Ch 7 The Funeral

Sun rose over Konoha, setting many things in motion. Its warm rays made the birds chirp and the flowers bloom. It was a sign that the night shift at the wall was over and soon someone else would man them. House wives were waking up, prepping for a busy day ahead.

Amongst all this liveliness, Aki Tsuchisaru was dozing in a booth of a barbeque shop. His table, littered with rice, meat and yakisoba buns, was a mess. Much like him.

His one hand had a letter tightly clutched in it, while the other held a book to his face, blocking the light from the fluorescent bulb. Gin, as usual, was drinking sake from his gourd, while enjoying the food.

"Sucks to be you, Dan, always in that heraldry form."

"We are part of one whole. That means it sucks to be us."

"Being parts implies we are different beings."

"Different interpretations of the same thing, gozaru. We are ultimately the WATCHER."

"What do you think of the Exalted One's idea?"

"Not addressing him as a boy anymore?" Dan asked, surprised.

"I have watched him grow up. He'll always be a boy to me. That does not take away from what he is."

"May the words bless him."

"May his oaths never break." Gin said, bringing one palm to chest in a prayer.

A plum homely woman knocked on their booth, interrupting Gin's prayer. She was the proprietress of the shop, a kind, hardworking woman whose family maintained one of the few 24/7 bbq shops in the village.

"Do you guys need anything else?"

"Four platters of meat here, please, and eight yakisoba buns and toast the buns in extra brown."

"Are you sure?" The proprietress asked, pointing at the table filled with food.

"Yes, that'll be enough, I think." Gin replied.

The proprietress left, and minutes later, a waiter bought their order in the room.

"Break the Gen-jutsu, Dan. He's had enough sleep."

Dan returned to his normal form, detaching himself from Aki's ear. Neither Gin nor Dan were capable of ninjutsu when in their heraldry form. That form was a relic of Al-I-Ra, an archaic way of lending power that was the founding stones of the society.

"Inu-Tatsu-Saru-Tori-Uma-Mi. Ninja arts: Eye-of-Baku." Dan said, planting his paw on Aki's forehead.

Eye-of-Baku was a Gen-jutsu that had little offensive power against an alert enemy, but it more than made up for it in the support department. If used correctly, it could make the target fall into a deep sleep that dilutes time by one to six.

So Aki's one hour nap actually turned into a six hour one, helping the boy with his mental fatigue.

"Ahhh… that's the… best sleep I've had in months."

Aki was yawning and stretching his body with his eyes half closed when his nose picked on the aroma of the room. Food. Tasty food, from the smell of it. His eyes snapped open, devouring every yakisoba bun with a burning gaze.

"You'll need food to keep up with the training, lad. Eat up, and maybe you'd order more."

Aki was never a heavy eater. A platter of meat and a bowl of rice were more than enough to fill him on normal days. But this was not a normal day.

He was recovering from a night full of training. Every muscle in his body was re-constructed several times by Gin. That depleted his vitality. Now it was time to recover.

"I don't think I can eat any more." Aki said, clutching his mouth and patting his belly. He had devoured four yakisoba buns, two bowls of rice, and a platter of meat. His personal best.

"Well, that brings us to the first jutsu I can teach you." Gin said. "For today I will use it for you, just so you can get a hang of it. But from tomorrow, you are on your own."

"Fine, I'll have you know, I graduated-"

"Oh, stop with the bragging, boy."

"Fine, have it your way. Besides, I was only stating the obvious. I'm a genius after all."

"Shut up and follow my hand seals closely." Gin said. "Or I will make the genius puke on the floor."

"Stupid rat." Aki mumbled.

Aki shadowed Gin's hand seals, frowning and having difficulty mimicking the ones that were outside the twelve basic seals. Still, Gin was going slow. That meant Aki could follow along.

"Ninja-Art: Ukemochi's Blessing"

Gin placed his hands on Aki's belly, accelerating the digestion process exponentially. Aki felt a rush of chakra entering and swirling in his belly. He mentally logged how the chakra broke down the food in his stomach, turning it into vitality.

"Now, eat the rest of your food and repeat, boy."

In half an hour, every bit of food vanished from the table. Aki and his two summons left the restaurant with empty pockets. Aki still had the letter from the Hokage clutched in his hands.

It meant too much to him. He could finally take part in the chunin exams.

This time they were being held in Konoha, and according to the Hokage, participants would start flocking here in a week.

