It didn't take me long to get accustomed to wandering around the village by myself since my sister became a genin quickly after I turned four and started spending more and more time away from the village. She did help me train from time to time but nowhere near enough for me to be satisfied. I did do my best to train and study my chakra on my own. I also tried controlling it, which turned out to be extremely difficult. Numerous times I wanted to give up, but I knew I could not do that.

I also succeeded in stealing some kunai and shuriken from my sister and started training with them - she would never let me "play" with such dangerous things on my own, so I had to resort to less than just means. The training was exhausting yet satisfying. During those days I also learnt that my mother was a medic and specialized in poisons. That was the reason we had a greenhouse. It also seemed like that, thanks to my father, I had some sort of Kekkei Genkai that supposedly stopped others from seeing or otherwise sensing my chakra signature.

Just few months after I turned four, my father passed. He was a jounin, so he was away on missions a lot. I never got to knew him that well and I only have some blurry memories of him. In the past year, every time I saw him, he only quickly greeted me, if even that. So, when our mother broke the news before dinner, I escaped from our apartment and ran to a park near the Academy.

I sit down in one of the swings and kick the ground, setting a slow pace of swinging back and forth. With a sigh I close my eyes and wonder what Akari and mom are thinking. It was stupid of me to run off… But how would I explain my nonexistent emotions? At least now they could think I ran off to cry by myself. Are they even expecting me to cry? We're shinobi after all, and we are not supposed to cry. But on the other hand, I am just a kid… I shake my head. And now I am just overthinking this.

The playground I am on makes me think about why I haven't yet tried to make any friends. I should if I don't want to end up alone once again…

I raise my head when I hear steps in the park getting closer to me. A red-haired boy sits down in the swing next to me. He couldn't be much older than me. Something about the red hair and pale skin makes something akin to a memory stir up inside me, but I cannot quite grasp the thought.

The boy does not say anything as he starts swinging, even though my swing has now stopped as I have followed him with my gaze and forgot to pump. I tilt my head at him. "Who are you?"

He turns to look at me. Despite his face being round and childish, it lacks emotion, and makes him look surprisingly stoic. "Who are you?"

"I asked first." I purse my lips at him and pump once more. The boy mimics my actions.

"You're the girl who keeps training all the time," he states after a moment of silence. "Why?"

"Why?" I frown. "I don't know. Because I want to."

"Hm. You have red hair like a squirrel, so your name must be Risu."

A spark of joy lights up inside me. "I wish. So is your name something like Akane?"

"That's a girl's name," he scoffs. I give him a wide smile and pump some more speed. "So, you're not telling me?"

"Nope, if you don't tell me first," I grin. The boy gives me a thin smile, but I don't think it quite reaches his eyes.

"Well then, I believe we have bit of a problem, Risu-chan."

"Such a shame, Akane-kun." I give him a short smile. Akane rolls his eyes but doesn't tell me his real name to make me drop the name I gave him. I myself have nothing against the one he gave me – it is a lot better than my own.

For a while we just swing in silence. Despite the day turning to evening, the sun is still shining as bright as ever, slowly causing me to sweat slightly in the continuous heat. I'm pretty sure I used to dislike heat, while cold was something I could easily deal with. I think…

"How old are you?" Akane finally asks. I need to stop and think for a while. It is not like I paid it that much mind, and we really did not celebrate birthdays. Akari did make me a cake last month, but that was it.

"Four."

The redhead nods, turning his head away from me. "I'll be turning six soon."

"Hmm…" I sigh. It is late summer, so he most likely turns six during this year. "So, you're already in the Academy? I'll be going there in a few weeks."

The anime had made me assume that Sunagakure had no Academy of its own, but apparently that was not the case. Honestly, it wouldn't have made any sense for a hidden village not to have one. I have been looking forward to that quite a lot, both from the learning perspective as well as for trying to finally find some friends.

Akane nods. "I am."

I think for a moment. "Do you ever train?" I ask then, hoping to keep the conversation going.

"Not really."

