Tralala! Sorry I didn't update last weekend! Hard to believe, I know; I was too busy to publish fanfic T-T.
Anyhoo, I love you all. Please enjoy the next chappy:)
Chapter Thirty-one: Regrets
Sing the Song of Aether,
Where the air is thin and cold;
Where the dancing of the dragonflies
Knows nothing of my soul.
~The First Book of Akash, Verse XVIII
Saki's graduation went by in a whirl. She hardly even noticed Sasuke and Sakura's absence, who were both out on a mission to find Yuki; Saki was too out of it to really care.
Hoshiko stood next to Saki and spared her a worried look. She nudged Saki in the side.
"Huh?" Saki mumbled, coming to with a start.
"You okay, Saki-chan?"
"Hn." Saki worried her lower lip and looked out at the crowd of parental units. Hinata was there, bravely trying to quiet Sora and Takeo, but other than that, she did not see anyone else of interest. Saki sighed and zoned out again; at some point, she was given a headband.
Saki perked up when her name was called. "Pssssst! Hoshiko—what did I just miss?"
Hoshiko rolled her pale Hyuga eyes. "Idiot, they just announced the teams."
Saki gasped, and some of her vibrant personality bubbled back to the surface. "Oh my goodness! Who...?"
Hoshiko smiled. "We're on Team Five together."
Saki blinked. "What? Team Five? But that's my sister's team!" she replied, horrified.
"Not currently," Hoshiko muttered, shaking her head. "Yuki is having her genin status revoked. I heard about it in my father's office this morning."
"WHAT!"
"Quiet!" Hoshiko squeaked as Tsunade shot them a withering glance.
After a moment of stunned silence, Saki ventured, "So, are we on a team with Tadashi-no-asshole then?"
Hoshiko shook her head. "He's having his genin status revoked too—"
"Good!" Saki muttered, "He deserves it!"
"Anyway," Hoshiko whispered, "It's going to be you, me, Hayato, and Cho."
Saki nodded. "A four man cell, huh? Probably because Hayato goes between villages so often..."
"Yup," Hayato whispered behind them. "It's troublesome, but what can you do?" Hayato wasn't sure about being placed on team with three girls, but he wasn't going to complain; he knew the terrors Saki's temper could wreck.
Saki gave Hayato a thumbs up, and grew silent again as Iruka glared at them.
Finally, the ceremony was over, and Saki and Hoshiko found the other members of their new team. Cho shuffled over, her eyes rimmed with red, her shoulders hunched.
"Cho-san..." Hoshiko whispered.
"Are you all right?" Saki finished, worried.
Hayato sauntered up to the group but hung back. The girls were obviously about to have a "female" moment, and he was not sure he wanted to get wrapped up in it.
"It's nothing," Cho murmured, bowing politely. "I'm honored to have you all on my...t-team."
Hoshiko frowned in understanding. "It must be hard, Cho-san, having your team rearranged so many times."
Cho smiled sadly but did not answer. Saki sighed, feeling awfully depressed at what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life.
"Cho-san, I know how you feel," Saki managed in a whisper. "But I'm sure Yuki will come back soon. And then she can take her regular place on Team Five—you know, once she wades her way out of all the trouble she's created for herself..."
Cho grinned at that and ruffled Saki's hair. After all, Cho couldn't complain in front of these two. She may have lost two teammates, one permanently and one (hopefully) only temporarily, but these two had lost siblings. "I look forward to training with you!" Cho managed in a gruff voice.
Hinata strode over, her mouth curving in a soft, sad smile, Takeo and Sora running around her ankles. "Congratulations, Hoshiko-chan!" she cried, embracing her daughter. Then she went over to Saki and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Congratulations, Saki-chan! I'm glad you are on the same team with Hoshiko-chan. I know you will fight well."
"Yes m'am!" Saki replied with forced cheer.
"And Hayato-kun!" Hinata cried, drawing the boy near, "Congrats! I'm sorry your parents had to be out on a mission during the graduation..."
Hayato shrugged. "I can't complain. Dad will be happy that Cho-san is on my team, according to tradition and everything."
"Speaking of tradition, here comes your sensei!" Hinata chimed.
Konohamaru sauntered over, a wide smile plastered to his face. "Hey kids! How would you like to go out for barbeque to celebrate?"
His offer instantly lifted the somber atmosphere. Saki smiled, but in a moment, her face fell.
"Eh, Saki-chan, what's wrong?" Hinata asked.
