Chapter 21
Time was a funny thing, it had the uncanny ability to make even the most fantastical into the mundane given enough of it. After half a year, even the novelty of attending a ninja academy was now just a part of the daily grind. Not to say it had become dull, far from it. In fact, I had been far too busy over these past few months to really feel boredom at all.
Between my morning and evening training sessions, classes and working in the forge with Dad, my free time had dwindled quite significantly. Devoting most of what I had left to spending some time with my friends and/or family. Although that was a challenge in and of itself. Since starting the academy I had made a few new friends in Naruto and Sasuke. Sadly, they didn't quite get along with each other. Naruto and Sasuke would, obviously, butt heads each and every time they met. While Kiyomi's inherently competitive nature would have similar results whenever the young Uchiha came around.
Being the solitary type, Sasuke often preferred to not join in with other groups I may be with. As such, I didn't see him all that much and when we did it was usually to do some training. We had recently moved on from just shuriken jutsu to outright sparring. Of course I didn't have a chance in our bouts. Sasuke could literally dance circles around me. Yet for some reason he never got tired of my company, more than once I had thought that he'd consider it a waste of time practising with someone so much weaker than himself.
There was one thing I still had the advantage over him on, and that was my cutting wit. Or at least, I liked to think so. It was getting more difficult to to clap back at someone who kicked your butt in every contest.
Other than that, he was apparently still trying to get my ban from the compound overturned, so far to no avail. I could tell he still blamed himself for it on some level despite my insistence against the fact. He also appeared to have no knowledge of the political turmoil his family was in. I would occasionally ask how things were going at home and, unless he had recently did some training with Itachi I would get a simple 'fine, same as usual' sort of answer. I figured he must be kept in the dark about the whole situation. Understandable considering his age and, I assumed, Itachi's intervention.
As for Naruto, well we still tried on occasion to improve his standing within the village to less than fortunate results. After the first attempt I figured he would have simply given up on the matter but this was Naruto after all. Giving up was not in his vocabulary. Now, that didn't mean he stopped getting into trouble, at the end of the day he was still his own worst enemy. When his emotions got too heated, which they easily did, he would still get into fights or pull his usual pranks.
As loathe as I am to say, once or twice I may have been caught up in such pranks...
I've also done my best to try and help him out with his school work, or at least I try to. There are some things that are just beyond my skill level. When it came to homework and the like, it was almost impossible to get Naruto to sit still and once accomplishing that you had to keep him focused for an indefinite period of time. I think our current record was about ten minutes of math before the smoke started coming out from his ears.
Sometimes he would join Kiyomi, Mana and I together but that was mostly limited to school hours. Family issues mostly. Mana's parents still weren't keen on the idea of their daughter hanging out with him. As for Kiyomi's family, they were a little more accepting but the rest of the clan, well, not so much. But otherwise they all got along well enough. The worst part was when I'd have to turn him down thanks to my busy as heck schedule.
Finally, there was Kiyomi and Mana. I still spent most of my free time with them and not much had changed on that front. What had changed however, was how popular the two had become in class. Mana especially, she had grown quite a bit over these six months. Becoming more outgoing and far less shy, at least for those in our class. Quite often she would have people asking her to show off some new trick and asking for tips on how to do it themselves. Mana's 'magic classes' were always entertaining for me. Mainly because the girl had absolutely no idea how to teach people anything. The best she could do was describe her thought process in terms of nebulous feelings. But it is extremely difficult to teach anything when you describe releasing chakra as a 'whoosh' or to just go for a 'bang'.
Kiyomi was holding steady as the top student in the class. Even if she was outclassed in certain aspects by some people, overall she just excelled in every category and was certainly a contender for best in the year. And that, of course, made her quite popular even outside of our immediate peer group. In fact, she even had her own little group of fans growing. It wasn't much, but the fact it existed was hilarious and something she was well aware of. When I first noticed them fawning over her, I thought for sure her ego would blast off to the stars but no, funny enough Kiyomi was actually weirded out by it. Later telling me if they have time to admire her, they should be using it to train. I couldn't tell her that they acted like she did whenever talking about her brother's achievements.
Her ninjutsu skills had also improved. Her clone could finally talk, short sentences and it often got tongue-tied but it was almost perfect. It was a bit ridiculous how good she was and it was hard at times to hide my envy. Her brick building had also gotten a lot better and now at the point she could make enough to build a small fort. And more than likely she was already learning a new one from her brother. At least her showing off the clone jutsu had been enough for me to memorize the hand seals. Sadly, I had yet to get anything more than the occasional cloud to materialize.
Classes went on as one would expect. Mornings were still general education and the part everyone dreaded. Math in the morning when one's brain was still winding up was never fun. The afternoon was where all the action was, literally. After three months of learning the basic forms of the Strong Fist style, Mizuki-sensei had moved us on to sparring practise.
As one would expect, it... Certainly did not start well. We were told to take it easy and just slowly go through the forms at first. But excited children don't often listen and the first match had the two going at it right from the start. It didn't last long either before one got a solid shot right on the nose. Blood and tears poured from the kid as he was rushed off to the infirmary, his opponent crying as well saying it was an accident. If I were to be honest, I thought that Mizuki-sensei had allowed that to happen. As a way to show what happened if they got overly excited. This was because after that, when combatants started getting too energetic, or an accident might occur, Mizuki-sensei stepped in immediately and put a halt to it.
After a month of that, we advanced to actual bouts. No more hand-holding, as he put it. Injuries became commonplace, but he would still interfere if he deemed things going too far. The class was soon divided into two tiers based on strength and skill. It was the best way to prevent unneeded injury. Best not put someone struggling up against the giant Akimichi after all.
I was part of the 'advanced' tier alongside Kiyomi and Shun. I had to thank Misaki and Sasuke for that help. I would like to say I at least held one of the top three spots but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Kiyomi was obvious, I couldn't land a blow and often just got tossed around. Shun held a clear second using his overwhelming strength and size. His matches with Kiyomi were hilarious watching that tiny girl toss him around with ease.
I could at least hold my own in a contest of strength against him, but he would eventually overwhelm me. Sadly, that still left me in the bottom tier. Ken, the self-proclaimed sword master of the class, was another person I couldn't quite overcome yet.
Finally, there was my work with Dad. I wasn't yet allowed to really do anything, too dangerous he'd say. I should watch and learn for now. Well, he did let me run small errands for him.. Grab his tools, move this thing here, that sort of thing. For a while it was actually difficult, not from the work but from the gear I had to wear. A heavy leather apron that was several sizes too large for me, thick gloves and dark goggles were the basics. And understandably too, every time Dad would strike the near-molten steel, burning fragments would be sent flying.
