I followed the music, twirling six, seven, eight times. At the end of the tempo, I stopped before the mirror and waited. One, two, three. I twirled across the floor, swaying with my partner, before my footsteps quickened.
"Be in sync with the music. Let your body become lighter than the air. Let your movements flow smoother than water."
I closed my eyes, listening to the music.
I thought of Itachi. I thought of the Chuunin Exam, and how his body looked weightless when he flipped down and weaved into a quarter turn. It looked so graceful. It looked so easy. Two years, and he had grown just like me. But while I did this spin again and again, again and again, he had already mastered it.
No.
I thought of his move again. After seeing that, this ballet spin was boring. This spin was ugly. Itachi did not master this spin; he perfected it.
Damn, I hated him.
I spun faster. Really hated him. Ballet was a girl thing. Grace and beauty were girl things. It was supposed to be my thing. I grew up thinking I would catch up to him, only to find myself even more behind. My anger became a final spin and spread of my arms.
The music stopped.
"Let your passion burn hotter than fire," Ms. Hyuuga finished. "Very good performance today, Ayae."
I opened my eyes and blinked. "Eh?" Suddenly, the room got dizzy. I fell back, waving my arms in the air. I crashed into my partner and landed with a thud.
While the other girls rushed to help us, Ms. Hyuuga laughed. "And don't forget to let your center be sturdier than earth."
The lesson ended, but I used my last minutes to practice my spin before the mirror. I understood Gin's need to get better. After seeing Itachi, we both needed to work harder.
Ten, eleven, twelve. It did not matter if my toes hurt. I kept my eyes on my body in the mirror. My arms had to be right; my legs had to be right. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. This spin was too messy. Tuck in my leg more. Keep my shoulders low. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Too weak, too slow. Nineteen, twenty. I closed my eyes.
I never knew what I had until I lost it. Itachi was a really good teacher. Ms. Hyuuga taught us the moves and showed us how things should look. But when I could not look like that, only Itachi knew what I did wrong. His words were not pretty, but he told me what I needed to hear. He knew where I was too tense, where I was too sloppy. He could figure out what caused the mistake and how to fix it. I should have listened to him more.
I bit my lips.
Then I opened my eyes again and kept spinning. If Gin could make two hundred hits, then I could do two hundred spins. After tonight, I would do the triple pirouette and do it well.
After an eternity, I gave in to dizziness and fell onto the floor. The other girls had already left, leaving only the grinning face of Hana. She looked down at me and held out a water bottle. "I see Gin's not the only one training crazy."
I laughed guilty and took the water.
We sat side by side. Between us was my backpack and the many things from it scattered around. "We're still tied," I said, "Gin and I."
"Aye, how many years have you two been at this again?" she asked, picking up the hair band on the floor.
"Three years?"
Hana flicked me on the forehead. "And you still haven't won yet? Ayae, you better come out first. Don't let the girls lose."
"I know, I know!"
"You're my last hope. Minoji's just awful!" She grimaced.
Giggling, I nudged her. "Aw, he's not that bad. You're just too smart. Everyone knows you're the class genius."
Hana scoffed. "Hardly." She sniffed the hair band and set it down. "I just don't sleep in class like everyone else. I don't believe in genius either."
"There are geniuses. You, Tamaki…" I paused. "Lots of people."
"Your clan, you mean?" she asked, a scarf in hand. "I heard a kid our age won the fall Chuunin Exam. Uchiha... something." She took a sniff of the scarf, and then folded it back up.
"Yeah, my family's famous." I said nothing else, bringing a scroll to my nose to keep busy. "You smell anything in this one?" I asked.
Hana nudged the scroll down. "Ayae, this is ridiculous. You tell me to sniff out human scents without giving me any more information. Am I supposed to track someone?"
"You can do that?"
"Depends on if you'll tell me who it is."
I crossed my arms. "I told you! No one!"
"Right. The mysterious Mister or Missus No One." She tossed the scroll back to me. "Nothing."
From my backpack, she took out a short colored pencil. She brought it to her nose. "At least I got to see a few moves today that will definitely help me in taijutsu."
"Hana! You came here to help me, not to find battle moves and run ahead of everyone again!"
"Yeah, yeah. But I can do both, can't I?"
I folded my arms.
When I pouted, Hana scratched her neck. "Fine, I also wanted to spend time with my good friend Ayae. Hopefully we'll be on the same genin squad too."
