Teaching

Following my memories, I eventually found the third training ground. I haven't really been here that much in my past lives as I didn't really need much space to practice Chakra control, but this time around, I will probably need at least trees to climb. Although I was worried that we would be barred from entry, surprisingly, no one stopped us from entering. Probably no one guards this place right?

After stopping in the middle of the clearing, I turned around to see an excited Naruto. I cleared my throat, causing Naruto to instantly stand at attention with his most serious, yet still goofy face.

"Yush, Naruto-kun, I shall now ..." I began, but my train of thought was cut off at that point.

Errr. What shall I even teach him? This was my first time teaching anyone anything in both my lives, and I don't even have much mastery over most of the stuff in this life. It's not like I can jump in and show him how to do clones when he doesn't have chakra control down. Nor could I teach him Shadow Clones which he would be proficient at as even I don't know how to do that yet.

Well, I guess I'll try to teach him basic chakra control then.

"I shall now teach you basic chakra control, " I said as I puffed my chest up.

Naruto excitedly nodded in front of me, and I began to explain what I know about Chakra control. Everything was going well. Except the fact that Naruto eventually deflated as he stared at me with soulless eyes due to my horrible, boring explanations. Oi! What did you expect from someone who can barely pass the Genin test with Chakra control and is teaching for the first time on a topic that he did not master?

As most of my skills kind of came naturally after a lot of practice, it was kind of difficult to explain how I achieved it in words, especially when I gauge my own progress with a system. Even though I believed that I understood the content and know what I wanted to say, what came out of my mouth was "You do this" or "You do that". Honestly, I now understood how hard it was for Naruto when he was teaching, and this was with him understanding most of what he wanted to teach.

I could tell that I would lose any hope of sticking to Naruto if he lost interest in me. Hence, I had no choice but to show him what I could do.

"Errr, Naruto-kun, watch and learn. Bushin no Jutsu~" I spoke calmly and proudly.

Then, with a puff of smoke, a clone appeared right next to me. I could see Naruto gape with his mouth wide opened. I also heard a faint gasp behind some tree. I glanced over and saw a shy, little Hinata quickly hiding her head behind the tree, as if it wasn't too late. I snickered internally as I dispelled the clone. I then puffed up my chest as I looked towards the sky, stroking my non-existing beard as I waited for the so-called hero's to sing me praise so that the audience could understand my worthiness.

The praise never came. Instead, I got an orange blob tackling me to the ground as he stared at me with sparkly eyes while pleading me to teach him.

*sigh* I can't expect the kid Naruto to be as calm as the grown Naruto right? At least I got his attention for now, and hopefully the cute one's attention as well.

I somehow managed to calm Naruto down after a lot of persuasion. Then, I explained that he must be able to control his chakra first before he could do what I could do. As he saw what I could do, he gladly listened to my advice and did his best trying to control his chakra. Of course, after a whole day with my horrible explanations and Naruto's aptitude for learning from others, the result was expected. An exhausted Naruto was sent home learning barely anything, if not nothing. At least he agreed to practice with me more on the days after. On the other hand, no chance encounter with Hinata as she seemed to have been picked up by her guardian when it was time for her to go home. *sigh*

After sending Naruto home, I slowly strolled back to the dreary orphanage. Although that was my goal, my feet could not resist walking towards the familiar home from my past life.

I glanced at Ichiraku's from afar as I watched the old man stirring his pot of soup like usual. I continued to stand there silently until she revealed herself in the store. A white bandana still tied to her hair, and with an intact body, my angel spoke cheerfully to her father in the shop. My heart was brimming with joy as I saw her again, yet at the same time, my heart felt heavy as I knew I can't be with her during this lifetime, unless I want to risk the past events happening once more. Although I wanted to walk up and speak to her so bad, I was afraid that if I do, I won't be able keep my emotions in check.

I don't know how long I stood there watching, but before I knew it, it was dark and Ichiraku's was closing down for the night. I sighed before I silently walked back to the orphanage. My stomach grumbled with hunger, but I knew I already missed the last meal. Hence, I could only crawl into the cold, hard bed in the orphanage. I then continued to plan out my future, expecting everything to work out.

I will probably teach Naruto daily if not every week. On my free time, I will be training my Chakra control with tree walking. I will probably graduate successfully this time, so I don't have to worry about finding a job. Although I'll suffer a couple of years in the orphanage, after I become a Genin, I will earn money by doing simple missions. I can then move out and with the extra money that I earn, I will also buy ingredients so I can make ramen. Wait. No, I can't do that. I need to get stronger, so I need to do more complicated missions. If it's minor dangers, I will use it to train myself. Then, when the true danger hits, I will find a safe place to hide and let Naruto save us. As for the extra money that I save, I should use it so I can get help on crushing Kisame. Yep, and then-

And before I knew it, I fell asleep.

As the saying goes, man plans, but god disposes.

Maybe I shouldn't have fallen asleep so soon and made better, more detailed plans for my own safety. Alas, I was still far too naive and will be taught a lesson I shall not forget.