“I almost drained my chakra practicing that new jutsu,” Kirei sat under a tree to recover herself. She smiled when she saw her ‘artwork’ on trees nearby. All has a burned hole on their trunk. Her skills on that jutsu were improving.
SWOSHH!!
Kirei saw two glimpses of shadows moving on opposite direction. One to her right and one to her left, were hiding on trees nearby. She pretended that she didn’t notice about it. Inside, she only thinks about two things; who are they and the safety precautions to take. She realized that no one can help her in the forest because this is her favourite place to spend some time quietly.
STABBB!!
STABBB!!
A shuriken landed perfectly on her forehead if she didn’t dodge from it. Then, a barrage of shuriken barrelling at her. She quickly ducked out of the way. The attackers jumps out from their hiding place and released a trio of kicks and punches, each being blocked with high amount of
difficulty form Kirei. After a several attack, Kirei stumbled down when her leg was kicked down by one of the attackers. She can’t make any moves now. Her breath was short and shallow.
difficulty form Kirei. After a several attack, Kirei stumbled down when her leg was kicked down by one of the attackers. She can’t make any moves now. Her breath was short and shallow.
“Who are you?” She asked them. She can’t see their faces because they covered lower-half of their face. One is taller than his partner.
“We’re nobody. We’re just here for a simple mission,” the short guy answered.
“What mission?” She asked. But, before they answered it, she has knew their mission ; her!
“You can’t kill me that easily, you know?” she said.
“Is that so?” the short guy replied again. “We’ve been watching you practicing since dawn. You’re resting just now, Kirei. You don’t have enough chakra to fight us both,” he said sarcastically. Kirei was silent listening to short guy words. Surprisingly, Kirei immediately jumped up and kick those two guys hard on their faces. She smiled at the surprised attackers.
“I still can use taijutsu, you fool,” Kirei told them. Then, suddenly, somebody stands behind her with a kunai close at her neck.
“Got’cha, ‘little girl’,” the tall guy said.
‘What?! A trap?!’ Kirei moves were locked. ‘They knew that I can’t use ninjutsu so they use kage bunshin to trap me! Why didn’t I realize this before?’ her mind speaks. She felt a strong grounding on her head before falling unconscious.
* * *
Kirei opened her eyes slowly. She blinked her eyes few times before she could see clearly.
‘This is not my room,’ her heart speaks. Kirei looked at herself. A bandaged wrist and head and she wore a patient uniform. She analysed the whole room before she forced herself to stand up though the pain was killing her. She is so confused right now. How could she end up at the hospital? Kirei opened the door before someone stopped her.
“Hello,” says a voice.
Kirei turn her back on and saw a guy squatting on the window opening. He’s smiling at her. Her heart was linked to him the first time she saw him.
“Who are you? What do you want form me?” Kirei asked him.
“No one. Just visiting you,” he said in a lazy tone. He then gone outside the ward and came back in after a few seconds.
“I ask an ANBU to call for a doctor…”
“What?! The ANBU members? How many of them outside?” Kirei cut his talk, half screaming.
“There are three of them in front of the door, five at the outside there,” he said, pointing his index finger at the window.
“WHAT?!”
“It’s Lord Tsuyoi’s order,”
‘Father,’ Kirei said as soon as she heard the name.
“I think you should rest while waiting for the doctor,” the guy said.
Kirei just follow the guy’s order and lean on her bed. She was so tired and in great pain. The guy sat down on a chair, at a corner of the room which is a bit hidden in the room. He took a small book from a pouch attached to his belt and starts reading it.
The guy wasn’t really reading the book. He was looking at Kirei. Don’t know why, since the first time he saw her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Since that day. Her brown eyes looked warm. Her hairs are soft even though he never touched it. Her smile...well, he never saw her smile, so there’s nothing that he can tell from it.
She came from a family that possessed a unique bloodline trait. She is the only heir to the bloodline. Besides, her families are one of the oldest clan in the Leaf Village and her father is the head of the clan. Indirectly, they addressed her as ‘Lady Kirei’.
“How long I’ve been here?” Kirei asked the mysterious guy.
“About a week,” he answered. His eyes met hers now. He closed the book. “The doctors assumed that you’ll awake after two weeks,but…” he paused for a while.
Kirei waited for the words to come out.
“…I think you won’t make it,” he continued.
“You mean, I’m a…?” Kirei gave up after trying to understanding the meaning.
“Corpse,” he said innocently.
“Excuse me?!” Kirei blew up hearing that. But, before she can say more, the door opened up and a doctor accompanied with a nurse and an ANBU showed up in the room. Kirei gave a killing glare at the guy. He just smiled at her.
After the doctor examined her, he said that she can only go home after she is fully recovered.
