Kichimaru Tomaka, emotional ninja

Chapter 7

There's a satisfying thunk as the shuriken sink into the training post.

"What!" Naru-kun exclaims, "How!?" I can't help but burst into laughter at his distraught face. We are standing on one of the many rarely used Genin Corp training fields across from the large wooden training post lined up along the left side of the large grass field. We each have our own post set up for target practice, although Naru-kun's is still blank compared to my shuriken filled post.

"Well I am more than 10 years older than you," I manage to get out between my laughter and Naru-kun dramatic wailing. "I've got lots of practice, unlike you Naru-kun! ~" The blunt reminder of his 'forgetting' to practice makes him pout heavily.

"Training is boring! And shuriken are lame anyway!" Naru-kun declares haughtily, "I won't need them when I learn cool jutsu, believe it!" His declaration only makes me chuckle harder as I step forward to put my shuriken away. I usually only carry 10 of them, a standard pack size, in my leg pouch along with 10 kunai. My jacket sleeves hide my preferred senbon cleverly stored along my long twin wristbands, with more than hundreds of the needles easily within reach. As I begin to pull the deeply embedded shuriken out, I answer Naru-kun.

"Yeah, yeah," I place most of my retrieved shuriken back into my leg pouch, but keep two out and begin to spin them along my index finger by the center hole as I meander over towards where Naru-kun is pouting. "Will you practice those jutsu too?" I finish with a wink as I join him in sitting cross legged on the soft grass. He only sticks his tongue out at me and crosses his arms with a 'hmph!', but I can see the grin cause by our bantering. I laugh again before reaching out my empty left hand towards him. Naru-kun looks inquisitively at my hand, his crossed arms loosening as he tilts his head at me in a silent question. "Let me see your technique, maybe I can help." I end with a warm closed eye smile, making sure to be as nonjudging as I can, even though my face is covered with both my mask and dark bangs. I've come to realize that Naru-kun is a lot like a small dog, barking loudly at anyone who comes near in fear of being hurt. I've since broken through his outer shell, but his insecurities can still flare up when he's corrected. I don't think others are as friendly with their criticism as I am. I keep still and am rewarded when he shyly reaches out with his dominant right hand to grasp mine.

I gently tug both of us up and bring him closer to his chosen training post before releasing his hand and turning towards it as I slip my remaining shuriken back into my pouch.

"Alright, Naru-kun!" He stands up straight when I call his name, "First things first! You should stand 30 feet away from your targets for now- "

"Oi! I can do it further like you!" Naru-kun cuts in enthusiastically, stretching his arms with over exaggerated movements. I give a happy chuckle at his eagerness.

"Maa, I'm sure you could, but academy students start at 30 feet. You have crawl to walk, right Naru-kun?" He sheepishly scratches the back of his head with a bright grin, but gets into his throwing stance.

"Alright I got it this time!" He reaches into his down to his pile of discarded shuriken and picks one up excitedly.

"Don't throw it yet, let me make sure your form is right, ne?" Naru-kun nods as I begin to look him over, making small adjustments as I circle him. Was I this off when I was a student? I can't help but wonder about his teacher as I make sure his feet and shoulders are parallel and pull his elbow until its level. "How's that feel?" He shifts around to test his new position.

"It's harder to keep up, but I feel steady now- like I won't fall over again!" The reminder of his first amazingly abysmal throw of the evening has both of us cackling.

"That's right!" I say between bouts of laughter, "That's what the wider stance is for after all!" I wait until we both settle to continue my instructions, "Now slowly stretch your arm out like you would to throw, but don't release the shuriken." He does so with careful intensity, determined to get this right. His burning determination turns my grin into a soft smile. I can't help but admire Naru-kun's tenacity and drive in spite of all the challenges in his way. His motion is mostly correct so I give him a nod of approval before signaling him to throw. "Alright, release!" His shuriken goes wide, just barely sticking to the bottom left of the wooden post. It's hardly a hit, but it's his first and I clap heartily as he cheers.

"I did it!" He hops up and down enthusiastically before turning to me with earnest blue eyes looking for approval. I drop my hand into his bright blonde hair with a grin wide enough to be seen through my mask.

"Great job, Otouto!" His eyes seem to gleam with joy at my words before he jumps forward to hug his small arms around my waist. Even at 8 years old Naru-kun was still too small for his age, much to his chagrin. He's mostly grown into his bright orange tracksuit, apparently a gift from his Jiji, but the sleeves still cover his hands unless he rolls it up. I finally managed to get him to eat my offered vegetables after explaining they would help him grow, but he still has a few years before he'll hopefully shoot up with puberty. I crouch down to reciprocate with an even tighter hug that has Naru-kun giggling in protest. His slow growth doesn't bother me at all. As I've experienced with Megu-chan and Hito-kun, kids seemed to grow up every time you turn your back, and I was more than happy to savor my time with Naru-kun.

We spend the rest of the evening doing target practice, mostly with Naru-kun throwing and me coaching. I manage to adjust his various weapon stances, even introducing him to my favored senbon, to an acceptable level before drilling him to get the movements burned into his mind. Although Naru-kun is eager to learn, his excited energy can cause him to lose focus quickly. I think up quick games to keep his attention and find that Naru-kun can actually be a quick study. He doesn't lose footing again, and before too long he is hitting the target almost regularly.

I show him how to care for and clean his weapons once it begins to get dark out, the sun casting pink and orange hues across the sky as we sit by the tall wooden post. We settle into rhymical movements, steadily making our way through the used shuriken, kunai, and senbon from today. Naru-kun chatters as we work, talking about his day at the academy and any thought that crosses his scatter-brained mind as I guide his movements.

"Always take care of your weapons, Naru-kun, and they'll do the same." I tell him softly as I finish with my senbon, showing the amazed Naru-kun where they fit into my black wristbands. He seems confused by my words, but nods regardless. "That's what Sugao-sensei always said, anyway! ~" I finish with a wink, now visible as I had clipped up my hair and pulled my hood back once we finished throwing.

"I will, believe it!" Naru-kun pumps his fist with a determined grin before returning to polishing his shuriken reverently. I can't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. Naru-kun and I didn't get the chance to train together all that often, only on the rare days I'm released early, but whenever we did, he soaked up everything he could. If only his academy teachers could see this side of him. The thought of his teachers makes my lips tug into a small frown. Naru-kun often complained about them during our dinners, but I had thought of it as childish complaining. Surely they had noticed his bad forms, right? My stomach tightens at the thought of his teachers being among the villagers who taunt and ostracize him, but I force myself to relax with a deep exhale. Even if they are, I'm not Naru-kun's guardian, as his old orphanage's matron seemed keen to remind me, and I didn't have to authority to do anything for him. No, my energy was best focused on helping him with what I could actually help.

"Like this? Did I do it, Aniki?!" Naru-kun's excited questions steals my attention back to see him cheerfully presenting his polished weapons.

"Exactly like that, good job Otouto!" His smile turns beaming at the praise before he begins to pack away his training set of kunai and shuriken, his last birthday present from me. Remembering his happily blushing face when I presented them poorly wrapped in gaudy orange paper brings a matching smile onto my face. "It's just about dinner time now, yeah?" I ask while appraising the rapidly darkening sky. There had been an abundance of courier nin when I finished my outpost run, so Chigao-senpai had let me off early around 5 pm, giving Naru-kun and I a few hours to train before our usual late dinner.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Naru-kun jumps up, as always ecstatic at the mention of food, before tugging on my hands to get me to move faster. I pretend to stretch my back once I get up, but can't contain my laughter at his pouting face and agree quickly.

"Alright, Naru-kun, let's go! ~"