Chapter 4 – Beginning of Growth
There was only certain people who can be trusted dearly and someone who can be held within acceptable distance. Sadly giving your trust in another sometimes leads to betrayal more that you think.
The only regret was knowing that sometimes it hurts others more than it hurts yourself by distancing yourself.
~XXX~
A few days went by after the encounter with Shisui Uchiha and Sana was told to keep it a secret in respect of her friend's somewhat distaste to the Uchiha clan even if he didn't really show it.
It did make it difficult in deciding what she was meant to reply when she was questioned thoroughly in why she had a bandage around her head, she decided to just be through at the end after a few seconds, "I was training." That only made the two boys; Hagami and Giran more intrigued and worried to what she was doing.
Sana only waved it off as a mere accident on her part for not focusing. Fortunately, she was able to contain their interest and worry. Frankly, she noticed more reactions from them than the Matron herself when she noticed her. It was also a plus that Hagami knew medical ninjutsu which had sped up the process of healing the wound to be only a bruise.
~XXX~
Training ground 8, the name of place she usually went to when practicing. It was, predictably, barren of people, which now made sense as to why she was hardly caught seen training here.
Well even if Sana was caught, there really wasn't any problem with her occupying it but more of the matter of not wanting the extra attention that came with other people knowing she was here in the first place.
The sun started to rise high in the sky and she inhaled the air before letting it out, her eyes shut as she felt the wind touch her skin. The weather was pleasant, nobody was bothering her with chores and there was no one looking for her.
"So how's you find this place?" Her eyes was shut open wide as she looked from behind to see both Giran and Hagami looking around the training ground with curiosity.
She could only stare at the two for stalking her without her notice. Her question would be in how they found her when she was quiet in her way here but, Sana had a guess of the lavender-eye's dōjutsu being used in play to find her from a distance.
She kept silent, the dark haired boy only grinned at her causing her to sigh. Does Giran not understand of having personal time for themselves, though that doesn't seem to be a simple thing for him to understand.
"I simply walked around and found this place," Sana replied as she walked to the centre which had a better clearing, the two boys silent for a while as they simply followed her. "Since you found this place, you can do what you want." She pondered, reaching one arm to scratch the back of her head. She then decided to do some light stretched which caused her to give out a soft groan from the slight tightness of her muscles.
Hagami chuckled and followed her lead, stretching as well, "Apologies for following you, we was worried with the type of training you did which led you to that injury of yours," he looked around the area and nodded his head, "I guess I was too worried for nothing it would see."
Sana waved him off at his worry. When she thought about it, she would probably do the same just to see what was going on. "So this where you train," Giran walked towards one of the training targets and touched it. "This place is amazing." The boy gleamed.
Hagami sighed before shaking his head at the other boy's antics, glancing at the girl. He brought out a scroll which he extended to her. "Here take this as an apology, the scroll contains the method of learning the Chakra absorption jutsu."
Sana raised her brows in surprised as she took the scroll. "Are you sure," she opened the content with notes in how it worked. "You didn't need to go so far to apologies, I'm giving it back."
The boy simply smiled at her words and shook his head, "Don't worry about returning it to me, the scroll I gave is just a copy of what of the actual scroll from the library."
"The library?" She titled her head confused, "why would such a technique be in the library in the first place?"
"Ah, it more of a lucky find and since I'm a Hyūga, they didn't really stop me from looking through the low tier jutsu that was available." He rubbed his chin while remembering the weird expression the people there looked at him.
"It's unfair how they only stopped me though," Giran moped before kicking air. "They gave one look at me and stopped me from even entering."
Sana could only imagine the tantrum the boy had caused when the people there halted him from even taking one step there, It was quite a funny image now that she thought about it. "Probably because they knew you was mischievous." She said while looking away.
"Hey!"
Although the conversations they had together with her was hardly a bore to her, this was still what caused her to lose focus in her task from when she just arrived her today. 'Doesn't seem like I'll get any training done at this rate."
Now that she thought about it, she never has tried to use her style she modified a little from Shisui's against anyone else but him. This was the basically the perfect time if anything else.
"Giran," Said boy stopped his argument with Hagami and looked at her puzzled. "Can you spar with me?"
~XXX~
The dark look Giran gave Sana had only caused her to know that she would be in a lot of pain if she didn't pay close attention to him right now. Hagami looked between her and the boy with a frown but said nothing else after making sure she was actually serious. He was such a worry wart for the smallest of matter when it came to her.
