Hope Is BornTsyong Valley sat deep in Toshikawa, compared to most of the country this was a slightly more secluded area yet even the seclusion hadn't been protection enough against the various wars that dogged the nations history. The valley was home to a few villages and at the highest point an old fortress, it was this fortress where
Sazame Hatake found herself, the place was deserted, blown apart, bullet holes punctuated the ancient stone walls and craters from mortars dotted the ground, such a shame to do something like that to somewhere so historic. She had her close friend
Tama Saigo with her. Tama shook her head
"You'd think people would learn from history and not do stuff like this." Tama said
"When did Su Mai ever learn from history?" Sazame asked "She lost one war by being greedy and threw the second away on a mad revenge vendetta."
"True." Tama said
"Where's the temple from here?" Sazame asked
"Southern side of the valley" Tama said pointing it out "Just past that line of trees." it was at this point that the other two members of the group
Sasuke Soga and his older sister
Juhani joined them.
"Anything?" Sazame asked
"Locals say they've seen smoke coming from the temple." Sasuke said "Could be a campfire."
"Sounds like there's definitely someone up there." Tama said
"What are your odds Juhani?" Sazame asked
"I reckon Ren's over there, it's one of only a handful of places you could hide away safely that's not traditional Nekhaga turf." Juhani said "And we'd better get up there before gossip travels there."
"Agreed." Sazame said "It's your turf Juhani you lead."
It took them the best part of an hour to cover the distance to the temple, it was a very traditional building and unsurprisingly it was one left untouched by the wars, even the likes of Su Mai knew better than to anger the deeply held religious convictions of the people. Sasuke pushed the temple door open and the group of four entered, the only lighting in the temple coming from dimly lit torches on the wall.
"Interesting decor." Sazame said
"It's normally brighter than this." Sasuke said
"I'll bet it was brighter about half an hour ago." Juhani said
"Gotta say I agree with that." Sazame said "Barely lit like this it's perfect..."
"...For an ambush." Tama said
"Keep your guards up." Sazame said
Then it happened, a sudden gust of wind from one side and a sharp movement out of the corner of their eyes resulting in Sazame, Sasuke and Juhani ducking out of the way in three separate directions with the sound of clashing metal as the backdrop. The little torchlight that there was illuminated the scene Tama had locked blades with a young man around their age.
"Ren Nekhaga I presume." Tama said looking at
the man"What's it to you?" he asked
"We've been looking for you for a while." Tama said
"Who are you?" Ren asked
"I'm Tama Saigo, this is Juhani Soga, her brother Sasuke and that is Sazame Hatake." Tama said
"The girl who seeks to destroy the Samurai?" Ren asked
"No the girl who seeks to redeem them." Sazame said
"What are you doing here?" Ren asked
"Looking for you." Sazame said
"Out of concern or because of my mother?" Ren asked
"I didn't come here to kill you if that's what you're implying." Sazame said
"Then why did you come?" Ren asked
"To offer you the chance to come back with us." Juhani said
"You think you can redeem the Nekhaga name?" Ren asked "You don't know much about me."
"I don't need to." Sazame said "I know you're not your mother, I know you've done no wrong, this isn't about redeeming your clan's name. This is about you taking ownership of it. The days when war ravaged this nation we're standing in are over it's time everyone understood that."
Sazame approached Ren as Tama lowered her blade
"Come on help me build something that'll stand the test of time." Sazame said offering her hand
"If I refuse?" Ren asked
"Then we'll leave you in peace." Sazame said "But Toshikawa can't heal without all the clans coming together."
It wasn't lost on Tama, Juhani and Sasuke what this meant - Ren the son of Su Mai Nekhaga and Sazame the daughter of Kakashi Fuji, the two were the descendants of two significant opponents. So for Sazame to even offer the hand was something huge, but as Ren took it they couldn't avoid the smiles.
"Think we've got some hope now Sazame?" Tama asked
"Yes I do." Sazame said