Fanfic #39 Timber! by DerKopfloseHesse (Naruto SI)

This fanfic follows an male si oc born two years before naruto and seems to be following his own story.

Synopsis: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Coming to terms with this crazy new chapter, I try my best to enjoy this opportunity as much and as long as possible. (Male SI)

Rated: M

words: 65k

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13823987/1/Timber-Naruto-SI

Here's the first chapter:

Just my luck, it's Saturday morning and I'm stuck in traffic on the motorway.

"Dear drivers, due to the sudden fog and the drastic reduction of visibility between Offenbach and Hanau multiple accidents occurred.

The resulting traffic jam is rapidly gaining in length so please consider detours as early as possible. And now back to…"

'A bit late for that.'

Making myself comfortable in my heated seats and turning the volume up I gave myself up to my fate of having to stare at a bunch of logs on the truck right in front of me.

Yawning, I noticed a pair of headlights in my mirror.

'Welcome to the club buddy.' Another yawn and I was back at staring at a bunch of wood.

What followed next was an unbearably loud tire squealing, a blinding light filling up my rear-view mirror and the feeling of a bottomless pit forming in my stomach.

My last image was of broken glass and the age rings of a random log. Talk about signs given what followed next.

Random images of people and events flashed before me in a haze, sounds came and went in a whisper, and through it all, a headache pulsed like I never felt before. Urgh!

"Urgh!"

"Daiki-kun," I felt a hand on my shoulder and opened my eyes to the sight of a small bowl of rice.

'What…'

"Daiki-kun," A soft shake on my shoulder reminded me of the presence next to me and I glanced up into the concerned face of an elderly woman. "Is it the headaches again?"

I couldn't help but nod, but whatever was about to be said was overshadowed by a trembling and the shattering of every window in sight.

What followed was a blood-curdling sound I will never forget.

'Is that howling?' I thought quivering on the floor.

I saw the wom…I saw Hifumi-neesan shakily get to her feet, a glance around and then she vanished right before my eyes.

I gaped like a fish 'What the fuck is going on' I couldn't help it, but I felt the same pit forming again.

When I suddenly heard the crying and screaming around me the feeling only got worse.

Next thing an arm wrapped around my waist and I felt myself placed in a hallway with half-a-dozen other toddlers.

I glanced up and saw another elderly woman, Ayano-neesan my addled mind supplied, crouch before me.

"Hifumi-se" another tremor went through the whole building."Hifumi-senpai, we have to get out of here!"

"Hai!" I glanced towards Hifumi-neesan hovering over a screaming boy, her hand on his forehead, a soft green glow emitting between her palm and the bleeding wound.

A few seconds later and the boy reduced himself to some pitiful sobs and sniffles.

"Children!" She clapped twice to get our attention; she took a breath and smiled at us.

"Children, I want you all to listen and do the same as me." She gently took one hand of the boy she just treated.

"Now Akio-chan, please take Arata-chan's hand." She nodded, "very good."

And so it went on until I clasped hands with Ayano-neesan at the end of the row.

Taking the lead Hifumi-neesan guided us through the door at the end of the hallway and onto what seemed to be the streets outside.

An immediate right turn and we were among a throng of people screaming and crying heading in the same direction.

I saw Hifumi-neesan glance back. I saw her struggling, but she managed to put on a smile for our sake.

"You are all doing great, children, just a bit more and" and that's when the explosion across the street wrecked me.

I woke up to the feeling of soft touches and a pleasant warmth along my left leg.

"…muscle tissue seems to be fine…" I felt the warmth pool around my shin "…fractured shinbone is properly set…healing process seems to be doing fine, too."

Groaning, I tried to blink the sleep out of my eyes and get a good look at what's going on only to be greeted by the face of a young woman, who looked like she was about to keel over given the dark bags under her eyes.

"Hello little man, bedtime isn't over yet." She whispered and tapped her index finger softly against my forehead.

The next time I came to I nearly had a heart attack when I opened my eyes.

"Oh dear, it seems we are losing our edge, Danzo-sama, if we can't keep from waking up a child."

Speechless and frozen in confused horror I could only stare at two of the most messed up characters of a fucking manga.

Illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the only window Danzo ignored the Sannin, who was still looking at me with barely concealed humor and glanced at a slip of paper.

"Daiki Ito, orphan, born two years ago, parents chunin of no interest." Danzo looked up and practically radiated disinterest. "Chakra-level below average and given his parents a likelihood to develop a water-affinity."

Orochimaru shrugged, having already lost interest as well.

"Too old for me, too young for you, I guess Sensei can keep this one."

With that he made a weird gesture with his hand, probably a one-handed seal I thought dimly, and I was down for the count …again.

I observed my surroundings with a weird kind of detachment, I ignored the itch under my cast, which initially roused me from sleep, and stared at the children and toddlers sharing the room with me.

Some would spark a memory and a name, others didn't. Did these select few share a past with this…body?

I shook my head, these moments of lucidity were vexing, to say the least.

My mind felt like it was thinking in two different directions without coming to any conclusions.

Thinking about my current situation was just as confusing but less irritating.

The number of cots and the signs of age of this room made me think of an emergency shelter.

The location of said shelter, however, is the reason for my near vegetative state. Chances of dismissing Orochimaru and Danzo as a figment of my imagination were dashed when I saw the woman this body called Hifumi-neesan limp past my cot with a crutch.

Somewhat glad, that the woman who protected me was alive, I couldn't help but keep my gaze transfixed on the gleaming headband tied to her shoulder.

The final nail was her almost casual use of what I now knew as medical nin-jutsu.

Apparently, my name was Daiki Ito, apparently, I was two years old and apparently I was an orphan living in Konoha right after the Kyuubi incident.

Days were going by in a constant blur for me, I knew I had Hifumi-neesan worried with the way I was behaving, given the way she was talking to me and patting my head occasionally.

I told her more than once, that I was fine because I could see, that she was run ragged by having to care for all the children while being injured herself.

It was on the tenth day, I thought, when I decided to make peace with my situation.

This is my life now and I was going to make the most of it.

I couldn't tell how many nights I was lying awake just thinking in circles to the point of nausea.

What ifs, future events, butterfly effect and random quotes like "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." or "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" kept my head spinning like a top.

Partially influenced by being two years older than Naruto and frankly the only train of thought, that let me sleep at night.

The many-worlds interpretation.

There are an infinite amount of worlds, among them an infinite amount of worlds with an infinite amount of individuals, who changed lanes so to speak.

Maybe, that was the reason for fantasy in general, I thought. One particular version of Kishimoto lived a life in a different version of this Shinobi-world and decided to immortalize his memories on paper in his new world, my old one. And someday an individual will remember this world with all the "changes" I made. Basically Chinese whisper between worlds.

So how did this influence my view for the future? To be honest, it justified my selfishness.

When my last chapter closed, I wasn't even thirty and yet my back was killing me and my whole body was stiff as a board.

This new body had all the potential and previously thought impossible feats were easily within reach.

I would enjoy this opportunity as much and as long as possible.

Death has lost some of its edges, but there were always worse fates to consider.

Memories of Orochimaru and Danzo staring at me made sure I wouldn't forget this particular lesson.

I wasn't a saint, I knew that for a fact, given the choice between right and easy I wasn't sure I would always make the correct decision.

For better or worse, thoughts about killing people weren't as clear cut as I initially hoped.

Maybe it was the German in me, but the "just following orders"-justification suddenly appeared more like a lifeline for future use to me.

'Fuck it' I gave myself a mental shake, time will tell. Back to the topic at hand.

I honestly didn't want any part in Naruto's life and possible events surrounding him. I wanted to live my life the way I wanted, I wanted to make my decisions AND mistakes with minimal influence from 'fate' and face the consequences of MY decisions and actions.

That said, I wouldn't look away if something was to stand right in front of me.

Long story short, I wouldn't look for trouble, but I would help when I could and damn the butterfly effects it would generate.

The same day I had my revelation, I decided to open up to the only adult in my new life.

I couldn't be bothered to attach myself to those kids, their noise and restlessness were just too much and whenever a kid was screaming its head off I felt my sanity slipping.

I watched Hifumi-neesan guide her glowing hands over my cast, eyes closed, quietly muttering to herself.

I debated with myself how to break the ice and even how to carry on. In the end, I decided to go for short and simple.

