It had been two nights since Kasumi had last been home. Two nights without having to see her family. No hateful stares or unnecessary yelling. No need to avoid every living soul around or stay locked in a room. To her it was the true definition of freedom and something she could never remember experiencing before. 9 years. It was forever for her; her whole life.
Anyway, her life right now was focused on spending more time with her friends. Kasumi was walking to the Academy with Daiki and Tatsuya, holding Katsu in her arms. It was nice. It was … not very quiet.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The two boys had one arm wrapped around the other and one arm punching the air above their head. They were acting like complete idiots but all it did was make Kasumi laugh, she didn't even mind the yelling. They were excited because today would be one-on-one training but not like what they had done before. It wasn't specifically taijutsu or ninjutsu, or hand-to-hand or weapons; it was going to be all of them combined. Needless to say, most were overjoyed at this big step forward. This symbolised the start of their real training for becoming a shinobi; a ninja of Konoha.
Kasumi was not as excited but was going to smile for her friends. The young Yamanaka was definitely young, compared to everyone else in her class she was a year younger. Her promotion within the Academy meant that she had a year less of training compared to the other students. The book work was easy for her to catch up on as she liked to read and spent most of her time in her room, before she became friends with Daiki and Tatsuya anyway, the training was time that she didn't have much of. She worked hard in class and therefore got the high rank in class but her confidence wasn't terribly high and her number one ranking would mean that everyone would want to beat her, possibly even sabotage, taunt or bully. It was all just a horrible experience just waiting to happen.
Remember to smile.
"Kasumi!"
"What are you thinking about back there?!"
"Just how ridiculous you two look,"
Her train of thought had caused her to fall behind the boys a little but she was not going to ruin their day. What happens, happens. If anything it would be a good bit of training and allow Kasumi to identify the areas she needed to work on the most. Maybe Nami would help her train afterwards.
The rest of the walk transitioned in a similar way. The boys yelled, jumped around and celebrated the coming day at the Academy and Kasumi walked casually behind them talking to the ninken in her arms and occasionally reply and keep conversation with the excited duo. When the group eventually reached the Academy, after gaining a lot of inquisitive stares from others in the street, they found most of their classmates in a similar mood.
As with the previous day, Itona Sensei entered the classroom on the bell to find all of his students seated and accounted for. The children had to wait until after their lunch break before the class would begin the one-on-one exercise and, with a thinly veiled threat about any screw ups in class missing out on this highly anticipated activity, there were no incidents throughout the entire day. Everyone payed close attention in class just in case Itona Sensei let slip any tips for the fights or they learnt something new to give them an advantage. The amount of effort that the students put into this particular exercise was the reason why it was always started straight after the rankings were handed out. The children were always thinking short term and so would get excited over one thing, the ranks, and not have as much time for the exercises. This stopped things from getting too competitive between the children as, unlike the ranks, it was a physical thing and, while Itona hoped that the children of his class wouldn't resort to such tactics, sometimes this could cause sabotage in the form of injuries to the other students. For only being the third of five years in the Academy the students took this step a bit too seriously. The other reason why the one-on-one fights were done after the rankings were handed out was so the students could be paired with those of a similar strength and also so that it would be obvious who was actively studying and wouldn't just practice for an exercise like this. All in all it was going to be a hectic last period at the Academy and, with both ranks and battle results, a big week in general.
Daiki and Tatsuya were no exception to the rest of their class with Kasumi having to put up with both boys talking non-stop throughout the entirety of lunch. Kasumi was more scared of her disadvantage and high expectations than excited at the new experience and so only listened to her friends' eager and enthusiastic words.
"What's going to happen if we have to fight each other?!"
"That would be so cool! Being all the fighting techniques it could be anyone's fight! What do you think Kasumi?!"
"Yeah,"
"I don't know who else I would want to fight,"
"Me neither. Hey, do you think you would be allowed to fight with Katsu this time?"
"Probably! Katsu is involved in my clan's technique, like how the Hyuga will be able to use his Byakugan,"
"That seems really unfair!"
"Yeah,"
"Haven't you noticed that Neji is always allowed to use it?"
"What?!"
"Yeah,"
This was how lunch went for the trio with Kasumi the only one actually eating her lunch with the boys then going on about how they didn't want to eat in case they were sick and Kasumi too nervous to be able to explain that they would most likely need the energy. She didn't even want to bring up and ask if Katsu would be strong enough or if Daiki was prepared to take that chance. It would only bring the mood down and it was sort of a good thing that Daiki and Tatsuya were so happy about this fight and not taking it too seriously. Hopefully they then wouldn't feel too bad if they happened to lose, which Kasumi doubted. She still had a little bit of optimism unaffected by her present attitude and she was making sure to save it all for her friends. Another thing that Kasumi didn't mention was the fact that Neji had been observing them the entire time. Undoubtedly he was looking at her specifically but she wondered why throughout the whole of the break as to why, he wouldn't be fighting her anyway as they had different genders and he made it extremely clear the previous day that he was uninterested in making a rival out of either Daiki or Tatsuya. Kasumi didn't want to think of it too hard, she already had a headache.
