Disclaimer: It does not belong to me.
Authors Note: I feel bad that I've gone from updating once a day to three times a month. Oh well. In this chapter they face what every Genin dreads the moment they graduate. Enjoy.
Chapter 15- Who By Sword, Who By Beast
The Hokage regarded my team seriously across the missions' room. For the past four months our team had done nothing but D-rank missions and a few C-ranks, usually involving hunting wild dangerous animals that get too close to the village. We spent most of our time training with our sensei. We covered a lot of more complicated techniques not taught in the academy as well as the beginnings of tree walking.
The results of that had been disastrous. Every time I began to channel my chakra through my feet, the tree would begin to grow and sprout leaves. After spending three weeks training to no avail Hiroshi proposed I try it with shoes on. I had smacked my head with embarrassment at not having thought of that.
"Today we have another C-rank for you, team one," the Hokage began. As bad as it sounded, I had been enjoying our C-ranks so far. They gave me a chance to practice my skills on an enemy I didn't need to worry about killing. Kiyoshi was silently cheering at the news of another.
"This one will be different than the others you have experienced," he continues drawing in our attention.
"You will be escorting a merchant to the port city down south where he is to be receiving his wares. After that your team will guard him and his merchandise back to Konoha." That was new alright.
Aoba-sensei approached the desk to receive the missions scroll. As we left the room he motioned us to meet him at the training grounds. Once there he had us sit down and lectured us on the proper items to bring. This had all been covered in our academy education, but now he went into more detail telling us the things we can leave out, and the extra things we might need.
He was very thorough with his list, drilling it into our heads, before he sent us home to pack and inform our guardians. The boys headed off in the direction of the orphanage as I made my way home. I went through sensei's list in my head before throwing in a pair of shoes for good measure.
When in the village I barely ever bothered, but if we were to be leaving I didn't want to leave a bad impression on anyone by refusing proper foot ware. Besides I would need them if I wanted to practice tree walking, and the weather was really starting to get too cold for my usual bare-footedness.
My mother was less than happy to know that I would be leaving for a few weeks. She gave me curt answers and her brow was furrowed in an unhappy frown. I sighed in annoyance at her, before heading to the gates early. Kotetsu and Izumo were often found there on gate duty, and I wanted to get a chance to talk to them before leaving.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I call out to them as I make my way over.
"Just the usual boring stuff," Kotetsu says with a sigh.
"You look like you're leaving," Izumo states rather plainly. I grin at them as I shift my pack on my shoulders.
"Today we got another C-rank. I'll be gone for more than a few days. I already told mom, but dad wasn't there. Would you guys tell him I said 'bye'?" they nod in unison before smiling at me.
"Our little baby growing up so fast, already leaving the village on her first big adventure," Kotetsu says in an over dramatic voice.
"I'm worried about leaving my senile old brother, but I have to do what I have to do. Money doesn't earn itself you know," I tell them, playing along. Izumo loses it first as his snort quickly turns to full blown laughter.
"Alright alright, you win this round. But be careful okay?" Kotetsu says worriedly.
"I'll be fine. I've got a great team and an awesome sensei," they nod and smile at me.
"Besides I'm nothing to sneeze at either," I add in pompously, causing another round of laughter.
"Can you guys tell Sasuke where I am? I don't have time to wait for his classes to end and I didn't want to pull him out." they both agree to tell him, a look of understanding in their eyes. We continued to chat until I felt the approach of my teammates. Sighing heavily I slip on my shoes.
"Wow Suikazura, I can't believe you got all dressed up for the occasion," Kiyoshi says staring pointedly at my feet. An eye roll was the only answer he got.
Our conversation paused when sensei arrived with the client. The man was not very intimidating at all. He was short, probably around 5'4, and, though he wasn't fat, he had the extra pudge of a man living in comfort.
"Hello you three, your sensei was just telling me about you. My name is Tomio, it's nice to meet you, please take care of me," he says with a large smile. We all smile back and introduce ourselves to him.
"The mission is a simple escort and guard. It should take no longer than three weeks at most," Aoba-sensei explains to us before continuing in lecture mode.
"Can any of you tell me why this is considered C-rank?"
"Is it because of the possibility of bandits going after the merchandise we will be guarding?" came Hiroshi's hesitant answer.
