Tale of a setting sun

Chapter 25: "Floating Dead Leaves"

Mayu had never really stood out, but when she passed the exam for the Academy, her mother bought her a bag that she had been pining over for the past few monblue, fluffy ball-shaped one. 

Her big brother Izumo gave her the Look when he saw her wearing it for the first time. "Mayu... I don't know how to break this to you, but you're going to be made fun of - Mayu stuck her tongue out at him and ran to school where she found out that her brother, like always, was one hundred percent correct.

 As soon as the teacher lefthall, some of the other children gathered around her and ripped the bag off her back.

 "What is this? You call yourself a ninja?""Ha! I say it's perfect. An ugly bag for an ugly girl!"They began to throw it back and forth amongst each other, and when she grabbed for it, they threw it on the ground. Feeling bewildered and overwhelmed, amidstshe felt her eyes grow hot with tears. She had wanted to be noticed, but now she wished they would leave her alone. 

Suddenly, she felt a shadow on her face. Looking up, she saw a dark-haired boy staring down at her—Rai.Mayu knew him, of course. He was in her class, and unlike her, he had a lot of friends. His older brother Kotetsu was also Izumo's best friend. Kotetsu brought himsometimes, but the most they'd done was silently sit in opposite ends of the sandbox while their brothers talked. 

Rai scowled at her, and for a second she thought he would yell at her. He picked up her bag, and she flinched—but then, he slung it over his back.

 "Real ninja can wear anything," he told the stunned children.It was the best day of her life—the day when she made her first friend.The worst day of her life followed shortly afterwards.It began when Mayu found herself hiding from her brother in a shrub, right under the kitchen window.

 "Mayu!" She heard Izumo yell out, as he stormed into the kitchen.A dry leaf poked uncomfortably into her cheek, but she dared not move; Izumo was a lot older than her and a chūnin. He would find her right away if she made a sBut over the years, Mayu had gotten quite adept at avoiding detection by her brother, a fact that both pleased and infuriated him."Mother, have you seen Mayu?""What is it now?" She heard their mother laugh.Hearing her ringing laugh brought a smile to Mayu's face. 

Their mother was the nicest person in the village, and made the best cakes to boot. Her mother was bakiand the smell of the crispy apple filling made her salivate."She skipped going to the Academy today again!" Izumo complained. "It reflects badly on me that my own sister is like this, you know."

 "I'd say it's healthier for a child to be running around, having fun than to be sitting in a classroom learning how to kill people," their mother said in a mild tone.She could practically hear Izumo roll his eyes. "Oh, not this again."Their mother did not approve of Mayu attending the Academy. Though she'd never said why, Izumo had told Mayu it was because their father had died years ago inon the other hand, wanted her to at least learn the basics of defending herself.

 There had been a big fight over it, she remembered. But Izumo won in the end, andstart attending the Academy.On the bright side, Rai was there, so it wasn't so bad. But it was so boring. Mayu didn't care about learning how to set traps or throwing a shuriken with perfect prewould much rather run around the village with Rai, listening to all the merchants' stories at the market, looking at the clouds in the sky, and watching birds eat breher hands.There was a light slapping sound."No, don't eat it," their mother said.

 "What? Why not?" Izumo whined."It's not for you.""Then who? It's not someone's birthday is it?" There was a small pause. "...you don't mean you're making a cake for that thing, are you?"Mayu's ears perked up. What thing was this?Their mother said quietly, "And what if I am?""I thought..." Izumo hesitated.