Genma watched Miho down the final protein ball before she chugged down another shake. He could see her double-chin returning and her cheeks filling out from where they were once hollowed. She was gaining the weight back, slowly but surely. The integral caloric intake was working. Calories were added every two days, until she reached 10,000. It was a fast pace, but a safe one. Last he had checked with the Akimichi dietician, Old Woman Ayumu, Miho was on-track to settle at her optimal weight within two weeks.
Then, it was just a matter of reconditioning.
It was an agonizing process, rebuilding.
Genma'd experienced it more times than he'd like to remember. On-mission injuries, physical therapy, counselling, surgeries, stamina-building, Genma knew how difficult it was to rebuild yourself. Losing Koji, too. They had to rebuild themselves and bear the weight of loss.
Both Miho and Tetsuya were proving themselves…as survivors.
They'd proven themselves as ninja.
Tetsuya finished his circuit, stumbling over to where Miho sat. He collapsed into the blanket, covering his eyes with his arm. From his perch in the trees, Genma could see Miho settle a towel over her teammate's forehead. Her legs were finally gaining their weight, splayed out before her. She was stitching, a hobby she seemed to be taking more seriously after her imprisonment. Tetsuya pulled her leg toward him, using it as a pillow.
"Shiranui."
Genma rolled his eyes, not even bothering to look at the other branch. "Figured you'd show up at some point."
"The Hokage's had me on missions."
As if that excused his distance from his own team.
Seven was splintered in a way that it shouldn't be.
Genma scoffed, reaching up to use the senbon to pick at a place between his teeth. A habit he knew irritated the ever-loving hell out of Kakashi. The guy's sensitive hearing could pick up on the scratch-scratch of the needle point against bone.
He could sense the irritation, even if Kakashi didn't look up from his book. "I've been out on missions, too. Downside of an invasion, yeah? We still got bills to pay." Still, here he was— blood-stained and exhausted— checking in on his kids. "What do you want?"
Kakashi was quiet. It might've seemed contemplative to others, but Genma had years of practice observing the Copy-Ninja's mannerisms. Gai could read Kakashi like a book. Genma took his cues from his teammate. He knew Kakashi pitied him in some way. Maybe even pitied his team. After all, Kakashi was all-too-familiar with losing teammates.
Kakashi wasn't someone who showed pity easily.
"Your students are living with my students."
Genma smirked, pulling the senbon from his lips. Finally, he turned to Kakashi only to find that the book was down. Ah, Genma realized as his back straightened, the real Kakashi decided to make an appearance. Not that stupid knock-off Obito that he liked to imitate.
"Frankly, I'm not sure how my kids can put up with your kids, but…" Genma shrugged.
"Why, Shiranui?"
"Why what, Hatake?"
Irritation flashed on Kakashi's face. Genma felt the vaguest sense of satisfaction. Getting a rise out of Kakashi was fun. "When I came back from my mission, two of my students had moved. Two of my students who hate each other are now living together. With an Utatane and an Akimichi."
Genma held Kakashi's stare for a long moment. "You really think those two boys hate each other?" Chuckling a bit, he settled the senbon back between his lips. "Did you hate Obito?" Low blow, but an effective one. Genma didn't coddle Kakashi like Gai did. Something very, very close to rage flashed in Hatake's visible eye. "Yeah, given what we know, there's a lot of unresolved emotion there."
Considering Obito somehow became Tobi of Akatsuki and intended to end the world…
A lot of unresolved emotion.
Below, he saw Miho push herself up. She cradled Tetsuya's head and gently settled it onto the blanket. When she stood, she grinned down at her stomach, resting both hands on it before patting it through the vest. Genma could see Tetsuya grinning up at her. He could imagine Koji cheering, handing her a cookie from her bag of snacks. Swallowing down the hurt, Genma turned to Kakashi, rolling his shoulders back.
"Your kids needed something to hold onto. Someone to notice. People to come back to. They need support. Naruto, Sasuke, hell, Sakura. And you're not there. You're not even trying to be there. You're not securing them. You weren't there and they fractured. And they were going to do the same again. Again. Here."
