Hoorah! Hoorah! Exams are done and my fingers are cold and numb but my break has started so hoorah! Here's a new chapter, enjoy!

Jiro sighed as he pushed around the egg shells on the floor. The dawn was breaking and Kushina had not returned yet. He was worried that she might never. Had any adult really cared to watch the streets of Taifu they would realize all the homeless children were boys. Once in a while you might spot a girl but often not for long. Jiro had heard the stories. Girls were often taken in by older men, sometimes boys but mostly girls. They'd feed them and cloth them but for a price. Jiro had heard from a few older boys that the men would make the girls do stuff… Touching… Mostly… Jiro had always been glad that the demand for girls was always higher then for boys but he wasn't so sure right now. He was just glad for Kushina's boyish appearance and attitude, it could very well be saving her life.

Jiro suddenly stood up as Kushina stumbled into the room, her face oddly blank.

"Are you okay!? What happened?" He cried, running over to her. Kushina sat down on the floor and silently took off her boots, clearly tired from the nights events. Jiro grew anxious. He had never seen this side of Kushina before, silent and calculating, as though she had experienced some great understanding. It greatly unnerved him. He waited for her to speak, her head was bowed and she was fiddling her hands in her lap. Slowly she looked up to him, her eyes perturbed yet elated, or as Jiro saw it, crazy.

"I saw a man run on the side of a building." She breathed. Yep. Definitely crazy.

"Kushina, maybe you should lie down." Said Jiro, pushing her towards the bed. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Kushina shook her head. After the appearance of the ninja she had wandered around Taifu, lost in a daze. Only after her head had cleared had she managed to make her way back, yet somehow still enthralled by what she had seen, the feeling never leaving her. Clearly her emotion was not a result of the drug.

"I wanna be a ninja Jiro." She said. "I wanna climb buildings." Jiro looked utterly confused.

"Okay… Well we'll talk about it later." Pulling a blanket over her, Jiro glanced down at the figure which quickly drifted off into sleep. Men running on buildings… And what the hell was a ninja? Shaking his head Jiro faintly wondered if she had drank something funny. Taking out his bag he decided that today he would try to find some food for the both of them, as a thank you for the egg.

The woman frowned as she scanned the front page of today's paper. Sushito Nakagawa had survived the attempt on his life and a crackdown by police and ninja forces had begun. The perpetrators of the attack had apparently been of Ogawa descent… She sighed as she folded the paper.

Glancing at her reflection in the counter she examined her face, reassuring herself that she had none of her father's looks. She was a smart woman. She knew the consequences of those men's actions and silently damned them. Nakagawa was a ruthless man who demonized the Ogawa people in order to draw the Whirlpool's attention away from more serious issues. Issues that he simply blamed on the Ogawa. Mild prejudice was all it was up until now but Nakagawa would certainly use these bombings to further his agenda and propaganda. They failed to kill him and only tightened the noose around their owns necks.

Shoving the paper under the counter, she smiled brightly as a man walked into her store. He returned the smile, leaving her feeling relieved. She would be alright. She looked fine, she would be alright.

"It is not alright!" Shouted Sushito, the servant at his side cowering in terror. Indeed, the whole room seemed overcome by the raw emotions of this man. Only his younger brother sitting opposite of him remained calm. Honoo merely sipped his tea and thought the situation through. The whole situation had been a close call for the both of them. Sushito had nearly died and Honoo had nearly become Lord of the Whirlpool. Although he would never have his brother killed over such a thing, Honoo could not deny his desire to be ruler and as Sushito had no sons, Honoo was next in line. He was patient though. You'd have to be with a brother like Sushito.

"It is alright." Stated Honoo, "You're alive, are you not?" Sushito huffed.

"I was almost killed!"

"The fact that you were almost killed shows a severe lack in your protection. The fact that you lived means that you were lucky enough to survive this misfortune so you must now learn from it." Said Honoo dismissively. He waved away the servants, leaving the brothers alone, and poured the duo more tea. "As far as you should be concerned everything is alright. In the aftermath of this, or any disaster, you need to present to the public the image of a strong leader, not someone rattled by a assassination attempt. Any retaliation against this movement must be seen as a punishment and not the reaction of fear. That makes you appear weak."

"Well what do you suggest?" Snapped Sushito. Honoo sipped his tea and closed his eyes in concentration.

"Make an example out of the men involved and appeal to the majority." He said a few minutes later. "The Ogawa up until this point was only made to be a nuisance to the Ame people. Make them a threat and your subjects will be your allies as well."

"How?" Said Sushito, his face blank. Honoo sighed at his brother's stupidity.

"Lies, idiot, lies. It is because of the Ogawa that the taxes are high. It is the because of the Ogawa that there is famine and disease. That there is poverty and inflation. Portray them as a group who will take everything from you even if you have nothing. Who, if they cannot have it, will not want you to have it. They have taken the land from the Ame when the Whirlpool first formed and continue to do so to this day. They stand against your deepest beliefs and hate what you love. For fucks sake you have a room full of people who can write this out for you."

Sushito nodded and rushed pout of the room, eager to start. There was the media to notify first. He would give a press conference and do interviews, pre-planned of course. Radio was a sure way to get the word out, blame the Ogawa, blame the Ogawa. Hm... Best keep Honoo close for quick advice.

