~One Year Later~
Spring, summer, fall, and winter had gone by in the blink of an eye.
The trees and flowers were vibrantly blossoming once again after the cold winter. I was sitting on the ground with my back resting against a cherry blossom tree with the wind lightly blowing my long (h/c) hair.
"I'm tired," I mumbled to myself. Indra had continued to work me to the bone throughout the year, but learned to be lenient with me when it came to training and other stuff.
It was lonely without Ashura and the only one who could be here for me was Indra.
I still waited for Ashura to come back, but a year had passed and I wondered if he truly did forfeit and planned on not coming back for the sake of his older brother.
I sighed at the thought of it and watched as a few petals descended to the ground with one landing on top of my head.
I grabbed it from the top of my head and quietly gazed at the pink petal, before I dropped it on my lap.
"(Y/n)!"
One of Hagoromo's pupils came running up to me out of breath and the words that were blurted from his mouth were ones I longed to hear for awhile.
"Master Ashura has returned!"
I immediately shot up from the ground and a large smile appeared on my face as I ran on over to the gate and I saw Ashura walking in with Taizo and a group of people, but what caught my eye the most was that he brought along a woman.... and she was the only woman in the group.
The woman was fair skinned and slender who was of average height. She was pretty and had grey eyes and dark blue hair and wore a kimono.
I furrowed my brows, but nonetheless rushed up to Ashura and engulfed him in a hug.
"Took you forever to come back," I said and I warily looked at the woman who stood near him and she looked surprised yet remained calm as I eyed her.
"It took some time to get things done," he chuckled as he pulled away, but I remained gazing into his eyes and he cleared his throat.
"I have to go change and see my father. I'll see you in there," he patted my shoulder and walked on ahead while the rest of us gathered in the assembly room.
I was seated with the rest on the right side of the room. It had taken a few minutes for Ashura to make his appearance in the room and addressed his father first, "Father, I've returned."
"You've become very dignified, Ashura."
"We got tired waiting for you," chuckled Indra as Ashura apologized and explained the reason for his late arrival and seated himself next to him at the front of the room.
"Who are these people?" Asked Hagoromo as she motioned to the group in the back.
"Oh yes. These are some of the villagers," introduced Ashura. "They all helped me. And are now valuable friends."
"We heard about this village and we wanted to see it, so we accompanied Master Ashura," spoke the dark blue haired woman.
"I see. Welcome then, good of you to come. Now Ashura, let me hear your story," spoke Hagoromo with a grin on his face as he turned to his son.
Ashura told us about his issue regarding the Divine Tree and how he resolved the issue in the village.
"So the Ninshu that you spread has saved many lives," concluded Hagoromo.
"Yes!" Proudly exclaimed Ashura and he looked over his shoulder and smiled at the dark blue haired girl who was named Kanna, and she cheerfully returned the smile.
I eyed the two and could see the way her eyes sparked as she gazed at him and how her cheeks would heat up and it reminded me of myself just a year ago with those same expressions.
'Could it be that they are...?' I pondered and clenched my fists, before looking away from the two and returned my attention to Hagoromo.
"I will now name the successor to Ninshu. The one who shall take over Ninshu shall be..." he paused and the room went completely silent with everyone holding in their breaths. "Ashura!"
People in the room gasped and my eyes widened for a second as I darted my eyes to the two brothers who appeared shocked.
"L-Lord Hagoromo," stammered one of his pupils wanting to refute his decision.
"Why?! I don't have the skills for Ninshu that elder brother has! The difference is immeasurable!" Retaliated Ashura.
"I have made my decision," stated Hagoromo who was set with the decision he made.
"Please tell me why you were dissatisfied with me," urged Indra.
"I received word that the village I left you in charge of is near destruction. Tell me what you did."
Indra explained what he did, but Hagoromo had explained what had occurred after his son left and compared him to Ashura.
"Indra, you have a wonderful power known as the Sharingan. Ashura has matured but still lacks in power. Lend him your power going forward and support the growth of Ninshu. And lastly..." he turned away from his sons and looked in my direction.
