Author's note (2020/06/04):
Only a few more chapters to go and this fanfiction is finally finished! The ending is within reach, so I will try to have the coming chapters posted once weekly until the last one. I also might have an epilogue/supplemental chapter because I write *too* much which will include character info and maybe a timeline (I know, I'm a nerd with too much free time). Writing is hard, but it's even harder to finish things - so I'm glad I can now confidently say that this fic will be finished in only a matter of weeks.
It's also come to my attention that this story is over 280,000+ words now, which is almost the same length as A Game of Thrones by GRRM... I never thought I could write this much in my life! I'm aiming for an end total of 300,000 words, so we'll find out when we get there.
As I said in an earlier note, whether you suffered or enjoyed reading this - thank you for reading!
(see end for more notes...)
Chapter 74
Dawn
"Kazekage-sama!"
Turning towards the voices, the silhouettes of Meiyumi and the other Sunagakure shinobi appeared running towards them against the black earth. Hastily, Meiyumi reached them first against the scattered sands and black stone, her brown eyes stricken with urgency. Meeting the face of her friend, Nomasaki gave a small smile of relief.
"Meiyumi,"
As she approached closer, Meiyumi noticed the gravity of Gaara's injuries. She could see the new blood making its way out of its crudely sealed wound, leaking onto his mahogany shirt and staining the fabric. He appeared weaker than earlier, the toll of battle weighing heavily on his shoulders. Kneeling down, the green aura of her medical ninjutsu surrounded her careful hands.
"Kazekage-sama, let me heal you." She urged, sternly. "We can't have you die here!"
"She's right," Nomasaki answered as she saw his ringed-eyes look towards her in protest. A light smile formed on her lips, grateful. "I know you're strong, but please remember – I forbade you to die. Please, Gaara."
Silently, he gave in and nodded.
It was the pain he wanted to avoid, not the healing itself. Gnashing his teeth, he pulled out his sands slowly as Meiyumi closed off the gash on both sides, healing his internal injuries as best as she could. Furrowing her brow, she forced every bit of her strength to the wound. It was deeper than Nomasaki's – and more fatal. She had to stitch organs back into place beneath her skin that she could not see, making it all the more difficult. Clutching his knees tightly as the cool air left his exposed wound, the flesh was sewn shut within minutes of agony.
"Nomasaki," Meiyumi spoke, turned to her. "Let me heal your wounds next."
Nodding, Nomasaki gave a light smile. "Right. Thanks, Meiyumi." A shock jolted through her. The color drained from her face, her violet eyes wide with dread from the energy she sensed upon the cool air. Whipping her head towards the direction of the slain bear of molten black, a vile presence faintly slithered into the cracks of the earth below. She suddenly realized where it was going – her heart near stopping at the thought.
The mines.
"Gaara! Nomasaki!"
Appearing within a flash, Temari and Kankuro stood by their sides. Despite the ferociousness of the beast, the other two Sand Siblings were lucky to escape any major injury. Only dirt and faint scratches marked their faces and clothes, with sternness and duty marking their eyes as they looked on at their younger brother being healed by the medic.
"Are you alright?" Kankuro asked. "We saw you collapse!"
Meiyumi smiled, her medical ninjutsu fading from her hands as she finished. "He'll be fine. The wound was deep, but it's closed now." Looking towards the silent Kazekage, she tensed her eyes. "You narrowly escaped a trip to the hospital, Kazekage-sama. If I weren't here in time, you would've been in trouble."
Unmoving by their chakra, Nomasaki's eyes remained wide and locked towards the steaming black stone. A shiver traced down her spine, the nature energy becoming clear to her. Time was nearly gone. Her scar writhed and pulsed under her torn sleeve as if in warning. Not even the medical ninjutsu she felt from Meiyumi's hands upon her broken leg could calm the storm she sensed brewing beneath them.
"What's wrong?" Temari's voice passed through her ears faintly. "Nomasaki!"
