Chōji was overeating. It was going to make him sick. It was going to have consequences. He knew those things, but it felt good. It felt good when he was full. Or fuller than full. Fuller than he should be. When the food was stacked up in his stomach and his throat ached and burned. It felt like control, given the form of brisket sizzling on a grill. It felt like power, encased in dough and steamed. It felt like strength as it melted down his tongue. Even when he was full, he could never be full. Chōji didn't think he could ever have enough.
Miho was at the hospital again. He'd tried for days to get her to leave, but she stayed— at his bedside. She was waiting for him to wake up. Even Lee's teacher told Miho to go home, to rest, to train, but she didn't listen. She kept vigil, stubbornly holding Lee's hand while eating with her other. While reading with her other.
Chōji didn't think she realized how trapped she looked, sitting there beside Lee.
She felt guilty.
Like it was her fault.
He knew that.
He knew that better than anybody.
Chōji stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth and frowned around it, staring blankly off into the space between his teammates. Ino was silent, rolling her shoulders as she stared at the burning meat and garlic and onions. Shikamaru was 'asleep,' head tilted back and eyes closed. There was something about the silence that felt heavier than the pull of his stomach.
Asuma-sensei was due at any moment, checking in on the team's training progress. They were two weeks in to a three-week hiatus before the finals. After the preliminaries, Ino and Shikamaru approached Inoichi and Shukaku about intensive clan training.
Two-thirds of Team Ten were in the finals.
Where two of the Three went, the last would follow.
Chōji did the same.
"I heard you withdrew." His father's voice had been calm, easy, without judgement. Despite the worry Chōji had when he'd forfeited, no one in the family had said a thing about it. No one in the Clan shamed him. They simply handed him more food or patted his shoulder. But Chōji could read it— the disappointment. He had watched as his father sank down to sit on the en, arms folding over his broad chest.
For a moment, Chōji had wondered if he would ever be as big as his father. His father just seemed so…strong and mighty. At that moment, Chōji felt small. Smaller than he'd ever felt.
Smaller than he felt standing in front of a almost-literal demon.
It made him hungry.
"Do you want to explain your decision?"
Swallowing nothing, Chōji had felt a burn at the back of his throat. He thought about Miho, who threw herself down to shield him, who threw off her calories for days just for that jutsu she used to protect him. He hadn't been fast enough to sense the attack, let alone react to it. He remembered the dull, half-crazed look in that kid's— Gaara's— eyes as he glared at his sister.
Chōji's hands fisted on his thighs.
The way he— Gaara— looked at Miho when Lee's legs were crushed. When his bones shattered like glass by glass. Like he wanted to see her reaction. Like he wanted to make sure she saw every gory detail.
Like he wanted her to suffer.
"He's a jinchūriki."
His father jolted, turning to look at him with wide eyes. Chōji wondered what might've been if he hadn't known. If he'd faced Gaara none-the-wiser. Would he have been a footnote? Or would he have been kindling? "What? How do you know—"
"He…basically said it. That he 'had a monster inside him'?" Chōji was lying, in a way. That had been said, in the Story of Miho's mind, but it was Miho that had explained it. Explained all of Gaara's story before the exams began. All of its horrors. Chōji swallowed. "He's like Naruto, but…not like Naruto. What's happened to him was…"
"Like Naruto?"
It was a baiting question, just to confirm his knowledge. Chōji knew his Pa's tactics well-enough. After all, he was thirteen not as small and naïve as he'd once been. "He contains a tailed beast."
His father had heaved in a great breath. "It was Miho who told you."
"Someone called him a demon when we were six. They shouted: 'Get out of here, demon fox!' and they threw something at him." He sat a little straighter. "Miho didn't have to tell me anything."
Only she had. She'd told him everything.
And he'd seen his father dead. And she'd been dead and—
Pa had seemed older then, shoulders hunching over as his mighty weight sagged.
"Me choosing not to fight hurt Lee."
Pa had turned to him, obviously battling his own reflex emotions. After a long moment, he sighed and turned back to the garden. "Yes, Lee was hurt because you chose not to fight. All of our actions have consequences." Chōji nodded then, knowing what his father was trying to teach him.
Lee would've been hurt regardless. Probably.
But it could've been him instead.
He chose not to get hurt. To withdraw, to change nothing.
He pushed himself off the en and sank down to one knee, bowing his head to his father and Clan Head. In that position, the fat of his stomach kept him from bending too far forward. It hurt. He was just so hungry. But that hunger felt a lot like fear. And anger. And guilt. That hunger reached his hands and feet. It coursed.
