I still had no fucking clue on how sealing worked, but now I finally had a starting place. That night, I sat with my least favorite scroll, staring at what should be one of the most basic seals in existence. To my side was a notebook, with the canal patterns of the twelve basic hand seals sketched onto the pages.

None of them were present in the ink scrawling seal.

I knew that not every squiggle could correspond to anything someone could contort their hands into, and that meant there were possibly an infinite number of patterns (that I'm just calling words) that I simply didn't know. My second problem was that I couldn't even identify what pattern constituted a word, because a bunch of them were connected! Not all of them, but many were strung together to form what I'll call a sentence.

To be able to learn new words (not that I had any way of knowing what they translate to), I need to: one, learn how to break down the sentences into their components and two, learn how and when to connect those words.

I took out two other scrolls, each displaying matrices that were far more complex. One was the scroll that led me to my discovery, which contained the Tora seal. There were three hidden in there, upon further review, along with two Ryu, one Saru and one Hitsuji. Plus, an as of yet indeterminate amount of other words.

Something I noticed was that all words in a sentence seemed to be the same size, though said size could and often did vary between sentences. So, I began by looking at spacing. This seal was symmetrical, and two of the Toras connected directly into the two Ryus. The two sentences were both linear and vertical, which made things easy (some—most, really—were curved). Given that they were in the same sentence, and by extension were the same size, I didn't think that there was another word in between them.

They were connected with two crossed squiggles, though one side was capped with another dash. I turned a page and sketched the connector. Then, I flipped back, and used a ruler to measure the Katon and Ryu. Each was around a square half inch. The connector was a fifth of an inch tall, and the widths of each one were different.

If I was right, and every word in a sentence was the same size, then there were seven words in each main column. With a grin, I sketched them all in my notebook. Then, I turned back to the ink scrawling seal. There were several words in common between it and the two seven-word sentences I examined. But I was no closer to figuring out what they actually meant.

I was missing too much information. I needed material that actually explained stuff instead of merely depicting it. But for now, I'd come up with an index, and hope it wouldn't be a waste of time.

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

Saturday couldn't come soon enough. I hadn't won a single spar that entire week, to the delight of my batchmates, and I felt like one giant bruise. But that didn't matter; I had a plan.

There was a weapon shop that I knew Kazuhiro frequented; I'd gone shopping with him a handful of times. And in there, they sold both exploding tags and storage seals. I was holding out hope that the owner could lead me to someone who could answer my questions; I doubted that any of the few sealing masters Iwa had could spare time out of their days to make disposable weapons.

The door opened with a jingle, and I approached the stereotypically grizzled man reading a newspaper behind the counter. I bet he was a retired shinobi.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked, and he looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, miss?"

"I noticed you carry exploding tags—"

"Absolutely not," he said, firmly.

"Wait, wait, I'm not asking to buy them," I quickly added. "I was just wondering…where do you get them?"

"You're asking who supplies them?" He clarified. "Why?"

I pursed my lips, feeling like I was about to make a mistake. I needed to keep my attempts at learning fuinjutsu a secret, but I was getting nowhere spinning my wheels aimlessly.

"I want to learn how to make them myself," I allowed. "My Nii-san is a chunin, and can't afford them as much as he needs. He's all I have left, and I want him to have all the tools he needs to come back from his mission."

There, playing the sad orphan card. Usually works. The shop owner was uncommonly stoic, though, so I had a hard time judging its effectiveness.

"I get them from a lot of people," he finally revealed. "For many, it's a good way to earn some extra income. They produce my tags and scrolls, and I pay them a percentage of the profit. It's illegal to sell such tools unless you're a reputable establishment, and have someone like me to inspect them."

So, it was a side-hustle. Probably a pretty good one, if you had the skills.

He eyes me critically. "I think that's a long way off for you, kid. A prerequisite is an ability to use chakra. Also, you need a great deal of practice with calligraphy."

"I've been practicing calligraphy for years, and I can use chakra too," I revealed, and he raised an eyebrow. I showed him my light jutsu, and the other one shot up to join it.

"Even so, I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Creating weapons as potentially devastating as these isn't something I should entrust to someone as young as you."

Fair point. If I was actually four, his worries would have been more than well-founded.

"If you think about it, my age might make me more well-suited than others," I bullshitted. "I imagine all your other suppliers take missions full-time. It must be hard for you to consistently have inventory. I'm in the academy, but I have no other obligations. And I can see why you would be concerned, but I swear I'm more mature and responsible than anyone my age—hell, I'm more mature and responsible than anyone years older than me."

The first point did seem to sway him quite a bit.

"Even if I agreed, no one can simply decide to be a seller," he said. "Iwa has strict regulations. You must undergo a thorough background check, and have references. You don't get to choose them—usually the bureaucrats will go to your commanding officers, but you aren't a full ninja yet."

