Chapter 2 : Young Boi

4 years later...

The sky was carefully lowering the sun beneath its horizon. The warm sent of salt water stung his nose with the crisp air stinging his hands and feet, signalling the start of winter. Kenji disregarded these feelings. He had a bigger task at hand. Crouching beneath a tree several feet from his home, Kenji remained attentive and focused on his task. He crunched his tongue between his developing teeth as he attempted to hold a leave to his finger with chakra.

Ever since Kenji found an old book explaining chakra, he begged Aya over and over and over again to teach him the foundation of ninja. Chakra. That one word sounded beautiful to Kenji. Eventually his mother gave in and sat him on her lap as she read and explained concepts to him. Page after page. Kenji learned that Aya was a veteran jonin of the Hidden Mist Village. Upon this fact, more respect for his mother sunk into his heart as well as love. After learning the history of shinobi and what chakra is, Kenji wanted to learn as fast as possible. Aya helped unlock his chakra, but now, sticking a leaf to his finger was the only thing Kenji could think about.

After a few hours of trying to connect to a leaf, it stuck.

Kenji wailed a giant "WAAAAAHOOOOOOO!"

In the kitchen, a sarcastic grin appeared on Aya's face. That didn't take long.

"HEY! MOM! I just learned how to stick a leaf to my finger with chakra!" screamed Kenji as he barged through the door into Aya's legs.

Aya turned towards her son with a bit of worry flowing down her spine. She didn't want him to attract too much attention given who he is. Especially being in the Hidden Mist.

"That's great honey!" She grasped him. "But make sure you don't show off too much. You understand me? Her eyes screamed seriousness.

After all, he was admitted to the Hidden Mist Academy for the coming year. Someone discovering his lineage was the last thing she wanted. Relations with opposing villages were dwindling. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was driving the Hidden Mist into the ground and no one knew why. Aya was especially grateful for the isolation from the majority of affairs given the location of her house, but both her and her child were citizens of the village which made her all the more involved.

"Ok" He looked sadly at his feet until a sharp pain reached the depths of his eyes prompting a wince and tiny hand to act. Aya studied his behavior with a slight fear until she reached realization. She crouched down to eye level quickly.

"Stop rubbing! Let me see!" Aya frowned with worry painted on her face. This boy would be the death of her.

Kenji was suprised. He knew his mother could be scary when she wanted to, especially when he played in the water behind their house. He had no recollection of Aya like this.

"How long have they been hurting." Aya demanded.

Kenji, not wanting to make Aya mad, quickly answered, "For a few days." She noticed his innocent and curious response. While most children would be on the verge of tears, trying to remember what wrong they have committed, Kenji had a certain look in his eyes. What was making his mother act this way? Why was she worried about his eyes specifically? What was wrong with his eyes? Aya resented the day he learned of her worries and quickly dropped the subject.

"Im sorry, Kenji. Forget what I said. If they hurt again tell me, OK?" Aya gently rubbed his shoulders with both hands and gave a smile that covered sadness and worry. Almost as if Aya was worried of what her son would become in the future if she took one wrong step in raising him.

Kenji's perception was definitely high for a four year old child. He noticed Aya's expression but could not distinguish the meaning of it. "I will. I promise." Kenji smiled.

Aya's heart warmed. Her son's demeanor and way of looking at things were refreshing for a single woman living alone with only the sound of water crashing against the sand to keep her company.

Kenji anchored his head towards Aya's face with arms latched around her.

"When will dinner be ready?" Kenji asked eagerly.

"When you wash all the dirt off your hands." Aya retorted with a smirk of annoyance and motherly dominance.

"Yes Ma'am!" Kenji saluted her with an ounce of fear in his transition.

He scurried off while Aya stirred the pot of soup. She cracked a heartfelt smile. Kenji was a breathe of fresh air in her eyes. While he was a toddler, he almost never cried. He was more curious and happy than anything. To make things more interesting the current Kenji sucked the energy out of her every second with his constant getting into things while happily doing it. She couldn't help but wish for the silent infant she once knew.

While Aya reminisced in her own world, Kenji bellowed a fearful scream of astonishment. Which catalyzed the motherly instincts in the kitchen. Aya drifted around the corner into the bathroom. Kenji was glued to the floor on his butt staring in horror. There it was. Aya's heart dropped. She knew exactly what scared him. Many shinobi in the Hidden Mist would share the same at what she saw. Dancing happily in her son's eyes was a menacing, red glow...

the Sharingan.

-------------------------------------------

Note to self : Hmmmm. I should probably check for mistakes. Nah it's fine. I should really make these longer though.