At that, I smiled. "Yeah!"
"Anyway, Gin told me the other day that you two actually saw the Chuunin Exam?"
"Oh yeah. It was fun."
"Huh, so he's not lying. You mind filling me in?" Hana asked. "I want to hear about the matches from a first source as opposed to random gossip."
I nodded and told her about the Exam. Gin had bragged to many people in school about it, and I already told my story to many of my friends too. I liked telling stories and getting attention. I especially liked making the explosions and the whoosh sounds. I had a bad habit of exaggerating, but this time, I did not have to. In fact, I was worried I could not exaggerate enough.
When I told her about the closet, Hana stared at me.
"What, you don't believe me?" I asked.
"Nah, I do. More so than Ginjiro's story."
"What's his?"
"That he single-handedly took down a three-meter monster."
We laughed.
Hana turned to the earmuffs in her hand and brought it closer. She grimaced. "Agh, what is this odor?"
Curious, I snatched the earmuffs and sniffed. "What are you talking about? I don't smell anything… just perfume? Hm, it's kinda nice. It's like the one my old auntie wears."
Hana made a face. "You are way off, Ayae. That's not old lady's perfume. That's men's cologne, and it's awful!" Hana growled, waving the air away.
"I think it smells fine." I said. The muffs were Shisui's birthday present to me. It came with attachable bunny ears. I thought they were cute.
Hana emptied my backpack and found nothing else. "We're done."
"Great!" I said. "What have you got?"
"So, you're decent body odor wise. I suggest a few washes on things like the summer clothes, because your scent sticks to some of them. I'd put you down for light-medium perspiration, which is better than my snot-nosed brother, who's an ultra-heavy. He's five, and he already stinks worse than our dogs—"
"Hana, that's not what I meant," I said, my eye twitching.
Hana sent me a look. "Ayae, who is it? I've grown up with my mom, and whenever she does this kind of stuff, it's always to hunt someone down, usually disappearing lovers and lazy husbands. Actually, mostly to find some Nara guy hiding from my mom's friend…" She caught herself. "Besides the point. I'm not telling you what I've learned until I know what you are using my information for."
She folded her arms, waiting.
I opened my mouth. Then I close it again. "You're wrong," I said lamely.
"I don't think so."
"Because you smell lies—"
"And fear."
"Great. You smell fear now."
"Kidding, kidding. But anyone can tell when you are lying. Your lips curl in, you start stuttering, and you look away. You also stop breathing," she listed.
"I'm not lying!" I lied again, trying to look Hana in the eyes and failing.
"Fine." Hana back-flipped herself up and brushed her tank top. "It's not like I care much about your relationship with Uchiha Itachi."
I froze. A burning red spread across my face. "I-I have no idea what you are talking about!"
"Sure, sure."
"My cousin? What makes you think he has anything to do with this?"
"Instinctive guess."
"You're wrong," I said.
"As a ten year old vet-trainee, I am fairly confident of my observations and judgments. You, on the other hand, as the flustered and would-be victim of the Itachi fanclub, might want to double check yours."
"Hana!"
Hana turned to me with a deadpan. "Look," she said. "I know something's up when you go through the entire Chuunin Exam without once mentioning 'your cousin' by name. Isn't Itachi the winner?"
I dropped my mouth. "You knew! Since the beginning!" She smirked. I could not believe Hana lied to me. "You—he—! Itachi's got nothing to do with me! He—he's just a jerk!"
"Ouch. Tension, aggressiveness, defensiveness," Hana said. "On second thought, I take that back. Forget the Exam. That Uchiha kid obviously did something to you."
"As if he can!" I stubbornly crossed my arms.
"Aye, I'm just here to help. Why obstruct yourself from aid?" Hana asked.
I turned my cheek. "You're using big words."
Hana gave up. "Okay, fine. Truthfully, I can't pick up any distinct smell past the disgusting earmuffs," she said. "Everything smells too much like you. If anyone touched your things, it was not recently."
"Oh." I slumped my shoulders. Maybe I did grow too hopeful that Itachi gave me any of this stuff over the years.
As I headed for the changing room, I grew curious of something. "Hey Hana, what do I smell like?"
"Hm, you know when you go into a candy store?"
"Mhm?" I liked where this was going.
"And there's that red bean paste that's baked into the daifuku?"
