Chapter 3: Mission Briefing and the Confession


A/N: Ancient here, with another chapter! I'm loving the attention this story is getting so far, already at two followers and two favorites at the time of this writing! I'm happy that you're enjoying the story thus far, it really keeps me motivated to keep writing this, but let me know if there's things I should improve on! Give me some constructive criticism, maybe there's things that I could touch up more on – things of that nature. Regardless, I'm very happy for the attention it's slowly getting – the Ancient Nation is only getting stronger and stronger.

Since I did this last chapter, I'll be recapping previous chapters from now on, it's something that I feel should be useful to me and to the reader.

Chapter 2 Recap: Yorukō revealed his overall goal to his family, that being to kill his father. This was met with extreme opposition from Sayuri and Yuina, the former decking her son flush in the face. Yuina called her boyfriend out for always wanting to fight by himself and reminded him that they're all a team, and even if everyone can't fight alongside him, she will. Aya made her return by tackling Yorukō for training before Yorukō mused how she's really the anchor that keeps the family down. Yorukō and Yuina finally addressed what happened the night when he murdered his comrades before leaving Yuina alive. She revealed that she really wanted to leave with him that night before Yorukō rebutted that, claiming she'd be too much at risk. The couple managed to work it out before Yuina teased Yorukō about a date, the latter promising that he'll do it sooner rather than later.

You already know, it's time to get to the chapter. I hope you have, as usual, fun reading it as I had writing it.


One week has passed since Yorukō and Yuina finally addressed the fateful night when Yorukō murdered his teammates before "defecting" from the village and leaving her alive. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the two have been almost inseparable since that conversation, Yuina going almost everywhere Yorukō goes and vice versa. Currently, Team 1 (including Sayuri) are standing in the Hokage's office as they all watched Tsunade grab a scroll from a drawer before placing it on the desk, with her apprentice Shizune looking on.

"I have your first official mission here in this scroll." Tsunade said before throwing the scroll at Yorukō who deftly caught and opened it.

"You four will be going to the Hidden Sand on a diplomatic mission to deliver a message that is within this scroll to the Kazekage." Tsunade explained as Yorukō continued reading the contents of the scroll. At the sudden mention of the Hidden Sand Village, Yuina started to tremble in anger, something the Hokage noticed immediately.

"Is there something wrong, Yuina?" Tsunade queried.

"I…I don't have the best experience with the Hidden Sand Village, Lady Tsunade." Yuina admitted while clenching her fists: "I'll never, ever forgive them for what they did."

Kori realized what Yuina was referring to, her own mood shifting from a neutral to a more upset demeanor. She looked at her cousin as she continued to tremble in anger, even hearing Yuina's breaths becoming more ragged. Kori placed a hand on Yuina, hoping she'd calm down if even a little bit. Yuina looked at her cousin when she noticed that Kori also felt her pain towards the Hidden Sand, something that managed to calm the teen down, if only slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I really am." Tsunade said, bringing the girl's attention to her: "If you don't mind me asking, is there a specific reason you don't like the Hidden Sand?"

"A group of shinobi from the Hidden Sand killed my mother." Yuina revealed, tears beginning to well in her eyes: "They…killed her…right in front of me! And I couldn't do anything to stop them!"

It was at this moment Yuina completely broke down in tears. Yorukō quickly rolled the scroll up and rushed to his girlfriend's side, Kori joining him almost immediately. The two wrapped their arms around the girl, Yuina taking comfort in both pair of arms around her. Sayuri looked at the scene sympathetically, memories of her own 'death' resurfacing. Tsunade for her part felt guilty for asking, her own memories of losing her brother and lovers, Nawaki and Dan respectively, and how powerless she even was to try and prevent those deaths from happening. She also watched the scene unfold in front of her, a warm smile forming on her face as she watched the two teens comfort their comrade.

