"Ugh! This is so unfair!” A young, ten year old, Ayako whined as she treaded water in the middle of a large blue ocean. “You're just going to leave me out here until I figure out how to use my element?" Her body bobbed up and down from the small waves as she treaded water.
"That's exactly what I'm doing," Nishiya confirmed, standing on a small boat. The soaking wet girl pouted. "Ah, don't worry. If you're really what you are, then you'll be fine. It’s not like you’re the only one encountering a situation like this. Yumika and Etsuyo are doing something similar as well.”
"But they're not going to die!” She attempted to make her sensei feel bad. “If I get too tired, I’ll stop swimming, and then I’ll drown!"
"I beg to differ.” The woman scoffed, not falling for her trick. “Yumika could easily be blown off the mountain while Etsuyo could ignite in flames…" The young one frowned as tears started to build up in her eyes. "Don't cry, now.” Nishiya noticed her chin begin to quiver. “Shinobi don't show their emotions. It's a sign of weakness…you know that."
"Well, who says I’m not weak?” she cried, splashing the water around her. “Because they’re wrong, I am!”
"I say you’re not,” Nishiya responded, placing her fists on her hips, unaffected by the young one’s tantrum. Ayako stared at her with wide eyes and stopped flailing. “And I will tell you I am barely ever wrong. I’ve only known you for a short amount of time, but I can already see the strength you have inside you." She wasn’t lying either. The first moment she laid eyes on the girl, her attention was immediately caught. There was something about her that was intriguing; something internal.
Ayako believed her words, calming down even more. “…R-really?” she stuttered. The receding lump in her throat still made it difficult to allow words to come out of her mouth.
“Yes,” she nodded, sternly. “Now where’d you get the silly idea that you’re weak?”
Ayako shut her mouth tightly, uncertain as to what to tell her. Nishiya had yet to find about her past self and who she really was. To the woman, she was simply: Ayako. No last name, no clan symbol, nothing to tie her to her famous massacred family.
“I…I just get that feeling sometimes,” she answered, quietly. “There are days when I really want to give up.”
“Like today?” Nishiya assumed. Ayako nodded once sadly. “Tell me. Those days, when you wanted to quit, did you?” She shook her head. “Then what makes today so different?”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I guess it’s because I have to do this on my own.”
“Get used to it,” Nishiya shot back, roughly, thinking her excuse wasn’t good enough. She got down on one knee to bring herself closer to her new student and sighed. “As a shinobi, there will be times when you will have to take care of things by yourself. Being on a team doesn’t guarantee their assistance on every mission you go on. If you end up alone against an enemy and you become scared, you…will… die. You must learn to understand and accept that.”
"I-I'm already scared!" Ayako sobbed, as the reality of her sensei’s words slap her across the face.
"Don't be!”
“But I am! I can’t do this!” she exclaimed. “Controlling water will be too difficult for me. I know it already.”
Nishiya spoke as gently as she could. “Ayako, you may not know it yet, but this is your thing. This is your territory, now. Learn to face it and make it do your bidding. You push the water…don't let the water push you." With that, she turned the boat motor on and began to drift away.
"No, don't leave me!" she wailed helplessly. "I-I don't think I can do it yet!"
"You can, and you will,” the woman demanded. “For motivation, think about all of the reasons why you can't afford to wait to become stronger, Ayako," she advised wisely. With one last wave, she left, leaving Ayako all alone.
She watched the silhouette of her sensei and the boat helplessly, until she could barely see her anymore.
“I don’t even know where to start.” She brought her head down to look at her reflection in the ocean and after she caught a glimpse of herself, she closed her eyes. For motivation, think about all of the reasons why you can't afford to wait to become stronger, Ayako. The phrase repeated in her head over and over. Sasuke! she reminded herself.
So she began her training.
*RING* An alarm clock buzzed loudly at five in the morning. Ayako's eyes fluttered open and shut off the clock. She sat up and yawned stretching her arms to loosen the muscle that tightened in her slumber. She blinked her eyes repeatedly to adjust her sight. As the blurriness faded, she took note of room she occupied. It was fairly lit by the rising sun. The bed she currently lied on was in the corner, with a side table next to it, while a closet was propped up against the opposite wall with a long mirror to the right. She looked down at her sheets that were a deep red with black and white swirls decorating it and realized: she was in her room.