"Yeah?"
"You basically smell like mashed beans to me."
My eye twitched. "I smell like mashed beans?"
"Boiled smashed beans," she corrected. "Which is better than Minoji, who needs a shower sometime within this lifetime." She pinched her nose. I held back snickers.
I changed and Hana undid my braids for me. Then we set our own ways home.
"Daddy, I'm home! You here?" I slipped off my sandals and heard a call from the kitchen.
"In here!"
I thought my dad would be at a meeting today, but after seeing the stack of paperwork, I guessed it ended early.
And that only meant one thing.
Sugar!
I licked my lips at the thought of dessert. My dad always went to the bakery when he had extra time. My socks skidded across the wooden boards, as I swung around to the kitchen, looking forward to a strawberry cheesecake or apple pie.
"I call first piece!"
My dad was at the counter, slicing into a cake with peaches on top.
"What is it this—!" I stopped.
I looked at the table. Or rather, at the person by the table. I blinked, in case my mind was playing a trick on me, but Itachi did not go away. I thought maybe there was some guilt across his face, before he turned away.
My dad carried the cake to the table. "Hey, sweetie! Guess who's here!"
"What's he doing here?" I asked dumbly.
After placing the cake down, my dad nudged up his lopsided glasses and said, "Well, we were just discussing how your Aunt Mikoto and little Sasuke were doing at Miyako. We haven't seen them in forever, have we, honey?"
Speechless, I gave a nod and sat by my dad.
"Yup, it's been lonely without them, but it's great to know they're both having a great time on their vacation. I've heard the Katsura river is beautiful! Right, Itachi?" my dad said, handing him a slice of cake.
Out of politeness, Itachi accepted the plate, but he did not pick up the chopsticks to eat. "Mother said it glowed at nighttime," he said. "Fireflies."
"So it is like how the books describe it!" my dad said enthusiastically. "Yamamoto's writings on the Katsura were all over the capital. I heard it's one of the hottest attractions for the past decade!"
Itachi looked like he was going to correct my dad but stopped himself. "Yes," he said. "It's been more popular in recent times."
I felt out of the loop. "What's going on?"
This time, I asked Itachi. Why was he at my house? Fireflies and books were great and all, but Itachi was not the type to chit-chat with my dad. And it was not as if he would talk to me after—
It hit me.
My heart raced. I thought back to the tea shop. Did I really damage his katana? Was he here to tell my dad about it? I freaked out. I looked at my dad. He was mulling over some book, a sign that Itachi had not spilled the beans yet.
I whipped back to Itachi and gave him my silent plea. I was wrong. I was mean. I was stupid. I ruined his katana and embarrassed the both of us in front of people. I was sorry, so sorry.
But if he did not need to drag the adults into this! It was the basic no-telling rule!
While my dad blabbered on, I was on edge. When it was Itachi's turn to speak, I hoped that he would say it nicely. Something like, "By the way, Ayae dented my katana the other day," instead of "Actually, I'm here to tell you that your daughter's crazy, and I want the money for the katana she broke."
However, he went on about the same dull topic. "The inn has extra rooms, and my mother has been insisting since our last visit. I know it's sudden and inconvenient, and I apologize for not informing you until now," he said.
My shoulders relaxed. Maybe this was some business talk for adults after all. I wanted to laugh at myself for getting all tense. Right. This was Itachi. He was too mature to want revenge.
"I love the idea!" my dad said. He dragged me into their conversation. "But are you okay with that, honey? I'd have to admit, it took me by surprise too, but I think it's a wonderful idea!"
That took both Itachi and me by surprise. Itachi, because he did not expect my dad to ask me. Me, because I was not listening.
"What?"
Itachi recovered first. "Mr. Kenta, if Ayae doesn't want to go, it is understandable," he said, his gaze catching mine.
We locked eyes. Everyone was waiting. I had no idea what was going on, so I just said, "Sure dad." I reached for a slice of cake to keep from fidgeting.
"Great!" my dad said. "My little Ayae missed seeing your family, Itachi. I can take my work off my table for a while. It'd be great to go on vacation together."
My chopsticks dropped from my mouth. My dad went into the details of the spring trip.
If Itachi could have been more defeated, it was then. He did not like the idea of my dad and I traveling alongside him, his dad, and our other relatives. For over a week. Living under one roof. Meeting some of our other relatives across the country. For vacation.
