Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Norihiro Yagi.
Chapter Ten: Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon
(Don't Let Them Make Up Your Mind)
The bustling crowds of Konoha's streets rang with a melody of chattering voices, laughs and shouts all meshed together in a symphony of sounds.
Merchants, shop keepers, children and Shinobi all hustled down the streets greeting one another as they passed by.
The flurry of voices was what brought the village's streets to life – it was the sound of Konoha and its denizens going about with their daily activities in an unspoken interdependence of Shinobi and civilian all working and communicating together.
Within the busy crowd two figures could be seen walking slowly through the pathway, young Shinobi in particular.
One was a rather tall, lithe blonde that stood out amongst the crowd like a walking angel with her elegant, almost regal aura; the other was a raven haired boy with a goofy grin on his face – clearly an Uchiha, though his entire appearance and demeanor could have thrown anyone for a loop.
The villagers knew these two (mostly the Shinobi community of the village) as the "pretty little Shimura girl," Teresa – too beautiful to be considered part of her clan and Uchiha Obito – the odd one out of his own infamous clan.
Both were known as anomalies to their respective clans in their own right. There was one who contradicted his clan's inherent demeanors and the other who contradicted her whole clan's appearances.
Above all, what caught their eyes the most was the Konoha elder Shimura Danzo's granddaughter.
She was a long-legged girl with the most unique beauty – pale blonde hair and piercing silver eyes. She didn't quite fit the Shimura clan's average appearance, if anything, she would have somewhat fit the Yamanaka clan's with their quintessential blonde hair and light eyes. Though she was still young, she was still quite the looker and no one could deny that.
But just as beautiful as she was, the girl was frightening.
She carried herself in a serious, no nonsense manner much like her grandfather. Which is why no one cared to even talk to her, much less approach her. The only two she would ever be seen with was the Uchiha boy, Yuhi Kurenai and even Yamada Sen.
"You sure do get stared at quite a lot," Obito whispered in her ear as they made their way through the crowd.
"Oh, do I now?" She questioned impassively as she kept her gaze straight ahead, ignoring all the rude gaping.
"Yeah, whenever I see you around or when I'm with you, everyone always stares… I wonder why..."
"I've learned to ignore it."
"Hm, I can't imagine being gawped at wherever I went. Must be annoying, huh?"
"I honestly stopped caring for them."
"You know, I think it's probably cause' you look different. That's probably why they stare at you so much…"
"How so?"
"I don't know…you kinda stand out in the crowd - no offense! I mean you're just so tall and you have this kinda scary presence, if that makes any sense at all?"
Indeed it did make perfect sense, to Teresa at least.
Even in her old world, she would garner much attention from her appearance alone whenever she would travel around from village to village sent out by the organization to execute yoma. In fact, she was rather accustomed to staring to the point of it not bothering her in the very least.
"I suppose it makes sense," she finally said.
"But you're not really frightening at all, you just appear to be," he laughed. "If anything you're one of the most docile people I know, except when you're fighting – that's when you actually look really scary."
"You think I am docile?"
"As a lamb."
"I've never heard that before. How odd…"
"Well, it's just cause' I've known you for so long, ya know? I've been around you since forever and although you look intimidating and you talk kind of condescendingly, you're actually really nice."
"Well, that is a first. No one has ever told me that," she replied dryly as she continued to amble away.
They finally approached their destination, training ground Forty-Seven, an area that was left almost desolate from any Shinobi. It was rarely used for reasons both children never truly understood, which was why it was also a perfect spot for the two to train. Therefore, they opted on utilizing it for the time being since it was currently unoccupied.
The two children had been progressing quite well over the past fourteen months under their respective sensei's training. Teresa was progressing even more so, naturally.
Jin-sensei had been helping her train more extensively on both her ninjutsu technique since she had already been rather proficient on her kenjutsu and taijutsu. He even taught her a few new techniques that she was able to easily execute in a few attempts; these techniques were mosty based on her wind affinity, thus, she was learning various wind releases and such.
Other than ninjutsu, Jin-sensei had also wanted her to continue to hone her taijutsu skills.