She guessed she could understand for his worry when it came to the dark haired boy's sudden tenacity to go beyond a simple spar to anything he could use to win. But still, this spar was what she desired in order to see the results of her training as well as how effective she could be against someone almost of the same levels. Though the height difference and length of his arm would definitely give him more advantages than her own.
"Alright. Both of you, get ready for battle."
Sana slowly inhaled as she looked directly at the boy before her. 'Focus!' The look the gave faltered for a second before looking at her warily. Why though? She didn't know and she didn't really care at the moment. She brought her chakra out slowly and luckily for her, Giran didn't look to be able to sense her build in chakra to her arms and legs.
The rules was simple enough to follow: taijutsu and modified shinobi tools. The modified tool meaning the weapons that have lost most of its sharp and edges due to clash between other objects, they were essentially now more of a safety precaution to not worry about lethal injuries. Anyway, the fight would end with a surrender, knockdown or for Hagami himself to stop the fight.
There was apparently a seal the Academy uses before students battled amongst each other which in simple terms prevent further aggression and hard feelings to whatever the outcome of the battle was. This sparring did not present any seal of such things as she had no understanding to it but just knowing its existence by both Hagami and Giran.
Sana heard the beating of her heart thump every second before it felt as if the feeling was becoming distance, the dark look from the boy becoming more vicious towards her. It was simply worrying to be at the end of that look.
"Let's see what you can do," he challenged.
Sana's only response was a slow nod. "I'll do my best."
"Okay then," Hagami raised an arm before swinging it down with swift movements. "Begin!"
He threw the first punch and she crossed her arms and felt it's weight as it pushed her backwards. As expected from the age gap and height difference, the strength was higher compared to her own.
She wiggled her arms a little, the attack had stung her from blocking his punch with her crossed arm, she decided that dodging was the better option if she could help it. While dodging was the best method in this situation, it was only good if she could perfectly evade the boy's attack unscathed which she failed to do so with every punches and kicks he threw at her.
When she had analysed the fight between Hagami and Giran, there wasn't much to look at but of the boy being slower than what Hagami didn't notice. Compared to her battling him, he had the strength and was quick on his feet. He simply outclassed her in taijutsu. That only meant for Sana to be more careful for every single movements he did and strike at the perfect time.
Although he was quick, it did not mean he was truly faster than her. She would most definitely have conserved more stamina by not attacking recklessly. And that was what she was waiting for, finding the right timing to gain an advantage. Taking a quick step backwards and avoiding Giran's next punch, she started running towards the edge of the makeshift square they had made before she stepped to the right as he attacked landed to where she was previously.
Sana reached into the pouch Hagami had allowed to be borrowed from him and whipped out shuriken and kunai across the ground, she didn't expect throwing these weapons to be that harder than what she watched as they didn't get flung at the direction or speed that she desired it to happen.
Still, the tools did its job in halting the boys movement before she noticed him push chakra and crossing the gap towards her.
The speed he has was impressive to admire if she currently wasn't fighting him that is.
She noted that the boy was getting impatient with his attacks being evaded by her. It was a good thing she had learned to be patient with everything even if it had annoyed her previously when she was taught by Sensei. She could now see the fruit being revealed.
She leaned away while thinking so while feeling the air being pushed with the force of the punch, before he started winding up his leg for a roundhouse kick.
Remembering the way Sensei had swiftly ducked, Sana quickly spilt her legs and dropped to the ground which brought a loud enough surprised sound to come out from Hagami. The attack had sailed over head before she pushed both hands to the ground and cartwheel away to a safe position, her leg having made an impact to his jaw.
'Just dodging is making me get tired,' She wiped some swear from her forehead before catching her breath while thinking so. 'Catching him off guard sounds more simple than actually doing it.'
"Stop dodging!" Giran panted while charging ahead and corking his right fist back. He was much slower than before, the amount of stamina he had looked to be greater than her and that caused him to lead to his own downfall for using to many big moves, he shot his fist forward to her stilled position.
She focused intently at his fist nearing her, before she tilted her head to the side. It was close but allowed her to have a brief second of time to counter. She brought her own fist back and slammed a hit to the boy's face with a right hook, making him stumble backwards.
Continuing on, she followed up with two rapid knees to the gut which caused him to kneel over before ending it with a thrust kick, sending him to the ground on his back. The kick was propelled enough to give it enough force in providing more strength than what her natural body could do.
Giran looked at her with frustration and contempt. "So you're not just a newbie then," the boy continue to glare at her as if he was baffled with her prowess. "Then," He charged once more spitting out blood as he did so. "No holding back!"