Oh, and while my dad and his dad tried to form some kind of understanding for each other, as ordered by the clan elder, I was supposed to follow Itachi the entire trip to bond. Tell me this was not some drunken, half thought out plan.
And while Itachi spent the rest of the conversation pretending I was not there, I shamelessly stared at him, thinking my clan had gone nuts to try to make our families buddy-buddy.
But Aunt Mikoto refused to return to Konoha otherwise. Fugaku really wanted his wife back. The clan was getting annoyed at these stupid fights. Itachi had no say. My dad wanted a break from work. And I was the idiot who said yes without thinking.
.
Fall turned to winter, and winter was turning to spring. The months following our meeting, I only focused on school and dance. I did not try speaking to Itachi. The vacation date came closer, though. I knew I had to face him sooner or later.
And I would face him. My dad wanted the vacation. I would not ruin it for him. I had already gotten Ms. Hyuuga's okay to leave. Now, I just had to talk to Teacher Funeno about school. With our final exams coming, he wanted to make sure I got the materials.
I woke up to the sun, staring up at the sky through the hole in my roof. My feet were itchy. I scratched the heels of my feet, then pulled the covers off me and trudged to my bathroom to brush my teeth and work my afro hair.
When I got downstairs, I grabbed a banana off the kitchen table. "Morning."
My dad was flipping a pancake.
"Morning sweetie! How'd you sleep?"
"Good." I peeled the banana.
Just as I took a bite, my dad saw me and cried, "The banana! Honey, that was for the pancakes!"
"Oops."
I gave him the bitten banana. He chuckled and shook his head. I was about to get another banana from the fridge when the doorbell rang.
"Get that?" my dad asked.
"Hold on."
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Someone was impatient. I found the bananas and set them on the table.
I went to our front door.
Ding-dong!Ding-dong!Ding-dong!Din-
"I'm coming!" I yelled.
I reached the door by the tenth ding-dong.
"Why isn't anyone opening this door—oh hi!"
I opened the door and was greeted by... my classmates?
Four of them. The first was a girl a year above me. She had bushy hair. If I was not wrong, she left the ninja track last year. The second and third were seniors. They were pretty, both with long blonde hair and tall figures.
And the final one in front was...
Blue Hair.
My eye twitched. I remembered the times I got food accidentally dumped on my favorite shirt, or was accidentally bumped in the hallways, or had my stuff accidentally stepped on by her. So many accidents that I was happy to return a few accidents myself.
Seeing her was like having a dead cat slammed into my face.
Blue Hair dropped her smile when she saw me. She scowled. I did the same, but the banana in my hand killed my intimidation.
One of the seniors looked at me up and down, whispering to the other senior. "Who'd you think she is?"
"Relax, it's just that Uchiha girl," the other senior whispered back.
They mumbled some more. But they were okay. It was just Blue Hair. Scoffing, she said, "So this is where you live."
"Yeah," I said.
"Psh, I knew that you'd be the one to live in this shack in the corner of the compound. What an embarrassment for the Uchiha."
"What did you say?"
Ignoring me, Blue Hair snapped her fingers at the other three. "Wrong house. Let's leave this loser alone."
I was ready to snap, but the bushy haired girl spoke up. "Shouldn't we at least ask her?"
"It'd be a waste of time," Blue Hair sneered. "If none of the real Uchiha knows, she wouldn't."
One of the seniors frowned. "Hm, you two know each other," she said. "Same class?"
I snorted and bit into my banana. If we were, the school would be burning. "Just same grade. So what do you guys want?"
One of the seniors grinned. "We want Itachi, of course!"
I choked on my banana.
"S-she m-means we want to know where he is," Bushy stammered. "To give him a present as congratulations for winning the Chuunin Exam for Konoha."
I stared. They came all the way here for that? After how long? I sighed and said, "His house, that way," jerking my thumb to the right.
Blue Hair crossed her arms. "We know where the main house is, stupid branch girl," she scoffed.
"We went there, but Itachi isn't home," one of the seniors sighed. "We've asked every house in the compound too."
"Then why not drop it off at the gate," I said. "The guards will take it to him."
"We want to give it to him in person," the other senior said.
"What's the present? I don't even see it," I said, biting into my banana again. Unless it was an imaginary pet animal, I was not convinced they were here on some innocent present delivery. Knowing Blue Hair, she could be having her friends plant skunk bombs in my house right now. She would go that far to make my life miserable.
