Reckoning Arc: A Place Called Home

She'd been foolish. It didn't matter that the circumstances were unfair. They would always be unfair. What mattered was that she needed a way to deal with it. She needed to put more focus on frontal assaults which meant she was going to have to lessen how much time she spent in the lab to have extra training. Orochimaru could afford to spend that much time there. She couldn't.

It was a shame she couldn't start immediately while her motivation was at an all time high, but having a break wasn't a bad thing either. It would give her time to relax, recover, and plan.

Her sense of self had been shaky as it clashed with the world, but she felt her two identities merge a little more. Like to eclipsing circles that would one day align. Someday, but not today.

Yuina had things to lose. A life to lose. There was no guarantee she would get another life. If anything, her current existence was probably a freak accident. However, even if there was another life waiting for her, she didn't want to lose what she had. It was sad that she needed a near death experience to confirm that.

If she could die anytime, then being a little more herself was a little less scary. Not enough to completely disobey command, but enough that she didn't need to be wandering about as a lifeless puppet. It might take some time to readjust though. Some habits are hard to break.

"You're awfully happy." Kakashi snacked on edamame as he practice writing 'code'.

"Do you have to say it it's a bad thing?" Yuina folded the paper. "It feels so good to be out of the hospital." She still had to be cautious with exercise and eating, but she didn't have to be monitored so closely anymore. "Nothing is like being home."

"It's not that. It's the origami. Can't you make something else besides cranes?" Kakashi held the brush over the inkpot as he stares at the cranes that litter the floor.

"They say your wish will be granted if you make enough of them."

"How many is enough?"

Yuina tilted her head. "Hmm." She looked up. "A thousand I think." She grabbed the orange sheet that was on the top of her paper stack and folded it into a dog. "Here." She got on her knees so she could reach across the table and drop it in front of him.

Kakashi picked it up gently and poked it. He was easy to please when dogs were involved. If he wasn't so rule driven he probably would have tried to sneak into the Inuzuka Clan's compound.

Yuina took the next sheet and folded it into a flower. Her neck twisted, but Sakumo was no longer in the room. She stood up and walked down the hallway and stopped when she spots Sakumo siting on the deck looking out into the distance.

She draped her arms over his shoulders. "For you."

Sakumo took the origami. "You're in a good mood."

Yuina pouted. "Kakashi said the same."

"It's been a while since you were this happy."

Hm?

"Is there a reason you chose a lotus?"

"You like flowers, it's pretty, and I know how to make it." He coughed away a laughter. She should have remembered more from the ikebana classes. "Why? Does it have a weird meaning."

"No." Lotuses had a variety of meanings: purity. rebirth. Strength, and sympathy among other things. "Lotuses are praised for rising from the dirty and murky waters to bloom into the flower you see. It's the symbol of attaining enlightenment."

She may have rediscovered some things, but enlightenment was a little too much. "Then may you reach enlightenment." She wasn't sure what Sakumo would need to be enlighten on, but if he could believe in that stuff if he wanted to.

Yuina continued to lean into him, enjoying the contact with another person. There was a gentle breeze and she could hear some birds in the distance.

"Tell me a poem?" Poems weren't her favourite thing, but they were growing on her. It was worth it to see Sakumo relaxed and joyful. She sat in comfort as he recited her one. It was short and sweet.

"Yuina." Kakashi walked out. He needed a few clarifications before continuing.

"Come join us, Kashi-chan."

He sighed but joined them. He sat next to Sakumo and leaned into him. It was nice to have this every once in a while.

After several minutes of enjoying each other's company she started a game of shiratori. A word game where players need to say a word that begins with the final kana of the previous word. They weren't playing to one up each other, but used it as something to pass the time.

Yuina missed this.

After some time, Sakumo left to prepare dinner and she answered the questions Kakashi had.

She still needed to think of what she was going to tell Orochimaru. She hadn't had a chance to speak to him yet. She hadn't even seen him since the mission.

She needed to thank him too.

Without him she really would be dead, and then she wouldn't have gotten the chance to enjoy herself today.

Hopefully, he didn't blame himself. Being left behind sucked. If her mom's words were anything to go by then knowing catastrophe could have been avoided was just as bad, if not worse.

She wondered how many people he lost. The title Sanin came from the second war. She couldn't imagine getting through something like without losing somebody.

Yuina's mind drifted to Sakumo. He must have lost people too. Maybe that's why she so rarely saw him spend quality time with others. He'd been adaptive to her recovery, but she wondered how he would have felt if she would have died. She left the door open for him to be emotional before, but he never accepted.

Well, she knew he cared so it didn't matter.

Her fingers skimmed against the wood. She looked back one last time before heading back inside.