Twilight River

Chapter 6

Missing Sunlight

I received a lot of stares my first few days in the barracks. I was half the size of every other ANBU and according to Dog, I was quite a funny sight. I looked like a small ghost with my black hood pulled up over my brightly colored hair and such a fierce mask on a small body. I was clearly a child and children weren't supposed to be put in ANBU anymore. Yet here I was, looking like hell after each training session.

The first few days at ANBU bootcamp were the worst. My body wasn't prepared for the level of intensity Dog's workouts consisted of. Unlike training with Shisui-senpai and Itachi, Dog only pushed hard. I wasn't allowed breaks during training unless I could no longer move my body. I didn't make it halfway through the after lunch session for the first few weeks. The first few days the morning session was a struggle.

I dragged myself out of bed every day. I actually had no idea what the bed felt like because I was always unconscious as soon as my body could rest. I no longer lulled myself to sleep, floating on my chakra waves. Dog let me sleep soundly only the first week. Then he got mean and would randomly decide to test my immediate response to being attacked in my sleep.

"You look like shit." commented Hawk as I slipped a ration bar up my mask. My cloak was a mess because Dog had decided to see how I fared against jutsu as a special treat from surviving my first week. The answer is not very well.

I crunched down on it, "Dog-taichou keeps waking me up with sneak attacks."

Hawk laughed, "Bastard's thorough. You'll definitely improve under his training if you don't die."

"Gee, thanks."

Hawk returned to sharpening his kunai as I inhaled my breakfast. He looked up at me every so often to see what I was doing.

"How long have you been stuck in here?" Hawk questioned a few minutes later. He had only started bothering me a few days prior.

I frowned beneath my mask and said, "Just a week."

Hawk whistled, "You still have a long way to go, short stuff."

And Hawk was right.

.

"I... I..."

"Yes, Wolf-chan?"

"I, am so tired, I hate you, Dog."

"Dog-taichou, to you."

"Dog... Dog... I'm too tired to think of something better."

Dog snorted.

Fuck you, Dog.

.

My second week began with a rude introduction of poisons. ANBU, to build up an immunity to most common substances, ate food with little samples of poison in it. Dog didn't tell me and then laughed when I started violently projectile vomiting.

He was nice enough to hold back my hair as I tried to vomit into the sink that was a little too tall for me, "This is the first day of poison resistance."

I didn't answer, too busy emptying the contents of my stomach. I dry heaved for several minutes after I ran out of things to puke up. I rinsed my mouth out with water to try and get rid of the taste and then I slid to the floor to hold my screaming stomach.

"Ugh," I moaned, "Why?"

"I warned you yesterday that ANBU train their bodies to resist poisons." Dog demurred.

"You didn't say we were starting today!"

Dog hummed, "Oh? I didn't mention that?"

"I hate you." I pulled my mask back over my head and leaned my head on my knees. I plopped onto my side and Dog looked down at me. The black holes didn't share any sympathy, but he was still nice enough to hold back my hair when this process was repeated the next day. I started using my hair pin to secure all of my hair and not just some of it, specifically for this poison training.

Poisons were not fun, let me tell you. They took a toll on your body and different poisons did different things. We were starting with something that made me vomit and sick, but Dog promised me that they got worse than this.

By the end of that week, my body was sore and the following week was hell.

.

"Wolf-chan, did you remember to check your water?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, positive."

"Oh, I guess you don't know how to check for this particular poison type, then."

"You're supposed to teach me! What's going to happen to me?!"

"Maa, you might lose feeling in your phalanges. Definitely the metacarpals, carpals, tarsals and metatarsals."

"AuuuuughhhhhHHH."

.

The end of my first month I was physically exhausted and my mental status was going downhill. I was snappier than I had ever been in my second life and Dog thought it was funny how grumpy I was. I woke up almost every morning at different times because Dog was training my ability to wake up and deflect an attack. I was starting to become a light sleeper and Dog always got me somewhere to show me I fucked up, but I was able to get out of danger at this point. The cuts and nicks that he gave me were shallow if he thought I would receive a minor wound but he would stop and let me know if I was dead.

Training with Dog was something you just didn't get used to. He was unpredictable in that he would never follow the exact schedule of the day before. He mixed up the times that I focused on what and he made sure to keep me on my toes during my rests. Every so often Hawk would stop in, which at first would be a nice reprieve before Dog had him help with my training.

One especially grumpy morning, Hawk enticed me into a breakdown.

