Human beings are capable of achieving things of which they are unaware, adapting to situations that other species could not endure.
An example of this is selective isolation that occurs when a person enters an area with a strong penetrating odor or a very annoying noise. Initially, the person will be exasperated, but after a while, their brain will isolate that factor, and before they know it, they won't feel the smell or the noise around them anymore.
Unfortunately for Fu, the constant buzzing in her head seemed to ignore this wonderful adaptability capacity, and she had to grow up listening to that constant noise her entire life.
The sound was loud enough to override her thoughts, often interfering with them, but not so intense as to prevent her from sleeping.
At times, but she could still sleep.
She was what the other villagers of Takigakure called a jinchuriki, a cage for a creature used as a deterrent weapon.
And the creature didn't seem happy, always buzzing in her mind, hoping she would lose control so it could take over her body.
It won't succeed!
She is strong, she can endure it... she just needed to stay positive and smile.
Smiling should help, right?
It should...
Although it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to smile.
It didn't help that the food was flavorless, and the only stores in the village sold her basic ingredients. She didn't even have a kitchen in her house and had to improvise a fire as best as she could.
And with a village surrounded by waterfalls where she wasn't allowed to leave, dry wood wasn't easy to come by. Cold food wasn't that great.
With the training she had to undergo to be a good kunoichi and the great energy expenditure it entailed, she couldn't remember the last time she felt full.
Even Shibuki, who became a complete coward after the death of the village leader, who was also her father, stopped bringing her food secretly after what happened.
She didn't understand, the leader died protecting the village because he consumed the Hero's Water, it was his decision to protect everyone.
So why did he look at her as if it were her fault?
She didn't have the strength to help!
Or did he think she should have let the beast out, let it take her body?
That would be strange.
It was her father who decided to put the beast inside her, why would she help the man who condemned her to her situation?
Didn't he think that would only make things worse?
She didn't want to do it, Shibuki didn't seem like a bad person, but Fu hated her father.
Oh, her reflection in the mirror lost its smile.
She needed to keep practicing.
She had to regain it, think of something better...
"A smile in a broken mirror, perhaps the best way to express your state, don't you think?"
Fu turned around surprised to see an unfamiliar ninja... who was wounded?
He was covered in bandages from head to toe, it should be quite painful wounds.
"Do you want to be my friend?"
He did it again, how long did she sleep last night?
"That sounded rather sinister, you know?" the masked ninja replied.
Ah, she supposed it did. But after so many years, it was almost a reflex for her to ask every new person she met.
Shibuki said friends give strength and help you.
She wanted a friend.
She... could have one, right?
It had to be something nice.
What about caution?
He's already by her side without her noticing, she didn't think she had the ability to defend herself if he wanted to do something.
The buzzing in her head became more intense again, annoying...
"But sure, let's be friends."
...Huh?
Oh, she got it now, she was asleep, and everything was just a dream. Heh, it's been years since she slept enough to dream, how curious.
"I... don't have anything right now."
She had no gift to give her friend.
Shibuki said it was considerate to give something during the first encounter when making a friend, but all she had was barely enough.
Maybe she should go out and find a bouquet of flowers?
The smell of flowers always calmed her and helped her smile, it could be a good gift for a friend.
Unless he couldn't stand pollen?
"Well, how about I give you something first?" the mummy-like ninja offered.
That... she would actually like, she never received a gift before.
Even the food Shibuki brought her secretly, she only got it if she completed the rigorous training. Sometimes it hurt a lot.
Fu watched as her friend took out a pot with a strange expression on its surface, and the air around them changed, turning all dark and soundless after performing a series of hand seals.
The buzzing seemed distant, separated, and it felt novel.
She also heard someone screaming, a girl.
Why did the girl's voice sound so much like hers?
Fu opened her eyes and got up from the bed soaked in sweat, feeling that the dream had been extremely vivid. She turned to put on her sandals and get up, but she noticed something.
Something different.
"Why don't I hear the buzzing anymore?"
Everything was so... silent.
She liked it, it had a sense of peace like never before.
She went to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror out of habit, and upon entering, she widened her eyes.
The mirror was as good as new, as if it had never been broken.
And Fu could see her reflection looking back at her, showing a beautiful smile.
"I like that smile."
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Well, I tried a different style in this chapter.
What did you think?