78: Where Threads Lead

Patches of frost survived the afternoon sunlight by hiding within shadows of the forest on either side of the gravel trail. The stilled and quiet air, unique to the wintry season, was disturbed only by a puff of breath accompanying the sounds of a girl's sigh and her light rhythmic footfalls.

"Haaaaah..."

With a clear objective at the Uzumaki mask temple in mind, Sumika wished not to waste any time. That was, unfortunately, proving more of a challenge than expected.

If considering things strictly in terms of speed and time, then dashing out through the treetops which filled Konoha's outskirts would get her to her destination the quickest, substantially more so than following the outer roads. Hence this was her immediate inclination.

However, upon further thought, she tempered her eagerness out of a respect for circumstance.

The most immediate of which being her clothes, for Sumika still wore the heavier and softer robes that Tsunade had insisted she change back into after the events of this morning. The only other addition to her outfit was the armband bearing Uzushio's sigil, which she was instructed to wear whenever outside the Senju compound. Yet... the multiple layers, clear colors, and wide cloth belt she wore were all easily dirtied or damaged. So Sumika, reluctant as ever to treat such fine clothes so callously, elected to proceed at a measured trot instead of a hurried dash.

As well, there was something to be said for familiarizing herself with the nearby terrain, which was much easier to do when observing at a more moderate rate of speed. And observe Sumika did, mentally matching paths and landmarks along the way with the directions on the maps she'd been provided.

Not that there were too many of those on this particular route, since there was practically nothing of note between the far side of the private Senju Estates and the Uzumaki mask temple out in the farthest of Konoha's hilly outskirts. There were only a few restricted training grounds, some agricultural fields, and large swathes of natural forest. Still, Sumika attempted to memorize such things in the hope that she wouldn't need a map to take the same route again.

It also helped that these paths seemed seldom traveled at best, so there was no one else to worry about or avoid. Indeed, out here in the backwoods Konoha seemed a much more bearable place, not at all overwhelming like it had been when she first arrived here. It was silent and isolated enough that she'd likely be fine even without her earmuffs, but the presence of Tsunade's gift around her ears offered reassurance nonetheless.

Plus, despite the sizeable distance listed on the maps and the effort she spared to memorize her surroundings, traveling along the path at a brisk trot would not take all that much longer than if she had cut through the treetops.

Furthermore, she had thought that moving at this pace would allow her to multi-task even more, potentially leveling out to be more efficient overall!

Alas, that was where her plans ran into their greatest difficulty.

For try as she might, Sumika could not concentrate on the bundle of papers in her hands, which flapped around lightly in the wind as she trotted down the isolated forest road. Lady Mito had advised her that it would be useful to read up on a select few of the most important outline documents before heading to the temple, and Sumika acknowledged that advice, but even so it was simply proving too difficult.

Shaking her head, her eyes scanned across the same paragraphs for something like the fiftieth time, picking out words and concepts without actually registering their meaning. Something about protection, something about weak seals and fake guards, something about pretending... all pieces of a complicated explanation. But such was the level of her distraction that even reading the same sentences over and over now failed to bring comprehension.

And it was getting more than a little annoying...

Glancing up intermittently, she noted a particularly tall old evergreen tree that was listed as a landmark, indicating a need to turn onto an upcoming path which would be the final stretch towards her destination.

Sumika let out a frustrated growl, giving up on further attempts at reading and stuffing the remaining papers inside her robe with the rest of the documents she'd received. She was already nearing the temple's vicinity, so she would just have to catch up on the reading after attending to her mask's replacement.

Perhaps this was just what she got for trying to work on a head start, one apparently beyond her current capacity. But why..?

Another wave of irritating absentmindedness washed through her thoughts even now, which was the primary reason for her loss of concentration.

But this... this sense of lingering discomfort resurged periodically, leaving her simply unable to shake a feeling of unease, different from any she felt before. Rather than her fear or terror or stress from the past, this felt more like something amiss just out of sight, uncanny and subtle. Nagging instincts at the back of her mind, left over from her discussion with Lady Mito... from the questions she been asked, and the old matriarch's phrasing and reactions...