The senbon's metal taste was usually comforting, but it reminded him too much of the blood he spilled the previous night. Genma ignored the gagging sensation and removed the needle again.
"Naruto lived alone in that rundown apartment of his with that crumpled picture of his dead parents." Kakashi flinched. "Sasuke was isolated a stone's throw from where his family was massacred. Not exactly healthy living situations, Kakashi."
"They seemed to be—"
His fingers flexed as he stared. Kakashi was a damn idiot. He'd been told once before that his Killing Intent felt like a noose full of needles wrapping around a throat. He wondered if Hatake felt that. If he did, the Copy-Nin didn't acknowledge the threat.
"They need support structures, you fool. They need help. They need a community. They need a team. Hell, they need structure. Kakashi, they needed a home, not just a place to live. And they didn't seem to be fine. You're just willfully blind."
Genma took a deep breath and let the tension go, allowing it to melt from his shoulders. He settled the senbon back between his teeth and let his shoulders curve forward a bit to relieve the tightness in his back.
He couldn't believe he'd hesitated for a fraction of a second when Miho and Tetsuya brought him the idea.
He didn't want his kids near the mess that was Team Seven.
Now, they were living with the mess. And Genma felt fifty years older, even if he had encouraged it.
"Sounds like we're involved now- whether we like it or not, Genma-sensei." Tetsuya had said while Miho slept, his lanky arm curled around her in that stupid hospital bed. "Might as well make a difference where we can, right?"
"So, yeah, Hatake, our kids are roommates. You might be familiar with their new place. Go check it out. I've already secured it to Level Five, but have fun adding more traps."
Genma turned, watching Miho settle into an Akimichi kata. He knew she had to be sore. She'd already run two hundred and thirty laps that morning, along with a early morning session with Elder Torifu. They weren't yet on active roster, so training and recovery was top priority. He felt Kakashi turn. Tetsuya shifted to sit upright. The kid crossed his legs, settling into a meditative pose.
A familiar meditative pose with a sword resting over his lap.
"Hayate won't stop talking about him." Kakashi commented, lifting his book again. "The next inheritor of the Moon Style."
Humming in agreement, Genma tried to ignore the pain in his shoulder. Those damn guards were better than he had anticipated. Miho overshot a move, catching herself. The new weights were throwing off her balance. Tetsuya inhaled and exhaled.
"It's three-oh-five, isn't it?"
"They all need a place to come back to. We know that better than most."
"Better than most." Kakashi agreed after a few moments.
Leaving the Copy-Ninja behind, Genma jumped down to the training field.
It was before dawn. Dew still clung to the leaves and blades of grass. Much of Konoha was still cocooned under blankets in the warmth of their homes. Akimichi Miho pushed herself through the cool morning air. Her chest was aching terribly as she rounded the training ground. It was a familiar routine. One that she'd finally earned back.
She was completing her 400th lap of her daily jog.
Muscles burning and eyes watering, she slowed down her pace and stumbled over to a worn green towel that had been thrown over a low branch. She patted her forehead and took a deep breath, running a hand through her thick damp curls. They fell past her shoulders now.
Judging from the dim light that was rising on the horizon, sunrise was approaching. Soon enough, Lee would arrive for a spar. She needed to keep working to rebuild her taijutsu.
It was better than lying awake, she thought vaguely. It was better than reliving nightmares and trying to hide crying at the apartment.
Naruto hadn't caught on yet.
Tetsuya, of course, already knew.
And Sasuke…Sasuke gave her a critical look after a swiftly hidden panic attack.
He likely knew better than anyone.
He definitely knew better than anyone.
Her muscles burning and aching was better than watching different conclusions to a lifelong nightmares played out in her mind. Things she'd seen. Things she'd seen with him. Things Ino conjured up. Things that really happened somewhere in some life.