At my question, the seniors giggled to each other. "How cute, the little girl thinks we came with a box wrapped in a bow!"
I stopped chewing, wondering why I got a chill up my spine. But before I could ask them what they really wanted with my cousin, Blue Hair said, "It's because stupid people can't see anything! And your questions are also stupid. How Itachi could stand to live a hundred miles near someone as stupid as you, I don't know."
"Say that again," I dared.
She pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue. "You heard me, stupid-girl!"
That was it. I was about to whack her senseless with my banana peel when a new voice came.
"Am I interrupting?"
All of us turned to the newcomer. Itachi stepped closer to my house, his eyes flickering to each of the girls. He held out a piece of paper to me. "Ayae, will you please give this to your father? It's a letter from my mother about the arrangements at the inn. I hope he finds them satisfying."
Dumbfounded, I took the piece of paper from him.
The girls looked at him, then me, then back to him again, their expressions a colorful spectrum of shocked to suspicious to disbelieving.
"Um, okay," I said, not sure what else to add.
Itachi looked at me. "Is something wrong? Did you change your mind?"
"The trip? No. My dad's really into it."
"But you?"
"I'm okay," I lied, shrugging.
"Isn't there school to be concerned with?" he asked. "I assume finals are approaching."
"Um, yeah," I said. "I'm going today to get some materials from my teacher."
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Itachi asked. I stared at him in disbelief, when he continued, "I am released from my missions for the morning. Maybe I might be of some assistance."
My brain was in an information backup. Itachi was free? Not busy? What? He wanted to come with me to school? He wanted to help? What?!
Itachi took my lack of yes as a no. He gave in, ready to leave.
The girls jumped at my hesitation.
Blue Hair tapped Itachi on the shoulder. "Morning, Itachi!" she said in a giddy voice that made me want to throw up. Her smile splitting her face in half, she leaned forward to him and said, "Congratulations on getting chuuninship!"
Itachi murmured a thank you.
That was when the seniors leaned in and surrounded him. "Say, Itachi, if you are free, we'd be glad to keep you company!" one offered, giggling.
Bushy said, "W-won't you come with us? Ano, we brought a present for y-you, it's at the front... The others are watching after it and we went here but you weren't here a-and-"
The other senior shoved Bushy away and leaned closer to Itachi, her eyes wide and her lips curled. "Wow! The rumors were right. You really have gotten cute!" she said. "Remember me? Nah, probably not! But we remember you though. 3rd year! Anyways, as school reps, we want to show the Academy's thanks for your success in winning the Exam for Konoha and continuing our streak! Won't you come with us?"
Itachi looked like he was about to say something. He paused and changed his mind. "I—"
"Will be coming with me to the Academy to help me carry some scrolls," I said, grabbing Itachi by the arm, fighting the urge to pull him all the way inside my house and slam the door shut. "Err, yeah, Itachi, I need help. You know, really heavy. And finals, lots of history and people and math. Yeah, lots of math… hard stuff. No more coloring and everything, you know…"
"Ayae—" Itachi began.
"Hey, you asked! So, you coming or not?!" I hotly snapped, holding up the banana peel.
Itachi was surprised. But then his lips pulled into a smile. "I guess I am."
"What?! But Itachi," Blue Hair said, pulling him back to her. "We only need a minute or two! She can get someone else to go with her!"
Itachi brought his hand up to hers and gently pulled her grip off his shoulder. "Actually, the Academy has already congratulated me on my success," he said. "And a couple of times."
"Huh?"
"If my memory is correct, two baskets of desserts, five bouquet of flowers, eight boxes of chocolates, forty-two cards, and one book have been sent to me from the Academy for my success at the Chuunin Exam."
Our jaws dropped, but he went on.
"Perhaps there has been some miscommunication, resulting in these numerous gifts. While I am grateful, I'm not sure I am deserving of them all. If you insist, leave it with the guards at the gates, but I'm afraid I will not be able to go. Thank you for the thought though."
I got the dirtiest look from Blue Hair. I smirked.
The other girls were not bothered. "Aw, Itachi should help his little cousin, ne? We'll tell the other girls to drop it off." The seniors gave him a double hug, before waving bye. Bushy stared at Itachi some more before rushing to catch up with the seniors. Blue Hair sent me another death glare.