In nothing but a short month, Teresa was able to transition her old hand-to-hand style into a hybrid of of taijutsu moves and martial arts that she had learned from the such a feat, she was able to finally learn something new from this world.
She was learning new techniques from her sensei, she was reading of new space-time jutsu theories from her independent studies and she was able to perform a few odd D-rank missions with her team along with one C-rank in which her team was able to escort a traveling relatively minor political head. Of course during the course of said mission, she still continued to scour the outside lands of new knowledge on jutsu – unfortunately, her efforts were all in vain.
Still, she was persistent and she was willing to show patience in her endeavors, so for now she would wait. Teresa was still in the midst of her training and learning so it could not be helped either way.
Nonetheless, she believed that her progress was faring well thus far.
Although she was progressing rapidly, her comrade was not.
It would seem to others that he was progressing quite well,yes; but to Teresa, he still had some very blatant weaknesses that she believed could be easily fixed.
Earlier on this month, Teresa noticed how poorly Obito was faring on his defense in taijutsu, his sensei did try to help him, but the man was far too invested in honing his other student's skills, particularly a white haired prodigy.
Now the boy was weakening in his taijutsu skills, a feat that she had thankfully came to have honed during the course of her training, so she figured she could help the boy. He was being sloppy all due to many distractions (Rin) and the like.
Ergo, she took it upon herself to help the poor boy and now, she believed, he was truly improving.
She mostly sparred with him and focused on his taijutsu, occasionally helping him practice his aim with shuriken and reflexes with kunai since weapons were always so easy for her to wield.
And as of last week, since this marked a full year since they became genin and were assigned a team, both of their respective sensei's thought that both team seven and team ten were ready to take the Chuunin Selection Exams and nominated them all for it.
She also caught wind of the information of both Team Four and Team Eight also participating as well from her ojjisan and tou-chan last night during dinner.
This meant that there was a lot of competition and a lot of potential she had to take into consideration, although she didn't really intend to win; she only sought to actually pass and become an official chuunin.
She knew with her skills alone that she would be able to pass, so she need not worry too much about it – after all, her natural abilities as a senshi of the organization were above par with the average Jounin. But, she did find herself worrying for a certain Uchiha "anomaly" who had suddenly become more and more distracted as the days had gone by – to which she would scold him like a mother scolding her child more often than not.
"Oh, by the way, I know it's been nearly a year, but I forgot to return this to you," she said as she pulled out a scroll after reaching into one of the pockets in her jumpsuit.
"Oh, I almost forgot you had this!" He laughed as he took the scroll in hand. "Did it help you at all with any fuinjutsu?"
"No, it merely stated the basics of space-time jutsu and its fundamentals. There wasn't anything much there that I could make use of. Although, I appreciate you letting me borrow it for so long," she replied monotonously as she began to straighten up her white jumpsuit in preparation for sparring.
Her attire was similar to her old clothes in the organization sans the plated metal armor and her number etched on her gear.
It was a basic white pants and long sleeve ensemble that opened up to her collar bone but instead of having a silver sheath covering her neck that showed her old number, it was replaced with her Konoha hitai-ate.
She guessed that old habits die hard since even as a child her whole attire would be comprised of white garments.
"You're welcome Teresa-chan! Sorry you couldn't find anything useful in those scrolls," he replied meekly as he scratched his head.
She nodded her head in understanding before walking to the middle of the training ground and gesturing him forward– to which he followed obediently and awaited her orders.
"You're taijutsu could need some help so today we'll be doing a quick spar and as we do this, I will help you focus on your dodging and defense," she stated as she took her normal taijutsu stance.
Obito followed suit and nodded his head. "Okay, just go easy on me please."
"I will, since we are merely training."
He gulped in response before she finally made him charge at her.
Unlike before with her fight with the Hatake a year ago, she allowed Obito to hit her without her dodging and weaving like before. She believed it would be better for him to at least get some blows on her even if she blocked each and every one of them with ease.
Obito proceeded to jab at her, but she quickly blocked it and spun forward kicking him back to the ground.
