Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

Chapter 42: Two years

Yuki adapted herself quite well to Kumogakure. She did not even see the time pass. It had been two years people were welcoming. Even Karui, who first revealed her existence to the Raikage, became a good friend of hers. There, she allowed herself to be a child. Despite being unsure about her at first, the Fourth Raikage grew fond of her and began seeing her as one of his own villagers. He often praised her intelligence and wisdom. However, he was always the one to remind her to remain a child for as long as she could, especially in the turbulent time they lived in. He would some time even train her personally. He allowed her to learn some of the lightning techniques that were passed down in Kumogakure. She was really grateful for it. One of those techniques was the Storm Release which was only possible if the user had both water and lightning chakra affinity. Because he was always very busy as the Raikage, he often delegated her training duty to his right hand man: Darui.

Darui was a laid-back shinobi. It seemed at times as though he had no motivation, but it was only his appearances that lead to that belief. He was actually very hard working, despite his laid-back nature. He just didn't like doing useless things. When teaching Yuki, he was very diligent. He often expressed his amazement at the speed at which Yuki was progressing. Another thing they worked on was increasing her chakra pool. Yuki often expressed that she felt like she got tired too often. He made sure that she could increase her chakra and use it in the most efficient way possible.

Two years passed just like that. The friendship between her and Omoi grew even stronger. There was mutual respect between her and Darui. There was a blossoming sisterhood between her and Karui. There was a fatherly love that somehow emerged between her and the Raikage. It happened fast and unknowingly. She slowly forgot about the pain from Konohagakure, but started missing the good times she had there. She missed the green forests of Konoha. She missed the people she had met there and forged a bond with. She slowly started wondering about them. However, she didn't want to go back there just yet. She also started thinking about Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. She wondered how Gaara was doing as the Kazekage. She heard news here and there from talks in the Raikage's office, but there was never much detail. She didn't miss the weird weather in Sunagakure, but she missed looking at the moon there with Gaara. Every full moon, she made it a point to watch the moon and to pray to it for his well-being. She believed nobody deserved love more than him.

In the last two years, Yuki saw her hair grow longer and longer. It was down to her knees. She liked maintaining her hair that long. It felt like a silky blanket against her back. Omoi often complimented her on her hair. He always told her it was one of the most beautiful sight to him when her hair danced freely in the wind. He would then blush, look away and scratch his neck in embarrassment. Karui always made fun of him. Bee would remind him all the time of his cheesy comments. Yuki felt awkward about it, but slowly grew immune to the cheesiness.

Two years ago, Yuki could have never imagined herself settling down somewhere other than Konohagakure. Somehow it happened. She couldn't be happier. This home was filled with such delights. It really felt warm. Yuki's heart could beat and flutter again. She smiled everyday. Occasionally, she would be haunted by the past. It was okay. She didn't mind it. It reminded her of how good her life was now.

"Have you heard about the Akatsuki?" The Raikage asked Yuki one day as she was helping him with some of the paper work.

Yuki nodded. Itachi, the last time that she saw him, had mentioned the name to her.

"I just received a report from Konohagakure telling everyone to be on the lookout for them. Mabui, you should show this to Darui and the village's patrol team."

"Yes, Raikage-sama." Mabui replied as she quickly took the papers and headed out to share in the information.

Yuki had forgotten all about the Akatsuki. She took a look at the list of people who were known to be part of the Akatsuki. They were all S-rank criminals that have deserted their village after committing a serious offense. She couldn't take her eyes off Itachi's name. He was labelled like the rest of them.

"They are all extremely strong shinobis. Their talent have gone to waste though." The Fourth Raikage commented. "Nothing you can't face, though."

He looked at her with a fatherly smile. He believed in her strength so much. She wasn't sure she had that much confidence in herself. It was a nice feeling though. It was nice to have positive reinforcement no matter its exactitude.

She went to bed that night feeling slightly uneasy. Something kept bothering her after she saw the report about the Akatsuki. If all of the sudden there were more sightings of them, it had to mean that they were taking more actions. Remembering what Hidan and Kakuzu were doing, she felt like her days in Kumogakure were going to be numbered. She felt a certain responsibility in helping with their hunt. As she twisted and turned in her bed for a long time, she decided to head out on the balcony to catch a glance at the moon. It was full, but clouds kept on passing by and covering its magnificence.

"How are you not in bed yet?" She heard a voice ask her from downstairs.

She looked down. It was Omoi who had just returned from one of his missions. He jumped the many balconies and joined her.

"I just had a lot of thoughts."

"Tell me about it." Omoi said jokingly as he was known for being an over thinker.

Yuki smiled at that comment. He always knew how to make her feel at ease when she was distressed.

"How did your mission go?"

"Just had to catch a few bandits. Nothing too difficult."

"And yet they managed to injure your hand." Yuki said as she saw his hand twitching. "Let me have a look at it."

"It's nothing..."

She grabbed his hand anyway. He let out a little screech out of pain.

"Nothing, eh? Want to tell me what happened?"

He scratched the back of his neck nervously again. She chuckled as she began to heal his hand.

"They blew up a mine in attempt to escape. There were some kids in the mine for some reason or another. I rushed in and got my hand crushed by rocks on the way. All the kids are safe and we caught the bandits. My hand crushing was worth it. I also knew you would be around to fix me up."

"Omoi, I might not always be around."

He became silent. Yuki continued as she remained fixated on his hand:

"You really have to be more careful when on missions no matter how easy it might seem. I showed Karui some basic medical ninjutsu..."

"Stop. What do you mean you might not always be around? Did someone tell you to leave? Did something happen while I was gone? Are you sick? Are you going to die soon?"

"No, no, no and no. I... I just think I've bothered you all long enough. I should head home."

"This is your home now! I've told you many times. Even the Raikage sees you as his family."

"I know. You've all been so good to me. I just... I..."

He pulled his hand away, grabbed her face and made her look at him. Her eyes were filled with tears as she was telling him these things. She didn't want to leave. She just felt like she had to.

"I'm sorry..."

"Two years meant nothing to you?" He asked her, his eyes also filling up with tears. "I... I knew you were going to leave someday, but I thought that... I thought that maybe these last two years would convince you to stay here forever."

"Nothing lasts forever, Omoi."

As she said those words, she had made up her mind. She was ready to leave the village. She was ready to say goodbye. She was happy she got to see him before leaving. She felt the closest to him. He really changed her views on things. He helped her when she was most vulnerable.

"I'm not asking for forever." He then said. "Forever don't exist for shinobis like us who risk our lives everyday. I'm asking for longer."

"Two years have been long enough." Yuki replied.

She stood up and wind picked up and blew through her hair. The wind made the tears on her eyes roll down her cheeks.

"You'll let everybody know for me?"

"You can't even stay for another day."

"It will just get harder to leave. Omoi..."

He didn't let her finish. He stood up as well and kissed her gently on the lips as his tears were streaming down from his eyes. She closed her eyes and gently pushed him away.

"I'm sorry..." He started.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry." Yuki interrupted him.

"I..."

"Thank you for everything." She interrupted him once again, stopping him from saying anymore as she knew it might change her mind.

She knew too well how he felt. She wasn't sure of her own feelings. She didn't know if what he had to say would change her mind. She didn't want it to. She wanted to leave it to the unknown. She was fine of not knowing if they could have been more than friends. Two years of keeping it in the unknown couldn't be wasted. As she sensed his hand going for her shoulder to hold her back one more time, she vanished in between his fingers, leaving only a cold wind to caress his hand.

End of Chapter 42

Thank you for reading this chapter!

xox

Krystal