My room, she thought. My own room. It sounded strange to hear those words in her head. For the past five years she had shared a room with Yumika whether it was in a hotel, or in the forest, and before her travels, in the Uchiha Compound, she didn’t even call it a room. She called it her prison cell.
Not only did she now have her own room, her room resided in Sasuke’s apartment. But that wasn’t very weird to her. It actually made that feeling suppress and alter into a warmer one.
*Flashback*
It was the night of the day Ayako had returned to the village, after her talk with her team. The moon had just appeared over the horizon when she sat in front of a specific building in the village.
I hope this is the right one, she prayed in her mind, not wanting random strangers chasing her off their property.
“Ayako?” A familiar voice came from her right side, relieving her mind. She turned her head and found the person she was looking for.
A bright smile appeared on her face when she cheered, “Sasuke!”
“What are you doing outside of my home?” he questioned, walking closer to her side, with no enthusiasm in his voice. It gave her the idea that he wasn’t as excited to see her again as she was to see him.
Ayako pressed off her knee to stand up before answering. “I told you I’d find you, remember?” She laughed at his forgetfulness. He didn’t react. “But, that’s not why I’m here.” Her smile faded as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Lord Hokage actually sent me here.”
“For what reason?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.
She cleared her voice, feeling a lump in her throat as nervousness began to creep over her skin. “He... um… actually wanted me to ask you something…” She took a deep breath. “Um… can I… may I,” she corrected herself, “possibly… live with you?” The words were incredibly hard to get out of her mouth.
Sasuke didn’t respond right away. He only stared at his sister with a curious expression on his face. Why is she so shaky? his mentally questioned. She became weird over the years…
Ayako took his silence as a signal to explain things a little better, not sure if he understood. “You don’t have to say yes, just so you know,” she blurted. “You probably have all of your stuff in places where you like it and its all probably organized in your own way. Lord Hokage just wanted me to ask before he assigned me to an apartment in the village because he knew you had a spare room. But just because I’m your twin doesn’t mean we do things the same way in a household,” she continued to babble due his stare that made her feel awkward. “I’m intruding, I’m sorry.” She hit her forehead with her palm. “That was the last thing I wanted to do to you, and I’m doing it right now. I’ll run back and tell him to find me one. It’s not too late in the night.” She turned away from him and started to walk away, okay with not getting any response.
“Ayako,” Sasuke called out her name for the second time. She stopped in her tracks and pivoted her body so she half faced him. When she met his gaze, she could see he didn’t give off the uncomfortable feel she felt when she spoke. “Where’s all your stuff?” he wondered.
She pursed her lips. “It’s actually up there already…” She pointed her finger up at the building he lived in. “Lord Hokage had it put in there during the day. Obviously, he strongly felt you’d agree.” Her voice became slightly saddened when she said, “It’ll be out soon, though.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her, causing her mood to quickly spike back up. “Come on.”
Swiftly she ran to him and tightly enveloped him in a tight hug. When she pulled away, he was smirking.
Ayako sat still for a while in her t-shirt and shorts after her recent memory ended and found herself grinning wildly.
After a couple minutes, she stood up and headed to her door. At the exact moment she opened it, Sasuke was walking passed.
As her grin grew into a full blown smile, she greeted, "Good morning Sasuke." He stopped and turned his head towards her.
"Morning," he muttered, no facial expression at all.
She leaned against the doorframe. "Did you just wake up?" He shook his head.
"Oh," she said. “Did you eat breakfast already?” she asked another question, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah,” Sasuke answered, placing his hands in his pockets as he moved to lean on the wall opposite her door. “Kakashi told us to meet him at six. There’s something he needs to talk to us about.”
“Must be something big,” Ayako assumed.
“And uninteresting…” he dryly added.
Ayako rolled her eyes and sighed at her brother when suddenly, an idea popped into her head. “How about I make them a little more interesting, then?” she suggested. He waited patiently for her proposal. “Why don’t I come along and hang out with you and your team afterward?”
Sasuke thought for a moment. "Hn…” He closed his eyes. “That would make the day better,” he admitted. “How fast can you get ready? Like I said, I have to meet my team at six and it’s getting pretty close.”
