I don't really do author's notes here because it artificially inflates the word count - I post and have authors notes on AO3 under the same name! - but I just wanted to say THANK YOU! to everyone who reviews/favs/follows! Here's an extra long, 10k chapter as a thank you and an apology for being so late
Now, back to our scheduled programming
Nao jolts awake when the back door suddenly swings open, Fox stepping through.
Strange dream already fading into the back of her mind, Nao yawns and rubs her eyes while the lizard shifts to her shoulder. Blinking blearily around, Nao notes that the sun hasn't even started to peek over the horizon yet. Looking over to Fox to ask why the hell he woke her up, she pauses after she turns, the gears in her brain slowly chugging away to process what's in front of her.
It's Fox, only he's in different clothes from the day before and his mask is nowhere to be seen. The only reason she even knows it's Fox at all is because he's the only person it could be, assuming he was serious about his warnings of protective seals.
Probably-Fox gets promoted to Definitely-Fox when he looks over at her and rolls his eyes, his spiky faded teal hair swaying when he shakes his head. "Quit dawdling and get up, we've got stuff to do today."
Groaning, Nao flops backwards and stubbornly shuts her eyes, the lizard moving from her shoulder to her chest once again. "The sun ain't even up yet, wake me up when it's time for lunch. Noon would be preferable."
A second later the blanket is ripped off her and Nao instinctively reaches up to snatch it back. Fox, however, balls it up and tosses it over the railing, a soft poof signalling that it landed on the beach sand.
"Up. Now."
Sighing, Nao rolls over and sits up, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. "You're no fun."
"It's not my job to be fun," Fox says, tossing a shirt and a pair of pants her way. Startled, Nao catches them and, upon further inspection, realises that it's one of the spare sets of clothing she'd had stored away in a scroll in her bag. "Hurry up and get changed, I'll be back in a second."
"Wait, what about my bag-" Nao starts to argue, but he's already gone before she can say a single word. Huffing, Nao mutters a curse under her breath and stands up, figuring she may as well change and pester him about it after. She's been stuck in the same clothes for over twenty-four hours by now, after all. It's a wonder the lizard isn't pissed off by the smell.
A few minutes later and Fox once again opens the door, now carrying her bag in his left hand. "Come on," he says, tossing an apple her way. "Let's go."
Catching it, Nao narrows her eyes. "Gimme my bag back, first. You said I could have it."
"I said you could have it back in the morning. It's not morning yet."
Glaring at his back as he walks down the porch steps, she takes a decisive bite out of the apple. She can't exactly argue against his bullshit technicality because it'd discredit any technicalities she's undoubtedly going to use against him in the future, but she doesn't have to like it. So in a petty act of rebellion, she flips him off.
"I saw that," Fox calls out behind him.
"Good, I bloody well hope ya did, fucker. At least now I know you had working eyes under that pathetic lump of clay!" she yells back, following after him and taking another bite of the apple. "Where're we goin' anyway? An' where is that ugly ass squirrel mask of yours?"
"Fox mask," he growls, bristling, his hair puffing up like a hedgehog. If she didn't despise him so much she might've found it funny.
"Oh, is that what it was meant to be? I thought the nose looked funny."
No, wait, it's absolutely hilarious. No wonder he was hiding behind that mask the whole time, there's no way anyone can take him seriously when he's pouting like a toddler that just got told they can't have another cookie.
"Besides," he charges ahead, ignoring the way she's sniggering. "You can't call me Fox in public. My mask is supposed to be confidential- a secret, in other words."
"Some secret, if a little ol' kid like me knows it. But fine, what do you wish to be called, oh almighty rat of the trees?" Nao asks, happy now that they're off the sand and back onto the road.
Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he grunts. "Name's Takeo, squirt. Genka Takeo."
Taking the last bite of the apple, Nao reaches up and feeds the core to the lizard thoughtlessly, working mostly on autopilot. They can't have been asleep for more than a few hours, and she's quite honestly exhausted. All she can do is put one foot in front of the other and bite back her yawns, following Fox — Takeo — blindly.
There are a few villagers going about their business in the streets despite the early hour, but they ignore them for the most part. A few eyes linger on Takeo, and her by extension, but when Takeo nods his head at them they blush and look away, women and men alike.
Apparently Takeo is popular in the village. Nao doesn't understand why- his looks aren't especially impressive and his personality resembles that of a wet cat. Though maybe they don't know that last bit, he doesn't seem the type to hang around people much in his spare time.
Which is fine by her. She'd rather not spend an extra second around people if she doesn't have to.
They reach their destination quickly- or Nao thought it was quick, anyway. She's not exactly fully awake, per se, and she's sure she'd fall asleep instantly if she sat down, senses on high alert or no.
The building they enter is made of yellow brick with a red tile roof — like most of the buildings in the village, now she thinks about it — but the inside is a stark white. There are people dressed completely in white moving around the space quickly, none of them dawdling, and each of them has a headband featuring a familiar swirl somewhere on their person.
When she and Takeo enter the man at the front desk looks up, as well as a few of the people sitting in the waiting chairs to the left. Judging by the fact pretty much everyone sitting down has some form of injury — some far more severe than others, but none of them looking fatal or like something that needs immediate attention — they're in some sort of healer's building. Though this one is far larger and more organised than any dingy clinic she'd ever seen in the villages she'd visited with Eizo.
Pulled out of her musings when they step in front of the front desk, Takeo says something about an urgent appointment and oh, I understand you're busy doing good work, but can it please be quick? We have so much to do today, you understand and the man takes in Takeo's sickly sweet smile and ducks his head to hide a blush, assuring them someone will be here to see them right away.