Lunch finally ended but once again all of the students were inside and in their seats long before they were actually required. So when Itona Sensei walked into the room he had a big decision to make. He could make his students wait or he could let them head to the training field, but if he let them out then they would be too loud to talk to. What to do. What to do.
"Class,"
They were already deathly silent but now they were paying even more attention.
"First of all, you need to know that for this exercise it will be separated into boys and girls and it will be ladies first,"
He had to be quick if he wanted to stop the oncoming flood of complaints from the male majority of the room.
"Class,"
The power he had over this group of kids right now was amazing. It went from noise to nothing in a second.
"There aren't very many girls so those fights won't take as long as the boys. The other things I want to point out are that I want clean fights. Before, during and after. No sabotage. No grudges. And you will need to keep the noise down if you want to know who your opponent is and who will be fighting next. I will call out the next pair after a fight is over. Alright?"
It wasn't really a question but the eruption of noise surrounding the collective response of "Yes, Sensei!" gave a clear answer anyway.
Between the excitement and nerves Kasumi was almost suffocating. There would only be two fights for the girls, that's how few girls there were in this class, and one had already passed. Chizuru and Masayo had a quick and frankly anticlimactic with only a few punches being thrown and the fight going to Chizuru because Masayo fell over and hurt her hand. It was probably a good thing that the girls were going first because if everyone got hyped on the boys fighting then this would be an even bigger disappointment.
Needless to say, Kasumi was in the next fight and still not looking forward to it. The other girl, TenTen, was very skilled in taijutsu and weapons and definitely stronger than the other two girls. This fight would be a little bit more interesting and hopefully Kasumi's nerves wouldn't get the best of her, she needed to perfect that skill for real combat eventually anyway.
Itona Sensei called out the two girls, even though it wasn't necessary as they were the only two left, and so Kasumi and TenTen faced off on the training field. This training field wasn't like the grass ones dotted around on the outskirts of the village but had a dirt floor. The field was surrounded by a tall, wire fence on two sides, weapon targets on another and a wall of the Academy building for the last one. The rest of the class and Itona Sensei stood along the two adjacent sides with the fence and were making a lot more noise than they did for the previous fight. It was obvious these two girls were the stronger pair and they all wanted to see a proper fight; a fight that the whole exercise was about. A fight with everything.
"Fight!"
A simple signal but it prompted no movement from either combatant. Each was analysing the other and neither wanted to make the first move in case they created an opening for their opponent or did something too predictable and was countered instantly. Already the tension from this fight outdid anything produced from the last scuffle. Surprisingly no one called out for them to start and instead all of the spectators respected the strategies taking place. For how long this would last was unclear.
The two brown haired girls continued to face off before Kasumi finalised her strategy and decided to put it in motion. In a quick movement Kasumi reached for her weapons pouch, grabbed one of the wooden replicas and threw it at her opponent's face, deliberately aiming for the right side. TenTen was able to react in time, as expected, but because she was right handed it meant that her whole left side was defenceless as she moved to stop the incoming projectile. Kasumi knew this opportunity would present itself and so when she released her own weapon she didn't hesitate and moved swiftly to TenTen's unguarded side. Not wasting time to grab another weapon, Kasumi merely landed a solid kick to the other girl's exposed ribs sending said girl flying into wooden posts used for target practice.
Now TenTen was on her back in amongst obstacles but didn't have enough time to process this as she punched a target in an attempt to land a hit on the younger girl. Once again it was following precisely to Kasumi's plan as she easily dodged by using the target as a shield and simultaneously injuring her opponent who would now have a small injury to her preferred hand.
Everything wouldn't always go to plan through. TenTen caught on quick and used the targets as cover herself instead of doing what Kasumi had wanted and moving back out into the open to then be an easy target. Luckily, there were only a few wooden poles and they were all in a straight line, meaning whoever stepped out from their cover first would be a clear target. It became another waiting game. Kasumi had to either come up with a plan for a counterattack if she broke cover first or attack while TenTen wasn't looking. There were two targets separating the girls which meant a surprisingly large distance to travel in an instance, for the skill of these two anyway.
