AN.
Oh shit.
I'm actually not dead though?!
a revelation
(more detailed AN below so yes)
WARNINGS:REALLY REALLY REALLY SHORT CHAPTER THAT Y'ALL WAITED FOR SO LONG BUT ITS SO SHORT AND PROBABLY REALLY FILLERY
Jab, jab, thrust.
"No, Kuma-chan. Keep your stance wide and your body lower." Tokina instructed the young boy lightly.
The smaller sibling complied with an eager smile. His stance looked a bit sloppy but it was kind of acceptable for his age. The now three-year old boy began jabbing and thrusting at the tree with straws tied to it, grunting at each strike, a habit that would prove deadly if he was in a stealth mission
Tokina decided that she needed to worm into Tokuma's heart like the parasite she was, and to make up for lost time, so she volunteered to teach him the basics of Jyūken when her mom couldn't. That is why they were in the middle of the backyard trying to break really durable logs just by slapping them; the first step as to literally numb the pain of the palms and to actually strengthen the blows.
It didn't make sense to him. Why do you need strong hands when you could jab their heart? If the books Tokina-onee-chan gave him, it stated that a simple touch would suffice.
It is called Gentle Fist for a reason, the young boy thought.
But he learned that if he continued doing things a little bit wrong, it would let him spend time more with his sister.
And that was always good.
"Like this, onee-chan?" His pale eyes blinked up at her, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"Yeah, but don't put too much for in your blow since that will only tire you down faster." She gave him a tip, demonstrating how much effort and weight he should put in each strike. "It's not the force that makes Jyūken feared, but the effect. Sealed chakra hurts."
Which was his point but he just wanted some time with him and his 'sis.
"Oooooh!" He grinned at her before correcting his stance and continued practicing with his Jyūken with grunts that she was bound to correct.
"Don't coddle him" is what his mother would say to her but it wasn't so much coddling but just spending time with family, and that is always good! He didn't know what the word coddling means but he'll remedy—he wondered if he used that word right since Rin and his mom use it frequently—the situation after training.
Maybe she would give him the butterflies when he's older. He hoped so! They were so pretty and cool but he needs to find his own way of using the Byakugan, though. From the stories my mom told him, dad used his for pinpoint accuracy and distance with the clearest eyes in all of Hyūga as well as the built in heat seeking (chakra color) in them so he could get a clearer view better. Mom focused hers on zooming on things into a microscopic (really really small!) level for things like surgery. Tokina-onee-chan uses hers for distance and genjutsu enhancement and seeing things in dark places.
Tokina told him that he would surpass all of the Hyūga.
He hoped so.
Fire Release: Great Fireball!
A pathetic candle light came out from the Uchiha's mouth.
"You have got to be kidding me." Obito groaned at this. He did it the first time in practice! What was he doing wrong? Convert your chakra to fire, which was relatively easy. Next, breathe in, shape the air and add the fore chakra then blow! It was a simple jutsu which marked him as a man in the Uchiha Clan! Obito sighed and leaned near the tree in the Uchiha Compound's training ground.
"Chakra control helps." A familiar feminine voice said behind his back. He felt a blush come on as he turned around a little bit too quickly for his liking while the said girl casually handed him lunch, the cute and adorable brunette girl smile at him in a greeting. "Rin-chan! I thought you were—"
"—At the hospital?" She finished for him with one of her single raised eyebrow that sent flutters in his stomach. "Akane-san gave me a day off after her successful surgery today and the medic-corps didn't need me today so I thought I would pass you by since Tokina is busy with her...research?" She wondered, "I actually don't know what she does but she can do it on her own, as she told me." Rin shrugged. "So, what are you doing?"
"Ah, j-just training." He took the blue bento box as they slumped under the tree of the training grounds. They both popped open their bento boxes at the same time not on purpose or anything, of course. He wasn't creepy like that, hehehe...
Oh, God, he had it bad.
"Are you feeling okay?" She questioned, leaning a bit too close for comfort, raising his already raised goggles to inspect his temperature. "You're flushed but it isn't a cold or a fever." She pursued her lips in thought.
"I-uh-well-" he stammered, absolutely embarrassingly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Side effects of the fire chakra!" He came up with. "You know, the fire makes me feel all hot inside, so...hehe...yeah."
She tilted her head to the side before shrugging, continuing her own bento box. "Well, if you say so. I trust you." She smiled before digging into her own lunch. Obito flushed a deeper shade of red.
Of course, he can't exactly keep relying on his two friends. He was the one that was going to be Hokage. He was the one who is going to protect, not be protected. He was the one that needed to be strong for them.
"So, about that chakra control..." He muttered sheepishly. The girl looked up from her musings and smiled at the boy.
He wants to protect that smile.
He needs to protect that smile.
He'll do anything for that smile.
Anything,
Even if it means starting a world war, it would be worth it to see his two best friends by his side.
He's going to protect the world so that whole world war bit would never come.
