ā-deā¦ -aedeā¦ Kaede!ā Green eyes snapped open in a daze. āKaede, can you hear us?ā The voice belonged to a medical nin standing over Kaedeās form. The young woman blinked as the daze she was under began to lift. She gave a nod and the medical nin returned it. A light was shone in her eyes. Her pupils contracted and she grunted, moving her head to the side to shield her eyes.
āWhere am I?ā She asked as she palmed at her eyes. There was silence for a moment and she sat up. Her entire body protested and her pace slowed considerably. Finally, she was upright. āOhā¦.ā A hospital room stretched out before her. The walls and floors were stark white and the ceiling a drab grey. She frowned. āWhy am I here?ā
āDo you not remember?ā The ninja was cut off as the door to the room swung open and Kaedeās teammates rushed in. The red-haired Daisuke and the black haired Hachiro crowded around her. Hachiro had a bandage over his right eye and Daisukeās hands were wrapped. They otherwise appeared unharmed. Tears sprung to Daisukeās eyes as he threw himself across Kaedeās lap and wailed. Kaede barely heard him as Hachiro spoke.
āYou finally woke upā¦ā He trailed off and tears streamed out of his good eye. āTakara-senseiā¦ What happened to Takara-sensei?ā Kaedeās brows furrowed and she looked down at Daisuke, who was still laying prone on her lap sobbing.
āTakara-sensei..?ā Her eyes suddenly grew distant as everything came rushing back to her tired mind.
Metal ground against metal as kunai clashed with katana blade. Takara stood over her three pupils. Her hair, normally in a ponytail, hung limp behind her. Blood dripped from one limp arm while the other shook with the force of holding up such a heavily weighted blade. The feathers that always adorned their beloved senseiās features lay crushed beneath their feet.
āRun, you three! Go!ā Her voice was filled with panic. She blocked another attack meant for the students. Sparks flew. āGo get help, now!ā Daisuke opened his mouth to protest but Hachiro tugged on his arm. Blood and mangled flesh lay where his eye had once been. Daisuke ground his teeth and followed after Hachiro. They stopped a few feet away to look back at Kaede, who still sat in shocked silence behind Takara.
āKaede! Come on!ā Daisuke yelled. This seemed to snap Kaede out of her daze. She rose on shaky legs. āDamn it, she isnāt listening.ā She turned to Hachiro. He couldnāt leave the half-blind boy to fend for himselfā¦ If they moved fast enough, then perhapsā¦ āKaede, Takara-sensei, hang in there! Weāll be back with help soon!ā The two turned and ran as fast as they could toward the nearest Konoha outpost.
Kaede stepped to her senseiās side. In her fists was a Kusarifundo- her last weighted chain. Her own katana lay somewhere on the battlefield broken, the blade shattered into pieces. Takara looked to her blonde student with disbelief.
āI told you to run,ā She snapped. Angry tears sprung to blue eyes. āNow theyāll kill us both!ā
āThatās right! Thereās no place in this world for meddling Leaf nin such as yourselves.ā The rogue ninjas before them seemed to be regrouping for a heavy attack. A volley of shuriken came at them. Kaede spun the chain, deflecting the blades in all directions around her. Takara blocked with her sword as best she could, though several shuriken embedded in her bad arm and shoulder. āDie with honor!ā
āYou speak of honor, but you have none.ā Takara bit back. She lowered her voice so just Kaede could hear. āI want you to scream at them. Use your loudest roar.ā Kaede nodded and started weaving hand signs. Takara took a stance, her katana poised like a fencer holding a rapier. Kaede took a deep breath and held it for a moment, waiting for her senseiās signal. Takara nodded, and Kaede let out a roar.
Branches bent and broke as the force of her yell rocketed toward the ninja before them. Takara seemed to vanish as the ninja force crumpled beneath the weight of the air pressing down on them. The roar passed, leaving bent trees and rolled boulders in its wake. Kaede fell to one knee, eyes lidded with exhaustion. That had taken a vast majority of what little chakra she had had left. Takara appeared suddenly in the midst of their opponents. All but one of them fell around her and she quickly followed suite, a spray of blood leaving her neck.
