Chapter 14

Snap Back To Reality 14

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

I'm currently looking for a beta-reader. If anyone's interested send me a pm, and I'll look through your stories and skills to see if it's compatible for this work. I guess the benefits to being a beta reader for this story is, you'll get 3-4 chapters in advance compared to my public postings. More fanart from me that I don't normally post up even on my insta. Also a general outline for how Snap Back To Reality will proceed, and obviously a way to improve your editor skills if you ever want to be an editor in the writing industry. Thanks for your time!

We had utterly destroyed that Kumo border post and we didn't even have to break the structure. The land was poisoned, Kumo morale was plummeting and we had killed a significant amount of their Jounin. It had been brutal, efficient and most of all it had been devastating.

A shiver ran down my spine. These were elite Jounin. The people who dominated the field. I had somehow managed to survive this whole attack because they were so competent. It made me stutter at the well of difference in our power. Even more so the power between an elite Jounin and a Sannin like Orochimaru who was Kage level.

What was I even doing with this insane group of competent people? Heck, why couldn't I be this competent? I dug my face into Yama's fur and groaned. There was something visceral about facing death head on. It was exhilarating, terrifying, and thrilling all at once. Being on the edge of one's feet, closing one's mind from everything and anything not pertaining to the very moment one was in... It was like living a whole new existence. It was hard to extrapolate the feeling of intoxication that was a battle to the death.

The war had already messed me up. Only my second mission and already it had changed me so undeniably. I wondered how I could change so much so quickly.

It was unnatural... or maybe it wasn't. I was a child, despite having an adult's mentality. These were my formative years, where both my body and my mind would grow exponentially and learn to adapt to my environment and the challenges brought to me. In my old life that had been academics. In this new life I had chosen war.

War may have not been the healthiest choice, but it was the one given to me. I was only 6 and already I had killed more people than I had fingers on my hands. The scary part was that I didn't feel disgusted, or hateful, or sad about my kills. I just felt accomplished, and I wondered if it was healthy to feel that way about taking life. I was just doing my job right?

It was at night when we made camp and we were putting down our bed rolls that I let out how tired I felt. I wasn't one for physical contact, neither was I someone who even touched a conversation that involved feelings, but right now I was confused, and I felt so alone in it. I did something unusual and snuggled up next to sensei, pressing my face against the side of his chest. He hesitantly pulled his arm around to my back.

"Hina, are you ok?"

I shook my head still buried into his side's. He let out a sigh and I swallowed my spit with some effort. Why was I acting this way?

"You're too young to be out here," sensei sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have fought for some easier missions."

Great now he thought I wasn't emotionally ready for the things I was going to do. I wanted to say a whole number of things, but I let his statement linger in silence. I didn't trust my voice in that moment, so I took in a deep breath before steadying myself and then speaking.

"It's not your fault. It's not the missions... I—"

"Take your time kiddo," he said softly.

I knew what to say, but I couldn't say it. How did one go about telling their sensei that they thought they were probably a sociopath? Was I a sociopath? I was no psychologist. I cared about my family and friends, and to some extent the comrades I fought with, but I was just so coldly indifferent to others that it left a bad taste in my mouth. Ironically enough it was my fear of being a sociopath that plagued me more than killing a few people in war. It felt only right to worry if my mind wasn't normal in some way, right?

"It's nothing. Can I sleep next to you tonight?" I asked instead, unable to get out my worries.

"Sure thing my cute little kohai," he chuckled softly.

I never asked for physical affection, ever, but today seemed like a day I needed it. I would let myself have it today... just this once.

Only a month into the 5 months I had been assigned for, was over. I knew everyone in the team by name and hobbies now too. The Uchiha were quite reclusive, as was the Aburame woman and one of the Hyuga. Everyone else was more than willing to talk. They all came from some minor or dying out Ninja clans. The 2nd Great Shinobi war had destroyed more than its fair share of Clans.

"Our next assignment is out by a village called Kogyo. It's a border village by Kumo's South-East mountain. The terrain will be open and so we will need sensors on diamond formation. Keep a keen eye."

"Hai!" the group chorused.

