Tempered in Water
Chapter 2 / Reflections in the Water
By HitokiriOTD
Hatake Kakashi was no stranger to fatigue. Saying that shinobi missions above D and C rank tended to be demanding would be an understatement. So yes, Kakashi was very familiar with fatigue in all of its many varied forms. He was also very familiar with being injured. However, if he was forced to choose one type of fatigue that he hated the most, Kakashi would probably say, "Chakra exhaustion." It was a very irritating condition. The enemy did not even have to hurt you for it to occur, and when it did happen, you pretty much became helpless for days on end while you waited for your chakra stores to replenish.
Chakra exhaustion could lay even the strongest ninja low, and by the time a shinobi reached jounin level, they had gone through enough life and death situations to hate feeling weakness. In a relatively safe place, such as Konoha, Kakashi would not mind it so much. He could sit back in a hospital bed while nurses, preferably pretty ones, cared for his every need. He would also have all of the time in the world to read the ongoing Icha Icha series. However, dealing with chakra exhaustion during a mission was not pleasant. It was enough, in fact, to drive even a normally even-tempered jounin up the wall as paranoia and boredom took turns assaulting his sanity.
Kakashi was grateful when Naruto entered his private room and broke his reverie. The blond tended to be noisy and energetic, as well as mildly amusing when teased. He could grate on the nerves, but for now Kakashi was thankful that Naruto was around to break the tedium. It had become a daily occurrence for Naruto to visit him separately from his teammates at least once a day. Of course, Kakashi had only been awake for two days, so calling it a daily occurrence was a bit premature, but it was shaping up to be that way.
Kakashi knew that Naruto was coming more for his own sake than Kakashi's. Naruto was all smiles, but Kakashi was good enough at looking underneath the underneath to see that inside, Naruto was an extremely troubled individual. There were times when he would grow silent, his eyes shadowed, and he would often begin to ask a question. Naruto had yet to follow through with it, and Kakashi had felt it would be best to let Naruto come to terms with things in his own time, so he let the younger ninja be.
Naruto was Kakashi's primary source of information while he was bedridden. Sasuke was still confined to bed rest, and Sakura tended to hover over him like a mother hen despite the dark-haired boy's clear irritation at her coddling. Thus, Naruto was acting in place of the rest of the team, escorting Tazuna everywhere he went and maintaining the perimeter around the house when Sakura couldn't be bothered to leave Sasuke's side. Kakashi worried sometimes, since Naruto wasn't exactly what he would call the sharpest kunai in the bunch. Still, nothing had happened yet, and Naruto had proven himself to be more capable than anyone, including Kakashi himself, had given him credit for. So, after the initial greetings were out of the way and Naruto settled down, the first thing Kakashi did was ask for a report.
Naruto nodded, folding his arms and screwing his face up in concentration. "Sasuke is finally able to stand up by himself, though he can't walk very far and is being a jerk about it," Naruto frowned in exaggerated disgust at his self-proclaimed rival's behavior. "Sakura-chan is still hanging around Sasuke, and she's been really moody lately," he shivered, rubbing his jaw as if feeling a phantom pain.
For all Kakashi knew, maybe he was. Sakura was a rather… passionate girl, and despite the façade she adopted in front of most people, she had a quick temper. She also had the alarming tendency to express it physically. Kakashi thought it rather ironic that she expressed more of her true self in front of Naruto, whom she thought was annoying, than she did in front of Sasuke, whom the girl proclaimed to want to spend the rest of her life with. For Naruto it was a rather mixed blessing, since he was frequently the target of Sakura's wrath. Naruto visibly shook off whatever thoughts that had troubled him and perked up. "The bridge is getting longer every day," he continued, this time with real enthusiasm. "Old man Tazuna's getting a lot of help now, and it looks like the whole town is starting to pitch in." He smiled, puffing up proudly, "Of course, without my Kage Bunshin, things would be going a lot slower."
"Anything unusual?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto's grin dropped from his face, quickly becoming serious. He knew what his teacher was asking. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I've been on the lookout, but I haven't noticed anyone suspicious. I scouted around the town, and I used Henge to infiltrate the local gathering places, but there's nothing that hints at a counter-attack." He stopped for a moment, looking at Kakashi for approval.
The masked jounin nodded, his single visible eye curling in what his students had come to recognize as a smile. "Good job," he praised. It was a good job, too. A much better job than he had expected of Naruto, really. Once again, he had underestimated the blond and been surprised. It also showed that the battle on the bridge had initiated some deep changes in Naruto. Expecting Naruto to show traits like caution or good sense had once been an exercise in futility. It seemed that the battle, and Naruto's extra responsibilities while his team was largely incapacitated, had started to prompt Naruto to think things through and consider things ahead of time. But while the battle seemed to be encouraging Naruto to mature, it had also left deep wounds that the boy was reluctant to confront.
"How is Haku?" he asked casually. To his credit, Naruto no longer flinched when that name was brought up, but his eyes dimmed slightly and his lips quirked down.
"Still hasn't woken up," Naruto replied, his voice unusually quiet. "The doctor says he lost a lot of blood and that he needs to stay under observation for a week or two." The guilt on Naruto's face would be obvious even to an untrained civilian. Apparently Naruto realized that too, for a moment later he forced himself to brighten up. "It looks like he'll be fine though, so everything's okay," he said cheerfully. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what was that cool technique you used to heal him?"
"A medical jutsu," replied the jounin-sensei. "They require a very high level of chakra control, not to mention knowledge of the human body, so I don't think they're your kind of thing," Naruto's face screwed up in distaste and disappointment at Kakashi's explanation. "Putting that aside, how are you doing, Naruto?" Kakashi stared at his student with a level gaze. It was time to confront the issue.
Naruto gave him a confused look, before a bright grin stretched across his face. "What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked cheerfully. "As you can see," he pounded his chest with a fist, "I'm perfectly fine. You're the one who needs rest." Naruto stood, and began making his way to the door. "In fact, I should let you get to it. Tsunami-neechan will scold me again if I bother you for too long," he said.
"Naruto," Kakashi barked. Naruto stopped at the tone in his teacher's voice. The jounin's tone gentled as he continued, "You're going to have to talk about it eventually. It's been several days, and you've had time to reflect on things. Now you should talk about it. Otherwise, it will fester inside of you, and you'll end up consumed by all sorts of ugly emotions."
