Chapter 13
"...gurgle..."
"...gurgle gurgle..."
"...GRROAAARRR!"
"WAH!"
I was awoken with a horrifying start, frantically searching the area for the source of that monstrous roar. The darkness surrounding me only added to my panic. Where was I? What happened? My mind was a jumbled mess as I tried to pull myself together. The last thing I could remember was riding on someone's back. "That's right..." I thought to myself as my heart rate finally began to slow, "Misaki took me to the Uchiha compound yesterday. Then what happened?" I recalled Misaki asking me a question, but what she asked I could not remember. As to where I was now, my eyes were finally beginning to adjust to the darkness.
The familiar and calming form of my room finally started coming into view. I was able to sigh with relief at this. My heart and mind finally calming themselves which left only one question, what in the ever loving heck was that horrific noise? Well, I quickly got my answer to that too as another bestial roar echoed throughout the small room, this time accompanied by a sharp and sudden pain in my stomach. "Ah..." I realized while I doubled over, arms clutched around my stomach, "I'm hungry~"
There was a rapping at my door followed quickly by my Mom's voice. She sounded quite concerned, "Meiko? Are you okay? I heard a horrible noise." Oh god, she actually heard that, face burning red hot as the embarrassment overwhelmed me. My stupid appetite had grown exponentially over the past month and with it came many moments like this. Grumbling at myself, Mom took my silence for something being wrong and barged in, loudly calling out my name once she saw me hunched over on my bed started panicking herself. "Meiko! Meiko are you alright!?" She cried, charging across the room.
I hid my face, still burning hot from her which, in retrospect, probably made things worse. "I'm fine Mom! Just a... nightmare!"
"If it was a nightmare, why are you like that!?" She began pulling on my shoulders, trying to get me to sit upright. "Meiko, tell me what's wrong!"
"It's nothing!" I retorted as the pulling continued. Then my stupid stomach decided to chime in with yet another loud growling. Mom immediately stopped pulling and instead started laughing.
"Oh my, just like your father!" She said with a hearty laugh.
I shot upright, glaring at her. "Am not!" I cried in embarrassment, tears sparkling in the corners of my eyes as I whipped my pillow at her. With all this commotion going on, my alarm clock was feeling left out as it suddenly started blaring, startling the both of us. With a yelp, I quickly slammed my hand down on the thing, nearly breaking it as it toppled over and fell to the floor. Mom and I staring at the fallen clock silently as we tried to settle our respective heart rates. The only indication it had not broken was the faint ticking sound breaking the silence.
"Pft, ahahahahaha!" I was the first to start laughing, Mom quickly following suit. That was certainly one heck of a way to start the morning.
A massive breakfast spread awaited me when I entered the kitchen. "Misaki said you'd probably be starving when you woke up so I made sure to whip up extra everything." I could feel myself blushing again but hunger won over emotions as I quickly took my seat and said a prayer. "So, only a few more days until you start school, nervous?" Mom asked after she had finished her own prayers.
The question was yet another shock to hit me this morning. I quickly looked to the calendar and indeed, the start of next week, only four more days, and I would be attending my first day at the Ninja Academy. "Oh wow, it is." I muttered, amazed at how much time had gone by since Misaki's extreme training program had started. Now that I was thinking about going back to school after all this time, yeah I was feeling nervous. "Yeah... a little, I guess." I replied, nodding my head and trying to downplay my own feelings.
"Hehe, I thought you might be." Mom giggled as she sliced off a piece of fish with her chopsticks. "But you shouldn't worry, you'll have Kiyomi and Mana with you. So think of it as a chance to make a whole lot of new friends." I was surprised to hear Mana would be attending the academy, she really did not seem the type to want to become a shinobi. Weirdness aside, she was a very gentle girl. Then again, I did recall her saying her father was a ninja. Perhaps that was why she was going?
I certainly had my fears when it came to the academy. The usual anxieties when starting anything new, but there were others as well. The big one being that I would be attending school with people who were destined for greatness. Basically I would be attending school with future celebrities. I still hadn't come to a decision on how I should interact with them, whether I should try and keep a distance, befriend them, or something else. I mean sure, I'd met Sasuke just the other day and Ino a few times, but it was never anything serious. Heck, even thinking like this was weird. Trying to calculate how I would interact with people who would, at the very least, be my classmates. I was really starting to hate the fact I knew what the future entailed.
"Meiko?" Mom's concern woke me from my mental funk.
"Ah, sorry Mom. Just thinking about things..." Uncomfortable, I scratched the back of my head before returning my attention to the meal in front of me.
Mom chuckled again, "You do get lost in your own head a lot. I can't help but wonder what you find so interesting in there. You don't get that from me and especially not from your father." She had her head resting in the palms of her hands as she watched me shovel away an entire bowl of rice. "That appetite of yours however."
I froze before slowly placing the empty bowl back on the table, face once again going a radiant red. "It's just because I haven't eaten since yesterday... Anyone would be hungry after that..." Mom laughed as breakfast continued on. She was done with her portion long before me, but after cleaning up her half of the table, Mom just sat back down.
"So, Misaki has told me about your training." She said after filling my fourth bowl of rice. "I'm not allowed to tell you what she's told me but I just wanted to say, I'm proud of you." For a moment, I choked on my food, gulping down half a glass of milk to get the chunk of food down. Hearing Mom say that she was proud of me, it... it hit deep. My vision blurred slightly as I could feel tears trying peek out, quickly wiping them away. Who would have thought just a few words could make me feel so happy. That alone made this last month of pain and sweat so worth it.
"I was really worried when Misaki told me how the training was going to go. See you get beaten up, barely able to walk and in so much pain... It broke my heart." Mom continued, interlocking her fingers as she recalled those painful first days of training. "But you were able to press on, and I watched you get better and better. I realized I was wrong, and I'm glad for it. I'm still scared, when you get older and graduate, you'll be sent off on dangerous missions and I'll be stuck here, waiting for you to come home. But if you keep working as hard as I've seen you, I think... I can rest assured you'll always come home to me."
"Mom..." I placed my chopsticks down before pushing back from the table and moving around behind her. I reached around, giving her the biggest hug I could considering the back of the chair was in the way. "Thank you Mom, I love you."
"I love you too dear." She said, placing her hand over mine.
The sun was starting to peek through the window when there was a familiar knocking. Misaki was, once again, right on time. "Okay Mom, I'm off!" I called out across the house as I closed my bedroom door. Opening the front door, Misaki stood there with her usual grin and ready to go. "Good morning Misaki-sensei!" Seeing her immediately caused memories of yesterday to come flooding back, namely the encounter with the man named Inaba and the threats he threw out. I was curious as to what happened but considering how happy Misaki was and the fact she was here probably meant things went okay.
