My Brother's a Jinchūriki!

Chapter Ninety-Eight- The Root of the Problem

Natsumi yawned and stretched as she walked out onto the veranda, then looked into the dewy grass where Hasu was doing morning stretching and running through basic Taijutsu forms, with Kanna copying his movements. Natsumi put her hands on her hips as she watched Kanna struggling, her face reddening as she huffed and tried to keep up.

Hasu looked at the young girl from the corner of his eye, stopping and wiping the sweat accumulated on his brow with the hem of his shirt that clung to him, sticky with sweat. Kanna stopped as well, panting as she caught her breath, her own clothes damp.

"Kanna, you do not have to do this training with me. You're still quite young, so you should allow yourself to rest when you need to."

"I won't!" Kanna shook her head quickly and balled her fists as she looked up at him. "The sooner I learn these basic things, the sooner I can learn to control my mark, and then I won't have to be separated from Koji as long."

Hasu smiled and patted her head, nodding slightly. "Your determination is admirable, though you still need to allow your body to rest. This training regimen was created for me, so you should be following the regimen that Natsumi recommended for you instead."

"I can... keep up." Kanna drew in a breath, holding it in for a moment to calm herself. "If you can do this without any training before, then so can I."

What a stubborn girl. The corners of Natsumi's mouth twitched slightly, and she crossed her arms. She'll manage just fine with that Anko woman as her mentor.

"Natsumi, please advise Kanna that resting is important for a Shinobi." Hasu turned to her, and then motioned to the girl beside him. "This is the third day in a row that she has attempted to keep up with my regimen, and she is quite sore and fatigued."

"I'm not..." Kanna's cheeks were flushed, half from her stubborn embarrassment, and the other half from exertion.

"Hasu, she's your Kouhai." Natsumi laughed quietly, then shook her head. "One of the skills of a Shinobi is being able to guide your juniors." She turned to Kanna. "But also, it's important for a Ninja to heed the teachings of their Senpai or Sensei. Hasu's right; your body needs rest."

"But—"

Hasu put his hand on her shoulder. "Rest for now, please. If you push yourself too much, particularly at such a young age, you might do damage to your body."

Kanna bit her lower lip gently and then sighed. "Oh, alright. I'll take a break."

"Good." Natsumi nodded and stepped forward. "Kanna, I want you to take the rest of the day off from strenuous activity." When the girl opened her mouth to protest, she held up a hand to interrupt. "You may do some stretching before bed, but only stretching."

Kanna sighed again and then nodded. "Okay."

Natsumi smiled and thumbed toward the door behind her. "Go take a quick bath before breakfast. A nice soak will help your aching muscles."

Kanna bowed slightly to Hasu, then to Natsumi before she quickly ran into the house. Hasu wiped his sweat again and then rubbed his head.

"A hot bath sounds quite nice."

"You stay right there." Natsumi pointed at him and furrowed her brows. "You've only done half of your forms so far. Do the rest, and you can have a bath, too."

"Ah, Natsumi, you are quite the strict teacher." Hasu chuckled. "Very well, then."

You're the one who insisted on learning how to defend yourself. I can't just let you slack off when there are so many threats around. I won't always be there to protect you.