A/N: For anyone who’s looking for some action, don’t worry, you’ll get it soon. I’m also going to write about the invasion, so after the action in this mission, there will be a few breaks, and it’s on to the saving lives and the deaths and the aknflkenflknfdknldknf.
I also have a pretty important question for you guys at the end of this chapter. Please look forward to it! Your opinion will matter a lot to me. SO PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR’S NOTE AT THE END PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.
It was nearing sunset, and Osamu decided that they should stop looking around to find a safe place to sleep within the forest. They didn’t bring any tents with them, as they were only two people and preferred the idea of not having anything to slow them down in the event of an attack. So Osamu found a medium-sized section surrounded by tall trees to start a fire. They sat around the fire for a while until the sun fully set, polishing their weapons and planning on their next destination to look for Yoshiaki. They agreed on The Valley of the End, since that was where he had last been spotted. Even though a few weeks passed since Kohana and Kiba were dispatched to carry out the mission, there was still a small possibility that Katashi was there. And if he wasn’t, neither student nor master would be disappointed; they didn’t hope for much in the first place.
By the time it was almost completely dark out, the two had eaten a small meal (rice balls) and just when Osamu was about to put out the fire, Kohana said, “Wait a minute… can you tell me more about Teruko… and your clan?” She’d expected a reaction from Osamu when she asked for information about the clan, but he simply glanced at her then went back to staring at the fire.
“I can’t tell you everything about my clan, because I was never allowed to know everything about it. Every clan has its secrets, and even the Satoru Clan—no matter how much we strived to become a peaceful community—presumably had its own set of dark secrets. About Teruko… there is hardly anything left that I can tell you, but if you wish to know, she was beautiful. She’s the daughter of the best of a handful of smiths in the clan. She gave me Wasurenagusa as a birthday gift—that was the last birthday I spent with her.”
“Did she make it?” Kohana’s voice was surprisingly very quiet and hushed. She didn’t much like raising her voice when Osamu was like this: vulnerable.
The corners of Osamu’s lips curved upwards. “Yes, she did, with the guidance of her father.”
“What does she look like?”
There was no mistaking the agony that crossed Osamu’s eyes.
“I… don’t remember.”
Kohana bit the inside of her cheek, looking away from Osamu. She didn’t want him seeing the look she was giving him. She didn’t know herself what to think of this, and didn’t want to assume anything because Osamu deserved that. He deserved being understood completely, so she waited for him to continue.
It didn’t take a while, and Kohana tried to clear her mind when that thought occurred.
“I will tell you why I’d forgotten, when I tell you what happened after the massacre, but I’ll tell you what I think I remember.”
Kohana nodded, finally establishing eye contact once again. She was right. Osamu did have a reason, and the mention of what happened after the Satoru Clan’s downfall almost made her ache. Kohana wanted to know everything.
“Teruko doesn’t look like a Satoru. She doesn’t have our black eyes and pale skin. The Satoru Clan was fairly open to other bloodlines, so there were variations of hair colors.” All of a sudden, he chuckled quietly, his eyes glimmering with amusement as he raised an eyebrow at Kohana. “I must look like a monstrosity now, but you must believe me when I say I looked different back then.”
Kohana willed herself to become patient. She’d just realized that Osamu had lied to her back then, when she’d inquired about that one milky eye. She remembered being told that he was born with mismatched eyes, but she overlooked this easier than she’d thought. Osamu was going to tell her everything he hadn’t wanted to tell her and would never tell anyone. The least she could do was to listen and accept him. It wouldn’t be hard, because she’d spent so much time with him without knowing much about the man.
Besides, whatever happened in Osamu’s past didn’t change that fact that he was the Osamu who saved her life and took her under his wing and treasured her. If anything, maybe she’d be thankful for whatever happened years ago.
“If you so desire to know what I looked like, I remember storing a painted portrait of myself under the floorboards of my room.”
Kohana nodded furiously, earning another chuckled from Osamu. She was glad that these chuckles were genuine, and she liked the sound, because even though Osamu smiled more often now, she could only count in one hand the number of times he’d laughed when she was present.
“Now, about the clan… what would you like me to tell you first?”
Kohana chose her words carefully; she’d noticed that the smile on his face faded just a little bit.
“Umm…. What were the people like?”
The smile grew once again, and Kohana nearly let out a sigh of relief.
“I used to think that the best in humanity could be found in those who lived in the Satoru Clan, but I stopped believing such things when I entered Konoha. Everyone I knew worked to the best of their abilities, nourished their children, treasured almost every little thing and when everything was falling apart, when the very core of the clan had been taken from us, everyone fought for everything they ever believed in.”
Kohana cast her eyes downward, to the clenched fists of her master. Her voice came out quieter, more cautious and saddened. “What core was that?”
Osamu’s smile turned miserable. “Happiness. More than anything, our clan believed in happiness. That is why our clan was shut out of the shinobi world. More than anything, we thought that peace equated to happiness, but like I said, the clan had its secrets… The rest of the clan, those who didn’t belong to the main family, didn’t know that one of the clan’s secrets went against the reason why we never associated ourselves with the outside world.”
Kohana’s eyebrows pulled together as her eyes widened. She watched Osamu cover his eyes once again with his lashes, but this time, she couldn’t even see his lips anymore. She didn’t see the grimace on his face, but she could feel the rage and sorrow that rolled off him in waves that hit her full force.