Back in the sitting room Honoo drained his tea and snooped around for some sake. It would have been so much easier if Sushito had been just killed.

Jiro watched in amusement as Kushina ran pell-mell towards the wall and attempted to run up it. She fell back to the ground, splashing in the mud. Kohta snickered at the sight, clearly delighted at her failure.

"Give it up." He called to her, "You'll never make it." Kushina just spat out the mud and distanced herself from the wall again, determined to make it this time. She took a deep breath and ran as fast as she could. Her eyes narrowed at the wall of the building, determination etched into her features. Just before she hit the wall she jumped and planted one foot on the side before she slipped back down. In the background she heard Kohta, howling with laughter.

"Shut it!" She screamed, her face burning and she scrambled to her feet. "I'll make it one day."

"You won't. It's impossible." Laughed Kohta. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things? You said you were huffing something right?" Kushina growled. Sure, she had sniffed something that had been shoved in her face, but that didn't change shit. She knew what she saw had been real.

"If I was seeing things then why would an adult say it was real? He said it was a ninja!" Kohta shrugged.

"Adults lie all the time. They like to make kids unhappy so they tell lies like about monsters and goblins to make kids do what they want. It's called deceiving." Kushina grumbled, unable to combat such an impressive vocabulary. She glanced at Jiro who looked like he had nothing to say on the subject. Kushina knew he didn't believe her and she knew she was getting nowhere with her so-called training. Still she turned her back to the boys and ran for the wall again. A moment later she was picking herself up off the ground, much to Kohta's delight.

Kushina tossed and turned under the covers, knowing full well that Jiro was already annoyed with her.

"Stop it." He whispered. "Go to sleep." Kushina tried to stay still but once again found herself too full of energy to remain that way. Hearing Jiro grumble Kushina got up.

"I'm going out for a bit." She whispered, pulling on her boots.

"What!?" Said Jiro, sitting up. "Don't be stupid, it's dark out you idiot."

"I'll take a candle." Said Kushina, "And I'll only be in the backyard, promise." Jiro narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing as she left. Soon enough he heard the sound of her running and falling as she tried to go up the wall. Satisfied that she wouldn't be going anywhere, Jiro lay back down and soon fell asleep

Out in the yard Kushina stared up at the stars and sighed. All day she had been practising and she had yet to show any fruit for her labour. Her legs and back ached and she was covered in bruises. Getting up she headed back to her starting point and turned once again to face the wall. She knew what she saw and no one would tell her otherwise. She would never give it up.

Kushina tried to ignore it but it was quite overwhelming. Behind her sat seven boys, watching in disbelief as she tried over and over again to climb a wall. Damn that bastard Kohta. Behind her the boys made no attempt to lower their voices or hide their opinions.

"Says she saw a man run on the side of a building."

"Think she'll make it?"

"Ha! Dumb bitch. How is she gonna do it?"

"You can't climb without hands or tools."

"Impossible."

Gritting her teeth, Kushina tried to ignore the boy's comments and rushed towards the wall. She jumped, she slipped and she fell. Somehow that process never ceased to amuse them. Turning around she marched back to her place and steadied herself.

"Give it up girly!"

"No, do it again!"

Jiro sighed at the spectacle. For the third day in a row he had gone off for food while Kushina tried to run up the wall. Although he didn't mind Kushina trying something new for a change, he felt her obsession to be bordering insanity. He didn't say anything but he knew that if he did then she would let it go. He also knew that it was probably time to speak up. She couldn't do this to herself forever.

"Kushina," He began, but she took off.

She had heard him. She had heard the hesitation and concern. She heard it loud and clear against the jeers and mocking of six other boys. It resonated within her, shaking her to her very core. The only thing she could do to combat it was to block it out. She pushed it back as she ran forward. Pushed away the noise and the words as she ran to her dream, tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she had seen and it was real. Blocking it all out, she jumped and concentrated instead on her feet. All of her focus, all of her attention was momentarily on her foot as she planted her right one onto the wall and brought up the other.

The surprise was too much for her and once again she fell down in the mud. However this time she was met with a stunned silence as opposed to the loud laughter from before. Then it broke.

"How the hell did you do that!?"

"That was- That was amazing!"

"You took a step, you actually took a step!"

"Do it again, do it again!"

But she couldn't. Not that it mattered. Kushina spent the rest of the day with a large grin plastered across her face as theboys congradgulated her on her achievement. It had only been one step but that was all that it took to prove her right. She wasn't sure how she had done it but knew that she could do it again. Now, however, she realized she needed a proper sensei. Someone who knew what they where doing and who could show her how to control her newfound abilities. As she lay down to sleep that night, she decided that first thing tomorrow she would convince Jiro to help her look for a ninja and they would become ninjas together. They could do it. She was already one step in the right direction.

Okay, so that's done. Sorry about the long wait, this was a really hard chapter for some reason. Anyway, she shows some skill but she is going to be a slow ninja to begin with… Like her son. However that's not going to be for a while. So I fixed a spelling correction in chapter 9 that was bugging me and as for the next chapter… I'll be on the road for the next couple weeks so not until January. Just sit still, I'll be working on a rough draft. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!