This one is is short. Next will be longer.


17

The crush comes and goes as such things tend to do and before she knows it, she's talking to her little brother on his 12th birthday and gifting him with her necklace. Nawaki is strong, though not so strong as she was at his age. Then again, her team has been Konoha's pride for years and her brother is bright enough to know not to compete with her. He'll grow into his power, there's no need for him to hurry, she thinks fondly to herself. Let him be a chunin for now, less danger that way.

She finds out how mistaken she has been when the body is brought in. And she realizes with a startling finality that Orochimaru will never be her prince. He's too cold, too cruel, too detached, too much of a shinobi to fill that role. But he's still her friend, she acknowledges later on, clutching the necklace he has gotten for her from the body of her brother. She can't even imagine taking it back herself and looking at the corpse. The grave is bad enough and if she had to look into those lifeless eyes that have been full of dreams just a couple of days ago...

She's thankful there's no one else at the cemetery when she breaks down and cries. Tears are unbefitting of a princess, after all, especially since she is the last royal child. More than that, she will carry her brother's dream on her shoulders now. She cannot alow tears to weigh her down.