Naruto was silent for a long time. Kakashi watched as the genin's fists clenched and unclenched in indecision, but the boy didn't deny that he knew what Kakashi was talking about. Finally, Naruto turned and sat beside the futon once more. He stared down at his hands for a long moment. Kakashi waited patiently. "Sensei…" he began before stopping again. Naruto took a deep breath. "Do you… I mean…" he trailed off again, before continuing hurriedly, "When was the first time you killed someone?"
Kakashi looked out through the windows, taking in the ocean view for several silent moments. "I was six," he said finally. Seeing Naruto's surprise, he smiled faintly. "When I was young, it was a period full of war. Students went into the Academy at much younger ages, and became genin at a younger age as well." Kakashi sighed, "Maa… I was considered to be a genius, so I went in several years earlier than most. I became a genin quickly. Like you, I killed a man on my first C rank mission, two months after I graduated. It was just a simple road patrol mission, but my team encountered a group of soldiers from Lightning Country. I don't know what they were doing so deep in Fire Country, but the Fire Country and Lightning Country were at war, so we attacked. I killed two soldiers. The first one died as we descended from the treetops. I broke his neck. The second, I killed with a kunai to the throat." Kakashi grimaced slightly under his mask, "It was messy."
Naruto stared at his teacher for a long time, wide-eyed. Then, in a small voice, he asked, "Does it get easier?"
Kakashi sighed. "It depends," he said finally, "on what type of person you are. For some, it never gets easier. Other shinobi grow to like killing." Naruto looked horrified at this, and Kakashi smiled. It doesn't look like he'll turn out to be the second type, at least. Despite what most people in Konoha seem to think. The last thought was a sour one. "For most," he continued, "well, they get used to it. A ninja's trade is death, after all. Humans can grow used to a lot of things, given enough exposure. If you survive long as a ninja, you'll probably end up killing a lot of people. You'll get used to it, if only as a survival mechanism. After all, grief is a luxury you can't afford often in the field. Feeling sympathy for the enemy will get you killed, and maybe your teammates too. Very few of your enemies will hesitate to kill you."
Naruto frowned, clearly unhappy. "Naruto," Kakashi murmured, "When you were fighting against Haku, and later with Zabuza, how did you feel while using the Kyuubi's chakra?" It was not the most tactful thing to ask, especially while Naruto was still dealing with the emotional backlash of his first kills, but Kakashi needed to know. He had gotten Sakura's and Naruto's reports on the battle earlier, but there had never been a good opportunity to broach the subject of the Kyuubi's influence until now.
"The Kyuubi's chakra…?" Naruto looked aghast.
Kakashi blinked in surprise, "You didn't know?"
"No…" Naruto trailed off, looking even more dejected than he had before.
"Naruto," the Copy Ninja began seriously, "that red chakra you used was the Kyuubi's chakra." He paused as another thought occurred to him. Naruto had seemed a bit sketchy on the details of the fights he had while using the Kyuubi's chakra. Kakashi had assumed that it was just fatigue, or emotional issues, but what if…? "How much do you remember of the times you used the Kyuubi's chakra?"
Naruto frowned. His eyes squinted briefly in the way that Kakashi had come to know as his 'thinking' face. "Not much," he admitted. "I mean, I can remember some things, but I remember being really… angry, so it's all kind of blurred." There was a long period of silence, before Naruto continued, "But I do remember… blood." He stared at his hands, clearly reliving dark memories.
Kakashi cleared his throat, disrupting Naruto's thoughts. "That chakra…" he began slowly, "It'd be best if you kept your temper in check from now on. It seems like your anger brought it out, but if you can't control yourself well while you're using it… Well, you might end up hurting more than your enemies," Kakashi paused, letting the implications of his statement sink in. Judging by Naruto's suddenly pale face, he had gotten the message. "In any case, you should probably go back to guarding Tazuna-san. That is our job here, after all. Oh, and take Sakura with you, will you? She's been slacking off a bit too much lately." Kakashi's casual tone masked his mild irritation and disappointment with the kunoichi. I was hoping she would have learned to take being a ninja seriously after everything that happened.
Naruto nodded and stood up. He made his way to the door slowly, and stopped just as he was about to leave. "Kakashi-sensei…"
"Hmm…?" Kakashi made a questioning noise.
"Did I do the right thing?" Naruto didn't clarify what he was talking about, but Kakashi knew anyway.
"They would have killed us all without hesitation, and then gone after the city when they were finished," Kakashi eyed Naruto seriously, though he knew the boy couldn't see him. "Your actions were not wrong. Yes, you killed people, but if you hadn't Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna, and maybe even myself would have ended up dead. You helped defend your team and complete the mission. I'm proud of you."
Naruto drew a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," he said, turning his head slightly and giving the jounin a sincere smile.
Sakura was not a happy girl. After graduating the Academy and being placed on Sasuke-kun's team, not to mention enduring Kakashi's demonic bell test, things should have been looking up for her. Being on the same team was supposed to have given her plenty of private time with the tragic Uchiha, and he should have quickly seen the merits in her, and then they would fall in love, and then…
But, reality was nothing like her fantasies. She had hardly spent any private time with Sasuke-kun, and moreover she was stuck with that Naruto and the perverted, chronically late Kakashi-sensei. Training was far harsher than it had been in the Academy, and Kakashi-sensei could be very demanding when he deigned to pay attention to his students. Then they had begun the trivial D ranked missions. Things had finally started looking up when they had convinced Hokage-sama to give them a C ranked mission. She had thought it would be a perfect chance to impress Sasuke-kun with her skills. In reality, things had turned out far worse than she could ever have imagined.
The ambush by the Demon Brothers had terrified her, and she had frozen, much like Naruto had. Sakura had been ashamed and scared in the aftermath. She was deathly afraid that Sasuke-kun, who had performed magnificently, would think less of her because of it. Still, only Naruto's failure had been singled out, so her shame was quickly forgotten. She had agreed to continue the mission, despite her private misgivings, due to Sasuke-kun's clear desire to continue on.