Stepping back into her room she responded, “I’ll be right out. Just go and grab an apple for me from the kitchen and I’ll eat it on the way.” She closed the door on him before he could say anything else.
Ayako got dressed in her normal attire as fast as she could and brushed her hair. After tying her forehead protector over her forehead, she took one look in the mirror, making sure she looked okay. She speedily walked out of her room, practically running into Sasuke as he stood outside her door.
“Let’s go!” He nodded in acceptance and handed her the apple she requested. “Thanks.”
***
"Good morning, Sasuke," Sakura greeted as the two arrived on a wide cement bridge. Her brother just glanced at the girl. "Good morning to you too, Ayako," she said politely.
"Good morning, Sakura," Ayako acknowledged.
"Good morning, Ayako!" Naruto's voice roared from beside Sakura.
She sighed at his usual overreaction, still not used to the loudmouth. "Good morning…Naruto."
"Are you dropping Sasuke off or something?" he wondered.
"No.” She shook her head. “I know Kakashi sensei has to talk to you three about something, but I thought afterward we all could hang out together?”
"That sounds like a good idea," Sakura commented excitedly. "Do you mind if we ask you stuff?”
"Of course, that won’t bother me. It’s not like you learned that much yesterday, right?" She grinned. “So where is Kakashi sensei anyway?”
“He always comes late…” the pink-haired girl complained sourly.
“How late?” she asked carefully.
From behind, Sasuke murmured, “You’ll see…”
The four ended up standing there for over an hour after the scheduled time. They mostly stood in silence, listening to leaves rustling, the birds chirping, and the stream trickling below their feet. All calming sounds, but still, Ayako had become very irritated, obviously not used to such tardiness. She was always told by her sensei: ‘Time is of the essence; waste not, want not. If its essentialness is understood, none will be lost, and there will always be enough’.
“This is ridiculous!” she suddenly shouted, disturbing the peace. “What kind of person keeps others waiting for this long?!”
“I know!” Sakura joined in her rant. “I always ask, why, why, why?! He sets the time and then we have to wait hours for him!”
“It’s not fair!” Naruto agreed, punching his fist into the air.
“What about my feelings? I rushed here so fast, I didn’t even have time to blow dry my hair!”
“And I didn’t even have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!”
“… You…didn’t?” Sakura hesitatingly questioned. “That’s really disgusting, Naruto.”
“I seriously did not need to know that…” Ayako abruptly shuddered at what came out of his mouth.
Turning around, she leaned over the railing and watched the water flow. She thought about how much she wanted to jump in and swim away, but the opportunity to hang out with her brother for the day made her put off the idea. But it wasn’t enough to make her stop wishing Kakashi would show up already.
Her wish came true right then when suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared on top of a post at the end of the bridge. The person emerging from it was none other the Kakashi.
"Hey, good morning everyone,” he cheerfully greeted. “Sorry I’m late. Afraid I got lost on the path of life."
"You liar!" Naruto and Sakura simultaneously pointed accusingly at him.
"Ayako,” he ignored them, noticing the odd one out of the group. “What are you doing here?"
"I’m just waiting for these three,” she answered honestly, shading her eyes wither her hand while she stared up at him.
"Oh I see.” He jumped down onto the bridge. “Well you’re lucky I only have to talk to them. It shouldn’t take long.”
“If it’s very important, I can leave.” She was being considerate.
“No, that’s not necessary,” he said. “Besides, you should already know about what I have to tell them.”
Her eyebrow rose on her face. “I should?”
“Mhm…” he hummed, and then turned his attention to his students. Bringing his hand to his face with his pointer finger pointed up, he spoke. “I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunin Exams, all three of you.” He brought out three, manila colored sheets of paper with writing on it. “Here are your application forms.”
“Application forms?” Sakura restated in a question form.
“You’re repeating me Sakura,” he told her. “This is all voluntary. It’s up to each of you. If you don’t feel ready, you can wait till next year.”
“All right!” Naruto cheered, running to the man. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around his neck, giving him a hug. “Kakashi sensei you rock!”
