You are sitting alone eating lunch when Iruka comes up to you and sits next to you. "How did it go yesterday?"
"Fine," you say. A much easier reply than explaining exactly what happened.
"I hope you aren't too discouraged."
"Discouraged?" You ask.
"Going up a class is quite a big leap, so even if you lost I'm sure you still did a great job."
"Why do you think I lost?"
Iruka looks at you for a moment. "Oh… you won?"
"No I lost, but I could have beaten him, and I got a few pointers. I need to be more patient and use my speed and stamina to my advantage."
"That's good to hear, I'm glad Yasu-sensei could be of help to you. You're not thinking of joining his class are you?"
"No," you say, and change the subject, "Iruka-sensei, I was wondering about something. I want to learn to make my own storage seals and wondered if you could help me."
"I'm sorry Sota, I can't play favourites. Besides, you're way too young. But if you're still interested when you graduate, I can help you get a Jounin-sensei who can teach you sealing."
"That's too long to wait. Can't you just give me some pointers?"
"Sota, I said no. You've barely gotten the hang of channelling chakra, and sealing requires excellent control and constant supervision."
Iruka looked like he might have gone on, but the door opens and a black-clad man enters.
"Hello, who are you?" Iruka asks the newcomer.
He calmly walks up to you and sits on your other side. You can't help but stare at the pinned sleeve where his left arm should be, even though it feels rude. "I'm Ichirou, I was asked to be Sota's new tutor."
"I didn't agree to that..." you mumble.
"Oh? Danzo told me that you two had come to an agreement. Should I tell him that he was mistaken?"
You look down at your lunch for a moment before you mutter a short, "No."
"Danzo?" Iruka-sensei asks.
"Yes. He observed Sota and Neji's match yesterday. Sota shows a lot of promise, but he lacks the proper guidance."
"I'm not sure I like this..." Iruka says.
"What's the problem?" Ichirou asks.
"Why is everyone trying to rush him? Yasu-sensei wants him to join his class, and now he's getting a tutor." Iruka is getting visibly worked up.
"Danzo has no desire to move Sota out of your class, Iruka-san. With Yasu's quality of teaching, he'd need to move up at least two years, and that doesn't benefit anyone. But with my tutoring, he can improve as a ninja and get a much-needed challenge without risking serious injury. I'm not sure if Yasu told you, but Sota got injured fighting Neji yesterday."
Iruka's eyes narrow and he frowns. "I think I need to have a chat with him after school." He looks at you thoughtfully, "Maybe some extra tutoring will be good for Sota, but… Please understand, Ichirou-san, I'm just worried about him. As his teacher, it's my responsibility to ensure that he's in safe hands."
"You're doing a great job," Ichirou says sincerely, "That was why I wanted to talk to you, too. I'll do my best to ensure he isn't hurt or pushed too hard."
"That sounds great and all," Iruka agrees, "But I really don't like Danzo's involvement."
"He's not going to be involved." Ichirou waves off Iruka's concern. "He didn't tell me what to do, and I'm not sure he'll even bother reading the reports I'll be writing."
"I know that feeling," Iruka mutters. "But if Danzo's not involved, I've no objections. Are you sure you want this, Sota?"
If Danzo really wasn't involved, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. You could avoid future accidents and maybe even learn about sealing. And if he was involved… you aren't sure what he might do if you turn down his apparent hospitality in front of Iruka and Ichirou, and you aren't sure that you want to find out.
You nod. "At least I can learn better control so I won't hurt my classmates again."
"I'm glad to have your cooperation, Sota." Ichirou's smile appears sincere, "I'll wait here while you finish your lunch. Just remember to bring your bag with you, so you don't have to come back here for it."
-x-
After you've eaten, you follow Ichirou outside and look at him for further instructions.
"I will not go easy on you, but I hope we can have some fun, too," he says and smiles at you.
You give him a weak smile before your eyes drift to his missing arm again. It seemed like a strange choice for a teacher if Danzo wanted you to get better at hand-to-hand combat.
Ichirou sighs, "I guess I should just explain since you're going to ask anyway. I lost my arm on a mission gone wrong and retired after that. But don't think it means I can't teach you properly."
"I'm sorry," you mutter.
"No worries, let's get going. Follow me."
He guides you into the woods, to a clearing where three training dummies dressed like ninja are already set up.
"I've been told that you aren't sure that you want to be a ninja, so I'd like to start with tackling some of your insecurities. Take this kunai and stab one of the dummies over there," he says.
You grab the kunai and walk up to the dummies and pause. The first is wearing an Iwa-forehead protector and a red sweater. There's a hole on the side of the sweater, with old, brown blood stains.