"Are you asking me or telling me?" sensei asks, causing Hiroshi to furrow his brow in annoyance. Before he can reply though, Kiyoshi pipes in.
"Telling you of course. Any mission that has a possibility of injury, no matter how small, must be classified above D-rank."
"Oh my, Kiyoshi, I never would have guessed you were paying attention during our lesson," he bristles at my comment.
"Of course I was paying attention," he replies with a huff.
"Well then your acting skills must be top notch because you sure fooled me with all that snoring," I trail off at the end as I move to hide behind a laughing Hiroshi. The booming laughter of our client reminded me that this wasn't team practice.
"It seems this trip will be a fun," Tomio-san says cheerily. I sigh in relief, glad that he didn't take offense at our flippant behavior.
"Suikazura, it would be good to remember your surroundings when outside the village," sensei reprimands me. I could tell he wasn't actually angry, just trying to keep me in line. Fooling around is alright, but there is always a time and a place. If I were to ever find myself on a higher ranked mission I would have to watch my behavior at all times, especially when I didn't have sensei around to keep me in check.
"Yes sensei. I'll be sure to put more effort towards it. I apologize if I offended you any, Tomio-san," I say sincerely. Tomio-san waves my apology off.
"Nonsense, you did nothing wrong." I smile up at him in reply, for even if he is short, I am much shorter.
"As nice as this chat is, we should probably leave before the day's end," Kiyoshi not so politely informs us.
"He his right. Does everybody have everything?" at our collective nod he continues, "alright then, let's be off." And with that I waved to my brothers and left the village. We walked at civilian pace so that Tomio-san could keep up, and soon found he was great traveling company.
He was grounded in Konoha with his wife and two daughters, but often traveled all around fire country for his merchandise. Much of his merchandise was used to make ninja gear. He spent his time pulling together resources needed to make the strongest and sturdiest of materials. It was surprising to find how dependant we were on his business.
There were of course other merchants who made our supplies, but he was one of the few that lived in Konoha itself. Apparently his business was generations old, meaning he had the same connections as his great-grandparents and had only expanded since then. If this man was so important, why then had our lowly team of Genin been chosen as his escort?
Unless the Hokage thought us capable of doing our job properly; that was a humbling thought. Our team was definitely not the worst, but I never would have thought we were good enough to do a mission like this. We were too inexperienced. What if something went wrong, or we did something stupid and Tomio-san brought his business elsewhere.
All this worrying is ridiculous and will get me nowhere, I firmly tell myself. Tomio-san is not petty and would never do something like that because of some stupid Genin. Perhaps the Hokage was testing how far our training had taken us by giving us a challenging mission. The thought that the Hokage believed in us enough to entrust us with this had me nervous.
Even while lost in thought I had been paying attention to my surroundings, which is why I was not surprised when sensei spoke up from beside me.
"Calm down Suikazura. I would not have offered our team for this mission if I did not think you three were up to it." How sensei always knew what was bothering me was beyond my knowledge, but the words he spoke were comforting none the less. If Aoba-sensei thought we could handle it then I had nothing to worry about. He trained us and knew well our limits and abilities, the Hokage trusted his judgment. And even if something came up that we could not handle, we had sensei with us to fall back on.
"Thanks," I tell him quietly, in a rare moment of sincerity. He smiles lightly and rests a hand on my shoulder.
"It's what I'm here for," he says with equal sincerity. And with that he left me for the front of our party to talk with Hiroshi. I was glad he left quickly. He was comforting to have around, but I had never been comfortable with physical contact.
He understood and respected that which is why he was one of the few people I felt comfortable being around. It was strange to think that I was actually older than him. Had I not died I would be thirty, what a daunting thought. It was even worse to realize that I got along fine with a bunch of thirteen year olds.
We set up camp and hour before dusk, leaving us with enough time to set a fire before the darkness settled in. Sensei sent us out to hunt for dinner, seeing no reason to break into our emergency rations when there was no emergency. We stuck together only getting the necessary food for dinner and tomorrow morning so as not to waste the wildlife.
"Guys, I'm kind of nervous," Kiyoshi tells us quietly as we were making our way back to camp at a slow pace. Hiroshi nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, I can't stop the 'what if's' that keep running through my head," he says glumly.
"Sensei told me that he suggested it be our team to take on this mission," I chime in.
