vi.
chapter six - if only i could cry
After Griffyth recovered, he didn't leave Clement's modest shack like he had previously planned to do. The months it took to fully heal, the young man unconsciously found himself growing more comfortable in his new environment.
Griffyth wasn't sure if Clement had contributed to this, or if he just enjoyed not having to worry about finding a place to sleep every night. The old man was definitely very brusque and not quite sane, after all; yet Griffyth showed no sign of having trouble adapting to life with him.
Of course, he didn't enjoy practically being a prisoner until he was healed, but Clement kept him entertained enough that not once did Griffyth attempt to kill him in his sleep. The fact Clement was an overly-paranoid light sleeper also had nothing to do with that…
While being bedridden, Clement would give Griffyth the lessons he had requested involving medicine. Unfortunately for him, however, Clement had a lesson plan in mind that didn't benefit the teen right away.
"What is this?" Griffyth had a look of distaste on his face as he looked down at a worn-out looking packet labeled, Introduction to Profession.
"You can't read?" Clement huffed. "That'll be a problem."
Griffyth rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"It is what it says, boy. An introduction to the job."
"I get that, but why do I have to learn that?"
"It's important to know what you're trying to be; what you're trying to do. The most important part is the oath you have to take at the end of it, though."
Griffyth looked less than impressed. "An.. oath."
"Those slippery whitecoats all took the oath themselves, and even if they're working under a corrupt system, I know they stand by the oath when they help save lives."
Sighing, Griffyth shrugged and opened the packet Clement had given him. He could play this stupid game of "student and teacher" and say the worthless oath if that's what the older man wanted. Whatever it took to learn how to cut people up more efficiently.
"Whatever," the teen said, prompting Clement to continue his spiel about the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath and what it entailed. Then he told Griffyth this lesson should take a week if they worked on a basic school schedule. His brain could have shriveled up then and there in preparation for the immense boredom that was to come.
Hopefully, this type of suffering would be worth it in the end.
"Otōto!" As usual, I hear Hidan before I see him. Before he had bothered to scream at me, I could hear his thundering footfalls coming my way (not far behind were the grumbles and gasps of the civilians he no doubt shoved out of his way).
I make no move to greet the incoming whirlwind, not wanting to break from my perfectly still form. Four years of training, and I can concretely say I have mastered control of my chakra. Currently, I'm hanging upside down from a branch of the tree within our old camping ground.
I was also meditating. Keyword: was, before I was so predictably interrupted.
"Kaoru, come on! I know you heard me!" My brother doesn't waste any time, throwing his full weight at the tree in an attempt to knock me down. The tree shakes at the surprisingly strong hit, but I stay firmly stuck to it despite the disturbance.
Usually, I'd ignore Hidan until he tired himself out, but over the years of doing this same routine Hidan had built up his endurance quite a bit. So with a resigned sigh, I stopped channeling chakra through my feet and let myself fall to the ground.
Hidan catches me with a grin, his eyes practically sparkling as he stares at me in excitement. I stare back dubiously, and it's then that I notice what all the fuss is about.
"You passed." I observe the headband wrapped around Hidan's forehead.
"Fuck yeah I did!"
Hidan's grin becomes contagious. "That means—"
"We can finally leave the bitch house!"
I wrap my arms around Hidan's neck in a hug as we celebrate our hard-earned independence. Four years at that place had nearly driven me insane; without Hidan and Kagura's training to distract me, I most certainly would have left a trail of bodies before we would have gotten to this moment.
Not to say my hands are squeaky clean… After learning the chakra absorption technique, I just had to experiment with it a little bit.
It took two years for me to master Kagura's technique; one year of that was spent vigorously training my body so that it would be able to use the technique in the first place. Another year was spent experimenting with the technique; seeing what it could do to myself and others, along with its strengths and drawbacks. During the third year, and close to the fourth year mark of my training, I decided that I needed a way to store the chakra I was stealing from others.
As it was, if I absorb too much chakra, my chakra pathways would attempt to implode on themselves due to an excess amount being forced into them. I want to have unlimited access to chakra; I want to never have to experience chakra exhaustion or overload.
