13 Chapter 10: The Edge 1/4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer or any other familiar characters.

Chapter 10 – The Edge.

There was something in the ground that bothered me, and for the life of mine, I can't figure out what it is.

I was sitting cross legged on the floor next to my dining table. I've been meditating, or trying, since I came back. They took me to the hospital to check on my wounds -not that I had any because of the gamer's body- and took my statement there. I told them everything and was sent home while Yugito was with the Raikage.

The way back to the village was just a hazy assortment of images and sounds, and that was a first in this life. It felt surreal. I remember her face when she found me, how she embraced me checking for wounds, how she flared her chakra wildly, even with hints of biju's mixed in. I didn't react. Yugito said something, but I only remember staring at her shiny obsidian eyes, not really listening to anything at all.

I have to give it to the gamer's mind, it was a great perk. I thought I would feel horrible and traumatized at least, but it took everything away. The loss and regret, they were gone.

That didn't mean I simply forgot all about the whole catastrophe. I could still see Kazuya's bloody face and Tadashi's sick grin. I could still see my kunai piercing his throat.

The Gamer's Mind stripped the worse, but I was left alone to deal with the consequences, just like after my father's death. At least, I now knew I could willingly suppress it.

The few tears I shed long dried out and I was left alone, trying to come to terms with this world and its sick ways there, sitting cross legged beside my dining table.

I sensed Yugito entering my house and sitting in front of me, a change in what was otherwise my simple yet harmful way to deal with all my troubles: don't ignore them. Sometimes I wished I was a drinker, a gambler, or something on those lines.

I breathed in deeply and opened my eyes, the morning sun making me wish I didn't.

She spoke softly. "Yataro Sada said that I should wait for you to stop meditating, that you once meditated for days before coming back. How are you feeling?"

Yugito's eyes lacked the beautiful shine I loved, and her hair was disheveled, tied up as a sad ponytail. She still wore her jonin vest but didn't carry any type of weapons on her.

"Good morning. what day is it?" I asked.

"Friday." She leaned over and put her hand on my shoulder. "How are you?" she repeated.

"A mess. To be honest with you, I feel like crap. I don't understand anything."

"Kioshi, you can talk to me. I know this can be difficult for y-"

"You know nothing!" I answered bitterly raising my head, "This fucking world is messed up."

Her hand squeezed my shoulder. "Hey, talk to me. Get it out of your system."

"This world is wrong on so many levels. How? How the fuck are we supposed to kill other people as a mission?" I started, "And why? So that other people try to kill us in return? How is it possible for kids like Kazuya to die by the hands of another, someone who supposedly cared for us?" I was starting to yell, looking at her eyes. "Can you tell me why?!"

Yugito pulled her hand from my shoulder and stared at me with a slight frown. "We are shinobi, Kioshi. It's our job. We-"

"Don't give me that shit! Is this why kids are encouraged to enter the academy so young, to twist their mind into thinking that killing is a normal thing? For honor and country? It's the most idiotic system of all!"

"Kioshi, calm d-"

"No, don't tell me to calm down. Not when I could have done something to save Kazuya, to understand what was happening to Tadashi." I was pacing around the room, clenching my fist until they hurt. "Was it all because of this shinobi system? A kid kills another during war and nobody bats an eye. 'Soldiers die' they said in the hospital. Like that was a fucking normal thing!" I stopped my ranting only to look her in the eyes. "Who, in their right mind, expects children to kill others? Who's crazy enough to take that decision so young? Who-"

"I didn't have a choice!" Yugito yelled at me.

I blinked and stared down at her sitting form. Her face scrounged up, her jaw clenched, and her eyes focused on the floor. A single tear fell to her knees.

She raised her head, her gaze now serious and her brows knitted together, and stood up.

"Nobody asked me." She spat looking down at me. "At least you had the choice, young as you were. But make no mistake, Kioshi, we live to kill or be killed. There's no living in this world without the strength to defend yourself and fight back. You think you could have been a civilian? Civilians have it worse than shinobi. They can't defend themselves when a someone stronger comes to hurt them, and believe me, there's always someone stronger than you."