"They're placing too much faith in us!" Kiyoshi says in a frustrated voice. A part of me wanted to be insulted by his words that indicated we weren't up for the job, but a larger part of me agreed with him.
"Then we can't let them down," I tell them firmly. My words held a confidence I lacked but it seemed to have the desired effect as Kiyoshi's eyes light up with determination.
"Do you really think we can do it?" Hiroshi asks, still seeking affirmation. I pause and think, really think about it, and nod my head.
"Yes. This only seems harder than it should be because we have never been on this type of mission. Regardless the client, this is still just a C-rank. I think the most opposition we can expect to come across is bandits; otherwise it would have a higher rank. Tomio-san can certainly pay for a higher rank." They both nod and calm down at the logic behind my words.
"Still though, aside from it being a regular C-rank, the client is important. Why do you think they would have given this to us?" Hiroshi asks thoughtfully.
"Maybe it's just time for us to move on to the next level. Think about it, we've been doing D-rank and easier C-rank for a while now. They don't want us to be content with that. Maybe they are giving us a taste at what more is out there, maybe they are trying to encourage us to get better." Not many people get to see Kiyoshi's thoughtful side. Heck it had been so long since I'd seen him this serious and thoughtful that I almost forgot that this side of him existed.
"Maybe," Hiroshi says. The conversation was getting too tense. It was all speculation but truth rang in Kiyoshi's words. It scared me, and the fact that being entrusted with this mission made me want to get stronger, scared me even more. Was I really so easily manipulated?
"Maybe we are just thinking into it too much," I say dismissively in a cheery tone that belied my thoughts. The mood changed as we began to discuss Tomio-san. It was the general consensus that he was pretty cool. Though we had not spoken it aloud, I knew that the three of us had made the same promise to ourselves. We would see this mission through to the best of our abilities, leaving no doubt about our teams capabilities.
We set out early the next morning hoping to travel a good distance before stopping for lunch. The day passed quickly, but no matter how easy it had been so far the three of us were determined not to let our guard down. We kept constant watch on our surroundings and every time we stopped for a break I would slip off a shoe and put up with the cold ground long enough to make sure there was no threat waiting outside our reach.
Sensei noticed our behavior and we caught him smiling and nodding approvingly at us. A bubble of pride rose inside my chest. Sensei thought we were doing a good job, heck he was even smiling about it. His silent approval felt good, and I could tell it affected the boys in a similar fashion; instead of waiting to be assigned our watches they volunteered, eager to be of use. A little trust goes a long way, I think to myself with a snort.
It was during our third day of travel that we came across our first encounter with an enemy, and it was weird. We had been slowing our pace looking for a suitable place to set camp for the night, when we were accosted by some highway bandits. We all noticed their presence long before they made an effort to make themselves known.
We fell silent and looked to sensei for instructions. He seemed to think a moment before motioning us to continue as we had been. The men all had low leveled chakra and would not be a real threat to us; maybe that was why sensei let us continue. Tomio-san had spent much time in the company of Shinobi and noticed the exchange and our subdued behavior.
"Do not worry you three. I'm sure you will be fine," he says with a large smile. How pathetic was I that I had to be comforted by my client! Thoroughly disgusted with myself I raise my head and decide to face this like I face everything else: head on. The boys unconsciously took their cues from me and straightened their shoulders as well. I could have sworn I saw sensei roll his eyes.
The bandit seemed to feel no need for secrecy; instead they used their large weapons and tall stature for intimidation tactics. It didn't really work. There were seven of them, all large and tough looking, and I knew without a doubt that I would be able to take them all down by myself.
Yes they were strong and large but we were fast and knew where to hit for maximum damage. We could take them down without even using our Jutsu; in fact we wouldn't even need our weapons. It was disgruntling to be opposed by someone that I clearly outmatched. It felt empowering to know how much stronger I was, yet at the same time I was scared that I would begin to see every enemy like this.
If I lose my humility then I will overestimate myself or underestimate a strong opponent in the future. That terrified me. Underestimating someone is one of the most fatal mistakes a Shinobi can make. I chewed on the inside of my lip and pushed my thoughts aside. The man in front of the group of bandits began to speak.
"Hand over your packs and we may just spare your lives," his voice was hard as if he expected nothing less than to be obeyed. It pissed him off something good when Kiyoshi sneered at him and replied," leave our presence and we may just spare yours."
