Chapter 10 Meeting An Epiphany

I do not own naruto

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From there, things between Ryuishi and Zabuza fall into an uneasy truce. It is not a friendship, not in the least. Rather, it is an unhealthy symbiotic relationship where the two exchange things that the other has use for. It is almost devoid of benign emotions.

Zabuza is almost obsessive in sparking violent outbursts in her and begins to claim her as a sparring partner regularly. It is brutal, and most of the time ends with her bruised and broken. The beatdowns she gets should put a dent in her ego and pride, and they do wound it, but she whines and cries and gets back up. Each time they fight she has to call on a little more viciousness, dip a little further into her ruthlessness. She has to submerge herself in adrenaline and anger to numb the force of the blows he reigns down on her. The madder she gets, the more delighted he seems. He's even pleased on the rare occasion she wins in their little duels.

They even begin to meet up after class to beat the shit out of each other. The news of this impromptu training somehow makes its way to his teacher, the current wielder of Kubikiribocho. He is delighted to learn that his apprentice has made a friend, and wrangles her into training with them. Ryuishi is delighted because she needs all the help she can get, and receives permission from Keiko and Kagami Okaa-sama to stay out later.

It is Zabuza's sensei that introduces her to the love of her life, the meteor hammer. The long, weighted chain works perfectly with her agility and flexibility and flows like water. It is a mid-range weapon that can be directed and redirected with every limb of her body.

Her neck, shoulders, arms, hands, thighs, calves, and feet can all change where the heavy bladed tip ends up. If she catches the chain under her arm she can switch the swing from right to left, and then back with her calf. It works well with her taijutsu forms, which are unique in the sense that the stance, grab, and strike forms originating from her past life blend with the style taught in the Academy. The only bad thing is that the weapon requires so much practice, and often, she hits herself in the face or groin, or underestimates how much force there is in the swing and sends the length of chain flying in the wrong direction. All in all, at least she doesn't have to face Zabuza with nothing while he attacks her with a giant fucking bokken.

From their truce, the psycho boy also receives a steady supply of food. It had only taken a week for him to wizen up to the fact that she hid snacks on her body near compulsively. It was defensive eating at its finest. Now it seemed anytime he was a little bit peckish, he would simply hold out his hand and grunt, and she would pull food out from her many, many pockets. Or pouches. Or top. Or anywhere. It is kind of ridiculous. Most of it was sweets or portable snacks she cooks at home with the other girls, all individually wrapped. There is always a variety of it stocked on her person. Bao, buns with different fillings, onigiri with almost every filling, tempura, dried fruits, hard candies, suckers, and oversized dumplings lined her person. It's a wonder to behold.

She never even smells of the stuff, which is also astounding. Zabuza theorizes that her biggest skill lies in hiding things in plain sight.

Ryuishi on the other hand gains little that can be seen.

She uses the poor boy as a space heater, of course. Winters have always been hard before, but at least then she had the thick, multiple layers of a formal kimono to insulate her small body. Now, however, she cannot do such a thing. It would make training impossible. Instead, she has multiples of the same outfit, one that allows for movement and ease of breath. Unfortunately, the loose fabric of her pants is breezy and the shirt is not very warm. So, she trails near Zabuza, soaking in the psychotic child's ambient warmth. When the frost nips at her fingers or sends a wave of goosebumps down her arms, she places the freezing appendages on him. It is not an uncommon sight to see Zabuza jumping in the middle of class, suddenly assaulted with icy little fingers. Nor is it rare to see the little Ryuishi walking next to him, arms outstretched towards him as if he were a portable campfire.

Ahe isn't sure if the beatings and harassment are worth the heat though.

There is something they share in this little deal, and it takes a while for her to notice it. It doesn't become obvious for a while because she is so wrapped up in training to stay alive. It is only when she goes to ask one of the students next to them a question, and he flinches, does she begins to understand.

The others avoid the duo if they can, shying away from the pair. They rarely meet their eyes, and when they do, their faces are alight with fear and venomous anger. No one encroaches on the little corner they have claimed as their own, even though she sees territory scuffles around them. When they walk alone, their classmates seem to look for the other one of them. They are the youngest in the class, and they should be easy pickings, but nobody seems to try.

Ryuishi thinks about it some, and she can see why they shy away from Zabuza. He exudes an aura of unfriendliness and hostility. His behaviour is violent and controlling, and she doesn't think she has ever heard a nice word out of the spiky-haired youth. His strength is obvious. He dominates in spars, smashing down opponents three and four years his senior. Every weapon he flings is on target, and he has the most stamina out of all of them, running farther and faster. Zabuza is a prodigy if she has ever seen one, and she can understand their aversion.

But why her?

