Still don't own Naruto. A special thanks to saterra3950 for being such an awesome beta.
... next day...(3)
"Good morning, Kenta."
Nazoko stared. She must be seeing things. Right? It couldn't be...
"Hey! I didn't think you'd be here." Her father gave his friend a "man" hug.
"Slight change of plans. I take it this is your daughter?"
She kept staring. Yup. It was. She wasn't seeing things. Her dad was friends with the Sakumo Hatake. And it wasn't really her first time meeting him. Of course, the first time he'd been wearing a white mask with red-rimmed eyes and two thick red lines on the cheeks though. How she knew that was him...?
Well, that was a good question. A question she didn't know the answer to.
"Aa. This is Nazoko-chan. Nazoko-chan, this is my friend, Sakumo Hatake."
She couldn't stop staring. What the heck was going on?
Only in hindsight would she realize that this helped narrow down the timeline. For now, though, she figured she should probably say something since they were both giving her worried looks. She said the first thing that came to mind automatically.
"Long time no see." Seriously? Why? Why did she do this to herself? Speaking without thinking led to nothing but trouble. Right, she'd just make a mental note to train herself to keep quiet. Better them to think she was shy. Now she'd have to deal with the inevitable question...
"What are you talking about, Nazoko-chan? You've never met Sakumo before."
There it was. Now, what to do about it? She really had no business knowing that he the anbu in her hospital room. Actually, she still wasn't sure why she was so sure that he was... Maybe childish ignorance would work? It was worth a shot if nothing else.
She tilted her head. "Was that not the correct phrase?" She would admit it was a bit of stretch. 'Long time no see' was said, phonetically, as 'Hisashiburi'. Whereas 'It's nice to meet you' is said 'Hajimemashite'. Not exactly the easiest of expressions to mix up. Hopefully, her father understood. Fingers crossed.
Kenta chuckled. "I think you mean, 'It's nice to meet you.'"
Score one for 'father not wanting to see that there might be something not right with his daughter.' It actually made her feel bad for playing him like that. She didn't try to fight the blush. "Oh. I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you, Hatake-san." She bowed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nazoko-chan. And please, call me Sakumo. Why don't you both come in?"
Once both men's eyes were off her, she took a slow breath. That... could have gone better. She took her sandals off at the door.
"I'll take those."
She looked up at Sakumo in question.
"I'm training a new puppy. I haven't quite broken him of his habit to chew on shoes. It's the same reason we don't have any slippers right now." He chuckled sheepishly.
She sent him a small smile and handed him her shoes then paused. "Did you say puppy?" She was sure there would be stars in her eyes if this were an actual anime.
He smiled at her warmly. "I did. Would you like to meet him?"
"Yes!" She did not squeal.
Sakumo whistled. Scratching on the wooden floor followed. Soon a black and white furball came racing down the hall. "Sit."
The little furball sat. Its tail wiggling as its blue eyes stared straight at Sakumo, awaiting his next order.
Nazoko held her breath for a second. "So cute!" She started to move forward but stopped herself. This was a ninken. Albeit, one in training but still. She glanced at Sakumo. "Can I pet him?"
He laughed. "Of course."
She didn't need to be told twice. She practically pounced on the poor puppy.
"His name is Tamashi."
She grinned. "Tamashi. You are adorable!" She started rubbing his belly and giggled when his foot started moving.
"You're a tiny little thing."
Nazoko looked up at the new voice. It belonged to a beautiful woman with two red fangs tattooed on her cheeks. Her long black hair was tied back. She gave off an aura of fierce yet gentle. "So pretty," she breathed out before she could stop herself.
Okami tilted her head back and laughed. "Why, thank you. I'm Okami. None of that formal stuff with me. This here is Haru." Next to her was a giant, compared to Nazoko, dog that looked like a Malamute.
Nazoko wasn't aware her eyes could get any wider, but they proved her wrong. "It's nice to meet you, Okami-san. Haru-san." And because her brain decided to be extra helpful she added, "You're so big!"
As if to prove her statement wrong, Haru laid down on the floor then tilted his head causing her to giggle.
"I'm afraid I have to go now."
Just like that, Nazoko's mood dropped. She closed her eyes for a second and took a quiet breath before plastering a smile on her face as she stood and turned towards her dad. She would not make this any harder on him than it already was.
He picked her up and hugged her. "I'll miss you."
She buried her face in his neck and tightened her chubby arms. "I'll miss you too, Tou-san. Be safe and come home."
"I'll try my best." He kissed her head.
"I know. I love you."
His arms tightened around her slightly. "I love you, too. Be good, okay? Keep up with your stretching and kata."
She bit her lip to keep her eyes from watering. "Okay." She found herself on her feet and watching his retreating back until he vanished from view. "Okay," she repeated.
A low whine sounded from beside her and fur brushed her hand. She absently petted Tamashi's fur.
...a week later...(3)
Over the course of the week, Nazoko had caught herself staring at Sakumo no less than once a day. He was so young-looking. He didn't yet have the stress lines around his eyes. He was handsome enough, in a plain sort of way.
Honestly, if it weren't for his very distinctive hair, Nazoko wouldn't have even known who he was. It made it easier for her to recognize him as a person and not as an anime character. That was something she thought she might have to remind herself of. This wasn't an anime anymore. Something on screen that couldn't touch her.
She didn't remember if Sakumo's age was ever actually mentioned-and boy did she wish she would've taken more initiative to look up anything and everything about the show now- she believed he was around the same age as the Sannin. Perhaps she was mixing fanfiction with cannon...
She found herself thinking back to the show. Jiraiya had been fifty during the chunin exams. And Sakumo couldn't have been more than twenty at the moment... And he was already married? It made its own sort of sense, she supposed.
Shinobi in this world expected to die young. It was practically a fact. As such, their bodies had adapted. They were predisposed to procreating sooner so they had a chance to carry on their bloodline. Bloodlines, in the Naruto world, were beyond important. So, Sakumo being married did make sense if one thought of the situation as a whole.
'Children raising children...' Nazoko mused silently. The concept actually brought up another train of thought. Kakashi. He hadn't been born yet. It was another puzzle piece that, when added to what she already had, formed a slightly less blurry picture.
She shook her head. Kishimoto had been terrible at keeping to his own timeline. With Hiruzen still looking so young, his goatee having only just started to fade a little but not yet greying, the village must have still been rather young. She didn't think Hisurzen was more than thirty, at most, before he was given the Hat. He was older than twenty-three at least. Minato did get the title for youngest Hokage after all.