No need to make this kid-thing more complicated than strictly necessary.

I saw the signs of her getting to the end of this session and waited for her to open her eyes.

"Thank you." She startled a bit but smiled nonetheless. I smiled hesitantly back, sadly it wasn't an act, I just wasn't a people-person.

She stood, ruffled my hair and made to leave.

"Umm, neesan?"

"Yes, Daiki-chan, do you need the loo again?" I grimaced mentally, another reason I daily thanked whatever deity, that put me here, was the fact that my conscious fully emerged in the body of a two-year-old.

I'm pretty sure my sanity wouldn't have stayed intact during the course of let's just call it the larval stage.

Not to mention, that I probably would never be able to look at breasts again.

Anyway.

"No, when can I take this off?" I pointed at my leg.

"Oh, your cast, you have to keep this for at least one week longer and then we will see." She told me sternly, conveying, that I shouldn't get any ideas beforehand.

I nodded, medical nin-jutsu and maybe even my own chakra seemed to have sped things significantly up.

"Okay, thank you." She ruffled my hair again and went to the sleeping boy two cots further.

It was a somber mood that marked the start of our breakfast.

Today was the 10th of October, again, and since you can't exactly herd almost two dozen toddlers and children to the official memorial service we were asked to keep a moment of silence for the lives lost right here at the breakfast table the moment everybody was seated.

Among them two kids from the old orphanage and even Ayano-neesan, which hit a lot harder, than I expected.

As everybody started to quietly dig into their food I glanced around the room and grimaced when I saw Hifumi-neesan at the end of the table.

She had significantly more grey hair and the lines on her face ran a lot deeper.

She lost the crutch, but a noticeable limp remained and if you didn't know any better you would think she aged a decade in just year.

I was fairly certain losing Ayano-neesan was one reason for that.

My eyes drifted past her, more things changed.

The building was entirely new and now located further from the center of the village since I could see the top of the outer walls a short distance away.

Instead of six orphans now there were 23 provided for by three adults instead of two. I suspected, that multiple smaller orphanages were merged into less but bigger orphanages.

I had no particular opinion about that since I couldn't exactly compare and complain.

I absently dug into my rice and the kale side dish, I was no cook, but it tasted good enough and like I said I had no reason to complain.

The other kids gave me enough space after I rebuffed them multiple times, I guess our relationship was the child-version of professional, which suited me just fine.

One year already, I sighed, there were probably things I could or should have done by now, but I was content.

'Chakra-level below average and given his parents a likelihood to develop a water-affinity.'

In a way, I was glad, that this moment was burnt into my memories. It gave me reassurance, that I really had the potential to become a shinobi without having to mess with my chakra.

I didn't want to do more harm than good by forcing anything or put a strain on my chakra pathways while still being this young.

A shove from behind ripped me out of my stupor, seemed like breakfast was over the way the kids were dashing into the yard.

I ate my last few bites and waited for the room to clear out.

I hopped off my chair and started to collect the empty bowls and plates on my table, depositing them on a tray next to the kitchen door.

That done I went back to my table and pushed the chairs back into place.

I felt someone ruffle my hair and looked up to see Hifumi-neesan give me a nod and a small smile.

Giving a smile and a nod back I went on my way.

This was part of my routine, a month after I was discharged from the medical shelter and moved into this facility, I was getting antsy.

I couldn't exactly start a Rocky-training montage when some of my peers were still shitting their pants, could I?

On the other hand, boredom started to drive me up the wall.

In hindsight, it should have been more obvious, in Chapter I as I liked to call it there was always something to pass the time.

If I didn't spend more than half a day at work, I spent it on the internet or in front of the TV, there was always a way to waste time within reach. Here? Not so much.

That's the reason why I one day insisted on sweeping the floors.

Or rather one reason, the others were that I wanted to earn my keep and simply put, I wanted to help Hifumi-neesan.

I had a soft spot for her.

Going with my credo of short and simple, I plainly told her, that I wanted to help. She just smiled, ruffled my hair and ushered me outside to the rest of the kids.

After the third time, I just grabbed a broom and started to sweep my dormitory. And that was that.

I jumped and landed on my feet with barely any effort. Glancing up and behind me I observed the branch I just came from.