It gave me the completely insane urge to giggle, but I settled for biting my lip harder. He noticed my subtle movement and turned his glance to me and grew even angrier. He must be used to people bowing to his every whim and, had I been an unprotected civilian, I probably would have just dropped my stuff and hightailed it out of there.
His men were all glaring as well, not a one without his hand on his weapon. Their stances were all shifting as they prepared for a battle. Hiroshi glared at Kiyoshi and me for instigating before he too readied himself for the inevitable battle. Sensei seemed content to stay out of it and watch, and the only reason I caught the twitch of his lips was because he was to my right on Tomio-sans other side.
Before our confrontation had a chance to turn into a battle one of the men in the back of the bandits group ran up and tugged at the leader's sleeve. They spoke quietly so as to stop us from hearing but we didn't miss a single word.
"Arai-sama it's dangerous!"
"What are you talking about boy?" the man asked gruffly.
"Those are ninja, see the headbands?" at the others' words Arai looked towards us and finally noticed our garb. It seemed to make him uneasy.
"Are you sure? They just look like a bunch of brats to me." The man nodded his head and Arai seemed to take his word for it. He straightened and turned to look at us again.
"Consider yourselves lucky. We have important business to attend to and so we shall spare your lives," he says graciously as if he was bestowing a great honor upon us. Kiyoshi visibly bristled at his dismissal and as the closest to him I pushed his shoulder to stop anything he would have said. The group of bandits gave us one last glance before they nodded their heads at us and left.
"Well that was weird," I say as if commenting on the weather.
"Not really. They recognized that you three are dangerous and left so as not to get hurt or killed," sensei told us in lecture mode. I frowned at his words, my thoughts from before resurfacing.
"We could have totally kicked their butts so why are you frowning?" Kiyoshi asked. I glanced up to see them all looking at me curiously but only turned to address sensei.
"Aoba-sensei, why did you let us handle that?" he looks at me and thinks about his words before speaking them.
"To give you all experience with something you will come across often as a Shinobi." I began to grow agitated as he misunderstood the reason behind my question.
"Why did you let us handle that even after knowing how badly we outclassed them?" Kiyoshi looks at me confusedly and Hiroshi frowns, deep in thought.
"Does it bother you to know how much stronger you are? I thought that was why you trained: to be strong." Sensei says his face unreadable. Mine on the other hand was an open book. They watched as irritation battled with fear. I could see how my fear set the boys on edge, but I was too wrapped in this conversation to care.
"Yes it bothers me to know that I am strong, because what if I forget that I am weak? What if I begin to overestimate myself? I'll end up dead faster than you can say 'Hokage'." Irritation won out and my words had a sharp edge to them. Hiroshi's eyes widened in understanding and he too looked at sensei, expectant.
"Do not worry about such things; I have no intention of letting you three get too cocky. I would however like to remind you to stay realistic. Do not let your fear of being overconfident blind your reasoning. If you are unable to see your own strengths then you cannot get stronger. Do you three understand what I am saying?"
We looked up at him, fascinated. It made sense but…
"I understand the importance of knowing our own strengths and weaknesses but how do we know where to draw the line? How do we hold ourselves between the two extremes?" I asked all irritation gone from my voice replaced by curiosity. However, it was not sensei who answered my question, but Kiyoshi.
"Well why do you think we're here? If I ever see you getting cocky I'll just beat the crap out of you!" he tells me cheerily. It was immature, but exactly what I needed. I smirk up at him, much calmer now.
"I'll hold you to it," and resting an arm on Hiroshi's shoulder I continue, "and Hiroshi and I will give you the same courtesy." My smile was not nearly as scary as Hiroshi's was at the thought of beating Kiyoshi up. Tomio-san's laughter brought us back to reality before our conversation would turn into a full out brawl.
"Your team is by far one of the most entertaining I have had the pleasure to travel with," he told us with a bright smile.
"Now that that is settled, I believe we should continue traveling for a while before settling down for the night. I'd like to put some distance between us and those bandits in case they decide to turn around." We all agree with sensei and continued towards our destination even after the night had set in. It was cold, but we all had proper gear. By the time we felt we made enough progress I eagerly slipped into my sleeping bag, content to stay warm until my morning watch.