So, Hiruzen was the current Hokage. Minato had yet to become Hokage. Sakumo Hatake was younger than twenty. Kakashi is unborn. Inoichi wasn't clan head. There was a war going on.
She had been born during the Second Shinobi War. If Sakumo was around the same age as the Sannin-doing the mental math for the timeline going backward was a serious pain- then she would be around the age of Naruto's parents. Give or take a couple of years. It wasn't a sure thing, of course. Not counting Kishimoto's mistakes with his own timeline, there was also the possibility that everything she knew could be completely inaccurate.
What if Madara Uchiha really did die already? What if there were no Zetsu? What if there were no Sage of Six Paths? This was leading her to a place she did not want her thoughts to go.
She let out a heavy breath. She'd have to proceed as if it were real. If for no other reason than to expect the worst. Because let's be honest, almost anything would be better than what actually happened in the show. She just wished she had a solid timeline to work with.
"Quite the sigh for someone so tiny. Care to share what has you smelling so forlorn?"
Nazoko glanced up from her writing exercise and met Okami's gaze. "I'm thinking about time." She'd learned pretty quick that lying wasn't a possibility here. The nose of an Inuzuka was no joke. Sakumo's was pretty good too. Although, if they could actually smell a lie or if her body language was giving her away she didn't know.
"A deep subject. Not something someone your age normally thinks about..."
Ah, she was trying to lead the conversation. Nazoko didn't really feel like humoring her so she just shrugged and went back to her work. The sooner she could read and write the better.
Okami huffed as Sakumo walked into the kitchen. He had a towel around his neck to catch any moisture from his hair after his shower. Okami's eyes flicked between the two of them as a stray thought came back to her. "So... You've been here for a week now. I like to think I've gotten to know you pretty well."
Nazoko made a noise in her throat to show she was listening.
"I wouldn't peg you for the type of person to make a mistake over a simple phrase."
Nazoko felt herself freeze then forced herself to continue writing. She cursed herself mentally. There was no way Okami and Sakumo missed her slip-up. "Everyone makes mistakes."
"True." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair. "I think you're mistake, however, was that you didn't think it through before saying it."
Nazoko set her pencil down and sighed as she looked up. "I didn't take you as the type of person to beat around the bush," she stated bluntly.
Okami laughed. "Fair enough." She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table as Sakumo sat down beside her. "You did see Sakumo before but didn't want your dad to know. I want to know why you'd bother lying about something like that?"
This was going to be a tough one to answer. She was only three. She shouldn't know about Anbu or that they were supposed to be a secret. She wanted to pull out her hair at her own stupidity. She couldn't pull off this well-spoken yet still average child image she had been trying for.
'Fuck it. It's not like I need to tell them all my dirty little secrets.'
"I hadn't seen him before. So, it wasn't actually a lie." She shrugged. Time to bite the bullet. Best to answer one question to pull attention away from the big things she needed to hide. "I simply saw a man wearing black clothes, grey armor, and a white mask with red on it."
Both adults stiffened. Okami decided to speak. "What does that have to do with seeing Sakumo before?"
Nazoko raised a single eyebrow- and wasn't that awesome that she could actually do that?- at the older woman. "I assumed that, given that everything about his person was hidden, I wasn't supposed to be aware that it was him. So, I figured it was best not to make it known to my father. Was I wrong? Should I tell my father that I actually met Sakumo-san in my hospital room?"
Sakumo shifted slightly while Okami narrowed her eyes. "How did you come to the conclusion that it was Sakumo?"
Nazoko tilted her head and blinked. Huh... "I don't know." Her tone came out sounding as perplexed as she felt. How did she know it was him? "I just... knew?" She frowned. She didn't miss the look the pair shared, though she had no idea what it meant.
"Has Kenta started you on meditating?" Sakumo asked.
"No."
"Do you feel anything when someone is close to you?"
"That's a very vague question..."
Okami snickered. "Do you ever feel an odd sensation when someone is in close proximity to you?"
Nazoko made a face. "I don't..." She shook her head. "I don't understand."
"Hm." Okami had a thoughtful look on her face. "Alright then. Let's try something. Close your eyes. Don't open them until I say."
"Uh... Okay?" Nazoko did as instructed. There was silence for a moment.
"Where is Sakumo?" Okami asked.
Nazoko furrowed her brows. "He's sitting right next to you."
"Is he? Don't open your eyes until I say. Now, where is Sakumo? Really THINK about it."
Nazoko huffed but did as she asked. She hadn't heard him move but he was a ninja so that wasn't all that odd. She stiffened when that palpable buzzing, the not-quite-sound-not-quite-a-feeling that had been present in her head since she got to the Hatake residence, became even more apparent in the silence.
She turned her head slightly to the side and her brows furrowed. "Behind me," she whispered. Again, she didn't know how she knew. She just did. Even more confusing(or perhaps it was the exact opposite), that was where the nearly-but-not-quit-tangible buzzing was coming from.
Then the buzzing moved. She didn't realize she had moved her head to follow its progress. "The fridge." It moved again and she frowned. "By you."
"Hah!"
Nazoko jumped in her chair and nearly fell off it. Her eyes flew open in response. Sakumo was sitting in the exact same place as he was when she'd closed her eyes. "He's right there!" Embarrassment flooded her. She had been so sure when she had stated where he was. And it turned out he hadn't even moved?
Okami let out another loud laugh. "What d'ya know?! A little sensor! Even better, an inherent one!"
"A sensor?"
Okami waved her hand in front of her face. "That explains it."
Nazoko embarrassment turned quickly to frustration and she let it show. Even worse, treacherous tears were beginning to form. "Explains what?! If you were just pulling my leg-"
"Relax kid. We weren't doing anything of the sort." She studied Nazoko for a moment before nodding. "The thing is, you're right. It was Sakumo in your hospital room. The only way for you to have known that is if you could sense his chakra."
"Sense his chakra?" Her eye moved back and forth rapidly as she made the connections in her own head, the tears evaporated as quickly as they came. This young body couldn't make up its mind. "Is that the buzzing?" A stray thought crossed her mind. Perhaps the buzzing getting louder back in the hospital room those months ago had been Sakumo flaring his chakra to alert the Hokage that she was awake.
