"Takachi?" I heard my name softly spoken.
My eyes flew open and I found that Bree was staring down from her bed at me with apprehensive eyes. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep. Light flooded in from the window showing that morning had arrived. I sat up and stretched before looking back at Bree.
"I'm really sorry," she said timidly.
"Why?" I asked.
Her expression turned to confusion.
"I nearly killed you," she replied after several seconds.
I laughed.
"If that's why you're apologizing than you should go find those poor instructors," I said still chuckling. "You tossed them aside like they were bugs. You never had a chance of hurting me."
She laughed weakly but to reinforce my statement, I allowed my Sharingan to flair to life. I decided that there was no reason to hide them anymore. I had heard stories about how my great uncle, Itachi Uchiha left his Sharingan active at all times nearing the end of his life. I decided that since I had already revealed it, that I would aspire to keep mine active at all times as well. As if to defy me, I could feel them ebbing away at my decidedly below average Chakra reserves. I was still a long way away from that goal.
"Is that what you used to stop me?" Bree asked.
I nodded silently. Against all logic, she stared directly into my eyes. It seemed the longer she looked the more confidant she became. She eventually asked me the question that I'd been waiting to answer.
"Why are you still here?"
"Your mother asked me to stay," I told her.
My response confused her and she sat thinking for several seconds. I continued before she could come up with a response.
"I was also worried about you," I added. "I hadn't realized how much this had affected you. Your dad was a friend of my family. He tried to keep this part of his world away from you. The Uchiha were never supposed to be a part of your life. Unfortunately, with yesterday's incident, I don't think that's an option anymore. More than likely if we both passed the test, they'll put us on the same team out of necessity. That is if they let you out at all… I'm sorry they attacked you…"
"That isn't your fault," she responded weakly.
"It kind of is," I said. "If I had been more aware I might have been able to stop them before they attacked and then I could have brought you back down without incident."
"It's not your fault I'm a monster," she replied with more conviction.
I listened to her words and sat silently for a moment, contemplating the best thing to say.
"What is a monster?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the side.
My question seemed to freeze her in place. She didn't say or do anything for several minutes. The silence was relaxing for me because I knew that I had gotten her thinking. Eventually she spoke, but she had lost much of her confidence.
"A monster is someone who hurts people," she said.
"I disagree," came my almost immediate response. "I believe a monster is something that wants other people to suffer. A human by contrast is a being that means well in most cases but struggles with their own sense of selfishness and occasionally makes mistakes that hurt people. The line between those two isn't the point where someone hurts another person, but rather when they no longer care that they did."
"The people who killed your father? Those people are monsters. They only want the world to burn. You on the other hand… No… You're not a monster. You're just scared, hurting, and a child. You're someone who needs to be supported and cared for. Someone who has the potential to do great things if only given the chance. You are a blank slate, ready and eager to have things written on it, a whole life's worth of things. Don't let anyone take that from you."
After several seconds, tears began to well up in her eyes. She furiously wiped them away but they were replaced by more mere seconds later. She slid out of her bed and onto my makeshift one. She threw her arms around me in a desperate hug, which I hesitantly returned after a few seconds. We stayed like that for several more minutes before Bree's quiet sobs stopped and she spoke.
"Thanks Takachi," she whispered. "Thank you for being my friend."
"You shouldn't ever have to thank someone for being a friend," I told her. "A friend is someone who cares and asks for nothing in return."
She finally let me go and stared once again into my red eyes. Eventually she turned away, stood up and clambered over my blanket bed to reach her dresser. She opened a drawer and started pulling out clothes.
"I'd like to change," she said. "My clothes are a little torn up from transforming."
I started to get up but she stopped me.
"Don't leave," she said. "Just, uh… Look away for a second."
I did as I was told, and a few seconds later I heard the rustling of clothes rubbing skin. I took that opportunity to admire the pictures all over her walls. They were much more vibrant in the light though they were no less impressive in the dark.
"Your drawings are really good," I told her, my back still turned.
"They aren't much," came her reply.
I could tell from her tone that she blushed at my complement. One of the pictures was one that showed a shinobi standing in front of a crowd of enemies with a wounded ally directly behind.
"What's that one?" I asked, pointing to the detailed portrait.
The brushing of clothing stopped for a moment as she turned to look at my muse.