"Do you want to train with me?"

"Not really."

"Aww, you're so cold, Akane-kun," I pout again. The me of my previous life would probably already be crying. But apparently, I am finally over that. "Then why are you talking to me if you don't want to have anything to do with me?"

"I didn't know talking to you meant that I would have to spend more time with you," Akane shrugs, but I notice the thin smile on his lips, and grin.

"Well then…" I tap my lips. "If that's the case, I will head home. I think kaachan will kill me if I'm not there for dinner."

"Why?" Akane asks when I jump off the swing. By now, his swing has stopped as well.

I shrug. "She wants us to be there since my father got killed. She probably wants us to pay our respects or something."

"Your father died?" The redhead looks at me with the tiniest amount of surprise on his face. "And you're that calm?"

I rub the back of my head. This is the reason I didn't stay home. What am I supposed to answer to that? How am I supposed to explain myself? "Well… He was always away on missions, so I never got to know him that well… And I don't know. Maybe I'm just a heartless monster."

I wink at the boy and run away from any other questions he could have. Well, there goes my first possible friend. Luckily, I am going to the Academy in a few weeks' time… Surely I would find friends there – ones that do not ask stupid questions.

When I get home kaachan and Akari are already waiting for me.

"Where did you run off like that?" Kaachan frowns at me, and I force myself to smile slightly in apology. "This is an important dinner!"

"Gomennasai, kaachan." I head for the kitchen sink to wash my hands before I sit down opposite of her and Akari at the small table in the middle of the room. It could seat six people, but the two chairs that would go to the shorter ends of the table are used elsewhere. One is in the greenhouse, and the other is in my and Akari's room.

The kitchen is quite small. There is just enough counterspace for two people to make food at the same time, but almost half of that space is occupied by a microwave and a pile of newspapers. Even though kaachan just made the food, there is not a speck of dust on the counters or any dirty dishes in the sink. If one took a look inside the green cabinets, they'd find that every item was neatly arranged by their use.

"Akari, I informed your sensei about this," kaachan tells as she begins sharing the food from a big pot in the middle of the table. It is some sort of vegetable stew, and its scent makes my mouth water. I haven't yet eaten any proper food today. "He postponed your mission a little and will be waiting for you at the front gates when the sun sets."

"Hai." Akari nods, and I turn to her with enthusiasm.

"What kind of a mission is it?"

Akari gives me a smile, picking up her chopsticks. "We're going to save a jounin who was injured while delivering an important scroll. He was attacked because of the war."

"The war…" I mutter. Nobody had told me anything about it! When had it begun? Had my father died because of it? Which war was it? Or was it just some smaller conflict...? Even a few answers would help me.

Akari lowers her hand on my arm, probably taking my pursing of lips as nervousness. "You don't need to worry about it. You'll be just fine inside the village."

"Actually," kaachan interrupts us both and we turn to look at her in puzzlement. "I've been summoned to the Medical Unit. I cannot leave you here alone, so you will be coming with me, Kuroyuri."

"What?" Akari shouts, jumping up from her chair and spilling half of her food when she slams her chopsticks down next to it. "Kuro's just four years old! You cant take someone of that age to the frontlines!"

"Sit down, Akari!" kaachan snaps, and Akari obeys. "It is not the frontline. She will be perfectly fine."

"Yeah, right…" my sister mumbles quietly, and I barely hear her words. I just silently watch the two, keeping my mouth shut and focused on the food. I'd rather not make the situation any worse – I doubt there is anything I could even say. "Like you even care about her…"

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Good. Now eat up and get to your mission. Kuroyuri, I will be showing you a few things tonight. Eat up and prepare yourself for some learning."

I nod in silent confusion and continue eating. War? And I was going to the middle of it? I had already suspected it, but Akari seems to know it. My mother hates me. Why…? Had I done something to upset her? I honestly don't think so. I've been acting just like any other kid – maybe I can be a little annoying, but not that annoying.