Her glare suddenly disappeared, and her eyes teared up even more.

"Don't you think I feel horrible too? That I don't feel like I could have done something to avoid all of this? I feel like hell wondering if I could have been a better sensei, that I should have taught them so much more. All the other jonin are looking at me with pity again. And you know the worst?" Yugito took a step forward and continued to look down at me, but this time her moist eyes only showed regret. "That when I rushed back after sensing you were in danger, I prayed that you were okay. The worst was thanking the heavens when I found you that it was them and not you, that you were alive. What does that make me?" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "A week from now, 8 am, training grounds. It's your decision."

She turned around and stormed out of my house.

That week came and went fast enough, and I mostly kept to my room meditating or working out. The old man visited once, carrying a box of strong tea. He didn't say much, he just sat beside me and drank tea. I then visited him every other day and we talked about everything and anything. He never mentioned my last mission.

My mind was at ease again, the painful memories reduced to images that sometimes haunted me but were swiftly ignored. Just as the day my father died, most of the pain and regret was taken away, leaving behind just diluted bitterness.

But Yugito's words echoed in my mind.

So, I went the to the training grounds and at the bridge connecting the valleys, Yugito waited, leaning on the handrails with her arms crossed. Her gorgeous golden hair was loose, dancing around with the cold morning winds. Her eyes fixed on mine once she noticed me.

Sometimes I forget she was just a young woman, that regardless of how much more experience she has with this world, she was still a 20-year-old girl.

"I'm sorry," I started before she even said anything, "I'm sorry for what I said, for what I did and for what I didn't do. I could never have predicted what happened, maybe I should have tried or maybe I should have talked to you before; after all, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. I understand I can't dwell on this for too long and that it will haunt me for the rest of my life, but I want you to know something: I don't blame you. Whatever happened, happened. I can only hope and work for this to never happen again, and I think I know where to start. I want us to be completely honest with each other."

Yugito stared at me for half a minute before turning around and motioning me to follow. We walked in silence to team one's training ground, and a bitter sense of familiarity filled my heart: Tadashi's spot under a tree where he constantly trained his storm release, Kazuya's patch of dead grass where he practiced his katas, the small tree at the back, almost toppling over because of all the kunai impacts... all this memories still boiled in my mind, but time would fade them away, burying them in the back of my mind, as everything was bound to.

"I'm sorry, too." She began. "I'm sorry for everything. I should... No, you're right. I won't blame myself, just as I can't blame anyone else. I know where I was wrong, what mistakes I made. It won't happen again. We should not wallow; we have to move on, and if you want us to be completely honest with each other, I can, and I will." She then smiled at me. It was a sweet smile, a sincere one, even if it wasn't the widest. "I trust you, Kioshi. Do you trust me?"

"Completely." There's was so much more I wanted to or could have said, but oftentimes, words are not enough to convey the true feelings of one's soul.

I looked around us, searching for any identity window floating at the edges of the training ground. I didn't sense any metal signature besides mine and Yugito's, but double-checking for eavesdropping with the 'Observe' passive bonus was slowly becoming a habit.

I confirmed we were alone, so I started. "There's something I have to tell you, about my kekkei genkai."

Yugito cocked her head to the side and nodded me to continue.

I put my hands in my pockets. "It's not only Kumo's version, it's Suna's." I stated, summoning the iron sand to my hands. It poured out of my pockets and hovered around my body. "And I'm getting quite proficient at it."

Yugito's face lighted up, watching the iron sand float around with her eyes open wide.

"My control over metal is almost impeccable and I'm increasing its strength even at a fair distance. That's how I could hold the Kirin nin down long enough for Tadashi to... well, you know."

