If I Could Fly
Chapter Three
"Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?"
Beta: Many thanks to TheNightShinobi for editing this chapter
"It's raining."
"It's been raining for three days straight, Hina-chan."
The young, dark haired girl adjusted the wide brim hat on her head. I watched with mild interest through a crack in the door flap as the two children squabled back and forth.
"So what, Souta-kun?" The little girl huffed in annoyance. "It has been raining for three days!"
"Yes," The boy smiled tightly. "And you've commented on it every single time. If you have to talk about stupid stuff can you at least change it up every once in while?"
Hina growled and shoved the boy over into the wet earth. "You're one to talk! You never shut that big trap of yours." She stalked off to the front of the group near the horses.
Another boy, one with a shock of shaggy blonde hair, sighed and helped Souta up off the ground. "You know better than to make Hina-chan mad at you."
"Yeah but I can't help it ya know?" Souta grumbled, wiping the mud from his glasses.
I laughed at their antics. The boys whirled their heads around to search for the source of the sound and I quickly drew away from my spot. Our entourage had stopped for a brief break and I was beginning to get a little stir crazy.
"I didn't take you for a snoop, Sayuri-hime." Junko teased from her seat. I glowered and folded my arms.
"It's not like there's anything else to do. You're practically keeping me hostage in here."
"You're not used to this weather," She continued, unfazed. Junko was patching a hole in her jacket with her travel sewing kit. The fur lining of the hood was detaching at the seams and it seemed to bother her. I was getting so bored I had even offered to do it for her, but she'd refused saying it was her own fault for ripping it in the first place. "Too much time out in this heatwave and you're going to get sick.
"So what? A little sun isn't going to kill me. I might get a heatstroke from staying in this tiny wagon a second longer-"
"Alright." Junko cut me off, making a shooing motion with the hand holding her needle. "If you get a sunburn I'm not going to feel sorry for you."
"I'll be fine," I grumbled while continuing to pull my shoes on. I stepped out of the back entrance and relished the feeling of the sun on my skin. It was overcast skies for miles but that wouldn't stop me. I spotted a field up ahead, and with a quick look around to make sure I was alone, I darted forward to explore a little.
The tall grass reached up to my waist and tickled where it came into contact with my skin. There were dozens of different kinds of wildflowers and I single handedly picked out several. The pile in my arms grew by the second until I was satisfied with the array of colors. I noticed pink blooms growing close to the ground and crouched to add them to the group. When I stood up there was a single, yellow bud in my line of sight waiting expectantly.
The white haired shinobi stood with a wide grin on his face, holding out the flower to me. Tentatively, I reached for it and added it amidst my collection. "T-Thanks." I mumbled, feeling the heat rising to my cheeks.
"Not a problem, I believe this ones called a daffodil if I'm not mistaken." He mused aloud. It struck me as odd that he would know anything about flowers. I'd always been interested in the hidden meaning behind flowers as a child and would spend hours reading about the different types.
I brought the plant closer and inspected the star shaped petals and hearty stem and smiled, "Yes it is. I saw them in a book once, it looks just like the picture." I said softly.
"Well, I suppose you'll want to keep looking on your own. I'll be out of your way now. Yamato-hime." The shinobi put his hands in his pocket and walked past me. I turned as he walked by. My eyes went from the flower toward him. A small, barely noticeable warmth filled my chest.
"Shinobi-san!" I called out on impulse. Internally I cursed at myself for my rude outburst. With a confused look he turned around and waited.
"About the other day, in the clearing." I said quickly, too quickly- I was tripping all over my words. "I'm not sure what would have happened..if...well. What I'm trying to say is thank you, for stopping him." Just what was I going on about? It was his job to intervene, he didn't need my gratitude.
The leaf shinobi gave me a warm smile. I decided right then and there that those kinds of smiles suited him best, it was like his whole being was funneled into that one gesture. It was honest and open, hiding nothing.
"Jiraiya."
I tilted my head to the side, not sure if I'd heard him correctly. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
He scratched his head and laughed, "My name's Jiraiya. You don't have to call me Shinobi-san if you don't want to."
I turned bright red, "Oh right!" I lifted the daffodil up and smiled at its open and bright petals. "Thank you Jiraiya-san."
The heatwave eventually broke with a bit of rain. Hina, Souta, and Minato amused themselves by doing what any rational 10 year olds would do. Starting a mud war.
