Mãi bên cạnh Người (Always by your side)

2. Different

Summary:

How they have met each other, and how much she used to hate him.

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...From the days when she was just a lively, always-smiling child, Aoi had never believed in legends, or myths.

Despite being just an innocent girl, yet as a child of the island of Mist, and a genius in ninjutsu, Aoi still has been rational and skeptical enough to not blindly believe that there is a person in this world who can live for a hundred years, without even eating or sleeping.

Particularly, when being seven years old, having witnessed her family parted just because she couldn't protect her mother, and her father tormented in guilt just like herself, grown-up Aoi have been more certain in her thought, yet in a much more extreme way, and gone from ignoring to having an extreme hatred of anything related to Shinto (1). To some extent, she had completely stopped putting her faith in anything she couldn't see or touch.

For Aoi, there was only one thing she could rely on: The power, of her own.

And that, all the illusions of the one who "will protect everyone", is it after all just a pathetic lie, which is exaggerated hundreds of thousands of times? An age-old genjutsu that uses real people as substitutes, perhaps, has been passed down through stories by their forebears, to keep the islanders having peaceful life at the front lines like this.

A mortal known as "Sorrow's Edge", will spend his whole life acting as an undefeated guardian, and a shield for all living beings in this dead land. . He could be a ninja of the Upper Ring, just like Aoi's father and his colleagues. But once he dies on the battlefield, someone else will inherit that name and title, and continue his career creating a legend of the immortal "Sorrow's Edge" among the natives. All of those, just to make sure the remains still have a hope, that they are always on the upper hand, and never fall. (3)

A lie that has lasted for hundreds of years, based on the blood and blood of countless brave people, only to have generations to come only to sink deeper into it, becoming weak and gullible?

She would rather die than get caught up in that vortex, letting it corrupt and bring more tragedies into her life.

Aoi once lost everything, because deep inside, she relied on someone, on the strength of those around her. At any rate, she would never make that mistake again.

So, throughout her childhood, she craved power and had almost no real relationship at all, partly due to the vast difference in beliefs within her.

Yinya may be her father, but they haven't have a chance to return to those peaceful days since that day.

Airi can be an irreplaceable spiritual support, but she can't be a real motivation for her to move forward.

That ridiculously strong po-face could turn into a walking sandbag, a shuriken-traing targer that's never broken, a big brother... well, forget it. But after all, when Aoi defeats him one day, like so many others who have fallen at her feet, his existence will also be completely forgotten, in the fire of mad will which she just made it up by herself...

*

The first time they met face-to-face, was after a battle with the abnormal Sea Beasts (3) off the north coast of the island had ended, and reinforcements arrived later than expected.

"Are you alright?"

Standing in front of Tachi that day, in the middle of the sea dyed red with blood, was not just an ordinary ninja.