How he never set fire to his beard was a wonder to me. Heck he wouldn't even flinch when burning fragments of metal would clearly land on exposed flesh. Dad just said that you get used to it. Not something to look forward to. Anyway, it was still so entrancing watching him work. Every day I wished more and more to join in. To be able to hammer my own works. It was like something deep inside was calling for it and I was getting frustrated he continued to deny me. So I worked all that much harder to to prove myself ready.
Fall was upon the village. Although you would be hard pressed to tell considering everything was still warm and vibrantly green. That's just how it was in the Land of Fire. Fall and winter kind of blended into one season around the end of the year. In a matter of weeks, the trees would turn into shades of red and yellow before shedding and engulfing the village in snow. Shortly after, in almost a blink of an eye, the sun would be back and spring would be kicking in the door. All in all, lasting only a scarce three months.
I did my best to stifle a yawn as my eyes glazed over, staring listlessly out the window. Mizuki-sensei was droning on with the usual end of the day wrap up. His words a distant echo I was barely registering until a stick of chalk was launched at my temple.
"Meiko, eyes front." Mizuki scolded. Rubbing the area where he had nailed me, I gave a small bow from behind my desk and apologized. "There may only be a few minutes left but that doesn't give you the right to doze off." He motioned back to the board, "As I was saying, don't forget your reports on the founding are due this Friday. I won't be accepting any late submissions. Also, next week will be the first parent-teacher conference. Reminder forms can be found by the door if you need one."
Just as Mizuki finished speaking, the bell rang out signalling our freedom for the day. While others cheered and ran out as fast as possible, I leaned back in my seat and took a nice big stretch. Turning back to look up at Kiyomi, "Hey, any plans for today?" I asked, normally Kiyomi would be dragging me off somewhere right after class and that usually dictated what my plans would be.
"Sorry Meiko, I'm busy." She said, quickly getting to her feet. Shrugging, I turned to Mana and was about to ask her when Kiyomi zipped by, reaching over the desk and grabbing the girl's hand. "And Mana's coming with me." And before I could say anything else, the two were darting off into the hall and were gone.
"Well... That was weird." I muttered, looking back to Rei and Shun. "You know what that's about?" The two shared a look between each other before shrugging.
"Sorry, can't say." Rei apologized as she got to her feet and scurried away like a mouse. Shun quickly following behind, shoving an entire pack of jerky into his gullet and mumbling something as he passed by.
Left alone, I couldn't help but feel how bizarre that had been. "Really weird..." I mumbled, feeling a bit like I had been snubbed from something. With a sigh, I brushed away that thought. Kiyomi was the last person to do something like that. If she said she was busy, then she was busy. Considering Rei and Shun ran off too, perhaps it had something to do with the clans. Although that did raise the question as to why Mana had to go with her.
Packing up, I made my way out of the classroom, debating on how I should spend my afternoon. Normally Kiyomi would drag me off if I had no plans already established. So at the moment, I had some unexpected free time. Dad had no orders to work on so I didn't need to rush home either. I could check in on Naruto or Sasuke. See if either of them were up for some training.
Peeking into their classroom, the place was already vacant. Well, save for the usual sight of the troublemakers lined against the wall. It looked like Naruto was going to be a while so I continued on outside. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
"Well then, should I do some training?" I mused to myself. It was rare I had free time like this so I needed to spend it wisely. It was during these rare times that I could really devote myself to extra training or try to come up with a new plan regarding the whole Uchiha thing. Sadly, the latter really hadn't made any progress over the past half year.
At this point I had resolved myself to getting stronger. The alternative being worrying myself into an endless hole. It was, at least, the only thing I could do that provided results. Although I couldn't say with confidence the results had been good. Hard as I had been working I was still just barely keeping up with my classmates.
"Right, training it is." I said to myself, pumping my fists a couple times. Pausing to take a look around. Most of the students were filing out towards the gates, some loitered around. And of course there would always be a good amount who would remain to do their own training. If I didn't hurry, all of the fields would be taken up. Spinning on my heel, I started to run off towards the training fields. Heck, if I was lucky, some of the training equipment may have been left out.
"Hey, where are you running off to?"
I froze. Literally. My entire body locking up mid-step as that familiar voice hit my ears. It had been months since I last saw her, for a brief moment I thought I had imagined it.
"Something wrong?"
It was real. Fighting back the tears I turned back to see Misaki standing not ten feet away. Six months, six long months where I hadn't heard even a peep out of her. Not since the day we took those photos at orientation. She had said she would be busy but then just vanished. There was so much I wanted to say, wanted to ask. Instead, my legs acted before I could form any useless words. Charging and throwing myself at her, embracing the woman in the biggest hug I could muster.
"Whoa!" Misaki gasped in surprise, staggering back a step as I made contact. "Sheesh, what's with you? Its like you've seen a ghost!" She laughed while her arms draped over my back.
"Mmm!" Was my only reply as I pressed my face into her stomach. It was childish, I realized that and yet I couldn't control myself, couldn't hold back the overwhelming joy at seeing her again. It took about a minute of fighting back tears for me to calm down. Once that initial cascade of emotion faded did the embarrassment well to the surface.
"S-Sorry." I stammered, stepping back and quickly wiping my eyes. "I missed you."
"Me too." Misaki replied, ruffling my hair.
"Ah! Stop! It took forever to get that right!" I cried, stepping back and trying desperately to fix the bird nest that was now my hair.
"Pft, bwahahahahaha!" Near hysterical laughter burst forth from Misaki, causing me to stop and stare at her in confusion. Pointing at me as she covered her mouth to stifle the laughter, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you started caring about your looks."
Once again I froze, feeling my face burning up. It was almost certainly matching the same red as my hair as my hands fell to my sides. "Oh no, uh its just... Mom will be mad I messed it up again!" I desperately stammered out. Finding myself wondering when that change happened. At some point I had started doing my own hair and caring about it staying neat and tidy. In fact, seeing some of my bangs danging over my eyes even now left me with an urge to fix it.
"Dang, Mom is good." I thought to myself.
"Forget about that!" I shouted, not so subtly trying to change the subject, "Where have you been? Its been so long and you never even stopped by to say 'Hi'." The prior embarrassment was overshadowed by irritation at having been left forgotten for half a year. Irritation and, well, loneliness.
Misaki returned a bittersweet smile. "Yeah, sorry about that." She apologized, eyes reflecting a similar sorrow to what I felt. "What can I say, Old Man Gento worked me to the bone and then some as punishment. It just got to the point I had no free time to myself. And then, when he finally let up, well..." Scratching the back of her head, Misaki shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly. Eyes falling to the side as her lips pursed, as though she had something more to say but couldn't quite bring herself to do so.
"Anyway, that's not important right now." She finally chose to wave it off, "Right now, we have some catching up to do."