With one errant decision, Chōji died gruesomely before her very eyes—under a huge orange-furred claw. He would look to her in the last moments before his bones were crushed, begging her to help. His hand reached out to her. His butterfly wings flickering and fading.
"You could've helped him then. What a mistake you made."
Muscles ripped from bones, blue flames gathering about his body.
She was always helpless, watching her brother's death as if it were a movie.
Fu's voice haunted her. "If you just told someone, you could have saved him."
It was real. It happened.
Didn't it?
"Ah, but he betrayed you, didn't he?"
In other flickers, Naruto was impaled by a hand through his chest and birds were screeching. Naruto, whose smile was so much brighter than the light that swallowed the world. Sasuke put his hand through her chest too. It was a small mercy.
"You'd never be strong enough."
Lee was stabbed, terribly mangled in the onslaught.
Shikamaru was consumed in bright white light.
Ino, her vibrant eyes blank and unseeing.
Her father burned alive in an explosion that shook the very earth beneath her feet as she looked on from a distance. Hundreds of thousands gone in mere seconds.
"Lord Danzō will know what you know."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Miho rolled her shoulders back and refocused her breathing. Her lips pressed together. Steady. In and out.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
Keep up your training.
Do your best when it all goes south.
Rearing her body back, she rolled forward and to her feet. One strike. Two strikes. Three. Spin. Strike. Spin, block. Again. Right. Left. Strike, block. Strike. Spin. Block. Again.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
Keep up your training.
Do your best when it all goes south.
Again.
Again.
Again!
"Miho, my dear Beautiful Friend of the Ages! Have you finished your warm-up? Are you ready for a spar?"
Opening her eyes, Miho looked over to see Lee rising up from where he'd landed on the other side of the training ground. A smile was firmly in place and he gave her a thumbs-up. A supremely disgruntled Hyuuga Neji and a ticked-off Tenten stood on either side of him. Their contrasting expressions might've been funny if they didn't catch Miho so off-guard. Lee hurried forward, pulling her into a dramatic, spinning embrace. With a twirl, he released her and gestured toward his teammates.
"Look, I brought along Neji and Tenten! My youthful team! I remembered that you wanted to spar my fair teammate. And Neji is… here!"
Miho almost snorted at Rock's very, very subtle jab. The Hyuuga's scowl intensified. For the sake of entertainment more than anything else, Miho waved. "Great to see you, Tenten. I'd love to do a weapons spar, if you're up for it."
"Lee mentioned you've been working on your naginata skills. That's why he…invited…me." Tenten looked cautiously toward her brooding teammate, who still stood ramrod straight beside her. His eyes narrowed at the attention and Tenten grimaced. "Lee said you're training with Akimichi Torifu. He's a legend!"
"Master Torifu is an experience. That's for sure! I'm sure he'd love to have you visit a training session. He loves people who can throw things at me." Tenten laughed, moving to settle herself comfortably under a nearby tree. "After Lee then?"
"After me."
Miho turned. "What was that, Gluten-Free?"
"You will spar with me." He walked to a position at about the middle of the clearing. With an utterly bored stare, he looked over at her.
And Miho had to admit, she was dumbfounded.
"Did you...lose a bet?"
With no answer save a continued stare, Miho looked to Lee. Lee, who was already doing push-ups at the edge of the training ground. He didn't even pause when he gave her a thumbs-up while doing a few push-ups one-handed. "I said my gloriously youthful team and I would be happy to aid you in your quest for recovery, Sweet Sunflower!"
Rock Lee… Miho felt a growl building up in her throat.
Something felt like it was churning under her skin, bubbling and twisting.
"I am sparring with your teammate this afternoon."
That brought Miho up short.
The irritation that she'd sensed from him before was gone. Instead, his eyes seemed honest. Her father had said something of the Hyuuga once. "For all that their eyes can see, their eyes tell all that you need to know of them." Hinata's eyes were sincere, kind, and determined. Neji's eyes— He settled into his initial taijutsu stance, hand outstretched.