"You left a wide margin of your defense vulnerable to my attack. Next time, guard all sides of your body," she said. "Now begin again."
He started with a kick this time and flipped back as she grabbed his leg and threw him out of her range. She then appeared behind him so fast that he could not register her speed as she brought her hands together and attempted to hammer him to the ground only for him to block her with his arms and wince. "Good, if you focus on all areas you will be able to dodge my attacks more easily," she said again.
He aimed for another punch, this time to her face and was actually able to land a blow, but was quickly knocked back by a jab from her elbow.
Teresa's raw strength was really unfair, however it could not be helped.
Obito quickly stood back up and flipped in the air spinning midway as he kicked the side of her arms causing her feet to be pushed back from the force of his blow. After realizing what had happened, she blinked out of her initial surprise and reached towards him once more as she kicked him directly on the side if his neck, making the poor boy fall back like a mere rag doll thrown in the wind.
"You were supposed to dodge that, Obito. Pay attention to my attacks," she scolded as she continued to throw a few punches without the use of her full speed in order for him to be able to duck and weave, which he successfully did.
He moved to his side and kicked Teresa on the shoulder and quickly hooked his left arm around her to throw her to the other side of his position, despite this she was able to land gracefully with a flip and charged back for another punch.
They continued on like this, with a flurry of kicks and punches as they flipped and spun around, jumping back or charging forward with remarkable speed.
Deciding to finally end the Shinobi hand-to-hand battle, Teresa caught herself flipping back and spun her body in a near circle adding momentum for her leg and ended their spar with a powerful kick that sent Obito flying to the other side of the training field. She watched as he coughed up blood and appeared by his side in a swift second to tend to his injuries.
"Though this spar was rather short, I believe I was still able to gauge your current hand-to-hand combative skills and I would say that you did rather well today," she said as she helped him up and tossed him her handkerchief to wipe the blood from his mouth. Not before offering the finality sign of the match, he followed suit as she steadied him to walk.
"I think you will do just fine in the chuunin exam, although I want you to be aware of all your sides. Do not leave any side of your defense vulnerable."
"Thanks Teresa-chan for helping me out so much, I really need this since I need to pull my own weight in my team. Especially since Kakashi has been progressing way too fast," he said through short breaths, still weary of their spar.
"Your offensive attacks in taijutsu are good, but you lack in defense. If you can make up for this with an effective offensive strategy especially with your use in ninjutsu, I believe you will be able to advance quite far in the exams."
"Really?" He panted as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Yes," she nodded as she grabbed the zanbato she had been carrying on her back this whole time and stabbed it in on the ground of a grassy spot of the training fields so she could sit herself down to lean on.
"That sword looks so heavy, Teresa-chan. How can you carry it all day?" Obito remarked as he ran his fingers on the cold metal and sat himself next to her.
"It is actually quite easy to hold."
"I've never really seen you fight with it outside of our spars, but I hear Kurenai-chan always talking about how quote on quote 'amazing you are at swinging that sword around with practiced ease.' You should show me sometime, yeah?"
"I suppose. If you go to team ten's training grounds some time, you will see me wielding it in combat. Jin-sensei has been making me focus mostly on my kenjutsu."
"That's good Teresa-chan, I bet with your skill you'll totally be able to advance easily in the chuunin exam even with your kenjutsu and taijutsu alone!"
"Did you improve on your fire release jutsu yet?" She questioned, trying to change the subject but wondering about his progress in his ninjutsu at the same time.
"Yeah, this time, I can make a huge fire ball in my mouth! It's awesome Teresa-chan, I even was able to burn down a few trees in the forest last time."
"How about your aim?"
"Well, I'm kinda improving…"
"Kind of? That means you are still subpar. I will have to help you in your trajectory skills next week then," she sighed as she stared off into the sky.
She only helped Obito because she ultimately wanted him to prevail in his endeavors, especially in the chuunin exams.
After years being around him, she finally began to see his true potential and she knew for a fact that the boy would become a formidable Shinobi in his later years.
