Chapter 4: Recovery and Training
Their faces haunted him, contorted in agony, as they sacrificed themselves to protect him and his brother from the masked man. Their voices echoed in his ears, telling him to run, to live, to be strong. Their warmth lingered on his skin, fading away as they hugged him for the last time.
Tatsuya woke up with a start, soaked in sweat. These nightmares were becoming a regular occurrence. He tried his best to avoid thinking about that night, but his mind stubbornly replayed that scene over and over, making him suffer every night.
He wished he could have done something, anything, to save them. If only he had more power, more skill, more courage. If only he had been a better son, a better ninja, a powerful ninja.
But they died. He survived. And now he was alone. He wanted to keep Naruto with him all the time, but he knew that was impossible. He didn't know how to take care of a baby and the Hokage had told him that it was uneconomical and unfeasible to assign a ninja to care for and protect a single baby. So, reluctantly and against his heart's desire, he agreed to let Naruto stay in the orphanage and be taken care of by the patron there. He knew he had no legal ground to stop the Hokage from doing anything he wanted. After all, he was just an underage child. Thankfully, the Hokage agreed to let him visit Naruto anytime he wanted.
He got up from his sweat-soaked bed and walked to his parent's bedroom. He needed some sleep if he was going to train the next morning as he promised Itachi. He didn't want to lose the only person who could train with him without asking too many questions.
He curled up in their bed, clutching a pillow that smelled faintly of his mother's perfume. He tried to sleep, but the nightmares kept coming. He tried to forget, but the memories did not seem to fade.
He didn't know how long he had been lying like this when he heard a knock on the door. He ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away. But the knock persisted, louder and more urgent.
"Hey, kid. It's me. Open up."
He recognized the voice. It was Jiraiya, his father's old mentor and friend. He had visited him a few times after the funeral, trying to cheer him up with stories and jokes, and gifts. But they didn't seem to work for any duration of time.
He didn't answer.
"Come on, kid. I know you're awake in there. I can feel your chakra. Don't make me break down this door."
He heard a thud as Jiraiya kicked the door. He flinched and reluctantly got up and went to the door. But before he could reach it,
"Fine. Have it your way."
He heard another thud, louder and harder. The door cracked under the force of Jiraiya's foot. He saw a flash of white hair as Jiraiya entered the house.
Tatsuya glared at him from the hallway. Seeing Tatsuya actually in the hallway going toward the door Jiraiya rubbed his hair sheepishly realizing his blunder.
"What do you want?" Tatsuya asked in a low, tired voice.
Jiraiya looked at him with concern and said,
"I want to talk to you, kid. I want to help you."
"I don't need your help. I'm fine if you want to help me then train me."
"No, you're not. You can't go on like this forever."
"Watch me."
Jiraiya sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Kid, I know how you feel. I know what you're going through."
Tatsuya kept silent just looking blankly at the wall.
"I've been there. I've lost people I loved too."
Seeing Tatsuya not reply anything, Jiraiya continued softly
"My grandparents?"
Tatsuya blinked in surprise.
"Your grandparents."
"Yes. However, my parents gave birth just before the 2nd Ninja War as they were active ninjas. They had to go to the frontline just a month after my birth. Unfortunately, they never returned although their bodies were not found they were presumed dead. Then my grandparents took care of me they were my actual parents for all that was concerned."
"What happened to them?" Tatsuya could not help but ask.
"They died in the war. They died protecting me."
"During the 2nd ninja war, leaf village was not as comparatively strong as she was during the 3rd although she even then had the most number of S-class ninjas out of any single village. All of them, including the 2nd Hokage, had to be in the frontline. Seeing that opportunity, the earth village sent a small team but consisting of an S-class and multiple A-class ninjas to the leaf."
"That was a sad night in the history of the Leaf village," Jiraiya continued in a grave tone.
"In terms of pure destruction, the Kyubbi incident may be unrivaled. However, that incident is still unrivaled in terms of death." Jiraiya continued with a distant look in his eye.
"The first clan that unfortunately encountered them was the Senju. That night, the great Senju clan sacrificed more than 3000 ninjas before barely managing to take down one S-ranked ninja."
Jiraiya then gave a bitter hollow laugh. "At that time, I was already a chunin. Thinking naively that I could take down the injured A-class ninja, I intercepted one of them very near my house. Unfortunately, as it turned out, I was completely outmatched. My grandparents, being retired ninjas, heard the commotion and came to my rescue."
"They died protecting you?" Tatsuya said in a strange understanding voice.