"Everyone–! We have to get out of here – now!" Meeting their faces, the terror could be seen in her eyes. "It's the mines! The remnants of that chakra seeped into the tunnels below… there's no time–!"
A faint cry sounded on the stilled winds.
The Suna shinobi sensed it, too.
Remembering the bursts of blue flame that shattered the great stone walls of the Kazekage's estate, Kankuro and Gaara grew alarmed. It was the same sound – only more lurked beneath the surface. The ginkō mines were hidden by millennia of black stone and vengeful wastes that shrouded it in mystery – only to be unearthed by the man who sought to use them as weapons. If the corrupted chakra were to touch the slightest shard, the entire valley of black rock where they stood would disintegrate into nothing. A vast crater would soon enough take its place.
The land became swallowed by a blinding glimmer of light.
Chakra swelled into the winds.
The ginkō.
Shattering the land of blackened earth, the ginkō ignited in a devasting blast of pure energy. Its high-pitched cries pierced the violent winds that swirled and broke stone in its wake. The blue flames followed, licking everything in its path of destruction. Within seconds, the great hidden mines exploded into a crevice of exposed caverns with every last piece of ginkō ore swallowed by the flames. A thunderous quake erupted across the land, the winds thrashing against anything that stood in its way.
The winds stilled once more.
Realizing she was still alive, Nomasaki shot open her eyes to the sight of a massive sand shield enveloping them all. Standing with his back facing her, Gaara summoned all his strength to his shield – protecting everyone effortlessly. Her heart calming in her chest, she sensed the chakra that arrived shortly before the blast. The winds carried their scents. Turning towards the chakra as the enormous wall of sand receded back into the earth, she saw the faint sheen of purple in the far-off distance. Her eyes widened from the feel of the chakra.
It was him – the Uchiha, she realized. The Susano'o.
And there were others.
Marveling at the shell of sand that encased them, a smug smirk formed on Kankuro's lips. Despite being weakened by his injuries, the Kazekage put on a brave face. His exterior was as unbent as iron and his sand was just as strong.
"Nicely done, Gaara."
After the sands receded, he met the faces of those who were behind. "Is everyone alright?"
"We're still alive," Temari spoke first, her voice familiar in its bluntness. "If that means anything."
The faint glimmer of dawn broke through over the twisting cliffs of the wastes, the dark finally leaving the land. As she could feel the chakra that lay around them, Nomasaki's eyes suddenly grew wide. Frantically, she pulled up her tattered sleeve to view her scar. Its pink groves were still there, etched forever on her skin in the memory of burning flesh and corrupted blood. The light winds kissed against her pale arm, the scar unmoving from her human form.
It was silent.
As if in some stroke of luck, her wound no longer writhed from the jade ore that plagued the blackened lands. She wanted to weep. "It's gone," She found herself say aloud, her heart beating in startled relief. "The burning under my scar–! The ginkō must be–,"
Kneeling down to meet her face, Gaara looked towards her eyes and nodded. His expression was firm and stoic, and his eyes carrying understanding and ease. "Yes," He said. "I think so, too. That means the pain is–?"
She rose her forearm to examine it properly. The indent was still cold to the touch, even colder than the rest of her mountain-born skin. "It stopped–! It's gone…"
"Gaara!"
Surprised by the voice, Gaara turned towards where it came from the rising winds of morning. Upon one of the nearby cliffs, he could see the shapes of three standing tall in the distance. As the faint light danced around the shadows, he could clearly make out the forms of his Konoha allies. Standing with his arms folded against his chest in the distance between the others who came to their aide, Uzumaki Naruto stood with Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru. Feeling their chakra draw near, Nomasaki saw them as well.
Just as Hakuto said, she realized, She was true to her word.
"Naruto," Gaara said as he stood.
"Sorry we're late," Naruto shouted, with a beaming smile. "But we've come to help! Hokage-sama suggested we come as soon as possible!"
