…can I mention how I don't understand how the Naruto-verse works, in specifics? Because I don't and I've now come to accept the realization that pretty much everyone is winging it. That's what I'm doing now (with bits of reality to help me because Kishimoto is, no surprise, contradicting himself on certain aspects of life in the Naruto world and I have a need to make sure everything is relatively sound). I'm sorry in advance if this isn't accurate. At this point I have no idea what I'm doing, so I think that means I'm alright.
This. This got a lot more attention than I thought it would. Uh, thanks? Especially to those of you reviewing. If you think something doesn't make sense or won't line up, leave a review or DM and I'll either have an answer for you later on or bullshit one to make it make sense. If you want to yell at me about the decreasing merit each chapter, that works too.
By the way, school starts this week and I am not ready. Sorry, please prepare for slower updates. Check my profile everyone once in a while, I post things on there regarding the next chapter.
This note is getting long. I'll shut up now.
Chapter 3: Characterization
Berühre nicht alte Wunden.
From German to English:
It is not wise to open old wounds.
54 yaKe, or years after Konoha's establishment. January 1.
I'm not a fan of failure. Nobody is. Failure feels bad.
I don't like this feeling. (Does Hitori feel bad? Does Naomi feel bad? I feel bad. Is it just me or-?) It's the new year, and I remain indoors (it's cold) as the children play outside. There's a festival somewhere in Konoha today.
I don't do much other than sit in bed and drink some warm water. The library is closed for the day, and there's still some snow left outside.
Ah. I think I should explore Konoha tomorrow, after the festival's been wrapped up with. At 4 years old, it shouldn't be all too suspicious.
…It's hard to sleep.
Hitori wakes up the next day, smiling, and after lunch walks outside with her lemonade yellow umbrella.
(It's hard to forget, but…)
(It's easy to wear a mask, isn't it? Hitori is a mask. Maybe Naomi is a mask. Maybe they're both a mask, or several masks, because everyone is wearing one, always. Are you a mask?)
(How dramatic. Comedy and tragedy. Hitori and Naomi. Really, how dramatic.)
I skip out on the library and training, deciding to instead explore Konoha for the afternoon.
Konoha is a little smaller than I would've expected. I can walk far enough to see the end of the village - rather, village walls. (What is this, Attack on Titan? Seriously, walls?)
The orphanage is located near the Academy and Hokage's office, on the opposite side of the main gate and near the walls surrounding the village. The forest seems to be less of a forest and more of a large collection of trees surrounding the inside perimeter of the village, mimicking a forest. I'll have to recalculate my estimations on area, and the population as well.
I found one river - the Naka river, if I'm not mistaken. It translates as The River of Southern Joy. I don't see how this is a river of joy, other than the fish here who might be supposedly joyful.
There are hints of other wildlife around the river. Plants, mostly, and some bugs and a turtle. I saw the shadow of what could've been a deer, but it could've just been a bird I scared off or something. None of the animals here seem to like me all that much, as soon as I come close they all seem to cower back. Fair enough, I'm disturbing them.
The source of the river seems to be from somewhere out of Konoha, and cuts into what I believe to be the Uchiha District before exiting out somewhere in the village.
If my understanding of how water filtration works is correct, a good chunk of drinking water comes from this river. Konoha likely does have the capability to supply drinking water through underground sources, though I have many doubts that Konoha's wells, if Konoha has any (which they should have, unless they use something else to get water from underground) are the source of all the freshwater in the village. If someone with ill intent wanted to bring down the village, targeting the water is a good place to start. I doubt the water filters are advanced enough to detect everything.
The economy would actually be a better target, actually, considering how weak it must be after the Nine Tails Attack. All economies in this world are pretty weak. Konoha because of the Nine Tails and other marks left from incidents such as the Sannin having all defected, Suna primarily due to the geography of a desert meaning nearly all goods have to be imported, Kiri due to shit foreign relations and internal unease, and Iwa is still paying Konoha for losing the 3rd Shinobi War - I believe they're currently suffering an issue with inflation. Ame is doing alright however it could be because of the industrial revolution™️ they're going through. All the same, they're tense with foreign relations, and getting any information on the inside is rough. Ame reminds me a bit of North Korea without the nukes and probably a bit better off.
Kumo is the only major shinobi village I see doing alright. Their military is strong, possibly the strongest. I don't understand why, but there are no doubts I can find out eventually. Economically, Kumo appears at the top among the rest of the shinobi, which could be chalked up to the shinobi forces being so good that people actually trust the security of the village. Security goes a long way. 9/11 is a nice example of how not having security impacts the economy.
The civilian based "lands", just towns, aren't much better off. They're an improvement from shinobi villages, yes, but either heavily rely on trade to maintain their economy or have a policy of isolation. There's not much to be said about them.
...I read some newspapers from the library after seeing someone with one. I wasn't aware of them for a while, but anything new worth reading is worth reading. (They have newspaper printing in this world for newspapers, but not books, the books are all handwritten, a huge what?) Newspapers are rather scarce, surprisingly, though with how tightly controlled specific information in general is in this world I'm not sure why I'm surprised.
Man, I feel like an old person now. I was born in 1995, we read magazines, not newspapers. And if people want news, there was this thing called TV. Not like I used TV much outside of the few Spongebob episodes I watched and whatever.
Eh, moving on. Shinobi seem to hang around the center of the village. This does make me somewhat hesitant to continue exploring around this area, in the fake forest, because it means it not-seen shinobi could be around here but I don't think I'll get into trouble for it. Might get myself put on a watch list, regardless Hitori is no more than a child with an umbrella now so surely no harm will come out of this.
(But what if- no, it's fine.)
I try to avoid the central areas and especially the so-called Red Light District - less of a district and more of a back-end alley - of the village, but I get curious. There are lots of shops near the center, and many open stalls selling "fresh" produce (fresh? Fresh? There's no way that fruit can be considered fresh), goods from other parts of the world, and other generally miscellaneous items.
