Sumire's POV

I sensed instability from the chakra essence within me, it's wavering and very unsettled at the moment.

It was in a state of unrest and turmoil as if something troubling happened, I sensed it gradually diminishing, slipping away, and appearing to be on the verge of exhaustion. Thankfully, I've felt it slowly stabilizing and improving with time, bringing me relief as I knew the unsettling feeling of danger had already passed.

I knew it wasn't mine since I can feel my own chakra calm and still.

So if my assumptions were correct, it was highly likely that the chakra belonged to the masked boy from my memories. There is a complex emotional feeling that I have towards him, and some sort of unexplainable connection that I share with him which made me certain that it was his chakra essence.

Did he get in trouble?

Was he in terrible danger?

Honestly, I have no idea.

Maybe he is sent to fight in the war that is still continuously raging on between the greater nations. I hope he's alright though, even though my mind is in a mess and I've forgotten a lot of things, my worries for his well-being and safety are ever-present.

The sudden feeling I sensed and my random thoughts disrupted the training I was currently doing at the moment.

Anyway, it's been months since my training started and I have to say that it has been good so far. I was able to master the chakra control exercises that Kaito ojii-san had been teaching me. He guessed that maybe I already did this before and just forgot about it, so it's really more like refreshing my knowledge and practicing further so I could get better at it.

His theory might be right since I could easily grasp what his lessons without difficulty.

We mainly focused on Taijutsu training and my weapons throwing nowadays. My aims weren't that good, maybe I am just out of practice or weapons weren't my forte at all. However, he encouraged me to continue with it and master even just the basics for kunai, senbon, and shuriken. He promised that as soon as I was able to perform adequately with the weapons, we could proceed with learning Ninjutsus already.

That promise motivated me so I spent the days in front of a target, relentlessly practicing my aims, alongside doing some taijutsu spars with ojii-san from time to time.

Even with my busy training, I never forget to complete the herbal product we sell in our shop, it's the first thing I do in the morning. I even taught ojii-san and obaa-san how to do the easy ones so they would slowly be familiarized with it. I wrote down the process of creating simple herbal concoctions so that the elderly couple could easily do it by themselves, hoping that they would be able to run the shop even without me around. I am already thinking ahead since I have the plan to go back to the Land of Fire after all the training with ojii-san has finished, and if I am already capable enough to protect myself from the dangers that I would surely encounter upon traveling alone. Aside from that, there was also the looming threat that I was still being hunted by Kaito ojii-san's previous superiors.

My mind was occupied with these worrying thoughts and I hadn't realized that I was able to hit all the marks dead center on the targets without moving from my spot, even the ones that were placed sneakily behind the trees.

I was a bit startled by Kaito ojii-san's presence, as he suddenly clapped his hands loudly and praised me for improving my aims. I was happy to finally see some improvements with my Shurikenjutsu training. It's about time though, since I've been stuck practicing this for a couple of weeks already. I know learning how to be a shinobi took time, but there were days that I felt like I did not make any progress at all.

"I think you are ready for the low rank Ninjutsus." He said as he gestured for me to come closer to his spot. My face brightened as soon as that statement left his mouth. "However, you still need to allot a couple of hours with taijutsu, weapons training, and chakra control exercises while you learn the newer techniques I'm about to teach you."

I nodded in agreement with a big grin on my face, my excitement was clearly shown on my expression, but I kept quiet as ojii-san continued his lecture. "Training as a shinobi doesn't stop after you learn a few things. It's a continuous process, a lifelong learning to be precise." The man's eyes looked very serious as he said the next words, making me really be attentive with everything that he's saying, "Sumire, always remember that I condone mediocrity. So if you really want to train as a shinobi under my guidance, I expect you to do your best in every aspect." He paused while folding his arms over his chest before continuing, "Following this principle would help you one day, it might save you from the most life-threatening situations. You'd be able to execute masterful techniques to defend yourself and attack your opponents by applying all I'm going to teach you."

I can feel Kaito ojii-san's passion for the shinobi arts as he lectured me about it.

It's very sad that he had to give up his life and career as a ninja because of the unfortunate circumstance that we had in the past. There are a lot of things he had to sacrifice in exchange for my life, so I am beyond grateful to the man in front of me. I mentally promised that I would learn all that he could teach me to the best of my ability, it was my way of honoring the sacrifice he had done for me and the legacy he is passing onto me as he taught me all that he knew about being a shinobi.