The dinner is quickly over. Our mother gives a short speech about the father I barely knew. Why he had stayed so distant, I couldn't even say. But maybe it is only for the better now…

I let the speech come in from one ear and go out the other. Once it is done with, Akari runs off and I am left alone with kaachan.

"Go to the greenhouse." She barely glances at me as she starts gathering the dishes. "I'll follow right after I've cleaned this up."

I nod and head for the stone stairs by the entrance of our apartment that lead to the greenhouse. Jumping down them, I take a look around. A chair just like the ones from the kitchen is by the open stairs, some black soil and ceramic pots on it. The walls are surrounded by high tables full of plants on all sides. In the middle of the long room, there are two rows of plants. Some of them are on holding tables made of metal, some hanging from the ceiling.

Near the ceiling there are some light balls, giving off warm light just like the sun. Akari explained that they indeed mimic the sun, working as light sources for the plants so that they would survive even underground. She also mentioned it is some special skill of kaachan's… I should've asked if she meant they are a Kekkei Genkai or something she came up with herself. If they are a Kekkei Genkai, I wonder if I would have it… But I already have one, though. No matter how useless it is.

"Now," I suddenly hear kaachan's voice, and with a jump I turn to her, "what do you know of poisons?"

"Poisons?" I repeat, and she nods impatiently. What does she expect me to know? She's never before taught me anything, and I doubt a four-year-old would learn something like that anywhere else, but… Though, now that I think about it, maybe she has mentioned some things offhandedly every now and then. "Well… I know you use poisons. They have different effects and can be used to kill or paralyze… the target. Poison is usually a liquid that causes… confusion inside a person. On a little scale. Tiny. Mola…molu…"

"Molecular." Kaachan nods, seeming almost pleased. "Apparently you're not completely idiotic. Maybe you have a chance at learning about poisons."

I raise my gaze, already more enthusiastic. I could learn to use poisons… It could be interesting. Even though a part of me wants to learn to use swords or something and strike and chop up hordes of enemies… Like a dog I shake myself rid of those thoughts. I should focus on the moment.

"I know you won't learn anything in just one night, but I will start training you in the art of poisons and healing. We will start tonight by identifying different plants used in poisons and antidotes, and when we arrive on the battlefield you will be working as my assistant."

Without giving me a moment to think up any kind of answer, kaachan leads me to the first flower. "You know this one, right?" She points at it. It has ten-centimeter long, sharp leaves. On its head there are hanging down two black, rice-like flowers. It smells awful.

I nod. "Rice lily. Kuroyuri," I name the plant I had gotten my name from. It is as ugly as my name.

Kaachan doesn't even nod as she leads me to the next plant with a white flower.

We spend hours in the greenhouse and in the end, I feel like my head could just explode from all the information kaachan has been trying to drill in there. We have gone through all the plants thousands of times and now I can name them all.

"That has to do for now." Kaachan finally stops. I frown at her. I already know them all, so what else could she ask for? "When we come home you will begin learning to tell the name and the uses of the plants from simply touching or smelling them."

I don't say anything against her since that would achieve nothing except maybe for the exact opposite effect of what I want. Inside my head I do wonder what I would even do with a skill like that.

Following my mother upstairs, I get a quick shower and pack a small bag in accordance to my mother's guidance. It holds a water bottle, bowl and a spoon and some other useful items. As well as those kunai and shuriken I have succeeded in getting, even though kaachan couldn't ask for something like that – she does not know I own them, and probably could never guess I could already use them a bit.

»»-««

Kaachan wakes me up when the sun rises the next morning. "Come eat," she tells me. "We will leave in twenty minutes."

I nod sleepily and turn around on my hard bed. My gaze finds Akari's empty bed on the other side of the room. The sheets on it are tucked in neatly, as if no one has ever laid a hand on it. Between the two beds there is a dresser below the window. On Akari's side of the dresser there is a handcrafted bouquet of flowers made of paper and string and an incomplete needlework depicting a night scenery of the sea. On my side there is a simple jar I know to be full of shredded papers. Some papers lay below and next to it as well.