The two spun around in a circle once. During so, Kakashi warned, “Hey, don’t slobber on my vest!” He pulled Naruto off of him and set him down. Giving an application to him, he added, “Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application and come to room 301 at the academy. It’s at three P.M., five days from now. That’s it.”
Naruto proceeded to smile wildly at the information while chanting, “Chunin Exams, Chunin Exams.”
“As I said before, this wouldn’t take long.” Kakashi turned his body to face extra girl. “They’re all yours, Ayako.” She bowed respectfully.
With that, Team Seven departed with their sensei, and went off with Ayako.
***
The four Genin walked down the pathway together in silence at first. Naruto walked with the Chunin Exam application in front of his face, staring at it with utter excitement. Sakura trudged on in a sort of slump in between the two boys. Sasuke, acting as cool as ever, strode with his hands in his pockets, with a stoic look on his face.
Even though they all had different expressions, Ayako knew exactly what they were thinking about.
“So…” she started to make conversation since that was the point of her meeting them in the first place. “Are you all eager for the exams?”
“Hell yeah!” Naruto answered. “I’ll be up against a lot of really wicked ninja! Are you ready for it, Ayako?” He leaned forward to be able to make eye contact with her.
“Of course I’m ready,” she replied, confidence in her voice.
“How long have you known about the exams,” Sasuke asked her.
“A while,” she responded. “Nishiya sensei gave us our applications the first day we came, but we’ve actually known about it for a few weeks now. That’s kind of why we moved here around this time. It made it easier for us to take care of settling in before the craziness begins.”
“Craziness? How do you know it’ll be crazy?”
She let out an awkward laugh. She forgot they didn’t know all about her days as a Kiri shinobi. “…I’ve experienced the exams before.” She rubbed the back of her neck while she talked. The three gave her a curious stare as they waited for her to explain. “My team was entered in them three times in the past two years.” The cat was out of the bag and they reacted to it as if it was a bomb.
“Three times,” Naruto’s voice rose because of the surprise, “and none of you became Chunin?”
“It wasn’t our fault,” Ayako defended. Her voice rose as well but it was because of her embarrassment. “Nishiya sensei took us out each time right after the first portion. Why?” she asked for them. “Because she claims we ‘weren’t ready’,” she quoted bitterly, “but I know that there was more to it because we absolutely were.” Ayako let out a huff to try and rid herself of her pent up agitation while the three watched her strangely.
“Well… that’s understandable.” Sakura attempted to help the girl calm by showing her consideration. “Speaking of Nishiya sensei, where is she along with Yumika and Etsuyo?” She knew the best way to relieve tension is to change the subject.
Ayako took the girl’s verbal aid. “I believe Etsuyo is with her younger sister-“
“Speaking of her,” Naruto interrupted, which caused Ayako’s vein to start popping out and the agitation to rise again for not being able to finish. “Where was she when we first met you guys?”
She breathed in and out once. “You know how I had to talk to the guards?” They all nodded. “She was with me at the time until one of them offered to take her to get the paperwork needed to enroll in the Academy,” she explained. “Anyway, they’re together, while Yumika is either training or at home, and Nishiya sensei is probably working at the hospital again.”
At this point in their chat Ayako decided to head off the road and sit on the grass. The other three followed and did the same without any objection.
"Hey, Ayako?" Sakura spoke as she sat down. Ayako brought her attention to her. “Before you said we could question you and there’s this one thing that has been on my mind.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll gladly fill you in.”
“I was hoping you could explain what exactly happened yesterday,” the pink haired girl confessed. “You know, with the whole Yumika flying, you making it rain, getting pulled underground by Nishiya sensei, and Etsuyo lighting her hands on fire?”
“Sure.” She shrugged not seeing a big deal. “Hmmm… where do I begin,” she said mostly to herself. “Well you see…have you ever heard of the story: The Children of Mother Nature?"
Sasuke and Naruto shook their head doubtfully but Sakura recalled what she was talking about. "Yeah, in the academy," she replied. "It was about the legend of five shinobi who were able to move around the elements at their own will…but they and their power were only a legend."
"Actually… they aren’t,” Ayako declared, ready to retell the story.
"It’s all true?” Sakura was bewildered at her statement.
