Chapter 13 part 2
knock-knock
"Sasuko-chan — you awake?" I crack the door, peeking in. And immediately meet two little Uchiha coals. Evidently she's not just awake — she's already ready for her bridge watch. "Oh — good morning! Sleep okay?"
"What do you want?" she asked, sullen. Mmaa... Still mad about That Incident.
"Just stopped by for a final exam and treatment session. Akashi-san said yesterday that Naruko-chan and I are heading back to Konoha — so I want to be completely sure you're doing okay."
"..." The Sharingan owner drills me silently — but turns back into the room. "I've got things to do. Make it fast."
Yare-yare...
"As you say, Hedgehog-chan. As you say." I nod, compliant. Female grudges... the most fleeting and the most enduring things in the world. Hah.
"Don't call me that!" Sasuko frowned.
"Yes, yes — forgive my flippancy." I sit beside her and study the bandage. "Hm — looks decent. Any complaints? Tightness? Pain?"
"Not really," the girl muttered, tensing a little when my fingers touched her neck. Aha — a true shinobi. Already lying to the medics. Akashi-san — I'm blaming your bad example for this too.
"Pardon me." I murmur the standard medic phrase and deftly unwind the bandage to palpate the area properly. Uh-huh... I see. Muscle spasms. Not severe — but enough to bother her. "One moment. Might be a little unpleasant — but bear with it, Sasuko-chan."
I grab the ointment I left nearby — specifically for her to self-treat — and sit behind her, wrapping my hands around her neck so my fingers rest on her throat.
Sasuko tensed. Well... yeah. Kind of a weird position. My hands look like I'm trying to strangle her. But what can you do — it's just the easiest way for me. Half-turning, she gives me a sullen look — but stays silent. This isn't the first session.
Slowly, I work the compound in — combining it with a restorative massage and the medical technique. Sasuko's not looking my way anymore — but I can still tell: she's frowning. For reasons I don't totally get — this happens every single treatment. Clearly — she doesn't like being touched. And the more careful and gentle I try to be — the sulkier she looks.
"Wonder if it's like this with everyone — or just me specifically?" I sighed inwardly. "If it's me — how long's she gonna stay pissed about That Incident? The rest of my life? Kami — I can't figure it out, no matter how hard I try."
"Aaand — done! Better now, right?" I ask with a smile — giving zero sign of my gloomy thoughts. "Let me put a fresh bandage on. Aaand — there. Too tight? Good. Once the compound absorbs, you can take the bandage off if it bugs you. Otherwise — everything's normal. The wounds'll sting a bit for a while — so I'll leave you a mild painkiller. Don't take too much — max two doses a day. Don't overdo it. Well — I won't keep you any longer. I'm gonna go check on Akashi-taicho — then Naruko and I head back with the report. So — I guess we won't see each other for a while. So: work hard — but don't push yourself, Hedgehog-chan!"
"Pfh..." A disdainful snort was her reply.
"Bye-bye!"
There. Sasuko done. Just gotta terror— hm, instruct Akashi-san one more time. Then grab Naruko by the scruff — and we're off!..
***
After the door closed behind Nagisa, Sasuko stared after him for a long moment. But eventually — her black eyes shifted. Lost all their tension.
Half-consciously — she touched her neck. Traced her fingers lightly over the fresh bandage. Stroked slowly — listening to her own sensations.
"It doesn't hurt..." A timid thought slipped through her head.
Blinking — Sasuko shook her head sharply. Jerked her hand away.
"Pheh... useless monk." The girl muttered it under her breath, annoyed. She reset her face to its usual haughty disdain — and left the room. Back to the mission. Tedious observation of bridge construction.
***
Well — we're finally off. Despite the timely wake-up call, Naruko's still half-asleep — yawning every few seconds. Infectiously yawning! Bad enough that I couldn't help joining in a few times. Gotta stop reading secret scrolls late at night. Sleep more!
