Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
F=Gm1m2/r-squared
Gravity (F) is calculated by using the distance (r) between two masses (m1 and m2) applied to the same gravitational constant (G).
In other words, falling is simple… until it isn't.
"Climb a tree and jump", Kakashi instructed. He meant it literally. The bastard actually thought I needed to fall. Like I had never fallen before. I mean, who hasn't? Falling was kind of a consequence of living. It was completely unavoidable
Naturally, my answer was the only logical response, "No".
"Come on", Kakashi goaded. "It'll be fun".
"No".
"Everyone falls from time to time", Kakashi kept going. "Now, it's your turn".
I was already turning away. With my hands clenched into fists at my sides, I sped-walked back to the others. My ears felt clogged and I envisioned my head to be like a volcano. Any minute now, I'd explode.
"Hey, get back here", Kakashi called; his tone a mock variation of the strict one he'd used earlier. "Training isn't over. Remember Shinobi rule fifteen".
My control lasted the split second it took to grind my teeth. Gesturing wildly with my fists, I stamped my foot. "You can take shinobi rule fifteen and shove it up-" What was I doing?
The thought had me stilling; shock shooting up my spine. What was I doing? Kakashi stood a distance away; posture unbothered as he faced my direction with his one visible eye closed. As if he were smiling. My eyes shifted left and right as I took stock of my body. Tense muscles. Boiling emotions. A hot head paired with blurred vision… metaphorically speaking. This wasn't how I was supposed to play this game. I was smarter than this. But he was…
Kakashi shifted his weight between his feet. The movement was almost unnoticeable. His shoulders were slumped as he slowly opened his one visible eye. In that one eye was more comprehension than I ever wanted to see. "What's the matter, Rion?" Kakashi asked. The mocking edge was gone. And in its place was something that made my skin crawl. "Everyone falls. It's one reason why teams are important".
… He was playing too; and better. I refused to breathe as my mind raced; pushing irrational urges to the side. They were of no use when faced with an opponent like this. My teeth dug into the side of my tongue. Emotions were useless, inconvenient, or both. There would be no allowances for them while playing. Not during this round. Data. That could be my only ally.
I flared my nostrils and air filled my lungs. Releasing my tongue from between my teeth, I spat out the metallic taste of blood onto the forest floor. Glaring at Kakashi, I tried to make my eyes as sharp as a kunai as I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. All he did was blink in his relaxed stance.
"I don't have a team".
Sitting at Tazuna's table, I bounced my left leg at a fast dribble. Open in front of me was a brand-new notebook I made sure to pack before leaving Konoha. I hadn't intended to need it. But it's always such a comfort to have one. In my right hand, a pencil was poised and ready. While my left hand rested on the upper corner of the notebook. With my eyes, I glared straight ahead.
To my left sat Sasuke; eying everything I wrote. To my right sat Naruto; eating at a slower pace than usual. Across from him was Sakura; fidgeting in her chair as she tried not to look at me. While, directly across from me, Kakashi complimented our hosts for the meal.
x2-2xyq+y2(q2+r2) = z2(s2+t2)
q2+r2=s2+t2=1
Kakashi blinked as he responded to something Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, said. My pencil flew across my page in neat strokes as I continued the equation.
x2-2xyq+y2 =z2
-x2+2xyq-y2 =z2
"Ne, Rion?" Naruto tried to interrupt as he talked around a mouthful of food. "What are you doing?" It was a question everyone wanted to ask. I'd been glaring at Kakashi like this since we sat down; barely blinking. And as soon as I was done eating, my plate was replaced with my notebook. It didn't help that I was being extra obnoxious about my actions.
I don't answer Naruto; needing him to speculate and draw attention to my weirdness. That's how I would win this game. At my relentless stare, Kakashi started to chuckle awkwardly. My pencil rapidly wrote the next two lines of the equation as my leg continued to bounce.
x2+2kcx-2kcy+y2-2xy =z2
2kcx-2kcy+2xyq-2xy =0
Naruto scratched the side of his face with one finger as he looked around the table. As if someone else could tell him what I was up to. "Kakashi-Sensei", Sakura whispered. Though still audible enough for all to hear. "She used to do this at the academy. Take notes on people, I mean". Sakura made it sound like a warning and I appreciated her for it.
