Ichigo panted hard as she squatted a few yards away from the base of the tree, using the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat that was pouring down her forehead. Her silver eyes stared at the long ladder of scratch marks tracing its way up the tall, woody plant, trailing about halfway up the tall structure. It's not good enough, she thought with a huff, patting her knees to psych herself up as her body wailed in complaint. Though the bruises she had received from the assassin Zabuza had almost healed completely, she had picked up a menagerie of others from tumbling down from the treetop; plus, expending chakra at such a rate was positively exhausting, and she didn't have near the amount as Sasuke and Naruto did. Their scratch marks climbed high into the trees, eclipsed from the ground by leafy branches. Having been unnerved by the level of competition, Ichigo had wandered off to another clearing so that she could be all alone and undiscouraged. It won't stay that way for long, she told herself firmly, willing herself to stand up.
Her bones creaked in complaint as she stretched her arms above her head, working out her stiff muscles as she prepared for another series of runs. After she was properly warmed up, she closed her eyes and began gathering her chakra at the soles of her feet. She had found that after several days of training, it was becoming quite easy to do; after only a moment, her eyes snapped open and she gripped the kunai tightly in her hand.
"All right! Here we go!" she cried and charged at the tree, and her world turned ninety degrees as her feet made contact with the bark. Not missing a beat, she ran higher and higher, past the marks of her progress thus far. Above her head, untouched bark loomed in her vision, taunting her. Higher! Higher! I have to go higher! She thought desperately as she concentrated hard on keeping the flow of chakra into the wood steady. She was five feet away from her mark, and she felt the chakra flow begin to fluctuate slightly. Come on! You can do it! Three feet away, she wobbled slightly, but managed to keep ahold on the tree. Almost there! You can make it, Ichigo! A half a foot away, all her will was bent on her chakra, and the leaves were a blur of green around her as she surged over the top mark- and kept going.
She ran about another yard and a half before she finally lost control, and she sliced into the tree as she jumped down from branch to branch. However, in her irritation, she misjudged the distance to one of the lower branches and overshot. Her feet slipped uselessly off of the wood, and she screamed as she went tumbling head over heels through the air. She landed roughly at the base of the tree, and gasped as fiery pain rocketed up her entire leg. Groaning, she rolled onto her back and tenderly held her ankle as tears formed in her eyes. Don't be broken, please, don't be broken, not now, not now, she begged as she sucked in air, rocking back and forth to channel the nervous energy.
"Are you all right?" called a soft voice. Her vision blurred by tears and blinding pain, Ichigo gingerly lifted her head, searching for the source of the voice. Across the clearing, what appeared to be a young woman was standing, holding a wicker basket filled with some sort of herbs. Their features weren't clear; all Ichigo could tell was that the individual was dark-haired, and young, probably no older than she. As the young ninja made to sit up, her ankle brushed against a root, and she collapsed in another spasm of pain.
"Nooooo," she wheezed in a high-pitched voice.
"Here. Let me help you," the young woman offered, and quietly walked across the clearing to kneel at the kunoichi's side. Ichigo whimpered as the stranger gently teased off her boot, revealing her injured ankle. It was already beginning to turn red with swelling, and the young kunoichi feared the worse as the young girl stared hard at the injured foot. "Don't worry. It's not broken," she reassured with a smile, and pulled some bandages out of the folds of her kimono. "Luckily for you, I always carry around spare medicine supplies."
"Thank you," Ichigo huffed as the girl wound the bandages tightly around her ankle, making her jerk slightly. The pain was beginning to lessen, but she supposed she would not be able to walk on it for another fifteen minutes at least; training for the rest of the day was absolutely out of the question. I was making a breakthrough, too, she pouted.
"It was quite reckless of you to be climbing a tree like that," the girl scolded lightly as she checked over her handiwork to ensure it was bound properly. Ichigo sat up, pulling leaves out of her pigtails, and looked at the girl. As she peered close, she was shocked to find that the woman was in fact a he. Oh my, he's prettier than most girls. If I had only given a passing glance, I would have been totally fooled! She thought, glad she had noticed before she made a fool of herself. Tucking one foot underneath her and leaning back to prop the foot on a root and reduce the swelling, she smiled cheekily at the pretty boy.
"I wasn't just climbing," she explained. "I'm training."
"Training?" the boy repeated with widened eyes. "Whatever for?" Ichigo smiled wider and pointed at her headband, right at the leaf symbol edged into the metal.
"I'm a ninja, you see, and I'm training hard so that I can become strong," she answered. So I can beat Zabuza into a bloody pulp, she thought bitterly, and she must have had a frown on her face, because the boy seemed perturbed.
"Strong? Is there someone you wish to defeat?" he asked.
"Sort of. When we first arrived in this country, we ran into a really bad character. He gave me a real bruising," she sighed, and the ghosts of her injuries made her abdomen hurt. "My comrades had to save me. I felt so weak," she admitted begrudgingly. "I don't ever want to feel like a burden again, so I'm training so that they don't have to worry about me. I want to be able to hold my own, you know? Maybe I can repay the favor and save them someday," she chuckled, feeling slightly embarrassed to be pouring her heart out to a complete stranger. However, the boy nodded in understanding.