She didn't know what to actually think of his aggression that he released even to a friendly spar and tensed in order to not find out. He was faster before but predictable, his strikes was blocked yet it caused her arms to be numb. She pushed his arm away and tried to build some distance which he did not allow.
His strong swing caused her to be unstable with her balance, and he followed up with an open palm to her chest. It caused her to scream silently as her saliva was released from her mouth, but she kept her focus even as she knew that it will leave a bruise later on. She groaned before she sped to her left to avoid his wild fist, getting behind him, then speeding up again to drive an elbow into his back, making him hiss slightly in pain.
It was weak compared to him own, but she at least had a rhythm and she kept her breathing steady in order to decrease the amount of stamina she used up. Her speed in her movements for quick attack was her most deadly aspect as of now with the way this was going.
This time, Giran was the one to retrieve something from his pouch. A small sphere with size being similar to his palm, wrapped in paper, it looked to have contained something since to the side Hagami showed an expression of it being a smart action. That only made Sana more wary of what he was actually planning, it could have been something that was to throw at her, however on the contrary, the boy threw it hard on the ground in front of him which released a massive amount of smoke.
A smoke bomb, it wasn't lethal so it was definitely allowed to be used in this spar and did nothing to inflict drastic injury but to rather decrease the visual awareness for a temporary amount of time.
With her vision being impacted due to the smoke, she could only focus on her other senses which she had thankfully trained enough to preserve in engaging even if her visions was impaired. The amount of tripping and collision with obstacles and traps she had set up in the training ground had surely showed its results.
Nevertheless, it was still a hassle to deal with since the loud panting of Giran was now silent. He was being cautious and without the ability to see or sense anything only caused her to be cautious with every sound she heard in the vicinity.
There was no reason for him to use the smoke as a distraction when it prevented his sight as well unless this was part of his strategy. No doubt that if Giran got too close to her, she wouldn't be able to react in time leading for her to be at his mercy.
There were several silhouette which was definitely decoys and perhaps mere afterimages done with his speed. It was in Sana's mind quite a risky move with the amount of stamina he has already depleted.
Best option was to merely throw the tools that was scattered around her to the surroundings but that too would only cause her whereabouts to be found. 'Can't be helped, not being risky won't stop where this was leading.'
Picking up two kunai which was on the floor, she flicked her arms just as she had seen Shisui Uchiha nonchalantly while instructing her. Again the task she performed was slow but it did its job once more in having Giran make a startled noise.
Sana rushed quickly to the sound, looking clearly at the boy having been cut slightly on the arm. The shocked look he gave her did nothing to halt her charge as she gathered momentum and twirled in the arm before impacting her sandal to his chest, he floated in the air briefly before hitting the ground painfully.
"Aaaargh!" He scrambled to his feet, visibly hurt. "Damn it…!"
Sana watched him intently for any hidden movements with the smoke now clearing up even more, lowering her guard before having the spar being called over was a folly she would not do.
He slowed his panting breath and looked at her with a single seal being performed. She wasn't able to see any change in the boy but the feeling she felt made her have goosebumps. Whatever he did was dangerous to her.
She blinked once only to not see the boy in front of her. Her eyes widened, not being able to process what had happened before catching a blur at the very last moment to raise an arm in order to block the incoming strike, a heavy blow threw Sana to the ground on her sides.
Eyes widening, she rolled out of the way as a foot came down to land on where her head once was, she got up quickly to see that he was a blur to her again. How was he faster? Was he expending his chakra in order to do so?
She didn't have time to think quick enough as the feeling of his elbow struck her back which caused her to cry out in pain. The onslaught was not over when he appear to her front, driving a fist into her stomach, following up with a kick to the face which she had dodged at the last second.
Catching her breath while making some distance away from the boy, she clutched her stomach in pain. He was definitely not holding back, if he was to keep going at this pace then he will burn himself out of energy. At the same time, the spar looked to have escalated to even further than Sana thought with the way he was attacking.
Giran looked to be out for blood till she was left with a shed of her life. It frightened her for thinking that he was trying to kill her, no. Being scared did nothing and so she pushed her chakra to rush from her body and this time, she finally noticed the boy with his current speed.
The punch he threw was evaded with a step to the side, before elbowing him in the chest causing him to skid backwards. The speed and power seems to have been effective meaning the power gap they always had looked to be working with his lack of energy.