"Nyaah! So cute, I just want to keep him…"
The two seniors giggled to each other. They latched onto each other's arms and whispered some more until they actually were out of earshot.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Forty-two cards. Really?" I asked.
"Shisui received double the amount. He was much more popular with his peers at the Academy than I was."
I rolled my eyes. While he waited for me outside, I ran inside to grab two pancakes.
"Who was at the door, honey?" my dad asked, scraping the pan in the sink.
I played hot potato. "Just some classmates. And Itachi's here. I'm heading off to school. Bye dad!"
"Bye sweetie!"
I was back by the door, slipping on my sandals.
As we walked out of the district, I folded one of my pancakes and bit down. I handed Itachi the other one. "Did you eat breakfast yet?" I asked.
"Yes."
I nudged the cake closer to him. "Want to try it anyway?" I said, chewing my pancake. "It's good. You can't buy this anywhere in Konoha, you know."
He accepted. "Thank you."
"Welcome."
I ate my pancake, and so did he.
It was a nice déjà vu. The same hot sun. The same deep blue sky. The same crowded streets, with shoppers, bikers, tourists, and kids running around. The same wind, cobblestone and dirt roads, houses and stores, telephone poles and magazine rack with the fat cat sleeping in the shades.
Walking with the same person.
I missed this moment so much. It really did feel like I had the old Itachi back again.
Everything around me suddenly seemed so big, endless, and free. I wanted to run and keep running.
I never knew Itachi could make me feel this way, but I understood now why I wanted him back so badly. With him back, the world felt completed, no longer having a big hole in the picture.
It was almost too good to be true, but with every footstep that followed mine, I knew he was there.
"Why are your eyes closed?"
"Just because," I said, smiling.
"You might trip."
"You won't let me."
I listened to his footsteps stop, and I stopped too. But the world did not stop, as I felt someone nearly bump into me. "Sorry!" said the voice of a young man, as he dashed away.
My smile got wider, my eyes still closed. "Told you!" I laughed, and walked again when Itachi did. I picked up the pace and skipped ahead, twirling with my arms wide. I dared to go out further, feeling the sun and the wind that bounced with me in glee.
"Today's just too good of a day! Besides, I've walked down this road so many times, I can't trip—"
Out of dizziness, I stumbled on my own foot.
My eyes snapped wide open to see Itachi next to me, catching my fall. "You were saying?" he said.
I scratched my head in embarrassment. "Well, I was still right."
"I did not prevent you from tripping or falling. I just caught you," he said, as if that made any difference. As long as I did not land on my butt in the dirt, it was all the same.
The orphanage was already in sight. The road was shorter than I would have liked.
"So, why are you here?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're usually not around."
His eyes turned to the road. "I was busy."
"With what?"
"Missions."
"What kind?"
"They vary."
He was being vague, but I pushed. "Why aren't you busy now?"
"Do you know how the mission system works?" he asked instead.
I did not like the shift in topic, but I went along with it. "They taught us at school," I said. "People come and pay us to help them do ninja stuff. When we're done, we get the money based off how hard it was to do it."
"And of the Chuunin Exam?"
"How genin become chuunin." Duh. "And a way for all the villages to get along." How beating the shit out of each other was going to do that, I had no idea, but that was what all the textbooks said.
"Right, though the Chuunin Exam has another purpose: for each of the shinobi villages to attract clients. For example, a wealthy nobleman in need of protection may watch the Exams to see which village offers the best ninja for a bodyguard," he said, "or a mother searching for a lost son may look to find the right place to hire a tracker-nin."
"Oh, okay," I said, understanding. "So that's why Konoha's been filled with so many people lately. Since you won the Exam, and Konoha's first, people would want us."
"Correct. Still, some villages have specialties that no other village has. Kusa has elite sensors. Iwa has the best defense. Suna is the most innovative. Kumo the fastest, Kiri the strongest, Sound the most cunning, and so on."
"What do we have? Konoha's the... bravest? Powerfulest? Bestest?"
Itachi held back a chuckle. "Ah, no. Konoha could perhaps be considered the most versatile. We are capable of handling a wide range of missions, adapting to most situations. That was the skill our village was supposed to have demonstrated at the Exam."
"Wait." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Itachi, if you did amazing at the Exam, shouldn't you have more clients and be busier?"