Unfortunately, he tended to slack off and get distracted by the most trivial things, such as his unyielding infatuation for the sole female of his team. If his attention span wasn't so small, she theorized that he could have been on equal footing with the genius prodigy of his team, Hatake Kakashi; though not in intellect.
But Obito was still young anyway and had much to learn, so she understood his shortcomings and tried to look past them.
"There you are!" She suddenly heard a female voice shout happily from beyond the training ground. Teresa looked up to see a brunette girl with purple markings on her face a stoic silver haired boy with a mask obscuring his features - it was the rest of Obito's team.
"Oh, Rin!" Obito suddenly perked up," What are you two doing here?"
"Sensei was looking for you Obito-kun, so we went to go fetch you. Kakashi-kun here had to track you down himself. What are you doing here any-" Rin stopped short as she realized that Obito had company.
"Oh, you're Shimura Teresa aren't you?" She gasped. "Obito-kun always talks about hanging out with you. I'm Nohara Rin, it's nice to finally meet you!"
"Pleasure," Teresa replied impassively.
"Wow, you are so pretty! Obito-kun, you never told me she was this good-looking!"
Obito chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head and looked down at the ground
"Oh, it's you," Kakashi finally spoke up realizing Teresa's presence.
Teresa simply stared at him and said nothing, although she really disliked him during their academy days, she didn't really care too much about him anymore so she had nothing to say.
"Because of you, Obito's actually getting better and his taijutsu style is almost close to yours," Kakashi continued with his eyes regarding her carefully.
"I have been helping him as of late, which is why we were here in the first place," she replied.
"Figures you were."
"Oh, so it was you who helped Obito-kun improve? I've noticed it too, he's getting really good Teresa-san! I mean he was already a good fighter, but you've really helped him a lot," Rin exclaimed happily.
"Oh, jeez, Rin-chan…you're too nice," Obito blushed as he meekly looked down to the ground and rubbed the back of his head.
"No, he was decent fighter. There is always room for much improvement," Teresa corrected.
"That's what I told him," Kakashi agreed.
"Hey! What the hell you guys? I'm right here, ya know!" Obito huffed indignantly as he shook his fist in the air.
"Either way, Obito-kun has been improving now! And I really think we have a great chance in the chuunin exams next week, so thank you!" Rin said once more.
"I agree. Speaking of the chuunin exams, that's why we came here to find you Obito. Minato-sensei called us in for a team meeting this afternoon in that ramen place and he expects all of us to be there. I'm sure Shimura-san has other things to attend to anyways," Kakashi said dismissively.
Teresa suddenly grabbed by the collar so fast, he was unable to even register her speed. "I do not need to be spoken for, Hatake," she threatened venomously.
He brushed her hand off irritatedly and huffed before crossing his arms and looking away. "Maa, maa…let's not get into any trouble please," Rin said apologetically to Teresa on Kakashi's behalf.
"Yeah, sorry about that Teresa-chan…Kakashi's kind of…well, you know," Obito added.
"I'm kind of what Obito? What were you going to say, huh?" Kakashi threatened.
"I was tryna be nice and not say you were such a bastard you freakin' jerk!"
"Obito-kun, you shouldn't fight with Kakashi-kun! Please, let's not argue you two," Rin placated the two boys. "I think you should say goodbye to Teresa-san now Obito-kun, we really should go meet up sensei now." Rin waved at Teresa before going ahead with Kakashi.
"Fine," Obito relented before crossing his arms. "I'll see you later Teresa-chan, I guess I'll have to go."
With one last wave, the boy sped up towards his team and three children soon disappeared beyond the training field's entrance.
Teresa sighed to herself before standing up and pulling her zanbato from the ground only to sheath it behind her back once more.
She pondered her first ever encounter with team seven, there was a blatant animosity between all three and she wondered why they were put together in the first place.
All three of their personalities clashed together, not to mention the fact that she knew Obito was infatuated with Rin, the girl was so clearly infatuated with the Hatake and the prodigy disregarded them and thought himself superior to them altogether. She wondered how their team dynamic even worked.