"Konohamaru-sensei..." Saki pleaded, "Before we go, can I ask Tsunade-sama something?"
Konohamaru grinned. "Of course!"
Saki smiled gratefully, and was about to find Tsunade, when she felt a firm hand land on her shoulder.
"What is it that you want, brat? I'm a busy lady," Tsunade muttered, gruff but not unkind.
Saki spun around, startled. Quickly, she came to her senses and asked, "Tsunade-sama! It is tradition in the Uchiha household for academy graduates to get a summons contract. However..."
Tsunade snorted. "However, the cat summons are out of the question right now. What's your point?"
"Please let me sign a contract with the slugs!" Saki cried.
There was a moment of silence while Tsunade pondered. "Why, pray tell, do you want a contract with the slugs?" she asked, her expression masked.
Saki straightened her shoulders and answered, "If we're going to war...and my s-sister..." her voice broke, but she forced herself to continue, "If there's going to be a war, then Konoha is going to need medics. I want to help! Let me sign the slug contract, and if you can find it in your heart, please train me!"
Hoshiko stepped forward, a look of determination on her face. "Train me as well, Tsunade-sama!"
"Me too!" Cho chimed, her eyes fierce.
Tsunade grinned. "Fine. Training starts after lunch. Meet me in the hospital."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" the three girls chorused.
Tusnade was about to leave when she saw Hayato's crestfallen expression. "And you, Hayato-kun, you will have special training with Konohamaru-sensei while these three train with me. Your mother tells me your wind element jutsu needs improving. Luckily for you, Konohamaru happens to be an excellent wind wielder."
Hayato's face brightened and he snapped to attention. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade chuckled as she turned away from the children. She was too old for this. But while Sakura otherwise occupied, Tsunade would enjoy teaching her students medical ninjutsu. She would show Sakura just how bad-ass these children could become under Tsunade's brutal, yet effective, tutelage.
Yuki woke with a sigh. After traveling hard for two days straight, last night's sleep felt especially restful. But as she blinked into the thin morning light, she recalled fragments of a dream about her family, and she cringed.
Perhaps she had been too harsh with her father? After all, Yuki had been destined to leave the village, regardless of Sasuke's actions. Now, her father was going to think she was running away from home like some angsty teen, when instead, she was on an important mission...
Yuki rolled over on her pallet, trying to forget, but Saki's words echoed in her head: That's it, Yuki! I'm tired of this! High and mighty Yuki, the Uchiha prodigy, so much better than everyone else! Fuck that! Dad's always favoring you and this is how you repay him!
Did Yuki really come across as being supercilious? Yuki didn't think that she was better than everyone else, and it certainly wasn't her fault if their father paid extra attention to her. After all, Sakura spent way more time with Saki—so they were even.
Yuki turned over on her bed again and stared at the walls of the canvass tent. There was one nagging fact that Yuki couldn't get away from: she was certainly guilty of ignoring her annoying little sister.
How can you leave? How can you leave ME? Yuki sighed as the words resounded in her head. Despite her gruff facade, Yuki really did love her baby sister—it's just that Saki was so annoying! And hyperactive, and shrill, and violent...but also sweet, empathetic, and one hell of a kunoichi.
Yuki had never acknowledged her sister as her equal, but during their last battle, Saki had fought on par with Yuki. If it hadn't been for the fact that Yuki had had more practice using the sharingan, and that Yuki had recently acquired the mangekyo, then Yuki might not have won.
"Yuki-chan?" a soft voice called from the doorway.
Yuki could have slapped herself—had she been so wrapped up in her depressing thoughts that she had not sensed anyone approaching? Some ninja she was. Sheepish, she rolled over and faced Aya, who stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the morning light. Yuki rose on stiff joints and bowed.
"Good morning, Aya-sama...er, I mean, Aya-sensei."
Aya nodded with a smile and looked up at her new pupil, who dwarfed her by a few feet. "Hello, Yuki-chan! Good morning! I'd ruffle your hair, but your head is all the way up there. I don't think I can reach."
Yuki blinked, confused by Aya's informality and her strange sense of humor. "Um...okay?"
Aya tittered at that. "You don't have to be so formal here, Yuki-pie. Here, I brought you breakfast!"
Yuki gratefully accepted the plate of eggs and fermented vegetables. As she shoveled the food into her mouth, Aya began, "Well, thought I'd fill you in on the logistics of your life here. One: you won't be seeing any of the other villagers until you decide to undergo your training—"
"Training?" Yuki managed around a mouthful of food.
