The Storm In His Heart [ Private ]

[Tsukada Sato]

It was a hard story to listen to. He couldn't even imagine how that must have felt. Losing both of your parents, resenting one so much that you'd go and kill them. And that wasn't to say he didn't deserve it. That was probably the hardest part to hear. He couldn't have imagined either of his parents doing something so selfish. He kept his eyes down as he listened, not daring to interrupt her until she finished and told him that all of it had strengthened her resolve. At first he couldn't think of what to say. What was there to say? He wanted to say he was sorry for her loss but that felt so little in the grand scheme of things. After almost a solid minute of silence he finally thought of something to say; a trade.

"I was born in a tiny village in the north. My father was a traveler but when he met my mother he settled down. He use to tell me he loved how quiet and calm it was out in the country..." His voice softened at those last few words, almost sounding like he was done before he closed his eyes and sighed. This was harder than he'd expected it to be.

"Four years ago a band of criminals swept into town. Nobody in the village owned a weapon other than for hunting and they were armed to the teeth. Everyone was so scared that they were going to take everything we had. It turned out worse than that. They kicked the village leader out of his home and demanded the villagers take care of their needs. Anyone who showed resistance was... killed. Anyone who tried to leave the village was hunted down. We were far from any other town, much less Konoha. There was nothing we could do..."

As he spoke he leaned to the side, resting his head on Soku's arm as he continued to tell the story in a soft, sad tone. "We spent almost two years like that. They ruined our village. Killed anyone who showed even a bit of resistance. My father, he just wanted to get us out.. when they found out they took it on me." Without thinking he reached up to touch the x shaped scar on his cheek, letting out a heavy sigh before continuing. "I think it just drove him to try harder... they killed him. My mother... she was a mess. I didn't even know what to do with my feelings. I guess I just bottled them up... until I exploded. I was eight when I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and went to where they were. I didn't have a plan. I just acted."

His arms found their way around her, hugging her weakly. She could feel him shaking. "I'm the luckiest fool in the world. Before they could even lay a finger on me a squad of shinobi from this village came in and took them out while they were distracted. Someone we thought had died escaping had survived, come here and worked for enough money to pay for a mission to help our village. We were saved... but we'd lost so much. I don't anyone alive stays in that village anymore."

Despite the look of grief on his face he refused to cry. He knew he was weak and a cry baby at that but he wasn't going to let it out anymore if he could manage it. "And that's why I want to fight. To prove that I was worth saving, that it wasn't all for nothing. If me losing so much is enough to make sure nobody else loses anything like that ever again then I'll gladly carry the burden. I don't want to just protect this village. This whole country deserves our protection. I don't care what it costs me, I want to protect everyone."

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She allowed Sato to rest his head on her arm slowly embracing her as he poured out his life story to her. It was tough to imagine what the kid had been through. She allowed her fingers to drift through the boys hair providing a sort of comforting assurance."We all have tragic backstories. As dark and horrible as it may be, I see it like this. Our past builds us up, hardens us, gives us a clear goal in sight to work on and defines what sort of shinobi we are going to be. But remember this, Sato. You are not limited by your past. If your desire is to protect the people then you go for it. No goal is unachievable, you just have to have the right mindset and if you keep going down that path with determination, I'm sure you'll become quite a remarkable ninja in no time."

She stood up brushing off the grass and twigs. Offering a hand to Sato to help him up, she simply watched the boy. He was one to take note of."One more thing, do not hesitate to reach out to me or ask me if you have questions. We are clan relatives after all and family have to look out for each other."Soku said a loose grin overlapping her features. Nodding to the boy, she pivoted on her back heel and there would a be a flash of pure white Lightning that arced down from the clouds and Soku was gone as quickly as she had come leaving the boy with a good lifelong lesson. Be confident in what you do if you hope to get things done in this world of ninja.

 

[Tsukada Sato]

He never realized how nice it would be to get all this off his chest. Before he never had anyone to tell. His mother certainly didn't need to know he still thought about those days and Asuka... he could never drop something so heavy on her. Soku could handle and understand it. She was very comforting, from listening to his long, drawn out story to patting his messy hair. It felt alright to spent this time with her even though he only recently met her. She was nice. Like the sibling he'd never had. Sure, that was a stretch but still. She knew what he could do and understood how he felt. She even told him exactly what he wanted to believe -- that all of their tragedies were worth it if it meant it helped them to prevent more tragedies in the future.

It seemed her time was up however. She got up and told him he could ask her anything anytime before shooting him a smile and disappearing. He sat there for a moment, thinking it all over before looking down at one of his hands. That gap between him and Asuka. Maybe his own bloodline could help close it. Clenching his fist he began to gather chakra again, the gentle blue sparks quickly becoming the radiant strands of lasers he'd been generating before. He was going to train here until he dropped. He wasn't going to let that gap get one bit wider!

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