Chapter 13

45 0 0
                                    

Hanabi Hinata, adviser of the Kukerata clan, swore on her life and honour to avenge the Fire tribe, as its former co-leader. She owed so much to this clan and its people. She would always cherish her friends and family that had succumbed during that dreadful night ten years ago. No matter how painful it was, she strongly believed that the remembrance of her origins helped her thrive for her goal and, in that regard, would never give it up. The woman deemed that for having an eye to the future, you must look aback onto your past. 

Nevertheless, she still wished a few of those things could be erased from her mind. She closed her glossy eyes at the recollection of a specific loathing event. 

.

Her line of thoughts suddenly got interrupted by the shout of a certain goat shifter. 

"Hanabi-san!" 

"Hm? What's wrong, Tsutomu-kun ?"

"They're on their way back!"

"Already?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, confusion and concern written all over her face.

"Actually, they didn't complete the mission..."

The woman immediately chimed into the fact that something went wrong upon hearing the news, the eventuality of failure leaving a bitter taste on her tongue. She spent years travelling around and getting in touch with many clans, convincing them to fight alongside them against the ones who wronged her and her former tribe. Alliances were born, bonds were created, sacrifices were made and burdens were shared. Lots had joined their cause, all striving in hope of taking their enemies down. 

"What? Why is that? Did something happen?"

"I don't know... I just got informed that they were coming our way..."

"Okay. Thank you. You can dispose."

The black-haired boy bowed to the woman and complied by leaving the room. 

Taking into account the countless hours reviewing the hardships they may encounter on this operation and imagining ways of overcoming each one of them, she couldn't imagine what could have enjoined them to completely abort the mission. 

However, rather than torturing her mind to find the truth behind this decision, she headed for the entrance of the village to confront the ones who were already back. At the exception of a few injured, the damage didn't seem colossal. She was about to demand some explanations when her gaze fell on a recognisable owl-shifter carrying none other that her own son, whose deplorable state left her shell-shocked. She collapsed at the sudden surge of horror rushing through her system upon witnessing the sight of her son's limp body and the red liquid coating the owlish boy's fingertips. His large white and black wings flapped the wind ferociously as he landed safely on the ground. His acute hearing and vision still on display due to the fact he was still half-transformed, he roamed his glowing yellow eyes around, scanning the area in search of a specific person until his sharp gaze landed on her. Found. He ran towards her and bent down to gently lay the ginger on the floor, before snapping his head around to shout for medical assistance.   

"Shoyo! Kotaro, what happened?"

"I don't know Hanabi-san, he spaced out a few minutes after the start of our offensive and got hit by the opponent's counter-attack. Nishinoya managed to hold them back enough time for us to retreat. When Shoyo finally came back to his senses, it was too late..."

She fell to her knees next to her unconscious boy with tears streaming her cheeks. The explanation was drowned by her overflowing train of thoughts as she only managed to catch some bribes.  

"Oh Sho..." 

.

.

.

Mumbled voices made their way into his mind, getting clearer along with the pain on his side intensifying. He could tell that his consciousness was slowly but surely recovering as he could sense more of his surroundings. In his hazy state, he tried blindly reaching for the wires attached to his arms, hating the stinging feeling they left there. Finally, he blinked against the lights, panic rising in his eyes as he became more and more lucid. 

His breath hitched and tears fell onto the fabric as the realisation of the outcome of their mission dawned on him. Nothing could compare to the ache of his heart, not even the deep gash on his side. 

It's all my fault! So many tears, sweat and blood were shed for the sake of this mission and I blew up all of their efforts. Fuck! I should've been more careful! I should've known they'd eventually get in touch in me. I just... didn't think it would be so soon... 

He put his arm over his mouth in an attempt to hush his cries and not draw the two adults' attention, but to no avail. Alarmed, the healer and his mom stopped chatting and whipped their heads in his direction, their gazes softening at the sight of the weeping boy. 

"How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Mom... I'm sorry..."

"Shh, it's okay. I'm not mad. The others aren't angry either." 

"But... I failed you... and them."

"You didn't mean to, it just happened. I'm just glad you're overall fine, sunshine"

He sighed and nuzzled in her nape, seeking the comfort of his mother. She smiled and gently stroked his hair, dispelling all her son's worries. 

After calming down, the ginger lad spoke again, his next words puzzling the woman. 

"I talked to them, mommy... I miss them so much..."

"Who?"

"Tobi, Kei and Dashi."

Her smile dropped at that but she managed to quickly mask her frightened expression. She gently grabbed his chin and guided him to face her.

"I know sweetheart, I know...".







The four tribesWhere stories live. Discover now