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Description

Here is part two of an illustrated story series that I've been working on for months now and I'm seriously determined to get it finished. It's twenty chapters long so wish me luck! :'D I'm so exhausted but I have a need to get this story out there. I'm not sure if I should update with new chapters on a weekly basis (we'll see what I can handle)

I guess I should also note that the art of the first chapter needs to be updated since I have changed a few things but the written part is still fine. Mainly Hotaka's age for this arc which he was like 16 in my first version, but I decided to up his age to 21 since it would be more relevant to the current rendition of the story. *shrugs* bare with me people!

part one: CH. 1 - It's Been a Long Time...

CHAPTER TWO

The old boat rocked back and forth as it crashed through the ice that thickly coated the coast of the Land of Snow. I sat tucked away against the inner rails, my arms crossed tightly across my chest as I struggled to keep myself sitting up straight. With each movement of the boat, a jolting pain seared through my body. It was enough to make me cringe but the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to myself. This was something I could handle, but for how long, I had no idea. If I could just pull through long enough to get back home, then I would finally be able to relax.
"Hey there Boy... You're not looking too good. I don't need you keeling over on me. You sure you don't want to turn back?" The captain of the boat asked, glancing at me every so often with concern. This bothered me tremendously; I hated when strangers showed any pity towards me. It’s not like it was any of his business anyways. My head lifted slightly as he stepped closer to me, his cane clacking against the wooden deck. The captain was an older man, grayed out from years of traveling between the Land of Snow and the Land of Mist.
"I'm fine." I stated firmly, hoping the man would drop the subject. He was quiet for a moment before speaking up again.
"Well, the name's Shota if you need anything." He said as he rubbed his beard. "By the way, that man back at the shore seemed awfully worried about you leaving. You look a lot like him. Any relation?"
My eyes narrowed as I glared harshly at Shota.
"No." I stated lowly. Shota let out a sigh and then started chuckling to my surprise. Nothing I said was funny but he continued to smile. It almost reminded me of something my brother, Masaki would do.
"Not much for conversation, huh? It's alright; just curious to see a young man like you with that color of hair. I won't bother ya with questions anymore." Shota said as he drew his attention back to the steering wheel of the boat. Settling back down, I tried to focus on the details of my mission. If I could distract myself thinking about other things, then it would hopefully dull the aches in my body. My hand slid into my jacket and pulled out a paper, looking at it and noting the details once more. It contained the address and the name of the bank owner I was supposed to meet with. The man went by the name, Mr.Yokota and I had actually met with him several times before. It was relatively standard for me to make deliveries to him for the past few years.

For once, I couldn't wait until this particular mission was over with. A couple of days off would be something I actually welcomed with how exhausted I’d become. My body was spent and I had little energy to spare. Yet, my determination pushed me forward and I had to keep going. The Land of Snow and the Land of Mist were not too far away from each other, luckily. Around four to five hours when traveling by water. With the peace following the Fourth Great Ninja War, our lands were engaging in more trades and business negotiations. The Land of Snow's technology was far more advanced than the other countries and we had much to offer the world. However, I was wanted in the Land of Mist... for crimes that should have sent anyone else to prison. In fact, I probably should have been put to death but I was spared. The only reason I was allowed to even set foot on their territory was because of a treaty made between my mother and the fifth Mizukage, Mei. It required me to offer my services to make up for what I did. And since I had a long way to go to pay off my debt, I was always eager to take as many jobs as I could. Especially the easy jobs like this.
We soon breached the last layer of ice and moved out into steady waters, allowing me to recover from the rough traveling conditions. Even the clouds overhead began to break up and the sun peeked through for a short time. The warmth was pleasant and for a moment I was able to close my eyes and rest. I had to keep reminding myself that the mission would be over soon. The memory of my dad's worried face kept creeping into my mind, along with the feeling of guilt. Kakashi really did seem genuinely worried about me... and he did travel all the way from Konoha to see me. Yet, I left him alone on the shore.
I rubbed my face as I let out a groan. Why did I have to have these feelings right now? I should have just stayed like he wanted. It might have actually been nice to have the family all together for the first time in a long time. With Kakashi becoming the Hokage, and my brother taking up the archaeology job, my mom and I almost never saw them. Not to mention I was always out on missions. It never occurred to me just how lonely my mom might have been in the castle. Sure, she had my aunt to keep her company, but I knew Mom missed all of us. As the boat moved slower now, I drifted off to sleep while lost in my thoughts.
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"Won't be much longer now! I can see the shore." Shota called out, snapping me into awareness. "Got your traveling papers with you, Boy? We'll need them as we dock. You know how those Hidden Mist ninjas are."
"Yes, thank you." I said, pushing myself up to my feet. "Will you be able to wait for me for about an hour? The building I'm supposed to find isn't too far away from here and I'd like to return home right away. I'll pay you extra if necessary."
"Sure, I can wait! Take your time." Shota said with a grin. I nodded and thanked him once more before we arrived at the dock, only to immediately be intercepted by two Hidden Mist ninja who felt it necessary to block my path.
"You've got some nerve showing up here alone. You know we’re allowed to kill you on sight Kazahana Hotaka. Especially if you don’t have a good reason for being here.”