Ryuishi likes to think she doesn't come off as mean. Maybe a little sarcastic and blunt, but not mean. She isn't a genius in stamina or strength. Maybe she leads the class in agility and flexibility, but those aren't as obviously off-putting as Zabuza's insane power. (She once saw him crush a boulder with his bokken. Like, his wooden bokken. It turned to gravel, and it was upsetting to witness. Never before has she felt so jealous of an eight-year-old. ) Ryuishi, even after weeks, still trails behind on their morning runs. Even after all of her practice, and all her hard work, she can barely hit a target. She may be good at taijutsu, but it is still nowhere near Zabuza's level. The entire situation is baffling.

So, she asks Zabuza, the only one she can ask. He, in turn, grunts and points to the boy she sparred with on the first day.

At first, she doesn't see it, but then she squints so she can look at his form, instead of a vague, blurry, humanoid shape. (Jesus, she wishes she had some glasses.) He is talking with someone, probably his group of friends. His white hair is smooth, his features happy. She almost doesn't see it. Then, he turns to face forward, calling someone behind them.

His face is a wreck.

He has the faint remnants of a bruise stretching from underneath his hair, to across his cheek, where her kick landed. When he opens his mouth to shout, she can see he is missing a few teeth. His nose is smashed and crooked. She distinctly remembers that Hozuki boy being much prettier.

Then she has an epiphany.

Hozuki.

Clan kid.

She whirls around, looking for the faces of all the opponents she had before the chunin instructors finally caved and partnered her with Zabuza. They are all in similar states of healing. At least half of them are clan kids.

She understands now.

She was an unknown, the youngest in the class, and on her very first day, she beat down somebody who was supposed to be leagues above her by blood alone. She was a nobody, just some spare akasenko. She wasn't a future apprentice to a swordsman like Zabuza. She wasn't from the noble clans like the Hozuki, the Kaguya, or the Yuki children. She should have never won.

How could she win?

Before now, she had never realized what an unfair advantage she has. She has lived an entire life before this one, and it shows, even when she does not want it to. It is a hack, a cheat, an underhanded win.

Watanabe Ryuishi has fifteen years of education rather than six months. Watanabe Ryuishi has ten years of mixed martial arts training instead of a single half-year or so. Watanabe Ryuishi is twenty-six years old, not eight like her classmates. Watanabe Ryuishi has gone through the emotions and whims of childhood once already. She has faced puberty. She has had survival training. She knows what she wants and how to get it. She has done a million things, travelled a thousand places, politicked her way through a bureaucratic world, and studied class and cultural differences and human nature itself.

Watanabe Ryuishi is an adult, and they are children.

(And yet, she still cannot best Zabuza. That asshole.)

With a huff and a laugh, she leans against the corner and slides down the wall, plopping down boneless next to the demonic boy. She feels like breaking things. She had been so, so sure that she did not stick out. She had never noticed the instructors placing her with progressively harder opponents. She never noticed the children's clan backgrounds. Her social obliviousness has come to haunt her.

She has noticeably risen above the others, and Kiri hates things that stand out. She and the boy next to her will have targets on their backs for the rest of their days in this shitty village.

It is only a few days later that the instructors swap out material and begin a new subject in Ninja Theory.

(She has buried the thoughts of her newest problems with the rest of them, far underneath her conscious mind. She smothers her mind with feigned ignorance and apathy, going through her routine. Wake, morning hygiene and stretches, eat, go to class, train, eat, leave school, train, eat, sleep. It keeps her stable and in control, but Keiko is worried. She tells Ryuishi that she is shouting babble in her sleep, weeping and grinding her teeth. The young girl ignores that too, other than adding meditation to her before bedtime activities.

When she does meditate, she can sometimes see the facets of herself. Each one receives things to tuck away in the corners of her head, and they seem fine with this. Save for one, who is always screaming, always thrashing, always roaring. She ignores that part, but some nights, she thinks it is growing louder.)

They are learning about Chakra today. Ryuishi is ecstatic, practically bouncing up and down on the hard cement bench that is her seat. This is magic, this is laser beams and giant robots! Chakra is not bound to the laws of physics like mere mortals! Chakra is unstoppable! She finally gets a superpower! Oh man, oh man, oh man!

To be honest, she had tried messing around with the stuff before. She had progressed beyond blowing up the walls of the Okiya in desperate attempts to climb them. Now, after two years of practice, she can crawl up dirty alley walls. Most of the time. Using it exhausts her, and not in a physical way. When she pushes her limits it feels like morphine and broken glass are running through her veins. It's painful and awful and it feels like she's dying.

(It feels like floating on the edge of the Void.)

So, she did what the anime advised, and waited for further instructions. Now, look at her! The instructors had just explained the theory behind it.