I listened attentively in silence, committing every word he said into my memory, as the wisdom he is imparting with me would be a great help for my chosen path. "The daily life of a shinobi is full of action and danger, so you should always be prepared and continue progressing no matter how strong you become. Keep in mind that there will always be somebody else stronger than you, so even after you've finished learning all I could pass on to you, I expect you to go beyond that and never stop improving your abilities. This is the greatest lesson I could give to you as my student."

I took all his words to heart because I knew ojii-san really wanted me to succeed with my endeavors.

He had always kept my best interest at heart after he took me under his care all those years ago. Despite the circumstances of how he met me, he was not to blame for what happened and his good intentions can be seen through his actions.

I replied to his lecture with affirmation, "I understand, ojii-san. You have my word that I will take my training with you seriously and always do my best."

He looked at me sternly and said, "If you're training under me, you would address me as your sensei. It is a common practice for students in shinobi villages to call their instructors that way."

My face lit up from his words with excitement. I nodded and asked the man with a very curious expression, "What would the next training be, Kaito-sensei?"

"Let's start with the basics first." My sensei started to explain, "You should learn the substitution, transformation and the body flicker technique. All genins can do these, no matter the village they come from. You should master that first, then we can proceed with the elemental jutsus that you could use for attack and defense."

I spent my training hours learning the basic jutsus he mentioned, it isn't really that hard since it only uses a little bit of chakra and I have better control of it now so I was able to perform them within a couple of days after I started training with it, maybe I've also covered some of these before and just forgotten them like the rest of my memories. I still needed practice though, knowing how to do the techniques is different from mastering them, so I trained hard just so I could be adequately good at the basics.

After a week, Kaito-sensei was prepared to take the training even further. He bought some chakra paper when he went to the Land of the Moon, it's a progressive nation and not too far from our island. They have a hidden shinobi village there and have shops that sell ninja gear and other items. Since all sorts of merchants travel to that shinobi village for trading, news and gossip easily gets passed onto the villagers there, enabling them to catch up with what's happening with the other nations. According to sensei, the place is not affected by the ongoing war and he heard of talks among the people saying that the great nations might finally sign a peace treaty to finally stop the ongoing war.

This was very good news for me, since it would lessen the danger that I would face in the future once I headed out to the Land of Fire.

My random thoughts were interrupted as sensei started to explain how he would test my affinity and handed me a small paper, "This chakra paper is used to test your elemental affinity. It will burn and turn to ash for fire, get split in half for wind, wrinkle for lightning, crumble and turn to dust for earth, and will dampen for water. Go ahead and channel a bit of chakra into it so we can see what happens."

I channeled a bit of my chakra into the paper just as he had instructed. It became soaking wet with water dripping on some part of the paper, but we noticed that there was a dry portion as well that got wrinkled all of a sudden.

Kaito ojii-san's eyes went wide when he saw what happened.

He explained with wonder in his eyes, "That was the first time I saw something like that. You have a high affinity for water judging by the droplets. Usually, the paper just dampens but not to the extent that it would be soaking wet like yours did." He added further while smiling, "You are very lucky since I also happen to have an affinity for water. You would be able to learn a great deal of water jutsus from me."

Then, he pointed at the wrinkled side of the paper. "That means lightning is your second affinity." He said as he looked at me with a proud smile. I kept quiet as he further explained about it. "It is unusual for a person to have another affinity as young as you are now. Mostly, a shinobi would develop another affinity when they've advanced to a rank like Jonin. Not all shinobi can reach that level though, so I expect you will not waste these talents that you've been blessed with and train with it as best as you can, or go even further than that if possible."

"You know sensei, I can feel two different chakras within me. One felt more like my own while the other was like an essence added into me, and my body somehow accepted it." I paused for a bit as I tried to think of the right words to describe it. "I feel slight changes happen to it too, like when it's agitated or sometimes it feels like it's running out, but it will eventually become stable over time."

I did my best to articulate the essence I could feel within me, and went on to further elaborate how it feels when I try to reach out for it, "I can sense that other chakra as cool and very electrifying, it somehow gave a tingling sensation whenever I try to reach out to it. This was in contrast to the predominant chakra within me, which exudes a sense of calm and serenity by comparison. However, I feel that both of these chakras are harmonious and compatible with the other, almost as if they yield and accept one another effortlessly."

"That's strange, maybe someone did give a part of their chakra to you. According to your description, it seems like you have the ability to sense other people's chakras similar to how a sensor does. It is possible that the other charka you felt is the reason that you have a second affinity as young as you are now." The man was thinking hard about what I told him as he continued with his train of thoughts. He put his hand on his chin as he said, "I never heard someone giving away their chakra and being accepted by another before though, maybe it's like an ability passed down to specific clans?"

