A/N: Yo! So, yeah these extras are basically two scenes that I couldn't fit in actual chapters lol- Anyway, enjoy!
~The Sakura Tree~
It was going to be another day of training. That was… what Ryu thought it was going to be, anyway. Chilled worry churned in his chest; there was a note on his door. He had seen Aiko's handwriting countless times and it was unmistakable. It was hers.
Meet me at the Sakura Tree.
He hadn't been at to that tree in years, yet he knew exactly where to go. It was ingrained in him… He liked to think that meant something. When he reached The Sakura Tree, the weight of melancholic nostalgia fell upon him like a mountain.
It was unchanged.
The same pink oasis that blossomed in the desert of green.
The only difference was Aiko.
She wasn't the little auburn-haired girl, smitten and nervous with the temper of a lion. The girl that always smiled.
No, a woman sat with her back straight against the tree, diamond blue eyes looking at him expectantly. There was no smile on her face. Aiko motioned him to take a seat next to him.
Ryu cleared his throat, walking through the raining petals. The smell of overcast filled his senses. The petals wouldn't be the only thing raining soon.
With a sigh, Ryu sat down next to Aiko. He fiddled with his fingers, not daring to look in her direction. She didn't look at him either.
"I may not have brought it up earlier," she began, her tone as even as the chilled breeze. The green of leaves infiltrated the oasis. "But I still want to know what more you're hiding from me."
Ryu balled his hand into a fist. It wasn't a tight fist, no; it was loose and even a child could pull it apart. "I'm sorry…" was all he could manage. His throat tightened— daring him to speak, to unravel the mummified corpses of his past… the past he wished to forget.
"Don't be sorry, Ryu," Aiko soothed. She shook her head and unraveled his fist. She slid her fingers between his own and squeezed.
Chills went down his spine.
"I think I can understand why you're hiding things from me." She sighed. "Dealing with them must be hard, speaking about them harder…"
Silence fell as the breeze picked up.
"But I can't imagine anything harder than carrying that burden alone until you end up in your grave."
Ryu's hand remained limp in Aiko's grip.
"I won't let you go through that, not anymore," she declared. Ryu felt her gaze on him, but he wouldn't dare match it. "Please, let me help you."
Ryu opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He attempted to clear his throat, but the blockage remained. "I… I can't, " he admitted.
"Yes, you can," she rebutted. "I know you can."
"No, you don't!" Ryu argued. "You don't know me… You only know who I pretended to be through those letters. You know the Ryujin that doesn't have the Kyuubi, the Ryujin that's still a hero—who still wants to be Hokage. "
"I don't care about that Ryu," Aiko said, her voice cracked and her grip on his hand loosened. He felt her look strengthen and Ryu shut his eyes.
She placed her free hand on his shoulder. "I only care about the Ryu that's right here. No matter who he is, what he has, or what he wants to be."
The first drop of rain made it through the blossoming canopy and hit their hands. Water dripped down the back of Aiko's hand and into their conjoined palms. "Please, let me know he is. There's nobody that I care about more than him—more than you. "
"It's because you have no one else…" Ryu snapped, yet it was like ripped cotton more than broken wood. Aiko nearly pulled her hand out of Ryu's, but she stopped herself, and only held his hand tighter.
"You don't deserve someone like me," Ryu admitted with a sigh. "You deserve better," he concluded, shifting himself to stand but Aiko pulled.
He couldn't help but look back, meeting her diamond-blue glare with a tired look of his own. "Don't you dare walk away from me, Ryujin."
Her voice pierced him. The chills in his core rose and enveloped him. Ryu slowly sat back down. Aiko let out a sigh. "I'm happy that it's you that I have left."
Ryu cringed.
"I don't care what demons you have, I don't care how many secrets you're hiding. I just care about you," she rambled, gripping Ryu's hand tighter and tighter with each word. The rain poured through the forest. They were soaked but they sat in it.
"Just… let me do it, let me be there, let me care," she pleaded, frustrated and hopeful all in the same breath.
