I yawned. "Daddy?"
In the wagon, my dad handed me a cup of juice. "Shh, people are still sleeping. They took the night shift."
I saw my relatives snoozing. Everyone else was gone.
"We're almost there," my dad said.
I looked at Itachi, who was asleep.
My dad frowned. "Oh, he stayed up very late. If he were my son, I'd ground him. Every kid his age needs ten hours of sleep."
"Where's the princess?" I asked.
"She left sometime around midnight, sweetie."
I nodded and took a sip of orange juice. The zesty flavor was refreshing.
Shisui appeared in the wagon, and Itachi woke up quickly after. In the next hour, we had breakfast, washed our faces, combed our hair, and changed into fresh clothes. Shisui and I held competitions. I won the sock changing contest, though Shisui got me in hair combing and ear cleaning.
Shisui and I did a spitting contest too. I wiped the toothpaste from my mouth, then looked overboard to see his spit was further in the dirt than mine. He must have cheated, because I beat Gin ten to one in spit balls at school. Still, Shisui claimed the title as king of spit.
Shisui swatted on an ox, scanning the horizons for landmarks. There were trees and pastures. He squinted. "Oh man, that's the Katsura!"
At the news, my dad and I leaned over to see. I only saw forest at first. Then, something glittering caught my eye. As the wagon moved, I saw a river unwind in the distance.
"Wow, that is beautiful!" my dad said.
Our relatives also stood up. Itachi leaned next to me. "We're almost there," he said.
Shisui rubbed his hands together. "You know what that means?"
"Nature at its best!" my dad exclaimed.
"No more road sickness!" I jumped for joy.
"Home," Itachi said.
"Fishing!" my relatives cheered, toasting their morning tea.
"No, no, no. It means, AUNT MIKOTO'S AMAZING COOKIES THATTAWAY!"
For once, Shisui lived up to his name as the uncatchable ninja. He was outta here. There was even a cloud of dust behind him.
I exchanged a look with Itachi. We climbed out and ran after our cousin.
"Bye dad! Bye uncles! Bye cows!" I said, waving.
Shisui's dust path led across the fields and into the forest. I turned to Itachi. "Where's he going?"
"Shortcut. Go through the woods and beyond is the bridge. The road itself has to go around."
"Sweet!"
I loved the run. Sun was perfect. Grass was perfect. Laughing, I spun around and began running backwards. "Come on, faster!" I called to Itachi. "He's way ahead of us!"
Itachi shook his head, smiling. He disappeared in a wisp of grass. The moment he vanished, I was pulled off my feet in free fall. My world tilted, what was behind was now up, what was ahead was now down. The wind was deafening.
Then, everything became quiet again. My foot found the ground. We were in front of the forest, gaining at least five hundred meters.
"You and your ninja tricks." I pouted. "Any chance you going to teach me that?"
"Why should I?" he teased.
"You're just afraid that if I learn it, I'd beat you in any chase!" I set off again, leaping over the fallen log. I felt the crunch of leaves under my feet.
Itachi dropped from a branch and landed in front of me, causing me to bump into him. "Ayae, why don't we have a race."
Rubbing my nose, I asked, "Race? Us?"
"Yes."
I grinned. So Itachi finally felt like joining our morning contests.
"Bring it on!"
"The bridge is north of here. You cannot miss it. Let's see who get there first."
"Okay! But you can't use anything ninja." I tapped my chin and added, "Oh, and I get a three minute head start."
I was a good runner, but I was not stupid! I knew what Itachi could do.
Itachi nodded and unblocked my path. "That's fine."
"Ha, you asked for it!" I darted off.
"Don't fall."
"Eat my dirt!"
I went out, each twig, leaf, and fern blurring by.
Soon, I saw the Katsura river in the distance. Itachi was nowhere to be seen.
The problem was that I was out of breath, gasping and flushed. I leaned against a tree and tried to catch my breath. I gave myself twenty seconds most, before setting out again. The bridge could not be more than a few more minutes ahead.
However, as soon as I took a step, something whooshed by my ear. It was not until I heard the crack, splintering, and vibration that I froze.
From nowhere, an arrow shot out. I leaped away, trying to find where it came from. When I saw nothing in the trees, I checked the ground for trip wires.
My mind went to Itachi. It was strange that I had not heard him yet. Maybe he did this. I bet he planted booby traps so he could sweep in and be all Mr. Hero! I scowled. Well, I was up to his trick. He would not find me crying in the woods.
There was a shuffling up in the tree leaves. I glared in that direction before heading toward the Katsura.
As I thought, the forest was booby trapped. There were wires everywhere, crisscrossing like a widow's web. While I skipped over some, others got me almost every time.
The worst were the holes. There were giant holes in the ground that were covered up by needles and leaves. When I had learned about pit traps in class, I had laughed about how stupid they were. I was not laughing now.
After getting covered head to toe in leaves, groundwater, and moss for the ninth time, I crawled out with the slowness of zombie but the fury of a wolf.