It was then where she cleared her throat and regained the group's attention, despite Yorukō and Kori still comforting her. Nevertheless, the two teens still gave the Hokage their attention.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Yuina." The Hokage apologized, earning Yuina's attention: "With that information in mind, I'll allow it if you choose not to go on the mission this time. I wouldn't want you to fully reopen those wounds."

"I'm…fine." Yuina slowly said as the teen was being released from Yorukō's and Kori's arms: "I wouldn't go if it wasn't a mission. However, if I by chance see any of my mother's killers, then…I don't know what I'd do."

"Are you aware of what you're saying, Yuina?" Tsunade asked, looking intently at the girl: "You're basically admitting to the idea of killing those Sand Shinobi. I get it, trust me, but we've just barely, and I mean barely began a better relationship with the Sand Village, considering their unwilling involvement in the attack of our village a little over a year ago."

"But my mother's death has to be avenged!" Yuina countered.

"No excuses." Tsunade sternly cut off Yuina before giving her a small smile: "At least, now isn't the time to do it. I'm not condoning murder, but if you want to avenge your mother's death against her killers, do it when you know the time is right, and don't be too extreme."

"I…I…" Yuina started before feeling Yorukō's hand rest on her shoulder. She looked at her boyfriend, who gave her a sincere but hard look.

"Yuina-chan. I…I feel for you. I never knew your mother died by Sand Shinobi hands." Yorukō stated, the boy's features softening more: "All I remember was you telling me she passed away…but the Hokage is right. We can't do anything rash right now. If you spot her killers, don't do anything rash like killing them back. That won't help with fully avenging her."

"Then what do you suggest?!" Yuina lashed out by shifting her shoulder which forced Yorukō's hand off before facing the boy: "That I just leave them alone and move on like nothing ever happened?! That may work for your family, but-" The girl quickly stopped herself midway into her rant when she quickly raised her hands in embarrassment: "I didn't mean to say that Yorukō-kun, I-"

"You're fine, Yuina." Yorukō replied, intentionally dropping the -chan suffix. Yuina felt worse as she heard her boyfriend call her without affection, something that caused her to drop her head in further embarrassment.

"Well, when do you want us to leave, Lady Tsunade?" Kori asked, bringing the attention towards her.

"Preferably before the end of tomorrow." The Hokage answered.

"Sounds good. We-" Yorukō affirmed before sensing a strong chakra signature.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS RETURNED TO THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE!" Yorukō heard someone scream at one end of the village at the top of their lungs. He thought nothing of the boy making the noise but firmly remained fixed on his dubious amounts of chakra, something that caused the teen to develop a grin on his face.

"Honestly, that boy…" Tsunade chucked to herself as a smile formed on her face: "He's finally back, and that means Jiraiya is back in the Leaf as well."

"Jiraiya?" Sayuri asked: "As in, Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"The very same. He took Naruto under his wing about two years ago to train him." Tsunade answered.

"This Naruto kid…he's a jinchūriki, isn't he?" Yorukō queried.

"Yes." Tsunade answered, her eyes slightly narrowing towards the teen: "Why do you ask?"

"Relax, Tsunade. No disrespect to you or anyone else in this village, but I've no interest in starting any incidents, at least for as long as I am here for. His rather generous amount of chakra that he possesses merely sparked my interest. That's all." Yorukō told his Kage. She still looked at him with her eyes still narrowed but relented when she sensed no deceit in the teen.

"Well," Tsunade said, clearing her throat: "that's all I have for you guys. If there is any change, then I'll be sure to let you know beforehand."

"Very well." Yorukō said, bowing: "We shall take our leave then." Yorukō and the others left the Hokage's office in a swift manner, Kori being the last person to leave the office. She turned and bowed to the Hokage before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Once the group left her office, Tsunade sighed to herself as she reviewed more paperwork.

"Can we really trust Yorukō?" Shizune asked after all this time: "It's been a whole year and some time since he's been here, and I can't help but shake this dark, oppressive chakra from within him, his standoffish attitude, and now, his sudden interest in Naruto being a jinchūriki."