As we walked down the street, I happily recounted some of the notable events from the past few months. Mostly just school related things, working in my Dad's forge, the usual day to day things. Getting lost in the joy of seeing her again I certainly rambled on. There were important questions I had, lingering on the edge of my tongue but for now they remained dormant. I could be allowed this much, right?
The fact I had befriended both Naruto and Sasuke came as quite the surprise to her. The former more so and she couldn't hide the unease about it. Although after I explained the circumstances of our meeting she did seem to soften up about it. Even giving me a pat on the back for standing up for him. I could tell there was still some hesitancy but she wasn't pressing the issue. That was a bit of a relief.
We eventually arrived in a small park, one I was familiar with. We often came here when the space in my backyard wasn't quite enough for our needs. The nice thing about this one in particular was the large amount of trees. This way we wouldn't be disturbing anyone and having some privacy. To be fair the park was more of a trail with sparse clearings but it worked either way.
"So, it has been a while." Misaki said, getting straight to business. "Why don't you show me the results of the past few months." With a grin she beckoned me to come at her. It looked like we would be kicking things off with a spar.
Returning the grin, I leaned forward. "You know, I could use some exercise." I happily replied and kicked off. Dashing in I threw a simple, straightforward punch with as much power behind it as I could muster. Misaki received the blow with both hands, a loud clap echoing off the trees as we collided.
"Nice!" Misaki praised with a wide grin as her arms trembled slightly from the force of impact. "That's what I expected, you've definitely gotten stronger." She added, pushing back my fist. "Now, show me how you handle this." Dropping down, Misaki went to sweep my leg.
Jumping up to avoid it, I retaliated with a kick of my own which Misaki blocked with ease. We continued exchanging blows for a good minute. This wasn't really a spar, more just Misaki trying to gauge my growth. I went through the few forms of the Strong Fist they had taught in class as well as attempted a few tricks Sasuke had displayed in our few bouts. And by displayed I mean kicked my butt with.
Personally, I think I was more adept at the Strong Fist. The moves were simple and straight forward, as the name suggested it mainly relied on raw power. This contrasted with what little I had seen of Sasuke's style which I could assume was shared by the Uchiha clan. Theirs was more acrobatic, relying on nimble movements to counter and overwhelm the enemy. My imitations paled in comparison and amounted to little more than clumsy flailing.
"Alright, I think that's enough." Misaki called it as she caught another kick aimed at her head. As I dropped to the ground, I let out a short breath to calm myself. "So, you've come quite a ways when it comes to pure strength. You have good form too for the most part but, what was that flailing?"
"Ehe..." I laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. "I was trying some stuff Sasuke was doing, I'm not very good at it."
Stroking her chin, Misaki gave me a quick look over, "Well, maybe." Misaki admitted with a hint of curiosity, "But I have to ask, are you still wearing those weights of yours?"
My head tilted like a puppy that heard a weird noise, "Uh, yeah." I replied, pulling down an arm band enough to reveal the heavy metal plates underneath. "Everyday, like always."
Misaki snickered upon seeing the weight. "Well that explains it. I thought you were moving a bit slower than I had anticipated." She mused, "I shouldn't really be saying this, but you could hurt yourself at this rate. Uchiha style taijutsu requires extremely fine and exact movements. Your weights build up too much momentum to allow that."
"Oh..." I replied, feeling strangely dejected. "So, should I stop using them?" My hand gripped over my forearm. These weights were supposed to be helping me get stronger, the fact that they were holding me back instead was slightly painful.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you're still wearing them all the time." Misaki replied, her voice gentle, soothing my discomfort. "But if they're working for you, then stick with it. I mean, at this point you must be the strongest in your class at least, right?"
An uneasy laugh escaped me at her question. "I wish," I replied, recalling how, despite my training and weights I still fell behind in many aspects compared to the others. "We started sparring a few months back, Kiyomi kicks my butt every time of course, but there's others too. I'm far from the strongest. Heck, there's even a guy who is outright stronger than me." And that was just when it came to physical abilities. While we hadn't moved to learning ninjutsu techniques, Mana and Kiyomi both were far ahead in that aspect as well. I could only assume Rei and Shun wouldn't be too far behind either, much less others in the class.
Misaki whistled, "Sounds like you have a lot of competition."
I nodded back, "Yeah. And that's just in my class." This entire year was loaded with talented students. I feared that my own tenuous position would only continue to fall as time passed on by. It already felt like I was working myself to the bone and I would have to push even harder if I wanted to make graduation.
"Well then, sounds like we'll need to advance your training then." Misaki chuckled reassuringly, giving me a good slap on the back. "I can't have my precious first student falling behind now can I? How about you show me how far you've come with that jutsu I taught you last time?"
"Yeah!" I replied wholeheartedly, taking several steps back so I'd have a safe bit of space. Forming the ram seal, the chakra in my legs pulsated in what was now an extremely familiar sensation. With one more pulse, the world around me blurred for less than a second before snapping back into view. Although now Misaki, instead of being directly in front of me, was several meters to my left.
"Oh! That's impressive. You pretty much have the short range movement down pat, huh?" Misaki replied, clapping her hands a bit. I couldn't help the grin that spread on my face. Cheeks heating up a bit at her praise. Honestly, just getting to this point had taken months of effort and countless bruising. And... There was also something else. Something that made me feel some heavy guilt.
"Um... Misaki..." I muttered, biting my lip knowing I shouldn't hide it. I had broken the promise I made to her after about three months had passed since our last training session. Impatience getting the best of me. "I... I'm sorry. Remember how you said I shouldn't practice the body flicker more than three times? Well... I broke that rule..."
Misaki's smile faded, eyes stern as she exhaled out of her nose. "I see." She said coolly, "Well, I can't quite blame you for that, I'm partially responsible after all for not being there. I had planned to let you increase the load after about a month." Stepping a bit closer, her hands sat at her hips. "I didn't want you burning out your chakra, young as you are its still developing. But you seem to be okay, thankfully."
"W-Was it dangerous?" I asked, voice cracking slightly.
"Potentially, but the body flicker doesn't use much chakra so you would certainly feel the effects of chakra exhaustion long before you ran out." I swallowed a small lump. Chakra exhaustion, the state when your reserves fell low. We had learned extensively about it in class, the signs and dangers of it. "However, make sure you don't break a promise like that again. If I teach you a new jutsu and I limit you on it, I have a very good reason."
I nodded, still feeling guilty about it but at least a bit relieved she was understanding. "I won't, I promise." To be fair, promising to not break a promise after breaking one certainly sounded hypocritical. With that weight lifted, I felt confident showing off a little more. "I also learned something else while you were away." I said.
Raising an eyebrow, Misaki's lips curled into an intrigued smile, "Oh? Kiyomi teach you a new trick or two?"