Kagura suggested that fūinjutsu would solve my problem. The only issue with that however, is fūinjutsu is a very… extensive study. It is way more complicated than any subject I've tried to tackle before.
Not to say I wouldn't try my hand at it, but it definitely wouldn't be my main focus.
As my thoughts get the best of me, my silence begins to concern Hidan. "Oi, you're not thinking up no crazy scenarios are you… I actually liked stayin' at the tea shop y'know. I don't want anything bad happenin' to the place."
I roll my eyes. "Piss off, I wasn't even thinking about that." Squirming out of Hidan's arms and landing on my feet, I give my brother a mischievous look. "But since you brought it up…"
"Kaoru, I'm serious!"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it— No killing the sex workers."
The apartment Hidan and I are given is exactly the piece of work I had been expecting. It isn't located in the grimer part of the village, but neither is it located where the orphanage had been. Instead, it's right in the middle, but somehow still just as shitty.
Of course, all the nicer apartments are being rented out to actual paying people. This is considered a gift and therefore we should be grateful and suck it up. Which— okay, but it still pisses me off that no matter what situation we are in, Hidan and I seem to always get the short end of the stick.
'I should just massacre the entire village. Then I can live in whichever house I fuckin' want.'
The apartment is, of course, only one bedroom, as the receiver of said apartment is only one singular genin instead of multiple ones. Honestly, I'm convinced they're just making up policies as they go to avoid any further work.
Along with the one bedroom, there is a small bathroom, a small kitchen, and a small area which could act as both the living and dining area.
"Well," Hidan had said upon taking it all in, "It's better than that fuckin' supply closet."
"Wow," I scoff. "For once, I agree with you."
"You wanna fight?"
"Don't tempt me."
Hidan and I put the few boxes we had brought over from the tea shop in our shared room. Unpacking would have to wait until we actually had furniture to store our belongings. There is a small closet in the bedroom for clothes, but that wouldn't do much good for our training equipment, and etc.
"There's no futon or anything!" Hidan complained after searching every nook and cranny within the small space.
"Apparently, that'd be asking for too much…" I grumble at the village's cheapness. Truly, they only care about paying citizens. Hidan may be a shinobi now, but being so fresh to the force, they probably see him as no more useful than an academy student. "Guess we need to go shopping."
"I hate shopping…"
I roll my eyes; despite everything, Hidan is still a twelve-year-old brat. I grab my copy of the apartment keys and head towards the door. "Then stay here and sit on the concrete floor. Not like I care."
"Wh- Wait! I didn't say I wouldn't go! Fuck, you're so annoying."
I'm tempted to say something along the lines of "pot, meet kettle", but I know Hidan is too stupid to understand what an idiom is.
As Hidan and I make our way to the market, my mind begins to wonder what the game plan is now. Before, the target goal was to get out of the tea shop. Now that that was accomplished, we needed something else to work towards.
Hidan is a genin, and I'm an academy student. So, I suppose the next thing to do is to make sure I graduate as quickly as possible and join my brother in the Yugakure forces. Not only for the pay we receive as genin, but because the Academy is such a bland and boring place. I have no idea how Hidan lasted so long… I definitely can't wait until I'm twelve to graduate.
With my new goal set, my steps become more determined.
From where he had been walking beside me, Hidan eyes me suspiciously. When my pace suddenly increases, he quickly matches it before he is left behind.
"You tryin' to make this a race or somethin'?"
That wasn't my intention, but now that he mentions it… I subtly walk even faster. Hidan follows suit, and before he fully catches back up with me, I transition to a full blown sprint. Laughing as I leave Hidan behind.
"Oi, get back here otōto!"
After a week, our small apartment is still more or less empty. I had managed to steal a few pieces of furniture here and there whenever some of the citizens would leave it out to later throw away. I even snagged a couple of empty boxes to act as tables for us.
Hidan and I don't mind the bareness too much; we're happy to just have a roof over our heads.. and working plumbing. The addition of our own kitchen is also a plus. Back at the brothel, we were only able to eat what was being served by the chefs. We weren't allowed to store our own food there, or, well we could, but there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't eat it themselves.
It wasn't as if I could cut out the tongue of every rat that stole from me. I'd get caught way too quickly if I gave in to my urges every single time they came about. I learned my lesson the first time around.