Her own team seemed to function almost perfectly with herself, Kurenai and Sen recognizing each other's strengths and weaknesses and even their close comradeship.
Even in the organization, the senshi still had adequate team dynamics when it came down to it all, regardless of how often she tried to work alone as number one.
But with Team Seven it was completely different, she pitied their sensei in all honesty.
Still, regardless of their clashing demeanors, their sensei must have seen some underlying potential if her too had nominated all three of them for the upcoming chuunin exams.
However, it did make her question this world and its odd fundamentals. Humans always were so strange…
As Teresa exited the training grounds and made her way back towards the pathway leading back to the village, the afternoon sun seemed to be settling in now as it blanketed the many buildings in an orange glow.
The streets weren't as busy as the normal morning rush hour so those who walked it were ambling at a steady pace just as herself.
She was heading towards the hokage tower this afternoon since she was supposed to meet up with her ojjisan and tou-chan after her father's mission debriefing.
When she finally made it through the tower's threshold, she immediately spotted Danzo with her own father trailing behind. "Oh, there you are Teresa-chan!" Takahiro greeted as he ruffled her hair.
"Was your mission successful father?" She questioned back as the three took to a steady trek outside of the hokage tower.
"Hai, it was. I've also heard from your grandfather that you've been practicing for the chuunin exams next week, if you'd like I can help you. How is your training going?"
"Yes, I too am quite interested in your progress Teresa-chan. Your sensei has been filling me in on it himself, but I'd rather hear from you," her grandfather said solemnly.
"I am quite successful in my training especially with my kenjutsu as of now. Jin-sensei has allowed me to utilize the zanbato you gave me ojjisan," she replied.
"Oh, that big old sword? Are you sure you want to carry that hulking thing around during your exams Teresa-chan? Why not use a katana, a tanto even?" Her father questioned worriedly.
"She's just fine with the zanbato Takahiro, I've seen her wield it herself. Don't underestimate our little Teresa-chan's abilities, she's remarkable on her own," Danzo admonished as he looked at his granddaughter with a small smile.
Thankfully the man had interjected before Teresa could reply to her father because she never took underestimation so easily, even from her own father if ever it were to happen. She prided herself in her abilities and his doubts towards them were infuriating for her.
If he wasn't always gone and actually watched her himself just as much as Danzo, he wouldn't have taken her so lightly. Still, his worries for her did nothing to quell her burgeoning anger at the statement.
"I can hold my own alone with my zanbato…father. Please do not underestimate my abilities," she finally said, trying to hide the true bitterness in her words.
"Gomen Teresa-chan," he said as with an embarrassed smile. "It's just my fatherly concern towards you dear, please don't be offended. I only want what's best for you."
"Don't worry Takahiro, she'll do fine in the exams. I've seen her fight myself and she is chuunin material," Danzo reiterated as he pat his son on the shoulder.
"I know it's just…we're worried, Ikumi and I. She's been progressing so fast, I mean she's already becoming a chuunin now at such a young age! Wouldn't you be worried too of the possible danger?"
"I'd be proud if I were you, to serve her village is her main objective. When you were just a boy, I did not think twice of such possibilities because I knew your potential and knew that you too would become a great Shinobi. And look at you now, you're a Jounin now and work under the head of the strategist department, I couldn't be more proud," Danzo replied as they continued to walk through the now quiet village streets.
"Well, I guess you're right," her father concurred. "Forgive me Teresa-chan, next time I won't underestimate you. Papa's sorry..."
Teresa grimaced at the man's words.
He reached out and embraced her and she hesitantly accepted his hug. "Now, why don't we go out and have some dinner tonight since your kaa-chan won't be back until tomorrow from her mission? I'm starving."
"What do you suppose we eat then Takahiro?" Danzo asked as his eyes scanned the many buildings before them.
"Hmm, there's a takoyaki stand next to the seamstress' shop in the southern region of the village, approximately five minutes away. Say, are you up for some street food tonight Teresa-chan?"
"Sure," she replied as they changed courses towards the upper side of the village where the stand was said to be.
