- Aevidetta Ryoto wrote:
- 'To our dearest Nu-chan,
We hope this letter finds you in good health, and that your lessons are proceeding well. We are so proud of you. Your Aunt Nanau sends you all her best wishes, and says to remind you that you are "a flower of Hasu, not a tom boy, so be sure to take care of yourself." Hyun has returned today from his own training with your Uncle Satoushi. The middle of this coming week will mark his promotion ceremony and he will be taking his oath as an official member of the Kurohasu. We are both so proud of each of you and hope you return home soon as well to do the same. I understand by now that you will not be joining us for the ceremony, but I do hope you'll get the chance to visit Hyun and congratulate him before then. He is recuperating in a hospital in Dagarashi after a mishap with his training and your Aunt and I have not been able to go visit him. We're sure that seeing you again will make a great impression.
Your grandmother is doing well also. Your aunt thinks it wise that you at least write to her and report your progress. I know you still resent her for not searching more for Akane, but she's all you've got left of your own family, and as her heir, it would be wise to attempt making amends, per your Aunt's suggestion.
Your Uncle,
Ryoto
She'd received the letter just before Fight Night at the Green Dragon. She'd resolved to prepare her things before the night was over, then leave for Tea the next day, catching the end of the event after running all her necessary errands. She hadn't expected her lesson with Shun to end up making such a mess, but regardless of how her body felt the next day, bandages and all, she got up and walked right out of Kirigakure's gates.
By the next morning, she was sitting in wait upon the roof of a building across the street from Port Dagarashi's only hospital. She waited there until the nurses began to do their morning rounds and the sun began to filter in through the old glass panes of the hospital windows. She'd managed to ask a few questions upon her arrival the night before, finding one of the off duty nurses and convincing them to open one window in particular so Aonu could see inside. At exactly the agreed time, the woman opened the window, looking up to the roof at Ao a moment, the woman bowed slightly, then turned to go about her rounds, leaving Ao to assess her cousin's condition from a distance.
The Laws of Hasu were strict, a student, once sent out on nomadic training, could not return to the country or interact with others from Hasu no Sato without first reporting the intention to their Clan leader or other ranking official. Something she had no intention of doing, and so she remained there on the roof, staring at her sleeping cousin. Taking in his injuries, she felt a hot, silent rage rising up in her, one that threatened to overtake her and send her chakra spiraling out of control. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to look away and rose from her spot. Turning to leave the village down the southern road and head for home.
Mere hours later, she'd barged past all the guards and officials surrounding her grandmother and now faced her, standing before the small old woman's desk, arms stiff at her sides. "Tell me what happened."
"To whom dear?" Her grandmother asks, flipping calmly through the papers on her desk. Danao, Biane was a small grey haired woman with golden colored eyes like her granddaughter's pale from so many days spent within her office and within their small village.
"HYUN! WHO ELSE!?"
"Have you asked his parents?" The old woman asks off handedly, her eyes not once leaving her papers.
"Of course not. Besides. They wouldn't know, would they?" Ao walked up to her grandmother and snatched the papers from her hands, planting them face down on the desk and leaning forward, keeping the woman's papers pinned beneath her own hands. "What. Happened?" She repeats firmly.
"He broke both his legs attempting to save a suicidal girl from jumping off a cliff. He fell instead." She states, finally looking up at her granddaughter and frowning. "You'd do best to stop worrying about your graduating cousin's health and more about your own health and promotions. You have a responsibility to the clan and to yourself to reverse that
mess you up and caused before I sent you
out there." Her grandmother stands, the gesture bringing her only about as tall as Ao's shoulder as the girl stood straight to face her grandmother.
"My
responsibility?" She scoffs in disgust as she glares at the woman. "Do you not care about anyone other than keeping that perfect little line of yours? Because I've got news for you, it stopped being perfect the moment Mom went missing!"
The two fall silent and just stare at eachother, each bearing little more than a cold gaze for the other. Her grandmother breaks the silence first. "Since you've seen fit to return here, your training must have progressed. So I will give you your first task in training. You were sent out because you showed signs of the Junka release. Unlock it and create your own techniques. When you've mastered it yourself, you may return again. Until then, if you return to Tea Country without my permission again, you will be exiled and wiped from the clan. Now get out."
Without words, Aonu would stare at her grandmother a moment and turn to leave. At the door, her grandmother would add. "Danao, Aonu. I want you to remember something... When I trained you at our temple to take over the duties there... Remember what I told you of the uniforms? Don't forget it." She state, throwing a book to the girl and returning to her paperwork.
Taking that as her dismissal, Ao left the village, and began her journey back to Kirigakure...
