Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Become My Sister!
Waking up in a damp and silent cave, only the sound of water droplets hitting the rocky ground, accompanied by the crackling of flames from a small fire beside her, could be heard.
The flames provided Maiko with a faint glimmer of light to see the dark world around her.
Trying to get up, memories of her mother leaving her to die alone in silence flooded back to her mind.
The last words of her mother, the sight of her back before disappearing from her sight forever...
Unbeknownst to her, tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. The feeling of loneliness and sadness engulfed her like a torrent.
Abandoned, left for dead...
Maiko was lost. Curled up near the fire, the warmth providing little comfort in her existence.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice a young man had approached her to sit by the fire.
"Hey..." the young man said in as gentle a tone as he could, catching the attention of the young Kaguya.
Seeing that she remained silent without moving, looking at him, the young man continued to speak with a soft smile. "I know it may seem unsettling at first, so to start, I want you to know that I am not your enemy."
Without saying a word, Maiko's eyes, reddened by tears, unconsciously sought hope in the young man's gaze.
"My name is Akeno, I'm the one who saved you," he paused to let Maiko digest each piece of information, Akeno continued speaking. "You feel lost, and that's normal. I know what you've been through, and I also know who you are. Maiko Kaguya."
Upon hearing her name, the young girl had a brief reaction, instilling even more doubt in her mind, yet not showing it.
"I come from a place very, very far away. Farther than anything you can imagine. I've seen what you've done, the choice you've made. You chose not to kill the innocent, and I find that very respectable.
I've come to give you a second chance. A chance to become the person you want to be. Someone everyone can respect and admire."
Maiko had always wanted to make her mother and loved ones proud, but she simply didn't have the heart to do the things they expected of her.
Killing innocents, fighting, hurting her family...
"Why... I'm worthless..." Maiko murmured sadly.
Seeing Maiko's cyan eyes tremble, Akeno felt his heart tighten and moved closer to embrace her, offering her some support to her broken spirit. "Maiko, don't say that. You're certainly not worthless. You made a choice, the choice not to kill, which is very respectable, especially in this world."
Feeling Maiko's body tremble with sadness in his arms, Akeno continued. "Let me tell you that your ancestor would be very proud of you."
"My clan is a clan of killers, they've never been proud of me!" Maiko said in one breath.
Feeling Maiko's overflowing emotions, Akeno continued to hold her in his arms, trying to comfort her, offering her some support to her shattered spirit. "Today, your clan is a clan of killers, but your ancestor, the one who gave birth to the first Kaguya, was a man with a heart as big as yours. He fought to protect his own and his friends. A great man who would have surely been proud of you."
...
Hamura Otsutsuki, brother of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, possessor of the Byakugan.
While his brother, Hagoromo, gave birth to the Senju and the Uchiha, Hamura gave birth to the Hyuga. But certain indications also show that he may have given birth to another clan, one that bore the same name as his mother, with the same ability to control the bones of their bodies, the Kaguya clan.
A clan of warriors, with the same origin as the greatest clans of this world. The descendants of the Otsutsuki!
...
"Join me. I assure you that I will never ask you to kill innocents, I will never treat you as a tool, a weapon only used to shed lives.
Join me, become my sister!" Holding her shoulders firmly, Akeno looked her in the eyes. The eyes of a little girl who had seen horror far too soon. The eyes of a ten-year-old girl who had lost everything...
"You will be the most impressive member of the Kaguya clan that has ever existed, and its members will look at you with respect and reverence. You will become their role model.
I will make you their leader, and you will change the mindset of the clan from within. I promise you that."
She had been abandoned by her own mother, her clan, left for dead. She had no place to return to, and faced with Akeno's encouraging words, Maiko felt torn between this future and her past, her family.
She had always wished to help and make others proud, but unfortunately, she had never been able to pursue that path in her clan, which only cared about killing and becoming stronger.
"What do you want from me? Why me..."
Turning his gaze towards the sparks of the small fire, Akeno seemed to see beyond the flames, far into a future he envisioned. "...I too have a dream. I have always hoped to become someone, to accomplish great things. And for that dream, I need you.
I've seen who you are and I know the future of your clan and its potential.
I've been given a second chance, and I hope to give you one too. I only ask one thing of you, to become my sister, and join me in my quest to realize my dream.
By coming with me, you will leave behind this world and many things you have known. You will discover a whole new world, filled with danger and wonder. If you join me, I will make you the leader of your clan. You will stand alongside other clans that I have saved, and together, we will become legends, a family.
We will help each other and change this world."
Rising slowly, Akeno looked at Maiko again, and extending his hand, he awaited a response.
To him, Maiko was truly the ideal person to become the matriarch of the Kaguya clan. Her pure heart amidst such a clan deserved respect, and if he wanted to recruit more members from this clan, he would need someone who could change them from within. A Kaguya with a different mindset, with an unwavering moral will.
In this long silence, Maiko delved into Akeno's eyes, thinking about her future, about what she really wanted. Looking at the hand before her, she hesitated, and finally took that hand, believing in him.
"So from today, Maiko, we are now brother and sister," Akeno said with a smile that reassured Maiko in her life-changing decision.
...
As Akeno set off with Maiko through a spatial rift, further into the Fire Country in the Senju village, a high-level meeting was taking place.
Surrounding the body of a young kunoichi, the elders of the Senju clan looked at each other without saying a word.
In this heavy silence, the patriarch of the clan spoke in a grave tone. "The situation is serious. We will have to give an answer to the Uzumaki clan..." looking at the bodyguard of the young Uzumaki princess who stood in silence, his gaze lost on the body of the one he had sworn to protect, the patriarch knew that the Uzumaki clan would be furious.
Kaede Uzumaki, princess of the Uzumaki clan, the one who was supposed to deepen their alliance even further, had died on their clan's territory...
For the Senju, this matter proved to be critical, a blow to their ego and to their fraternal alliance with the Uzumaki clan.
Fortunately for them, the Uchiha attack had not been as devastating as it could have been. Due to the disappearance of the young Uzumaki princess from the Senju village, they had sent an additional hundred members to help the eastern outpost in the search.
Furthermore, the outpost had been warned to deploy its troops for the search before the attack took place, which allowed the Senju to not be disadvantaged at the beginning of the attack.
One could even say that because of the young princess's escape, the Senju clan was able to perfectly counter the Uchiha clan.
Upon the arrival of hundreds of Senju to assist in the search, the Uchiha had no choice but to flee due to their numerical disadvantage.
If it had been any other clan, the Uchiha clan could have continued to fight without any difficulty, but it was not just any clan they were fighting; it was the Senju clan. The only result if they had continued would have been total defeat.
Thus, the losses in this battle turned out to be low for both sides, which had stopped fighting very early.
Unfortunately, it had been enough to take the life of Kaede Uzumaki...
Faced with this tragic outcome, it was certain that the Uzumaki clan would become involved at a whole new level in the war between the Senju and the Uchiha.
But the Senju were going to have to find a solution to make amends...