“You recovered quickly than we expected. Amazing,” the doctor concluded.
“Yeah, thanks. I’ve heard that just now,” she said to the doctor while looking at a direction behind him. The doctor looked to where Kirei has her eyes. The guy gave him a meaningful smile and the doctor nodded his head in return. Before he left, he said to Kirei…
“Your father sends his warmest regard to you,”
Her expressions changed. A cloud of frustrated covered her face. She smiled at the doctor as she muttered a ‘Thanks’ word. The door is closed. She looked at the guy.
“What are you looking at? I’m used to be left by him,” she said, fiercely.
“I gotta go now. I don’t know how to comforts a crying lady,” And he went outside the door just in time when Kirei throws a pillow at him furiously. Moments later, he showed his head once again to tell her not to weep loudly. Again, Kirei throws a pillow at him and she missed it once again, but this time together with “You’re ANNOYING!!” shouts. But then, she really cried.
* * *
“Hatake, stop it!” Kirei shouted at him. Another hurls of kunai coming towards her and Kirei manage to dodged out of the way.
“I said; CUT IT OUT,” Kirei starts to heat up.
“Feeling tired?” Hatake said after he jumps out of his hiding place near the bushes.
“Well, yeah! We haven’t stop since day-break,” She said. She’s finding more air to breath.
“If that situation happened for real, you still want to ask for a break?” Hatake asked her. Kirei was dumbfounded by his words. “10 minutes,” Hatake gave his permissions.
“Finally!!” She relived and continued to lie down on the ground facing the sun. Then, Hatake came facing her, blocking the sun.
“You know, the chances for you to get a heat stroke quite high if you stay longer direct to the sun,” he said.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go under the tree,” Kirei understood of what he’s trying to say. “Geez, you’re acting like a father,” she continued as they both walk together under a shady tree.
“Really? I’m just concerned about you,” he replied her with his usual lazy tone. Kirei seemed not to hear to what was he saying. She’s beside him, looking dreamy.
“Hey,” she voiced. “It’s been a month since the day you saved me,”
“What about it?”
“Nothing, just flashing back how you turned up to be my coach,”
Flashback...
Kirei almost lost her life today when she received two surprises that day. The first is her father has returned from his work and is paying her a visit at the ward. The second is…
“You’re joking right, father?” Kirei asked her dad for the truth.
“No, I’m not. He’s going to be your trainer and bodyguard. Besides, you both look perfect for each other,” Lord Tsuyoi said, pointing to the guy who’s sitting at a corner of the room, the same spot where he sits earlier. She almost fainted when her father mentioned the last sentence. The guy just sits there, as if he didn’t aware that they are talking about him.
“No, we’re not. I don’t even know his name. Besides, out of many, why did you choose him?” she questioned her father.
“He saved you from the assassins, and he’s a jounin himself,” Lord Tsuyoi answers his daughter. Kirei’s mouth open wide hearing that.
“I’m 17th now, father,” she says.
“He’s 21 years,” he replies. Again, Kirei’s mouth opened wide.
“Look, father. I almost drained my chakra at that time. I can handle the assassins if I still have enough chakra,” Kirei explained to her father.
“Ops…Time sure flies when you’re busy,” Lord Tsuyoi said when he look at the clock in the room. He didn’t say anything to Kirei’s explanations. He rise up from the chair and said to Kirei , “Hatake is going to teach you and that’s final,” before leaving the room.
Present…
“This is harder than it seems,” she sighed. She settled down underneath the tree that she used to practice kinobori no waza; the art of tree climbing.
She looked at Hatake; who’s standing upside-down high on the tree branch. It displeased her. She won’t give up that easily. She took her kunai that was thrown away when she landed hard on the ground before and start the Kinobori Shugyou (Tree Climbing Training) once again.
‘Hmm… She’s high spirited. A bit hasty sometimes,’ Hatake concluded about Kirei as he observed her doing Kinobori Shugyou on top of the tree. He saw Kirei fall again and again and again. Then, he took out a novel from his pouch and started to read it on the branch, upside-down.
“Remember that it needs the right amount to be able to climb the tree,” he said loudly to Kirei. He heard “I know,” from Kirei. ‘Kinda of short tempered too,’ He added, smiling to himself. She is something. He continued watching Kirei’s progress in the trainng. After a while, he took out a novel from his pouch and started to read it on the branch, upside-down.
Kirei looked at Hatake once again. His words just now burned her even more. She promised herself to kick his ass when only when she has success to climb up the tree.
‘Relax, Kirei. No use of kicking his ass. Now, come on. Think deeply of what he has said before…’ She calms herself and thinks of the solution. Hatake lazy voice played in her mind.
