Chapter 23 - Pupil Reflection

Yakata stayed in his room and thought for a very, very long time, after talking everything over with his parents.

Well, technically, it wasn't his room. He shared it with his parents, who were sleeping, now, a few feet away from him. His mama had gone to bed early, his papa joining her after cleaning up, when she could not.

There was a lot for him to process.

He'd listened to the entire conversation they'd had with Sasuke through the crack where the door slid open, on his knees. He had tried not to be heard. He doubted he was. He had watched his mama cry and his papa yell.

Yakata had expected Sasuke to say that he wasn't his father. He just knew, after he had left, after Yakata had beaten himself up for days after Sasuke's departure for his silly dreams, that it wasn't the truth.

If Sasuke had really been his father, then he'd have stayed.

Yakata didn't expect to learn about Sasuke's brother. And the fact that he was dead. And the man who was really his father.

Yakata held onto his knees and listened intently from that moment onward, grabbing any information about the man that he could.

It wouldn't be lying to say that Yakata had always been curious about where he had come from. His parents were very frank with him about his origins, but the fact that he was adopted didn't matter so much to him. He loved his parents, more than anything else. And a lot of the other kids in the village and nearby lived with parents who weren't their own, that wasn't unusual or anything at all.

But some small part of him had always wondered what kind of a person his mother, his father had been. Why they'd left him with his real parents, even, and with such a warning, and that promise to come back.

A lot of the time those things occurred when a family was unable to provide for another child in the house. And sometimes a kid just got orphaned, that couldn't be helped. There were always childless couples with open arms, or those who were unable to have their own children with many already taken in.

(And even with Yakata's warnings, there had been some victims in the landslide. Mostly the skeptics. The Takeda family, a few houses away, had taken in the Sato family's child, now that his parents were gone. It was tragic, but these things happened, and children needed to be cared for.)

It was the fact that his father and not his mother had left him with his parents that interested him quite a bit. Maybe his mother had died in childbirth, or run off somewhere, and his father couldn't provide for Yakata by himself? Or… something like that. Yakata wasn't very good at speculating about it.

(Though he'd certainly dreamed and fantasized - well, not fantasized, but...)

(After all, hadn't his father promised to come back...?)

Besides, he loved his parents. He didn't want for anything else. It wasn't like there was a better life out there for him - he had a hard life, but it was a good life, and he was happy. Even when people whispered about him for the things he said about the weather and the crops.

(And when they didn't whisper.)

Yakata… didn't have special powers, he just… saw things, and he knew they were going to happen based on what he saw. He could tell by the color of a rice shoot if it was going to thrive or not, long before many others would. He knew that there was a thunderstorm coming if the clouds swelled big and enormous, like soap suds or tufts of wool, he knew when it would produce hail, or just rain.

But he was still curious.

He pulled the facts about his father out of the air as Sasuke spoke them and hoarded them away in his mind.

His father had been… a ninja, probably, like Sasuke. A genius - a genius? Wow… And he had to have been somewhat secretive, if Sasuke himself hadn't even found out about Yakata until just now, through letters.

He wondered, slightly, about what type of woman his mother had been. Probably a subtle, sophisticated lady, to communicate by letters. Or maybe someone cold and elegant…

When Sasuke mentioned the Sharingan, Yakata paused, and thought for a moment. He'd never been told he had red eyes, and his parents certainly didn't say anything about it… Did his father have red eyes like Sasuke's, then?

Sasuke didn't say anything more on the matter, however.

(A long time after the conversation, when there was still oil left in the lamp on the floor, Yakata got out his mama's round makeup mirror and looked very, very carefully at his own, black eyes. He couldn't imagine how they could possibly be considered red in any sense of the word. He added the mystery to the enormous list of things he wanted to ask, eventually.)

He wondered what Sasuke meant, when he said he was the last of his clan.

But most of all, he wondered if it would be the right thing to follow him and go be trained as a ninja.

Yakata had only a slight idea about what ninjas did. He knew that they were hired for manual labor and hard tasks and fetching items and things like that—that was how he had met Sasuke anyways, right? And he'd met others before - there was that man named Hozuki and his little boy, a child a bit younger than Yakata; they were drifters who came by about once a month to see if there were any jobs they could do around town, and there usually were. They were strange people, Yakata thought; the elder of the two had sharp teeth that looked more like fangs than anything else, and his purple eyes were restless and mistrusting, despite the honest work that he did.

Most of the other ninja who came into the town were hired to help with the harvest if the crop was particularly large, or if hands were particularly scarce. Or, in a particularly magnificent instance: when Aoshi, the miller in the next village over, needed help finding the perfect gift to impress the woman he wanted to marry, he hired a ninja to help. That was… interesting.