This feeling she felt, every attack she landed caused her blood to boil and her eyes was strained. It was similar to when she unlocked a gate to improving herself when mimicking Shisui's style. A chain of punches to Giran's body, caused him to stumble backwards and off balance as he gasped for air. She spun on her heels and launched a kick that landed on his sides. The dangerous feeling he seemed to have building up looked to have been decreased but, that did not mean she would stop her frontal assault when this was the moment.
A punch landing on the side of his mouth left him open for more attacks, her knuckles were red and bloody. It stung with every punch she threw at the boy even when he tried to throw one himself.
Slapping the swung arm of Giran to the side only made him looked surprised once more at her speed before she delivered an uppercut, sending him to fall backwards and hit the ground. He rolled backwards and got to his feet again. He was persistent fool but that too was respectful in Sana's eyes.
The rush of chakra she used was wasting away her stamina and so she released the build in chakra to conserve and breathed slowly. The numbness and bruises plastered on her body was a sore sight to see, even compared to Giran's own which was more hidden to his stomach and sides rather than his face.
She was reaching her limit of how much her pain tolerance can take her. She felt as though she gave more damage and yet it looked as though the minimum attacks Giran had done was more than her own. He ran towards Sana which was now the speed of a small jog, and roared for his body to do what he commands.
The stamina he had was definitely nearing its limit, the attacks he now performed was dull and she dodged them with ease. The punch having whiffed past her only caused him to stumble forward to the ground. The spar was dangerous and she knew as such when she decided to face against him but it was a valuable lesson in what she would have to overcome in the near future.
It's over, perhaps Hagami also thought the same as she got near Giran in trying to bring a kunai gently against his neck. That was the plan if not seeing the amount of black spots crossing her vision.
The pulsing on her forehead pulsing as if deciding it was the perfect time to act up "Ah." It felt like time had slowed down while she fell forward in front Giran's now kneeled body. "So…close."
~XXX~
It was bizarre just watching how the spar had occurred. With the boy called Giran looking to be the more vicious and upfront in wanting a fight, it was actually Sana; the quiet kid who had requested the spar.
Shisui chuckled silently as he hid his presence before the three children. It was what a good Sensei would do in watching the improvements of their student. Though one of her close friend was a Hyūga, it wasn't the reason for his moping when he found out later on that she was being taught by him. Yep, definitely not. The Sharingan was better in his opinion compared to the Byakugan and that was a fact he believes on.
Nevertheless, he felt some pride in perhaps being her most effective Sensei in leading her path to a valuable Shinobi. A score for him which he grasped cheekily.
From what the Shisui could see, the Hyūga had been looking at the girl weirdly, it looked as though he was giving gestures of retreat. 'Hmm, does he not know of her being capable?' From the girl's raised brow, it was either she was confused with the reason when she was the one who requested the spar or…she didn't know what the gesture meant. The latter being the most positive suggestion when Sana continued to focus on the other boy.
He watched the boy's stance, it was a common style he used sometimes to lower the opponents guard and charge ahead with attacks that would lead to enough of numbness to lower their movements, or in other cases evade in a single direction.
The stance he noticed of the dark haired boy was of a style which was common but not used since it was simply an advance version of the Academy style of martial arts.
He would know since he was always the one to notice such things from happening during his time in the Academy, even if it was only for a short while. Though the style doesn't seem to really exist much anymore since it was only a slight difference with the basic style.
His amusement returned back to the violet eyes girl who seems to have unconsciously release something similar to a killer intent. He activated his sharingan and watched as the chakra circulate around her whole body as if it was a second layer of skin, it was something every shinobi could do this with the right amount of control in their chakra but in terms of the young girl, it was mesmerising seeing how she could handle her chakra naturally.
The Hyūga and the dark haired boy definitely felt the willpower she gave out no doubt about it if the flinch they tried to hide from that focused look she pierced at the boy.
'There it is~' He grinned as the stance Sana performed was now more aligned, legs having been proportioned to a certain amount. 'She's certainly gotten better at it.' While the same style of as his own, it was slightly modified for her size. But there was also the fact that this style of taijutsu was based around the cooperation of a sharingan wielder.
Of course with enough practice, this disadvantage could be remove, but he believed that the girl will find a way to think of another method. Any great shinobi would try and overcome any obstacles that come in their way.
'It's starting~' Watching as the Hyūga push his raised arm down for the beginning of the spar, he watched the girl be smart in her movements and time attacks which was given to her by the opponents strikes which she had evaded. 'She is really fast for her age.' And he continued to think as such when noticing the increase in speed in creating a combo of precise and quick attacks which had pushed the boy back some distance.