Kasumi only had a few options. Firstly, she hadn't learnt any attacking jutsus, just the clone jutsu and transfiguration, which meant that there would be no help there. Secondly, she was too far away for taijutsu which left weapons as she had yet to learn genjutsu. TenTen was known as being especially skilled with weapons so Kasumi would be at a disadvantage. But that could be changed to an advantage very quickly if she played her cards right.
A wire connected to a kunai. Simple.
Kasumi threw it to the left of TenTen's cover and with the wire it curled around, causing TenTen to block. While her opponent was distracted from the unexpected attack, Kasumi was able to close the distance without risk of a ranged attack.
While TenTen was defending her right, as she had her back to the target, the Yamanaka came in on her left. Kasumi didn't have time to draw another kunai but another solid kick to TenTen's side sent the girl flying back into the clearing. Kasumi now had time to pull out a kunai and before TenTen could get back on her feet Kasumi was sitting on her chest with the kunai placed firmly against TenTen's throat.
The fight was over surprisingly quickly, with everything that had happened it felt a whole lot longer to the two girls who had fought. Their classmates cheered as Itona Sensei declared Kasumi the victor and Kasumi helped TenTen to her feet.
"Great fight,"
"You too,"
"You backed me into a corner for a minute,"
"Yeah but you seemed to have a solution for everything,"
"I'm just lucky my gambles paid off,"
The girls stood in the clearing talking for a minute before Itona Sensei called them back to the group to the laughter of everyone. Kasumi and TenTen included.
It was the first of a few spectacular fights that day but there was another that was even greater and a lot harder to forget.
It was the second last fight of the day. Tatsuya had fought another civilian born boy and had only just lost. This fight was Daiki's. Unfortunately he was paired to fight Neji Hyuga.
Daiki would never admit it but he was scared. He knew if he had Tatsuya and Kasumi then he would be fine but this was one-on-one. He could have Katsu fight with him but against someone like Neji he wasn't going to risk the safety of his best friend. Neji had made it clear that he detested Daiki and Tatsuya and wanted to hurt Kasumi for beating him. Daiki's priority right now was getting out of the fight without any serious injuries because if he backed out then he would never hear the end of the ridicule from the entire class, besides his friends of course.
And so Daiki and Neji entered the dirt clearing.
This was even more suspenseful and anticipated then Kasumi's fight with TenTen. The noise was deafening. It was only Kasumi and Tatsuya that made no noise and only silently prayed that Daiki would make it out in one piece. Neji's reputation, after his father died, was one that was strong and ruthless. To make it out of the fight unscathed from Neji would be nothing short of a miracle, especially as the Hyuga was allowed to use his clan's special fighting style and techniques in this battle.
"Fight!"
This battle started a lot differently to the girls' own fight. Even before the signal had finished the two boys had come together in a scuffle of taijutsu. If Daiki's head wasn't clouded with fear and anger then he may have realised that ranged attacks would be a lot wiser against a Hyuga and that taijutsu was a death sentence in most scenarios.
Neji's palms were open and facing his opponent while Daiki's knuckles were white from being clenched in tight fists. Luckily, Neji wasn't experienced enough or strong enough to kill with his blows yet but the pain on Daiki's face was enough to confirm that it was still an effective technique even at this low level. Most of Neji's hits were landing on Daiki's torso with few blocked but then when Daiki went on the offensive he was also weaker than the Hyuga boy. Daiki was lucky to deal glancing blows to his opponent's arms, let alone anywhere to cause pain or damage in any form. The fight was one sided from the beginning but Daiki had a surprisingly large stubborn streak.
Daiki tried everything from quickly changing the side he was attacking from to even flipping over his opponent in an attempt to get Neji from behind but nothing was working in the Inuzuka's favour. Whether he was punching or kicking and no matter how much strength he put behind these moves he was simply unable to get past Neji's defence and each miss only angered Daiki more, causing his taijutsu to become sloppy. To the bystanders it appeared as if Daiki was putting in all of his effort while Neji had to only do a simple and effortless movement to block and then attack. With this realisation the excitement started to die down and the noise from the onlookers soon stopped all together.
The one-sided exchange of blows continued when Neji made the final moves to end his fight without any arguments. Neji took a step backwards as another of Daiki's wild punches was aimed at the pale-eyed boy so that it easily missed his face but then what came next was unexpected and definitely uncalled for. Neji sank into a squat and slightly rotated before thrusting his arm forward so that his palm connected with the side of the Inuzuka's knee. Daiki was quick to fall and this gave Neji the opportunity to retrieve a kunai from his pouch and slash the fallen boy's shoulder before placing the weapon to his exposed throat. Daiki was too busy clutching at his knee and shoulder in pain to even register this threat or notice that the fight was over.
"Daiki!"
Kasumi and Tatsuya were worried about the condition of their friend and so when Itona Sensei officially declared the battle over they raced to Daiki's side.