"I, Akimichi Chōji, the Sixteenth Head of the Akimichi Clan, request intensive training from you, the Fifteenth Head of the Akimichi Clan." He lifted his head and tried not to acknowledge the tears on his cheeks. They felt heavy. "I don't want to forfeit like that again. Even if it's against a jinchūriki."
Chōji could smell the smoke before Asuma arrived, no cigarette in sight. The smell just seemed to cling to him. Like some sort of cloak. The man fell into the bench next to him, throwing an arm over the back.
"You guys okay?"
"No." Shikamaru said flatly.
Ino pressed a hand to her temple. "Not so loud."
Even with his eyes closed, not seeing the grimace on her face, Shikamaru grinned. "Nope." He popped the 'p' with such force that Ino visibly shuddered. Chōji couldn't imagine how she was coping with the intensive mental training that was required of the Yamanaka. It was a wonder she was conscious.
"You're being vindictive today."
"He's the most vindictive among us," Chōji commented around a piece of meat. Shikamaru didn't deny it.
"Chōji, how's clan training coming?" Asuma jumped in, trying to curb a waste-of-time conversation. "Chōza was just deployed for a mission today, wasn't he?"
Chōji shook his head. "Business trip to the capital. I've upped my caloric intake by 5,000. We're doubling again next week." He'd be ready by then. It would be fine.
Shikamaru's head rose from where it was uncomfortably leant back against the bench seat. "Say what? Upping by 10,000 in two weeks. Is that clan-sanctioned?"
In his head, Chōji cursed. Sometimes, he really hated that his best friend was a genius. Shikamaru had near perfect recall, which meant that he could remember the limitations of calorie-loading when Chōji ranted about it in the past. Chōji held his stare before shrugging, fishing a piece of chicken from the grill. It was a non-answer.
"Yeah." Ino's brows scrunched together. "They had Miho on a six-week 10,000 increase when we were ten, remember? Had to spread it out."
He forgot about that. He forgot that they would remember that.
Chōji shrugged again but didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject. "Miho's still at the hospital."
The look they both sent him was scathing in its dullness. It was the same stare, as if questioning whether or not he thought they were stupid. He just stuffed another piece of meat in his mouth and tried to focus on the marinade. Soy and brown sugar and tomatoes? Next to him, Asuma shifted. And really, Chōji couldn't blame him. He was seeing the full brunt of Shikamaru and Ino's disapproval. They weren't going to give in so easily, so Chōji reached for a piece of pork.
His chopsticks were met by another pair of chopsticks.
Shocked, he looked up to see Ino's stare.
"You're overdoing it." He frowned, irritated at her interruption. No one came between an Akimichi and their food. No one. "Stop, Ino."
"I'm overdoing it? You're the one who's overdoing it! You think we haven't noticed? If you keep this up, you'll kill yourself from eating and then who's gonna protect Miho? Then who's gonna—"
Chōji slapped her chopsticks out of the way, grabbing the piece of pork. She scoffed, slamming the chopsticks to the table and sitting back in her seat, crossing her arms. She shot Shikamaru a glare as Chōji held up the meat with a mocking scowl, trying to reign in his anger.
"I have to eat, Ino. Just knock it off and let me make my own decisions."
"I never said—"
"You'll end up in the hospital at this rate. That's fine. It means I'll visit multiple people in one go." The less work for me was in Shikamaru's tone. Chōji tried not to grimace as the pork turned to rubber in his mouth as he chewed. Shikamaru's stare moved to Asuma, who'd been watching the whole exchange with something like exasperation.
"It's dull but I'm making progress."
Asuma nodded warily, obviously unsure what to make of the atmosphere at the table.
Chōji shoveled some rice into his mouth and felt a kunai stab the back of his throat. Without thinking, he swallowed down the rice and felt it gurgle. A sharp pain pierced his chest, just above his heart. Then, another. He gasped, swallowing again to try to get the bits of rice down. Chōji could hear Ino asking him questions and Shikamaru's concern.
But it hurt.
It hurt so much.
Was this what it felt like?
Did anything compare?
Miho— the her there— she was so hurt and scared then. When the winds came for her. And then when the— And Lee's bones shattering. Crack.
"— hospital."
"No! No, I don't need to go to the hos—" The pain made him stop talking as he doubled-over. Nothing seemed to help. He gasped. No movement or pressure. Chōji wanted to cry. He was stronger than this. He had to be stronger than this. It was only a stomach ache. It'd pass. He gasped in another breath and held it. It'd pass.
"Alright. That's enough. We're going to the hospital."
The room was darkened, drapes pulled together over the midday light. Miho stared at the sunbeams that somehow made it through the curtains, scattering on a glass of water that sat on the beside table. Shifting in her chair, she settled down further and leaned her head back into the cushion. On the bed, Lee didn't move. He never did. It seemed so much longer than it had before, then and there. Lee had been unconscious for a lifetime, Miho was sure. That's why it seemed so dark, even with the sun fighting its way through.
