Glassy Sky (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Promise

A ten-year-old Yosuga sat alone in a tree on her compound. She played with the kunai she had just finished training with, tossing it around in her hands.

"Hey, Kaeru-san!" A twelve-year-old Daichi walked up to the trunk of the tree. Yosuga rolled her eyes. Daichi only talked to her when it had something to do with Emiko. "I need to ask you something."

"Nothing you do will get Emiko-san to like you." She called, her gaze not leaving the kunai in her hands.

"It's not that, I promise." Daichi had already carefully made himself comfortable on a branch across from her, wincing a bit from an injury on his leg. Yosuga sighed.

"What is it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Daichi looked down at the bandaged wound on his thigh.

"Your mother," Yosuga tensed. "She always healed me when I messed up on a mission. I didn't get to see her often, so sometimes I would purposely get hurt so she could heal me. I'm not saying I hurt myself on purpose this time- I mean this... this cost me my entire rank- but... when I came home all messed up, I imagined her standing there, ready to heal me so I could go on another mission. That didn't happen."

"Why are you telling me this?" Yosuga quietly questioned. Daichi shrugged.

"Yosuga," That was the first time he's called her Yosuga in years. "I can't be an ANBU anymore. I can't go on S-ranked missions anymore. My parents don't look at me the same anymore. And the only thing I cared about when I got back was seeing Usagi again. I guess... what I'm trying to say is that you're not the only one that misses her."

"So?" Yosuga uneasily squirmed.

"This is against clan rules, but if you... need to talk... I can talk. You'd probably prefer Takashi, but I can talk." Daichi leaned foreword and ruffled her hair before making his way down the tree. That was the first time Yosuga had ever seen Daichi like that. So distraught. He usually was the epitome of confidence.

That was the first time she saw him as an actual person and not a nuisance in a long time.

***

Yosuga cursed under her breath as she rolled to the side, Daichi slashing down right next to her.

What exactly was he seeing?

She looked around, squinting in an attempt to see clearly. Could Daichi see in this dark cave? She thought about activating her kekkei genkai to help her see, but she would be blind when she deactivated it. Being blind while fighting a fifteen-year-old former ANBU would not play in her favour.

She gave up on trying to reach him with her words, and decided to take the physical approach. When he came up behind her, Yosuga spun around with a kick, hitting Daichi's sword out of his hands. He grabbed her leg, throwing her to the ground. She skidded to a stop before quickly popping up, forming hand signs for her chakra whip. She eyed him as he walked, just now noticing the slight limp in his left leg. She remembered his injury from a couple years ago. She supposed she could use that weakness as a way to defeat him, but what if she injured him even more and he couldn't be a ninja anymore? Besides, he still had to train her.

Deciding to use his weakness as a last resort, Yosuga cracked her whip against the ground before slashing at Daichi, who swiftly dodged the attacks. She had underestimated his speed. Her whip dissolved as she stopped herself from filling her fist with chakra. This cave wasn't the best conductor. Instead, she focused her chakra to the tips of her fingers and right when Daichi appeared next to her with his sword at the ready, she thrust her fingers into his abdomen.

The clone disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and Yosuga's heart began to race. The only thing keeping her head from being decapitated when Daichi swung his sword at her neck were her struggling senses and quick reflexes. She ducked and rolled forward before deciding to run deeper into the cave, away from him.

She felt like a coward, running away like this, but she needed time to come up with some sort of plan. It was hard for her to think in the midst of such a fast-paced battle. She knew she didn't have much time before Daichi found her, but maybe she could form some type of plan in this small window of time.

Torches lined the walls, lighting the way as she ran into a room with a thick wooden door, which was unusual in a cave, but it reminded her of their mission. They still needed to find the missing children, and defeat whoever that strange voice belonged to.

The slight sound of movement and breathing interrupted Yosuga's thoughts as she caught her breath. She froze, finally taking in her surroundings. It was a small room, with the torches from outside peeking through the crack in the door offering barely enough light to see. She squinted through the darkness.

"Who's there?" She whispered, wary of Daichi searching for her. No answer came for a moment.

"I could ask the same question." The defiant voice of a boy answered. Yosuga frowned.

"Yosuga. Now who are you?" She ordered, a bit harsher now.

"...Luka." The boy answered. Yosuga recognized the name. He didn't make any move at coming closer, so Yosuga could only just make out his small dark figure.

"You're one of the missing kids. Where are the others?" She slowly moved closer to him.

"Dead." Yosuga paused.

"Dead?" She breathed. She supposed that made her mission a bit easier, as she wouldn't have to worry about them anymore, but a small part of her felt some kind of remorse. That was fifteen kids. Fifteen family members. Fifteen sons and daughters. What happened to them?

"He used their blood to make some kind of poison. I don't know what he plans to do with it, but it's like gas. You breathe it in." Luka spoke, answering her unspoken question. Using the blood of children to make poison? Someone would have to be out of their mind to do such a thing.

"Who is-" Footsteps cut Yosuga off. She grabbed Luka, bringing a hand to him mouth, which he didn't like at all. He tried and failed to pull her hand of his mouth as Yosuga hid her chakra. She looked towards the door, her breath wavering as a shadow slowly passed by the door. She could tell it was Daichi by his chakra. When she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, she waited a minute longer before relaxing, taking her hand off Luka's mouth.

"You didn't have to do that. I know how to stay quiet by myself." He spat with a huff. Yosuga rolled her eyes, choosing not to respond.

"Alright, I can't hide forever. I'm leaving, but you need to stay. I'll come get you when it safe." She walked towards the door as Luka let out a noise of dissapointment.

"No way you're leaving me here! Don't leave me alone again!" His voice showed more desperation towards the end of his outburst. "Don't leave me in the dark again..." Yosuga turned towards him with a sigh.

"It's too dangerous, Luka. I'll come get you as soon as I can, just wait a little longer." She spoke softly before turning to the door, expecting it to open when she pushed it. It didn't. It was locked from the inside. With a huff, she shoved it open with a bit of chakra, breaking the lock. "I'll be back. Don't open this door." Luka stayed quiet until Yosuga began to close the door.

"Wait. Wait!" He ran up to her. She turned to him with a lifted eyebrow. "P-promise... Promise you'll come back." Yosuga nodded.

"I promise."

---

Another longish chapter to make up for being such a terrible author! Whoo!

(I feel like there are a lot of mistakes because I wrote this on my phone. Sorry!)