Chapter Text
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!”
That had been Father’s reaction to me asserting my desire to become a shinobi. His voice so powerful not only did I feel like I could have gone deaf, but he woke up Sengo and had orderlies charging into the room ready to restrain an unruly patient. Things got a bit chaotic between Sengo’s crying and the orderlies trying to figure out what exactly was going on. It was only through the combined efforts of Mom and Ai that things were finally able to settle back down.
Father’s outburst caught me out to say the least. I had no idea he would have reacted so viscerally to the idea of me becoming a shinobi. Thankfully Mom had managed to reign him in as he could be truly scary when angered. It still took some time for Sengo to calm down and fall back asleep, during which time I sat silent, practically petrified on Father’s lap. With everything now back under control I found my gaze wandering back to my baby brother. Cradled once more in Mom’s arms I felt my resolve returning.
“Dear, why did you get so angry?” Mom finally asked once she was certain Sengo wouldn’t be disturbed from our conversation. Father took a long, deep breath, his gaze falling down on me.
“Because...” He began, turning his eyes back to Mom, “I...” Another deep breath, “I almost lost you two once already. I can’t bear the idea of it happening again.” A large hand plopped on my head. Even after having grown so much, Dad’s ogre-sized hands were still more than enough to cup my entire skull. “If you became a shinobi, you may as well be throwing yourself in the fire... You’ll inevitably go someplace I can’t protect you...”
I raised my own arms up, wrapping them around Father’s hand. I should have known it was something like that. He just wanted us to be safe. It was funny, that was the same reason I had resolved myself to become a shinobi. Truth be told I had been debating it since the incident several months ago. I think I actually had my answer for a long time, only realizing it after meeting Sengo. “But Dad,” I said as I squeezed down on the back of his hand, “You can’t be there all the time. I want to protect you, Mom and Sengo too.” I could hear my parents choke up at this. Lifting Father’s hand from my head, I turned to face them both, “I want to do more than run and cry!”
The silence after my declaration was broken by Ai clearing her throat, “I think you two lost this one. Its not often you see kids with that level of determination.”
My parents and I got into a staring match, neither side willing to back down. The first to break was Father, sighing heavily as he did so. “We’ll talk about this later.” I nodded, the topic settled for now.
“Kiyomi is going to be ecstatic you know.” Ai said with a wink, knowing full well what her daughter would do upon hearing this news. I could only sigh and dread the inevitable. Still, at least I would have someone beside me for this journey.
It would be a lie to say I had no hesitation in making this decision. Knowing all that I did I would be an utter fool not to fear the future. Yet there was one thing I was certain of, that I would regret it for the rest of my second life should I try and take the easy way out. I did that far too much last time, just sitting back and letting life pass me by. “This time... This time will be different.” Seeing Sengo sleeping peacefully helped put me at ease. If nothing else, I wanted to protect my new family. That was enough of a reason, right?
The question now was where to go from here?
Since there was finally a break in the rain, Ai took the opportunity to head back home. Father and I remained in the hospital for the rest of the day until the orderlies came by to kick us out as visitor hours had ended. By then, the sun had set and a thick darkness hung over the village. At least the rain had decided not to start up again.
The walk home was a quiet one, we both were thinking the same thing but neither of us could bring ourselves to start the conversation.
***
Mom returned after several days looking quite relieved to be home. The doctors had been a bit on the cautious side as she still suffered some after-effects from the assault. Dad and I had visited her every day since then so she was never lonely at least, but you just can’t beat the feeling of being home. The two of us even managed to put together a small party for her and Sengo. It was just too bad my little bro was far too young to be able to remember it. Dad even went out and rented a camera for the occasion.
The next day, we got together at the dinner table to discuss my future. Dad was still adamant about me not going, however, there was one person even better than me at cracking that shell of his. “Honey,” Mom had said, “When has Meiko ever asked for anything, seriously asked? She’s a bright girl, you know she has put a lot of thought into this.” Dad had no real rebuttal, just reinstating his desire to keep me away from danger. “I know, I feel the same way.” Mom replied, taking his hand in hers, “But we can’t protect her forever. She’s young now but she’ll be walking out that door on her own before we know it.” I could see Mom tighten her grip, I think the idea of me growing up and going off on my own was a bittersweet one for her.