"They fought with everything they had despite their old age, and they gave me a chance to escape." Jiraiya continued, a single tear rolling down his face.
"They told me to go. They told me to live. They told me to be strong. And I hated them for it."
"I hated myself for being weak and useless and cowardly."
Tatsuya looked at Jiraiya. "You blamed yourself?"
"Yes. For a long time, I did. I blamed myself for their deaths. I blamed myself for not being able to save them."
"It took me a long time to overcome that," Jiraiya continued, finally regaining some strength in his voice.
"It was the fault of the enemy, the fault of the war, the fault of the world. It was the fault of fate, of destiny, or whatever you want to call it. But it wasn't our fault. We did nothing wrong. We now need to overcome that hurdle."
Jiraiya looked into his eyes with sincerity and compassion.
"Your parents were heroes, kid. They were brave and noble and loving. They gave their lives for you, for the village, for the future. They loved you more than anything in the world. And they would be proud of you, no matter what."
"Would they be proud of ever after my behavior this month?"
"Yes. They would be proud of you for being strong, for being mature for handling yourself so maturely.
Jiraiya smiled and hugged him tightly.
"I'm proud of you, kid. I'm proud of you."
Tatsuya hugged him back, sobbing softly.
"Thank you"
Jiraiya looked up hearing light snores. Smiling he slowly and softly laid Tatsuya into the bed and muttered "You are already handling it better than me kid even now."
NEXT MORNING
Tatsuya perched on a tree branch, overlooking a small clearing. He bit into a nutrient bar, savoring the sweet and salty taste. He was waiting for his 'friend', Itachi, to show up for their training session. He had slept well last night, for the first time since the incident. He felt energetic after his 'talk' with Jiraiya.
Below him, Mai was struggling to climb the tree. She kept slipping and falling, landing on the wet grass with a thud. She groaned and cursed, her frustration mounting. Tatsuya watched her with amusement, remembering his training a year ago with his mother. He had broken many trees before he mastered the exercise. But no one else knew that. He liked to keep his secrets.
He jumped down from the branch and landed in a crouch. He walked over to Mai, who was lying on her back, panting. She looked up at him with a glare. Her red eyes sparkled with defiance.
"You're still putting too much chakra into it," he said in his usual bored tone. He stretched his arms and legs, preparing for his training.
"What's your point?" she snapped.
Sighing he stopped his stretching. He understood she could not be expected to just power his way through multiple trees until she gets it like he did under the watchful eye of his mother. She did not have the nessecery chakra nor the will to do that.
He sighed and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her up.
"Lie down next to the tree," he instructed.
She raised an eyebrow but did as he said.
"Finally admitting you were wrong?" she asked.
He ignored her and continued, "Apply an even layer of chakra to the soles of your feet and begin to take small steps upwards. If you feel yourself slipping, just adjust your control and try again."
He had noticed her flexibility and hoped her core strength would help her balance. He also noticed her ear twitching whenever she concentrated hard. It was an unusual trait.
Mai followed his instructions and slowly walked up the tree. She used her hands to support herself at first, but then let go when she felt confident enough. She smiled as she realized she was doing it.
Tatsuya turned away from her and started to punch and kick a nearby tree. His father had insisted on teaching him the basics, even though he had thrown many tantrums. He said they would help him increase his punch speed and power.
After a while,
He breathed deeply and gathered chakra into his already bruised, bloody hands and legs. He had read about this technique in a Senju scroll. The principle was simple, but the execution was hard. He had been practicing for weeks, but he had never succeeded.
He unleashed his chakra on his final punch, just as it was about to hit the tree.
"BOOM!"
The tree exploded into splinters, flying in all directions.
He heard a loud yelp behind him and turned around. Mai was sliding down from her branch, staring at the destroyed tree trunk in shock.
"I did not think you already mastered the move," Itachi's emotionless voice came from behind a tree. He stepped out of the shadows, his eyes glowing red with the Sharingan.
"Having already felt Itachi's presence during his taijutsu practice he was not surprised.
"Still not mastered," he said in a slightly frustrated voice. "The impact point is still too scattered. Ideally, the impact should be a clean hole through the trunk."
Itachi simply nodded having appeared in front of Tatsuya.
"That was so cool! How did you do that? Please teach me, please, please!" Mai exclaimed with starry eyes.
"Do you care for a small spar, like the old times?" Itachi invited, his voice calm but his eyes eager.
"Of course," Tatsuya accepted with a small smile. He shifted into a boxing stance, as did Itachi.