I shook my head. "No, she prefers to show rather than teach." I replied, chuckling as I looked to the nearest tree. Jogging over I picked out a low branch as my destination. Then, I took a long, deep breath before focusing on my chakra. Slowly, gently, I coated my palms in a thin veil of the energy and approached the trunk. Planting one hand on it, I felt the chakra grip on. "Careful..." I muttered while adjusting the flow. Pulling myself up, I began to climb, one hand at a time until I reached the bottom of the branch. Then keeping my palms open shimmied out a bit until I was dangling in the air.
"Meiko... You..." Misaki said, her voice strangely calm. I had thought, well more hoped, she would have been more surprised by this.
Releasing my chakra, I fell back to the ground with a less than gentle fall. A loud thud echoed in the small clearing thanks to my training weights. A sharp jolt shooting up my legs but nothing I couldn't handle at this point. Unlike with the body flicker, I had only reached this point with the tree climbing technique recently, within the last week or so in fact. I still couldn't hold it with my feet though, only my hands and only if I had absolute concentration.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Misaki asked, still holding that calm tone.
My mouth opened to respond but my throat locked up. It didn't take much for me to realize why either. "Ah crap!" I panicked internally as I realized I had no good answer. No one had taught me this technique, it was something I had 'remembered'. And thanks to Itachi, I couldn't exactly just say that.
"Uhh..." I stammered out, trying to buy time to figure something out. Maybe I could get away with saying I just tried it and it worked? That would never fly. Misaki knew how little talent I had. "I... Uhh..." Stammering some more, a thought finally came to me. "I saw some shinobi running up a wall a while back. Wondering how they did that I just started trying things and when I put chakra into my feet I kind of stuck to a tree for a moment... Before being shot off. So I kept trying but its really, really hard to focus chakra to my feet. Its a bit easier for my hands though." The more I spoke, the easier the words came, especially once I started adding in nuggets of truth. It still left a bitter taste in my mouth, having to lie like this to Misaki.
Her face was a mask as she approached, I struggled to hold a poker face when she planted both hands on my shoulders. "That's amazing!" Misaki practically screamed in my face, "You figured out the Tree Climbing Technique all on your own!" Her eyes were sparkling with pride that filled me with a similar emotion, but also guilt.
"That's an advanced technique that you usually aren't taught until Genin because it requires a lot of skill with chakra control." Misaki explained, quickly returning to her teacher mode, although unable to hide the giddy tone to her voice. "The fact you can climb like that at your age is amazing. Whatever you're doing, keep at it. It will help you with controlling your chakra for other jutsu as well." Going on to explain the technique in a bit more detail, namely how the soles of the feet are the hardest part of the body to focus chakra to because they were the furthest point from the brain.
I listened intently to her mini-lecture. While I had a vague recollection on how the technique worked, many of the details eluded me. If there was any hints she could give to help me out, I would certainly be all ears.
"So, any other surprises you have up your sleeve?" Misaki asked, waiting expectantly. I needed some time to think on that. The body flicker and tree climbing were the only things I had been working on besides normal workouts. There wasn't any 'surprises' left.
"No, not really." I admitted with a hint of disappointment. Wishing I had more to show from our time apart. "Well, I mean, I can't do it but I did learn the seals for one other jutsu." I then added, by this point I had seen Kiyomi use the Clone jutsu enough times I had memorized the seals she used for it.
Misaki looked intrigued so I simply started to string them together, being careful to not activate my chakra while doing so. "Its the clone jutsu. I'm just copying the seals Kiyomi used, but when I tried the jutsu it just failed."
"Ah," Misaki replied, "When was the last time you tried it? Were you alone?"
I shook my head, "No, I tried it a while back. Kiyomi was with me and laughed when I couldn't even generate a cloud." I said with a shrug, "After that I just focused on what I knew how to do."
"I'm surprised, I thought for sure you'd be the type to keep trying." Misaki replied with a light chuckle.
"I was tempted," I said, "But I was having so much trouble with the body flicker at the time I chose to just focus on that."
"Not a bad decision," Misaki said as praise, "You've gotten the body flicker down pretty well because of that." Nodding, she gave me a good slap on the back. "You've come a long way in the last six months. I'm proud."
There was a big, dumb smile on my face no doubt. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't repress it and instead had to lower my head to hide it. Another thing I couldn't repress was the giggling that followed. That simple bit of praise made all those months of slamming into walls and getting blown away from trees so worth it.
"So, we should probably start working on the next step, huh?" Misaki gleefully added, "And I think, we should start with that Clone jutsu."
"Really!?" I almost screamed, the one thing I really wanted to learn in the academy was jutsu but that wouldn't even start for another couple years. My excitement quickly coming back under control as logic kicked in, "Wait, isn't the clone jutsu an advanced one? I mean I know Kiyomi and Sasuke can use it but they're really talented."
Misaki nodded, "I wouldn't say advanced, but yes the fact those two already know it really does speak to their talents. The clone jutsu itself is actually a basic level, I think they should still have it as a graduation requirement at the academy."
Right, that was true wasn't it? A graduation requirement and somehow Kiyomi had practically mastered it before classes even began. Her talent was honestly staggering from my perspective. With a little effort it felt like there really was nothing she couldn't do. If I could master this jutsu, then maybe, just maybe, I could close the gap between us a little bit.
To start, Misaki instructed me to attempt the jutsu to see what I might be doing wrong. So I went through the seals, in response my chakra flared and... Nothing. I felt the energy leave my body and just dissipate into the air. Sighing, the feeling of being drained hit me suddenly. Momentarily, my entire body felt heavy. So much so I grunted before recovering, although some exhaustion remained.
"What am I doing wrong?" I asked.
"Hmm..." Misaki hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, what were you thinking and feeling when you used the jutsu?"
"Um... Making the proper hand seals." I replied, "Then I felt my chakra surge, I expelled it and then it just kind of faded away. After that I felt really tired for a second."
Misaki nodded, "Ah, okay. I think I have an idea what's going on." Misaki mused, "I'm guessing you just expected that using the right hand seals would be all that is needed, right?" I nodded, suddenly feeling stupid. "That's okay. Its a common mistake for beginners, don't get too down on yourself." Misaki chuckled, giving me a couple reassuring pats.
"Think of it this way, when you use the body flicker, what are you thinking and feeling?" She asked.
Closing my eyes, I recalled the steps I go through when using the technique. "Um... I focus chakra into my legs and visualize where I want to go. Then I push myself that way and stop when I think I'm there."
"Mhm." Misaki nodded again, "That's it exactly. You're visualizing what you want your chakra to do. Hand seals don't exactly determine effects, they are used to assist in moulding chakra and guiding it along a path. You still need a clear image of what you wish to happen." Misaki explained taking a few steps back.