From my understanding, there is a brothel in Konoha. However, it's extremely looked down upon to be unfaithful to your spouse or whatever - which, fair - so the brothel isn't exactly a hot spot.
I've come to note that purple - and I don't mean a light lilac purple like seen with the Hyuga, but actual royal purple - seems to be rare, if it exists at all. Even in this world, such color may be a sign of wealth. Has no one found a way to chemically manufacture it yet? Or maybe they have, but aren't into the idea of mass-producing it? The latter seems more probable, though I suppose I've now found a market I can get involved in to earn some cash later on. Royal purple is an aesthetically pleasing color, I'm sure someone will like it.
Maybe when I'm older I'll get a side job dyeing fabric.
Going back to food, now - as far as I can tell a good deal of food, primarily fruit, is from the village itself, except it's not enough to sustain Konoha alone. Konoha seems to rely too heavily on imports, using shinobi as exports (using services in exchange for goods). Honestly, how the economy is even intact is beyond me. Er, how any economies are intact.
Buildings, for the most part are… alright. Not too close together, not too far apart. Just enough that a kid could jump around on them without much difficulty. The houses aren't exactly made to last - they do, I'm not quite sure how, but overall they're the kind of houses that should be torn down every 5 to 10 years and rebuilt. Shops and the like seem to be similar in this regard. Training grounds, though I've only seen one large one and perhaps a secluded smaller one, appear to be just flattened areas of the village.
I walk back to the orphanage, somewhat satisfied with the information I have gathered over the past few hours. There are still questions such as how electricity/energy production works in this world (chakra, unless there's something else at play), public transportation (does everyone really just travel on their feet everywhere? Doesn't it get tiring after a while?), and where the resources for things such as weapons come from (is it extracted from within the village or the surrounding area, or from imports from non-aggressive land?). The economist in me wants to analyze more, get a better grip on the current economic state of the village, however, I have time to further analyze this over the next few years.
Paying attention to economies is crucial for the welfare of the people. A country has to ensure that it is strong in economy, military, and public opinion. Things like technological development and foreign relations are a close second.
(It seems that Naomi skipping lunch all throughout high school to burden her schedule with as many classes - and then as many clubs - as possible was worth it in the long run.)
If there's one thing I've learned from middle school, it's that almost everyone is secretly an asshole. If there's another thing I've learned, it's to always expect the unexpected. Pop quizzes, I mean.
About the "always expect the unexpected" part, it still applies. Both things still apply, actually, but the latter definitely.
Like a girl by the name of TenTen (I thought TenTen was the pig oh my god so the pig is TonTon and the girl is TenTen?) coming up to me and proposing a friendship between the two of us since we're both, in summary, social outcasts interested in becoming shinobi.
Oof, that hurts. No, it doesn't.
I blink stupidly at my roommate (seeing as oh no this is my roommate? A real character? As a kid? Wow. Just-) as Mari leaves the room. It's currently curfew.
Most of the other girls are, well. Doing whatever it is young girls between the ages of 4 to 6 are doing before going to sleep.
The 4 and 5 year olds in this room are kissing up to the 6 year olds in the Academy. Frankly, I'm disgusted by how the 6 year olds are already, ah, the correct term is fangirling, and over some guy in their class - a Uchiha, or a Hyuga, apparently. Mmm, that's nice, I don't care about that. Talk about what you're learning instead because that's actually useful.
The girls complain a lot about the school when it's not about "their" guy, and I'm almost relieved to see TenTen has some sense not to act like… that. Fawning over a guy, or listening to someone fawn over a guy.
I'm not sure why she'd want to befriend me instead of someone else her age. Don't kids want to be friends with people their age? Or maybe older than them? Could it be that she likes younger kids because they're usually more active? TenTen, if I remember right (taijutsu - team Gai - weapons) likes physical activity. Perhaps that's the case…
"Yeah, probably." I nod. TenTen grins at me.
Wait, I said that out loud, didn't I? Shoot.
"We're gonna be best friends," she says. "And we'll play ninja together, and-"
This. This is not the TenTen Naomi recalls. (She's only 5, of course not, what are you thinking-)
I dunno how friendships between kids work. It's been far too long since I was a kid, and ever since I've been Hitori I've never once tried purposely to act like a kid, or taken care in observing how kids react. I never bothered to look into how friendships between young children work.
Oh no. Oh no.
A small part of me hopes this isn't the same TenTen as canon TenTen, but said hope is fleeting.
Is TenTen supposed to be an orphan?
I'm not sure. Did they mention her having parents in Naruto? Dunno.
Okay, but actually, why the fuck does she want to be friends with me?
I dunno.
It's weird. Strange. Odd. Use any synonym you like. This situation is most certainly abnormal.
(…Ah, well, I don't care too much.)
TenTen is… tolerable. I won't say I enjoy having her take over some of my afternoons - all that lost time for training, for the library, for wandering around the village (which I'm not doing, because the schedule is the schedule and routine is routine and straying from that makes me anxious) - but she makes life a little less dull, less jaded.
She's not my friend. (I don't have friends. Hitori has nobody, Hitori is alone. Naomi hasn't had friends, hasn't had anyone around, not really, not since no no NO stop thinking about them-)
I've tried avoiding her, but she's persistent.
It's the kind of motivation every high school student wishes they have, the kind that gets your paper an A despite the fact it was done in class during the 30 minutes the teacher spent explaining said paper. I'm nearly jealous. Nearly, and would actually be jealous if it wasn't for the fact that this girl seriously needs a hobby please stop stalking me.
She says she's looking for someone like her to be her friend because everyone else has them now and the orphanage teacher says to make friendship her New Year's Resolution because friends are good for you. I didn't even know they had New Year's Resolutions in this world.
So now I'm stuck with this girl. Who exactly have I forsaken to lead to, well, this?
It sucks. It does.