"It's not that we can't trust him, Shizune." Tsunade answered her apprentice, taking focus from the paperwork in front of her to look at the woman: "Despite that odd comment he just made, I can only guess the number of times that he could and would wreak havoc in the village since he's been here, yet he hasn't."

"That is true, but…" Shizune started.

"…But nothing. I'll let that one comment slide this time." Tsunade interrupted, getting up from her chair and moved to a window as she looked out at the village: "I also get where you're coming from, Shizune, but until he does something that forces me to act, then he's completely fine."

With Yorukō and company…

After being briefed by Tsunade, Yorukō and his squad wasted little time with getting their equipment, all four shinobi using body flicker to get back onto the compound with great haste. Yorukō was the first to arrive, thanks in large part to his chakra reserves and his greater mastery of the technique. His mother arrived soon after, followed by Kori and Yuina simultaneously. Yorukō went into his room, the teen taking various scrolls with different markings from a storage unit he keeps in his room and placed each of them into his flak jacket that he placed on the king-sized bed he shared with Yuina. He performed a ram seal and summoned his twin swords he used in his days in the Frost Village and placed it beside his flak jacket before reaching for his new forehead protector, which had the hidden leaf insignia embedded on the plate which lied on black cloth.

Yuina showed up into the room not long after, the teen getting her own equipment as well. She went into their closet and pulled out a box and opened it where it contained empty scrolls, a paintbrush, and a small jar of chakra-infused ink which caused Yuina to curse to herself. Sighing, she took a few empty scrolls, the ink, and the paintbrush out of the box and placed it on the bed beside Yorukō's belongings before grabbing a bigger scroll to place her equipment in. Yuina opened the bigger scroll and placed her equipment on it and performed different hand seals which made the equipment merge into the scroll before the scroll closed itself. She grabbed her flak jacket and placed the scroll inside a pocket.

"Yorukō-kun, I'm really sorry about what I said earlier." Yuina said after some time passed between the two: "That was really inconsiderate of me to say."

"Look," Yorukō said, sighing: "You're not to blame for your outburst earlier. In fact, I didn't know the circumstances of your mother's death until now. All I remember you telling me once was that she had passed, but never how."

"Do you want to know?" Yuina asked, looking at her boyfriend with unshed tears in her eyes.

"If it's going to bring back those dark memories, I'd rather you not go through that experience again." Yorukō answered as he took a seat on the opposite side of the bed and gestured for Yuina to join him, which she accepted. The two deeply looked at the other for a few moments before Yorukō grinned at her, much to her confusion.

"We get to go on our first official mission in over a year! Kori, you, and me! Well, with mom as well." Yorukō commented, stars forming in his eyes.

"You're awfully excited about this, aren't you?" Yuina jokingly commented.

Yorukō's expression changed to a more somber one at Yuina's comment: "Well, it's one way to write one of my biggest wrongs I did to you."

"So, you've been hurting over that mission too, despite the fact that you were the one to do the deed." Yuina thought to herself.

"The fact of me even considering killing you that night will always hang over my head, at least until I ensure this mission goes without fail." Yorukō thought to himself.

The couple's thoughts were broken as they heard a knock on the door. The knocking persisted until Yorukō answered, gesturing for the individual to enter. The door opened and revealed Kori and Sayuri, both of which were already in their mission attire, Kori wearing the standard shinobi attire, opting to place her forehead protector around her neck. She carried a kunai with her as her choice as weapon on her right hip, shurikens, paper bombs, and smoke bombs contained in pouches on the left. The teen glanced at her cousin and her ex-boyfriend, Kori turning away in embarrassment when her eyes landed on the latter. Yorukō looked at her in confusion which only caused the girl's face to deeply redden in further embarrassment as she ran to hide behind Sayuri. The reanimated woman chose to wear a light pink jacket with grey slacks, her forehead protector also wrapped around her neck, similar to Kori's. Sayuri had a katana holstered on her back, with an array of shurikens, paper bombs, flash bombs, and a kunai blade in pouches on her hips. The older (reanimated) woman sighed as she looked at Kori, remembering their conversation they shared an hour ago…

One hour before current events…

"Sayuri-san." Kori said, catching the older woman's attention.

