Fire style: Burning Love Jutsu

Chapter 38: A Return Home

"Hi. Welcome to Kumogakure." Said a small cheery voice. "Thank you!" Azamuku said. We kept our heads low and walked on until we got to a building. "We'll hide out in here." She said. "Oh my god." I heard. Azamuku turned around quickly and grabbed the person, covering their mouth and hiding inside the building. "Shut up." She said to the male. "Is it really you, Aza?" He said. "Atsui. I am not supposed to be here. If word gets out that I'm here, it'll by my family all over again. You keep your mouth shut or I will literally kill you and add another blood stain to these walls." She threatened.

He gulped and nodded. I looked around after she spoke and noticed the deep red staind on the walls and floor. This can't be.... "Get out and remember. Keep your mouth shut." She said, pushing the guy to the back of the house where a door was left open. He walked outside and quickly ran away. "Azamuku... Is this..." I began. "Yes..." She said, looking around. "It's the only place still standing and vacant. As much as I don't want to be here, it'll keep us out of the weather this village endures." She said walking to a closed door in the house.

She forced it open, pushing it to the side. I walked around, looking at what was left of the pictures. I turned around to find she had gone into the room. "Hey, mama." She said, softly. "I know you wanted me to grow up. Well look at me now." She said. I peeked into the room to find her kneeling next to the bed and gripping the messy blankets in her hands. "It's wasn't the best path to take... But I'm stronger than ever. Maybe even stronger than you and Daddy." She said. "I found Gaara again, Mama. He's Kazekage of Sunagakure, now. You should see him." She continued. "He's really something. All three of them are." She said with a small laugh. She moved her foot, kicking broken glass and a frame. "Hm?" She picked it up, only to see her mother and father in the picture.

"Mama... I have a boyfriend, now. His name is Sasuke Uchiha. I know you and Daddy always told me to stay away from guys that were dark and mysterious... But he's different. He's someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. I promise he's treating me well. Always protecting me. He believed in me even when I didn't. If you were here, Mama, you'd love him." She said to the photo. Tears filled her eyes as she hugged the photo. "I really miss you, Mama. I have to go now. I will tell you more tomorrow. I love you, Mama. And please tell Daddy I miss him too. Bye, Mama." She said, setting the picture on the end table and pulling her knees to her chest.

"That's her, huh?" I asked, walking into the room. Her head laid on her arms as she crossed them over her knees. "Yeah. That's Aniko." She said. "I see where you got your looks from. She was a beautiful woman. And judging by how you speak of her, she was very strong too." I said. "She had to be. She was part of the elite group of this village. The croup that helped trap Hachibi. Eight tails." She said. "That was your mother?" I asked. "I've heard stories of that battle. She was an amazing woman." I said.

"She was. And I remember every detail of that day like it just happened." She said, tears falling. "Mama was fighting her hardest and I was running wherever I could to get away. Had it been anyone other than Hidan, she'd have won." She said, gripping her sleeves tight. I was cornered as Hidan had his back to me. His laugh.... Burned forever in my mind as he slaughtered her." She said.

"Then came Itachi." She continued. "I had curled up in a corner and when he hadn't killed me yet I looked up at him. His only words were 'Let her live. I need her alive.' As he shouted to the rest of the group." She said, hiding her head in her hands. "Pein tried his hardest to object but somehow Itachi convinced him." We heard from around the corner. Deidara walked into the room and knelt in front of her. "He wouldn't stop talking about why he spared you. Everyone there knew it by heart." He said.

"I'm destined to be with Sasuke. And we are destined to recreate the clan, bringing the names back to life." She said. She got up and walked over to the other side of the bed, opening the top drawer of the end table. She reached in it and pulled out a small box. "Right where she always kept it." She said, blowing the dust off it. "What is it?" I asked. She opened the lid of the box and set it down as it played music. She quietly sang along to it as Deidara and I listened. "I remember this song." He said. "It was playing that night." He continued. "In this room." He said. "Where we found you, your mom, and dad trying to get you to sleep." He said, hanging his head.

"It was my lullaby." She said. "Mama would sing to me when I couldn't sleep. In turn I'd sing it to Gaara when I stayed the nights at his house." She said. Every bit of me wanted to get her out of this house, but letting her be here kept her in touch with her family one last time. She walked out the room and down a hall where she entered a second room. "This was my room." I heard her say. I followed her to find her in the middle of the floor, playing with the fur of a stuffed rabbit toy. "Who died in here?" I asked. "My brother." She said, squeezing the rabbit. I felt her anger begin to boil as she tackled Deidara and beat on him, sobbing.

"Why!? Why did you guys do it!? They didn't have to die!" She said. Deidara let her beat on him before she slowly gave up and sat there, mounting him and crying. He sat up and hugged her, tears falling down his cheeks. "They killed my brother..." She said, sobbing. "You let them!" She almost yelled and she beat on his chest. I pulled her off of him and let him get up. "This is your fault!" She said, getting out of my hands and slamming him against the wall. It was almost as if she had reverted back to being a helpless child as she kicked him and beat on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her tight, refusing to let go as he forced back more than he was letting drip down his face. "It's all your fault." She kept repeating softly as she cried. He kept his mouth shut, knowing she was right in some way. "I think we should go." He said. "No. let her cry it out." I said. "She needs this. It's been 11 years that she's held it all in." I said. He nodded and held onto her. I got the music box from her mother's room and sat down after closing all entrances to the house. Winding it up, I set it down and took her from him, gently. She hugged me tight, her crying slowing as she listened to the music and my heart beat.