I sighed and handed them my travel documents. “Relax will you? I’m just trying to do my job.” I said, glaring at the ninja. One of them snatched the papers from my hands, quickly looking it over before shoving it back roughly into my chest.

“Hurry up… and leave.” the ninja said as he moved aside for me to pass. I looked back at him once more before continuing on my way out from the docks. They hated me and I couldn't blame them.
A thin mist hovered over the land and there were no people around the small village on the outskirts of the main city. It felt rather odd but I didn't have time to center my attention on the village. There was probably only a few hours of sunlight left so I had to be quick. All I had to do was get this scroll to the rightful owner and head back home. As I walked cautiously down the main road, I noticed a yellow light gleaming through the mist. The closer I got, the more the light began to make out the shape of a large wooden gate; the entrance to the main village.
All the buildings appeared relatively new and maintained, strange enough. It looked like they had been doing some renovations since the last time I visited. It was troubling that no one else was present and I was feeling uneasy about the situation. That is, until a young woman emerged from the mist, wearing dark clothes. My eyes narrowed as I felt my hand instinctively slide over the handle of my sword.
"Are you Kazahana Hotaka?” She asked as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I'm Yokota Kazuki's assistant."

As she came closer, I could finally make out her facial features. She had a gentle looking face, and her blue eyes seemed worried that I was reaching for my weapon. With a sigh, I dropped my arm to my side.
"Yes, sorry about that. You can never be too careful. I have the documents he requested from the Land of Snow." I said as she smiled at me... It was weird but I felt almost instantly captivated by this woman. She was beautiful.
"It's quite alright, my name is Azumi. Mr. Yokota sent me to come find you since it’s getting late and we hadn’t heard from you. He has invited you to his house at this time since the bank is now closed. Hope you don't mind!" She said, smiling once more at me. My eyes strayed away from her gaze quickly and I nodded once. It was embarrassing being late but escaping from the hospital in Yukikagure was no easy feat.
"Please, lead the way. I can't stay long." I replied, trying not to sound rude. Azumi turned as I followed her down a narrow alley between two large buildings. A slight rain began to fall, causing it to becoming considerably cooler but nothing compared to what I was used to. The mist made things seem much farther away and the fact that there was still no people around was prying at the back of my mind. Being alone out here set me on edge.
"Where is everyone?" I finally asked as Azumi glanced back at me.
"Not too many people go outdoors around here since it is always raining. Surely it's the same way in the Land of Snow, I'd imagine. I bet the cold brings everyone indoors!"
"There are always people outside where I'm from. But now that we have the generators working, we only have to live with the winter weather four months out of the year."
"Oh... That sounds very nice. I've never been that far north before." Azumi replied, looking thoughtful. "I'd love to go visit but I never have the time to take off of work. Mr. Yokota keeps me very busy. It must be an interesting life being a Ninja such as yourself. Always traveling; always seeing new things. You're a lucky guy."
I blinked in surprise. Azumi had made the life of Ninja seem so romanticized. Little did she know it wasn't as an enjoyable lifestyle as she thought; I wasn’t about to tell her that though. Instead, I remained silent. She was making me increasingly uncomfortable as I cleared my throat.