From what he could sense, the chakra the girl was fighting had more chakra compared to her own and yet with the way it was going, she would be the last one to still have enough reserve. The boy was rash with his usage of chakra while the girl was played around due to the increase of power and speed he used with said energy.
She had done well against the boy since she looked to have not known that the boy had actually used most of his utilities while Sana seemed to have still possess some weapons in the pouch. She was sneaky by pretending that she had thrown everything else and decided to play along with that thinking process Giran had thought he had known.
When it comes to training how to fight and a spar which reveals the actual results of those said training, Sana had done well and she could improve with this experience. She may have lost but she had proven herself capable in handling herself even at that age.
"She's someone to look forward to in the future."
~XXX~
The spar between Sana and Giran was only a few days but felt fresh to the people who had witnessed it, Hagami had begun to increase the difficulty by providing some academy practice to what he and Giran was learning from the Academy. Occasional spars was from the both of them was more frequent than before leaving each children somewhat bruised.
In terms of characteristics, Hagami was the combination of both Giran and Sana's style of taijutsu. It was mostly due to the Hyūga style of their style of defensive being played as their offensive at the same time. Giran was the sturdy type, while Sana was more on the agile type. You would think someone having the characteristics of two being better however, that didn't mean it was a definitive victory since the sturdy type were ones who are the most annoying to knock down. It also meant they could overpower others with their might and power if the fight extended more than it was needed, a fact Sana now realised when having become friends with the ground more often than she wanted to acknowledge.
The way Giran gazed her felt weird, the interaction was now different after finding out her prowess for fighting and she felt chills run her back when he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring. He would have continued to do so if not for Hagami whacking the back of the dark haired boy's head. Even with what had occurred those recent days, the Hyūga didn't look to have any change of opinion or action, the boy was the same Hagami she still saw who continued to instruct her with lectures and instructions.
The basic lectures and instructions and the understanding of the technique the lavender eye gifted her. Learning the Chakra Absorption technique was what she had implored focusing on more since she had now noticed the feeling of foreign chakra entering her system.
When few hours had past and the two boys left for the start of the morning for lesson, she merely laid on the grassy ground and stared at the sky. As if was always a common theme to do when actually resting for a while, the sweat she built up from her body which allowed her to notice the cool wind more quickly from her laid position, how she relished in the calm atmosphere every day. Her eyes shut as she neared the moment of sleeping.
"How's it been little Princess~" Sadly, the calm scene was always interrupted as usual once again. She peeked her eyes open and looked at the side to see the Uchiha sitting down, one arm hooked around one of his legs. The teen was most frequent with his visit with her in the training ground more than she had expected after the first time they had conversed. Even so…
"You usually come later, Shisui-san." The Uchiha merely chuckled at her sigh before sitting up from her laid position. "What will you teach me today."
~XXX~
Sana found it a challenge to through the taijutsu she had gotten used to after a while of adjustments with the aid of the Uchiha teen. The way she had moved allowed her to move her limbs better and utilise her speed more to her advantage was the key matter of her style. And yet, "While speed is good, you can't continue a high paced fight every time." He unfurled a scroll which produced a small puff of smoke before handing out a bamboo stick which contained water. "It's all of the matter of steady breaths and timing, little Princess."
She heaved a breath before trying to steady her breath as instructed. "Steady…breaths…."
After her small amount of rest to recover, the training was continued with a spar which only led to her a magnificent defeat, the violet eyes girl laid prone in the dirt, breathing hard and giving a harsh glare at the teen. "It's hard to breath the same all the time." She let out between breaths. "It's annoying."
Shisui smiled. "Yeah it is, that's why I practice my breathing with just about anything." Sana raised a brow. "It'll help you in the long run if for example…you get ambushed by a squad." The girl widened her eyes at the statement and the Uchiha gave her a wry smile at her understanding. "You're a smart girl, Princess. You never know when you have to be ready at every corner."
"I understand…I'm sorry for thinking it was useless." Sana bowed her head which was stopped by the boy. "Don't apologise, while you are intelligent, you're still a child who still doesn't know the world around you. People will say you're different to the others your age but don't think of it like that." He caressed her head which he knew annoyed her. "Learn from others and survive no matter what, okay?"
"Yes, thank you," She focused on her breathing more intently while looking at the Uchiha in front of her, "please continue your teaching Shisui-san."
