Chapter 3
"Does the word 'smile' mean nothing to you?" Kira repeated, much to my continued boredom and disbelief that she even had to ask.
"I thought you were going to teach me how to fight, not become a smiling puppet whore," I answered, for the first time since she started asking me questions. Kira took a deep inhale of breath, causing her giant tanned chest to push slightly past the skimpy robes that she obviously had no interest in fully closing. She narrowed her bright blue eyes as she brushed tiny bangs away from her tattooed flower, just above her eyebrow.
"Listen, the only reason we are allowed to leave this village so much is because we have the name of merchants," she leaned forward, giving me full few of both tattoos just above both of her brows. I couldn't help but think they were ugly, with their green shade that obviously went well with her piercing just above her lip and another just below her lip. All of this hadn't been there the last time I had seen her prior to abandonment. I guessed she got them done while drunk, because no sane person would decorate their skin like this on purpose.
This went especially for the disguise to sell this dignified charade as a merchant, because as a person looking at her now, I wouldn't buy shit from her. Of course, a reason for that might not be her outer appearance and more of the fact that I would rather she was dead.
"No one is going to believe that someone like you, with your dead eyes, could make a single sale. I've seen dogs with more human personality than you," she continued and I tilted my head to the side at her lecture.
"I should hope so. Many dogs are capable of showing human characteristics, such as fear and joy. Not to mention most nin-canines are capable of speech."
Kira obviously didn't appreciate my informative response as she almost immediately grabbed me by the chin, her grip strong and tight, causing a tiny formation a bruise begin to mark my skin. "Smile." She ordered but I didn't speak, although, this could because her grip on my chin prevented such, but mostly it was because I had nothing to say to her continued badgering of smiles and rainbows. She roughly let go of my face and leaned away, her legs still wide open with one knee propped up with her arm resting on it while the other laid curved and flat on the ground in a very twisted and even more informal agura style of sitting. My position remained in seiza-style with me kneeling on the mat with my legs folded her my thighs with my buttocks resting on my heels.
Sitting in such a position was apparently part of my training, which she didn't have to partake.
She waited for me smile, and I slowly decided that obeying her would make both our lives easier. With our little adventure together, we learned that we obviously didn't get along; what with her being a raging, bossy, bitch among other things.
I slowly smiled, but it felt forced and no doubt look ridiculous. Kira scoffed as she drank a bit of sake from the ochoko, resting in her flat palm. It's round, cylindrical shape fit perfectly for her needs as she took another sip and spun the liquid in circles as her eyes scanned me before she slowly laughed. "I was right. Dogs do have more personality than you."
I didn't bother to correct her as my face returned to a deadpan. "Did I not expose enough teeth? Did my lips not curve to the right level or somehow look unsymmetrical."
"Too much teeth. This isn't difficult. Surely you've smiled before," Kira said with a slowly forming frown.
Not much since becoming Tsukasa, but I couldn't tell her that on the grounds that I didn't want to, so I settled with silence. I could already tell that her question was rhetoric, as she would rather hear herself speak anyway.
"This is stupid." I finally stated after a couple minutes of us staring at each other.
"It wouldn't be stupid if you didn't have the default expression of a straight line," came Kira's smooth retort, causing me to raise a single brow.
"Yes it would. I would be smiling about it, dumbass," I retorted, and she looked ready to claw my other eye out.
"What did you just call me?" Her voice turned calm, almost eerily calm tone that probably would have scared anyone who wasn't me.
"Did I stutter?"
"I am teaching you out of the kindness of my heart."
"That doesn't even exist."
She leaned black, and I vaguely heard her count to ten as I felt her Chakra spike from her fingertips. Izana Chakra usually, easily, became visible to the naked eye, so I was vaguely impressed that it wasn't now. Kira had obviously learned a bit of self-control, unlike the memory I had of her prior where she tired herself out from screaming and emitting Chakra as if it were air. Perhaps she learned her lesson of being less of an idiot, but I doubted that very much.
Kira had never been an intellectual, and usually let brawn and rage drive her over the edge.
"I'm done." I finally said once she opened her eyes, calming herself down.
"What the fuck do you mean you're done?" She snapped, and I shrugged.