“Hggnn...” Dad grunted, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he contemplated Mom’s words.
There was a gleam in Mom’s eyes, the hunter had found the chink in her prey’s armour, “How does this sound, we send her to the academy at the very least. After that, everything will be up to her. Even if she doesn’t graduate, I’m sure she would benefit from the experience.” A loud sigh escaped Dad’s lips, he knew he was defeated.
“Alright, alright.” He said, running his free hand through his beard. “Meiko, you can go to the academy. Just, if it gets to be too hard-” Dad cut himself off, “No, what I mean to say is, prove to me that you really mean it. Whatever happens, do not go back on your word.” I could feel the weight of his words on my heart as I stared deep into his eyes.
“Yes.” I replied firmly.
Our family meeting ended as Sengo awoke and began crying. “Oh, looks like Sen-chan is awake. Meiko, could you grab a clean diaper for me please?” I happily scampered off at Mom’s command, all the while trying to formulate what my next step should be.
Having a new baby in the house was a wake-up call for everyone. I had been a quiet baby, only crying when I felt an absolute need. Sengo however was quite intent on exercising those lungs of his. I think there was a word for this sort of thing, where babies would just cry constantly for seemingly no reason. Poor Mom was being run ragged trying to care for the little guy. More than once I wondered if I did them a disservice, not preparing them for the trails of having a baby that actually acts their age. At the very least, I made sure to be ready and willing whenever they called for me.
Peace and quiet was a rarity but one I made sure to put to good use. During the times Sengo was napping I would retreat to my room and get to work. I had less than two years before I could enter the academy and I was going to use this time to the best of my ability. For that, I had a new notebook I labelled my Shinobi Notes. Simply put, it was a way to record ideas I had for training as well as techniques that would be most useful to learn. I was going to need every advantage I could get after all, and if that meant stealing useful jutsu then so be it. Number one on the list being perhaps the most iconic jutsu in the series; the Shadow Clone jutsu.
Now, chances were I would not be able to summon up an army like Naruto could, that was a feat only possible due to his naturally insane levels of chakra. No, the reason it was prioritized so was thanks to the small quirk unique to Shadow Clones. The things a clone experiences are transferred back to the user upon expiring. To put it simply, one could create a clone, have the clone read a newspaper in another room and then cancel the jutsu. The user would then know what the clone had read. This extended into training as well, in essence it was an EXP multiplier. Learning the jutsu however came with two big obstacles.
First, learning the jutsu itself. Naruto only came about the technique after reading from a scroll of forbidden jutsu. While other shinobi knew the technique, to my knowledge they were few and far between.
Second, chakra. It was something I was still unable to grasp. What did it feel like to channel chakra? How does one even go about channelling it? If I couldn’t figure this out, forget performing jutsu, the chances of me even hoping of becoming a shinobi would plummet into nigh impossible territory.
That, at least, I wanted to get a feel for before it was time to start school.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how much I would need a teacher. Kiyomi was lucky in that regard, her family had generations of knowledge to fall back on. I had my own advantages, sure, but when it came to the foundations everything was build on I was starting from zero.
“I could ask Ai-san to train me with Kiyomi...” I mused to myself as I tapped my pen on a blank page. “There’s also Misaki-”
“Are you sure you want to ask her?” A voice echoed from the back of my mind. A deep, cynical voice that gave form to my doubts.
“I think she would be a good teacher.” I replied aloud, if meekly.
“Because she’s an Uchiha?”
“Because she’s my friend.”
“You’re too attached to that woman. You know her fate.”
“Maybe not. Things could be different.”
“Don’t lie to yourself. You’ll only get hurt in the end.”
“What if I tried to save her?”
“And how would you go about that? Tell her the future? What right do you have to change events because of your feelings?”
“So I should just let her die!?”
“She is not your concern.”
“She is!!”
A light knocking at my door broke me out of my trance, Mom’s voice coming from the other side. “Meiko, are you okay?” She kept her voice low so as to not risk waking the babe in the other room.
“Yeah, sorry Mom. I got carried away.” I replied just loud enough for her to hear. “I’ll be quiet.”