"Yes, training. You are going to help us take down Uchiha Madara."
Yuki choked on her eggs; Aya patted her back and continued, once Yuki had recovered. "Er...sorry, maybe I should start from the very beginning? Hi, my name is Aya, and I'm training to be the leader of our tribe! I'm twenty-five, I can walk for five miles on my hands, and...let's see...my favorite color is blue!"
Yuki blinked at her companion.
Aya smiled. "Your turn!"
"Ah...my name is Yuki...um..." she trailed off, not certain how to continue.
"Never mind," Aya mumbled. "I guess I'll just...ah...proceed. You've been brought here for your own protection, but there is another reason as well. You are to undergo a special training that will help us to defeat you-know-who. We call him the Slaughter in our village; the elders say it's bad luck to mention his name. I say it's all superstition, but you know, elders..." Aya shrugged and beamed up at her new student.
Yuki nodded, her expression blank. Aya was a little overly friendly. Not that Yuki minded—it just kind of weirded her out.
"Anyway, the training isn't that bad, but as we're a little pressed for time, we're going to have to do it the hard way. Not to worry, I'll be training you, and I'll do my best to make it as painless as possible."
"Thanks." Yuki pushed the food around in her plate, lost in thought. Finally, she replied, "But why me? Why can't you defeat Mada— I mean, the Slaughterer?"
Yuki was referring to Aya, but her sensei took it to mean her whole tribe. "I suppose because we're only the branch family of the Uchiha. Our doujutsu isn't as strong as yours, and that's why we need your help. But also..." Aya cleared her throat before blurting out, "Because the slaughterer is your great uncle."
"He's my what!" Yuki cried, almost dropping her plate in surprise.
"Actually, I think he's more like your great great uncle. Or maybe your great great great uncle, I'm not sure, I'm terrible with math..."
"That's horrible!" Yuki's expression darkened. First, her father had turned out to be an ex-rogue ninja; then, her great great (great?) uncle was Uchiha fucking Madara. Yuki bowed her head, feeling the weight of her ancestry bearing down on her. After a pregnant pause, Yuki banished her anxious thoughts, sat up straight, and squared her shoulders. It was up to her to fix it the mistakes of her family and that was that; getting depressed about it wouldn't help anyone.
"Sorry..." Aya grinned nervously and continued, "I know that must be a shock for you. But the good news is, as you'll learn in training, that makes you all the more qualified to help us kick his butt!" Aya fisted the air.
"Um...great?" Yuki forced a smile and put her empty plate down on the floor. "When does my training start?"
"Today!" Aya beamed. "I mean...well, as soon as you accept the terms of the training."
Yuki chewed the inside of her cheek. "Which are...?"
"Okay, but just so you know, if you refuse to take the training, then the Slaughterer will most likely win and the world will be thrown into the dark ages—or maybe end altogether, I'm not sure."
"Ah—you're not sure?"
"Well, it's kind of like, the future is uncertain...so I like to focus on the positive, you know?"
Yuki closed her eyes. "The world ending doesn't sound very positive."
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it like that, but you see the world isn't going to end because hopefully you'll agree to the training, and then you'll help us defeat the Slaughterer, right?"
Yuki wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "What's the training?" she asked point-blank.
Aya's smile didn't falter as she replied, "I'll be taking you into a trance state and teaching you the basics of interdimensional traveling and walking in the spirit world!"
Yuki blinked; for all she understood, Aya could have just as easily said they would be hanging upside down and memorizing algebra equations for the next week. The branch family certainly was strange.
"Um, sounds...interesting," Yuki mumbled. "But what are the drawbacks?"
Aya sputtered for a moment. "Right, I was getting to that. You see, for every day of training we do, your physical body will age a year. The training kind of takes a lot out of you..."
"So it'll shorten my life by a few years."
Aya smiled nervously. "Um...I like to think of it as speeding up your maturity. But, in essence, yes."
"How long is the training?"
Aya exhaled sharply; her new pupil did not mince words. "It takes at least two days, usually around three or four, but typically, no longer than five days."
"And if I don't do the training and lose five years of my life...the world as we know it will end." Yuki stared up at Aya and crossed her arms over her chest.
Aya nodded. "Um, pretty much." There was a pause before Aya gushed, "Of course, it's totally up to you! We would never force you to do this work against your will! Never, never! But I think that you'll find that you'll really like it, if you give it a chance."