'Yeah, I'm really not in Kansas anymore.' Shaking my head at my four-year-old body I made my way to Arata, one of the older kids, and thankfully a rather chill individual.

I nudged his prone figure with my foot. A bored grunt was my answer.

"What's up with them?" I asked and when he actually looked up I indicated to the three crying boys sitting on the edge of the sandpit.

"They probably didn't pass the test." And with that, he was back to dozing.

"What test?" I was drawing a blank here.

"Whether you are good enough for the ninja academy or not." Startled I wiped my head around.

"What!"

"Yeah, Hifumi-neesan explained it to me a few years back. You have to be really good to be accepted. She said something like, too many orphans and not enough money so you have to earn a, what's the word, a ... a scholarship."

I honestly didn't like the sound of that.

I had the disquieting feeling, that my efforts so far might not have been enough.

Maybe my worries were overblown, but I really wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

"How old are they?" Arata looked up and squinted "Six or seven, I got the news when I was six."

The tension left me, I still had time to get into shape.

"Thank you." A noncommittal grunt and I was on my way to the swings. I needed to clear my head.

Up…down…up…down…

I wasn't exactly lazy, I did things without drawing attention, at least I was trying to. That had to count for something, right?

To be honest, I was quite proud of the way I disguised some of my training.

Long jumps into the sandpit, playing tag with the older kids like Arata plus doing handstands and cartwheels like a pro.

However, what paid the most dividends so far was my climbing in the trees.

I started it to get rid of my fear of heights, by now I was jumping around like a fucking monkey.

It was intoxicating, to say the least.

The other part of my training, which I didn't manage to disguise, I did in the early mornings in the dormitory when everybody else was still asleep.

Every day for half an hour I would do basic stretches I remembered from my soccer training in Chapter I.

Up…down…up…down

It seemed like I couldn't afford the secrecy anymore.

Up…down…up…down

Who was I kidding, 50/50 that Hifumi-neesan already knew about it.

I wanted to smack my head, for example, she could have just sensed my chakra flowing differently compared to the sleeping kids.

I frowned, how could I, a total ninja-noob, keep anything secret from the senior-kunoichi tasked with taking care of us.

No, I decided, let's just be upfront and maybe even ask for help.

Help was right on cue regarding my chakra. Maybe I was overly cautious, but I only wanted to handle this under the right guidance.

Said guidance was just sitting a few yards away, eating some Dango while watching over us.

I pursed my lips, I didn't want to bother her when she was obviously enjoying a rare break.

'I'll just have to make it up to her later'

Up…down…up and away.

'Aaaand… Superhero landing!… like a boss'

Imaginary bow to my nonexistent audience done, I made my way over to get my shinobi future finally rolling.

Chapter 1.2

"Hifumi-neesan, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Daiki-kun" she put her Dango-stick down "how can I help you?"

"Can you teach me how to use my chakra?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she indicated for me to take a seat next to her.

I hopped onto the bench and thanked her when she gave me one of her Dango.

"Is this because of Akio-kun's test?" She didn't need to point to the still crying boys.

"Yeah, I want to be ready."

"But why?" I looked up. "Why do you want to become a shinobi?"

I hesitated, lying to her felt wrong and I just decided to be upfront anyway.

"I've seen what Shinobis can do and I know I could do it, too. I don't want to miss that."

I saw, that she wasn't entirely convinced by my reasoning so I went on.

"I know it's dangerous, otherwise I wouldn't be here. But … I remember two years ago."

She stiffened but laid a comforting arm around me nonetheless. I appreciated the gesture, but I knew that she likely needed the consolation more than me.

I wished I knew how to without making it awkward.

"I survived by chance." I looked her straight in the eye this time. "I want to be stronger, so I don't need luck or somebody else just to stay alive."

"I guess this explains your cute little exercises." She smiled down at me trying to lighten the mood, I pursed my lips.

'Called it!'

"Yeah." She ruffled my hair and I endured it like a grown man. No idea why she got the kicks out of my hair.

"Very well, after supper, you will stay behind and I will show you the first steps."

Suddenly turning serious and leaning down to me "This will be our little secret, Daiki-kun!"

I nodded, guessing multiple reasons why teaching an extremely young orphan with no clear ties to the village might be frowned upon.

That out of the way we both were content to go back to enjoying our Dango and the quiet company.

Talking about secrecy I suddenly remembered my other issue.

Swallowing my last bite I turned slightly making sure nobody would overhear our conversation.

"I'm going to train harder from now on." I paused, collecting my thoughts, Hifumi-neesan just waited for me to go on.

"You know running and…stuff." I finished rather lamely.

A chuckle and a quiet humming. She indicated with her empty dango stick towards the part of the forest with the village walls peaking behind.

"Five minutes in that direction, there's a small clearing. Please make sure, that none of the others are following you.

I don't want them to get injured by emulating you." A pause.

"And please only stay there. I don't want you to get lost and I always want to know where I can find you.

Oh, and always tell me when you're going out! " I saluted; she chuckled and gave me her last dango.

'Oh man, don't be so nice to me!'

Putting the last chair back into place I looked up and saw Hifumi-neesan indicating the seat next to her.

She pushed the chair to face in her direction and I hopped on it. I can't remember the last time I was this giddy.

"Alright, where to start?" She clapped her hands and took a breath.

"Daiki-kun, I want you to do the same as me." I nodded, she clasped her hands in her lap and I followed suit. "Close your eyes…and breathe." 'Meditation, huh?'

"Lean back in your chair…and breathe…listen to the air going in…and out." I honestly lost track of time.

"Now…breathe out and slowly open your eyes." I did just that and saw Hifumi-neesan do the same.

"Chakra is energy in all of us. This energy has two parts." She held both of her index fingers up.

"One part is the mind," she tabbed my forehead "and the other is the body." She tabbed my heart with her other finger.

"Heaven and earth, smart and strong," she leaned back, bringing both fingers up to my eye level "you always have to be mindful of both parts."

A shiver went down my spine. I couldn't even imagine the feeling for when I actually will feel my chakra for the first time.

"Now, whenever you are lying in bed, ready to sleep, I want you to repeat the same breathing exercise. Don't worry when you actually fall asleep." She winked at me.

She put up her hand again.

"This is the Ram-seal" suddenly I saw a faint green glow in her palms and my eyes widened.

"Close your eyes." I looked up into her face and she gave me small nod. 'Alright'

Suddenly I felt a faint warmth I remembered from the shelter, this time in my center but deeper.

"At some point, you will experience a similar feeling. When that's the case I want you to tell me and we go to the next step together.

Don't start anything without me, do you understand?"

"Hai." She leaned back, took a small breath herself and clapped once.

"Now, young man, go wash yourself and be ready for bedtime." I whipped my head towards the clock at the wall. 'That was almost three-quarters of an hour'

I wished her goodnight and dashed towards the shower room, hoping that there was still a bit of warm water left.

It was during the third night I gasped and sat bolt upright in my bed.

The feeling was already gone, but for a few heartbeats, it felt like someone placed a hot-water bag right on top of me.

Slumping back I went back to the exercise and almost immediately drifted to sleep.

Chapter 1.3

Panting, I struggled to control my breathing. This new body was insane, I thought, continuing my cool down walk in the clearing Hifumi-neesan pointed me to.

After breakfast this morning I told Hifumi-neesan in private, that I managed to find my chakra.

She just quietly told me to meet up again after supper.

Apart from that and the start of my new training regime since noon, my day went like any other day so far.

Helping with daily cores, today, for instance, it was washing the dishes with some of the older children.

After that it was lessons in reading, writing and basic math. Boring as hell, but I wasn't about to start a fuss.

Lunch came and went without a hitch and after a short nap I notified Hifumi-neesan about going out.

I had to admit, that for the first half and hour I aimlessly wandered around the clearing.

I may or may not have talked to myself.

What now? Where did I want to go from here? Should I make long term plans or should I aim for various milestones and go step by step?

After lamenting the fact, that I didn't bring a pen and paper and immediately disregarding that train of thought,

because I didn't trust myself to not slip up and write something I shouldn't know, I made another effort.

'Alright, key points.'

What did I want? Easy enough, I wanted to become a strong shinobi.

'Now…what?'

'Urgh!' I was close to tearing my hair out, I even struggled to form coherent thoughts at this stage.