“Obviously.” She gestured at herself, smirking at the surprise. “That’s what I, and the rest of Team Shizen, proved yesterday.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Naruto stopped them from continuing on. “I’m confused. What’s this ‘Children of Mother Nature’ story?”
“Why don’t I tell you the basics of it,” she offered with a sigh. Clearing her throat, she began. “A long time ago, before the creation of the Five Great Nations, there was a powerful woman that went by the name of Mother Nature who walked the land. She had the gift of controlling the five elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Water, but when she died, she separated her gift and let them go free until they connected with the next wielders. Those next wielders ended up being five siblings who happened to be her descendants. The eldest was granted the power of Earth. The second could control the wind. The third was able to hold and burn fire. The fourth had the capability of charging lighting. The fifth, the youngest and last child, managed to direct water. All commanded their element with their chakras to do their bidding whenever they wanted, without the need for the use of jutsu.”
“If that’s real, how does it work?” Sakura wondered.
Ayako scratched her head, rustling through her mind to find the right words to explain. “Every shinobi's chakras are exposed to one of the five elements. But these five rare people’s chakras are so exposed, instead of changing into the element, or surrounding it for manipulation, it becomes absorbed in a way that allows them to maintain the control. It’s like magnets. The two pieces stick together; when one moves the other follows.”
The puzzled expressions only continued to watch her, which ultimately made her want to fall onto her back to lie down. It was kind of exhausting trying to make things clear. She wondered how her sensei was able to put up with this, remembering her facial communication when the big news was announced.
“Okay…” Sakura spoke slowly. “So… you were able move around the water because you have special chakra?”
“In a sense, yes,” she confirmed shortly.
“That makes you…?”
“The next generation of the Children of Mother Nature,” she finished for the perplexed girl. “The five siblings lived around the age of when Konoha was formed. When they past, they did the same thing their ancestor Mother Nature did. They let it go free until they found the next wielders and that turned out to be Nishiya sensei, Yumika, Etsuyo, and me.”
Something right then clicked in Sasuke’s mind. "You said there were five elements and five wielders, but there’s only four of you. Who has the chakra for lightning?" Sasuke asked.
Ayako grinned at her brother for picking that up. “There’s a reason why no one believes my team when we tell them what we are until we show them. That reason is the mystery of the missing lightning chakra. Like you noticed Sasuke,” she faced him, “there’s supposed to be five of us, but there isn’t. It’s possible the fourth sibling actually never cast out his power or the person who has it now, hasn’t shown it. If that’s the case no one will know who has it.”
She saw their verbalization begin to soften, giving her the idea that they were beginning to understand, but of course not completely.
"It's all complicated,” she said to them, “I know, but consider yourselves lucky. You didn’t have to learn every single detail. I just gave you the short version.”
If that was the short version, they didn’t want to even imagine the long version.
Ayako recalled it taking one very long afternoon to hear the story from her sensei, and the rest she learned before, during, and after her training. Again, she wondered how Nishiya put up with it, especially since she had to teach three students rather than one.
Unexpectedly, a figure appeared from the side of the group, pulling her out of her thoughts. All four turned their heads to see who it was. At the moment, the person was crouched over, making it hard to see their appearance, but once they stood up, it became apparent.
“Oh hey, Yumika,” Ayako greeted her teammate.
The girl eyed Team Seven before responding. “Hi…”
“What’s up?” She stood up and walked over.
“I saw a large group of outsiders head their way into the village,” she talked quietly as if she wanted her words to be a secret. “Seeing as they must be here for the exams, I just wanted to know if you’d like to check them out.”
Ayako’s face immediately brightened. She turned back to the others. “Sorry Team Seven, but I have business to take care of.” She ran off with Yumika before they could interject. “See you later!”
When they were a good distance away, Yumika asked, “Are they entered into the exams?”
“As of this morning,” she confirmed.
Yumika hummed at the validation. “I can already sense the intrigue coming off of you.”
“Only because seeing my brother in action has sparked my interest,” she nicely argued.
These exams will definitely be the most entertaining one yet, she mentally cheered. I can’t wait for them to begin! Five days, hurry up and pass!
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Chapter notes: A/N: This takes place in episode 21.
Chapter end notes: A/N: Are you ready for the Chunin Exams?!