"Buzzing huh? I suppose that fits."
"What's chakra? Does it always buzz? I don't notice a buzzing from you. Or Tou-san for that matter. You feel kind of fierce but gentle. Tou-san just makes me feel safe and warm."
Sakumo stared at her in awe. "Incredible." He shook his head. "That could develop into quite the ability. The Hokage-"
Panic flooded Nazoko system. "No! Please don't tell anyone!" She spoke without thinking... again.
Okami held up her hands in a gesture meant to placate. "Hey now. Calm down. What's this all about?"
Well fuck. She couldn't exactly tell them she didn't want to be seen as anything special because it could draw attention from a megalomaniacal village elder. Okami would smell a lie though. She thought quickly. "There isn't any guarantee that it will develop into something more. Just- please don't say anything yet. At least not until I graduate from the academy so we can see where it goes? Please?"
The couple blinked at her pleading then had a silent conversation. "Okay."
Nazoko inhaled sharply. "Okay?"
Okami nodded. "Okay. We won't tell anyone."
"Just like that?" Her tone was laced with skepticism.
"Just the thought of us telling anyone has you terrified," Sakumo said softly. He slowly reached forward, giving her more than enough time to move out of the way if she wanted to, and placed a hand on her head.
"I don't know the real reason why. I also don't expect you to tell us. Why would you? You've only known us for a week, officially. Maybe one day you'll believe in us enough to tell us. Until then, we'll just have prove ourselves trustworthy." Okami sent her a gentle smile.
Nazoko slumped in relief. "Thank you."
Okami clapped her hands. "In the meantime, I think it would be a good idea to start with some meditation!"
...Months later...(3/4)
Nazoko did get that explanation of chakra eventually. Which was great. She didn't have to pretend not to know it existed. That was something she foresaw getting her into trouble. Keeping the things she knew, yet wasn't supposed to know about, separate. Not that she knew everything about chakra anyway.
Naruto was geared towards young adults. The explanations given for a range of topics were basic at best, non-existent at worst. The one given for meditating to find chakra never said how frustrating it would be.
Well, that wasn't the hard part, actually. The hard part was trying to get it to do what she wanted. Was she just supposed to will it to move? It had yet to work when she tried.
Her physical routine grew more intense as time went on. The kata became more complicated and the stretches more strenuous. Kent had also started her on a completely different set of kata that was a combination of yoga and gymnastics. Suddenly, the extra stretching made more sense since he told her this new set was all about control over her own body. -It was like he read her mind and knew just how annoyed she was at herself for not having the same control as her original self did.-
In no time at all, her fourth birthday- August 10th- came and went. There hadn't been a party and she was fine with that. She'd been with Okami at the time. Her "sensing training" was at a standstill until she could figure out how to get her chakra to actually work with her instead of sitting in her belly like a lazy sloth.
Okami thought the entire situation was hilarious. An "inherent sensor" at the age of three that could feel her own chakra just fine but couldn't get it to move? Nazoko did not share in her humor. Still, it was kind of her, and Sakumo when he was around, to train her when Kenta was sent out. In fact, the three of them made sure to communicate with each other regularly so everyone knew where she was. She wouldn't admit out loud how that thought made her fondness for them grow.
"Alright. Come here squirt. Time to learn how to hold a kunai."
Nazoko brought her focus back to the present and stood from the ground after she'd finished the last of the new kata. She felt a layer of sweat coating her skin. Man, and she thought sweat wasn't something she'd have to worry about for a while yet. She stopped in front of the other woman.
"Alright, I want you to try and hit that target from here." She pointed to the target situated about 10 meters away.
"That's kinda far for a four-year-old, isn't it?" Nazoko asked skeptically.
Okami shrugged. "It's not really about hitting the target right now. That'll come with time and experience. We'll work on power and accuracy later. For now, it's all about proper hold and stance."
Nazoko sighed. "Right." The mere thought of how much she still had to learn was almost daunting.
"Here."
She took the kunai without tearing her gaze from the target. She knew she wouldn't have enough power to actually make it but still tried to judge the amount she would need out of habit. The metal felt heavy and awkward in her hand. It was too big for her. "So, how do I hold this..." She trailed off as her eyes caught sight of the -light glinting off the sharp edge-
Her breath caught in her chest. Her hands shook so bad that the kunai fell out of her grasp and hit the ground. Her body felt as if it had been dunked in an ice bath and a fire at the same time. Her sight had gone blurry. She couldn't breathe. Oh, Kami. She couldn't breathe! An ocean was raging in her ears. Darkness crept in along the edges of her vision.
It was coming closer! No! I'm sorry! Stop! Can't breathe! -metal shining in the moonlight, coming closer-
"-ko. Nazoko!" Arms wrapped around her small body, finally cutting off her view of the deadly weapon on the ground. A familiar buzzing enveloped her. "It's okay. You're okay. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you here."
She didn't know how long it took her body to finally calm down. When it did, she found herself inside, sitting on Sakumo's lap with his arms curled protectively around her. Her eyes felt dry and her cheeks felt wet. She'd been crying.
"'M sorry," she muttered into his shoulder.
Sakumo breathed a short laugh. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yeah but..." She made a frustrated noise and gripped the fabric of his shirt tighter. "That wasn't... I'm going to be a shinobi for crying out loud! I can't react like that to a kunai! It's just- It's not fair! It's been over a year. I thought I was fine." She'd ended on a whisper.
Sakumo sighed. "There isn't a time limit on trauma. At least you know about it. Better it happened now than in the field."
"Yay for silver linings," she muttered bitterly. She inhaled deeply and counted to ten before releasing it. "I need to overcome this."
"You will. You won't be alone either. You have me, Okami, and Kenta. We'll all be here for you every step of the way."
"Not that you need us." Okami handed her a cup of tea. "I've seen grown-ass men get a paper cut and react a lot worse than that. You're doing really well."
Nazoko giggled slightly. She took a sip of tea. "Thank you."
Haru walked over and placed his head on her lap. Nazoko just blinked in surprise.
"Heh. He's willing to let you pet him."
She was sure stars were in her eyes. "Really?"
Haru huffed.
She was sure her grin was so big it would split her face. She wasted no time threading her fingers in his soft fur. She laughed when Haru let out a sound that could be compared to a purr. Not that she'd ever say that out loud. Haru might take back his permission! It had taken a month to get to this point!
