Two Years Later

Nessa sprawled on her bed and stared at the roof, tired after another long day exploring and expanding the limits of her now-familiar body. Her mid-length, wavy hair flared around her head like a golden halo, a stark contrast to the usual black or dark brown hair of her clan.

She considered her life up to now; she used to wonder if Eru would be proud of her, or if she was doing the right things, but after much introspection she decided Eru had given her this opportunity to learn and grow as a mortal, and I'll be mighty, like the great Mallorn trees or Taniquetil in Aman.

Her reverie was broken by a voice from elsewhere in the house, "Nessa! Dinner is ready when you're hungry." A smile teased across her face at the joking tone her mother took, she was always hungry. She got up and dashed into the dining room, pleased to find there was more food than usual.

"Konnichiwa papa, mama." Nessa said before she knelt on a zabuton, and reached for the whatever food was closest. Some tsukemono with rice and, ohhh egg rolls!

Mitsu sighed in exasperation but reached for some food as well. "Konnichiwa, Nessa, you're not the least bit curious why we prepared so much food?" her mother asked, and looked meaningfully into Nessa's silver eyes. When she saw that Nessa was too busy eating to reply she continued, "Well, we heard from a certain sensei of yours that you have been doing very well in your first year of the academy..." Mitsu leveled an expectant look at her daughter.

Nessa paused, chopsticks almost to her lips and beamed at her mother, "Mhmm!" She swallowed quickly and took a short drink of tea before continuing, "The first year is just the easy stuff, though. We learned the 'Shinobi Rules,' basic math and geography, and stretching. I have already figured it out, though." Nessa took another bite of her tsukemono, doing her best to fit as much in her mouth as she could.

A long moment passed before Mitsu loudly cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at Yuuma, who seemed to be paying a little more attention to the food than the conversation "Ah, yes. It's been a month. For a kunoichi, it's not uncommon to breeze through the early material. But to show such an instinctual grasp of the whole first-year curriculum..."

It's not so unusual, she thought, Finrod learned the language of Men in a matter of weeks, and he was merely an Elf. He looked towards Mitsu who nodded at him "Even though it's not currently wartime, special dispensation is given to the more prodigious students-"

"It's too early to tell for sure, mind, there's no pressure." Mitsu interrupted.

Nessa frowned at the implication, but her father continued before she could speak up in her defense. "Iruka-sensei has decided it would be prudent to allow us to continue your more mundane studies on weekends. He also recommended you be moved up to the next academy year. Your mother and I have given it a lot of thought, and believe your skill in chakra control will allow you to keep up with the year two students. Ultimately, though, we want to leave it up to you." Yuuma finished speaking and gave Nessa a significant look before his focus shifted back to the food.

"Now there's no rush—" Mitsu started.

"I can do it," Nessa said quickly, as determination shone from her eyes. "I want to be…" she paused, almost unsure how to put her innermost desire into words. "I want to be mighty. I want to protect the weak, and maybe one day I can protect you, too." Her mind drifted back to the day her desire to explore and grow became a determination to reach and surpass any limits within herself.


The sound of children crying filled the air, loud, but unable to compete with the noxious and malevolent chakra that suffused the whole of Konohagakure. Nessa tried to tune out the voices all around her, but she could feel the desperation in the air as well.

"I need an Iryō-nin over here, quickly!" a voice shouted.

"Get in line! Everyone needs help right now!" came the harried reply.

"Tenzin, stay put! Your parents will be fine, they're Shinobi of Konoha." another voice added to the bedlam

More shouting and the occasional scream of pain provided ambiance. Nessa wondered why the children were in the same area as the wounded, unsure how much of the village must be left if this was the only safe place. Her thoughts began to drift, and she wondered if Melkor had followed her to this new life of hers. Then just as suddenly as it began, it ended. The sudden lack of such horrible maleficence may as well have been an infusion of serotonin into her system and relief filled her.

The crying died down, and soon all that could be heard was the Iryō-nin and the groaning of pain from the occasional wounded Shinobi or civilian. Nessa's thoughts were fixed on her parents, and she wondered if they were okay. She considered running out when the door was opened next, but decided if her parents had made it they would come for her where they left her.