Then we discussed among ourselves for a bit and sensei and I took the right diamond point of the group. I was glad none of them ever split me from sensei during combat or otherwise. I trusted most of these shinobi with my life, but there was no way in hell I trusted them more than Gaku and Yama.

The landscape turned from heavy brush and flat planes to a barren rocky mountainside. This wasn't any better. The caverns were easy to ambush, and the lack of greenery for cover made me uneasy. My green outfit, and the green of the rest of the Konoha squad, suddenly stood in stark contrast with the background. Not exactly a good cover for us in any sense.

The trip was uncomfortably silent. Everyone was watching intently, keeping their steps light, and suppressing their chakra. Whoever said travel was the least taxing part of being a ninja should probably go dunk themselves in some lava to cure their ignorance. I kept my senses sharp, closing my eyes and taking in the scent and sounds. The wind was rough, blowing wildly through the caverns, the sun was hot and heated the ground in a way that made the stone radiate the heat back up. Surprisingly, the large stone mountains had a strong thrum of their own, a beating heart that creaked ever so perfectly together in a cacophony of lively sounds despite the lack of chakra.

Tap tap

My ears twitched and I gazed at sensei. He had caught the same sounds apparently. It could be a large animal. It could be an enemy scout. We wouldn't know until it came out or attacked. I felt my hand twitch to my shuriken and sensei sent me a look that said no. I forced my hands away in time to see what appeared to be a dear in the distance. I was glad he stopped me from throwing it, or I might have made a fool of myself.

I sucked in a deep breath and calmed my nerves. I continued running, my mind going on an intense overdrive. The only thing, asides from appearance, that I inherited from my mother in this life, was my over the top paranoia.

It was another hour or so before we reached the outskirts of the village. The crops were sparse and looked about ready to wilt and the few people that did see us ducked away, trembling in fear. I couldn't blame them. Seeing a bunch of enemy ninjas walk straight into town would make me shit my pants too if I were defenceless.

"I can't sense any Shinobi," I frowned.

"Keep your eyes peeled. They could be hiding their chakra," sensei said frowning.

Unsurprisingly there were enemy shinobi here. A kunai zipped towards me, I twisted my body, grabbing it by the circular handle by the end and throwing it back in one swoop. It grazed the ninjas face and he looked mortified. I grinned. That was my most badass moment yet. I didn't have time to revel in it, not when my team and the enemy jumped straight into action.

A Jounin engaged Sensei and me. I moved to block his clones slash, but he was too fast for my eyes to track. Sensei hit his kunai away with his own, saving me from instant death. I jumped back and went for my hand signs immediately.

Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse tiger!

Fire release: Flame Bullet!

I spit out several bullets of condensed fire at the enemy. He dodged them easily but was distracted by Yama and I managed to get the fifth bullet square in his chest. He hissed, stumbling back before releasing a substantial amount of killing intent my way. I locked my Tiger Palm stance far more defensively than I normally would, my body seizing up for a moment. Thankfully, I had experience with killing intent before, and I managed to hold my footing.

Yama doubled with Sensei, his Beast Fang mode activated, fur sticking on end as he decided to help me instead of his partner. Sensei had things under control, I did not. It was one thing to fight with a Genin and Chunin, it was an entirely different matter to fight against a Jounin. All I could do was try and stay alive long enough for sensei to finish his opponent. I jumped behind Yama and drew out my shuriken. Everyone knew Jounin didn't die from measly shuriken or kunai. That was like a law of this world or something. The only real way to beat a Jounin was with some flashy move, equal to or flashier than theirs… or you know assassinate them before they knew you were there. I couldn't do either, because I was weak, a fact that was beginning to frustrate me.

"What the fuck! A Sannin is here!" shouted a Kumo nin.

"We weren't told we had to fight fucking Orochimaru," another cursed.

The clone ninja in front of me crumbled into dust and I turned to see Sensei rip out his throat with his bare hands. I jumped up next to him and noticed that the enemy-ninja that did attack were now looking to retreat with their tails between their legs. I would too if Orochimaru of all people decided he was going to kill me. Thankfully, the Snake Sannin was on our side and in the blink of an eye he went through the enemy shinobi like a hot knife through butter. A water dragon followed him through his graceful movements as he practically took down six Jounin in one stride, his blade cutting through bone effortlessly. It was awe inspiring and terrifying all that once. With the last of the stragglers executed almost just as quickly, the battle was over not even 2 minutes before it began. Suddenly, being put on a team full of Jounin and a Sannin, seemed like the safest place to be during war.

