Colliding Constellations

Chapter 12

Kara flung her legs forward, causing Kaito to quickly duck and swing his hands towards her head. She blocked and used the momentum to glide into another stroke. They landed a few feet apart and started to break into another hand-to-hand exchange, flowing in motions that spoke that they had engaged in such a way before.

Closing the distance suddenly, Kaito swung his legs under feet, and sent another quick jab to her head. Kara losing balance for only a few seconds slowly comprehended the blow coming her way.

Red orbs gleamed, and time seemed to slow in her head, analyzing every millimeter of his stroke before it could make contact.

In no more than thirty seconds, Kaito was on the floor.

Kaito groaned, "Sharingan is cheating! I almost had you."

"That makes it.." Kara rubbed her chin, mirth lining her tone, "the fifty-seventh loss? What do you have- three wins?"

"You cheat!" Kaito sputtered, "Before the sharingan it was the genjutsu, and now that there's both to deal with it's like I'm facing a paranoid jounin." This was a long going joke between them, paranoid jounin referred to war vets who were an absolute pain to deal with when they were out stealing information and records.

"Fifty-seven~" Kara sang, "Might as well try harder next time, loser."

"Forget it!" Kaito pouted, "I'm sorry my godfather doesn't tutor me, and oh- he's also the sixth Hokage."

Kara glared, "You're the one to talk, your grandmother is the fifth Hokage!"

"And your mother is like a better version of her! Without the drinking or gambling," Kaito retorted.

"Lies!" Kara exclaimed.

"Stupid!" Kaito fired back

"Idiot!" Kara yelled back.

They glared at each other intensely for a few seconds, before a smile started to spread on Kaito's lips, mirroring Kara's expression, and then with a sudden ease they began bursting out laughing.

"Imouto!!" a voice rang out, and Kara immediately swiveled her head to discover the nearing form of her sister.

"Onee-chan," she called back. Sarada swung her arms around Kara's shoulders, smiling at her sister's form. Sarada had been upset when she found out Kara awakened her sharingan before she did, but she had overcome it with the happiness she had for her younger sister who she adored.

"Mom's making dinner, we have to go home," Sarada said with a smile, "I know you and mom got into a fight so just take it easy and make sure she doesn't break anything like when I lost my phone a month ago."

"If I remember correctly, you broke it after Boruto read a page of your diary," Kaito drawled from the background. Sarada, who had dismissed his presence, swung her head in his direction.

"You," she said, as if saying his name would draw evil from the world.

If Boruto sat at the bottom of Sarada's shit list, just because he had zero impulse control and a bad habit of getting into trouble, then Kaito didn't even make it on the paper. Kaito the schemer and manipulator was as bad as it got on her books, and not to mention he poached her little sister from her arms.

"Sarada-nee!" Kaito's lips turned up, but his eyes were unsmiling.

"Ugh!" Sarada glared at him, wrapping tighter around Kara, "Don't call me that!"

"Sarada-nee~" Kaito egged her on.

Sarada lunged forward, hoping to knock the living daylights out of the brat, but was stopped by Kara who gave her admonishing look. This of course was Kaito's plan who knew that Sarada wouldn't dare touch him in the face of Kara's disappointment. Sarada sighed, walking away, but not before turning her head to flip Kaito off. He returned it in fever.

Kara wisely chose to ignore the exchange.

"Mom," Kara called.

Sakura swiveled her head to look at Kara, her eyes softening. Sakura had come especially early today, afterall being a single mother often left her to work overtime at the hospital. That and the fact she was Director of the Health Board and managed most of all of Konoha's hospitals.

Kara looked at her mother in worry, the heat of the moment had passed and now all Kara wanted was to return to the way things had been. A part of her wished she had never learned the truth, and a part of her didn't care as long as she was allowed to return to her mother's arms.

"Are you angry?" she asked hesitantly.

Sakura's eyes softened even more. "No, of course not," she replied, her gaze settled on Kara's eyes, "You are such a bright child, Kara. No matter what, I will always be here to support you, I just- I want you to be careful."

"The sharingan caused your father much pain in the past," Sakura lamented, "Regardless of what you find out about this world, Kara- You can never give up."

"Your eyes will be the death of you."

Kara's eyes shot up, her head ringing in pain.

That voice-where had she heard that voice.