The next several hours were filled with anxiety. Though many of the children had fallen into a fitful sleep, Nessa leaned against the wall opposite the door and kept watch for her parents. Each time the door opened, her heart would begin to race, only to be disappointed that her parents hadn't arrived. I don't know how much of this I can take, she thought, I had hoped the only evil here would be people, but… If Melkor's evil has spread this far, I'll have to contend with it.

She knew she would never sit idly by and allow evil to grow, not after what happened in Middle Earth. She and the other Valar had tarried in the beginning, had sat idly by in grief after the destruction of the Two Trees. Not again. She would grow mighty and great, and if Melkor would corrupt this world he would find it more difficult than he could imagine.

Suddenly the door opened again and Nessa sprang up, there in the doorway were her parents. She immediately ran towards them, but skidded to halt when she saw that her father's silhouette was missing a leg. Tears welled up in her eyes and her mother knelt in front of her, hands falling roughly onto Nessa's shoulders.

"Your father will be alright." Nessa wasn't so sure, he looked unsteady on his fe-... foot. "He saved my life. Your papa's a hero." Mitsu wrapped her up in a hug, while Yuuma lowered himself to his knee with a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Konoha is saved, tonight, we are all heroes." His voice sounded dull, but he joined in the hug and Nessa clung fiercely to her parents, her earlier oath ringing in her head. Never again, she thought.


She was broken from her drifting thoughts by her mother folding her into a hug. "I hope you'll never have to." Mitsu said solemnly, "It's our job as your parents to keep you safe. You're still so young—"

Nessa interrupted again "I will be stronger!" She said fiercely. Her thoughts swirled, and she wasn't able to clearly articulate her desire to be a protector. A human body comes with such heady emotions.

"Ness…" Yumma started, with a glance to his wife, "Even considering the Kyuubi attack, there hasn't been any conflict in the village for over two years. And... I may be down a leg, but I will never let that stop me from keeping you safe."

A look of annoyance stole across Nessa's face as she was reminded of Oromë's fierce protectiveness, how he would march into Middle Earth alone to hunt the monsters Melkor let loose upon the children of Eru, how he wouldn't let her come. Oromë was legendary for his fury and his desire to keep his sister safe. This was her chance, though. She would do for others what her brother did for her and for Middle Earth. "I will not go too fast. I will pace myself, I promise."

Nessa was moved up to the next class level, but it was quickly discovered that her ability to absorb information and learn new taijutsu techniques was unparalleled. It was not until teamwork exercises were introduced that she ran into trouble.

"It's not that you did poorly," Iruka began, "But that despite your impressive skill, you didn't adjust your strategy to include your team. You powered through the exercise as if you were alone, and that defeats the purpose, do you understand?" Iruka tried to be patient, but prodigies were always difficult to deal with. They went off on their own to handle problems that, maybe they could solve alone, but were almost always more efficient with a team.

The problem presented by children like Nessa was their intuitive grasp of things that most children would take time to learn and absorb. This problem was most starkly demonstrated with shinobi like Itachi or Kakashi, whom Nessa closely resembled in skill. A more suitable exercise to their skill level could be devised, but then they would have to be paired with older students. Iruka strongly considered having another chat with the Nara clan leader about Nessa's progress. Perhaps she would graduate in one year like Itachi.

Nessa interrupted Iruka's introspection with a huff, "If I limit myself, and my team fails the assignment, that is just as bad, is it not?" She said, "It is better if I complete the assignment and keep my team safe than if I were to be limited and let them potentially get hurt!" Her temporary team rolled their eyes at the weird girl's passion. It was just an academy assignment, not an S-rank mission.

Iruka paused to consider the words of his charge, briefly wishing she had been in Itachi's year and replied "Konoha doesn't assign solo missions for ninja under Jounin, usually. When you graduate from the academy, you will be paired with two other Genin and assigned missions in escalating difficulty. If you aren't able to work properly with your teammates, your whole squad will suffer. You don't need to limit yourself, but you do need to find a way to include whoever you're paired with in the planning process."

With those words, the class was dismissed and Nessa found she couldn't dispute what Iruka-sensei had said. As a Valië she rarely depended on the wisdom of others, and only once in the hundreds of thousands of years of her prior existence was she on a team, and that was in dealing with the most powerful of Eru's Ainur. She realized that she was still thinking in terms of being a Valië, and while she still possessed that same awareness, she was limited by her human body. To think, one of the Valar being so foolish. Manwë and Varda would be shocked.

