the way. She was no longer the helpless girl hiding and crying, praying that the world would show her mercy. Now she had the strength to make a difference and make her dreams a reality.
And all of this was thanks to the kindness of one stranger, one who became her second brother.
(Months later)
The icy wastelands of Isvan weren't exactly the most pleasant place to live in. It was a harsh and brutal world, made even more difficult by the presence of demons and monsters. The abandoned and ruined towns being the end result of their handiwork
But even in such places, there was beauty to be found. It had a strange, melancholic yet comforting feel to them. For some, it was a place to isolate themselves from the rest of the world and live out the rest of their lives as hermits.
For others, it was a place to remember the pain of loss and a reminder of what they once had.
"Hey Mika….hello Gray"
A lone man knelt before a marked grave, ignoring the blistering snowstorm as his cape flowed in the direction of the wind.
"Sorry, it took so long for me to visit again. Things have been difficult lately and I doubt it's gonna change soon. The demon's at the guild have gotten restless lately, wouldn't shut up about some kid with special eyes or something. Apparently, he's a descendant of some legendary wizard or something"
The man's words were greeted with an empty silence, but that did little to deter him from speaking to the deceased.
"But somehow, it doesn't bother me as much" He smiled as he continued speaking, "I dunno what it is but anything that makes them scared puts a smile to my face, ya know?"
The man continued kneeling before the grave with a smile. The names etched on the wooden crosses were that of his late wife and son.
"So anyway, I hope things here are-"
His routine was interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion coming from nearby. He snarled as his fists gathered up the snow from the ground. "Damned pests!" he growled as he rose to his feet, "Just can't leave the dead to rest in peace, can they?"
He looked over to where the explosion happened, only to see a massive volley of fire in the shape of dragons blowing that way as they let out a monstrous roar.
"That magic, is that a fire demon or something?" he quipped before looking over to the grave once more, his eyes focused on the named craved as Gray. "Hey kiddo, look after your mother for me, will ya? I'll back be real soon."
The man narrowed his eyes with a confident smirk as the snowstorm began dying out, revealing the name written on his metal chest plate:
ABSOLUTE ZERO.
AN: So I just finished watching the latest episode of Boruto. Damn, Jigen just clapped Naruto and Sasuke's buttcheeks on father's day, lol! Fight animations were cool though, not as awesome as the Momoshiki one but still, top notch. Can't wait for Bayron mode to be animated. Also, to everyone living in the US, happy Fourth of July! It's already 5 July in my place but still.
Harris Hussain: Well, keep reading and you'll find out. ;)
Bloobloo2324: Of course not! It'll be strange to see her be so easily forgiven and she herself admitted that she could never be redeemed. But at the same time, I think her story and development has been one of the most interesting ones in Fairy Tail so far. In fact, she kinda mirrors Sasuke in many ways.
Dxholoram: Thanks for mentioning the one who will inherit my will. I checked it out and it was pretty fun to read.
Hatred and love: Yeah, that does make sense.
Love-to-peace: Don't worry, I won't rush this. Like I said many times before, this is a slow burn fic, so things are gonna at a slow and steady pace.
Saru: I originally thought of given Sasuke and Erza some lines to speak as a farewell or even a fight but I decided that body language, thoughts and implications were more than enough to tell a story. So I'm glad you liked it or at least found it bittersweet because that was the intention. And yeah, Makarov would definitely understand that Sasuke needs time to sort things out on his own. Afterall, he lost his own father at a young age, so he tries his best to be father towards kids.
Anonymous: It's funny because Sasuke knows love deeply, enough to get married and have a kid and while he's aware of things like infatuation and other romantic stuff, he isn't the least bit interested in it. Ultear is gonna have a hard time trying to pull that off on Sasuke.
Doortolight47: Makarov is a very empathetic individual, and he shows that time and time again. He even told Lucy that he may not understand her pain or what she's been through, he understands them and feels them to an extent. It was only natural that he would apply this same attitude towards Sasuke as well. That's what I like about Makarov the most, and it's no wonder the guild members adore him even if he can be a bit pervy sometimes.
RandomCoolGuy: Don't worry, I'm working on that one. I just needed time to go about writing it.
Gen2324: He'd probably become a Wizard Saint and the top God of Ishgar, lol!
Stick Figure man: I've seen many FT crossovers where so many join the guild for no reason other than just because or for plot convenience. And that same goes for Naruto and Sasuke crossovers, especially because I don't see Sasuke just randomly joining up with anyone for the sake of it. If he did, it would have to be for a very good reason.
Liverpoolynwa717: Sasuke and hero seems like a strange combination, ha ha.
HearthofDestiny: Thanks. I appreciate it.
Sho-Senpai : Well, it's actually not out of character for Sasuke to find romance or be affectionate, considering he actually got married and even dotes on his daughter. It's just that he's not an openly romantic person like Naruto would be. He shows affection in his own way.
abc27: Imagine any of the top Fairy Tail villains with a Rinnegan: Hades, Mard Geer, Zeref, Aconologia. Holy crap!
Blood050820: Erik is a canon character in FT. He's a villain turned anti-hero named Cobra. He's fucking cool and a total badass. Also, I recommend you at least try to give FT a watch. It's not like One Piece or any other shonen show at all. The pacing is incredibly fast and arc villains tend to drop like flies. That being said, it has some of the coolest characters and villains out there.
To the comment calling out Blood050820. I don't think they were shitting on Zacchaeus the Cheater's story at all. In fact, they were calling it a high quality fic and that there's no reason to not read it, which is true, it's not perfect but it's fantastic and fun to read. I think what they meant is that, if people don't like my portrayal of Sasuke, they can check over A Rogue's Resolve instead which features a stronger, more badass Sasuke who takes down opponents with ease. Same goes the other way around if people want a more vulnerable, human Sasuke with more focus on character interactions.
Tetsu: Original monsters? Definitely! I'm especially interested in creating original demons from the book of Zeref though they're still in draft.
Aslee0322: Hello there! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and I hope you stick around for more!