A/N: I don't know what possessed me to make Osamu so inconsistent with his manner of speech, but I'm changing it back now.
No wonder the last few chapters made me uncomfortable.
Kohana staggered backwards, finding herself unable to breathe. Her palms were clammy and her throat and lips dried almost instantly.
The more time she spent searching Nao's face for any signs of dishonesty, the more she could find nothing but sincerity, bitterness and desperation. And finally, as Kohana unconsciously took one more step backwards, her muscles numbed and she crumbled to the ground.
Osamu said nothing, tried to avoid looking at his pupil, and tried to stay away from her. He wanted to comfort her, but he vanquished the desire; Kohana didn't need anyone helping her at a time like this. And as much as he really did want to provide her with a sense of comfort or certainty, he couldn't give that to her.
Kohana just sat there, her head bowed deeply and resting upon the palm of her trembling hand. "How... How do I know... you're not—"
"Lying?" Nao paused for a moment, and looked away from Kohana. "You can never tell, and even if I do convince you that I am telling the truth, you will never be satisfied unless you hear the truth from Katashi himself."
"I..."
'I'm not that kind of person' was what she wanted to say, but Kohana knew that wasn't the case. Just like any other human being out there, she needed to ascertain as many common truths as possible, and what better way to do that than to hear the truth from where it had come from since the beginning?
Nao sighed. She didn't care if Kohana wanted to be left alone or not.
"Look, Kohana, I hate you. In the end, I will never care about what you're feeling right now and from here on out, so I'm going to say this to you: Katashi has done anything and everything for you—even more than your sensei, your team mates, your brother in Konoha and whoever else matters to you—and he's never wanted... and will never want you to give him anything in return because you know nothing about him... and he respects that. As someone whom he'd sacrifice himself for, I am asking you to help me save him. Because ever since someone pulled him out of your mother, he was destined for hell."
Kohana didn't budge, but she let her mouth speak and think for herself.
"But I don't know anything about him. Until now... he's been a complete stranger— in fact, I've always been afraid of him. And sibling or not, how could you expect me to return... whatever it is he's done for me?"
This time, Nao regarded her with cold eyes, and Osamu knew that she'd expected Kohana to say such things.
"Maybe you don't even have to pay him back. That's what he told me, anyway. I guess the least you could probably do is rescue him for the information. I'm sure he'll be glad to offer you his life if he doesn't give you what you want."
Strangely enough, the second Kohana heard those words, her heart rate slowed, and she began to feel with her body itself. She recognized the small pebbles digging into her skin, the dry feeling the dirt left in her body, her own chakra and blood, the sky, the air... everything. And just like that, her self-control and her thoughts returned to her in a beat.