Her eyebrows rose together. "Kioshi, you have one of the most glorified kekkei genkai in the elemental nations and you can control it at that level? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to draw too much attention on myself. Not then, not now. But I wanted to be completely honest with you... and that's not all my kekkei genkai can do. For some reason, I don't need to sleep or eat, at all."

"You don't..." Yugito tried to clarify, "you don't sleep or eat?"

"I don't have to. I haven't slept for years, and I only eat if I would otherwise raise suspicion."

Yugito was blinking rapidly. "Well, now that you say it, I don't remember watching you sleep at all. I always found you meditating sitting down at nights, I just assumed you just slept little."

She was still gazing at the floating iron sand, so I willed it to rest around me as a belt. "It still consumes a bit of chakra carrying it like that, so I keep it sealed or in my pockets."

"Thank you for telling me, I promised I'll support you." Her voice hesitated for a second, but she continued. "Do you plan on telling the Raikage?"

"No, no one else should know." I immediately interjected "Lots of people in the world would like to get their hands on my kekkei genkai at any cost. I refuse to be kidnapped or experimented upon, and I will not put a target above those I care about."

Yugito was silent for quite a while but eventually accepted my point of view. "I understand."

That seemed burdensome enough for her. She glorified the village and would never withhold information from the council or the Raikage.

If my trust was indeed misplaced, only time would tell.

There was a silent pause, somewhat uncomfortable, when neither of us found something else to say. I took the lead.

"What did you mean the other day with 'I never had the choice'?" I asked Yugito seriously.

She grimaced and turned her head away.

"Exactly that," she began after taking a deep breath, still looking away, "I never got to choose. They tested me when I was born, or so I am told, and they found me apt to host the Nibi. When I turned three, they took me from the orphanage and sealed the two tails inside. They tossed me in a windowless basement for two weeks, waiting for me to lose control, but I guess I didn't. I don't remember much about the whole ordeal and I prefer it that way. Then came training, then came the war. There's not much else to say."

There was a lot more to say, a lot more to discuss and a lot more to regret, but I wasn't going to push it.

"Thank you for telling me." I offered what I could as consolation.

We stayed in silence for fifteen minutes, each dwelling in its own mind. This time, Yugito was the first to come back.

"So, we have a lot to do now." She started on a serious voice, "A-sama is sending you to the next chunin exams in Kusagakure three months from now. He wants to talk to you one of these days."

I quickly turned to her. "Chunin exams? Why so soon? I would have believed he would wait a couple of years until I was old enough..."

"You are ready, Kioshi. You might be young, but you are ready. And the only way for you to get combat experience is to rise through the ranks quickly. I don't like it, but those are A-sama's orders."

"I would need a new team, and you won't be coming, won't you?"

Yugito shook her head. "I can't. I'm restricted to the Land of Lightning."

"That sucks."

"It could be worse. B is restricted to Kumogakure and close areas."

"It still sucks." I remarked.

"Kioshi, don't worry. I'll find a good team for you, a better team."

As soon as those word left her mouth bitterness stung, but I pushed through.

"You are my sensei" I complained looking straight at her.

"You think I would let you go that easily, Kioshi?" She answered with a grin "No, this is a temporary arrangement. We'll keep on training here on Saturdays after you train with your new team, and, after you make it to chunin, we'll have a lot of missions to take."

I grinned; those were good news. I was near chunin level -from what I could gather- and I had the strength and the technique to pass the exams. I just needed more combat experience against proper shinobi and not dungeon creatures.

"Let me take care of the details and I'll get back to you." Yugito said. "For now, let's go back to training." She stepped back and analyzed me. "There's not much more we can do about your taijutsu, it's solid enough and especially difficult to counter, you are just missing the range that comes with growing up. Your shurikenjutsu is almost flawless and your bukijutsu is exceptional. Physically, there's little you need that you can't improve by your own, but everything must be tested against real opponents, so we'll focus on one-on-one sparing and group attacks against clones." Her inquisitive gaze almost burned a hole in my head. "You ninjutsu is advanced and your chakra control is superb for a genin, is there anything you want me to teach you in that area?"