Dog was taking a break, watching from his spot leaning against the wall as Hawk threw various weaponry at me. Every so often I would be grazed but for the most part it went well. After what felt like two hours, but could have been any amount of time, Hawk threw his last senbon and I dodged so close I almost felt it. He was out of weapons at this point and he whistled.

"You keep improving, short stuff. You'll be done in no time." Hawk mentioned.

Dog snorted, "She was hit one-hundred and twenty-seven times. That number needs to drop to zero."

I groaned and I let my legs give out on me. Dog shook his head and tsked at me, "You know you won't be able to stand if you sit."

"Aw let her have a break, Dog. She's been training for awhile." Hawk said. He looked at the weapons scattered about the training grounds, "Although, Wolf-chan you're definitely gathering my weapons for me."

I groaned and plopped backwards into a broken sword stretch. Hawk came to stand over me and he gently kicked my leg to see if I could feel it anymore.

"Please don't." I murmured.

"I think she deserves some kind of treat, Dog. It's been what, a month?" Hawk sat down and leaned into a stretch.

Dog pushed off the wall and started to walk towards us, "She hasn't done anything to deserve a break."

I dug my fingers into the clay dirt and tried to push myself up. Hawk offered me a hand that I ignored. My abs screamed at me to stop using them and Dog had been right about me not being able to stand if I sat down. My legs locked and I shoved my hand under my mask to wipe at the gathering sweat.

Hawk flicked my mask's forehead, "Don't do that. You're going to get shit all over your face and then you'll get acne."

"I don't care." I grumbled.

"You should care. What would your little friends say if they saw you with a giant pimple on your forehead?" Hawk teased lightly.

I sniffled as I was reminded of my friends. I missed them.

"Hawk." Dog reprimanded, "Stop."

Hawk ignored him, "I bet they would say, 'Gosh, you've been gone for a month and come back looking like a dirt bug?"

I glared at him from under my mask and Hawk whistled, "I can almost feel that glower, Wolf-chan."

"Go away Hawk-senpai." My respect for both of them was an odd thing. Of course I respected their power, but all ANBU were dicks. I gave them proper respect on the outside but internally? Fuck them, Hawk doesn't deserve to be called senpai in my mind.

Hawk reached forward and flicked my mask right on the nose, "You'll see them eventually, don't fret."

That broke the tear gates. I felt my face scrunch up beneath the mask and Hawk almost immediately realized his mistake and held up his hands to try and pacify me.

"Eventually?" I echoed, "Forever, most likely."

"No, you're improving." Hawk insisted and Dog shifted awkwardly in his corner.

"Dog-taichou says otherwise." I growled after watching him move in my peripheral vision.

Hawk hushed me, similarly to how a parent would shush a child, and awkwardly pat my shoulder, "They're waiting for you."

I got angry. Waiting for me? They likely had no idea where I was. They probably hadn't noticed I was gone. We had been drifting apart and the loneliness had been killing me.

The loneliness of an ANBU trainee was worse.

I made a sound very similar to that of a wounded animal. Hawk backed away and I slammed my hand into the ground, "I hate it here!"

"Wolf, stand down." Dog ordered me, suddenly in front of me.

Stand down? Stand down? He wanted me to stand down. I looked up at him and gave a guttural low growl. I wanted to cry, and scream, and throw a tantrum.

Dog slipped into a fighting stance, "Wolf your chains are forming. Stand. Down."

I looked over my shoulder and blue bubbly chakra was stuck to my back. It actually looked a bit like I had an old world science fair volcano stuck out of my back with dark blue lava. The bubbles started to melt towards the floor and were beginning to form chain links. I took some deep breaths and Dog approached slowly as the bubbles started to evaporate. I felt my already low chakra reserve sputter with the loss of that much pure chakra and I fell forwards onto my hands. Dog leaned over me.

"We're done for today. You should take care to stretch frequently to prevent your muscles from locking."

I groaned in response.

Hawk whispered to Dog, "Hey, how old is Wolf-chan? Do you know?"

"Five... Six." Dog answered, a little unsure. Hawk was silent for a few moments. They probably assumed I was too tired to try and eavesdrop on their conversation but jokes on them, I'm a nosy person.

Finally, Hawk murmured, "That's... fucking awful. Dog, her body is still growing you need to go easy on her."

"She will be fine. This training will save her life in the future." Dog, under his breath, replied. Dog turned and left the room almost immediately after that and I rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling. The lights flickered obnoxiously until Hawk stood over me and blocked them out.