Like this, the minute sensations of her body moving flowed more and more into her awareness, welling up until there was a sort of pulse around her heart that jarred her back to reality.

Her distraction frequently switched back and forth like this between her present surroundings and this disconcerting irritation, but as she neared the upcoming corner on the path, her ears twitched - bringing her attention back to the present once more.

A distant wind carried odd sounds, high-pitched noises and grunts like 'gwak' and 'hyuk', muffled marginally by her earmuffs.

On its own this meant nothing to Sumika, but as she warily made her way down the path, she also caught fragments of speech.

"Why, you..!""Gwaaah!""You're done now-!"

These brought about a sense of recognition, stirring older memories and leading her to reach a tentative conclusion. This had to be the sounds of children playing. The squealing and shouting followed patterns she recognized, matching one of the many new experiences she'd first encountered in the marketplace of Michiko's village, far from here.

What was it that Michiko had said back then? It was one of those times when the inn matron had stopped answering and gotten really quiet.

Playing... it was 'like fighting, but not really meaning it'? Or was it... 'like fighting, but with more rules'?

Sumika furrowed her eyebrows, musing how she never really had enough time to understand that particular idea, given how preoccupied she'd been with survival. Or traveling to escape, for that matter. Or practicing to get better at traveling and surviving...Before that, well, hadn't allowed for much of anything outside the darkness of a cell, fading senses, and memories of longing.

As for that, she rather wished not to remember much of her time without freedom. Just how it had ended would do...

...

She paused in silence for a moment, alone with the sound of her beating heart as it echoed within her ears.Her heart... until another twinging pulse interrupted her recollections.Sumika shook her head, letting the thoughts pass.

Regardless, playing between children was, apparently, a strictly non-lethal activity. It wouldn't likely be an issue then, just another thing to navigate around on her way to the temple.

Rounding the corner ahead, she found herself at the base of a sprawling hill, up which the path converted into a series of wide stone staircases; these were split occasionally by terraced stone landings, stretching out the overall length of the stairs and obstructing a clear line of sight to the summit.

"Gyaa-""No, wait-!""Tch, how-?!"

Nevertheless, the noises from earlier had increased in volume, even through her earmuffs, and their direction clearly originated from one of the terraces halfway up the hill. Unfortunately that meant the quickest and least rugged route was through this commotion, but on the other hand, it might be good to see who was causing such a fuss all the way out here at the edge of the village. And to mentally mark them as people to avoid in the future.

Her cloak and robes fluttered around behind her as she swiftly bounded up the steps, taking two or three at a time. There was no sense in dallying now, after all.

Leaping up the last few steps to the first terrace landing, though, she encountered two figures standing in her path. They were children indeed, two boys, both shorter and seemingly younger than her. One with scruffy brown hair, the other with short black hair.

While Sumika was still in the air, both faced away from her, glancing nervously between themselves and the next staircase upwards, where increasingly loud sounds of playing could be heard. Upon landing, however, her sandals clacked against the cobblestones and drew their attention.

They both flinched and stumbled around to face Sumika, their jaws dropping wide before both immediately recoiled backwards, seemingly stunned silent. Though she had no idea why...

Turning around had revealed their faces, which were covered in a patchwork of bruises and bandages. Actually, their faces were so swollen that she might have a hard time recognizing them if they healed. Their clothes, too, were nondescript, but showed signs of scrapes and patches.

Before anything else, Sumika took a wide step towards them, continuing to scrutinize the pair intensely. Both flinched back again. Which was... unhelpful.

The black-haired one began to tremble and turned to his fellow, his wavering voice stuttering out,

"A-anodder one?! Y-yer seein' dis, r-right?"

His tone was unruly and crude through swollen cheeks, so much so that it was hard to even make out his words. Sumika's gaze reflexively snapped to focus on him. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, as well she slowly pulled her earmuffs down around her neck to hear better.

For some reason, this resulted in the boy letting out a squeal akin to 'Hiiee' while falling onto his butt. His brown-haired partner backed away towards the woods on either side of the path, before letting out a slurred yell of his own,

"D-dis is more than I signed up for, y-yer on yer own!"

Sumika watched as he fled, rather slowly to be honest, and dove into the treeline. The rustling of branches and snapping of sticks revealed his steady retreat into the woods.

