Chapter 3

Jogan stayed with her for an hour, explaining the general layout of the village so that she wouldn’t get lost. He used the Hokage Monument as a reference point for everything. It sounded pretty dumb, but it did help, as it could be seen from nearly everywhere in the village. If she was ever lost, Jogan said to find the nearest Military Police patrol to ask for help.

Once he finished with his brief explanation of the village and the relevant buildings, which included the library, academy, bank, hospital, market, ninja supply store, and more, he finally started his long awaited lecture on chakra.

For nearly two months, she’s seen people use these mystical jutsu, sometimes literally mystical, and it was time for her to join them.

They both sat on the floor on the colorful rug, cross-legged with hands on their knees. Jogan watched her squirm in anticipation. “Chakra is the energy inside every living thing. You have chakra, I have chakra, plants, trees, fish—everything alive has chakra. A being without chakra is dead. To use chakra, you first need to learn to feel it. Just like how you can feel your own heartbeat if you focus enough, you can do the same for chakra.”

Jogan watched her wryly, but with a smile as she settled down. “Relax, take a deep breath. Close your eyes and clear your mind of distractions. Breath in slowly, and exhale slowly. Focus on the air moving in and out of your body.”

It took a few minutes of following his instructions, but Sano eventually calmed down. She’d never meditated before, but she remembered it was a thing back on Earth. People did it, so this wasn’t completely in the realm of fantasy yet.

Jogan must have seen her relax, as he spoke softly to continue his instructions. “Good. Now, swap your focus to your body. Chakra is different for everyone, and for me, it feels like a warmth. I have heard others call it a soothing cool. I don’t know what yours will feel like, but try to feel it. It’s always there, even if you can’t see it. Start with your stomach and your chest.”

She started with her stomach, searching for something other. After a minute or two of fruitless efforts, she slowly moved her focus upwards, scanning her abdomen, then her chest. Her heart beat at a steady, slow thrum, lulling her into a fugue. With every calming beat, she lost herself just a bit more in the meditation. The blood pumping through her veins, the warm blood—no, it wasn’t just blood. There was something else, warm and coursing.

This was it, her chakra. It wasn’t a pool of energy like she thought it would be, nor was it some physical thing like blood. It coursed and flowed like blood, but followed a different path.

“Good, Sano. You feel it.” She heard Jogan, if barely. He sounded far off, yet close at the same time. “Explain what you feel.”

Sano, eyes closed and still meditating, slowly raised her hands to sign… and that was the moment she lost it. She opened her eyes in frustration, letting out a soft tsk. ‘I lost it.’

Jogan chuckled at her frustration, but looked pleased. “You did much better than expected. It takes time to connect with your chakra. Now, tell me what you felt.”

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she explained. ‘It flowed like blood. Warm. It was by my heart.’

Jogan nodded once, sagely. “Warmth is common. And yes, chakra does flow, just like blood. Very good.” He raised his hand, tracing a path across his chest, starting from his heart. “It doesn’t start at the heart, but your chakra coils, located near your stomach, is where it originates. The heart plays a key role in its circulation, though. Chakra is always moving through your body, through pathways, like blood. As an Aburame, you had a separate pathway for your insects, flowing along the same channels. Now, keep practicing feeling your chakra when you can. The next step is circulating it intentionally. Start with trying to get the chakra to flow into your hands.”

Sano settled in to continue her practice as Jogan stood from his seated position. She peeked at him with one open eye questionably. Jogan caught her stare. “I will pick you up and take you to the academy the morning after tomorrow. Your situation is unique, so there will be some testing to see what class you should join. Rest up and prepare.”

Closing her eye again, she signed her goodbyes as Jogan left her new home. It wasn’t too terribly late in the evening, and she really wanted to use some jutsu. (Magic, in her mind.)

So, she practiced.

She probably should have seen it coming, but she woke up the next morning on the floor, not remembering falling asleep.

————–

The Hidden Leaf was a bustling village. Everywhere she looked, people flocked in small groups with friends or family, going about their days, heading to work, or shopping for supplies—Just like she was doing.

As she was technically a Genin, having done an assortment of missions in the past, she had some savings under her own name at the Konoha Bank. It wasn’t much, but it was more than enough for her to pick up some daily necessities. She wouldn’t be buying any ninja equipment, though. Those things were a little too expensive to go about buying willy-nilly.

As she walked, taking in the sights of her new home, she noticed that people gave her a wide berth. Nearly everyone around was a civilian, non-shinobi, and she figured that would have been the reason. It was slightly off-putting hearing the real reason, as she caught the tail end of a hushed but hurried conversation between a mother and daughter. “… Insect host, stay away if you don’t want to get infested.”

