Chapter 2
In the days that follow, her father teaches her about chakra control to better help with her newfound sensor abilities, beginning with simple breathing and physical exercises. Tomoe finds herself feeling more at ease, although slightly worn out from the activity. Once she's gotten a better handle on the strain, her father takes her to the next step of her training.
They're standing across from each other in the courtyard, with her father holding a leaf in each hand. As he places one to his forehead, bare of his hitai-ate, he explains how he's able to use his chakra to keep the leaf there without anything else touching it.
“Truth be told, the actual purpose for this exercise is to help with one’s concentration.” Her father muses. “The academy instructors primarily use it on students who tend to be more—easily distracted. Even so, it is an effective method for controlling chakra as well as honing one’s senses, as I’ve learned from my own experience.”
Tomoe is eager to try it out with the other leaf he gives her, although it doesn't go as well as she hoped at first when it falls down immediately. She gives it another go only for the same thing to repeat every time. Her father is patient even in the face of her many failed attempts, encouraging her and giving advice all the while.
She finally makes it stick for only a handful of seconds before something tickles in her head and breaks her focus—followed by something that feels faintly apologetic at the back of her thoughts. She tries again after several beats.
She carries on with the exercise for most of the afternoon until her father puts a pause to it when he sees Tomoe’s irritation rising as the leaf falls yet again. They stop for the rest of the day with her father convincing her to try again another time, stating her need to rest from the strain on both her body and mind.
Her father thinks her lapse in concentration has something to do with the environment, with her sensing everything around her and overwhelming her like it did before. He's not exactly wrong in that assessment, she’s still all too aware from sensing her surroundings. It's just that for the most part, her attention is set on what’s inside her head.
Progress for her goes much the same in the next few days. Although she succeeds in making the leaf stay for much longer with each attempt, it eventually falls when her attention is caught by something or other. It’s proving difficult to remain on task when her mind gets drawn away at times by the presence of—well, thepresence.
It's becoming more and more prominent ever since Tomoe started learning how to control chakra and her senses.
It comes to the forefront during her training and her other lessons, curiosity coming from it in waves about what she’s learning from either of her parents as well as just the general world around her. She’s just as curious about it and wants to find out more—about what the presence is exactly and how it seems to recognize or have an understanding of certain things that she herself doesn’t or has no way of knowing.
How it seems to shy away whenever she sees her own reflection. How it falters at the sight of her pale hair and face and her red, red eyes as if it expects something different each time.
It makes her wonder if the presence is some kind of spirit. Her father did say that all aspects of life possessed chakra so maybe it also applies to supernatural beings alike and that’s how she’s able to sense it.
Surprisingly, she’s not at all scared by the thought of it being a spirit or a ghost haunting her—though it doesn’t resemble or act like the ones in the storybooks her mother reads to her anyhow. It’s only ever disrupted Tomoe by keeping her mind off balance at times but even then, she doesn’t think it’s on purpose or that it holds any ill intent. In fact, she can even say that at times, it puts an effort to hide or even hold itself back so as not to be too noticeable when she needs to focus.
However, it isn’t all that’s recently manifested.
While she is accompanied by the presence during her waking hours, at night, when she sleeps, her dreams are filled with strange visions.
It plays out and comes alive as if it were a story. In it, she sees that man with the red eye again—accompanied by an ecclectic cast of other characters with an unusual focus to one in particular. Other times, she dreams of a life in an unfamiliar world wearing an unfamiliar face. Yet something in her aches as if in remembrance.
Tomoe doesn't know what to make of it all. She's never really given much thought to her dreams, as strange as they are. Never really considered that there is a link between that and the presence. At least, not until she goes out into the village.
***
Her father isn't always around due to his work as a shinobi and being frequently called away for missions. Some only last for a day or so while others can go on for weeks. Nonetheless, Tomoe is diligent even in his absence, with her mother watching over her in his stead as she continues with her training and naturally spends the most time with her.
It’s while her father is set out on a longer mission, one he’ll be away for nearly a month when Tomoe feels particularly restless. Tomoe knows that her father is strong, that he’ll come back home though she can’t help but worry.
Tomoe doesn’t do well on her training that day. She’s standing in the courtyard in her usual spot while her mother watches over her from the engawa. The world is peaceful around her yet her thoughts are too out of sorts to fully concentrate on the exercise so she throws the leaf down in an early surrender.
She doesn’t realize how her face is scrunched up significantly until a hand appears in front of her and tucks the loose strands of hair behind her ear.