The uniform had been taken off a dead person.
"Sota, no need to hesitate, it isn't alive. Just give it a quick stab," Ichirou says, walking towards you.
It feels wrong, like you're desecrating a corpse.
"Are the uniforms real?"
"Sota, how do you plan to defend yourself and your teammates against our enemies if you cannot even stab a dummy?"
Konoha wouldn't be at war with them in the future, in fact, they'd be your allies.
"They're not our enemies."
Ichirou puts his hand on your head and turns your head towards the Kumo dummy. "In the war, they didn't hesitate to kill kids like you."
That was then.
"And when they aren't killing children, they kidnap them instead. They tried to take your classmate, Hinata, four years ago, and then they even tried to blame us when her kidnapper was killed. We avoided war, even though we should have taught them a lesson."
"Umm… What happened?" You ask. If Neji's father wasn't sacrificed, something else must have diffused the situation.
"I'll tell you once you finish this exercise," he says and grabs your wrist and guides it forward, so that the kunai is raised towards the dummy again. "It's only a dummy, just stab it."
"I'm really not comfortable with this," you protest, raising your voice.
His grip on your hand shifts and he pushes you closer to the dummy with his body, blocking any escape. "It's either you or them, Sota."
"No!"
He lets out a loud sigh and shoves your hand forward, stabbing the dummy with the kunai you still hold.
"Good work, Sota," he says and tousles your hair, stepping back. "You need to work on this more, but we can continue this another day."
You glare at him, "So are you going to tell me what happened with Hinata?"
"You didn't exactly do what I asked you to do. If you work hard during the rest of our training, I'll tell you over dinner."
"Alright," you agree, no longer eager to see what the rest of your training would entail.
He picks up a sheath that was laying near the edge of the clearing, and pulls out a slatted kendo sword. "You're going to practise blocking sword attacks with your kunai. We'll start easy today, so you've nothing to worry about."
Alright, that doesn't sound too bad, you arm yourself with a kunai and wait for further instructions.
"Are you left-handed or right-handed?"
"Um, right-handed."
"Then hold your kunai in your left hand, for today, you're just going to block my attacks, but later on you'll have to counter my attacks too."
You shift the kunai to your other hand as he continues.
"I'll be throwing three moves at you. Thrusts," He pauses to demonstrate, "Sweeps… and strikes…"
"You're going to sidestep for thrusts, backstep for sweeps, and block the strikes. Don't worry about making mistakes, I'll start slow and increase the pressure as you get better so you don't feel bored. Sound good?"
"I guess."
"Good," he says and strikes your head.
"Auch," you say even though it didn't really hurt. "I wasn't ready."
"The enemy won't wait for you to be ready, now focus," he says and thrusts at you. The motion is slow, and you easily sidestep.
When the next strike comes, you're ready for it and you block with your kunai easily.
"Good work, Sota," he says, sweeping the sword at you.
It's not hard and when he starts to up the pressure several times, you get into the rhythm of it and it's actually fun. It's challenging enough to keep you on your toes, but not so difficult that it becomes frustrating.
As he continues to increase the pace, you find yourself reacting instinctively before you even register which attack he is using, but eventually, even your instincts are having a hard time keeping up. Finally, you are struck backwards as his sword hits your forehead again, this time not as gently as the last time you were hit.
"Are you okay, Sota?" He asks and holds out his hand.
You nod and grab his hand. Your head hurts a little, but not as bad as you expected with the speed of the blow.
"Getting hurt is part of the process. If things are going too fast for you, look at me to see what I'm going to do instead of looking at the sword."
"I got it," you say and duck down in time to avoid getting hit again.
He really isn't playing around.
-x-
You're completely absorbed in your training and don't really notice how quickly the time passes. You can't afford to think about anything else, because if you let your attention wander, even for an instant, you're hit by Ichirou's sword.
You block an overhead strike with your kunai and watch for the next blow, but Ichirou pulls back instead, lowering his sword.
"What's wrong?" You ask.
"I think it's time for a break."
"I'm not tired, I think I can keep on a bit more."
"Even so, rest is important during training, too. Let's eat. We'll continue tomorrow."
You nod, putting your kunai away as he unpacks two bento boxes, one for each of you.
You open yours and take a bite. It's quite good and you can't really remember the last time someone packed lunch for you.
"You're good, kid. You really should become a ninja, doing anything else will just be a waste of your talent. You're already better than any other kid your age, and you'll only get stronger and more skilled with time. Plus, I can tell you enjoyed this today. Don't waste your potential."