Ryu shook his head. "Why?!"
"Because you're my friend, Ryu," was all she said. "You were my first friend here in Konoha. You were always there to help me, you were always there to help me, even when it was at your detriment. Especially now…"
Aiko dropped her gaze. "I always hated that I could never do anything for you in return. Now I'm realizing that most of it is because you would never let me."
"So, do you hate me for not letting me help you?" asked Ryu, wiping the rain from his face.
"Don't be an idiot," was her response. She sighed and gripped his hand as tight as possible. "Please let me help you."
Ryu had never felt so safe yet exposed. So secure yet in danger. It all churned inside of him like a boiling pot. One trapped with so much pressure that it was due to boil over at any second.
Countless seconds had gone by…
Years worth of seconds.
"I wish I could…"
"I believe you can."
Ryu shook his head—he wanted to scream. Why was she so persistent? What did she see in him?
Whatever hope she saw was an illusion. He needed to break it…
"Eight years ago," he started, channeling his anger to merely get the words out.
Aiko flinched.
"It was revealed to me that who I thought was my sensei, Orochimaru was discovered to me a traitor. I tracked him down by myself. I wanted revenge. In my anger…" His throat closed, but he shoved the words through. "I lost control to the Kyuubi."
The rain picked up, and its smell melded with the aroma of the Sakura Tree. The downpour nearly shrouded out Ryu's words, and both he and Aiko were utterly soaked. Neither cared.
Ryu was too busy speaking.
Aiko was too busy listening.
"Because I lost control, Orochimaru got away. And I nearly killed—" He choked on his words. "Everyone I had."
Before he knew it, his drenched body was pulled into Aiko's with a hug.
Of course, that would've happened… but this time, he didn't even bother reciprocating. He simply allowed her to hold him.
"I'm sorry…" murmured Aiko.
"Why are you sorry? Isn't this what you wanted to know?"
"I'm sorry that happened." She could barely do anything to soothe him, but she tried. "What else?"
Ryu went even colder.
Aiko squeezed him tighter. The rain may have masked her tears, but not the chop of her breaths.
Guilt reigned in Ryu's gut—it churned like nausea, a sickness.
"What else?" repeated Aiko, grief clear in her tone—not grief for herself—grief for him… for what he went through.
Had he ever grieved? Truly?
The answer was painfully clear to both of them.
Aiko's head rested on Ryu's shoulder and she pulled him into her.
Ryu finally relaxed somewhat, though that didn't calm the churning.
"Not right now, Aiko," was what he told her. "I'm not ready."
Aiko pulled back and grabbed his shoulders. They looked each other in the eyes, amber reflected on diamond. "Alright."
They both stood, with Aiko sliding her hands off of him. She examined herself, then she chuckled. "I think we should go dry off…"
"Nah, a little rain isn't gonna stop me from training," Ryu said with a shake of his head.
Her brows furrowed. "Doesn't the rain put out your fire?"
"I can do things other than fire, Aiko," he responded with his usual snark… as if the previous conversation didn't happen.
"The little things really do give you away, Ryu," Aiko said.
Now, his brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"You can't hide from yourself. It's impossible. You know what you're feeling and so do I," Aiko walked ahead of him into the rain-soaked forest. "All you need to do is acknowledge it."
Ryu pursed his lips. The rain drenched him doubly more with each passing sheet. He was alone in the drowning oasis of the Sakura Tree.
Yet, it didn't feel that way.
Ever since Aiko returned to the village, it never felt that way.
~End~
?￢ﾜ ? ~ Shinrai vs Natsuyo ~ ?￢ﾜ ?
It'd been a few weeks since Shinrai started his medical Ninjutsu training. Whenever the Mystic Palm covered his hand… it was like he could feel Yora's hand in his again. It made him smile… especially as he held her hilt in his hand.
He was on one of his off days, so he was working on some Fire Style Jutsu Ryu gave him to work on. His mouth burned with soot, and the surrounding grass was charred. His chakra never felt so hot either—neither did his body temperature. It was… exhilarating.