Hidan is, of course, no help when it comes to fixing up the apartment. Not that I mind, since I know he'd be more in the way than anything. The only thing he's good for in this aspect is his money, which I only use if I think swiping something would be too much trouble.
Besides, the apartment isn't our top priority. Hidan and I are focused on our own training, so we aren't home too often during the day. Hidan was often working on missions and training with his team, while I was at the Academy in the morning and the early afternoon; after that I'd return to our old campground to focus on my own training.
With the chakra absorption technique all but mastered, I'm left to focus on other things. Fūinjutsu definitely isn't the priority at the moment; it would probably have to stay that way until I could find a proper teacher to help me understand it better. As it is, it's just too confusing a skill for me to teach myself.
I consider myself to be smart, but definitely not a genius.
So, with that to consider, the library remains my playground. Over the years I've stolen enough from the building (and maybe killed enough snooty librarians) that they've added security to the place. They really aren't a problem if you are sneaky enough, and with the mastery of my chakra control I'm now able to suppress my chakra signature.
Not that there's a need. As far as I know, there are no shinobi in Yugakure that are sensors. All the ninja in this village are subpar, at best; if any of the major nations wanted to raid us— we'd be defeated within seconds.
I should rephrase that— They would be defeated within seconds. Hidan and I wouldn't stick around long enough to see the aftermath.
"Oi." My inner monologue is interrupted by an annoying voice. "What are you reading?"
Instantly, I'm reminded of my surroundings. Instead of the peaceful environment Hidan and I's old camping grounds provides, I'm inside one of the classrooms within Yugakure's ninja academy, and currently hovering over my shoulder is an annoying seven-year-old that is too nosey for his own good.
"A book," I reply, not even bothering to look up at the kid.
"Duh!" Is the instant response. I frown; he replied faster than I anticipated. I was hoping for at least a couple of seconds of silence. Then again, this is a common occurrence and the kid is probably working on repeat.
The kid in question is one Yoichi Uchiyama. A little kid who is rather tall for his age, with light-brown hair and black eyes. The Uchiyama's are a clan that consist of civilians and aren't anything remarkable. Not counting the fact that they currently own one of the most popular and well known hot springs in the village, of course. It was even recently turned into a resort, as well. One of the first of its kind to open in Yugakure.
All this information is useless to me, but I had been forced to learn it from Hidan, since Yoichi's older sister (who is also the clan heiress) is a member of Hidan's team, and, according to him, she is a gigantic bitch. Therefore, he complains about her. A lot.
Again, none of this is important. The only important thing about Yoichi is that he is a pain in my ass.
I'm unsure if he knows our siblings are on a team together or not, but I have an inkling he does know, because otherwise I have no idea why he sticks his nose in my business so often.
"What's it about?" Yoichi presses on when I decide ignoring him is a better tactic, even going as far as to slip into the vacant seat beside mine.
I glance at him from the corner of my eye. Yoichi is leaning over, trying to make sense of the text.
Rolling my eyes, I move the book away from him. "Don't bother. You're too stupid to understand what it says."
Miraculously, the boy isn't offended by my crass words and instead scoots even closer to me in order to keep reading the book. I found out pretty early on that Yoichi either has thick skin, or is just too dense to understand when he is being insulted; it doesn't stop me, however.
"If you don't stop invading my space, I'm going to kick you out of the window again."
Yoichi is quick to put a normal distance between us, having learned from previous experiences that I make good on my promises. No amount of detentions will stop me, either. It feels like I'm training a dog sometimes, honestly.
"What's it about?" Yoichi asks me again.
"Medical chakra. Now leave me alone." I turn back to the book; hopefully I'll be able to finish another chapter before our study period is over.
Of course, hoping is futile in my current circumstances.
"Medical chakra?" Yoichi questions. "Never heard of that. Are you sure that's real?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm positive I know more than a speck like you."
My patience is wearing thin. It used to be fun to humor and insult Yoichi, but right now I just really want to advance my studies a bit more. All the other children waste this precious free period by goofing off (or, in Yoichi's case, by annoying others), but I knew to take the opportunity for what it was and use it to advance my skills, even if only a little bit.
"Really? Teach me! What is it? What does it do? How do you get it?"
