No One Stands Alone

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

The setting sun painted the sky into a scene of hues blending together and tumbling into each other. The clouds lazily floated across the fading backdrop, and a gentle wind swayed the leaves and branches of the trees. Birds called to each other, and there were children laughing and playing along the streets of the village.

Despite the high spirits and peaceful atmosphere of Konoha, Tsukki couldn't shake the heavy that weighed on his shoulders. He was on edge as he and his teammates entered the mission assignment room. His guardian could read even the minute changes in someone's facial features or body language, and she was merciless when exploiting it.

"The mission is complete," Junko stated in a practiced tone once they stood before the desk. "The rank was D. It was accepted and accomplished by Team Nine led by Junko Tsukishima." She continued to describe the boring day of helping various civilizations with their mundane tasks to the only person behind the desk.

"Okay. The report will be submitted and reviewed later to be archived." Kasumi placed the paper with the report written on it in a folder. She stacked it on top of a growing pile as her dark gaze scanned over Tsukki and his teammates. The chunin was assessing them, judging them.

"As promised, Junko-san," Kasumi said, returning her attention to the jonin, "that mission is set to start tomorrow. You are to depart at dawn. Expect at least a week's travel to the town. The rest of the details are here." She slide a thin folder across the table.

"You heard the time length: pack for more than two weeks. Daichi, bring your sword. Hotaru, make sure you will have enough senbon, shuriken and kunai—and no; you can't use the bow and arrows outside of training. Haruto, your daggers. Meet at the gates of the village at dawn," Junko instructed to the genin.

They caught on to the unspoken dismissal. All three left the room, but as Daichi and Hotaru walked out of the building chatting like old friends, Tsukki stayed. The blond let the door close behind him. A plan had been lingering in the back of his, and he finally decided to enact it. Even though a knot of dread began to form in his stomach, he leaned against the wall and waited outside of the room.

"Are you sure, Kasumi-san?" Junko's voice floated out into the hallway. "I can manage without an escort."

He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but gathering information was something Junko emphasized during their training—and he was good at it. The blond concealed his presence, and kept his senses sharp.

"Yes," the chunin confirmed in a grave voice. "The initial report I wrote was of an awakened being of average strength that attacked a few townspeople. However, after the whole town was slaughtered, I looked further into it. The few killings my chameleons reported was by a single creature. The destruction and the massacre, however, were done by an unknown number of awakened beings. The first creature seems to have been driven out by the new ones.

  "The Hokage has agree with Hiroshi-sama and me—you'll be in charge of hunting it down, and my chameleons will provide protection for your genin."

"I've fought multiple monsters at once before," Junko returned to her previous statement.

"It's not my call."

Tsukki was startled when the door suddenly opened, but he wasn't the only one. Junko stopped short. He must have hidden his chakra signature enough to surprise a jonin.

  "Did you need something, Haruto?"

"I would like to speak with Kasumi-san," he said after he composed himself, directing his words to the dark haired woman still behind the desk, "if I could."

The jonin blinked, revealing nothing of what she thought, but she moved out of the way nonetheless. Tsukki silently entered the room and she closed the door behind him. He kept the disappointment from flickering on his face as Kasumi's eyes hardened with disgust. Her words came out clipped. "What do you want?"

He took a breath, bracing himself. "I wanted to tell you that I am beginning to master my kekkei genkai. Junko-sensei taught me how to control it, and she believes I will soon master it just like my mother did."

Kasumi's dark eyes narrowed into slits. She was judging him, reading him. Suddenly, a cruel smile twisted her lips. "You were hoping that I would congratulate you, didn't you?."

His blood ran cold—either from dread, shock or even a mixture of both. "N-no, I—"

"You thought that by comparing yourself to a dead woman, I would praise you?" Her words were sharp, striking him where he didn't expect. That bitter smile fell off her face. "Yoshino was a kunoichi who was peerless. She was kind and brave. Armies were forced to their knees before her strength, the children of the village admired her, and Konoha relied on her."

Tsukki watched as she walked out from behind the desk, and he struggled to keep the mask of stone up.

"No one could touch her—even I couldn't and I was always there, right there by her side..." Kasumi trailed off. That vulnerable look lasted a brief moment before her face became unreadable again. "That's how perfect she was. To claim that someone is going to be her equal is foolish, and it's not something a little boy can do. Especially you."

A tense silence descended on them, and Tsukki left the room. He exchanged no more words with her, he just walked out. He didn't let a single emotion or reaction touch his blank expression.

Tsukki was used to that kind of conversation. Every time he tried to bring his mother up with Kasumi, she always turned it around on him. He was 'never good enough'. He always 'disgraced her name'. And all because she had a warped vision of Yoshino in her mind.

Tsukki had known his mother—she was kind and forgiving, yes, but she was also flawed. She made mistakes. She had been unreasonable at times. She wasn't as perfect as Kasumi painted her as.

But people tended to glorify the dead, and he had no right to try and correct her. After all, he was the reason why Kasumi was only left with memories. And he couldn't blame the chunin for wanting to hold onto the good ones.

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I apologize for the short chapter once again! I have the next one almost finished, just waiting to get a few details in order, so expect another update soon :)

The mood board above was created by the amazingly talented writer and artist Nashoba. I requested a mood board of Tsukki to be done, and she gives me this masterpiece! Thank you once again!!

Please don't forget to vote and comment ^_^

This has been edited on 12/6/17