Chapter 2: One Hit

Command Resistance Camp, Mitsukejima Island, Land of Water, EN.

Summoning water from the ground beneath her hand, Ameyuri manipulated the clear fluid through the air until it merged with the cloth in her left hand. Letting the rest of the water drop to the ground, she watched it splash up before soaking back into the dirt.

Sighing quietly, Ameyuri expertly drew one of the twin-swords from her right hip and laid it across her leg. Running the cloth along the side of the blade, she was careful to prevent the fabric from being cut.

After a few moments, she flipped the weapon over and began cleaning the other side. She tried to convince herself that cleaning her swords was all she needed to do, but the nagging thought in her mind wouldn't leave her alone.

Shaking her head, Ameyuri sheathed the sword and finally focused on the real reason she'd sat down. Being one of the Legendary Swordsmen meant that she'd done unimaginable things in her life, but she'd never thought looking after two newly-orphaned children would be one of them.

She was nineteen, it was too early in her life for this. Yet, despite her logic, here they were. Jin and his younger sister Hikari, sleeping peacefully on a single cot together.

As soon as the information that Shikoku island had been attacked had reached her, she'd immediately tried to go and help. Her doctor wouldn't hear of it, suggesting instead that she send someone to go check for her.

She'd come ever so close to killing her doctor for the fourth time that day. However, Zabuza had prevented her from getting out of her sick-bed in the end.

It pained her pride and honor to admit that they were both right. She was in no condition to get into a fight. Ameyuri noticed her hand spasm and placed it on the handle of her sword. She was getting herself worked up.

There wasn't going to be a shoulder to cry on. She was dying, and she had to accept that.

But now I have a chance. I have an opportunity to repay the debt I owe Jin's parents. Ameyuri thought. It seemed she'd already made up her mind. She would train Jin to become a Shinobi. It was too early for Hikari to begin training, and Ameyuri doubted she would live long enough to teach Hikari anything. All she could do was hope Jin would survive the war after her death and be able to look after his sister.

Rolling her shoulders, Ameyuri winced. Her affliction, whatever it would be named after her death, was incurable, and it was destroying her heart and lungs. Stumbling slightly as she stood, she forced the pain down and walked over to the siblings' cot.

It was apparent Jin was still exhausted, and she regretted having to wake him up so early in the morning. However, time was ticking, and she didn't have any more to waste. The future of the war, and her ability to train him, was uncertain. She needed to prepare Jin as much as she was able.

"Jin... Jin..." She whispered lightly as she shook the boy's shoulder. Jin mumbled something but didn't wake. Sighing, she crouched down next to the cot and brushed Jin's long hair to the side.

"Jin, wake up."

Shaking his shoulder slightly harder, Jin's eyes cracked open.

"Wha..?"

She smiled, intentionally hiding her teeth. "Wake up, Jin. There are several things you and I need to do today."

Jin grumbled, pulling the blanket she'd given him last night tighter. "But, I'm tired..."

She couldn't resist the urge to smile, incidentally revealing her sharp teeth, "I know Jin, but it's time to get up."

Jin nodded reluctantly and pushed himself up off the cot, being careful not to wake Hikari. Seeing Hikari try to pull him back, he moved his pillow into her arms, finally breaking free. Ameyuri smiled as Hikari pulled the pillow close and fell back asleep. Standing, she backed up and let Jin rub his eyes.

"She always slept with either our parents or me, she enjoys cuddling." Jin said, smiling as he looked at his sister before turning back to Ameyuri. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to train you, Jin, so that you can protect your sister."

Jin immediately woke up fully, "You're going to train me?"

She nodded.

"Let's go!" Jin yelled excitedly as he stood up, seemingly drawing more energy from the ether.

"Okay, follow me." Ameyuri said and walked toward the front of the tent. Jin followed her for a moment then stopped, causing her to look at him in concern.

"What about Hikari-chan?"

