Into the past

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

Mitsuha's body seemed to act on its own. She made her way into the Red Oak District one afternoon and stood in the empty street. With the Virus taking over many people, shinobi and civilians alike have been out of commission due to the sickness. But why was she here? There's barely enough healthy people to get a restaurant running. Some lights were on in some restaurants, while many others were off. The problem isn't that. It's the fact that since she is a human puppet, she has no need for sustenance to eat or drink.

But still, she felt compelled to go here. A day ago she met back up with her friends, people she knew before her drastic change. Otakemaru, Akio, and Keiyaku had seen her and were aware of what she is now. Yesterday was also the only time that she regained her emotions, albeit, for a short time. Maybe a part of her was curious to see if anything else can happen. Curious? Her eyes would glitch out, going from red, to blue, then back to red again as she thought about the word.

But even if she remains in this emotionless state, she remembers all the things that has happened on this street that she was involved in. Her meeting with Keniwa, as he had told her that he was promoted to Main Branch Sennin. Another time, she had to help Keniwa teach a kid a lesson since he had a mouth and attitude on him. And finally there was that fight... Something stirred in the human puppet. Anger... Yes... How vile that guy was in how he talked and acted around her and Ayeka. How his words spat on Aria's grave. That was probably the first time that she felt the need to stand up for someone else. The first time that she wasn't at Keniwa's throat for doing something stupid.

Her fists clenched and unclenched, as she realized that she felt something... Though she was still unaware of her eyes still glitching out. Just... Why can't she feel....?

 

[Wee Yong]

Wee Yong stood at the edge of the silent streets, the sharp scent of the food district being carried on the wind almost nonexistent, a physical indication of the effect of the Virus. His heart sank as he walked through the village, many familiar buildings now vacant or closed, windows shuttered, and the streets unnaturally quiet. The Red River Virus had stolen the vibrancy of this once vibrant district, turning it into a ghost town. The virus had swept through like a shadow, leaving few who dared to wander for fear of contraction.

He hadn’t returned in years, years spent away from the village choosing his own path. But now, a strange pull, a yearning for the past, had brought him back to this very spot, to streets untrodden by his feet since his young adulthood. His feet carried him without thought, a well-worn path he knew by heart, of all the history, all the places of significance this had been the most important to him... his safe place...

The ramen shop!

As he approached the familiar canvas streamer, brightly painted curtain that acted as a half wall between the customers and the normally bustling world outside, he felt a moment of nostalgia, his hand reaching up to devide the curtain as it had a thousand times before. Inside the partial devide the comforting warmth of steam rose from the kitchen, and the scent of broth, garlic, chilli and spices filled his senses. The shop was a haven, a heaven, a nirvana, other than the lack of customers it seemed untouched by the silence that gripped the village around it. The owner, an older man with silver hair and a crooked smile, looked up from his work, the scowled expression that seemed almost fixed on his face seemed to twist for a moment in subtle recognition, though the scowl never fully departing there was also a hint of a smile, just a hint mind you, didn't want to give the impression he was actually happy to see him.

"Well, if it isn't the Myakashi boy all grown up!"

The man said, his voice thick with nostalgia and husky from the many years of almost continuous smoking.

"I wondered when you’d come back."

Yong simply nodded, his throat tight, his eyes cast down. It had been so long. The man had been like a second father to him, always kind, always there when he needed someone to listen to the chaos of Shinobi life, and always brave enough to tell him the truth. He stepped forward hesitantly, slowly taking a seat at the bar. His voice caught in his throat for a moment, playing his first sentence over and over in his head, what to say after so many years with no contact whatsoever with someone who had meant so much to him...

“I feared this place might’ve shut down,”

Yong murmured, looking down at the condiments in front of him, instantly feeling foolish for his first sentence.

“We’re still standing.”

The owner said, his eyes softening and a small smile finally coming over his wrinkled face at the awkwardness of the dangerous Shinobi wanted in three countries now sitting like a scolded child at his bench like so many years before. Some things never changed.