We made our way into the back yard for today's session. Questions still danced about in my head regarding the outcome of yesterday but would have to be saved for later. Right now it was time to get my head in the game, my body certainly remembered the cost of not doing so. A brisk wind blew past, goosebumps running up my exposed arms. The dawn light casting long rays through the tree at my back, illuminating Sensei's form.
"I hope you're feeling better today, you were so tired after we left the compound." Misaki chuckled, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I hope you had a good breakfast at least, your stomach was grumbling the entire trip back."
"Hey! You didn't have to bring that up!" I shouted back, face flaring once again. First Mom and now Misaki, I was never going to live this down at this rate. Misaki burst out in a laughing fit which only embarrassed me further. Not that I could say anything in my defence, I pretty much ate enough for three people this morning just to shut my stupid gut up. Thinking back on it, the fear I would start getting fat began to nibble on the edges of my psyche.
"Sorry, I had to." Misaki-sensei said as she recomposed herself. "But you are looking a lot better. That's good, because today is exam day."
"Exam?" I repeated cautiously, I knew there was about two days left of training but I wasn't expecting something like an exam out of Sensei. "Like, a written test?" It was a dumb question, mostly said in jest. Not a great one but at least Misaki humoured me with a laugh.
"No, I'm going to save that for the academy. This is a practical." The way she said that sent a shiver down my spine, not an unfamiliar sensation at this point. In other words, she was planning to have me work the hardest I had this entire month. I could only assume these last two days would be harder than the rest of the month combined.
A grin slowly crept across my face, my teeth grinding together because my jaw was clenching tight. Once again providing an example that I was indeed broken from this training. What used to sound like a threat was now a challenge that I was relishing in. A part of my rational brain was terrified by the rest of my being and left wondering which one of the countless blows did this to me. I wanted to become a shinobi, not a masochist!
"Yeah, this training does that to you." Misaki said, practically reading my mind. "I freaked Old Man Gento out when I made a similar face." She laughed before copying the same face I was making, honestly it scared me to think that's what I looked like. "Don't worry though, it should stop in time... probably." Her words were really not in any way convincing. I guess I just had to accept the fact I was already broken and pray it does not progress.
"Anyway, the exam." Misaki said, the air turning tense at her words. "There won't be anything special. We'll be sparring like usual, however..." Slowly closed her eyes, that single moment felt like it dragged on and on as I swallowed the lump in my throat. When her eyes shot open again, they were a brilliant red, her pupils flanked by three tomoe. "I want you to come at me with everything you have. Show me the results of this past month!"
This... was going to be a problem. While she hadn't explained the abilities of the Sharingan to me beyond being able to see chakra, I knew what it was mostly capable of. If she went on the offensive like our previous sessions, I would be destroyed. I could only hope her asking telling me to 'come at her with all I have' meant she would simply remain on the defence. With Misaki taking up her combat stance, it was time to begin.
"Go all out, huh?" I muttered as I steadied my breathing. My mind temporarily turned inward, to the ball of power around my stomach. She said to go all out, so that was what I would do. Active chakra was circulating throughout my body already, something I couldn't remember starting when I woke up this morning. I wanted to add more chakra to that active batch, but found that to be almost impossible. Like there was some kind of bottleneck preventing more active chakra from entering the network.
"Well, that's anticlimactic..." I silently bemoaned this unfortunate development. I had envisioned something more cinematic as chakra surged through my body and greatly boosted my power. Muscles crackling with power as I would scream and launch an explosive first attack and all that. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as I was already at full power. "Well... Guess I'll just have to go with what I have!" I resigned myself before mirroring Sensei's stance, readying myself for the signal.
The signal was a subtle one, Misaki simply beckoning with a 'come on' gesture. In response, I lowered my centre of gravity as I prepared to charge forth. If I couldn't boost my power with excess chakra, I'd just have to do it the old fashioned way. This was an exam after all, and exams were designed to test everything you learned to that point. By blocking, I learned to move chakra to specific areas of my body to bolster my defences. By running, I was able to keep the active chakra flowing steadily throughout my body. By sparring, I combined both of those lessons and applied them simultaneously. Now all that was left was to demonstrate how far I had come.
I moved my chakra down into my legs, feeling the muscles expand as power flooded through the fibres. "Here I come!" I shouted as I launched myself at Sensei. The boost I got from doing that was a bit more than I had anticipated but not so much I couldn't adjust. My first attack was a flying punch, the chakra quickly shifting from my legs and into my arm. Misaki blocking it by placing one hand on the other and catching the blow, her arms buckling slightly from the impact.
"Oho! I felt that!" She complimented happily before gripping onto my fist and pulling me in, her other hand thrusting a palm at my stomach. I quickly moved chakra from my fist back to my leg, specifically my left knee that I raised in defense. The impact was hard and I felt a shock wave climbing up my thigh, but thanks to my chakra enhancements the blows basically cancelled one another out. This gave me an opening to attack with my left arm. Like Misaki had said, I must never pull my punches. So I shot an attack aimed for her head, those red eyes having already read my movements as she pulled down on my right hand while pushing up on my knee, spinning me to my right and throwing my attack off target.
In doing so, Misaki released her grip on me so I threw my body with the momentum to try and gain a little bit of space. Her counter attacks could be extremely brutal so I wanted to have a bit of wiggle room while I thought of my next plan of attack.
"What? Is that all you got?" Misaki goaded me, beckoning me to continue with a wave of her hand. Grinning, I charged forth again. Chakra surging to my legs as I started to wind up another punch before shifting my weight and dropping down. Instead my aim this time was to sweep Sensei's leg. I was still an extreme novice in taijutsu, the best I could do right now were straight forward attacks or silly little tricks like this. Thanks to the Sharingan, Misaki could easily see through them but I still had to treat this like a real fight.
A light jump was all Sensei needed to avoid my sweep. With her airborne though, her ability to dodge would be a bit more limited, or so I assumed at least. Who could really tell with ninja. Anyway, following the momentum of my sweep, I spun around on the spot before kicking off the ground and following up with an uppercut. Once again, Misaki caught my fist, blocking the attack. Pushing herself away, I myself was thrown back and once again, the field was reset.
To my surprise, Misaki broke her stance. Becoming oddly relaxed as she let out an obvious sigh of disappointment. "Seriously? I wanted to see your best, but after a month that's all you have to show for it?" Shaking her head, she sighed again. "At this rate you'll never beat Kiyomi, never mind becoming a shinobi."
