Chapter 14 - Bans & Relies Of A Shinobi

I stared, captivated, at the large mirror. The reflection stared back with apparent indifference. My hand unconsciously landed on my face.

Fascinating.

Healthy skin; no longer ghostly pale. There are no more red veins in the eyes either, and the dark circles — acquired after an extensive and unintended disagreement with my bed — are no more.

No longer look like a drowned corpse.

... well that, if you exclude the dull expression displayed on my face, which is a stark contrast from what I'm feeling at the moment.

I sighed aloud.

Chakra really is... is, even the word magical felt too short to express the marvel that it is.

Chakra is chakra.

I certainly didn't expect it to work on the first try. The trip to the library this morning was eventful, to say the least. Why stop here? An attractive question suddenly popped into my head.

The exhilarating urge to try other appearances overtook me. That true. I should try more. I should experiment with something far more drastic than a humanoid body. Wings? Yes! Definitely something with wings.

Playing with this criminally unappreciated Jutsu hadn't been my initial intention, it certainly doesn't hurt to experiment. Furthermore, I still have some free time since Kyouka has yet to arrive.

Without further ado, I put my hands together and folded the Dog handseal, next is the Boar — but before I could join my hands together, the shoji was violently slid open, startling me, and the aforementioned gorilla stomped in.

Kyouka, clearly angry—if her disgruntled expression is any indication—paused for a moment at the doorway, her displeased black eyes inspecting me.

I didn't say anything. My mind worked at full capacity, going from memory to memory in the hope of identifying what I did to make that thing so angry again.

... no. Nothing.

Eventually, I ceased the unnecessary brain squeeze. Better to wait for her to know what reproach she has on my perfect self.

After a long pause of silence, the angry kunoichi quietly drew closer until she was at an uncomfortable distance, within a fist's reach of me to be exact.

"What did I specifically tell you not to do?"

And here I hoped she would go directly to the heart of the matter. It truly sucks having a police member in the... I stopped that line of thought before reaching that word.

"You told me not to..." I trailed off, but I didn't give it much reflection and answered the first thing that came to mind. "Not to ask married women out?"

She scoffed. "It is related to your conduct at the academy."

Ooh! A hint. It is like those quiz shows played on television. Let's see...

If it was related to the academy, then it must be a week ago. Think, remember. She may have a lot of rules, and I may have deemed them a waste of memory space, but if it was something that happened a week ago, it should still be there, somewhere within my brain.

I can remember, I can win this, I have to, or... my gaze unconsciously drifted to Kyouka's right hand.

After a moment of contemplation, I said, "You told me to listen to the teacher."

"And?"

"And... don't propose to your classmate."

Or something like that.

Kyouka kept staring at me for a couple of long seconds before she eventually sighed heavily.

"What did you do on your first day at the academy?"

The first day...?

Oh? So that's what caused the wrinkles on your face.

Though, that's quite surprising. Is she stalking me or something? No, that's unlikely. She is a skilled shinobi from, undoubtedly, the most powerful clan in the village. Had she been stalking me, I would've gotten a fist in the head the moment that great idea appeared in my head.

Since the possibility of stalking was ruled out, then that means word propagated and reached her through someone.

Good. I'm getting famous... for the wrong reasons sure but fame is still fame.

No, that's not relevant. Fuck! It's starting to piss me off. Getting distracted like this all the time is becoming more and more of an issue I can't ignore. But it's not like I could do anything about it either.

Dropping my gaze down to the floor, I kept quiet, acting like a child who had been caught with the candy jar.

The silence persisted between us longer than usual before another sigh reached my ears.

Don't do that, girl, it would be a shame if white hairs started to sprout on your young, pretty head.

"Why did you do that?" Kyouka asked, her voice more weary than annoyed.

"..."

"Why do you keep doing dumb shit like this?"

"..."

"You aren't that dumb, though, Izuna."

"..."

"People would avoid you if you continued like this. You surely know that, right?"

Isn't that the point in the first place?

"And... you won't be able to make friends."

I raise my head up to meet Kyouka's exasperated gaze. She pursed her lips, waiting for an answer.

If she expects an honest response, I would have to disappoint her.

Friends, huh?

Friendship... friends are for the low self-esteemed who seek approval from others. Those who aren't comfortable with the dark places in their mind, with their own bristling thoughts, with the incessant voices.

Friends are for those who fear silence.

... and I'm none of those, rather, I'm the opposite: I don't need anyone's approval, I get along fine with my thoughts, and I love silence.