The next two days passed in similar fashion with only one other confrontation with bandits that unfolded much like the other. It was late afternoon on the fifth day when we finally came across the city. It wasn't exactly crowded, just busy. The people worked in a flurry of fast movements, rushing through their lives.
We looked at all the shops and attractions with wide eyes as we followed Tomio-san down to the docks. He wanted to let them know he was in the city and would be waiting, before he made himself comfortable in an inn. I couldn't help but admire his dedication towards his job.
We settled with one large room for the five of us rather than going through the complexities that multiple rooms would require, such as 'who sleeps with who'. I didn't mind as long as I could sleep away from everyone else. Dinner was a nice affair; we all got along fairly well.
"My ship should be arriving at some point tomorrow. I don't quite know when. I think it would be a good idea to leave the morning after. It should not take too long to prepare, especially with your assistance," Tomio-san told us as we began to settle from our meal. Sensei nods his head in agreement.
"That sounds fine," then turning to address the three of us he says," we will take turns guarding Tomio-san. It will give you a chance to experience what it's like to do guard duty without the immediate backup as well as a chance to explore the city."
Kiyoshi cheers with excitement at the prospect of exploring a new place. Hiroshi and I were excited as well, just a lot less vocal about. Looking up at sensei, I could see a fond smile touching his lips before his face becomes still again.
"I expect you all to behave as a proper Shinobi of Konoha would," he says with a pointed glance at Kiyoshi causing Hiroshi and I to laugh until he turns his gaze towards us.
"Yes sensei," we chorus cheekily at him before getting up to prepare ourselves for bed. The next morning shone bright and cloudless as we ate our breakfast and finalized our plans. Hiroshi would take first shift, Kiyoshi second, leaving me for third. Sensei would do whatever he wanted, but he assured us that he would be close by if we needed him.
It was still early, but we wanted to see as much of the city as possible before our watches in case we didn't get a chance to later. Kiyoshi and I started together but split up when our interests differed. He was off at one of the clothe shops while I was looking at all the fishing gear.
I hadn't been fishing since before I died. It was one of those things Chana's father had an irrational love towards; she had spent many a summer sitting on a lake comparing caught fish with her brothers. I didn't buy a rod, I was never very good at it, but I spent time looking at all the hooks feeling a strong sense of nostalgia.
I walked around for a while longer just watching the people go about their daily lives. It made me feel distant, like I was missing out on something, and I was. I was missing the simple life, the easy worries, but the more I thought about it the less I regretted my decision to be a ninja. I may have been missing out, but I had had gained so much more.
It left me feeling content. Kiyoshi found me at a hair accessory shop and told me he was going to go find Tomio-san for his shift. A little while later Hiroshi found me and we walked together as he told me about the docks. Apparently Tomio-san was staying in that area so he would be on hand when his shipment came in.
Hiroshi eventually wandered away leaving me on my own again. With nothing left to explore and my boredom growing, I headed down to the shore with the hopes of finding something to do there. The beach was empty, swimsuit weather having left long ago, but I enjoyed my solitude.
Those past five days I had spent all my time in the company of others; it was nice to have a quiet moment to myself. Well, as quiet as it can get with the rushing waves pushing and pulling at all in its path. It was a soothing sound and lulled me into a trance. I stayed like that for longer than I thought I would and got up to leave when I realized my shift would be starting in forty minutes.
My pace was slow as I headed toward the docks, but even at my sedated pace I would still be very early. Sitting on one of the rails I was content to watch the hustle and bustle of the sailors and workers as they went about their business. One ship in particular caught my attention. I could make out Tomio-san and Kiyoshi helping set up a bridge so the supplies could be brought to the dock.
So the shipment had arrived, guess I'll be busy, I think to myself. If I was to be doing something distracting while I guarded it would be a good idea to know more about the docks layout. I began to circle around making note of the other workers in the area as well as the people who were coming off of some of the ships.
By the time I had finished my thorough sweep of the surroundings it was time for my shift. I walked up to join Kiyoshi and waved him off to enjoy his evening, seamlessly taking his place amongst the workers. One of them jumped in surprise when he turned and saw me waiting to take the crates off his hands.
I quickly explained myself as one of Tomio-san's guards; he nodded and went back to work. I began piling the crates so that I could lift them and walk them down to dock when Tomio-san finally noticed my presence.