It was clear she was trying to goad me on, and it was working. I suffered through this month of hell training to catch up to Kiyomi and now was my chance to prove that I had closed that gap between us, however small it might be. But there was more to it than that, I had people's expectations to live up to. Misaki's, of course, and Mom's. Her words from breakfast still rang in my ears, four simple words that had made me so happy. I needed to prove to her here and now that I could do this.
I could feel a fire burning in my heart, everything I had done over these last six years had come to this point. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it would be blip on the radar. But for me, this was the point in my life to prove to myself that I had what it took. "I..." I started, speaking through gritted teeth. Muscles tensing as that fire burned hotter. "I'm!" I said again, louder this time. Straightening my back and standing as tall as my tiny body could, the fire raging in my eyes as I stared down Sensei.
"I'M FAR FROM DONE!"
Responding to my surging emotions, I could feel my chakra flaring, growing, wanting to burst free. So, I let it. Whatever was bottle-necking me before gave way just a little and I could feel a surge of power burning through my body. "Here I come!" I shouted as this new chakra was moved to my legs. I opened this latest attack with a spinning kick, the speed I moved even faster than before. Even Sensei appeared to be surprised at this but still was able to block my kick.
"Ngh!" She grunted, for a moment it appeared the attack was effective. Misaki had raised both arms to stop the attack and it took her visible effort to throw me back. I wasn't going to let up so quickly however as I sprung into another attack. There wasn't anything special here, just me throwing punches and kicks in quick succession with Sensei swatting them away with ease. Still, I was striking with everything I had. Since I lacked technique, all I could do was put as much power as possible into each hit.
A smile was slowly growing wider and wider on Misaki's face. Eventually, instead of deflecting my attack, she caught it. My arm now pinned was twisted and a palm shoved into my chest. Instinctively, I shifted chakra to the point of contact to lessen the blow as I was sent skidding back along the grass. A loud gasp of air followed after I had halted as some of the wind had been knocked out of me.
"That's it! That's what I wanted to see!" Misaki shouted with unbridled glee. "Don't let up now Meiko! The real exam starts now!" This time, it was Sensei's turn to go on the attack. Her right hand coiled into a fist and shot at me. To avoid it, I stepped to my right just in time. The air pressure from her fist blowing my hair as she narrowly missed. My response was a shot into her left side that caught nothing but air as Sensei quickly darted around behind me. Another blow was coming at my head. Chakra was focused into my arm which I brought up to my head, blocking Sensei's blow. A second bit went into my legs to help brace myself so I wouldn't be sent skidding.
"Guh!" My feet dug into the ground, achieving my goal but because of that the bones in my left arm were left vibrating after absorbing the full force of Misaki's strike. A clumsy kick was all I could muster as a counter, one that was easily caught and resulted in me being swung around and thrown several meters. Bouncing off the ground, I rolled over and managed to plant my feet in the ground to stop my momentum but holding myself on all fours. Misaki looking down on me with a smirk before moving in for the next attack.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself off the ground so I was standing upright again. Although Misaki was not letting me have a moment to compose myself as I was instantly greeted by her fist flying at my face. There was practically no time to react, I couldn't dodge it nor raise an arm to block. Heck I couldn't even think beyond registering the attack was coming in. Instead my body took over, chakra flowing into my forehead and then throwing my skull forward to meet the blow head on, literally.
Bone struck bone, the impact sent tremors through my head, reverberating my brain and causing my vision to break. Everything instantly merging together into an unidentifiable blur but I could hear Misaki yelp from my counter. Even if I couldn't see at the moment, I could still do something. I dug my foot into the soft soil and kicked hard. Throwing up dirt and grass alongside the attack as an attempt to try and throw some confusion into the mix.
"Wah!?" I heard Sensei cry, so it was at least partially effective even if my kick only caught air. Blinking hard my vision started to return, allowing me to make out vague shapes once more. To my best guess, Misaki was still reeling from the dirt so the only option I had was to strike. Chakra burned into my legs as I crouched down, more and more I pumped everything I could into them and shot off like a rocket. A powerful punch readied and already starting to swing.
There was little space between us, maybe a meter or so at most, and yet Sensei's reflexes were on an entirely different level. One moment I was blitzing towards her at speeds I had never before attained and in less time that it took to blink, I was slammed into the ground, hard. The taste of grass filled my mouth and my nose felt plugged after the impact. On top of that, my head was spinning making it a lot harder to figure out what the heck just happened. "Ugh, whu?" I stammered out as I tried to push myself back up.
"Sorry Meiko, was that a bit too hard?" Misaki asked, concern evident in her voice.
"N-no," I stammered, "I just got careless." Spitting out grass and dirt, I slowly and slightly unsteadily got back to my feet. "I'm still able to go on!" I'd like to think I looked tough in this moment but my head was still spinning, eyes unfocused and I think there was blood running from my nose. That kind of ruins that whole image.
Misaki sighed, shaking her head. "No need, I've seen all I needed to." She said flatly as her eyes returned to normal with a blink. I was confused, we had barely started and it was already over? Our training sessions went on for hours so I had assumed this would be the same thing. "Sit down and take a break, I'll go get some tissues to get you cleaned up." I watched her calmly head towards my house, wondering if this was just a ruse to see if I lowered my guard. When she went inside I had to accept that no, this exam was really done. Testing my nose, it was still a little sensitive but the damage felt superficial despite the blood.
I snorted to clear out my nostrils, large splotches of blood splattering all over the grass at my feet. It was also a bit pointless as new blood instantly filled the gaps. Sighing, I sat myself down, leaning forward so the blood wouldn't end up staining my clothes while I began to reflect on the exam. Misaki said she had 'seen all she needed to', I wished she had expanded on that statement. I couldn't help but fear that she was disappointed in my performance. Why else cut off the exam so early other than that? I took one hit because of a stupid attack and could barely get back up, I should have been a whole lot tougher after this month. I worked so hard only to blow it at the last minute.
"Damn it! Damn it!" I punched the ground again and again to vent my frustrations. Biting my lip to try and fight back against tears. "Why am I so weak!?" I sniffled while continuing to punch the ground. Chakra flaring into my arm as I did so resulting in a small crater starting to grow at my side. I wanted to live up to Misaki's expectations, to keep making Mom proud and I screwed it all up. One little bonk on the head was all it took to undo an entire month of effort. What was even the point? "I'm... so damn pathetic..."
"Meiko?" Misaki's voice gently called out to me from behind, giving me quite the start. "Is something wrong?"
I snorted, the blood in my nose getting sucked into the back of my throat and tried wiping away the budding tears. "N-no, nothing's wrong..." I stammered, unable to turn and face her. I was already a disappointment as a student, I didn't want her seeing me in this pathetic state.