Bemused at what she witnessed, a silence persisted, broken only by the continued grunts and squawks of more children up ahead.

Well... the kids were out of her way and the path was clear now, and the main commotion seemed to be just up ahead still, so there was not much reason to linger here.

Striding quickly and deliberately up the path, her eyes continued scanning the remaining fallen boy as she passed. When she arrived right up next to him, she tilted her head and lowered her eyebrows, leaning slightly closer to try and get a feel for how his face would look without being all swollen up.

Problem was, he just shuddered harder and foamed at the mouth, falling over backwards. Sumika wondered what that was about, but it was kind of gross to look at, so she hurriedly ascended the next few staircases.

Her previous encounter quickly faded from mind, however, as reaching the next stairway landing revealed a scene beyond any that she had expected, flooding her senses with vigilance.

Dozens of children somewhere around her age filled the wide squarish section of pathway, most all of them boys sprawled out and groaning on the ground in a roughly circular area. Sumika scanned over them all, noting some still standing, some unconscious, and most all bruised or injured in some way...

The faces she could see though, their eyes... they showed hostility, fear... six or so of the ones still standing, especially. A few even wore Konoha's Hitai-ate1Forehead Protector, standard attire of shinobi, marking them as shinobi.If this was 'playing', then Sumika gathered the impression that it might be something to take more seriously.

Yes... if this was 'playing', then it was much closer to 'battle' than Sumika anticipated. But, all of these children, it seemed they were all...

...all centered around one person. Against one person?  Indeed, one other person stood in the center of it all - that was who drew Sumika's eyes the most, causing her to gasp a sharp breath inward at the sight:

A girl of striking resemblance, a swirl of fiery red hair flowing around her shoulders, standing atop a pile of unconscious children. Her sandal ground into the stomach of a boy under her foot, one arm gripping the collar of his shirt, her eyes aflame with the rush of combat and an indignant fury. She wore a cropped white-and-red robe of a style similar to the Yamakuni's priest robes, but torn and scraped in several places.

Sumika froze, a flurry of instinctive emotions suddenly twisting up in her heart. Her eyes widened again as the girl before her let out a ferocious roar,

"I thought-"

A meaty thunk echoed as her fist slammed into the boy's face.

"- we'd settled this-"

Her bruised and scraped fist swung back, scattering droplets of blood through the air all around.

"- BEFORE!"

A final punch launched the unfortunate boy a few meters forward, where he landed nearly in front of Sumika's feet.

Sumika however ignored him, her vision focusing solely on the victorious girl, who was hunching over with one arm tensed and cradling her waist. She could see the girl panting heavily and her jaw grit with resolve, soon after stumbling a few steps up to the top of the pile of bodies.

The image burned itself into Sumika's mind, captivating her attention and leaving her stunned2A similar image, for reference: (I shamelessly yoinked this from the internet, but made some edits. I could not find the original artist). Several immediate reactions blazed in her mind, but they all overlapped and blended together in confusion, leaving her frozen up in a stiffened defensive stance.

She found herself dazed by a rush of sentiment and inexpressible feelings. A flame of familiarity flared once more, causing her to clench a hand over her heart. With this wave she felt something akin to a urge, not something for herself, but on behalf this person before her eyes. All previous trains of thought vanished.

Sumika's field of focus narrowed, concentrating fully on that figure stood atop a pile of defeated foes:

Her labored breaths, her wildly fluttering hair, her eyes reflecting feelings Sumika knew too well, ones that had chiseled their way into her very core.

In the face of hostility, threats surrounding her, this familiar stranger persisted with an inner strength that fought them all off. With her bare hands...That child, like a shadow of Sumika's own past self, resisted and struggled through it all. An overpowering sense of affinity flooded Sumika, for so much did it remind her of her own feelings, of her own experiences being pushed and pushed to the brink of... something! Something that made her snap.

Sumika stumbled through these jumbled thoughts, watching as the wearied girl raised her head defiantly to the sky, hunched torso thrusting forward as her arms flung wide, bellowing out a challenge,

"Come on, is that all you've got?!" the girl gasped heavily, squinting her eyes and yelling out even louder towards the heavens, "Thirty against one, and that's all you've got?!"