"For the clone jutsu, you'll need to know every inch of yourself. Of course, that's to do it properly. For now let's just focus on getting it working. The details can come later." Misaki then formed three quick seals and beside her, a cloud popped and a second version of herself stood motionless. Eyes dull and I had the sensation I was looking at a doll.
"Form the best image of yourself in your mind. Then, after you go through the seals and the chakra leaves your body, mould it into that image of yourself. Almost like you were sculpting something from clay."
"Okay, I'll try." Doing as instructed, I closed my eyes and spent a long time trying to form the most accurate picture of how I looked right now. Then, I activated the jutsu. Once again my chakra flared and began to dissipate into the air around me. "Mould it like clay..." I echoed Misaki's words as I tried to take hold of the floating energy. Forcing it together and forming it.
Pop!
A very small cloud formed before me. With immense expectation, I waited for the cloud to disperse and... Nothing again. "Oh..." I sighed with disappointment as the wave of exhaustion hit again. This time harder. My body twitching as the weights on my arm pulled hard on me before my strength partially returned.
"Gah..." I grunted before panting for a few moments. "Why am I feeling so tired like that?" I had to ask.
Misaki's eyes widened, the concern in them apparent. "How tired are you feeling?" She worryingly asked.
"Like I just did an all out sprint for a minute. But that's only right after using the jutsu. I feel better almost instantly. if still a bit tired." I explained, feeling my heart rate was elevated slightly but otherwise fine. "I can keep going though."
With a relieved sigh, Misaki crossed her arms again and looked down at me sternly. "You need to be careful. It sounds like you're pouring too much chakra into the jutsu." Taking a moment, she hummed to herself in thought. "I guess you could say you're exhaling all the air in your lungs at once when you only need to let out a small breath. So you end up gasping immediately after. But you can't inhale back as much as you let out. Eventually, you'll run out all together."
I nodded back meekly. "I'm sorry..." I said, cursing myself for my ineptitude.
"There's no need to be sorry." Misaki replied, her demeanour softening. "Just be sure to stay aware of that feeling. It'll take time, like everything does. Just make sure when you're starting to run out of 'breath' you stop and rest."
I nodded again.
"Good. Now let's try again. This time also remember when you were climbing the tree. How you have to accurately control the output of chakra to keep your grip."
Several attempts later, another cloud popped before me. This one a bit bigger, about the size of a basket ball. This time however, from within the smoke emerged a strange gray blob. Vaguely shaped into a person it wobbled weakly. Its existence fleeting and lasted only a couple seconds before popping like a balloon.
I sighed and slumped down. Another wave of exhaustion hitting me and at this point I was left winded even after recovering. My chakra reserves must be getting low. Even my reinforcement was starting to waver.
"Darn it..." I cursed, staring at where my 'clone' had faded away. All that and I was barely able to form a freaking blob. Why was this so hard!?
"Don't worry about it." Misaki's soothing voice came from beside me as she rustled my hair. "You'll get it in time. Just forming... That thing is more than most can do this quickly." She said, trying to reassure me. It didn't do anything to relieve the annoyance I was feeling at myself though. Kiyomi made it look so easy with her clone. Sure she had some hiccups but even at her worst she did better than whatever the heck I managed to far out.
Seeing my distress, Misaki rustled my hair again. "Come on, I think its time for a break." Walking back towards the main path, Misaki turned back with a grin, "I know of a place that has some great ice cream. What do you say?" Before I could respond, my stomach growled hungrily. Throwing my arms around my gut in a vain attempt to silence the noise, I embarrassingly nodded. Misaki laughing heartily back. "Good. Chakra regenerates faster on a full stomach."
"Oh!" Misaki said and suddenly halted once we stepped back onto the street. "Say, how much chakra do you have left?" A mischievous smile creeping across her lips.
I returned the gesture, curious as to what she had in mind. "Around half I think?" I replied, my own smile twitching a sI felt self conscious realizing I had burned through half my chakra failing to make a single clone.
Misaki nodded, her eyes shifting in thought for a moment. "Actually, I know an even better place but its a bit of a trek. Unless you would like to try something." I didn't even need to respond to that for Misaki to understand I was down. "You haven't tried using the body flicker over long distances, have you? This will be good practice."
After getting a quick explanation on how to adjust my chakra, the two of us took off. Surprisingly, this came rather easily to me. Misaki said we'd take it slow, both because it was my first time and we were still in the village, but I had expected this to go like how pretty much everything else I had ever tried. Explosive failure.
"You seem to have gotten the hang of this." Misaki praised while running several steps ahead. "Then get ready, we're going to kick things up a notch." Motioning ahead where the street we were on turned to the right, she was specifically pointing to a shed attached to the building on the corner. Then pointed upwards.
I got the idea. Nodding while swallowing a nervous lump. We were going to start roof running. That was essentially the main method of transit for shinobi after all. It would be chaos if they were darting around on the streets with the everyday traffic after all. But I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. I was a natural klutz after all. One wrong move and I'd go tumbling down several stories. At this point I was used to some pain but that was too much even for me.
"Hey, eye's forward!" Misaki shouted as we neared the shed. "You can do this, I believe in you!" With that, she kicked off the ground. Bounding up onto the shed and then again to the roof above. Not even bothering to stop, should I not follow I'd be left behind.
"Here goes nothing!" I said to try and psyche myself up. With a cry I too jumped after her. Kicking off the ground with astounding strength I cleared the distance needed to land on the roof with ease. But I couldn't stop and marvel at that, the moment I landed I kicked off again, ascending even higher and landing on the rooftop.
Misaki was waiting there for me, having stopped after all once she was out of sight. A gigantic grin on her face. "See? Easy."
"Yeah!" I replied happily, trying to hide the fact my legs were trembling after that. Not from exertion or anything, just that even they couldn't quite believe I pulled that off without slamming into something.
Several minutes and at least a kilometre later we arrived at our destination. A small cart with colourful signage advertising fifteen different flavours of ice cream. An impressive stock for the small stand. We both ordered a cone with three scoops. I got double chocolate with cookies and cream in the centre while Misaki had vanilla, strawberry and butterscotch.
The cool treat was just what I needed after that light workout. The two of us found an open bench to sit down and enjoy our snack. Again, I found myself musing about how warm it was despite the season. Of course I didn't vocalize that. I made that mistake several times at home and only got strange looks from my parents.
"Once we're done, we can get back to practising if you want." Misaki offered, already a bit of ice cream staining her cheek. "We have a lot to catch up on, after all."
"Yeah!" I replied and took a big chomp out of my ice cream. Big mistake. Flinching as excruciating pain started trying to punch its way out of my skull. Groaning in pain, it thankfully subsided quickly. Misaki laughing at my suffering the entire way before succumbing to her own.
