Fan Fiction ❯ Little Flower ❯ Endlessly Stubborn ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Little Flower

Author: Chisha

Category: General

Warnings: This fic contains an original character, created by the author herself cause she's such a pathetic person. If you do not like possible pairings with this character, do not read any further and press that cute little Back button on your browser. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except Kohana. The rest of the characters is owned by Tecmo. (Too bad…)

Author's Note: I'm warning you that this chapter might not make sense. I just felt like I had to place Kohana in a doubtful position for a while, and I need to get Ayane's attitude towards her across. Also: I suck at making up titles. The next chapter will be better, I promise. :)

Chapter 3 - Endlessly Stubborn

'Kohana.'

Kohana looked behind her and shook the water out of her hair. It was Ayane, sitting on a rock at the side of the small stream Kohana had almost dumped herself in during a shadow spar, accidentally. Just her luck.

'Ayane-san.' Kohana ran a hand through her hair, getting the wet strands out of her face to try and look a bit less idiotic than she suspected she did by now.

'Hayate-sama seems to have given you some time off.'

'Well… Sort of.'

Ayane nodded amused. 'It's all just a lie in the meanwhile.'

Kohana looked at her surprised. 'What is a lie?'

'Hayate-sama's friendliness. I overheard him saying that there's no progress, and that he was wrong in taking you with him.'

'What… You mean… He thinks I'm a nuisance?'

Ayane nodded. 'Sorry to have to tell you this, but I thought you'd want to know that he's actually lying to you.'

She couldn't believe it. He didn't believe in her at all? He didn't think she could become a good ninja? Then why in the blue blazes was he teaching her? That swine! But according to Ayane here it had all been a lie? Quickly, she got up. 'How could he!'

'I know, I'd never have thought anything like that of him,' Ayane said, shaking her head in disappointment.

'Well, I'll tell him exactly what I think of that!' Grumbling to herself, she stomped off, back to the clan village.

The door was rudely shoved open and Kohana stomped in, interrupting Hayate and Hayabusa's conversation. They both looked at her with a frown. She didn't care how important whatever they were talking about was. Pigs like them didn't deserve privacy.

'Something wrong, Kohana?' Hayate asked her with that emotionless voice of his. 'You look upset.'

'If I'm upset! How could you do that?' she exclaimed to him.

Hayate frowned some more. 'Do what?'

'You know what I'm talking about,' she continued. 'How could you just act as if nothing was going on and then… now it appears to all be a lie? I've heard, Hayate-sama, I've heard what you think!'

Hayate didn't seem to understand what she was talking about, but that could also be a trick, Kohana figured. Who knew what those ninja had up their sleeves. 'I lied to you? Dare say that again!'

'Fine, I will. You lied to me, and I cannot say I like that.'

'Have it your way. Be off now, I do not want to hear you say that again!'

Kohana shot him a deadly look, turned and walked away quickly. How could he be such an insensitive jackass? She thought those ninja had some sort of honour, but apparently he was still male. And most males were pigs, she had learned.
She sat down on her little wooden terrace, thinking things over. Was it really a good idea to come here, or had she been the naive fool she had always been?

Don't ask yourself too many questions, Kohana… She sighed and rested her elbows on her knees. This was confusing to say the least.

'Kohana, are you all right?' Hayabusa approached her slowly, but she suspected he had only come after her for some sort of moral obligation. What would he care about her?

Kohana did not answer his question, and he kept approaching her until he was right in front of her. Bothersome, but Kohana decided to answer him anyway.

'You didn't have to follow me, Ryu-san. I've heard enough.'

He ignored her polite way of using his name, obviously. Now that she was polite, they didn't bother. 'I think this is a big misunderstanding. What did he lie about?' Ah, so he was defending his friend, huh?

She looked up at him; Hayabusa looked a little surprised. Maybe he could see what she was thinking from looking at her face. She suspected he could. 'I heard he lied about his entire attitude towards me. He doesn't believe I have that "talent" after all. He thinks I'm not making any progress.'

Hayabusa frowned, even more surprised - or maybe shocked. 'That is not true at all. He really seems to believe in you, and you were there when he said you had talent, and courage. How did you come to this conclusion?' He didn't sound as if he believed it himself.

Stop defending him, you fool. Hayate couldn't be "believing" in her like that. She was obviously a burden to them all because she was too old. Yet, something in Hayabusa's strict stare made her feel a bit less confident. What a creepy stare that was.

She hesitated but a little, '… Someone told me.'