They had developed their fighting style, Tatsuya's based on instincts, rough unpolished. While Itachi's was refined, elegant, and very polished.
Tatsuya decided to get things moving. He knew his only disadvantage was that his body needed time to reach its peak speed. He moved forward, pressing off his dominant leg as he flashed across the small arena in a blur of black.
A sudden punch greeted Tatsuya as he attempted a kick to Itachi's relatively weaker left side. Tatsuya's instinct helped him raise his other hand, blocking Itachi's punch. Inherent reflexes honed by training allowed the Uchiha to divert the blow from his left body before counterattacking with a higher punch aimed at Tatsuya's head.
Tatsuya dodged the punch with a replacement jutsu, appearing a few steps away. But he barely had time to catch his breath when he saw a huge fireball roaring toward him.
The boy was fast. Tatsuya never any hand sign for a fire jutsu. He must have formed it while he was dodging the previous attack.
No matter. The fact was he had Tatsuya trapped was a less-than-optimal situation, but not impossible to remedy.
Since learning that he possibly had wood style Tatsuya has started learning a basic water style jutsu. He began to flare his chakra and overcharge his jutsu. He flared his chakra and overcharged his jutsu. The only way his amateurish water jutsu could counter Itachi's masterful fire jutsu was if he completely overcharged it with his chakra.
"Whoosh!"
The fire evaporated the water, filling the air with mist. Tatsuya quickly closed his eyes and calmed his chakra as he searched for his opponent, who currently had a massive advantage because of his Sharingan.
Suddenly, Tatsuya felt the wind around his face stir. He barely sensed a punch coming from behind him. He was too late to dodge and he fell to the ground.
"Your senses have dulled," Itachi commented, standing over him.
Tatsuya nodded, gritting his teeth. He hated to admit it, but he could have easily countered the previous move in any of their previous spars.
"Don't fall behind too much," Itachi said with a smug look on his face. "It's so hard to find a good sparring partner when everybody you train with has the same style."
He offered Tatsuya a hand and helped him get up.
"You guys are a lot more powerful than you look, huh?" Mai said in a rather despondent voice. She had been trying to follow their movements, but she could barely keep up. She felt like she was in a different league.
"Do you guys train here every day? Um… I have decided now I will also train with you guys every morning." She declared, hoping to get some attention.
Itachi shrugged. "As long as you don't disturb our training…" he said indifferently.
Tatsuya sighed. He did not mind Mai's company, but he did not want her to interfere with his training either.
"I guess it's fine if you train with us," he said reluctantly.
After a few more hours of ninjutsu training, they decided to call it a day.
"Oh, are you going home already?" Mai panted out as she barely was able to speak. She had persevered to master the tree walking exercise and impressed Tatsuya and Itachi very much. She had almost reached the top of the tree, something which neither of them two could accomplish in a few hours.
"Uhh… yeah. Why? Aren't you?" Tatsuya replied, also panting after the intense bout of training.
"Oh, uhh, sure." Mai seemed nervous about something, even if she was trying to hide it well; her hands were fidgeting behind her as she looked away from him. She made a turn to leave and Tatsuya and Itachi looked at each other and also went their separate ways.
A FEW HOURS LATER
Tatsuya was one of the first to arrive in class again. He sat down in his usual spot and quietly waited for the rest of the students to arrive. He had a small scroll laid out on his desk and he scribbled some notes on it now and then. He continued to get strange looks from his young classmates, at least the ones who bothered to look his way. To anyone else, it looked like he was doing homework, even though they hadn't been assigned any.
He wasn't the only one wrapped up in individual study. Itachi was also calmly reading through a scroll at the same desk. Tatsuya ignored him after a quick greeting. They had an unspoken understanding of each other's need for privacy.
Except when Mai burst into the room, barely in time for class. It was hard not to pay attention to her. She looked even more tired and disheveled than yesterday. She was wearing the same shirt as this morning. He was positive about that. She hadn't changed clothes since yesterday, judging by the familiar grass stains all over the back of it.
He finally lifted his head and saw Mai squeezing in between him and Itachi again, grinning happily as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"I did it," she announced.
Tatsuya raised an eyebrow while at the same time taking in Mai's appearance again. She stunk off the forest and damp earth.
"Did what?" he asked.
Mai blinked at him before sticking her tongue out childishly, the action was so unbefitting of somebody wanting to become a shinobi that Itachi almost visibly recoiled.
"I walked up the tree," she declared proudly. "Fully," she added.