Of course, Kakashi probably already knew about my infamous notebook. The way Ibiki talked, I assumed most Jonin did. It had given me a bit of a reputation. Unintended. But I found it useful in this situation. The noise Kakashi made in response was slightly strangled, "A-aah". I completed the next two lines of the equation.
2kcx-2kcy =2xy(1-q)
x-y =(xy)/(kc)(1-q)
Sasuke scrutinized my work; squinting his eyes as he tried to make sense of the variables and numbers and figure out what it had to do with Kakashi. None of it made sense. Or so, I'm hoping. This type of math wasn't taught at the academy. Throw in all the different variables in letters they may not have seen before that would seem random and unconnected to most, and it should cause feelings of confusion and suspicion.
The icing on the cake though was that nothing about this equation had anything to do with behavior analysis. What I was writing in my notebook was straight-up algebra. It couldn't tell me anything about Kakashi. But that wouldn't stop those who knew about my rumored notebook to fear the worst. Especially, when everything I wrote went over their heads.
Kakashi finished clearing his throat. "You know, it's rude to stare", Kakashi tried. I finished the equation. Even going as far as circling my answer with more energy than was necessary.
x/(xy)-y/(xy) =(1-q)/(kc)
(1/y)-(1/x) = (1-q)/(kc)
"Oh". My leg stilled and Sakura flinched. "That makes sense now". I slammed my notebook shut and ignored the wide-eyed stare Naruto gave me. Looking at Kakashi, I forced a smile on my face. One that looked strained and hopefully a little demonic. "I'm looking forward to training tomorrow, Kakashi-Sensei. Now that I've thought about it". I tapped the cover of my notebook with my index finger; holding my attention on Kakashi for a short moment longer. Once satisfied by his uncomfortable posture, I swung my gaze onto the others. "I'm going to bed. Good night". And I left. Kakashi could puzzle over that equation while I got a full night's rest. Then we'd see who'd be falling tomorrow.
Sakura had been dispatched to guard Tazuna as he worked on his bridge. Naruto and Sasuke were back to mastering tree walking; getting a little higher each time. And Kakashi… "Climb a tree and jump".
We were back to that. Copying my smile from last night, I tried to produce my own brand of killing intent. Kakashi didn't even twitch. I guess still have more work to do with that particular skill… "You first, Kakashi-Sensei", I replied. "So, I can see how it's done". The last part was spoken with a harder edge as the smile slipped off my face accompanied by a deadened stare.
Falling was a basic skill. An Academy skill. It was a skill Shibi made sure Shino and I knew very well before graduation. Correctly falling meant protecting yourself and mitigating damage as much as possible if you couldn't handle a landing. First, curl into a ball; limbs tucked in and head ducked down like a turtle. Second, rotate like the ball you are pretending to be. Third, if distance is on your side, judge when it is safe to unfold based on rotation and space so you can land with feet under you. But keep your knees bent to act as the shock absorbs for the impact. Fourth, if you can not land safely, stay in ball form but don't lock your muscles. You'll want to use the momentum from the fall to roll. That way the chances of becoming one with the ground are lessened. And there is an added bonus, if you fell during a fight, that by rolling you'll put some distance between you and possible danger.
So, I know how to fall. Kakashi knew I knew how to fall. It was kind of a prerequisite to tree walking. This… whatever this was, wasn't falling. But I couldn't discern what Kakashi meant. And he wasn't telling. "Mmmm", Kakashi hummed in disagreement. "That's not my teaching style".
"You sure?" I asked. "I'd be happy to give you a push if that'd help".
Behind Kakashi, Naruto lose control of his chakra and made a crash landing; head first. "Aah!" He complained as he sat up and rubbed the pain from his head. "Why can't I get this right?!" Now, there was someone who needed to learn how to fall.
As if thinking the same thing I was, Kakashi sighed. "Climb a tree and jump", he repeated; his playfulness was completely gone. I didn't. Instead, taking a deep breath, I turned my back to him and started using a tree trunk to practice punching. After all, there were still fights ahead of us. And my goal was to make it home.
Kakashi's eyes… eye bore into me as I moved through combinations. Left, left, right, turn and kick. Around us, the sounds of Sasuke and Naruto hard at work continued. Left, left, right, turn and kick. I kept my breathing even as my body warmed up. A little bit of sweat trickled down the side of my face. Exercise wasn't the cause. But there was no room for explosions today. So, to keep cool, I started reciting squared numbers.