Souta was the one to initiate it. He had the memory of a tortoise-and hadn't forgotten how Hina had pushed him over in the dirt the other day. He crouched down and filled his hands with soggy earth, then with nearly perfect accuracy he launched the mud ball at the back of Hina's head.
The results were disastrous. Sludge was being flung in all directions by the three kids. I looked on with curiosity from my little encampment. I'd set up a blanket on the ground while we rested the horses and ate some lunch. Jiraiya and another guard had gone up ahead to scout the area, leaving his team unattended. The air was a lot cooler now that it had finally rained. Unfortunately my choice of spot ended up being in the middle of their war zone.
I never even saw it coming when a stray mud ball collided with my back. Junko visibly paled and waited for my temper to fracture. I was notorious for keeping to a strict code of cleanliness. Slowly I got up, and faced the children who had ceased all movement behind me.
"It was Hina-chan's fault she can't aim to save her life!"
"Shut up Souta-kun, you're the one who dodged!"
"What am I supposed to do, just let you hit me?"
Junko took one look at my face and shook her head in pity, "You kids have really done it now."
Wordlessly I reached down and scooped up some mud from the ground. It was slimy and gross in my hands and every fiber of my being rebelled against the action. I fixed the kids with a cool look before letting out a battle cry. Now it really was a war.
Now the four of us were invested in an no-holds bar mud fight. None of us were backing down as we flung the substance back and forth through the air. By the time we were finally ready to quit we were covered head to toe in mud. At some point along the way the team of genin had united against me. The three children charged together and talked me into the ground. I let out a peal of laughter and tried to counter them. Pretty soon we were a painting, exhausted heap on the ground.
"I leave for a few minutes and I come back to an absolute mess," someone sighed in exasperation. I looked around in pure horror and embarrassment as Jiraiya stood and leaned over us, hand on his hips like some kind of matron.
I gave him a sheepish grin, "There's an good explanation for this."
"Oh, by all means, enlighten me," he mused with a smirk.
"It's our fault, Jiraiya-sensei," said Minato as we all pulled ourselves to our feet, "We started it and Sayuri-hime was pulled in on accident."
Junko made a noise between a scoff in a laugh, "Oh yeah, you guys had to practically drag her in," I shot a glare in her direction and she stiffened before looking overly interested in something on the opposite side of camp..
Jiraiya sighed, "Whatever the case may be I apologize on my student's behalf, Yamato-hime."
The children all looked at eachother downcast and I before I could stop myself, loud laughter erupted from my mouth. I was giggling so hard I had tears in my eyes, barely able to speak or breathe!
"Jiraiya-san, I'm sure that's not necessary," Junko smiled, "By the looks of things I'm sure her ladyship doesn't mind."
I wiped at my eyes and got my breathing under control, "I beg your pardon. I don't know what's come over me. All I know is that I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my whole life. So please, don't be angry Jiraiya-san. It's not their fault."
The white haired shinobi stiffened and turned three shades redder, until the streaks under his eyes practically blended in with his skin. "R-Right. Very well then," He turned to his students. "You three better get cleaned up. We're due to arrive back home by nightfall."
"Yes sensei!" the genin said in unison before racing each other to the stream to take a bath.
I scratched the back of my head and made a move to go and take a walk. Junko moved with the speed of light to grab me by my collar and haul me toward the stream, "Don't even think about it. You need a bath too."
"Junko-san the water is going to be so cold!" I cried in protest futilely trying to fight her grasp. She made a clicking noise against her teeth, her grip on me pure iron.
"If you insist on acting like a child then I've got no choice but to treat you as one," she said disapprovingly before shoving me into the water. I flailed for a second, caught off guard by her sudden release. The children laughed as I comically fell into the water.
The stream felt like an ice bath and I shivered violently as I broke the surface, "I'll get you for this!" I shook my fist at her and Junko laughed.
"Hurry up before you catch a cold." She replied in a teasing, singsong voice.
Cursing her under my breath, I scrubbed away at the dirt coating my skin and hair. The kids splashed around merrily behind me, the cold not bothering them a bit.
True to his word, we reached the village gates by the time the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. Having no other clean clothes, I changed back into my robes (which had thankfully been cleaned by Junko) and prepared to disembark.
The guards at the gate were curiously looking around trying to get a peek but were satisfied by the scroll Jiraiya produced and opened the doors for us. I looked through the crack in the wagon's door flap and took in the sight. I'd never been in a shinobi village before and I wasn't disappointed by what I saw.