Nao raises an eyebrow and levels Takeo with a flat stare, completely unimpressed with his nice guy act. All he does is shrug and usher her over to the side so that they're out of the way.
Perhaps there's a reason people seem to like Takeo so much- he's a good liar. Even Nao herself almost thought him pleasant for a second there.
Just as Nao starts eyeing the floor and wondering if she could get away with taking a quick nap, a woman with frazzled bright red hair wearing glasses an inch thick appears. "This is Nao-kun, I take it?" she asks Takeo, completely ignoring Nao's presence.
"That it is," Takeo answers easily, his eyes sliding around the room as if looking for anyone that could be listening in. "I've got some stuff to do. I'll be back to pick him up in a half hour. That okay?"
"Sure," the woman answers distractedly, all of her attention moving from Takeo to Nao after he confirmed her identity. Not looking offended in the least, Takeo nods and disappears in a swirl of sand.
Muttering under her breath about 'annoying shinobi who never think about the people who have to clean up after them', the woman shakes her head and looks back to Nao. "My name is Uzumaki Aki, come with me please."
Turning abruptly and charging ahead, Nao follows, not really understanding what's going on but willing to go along with it. At least this woman didn't fawn over Takeo like everyone else has been.
She leads Nao up three flights of stairs and through so many winding corridors Nao's sure they must have doubled back at least four times by now because there's no way in hell the building she saw from the outside was this big.
Finally they come to a stop outside a seemingly inconspicuous room, if you ignore the fact there's no door handle in sight. Aki lays her palm against the metal surface of the door and it immediately lights up with the familiar glow of seals, the door sliding open easily.
Thoroughly confused, Nao pokes her head in when Aki strides into the room, expecting to see something unusual to warrant the extra security, but is surprised to see a fairly ordinary looking examination room.
"What's with the security seals? 'S nothin' in here that looks worthy of protectin'," Nao asks, stepping into the room. The door slides shut behind her.
"Huh? Oh, that old thing? It's just to make sure no one comes snooping around that shouldn't be. Shinobi and kunoichi are rather fond of their privacy, you understand. I figured you'd appreciate the same courtesy, considering your situation."
"My… situation?" Nao asks apprehensively, looking around the room. Something about it sparks a weird sense of deja vu, but she can't quite pinpoint why.
"Of course. It's not everyday an Uzumaki is born outside the village, you know. No one else knows, if that's what you're worried about. Your file is strictly on a need-to-know basis. Come sit over here, please," Aki points to the examination chair in the middle of the room and Nao pads over to it, grateful to be finally sitting down.
She looks around at the cupboards, diagrams and various substances on the shelves lining the back wall while Aki grabs a pen and paper from a drawer. "These are just some questions you need to fill out— all routine, I assure you. Normally I'd say you can skip any you like, but I've been told you're not allowed to do that, I'm afraid."
Eyeing Aki from the corner of her eye, Nao is surprised to see that she genuinely looks annoyed, as if the orders troubled her. Nao shrugs. "That's fine, though I dunno if I'll be able to answer 'em all."
Aki nods easily and Nao breathes a sigh of relief when she moves the pen to the paper herself and it's made obvious she's going to be the one filling out the answers. Nao doesn't really want to make up some excuse as to why she can't do it herself.
"What's your full name?"
"Nao. Though I think Kayo mentioned something about bein' an Uzumaki, so I guess it's Uzumaki Nao, now."
Aki nods and writes down her answer, and Nao's grateful that she doesn't question the mistake she'd made.
"And your age?"
"Uh," Nao says, unsure. "I've been saying seven, but… To be honest, I don't really know. I don't think I'm any younger than that, though."
Aki pauses but doesn't ask anything further, despite obviously wanting to. "That's fine, I'll put it down as a rough estimate and change it once we find out something a bit more concrete."
Nao wonders how on earth they're supposed to 'find out something more concrete' but doesn't question it.
"Do you have any existing conditions or genetic predispositions? Anything that runs in your family?"
Nao frowns, and shakes her head. "Don't think so."
"Any past illnesses?"
Nao goes to shake her head again, but stops when she remembers something. "There was one winter where I couldn't stop coughing and my chest really hurt, and it lingered even into spring and early summer. But that was a few years ago."
Muttering something under her breath Nao can't hear, Aki jots down her answer. "Probably bronchitis or mild pneumonia, I'll check your lungs for any lingering damage during the examination."
"Examination?" Nao asks, shifting uncomfortably.
Looking up and seeing Nao's worried expression, Aki's face softens. "It's quick and painless, you won't feel a thing. It's something we do for everyone that plans on living in-village long term, just to make sure you're generally healthy." When Nao doesn't look any more at ease, Aki puts down the paper and pen and turns to face her. "We're about done with the questions I can ask you, so why don't I show you what I mean?"
Weary but at least a little bit curious, Nao nods and scoots a bit closer.
Lifting her hand, Aki breathes out and her hand begins to glow with a calming green light. Before Nao can ask what the hell is going on, Aki moves her hand to her own chest and closes her eyes, eyebrows pinching in concentration.
"My heart rate is at forty-six beats per minute— dangerously low for a civilian, but within the normal range for a shinobi. My lungs are healthy, but my left ulna is still a little weak from breaking it a few months ago. My brain function is a little slower than normal, however that's just from working the night shift. It'll go back to normal once I finally get some sleep."
Nao stares in shock and awe as Aki lowers her hand and opens her eyes, the glow cutting off. "Ya can tell all that jus' from a weird glowy hand?"
