Chapter 7: Catchra
The next morning I walked into a clearing where everyone else was waiting.
"Alright! Training starts now." Kakashi said. He was using crutches so obviously he wasn't as lucky as me. "First we will begin with a review of chakra- a ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential."
"We know that." Sasuke said.
"He's right. A long time ago we learned about, uh… catchra." Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"It's chakra, Naruto!" I yelled, clearly irritated.
"Go ahead, Sakura." Kakashi said. Then Sakura told us all about chakra. It was very dull.
"Just like Sakura said, You have to find physical and spiritual energy and combine them within yourself. To do that, you have to climb a tree." he said.
"Climb a tree?" We all said in unison.
"Yes, but there is only one rule. No hands." Kakashi said.
"Nani? No hands?" Sakura asked.
"You're kidding." I said.
"Am I? Let's see." He started climbing the tree. Vertically!
"Well you get the idea." He said. "Focus the chakra to the soles of your feet, then use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to empty chakra." Then he threw a kunai at our feet. "Use this to mark the spot where you climbed. Ready? Get focused. GO!"
I closed my eyes and tried to draw the chakra to my feet. Then I ran at the tree.
Unfortunately, I tripped over a root. Naruto started laughing at me.
"Didn't he say focus?" I asked Naruto, annoyed. He went back to what he was doing. So I tried again. I was running up the tree and made it about four feet high until I felt my foot crack open the tree and started falling. I quickly slashed at the tree with my kunai and landed gracefully on the ground.
"Hey, this is fun!" Sakura said. I looked at where she was. She was sitting on the tree branch about 30 feet into the air.
"Show off." I muttered.
"Well it looks as if Sakura not only knows about chakra, but can control it, too. We spoke about someone becoming Hokage, didn't we? Well it seems like Sakura has the best chance of that. As for the great Uchiha clan… I gues their not as great as they say they are. And I guess Kyoshi is just plain weak." He said to me. I got an anime vein.
"I'm weak?" I yelled. I ran at him and tried tackling him down, but he moved. Niiiicee…
"Oh, it looks like I have struck a nerve…" Kakashi said in satisfaction. "Now go prove me wrong and go climb that tree!" So I did. A few minutes later, I was out of breath, leaning against the tree I was suppose to be climbing. I didn't make it too far up. I was behind Naruto and Sasuke by a few feet.
Then I sensed someone standing behind a tree. I looked at it and saw Inari peeking out from behind it. He looked at me and I smiled. He hid back behind the tree. Then I looked back at where Sasuke and Naruto were. Eh- I shouldn't let them have all the fun I still need to catch up, anyway. I stood up and ran for the tree.
I had about 50 kunai marks on my tree. The highest was about 20 feet. I took lead in front of Naruto and Sasuke, but still behind Sakura.
"Sakura, Kyoshi, you guys will guard Tazuna at the bridge while Sasuke and Naruto train some more." Kakashi said.
"Fine by me." I said. Me and Sakura went off to help the bridge builder.
When we both got there, I sat down on the side of the bridge with Sakura. Then she yawned.
"You girls always this lazy?" Tazuna asked when he just happened to walk by.
"Yeah, you have a problem with that?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I do!" he said.
"Well you're building a bridge, aren't you? So get over it." I said. He ignored me so I knew I had won.
"So where is that weird blonde kid and the other one with an attitude?" he asked and looked at me, but I was looking at the ocean and didn't notice.
"They're training. Climbing trees." Sakura replied.
"Too tough for you?" he asked.
"No, actually I'm the best! Kyoshi's somewhat good." She said while I got an anime vein. "That's why sensei told us to come guard you."
"You're joking." Tazuna said. Me and Sakura both got anime veins. Then one of the workers told Tazuna that he was quitting and Tazuna got pretty mad. He started saying that he wasn't going to give up on the bridge. I got really bored and fell asleep. Well training was exhausting…
"Falling asleep on the job will get you fired." Tazuna said, making me wake up. I yawned.