I honestly admitted to Kaito-sensei what I thought about it, the very intense feeling that I have towards the chakra and to whom I think it belongs to, "Maybe I could figure it out once I remember more about my forgotten memories. Sensei, I feel some sort of attachment towards this chakra essence in me, and I think it belonged to a silver-haired masked boy that always appeared in my memories." I took a deep sigh as I shared my heartfelt thoughts, "Everything I could vividly remember was about him. My mind might not recall all the important details, but the other parts of me knew that mysterious boy well. I don't even know the proper way to describe all the emotions I am feeling at the moment."

It's probably a good idea to seek out this person, he might have the answers to all my questions. He might be able to shed light about all of these and explain everything to me.

"Let's not think about that for now, Sumire. We don't know the answers for all of these yet, so let us focus on your elemental ninjutsu training for now. How about we start with some water techniques, it would be easier for you to learn it since it is your primary affinity." He said while gesturing for me to follow him to the middle of the clearing so we could start the ninjutsu training already.

My sensei is correct though, my focus should be shifted on things that would help me improve so I can be better prepared once I go back to the Land of Fire. I will be able to find my answers once I get there, but for now I must train harder.

"Aside from my water techniques, I could also teach you a little bit about your other affinity. Even though I am unable to perform lightning techniques, I do have resources that you can use to learn it. I was able to gather other elemental jutsu scrolls from my defeated enemies back when I was still a shinobi. Remember this Sumire, the most treasured item a shinobi has is his arsenal of techniques, so it is a priceless find if you were able to get your hands on these." The man explained as he reached out for a scroll in his pocket and set it on the ground. He channeled his chakra to it and he was able to pull out several more scrolls from it. "We could find some lightning techniques here for you to learn in the future, it is also possible for a shinobi to learn other elemental techniques even without it being your affinity once you are masterful enough in executing elemental releases. It would be harder to do so, but not entirely impossible."

"That was all amazing to learn, sensei. However, I noticed those scrolls for storage you used a while ago, those could be really useful for me once I start to travel back to Hi no Kuni." I stare at him in awe, very impressed with what he did.

"Storage scrolls are a usual tool carried by shinobi going on missions. You can either buy premade scrolls like this or create one yourself. This is actually a sealing technique. If you want to learn how to create one, you must first learn a bit about Fuinjutsu. But that's a totally different kind of technique than the one we're practicing today, it is kind of complicated and only very few were able to master it." Kato-sensei explained as I listened intently, a little bit interested about the topic.

"Are you a master of it? Is it possible for you to teach me sealing jutsus?" I hopefully asked the man.

Kaito-sensei replied honestly, "Sadly, I am not a master of this art. I can only teach you the basics like writing a seal for storage scrolls or paper bombs. It is a field where very few were able to advance."

"I would take whatever you can teach me, sensei. I am sure it would be useful once I set out on my own." I happily told the man what I thought about it. I would make sure to learn everything I can from him.

Kaito ojii-san reached for one of the scrolls and said, "Let us proceed with your water techniques training for now. This jutsu is called Suiton: Teppōdama." Then the elderly man demonstrated how it worked, releasing a water blast to one of the targets placed around the area, before further explaining it to me, "It's a C-rank jutsu that enables the user to form condensed balls and attacks like a gunshot. Just follow the step by step instructions on the scroll and apply it as you channel the chakra from your body."

I immediately took the scroll from him and read it. The jutsu seemed simple to learn since it only requires one handseal. I just need to form the Tiger seal on my hands while gathering the water chakra. After that, I would be able to spit out a water blast to my target.

"If you learn that and become adequately good at using it, I will give you the scroll for the Water Clone Technique and the Water Release: Stormy Blockade." I beamed at ojii-san's words, thinking that if I manage to master my elemental jutsu techniques, I will have a better chance at survival once I set out to the Land of Fire.

The next few days, I showed my progress to my sensei.

He commented that it's good for now and would be better once I started using more of it on spars against him. I was happy that I was able to learn it quickly, maybe my high affinity towards water helped with that. As sensei promised, he gave me the next set of water scrolls I needed to learn and demonstrated how it worked.

We spent the next months training like that. Kaito-sensei would give me a scroll and he would judge my current progress with it. If he thinks I am good enough with it, we would proceed to the next jutsu to learn. We would spar from time to time so he could check how I'll apply the techniques in a fight , and he would train me relentlessly until he was satisfied with my performance.