I pondered for some seconds before answering.

"The shunshin. I want to learn the shunshin."

"Easy enough. How's your wind manipulation?"

"The Great Breakthrough is powerful and fast enough to be used in combat now, I think, and the Flying Swallow is growing by leaps and bounds."

"Flying what now?"

"Swallow." I answered. She kept looking at me with a confused expression. "Oh, coating blade weaponry with wind chakra as razor blades to extend their size and sharpness."

Yugito raised an eyebrow. "Shape manipulation?"

"Yes. It's still too noisy for my liking and uses quite a bit of chakra, though."

"It's shape manipulation, Kioshi. Not that I ever doubted you, but shinobi start with shape manipulation at 15, at least."

"Well, its base form is easy once you understand the basics of chakra and wind manipulation. If you take into acc-"

"Please don't. I'm not in the mood to start dwelling into the properties of chakra. That old man Yataro Sada has pushed you way too deep into the theory."

"Well, the more you know, the easier it gets. Besides, it helps reducing chakra costs." I added.

"Why would you need that? You are a chakra monster for your age already."

I looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean a chakra monster?"

"You have more chakra than a regular chunin, and it's also dense enough to power up almost everything you want. Even its color looks... dense."

I knew I had a lot of chakra and that it was so uncommonly dense that it turned purple when it left my body untransformed, we deducted that much with old man Yataro. He theorized that such an anomalous dense chakra was the reason my genjutsu were so strong and why I could use advanced ninjutsu at my age. Of course, I knew the real reason for the latter. Nevertheless, I didn't like the Chakra Monster thing. If anyone, Kisame was the real chakra monster and I was leagues away from that level. Yet.

"In that case, can you also teach me the Shadow Clone jutsu?" I tentatively asked. She knew the jutsu, and if I had the chakra pool, why couldn't I learn it too? That would be a big boost for my training!

"No."

I faltered for a second. "No? Why not? It's not like-"

"No, and that's final. The Shadow Clone jutsu is extremely taxing to your chakra coils, and your coils are still developing at your age"

The seriousness of her answer caught me by surprise, but it was a reasonable concern.

One could conclude from my past experiences with learning jutsu that the Gamer's Body mechanics would warn me about the limitations and requirements of any specific technique, but this was the only way I could think of learning the shadow clone. Other than stealing the scroll of seals. 'Yeah, no.'

I decided to not press the issue any further.

"How's your genjutsu?" Yugito changed the subject.

I blinked back to reality. "I perfected all the genjutsu I know, so I'll look for another technique to learn. I wanted to develop genjutsu that targets other senses beyond sight and hearing, so I think I'll dig into that."

She crossed her arms again and pursed her lips before continuing. "Then try a genjutsu on me."

I shrugged and went through the hand seals I needed for my favorite genjutsu.

Snake, Dog, Snake, Rat: 'Petrifying Gaze.'

-58 Chakra.

Ding!

Target is immune.

'Ah, fuck.'

I forgot about the sash.

"So you knew!" Yugito blurted out, but her stunned expression relaxed before setting into an inquisitive gaze. "Can you explain this, Kioshi? I can't seem to fall under any genjutsu whenever I wear the sash you gave me."

"Yeah, well... you're right, it's the sash. It appears to make the user immune to intrusion genjutsu." I replied.

"How did you find something like this?" she asked glaring at me, "and why did you give it to me?"

Was she mad at me? "Yugito, I'm already skilled at dispelling genjutsu."

"Kioshi, you can't assume you-"

"I am. Listen, Yugito. You can't feel the world as I do." I started, "I can feel metal everywhere, all around me, even the kunai every shinobi carries a thousand feet away without trying. Hell, I can even sense the metal particles in the ground. No one can comprehend my way of seeing the world, Yugito, less fake it with an illusion. When I close my eyes, I can still... see. There's no need for me to use that. Besides, it will give you an advantage, another opportunity to survive." I continued before she objected. "It was my gift to you."