"I drew that after hearing the story about the Fourth Hokage during the Third World War," she replied before returning to her task of dressing.
"Have you heard of ANBU Director Sai?" I asked.
"No, who's that?"
"He uses drawing coupled with Fuinjutsu to produce physical manifestations that can attack and defend for him," I explained. "Maybe you should try it."
"That doesn't sound practical," came her reply. "It took me three hours to draw that. I don't think my adversaries will wait patiently for a few hours so that I can draw my weapons."
"They don't have to be neat to be deadly," I said with a chuckle.
"I'm too self-conscious to draw anything that isn't as close to perfect as I can get," she said in a serious tone.
I laughed again but then went back to looking at the various drawings. A few seconds later the rustling of her changing stopped and she came back and sat next to me. Her new outfit was a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of white shorts. On her feet was a pair of black socks that came up just far enough to be visible above her boots if she were wearing them.
"I just thought of this," Bree said breaking my train of thought. "How did I get home last night?"
"I carried you," I said as I turned to look at her.
She blushed slightly before looking away.
"You should've just woke me up," she said.
"You were exhausted," I stated plainly.
She stood up and started to walk towards her door.
"I'm hungry," she told me. "What about you?"
I nodded and got up to follow her. Once outside her room we heard a conversation going on in the general direction of the kitchen. One of the two voices was Bree's mother but the other was only familiar. Bree's mother was clearly upset judging from her tone of voice but the other was calm and collected. They silenced themselves as we walked in. I immediately took notice of the ANBU mask sitting on the kitchen counter. There were two people sitting at the table in the dining area of the kitchen. One of them was, as expected, Bree's mother. The other was someone that I'd only ever seen pictures of during the lectures at the academy.
"Lord Sai?" I asked, only barely able to contain my excitement.
The fact that I had mentioned the man by name only moments prior caused made me apprehensive, as if I'd done something to conjure this meeting.
"Yes," the man replied plainly.
I reigned in my own feelings of honor at meeting the man sitting in front of me and composed myself.
"What brings you here?" I asked slowly.
He stared silently at me for several seconds before I realized he was looking at my Sharingan. I considered turning it off but then decided that it was something that people would have to get used to.
"I heard about yesterday's incident and I was asked by the new Hokage to take action," he started finally. "Normally the ANBU wouldn't involve themselves in this manner, but at the request of the Hokage we have little choice."
"What do you mean?" I replied inquisitively.
"After speaking with the academy instructors, you were unanimously approved to progress to the rank of Genin, with several of them suggesting that you be permitted to participate in the up and coming Chunin Exams." he explained. "However, it was also decided by them and the Jonin assigned to observe Bree that it was too dangerous for her to be permitted to pass. That being said, after I was informed by the Hokage of his opinion, it came to my attention that throwing away such talent and potential would be wasteful. So with that in mind I present to you both an offer."
He paused for several seconds, glancing over at Bree's mother before continuing.
"The only way that everyone would accept the risk is if you and she were on the same team," he added. "This is due to you revealing that you possess the Sharingan. You will be able to control Bree in the event of another incident. In the interest of keeping you both safe, and to maximize both of your potentials as young shinobi, you will be added to a three man ANBU squad. The third member on the team will be Shikamari Nara. She was an elite Jonin and was recently approved to join the ANBU. Of course, all of this requires both of you to agree."
I stood, slightly shocked, for nearly a minute before, turning to look at Bree. Her expression mirrored mine. She met my gaze with fear and shock. Once the initial surprise passed over me, I began to think about what I'd just been told. I was basically receiving an invite for entry into the ANBU. My instinct was to accept without reservation, however, in this situation I had to take a step back and consider what I was getting myself into. As a Shinobi, I had to consider the safety of the village and its people and it was very possible that Bree could pose a significant threat if she were to overpower me. If that were to happen, the blood spilled would be on my hands. That was a lot of responsibility for a nine year old Genin to possess. But I also had to think of the wellbeing of my new friend, Bree. Her future was more or less in my hands. If I declined this offer, I would be granted a position on a normal three man Genin squad and I could live my life as normal. But if that was my choice, they would probably never leave Bree alone again. She would be a prisoner in her own home. Despite the danger, my choice was clear.
"You don't have to make the choice right now," the ANBU director said.
"I think I do," I replied immediately. "The only thing that I can do is make the choice that does the most good... I have to accept… I accept the responsibility. I will watch over Bree and ensure her safety and the safety of the village."
As I said this I looked over at Bree to see her reaction and I could see guilt on her face. I knew she was hating herself for putting me in this situation but I was actually thankful. She had given me the chance to do something more than I could have otherwise.
"It's okay," I told her quietly. "This is my chance to do something meaningful in the village."
She stared at me for a long time before looking down at the ground.
"I can't make you do that," she said finally. "Not just so I can become a ninja. I won't make you babysit me."
"Who said anything about babysitting?" I asked with a laugh. "If your Sage Transformation hadn't come out, I would've walked all over you yesterday. I'm going to train you, and you better learn to keep up."
She looked back up at me as my words became less playful and more serious. I could see a little hurt on her face as well as hope. I knew I'd made her feel weak, but I'd also hoped my biting words would motivate her to join me. She nodded her head slightly showing that they had accomplished that goal.
"Well," I started, turning back to Sai. "Looks like the choice is made."
"Not quite," he countered. "We still need your parent's permission, and Karin is also being rather stubborn."
Karin snorted at Sai's jab but remained silent aside from that.
"We don't actually need their permission you know," I said. "That law was created as a mere courtesy to civilian parents who worried about their children. It doesn't apply to the ANBU selection process. You can read about that in any library."
With my Sharingan I could see Sai's lips turn up in the corners ever so slightly, showing the most subtle of smiles. Karin's expression, by contrast, turned into shock and then anger.
"Takachi how dare you!?" she almost yelled. "I thought I could trust you! I don't want my daughter in the ANBU! She'll be killed!"
"Killed after being trained by our villages most elite, whilst also being surrounded by them?" I responded calmly. "Doubtful… However, killed during a seemingly harmless mission by assassins sent to target the Uchiha heir and the prodigy of the Sage Transformation with only a single Jonin, myself, and one other Genin to protect her? That seems fairly likely."
With that, whatever outburst that Karin would have replied with was silenced. Replaced by a look of careful consideration. With my words taking full effect, I didn't wait to add more fuel to the fire.
"The missions will certainly be more dangerous, but we'll have the best of the best with us from the start," I added. "The only other option is to lock her up and never let her see the light of day again. That's the only way she'll be truly safe without me by her side."
Karin was now in deep thought. I could see the conflict of her mind narrated silently by the myriad of miniscule facial expressions only visible to my enhanced eyes. She was facing a tough decision but I was confident that she would make the choice I desired. Eventually her face smoothed out and she calmed down.
"I suppose you're right," she admitted finally. "I guess the safest place for her really is in the ANBU. I'll go along with this on one condition. Otherwise the Hokage will get an earful."
"Very well," Sai replied. "What is this condition?
"Bree is not to go anywhere without Takachi present," she answered. "She needs to be no more than one room away from him at all times. I couldn't live with myself if someone hurt her because they had to choose the village over her."
"I think that is within reason," Sai acknowledged.
He nodded in response and walked over to where he'd set his mask down. Casually placing it on his face, he turned to the door and began to walk out.
"We'll contact the two of you when we are ready to accommodate you both," he declared as he left.
"I'm so sorry Takachi," Bree said. "I really messed things up."
"Like I said," I started. "You're actually helping me out. I'm looking forward to working with you, and I'm about to gain access to some really powerful information. This is the best thing that could have happened to us."
She stared at me with a little bit of surprise, looking for any signs of insincerity. She found none and eventually walked over to me and gave me another hug.
"You're the best friend I have," she whispered.
"Still hungry?" I asked.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot."
A second later, as if the previous conversation had never happened, a smile came to Karin's face.
"What do you guys want for breakfast?" she asked in a much lighter tone.
"Something sweet please!" Bree said excitedly bouncing slightly on her toes.
I almost laughed. Seeing Bree have any childish inclinations at all was a breath of fresh air compared to her previous demeanor. Karin turned to me expectantly.
"That sounds good," I agreed. "Coffee for me as well please. And no peppers."
The last part I said with a dark expression.
"How would you like it?" she asked as she pulled some items from various cabinets.
"Black," I said.
"You sure?" she replied.
I nodded. She put a pot on to boil and got to work on the rest of our breakfast. She worked for several minutes before I figured out what she was making. The smell of cinnamon in the egg batter gave away the sweet frying bread before I could actually see what was being made. Part of the way through, she poured hot water into a mug over a tea bag that I assumed had coffee grounds in it. She walked over and handed me the mug. I could smell the fresh coffee as it steeped in the still steaming water. A few minutes later Bree and I were presented with two plates. On each plate were two slices of sweet, egg fried toast.
I casually took a sip of my coffee as I watched Bree excitedly attack her breakfast with nearly the same ferocity that she'd had during our sparring match the day before. I took a bite of my own, noting that Karin was a far better cook than I'd expected. Bree was finished with her portion before I'd even finished half of my first slice. My coffee supply on the other hand was beginning to dwindle. Not wanting to bother Karin again, I walked over and refilled my mug with water from the pot. The coffee bag had more than enough left in it to brew a second cup.
"You finished that quickly," Karin told her daughter. "You want more?"
"Yes please!" Bree replied, still chewing her last bite.
As I finished my breakfast and Karin finished Bree's second serving. I sat silently observing. I was looking forward to telling my mother what happened. Serving the ANBU was a great honor and she'd be incredibly proud.
"What are we doing today?" Bree asked me.
"I need to go home," I told her in response. "My parents will have heard what happened and how I chased after you, but they'll probably still be worried."
"Can I come?" she asked.
"Sure," I said. "That was your deal right Karin?"
Karin growled an affirmation at me before returning to washing a few dishes at the sink. I drank the last sip of coffee from my mug and stood up. The night before, when I'd brought Bree to her room, I'd left my ninja bag and sandals in her room. I retrieved them and started towards the front door, Bree following closely.
"We're heading to the Uchiha Compound right?" Bree asked excitedly.
"Yes," I said flatly. "Are you always this happy in the morning?"
"No actually," Bree said sadly. "I normally wake several times throughout the night because of nightmares. But last night I didn't have a single one. Must have been because of my guardian angel."
Bree smiled at me and I laughed at the thought of me with a pair of angel wings.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked with a frown.
"I'm no angel Bree," I answered. "I have the potential to be just as much of a monster as the rest of my clan."
"I don't think that's true," Bree argued. "You saved me. Three times actually. Once from myself, once from the Jonin, and once from captivity. I think you're a hero."
"I see," was my only response.
"What should we do after checking in with your parents?" she asked.
"Probably train," I said. "Now that I know what to expect, I think you should start to learn how to control your power. I can help you do that."
"Okay," Bree said apprehensively. "I don't want to hurt you."
"As I said before," I answered. "I don't think you can."
Bree gave me a quizzical look before noticing my Sharingan again and letting the stress on her face melt away.
"What will we be training on?" Bree asked, her energy returning.
"I think Ninjutsu," I said. "I think you should start learning a nature release."
"Which one?" Bree asked excitedly.
"We won't know until you get tested," I answered her, then decided to elaborate before she could ask another question. "There's special paper that you use to determine what your natural affinity is. You pour your Chakra into it and it will change properties based on your dominant nature type.
Bree considered this quietly for a few minutes, and as she did, the entrance to the Uchiha Compound entered into view. We walked straight up to my house without incident, unlike earlier in the week. As soon as I opened the door, my parents greeted us.
"Welcome back little hero," my father announced proudly.
"Coan let us know what happened," my mother added. "I kinda figured you'd spent the night at Karin's."
"I did," I confirmed with a nod. "But I have more to tell you."
"Why don't I get some tea," my father offered. "We do have a guest after all."
I nodded an agreement and the whole group relocated to the dining room. My father retrieved cups and tea bags from our pantry, before filling each cup with the leaves and water that was suspiciously already boiling.
"Did you know I was coming?" I asked pointedly.
"We guessed," my mother said as my father reentered the room with four steaming cups of tea.
I nodded and took a seat at the table.
"Karin got a visit from Director Sai this morning," I started. "He was there for Bree and I."
"What could he possibly want?" my mother asked with a shocked expression.
"Bree was denied a pass from the instructors and the Jonin assigned to keep her in check," I answered. "Sai however, has different plans. He feels that preventing Bree from progressing is a waste of potential. However, there were some conditions to her becoming a Shinobi. Firstly, she must be under the care of an ANBU elite. Secondly, she and I are never to be more than one room away from each other."
"Because of your Sharingan?" my mother asked knowingly.
I answered that with a nod.
"In order to fulfil both these requirements, and also to ensure we are trained sufficiently enough to defend ourselves, we've both been inducted into the ANBU Blackops as trainees."
My parent's stunned expressions left little to the imagination. My mother thawed out first.
"So you're in the ANBU?" she asked.
I nodded again.
"That's incredible!" she finally exclaimed. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you," I said smiling. "But I really owe it to Bree."
"Ah yes," my mother said, shifting her gaze to my new teammate. "Bree I haven't seen you since you were a Baby. How are you since yesterday? I hope Takachi didn't hurt you."
"Hardly," Bree said with a snort. "He could've been killed."
"Hardly indeed," I retorted quietly before speaking up. "Bree and I were going to train, do you have any Chakra paper?"
"I think so," my mother answered with a thoughtful frown. "Check my bag."
I walked over to where my mother's ninja bag was hanging on the wall and sifted through it for a moment. Finding what I needed, my hand exited the bag with a small white box. I returned to Bree's side.
"Here," I said, handing her a small sheet of the white Chakra paper. "Focus your Chakra into this paper."
Bree did as I asked and focused for a moment, then the paper turned to dirt and crumbled.
"There's your answer," I said. "Earth."
"That's incredible!" she responded excitedly. "What about you?"
I frowned.
"I don't know actually," I answered. "I've never used it myself."
"You try," Bree commanded.
I pulled out another sheet and poured my chakra into it. Nothing happened. I did it again, doubling the Chakra. Again nothing. Finally, I poured as much Chakra as I could focus through my hand. With a loud "pop," and a blinding white flash, the paper vanished. I turned to find that my mother was mirroring my confused expression.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"You overloaded the Chakra paper," she answered. "But I felt you build up to that point… I don't understand why the paper didn't work. Here, try another. But don't use so much Chakra."
As she spoke she gestured to the box of papers and her Sharingan flared.
I did as I was told. The paper again did nothing. I didn't push this time though.
"I've never seen that color before," my mother muttered to herself.
She took the paper from me and held it between her two flattened palms. I felt a familiar flash of Chakra, then she handed it back to me.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I desensitized the paper to fire Chakra," she answered. "Try it now."
I focused my chakra as before and released it into the paper. It crinkled with the pattern of arching electricity. I looked at my mother expectantly to find that she had another piece of the paper between her palms again. She handed me this one as well.
"Again," she commanded.
I obeyed without asking what she'd done to the paper. My chakra again poured into it, but this time, it burst into flames and disintegrated into ash.
"That time you removed the lightning right?" I asked, and she nodded. "What does that mean?"
"It would be too expensive for the people who make this to account for every possible type of nature release in existence," she explained. "So if you put a chakra type into the paper that doesn't conform to one of the five elements, it does nothing."
"Why wouldn't my chakra be one of the five elements?" I asked. "I've already started learning two."
As soon as I finished talking, something clicked in my head.
"Do I have a nature Kekkei Genkai?" I asked excitedly.
"Without having specialized Chakra paper it's hard to say for sure," she answered. "But it certainly seems likely."
"That must be why when I thoughtlessly poured Chakra into my chokuto, it exploded with fire and lightning."
"Almost definitely," my mother confirmed.
I stared at my palms for a moment. My head was running in circles trying to figure out the implications of my undiscovered ability.
"I don't think I'm qualified to teach you nature release any more," my mother admitted with a sigh. "I suppose it was good timing that you're getting an ANBU teacher."
I nodded my agreement.
"Maybe you can try to figure out what it is while we train?" Bree suggested hopefully. "That's what you wanted to train on anyway."
"That's true," I admitted, rising from my chair. "We should head out."
"Okay," my mother said smiling. "Don't push it too hard. Developing an advanced nature release can be taxing. Especially one with no known techniques."
"Got it," I answered as Bree and I walked back out the door.
With Bree in tow, I left my house and led us over to the Uchiha's training yard. It was a rather large field with three sets of three training posts arranged in a triangular formation. I walked to the center of the field and stopped.
"I don't know much in the way of Earth Release, but I know enough to give you a basic lesson," I explained. "I know one or two simple Jutsu that you can learn."
"What should I start with?" Bree asked excitedly.
"The first is the Rock Shelter Technique," I said. "I can't do it myself, but I can show you the hand seals."
"Show me," Bree commanded eagerly.
I nodded and demonstrated the few hand seals needed to make the Jutsu work. Bree followed closely by copying the seals. When she'd done them a few times, she began to concentrate her Chakra. Finally, Bree performed the seals. I watched as each seal molded her Chakra into the form needed to make the Jutsu perform. At the end of the signs, she slammed her palm into the ground beneath her feet, releasing all the Chakra she'd been building. The ground shook and three curved slabs of stone rose out of the ground until they formed a complete dome around Bree. I was dumfounded. On her first try she'd managed to form a complete dome. It only took one look to figure out how.
"Bree, I called. "Come on out."
I watched as she released the Jutsu and the dome crumbled. She walked over to where I was standing and looked at me expectantly.
"That was impressive," I started. "I expected you to barely be able to make a wall. How do you feel?"
"Exhausted," she admitted between heavy breaths.
"Would you like to know why," I asked, and she answered with a nod of the head. "You just used nearly nine times the Chakra that Jutsu actually required."
Bree's jaw dropped.
"Exactly," I said with a smile. "That means two things. Firstly, your Chakra levels are insane. Almost five times mine. Secondly, it means your Chakra control sucks. Immensely. Judging from what I can see, you probably only have enough Chakra for three more of those, and you'd probably pass out afterwards. I could probably do that same Jutsu, the exact same way, at least six times, maybe seven."
"Okay," Bree said with a sigh. "How do I get better?"
"I've been reading about that in a book written by my grandfather," I explained. "When he was a Genin, his Sensei gave him training called the tree climbing technique. Basically, you have to climb a tree, but without using your hands. You can do this by focusing Chakra to the bottoms of your feet, and creating a small attractive force."
"I don't understand," Bree said with a frown. "How will that help?"
"Try focusing your Chakra to your feet," I ordered.
Bree closed her eyes for a moment and I watch as Chakra began to slowly trickle down to her feet. After a minute of this, Bree gasped and doubled over.
"That's incredibly hard," she admitted. "Why is that so much harder than it sounds?"
"The feet have an extremely low concentration of Chakra nodes, and what's more, they're arranged in positions that make it incredibly difficult to control. Basically, by mastering this, you're skipping straight to the hard stuff. Everything else will be easy after this."
"Can you show me?" Bree asked.
"I wish I could," I said regretfully. "Unfortunately I just read about this yesterday and I hadn't had the chance to practice. So it looks like we'll be learning this together."
"Okay," she said finally. "Let's do it."
I nodded and we made our way over to the base of a tree at the edge of the clearing.
"You try it first so that I know what to do," Bree said.
Again I nodded. Pulling a kunai from my bag, I began to pool my Chakra and push it into my feet. I wasn't quite sure how much Chakra was needed to make this ability work, but I decided to err on the side of caution, using a small but reasonable amount. I took a few steps back to get a running start, then bolted in the direction of the tree. One step after another I ran up the side of the tree, until my momentum ran out and I realized I'd need more Chakra if I wanted to do this without a running start. I made a quick slash at the peak of my climb, before falling back down the length of the tree and landing nimbly on both feet.
"Wow," Bree said in amazement. "That was impressive."
"Not really," I argued with a grimace. "That wasn't even close to enough Chakra. But anyway, it's a start. Do you think you can try?"
Bree nodded and mimicked my preparation. After a moment, she ran at the tree like I did, but as soon as her foot made contact with the tree, the bark exploded into sawdust and smoke, launching Bree several feet through the air and onto her back.
"Ouch," she said, stunned.
I couldn't help myself. I doubled over with laughter. Bree threw a small rock at me which I nimbly dodged without interrupting my laughing.
"I'm not sure whether it's the wet grass on my back, or the maniacal laughter, but something tells me that was way too much Chakra," Bree admitted after a deep breath.
"You think?" I choked through laughter.
After a moment and three more rocks, I managed to calm myself enough to help Bree off the ground. After that introduction to the training, we continued to make attempts. I made progress a little faster than Bree. Almost six hours later, I could walk up the tree with no running start and only mess up once for every five attempts. Bree was still in the running stage, but at least she wasn't blowing up trees anymore.
"Good job!" I called from the ground, as Bree managed to place a mark at least ten feet higher than her last attempt.
Her powerfully muscled body raced towards the ground as gravity embraced her. I took a moment to admire her grace. She was almost as agile as I was. Her feet hit the ground and her legs absorbed the shock harmlessly.
"You should try and see if you can walk up for a few steps now," I encouraged.
"Okay," she panted.
With my Sharingan I measured her Chakra as she focused it.
"Stop!" I exclaimed. "That's perfect. If you keep your Chakra right at that level you'll be perfect. Keep your focus and just pretend you're walking on the ground."
Bree halted her Chakra build up and maintained the levels. She took a few steps in the direction of the tree and her Chakra remained even and stable. Placing one foot on the tree, she picked her other foot up and took her first walking step on the tree. Not wanting to distract her, I held my congratulations at bay. Slowly and carefully, Bree placed one foot in front of the other, making her way up the tree. At the twenty foot mark, her Chakra wavered and her feet lost their grip. She fell head first, and with no momentum to flip around. Seeing that she had no way to right herself in the space she had, I jumped up to meet her midair. I caught her easily and returned her to the ground.
"That was extremely good," I praised, placing Bree on her own feet.
"I still fell," she sighed.
"So did I," I countered.
"You didn't have to be caught," she argued.
"Neither did you," I said with a mischievous smile. "I could've let you hit the ground. It wouldn't have killed you. Now try again. One more then I think we call it quits for today."
"Fine," she sighed again.
"This time just take a few steps and try to stay in one place," I advised.
She repeated her previous preparation, sending just the right amount of Chakra to her feet. As before she carefully took her steps until she was standing on the side of the tree. There she stayed for several minutes. Not once did I see her Chakra even flicker.
"I think you've got it," I praised. "Come on down and we'll head back to my house. It's close to dinner time."
"Okay," Bree said smiling "I am pretty hungry."
With a neat back flip, she landed squarely on her feet and walked to where I'd been watching.
"I noticed you didn't really get to train much," Bree said.
"I was busy making sure you were learning what you needed to," I explained. "I'll come back out here after dinner. I still need to figure out the implications of my extra nature release."
Bree nodded and we began walking towards the house. Once there we were greeted by the smell of fish and I remembered my request from the night before.
"Smells good," I called. "Who's cooking?'
"That would be me Kid," I heard my father answer from within the kitchen.
"Good," I said much more quietly as I entered the kitchen. "Mother is hopeless when it comes to fish."
"I heard that you little punk," said the voice of my mother as my father and I shared a laugh.
Bree smacked me on the back of the head, which didn't hurt in the slightest.
"Be respectful," she snapped in a mocking tone, earning another laugh from me.
"I like her," my mother said as she came into the kitchen. "Good job Bree. You have a hard job ahead of you keeping this one in check."
Bree grinned as my mother ruffled her hair and walked over to give my father a kiss on the cheek.
"That does smell good," my mother agreed as Bree and I took our seats at the table. "Good thing your father decided to make a well-rounded meal.
My senses instantly went on high alert and my eyes narrowed suspiciously at my mother.
"Why do you insist on doing this to me?" I asked darkly, trying to play off the sinister red glow that I knew was boring a hole in my mother's face.
"Most of it is fish," my mother assured me.
"Why did you have to ruin fish?" I groaned, slamming my head into the table.
"I feel I'm missing some integral part of this conversation," Bree said under her breath.
"Don't worry about it," I growled defeated from underneath my arms.
My mother laughed. A moment later, plates of fish and mixed vegetables, including my most hated adversary, were placed in front of all of us. The problem was, my father had used a collection of exclusively green vegetables, making impossible for me to determine what was what. I would be forced to eat them… peppers…
"I just want to inform you all," I started in the same dark tone as before. "Someday, I will be the most powerful Shinobi in existence, and those demon spawn pepper farmers will get what's coming to them."
Finally understanding the context of the situation, Bree laughed so hard that tears welled in her eyes. When her laughing subsided, she realized that my mother and father were already eating, so she joined them. I on the other hand, eyed the bite of food on my spoon carefully. I tried to use my enhanced vision to discern what was what, but it was useless. The gravy my father had chosen, while smelling incredible, did too good a job of disguising the shape and exact color of the items present on my plate. Finally I decided that I had no choice. As with the night before, I placed the bite in my mouth. It tasted incredible, but I couldn't let anyone else know that. I made that sourest face that I could, but I could tell my mother wasn't buying it.