Looking back across the tent, Ameyuri saw the young girl tightly clutching her doll as she lay snuggled in a blanket. She couldn't help smiling at the sight. I'm smiling a lot more just with these two here, who would have thought.

"A friend of mine is going to look after her while we're gone," she explained. Jin seemed unsure for a moment before nodding and walking up to her.

As they stepped out of the tent, Jin had to cover his eyes from the blinding sunlight. The Land of Water was always the brightest in the very early hours of the morning. This was because the sun would catch the everlasting fog in just the right way, seemingly trapping the light within it.

"It's really early," Jin said, slowly lowering his arms as his eyes became accustomed to the light. She nodded, "Let's go get some breakfast. Then we will start your training."

Jin eagerly agreed.

—

Even though he was standing right next to her and saw her do it, Jin still jumped at the loud crack.

"How did you do that?" He asked in amazement as he walked up to the tree trunk in the middle of the small, foggy clearing.

Driven deep into the wood was two identical-looking swords.

"Chakra," Ameyuri replied simply, and he nodded. He was fascinated by the swords. They didn't look like any he'd ever seen before.

He looked over at Ameyuri, "What are they?"

He suddenly realized that he had seen the strange swords before. Ameyuri had been carrying them with her during breakfast, he just hadn't been paying attention. His stomach had been driving him.

"The Kiba swords, one of the Seven Legendary Swords of the Land of Water." Ameyuri replied.

"Whoa, cool!" Jin said. His father had told him about the Legendary Swords before, and he'd always wanted to see one. "Can I hold one?"

Ameyuri nodded and lifted her hand to her mouth to hide a cough as soon as Jin turned away.

Eagerly grabbing the closest sword by the hilt, Jin tried as hard as he could to pull it free.

The sword didn't budge in the slightest.

Frowning, Jin got up on the trunk and firmly planted his feet to either side of the sword. Using his legs, Jin tried to lift the sword, but still couldn't get it to move.

"I can't get it," Jin admitted in defeat as he dropped to the ground. He was both shocked and annoyed as Ameyuri walked up and simply pulled both swords out of the wood.

"That's not fair..." He said, and Ameyuri just raised an eyebrow.

"Now, what do you know about the Shinobi Arts?"

"I know what chakra is, but I don't really know how to use it. Tou-san taught me how to unlock my chakra when I was six, but I've only been allowed to use it to practice Ninjutsu. Tou-san had me do Taijutsu exercises every day." Jin stopped for a moment and looked at the ground. Ameyuri noticed him clenching his fists tightly.

"I was supposed to go to the Shinobi Academy in Kiri next year..."

Ameyuri was at a loss for what to say or do.

She took an uncertain step toward Jin, then stopped. She couldn't see Jin's face, so she couldn't tell if he was crying or not. Her indecision was cut off by Jin lifting his head and looking at her, doing his best to hide the tears on his face. She decided it was best to just pretend like nothing had happened.

"Very good. Did your father teach you a Taijutsu style?" She asked, and Jin shook his head. Ameyuri resisted the urge to sigh. She would have to start with more basic stuff than she'd hoped.

Jin began to follow after her as she backed up, and she raised her hand for him to stop.

"Here's what we're going to do first. I want you to do your best to hit me." She said, and Jin nodded.

She expected him to come sprinting toward her, but instead, he stared at the swords in her hands nervously.

Oh right... He would be afraid of those, Ameyuri realized, having forgotten she was holding the swords.

Jin watched in amazement and partly fear as Ameyuri chucked the swords through the air to the right, burying both in a tree on the edge of the clearing ten feet away.

"Begin."

Ameyuri didn't expect Jin to drop into a stance, and her expectation was proven correct as Jin immediately began running toward her as fast as he could.

She was sure that for Jin, he was moving rather quickly. For her, however, it felt like a century passed before Jin finally drew near enough to be able to touch her. She made a mental note to work on Jin's speed.

