C̶r̶i̶m̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶B̶o̶n̶d̶s̶ | | ᵤcₕᵢₕₐ ᵢₜₐcₕᵢ

Interlude II

Kana became jounin. As well as her friends. With that,not only their bodies grew but also their minds and souls and many things came to their realization, especially Kana. One of that is her place in the life of the man she came to love and another is that the world is really cruel. When Kana thought that painfully and silently watching Fugaku love and cherish Mikoto is the worst heartache she would recieve, there came the Uzumaki clan massacre.

Kana stood speechless as she roamed her eyes around their once mighty village. Everything is in ruins. The most painful was when they recovered the dead bodies yesterday. Elders,childrens,mothers and father. Men and women lay dead,some crushed under debris. Her parents was no exception. Its hard when your heart is breaking apart yet your eyes cannot shed tears. Kana realized that as she repeatedly swallow the painful lump in her throat,no matter how much she bawl her eyes out,no tears came out. The pain is so great that only her heart cries. Its at this time that Kana needed a hand on her shoulder. But she know she got no one.

"Kana." A light tap on her shoulder made her eyes widen. She looked at Mikoto who is handing her a rice ball. She stared at the food, dumbfounded.

"Eat it. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday." Mikoto said. Kana is aware that her stomach is asking for food. "I don't need it." She said but just then, her stomach made a low grumbling noise and she couldn't help but feel a heat crept in her face.

"Yes,you do." Kana felt her hand jumped when Fugaku entered their conversation. Kushina also held her hand and look at her in the eye.
"We need to be strong, Kana." She said. Her eyes were tear-stricken and Kana envied her for having let out her pain.

"We're in this together." Minato said. Kana looked at her friends faces and something stirred up inside her. The lump in her throat seemed to get bigger and in no time,she felt warm tears sliding down her cheeks.

"You finally cried. I was wondering when you're gonna." Fugaku muttered. Kana just let her sadness flow freely. After that,her heart felt lighter and warmer. She looked at her friends face one by one. She was taken a back when Mikoto held out a fist. Followed by Kushina and Minato. Fugaku also joined after. She stared at her friends fists before slowly bumping hers into the group.

"We're in this together, we're friends. Forever." Kushina said after their fists bump. They all nodded.

"Yeah". Kana said,her eyes closed as she shed the last tear and smiled.

"Okay,lets continue our task." Kushina said and walked away. Minato also followed. She looked at the couple and smiled.

"Here, Kana-chan." She looked back to Mikoto that's offering her the onigiri.

"Thank you Mikoto." She said and recieved a smile from Mikoto before the woman ran to her lover. Although she is still pained when she sees the two together,the warm feeling of the thought that this people are her friends overcome that feeling and she realized it. All those years, it was just her who thought she got no one,she failed to recognize those bonds forming. Kana didn't realize she was spacing out until a bird landed on her shoulder. A letter was attached on its feet and when she opened it,she smiled and held back her tears of joy.

I'm sorry i failed to protect Mother and Father.

Kana knew it. Her sister, Kiyo is safe. She should be sixteen right now as Kana is eighteen. She may be in great grief of his parent's passing but she's thankful she still got her sister.

"Mother,Father I'll take care of Kiyo. You don't have to worry." She muttered as she stared at the sky.

"Today's your birthday right?" The third hokage asked Kana as she stood in front of him. Kana is shocked that the Hokage remembered her birthday but she still nodded. The hokage heaved an audible sigh before looking at Kana. "I humbly apologize for calling you out here but i have a mission to give you. A long term at that." The hokage stated. Kana smiled, shaking her head. "It's not a problem Hokage-sama. As a shinobi, i must prioritize the village than my personal businesses."