"Yes, Kori-chan?" Sayuri sweetly replied as she continued to gather her things.

"Is…is it wrong to feel jealousy towards Yuina?" Kori asked. The teenage girl looked towards the window in the room as she continued: "I know I messed up badly with Yorukō-kun, something you and I talked about before, but every time I've even been near him, it's like those feelings I once had resurface, but now I want to be his normally, rather than using any underhanded tactics to be with him."

"Let me ask you this." Sayuri commented as she walked toward Kori and placed a hand on her shoulder: "Did you ever take my advice and tell him how you felt?"

"N-No…" Kori admitted, tears beginning to well in her eyes: "I've been nothing but ashamed to talk to him about anything unless I'm with you or Yuina."

"You can't be like that, Kori-chan." Sayuri explained: "Everyone must one day face the tune of their own music. For me, it's meeting Kazuma and explaining to him everything that happened, and even then, I'm not sure if he'd ever forgive me. Another tune is facing Yorukō fully about everything that happened between his father and I, something I know will only make him angrier at all parties involved. For you, I don't know what history you two shared, but you've told and shown me that you still love him. Although, what happened between you two? Maybe I can give you some form of advice to help you out some more."

"Well, how much time do you have to spare?" Kori asked.

Sayuri shook her head at the girl: "Don't worry about that. Right now, we have all the time to spare, but if you feel the need to condense it, then I'd take that and one day, you can tell me the full story."

"Well…" Kori started, turning to look at the woman in front of her: "To put it simply, I basically hit him with genjutsu to make him more…'susceptible' to me, and we ended up dating for a good…year I believe."

Sayuri blinked at the girl twice before breaking out into laughter: "You did what to him?! That's actually funny!"

Kori looked down in more embarrassment.

"Well, no matter now." Sayuri said, wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so much: "It's clear to me that you liked him enough to do that to him, but why didn't you just ask him normally?"

"I wasn't confident or stable enough to ask him, in the event he rejected me…" Kori admitted."

"I see." Sayuri nodded her head: "Well, still do what I suggested and let him know how you feel. You just about have the perfect chance to have a do-over, so why not strike while the iron is hot?"

"You're right!" Kori exclaimed, hugging the reanimated woman: "Thanks, Sayuri-san!"

"No problem, Kori-chan." Sayuri replied as she returned the girl's hug. "Yorukō, you may have a storm on your hands, son. The storm known as Kori…"

Back to present time…

"Seems that Kori's gotten shyer since our conversation, or maybe she's thinking of a way to gather his attention…I'll have to help that later." Sayuri thought to herself.

"Is everyone ready?" Yorukō asked.

"Yeah. Kori and I didn't take as long to pack once we got back to the compound." Sayuri commented: "Although, who's going to take care of Aya while we're gone?"

"Funny you should say that, mother." Yorukō said: "I'm thinking of leaving her with the Naras while we're out, either that or 'option B'."

"I forget you and Shikamaru are friends. We've really kept to ourselves since we've been here, but he's one of the few that warmed up to us here." Sayuri remarked before looking at Yorukō confused: "But, what's option B?"

"I have an acquaintance that I met when I was still on the run who loves Aya, but I can't disclose her association in the event this village decides to turn on us." Yorukō answered.

"I understand." Sayuri nodded before placing a finger on her chin: "It's that woman you met before we reunited, isn't it?"

Yorukō nodded. "Yeah. However, bringing Aya there will only bring even more unwarranted attention to ourselves, so asking Shikamaru would very likely be for the better."

"Why…not bring her with us?" Kori slowly suggested, bringing everyone's attention towards her: "I mean…if she's with us, then nothing should happen to her, right?"

"See, that's a good idea, but there's a problem with that." Yorukō told the girl who tilted her head in confusion: "You see, Aya's starting at the academy soon, and I'd really want nothing, and I really mean nothing to come between that. She's been through so much at her young age and the only thing I want now is to see her grow up properly; give her a life she can still attain at her age."