"I'm bored. I want to fight. Not make gigglies and learn how to bow and fake a smile."
"Being fake is a key to living as one of us," she replied, her voice lowered in a reasonable calm. "You won't get far in this world if you don't know how to lie with your face and your words."
I slowly sat back down, and stared her in the eyes. "Teach me a Jutsu."
"You can't handle knowing a Jutsu. Not yet."
"Why?"
She stared at me, before leaning closer, her eyes blank and bored. "Mold your Chakra in a circle and release through the air."
I remembered the exercise as Misaki, so I held my palm flat without question. It was one benefit of growing through these years twice; I never needed to be told twice on how to do something. The Chakra rolled in my palm, and I found feel my skin whiten and saw the skin of my once colored wrist, turn pale as if I were dead.
"You're not ready." She said, and I broke off the ball of Chakra. "You will lose control at this rate. The Chakra will eat you from the inside before you become unable to suppress your urges."
"How do you know my urges?"
"We all have them…Izana's just have more. Learn to control your Chakra without letting it control you, and I'll teach you fighting Ninjutsu. For now, stick to the innocent type."
"There is no such thing as innocent Ninjutsu."
"Quite. But walking up a tree will be less of a strain to kill something than learning how to breath fire or whatever your elemental type is, I don't care."
"It's fire."
"Don't care."
"And water."
"That's weird."
I only shrugged and she sighed, leaning her head on the Kotetsu table. I merely watched her mild breakdown, as her obvious dislike of me grew more obvious to the point where I was watching her struggle to stay calm. If anyone, in my opinion, shouldn't like some, it should be me.
"Are you done?" I asked, watching her bang her head on the table once more. She didn't seem to like my voice as she swiftly stood up.
"Tell you what. You reach 9 meters, walking up a tree, without changing your physical appearance and I will teach whatever the fuck you want."
"Would you like me to try smiling again?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"Language." I said with a blank stare.
"Fuck you."
"You're cursing out an eight year old."
"I wouldn't have to if this eight year old wasn't a little bitch."
"I learned from the best."
She looked proud, obviously thinking I was talking about her, "I try."
"Not you."
葉 ︎葉
The moment I reached the training grounds, my eyes scanned for a tall enough tree. I found one in the clearing a little distance away and immediately walked to it. The training grounds were empty, which never was the case when I was Misaki. It was nice, finally have this one to myself as I remembered getting up early to practice, but there was always a team already using it. If my memory serves, that was usually Kakashi's team, which was my only honest reason for really disliking them.
I glanced up and measured the height before taking out a kunai and hitting the 9-meter mark. It might have been off by a couple centimeters, give or take, but I didn't worry about it on the grounds that I didn't give a fuck.
I felt Chakra sore through my body and I applied it to my feet without a moment's hesitation. I felt my eyes skin lose color, and my Chakra suffocate me, but I ignored that as I attempted to keep control of the output as I began to walk up the tree. I had never done this as Tsukasa, as the moment to climb trees had never really come up in my journey, but I knew how to mold Chakra of this level.
In theory, it should have worked, but I found that theory always made me its bitch. My Chakra didn't obey me and after half a meter, the Chakra in my feet gave out until I fell flat on my back. I didn't move, stunned that I lost control and let the Chakra slip, as before, I always prided myself in Chakra control. I had been certain that I could take this control into my next life, but it was like my own Chakra was rejected me.
I stood up, forcing my Chakra back into my feet as I walked up the tree again. I remembered that walking straight up was difficult as Misaki, as her strength had always been lacking in the athletic department. I made sure to fix that at a young age, and now I was shaping this body to be far more limber.
Flexibility and strength or Chakra control. I never thought I'd have to choose between them. This was bullshit, but I forced myself to walk up anyway. Without much progress, I fell back down.
"Ow." I muttered, and in a mere moment I was greeted with the presence of two boys, hovering over me.
"Are you alright?" The first boy asked, and he had dark, short, spikey hair while the other one was slightly shorter with longer hair in a ponytail. They both had dark eyes, but the boy with the ponytail had noticeably deep tear-troughs underneath his eyes. They rang a familiar bell with me, and I slightly mused his face in my head.