As I heard Mom’s footsteps fade away, I turned back to my notebook and sighed. Since I had decided on this path, my doubts and fears were growing. Constantly nipping away somewhere deep within my heart. I knew if I gave into them, everything would fall apart. If I did, I would not be able to protect anything.
I leaned back in my chair, taking in a deep breath to calm myself. I couldn’t let the dark thoughts overwhelm me. Just had to step back for a moment and refocus. I flipped through several pages in the notebook to a later section. This section was just a space I used to take my mind off of things when the gnawing doubts got too strong. I had filled it with various doodles and disorganized thoughts, often aimed at what I thought would be ‘cool ninja shiz’. More often than not that came in the form of ‘adapted’ forms of powers, weapons or the like from other series. It was a bit stupid really, I should be focusing on what was possible instead of daydreaming of fighting the Akatsuki in a mech suit.
“Come on, you need to focus. This isn’t a game, you need to take this seriously.” I admonished myself as another knocking came from my door. This time Dad’s voice called out to me.
“Meiko, we have a guest.” Even when trying to stay quiet his voice still had a powerful boom to it. I hopped off my seat, leaving my notebook as it was for now. Dad led me to the living room where Misaki and Mom were chatting away. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting nor was I prepared to see Misaki today. The little conversation I had with myself earlier replaying in my head.
“Hey Meiko!” Misaki called out happily at first before noticing my odd expression, “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She flashed a slight grin to try and cheer me up while hiding her slight concern. I shook my head in response, physically throwing away my thoughts.
“No, I’m okay.” I put on my best smile, despite the bad thoughts I was always glad to see her. “Hi Misaki!” It had been a few weeks since Misaki had last been able to stop by, the ‘summer rush’ she had dubbed it the last time we spoke. Because of that, she had yet to meet Sengo and it was clear that was her objective today. Yet another present sat on the table alongside a six pack of beer. It was easy to forget with how lively she was that Misaki and Mom were around the same age.
“Oh yes! Misaki, you must hear this! Meiko says she wants to-” Mom, beer in hand began to spoil the big reveal.
“WAAAAHHH MOOOM!!” I cried out, desperate to silence her. This was something I had to tell Misaki myself.
Mom covered her mouth with a few fingers, although I could still see the smirk behind them. “Oh, sorry honey.” She giggled. Misaki shot us both a confused look causing Mom to explain, “Oh, Meiko just has some news I think you’ll enjoy.”
“Oh? Do tell!” Misaki pried eagerly as she leaned forward in my direction.
Suddenly feeling quite self conscious I found myself stumbling over my tongue, “Ah, uh I, um...” I gripped my pants and took a few deep breaths to calm myself. That voice of doubt returning as it whispered poison into my ears.
“Don’t say anything. Don’t get involved with her any further.”
“Shut up...” I muttered under my breath, trying to banish my nagging doubts once more.
“Sorry? I couldn’t catch that.” Misaki chimed in. My thoughts were a chaotic mess. Doubt, fear, embarrassment, hope, desire. All of them swirling in my chest, catching my breath within the tempest. I bit my lip, a little too hard, as I steadied my nerves. Wincing from the self-inflicted pain, I took one more deep breath.
“I...” Stupid lump in my throat. “I’ve decided. Misaki, I’m going to be a shinobi!” My voice grew to almost a shout as I finally managed to expel the words. I had expected Misaki to react in a similar manner to Kiyomi, extremely happy but with less physical tackling. To my surprise however, her reaction was rather... flat.
“Oh? Is that so?” Simply leaning back onto the couch, Misaki took a long sip of beer, her eyes locked on mine. Bewildered, I simply stood in silence, unable to break my eyes from her gaze.
From the other room, Sengo’s cries began to echo throughout the house. Mom quickly got to her feet. “Oh, looks like Sengo woke up. I’ll go check on him.” As she left the room, Dad cleared his throat.
“I’m going to head off to the bar I think, let you have a girl’s night in.” Dad too abandoned me as he retreated to the front door.
Now left alone with Misaki I could feel a tense pressure in the air. Why was she acting this way? Did I do something wrong? I could feel my anxieties returning, tightening my chest and clogging my throat. Swallowing the lump once more, I tried to speak again. “Aa!-” My first attempt at speaking instead became a squeaking as a high pitched noise embarrassingly came out of my mouth. “I-is something wrong?” I finally managed to ask, biting the inside of my lip again to try and steady my nerves.