"Damnit! Alright, calm down, get a grip!"

Thankfully at that point I remembered the breathing exercise and calmed down enough to form a tentative plan until I hopefully started the Academy.

Where did I realistically want to see myself by the age of six?

Depending on my amount of chakra and talent for it I wanted to at least have the control of a Genin, which meant tree-walking.

I wanted to manage 100 reps of sit-ups, push-ups and squats each.

I've seen crazy kids in the previous Chapter, I was certain I could do it in this body, which really should be enough for the academy start.

I wanted to make use of my football experience from Chapter I, strangely the thought of kicking somebody in the face already seemed preferable to punching someone.

'I mean, what's the difference between taking a beautiful cross volley and kicking someone's head of their shoulder?'

Anyway, thoughts of violence were thankfully a distant second place.

The real reason was that I remembered most of the exercises, which focused on speed, flexibility and endurance.

Even the stretches I was already doing were a part of that.

Memories of training sessions almost 20 years in the past had me fired up to the point where I almost laughed out loud because of my giddiness,

everywhere I looked I already saw myself doing various drills.

Six trees in a nice row looked perfect for slalom runs, two trees some 30 feet apart at the edges of the clearing looked like the perfect distance for shuttle runs and there was even a freaking log, that I could use for box jumps.

Glad that I finally had something resembling an actual plan and that I was in the mood to get things going I went right at it.

Which finally led to me doing interval training, basically I did some light jogging switched into a full sprint and went back to jogging again. Rinse and repeat.

Taking a deep breath, I noticed the shadows getting longer and decided to make my way back.

Shivering at the thought of a nice hot shower before supper had me skipping along.

'Breathe in … and out… breathe in….' We were sitting on the same seats like last time, again facing each other.

"Now remember the feeling, take your time, let it come to you."

'…'

"When you feel it, give me small nod."

'…'

I couldn't stop the smile forming and gave Hifumi-neesan the sign.

"Very good, now keep breathing. Let it sit there."

'…'

She gently took my hands and guided them into the ram-seal.

"Feel the warmth slowly rise to your chest, don't push or pull, just let it happen.

Nod when you can feel it settle in your chest."

'…' A nod.

"Now slowly up to your right shoulder and along your arm"

So it went on until I managed to guide this warmth, my chakra, along all my limps and even to the bottom of my feet.

"Oh dear, Daiki-kun," she gently pried my hands out of the ram-seal "please open your eyes."

I did and saw Hifumi-neesan trying to hide a grimace while getting up.

"What's wrong?" She just pointed at the clock 'past curfew'.

I hurried of the chair and put both of them into their place. She was already waiting at the door,

ready to switch the lights off. A last glance from Hifumi-neesan, that everything was in order and we were on our way to my dorm.

"I want you to repeat what you learned today as much as possible." She said quietly.

"Do it before going to sleep, do it after waking up, maybe even do it during breaks in your training."

I nodded. We stood in front my door, I was about to go in and sneak into bed my when I saw Hifumi-neesan seemingly debating with herself.

Giving her my full attention I waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"A month, Daiki-kun, a month should be more than enough time for you to master this exercise, after that we will work on your control."

Eyes wide 'A month?!'

She ruffled my hair, "don't look like that" she chuckled "now off to bed already."

Chapter 1.4

'80…81…82…'

Even after a year of constantly using it, chakra was still as fascinating to me as the very first time when I saw Hifumi-neesan use her medical-ninjutsu.

The way it was influencing the body just kept me hooked.

'83…84…85'

I had the feeling by using chakra internally for a handful of times in a certain way the body would almost immediately remember it,

distantly similar to muscle memory in a way, and the exercise would become second nature.

An example from a while back, during the month before I started control exercises, was me trying to channel chakra to both feet at the same time.

I tried it first before going to bed, I tried it a second time after waking up and I mastered it on the third try in the early evening the same day.

Since then it worked flawlessly without almost any effort whenever I did the routine.

'86…87…88'

Now I also understood why Hifumi-neesan insisted on a whole month.

By the third week and with an ever-increasing difficulty of my self-imposed chakra-related drills I suddenly felt a change during one of my sprint exercises.