The spikey haired boy offered his hand, and I gave it a once over before I allowed him to help me up. "Fine." I answered, staring back up to the kunai that remained at the top of the tree. A scowl formed on my lips before it went back to normal.
"You fell pretty far," the spikey haired boy seemed unsure, and I wasn't surprised since I probably looked like I was five years old or something. Tsukasa's body certainly took its time to grow. I'll say that much.
"Slight concussion, probably," I answered, turning to look at both of them.
"Well, I noticed that when you were climbing, your Chakra flickered on and off," the tear-trough boy said, and I noticed he couldn't be more than 7 years old, maybe eight.
"How?" I asked, turning my body to look at both of them.
The tear-trough boy's eyes suddenly turned red, with a single black tomoe. I raised a brow, finally remembering his face, "You're Itachi Uchiha." I said without thinking, and the boys looked surprised. I slightly chided my mouth as I stared at the future criminal.
"Wow! Are we both so well known?" The spikey haired boy grinned, as if he was happy for that fact. "What's my name?"
I shrugged, and he looked visibly disappointed which I was vaguely amused at, but I didn't make that fact known. Itachi lips formed a gentle smile as he pat the slightly older boy's back.
"I'm Shisui Uchiha!" The boy's previous moment of depression immediately vanished, and was replaced by an excited, burning passion. "Don't forget it!" He pointed straight at me, and I could almost see the shadow of Itachi Uchiha's cloud above him. I imagine it must be difficult to be a friend of a prodigy. I remembered, albeit it was vague, but the girls my age had always spoke fondly of the Uchiha prodigy. I was only slightly older than Sasuke, so when I vaguely remembered him picking his brother up in the past. And then I graduated and he killed his clan. It was all very fuzzy.
I glanced away from Shisui, and controlled my Chakra into a ball.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Shisui snapped, and I didn't look at him, instead my eyes scanned Itachi.
"Is it still flickering?" I asked, and Itachi tilted his head, obviously noticing the sudden discolor of my skin, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Yes." He answered, his Sharingan deactivated a moment later and I nodded.
"That sucks." I murmured, glancing back up at the kunai, and it started to feel much farther away.
Shisui looked still, almost, physically offended at my obvious lack of recognition of his presence. I didn't make his inferiority complex my problem, so I continued to ignore his annoyance.
"You're control of Chakra is impressive for your age, but the way I see it, you have no control of how much you input, making it go from strong to weak," Itachi explained, and I was slightly impressed that someone so young could come to that conclusion by looking at it for less than a minute.
"I have the Sharingan too," Shisui whined, and I glanced his way.
"Do you want a medal? Maybe a prize?" I asked, and his lips formed a grin, obviously not affected by my insult as he placed an arm around my shoulders.
"Now you get it. Cower in my greatness," Shisui said with a grin as the force of his arm around my shoulders slightly sunk me into the ground.
"Get off." I ordered in a monotone.
"Not until I get my medal," he replied, and Itachi let out a gentle smile.
How about I shove that medal up your ass.
"How about we spar? If you beat me, I'll…" Shisui broke off, his lips pouting as he tried to think. "I'll buy you food."
"What do I get out of this?" I muttered, as I wasn't exactly looking forward to spending time with him long enough to get this supposed food.
One thing I noticed, was that neither of them made any note of the bandage over my eye. This was impressive because children were usually the first to ask.
"You get food and my presence," Shisui said with a grin.
"Shisui," Itachi warned, and Shisui's grin didn't fade.
"Worry not, Itachi, I'm just going to make her remember me." Shisui said simply, and I finally nodded.
"Fine." He immediately got into position and I noticed that his form was flawless. I had graduated in the past and knew enough Taijutsu to tell that his stance was perfect.
He was fucking eight and he already had such a head start. I didn't comment on this as I merely stood straight, almost bored and waiting for him to attack.
He also had the advantage of having two eyes, "No Sharingan." I slowly said. I could tell that Itachi was used to Shisui's attitude, and made no move to cover of his exasperated smile. From what I remembered of Itachi in the past, his smile had always been strained, but the boy next to me seemed free in a way that didn't fit my memory. As for Shisui, I only had a vague memory of him, and mostly it was of his suicide that became the gossip of the village when I turned 8. After the Uchiha massacre, gossip about the deaths became the talk of the village until I couldn't turn a fucking corner without hearing the name 'Uchiha'.