“That’s not a very polite expression you’re making.” her mother tuts lightly.
The tips of her ears flush at her mother’s chiding. “Sorry, mama.”
There’s a hum and then Tomoe feels the hand move to lay on her shoulder, gently guiding her forward. But instead of going back inside the house, she’s being led through the front gardens and past the fence. She looks up questioningly at her mother who gives her a soft smile.
“I thought you could use a break today and that we’d have a picnic.” She says while holding onto a basket with the other hand. “Perhaps a change in scenery might help too.”
She’s never gone out before, at least not that Tomoe can remember clearly. She has vague memories of being ill, with her parents taking her out into the village but it’s only ever for visiting the hospital and spending the better part of her earlier life there. That doesn’t seem to be the case this time and excitement bubbles up from inside her.
They take what looks like the quieter path to the village, avoiding crowded areas as well as the hustle and bustle of the market, to Tomoe’s relief. Though she’s improved quite a lot in the past couple of months, she hasn’t fully gotten the hang of her senses yet.
They arrive at the park, a rather spacious place with a beautiful garden landscape surrounded by the lush green of Konoha's forest. Her mother leads her to the center where a tree taller and wider than anything she's ever seen before towers over them. They set up their space and sit under its shade, enjoying the scenery all the while.
The weather is pleasant and with the tree blocking most of the sun out, Tomoe's eyes aren't too bothered by the lighting. There are a few instances when she feels too agitated as some things are bound to slip through and reach her, although her mother manages to block out the worst of it.
Enough time has passed that more and more people are now roaming around the park. It's as they're finishing up their picnic when someone approaches them, a girl maybe a year or so older than Tomoe with short hair and green eyes determinedly set on her.
She walks up until she’s about a few feet in front of them when she seemingly loses her nerve. Ducking her head as she shyly says, “Hi. I’m Kanae.”
“Tomoe.” She replies equally as shy after a few moments. “Hello.”
She turns to look back at a young man trailing behind her with long pale hair and the same green eyes giving her a thumbs up. She tentatively reaches a hand out to Tomoe. “Do you wanna go play with me?”
It’s Tomoe now who turns back for guidance only for her mother to give her an encouraging smile as she beckons her forward and she decides to take her hand. That gets a radiant smile from Kanae as she leads her along to where the playground is.
***
It’s when the sun is about to set that her mother calls for her. She’s lying down together with Kanae, the both of them tiring themselves out from playing all afternoon. The man from earlier, who Tomoe later learns is Kanae’s older brother, also comes to collect her playmate and they both go their separate ways.
“Did you have fun today, dear?” her mother asks as she brushes the bit of dirt on Tomoe’s hair and clothes.
She gives a hearty nod, still in high spirits. As they’re walking past the park entrance, there’s a tug in her mind and the presence makes itself known.
It’s been relatively silent for the most part of the day, only coming to the surface when something catches Tomoe's attention, making her senses spike up like when she’s gazing at the three faces carved on the Hokage Monument. This time, it’s upon seeing a small boy playing with a few others a short distance away, with sunshine blond hair and sky blue eyes. Tomoe blinks confusedly over how she’s somehow familiar with him despite how she’s certain she's never encountered him until now when she belatedly realizes that she has seen him before in her dreams.
She blinks away the images appearing in her mind, the face of the boy overlapping with someone else’s much like how it did with her father and the red-eyed man from before. Only this time, two faces flash before her: of a man who seems to be an older version of the boy she’s seeing now wearing a white haori and of another boy but with whisker marks on his cheeks. The latter of whom Tomoe has seen much more often in her dreams.
She startles a little when she feels a hand on her head and her mother giving her a quizzical look. “You seem rather distracted, Tomoe-chan. Is there something on your mind?”
For a very brief moment, Tomoe wants to say yes—there is before choosing against it with another shake of her head. Because she knows this isn’t normal. Knows that, despite living in the world where shinobi and chakra exist, having something living in her mind that isn’t her own thoughts is decidedly unnatural.
“...Thought I saw something from a dream.” Tomoe says instead. It feels like the safer option even if her dreams feel too strange to be just dreams or that there seems to be a connection with the presence. “Can we visit the park again?”
Her mother smiles down at her. “Of course we can. Now tell me, how was your day with Kanae-chan?”
Tomoe visibly cheers at that and goes on to ramble about the time she spent with her new friend as they make their way home. She doesn’t see the quiet contemplation in her mother’s eyes as she looks back in the boy’s direction.