"Yep, and a lot more if I'm looking for something specific, but I won't bore you with the gorey details. Now, may I?" Aki asks, gesturing to Nao's own chest.
Excitement taking over her trepidation, Nao nods eagerly and scoots right to the edge of the examination chair, eyes wide in wonder.
Hand once again glowing with green light, Aki slowly places it on Nao's chest and slides her eyes shut.
At first nothing happens, but then Nao can feel a warmth spreading from her chest outwards. It feels strange, like the warmth of a campfire and the crackling energy Nao feels right before she activates a seal all mixed together. Once it's spread completely from the top of her head to the tip of her toes it flares and then starts to recede.
Just as she thinks the examination is over, the now-tennis-ball sized mass of energy moves to the middle of her chest, right where her lungs would be. There's a brief flare and crackle of energy, like a campfire when a new log of wood is tossed on it, but it quickly dims down to the soothing energy of before and Nao takes a deep breath in.
The energy putters out and Aki leans back and opens her eyes. Nao takes another breath and it's like a weight she hadn't even known had been there is lifted- she can breathe much more deeply than she had been able to before and all previous tiredness is long forgotten.
"What was that?" Nao asks breathlessly, eyes searching Aki's as if the answer were held in the deep pools of blue and she could find them if she just looked hard enough.
"A simple diagnostic jutsu. Towards the end there I healed some scarring in your lungs most likely left over from the illness you mentioned, you should find that you can breath a lot easier now. Honestly, it's amazing you could function as well as you had been, I've had grown men come in here with far less claiming they were on their deathbed before."
Not knowing what to say to that, Nao reaches up and scratches the head of the now-awake lizard while he stretches. "I dunno. I guess I figured it was normal."
Smiling sadly, Aki's expression shifts back to that of professional indifference so quickly Nao wonders if she'd imagined it. "Right, well I'd pin your age more towards eight years old rather than seven. When was your birthday again?"
"Late winter or early spring," Nao answers.
"Hmm, probably the birthday that just passed was your eighth, then," Aki replies easily, not even blinking when the lizard pokes his head out from her shirt. "It's no wonder you thought you were younger; your growth has been stunted for a while, though I anticipate you'll catch up with your peers by the time puberty rolls around, as long as you keep getting the right nutrition with a decent diet."
The amount of fierce understanding leaves Nao at a complete loss, and all she can do is nod.
Brows pinching together and biting her lip, Aki looks conflicted about something, and just as Nao is about to ask what's wrong she looks Nao in the eye with such intensity it pins her in her seat. All Aki does is study her, eyes searching Nao's own as if looking for an answer to an unsaid question. Then, seemingly satisfied by what she found, Aki smiles down at her, visibly switching back to the detached professionalism from before.
"It's your chakra pathways that concern me the most. Your coils are damaged and underdeveloped, causing your core to constantly distribute chakra to keep them somewhat stable. I can fix some of the damage if you like, but I'm afraid it's up to your body to do the rest."
Staring dumbly, Nao tries to process the information. There's something wrong with her chakra system, which may be the reason her chakra is so…. dispersed. But Aki can fix it. Mostly.
Maybe it's because she only just fixed her lungs and Nao can breathe so much easier, but the prospect of this woman doing anything more to help her nearly brings tears to her eyes.
But it doesn't. Because Nao doesn't cry.
"Yes, please," Nao answers. Aki smiles.
When Nao exits the hospital — and oh how she'd been embarrassed that she hadn't remembered the word hospital! — she has to suck in a gasp at what she sees.
The sun has just about finished peeking over the horizon and is casting a golden-orange glow across the entire village, red tile roofs and yellow stone paths seeming to glow in the warm light. The streets are now bustling with activity, adults chatting together as they go about the daily chores or buying wares from shops and young kids laugh in delight as they play games of tag, weaving in and out of streets and ducking around adults that look on fondly. There's a loud coo as a bird flies through the hospital's open window, and when she looks up she notices dozens of differently coloured birds criss-crossing through the sky overhead, each one flying so fast they're nothing but a multicoloured blur.
The sight catches her off guard, and she's glad Takeo is behind her so he can't see her look of shock.
"Alright, let's get a move on. You'll be late if we dawdle any longer and the Academy teachers are strict about being on time," Takeo says as he walks forward with a piece of paper containing the 'non classified' version of what Aki had written up in hand.
(Why anything to do with Nao is classified doesn't really make sense to her but hey, if it means less people try to pry information from her then who's she to complain?)
"Gimme my bag then," Nao replies, feet rooted to the spot and sending him a glare that clearly communicates that she doesn't intend to move an inch until he hands it over. "Ya said I could have it in the morning. Well, the sun's up, asshole. Hand it over."
He throws her bag over his shoulder without even looking back, and Nao scurries to grab it before it can hit the ground. Jogging to catch up, she jabs an elbow into his side in retaliation but he steps out the way before it can connect.
Nao opens her bag to rifle through it to see if everything is still in it while Takeo scans the paper in his hand, both of them speed walking through the streets, Takeo automatically weaving through the crowd and Nao following easily.
"Eight years old, huh?" Takeo says finally after a few minutes of silence, talking in a low voice so those around them don't hear. Not like it would matter anyway, the streets are loud enough that she doubts anyone could hear them even if they were yelling from the rooftops.
"Hey, it's not like I lied or nothin'," Nao replies, closing her bag once again and pulling the strap over her shoulder once she's sure the only thing missing is her small stash of 'exploding' tags.
No matter, she'll just have to make some more.
"It's just weird. Normally kids your age are counting it down to the month."