She smiled at the people she was quickly coming to consider part of her family. She wasn't alone.
...September-one month after Nazoko turned 5...
"Just breathe," Nazoko mumbled to herself. It was happening. It was time for Nazoko to begin truly begin her journey as a ninja. Sure, she had been training with Kenta, Sakumo, and Okami but, until now, it had felt a little like it hadn't been real.
She knew it was. Every scrape and bruise had been evidence of that. Every interaction had been more elaborate than her mind could've ever come up with in a dream. Yet, it hadn't settled in until now.
It was her very first day at the academy. Where she would be taught with other children her physical age to become a shinobi. This was the real first step. And she was more than a little nervous.
Not that she could ever admit that out loud. Not with her present company.
"You know you can change your mind, right? You don't have to be a shinobi if you don't want to, Nazoko-chan. Kenta won't love you any less," Atsuko tried again to convince Nazoko to stop what she considered foolishness. She truly believed that Nazoko would make a better housewife than a ninja.
Nazoko offered the woman a resigned smile. She knew Atsuko meant well, she really did. It didn't make it less exasperating being forced to listen to all her lectures on why she shouldn't be doing something or why women should stay at home. Nazoko did at least make sure to retain the lessons on how to make a tea tray and serve it, how to sit Seiza, and every other lesson Atsuko had time to shove at her. One never knew when that would come in handy.
"I know Atsuko-san. I'll give it a try before I decide though."
Nazoko tried to soften her refusal to listen by letting Atsuko help pick out an outfit for her. She'd had to gently but firmly tell the elder woman that a dress was a very bad idea too many times to count.
She'd ended up agreeing to a long-sleeved, pale purple tunic just a few shades to light to match her eye color, over black spandex leggings that ended a few inches below her knees, and a pair of the standard black ninja sandals.
Atsuko was thrilled when Nazoko asked her to pull her hair up for her. The elder woman thought Nazoko was finally, FINALLY, taking more of an interest in her appearance. When really, a ponytail was just a more practical style for training. Plus, it added to the image of cute and innocent.
Technically, she probably should have waited another year before starting. She would most likely be the youngest of her year mates. But between the academy rules for admission being more lax during war and her father, Sakumo, and (Okami) being sent to the front more often, it was Kenta's way of trying to keep his daughter busy and her thoughts from dwelling.
"Oof!" Her back impacted the ground. It was a good thing she was so small. The could've hurt a lot worse had she been further from the ground.
"Nazoko-chan!" Atsuko pulled her off the ground and fluttered her hands over her small frame. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Nazoko sashayed out of her reach. "Really, Atsuko-san. I'm fine."
The woman rounded on the rather rotund boy who had bumped into her. "You! You should be more careful!"
Nazoko took the chance to study the three boys who were dutifully standing still and looking abashed as Atsuko ranted at them.
One was most definitely a Yamanaka. He had the characteristic pupilless teal eyes and straw-blond hair.
The second had dark brown hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail -that rather reminded her of a pineapple if she squinted- and a slouched posture with his hand stuck in his pockets. He could only have been a Nara.
The third boy, the reason for the ranting, was on the larger side. His hair was an off red and his eyes were squinted so much they looked almost closed. His cheeks held the wavey line-markings that indicated an Akimichi.
A Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi. Given that clans all tended to share very similar characteristics, there was a chance that this group could be anyone. However, given that Nazoko had concluded being within the same age range as the parents of the rookies, it made the probability of them being who she thought they were much higher. It made her feel a little ill.
She tugged Atsuko's top. "Atsuko-san. It's fine." She saw immediately that her words wouldn't have the effect she wanted so she readied a different approach.
"No, it isn't. These young boys need-"
She adopted a nervous expression, pressed her pointer fingers together repeatedly, and lowered her gaze to the ground. "If we don't go now, I could be late. I don't want to make a bad impression on my first day."
It worked like a charm.- She silently thanked the unborn Hinata.- Atsuko cooed over how cute she was and agreed to go. Nazoko looked over her shoulder one more time as she followed and saw the trio staring. She sent them an apologetic smile and a tentative wave before facing forward.
The entrance ceremony was rather boring. The Hokage pretty much just told them to do their best and keep the Will of Fire burning in their hearts with a little bit of extra propaganda thrown in for good measure. She didn't see the young boys she'd run into so they must be in one of the upper years that didn't have class today. That was a relief. She was perfectly happy to be surrounded by non-canon and side characters.
"Class 1B; Akamine Takashi, Amano Ren, Ban Kuromaki," Harada-sensei listed. Each class would end up having around thirty kids it seemed. Not many civilian parents wanted to sign their children up when there was a war going on outside the village. Not that Nazoko could blame them. She perked up when her name was called for class 1B.
She heard the name Inuzuka Tsume called out not long after hers. Minus a small heart palpitation, she was able to shrug it off. Yes, Tsume would be clan head, but she wasn't a major character in any arc so it was fine.
Or it was fine. It was fine all the way up until a certain name was called. One that sent her heart racing. The name Namikaze Minato. Her eye twitched and she forced herself to keep her eyes forward. She would NOT look around. The rest of the names didn't register and she barely heard the call for her class to follow behind their new sensei.
"Class 1B! Follow me."
She followed mechanically and studiously kept her gaze away from anyone with brightly colored hair. She grabbed a seat in the back next to a dark-haired boy who was slumped over in his chair and looked half asleep already.
'Another Nara,' she mused. This one's ponytail wasn't spikey at least. She turned back to the front as Harada-sensei started with his own rousing speech. She was half tempted to join the Nara in sleeping.
At least this information was different. Because of the war and the village needing to fill in the ranks, the academy didn't have the time or resources to spend the first two years making sure the kids were all at least caught up with all the usual requirements for the basics of reading, writing, and the like. He also warned them that it was likely they would only end up being cannon fodder, except for a select few, and if they couldn't handle it, then it was best to back out now
Nazoko was only half paying attention by the time he finally started to go over what they would actually be learning and his expectations for the class. She found her mind drifting back.
After her PTSD episode with the kunai, Sakumo and Kenta both talked it over and after a brief meeting with a Yamanaka, decided exposure therapy would be the way to go. It took weeks, months even before the results became obvious but it was working. She still had little episodes from time to time, but they had decreased significantly in intensity and frequency. Theoretically, she would be completely better within a year. Realistically, she could control herself enough to not let her natural reaction put her or her future teammates in danger when the time comes.