"Your teammate saved my life and, by his sacrifice, Lady Hinata's life."
Sacrifice.
Miho tensed, bending her knees and lowering her center of gravity. "Tetsuya's not dead."
Something flickered over his face. Then, he nodded. Miho stepped back, narrowly avoiding a strike to her left shoulder. Sensing the next strike, she threw herself forward, narrowing escaping a blow to her other shoulder. The veins around his eyes emerged, throbbing beneath the skin of his temples. Miho felt a thrill of fear and exhilaration.
Neji wouldn't hold back.
He wouldn't treat her like a china doll.
Miho felt a smile tugging at her lips as she threw herself forward again, swinging one of her weighted legs toward his midsection. He blocked, of course, but he clearly wasn't anticipating that kind of weight. Nearly one hundred pounds on each leg now. Next week, she'd up it to two hundred pounds. She got some satisfaction in seeing his heels dig into the dirt from that hit.
"YOUTH!" She heard Lee yell somewhere.
Springing back, Miho felt a strike to her left shoulder. Her entire arm tingled. She didn't yet have enough meat to take hits as well as she used to. Akimichi were often sparring opponents of Hyuuga for that very reason. Akimichi were built to take hits. Hyuuga were built to hit. She settled back again, lowering her torso and squaring her shoulders. She vaguely wondered if he could feel it. In her hits. With the way his brows drew together, she wondered.
Could he sense her frustration in her hits?
Could he sense the slightest bit of anger at him for what happened to Tetsuya?
No matter how nonsensical it was, Miho could feel it there. She could feel it when she hit the ground and she could feel it when she hauled herself back up again.
Getting close enough to Hyuuga Neji to body throw him was definitely not possible, but damn if she didn't want to just throw him though.
"Your balance is off. Shift to the right."
Neji was going to die.
Miho adjusted.
Or maybe he wouldn't have to.
She hadn't even noticed that she was compensating for her leg. Neji nodded, attacking again. She felt two more hits. Fat and muscle, not a chakra point. She could withstand. It hurt like hell though. Miho felt some satisfaction when she actually landed another kick to his braced arms. Again, his heels dug into the grass. She could feel a ripple in the air from the impact.
The leaves rustled.
His hair was mesmerizing, Miho thought idly when they entered into another round of blows and parries. His hair moved so perfectly with him that it was almost part of the dance. It was kinda ethereal.
Neji's hair was...
Seeing a perfectly-aimed blow coming, Miho braced.
He was too damn good.
His palm struck her shoulder.
Miho felt her mouth open, but no sound came out.
She couldn't breathe.
Something was wrong.
Something was wrong.
Something was wrong.
The burning tore like a tempest through her arm and her chest, melting down her stomach to her thighs and legs. It roiled and burned and seared. There was a rushing sound in her ears— a thunderous sound that only seemed to build with each passing second until she couldn't hear anything else. It felt as if pressure was building in her chest, pressing up against her sternum and rib cage. The pain felt…It felt like the worst indigestion she'd ever had. It hurt.
Lee's face appeared, but she wasn't sure why he was in the sky or why he looked so scared. She couldn't feel anything except the way her body ached and arched and shuddered. It hurt. It burned.
It surged.
It crashed.
"She's definitely not the sharpest kunai in the pack, is she?" Tsunade rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Really, the Fifth Hokage was getting too old for this shit. As soon as that annoying brat Naruto heard that the Akimichi girl was in the hospital again, everything was going to get louder and Tsunade hadn't had time to do a hangover jutsu to quell her raging headache. "The little twerp used her chakra and then fought a damn Hyuuga."
The girl knew the future, was tough as nails, and was an absolute dumbass.
"I was not aware that Akimichi Miho's chakra was unstable."
The Hokage looked around to where said Hyuuga stood near the wall. Rock Lee was fretting beside him, a perfect contrast to his stoic teammate. The poor Ten Ten was looking particularly tired, obviously wanting to be anywhere but where she was. For a moment, Tsunade really identified with a fourteen year old. "How about you three take a hike and go get her father?"