The focused stare and raised brows thrown their way only increased the speed at which they scurried away.

It shouldn’t have been surprising, because she had the exact thoughts that they did when she woke, but she didn’t have insects living inside her. How did they even know she was an Aburame?

Moving the surrounding people out of her mind, she focused on her shopping. Food was prevalent, readily available at the many vendors lining the majority of the market district streets. Many vendors watched her with hawkish eyes, but didn’t say much. Buying things without being able to speak was interesting, lots of games of charades and flipping through her keyring for phrases. Most of the hawkish glares faded when the eventual ‘Why can’t you speak?’ got asked, and she showed them the ‘War Injury’ card. She got a good amount of pity thrown her way then.

Not being able to haggle was a fucking curse though. From what it looked like, she was going to be paying full price for everything in her life. These greedy bastards didn’t even try to play nice or work with her on that end. The first time haggling blindsided her, as she hadn’t even thought about it at all.

It took around two hours to find all of her groceries, daily supplies, and some odds and ends to spruce up her pretty drab new home. Her arms were full as she made her way back to drop everything off.

“Oh?! A young leaf in need? My, my! It makes me remember the times of my youth!” An energetic, exuberant voice practically declared from beside her.

Next to her, a fucking weirdo in a green tracksuit made of spandex and some of the bushiest eyebrows she’d ever seen stood with his hands on his hips, striking a confident pose. He looked like he was in his late teens? Going by his headband, or hitai-ate, worn proudly on his forehead, he was also a Shinobi.

She just kinda… looked at him. It wasn’t like there was much she could do. Her hands were full and she couldn’t sign or flick through her keyring. He stared back, blinking every second or so as he awaited her response. Seeing as he was going to just stand there, she handed him one armful of her groceries, which he readily took hold of, and used her now free hand to flick through her keyring. ‘I cannot speak’ ‘War Injury’.

Weirdo’s bushy eyebrows sprang up to his hairline, but his full face smile didn’t fade in the least. “I see! Can’t speak, huh?”

He raised a hand high in the air, his splayed fingers slowly making a fist as he made a fool of himself. “You don’t need words to show your strength! Actions will speak louder than any words!”

He then did an admittedly impressive punch, one that displaced enough air to cause her hair to waver. “Strength, determination, and heart! The power of youth! That’s what really matters!”

Sano flipped through her keyring faster than she had ever before, eventually finding her wanted phrase. ‘I have to go.’

As the man read the notecard, she quickly swiped her groceries back, tucked her metaphorical tail, and sped away.

“It was nice to meet such an interesting youth!!! Go forth, and I, Might Duy, will watch your career with interest!!!”

Sano flicked her eyes around at the people surrounding her, who stared at her and Might Duy with pure, unadulterated cringe. They made way for her escape as her face heated. Her face grew as red as a ripe tomato from the public embarrassment.

Once she made it a few blocks away, she stood off to the side of the street, placed her things onto the ground, and covered her face with her hands, unimaginably embarrassed.

“Oi, buy something or leave. No loitering.”

Looking over her shoulder, she locked eyes with a grumpy-looking man. A scar ran down the side of his face, and it looked gnarly. Swiveling her gaze around, she saw she was standing in front of a unique clothing store—almost like a hand-me-down or surplus store.

The grumpy guy spit, hawking a gross loogie out onto the ground beside her. “If you’re gonna cover your face so much, buy a mask or something.” Then, the guy reached out of sight behind the opened door, and tossed a small black piece of fabric towards her. Either through immense skill or luck, it slid right into one of her bags.

“100 Ryo.” He said lazily, eyes running up and down her form as if impatient.

Seeing as it was cheaper than a loaf of bread, she flicked the guy a one-hundred Ryo coin and gave him a nod. He caught the coin with a lightning quick snatch, yet seemed bored. “Thanks for your patronage, or whatever.”

Satisfied about the whole loitering thing, the man stalked off back into his dimly lit store.

Reaching down, Sano pulled out the mask she’d just inadvertently bought. It looked well made, if simple. It was as black as her hair, and slightly stretchy. Peeking over to the guy who had just slumped down into his chair behind a counter, she looked back at the fabric. With a shrug, she pulled the thing over her head and settled it in place.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The mask was breathable, more so than she thought it’d be. It was nearly form fitting as well, smoothly covering the entirety of her lower face and down her neck. The soft, stretchy fabric sat on the bridge of her nose. And it was… comfortable?

She peered back suspiciously at the store owner… He just stared back unflinchingly.