Her hair is short though. Now that I think about it, I'm practically the only kid in this room that has hair past my waist. It's annoying to have this much hair, however I've managed to obtain what is pretty much an elastic hair tie and keep my hair tied in a messy bun. It might not be an actual messy bun, but it's a bun and it's messy. You get the idea.
Damn, I really want a haircut. Looking at all this hair sucks, it's dark earthen brown not pale icy blonde and why is it still brown disgusting.
In a way, I've lucked out. If my hair were green or red or blue, I would've chopped off all that hair long ago (because such shades are unnatural and genetics in this world don't apply but they do with Earth, they always have, and things make sense on Earth).
My head pounds again, because I'm thinking stop thinking so many things at once and the brain can't keep up with all this it's linear consciously follows one trail of thought-
PaiN_.
TenTen plays with the older kids, the ones maybe 6 or 7, who actually put in the effort to train. Namely males, all the females I see are still complaining and gossiping and they're 6 why are you like this. Is this what 6 year olds are like? I would despise my 6 year old self for being so, so… this. (Good thing Naomi was different then.)
I think I'm the only person of the same biological sex TenTen considers as a friend, she doesn't hang out with other females as far as I can tell. (I'm flattered no I'm not.)
I've learned from spending some time discussing the Academy with the boys that they each have an allotted amount of money per month for buying ninja supplies. Kunai, shuriken, rope and the like. You start off with a bunch of ryo, the world's only officially recognized currency, to get started, and from then on get more money for minor things; books, new equipment, etc.
Where does this money come from? Taxes? Shinobi? I- what? How? What if you don't become a shinobi? Are you expected to pay back this money?
I have questions, dammit.
I don't hang out with TenTen much. Just during the weekends, between 8:25 and 12 ST. ST stands for standard time, it's the officially recognized version of NOW t.
I told her I'm busy after lunch and she was annoying about the whole "but friends are supposed to hang out together" so I threatened her with forsaking "our friendship".
Was it mean? Yeah, coming from a kid. Too bad I'm not a kid.
Hitori is. In all aspects but physical, I am not Hitori.
Our kind of truce is that she doesn't bother me on weekdays, which I can bear with.
I have no idea what my chakra nature is, but I've guessed fire so I'm going to proceed to figure out how I can create fire.
Fire is a process. "Fire" isn't matter or energy. Fire requires heat, O2, and fuel. I don't know what fuel shinobi use to spit fire, but I do know how to make a fire with wood as fuel. And here, hidden among the trees, there's lots of wood.
Assuming chakra is the heat source - and chakra is like energy, so I'm confident chakra could be - then I should be able to channel some fire nature chakra into some wood and cause a flame. Oxygen is already in the atmosphere and wood, but I can't be sure of the exact percentage. It might vary from tree to tree depending on the type of tree. There's also a bunch of carbon in a tree, which isn't too relevant to me.
I'm not using carbon from the branches/trees. The fire has originate from my mouth or else the gas will escape into the atmosphere. Additionally, if the fire succeeds it'll likely burn down the forest and produce carbon monoxide and I might - small might there - die from carbon monoxide poisoning. (I could die from other things too, but that's not the point.)
So, throw in some chakra, and it - the dry leaves and branches before me - should light up on fire. Hopefully.
Unfortunately, they do not catch on fire. Life isn't that simple.
Perhaps I'm not using the right amount of chakra. I don't know, because I'm doing nothing but hoping it works since I have no idea how to sense chakra, chakra is like energy, not energy, you can't sense or solidify energy, chakra is chakra what do you do to it to make it turn into flame?
Chakra does not equal fire. How do you turn chakra into a fire?
Fire is a process. The creation of fire from chakra is a process. What is the process?
Scientific method: question, background knowledge, hypothesis, experiment, data and analysis, conclusion, results.
The question is how to make fire from chakra. I have enough background knowledge on fire and a little bit on chakra. My hypothesis is that if fire is a process, then manipulating chakra in a way that it will turn into thermal energy will create a fire in the presence of a fuel source because fire merely is O2, heat, and fuel. Currently conducting the experiment. How do you change chakra into heat?
Chakra is like energy, but it isn't energy. Think in terms of what you know about heat then.
(Why do shinobi blow out fire?)
It all clicks together, doesn't it?
In theory, but not in practice. Why?
Hitori makes a fire without chakra instead, lighting up dry leaves and branches in a circle of rocks. It'd be easier with flint, but Hitori doesn't have anything but sticks and stones here so that's what she uses. Friction makes the fuel and she holds the smoking coal within tinder in her hands, blowing on it so the fire grows. It's in a secluded area, between a few trees. She nearly burns her hands in the process and a stray strand of hair gets close to catching fire. Fortunately it doesn't, and none of the trees catch fire as well.
She puts the fire out with dirt before returning to the library. Maybe she forgot something that she read before, it's entirely possible with how much information she stores in her head that something had slipped her mind.
The librarian smiles back at me as I enter with a soft "Konichiwa", closing the umbrella behind me.
Hitori in the library is different than Hitori in the orphanage and Hitori in the "forest".
(There are different masks for different settings and different people. Why wouldn't there be? We're all like that, so very different for different people. Switching from formal and casual is so easy, isn't it? All it takes is to do it more and more.)
In the library, Hitori is a reclusive, shy girl. I suppose the impression would be "quiet, enjoys reading, a 'good' girl". They know I'm an orphan, and somehow my birthday, but no one cares and I don't either, not exactly.
I head straight for the books. It's a small library, but the public domain section has all the books I've read and the librarian says there's nothing new today, so I return to the old books after asking for a newspaper. Newspapers are weekly, and today is Monday, and I wasn't here yesterday to pick up the fresh-off-the-press paper.
(I've started reading newspapers since late December, and they're alright, if not questionable.)
The newspaper is held in my right hand wrapped around my umbrella as I reach for some books on chakra. There aren't many, most people who aren't shinobi don't use chakra (samurai are an entirely different subject and I'm not delving into that until I figure out some other things).