Jin jumped as he drew near, and she stepped to the side, easily evading his attempt to hit her. She watched as Jin flew by, unable to stop in midair. She hadn't been in a fight with a civilian since... well ever really. It was surprising how slowly civilians lived their lives.

Surprisingly, Jin managed to recover his balance rather quickly for a civilian and turn around to come racing toward her again.

The pattern continued for a few minutes.

Jin would run as fast as he could and swing wildly in hopes of just touching her, and she would stay just out of reach.

It was apparent that Jin was beginning to become infuriated with the fruitlessness of his efforts, but for her, it was informative.

Ameyuri was carefully observing his movements, noting things like which leg he favored. The fact that he was right-handed, and that he had an impressive swing for a nine-year-old.

She was surprised as Jin tried to trick her for the first time, pretending to go to the left and then shifting to the right. Of course, there was never any hope of him catching her, but she was impressed nonetheless. Stepping out of the way, she felt her lungs convulse in pain.

Jin came to a stop and turned to look at his sensei as she backed up and leaned against a tree, clutching her chest tightly. He started to walk toward her when she bent over and spit a mouthful of blood on to the muddy marsh-like ground.

"Ameyuri-sensei? A-Are... you okay?" He asked, his voice trailing off. His eyes had been drawn to the pool of blood on the ground. His breathing began to quicken, and he found himself unable to pull away from the sight.

"Jin!"

Shaking his head, Jin looked up at his sensei, who seemed to have recovered.

"I know what you're thinking, Jin. Do not let the memories control you."

He nodded slowly. Jin wasn't sure what Ameyuri meant, but he would try his best anyway. He was about to mention the blood on Ameyuri's chin when she wiped it away.

"Now, you said your father had you practice Ninjutsu earlier. I want you to use what you know now." Ameyuri instructed as she walked to the tree trunk in the middle of the clearing. The sun was now higher in the sky, so the fog was darker now than it had been before.

"Okay," Jin said, his tone serious. Ameyuri looked over at him in interest. It seemed Ninjutsu was a serious matter for the young boy.

"Good. The goal is the same. Hit me in any way you can."

Jin nodded, his hands held in front of him, ready to form seals.

"Begin."

Jin crouched and immediately began going through hand seals. She recognized it as a low-level water jutsu. It wouldn't be a threat to her, so she let him finish the seals.

"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)!" Jin yelled before lifting his hand to his mouth to direct the sudden flow of water that spewed forth.

Ameyuri darted away, coming to a stop at the edge of the Jutsu's range. She watched it harmlessly roar past her and crash against a tree. She was surprised as the Jutsu continued to shoot by, despite it having missed.

She started to wonder if Jin realized he'd missed when the Jutsu moved.

Backing up instantly, she lithely moved out of the way of the Jutsu as it changed directions.

He's already able to aim the jutsu, and he's kept it up for so long. That's astonishing, Ameyuri thought.

Eventually, though, the wave of water did fade away as Jin released his control of the Jutsu. She looked over at him to see him panting heavily as he tried to regain his breath.

"What else do you have, Jin Arashi?" She asked, and Jin quickly drew himself up, pulling more energy together.

Ameyuri watched with interest as Jin once more began running toward her, but this time doing his best to form hand-seals as he did so.

He finished the Jutsu half-way and skidded to a stop on the muddy ground.

Bringing his hands up to his mouth again, Jin yelled out the name of his Jutsu.

"Taiton: Suraisu Mizu (Typhoon Release: Slicing Water)!"

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This chapter was posted on: 2/27/20 (Exactly one week after the previous one)

Co-authors:

TheLegendaryOne

Special thanks to those that helped create this chapter:

Qibolu
TheLegendaryOne

Beta Readers:

Tensleep
Qibolu

OC Creators of OC's in this chapter:

Jin Arashi (TheLegendaryOne)
Hikari Arashi (TheLegendaryOne)