"Liar," Misaki accused me as she grabbed my shoulder to force me to face her. I couldn't imagine it being a pretty sight, blood dirt and tears staining my face and all. "See, you're a mess." She knelt down at my side, a box of tissues in hand and began wiping away the blood. "I knew I hit you too hard there..." I was squirming as she tried to clean my cheek, still not wanting to face her but my chin was quickly caught in a firm grip.
"No... it's not that." I sadly admitted, trying to turn away again but Misaki held my head in place.
"No? Then why are you crying?" She asked, confused and worried. Once again I tried to turn my head away but she was having none of that. I was forced to look her in the eyes, seeing my face reflected in those deep black circles. I didn't like what I saw there, I was indeed quite a mess. And yet I could also see how concerned she was.
I found myself biting my lip as I tried, and failed, to fight back the next wave of tears. "B-because... I failed..." I snorted again, trying not to let the snot and blood start dribbling down my face again. "Even after I tried so h-hard, I still failed your exam! I let you and Mom down!" The dam was broken, I couldn't stop the tears now. Misaki released her grip on my chin, allowing my head to drop down as I bawled. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I cried over and over, the words choking in my throat.
"Meiko..." Misaki said, placing her hand gently under my chin and raising it. "What are you talking about? You didn't fail anything."
"W-what? But... you said you saw everything you needed to and ended the exam early. Our training goes on for hours so... I thought..."My words trailed off as I looked into Misaki's face. She wasn't angry with me, wasn't disappointed. She was just smiling so sweetly, words were not even needed for me to realize I had made a terrible mistake.
"I should be the one saying sorry," Misaki said, placing her forehead against mine. "I called it an exam because I wanted to sound more like a teacher and try to get you pumped up. I didn't mean to cause you so much stress. You definitely passed, with flying colours." Her words washed over me as a wave of relief. All of that was just a misunderstanding that my anxieties twisted and used as fuel to spiral out of control.
"Hehe... hahahahaha! I'm such an idiot!" My laughter was split halfway with my leftover tears, a couple hiccups slipping out as well. "I thought you gave up on me." Clearly, I still had a lot of issues in the dark recesses of my mind. Doubts and fears I thought conquered but only shoved to the wayside. It was terrifying how easily and quickly they resurfaced and overwhelmed me entirely. It was something I was going to have to face, the sooner the better.
"Yup, Meiko the idiot." Misaki chuckled before pulling me in for a tight hug. "I'm not going to give up on you, not as long as you don't give up on yourself." Those fears and doubts just melted away as she held me tight. Tears once again returning to my eyes, but for much happier reasons this time. I could feel my nose running again, suddenly remembering the nosebleed I pushed back but the damage was already done. While the dark purple shirt she wore worked to somewhat hide it, the dark stain was plain for all to see.
"I'm sorry!" I shouted, fresh blood pouring down my chin. Everything was such a mess now and yet Misaki only chuckled again.
"It's okay, a little blood is nothing a good wash won't clean out." She chuckled, taking a new tissue and wiping the blood before making some nose plugs for me. "There, that should prevent anymore bleeding." With my nose successfully blocked, Misaki got to her feet, brushing off her backside before offering me a hand. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up then I'll give you your grade." I took that hand and smiled back as I was pulled to my feet.
Back inside the house, Mom quickly ran to my side, fussing over me in a very similar manner to Misaki just moments before. I couldn't help but laugh as I was rushed off for a bath. After cleaning up and getting a change of clothes, I checked to make sure my nose was no longer bleeding. While it was still store to the touch and turning a bit purple, everything appeared to be fine.
Misaki and Mom were enjoying a cup of tea together when I finally emerged, still drying my hair on a towel. The normal mess now amplified ten-fold from the towel rustling. As soon as Misaki saw that she burst out laughing, nearly spilling her cup all over the couch. "Meiko! Brush your hair at least!" Mom shouted, forcing me to turn back and re-enter the bathroom. When I had my hair in a state I deemed somewhat presentable, (I managed to flatten it a bit) I re-emerged to a very loud, defeated sigh from Mom. She was heavily of the opinion I should be paying more attention to my looks, but I really did try to fix my hair many times. It just refused to cooperate, I still had no idea how she pulled off that miracle last year for the summer festival.
"I tried!" Bemoaning as I made my way to my bedroom, I then called out to Misaki. "Sensei! I'll be ready in a minute!" Mom had already provided me a change of clothes so the only thing left was to put on my training weights. After the last clasp clicked into place, I felt at ease. After over a year of wearing these weights, it wasn't much of a stretch to say I had become accustomed to it. It left me uncomfortable to take them off for long periods of time that weren't being devoted to sleep. In fact, it had become so natural for me to wear them that only now did I realize I hadn't removed the weights during the exam. "Whoops."
I stepped out of my room and nearly bumped into a passing giant. "Morning Dad!" I said cheerfully as I squeezed around his large frame. His response was an unintelligible grumbling as he slid into the washroom. Dad wasn't a morning person and was little more than a zombie until he had his daily dose of caffeine. As I sped through the kitchen, Mom was already on top of that with a pot waiting for him.
Misaki was waiting outside, leaning against the tree on the far side of the yard. Considering the time, it felt more like we were getting a late start to today's training. The sun was still in the early stages of rising over the village and the air was only starting to warm. "Took you long enough, done styling your hair?" She said with a smirk. I chuckled myself, running my fingers through the still-damp hair and putting on my best model impression.
After the two of us had our quick laugh, it was time for me to receive my grade. "Meiko, at the start of this month I promised you that, by the end, you would be able to use Chakra Reinforcement." Her eyes closed as she pushed off from the tree and began to approach me, ""I'm glad to say you've most certainly succeeded. Congratulations!" My reward was a simple pat on the shoulder from Misaki combined with a pride-filled smile. One I returned with an equal amount of pride. I had survived this month of insane training and, just as promised, I came out much stronger. I still had so, so far to go but this was a giant first step.
"To tell you the truth," Misaki started, spinning on her heel and taking a couple steps away, "I wasn't sure you'd be able to keep up with this. When I went through this I was twice your age and I barely made it. I'll admit, I thought you weren't going to make it through. Yet you persisted. Every day you went above and beyond my expectations. I'd almost say you've practically mastered Chakra Reinforcement."
That last part I found hard to believe. There was no doubt I could use it now, but mastered? It was a bit much to swallow. Of course, Misaki was able to read me like a book and before I could even say anything, she posited me a question. "When was the last time you remember creating active chakra for the day?"
