V 6 ch 6
For You
Gin Akimichi sat on a fallen branch in the woods as she stared at a puddle in front of her. She could see the sky and trees reflecting in it. Gin wondered where Idai was. Yanagi had found out through Daiya that he left the village with his dad. She sighed sadly. What was wrong with Idai? Why would he leave so suddenly?
Gin stroked the petals of a white lily she held in her grasp. Her blue eyes ran across its delicate, soft petals. Would she ever see him again? Gin looked up slowly to see Areku walking towards her. "Hi, Areku. How is Hire," she asked as she looked down at the flower in her hands again.
Areku crouched to look up into Gin's face. "Are you worried about Idai?" Gin nodded. She closed her eyes. "He's with Gai sensei. He will look after him. Do you… want to know what caused him to leave?"
Gin looked at him slowly. "You've heard something from Kiba sensei?" She watched as he shook his head to answer her. "How do you know then?"
"I was there when it happened. I answered the door when Masaru and Yanagi came for my father. He attacked them, Gin. Masaru said Idai raised his sword at Yanagi. She kept saying, 'It wasn't Idai. It wasn't Idai.' Masaru countered Yanagi's defense and said Idai had changed. His personality was not his own. He was someone else – someone different. It seems my father knew what they were talking about.
When Masaru took Yanagi home, Father told me to alert Gai sensei. He said Idai was out of control – he had to be stopped. When I told Gai sensei, he left his post to attend to Idai. I was thanked and returned home. Idai has a split personality, Gin. That is why he left. He had to. His other half is unpredictable." Areku watched as his teammate looked down at the flower in her hand once more.
"You know, flowers are fragile forms of beauty. If you forget to water them, or put them in sunlight, they wilt. Sometimes it's good to talk to them, too. It makes them feel special. Idai has been in the dark for a long time. He's not any different from a flower. Gai sensei, I'm sure, wants him to live – not wilt away." Gin stroked the flower. "I only hope he is led to the sunlight. It must be terrible to not know who you are."
Areku's eyes softened. Gin really cared about Idai, regardless what was happening to the foreign boy. It's a shame she never got the courage to tell him how she felt. She could have helped him fight whatever he's going through. He reached forward to put his hand on hers. "Maybe when Idai comes back, you can be a little more assertive and tell him how you feel." Gin started blushing right away. "Gin, you have to tell him some time. Someone else might snatch him."
Gin fidgeted her feet. "I want to tell him, but he's not here now. I don't know if he ever noticed me before."
"Well," Areku said as he stood," I'd figure out how to get myself noticed. He won't know you're alive if you don't say anything. I'll see you later, Gin. I'm going to go check on Hire."
Onari leaned on her brother's shoulder as they sat on the round watching Yanagi and Saori spar. Daiya had his hands clasped with his elbows on his knees. He was thinking about Idai. His eyes were distant and unconcerned with the activity going on around him.
Yanagi twisted her body as she came around to punch the space beside Saori's ear. Her movements were picking up, but they were nowhere as fast as her father's was. The pink-haired girl of team six blocked a punch easily as Saori came at her. Both of the girls were competitive when it came to who would be the first to surpass the boys.
Saori did a fake kick at Yanagi. Her friend tensed as she expected her to do. Saori took the opportunity to bend forwards to where she did a handstand. Then she twisted her waist doing an upside-down spin kick at Yanagi's head. Her foot was exposed to the girl's shoulder as Yanagi turned her body at the right moment to avoid her. Saori flipped back suddenly to start using hand seals.
Yanagi caught on to what she was doing and moved back quickly. She ran for the wooden fence in order to get away. Yanagi ran up a large pole to hold onto her position as she turned her head to watch Saori.
Saori's shadow shot out to try to capture Yanagi. The long line of darkness moved upon the ground. It snaked around the pole trying to gain ground. Saori's face showed frustration as the shadow stopped a few feet from Yanagi's form.
Yanagi sat on top of the pole. She watched Saori swear. "I know your limits as well as you do. I'm not going to move, Saori. We might as well call this a truce."
"I can still get you," Saori tried to make herself believe. She furrowed her brows concentrating. Her shadow tried to budge. It wasn't moving.
Yanagi sighed. "Saori, you're going to exhaust yourself for no reason. It's not a real fight. You just need to figure out how to get me another time."
