!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
The song we "hear" in this chapter is from Alt J called Something Good from the masterpiece of a game Life is Strange!
I recommend listening to it while reading the chapter.
Happy reading!
Chapter 9: Everything changes
It was early morning.
A fresh breeze was entering Kohana's room from her half-open window.
The nine-year-old girl lies half awake-half asleep on the cover of her bed.
She heard from somewhere in the house a radio playing.
Probably Kizashi who listens to his music.
The song was good she had to admit.
Its melody was catchy.
"Something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good tonight
Will make me forget about you for now"
Kohana hummed along to the tune, feeling a sense of comfort in the music.
She slowly sat up and stretched her arms, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face.
As she looked out the window, she noticed a group of birds flying in formation. Mesmerized by their synchronized movements, Kohana wondered if they were communicating with each other.
"Get high
Hit the floor before you go
Matador
Estocada, you're my blood sport"
The birds continued to fly in formation, their wings flapping in unison. The girl watched them until they disappeared from her sight.
"But something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good tonight
Will make me forget about you for now"
Deciding it was time to get out of bed she walked over to her window. Her simple pink nightgown swayed in the light breeze.
She leaned out the window and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.
"48 thousand seats
Bleats and roars for my memories of you
Now that I'm fully clean
The matador is no more and is dragged from view"
The sun was now fully risen, casting a warm glow over everything it touched.
Kohana felt grateful for this moment of peace and tranquillity before the hustle and bustle of the day began.
"Get high
Hit the floor before you go
Matador
Estocada, you're my blood sport"
She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her: the lyrics of the song, the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and in the distant talking of people.
"48 thousand seats
Bleats and roars for my memories of you
Now that I am clean
The matador is no more and is dragged from view"
The moment felt like it could last forever, but Kohana knew that it wouldn't. She reluctantly let go of the window sill and turned to face her room.
"But something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good
Oh, something good tonight
Will make me forget about you for now"
The song ended as she looked at the mess of her room.
Her new room.
It was still hard to grape that the Harunos had been moved to this little clan compound.
And that all because Kohana had awoken a Kekkai Genkai.
A few weeks ago as Minato-Sensei and the rest of her team had discovered her Eagle Vision, Kohana didn't know what do to. Every ninja knows that if you awoke a new Kekkai Genkai you had to tell the Hokage.
Something she had missed on purpose. She didn't want the world to know that Eagle-Vision had returned. The first and last one in her family who had this gift was her ancestor Haruno Sakuya.
A mysterious Miko, who was actually an assassin named Carina Auditore from a different world.
She still grappled long with all this and yes, she wanted to keep it as long as a secret as she could, till she could make more sense of it.
In the end, after she had been caught in the act of using it, she admitted to Minato-Sensei that she had awakened the Kekkai Genkai of her family.
Minato-Sensei had been understanding, but he had insisted that they inform the Hokage. Kohana had been nervous about it, but when she met with the Hokage, she found that he was also understanding.
Actually, he was more prepared than her.
Hokage-Sama had known Sakuya since she had been a close friend of his senseis the first and the second Hokage.
He had seen Eagle Vision in action when he was a young boy.
Also, Sakuya had prepared something for her family if one of them would someday wake Eagle Vision.
The diary and Hidden Blade that Kohana had already found were only a part. Sakuya had arranged that her family would be given clan status and a clan compound when a descendant would awake her Kekkai Genkai.
That her parents and her brother had been shocked was the understatement of the century.
From a normal ninja family to being raised to a clan was...mindblowing. Even Kohana herself was still reeling.
She had thought that it would cause problems if someone found out she had Eagle-Vision and in the end her ancestor had them all set already.
So they had lived at the Haruno Clan Compound for a few weeks now.
It was probably the smallest one in all of Konohagakure. It had one main house, where Kohana, her parents and brother lived, and two other houses. The rest was still forest, but when the clan would get bigger one day, they would be cut and new houses be built.
Their symbol was the Assassin Brotherhood one in the middle a little cherry blossom.
Kohana would lie if she said it was not weird to wear a clan symbol on all her clothes.
The white circle her family had used before was a family crest, nothing special, however, a clan symbol was something else.
The thought of her family now being a clan still felt surreal to Kohana. She couldn't help but wonder what the future held for them.
Would they become a large and powerful clan, or would they remain small and unknown? Either way, she was grateful for the new opportunities that had been presented to them.
But at the same time, she knew that with this newfound status came great responsibility. They would have to work hard to maintain their reputation as a strong and honourable clan. Kohana vowed to do her part in upholding their legacy and making her ancestors proud.
As she made her way out of her room and towards the kitchen, Kohana couldn't help but hum along to the tune of the song that had been playing earlier.
It was a reminder that even in times of uncertainty and change, there was always something good to hold onto.
"Chuunin-Exams?!", shouted Obito surprised.
Team 7 was done with their mission for the day, guarding the borders of Konohagakure, and had gone to their training field to enjoy lunch together.
Even Kushina was with them.
Since the first time she trained with them, the Uzumaki had started to join them more often for training.
Especially with Kohana. She had actually a mentor-ship with Kushina.
The Eagle Vision made her understand Fuin Jutsu in an outstanding way that Kushina and Minato-Sensei had started teaching her in it.
The green-haired girl felt honoured that Kushina shared her Uzumaki Clan Fuin Jutstu with her. It was the highest honour one could give another, sharing with them their clan jutsus.
Also, she really likes Kushina.
She was like a fun older sister.
When they were alone Kohana called her Kushina-Nee.
"Chuunin-Exams.", repeated Minato-Sensei with a smile at his flabbergasted Genin, well all beside Kakashi. The Hatake seemed calm. "In the last months, all four of you have made incredible progress. In my eyes, you are more than ready to take on the next Chuunin Exams in Konoha."
