Lone-Eyed Boy (3)

It was a cold day standing on the edge of the fall; the trees were withering, and all the life forms were preparing for the upcoming winter. With the door into the room open, Hidemitsu was sipping the cup of his tea while writing on a clean piece of paper.

And here I was, jumping rope. Without counting, I dazed off to the front while repeating the jumps over and over again without counting.

'Peaceful,' I thought. Breathing out, I saw my breath visible in the air. Though my body was warm from the exercise, I found this phenomenon interesting to watch.

A month passed since I've begun my exercise routine. Surprisingly enough, Gin, the ramen-loving swordsman, turned out to be the regular visitor of Hidemitsu with injuries to him every single time. He didn't even look at me once though, and since that encounter in the ramen stand, not even a single bit of conversation happened between the two of us.

How funny it is. Though Gin is my benefactor, someone whom I owed my life with, this attitude of his made my hospitality toward him die down. This experience allowed me to realize just how selfish I was, though I didn't fall into self-loathe due to something as small as this. Instead, with a smile on my face, I lived everyday with optimism, knowing that it was short of a miracle to have someone like Hidemitsu to provide me with the necessities.

But I was far from perfect. Sometimes, just sometimes, I couldn't help but feel afraid. I existed in this foreign world, without the memory of who I really am. I felt all alone by myself, especially in this cold; perhaps this was the reason why I was so eager to meet Gin a month ago. I wanted to rely on his kindness, it seemed.

With these thoughts running in my mind, I continued jumping ropes. Quite efficient it was, for thoughts made me forget about the stress that was being built up in my body.

And eventually, my exercise came to a stop,

"...Huh?" I looked up upon feeling a cold sensation on my hair.

The whole sky was filled with droplets of water.

"...Rain." I muttered knowingly. Raising my palm up, I focused on the sensation as the raindrops touched my skin.

For some reason, there was a sense of familiarity. The feeling of being alone—it was gone. The rain felt cold yet warm, and I couldn't help but wonder why.

"Rain before the upcoming winter. It seems that the end of the fall has finally arrived." Hidemitsu, who too noticed this phenomenon, stated gently, "Akatsuki, get in. You are going to catch a cold if you were to stay like that."

Being taken out of my trance, I realized that I was completely soaked. The rain was quite a heavy one, and I decided to comply, "Yes, Hidemitsu-san."

But that raindrop. That was just the beginning for me.

__________

"Chakra." I whispered with fascination as I gazed at my palm. It was... holding a small fire, which was the product of my chakra.

'How?' I wondered. How was I able to convert my chakra to fire? I was simply conducting the meditation in the morning just like any other day.

However, regardless of how I managed to achieve this, I knew instantly that I couldn't afford to lose this sensation. The way in which I instinctively turned chakra to fire—I had to repeat it over and over until it has become natural for me to do so.

Opening the door gently so that Hidemitsu didn't wake up, I stood in front of the drenched leaves that were scattered across the ground, in the aftermath of the heavy rain.

Without any word, I picked up one wet leaf. It was yellow-orange in colour, fragile enough to be ripped if I were to add any more force.

Then I combusted a fire onto the leaf... or tried. The mist was generated by the evaporation of water instead, due to the leaf being drenched.

Nonetheless, I was amazed. It felt like an entirely new world for me. With excitement, I grabbed the leaves one by one and dried them up just like the first one. I was grinning madly—finally having found a hobby in this mundane life.

"Chakra is love."

When the sun came up and Hidemitsu woke up, I stood in the middle of the ground, with all leaves burnt to ashes.

"Hidemitsu-san, watch."

Grinning in confidence as Hidemitsu came out of his room while rubbing his eyes, I raised my hand up and declared,

"Candle Flame!"

A small, candle-sized fire lit up in the middle of my palm, making me proud.

Clap, clap, clap.

Hidemitsu gave me applause along with a deadpan.

__________

<I'm not really allowed to teach you anything right now, especially in a life-threatening war, so... I'll give you the brief basics. Perhaps it will help you survive if something happens.> A voice spoken by the man with long, white, and spiky hair.

<Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu. Your chakra is superb—it seems that you are quite talented in this aspect. What, teach ninjutsu? No. Not only is there not enough time, but there are many in this camp who don't trust you and your friends. I'm not teaching you any technique that can harm others.>

<Instead, I will teach you one simple trick—something that tends to be easily discovered by experienced ninjas. It will only succeed thanks to you being a child; no one will suspect such a possibility.>

<Think. What do the ninjas value? Information. The information network is always spread far and wide, and a neighbour next to you may be a spy. They will do anything to get the information out of you, through whatever means. Since you are a child, you can appeal yourself as innocent, but that's not enough. So try your chance along with this trick if the situation seems bleak.>

<I call it, meh, 'Mind Sleep technique.' Casting genjutsu on yourself, that's what it essentially is.>

__________

"Huu..." I wiped the sweat off of my forehead as I finished today's portion of wood chopping. Turning around, I notified to HIdemitsu, who was busy reading a letter in his hands, "Hidemitsu-san! I'm done with woods!"

He nodded with a look of approval. Then, returning his attention back to the matter in his hands, he placed down the letter and grabbed a clean piece of paper on his right.

Taking my attention off of Hidemitsu, I wiped my sweat and rolled my shoulders. Having become skilled at these grunt works, I was now able to finish them at a relatively faster speed. With plenty of time to spare, I now had free time for myself—

"Akatsuki, I have a task for you." Folding the paper that he was working on, Hidemitsu called me, "It's an urgent letter that must be sent as soon as possible."

"To whom?" Noticing that Hidemitsu was more serious than ever, I listened carefully.

"Kanae."