"It has been awhile since I ate some junk food," her grandfather revealed as he trailed after her father.
"I went to the Uchiha district the other day for some dango," Teresa commented idly.
"Eh, the Uchiha district? Why?" her father asked curiously.
"It would seem that Teresa-chan has made a friend with a young Uchiha about her age. I've heard of him, this Uchiha Obito, he's a troublemaker that one. But the majority of the elderly in the village have nothing but good things to say about him, so I suppose he's really no trouble," Danzo commented.
"You have a friend Teresa-chan? That's great! Oh, wait…I think I remember your mother telling me something about that a few years back, something about you bringing friends over. Say, these wouldn't happen to be the same ones that only appear whenever I'm gone from missions?"
"Hai, father. Obito and Kurenai were the same friends who would come over from time to time, I'm surprised you haven't met them yet," she replied.
"I must admit that I am often gone from missions, I rarely get to see you dear. I'm sorry for not being around as much as I should."
"No matter. I've done quite fine without you, it is alright."
"I think we are here," her grandfather interrupted and both father and daughter looked up to see a blinking banner of a food stall that glimmered through the night sky.
"Ah, yes. This is it," Takahiro said as he found a spot on one of the stalls for all three to sit. "I remember going here only twice, but the food here is great, so order whatever you want!"
All three ended up ordering takoyaki seeing as it was the shop's specialty and when their orders arrived they quickly devoured their food sans for Teresa who was only able to finish half.
"So, apparently I'm being moved from my department as of next week," her tou-chan said suddenly as they finished eating.
"Where will you be moving to? Surely the strategic department needs a Shinobi like you who can arrange the village's defensive borders at will?" her grandfather remarked as he dabbed his frown with a napkin.
"Oh, they do. But apparently, I've been temporarily assigned as a proctor for the chuunin exams. Isn't that great Teresa-chan?"
"So what part of the exam will you be proctoring and who are you assigned to?" Teresa questioned curiously. She wondered if her father would be the proctor for one of her matches, it would be quite interesting if so.
"Well, I've been assigned to the team matches, where the genin teams will be pitted against one another. After that, I'll be done and head back to my old department."
"Team matches?" She asked with a furrowed brow.
"Oh crap! That's right you're not supposed to know… Gomen, gomen," he said as he clamped his hands over his mouth.
"Please tell me papa," she said with a faint pout as she mustered the most childish face she could.
"Oh…alright," he finally relented. "Since you already heard, I guess I'll tell you a little bit about this year's exams…and that's all, you here?"
She nodded her head in understanding.
"As you should know, the chuunin exams differ from one another each year. Last year's chuunin exams required a written portion and the year before required a different approach. As of this year however, the teams will have to undergo an exam together before spreading out into individual matches. We call it the team matches, where teams will go against each other in order for the examiner's to determine your interaction skills. If one or two or even all members of the team fail in their match, they will not be able to advance. However, if someone prevails, then only he or she alone will be able to advance towards the individual matches."
She seemed to be regarding his words carefully since her face contorted into a thoughtful frown. With the team matches that meant that there was a possibility that she wouldn't see them advancing with her, though she did take how skilled they already were into consideration. It was a long shot, but she knew that any one of them if not all would be able to advance as long as they continued to practice.
"Will you be attending my match's ojjisan?" She finally questioned in order to change the subject.
"Hai, I will be watching your performance. Don't worry," he replied. "I want to see how much you've improved thus far after my training with you had ended. This Jin-sensei of yours better have improved your skills."
"He has, he even set up my own training regime suitable to myself."
"He did? That's wonderful!" her father beamed.
"Hai. He's been making me focus more on my kenjutsu and tells me that I would be able to advance on my set of skills alone, but I've also been practicing on a few wind release techniques he taught me a few months ago. Though, he did not teach me it per se, he merely gave me a rundown on basic wind releases and their hand signs. He also provided a scroll in which I could study different techniques ranging from A to D rank."
"So, you will actually be utilizing your chakra reserves this time?" Danzo queried, somewhat approvingly.
