Several months later. Everything went extremely well, I attended a high school in this village and surprisingly it's also modern style, everything is up to date.
"Hey Aiko-san!" a voice of a girl called.
I turned and the person that called me was my classmate/cousin who is named Maya Yamada. She's three months older then me with a patite figure and the only feature she has that's similar to me is her hair, which was black, but her eyes are grey, completely different from mine.
"Maya-san, your cutting it close there. Let me guess... Heartbreak?" I smirk jokingly.
"What no! I overslept is all." she sweats.
"Hehe I know, I was just teasing you." I giggled. 'Huh... Funny, this feels very familiar to when I always have to wait for him whenever Ren-kun is late...' I pause for a quick second and shake the thought. 'No wait, I have to forget about that for now, I still need to get my very own combat official license.' I put on a determined face.
"So ready for tonight?" Maya ask.
"Huh...?" I quickly realised it and nod. "We're learning a new tactic right?"
"Yup. Tonight we're strategizing on how to move in the dark without showing any presence, and once we finally got the gist of it, we move onto stalking our prey. That's what it says on our syllabus."
"Stalking our prey? What's the use of that?" I ask.
"Who knows? Probably useful in the future, you don't know when you might need it."
I felt like it is going to be so useful in the future...
The day went on as normal as it is and nothing went bad... And at night, we were all assembled at a camp up north from the village, in the middle of nowhere where there's only trees and bushes around us.
While we waited, I was talking to Maya about what we would do once we got our license.
"So... do you have like any plans after this?" Maya questioned.
I was reluctant to answer but answered anyways. "I was thinking about visiting some old friend." I then smiled at Maya.
"Ohhh... Does this old friend happen to be a boy?" She says in a flirtatious manner.
I blush slightly but didn't gave her a straight answer. "He's... something like that."
Maya's face lights up. "Wait!? It's like that!?" She says with a voice of a literal high-school girl, which isn't even surprising considering that she is one.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" I didn't understood on why she's acting like this now.
"Nothing... It's just that... you never once mention about a boy you know and probably like outside of this village to me at all."
Her words only made me confused. "Should I? I mean you never asked."
Maya was about to continue this girl talk about the boy I like, but was then interrupted by our instructor calling us using a megaphone.
"Okay people... get in line with your respective classes." Our instructor said with a stern expression.
everyone then did as he says as he continues...
"Okay, today we will be using the night for this lesson and anyone who has a problem dealing with bugs, allergies or anything you dislike about the forest... suck it up. Because tonight, your going to use the tress, rocks or dirt to conceal your presence." He then threw a smoke bomb and everyone disperse including me and Maya.
I ran around the forest and hid behind a tree. I saw how everyone is using the trees so I should change to a place more unpredictable.
"There!" The instructor threw a rock at someone who was on top of a tree branch. "Too predictable... you lost." The guy who lost then walked back to camp and just sat in defeat.
This goes the same for some people... Maya was nearly caught, meanwhile I'm just standing in the shadows.
"Hmm... It seems like I'm making this easy for them..." The instructor then shouts at us. "Don't just hide... find an opening to strike me while I can't see you."
Everyone came out but he was quick enough to react to their movements. Maya then fell from the tree suddenly the instructor rush towards her.
"Are you okay?" He asked... Making himself defenceless.
Maya smirks as she looks at me and I came out from the shadows to kick his face.
He was quite surprise that he fell for that. The instructor just chuckles as he looks at me and Maya.
"Hahaha... That was beautiful... making me worry for your friend so you can take full advantage of my open back to strike... Impressive Nijima-Dono."
We walked back to camp as he gave us our congratulations.
"Remember class... just like Nijima-Dono... The shadows are your friends, use them to your advantage. Oh and distractions can make it harder for your prey to identify where you are at all times... Just like how I fell for Yamada-san's trick" He rubs the back of his head as he felt embarrassed of how an Instructor like him fell for a classic trap.
Class ended and I made it took a few minutes to arrive at my home.
"I'm home" I said as while slowly opening my front door.
I hear talking in the kitchen whose voice I'm familiar with. To my surprise, it was my mom and not just my mom, my aunt as well who's her daughter you know as Maya.
"Auntie Shino and... Mom? What are you two doing at my place? Wait how did you two even got in?!" I had a very confused yet shocked expression.
"Oh your back Aiko-chan..." Shino says with a motherly smile and aura my mother simply just smiles.
Even though it's been only months since I left my father, I can't get over by how much everything moves so fast. I met my aunt and her daughter who is my cousin that became my classmate right after I entered high-school and she also became my partner in training for our ninja license class. I wasn't very keen at learning ninjutsu at first but I got the hang of it and it was very intense. I learned on how to throw a ninja star though it was simple yet complicated.
"I duplicated you're key actually so we let ourselves in." My mother held out what looks like my a duplicated key to my house.
"Have you ever heard of consent?" I ask with a stern expression.
"I'm the chief of the village... I don't need consent from anyone even from my own daughter." She said with a proud smile.
"That's just unfair."
"I'm the chief." She still has the same smile in which irritated me.
"Don't need to remind me!"
"Now, now you two let's not fight." Auntie Shino smiles.
After a while, me, mom and auntie Shino had decided to go and eat outside with Maya.
"So how was the training you two?" Auntie Shino said.