"I don't know," you say. What can you tell him? The sword training had been fun, but you still felt uncomfortable with how he'd forced you to stab that dummy. Ichirou wasn't the laid-back teacher he seemed to be, and you were worried about what he'd do next if you pushed back any harder.
"We're in no hurry," he dismisses and takes a bite from his food.
"Can you tell me what happened with Hinata now?" You ask.
"Oh, yes. As I said, Kumo tried to blame us for the death of their shinobi, and demanded Hiashi's head. Before the Hyuuga could decide what to do, Danzo announced that he would handle it. He took some of his agents and went to Kumo personally. Less than a week later, we were told the matter was settled. I don't even know if even the Hokage knows exactly what took place there."
"Wait, that tells me almost nothing," you complain. You had expected more after the build-up earlier. "You don't know what really happened?"
"You don't dig around in S-ranked secrets," he shrugs.
"Don't ask questions, I got it. Been told that a lot."
"If you become a high-ranking ninja, you'll get access to secrets no one else gets to know."
It's a good sales pitch. But you already know a lot of secrets and they do not paint Konoha in a good light.
"I'll get going. We'll practice kunai throwing tomorrow, so try to get some practice in yourself. Feel free to use the dummies," he says.
You look at them. "No thanks. But I'll practise throwing after I've done my homework."
"Alright, see you tomorrow, then. Don't forget your bag."
You nod and pick it up before heading home.
As you approach Hanako's food stand, she calls out to you. "Is everything okay?"
"Huh?" You walk up to her. "Yes, why?"
"Your face is a bit scratched up," she says. "Did you get into a fight?"
"I'm studying to be a ninja, I'm supposed to get into fights."
"I hope you're not getting bullied by some of the older students?"
"No."
She studies your face for a moment, "You can tell me when you're ready. But you must be hungry, the usual?"
"I've already eaten."
"Not from Fuyuki-san I hope," she says and gives you a stern look.
"No, Danzo was unhappy with my fight yesterday, so he got me a tutor, we ate together after training." You don't mention that you're not happy about it, but she must be able to tell by your tone, because she smiles slyly.
"Ah, you should bring him here one day."
"Umm… you were a ninja, do you know how I can learn sealing? I asked my teacher, but he thinks I'm way too young."
"Ummm… you know what, I could teach you a bit. I'll have to bend the rules, but I had a lot of experience with them during the last war. Spring rolls are a nice hiding place." She sighs, "But it will have to wait a few days. Someone issued a complaint against me, which I have to deal with tomorrow at the merchant guild. I'm pretty sure it was Fuyuki again."
"Again?"
"I've no proof, but I was accused of serving spoiled food. Falsely, of course. I don't have any evidence, but one of his customers got sick and he pinned it on me to get out of trouble himself."
"Oh. Good luck," you smile at her.
"Thanks," she says and her eyes drift behind you. "Here come some customers. See you tomorrow, hopefully, you'll be hungrier then."
"See you," you reply and head for home.
-x-
You expected something weird from Ichirou again, like maybe using his creepy-themed dummies as training targets. Instead, he'd had a set of wooden disks he threw into the air as moving targets to keep things interesting. He didn't do anything that made you feel uncomfortable, either. Once you'd finished your bento, you headed back to the Academy to grab your bag. You had intentionally left it there as you didn't like his insistence that you bring it with you, almost like he didn't want you to run into Iruka after training.
You find your bag where you left it, under your desk in the emptying classroom, when someone approaches you from behind.
"Hi, Sota," Shikamaru greets.
You turn around to see him. "Hello," you reply and your eyes drift to the cast he's still wearing. "I'm sorry," you mutter before he can get in another word.
"It's okay. It's fine already, I'm just pretending so I can get out of training. Why haven't you been training with us for the last few days? It's not like you to skip class, or are you still going up to Yasu-sensei's class?"
"Oh, umm… I have a tutor," you mutter.
Shikamaru stares at you a bit, as though he's trying to decide if that's a good thing or not. "That sounds like a drag," He finally announces, "Mom is furious at sensei for letting it happen, but dad says getting hurt is just part of being a ninja. He says you're just acting out because you don't have any friends, so I wondered if you want to go out for BBQ with me, Shin, Ino, Choji and dad?"
"Umm…" you aren't sure what to say. Did people really see you that way? Maybe Sota didn't have any friends, but it didn't have to be true for you.
Shikamaru rubs the back of his head, "I mean, it's fine if you don't want to?"
"Yeah… sure. That sounds fun," you agree. You knew from your experience yesterday that the bento Ichirou gave you wouldn't keep you full long, anyway.
You and Shikamaru head out of the classroom, and you follow him around to the side of the building, where the other kids are waiting with Shikaku.