Kori looked at Yorukō with awe as he continued: "Seeing that little girl be happy is almost like watching a hole be filled in my own heart when I remember that I didn't have the best of upbringings thanks to a messy home."

Sayuri looked away from her son, ashamed.

"Watching her be happy every day, pestering me for training almost every chance she gets, those things keep me going, you know? Gives me another reason to continue pushing aside from fighting for you guys." Yorukō finished, a small smile forming on his face: "These things are what's necessary for a shinobi to go on, you know?"

"Yorukō, you…" Kori, Yuina, and Sayuri all thought collectively.

"Well, no time like the present. I suppose it's time to get us something to eat before we leave, yeah?" Yorukō suggested. Everyone nodded.

"Where do you have planned, Yorukō-kun?" Kori asked.

"Yakiniku Q." The teen answered.

"Ooh, I love me some Yakiniku Q!" Yuina exclaimed.

"I love it as well." Sayuri added.

"If we're all ready, I'll go get Aya." Yorukō said as he stood up: "Team 10 will also be joining us – hope that's okay with everyone."

Yuina shook her head at her boyfriend: "It's fine. They're really nice people, especially considering we're older and outsiders to the village."

"Yeah. I remember when I had time to myself, I'd meet up with Shikamaru's mother and we'd just talk over tea. She was really interested in my story with how I ended up becoming this way." Sayuri added.

"Did you tell her everything?" Yorukō asked, his eyes narrowing slightly towards his mother.

"Nope." Sayuri answered, her tone getting serious: "I wouldn't ever bring my family's full history into anything."

"I see. Good." Yorukō said, nodding at his mother before turning to face the door: "I'm going to get Aya. You guys can head there without me, I'll be sure to catch up."

"Are you sure?" Kori asked: "I…We can wait for you."

"It's fine. There's something I must do before I'd even get there, so this works out perfectly." Yorukō explained.

"Well…alright." Kori relented, pointing a finger at Yorukō: "We'll wait on you there, okay?"

Yorukō chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be there as fast as I can be."

The three girls each walked past the teen as they made their way outside the room, their destination set to Yakiniku Q. Once Yorukō was sure that he couldn't sense their presence anymore, Yorukō went to his side of the room and lifted a plank off the floor, revealing a medium black box. The teen performed various hand seals and placed his right hand over the box once he performed the last seal which then caused the lid of the box to glow white and open, revealing an assortment of various scrolls. He scanned through the box until his eyes landed on a black scroll amongst the various cream scrolls that he had contained in the box. Satisfied with himself, he removed the scroll from the holder and put it on the bed before replacing the lid on the box, performed the same assortment of hand seals in reverse which sealed the lid, finally replacing the plank over the box's location.

"With this forbidden Reanimation Jutsu I acquired from Orochimaru, I figured it'd be best to learn the full capabilities of the technique, and possibly find a way to make it better, just in case something comes up that'd cause me to use this to its fullest." Yorukō said to himself while placing the scroll in a pocket where he performed the seals to create a shadow clone. Looking at his clone, he continued: "I want you to go back to that hideout and do the following things on this list I am about to make and hand to you, got it?"

The shadow clone nodded at its boss before leaving the scene via smokeless shunshin. It was at this particular moment in time, Yorukō sensed his student's presence becoming clearer and clearer as the young girl made her way to his room while he was busy replacing his scrolls. She stood outside the room quietly getting inspired watching the teen look focused his work, a grin forming on her face with stars in her eyes.

"How long were you there, Aya?" Yorukō asked, sighing.

"Just now." Replied the girl: "Are we going to train soon, sensei?"

"I admire that you're always willing to train, but we're about to get something to eat, you know?" Yorukō explained: "Also, we're going on a mission to the Hidden Sand Village soon, and I'll very likely leave you with Shikamaru's family while we're gone."

"What?! No fair, let me come with you!" Aya pouted.