Hawk offered me a hand and I took it. He pulled me up, doing most of the work, and I wobbled a bit as my legs protested. I walked heavily in my efforts to get back to the barracks where I dropped my armor plates and rolled into bed. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Turns out, stretching was just as important as Dog had told me. Dog ended up bringing Horse to see me when I was nearly unable to stand the next day.

Horse, moments after starting her examination with chakra, turned and cracked her fist into the side of Dog's head. Dog took it like a man and only brought his hand up to rub at the side of his head after she started scolding him.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiot! Did you not retain any information about basic training? You need rest days! Muscles need to rebuild! You're in ANBU and you don't know this?" Horse yelled as I felt something nice and warm in my leg muscles. I smiled through my mask. Healing chakra was nice sometimes.

Dog cut off Horse's tirade, "I know how training works, Horse. I expected her body to be more durable."

This time when Horse when to hit him he ducked under the punch. Horse grumbled and focused back on me, "Fucking prodigy," she coughed to poorly hide that, "Dog, I understand you want to push her through training as quick as possible but she needs rest days. Even if she were an adult this would be too much for her."

"I train her like I train myself," Dog argued, "If she can't handle this then she won't be fit for ANBU."

Horse didn't try to hit him this time, "Don't argue with the goddamn medic. After I fix her today she can train tomorrow, the next day, then the third day she gets a rest day. Repeat that schedule. You need to understand that you have been training and building yourself up to where you are now. Your body expects hours of training per day. Wolf's body hasn't been built up to that of your typical chunin, let alone a full ANBU. And..."

There was a tense silence for a moment.

Horse took a deep breath and seemed to count to ten to calm herself, "Dog?"

Dog was fearless enough to ask, "Yes?"

"Poison? You're starting her on poison training?"

"Yes. Of course."

Horse sounded like she was contemplating on hitting him again as she said, "Halve the dosage. Actually, quarter it. Wolf weighs about as much as my cat."

Dog hummed, "That's a fat cat, Horse."

He didn't dodge the side kick that sent him two bunks down.

Horse sniffed, "Let's get you fixed up nicely, okay Wolf?"

.

"You've been reading a study guide for the last six hours on your rest day, Wolf-chan."

"I enjoy reading."

"Wouldn't you rather do something more... exciting?"

"I'm not allowed to leave the base, Hawk-senpai."

"That's boring."

"Hawk-senpai."

"Yes?"

"Shut up and go away."

"So mean to me, Wolf-chan!"

.

Three months into training and my body felt strong. After Dog figured out the best way to train a six year old things progressed much better. I still went to sleep some nights with an aching body and I hadn't dreamed due to exhaustion since I got to the base, but things weren't completely terrible. There were a few issues left over from the initial month's push that I was slowly fixing. The training had actually weakened some of my muscles and ligaments, and some minor injuries were less minor than Dog expected. Everything would be fixed with time, Horse promised.

Dog was watching me spar lightly with Hawk. According to Hawk he would fight me at a chunin level and while I was winded and tired, the match hadn't been lost yet. The rules for sparring were that if I lasted longer than two hours it would be counted as a win for me and we would advance me to the next level. So far I had lost to the chunin stage twice and I was determined to make the third time the charm. Of course I could also win by knocking out or subduing Hawk but there was no chance in hell I was going to be able to do that for a long while. Meanwhile, I lost if Hawk subdued me or knocked me out.

Also, I was not allowed to manifest any kind of chakra chain. My chains were admittedly deadly and I had absolutely no control over them. My chains only had one setting, which was murder.

I dodged a volley of senbon and responded with a few kunai of my own. Hawk pretty much ignored them as Dog called out, "Fifteen minutes remaining."

"Doing good, Wolf-chan. I'm not letting you win that easily though." Hawk promised and he disappeared in a shunshin. I spun out of the way of a grab and I retaliated with a kick aimed for his knees. Hawk replaced himself with one of the rocks that decorated this particular training room.

I could feel the intensity bar raise as Hawk continued to shunshin around me. I was put on heavy defense and I tried to read what Hawk was planning for. Was he trying to herd me in a certain direction? Was he bluffing? My mind was just as tired as the rest of me was.

Hawk's fist clipped my jaw with a hook that I hadn't quite managed to slip under. I jabbed at a pressure point by his elbow and Hawk disappeared again. This time he appeared some ways away and his hands flashed through hand signs. The only warning I had was the glow under his mask as he went to lift it.

