Haruo's mother came looking for him. Kuro got between me and him. When she came to the scene, she saw Kuro sitting on a badly bruised Haruo. She just groaned as she lifted the boy off her son. Kuro knew better than to resist. "What are you boys doing? Do you need more time training to get your energy out!? I can tell Minoru and Katsuro to increase what you need to be doing if you want." she threatened. They both were very complaint with her. "I need you to come home now. We want you to be there to see Yasu off. He's going on a long-term mission in the morning." That was interesting. Yasu was Haruo's older brother. Haruo was distraught by the news and began to tear up. His mother pulled him close. "Be a good boy and pray for his safe return. That's one way you can help him. You know he would never want to see you cry." she soothed as she pat his head. Kuro and I both felt really bad. We offered to also stay with them for the night. Yasu was packing when we got to the house. He turned to us and put a brave face on. "I never thought I'd be able to help the clan." he said.
There was a hollowness to his voice. All I could do was wish him well. Yasu and Haruo's father slapped the older brother on the back. "It's not so hard. You'll always be 3 day's away. I'll make sure that one of us goes to the city at least once a month. You'll be fine. Remember your training." he said. Both parents were really proud of him. It was clear to see. Yasu just nodded. For dinner, he was given his favorite meal. It was only when his last bite was swallowed that he began to cry. Both his mother and younger brother hugged him. His father nodded and put a firm, encouraging hand on his shoulder. "I believe in you. You are my oldest son. Yasu, Haruo might be my joy, but you are my pride." he said. That sent Haruo off and he began to cry. I felt awkward and looked at Kuro. He looked sad "Why are they crying? They should be happy." he asked. "When you get older, you will learn sometimes you only get one chance to say goodbye. A ninja goes off and walks side by side with death." Kuro looked up at the ceiling. "Like Jiro." was all he said. Jiro was the brother that had died. He got it now.
We were not able to spend the night. There was simply not enough space for all of us. What we could do was rest up at our places and meet Yasu as he was leaving the village. Meeting him on the outskirts, it really felt like a big sendoff. He was getting ready to go. He had his bag of personal things. He had some shuriken and kunai packed in there as well. His parents hugged him tightly. He then moved over to Haruo and Kuro. He ruffled their hair at the same time. "Be good. Don't forget to visit me when you can." he said with a strained smile. "You better show that guy who's boss!" Haruo wailed. Yasu nodded his head with a vacant look in the eye. "I'll do my best." he said. After that, he moved on to me. "I guess this is it?" he said in a way that made it sound like a question. "Take care of yourself. You're a braver man than I'll ever be Yasu." I said. I could not imagine this being my REAL life. I had an option to escape anything dicey I did not want to deal with or endure. I just had to stop the game. It would be all over. The NPCs could not do that. This "reality" was it for them. Dawn broke.
Yasu