"It was great actually, I used my clumsiness to distract the instructor while Aiko-san took that as an opportunity and strike him. It was very smart of her and ehem... Myself." Maya chuckles to herself while mother and auntie Shino gave a smug smile.
"Yeah sure dear, try not to make the same mistake when your out in the world of the commoners. Also, Aiko-chan... I heard from your mom that she plans to make the exam a bit more complicated then the usual ones."
"Sis, that's not what I said..." My mother facepalmed.
"It's not?"
"I mentioned that the exam is harder yes, but nothing is going to change. The one that I wanted to tell is how the performance of her class is doing, so far it isn't that bad but one person seems to be flunking a bit." She looks at Maya.
"Huh? Me...? Wait what!?" Maya had a shocked expression as her mother looked at her daughter with the death aura.
"Maya-chan... Care to explain why you failed?"
"Hey! She said flunked!"
"Which means failing Maya-san." I said with a giggle. Maya proceeded to have try and explain how she's not actually failing while her mother was not really all that happy about it.
My mother on the other hand has as enjoying this moment between family, I could see it on her face.
"Aiko-chan... If you ever love somebody, and wish to never let them go... Then you must do whatever it takes to protect them... Because nothing matters more than the people you love." Mother's words made me smile a bit... Though it makes sense, and I can't help but understand her.
A year later... My second and last year of being a ninja, I finished the exam with flying colours and as I entered my house with Maya beside me, I realised it was opened.
"Hmm? Someone must be inside, get ready." Says Maya with a concern look while preparing a fighting stance. I looked at her and nodded.
We breached my door and looked around only for me to turn on the lights and see... My mom and auntie Shino with a cake on the table.
"Uhh... Happy... Birthday?" Auntie Shino says as she blew a party horn on to remove the awkward silence.
"Hehe, yeah happy Birthday Aiko-san!" Maya pretended as if she knew when mom and Auntie Shino knew she wasn't apart of this surprise.
"Congratulations and happy birthday, Aiko-chan." My mother walked up to me with a smile and held my two hands. "You're sixteen now, and I came here to personally give you... You're first ever ninja license, congratulations on graduating." She hugs me tightly as I hold her closer.
"Thank you mother... Let's enjoy the cakes and foods okay?" I had a soft smile and was interrupted by Maya's overly excited personality.
"Now let's get this birthday party going!"
Minutes passes as we laughed and enjoy our conversations together... Until it came to the end.
"So, Aiko-chan... Do you have any idea about what to do now that you've graduated? Maybe go outside and meet some old friends?" Auntie Shino had the most bright smile when she mentioned my next move.
"Well... Yeah, there is someone I want to see, and I'm pretty sure he's waiting on the day we'll see each other again." I look over to my mother as she nods and understands who I meant. "But first... I want to see my father again..." As soon as I mentioned my father, everyone froze including my mother.
The silence was a bit overwhelming... I knew something was up at that point. "Is something wrong?" My mother was the first person who turned to look at me and said.
"Aiko-chan... There's something I must tell you." My mother exhaled and looked at me dead in the eyes. "Anyone who betrayed the Hakagure clan... Must not be associated with unless it's under an important reason." Just hearing my mother mention that I couldn't see my father was enough to make me wanna laugh.
" Was that supposed to be a joke? Hah... Yeah that's funny mom but... You're just jealous you can't leave and I get to see dad right?." Everyone in the room including mom didn't look like they were kidding, seeing my father isn't possible. "So... That's it? Did you lie to me!?"
"Aiko-chan, I didn't-"
"No! You did! You lied to me! You said I get to meet anyone outside the village once I've graduated!"
"I did say that, but what I didn't mention is... You can't meet a traitor once you're out. Meeting them is a sign of your betrayal as well." My mother's words strucked me like a bullet to the heart.
"You can't do this! I..." At a loss for words Maya suddenly stepped in.
"Auntie, what are the consequences of meeting a traitor?"
"Punishment isn't death... That's for sure, but it is severe." Mother didn't had a motherly tone, but had the voice of chieften when speaking to me.
"You should listen to her, Aiko-chan... There is no voice of reason for you, only a warning." Everything seems wrong, auntie Shino was also against the idea of me seeing my father.
"You can't do this..." I said in a soft yet upset tone.
"I can and I will... In order to protect you, my daughter." Her voice was sharp and dense... My urge to slap my mother was there, but instead of wanting to slap her... I ran upstairs and lock myself in my own room.
Meanwhile, downstairs with Kasumi, Shino and Maya at the dinner table.
"Sigh did I handle that properly?" Kasumi says in a worried tone.
"You should've gone easy on her... She's still young, you know how intimidating your voice gets when you go cheiften mode."
"I... Had no choice, I want her to understand that her punishment wasn't my rule, it was the high council. They decide what happens... I simply lead and protect the people of this village while they maintain justice and the rights of others. Her punishment isn't for me to decide." Kasumi looks defeated and Shino knew that her sister didn't had control over the rules of the village.
"But... Isn't it a bit far?" Maya was the one who broke the sudden silence. "She wants to see the person who raised her... For years, she wanted to see him... Right?"
"Maya-chan, if you are a parent you would understand that the child is more important than the person who raised them, which in this case Kasumi-san wanted to protect Aiko-chan." Shino says in a motherly tone, but Maya didn't take her advice. It seems like Maya has taken a side with her best friend...