We all regrouped behind the Sannin as the villagers who were outside stood by their houses. They looked strongly built, their skin blackened, hands calloused from rough labour and eyes heavy and hard. They were miners, I realised. They were nothing like the soft civilians from inside Konoha. These men weren't Shinobi, but they were hard workers, people who no doubt spent a great deal of time in darkened mines working day and night hitting rocks. My respect for them was a great deal more than most civilians.

"Where is the Village Elder?" Orochimaru asked.

The crowd of burly men parted, and a short but sturdy man walked out with a cane. He couldn't have been older than fifty. Was this their oldest member? They were miners… so maybe they died younger than most due to their work. I grimaced at the thought. Shinobi weren't so different in that respect.

"I am the Elder," the man said, voice coarse and raspy.

Orochimaru walked up amiably to the man and… cut his head off. I jerked forward in surprise, as did many of the villagers, and then I turned to sensei wide eyed and in shock to see him standing his place, jaw set tightly as if he didn't agree. I turned to the rest of my team. Their expressions ranged from disbelief, to approval and glee but none of them moved an inch. What the fuck? The villagers roared in protest and I couldn't help but agree internally. Why the heck had Orochimaru killed a civilian, with no weapons and no intent to kill.

"You can't just—"

Orochimaru threw a kunai straight into the man's head and he dropped down in a heap. The Sannin licked the blood of his katana before sheathing it slowly. I felt a shiver run down my spine involuntarily.

"Anyone else want to tell me what to do?" he asked amiably.

Everyone backed down when he twirled a kunai and pointed it to the sole child in the group. A kid about a year or two older than me. The boy's father pushed the boy behind him, and the Sannin chuckled, like he had said a rather benign joke. He had effectively quelled any protest.

"My team will be staying here for a few days. Who are the senior members of your village?"

A few men stepped forward, looking entirely too defiant for my liking. Did they want to get killed? I almost wanted to slap some sense into them. If they wanted to stay alive, they should be grovelling at this man's feet, not putting on some misplaced sense of pride.

"You will be hosting my team for the next few days," he said, although it was more like an order, then he turned to us. "Do treat your hosts well."

He didn't sound like he meant what he said at all, but we all chorused in agreement. Some form of dread seemed to seep into me at this very moment. This felt like it should be wrong. I wasn't the kind of person who could take the moral high ground, neither did I care for it, but what Orochimaru did was wholly unnecessary—wasn't it? By killing the elder he had cemented how serious everyone's fate could be, and then not so subtly threatening a child vanquished whatever other fighting spirit these people had. They may have been proud miners, but no one in their right mind would go against someone who would kill their progeny.

Holy shit, why was I excusing what he did? I let out a rather loud breath through my nose and tried to control my emotions. What was done was done. There was no need to cry over spilt milk… even if the spilt milk was a man's life.

Orochimaru had sent us to live with the leading men of the village, because we needed to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't plan anything stupid. A bunch of enemy shinobi living in their house should do the trick. The man we were assigned to live with was a burly man, large built and with skin covered in soot that it was hard to tell the original colour. His eyes though were a bright blue, so clear that they reminded me of Minato's.

He wasn't too eager to let us into his house, but he did so reluctantly. It was a small traditional house, with what seemed to be only the bare minimum of electricity and traditional cove fire instead of gas. It felt and looked poor, but well maintained. As we took off her shoes and entered into the living room, I noticed the scent of two others. His wife and daughter were huddled at the back of the house. The little girl peaked her head out and I noted she must have been only a year or so younger than me.

"We will not intrude more than we have already," Sensei stated stiffly.

The miner's blue eyes appraised Sensei, his lips thinning into a stiff line, then he nodded in surrender. It was the kind of gesture one made when they had to put up with something they couldn't help, but the man was coiled tightly in defence as he stepped in front of his wife and child.