Open, read. All the books are from right-to-left, but keep the top-to-bottom. Right-to-left is fine, if only a bit different than my preferred left-to-right.
There's nothing new. Chakra is vague in these books. I sigh internally.
Putting the books back alone is fruitless, nonetheless I continue to try. I'm short, so it's hard. A librarian, I think his name is Araya, comes to put it away for me.
It's disheartening to see how useless I am as a child; I can't even put away a book without help. I resolved to grow taller when I'm older. Naomi was a bit tall, more like average, and it was alright. Being short is disadvantageous, you can't reach high places. I've grown rather accustomed to it (to being a kid) after all these years that's not the point dammit.
Open the newspaper and read. There's nothing much new; some updates on how glass trade is being handled between Suna and Konoha and it looks alright, a little advertising, the gossip section discussing a new pastry shop opening up near the village center, and a bit of opinion on how the Council is changing how laws are enforced. Budget cuts and laws and the like are public, aside from the specifics which are left out.
(It's interesting, because murder isn't illegal. It's not like much murder happens with the civilians in Konoha. They're all publicly aware of the militaristic society they live in, after all.)
A bit on statistics of shinobi and the number of missions Konoha has accepted this week. They're lower than last week, though not by much. Some discussion about the other countries, though it should be taken with a grain of salt. Everything here should be taken with a grain of salt, for all I know these could all be lies or misguided truths (and they very well could be, couldn't they? They don't publish everything, things are classified for a reason).
I finish the newspaper and return it to the front desk with a small smile again. I never bring any back with me, because it's certainly odd to see a child holding one, yes? Children aren't supposed to read newspapers.
Then again, children aren't supposed to plan out how to stop a revolution.
Oh, right. The Uchiha.
Haven't given that much thought.
I return to the orphanage as Hitori the orphan, thoughts swirling in my head.
There are multiple projects I have pending, and those I am currently focusing on. I have them written down somewhere among all my papers, though they're scattered throughout my progress reports.
The biggest project now is for me to stop the Uchiha Massacre. I'm quite certain I'll be enrolled in the Academy if I remain in this orphanage, as all the older orphans here are all in the Academy. I've already seen how Naruto is, and have chosen to avoid him for now.
How do I plan to go about this? Specifics, think. Meet a Uchiha, get involved in clan politics, blah blah blah, the end, peace?
Wow, that's unrealistic as fuck. How old was I when I made that plan?
It's fine, I have some time. Make a change. How do you make a change?
I'm 4 years old, so politics are out. Social change? Nobody will recognize an orphan so young. Think.
I can't think of anything.
Dammit.
There has to be something. How? What to do-?
Wait. Look into laws. There might be something in there, right?
Yes. Maybe. Please-
Laws are compiled in books, however, they're all written in old political jargon. It's hard to find one, but the librarian at the front desk - Yoru - gets one from the back, where the dusty, kind-of-out-of-date books are. (I haven't touched those books since I'm not allowed to enter past a certain point of the library.)
(You enter, and there's public books for everyone, then Academy, then genin in the back, and chunin and jounin books might be hidden somewhere? And all the way in the back is where old, specific books are, perhaps?)
I don't do politics. Politics are messy and filled with too much deception. I didn't work in intelligence, and I was well aware that everything I do will be publicized one day (personnel files become archival 62 years after Airmen are no longer military personnel, and NASA does reveal their research for public eventually).
Honestly. Shoot the twat who decided that writing laws had to be done like this-
There is nothing. Absolutely nothing turns up that I can use to aid the Uchiha from destruction (from death, from near extinction). Everything I find seems to instead support their doom.
You know what? Fine. Fine. I'll figure something out eventually.
Life may be deterministic but Chaos Theory does exist, and the multiverse probably exists because Hitori can exist and Naomi must have existed at some point in time, and I am here so I can do something right-?
(Yes and no.)
Go to the forest. Take your mind off of things with exercise. Climb a tree or something. Climb down and figure out the fire thing.
Why do people blow out fire when using chakra to make it? Well, you can blow out cold and hot air. So, blow out hot air, and that's technically thermal energy, yes?
Um. Not exactly.
Ugh. Thermal energy. Kinetic. Movement.
Make the air move faster?
...perhaps. I'll try it out.
In front of me are a bunch more dry leaves and branches surrounded by rock. Snow had melted early in the month, and rainy days have yet to come.
I can make fire. I can do this.
I blow on the leaves and this is so stupid-
It doesn't work. As expected.
Try again tomorrow, it's getting dark.
(The fuel is right there, I have everything so put it all together.)
I get what might not be the answer, but an answer about 3 weeks later lying in bed, frustrated by failed attempts to create a fire from chakra.
I'm going over what is flammable - wood, obviously, coal, ethanol, kerosene, gasoline, and some gases like methane wait waitwaitwait-
Hydrogen.
Shit. How could I miss this? (Because I do better in bio than chem, but I need chem now, not bio, not yet.)
I work(ed) in NASA. We had a bunch of protocol to make sure the International Space Station wouldn't catch on fire accidentally. (The ISS is expensive as fuck, okay, if it catches fire that's some hundreds of billions of dollars out the window.)
There was also the whole thing with how in the military, MREs couldn't be eaten in the aircraft since it'd release hydrogen upon adding water to the Flameless Ration Heater and we could start a fire. The people back in the labs were working on an air-activated FRH, weren't they? Think so. Not the point.
How can you get hydrogen? Natural gases, coal, water. (Methane too, it's more cost-effective that way, but methane is… a bit harder to obtain. For now. From what I know, at least.)
Work out the chemistry.
Electrolysis? You need shit to do that though. I don't have shit to engineer with, not yet, and I don't want to wait.
Serpentinization? No, no rocks. That's a geology thing too, geochemistry at best. I'm rather clueless on that.
Radiolysis? I need radiation to play around with, and I don't yet understand how to do it safely.