Rock Lee snapped to attention, saluting with a fervor that Tsunade really couldn't stomach this early in the damn morning. She turned back to the Akimichi girl, trying to stabilize her raging chakra. At this rate, if she didn't get it to calm soon, she'd need to seal it. And that was the last thing Tsunade wanted to do. "I will go to the Akimichi Estate! Come with me Fair Teammates! Let us go!" Tsunade sensed two of the three leaving.
When she raised her attention again, she met the kid's eyes.
"Go, Hyuuga."
He said nothing as he complied. Moody teenagers and their freakin' drama. Tsunade felt a surge of the chakra rising and falling, swirling around like a maelstrom between her tenketsu. It felt unnatural. Fraught. Unfamiliar, but...familiar. Every so often, she felt what had to be the Akimichi's original chakra in the mixture. Those moments were few and far between.
"Lady Tsunade?"
"Shizune, summon Genma and Elder Torifu. As soon as I get this girl stabilized, we need to summon the Bears."
It took way more effort than Tsunade liked to get the chakra to subside and calm. If anything, the chakra did so on its own, she merely kept it from destroying or negatively affecting the Akimichi girl's already fragile chakra system. Any more abuse and it would be irreparably damaged. Nevermind what that absolute idiot of a torturing field medic did when the girl was in captivity, this chakra would eat her alive if it was left unchecked. Tsunade wondered if the Bears had any idea what they were doing when they saved her.
When the girl awoke again, some thirty minutes later, Tsunade rested both hands on her hips.
"Let me tell you, girly. Dealing with you and your drama was not what I had in mind for today."
Looking properly chastised, Akimichi Miho swallowed nothing and looked away, toward the window. "I-I apologize, Lady Hokage."
"I'll have you know, I've got enough to deal with. You gave me enough to deal with." Knowledge of the future, changes to that future, a war on the horizon. There was no want for plenty to do and plenty of want for sake. "One use of chakra when I specifically said not to use your chakra was one thing. Fighting a Hyuuga is just stupidity given movement."
The girl nodded. "I'm- I'm sorry, Lady Hokage."
"What if that Hyuuga didn't have the sense to stop and closed another one of your tenketsu? What if your friend didn't drop his weights to get you here so fast? What if I was not on my way-" Tsunade stopped, looking down to see that the girl had thrown an arm over her eyes. Her body was shaking and she was very clearly holding back sobs.
Tsunade felt the headache lessen a bit as she sat on the edge of the bed, sighing as the girl continued to cry. In reality, she had every right to lose it. She'd seen what the girl knew. The girl had reported what she'd endured. She'd lost a teammate. She lost trust in her loved ones. She was attempting, despite everything, to keep a wildcard loyal. Now, she had a royally-fucked-up chakra system. Tsunade imagined the pressure was...overwhelming.
"Want to explain?"
"I want to sl-sleep."
Nodding, Tsunade reached for the girl's head. Miho shook her head and lowered her arm. It was only when Tsunade looked closer that she saw the bags under the girl's eyes. Exhaustion. Why hadn't anyone noticed? Why hadn't anyone said anything?
"I can help you sleep."
"I see him. In my head. I see it all. I can't- I can't sleep. And...And I'm-I'm scared."
"You think I don't know what trauma looks like, Akimichi?" Tsunade realized her tone was too harsh. Miho didn't flinch, but there was a shift in the light of her eyes that made the Hokage rethink her tactics. "I'll prescribe some sleeping pills. We'll get you set up with a counselor. Once things settle, Aoba can return to training you in meditative practices. Those things should help."
"I'm...I'm trying not to be disappointed in myself, Lady Hokage."
Tsunade scoffed, standing. "Disappointed in yourself? You think Naruto would stand for that? You think Rock Lee and that Obnoxious Team Ten would stand for that? Or Genma and the Utatane brat? Get over yourself, Akimichi. Take a rest then you've got work to do."
