Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto.
"Ow, ow, ow." I repeated as Naomi smacked my head for being late. "Sorry, but I think I'm still recovering."
She just sighed in response and pointed to the tree. "Climb it."
"Uh, why?" I gave her an odd look.
She rolled her eyes. "Walk up it. I need to know if you can control your chakra or not."
"Huh?"
She gave an exaggerated sigh and walked up the tree rather than climbing it and stood upside down on the branch. "This is what you can do when you concentrate chakra into your feet and make it stick to things."
I crossed my arms. "I think I've done that before." I said, remembering hanging upside down more than once.
She walked down the tree and motioned for me to do it. I tested it by putting a foot on the tree, but it slipped down.
"Concentrate. Maybe even have a running start." Naomi told me, keeping her distance as I tried again.
I got a little bit up the tree's trunk before I fell flat on my back. I gave a frustrated growl as I laid there and glared at the tree.
"Here, mark how far you get with this once you pass the first branch." She said, tossing a kunai at the tree I was attempting to climb.
"Where're you going?"
"I have a team of my own, you know."
"Oh, you're going to train with them?"
"Yeah, and the Hokage is assigning you a team in two days. Iruka sensei's going to test you to become a gennin first though. So, brush up with these after you get to the top of the tree." She tossed me a couple scrolls labeled with basic jutsu.
"So, you're not teaching me anymore?" I asked, sitting up and looking at her back while she walked away.
"I can't teach a monster." Her voice was harsh and cold, but shook slightly.
My eyes went wide. "M-monster? What do you mean?"
"Your chakra. I can't tell you anything but the basics. You know all the basic taijutsu and those scrolls will tell you about the basic ninjutsu they teach at the academy as well as a tiny bit more."
"W-What?"
She whirled around with clenched fists. "I'm not teaching you anymore! Don't ever speak to me again! I am not friends with a monster like you!" She shouted angrily, shooting me a hateful look before walking away.
I sat there in shock, feeling the wetness on my cheeks as I watched her back get further and further away. I thought she was my friend. Just then, it seemed like I was seeing someone else's back.
A woman with long black hair wearing a traditional kimono. The sky was full of stars and there were small fires nearby with people around them watching me with disapproving eyes as she walked away. I got the feeling she was my mother and had just said nearly the same thing Naomi had said to me. It rang in my head as I thought about what it was.
"You may be a young child, but your chakra is horrid. You are not my child. I cannot teach a child with the chakra of a monster. Never speak to my family again! Live alone! You should be killed, but the pack's leader has denied the death of a child that will be a good weapon if he harnesses it."
"But, Mother I-" A child's voice I recognized as my own started to say weakly, sounding like I was crying then too.
"You are not my child! Do not speak to my family you monster!" She cut me off, sending a hate-filled glare over her shoulder before disappearing.
The memory disappeared with her as I saw the forest, Naomi nowhere in sight now. I thought about curling up in a ball and just sobbing, but quickly shook the idea away and stood up. I turned and grabbed the kunai from the tree, forcefully wiping my eyes.
"No, I need to get stronger. I need to get on a good team. I need to become a gennin of the Hidden Leaf!" I told myself, focusing completely on the training.
I didn't sleep that night, instead I reached the top of the tree, then started to read the scrolls and learn the ninjutsu. I think I was just trying too hard to cause distractions for myself. I didn't need more painful memories haunting me at such a crucial point in my life in the Hidden Leaf Village. I was determined to be a gennin and help the village. No matter what.
