CH_11: What If...?

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Maruboshi and Takuma sat together in front of each other in the middle of the field. The morning's gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the abundant trees in and around the Leaf village, bringing about a harmonious summer sound.

"Seeing that you have tried to practice chakra on your own. Tell me about your experience so I can know what you understand," said Maruboshi.

"... Nothing. I felt nothing, made zero progress," said Takuma in a voice quieter than his natural tone. Despite his lack of proficiency in literally every aspect of being a shinobi, Takuma made progress in everything he was taught, no matter how minuscule it may be, he had improved. But not in chakra— it was as if he was trying to access that wasn't there.

What if it wasn't there... at all. Bells blared in his mind as the thought emerged in his mind for the first time. What if he didn't possess chakra?

'No, no, no! All lifeforms on this planet possess chakra,' he thought.

'But you're not from this planet,' said a treacherous voice in his mind.

'This body is!' Takuma screamed back.

'So, what?' said the voice, sounding infinitely blaming. 'Didn't you say so yourself? Chakra is a product of combining physical and spiritual energies. The body produces the physical aspect, but it's your soul that doesn't produce the spiritual aspect— because it's not native to this world. You're an outsider; you can't wield chakra! Get out!'

The chilling thought made her body shudder more than a dip in the cold water of a freezing winter morning. He couldn't accept it— a life without the ability to use chakra in this world. The number of people who didn't use chakra dwarfed those who did use it, but Takuma didn't want to be part of that majority.

His vision turned blurry as his ears started to ring harshly. The glass of milk he had drank threatened to come out with the rest of his stomach juices. His body felt hot as the broad open field started to feel too small and congested, there was not enough air to breathe. The early sun felt dim, the rustle of leaves sounded deafening, and the morning breeze felt heavy like lead.

Takuma looked down at his body. The body that wasn't his. It wasn't his skin he was wearing. He was a thief. He needed to get out of it... get out... now!

"Takuma!"

The old voice pierced through the noise, and Takuma felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked up with his eyes wide in shock as though he had seen a great ghost spelling the end of his life. In a matter of seconds, Takuma's entire body looked like he had been in the sauna, dripping with sweat.

Seeing the trembling Takuma in front of him, Maruboshi jumped forward and laid Takuma down on the grass. Takuma's chest heaved up as he looked up at the blue sky. It was coming down, or so it looked to Takuma. He immediately curled up in a ball in response.

"Takuma, can you hear me?!"

Maruboshi hurriedly weaved a chain of hand signs before grabbing Takuma's head, resting his palms between Takuma's temples. A green glow of Iryo Ninjutsu illuminated Maruboshi's palms, but Takuma's breath remained erratic and labored, and every muscle seemed restless and ready to jump out.

"Takuma, focus on my voice, child."

Maruboshi frowned. It wasn't working. He gazed at the distressed Takuma for a moment before canceling the jutsu and rushing out of the field while carrying Takuma in his arms.

———

.

Maruboshi sighed as he sat by Takuma's bedside in the hospital. He stared at the child he had taken under his wing with worry. Just an hour ago, the face now sleeping peacefully was twisted in pain. Looking back at it, he hadn't had the time to process the last hour completely. All of it was so sudden that he had followed his instincts like he would during a mission.

Because of that, he ended up bringing Takuma to the shinobi hospital instead of the civilian hospital, as he should've done. Unlike him, Takuma was still a civilian and, according to the correct procedure, should've been admitted to a civilian hospital.

It was thanks to the good fellows in the hospital who had allowed Takuma a bed until he woke up, after which he was going to be moved to the civilian counterpart for further treatment if needed.

If needed, Maruboshi sighed. He prayed there wasn't a need for any.

But the chances of that happening seemed sparse as it had already been four days since Takuma had been in the hospital and had yet to wake up. By the time they reached the hospital, Takuma had fallen unconscious and had yet to wake up even once since then.

What had happened? Maruboshi frowned as he gazed at Takuma. One second, the child was normal, if not a little moody, but the next moment, he was writhing on the floor, clutching his head and sweating profusely. There was no physical injury; he had done the rudimentary check. When he tried to cast Iryo ninjutsu to calm any pain, the jutsu didn't work. The cause of distress was either out of the jutsu's target function, or the distress was so much that his skill couldn't provide any relief. Neither were favorable options.

"Kosuke."

Maruboshi turned towards the ward's door and stood in haste when he saw the man who had called out to him. "Lord Third!" he exclaimed and rushed to kneel in front of the village's leader.

"Nothing of that," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third and the current Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, said as he entered the room.

Another shinobi dressed in the standard Leaf shinobi gear accompanied the Hokage. The man with the large weal-like scar didn't enter the room and instead stood at the threshold, observing the corridor outside of the room.

'Hokage's protection,' thought Maruboshi as he stood up. He looked towards the room's window, and as expected, he caught another shinobi standing outside on the ledge outside the window. The Hokage never went anywhere without protection. And Maruboshi knew there were ANBU shinobi lurking somewhere outside of view, protecting the Hokage from the shadows.

His eyes returned to Hiruzen, who now stood at the foot of the bed. He stood silently as the Hokage observed Takuma.

"A child, Kosuke?" said Hiruzen, glancing at Maruboshi. He retrieved a smoking pipe from his wide-sleeved haori that we wore over his red kimono.

