"Okay, today you're learning to master close combat. And so, I'm confiscating Crow." Shizi states as she wrestles with Kankuro for the mummified puppet strapped to his back. After she sets the large weapon against a nearby tree, she couldn't stop the smirk of amusement from pulling at her lips at how awkward Kankuro was without his puppet near him.
"When can I get Crow back?" Shizi handed him her old reaper that she used during her training sessions with Kandahar. He eyes it like it was a goat with two heads.
"When we finish today's lesson. We'll start with the basic stance and grip. It's different for every wielder, so hold it any way that seems natural." He shifted the staff around, held it in different positions, and finally settled on a final stance. He held the staff around the middle with the blade towards the sky, tip rested just above his left shoulder.
"Okay, bring out Jingxiao and let's get started." Shizi smiled and shook her head at Kankuro's eagerness.
"No way, Jingxiao will demolish that little thing. I borrowed this one from TenTen for our sessions." Shizi picked up a reaper made to look like a machine and twisted it around her waist to test the differences between this weaponry and Jingxiao before settling into her usual fighting stance.
"Okay, now that you've got your stance ready, let's start on how to fight. Unlike Puppet Mastery Jutsu, you don't use much Chakra at all, if any. It's mostly about power and precision. A beginner can sever a limb easy, a master can use just the tip and do much more damage."
"How? These things are so huge." Shizi strapped the reaper to her back and stepped towards the Sand Shinobi. She used the tips of her fingers to push into the space between his shoulders and collarbone, and he twitched in slight pain.
"Right here are nerve bundles. If I sever these, arms are useless and you'll be dead." Her fingers moved to just above his hips, making the boy lift a brow in amusement and sarcasm.
"Woah now, kitty kitty, this is only our second session. How about a meal at least." Shizi rolled her eyes and jabs into the flesh, making Kankuro yelp and jump away from her.
"These are more nerve bundles. Sever these, you lose movement in your legs. And a Shinobi who can't move, can't survive."
"Anywhere else you feel like jabbing me today?"
"Well, there are over 1,000 places on your body where nerves are bunched together. Want me to show you all of them?" Shizi smirked and crossed her arms over her chest as Kankuro stepped back away from her with wary eyes.
"Damn, that's a lot of chinks in someone's armor."
"You know most of them, really. It's the same places where your Chakra Strings attach to a human puppet. Just instead of manipulating them, it severs them from one another. Anyway, you need to learn how to work without Chakra and manage your strength so you don't run out mid-battle and die. Ready?" Kankuro stepped into his battling position with a wide and confident smirk.
"Let's play, kitty." Shizi smiled and races over the dirt, blade tip turned down to sever the nerves in his right shoulder. He blocked at the last moment, and was knocked down under the immense power of the girl. Shizi waited for him to return to his feet before attacking, swinging the staff for his knee caps. He blocked again, buffeted back from the power. They sparred for hours, each time Kankuro just barely stopped her, being pushed back a few inches each time. By the time their session was over, Kankuro was on the ground in pain and sweat while Shizi was twirling the large reaper around like a child would a baton, not once been strained.
"I think I died a few hours ago, let's go back and get me." Kankuro snaps through panting breaths, making Shizi smile and lay down beside him.
"Well the upside for you is that you'll be Sensei tomorrow. Speaking of, will I be able to get my own puppet? You know, make it myself and all?"
"Isn't that a little ambitious? Making your own puppet and mastering the art of Chakra Strings in a few weeks? That would be a record." Shizi shrugged and watched as the pastel sky darkened and the stars began to shine.
"Wouldn't be a bad thing to do. If Naruto can dream to be Hokage, then I think I can imagine my own puppet."
"That brat wants to be Hokage? That's ridiculous!"
"I don't know about that, he has a lot of potential, he just needs someone to teach him how good he can get. And having seemingly impossible dreams can be a good thing, because even if you don't make it then you might end it in a good place anyway." Kankuro shrugged and sighed, getting scared out of his skin when she shifted over and curled against his chest, instantly asleep.
"Woah, quit that! It's weird and creepy so quit and go home." She didn't do anything at all to obey his command. Kankuro stared down at her in surprise, mainly because he highly dislikes people younger than him. He rolled his eyes and shrugged off the neko, half wanting to leave her there. Someone will pass by and take her home, right?
Everyone here thinks I'm a freak.
"I must be out of my mind." Mumbles the Puppet Shinobi to himself while squatting down and lifting the small girl to himself. He gathered up their weapons before guessing which way to take her. He held her like a father would their child as he wanders around trying to find her house. He asked people if they knew where she lived, but he only received disgusted looks and refusals to help "a freak with no place being a Shinobi."
Kankuro was walking passed the Academy when a man with bright silver hair that stood upended and a covered face with the Konoha headband masking his left eye appeared a few feet away.
"Can I help you?" He subconsciously held the girl tighter to his chest, shifting her around so he had a free arm in case he attacked them.
"I've come for Shizi. She was supposed to be home a few hours ago, and when I heard that a Sand Shinobi was walking around with a cat-eared Kunoichi asking where she lived, I went looking." Kankuro stepped back when the man reached out to take the girl from him.
"How do I know you actually know her?" The man hummed in response.
"I thought you didn't like younger kids?"
"I don't. But I'm not stupid enough to hand someone over to a random stranger."
"I'm Kakashi Hatake." Kankuro lifted a painted brow in annoyance. "I'm Shizi's legal guardian."
"So you're her dad?" Kakashi scratched the side of his head in embarrassment.
"No, she's been living with me since she came here a few years back from the Land of Horses." Kankuro seemed a little surprised.
"Why Konoha? Suna is a lot closer to that Land."
"It was the last wish of her dying Sensei, Kandahar." Kankuro nods and reluctantly hands the neko over to her adult guardian. Kakashi hefted the girl into a more comfortable and stable position before watching the Sand Shinobi as he disappeared around the corner.
"Kika? Where did Kankuro go?" Kakashi looked down at the delirious and tired Shizi with a small smile.
"He went home. How about we do the same? Dinner is ready." She nodded and slipped back into sleep. Kakashi ran his fingers through her thick brown hair then couldn't help but smile and hold her closer as she vibrates his chest with purrs.
"You are quite a piece of work, kiddo."
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Monsters
Hayran Kurgu"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...
