Hey guys, I got chapter 5 for you here! Thanks to anyone who left a fav or follow. In this chapter, Yoku adjusts to life in the Academy after the death of her mother. Along with regular shinobi curriculum Yoku learns the ways of flower arrangement and blending into cultures in kunoichi classes. She tries to fill the new hole within her with friendship (god, that sounds sappy) and tries her hand at being a tutor. Later she gets a heavy talk with her father about genetics and prejudice. Yoku also gets wounded.. by a fruit. I'll try to make this a nice fluffy feel-good chapter, showing growth and development. Please don't kill me if I get Academy stuff wrong, I'm making up most of it with a little help from the wiki.
Thanks to everyone who left reviews, you guys make me feel warm and fuzzy with your nice words. They aren't showing up on-site, but I can still read them thanks to my email. I'm glad you're all enjoying my story :P
Near the end there's a bit of a time-skip, marking the start of a shift some of you were probably waiting for.
Anyway, I'll start this off on an ominous note. I'll be writing a nasty oneshot continuation of this little scene, so keep an eye out if you want to read it.
In the Land of Water...
A sweaty, nervous man walked hurriedly through a grey corridor. He wore a blue apron over a white shirt and pants. On the back of his shirt was a small image of a wave crashing against a rock. His brown hair was very short and his tired blue eyes flicked left and right. His name was Sirao.
He approached the room in front of him cautiously. He knew it was a bad idea to disturb the boss when he was working, but he'd lost his bet. He had to deliver the bad news now. Sirao knocked thrice apprehensively, then slowly opened the grey door to an operating theater.
The doctor in front of him was hunched over a twitching man on a table, scalpel glimmering lethally in one hand. His hair was shiny and grey-black, the color of steel. A pair of eyes the very same color held a calculating and hard gaze. His skin was somewhat pale, his face angled and grave-looking. He wore a white lab coat and a surgeon's mask, along with white gloves. His shirt and pants were black, as were his polished shoes. Aside from the gloves and shoes, each item of clothing had faded stains on it.
His surroundings were pristine and white, yet the sterility of the place seemed to be hiding something sinister. Various liquids were in glass containers on a bench to the doctor's left; to his right was a collection of syringes and medical tools. Large machines beeped and droned around the room, some hooked up to bubbling containers.
"Stop struggling, now... I'm going to make you all better. Then you can help me..." the doctor said almost soothingly as he lowered the scalpel, ready to make an incision
"Sir..?" Sirao piped up nervously from the ajar door
"Dammit, what? Did they capture the specimen I asked for?" the doctor turned around, irritated at being interrupted
"Ah... no... but..." Sirao stammered, the oppression of the room weighing him down
"No...?" the doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously
Sirao's own eyes bulged in fear and he tried desperately to appease the angered man "B-but we brought you something useful, see-"
"I do not tolerate failure..." the doctor's voice was cold as ice; he pulled a modified syringe filled with a purple liquid out of his coat, advancing towards Sirao
"Please, no!" the Kiri-nin's pleas fell on deaf ears. There was a rush of air when the syringe was thrown at him with deadly accuracy
As Sirao's unconscious form slumped to the polished floor, the doctor smirked behind his mask.
"Perhaps you will be of use to me as raw genetic material..."
I was a little silent for a bit after Mother died. Granted, I still talked with Obito and his grandmother since I was staying at their house, but to others I didn't say much. I kept in touch with Rin and Guy, but I usually kept conversations brief with them. I wanted, needed, time to think, to process.
On my first day at the Academy my gloomy disposition was less but still apparent to others. Though I motivated myself, I was still grieving inside.
"Come on Obito, we can't be late for our first day!" I called to the Uchiha who was still in the bathroom. I myself was rushing, pulling on my grey jacket and checking my bag
"Hld n, m' brushing m' teeth!" came the muffled reply
After about half a minute Obito burst out of the door, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He fastened his goggles and grabbed his bag, briefly checking it like me. Obito's grandmother bid us good luck and we ran out of the house.
We were quite a sight-both of us running and grinning like idiots through the compound. We bumped into a few people, muttering quick apologies then continuing on our way. I'm pretty sure somebody yelled at us too-we were running pretty clumsily and loudly.
Obito and I soon made our way to the Academy, barely in time for class. As we entered our room I could see almost everyone else was there-they all turned their heads to look at us.
'What is it with people automatically looking at someone when they enter a room?'
An awkward silence filled the air as we took our seats next to Rin; she'd saved them for us. To my immense relief, the teacher cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him instead. I raised an eyebrow at the design of the classroom. Tall wooden desks surrounded a small stage below in a semicircle, said stage having a large blackboard behind it.
