
Kahako felt her temper flare at his pompous remark about her leadership. She would have given the position to someone else willingly, just as she had her Senninship, if she did not feel confident that the members of her team were fully capable of handling themselves without her. And they had. What right did he have to subtly judge her when he himself was no better and simply handed a great deal more responsibility? Narcissistic proteges, she raged internally, were the worse sort of people.
But whatever rage stormed inside, the only outward indication of it was the straightening of her back and the slight flare of her nostrils. He did not come here to argue, and she was far beyond the point of being emotionally exhausted. So, she dropped it. Walking forward, Kahako picked up the report, moved to lean against the wall, and began to silently read. Her brows furrowed as her eyes scrolled down the page, learning more of what exactly had happened to him in the years he had been gone.
Her anger quickly slipped to the back of her mind and abject horror replaced it. She read the report again while Osu spoke, guiltily much more interested in what he had to say. A different light casted upon the broken man before her. His fingers clasped together as he came as close as he probably ever would at begging for help. How lost was he that he felt the only way to keep his sense of self intact was to reach out to someone he knowingly wanted nothing to do with him?
“I agree with my colleague,” she said after Osu stated his peace and another pregnant pause.
“If there is anything that ails you, you must tell us now. Even if there isn’t, I would like to suggest a full evaluation if you would allow it. However…” she paused, carefully choosing her next words.
“It will take time before you are back to some level of normalcy. Time and rest. No one should be forced through what is written in these pages.” Her hands tightened around her report slightly, but her face remained the same. Unreadable, but approachable.
“There is no easy path—no jutsu—that will reverse what happened.” At this, Kahako made the conscious decision to figuratively meet him halfway. Walking over to the opposite side of the desk, she sat in the seat she swore minutes earlier she would not approach. A first step maybe?
“And in the long road ahead of you, you shouldn’t take it alone. We’re here to help you, and it goes beyond it being our duty to do so. It is in our very nature to want to help. This is why I—at least speaking for myself—chose to be Sentou Henkan.”
At this, Kahako took a second to close her eyes. Years she held anger about the man before her. A man she believed to be just another Hoshikata… just another monster from outside who had designs to destroy any happiness the village could create for its people. She needed to look past this title she placed upon him. Saito had seen something within Kouin. A potential that could have been better if given the chance. It was a tough pill to swallow. And if nothing else, what she learned earlier today showed her that sometimes, the monster wasn’t always the outsider.
“I believe… the best place to start… depends on whether you believe me when I say that. That we want to help you. More specifically, that<i></i>
I want to help you. Going through those raw, dark memories, it should be with someone you’re willing to lower your defenses for. Someone you feel like you don’t have to swear to secrecy in order to feel safe around. If you can, if you feel like you can rely on us in that way, then we will take the next step from there.”
Kahako finally picked up her cup of jasmine tea to take a sip. It was on its way to room temperature, but it calmed her tired mind none the less. Over the rim, she watched carefully as she gauged Kouin’s reaction to this. Her face remained strictly professional.
There would be no lie in what she said. She swore an oath to protect the men and women of the ANBU branch. Even further the shinobi of Kumogakure and the citizens they protected. It was why she served. She could even say it was why she lived. And while he would not have been among that count when they first met, she would be breaking her very code if she still believed he wasn’t one now.
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