There was no feeling of warmth but a feeling of lightness covering my whole body and I felt energized to the point where I thought I could immediately do the whole training day a second time over.

'89…90…91'

I liked to believe I now understood the reasons for the exercises and what happened that day.

My theory was, that my chakra pathways resembled in a far-fetched way a messed up garden hose.

After applying enough pressure , in my case me guiding more and more chakra along my pathways,

the hose suddenly unfurled and the water, the chakra in this analogy, could now, with all the bends and kinks straightened out, flow freely.

'92…93…94'

Funnily enough, the second I understood one aspect about chakra another popped up and kept me awake at night.

One day during another meeting after supper with Hifumi-neesan I wanted to show her my progress with the leaf-sticking practice.

Leaf sticking to my forehead, eyes closed, I suddenly felt a glow, for lack of better terms, right in front of me.

Eyes snapping open I saw Hifumi-neesan staring at me in the exact place where I imagined the glow to be.

'95…96…97'

I had an inclination what this might actually mean and against my better judgment I kept it to myself.

I didn't know if it was a sense of pride, but I didn't want to run to Hifumi-neesan because of every single hiccup.

Trying to replicate the sensation the very next day in my little training haven had me smack my head.

Yes, let's practice sensing in an empty clearing. My next attempt was at night in my dormitory, but for the life of me I couldn't get into the state I vaguely remembered.

Attempt number three was the next day, same place, same time, because what's a good night's sleep in a room full of little children anyway, right?

Difference was the leaf sticking to my forehead. I thought it wouldn't hurt to reconstruct the same circumstances and lo and behold it worked, kinda, let's say it didn't miss much and I would have dismissed it entirely.

If I were to compare sensing Hifumi-neesan to a light bulb, I would have compared that sensation to a bunch of wet matchsticks in a dark cellar.

'98…99…100' "Fucking finally!" face pressed into the grass I kept breathing hard. "One down."

That's when I decided I would stop beating around the bush. Swallowing my pride, admitting defeat, call it what you want,

but I wouldn't hinder my education in a life and death profession for petty reasons like that.

Hanging back after breakfast I waited for Hifumi-neesan to finish her daily planning for today's schedule with the other two caretakers.

I had no problems with Miu-san and Nanami-san, both Gen-nins in what looked like their late forties, we treated each other polite and friendly, but not particularly affectionate.

I think I was something like a no-brainer for them. They knew I could take care of myself and when push comes to shove I would help them with the other kids.

At the end of the day, I was Hifumi's 'property' anyway.

Nodding to both as they went past me I headed to the chair Hifumi-neesan was patting next to her.

"How can I help you, Daiki-kun?" She sipped the last of her tea and I went ahead and refilled it.

She ruffled my hair and I didn't have the heart to do anything but endure it.

"Someone is becoming quite the gentleman."

"Yeah, well, practice makes perfect."

"Oh? Already someone in mind?" Abort! Abort! Abort!

Repressing thoughts about living with little children was a daily struggle for me otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop the bile rising thinking of myself as a fucking pedo.

Thoughts about puberty were already filling me with enough dread the way it is.

I stopped myself from going green and just frowned. Hifumi-neesan just thought it was incredibly cute and continued to drink her tea.

"Anyway, what's the problem?"

"I think I can sense other people's chakra."

"You think? Can you explain what you feel or how you feel?"

Thinking things through I tried to formulate the sensations into the most coherent way.

"Whenever I stick a leaf to my forehead, and just my forehead, and close my eyes I can see in my mind a glow, like a floating fire without heat,

with its size probably depending on the amount of chakra."

She hummed and I continued.

"It's just, can all shinobi sense each other like that or is this something different?"

"This certainly sounds like true sensing to me." She leaned back, took a sip and continued.

"Every shinobi has a sixth sense helping detect each other. It's just more along the lines of feeling someone watching you.

A tickle at the back of your neck, goosebumps and so on. You basically sense ill-intent in your direction and rule of thumb is whenever there's ill-intent there's an enemy nearby."

My eyes were wide and I refrained from pumping my fist. I really was a sensor-type.

And hearing stuff like that was always just incredibly fascinating plus it made me look at Hifumi-neesan in an entirely new light.

She sighed and I gave her a questioning look.

"I might know someone who can help you."