Chapter 18A: Caught

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Leave it to me. That's all Sasuke said. Soon after that, Naga hugged both of us tight as we bid Grandma Ai and her family farewell.

Before we left, Grandma Ai gave us old pictures of her son to help us identify him. Sayumi asked me to hold on to a bulky letter she wrote for her father just in case we find him while Noa shook her head and just told us to accept our fate.

The chances of Sasuke and I finding Junichi are indeed slim. Only a fool wouldn't admit that finding a man who's supposed to be dead is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. But if there's a slight chance that the enchantment can to broken then I'll take the risk. The fact that I'm perpetually linked to Sasuke is just plain unacceptable -- not only to me but to my family and Kumogakure.

My reputation's already in jeopardy after I've been framed. To clear my name and restore my reputation, is one of the reasons why I ran away from home. But if anyone else finds out about the Soulbound enchantment and Sasuke then my social image will be utterly destroyed. I doubt I would ever recover from that.

Stop it.

This is not the time to think of that. I have to focus on finding Grandma Ai's son. Nothing else matters -- not even my goal of proving my innocence. Breaking the enchantment takes first priority. Even if right now, I'm not entirely certain how Sasuke and I can do it. Hell, I'm not even sure where I am at the moment. All I can see are powder-colored, cotton clouds beneath my feet and the cerulean sky above. Sasuke's standing about three meters away from me as this purple thing -- that we're inside of -- glides through the air. It's similar to the armored chakra barrier I've seen last night but this one seems to have sprouted wings and legs. Susanoo. That's what Sasuke calls it when I asked him. After that, he grew silent.

This poncho-wearing weirdo barely speaks. Most times, he just makes that strange hn sound as a response to my questions. And if I do manage to get a word out of him, his replies are often terse and brief. He answers with a yes or a no when there is so much more that he needs to say. I don't feel up to the task of being particularly chummy myself -- especially with a guy like him. But still, we need to get on the same page about how we have to approach this. We have to get along. Having the Soulbound enchantment is hard enough and now I have to deal with such a taciturn and reticent man.

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