While the first was preferable, she would take the second. Time wasn't something she had a lot of but this couldn't be rushed. At least she could use a kunai now and had a chance to practice with them. It was enough for Nazoko... for now. Strength was also an issue. She needed to build more muscle so she could actually hit a target. And don't even get her started on accuracy...
She had finally, FINALLY, gotten her chakra to listen to her! It moved ridiculously slowly, but it was progress. Again, at this point, she'd take what she could get. Sakumo had assured her that it would move easier with practice. Naturally, meditation became another part of her daily routine.
On one of her trips to the public library, she found something that could prove useful. Originally, she'd been looking up different ways to meditate-meditation wasn't something only ninja did after all- when she stumbled onto an old scroll tucked in the back of a dusty shelf.
It described a technique that had fallen out of practice with everyone but the most dedicated monks due to the risk and upkeep needed to maintain it. It wasn't extinct, of course. It just wasn't popular.
A defensible mindscape. That idea appealed to Nazoko for a lot of reasons. The biggest one being her memories of her previous life, including those of the show. In theory, it sounded simple enough. Create an organized mindscape with chakra added in.
The reality wasn't so easy. A person could absolutely create a mindscape within the first level of their consciousness, the level where all regular thoughts happened, but chakra couldn't be added to make it DEFENSIBLE.
So, this technique requires a person to go into an even deeper meditative state. Which is where the risk comes in. The second level leaves a person fairly defenseless physically-perhaps a little ironic-. They are nearly cut off from their outside senses entirely. No way of knowing if someone was approaching with ill intentions.
Her first order of business had been to figure out if she could even get to the second level. Some people just didn't have the level of concentration required. Then, she would need to go through her memories one at a time while directing her chakra through each one and organizing everything. It would be time-consuming, but worth it. At present, she could only continue to dedicate the time she was laying in bed for the night to it. She'd only recently managed to meditate deeply enough. So the progress was slow, but it was progress just the same.
A wave of angry/agitated chakra washed over her. Her eyes slid to the side in time to see her sensei launch a piece of chalk at the boy slumped over in his chair next to her. It hit him in the head.
"Nara!"
The boy yelp and fell out of his chair.
"I'd better not catch you sleeping in my class again! Got it?"
Nazoko fought a smirk as she watched him stand and retake his seat.
"Alright, alright. I got it. What a drag."
She failed and it ended up as a grin when she made eye contact. His lips pulled up at one corner and sent her a nod in greeting.
"The name's Ensui."
She dipped her own head. "Nazoko." She repeated his name in her head a few times until a man with green eyeliner popped up. Ah. Not a major character but one who still got screen time. She shrugged it off and turned back to the front.
The class was let out a little before lunch since today was just the introduction. Ensui walked beside her until they came upon the trio from that morning. He stopped while Nazoko kept walking, purposely not turning her head. Or, she tried to keep walking.
"Later, Nazoko-chan."
She sighed mentally before she arranged her expression into a more cordial one and turned to face him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ensui-kun." She bowed slightly and left, but not before seeing the varying levels of curious looks on the elder boys' faces.
She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she knew this year would be fairly boring in terms of academics. At least she'd have time to start reading the introduction to psychology book she managed to get her hands on.-i.e. stole. How in the heck that man became a chunin when he was so easily distracted by a squirrel, she will never know.-
5/6...
The first year of the academy was exactly like she thought it would be. Completely boring. Similar to school before, really. The only real difference was that she KNEW what was being taught for most of the subjects. On the bright side, she'd long since finished the intro to psych book and had managed to get her hands on the next one. -Seriously. That chunin guard should be stationed somewhere else. All it took was a frog this time since Sakumo wasn't around for her to use Tamashi.-
History, on the other hand, was one of the subjects that enthralled her. Kishimoto touched on a few of the major events that lead to the forming of the village but there was so much he missed. Even more when it came to the formation of the village as well. Pretty much everything else was mundane in comparison.
Nazoko made sure she stayed in the middle of the class rankings. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising, Sakumo was the one who had the most trouble accepting her choice. (He) just couldn't understand why anyone would want to hide their true capabilities. His off-hand comment about her being able to graduate early if she was that bored had sparked the need for an explanation from her for the three adults.
That presented a bit of a problem. She couldn't just tell them, "Well, you see, I don't want Danzo Shimura to even breathe in my direction much less take an interest in me and try to kidnap me and make me into an emotionless shell only good for doing his dirty deeds," now could she? However, she'd planned for this.
"Okay, one; I always thought the whole point of the academy, besides learning the trade, was to have time to develop bonds with the other people who will one day be your comrades and teaching you how to work with other people.
"Two; even if I have the technical skills to become a genin, I am only FIVE. My body is far from done growing and my emotional control is lacking as well. It's better to stay in the academy for the entire duration to allow me more time to develop and prepare for situations that I am not currently ready for. It's better for me to take the time now to learn how to trust the people in my age group that will be constant for the next few years and how to function as a team with them rather than HOPING I can do it by throwing me (into) one with no experience."
Sakumo hadn't known what to say as he sat in stunned silence. Kenta, too, sat quietly. Nazoko thought his was more due to shock though. He'd never been witness to one of her "intelligent rants". Okami ended up on the floor she'd laughed so hard.
In the end, they'd all agreed she was right. Sakumo had been mollified by her promise that she wouldn't hold back with her training at home or once she graduated. Kenta had ruffled her hair with a proud smile.
And so, the rest of her first year passed in a haze of reading and rereading books on the human mind and History. Her biggest saving grace had been Ensui. While they never hung out outside of the academy, they did end up sitting together during class and lunch and pairing up during taijutsu class whenever they had need of it. It was more of a relationship of mutual suffering than anything else. It worked for them.
The first year officially ended and with it, so did the war.
...(6)
Her second year was off to a better start. Their lessons had changed to include chakra theory- seriously though, Kishimoto's explanations sucked- and their taijutsu classes had begun to include both weapons handling and paired kata.
Paired kata was kind of like the practice lines done in aikido. One was the "attacking" side and one the "defending." It kind of felt like she was doing one of those super slow fight scenes in a movie. Only, it was for an actual fight and the slow movements were so the other person had a chance to move into the correct position for their kata.