She smiled a lopsided grin. She didn't seem entirely convinced but nodded anyway.

Two kids laid on the on their backs breathing heavily, a sword discarded to the right and kunai scattered around.

Not that I fared much better. I was holding my left arm where a shallow gash bled and my left foot hurt like hell. These two kids, they were good, very good.

This was my new team, and after some simple introductions, our jonin sensei made us spar. The new kid against the other two, just to test my tolerance. My tolerance.

"Okay, so now we have an idea of how proficient you are," My new sensei spoke from behind us, "no wonder why A-sama recommended you for the chunin exams."

I turned my head and looked up with a smile. "Yep, thank you." I replied. "How's the weather up there?"

"As if I've never heard that one before." He scoffed sarcastically.

Haou-sensei was a walking lamppost, even taller than B, standing at 6 feet and 6 inches. He was a highly skilled jonin with a passion for teaching -hence why he taught genin and chunin- and a very respected member of Kumo's jonin force.

Name: Haou KogureTitle: Jonin of Kumogakure.Level: 91Age: 42Haou Kogure is a jonin from Kumogakure's shinobi force and ex ANBU. He's famous for training most of the current ANBU captains and promising genin and chunin teams, and for constantly bothering the shinobi council regarding the academy's standards.Relationship level: Good.

He wore a light gray pair of pants and blue combat boots over it, and a dark tank top under his white jonin vest. As was common among Kumogakure's jonin, more so than his tanned skin, the winter cold didn't seem to bother him at all. His left arm was covered with bandages from the elbow to the wrist, and his hitai ate was tied around his right arm. Nothing held his scraggly bronze hair away from his jade eyes and his slightly wrinkled broad face.

From what Yugito told me, Haou-sensi had trained some of the best chunin teams in the shinobi force and had been training genin in odd years. The third member of his current team, Aguni Robun, was the so-called genius of his generation and after only three months of training, he earned his promotion to chunin las year. The other members of his genin team, now lying on the ground, took another year of training to be up to the level he deemed necessary before allowing them to take the exams again. Suguna and Kichiro Nagumo were both thirteen, a year older than the generation I graduated with, and would now try their skills in the upcoming chunin exams. I was the backfill.

Name: SugunaTitle: Genin of Kumogakure.Level: 31Age: 13Suguna is a genin from Kumogakure. As an orphan, Suguna grew daydreaming about running on rooftops and fighting for righteous causes. After becoming a genin, she happily left her tortuous life at the orphanage behind, carrying only a bundle of clothes and the insecurities the matron imprinted on her.Relationship level: Good.

Name: Kichiro NagumoTitle: Genin of Kumogakure.Level: 33Age: 13Kichiro is a genin from Kumogakure. His mother inculcated her love for the shinobi arts and war games from a young age, much to his father's annoyance. He graduated as an exemplary student and renowned bookworm, and trained hard to keep his skills up to the level his mother would have wanted.Relationship level: Good.

I read their files, courtesy of Yugito's affiliation with Darui -I've always wondered if there was something between them- and, together with my assessment of the fight, I was quite convinced these kids would make it to chunin.

Suguna was the perfect swordswoman. Fast, strong and extremely talented with her sword: a medium-sized ninjato she kept held to her side by a sling. Besides the standard issue kunai holster and assorted pouches, she wore a tanto strapped to her lower back -which actually hindered her movements slightly. Her skills revolved around her blade, with every jutsu she knew built to support her swordplay; she was a fire elemental, and she already knew some offensive techniques. She wore a cut-out copper red shirt that exposed her midriff, a short black skirt and a pair of knee length mesh shorts underneath. She didn't wear gloves, as they 'hindered her grip', but she did wear metal vambraces and black open-toed shinobi boots up to just below the knees. Her azure eyes were almost covered by her long black hair, kept back by her hitai ate; the rest of her hair was braided as Yugito braided hers when on missions. She had long legs, long arms and a thin build, but you could notice her muscled arms bulge up whenever she wielded her blade.