"We're going home." He said. Sakura was standing beside him. I followed them.
"Where are we going?" Sakura asked once she noticed we were going in the wrong direction.
"You want to eat, don't you?" Tazuna asked.
"I don't know… are you the one cooking?" I asked. He got an anime vein. He really didn't like me. We walked past a few people sitting on the streets, making me really sad.
"Here we are." Tazuna said, going into what looked like a shop. I wasn't really sure because there was, like, nothing in it. Beside me, I heard Sakura scream "You pervert!" while she kicked a man in the jaw. I thought it was a very funny sight because he obviously was going for her bag not her butt (I mean… who would want to do that, anyway?)
"Wow. Girls don't usually fight around here like that." Tazuna said.
"Well they should!" Sakura said toughly "Something's siriusly wrong here." then a little boy come up and pulled on her outfit. She got an anime vein.
"Hey buster-" She yelled, but stopped when she saw the little boy.
"Please?" He asked, holding out his hands and smiling. Sakura gave him soe candy.
"Oh, thank you." He said. I ruffled his hair and smiled warmly at him. Then he ran back to wherever.
"This is how It's been since Gato's been here." Tazuna said. "The children here are suffering and the adults are too afraid to stand up to him. They've lost all hope. That's why I have to build the bridge. That bridge is the symbol of courage. We must fill the spirit of our people. When the bridge is finished, people will start to believe again. They will believe that we can live with dignity. We can't let Gato stop us."
Then we all walked silently back to the house.
I was sitting in between Sasuke and Inari. Naruto and Sasuke were eating like slobs. They both turned around and threw up. I moved my chair closer to Inari and farther away from Sasuke.
"Don't eat so much if you're just going to throw it up!" Sakura yelled.
"I have to eat." Sasuke said.
"And I have to eat more than him. It's the only possible way I can beat him." Naruto said.
"Well if you're going to throw it up, it's like you aren't eating anything." I said, disgusted.
"She's right." Kakashi said. "Puking won't help you."
"Excuse me!" Sakura said. She was finished her food and was now looking at a picture. "This picture is torn. Is there a reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at it all though dinner." She said, looking at Inari. She's so nosy. "It looks like someone else was in the photo, but they got torn out. I mean, that's kind of strange, isn't it?" and with thaty, everyone went into angst.
"It's my husband." Tsunami said, going back to washing the dishes.
"He used to be called a hero in this land." Tazuna added. "Inari, where are you going?" Inari left without answering.
"Father! You can't talk about hi in front of Inari like that! You know that!" Tsunami said, closing the kitchen door.
"Why is Inari like that?" Sakura asked.
"Hmm… is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked.
"Well that sounds boring." I said, not wanting to hear a story of some soon-to-be emo guy's past. So I left leaving them in the kitchen. I couldn't find anything else to do, so I went outside and took a walk. I found a huge tree and started carving my name into it. 'Kyoshi Yin'
"So, your name is Kyoshi?" Someone asked from behind me. DAMN IT! I'm a ninja! How could I not hear someone sneaking up on me from behind? I could have been killed!
"Uh… yeah." I said nervously, turning around. Then I was shocked.
"Hey! You're that tracker ninja from the other day!" I said to him. He looked surprised that I actually knew that. Then I noticed what clothes he was wearing and smiled a mused.
"Why are you dressed like a lady, sir?" I asked, becoming more amused.
"I guess it's just my style." He said. Then I remembered what Kakashi said and I stopped smiling at him. I felt my heart beat faster. This boy was in league with Zabuza. He could kill me right now.
I quickly pulled out a kunai and pinned him to the tree, with the kunai at his neck.
"You're one of Zabuza's people. Which means you aren't good. I should kill you right now." I said. "But I won't." I said, removing the kunai from his neck.
"you should have, Kyoshi." He said. I looked at him like he was crazy (which I think he was). He disappeared. I stood there for a while before heading back to the house.