Nessa walked home, thinking of ways she could act to augment whatever team she was on. Her thoughts wandered to the Siege of Utumno, the only real combat she had been involved in. She and Oromë had made a devastating team, his arrows struck like lightning and his spear like a falling mountain, Nessa had acted as a foil for the enemy, then. She had always been swift, so much that even Manwë and Varda could not always keep her in their sight.

When Melkor sent forth his evils, she would tary them, grouping them for the arrows or spear of Oromë, and the mighty sweeps of Tulkas' arms, ensuring more cruel constructs were destroyed together than they would have managed separately. Though she excelled in support, it was an easier role to assume under the command of Manwë and next to the might of the other Valar. In this world, she would have to be more creative.

When she arrived home, it was to her mother and father around the tea table with a man she recognized as the Nara clan leader. She paused after removing her sandals, then moved out of the genkan into the tea room. "Konichiwa Nara-sama," she said, then looked towards her mother, unsure of the situation.

"Come and sit Nessa, this is about you, after all," Mitsu said gently.

Nara Shikaku had yet to speak, so Nessa poured herself some tea and kneeled on the cushion conspicuously left open between her parents. She was not nervous–she had not done anything wrong–but she was curious, and didn't shy away from looking at the face of her clan leader while he drank his tea.

"Nessa, is it?" his gruff voice inquired. His brown eyes met her silver.

She had never heard his voice, but he sounded somehow both caring and rough. Like that Maia that Nienna had taken a shine to, Olórin, I think, I wonder how he's doing? Before her mind wandered too far she gave a quick affirmative and idly sipped at her own tea.

"I've heard from Iruku that you are excelling in class. That you could graduate in a year. And your parents say you have surprising chakra control." He paused to drink his tea and looked at Nessa, almost expectantly, though he never lost the air of being laid back.

Nessa considered her words before speaking, "If what I have heard about the rest of the academy is true, I do not think I will find a challenge in it. My only struggle is in retrieval or capture exercises with a team, but I believe I may overcome that in the right group." Her reply was a little blunt, perhaps, but Nessa did not have the mind for guile, it was not her nature. She did catch a slight grimace on her father's face, though.

If Nessa thought her clan leader showing up was strange, the next thing he said really surprised her. "In this clan, we put a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and discovery. That you have pushed yourself, despite the usual Nara attitude of... being laid back, is commendable. If you are able to skip the next academy year as well, and shore up your team play, I would like to dedicate a Nara Jounin to train you in our clan technique once a week." He said.

The fire of curiosity inside of her that had dimmed in the wake of the Kyuubi attack was stirred, and with excitement shining across her face, Nessa answered "What kind of technique? Does it require strong chakra control? Can I-"

"Nessa, slowly, we understand you're excited." Her father admonished lightly, as her mother hid a laugh behind her cup of tea.

"Of course," she said to her father, then turned to Nara Shikaku, "I would be honored." She spoke as evenly as she could, but human emotions were so much wilder than she had dealt with as a Valië, sometimes they were like coastal waters directed by Ossë. Like a tempest in spring.

Shikaku showed a brief smile before he set his now-empty cup down and stood. "Well, I expect you will continue to put forth your greatest effort. Make the Nara proud." Nessa and her family stood and bowed as he left.

Mitsu chuckled then sighed before she turned her gaze towards Nessa, who had sat back down to finish her tea, "Well. I suppose it won't be our choice after all how quickly you go through the academy." Her mother seemed wistful–like she had lost something and was not sure how to get it back.

"It's good that children of Shinobi mature at such a greater rate than civilian children," Yuuma said to Mitsu as he stood behind Nessa, "Or little Nessa would be out of her league very quickly." He ruffled her hair, the playful glare she sent his way was made less effective by her disheveled hair.

Nessa finished off her tea and leaned back against her father's legs as he and her mother continued their conversation. She reflected on her short life until now, a year in Valinor was almost 10 solar years, so she still felt as if she'd barely begun here. There was so much to see and do and see. What she'd been learning in the academy made her feel like a young Ainur again, like she had not yet chosen the nature of her powers, and the whole world was open to her.