The other one resting beside her, still breathless but gazing up at the skies from the ground, was Kichiro. He was, as his file said, a tactician. He centered between supporting roles and front-line combatant, specializing in nothing: he was a well-rounded shinobi. Bordering on the tall side for a thirteen years old kid, taller than Suguna and of course myself, he reminded me of a male Karui; he had the same tanned skin, amber eyes and mid-length rusty red hair tucked back by a purple bandana-styled hitai ate. But unlike the redhead girl from the manga, he held a serene expression on his face. But seldom a smile. No, the smiles were reserved only for Suguna.

Yes, they were a thing even though they avoided talking about it. They normally sat holding hands, usually hugged each other and always walked everywhere together.

Kichiro was wearing dark blue jams and shinobi sandals to just above his ankles, with bandages wrapped around his legs between those two items. His chest was covered by a simple long-sleeved black shirt and a sleeveless dark gray coat that dropped just above the knees. He hid a lot of kunai, shuriken and ninja trinkets under the coat, although the coat itself didn't look bulky.

Suguna was a close quarter fighter and Kichiro was a mid-range support shinobi, so I would be relieved between mid-to-long-range or front-line fighter. That was okay with me.

"You live up to your name, Kioshi Shirasu. I believe you will make a fine addition to the team. Welcome." Haou-sensei started while my new teammates caught their breath and began to stand up. "A-sama informed me about your kekkei genkai. Care to show us how proficient you are?"

An expected question, and an easy one to answer. I double checked around us for any intrusive shinobi, and after I confirmed their absence, I began.

"I have the magnet release kekkei genkai. I can control any metal object around me, so I can levitate and move weaponry and armor around. I can sense metal for a thousand feet away, more if I consciously make an effort. Also, since every shinobi wears their hitai ate, weapons and armor in a specific way, I can identify shinobi I've sensed before. Because of my kekkei-genkai I'm almost immune to illusionary genjutsu, as I sense the world in a very particular way."

I limited my explanation to Kumo's version of the magnet release.

Both my teammates were standing up and stretching their muscles around. Suguna was holding her left side from a strong kick she didn't block and Kichiro was rubbing his neck.

"Care for a demonstration?" Haou-sensei asked me.

I extended my arm and commanded the kunai that were lying around to levitate, having them circle above us. Then I flung them all to the nearest wooden post some feet away. All nine of them embedded deep into its side.

"I'm good with it," I added looking at my teammates, "but I do plan on keeping this a secret until the last parts of the chunin exams."

"So, you're kind of a sensor and a superb mid to long range shinobi with that kekkei genkai. We can sure use those abilities in the team..." Kichiro trailed off in a monotonous voice. I bet he was already planning on team dynamics.

"And judging by the ass whooping you just gave us you are a capable front-line shinobi too." Suguna added with a more cheerful voice "Say, did you use your kekkei genkai during the spar?"

"Yeah, but only when your sword got too close."

"Ah, so that was it." She added scratching her neck, "I thought I was having trouble with our height difference."

"Well, after that spar I think we have a solid grasp of your abilities. Anything else you want to add?" Haou-sensei interjected.

"I'm good with genjutsu and I've been developing my own. I'm also a wind elemental, I can use the Great Breakthrough and can coat kunai with wind chakra to enhance cutting power, although the last trick still uses too much chakra to my liking. I'm studying poisons and trying to perfect my taijutsu... yeah, I think that's all."

Kichiro looked at her girlfriend for a second. "Yep, another Aguni alright."

Suguna nodded and turned to me with a grin. "I'm a fire user and Kichiro is a lightning user. We both can use the basic jutsu. You must have a hell lot of chakra to be able to use those at your age."

"Okay, before this turns into another lengthy conversation between teammate we have to discuss our training regime for the coming months." Haou-sensei declared.

The next few months were hectic, but somehow drowned in routine.