"(Y/n) (L/n). I hope you will lend Ashura your strength as well since I now declare you as his assistant. Please guide him and support him."
Everyone's head turned towards me and I respectfully nodded my head at Hagoromo. "I will do my best."
Indra was enraged and his eyes had gone red as he glanced between his brother and I. But his eyes remained on me as he gritted his teeth. He slowly stood up from the hardwood floor and walked out with two pupils following after him.
"Don't worry about him. I'll be sure to have a talk with him after," I said to the two Otsutsuki which they agreed to.
Hagoromo's assistant stood up and announced, "We will hold a feast tonight to celebrate our new successor to Ninshu!"
Everyone in the room cheered for our new successor and congratulated him, but everyone made haste to prepare for the celebration.
"Well congratulations on being chosen Master Ashura," I teased and he playfully rolled his eyes at me.
"I won't get use to hearing that from you anytime soon," he slightly laughed but his mind was elsewhere and I knew what was troubling him.
"Hey, relax," I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll go check on how your brother is doing and I'll inform him about the feast."
"Thank you."
I removed my hand from his shoulder and went in search for Indra.
Twenty minutes had gone by before I found him inside a dimly lit cave with the two men from earlier who had followed after him.
"Hey..." I cautiously said to him as I walked in. "Can we talk?"
He looked at the two men beside him and they walked out and allowed us to have some privacy.
"If you're here to pity me, then I suggest you leave," he coldly remarked with his Sharingan ablaze.
"I'm just here to see how you're doing after what happened earlier," I huffed out.
"Terrible."
"I know you're not satisfied with the outcome but you fucked up thinking you could do it on your own. You've changed so much since when we were kids!"
"Because I can see the future of Ninshu with these!" He pointed to his Sharingan.
"You got them because Ashura and I almost died by that little boy creature!" I threw my arms in the air and turned around. I took in a deep breath and tried calming myself down.
'Keep your cool (Y/n). I didn't come here to argue but to talk.'
Indra stood right behind me and there were blue sparks flickering in his hand before it formed into a ball of lightning that enveloped his entire hand. He raised his hand to the level of my back and with gritted teeth, he drew his arm back and I turned around with wide eyes.
"What are you doing?" I uttered in fright as I looked at him and his jutsu.
"Just as I thought, I can't kill you even though you betrayed me," he muttered under his breath.
"What?" I asked since I didn't hear what he said.
"I wanted to try out this jutsu and show you." The lightning from his hand disappeared and I warily looked at him.
"Right.... well I wanted to tell you there's going to be a feast later and your father and brother are hoping you show up and support them."
"I'll see..."
"That's all I came by for. I'll see you later," I turned around and was about to walk out until he called out to me.
"You like Ashura, don't you?"
I processed what he had said for a second before I looked over my shoulder and smirked, "Yeah I do. So what?"
His eyes hardened and a burning rage was lingering inside him. "You were suppose to like me."
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I never pinned Indra as someone I would like romantically and I never expected him to like me, but I could tell he did by the way he acted or by his words.
"I'm sorry..." I turned my head facing forward and walked out and winced when I heard him cry out in rage and punch something.
~A Few Hours Later~
The night was filled with joy and laughter. Everyone was eating to their heart's content and seated themselves around a pit of fire with their friends and chattered and danced amongst each other.
It was the liveliest I've seen them.
But I haven't seen any sign of the two brothers.
I walked around and ran into Taizo who was sitting with Kanna on a log.
"Well if it isn't our new assistant," cheered Taizo and I playfully rolled my eyes at him. "How does it feel?"
"Well it was expected. I was already chosen beforehand," I shrugged my shoulders before glancing to the one right next to him.
"And you're Kanna. I'm (Y/n), it's nice to meet you," I greeted and she did the same.
"Two beauties meeting one another," admired Taizo and I furrowed my brows at him before I smacked him on the head.
"So where's Ashura? I haven't seen him," I asked Taizo but he shrugged his shoulders.
"Probably off doing some successor ritual."
"Taizo," I sternly said.