"Could they go to my sensei?" I asked. It wasn't ideal, but at least Yoshiro-sensei wouldn't lie about my capabilities. No matter what his ambiguous personal feelings on me were, I trusted him to be professional.

"...perhaps." He sighed. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"I'm very serious when it comes to my brother's safety."

"You can't simply make them for him, even if you get to learn," the shopkeeper warned. "You'll still have to go through me—it's the law. I have to examine them, and charge a fee. He would be able to get them at a discount, though."

As far as I could imagine, there was no way to enforce that. But I'm sure he felt obligated to say it.

"Even still, you must be certain that this is what you want," he warned. "In addition to everything I've said so far, you will have to earn a certification. If you can manage that, you will be put in a database. If there is an emergency, you will be forced to produce tags and scrolls for the village's purposes. If you're a bone fide kunoichi by then, you might be taken off the mission roster temporarily."

I sighed. I really didn't want my name tied to anything fuinjutsu related in Iwa's database. But hopefully, if my skills were purportedly limited to explosive tags and storage scrolls, I wouldn't have to worry much about being crammed in an office for the rest of my life.

"That's okay," I finally decided. "I would still like to try."

"Alright, then. It's not up to me anyway; if the village decides you're responsible and competent enough, then I'll go along with it. I'll get you an application."

In addition to that, he had me stick a piece of paper to my head for twenty minutes, presumably to gauge if I had a great enough chakra capacity, and demonstrate some of my calligraphy. That sample, when dry, was stapled to the application.

"That's all, for now," he told me, as if the whole process hadn't taken nearly an hour. "Check back with me in a week. These things are pretty slow-going; I may not even have an answer by then."

I nodded in acceptance.

"Thank you, Nyūdō-san."

It seemed I had some time to kill. Maybe I'd spend this weekend following Aki's advice. The section in my medical texts on chakra enhancement was slim, but hopefully it would at least outline what additional background knowledge I would need to pull off the skill.

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

"I wasn't aware that you had an interest in fuinjutsu, Imai-san," Yoshiro said in lieu of a greeting Monday morning. I had just returned from my affinity discovery class, and my batchmates had a couple more minutes before they were expected back, so the room was empty but for us.

"No real interest," I was quick to say. "I just want to learn how to make explosive tags and sealing scrolls. For my nii-san, so he can afford what he needs."

I was surprised someone had come to talk with him so soon. Nyūdō-san had said the process would take a while.

"I see," he said, measuredly. "I think it is a foolish idea for someone as young as you to be entrusted with such instruction, even with your personal accomplishments. I told the bureaucrat as much. However, it seems that my thoughts on the matter won't be taken into account."

My eyes widened. "You think they're going to accept my application?"

I was truly shocked. Both Nyūdō-san and Yoshiro-sensei were right; it would be stupid for anyone to trust a kid with something like this.

"I am reasonably certain," he revealed. "A couple years ago, it likely wouldn't have even been considered. But it seems that demand has loosened up the process. I doubt anybody who shows even the slightest proficiency will be turned away, no matter the circumstances."

I frowned. "Do we have a shortage? Or are they just trying to stockpile?" With the third war rapidly approaching, it would make sense that Iwa wanted to expand its supply.

"The latter, mostly," Yoshiro-sensei revealed. "Though it is also at the behest of several powerful groups within Iwa's government. The leader of the Explosion Corp, especially, is pushing for lower costs of exploding tags, and fewer restrictions upon those who make them."

Sensei was being uncharacteristically forthcoming. I wondered why.

"Thank you for the information," I said slowly, the question implied.

He nodded. "Be aware. You are now a part of Iwagakure's military. Any skills or abilities will be used for the good of the village, and at the whims of those who run it. Do not hesitate to learn, but when you choose a new subject, fully consider how it may impact your future."

Oh, you do not have to tell me, sensei. I nodded, and returned to my seat. We would be learning about campfires today, and how to disguise them from unwelcome eyes.

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

"All I have to do is channel chakra to my muscles and bones?" I asked dubiously.

"Yeah. I mean, don't say it like it's something you can just do. It's a chunin-level skill for a reason." Hanabi replied as the showers ran behind us.

Having a conversation with someone else (who was only technically older than me) while we were both naked was still extremely weird. Nobody else seemed to have a problem with it though, and ceaselessly roped me into conversation no matter how standoffish I acted. I learned to permanently keep my eyes up whenever I entered the locker room.

"There's got to be some catch. There must be something else to it. Some kind of motion, some special way to mold it, or something."