Sensei also made sure that I mastered all the techniques I learned from him, especially the water jutsus, since I have a high water affinity, and he did not want to waste my aptitude by settling for mediocrity. He mentioned that he would teach me to perform the jutsus with only fewer hand seals in the future, or perhaps I could even progress to the point of mastering the techniques without requiring any signs at all.

I knew he had high expectations of me, and I would not fail him.


Time passed by quickly in a blink of an eye since I took delight in what kept me busy these days. It has been almost a year since my training to become a shinobi started, and I was very happy with my current progress.

It was a sunny day on the island, and the village had a very peaceful and relaxing vibe, making it the perfect time to spend the day to rest my body from the exhaustion it undergoes daily due to my extensive training.

Nonetheless, I did not want to waste the day by doing nothing, so I decided to walk around the island where our village was situated, and collect some plants and herbs that I could use to stock up the apothecary shop. Mariko obaa-san would surely appreciate the gesture since she had been the one doing most of the work ever since I started with my training under Kaito-sensei. I wanted the day to be productive even during my time-off.

The warm air by the seaside filled my lungs and the waves had been calm as I strolled by the coastline. The dusk already started to approach as the skies were painted with sunset hues, and I basked in its warm glow and enjoyed the tranquil seascape in front of me. I already had a basketful of the flora I've gathered so far beside me, so I am now just sitting by the shore and peacefully gazing at the sea. My feet were buried in the sand and water splashed on them from the tides that pushed and pulled constantly on the shore. This gave me a very therapeutic sensation that somehow lifted the anxiety and stress that I felt ever since I started remembering the fragments of memories that I have forgotten.

The recent rediscovery of my troubled past has always occupied my mind lately. I've finally come to terms that this place wasn't really home and the elderly couple who took care of me weren't my real family. No matter how at peace I am on this island, I know I can never truly be content living my remaining life here. Even though I know that I would face danger as soon as I attempt to go back to my old life, I do not care and I am willing to risk my life for it.

I longed for everything I've lost over the years- the life I was supposed to live, the people I've forgotten, the place where I know I truly belonged, the family I've left behind, and the silver-haired boy who was constantly in my mind and slowly slithering his way to my heart.

The pieces of the broken memories I have of him were being mended by time as each day went by, and the missing fragments were getting put together like pieces of a giant puzzle that was slowly being completed over time. It became easier to remember everything about him; the soothing sound of his voice, his captivating gray eyes, the striking shade of his silver locks, all the moments I spent with him, and every emotion he made me feel.

My memories of him were bittersweet.

Even with my young age at the time, I remember feeling at my happiest whenever I was with him, and being away from him gave me a great deal of sadness.

I still feel it to this day.

The feelings that I have for him overwhelms me, even though I don't know what half of it is about since I'm inexperienced when it comes to having these kinds of emotions. The thought of him makes me feel blissful and sorrowful at the same time. He makes my insides warm when I think of him, but it aches my heart as well.

How can I miss a person this much?

I am barely even in my teens so I do not know how I can feel such agonizing heartbreak for someone I never really spent a lot of time with. Heck, I don't even remember the masked boy's name.

Is this what love is?

My knowledge about it is scarce, and I sincerely hope that there is a guide I can study so I'll know what to expect and what to do since these feelings are making me restless. I have nothing to compare it to, and the books I've read about love were too complicated to understand.

All I have are these big feelings for the mysterious boy and the memories of him that I constantly replay in my mind.

I don't know if the silvered-hair boy even remembers me, with everything that had happened and all the years that passed by, I wouldn't be surprised if he already forgot about me. Maybe I was just a part of his childhood that came to pass, like how one outgrows his old clothes and shoes. It hurts, but it is a part of reality that one cannot avoid. But still, my silly mind cannot help but wonder about things between him and I.

Does he think about me the way I do for him?

Or is this all one-sided and I am just hopelessly yearning for him?

Does he even feel the ache like I do?

I have so many questions that I know wouldn't be answered unless I find him. Those answers may not be what I liked to hear, but I would prepare myself for it nonetheless. It is better that I face it head-on than continue to wonder about it for the rest of my life.

I stared at the setting sun and felt the sea breeze on my skin as I reached a presumption about how I feel for that mysterious boy in my memories.

I realized then and there that I've always loved him even as a kid. I definitely still do at the moment, and it probably won't change in the future at all. Judging from the many years that passed since I met him, my feelings for him not only remained the same, but I think it's becoming even more intense as each day goes by.

My mind might have forgotten, but my heart had always remembered him.