(They never did see that woman again. Apparently, the ninja was an acceptable enough gift to her.)

But regardless. Ninja, overall, seemed to be helpful people. And, when Yakata sat down with his parents to talk about it (after his mama stopped crying, after his papa coaxed him out of the bedroom), he stated, fairly early on, that he wanted to go with Sasuke.

"Yakata, we've hardly even talked about this," his mama said. "Are you sure you want to make this decision right now?"

Yakata nodded. "I, I, I think it'd be good for me to receive some of this, this training," he said. "Ninjas are… helpful people, right? Maybe I'll… I'll have learned some new skills by the time I come back! So… so I can help with the harvest. Since… well, the things I, I can do to help don't… don't amount to much."

"Yakata, don't say things like that," his mama said. She bit her lip. "You help more than you realize. You're a good boy."

Yakata didn't say anything.

"Yakata, if that's what you want to do then we'll be right behind you on it," his papa said. "I'm just a little worried, this is all so sudden."

"Yeah, I, I know it's… sudden." Yakata looked down, for a moment, before looking at his parents again. "But, but Sasuke-san has to go home soon, and I don't, I don't have much time to think about it. Um. I, I think… I still think it's a good idea."

"You're such a good boy," his mama said, again. She sounded like she was going to cry, again. Yakata got up and went over, and he hugged her very tightly.

"Mama, don't cry…" he said. "This… it, it, it'll be a good thing, okay?" His mama didn't reply, just holding him even tighter.

They didn't discuss his desire to learn more about his father much at all, or the blood tests that Sasuke wanted to have done. They were things that were already out on the table, in a sense. Things they already knew.

Besides, those weren't the reasons why Yakata was leaving for so long. If it was only for that, he'd be there and back in an instant. He was leaving to be trained, until the harvest.

They all agreed to sleep on it, but Yakata's mind was more than set.

This would be a good thing, in every sense of the word. Ninjas were helpful people, weren't they? He'd learn to do something actually useful, something nobody else could do. Something that would help everyone, for certain.

(And… maybe people would actually appreciate him for it.)

(He'd fit in, here. In this new role.)

(With this new, temporary family.)

(Maybe.)

He couldn't start packing just yet. His parents were still sleeping; he didn't want to wake them up by taking his clothes out of the bureau and packing them away for the journey ahead. He would be gone until the harvest - how many clothes would he need? He couldn't take up much space.

He thought.

Doubtless he'd be able to wash his clothes while he was away at Sasuke's house. And his mother washed clothes every week or so, to save soap. They didn't have many clothes. One week's worth of clothes was at least seven shirts, plus maybe one or two more, just in case. And only a few pairs of pants, his shoes…

He thought about how much it would weigh. He thought about what else he wanted to bring, from home. He knew exactly what he needed by the time he finally nestled under his futon, blowing out the lamp, and it gave him a sort of peace of mind.

He didn't dream.

It took him a while to wake up, in the morning, long after the roosters began to crow, on account of his staying up so late. His parents' futons were already empty and folded in the corner, and he could smell breakfast cooking. He rubbed his eyes and left the bedroom, yawning.

He and his parents talked, a little, after saying good morning. "Sa-Sasuke-san isn't, isn't here yet?" Yakata said.

"No, not yet," said his papa. He paused, and added, "Are you still going to go through with this?"

"Mm. I, I think… I think it's the right thing to do," Yakata replied.

His mama was quiet as she stirred the rice porridge, dumping a spoonful of spices into it. "Would you have believed this was even possible, yesterday?" she said, after a while. "That he'd come back with all of this… news and ninja business."

Yakata and his papa had to admit that they wouldn't have. But fate was a strange thing, and a wonderful thing, as well.

Yakata still had his family, but he'd be learning about another, now, and gaining skills that he was sure would be more of a help than his witch-predictions, his weather and mountains and shoot-colors.

Sasuke came back when Yakata was helping his mama clean the dishes. His papa had declared that he would stay home until all of this was negotiated properly.

(And besides, he wanted to be there to bid his son farewell. But he didn't dare voice this. He was a hard man and he'd gone through too much in his life to show or admit any sort of weakness.)

Yakata found himself smiling when he saw that shape in the doorway, of that man with the red eyes and the perpetually cross expression.

His uncle?

The words didn't seem to fit, not yet.

(But Yakata was already trying to force them into his world, in a way.)

"I take it you all have had time to talk this over," Sasuke said, after he had been invited in, and his shoes had been taken off.

"We did," Yakata's papa said. They were all sitting down, him and Sasuke and Yakata and his mama. The air was very still.

"And?" Sasuke said.

Yakata's papa glanced at him.