Nao rolls her eyes. It's obvious he doesn't trust a word she says, but this is just ridiculous. "Why would I lie about somethin' as dumb as my age?"
"I know you weren't lying, that's the problem."
Nao sends him a confused look. "You…. what, wanted me to lie? What kinda fucked up logic is that?"
Takeo hums noncommittally and shakes his head.
The absolute weirdo. Imagine wanting someone to lie to your face, that's just batshit. Yet again, no one Nao has seen so far has made much sense. Maybe there's something in the water here. Or everyone was dropped on their heads as a baby. That would explain some things.
By the time they reach their destination the sun has fully risen above the horizon and even more people are out and about, though the Academy itself seems suspiciously quiet.
"What time did ya say it started again?" Nao asks, eyeing Takeo from the corner of her eye.
"In about forty minutes."
"What? You said we were gonna be late you absolute fuckin' liar-" Nao whirls around to face him, only to find empty air and a small, quickly-settling cloud of sand on the ground in his place. The bastard.
Nao debates leaving and coming back later, but decides against it. She's not sure she could find her way back if she left to wander. (This village is huge!)
Grumbling, she shoves her hands into her pockets and stalks forward to the front door, smiling at the lizard when he pokes his head out of her shirt. As she opens the door and steps through he scrambles to get atop her head, so she dips it lower for him, then adjusts her shirt once he's settled.
Looking around, Nao spots what must be the front desk and pads her way over to stand in front of it, glaring up at the man sitting behind it doing paperwork.
"Yes?" he asks without looking up or pausing his writing.
"I dunno where I'm supposed to go."
"Class placements were handed out yesterday."
"Well I wasn't here yesterday now was I? So are ya gonna tell me where the hell I'm supposed to be or am I gonna have to figure it out myself?" Nao snaps, her annoyance flaring at the man's total dismissal.
Finally looking up, his eyebrows raise when he spots the lizard sat atop her head. "You the new brat with Takeo?"
"The one and only."
Letting out a long sigh as if all of this is incredibly taxing for him, he rifles through the papers on his desk, grabbing the one he'd presumedly been looking for a few seconds later. "Name?"
"Mary fucking Sue. What do you think it is, asshole?" Nao growls. Honestly, this whole thing is just a massive waste of effort, she should have just tried to find her way around by herself. It's not like she doesn't have enough time.
The man mutters something about self-righteous clan brats under his breath and points down a hall to the left. "Room 3B."
Sending him one last glare, Nao turns and stalks down the hall. Luckily there are only three doors — because while she can recognise a few numbers, she's not confident enough to get it right — and she walks up to the last one and opens the door.
To her surprise, it's not completely empty. There's a kid that looks to be her age sitting up the back, mousey brown hair flopping in front of his eyes with his head in his hand and looking utterly bored. Nao can relate.
"This 3B?"
Startling, his eyes snap in her direction and he gives one short nod before going back to looking at the board on the back wall. Shrugging, Nao marches up the stairs and plops herself behind the desk pushed against the wall in the back corner, which just so happens to be the desk next to the other kid. She can see the whole room from up here, and it soothes her nerves somewhat.
Only somewhat, though. The rest of her is still itching to get out of the building. She's not used to being in such enclosed spaces, which is part of the reason she didn't want to sleep in the house last night. It's uncomfortable not being able to see the sky, feel the wind or just know that she can move around freely.
She feels trapped.
Slumping in her chair, Nao rests her head in her arms, being careful as the lizard climbs down from her head and onto the desk. Smiling, she moves her finger around the desk for him to chase, and each time he tries to snap at her finger she pulls it away at the last second. After a few minutes she catches the other kid watching her from the corner of her eye and he looks away, colour rising to his cheeks. Nao snorts.
Once the lizard grows tired of the game he climbs onto her arm in front of her face and she scratches the top of his head. "You're more energetic than usual, huh?" she whispers affectionately, and the lizard blinks up at her, then boops her nose with his.
If her heart melts a little and she kisses the top of his head, well. It's not like there's anyone around to see.
Except the kid that's once again stealing glances in her direction.
Rolling her eyes, Nao ignores him and closes her eyes. She only got a few hours sleep last night, and she doubts anyone else is going to show up for a while…. surely closing her eyes for a bit won't hurt.
Just to rest her eyes.
For a little… while…
The door opening pulls Nao from her slumber, and she blinks blearily at the gaggle of giggling kids filing in. The brown haired boy has gone back to staring at the board, head in hand, but he looks significantly more stiff now that the group of kids have settled themselves at the desks in front and around them.
A few minutes later and the vast majority of the desks are occupied by kids, most of them chatting away with each other as if they've known each other for years. Which they probably have, now that she thinks about it. They did literally grow up together in the same village.
The feeling of outsider might have bothered her if she gave any semblance of a shit about the idiots filling the room. Luckily for her she's had enough experience around kids and adults alike to know they're not even remotely worth her time. It'll be a cold day in hell when she takes it upon herself to seek out any of these nitwits for something as asinine as friendship.
The door opens again and the whole room falls silent, all eyes falling on the person that's walking into the room.
Tearing her eyes away from where she'd been watching the lizard nap, Nao raises her head and sits back in her seat when she sees the person that must be the teacher. She's a tall woman, all wiry muscle and sharp features, with long light grey hair with flecks of green and purple dotted throughout. What really catches Nao's attention, though, is the bird sitting on her shoulder.
