Reckoning Arc: Gold Coins to a Cat

Shiganina taught her for exactly two weeks just as she said, then vanished without so much as a goodbye. Yuina wasn't exactly expecting one, but she also hadn't expected her to drop off the face of the planet with literally no trace left. The whole time, Yuina learned nothing about her.

Yuina even did some sleuthing and found nothing. Not who asked her to teach. Not where she lived. Not anything about any friends or family, if she even had any. Not a thing about her.

Yuina had a bad feeling. She didn't think something happened to Shiganina. She had a bad feeling that something she didn't like was going on behind the scenes and somehow involved her. She was still looking over her shoulder, anticipating something, anything, would occur.

"More force." Yuina listened to Mariko's instructions and pressed the string harder to reach the right pitch. Mariko had taken it upon herself to become Yuina's senpai. She enjoyed lording her expertise, being strict, and generally being in the position of power. Yuina had to admit that Mariko knew her stuff. Mariko sighed. "It's not fair how quickly you're learning. You have some bad habits, but – ugh."

It was only natural that learning a second instrument would be faster than learning the first, not that Yuina would ever tell them that. Did pianos even exist here? Though, thanks to Shiganina, Yuina wondered whether her hobbies would be used against her to take on specific missions. Couldn't she enjoy something for the sake of enjoying it? Not every skill needed to be something to profit off of.

"Thanks for helping. It must be inconvenient with your upcoming performance, but has something happened to Rei?" This was the third session he's missed.

Mariko looked away and downwards as she used her finger to trace patterns over her yukata. "It's nothing he can't handle." She stopped tracing and gripped the cloth. "Typical family stuff."

Yuina didn't know what family stuff meant in this context, and Mariko's response made Yuina believed that it wasn't as typical as she labelled it. However, she could deduce it was a sore spot. "Well, you only need to ask if you ever need my services."

Mariko lost her balance and used her hands to stop her face from smashing into the ground. She flubbed as she sat back up and waved her arms.

"It was a joke."

"A joke? A joke." Mariko's cheeks regained some colour. "That wasn't funny."

"Seriously, though. If you two ever need help, you only need to ask. I still feel bad that Rei refuses to accept payment." Yuina wanted to offer some kind of compensation as to not feel like a charity case.

"That's how he always is." Mariko thought back to the time Rei helped her without taking his own needs into consideration. "But if you want to make it up to him, there is something you can do."

Yuina listened closely. "That is…?"

"Keep visiting and playing as freely as you do." Mariko knew Rei liked having a space where he could exist without pressure. It was something Mariko couldn't offer him. No matter how much she tried, in the end she would always be a reminder of the life he dreaded. "He really does love music." She thought back to the time she witnessed her uncle beat him until his arm broke for not following his practice regiment. "Without the pressure." She sighed. "People judge things by their own experience, not knowing the wide world outside." Rei was trying to grow his world where he could so that by extension his own experience and judgement would grow. Mariko couldn't be sure what answer he sought.

"A proverb?" Yuina thought about it. "Overturned water doesn't return to the tray."

"Of course, you're knowledgeable about that too," Mariko grumbled.

"Only what I've heard in passing," said Yuina. "Which is a fair bit. Dad is into that stuff." She could understand it a little as an art, but Yuina preferred when people spoke more directly.

"Enough of that. Start from the beginning again."

Yuina finished her session and returned home. Carrying the koto was still awkward, but it was so much better now that every movement didn't cause pain. The medics even encouraged her to add sparring to her regimen again, which meant Kakashi was waiting for her so they could spar. It had been a long time since they last sparred, but Kakashi's improvement was undeniable. His precision and reaction time kept her on constant edge.

Like it had always been. Some things never changed.

They practiced for a while. Honestly, Yuina liked moving around again. It felt nice and kept her energized. Even nicer to complete things without her innards churning.

Then they stopped for a break. Yuina went inside to grab some of the melon she had chopped in the morning. Kakashi took a piece.

Yuina figured it was a good a time as any to ask, "I know you don't like me prying, but is something going on? You've been quieter than usual."

"I need to become jonin."

That was always Kakashi's plan, so Yuina didn't know why it was being brought up. Especially considering he was a new chunin and it would take a few years minimum before they would even consider Tokubetsu Jonin.

"I thought things would change when I became chunin, but everything is the same."

He was always in a rush. She tried to have some sympathy, but it was hard trying to decide what to say. "You're not bamboo." Bamboo can be viewed growing in real time and have enormous tensile strength that it could be used as a torture device. It would grow straight up through a person without intervention. The strongest bamboo could even excel the strength of steel."

"Did you read one of dad's books?" Kakashi interrupted as he looked at her with judging eyes.

"…Maybe." Yuina thought back to what Mariko said. People judged things by their own experience, not knowing the wide world outside. "You're you, so you know your capabilities and know the areas you've improved and grown. Proving that to others is harder because most of what they know is probably through word of mouth. Plus, even though you're a chunin there's a lot of you. It might be a result of seniority, so try not to be hard on yourself."

Kakashi looked down. He wasn't going to let this go. It didn't matter what she said.

"Anything else new? How's Minato?"

"Sensei is a little peppier lately. I think he wants to be Hokage."

Right, Minato was Jiraiya's student. It may not be impossible for him. Was it betrayal for her to think that when Orochimaru was her sensei? He hadn't outright said he wanted the position, but he did like recognition for his accomplishments and the position of Hokage was exactly that.

"Do you not want that?" Yuina didn't understand why Kakashi looked like a kicked puppy.

"He's been getting distracted easier and went on a few missions without me." He took another piece of melon. "But I think he would do well."

Kakashi spoke well of Minato all the time, so that checked out.

"Do you think—" Yuina stopped mid-sentence as she could see Orochimaru walking towards them. He wasn't in a rush, but it was odd seeing him approach her at her home. He'd only ever come by once, no, twice, before and one of those times was when she was poisoned. "Sorry. I'll talk to him, then we can get back to training."

Yuina closed the distance and met him halfway.

"We need to have a conversation. Somewhere private."