He kept giving her that look as he continued to inquire, 'Can you tell me who?'

Kohana hesitated again, biting her lower lip from annoyance with the man. 'No, I don't think I can.'

'Well, whoever it was, that person might have been lying to you instead of Hayate.'

She shook her head. 'I would be accusing someone else of lying as well. I'm not telling you.' Ayane's hostility had bugged her more than enough, and now this man was bugging her too, she wouldn't tell him.

'I understand.' The man spun on his feet and left without greeting. Of course, he was right, it was actually none of his business… Though… Wasn't Hayate his best friend? Was he already done defending him? Maybe she had proven her point to him, that he had already given up.

That evening during dinner, Hayate was completely ignoring Kohana, and obviously doing well at it too. It didn't even seem childish like it would with a child; it was an insulted kind of silence. Kohana was angry, and sometimes quickly glanced at the ninja leader, while he seemed more distant, careless. As soon as she had finished, Kohana walked off quickly, leaving the others behind. Some ninja were staring after her, wondering why she left so early; she could feel their stares in her back.

There was the normal evening training session with Hayate, but it was different, somehow. It looked normal enough, though Hayate did not speak at all, and Kohana saw no reason to break the silence. It was thick and loaded. The session ended earlier, and they both left without speaking.

Kohana went to the highest roof she could find to think things over. Roofs were the only places where no one would see her - or at least not come to bother her. She wondered if she could stand any more of this strange feeling of being an outcast that she had felt since she had accused Hayate of lying to her. Which was true. Hayate ignored her completely, and the training session had been strange; tenser than usual. For Kami's sake, he was just a person, and being an idiot too. He should relax a little, in fact. She was alone now. For the first time she noticed what that feeling was, and she wondered how anyone could stand the boredom. Grin and bear it, she guessed, and tightened her fists. The kunoichi apprentice sighed and closed her eyes, letting the wind blow softly through her hair, and she only concentrated on that feeling. It felt like the wind was stroking her hair, trying to soften her mood and blow away her anger.

The next few days were just the same for her, since no one seemed to be able to do something, and she was not planning to ask anyone for help either. She was too proud to do that. Hayate kept acting the same to her as he had in the past few days, and Kohana kept feeling angry and hurt because of her new leader being such a jerk all of a sudden.

'You should stop that and apologize to Hayate-sama.' Kohana was ripped out of her thoughts by the by now familiar voice of Ayane coming from behind her. She turned to look at the kunoichi in her dark clothing.

'What are you talking about?' She knew she sounded as annoyed as she could get, but that was only normal around Ayane, especially now.

'You're only troubling him more. He is obviously not happy with the way you accused him of lying, Kohana, it's not something you do to your leader like that when you've pledged loyalty to him,' Ayane replied in a strict manner. Of course, the rules of the clan were tight. Insolance was not tolerated very well here. Ayanes eyes seemed to want to pierce her head to imprint her way of thinking into Kohana's brains. She felt her will power being drained by that look.

'What? But… You told me he was lying… I thought…'

'Who said I was sure of what I was saying? You just ran off and accused him! That's not very fair now is it? He can't use the trouble you're causing him on top of all the things he has to do. Sending people out to kill his sister is just one of those things.'

Kohana felt defeated and confused. How could this have happened? How could she have messed up and run into a trap like this without knowing it? 'I… I just thought… Well…'

'You've really messed up, Kohana. I can't believe you're so shameful. I wouldn't even dare to show my face around here anymore if I'd done something so low.'

She sighed. Ayane-san was right. It had been low of her. But hadn't Ayane tried to get her this angry with Hayate in the first place? No, Hayate wouldn't buy that; he would believe that sister of his. Turning around, she said, 'You're right. I'm not worthy of training under him anymore.' She started to walk away, not looking back. She would think this over somewhere, a place where there was no chance of anyone interfering in her thinking.

That evil woman seemed to think she was threatening her position, and it angered the young redhead even more. She would either get out of this or run away and tell everyone about the clan, to ashame them and make Hayate look like a fool. If Ayane's plan was working, she certainly would try to do everything to bring at least her down. No one crossed Kohana, not if she could help it!

'Kohana.'

So, the fool had come after her. She didn't know where he had suddenly found the interest to talk to her - she was only his new apprentice, nothing more. Kohana quickly went through all the possibilities and reasons he could have come to her for, and the most obvious one came out: Ayane had probably gone to him with her lies and deceit again.
The baka would have to do better than trying to kick her out so soon. The wind tugged at her red hair and her clothes. She had her arms wrapped around herself and didn't move, waiting for his next attempt to talk to her. He would have to ask at least twice before she'd start caring.