"No, I need to figure it out now. I want to be as good as Kurenai sensei," Saori said. She had to let go. The shadow moved away from Yanagi. Saori punched the ground.
"Kurenai sensei learns from her mistakes. She doesn't give up if there is a chance of defeating her opponent. Her emotions are cool and collective – not anger – as yours tends to be," Daiya said out of nowhere. Saori gave him a foul look.
"No one asked you to comment," Saori said as she stood up dusting her knees off. "Worry about your own skills." She crossed her arms.
Yanagi came off the pole. She brought her hands up trying to ward off Saori's temper. "He didn't mean anything by it, Saori. Daiya's only giving you structural criticism."
"Yeah? Well, I don't structurally criticize his faults," Saori countered at her best friend. She didn't approve of Yanagi backing him up all of a sudden. "And you're acting rather odd, Yanagi. Are you two going out or something?" She caught onto her friend's shocked expression. "So that's what it is."
"That isn't what it is," Daiya said before Saori could say anything further. "I criticize you because I want you to meet your goals. If you didn't mouth off when you get frustrated, you'd overlook it and see what you need to do. In addition, as for what you mentioned about how you don't criticize me, it's because you don't care about me. Ryu doesn't let me get by with anything when I'm around him. I'm not about to let you get by me."
Saori Nara gritted her teeth. How dare he talk to her like that? Daiya acted more like an adult than a kid. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Saori was as hot headed as her mother was. Calm down, Saori. Easy. Daiya is acting that way to take his mind off Idai. "Well, I'm glad we're not on the same team. We'd probably kill each other."
Daiya on stared at her with a blank expression. He didn't care for the situation at all. She's not going to succeed with her temper the way it is. Someone's going to get the better of her eventually.
"Guys, do you have to fight," Yanagi asked. She looked back at Daiya. "She's not going to listen to you. Saori only takes Ryu's praise and disapproval. Kind of like how you only take Sasuke sensei's. The two of you are similar in some ways. I just wish you two were friendlier with each other."
"It's not easy talking to a bear," Saori said.
"And nor is working with a donkey," Daiya threw back. He tensed as Onari put her hand over his mouth. He turned his head to look at her. "It's the truth," he mumbled.
"Daiya say better words. Saori accept better words, jes?" Onari's serious gaze stayed with his. She removed her hand. Onari pointed at Saori. "Better words, Daiya."
Daiya knew Onari wasn't going to leave him alone. She was like this at home. When he and Takeru had problems, she had the tendency to follow silently behind him until he made things right. "Alright, Onari. You're worse than mom."
"Your anger is going to cause you to let an opponent get the better of you. When you're worried about how someone has offended you, your head becomes clouded. They win you lose. You weren't paying attention to your limitations, either. I've never seen you use the shadow possession jutsu. Why are you relying on it? I thought you were a puppet user."
Saori looked away. "I-I'm having trouble mastering Rose. My chakra isn't built up enough to handle all of her weapons for a long period of time. I mainly use her as a substitution clone or to distract an opponent."
"So why isn't Lee sensei helping you build your chakra with more intense training," Daiya asked.
"He tries. I'm struggling to keep up with Eiyu and Takeru. They both take side training from their parents. Lee sensei doesn't have extra time to train me. He'd be taking away from Yanagi's training, if he did. That would be selfish of me," Saori said.
"Also my dad doesn't know anything about puppets. Saori is the first puppet user in Konoha. She's been relying on Mr. Kankuro," Yanagi told Daiya.
"Saori needs a trainer who can help her combine taijutsu and Ninjutsu. No offense, Yanagi, but your dad is strictly taijutsu," Daiya said as he thought. "She needs some sort of side training."
"Who is going to be willing to give up their free time to do that? Training takes at least an hour a day, in order, to see results. Saori needs someone with a lot of patience," Yanagi said.
Daiya and Onari both looked at each other. "Kandai," they said in unison. Saori blinked. "Kandai," they said again.
Kandai stood on the porch smiling at the group in the yard. "Hi, guys. How's it going? Onari said you needed me for something?"
Daiya grabbed Saori by the headband around her neck. He pulled her forward. "Help her."
"Help her how?" Kandai was missing the point. "She appears to be fine to me."
"What Daiya means is Saori is having trouble with her chakra. She needs to increase her endurance level with a strict routine. Are you available?" Yanagi could only hope. Kandai and Eiyu stayed busy with their own training.