Yorukō walked to the child when he knelt and placed a hand on her head: "I would take you with us, you know I would. But…you need to be in the academy while we're out. You're about to start soon and I'd much rather you not miss any classes or training fundamentals while we're gone."

"But…but…" Aya pleaded to no avail.

"No buts. Education is important." Yorukō sternly told his student before his features softened yet again: "We'll definitely train when we come back, okay? For now, let's get ourselves some barbeque!"

"O-Okay!" Aya beamed.

Yorukō stood from the position he was in with his student, the teen and the young child walking out of the room together. Once the two were outside, Yorukō knelt in front of her once more, much to the girl's confusion. She looked at her mentor with a puzzled look on her face as he looked at her intently for the next few seconds.

"Sen…sei?" Aya slowly said.

"You get one chance. Do you want me to use the shunshin technique for us to get there, or…"

"…or?" Aya asked.

"You can get a piggyback ride there." Yorukō simply said.

"A…A piggyback ride?" Aya slowly asked before those familiar stars reappeared in her eyes.

"Yes…do you want a ride?"

"Yes!" Aya screamed before running to her mentor's back where she essentially latched herself onto the older man. Sighing to himself once again, Yorukō stood up, now with Aya firmly placed on him, Yorukō reinforcing her by holding her legs with his arms. The pair left the compound, their next destination being to meet up with the rest of the family. As the duo walked down the streets of the village, there were some stares that would be given to the two, a mix of contempt, neutral, and even some heartwarming stares, though those would be from older couples of the village.

"Look at them. Thinking they can still walk in the village as if they're residents here." One sneered.

"Yeah, where does he get off doing that?" another sneered.

"Look at that boy carrying that young girl on his back like that." An elderly woman commented with a smile: "It's clear that he cares about her enough for him to give her a piggyback ride."

"Sensei…they're talking about us, mostly in a bad way." Aya said, a small frown forming on her face: "I don't like it…not at all."

"Don't mind the ones that talk badly about us. At the end of the day, we are outsiders, but we still do what we can to defend this village." Yorukō explained: "But it helps if we ignore them and focus on the bonds we've made here instead."

"Y-Yeah…" Aya commented, still down about the comments but cheered up as she saw the barbeque in sight.

"Time for you to get off, Aya." Yorukō instructed, the barbeque entrance in sight. Yorukō lowered himself so she could safely get off. Aya jumped off the teen's back where she stood beside him and watched him stand on his own once more. The two walked into the restaurant where Yorukō met up with Kori and Yuina, both girls seemingly awaiting his arrival. Without really exchanging any additional words, the girls led Yorukō and Aya towards the rest of the group sitting at a booth towards the back of the restaurant, where the teen saw his mother along with Asuma, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru. Asuma waved at Yorukō upon seeing him, Shikamaru slightly waving after his captain did.

"Yorukō, you're finally here!" Asuma said: "We wanted to wait on you since your mother told us you'd be on the way, but someone" he pointed at Choji who looked at Yorukō sheepishly: "wanted to get a head start on eating."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist the food!" Choji said, defending his actions.

"It's fine if there's still enough for Aya and me to eat." Yorukō said while waving his hands dismissively.

Ino watched Yorukō intently as he continued to have his conversation with Asuma and Choji. She remembered Kazuma's mention of him having an older brother being called Yorukō, but never really got the chance to meet with and talk to him about his own experiences. She couldn't help but look on at the boy in amusement, wondering the juicy details she'll learn from the boy once they do get to have an eventual conversation together.

"So, you guys have been here for about a year and some time now, how do you guys like it?" Asuma asked the group.

"At first, I wasn't sure if we'd be fully welcomed here," Sayuri spoke first while grabbing a piece of steak: "but as time went on, a good portion of the village began to accept us more. There's still some that don't like us, some of them even being the higher-ups of the village, but it's not so bad now."

"Ah, I see, I see." Asuma said, taking a drink: "It's sad that there's still people here that treats you guys like that. Reminds me of the treatment Naruto received throughout his life up until the chūnin exams."