He had little time to prepare a team and himself for the exam. And amongst all this, he had to attend a funeral today.

That was the hardest thing, going to a funeral, watching people cry while you try to hold on to your own tears. Hirai Akimichi was more a father than a brother to Konami and Koharu Akimichi. He raised them since they were babies in a swaddle. He was also a role model to many young ninjas, including Aki.

Now Aki had to see his dead body be burned while his widow and child cried their eyes out.

"After you return from the funeral, Dan will teach you Heavenly illusion: Soul-Prison. And tonight, we will start with the forging. You'll have to understand how the yang nature release works to use it–"

"–Gin," Aki interrupted. "Will you not come with me?"

"Funerals are not my thing, Exalted One."

"Please."

"Go, lad, or you'll be late to see the body."

Aki made his way to the Akimichi compound, reading the book in his hand. As usual, the words in the book were dancing, fencing, and romancing each other. He could not make out even one sentence properly. Blessedly for him, he had to only memorise the pictures in the book. Pictures that depicted the forging process of different weapons and armours.

Almost every weapon in the book was foregion, belonging to the fabled land of Al-I-Ra. All Aki had on the place called Al-I-Ra was a picture of a white planet surrounded by thirteen shattered moons.

Aki wished to know more about that place, and even if Gin told him nothing of that place, maybe these books would.

Immersed in the book, Aki reached his destination, Hirai Akimichi's house. There were people standing outside the place. Most of them were Hirai's friends and family. Aki even recognised some of them.

With great resolve, he walked past them, heading inside the house. He should not have done that. It was time for the family to grieve, to spend a few moments with the body before customs, and the stench made it necessary to burn it. But his morbid curiosity dragged him inside the house.

Soft cries, sniffing, murmurs, and whispers of conspiracy greeted him before the soulless gaze of Hirai's wife, Sayuri Akimichi. That gaze stopped him in his tracks.

"Sayuri, we must take Hirai to the crematorium."

Choza Akimichi was sitting in the room with other elders of the clan. His face was stoic, yet his eyes betrayed the loss he felt. Behind him, some strong old men were holding Hiro Akimichi, the nine-year-old son of Hirai.

"He is taking a nap, uncle. I'm so sorry to keep you waiting." Sayuri said.

Choza sighed, motioning at a plump brown woman with his eyes.

"Sayuri dear, you have to be brave. Come on, move now, we have to take the Hirai away."

Sayuri did not bulge from her place, sitting like a mother hen near the dead Hirai. Again, a morbid curiosity stirred inside Aki, commanding him to move, to unveil the cloth over Hirai's body.

"Sayuri, we have to burn Hirai soon, his body…"

Sayuri looked up at the woman, spotting Aki right behind her.

"You must be here to train with Hirai, right Aki? Wait near your big brother. I'll cook something for you. Don't let anyone disturb his sleep. He's been exhausted lately."

Aki's heavy throat was making it harder for him to breathe, much less speak. Fortunately, he did not have to. Someone had taken everyone's attention away from him, even Sayuri's. It was Lord Third.

He gave Choza an envelope, then sitting beside him, he spoke to the entire room.

"Hirai Akimichi left the village on a mission that I assigned him. Things went out of hand, and an unfortunate accident befall him and his family. We must pray for his soul and vow to look after the saplings he left behind."

No one spoke, not even Sayuri, but he could feel a weight lift off some people's shoulders. Hiruzen had lied. Hirai Akimichi had abandoned his post to go out on his own to seek justice and revenge.

By lying, Hiruzen made Hirai's death a sacrifice made on the line of duty. To some it made little difference, but to a clan and family of people who bred shinobis for the village, it meant a lot.

"Sayuri, now let go of Hirai." Hiruzen said. "He has done enough. It is time we let him rest."

It took effort, but people got Sayuri to move. Hiro grabbed Aki's hand as they took the body to the crematorium. Aki watched as they burned Hirai's body. With it, the morbid curiosity of his heart.

Few women took Hirai away from him, while he watched the embers cool down. The ashes would be enshrined in the clan or in the house, and Konoha's cemetery would gain a new tombstone to be cleaned.

"A shinobi's life is not his to gamble away."

Aki heard the familiar words from the familiar voice as a wrinkled hand came to rest on his shoulder. Hiruzen did not wait for an answer and walked away.

In the back of his head, Aki remembered Sayuri's soulless eyes. Yes, what Hiruzen had said was true.