"You're right. After the examination, I received more attention than I had intended," he said. "People asked specifically for me as well, and I had the next six months of missions planned out. But multiple clients were arguing for certain times that coincided with other's, and my files were shuffled back and forth until an argument between two lords destroyed the papers altogether."
I gawked at him. "The daimyo were fighting over the days they could book you?!"
He chuckled. "I should have heeded our cousin's warning. The Hokage ended up dismissing me, and I was left with nothing except for one escort later this afternoon. Does that answer your question?"
It answered one, but twenty more questions came to mind. I settled with, "Wait, so there are no plans?"
"For now."
"You have nothing to do?"
He paused, thinking over my words. "There are people to meet. A life to reconstruct. Some bonds to repair. I doubt I'll ever have 'nothing' for a long time. Shall we go in?" he asked, holding the door to the Academy for me.
I had not realized we were there. "Yeah."
The school was emptier than usual, but we could see people here and there. Besides certain training fields, the school was open to anyone. Genin often used our gym for practice.
A few boys were carrying a cardboard box into the game room. I recognized one of them as Gin's friend. We waved.
Itachi and I passed the girls in the origami club, then the upperclassmen in the cram club. The gym was filled with people doing kendo.
"Um, I think Teacher Funeno's in that room," I said, pointing to a room down the hall.
Itachi followed.
I tiptoed to look in the window pane before cracking open the door.
"Welcome to the team, Umino!" someone declared, followed by more cheers.
"Oho, I knew you would make it! I knew it!" I heard my teacher say and pat someone on the back.
"Congrats," said Teacher Suzume. "We were betting on how long before you came back here. Knew you wouldn't last."
"Teacher!" a familiar voice exclaimed, offended.
"Don't call me that anymore, Umino," she chuckled. "Don't call any of us that now."
"I still won the bet though. Couldn't stay away from this place for more than a few years, now could you! First you volunteered, then subbed, but it's great to have you here for real," Teacher Funeno laughed. "Pay up, guys!"
Half the teachers and staff were crowded around a table, everyone from my senile second grade teacher to the advanced division's seventh grade teacher. Everyone had sake cups. Food was everywhere.
Then, there was someone in the middle who I did not know, a young man with spiky brown hair, dressed in common ninja wear. What caught my attention was the long scar across his face. I knew it was rude to stare, but I couldn't help myself.
"You need something, little girl?" a teacher asked me. The other teachers turned to me too.
"Um, Teacher Funeno? You told me to come here today? To get some stuff for finals?" I asked.
"Ah, I almost forgot!" Teacher Funeno placed his cup down. "You guys go ahead without me! One of my students needs help."
I made eye contact with the young man, but he scratched his nose and laughed nervously. That was when I realized he was the one who bumped into me on my way here.
Teacher Funeno nudged me out of the room and slid the door behind him. "Now, Ayae, let's get those—Itachi, my boy, what a pleasant surprise!"
"Good morning, Teacher Funeno," Itachi said, bowing.
"Wow, and you still remember me!"
"I can say the same."
"How can I forget one of my star pupils? And one who won first place in the Chuunin Exams at that!" Funeno exclaimed. Then, a hand by his mouth, he gave a furtive glance and whispered, "Just between us, we teachers have a bet going around, just to see who's best at their job. Every time one of our former pupils succeeds, the others pay up. Gives us a little extra incentive to help you little ninjas all we can, but you, my boy, are every teacher's dream. All your cousins included."
Itachi smirked. "But isn't it true that every Uchiha has been enrolled in your class at least once?"
Teacher Funeno laughed. "I'm a lucky man, and my students are my gold! Aim high, boy, and come to me if you ever need anything!" Then turning to me, he said, "As for you, let's get those study materials. Get a hundred percent!"
I nodded.
Teacher Funeno unlocked the classroom door. He sorted through his desk for review sheets. Within a minute, I had a stack as high as a mountain. My jaw dropped.
Yeah. I was not getting a hundred percent.
"Know the names and dates of the First Great Ninja War, as well as the important figures," Teacher Funeno said, handing me sheet after sheet. "Our current history text should cover all of them. For mathematics, only the fractions will be covered and word problems related to battle strategy. There is a small section on literature, the interpretation of the writings of the third daimyo. In ninjutsu, the kawarimi will be covered, mostly on basic facts, and you are not expected to perform it. Instead, the performance will be on your ability to memorize the hand signs. In taijutsu, we will be scoring on your track speed, followed by rope balance, and shuriken accuracy…"
The stuff kept piling higher. I was straining to lift it all. Itachi took one of the papers on top and read it out of curiosity.