I spoke with the Raikage and had a brief conversation about the upcoming exams. "Bring glory to Kumo" he said after a lengthy explanation about their significance. He gave me a mission: Become a chunin and to show the world the greatness of our village's shinobi force.

Quest Created:The world's indeed a stage.

Win the exams.

Rewards:New Title, random jutsu.

Just as I expected, the Raikage asked me to show the magnet release in its whole glory to the world, and somehow, I couldn't think of this other than a gladiator game. At least, he didn't touch upon my last C-rank disaster.

On Saturdays and some weekdays afternoons -and when Yugito wasn't on a mission- we trained together in one-on-one duels at the jonin training grounds, where only they and their respective high-profile mission teams were allowed. Genin were only permitted under direct permission from their jonin sensei, usually as apprentices or close family members. What it meant for Yugito and me, I couldn't tell.

The jonin training grounds were an unkept version of the normal training ground valleys, only these were located right at the base of the steepest peaks, which meant a lot of sharp rock formations, loose soil and variable steeps.

One day, Yugito came back from a bad mission. Her eyes had the same thousand-yard-stare my father once wore.

"Bad mission?" I asked.

She just nodded.

Before she buried everything away and started her training like nothing happened, I took her hand and guided her out of the training grounds and into the city to a nearby sushi place.

She didn't talk and I didn't ask; we ate in silence, listening to people going around their normal lives. Her eyes relaxed after the meal, but only muttered a thank you with a sad smile before sunshining away.

The routine helps escape the pain, but sometimes breaking it is the only way to confront your feelings.

The weekday training regime with Haou-senei was tough. He was a disciplined teacher and demanded all but perfection from his genin. It was everything I expected, and I couldn't argue with the results. In barely a month Suguna, Kichiro and I were working as a unit; our joint taijutsu bouts were more ingenious every day and the mockup missions sensei gave us -capturing his clones, rescuing a wooden dummy, retrieving documents, etc.- were accomplished almost perfectly.

Suguna was a strong front-line fighter while Kichiro was a remarkable tactician and both supported and complemented each other perfectly.

She was an impatient girl, and Kichiro had to calm her down when discussing attack plans lest she jumped right at the action. She often doubted herself and relied on a small chain of jade magatama beads she carried around her neck to calm down. She held them close to her heart, sometimes while closing her eyes and murmuring a prayer, before jumping into a difficult situation.

Kichiro had the bad habit of convoluting everything when explaining his battle plans, and Suguna had to translate for me and hurry him up. "Take the right, I'll support" became "From what I can gauge, you should get into position to the right side of the area. Attack with any pattern you find comfortable but keep an eye in your surroundings while I myself will be supporting you from back here with medium-long range weaponry." Yeah, that got old fast. But his ideas and formations were almost flawless, incorporating my skill set on the go even when Haou-sensei forbade us from using certain skills or jutsu.

We corrected each other's mistakes and we guarded each other backs. We had lunch together almost every day and talked a lot.

Kichiro, being a nosy kid, constantly asked me about my life even though some questions might have been considered socially awkward. Not that I cared about that kind of things; we even saw each other half-naked once, when Haou sensei made us fight him above a big pond while his clones bombarded us with water bullets. I couldn't care about social norms after seeing two thirteen years old kids fight on their damp underwear.

So I told them about Tadashi and Kazuya and about our last C-rank mission, and we talked about our families or lack thereof. Kichiro's mother was killed five years ago on the line of duty and his father, a civilian businessman, married again three months later. Suguna was an orphan and never knew her parents, she was abandoned as a baby near a dumpster outside of a liquor store in the bad part of the village. She was rescued and given to one of Kumo's orphanages, where she grew up between other girls and boys until she graduated. She went to live on her own in a run-down apartment some blocks away from where I live.

I wasn't surprised to know Kichiro was planning to ask her to live together after the exams, in a small apartment he wanted to buy. I also asked them about their relationship, something they didn't like to talk too much about, but they obliged. Long story short: they were academy sweethearts.