When they had arrived in Wave Country, Sakura had once again known true terror. The weight of a jounin's killing intent was a feeling she would never forget. Even Sasuke-kun had been frozen in fear. It was then that she discovered two very important things about her teammates. One was that Kakashi-sensei was not only chronically tardy and a pervert, he was also an incredibly competent shinobi and worthy of respect. The second thing was that Naruto, the dead-last, was quickly growing beyond his old title. That he had thought up such a good plan so quickly and under great stress surprised Sakura immensely. Even Kakashi-sensei had acknowledged Naruto's growth. That Naruto could have grown the most out of the genin in Team Seven had initially seemed ridiculous, but in the aftermath of the final battle with Zabuza and Gatou, she was no longer sure.
Naruto had proven that the 'dead-last' label no longer applied to him. He was growing stronger at an incredible pace. However, she was not the only one to notice this. Sasuke-kun had noticed it too. It was clear even through Sakura's rose-tinted view of the Uchiha that Sasuke-kun was beginning to feel threatened by Naruto's progress. Naruto's defeat of that masked boy angered and frustrated Sasuke, and he brooded over his defeat and Naruto's success with a single-mindedness that frightened Sakura. It also made Sakura even more snappish than usual towards Naruto. How dare he make Sasuke-kun feel inferior!
She had tried to comfort Sasuke-kun and reassure him that of course he was stronger than Naruto, and that his defeat must have just been a fluke, but her well intended words only served to make Sasuke angrier. She had yet to successfully banish the image of the cold look that he had directed at her as he ordered her out of his room. This is all Naruto's fault, she grumbled internally as she re-checked her equipment for the third time out of sheer boredom.
"If it wasn't for him…" Sakura muttered. She stopped. If it wasn't for him… what? A chill thought touched her awareness. If it wasn't for him, Sasuke-kun might really have died. Was she being unfair to Naruto? Even though his actions had irritated Sasuke-kun, it was thanks to him that the masked boy had been defeated and Gatou had been killed. Sakura unconsciously furrowed her brow as her mind explored the implications of this new thought. Maybe… I should thank him…
Her radical thoughts were cut off by a loud banging noise. Sakura whirled in alarm, her right hand instinctively going for a kunai, before stopping suddenly as she saw the source of the noise.
"Naruto," she growled, "What do you think you're doing, barging into my room like that?" Her voice had steadily risen in volume with each word that she spoke. Sakura was about to unleash her frustration onto the hapless blond when she remembered her earlier thoughts. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath.
Naruto, seeing Sakura calm herself down, laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, Sakura-chan! But, I did knock, and you didn't answer! I was worried…"
Sakura blinked. Was I so focused on my thoughts that I didn't hear him knocking? It was an embarrassing and rather alarming thought. She was a kunoichi, after all, and shinobi that didn't pay attention to their surroundings ended up dead sooner rather than later. She sighed in resignation and accepted Naruto's apology, "It's fine. Just… try not to do it again, okay?"
Naruto nodded, eager to escape arousing his crush's wrath again. "So? What do you want?" Sakura asked.
"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed. Several moments of silence passed. "What was it again?" A tick developed over Sakura's left eye.
"Na-ru-to…" she growled.
Naruto, having once again tested Sakura's patience, quickly remembered the relevant details. "Kakashi-sensei wanted you to go out on patrol today," he said hurriedly. "Something about you slacking off too much…" Naruto trailed of nervously, fearing that he had said too much. Surprisingly, Sakura didn't seem to take offense at the accusation. Instead, she nodded and collected her equipment—which for a short-range patrol meant only her kunai holster and equipment pouch.
The two Konoha genin reached the bridge, with Tazuna in tow, without incident. Sakura felt touched, and just a little embarrassed, by the enthusiasm that they were greeted with as they had passed through town. Naruto, however, had seemed slightly odd. Normally, she would have expected the attention-hungry ninja to be overjoyed by so much adulation being directed towards him. Instead, he had seemed almost indifferent to it, aside from a few polite greetings to islanders he had come to know. It was yet another mystery about Naruto that she had no answer to.
Sakura was coming to find that the more time she spent around Naruto, the less she really knew about him. Naruto, she realized, was exceedingly easy to categorize and write off at first glance. She was also beginning to believe that it just wasn't possible to categorize Naruto. He was constantly evolving and changing, and was probably the most unpredictable person she had ever met.
The trouble with revelations was that they could change a person's world view in rather uncomfortable ways. Sakura's realizations about Naruto left her uncertain about how to interact with her teammate. She no longer knew how to approach him, and so spent the trip to the bridge in uncertain silence.
Naruto, ever perceptive to the ways people looked at him, noticed Sakura's strange behavior immediately. Her hesitation and uncertainty shone clearly to Naruto. However, as skilled as Naruto was in recognizing how people perceived him, he was no expert in deciphering people's thoughts beyond that. So when he saw Sakura's hesitant regard for him, combined with her strange silence, he immediately grasped for a reason and found one nestled within recent events. The battle on the bridge had been a pivotal moment in Naruto's life, and it had changed many things.
Blood now stained his soul and left mental scars that would never completely go away. For the first time, he had gained Kakashi-sensei's respect, and that meant more to him than he could ever express in words. He had helped saved Tazuna and the Wave and shown Inari that heroes did exist, changing their opinions of him in the process. Was it so farfetched that Sakura's opinion of him would change, and not for the better? Naruto had spent the last two nights haunted by the screams of the men he had killed, the sight—and the smell, the feel, and the taste—of blood, and the sensations he had felt as he had slaughtered human beings. Sakura had been present at that battle as well, and had seen the bloody aftermath his rage had wrought.
Sakura-chan is scared of me…
It was an incredibly depressing thought for Naruto. Sakura-chan was the girl he liked the most, out of all the girls in the whole world. She was his teammate, the object of his affection, and… his friend; one of his precious people.
And now she was afraid of him.
Now that he had figured out the reason for Sakura's strange behavior, Naruto shut himself off even further. Don't think about it, he advised himself fiercely. Focus on the mission. If he thought about it, the emotional pain would distract him too much, and he refused to be a failure or a liability anymore.
He would always treasure the few precious memories he had of Sakura-chan, starting with the day that he had first seen her years ago amidst the leaves. The vision of a girl with bubble-gum pink hair, alone and weeping, had stirred Naruto's heart on so many levels. But it had taken him too long to work up the courage to step out of his hiding place to comfort her, and another blond, blue-eyed child had beaten him to it. He had been too fearful, too afraid of rejection, and terrified of adult retribution. That very night Naruto had vowed, after a bout of crushing disappointment and self-loathing, that he would not hesitate again. Never again would he hide in the shadows fearing rejection or the wrath of adults.