When Ryu demonstrated the Jutsu, he activated his Sharingan with a discreet Genjutsu making his eyes appear normal. He heard that Kakashi copied over a thousand jutsu with his Sharingan… so he should follow suit. The hand signs and the way his chakra was molded was burned into his memory. He just had to practice it until he got it right.
His training was disturbed, however, when he heard an unfamiliar set of footsteps. When he turned his head to face them, he saw a girl. Her hair was blonde like the sun on a bright day, her eyes were brown like wood. She wore a fiery white and yellow uniform. The sleeves were long and the edges of her top flowed in the wind like the flick of a candle. But most notably, the Senju Clan crest was branded on the shoulder of her shirt.
"Oh, a Senju," he muttered.
She grinned. "Natsuyo Senju! I wish to fight you."
"Straight to the point I see," mumbled Shinrai as he fully faced her. He crossed his arms and tilted his head with a smirk. "What makes you wanna do that?"
"Because you fought my brother and won. The last time I fought my brother, we tied!"
Shinrai chuckled. "You realize that my brother and I teamed up on him, right? I wouldn't call it fair…"
"I know! I don't care! You fought Gosei, so I'm fighting you!" she declared before pulling out a kunai with a sharp grin. "C'mon! Put 'em up!"
Shinrai laughed. "I like you way more than Gosei already!" He unsheathed the blade of his namesake.
Natsuyo threw the kunai, freeing her hands for the seals she weaved. "Fire Release: Summer Sun Shower!" Pellets of fire spewed out of her mouth toward Shinrai.
A wide grin crossed her face. She knows Fire Style! I'm totally gonna copy a couple Jutsu from her. With his blade of ivory, he cut away the kunai and through the fireballs. The sound of wind gusting blew over him. Flames burned from orange to near-white as Shinrai was blown into a firestorm and his back hit a tree.
"Fuck…" He chuckled as an ache radiated from his spine. "You're definitely Gosei's sister…" He shot up to dodge a kunai which would've hit his face. Her weapon was embedded in the tree. Shinrai shot a Burning Attack from above.
Natsuyo abandoned her kunai and dodged the attack. With a single handseal weaved, a Genjutsu veiled Shinrai and he activated his Sharingan. Natsuyo's follow-up attack moved a whole lot slower than the last. He countered with a slice from Shinrai which Natsuyo barely blocked with a kunai.
Shinrai kicked through her guard and she tumbled through the dirt. Not a second was wasted as he hurled a flurry of shuriken toward her. Natsuyo leapt upward, weaving hand seals. With a smirk, Shinrai let her finish. "C'mon baby SHOW ME THE FIRE!"
"Fire Release: Rising Scorch!"
From right below Shinrai, fire erupted and he was burned. He leapt out the flames, the jutsu was memorized in his head. He would steal it now. A quick block from Shinrai sent sparks flying. Her kunai scraped against the metal. With a grin, wind blew from her kunai and it started to cut through the blade— panic rose and Shinrai sent a chakra fueled kick into her side.
Natsuyo flew like a blur into a tree which snapped in half from the impact. The girl did not immediately get up. "Were you holding back on me?!"
"I mean, kinda? But, I don't think you're exactly going all out either…" As Shinrai said that, he inspected his blade. The nick was small… he'd be able to get it repaired. I need a way to protect my blades.
Natsuyo walked toward him with narrowed eyes. "Every time you attack me, make sure it's as strong as that kick."
"You asked for it~" said Shinrai with a smirk. I'm not gonna murderize her too bad. In a scarlet blur he was in front of her. Natsuyo was barely able to block—but a grin crossed her face crooked. She leapt back to weave two hand seals. Shinrai analyzed the seals. Tiger then Clone… WAIT CLONE—?!
"FIRE CLONE JUTSU!"
Seven Natsuyos of pure fire hopped onto Shinrai, holding him down. The main Natsuyo leapt above them and weaved more hand seals. "Wind Release: Zepheryal Storm!"