"May I ask about your hair? It's interesting that someone your age has silver coloring like that. Very similar to Konoha's current Hokage; I've seen him before when he came to visit the Mizukage. Weird, right?" Azumi asked, her tone light yet I immediately went rigid at the mention of my dad. She suddenly stopped walking and peered closer at me now. I could feel my face tighten as I tried to hold back a sharp retort.
"Yeah... Weird." I muttered, as my jaw flexed. Azumi tilted her head curiously and she let out a soft laugh.
"Did I offend you, Hotaka?"
"No! I mean- No... How much farther is Mr. Yokota's house?" I stated quickly, becoming aggravated. My mind couldn't process why this girl was making me feel so flustered. It was annoying, to say the least.
"Right up this path." She pointed as her long dress sleeve waved in the slight breeze. "We're almost there."
Azumi led me to a large house on the outskirts of the village that was dimly lit. The rain was beginning to soak my clothes and the soreness of my muscles kicked back in once more. I winced as I tried to keep my composure. As we climbed up the stairs to a porch, a familiar man greeted me reaching out and grabbing my hand to shake it. The odd thing was, Mr. Yokota held my hand much longer than normal, and tighter. Almost as if he was trying to pull me closer. I didn’t like it one bit and I almost had to force my hand away.
"So good to see you, Hotaka! It’s always a pleasure to have the nephew of Kazahana Koyuki visit; your aunt is an amazing woman! We've done quite a bit of business with her and she's helping us expand our locations. Please come inside for a moment, you must be tired from your journey."
I shot a glance over to Azumi, who smiled and nodded at me. "Uh... yes, good to see you too, Mr. Yokota. Thank you." I replied, bowing low out of respect. Though I wanted to leave immediately, I didn't have much choice but to follow the man into his home. My clothes dripped on the wooden floor and I let out a quiet curse, realizing that I was going to make a mess. Suddenly, a warm towel was draped over my head as I flinched. I turned my head quickly only to see Azumi smiling sweetly and laughing.
"Don't feel bad! We deal with rain on a daily basis here. Please dry yourself." She said.
"Thanks." I said trying to keep the full-on scowl from taking over my entire face.
"Are you hungry, Hotaka? I can have my maids make you some food right away if you'd like. Or perhaps some tea to warm you?" Mr. Yokota called out from the end of the hallway.
"I'm sorry but I can't stay long. I have to get back to the land of Snow as soon as possible." I replied as calmly as possible. I didn't want to offend this man... Or my aunt would kill me when I got back. She and my mom were always chewing me out about being more polite to our clients. Or just people in general.
"Well, would you like to rest at least for a moment? You look exhausted. You should wait until morning to leave." the banker insisted, his dark eyes peering at me through his glasses.
"I'm afraid not," I said as my eyes narrowed. The expression on his face suddenly sent me on edge as I took a step back to the exit. "Please take this so I may go."
With the scroll in hand, I reached out to give it to Mr. Yokota. He seemed disappointed but he smiled anyway and took the scroll from me. Immediate relief took over as he opened the rolled paper and verified everything was as it needed to be. Once more, I bowed low and bid him a farewell along with Azumi. Everything happened easily enough and I was thankful that it went so smoothly... Well, besides the awkwardness on my part. No harm was done, however. It was time to get back home and catch up with my family.