When Naruto next saw Sakura again, on her first day at the Academy, he had immediately gone up to her and asked to be her friend. It was the first of many, many rejections. Later, when it had seemed like all of the girls Naruto knew had begun sighing after the dark-haired Uchiha heir, Naruto began to ask Sakura out on dates, dubbing her 'Sakura-chan.' Every time, she brushed him off, disregarded him, and belittled him. After all, nobody who cared about how others viewed them would associate with that Naruto.
Her behavior towards him hurt, but Naruto continued on regardless. One day, Sakura-chan would say 'yes' to him. Even if she never did, though he couldn't allow himself to believe that, Naruto had promised. The day they had been assigned to the same team he had used the Henge no Jutsu to impersonate Sasuke and find out what Sakura thought about him. Her blunt words had hurt him badly. Being called 'annoying' and a 'hindrance' by Sakura had almost made him want to weep, except that he had made a promise with himself about that as well. Besides, he was used to being put down and Naruto had bounced back quickly enough.
Now, though… Now, Naruto could no longer afford to invest so much of himself in chasing Sakura-chan. This mission had shown Naruto a great deal about the realities of being a shinobi, and he knew that he needed to focus more. For all of his dreams, boasts, and hard work he was sadly under-prepared to perform a shinobi's duties. In the end, it was only with the help of the fox demon that had destroyed his life that he had survived.
He knew that part of his deficiencies were not his fault. Prejudice towards the blond jinchuuriki had extended as thoroughly throughout Konoha's ninja population as it did among the civilian population. His chuunin instructors had shown blatant contempt for him during his years at the Academy. A small number of them had simply acted totally indifferent, as if he didn't exist, which wasn't much better. Only Iruka had truly sought to teach Naruto, and even he had taken a long time to warm to the boy. Mizuki had also been nice, if distant, but that had turned out to be a front for his sinister ambitions.
However, despite his faulty training, Naruto knew that it was also mostly his fault. In response to his instructors' neglect he had begun skipping class, playing pranks, and ignoring the teachers. By the time Iruka had begun to warm towards Naruto, and Naruto realized that Iruka was genuinely trying to teach him something, it had been too late. The habits he had developed in response to years of neglect and bias was too deeply ingrained, and as a result he had missed out on a great deal of essential training and information.
Naruto hadn't thought it a problem until the last few days. An uncharacteristically intense bout of self-reflection, driven by his feelings of failure and incompetence due to the events on the bridge, had shown Naruto that not only was he lacking in essential skills, he was also ignorant of many facts a shinobi should know. Haku's near-successful impersonation of a hunter-nin, and his own embarrassing ignorance of chakra, only served to drive that point home.
Naruto had come to these conclusions reluctantly and only with a great deal of thought. He might never have come to them had he not killed for the first time two days ago. But he had, and he knew that he needed to focus on his shinobi duties more than ever. He needed to train, to learn, to become stronger and wiser until he could call himself worthy of taking the name of Hokage—and more to a point, until everyone else had to acknowledge that he was worthy of becoming Hokage.
But to do all of that, he needed to commit his undivided attention to that cause. Naruto was slowly coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that he needed to let go of his pursuit of Sakura-chan. Not permanently of course, since he still held his promises above his life, but for a while.
Naruto thought it was a wise decision, but then… why did it hurt so much? The fact that he frightened Sakura-chan hurt, even more so than when she had called him an annoyance or brushed off his repeated attempts to get her to go out with him, to acknowledge him. It threatened to demolish his focus on the mission, despite his resolve not to let it weaken him. He wanted to, needed to, turn to Sakura-chan and confront her about the issue. Naruto wanted to reassure her that she never had anything to fear from him, that he wasn't a monster…
No.
Naruto banished that train of thought with a deep, calming breath. I can't keep chasing after her forever. I'm not that Naruto anymore. I have to grow up and grow stronger, until I never have to watch anyone's back ever again. Determination filled him. I want to follow my own nindo. I won't be a tool for someone else to use, and I don't want to live a life of regret. I'll become Hokage and surpass all of the previous Hokage, and I'll show everyone that they can't brush me aside or keep me down!
Kakashi listened intently to the sound of the front door opening. He relaxed quickly when he heard Tazuna's cheery greeting and Tsunami's reply. Naruto's loud voice rang out enthusiastically a moment later. Dinner's almost ready, he guessed. Apparently, nothing unusual had happened while Naruto and Sakura had escorted Tazuna and patrolled the immediate surroundings. It wasn't long before he could hear someone ascending the stairs. Sakura, he assumed, based on the tread.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called meekly through the door, validating his guess.
"Come in," he replied, absently flipping Icha Icha Paradise shut and sliding it underneath his blanket. He doubted that Sakura would appreciate the sight of his favorite book, especially since she seemed to want to talk about something serious. The pink-haired girl entered quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind her.
"You're looking better," Sakura commented politely.
"Yeah," Kakashi agreed, "I'll probably start walking around again tomorrow." An awkward silence developed; at least, it was awkward to Sakura. Kakashi didn't really care one way or the other, but he could see that Sakura needed a little prompting. "How is Sasuke doing?" he asked casually.
"He's… getting better," Kakashi didn't miss her cautious tone. He made a questioning noise, signaling Sakura to continue, "Well, Sasuke-kun's wounds are healing just fine. I think he's upset with Naruto about something."
Kakashi knew very well why Sasuke was angry with Naruto, and he was pretty sure that Sakura knew too. He suspected that she was already reaching conclusions about that matter on her own and decided not to push the issue.
"Ano… Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's hands came to clasp together in front of her.
"Hmm…?"
"Have you noticed Naruto acting strange lately? I mean, he's not acting like himself at all! Is there something wrong with him?" So that's why she wanted to talk to me, Kakashi realized in mild surprise. He had thought it would be about Sasuke, but apparently even the normally predictable Sakura was capable of surprising behavior. Sakura worrying about Naruto seemed odd, given what he knew of the girl, but it seemed that she had matured a bit since joining Team Seven. Maybe she's finally grasping the whole 'teamwork' thing, he mused.
"Well, it's not surprising," Kakashi said.
"It's not?" She gave him a puzzled look.
"Sakura," he sighed, "look underneath the underneath. Why do you think Naruto's behavior would change suddenly?"