Of course, she had chosen the forest and the wind in her hair before, she felt sure she would be specializing in something that utilized her penchant for being swift and her love of nature. Perhaps a sword, or a bow. Aulë had crafted me a beautiful arming sword and dagger, but I have not seen a combat style to utilize that here. Nessa paused her introspection when she realized her mother was looking at her expectantly, "What?" she asked.

"I asked if you were ready for bed, or at least to wind down with a book. Tomorrow is Saturday, and we have to cover your lessons early if we want to finish in time to get the training ground by the Naka river." Her mother said, before she scooped her up and carried her to her room.

Nessa sighed before she replied " Okay~." before she was dropped unceremoniously on her bed. She said goodnight to her mother before reaching for one of the books she kept by her bed, this one on chakra control exercises. If she was to try walking on a tree tomorrow she would need to make sure she knew the idea well. It was not long before she fell asleep, though, with the book resting on her chest.

The new day had barely even begun to rise before Nessa was woken, given a hearty breakfast, and subjected to the evils of general education at the hands of her parents. After two hours of demonstrating that she was still keeping up with the maths and language requirements, she was given leave to get dressed for training.

She dressed quickly, if they did not get the field by the Naka they would have to use the field behind the Inuzuka compound, and she would be distracted all day by the adorable puppies. When she met her mother by the door, they took off together through the alleys and streets that would get them to the right field.

They were not the first ones there, but the genin using the field were packing up when they arrived, so they managed to reserve it for the next four hours at least. Though no less grueling than the previous Saturday, her mother did begin teaching her to walk up trees. The concept was so foreign to her, when she heard her mother say it all she could say in return was "Huh?"

Mitsu chuckled and explained it further, "You already have great chakra control. You did the leaf sticking exercise in the first day of trying, this is just a more precise application of that. Rather than make your chakra stick to you, you're going to stick your chakra to the tree, then walk up."

She could sense Nessa's desire to know the finer details so she continued, "Collect a thin layer of chakra at the bottom of your feet, this chakra sticks to the tree and holds up your body weight. It isn't expended, or else you'll push off of the tree, it's held steady and with intent. With practice, it becomes second nature to regulate both the amount of chakra and how 'sticky' it is, for lack of a better word. It's like walking." She demonstrated by walking up the nearest tree to a branch about thirty feet up.

Nessa looked up with amazement, I get it, like how I had to modulate my energy as a Valië while I sang to create. Too much was chaotic noise, too little was simply ineffective. I think I understand. "Can I try next‽" She shouted excitedly.

Mitsu jumped down, landed softly, and nodded to Nessa. "But be very careful, and take it slow. I'll be here to catch you if you need help."

Nessa moved to the base of the tree and closed her eyes, visualizing the flow of chakra within her. When she was satisfied she had the optimal amount of chakra collected at her feet she took a large step up to the tree, her foot sticking to about her hip height–only about a foot and a half–and looked back to her mother excitedly when her foot seemed to stick. "This is so easy!"

Her mother had a hand in front of her mouth hiding a smirk, but she nodded in encouragement as Nessa moved her bottom foot up, now with both feet on the tree, she tried to take another step "–oof!" and promptly fell the small distance to the ground. Mitsu made sure she was okay before she laughed.

"Remember I mentioned regulation, that means you have to make sure you don't stick too hard and then push yourself off when you try to release. It should be natural, like walking." Mitsu said, knowing the rest of the day would be more of the same. However, once Nessa learned to regulate her chakra well enough to tree walk with ease, using jutsu efficiently would be a breeze.

During the following hours Nessa showed marked improvement; with Mitsu there to provide guidance, and Nessa's keen ability to know her chakra, she managed to walk almost to where her mother had been before falling, her own excitement getting in her way. Unfortunately, someone had reserved the field for the next hour, so her mother decided they could get some hearty lunch while they waited for the field to open back up.

As they walked to the ramen stand on the main street, Mitsu regaled Nessa with some of the more innocent stories of being a ninja. Her mother explained about the clan jutsu, and how she used it to become a capture specialist. "The shadow jutsu is complicated, you can't maintain it for long unless your reserves are superb, but in conjunction with a teammate even thirty seconds is enough to capture almost any target."