The Fire Clones burned white and scorched Shinrai—the pain made Shinrai's chakra spike. Even through the roar of the fire, he managed to hear Natsuyo shout, "FIRE PUNCH!"
The firestorm around him was coalesced around Natsuyo's fist which made contact with him—right in the gut. Air raced from his lungs and he was flung into the ground, leaving a small crater. His chakra popped and whirled and he couldn't help but laugh at the exhilaration. When he stood, he let out a cough of smoke, looking down at his jacket.
"Aww," he pouted. "You burned a hole in my favorite jacket."
"You shouldn't have worn it!"
"I'll just burn your clothes in revenge!" Shinrai weaved two sets of hand seals—it was too fast for Natsuyo to notice the pause inbetween them. First, a Genjutsu. It would make it look like the Fire Jutsu was coming from ahead of her. A burning attack. Where in reality, the second set was for a, "Fire Style: Rising Scorch!"
She leapt right back into the eruption of fire—which was invisible to her—and yelped. Next, Shinrai pounced foreward, weaving a single seal for a small perception-altering Genjutsu. All Natsuyo did was dodge into his attacks. Miss all of her own attacks. Blocked low when he attacked high. All that time, he was copying and noting down her own Taijutsu style and using it against her. He was improving with his own style mid-fight.
His assault ended when he unsheathed his namesake blade again and stabbed through her shoulder, pinning her to the tree behind. He winced once he thought about what he did. "Ooo… my bad. Force of habit—" He sighed. "I should really stop stabbing people like this man. It's gonna get me in trouble one day…"
"We're fighting! We're supposed to be stabbing each other!"
"Oh? Damn, Gosei really didn't like it when I stabbed him."
"Well, Gosei's a wuss."
"Y'know, if Naruto isn't able to become Hokage, you better take that seat from Gosei."
Natsuyo laughed.
"Well, I have you pinned down. I guess that means I won, right?"
"No, not quite." A kick from Natsuyo hit Shinrai's face. He stumbled back but his grip remained strong. Quick thinking gave him the idea to flood his blade with chakra. That was the only reason it wasn't shattered when Natsuyo punched it. He pushed his Grass Cutter through the tree and deeper into Natsuyo's shoulder.
She punched at him but Shinrai saw it coming before she even did it herself. He caught the punch then stabbed her through the wrist with a kunai, pinning both arms to the tree. She groaned in pain as she fought against the weapons pinning her through the tree.
Shinrai laughed at her as he flickered backward. He pulled another kunai from his pouch and tossed it an inch away from Natsuyo's neck, cutting her hair. "And now I win!"
"Ughh! Fine!" she admitted with a pout. "Now, can you free me—this really hurts."
Chuckling, Shinrai walked over to her and pulled his blade first. She let out a cry of pain—another as he yanked out the kunai. "You could've at least tried to be gentle!" she yelled with two disabled and bleeding arms. Then she let out an irritated sigh. "Now I have to walk all the way to the damned hospital—"
"No need! I'm a medic! Or at least… learning. I could get you fixed up then the people who are good at it can heal you for real," he assured with a smirk.
Natsuyo let out a breath of relief. "Thank you…"
She leaned back on the tree and the medical green of the Mystic Palm shimmered over his hand. It took a lot to hold back his smile… he didn't want to look like a creep. But, he truly did love using that jutsu. He was bonding with Yora that way… it even made the cold go away.
It took a bit of time for the wounds he inflicted to become manageable, he couldn't do too much. But, it was enough it seemed, judging by the satisfied smile on Natsuyo's face. She popped up with a grin twinged by a wince. "Thanks, Shinrai Uzumaki!" She nodded her head to him. "That was a delightful battle we had, so don't be surprised if I come back for more!"
She walked off with a wave and Shinrai laughed at her. "See ya, Natsuyo Senju."
With that, he made a clone to get himself in order before going back to training.
?￢ﾜ ? ~ End ~ ?￢ﾜ ?