Suna's Ninja (Gaara Love Story)

31: Snap

Author's POV

"Akimi, what did I say during Kosei and Kui's match?" Jini asked, the pair watching the team fight one-on-one matches.

"It was 'snap,' right?"

"Yeah. That's what I want to talk to you about. What happened to Kosei and Kui when I said that?"

Akimi thought for a moment. "They were more serious about the match, I suppose. They were, I don't know, faster? And maybe their movements were smoother?"

"You've got the gist of it," he responded. "You're right. They changed. Now, do you know why?"

"No sir."

"They were able to perform a faulty 'snap'," he answered. "Had they performed a flawless one, their lives would have been in jeopardy."

"I'm not following."

"Figures I would be subjected to provide this explanation," Jini sighed. "Have seat, Aki. Why do ninjas taunt their opponents?"

"To shatter their emotional control, I suppose. Although that only works if they know the emotional points of their opponent. If their opponent is using a high-quality technique, control is necessary. If their emotional control is lost, then there's no telling what could happen."

"Excellent answer," Jini replied. "Now what is that rule about ninjas showing emotion?"

"We are not allowed to express emotion or let our personal life mix into our duties to carry out missions," Akimi answered.

"Correct again. Now, what if I told you that the foundation of our Snap was the complete opposite of that ninja rule?"

Akimi stared at him blankly. "I would--I don't know--I would like to know how that works, though."

"So glad you asked," Jini beamed. "You see, Aki, everyone on the KP have many things in common, but the most important one is their memory lane. Ever heard of the phrase 'walking down the memory lane'?"

"Yeah. It means to recall the past."

"Right. The KP members have the ability to do that. They can recall important events and essentially, they have a good memory."

"Would this also apply to photographic memory?"

"No, that's something different. Snap works relies entirely on the user and their memory. It's nothing more than a recall of an emotional memory to rile up the user in order to enhance their fighting and gain a more probable win. Do you follow?"

"Sorry, but no." Jini patted her head.

"It's all good. You'll learn to understand it more when you do hands on training. Be careful though, it's going to get intense, and you'll have a lot of risks when trying to use Snap."

"I still don't understand the risks, though."

Jini sighed. "As I mentioned, don't worry so much. I'll give a deeper explanation next week during our training sessions."

"Okay then."

"Good girl. Let's finish up training."

"Hai!"