Nessa was fascinated by the idea that a shadow could be used to manipulate a person, it was so unique and useful. Varda would have excelled at that kind of jutsu, her way with light and shadow was greater than any in all of Eä. Inspired by the thought, she voiced a related thought to her mother, "How easy is it to create an artificial light source to make a shadow longer?" She had really only seen lanterns or basic lamps, nothing that would be useful in a fight.

Her mother considered the question, "That's a really good question, you're thinking like a Nara, now!" Her mother's praise made her smile, and Mitsu continued, "To answer, we don't have very many ways of creating powerful but mobile sources of light. You could use an explosive tag, but that could be dangerous given the timer."

As Nessa thought that over, Mitsu paid for their food and they began walking to the Naka river, to check on the status of the training ground. "So if I want to catch someone, I could bait them into a taijutsu battle and capture them like that?" Nessa asked.

Mitsu smiled, the thought reminding her of when she first began devising strategies for effective capture. "Not quite. Remember that in the ninja world you can never be very sure of the power level of your opponent, some are notorious enough to have bounties that detail their abilities, but for the most part, you will be going in blind. You never want to assume you're the more skilled ninja." She explained.

"In fact, the best way I've found to capture someone with my shadow is a simple shunshin. It's not chakra intensive, but it's very fast. If you show enough aptitude with learning the clan technique I'll show you my little secret to never missing a binding." Mitsu whispered conspiratorially.

The training field was in view, and it appeared to be empty, so while Mitsu went to reserve it for another four hours, Nessa began stretching. She was halfway through her routine before her mother came back. "Alright, we can't stay over our time, as someone has reserved it for 1700, but we can still try to make as much progress in that time as possible," Mitsu said.

"I want you to make a few attempts at walking on the surface of the water. We aren't going to spend much time on this today, as it's rather advanced, but I want you to get a feeling for the progression of chakra control and where it leads." While she was talking Mitsu had walked out onto the water of the river, when she finished, she did a back handspring, to further demonstrate the possibilities.

Nessa walked forward to the edge of the water and considered what she would have to do to make such a thing work. As a Valië it would be simple, what she willed would be with regard to her body, she could fly if she wanted. So if I want to walk on a tree, I just stick to it, but with water, there's nothing to stick to… Do I have to push myself up with chakra? I suppose I may as well just try it.

Her first step onto the water sent her sprawling backward, too much pressure, then. Her next try was more stable, and she held it to get the feel of how much chakra to expel. Her third and fourth steps found her standing on the water, though she didn't look steady. On her fifth step, she found out how the complexity of water walking compounds when there is not ground six inches down and fell on her face into the water as a result.

Mitsu began laughing in earnest after holding it in but still rushed to help Nessa up. "The difficult part of this is in adjusting the flow of chakra at your feet, you have to be able to do this on the fly, in any circumstance, from any part of your body to be considered a master at this kind of exercise." She explained while drying Nessa off.

Nessa sighed but filed that information away for the future. "Let's do the trees again, I think I can get that down today, at least." She said confidently. Mitsu raised an eyebrow at her but nodded and they moved over to the trees again.

Despite her confidence, Nessa was not quite a master at the end of the four hours, while she did manage to move up to the mark her mother had carved into the tree, the distraction of moving around branches and holding against the wind was too much, and molding her chakra at her feet was not second nature yet.

After maneuvering around the branches to the clear area, Nessa slowly walked down the tree, that is the best way to climb trees, oh Yavanna would enjoy this. Mitsu ruffled her hair when she was back on solid ground and took her hand for the walk home, "We can work on meditation when we get home. It's just as important to know your mind as it is to know your body."

When they arrived home, Mitsu went to update her husband on Nessa's progress as the girl in question kneeled in kiza in the room they had prepared for meditation. She cleared her mind and focused on the chakra within her, noting how it flowed through her like wind through a long tunnel. She did not notice when her mother sat across from her, but the smell of incense that permeated the room made her smile slightly.

If this could have been her life, without potential threats like the Kyuubi or who knew what else facing her and her family, she would have been content to have such an easy existence. Being of the Valar was easy enough, though. I'm ready for a challenge. She stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water before heading to bed. She looked forward to Monday when she would work on teamwork exercises with renewed vigor.