So many people. They practically flooded the street going about their business. There were shops and restaurants lining the street. Homes in residential areas both traded up them in high buildings or were at ground level. There was just so much. We made our way down the street towards the outskirts of town, which I later learned was where the compounds for clan families were located. These buildings were much larger residential areas and more evenly spaced from each other. Some of them were even separated by dense patches of forest.
We followed the road and took a right, looping around toward the center of town. Some people stopped out of curiously, some pointed and nudged their friends. Junko grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me away from my spot. I glowered and folded my arms, clearly put out.
The wagon eventually stopped with a minor jostle. It took a few moments for the door to open, Jiraiya gave me a soft smile and extended his hand to help me climb off. I hesitated for second before accepting. His hand was big, warm, and rough. A tingle ran through me at the contact. I blatantly avoided looking at him as I quickly stepped off the platform. I misjudged the distance and would have tumbled off the wagon had he not grabbed my waist with his free hand. I flushed at the contact and hurriedly disembarked.
"T-Thanks!" I stuttered. He gave me a cheesy grin and nodded.
"Catching damsels is my job." I glared and removed my hand from his.
"I thought you were a shinobi?" I teased, he blushed and gave a awkward laugh.
"I can be a shinobi and still be a gentleman too," he whined. I raised at eyebrow at him as Junko spirited me away into the tall tower.
What a strange man, I thought to myself.
The tower was a bit crowded. Many people were running around with stacks of files, pushing papers, making deliveries. There were a good number of ninja checking out the missive board or turning in their mission reports. I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to check it out. Junko had a firm grasp on my arm as she dragged me up the stairs. Her expression was neutral but I could see the line of tension in her shoulders. It seemed we were both a bundle of nerves. The goal up until this point had been pretty straight forward, but now that we were here what was going to happen to us?
I hadn't seen my mother in ten years. But when the door to the hokage's office opened before us, I knew the woman sitting by the window right away. She'd hardly changed, even after all this time. Her mouth was set in a firm line, acentuated with short wavy locks that swayed as she turned her head in my direction. Her eyes, the same deep blue as mine, went wide and watery when our gazes locked. There was a moment of pure silence as everyone waited patiently for our reactions.
"Sayuri!" She exclaimed and got up so quickly that her chair toppled over.
"O-Okasan!" I stuttered. My body frozen from shock, thawed as I raced over to her, throwing my arms around her. With a soft cry she wrapped her arms around my trembling form and drew me close. I breathed in deeply. The smell of plum and jasmine was overwhelming and invoked a fresh wave of tears to spill from my eyes.
"Thank goodness you are alright!" she let me go and put her hands on my shoulders. She looked past me and toward Junko would was staring awkwardly at the ground. Mom smiled and beckoned the other woman over. Junko heistantly walked toward us before mom grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in for a hug.
"Don't think I've forgotten you, little one. Thank you for protecting her," Mom said softly.
"Lady Akane, it's good to see you too," Junko shut her eyes tightly. I could see pin pricks of tears being hidden from sight quicker than they could manifest. With a small smile I threw my arms around both of them.
A man cleared his throat and the three of us broke apart. The figure, old as he was, radiated such a strong and powerful presence that I could sense his power even with my meager training. The white robes were unmistakable, so I bowed my head in deep respect.
"Hokage-sama, please forgive my impertinence. It is a honor to meet you. I owe you so much."
The old man smiled and rose from his seat, "I'm happy that I was able to help you and your family. Now that you're here, I do have questions that need to be answered. The more you and your mother cooperate the quicker you can return home with her."
"Yes, hokage-sama. We will tell you anything you wish to know." Mom said confidently. The door shut quietly and signified that we were in for a long, much needed, private discussion.
"I understand now. Lady Kiyo must have seen you as a threat to her position. She planned to eliminate you before you could come of age," The hokage steepled his hand in consideration. At the mention of that woman's name, I withdraw into myself and tried to stifled the growing hatred in my chest.
"I believe the other clansmen were in on her treason, Lord Hokage. They all steadily disappeared in the days before the attack. It was only the servants, her ladyship, Yoima-sama, and myself present when they came for us," Junko clarified. She clenched her fists adding, "Had I been stronger I might have been able to save Yoima-sama, but I wasn't."