"Shikamaru! What took so long," Ino's impatient greeting cuts off when she notices you, "Eh? Why is Sota with you?"
"I invited him to eat with us, since he has no friends," Shikamaru shrugs.
Did he have to keep saying that?
Shikaku sighs, "You weren't supposed to repeat that part, Shikamaru."
"Oh," Shikamaru has the decency to look chagrined, "Sorry, Sota."
"I didn't know he was coming with…" Ino mutters. She draws herself up with a huff, turning to Shikaku, "Anyway, I actually need to go. I forgot that I promised dad I'd help him in the store."
She gives Shin a hard look, but he just shrugs, "I don't mind when you've got Sakura over."
The girl huffs again and turns on her heel to leave. She glares at you as she passes you.
"What about you, Choji?" Shikaku asks resignedly.
Choji shoots a look at you and dabs at a nervous sweat drop on his forehead, "Oh, uh, I think mom is cooking up something good today, so I'm eating at home." He shoots another anxious look at you and scurries in the same direction as Ino.
You turn to watch him. When you turn back, Shikamaru looks uncomfortable. "Was that because of me?" You ask Shikaku, even though you didn't understand why Ino and Choji would have left because of you.
"Don't worry about it, just more food for us then," the man smiles.
You kind of want to leave, but the damage is already done, so you just follow the others to the restaurant in silence.
The warmth and the smell of sizzling food hit you as you step through the door, accompanied by the quiet buzz of mellow conversations. A server approaches as you enter, bowing her head towards Shikaku.
"Your booth is ready," she pauses, glancing between you and the other two boys, "Only four today?"
"Yes, sorry, something came up and two of them had to leave early," Shikaku says.
The woman smiles, "No problem, Shikaku-san. I'll have your usual ready in a minute."
True to her word, you had barely scooted into the booth before she was back with several trays of meat and vegetables, which Shikaku began arranging on the grill, four cups and a pitcher of water.
"So, how are things going for you Sota?" Shikaku asks as the server leaves. "Inoichi told me that you had a bit of an accident."
"Yeah, I hit my head. I'm feeling better now, but still having trouble remembering things" you say.
"Good to hear. Do you have any hobbies?" Shikaku carefully turns the food in the same order he had originally placed it on the grill.
"Not really. I've no idea what I did before. There are no clues in my apartment, either, so I guess I spent most of the time outside."
Shikaku places two of the now cooked slices of meat on your plate, then the other boys' and his own. He starts replacing it with fresh meat. "I've been teaching Shikamaru and Shin Shogi. I can teach you, too, if you're interested, and you can play against each other."
"I already know some," you say absently as you pick up a piece of meat. The flavour explodes in your mouth and you aren't really thinking of anything else, "Played it on and off for a couple of years." It wasn't your favourite pastime, but unlike martial arts, no one would try to injure you and pass it off as an accident.
"Oh. You've started to remember things?" Shikaku asks.
"Uh…" That slip of the tongue was not good. "I guess…" You can only hope he doesn't expect you to remember more.
"You should tell Inoichi, I'm sure he wants an update on you," he says.
"Why is dad interested in Sota?" Shin asks.
"He checked on him after he got hit on the head," Shikaku says.
Shin is about to say something, but Shikaku stops him. "Sota isn't some kind of mystery for you to figure out."
"I'm a Yamanaka; information gathering is what we do."
"I should tell you a story about when your father and I were in the academy." Shikaku says, "He was always snooping around, so I decided to pull a prank on him. I sent myself fake coded messages and let him intercept them and copy them down. He spent weeks trying to decode my gibberish."
"What made him give up?" You ask.
"He didn't, he met me one night and confronted me about what he had found. He was convinced that I had secret communication with the Mizukage. He somehow decoded parts of it to have something to do with clams and made the case that it was a code word.
"I tried to tell him that it was just a joke, but he wouldn't listen. I had to promise to cut off all communication with the Mizukage before he'd let it go."
"Seems like the moral of the story is not to make fake messages then," Shin comments.
"The moral of the stories is that if you look for secrets without knowing what you're doing, you might end up accusing your friends of treason."
Shin doesn't say anything. You can tell from his face that he doesn't agree, but that he knows not to argue anymore.
"Hey, dad," Shikamaru drawls, "I think the onions are burning."
Shikaku scrambles to get the vegetables off the grill. Shin snickers and the conversation peters out as more food is piled on everyone's plates.
-x-
The next day you decide to invite your new friends for food, and return to the Academy after your training session with Ichirou, even though you had remembered your bag this time. As you near the food stalls, you see someone you had hoped not to see again. Danzo is standing by a tea shop, chatting with the vendor while smelling different leaves.