I'm moments away from reaching over to strangle the dull-headed Yoichi when he is miraculously pulled out of my reach.
"Yoichi-kun! I thought we were gonna do our homework together. Why are you with… this guy." Yoichi's savior is none other than the class airhead. Komiko Shinohara glares at me from behind Yoichi, making me smile coldly back at her.
'Always showing you're all bark and no bite, huh? Pathetic little brat.'
Shockingly, Komiko is actually the top student of our year. However, her personality does nothing to give that away. She is surprisingly vain for her age, and doesn't care much about "learning" and becoming a great ninja. Her appearance is her priority.
No harm in that. If I was as ugly as her, I'd be obsessed with trying to improve my appearance, too. Her hair is a sandy type of blonde that clashes terribly with her skin tone. The only "pretty" thing about her is her pink eyes, but that isn't even that remarkable since all the members of the Shinohara clan share that feature.
I am decidingly biased, though, seeing as most of my classmates seem to fawn over the girl.
"Oh, I forgot!" Yoichi says, unaware that he was moments away from death's door just a second ago.
"Hi there, Kazaki-chan. Come to collect your dog?" I greet the girl.
"It's Komiko," she replies through clenched teeth. Her annoyance makes me smile more. "And I just came to get my friend away from a snake like you!"
"Good idea."
As much fun as picking a fight with Komiko is, I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she is here to take away that annoying bug, I'm definitely not going to interfere with that.
"Wait, Kaoru was going to teach me about medical chakra!" Yoichi fights against Komiko's hold, trying to worm his way back to the seat beside me.
"Medical chakra? What's that?" Class genius, Komiko asks.
'Are you fucking kidding me?'
Gritting my teeth, I plaster on a smile and hold up my hand. "Learning firsthand is the fastest way to learn. How about I show you how a chakra scalpel works?" My hand begins to glow green, mesmerizing the two for a moment.
Yoichi, of course, remains entranced, but Komiko is fast to pick up on the (very thinly) veiled threat.
"No, we've got our own plans. Let's go, Yoichi." The blonde wastes no time in dragging the boy away, much to his disappointment.
"Wh- Wait, I wanted to see! What's a scalpel?!"
As soon as they move away to their side of the classroom, I breathe a sigh of relief.
'I haven't mastered the chakra scalpel jutsu yet, so that could have been annoying.'
Lessons at the Academy go by excruciatingly slow, but eventually, they end and we're released for the day. The children all around me are always quick to sprint out of their seats; if I'm not fast enough to beat them outside, I usually wait in my seat for the crowd to dissipate.
That is unfortunately the case for today, as an exact second before our instructor dismisses us, the class is already up and out of the classroom. The Academy students seem to have a hive mind, because all the other classrooms do the same thing.
I'm about to get comfortable in my seat when an idea hits me.
'Why have I never thought of this before?'
Stealthily, I grab my things and inch closer to one of the windows in our classroom. We're located on the first floor, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to just… hop out the window. Of course, my instructor wouldn't approve, but that's the point of me stealthily approaching it.
Making sure no one's attention is on me, I didn't hesitate to grab my things and slide out the window and into the Academy's courtyard. There are well placed shrubs outside the windows, so they shield me a bit as I continue to sneak away.
Immediately after I make it around the greenery, however, I'm stopped.
"Whoa, did you just climb out through the window?"
"Damn it," I curse to myself. So focused on making sure no one saw me inside the classroom, I had failed to look out for anyone outside of it. The shrubs could only shield so much, after all, and Yoichi Uchiyama just happened to be staring directly at our classroom window for some reason when I decided to make my "grand escape" through there.
I look up at Yoichi, who is still staring at me expectantly (very much like an excited dog, waiting for attention from his master).
Sighing, I roll my eyes. "No, I teleported."
Not wanting his conversation to go any further, I begin to walk away.
Yoichi follows me like an annoying gnat. I keep walking towards the Academy entrance regardless, just trying my best to ignore his one thousand and one questions along the way.
"Hey, can you finish telling me about that medical chakra? It sounds super cool and helpful! I want to learn about it, too! Do you think they'll teach us about it soon in class—"
"Otōto!" A familiar voice calls, cutting off Yoichi's train of thought. Never in my life had I ever been this thankful to hear Hidan's god awful yelling. "Surprise! I came to pick you up today!"