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Story, characters, and art (c) Sedillio

Narutoverse and Kakashi (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Description

Here is part two of an illustrated story series that I've been working on for months now and I'm seriously determined to get it finished. It's twenty chapters long so wish me luck! :'D I'm so exhausted but I have a need to get this story out there. I'm not sure if I should update with new chapters on a weekly basis (we'll see what I can handle)

I guess I should also note that the art of the first chapter needs to be updated since I have changed a few things but the written part is still fine. Mainly Hotaka's age for this arc which he was like 16 in my first version, but I decided to up his age to 21 since it would be more relevant to the current rendition of the story. *shrugs* bare with me people!

part one: CH. 1 - It's Been a Long Time...

CHAPTER TWO

The old boat rocked back and forth as it crashed through the ice that thickly coated the coast of the Land of Snow. I sat tucked away against the inner rails, my arms crossed tightly across my chest as I struggled to keep myself sitting up straight. With each movement of the boat, a jolting pain seared through my body. It was enough to make me cringe but the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to myself. This was something I could handle, but for how long, I had no idea. If I could just pull through long enough to get back home, then I would finally be able to relax.
"Hey there Boy... You're not looking too good. I don't need you keeling over on me. You sure you don't want to turn back?" The captain of the boat asked, glancing at me every so often with concern. This bothered me tremendously; I hated when strangers showed any pity towards me. It’s not like it was any of his business anyways. My head lifted slightly as he stepped closer to me, his cane clacking against the wooden deck. The captain was an older man, grayed out from years of traveling between the Land of Snow and the Land of Mist.
"I'm fine." I stated firmly, hoping the man would drop the subject. He was quiet for a moment before speaking up again.
"Well, the name's Shota if you need anything." He said as he rubbed his beard. "By the way, that man back at the shore seemed awfully worried about you leaving. You look a lot like him. Any relation?"
My eyes narrowed as I glared harshly at Shota.
"No." I stated lowly. Shota let out a sigh and then started chuckling to my surprise. Nothing I said was funny but he continued to smile. It almost reminded me of something my brother, Masaki would do.
"Not much for conversation, huh? It's alright; just curious to see a young man like you with that color of hair. I won't bother ya with questions anymore." Shota said as he drew his attention back to the steering wheel of the boat. Settling back down, I tried to focus on the details of my mission. If I could distract myself thinking about other things, then it would hopefully dull the aches in my body. My hand slid into my jacket and pulled out a paper, looking at it and noting the details once more. It contained the address and the name of the bank owner I was supposed to meet with. The man went by the name, Mr.Yokota and I had actually met with him several times before. It was relatively standard for me to make deliveries to him for the past few years.

For once, I couldn't wait until this particular mission was over with. A couple of days off would be something I actually welcomed with how exhausted I’d become. My body was spent and I had little energy to spare. Yet, my determination pushed me forward and I had to keep going. The Land of Snow and the Land of Mist were not too far away from each other, luckily. Around four to five hours when traveling by water. With the peace following the Fourth Great Ninja War, our lands were engaging in more trades and business negotiations. The Land of Snow's technology was far more advanced than the other countries and we had much to offer the world. However, I was wanted in the Land of Mist... for crimes that should have sent anyone else to prison. In fact, I probably should have been put to death but I was spared. The only reason I was allowed to even set foot on their territory was because of a treaty made between my mother and the fifth Mizukage, Mei. It required me to offer my services to make up for what I did. And since I had a long way to go to pay off my debt, I was always eager to take as many jobs as I could. Especially the easy jobs like this.
We soon breached the last layer of ice and moved out into steady waters, allowing me to recover from the rough traveling conditions. Even the clouds overhead began to break up and the sun peeked through for a short time. The warmth was pleasant and for a moment I was able to close my eyes and rest. I had to keep reminding myself that the mission would be over soon. The memory of my dad's worried face kept creeping into my mind, along with the feeling of guilt. Kakashi really did seem genuinely worried about me... and he did travel all the way from Konoha to see me. Yet, I left him alone on the shore.
I rubbed my face as I let out a groan. Why did I have to have these feelings right now? I should have just stayed like he wanted. It might have actually been nice to have the family all together for the first time in a long time. With Kakashi becoming the Hokage, and my brother taking up the archaeology job, my mom and I almost never saw them. Not to mention I was always out on missions. It never occurred to me just how lonely my mom might have been in the castle. Sure, she had my aunt to keep her company, but I knew Mom missed all of us. As the boat moved slower now, I drifted off to sleep while lost in my thoughts.
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"Won't be much longer now! I can see the shore." Shota called out, snapping me into awareness. "Got your traveling papers with you, Boy? We'll need them as we dock. You know how those Hidden Mist ninjas are."
"Yes, thank you." I said, pushing myself up to my feet. "Will you be able to wait for me for about an hour? The building I'm supposed to find isn't too far away from here and I'd like to return home right away. I'll pay you extra if necessary."
"Sure, I can wait! Take your time." Shota said with a grin. I nodded and thanked him once more before we arrived at the dock, only to immediately be intercepted by two Hidden Mist ninja who felt it necessary to block my path.
"You've got some nerve showing up here alone. You know we’re allowed to kill you on sight Kazahana Hotaka. Especially if you don’t have a good reason for being here.”