"Sunflower, you need to go home. Get some rest and eat. Train."
Gai-sensei was on the other side of the bed, holding tightly to Lee's hand. Miho glanced up at him, trying not to be frustrated by the nickname. He and Lee called her that every so often, "a sunflower with good senses." Her 'good sense' hadn't led to anything good. It led to Lee in the same hospital bed, with worse injuries than before. Two shattered legs, squeezed to a pulp. Not an arm and a leg. And two weeks of unconsciousness from the trauma.
She wasn't a "sunflower with good senses."
She was kudzu.
She choked the life out of things.
"I'm not leaving, Gai-sensei. Besides, I brought things to read."
She held up the scroll, a bear etching clear on the back.
"Okuda techniques need space. You cannot practice them inside."
Miho sighed, shaking her head. "I'm learning the theory first." And she'd been learning the theory for two weeks, with almost every waking hour. Every hour spent by Lee's bed, she'd spent studying the theory of Okuda techniques. It wasn't making any more sense than it had when she'd first opened the scrolls.
Gai-sensei was quiet, not responding for the longest time.
She wondered if he didn't like the air as much as she did. The air in the hospital was too cold and too humid, too much like what she imagined a morgue to feel like. It stuck to her skin, to her arms and legs. It'd been days since she'd last taken a shower. She figured the air of the hospital was clinging to her like a second skin.
"Your brother was admitted an hour ago."
She shot to her feet. They tingled and felt hot in her sandals. "He what?"
Gai-sensei stared at her, eyes hardening. "You cannot protect everyone, Miho. Sometimes, the injuries that others suffer are theirs alone. You cannot control them and you cannot stop them." She stilled, feeling oddly disconnected. She didn't feel anything except how hot her feet felt.
Maybe she'd been at Lee's bedside for too long.
"Uzumaki Naruto is in the hospital as well. He was admitted two hours ago."
Miho did feel her heart stop. But then, had it been beating in the first place? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure until she felt it thrum in her chest. Her hands were tingling as she set the scroll on the table by Lee's head. He didn't move.
Gai-sensei moved around the bed to rest a heavy hand on her shoulder. Whenever the man was somber and level, he almost seemed regal. Miho noticed that so many years ago, when he'd given her the weights. When he'd told her of the honor she carried with her, in those weights. He was so incredibly strong that it was almost hard to grasp. She let her shoulders sag, turning to look up to him.
"I will stay with Lee for a while. Go visit your brothers. Go home and eat, rest, and train. Lee will be fine. He'll be safe."
But Gai didn't know.
He didn't know that Gaara was coming for him, was coming for Lee's blood.
Miho felt mechanical. A mechanical being in a bodysuit with a hospital film around her body like a shroud. She nodded.
What else could she do? It was Chōji. It was Naruto.
Careful not to jostle the bed, she leant down to grasp Lee's still hand and press a kiss to his forehead. "I'm going to check on Chōji and Naruto, Lee. I'll be back before you know it." She squeezed his hand and stepped back, tilting her head back to keep the tears at bay. "Gai-sensei, please protect him."
"Of course. Miho, he will not come to harm here."
She nodded again, but her head swam as she moved.
The hospital halls felt foreign, empty and desolate. She'd never wondered why the extended-stay portion of the hospital was so deserted, but it was with the frightening realization that it was a place of lost hope. Only a few patients survived languishing in the hospital. Ever since Lady Tsunade left, mortality rates had increased. She'd seen the numbers in the archives.
The thought made her sick.
Lee was in the Death Corridor, even if he wasn't terminal.
"Room 211," the nurse drawled. She didn't even look up from the file she was examining. "And don't let him eat anything."
Room 211 was around the corner and down the hall. She'd been in the neighboring room a couple times— heat exhaustion at the Academy marathon, a sprained wrist, a fractured ankle. It was the short-stay portion of the hospital, and it somehow felt livelier.
When she slid the door open, she felt something sharp pierce her stomach.
Ino was standing on the other side of Chōji's bed, back to him as she held her shaking hands aloft, in the signature style of the Yamanaka. Near the window, Gaara was holding his head. His sand lashed and twisted and cut around the room, slashing at the walls. Chōji was up on his knees in the bed, eyes impossibly wide and frightened. His head turned and he held his arm out.
A fruit basket was scattered on the floor.
"Stay back, Miho!"
Ino felt to one knee and Miho darted forward to catch her as she collapsed, pushing the fear to the back of her mind as Gaara came back to consciousness. Chōji shifted, moving to Ino's other side from the bed. The sand withdrew to linger behind Gaara at the window, dull eyes moving to stare at the new presence. Miho shifted Ino in her arms and stared back him, unwavering.
