Chapter Text
“I wish I can be as carefree as the clouds.”
A pair of light honey eyes lazily watched the clouds drifting above her. Sachiko Chage rested on the grass, her sketchbook carelessly abandoned on its own beside her. The short strands of her pixie-cut, dark brown hair was softly ruffled by the gentle afternoon wind, and the clouds cast a shade over her petite frame. She had been lounging like this for about an hour now. She was expected to be somewhere right now actually, but she really couldn’t care less. All she wanted was to live her life on her own terms – to be a painter and to travel the world, and not blindly follow orders and be bound to service she didn’t really sign up for.
It wasn’t like she hated shinobi life in general – she hated the circumstances that come with it. She hated the way the shinobi system works. She hated how people lose family members and friends just because of the greed of nations, or the egos of powerful men. But most especially, she hated being born into a shinobi clan most utilized by the nation for its abilities, and however reliable, was barely surviving.
Sachiko barely turned her head to the left, “What do you want now, nii-san?” (nii-san : older brother)
Shortly after, a young man appeared. His brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail and he had a scar across his face. “There you are, little missy. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Or rather, it seems like you have sensed me first.”
“What do you want, Iruka-nii-chan?”
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else right now? Your uncle, Izanagi-san, has been waiting for you for your training for almost an hour already.”
Sachiko didn’t move. “I’m currently enjoying watching clouds too much. Come back again when I’m done.”
Sighing, Iruka sat beside Sachiko. “Are you still not sure about being a shinobi? It’s been 5 years since you’ve been promoted a Chuunin. You should be resolved to live it fully by now.”
Sachiko looked at Iruka. Iruka was her childhood friend, with their families knowing each other even before both were born. Apart from that, they were god-siblings to one another, with Sachiko’s parents assigned as the godparents of Iruka. When Iruka’s parents died, Sachiko’s mother took him in and raised him as her own. Even though Iruka was only 5 months older than her, Sachiko has treated Iruka like the older brother she never had, and Iruka looked out for her like his very own sister.
“You know well how I feel about this.”
“Sachiko-chan, you have a responsibility to your clan and to the village. You can’t just run away from that.” Yeah, a clan with just two surviving bloodline ability users, Sachiko scoffed.
“This isn’t what I signed up for. I don’t want to live such a violent and restricted life as a shinobi. I want to live my life as a painter, study art and travel the world. I don’t even believe in how the current shinobi system works. And after dad died during the war…”
Iruka’s eyes softened at Sachiko. “I know how you feel, Sachiko. My parents were shinobi too, and both died as well while protecting the village. I know the real reason why you resent the shinobi life is because godfather – your father – died. But this is an inevitable truth for us shinobis. And we should accept that… whether we like it or not…”
Sachiko pursed her lips. After a moment of silence, Iruka stood up and smiled at her. “Well, there’s a very important meeting tomorrow with the chuunins and jounins at 1pm. Don’t be late, okay?” Iruka started heading towards the trees, away from Sachiko. “And you should really go to Izanagi-san right now,” he called out to her.
Sachiko continued to lay in the grass, her gaze still at the clouds. After sensing Iruka’s chakra fading away, she got up, grabbed her sketchbook, and started to head towards the meeting place her uncle, Izanagi, had set.