Funnily enough, the ice cream headache actually allowed me to calm down and focus a bit. The excitement and joy of seeing Misaki again waning enough that I finally began to remember the important matters. Suddenly the sweetness of the ice cream held quite a bitter aftertaste. I needed a moment to ready myself
"Speaking of catching up, what have you been doing for these last six months?" I asked, trying to keep things simple and natural.
Glancing at me for a moment, Misaki leaned back and turned her attention skyward. Humming to herself before finally replying. "There isn't much to talk about." She said while taking another bite and then wincing in pain. "Old Man Gento just ran me ragged for a few months. Double shifts every day with only one day off. I ended up just sleeping through my one day off every time." Chuckling like it was some silly memory, although there was a bit of that thousand eye stare in her eyes upon that memory.
"After that," She began but then froze, as though remembering something important that caught her tongue. "After that, I got a... Proposal."
"SOMEONE ASKED TO MARRY YOU!?" I blurted out. Utterly astonished, for as long as I had known her Misaki had been complaining about finding someone. No wonder I hadn't seen her in so long. She must have been quite occupied. "Congratulations!"
"Eh... Ah..." Misaki stammered, face glowing a brilliant red, "N-No... Not that kind of proposal..."
"Oh..." I replied, suddenly realizing I had not only jumped the gun, I had darted off before the other runners were even at the starting line. "Sorry..."
"Its fine..." Misaki said, regaining her composure but still clearly annoyed. "I've just been too busy to find a boyfriend is all... Its not like I'm jealous Touma is getting married now or anything." This time I was smart enough to bite my tongue. Literally. Clamping down on it enough for it to hurt but not cause any damage this time.
"Anyway." She huffed, "It was a sort of job proposal. It was something very, very important too, so that's why I've been away for so long. I was working on that on top of my shifts and occasional missions." It was only now that I finally noticed the bags under her eyes. I think they had been partially hidden underneath a layer of makeup. She had really been running herself ragged all this time. To be fair, I had started getting angry at her for ignoring me for so long. Now I felt bad.
Still, she was quite vague on the details, and I could tell she wasn't keen on sharing more. Yet I still had to try and figure out what the situation with the clan was. Being coy about it wouldn't get me anywhere. I'd have to ask outright.
I took another bite of my ice cream, pain shooting through my skull again. Funnily enough the pain aiding my resolution. "Hey Misaki," I asked, "Other than work, how have things been?"
"Hmm? Well, like I said. I've just been crazy busy. All work and no play and whatnot." Misaki replied with a small chuckle.
"No, I mean..." I paused, find it difficult to find the right words. Before I could, Misaki hummed to herself again.
"Well, there was one thing." She said, shooting my a coy smile. "I did hear about some kid getting into trouble a while back. But you wouldn't know anything about it, right?"
Of course she would know about that. My mouth gaped like a fish out of water a couple times as I failed to produce a response. Deflating, I was finally able to manage out a meek "I'm sorry..." Vividly recalling what had been the stupidest decision of my life. Something I still beat myself up over some nights.
"Don't worry about it. What's done is done." Misaki said gently. Her eyes then narrowing and her voice growing harsh as she continued with a controlled but commanding tone. "Listen, I know its my fault for originally thrusting you into my clan's problems. That was my mistake. But you don't need to fret about it anymore. Its not your concern."
I couldn't really argue with her. Misaki's demeanour certainly left no room for that. This wasn't a suggestion, it was a command. 'Back off'. I wished so much now that I hadn't done that crap with Shisui. I should have just come to her first. Told her everything outright. Why did I even think I could have made a real difference? Once again I realized how right Itachi had been and why even Misaki wouldn't tell me anything. Despite this stupid future knowledge, I was still nothing more than a dumb little kid.
It was hard fighting back the tears. I wanted to scream, to tell her how much I didn't want her to die. What fate had in store for her and her clan and how I was so utterly powerless to do anything now because of my recklessness. Biting the inside of my lip hard to try and keep my composure and not accidentally crush the cone still held in my hand. My appetite gone I cared little about it at this point but the mess would just make this whole thing worse.
"...I'm sorry..." I repeated, unable to say anything else. "Stupid, idiot, moron." I cursed myself internally over and over. Misaki was my last hope to get some information about the state of the clan. Time was running out and all I could do was watch it unfold.
"Meiko?" Misaki called my name, the harshness gone from her voice and replaced with concern. "I may have come off a bit too harsh there. But really, there's no need to worry anymore. Just trust in me, I can't say much but that new job of mine is working to fixing those issues." Placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, she gripped me lightly. "So cheer up, today's a special day. You shouldn't be getting down." I let out a deep sigh, giving up on pressing any further. For now I just had to trust her and pray.
"Come on, cheer up. Your ice cream is going to melt." Misaki said in a light, someone pleading tone. I looked to it, there wasn't much left and I didn't really want to eat anymore now that my mood had soured so. But it was a treat Misaki bought, it would be rude to let it go to waste.
"Okay..." I replied weakly and took another bite. An awkward silence growing between us as a question finally sprung up. "What do you mean by today being special?" I asked, not even having the energy to lift my head.
Misaki was quiet for a moment before snickering. "Wait, you don't remember?" She asked, barely concealing her laughter. That caused me to look up at her in confusion. I had figured she just meant that it was our first day meeting again after so long, but that came as a surprise. Did she send word ahead and I just forgot? Entirely possible. I was an idiot after all. But I really could not recall anything of the sort.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Misaki snickered again, "Nothing, nothing. Never mind." She said, standing up and tossing the remains of her cone into her mouth. "Come on then, we still have a lot of daylight. Up to a bit more training?"
Honestly, I wasn't really up to it. But at the same time knew I would regret it if I didn't. Who knows when Misaki would be able to visit again with this new 'job'. And maybe I could still have a chance. Time was running out but there was still time. "Alright." I said, standing and quickly finishing off my cone.
We were about to start heading back when a nearby clock caught my eye. It was a little after five. "Oh." I said, causing Misaki to freeze and look back. "Sorry, I don't think I can."
"Why's that?" Misaki asked, almost sounding hurt.
"Its almost dinner time. Mom expects me to be home in time." I explained, pointing at the clock. "I don't think she'd mind if you join us though?"
Suddenly, Misaki's expression fell and eyes went wide. "Huh? O-Oh! No its fine!" She suddenly started stammering, small beads of sweat pooling on her forehead. "I spoke with your Mom earlier. She's fine with you coming home late. So come on, let's get going." Immediately spinning on her heel and marching off.
"That was weird..." I mumbled, following behind. Did it have something to do with why today was special? "Hey, what's going-" I began before Misaki suddenly spun back around.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!" Misaki quickly cut in, "I did promise to teach you the Shadow Clone jutsu, didn't I?"
I froze. "Wait, really?" I asked, bewildered.
Misaki nodded, "Yup. You were right. And I gave my word. Feeling better now?"