Remembering their words to each other at the wedding only mere months ago in the winds of spring, Gaara gave a small smile of relief. "You can always count on your Konoha allies for help" – being grateful was an understatement. Overhead, a great chakra passed over. Looking towards the skies, they both witnessed the armored ghostly figure of the samurai flew overhead in solitude. The Susano'o and its caster soon departed the wastes without a single word spoken – as so was the life of a wanderer on the path to redemption. Sasuke must have protected them – or accompanied them, Gaara thought as he seen its flaming purple hue vanish before his eyes. Nomasaki saw it leave beside him as she remained on the black ground mired with sand. As quickly as he arrived, he was gone. She felt as if she could sense Sakura's chakra pleading for him to stay or for her to follow wherever it was he was going. It reminded her of the longing she felt for Gaara in the days they spent apart.
A nostalgic but painful feeling.
Footsteps sounded behind her in a bitter haste. Walking past her brother and eyeing the Konoha shinobi, Temari solidified her stance and furrowed her brow at her lover who stood in position for his shadow technique. "You sure as hell are too late!" Temari shouted from across the battlefield of shattered black stone. "Shikamaru, you're so goddamn pokey! The fight was finished before you even got here! I left only hours before you and I was here the same time as the Suna-nin! What were you doing back there?!"
Dismayed by her reaction, Shikamaru groaned to himself, embarrassed. Second-hand embarrassment painted the expressions of his comrades – even to those unfortunate to listen to their bickering. With a sigh, he closed his eyes to avoid it all. "I didn't think you'd have the situation under control so fast, and there were Tenbu mercenaries waiting for us along the way." He retorted. "We were expecting an army of mercenaries waiting for us here, and all we got is a few rogue ninja and the aftermath of a failed lab experiment."
Awkwardly, Naruto scratched the back of his head as he turned to his friend. "Your wedding is in the autumn… right?" Sakura promptly shushed him, her green eyes mired in scolding. They already had enough fights for one day, that was for certain.
And dawn had approached at last.
As the Konohagakure shinobi joined their ranks, two of the scattered Suna ninja appeared before their Kazekage. Promptly, they guided him to the spot where the black stone cracked and heaved as if a void to the ends of the earth. Where the onikuma once stood. The scene was shrouded in black and grey, the withering pool of molten dark revealing the face of a man who let his hatred swallow him whole. Narrowing his ringed-eyes towards the crater, Gaara stood firm.
"Is he still alive?"
The Suna ninja nodded, their expression stern. "It appears so. he won't be alive much longer by the feel of it." He turned to his leader. "What should be done with him, Kazekage-sama?"
"He's to face judgement." Gaara spoke, his glance unmoving. "I'll deal with him alone. The rest of you tend to the wounded and the survivors."
"Yes, sir!"
After the shinobi vanished amongst the winds, the black molten mass that coated the last standing man of Tenbu eroded away. Slowly, Koga raised his crimson-soaked head towards the faint sunlight as he could hear the young Kazekage approach closer. Standing before him above on the ledge of the grey crater, Gaara's footsteps halted. As Koga met his unmoving glare, sand soon surrounded him within a matter of seconds, grasping him firmly in its embrace of fore coming death. Weakly, Koga's bloodied head slumped forward as he let out a defeated laugh.
"It appears I've lost…" He panted. "The odds were against me, for sure… But I won't lie… I never once thought we'd be defeated by mere remnants of forgotten clans…" Grinning, he rose his bloodshot eyes towards the silent and glaring Kazekage who stood from the ledge. "Your clan, the Kazekage clan of the desert… is just as forgotten as those wretched wolves…"
Glaring down at him, Gaara did not respond to his words.
"Tell me… what kind of Kazekage are you?" Koga questioned. Looking up at the Kazekage, his darkened and strained eyes met his glare. "Will you let me live – and suffer as your prisoner? Or will you give me honor and kill me here?" Coughing up blood, he struggled in his sand-ridden hold with a grin etched on his cracked lips of death. "I have to be frank… I don't have much life left in me – so spare me your glares and meaningless words!"