Yuki sighed. "I just need to know one more thing before I sign up: why did you have Amaya and Tama fight my father and the Hokage? Why couldn't they come here?"
"I'm sorry, I should have gone over this from the beginning," Aya muttered, running a hand through her hair. "You see, traditionally, our village doesn't have a very good relationship with Konoha."
"But Konoha doesn't even know you exist," Yuk replied bluntly.
Aya offered her an awkward smile. "You see, after the Uchiha massacre, the Konoha root hunted down many of the Uchiha who were trying to escape—"
"Like the people who were out of town, or who were on missions," Yuki muttered. "Akemi told me."
"So you can see why the Hill folk are distrustful of Konoha. Also...we have reason to believe that your father, if he came here, would destroy our barrier against the Slaughterer."
"What?"
"How to put it?" Aya muttered, resting her chin in her hands. "Since your father had a long association with the Slaughterer, we have reason to suspect that he might carry a small spark of the Slaughter's chakra. If we let him through the barrier, I'm afraid the barrier would be rendered useless, and the Slaughter could get through as well. It would be disastrous."
Yuki blanched. "My father has some of the Slaughter's chakra? Does that mean...?"
"Listen Yuki," Aya reassured her, "if you do the training and help us defeat the bastard, he won't be able to harm anyone else—your father included. Will you give it a try?"
Yuki closed her eyes. She remembered how Aya had saved her life all those weeks ago; how she had attempted to save Ryuu-kun despite the futility of the situation. "I don't know why I trust you, but...I do. So—"
"You'll do it!"
Yuki winced from Aya's enthusiastic shout. "Yes."
Aya threw her arms around Yuki. "That's great! I was so worried!"
Yuki tensed under the hearty embrace, feeling awkward. She mumbled, "Um, I mean, after coming all this way, I guess...and you know, the end of the world sounds pretty bad so..."
Aya jumped up. "All right! Let's start the preparations!"
Yuki let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding; she felt like a deflating balloon.
What have I just gotten myself into?
Sasuke didn't speak to his teammates when they found him. His silence, his shaking limbs, and his stricken face were proof enough that he had failed, and he was not pressed for details. The Hokage, who had been waiting to receive word from them, was summoned via hiraishin.
Despite Kakashi's nin dogs, Naruto's sage mode, and Sasuke's rinnegan, there was not a trace of Yuki to be found. She had completely disappeared. They searched until dawn drew back the curtain of night, but Sasuke already knew it was futile.
"She's gone to the Hill People," Sasuke said at last. "We can search all we like, but they won't be found unless they want to be." He wanted to add that if Uchiha Madara couldn't break through the barrier, then they were fucked; but of course, he couldn't insinuate anything of the sort.
Sakura protested, but Sasuke waved her off. "Yuki left of her own volition. We did the best we could to bring her back. Now, she's on her own."
"How can you say that, Sasuke?" Sakura barked, her pink hair flying as she accosted him. "She's our daughter—we can't give up on her!"
Naruto put a hand on Sakura's arm to try to calm her, but she shrugged free and yelled, "What did she say to you, Sasuke? What did she...?"
Sasuke sighed. They had all assumed that Sasuke had fought Yuki and lost. He supposed he couldn't dissuade them of that opinion, in light of Madara's threats.
"She's gone. Sakura." He held his hands up in defeat. "Please..." he whispered. Please don't push me...
Sakura broke down in sobs and turned away from Sasuke, falling into Naruto's outstretched arms instead. Naruto looked up at Sasuke and muttered, "What the hell happened here, Sasuke?"
Sasuke felt violently ill. Turning away, he snapped, "Don't ask." Sasuke stalked away, even as Naruto shouted for him to return. He needed to be alone.
When her parents finally returned on the third day after Yuki's disappearance, Saki had been standing in the kitchen holding her baby brother in her arms. She had run into the entrance way, calling, "Yuki! Is that you? Mom? Dad...? Where's Yuki?" As she searched their somber faces, her tentative hope dissolved into tears. She was scooped up by her mother, who embraced her two youngest children and sobbed.
"I'm so sorry, Saki-chan..." Sakura rasped through her tears.
Saki shouted, "What the hell happened, mom?"
Sakura refrained from answering, and instead shot a pointed glare at her husband. Sasuke stiffened under her scrutiny. "I'm going out," he mumbled, backing away.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried, catching his gaze with hers; but when she looked into his eyes, it was like looking into the face of a dead man. They stayed, silently staring at each other, until Sakura muttered in disgust, "Just go, then." She buried her face on the top of Saki's head, her wet tears staining her daughter's hair.