Best to not gain his attention. You turn around, trying to decide what to tell Shikamaru and Shin to justify going around the long way.
"Uzumaki!" Danzo calls out. You stiffen but don't turn around. "How's the arm?"
"Fine," you mutter, wondering why he cares enough to ask.
A big hand grabs your shoulder and Danzo turns you around so you can see his severe disapproval.
"You should look at people when you talk to them," he says roughly.
"Leave our friend alone!" Shin yells before you can say anything. He grabs both your and Shikamaru's sleeves and pulls you away.
"Shin? What's wrong?" Shikamaru asks.
"Let's go and get some food first," Shin says.
You glance back at Danzo, who is frowning but not pursuing you, and nod. "Yeah, let's go," you agree, leading the way towards the spring roll stand, no longer needing an excuse to go the long way around. As you see Hanako behind the counter, you cheer up a little, giving her a wave and climb up on your stool.
"Oh, hi, Sota. Who are your new friends?" Hanako greets you with a smile.
"Hi, This is Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Shin. Shikamaru, Shin, this is Hanako. I told them how good your food is, and they want to taste it themselves."
Her smile widens to turn on them. "Nice to meet you two. It's on me today, so eat as much as you want," she puts some prepared spring rolls into her frying basket.
"Why did you drag us away?" Shikamaru asks, turning towards Shin.
"He's bad news," Shin says soberly, "I told my dad that he visited our class, and he was furious. He told me to stay away from him… Didn't your dad tell you the same?"
"I didn't tell him about that," Shikamaru answers with a shrug.
"You should tell him," Shin says.
"Then mom would get angry, too, and it would be troublesome," Shikamaru grumbles, resting his head on his arms on the counter.
"Better that than be taken away," Shin replies.
"Taken?" Shikamaru raises his head again, frowning at the other boy.
"Listen to your friend Shikamaru-kun," Hanako inserts knowingly, taking the spring rolls from the oil and shaking them sharply before dumping them into paper baskets. She places a basket in front of each of you. Shikamaru straightens to make room for them, but his attention is on the woman. "Your parents want what is best for you, but you need to talk with them for them to know how to keep you safe."
"Alright," Shikamaru agrees slowly, "I'll tell dad when I get home."
"He might already know," Shin says, "My dad was talking with yours yesterday. He said something about Danzo, and your clan not having paid their dues."
"Dues?" Shikamaru asks.
You look at them sharply. By dues, did they mean…? Would Danzo try to take Shikamaru into Root? Or one of the younger Nara children?
"I didn't ask, sorry," Shin replies. "I was kind of eavesdropping."
"You two shouldn't worry too much," Hanako butts in again. "Just listen to your parents and let them handle it."
You turn your attention to your cooling spring rolls, picking one up and taking an experimental bite as you consider the concept of dues to Danzo and what it might mean for your new friends.
"Danzo watched me and Neji fight, but he quickly got bored. How did it go with our class?" You ask.
"Iruka wasn't happy when he took control of the pairings for our spars. He was just interested in us clan kids… and Naruto, for some reason. He must have seen you and thought that Naruto might be good because he's an Uzumaki," Shin answers.
"Did anyone impress him?" You ask, particularly worried about Danzo's interest in Naruto.
"I'm not sure we could impress him even if we tried," Shin answers, "He seemed mostly annoyed with us. But he did give us some good feedback. He tried to encourage Hinata, but she was just scared of him. And Naruto tried to pick a fight with him!" He laughs at the memory.
"What happened?" You ask.
"He threw Naruto to the ground and stepped on his back until he calmed down." Shin answers, still snickering.
You wince in sympathy, remembering how Danzo held you down that way, too. But it's not good that Naruto's pissing off Danzo. Hopefully Naruto made it clear he is more trouble than it's worth, even as a jinchuuriki.
The three of you eat in silence for a bit, but you find that you don't have much of an appetite, and from the looks of it, your friends don't, either.
As it gets clear that you're not going to have any more food, Hanako speaks. "I want a word with Sota alone, if that's okay."
You nod and your friends walk a bit away, investigating the desert stall a few stands away. You turn back to Hanako once you're sure they're going to stay where you can see them.
Hanako's expression is sober, and she doesn't speak right away. "Sota… I'm leaving Konoha for Rice Country tomorrow morning," she says at length.
"Why?" You ask with surprise, "Isn't business good here?"
"Do you remember the complaint I told you about yesterday?" She asks.
You nod.