Though the girl's triumphant challenge echoed around the broad stone pathway, Sumika's unobstructed ears detected her wincing in pain as well. Hearing that nearly-concealed expression of anguish, a strangled feeling rose in Sumika's throat and a needle-like sensation flashed down spine. Her own heart twinged at the sights and sounds of this girl's faintly pained breaths. As if it was her own pain.

Sumika felt her thoughts implode with these feelings... of relation and... affinity and empathy. She wasn't expecting this. And so suddenly, too.She hadn't thought anyone else could have brought out this, this intensity of a response from within her heart.It was... it was...

"-!!!-"

In the gap left by these fragmentary moments, the sounds of incoherent shouts returned to her ears, her vision refocusing to see the six boys who could still stand charging towards the lone, familiar girl.

The girl in question scanned her oncoming foes, before seemingly noticing Sumika's presence behind them for the first time.Seeing each other's faces clearly, Sumika watched as a look of sheer surprise and confusion came over the familiar stranger's expression.

"Huh?! You're...?" The shock was apparent in her whispered voice, which softened into a hoarse and tired confusion. With this change, so too did the the girl's domineering pose falter slightly, her arms still outstretched, but wavering hesitantly. A pleading, questioning look shone in her eyes, heedless of the six foes still charging towards her.

Sumika could not even formulate words to respond.

This girl before her, standing defiant and alone, in Sumika's eyes seemed to cut a more vulnerable and lonely figure.

A pressing need to act flooded Sumika, but her thoughts were disjointed. The sense of conflicting decisions intensified within her the longer she stared. Her priorities lay in disarray. Her decision-making ability faltered.

The whole scene seemed to slow down before Sumika's eyes and consume her entire focus, something immense urging her from the depths of her heart and the back of her mind. In a similar way to her unease from before, it came from a place of instinct, from unspoken words on the tip of her tongue.

What even were words?

Her arms twitched forward towards the familiar red-haired stranger, as if recognizing a behavior and responding subconsciously where her mind had completely blanked.

Sumika seized upon that momentary fragment of instinctive clarity. Something about all of this, combined with that girl's posture, gesturing with arms wide and head held high. Hadn't Sumika seen that beckoning gesture before? Wait.... wasn't that, Tsunade said it had meant..?A plea, a request, an invitation......And then it was just too much.

Something clicked in Sumika's mind, the beginning of realization that would require thousands of words to even attempt explain.

That strange and profound inkling of an urge mulling around in Sumika's heart suddenly condensed into something overpowering. At the sight of that beckoning gesture, of that familiar young girl with a gaze softened, questioning, and confused, this irresistible urge propelled Sumika into an action. An impulse her thoughts entirely failed to keep up with.

Sumika darted forward, her rapid movement evidently further startling the figure in her focus, the girl whose face again warped with nascent signs of surprise, glints of confusion and recognition simultaneously flashing in her expression.

But Sumika could barely register these observations as her body moved almost with a will of its own, kicking up dust as she flickered right up to the girl and-

And...

And..?

Sumika blinked, finding her arms tightly enclosed around the other redhead, pressing them together. The feeling of breath tickling at her neck mixed with a sense of warmth passing between them. Being this close revealed a slight gap in their height, allowing Sumika to spot the Uzumaki Clan emblem stitched into the back collar of her... of her kinsman's robe.

And for a second, it felt as if she were looking at a reflection of her younger self, leaning to support her. The same kind of support that Sumika's own heart had cried out for and never received... until she wrested another chance from fate... until her chains had saved her.

Again time seemed as if it had halted.

What was this? These feelings of yearning, of relation? She was so close, so so close to articulating it.

Yet in the next moment, her senses signaled incoming danger. Six kids playing at being shinobi were still charging towards the embracing pair, moving pathetically slow in Sumika's eyes. With brandished fists, did they still intend to 'play'? Couldn't they see she and her clan relative were busy now?

But they had already succeeded in interrupting her very important, very personal realization.

Sumika found herself feeling... annoyed.

Then, glancing down at the weary girl pressed against her chest, that feeling heated into anger.

Not for herself, but on behalf of another.That was new...