As the story goes, there was once a woman who sought knowledge. It is said that she spent her entire life searching for it. She looked for it in the valleys. She looked for it in the mountains. She searched beyond the moon and below the ground. Still, the woman never found the wisdom she sought. After she left each place, she said: "I have heard many knowledges, but not the knowledge I seek."
At one point in her journey, she encountered the Sage of Six Paths.
"What is the knowledge you seek, Wanderer?" The Sage asked.
"I will know when I learn of it."
Tired from her journeys, the woman settled under a tree at the edge of a very large plain. She sat there for many moons.
The plain stretched to the horizon. Every so often, the woman could see flashes of light at the very edge of that horizon. The wind rose up and then a great rain came in walls and torrents. A storm moved across the plain before her. The cloud swirled in the sky, magnificent grays and purples, shadows and light. It was magnificent and strong and a wonder.
The woman rose up and called the storm to her.
No human had ever called to the storm before. Such audacity should be noticed and rewarded. The storm turned and came to her. It settled about her like a cloak, pooling into her chakra and resting in her veins. "This power shall be passed from generation to generation," the storm told the woman. And the woman no longer wandered.
This story was told to her as a child, but she never saw why. There was no lesson to be learned. There was no tie to Akimichi history. It was just a random story that Elder Ayumu had told her, twirling a curl between her gnarled fingers.
"Someday…" Elder Ayumu had smiled. "Someday, you will understand, sweet bun."
That woman she'd heard about so long ago while Elder Ayumu and she twisted buns in the afternoon sunlight was Okuda Yaegiri— a legendary figure in the Okuda Clan.
Under her fingers, kanji spelled out the story. It told of how Okuda Yaegiri, the Wanderer, acquired the Storm Release of the Okuda Clan.
Miho closed the scroll and looked across to where her father sat. Her eyes met his for a short moment before she looked away, toward where her mother was seated. Her mother smiled, though it was taught and tense.
The grass seemed especially cool and damp. This early in the morning, the village seemed calm, peaceful. The sun had only just risen over the horizon.
Miho's eyes then tracked over to Lord Ki, whose gigantic form and fur sat at half the height of the largest oak in the Akimichi training ground. His hind legs were folded beneath him, formal kimono neatly arranged. She could see lightning bolts stitched into fabric, intricate little swirling patterns etched on the teal robes.
The scroll was the History of the Okuda.
It'd been carefully preserved, guarded by the Bears. Given to them by Okuda Keisuke.
Now, it rested in her hands.
Beside Lord Ki, Healer Ha was muttering something under his breath, jowls swinging and greyed eyes holding a cynical sort of scowl. "A son of the Great Okuda Yaegiri wrestled the Emperor of Center Mountain, Lord Kintoki, before all of the Four Directions. This was because Lord Kintoki sought to control the mountain on which the Okuda had built their home. The human won. It was such a huge shock at the time. When asked why he fought such a large bear—"
Healer Ha shifted, making sure the attention of all those present was focused upon him.
"The Okuda said, 'I only sought to protect my family and my clan by building a mountain fortress. I could not lose.' Lord Kintoki was so impressed, he pledged a contract with all of that line."
"While the history lesson is appreciated, it's not why we're here." Lady Tsunade commented drily. Healer Ha shot her a glare, a growl building at the back of his throat. "Akimichi Miho's chakra system." The prompt was firm.
Lord Ki cleared his throat, attempting to refocus the conversation. "Center Mountain's chakra is like a typhoon." Miho almost smiled, noticing the slightest hint of longsuffering in his tone. Healer Ha practically hissed, obviously irritated that his history lesson was not more appreciated. Miho looked up to Lord Ki when he called to her. "You will be consumed by the chakra of Center Mountain if you do not learn to work with it, to control it."
"Control it?" Elder Torifu questioned from where he sat nearby, hands propped on his thighs. His eyes were narrowed so that they seemed, at a distance, to be closed over his large cheeks. "She can control such chakra?"