'This is so weird... it's like a lecture room in a university. They're unconsciously emphasizing the fact that ninja have to grow up quickly.'
My attention turned to the teacher, a skinny-looking man with short, straight blond hair and olive eyes. He wore the standard shinobi uniform of a flak jacket over dark clothes, forehead protector tied around his neck.
"Greetings, class. I am Imarai Yamanaka, your teacher for the next few years. Since all of you are new here, we'll start this lesson with an explanation of what you will be taught. The curriculum is as follows: Language, math, literature, taijutsu training, ninjutsu training, genjutsu resistance, chakra manipulation, use of ninja tools and shinobi history. We will have class trips now and then to learn about the village as well." after finishing his list, some kids broke out in hushed conversation
'Mmm, a more interesting lineup than what I'm used to. Pity there's no Digital Technology though.'
"Girls will be required to attend kunoichi classes to learn about espionage and infiltration. "
'Espionage and infiltration? Sounds fun... I hope.'
After a few minutes of mumbling among the students, the teacher began the lesson. When he began to talk about the basics of literature, my mood slumped and I sighed. Just stuff I already knew. Resting my head on my hands, I lazily gazed at the people around the room. My ears caught the sound of someone whispering near me-about me.
"Didn't she-"
"-dead, right?"
"-that loser Obito-"
"-weird-"
'Typical, ugh. So this is what Sasuke and Kakashi felt like.'
My eyes drifted towards the pair of kids. One was a girl with thick black hair in a ponytail, while the other had short brown hair and a senbon in his mouth.
'Dammit, Genma.'
I shifted my expression, letting my eyes rest on him in a lazy glare for a couple of seconds.
He sweat dropped and fell silent. I let out a sigh and dropped the glare, my vision flicking towards the people sitting next to me.
Rin looked to be focused and trying to take in the lesson. She was jotting down notes in a book too-I envied her ability to be attentive.
Obito's posture was a reflection of mine, slumped and bored.
'Looks like I'm not the only one... sigh.'
Eventually we went on to math, then history. We began by learning about the Warring States period-I listened to refresh my memory.
"Before the Five Great Nations existed, clans were independent and constantly at war with other clans. They were desperate struggles, in which even children fought and frequently lost their lives. Out of all the clans that fought, there were two more powerful and well known than others-The Uchiha and The Senju."
"That's your clan, Obito." I whispered to the boy to my left, about to doze off. It woke him up and he began paying attention, to my relief
"The Uchiha were known for their powerful visual jutsu, the Sharingan, while the Senju were known for their proficiency in many jutsu."
From there Imarai went on to talk about Madara and Hashirama's friendship, though not without a few errors. At one point, I actually corrected the teacher because of my frustration. It was a legitimate correction, but I think I was being a bit of a smartass too at the time.
"Madara began to go blind from using the Mangekyo Sharingan; seeking to restore his power, he killed his brother Izuna and stole his eyes-"
"Sir?" I asked, raising my hand
"Yes, Yoku?"
"What you're saying is what many believe, but it's inaccurate. Madara didn't kill Izuna or steal his eyes. Izuna died from a wound inflicted by Tobirama and gave his eyes to Madara on his deathbed."
...
...
*cough*
...
"Yoku, how can you be sure of this knowledge? None of us actually saw these events happen; we know what happened based on our history. Madara was known to be consumed by The Curse of Hatred-it is most likely that he killed his brother to gain his eyes. Please, refrain from further interruptions." Imarai replied, shutting me up
My face fell onto my desk with a thud and a sigh, sporting the anime look of defeat.
"Fyi, I did see those events happen... on a tv screen..." I mumbled into my desk despairingly
Imarai spent the rest of the lesson explaining how Konoha was formed and the battle at The Valley of The End. I spent the rest of the lesson lying on my desk in a sour mood.
At the end of the lesson we were given class schedules and a basic test sheet for homework.
"Your individual skills will be analysed based on your results for this test, so put in a good effort!" said Imarai before dismissing us
We filed out of the room with a mix of grumbling and chatter. I was doing a bit of both.
"Ah, homework, my old nemesis..." I said as I regarded the sheet in my hand
"Aw man, I can't believe we got homework on the first day!" Obito groaned, poking his tongue out
"Don't worry Obito, it's probably not very difficult," said Rin in an attempt to cheer him up
Obito blushed and smiled before replying "I hope so.."
I sighed and shook my head at the sight of the lovestruck boy; Rin was pretty oblivious.