In the middle of the room is a long table that takes up almost all free space the room has left after the two beds and the dresser. Sprawled upon it are a few books and scrolls, some drawing and crafting materials, and an empty bowl. We had emptied it of peanuts a few nights ago. I purse my lips at it. Now that I think of it, it's my turn to clean it up. Akari would've never left it laying there for that long.

But I ignore the bowl and wander to the dresser, pulling my skintight pants on. I change my nightshirt to a shirt made from the same, breathing material as the pants, and finally grab my cloak from the chair between the table and my bed. Its longs sleeves can hide my arms fully and the large hood covers me well even in a sandstorm. From the hem it has been cut from the two sides for about ten centimeters, making it easy to move in. Honestly, it looks more like a dress than a cloak, but I prefer to call it a cloak.

After picking up my small bag, I head to the kitchen for some bread and dried fruit. I barely finish eating before kaachan starts pushing me outside. She is wearing the customary, brown flak jacket of the shinobi of Suna that I have never seen on her before. "Come on. We need to reach the border by tomorrow evening."

I don't answer. Is the timeframe of one and a half day meant for adults or four-year-old kids? I'd bet all my nonexistent money that it is the former, since there is no way kaachan would think about me that much. With a sigh I follow her to the village entryway. Despite seeing it in the anime and manga, in real life it is that much more imposing and awesome. High and steep cliffsides surround us, and even if I tilt my head all the way back, I can just barely see the top. Just a tiny sliver of the sky can be seen. I can only gape at the sight.

"Kaachan?" I ask once we start running on the desert outside the village. "What war is it?"

My mother glances at me, her eyes narrowed against the rising sun. Right now it is still early morning, and I feel almost cold. But that coldness of the desert night would soon be replaced by the scorching heat. I am not looking forward to it. "You know what a war is?"

Well, what does she want me to say now? I nod after a moment's hesitation, and she sighs.

"It is a big battle between many nations," she starts in a slow and exasperated tone, the tone she often takes when she has to explain things to me. Her explanations are usually simple, something a four-year-old should be able to understand. Though I've noticed that if she gets a little more excited – like when talking about medicine – her tone will change, and she will start using more advanced vocabulary as well as explaining things more in detail. "War is when other inferior countries are trying to invade us, and we need to fight them. I think they will call it a Great Shinobi World War, though I am not sure. But that is not any of your concerns. What do you say I lecture you while we run?"

I can do nothing but nod. Great Shinobi World War… It couldn't be the first one since the villages already exist. So, is it the second or the third? Or even the fourth? If it is the fourth it would be almost sad… I mean, no matter what I do, I would like to see all the events with my own eyes. Third would probably be the best for me. Maybe. Despite being quite engrossed in the Naruto lore, I can't quite recall when the second and third war even took place… Sigh.

"Tell me, what is chakra?" Kaachan's question stops my train of thought. I think for a moment about my answer.

"It's the power that resides in all living things. It's the thing we need to use when we perform jutsu. It can be controlled with hand seals."

Kaachan nods. "Hand seals are not the only way to control chakra, but we can talk about that later. Firstly…the chakra inside us moves through a wide network called the Keirakukei. We as shinobi learn to generate more chakra and release it to perform different jutsu."

I keep nodding and staying quiet.

"We create chakra by molding our spiritual and physical energy into one," kaachan continues and I raise my eyebrows. I had never studied the chakra in Naruto that much which means this topic is actually quite interesting. I have always loved to learn new things, so I have nothing against just silently listening to her. "By increasing those energies, you can make your chakra more powerful and increase the amount of chakra you have. But because increasing your chakra is usually quite a hard and time-consuming task, a ninja must have a good chakra control to perform techniques."

"Chakra control?" I repeat when kaachan falls silent. For a moment, the silence stretches, but then she nods. I have a transient though of whether or not my father's death had affected her at all, since she seems so normal.