Chemosynthesis? No chemicals to play around with, except the ones readily available in the atmosphere and if it was that easy I'd have the fire long ago.
Use chakra to split the water…?
It makes sense now. Sort of. Why shinobi breathe out fire - you lose water as water vapor when you exhale, turn that water into a bunch of hydrogen and oxygen and add some heat from chakra and get the right amount and you have fire.
This realization makes me feel giddy inside (this is so stupid I'm going to blow up my mouth but not if I do it right), and I add the information to my report and lock up the drawer (there's so much space in there, I can put so much paper in here if I organize it).
I fall asleep and train some more in an empty mind space of my own, talking to myself about how to create fire.
It's Saturday. First Saturday of February.
I have to hang out with TenTen for the afternoon. We're probably just going to run around a lot and I'll spend the day feeling like I want to die (wheezing in pain fuck I need to breathe). Can't try anything until Monday.
It's Monday! The agonizing pain of waiting is over. I can work on making fire! I don't know how to do it, but goddamn I am going to figure it out. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'll bullshit my way through it.
Water vapor is a gas, so it's a bit more difficult to work with, but it'll be easier than last years attempts with sunlight. At least I'm working with something that matters. Heh. Get it? Water vapor? Matter?
...I'll shut up now.
But yeah, it actually has mass compared to sunlight, which is. Uh. Yeeeeeeah.
There's a small collection of dry leaves and branches surrounded by rock in front of me, again. I plan on fueling a fire with these after making it with my breath.
I'll be breaking down water on an atomic level. Hooray. It's fine, I'll manage. Maybe. Potentially. I'll see.
A concentration of 4% hydrogen is enough to be flammable. It'll quickly disperse, so I need the wood here to serve as proof.
Hydrogen fires have pale blue flames and are hard to see during daylight, so I have no idea how people manage the typical red-orange fires. However, I'm working on making a fire right now, any fire, I'll get to the specifics later.
Step 1: Figure out how to get that much hydrogen (water, actually) present in my mouth.
Step 2 is harder.
Step 2: Turn that H2O into H and O.
Then there's the next step…
Step 3: Blow it out with some chakra/heat.
And the result is fire! Well, the result would also be water as a by-product, but whatever.
Fun fact! Water is technically already burnt, that's why you can't burn it. Shout out to all those comics where people who couldn't cook burnt water, because ha no.
Anyways. Step 1.
…It's easier said than done, huh.
I'd use methane, but 1: how to get? and 2: dunno how to get that in my mouth in large concentrations without something going horribly wrong (namely asphyxiation), so hydrogen it is. I mean, things can go wrong with hydrogen too, but look just it's easier to use hydrogen okay.
It's hard. Really. Gather water in your mouth, or some form of moisture. All I'm getting is saliva.
It's mainly water, yeah, but there are things in there and you know what, whatever, fuck this.
Take the water from saliva, turn it into H and O. Two hydrogen atoms, one oxygen atom. (I can't sense shit on an atomic level! I have no clue what the fuck is going on!)
Aughhhhhhh. I- ugh- um- I'm going to try something, and if it doesn't work, I'm going to try another something, and keep trying until I get something.
Please don't injure me. Please don't disfigure me. Please don't explode in my mouth. I have no way of explaining that to the iryo-nin. Med-nin. Same thing.
There are no explosions, which I'm happy about, but there are a lot of close calls where I might've choked and died or something.
Scratch that, I choked on air just now. Gimme a sec.
Two weeks later, I complete step 2.
I think I did, at least. I dunno, but my mouth suddenly has less moisture and I don't fucking know but it was strange oh my god I did it! I didn't think it was even possible, but oh my god, yes-
In my surprise, my mouth opens and the hydrogen and oxygen depart from my mouth.
…Fuuuuuuuuuuck.
No, it's alright. I just need to do it again, and bring up to the right concentration, then heat it up with chakra. WIthout burning my mouth- keep some moisture in there to prevent killing the cells.
I FUCKING DID IT.
I grin stupidly at the fire in front of me.
I couldn't see the hydrogen fire because daylight hours, but there is a red-orange flamed fire here before me started by the hydrogen fire.
HA. HAHA. This bitch fucking did it.
I remain uncertain as to the chakra specifics, but whatever. For now. The universe works in mysterious ways. It appears water remains as H2O in this world, and similar physics apply. I genuinely don't know how I did it, in detail, but eh. I'll figure it out later.
I might actually be a fire type! Not- not in the Pokemon way or whatever. Chakra nature! Hell yeah!
It rained today. No training, I'm going out to the library.
I really hope they have more books. Not the ones in the back, those are old and I'd really rather not read them. They're dirty.
(And I grew up being told to wash my hands before and after every meal, which I do, so.)
They have 1 new book, but I'm not allowed to read it.
It's in the restricted "adults-only" section, from a series called Icha Icha. (I wasn't aware there was a restricted section, but it makes sense. It's hidden in the corner near the genin books, so I guess that's why I never noticed it.)
Icha Icha Baiorensu. Make Out Violence.
The fuck? Sounds kinda rape-y. I don't think I want to read it-
Eh? Eh? Why is that guy over there taking it with him? Why is the librarian giving him a thumbs up? What?
I think I overheard "bondage" in their conversation. Huh?
Could it be the book is… erotica?
What with the name though? Make Out Violence? It's giving off strange vibes.
Araya-what's-his-name must've seen me see the interaction, because he scowls at the guy at the desk and hands me a random book that I've already read maybe 3 times.
TenTen fucking tackled me. We're playing Shinobi Tag today or something like that, and this is her idea of going easy.
Dude. Kid. Whatever. Not cool.
I fall to the ground, trying to breathe again, before getting up to glare at-
Annnnnnd she's gone.
Ok. Back in the forest. It stopped raining yesterday, but the ground is still on the wet side. I had a light run as I pondered my relation to chakra.
I know I can make fire, so there's the potential I'm a fire type.