The other big change was the addition of a special class. The ever-so-popular kunoichi classes. They met twice a week after the normal school day. For the most part, the classes were okay. She'd learned a fair amount about flowers. To be completely honest, the only thing she'd really bothered memorizing was the names of the poisonous ones. Cause, ya know, that was a thing in this world. At least she'd made a friend! She said friend, but it was more of a forced one. As in, one that was forced on her.
Kamizuki Yoshino. She was average in appearance. Brown hair and dark eyes. If it weren't for her name, Nazoko wouldn't have known a damn thing about her. The only Yoshino she knew ended up married to the Nara clan head. She wasn't entirely sure if this was THAT Yoshino. After all, Yoshino was only a side character. Nazoko only remembered seeing her during that sumo invasion bit. And she only remembered that because the Naruto Online game made them into jokes.
It didn't really matter in the end. Nazoko didn't have the chance to avoid the young child. She may not have looked like much, but she was very... bossy. She insisted that Nazoko couldn't just be friends with the likes of the slacker Ensui and had taken it upon herself to befriend her. Nazoko was fond of her already. Annoyed, yes, but also fond. Maybe she ended up being a masochist...
It was about halfway through her second year that anything interesting really happened. Harada-sensei was running late. Not that too many people were worried. It just meant more time for socializing.
"Wonder what's keeping Sensei..."
Nazoko scoffed. "I think what you meant to say was, "I hope whatever is keeping Sensei will continue to do it so I can take a nap.'" She nudged Ensui with her elbow.
He chuckled. "Aa. I suppose that works too." He sobered. "Two kids already dropped out this year."
Nazoko frowned and slumped in her chair. "Civilians. Their parents are more worried than ever about the war and it's technically over." She couldn't stop the gnawing anxiety whenever she thought about it. Her father was coming home more and more tired every time she saw him. The war may have ended, but tensions were higher than ever. If the next war was supposed to start when Kakashi was five, and Minato was ten years older than Kakashi, then the next one would hold off for another eight years.
From what she'd been able to overhear, Iwa was not happy with how things ended and they continued to skirt the boundaries, pushing as much as they could without outright declaring open war. She honestly had no idea if it would last the full eight years. She only prayed her father would be safe in the meantime.
Ensui sat up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be okay. His team is with him."
She took in a breath. "I know. Thank you." She patted his hand and looked at the door when she felt Harada's chakra. She flinched a little when another chakra flared to life beside him.
Harada opened the door and escorted a young child into the room. A little girl around their age... with red hair... Nazoko wanted to bang her head against the table. The classroom quieted and settled in their seats.
"Alright, we have a new transfer student joining our academy today."
The girl straightened. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki, ya know!" She hunched down and put a hand over her mouth.
Nazoko winced again. She'd been "practicing" with her sensing. Sakumo had informed her that her ability to sense chakra was advanced. The normal sensor could eventually learn to recognize individual signatures through repeated or prolonged exposure. Nazoko, however, could do it right away and with such detail, it was nothing short of incredible. He wanted her to test the limits of the ability and see if there was anything else she could pick up on.
It took a fair amount of time and a ridiculous amount of concentration, but she had eventually begun to pick up on the subtle changes in a person's chakra to indicate their mood. She was still only able to pick up the most basic of emotions, but the focus and concentration meant that someone with a particularly "loud" chakra, like Kushina, made her head throb. She had a whole lot more sympathy for empaths from all those stories she'd read Before.
Fun fact, embarrassment tended to feel like anger. Amusement felt like happiness. The class was feeling the latter and everything was grating in her head. She made a discontented noise and took up Ensui's signature pose with her head on top of her folded arms.
She was sooo tempted to stop concentrating, but Kushina was in their class now. If she didn't get used to it quickly, it would only continue to happen. Suffer now, thrive later.
"Are you okay?" Yoshino whispered from behind her.
"'m fine."
"I'm going to become the first female Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Stunned silence. A rustle of fabric from across the room.
"Me too. I wanna become a great Hokage the whole village respects."
And so the greatest love story of Naruto begins... In Nazoko's opinion at least.
...a few weeks later...
"Today's activity is a relay race!"
The class was silent as they assessed the practice yard. There was a clearly marked path that would be their course. Along the way, there were obstacles. A tall wall, monkey bars, circles on the ground, a mud pit with netting over the top, and a teeter-totter.
"Now, alone I have no doubt some of you would breeze through this. So, let's make this a little more difficult, shall we?" Harada's tone had the children shivering. "You're going to be partnered! No!" He stopped the questions. "You will not be picking who you work with. I will choose. Of course, I still don't think that's hard enough." He seemed truly gleeful at the collective groan from the class.
"There will be missions when things go wrong. You will be doing them with a handicap. So, on top of not being able to pick your partner, one or your arms and one of your legs will be tied together."
"What?!"
He rubbed his hands together in a very mad scientist way. "And since I won't be announcing the pairs until it's your turn to go, there won't be any practice time!" He actually laughed at the look of horror on everyone's faces. "Did I forget to mention that the pair with the fastest time will be exempt from homework for the rest of the week?"
Nazoko groaned and let her head flop forward onto Yoshino's back. "Can I just quit now?" She was TIRED. Ever since Kushina had joined the class, her mind had decided to bombard her with images of her and Minato dying. Not just them. It also opened her head to EVERY SINGLE DEATH SCENE from the whole damn SERIES. That included the ones Nagato was responsible for.
Tsume Inuzuka barked out a laugh. "Oh, it's not all bad! No homework for a week!" She clapped Nazoko on the back a few times.
Tsume Inuzuka was another one of those friendships that had been forced on Nazoko. Apparently, telling someone to shut up had been enough to get Tsume to like her. It had been a complete coincidence.
Nazoko had a bad headache that day. The boy had been picking on Tsume and Kuromaru LOUDLY. She told them to shut up and sit down. It was as good of a declaration of friendship to the Inuzuka. Much like with Yoshino, Tsume had ended up growing on her. She really was beginning to believe she had a masochistic streak.
"You're the fastest kunoichi in the class, Tsume," Yoshino stated with a hint of jealousy.
"It won't matter if I'm paired with a slowpoke," she shrugged.
"Inuzuka Tsume!"
"Guess you're about to find out."
Harada looked around the group. "Your partner for this will be... Nara Ensui."
Nazoko gave a slow blink at Ensui. His look of anguish did her in. She started laughing. Hard.
"Traitor," he whispered as he passed her. Yoshino joined in after that.