"I'm the Fifth Kazekage," Gaara answered, sternly. "I was the youngest of my village to become a Kage in its history, and I helped lead the Shinobi Alliance to victory in the Fourth Shinobi War." He stepped closer to him, tightening his sand's grasp on the enemy, hearing him wince in agony as he did so. "My clan may be forgotten, but I'm a Kazekage with honor. I do what is right to protect my village and my people." As he looked down upon him, his turquoise eyes narrowed further, threateningly. Standing firm and calm, his eyes appeared as if they could kill. Angered twisted inside them, vying to silence the man who lay in defeat. "You… are a threat to them. You caused nothing but pain and suffering in your wake – against your own people and any land you ventured. You deserve to die for all that you've done."
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Startling the Suna shinobi who guarded the crater, Nomasaki was met with their wide eyes and jolting shoulders. "My lady," One of them said. "Stand back! Kazekage-sama's orders–,"
"Step aside." She answered, her expression blank and fixated on what lay ahead. "I need to pass. I must hear what he says."
Dropping their guard, the two Suna ninja moved aside.
As she walked, her leg pained only slightly, but the pain in her heart was still there. Her homeland, Sunagakure, Commander Moro, Sohei, Shinto – all of them ached her deeply. Taking her place next to the Kazekage, she gazed down upon the enemy with her violet eyes calmed and blank with emotional exhaustion. Glancing to her, Gaara could see the pain clearly etched within her bitter silence. Through her eyes, she saw the man who set her village aflame – the man who slaughtered her people – the man who hunted her since she was a child. The flames were forever burned in her memory, but what she saw laying on the shattered black stone was a mere shell of his actions. His fate finally caught up to him – and rightfully so.
"You…! The she-wolf…" Koga laughed weakly. "For years I've hunted you… and your blasted clan! What good is it that you stand before me now?"
"I've come to see what you are," She spoke. "...and pass my own judgement as someone from the lands of Yama and Suna."
He gave a pained sneer, grinning under his breath. "Our clans… The Yamamori and the Kumatsume were sworn enemies since the dawn of shinobi… always fighting for land and power. We come from an ancient line, you and I... where nature energy runs freely through our veins and changes our people into beasts! Your clan, the wolves... and mine, the bears... that is... until that bastard from the desert banished our people and sealed our Kekkei Genkai away... It's left us defenseless and in shame for near a century... with our need to enact revenge only growing thanks to the conflicts that tore our wasteland of a country apart! Conflicts started by his people..." Glaring towards the silent Kazekage, his darkened eyes painted with red webs sneered towards her, threateningly. "We've both been cast aside by our respective lands... Me, for wanting what is rightfully mine – and you for being born a monster. The Yamamori fell from grace as the esteemed guardians of the mountains generations ago, instilling fear into the mountain-folk they were sworn to protect... and then their very village fell and burned all because of the last Yamamori... when my men turned it to ash...! Your clan is no better than mine… We're the same! We're both descended from a long line of bloodshed and misery."
"You've kept your own people as slaves." She spat, her voice as cold as ice. "You burned down my home, killed my villagers, threatened my family, and tried to steal my Kekkei Genkai with my death by the use of your foolish ritual… all for the sake of hatred. We are not the same…"
Her calm cracked upon the surface.
The more she met his vile eyes, the more she felt the hurt and rage writhe within her. Feeling her blood boil beneath her clenched fists at her sides, her face slowly morphed into a beast with each breath. Protruding through her mouth were her pointed canines, her eyes and snout elongated in a snarling grumble as her glaring purple eyes pierced through him. She did not change into a wolf, but the fierceness was the same.
Her jaws hungered for attack.
And he was the prey.