I sighed and handed them my travel documents. “Relax will you? I’m just trying to do my job.” I said, glaring at the ninja. One of them snatched the papers from my hands, quickly looking it over before shoving it back roughly into my chest.

“Hurry up… and leave.” the ninja said as he moved aside for me to pass. I looked back at him once more before continuing on my way out from the docks. They hated me and I couldn't blame them.
A thin mist hovered over the land and there were no people around the small village on the outskirts of the main city. It felt rather odd but I didn't have time to center my attention on the village. There was probably only a few hours of sunlight left so I had to be quick. All I had to do was get this scroll to the rightful owner and head back home. As I walked cautiously down the main road, I noticed a yellow light gleaming through the mist. The closer I got, the more the light began to make out the shape of a large wooden gate; the entrance to the main village.
All the buildings appeared relatively new and maintained, strange enough. It looked like they had been doing some renovations since the last time I visited. It was troubling that no one else was present and I was feeling uneasy about the situation. That is, until a young woman emerged from the mist, wearing dark clothes. My eyes narrowed as I felt my hand instinctively slide over the handle of my sword.
"Are you Kazahana Hotaka?” She asked as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I'm Yokota Kazuki's assistant."

As she came closer, I could finally make out her facial features. She had a gentle looking face, and her blue eyes seemed worried that I was reaching for my weapon. With a sigh, I dropped my arm to my side.
"Yes, sorry about that. You can never be too careful. I have the documents he requested from the Land of Snow." I said as she smiled at me... It was weird but I felt almost instantly captivated by this woman. She was beautiful.
"It's quite alright, my name is Azumi. Mr. Yokota sent me to come find you since it’s getting late and we hadn’t heard from you. He has invited you to his house at this time since the bank is now closed. Hope you don't mind!" She said, smiling once more at me. My eyes strayed away from her gaze quickly and I nodded once. It was embarrassing being late but escaping from the hospital in Yukikagure was no easy feat.
"Please, lead the way. I can't stay long." I replied, trying not to sound rude. Azumi turned as I followed her down a narrow alley between two large buildings. A slight rain began to fall, causing it to becoming considerably cooler but nothing compared to what I was used to. The mist made things seem much farther away and the fact that there was still no people around was prying at the back of my mind. Being alone out here set me on edge.
"Where is everyone?" I finally asked as Azumi glanced back at me.
"Not too many people go outdoors around here since it is always raining. Surely it's the same way in the Land of Snow, I'd imagine. I bet the cold brings everyone indoors!"
"There are always people outside where I'm from. But now that we have the generators working, we only have to live with the winter weather four months out of the year."
"Oh... That sounds very nice. I've never been that far north before." Azumi replied, looking thoughtful. "I'd love to go visit but I never have the time to take off of work. Mr. Yokota keeps me very busy. It must be an interesting life being a Ninja such as yourself. Always traveling; always seeing new things. You're a lucky guy."
I blinked in surprise. Azumi had made the life of Ninja seem so romanticized. Little did she know it wasn't as an enjoyable lifestyle as she thought; I wasn’t about to tell her that though. Instead, I remained silent. She was making me increasingly uncomfortable as I cleared my throat.