Sakura was the smartest kunoichi in her class for a reason; it was just a matter of guiding her to consider different angles. "Because… he almost killed that masked boy? Naruto seems kind of worried about him." When Kakashi didn't respond, she revised her theory, "Is it because he killed Gatou and some of those thugs?"
Kakashi nodded, "First kills are always difficult to deal with, unless you're a murdering psychopath. Since Naruto isn't a psychopath, he's having trouble dealing with his guilt." Kakashi paused before continuing, "But you learned about this in psychological training, didn't you?"
"Yes," she agreed. "It's just that… I don't know, maybe I'm not used to seeing Naruto act like he is, so I wasn't sure how to approach him today." Sakura frowned, going silent, but after a moment her brow cleared. "Kakashi-sensei, is there anything I can do to help him?"
Kakashi's brows rose in surprise, though Sakura couldn't see them. "You want to help Naruto deal with this?" he asked, almost disbelieving.
She flushed. "Don't get the wrong idea," she said quickly, "it's not like I have any interest in Naruto!" Sakura frowned again, struggling to convey the impulse behind her strange request, "It's just that… Naruto is in pain, and… I can't just leave him alone. He's my teammate, right?"
For a long moment, Kakashi stared at her, his single visible eye wide. Then, slowly, it curved in the upside-down 'U' shape that showed he was smiling. He nodded in approval at Sakura's words. She does understand, he thought. It pleased him greatly and filled him with a sense of pride towards the kunoichi. Sakura was finally beginning to mature and see the world beyond Sasuke.
"Well, for one thing, you can stop spending so much time nursing Sasuke and start doing your duties properly again," Kakashi said, much to Sakura's chagrin. She knew that she hadn't been doing all that she was supposed to, foisting off her duties to an uncomplaining Naruto, but she had just been so worried about Sasuke-kun. But she knew Kakashi-sensei was right. Sakura nodded once to show her assent. "As for the rest, well, it's something that Naruto has to come to terms with on his own."
"I see," Sakura nodded again, but she wasn't able to hide her disappointment.
Kakashi saw it, and decided to give her a bit more advice. "He needs to come to terms with things on his own," he repeated. "However, it probably won't hurt to say 'Thank you' to him. Part of the reason why he fought so hard was to protect you guys, so a little show of gratitude wouldn't hurt," he smiled again when he saw Sakura's determined look. Perfect, Kakashi thought. Sakura will feel better if she believes that she helped ease the burden on Naruto, and Naruto will get to hear some honest vindication of his actions by one of his peers. He was rather pleased with himself for finding such a neat solution.
Sakura left quickly, though not before giving Kakashi a sincere word of thanks and a promise to bring his dinner up when it was ready. When she was gone, Kakashi reached under his blanket and pulled out Icha Icha Paradise. A blush spread across his cheeks as he began to read and moments later his soft, lecherous giggles began to fill the room.
To Sakura, dinner seemed strangely normal. For all of her concerns about Naruto's behavior, he exhibited no strange mannerisms during the meal. He laughed at Tazuna's lame old man jokes, teased Inari, and lavishly praised Tsunami's cooking. He didn't seem to be depressed or guilty at all and the intense, focused look that she had seen earlier was gone.
Sakura almost believed that Naruto had dealt with his issues until she caught sight of his hands. They were raw and pink, as if Naruto had spent minutes intensely scrubbing them. She abruptly recalled the sight of Naruto standing over Haku with blood dripping off his hands. Naruto… Sakura didn't know why the thought of Naruto scrubbing his hands until they were raw, as if trying to clean of the stain of blood, made her feel sad.
Naruto excused himself quickly once dinner was over. Sakura waited a few moments before following him at a discreet distance. The blond ninja did a quick inspection of Tazuna's home, making sure all was well, before leaving the house. He performed a brief check on the surrounding grounds before darting off deeper into the dense, shadowed woods that covered most of the island. She pursued Naruto for a brief while before stopping at the edge of a small clearing. Naruto had stopped in the middle of the clearing and was drawing a kunai.
Did he sense me following him? Sakura wondered in surprise. Naruto's sensing capabilities were rather abysmal. She doubted that had changed in the past few days. Still, she prepared to drop out of cover to reassure Naruto that she was not an enemy. Instead of continuing to prepare for combat or throwing the kunai towards her, Naruto instead charged the tallest tree in the clearing. His sandaled feet made an audible impact as they met wood, and Naruto continued to run up the tree, unimpeded by gravity. He's training, Sakura realized. She frowned in confusion. Hadn't Naruto already mastered the tree climbing exercise? So why was he still training?
Hard work and Naruto had never mixed together, as far as Sakura knew. In the Academy, Naruto had been one of the biggest slackers that Sakura was aware of. He had always been skipping class, usually to play pranks, and during lectures he was sleeping or goofing off more often than not. In training he would often boast, only to fail and move away to sulk. So it was a surprise for her to see Naruto train with so much determination even though, as far as he knew, no one was watching him.
Sakura watched Naruto continue to run up and down the tree. It was soon apparent that Naruto truly had mastered the exercise, for Sakura did not see him use the kunai once. There was no falling off or slipping, as he had several days before while trying to show off. She continued to watch him for several more minutes, uncertain of how to approach him while he was training. Had he made a mistake, she could have offered advice as a way to break the ice. But he did not make a mistake, and Sakura didn't want to interrupt him while he was training. Besides, with Naruto out, it was Sakura's duty to defend Tazuna and protect her currently helpless teammates. She turned to leave.
You're running away. Sakura's inner persona was normally a loud, passionate voice within her mind. The flat, faintly accusing way her inner self delivered her statement surprised Sakura enough to freeze her in place. Didn't you ask Kakashi-sensei how you could help Naruto? Why are you going to run away, when you know how to help him? Stop making excuses and go help your teammate.
I'm not running, Sakura wanted to reply. But how could she reply to herself? Some part of her thought she was being a coward, so perhaps she was only deceiving herself, and not very successfully at that. Sakura silently considered this, and the more she thought about it the more she knew. Naruto's new behavior scared her. It was out of the parameters that she knew him by, and it was human nature to fear the unknown. However, Sakura was a kunoichi now, and she couldn't allow the behaviors that had guided her through childhood restrain her now.