"Well, how do you like it, Yuina-san?" Ino asked next, looking at the dark-skinned shinobi while she ate a piece of meat.

"Well, I'd have to agree with most of Sayuri-san's observations, but, at least in my experience, I didn't really have to deal with some of the villager's scorn." Yuina explained after she swallowed the food: "I just kind of blocked them out of my mind, and it was smooth sailing from then on."

"I'd have to pitch in on that one," Kori added to the conversation: "Yuina and I were mostly together, so I ended up doing something like that as well. No use in trying to show everyone we mean no harm when they don't want to see it for themselves."

"How do you like it here so far, little girl?" Asuma asked Aya.

"Well, I've always wanted to visit the leaf, so that's a huge thing for me, but it was even better when I ended up living here. I met so many good friends and learned so much from everyone around me!" The young girl innocently answered.

"Well, here's the million-dollar question…" Asuma started, the older man reaching for another piece of steak that finished cooking on the grill, much to Choji's dismay: "…how do you like it here, Yorukō?"

Everyone at the table looked at the teen with extreme curiosity, as if they were each waiting on the most important answer of all-time. Ino was one that looked at Yorukō the most, the Yamanaka princess considering this information to be one of the keys to learning more about Yorukō, even if only a little. Yorukō sighed at the question, part of him wishing no one asked him anything while another part wanted nothing more than to eat and leave. He took a deep breath before looking at Asuma.

"To tell you the truth, I don't really want to be here all that much." Yorukō admitted.

The table went so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Asuma and Ino look flabbergasted at Yorukō for his response, while Choji expressed shock towards the teen. Shikamaru and Yuina looked unphased at Yorukō as if they almost expected the Hasegawa son to say something like that, while Sayuri and Kori simply sighed.

"Before everyone asks me why I said that, let me explain." Yorukō said, hooking their attention: "When I said that it doesn't necessarily mean, 'I don't like it here', but mainly, this is more of a 'means to an end'. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm a hunted shinobi by a village that gave me the shady option of committing treason for me to wander the shinobi world on my own, you probably wouldn't have even met me." He looked at Team 10 as he continued: "Since I've been here, I've been nothing but kind and patient with the villagers here, but I get nothing but disrespect and stares simply because I'm not from here. One of the few things I'm happy for here is that I met you guys and Tsunade, along with giving Aya here an academy she can enroll in and hone her skills. As far as I go, I could give – excuse my filthy choice – zero fucks about this village anymore if it has nothing to do with Tsunade or you guys."

"I-I didn't know you felt that way, Yorukō-san." Ino said to the teen.

"It's alright, Ino." Yorukō admitted as he watched Aya reach over for a piece of meat: "I guess I really just grew numb to it all."

"It suddenly got real tense in here, so what do we all say to just finishing our meals and calling it a day?" Choji suggested, earning nods of approval from everyone sitting at the table. After Choji spoke, not another word was uttered between the two teams until everyone got their fill of food with Asuma (and Yorukō) slightly sobbing over the large fee they both ended up paying thanks in large part to Choji. Asuma and Yorukō then waved to each other before going their separate ways.

"Yorukō-kun." Kori said while walking with the group to their home, catching the teen's attention.

"Yeah?" Yorukō asked.

"If you didn't have to do what you did, would you still care about all of us in the same manner as you do right now?" Kori asked.

"Well, regardless of how we got here, it still wouldn't change the fact that I care about each and everyone here. The only things I suppose would be different is perhaps where we'd be living at." Yorukō truthfully answered.

"Ah! That reminds me!" Sayuri suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Yuina and Aya with her, much to both girls' confusion: "I just remembered that we all have something to do before we get back home, so we'll meet you guys there!"

"Sayuri-san?!" Yuina screamed while being taken away. Aya only innocently laughed at everything, as if she was unfazed by Sayuri's actions. Kori realized what Sayuri just did before a heated blush spread across her face as she was left alone with Yorukō.