"OH, YOU ARE SO GOING TO GET IT, ITACHI!" I was so, so mad, tearing out all the leaves, pines, and twigs in my hair.
Then, to send me falling back into the hole I just climbed out of, Itachi appeared in front of my face. He stared at me so intensely that I jumped out of my skin.
But as I tumbled down, I caught the flow of long hair. Wait. Itachi's hair was tied. And that was not his face. In fact, was that not a girl…?
Crash.
I groaned.
After getting out of the hole again, I looked around the forest. "Itachi?" I got no reply. Maybe it was my imagination. I did fall on my head.
At the Katsura, I collapsed at the foot of the bridge in front of Itachi's feet.
"That took you longer than I expected."
"You... you CHEATER!" I sprung back to life, pressing my face against his. "That was not funny!"
Itachi dared pretend he had no idea what I was talking about. "Ayae, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!" I yelled, yanking out another twig buried under my shirt. "I don't remember booby trapping the forest as part of our bet!"
"Please clarify?"
"Clarify? Clarify? Okay, I'll clarify!" I shook him. "YOU ARE A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PERSON!" Pushing him away, I wailed, "Ten times! You're worse than Funeno!"
I nailed him with a twig and defiantly sat at the foot of the bridge.
"Ayae—"
"Don't Ayae me!"
"Will you—"
"No."
"I—"
"Are a meanie, you bet."
"Please—"
"Get up, nope."
"Are you—?"
"Going to sit here until you apologize, yes."
I turned a cheek until I heard an apology.
Silence.
I peeked open an eye and noticed Itachi had his gaze fixed on a spot in the woods.
Itachi offered his hand again. "Forgive me, Ayae. This race will not count."
I took his hand. "You bet this won't count!" I said, patting the dirt off my pants.
I vented while he walked with me toward the bridge. He walked by my side yet always a step behind, following like a shadow.
"Ayae, there is less than a mile from here to Miyako, and the inn is only half, so if you are tired…"
I stopped and turned around, bumping into him. I had not realized he was so close. Neither did Itachi. He quickly took a step back.
"Tired? Me? Ha, that was nothing. You think you got me, don't you? Well, you know what, we're racing again." My lungs asked my mouth to stop talking, but my pride had taken over.
"I don't—"
"It's because you're scared that I'd beat you if it was on the road and not in that stupid little forest. No, we redoing our race. First one to the inn wins!"
"Ayae—"
I was already across the bridge, my own dust cloud trailing after me. Itachi looked at the forest again then followed me.
After I crossed the imaginary finish line, I fell flat on my face. I hugged the road in front of a hot springs inn, where dozens of my relatives were collected, unpacking scroll after scroll.
"Take… that…" Dirt made a comfy bed. My sweat made a puddle in the ground.
"You win," Itachi said.
"You got… that right. YEAH!" I gave the sky a shout, signing off my victory with a fist in the air.
When Itachi tried to help me up, I pulled him down with me instead. Taken by surprise, he crashed down. I took the opportunity to pounce on him. "You're never going catch me, Itachi!" Grinning, I poked him and leaped off. "TAG! You're IT."
For once, he was the one who did not understand. By the time he recovered, I was already gone, running toward the inn. I waved back, sticking out my tongue.
His expression changed.
"Eep!" I squeaked when he gained on me.
I set forward at full speed, accidentally bumping into an adult now and then. I looked back to see how he evaded them all, his footsteps tracing down my path.
And then, when I was within his reach, a dance happened, one I had never practiced for before. My feet acted on its own, twisting my body away. Without pause, he completed my movements in symmetry. Like how leaves whirl in the air, like how the moon pushes and pulls on the water, like how fire bends to the wind, there was a force that bound and pushed us at the same time. And when we touched, I snapped shut my eyes.
"Tag."
The leaves settled on the ground. I gave a silly grin.
Unfortunately, that was also when the heat finally caught up to me. Before I knew it, the earth was above, the clouds below.
"Ayae!"
I fell.
.
"… she just fainted. From running. In a race. With you?"
"No need to abuse emphasis."
"I have every right to abuse emphasis! What- How- Look! Just look this! You're both a mess. Oh boy, I don't even wanna know what would happen when she sees this."
"Shisui…"
"She'll unleash her satanic powers, that's what! You've got to be breaking at least twenty different clan rules right now!"
The sun beamed down my neck. I grumbled and flipped to my side, preferring the crunch of the damp grass.
"Great, the squirt's coming around," Shisui said. "Well, I might as well get ready for war."
A gust of wind later, the world fell into peace. The leaves were rustling. Birds chirped feverishly, and little paws clattered against the roof tiles.
I cracked open an eye and stared at the blurry strands of grass. Yawning, I stretched and sat upright. I looked around. I was in a garden, fenced in by traditional buildings.
A breeze came, and something landed on my nose, hair, and shoulders. I stared in awe at the cloud of pink.