"Sure," Kandai said. "Yet, Saori is on a team with Eiyu, isn't she? Maybe he should be the one to help her instead?" As he turned around to get his twin, Saori grabbed his wrist. He turned around to see her shaking her head at him.
"No, Kandai, I don't want Eiyu to know. He already busts me on the team for not pulling my weight. I have to be able to use Rose," Saori said explaining herself. Her eyes pleaded with him to reconsider.
Kandai wasn't going to reject Saori if she needed him that badly. "Alright, but if you don't want him to find out, we should train away from the compound. Let's start tomorrow. Your homework is to run all of the way home with a back pack full of rocks." Kandai smiled.
Saori thought he was joking until he disappeared only to come back with them. "You're kidding right?" She fell on her rear as she struggled to lift it.
"If you're serious about becoming as good as Kurenai sensei, you have to train your heart as well as your spirit. We don't want that spit fire attitude of yours to smoke out, Saori. Meet me at training area eleven at sunrise. Training starts early," Kandai said. He waved good-bye as Saori walked off with the backpack.
"Come on, Saori, you can do it! Straighten your back and start smiling! This will help you get closer to being stronger," Yanagi said as she hopped on her feet. Saori did as she suggested. "Alright, now we're going to jog. The first few steps are the hardest. You, too, Daiya," she sang. "It'll help your heart."
Saori wanted to drop the backpack, but Daiya was following suit with her. The first few steps were difficult. I'm going to jog thirty feet and if I survive, I'll job to that building. Saori began to make short goals for herself.
Daiya watched Saori tough it out. She was determined, he'd give her that. He jogged next to her trying to keep up with her pace. Daiya closed his eyes. His lungs were heaving after several blocks. He caught Yanagi watching him. He didn't want to appear weak in front of them.
Yanagi knew Daiya had no problem with self-determination; however, right now it wasn't about that. She didn't want him to hurt himself. Yanagi moved closer to him, in order, to check his complexion. "Daiya, I can make Saori continue. I want you to go home."
"I can do it, Yanagi," Daiya said a bit angrily. He felt her kiss his cheek quickly. He glanced at her.
"You're not the one who needs training. Besides, if you were to pass out, I could do whatever I wanted to you," she said with a smile. Daiya blushed terribly. Yanagi giggled. "Go home, Daiya with the cute butt."
Daiya slowed down as her words sunk in. He stared after her and Saori. "I don't have a cute butt!" Yanagi stuck her tongue out.
Gin moved her hands carefully through the dirt as she sifted the soil aside. Very gently, she placed a special seed into the pot. Gin covered the soil back. She turned her body to pick up a small bamboo container. Gin poured a little water into the pot. She watched the soil turn a dark brown as the water sunk into the bottom.
Gin placed the bamboo container back onto the floor. She bowed low three times and brought her hands up in prayer above her head. "Please grow as Idai grows. Please keep him safe and bring him back to us." She took a small piece of scroll and wrote her prayer onto it. Gin rolled the paper carefully. She stuck the scroll into a plastic piece and emerged it into the soil of the lotus seed.
Gin sat looking at the pot for a while. She half-expected the seed to start growing as soon as she prayed. Gin closed her eyes. Her mind and heart was on Idai. She never told him how she felt. Now she wished she had. I can't think negatively. I have to be positive for him. If what Areku says is true, Idai is suffering. I want him to live a normal life.
As the sun set, Gin meditated for Idai's sake. She kept her mind focused on his face. The world outside continued, even though, he wasn't there to be in it.
Gai sat with Idai in front of an elderly woman who had learned about them outside of the Sound Village. He glanced at his son. The boy was nervous. It had been seven years since he had set foot near the village of his childhood. They were merely on the outskirts and Idai's shoulders were shaking.
The woman regarded the white-haired boy in front of her. He downed a headband of the hidden leaf village. Her eyes fell to the man next to the boy. "You are not his father. Are you this child's guardian?"
Gai sat with correct posture as he regarded the woman in front of him. She was in her sixties and looked as if she had seen many things in her lifetime. "I am. I was appointed his guardian by the Hokage of the hidden leaf village."
Idai's eyes widened. He looked at Gai with a shocked expression. He thought Gai had adopted him of his own accord. Idai felt terrible.
Gai caught the boy's hurt look. He lifted his hand to place it on Idai's back. "I was appointed your guardian, Idai, but not your dad. That was my choice."