"You may order me anything, but a single hand on them and Shinobi or not I will kill you," the man said with a fire.

Sensei gave the man a blank look before breaking out into a grin. I chuckled nervously, completely unsure how to act in such a tense situation.

"I like you, and don't worry, neither I nor my student intend to cause you any harm—"

"Furukuwa Mamoru," the man supplied.

"Furukuwa-san," sensei nodded politely. "I am Inuzuka Gaku, this is my partner Yama, and my student Suzuki Hina. As long as you don't act against us Shinobi, I will guarantee the safety of your family. However, the same can be said for you. Should I see an attempt of harm on anyone of my teammates, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Sensei sounded completely serious with his threat. I looked up at the man and then to his wife and child and wondered if I should say anything. Everyone was being so goddamn serious and as a child it was super easy to act cute and diffuse a situation.

"Ne, I'm Suzuki Hina, but you can call me Hina. What's your name?" I asked the woman and child.

The mother pushed back her black hair and turned her amber eyes to her husband reluctantly before meeting mine. She smiled reluctantly, but it came out more like a grimace as she looked at me… wait was that pity? I kinda felt like decking her, but I refrained.

"My name is Ryosai, and this is Emi."

I put on my best smile and tried to act as childish as I could. If I was going to live with these people for a couple of days, I'd rather do it comfortably. We were awkwardly invited to sit down at the table and Ryosai ran to make us some tea. I wondered if she did it so she could drag her daughter away to the kitchen so she wouldn't be near us.

Mamoru sat stiffly opposite us, his eyes trailing to me every few seconds. I felt my hands twitch unconsciously to my kunai holster. I had to remind myself that this man could not kill me, not with his uncontrolled chakra and sensei sitting next to me. I was just being paranoid, like usual.

"Feel free to talk normally to us Furukuwa-san," sensei said with an easy-going smile.

"I didn't know Konoha was bringing children into war."

"Ah, my cute little kohai here is rather advanced for her age."

"Graduated top of my class," I said, feigning an unhealthy amount of pride. "Don't worry Mamoru-san, I am very capable."

"That was not—never mind," he sighed, but his shoulders lowered slightly, and it felt like he was a little less stiff, so really it was my win.

He was saved the awkwardness of explaining himself when Ryosai walked in with a tray full of steaming tea. Sensei and I took it with a courteous thanks before holding it to our noses to sniff for poison. I didn't sense anything, but I looked at sensei to make sure I hadn't come to a wrong conclusion. He was already sipping his tea, so I followed suite. The tea wasn't very good quality, but I put on my most innocent smile.

"The tea is very nice," I complimented.

Sensei spared me a quick glance and Yama yipped. I figured he knew what I was trying to do by now. Normally I didn't adopt such a cheery disposition. I preferred to act level-headed and enthusiastic enough to be considered motivated but not immature. Right now I was pretending to be a cutesy little girl. How much of that was translating from my shinobi decked out gear was uncertain, but it was enough to let this man drop down his guard slightly, and for his daughter to send me a curious look from behind her mother.

"Thank you, Suzuki-san."

Not Hina-chan, huh. So I didn't succeed in getting them to lower their guard entirely. I kept my smile on my face, opting to go for a more laid-back route next time. Playing the cheerful energetic girl was too much of a leap for me. I decided to pull the act back a little and instead gave a relaxed smile and nod, closing my eyes for emphasis on trust.

"How long will your men be in our village?" Mamoru asked.

"Ah, I'm not allowed to say Furukuwa-san. My apologies," Sensei said with an amiable smile.

"Allow me to show you to your room. I only have one spare, so you will have to share if that's alright."

"That's how we prefer it out on missions," sensei said tilting his head, and I nodded in agreement.

Ryosai was rubbing her palms against her knees. She kept a friendly expression, but her body language was closed off, her feet moving around, and shifting position as if unsure. Sensei had probably picked up on it too. They looked like they were itching to do something but had to hold back. I jerked my hand to my holster and stopped myself again. I needed to stop being so paranoid. I had gone up against Jounin, and numerous Chunin on my own and survived. What was a civilian family in comparison?