"Chakra is a mix of physical and spiritual energies moving through the body blah blah blah pull physical from blood cells blah blah blah train it by training body blah blah Spiritual is pulled from your mind, train it by meditating and shogi and blah blah blah mix in your stomach blahblahblah Keep these water droplets on your forehead!"

Ok, sue her, it wasn't worded for word, but the instructor was the physical manifestation of a bad fart, so she didn't pay attention to him anyway. The materials were nearing her seat, a small bottle and an eyedropper. She was excited! Oh man, she couldn't wait to show off! Her ego needed some attention after getting roughed up so bad lately.

Finally, she clutched a bottle in her hand, and with one last glance around the room at failing children, she closed her eyes and brought the dropper to her forehead. Letting a single fat drop plop down on her, she focused on her body, letting the colder, more calculating part of her mind take over. With precision, she didn't normally have she dredges up part of her spiritual energy and part of her physical energy and mixes them evenly inside her gut before focusing the new mixture on the drop.

It feels like seawater washing through her, cold and briny and alive. The sensation always leaves goosebumps on her skin, and she could almost smell the ocean air. No, it was like fire and warmth, or tangible breezy, freedom. It was hard to describe. The closest thing she could compare it to would be like a shot of your favourite liquor when you're craving it most, but colder. That feeling of your muscles relaxing and your breathing evening out. The taste of something on the back of your tongue. Chakra was just... amazing.

The drop on her head holds steady and she puts another on her arm in an attempt to show off her awesome chakra control, but when she looks up at the room, eager for praise, all she finds is fear.

The instructors are wide-eyed and shaky, gazing at the seat beside her, and children are running out of the room. With an inquisitive face, she turns to look at the boy sitting beside her.

Zabuza is wreathed in a dark aura that is shaped like hellish figures trying to escape their prison. The mass of darkness around him writhes and almost seems to moan, just below hearing range. It is a wriggling conglomerate of damned souls, all desperate and agonized.

Oh.

Oh yeah!

Zabuza has a special chakra, she remembers now! It showed up in the Fourth Shinobi War arc. The very aptly, and not at all creatively named 'demon chakra'. She guesses that no matter how crazy your chakra is, the horrible thing that is dead will always top the feelings of misery it brings. Death has kind of numbed her to malice and other people's horrible intentions. She might feel like she's suffocating? Maybe the air is a little heavier? Whatever there are more important things to think about.

"Hey, Zabuza, look. Two at once," she comments, deadpan. Her little hands are raised to point at the two, very still, very stuck, droplets of water.

The boy slowly turns his head to glare at her, the shivering shroud around him fouling the air. His eyes pierce hers and seem to stare into her very soul, glinting with an unholy light. His mouth is pressed in a thin line, his jaw clenched in concentration. A single, small drop of water is wobbling on the taut skin of his forehead, between his shapely brows.

"Appreciate me, Zabuza. I'm over here, being great, while you party it up in Roseville with only one drop. Look, I'll add another." she does, holding the three drops firmly in place. "See, I'm amazing. My chakra is much more useful than yours."

He grunts something that sounds kind of like a 'No'. The water on his skin slides precariously before freezing.

"Well, at least my chakra never summoned demons from hell," she spits out, pouting. A loud groaning sound fills the air, and the drop on his head slides lower. Ryuishi is smirking, and the chunin look frozen between confusion and disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I ruining your concentration, Zabuza-san?" she asks, scooting closer to the bench. The three specks of liquid on her are stone still. "Would it help if I did...this?" she queries, her tiny hand going up to his hair, running through it gently.

Zabuza is stone still, tense under her fingertips.

"How about… THIS?" she shouts, grabbing a fist full of the fluff and yanking on it. The drop on him splashes to the ground and his chakra sputters for a moment, before emerging in greater mass than before. He shouts wordlessly before going for her. She cackles and goes to escape, dodging his first swing and jumping up to clear the table. A hand grips around her ankle and slams her down, and then there is nothing but fists and feet, claws and teeth. Three more drops join Zabuza's on the ground.

"I ORDER YOU TO NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" he shouts, crushing her forearm in his hand.

"I ORDER YOU TO SUCK MY DICK!" she counters, stomping down on his inner thigh.

The instructors are ignoring them, recovering from the hellish encounter. They decide to round up the other children before splitting them apart.

They are too caught up in mauling each other to care.

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AN: Zabuza and Ryuishi antics! Here we see some of their relationship as children, and to be honest, I'm still not pleased with this chapter. I wrote it a while ago but it still seems...rushed I guess. Anyway, if you think that Ryuishi's chakra control is nonsense and Mary sue, please remember that she is an adult who is used to controlling her body and her mind. Also, remember that she has been playing around with it off-screen for around two years now.

And yes, the introduction of Zabuza's scary chakra! Which is canon, and just sort of existed forever if I understand it right.

Another shout out to the Hate Child for being my lovely beta!