In Konoha, I had seen many trees blossom, but none were as beautiful. The petals were the color of peaches and smelled sweet. I thought of crowded marketplaces, baskets of strawberries and oranges, bouquets of fuchsia and roses tossed into the air like confetti. Giggling, I reached my hand out into the sky and tried to pluck petals out of the air.
"You're awake."
I noticed Itachi and hugged him.
Only to jump back like a cat but land clumsier than a chicken. A bee was zigzagging towards me. Itachi smiled when the bee buzzed back and forth past him. Then, the bee flew back to me.
I craned my neck away. I wanted it to leave us alone.
But the bee landed on a wildflower between us. It rested comfortably, defiantly sticking its stinger at me.
"Uhh… um." I pointed to the little beast and asked Itachi to make it go away.
Itachi raised an eyebrow to ask if I was serious. I nodded feverishly.
His hand swept in, the bee taken off the petal.
"Better?" He opened his palm and let the bee fly away.
"No way! How did it not sting you?" I asked.
"I never touched it." He opened his palm out for me as proof.
"I saw you grab it!"
"I redirected its path of movement," he said. "There will be more. Do you want to go inside?"
I was about to say yes. But then, the wind blew, and a flurry of cherry blossoms rained on us.
Itachi noticed I was looking at the flowers. "Or we can stay outside. The sakura is almost in full bloom."
We were below a cloud of pink. I lied on the grass, reaching for the petals. Before I knew it, we were covered in a blanket of petals.
Without warning, the flowers in the air split in half. The earth cracked.
I yelped. Itachi jumped to his feet. An arrow jutted out from where he was sitting. Someone was on the roof with a bow, the tip of another arrow pointed at us.
The person released the arrow.
Itachi grabbed my wrist, flickering us across the garden.
Itachi helped us dodge the next wave of arrows. He held onto my wrist. I held onto his. And just like that, we were linked, his reflexes and intuition becoming my own. He pulled me out of the way, pushed me back, made me stop or break into a run. The bow vibrated like a violin, and we were dancing to it.
It was exhilarating. I could stare at the point of each arrow in the eye and know where to move. It was like I could skip between raindrops. And when the rain stopped, the stranger stood up, aiming one last arrow at us. A flame burned at the tip.
Itachi made hand signs just as the flame landed by our feet. Gravity lifted. The ground beneath my feet scattered, and my stomach underwent cartwheels. Everything blurred. Time snapped.
There was a deafening chain of explosions. I closed my eyes in the bright light, tossed in confusion. There was a ringing in my head. Heat slammed against my back.
I would have toppled over had Itachi not caught me and pulled me against the bark of the cherry blossom tree.
"Ita-"
His hand went over my mouth.
Before long, my eyes swelled with tears. My lungs burned, the debris in the air choking me.
Itachi kept a firm grip. His hand slid down to my jaw and pressed against the side of my throat. When I was better, Itachi looked at me, relieved. He let go. I surprised him when I snatched his hand back and laced our hands together again.
In the smoke, we slid down and hid at the base of the tree.
I looked at the garden. Everything was destroyed. The bushes burned. Fire crackled amongst the rows of azaleas and orchids. Ashes fell instead of petals. The air tasted bitter instead of sweet, and explosion powder hung like a drowsy fog.
The birds flew away. The squirrels left their homes. Even the bees were nowhere to be found. We were left in the middle of a battlefield.
I heard the fluttering of cloth. Footsteps landed in the garden with us.
My breath hitched when the stranger stepped closer. Fire shot out at the sakura tree, the flames grazing past my cheek. The world was bright red and blue.
"Itachi, you know hiding is futile," she said from the other side of the tree. I noticed a curved blade looming above us.
The blade swept down, leaving a deep cut in the tree.
We were gone.
We ran through gardens and cobblestone roads, the hot springs and teahouse. We passed a dojo, crossed a bridge, and made a turn for the inn.
Itachi slid open the shoji backdoor, swung me inside, and closed it behind us. I tumbled. We were in a big room with glossed floorboards, bamboo sitting mats, and wall calligraphy. There was a strong smell of pine.
Itachi slid open a second door that led us into a hallway. Two women, both clutching piles of towels, were startled to see us. But they recognized Itachi and stepped aside.
Doors went by. We zigzagged in a confusing maze of room after room, hallway after hallway. Finally, Itachi led me inside a bedroom.
The bedroom was traditional like the rest of the inn. The screens were made of rice paper, and lanterns hung for light. The floors were bamboo, and in the center was a futon.
"Okay Itachi… you are going… to tell me… who she was… where I am… and mostly importantly, what you are hiding from me!" I gasped, falling into the futon, nevermind that my shoes were still on.
"Is there an order of preference that you would like those answered?" Itachi asked.
"Actually, yes." I said. "Who was she?"
"What makes you assume I know who she is?"
I was not in the mood. "She said your name."
"Many people know my name."