"You are gonna wipe the floor with the others, Dattebane!", encouraged Kushina with a fist bump.
Rin made a little bow.
"Thank you for having such fate in us, Minato-Sensei."
"Yeah, thanks!", chorused Obito and Kohana, bowing too.
"So I can assume you all want to join up."
Of course, the four Genin wanted to.
Kohana felt excitement bubble up in her. If she managed to pass the Chuunin Exam the first time she would be the first in her family to, do it on the first try and second, being so young.
That would make a great start for the legacy of the Haruno Clan.
The team was thrilled at the prospect of participating in the Chuunin Exams. They knew that it would be a tough challenge, but they were ready for it. Kohana felt a sense of determination wash over her as she thought about what lay ahead. She knew that she had to work hard and stay focused if she wanted to succeed.
As they finished their lunch and headed back to the village, Minato-Sensei reminded them of the importance of teamwork and trust in each other. He stressed that they needed to rely on one another in order to make it through the exams.
The Chuunin Exams would be a test not only of their skills as a ninja but also of their character and resolve. Kohana was determined to prove herself worthy of being a Haruno Clan member and make her ancestors proud.
Her Eagle Vision burned in her eyes, her Hidden Blade was sharp and ready, her sense awake and alert.
Whatever her brother Kizashi would throw at her, she would overcome it.
Kizashi grinned at Kohana.
"Are you sure you want to fight me, Imoto-Chan? I'm 19, you are 9 years old. There is a gap between us."
"And I will surpass it!"
With that, both siblings run up to each other trading punches.
Kohana dodged Kizashi's first punch and countered with a swift kick to his side. Kizashi stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing and lunged forward with a series of jabs.
She blocked each one with ease, her training in the assassination technique of Sakuya had made her faster and more flexible. As Kizashi went in for another attack, Kohana saw an opening and used her Hidden Blade to disarm him.
Her brother looked surprised but impressed as he retrieved his weapon from the ground and resumed their sparring match.
The two siblings continued to trade blows, each pushing themselves to their limits in order to become stronger and better ninjas.
Kohana felt grateful for this opportunity to train with her brother, knowing that it would only make her more prepared for the upcoming Chuunin Exams.
As their training session came to an end, both siblings were exhausted but satisfied with their progress. Kohana knew that she still had a long way to go before she could truly surpass her brother, however, she was determined to keep working hard until she did so.
"I'm so happy we found time for a sleepover.", signed Rin happy, while Kohana was sitting behind her, combing her brown hair.
Both girls were on Kohana's bed, in their sleepwear, enjoying time only real best friends could do during a sleepover.
"Me too Rin-Chan.", agreed Kohana. "It seems like we are only, training, training and training these past weeks for the Chuunin Exams. It's like we forgot being just girls too and not only ninjas."
Rin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's nice to just relax and have fun sometimes. We should do this more often."
Kohana smiled and continued to comb Rin's hair. She enjoyed these quiet moments with her friends, where they could just be themselves without any pressure or expectations.
As they chatted about their favourite things and shared stories from their childhood, Kohana felt a sense of warmth and contentment wash over her. She knew that no matter what happened in the future, she would always have Rin by her side.
"Sooo, how it's going with Obito?", asked Rin a while later as they ate ice cream.
Rin had strawberry and Kohana chocolate, both with a massive amount of cream and sprinkles on it.
As an answer, Kohana just took a massive spoonful in her mouth.
The brunette winced.
"That bad, mmh?"
"Rin, he is obsessed with you!", shouted Kohana, raising her arms up. "Like I try to flirt or do something sweet for him and his mind goes to you and how he should do it to YOU! I think he thinks I'm trying to help him to get you, aargh!"
Rin laughed, "Oh, Kohana. You know Obito is just clueless when it comes to these things. He probably doesn't even realize that you're interested in him."
Kohana rolled her eyes, "I know, but it's frustrating. I don't want to come off as desperate or anything."
"Don't worry about it too much." " the Nohara patted her friend's hand reassuringly. "Just be yourself and if he's meant to notice you, he will."
Kohana smiled at Rin's words of wisdom.
She knew that her friend was right and that she shouldn't stress out too much about Obito. She decided to just enjoy their sleepover and not think about ninja stuff for a while.
After all, they were still just girls who wanted to have fun.
So in that case.
"You and Kakashi seem to get a bit more chummy, or did I hear wrong how you both talked about a book you both read.", wiggled Kohana her eyebrows and her blushing friend.
"I think it's too far to say that Kakashi-Kun likes me this way.", mubles Rin. "But I have a feeling we are forming a good friendship with each other and this makes me really happy."
Kohana smiled at Rin's response. She was happy for her friend and glad that she was forming a good friendship with Kakashi.
The two of them seemed to have a lot in common, especially when it came to their love of reading.
"I'm glad you have someone else besides me to talk about books with."
Rin nodded, "Yeah, it's nice to have someone who shares my interests."
The two girls continued their conversation, talking about everything and anything that came to mind.
They laughed and joked around, enjoying each other's company.
As the night wore on, they eventually drifted off to sleep with smiles on their faces.
The green-haired girl felt grateful for this moment of peace and happiness, knowing that she would need these memories to hold onto during the tough times ahead.
But for now, she was content just being a girl having fun with her best friend.
!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
This a short chapter, but we will dive into the Chuunin Exams in the next ones, I can't wait to write for them :D
Also, not Naruto-related, but have you played Life is Strange?
If so, did you sacrifice Chloe or sacrificed Arcadia Bay?
I'm course if you have done the same as me and why you choose this. ^^
Until next time!