"Ah, hello Suikazura. Is it that time already?" I smile kindly at his absentmindedness.
"Yes. I sent Kiyoshi back a few moments ago. I figured I should help unload. Is there anything specific you need me to do?" the gleam in his eye showed me I should have kept my mouth shut. I soon found myself carrying all of the boxes too heavy for the sailors who soon found themselves gaping open mouthed at the little girl carrying things that they would often need multiple men to bring to dock.
"I have lost all confidence as a man," I heard one of them mutter dejectedly. His friend only patted him comfortingly on the back nodding ashamedly, at a loss for words. Rolling my eyes at their antics I continued my work quickly losing track of time. By the time we finished unloading everything I had barely broke a sweat.
Sensei came to get us as we were finishing organizing the stuff for tomorrow mornings pick up. Tomio-san looked exhausted and was more than happy to head back to the inn for dinner and a good night's sleep. The next morning we got up bright and early hoping to be on the road well before noon.
The five of us made quick work of all the merchandise, tucking it neatly into the wagon we would be carrying it with. We set the horses to it and left the waking city behind. The pace was faster than before but we had to take more breaks so as not to tire the horses out too quickly.
We became alert quickly and were much more wary of other travelers. Yes there were ninja guarding the wagon, but in this case many would think the results outweigh the risk. This theory was proven correct on our second day of travel as we were approached by another band of bandits.
We had stopped at a river at midday to water the horses when we felt them approaching. Tomio-san knew the drill and immediately climbed inside the wagon, keeping low in case they had any archers with them. Sensei had us take a defensive position with one of us on each side of the wagon.
"I will take the back and will only interfere if I think you need it. Do not hold back and do not hesitate," were sensei's words to us before he disappeared to the back. We nodded to him and took our places. I was at the front with Kiyoshi to my right and Hiroshi to my left.
We waited silently for them to come out of the trees to my front-left. I shuffled my feet impatiently and picked a spot on the ground. I would not attack if they stayed on that side, but if they crossed over then their life was forfeit. Nodding as if to reassure myself of my decision, I glance at the edge of the forest.
There were six of them in total and they ran about with no coordination whatsoever. They didn't even bother with words before rushing into battle. We all had orders to stick to our sides and I could feel Kiyoshi shuffling on the other side in impatience as Hiroshi and I began to fight.
It was sickeningly easy especially after I let one by me for Kiyoshi to fight. We took them down quickly, a kunai here, a shuriken there. It took me a moment to remember to fight to kill, but I did. I killed three men. And I felt nothing. My hands shook as I pulled my kunai out of one man's body, and still: nothing.
It scared me. One of the signs of schizophrenia is an emotional distance of sorts. I had experienced it before having suffered from schizophrenia in my past life for four years, and this was definitely emotional distance. It's not like they leave you; they are still there, but they just don't quite reach you. Similar to swimming up but never being able to break the surface.
Sensei's comforting hand on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. Looking up I could see both Hiroshi and Kiyoshi trying to deal with this as well. It wasn't unexpected, we had been training for this since we were six, but to kill a person was something that just seems so wrong. I watched both of their scrunched up faces as they came to terms with what they had done and would continue to do until it was done to them.
"Are you three alright?" sensei asks in a low tone. I take a shaky breath before answering.
"Yes, well, we will be," I say sounding confused. The boys look up at my reply and nod their heads uncertainly. And with that we continued on our way. No tears, no tantrums, no life altering decisions, just one life altering moment. Perhaps it will define who we become; perhaps it will have no effect. Either way, death was now a firm presence in our lives.
We were not attacked again, being too close to Konoha for most of the bandits out there. Our pace was slower than it had been the past two days; I think sensei was trying to give us time away from people so that this could really sink in, so that we could really get over it. Gratitude was one of the few emotions I was feeling right then.
I was grateful that this was something our team did at the same time, together. Had just one us killed that day it would have altered the team dynamics, all the pressure being pushed on the one who had experienced that. Had two of us killed that day, we would have dreaded the day the third would join our ranks as one who had killed.
Because all three of us had killed at the same time we were able to deal with it together, grieve over it together, comfort each other and get over it together. Because we had done it at the same time, we could move on at the same time. We may be more psychologically messed up than ever before, but we were messed up as a team and would get better as a team. And so, without even knowing it, our team passed one of the most important tests a Genin will face.