"It all starts with your manipulation..."
Kakashi sat down in his apartment and focused once more, staring at the scroll he had acquired through legal means. Minato gave it to him after today's practice when everyone went away to do who knows what. Normally, he would go practice his kenjutsu and ninjutsu but with the scroll of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a highly versatile technique, he went straight into it.
The possibilities would be endless! Lightning Clones to paralyze the target by touch! Fooling that damn Byakugan of hers' and learning things two times faster!
Minato gave him a demonstration and he was determined to master this technique to give him a wider jutsu arsenal.
He split his chakra into two evenly.
Poof,
He blinked at another clone of him.
"Yo,"
"...Yo,"
He felt faint, though. It was probably due to the fact that he did not have the chakra for the technique.
...He'll increase his chakra reserves then.
To be the perfect ninja will be a long journey that he will achieve, no one will get in the way of his goal.
The Hyūga siblings walked to the market place when the busier of the two finally got enough time away from training, scheming and teaching her younger brother how to kill. As they walked through the crowd, she couldn't help but stare at a "DIY" fūinjutsu pack that was mostly aimed for civilians and genins. Tokina frowned, reminding herself of her chicken handwriting despite her Hyūga-level hand coordination. She didn't know why her handwriting was atrocious but if she was bad at something, at least it wasn't fighting.
Tokuma tugged at his dazed sister, ushering her to move forward.
"So Kuma-kun, what do you want to buy? I have some change to spare." Tokina smiled at the pleased cinnamon-roll that is her younger brother, probably jumping because of the thought of food.
"Taoyaki!"
"Red bean, chocolate or strawberry?"
"Chocolate!"
Tokina smiled at his choice, only because she doesn't eat any dessert (or snack) that isn't chocolate.
They walked to their favorite taoyaki stand. The chef greeted them and gave the pair their "usuals" with a pleasant smile, the chef prompting how their mother was, Tokina answering with a polite "fine", prompting the two to have idle chit-chat while they finished their sweet snack. They sat down on the swing set under a tree; gently rocking back and forth, letting the gentle spring breeze cool them down as they let the snack sit in their stomach.
Tokina then blinked down at Tokuma who was staring intently at two certain green-clad men playing (if lifting the whole see-saw while they do sit-ups with weights counted at playing) with smiles on their faces. She then eyed her younger brother with curiosity, thinking that her mother knew better to make sure Tokuma doesn't talk to strange figures with even stranger fashion senses.
"Hey, Onee-chan?" Tokuma whispered, as if to himself, still gazing at the two green figures who she believes were Maito Gai and Dai.
She took a deep breath, anticipating the question that her and her mom were skilfully dodging for so long.
"What is it Kuma-kun?" She asked with a small smile, gently rocking herself back and fro from the swing.
"Why don't I have dad?" He asked, straight to the point, his gaze continuing at the two green beasts who were subconsciously doing a rainbow-like genjutsu in which she promptly cancelled with a bit of irritation. Tokina didn't need the two to rub their "father-son bond" in their face right now.
She held the wooden plank of the swing a little bit harder,
"You do, Kuma-kun." Tokina strategically kept the nickname despite of the seriousness of the child's tone and face. It was scary how a small child could look so intimidating. Did I look like that? If I did, I really need to apologize to mom. "He's just not...with us."
"What do you mean?" He turned his gaze to his sister, looking her straight in the eye.
She really wanted to tell him. She really did, but her mother's voice rang through her in a pleasant reminder.
"The child deserves better, Tokina-chan. He does not need to know the grief of not having a father, much less having to accept it in such a young age."
Tokina didn't like this one-bit but she was never a mother.
Or maybe she just didn't want to deal with the repercussions that telling Tokuma would bring.
"Why is he busy?" Tokuma blinked sadly. Tokina hid the surprise in her eyes. The poor kid must be thinking he's out in a long mission. "Most of the other kids have their dads fetch them after playing, even if they are ninja. Why can't my dad do the same with me?"
"...it's complicated, Tokuma." Tokina caved in. "I know that you hear this from mom a lot of times but you will understand when you're older."
Tokuma frowned and didn't dignify her with a response. The two silently watched the green-clad beasts until the sun began to set.
AN.
Okay I really don't have an excuse. I love this story but the "Naruto HYPE FLAME" died. The only thing keeping this alive is literally my muse Steven Universe and we fanfiction writers know that you can't just live off with ONE MUSE without having hype for the fandom your writing for. I don't know when my next post is but I'm determined to see this story through. I can't guarantee schedules anymore but MAYBE if I discipline myself right, it'll be 2 weeks=1 story but I might post a chapter sooner than later because this chapter is literally "HEY GUYS I'M ACTUALLY NOT DEAD".
That's all for now, sorry for the randomness and abruptness and THANK YOU for your patience if you clicked on a notification or saw this in your emails, I hope you enjoy this story and most importantly ENJOY LIFE! :)