It's a small thing, mostly comprised of white and light brown feathers except for a small patch of grey on its chest. Now that Nao is sitting up and isn't half asleep she looks around the room and finds that a good handful of the kids in the classroom have their own birds either on their shoulder or on the desk in front of them. All of them have the same strange grey hair with specks of green and purple; shades of grey varying and some with more or less colour than others.
The sight of them reminds her of the birds constantly flying overhead outside, and something Eizo had mentioned is tugging at the back of her mind- the Shinshiro clan, was it? Chinshiru?
She really should have paid more attention.
"Right," the woman starts, and instantly the few remaining people that had been whispering to each other in hushed voices fall silent. "My name is Kushiro Rei, and my partner is Suzume. I'd ask for your names but chances are most of you won't be in my class, so I won't bother," Rei's eyes roam over the room, and when she spots Nao at the back an easy grin slides onto her face like oil. "Today we'll be doing various placement tests, and at the end of it you will get your real class assignments. Well, that or get kicked out, if you score low enough. But it's best not to dwell on that."
The whispers start up again amongst some of the kids, though Nao notes that none of the teal-haired, Uzumaki or Kushiro kids seem surprised. Or worried. Which either means they knew about that last bit already or are confident enough that they won't be on the chopping block.
The brown haired boy next to her rolls his eyes and mutters something under his breath Nao doesn't catch.
"Since I'm not one to waste time, I'll cut right to the chase. This first test is a fairly short written one, testing general knowledge, yada yada. Here, take one and pass it on." Rei produces a stack of paper and pencils and passes it to one of the kids at the front. A couple minutes later and Brown Haired Boy next to Nao is passing her the last bundle of papers with the bluntest pencil Nao's ever seen, which she takes gingerly.
There are only three pages, but when she checks there's writing on both front and back of them along with spaces to write down answers.
Not that she'll be writing down any answers.
Or reading the questions.
She's screwed.
"Right," Rei says, regaining the room's attention. She walks behind the large desk at the front of the room and sits heavily in the chair, kicking her feet up. "You have thirty minutes to complete as many questions as you can, starting… Now."
Immediately there's a loud collective rustle of paper and scratches of pencil as practically every kid in the room starts frantically filling out questions or flipping through the pages to read through them all.
Well, every kid except for Nao and Brown Haired Boy, anyway. Brown Haired Boy is intensely reading through his own test, filling out the odd short question here or there and taking his time. And Nao — for obvious reasons — hasn't spared much of a glance to her paper and is instead looking around with wide eyes, wondering what the hell she's going to do now.
If she completely flunks the first test does that mean she automatically gets kicked out?
The cold horror of failing grips her heart and squeezes, causing her to feel even more out of breath than right after bolting from an angry store owner.
If she gets kicked out… then what?
Eizo went to so much trouble just to get them here! This was the one real thing he's asked of her the entire time she's known him. Stay safe and learn as much as you can.
And she can't even manage that.
Because she's a fuckin' idiot that can't rea-
"Hey."
Startling from the whisper, Nao looks up from where she'd been staring blankly at the paper in front of her to look over to the boy next to her, wondering if she'd imagined it.
"What's your name?"
Nope, that's definitely real. He's glancing at her from the corner of his eye, eyesight darting between her and the teacher up the front and his hand hovering above the paper in front of him. The teacher still has her feet kicked up on the desk and now has her eyes closed, the bird on her shoulder puffed up and its head down as it sleeps.
"Uh, Nao," she whispers back, utterly confused. "Wha-"
"Here," he cuts her off, scribbling something at the top of his paper and shoving the bundle her way, holding it out for her to take, gesturing urgently. "Give me yours."
Utterly confused, Nao wordlessly takes the offered papers and hands him hers. Instead of offering any sort of explanation, he switches back to totally ignoring her very existence and starts filling out answers a lot faster than he had been before.
Blinking, Nao looks down at the papers still clutched in her hand and finds that the empty spaces have been filled with writing. Flipping through the rest of them, she finds that all the empty spaces are filled, and there's even some small writing at the very top of the first page.
"Five minutes to go," Rei calls out, still not opening her eyes. The bird on her shoulder coos softly.
Five minutes?! Just how long had she been staring into space for?
Once again looking around, Nao finds that most kids are on the last page, some even sticking out their tongues comically in concentration. The few that aren't furiously writing are leaning back in their chairs, presumedly finished.
If it's taking people the full half hour to complete the test how does Brown Haired Boy expect to finish it again in under five minutes?
Sneaking another look at the teacher, Nao decides that yes, she's not even remotely bothering to pretend to be watching them and turns to watch the boy next to her, only to tilt her head in surprise. He's already halfway through the test, hand flying across the page so fast she wonders if he even knows what he's writing. When he finishes a question he doesn't even bother pausing to read the next one, simply charging ahead.
Within two minutes he's on the last page and Nao stares on in amazement as he finishes the last few questions in less than thirty seconds.
Sure, he could be writing complete bullshit and be getting everything horribly wrong, but somehow she doubts he's got a single question incorrect. He's too…
Confident.
"And that's time," Kei says, opening her eyes and stretching her arms above her head, her bird also waking up and stretching its wings. "Please place your tests in a neat pile on my desk on your way out. I'll meet you outside in the training ground behind the school."
After a tense moment of silence, kids start getting up and filing out, soft chatter once again starting and rising in volume quickly. Stealing one last glance at Brown Haired Boy, he once again ignores her and gets up to leave, so she shrugs and follows suit.
When Nao places her test on the pile on her way out all Kei does is raise her eyebrows, grin widening to show more teeth.
Thoroughly out of breath, Nao bends over and puts her hands on her knees, gasping and head spinning. "Fixed lungs" or no, long distance running is definitely not her strong suit.