I got the hell out of the way as flames licked my heals. I was surprised at Hawk's ability with ninjutsu; I had him pegged as a weapons user.

The thing about fighting Hawk was he knew all my tricks by now. I couldn't get him with my Shisui-senpai trained speed, nor did I surprise him with my quick and dirty thinking.

Speaking of dirty thinking, Hawk came in close again and I grabbed a handful of dirt to throw up at his face. The mask was a good barrier against cheap shots like that but I was so much shorter than Hawk I was able to sneak it in underneath the mask where there was some room.

The match ended a few minutes later with my victory after I spent the remaining time keeping away from Hawk's sudden flurry of hidden weapons. I was nicked quite a bit but nothing serious. Hawk carried a lot of senbon on him and they were scattered about the room.

"Good job!" Hawk praised me before he looked around the room, "How about we play rock paper scissors to determine who cleans up?"

I fell over and Dog, for once, took my side and said, "Your weapons, your responsibility."

I was glad for that. Hawk sighed and started to collect his senbon slowly while Dog came to stand over me. He continued to scribble on a clipboard. After about a minute he hummed.

"You're improving. Your hand to hand combat is passable. Your evasion tactics need to be worked on though. Now we will focus on jutsu for the next month or two because frankly, your academy jutsu are atrocious. Your chakra chains are a also a major concern we will begin working on. You've been slotted as both an assassin and as a heavy hitting tank. These skill sets contrast each other so after we finish basics we will spend a month or two on those specialties. I aim to have you out of bunker lock down in six months." Dog explained quickly, reading over his clipboard and seeming pleased with it.

"I didn't think you were a note taker." I laughed breathlessly.

Dog held the clipboard to his body and sounded very detached, "Something I picked up from a mentor."

I snorted, "And what will I pick up from you? Your grumpiness?"

Punishment for that remark was swift: Dog dropped the clipboard right on my head.

.

"Channel your chakra into that paper."

"Oh, we're testing for my affinity? That's fun!"

"..."

"Oh, its all wet, does that mean water?"

"Yes. A surprise."

"What did you expect?"

"With the way your chains shredded someone into pieces, wind."

"..."

"Water is convenient though. I have more water affiliated jutsu than wind."

"...alright."

.

I was a small girl with a growing chakra reserve. This made it incredibly difficult for me to learn most big jutsu that Dog wanted me to learn in regards to my water affinity. This was especially so because the ANBU bunker did not have a water source large enough for me to practice with so I had to convert chakra into water or pull it from the atmosphere. The bunker wasn't very damp so it took a good majority of my reserves to do anything that involved my water ninjutsu.

I could manage a weak water bullet after the first few days of training. I thought that was pretty impressive.

When we didn't focus on my ninjutsu, we had moved on to assassination techniques. How to walk without any noise, how to make no sound at all, how to breath in time with the atmosphere, and other things that involved me remaining hidden. The entire ANBU force ended up roped into an assassination type game where I had to tag them in the back with a piece of paper without them noticing it.

Admittedly, it was fun.

The first time we played I did horrible. Not a single ANBU was fooled by my light steps. It took a few weeks before I was quiet enough to get any of them. Dog sounded pleased as my number of tags increased every time we played.

After I was able to spit out a water bullet and my assassination training seemed promising, Dog unloaded an armful of scrolls on me.

"You like reading, so read these in your spare time." Dog ordered me.

"What are they?" I questioned, dropping the scrolls onto my bunk.

"Scrolls that will teach you jutsu. Learn them in your spare time after your training camp is over, or on your off days. Tomorrow you will fight Horse at jounin level. We will decide where to go from there." Dog informed me.

I nodded, "Yes sir!"

.

"Ne, ne, Wolf-chan."

"Yes, Horse-senpai?"

"Here. I smuggled this in for you."

"Ah, candy! Thank you so much, Horse-senpai!"

"No problem, kid. Don't let Dog get to you. You'll be back outside in no time."

"I... thank you."

.

Horse tilted her head as she regarded me for our spar. Dog was settled to the side, taking notes again. He hadn't called a start to our match yet and Horse was appraising me. She wasn't wearing the ANBU cloak although most ANBU forego the cloak in the bunker if they aren't heading out for something. Her hair was braided and wrapped around into a bun on the top of her head.

I still wore the cloak around the base, mostly because I thought it was funny and made me look like a little ghost, but I could feel my hairpin securing some of my hair at the base of my neck.