Sakura took a deep breath and lightly jumped off the tree she had been standing on. Slowly, she began walking until she stood just inside the clearing and waited for Naruto to notice her. To his credit, he noticed her the moment she stepped out of the cover provided by the trees. Her distinct pink hair allowed him to immediately identify her, even using peripheral vision. Seeing that she was not an enemy, he finished his run to the top of the tree and continued down at a sedate pace, since walking down the tree tested his chakra control even more than running up the tree did.
"What's up, Sakura-chan?" he queried, slightly worried. It was unusual for Sakura to seek him out alone. The strange half-pensive, half-determined look on her face didn't make Naruto feel any better either.
She didn't answer his question immediately, instead gazing at him in silence. Naruto began to fidget uncomfortably under her gaze. Finally she said, "I'm just taking a walk."
"Oh…" Naruto blinked. He had thought that she would go straight to Sasuke's bedside after dinner.
"Are you training?" Sakura asked casually, managing to sound as if she had not spent several minutes secretly observing that very thing.
Naruto nodded, grinning. "Yep!" he replied enthusiastically. "I have to work hard so that I can become Hokage one day!"
"Ah…" Sakura smiled, unable to reply to his statement. She had always made fun of his ambition to become Hokage, just like everyone else had. Seeing him working hard for it, especially in the aftermath of the battle with Zabuza, was somewhat jarring. The image she had of a blood-drenched, grim-faced Naruto didn't mix well with the image of the bright, incompetent blond who had always sworn he would become Hokage. Still, it was a relief in a way. Naruto hadn't changed completely, at least not yet.
"Ano… Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked hesitantly. He had grown uncomfortable with Sakura's thoughtful silence.
Sakura blinked, shaken out of her thoughts. "Yes?" she asked.
"Nothing," Naruto smiled sheepishly. "I was just wondering what you were thinking about."
Sakura hesitated for a moment. She gathered herself visibly and gave Naruto a direct look. "I was thinking about the battle," Sakura murmured.
Naruto flinched and opened his mouth, struggling to give Sakura a reply. "That's…"
"I was remembering how surprised I was when I saw that you were the one to beat that masked boy," she interrupted him. "When you killed Gatou and fought those mercenaries, I was frightened of you. The way you looked, the way you fought… it was completely unlike anything I've ever seen from you." Naruto winced and looked down, clearly pained at her words. "But, in the end… it was you who saved us, right? You protected us against Gatou's men." Naruto looked back up at Sakura, his filled with emotions that she couldn't name. "Naruto… Thank you," Sakura gave the blond genin a soft, sincere smile.
"Sakura-chan…" he mumbled. His eyes were wide as he stared at her, at a loss for words. "I… I was… I thought you would hate me," he managed.
"Idiot," Sakura replied, though there was no spite in her tone. "Why would I hate you for saving us? I'm grateful. Besides, without you Sasuke-kun probably would have died." Naruto felt a brief stab of pain. Is she only thankful because I helped out Sasuke? Naruto wondered. Still, it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sakura was thanking him. She was praising him for the role he had played in their team's latest mission.
Naruto grinned brightly, and for the most part his smile was sincere. "It was no problem, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed. One hand came up to rub the back of his head in a gesture of embarrassment and pleasure at getting praised. "Hey! Since I did well, do you want to go out and get some ramen with me?" he asked eagerly.
A tick developed above Sakura's right eye. What the hell!? I'm thanking him to bring his spirits back up, and the first thing he does after I finish is ask me for a date! Inner Sakura burned with righteous indignation. Still… she did owe Naruto. She stared at Naruto's squint-eyed, hopeful face for a second. No, she decided firmly. He's lucky that I don't smash him in the face for his insensitive stupidity.
"No thank you," she grated out in a semblance of politeness. The disappointed look in his eyes almost made her change her mind, but not quite. "I have to get back to the house," she said, and promptly turned around to do just that.
Naruto stared at Sakura's retreating back. He was uncertain why he had asked Sakura to go on a date with him after he had resolved earlier to ease up on his pursuit of the girl. Was it just a habit, or the hope that her words had stirred within him?
"Sakura-chan!" he called after her. Sakura stopped, though she didn't turn around. Why did I stop her? Naruto took a deep breath and knew. "I'll always protect you," he promised quietly. By the way her shoulders stiffened, she had heard his promise to her. Sakura made no reply other than to resume her walk back to Tazuna's home and Sasuke. Naruto gave her retreating form a melancholy smile. Then he turned away, instead facing the tallest tree in the clearing once more. Determination filled his eyes once again, and Naruto continued his training.
Breakfast the next morning was a strained affair. Kakashi, who had decided that he had recovered enough to begin moving around for extended periods of time again, eyed his two students. Sakura seemed normal at first glance, but Kakashi soon noticed that she wasn't speaking to Naruto. In fact, she was doing everything she could to avoid eye contact with the boy.
Naruto was subdued, which was also odd. Tazuna and Tsunami had yet to notice anything off about the blonde's behavior in the past few days, so Kakashi had assumed that Naruto had kept his cheerful manner up in front of them. The logical conclusion was that something had happened between Naruto and Sakura last night, and not something particularly good at that. Look's like my little plan didn't work out as intended, Kakashi thought ruefully.
Sakura was in turmoil. Last night she had accomplished all she had set out to do, right? She had gone out to thank Naruto and cheer him up, and she had done so. But then Naruto had opened his stupid mouth and ruined everything.
"I'll always protect you."
Why had those words caused her heart to skip a beat? Why did she feel like blushing every time she remembered—which was all too often—that quiet promise? It was nothing out of character for Naruto, who had chased after her like a yapping love-sick puppy for several years now. There was no reason Naruto's words should affect her. She was in love with Sasuke-kun. Naruto was just a stupid loud-mouth who talked big and failed in everything he did. Sure, this mission had changed her opinion of him somewhat, but not that much.
It was probably the atmosphere, Sakura decided. The moon had been bright, and silver light had cascaded through the trees, illuminating the small clearing where Naruto had been training. The quiet, solemn way he had promised had been so different from the usual Naruto that it had shocked her. For a moment, she had almost believed him. Yeah, she thought, warming to the idea. It was just the atmosphere affecting me, not Naruto.