My mouth opened but no words came out. Try as I might I could not recall the last time I consciously activated Chakra Reinforcement. Sure during the exam I tried to boost it but that was something different. Sensei had a knowing smirk on her face all the while, "I took the liberty last night to check your chakra. Even while you were sleeping, your chakra was still active. There's still some fine tuning to be done, but that will come in time. So, for all intents and purposes, you have indeed mastered it."
It was a surreal feeling, being told that. Surreal but also uplifting. Fists clenched together I gave them a small pump of victory, keeping myself restrained only because Misaki clearly had more to say.
"With the praises out of the way," She began, "Today is our last session and I've done everything I could to prepare you for your orientation. Sadly, there's a good chance I won't make it." Her words were solemn as her earlier smile, so full of pride, turned bittersweet. "I'm almost certain that I'm going to get quite the earful when I return to the force so I'll be very busy for a while."
Clapping her hands almost immediately, surprising me and preventing any questions while her mood shifted on the spot. Becoming much cheerier and stopping me from asking any questions. "So, with that in mind, the first thing I'm going to have you do is... nothing!" Misaki was shining the widest, toothiest grin she could while waiting for me to comprehend what she just said.
"Uhh... Nothing?" I echoed, highly confused.
"Yup, nothing." She reiterated, face changing to a more serious nature, "You've been working your butt off for this past month. Even with your boosted healing, your body is undoubtedly at its limit. You might not feel it but even ninja need proper rest. So that's what you'll be doing. Just take things easy so you can go to your first day at the academy at one hundred percent."
I'll admit, taking several days of rest sounded heavenly. Although considering this unease I was feeling already it was going to be a lot more awkward than one would think. My body was still demanding to move, having been conditioned to the extreme exertion of the last month. "That's easier said than done." I joked, something Misaki nodded with agreement.
"Yup, it'll take some getting used to, but just do your best and keep any exercise light at least." Sensei leaned back against the tree once more, glancing down the street and watching the people beginning their morning routine. "Although, just because I said you should be relaxing doesn't mean I don't have anything planned for today. There's still some things I need to tell you about Chakra Reinforcement after all."
With Sensei going into lecture mode, I decided to make myself comfortable and took a seat on the grass. Listening with rapt attention.
"First of all, you need to know that some people have a rare trait that makes them extra sensitive to chakra. We call these people Sensory Nin. When you have Chakra Reinforcement active, you'll light up like a beacon to these people. So you'll need to be able to turn it on and off at your discretion. But that's something we can go over when we start the stealth training." Sensory Nin, I had completely forgot about that ability. Being able to just feel the location of people nearby would be invaluable as a shinobi, and likely something I would never be able to attain.
"So, if I'm not producing active chakra, then these Sensory Nin won't be able to feel my presence?" I questioned, reasoning that while I may not be able to sense chakra myself, I could at least come up with some countermeasures.
"In general, yes." Sensei answered before expanding on it, "But like most things, it varies from person to person. An average Sensory Nin would probably lose track of you, but there are others who are far more sensitive than others. In that case, you would have to actively suppress your chakra to hide it's presence. In both cases, you need to keep in mind that while suppressing your chakra you will be left vulnerable if the enemy gets the jump on you."
That was... actually terrifying. To be able to fight as a shinobi you needed to be using Chakra Reinforcement, but using it would let enemy Sensory Nin know your location and thus, give them a large advantage. Trying to hide from them would mean actively weakening yourself, and that was assuming you knew to anticipate their presence. Honestly, it felt like a lose-lose situation. "Is there... anything you can do? It seems like if you run into a Sensory Nin, you're just at their mercy." I finally asked after being unable to come to my own solution.
"Well, it's a bit off-topic, but it is good you're thinking about that." Misaki complimented, "The village does try to get a Sensor Nin on each squad they send out. Failing that, your team will just have to rely on their scouting abilities to find the enemy first. In the end, it will always come down to how well you work as a team and your own individual skills. But, if you're really worried about it, the ability to sense chakra is something that can be learned. Usually it happens overtime and most senior shinobi have some level of sensory ability.
"For now at least, you won't have to worry too much. The main thing to keep in mind, and to practice, is how fast you can suppress or ignite your chakra." With that, she concluded the impromptu lesson on Sensory Nin.
"So, that's about it." She said with a clap, "I don't really have anything else planned for today. If you want, we can do some light exercises. I know your body is probably itching to move. Or, we can do something else you want. Think of it as a sort of celebration for completing the program!" A light bulb went off in Misaki's brain, "Oh and I'll be treating you to lunch today, so don't worry about that!"
Immediately I hopped to my feet, I had been getting antsy sitting around doing little. Even some light exercises would be quite welcome. The promise of a free lunch was also a welcome surprise, even if that was still a few hours away. Although, before I could ask for the exercises to start, there was one thing that came to my mind. Misaki did say we could do something else I wanted, and there was something I had wanted to ask her for some time.
"Sensei, could you..." I started, suddenly becoming nervous, "... Show me some Ninjutsu?"
Of all the requests I could have made, I don't think Misaki was expecting that one. At least, that's what it looked like to me when her eyes went wide with surprise. Of course, she was quickly able to reign it in and started chuckling. "Oh my, Meiko~" Sensei said, slapping her hands against her cheeks and squirming, her voice taking on a fake bashful tone. "You can't just ask a girl to show you her jutsu! That's one of the forbidden questions! Like asking a girl her age or her three sizes!" Capping off her little act with a wink. The whole thing was very silly, especially for an adult her age acting like that. I was getting second hand embarrassment from it all.
Misaki burst out laughing upon seeing my... reluctant response. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." She said after calming down a bit. "But in all seriousness, most shinobi won't just go showing off their Ninjutsu. Even I need to keep my secrets."
I nodded, "I know, I'm not trying to pry into any secret jutsu or anything..." I recalled the previous evening, our encounter with the Uchiha named Inaba. He accused me of trying to steal secrets of the Uchiha clan, something I wanted to assure Misaki I had no intention of doing. "I just wanted to see some more jutsu in action and... maybe... learn a couple..." I not so subtly added my true intentions to the end there.
"Ah, so that's it." Misaki-sensei said, pushing off the tree once again. "Listen, Meiko, there's a good reason most children don't start learning to perform Ninjutsu until they're enrolled in the academy. Most kids lack both the necessary reserves and control to safely activate a jutsu. It's very dangerous to try without the right preparations, kids can easily burn out what little chakra they have on even simple jutsu and end up being rushed to the hospital."
With a slight sigh, she continued, "I know you want to catch up with Kiyomi, but that is something you really shouldn't rush."