"I don't need it," he said with a grin, and after that there was no more hesitation, as Shisui's body spiraled in a swarm of leaves before disappearing. I didn't have too much time to act as he appeared behind me, and slammed his fist into my back, throwing me forward.
I always had a problem with actually being caught off guard for long, and like a cat I landed on one hand, flipping backwards until I was on my feet again. It would have been annoying if I had decided to wear my clan's more appropriate dress ware, as it never did to well in the Taijutsu factor. There were too many sleeves and too much of a drag on the material. The moment I saw what Kira had thrown in my closet, I immediately tossed it out of my room, partially because they were ugly, and partially because seeing her scowl was the highlight of my day.
I had grown sort of attached to the outfits I had gotten during my adventures, as they were practical and limber. Easy to move in and most of all, they covered my body in thin black spandex that didn't reveal my skin, but also wasn't too hot. I also never had a liking to open toed shoes during both my lives, but it was hard to get much options at my age, so eventually I settled on flexible shoe that would allow my feet to curve, but not break against rock or other sharp objects. Being the paranoid soul that I was, I made sure to get the ones that died in ribbons up my calf.
Overall, it was the flexibility of my clothes that allowed me to appear nimble in the face of adversity.
Admittedly, Shisui's Jutsu had caught me off guard, as teleportation was advanced and now I had a bruise on my lower back from his punch. But, his actions allowed for a memory of the great Shisui Uchiha to surface in my mind. I hadn't labeled him as important when I saw him, but eventually the name 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' came darting in my mind.
"Shunshin no Jutsu?" I murmured in a low tone, watching as his lips curved in a grin. I jumped back, my eyes narrowing on him as he rushed forward and his speed was impressive. It was only when he was halfway near me, that his body flickered once more.
I raised a brow, feeling his presence behind me. His fist came straight for my back, and I felt forward, flipping onto the ground and landing on my feet, spinning to face him once more. My face remained impassive long enough to see his eyes slightly narrow in surprise.
"That was impressive…" Shisui mumbled, as if he didn't like giving me credit. "Your reflexes avoided the hit at the last second…you're fast."
I saw Itachi's Sharingan activated from the corner of my eyes, and my shoulders shrugged.
"Fast enough," came my monotone response as I straightened. "Your Shunshin is good…but limited…you don't have enough Chakra to go far."
"Enough to beat you," he said with a competitive grin that caused my brows to raise as his body flickered and darted in front of me. My reflexes were better, as Taijutsu was all I worked on these last eight years, from the moment I could walk. I ducked under his fist, my body kneeling and spinning my leg under his feet, which he surprisingly jumped over and flipped behind me.
I placed my hands flat on the ground behind me, before flipping my body backwards, and twisting my body to face him before I wrapped my legs around his waist. My hands instantly wrapped around his wrist as I squeezed my legs around his waist hard enough to make him look physically winded while his back hit the ground and I sent a pulse of Chakra, strong and flickering, into his body from my hands.
His fingers twitched while his eyes widened as I all but sat on his waist.
He was slightly breathing hard, most likely from the Shunshin that took up too much of his Chakra. I hadn't broke much of a sweat, but there was a tiny flush of exhaustion on my cheeks as I jumped off him, unofficially calling it my win.
"You fight like a cat," Shisui said, still laying on the ground, stunned that he lost and I was starting to think he had been beating kids so often that he didn't take defeat so well.
"You are quick. Your punches are strong, but your body flicker Jutsu isn't ready for combat. It wears down your Chakra too much," I said, and his laugh startled her.
"I guess you were right, Itachi!" Shisui jumped up onto his feet, rubbing his wrists with a good-natured smile.
"Told you," Itachi said with a gentle smile.
"Well, you kicked my ass, so I'll accept your criticism. You're reflexes are near flawless, but your Chakra control is pretty crappy," Shisui commented, and I found myself slightly offended, especially since I had been a medical prodigy in my last life. My Chakra control had been the best in the class.
Izana Chakra was bullshit.
