Twiceborn: A Tale of Two Friends

Chapter Seven: Toddler Triumph

Returning to the normalcy of Konoha life after the incident had been strange. Part of her felt giddy and excited about meeting the strange people again – they were going to train her. The other half of her wanted to hide under her bed and pray they forgot about her. Her mind was warring with itself, her childlike nature and the suspicions of a fully-grown adult pushing at one another until Inner set the score straight.

'Calm down,' her voice was like a soothing balm for her soul. 'In this kind of situation the only thing we can really do is play it by ear and prepare. They're training us for now – so that's what we should focus on, as well as keeping as many cards of our own to our chests while we work out exactly what it is they want from us.'

"Sure," she mumbled, carving moodily in the dirt in the garden, blinking as Tsuki came over and sat down next to her quietly. That was OK though. Risa didn't mind her. In fact, they quite quickly fell into a companionable silence. "Tsuki-chan... I'm bored..." she grumbled, flopping onto her back all of a sudden. She couldn't think of anything to do. Anything to take her mind off what felt like a sword hanging over her head.

Tsuki reached for her hand, squeezing it gently as she smiled down at her, content to remain quiet for the remainder of their time together. She still wore the red scarf Risa had gifted to her, sometimes tugging on it with a smile whenever she looked over at her. It made Risa smile. Tsuki was probably her only friend at the moment, though Risa sorely hoped she'd be able to make more. Perhaps when she finally got around to attending the academy.

That was a good goal to have. Though she did have a big one in her head... well, not that he'd apparently accepted that fact. A grin made its way onto her lips. She could do it if she put her mind to it. Nothing worth having came easy, after all.

'Right you are, Outer.'

::

"Right, Risa-chan..." Ringo gestured at the target board. "Let's see how much you've improved!"

Ryouto rolled his eyes, cuffing him over the head. "It's only been one night, you dolt!" he hissed. "Don't go layering on the pressure. That rarely ever helps at the beginning. Risa-chan, just do your best. Practice makes perfect."

"Un." Risa nodded, carefully positioning herself in front of the target, mentally going over the steps they'd shown her before she finally threw the blunted kunai.

"Yay!" Ringo leapt for joy, but Risa was confused. There wasn't a single one imbedded in the target. She bit her lip. Was he mocking her or something? "Look, Risa-chan! You nicked the target on the lower left side."

Risa peered through the darkness, raising an eyebrow in confusion. How the hell could he even see the target clearly from their distance in the darkness? The target didn't even look damaged in the slightest to her eyes.

"Huh, I suppose you're less pathetic than I thought you'd be..."

Risa yelped, hand lashing out, one spare kunai pointed towards where the voice had come from. He'd spoken right by her ear, and he was terrifying close – considering she hadn't sensed him in the slightest.

"Good instincts," Ryuichi said, catching her pitifully tiny and weak wrist before she could stab him. "Though I recommend starting her on shuriken soon so she doesn't become too confused at the different style needed... because in case you forgot, most of us are better when it comes to shuriken. It's our staple... so you'd probably have an easier time teaching her that. They're slightly harder to throw, so kunai might seem simpler in retrospect."