My eyes fell slowly to the ground. The fact she was giving me this warning clearly meant that I just wasn't ready. I had really hoped that, with learning Chakra Reinforcement, I would be able to start learning Ninjutsu. To my knowledge, Kiyomi already knew the clone jutsu. One we would be learning at the academy and, if memory served correctly, was one of the requirements for graduation. Plus, considering her eagerness and her brother more than willing to do so, she was probably learning more already.
"So... there's nothing I can do then? There's no jutsu I can learn now?" I muttered aloud what I meant to keep in my head.
Sensei was silent for a time, the both of us simply standing around. Finally, with a sigh, Misaki was the first to speak. "Well... I know one jutsu that might be safe enough for you. Plus, it is something that works very similar to Chakra Reinforcement."
The sun's light in that moment, broke from over top the neighbouring building. Rays of light creating a halo around Misaki's head in my eyes. "R-really?" I asked tentatively, not sure I wanted to commit to believing it.
"Yes, really." Misaki replied, her tone holding a slight hint of defeat. "I'll warn you, it is not a flashy jutsu. It's more used for the utility than anything else."
"I don't care!" I screamed, practically leaping the distance between us. At this point I was willing to take anything, even a simple utility jutsu.
"Hahaha! Okay, calm down there!" Misaki laughed as she pushed me back. "Before we start, I just need you to promise me not to overdo it when you're training this jutsu. Chakra exhaustion is no joke and you still don't know your limits yet." Of course, her warning was met with very enthusiastic nodding. Not that I was discounting her concerns, the excitement was just a bit too much. How could it not be? This was going to be my first jutsu!
"Well, alright then." Misaki said, scratching the back of her head. "Watch closely, blink and you'll miss it." Her hands came together in the form of the tiger seal, apparently the only one needed for this technique. A brief moment passed as her body appeared to vibrate, quickly increasing in intensity until I could practically see through her and then she was just gone.
I had seen this technique before, several times in fact. Originally I had chalked it up to shinobi just being that fast. Apparently it was an actual jutsu.
"So, what do you think?" Misaki's voice suddenly called to me from behind, scaring the crap out of me. A high pitched and brief scream echoing off the nearby buildings as I jumped away, spinning to face her while taking up a combat ready stance.
Once again, Misaki was laughing at my reaction. "Nice reflexes there!" She managed to say while I stewed in embarrassment while waiting for my heart to slow down.
Misaki explained that this jutsu was known as the Body-Flicker Technique. A form of high-speed movement used by shinobi. This jutsu came in two flavours, short and long distance. The former was often used to quickly reposition after placing a distraction while the latter was more for travelling when going out on missions. And, to my delight, it apparently worked in a similar manner to Chakra Reinforcement. Indeed, from that quick description it did sound like a utility-based jutsu.
I still had some questions, "So, if you can use it for short distance movement, why do you need to disguise it? Couldn't you just rush down your enemy instead?"
"It's not that simple." Sensei replied, "The Body-Flicker Technique results in speeds the body normally cannot sustain, especially with short distance movement. Most people can't even see what they're doing during this time and it is extremely difficult to change direction or react when it's active. We often produce smoke or use some other method to disguise our movements so the enemy can't track us and attack while we're unable to retaliate.
"This isn't so bad when travelling long distances though, you don't move as fast so there's more control. Although..." Misaki placed her chin between a finger and thumb, "There are a rare few who might be able to use it in combat effectively, but they're in a league of their own." Of course that last bit there would catch my attention. When I asked who, Misaki just gave me a look saying I should already know. "You met them, Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. If there was anyone who could use body flicker at that level it would be them. I mean, Shisui earned himself the title of Shisui the Teleporter in the last war. His speed was second only to the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's Yellow Flash."
Shisui Uchiha, that was the man who helped Misaki and I out with Inaba and his thugs. I knew he was strong but to be on par with Itachi, there must have been something I was forgetting here. The nickname of 'Teleporter' was certainly an apt one though. If he was doing what he did with the Body Flicker, then maybe, just maybe, I could too. It was the longest of shots but it would be worth a try.
Most of the morning was then spent training the Body-Flicker Technique. Misaki-sensei started me off by learning the difference between Chakra Reinforcement and chakra generated through the use of hand seals. To put it simply, the formation of hand seals focuses and refines the chakra into a more potent form, thus greatly increasing its efficiency. This refined chakra also cannot be recycled by the body, so even if you cancel the jutsu that chakra is simply lost.
Misaki-sensei was watching me intently, her Sharingan active during the entire exercise. This was a safety measure to make sure I don't burn through too much of my chakra and suffer from exhaustion. We also took frequent breaks which allowed me to refill the tank. When the sun was nearing its zenith did she allow me to make a few attempts at performing the jutsu itself.
"You've got a small feeling for your chakra capacity now I believe," She said, stepping off to the side. "We have a bit of time until lunch and from what I've seen your current chakra levels can probably sustain two or three attempts. I don't want you ever trying to do more than three for the time being."
Three attempts at most, my chakra reserves must be extremely small. I would certainly need to find a way to try and expand that in the future.
My heart felt tight, anxiety gripping my chest as I prepared myself for the first attempt. "Focus on exactly where you want to go. You won't be able to see or react once the jutsu is activated so it is important to visualize the path you're going to take." Misaki's instruction was at the forefront of my mind as I formed the tiger seal. My destination was marked on the grass five meters ahead. This left enough of a gap between the destination and the nearest wall that I should be able to slow down before hitting anything.
With the seal formed, I flared my chakra and it began to react. I could feel the new power of the refined chakra forming and sent that into my legs. As the chakra poured into the muscle, the fibres flared with power. The best way I could describe it was the worst case of restless leg syndrome. My legs wanted, no, needed to move. I focused hard on the target spot ahead of me and took off.
Just as Sensei had said, the world became an incomprehensible blur around me, the only thing in my view was my target. A pinpoint at the end of the tunnel. One that quickly vanished into the rest of the world as something went wrong. It all happened in an instant, the world became a swirling vortex of blues, yellows and greens before finally settling on green and darkness. Finally coming to a stop I felt my legs bending close enough to touch the back of my head before flopping back on the ground. The pain came next, my entire body feeling like I had been thrown in with the wash cycle for laundry.
"Meiko! Are you alright!?" I heard Misaki's voice calling for me.
"...Nooo..." I groaned, getting a mouthful of grass as a result. With Sensei's help, I was rolled into a sitting position. "What happened?" I asked, still a bit dazed from the whole event.