Yoichi and I stop walking as Hidan approaches, meeting us the rest of the way. My brother grins at me, but eyes Yoichi with a suspicious frown. "Who is this brat?"
"Hi! I'm Yoichi Uchi—"
"He's nobody." I'm quick to cut my classmate off, grabbing my brother by the arm and quickly ushering him away. I knew if Yoichi had fully introduced himself, Hidan would have blurted out something annoying like how Yoichi's sister was on his genin team. I'm sure if Yoichi is already aware of that fact or not, but, if he wasn't, I want to keep it that way.
Hidan allows me to herd him away obedietenly, looking over his shoulder and at the confused Yoichi who could do nothing but helplessly wave goodbye to us.
"Was that your friend?"
I raise my eyebrow, more so at Hidan's tone rather than at the question itself. He looks troubled as we walk; his face eyebrows scrunched together and a small frown on his face.
"No. I don't have any friends," I answer, subtly glancing over to see a bit of his reaction.
"Oh," he replies, immediately much more at ease. "Okay."
I snicker a bit at the change. "Why do you sound so relieved?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hidan is quick to deny anything and everything, not even looking in my direction as he sticks his nose up.
"Sure…" I roll my eyes, an amused smirk on my face. Clearly, since he doesn't have friends of his own, Hidan would feel a bit left out if I were to develop my own friend circle that didn't include him. Luckily for him, I have no intention of doing something like that.
In fact, the only reason he is even included in my inner circle is because he's my brother, and I had somehow developed a teeny, tiny soft spot for him. Otherwise, I'd be satisfied with being on my own. I'm sure if Hidan wasn't around, I'd be sitting pretty at the orphanage right now, and the patrons there would have actually loved me due to the fake persona I would have created just for them.
That isn't the reality, though, and that's okay. Hidan makes my life a bit more exciting (when he isn't making it annoying).
"So, why did you pick me up? Shouldn't you be training with your team?" I ask, a little curious as to if Hidan is slacking off, or if he's being punished by his sensei.
"Yeah, but sensei got a mission, so we got the day off today. I was thinking we could train together. It's been awhile since we were able to, and I wanna show ya what I've learned!"
"Sure. I still need help with my taijutsu, so maybe we can focus on that."
Hidan's grin turns devious. "Can't wait to make you eat dirt!"
Hidan and I spar until the sun disappears. We focused mainly on taijutsu, but would use our weapons every couple rounds. By the end of it, I'm collapsed on the ground in a heap. Hidan, used to rigorously training with his team, remains standing with a triumphant grin on his face.
"How's the dirt taste, otōto?"
I roll my eyes. "I'm laying down because I'm tired. Not because you beat me."
"Sure," Hidan replies with the same satisfied expression. "Need me to carry you home?"
"No," I scoff, but make no move to stand up on my own. Hidan snickers, moving forward to lift me up, anyways. Before long, I'm on his back and we're making our way back to the apartment.
"What's for dinner?"
I hum in reply, my head resting on Hidan's shoulder. "Mm.. Takeout? I'm too tired to cook."
"I could cook instead."
"No," I say immediately. "You can't."
"Whatever. You're just a coward who can't handle unique tastes."
"I wouldn't call food poisoning a unique taste."
"Damn, can you shut up? You're starting to piss me off."
"As if it's hard."
"Kaoru, I will drop you."
author's note: hey guys, i did not realize that it's been two years since i last updated holy christ. what can i say other than i don't get paid for this B) LMAO fr though thank you for all of your patience! time really just got away from me as i was slowly writing this chapter. i swear it took a month to write each individual paragraph.
thank you to those still reading, and hello to those just finding this story now! also, did any old readers peep the throwback to "guarded" ? _ hehe
btw i am starting a tumblr called valxrafics so i have a place to keep my writing inspo n stuff. i think it will also be a place where i can talk more easily with you guys and answer any questions you may have!
this chapter was edited by fortheloveofb! as always i thank them, because ik editing for me is a tedious job lmao
story rec: "the blurring lines" by galesynch