"It flares out in strong waves, but then it kinda feels like a tickle," Shisui said with a smile as he placed his arms down to his sides.
"A tickle?" I murmured, and it was difficult not to be annoyed, but I said nothing about it. There were times when I could control it perfectly, but most times it flared out and exhausted me. When I was younger, I figured that I would grow into it, but four years later and I am still lacking.
"But the spar was super fun!" Shisui said, scratching his head with an even larger smile. "I have to admit…I'm a little pissed that you beat me." I had a feeling that he only ever got beaten by Itachi, as my memory of the academy days were hazy, but no one ever fought like he did. I may have been excellent at Chakra control in my last lifetime, but in no ways had I been a fighter.
That was why I died last. Medics usually do.
"Well, that's 1 to 0. I'll get you next time," Shisui said, his voice nonchalant.
"Next time?" I asked, as I didn't realize I had just entered some kind of childish rivalry, but the moment I saw Shisui's smug smirk, I begun to think that he wasn't giving me a choice.
"Well, can't let the scoreboard stay this way, what would my admirers say?" He said with a smirk and Itachi turned his head, as if to hide a smile. Shisui didn't miss it. "Screw you, Itachi."
Itachi glanced his way, his face composed as he tilted his head to the side. His eyes held an almost playful edge, despite his composed face.
"So, what class you in? I've never seen you at the academy." Shisui stated, and I blinked.
"I don't go to the academy," I said simply.
"You're not gonna be a ninja?" Shisui's face held a disappointed frown and I shrugged.
"Suppose not." I said, and now that I said it out loud, the thought kind of pissed me off.
"So what? You gonna sell flowers for a living?" Shisui's voice sounded sort of offended and Itachi's lips contorted in a frown.
"Shisui." Itachi warned.
"Come on, 'Tachi, that sucks. She's obviously got potential," Shisui's voice was starting to be the one of reason, as I hadn't thought exactly about my future. I guess I had focused so much on not wanting to repeat Kunoichi classes that I hadn't really put much thought on anything. Izana weren't ninja. We were swindlers and killers and merchants.
I had no particular interest in being an assassin; despite the fact that it was illegal, I was certain the pay was good. I guess I just didn't care enough to think of my future, especially since I was annoyed at my placement in this body.
Annoyed for eight years didn't do much for my personality, or rather, lack of said personality. But Shisui was right…
What a waste of potential.
"Anyway, I promised you food." Shisui's grin was back, and I didn't show much expression to his grin.
"You never gave us your name," Itachi said, his kind voice cutting into the silence.
"Izana Tsukasa." I saw them tense at the mention of my name, but for young kids, they composed themselves so fast that I barely caught a flicker of what looked to be…
Recognition. Ah. That's right. The Uchiha clan hasn't been massacred yet, so there was nothing to shadow over the tragedy of the Izana clan.
Not to mention, how could the Uchiha not know about it. Their compound was next to ours, and they run the police force who would obviously of been at the scene. I couldn't exactly remember who showed up, Anbu or Uchiha, for I had just gotten my eye gorged out. I had neither the heart nor the resistance to pain at such a young age.
Fear was the only thing that allowed me to live that night.
And now the lack of fear kept me breathing.
Every big clan eventually lives with a stain on their name, and I suppose we have had our share. And I could see in that fleeting expression that passed over the two Uchiha prodigies, that my stain, however brief, now covered me in darkness.
Despite this, Shisui's arm suddenly went around my shoulders, making my body tense.
"Well, Tsukasa, time to make good on our deal," Shisui said, and Itachi smiled.
"A loss, is a loss," Itachi said, and his voice was free of judgment.
And because of this, I began to see these two, highly intelligent boys, in a slightly different light. Itachi's eyes were much kinder than the boy I remembered from my days in Academy, and much kinder than that Akatsuki member I had seen in the village, one lifetime ago.
"Get off me," I ordered, my eyes narrowed on Shisui's arm.
"Come on, Tsukasa, lighten up," came Shisui's retort, obviously not bothered by my tone.
Be bothered, damn it!
My brows furrowed together as he all but dragged me away from the training ground. Whether or not Itachi was following, I wasn't sure, as I wasn't able to sense his presence nor hear his steps, despite the fact that the fallen leaves of fall had covered the ground in noisy leaves.