"I've, I've, I've decided to, um. To come with you. To be trained," Yakata said. He looked right into Sasuke's red eyes, unaware of how scared or happy he really appeared. He tried, badly, not to stutter. "Un-until the harvest, anyways..."

That was the first time Yakata could ever remember seeing Sasuke smile so warmly. It lasted for only a second, but it was still there.

(It was even warmer than that thin, long-lasting smile that he had been wearing three months before, on that night of illusions and miscommunication.)

"You're making a good decision," Sasuke said, nodding, his face shifting back into its usual grimness. "Are you ready to leave, then?"

"No, no, we were waiting for you to get back first!" Yakata's mama said, waving her hand. "We'll get Yakata packed right away."

"Hm." Sasuke crossed his arms. "I had expected you to be ready."

"Sasuke-san, um. I won't, I won't take very long, I already know what I need," Yakata said.

Sasuke's expression softened. "…fine, then. I'll just wait here for you."

"Come on, Yakata, let's get your things…" his mama said, and the two of them retreated to the bedroom. Yakata had already laid out the ten shirts, the five pairs of shorts and pants, the underwear, by the time she had found his papa's traveling bag.

"Yakata, is that really enough?" she said, putting her fingers on her lips as she looked it all over. "You're going to be gone for…"

"It's enough if I, if I wash my clothes at least… at least once a week," Yakata replied, brightly. He ran the numbers, the weights, over in his head again in an instant. "And, and, and I'm sure I'll be able to do that."

"And the book, Yakata?"

He felt his face grow slightly warm. "Well, it's my favorite… I, I want something to read while I'm… while I'm there."

It was one of the few books he actually owned, a gift from his ninth birthday. All the other books he had ever read came from the school, a building of many rooms and sliding doors that was a half hour's walk out from the village. Yakata had read them all a million times over, even the boring farmer's almanacs, even the picture books.

Yakata had gone to school, once, years ago, but he left once he had learned to read and do math, and that was that. That's how it was with most kids, that was just all you needed to know.

(Though most kids weren't finished by the age of six. Yakata was a fast learner, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he could read and write better than his parents.)

Besides, the most practical skills were learned in the field. Every kid knew how to help tend the fields, to pull up the young rice shoots at just the right time, to cull the ones that weren't thriving. Every kid knew how to feed chickens, and to pluck chickens.

A few kids that were Yakata's age were also being taken on as apprentices to tradesmen and artisans in the village, in neighboring villages.

This was something of an apprenticeship, this ninja training, now that Yakata thought about it. He didn't know if he was much-suited for any other trades, really.

If he liked it, maybe he'd stay a little longer…?

"Yakata, are you listening to me?" his mama said.

He was. She'd already started putting his clothes into the bag. Despite her protests he managed to convince her that, yes, he had enough clothes. (She still snuck another pair of underwear in, which he noticed but said nothing about.) They put the book on top, and after she told him to wait, she added a small silk pouch with frayed gold tassels to the package.

"For protection," she said. She sniffed. "Oh, Yakata, be careful out there…"

Yakata held his mama, again, until she let go. It took a while.

Once she was certain that she was presentable, they left the bedroom. Sasuke and his papa were talking about something, but Sasuke stopped mid-sentence when he saw Yakata.

"Are we ready?" he said.

Yakata nodded, but his mama said, "Oh, just a moment!" She scurried to a corner of the room and Sasuke scowled. Yakata noticed him roll his eyes. But she was quick, and she handed Yakata a little bundle wrapped in twine and paper. "It's lunch. You'll want something to eat on the way over, I'm sure…"

"Thanks, Mama," Yakata said, and he put it into his pack.

"We'll be going on foot, you know," Sasuke said. "It's a long journey, but it'd be longer if we tried to take a transport. I'm sure you can handle it."

Yakata nodded again, this time with a smile. "Yeah, I'm sure…!"

His papa was standing, now, and so was Sasuke. He put his hand on Yakata's shoulder, as Sasuke went to go put his shoes on. "Be careful out there, Yakata. And put everything into your training."

"I will, Papa." Yakata was heading for the door as well, now. His parents followed.

"And write to me as much as you can," his mama said. She was already wiping at her eyes again.

"I will, Mama," he said. He held her hand for a moment, before going to get his shoes on. Sasuke was waiting at the door.

She pulled him into one last hug, before he left. "I love you. My sweet, sweet boy…"

"I, I love you too, Mama," he said. He felt tears stinging the edges of his eyes. He wiped them on her shoulder as she pulled him in closer, and wiped his arm against his face for good measure when it was all over.

Sasuke waited at the door, arms folded.

And Yakata stepped over the foyer and out near the door.

"Take care of our son for us," Yakata heard his papa say, from behind them.

"I promise that I will," Sasuke said.

And they left.