"A little bit." I answered, unable to deny the spark of excitement lighting in my chest.
"Glad to hear it." Misaki said, flashing me a relieved grin. "Alright, try and keep up." Her body then blurring as she dashed off down the street. Flaring my chakra I quickly followed along.
After returning to the same park from before, Misaki jumped right into it. "Meiko, before I teach you this jutsu I have to warn you. You must not practise it yet." She said, tone firm and steady. I blinked several times in confusion. Why would she agree to teach me a jutsu I can't practise?
The look on Misaki's face revealed that she knew exactly what I was thinking. "Because its dangerous." Answering the question before I even uttered a word, "The Shadow Clone jutsu is a B rank Ninjutsu. Even jonin rank ninja have difficulty learning it, much less using it."
That took me by surprise. I had forgotten that the Shadow Clone was such a high ranking jutsu. Probably because of how easily Naruto was able to use it in my memories. "Oh..." I said disappointed. This was actually a gigantic set back. I had been hoping to learn that jutsu and hoped it would be the key for me to finally catch up with Kiyomi and the others.
"I said yet." Misaki replied, "See, the biggest problem with Shadow Clones, as I certainly learned, is the drain on your chakra. If you use this unsupervised there's a very good chance you could die." Misaki's words were cold and cutting as she impressed the dangers of me trying to use a jutsu of this level. "You see, unlike other types of clones, whenever you make a Shadow Clone, you immediately cut your current level of chakra in half. So at the bare minimum, the jutsu is immediately eating up half of your chakra. This happens for every clone you make. So if you make three, then your chakra will be cut to a third, so on and so forth."
I nodded, absorbing all this information. Misaki's explanation triggering my memories and helping me recall more about the ninjutsu. "So if I make five clones, I would only have a fifth of my chakra remaining?" I asked to confirm some thoughts.
"Yes and no," Misaki answered with a slight nod of her own. "As I said, that is the minimum cost. There's still the chakra used to activate the jutsu itself. Even if you perfectly master it, there's still a certain amount of chakra required for every clone you make. Then each clone will take half of your chakra into itself."
"Oh, I get it. So each clone takes half your chakra plus whatever you need to use to make it." I said, confirming the information.
"Exactly." Misaki nodded again. "So for someone like you right now, with your small pool of chakra and inexperience, its entirely possible for you to burn out all of your chakra attempting it. That could very easily be fatal."
It was certainly disheartening to hear that. The most useful ninjutsu I could think of learning was more likely to outright kill me than help me. That still begged the question, "So why are you teaching me it?" For me, this was certainly an extremely dangerous ninjutsu. So it only begged the question, why?
"Because I trust you." Misaki replied plainly. As if stating the blatantly obvious. "And I did promise after all. I started using Shadow Clones to train while I was off at work. Let me tell you, that is exhausting." She added with an exasperated laugh.
Blushing, I couldn't bring myself to reply. Funny as it sounded, it was quite encouraging to hear she had faith I wouldn't kill myself trying to perform a jutsu. "So, what do I need to do?"
A proud smile crossed Misaki's face. "Just follow after me." She said and slowly went through a string of hand seals, some I was unfamiliar with. "Memorize these well, but never activate the jutsu. At least, not until you're ready."
Several minutes went by with me meticulously committing to memory each one of these seals. This was something I was certainly going to work more on later and ensure it was ingrained firmly. "Okay I think I have the idea." I said for now as Misaki looked satisfied and seemed to have something more to say.
"Perfect. Now I'm sure you're curious to know when you can try that jutsu." She asked and I didn't even have to respond before she continued, "If you're going to have a chance at safely using Shadow Clones, you're going to need much better chakra control and a greater reservoir to pull from. For the first, you're already well on your way." Misaki grinned before moving towards the nearest tree and without skipping a beat began walking up the trunk with the same energy one would have on an afternoon stroll. Stopping on a high branch and hanging upside down.
"First, I want you to be able to do this. In other words, master the Tree Climbing technique. Doing so will make using other jutsu so much easier." Misaki then allowed herself to fall, flipping in the air and landing gently on the ground. Like a cat she didn't even make a sound, her knees barely buckling from the impact.
"Next, I want you to be able to use two basic jutsu." Holding up her hand, she raised a single finger. "The clone jutsu," She then raised a second finger, "And the Transformation jutsu. Once you can use all three competently, then you should be ready. Until then however, do not even think of trying to use Shadow Clones."
"I promise." I said, fully intent on keeping this one.
"Good, now we still have a bit of time before the-" Misaki suddenly cut herself off, "Actually, do you even know how to use the Transformation? I guess that'll be next."
The sun was starting to hang low when Misaki called it a day. I was sweating and exhausted despite the lack of physical exercise. The chakra burn was really hitting me now and really driving home just how bad my control was if practising the Transformation jutsu left me this winded.
"Oh crap!" She suddenly cried out as I made my latest attempt at the jutsu, startling me and causing it to fail again. I couldn't say how exactly but the look she gave me meant it had been something bad. "It... Its time to get going." She said, trying her darnedest to choke back her snickering. Cancelling whatever it was doing to my face, I shot her back an annoyed glare before wiping my brow.
"Already?" I asked while panting lightly, "I was just starting to get a hang of it." The sarcasm in my voice was obvious.
"Unfortunately," Misaki chuckled back, "But we're actually going to be late if we don't get going now. You have enough left in the tank for a little run? Or does the princess need a ride?"
"I'm fine, and don't call me princess." I assured and retorted. Tired as I was I felt confident I could still handle a run back home at least.
"Well then, make sure to keep up!" Misaki cheekily replied before immediately zipping off. I sighed and forced a portion of what remained of my chakra to my legs and followed.
Running through the village was certainly an experience. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, the wind whipping through my hair, I recalled the last time it happened, soaring above the village on Misaki's back. How the sun bathed the village in a blanket of gentle orange. Finally, it truly felt like I was becoming a ninja.
We made a single detour at Misaki's behest. She said I had to clean myself up a bit before we got home yet wouldn't say why beyond, 'You can't go home covered in sweat like that!' So we ended up stopping at a public bathroom so I could at least splash some water on my face. I really could not understand why, I had been far sweatier before and no one cared. Again, what was so special about today? No matter how much I racked my brain I couldn't come up with an answer.
Dropping down onto my street, I let out a weary sigh of relief. My chakra levels were certainly low at this point so I was feeling quite spent. I was looking forward to dinner and just being able to rest and relax. Although as we approached I noticed the curtains were drawn and the lights were out. My stomach rumbled in disappointment knowing it would have to wait longer for dinner.
"It doesn't look like anyone is home." I said to Misaki, "I guess they took Sengo to the park or something. I'm sure they'll be back soon." Misaki was oddly silent. So silent I thought she may have just left but when I looked back she was still there. Her face a steel mask betraying no emotion and just staring at the door.