"Yes. Good chakra control ensures that you only use the required amount of chakra in your techniques, not a drop more or less. Less, the technique will be weak or fail completely – more, and you will be wasting your chakra."

This is something I already know somewhat, but I'm not going to tell kaachan that. I don't want her wondering how I could know something like that at this age.

"With good chakra control you can use bigger techniques more and even if you have small chakra reserves. Medical-nin such as I must have perfect chakra control to do our tasks. So, when I have time, I will teach this to you."

I smile widely. That's just what I need to move forward with my own little experiments! "Thanks."

We travel a long time in silence, but then kaachan asks me again: "Would you like to hear about something else? We have lots of time, so might as well teach you something useful, right?"

"Right!" I gasp enthusiastically.

"So… would you like to hear more about chakra? Or change the topic to something else?"

"Just tell me about chakra." I hesitate for a moment but quickly confess: "I've been trying to control it… But I just can't do anything with it."

"Oh?" Kaachan sounds surprised. "If we had time, you could do some rock climbing, but sadly, we do not."

I have tried it. I have tried to gather chakra to the bottom of my feet just like they had done in the manga, but it has turned to be insurmountably hard. I have given up and only focus on studying that energy inside of me. Maybe I am too young.

"I don't think you need to know about manipulation yet, but… Would you like to hear about chakra natures?"

"Oh yes!"

"Fine then. Listen carefully," kaachan starts explaining. "Many jutsu we use are elemental. Which means they use one element as the foundation of their power. The five basic elements are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water."

"The names of the Five Great Shinobi Countries…" I mumble to myself and kaachan succeeds in catching it, nodding.

"Our country is Wind, and there are many shinobi here who use the wind element."

"What do you use?"

"Me? I use wind too."

"I wonder what I can use…"

"Do you want to know?"

I blink. "How can I…?"

Kaachan seems to get a little more enthusiastic about our conversation and smiles a little before patting her pockets one by one. "I believe I have some… Ah, here."

She shows me a piece of paper. I am reminded of a certain chapter in Naruto where they talked about this very thing, and my eyes widen a bit. Kaachan gives the paper to me. "This little piece of paper can tell your affinity. Each person's chakra has an affinity towards at least one element of the five basic ones. Now, I am not certain this will work since you cannot control your chakra yet, but we can always try. You need to try and direct your chakra into this paper. I think I'll leave you to it."

I nod and as I take the paper in one hand, I start focusing on my chakra. I don't bother wondering why on earth kaachan would carry something like this around with her.

We make camp in a cave once night falls. I saw a few villages during our trek, but kaachan does not stop in them – and I don't bother asking for it, either. I have a hunch that our family is quite poor. Even though father had always been on missions, we live in a small house and our meals were simple most of the time. I have only few different pieces of clothing. I had been almost surprised myself when I realized it didn't really bother me at all.

I lay the still smooth paper next to me when I go to sleep. I do not have a bedroll or anything else to sleep on, so I just use my cloak as a pillow and try my best. Sleeping daily on a hard bed is apparently good prep for situations like this, since I fall asleep almost immediately – though my exhaustion had probably something to do with it as well.

The next day I continue focusing on my chakra. Kaachan keeps quiet as we run through the desert. Little by little, I can feel it better. Something is moving inside of me and reacting to my commands to move inside my body. But I can't bring the chakra outside, no matter how much I want to.

After hours of trying the chakra is right there at my fingertips, just beneath the skin, but unwilling to move any further. I am starting to grow more and more irritated by the second.

"This is so-" I start, growling in annoyance, but then the paper in my hand changes. I stop and gasp in amazement. Kaachan stops a bit later and returns to my side. For a moment she is silent, unreadable look in her eyes. Then she raises her eyebrows and smiles.

"Looks like you take after your father. He was a water user as well," she notes as she looks at the wet paper in my hands. "But you should know that it is hard being a water user in the desert since the techniques use water and only very skilled shinobi can create water out of thin air. But do not look so sad: you can train it and eventually, you'll be able to do it – I know. And training to use water here means that you will become especially skilled at it. But you should also consider trying other elements, since you will probably not use water for some time."

