Internal Reunification

Dark, rundown, and muddy – this is all Blaisa could pay attention to while walking throughout the southeastern side of the Okinaga District.  Known for being one of the poorer districts located within her beloved Village Hidden within the Leaves, the area is ridden of poverty with the occupants being left unhappy in relation to its lack of recovery.  It had been a couple months since the last time the young Sarutobi shinobi had left her home district.  After her confrontation with Souji Hyuuga, she had never truly recovered properly - feeling stuck in a sour mood filled with negativity and despair.  She could not help but reminisce the short-lived conversation they had with one another, being reminded on how closed off she was being - not just towards Souji, but the rest of society.  It was toxic.  It just didn’t feel right to her. 
 
Blaisa knew it was time for some changes.
 
Today was the day that she would change for the better, thinking to herself how she would refuse to just sit here and do nothing while all her peers around her were getting stronger.  ‘Strength’, Blaisa began to think to herself, ‘It’s all about my own, personal strength.  That is what changes nations.  That is the way to eternal peace.’.  The shinobi continued her path down the broken-down road with the objective of purchasing some cheap medicine in order to cure her soft but pounding headache.  The longer she sat around waiting for the world to fall into her lap, the worse it would be for her in the long run.  ‘I just need to ease this ignorant food pill craving, and then back to the Training Grounds I go…. I guess.”, she continued to think to herself in a sad, depressing mood. 
 
As she continued her walk, she could not help but notice an old school styled shop located on her left, operated by an elderly lady who served as the store’s shopkeeper.  Upon a closer inspection, Blaisa realized that the shop was a general goods store, which she was certain that they had to be selling the food pills she so desperately needed.  The shinobi began her approach to the storefront, peeking her head in to take a quick analyzation of the shop’s goods.  Not being able to find what she was looking for immediately, Blaisa let out a hefty sigh before beginning to turn around to look for another shop.  Before she could take a third step in the opposing direction, a loud, piercing voice began to ring in the young shinobi’s ears. 
 
“Where do you think you’re going deeeaaarry?”, the shopkeeper said directed towards Blaisa in a lighthearted, friendly tone.  Frozen in her tracks, Blaisa slowly turned her head back at the elderly woman, her face being overcome with a nervous smile filled of shyness.  Realizing that once again she was trying to avoid conversating with the same villagers she had grew up with, the shinobi began to take yet another deep breath before fully walking into the store.  “H-Hi there…”, Blaisa began to speak up, “I was just taking a quick look around your… beautiful store until I realized you probably don’t have what I’m looking f-“.  “Oh, honey”, the shopkeeper began to speak in rebuttal, cutting off Blaisa’s words, “How could you possibly find what you are looking for from all the way out there?”.  Lost of which choice of words she should speak next, Blaisa simply responded to the shopkeepers’ question with a more than obvious fake laugh, followed by her right hand extending to the back of her scalp to itch.  The shopkeeper began to get a read of Blaisa’s character, responding with a slow-motion blink while revealing a small smirk out of the corner of her mouth.  “Fuuma Uzumaki”, the shopkeeper said revealing her identity while extending her right hand out in order to exchange a handshake with the young shinobi.  Blaisa looked down at Fuuma’s hand in a hazy mixture of confusion and shock.  It had been a while since she had met anyone new, let alone get their name and receive an offer of a potential new friendship.
 
“Blaisa…. Sarutobi.”, she responded while returning the handshake.  The shinobi began to become more comfortable around Fuuma, even returning a light-hearted, real smile – something she had not done in a long while.  The Uzumaki shopkeepers’ eyes grew wide as Blaisa revealed her identity, “Ohhhh?  Sarutobi you say?”, she responded in rebuttal with a peaked curiosity – almost as if she had known exactly who the young girl was.  Fuuma kept a slight grin on her face while taking a few moments to ponder.  Blaisa could get a sense that the shopkeeper knew something – but what was it?  “Yeah!  Sarutobi!”, Blaisa spoke with an ecstatic tone, “Why?  Do you know about my clan?”.  Fuuma began to let out a cackling, ear-piercing chuckle – “Huh-ha!  Of course I do, little one…”, she began to explain before taking a look up at the dusty ceiling of her broken down store.  “I see your parents never briefed you up on your own history and upbringing.”, Fuuma continued, “The Sarutobi Clan was a proud family, serving as one of the first allies to the founders of this very village.”.   Blaisa looked back up into the shopkeeper’s eyes in curious awe, as she previously never knew – or cared about her own family’s history.  “The very founders of Konoha?  Really!”, Blaisa replied in a joyous tone.  “Indeed…”, Fuuma continued, “Hokage history shows us that many centuries ago there was a Sarutobi elected to lead the village every now and then.”. 
 