But could I also be a water type? It's not exactly common to have contradicting chakra natures, but, eh…
Maybe?
I'm going to try.
The ground is moist, so it shouldn't be a problem if I try to extract water from it. Sure, I could take it from the water vapor in the air, but it's all over the place so… yeah.
Three days later and a fuckton of bitching and complaining to myself, and this prick finally did it.
Er, kinda. It's not anything impressive, merely a small pool of water, just enough so you could tell it's water there, gathered before my feet, but it's good enough! Results are good! It's progress! Progress is good!
I'm so proud of myself, ha-
I fall on my face.
Ouch.
Why can't I move? Oh, wait, is this chakra exhaustion? Yep. yes, chakra exhaustion.
Yeah, I'm kinda tired… But I can still think a bunch.
Huh.
Eh, my head hurts a bit now, so I think I'll just take a little nap-
NO! I have to return to the orphanage! It's getting dark again! I don't want to fall asleep here!
I grab my umbrella (which I dunno why but I always have it with me now whenever I go outside) and I force myself to get up and move.
I'm going to take a nice, long shower.
I let down my hair and frown.
It's less outlandish to see, but it still feels wrong.
The shower room I use doesn't have a mirror in it, which I'm grateful for. Actually, I haven't seen a mirror for a while now.
I brush my hair with a hairbrush (and it's quite strange, because I'm used to combs, Naomi touched a hairbrush so few times in her life).
Yeah, uh, shove those memories away.
I groan as I struggle to untangle a knot in my hair.
When the fuck are haircuts again?
When I finish, I strip and start to shower. I've grown accustomed to the showers here, but the water is always warm. I like it cold. Sure, I can change the settings a bit, but not enough so that it'll be cold cold, y'know? Well, I guess it's for the best, I might end up sick or something.
I've grown accustomed to many things, but the lingering wrongness of it all never quite fades.
I eat dinner with relish. (Not the condiment.)
God, the food here is pretty shit but after how tired I was among the trees it tastes amazing.
TenTen is ranting again about wanting to be an amazing iryo-nin like Tsunade.
Which, uh, sure. I nod and pretend I'm listening, which I am, but I can't be bothered to care much, if at all.
(I don't exactly see TenTen as a friend, or if I'm going to be extreme, I'm not sure if I even see her as a person. She's always been that kind of background character to me. Not what you'd call impressive, or friend-worthy. TenTen doesn't move the plot forward, and I can't remember much about her as Naomi other than Team Gai and weapons.)
I confuse her with TonTon occasionally. Goes to show how much I give a shit.
"-Are you paying attention?" She asks suddenly. There's a small frown on her face, and I blink. Huh. This is… different than usual.
"Yeah." I said. I technically am. Did I process what she was saying? Er… kinda. No.
"Then what was the last thing I said?" She interrogates. Her voice is stern.
"You asked if I was paying attention." I said.
"Before that!"
"Well, you did talk about being like Tsunade-"
"No! After that!"
"Uh, am I paying attention-"
"I mean before asking you that question and after Tsunade!"
"...you mentioned… I think it was tofu?"
"...it was tonfa."
"Oh. Okay."
TenTen sighs, and looks at me, a serious look on her face. Kinda funny coming from a kid. "Hitori, are we really friends?"
I blink. Yes, unexpected indeed. "Well, what do you mean?"
"You never- you never look like you're actually listening to me, and you're never really nice- I mean, nicer to me, even though friends are supposed to be like that, nicer to each other." She says. "And whenever we play, it always makes me feel like I'm making you play with me, and I don't like it, cuz you have to have fun when we play too."
How mature of her. How… observant. Kids don't exactly recognize these things, do they? Could be due to environmental factors in child development.
"TenTen, I am listening," I said.
(Craft a new mask. Play the friend, Hitori. Remember 1984; doublespeak.)
"I do listen, but I tune out sometimes because I can get distracted." I explained. "And I'm not really nice to anyone. Dunno how it works. You're basically my only friend here." Questionable, could-be-lie, could-be-truth. Not like a child would be able to tell. (I don't talk about the playing thing, but TenTen doesn't appear to notice so it's fine.)
She flushes. "R-really?"
I nod. "Yep." I grin (and it looks natural, doesn't it? TenTen grins back so it must be).
"Good!" She exclaims. "Cuz Shinchou says you're not really friends with me in class yesterday, and Reiko said it's cuz you're always somewhere else when I'm looking for you."
Wait. Hold up, hold up, who and who?
"Who's Shinchou? Who's Reiko?" I asked. I don't fucking know. How the fuck does he know me? How the fuck does she know me? Actually, how does anyone know me? Last time I checked - which is admittingly a long time ago, now that I think about it - I thought my rep here was as some kind of freak or something.
Tenten gives me a funny look. "Shinchou is the really, really popular boy. Some of the girls think he's a little cute, but not me. Reiko is one of those girls who likes Shinchou, and she's also our roommate."
"...okay." I said. Do I lack social awareness? How did I miss this? Did my reputation around here change?
Dammit, what the fuck? Wait, isn't TenTen like 6? Shinchou and Reiko are roughly the same age as TenTen, so they should be around 6 years old too. Can you be popular at the age of 6? Can you develop a crush that young? And how do any of them know me?
Huh? Wha?
I stray from the topic as TenTen proclaims we play a game with some other kids.
It's Shinobi Tag again.
(Running is still exercise, it's fine, the struggle lies in trying enough but not too much.)
The end of February arrives swiftly, and March has come.
Tenten is ecstatic, because it means going to the Academy this month, and her birthday is on the 9th.
I think I'm supposed to give her a gift. I'm probably make something last minute out of paper, because there's not much else I can give her.
I don't recall how to make anything impressive with paper.
…hit the books? There's an origami book somewhere, and I should be able to craft something.
March 9. Today is TenTen's birthday.
"Happy birthday," I said. I gave her three badly made paper cranes in a paper boat as a gift and went on my way.