The woman watched the two in front of her intently. "What is your purpose in this village? Why have you come?"
"We came to find out if you know anything about what occurred seven years ago," Gai told her.
"Seven years ago? I have been in this village almost twenty years. Ever since the fall of Orochimaru. Many things have occurred here. Why would such knowledge be valuable to a ninja of the hidden leaf village? I am limited about what I can say to a foreigner," she said.
"I am here to find out what happened to my son. He has been tormented by nightmares ever since he was found. Something happened to him to cause him to be like this. Can you please tell us anything to help us," Gai asked. Idai was grabbing his pants as he stared at the floor.
"What would it mean to find out that sort of information," the woman asked as she watched the white and red haired boy in front of her.
"I want to be free," Idai said softly. "I want to go on missions with my team. I want to have fun with my friends. I want to dream. I don't know what it's like. Please help me."
The old woman noted the sadness and fear in his voice. She recognized the boy by the way he held his posture and the expression on his face. His resemblance to his father was uncanny. "You are Idai of the Tatsumaki clan. Your father, Orushin, was a Jounin of the rarest breed. He sought to improve the education and training of ninja in this village. His thoughts on the matter went unnoticed. His fellow colleagues ridiculed his ideas.
Our village has been feared in the past due to our unknown ways. After all, to survive as a new country is hard with limited members. The ones in charge of this village did not want your father to change what was working for them. The Sound village only accepts the best ninja from each clan. Our ways may seem cruel to an outsider, but it helps weed out the children who would fail their teams and missions – be seen as failures and shame their clans."
"I'm not a failure," Idai said as he gritted his teeth. "Kiba doesn't think I am! I want to go back to Konoha!"
Gai placed his hand on the side of Idai's head. He lowered his head. "We need to find out what happened, Idai. I know it's hard, but she's willing to tell us what she can. You need to be brave." Idai nodded slowly before he averted his eyes.
The woman watched the boy's actions play out. He seemed angry at how things had turned out for him. "I can help you further ninja of the leaf. I will not betray my village, or my clan. Idai Tatsumaki ha been seen as a failure from his clan. He is to live his life as he must," the woman said. She rose to her feet. "Please vacate my home before you bring shame upon it."
Gai held up his hand trying to get the woman to reconsider. "Can you tell us anything further? We've only heard a small amount to help us."
"No, I am sorry. To tell you anything further would be to send my entire clan into the utmost danger. It is better to sacrifice one in order to save a whole. May you find something worth your existence, Idai of the Tatsumaki clan." She disappeared behind a curtain. Goodbye, Orushin's son – my grandson. May the one you're with give you what we could not.
Idai walked slowly next to Gai. He held onto his backpack as his eyes stayed focused on the ground. His last name was Tatsumaki. His father had been Orushin. Orushin Tatsumaki. My dad… was a trainer like Kiba. He was tall… and had long white hair. He wore it over his shoulders. I remember his smile. My father loved me. He used to carry me on his shoulders when we shopped. Idai's heart ached.
Gai knew Idai was going through a lot. He hadn't learned anything more about his lost past than his father's name. He knew it wasn't going to be easy. The woman had to secure herself because they were seen as outsiders. Still, he wondered how the old woman knew what she did about Idai. Was he known throughout the village as a failure? He patted Idai's back.
Idai leaned into Gai, the man who had taken him in, and adopted him. Orushin was no longer alive to protect him. Now it was Gai's job to teach him to move on. "Gai, if Orushin was alive, he'd thank you for giving me a chance."
Gai's heart swelled. "I appreciate you saying that, Idai. He's not the only one who cares for you. I'm very fortunate to know you." He walked with Idai away from the sound village. They would have to take another route.
Saori Nara woke groggily to an early dawn. Kandai had promised to train her to increase her endurance and thus her chakra. She painfully got out of bed. Saori tumbled onto the floor. Her muscles ached terribly. There was a knock at her door. Saori's eyes lifted to see her father poking his head around the corner.
Shikamaru was impressed with how determined his daughter was. "Hey, so you're still going? It's not easy adjusting to a new routine. I drew a hot bath for you. It'll help with the aches you're feeling. "He walked off.
Saori grunted as she forced herself to get up. The hot bath waiting for her was enticing. All right, Kandai. I'm still game if you are.
