MUSCLES 'N SCALES |K. HATAKE

one: blessed be the warriors

❝ SUNSETS ARE
PRETTIER IN KONOHA❞

Kaida had visions of her untimely death so vividly that she knew how she would die.

Her clans oracles prophesied it just as it predicted the nine-tailed fox attack and their own very demise. Their books never lied but Kaida refused to let the knowledge of her death impede her life. What good would details do when humanity was doomed to die regardless?

And to the mighty Earth the daughter of Ryujin will fall, ruined by the heavens and imapled by poison. The sea shall rage into the melting sky as it screams out in agony for its beloved child and her preventable departure.

It was an annoyingly ambiguous way to write out the end to her story that left out what made it "preventable". Ryujin typically referred to the clan chief (her father) and to be "ruined by the heavens" usually symbolized a rejection of sorts. "Impaled by poison" was a new one but she imagined it was a betrayal of some sort. What confused her is why the seas or the heavens cried out seeing as the heavens would reject her and she had no relation to the sea. Likely, she'd learn when it happened—rather she wouldn't because she'd be dead.

She interpreted it as a literal death rather than figurative given the nature of the prophesies, though the verbiage seemed more like a warning than anything.

Fuck that book though.

So what a blind priestess sold it to the main branch for a hefty price hundreds of years ago?

Fuck that priestess too.

They meant nothing more than a history lesson to her and she lived her life regardless. Everyone knew that they were going to die as mortals. Only difference was that Kaida knew she'd be betrayed. She didn't know when or why and the ambiguity made her question her ancestors decisions in purchasing the books. Anyone can make hundreds of outlandish comments and at least a few would be correct.

She still believed it though.

"What're you thinking about, Kacchan?" The voice of a man who smoked since his adult years into his seventies sounded like the ocean against jagged rocks to Kaida's ears.

"How I die," She bluntly spoke, her charcoal-colored eyes focusing onto the man she called her grandfather.

"Aren't you peachy today," Hiruzen smirked, leaning back in his chair and blowing smoke out of his mouth, "You know those prophesies are baseless, right?" Those waves crashing against those rocks were still the most soothing sound to Kaida, right next the thunderstorms.

"Right, I just think they're fun to entertain. Like horoscopes," She explained, a pearly smile on her face that complimented her dark skin, "By the way, you're one crazy old man, pops," Kaida Chirashi sighed, dragging a chair out from the other side of the desk to sit with the man.

It screeched like nails on a chalkboard but the woman didn't bother to pick it up and the old man knew better than to complain. There were scratches from years of her dragging it, etching a clear path to what she deemed it's real home.

The old man blew smoke out of his mouth, eyes crinkling with fondness as she rested her head on his shoulder. Her coily hair tickled his nose as it tended to whenever she did this but he never minded. It served as a reminder of she in her youth and he missed those days when he could actually win the arguments.