"I see. It sounds like you care a lot about your comrades," the boy smiled. Ichigo cocked her head to the side as she considered the comment. Huh. I haven't really thought about it, but despite the short time we've been together, I have grown fond of them… She enjoyed Sakura as female company, and admired how intelligent she was. Though he was arrogant and prideful, Ichigo could not deny that Sasuke had skill, and she also looked to him as a role model. Even Naruto, the knuckle-headed klutz, she admired immensely for his determination and bubbly personality. They all had contributed so much to her growth, and she hadn't even realized it. Before Ichigo knew it, a large smile had split her face.
"Yeah! I really do care about them!" she agreed.
"So, you want to protect them?" the boy asked. The question struck a chord with her. Protect and defend. The Tsukihana clan motto… Our entire purpose in life.
"Absolutely!" she smiled warmly, and the strange boy returned the smile kindly.
"I see. Then, I don't think you have to worry too much," he responded with a slight chuckle. Ichigo blinked, not quite understanding just what the boy was getting at. Sensing her confusion, he continued, "You see, when someone has something precious to them that they want to protect, they grow incredibly strong. If you truly desire to protect those closer to you, then you will reach your goal."
"Oh," Ichigo murmured. I see… That makes sense. Protecting her friends, and protecting Tazuna and his country, had largely the motivation for Ichigo to train as hard as she has. She had already grown so much in the span of a few short days. Abruptly, the boy stood up, retrieving his basket of herbs. "Are you leaving?" she asked, slightly disappointed. The young boy was good company.
"Yes. I am afraid that I must be on my way," he confirmed, and then smiled brightly down at her. "I can tell that you are very determined. You will grow stronger. I can see it." And, with that final statement, the boy disappeared in the greenery, leaving Ichigo by herself. She stared after him, playing the conversation over and over again in her mind. If I desire to protect something… I will grow very strong. Suddenly renewed, she hopped to her feet and delicately placed weight on her ankle. She winced slightly at the bolt of pain that shot up her leg, but it wasn't nearly what it was, and definitely manageable.
"I still have sunlight left," she decided, grinning in resolve. "By the time the stars come out, I will have made it three-fourths of the way up! That's my goal!" Grabbing her kunai knife, she set back to work, racing up the tree, falling back down again, dragging herself back up, and starting the whole process over. The forest darkened and the birdsong faded, replaced by the hooting of owls and the occasional howling of wolves; yet, Ichigo pushed herself onward, until she was sweating bullets and gasping for breath. It's not enough. I have to be stronger, stronger, and stronger still!
By the time the rest of her team came looking for her, she was laying against the thick trunk of the tree, completely unable to move and staring through the leaves at the glittery stars above, with a big smile on her face.
"Goodness, look at you," Sakura huffed as she stopped in front of the exhausted girl, her hands on her hips. "You look like you've been to Hell and back. Look, even one of your pigtails is undone!" she cried, grabbing the girl's loose white hair and waving it around. Ichigo had not noticed, to be frank, and she just sniggered at the girl's scolding. "It's not funny! You could've died out here, and we wouldn't have known! Jeez, you're just as bad as Naruto. He's been falling asleep in the woods all week!"
"It's because I've been training, Sakura," Naruto muttered grumpily. The boy also looked just as disheveled as Ichigo, clothes rumpled and covered in dirt, and his body marked with bruises and scratches. He screwed up his face as he glared up at the tree, his bright blue eyes tracing the progress the determined kunoichi had made. "Hey, you made it all the way up there, Ichigo?" he beamed and pointed emphatically at the upper story of the tall pine tree. Ichigo nodded delightedly.
"Mhmm. And tomorrow, I'm gonna make it to the very top!" she grinned stupidly and moved to give him a thumbs-up, but her arm just flopped uselessly. "Whoops," she laughed, and then slumped over a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her. As her vision danced, Sasuke rolled his eyes at her.
"You aren't making it anywhere like that, loser," he sighed, but he was smirking, and Ichigo took that as the best sign of his approval that she would obtain.
"All right, that's enough for tonight. If you use any more chakra, you are liable to die," Kakashi sighed heavily. He had been off the crutches for about a day now, completely recovered, and so the Jonin crouched down and lifted her easily into his arms. Ichigo's head swam at the change of altitude, and all she could do was mumble nonsense as she struggled to form cohesive thoughts.
"Naruto, you've been encouraging her to pull stupid stunts like this, haven't you? I do need two knuckleheads to look after!" Sakura scolded the blonde boy, bonking him repeatedly on the head with her fist. Naruto cried out in protest, running away from the pink-haired girl's barrage.
"Nuh-uh! I didn't say anything! Honest!" he whined as he and the girl ran in circles around their sensei. Ichigo giggled at the exchange, watching their blurry forms flash by.
I want to protect them. Always, she thought as her consciousness faded, and she slumped over, held securely in the arms of her sensei and surrounded by her trusted comrades.