We got up and Ryosai took us to a room by the far end. It was a small room, with a paper door. Not the level of security I was used to from living a life in a ninja village, but it was marginally better than camping outside.

"Will you require futons?" she asked.

"No, we don't want to impose. We have our bedrolls."

I wanted to deck Sensei and let the lady get us some futons, but I chose to smile forcefully instead. She nodded, looking relieved for some reason or another and then closed the door to leave us alone.

"Sensei, Orochimaru is kind of a prick, isn't he?" I asked frowning.

"What he did wasn't… advised. I don't want you doing anything like that in the future, you hear me. We may be in war but cruelty that is not absolutely necessary isn't something we should take pleasure in."

"You don't have to tell me, I completely agree," I huffed. "Why didn't anyone do anything to stop him?"

"It was well within his rights," Sensei sighed. "It would be insubordination to go against his actions when there aren't any rules against it."

"You mean we're allowed to kill civilians unprompted?" I asked in disbelief.

"No, we are not allowed to kill Fire civilians unprompted, but there are no rules against doing anything to others."

"They have no rights at all," I asked in, voice full of scepticism.

"We don't either, in the enemy eyes kiddo. That's why it's best to kill yourself if you're caught," he said with a serious look.

Wow, this world was messed up. Child soldiers aside, this was a whole another level of wrong. There was so much a country full of sociopathic assassins could do with this kind of free reign. I shivered at the thought before I remembered Suki.

"Suki-san wouldn't… abuse this situation, would she? She hates Kumo-nin so maybe she doesn't like the civilians here either," I asked.

"It's frowned upon by many Konoha shinobi to unnecessarily torment civilians, enemy or not. That is usually enough to keep most people in line, but Fujiyama is not one to care about opinion. She is also a pain in the ass to work with," Sensei grunted in irritation.

"Troublesome woman," I grumbled in agreement.

"We're on the same page there, kiddo. Now that we're settling down in a spot for a while, I think it's time we did a bit of training."

"We're on a mission though," I pointed out.

"I can keep an eye on the family without your help," he chuckled. "Just leave it to your sensei. I need you to be strong, so you won't need little old me in the future."

"I just hate that it can't be now. Why am I so weak?" I grumbled.

"You're six, so don't be so hard on yourself. It's your first year as a Genin and you've accomplished more than an average one, or you wouldn't be assigned to this team," he said ruffling my hair.

"I wouldn't be on this team, if someone from the council didn't want me dead," I retorted with a frown.

"Hina—you shouldn't throw out accusations so easily," Sensei frowned.

"Even, you know it's true," I said jabbing his leg.

Yama licked me on the face when I grumbled, and he forced me to smile. What, I like dogs. Sensei got about putting some traps and sensors around the room, all standard things he had brought with him for the long-term mission we were on.

"You can tell me anything you want kiddo, but don't go speaking so easily of that to anyone else," sensei sighed.

"I won't," I agreed, rolling my eyes. No was in hell was I ready to get even more on Danzo's radar than I somehow already had.

"What training are you thinking of?" I asked, changing the topic, and hoping to get out of this repressive mood.

"You haven't mastered your wind walker technique yet. The next step to mastery over it is implementing chakra slide, and your wind technique to gain a burst of speed. Come on, let's go out."

We both jumped out of the window and into the backyard. Well, it wasn't really a backyard. The house itself was on the outskirts of the town and was flanked by a rather tall mountain and a mile or so of sturdy trees. We made our way out the back and Yama went to nap in the sun. I gazed at the dog in jealousy before taking my position.

"You're meant to cut through the air current in front of you, directing it to either side. That's the easy part."

"Wait, seriously? How's that easy? It took me a whole 3 weeks to get it down with leaves!"

"It's the easy part because you're only required to go in a straight line," he sighed, looking both a mixture of amused and exasperated. "The issue users of this technique face are when they have to turn. You're going faster than normal, and your body is unused to changing directions, especially when you're using a cutting wind jutsu to either side of you. Not only would you have to redirect your body, but you would have to redirect the wind, so you don't cut yourself and fall off-balance."

"Sounds tough," I mumbled, thoroughly put off by the sheer impossibility of the jutsu.