Eh — I can catch up on sleep in Konoha. The whole next week's basically leave — no work expected. I can focus on self-improvement. Honestly? The recent events left me not too happy with myself. Random thugs like those are no real threat — worst case, I can run. But genuinely strong opponents? I can't compete. Haku took down Sasuko without even trying — and he wasn't aiming to kill. And me? I consistently lose to Hedgehog-chan in every sparring match. Sure — I don't use all my "tricks." Pure shinobi combat: taijutsu and ninjutsu. That's the point of training — improving specific skills, right? But even with my tricks — my odds of winning aren't great. Best case: I win the first few rounds — until Indra's descendant memorizes all my moves. And now that her eyes have awakened... What's there to say about more experienced enemies? They'd just flatten me. Even Naruko — although she's a whole separate category. Give her time — she'll roll even Pain. A little "OVERCOMING" training, and there she is — ready-made legend of the shinobi world. Comparing myself to her is pointless — her growth is just unnatural. The only catch: she needs a good push (or kick) to get going. That's her real problem.
Hm — speaking of the blonde problem!..
"Aaaauuaaaau!" Uzumaki did her Tarzan impression. Wiping yawn-tears from her eyes, she shook her head — then suddenly fixed me with a clear, sober look. "Hey, Koru-chan" — (I'M KA-O-RU!!!) — "what now?"
"What do you mean, 'what?'" I didn't get it. "Were you not listening, Naruko? We're heading to Konoha..."
"Nah — I get that!" She cut me off. "But how do we — you know — get there?"
She waved her hand at the vast expanse of water.
"Oh, Naru-chan — don't tell me... Huh?!" Wait. What? If I think about it... THIS!!! THIS IS!!.. "Kami-sama — I'm an idiot."
Gods — am I getting stupid? The Land of Waves is an island nation. You have to reach the mainland by water. Now: where do we get a boat when everyone's either busy in Tazuna's village or won't be back for gods know how long?
I drop to my knees in shock. How?! It's such a simple thing!
"Now, now — don't be so upset, Koru-chan!" Naruko pats me on the shoulder, consoling. "Happens to everyone. Don't be sad, Koru-chan. I forget little stuff sometimes too! Once — I wanted to throw out old milk, but forgot — and next morning I accidentally drank it, and my stomach hurt. I'm so scatterbrained sometimes! Ha-ha-ha!.."
"That's not something to laugh about, you idiot!" I shook my head. "Ugh — what do I do? Go back to the village? Lose a couple hours. Hm... what if?.."
"Naruko-chan — how's your water walking?.."
***
"That's an awesome idea, Koru-chan!" Uzumaki shouted, kicking up little spray-clouds with every step. "Training AND traveling! At this rate I'll catch up to that stupid hedgehog in no time!!"
"Hey — just don't overdo it," I tried to cool her down. But this is Naruko — so futile.
"Ora-ora-ora! I can feel myself getting stronger every second, datteb!.." Splash! Her left foot suddenly loses its grip — face-first into the water. "Brrraaarr! Mou — I fell again."
"I did warn you." I chided her, offering a hand. "More focus, Naru-chan. Stay sharp, stay sharp."
"I know that. I just got a little — a teeny, tiny bit — distracted." The soaked girl grumbled, wringing out her pigtails.
Hah — what can you do with her? I barely hinted that walking on water could be great training — and off she went. Her enthusiasm's great, sure — but this is Naruko! She got way too worked up about the idea — so she keeps losing focus. Though — credit where it's due: she's adapting fast. The periodic face-plants are getting less frequent.
"Aren't you tired?" I asked, eyeing her feet. Even standing still — the water under her soles was churning and quivering like a boiling kettle. She's probably hit her concentration limit. Impressive, actually — we barely practiced water walking in Konoha, and in the bridge-builder's village the genin had other stuff besides training. Good result. Just like with vertical surfaces: Naruko was the team laggard — but thanks to persistence (and stubbornness) she runs through trees as well as Sasuko now. That's her defining trait: laying the foundation is hell with her — but once it's down, her progress goes meteoric. Problem is — her stubborn nature means she doesn't know when to stop. She's already at her current limit, far as I can tell. I whispered under my breath: "Hora, Horo!"