The results were hilarious. Tsume had started by dragging poor Ensui along before he actually decided to try and help. By the end, Tsume was dragging Ensui again after he'd decided to just let her do what she wanted to.
Nazoko hadn't stopped laughing the whole time. Then again, everyone was laughing.
"That was the best thing ever!" She gasped from the ground when Tsume ambled over to them with a grin.
"Eh. The Nara wasn't half bad."
Nazoko couldn't stop her shoulders from shaking in her silent laughter when Ensui stumbled over to the small group. He looked like such a disgruntled chicken.
"You think it's funny? Maybe you'd like a hug?" He opened his arms wide and walked forward. He was practically dripping with mud.
"That, my dear Ensui, would be sabotage!" Nazoko pouted in faked offense.
He sighed explosively and fell to the ground. "Well, at least we had a decent time."
Yoshino snickered. "Imagine having one of them for a partner?" She pointed at the pair currently wrestling in the mud pit. "Do you think we'll be paired together, Nazoko?"
"Nope. Sensei said this was supposed to act as a mock mission. So, I'm guessing, besides the obvious handicaps, we'll also be paired with people we either don't get along with or don't interact with much. My money is on the Uchiha and the Hyuga getting paired together though."
Tsume choked on her laughter at the thought. Ensui grinned a little viciously.
"Don't get too carried away," Nazoko scolded without heat. "I'm guessing they will have the fastest time."
Yoshino scrunched her nose. "Why? They don't get along at ALL."
"No. But, they are both proud. That pride won't allow them to let this get in their way of winning. I think that rivalry will end up pushing them even faster in the hope that they can outdo the other even though they are pretty much equal."
Ensui grunted. "Makes sense."
"Kamizuki Yoshino and... Amano Ren."
Yoshino pouted a bit but walked forward all the same. She and Ren ended up covered head to toe in mud. Yoshino said that Ren had made some comments about how bossy she was and Yoshino didn't like that. So, she shoved his face into the mud.
He then retaliated.
They didn't even make it to the finish line.
As she'd predicted, the Uchiha and the Hyuga were paired together and finished the course a full three seconds faster than Tsume and Ensui had.
And then...
"Fuji Nazoko and Namikaze Minato."
Well shit. Her stomach dropped. She'd been doing so well avoiding him too. "This should be fun," She grumbled as she waved goodbye to her friends.
Minato smiled at her. "Hello, Nazoko-san. I look forward to working with you."
"No need to be so formal." She shrugged. "We're about to get down and dirty together, after all." Perhaps that went over his-
"Was that a pun?"
Huh. Guess not. "Yup." She popped the 'P'.
"It was funny."
She let out a breathy laugh. "I don't consider it a win if you don't laugh."
They each held up an arm once Harada had finished with their legs. Her right and his left. "So... Start with our tied legs?" She suggested.
He nodded as they got into position. When Harada shouted for them to go, they took off. "Faster," she urged when she realized he was slowing his pace for her. He just nodded.
First up was the wall. Nazoko had to think quickly. "Can you jump that high?"
"Yeah. You?"
"I think so. On three?"
"One."
She pushed a little chakra into her legs.
"Two."
They reached the bottom and crouched.
"Three."
The pair jumped up and both were able to reach the top. They made eye contact and nodded in understanding before pushing their knees, the ones tied together, against the wall and swung their outer legs up and over.
"Flip?" She asked.
"Sounds good." They used their untied legs to pull the rest of their bodies over the wall and pushed off to get enough force to flip. They stuck the landing and then they were off. The monkey bars and the circles on the ground were, well, child's play. Then came the mud pit.
"Side crawl?" He suggested. He was a little breathless.
Nazoko took a second to think it over. Regular crawling hadn't worked for too many people. The mud was slippery. They'd end up covered anyway. Most of the kids just didn't want to get too dirty. No point in trying to stay clean.
She nodded. "Works for me. Try to keep your feet and hands clean though." They lowered themselves to the ground. Their tied hands clasped together to try and keep the mud off. Using their elbows and knees they managed to make it with minimal struggle.
Nazoko started pushing her chakra to her feet. She hadn't gotten around to tree walking yet, but maybe she could use it to just help stick to the teeter-totter a little? It was a sort of horizontal surface.
"Ladies first?" Minato offered.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Such a gentleman."
The first part when just fine. It was when the time came for the teeter-totter to shift that things got a little wobbly. Quite literally so. She bent her knees and made sure she kept the stream of chakra steady to her feet.
Minato, who had been watching her, tried his best to copy her movement but he shifted too suddenly. He lost his balance and began to fall backward.
Nazoko eyes widened. 'Crap!' She leaned forward to act as a counterbalance. It took a few seconds before Minato got his feet-foot?- back under him. They both sighed in relief and then kept going. Another ten seconds later and they crossed the finish line.
"Well... That could have gone worse!" She chirped.
Minato laughed. "Yeah. We did pretty well."
Harada was giving them an appraising look. "Nicely done." He untied them and Nazoko decided to be dramatic.
"Freedom!" She cackled at Minato's amused look. "It's been fun." She waved over her shoulder and walked back to her little group.
"You were so cool! Wish I had a partner like that."
Nazoko shrugged. "Yeah, he's alright."
She and Minato ended up tying with the Uchiha and Hyuga and both teams went without homework. She had meant to send her friends a victory sign but a yawn made her abort the movement halfway when manners dictated she cover it.
...a few weeks later...(6)
The nap was supposed to lessen her headache. This chakra-sensing practice was really wearing her down mentally. Unfortunately, a nap was hard to come by in the mornings without Harada around.
Someone hit her chair again. She took a few deep breaths.
"Tomato-chan! What are you doing?"
"Yeah, Tomato-chan. That looks like-"
Her eye started twitching. When the chair was jostled AGAIN, she growled. Enough was enough. She shoved her chair back and had a vicious sense of satisfaction when the boy stumbled into his friends.
"Hey! What the he-" His eyes widened as he took in her dark glare.
She could only imagine how she looked. Her purple eyes had a tendency to be disturbing in the right lighting and the dark circles under her eyes from restless night probably only added to it. She had to remind herself that these were children and she couldn't go around beating on them just because they made her angry. So, she did the next best thing she could think of in her pained state.
She grabbed his ear and dragged him down the stairs.
"Hey!" His friends followed slowly after, their chakra giving away their unease.