"No complaining. You've been doing a good job of that so far. I know this technique is taking a lot longer than what you're normally used to, but most higher ranking jutsu can't be learnt in a month, good chakra control or not."

"I know, it's just—it feels kind of impossible," I mumbled forgetting my no complaint policy for a frustrated second.

How the heck was I going to learn this kind of B rank jutsu? I only managed to graduate because I was stupidly smart, and I worked my body to its absolute limit. I was no talented prodigy. I had an edge when it came to chakra control and my higher than average intellect, but this move required more than intellect or chakra control, it required instinct. I sucked at that, if my training blind had been any indication of my natural physical talents. I took in a deep breath, prodigy or not, I owed it to myself to do my best.

"Ok chakra slide first," I mumbled to myself.

My right feet shifted back in preparation and I rolled my shoulders and shrugged my hands to prepare myself.

Tiger → Ox → Dog →

Wind Release: Wind walker Technique!

I practically shouted the technique in my head as I activated both the chakra slide and the wind cutter technique at once. I bounded forward, there was no rush of wind against my face! The speed pushed my cheeks back slightly and the moment I touched a foot down from the bounding speed, I felt my body spin out of control. I couldn't stop! I let out a cry as I lost my footing and ended up flinging myself at a tree. I hit the bark just in time to use my chakra to protect that part of my body before I crashed through the bark, toppling the tree down.

It took me a second to realise I wasn't flying in the air anymore, that I was on the ground, eating dirt. I spat out the dry soil, before groaning and standing up. Yama was by my side almost instantly and sensei was laughing his head off.

"I've never seen anyone butcher that technique so bad!" he cackled.

"I'm glad you're finding amusement from this Sensei," I replied dryly as I got back up.

The door opened and Mamoru rushed out at the sound, probably to the sight of a destroyed tree and a little girl with dirt all over her face. Sensei had the decency to look apologetic at least.

"What's going on here?" the miner demanded.

"Just a little training. My Kohai here failed spectacularly. Sorry for the damage," sensei apologised.

"She broke the tree?" the man asked in disbelief.

I got up and dusted off my training shirt. I turned to look at the back and realised I had torn it hitting the tree and I grumbled, flushing red. Goddamn I had made a fool of myself.

"I'll get the technique right next time! It only failed because I wasn't prepared," I grumbled in aversion. "Come on, give me one more chance!"

"How are your chakra reserves looking?"

"I used about a quarter," I mumbled, blushing at just how embarrassing that was to say out loud.

"Ok then, once more. If you use up another quarter, we're calling it quits today."

I nodded in assent. We weren't back in the village. There was a certain level of chakra we were expected to maintain on duty in case a serious fight broke out. Sensei was being far more lenient than was normally allowed. Wind Walker wasn't meant to be this chakra exhaustive anyway. I just expended too much chakra during my initial hand seal phase. I used a lot of chakra for Chakra Slide because it was the boost I needed, but with the Wind Cutter technique it seemed overkill. I only needed about a quarter of the power I normally used. Come on, I had the best chakra control in my class. There was no way I was going to get it wrong the second time.

"Mamoru-san is watching. You better not screw it up Hina~"

"No pressure," I grumbled at sensei.

I prepared my stance and went through the hand signs again, this time slower so that I could mould the appropriate amount of chakra. I needed to be at the level where I could just use this technique without any hand signs for it to be optimal in the field. I took in a deep breath. Breathing always helped somehow control the chakra in my tenketsu. Maybe it's because chakra was in our blood and the oxygen helped regulate it. I had no idea why; I was just speculating but I just knew it helped.

Wind Release: Wind walker Technique!

Yes! I pushed my feet of the ground and the hard soil cracked under its pressure as I bounded at high speeds again. I managed to catch my first step down this time! I would have whooped at the resounding success if that step didn't suddenly make me go 50 times faster than the initial burst. I let out a sound between shock and terror as I tried to stop myself once again and ended up flinging myself straight through another two trees. I only managed to survive with my exceptional chakra control! I pulled my head out of a tree and growled in frustration. Sensei chuckling at my failure only made me growl more.

