Thanks for the reviews! I apologize for leaving the intro so short and not updating sooner. I was on vacation and had a difficult time putting down the daiquiri to type. xD
I struggled to write this chapter and am not particularly happy with it ~_~ It felt slow. Oh well. Hope you enjoy~
Five times over Tobirama lectured his younger sister about her conduct, supplies, duties, and whatever else came to mind. She stopped keeping track after the second time, and hadn't been taking his warnings as seriously as he saw fit.
"Don't forget your weapons. Or food supplies. Just because you're a girl doesn't mean I'm carrying them for..." Tobirama glowered at Amare. "Are you even listening?"
"Huh? Yes, I heard you. Weapons, food, carrying." She flashed him a half-hearted smile, which annoyed him further.
"You aren't taking this seriously. I thought you would have realized by now that this isn't some easy mission. You aren't gathering herbs, you are engaging an enemy that wants you dead more than anything else." He spoke in a matter of fact tone, and then sighed. "I...we don't want you to get hurt, or worse."
Amare nodded her compliance. "I won't be careless, I promise." She knew better than to argue with him, and that this was his way of conveying underlying worry for her well being. After all, he was never one to be forward with his feelings.
Satisfied with her answer, Tobirama left her to grab his own things. By nightfall, they had taken their leave south towards the battlegrounds. From what their father detailed them on, the mission itself was subversive in nature. Butsuma cautioned that they would be dealing with Tajima Uchiha and his sons directly. Amare recalled Hashirama sulking for days after an encounter with them, something he rarely did.
The group silently traveled through the night, not receiving a moments rest. Near dawn they approached their destination, when Butsuma raised his hand to halt them. Amare glanced towards the sky and saw the way dark clouds swirled over head.
"We'll use the weather to our advantage. Once the storm starts, we'll attack and catch them off guard. Amare, remain unseen, however, if you see any openings to finish off our opponent, do not hesitate." Their father instructed. The last part caused Hashirama to cast her an uneasy glance, but his sister showed no emotion towards what was said.
"Understood."
The storm picked up shortly after, allowing the three coverage to approach their enemy seemingly undetected. Amare hid herself high within a tree that allowed her to overlook the enemy's location. They haven't noticed us yet...Something isn't right.
Amare watched on as her father and brothers destroyed the three clones. They knew we were coming..where..
The presence of someone behind her interrupted her thoughts. Amare jumped from the tree, narrowly dodging the kunai thrown at her. Hasirama immediately went to her side.
"It's a trap, we have to go!"
More than the three they expected closed in on their location. There were at least seven men, she surmised.
Hashirama gripped his sister's hand and pulled her along, going a different direction than Tobirama and their father.
"Is splitting up a good idea!?" She began to panic a for her father and Tobirama, despite being chased herself.
"There's no other choice, we have to move quickly! Stay close." He let go of her hand and the two of them sprinted away from the enemy.
Amare dashed ahead of her brother, assuming he remained right behind her. No longer feeling the presence of her pursuers, Amare stopped and leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
"Brother..." She looked around for any sign of Hashirama, but there was none.
"Hashirama?! Where are you..."
As night approached, Amare began to worry more. As she walked through the woods, hoping to encounter her family, she stumbled over an object and face planted on the ground. Groaning and spitting out a wad of dirt, she rolled over onto her back.
"What in the..." Realizing that the object she fell over was no object at all, she let out a shriek and frantically crawled away from the body. Breathing heavily and not able to see clearly, she stood up and kneeled back over by the body.
"It can't be..." Amare silently prayed it was not the lifeless body of one of her brothers or father, but even after confirming that it was none of them, she couldn't help but feel sorry for guy. He must be one of those Uchiha. She flinched when he began to cough, and impulsively gripped a kunai, aiming it towards his body. The guy still made no movement. Amare's eyes traveled down to his stomach, where he had a rather deep looking stab wound. "Do not hesitate..." She recalled the advice her father gave her. For all she knew, he could very well be dead. And for what reason? Placing the kunai back inside her bag, she began to assess the damage done the young man.
Her hands began to glow a light green as she lay them gently over his wound.
Through her training with her brothers, she decided that fighting shouldn't be the only option.
Amare stared up at Hashirama with an earnest expression as she began to heal his scratches from his training session with father. "It's amazing how you created this technique." He smiled at her. "How did you do it?"
"I imagined the worst pain..." She finished healing him. "I imagined the greatest happiness. And the energy, the will to help others manifested itself. For everyone who fights, for everyone who is in the grasp of death. There should be healing..."