"Chakra is our vitality, you know?" Hanabi explained. "Its base function is to strengthen our body. But it only thinks it has to do that a little bit. It's, er, passive, I think the word is. If you have stronger chakra, as in you work out and meditate to increase the physical and spiritual energy that combine to make chakra, you will always be able to outperform civilians naturally. Chakra Enhancement is the ability to force even more chakra into your muscles and bones. But it's easier said than done. You can only channel chakra from your tenketsu, remember? And those face outward, through your skin. You have to figure out how to move the chakra from your tenketsu to the part you want to augment, in the opposite direction from where it wants to go. It's not easy at all."

I followed her vague instructions and felt a not-unpleasant buzz all throughout my body. "Okay? Then I guess I'm using chakra enhancement right now."

I had been doing this shit literally for years. I knew exactly where all of my tenketsu were (in my upper body, at least, as I hadn't made much thorough progress in my legs), so directing chakra from the nearest one to the muscle group or bone I wanted to enhance wasn't an issue. Additionally, I knew exactly which routes the chakra needed to take.

Back when I first gained a greater awareness of my chakra system, I noticed an innumerable array of mini canals, too small for even current me to explore. Usually, a substance I later postulated to be Yang energy flowed from the muscles to merge with the Yin energy in my coils. That created the bulk of my body's chakra. But a select few (few being relative, as there were still roughly thousands) of them brought small amounts of complete chakra to wherever the Yang energy was flowing from.

As such, it was actually incredibly easy for me to tell where to direct my chakra for augmentation. Yang Chakra and Chakra Chakra took up the same amount of space, so I could feel where the Yang Chakra entered my larger canals. I would liken it to (shocker) water being pumped through a pipe into some kind of submerged receptacle. The component that regulated submarine buoyancy came to mind, but I suppose the jets in a hot tub would make an apt analogy as well. The Yang canals were so small that the pressure—and therefore velocity—of the chakra that exited them was higher than the rest of the chakra in my main canals, so they almost felt like tiny bumps to the touch. Whereas the mini canals flowing into my muscles felt like divots.

"No way. You're joking."

I raised an eyebrow. "I mean, unless you were lying and there's some other component to the technique. I do kinda…feel more energized. Like when I'm over-caffeinated on matcha."

"Mother fucker!" Hanabi exploded, before visibly reigning herself in. "Maybe it's a fluke. Here, gimme a punch."

She turned her body to the side, exposing the meat of her shoulder as a target.

Rolling my eyes, I slugged her with all my might, and—

Oh. Yep, my muscles were definitely augmented; as soon as I began to move, I could feel the potential energy in my biceps and upper chest. It was kinda exhilarating, but I was disappointed to see Hanabi weather the blow with only a hitch of her breath.

"Well, fuck," she said through grit teeth. "This is actually bullshit. It was one thing for you to get an elemental jutsu on your first try. That was something that an academy student was supposed to be able to learn. But this? This is chunin shit! Everybody went fucking wild when Aki did it, and they went almost as wild again when I figured it out too! And it took me so kami-damned long!"

"I told Aki," I reminded her. "I said my internal chakra control likely surpassed anyone he ever met. I wasn't just blowing smoke; this comes naturally to me. Honestly, this technique is even easier than Dojō no Jutsu."

"Absolute bullshit. Do your knuckles hurt?"

I quirked an eyebrow. "No. I was enhancing everything in my arm, and my shoulder."

"Okay, good, I guess. Fuck, you probably won't even suck at taijutsu now anymore."

"I never sucked at taijutsu," I defended. "But we'll see. You think I can pull this out today?"

"No!" Hanabi said quickly and firmly. "Absolutely not. I can take it, but that might really hurt someone your age. Don't use it until you figure out how hard you can hit them without breaking their…them. Without breaking them."

"How do I know how hard that is, if not with trial and error?"

"I don't know, ask your sensei."

I nodded, stepping back into the shower stream to finish washing the slickness out of my hair.

Guess I'll be losing another taijutsu match. Great.

I wonder who will be beating the shit out of me today? There was a good third of the class that I'd never fought at all, and if trends continued, I wouldn't fight them this semester. It seemed I had nine opponents that I rotated through, and only three of them I could beat consistently. I hoped it would be Daigo; he didn't leave quite as many bruises.

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

The moment Kasaiki left the showers, Hanabi sank heavily to the tile. Normally, she couldn't have been paid to set her bare ass on the showers' floor, but now she hurt too much to spare it any thought.

"Are you okay?" Suzuki asked her, perplexed.

"Does it look like I'm fucking okay?"

"You knew she was going to hit you," she said, amused."Why didn't you use chakra enhancement to protect yourself?"

"I did!" Hanabi howled. "Not enough, I fucking guess. Aki's never fucking hit me this hard. And she didn't get any fucking backlash! We both still get that sometimes if we fuck up!"

"Wait, are you saying she's better than you and Aki-kun at this?" Chiyomi chimed in. "She's four!"

"And are you actually hurt, Ichikawa-san, or just complaining, because after being in the same class with you for four years, I still can't tell."

