When The Dead Arise

Chapter 8

You continued the same training exercise you had done yesterday. Your ankles were still bruised but not as much. Mostly because you had made sure to avoid getting hit by the over reactive boy. Jinx spoke to you only to remind you of what to do. After two hours you had mastered the exercises.

"Well done," Jinx allowed you to jump off the log, you glared at Snake as you did. He could've at least been gentler when hitting your ankles. Jinx pointed to the closest tree, "Backflip off that tree and land on this log."

"Shouldn't be too hard," You observed. The distance was fairly large, but it wasn't too hard for you. You've jumped long distances before. You began to measure the distance in your head.

"Blindfolded," Jinx added. She nodded to Snake, who handed you a black blindfold. You took it from his hand, making sure not to touch his fingers. But he moved his index finger the last second and brushed your wrist. It sent a shiver down your spine, but you hid it as you pulled your hand away calmly.

"I won't be getting help if I fall, will I?" You asked Jinx, not wanting to look at Snake anymore.

Jinx gave a shrug, "If it's too much you can just leave." Wow, she really was mad. You pressed your lips together to stop yourself from firing back at her. Spending your time with one Ninja who's mad at you and another who's just plain hard to read can get tiring.

"No, I got it," You lifted up the blindfold and tied it around your eyes. You used your memory, and your hands, to walk to the tree. You ignored Snake's eyes on your back. You continued walking along the gravel. Once you felt the bark against your palm you felt around for a hand hold.

You began your climb up. You were careful not to get a splinter, those hurt. That wasn't the hard part, the hard part was jumping onto the log. You climbed up very slowly, making sure to not slip up or grab a loose hand hold. The backflip was no problem either, flexibility is essential for sneaking into small spaces.

"Whenever you're ready," Jinx hollered, her voice seemed bored. Better than angry, but still slightly annoying. You released your breath and flipped, pushing off from the branch. You knew right away that you weren't going to make it. In fact, the backfill turned into one and a half. You would've hit the ground if Snake hadn't caught you.

"No injuries," Jinx released a sigh, "try again. Don't do one extra flip. In real life Snake won't be there to catch you." No dip. But, you smiled internally, she cared.

"Alright," you sighed and lowered your legs. Snake tilted himself so that your feet were closer to the ground and let you stand in your own. You were happy that he didn't look you in the eye, or make a snappy comment, in sign language anyway. This continued for the rest of the day. The back flipping, not the being caught by Snake part.

At breakfast you didn't fling your chopsticks. You were able to eat slightly better than the last day. But eventually turned to using the spoon. After breakfast Snake took you and quizzed you on halls. With that hour lesson you knew the way from your room to the dining hall. A bit too late though. It was tradition to eat with a new guest for the first three nights of their visit. After that you eat in separate groups, based on who you trained with.

Lunch came; you ate with Jinx and Snake. Then Jinx showed you how to write a few words in Japanese. You learned how to say three simple phrases. Then she taught you how to tie a Kimono. She was definitely more cooled down now. She had stopped snapping at you rudely. Dinner came, and you were able to use the chopsticks for the most of the meal. Then you had time to yourself.

That was spent staring at the sky. You fell asleep watching the moon and awoke for the next day still watching the moon. You weren't closer to mastering the blindfolded backflip the next day. But you were able to use chopsticks for the whole of breakfast, slowly and sloppily, but not flung anymore. Jinx waited an extra half hour. Since Snake eats in his room and comes back promptly when ten minutes are left. Jinx taught you how to speak and understand four more Japanese phrases. And reviewed yesterday's lesson. Snake took over the writing and reading, he was more fluent than Jinx. Lunch, and you made less of a mess. Now, Jinx handed you a flute.