I didn't hear him walk next to me until I physically saw him. I raised a brow as he handed me the kunai that I had thrown 9 meters up a tree. It had still been up there when Shisui had dragged me away a mere 15 seconds ago, but now, there it was in Itachi's hand.
From just this small action, a mere 7 year old managed to impress me to the point where I could actually tolerate Shisui's arm around my shoulders.
Itachi was strong…probably stronger than me, despite my head start in life and despite my intelligence. This 7 year old could probably win. My eyes met his in that moment, and for that instant, I knew that it was true.
So this was what a prodigy looked like. A true fighting genius.
My lips formed into the first expression I had shown to either of these boys. A smirk. It was weak and almost immediately disappeared.
Yes.
Maybe being a ninja wouldn't be so bad if I could fight alongside these impressive boys.
Fuck the Izana clan.
葉 ︎葉
"You want to go to academy?" Asa asked, and her voice was filled with disgust as she stared me down. I could also taste my own disgust at the thought. I had no particular loyalty to my clan, so her growing disappointment didn't mean much to me. "Why?"
I didn't see why not. It wasn't like Branch one really needed another hand. After my father slaughtered half our clan's forces, business had only gone up and their wealth actually rose.
"I want to be a Shinobi," I said, my voice conveying no emotion as she sat across from me, in a lazy and opened legged Agura position, with her legs folded in a crisscross. I stuck to the seiza position, with my butt against my heels, as I had no interest in such an unfeminine position as hers.
"Gross," the word rolled off her tongue like poison, and I could fully tell that she meant it. "No."
"Yes."
"I am your official guardian. I say no. End of story," her voice was harsh, cutting to the chase and looking at me as if I grew two heads. "In fact, get the hell out."
"No." I said simply. I knew that she was the authority of the Izana clan after our mother's death, but I didn't actually care.
She looked exasperated, as she lifted her dish of sake and rose it to her lips, as if she had lost complete interest in me. "Why? Make your case."
"Because I want to."
"The Izana clan doesn't play on wants," she said simply, her eyes darting to the side and meeting my blank gaze. "We don't play on dreams. How can you being a Shinobi benefit us? While I admit, it's an amusing anecdote, that's as far as it is. I don't fully see any benefit to you becoming a ninja. For Gods sake, Kasa."
"Tsukasa." I corrected, and she waved me off.
"Whatever, I reject. Fuck off." She said simply, and her tone made it clear that she lost complete interest.
"What if I make it into Anbu?" I asked, my voice dropping and her eye twitched as she slowly met my gaze again.
"They don't let Izana into Anbu black ops."
"I have been gone, away from the compound, for years. I am barely considered an Izana anymore," I replied, and she leaned forward, raising her right leg and resting her arm on her knee. "I can renounce the clan. It happens often enough in many small clans around Konoha. I have no attachments and I can enter the academy under no official obligations to you."
"You thought about this quite a bit."
"For an entire five minutes," I answered honestly and she suddenly laughed.
"This village has never fully liked us, but we bring in a lot of commerce from foreign lands. We make up much of Konoha's income," Asa stated, but her voice was cold. "But lately, it's felt like we've been under surveillance. It's quite annoying, but you think you can get into Anbu."
"If I am strong enough. I am sure I can."
"What's in it for you?"
"Amusement. Shits and giggles to be honest."
"I admit, you aren't the weakest in our clan, but I don't think you have what it takes to get away from our oppression. Lately, the security of the Izana compound has felt more tightly guarded. It seems they think we are into illegal business." She scoffed, as if it were stupid, even though we were always in the business that went against Konoha's laws. "If you make it to the higher ups, I want information."
"Whatever you want."
"But if you can't get strong in that amount of time, I'll kill you myself for shaming me."
I felt my lips perk into a slightly sadistic smirk. "Whatever you want." I've died once. Maybe next time death will reincarnate me into Asa's body as some kind of sick joke again. The idea almost made me want to smile.
"You'll be starting the academy late, Kasa," came her voice, and I didn't bother correcting my name this time on the grounds of fuck her. "You think you can graduate in the next upcoming test?"
I've done it before. What more can they teach me that I didn't already know?