It took two days. Two long boring days. The good news? Sasuke still hasn't completed the tree walking exercise. The bad news? I now smell like ash where ever I go.
What is nice about the leaf burning exercise is I can wander around and practice at the same time. This is great, because it gives me a chance to explore the village and forest, and I can do it during Tazuna watch duty. All in all it was a nice training exercise.
Now that I have one leaf down, I'm jumping into two leaves at once. One per hand. I'm not naive enough to think I am ready to start on my fire whips. I won't be for a while. The best I can hope for is that I can get those down before Zabuza returns. They could be seriously beneficial against Haku's ice release.
That is how I came to be in a field, by wandering around while trying to burn leaves. It is also how I found Haku. That's right, I found Haku collecting herbs by pure chance.
"Oh. Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go find another clearing." Please let me leave. Please let me leave. I didn't hurt Zabuza, Kakashi did that by himself. You have no reason to attack me!
"It's okay, I don't mind sharing. Company is always welcome. Where are my manners, my name is Haku."
I know. "My name is Alvarcus. Pleasure to meet you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. What brings you to the forest? Usually I am the only one out here."
How much can I tell Haku? In the anime Naruto and Haku leave on good terms. Friends even. I don't have that charisma. Naruto is ridiculously likeable and I'm... well me. Naruto and I are nothing alike.
"I like to wander around every once in a while. Get a change of scenery. It just helps that I can train and walk at the same time." She already knows who I am, so there is no point in hiding being a shinobi. As long as I don't give any specifics, I can walk away.
"You like to wander around? I am sure that drives your sensei crazy. There are a lot of mercenaries around these days."
"Please. I can handle mercenaries by the dozens. It's the shinobi I need to worry about."
Haku pauses in her herb collecting. "Shinobi?"
I bend over next to Haku and I start helping her collect herbs.
"Yeah. Gato has hired some missing nin to work for him. They are pretty scary."
"It sounds like you faced them before. Did you kill them?" Sneaky Haku, trying to find out if we know Zabuza is alive.
"We killed some of them. One of them was my first kill. That... was not a good day." I shudder at the memory. "The others got away. Fled to regroup and get medical care."
"I am sorry that they got away."
"No you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be collecting herbs to heal Zabuza."
Haku and I keep on picking herbs, neither of us pausing.
"Who's Zabuza?"
"You don't need to lie to me, hunter-san. I know." This is monumentally stupid. I'm going to try and convince Haku to not fight.
"So you do know. Yet here you are, gathering herbs with an enemy, to heal another enemy. Why?"
"Simple really. You're not my enemy."
Haku stops picking herbs to look at me. I continue without her.
"Gato is the enemy here, not you or Zabuza. You are just a tool, an instrument of his choice. You don't want to kill me because you want me dead, it is a job. Just like how it is my job to protect Tazuna. I don't want to kill you. I don't want to kill Zabuza, even if he did nearly kill my whole team. I just want to complete my mission and go home to my family."
"You have precious people?" Haku starts picking herbs with me again.
"I do. Kaa-san. Tou-san. My team. My soon to be born sibling. That is just a few."
"You understand then."
"That you will do whatever it takes to protect your precious people?"
"Yes."
"I do. It is the whole reason I became a shinobi. There are no shinobi in my family. I am the first. My parents are... very unsupportive of my choice. They want me to continue the family business, baking. I couldn't. Not when I live in this world. There are monsters out there Haku, really scary monsters that make Kakashi and Zabuza look like baby kittens. I want to protect my family from them. I can't do that if I am a baker. So I enrolled into the Academy, and broke my parent's hearts. I did it for them, to protect them."
Haku stares at me, contemplating. "I will do what ever is necessary to protect Zabuza-sama. Even if it means killing you."
I look up from picking herbs to make eye contact with Haku. "I know. And I don't hold it against you. I will do the same."
Haku gets up, collecting her basket of herbs for Zabuza.
"Hey Haku?"
"Yes Alvarcus-san?"
"Have you ever thought that Gato is going to turn on you and Zabuza?"
"It was nice meeting you."
"You as well."
"Farewell, and may we never meet again." Haku says as she walks away.
If only that were an option. We will see each other on the bridge in five days. On that day, only one of us will walk away.
I think I failed.
...
Dinnertime, Tazuna's House
Dinner is a quiet affair. Sasuke is brooding over not being able to tree climb. Kakashi is content with the silence. Tazuna and Tsunami are still nervous around us shinobi so they are quiet. Sakura just looks constipated. She keeps scrunching her face up, like she wants to say something but thinks better of it. I am just enjoying the peace and quiet. It is nice after such a trying day.