"Turns out that Fuyuki-san was innocent. He even argued my case." Her sour expression indicated what she felt about having Fuyuki defend her. "No, it was Danzo. Apparently, I am undermining the village, scaring students off from becoming shinobi by telling them the horrors of war."
The timing was too convenient. Hanako had told you about the horrors of war… and you'd told Danzo you didn't want to be a ninja. "I… I'm sorry."
"I know you didn't mean any harm, and you kids have the right to know the truth, but Danzo has made his decision and there's not much that can be done now. No need to worry, though. I've already found an investor who will help me set up a new shop."
"That's good," you say, but you're unnerved by the resignation in her voice. Was Danzo so powerful that he could just tell someone to leave the village and they had to do it? "Umm… I think…do you know if I've had contact with Danzo before?"
"Let me think…" Hanako's expression sharpened, "Oh, yes. It was many months ago, but I remember him approaching you while you were eating here after school. But you saw him, and you ran away without even paying for your food."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can pay you back now if you want," you say, reaching for your wallet.
"I didn't see you for a few weeks, but you paid me back the next time you came, so nothing to worry about," she smiles.
You consider her answer, "Did I ever say anything about him?"
"No, you've never been very talkative. In fact, I was a bit surprised that you chose to strike up a conversation with me the other day."
It was all supposition, but given that you ran away from him and been unnerved enough to avoid him since then, there had to be some previous encounter between you two. You supposed you could ask Danzo, if you had the misfortune to run into him again, but you didn't really want to resort to that.
"Does Danzo really take kids? If he's interested in me, why hasn't he taken me already?" You ask.
"You're definitely the kind of kid he's interested in," Hanako admits reluctantly. She considers, "My guess is that you've got someone that protects you. Our Hokage seems quite fond of Uzumaki." She sighs, "I wish I could give you advice, Sota, but there is no winning against Danzo. Just… stay strong. Don't give up, and make the best out of the situation."
"I guess, I'll try," you say, unnerved. Why did Danzo have to be interested in you?
"Good," she smiles, "I won't hold you here anymore, you should catch up with your friends. I hope you'll come and visit me in a few years when you become a ninja."
"I don't want to-"
"Sota, I don't know why Danzo is giving you this much attention," Hanako interrupts you, "But if he's that interested in you, he won't accept that as an answer." She sighs. "I really don't like saying this to you, but… chances are, anyone who tries to give you an alternative will just get in trouble. But that doesn't mean you can't decide what kind of ninja you want to be."
"I guess you're right." You say, even though it's not what you want to hear. Is it really your fault that Hanako was being thrown out of the village? "Thanks."
"Don't give me that look. You don't want to hurt anyone right?"
You shake your head.
"Then become a medic-nin," Hanako advises, "You will either be working in the hospital, far away from the frontlines or, if you're sent to war, you'll be there to heal your allies and captured enemy ninja."
You consider the idea. If you had to be a ninja, being a medic wouldn't be so bad. "A medic? When can I start?"
"Impatient aren't you," Hanako laughs, "You're a bit too young for that, now. Usually, the hospital selects students from the Genin and Chuunin pool, when you're about 13 or 14 years old. But if you show enough interest in the subject, your Jounin-sensei might teach you a few things earlier, or recommend you for training."
"So that's still a lot of waiting," you mutter.
"You're in too much of a rush to grow up," Hanako says with amusement, "Go back to your friends and watch over them, will you?"
"I will. Thanks for helping me out," you say. You hesitate and add, "Sorry if I got you into trouble."
"Don't worry about it," she says dismissively, "And you're welcome." She waves you off, but you're still reluctant to leave her and rejoin your friends.
Shikamaru just glances at you, but Shin isn't so subtle. "What was that about?" He asks.
"It was private," you respond shortly.
Shikamaru elbows Shin, as though to say he told him so, but Shin shrugs him off.
"Dad wants to talk to you, Sota," Shin announces. "I'm supposed to invite you over to our house."
You blink, looking between the two expectant faces. It couldn't be worse than the mess you'd already caused, between Danzo's attention, Ichirou's training, and Hanako leaving the village. Could it? "Okay," you agree resignedly.
Shin smiles knowingly, "It won't be so bad, Sota. Ino's spending the night at Sakura's house, and if you stay long enough, dad's making dumplings tonight."
"Can he cook?" you ask.
"Not as good as mom's, but still good," Shikamaru says.
Shikamaru and Shin start walking towards the clan district and you reluctantly follow after them. Dumplings sound good, but you're still unnerved about Danzo and Hanako, and your involvement in her banishment. Still, you couldn't think of any polite way to dismiss the invitation, so you follow after them.
Shin leads you to the door behind the flower shop. You follow his and Shikamaru's example, taking your shoes off in the entry, and follow them inside.