“This tree climbing serves dual purposes…”
“…helps to control and maintain their chakra…”
“…needs a right amount to be able to climb the tree…”
“…the feet is said to be the hardest spot to focus on the chakra…”
“YES!! That’s it!!” Kirei cried out in joy. She relaxed herself and focused her chakra to her feet. She can feel her chakra on her feet now. She is full of excitement when she started to walk vertically on the tree trunk.
Hatake watched her in surprise. But, he didn’t show it. He kept his lazy expression. ‘A quick learner too,’ he added to himself.
Kirei was standing upside-down, opposite to him.
“What do you think?” she asked him.
“Impressive,” he answered shortly.
“That’s all? Nothing else?” Kirei asked in disbelief.
“Nope,”
“Oh, come on. I work hard to master this thing in one day and that is all you could say?” Kirei told him what’s on her mind.
“Yes,”
Before she could say more, she felt that her foot’s grip on the tree branch is losing. She started to fall down, but Hatake make a quick move. He jumped and managed to catch Kirei’s ankle before it’s too late.
With his emotionless face, he sighed and said to her “Homework; practice more,”
Kirei moaned hearing that.
* * *
“Now, that you’ve mastered that tree climbing art after two weeks of training…” Hatake spoke cynically to Kirei. Kirei hide her face with her palm. He continued, “…I’m going to teach you a general healing art; Shousen no Jutsu,”
“Shousen no Jutsu,” Kirei repeated.
“It’s a jutsu that all medical ninja used to heal wounds by creating a healing chakra in their hands,” he explained as he shows the healing chakra in his right hand. Kirei look at the green color chakra. She then smiled.
“We need to focus our chakra on our hand to be able to heal wounds,” Kirei said and showed the same green chakra on her right hand to Hatake. His eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“Looks like our class are over before we even start,” he said. “Day-off for today,” he announced.
“Yayy!” Kirei shouted.
Hatake gave out a sigh and looked at her. “Hey seito,” he said.
“Uhuh??”
“I have something important to tell you,” he said. He sat under a tree. Kirei stopped walking and go back to Hatake.
“About what?” she asked him as she sat next to him. She wondered why. ‘Is it about my progress?’ she guessed inside.
“You see, we’ve been together… I mean as we are now; I’m your coach and you are as my students. No other relationship…You understand what I said?” Hatake said, dotted.
“We’re friends,” Kirei simplified his speech. She smiled looking at this side of Hatake that she never sees before.
“Yeah, friends...” he relived.
“What about it?”
“They’re going to be some changes in our relationship…No, no!! I mean in your training session…” Hatake said.
“Are you feeling ok today? You look different,” Kirei said and placed her palm on his forehead to feel his temperature.
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine,” he felt a jerk in his stomach when Kirei touched his forehead.
“Ok… So, my training session…” Kirei wanted Hatake to continue what he was about to say before.
“Well, I won’t be able to teach you for some time,”
“Why?”
“I’m going for a mission,”
“For how long?”
“Days, weeks, months…Depends,” he answered. He then continued, “So, as your teacher and your bodyguard, too, I’m asking you not to train here or walk anywhere, ALONE,”
“Why is that so?” she looked at him
“It’s your father’s order. He told me to not let you go off my sights. He said that I can arrange another Jounin for you, but I didn’t do it on purpose,” he told her.
“And, why didn’t you?” Kirei started to off her temper.
“You’re mine,” he said, simply and in relaxed tone. “I won’t give you that easily. You’re mine,” he repeated his words.
Kirei felt that her face went red. Not red with the usual anger but with shyness. She felt something inside her stomach. It’s like a few butterflies were flying inside it. What is this all about?
“Stupid joke,” Kirei said to him.
“It’s up to you. Another reason is I don’t want you to get caught once again. Those guys that you were fighting, you’ll never win, trust me,”
Kirei thus stood and started to walk on her own. Then, she looked at Hatake and said, “I won’t do as you told me,”
Hatake just looked at her as she continued her walk. ‘You will do as I said,’ his instinct said in confidence.
* * *
It’s been three days since their last meeting. She felt so bored in her own room. She did go for a leisure walk, but she felt a little awkward.So, she had no choice but to follow Hatake’s ‘request’. Why?
Usually, Hatake will accompany her with his minimalist attitude towards his surroundings. Now?? She felt lonely (???).
She looked outside her window. Her minds are full with Hatake.
She remembered when she makes a practical joke to ‘pay’ him. She uses a pail of cold water to get him wet early in the morning. She laughed out loud together with him when the joke worked on him and she thought that he didn’t mind about it. But, she’s wrong. He paid her back in a subtle manner; through her training.