A week after Father was told of Mother's death, I didn't go near him. He was a sensitive man at heart-Mother's death really sucked the life out of him. It didn't last forever though. After a while of avoiding him, I was approached by Father at the training field. Obito, Guy and I were playing rock-paper-scissors of all things.
"Rock paper scissors shoot!" we said in unison, Guy and I's hands freezing at 'shoot'
I was beating Guy 8-6. Obito and I were tied at the moment, 7-7.
My hand was flat, Guy's was a fist.
"Once again I have tasted defeat, but my spirit will not waver! Again!" Guy said with passion
'To think he's so determined even with small things like this..'
We were about to go again, when I felt a familiar presence behind me. A presence I was afraid of facing. Obito paled a little and gulped in front of me, confirming my thoughts.
"Yoku," the voice sounded different, lacking in... something
I slowly turned to face Father, heart pounding. He looked a little thin and... tired. His eyes didn't really have the spark of life within them anymore.
"Y... yes, Father?" it was like facing a stranger-I didn't know how we was going to react
"Come with me. I need to show you something."
Gulping, I nodded and began to follow him. I turned my head to look at my friends, both of whom looked back with sympathy.
Father and I came to our house-a chill ran up my spine. Images flashed through my mind of the night Obito and I found Mother dead. The house, which had once filled me with a feeling of familiarity and safety, now filled me with fear. I shook as we entered it, expecting the smell of blood to hit my nose any second. It didn't. The kitchen was spotless, as if it had never been touched. The sterility of it reminded me of a hospital-unnaturally clean and hiding gruesome secrets.
Father stopped and spoke with sudden seriousness "Yoku, you must never speak to anyone of what I am about to show you. Alright?" I nodded, frozen in anticipation
Father pulled out a kunai. I was horrified to see him drag it down the exposed flesh of his arm, leaving a long bleeding cut.
'Oh god... has he become a masochist?'
"It's okay, this will be gone in a moment..." he said calmly, sensing my terror
Father placed his hand on my shoulder, then closed his eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, I felt as if I was being slowly weakened. Something was draining from me. My drooping eyes widened as I saw the cut on Father's arm knit itself together and disappear. He let go of my shoulder, leaving me tired.
"Y-your... your arm!" I stuttered, pointing at it with a shaking finger
"I know... Yoku, what you have just witnessed is the jutsu that I am certain got your mother killed." Father spoke in a grave tone, then proceeded to explain
"This is known as the Chakra Leech jutsu. It allows the user to absorb the chakra of others, healing themselves and draining the victim. It's genetic, essentially a kekkei-genkai. However, there are few of my clan left. Yoku, do you know of the Yuki clan?"
"The ice-style users..." I replied, getting a vague idea of what he was implying
"Like them, people of my clan were condemned for our jutsu. This was because there were some who used the Chakra Leech Jutsu to an extreme. They murdered many people, sucking them dry of their chakra and healing their own wounds. Essentially, discounting age and sickness, they were immortal if they had enough chakra available. After they were used in battles as mercenary soldiers, persecution of users of the jutsu became more common. People were killed just because they carried the clan name-eventually, most of us were wiped out. We became less well known too-eventually fading into obscurity." Father paused for a moment, walking into the kitchen
When he spoke next, he sounded like a different man.
"They killed Karu... because of me. They wanted my jutsu, but they got her instead. I know they will keep trying to hunt me down, they've been trying to find me for years. For this reason, I fear for your life. Yoku... if you inherit the Chakra Leech jutsu, your life and the lives of those you care about could be in great danger if anyone were to discover it. If you do obtain this jutsu, remember what I have shown and told you today. For the sake of yourself and others, you cannot breathe a word. Understand?"
Filled with uncertainty, I nonetheless replied with a firm nod.
Weeks passed, Father's words still weighing on my mind. I continued to stay at Obito's house, as Father felt it best to be away from me for now. The Academy was going better for me at least-I got generally good marks. I would have gotten better ones if I didn't still possess my old lazy streak. I would tutor Obito sometimes, hoping to speed up his development and get him to around my level. One day, I told Obito the story of the Otsutsuki clan. I was dubious about telling him things like that, but decided it was part of his ancestor's history and he deserved to know about it. Plus, if all went according to plan, Madara would never tell Obito about it anyway.
While telling the story to Obito, I was also eating a pineapple. In retrospect it was a bit rude, but as soon as I saw the fruit sitting on the kitchen bench I just had to have some. I've always had a love-hate relationship with that fruit. So delicious, yet so painful.
"Okay Obito, you want to hear an old story?" I asked Obito, who was eating an apple
He raised an eyebrow at me "*crunch* Ish it a good shtory?"
"Yep. It's pretty ancient history, but interesting. It's the story of the Otsutsuki clan, the first people to posses chakra." I took a large bite out of a pineapple slice when I finished, juice dripping down my chin
Obito's onyx eyes widened and focused on me, interested. For once he wasn't wearing his goggles or ear protectors, giving me a clearer view of his hair and facial features.
'I like his face...'
Seconds after thinking that I almost choked on the piece of pineapple in my mouth. Shaking my head to clear away the random thought, I continued my story.
"A long time ago, people didn't have chakra. *slurp* They fought all the time, in never-ending conflictsh. *gulp* There was a large tree that grew in the land they lived in, called the 'God Tree', which the people worshiped. *chomp* Every thoushand yearsh, the tree bore fruit known as 'Chakra fruit'. It was forbidden to touch thish fruit *gulp*, but one day a warrior princess known as Kaguya ate the fruit, seeking to stop the war. The fruit gave her immense power, which she used to end the war and bring peace." I paused to grab another slice of pineapple and wipe my face with a tissue
"So that power she got was chakra?" Obito asked, now thoroughly engrossed
"Yeah. In the end, people both worshiped and feared her as The Rabbit Goddess. *slurp* Eventually she had two sonsh, Hagoromo and Hamura. Realishing they had been born with chakra, Kaguya eventually sought to take it from them, believing all chakra to be hersh. *gulp* Hagoromo and Hamura sealed her away after defeating her in a tense battle." It was then that I noticed my mouth was stinging. Like an idiot, I ignored it and mindlessly shoved more delicious pineapple into my mouth
"Long story short, Hagoromo became the sage of sixsh pathsh, creating the tailed beastsh and sharing chakra with all other humansh. He alsho had two sonsh, from whom the Uchiha and Senju are deshended." Now my mouth was burning, like I'd swallowed acid. But really, that was what had happened.
"Uh, Yoku. Your mouth is bleeding." Obito said suddenly, pointing to my mouth with a worried expression
Sure enough, I could taste blood. It was coming from my tongue and my lips, turning the pineapple rind I was sucking on orange. Something clicked in my mind.
'Ah. Right. Pineapples are acidic. I knew there was a reason I stopped eating them!'
With a disappointed sigh I placed down the pineapple rind and held a tissue to my mouth. Obito had finished his apple, which I now wished I had eaten instead. My mouth was in agony-forget overdosing on drugs, never overdose on pineapple or you will regret it.
"Bad pineapple." I muttered bitterly through the tissue
"Geez, remind me never to eat one." Obito remarked with an empathetic glance
Kunoichi classes were enjoyable. We learned the ways of other cultures, which I found interesting since I didn't know much about the inner workings of some of the nations. I also liked discussing things with Rin-she shared my enthusiasm. Our teacher was a woman by the name of Ikicha Moruna. She wore a long black jacket over a white shirt and navy pants. Her hitai-ate was tied around her waist instead of her head. Her brown hair was long, thick and wavy. One lock covered her right eye-combine that with makeup and a confident stride and she was a woman with power. I was certain that if there were males in the class, at least a few would be crushing on her.
She was sharp, too-few people got away with making trouble in Ikicha's class. I understood most of the things taught to us-most of them. Flower arranging was one area where I slipped up...
"Today, you shall be learning the art of flower arrangement. You will use this skill to blend into new environments." Ikicha said, gesturing to a simple yet pretty plant arrangement to her right. We had plants and a pot on our desks; we had to use them to copy the design. I was tired and only half-listening, so after arranging my plants I did something that should have occurred to me as stupid the moment I tried it.
I attempted to use the plant as camouflage.
'Blend into new environments... how am I supposed to use this to hide? Maybe I'm meant to use a henge or something... or try to duck behind it?'
I was earning quizzical looks from the class. Rin asked me what I was doing.
"Trying to use this to blend into the environment, duh." I replied, still trying to solve the mystery of how such a small plant could conceal anything
"Uh, Yoku. Ikicha-sensei meant 'Blend in to new environments' as in 'Mimic other cultures to blend in with them', not to use them to hide." Rin informed me awkwardly
After processing her words for a couple seconds, I facepalmed. Then let my head thud onto the desk.
"I need coffee..." I mumbled into the wood
I'd been in the Academy for almost a year and a half-I was seven now. I was progressing steadily, above average. Although I wasn't too keen on advancing quickly-I was lazy and didn't want to wait for my friends to catch up to me. Guy had been admitted into the Academy as I'd predicted, and aside from ninjutsu and genjutsu classes he was doing pretty well. He was the best in our taijutsu lessons for sure-some of my fellow students speculated he had unlimited energy since he usually did exercises several times over.