It was like staring at a tornado from only a few feet away.
"This is a hospital. Unless you're hurt or visiting, leave."
"I'll kill you." Gaara responded, sand settling a bit behind him. "I'll kill her, for getting in my head. I'll kill him and that other weird kid, too." As if he was commenting on the weather. It'd been what she'd anticipated for weeks. "I'll kill you all."
Weeks of sitting at Lee's beside, waiting. Knowing that he would arrive.
Seeing it, over and over, in her mind.
The sand coursing over Lee's body, over the bedsheets.
But Naruto and Shikamaru and this was wrong.
Miho nodded, forcing her body not to quiver. "Yeah, I know you want to, and I know you could."
He's a monster right now, Miho. Don't tempt him. Ino's voice ricocheted in her head, bouncing around like the cold air in a hospital room. Miho shivered. She sounded so weak. So weak from dealing with all of this. All of the terror and pressure and fear and Miho hadn't been there. She'd been hiding, by Lee's side, and calling it 'friendship.' He's going after Lee next. Wanted to finish off Chōji first.
Miho shifted Ino's weight to Chōji and met his eyes for the briefest moment before standing, positioning herself in front of both. Her legs weren't nearly meaty enough to hide them or shield them from view. She wished they were. She wished she was big enough.
"Why do you want to kill us?"
He didn't react to the question, the sand lapping at his heels. She waited, knowing that the next few minutes, the next few words, would mean life or death. Gai-sensei had been there before, to 'scare' Gaara away. That wouldn't be the case here, would it?
He wanted to feel something. He needed to feel something. That's what all this was about.
"Killing you will make her happy. Then, I can feel."
You'd thinking killing people would make them like you! But it doesn't! It just makes people dead. Miho flinched at the grating voice in her head. She shoved it out and away, like always. Something from then and there. Her eyes narrowed as Gaara's left hand twitched at his side.
Miho nodded. She couldn't tell whether or not the response made him pause or not. She was waiting for someone, anyone to show up. Surely Asuma-sensei would visit his own languishing student. Damn it.
Sometimes, she felt like that when she ate. Like she could feel.
It was a poor transitive, but it was all she had.
Nevermind the fact that she was trying to relate to a boy who endured so much.
I want to be a real boy.
She could never understand.
Maybe it was better to just say that up front. Maybe it was better to be honest.
"I don't know how you feel. I can't, but I don't think killing us will make you feel anything. Not really. It'll make you feel powerful for a bit. And then, it'll just feel…empty again." She felt Ino's hand on her ankle, thin fingers wrapping around her leg guard. A warning. Gaara's attention flickered down to the contact, ridges where his brows should be drawing together.
Miho's tensed.
Asuma-sensei and Genma-sensei are coming. Keep him steady.
Ino had already strained herself too much. She'd called for help, using a skill she wasn't meant to develop for years. How did she— Miho felt Chōji rise up next to her, angling his body slightly in front of hers.
"Your father was a poor example of a father. He should've never done any of that to you. You shouldn't have been made to suffer, to feel worthless. Or to feel nothing, to save yourself." Miho instinctively grabbed Chōji's arm when he stepped forward. Fear lurched in her stomach. He was saying too much, too much that he shouldn't know.
The Chōji that turned to her was a different one from a few weeks ago.
He stepped fully in front of her, moving his feet shoulder-width apart.
"I'm sorry that your village and family treated you that way. They shouldn't've. It wasn't right. It's not right. You deserved better."
He had to know that Gaara could kill all three of them without effort. All it would take would be a small bit of sand, a wave of his hand. He was that powerful. Still, Chōji blocked her and blocked Ino. A penetrable wall. A penetrable wall that was trying to reach Gaara.
"You deserved a chance."
Gaara stared before wincing, eyes going wide. His hands went to his head. Miho's grip tightened on Chōji's arm. Shukaku was talking to him, yelling at him. Telling him all the ways he was worthless or shrieking for their death. Shrieking for their blood. Shukaku was taking advantage.
"Don't listen to it, Gaara. It's not who you think it is."
The sand lashed and rose up behind him, blocking out the midday light like a glass curtain. Miho felt disconnected, like the hospital was some kind of weird in-between space. And in that strange in-between world, she could do nothing to stop Gaara. It seemed all of this was a nightmare. A waking one, in the wrong room. She angled a bit, feeling Ino and Chōji tense.
"Good to see all you kids gettin' to know each other."
She jolted, looking toward the door where Genma-sensei stood with Asuma-sensei at his shoulder. His hands were tucked into his pockets and he lazily rolled the senbon to the corner of his lips. Miho didn't ease her stance, muscles still tensed and primed to move.