"Anyone do anything interesting today?" Sakura couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"I met a girl in the forest today. Can you pass the rice Sakura?" I hold my hand out. Sakura doesn't hand me the rice, she is just looking at me with a weird expression. "What? Is there something on my face?"
Kakashi give me his best eye smile and a thumbs up. "Good job! Out on a life threatening mission and you still have time for love. You really are my favorite." Love? What?
"I had no idea you were a scoundrel, Alvarcus. What else are you hiding from us?"
"Oh shut up Sasuke. In a few years you'll appreciate the female form too." Why am I going along with this? Oh, right because it is better than saying 'I met our mysterious hunter nin and we became sort of friends after subtlety threatening to kill each other.' That's why.
"But isn't... I thought that..." Tsunami leans in towards Sakura and whispers something in her ear.
Sakura turns tomato red and exclaims, "Alvarcus is a boy!"
"What? Why did you have to shout that Sakura?" Tsunami flushes red in embarrassment. "Oh Kami, Tsunami did you think I was a girl?"
"Eh... maybe?" Tsunami squeaked out. "You just have such pretty black hair! You don't see many guys take such good care of their hair. I just assumed it was shorter because of the shinobi thing."
"I promise you Tsunami, I am definitely a boy." That makes two people who thought I am a girl. I'll have to shave my head if this continues.
"Ha-ha! This is comedic gold right here!" Tazuna is slapping the table as he laughs.
"Oh shut up! You made the same mistake." I remind him.
The front door opens. "Oh, Inari! Come meet the shinobi who are protecting your oji-san."
Inari barely spares us a glance. "Why? They are just going to die."
"Inari! Apologize!" Tsunami is appalled that her son would be so rude.
"It's true though. No one can beat Gato. Just go away." Inari storms upstairs to his room, leaving the rest of us in and awkward silence.
"I'm sorry about my son, he doesn't mean it."
"That's okay. It won't be the last time we have to deal with a disgruntled civilian." Smooth Kakashi, way to ease the tension.
"I think I am going to call it an early night." I've had enough people time for today.
Kakashi giggles, "Did you use too much energy with your forest girl today?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. I just want to sleep."
...
The next two days pass quickly. I settle into a routine. Getup, breakfast, burn a ridiculous amount of leaves, get some lunch, burn some more leaves, eat dinner, mess around with my chakra strings so I don't get rusty, then sleep.
Rinse and repeat.
When the bridge attack was only two days away I finally had Kakashi's permission to try out my fire whips.
"Alvarcus, let's get one thing straight right now. If I say stop, you stop. You don't ask why, you don't hesitate. You stop immediately. You are literally playing with fire. You can seriously hurt yourself if you are not careful, and on top of that you are attempting something I have never seen done before. Are we clear?"
"Crystal. Can I try now?" I've waited so long for this moment.
"Yes. Start small. Half a meter string."
Okay, here we go. I form the chakra string, easy enough. Now, the difficult part. I feel within myself, feeling my own chakra. It's like a fire, always burning, always warm. I don't need warm, I need scorching. I up the intensity of the heat, I feel the furnace that is my chakra ignite. Searing heat runs to my finger. One spark emits from the tip of my finger.
Fuwmp!
The string ignites, I'm holding a half meter long fire whip off my index finger.
"This is bloody brilliant! Kakashi-sensei! Can I make it longer now?"
Kakashi nods his approval. I extend the string – no whip – outwards. One meter. Two meters. Five meters. At seven meters the fire starts to flicker.
"Alvarcus, enough." I cut the chakra flow. That was so cool!
Gasp, "That" gasp "was" gasp "so" gasp "COOL!" Man, I am really out of breath. I feel like I ran a marathon. "Can I" gasp "do it again now?"
"No."
"But" gasp "why not?" I just need to catch my breath, then I'll be good to go again. Why is it so hard to breath?
"Alvarcus you used a huge chunk of chakra to make that fire whip. You're exhausted. Go inside and lay down. You are not to practice this move without me present. Do nothing strenuous the rest of the day unless you want me to drop you on your face five times like you did to me when I had chakra exhaustion."
"Aw crap. You figured that" gasp "out. You're not mad are you?"
"Using your chakra strings to make me walk myself to Tazuna's house instead of carrying me was a rather ingenious idea, especially since I am so much bigger than all of you gennin."
I knew it would be okay.
Kakashi grabs my shoulder and squeezes. Hard.
"If you ever do it again without my permission you will experience One Thousand Years of Death again. Are we clear?"
Covering my backside protectively, "Yes. Yes we are. Puppet Kakashi-sensei is a bad idea, unless permission is given. Even then be very wary, my virtue is at stake."
"Good. Now go rest."
...
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