Shadow Child

Chapter 3

"Shet," I yelled and slammed my hands on the table of my child's chair. A loud crack made me flinch. Mama literally crushed the glass in her hand as she stared at me. Papa dropped the spoon with baby food as he too, stared at me. "Shet," I proudly said again but frowned. I actually wanted to say shit, but my pronunciation was still bad as fuck. That didn't change the fact that my parent's faces looked hilarious at my first word. I did want to say fuck first, but I couldn't get it right. The ck always messed me up. Sad life.

"No," Aiko whispered. "No no no no!" She rushed around the table and gently grabbed my face. "I won't accept that. Say Mama, honey. M a m a," she pleaded and shook her head.

I giggled and said it again. "Shet!"

Mama let out a frustrated scream before she turned her head to Papa. "Where did she get that from?" Uh oh, I might have sent my poor father to his death.

Hajime shook his head and put his hands up in defence. "Not from me, I swear." When she seemed ready to go over to him and strangle the poor guy, I stepped in and saved him.

"Mama!" I giggled and patted at her hand. Her head whipped back to me at such speed, I wondered how her neck didn't snap. A big grin formed on her face.

"Oh my god, her first word." Damn, her denial was strong. Papa and I looked at her and deadpanned. He wisely didn't say anything.

ເງົາ

I internally screamed as I wobbly set one foot in front of the other. Walking was hard.

"Come on, you can do it, firefly." Papa sat in front of me and reached his hands towards me. Mama stood next to him and was busy holding back her tears.

"Papa!" I launched myself into his arms as soon as I was close enough.

"You did so well, sweetie," my mama praised me while Papa placed a kiss on top of my head. I giggled and snuggled closer to him, satisfied with myself. Like I said, walking was hard. Especially since I didn't have much time to practice alone. Reading took longer than expected. And I could only do it when my parents weren't watching me. I at least finished »History of Konohagakure« last night and could start with »Basics of Chakra« today. I've been itching to read it — as I still didn't know what chakra was — but I held myself back. Probably the most patient I've ever been in this and my past life.

"Papa, tired," I said, backing it up with a yawn. I already hid the book in my room and just needed time alone. Sleeping was the perfect disguise.

"Seems like someone is ready for a nap." My father ruffled my hair, before carrying me to my room. Mom followed and watched with loving eyes, as he tugged me into bed and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and heard them closing the door. After counting to twenty, I sat up and looked to my dresser. A familiar feeling bubbled in my stomach as a black shadow with purple texture slithered across the room to the dresser, pulling a thick book from underneath it and bringing it back to me.

"Thanks, Kage," I whispered, as he rubbed against my cheek affectionately. I smiled at him and opened the book, glancing at the clock. If I was silent, I had roughly two hours before my mama would check up on me.

ເງົາ

While reading, a frown formed itself on my forehead. I flipped back a few pages and checked the definition of chakra again. "Huh," I whispered. Chakra and magic were basically the same. I was by no means a magic expert — heck, I wasn't even close to being good at using it — but the only difference I found was chakra being a mix of spiritual and physical energy, while magic and spells were based purely on spiritual energy, as it was formed by one's soul.