I nod and let the paper fall to the sand. Kaachan beckons me to continue, and we start running again. Water… after earth it is probably my least favorite element. But kaachan is right. If I could learn to use it in a dry climate like the desert, I would become amazing with it. But some other element… Lightning would work amazingly with water. I should start practicing chakra control a lot more.

"Do you see this?" Kaachan stops me at the edge of the desert. In front of us, there is a deep ravine. On the other side of it starts a forest all of a sudden. "This is our border. The medical unit is just a few kilometers away."

I nod. Kaachan squats and tells me to climb on her back. I glance at the crack once and obey her. It is about half a dozen meters wide; I am not going to endanger myself needlessly.

Kaachan jumps over the ravine with ease, letting me down right after the leap. Midday has passed some time ago. Maybe this schedule was meant for four-year-old kids after all. While contemplating this, our journey continues and soon I find myself surrounded by brown tents.

The area is surrounded by a somewhat flimsy wall of some wooden poles sharpened at the top. Some poles have been struck in the ground at an angle so that their sharp ends point outwards, making it a bit harder for ordinary people to approach. But the entryway to the camp is just a point in the wall where no defenses exist, allowing for any comer to just walk straight in.

Inside the walls are numerous tents of white and brown. When a wind blows through the camp, all the tents flap around for a moment before settling back down. From inside them I can hear pained groans, cries, and shouts – both despaired and ordering. Many people dressed in white cloaks and some shinobi dressed in flak jackets just like my mother are running around, almost aimlessly in my eyes. Truly, it just looks like an ant's nest that's been kicked open.

"Oh, Mihoko-san. So good you made it." A purple-haired young woman dressed in a flak jacket comes to welcome us. "And this is Kuroyuri-chan, I assume?"

Before I can answer for myself, kaachan lowers her hand on my shoulder and answers for me: "Hai. Now, where do I start?"

The woman smiles shortly. Something about her droopy eyes and thin smile unsettles me. "Right this way."

She leads us to one of the tents and says it would be reserved for my mother only and the patients would be brought to her. I am a bit surprised. In my mind it means that kaachan is quite a good healer.

"Did you heave something in mind for Kuroyuri-chan to do, or might I borrow her?" the woman asks as kaachan starts healing her first patient. Her brows furrow as she thinks.

"Depends on how important that task of yours is."

The woman sighs wistfully. "Well, you see, we found this one war orphan, and-"

"Absolutely not," kaachan states, and the woman grimaces.

"Fine, fine. I'll be on my way then."

I sit on a bench and follow the woman's back with my eyes before asking: "Who was that?"

"Meisa. We were in the academy together. She is a bit delusional."

I tilt my head, but of course kaachan doesn't notice. I let my thoughts wander as I study the small tent with my eyes. I wonder if we're close to Konoha now… Wind and Fire are neighbors, after all. Or were they…?

"Oh!" I shout, jumping up from the bench. "Kaachan! Can I go train tree climbing? Can I?"

Kaachan glances at me quickly as I jump up and down in excitement. She frowns. "…Fine. But stay near the tents. And get back the moment you feel like something's out of place."

"Okay." I nod and hurry out of the tent, quickly dodging out of the way of two white-cloaks as they carry a shinobi to my mother. I see his broken leg by a glance. It is seeping blood despite the bandages. Licking my lips, I escape to the forest.

I spend some time trying to climb the trees, only getting up one or two steps before falling to my ass on the ground. After a certain try I fall on my back on the ground, staring up at the treetops with ragged breath.

As few leaves fall near me, I am reminded of another Naruto chapter. There they had focused on one leaf to help them focus their chakra. I purse my lips. Would it help with this at all? Maybe. It wouldn't hurt to try. I nod to myself and sit up, taking one leaf and setting it down on my fingertip. I focus my chakra on it to make it stay put.

