Chapter 10: Seeing Double

I was quick to rise the next morning in my excitement to possibly learn a new jutsu. I left my apartment with a bounce in my step as I headed straight for the training ground. My plan was to run through hand seals and practice my limited jutsu before she arrived. I can't keep still in my current state, so I might as well make the most of it by doing something productive.

Late morning turned into early afternoon faster than expected. I took a lunch break well before the meeting time on the off chance that she decided to come by early. It was a good thing I did as Anko dropped into the clearing just as I finished my last bite. She greeted me with a wave while I placed my backpack out of the way of fire.

"Well, since you're here already, I don't see the use in waiting 'till one anymore. Are you all set to go?" She motioned me to follow her to the center of the clearing once I nodded. "I was originally going to try and teach you a more simple water technique. A C-Rank in fact, but you just had to ruin that plan by specializing in wind chakra."

I knew she was only kidding by the small smirk on her face. "Why did you think that I'd have water based chakra in the first place?" I had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with my namesake. "Perhaps Kushina was well known for using her water jutsu... No, I doubt that she would tell me that. It's more likely that she isn't in the know about who my parents were."

"I thought it'd be obvious since you're an Uzumaki. They hailed from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools... Were you not told anything about your clan?"

I looked down as I tried to search for any memories relating to his family. "There's a whole lot of nothing in here concerning my clan..." The first time he asked someone he was told that the village they lived in was destroyed already. The matter was almost immediately dropped and the conversation was forcibly changed right after. No one after that gave him a solid answer or they completely ignored the question.

Eventually he stopped asking questions, because he knew no one would take them seriously. "That's not helpful at all for a kid if he wanted to fit in somewhere. To not be told anything at all about his clan seems like a crime."

"Not for a lack of trying," was what I managed to get out. I must have had a dark look on my face for her to start showing concern. She gained a look of concentration as though she was debating on what to say.

"Well I can tell you right now that they were a pretty powerful clan. So powerful, that many people began to fear them." She saw my intense focus, and continued with a small smile on her face. "Fuuinjutsu, or the art of sealing, is no joke. With many of your clan specializing in that field, and paired with their large chakra reserves it was no wonder that people grew wary. Eventually distrust grew to a full out attack on their village. Not many survived the ordeal, but one of your parents must have gotten out safely for you to be here now."

She trailed off while I stood in silence. "Thank you for telling me something about them Anko. That's more than anyone has given me so far. Which is kind of sad, now that I think about it." The news was hitting me harder than I thought it would. I was guessing that it had to do with having his memories, and the fact that they're starting to feel like my memories more each day.

"No problem kiddo. If I remember anything else I'll be sure to let you know. Now let's get back to training."

She brought her hands into the ram seal. "I was going to teach you the Water Clone Jutsu, but considering your heritage, I think this jutsu will serve you much better." A puff of smoke appeared, and suddenly two Ankos stood in front of him.

"This is the Shadow Clone Technique. Your chakra is distributed evenly between yourself and every clone you make. This usually means that a ninja can only summon a few at a time so they don't wear themselves out. For the sake of safety we'll try to shoot for one clone at first." I agreed with determination and made the ram sign before trying to summon my chakra.

Two hours with Anko's coaching was all it took to make some progress. The puff of smoke around me finally gave way to a perfect clone. I looked at him with a huge grin that he quickly reflected. Without saying anything we both high-fived and then turned to Anko. In our excitement both of us said, "So how'd we do?"

Anko had her mouth slightly open in shock before she quickly recovered her composure. "I don't think I've seen someone learn it that fast before. Well done Haru." She ruffled my hair as well as the clone's. "Well, now that the first step is done we can put it to the test."

She told my clone to walk with her a distance away while I stayed put. I could see her speaking to him before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. A moment later I knew what she said. "When Shadow Clones disappear they relay any information gained as well as the remaining chakra they had back to the original. You need to show him that."

"That was weird, but pretty cool. Thanks for letting me know," I told Anko when she walked the remaining distance back. A sudden thought came to me. "Hey! Were you using Shadow Clones to spy on me earlier?" Her amused silence spoke volumes. "That's almost- no it's definitely worse." I grumbled at the grin she was sporting and looked away with a pout.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by her next statement. "Naruto, I've been assigned a mission that takes me out of the village soon. As in tomorrow morning. I'm not sure how long it will take, so that's why I tried to rush you into learning a jutsu today. Although I initially thought it would've taken longer than a couple hours to teach you the basics."

I grinned with pride at her statement while trying to cover up my disappointment at her leaving. "She's basically my best friend at this point. As well as my only friend. Who can I turn to if she's not here?" I forced myself to stop with the depressing thoughts and tried to focus on the positive. "She's a ninja of the Leaf Village. It's not surprising that she would be asked to handle cases away from here with her rank being pretty high. She'll be back before I know it."

"I'm glad you chose to teach me something in your free time. You didn't have to, and you've already done more for me than most would've. I'll train my ass off while you're gone and build on the lessons you've already taught me." Then I smirked and said, "Maybe you'll see more than two of me running around the next time we meet."

Anko laughed at that and agreed wholeheartedly. "I don't doubt it Haru. Just keep a close eye on how you feel when you're training. Chakra exhaustion isn't something you can just shake off." I agreed and told her I would take breaks and have plenty of food around when I practiced the jutsu.

The two of us walked amiably out of the training grounds and towards the market district. We both agreed to eat at the dango shop since I learned the jutsu already and it was still early. It was nice to chat with her like usual before waving goodbye as she left to make preparations for her mission. That got me thinking about my preparations for the school year and the limited time I have left.

"Am I even close to the rookie nine's skill level right now? I can't help but think that I'm still behind..." One week from now I'll be back in school and quickly find out where I stand. I can only hope that I'm ready.

Author Note: I'm glad there wasn't too much of a wait for a chapter this time.

-I've been trying to picture where this story would go, and I'm happy to say that it's starting to have some direction.

-Edited 7/11/18