“Sensei…” she whispered, but she doubted he’d heard her. Not once had she ever seen her teacher like this. He was never one to reveal his feelings so easily, but this time, he was laying himself bare. Kohana would have been happy about this if it weren’t for the fact that they weren’t talking about the very foundations of his clan. Kohana wanted to feel guilty about asking. She wanted to tell Osamu that it was enough, that she didn’t want to know anything more, that he needn’t force himself, but in the end, she’d be lying to herself and to Osamu. And aside from that, something inside her told her to keep silent, because Osamu was telling her all of these things out of his own volition. He was the one who offered to tell Kohana everything.
But Kohana still didn’t like the thought of being the reason why Osamu felt so obligated to tell her his story. It felt so wrong.
“If… it’s okay if you excuse me for the night—“
Kohana cut him off with a strained smile. “It okay, Osamu-sensei. Let’s get some sleep.”
Osamu returned her smile and nodded.
“Thank you.”
Kohana whistled. “The wind is nice here, isn’t it?” She remarked as she and Osamu stood on top of the statue of the Shodaime Hokage’s head, enjoying the view of the falls beneath. Kohana tried to wave away the memories of the battle at Tenchi Bridge, when Orochimaru had told her that she’d been experimented on, but she failed miserably. And so, she turned to Osamu, catching her hair so it would stop flying all over the place. “Sensei, should we go look somewhere else?”
Osamu scrutinized herself for a few moments. He was probably suspicious because they hadn’t even been there for more than twenty minutes and she wanted to leave without making sure to search properly. “Perhaps you should go ahead.”
“Nu-uh. No thanks.”
He sighed. “Very well, then. Now, where shall we go next? He must still be in the Land of Fire. I very well doubt that he will leave.”
Kohana tilted her head. “How’re you sure?”
Osamu looked away and shrugged.
“Geez you’re really mysterious, aren’t you?”
He smirked. “I try.”
Together, they left the Valley of the End. However, just as soon as they had arrived back on the road, Osamu pushed Kohana into a clump of bushes. He followed her shortly after and placed a hand on Kohana’s head to keep her down.
“Uh…”
“Hush, Kohana… It appears as though our lurker has decided to show himself.”
Kohana’s jaw dropped as she hissed, “You mean someone’s been stalking us and we could have taken them out?”
Osamu nodded, indifferent toward the implications in Kohana’s demand.
His student grumbled, but remained vigilant and completely alert almost to the point of paranoia. Kohana’s narrowed blue eyes darted all over the vicinity, but never behind because of the hold Osamu had on her head.
All of a sudden her stood up, and gestured for Kohana to do the same. He casually stepped out of the bushes and inserted his arms within his sleeves.
“Show yourself.”
Just as easily as he’d said it, there was a snapping of twigs in front of them. A sigh followed.
“Looks like my stealth skills haven’t improved.”
Kohana inhaled sharply and quickly unsheathed Yoshinori. Never mind the disapproving look she received from her master.
“Nao…!”
The girl herself placed a hand on her hip, looking unbelievably tired, and… Kohana couldn’t describe it well, but to put it in simple and vague words, Nao looked weak. Even if there weren’t disgusting dark circles beneath her eyes, Nao’s deathly pale complexion and heavy eyelids were enough indications.
Nao reached behind her, and just when Kohana stepped forward to engage in battle, Nao tossed a kunai on the ground and raised her hands.
Kohana glared at her with the apprehension of prey in the presence of its predator. “What is this?”
Nao raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell? It’s a kunai.”
Osamu’s student growled and prepared to lunge at Nao, but one mention of her name had her freezing.
“Don’t get riled up. What have I thought you?”
For a second, Kohana glared at him, but instantly regretted it and took a step back, sheathing her sword. As Osamu moved in front of his student, his thumb played with Wasurenagusa’s hand guard.
“What is your business with Kohana? And where is Katashi?”
Nao didn’t lower her hands, but she definitely looked like she wanted to.
“That is exactly why I’ve been following you guys.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need Kohana’s help, but since you’re here,” Much to their surprise, Nao’s lips stretched into a small, almost malignant grin, “I could use your help as well.”
Osamu flicked the hand guard, making sure that the faint click was perceptible to Nao’s ears.
“What do you need our help for?”
As quick as the snap of fingers, Nao’s expression turned entirely solemn. Kohana saw no trace of the wicked smile from earlier, and she didn’t see a scintilla of dullness in her eyes either. Nao’s lips were pulled into a frown, and just as quickly as the frown had formed, Kohana saw her eyes glitter just a little bit. If Kohana didn’t know better, she’d have thought there were tears in her eyes, as well as a pleading look.
“He’s gone. Katashi has been taken.”
Kohana was as determined as Osamu was to hide the truth.
“And why should we help you?”
At last, all of Nao’s attention was switched to Kohana. The younger girl had not seen someone so spiteful and grim since Sasuke.
“Because Katashi is your brother.”
A/N: I bet you guys already saw that coming. I actually intended for this to happen a little later in the story, but I don’t have anything more to add in between, so I decided to just add it in this chapter. Besides, it’ll be easier now to write about Osamu’s past.
Haha, notice that hint?
OKAY, SO NOW FOR THE QUESTION. Please answer this as seriously as I can, and I BEG YOU PLEASE ANSWER.
When should I end this story? I mean, do you want me to end this after the war, or should I go with what I’d originally planned and end after the invasion?
I have no problems with either, because I can work things out because they will both have similar effects on Kohana’s character development. Of course, the effects won’t be as extreme as they will be in this arc, but I just want to know because I kind of don’t want to let go of this story, tbh. /shot
And there hasn’t been enough Sasuke, and you guys know how much I love him (back when he still had a one track mind… now he just confuses me) and Kohana. I would like them to define their relationship, because let’s be honest here, Kohana will never come to terms with what she really feels towards Sasuke until they actually have a proper meeting. I can write that in the scene before the war, though, but her resolve wouldn’t be as clear.