Like Sakura, Naruto was also wrestling with inner turmoil about his encounter with his teammate last night. Despite his repeated attempts, he still couldn't banish the image of Sakura wordlessly walking away from him after he had made one of the most important promises of his life to her. She had not even turned around to spare him a glance. Her cold silence spoke volumes about her feelings towards him. Naruto still didn't want to believe that she disliked him that much, but the evidence kept piling up. It had grown to the point where it was too big for him to ignore.
Sakura would never see him for what he truly was. She would never acknowledge his feelings for her. The shadow of Sasuke was too big for Naruto to overcome, as a ninja and as a person. He almost despaired at ever stepping out of Sasuke's shadow.
But I promised, Naruto remembered. I'm not like Sasuke, to brood over stupid things all the time. I promised Sakura-chan that I'd protect her, and I will, even if she hates me. I will surpass Sasuke, and eventually I'll be better than all of the previous Hokage.
Naruto took a deep breath, feeling oddly calm after reaffirming his ambitions, even if only to himself. That's right. I've got to work hard. He smiled, for the first time that morning. Now that Kakashi-sensei is up, I'll have more time for training, he thought, pleased. Another thought occurred to him.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto spoke, attracting the attention of his jounin-sensei.
"Hmm…?" Kakashi cocked an eye towards his most rambunctious student in curiosity.
"Will you teach me something new?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"Something new?"
"Yeah! I finished with the tree climbing exercise already, and I need to get stronger, so teach me something new!" Naruto was practically bouncing in anticipation.
"Well…" Kakashi stalled. He did finish the exercise, the more reasonable part of him pointed out. Plus, unlike Sakura, he has more than enough stamina. It's not like he needs to work on his reserves. He frowned. But, if I Naruto and not Sasuke… "Maybe later," he said.
"What!? Why!?" Kakashi blinked several times, fighting the urge to reach up and cover his ringing ears.
"Well, I am injured," Kakashi pointed out.
"No more than when you showed us the tree climbing exercise," Naruto retorted. Kakashi winced slightly. He's got me there.
Surprisingly, it was Sakura who spoke up. "Kakashi-sensei, I'd like to learn something new as well," she said. Sasuke-kun started to pay a lot more attention to Naruto when he started to become stronger. So if I get stronger, Sasuke-kun will pay more attention to me, she reasoned. Shannaro! Inner Sakura agreed, nearly on fire with passion and determination at the thought of gaining Sasuke-kun's respect.
Outnumbered now, Kakashi did the only thing he could do. He folded. "Alright," he agreed with a sigh. Icha Icha Paradise, he thought longingly. I was about to find out what happened to Junko when she met those busty twin sisters, too. Outwardly, his face gave no indication of the thoughts that traveled through his mind. Instead, he said to his students, "Let's go outside."
There was still awhile yet before Tazuna had to leave to go and oversee the construction of the bridge. Kakashi slowly led his students outside, using a crutch as support while he walked. He didn't have to go far. He stopped on the deck that overlooked the water, on the seaward face of the house. The two genin stopped behind him, puzzled.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began. "Why did you stop here?"
"For training," Kakashi replied, smiling.
Nonplussed, his students looked at each other. Quickly, they looked away when they recognized what they were doing. Kakashi sighed at their stubbornness. Kids these days…
After a moment, Sakura gave in to curiosity. "What kind of training can we do here?"
"Water walking," Kakashi said cheerfully. They gaped. Internally, Kakashi chuckled in amusement. It was so much fun to mess around with his students' naïve little minds. One of the few perks of the job, in fact.
After a moment, Naruto's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. "Can you really do that?" he asked dubiously.
"Of course," Naruto's teacher answered. "Here, I'll show you." A faint blue glow enshrouded the bottom of Kakashi's feet. He stepped off the edge of the wooden deck. Naruto and Sakura watched in amazement as his foot connected firmly with the surface of the water and stayed their. His other foot came down to join the first, and Kakashi began to walk slowly away from the deck. He moved several paces before stopping and turning to his students. "See?"
"That's awesome!" Naruto exploded. "How do you do it, Kakashi-sensei!?"
"Well, it's basically the same as the tree climbing exercise, only this will teach you how to mold a constant amount of chakra. To do this, you need to expel chakra from your feet into the water and constantly release it in order to keep yourself balanced." Sakura was nodding along in comprehension. Naruto's face was screwed up in fierce concentration as he struggled to understand Kakashi's explanation. "Well, just try it," Kakashi said.
"Right!" replied the determined Naruto.
"First, accumulate chakra in your feet," Kakashi commanded. Quickly, his students obeyed, forming the Ram seal often used to assist in concentrating chakra. Blue chakra enshrouded the bottom of their sandals. "Now step onto the water, and remember that you have to release a constant amount of chakra to remain balanced."
Right! Naruto thought determinedly. He stepped off the deck.
Let's do this, Sakura thought confidently. After all, wasn't she the best at chakra control among the genin of Team Seven? She stepped off the deck.
Kakashi couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped him as two splashes occurred simultaneously. Naruto and Sakura surfaced quickly, and clambered onto the deck even more quickly. "It's cold," Sakura said, rubbing her arms and shivering. Naruto could only nod in agreement. However, Naruto was not one to be discouraged by a little cold water. I'll do this no matter what! His hands quickly whipped up into the Ram seal to focus his chakra again. With a determined cry, he quickly charged back onto the water, only to sink again. It was a cycle that soon repeated itself many times.
Kakashi watched in amusement as Naruto continued to plunge feet first into the cold waters that surrounded Wave Country. Sakura, he noticed, was being far more cautious. Apparently, that first plunge had been more than enough for her. She was now sitting on the edge of the deck, her feet dangling lightly on top of the water, as she concentrated her chakra into her feet. Periodically she pushed her feet down into the water experimentally, testing the chakra flow. It's a reasonable approach, but she'll have trouble when she tries to focus her full weight on the water, Kakashi observed.
Kakashi walked back to the deck, steering clear of Naruto as he did so. He continued to oversee the two as they trained, and after twenty minutes of repeatedly plunging himself into water, Naruto showed his first sign of progress.
"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this," Naruto grunted. He was submerged up to mid-shin in water, but he had halted his descent. He's grasped the trick of this chakra control exercise pretty quickly, Kakashi thought approvingly. It was an impressive feat, considering Naruto's lack of innate talent and poor grasp of the basics—not to mention his horrendous chakra control. Naruto's concentration wavered and he sank again, but when he surfaced his expression spoke of renewed determination. From there, his progress grew by leaps and bounds. Once Naruto had understood how to do it, it took him only another ten minutes until he was walking across the water without a hint of instability.