Next to him, the Hokage stood with her arms crossed, eyes critical. "You intend to teach her senjutsu? At this young age? She will not have the control for it."
Miho kept herself level, knowing that the Hokage was correct.
She'd never had perfect chakra control. Nervous energy settled in the pit of her stomach and she tightly gripped the scroll.
Healer Ha scoffed. Lord Ki raised a paw and rested it over his eyes. Still, he didn't intercede as Grandfather Bear launched into an explanation. "Center Mountain is at the eye— epicenter— of the Four Cardinal Directions. The natural energy spins around the middle, never ceasing. It constellates and churns. It builds. Senjutsu? Senjutsu is not possible. Senjutsu is reliant on balance. Our chakra is constantly disturbed natural energy. Senjutsu? Not in the way that you understand it, youngin'."
"Tenpenchii…" The Hokage murmured.
Elder Torifu flinched.
Miho watched as Healer Ha stared at the Hokage and Elder Torifu, neither of which wavered under the giant bear's mighty glare. Not good. If they didn't get along then her training would be even more complicated. And she didn't have time for complications. Not with what was surely coming.
Healer Ha nodded. "Tenpenchii."
She didn't know what that word meant. Apparently, neither did Genma-sensei, who spoke up from where he leaned against a nearby tree. He shifted his senbon to the left side of his mouth, looking between the Bears, the Hokage, and Elder Torifu. "Tenpenchii? A vocab lesson would be helpful."
"Cataclysm." Lord Ki stated.
At the same time, her father raised his head from where he had been staring at the grass. His mane of hair seemed...more wild than usual. Perhaps the sanctions were- "A natural disaster befalling heaven and earth."
A natural disaster…
Three long, blaring beeps.
Miho jolted, losing focus on his face.
One long tone.
"It's disruption in natural energy."
Tearing metal and racing winds and I can't move.
I can still hear you sayin'
Miho refocused, rolling her shoulders back. She had to stay focused. She had to stay focused. She had to breathe. She didn't have time to let the Images take over. She didn't have time for the memories. She didn't have time to waste. She kept wasting time.
"—energy is in the atmosphere, the earth, the plants and wildlife, in us. Tenpenchii is…disruption in that energy. An imbalance." The Hokage explained. "Which is a type of energy in its own right."
"Then she must learn to control that chakra?"
Healer Ha used a claw to pick at his canine, shrugging his aged shoulders. She could hear them grind and pop. His smirk was somewhat caustic. "Eventually."
Elder Torifu smiled pleasantly, ever the politician. Miho felt as if she were watching a spar, looking back to Healer Ha for an answer. He never replied. He just snorted air through his nostrils, letting his jowls fluttered with the snort. She thought she saw some respect between them.
Miho swallowed, trying to wrap her mind around their conversation.
"Lord Ki, will I be able to use chakra-based techniques again? Will…Will something like what happened yesterday happen again?"
The Great Bear turned and smiled a bit. It was a comforting expression, like a father looking at a child.
Miho missed that expression on her own father's face. She studiously didn't look toward him.
"It is not likely something like that will happen again. It may though. Yes, cub. You will use chakra again. It will be difficult for some time, but you will succeed. You are now a Bear. You will learn Bear techniques, ones that use disturbance energy. You will have both the Akimichi techniques, which will draw on your body composition, and the Okuda techniques— which are better suited to your chakra. You will survive this. You will thrive after this."
"Better suited?" She glanced over to where her father sat, head now raised. He looked to Lord Ki. She watched worry flit across his face. "I know only what I saw Okuda Keisuke do. How is it that this…tenpenchii… chakra…is better suited to Okuda techniques?"
Healer Ha rumbled a laugh. "Did you not hear the story, youngin'?" Lord Ki made a hushing motion and Grandfather Ha snapped his snout shut, rolling his gray eyes toward the sky. He huffed and settled. Miho imagined he might've crossed his arms if he were feeling the tiniest bit more petulant. Her father's expression became a bit stonier. It was the Hokage that spoke however, surprising Miho.
