Love Your Enemy

Chapter 10

            The sunshine made the rock slab in front of me sparkle and shine. I stared down at the name and read it over and over. I couldn’t imagine that she’d be very happy with me if she was still here, but perhaps she would have come to understand one day. I sighed softly, placing my paw on the black area beside her name and imprinted my paw print there. I smiled, “If you’ve seen him up there, then you must already know that it was me. I’m sure he’d have told you.”

            I paused as if to wait for her reply, “But there was a sort of justice with it. It was not just to seek vengeance for you, but for everyone who didn’t have the power or the guts to stand against him. I felt I should be the one to do what no one had done before.”

            Again, I paused, the soft breeze blowing through my fur. It was nearing noon, so I hadn’t much time left. Soon, it would be time for me to return to the village and head off to my next destination. This was my first one today however and I found that it was only fair to visit the one I had known as my ‘den mother’ for all my life even if she wasn’t living anymore. I stared at the paw print, following the lines of dirt that matched the ones on the bottom of my paw. Turning my eyes to the middle of the cemetery, I looked at the statue of fire that stood before all the graves. It had become a big part of my life recently just as it had always burning in her life. Now, I can finally remember it doing the same for me.

            “I’m doing as you planned for me though and I actually remember everything now, but he must have told you about that too.” I mused, “I’ve officially become a Hidden Leaf ninja and I’ve even got a job now, like you’ve always encouraged me to do. So far, I love everything about it.”

Far off in the distance behind me, I heard the voice of my brother calling out to me. Of course he’d be early, the one time I’d known I would be late. I shook my head, “Well, I got to go then. I’ll see you later, Ai”

I stood to my paws and gave the headstone a respectful bow before turning and sprinting back to the village. Naruto was waiting for me at the graveyard gates, watching me approach him with his regular goofy grin on his face. I rolled my eyes, shifting out of my wolf form to stand before him. As I brushed the dust off my clothes, I grinned back at him, “Yeah, yeah. I know I’m late. No need to rub it in anymore.”

He chuckled, “Ok ok! Stop wasting time though!! We should be eating ramen right now!!”

I gasped, having almost forgotten that he was taking me to the ramen shop he’d always talked about for the first time, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that! What are we waiting for then?!”

I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the village.

“Sora! You’re going the wrong way ya know!”

“Well, I wouldn’t be the one leading in the first place if you would just hurry up! Come on, move faster! There’s ramen at stake here!”

----~*~----

Humming pleasantly, I breathed in the delicious scent of the bowl of noodles sitting in front of me. Naruto hadn’t been wrong (which surprised me a lot) because no other ramen could compare to the great delicacy before me now. We’ve only been here a few minutes and I’ve already downed two bowls and on to my third.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but I think she’s actually eating quicker than you are, Naruto,” The shop owner, Ichiraku, commented, taking my empty bowl to fill it up again.

“Well, she is my sister after all,” Naruto replied gleefully before shoving another mouth full of ramen into his mouth.

“Oh, that’s right,” Ichiraku set the bowl of ramen in front of me again, “So, how do you like it here in the Leaf Village?”