She didn't stop until she was by the door. She wrenched it open with her free hand and shoved him out before she turned and repeated the process with his friends. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen very carefully." She MAY have sent out a small pulse of killing intent. The boys in front of her nodded and gulped.
"Good. Now, I don't care about your personal feelings. I don't care if you think it makes you seem cool or tough. Uzumaki Kushina is part of our village now whether you like it or not. She is going to graduate with us. She is going to fight alongside us. She is a comrade. You do NOT treat your comrades like that. EVER! Now. You will sit out here until Sensei returns. I don't want to hear a single word out of any of you for the rest of the day. Got it?" She was practically snarling by the end.
They nodded frantically.
She slammed the door shut and stomped back up to her chair completely ignoring the slightly shocked silence of the students already present.
"I could have handled it, ya know?" Kushina's usually dominating tone was absent. Instead, she almost sounded meek and Nazoko felt her dislike for the boys grow.
She barely glanced at the redhead. "I'm well aware. To be completely honest, I was doing it more for me than you. I have a headache and I'm tired. Those jerks were keeping me awake.
"Also," she added as an afterthought. "You shouldn't HAVE to handle anything. I meant what I said. You ARE our classmate now. You WILL be fighting alongside us. You deserve just as much respect as anyone else... Except them. They were assholes.
Kushina snorted. "Y-yeah... Thanks."
"Mm. Now shh." She lowered her head.
...(6/7)
The episode with the bullies had turned into another Tsume situation. Kushina took it as a declaration of friendship and joined her rag-tag group of friends.
Poor Ensui was severely outnumbered. He'd taken to splitting his time between her group and other guys to "detox from so much estrogen". He still always sat next to her in class. They had to keep each other out of trouble after all.
Nazoko was also introduced to more people in her kunoichi classes. One she knew from the original plot, one she THOUGHT might be from the plot, and two others who, with her luck, were most likely also from the plot but never got much screentime, if any.
Mikoto Uchiha, Mebuki Sato, Himawari Hyuga, and Sachi Yamanaka. They, and some others, were in older years but were asked to assist with kunoichi classes from time to time. Kana-sensei had explained that it was a way for Nazoko's class to learn but it also gave Kana the chance to assess the older girls understanding as well.
Time passed and thus ended her second year.
Third-year brought with it the addition of actual sparring. Thanks to the new kata her father had taught her, Nazoko had better control of her body than most of her age group. She could pull her punches before any real damage landed and knew how to shift WITH a punch aimed at her to avoid a resulting black eye. All the while, she remained firmly in the middle of the pack.
Genjutsu theory also started. The introduction to it had been... something. Her addition meditation had come in handy that day. She was so familiar with how her own chakra felt at that point that the subtle nudge of a chakra that WASN'T hers was felt almost immediately. While it hadn't felt malicious, it had felt foreign and wrong in her system. She didn't hesitate to use her chakra to eradicate the alien presence.
When the door opened and her sensei and another shinobi walked in, their reception confused her. The signatures of her classmates, with a few exceptions, were rife with fear. Most of the girls screamed and nearly everyone was out of their seat and trying to get to the back of the room. She shared a confused look with Minato. -he was one of the four others that stayed seated- Only when everyone was seated again did Harada explain what had happened.
Kunoichi classes went from the normal girly things to more uncomfortable topics. One of which was what to expect when you hit puberty. You know, because seven to eight-year-old girls needed to know about that.
Nazoko could only theorize. She figured it was an extension of her earlier "children having children" musings. In order to give people a chance to reproduce, human biology adapted and forced puberty to hit sooner than usual. It was changing slowly though. Ten used to be the average age when a girl would get their period during the warring states era. Now it was between ten-twelve.
However, the topic also gave Nazoko some very... Well, information that she liked. Birth control existed in this world. However, for a kunoichi, it wasn't always possible to take a pill every day or to go to the clinic every month for an injection. And regulating your period only helped to some extent. Imagine being on a stealth mission and the reason you fail it is because of a little blood.
Tsunade Senju had found a solution. After the body went through its first cycle, an injection was available to, essentially, halt the reproductive cycle. It required an additional shot every six months to maintain, but it allowed kunoichi so much more freedom. Kana-sensei made sure to stress that it wasn't the safest option. Stopping what was natural for your body could never be considered safe, but there was a thorough check that was done before the booster was given to make sure no damage was occurring. Almost no one had adverse effects, but it had happened.
Teamwork assignments happened fairly regularly. Sometimes they would do physical things, like the obstacle course, other times it was a joint paper. While the class was seldom paired with the same person twice, somehow she and Minato ended up working together a handful of times. While odd, Nazoko wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Minato was a genuine prodigy and it made her life easier. No complaints from her.
Chakra theory turned into chakra application. Since she already had access to her chakra and could control it with relative ease, she ended up napping. Once handisgns were added, she had to force herself to pay attention. Which was easier said than done.
The nightmares -memories really- that started when Kushina showed up had only gotten worse. They came more often and she wasn't able to go back to sleep. She knew she had a problem. She just wasn't sure what to do about it. Those psychology books she read gave her options to try, and she'd done all of them. All except for one...
A familiar head of blond hair caught her eye.
It was crazy. Absolutely insane. She would never be able to explain what gave her the idea. Oh well, it could always be blamed on sleep deprivation.
Here's the second chapter of the rewrite. I'll be posting the "B-reel" for Fortitude soon enough. I only have extra scenes for the first year of the academy so it'll only be the one chapter for now. Just some scenes that I couldn't figure out where to put in the actual story and make it flow right. So keep an eye out for that I guess.
On a slightly random note, I am not a huge fan of True Blood, but I am a fan of Aleksander Skarsgard and Allan Hyde so I've been dipping into reading fanfics for the show. I wish there were more movies and shows that had them in it. Also, been working on learning a little Danish and Swedish. Not easy. Especially Danish. But it has been a lot of fun, even if I can't pronounce the words well. I'd like to get over to the Scandinavian countries eventually though. If you've ever been, then drop me a comment or PM and let me know of some of the things that are a must-see.
Questions for you all;
What other countries do you want to go to/ have you been to?
Any recommendations for places to see in any of the following states; Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisana(besides NO), Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky? Planning a road trip and trying to find some places to visit.
How is life now that things are slowly recovering from the initial outbreak? Nothing's really changed on my end. I work in healthcare so I didn't get to stay home.