"You wiped out, quite spectacularly." Misaki said, going on to explain that the moment after I had taken off, I tripped over my own two feet. Not used to the massive increase in speed I ended up tumbling over myself before I landed in the heap that was me now.
Groaning, I unsteadily got back to my feet. Legs still tingling from the leftovers of the jutsu. I was sore but this was nothing compared to what I had been through the last month. I was ready to make the next attempt. Bull-headed tenaciousness had gotten me this far, no need to fix what wasn't broken.
The second attempt went a little better than the first, in my opinion at least. Instead of tripping over myself, I instead massively overshot the target, slowing down just in time so I didn't run into my house at mach three. Instead I only hit it at running speed. Once more I found myself lying on the ground, but this time I was staring up into the sky. At least I realized as much once I was able to focus again.
Before I took my third and final attempt, I had a question for Misaki, "Sensei, what am I doing wrong?" With so few chances permitted and the fact that I probably would not be seeing Misaki for a while, I needed as much information as I could get.
"Well, to put it simply," She began, "You're putting too much chakra into the jutsu. It's causing you to accelerate far beyond what you can keep up with right now."
Too much chakra? That should be an easy enough fix, I just needed to refine less chakra. Once more I formed the tiger seal and began flaring my chakra, being extra attentive to the amount I was using. My first attempt at this resulted in the jutsu simply failing, having throttled it too hard I was hardly able to generate any refined chakra. Trying again, I tried to keep the amount of chakra to about half of what I had in the previous attempts.
With my legs once again charged, I focused intently on the target before me. "Its okay Meiko, you got this." I muttered to myself as my body began to flicker, then vanished. The world once again turned into a blur as I sped towards the marked zone in the grass. Then, everything returned to normal. No crashes, no wipe outs. "Heh... hehehe..." I started chuckling, absolutely giddy at my apparent success.
"Not bad Meiko!" Sensei complimented form the far side of the yard, "Just one little thing." She did not feel the need to fill in the end herself, instead she simply pointed towards the ground. Several meters behind me was the zone she had marked as her target. I had overshot it. It was certainly disappointing, but at least I hadn't smacked into the house wall this time. That's some kind of progress.
I wanted to try again, but Misaki was a step ahead of me, declaring this training over for the morning. I could, if I was so inclined, try again in the afternoon so long as I only attempted it three times.
"Well, it's just about time for lunch," She said as she looked to the sky, "Time to wrap things up here."
I could feel my stomach rumble at this, nowhere near as feral as this morning at least but given another hour, who knows how angry it could become. Misaki was strolling across the yard, heading towards the back door. A large part of me didn't want the training to end, I wanted to keep practicing the Body Flicker Technique but there was no way Sensei would allow that. There was, however, still one thing I wanted to do. Or, more specifically, see.
"Sensei!" I called out, the woman halting in response. "Could you show me one more jutsu?" Admittedly, I had gotten caught up in the excitement earlier and forgot why I had originally asked the question. There was one specific jutsu that had been on my mind since I had made my decision to walk this path of a shinobi. One that would be invaluable for my growth if I could learn it. Hopefully, Misaki-sensei would allow me this one last request.
"Meiko..." Misaki sighed, clearly not to impressed with what she heard, "I told you, it's very risky for someone your age to be performing ninjutsu. You're already at the limit I've set."
"I know!" I replied, "There's a jutsu I heard about and wanted to see it, if you know it of course." Pressing in harder, I continued, "B-but I promise I won't try and use it if you aren't around and not without your permission!" It was a low blow, but I pulled out the puppy dog eyes and prayed.
"Well..." Misaki said as she contemplated how to answer, that look of conflict on her face meant there was the slightest crack I could squeeze in.
"Pleeeeaaaaasssse! Misaki-sensei!" I moved in closer while begging.
With a sigh, Misaki's defences crumbled. "Alright, alright you win. But you have to keep that promise. Do not even think of attempting it until I say you're ready. So, what did you have in mind?"
I was beaming, "Thank you Sensei!" I practically shouted and needed a moment to settle down. "It's called the Shadow Clone jutsu. I heard it's like the clone jutsu Kiyomi can use, but the clone is actually real. If I could use it, I could have a training partner even when you weren't around."
"That's surprisingly practical of you," Sensei complimented, "I thought for sure you'd be asking for something a whole lot flashier." I chuckled, imagining for a moment Mana's reaction to me using one of these 'flashy' jutsu. "You are in luck, I do happen to know that one, although I'm not very good at it. Shadow Clone is a high ranked ninjutsu, it costs a lot of chakra to make and personally, I don't think it would make for a good training partner. It would share the same skill level as you so you wouldn't be able to learn anything from it and could easily develop some bad habits."
From the sound of it, Misaki didn't know about the special quirk of shadow clones, how they passed on anything they learned back to the user. "Maybe I should tell Misaki about that, at the very least it would serve as a test that Shadow Clones still work in the same manner." Excitedly, I took a couple steps back to give her some room as Misaki prepared the jutsu.
"I did say I'd show you though, so watch closely." Misaki said as she began forming the hand seals. As a precaution, she was quick to perform them, likely in an attempt to prevent me from learning and copying them. Only the last one I was able to make out, her index and middle fingers on each hand forming a cross as she called out the techniques name. A large cloud of smoke engulfed her and moments later, I was staring at two identical Misaki's.
"So what do-" The Misaki on my right started, "You think?" The one to my left finished. My first instinct was to look to the ground, I couldn't remember checking with Kiyomi's clone and wasn't sure if it worked that way or not, but both Misaki's were casting shadows. The next test was to reach out and touch them, a simple poke in their thighs was all the proof I needed. They were certainly both quite real.
"Whoa..." I said with wonder as the Misaki's giggled. Even though I saw it for myself, it was still hard to believe that Misaki just created a perfect copy of herself out of nothing. "That's amazing!" I cried out, really that was the only way I could think to describe it.
"Of course!" The Misaki twins replied in unison, unable to hide that rosy tint appearing on their cheeks. "So, while I'm here," The Misaki to my left spoke first, possibly indicating that she was the clone. "Is there any questions you have for me?" Oh so many, my head was racing with so many questions. She seemed to know she was a clone so how did that feel? To have such an ephemeral existence, destined to live only to complete a singular goal then simply cease. There were far more but it was all far too philosophical. I needed to focus and get to the point.
"So, what do most ninja use Shadow Clones for? Do they use them to gang up on people?" The first order of business was to get the general opinion on the jutsu. My memories had Naruto abusing massive numbers of clones to try and overwhelm his opponents but even I knew that was a feat that was unique to him.