"What, no genjutsu?" I asked sarcastically.
"Aha! Eager now, aren't we? Yes, I almost forgot. Everything in our genjutsu lecture for the past month." Why did I open my big mouth? "Since we'll be reviewing during the time you are gone, you might want to take one of the class genjutsu scrolls to study from. Now, where are those…"
"White seasoned the fields, stillness of the lake, frozen, a lovers' boat hushed..." Itachi looked up from the paper he was reading. "There's an error," he told Teacher Funeno. "It says the second passage, but this is the third passage of the eighth book. The second of eighth speaks of spring."
My teacher found the scroll he was looking for. To Itachi, he said, "Ah, you studied the traditional verse, where everything is reversed, correct? In order to understand it better, we go chronologically by the seasons in the story, not by the original way the daimyo wrote it. Oh, this scroll on our first kata might be helpful too."
"It was a reflection. It was on purpose," Itachi said, giving me back my paper.
I freed one hand and grabbed it from him, reading the poem. I faintly remembered the poem as one of the more boring lectures. My class spent three days talking about a dead guy's fascination with nature. By the end of the lecture, half the class was asleep. Including me.
"The rest of the structure is the same," Teacher Funeno reassured.
"It's different," Itachi insisted.
"Not a single word changed, my boy."
"Nothing except the meaning. His intention was to convey…"
"A tragedy? Evoke nostalgia? Let the world understand his pain from his words?" Teacher Funeno chuckled. "There is a difference between the poet's interpretation and his audience's. His art lives in its own form, and every eye can view it differently. And call us fools, but we prefer the story ending with the joys of summer rather than the melancholy of autumn."
Itachi had nothing to say to that. I just winced at the extra weight piled on my stack.
"Then again, it could be that we didn't want students thinking summer came before spring, and get their seasons mixed up!"
This caused Itachi to drop an eyebrow, my teacher to laugh again, and I to collapse.
Once I got all the stuff I needed, we were shooed out. My teacher gave one last warning to prepare seriously. I did not need to be told twice. Fifth grade had the first bar exam that students had to jump over to go to sixth grade. The second bar exam was at the end of sixth, to prepare us for the final one senior year.
"Itachi, how did you survive this?" I sighed, letting him relieve me of all the paper in my hands.
"Are you nervous about your bar examination?" he asked, carrying the stack with ease. I dropped my dead arms. I could not believe I thought I could bring all those papers home by myself.
"Maybe," I mumbled, rubbing my neck. "What's it like?"
"Memorization is only half of the exam. It is more to test your willingness to work than to see your competency as a ninja. Next year, it will be one-fourth, and the following, only one-eighth will be the written exam. Meanwhile, your actual skills and abilities are weighed more with each passing grade."
"Because I don't really need to know this junk after I graduate right? No more math?"
"There was math on the Chuunin Exam," he told me.
I groaned. "Are you serious?!"
"It's not going to go away, Ayae."
"It will if I can get my dad to invent something that does it for me," I muttered under my breath.
"A contraption that will give you the answers in math?" he asked, the corner of his lips twitching.
"My dad can make anything!" I snapped. Then, pouting, I said, "Okay, maybe not that. But he can make almost anything."
"Ah."
I did not like his tone. I huffed, and crossing my arms, said, "Well, sorry if none of this stuff is exciting enough for you." Him and his lousy fireballs and water dragons.
"Actually, I learned plenty from this trip alone—"
He stopped.
I stopped too, turning to him to see why.
Itachi's eyes were on somewhere in the distance. I matched his gaze to see nothing more than rooftops.
"What's up…?"
He shook his head and placed the stack of papers on the ground. "I'm sorry, but it appears my escort mission will be earlier than I thought. Someone is waiting for me." He made hand seals. The pile of stuff disappeared. "You'll find the materials at your house."
"What, we even can't get lunch first?" I did not hide my disappointment.
"I'm afraid not," he said. "And Ayae."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. For everything."
Before I could say anything, he was gone in a wisp of air. That was expected. What I did not expect was that the big gaping hole in my world never came back.
That was a good sign.