Four, nine, sixteen. Left, left, right, duck, turn kick. Twenty-five, thirty-six, forty-nine. Left, right, left, duck, left, right. Sixty-four, eighty-one, one-hundred…
Eventually, I felt Kakashi turn away; choosing to give Sasuke and Naruto some much-needed instruction. Which, for Kakashi, ended up just being a lot of taunting. My movements became more fluid after that.
One-hundred twenty-one, one-hundred forty-four. Left, left, right, duck, turn, kick, and retreat. One-hundred sixty-nine, one-hundred ninety-six. Charge, left, left, and right.
A while later, Kakashi left to check in with Sakura and Tazuna. I started playing with my chakra as Naruto and Sasuke continued to compete behind me. "Bet I can reach the top before you can", Naruto challenged; sounding like an absolute brat.
Sasuke scoffed. "In your dreams, loser".
Tuning out their squabbling, I focused chakra into my fists; trying to see if I could make a dent in the tree trunk. Extra points if I didn't hurt myself in the process. By no means did I want to be seen as a heavy hitter. Working in the bowels of T&I suited me just fine, thank you. But I also didn't want to face Gato's goons with just the academy standard.
Building chakra was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out what to do with it. Do I time it with my punches as I release it? Do I maintain it; wrapping chakra around my hands as some sort of dense boxing gloves? Deciding to experiment, I tested both ways.
Releasing the chakra upon impact caused bits of bark and splinters to go flying. A few cut and jabbed into my skin. So, effective but slightly counterintuitive if I was injured in the process. I also worried about debris getting in my eyes. Maintaining my chakra had almost the opposite effect. There was no damage to the tree trunk. But there was also no damage to myself. I barely even felt it when my fist made contact. The first time I maintained the chakra, my fist stuck to the trunk. Just like in the tree walking exercise. The next time, my fist slipped right off the trunk. As if both the tree trunk and my chakra had positive charges and repelled each other. What had I done differently?
Though… Behind me, Naruto growled. "Damn you, Sasuke!" Though I suppose it didn't really matter. What I needed was an in-between. Something that had the effects of releasing chakra, but mitigated the damage like maintaining chakra. What would that look like? What would that feel like?
"Naruto", Sasuke started; frustration evidently clear in his tone. "Quit fooling around".
Whatever Sasuke meant; Naruto clearly wasn't having it. As I tried to figure out what I wanted to ask my chakra to do, there was an energetic cry and charging feet behind me. What if I… I don't know… What if I shot off my chakra as if it were a projectile and my body was a cannon? Did that already exist… probably. The sound of running and stomping feet ended as Naruto yelped. Falling back to the ground, I suspect.
"Don't wave your weapons around", Sasuke rebuked as Naruto continued to make panicked sounds. I could imagine him flailing in the air. "Aburame!" Sasuke unexpectantly yelled; cutting my musings shorts.
Not even a second later, there was a loud painful thud followed by a frightened, "Rion, watch out!"
Instinct had me twirling around to face the boys. Just in time too. Sailing through the air, heading straight for my person, was a kunai. There was no time. It was inches away. Seconds. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto was moving. Sasuke from a tree branch and Naruto from the ground. Frozen, their eyes were comically wide. Instinct had me moving again. But not very smartly. Instead of dodging, ducking, or rolling out of the way, my right hand swiped through the air as if I was going to catch the knife by letting it pierce my hand… Though that was better than the stray kunai being impaled in my face.
None of those things happened. In fact, the kunai never made contact with me. Just as I reacted, so did my chakra. Releasing some of it, but not all of it; as if it was tethered to me like a kite on a string, my chakra met the kunai in its path. The force upon impact changed its trajectory. And instead of stabbing me, the kunai's blade jammed into a tree trunk. The very same tree trunk I had been using for training.
Heart racing; my chakra dispersed. Some of it returned to me. Some of it didn't. First, my eyes focused on the kunai embedded in the tree a few inches above my head. Then, I stared at my right hand; twisting and turning it in different directions as if it held the answer. How did I do that?
Sasuke moved first. Jumping from his tree branch, he landed on his feet with barely a sound. "How did you do that?" He asked; sounding curious but reluctant. Like he didn't want to show his interest.