“No, not really.” Misaki replied in a monotone, placing her beer on the table with a sharp clunk that caused me to jump. “Why the change of heart? I thought you said you weren’t cut out to be a ninja.” There was no emotion in her words yet they still struck with a knife’s edge. I could tell what this pressure was now. Misaki was judging me.
Slowly, I closed my eyes. I couldn’t just give a simple answer here. Anything less than my most honest feelings would be cut down by her powerful glare. In my mind, the events of that attack replayed once more. I physically winced, wanting to shoo away the memories but forced myself to relive the experience. To remember the pain, the helplessness, the fear. To remember what it meant to be someone who could only run away and cry. Time sped forward to the hospital, Mom sitting on that bed covered in bandages. Relief that she pulled through and shame for being so weak. My mind jumped back this time, between the last two events. I was soaring through their sky on Misaki’s back, high above the village as it glowed like fire under the setting sun.
The last jump shot forward through time once more, to a time only recently passed. I was once more in the hospital, Sengo sleeping soundly in my arms. My heart warmed in my chest, the anxieties, doubts, fears, they all faded away as I sunk myself deeper in the memory. Remembering every sensation of that moment. His weight, the rain tapping away at the window, the smell of the sterilized hospital room.
I opened my eyes and looked back at Misaki. The pressure of her judgmental gaze broken as I stood tall once more. “I found my reason to fight.” Boldly did the words come out, I would not shrink away on this matter. Not so long as I could remember this feeling, my resolve to protect those who held me so dear in their hearts.
Misaki was not perturbed however, leaning forward she continued her interrogation. “A reason huh? Is that reason going to be enough to face death? To willingly throw yourself into the flames of war far worse than anything you could imagine?” Once more the knives of her words pierced me over and over. Yet I stood firm, weathering each and every blade. In my mind and in my heart the faces of those dearest to me, Mom, Dad, Sengo, Kiyomi and yes, even Misaki appeared to me.
One step forward, “I don’t know.” I replied honestly, “Perhaps one day my resolve will falter and I will fall. Perhaps I won’t even get past the starting line. But there is one thing I do know.” Another step, I stood at the edge of the coffee table now. My hand raised high before slamming down on the glossy surface. A loud smack echoing throughout the room as my hand throbbed with a stinging pain. “That right here, in this moment, I know what I must do. I need the strength to protect those I love. And if the future me decides to cower away in fear, then I’ll just have to take the reigns and kick her sorry butt!” My face flushed red and hot, matching the fire I felt burning inside me.
The two of us remained motionless, locked in a battle of wills. Each staring into each other’s eyes, beyond them and into the other’s soul. A moment stretched into eternity until finally, Misaki’s steely mask cracked. The corner of her lips shifting upwards and her muscles softening.
“Kuh, hehehe hahahahahaha!!” The shinobi burst out into laughter. An act I found quite offensive in the face of me spilling my heart to her.
“Hey! What’s so funny!?” I demanded as she quickly calmed herself.
Taking a quick breath, Misaki looked upon me with a soft, caring smile reminiscent of Mom’s, “I’m sorry, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard. I should have known you’d come at me with such a serious answer.” Leaning forward, Misaki patted my head, ruffling her fingers through my hair. “I knew you had it in you. Remember that feeling, it will serve you better than any jutsu.” At her words, I couldn’t help but blush at the honest praise.
A new feeling began welling up inside me, one I was not overly familiar with even in my past life. It was joyous but different from simply being happy. Was this... pride? Yes, perhaps it was. This was something I think I could take pride in. Puffing out my chest I responded with a resounding “YES!”
“Seriously though, the way you talk its hard to imagine you’re only, what, four?” Misaki chuckling. I recoiled, having gotten too carried away I forgot to try and act like the child I was supposed to be. Still, Misaki didn’t seem to mind it. I guess she just figured it was a quirk of mine.
“Well, seems you two have gotten everything settled.” Mom said as she returned, Sengo in her arms, curiously looking towards our guest.