But she'd somehow managed to not be dead last, so she'll count it as a win.
The second 'test' was simple; an endurance test. All they had to do was run as many laps around the training ground as they could. Simple. Easy. Hard to fuck up.
Or so she'd thought.
Because the 'training ground' is a goddamn hellscape.
At first she'd thought the ground to be simply made of some kind of yellow stone, which is mostly true, except that there's also a not-so-small layer of sand over the top. Running on sand is by far the most annoying thing in the entire universe, and if Nao could eradicate every single grain of the substance then she would dedicate her entire life to doing just that. With a flamethrower.
Once the last of the kids conk out and collapse, Rei claps her hands. "Alright! Once you're all done being dramatic we'll go onto the next and final test."
Nao's pleased to see it's not just her that sends their 'teacher' a nasty glare at that, even the clan kids that lasted the longest are sending her dirty looks once her back is turned.
Suddenly her earlier declaration that she probably won't be their teacher sounds less like a snide jab at their competence and more like a relief.
"The last test is incredibly straightforward. All you have to do is throw these kunai," Kei produces a leather bag from nowhere and tosses it to the ground, a few dull black blades spilling out onto the sand. "At those targets," she finishes, pointing at the back of the training ground, where there are indeed several round targets up against one of the school's back walls, which has various nicks and chips in the stone.
Kei starts directing them to get into groups of four, and Nao ends up getting put in the group of leftovers along with Brown Haired Boy and two others. Lucky for her neither of the others — a girl and a boy — seem the talkative type, and Nao watches the proceedings without distraction.
She watches as Kei motions for the first group to step forward, three of them obviously incredibly nervous while the fourth, a boy with short dull red hair, is considerably less so. Each of them are handed three dull kunai and told to stand a fair distance away from the targets, behind a line in the sand Kei had drawn.
Then, once everyone else is standing far enough away that they won't get caught by a stray kunai no matter how shitty their aim is, Kei signals for them to start throwing. And-
Oh. Oh. So that's how it's going to be.
The first three kids' throws go wide, hitting the wall and clattering to the floor nowhere near their intended targets. The fourth kid's throw— the only clan kid in the group — while nowhere near perfect, at least manages to hit the edge of the target and gets stuck in the wood.
Wincing, Nao can see now why the targets are placed against a wall. At least this way the kunai won't fly too far away.
After a moment they throw again, much to the same result. The first three kids' throws once again go wide, though not quite as bad, and the fourth boy's sinks into the edge of the target again. The third throw surprises her, but only because the first girl manages to get her kunai to graze the edge of the target. All of them except the fourth boy's kunai still ultimately miss and clatter to the floor, though.
Kei gives them a half-hearted congratulations and motions for four more kids to take their place, then the cycle begins all over again.
Slowly but surely each group has their turn — clan kids always doing significantly better than the civilians — and the group of kids still yet to go gets smaller and smaller, until it's just Nao, Brown Haired Boy and two others; a teal haired boy and a wide eyed Kushiro girl with a cream coloured bird perched on her shoulder.
Kei motions for them to step up, and Nao does so with a hint of trepidation. Looking to the right, Nao watches as Brown Haired Boy (she really should ask for his name) and the other two bend to pick up the kunai by their feet.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Nao stoops down to pick up her own, fiddling so she can hold two in her left hand while she throws the third with her right.
"Alright, let's wrap this up," Kei says. "Go on. I have other things I want to do today."
Nao wonders if all shinobi are this rude or if Kei and Takeo are just kindred spirits.
Shrugging, Nao pulls her arm back, waits until the others are doing the same, then throws.
Miss.
Moving another kunai to her right hand, she pulls her arm back, waits, then throws.
Another miss. This time her aim was somehow worse.
Sighing, she moves the last kunai to her right hand and flips it over, watching the sun's reflection move across the dull blade. It's got various nicks, scratches and grooves all over the metal and the material on the handle is worn so thin it's a marvel that it hasn't torn off yet.
Taking a deep breath, she pulls her hand back and aims, trying to steady her arm. The kunai feels awkward in her grasp and she wonders if she's even holding it right. Kei hadn't given them any instruction.
Finally getting her arm to stop shaking quite as much, Nao plants her feet firmly on the floor and thro-
"You going to throw already?"
-and jolts in surprise, her whole body jumping at the unexpected noise right next to her. Nao doesn't even look to check where her kunai had landed, instead taking a step backwards and looking up at Kei who had moved to stand directly next to her. "The hell is your problem?" Nao snarls, so over her bored, I'm better than you attitude.
Brown Haired Boy sucks in an audible breath, but Nao just keeps glaring up at Kei, uncaring.
Kei shrugs and turns to face the other kids, ignoring Nao's scowl. "Well, now that that's finally over," Nao's glare intensifies, "you're all free to go. The actual class assignments will be listed on the front door tomorrow, don't be late." There's a moment of silence, no one quite sure what to do, and Kei throws her hands up. "Scram! Get out of here, I don't have time to babysit you."
Suddenly the group of kids all start moving, either to walk around the school and leave or find their friends so they can walk home together. Kei straight up vanishes in a swirl of sand just like Takeo had earlier that day and no one even bats an eye. It's then that Nao decides that yes, this is just a normal thing shinobi do.
Grumbling, Nao remembers she meant to ask Brown Haired Boy his name and turns to try and find him, but he's already gone. Sighing, she turns to look at the targets, curious as to how he'd done compared to the others.