"The Okuda were known as the 'Storm Clan' because they possessed a kekkai genkai, Storm Release." When Genma-sensei opened his mouth, he was silenced by a hand. Tsunade shook her head. "Not that mock-up by Kumogakure after the Okuda defected. The Okuda Storm Release was the real deal. That's why Kumo tried to eradicate them just after the Second War."
Miho felt as if she'd been punched.
Eradicate.
"I remember when Okuda Keisuke arrived to Konoha with his father. The man was badly injured. His skin was… I tried to save him, but he died anyway. He went toe-to-toe with" The Hokage straightened her shoulders, squaring them to Lord Ki. "What is it you propose, Lord of the Bears? Akimichi Miho is in a unique situation."
Unique was an understatement. Miho realized how frustrated Ino must've been, given how often Miho herself tended toward understatements.
Her situation was an odd one. Her knowledge was now no longer a thing that truly set her apart. The Hokage, the Three Clan Heads, a select few jōnin, and Team Ten knew of what was to come. She was no longer a commodity. Still, she was guarded by ANBU constantly. Still, she wondered when the other shoe would drop.
"She will come to Center Mountain for a time, with her Master Torifu there as he has petitioned me to accompany her for training. This will be for a period of your twelve months. This is necessary lest she be destroyed by the chakra she now possesses."
Miho forgot to breath, fear lashing through her stomach when the Hokage nodded.
Twelve months.
Naruto would be leaving soon.
Sasuke was joining ANBU soon.
Tetsuya was restarting his training with Hayate-sensei soon, in earnest.
What if Akatsuki attacked?
What if she was needed here?
What good would she be if she couldn't use chakra?
She couldn't go on some kind of trip like Naruto though. Right? Naruto had to leave. He had to get away from Konoha, keep moving so that Akatsuki couldn't pin him down. Sasuke had to leave. He had to go underground, into ANBU, so that Orochimaru wouldn't find him. The other jinchuirki had to be saved, too. Gaara, Killer B, Fuu... What about the Mizukage? The war was coming and—
"Miho." Genma-sensei's voice drew her attention.
He raised a hand, palm flat.
Calm down.
The Hokage turned to Miho and she felt Genma-sensei push off the tree. "This is smart, Akimichi. We are still unsure how many of Danzō's followers are still out there. You're still at risk. And with your chakra all screwed up, you're a sitting duck." Tsunade made a thoughtful sound. "A sleeping bear?" Lord Ki snorted. She rolled her eyes, waving it off. "Regardless, this is the best course of action. You will go train at Center Mountain for a year with the Bears and Elder Torifu. Then, you'll return here to rejoin your team."
Miho looked to Genma-sensei. He nodded, smiling just a bit in that calm way that always set her mind at ease. "Tetsuya will train with Hayate in that time and I've got some work to do. We've all got work to do." Miho knew what that meant. He'd go full-time back into ANBU. "Don't worry and get things stable. The village will be fine in your absence. It will be okay."
She gulped down a breath, turning around to stare at her father. Her father, who met her eyes as steadily as he did before all of this started. Miho watched as he nodded. Beside him, her mother nodded as well.
"Miho, you should go. I will...I will cook you a big feast when you return."
Finally, she turned to Elder Torifu.
"Child, you must do this. There is no choice."
Miho tilted her chin back with a nod. The angle kept the tears at bay.
"Sunset? Today?"
Lord Ki smiled, great teeth shining in the morning light. "Of course, cub. You must tell your loved ones farewell." He gestured toward a scroll at her feet. A reverse summoning seal. "Set that out and stand upon it at sunset. At Center Mountain, you will not want for food and clothing. Bring all else that you need." The two bears disappeared into smoke.
A/N:
Next chapter is the last of Part I!
This has been such a journey so far. I'm incredibly grateful for all of the wonderful words of encouragement that readers have sent. My plan for the end of the year got messed up due to travel and a bought of the flu. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next one.
Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Stay tuned for the last chapter of Part I!