“Ohmygoshhe’ssotiny!” Misaki suddenly squeaked as she dashed over to Mom’s side. Adorably bouncing off one foot to the other. Both Mom and I could not stop ourselves, giggling at the sight. The serious Misaki that had been judging me just moments ago felt like a figment of my imagination. Right now, Misaki was little more than a gibbering idiot doting over my little brother. While both adorable and hilarious, it did cause me to hesitate from asking the big question on my mind.
“Well, that can wait for later.” I thought to myself. Mom and Misaki took a seat, Misaki taking Sengo in her arms while Mom started opening the gift. For now, I was just going to enjoy this ‘girl’s night in’ as Dad had put it.
Time flies when you’re having fun, so the saying goes. Misaki had arrived around early evening and in what felt like the blink of an eye, the gentle light of the moon was now shining through the windows. Sengo had long fallen asleep, laid to rest in a small rocker we kept in the living room for when Mom was too busy with the housekeeping to take him to bed properly. I myself felt the strain on my own eyes as I fought to keep awake. Rocking slowly back and forth as I would start to doze off before snapping myself back awake.
Misaki and Mom were still going strong, their cheeks flushed with a hearty glow from the alcohol. Misaki’s initial offering having ran out, Mom broke into Dad’s stash. They weren’t quite at the level of being drunk yet, but certainly had quite a buzz going for them since they were still able to keep their voices at a volume that wouldn’t awaken Sengo.
“Looks like someone is ready for bed.” Mom said, noticing me starting to fade. I shook my head in denial as Mom moved to come and help me up. “Yes, its getting late and I can see you falling asleep.” Reaching out her hands, she tried to pick me up, however I raised my own hands to stop her.
“Hold on,” I pleaded, “I want to ask Misaki something first.” Getting back on my feet, I turned towards Misaki, beer halted mid-sip as she waited with intrigue. Taking in a deep breath, my chest puffing out as I spoke, “Misaki-san!” My voice not quite a shout as I deeply bowed before her, “Will you please train me!?” A moment of silence followed my declaration, followed by a long, loud sip.
“Misaki-san?” She shot back at me with a sharp bite. Flinching, I raised my head enough to see her face. Eyes practically glowing with fire as she stared me down. It took me a couple moments to figure out what I had done wrong.
“A-ah!! I’m sorry!! Misaki! W-would you train me? Please?” Stuttering over my words, I clumsily bowed again. She really did not like me being formal with her. Even so, I felt it was appropriate in this instance considering what I was asking. Misaki clearly disagreed.
“Pfft,” She snorted in response to my bumbling antics, “I was hoping you would ask that. But why the formalities.” She snickered some more before taking another quick sip of her beverage. “Did you see how stiff she got Ginko-chan?” Chuckling as she tightened up her muscles, her face a mockery of my own. Stiff and overly serious. Mom broke out into laughter as I was struck with embarrassment.
“Hey! Its not funny!” I moaned indignantly.
Once the two women’s laughter died down, Misaki pointed her beer hand towards me, “Of course I can. I will warn you though, I can be a harsh teacher and I’ll be busy with work. So you’d better not slack off, or else!” Flashing me a grin and a wink she raised her drink into the air, “I think this deserves a toast.” The three of us raised our drinks, mine being a near finished glass of juice. “To Team Misaki!” She called out and we followed in unison. Finishing our drinks, we each slammed our containers on the table before breaking out in laughter. This time a bit too loud as Sengo began crying after the rude awakening.
“Oh no, sorry Sen-chan!” Mom said as she hurried to his side. Misaki and I quietly apologizing through gestures. “I’ll take Sen-chan to bed, Meiko you should get ready too.”
“Before that,” Misaki quickly cut in, “Would it be okay for me to borrow Meiko for a few minutes, if she’s up for her first lesson that is?” Hearing Misaki’s words, I could feel all notion of sleep being blown away. Energy welling up as I looked towards Mom with my best pleading eyes.
Sighing as she picked up Sengo, Mom gave us her usual soft smile, “Alright, just a few minutes. Then its straight to bed.” Who could argue with such a generous proposal. I loudly stated my acceptance of the terms, certainly too loudly considering the glare she shot back while leaving the room. Once she was gone, I turned back to Misaki. I could only imagine my eyes were sparkling in a manner similar to how Kiyomi’s would in times like this.