"I'm just saying!" He defensively said with his arms midair before he dropped them. "But you know, I'm glad Ashura was chosen as successor. Master Indra is smart and a genius with Ninshu but he has a coldness to him while Ashura understands a person's pain. He's a bit dense, but this last journey really matured him. Enough to make you fall in love with him and follow him all the way here," teased Taizo to Kanna at the end who blushed.
My eyes widened after hearing what was said and my lips formed into a thin line.
"W-What are you saying?!" She yelled in embarrassment.
"You're blushing," pointed out Taizo which made her face heat up even more and she threw her cup at his face and called him an idiot.
"So... you've fallen for.... Ashura?" I hesitantly asked her.
She regained her composure and shyly replied with, "Yes."
"Well... I guess that makes two of us then," I responded with a closed eyed smile.
"Oooo things are heating up!" Taizo smacked his hands together and rubbed them as he was witnessing some drama with a front row seat.
I walked away from them and went in search for Ashura. I wanted to confess to him before it was too late or at least to see if he felt something for me.
It was evident that she felt something for him since the moment I saw them and their interactions and it hurts to admit it, but... Ashura may feel the same way about her.
But I still hope that he came back because of me.
I had hoped that the chemistry we had and the bottled up feelings wouldn't change. That he would've waited for me for a year just like I did.
Water was glistening in my (e/c) eyes and I ran looking for him at every corridor until I saw him leaving his father's room.
"Ashura!" I called out to him.
"(Y/n)? I thought you would be with everyone." But as I came closer, he noticed my watery eyes and grew concerned.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Do you like me?" I abruptly asked as I stared right into his charcoal eyes.
"What?"
"Or do you like Kanna?" I sharply said and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks and I knew there and then that I had hit a bullseye.
"Oh... I see..." I despondently trailed off as I averted my eyes from him and felt my heart begin to crack. "Then, when you look at me, do you see the girl you loved or the girl you left?"
"....I did like you. I was just never sure if you did since you spent so much time with my elder brother. Ever since we were kids, you hardly said no to him and would run off with him rather than spend time with me."
"I kissed you because I like you! Not him! I was only with him because I wanted to get stronger! I like you Ashura!" I exclaimed loud and clear with watery eyes as I knew then and there that I had lost the one I loved.
He sadly looked at me and was unable to utter a word. Those were the words he wanted to hear last year before he had left, but hearing it now only made him feel guilty.
But little did he know that his heart was fickle between Kanna and I and the feelings he had for me were slowly resurfacing.
"I like you," I teared up and he wiped away the tears from my eyes and caressed my cheek. He stared into my eyes and I did the same.
"I-" but he was cut off as an explosion was heard right behind us and there were purple flames igniting the area.
"What the..." Ashura and I ran off in that direction at great speed.
A thick, cloud of dust surrounded the area and there were people lying on the ground groaning as they shakily stood up.
And from within the dust, was Indra with a new pair of eyes and an enormous purple humanoid towering above him.
"Why didn't you choose me as your successor?! Why did you take (Y/n) away from me?!" Roared Indra.
"Indra, please don't do this," I pleaded as I carefully treaded closer to him, but Ashura pulled me back.
A battle had ensued between the two brothers and the tide wasn't in Ashura's favor. From afar, I made a few hand signs and a whirlwind of air shot out from the palm of my hand and it was aimed at Indra who saw it coming and blocked it with his enormous blade.
"You dare have the audacity to point your blade at me?"
"I will if it means taking you down," I threw out another jutsu and assisted Ashura in his battle. In the end, Ashura took Indra down and destroyed his humanoid, but Ashura frantically rushed to his older brother right after.
"Stay away!" Shouted Indra who was standing up from the ground. "Ashura... I will never... acknowledge Ninshu or you! And... I'm taking back what was mine!"
Lightening flickered around his body and he disappeared and reappeared right behind me and he wrapped his arm around my waist and I reached out to Ashura who rushed towards me in horror, but in a second, we were no longer there.
Indra had taken me away from everyone.
And I was stuck with him.
The next time I saw everyone else was on a battlefield years later where countless people died.
But my heart dropped when I saw the two brothers lying dead on the ground and I mourned their deaths with a child on the way in my womb.