The closer we got to the gates the more my excitement grew. We had only been gone twelve days, but it had felt like so much more. Right then I wanted nothing more than to go home. We checked in with the gate guards and then escorted Tomio-san to his warehouse. Waving goodbye with a promise of visiting we set off towards Hokage tower.
After reporting a mission complete we were given the necessary paperwork and sent on our way. Sensei bid us farewell and told us to have the paperwork done as soon as possible. All of us were eager to go home, even if home was just an orphanage for the boys. I walked home slowly deep in thought.
What if my family could tell? What if my parents were disgusted with me? What if they made me quit being a ninja? What if they were scared of me? I bit my lip on that last one, trying to calm myself. It would be fine, they wouldn't know, and I wasn't going to tell them.
My brothers would understand having been in the same position themselves. My parents were happy to see me and welcomed me with open arms. My mother told me how she was worried about me. My father told me how he spent the past week and a half calming my mother down. They sat me at the kitchen table and asked innocent questions about my mission.
And I told them how it was, editing out the parts that would surely make my mother faint. We snacked on food as we spoke and the familiar surroundings were so comforting it hurt. I had killed a man and here I was in need of comfort. What about their families? Did they have families?
I would never know because they walked passed that line in the dirt. I didn't regret it though. I had made my choice long ago and I would stick to it until the end, no matter how sticky it may turn out to be.
When my brothers returned home they took me on a walk. I could only assume someone had told them about the mission. We were quiet as we walked around the village without purpose.
"Are you alright Suikazura?" Izumo broke the silence.
"Yes," and my voice finally held the confidence it had been lacking. There was a note of finality. I was alright, I didn't regret it, and I was really starting to get over it.
"Of course you are! We Hagane's are made of stronger stuff than that," Kotetsu says as he ruffles my hair. We continue walking as I once again divulge the events of the past twelve days. They listen and let me talk it all out and for that I am grateful. Even if I didn't speak about how I felt about killing, I got to talk; for now that was enough.
We were on our way home when I saw the willow tree. Stretching out my roots I felt his presence there. With the most impulse I had exhibited in quite a while I told the boys to go home before me. They looked worried but left me anyway. Once they were gone from my sight I headed over to the tree and began to climb up it.
"Hey Neko-san, long time no talk," I say rather nervously after making it to the branch I had rested on last time.
"It has been a while, have you been well?" I could tell he was startled by my sudden appearance.
"I've been okay. Just got back from my longest mission yet, and you?" he took a moment before answering.
"I have been busy, but am fairing fine. Was your mission a hard one?"
"I wouldn't say hard just… eventful," I could hear him chuckle at my description. It became quiet, but it was a good quiet, peaceful. I could feel my heartbeat slowing down as I really began to relax and unwind. Here under the twisted branches that felt like a giant embrace, I was finally feeling like myself again.
"Thank you, Neko-san."
"I don't know what I did, but I am glad that I could help," he replies honestly causing me to giggle. I'd like to say he was clueless because he was a guy, but that didn't really apply just then. That didn't stop me.
"Men never know what they've done, they just put up with the consequences," I say lightly.
"I can assure you that you as well carry a feature of your gender. Your ability to scare a man is quite impressive," he says rather bemusedly. It felt good to laugh. It was funny, just not that funny. I laughed anyway, letting out all the emotion I had been unable to express.
I would not let myself cry so instead I laughed it all out, laughed away my sorrow until there was nothing left but genuine joy. He said nothing about my outburst and for that I was grateful. By the time night had fallen I was feeling so much better. With a resigned sigh I stood.
"I didn't mean to impose for so long. I've got to go now. See you- hear you again Neko-san, bye!" I leave the tree that was vibrating with his chuckles and began to make my way home. After letting everything out I was tired and wanted nothing more than a long nights rest. The thought of visiting Sasuke flashed through my mind momentarily and I felt guilty.
I had left without so much as a goodbye and now I was putting off seeing him in favor of sleep. I would see him tomorrow, Naruto as well. Thoughts of seeing those two had me smiling the whole way home.
This chapter was actually pretty fun to write, I hope you liked it as well. Also the title of the chapter is part of this long thingy that sounds pretty cool. If anyone wants to read the whole thing just PM me or something.