The two targets farthest away — that of the teal haired boy and Kushiro girl — each have three kunai stuck in the wood, most of them around the edge, but one of the girl's managed to hit the middle ring, which is really cool. Only a small handful of others managed to hit the middle ring.
Brown Haired Boy's — she should really find out his name soon, it's getting old — target surprisingly has two in it, though both are on the very edge and it's a wonder they haven't fallen out yet.
Then she turns to her own target to see how her last throw did, and it causes her to stop. Blink. Process.
The last kunai she'd thrown hadn't hit dead centre, but it's damn close. Logically she knows the only reason it even hit the target at all had been because Kei'd startled her, putting her throw off, but—
But it's still pretty cool.
Looking around, Nao finds that she's pretty much left completely alone, and looks back to the target.
Frowning, she thinks back on how nearly every clan kid had done so much better than the others, at how clear it was that they'd been practising for a while. If the village kids here are anything at all like the kids everywhere else, she doubts they'd have practised anything like it before, too busy helping out their parents with chores or playing games.
Sure, they'll probably start learning soon enough, but it still leaves a sour taste in her mouth. Nao's already far behind everyone else for everything else, she can't afford for this to be another.
Looking around one last time to make sure no one is around, Nao then walks up to the target and pulls the third one she'd thrown out of the wood. Flipping it over, she decides it's so beat up and worn down that no one will miss it and slips it into her bag, thankful that she has enough papers and clutter inside that it's easily hidden beneath. Though she has a few storage scrolls, they're all full of clothes and other nick-nacks. She should really sort those some time.
Stretching, she tilts her head so the lizard can climb atop and soak in the sun's rays, then heads off to walk around the school and towards the street. When she gets there she finds a few kids still lingering and others with their parents chatting excitedly.
It's only then that she realises she has no idea where to go.
She could probably find her way back to the beach house, she knows the general direction, but finds that she doesn't want to. It's boring there and the sun is still high in the sky, probably only being midday. Still, the village is so large that even if she only wanders for a small amount of time there is an incredibly high likelihood of getting completely and utterly lost.
But maybe… Maybe getting lost isn't such a bad thing. If she's going to be stuck here for who knows how long she may as well get to know the place she's going to be living in, and what better way to get to know it than to get horrifically lost?
Mind made up, Nao turns to walk down the street, then takes a random left, then a right. Eventually she finds herself at one of the larger streets and finds that it's some kind of market, only there aren't any vendors selling their wares out in the street and instead people walk into the stores to buy things. Each store has a large window at the front and a selection of items proudly displayed behind the glass that show what kind of shop it is. Most of the stores have different sorts of clothes, but a couple have accessories like belts, boots and scarves, and yet a few more display more specific items like glasses, rings and necklaces.
Nao walks down the street and marvels at the different sorts of clothes, everything so different to any of the other countries she's visited. This place seems to favour more practical clothing, like pants and shirts, but that doesn't stifle the creativity. If anything it seems to challenge them to design clothes that both look unique and are functional, resulting in form-fitting clothes with various hidden pockets made of rich purples, reds, oranges, golds and yellows.
She keeps looking until she spots a few people giving her confused looks, at which point she takes her leave and ducks down another side street. She's about to exit into another larger street when a shadow passes overhead, then another, and another.
Looking up, Nao manages to spot someone dart across the roof above her head and she stops dead in her tracks. The lizard chirps as he starts slipping, and she reaches up to move him onto her shoulder, an idea coming to mind.
Is it an insane idea? Maybe. Is it dangerous? For sure. Is she going to do it anyway?
Of course she is.
Turning down another side street, then another and another, she keeps weaving through them until she comes across what she's been looking for. An alley wall.
Making sure the lizard is secure on her shoulder, she takes a few steps back, rolls up her sleeves, then runs. Feet pounding against the stone path, she waits until she's a few feet away from the alley wall and jumps.
Severely out of practise, when her feet scrabble for purchase on the bricks her toes find the grooves between the bricks too late and she falls back on her butt. Undeterred, she grits her teeth, gets up, walks backwards, and tries again.
The second time is better, but she still doesn't quite make it to the top, and this time the fall is harder. Groaning and rubbing her backside, she gets up, steps even further back for a larger runner-up and tries again.
This time her feet find purchase easily and her hands manage to grab the top of the wall, and she hauls herself up onto the ledge.
Panting and breathing heavily, Nao sits there for a few minutes to catch her breath, and looks down. She's higher up than she remembers being for a long time and she grins to herself.
She's still got it.
Once her chest doesn't burn and her breathing steadies she slowly gets to her feet and holds out her arms for balance. Looking side to side, she decides that she'd rather go right, and makes her way over to the slanted roof. When she steps onto it she's amazed that the tiles don't move beneath her at all. Taking a step forward, then another, she finds it's much like walking parallel to an incline and drops her arms to her side.
The village looks much different from up here, and she can see much further, the birds flying across the sky much clearer. It's only then that it hits her just how large the village is, to the point that the word village feels severely inadequate. The golden glow of the sun plays beautifully on the red tiles of the roofs and they stretch on for as far as the eye can see, rippling across the horizon like the sand dunes she'd seen in the Land of Wind. It's very likely that they stretch across the whole island.
Grin splitting even wider on her face, she makes sure that the lizard is still secure and happy — he's napping, the weirdo — and makes her way across the roof. When she reaches the end she easily steps across to the next roof and keeps going. Once she's confident that she won't slip and fall if she looks away for a moment, she turns to watch the people below go about their lives.