"May I ask about your hair? It's interesting that someone your age has silver coloring like that. Very similar to Konoha's current Hokage; I've seen him before when he came to visit the Mizukage. Weird, right?" Azumi asked, her tone light yet I immediately went rigid at the mention of my dad. She suddenly stopped walking and peered closer at me now. I could feel my face tighten as I tried to hold back a sharp retort.
"Yeah... Weird." I muttered, as my jaw flexed. Azumi tilted her head curiously and she let out a soft laugh.
"Did I offend you, Hotaka?"
"No! I mean- No... How much farther is Mr. Yokota's house?" I stated quickly, becoming aggravated. My mind couldn't process why this girl was making me feel so flustered. It was annoying, to say the least.
"Right up this path." She pointed as her long dress sleeve waved in the slight breeze. "We're almost there."
Azumi led me to a large house on the outskirts of the village that was dimly lit. The rain was beginning to soak my clothes and the soreness of my muscles kicked back in once more. I winced as I tried to keep my composure. As we climbed up the stairs to a porch, a familiar man greeted me reaching out and grabbing my hand to shake it. The odd thing was, Mr. Yokota held my hand much longer than normal, and tighter. Almost as if he was trying to pull me closer. I didn’t like it one bit and I almost had to force my hand away.
"So good to see you, Hotaka! It’s always a pleasure to have the nephew of Kazahana Koyuki visit; your aunt is an amazing woman! We've done quite a bit of business with her and she's helping us expand our locations. Please come inside for a moment, you must be tired from your journey."
I shot a glance over to Azumi, who smiled and nodded at me. "Uh... yes, good to see you too, Mr. Yokota. Thank you." I replied, bowing low out of respect. Though I wanted to leave immediately, I didn't have much choice but to follow the man into his home. My clothes dripped on the wooden floor and I let out a quiet curse, realizing that I was going to make a mess. Suddenly, a warm towel was draped over my head as I flinched. I turned my head quickly only to see Azumi smiling sweetly and laughing.
"Don't feel bad! We deal with rain on a daily basis here. Please dry yourself." She said.
"Thanks." I said trying to keep the full-on scowl from taking over my entire face.
"Are you hungry, Hotaka? I can have my maids make you some food right away if you'd like. Or perhaps some tea to warm you?" Mr. Yokota called out from the end of the hallway.
"I'm sorry but I can't stay long. I have to get back to the land of Snow as soon as possible." I replied as calmly as possible. I didn't want to offend this man... Or my aunt would kill me when I got back. She and my mom were always chewing me out about being more polite to our clients. Or just people in general.
"Well, would you like to rest at least for a moment? You look exhausted. You should wait until morning to leave." the banker insisted, his dark eyes peering at me through his glasses.
"I'm afraid not," I said as my eyes narrowed. The expression on his face suddenly sent me on edge as I took a step back to the exit. "Please take this so I may go."
With the scroll in hand, I reached out to give it to Mr. Yokota. He seemed disappointed but he smiled anyway and took the scroll from me. Immediate relief took over as he opened the rolled paper and verified everything was as it needed to be. Once more, I bowed low and bid him a farewell along with Azumi. Everything happened easily enough and I was thankful that it went so smoothly... Well, besides the awkwardness on my part. No harm was done, however. It was time to get back home and catch up with my family.

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Story, characters, and art (c) Sedillio

Narutoverse and Kakashi (c) Masashi Kishimoto