But I didn't have an answer. Not that I could give one even if I had it. Naruto was on his feet not long after. "Are you okay?" He asked as he ran to my side. "I swear, I didn't mean to let go. It was an accident!"
Flexing my right hand a few times, I let my mind settle. Once satisfied, I curled my hand back into a fist. "Do it again", I said as I made eye contact with Naruto. The blond stilled and blinked in confusion. "Throw something else at me", I elaborated; needing to figure this out.
"Uh", Naruto vocalized as he blinked in confusion. Maybe at the request or at my lack of rage. Usually, if people threw things at me, I'd attack.
Sighing, I lowered my fist. "If you throw things at me, I'll teach you to tree walk".
Naruto's confusion was replaced with eagerness. "Sure!" He agreed; guilt completely gone.
That night at dinner, Tazuna was in high spirits. Progress had been made on the bridge… the booze also helped. "This is great", he said; a red tint to his cheeks. Behind him, Tsunami worked on the dishes. Next to him, Inari, his grandson, ate like someone who had an upset stomach. "I've missed having so many people over for dinner".
Only Sakura appeared to be listening as she nodded politely. The boys were too busy stuffing their faces. And I was distracted; staring at my right hand. How had I done that? After the kunai incident, Naruto started to pelt me with rocks. There were a few successful deflections. But I mostly ended up getting hit.
"How was training?" Kakashi asked; eyes… eye boring into me once more and pulling me out of my musings. "Learn anything?"
Glaring at the masked ninja, I set my spoon down. I didn't have my notebook open in front of me like last night. Instead, it sat next to me; closed. Only there to make people slightly uncomfortable. "If you mean, did I jump from a tree? Then no".
"Mmm", Kakashi hummed. Though he didn't sound surprised. "Pity". I thought about opening my notebook and writing another equation that didn't fit the context. Just to screw with him. But Naruto and Sasuke were becoming more and more distracting; barely chewing their food and swallowing with tasting. Shouldn't they understand? That food was scarce here?
They finished at the same time and lunged out of their chairs to hold their bowls up. "More, please", they declared; demanding it like they had paid for it. I could feel my nerves bubbling. Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other. Only they could turn eating into a competition of superiority. If Naruto ever treated Anzu like how he and Sasuke were currently treating Tsunami and her family…
Then, also at the same time, both boys turned their heads away from the table and hurled. It was a good thing I wasn't holding my spoon. Otherwise, I'd have snapped it in half. Tazuna accepted this appalling sight with a jovial laugh. While Inari looked a little green and Tsunami refused to turn around from the sink; her shoulders tense.
At least Sakura seemed to be of a similar mind. Left eye twitching, she slammed her bowl down and stood up. "Don't eat so much if you're just going to puke!"
The boys disagreed. "I have to eat", Sasuke argued.
"And I have to eat more", Naruto countered. "To be stronger".
Nodding sagely, Kakashi folded his arms before offering up his opinion. "But being sick won't help you", he pointed out.
I was out of my seat before he finished talking; taking my bowl with me. "You're done", I announced; grinding my teeth as I collected the boys' bowls and took care to avoid the vomit.
"But, Rion", Naruto complained as I walked towards the sink. At my approach, Tsunami looked over her shoulder at me. Keeping my face blank, I set the boys' bowls in the sink. Anzu wasn't here. I reminded myself. And it wouldn't do to see her in the faces of others. On the counter next to the sink sat Tsunami's half-filled bowl; waiting for when she finished with the dishes. Without communicating my intentions and ignoring Tsunami completely, I poured my mostly untouched portion into her bowl. Shibi sent me off with more than enough ration bars. I'd be fine.
It was harder to ignore Tsunami's knowing stare as I turned back to the others. But I managed. "Clean that up", I said as I headed for the door; gesturing to the sick on the floor.
"Wait. Rion", Naruto tried again.
With my hand on the door handle, I exhaled through my nose; aware Kakashi was watching all of this. Game-wise, it'd be better not to say anything. But… "Naruto", I started voice low and without looking at him. "If you ate like that at my apartment and then threw up, would you make Anzu clean it?"
Naruto didn't respond, and I didn't look to see his expression. Though I like to imagine it was an expression I'd want to see. Opening the door, I made it as far as putting one foot over the threshold. "Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
This time, I did look over my shoulder. But not at Sakura. I only had eyes for Kakashi as I sneered. "There's a tree I need to jump out of".