"Kid, if you really wanna get to know two Akimichi, you gotta take 'em out to lunch or dinner or breakfast. Heck, give 'em a snack. Otherwise, you really don't have their attention." Genma shifted and she could feel the energy of the room accommodate him somehow. The air felt more breathable, like it had actual substance. Her teacher was there. It would be alright. It would be okay. "Best get on your way if you don't have snacks, kid."
"Yeah, I bet your team is wonderin' where you got off to." Asuma's threat was clear.
The sand lashed around and then died down, filtering back into the gourd on Gaara's back. His expression didn't change, but she could still sense the grudging, seething anger. His shoulders shrugged a bit before he turned on his heel, moving toward the door. Genma-sensei and Asuma-sensei moved further into the room as Gaara passed them.
Miho watched as he angled himself at the door, casting his eyes to Chōji first and then to her. She met them, and cringed. "You have the same eyes as I do..." Softer eyes superimposed on cold, hate-filled emptiness. Eyes that saw hurt and pain and so much loneliness, but who found solace. She remembered. She remembered that. Him. She kept that memory, somehow.
"I will kill you."
He was gone.
He wasn't done, she knew. He'd go for Lee next. As soon as his presence disappeared from the door, Miho turned and ran to Asuma, stumbling when her hip struck the bed. She caught herself and righted, grabbing at his arm. "He'll go for Lee next."
"You can't kn—"
"You good, Miho?"
Miho nodded, looking to Genma-sensei as he jerked his head toward the door. "Gai-sensei is there. Probably Naruto and Shikamaru too, but—"
"We'll go check it out, Miho. Settle down." Her teacher's expression was nothing to be trifled with as he shifted the senbon between his teeth. "Then, you and me'll have a long talk about squaring up to a jinchūriki a second time. Please, for the sake of my hair, don't go for a hat trick. I'm beggin' you."
Miho shifted her weight from one leg to the other, glancing toward the door.
"Alright, alright. And then, just to top it all off Little Lady, we'll talk about healthy coping mechanisms."
She flinched as he disappeared, Asuma right behind him, with a rather perplexed look on his face. Miho felt the nerves in her veins and stomach settle a bit. Genma-sensei and Asuma-sensei and Gai-sensei, they'd all protect Lee. Gai-sensei was enough there and then. They'd protect Naruto and Shikamaru, too.
It would be fine.
What she'd been waiting for…It'd be fine.
It'd be fine.
"Speaking of healthy coping mechanisms: your brother ate himself into the hospital, in case you were wondering." Ino grounded out from where she'd sat heavily on the edge of the bed. She waved her hand, using the other to brush her short hair from her face. With a huff, she shot Chōji a scathing glare. "He upped his calorie count by 10,000."
Miho felt chills down her spine when she looked at her brother, whose arms were crossed across his slightly broader chest. He was staring at a random off-pattern spot on the linoleum. She knew this mannerism. He was angry. Angry at Ino? Or... "Ten thousand?"
Chōji didn't look at her. "It's part of my training." He squeezed his eyes shut before gesturing unseeingly at Ino. "Besides, she's guilty too. She's got a migraine, but she's not saying anything."
"That's because I can deal with it! You're overtaxing your body."
"And you're not?" Chōji spun around, hands going to his hips. Miho could've sworn she'd seen a flash of her father in that movement. "You think that me and Shikamaru don't know? You've been overdoing it too. We're all overdoing it! Shikamaru's actually sleeping at meetings. He never actually sleeps at those things." He then turned to Miho, meeting her eyes. Miho tried not to flinch when he pointed at her. "And you have too."
"I have—"
"Don't say that you haven't. It's been two weeks. You leave the hospital for missions. That's it. You're never at home. You're not training. You're not eating like you should, only barely meeting your calorie counts. You thinkthis is what Lee would want?! You think Lee would be proud of this?!"
Miho recoiled. Chōji never yelled. He never raised his voice.
"And the rest of us? We're trying! We're trying to avoid what we know is coming! None of it is going to change unless we change it. Miho—" He stopped, hands dropping to his sides as they clenched into fists. Miho stayed as still as she could manage, but she was shaking. "You feel guilty for what happened to Lee. Fine. I do, too. But really, Miho, you've been hiding."
"Chōji—" Ino started, pushing herself up to stand.
"You've been hiding, Miho. From all of it. From us. From them. From everything."