"Misaki?" I asked warily.
"Hm? Oh, sorry. Its nothing. I don't mind waiting." She replied, returning to normal instantly.
"O-Okay." I was getting worried now, Misaki had been acting oddly at times today. "I wonder if she's still being overworked..." I reasoned as we made our way to the door.
It was practically pitch black inside. The light from the door extending just far enough inside for me to find the light switch on the wall. I flicked it on and the house was instantly bathed in light. At the same time I found myself suddenly assaulted by a wall of sound as a cacophony of voices shouted in unison.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
This was accompanied by several loud pops as colourful streamers shot through the air. The living room was crowded with familiar faces. My Mom and Dad of course, Sengo held in Dad's arms and very happy he got to pop one of the streamers. In front of them stood my friends. Kiyomi and Mana, Rei and Shun, even Naruto were here. The room was decorated with colourful banners and the words 'Happy Birthday' were strung along the doorway leading into the kitchen.
To say I was surprised would be a gross understatement. It would be more accurate to say I was in a state of shock. Standing paralyzed with my hand still on the light switch as I tried to process what was happening. It wasn't until Misaki planted a hand on my shoulder did I snap out of my trance.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" She chuckled before pushing me forward.
"Ah!?" I let out a startled, high pitched cry. Looking up at the group standing before me, their smiling faces expectant I tried to say something. "Um, wh-what's going on?" I said, still kind of in shock. There was a moment of silence as everyone looked to one another as if to confirm I had indeed, said something dumb.
"Its your birthday dummy! That's what!" Kiyomi shouted first, causing an outburst of laughter.
"Eh!?" I yelped, internally trying to recall what the date was. "Oh... It is my birthday..." I muttered in disbelief. Misaki's laughter was the loudest as she slapped me across the back.
"How do you forget your own birthday!?" She roared.
"I-I've been busy!" I shouted back as my face started burning. Once more I was the target of everyone's laughter, and well deserved at that. I could only grin and bear it. That is, until Rei suddenly stepped forward looking quite concerned.
"Meiko?" She asked in that demure voice of hers, barely audible over the roars echoing through the house. "Are you... Alright?"
"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, rather confused. Sure I was embarrassed to heck and back but that wasn't anything new. Anyone would be in this situation after all.
"But... You're crying..." Rei answered, her fingers anxiously dancing between themselves.
"Huh?" Raising a hand to my cheek and noticing it was slightly damp. "W-What the?" I stammered and began wiping my eyes but the tears wouldn't stop. "Hehe..."The laughter stopped now, everyone concerned about my sudden fit of waterworks. "Its-Its fine guys, really." I said with an awkward chuckle. "I'm just... I'm so happy right now I can't stop."
Tears of joy continued flowing despite all my efforts to stop. Quickly accompanied by my own bit of laughter. Just knowing that there was this many people who cared enough to remember a birthday I myself had forgotten, I couldn't put it into words how happy it made me feel.
Once I had finally calmed down, the party was finally able to begin. Mom saying how she wanted to start it earlier but for one reason or another things kept being delayed. So when Misaki swung in she was a life saver and was immediately sent to keep me occupied while they got everything ready. Mom and Dad had prepared a wealth of games for us to play while they finished preparing dinner. Although there was still one more surprise in store for me today. Midway through one of the games, there came a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it!" I called out when I noticed Mom starting to leave the kitchen. She was busy enough as it was so I figured I'd help out a little bit. Upon opening the door I was greeted with another familiar face, one I truly would never have suspected would come. Standing across the threshold, looking almost as shocked to see me as I him, was Sasuke.
"Oh, uh, hey." He greeted me awkwardly, fidgeting on the spot. Face flushing with a light pink.
I chuckled, "Hey." I replied. Silence. Neither of us said a word for a few long moments, although I was certainly enjoying the show. I didn't let him suffer for too long though, "What's up?"
Sasuke twitched, "I heard it was your birthday." He said and produced a small plastic bag tied with a large red bow. "So I thought that... You might like this." It was a large bag of fresh senbei. The scent gently wafting in the air.
"Oh, thank you!" I said while happily accepting his gift.
"That's all." He quickly added the moment I took the bag. Stepping back and starting to leave before pausing momentarily, "Oh and, happy birthday." He then continued trying to make his escape.
Of course, I wasn't letting him get away this easily. I reached out and grabbed his hand. "Hey, do you want to come inside?" I asked "We're about to have cake." Sasuke froze, the temptation for free cake was something almost no kid could resist after all.
"No, that's okay." Sasuke said, refusing to turn back and face me and instead starting to pull away.
"Aw, come on. It'll just be for a few minutes." I insisted, well really I wasn't going to give him a choice as I then pulled back hard and forced him to come inside. A small yelp of protest was all he could muster before being pulled through the door.
"Mom! There's one more!" I called out and continued dragging him despite his protests. Under normal circumstances, there was no way I could have pushed Sasuke around like this but right now he was far too flustered to be able to fight back. "Hey everyone, this is Sasuke." I said, barely able to hold in my urge to laugh.
Naruto was, of course, the first to respond. "Hey! What's that jerk doing here!?" He shouted and charged forward to confront him.
"Tch, the idiot is here." He grumbled, instantly regaining his composure. That was my limit. I broke out with laughter as I stepped in between them.
"Hey hey, come on. No fighting yeah?" I barely managed to say. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kiyomi shooting daggers at me, if looks could kill. "Let's get back to the game, okay?"
The two boys grumbled at each other before Naruto started to grin. "Fine! I'll take Sasuke down this time for sure! Believe it!"
"Good luck with that, loser." Sasuke replied and the two literally started butting heads.
With those two going at it, we resumed our activities. Time just flew by in a blur of laughter and merriment. Eventually, things settled down and the lights went out as Dad carried out the cake, six candles flickering as everyone sang.
"Make a wish." Mom said gently.
Right now, in this moment, I had only a single wish. One I knew would be impossible. I took in a deep breath. "I wish these days could last forever." And blew with all my might. As cheering erupted around me, I silently followed the wisps of smoke fade into the air, carrying along my wish with them.
The party, alongside the sun, slowly wound down after that. Going late into the night until exhaustion began to kick in. Despite protests and an insistence for a massive sleep over from Kiyomi, people started to slowly trickle out and head home. Besides, there really was no chance at that. The house was already beyond capacity hosting the party, there simply was no room for anyone to sleep. Not to mention there was zero chance Dad would allow any of the boys to spend the night. I'm not sure what happened exactly but when Naruto started to back up Kiyomi's plight, he very quickly backed down and was pale as a ghost when he left.
And just like that, in practically a blink of the eye, nearly a year passed...