Who are you?

Part 25

Shiori was happy, tired but very happy. She finally made some progress in her training. After hours of Akira throwing projectiles at her, she could reliably detect them.

Not only could she detect them, but she could move while doing so. This meant she would no longer get hit in the face, which was an accident and only happened once. Akira was not that cruel. Still, it surprised her so much.

While her movements were still not perfect, and she couldn't move at ninja speed while doing so, it was significant progress. Initially, it was hard for her to move within her sensory zone. She was more likely to keep the zone where it was and move herself, which was not good since her zone was relatively small.

But it still amazed her how much progress she had made in such a short time. They were done for the day, and Shiori was sitting on the ground panting.

"I think you should be ready for the next step soon. Take some rest for the next five days from training. We need your body to be well-rested for the next step. You can still meditate, but do not use any chakra." Akira said as he extended a hand for Shiori to get up.

Shiori accepted the hand and pulled herself up with a slight grunt. "Thank you, Sensei." She had taken to calling the man that after a certain point in their training.

She could also see the happiness gleam in his eyes each time he called the man like that, despite being reluctant about being addressed as such the first few times. But now he would give her a kind smile and even ruffle her hair when she said it.

They headed to the dining room for lunch. "Since you are going to rest for the most part, I think it would be nice to introduce you to Daichi today. He should have some tasks to keep you busy," Akira said as he put more vegetables on Shiori's plate.

Shiori nodded. It would be nice to officially meet the guardian. While she saw glimpses of him around the table, they never had a conversation with each other.

Daichi was of average height and build, with a slight frame that belies his strength of character.

She knew that his role in the library, with documents, and in making medicine required a sharp mind and steady hands. Daichi had long, wavy hair, dark brown in color, often tied in a low ponytail to keep it from falling into his face while he worked. His eyes were a deep, thoughtful hazel, always seeming to be in contemplation or focused on the task at hand.

Daichi's skin was paler than the other guardians', resulting from spending much of his time indoors surrounded by books and scrolls. He wears a pair of thin-rimmed glasses that add to his scholarly appearance, and his hands are often ink-stained from his meticulous documentation work.

Despite his quieter demeanor, there was a palpable intensity in Daichi's gaze, reflecting his dedication to preserving the temple's knowledge and healing arts.

Shiori was glad she was working with him. The man seemed to have an endless supply of knowledge, and he was glad to share it with her when he was not busy. After their initial meeting six days ago, the man quickly took her under his wing.

At first, he was reluctant to give her more delicate tasks, like working with the medicine or older scrolls. Still, after he witnessed her dedication and skills, he came to trust her.

She was currently working on making the medicine order from the village. The order was from the village medic and contained the medicine needed for different conditions.

Daichi was working on a similar order for another nearby village. Shiori was glad there were detailed instructions about each medicine since she was unfamiliar with them.