I snapped my chopsticks and went in for my first bite; the bowl was practically steaming. This aroma...!
I lifted some noodles and blew on them, then slurped. Oh my god, delicious! They're perfectly firm and yet tender. The broth has a deep, savory pork flavor that envelops the noodles so well! If I were in that one anime about cooking, my clothes would be coming off by now.
I tried a bite of the pork slices—tender, fatty, and flavorful, with a hint of sweetness. The char was amazing! The soft-boiled egg was golden and creamy, blending perfectly with the broth. The corn, green onion, and bamboo shoots added much-needed texture to the dish, pairing beautifully with the noodles. The seaweed was okay; I don't like it, but I don't dislike it either.
In no time, I was already drinking up the broth, leaving almost nothing in the bowl and feeling rather full. My parents, who had already finished half of their bowls, along with Teuchi, stared at me with amused looks on their faces.
"Good, wasn't it?"
"Good doesn't begin to describe it; it was amazing!"
"Hahaha, thank you, thank you."
I saw my dad pulling out his wallet, and I read the menu... Huh, 80 ryo for a single bowl. How much would that be in yen? Is that cheap or expensive?
"How much will it be?"
"160 ryo; it's on the house for the little lady."
"Oh, really? That's really nice of you, Mr..."
"Teuchi, Teuchi's my name, hahaha!"
"Right, thank you, Teuchi-san."
He pulled out a 100-ryo bill along with six bronze coins with a diamond gap in the middle.
Promptly, he paid Teuchi, and after we finished our food, we headed home while he went out for work. I need to train hard so that I can become a ninja as well.
On our way, I decided to ask Mom something.
"Hika—Mom, were you a ninja before?"
"I was, but I didn't have much talent for it, so I had to drop out of the academy and lead a normal life."
"That sucks... What kind of stuff did you learn there?"
"To be honest with you? I forgot most of it, but they taught us about our village's history, math, language, geography, chakra theory, shuriken practice, etc. Sometimes we had sparring sessions to improve ourselves, ninjutsu sessions, and I remember the exams being quite hard."
"Wow, that sounds fun. Shuriken practice... especially shuriken practice."
"You wanna try it? I might not be the best, but we've got some shurikens and kunai at home, and we could go out to the public training grounds. Just be careful not to cut yourself, okay?"
Yes, finally, something exciting!
"Yeah, please, Mom! I wanna try throwing the cool stars!"
"You sure sound excited, hm?"
She chuckled, and we finally arrived at the building. We went into our apartment, and she rummaged around her room, taking out a few steel stars that looked somewhat dull but still pointy at the ends, along with some kunai, which she put in her pouch.
We promptly went out again, and after walking for a while, we arrived at the public training ground, where many ninjas—both young and older—were sparring and training in ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and shurikenjutsu.
"They look so cool!"
"Don't get too close, or you'll get hurt, Amai," she said sternly.
"Mm."
We avoided them and walked toward a secluded part of the area, finding ourselves face to face with some poor trees, soon to be victims. She pulled out her pouch and handed me a few steel stars. They felt dull but had sharp points and didn't feel heavy at all.
"Amai, look closely." She got into her stance with a shuriken in hand, brought her throwing arm to her shoulder, and quickly swung it forward, snapping her wrist and releasing the shuriken.
The star cut through the air and embedded itself into the tree with a thud. I needed to know how.
"How did you do it?!"
She came closer and started lecturing me on how to throw shuriken properly.
"First, your stance. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart for balance, and you can step slightly back for stability."
I did as she said—or attempted to.
"No, no, like this, dear." She adjusted my stance. It felt correct now.
"Now, hold the star between your thumb and index finger. Make sure to grip it firmly but not too tightly. Your other fingers can rest on the sides for support." I followed her instructions.
"See the tree? Focus on it and aim at it. Use your other hand to help if you like." I turned to the tree and aimed at it, supported by my stretched-out left hand pointing at the spot I was aiming for.
"Good. Now bring your arm to your shoulder and quickly swing it forward. Snap your wrist as you let it go. Make sure to do it when your arm is fully extended toward your target, and remember to follow through."
"Okay, Mom... I'll try."
She stepped away and watched as I prepared for the throw. My expression was one of focus and seriousness. I brought my arm to my shoulder and followed her instructions, the shuriken spinning as it cut through the wind.
It landed on the tree but made a clank sound and fell down. It didn't even embed itself. Goddamn it.
"Don't worry, sweetie. Not everyone gets it on the first try; we can just keep practicing," she said, rubbing my head as if to console me.
"Right, thanks, Mom!"
Two hours later...
Thud, thud, thud!
I stood there, looking somewhat exhausted from all the throwing, but proud of the progress I had made. I could finally get them to stick in the tree—fuck yeah!
"You're progressing so fast, my little sunshine!" That's right, praise me!
"Hehehe..." I giggled in response, a sheepish smile spreading across my face.
"Do you want to move on to kunai, or would you like to take another break?"
"Kunai! Let's do the kunai, please!"
"Alright," she said, handing me a kunai. I could actually feel the weight of this one. "It's somewhat similar to the shurikens, but at the same time, it's not. Hold it by the handle and wrap your other fingers around it for some extra control. Keep your stance the same, but bend your knees slightly." She adjusted my stance.
"Aim the same way you would with a shuriken. The throwing motion is mostly the same, just keep the kunai level with your shoulder. You can either flick your wrist to add spin, or keep it steady for a straight throw. Let me see how you do without a demonstration."
"Okay."
I braced myself, pulled my arm back, and threw the kunai. It luckily embedded into the tree.
"Did you see that, Mom?! I did it on my first try!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with excitement and a huge grin on my face.
"Amazing, Amai!" she responded, her face lighting up with pride and joy.
Hahahaha, I could get used to this.