"Admit it," she said with a victorious smile. "Your father finally found a way to make peppers that you like,"
"Only because he used gravy," I growled dejectedly. "That's cheating."
The rest of the meal finished quietly. It struck me as right that Bree was accepted into my home without question. This was how it was supposed to be with the Uchiha. They were never meant to be ostracized. While my threat from earlier was only a joke, my ambition to bring the Uchiha back to power was very real. My mother and father having me was proof that pure blooded Uchiha are no more powerful than a mixed blooded one. My clan would rise again, and we'd be more powerful than ever. And unlike what was allowed to happen in the past, I would never let anyone from my clan or my village, start hostilities against the other. If another Madara ever came to be, I would deal with them personally, much as it would pain me to do so.
With our meal finished, I decided it was time to return to the training yard. The sun was setting, but there was still enough time to train before I would need to sleep. Unfortunately, I was reaching my limit with my Sharingan. I only had maybe another thirty minutes before my Chakra levels would be too low to sustain it.
"Come on Bree," I said as I stood. "Daylight is almost gone, and so is my Chakra. I want to give my nature release a try."
"Okay," Bree said with a smile. "I'm feeling much better after some food. Maybe I'll keep working on tree climbing."
I nodded and we once more headed back to the training yard. Bree did exactly what she said she would. Practicing her tree climbing with renewed determination. I however stood in the center of the training yard meditating. I focused only on my Chakra. Its shapes, and its colors. I could feel the way my two basic nature elements interacted with each other, but I struggled to make the connection meaningful. Nevertheless, I knew that if I focused hard enough, and kept experimenting, eventually I'd find the answers.
In that moment, I figured it out. I had been approaching it wrong. I had expected the combination of fire and lightning to be intensely destructive. But just the opposite was true. The Chakra mixing in my body, forming from the violent torrent of power provided by my fire and lightning, was actually quite opposing from these properties. If anything, I'd have to describe it as stable. I pulled a measure of this Chakra and focused it. It felt like a physical thing, something I could reach out and touch.
"What's that?" Bree asked softly.
Despite her clearly trying to avoid startling me, that's exactly what happened. My eyes flew open and for a split second, as my concentration was shattered, I saw a tiny marble sized green ball floating a few inches in front of my face. But as soon as my last shred of focus was lost, it blinked out of existence.
"You startled me," I scolded. "And I'm really not sure. I kinda just figured out how to manipulate this new Chakra."
"Do it again," she said. "But keep your eyes open."
My brow furrowed in concentration, I fought my Chakra to obey my will, trying to replicate the sensation I had with the tiny green ball the first time. It worked, and the ball popped back into existence. I tried to feel what it was, and I could tell that it was physically there. It had a shape like a ball because it my mind I was compressing it. I imagined that I was molding it into a different shape. It started to elongate and become more like a needle. After several seconds, I noticed that my Chakra was dangerously low. I allowed the green construct to vanish.
"Where'd it go?" Bree asked. "It was cool."
"Just making something that small and trying to keep it from disappearing required all my concentration, and drained all my remaining Chakra," I said through heavy breaths.
Bree's eyes opened wide as my Sharingan blinked out of existence.
"Was it really that intense?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice.
"Yes," I panted. "It's very strange. It seems to have this sort of stability, but it requires so much energy to keep it from disappearing."
Bree adopted a puzzled expression, no doubt trying to unravel the mystery of my new ability. Eventually, she abandoned this in favor of a sort of contentment.
"Well, you can figure it out tomorrow," she said. "We've both made incredible progress. We can both now walk up a tree. And you've taken the first step towards inventing a whole new nature. Time to rest."
I nodded my agreement and fought my way into a standing position. My depleted body resisted even that level of exertion, but despite that, we slowly made our way back to my house. Right after passing the door my mother rounded the corner in a hallway.
"Oh," she said looking at me with concern. "What happened? I was just getting used to your Sharingan."
"I may have over done it," I said.
Without warning, my vision blurred and I collapsed onto the floor. I could hear my mother speaking to me, but I no longer had the strength to fight the growing darkness.
"Let him sleep," came the voice of my father. "This wouldn't be the first time he's done this."
And with that command, I thought no more.