"I haven't—"
"You have. Hiding behind your guilt for what happened to Lee, what could happen, what might be coming! Miho, stop. I'm begging you. Stop." Chōji lowered his head again. This time, he shook it. "I wasn't strong enough before. None of us were. But we will be. I'll be so powerful that I can move mountains. I'll be so strong that I can force reality to change." Miho watched as her brother opened his hands and stared at his palms. "Even if I have to carry every stone myself, I'll build a bridge to a future where none of that happens."
He dropped his hands again and looked up.
"I'll carry you on my back if I have to. Miho, please stop hiding here. Lee wouldn't want it. He'd want you to become so strong that you never feel powerless again. You know that. Why won't you live it?"
Because then, when all the terrible things did happen, she would've had the ability— but not enough of it.
Never enough.
Because then, there would still be people she couldn't protect.
Miho turned, pressing a hand to the wall before leaning her forehead into the cool sheetrock.
Because she was already guilty of so much.
Eventually, fate would come to collect—just as Destiny came for Lee.
Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives all the same.
Her entire body twitched. She knew there was no hiding from the Story. The Story would come, regardless of what she tried. The Story would sow and reap at its will, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. It was like a river.
Don't say it. Don't you say it.
No matter how rivers are stopped, they still find a way through. They still find a path.
The Story was going to find a path.
She pressed her eyes shut.
She could still hear Lee's screams.
A hand rested on her shoulder and she felt herself being turned into a chest. Chōji's arms wrapped around her shoulders and she pressed her face into his shoulder. It felt as if he'd grown inches in just a few days. Maybe he had, maybe he hadn't. But he felt bigger. More grown.
He jostled her a bit as he spoke. "Everything will be okay. It will. We're gonna keep getting stronger, Miho. Me and you. All of us. And then, we're going to make it right."
Never break the-
"AHHHHH!"
Even as she nodded, she kept seeing Lee behind the lids of her eyes. As she had for weeks. The sand winding up his legs. The pressure. She could feel it around her heart. The screams. He stood, unconscious. Hand raised and waiting. He fought, regardless. He fought, against the onslaught. And Gaara was just that: an onslaught, a disaster and a slaughter given form.
The last disaster she'd faced- it killed her.
"When I said we needed to talk about healthy coping mechanisms, this isn't what I meant."
Genma-sensei leaned against the tree, crossing his arms. Miho watched from where she sat, feet pressed together and hands resting on her knees in the traditional way of the Akimichi. They were on one of the Akimichi training grounds, as far away as they could get from others. Her eyes slid shut and she focused on her chakra, centered in her gut.
"The boys've been complainin' for days. I had to give 'em a bone or they'll chew through everything." He scoffed at his own joke and Miho felt herself smiling, imagining Koji and Tetsuya trailing after Genma-sensei like puppies. Adorable puppies. Tetsuya was the yippy one. Miho grinned to herself. "Hayate's got a hell of a lot of patience. He's already got Tetsuya eating out of his hand—the traitor."
Miho's eyes popped open.
"Hayate? Hayate Gekkō?"
Genma-sensei grinned around his senbon and nodded. "I got him trainin' Tetsuya. Full-on apprentice deal, without the apprenticeship 'cause Tetsuya's gotta be a chūnin for that. Soon enough though. Hayate's one hell of a teacher." He shrugged his shoulders. "He's got patience for days. He'll need it for Tetsuya. We'll make a kenjutsu specialist of him yet."
Miho waited for her teacher to come back around to how he planned to keep Hayate alive, but Genma-sensei never did. He just looked up at the fluffy white clouds overhead. She followed his line-of-sight to a particularly large white cloud in the distance. From that hill on Akimichi clan lands, you could see for miles. To the horizon over the trees.
"Meditation isn't what I meant when I was talking about coping."
"Seems healthy enough." Miho sighed, still holding the pose. "Healthier than what I was doing before. Since…Lee. Chōji made me see I was—"
"Hiding? Yeah, I figured he would eventually. It kinda had to be him."
Her eyes squeezed shut. "Why didn't you— and the guys—"
"That sort of stuff takes time. Despite what they seem like most times, the boys are wiser than that. They don't even know the extra layers here. They just knew you needed time. I know better than anyone what that's like." He pulled the senbon from his mouth and gestured toward the scroll by her knee right knee. "Looks like you've figured something out though."
Miho reached down and opened the scroll, holding it open for him to see. He let out a low whistle, nodding his head appreciatively. Her lips pressed together and she lowered the open scroll to the grass, shifting heavily onto her knees. Her hand trailed over the symbols, over the kanji.
Her birth father's name. Her birth mother's name beside his.
"Did you ever meet them? The Bears? When you worked with him?"
"Sure did. Good sort. They've got their own ways. When you decide to do it, you need to go into it prepared to fulfill whatever they ask for." He pushed off the tree and knelt down, taking hold of the scroll's edge so that he could read the rough script. "The Bears are notoriously difficult to please, but they're fiercely protective of their summoners and their own. The Okuda held their summoning scroll for nearly a thousand years. Even before the nations rose up."