Misaki got to her feet, crushing the empty can in her hand and tossing it in the nearby bin. “Alright, let’s step outside and get some fresh air.” I did not need to be told twice as I followed right behind her. The night air was cool and refreshing, a gentle wind made it just slightly too cool but nothing unbearable. Above the village, the moon was full and shining brilliantly amid the sea of stars.
Clapping her hands together, Misaki spun around to face me, hands falling to her waist as she stood tall. “So since we don’t have much time we won’t be getting into anything serious. I’m just going to assign you some homework for the next week.” Raising a hand to her mouth, Misaki fell silent for a moment as she contemplated what to assign. “Come to think of it, I should probably figure out where you’re starting from. Has your friend Kiyomi taught you anything? She was from the Yamanaka clan if I remember correctly.”
“Hmm...” I took a moment to think, how much should I tell her? I wondered how she might react if I started listing off forbidden jutsu while not even being able to knead chakra. “No, its best I keep it simple.” I thought while raising my head, “I know that ninja use chakra to create jutsu and that there’s three main disciplines for ninja. Taijutsu, where they fight with their bodies. Ninjutsu where they use chakra to create things like fireballs and Genjutsu which uses illusions.” My face then soured a bit as I continued, “Kiyomi... hasn’t taught me anything. She’s been using tricks she learned from her brother to cheat...” I was still peeved about that revelation. Even though it was quite childish I just couldn’t seem to let go of this silly grudge.
Misaki giggled at that bit, “Well well, you do have a competitive side. That’s good. In that case, follow my training and you’ll be kicking Kiyomi’s butt in no time.” A devious smirk crossed her face as she said that, one I mirrored. “As for the rest,” Her tone becoming a bit more serious as it was time to get down to business. “Well, its acceptable for the basics I guess. Hmm...” Misaki took a few more moments to think. “Right. So your first assignment will be two-fold. Since you haven’t had any prior conditioning we need to start with the basics. That means body strengthening and chakra moulding.”
I gave a quick nod to her words. The body strengthening was probably just muscle training and cardio, simple enough. In my past life it was something I really slacked on but since being reborn I found myself overflowing with energy I often struggled to contain. That should make it easier to get into a routine. What really caught my interest was chakra moulding. Ever since I made my decision to become a shinobi I had been trying to sense my own chakra. So far I had been unsuccessful. Hopefully Misaki knew some tricks to get me at the starting line.
“We’re low on time so I can’t run you through the entire workout routine so I’ll show you the important part for now. Every morning, right after you wake up, I want you to find a nice open space and do some stretches.” I was a bit taken aback at that. Stretches? I was expecting something more along the lines of ‘100 pushups! 100 situps! 100 crunches! And running 10 kilometres!’ if not something more extreme. Maybe my memories of Might Guy have tainted my perception. “What’s wrong?” Misaki cut in, a wry smile on her face, “You were expecting something more exciting?” Shyly, I slowly nodded.
“Ha! I don’t blame you. Stretches are hardly glorious but they’re very necessary. Flexibility is a necessity for shinobi.” To demonstrate, Misaki interlocked her fingers and stretched her arms out forward. I gasped as her elbows bent inwards at a significant angle before she raised her arms up over her head and continued the ark beyond until her hands were almost touching her back again. I swear her shoulder blade were trying to pop out of her arm pits. “Ah, just like that.” She said happily as her arms snapped back into place. “The more flexible you are, the better you’ll be at squeezing through tight spaces, escaping from bindings and even opening new angles of attack.” While it was a bit gross, she certainly sold me on the benefits of stretching. Misaki then spent the next minute showing a few basic stretches I should start. Nothing difficult, in fact they reminded me of the stretches they had us do back in school once upon a time.
“Got that?” She asked, once I nodded she continued, “Good. Next is chakra moulding. This is the foundation from which all jutsu build on. I can’t get into the specifics right now, so I’ll just explain the exercise.” Misaki looked towards the tree in our yard. Her body flickered for a moment, vanishing before my eyes before returning a moment later. In her had, she spun a small leaf, “This is something they’ll teach you in the academy but there’s no harm in getting a head start on it.” She then placed the leaf on her forehead, angling her head back just enough that it wouldn’t slide off naturally. “While balancing the leaf on your forehead, you knead you chakra and move it through your body to the spot where the leaf touches your skin. This helps train your ability to both mold and manipulate chakra and build up your concentration. If you can’t keep focused,” Misaki cut herself off as she moved slightly, the leaf falling from her head. Catching it in her palm, she raised it up towards me once more. “The chakra you build up will simply disperse and you’ll have to start all over.”
