Rose
Thorn #8
"Shisui, how much do you like roses?" Koharu was tending to the flowers in her shop when she heard Shisui come in.
He didn't know why he had come again. Maybe it was the words that she spoke the other day, or maybe it was the mystery that was Koharu.
"Yeah, I do." He answered as normal. There didn't seem to be any change in her behaviour, nothing that would indicate that she wanted to do anything that would endanger him.
"Roses, they can come in lots and lots of different colours now." Koharu started, heading over to them. She cut off two and turned to the male, who was left standing in the middle of the shop.
She was holding the stem of the flowers, pointing them towards him, "They're beautiful flowers, aren't they?"
Shisui didn't know if he should answer her. Her questions were harmless, but it felt like she was going to say something encrypted, like a code that required him to break through to get the answer beneath.
"That's why, so many people pick them. It's because they're so special, so beautiful, and so fragrant. It's a popular thing nowadays especially. But, did the rose know that it was going to get picked?" Koharu pulled the flowers back to herself, touching one of the pricks gently so as not to wound herself.
"Roses are flowers that have thorns on its stems. Maybe it's there to protect it from other animals, or whatnot." Koharu took a knife and gently cut the thorns off, "Without those thorns, roses are safe, aren't they? To touch, I mean."
Koharu smiled, heading over to Shisui. She handed him the knife and a thorned rose, "Here, you can try."
Without a word, Shisui took it and begun to do exactly what she was doing.
"Why are you telling me this?" Shisui asked quietly, a tad confused. It was out of the blue, so sudden. He was there to get answers, not talk about flowers.
"Because you always get roses whenever you come here." She giggled, watching him cut off the thorns.
That's not my point…Shisui finished and handed it back to her, along with the knife. He observed her, watching her put the knife back where she had it before, and wrap the roses in coloured paper tissue.
She handed it to him, "There's something I'd like you to do for me."
Shisui hesitated. He wanted to say 'How can I trust you?' but he just couldn't bring himself to.
Koharu, sensing that he had a question that couldn't be voiced, answered it. "I know you don't trust me anymore, but, I promise I'll explain everything to you later on."
Later on? When will that be? The male wondered.
Shisui silently took the roses from her, but just as he took them, his hand latched onto hers quickly, pulling her in so that she was closer to him.
"Tell me everything. No lies." Was his condition.
She didn't respond to his condition. All she did was take a step away from him and gently push the wrapped roses to his chest, "My request is in the paper."
Danzo's eyes squinted at the ROOT ANBU that kneeled in front of him, reporting to him what had happened.
"She knocked you out and you don't know what happened?" He was somewhat astounded.
"I only came to when he walked out the door." The ANBU explained.
Danzo thought for a long moment, his brows furrowing.
He was going to use Koharu a little bit longer, but she was no longer a useful tool as she was before. She was starting to betray him by doing little tricks like this.
"Tail her everywhere she goes." The elder ordered the ANBU.
"Yes sir!"
You can't be serious, Shisui reread the contents on the paper that came with the roses. He didn't know whether or not to believe her, but that was what she was going to do.
It's on the same day that I'll be carrying out the plan to prevent the coup, he pressed his lips into a thin line, I don't think I'll even have time to do that.
How can she expect me to escort her family out of the village? Who even is her family?
It was an impossible request, she knew. Koharu already knew the day that Shisui was going to go through with his plan of preventing the coup. She was always eavesdropping during the meetings, so of course she knew. It was just that nobody else knew that she knew.
Well, maybe Itachi knows, but he's not saying anything so I don't know, Koharu jumped onto the rooves of the houses, making sure she made no sound. She was heading to where her family was.
I'm going to get Momoka and mother out of the village. It'll be hard, but they need to live somewhere else where Danzo doesn't imprison them…
Once she reached the area, she landed on the roof of a house that was closest, peering inside. The lights were on and there were 2 shadows moving.
Ah, mum and Momoka are still awake, Koharu jumped to the balcony rail, landing silently on it before she jumped down to the ground.
She heard a whimper, and a cry, and something metallic.
What?
The curtain that covered the inside of the room blew with the wind, but her eyes widened when she saw that it wasn't her mum and Momoka, but rather her sister and Danzo, with Danzo's cane's sword right through her little sister's chest.
Danzo noticed Koharu make her presence clear in that moment, turning to her without even a shred of remorse on his features.
It was just so sudden, so sudden that Koharu was shocked for the first time without having to fake it. She gritted her teeth, her hand twitching to get to the sword that was on her back, but she stopped herself.
She couldn't fight him. Her mother was still alive, she hoped, and she couldn't just go against an elder. She was skilled, yes, but in the art of silence and acting, not killing someone who was able to climb the ladder to become one of Konoha's strongest.