Obito had started out slow but was doing better thanks to a little assistance on my part, settling in the average area of marking. Our friendship had grown in time, becoming a near-unbreakable bond. I shared this with Guy too, Rin a little less so but still a solid friendship. I was really enjoying life, the only blots being the occasional failures, arguments and reminders of my depressed father.
Speaking of Father, we had grown a little distant. I eventually moved back into my house, but I rarely interacted with Father aside from meals. All he ever seemed to do was missions-to me it was like he just kept throwing himself into danger. He was such a shell of a man then that sometimes I wondered if he was hoping to die on one of his assignments.
Eventually, I discovered two thorns in my side. One of which was out of my control, but the other was totally my fault. The second one took longer to become apparent than the first, but was more painful.
The first thorn was revealed to me one sleepy afternoon. Our Academy class was doing training with ninja tools to finish off the day's lesson. We were throwing kunai and shuriken at wooden targets, trying to hit as close to the middle of them as possible. We'd also been split into two teams-red and blue. Each team had kunai and shuriken painted with their respective color. The people in the teams took turns to throw the projectiles-we obtained more points for better accuracy.
I did pretty well in the red team, satisfied with my hits for the most part. I smiled a little more with satisfaction each time my projectile hit the target with a thunk. In the end though, we lost.
At the end of the session our teacher counted up the points and collected most of the tools. Blue team won by a little more than us-Genma was now my nemesis in more ways than one. After everyone was dismissed, some of us had to stay behind to clean up the tools. I was picked because I'd bothered Imarai with my "Corrections" more than once. Obito was picked because he'd fallen behind in some of his work. Rin stayed just to be helpful.
Running around carrying sharp tools, I guess I should have seen it coming. Shinobi in training or not, I was a kid and I was clumsy. I tripped on a kunai stuck in the ground while carrying some shuriken. When I got up, one of them was embedded in my arm.
"Ow." I said, dumbly staring at the wound
"Whoa Yoku, are you okay?!" Obito exclaimed after he caught sight of my predicament
"Yep. Sorta. I think. Hey, Rin. Do you know any medical ninjutsu yet?" I asked casually, keeping my tone calm
Rin turned her head, gasped and covered her mouth.
"N-not really... yet..."
"That's okay... maybe if I just pull it out..." bad idea. Blood started to squirt out of the cut after I took out the shuriken
"Oh Jesus. Shit, shit shit..." I muttered, trying to stem the flow
It was no use. I began to feel weak from blood loss and lay down, my vision becoming hazy.
As I looked up at the frantic faces of my friends, I felt something soft nudge my hand. I turned my attention to it.
'Is that a cat...?'
Sure enough, it was. A ginger cat purring and nuzzling my hand for some reason. It felt warm-then, that warmth began to travel up my arm and into the rest of me. I felt myself getting better. My vision became clear again and I sat up.
"Wow, I didn't know cats could..." I noticed the pale faces of Rin and Obito
"Uh... guys?" I got no response, except for Rin pointing at the cat
It was laying down, no longer purring. Or breathing.
An icy chill ran down my spine. Carefully, slowly, I felt it's neck for a pulse. There was none. I checked my arm, which was no longer hurting. The cut was gone.
'I... I killed it.'
"Oh god..." I said, feeling like I was going to throw up
"Guys... please... please don't tell anyone about this. I-I didn't mean to k-kill the cat, it j-just happened!"
I was shaking, holding back tears. Obito rested a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay Yoku. We won't tell anyone." next to him Rin nodded. I felt comforted by their presence. Instinctively, I drew Obito into a hug-partly because he'd helped me through bad times before, and partly because of something I didn't recognize at the time.
As I stood there with my arms wrapped around him, a single thought kept pulsing in my brain like a migraine.
'I'm a monster.'
Damn. My chapters keep getting out of control and super long. But whatever-I enjoy giving you guys lots of content. The pineapple scene was inspired by an event in my life-pineapples are not to be underestimated. Maybe Yoku should become a fruit ninja and get some juicy revenge. The flower-arranging scene was created because I got confused by the explanation of the art and assumed they were used like shrubs to hide behind -_-
To explain the Chakra Leech jutsu a little more-the amount of chakra needed for complete healing depends on the severity of the injury. For example, healing back a freshly sawn-off leg or regrowing an organ would take a huuge amount of chakra compared to healing gashes or cuts.
Leave a review, fav or follow if you want. The next chapter has some more growth and Academy antics, more Guy cheesiness and more training. And hey, maybe that missing genre will start to show it's face ;)