"Hai-hai!!!" The water spirits shouted, bursting out of my back. Gh!!! Seriously — that's pretty painful! Gotta build them a proper shrine soon — or I'll have to get used to this. Though — this method has its perks. Still masochism!
"I think we can take a short break," I told Uzumaki. The spirits slipped into the water — started rapidly condensing the moisture beneath us.
"Oh?! Whoa?!" Naruko gasped, watching the sudden changes under her feet. She took a step. Another. Jumped in place. Boing — the water — or rather, something like dense jelly — bounced back, rippling. "AWESOME!!!"
"Well — I guess it is." I fall face-first with a mischievous grin. Mm... soft and springy... and cool...
Jolt. Another jolt. Oi! Oi!!.. Kami, what the—... oi!
"Sugoi! Sugoi!!" The girl was having a blast — bouncing on the jelly like a trampoline. Ecstatic. She plopped down hard on her butt and started poking the springy surface full of excitement. "Suuugoooiii!!! Hey, hey — how'd you do this, Koru-chan?!"
"Well — how should I put it..." I racked my brain for an out. Seriously — how do I explain that a good ten-meter-wide chunk of water suddenly turned into jelly? "That's... himitsu desu!*"
"A super-secret, ultra-awesome secret technique?!" The blonde's eyes started sparkling dangerously. "Sensei — please teach me!!!"
"Um — I'm afraid this isn't something you can just... learn..." I said carefully, watching the excited girl crawl toward me on her knees. Very purposefully.
"How can that be?!" She clutched her hands to her chest — voice dripping with tragedy. "Is it truly... truly hopeless for me?!"
I swallow. Hard. Naruko's cunning — you can't deny that. She knows exactly how powerful she is — and she wields it ruthlessly to get what she wants. But I mustn't give in.
Those big blue eyes — tears of disappointment glistening in the corners. That pitiful, innocent little face — framed in gold...
"This is very — VERY — dangerous!" It took every scrap of willpower not to fall for it. Damn this girl!..
"Oi?!" Uzumaki yelped — receiving a light flick to the nose.
Phew — close one. And she's gotten better at this technique... Yeah — Naruko's wheedling skills are unmatched. And that vivid face — paired with the cute looks — just amplifies it. Her acting's improving, too.
"Naruko — you're a tiny manipulative monster..." I muttered under my breath, realizing it had almost worked on me this time. And she's just barely starting to bloom. I'm genuinely terrified of what happens when her looks fully develop. Like I said: no such thing as an ugly kunoichi. And with Uzumaki's "starting" natural assets... Yeah. Just — oi.
"..." Head bowed — face hidden behind her bangs — Naruko suddenly went very quiet.
"Hey, Naru-chan — let's have a little snack and—" Gotta interrupt her next attack! But Uzumaki didn't answer. Just lowered her head further. Something unpleasant squirmed in my stomach. Sensing trouble. "Naruko? Hey, Naruko — don't sulk. I didn't mean anyth—"
"...!" She sprang up — whirled — hair lashing my face — and bolted. So sudden I just froze, staring after her in total incomprehension.
"What — in the name of Amaterasu..." I muttered, shocked, trying to process. Why would she suddenly—?! Did I... did I really... No?!"Oh, no. No-no-no!.. Oh, Kami-sama!! She couldn't have! She couldn't have — Kami?!"
An illusory chill spread through my stomach — froze my whole body. Cursing myself, I dashed after her. At least sensing that demonic-chakra beacon doesn't take any effort at all.
Kami-sama — what an idiot I am!
***
Notes:
* Sore wa himitsu desu! — "It's a secret!"