"In Konoha, maybe. But we aren't in Konoha," I said.
"Konoha is one of the strongest shinobi villages. The Uchiha clan is considered one of the strongest clans within that village. My father has one of the most respectable reputations within that clan. I already have the acknowledgments of thousands of people the day I was born as his son, and after the Exam, I might as well have written my name in the book of every high ranking shinobi. Words can travel as fast as the wind that carries it."
"The wind doesn't explain why the person tried to make cheese out of us!" I said, pulling my hair.
"Sins of the father are sins of the son. Likewise, vengeance can be hereditary."
My eye twitched. Those were some big words there.
"So you don't know who she is?"
Itachi smiled. "I never said that."
"…"
I grabbed the pillow and gave it a good stretch.
"…"
I lifted it.
"…"
I slammed it down on him. He dodged. I sprinted up and whacked the pillow over and over. Feathers blinded the room.
"ITACHI, NOT FUNNY! TELL ME WHO SHE IS!"
Chuckling, he caught my pillow and lowered it.
"Typically, she is addressed as Lady Tomoe. She is the heiress of this inn," he said.
"How do you know her?"
"This inn is akin to a secondary home for our clan. I have visited here many times in my childhood, on clan retreats and in between missions."
"Wait, wait, she's a family friend? And not a rogue ninja, but some innkeeper?"
"It is not wise to be rash in your conclusions. Although you got a wrong impression, Lady Tomoe is well respected here."
My brows knitted together. "I thought innkeepers welcomed their guests with food and drinks, not arrows and fire."
"Those were not targeted at you. It was my fault for bringing you to my troubles. We have some… unresolved conflicts. But Ayae, it would be difficult for both of us if you upset her, and I ask for your politeness in her presence."
"No! She could have hurt you. I won't be nice to a person like that!"
"You do not have to be nice, only respectful. A respect you would give to any senior."
He could not be serious. "Why? Shisui's older too, but we never had to act differently around him," I said, digging my fingers into the pillow.
Itachi clutched the pillow tighter too. "Shisui is different. He finds the social norms trivial. But not everyone shares his level of tolerance. We are not in Konoha, Ayae. Here, tradition is ingrained in every thought. As of now, Lady Tomoe is our host, and we are her guests. She holds power over us in both rank and age, and she expects us to acknowledge such."
I felt mad. It was too unfair.
Itachi looked at me harder.
I let go of the pillow and sighed. It was days like these that I missed Gin, who would help me plot ways to get revenge, land us in a giant mess, and make me think why I did not just listen to Itachi.
"Fine, I'll be nice."
Itachi dropped the pillow back on the futon.
"Wait." My questions were not over. "Why is an innkeeper doing archery and jutsus like a ninja?"
"To exterminate unwanted pests, defend from intruders, and make sure this district is functioning perfectly." Someone stood by the door of the room. "Any further questions?"
I was met with a piercing gaze.
I took a step back. The innkeeper was as beautiful as she was scary. She looked aristocratic, with ebony hair and a satin kimono shirt. But her face looked made for battle, sharp and emotionless. My eyes fell to her blood red hakama and the naginata on her back.
"Uh- u-um," I stammered.
"No," Itachi said.
The innkeeper lowered her eyelids. "Pardon, are you her husband, Itachi? If not, then you do not answer in her stead." Her eyes went back to me. "Well? Do you have any further questions?"
I gulped. "No."
The innkeeper was done with me. She turned to Itachi.
"Your genjutsu has gotten disgustingly sloppy," she said. "Two years of training with your father, serving as the Hokage's dog, and you've grown weak, squandering away your time with a girl."
Itachi took her insults. I could not. "Hey!" I snapped. "Who do you think you—!"
Itachi raised an arm to stop me from getting closer. At the same time, a naginata hung in the air, ready to chop off his arm.
"I see you learned your father's nasty habits though. Unlike that pathetic district in Konoha, the Miyako district is matriarchal. You will do nothing to restrain the girl's speech." Her lips curled up, as she waited for what Itachi would do.
Itachi lowered his arm. The innkeeper flipped her naginata and stowed it away.
"Pardon him. You were saying?" she asked me.
I glanced back and forth between the two. What was it that Itachi said? Nice? Respect? I guess I could pretend she was a wrinkly old man. My dad always taught me to respect old people.
"I meant to ask... your name," I said.
"It is customary to introduce oneself first."
I winced. "My name is Uchiha Ayae." I followed with a stiff bow.
"Uchiha Tomoe," she said, "granddaughter of Uchiha Yoshitomo, heiress of the Miyako district, and hostess of this inn. I like to establish this fact to my servants before they get ideas that I am a spokesperson for my father, who, I would shamelessly say, is dead."
I was in shock. She was my cousin?
"What do you mean, to my servants?" Itachi asked, cautious.
Tomoe grinned. "Fifty-one guests, ten days. What would have been seven point four million ryou, I have reduced to zero, because we of one clan. However, Uchiha Kenta, and his daughter, Uchiha Ayae, are housed here under special circumstances. Only because Lady Mikoto requested their presence did I allow for their stay. But unless they hand me seven thousand ryou per day, I'm afraid they will have to work for their room and board."
Work?
Itachi lost his calm, pulling me behind him. "What are you playing at, Tomoe," he said. "Ayae and her father are part of the Uchiha."
"Lady Tomoe," she reminded. "And you will never be allowed to feign ignorance, Itachi. Anyone can carry the Uchiha name. The defected, the disgraced, the banned. Our ancestry is full of them, but I have researched already into little Ayae's. You may carry the purest Uchiha blood, but she has barely a drop."
"Nonsense. Her great-grandfather was Uchiha Wataru," Itachi said, fists clenched. He wanted the topic dropped.
She took no threats from him. "Of course," she said. "Married to Uchiha Rumi, and eventual father of Uchiha Hisoka. Yet, Hisoka never had a son. But you already know that. Because you've studied our clan inside and out. Because you've analyzed and reanalyzed our heritage tree countless times. Because you are Uchiha Mikoto's son, and you've acquired information the men of our clan would never glance at."
"Enough," Itachi said, unable to hold his gaze.
I stared at him, wondering what was going on.
Tomoe tilted her head, her hair flowing down. "She doesn't know, does she?" she asked him. When Itachi was silent, she looked at him with a cruel gleam in her eyes.
She turned to me. "One can always benefit from a little history," she said. "Hisoka married Okawa Nagataka, shaming the Uchiha name. They accepted their exile from Fire. Wataru then hoped to redeem himself by giving his illegitimate son, Botan, the Uchiha name. Despite having the mother of a commoner, Botan was quite the scholar, and Wataru hoped he would save his face. Unfortunately for him, Uchiha Botan fell in love with a poor goze from the Fire Capital and happily took his leave from Konoha."
"Botan? Oh! Grandpa Bobo!" I snapped my fingers. I remembered once seeing a photograph of my grandpa in my dad's album. He was a jolly man with a warm smile on his face, a big round belly, and a string of beads around his neck. Next to him was a pretty woman, though old, with light eyes and a beautifully crafted shamisen on her lap. I always thought she had green eyes for some reason, even though the photo had no color.
"Wait, grandpa Bobo, a scholar?" I asked, excited by the new information. "But dad told me that grandpa was just a poet, and grandma was his muse." It was one of my dad's 'How I picked up your hot mom' stories. My dad had convinced my mom to go on a date with him if he would show her some of grandpa's unpublished works. Mom had been a fan.
When I looked up, I bit my lips. Something told me I should not have said anything.
Tomoe looked pleased. Itachi could not look at either of us.
"Yes, Uchiha Botan is your grandfather, Uchiha Kenta is your father, and you, Uchiha Ayae, are a girl who returned to Konoha bearing only a title. But the clan assumed you are a descendant of Hisoka, who married into a prestigious shinobi clan outside of Konoha. It was the women of this family who rewrote the lineage to grant Hisoka his peaceful life, it was the women of this family who carried the true history to their daughters, and it is the women today who allowed you and your father to reside in the Konoha district. Your grandfather gave your father the last connections to our clan, and learning your family was in need, we lied. The men believe you are Uchiha by blood, and Lady Mikoto wanted it that way. The rest of the women will respect her wishes."
"Aunt Mikoto? What, why?" I asked, confused. It was as if a billion secrets was whispered into my ear at once, and I was still too shocked over one to even hear the rest.
"She wanted a girl who was young, carefree, and innocent. She wanted a daughter."
"Tomoe, that is enough."
I jumped. Itachi was still. His hands were balled so tight, he could draw blood. His eyes were red and spinning.
Tomoe's grin spread like ivy vines. Then, she was a hair away, her naginata curved around his neck.
"Please Itachi, Lady Tomoe," she said. "Why so upset? Scared that I would divulge such information to the rest of the clan? Or scared that the girl would not ask, 'Aunt Mikoto, why?' but 'Itachi, why?' Why didn't Itachi, the perfect little darling, ever say anything to his father, knowing full well she was brought into the clan to—"
A kunai slashed through the air. Tomoe spun away. She flipped her hair back, each strand flowing down like silk. She walked back toward the screen door.
"No fighting indoors," she said. "You must be inheriting your father's awful temper. Control it quickly, or else it will be too easy to make a fool out of you."
Itachi said nothing, his eyes back to normal, his hand still clutching the kunai.
I watched him with worry until Tomoe drew me back to her. "As for you, little Ayae, you will be given full privileges of any guest, as long as you earn your keep. Begin by cleaning up this room you so kindly ruined. Then the hallways. The maids labored to keep them spotless, and you spoiled all their efforts. I expect not a single grain of dirt by morning."
My eyes went wide. Okay, my dad did not have thousands of ryou. Okay, I agreed that we had to earn our keep. Okay, this was the lousiest vacation ever, but leave it to my clan to plan wonderful ones. And okay, I could work but…
I crossed how many hallways?
"Oh, and Itachi, I am sure Uncle Fugaku would be delighted to find his son scrubbing floors. For the sake of both of you, don't assist her. Now excuse me, I have a match to watch. Please enjoy your stay at Miyako."
With a smile, she closed the door behind her.
I turned to Itachi. "Okay, look—"
"I will fix this," Itachi said, making his way to the door.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I am going to make a plea to my mother. You will be treated well during your stay."
"Itachi, it's—"
"Not fine." He shied away from me and slipped past.
As he walked away, I noticed a red scrape of a naginata blade on his face.
"Wait, Itachi—!"
The door closed.
"—you're bleeding," I said, alone.
I exploded. I planted on futon and screamed into the pillow. I could not even spend half a day with Itachi before some evil innkeeper ruined everything!
I looked around the feathered room. On the wall was a scroll.
Determination, discipline, discretion, discernment, dignity.
A feather landed on me. I turned it between my fingers, frowning.
No, not everything was ruined. After two years, Itachi and I were talking again. We were almost like friends again. And if a bit of work was all that stood between us, then that was not so bad.
I grabbed the pillow. I picked up the feathers one by one.
Determination, discipline, discretion, discernment, dignity.
The five paths of a true kunoichi.
.
I rolled up the sleeves of my uniform, a yellow shirt with dark pants, and knotted the bandana on my head. Grinning, I spun before the mirror. I was proud to work. Work was something adults did.
Cleaning up every feather was a pain, but I got it done. Wiping floors could not be much worse.
I opened the closet door and saw an army of maids. I slammed the door close. Or maybe not.
I stared into the mirror and slapped myself.
"Ow!"
I slapped myself again until the stranger in the mirror was gone. Patting my cheeks, I straightened up. I was not that coward.
The closet door opened again, but not by me. I whipped around to see a girl towering over me. She had hair curled up in a messy bun and auburn eyes that burned holes. Her uniform was the same as mine, but with her bandana tilted at an angle to match her skewed bangs.
"There you are," she growled, her voice in a thick accent. She yanked me out of the closet.
"Hey—"
Dragging me, she marched across the outside halls. In the gardens were women dressed in spring kimonos, paper parasols in hand. I realized they were my aunts, who disappeared from the district around the same time Aunt Mikoto did.
The girl pulled me away from view into a different hallway. She shoved me in front of a giant wooden bucket. A wet cloth slapped on my face.
"Name's Otoha. The ma'am sent me to supervise your work, and if you play hide 'n seek with me again, I'm gunna dunk your head in the water barrels."
I gulped. For someone with such a pretty name, this Otoha person was sure mean.
"We'll practice here till you get it right."
"Okay..."
Clueless, I looked at her, then at the bucket. The water inside was brown. I dabbed the end of the cloth in the water, staining a corner.
"Hurry up."
Cringing, I dunked the cloth into the bucket and sunk my hands into the icky water. I pulled out the dripping cloth. How did this make the floors cleaner and not dirtier?
I was about to drop the cloth and scrub when my supervisor growled. "What are you doing?"
"Um, well, I was err—"
My supervisor took the cloth from me. She twisted it above the bucket, and then tossed it back at me. "It's too wet," she said. "That much water'll soak into the wood."
"Oh."
I pretended to understand and dragged the cloth along the floor. I tried my best. When my supervisor scoffed, I turned around and asked, "Am I doing something wrong?"
My supervisor took the cloth.
"Pay attention. I'm only demonstrating once."
She sprinted down the hallway, both hands dragging the cloth across the floor. Once she was the end of the hall, she twisted her body into the air. Her feet pushed off the wall back in my direction. Whipping past me, she let her feet leave the floor again, sliding forward with the cloth under her hands. She somersaulted back on her toes.
The towel was left to hang by the rim of the bucket.
She gave me a bored look. "Well, what you still dally for. Go."
Once I got over my shock, I grinned. That was pretty cool!
Taking a cloth, I soaked it, wrung it twice, and charged forward. When I reached the end of the hall, I looked back. That was not so bad.
My smile went away when my supervisor scowled. She nodded toward the trail she made. Hers was straight and gleaming. Mine looked sloppy, zigzagged and broken.
"Again."
When I walked back, I noticed a nice smell through the hall. I brought my hands for a sniff and realized it was tea, mixed with crushed pine leaves. The water was not dirty, after all.
"Yes, stupid head, that's tea. It removes dirt and improves the condition of the wood, but only if done right. Now, go straight this time."
"I have a name, you know," I said.
She sneered. "Go straight, and maybe I'll consider."
I huffed. I dunked the cloth, wrung it, and redid my lap but slower.
When I reached the wall, I looked back at my work. Still crooked. On my next try, I went even slower. I used the wood panels to guide me. By my fifth try, I jumped in excitement. My trail was a line!
"Took you long enough, stupid head."
"Hey—!"
"Now, Ayae, put more force into it. You're barely grazing the cloth over the floor."
"How did you know—"
"Go."
Pouting, I did and pushed the cloth harder into the floor.
"Again."
I did.
"Again."
Gritting my teeth, I did.
"Again."
I dug the towel hard into the floor. I was skewing at an angle again.
My supervisor scoffed. She was sitting against the wall, one knee propped up. She had a book in hand.
"You're not even looking!"
"I can tell by hearing, stupid head."
"Then what do you hear that's wrong?" I snapped.
"Figure it out. Again."
Glaring, I tightened my grip. I did the same lap fifty times until I was out of breath, red in the face, and frustrated. I went over the same floorboards enough times to have scrubbed off the top layer of wood. And yet, my supervisor did not change in her instructions.
"Again." She did not even glance up from her book.
"It's clean!" I could barely stand, on the brink of falling flat on my face. I could even hear the rush of blood at my ears.
The exercise was not like a run. Running back and forth was fine. But using muscles on top burned me like a fuse.
"Until you get it right, it's not," she said, flipping a page. "Clean, by the ma'am's standards, means not a speck of dirt."
"Find one!" I said.
A grain of sand hit my forehead. "Fifty runs and I can still find this. Pathetic."
"That's just one!" I said. Before I could say more, she flicked another grain.
"That's two out of the millions. Now work."
Miserable, I threw the cloth on the ground and readied to do another lap when I froze up. Wincing, I touched my shoulder. It was cramping and burning. Soon, the rest of my body was the same.
My supervisor just sneered behind her book. "So your body's smarter than you."
"W-what?"
"Pain's the best mentor. Again."
Biting my lips, I tried to begin another lap when a shock crawled up my spine. My world was spiraling and blurring, the smell of pine muddling my senses.
I felt more than tired. I felt sick. I could not catch my breath, and my chest never hurt so bad I wanted to throw up.
"Stop slacking."
I squeezed shut my eyes. I made myself move, but when I lifted a hand, my body hurt more.
My hands left the towel. I sat on my legs, slouched. "I want a break."
A pause.
The pages stopped flipping. My supervisor looked at me.
"What did you say?"
I swallowed. "I don't feel so good. Can I get a break, please?" I had been doing this nonstop for hours.
My supervisor closed her book and tapped it against her palm several times, as if thinking it over. I grew hopeful.
"Sure little Ayae can have her break," she said slowly, as if she was talking to a baby, "after she cleans the eighteen halls she dirtied." She threw a clean cloth on my face. "Now work."
When the cloth hit my face, I got so mad. This person was just as bad as the innkeeper! I listened, I did everything I was told, and now, I was hurt. And I could not ask for a break?
"No," I said. "I want a break."
My supervisor was not amused.
"One thing I'll never understand," she said, getting up, "is why the ma'am even bothered with you."
"What are you—"
Before I could finish, she yanked me up by my shirt.
"Listen, and listen good," she said, gritting through her teeth. "You are currently in the house of Lady Tomoe, and you will follow her rules. That means no so-called breaks, no slacking, no talking back, and absolutely no pathetic little whining."
Without thinking, I kicked.
My supervisor backed away.
I had enough. I could not handle this girl, this work, and this cold and mean place.
Out of spite, I grabbed the rim of the wooden bucket. To her shock, I toppled the giant bucket over. Water crashed out, waves flooding the hallway. My supervisor braced herself as the murky water drenched her from head to toe. I hoped her book would crumple and soak.
I clutched the empty bucket, feeling the ripples at my toes.
My supervisor stomped toward me, her feet splashing in a film of water. "YOU MORON—"
I smacked the bucket down on her. There was a heavy thud, and I felt vibrations up my arm.
"I. Am. NOT. STUPID!" I screamed, throwing the bucket.
"I AM A KID WHO'S BEEN DOING WORK WHILE YOU LAZE AROUND."
"I AM A KID WHO'S HURT BUT YOU KEEP YELLING AND YELLING AND YELLING AND YOU JUST WON'T STOP."
I fell down onto the flooded hallway, sobbing. "I want to go home. I won't come back even if you made me. I want to leave."
The wooden bucket rolled on the floor.
My supervisor held her bruised forehead. Her bandana had fallen off, and her hair was dripping with tea. Her uniform clung to her body like glue. She was soaked and steaming.
"You useless piece of shit." She was half way up, when a hand landed on her shoulder and pushed her back down.
My supervisor held back a scream.
To my horror, her shoulder was scorched, her uniform burning at ends. Her skin was red, with spots of bright white.
"You're right, Otoha. You are more useless to me than I thought."
"M-ma'am! I apolo-"
"Enough," Tomoe said. She looked at the flooded halls. "I could have ignored the racket in this hallway, but I'm glad I did not. Who did this."
My breath hitched when her eyes landed on me. I leaned back, ready run away. But there was a wall behind me.
Tomoe stepped toward me, without a single ripple in the water. In fact, the water parted, as if scared of touching her.
"I do not repeat myself," she said, dangerous.
"I-I did," I whispered. "I-I-I'm sor-"
"I have no want of apologies or excuses."
I cringed.
Otoha gritted her teeth. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her name got called. She looked up in time to catch Tomoe's naginata.
"This is a mess," Tomoe said, tying her hair in a ribbon. "Of course, both of you will clean it up and pay for the repairs, but for now, little Ayae will face her punishment."
Otoha nearly dropped the naginata, her eyes widening. She stood up, clutching her arm. "Ma'am wait. Ayae was my responsibility, let me—"
Tomoe did not spare her a glance. "No."
When Tomoe came closer to me, I trembled. I tried to run away but felt a grab of my arm. The next thing I knew, I was flipped in the air and thrust back down.
I squeezed shut my eyes.
My back made impact, but not with wood.
A film of water hovered above the floorboards, knitting together to cushion my fall. But the force was too strong. The water took only so much stress before I broke through and slammed into the floor. I cried out, both my body and voice shaking.
When I dared open my eyes, water was swirling around me, guarding me like a protective animal.
"I thought I left you for dead," Tomoe said, glancing back.
"Get away from her."
"Hm, I don't recall you having the authority to command me to do anything."
"How ill-mannered," she mused, looking at the gaping hole in her palm. Her body disappeared. The naginata in Otoha's hands disappeared as well.
The spikes of water lost shape and crashed down. At the same time, a wooden disk fell and clattered on the floor.
Speechless, I turned to see Itachi breathing heavily at the end of the hall. His hands left the seal and dropped by his side.
He limped toward me. It looked like he escaped a battlefield.
"I-Itachi? W-what—" Without thinking, I tried to get up but fell back down.
"Ayae, what happened to you?" Itachi asked, giving me a hand to support me up.
"What happened to me?" I said, shaking. "What happened to you?" I lifted his arm and saw the burns. They were worse than Otoha's, enough to make me nauseous. I touched something sticky and turned his hand. "You're bleeding!"
Itachi pulled away.
"You need a doctor," I said, trying to get up again. "You're losing blood."
I fell back down again.
I jolted when I felt something cool going through me. Itachi held me in place.
"Don't move. I'm transferring some of my chakra to you."
Everything blurred again. But then, the pain dimmed. A soothing feeling spread to my hands and my toes. When the feeling reached my head, I felt splashed awake.
I got to work. Before Itachi could say anything, I snatched his wounded hand and began wrapping my bandana around it. After knotting, I saw the blood was not leaking through the cloth. Hopefully, that meant I did it right.
Itachi examined his hand. "You've grown."
"More like the opposite," I said, ashamed. I looked down at the water soaking into the floor, then at the toppled bucket. Guiltily, I watched Otoha treat her own wounds.
I stared at the wooden disk in the place of Tomoe. It was a candleholder. "You've gotten strong though," I said.
Itachi looked at the candleholder too. Then he closed his eyes. "The opposite indeed."
We helped each other up. There was something wrong with Itachi's leg, but he would not let me see it. I had to get help.
We passed Otoha. I paused.
"The ma'am ain't gone," she said. "We will pay for this, one way or another."
"I'm sor—"
"Don't wanna hear it."
I quieted.
"You should come with us," Itachi said. "You're suffering from Lady Tomoe's fire palm technique. You should get it treated before the burn spreads."
Her eyes flickered to the burns across his body. "Personal experience? I'm afraid I'll have to decline, Master Itachi," she said. "You know the rules."
"Are you Ayae's supervisor?"
"Aye."
"Then wouldn't it be against orders to leave your subordinate alone?" Itachi said.
Otoha cursed. She picked up her lost bandana and gave it a good squeeze. "Fine."
When we reached the end of the hall, Itachi made a few hand signs. The water began to stir. But then, I felt him faltering. I held him tighter so he would not fall. The water went flat.
"Don't bother. You gave the last of your chakra to her," Otoha said. She added "idiot" under her breath.
So all three of us were surprised when the water sprung to life, whizzing through the air like a whip. It cartwheeled a few times before plopping back in the bucket.
Down the hall, a tin can came charging toward us with a giant sword.
"WHERE BE THE DEVIL? Shisui the Great is here!"
For dramatic effect, Shisui heroically swung his sword. Had we not been indoors, I would have heard a crow fly above us. After a long silence, Shisui lifted his helmet and blinked. "What's wrong with you guys?"
"Fight."
"Work."
"Supervision."
Then, we walked away. But not before Itachi slammed the helmet back down on Shisui's head, I knocked on said helmet, and Otoha lifted the helmet, gave his face a slap, and slammed it back down.
"Ow, OW, and what did I do to deserve the last one?" Shisui asked.
"Just orders," Otoha said.
With that, we trudged on, the tin can rushing to catch up.