Sakura had also made quick progress. Like Kakashi had predicted, she had fallen in once more when she had attempted to stand after getting her feet firmly balanced above the water. But she had adjusted quickly, and finished five minutes ahead of Naruto. Seeing his two students walking and, in Naruto's case, jumping, on water brought a smile to Kakashi's face. Suimen Hokou no Waza was an advanced genin skill after all, and yet two of his rookie genin had mastered the skill in less than an hour.
The peaceful, happy moment did not last. Kakashi heard the pounding of feet and the sound of loud voices. He tensed, and Naruto and Sakura stopped their training at the sounds. Tazuna soon barreled out of the house.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder. His voice casual, but his eyes were cold and hard; a jounin on alert.
"That masked boy…" said Tazuna. "He's woken up!"
A splash from behind Kakashi told him that Naruto had just fallen into the water.
Haku stared at the plain, dark wooden ceiling above for a long moment before looking at the woman by the bedside. Where am I?
"Here's your water," the dark-haired, plain-faced woman said kindly. What happened? The last thing Haku remembered was Naruto-kun's bright blue eyes, filled with a resolve to kill, and then… nothing. Where is Zabuza-san? Anxious, Haku struggled to sit up, ignoring the sharp, throbbing pain this brought. "You shouldn't sit up!" the woman protested. Haku continued to struggle upright. The woman sighed in resignation when it became clear that her patient would not listen to her advice. She moved quickly to assist Haku into a sitting position. Haku sat, panting for several moments until the pain receded into a throbbing ache. "Here," Haku's nurse said again, offering a glass of water.
"Thank you," Haku said politely, wincing slightly. It hurt to speak. Still, politeness counted for more than discomfort, and there was still no clue as to what had happened. Haku drank greedily.
The nurse accepted the empty glass back with a smile. "You poor dear," she said kindly. "You lost a lot of blood, so it's not surprising that you're thirsty. I'll go get some more water for you." She paused, frowning at Haku for a moment. "That gown is rather indecent," she murmured. "I'll get you some new clothes as well."
Haku blinked in surprise, glanced down, and froze. No wonder it felt drafty, Haku thought dizzily--clearly, the blood loss remained an issue. The clothing was clearly made for a much bigger person in mind, for it draped loosely over Haku's shoulders and fell open at the chest. Then, slowly, alarm began to set in Haku's mind. My bindings are gone. Haku reached up. My choker is gone. Haku shivered, and this time it wasn't from the cold. The full, perky curves of her breasts were almost totally exposed by the too-big yukata. Her choker was no longer there to hide the fact that she didn't have a tell-tale bump on her throat that would have been the sign of a man.
Habits ingrained by a solitary existence in the unforgiving back alleys of the Hidden Village of the Mist told her to run, to hide; to do something other than sit there while that woman was out of sight. She knew Haku was female after all, and in Haku's experience that meant nothing good. Little homeless boys in Kirigakure no Sato were either ignored or treated cruelly. Their frequently short lives were incredibly harsh and painful, but they were mostly left alone by predators. That wasn't a good thing, but attention in Kirigakure was almost always worse.
Little homeless girls in Kirigakure were lucky if they were captured and sold to slavers to be brought up to become a working girl in the Water Country's many brothels. If they were unlucky, they were raped and killed in a dark alley, where no one would care even if they heard the screams. She had learned this the hard way, and that incident marked the second time Haku had used her bloodline limit to kill. Luckily no one had seen the act taking place, nor had anyone cared enough to investigate the screams, otherwise she would have been killed on the spot by shinobi for possessing a bloodline limit. The village was nick-named the "Bloody Mist" for a reason.
So Haku had disguised herself as a boy, and surprisingly it had worked. Luckily, there was a rather great stigma against homosexuality in the Water Country, at least at that time, so feminine little boys were generally not in danger of being targeted by slavers or sexual predators. The Mist had no tolerance for those who went against society. Then Zabuza-san had appeared during that snowy day on another bridge, and had taken her in and taught her to be a shinobi. He hadn't cared what gender Haku was, only that she served as an effective tool.
Haku had never completely forgotten those hard-learned habits. However, at the present she could barely move, much less try to escape or obtain a disguise. Moreover, she was extremely worried about Zabuza-san.
There was a flurry of commotion outside the room, and Haku heard the nurse's voice yell something. Haku tensed in alarm, which only brought a stab of agony as her injured muscles protested. In any case, there was little enough she could do in this situation.
The door slammed open. There was a skidding noise as sandaled feet scrambled for traction. Silence fell upon the small room as Haku and the intruder stared at one another. A blond-haired, blue-eyed Konoha shinobi gaped like a fish. It took a moment for Haku to realize that the boy was staring at her cleavage. Embarrassed, Haku reached up and tugged the yukata closed. Other emotions tumbled through Haku's mind in quick succession. She was happy that the blond was still alive, and apparently doing quite well at that.
But… what was this icy feeling that was slowly clawing its way up from her gut?
If Naruto-kun was still alive, then didn't that mean…?
Zabuza-san…
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto is the creator, and owns the rights to Naruto and all the characters and situations contained therein. This is a non-profit work of fiction.
Techniques:
- Kinobori no Waza - Skill of Tree Climbing
- Suimen Hokou no Waza - Skill of Water Surface Walking
Author's Notes:
I hope you enjoyed chapter 2 of Tempered in Water.
A choker is, in this case, something (as in a collar or necklace) worn closely about the throat or neck. Haku wears it while out picking herbs in the anime.
If you don't know what a yukata is, it's basically a Japanese summer garment. People wearing yukata are a common sight at fireworks displays, bon-odori festivals, and other summer events. The yukata is a casual form of kimono that is also frequently worn after bathing at traditional Japanese inns. Though their use is not limited to after-bath wear, yukata literally means bath(ing) clothes. (Taken from the Wikipedia article)
Comments and/or criticism are welcome. However, if you're going to criticize, please do it in a constructive manner (in other words, don't just tell me that I fail as a writer, tell me why I fail). I'm still very much an amateur writer, so any help is appreciated.
As with before, I was the only one who proofread this chapter, so there may be mistakes that I missed. If you see any, please point them out.
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Thank you for reading Tempered in Water!