Tatsuya nodded, genuinely surprised by her persistence and dedication. He felt a twinge of respect for her, even if he didn't show it.
"Good for you," he said flatly.
Mai pouted, hoping for more praise from him. She turned to Itachi, who was looking at her with a faint smile.
"That's impressive," he said sincerely. "Not many can master that exercise in such a short time."
Mai beamed, feeling validated by his compliment. She decided to ignore Tatsuya's indifference and focus on Itachi's approval.
"Thank you, Itachi-senpai," she said almost mockingly.
Itachi just accepted that obliviously.
He turned back to face the slightly flustered teacher who had just entered the class.
The rest of the morning passed slowly. Tatsuya listened to what the teacher said while occasionally making notes of his own in his scroll. Mai was, well, Mai; she proceeded to piss off their teacher as much as physically possible - starting a cruel game of 'dodge the eraser'. The rest of the class, save a select few, seemed to find her antics just irritating; the teacher included.
One girl on one of the front benches laughed every time Mai would dodge the soft, chalk-stained projectile, which earned her a few harsh glares from the teacher for encouraging the purple menace's behavior.
Other than that, the morning passed without a problem. Like clockwork, as soon as they were dismissed, he and Itachi vanished from the room in an instant. When Mai chased them outside, she saw them scaling the side of the building, taking lazy steps to walk up without a problem. Confidently, she placed her feet on the wall and slowly but eagerly made her way up the academy wall.
A few kids stopped to watch her with amazement, but she ignored them, focusing on the chakra flowing to her feet, keeping it even as she made her way up. Finally, she was able to walk over the edge of the roof where Itachi and Tatsuya were calmly eating from their bento boxes, discussing some esoteric property of chakra.
She was a little irritated that they didn't even acknowledge her arrival. She sat down next to them in a huff, not even bothering to strike up a conversation as they just continued to eat.
Tatsuya looked around, wondering why Mai hadn't started pestering them for something yet. He noticed she didn't have any lunch in front of her. Thinking she probably forgot it in her haste, he and Itachi offered up their opened bento boxes to her. Mai just stared down at the offering for a moment, blinking in surprise at the kind action that had no apparent prompt from her.
After muttering a quiet thanks, Mai started digging into the food. Tatsuya didn't mind. He was just doing what he thought was right. His mother had always stressed the importance of equality while his father had always imposed the importance of working together.
After hesitating for a while, Itachi brought up a sensitive topic. "You seemed rather reluctant to speak about your home this morning."
Mai's face fell. She looked down at her hands, which were trembling slightly. She took a deep breath before answering.
"My parents died long before I came to Konoha. A traveling merchant adopted me then. But he was killed in the Kyuubi incident." She said in a low voice, barely holding back her tears.
Tatsuya felt a pang of sympathy for her. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words.
Itachi's lips fumbled, "I'm sorry-" But Mai raised a hand, waving off his apology quickly.
"Don't bother, it gets sickening after a while. Having everybody's pity…" she trailed off, "You didn't know and weren't responsible. So don't worry about it." She chuckled a bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob. "I don't know, having both of you around just makes it less lonely, I guess." She laughed dryly again as she turned, her hand rubbing the back of her head as Tatsuya offered Mai's first genuine smile so far, even if it was only small.
"I guess that sounds pretty sad, huh?"
Mai quickly shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the topic any more than she already had. She knew that Tatsuya had a painful past and she didn't want to hurt him more than she already might have.
Tatsuya laughed again as he settled back on the roof, looking up at the sky with clearer eyes than he had for a while. He felt a tiny bit of that weight that settled over his chest lighten as he looked upon his two friends.
The rest of the day was again a boring one. The teacher droned on about dry history facts that none of them cared about. They waited impatiently for the class to end.
"Hey Mai, Tatsuya, do you guys want to go and get something to eat or something?" Itachi asked as they walked out of the academy. He wanted to cheer them up after the gloomy conversation they had earlier.
Mai spun on her heel, obvious surprise on her face as she looked at Itachi, taking in his slightly concerned expression.
"Umm, sure." She quickly hurried back over but lightly punched Tatsuya in the arm. "Come on, it is rude to keep food waiting." She said with a playful grin.
Tatsuya chuckled as he followed Mai and Itachi away from the academy. He was glad that Mai was back to her usual cheerful self. He hoped that she would be happy with them.
-Author's Note: Sorry for the late release.
Please leave some feedback on the first combat scene. From now Naruto would be mostly in the back ground npc until some important event comes. If you have some amazing theory about chakra or training suggestion please leave them in the comments.
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