"It's rather late, why do they have something to do at this time?" Yorukō asked while being slightly annoyed at the events that just unfolded.

"Ah…maybe they have to get some last-minute things." Kori thought, her eyes fixed on Yorukō: "There's something I w-wanted to talk to you about, Yorukō-kun."

"Yeah, what's up?" Yorukō asked.

"I-I wanted t-to apologize…for everything." The teen girl stammered.

"Everything?" Yorukō asked: "What are you- oh. That."

Kori looked away in further embarrassment and shame upon Yorukō's response. Seconds pass before she turned to face his gaze, expecting a cold look from the teen, but much to her surprise, he only stood there with a soft but neutral expression, as if he was waiting for more.

"I…I know that what I did was wrong on so many levels…but I was afraid of you turning me down!" Kori explained, tears rolling down her face: "After the genjutsu was broken, I just didn't know how to properly face you anymore. Every time I wanted to...to try and talk to you…I couldn't bring myself to do it!"

Yorukō remained silent as he continued to look at the girl in front of him. He was aptly reminded of everything that happened to him via his father while being ridiculed for being too weak to fall under such a technique. In the days that followed, he remembered trying to talk to Kori to make sense out of nonsense with that whole scenario, but for whatever reason – until finding out just now – she'd always avoid the teen. He remembered the one time they did reunite, albeit under strained circumstances. Before noticing Shū and Zankoku while being hunted, he sensed her chakra signature first, leading him to wonder if they'd ever reconciliate. Yorukō for his part always wanted to have this conversation with Kori, his only wish is to remove the tense awkwardness between them.

"Do you hate me, Yorukō-kun?" Kori directly asked as she started to brace herself.

"Kori…I don't hate you." Yorukō finally answered.

"You…don't?" Kori slowly asked.

"I don't hate you. I do appreciate you addressing this between us though." Yorukō explained: "I've been wanting to talk to you ever since that genjutsu was broken."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I wanted to tell you how much your genjutsu improved, despite being the one to feel the impact of the technique." Yorukō admitted: "Even when we were enemies, I made sure to avoid being hit by your techniques."

Kori looked at Yorukō, the tears running down her face beginning to slow to a complete halt. A small smile began forming on her face before Yorukō leaned closer towards her with a napkin from the restaurant. Without uttering a word, Yorukō took the napkin and gently wiped the dry tears from Kori's face for a few seconds. Once he was finished, he incinerated the napkin using a tiny fire jutsu.

"I don't want to see anyone precious to me cry again, got that?" Yorukō told Kori who numbly nodded. Satisfied, Yorukō moved away and began to walk towards their home when he stopped to turn around and look at the stunned girl: "For the record, that means you're forgiven." Yorukō turned around and continued walking afterwards.

Kori couldn't believe what she just heard. Years of giving herself the resolve against the possibility of never being forgiven immediately broke through all the defenses she worked hard to build up. She became happy with the fact that he turned his back to her once more, which allowed the teenage girl's tears to fall down her face once again, only stronger this time around, a smile forming on her face. She opted to walk at a slower pace behind Yorukō, the destination being their compound.

"Yorukō-kun…thank you. Thank you for being you." Kori thought to herself, a blush forming on her face: "Maybe there's another chance for me one day, even with Yuina around."


A/N: Chapter 3's finally done! Now, before I may get some comments with why it took so long, I must address a few things first, so bear with me:

Over the last few weeks, I've been dealing with a load of things that delayed the release of this chapter, and even worse, my promised double update. Some of it had to do with my college work, a surprising lack of commitment and inspiration, a lack of concentration, and just poor time management. However, I won't make excuses for not meeting my promise to send in this chapter. I will say that this is currently the longest chapter I've written yet, capping at 6K words (at least on my side; I can't tell how much it'll be once I upload it onto the site), but I do want to write longer chapters moving forward, be it for this story or even the ones I'm working on the side.

As always, thanks for reading this chapter, and please, please let me know if there's anything I can improve on as a growing writer. Until the next chapter!