"What's so funny?!" I barked, throwing my hands into the air.

"There's just something universally hilarious about watching someone fall," Sensei shrugged.

"Your sense of humour sucks!" I replied with a pout.

"Ninja," Mamoru said in disbelief from behind both of us, gawking at the damage done to the trees before he shook his head. "Are you alright?" he asked me.

I nodded awkwardly, trying not to show how embarrassed I was about failing the technique so bad. It was one thing to stumble a bit learning a jutsu, it was another thing to literally fling yourself into a tree at insane speeds from failing.

"I know how to break my fall without causing injuries. The obstacle course of death taught me as much," I said, grumbling the last part. The amount of broken bones I got from the time honing my senses still gave me nightmares. Sensei was absolutely nice outside of training, but he was ruthless and unyielding during our sessions.

"How much chakra did you use that time?" sensei asked.

"Not much… maybe half of that quarter. Why couldn't I stop?" I asked, forcing down an embarrassed blush.

"Wind Walker increases in speed the more you continue. That's why we're keeping things to a straight line. The first step is to be able to control that speed, and then we'll try changing directions before we even think of implementing it into your aerial Circle Walk manoeuvres," sensei said ruffling my hair. "Now why don't you keep practicing. Stop when your reserves are at about a half and take a break."

"Hai," I mumbled out.

Sensei pulled Mamoru away and I looked at the destroyed trees and sighed. I was pathetic. Sure it was my first time, but how could I fail so bad? I dug my feet on the ground again and took in a deep breath. I needed to focus. I would get this down!

A/N

So I don't normally put any A/N stuff at the top, but when I do it's important, so keep an eye out for that, but you don't have to read out my authors notes on the bottom if you don't want to. But yeah, I'm definitely looking for a beta reader soon. I've also decided to try and create an account on Archive of Our Own, but they never send me an email back to verify an account, so I hadn't tried again for a while. I want to cross post there as well, especially since they allow you to add pictures, which I am more than excited to do considering I love drawing. All my cover images for this story is drawn by me and can be found under jaz_hop on Instagram, or under the tag snapbacktoreality.

Again, thanks to everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed! I'm low key addicted to reading your reviews again and again XD

Review Responses

Static24- Oml I didn't realise. I just assumed that the Aburame used all kinds of insects. I don't actually know much about them, so I gotta do some research on them soon!

EmmieSauce- I'm glad the career woman inside of her showed during the interrogation. Hina loves being a professional on the job XD

Hi Exclamation Point- Honest to god if/when (I'm not saying that he does or doesn't die) Gaku died, a part of me would die too. Him and Hina are like my thought babies at this stage XD

Infinityneverlasts- You, me and a few others share this sentiment. I'm just glad he's likeable XD

ita123- Thanks for leaving a review always!

Frankieu- Thanks! Yeah the shinobi world can be dark, dangerous and sometimes beautiful!

Immortal Potatoe- Orochimaru certainly will be taking a mentor kind of role in her life in the future! Yes Anko will eventually come around, but definitely not anytime soon unfortunately! Actually I could see Anko and Hina getting together as adults, but definitely don't see any chemistry there as kids XD

Ildoradogam- A yes ROOT interviews are fun stuff XD

LazyWriterBG- Thanks! Yeah, I wanted a story where the main character felt like the world she lived in was real. Honestly, characters who focus on changing the timeline, unless they're involved with characters who are going to die, just seemed unrealistic. Hina isn't interested in the timeline unless it relates to protecting her precious people!

Ptbv- Thanks!

Anon- Thanks for reminding me about that. Yeah, I did want to post this up on AO3 but they never let me make an account before for some reason. I'm just waiting for the day they finally approve of it XD

Riveria- Oh you liked her backstory! That's a relief! It's actually something I'm sure a lot of the readers will be split on, but that's more a plot preference thing I can't really cater to XD So I'm glad you like it! There will eventually be more!

RileyBlue00- There's going to be more wartime shenanigans soon enough considering what group Hina is in right now! I'm hoping to flesh out her thoughts on war crimes, tactics, and humanitarian issues soon, although she's definitely not a very good person, so it'll be an… interesting response.