"I suppose, but I will mostly be using kenjutsu and taijutsu – as always. I have decided that those two forms of combat will become a trademark of mine as a kunoichi, that is; if I find a jutsu or technique that I deem fit to become synonymous for myself. So far, I have not, so right now, I will be using only those two with the occasional use of ninjutsu."
"Have you ever been interested in any other jutsu, Teresa-chan? Perhaps genjutsu or fuinjutsu even?" her father spoke up curiously.
"No," she replied bluntly.
"Indeed, I cannot imagine Teresa-chan dabbling in any other jutsu. However, if she decides to someday, I will not question it. It is always better to explore different areas of techniques, after all, this world contains a myriad of jutsu; some are even unexplored! Not to mention those who belong to clans that are gifted with their own unique kekkai genkai. I myself have discovered recently of a clan that can utilize mirages to manipulate and bend the perceived reality around their adversaries, their whereabouts however, are something I cannot discuss," Danzo remarked solemnly.
"However, I have taken a small interest on space-time jutsu; but I do not think I will be looking to into it," she lied. She'd admit to her interest, but she'd be damned if she divulged any of her plans. Not even her "kin" would ever know.
"Space-time jutsu? That is a rather unique technique to be interested in. Not many shinobi are able to utilize such a technique. Having to manipulate different dimensional voids is a difficult thing to do. I myself have not attempted to even dabble in it," her ojjisan commented.
"Which is why it piqued my interest in the first place."
"Well, I'd expect no less of you. You are a capable and quite precocious girl for your age - which is also why I expect you to do well in the upcoming exams," he finished off with pointed glare from one of his visible eyes.
"Do you suppose that perhaps I can showcase my chakra reserves during my match's in order for my evaluation to go smoothly? Or do you think I should not?" she questioned, wondering if she really wanted to release some of her ki aside from the few wind releases she had in mind that needed only a diminutive amount of her ki.
"In the chuunin exams, there is no rule that inhibits you from using demonic chakra. Many Jinchuriki from the past have been known to take this as an advantage. Although you aren't a Jinchuriki yourself, your immense chakra levels are equivalent to their own."
Of course she'd use her actual yoki (the ten percent that was usually able to allow her to prevail in battle), if in the case that she actually needed to, which was most likely not going to happen. Why should she care what other people would think if she didn't use ninjutsu very much during the exam anyway? Her comrades Kurenai and Sen understood that she didn't prefer to use ninjutsu often and those were the only people she cared to actually think about anyway.
Though she knew she wouldn't have to ever use it anyways since, like before, she was able to battle without the need of her yoki. She'd only use it in case of any dire situations that may occur in her match, she finally concluded – or if she wanted to showcase her skills to the examiners. Other than those two reasons, she didn't find the need to do so.
"And what of the repercussions if I do use it, ojjisan?"
"Repercussions? Hardly," he dismissed," your sensei pushed me and hokage-sama to inform all Shinobi of interest of the presence of your chakra, they already know. You don't need to hide it anymore Teresa-chan."
"I suppose…"
"And if anything the only problems you'll face if you do end up using your chakra would be having to inform your little friends about it, nothing more," her father tried reasoning.
As far as she knew, they already did know. In fact, Jin-sensei had informed them only a week after she discovered her affinity for wind. They accepted her without further questioning, so really there was nothing to worry about... right?
Author's Note: Yasss the chuunin exams are fast approaching! I'm so excited are you? And lol at the chapter title, I just had to add one of my favorite "Pulp Fiction" song titles in there, you know, the one where Mrs. Wallace is dancing in her living room and OD's on the couch? Yeah, that one. The title itself sort of signifies Teresa's "coming-of-age" as a chuunin so that's another reason as to why I picked that title. If you haven't heard it, check it out: Urge Overkill - Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon on Youtube or something, it's a pretty cool song.
Not much to say here, since I think this one was a little more self-explanatory... I think? Nonetheless, don't be too surprised if you think everything's going by way too fast - that's because I intended it to do so.
Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave a review and tell me what you think - don't worry, I don't bite lol. And again, thank you so much for reading my story and supporting me thus far haha.