Miho's grip on the scroll tightened before she nodded. Pulling a kunai from her side pack, she lay the blade on her thumb and pressed it into the skin. The blood ran from her thumb to her wrist, dripping onto the grass. The blood of her friends had already spilt too much.
It was time for her blood to be in the inkwell, too.
"You're sure this is what you want to do? You don't have to take up the Bears. You can let their scroll lie."
Miho nodded. "I…want to. I have to try. If they decide not to let me be their summoner, then I'll find another way to keep growing, Genma-sensei. But I don't want to be stagnate anymore. I don't want to be powerless again." She chewed on her lower lip before nodding again with more finality, brushing her mass of wild black curls from her face when the wind swept them there. "I had a lot of time to think in that hospital room. Watching Lee breathe. Thinking about the things I can't change. And the things I can." Miho raised her bleeding hand. "I can change a lot and I can't change a lot. But I can do my best regardless."
She saw Genma-sensei swallow before he nodded as well, eyeing the scroll. "You wanted me here to guide you through a summoning, not to help you learn to meditate." He let out a pathetic sigh, palming his forehead. "I must have 'sucker' written on my forehead." Miho frowned, not seeing why he felt bad about this. "I'll support you signing with the Bears."
He gestured toward a symbol at the middle of the scroll.
"Sign your name in blood here." He pointed the open spot just under her birth parents' names. "Pulse your chakra into it. About a third of your chakra reserves. That should draw out the Boss, but…I don't know what comes after that, Miho. It could be anything."
She nodded, pressing her hand over the kanji of her scrawled name. The first Akimichi in a line of Okuda. Her chakra sank into the seal and she pressed it further, feeling it draw from her skin, her muscles, her bones. Her fat. It fell into the seal and then exploded, pushing her back onto her backside.
Out of the smoke, a large brown bear stood on its hind legs as the grey smoke dissipated. Miho didn't scuttle away, even if she wanted to, the bear towered as tall as an oak tree. Gray hakama covered its hind legs. Its narrowed black eyes looked around to find her.
"Who are you to summon a Bear, little human?" His voice boomed, like the slow roll of thunder over and between mountains.
Miho hurried to stand, leaning forward to bow deeply before the Bear. She fortified herself as best she could. "I'm Akimichi Miho. I would like a contract with the Bears."
The Bear rumbled a great laugh, a paw going to his rounded stomach. "The Bears know no summoners but the Okuda, who have held our scroll for a thousand years, little human."
Miho rose up, looking up to meet the Bear's eyes. They were sharp, but not cruel or reprimanding. She tried to find the right words, but settled for: "I am the daughter of Okuda Keisuke."
Two forepaws landed in the grass on either side of her and the ground shook as the Bear lurched forward, its large head within inches of her. Miho held her breath as fear thrilled through her stomach. She could feel the vibrations of the Bear's growling. She stood very still as his great snout landed on her shoulder. He heaved in a big breath and drew away, eyes settling on her face.
"Yes, Okuda Keisuke is your father. I can smell him. I can smell Chisato. Yes, little human. Our legacy of serving the Okuda and their kin lives on, indeed. But first, a name and a test and a lesson."
The Bear settled back on his hakama-covered haunches, forepaws resting on his bended hind legs. "I am Ki, the Great Bear. I am the Thunder Bear. I am the Bear of the Center Mountain." He gestured toward where Genma-sensei was standing. "Who is that, little human?"
"My teacher, Lord Ki, Shiranui Genma."
The Bear made a thoughtful noise. "You wish a partnership with the Bears, Akimichi Miho. Why? We're not a summon that lightly gives its loyalty. We do not trade. We do not barter. We do not negotiate. The Snakes trade knowledge. The Slugs trade chakra. The Toads, the Hawks, the Lizards, the Cats. Each ask for something in return for their partnership. We do not. Do you know why?"
Miho thought, trying to remember the things she read that Akimichi Chisato scribbled in her notes. But then, she thought of the old stories her father used to tell. The story about the Bear and his family and the lengths one bear went to in protection of them. The song was sung from time-to-time, a folktale about family trust and patience.
"Because you are protectors first and foremost. That's why you've always worked with the Okuda. They're— We're considered family."
Ki nodded. "Indeed, cub. Indeed. And we do not take kindly to interlopers." The boss of the Bears turned to Genma-sensei and bared his teeth, raising a large paw. He went to slam it forward, to strike her teacher down. She saw Genma-sensei recoil a bit.
No, this was her fault.