Only a little bit longer, Shisui-senpai. I'll be back soon.

Dog looked up and hummed, "Did I forget to start the match? Fight!"

Horse was faster than my fight with Hawk had been and before Dog even finished speaking, Horse was on me. And I realized, very quickly, Horse was scary. She used wire and I was afraid I was going to lose an arm or a leg fighting her. I managed to slip through most of her attempts to ensnare me but she moved the wire very easily. They were like extensions of her body.

The first hour of the spar was mostly me avoiding the wires and spitting out pathetic water bullets at Horse. After the first hour Horse decided to go with close combat and I almost lost when a chakra scalpel took out the use of my left arm. I couldn't use water bullets anymore so I resorted to darting in and out, trying to get a hit in. Horse caught some of my kicks and I thought she was going to break my leg a few times but I was flexible enough to usually get out.

The spar ended closely and when Dog called it, Horse immediately came at me with her hands glowing green.

"You were very good, Wolf-chan. I understand the pressure of fighting an opponent you aren't matched against, especially after I numbed the nerves in your arm. Your offense needs some work though, despite that. You were very defensive." Horse hummed as she fixed up my arm.

Dog agreed, "I've been working very general with her and her specialization so far has been assassination. I expect her to work more on her arsenal after I have her at ANBU level in her general skills. From today we will work on her chakra chains."

"Just my chakra chains?" I asked.

He nodded and looked at me, "Those will be the deadliest weapon you will have. You may pick up other jutsu in the future and I will make sure you are a deadly assassin, but for heavy combat your chains will be a force to be reckoned with."

I breathed in deeply, "Two months?"

"In two months you will fight Cat with no restriction. ANBU against ANBU. To leave you must not just survive the fight, but you must knock out or subdue Cat." Dog informed me.

"Why Cat? I haven't met Cat yet, I thought you would be my final test." I admitted.

"You know nothing about Cat and Cat knows nothing about you. It will be the most unbiased way of testing you." Dog explained.

Horse, as she finished fixing me up, laughed, "Cat is going to be in for a surprise if little Wolf-chan can get her chains going."

Dog shrugged, "He'll be fine if he makes it past the first ones."

.

"I hate these chains sometimes!"

"I didn't know we were redecorating the base today. This hole would make a nice window to see into the training room."

"Go away Hawk-senpai!"

"Oh? Your chains are quite offensive for such a defensive little fighter."

BOOM.

"Not very nice of you, Wolf-chan. Those chains could hurt me. Although, now the window is bigger and that's a plus."

"Go away!"

.

Cat was not very impressive to look at. He was rather boring with brown hair and nothing noteworthy about him. He was looking down at me and I was getting the feeling he was a little confused.

"You want me to fight Wolf?" Cat questioned, looking over at Dog.

Dog, who had foregone his clipboard for this fight, nodded and crossed his arms, "Do not hold back, just like we discussed."

My head swiveled harshly, "I thought you said this would be a nonbiased fight! What did you discuss with him?"

"Nothing important." Dog dismissed before called, "Fight!"

Both Cat and I appraised each other.

Cat rubbed the back of his head, "Good luck, Wolf?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

I made the first move by immediately spitting a water bullet at Cat. Cat got out of the way and responded with an earth jutsu that I avoided by running up the wall. Cat then sent a much meaner water bullet towards me and I dropped from the ceiling, aiming towards cat.

Alright, I told myself, you don't want to hurt Cat, but you really want to knock him the fuck out so you can see sunlight again.

Cat paused from his hand signs when I felt four chains ripple out of my back and I sent two towards him. Cat got the hell out of the way as the chains created a crater where he had once been standing. Suddenly, Cat was in try hard mode. It's like he realized I was actually a threat or something because suddenly he was throwing jutsu at me and I was dodging.

I could call nearly an unlimited amount of chains we learned, depending on the size, and I was actually able to vary the size if I meditated a very long time. Dog had nicknamed my usual chains my Angry chains, because they were killers. I still hadn't found a way to gently restrain someone with my chains yet. Every training dummy I had tried on over the past month had exploded and Dog decided trying on people wasn't the best idea.

I also normally used almost all my reserves up with my chains. I had a lot of chakra for a kid and Horse was excited to see how much my reserves grew in the next few years because she expected I would rival Hoshigaki Kisame, nicknamed the tailed beast without a tail. I didn't think I would have that much chakra but she said I already was at the normal reserves that a chunin female would have if she were from a clan. Uzumakis, she explained, were incredibly intimidating for their boundless energy and endless chakra.