"If I had the strength, I would strangle what little life clings to you and let you drown in your own blood… I would gladly end your life with the hatred that twists in my heart...!" She spat through her fanged teeth, her voice deepened in its growls. "…but I'm not like you. I don't let rage or needless revenge consume me, despite what lingers within my blood. You are borne with hatred and you will die with hatred. That's all you are… a pathetic waste of a human being, using your hatred to harm others out of your selfishness." Calming herself, her face reverted to normal in a breath – the coldness to her human glance still locked onto him. "I'm ending the line of hatred between our clans… and with your death, that can finally be achieved. No longer will our clans needlessly fight. That ends today."
Maddened, Koga released a maniacal laugh from his prison of sand. "You…! She-wolf bitch–! What good will that do? The wounds of old would never heal… The death tolls between our clans is too great – and the hatred festered towards those damned desert-folk will never cease to exist! Never!" Humored, he glared towards her silent stance above. "I've lost count of all the Yamamori I've slain over the years, just so you know… Their pelts made for good trophies after the Second Shinobi War–," Wincing, the sand clutching his frail and weakened body tightened greatly. Gaara's doing. Breathing heavily, red leaked from his lips and nostrils. Scoffing to himself after it stopped, he glared back towards the silent Yamamori above him. Her purple eyes glared back at him, the ice and cold tinging the strange hue that painted them. "I've killed many of my own people, too… the ones who turned against me…" He smirked faintly. "When we went into exile, their loyalty was tested… and those who gave their lives to me were spared… The rest ended up the same as that fool of a man bearing the name Hoki… The Kumatsume were fools for not believing in me or my plans – or Tenbu…. You can kill the lot of them for all I care…! They're useless, utterly useless…–,"
A crack echoed across the crater.
Reeling, Koga shot her a bitter glare from his narrowed bloodshot eyes as his bloodied lip poured down his bearded chin. Nomasaki was unmoving, her fist reddened across the knuckles from striking his cheekbone with all the force she had. Her eyes looked upon him in disgust, glaring down at him as coldly as death itself. Biting her lip, she forbade herself any further strikes or words. He was a dead man regardless.
Scoffing to himself with closed eyes, Koga accepted his fate. "Fine, then – make it quick… Give me death." He chuckled weakly, holding his bloodied head down towards the burnt earth. "Or else I'll… die first… before you can kill me yourselves…!"
Turning to her, Gaara gave her an expression of sympathy.
"Nomasaki, look away. You don't need to see this."
"No." She answered, unmoving from her glare. Her violet eyes narrowed at the enemy further, her rage and hurt masked behind her calm. "I will watch him as he dies. He destroyed my village, hunted down my people… hunted down you and myself… and threatened to destroy Sunagakure." Her glare softened, remembering the hardships of not only her life but the lives of those she witnessed deep within the blackened mines of jade ore. "I will look him in the eyes for the sake of my clan – and his, too."
Closing his eyes as he turned back to their enemy, he looked back to the man grasped within his sands with a stern expression marked on his face. The iron returned. "Koga of the Wastes," Gaara began, his sand slowly moving around him. "As Tenbu have said, 'We will not stop until the sands are red with blood'…" He glared at him, mercilessly. "…That will be your fate. You will be swallowed by the sands that claim you… As the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure… I, Gaara of the Kazekage clan, sentence you to die. Do you have any last words?"
"Heh… enough talk," Koga grunted as the sands grew heavier over his body. "Just kill me already…!"
Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed their glare further.
"May death find you in its embrace, then."
The sands swarmed towards him in a monstrous wave of death.
Within seconds, the sand surrounding Koga began to morph into a giant pit of quicksand, swallowing everything whole around it in a sea of unrelenting yellow grains. Swirling around his bound body, the sands latched onto him, dragging him slowly into the depths of the broken blackened wastes below. The graveyard of shattered stone. As his death drew near, he let out a psychotic and menacing cackle.
Eyeing the two Suna shinobi, his bloodshot eyes glared towards them.
