AFTER DARK | naruto

28 | away from home, away from you

You looked through each photo, taking in the sight of your father and reading every label—yet none of them gave you his name. But what you got from what you read so far, was that it was an arranged marriage between your mother, the heiress of her own clan, and your father—the heir of his. Though, you had no idea what clan, or what your father was capable of... But if he was your father, you had to have inherited more than just his nose.

"M'lady..." Your head perked up at the sound of your comrades voice, looking up at him. "Sorry, I don't mean to bother, but..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out what it was he found earlier. "I decided you might want to see this—the last entry at least." You reached up for what he offered you, doing as he said. The last entry, about a dragon and a man, dated eight years back.

The photo you were looking at was still in your hand, and you had to seperate what your were holding between both hands, the diary on your left and the photo in your right. You looked between the two and pieced them together, the one behind the massacre of your clan had to be your biological father. But... Was he really strong enough to pull it off? Or were there multiple people that did it?

Well, you weren't sure of the answer--but you felt your grip on the photo tighten, and a frown come onto your lips. Your mother never told you anything about your biological father, which is why you didn't know his name, about his clan, and about the dragons his clan worshipped. Yet you felt it in your heart, that the man you stared at killed your family in search for you.

Despite the anger you felt, what came out was a tear from your eye.

Now that you were here, you missed your family so much. Despire the fact that your sister mentioned in her diary she hated you; you remembered for the most part--she was the only company your age you had when your mother would expose you to pure solitude. Despite the solitude from anyone your age, you remembered all the times she'd go out of her way to train you, fitting whatever it was she taught you to be suitable for a child. And you remembered all the gifts your step-father would get you after a day out in the city, he loved you as much as a biological father would their child. Yet, your biological father killed your family, instead of loving you like one should their child. Another tear slipped, and Shisui put a hand on your shoulder.

To reassure you that he was here, and you found your family in others.

"One day, M'lady. You'll find him." He pieced it together, slowly, but he was sure he got it. The one you looked at wasn't the stepfather he knew of--and considering the grip, and the tears, he figured it had to be someone you never knew either. Your real father, something like that. "And I'll be there with you."

You slowly lifted your head to look at him, and he looked back at you with a soft smile.

He was smiling, yet you frowned. Despite the fact you tried to make him disappear, and dragged him out of the Leaf, his home--he smiled at you. You turned your head away from him, wiping your tears before you stood up. "...If you think you owe me this, you don't..." You mumbled, "You can do what you want, Shisui. You don't have to follow me around like a bodyguard."

"This isn't about 'debt'," He sighed, shutting his eyes. His smile dropped for a second, but it rose again. "I want to do this, because it's what a good friend would do, don't you think?"

You were silent, back turned to him as you looked back down at the items in your hand. You slid the photo under the diary and pocketed them, Shisui was trying so hard with you, he was so kind... Yet you couldn't return it in full as he did.

"Thank you, Shisui..."

Shisui removed his hand from your shoulder, "Any other plans in the Sand?" He asked, "Now that we're here, we can go visit Gaara." He suggested.