His lazy expressions, relaxed manner and funny makes her smile sometimes. Once again, she did it; she smiled thinking of this.
“Wait, why my head are full with him?” she asked herself.
She recalled back what did Hatake said to her...
“…you’re mine,”
She felt that her stomach was filled with butterflies again. The same feeling that she felt when she heard he said it face to face at her. Only now, she felt a little happy with it. ‘This is weird,’ she thought. Suddenly, she remembered about all the novels that she has read.
“No way I’m in love with him! It has been always love at first sight in the novels. Me? Annoyance at the first sight; it’s a huge difference!” she concluded to herself. ‘Besides, who would ever fall in love with a guy like him?’ her inner side speaks out. ‘He’s always late and gave some stupid, lame excuses,’ she said his weakness. She tried to find some more excuses but, failed.
“Urghh! You are so not in love with him, Kirei,” she tried to convinced herself, although she knew that she can’t fight the feelings inside her.
* * *
Kirei disobeyed Hatake’s request on his fifth day absences; she’s going to training on her own. She’s a free spirited girl, she live on a motto: There’s no day such an ordinary day. ‘Besides, Hatake would never know,’ her inner self said. She has forgotten that Hatake had mentioned about the danger she will faced if she did trained alone.
“Why do I always over used my chakra?” Kirei sighed. She sat under a tree to rest herself. Her minds flew over Hatake, for a hundredth time. Without she realized it, someone was watching her closely; very close.
“What did he think of me?” she questioned herself. She recollects everything the time she spent with him. She realized a few things about those times.
There’s one time, when he asked her whether she’s in a special relationships or not.
“No,” she replied. “Why did you ask about it? What about you?” she asked him.
“Me? Not interested. I’m waiting for someone who can break my seal. It could have been you, if you’re not hot-tempered,” he said. “Joking,” he apologized when he saw a killing intent in Kirei’s eyes.
‘You know what, Kirei? You’re just dreaming. He’s just joking about it. He always did that,’ her minds spoke.
Her snooper got closer and closer to her, close enough to overhear what she was saying. He’s hiding in the bushes nearby.
“I’m so bored without him,” she said, hoping that Hatake would hear that even though she didn’t want him to hear it.
“I guess that I like him,” she concluded. “But, let’s just keep it personally, Kirei,” she said to herself. She decided to keep her feelings towards Hatake between her and herself. She got a feeling that he will laugh if she told him her feelings. She couldn’t take the consequences. ‘Besides, it will wear off in no time,’
The snooper smiled and said, “Alright, Kirei. Let’s see how far your training had paid you off,” and throw lots of kunai at her. Kirei jumps out from the incoming attack and throws a kunai directly at him, as if she knew that he’s in the bushes. Her throws has hurt him on the shoulder, but, at least he escaped from death.
“Show yourself!!” she ordered. She knew that her attack hurts her snooper. She felt weird when she heard claps from her attacker before he exposed himself to her.
“YOU?!” she surprised. Her eyes almost bulged out from her eye sockets. “H…How long you’ve been here?” she asked him, shaking.
Hatake just stood there, in front of her, between the bushes that he used for hiding.
“Your skills are increasing, that’s all I can say,” he said, avoiding Kirei’s questions. “You hurt me just in one throw,” he showed her his bleeding left shoulder.
“I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought tha…”
“I meant to do that. To see your skills,” he cut in her words.
“Let me heal the wounds,” Kirei offered herself to treat his wounds. Guilt covered her whole heart.
“No, it’s fine… Just a small scratch for me,” he refused.
“NO…” she demanded him. “Besides, you said you want to see my skills, right?” she said as she flows out the green healing chakra to her hand and place her palm to Hatake’s wound.
Silence wrapped them, as the wounds started to cure. Hatake took the chance to look at her. Their eyes met and both moved their gaze to other place.
“I heard it all,” he said, in an I-know-it-all tone. Kirei stopped from her work. She had her disbelieve look. Hatake glared at her, before he continued, “You like me, didn’t you?” he asked her, frankly.
“Wh…What on earth are you talking…” Kirei started to defend herself but Hatake didn’t give the chance”
“No excuses… I’ve heard it all. Just say it,” he provoked her.
“Well, why… why would I?! Why don’t you tell me how do you feel first?!” Kirei dared him.
“I already did. It’s just you who’re too slow to figure it out,” he answered her back. Kirei was speechless.
‘Just tell him,’ her mind urged her. ‘He already tells you his feelings, now it’s your turn,’ it urged her once again. Her heart thumped so quick that she felt it almost blew up.
“So…?” Hatake waited for her answer.
Slowly, Kirei shock her head and said slowly, “Yes,”
Hatake smiled when he heard her answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment