Preliminaries: Part VI

Her high pitch voice was annoying. But she herself was tolerable. I turned to leave, waving one hand whilst stuffing the other into my pocket.

[Good deed done.]

In between my journey from the training ground to Ichiraku, I was intercepted by an elite Anbu. Being courteous, I walked around the masked shinobi and continued to the point of destination. But when I was only a few yards away, I was swept off my feet and teleported to some training ground.

"From now until the chūnin exam, I will train you," a female voice echoed from behind the mask.

"That's very nice of you, Yūgao-san." I stood up to dust the dirt off my pants.

The Anbu took a step back. She must've been appalled by the fact that I knew her identity just by looking at her. But what she didn't know was that I watched her for years. Under Zabuza's orders, her whereabouts, hobbies, habits, and personal information were all retrieved and reported periodically. Yes, I was the stalker for the obsessor.

"How'd you..

"…know you?" I finished for her.

She nodded, awaiting a satisfying answer to her curiosity.

But like fuck I'm gonna tell her how I actually memorized her every breath, the rhythm of her heartbeat, her walk, her scent…

"I really admire the proctor for the Preliminaries, Hayate Gekkō, so I know quite a few facts about him including people whom he cares for, one being the beautiful Yūgao-san."

Okay. I lied. But more importantly, she took it. This woman is hopeless when it comes to Bandana.

"Yes, I heard about you from him as well," she said with a more shy attitude.

"Yes, I actually wanted to challenge him to a duel. Since I really admire kenjutsu users (Zabuza was one), I wanted to experience a fight firsthand with a professional."

I smiled and lied again.

"Well then, let's get started and have you become a elite kenjutsu user yourself." Yūgao prided herself in her skills which she intended to pass on to me.

"If only I had the ability to store all my weapons someplace. I already carry so many senbon, that I don't even have room to carry anything else…"

"Then we can first start with storage-style fūinjutsu." Yūgao pulled out a scroll.

[Yes. I don't mind learning this.]

And so we learned, and according to her, I am quite a fast learner. Prodigy level. I of course refused her compliments but accepted them mentally. That fucking Uchiha thinks he's the only genius. Well, that's just total bullshit.

The kunoichi took me by the shoulders, shaking me from my chain of thoughts.

"I'll teach you basic medical skills before moving on to kenjutsu. At this rate, we'll make good progress and get you ready to fight the wind fan user Temari."

I didn't mind learning the medicine techniques but I can pass on the kenjutsu. I've always had a knack for experimenting with herbs and testing them on myself (probably explains my high immunity to poison). If I learn the basic medical skills, I could move to some village, and become a simple children's physician and live peacefully.

"Sounds great Yūgao-san!"

[Sounds great.] I will learn those medical skills, but as for the chūnin exams, I have other plans in mind.