Chasing After You || Itachi

Ch. 16 - The Young and The Restless

It had been a while since she'd been this stagnant and she was getting restless. Tora spent days rotating between her room and the Raikage's office. She wanted to go see the village, but she was denied. She wanted to train in the surrounding mountains, but she was denied. If they expected her to sit still this whole time, they were in for a rude awakening because that was not her way of operating.

"Hey, are you decent?"

Tora heard a couple knocks on her door followed by the question. Telling the person to come in, she continued focusing on her exercise regiment. Nigai walked into the room and saw the female in the middle of the floor doing pushups. Seeing as she showed no signs of stopping, he settled with leaning against the wall to pass the time.

"Did you come here for something?" Tora asked as she worked out.

"I figured you would want some fresh air, but I see you're busy." He responded easily, already knowing what her reaction would be.

Tora stopped mid-push up and immediately stood up. "Seriously?" She cleared her throat after that burst of excitement and nonchalantly stretched her arms out, but the deed had already been done.

"You're like a kid in a candy store."

"Shut up! I am not!"

Spending time with Nigai, she realized he wasn't bad as a person and she thought his dreadlocks were cool. He was just very loyal to his village, which was quite expected. He didn't talk much, but he did have a slight sense of humor. Once she took a quick shower, she left the room with him.

Tora looked out the grand windows of the building out to the skyline of the rest of the village. "Where exactly are we getting this fresh air?"

"The training grounds." Nigai answered. "Lord Raikage wants to see you there."

It didn't take long to get to their destination. As they traveled, Tora saw just how high the village was stationed; it was literally in the clouds. With her abilities, she felt like this was an area made for her. How much would she have changed if she'd grown up here instead?

At the main grounds, Karui and a boy Tora had never seen before had just finished a sparring match. The moment the redhead spotted the newcomer, she promptly rolled her eyes and began to pack up. They hadn't seen each other since that afternoon in the Raikage's office, but it was very apparent that they weren't going to become friends any time soon. As Tora walked onto the field, Karui brushed past her without sparing a glance and quickly disappeared.

"She'll come around." Nigai spoke up. He knew Karui was a good person at heart, she just wasn't as accepting of change or new people.

Tora shrugged and stretched her arms. "It's fine. I didn't come here to make friends anyway. I only came to see my father."

As she started to warm up, Nigai joined her until the boy from earlier approached them. After the two males spoke to each other, Tora learned that his name was Omoi and he was a newly promoted chunin. Their conversation was short-lived as A appeared with Mabui in tow.

"I called you here to assess you." A announced as he came closer to the group. "Show me what you got."

Tora nodded and analyzed A. She wanted to see what his fighting style was and what her best approach would be. On top of that, she didn't want to be viewed as less than in front of him. Playing it safe, she threw a barrage of senbon his way.

"I hope you plan on taking me seriously."

A's body was suddenly engulfed by lightning and he disappeared before the senbon could reach him. Instantly, he was right in front of her and she narrowly avoided a punch by dropping to all fours. Her reflexes weren't as fast so she couldn't avoid his next attack as his foot collided with her abdomen and she was sent flying across the ground.