SERENDIPITY❂ S. UCHIHA

1. 11

When Sutoro left the bridge builder's house supporting Naruto, she was expecting him to want to go chase after Inari, the temperamental and heartbroken boy that had run off shortly after dinner, so she was almost surprised whenever he asked to be taken to the woods to go train.

After much bickering between the two, Sutoro finally gave in and allowed for the boy, who could barely stand on his own, to train more. Scared that Naruto would pass out or even die from the overconsumption of chakra, she decided to help train with him and give him tips in order to get better quicker. After sparring, both receiving multiple bruises and cuts, doing meditation exercises to strengthen chakra control, and each doing their own respective training, they both collapsed from exhaustion on the forest floor.

It wasn't until the next morning that Sutoro awoke. With a groan, she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself off the ground; she stretched out her body in an attempt to relieve some of the stiffness that had been caused by sleeping in such a weird position on the hard ground. Within a few seconds, the mind-splitting headache made itself apparent and a wave of nausea came over her; she had dealt with constant painful headaches since the awakening of her dojutsu but she had never felt such excruciating agony, so she concluded that it was due to how much she's been actively using the Yosogan recently.

After letting out one final groan, Sutoro pushed herself up and stared at the sleeping Uzumaki boy beside her. After weighing her options, she decides to carry his sleeping body back to the house in an attempt to not miss breakfast. Meanwhile, back at the home of the bridge builder and his daughter, the rest of team seven were just waking up and making their way to the kitchen to eat breakfast, only then noticing the absence of the two children.

"Naruto and the kid with the weird eyes didn't come back last night, either," Tazuna questioned, once everyone sat at the table.

"He's such a fool, he's been out every night climbing trees. He might be dead already from using up too much chakra. Sutoro too, knowing her she probably trained with him even though she was constantly training yesterday while we were with you at the bridge," Sakura stated as she let out a yawn. Her comment reminded everyone of the completely real danger of them actually exerting too much chakra.

"I wonder if they're okay," Tsunami said as she placed the food on the table for everyone. "To think children are out in the middle of the night."

"Well, you don't need to worry," Kakashi interrupted before anyone's thoughts could spiral even more. "Although he may not seem to be, he's a full-fledged shinobi and she was trained for years by Nagasume Tama of the Wooden Sword. Between the two of them, I'm sure they'll manage." The mention of her late brother like trainer caused both Tazuna and Tsunami's eyes to widen, as even in a place as small as the Land of Waves, they have not escaped tales of his feats and skill.

"The brat trained under that monster," Tazuna wondered aloud, astonished, but before he could say more he was interrupted by Sasuke.

"I wonder. That idiot's probably all pooped out right about now," he stated before standing up and walking out the door, although it was unclear which "idiot" he was referring to, although he didn't get too far before running into a staggering Sutoro. He scoffed, taking in her disheveled appearance as she struggled to continue to carry the weight of her friend.

"You look disgusting," the Uchiha stated whenever he was finally within speaking range of the girl. Much to his surprise, a large grin made its way across her face at his comment.

"Really," she said, although she was well aware that the dirt, cuts, and bruises that littered her body and unbrushed hair did nothing for her appearance. "And to think I put in the extra effort to look presentable just for you," she said with a slight pout, her playful tone mimicking that of the one that Tama would undoubtedly use.