3 – Lesson

Six-year-old Ino slouched rebelliously in her kneeling position on the mat floor. Directly across from her knelt her aunt, a cold-faced woman of honey-colored hair and darting eyes. Ino knew her aunt would rather be out doing missions than training her younger sibling's child, but the Hokage had requested Inoshi personally as a last minute replacement for a jounin too sick to travel, and she'd gotten guilted into short-notice babysitting duty. Ino didn't like her aunt very much, and found the idea of running over to Sakura's house to play much more appealing than training under a woman who'd always been a little too frightening to love.

"Ino, sit up straight. Ninjas do not slouch."

"I want to go out and play."

"No. You will train with me this afternoon. It's been a while since I've seen how much you know."

"You're mean! Training with you is boring! I'm going to Sakura's house!" No sooner had Ino spoken and started to stand than the woman formed four successive hand seals, and Ino's little body froze in position.

She didn't know what was going on, but suddenly her arms and her legs were stuck. In a panic, Ino retreated instantly and reactively to her imaginary room, a place that didn't exist anywhere except in her head. When she stood in her Dogan (that's what her Daddy called his imaginary place, after all), she was frightened to realize someone had already beaten her there. Ino looked at the intruder, and started to cry.

"You're not supposed to be here too! Aunt Tari, you're scaring me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! Don't punish me!"

"Oh stop crying, Ino. Tears need not exist here unless you allow yourself to be weak enough to believe they do. You're almost seven; act your age." Tari Yamanaka, a woman of imposing height even in imaginary world created by a child, strode forward and knelt to look her only niece in the eyes, as much as things like eyes meant anything here.

"Ino." The little girl sniffled, and hiccupped.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where we are?"

"Yes."

"And do you know how I can come in here, and make you seem small and me seem big?"

"Yes. You did a Yamanaka special jutsu and took over my mind, just like Daddy can do."

"Do you know why I was able to do it?"

"I wasn't minding my mind."

"Right. Now, when I release you from the jutsu, you're going to sit up straight like a ninja should, and we're going to train. I don't care if you think I'm mean or boring, Ino. I care that you grow up as a strong Yamanaka ninja who lets herself be ruled by no one. You will respect me when I'm your sitter, and you will train your hardest when I tell you to."

"Okay."

The room of Ino's inner thoughts receded like the mouth of a tunnel in the distance, and Ino found herself able to move her body freely again. She quickly wiped her wet cheeks with one small, soft hand, and sat up a little straighter. Her aunt smirked in a way that should have made her pretty, but somehow didn't.

"Now that that childishness is over, let us get started."

Author's note: from here on I will be using a term borrowed from The Dark Tower books by Stephen King: the Dogan. Because I find it is a good name that adapts pretty well to my ideas. It's just a little thing in terms of the story, but I thought better to let you all know. That series is Stephen King's magnum opus, by the way, and you all should read it.