āTakara-sensei!ā Kaedeās voice cracked as she stumbled forward on weak legs. Her chain followed behind her, dragging the dirt. As she watched her beloved sensei and long-time mentor drop to the ground, time seemed to slow for her. The man looked at her with a manic expression, the blood of his victim splattered across his skin and shirt. Kaede felt rage boil inside her chest and reality blurred.
The kunoichi threw herself at the man with all the force she could manage. As they tousled, he dug his blade into her side and twisted as hard as he could. Kaede cried out, but never ceased her attacks. Fists wrapped in chain drove into his face. When she was satisfied that he was weakened enough, she wound the weighted chain around his neck and tightened it. He began to garble and his lips turned blue as spittle formed at their corners. He flailed weakly. Kaede kept her grip on the chain well after he stopped moving.
Reality seemed to come back to her suddenly. She stumbled off of the man. Her first kill. Her first fatality. She felt the pain in her side sharpen suddenly and she fell to the bloody dirt. She heard vaguely the sounds of someone approaching before she faded from consciousness.
āSo thatās what happened?ā Hachiro sighed and rubbed the tears from his face. Daisuke had also fallen silent, save for the occasional snotty sniffle. Kaede gave a weak nod. The pain in her side grew sharp again as her senses came back from unconsciousness along with her mind. She put a hand over it absentmindedly.
āThe funeral is tomorrow.ā Daisukeās voice was muffled in her lap. āWeāre glad you woke up soon enough for itā¦ā He sat up, leaving a darkening spot where Kaedeās thighs sat. She stared at it blankly for a moment. She let out a slight chuckle that soon turned into a full blown laugh. Her teammates stared at her, stunned into silence. Even the medical ninja gave a sigh and a shake of his head. Her laughter dissolved into crying and she doubled over as the sobs overtook her. Blood blossomed on her side as her wound reopened. The medical ninja rushed forward and injected her with a sedative. Her body went limp as tears streamed down her face.
The next day came far too quickly for her. She had to fight her way out of the hospital to go to the funeral. She stopped by her home to change into her mourning dress. Her parents didnāt pry too much as they helped her dress. Her mother would occasionally tell her how proud she was and how happy she was that she was safe, even though she herself was mourning the loss of her dearest friend.
The walk to the cemetery was long and arduous, but Kaede pressed on despite the growing pain in her side. They met with Daisuke and Hachiro along the way. They stood on either side of Kaede, arms over her shoulders to help her along. The funeral was painful for everyone, but especially for Takaraās team. Tsunade was holding Takaraās sword the entire time, but when the funeral came to a close and the team were the only three people remaining at the cemetery, she approached them.
āShe would have wanted you all to have this.ā The lady hokage presented the blade and scabbard to the team. The three stared for a moment before Daisuke elbowed Kaedeās side. She let out a cry and held it, glaring at her teammate as he cowered and apologized profusely.
āYou should take it. Youāre the only one here who can fight with a sword.ā Hachiro commented as Kaede drove her knuckles into Daisukeās messy hair. She paused and looked back to the sword. It took her a moment, but she finally took the sword in a shaky grasp. She held it to her body as Tsunade nodded their way and left.
āCome on guysā¦ Kaede, you should get back to the hospital.ā Hachiro started away from the gravesight. They knew he had his own way of mourning. Daisuke looked to Kaede before leaving. He knew full well she would work her way back to the hospital eventually. The blonde stood before the grave for a while before she left.
It wasnāt the hospital she returned to. Instead, she found herself on a hillside near the cemetery. Grass waved in a breeze around her as she lay spread eagle in the soft foliage. On hand lay over her fallen senseiās katana. She closed her eyes as tears fell fresh down her face, but a smile spread on her lips. She could feel Takara there for them. She would never truly leave.