Currently while training I could call eight full Angry chains before a ninth Angry chain would knock me into dangerously low chakra levels. Dog usually had me call a ninth just to grow my reserves.

So I decided, I was putting my everything into this fight against Cat, because I wanted to leave!

Two more chains came out of my back and then I called two more. My chains cost a lost of pure chakra but Cat wouldn't be able to come anywhere near me with this many chains out. I could extend them about the width of the room but I wouldn't be able to call any more if I extended all six of them and if I dispersed my chains then I would lose three fourths of my chakra reserves.

Cat's body language suggested he was a little nervous as my chains broke through the room around us and I tried to swat him like a fly. He was fast but I was angry and my chains were quick. I wanted to see sunlight again! My friends! I missed them!

Cat tangled two of them and dove in towards me. One of my guarding chains shot forward and Cat used an earth jutsu to bounce over it. My remaining guard chain wrapped in front of me to block while my other chains retracted inwards. I felt a rush of power as I pulled in and Cat seemed to have realized he made a mistake. The chains circled and got stuck around another. My last guarding chain became the bow on top as Cat was surrounded by chains and didn't seem like he wanted to try touching them.

Dog idly clapped, "Very wasteful of your chakra, using six chains to subdue one opponent, but at least you found a way to subdue him without separating his torso from the rest of his body."

Cat, very nervous now, demanded in a higher pitch, "She could have what?!"

"You would have been fine," Dog dismissed, "Even if she took you off guard with her chains you still had a trump card to save yourself."

Cat sighed very deeply, "Next time, warn me ahead of time please. I expected taijutsu and ninjutsu, not this."

After a few moments where I didn't disperse the chains Cat called, "You made your point, Wolf. I surrender."

Almost immediately I disconnected the chains and they evaporated into pretty blue mist that slowly faded away. I felt three fourths of my chakra suddenly disappear and it was like I was sucker punched in the gut. I staggered for a moment before collecting myself.

Dog tossed something at me and I caught it.

I eyed the new tanto in my hands with confusion and Dog said, "A congratulatory present. ANBU standard tanto. It's a requirement so after a week of rest, you'll be learning that with me and I'll start taking you out on missions."

"Oh." I muttered, "There's still more to learn?"

"You sound disappointed. I thought you liked learning." Dog almost but not quite teased.

I nodded absently, "I do. I love learning. Despite the fact I hated being locked here for months I enjoyed learning all of this, speaking of which, what day is it?"

Cat answered for me, "The twenty third of May."

"You've been here roughly nine months." Dog added helpfully.

"That's a long time. I wonder if my friends missed me?" I murmured.

"Well, go find out. You're free for the next week. Well, Hokage-sama will want to speak with you but you can stop by later today after you go get some real food and see the sunlight." I kind of ignored Dog as he spoke. I heard what I had to do and I gathered my things. He followed me and gave me a brief rundown of how I wasn't allowed to tell anyone I was ANBU, we sealed my gear into a scroll and Dog, for the first time, saw me without my mask. I didn't really care though as I climbed out the first exit I found. This exit led into an alley by the hospital and I stumbled a bit in the sun.

"Sunlight!" I cried. A few people walking past the alley gave me odd looks but I didn't really care. I was more interested in feeling the sun on my skin. My shiny new hitai-ate, tied snug around my ANBU tattoo for now, felt heavy on my body. Finally having the time I peeled back the hitai-ate to stare at my tattoo in natural light. Unimpressed, I put the hitai-ate back. What was impressive was how pale I had gotten! I looked like a ghost!

Staring up at the sun, I cooed, "Spring sunlight feels so good."

I paused, "May. It's... May."

Finally, I swore, "I missed my own birthday! I'm seven!"

AN:

This chapter... killed me. I love writing for Twilight River normally but this entire training montage has been an entire semester of disaster. I don't want Miyako to be too strong too fast but at the same time, she needs to be on the level of an ANBU, or at least able to pass a sparring test. I also didn't want her to be in training for too long, but I wanted her to be there long enough where it made sense she could at least take an ANBU with her Uzumaki Bullshit Jutsu. Not gonna lie though, this chapter probably has errors everywhere. Errors and inconsistencies. Like, I had to go recheck Miyako's age five or so times.

Next chapter, I'll clear up her abilities and where she stands in power level a bit more. This entire montage chapter is a giant filler.

Thank you to the following for reviewing (:

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