"Koharu…neesan…" Momoka could only cry. Half from the pain, and half from seeing her sister. She hadn't died yet, but she was in extreme pain. The minute the sword leaves her would be the minute she would die from blood loss. The blood was already starting to trickle down the sword and hit the hilt.
"Momoka." Koharu's voice was quiet, so quiet that she could barely hear herself from the pounding of her own heart.
"Mother…Uchiha…doctor…" Momoka tried to smile, and she lifted her arm up to reach towards her sister.
Danzo just stayed still, watching the interaction between the two. He knew that, as long as he kept her mother alive, she wouldn't do anything stupid.
"She's at the doctor's again…?" Koharu took a few steps closer to Momoka. The ground seemed to break under her feet, but she somehow kept her balance.
Momoka only nodded.
The older was right next to Momoka and the sword. She stared at it and her eyes trailed up to Danzo, where they burned with a hatred that had been buried inside her all this time.
He was mildly surprised at her show of such a strong emotion. She normally didn't show any apart from warm ones. "This is just a warning."
"No," She spat, "This is murder."
"I told you what would happen if you betrayed me, did I not?"
"I didn't betray you. I just got myself a little bit of privacy." Koharu turned away from Danzo and touched her sister's face, pressing her forehead to her. "I'm sorry, Momoka. I'm sorry."
"Why are you…always apolo…gizing…?" Momoka started to cry again. It hurt every time she breathed. It was like torture, keeping her alive with a sword through her. It was too cruel.
But, that was the world they lived in.
"Because I'm sorry. It's my fault that we ended up here." Koharu hugged Momoka in an awkward position, trying hard as to not move her to cause her more pain.
"No, it's…not…"
"If you don't want this to happen to your mother, don't betray me again." Danzo pulled the sword out of her and swung it on the side, letting the blood splatter to the walls. He left.
Momoka gasped and she stumbled in her sister's grasp, her breathing heavy and fast. She tried to calm herself, but she couldn't.
Koharu put her hands on either side of the wound, trying to close it up, even though she knew she'd fail.
At this time, she was scared. She was scared that she'd lose her only sister, the only other person apart from her mother that knew what was happening.
She regretted not being taught medical ninjutsu.
"Sorry…I'm going…say bye to mother…for me…" Momoka was slipping in and out of consciousness. She felt sleepy. "I'm just…going to rest…a bit…"
"I'll be here when you wake up!" Koharu took her hands off of Momoka and pressed her hands to her cheeks, smiling warmly at her sister. "When you wake up, we'll go travelling. You'll get to see lots of different things, and it'll be different!" As much as she said that, she was only trying to convince herself.
"That sounds…good…good night..."
And her eyes closed, her breathing slowly coming to an end.
Koharu froze for what seemed like an eternity. When she came to, she was still holding her sister's face in her hands, the blood sticky and dry.
"What?" Koharu's first words of the day were hoarse, like she hadn't spoken in ages.
She gently lay her sister's head down onto the ground, standing up. She felt like normal, but the turmoil in her mind was amplified.
What happened last night? She replayed her memories of last night, thinking, and thinking some more.
She was sad, yes, she was angry, yes. But, could she do anything about it? No.
That wasn't part of the deal, Danzo.
Koharu stared at her sister's corpse. She had seen so many dead bodies in her time as a ROOT ANBU that it didn't faze her. Not even her own sister's. The only thing that she could attach to it was the memories that she had together with her, which, was not very much. It was only during the time when they were young that she remembered, the first 4 years of Momoka's life. The later years, she couldn't.
Nevertheless, Koharu still loved her very much.
She picked up Momoka's body. It was cold.
She needed to make a grave for her. They weren't originally from Konoha, so it was hard to figure out a place. In the end, Koharu ended up going to the outside of the village, where she buried her next to a small tree.
It wasn't even dawn yet. It was still dark. And, even if it was still dark, Koharu dug a grave and buried her sister.
You've always liked trees, didn't you, Momoka? I'll bury you here so that you can nourish this little tree to become a big, strong tree.
Koharu patted the soil so that it formed a nice curve. She went to a big tree and jumped to the branches, where she cut off two and a small, thick part, to act as a nail. She wrote Momoka's name and stabbed the cross on the grave.
"I'm sorry I can't shed tears for you." Koharu spoke apologetically. She placed her hand on the grave, "They've long dried."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't be the supportive big sister that you wished for. I'm sorry. It's my fault that you had to grow up in this kind of environment. If I hadn't become a ninja none of this would have happened."
A mini dark circle appeared on the soil next to her hand. And then, many more little dark circles.
I'm sorry that I'm such a liar.