“Damn it, where could that guy be?” Reina wondered.

Just a while ago, a worried sister had posted a mission regarding the mentality of her older brother. He had up and told her that he would be leaving Kirigakure, all because he was unsure that he would be able to properly protect her. It was stupid, in a way, because he would be in an even worse position to protect his sister if he was out of the village, where he would barely keep an eye on her, not to mention the various hunter nin Kiri would no doubt send after his head. Did he really think he could watch over her from the afterlife?

No, Reina was not going to let it happen. She was going to stop the man from leaving Kiri if it was the last thing she did. She would try negotiating him and maybe some therapy, but if all that didn't work, she was ready to get down and dirty. Okay, maybe that was phrased wrong, but she would be ready to fight to her last breath. She had heard this Kiya Satoha was strong – a Chunin, in fact – and she doubted her abilities to take him down, but she figured all she needed was to show him how strong a Kiri ninja could be.

She leapt from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the city. Her precious eyes scanned the village below, focus jumping from one person to the next to see anyone who fit the description of the coward who was going to run away from everything all because he thought he wasn't strong enough.

Reina's eyes narrowed at that. No matter how weak one was, they should never run from their past nor their future. It was a life journey to continue topping those challenges the universe threw at you, and it was merely an unstated law that a challenge would always come after the last, each exponentially harder to overcome.

Finally, she spotted someone who fit the description just outside Kiri's walls. He had a backpack slung on one shoulder and she highly doubted that he was going out on a mission, as had been the excuse he had given his sister after convincing her his departure from the village would not take place within the following month. Honestly, he should've been able to come up with a better excuse than that! Even a newborn would've guessed he was leaving.

She gave a strong leap and landed in front of the man.

“Hold it! You're planning to leave, aren't you?”

The man's tired eyes gave her a once over. “My sister reported me to the Mizukage, didn't she?” He gave a small chuckle. “I should've known. She's too good and pure of heart to be able to steal a cookie from the jar, much less keep something as big as this a secret. But you don't understand. I need to leave. It's the best way I can look after my sister.”

“How is leaving the village looking after your sister?” Reina asked. “You're just leaving her in Kirigakure. You can't take care of her, you can't look after her, and you sure as hell can't make sure she's safe.”

“But all I've been so far is a failure. I keep weighing her down. I know she looks up to me, but the thing is, I just can't keep being the rock that weighs her down. I love her too much to do that. And if you won't let me leave, I'll make you.”

Reina spotted the kunai in his hand, and prepared herself. Damn, she wished she had brought some kunai. Nevertheless, she stood her ground.

“Damn it, why won't you just let me leave?!” Kiya asked.

“Because you remind me of myself in some ways, and I will never picture myself running away.”

“W-What?” Kiya stammered, lowering the kunai.

“We're cowards. We want to be strong to keep the people we care about safe, somewhat. In that sense we're strong. But by running away, you're telling people exactly how weak you are, how unsuitable you are as a Kiri nin, and how little you care about your sister to let her live with the guilt of losing her brother. And when the hunter nin bring back your head, then what? What do you think she'll be feeling when she's standing at your tombstone?”

Kiya remained silent.

“How do you think she will live with the guilt of having been able to stop her brother – to stop his death – but failing to? She only told the Mizukage because she cared about you, not about Kirigakure. If you're so blind as to not see something like that, then you have no right to say you want to leave. If you're that blind, you have no right to abandon someone you have yet to see things to the end with. I'm telling you I have no confidence in fighting you, but I will do so anyway. And even if it's over my dead body, I will stop you.”

Reina put her hands in the tiger seal, waiting for Kiya's next move.

Which was dropping the kunai.

“Fine. I'll go back to the stupid village,” he said in his anger. “Never thought a Genin would've convinced me to stay. I thought a Chunin would've been sent instead, and there would be this epic battle which would end in me telling him or her to look after my sister,” he said with a chuckle.

Then, the man disappeared, and Reina fortunately sensed him in the village, for she dropped to the ground.

“If he had pushed for a fight, I think I would've just run away,” she whispered with a smile.

Word Count: 993/600