Decaying Bluebells

Arc VII - Train

Disclaimer:. I think you already know what I'm going to say.

Warning: Uhhh. Language and gambling.

Beta: Kalanfina94

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I stared blankly at the corpse-like body of Sasuke. Although his chest moved up and down to show he was breathing, there was no other sign of life from him. My legs were curled up, my knees tucked in and I rested my chin atop them. Even my hoodie couldn't seem to provide much comfort for me at the moment.

The door to the room slid open, but I paid it no attention. Most likely another nurse—

"It's been three days."

Or perhaps not.

I blinked slowly, tearing my gaze away from Sasuke and towards Kakashi, who was eyeing me carefully.

"And?" I asked softly.

"Enough moping," he said flatly. "Naruto and Jiraiya will bring back Tsunade and he will be cured. Jiraiya sent back the letter and he tells me Naruto is most anxious to find her now."

A small wave of relief fell over me and I gave a small smile. "That's wonderful."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "It is. Now enough moping. We're training. Now."

I blinked up in surprise, both at the commanding tone in his voice and at the abruptness. "In what?"

"Two things," Kakashi said, holding up a single finger. "Well, three technically. One, we will be working on your jutsu. Two, we will begin —or well, you will begin— the study of Fūinjutsu. Naruto wanted Jiraiya to pass on that reminder to you, and three, once a week, you will continue your clan training with Inoichi."

I gave a small nod. "... Alright. Where do we begin?"

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I sat across from Papa, sipping on the juice Momma had given me after our training lesson. Ino and her team were currently out on a C-Ranked mission that caused temporary leave of the village, leaving the house unnaturally quiet without her.

"So," Papa said, "how's training with Kakashi going?"

I winced, unknowingly clutching my bandaged arm. "Annoying. Creating a stabilizer to keep the chakra at the temperature I want is much easier said than done."

Papa nodded sympathetically. "I actually meant the sealing training."

"Oh... headache inducing. I get the theory behind it and such, but it's just... tiring. I'm sure it'll click one day and become much easier, but for the moment, it kind of seems impossible."

Papa chuckled, though only for a moment before his face and tone became more somber. "You shouldn't have to master it in the first place."

My hand crept up to my neck where the Curse Mark was. Memories flashed through my head —Falling to the ground—Sasuke in need—Panic—Hysteria—A black hole—

I paused at that last memory. While it was true that I had not reflected much on that time —mostly because I truly did not want to— I could not deny something strange had happened. I looked up at Papa and hesitated.

"Papa," I began, feeling suddenly unsure, "is it possible for me to have... more than one ability?"

"What do you mean?" Papa asked.