Reincarnation

Chapter 6: Punish

Chapter 6: Punish

The group was gathered around a campfire as they ate dinner and shared laughter. Most of the shinobi were on the quiet side, watching the kids in front of them and remembering how they were when they were their age. Naruto, on the other hand, joined in with the joking.

"So, Aida," Sokka said, making everyone's attention turn to the other half of the Avatar. "This fiancé of yours... He makes bombs, huh?"

The shinobi and Katara gave the girl a knowing look, aware of who this fiancé actually is.

"Deidara was a great artist. His explosions made me appreciate fire, something I feared greatly despite having control over it. I tended to use the other three elements but he made me see the art in fire and explosions," Aida said with a smile.

"I thought he's good with bombs. What does that have to do with art?" Suki asked.

"To him, art is fleeting," Aida simply explained.

"Well I can't wait to meet him. I want to learn how he makes bombs," Sokka said in an excited tone.

"I also want to meet him. He is marrying my sister," Aang said as he noticed the love in his sister's eyes.

Aida simply smiled at them as she remembered when she last saw him—the re-animated him and how he was able to break free from the evil spell of the process the moment he saw her. The gang obviously didn't notice her use of past tense, which made it easier for her to avoid that topic of what used to be.

~

"I missed you," Aida whispered.

"I know princess. I'm sorry I came to Konoha like this. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. But I'm happy to have seen you one last time," he said as he felt himself fading away into dust.

"Don't leave me yet Dei. Please!" she begged as she tried to hold onto him.

"I'll always watch over you princess. You have a good heart. Don't close it off. I know someone will love you better than I did. Someone will take care of you. I'll be happy if you accept that," Deidara simply requested. "This is my last wish of you; please be happy."

Aida didn't want to be happy. Not without him, at least. But nonetheless, she nodded in agreement. She couldn't do anything but try her best to fulfil his wish.

~

They continued to chatter away, sharing stories about the past and getting to know each other better. They were a rowdy and animated bunch, as if they weren't in the middle of a war. At that moment, they were just themselves; teenagers who were simply camping together.

"Wow, camping... It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?" Aang said in a reminiscent tone.

Zuko let out a chuckle and jokingly said, "If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uh...chase you around a while and try to capture you."

Everyone in the group laughed except for Katara who simply let out a sarcastic laugh. The laugh being something that the group wasn't able to pick up.

"How about you guys?" Suki suddenly asked their shinobi guests.

"Oh, we do this a lot," Naruto simply replied as he was slurping at his ramen.

"It's not really something new to us. We tend to be hired on a lot of escort missions, especially as genin or beginners. We usually end up camping out and taking turns sleeping in order to keep watch for whoever hired us," Sakura explained further, practically giving out the system of how being a shinobi worked.