Shizi had gone home, bandaged her burn, and made dinner before Kakashi walked through the front door. They sat down to sushi, rice balls, and udon noodles. Most of their meal was silent, save for a few slurping sounds as they ate the udon.
"So where have you been today?" Shizi slightly jumped at the Jonin's voice.
"Nowhere really. Just wandered around, trained a little here and there. Tried finding a Sensei, but everyone thinks I'm a freak so they refused."
"So who's going to be teaching you?"
"Nobody?"
"Not from the looks of that hand. And with the smell of wood and sand, I'd say it's one of the Sand Shinobi in the Chunin Exams. Which one?" Shizi stared at Kakashi with wide grey eyes, how'd he figure that out so quickly?
"Ummm... Kankuro. The Puppet Mastery Shinobi. I was hoping he would teach me to use long-distance Jutsu, to help balance out my close combat abilities with Jingxiao. Starts at dawn apparently. You're not mad, are you?" Kakashi smiled slightly and rubbed the girl's ear like he always does, receiving her usual reaction of purrs and leaning into his fingers.
"Not at all, I'm glad you've taken the initiative of making other friends, this is part of the Exams. Helps with Hidden Village cooperation later on. Just be careful with them, promise?" Shizi nods and they wash the dishes before saying goodnight and retreating to their own rooms. Shizi's mind was racing with ideas for her very own puppet she wants to make. Flipping open her sketchbook, she drafts and edits her rough sketch until her eyes couldn't stay open any longer.
Her alarm rang through the air and she bolted awake, excited to start Puppet Mastery training. She showered and dressed and gave Kikashi a quick good morning greeting as she sprints out the door and over to Kankuro and his siblings' hotel, waiting for the teen to step through the front doors with anticipation.
When he finally emerges, he looks like he just rolled out of bed, his hair was a mess, hat not straight like usual, and dark eyes narrowed in tiredness. He stretched and yawned loudly, popping joints audibly as he moved.
"You done being nasty and grossing me out?" Kankuro smirked and struts away, Shizi following behind in curiosity. He stopped suddenly in an abandoned training arena, Shizi bumping into his back accidentally. He turned and stepped back a few feet, hands making signs quicker than she could follow. Her body moved without her will, making her look utterly ridiculous while Kankuro smirked devilishly.
"Challenge one: learn to break the Chakra Strings before they rip you to pieces." Shizi began to panic, ears and eyes flicking all around for her escape route.
"Shizi-chan, calm down. Think your way out of this. What is a sure-fire way to break Chakra Strings?" Shizi took a deep breath and forced herself to think. Jingxiao can sever Chakra Strings, but she needs to use something else. Learn to rely on something other than just the reaper.
Kunai, no. She isn't a Hyuga so Gentle Fist is out. Think Shizi, before you die. Her body moved without her brain once more, pulling against the restraints.
"Tsk tsk, kiddo. You'll need more than strength to break these strings." He ate his own words when she snaps the blue Chakra Strings like spindles, landing on the grass with graceful ease.
"For future refrences, what does break Chakra Strings? Other than my brute strength?" Kankuro quickly recovers from his moment of idiocy.
"For people unlike those with the Byakugan? Nothing normally. To break Chakra Strings either the user runs out or dies." Shizi nods and rubs her now sore wrists.
"What's next?" Kankuro unwrapped Crow and brought the terrifying invention to life, the thing clattering loudly as it moves.
"Fighting long-distance. You're too new to handle a Puppet at the moment, so just focus on defence against a long-distance fighter." Shizi was forced back a good 20 feet across the arena by the clacking Crow. The entire day was spent showing the neko all the different ways to defend against attacks. By sundown, Shizi was a sweaty, panting mess. Kankuro plops down beside her, tired from using so much Chakra against a girl who looks like easy prey.
"So tomorrow I'm the teacher, right?" Jokes Shizi from her spread-eagle position on the arena dirt.
"I guess so." Shizi smiled and sat up, ears flipping around to remove the dirt from them.
"Good. We start at dawn. See you then." And with that, the brunette neko vanished from sight, leaving Kankuro staring down at the spot she recently vacated. He trudged his way back to his hotel room and plops down onto the couch in exhaustion. Before he realized it, he was asleep.
"Get up you lazybones! Dinner is ready!" Demands Temari as she kicked the couch to jolt her Puppet Master brother awake.
"Is it actually edible?" He grumbles as he pushes up off the furniture slowly to reduce the aching pains from his training session with Shizi.
"Eat it and find out." The three of them sat together in awkward silence at the table. Each snapped apart their chopsticks and prepared their taste buds for the horror. It wasn't too bad, but still not on par with the food Kankuro made with the neko girl's help.
"So how was 'training'?" Teases Temari to the painted Shinobi across the table.
"Tiring."
"As we all could see from how you passed out on the couch. Is she really that bad of a student?"
"No, she's the complete opposite. She snapped my Chakra Strings like they were thread spindles." Temari seemed pretty impressed by this, knowing first-hand how hard his Chakra Strings were.
"Then I should kill her, dwindle down the competition for later." Gaara states flatly as he forced another bite of food down his throat.
"No! I still need to learn close combat from her! And you have specific orders from Sensei that you aren't allowed to kill anyone else until the plan comes together. You've drawn enough attention by squashing that Sound Shinobi, Dosu, right?" Gaara gave his older brother a glare before standing and leaving, never giving a word about where he was going like he usually does.
"So what do you think has that girl strong enough to break Chakra Strings?" Kankuro shrugged and tapped his chin in thought.
"Maybe she has a demon, like Gaara?" Temari contemplated this angle.
"Maybe, but it won't change anything. Understand?" Kankuro rolled his eyes and went to his room. Stripping down to his bottoms only, he washed off his purple paint and drops down on the sheets. In spite of his exhaustion, he couldn't stop his racing mind.
What has Shizi got to make her so powerful? Should he be scared? How will she affect the plans? But one question bugged him the most, though he can't, for the life of him, figure out why he even had this thought.
When this is all over, having either been victorious or failed, how will she react towards him?
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Monsters
Fiksi Penggemar"The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies..." Shizi Yemao's pretty smile hides her secrets and her pretty eyes have cried too many tears. It's scary what her smile has come to hide, and she has gotten better at hiding the...