'Kohana,' Hayate tried again, as if he had heard her thoughts. Her eyebrows lowered in an angry frown. What was that man up to? Was he weak enough to give in like that?

She merely nodded, not wanting to talk. He would do the talking, she would either do the forgiving or the embarrassing. Either way, she would get her way somehow.

'I was insulted, but I came to say I forgive you.'

He forgave her? Kohana gnashed her teeth. What a rude way of speaking to her. She was still not a full member of the clan, so he shouldn't be able to order her around like that.
'And do you think I can forgive you?' she retorted, realizing her anger must have been audible in her voice.
When Hayate spoke again, he sounded stricter, even tougher than before. 'You were the one making a mistake, kunoichi. You were the one accusing your commander of lying to you, responding to some rude rumours you just picked up out of nowhere. Without a reason you immediately acted and stepped out of line. Do you not think you were going a bit too far, being childish in the very least?'

'You cannot kick me out, Hayate-sama,' she fumed, enraged at the belittling way he called her 'kunoichi'. 'I will still try and have my revenge. If I can't test my rage on him, I can try it out on the clan.'

'The code would allow me to kill you, kunoichi,' was his answer.

'Who are you to judge me? You're the one that has to teach me, so teach me!' Her anger rose even more, until it was back at the point it had been for the past few days and that one evening when she had requested for him to train her. She knew her training and life were at risk this way, but she was also angered because of the trap she had walked into. It had hurt her pride, so he would pay for it.

'Teach you?'
It sounded so suspicious to her that she stopped facing the wall in front of her and turned around to look at him. 'Yes. You did promise me that much, did you not, Hayate-sama?'

'Fine, then teach you I will, kunoichi. And while I'm at it, I will teach you how to be humble as well.'

'Kunoichi,' she snorted. Could he not stop belittling her?

'It's a title,' he answered somewhat contentedly, 'and you will not be worth it unless you stop it now and let me teach you.'

Worth it? She wouldn't be worth it? Of course she would be worth it! Her uncle had been one of the greatest - retired - fighters alive! She clenched a fist at her side as she gave him a look of pretended hostility, mixed with even more pretended obedience. For all he knew, she wasn't getting her anger out on him at all. This conversation had been everything but satisfying. She could no longer be angry with him, only challenged. So she had to use that challenge to get the anger out.

And try she did. She gave it more strength than usual when trying to throw punches at him and trying to hit him with whatever else she threw at him. Jackass or no jackass, this guy would be able to take it, she was certain of it.

***

Makoto was standing in front of her, the gentle smile she had known so well on his face. He was telling her a story - one of the time when he was a young boy, pulling tricks on the people around him. But as she listened to him, she saw the dark figure of the assassin move quietly behind her. She opened her mouth to interrupt her uncle and tell him there was someone behind him, but as soon as the assassin smirked and put a finger on his lips, she lost her voice. She couldn't speak.

Makoto stopped talking. 'Kohana? Are you alright, dear?'

She froze, and tried to talk to him, to warn him, but she still couldn't. Her eyes were fixed on the assassin behind him, and Makoto lifted his hand to feel her forehead. Then he saw her look at something behind him, and turned around. Too late.

The assassin lifted up a knife with both hands, and planted it in Makoto's chest. Makoto died instantly, and the blood was everywhere. At this moment she got her voice back, and all she did was scream as the assassin jumped onto her, smacking her to the ground. Somehow she couldn't remember the right moves to defend herself against him, and she struggled to get loose as the knife approached her throat with a cold death threat. She kept struggling and screaming, and all she saw was the cold look in those creepy blue eyes…

~~~

Author's Note: My, my, ain't she a big baby? Yes, I made such a big stupid kid out of her on purpose. Spoiled brat, ne? ;)

TigerEyes: Hey neesan! You got your interaction with the other characters now - a double portion even :D

SoulFire: Wai! Nice to see you down here as well, I guess I made you happy now that I've finally given you the link, ne?

Wolf Runner: Thanks for the kind words! I know not many people appreciate "Mary Sues", but I'm making it a challenge to keep this in character, all Mary Sue elements out, and so forth. ^_^ I'm so glad you like!!!

Ah, only one Japanese word for the newbies in the language to translate:

Kunoichi: Female ninja