Hanabi took a shuddering breath, and accepted the offered hand that pulled her up which, in itself, was telling.

"Can…can you tell Maki-sensei I'm going to the hospital?"

Suzuki raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Hanabi touched her arm with her left hand and hissed. "Yeah. That's broken alright."

"Broken? She broke your arm with that?"

"Fucking yes!" She spat, panting as she limped to the door, "Just…tell sensei. And don't fucking breathe a word of this to anyone else. Especially the chibi. If you do, I'll make you regret it."

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

At the end of calisthenics—and the end of my school day—I approached Yoshiro-sensei as Hanabi recommended, to tell him about my skill and ask for advice.

"Yes, Imai-san?"

"Sensei, I learned a new skill, and I'm not sure exactly how to train it without hurting people. It's, uh, Chakra Enhancement."

Yoshiro-sensei gave me a look. "I'm well aware. And I'm also glad you had the sense not to use it during your spar today. I almost canceled your match altogether."

What the fuck? I had only figured it out during the lunch period, right before my sparring class!

"Those girls need to learn to keep their mouths shut," I grumbled. "They're supposed to be ninja. Information control is, like, our thing."

"It was Maki-sensei who told me, actually," Yoshiro-sensei said. "He thought it prudent to warn me, as you had just sent one of his students to the hospital with a broken arm."

I took a moment to register what he said. "Broken!" I spluttered. "I just…I didn't think I hit her that hard! And she didn't…she looked like she barely felt it! Broken?"

"Yes. What happened, Imai-san? I'd like to hear your account."

"I just," my mind was whirling. "I didn't mean to!"

"I gathered that," he said sardonically.

"One of her classmates suggested I learn chakra enhancement to correct my deficiencies in taijutsu! Hanabi was telling me how to do it, and it was so easy! I did it right away, but she didn't believe me, and I didn't really believe it either. She had me hit her in the arm, and then…and then…" She insisted I didn't do that to anyone else until I learned how to temper my strikes. I'm such an idiot.

Yoshiro-sensei hummed noncommittally. "Ichikawa-san is skilled but incredibly prideful, from what I've heard. I believe you are telling the truth, and that was mostly her own fault, so you will not be punished. This time only; any skill that poses significant risk to your own body should always be attempted with a superior or team member present, who is able to take you to the hospital if it fails."

I wanted to object, and I was so frazzled that I almost did. Luckily, Yoshiro-sensei continued before I could make myself sound immature.

"However, I had always thought that this skill would come naturally to you. It probably didn't seem like something that would pose any risk to your body whatsoever. Am I correct?"

"...Yes, sir," I said, throat dry.

He nodded. "Do not use chakra enhancement in the academy this year or the next. If you possess a great enough level of control by your third year, I may permit you to use it then. In the meantime, practice it after hours and over the weekend."

"How should I do that?"

"Get a hanging punching bag," he instructed. "On the smaller side, for now. Adjust it so that it's your body weight. Then, add a stick, around the size of your tibia, to its center. Once you can consistently throw an enhanced punch or kick that doesn't break the stick inside, come see me. Simultaneously, make sure to perform exercises at your full potential. You won't be fighting classmates forever, and you can't get into the habit of always holding back."

I nodded.

"Good. Now, I suppose you have several large projects to keep you busy. Maki-sensei tells me you almost definitely have a Doton affinity?"

"It seems so, sensei."

It wasn't the worst, I supposed. I would have preferred water due to my past, but it might have been for the best that I didn't have a Suiton affinity. As far as ninjutsu went, it was the most limited by far because, unless you had ridiculous chakra reserves, you couldn't really perform jutsu without a body of water nearby. Unless I was out in the middle of the ocean, there was earth literally everywhere.

"So you're ready to move on to the next step of your plan," he concluded. "Should I tell Maki-sensei not to expect you in his class, going forward?"

"I'm actually finding some value in learning the other elemental jutsu," I said hastily. "They're helping me get a sense of what each element feels like, which could help in my research."

"Feel like?" Yoshiro-sensei repeated.

Shit. I said something abnormal didn't I?

"Yes? I mean, the elements feel different, don't they? Like each one of them is a different facet of your chakra. Is…can other people not feel that?"

He studied me for a moment, and I resisted the urge to twitch in discomfort.

"If you want to try and learn the other elemental jutsu, that's fine," he said finally, ignoring my question. "But once you finish with them, I expect you to go back to your independent study immediately. You have imposed on Batch sixty-seven and Maki-sensei enough, and I did not excuse you from mathematics to socialize."

"Of course, sensei," I assured him, but inside, my mind was racing.

Elemental Affinities. Chakra Enhancement. Fuinjutsu. A couple weeks ago, I was bored and didn't know how to occupy my time. Now, I have three gigantic projects. And I couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, they were all connected.

I just had to figure out how.