During the first hour I only fail miserably. But during the next I succeed in leading my chakra to my fingertip and attaching it to the leaf. And at the beginning of the third hour the leaf does not fall no matter how hard I swing my finger around. I am extremely pleased with myself when I return to the tent village. But after I have spent some time wandering around – hungry and thirsty – I need to admit that I have no idea which of the tents is kaachan's.

No one spares me a glance. I decide against running from one tent to the other, settling for just wandering around. Might as well take a look around while I am lost. I'd find my way eventually.

"Psst!" A whiz stops me. I blink and turn to the voice, noticing a young boy dressed in loose, green clothing hold in place by a brown belt. He is probably my age, his hands and legs bound with a rope. I tilt my head at him. "Can you help me unbind these?"

I smile at the boy. "What's your name?"

He squints at me. "Takeo. Can you help me or not?"

"Takeo, eh… Are you four? Where are you from?"

"Why do you want to know?" he grumbles. I shrug.

"Just interested. I've never seen kids from other countries."

"Hmm. Ye, I'm four. From Land of Birds."

"Ooh…" I close my eyes, trying to imagine what could his country be like. "Is it an interesting place?"

"I don't know." Takeo shrugs. I sit down in front of him and look at my leaf that is still attached to my fingertip. Slowly I try and move it to my other fingertip, and I succeed easily. It stays put. Could I loosen it a little while still holding onto it…? I blink. The idea reminds me of chakra strings.

"Like a puppet, eh…?" I mumble to myself and turn my hands around so that if it weren't for me holding onto the leaf with chakra, it would fall down. I do my best to push my chakra outwards. Now it is only laying on my skin. After moment's focusing, I feel like it comes off just the tiniest amount without falling anywhere.

"Are you a shinobi already?"

I startle and the leaf falls to the ground. I blink at the boy whose presence I had already forgotten. Slowly, I shake my head. "Just training."

I am already reaching for the leaf when I suddenly have a better idea. I close my right hand so that only my index finger is pointing forward. I bring it a few centimeters above the leaf and focus on my chakra once more.

"Do you want to be a puppet master?" Takeo asks, studying me as a small string of chakra attaches to the leaf and raises it to the air as my finger raises. I ponder his question for a moment.

"I don't know. Haven't really thought about it."

"I think you would make a good puppet master."

"Thank you."

I lengthen the distance between my finger and the leaf, and smile as I notice it is working easier than earlier. I can't make the string longer than ten centimeters, though, no matter how hard I try.

"Kuroyuri-chan? What are you doing here?"

I raise my head and see the purple-haired woman – Meisa? – behind me. "Oh. I got lost and found Takeo here."

"Do you want me to take you to your mother?"

"Yes, please." I nod and get up, waving my left hand at Takeo before following Meisa, the leaf still hanging in my right hand.

I frown at the leaf and the chakra string connecting it to my finger. It stays limp, like any other normal wire or string. I should be able to control it. Focusing makes me sweat, but I succeed in it before Meisa raises the fabric door from in front of me and I see my mother. I am just drawing some patterns into the air with the leaf, and kaachan looks at me with raised eyebrows.

"Oh? Training to become a puppet master?"

I have to grin. "Don't know. But I just thought about concentrating my chakra to this leaf and then it got kind of out of hand."

Kaachan gives me one of her rare smiles. "You seem to be actually talented. Maybe you should consider it."

I shrug before sitting down on the bench on one side of the tent. Kaachan has no patients at the moment, and she seems to have been writing something down at a small table. "Maybe. Can I have something to eat?"

Kaachan nods and asks me to hand her my bowl. She then brings out a kettle from out of thin air. Whether it was under the table or in some scroll, I cannot tell. But soon I have a steaming bowl of meat stew in front of me, and I dig in without asking for details.

"How long are we going to stay here?" I ask when I am just about finished with the meal.

"I will be taking you home after two weeks so that you can go to the Academy," kaachan answers from amidst fishing out needles from some guy's hand. "But I think I need to return, so you will be alone."

"Okay," I nod. The idea doesn't bother me that much.