"Welcome home, Shin," Inoichi calls out. He appears in the hall as you follow behind the other boys and smiles, "Hello, Shikamaru. And nice to see you again, Sota. I hear you're doing better?"
"Yeah," you reply.
"Shikaku said you remembered a bit, yesterday. Have you remembered anything else?"
"No… just that I've played Shogi before."
"Mind if I play a game against you?" He asks.
"I guess," you say and look towards your new friends, "What about you?"
"We've got two boards, so we'll all play a round, and then the two winners can play against each other," Shin says.
You and Shikamaru nod.
"Shikamaru, show Sota the living room while we get the boards," Inoichi says.
You follow Shikamaru to the brightly lit living room. Completely different from your small apartment, big windows illuminate the room, and the floor is covered with soft carpet. It would be nice to upgrade your space to be a bit homier, but you've got no money for that. Did you?
"Something wrong?" Shikamaru asks.
"No, I'm sorry," you say.
Shikamaru shrugs, grabbing a pillow and settling on the floor, "We usually play over here."
You follow his example, settling down next to him.
Not long after, Shin and Inoichi join you and place their boards on the floor in front of you and Shikamaru. You start setting up your pieces. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be done.
"Do you want to go first?" Inoichi asks as you finish.
You nod and push forward your rook pawns. He follows suit.
"I can see that you've played before. The double wing attack is classic."
"Huh? I already told you that I had played," you say, momentarily distracted.
"Yes, sorry," Inoichi smiles, "I needed to make sure you were actually remembering things and not just making stuff up. But you passed my test; you were able to place every one of your pieces correctly without my help and you seem to know the moves. Now let me see your best, alright?"
You nod and turn your attention back to the game. You can't tell if he's going easy on you or not, but you're able to keep up for a while. Your position collapses in the endgame, when Inoichi pulls a series of unexpectedly aggressive moves and wins.
"Good game, Sota, you play well for your age. It seems like your head is healthy, despite the memory loss." Inoichi decides, "I'm sure the rest will come back with time."
"Thanks."
Inoichi looks at the other board. "So, it seems like it's us in the finals again, Shikamaru."
He nods and you switch places with him.
Shin is already in the process of setting up his side so you follow suit.
You use similar opening moves, but Shin keeps glancing up at you.
"Umm… Sota… what happened to your leaf hairpin?" He asks, moving one of his pawns.
"Uhh?" Why is he asking about that?
"You seemed quite attached to it," Shin says conversationally. He frowns, "You've worn it every day since we started school."
"I lost it during my fight with Yasu-sensei's class," you say, thinking fast, "I had to get a new one."
You already knew Shin was observant, but why the hell was he paying attention to that?
"Don't mind him, Sota. Shin has a keen eye for details," Inoichi interrupts.
"It's part of being a Yamanaka," Shin says defensively.
"Yes, I was the same when I was young," Inoichi admits. He looks up from his game to give Shin a sharp look, "But people don't like it when you tell them that you've been keeping an eye on them."
"I keep an eye on everyone," Shin dismisses. He turns back to you, "There is something else that bothers me. I never saw you before school started."
"What's so weird about that?" You ask.
"I noticed everyone else that stood out. Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Naruto. I would have noticed you, but you just seemed to appear out of nowhere."
"Shin!" Inoichi says sharply. "That's enough. Sota didn't come here to be interrogated by you. Besides, there are plenty of talented orphans that move to Konoha to start the Academy; you're making a mystery out of nothing."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Shin answers.
You considered Inoichi's response. Hanako said that you were quite confused the first time you met, which made sense if you'd just moved to Konoha. But it didn't feel right, and it took you a moment to realise why.
Your hairpin.
Danzo claimed that you stole it, but how did that make sense? If you'd moved to Konoha from the orphanage to start at the Academy, how could you be skilled enough to steal a hairpin from a member of ANBU? You were clearly much better than the average kid in your class; none of the other orphans stood out the way you did. Did the orphanage train you and send you to Konoha to assassinate someone?
That was ridiculous, even for this world.
"Sota, is everything okay?" Inoichi asks.
You blink and realise everyone is staring at you. "Yeah, everything is fine." You move a piece on the game board and try to keep your attention from wandering again.
Should you tell Inoichi about your suspicions? It doesn't seem like you're going to be able to figure it out on your own, but at the same time, what if you get in trouble? And what if you're wrong? Then you're just putting a target on yourself for no reason.
"If it bothers you so much, we can help you look for the hairclip tomorrow after school," Shin suggests, jumping to the wrong conclusion for your reticence. "What do you say, Shikamaru?"