"Eh~ call me Shisui, I don't want another stubborn friend like Itachi who constantly acts formal to others." He grinned as he wiggled her head around causing her to be more annoyed and it showed if the way he gleamed at her. "Honestly, you're going to be a little monster in the future." He mumbled quiet enough for her to not catch on to what the teen had said.
He let go allowing the girl to catch her bearing while moping like a child should, it made Shisui smile remembering the fact that the girl in front of her is still a child trying to survive. He clapped his hand loud for her attention to return back to him.
"Okay! Return to your stance, little Princess." The girl nodded and immediately, brought her hands by her face, her feet shoulder's width apart, and the knees bent in preparation. "Question time~" the Uchiha walked around her in circles as she kept a steady breath and closed her eyes.
It was the instruction she was told to do when Shisui told her to only focus her surroundings by focusing more than just her eyes. "You're hands are placed next to the face because…?"
"It's to protect your head and throat." She instantly guarded her head with her arms which felt the impact of a fist colliding with it.
"Next, your feet are wide are wide set is so…?" She felt something fast coming towards her stomach which she tried to block with her arms again, the impact would have pushed her if not for her positioned feet keeping her in place. "So you won't fall if you're hit."
"You're knees are bent for…?"
"So you can move in whichever direction your opponent moves in."
"Correct~ well done." The girl kept her attention of any wary movements and after a few seconds of not noticing anything strange, she opened her eyes to see the Uchiha grinning at her. "Make sure you pay close attention to this and remember it well, it will help you well dearly." Sana said nothing but nodding at his clear instruction.
"Moving on from that, do you know what muscle memory is?"
Sana nodded her head at the question, "Hagami taught me what it meant." She ignored the twitch in the way Shisui gave out when she answered with a cough in trying for cover it up.
"While you simply imitated my style and changed it to help you further, it would be better for you to actually get some understanding for each of the basic katas for the style." She gave a silent 'oh' before nodding her head. "Get into your stance again, this time with your fists palm-up and close to your ribs."
Sana did, and looked at the teen while doing so. "Stretch your arm out in front, straight now, very good. You twist your fist until it is plan-down by the time your arm is fully extended. Now back to the start, that's that, you've learned number one."
Sana raised her eyebrows. "Huh? The punch was the first step?" She mumbled dubiously.
Shisui grinned. "It actually teaches the proper form for a punch. And now number two." He demonstrated punching upwards. "Make sure your elbow is bent correctly. You want a 90 degree angle." Sana imitated.
"Now for step three, it's the same as number one, except instead of a fist, you make sure your hand is flat with the fingers curled inwards. Like a bear claw. Your palm should face your opponent."
The fourth step was front kick. The fifth was a side kick. The sixth was a sort of push, the seventh was a ducking motion with one arm over the head. Finally, the eighth step was a block, with both arms.
Shisui demonstrated them all and fixed the girl's mistake for each step till she could do it without any mistakes that be cold briefly see. "You should start to learn these through memory and practice them with your breathing technique. Eventually, you should be able to do it nonchalantly. Of course, there are more steps but, let's just say it isn't really suited for you."
"What do you mean, Shisui-sa…Shisui?" Shisui gave a short chuckle before closing his eyes. He opened them to reveal them to now be red with three tomoe around the pupil. Perhaps it was meant to be frightening but, it was mesmerising for her to see. It was truly, "Pretty."
The Uchiha blinked before laughing loudly with small tears coming from his eyes, "Only you can say something like that." He returned his crimson eyes back to dark coal colour, "The reason is due to you not having the sharingan which allows us to do many things with it."
Sana analysed the reason before asking him a question, "Is it similar to the byakugan then?" The teen frowned before looking away with a small pout he gave to her. Sana sweat dropped and left the question to unanswered. "Forget about it."
"Good!" He clapped his hands together. "All right. Now, let's do some more exercise, okay?"
~XXX~
Sana's training session lasted longer than usual. By the end of it, Shisui, carried the girl on his back and carry the girl back to the orphanage. "Thank you for helping me, Shisui." Sana mumbled, leaning against the teen's shoulder with a sigh of exhaustion.
"Anytime, little Princess," Shisui said, smiling as he noticed the sun begin to set. It was one of those days which he had nothing to do when Itachi was gone for his mission. He would usually decide to train with him if he could or Sasuke if only he wasn't adamant on just wanting to be trained by Itachi himself. How stubborn.
He glanced back at the girl who was more mature than she looked, 'You and Itachi grew up too fast,' he thought. 'Whatever may come in the near future, I hope these times will never change. For both the clan, and the village.'