Kandai Hyuga smiled at Saori as she came walking towards the training area. She was still determined to increase her training routine. "Hi, so I see you're still serious about catching up to Eiyu and Takeru. That's great! Hope you slept well, Saori. How did you like running home with the rocks?"
Saori wasn't going to let Kandai get the best of her. "We became good friends. They told me to be prepared for what you might have in store for me."
"They might be right. Endurance training is tough. It's more about your mind than your body. If your mind falters at any point of the training, your body will crash. I hope you have strong will." He smiled at her. "Today, let's try to move it up a notch. The rocks were a good start to let me know how you fair physically. You've got what it takes, but you need more training to get your mind there. And in saying so, you're going to need a partner for the morning."
"I thought my partner was going to be you," Saori said flabbergasted.
"No, I'm your sensei," Kandai said. "Your partner for the day is going to be Hire." He saw the shock explode all over Saori's face. "Hire has been through the worst sorts of endurance training with Sasuke sensei. She's the best choice for a partner."
"What's up, puppet girl? So you need to train harder?" Hire smiled at her rather devilishly. "You should have brought Rose. Why train for her if you're not going to use her? She needs to become your other set of arms and legs."
Saori sighed. "I thought it was pointless to bring her. I wanted to increase my strength so I could manager her better, later. I didn't want to look like a fool if I mess up with her."
"You will mess up. Accept it. Everyone does. A ninja would never forget her kunai or shuriken. You should never forget Rose," Hire said matter-of-fact.
"And in saying so, Rose will be included in all of your side training. Hire is going to work with you on some chakra control," Kandai said. "We start simple and move our way up."
Saori looked at the large tree in front of her. "You want me to run up the side of the tree as much as I can, and mark it with the kunai?"
"That's correct. Sasuke makes us do this twice a day, every day. We have to beat our marks, or we don't get lunch," Hire said to scare Saori into her place. She watched Saori's reaction to what she had said. "You have to do your best. A trainer won't let you get by with it. Lee has to work with Eiyu and Takeru quite a bit, right? Takeru doesn't focus as he should when he trains and Eiyu seems to think he doesn't need improvement. He has enough on his plate with those two."
"Okay, so how far do you want me to go? What height?" Saori watched as Hire flew up the side of the tree. The older girl passed six branches and marked a place on the tree with a kunai. She dropped to the ground. "Something tells me you can get farther up than that," she said to herself about Hire.
"By the end of the week, I want you to be able to hit that mark, Saori," Kandai said. "Hire will be your driving force this week. If you can pass this sort of training, you can do anything."
Saori's eyes stayed on the mark. She stretched out her arms and legs. "Okay, I'll hit that mark before the end of the week." She ran at the tree, placed her feet upon the bark and attempted to glue her chakra to the bark. Saori managed to get halfway to the first branch before she yelped. Her feet were no longer glued to the tree. She hit the ground landing on her back.
Hire walked over to her. She crouched to look at Saori. "Nice attempt. I don't suppose you took into account that your body is tired from yesterday?" Hire smirked. "Sit up, Saori. We'll strengthen your body with a quick warm-up exercise."
Saori sat up slowly. Man, Kandai's training is going to be as difficult as his father's. My body is so sore I can hardly move. She groaned. I cannot let Eiyu and Takeru continue to surpass me. Eiyu will not be nagging me anymore after this! Saori finally stood. She followed Hire to the tree again.
Gin rubbed her sleepy eyes as the sun shone through her window. She nonchalantly glanced around the room. It did not occur to her something was different in the room. After a few minutes of waking up, she turned her head to look at the pot on the windowsill. Gin sat up abruptly. She kicked her sheets off.
Gin hopped out of the bed and ran to the window. Her blue eyes stared at the pot. Inside the pot, standing tall and beautiful was a blue lotus flower. Its petals were as soft as silk and its fragrance was light and catching. Gin examined the soil for the tiny scroll she had placed there the day before. It was nowhere to be found.
Gin's hand went to her chest. She breathed out slowly as if it was all going to vanish before her eyes. Very carefully, she turned the pot in her hands. Gin's eyes fell onto something strange. There written on one of the leaves in Kanji was the word, 'Idai'. The lotus grew because I prayed for Idai. This flower is for him. As long as it stands, I will know he is all right.
Gin bowed low three times to the blue lotus in the ceramic pot. Each time, she brought her hands up into prayer over her head. I will keep praying for Idai's safe return every day. This is for you, Idai.