Sasuke seemed to exit in slow motion, the door clicking shut behind him. Saki extracted herself from her mother's suffocating hug and made her way to the door as well.
"Saki, leave your father be," Sakura snapped.
"He knows what happened, doesn't he? And he's not telling anyone?" Saki spun around and speared her mother with a glare. Sakura, holding a sniffling Takeo in her arms, mutely nodded. Saki strode back to her mother, and kissed her forehead. "Where's Yuki, okaasan?"
Sakura took in a shuddering breath before whispering, sotto voce, "I don't know. Sasuke...Sasuke said she went to the Hill People."
"Who the hell are they?"
"No one knows."
Saki took a step back and placed her hands on her hips. "Not even, like, the ANBU, or the Hokage?"
Sakura just shook her head no and continued to weep into her hands.
Saki ran a hand through her hair. Usually, when Saki's parents stonewalled each other, Saki would calm Sakura down while Yuki convinced Sasuke to come back home. But now, Yuki was gone. Saki's lower lip quivered, but soon, she squared her shoulders and looked Sakura straight in the eye; she knew how she could fix this.
"Mom, I'm going to go talk to dad. He needs to hear something from me."
Sakura nodded, too tired to argue. "Do as you please. I'm taking a shower and going to bed."
"Okay..." Saki danced on her toes a little, as if conflicted about leaving her mother to go to her father. At last, she flung her arms around her mother in a tight embrace, and then ran out the door in order to catch up with Sasuke.
She hadn't needed to run; Sasuke was not moving very fast.
"Otousan!" Saki called as she jogged up to her father. Sasuke didn't answer, so Saki sided up next to him, matching her pace to his. They walked in silence for a while, and eventually wound their way to the empty park. Sasuke sat on a bench and Saki perched on the lowered end of a see-saw, facing him.
"Otousan?" Sasuke looked up at her, startled, as if he had just realized that she was present. His eyes were cloudy, as if he was blind, which worried Saki.
"Otousan," Saki resumed, "I want to tell you something." He did not protest, so she continued, "When I was fighting Yuki, that night... Well, we fought with genjutsu, and I saw into her mind. I'd never done that before, but I guess the sharingan helps..."
Saki trailed off nervously, but took a deep breath and forced herself to continue, "Anyway, Yuki didn't leave because of you, otousan. I'm not sure why, but she felt like she needed to leave the village. I don't understand it, but I trust her." At this, Saki smiled, even though her eyes were watering. She stood up until she was face to face with her father. "I trust her because I believe in her! Otousan?"
Sasuke blinked; Saki took this as a good sign and blurted out, "Yuki doesn't hate you—I know she doesn't. And I love you too, otousan!" With determination, Saki threw her arms around her father's neck. "I know you did what you thought was right, giving Yuki that jutsu, whatever it was, and I'm sure Yuki will come to appreciate it. And I know you did the best you could, trying to rescue Yuki, but she's stubborn, and she won't come back until she does whatever it is she thinks she needs to do..." Saki, exhausted from her outburst, drooped down on her father's shoulders.
Sasuke drew in a long, jagged breath, then placed his hands on Saki's shoulders. "I don't know what I did to deserve such wonderful children," he murmured.
Saki swatted him playfully on the arm. "Stop being so depressing. You're a great dad. For someone with brand-new, all-powerful eyes, you sure are blind!"
Sasuke hugged Saki and gave a short, painful laugh. "When did you get to be so smart?"
"Daaaaaad, I've always been this smart!" She pried herself out of his tight hug and sat next to him on the bench, leaning her head on his shoulder. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she felt it prudent to say nothing at all, given his current state. Saki closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. I have to take my own advice and just believe in my sister!
They sat in silence for a while, both lost in thought, until Sasuke finally shook himself out of his trance. "Let's go home, Saki-chan. I have to apologize to your mother."
Saki eyed him askance. "What did you do?"
"What didn't I do?" he muttered, morose.
"Otousan!" Saki rolled her eyes. "Come on old man," Saki chided when Sasuke didn't move, "let's go!" She took his hand and led him back to their house, sparing an occasional glance up at her father's face as they walked. Saki bit her lip; she had done the best she could, but damn it, otousan still looked like the walking dead.
Some things, you just can't fix, no matter how much you want to, Saki thought glumly.
Hope you liked it! Have a great weekend my friends, and please review:)