From up here they look so different. She can barely see the details of their clothing due to the angle and she finds herself distinguishing them more by hair colour than anything. After a while she finds that most people's hair is either brown, yellow, red, or the weird grey with dots of green and purple. There are very few people with teal hair, and the few that do usually have the strange shinobi headbands somewhere on their person.
No one bothers to look up, probably too used to people darting across the roofs and birds darting overhead to bother. Nao's spotted quite a few others run across the rooftops in the distance but none of them are close enough to notice her. Or they just don't care.
Coming to the end of the roof she'd been on, this time she has to hoist herself up onto the next one as it's a good half-dozen feet higher. Hooking her leg over the ledge, she hoists herself up and rolls over onto her back, panting at the exertion. Groaning, Nao climbs to her feet and stretches, cracking the joints in her back.
Just as she's about to keep going a bird flies right in front of her face causing her to take a step back. Miscalculating how much space she has, she slips and falls, back hitting the roof below with a harsh thud and she rolls, rolls rolls right off the roof, she throws her arm up to grab the ledge but misses by a hair's width—
Only for someone to grab her hand and pull her back up.
Groaning and rubbing her back — she already feels a bruise forming, damn it — she looks up to find Takeo watching her intently. "The hell? You been following me or somethin'?"
Scoffing, he throws his hands in the air and shakes his head. "I save you from becoming a smear on the pavement and the first thing that comes out your mouth is 'were you following me'? No, 'oh thank you so much for saving me, you're my hero Takeo!' or 'you're the best, Takeo! I owe you my life!'?" He says the last part in a high-pitched voice that grates on her nerves, clearly doing a comical imitation of her own voice.
Glaring up at him, Nao relaxes and waves him off. "We're not that high up, I would a been fine on my own."
"Yeah, sure, you're just lucky I found you when I did. I've been looking for you everywhere, I'm starving. I know this nice little takeout place on Taro Street, does dumplings that are to die for. I was going to grab them first but figured I should find you before you start causing too much trouble."
Perking up at the mention of food, Nao's eyes flash with mischief and she grins. "Takeout place, huh? Can we take the roofs there?"
"And risk having someone see and think me irresponsible? Not a chance. Do dumb shit on your own time, not when I'll be the one to take the blame."
Well, that was basically permission, wasn't it?
Picking up the last dumpling from the container Takeo is holding, Nao ignores his grunt of protest and takes a large bite. The lizard is already borderline comatose from eating his share of dumplings, curled up on her shoulder and eyes half-closed, and she takes careful steps across the sand of the beach to avoid jostling him.
"See? I told you the dumplings were the best," Takeo says while putting the empty container back into the brown paper bag. "Nothing beats Mako's."
Popping the last of the dumpling in her mouth, Nao chews and swallows. "Mmm, they're good, but nowhere near the best."
"Oh? And where do you think you can get better?" Takeo asks, doubt dripping from every word.
"The Land of Wind," she answers confidently. "Their pork and cabbage dumplings can't be beat." And indeed they can't, much to Nao's disappointment. She and Eizo had lived on takeout and those damned ration bars in the Land of Wind, the desert not having a whole lot of natural food. After they left the desolate wasteland behind she still insisted they have takeout every now and then, but no matter how many dumpling places they tried nothing compared to the Land of Wind's.
Takeo's eyebrows shoot up, almost blending into his hairline with how high they go. "The Land of Wind, huh? I can't say I've been there, but if I ever visit I'll be sure to try some of these magic dumplings."
"You've never been?" Nao asks, shocked. "Surely you have! It's not that far away, don't you travel at all?"
Takeo hums, and tilts his head in thought. "Uzushio shinobi, during peacetime, mostly work in-village or run escort missions around the Land of Fire. I wasn't old enough to have served at the front lines in the Great War, so the furthest I've been is the Land of Rivers. My prior appointment didn't lend itself to travel."
"Prior appointment?"
All Takeo does in reply is tap his nose knowingly, much to her irritation. Fine. If he's done giving out information for free, all that means is she'll have to find out for herself.
Somehow.
By the time they reach Takeo's beach house the sun has been down for a few hours, the moonlight reflecting on the ocean and bathing the world in a dull blue light. As they walk up the front porch steps Nao's amazed that none of the beach sand is on the wooden deck. Surely it would have blown in from the winds?
"There's some stuff 'round the back for you," Takeo says, and Nao peers at him suspiciously. "If they don't fit we can go back and swap them, so just let me know soon. Otherwise, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."
He opens the door and gives a lazy wave before disappearing into the house, the door left slightly ajar. Shrugging, Nao wanders around to the back of the house again. Yawning, she rubs her eyes and looks around, then stops dead when she rounds the corner.
There's a large hammock hanging from the rafters and a pile of clothes and blankets bundled up in it. Walking towards it slowly, Nao reaches a hand out to pick up the shirt lying on the top of the pile. The material is soft and sturdy, something that will feel comfortable and won't tear easily. It's a lovely deep purple colour and is large enough that the lizard could comfortably sit on her shoulder beneath the fabric.
Putting it aside, she finds multiple of much the same thing in varying colours and a few pairs of pants and shorts. The pants are made of a much thicker and rougher material, with front and back pockets that are deep and large enough she could keep the stolen kunai in them and no one would be able to tell.
At the bottom of the pile are two large, gloriously fluffy blankets that Nao can't help but rub her hands over.
Overall the haul must have cost a fortune. Surely Takeo wouldn't have bought it all for her and expect nothing in return, but he hadn't mentioned any kind of payment…
Shaking her head, Nao sighs and moves the clothes into a neat pile on the floor and clambers into the hammock, wrapping the blankets around herself. For now she'll try not to worry about it. She's exhausted.