I nodded again, this training felt familiar to me. Although I could not recall the proper memory regarding it. However, there was an issue. “Um.. Misaki,” I started to ask, “How exactly do I mould chakra?”
Misaki blinked a few times as she tried to register what I had just said. I began to worry I had asked something incredibly stupid. “Ah, right. I guess we should start there. Sorry,” Misaki apologized while waving a hand before her face, “I guess it doesn’t come as naturally to some. Okay how do I explain this...” I was starting to get worried, if I was struggling with this level of chakra manipulation, did I even have a chance? Was I like Rock Lee who’s chakra network was faulty, preventing him from performing jutsu? Well, if that was the case, I’d just have to train just as hard as him. Even if it meant becoming a training nut.
“Right.” Misaki said to herself as raised her hands, “Watch closely Meiko, what I’m going to do is form something called a hand seal.” She then clapped her hands together, her index and middle fingers on both hands raised vertically, the ring and little fingers on her right hand were curled in while their opposites sat on top of them, the left hand was raised slightly higher than the right. “This is the Ram seal. We use hand seals to help mould chakra for generating ninjutsu and genjutsu. The Ram seal is a common one for focusing chakra. Give it a try.”
I tried to mimic the seal Misaki made, the index and middle fingers were easy enough but I had a hard time getting my smaller fingers into position. Misaki had to come over and manually set them in place. “Okay now hold your hand still. Close your eyes and focus. Chakra is first formed in your stomach so try focusing your mind there. Feel the energy in your body and start to form it together.” While I would like to say that all I needed was a little guidance and everything came easy afterwards, the sad truth was I still felt nothing. After a few moments, I felt I needed to voice my concerns.
“I can’t really feel anything.” I said sadly.
“That’s alright. You probably just need to work on your concentration.” Misaki lifted the lead once more, holding it out to me. “Like I said, part of the exercise with the leaf is building your concentration. Start with that, don’t worry about chakra for now. Just place the leaf on your head, form the Ram seal and focus your mind solely on the leaf. Don’t let anything distract you. If you feel you’re starting to get the hang of it. Ask your Mom to try and occasionally break your concentration somehow. After a few days, go back to trying to feel your chakra. I’m sure you’ll get results then.” As she finished speaking, I raised my palms out to receive the leaf.
“Mmm... Yeah.” I said, feeling my confidence returning to me. This was an exercise simple enough to understand and execute. Looking up to Misaki I felt a wide smile crossing my face, “Got it. I won’t let you down.”
“You better not.” Misaki replied with a chuckle, patting me on the shoulder. I wanted to get started with the concentration training when Mom called from the window.
“Meiko, its time for bed!”
Both Misaki and I groaned at having our short training time cut off before turning to each other and laughing. “Well, that’s that then. You did make a promise after all, and a shinobi never goes back on her word.” Misaki said proudly. I simply nodded, placing the leaf in my pocket for later. Misaki had already started heading back to the house before me but there was one thing I had to do before I went off to bed.
“Um!” I called out to get her attention, “Thank you for the lesson, Misaki-sensei!”
The woman froze on the spot for a brief moment before quickly turning away, “Y-yeah! Make sure you do those assignments! I won’t be going easy on you next week so you’d best be ready!” Her voice was uncharacteristically shaky as she zipped back inside. In the window, I could see Mom giggling away at something. Weird.
Anyway, with my first training session done I too ran inside and got ready for bed. The excitement I felt would keep me awake for hours, but somehow I found myself in dreamland rather quickly.
It was there that I was waiting for me.
“So, this is the path you’ve chosen?” I asked myself.
“Yes.” I replied boldly.
“I tried to warn you. This will only end in tears.”
“Even so, I believe this is the right decision.”
“...So be it. If that is what you really want.”
“It is.”
My other self faded away, leaving me alone in my mind. Placing a hand over my heart, I swore to myself to follow this path to the end.
Darkness engulfed me as the dreamworld collapsed. That night, I slept quite soundly.