"Not really." Clone!Misaki replied. "Other types of clones are often used in combat, but the Shadow Clone has a few drawbacks compared to them." The real Misaki then picked up the explanation, "Shadow Clones are usually used for scouting, since they are a safe way to gather information without putting the user at risk. They're limited in combat due to the large amount of chakra needed per clone created."
That was the information I was looking for. "Scouting? But what if the clone is caught? How do you know?" The annoying part of being a kid with knowledge like this, was having to try and find ways that people wouldn't figure out you already knew things.
"Well, no." Misaki replied, looking to her clone, "I think the best way for you to understand would be to demonstrate." Clone!Misaki nodded and stepped forward, taking my hand she pulled me along until we were on the other side of the yard.
"Okay, now tell me a number between one and one hundred. Whisper it in my ear so the real me can't hear." The clone instructed before crouching down. I looked back to the real Misaki who turned her back on us for good measure before whispering 'Forty-two' into the clones ear. "Alright, you can head back now." Were her final words before she popped like a balloon into a cloud of smoke. Not even a trace of the clone remained, leaving a bit of an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
Returning to the real Misaki, I was greeted with a simple number. "Forty-two."
"No way!" I shouted, trying to sound as surprised as I possibly could. "But how!?"
"When a shadow clone is undone, the user receives any information it had learned. That's why they make such great scouts." Misaki replied. I was positively giddy, that was exactly the information I needed to hear. Now I knew I had to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu no matter what.
"So, anything a clone learns is passed on to the user?" I reiterated, eyes going wide as I jumped at Misaki, grabbing her hands, "Misaki-sensei! Please teach me that jutsu! If I could learn that, I could train so much faster!"
"Meiko..." Misaki said with an exasperated sigh, "I already told you, it's not a good idea to use clones for training, you'll-"
"No, you already said it!" I interrupted, "A clone returns everything it learns to the user! So if I create a clone and we both practice the Body Flicker Technique for one hour, I would get two hours worth of training!"
Misaki was about to rebuke me before the realization hit her. I watched her go through several stages of thought in the span of only a couple seconds. "You... I... wait..." She stammered before falling silent. "Is that really possible...?"
Hook, line and sinker. Misaki was deeply contemplating the ramifications of what I had said. I did wish I had come up with that, but I was really just stealing credit from the future. Still, if it could help me avoid tragedy in the future, I would be more than willing to go full kleptomaniac.
"Meiko, I'm going to test this out and get back to you. If what you said is true, I'll definitely teach you this jutsu." She had barely finished her sentence when I let out a victorious cry so loud I certainly grabbed the attention of the neighbours. "Now, it is a very difficult jutsu," Misaki continued, trying to quiet me down as she spoke with a very firm tone and waved her hands, "So it will be a while until we start that. For now, you should try to work on your chakra control."
"Okay! It's a promise!" I replied, right now I was on top of the world. I finally had some concrete goals to work towards. Before this month, my goal was a hazy one. Get strong enough to become a shinobi. It was like I was feeling my way down a dark hallway, I knew where I had to go but how to get there was vague and confusing. Truly, I was so thankful for Misaki doing so much for me. I wished there was something I could do for her in return.
"Well... maybe there is..."
That ended our final training session. Afterwards, Misaki gathered up everyone in the house and announced she would be treating everyone to lunch today. In that moment, I was terrified for her wallet. Between Dad and myself, we would be racking up quite the bill.
Foreseeing this little issue, Misaki brought us to a large All-You-Can-Eat barbecue shop. It was a fun place where we had to grill the meats ourselves over a large grill built into the table. Dad and I inevitably getting into a war over the best cuts. I was also responsible for making Sengo's share since he was still too small to cook his own food. Something I was happy to do. Perhaps I should use these next few days to spend some time with him. I had barely seen the little guy for the past month because I was either way too busy or way too tired.
After we were all stuffed and Misaki's wallet a good deal lighter, we returned home. Sengo riding on my back as he had succumbed to a food coma. My shoulder getting progressively damn as he was drooling.
"Thank you for lunch Misaki, and thank you for everything you've done for Meiko." Mom said as we stood outside our front door. Sadly, this was where we had to part. Misaki wanted to get back to her own home and, as she put it, 'face the music.'
"Misaki..." I said as she was about to leave, "...Thank you so much. I think I'm ready to start the academy now, and it's all because of you." Smiling, Misaki knelt down and pulled Sengo and I into a hug.
"I'm so glad to hear that." She said softly into my hear, "And don't worry about me. I'll be fine, just busy for a while." With that, we all said our farewells and Misaki flickered out of sight. I waved goodbye before taking Sengo back inside to rest, feeling quite lonely now that she was gone.
That evening, after I had gotten a bit more practice with the Body Flicker in, I entered my room and locked the door behind me. My body was sore from crashing into the wall again, twice this time. The next time I practiced that jutsu, I was going to grab something soft and mount it on that wall so I won't accidentally end up breaking my nose.
For the first time in a very long time, I crawled under my bed. A thick layer of dust getting kicked up and forcing a sneeze, blowing even more of the crap into the air. I pried back the old, loose floorboard revealing the aged notebook underneath. Swatting away a rather large spider I pulled it out and retreated back into the open. Dust and cobwebs coated both me and the book and took a minute to clean off. Sitting down at my desk, I carefully opened the book. The old pages crinkling and slightly yellowed with age, but overall it was still in good condition.
"Oh..." I lightly moaned as I was greeted by the three year old me's handwriting. Messy and jagged, written entirely in English. It had been so long the language looked foreign to me now. I could make out a few words here and there but it was a difficult task when combined with my horrible writing. "This might take a while."
I had a single goal with this. One that had the nagging doubts from the back of my mind nibbling away once more. I had a good reason to bring this book out again, this book that carried the secrets of this world's future. I didn't know how long I had but I knew time was short. All I knew is that it would happen sometime within the next six years, but I highly doubted it would wait that long. At best, I probably had four years at max.
This was the one thing I could do to repay Misaki for everything she had done for me. It would mean breaking that vow I had been telling myself for years, to not interfere with future events. However, I also made a much more important vow. To do whatever I could to protect my family and, well, Misaki felt like a big sister to me now. She had done so much for me, for Mom, there's no way I couldn't consider her as someone like that.
"You're going to fail. There's nothing you can do to change this." That annoying voice whispered into my ear. I did not even bother to acknowledge it, instead forcing it back into the depths. I had far more important things to focus on. I had to decipher my notes and get as much information as I could, then start formulating a plan to change one of the most tragic events in the history of the Leaf Village.
I had to find a way to stop the Uchiha Massacre.
Author's Note: And we're finally done! Next chapter we begin the Academy arc! We're finally moving along!