"Spoken like a true Kazekage clan leader!" He laughed. "Even you have some of the cursed mania the tales speak of! You're just like your accursed ancestors!" Violently, the sand swirled around him more forcefully, his entire body nearly swallowed whole. Their eyes met for one final time. "Gaara of the Sand Waterfall…!"
Glaring in response, Gaara was unmoved by his foe's parting words.
"I am nothing like them."
With the closing of his fist, the sands engulfed him.
A pained scream soon followed.
The deep rumble echoed throughout the land where they stood, signifying the end to his reign of tyranny and fear with the arrival of silence. From the ashes of the mountain village, he rose as a terror – only to disappear as the sands turned silent from the swallow of his bitter blood.
Tenbu was done.
Standing in silence, Nomasaki watched the moving sands come to a still.
"It's done, then. He's…–," Dead, she wanted to say – but she could not bring herself to speak the word upon her lips. Turning to Gaara at her side, she saw him give a subtle nod. Bringing herself to face the sands once more, her eyes narrowed. "That man – him and Kenzō… They were the ones who were truly monsters, not you for being a jinchuriki – or me for being of the wolf blood. They were kinslayers... slaughtering their own people for the sake of their selfishness..."
"They won't be torturing the living any time soon," Gaara said. "It's over."
She nodded. "Yes… at last."
"Kazekage-sama!"
Turning towards the call, they saw a ninja wearing the garbs and flak jacket of Suna appear kneeling before them from high above on the overarching ledge. "There are no survivors from Tenbu within the hideout or the perimeter. All is clear." They spoke. "Those of Tenbu who engaged in combat and survived are detained for further questioning for Ishigakure. The Ishi ANBU are en route to our whereabouts as we speak."
"Good," Gaara nodded, sternly. Zenken the Elder was true to his word back then, he thought. "Anything else to report?"
"There's a group of people who escaped from the mines," The ninja answered. "They're unarmed, clad in rags. The ones who scouted the perimeter found them taking shelter beyond the cliffs. They said the Uchiha found them and shielded them from the blast with the Konoha-nin."
The ones who escaped the mines…
Surprised, Nomasaki's eyes grew hopeful as the winds echoed the faint chakra that lingered far off in the wastes. "The Kumatsume…!" She spoke to herself. "It's them–!"
"What should we do with them, Kazekage-sama? Should we take them for questioning?"
"Don't hurt them, it's alright–," Nomasaki entered, standing firm. "They're allies – I freed them from Tenbu! Trust me, I can vouch for them."
The messenger gasped in shock. "Nomasaki-sama–!?"
"Please, listen to me – you have my word!" She said, loud enough for them to hear. "These people are the last of the Kumatsume clan… Grant them safe passage to the Land of Mountains. There, they can be free men. Send for a scroll and hawk so I can write to my father – Yamagakure claims them as their own!"
Stunned by the words they were hearing, the messenger turned towards Gaara. He stood silent, listening to her speak her words with a calm glint to his eyes. "Kazekage-sama? Are you sure we should –?"
Meeting their eyes, Gaara gave a stern nod. "Do as she says."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Soon after the Suna ninja departed from the ledge above them, Gaara turned to her. Narrowing his eyes slightly, a thought irked at the back of his mind. "Are you sure Yamagakure and the Yamamori clan would agree to this?" He questioned, remembering the tale of past conflicts. "They were your clan's enemy at one time, and your clan is just after rebuilding what was lost."
Somberly, she nodded. "That was in the past. Times have changed, and the fighting has long since stopped. My people were once near extinction… as they are now." A faint line of a smile became visible on her lips. "The least I can do as a survivor of my clan is to offer them peace and their freedom."
Her answer surprised him for a brief moment.
Examining her scratched face tainted with dried blood, he could see the guilt and want for forgiveness within her violet eyes. Hope was present in them as well – and so was courage and a newfound wisdom he never seen in them before. He let his thoughts wander, wondering what the young woman from the north would have been as a leader such as himself.
A kind leader, he thought, A good leader.