“A lot of people left for the safety of the countryside, but some of us are hanging on. For those who remain, there are still a bunch of good people here doing their best, and they still need feeding.”

The owner moved with practiced ease, setting a steaming bowl of ramen in front of Wee Yong, despite no order being given... The ramen looked perfect, exactly what he would have ordered. But then the old man did something unexpected... He poured a cup of tea, the same kind that Yong's father had once favored, and not a quick tea to brew, nor an easy leaf to acquire. The tea leaves were steeped just right, the aroma rich and familiar.

"This... this is the tea of my father..."

Yong whispered, staring at the cup in his hands. The warmth of the mug seeped into his cold fingers, but the shock of memory hit harder. His father had been killed many years ago, branded a traitor and hunted... And yet, the owner still remembered his favourite tea...

"We remember who you are, Wee Yong, son of the Myakashi..."

The old man spoke quietly, reaching his old calloused hand up to Yong's chin and tilting his head up to force eye contact for the first time since entering.

"You’re still part of our Konoha, no matter how far you’ve wandered, no matter what you have done...”

Wee Yong’s throat tightened as he raised the cup to his lips, the tea surprisingly comforting, a bridge to his past, a better past, one long thought left behind. He savored it slowly, letting the memories flood back. His father’s laughter, his training, the bustling life within the Myakashi Clan-house and the simple joy of sitting at this very bar with family and friends in a better time.

Another time...

“Thank you...”

His voice barely a whisper, almost lost in the silence of the village behind him.

"I thought I had left it all behind. But this place... it reminds me. Some things are worth saving..."

The owner nodded, his eyes reflecting the shared history between them.

“Some things never leave you, Yong. Not even this damn virus can take that you know, we just got to keep going.”

Yong finished his tea and bowl of ramen, passing the time in smiling conversation with the old man, telling stories of how his family had fared in the wilds and spoke of the beauty that was the Myakashi's home so far far from here.

As he stood to leave, his hand parting the curtain the old man called out, one last parting remark as the curtain fell back in to place behind him.

"We’ll be here when you’re ready to return, boy! You never paid off your tab you scoundrel!"

With a nod and a smile Yong turned to walk back into the streets, his mind absent for a moment as he found his mind dwelling on the past, a better time, pleasant and happy!

So far in the past infact the he completely missed the young woman walking down the street past him, running into her as he turned sharply into the street!

Quickly regaining his footing he offered the woman his hand to regain her footing if she had lost it, a smile on his face.

"My apologies, my mind was in the past... How careless of me."

 

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

As Mitsuha was lost in thought, she wasn't looking at where she was going and ran right into someone. The force was enough for her to fall to the ground, but her eyes glitched again, going from red, to blue, then back to red again, as if recalibrating. The anger on her face a moment before the man ran into her, about something that she remembered in her past, was gone as she was back in an emotionless state.

She accepted the hand and got up. There was something about him that Mitsuha felt familiar about. She can't quite put a finger on it, but he seemed familiar to her. Something.... eerie... yes, eerie feeling that seemed to well up in the human puppet. She has just recently felt anger for the first time since she became nothing more than a weapon. But now... There is a sense of uneasiness as she stood before this man. He.... Sounded familiar? Her eyes glitched for a couple of seconds as she stared at him before she finally spoke, "What a coincidence. I was also thinking about the past as well." Her voice sounded monotone as she reverted back to a more emotionless state.

A slight wind blew in, moving her hair in an ominous way, giving the man a clearer view of her face. Would he be able to tell that even though she looks human, that she isn't? That she seems robotic in a sense? She would cock her head to the side, noting that he was shirtless. "Why are you shirtless? It is winter time. Even though it is near the end, there are still cold days and chilly nights." If this was Mitsuha in the past, she might have turn tail and ran instead of talking to a complete stranger walking around at night.