Blaisa was lost in an awe of thought, reminiscing on her missing immediate family – how proud they must have been to carry on the Sarutobi lineage.  Her face of pride soon turned in to a look of sadness and despair, thinking about where they are now as a clan – believing that she was the sole survivor.  “H-Hey Grandma….”, Blaisa began to speak up to Fuuma.  “Hmmm?”, the old shopkeeper let out as she peered back down to Blaisa’s low raised head, being able to read that she was being overcome with sadness as the young shinobi spoke.  “Have you heard…. Anything about the Sarutobis’ since the…. Slaughter?”, Blaisa finished in a low-toned, hopeless voice.  Knowing the outcome of the Kirigakure invasion and realizing the mindset that Fuuma incidentally put her in, the elderly woman slowly closed her eyes and simply shook her head horizontally.  “Oh deary,”, she began to speak, “I haven’t heard about much from anyone since that day...  But I did know of your brother, Ryuza.”, she finished while revealing yet another smile out of the corner of her mouth.  Blaisa immediately turned her head back up with an expression of complete and udder shock.  She had not heard a single soul speak of that name in years, back when everyone and thing she held dear still existed to her in this world.  “Ryuza!”, Blaisa softly exclaimed, “How do you know about my brother, Ryuza!?”. 
 
Fuuma held that smirk that she had on her face, while letting out yet another atrocious, cackled laugh.  “Well you see Blaisa…  I may be old, but people know not to cross me, because I sure know how to fight!”, she continued, “With that being said…. Ryuza was my student!”.  Taking a second to show off an emotionless expression on her face, Blaisa truly realized the words that were coming out of Fuuma’s mouth.  “WHAAAT!?!?!”, the young shinobi exclaimed with a disgustingly shocked look on her face as the following background noise was riddled with the old shopkeeper’s ear screeching laughter.  “But of course!  Surely you could believe that an old, wrinkly, no-good lady like me could train someone as strong as Ryuza!”, Fuuma rebutted, “And boy oh boy…. What a train wreck he was when I first stumbled across him and picked him up.  He was my best and brightest student”, Fuuma continued as she began to reminisce the past times that they had spent together.  “Your brother… Ryuza…”, she kept going, “Was supposed to be the next leader of this village.  At such a young age, he was a prodigy.  Everyone in the village loved him.  It feels as if…. He had outgrown me, so fast too….”.  Blaisa listened to Fuuma’s words carefully, being overcome with shock, unaware of how respected her own brother was in the village. 
 
Deciding to hold back her tears of happiness, Blaisa raised another genuine smile that overbearingly spread from cheek to cheek.  “He loved this village.”, Blaisa began to say, “To the point to where it was contagious to everyone that he surrounded himself with”.  Fuuma slowly closed her eyes, nodding her head down while sharing a similar smile as Blaisa’s on her own face.  “Mhmm”, Fuuma murmured, barely releasing a vibration from her mouth.  Blaisa’s tone and expression became a lot more serious before uttering, “That is why I will follow in his footsteps.  I will carry on the legacy that he held during his time in this world.  I have no plans on becoming a leader of this village, but I do know I need to carry his strength.  For Konoha.  The Sarutobis…”, she continued, “Liberation.  Freedom.”.  These words that Blaisa was speaking took Fuuma off guard, in a positive way.  Fuuma began to look into the young shinobis’ fierce, ominous eyes that were overflowing with determination.  A passion.  A passion that she had not seen since, well, since Ryuza.  Taken back by this realization, Fuuma was in shock as if she could see a silhouette of Ryuza form around Blaisa, almost as if she was the direct reincarnation of her own beloved student. 
 
