Kaguya's daughter

Chapter Three: Bonding

"Nanami was walking through the forest at a steady pace. 

She didn't know how she was even supposed to find Indra and Ashura again. She went back to the spot where she had saved Ashura but it was now desert. And she didn't know where they lived. They said they had a real home. And it must certainly be in the opposite direction of where she lived. 

Suddenly she thought about something. She could find them more easily with her byakugan activated. Which she did without wasting time. 

She paced up her rhythm as she tried to find her way out of the thick forest. 

What if she could not find them?

Maybe her brother would help her if she couldn't. 

After a while she was finally out of the forest. But the land was still desert so she kept on running. 

Should she call their names? No, she needed to remain as discreet as possible.

So she wandered and explored her surroundings for a while. She didn't know for how long but she didn't mind. She met some people as she seemed to arrived near a kind of village. She had deactivated her Byakugan so as not to look suspicious.

"NANAMI!!!"

The voice was strangely familiar.

She spotted a familiar face rushing toward her.

"You were able to come! Come I'm gonna introduce you to the others!" Ashura said excitedly as he gripped her arm. 

"No! I'd rather not. Why don't we get to know each other instead?" Nanami offered quite unsure of herself. 

Ashura seemed to be upset at first. But his happy self came back in an instant. His smile could have brightened a whole crowd of people. At that moment, Nanami felt that there was something about him. Something special. But she couldn't figure out what it was. 

"Alright come on!" He started to lead Nanami toward the village.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Nanami asked to confirm what she thought.

"To my house, why?"

"Can't we go to a more discreet place, where we'll be just the two of us?" 

"Oh okay, as you want." 

"Let's go!"

They went into the forest, not too far. Ashura sat on the ground with his legs crossed. Nanami imitated him.

"So... Would you like to start?"

"Well, I don't really now what I should say."

Ashura put on a thinking pose.

"Maybe you could start by talking about your family. What about your parents?"

"They are both dead." Nanami said flatly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Why, it's not your fault."

"And so you live alone with your elder brother?"

"Yes, he's raised me since my birth." 

Ashura seemed to be impressed by that statement. 

"Oooooh, that's nice. I would have loved it if Nii-San had been the one to raise me." 

For a moment, Nanami didn't really know what to say.

"You really love him too."

"Of course I do! He's the best big brother in the world you know!"

Nanami nodded. "I guess he is." 

"How far would you be ready to go for him?" Nanami then asked the boy.

Ashura seemed to be surprised by her question.

"Hmm... I don't know... I guess I could go very far for him, even if this meant I had to sacrifice myself." He replied while scratching his head.

"What about you?" He then asked her. 

"... I guess I'd do the same."

Ashura smiled at her. 

"Could I meet him some time?" 

"Erm... It's complicated... He has to travel a lot in order for us to be able to live on our own." Mai made up an excuse, hoping Ashura would believe her.

"Oh, I see. Isn't it too hard for you?"

"No it's okay. I'm used to it now."

Ashura nodded. 

"You can come live with us when he's not here so you won't be all alone!"

"No thank you. I can't accept."

Ashura was seemingly disappointed.

"But why?"

He seemed to have taken a strong liking to the girl. Yet he hardly knew her... Nanami really found it strange. 

"Because my brother doesn't want me to live anywhere else than at home. He would be really mad at me if I disobeyed him."

"Oh, I see..."

"But you will still be able to visit us!" He said, his excitement bubbling up again in an instant. 

That boy was really something... Nanami wondered who he had inherited that from. And also what her mother's character was like. She highly doubted that he had inherited that from her mother... Maybe from his own mother, who knows...

"Ashura!"

"Oh, it's Nii-San, NII-SAN!!!!!" Ashura waved at him eagerly.

Nanami observed the boy carefully. Never would she dare behave like that with her own brother... That seemed to be so disrespectful... Yet the other sibling didn't seem to mind. Maybe that was something typically human. So of course she couldn't understand. 

"Oh, you are here as well." Indra said, acknowledging the girl's presence.

Nanami had no idea how she should behave now. Her brother had told her to make friends with both of them. That was a piece of cake with Ashura but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to be an easy task with Indra.

She didn't really know what "greeting" meant.

So she just bowed her head as a sign of respect to acknowledge his presence. 

Indra seemed to be surprised by her action but he said nothing about it. 

As for Asura, he was grinning like an idiot.

"What were you two doing? Am I interrupting something?" Indra asked them both carefully. 

"No! We were getting to know each other you see!" Ashura replied cheerfully. 

Indra eyed the girl warily. "Why, I thought you had to go home before your brother found out you were gone." 

"I did get home but once I had a talk with him he allowed me to go out for some more time. So I thought I could stay with you." Nanami replied flatly.

"I see..." Indra replied.

"Your brother really seems to be some nice guy! That's such a shame we can't meet him..." Ashura suddenly chimed in. 

She shouldn't have talked about her brother in the first place. They didn't need to know about him. 

Nanami held back a sigh. She felt this was going to be much more difficult than what she thought.