Chapter 16
I wake up to a small stream of light shining through the blinds. I stretch out and wince still sore from yesterday's events. I roll over and see Gai is not in the bed. I can smell food coming from the kitchen. I get up, head towards the bathroom, then towards the kitchen. Gai's back is toward me; he's wearing an apron and is humming a tune to himself.
"Good morning!" He turns around and flips a pancake.
"Good morning," I look at the table and see it is already set up with some orange juice, a stack of pancakes, some eggs, and bacon.
"Please sit and help yourself," he places the pancake on the stack and turns to make another one.
"What's with the giant breakfast?" I grab a pancake and place it on my plate.
"I figured you might wake up hungry from the training session yesterday," he flips the pancake in the pan. "And you will need a big meal today for your next session."
"Awe, thank you, Gai."
My stomach growls as I cut a piece of pancake. I drink some orange juice then take a bite.
"This is delicious!" My mouth waters a bit.
Gai sits across from me placing some bacon and eggs on his plate.
"You like?" He takes a sip of his orange juice.
"I do!" I grab some bacon and put syrup on my plate.
"I'm glad you like it," he takes a couple bites. "We gotta make sure you are nice and fed for your big day today."
"I'm not ready," I sigh "My arms still hurt."
"You will be great."
"Thank you, Gai."
We continue eating for a bit.
"So how is Tsunade teaching you?" He asks me.
"Well, yesterday she had me do a lighting release and then strike a couple stumps, sending my chakra into them," I drink some orange juice. "Today she is going to have me do the same thing, however, concentrating on my feet rather than hands."
"Hmmmm….."
"What's up?"
"I am still thinking about training for you."
"I hope it is not intense."
"It will always be intense!" He grins "We must continue our youth! To be youthful is to train and be strong! We must push our bodies to their limits!"
"Gai…"
"Don't worry! My training for you will push just beyond your limits!"
"As long as you are not attaching weights to my legs," I chuckle.
"I was planning that..."
"Gai..."
"Won't be doing it…" he chuckles "But I will teach you the Leaf whirlwind. I feel that will be the best compliment to the pathway derangement."
"You think so?"
"Yes that one or the Hidden Waterfall Hurricane."
"I don't think I have seen that one."
"It is a little rarer, but it'll make a good counter strike for when you get thrown in midair."
"Hmmm."
We continue to eat.
"I'm so full," I lean back in my chair.
"It was delicious," Gai says.
Gai and I devoured the food. There is barely anything left over.
"You must have been hungry," he says to me.
"I was," I smile as I lean back." And your cooking is great."
"Thank you, dear."
He stands up and walks over to me and grabs my plate.
"I got this," I go to grab the plate but he stops me.
"Don't worry, Hun," he kisses me on my head. "My treat today."
He begins clearing the table. He puts his apron back on and washes the dishes. I grab some of the plates that were left on the table, clear them off in the trash and hand them to him.
"Thank you for breakfast," I give him a hug.
"No problem, Mizuki," he returns it.
I glance at the clock and see that it is almost time for me to meet Tsunade.
"Oh! I have to go!" I quickly run to the room and change.
I run back to the kitchen and give Gai a peck on the lips before running to the front door.
"Thank you again for breakfast! I shall see you later hun!" I put sandals on.
"Have a great day Mizuki!" He calls out.
I run out the door, through the village, and towards the training field. I can see Tsunade standing in the middle of the field waiting for me.
"Tsunade!" i run toward her.
"There you are," she says when she sees me.
"I am so sorry," I say to her. "I lost track of time!"
"No need to apologize," she points to the stump. "It is time to train. I want you to do the same thing as yesterday but concentrate on your kicks."
"Yes ma'am."
I begin concentrating my chakra towards my feet and kick the stump. Again there is an indent in the stump and cracks form around it.
"Nice work," Tsunade says. "Continue and I want you to alternate legs. Normally this technique does not require the user to use their legs. However, if you are in a position where you need to kick someone it is best to know how to distribute your chakra."
"Okay," I nod.
I begin to kick the stump again, destroying it. I switch off my legs making sure that I apply equal amount of power. I can feel myself running out of chakra quicker than I did when using my hands.
"I feel myself running out of chakra," I take a couple of deep breaths.
"This means you need more chakra control," she examines the stumps. "You are doing a lot more damage to the stumps today than you did yesterday."
She summons a shadow clone.
"Let's spar. I want to see you in battle," her clone gets in a defensive stance. "This will be the shortcut to learning chakra control and thinking on your feet."
"Alright," I get in a defensive stance, still breathing heavily.
Tsunade's clone runs towards me with an open palm to strike me right in the stomach. I quickly flip backward to dodge her attack. Right when she misses, she jumps up and punches straight to the ground causing the ground to split. I jump on the split rocks trying to dodge. She comes up towards me and lands a punch. I go flying back.
"Fuck," I land on the ground some feet away.
"Stop dodging, Mizuki," Tsunade jumps up again with an open palm. "I want to see what you are made of."
I jump over her, dodging her hand, and kick her straight to the ground. I land behind her and charge up my chakra in my hand. I see her standing up looking for me and I run towards her to strike her, but she senses me and dodges with ease.
"Now we're talking," she smiles. "You are going to have to try harder than that."
I run towards her again, jump off to her right, dig my foot in the ground and kick myself toward her. I try to strike her when she punches the ground again, causing a giant rock to form, stopping me in my tracks. I sense her behind me and I quickly jump to my left, barely dodging her punch. I dig my foot in the ground and propel myself back towards her, I keep my chakra charged in my hand, and jab her straight in the side sending her flying and disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Nice work, Mizuki," Tsunade she walks toward me.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade," I take a deep breath.
"It's interesting that you fight more defensively rather than offensively," she stops in front of me. "You have skills. You just need more confidence in your skill."
"Gai said he wants to train me in taijutsu when you finish training me with the Pathway Derangement"
She looks intrigued and thinks for a moment.
"What are you thinking?" I ask.
"That is a great idea," she smiles. "How is Gai coming along with physical therapy?"
"He's finished with it."
"Perfect. Have him begin training you as soon as possible?"
"Eh?"
"He is on the right track. Taijutsu will be perfect for you. Gai is also one of the best at encouraging his students and bringing them to be the best that they can be," she looks at me with determination. "By training you, the pathway derangement along side taijutsu will be able to give you the confidence you need to master both techniques."
She begins to walk back over to the stumps.
"But for today, we are going to have you continue your chakra control towards your feet," she continues. "I will have Gai take care of your speed and taijutsu technique. You're very skilled at dodging and being quick on your feet, so once we add chakra control and taijutsu, you will be one fine shinobi and will be able to assists our other shinobi on higher ranked missions."
"You really think so?"
"Definitely," she smiles. "Now let's get back to training."
"Yes ma'am!"
We continue training until it is long after dark.
"You did well today," Tsunade examines the stumps. "You are a quick learner. Go talk to Gai. Have him start your training tomorrow. I have a lot of paperwork to finish up before Kakashi and Denizu get back from their honeymoon, so I will call upon you when I can train you again. Keep working on your chakra control."
"Yes Lady Tsunade!" I nod.
With that we both go our separate ways. I make my way through the village and head home. I open the door, excited to tell Gai the news when I see the lights are all off.
"Gai?" I whisper. "You home?"
I take off my sandals, change into my pajamas, and peek into the room. I see Gai knocked out.
'I'll tell him in the morning,' I think as I crawl into bed and fall asleep.