If fate had not allowed her to journey to the harsh desert lands he called home, they could have crossed paths someday as Kazekage and chieftain. Sand and snow would have met under far different circumstances, peace reigning in each of their lands with no threat of Tenbu in sight.
If only it were such a wishful world.
A thought jolted his memory.
From his pack at his belt beside his gourd of sand, he pulled out he cracked porcelain mask he found abandoned in the shadowed forest the night before. The bridge of the mask's nose was a deep crevice, the snarling jaws painted upon it seeming nothing more than a perished howl. The fine red paint that marked it was faded, the careful white detail scratched and broken beyond repair.
Holding it out to her, her eyes shot open from the sight.
"That's…–," She stammered, surprised. "My mask–! Where did you–?"
"I found it in the forest – before the mines," Taking it in her hands, she examined the cracks that bore through its eyes and nose. Her fingers slowly traced the curves and detail it carried on every edge, her eyes relieved yet saddened by its sorry state. The mask and her were one once, bound by duty and hardship – but now they were soon parted. "It's broken, but we can always have the village artisans make you a new one. I can send for them when we get back–,"
Smiling softly, she looked up to him. "No," She shook her head. "That's alright, Gaara."
Raising a brow in surprise, he eyed her curiously. "But it's your mask–?"
"This mask was given to me when I began my mission to spy on you for Kenzō." Her eyes closed halfway, growing somber. "I was told it was the mark of a tracker-nin, but all I see when I look at it is the mark of a traitor. Commander Moro and you pardoned me for my crimes, but I never truly forgave myself… Even when I would don my mask with pride, the shame of the memories of my treachery still lingered. In a way, it helped me hide from that part of myself… the part that wanted to face my fears." Holding the mask in her hands, she gazed back at its snarling and shattered expression. "But Kenzō is gone now… I have no reason to hide under it any longer. I will let the sands take it." Smiling lightly, she turned to meet his face. "Without the mask, I will always be the 'Wolf of the Desert'. That's good enough for me."
Surprised by her words, he understood her completely.
Without realizing, a faint smile etched itself on his lips.
"You're right."
Watching her rest the broken porcelain mask upon the golden sands by their feet, he slowly rose his arm towards it outstretched. Swirling around the mask, the sands grasped onto its cracked and torn edges, pulling it into the depths below. It was not before long that the sands filled the slits of its eyes, pouring into its mouth and filling its broken bridge of a muzzle as it disappeared forever.
A wolf does not need a mask, she realized, A wolf no longer needs to hide.
"…Thank you…"
Notes (2020/06/04): ...and that is the end of the Tenbu/assassin subplot.
For a little fun-fact, the name "Tenbu" (天部) can be roughly translated to "gods of the heavens" in Japanese. In my early drafts from over a year ago, I was originally going to make Tenbu a group of Ōtsutsuki clan/Kaguya worshippers and have them use my OC's blood for a ritual to try to summon one to earth (hence the name). I'm glad I changed it looking back, as it would've been a nightmare to write (and possibly an additional 100,000+ words... oof)
I was scared when I started writing this segment of the story 20+ chapters back because I was worried I did it very messily and disorganized. To be honest I wrote most of this fanfic rewrite going chapter-by-chapter and I will say it right now: if it's a long-fic... don't do it, folks! If I had a chance to redo this story, I would have written it all first then posted once a week. Instead I rewrote the first 30 chapters and posted them, re-edited 4 of them and changed things, posted 5 new chapters on the fly, added 3 chapters between the middle (yikes), and THEN tried writing chapter by chapter once the length exceeded the original fic I posted to Quizilla in 2009 around chapter 34/35. I've learned from my mistakes, so thank you all for reading this far!
I would also like to thank everyone who went out of their way to leave a favourite/kudos, follow/bookmark, and/or review/comment!
I often feel down on myself because I feel my work is always bad or uninteresting, but seeing that others like my work truly makes my day ^-^
Thank you for reading xx