Unlike Kasumi, Neji did nothing to assist his defeated opponent and instead casually walked away as his perceived rival raced to her injured friend with tears in her eyes. These two victories satisfied the Hyuga and even caused a small, and condescending, smile to form on his lips.
Kasumi and Tatsuya helped Daiki to his feet and helped him limp back to the classroom where they could try to patch him up before Itona Sensei came. There was only one more fight left and then it would be the end of the Academy day, but the trio weren't excited for the end of school today. It had been a long time since they had been this silent. It surprised everyone, including Itona who was standing outside the doorway to the room, when Kasumi was the one to break the suffocating silence with her tears.
"I'm sorry,"
Kasumi had just finished bandaging the slash on Daiki's shoulder while Tatsuya held some ice to his friend's injured knee and Katsu sat comfortably on his master's lap. Now that Kasumi's hand were no longer busy helping her friend they were now covering her eyes. Tears were escaping the prison of her hands and fleeing down her cheeks to then drip onto and create tear stains on her pants.
"I'm so sorry,"
The boys didn't know what to do. Mainly because they hadn't realised what Kasumi was going on about.
"Kasumi. It's all good. I'm fine,"
Daiki may not have understood what was going on but he was going to do whatever he could to calm the distraught Yamanaka down.
"I'm so sorry,"
It wasn't working.
Tatsuya had yet to say anything, as he still hadn't figured out what Kasumi was going on about. Luckily Itona Sensei stepped in. Without saying anything he checked Daiki's injuries, gave Katsu to Tatsuya, got Daiki onto his feet, picked the sobbing Yamanaka up in his arms and walked out of the classroom with the two boys following.
Itona knew a little bit about what was happening with Kasumi's family problems and also knew about the closer relationship she had with her friends' families. Still without a single word Itona left Daiki and Tatsuya to take the young Yamanaka to the Inuzuka compound. When Nami heard a knock on her door, not realising the time and not paying too much attention to what was going on, she thought it was Daiki coming home and ignored it. It wasn't until the second set of knocking that Nami responded with a yell.
"Hurry up Daiki! Come in!"
Another knock at the door suddenly dispelled Nami's drowsiness and made her way to the door, very clearly confused. When the opening of the door revealed the crying Yamanaka and silent teacher Nami became sombre and silent. Both adults seemed to have the same belief that any sound from them could make the young girl's condition worse. The Inuzuka woman took Kasumi from Itona and then before she turned to walk back inside he held out a bit of paper. Nami took the paper hesitantly, nodded and then continued to go back inside her house. Kasumi was still sobbing but the safety of Nami's arms soothed her a bit. Even though it was only a little bit, barely noticeable, it was something. A positive sign.
Tatsuya and Daiki made their way to the Shiota residence, as they always did, after Itona Sensei had disappeared with Kasumi. It was a slow and silent trip with Daiki's injuries and Kasumi's breakdown being the reasons. When they did get to Tatsuya's house they stood on the doorstep for several minutes. Neither of them wanted to move and neither wanted to speak. Their minds were working frantically thinking about all the things that had happened that day. Then Suzuka opened the door.
"Tatsuya! Daiki! How long have you two been there?! Never mind! Come in!"
Suzuka led the boys inside but had yet to notice their silence and saddened expressions.
"I was wondering what was taking you lot so long. How was your day? … Where is Kasumi?"
It had taken a little bit but the Shiota mother had finally asked the right question. She wasn't going to get an answer though, only another question.
"Can we go to Daiki's?"
These were the first words either boy had spoken since Itona Sensei had entered the room back at the Academy. Tatsuya had forgotten to use his manners but his mother ignored this as she now focused on the tone of her son's voice and the miserable expressions on the faces of the two boys. Suzuka herself quietened down after discovering this and in a quiet voice gave the boys permission. After a quick hug and kiss for both Daiki and Tatsuya she led both back to the door and bid them good bye as they made another slow and quiet journey down the street. Suzuka made a note to herself to ask Tatsuya about what had happened that day. About Daiki's injuries and Kasumi's absence. Before the boys made it too far down the street Suzuka had one last thing she needed to tell them.
"Tatsuya! You can stay at the Inuzuka's if you want! Just come by in the morning on your way to the Academy!"
She got a small turn of the head and a wave in acknowledgement. She hoped that everything was going to be okay for the trio. She knew that Daiki and Kasumi had problems in their lives. She just hoped that both children could come to her for help if they needed it. Suzuka had spoken to Nami a couple of times and knew that Daiki had good support from his family but Kasumi had none of that. Fortunately Kasumi now had Nami and Suzuka as substitute mothers in the hateful absence of her own neglectful biological mother.