"It's the hospital, Lord Hokage," said the guard from the door.

Hiruzen looked down at his pipe before putting it back. "My apologies; I reached for it out of habit," he said.

"A child I have taken under my guidance recently, Lord Hokage," said Maruboshi respectfully, moving the conversation onwards.

Hiruzen looked surprised. Maruboshi couldn't blame him; given his circumstances, the situation was indeed out of the ordinary.

"A genin?" asked Hiruzen.

"An academy student."

That seemed to surprise the Hokage even more. He went back to gazing at Takuma. "What happened?" he asked.

"According to the healers... nothing," said Maruboshi. The healers had diagnosed Takuma when he was admitted and the day next to that, but both times they couldn't find anything wrong with Takuma. They could only tell him that as there was nothing wrong with Takuma, he would wake up on his own. As for when? They couldn't give him a date.

Maruboshi recounted the events to Hiruzen, who hummed after hearing the recollection.

"If the healers weren't able to find anything with the child's body, then that must mean the problem must lie within the mind," said Hiruzen. He looked towards Maruboshi, "The hospital has a Yamanaka on staff; I will ask him to take a look at young Takuma; I'm sure he will be able to help in some way."

"T-That would be very generous of you, Lord Hokage," Maruboshi bowed deeply. "Thank you, I can't describe how much this means. I'm sure young Takuma would be eternally grateful when he hears."

"Children are the real treasure of the village," said Hiruzen with a smile. "It's only our duty to care for them and help them achieve their potential."

Maruboshi gazed at Takuma. The young indeed had potential, but not all young could reach the potential. Only those who worked hard had a chance to achieve their potential.

"Though, I must ask.... Why now? After such a long time," Hiruzen asked Maruboshi.

Maruboshi understood what Hiruzen meant. "The child required guidance and didn't have anyone to provide it to him. Young Takuma is an orphan," he added when Hiruzen looked confused.

"Ah."

"He has no one to rely upon, it was a coincidence we met, or maybe it was fate that I accepted, but now that I have taken the responsibility, I will not walk away from it," said Maruboshi. "And as you said, Lord Hokage, children are the treasure of the village. The future. I am simply doing something very small, hoping that future will be a happy one."

He hadn't agreed to teach Takuma on a whim. There were many orphans who needed an adult influence in their lives, someone to guide them as they grew up. He couldn't help every one of them. So, he chose one that would benefit from his guidance and would appreciate it. He had observed Takuma for days from the shadows to see if teaching Takuma would be worth it or just a waste of time.

In that time he had seen a lonesome child who didn't fit in with the rest. Always alone, but never lonely. Never once had he seen Takuma look at his classmates or other children with other parents with even a hint of wanting or desire in his eyes. He always seemed so indifferent to everything. Living his life running around, not stopping even for a second to look around to appreciate the simple things. Never relying on anyone. That wasn't how a child was supposed to live.

Then he realized. Maybe the reason why Takuma never seemed to care was that he never knew what the joy of companionship felt like in the first place.

The sentiment saddened Maruboshi, and he had only thought about it. What about Takuma? What if he was living it.

Maruboshi didn't know if his thoughts were correct; after all, he didn't know what Takuma was thinking. But even if there was a chance that he was right, he didn't want any child to live that sort of life. Especially a child in front of him, one he knew, even if only shortly.

So, he decided.... He would train Takuma. Not for the purpose of making him a fine shinobi. No, what he wanted was for Takuma to know the joy of companionship— what it felt like to rely on others, to share joy and sadness all the same.

"Then maybe you feel ready to guide others in need," said Hiruzen.

Maruboshi matched eyes with his Hokage and firmly shook his head. He wasn't ready for that. He was never going to be ready for that. Training an academy student once a day with no life-threatening stakes and consequences couldn't compare.

He didn't put his thoughts into words, but Hiruzen understood the head shake and dropped the conversation, something Maruboshi was thankful for.

Hiruzen stayed a while, gazing at Takuma. He even asked Maruboshi about Takuma. Maruboshi was surprised. He had been around longer than others— he had served under Lord Second, Lord Third, then Lord Fourth, and Lord Third again— so he knew how busy the seat of Hokage was.

But he told anyway; after all, who was he to deny the Hokage?

He recounted the progress proudly Takuma had made. How much he had learned in a short time. He told the Hokage about how smart Takuma was for a young child, that he held wits and cunning beyond his age. And the tenacity and will to persevere through anything thrown at him without a squeak of a complaint. Never once had Takuma requested to slow down or do less. Never had he refused to complete any task he had asked of him.

Takuma was a good student; nothing anyone else might say could make Maruobshi think otherwise.

Hiruzen listened until it was time for him to leave.

Maruboshi felt embarrassed; he had spoken too much. He apologized for keeping the Hokage for so long. But Hiruzen waved it off.

"It is a joy to hear that such a bright child will be joining our ranks soon," said Hiruzen with a smile. "Maybe the next time we meet, I will hear about him from the person himself."

When Hiruzen left, Maruboshi sat beside Takuma. He hadn't taken a mission; he had nowhere to be.

"Wake up soon, young Takuma..."

He hoped Takuma would.

His mornings had begun to feel lonely.

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———

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