"Sure, if it gets me out of training," Shikamaru drawls.
"Thanks, but it's not necessary," you say. You don't want to waste their time looking for something that's not there.
"Don't worry, what are friends for, if not helping each other out? I know you cared about it a lot," Shin says.
"Just because I've had it all year?"
Shin shakes his head, "Two civilian kids in our class were picking on you during the first week of class, and when they tried to take it from you, you attacked one of them and broke his nose! Iruka had to pull you off."
"Umm… who did I attack?" You ask uneasily. Did you owe someone an apology?
Shin shrugs, "I don't remember. They were nothing special, and their parents pulled them out of the class afterwards. A lot of the civilian parents did. Ino had to convince dad to convince Sakura's parents to not pull her out of school, too. Injuries are part of a ninja's job, right dad?"
"You're right that injuries are part of the job, but intentionally injuring your classmates is not okay," Inoichi says sternly. He turns towards you and smiles to soften the comment, "But I know you're trying your best to get rid of bad habits, Sota, so don't let your past define your future. And accept their help, it's what friends are for."
What should you say? Rejecting help would just be suspicious, especially with Shin. But you know they won't find anything.
You sigh. "Thanks. It means a lot."
"We'll wait for you after school, then. You're meeting with your tutor tomorrow, too, right?" Shin asks.
You nod, "Yeah, thanks." Speaking of getting help, you look at Inoichi, hesitate, and decide it doesn't hurt to ask. "Umm… Inoichi-san… I want to learn sealing. I asked Iruka-sensei, but he told me I was too young. Do you know how I can find someone to teach me?"
"Hm… Your sensei is right, Sota. You're way too young, and it wouldn't be responsible for me to help you."
You'll just have to try on your own then.
"Sota, I know that look," Inoichi says.
"What?"
"The 'I'm doing this on my own' look. Don't. It's dangerous. At best nothing happens, but if you do manage to get anything to happen, you will most certainly injure yourself."
"Got it," you mutter.
"Promise to wait till you get older?" Inoichi insists.
You nod.
"Then that's the game," Inoichi says, moving a piece on his board to corner Shikamaru's king.
Shikamaru scowls at it.
"Why don't you three keep playing," Inoichi says, standing, "I'll get started on dinner."
-x-
Your training goes well the next day. You started out with more target practice and then returned to the sword defence exercise. Ichirou pushed you harder than before, but you felt as though you haven't quite reached your limit, yet, when the man calls for a break and pulls out a couple of bento boxes.
It's a little later than usual, since classes would have ended a few minutes earlier. "I'm sorry, I don't have time to eat today. I promised to meet up with my friends after school," you say.
"No," Ichirou mutters, holding out one of the boxes expectantly.
You frown, "We're done training. I'll get something to eat with my friends."
"I've been asked to extend my sessions with you," he says.
"Oh... you don't have to waste more time with me," you protest.
"Are you suggesting that I'm wasting my time teaching you?"
"Uhh, no... I didn't mean it that way. Just that you must have more important things to do," you say, worried at Ichirou's rising voice.
Ichirou glares at you and shoves the bento in your direction again, "Then eat your food so I don't waste my time teaching you when you're not at your best."
"I appreciate the offer of more training," you say tactfully, "But can we start Monday? I need to meet my friends today or else they'll think I've abandoned them."
"That's not my problem."
"But..."
"I'll make you a deal, Sota." Ichirou sets aside the bento boxes. "If you can leave the training area, I'll allow it."
"Huh?"
He doesn't explain further, just stares at you.
So he wants you to run for it? Alright, you'll give him what he wants.
As you turn around to face the academy, he disappears into nothing.
And before you've made it three steps, you feel something hitting your chest. His wooden sword comes out of nowhere, throwing you back to the ground. You jump back to your feet, looking around for him, but you don't even see him before you feel another strong pain in your ribs. He disappears again as soon as he attacks, leaving you to guess where the next blow will come from.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," you mutter. He's clearly not playing around.
You're accomplishing nothing by standing still. Again, you try to run towards the academy, alert for any motion around you, but you don't get many steps before you're hit in the back of your head with his wooden sword, making you fall forward.
"Had enough, Sota?" You hear Ichirou ask from behind you.
"Yeah," you mutter. You obviously aren't going to be able to outrun him.
"Great," he says cheerfully and holds out a hand to help you up.
"I don't need help." You glare at him and get up on your own.
"So, let's take this a bit slower then," he says, smirking at you.
You grudgingly nod and get ready. You'll just have to explain things to Shin and Shikamaru later. As much as you want to get away from him, you're not strong enough yet.