Dim light illuminates the room. It's been several hours since the sun left the horizon. The quivering light paints the opposing faces in a faint orange. The people facing each other keep quiet – none of them wants to disturb the peace that settled some time ago. The male sighs before finally addressing the matter at hand, "Emiko, today's afternoon you said a few things I would like to correct. First of all, I too believe that you can only achieve your full potential if you aim to protect. This concept I'd apply to family and clan. I don't know if you'd include the healer that saved your life into this concept and if I'm honest – I don't care. However, I do have to argue with your vision of peace. If there is something I'm undeniably sure of, it is the fact this world won't ever find peace. There is no way our clan will ever be able to forgive the horrendous crimes committed against us by the Uchiha-clan and its allies. It's not only the Uchiha-clan that wronged us, but several other minor clans too. The Uchiha-clan is simply our strongest opponent. They do not know any qualm. They kill our children without second thoughts and we act accordingly. Even if we do stop killing children the Uchiha won't stop and we give a new generation of potential strong enemies a chance to kill us in the future. There is no way that I'll ever forgive their crimes." Butsuma pulls his hands into fist while grasping his trousers.
Emiko looked at her husband sadly. She knew that he fell into the circle of hatred, she did as well for her sake. Looking at Butsuma she sensed his own personal history behind his harsh words. Silently she contemplated about asking his history and listening to his whole point of view before giving him an overview of her point. There is always the possibility that he is more willing to listen to her if he knows that she is aware of his past. Upon deciding that she'll try to ask him about his past she looks back into his eyes.
Silently she asks him, "I'd like to tell to shove it but I know that there is a reason behind your way of thinking. Without any knowledge of your past it's hard for me to understand your reasoning. Would you share your past with me so that I can understand your point of view better? I don't want to tell you my opinion without knowing your past. I myself have lost many in the past but I'd like to know your history first..." Butsuma thinks about her request for a few seconds. His past is something he'd like to never ever think about again. His wife's request brings out memories full of pain ... He gulps down the lump that built inside his throat. Once again he gives his wife a critical eye before sighing.
"Alright, I'll tell you a few things, but you'll have to share your own stories with me", he tells her almost whispering, "When I was still a kid I had four siblings – three brothers and a sister. My brothers were older while my sister was younger. I did love them dearly. We were inseparable. We brothers took care of our little sister. Her smile was akin to a sunrise." Butsuma takes a short pause. He can still see her smiling at him. He remembers his brothers and himself running after her and taking care of her every need and doing everything to make her smile. While he lingers with his own thoughts, Emiko observes him carefully. His face doesn't betray any emotions except for his eyes. They shine in nostalgia of the lost happiness. He was like her.
After another few seconds he coughs awkwardly before continuing his tale, "I could have gone on like this forever. We were taking care of each other. Laughing and playing with each other. We nearly forgot about the dangers of our time by being with each other. However, we were reminded of it again when the Hagoromo-clan attacked our compound directly. We were playing hide and seek when the alarm went off. We didn't even realize what had happened until invading shinobi had already put a kunai through our little sisters throat. My brothers and I were saved by some of our kinsmen, but by then my oldest brother had already taken a lot of damage to protect us. None of us had been on missions until then. We were still too young to fight, but not to die – you're never too young to die in war."