Miho felt her heart jump into her throat and sped over to place herself between Lord Ki and her teacher. She was between them before his paw moved more than a few inches. Genma-sensei made an impressed sound, but otherwise didn't move or react. He could have gotten out of the way in time. Miho held up both hands, bowing down to avert her eyes.
"Lord Ki, I did not mean to offend by having my teacher present! I've never attempted to summon before. I did not want to do it wrong. Please do not blame him. I apologize."
She glanced up. The Great Bear looked down his long snout before baring his teeth in what must've been a smile. His growling voice sounded amused. "The Bears protect their own. Look up, cub. Look up now. Look into my eyes."
Miho raised her head and the Great Bear lowered himself down onto all four paws. She looked up and met his eyes, feet moving shoulder-width apart and shoulder rolling back.
"You will be our summoner, Akimichi Miho."
Before Miho could react, another bear appeared. This one was much smaller that the Great Bear Boss. Its fur was a light golden brown, like brown sugar or the crust of a cookie. It shined. The smaller bear settled onto its haunches, looking between Miho and the Great Bear for some kind of context.
"This is Shinrin. She will be your personal summon. Shinrin, this is Akimichi Miho. She is—"
"Lady Chisato's cub." Shinrin breathed out. "Oh, Lord Keisuke's cub." Running forward, the bear dragged Miho into a heavy paw-ed hug. Miho gaped and gasped at the weight, looking to the Great Bear and Genma-sensei for guidance. Neither reacted. She shouldered the weight as well as she could, holding the bear aloft.
"A strong cub, you are." Lord Ki noted with a laugh. "To carry Shinrin's weight unaided."
"Oh, my Lady Miho, I was a little cub when Lady Chisato and Lord Keisuke died. I thought I should never meet their cub. They— They decorated your nursery in little bears. They said those little bears were drawings of me. Oh, my Lady Miho. I am your summon now. It is only right. I'm Shinrin, my Lady Miho. I am always going to be here for you. Always and forever."
Miho embraced the bear back as Shinrin look her own weight again. She squeezed her eyes shut with the strength of the hug. It only seemed right. It seemed like what was natural for all the feeling that was in Shinrin's embrace. Miho sank into the bear's fur, loosing her balance a bit with it. Shinrin's paws sat her upright.
"What is your goal, cub?" Miho's attention turned to the boss summon again, who watched the exchange with tired, kind eyes. Like the eyes of a grandfather watching the younger generation learn and grow. She'd seen that expression on Elder Torifu's face more than once. "What is it you aim to accomplish by taking up our contract?"
Miho stepped forward, out of Shinrin's shadow. She glanced to Genma-sensei before raising her chin. He nodded encouragingly. "I want to protect the people I care about to the best of my ability and shield them from as much hurt as I can. I want to make a difference." She rolled her shoulders and squared them. "The Bears can train their summoners as well, to make them stronger, to help them protect the clan. I want to do this. To grow stronger, to protect my own."
The Great Boss nodded, baring his great teeth. "A worthy endeavor, cub. The Bears will help you in that goal. The Bears have many strengths, strengths you shall learn. Together, we will protect our own. Shinrin will stay with you and describe the responsibilities that come with our contract. Then she will return and you will summon her again. At that time, your training with the Bears will begin. I will learn of your strengths and your weaknesses, cub."
The Great Bear nodded again and disappeared.
Miho looked to Shinrin, who smiled a bit sadly. She ambled up and edged at Miho's elbow with her snout. "My Lady Miho, let us get to know each other. I will tell you all you should know. I will tell you all of our stories. I will tell you stories of Lord Keisuke and Lady Chisato. I will tell you lots." Looking to where Genma-sensei stood, she watched as he raised his hands and grinned. "This is your teacher?"
"Shiranui Genma. It's nice to meet you, Shinrin. Please take good care of my student."
"I'll take good care of you both, as well as anyone else my Lady Miho considers 'hers'." The bear's voice was soft and sweet, like honey. There was a hard edge there, too. Like the points of her incisors biting into every word. "And I'll rip out the throats of those that harm hers. I'd like very much to bite the throat of the masked one that killed Lord Keisuke."
The bear fell to all fours, baring her teeth as if a ghost stood under the nearby trees.
"One that…" Genma-sensei's eyes widened.
Miho fisted her hands at her sides, turning to the bear. "Shinrin…Who-Who are you talking about? What 'masked one'?"
A/N: Finally, the Bears have arrived and I've moved! Everything went relatively well! I'm now getting settled in and handling all of the fun affairs that come with relocation. Still, I've been working on this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it!
Your reviews, favorites, and follows have made my days brighter! Thank you for taking the time to read and engage with this fic! I'm having so much fun writing it!