Of course, I'm not pulling the wool over my eyes; I perfectly understand the necessity for cooperation; humans are social creatures after all. I simply do not see the need to grant other sentient beings — known for their excessive ambition, greed, lust, or passion — a convenient tool to stab you in the back. That being said, those kids at the academy would either end up being killers or killed. And some of them would, most likely, hunt me down for honor or money after I would leave the village.

So yes, my dear cousin, I won't make any friends, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

But of course, telling her that would be asinine, so...

"I have a friend, though."

"Huh? And who is that?" One of Kyouka's eyebrows went up.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Goosebumps crawled down my skin as I spat out that name. The bastard isn't my friend but technically he is a friend of all Uchiha since he would betray us — them.

Kyouka stared at me in silence for a couple of seconds, then sneered.

"And you want me to believe that with a Genjutsu? You're a century too young for that."

How did she... no, wait, what? Genjutsu? What is she talk-Eh? My Sharingan is... when did I... fuck.

Closing my eyes, I end the chakra flooding up my retinas, deactivation the Dojutsu.

The Sharingan is my main focus and what I trained the most but to think I would activate them unconsciously on the slightest agitation, and I haven't even noticed it.

"You're lying again, aren't you?" Her voice had a hint of sharpness as she asked.

"No."

This gorilla is sharper than she seems, as one would expect from an inspector. It also doesn't help that I often forget my... um, not-so-truthful words, causing her to take note of precedent slips.

"Look," she began with a tired voice. "It's beyond me where or how you get all those stupid ideas, and as long as you don't do anything excessive that would bring shame to the clan, I honestly won't care... anymore. You are more than old enough to understand — actions have consequences. You should take into account the consequences that will ensue before committing to doing anything." She shrugged. "Well, this is the advice this Onee-san had for her pigheaded little brother."

Kyouka then proceeded to kneel on one knee, one hand on my shoulder.

"Kaa-chan was supposed to tell you this after your graduation and becoming a full-fledged shinobi, but I will do it in her steed..."

She raised her other hand, and I immediately braced myself mentally for some child abuse. But instead of bringing her fist down on my poor head, she unfolded three fingers. "The three bans of a shinobi."

Bans? You mean rules? Again? Shit, how many rules do you have? I swear I hear a new rule every other day. At this point, I may die of old age before I come to know all of them.

"Money, alcohol, and women," her hard albeit tired eyes drilling into mine.

Oh? That's the cool stuff — is what I sarcastically thought but quite frankly, none of those things were in my habit even in my old life — some by choice others by circumstances.

I did set money as a goal shortly after I got out of juvie but as soon as my financial situation stabilized, I put it to the back of my mind. As for alcohol, it was inaccessible when I was young and a waste of money when I got old. Besides, it is usually a beverage you drink with friends, and I don't have those.

Women, on the other hand... well, life isn't always what we want it to be.

I wonder whether it would change, but I hold little to no hope for that.

Kyouka hadn't done talking though, she turned her hand around, the three fingers still raised.

"There are also the three Relies for a shinobi. They—"

"No, there's not."

It's certainly not a wise move to interrupt her, but I'm past done with this woman's bullshit.

I'm a liar, a big one and I'm well aware of that. Yet, I'm not the biggest in this room. If you combine my lies in both lives with the lies of five generations of my descendants, you are hardly guaranteed to match half of the lies she spouts in an hour.

Comparing the number of my lies with hers is like comparing a matchbox with a forest. She lies so frequently that I suspect even her greetings.

"... yes, there are." She affirmed after a slight pause.

"No. There is not."

I confronted her once more. The is no such thing as shinobi Relies. It doesn't work like that. All the rules are either about how you should conduct yourself as a shinobi or what you shouldn't do.

Did she believe that just because I unintentionally played along with her previous lies, I'm an easy target?

"Yes," she said, tightening her grip on my shoulder, her voice low and sharp. "There are shinobi Relies."

"..."

"..."

"Yes." I nodded. Now that I think about it more carefully, it's highly possible that what she's saying is the truth. Besides, what would I know? I'm merely a six-year-old boy.

"Good," the gorilla nodded back with an irritatingly triumphant expression. "A shinobi needs to rely on... the sword."

... wait, that seems legit.

"The heart."

Cliche, but since you're a girl, it's allowed.

"... and most importantly... family."

"..."

My brows furrowed slightly before I abruptly brushed her hand off my shoulder, put my hood on, and then walked to the shoji. Kyouka raised an eyebrow as she silently followed me with her eyes, a little surprised by my action.

"Let's go, Kyo-nee," I said evenly as I slid the door open. "Or we will be late."

I didn't wait for her answer as I stepped out of the room.