She held me back in an attempt to choke me - no, that's not a hug - and showed me her oh my god you got kunai?!
She has weapons. Sharp, pointy, weapons. A set of 12 of them.
This is. Not ideal.
Fuck, I want one. Should I steal one from someone? No, it'll get confiscated and I'll get in trouble if I get caught. Besides, nowhere to put them. Not enough space under my bed, it's all for paper.
Uh. Compliment? "They look nice," I said.
"I wanted senbon, cuz iryo-nin use them," she said. "But Mari said no because someone might get hurt, which is stupid because someone could get hurt with kunai too, but she said someone might get hurt and not see it cuz senbon are small but kunai are bigger than senbon and standard anyways, so," she shrugged.
...okay.
Sometimes I really wish she was more like canon TenTen. This is one of those times.
TenTen continues to ramble about iryo-nin and I nod because sure, that's probably not going to happen yet who am I to crush a kid's dreams?
Hitori the friend isn't mean to TenTen.
(I am a little… annoyed. Be as that may, I say nothing and smile and nod.)
It is currently March 17th. TenTen officially goes to the Academy, hooray. She'll be too busy training to play with me anymore, which means I can drop the friend charade.
…not. She still comes by on my weekends to drag me out with her to play, except now she has kunai and shuriken and rope and she bought her senbon so it's just me watching her with target practice, sometimes also participating. I like the target practice time, though her aim is considerably better than mine is.
She told me they have an obstacle course in the Academy, too, which I really want to see.
In other news, I'm back in these boring ass classes, which I've already taken and I already know more than enough to start at the Academy. Can't I put in a request to go there? No?
I thought these classes were for 5 year olds only, dammit. Nope, if you're 4 you can also be dragged into these classes. Really just depends on what year you're going into the Academy. I'm going next year, huh.
TenTen is a year ahead of me, and was also a year ahead of Naruto. That would place me in the same class as Naruto.
Funnily enough, I realize rather quickly/slowly - Naruto isn't here. Which is strange, but maybe he's been transferred to somewhere else? I haven't put much thought into where he might be, too focused on myself to care about him. I know he seems like he's been doing alright, so… eh.
Oh yeah. And another shinobi stopped by sometime a while ago to ask us if we all wanted to be shinobi for Konoha. Is this an annual assessment? Seems like it, they asked this question last year. Some people got moved out again, new people transferred in, but overall most people stayed.
But, well. I'm wasting time here.
We're learning to count all over again. Ugh.
March 27th.
Today would have been Naomi's birthday. Huh. I haven't exactly acknowledged that, have I?
Had Naomi lived, she'd be 29 years old. Not accounting for adjustments due to differences in times.
(There's a good chance she could've found someone to settle down with and moved on with life, maybe something else too-)
"Happy birthday to me."
Naomi- she didn't, didn't really… celebrate her birthday. At best she'd go out for some drinks - because the bar was happy, and she could be happy surrounded by happiness, if only for a while - but she was alone so it never was fun. Then there was the whole thing with how she got most of her genetics from her father's side and was practically immune to the effects of alcohol. Explains why she'd never become an alcoholic.
Hitori goes to her classes, and walks into the library to read a book she's already read before leaving. She doesn't do much but walk leisurely around in the "forest" behind the orphanage and I spend that time looking back on old memories trying not to feel like shit. I sing a bit too, in my head, before I'm reminded of-
I blink away a few silent tears as the lyrics to AJR's Karma (wasn't it Elvis Presley before?) fade from my thoughts. Huh.
Naomi feels sad. I'm not sure if I feel the same way. And Hitori doesn't feel anything.
And this is why I shouldn't think so much on the past, look towards the future, Hitori-
It's a very subtle shift, but you can do it too. It's not exactly acting, there's no script in life, but it is changing who you are. Akin to attitude altering.
Change masks.
They call it classical acting, yes?
March 28.
I saw an ANBU today. It was just a small glance up in the trees, and it would've looked natural had the camouflage been a bit more, ah, wood.
She looked like she was watching me.
It was awkward. I haven't seen ANBU for a while, and I don't think she was supposed to get seen.
Wait, wait, wait. What if the entire time I've been stalked by ANBU?! It's entirely possible- uh, I don't think the Hokage cares that much about little old me.
ROOT then? Er… the old man there probably gives no shits too.
Ah… OROCHIMARU? Does he know I'm a reincarnation? Maybe it's some other person who wants to get his hands on me-
NOT IN THE SEXUAL WAY. MAYBE.
Shit. Um. I'm nothing special. I'm just another 4 year old orphan. I can do a little bit with chakra, I can read and write kanji and kana, my physical capabilities are just above average, I'm away from the Orphanage a lot…
I'm not helping my case, am I.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Dammit. What if I was being watched the entire time? It's not like I'm doing anything illegal though, so I think I'll be okay if it's the Hokage. ROOT and Orochimaru and whatever, um. I could be taken away and become a puppet on a string, which, no, shit, what the fuck, um.
(I'm not a firm supporter of free will, but I do think people should have a role in making their own decisions.)
Eh, uh. Make a choice. What am I going to do?
(...nothing. I'll do nothing. If something happens, it happens, and it's out of my control. What can I do? Nothing. I'm fucking helpless. Everyone and everything here can easily kill me, and what can I do to stop it?)
(Useless waste of space, am I? I'm not even supposed to exist. I'm supposed to be dead.)
The ANBU/ROOT/spy operative is gone, and I scan the area to see if others are there. No.
The adrenaline leaves and with it goes the somewhat serious-calmness mentality. I'm tired. There's nothing I can do here, is there?
(The thought weighs heavy on me.)
(I'll go back to the library today.)
"ANBU Cat. Orphan Child, Report 4: have been sighted. Target displayed no use of chakra according to sensory. Approximate observation time: 24 minutes, 3 seconds."
"Did you see anything new or out of the ordinary?"
"Other than having been found this time, negative."
"Very well. Take a break, Yugao."
"...Hokage-sama, may I ask you something?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Why have I been observing this girl for the past few days? Outside of rapid child development - which is rather normal for prodigies - and a seemingly regular exercise and library routine - again, could be due to the prodigy status - she displays no specific characteristics that may have garnered your attention."
"Did you read her file?"
"I read what was available to me."
"...she has potential genjutsu immunity."
"She has what."
"You know how it is. I don't want him to take her, so please continue observing her tomorrow, ANBU Cat."
"...Hai."
"TenTen, is school really that hard for you?"
She flushed. "N-no. Math is just hard, and you're really good at it."
I sighed. It's been two days since I saw the ANBU, and I've been hesitant to go in the forest now. (I did yesterday, but didn't use chakra or exercise as much. It's more like a "run around and pretend to have fun while looking for people in the trees" thing. I've seen a few people, or just a single person, pop up here and there but they don't linger, so. Can confirm I'm being watched.)
(And I'm not doing anything about it, what could I do? Tell someone? Nobody would believe me, and even if they did, it's not going to end as great for me as I would like.)
The library is fine (safe), since all I do is sit there and re-read books or newspapers (you can see who comes in and out). I've only wandered around Konoha once in January, and might do so again some time later. If that later exists. (Would rather I'm not being watched but I am so please be ANBU if you're not ANBU I'm screwed I don't want to be a ROOT operative or test subject please be ANBU.)
Following a schedule is easy. Weekdays: Wake up, food, class, food, wander forest/library, return, food, story time, sleep. Weekends: Wake up, food, TenTen, food, TenTen and co. and training, food, story time, sleep.
Turning my attention back to the paper TenTen holds in her hands, I take some scrap paper she has and show her how multiplication works, again. "It's like addition."
"But you have to add it so many times!" TenTen whines. I sigh, again.
Ever since last week when I made a small comment on how simple her math homework looked, she asked me to prove it and I finished her homework for her (she ended up with all correct answers, I'd expect nothing less). Now she comes to me for help with math. It's stupidly easy, so I have no objections. Besides, I get more time to play around with her kunai and shuriken on the weekends when we hang out together, so it's a win-win situation.
"Just memorize your basic multiplication table and use the methods I use to multiply big numbers." Namely the associative and distributive property of multiplication, though I have no idea what that's called here so I just refer to them as methods I use.
Anyways. The first question is literally just 7 times 18. It's not hard. (To me, at least. I don't have many references to compare myself to other than TenTen, so I can't say for certain if this is "hard" or not.)
"Yeah, but I can't remember things like you." TenTen murmurs. It's just under her breath, but I catch the words. I frown. Hey. Don't bring that negativity to the table for learning.
"You'll figure it out eventually. Everyone does." I said. As long as you're properly educated. This stuff is easy, wait until you get the hard parts like calculus- er, geometry. Geometry is hard in this world, and calculus might not exist.
After watching TenTen continue to struggle, I ask her, "Do you want me to do it for you?"
She shakes her head no. "I want to learn to do it myself."
...alright then. (I'm proud of her, though I genuinely wouldn't mind if she had wanted me to do all her homework for her anyways.)
It's noon when we wrap up with her weekly homework (and it's stupid, a whole week to finish homework, but at this point I'm not sure I want to question it). TenTen shows me some of her other homework, and it's all standard stuff I've learnt from in the library.
The first year in the Academy really does look more boring and boring.
We return indoors after some target practice TenTen does with some of the boys, though most are off running around playing games.
I walk into the library and sit with some books. They're a variety of subjects from all the books I've read, and instead of rereading them I pretend to do so while listening in on the conversation between the librarian and some lady.
It's a pretty normal one, with the exception of the topic being discussed. Itachi Uchiha, prodigy of his generation, has mastered the Sharingan this month at the age of 8. Quite certain he doesn't start murdering his family until at least… 13, maybe. 14? What if it's 10? No, 10 seems too early. Average of 12. Could be earlier, or later, I wouldn't know. I thought he'd be older, didn't he look 17 in the anime or something?
(Except that would place Sasuke at the age of… 12-ish, and that's a bit too late in the timeline.)
I have yet to come up with a solution for the Uchiha Massacre. At this point, I'm not sure if I should just let it go or not.
But failure weighs something on my consciousness, and I really don't want to feel like shit for doing nothing, but what can I do that won't tip off my biggest secret? Not much, and nothing to help.
(What are you willing to sacrifice? Naomi or Hitori?)
I leave the library with more problems. Wonderful, isn't it.
Tomorrow is the first day of April. (It'd be April Fools Day if this had been back on Earth. Too bad, so sad, it's not.)
Naruto pulled a prank today on his class, just on the first of April. He's apparently in TenTen's classes.
Hold up. Hold up, hold up.
What. The. Fuck?
Throughout the week, I haven't seen any people watching me (it's unsettling). Either they're getting better at hiding, they're using chakra to conceal themselves, or they finally understand the meaning of camouflage.
I don't do anything but jog around. I miss being able to do more physical activity, but I don't want to tip anyone off. (Be vigilant. Be wary. Someone has their eyes on you.)
Today in Sunday. After having pestered TenTen about why Naruto is in her classes both yesterday and today, she got annoyed at my interest him.
"I don't see why you'd care about him," she said. She looks rather… irritated. "Unless you want to be like him and get to the Academy a year ahead, but he's being sponsored by the Hokage and you're not."
Ah, there's the answer. Why sponsor him though? Is it because he's a… what's it called… jinchuriki? I read about it in one of the newer books at the library. Er, perhaps.
I shrug, and drop the topic of Naruto.
"Uh, sure," I said. "Hey, you finished all your homework, right?"
She nods and the topic is dropped as we move on to target practice. TenTen has new senbon today; she said she bought this second set on Wednesday after she had the first set taken by Naruto for his (April Fools!) porcupine trap prank.
I'm steadily growing concerned over how easily accessible dangerous objects are in this world.