The hokage made a noise of understanding, "Even so, we cannot dwell in the past. If we do, then we'll never move forward. The hour is growing late, you should all head home together. We will finish the rest of your processing tomorrow."
Dismissed for the night, the three of us made our way down the stairs and out into the muggy, hot night air. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand reached out from the darkness to grip my kimono sleeve.
"Hey, how did it go with sensei?" Jiraiya came into focus. He looked a little worse for wear from the past few days on the road. I thought he would have gone home by now…had he been waiting all this time?
"Jiraiya-kun," a dark voice toned from behind us. My mother bore down on him with an evil, foreboding look. The white haired man paled and released me from his hold to put his hands up in front of him in self defense. "I thank you for your service. But Sayuri-chan is now under my care. Kindly refrain from approaching her from this point forward."
"R-Right Ito-san. Have a nice night!" He whimpered scuttling away. When he was a safe distance he paused and sent me a small wave, winking and grinning ear to ear, before shunshining away. I felt my face heat up and immediately looked away, hurrying to follow after my mom and Junko.
The two story house was quiet but clean. My mom lived separately from the rest of her family claiming that they had far many difference in ideas to live harmoniously.
"Is this room okay?" She smiled and she expertly made up the bed. It was pretty bare to my eyes. The walls were a soft, lilac color that matched the futon, but the floors gleamed in the soft light. A simple wood desk sat under the window, completely bare of contents. A small, sliding door closet took up the other wall.
She handed me some pajamas and patted my head, "I know it's not much..not compared to what your used to but it's yours. Tomorrow, I'll give you some money and send you into town to get some stuff to decorate, ne?'
I tilted my head to the side, "You mean...by myself?" I asked, confused. I'd rarely, if ever had to leave the family compound. If I needed something usually...grandmother would pick out things she thought I'd like. She and I had similar taste in clothing and decorating so had I never thought much of it. But...she wasn't here anymore to do that for me.
I clutched the pendant around my neck like a lifeline. All this time I'd avoided thinking about her. The memories were too painful for me to bear just yet. A flash of flames, and crimson pooling behind me. I doubled over and heaved.
"I'm sorry Sayuri," mom said pulling me into her arms as I cried my heart out into her chest. "I know this is all so overwhelming. I understand, you need time to adjust. Just know that I'm here," she gently stroked my head and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Mom...I missed you so much," I clutched her shirt and tried my best to calm down. She smiled ruefully and lifted my chin up with her soft hand.
"It was hard, being in that place. You were so adventurous as a kid, always getting into trouble," she laughed, "Your grandmother was the only one who appreciated that part of you. The rest of them called me a fool. They wanted you to do things their way."
"Do you remember that time I broke my wrist?" I laughed, "Obasan came looking for me when I didn't show for my lesson."
Mom threw her head back and chuckled, "How could I forget? I've never seen an old woman run so fast before. She told me you'd jumped from the top branch because you wanted to fly," she bonked me on the had with her fist, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and in bed."
"Where's Junko-san?" I asked we made our way down the hall toward the bathroom. I hadn't seen her since we came in. It wasn't like her to just disappear.
"She's in her old room. Junko-chan is so exhausted. She feels awful about what's happened, but its not her fault," mom opened the door next to my room. The room was a soft blue, and filled with all kinds of things. Books, stuffed toys, posters of funny characters on the walls. Junko was splayed on the bed, resting deeply. I gave my mom a confused look.
"I didn't know you and Junko lived together. I always thought...well I always thought she had a family."
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My mother smirked and closed the door she didn't say anything for a minute. Before she gave a heavy sigh and explained, "She does." The light to the bathroom flickered on and I shuffled inside, still brimming with questions.
"Why hasn't she gone back to them yet? Why does she have a room here? I don't understand-"
"Sayuri!" My mom gave me a tired look. And flicked my forehead. I let out a yelp of pain and rubbed the sore spot. She sighed and rubbed the back of her head. I scowled, she still hadn't answered my questions yet.
"Why does she have a room here? Where is her family?" I shouted. Junko hadn't been home in over ten years it wasn't fair to leave her loved ones worrying about her. She'd saved my life so many times, it was cruel to keep her away from them. Junko had always been there for me. Even though we never spoke much, she was the one to train me and she protected me all this time while my mom was gone. So why-
"She has a room here because we are her family," My eyes widened as my mother's face became unreadable, "Sayuri… Junko is your sister."