How Time Does Pass
Keiichi was clearly overqualified for this stuff.
He was good, real good.
Kushina didn’t think the academy was good enough for Keiichi. Minori probably taught him a lot already.
Thinking on it, she felt it was valid. It would be beneficial to prepare your child for the atrocities of the world that you’ve seen yourself.
But, Kushina felt that the ‘training’ Keiichi was giving her was supposed to be some sort of payback.
She stepped off the path of another stone. “WHY,” Kushina stopped to breathe, “ARE YOU DOING THIS AGAIN, BANE?!”
Keiichi paused in his assault, having the audacity to look confused. “I’m not sure what you mean. I’m training you. You should feel honored.”
He scanned her battered, cut up form. Kushina was panting hard, her eyes glossed over in a sense. However, she had developed a stance that was optimal for defense. After multiple failed attempts, Kushina began to find a way she could cover everywhere at once.
He threw another stone, hitting her square in the face. She fell on her back.
Though the stance wasn’t perfect yet.
Keiichi sighed, “Alright, that's good for now,” walking over to his victim.
Ah…
She passed out.
Keiichi took the time to study the girl. As he had noticed before, she was bleeding, bruised, and sweating. Kushina probably wouldn’t be able to move.
He found it was crazy how much potential she had. Her instincts were scary. Keiichi could tell that Kushina was going to be a force to be reckoned with when she figured out how to actually move in her own body.
Oh, his thoughts stuttered. Wasn’t she a lot younger than him?
Keiichi grimaced. Minori was going to kill him.
◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌
Kushina stirred from her slumber when her body was shifted.
Blinking open her eyes, she took note of the shoulder her head rested upon. Keiichi opted to carry her on his back.
She smiled softly against him. “Had a change of heart?” her voice rasped. “You wanna be friends with me now, right?”
Keiichi scoffed. “You’re just a persistent child who has my same level of intellect. Hard to ignore.”
That made Kushina laugh. “Glad you admit we’re on the same level.”
“You’ve got a long way to go, brat.”
She swung her limp hand into his face.
◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌
Kushina regularly trained with her new friend.
Every time she ended up needing to be carried back. Kushina took it as a good sign. It meant she was trying.
Sometimes the two of them would just sit around the training field and eat the snacks Minori began to pack. It was those times when Keiichi didn’t feel like doing anything. Keiichi liked to complain about all the dunces in the academy. Apparently they didn’t know anything. The teachers seemed to be included.
She liked gossiping with him, it was fun.
Kushina told him about her progress in sealing and chakra control. Funny enough, apparently she knew more about Fuinjutsu than he did. Minori hadn’t started him on that yet, and the academy didn’t cover it till their fifth year.
She had a good laugh at that, his face was a sight to behold.
Kushina kept up her studies with both Ren and her parents.
Chikako started teaching her how to throw a kunai. Shig immersed her in the basics of cooking.
It all was a lot on her plate. Kushina had a hard time keeping up with it all and differentiating the subjects. She was tired a lot, sore, and had bandages covering a lot of her skin. She did so much she could barely remember it all.
But, what could she say, Kushina was loving it.
She was able to learn however much she wanted, it was kept at her pace, and any kind of question she had was answered. Kushina had the time to do the things she liked, like drawing and playing with Keiichi. If anything, it was encouraged!
The months had just about flown by, small adventures packed here and there. And yet, time waits for no one, summer came back again. That meant her third birthday.
It was weird, thinking only a year passed since she’d technically woke up to herself. A year since that monkey had sat on her bed, a year since a war started, a year since memories found their original spots.
(Actually, now that she thought about it, she never saw that sleepy babysitter again…)
“Kushina!” Shig called. “Your guests are here!”
Kushina grinned and shoved the rest of her art supplies away.
Ren had already been at their house, reluctantly helping set up, so she’d assumed Minori and Keiichi arrived.
It was funny, Kushina hadn’t seen Ren leave his house at all besides the times he’d been at her birthdays. She’d still never seen him outside in the sun, only in his dark abode.
Maybe he was some sort of vampire?
“Cheapskate,” she heard Ren call.
“Bastard,” Minori fired back.
Kushina could feel the tension leaking into the room.
Sweat sliding its way down her forehead, Kushina ran up to Minori. “Baa-san, you came!” She glanced behind the woman with a giggle. “You too Chi-chan~.”
The boy only blushed and grumbled in response.
Dinner was a nice affair, the food was good and the arguments continuously thrown over the table were hilarious.
Presents were even better.
Ren threw a storybook into her lap. It was a book on a higher shelf of his library that Kushina had been eying the past couple of weeks. She was also given sealing paper, meant to help with Fuinjutsu upstarts before they learned to channel chakra through the ink. She was strictly instructed not to use it unless permitted. Kushina pouted at that.
Minori gave her a second hair stick, almost matching the first one. It had the same grayish wood of the one she always wore in her hair. Kushina asked about what was carved on it; Minori told her it was a secret.
Keiichi didn’t have anything for her, said he didn’t have enough time in advance to prepare. Kushina didn’t mind, she honestly expected nothing less. If Keiichi wasn’t with her or at school, he was perfecting his own training. But, Kushina stole a hug as her gift. It was all worth it when she got a squawk of surprise.
Chikako showed off a clearly hand made picture frame. There were several spots that pictures could be put in. Kushina didn’t know that Uzushio’s civilization was advanced enough to have printed pictures. She was easily proven wrong when they all went to take the frame’s first picture. Chikako said it was for memories; Kushina didn’t complain.
Shig also gave her a book, but there was no title; the cover was blank. He sheepishly looked away when Kushina’s questioning eyes turned to him. Examining the item more, the edges were frayed, from what she could tell, the pages worn with small bits of paper sticking out of it. The book was bound with a thick string of ribbon. Shig stopped her from opening it, telling her to wait until she was farther along in her ninja training. Kushina wondered if Shig just didn’t know what to get her.
Her days were happy. Kushina was happy.