“Hah!”, Fuuma exclaimed, swiftly bringing Blaisa’s attention back to her.  “Something tells me, that you may be the only one who can”, she began to say in a most loving, heartwarming tone.  This brought Blaisa to a chuckle followed by an overbearing smile.  “Oh – speaking of which… Grandma Fuuma….”, Blaisa said, “I was wondering if you had any food pills around here somewhere.  I was going to be on my way to train in the Training Grounds, but I have this god awful headache that’s preventing me from doing anyth-“, she finished as she was interrupted by Fuuma, “I have just the thing!  Don’t you worry.  Come with me”, Fuuma finished as she began to turn around to head towards the back area of her shop.  Blaisa was irritated that she was continuously being interrupted, but simply accepted it and began to follow Fuuma to the back. 
 
Crossing through a set of hideous tacky cloth blinds, Blaisa followed the old Uzumaki shopkeeper to be greeted with a mysteriously looking room.  Taking a hard look at the area, she had noticed it looked like an advanced hospital room that we have here in Konohagakure.  As they both approached the center of the room, Blaisa placed her hand on the rocky, stone slabbed table in which was covered in various seals and markings that she could not understand.  “What is this place?”, the young and curious Sarutobi began to ask.  “This is my medical center.”, Fuuma responded.  “You see, I have a soft spot for my fellow citizens in need, so if I notice someone needs medical attention – I simply bring them back here”.  Blaisa began to nod her head in acknowledgement as she expected nothing less from someone who trained a guy as thoughtful as her brother.  The shinobi propped herself up on the table with her legs dangling as Fuuma began to shuffle through various drawers and cabinets.  After a few moments, the old shopkeeper had found what she was looking for and began to re approach Blaisa.  “Here you go.  Eat this.  Drink this.”, Fuuma said abruptly before handing her a bottle of green liquid followed by three shiny, white pills. 
 
Quickly analyzing the medicine presented to her, Blaisa eagerly took both items and immediately downed them like she had not eaten in a week.  Almost instantly did Blaisa begin to feel better, even enjoying the taste of the medicine balls and green juice.  “Wow Fuuma”, Blaisa began to speak, “I already feel better!”.  The elderly shopkeeper let out yet another cackling laugh before saying, “But of course!  I wouldn’t give you something slow and inferior, that’s not my style!”.  Fuuma’s horrid laughter quickly came to halt as her face turned in to an expression of seriousness.  “That is why I’m going to train you.”, she began to say, “A bright shinobi like you cannot waste her time waiting for the world to fall into her hands.  You’ve felt this before, no?”.  Blaisa’s eyes grew bright with determination and returned a serious expression, ‘She can read me like a book’, the young Sarutobi thought to herself while nodding her head in agreement.  “Hmph.  Well.  I do not hear any arguing.  That is good!  You are already off to a better start than your brother!”, Fuuma exclaimed.  “We start four days from now.  I have things to prepare myself as well, you know.”, she continued.  Blaisa locked on with Fuuma’s eyes with a look of courageousness, “Right!”, she responded with excitement. 
 
After hopping off the stone slabbed table, Fuuma began to lead Blaisa back outside towards the front of her shop’s entrance.  Before officially leaving, Blaisa turned to Fuuma and ran in to her arms, giving her a great big hug that shocked Fuuma to her core.  “Oh, deary…”, she began to say in a loving tone before turning in to a more serious one, “I know where to find you.  Sarutobi District.  I am no stranger to that area…  Do not forget.  Four days.”.  Blaisa nodded her head in acknowledgement with a newly born sense of determination before turning the other way to head home. 
 
‘Wow….’, the young shinobi began to think to herself, already reminiscing about the old Uzumaki shopkeeper that she had just met, ‘Ryuza.  Mom.  Dad.  It’s beginning, and I refuse to ever let you guys down….’.


[EXIT]

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Approved.