Satoru watched the sphere of air near his fingertips. It swirled and moved around his hair a gentle breeze would.
He kept the volume unchanging and tried to force in as much air into it as possible without causing instability.
Satoru glanced at Shinichi who looked at the sphere with a stoic expression. Shinichi's eyes met his and then he just walked away.
"Is it better than before?" Satoru asked Shinichi who sat down beside Mitsuki, giving her a peck on the lips.
Satoru had a disgusted look as he just watched his Sensei kiss his foster mother.
"Do you want me to sugarcoat it?" Shinichi said disappointed, "You've gotten worse. You're letting the air leak away."
Mitsuki placed a hand on his own his leg, her voice was gentle but firm, "He's going into burnout. Our training methods... It's not sustainable."
Satoru's eyes widened. He attempted the jutsu once again trying to be better than last time.
'Were they giving up on me? I have more in the tank! Just... Just... Dont give up on me...'
Shinichi turned his sharped to see Satoru. He was overcharging the ball with excess chakra, forcefully making the air compress despite the pressure loss.
Just as he was about tell Satoru to stop he saw the ball explode. The force of the ball hit Satoru in the face—knocking him out cold.
Mitsuki went to check up on him. Satoru wasn't harmed but the force was enough to rattle his mind.
---
Satoru saw himself back in that house. That bad dream once again. He looked around the house, observing every single thing he could.
That dream was mostly forgotten now but bits and pieces resurfaced when he looked at certain furniture.
"This is my mother's home... My real mother!" Satoru muttered. He had no memories of the boy he reincarnated into, but his memories of his past life didn't stick to his mind that well either.
He had long forgotten what his grandmother looked like. He had tried to draw her face many times in an attempt to remember her.
Every attempt failed.
Eventually he gave up.
Satoru looked at a photoframe placed on a table, the kind that held multiple photos. It had three people's photo in it.
One was Satoru himself, or Sam the boy who died. The other was man he didn't recognise—he had blone hair and blue eyes, his face was that of a very serious man.
The third was her—Sam's mother. She long hair styled into braids. She had a sweet smile and her eyes looked kind.
Satoru didn't know what to think. Had he forgotten everything?
He suddenly heard crying. His legs moved without him wanting as he walked towards the source of the cries.
He saw his mother, sitting on the floor beside her bed. She held a phone and was listening to someone. The cries sounded throughout the rooms as he looked around.
The room was a mess. The broken glasses, destroyed curtains and clothes thrown everywhere.
Satoru looked at the woman who probably had a panic attack. He was unable to hear what she was speaking the person on the phone.
Suddenly he was pulled back. Back to Mitsuki.
---
"How long was I out?" Satoru asked Mitsuki who replied, "A few moments."
Satoru stood up and took the stance to create the jutsu once again. "Stop, Satoru. Enough training for today." Shinichi said, slightly louder than he intended.
"I can still keep going. I have the chakra for it." Satoru said but Shinichi stern look made him stop.
"Burnout doesn't help anyone. You will rest for the entire day. We will try some other method from now on."
"But it has worked so well till now! These three weeks of training has made made me much stronger. When Kaito and Chosuke will return they will be jealous of my strength!"
"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? This is just a setback. It will be overcome. By the time my suspension ends you will be strong enough to kill that Tessai." Shinichi said making Satoru back down.
Satoru had told Shinichi about Tessai being his target. He had greenlit his choice and had added extra things to train Satoru against fighting puppet users.
"What do I do now? It is still afternoon." Satoru asked Shinichi. He got no reply as Shinichi left the training ground.
"You'll come with me. I want to show you something nice." Mitsuki said, "We're going to the library!"
"What jutsu or poison will you make me read about now?"
"Not a poison. We're are going read about history."
---
Mitsuki made Satoru sit next her and opened a book which Satoru couldn't see the cover of. "Tell me what we are doing here. Are we reading ab—"
"Shhh!" Mitsuki shushed him. She handed him the book with the first chapter laid open.
A tale written in blood and ash. The Emperor and the Godmother.
Long before the formation of the hidden villages. In the warren states era, before the glory days of Hashirama Senju.
Akemi and Kasumi, the two sisters were born in the Islands of Koh, North of The Land of Lightning.
Satoru saw a handdrawn photo of about six people wearing old era plate armor with a certain sigil. He saw two of the girls that had striking resemblance. There were other four people who wore the same sigil.
In the centre of them was a man of dark skin and an attire that looked like nobleman's.
Lord Raizen, was an ambitious man who aimed to unite the descendants of the sage of six paths into one clan—one that served him.
His ambition was only rivalled by his envy of the Land of fire. His actions unified three out of six domains that formed the land of lightning.
Satoru then continued to read what was basically the political structure of the land. It didn't interest him much as he began shifting through the pages.
Mitsuki looked at Satoru turn the pages with a frown. Just as she was about to say something Satoru stopped.
The page was about the younger of the two sisters. A hand drawn image of a memorial orphanage created in respect of Kasumi. Satoru read more intently and learnt it was meant for 'special' kids.
At the end of the page there was a quote, "No child is a monster for being born differently from others. Afterall monsters are just unidentified creatures. If you understood these children like I have... You would never call them monsters!"
Satoru felt... weird. In a way, a sort of fondness came over him for the woman.
He turned to Mitsuki and said, "I'm hungry. Do you have any advices on where to eat?"
---
Satoru looked at menu and searched through the various dishes available. For some reason the grilled chicken was calling him seductively.
"I guess I'll have the grilled chicken." Satoru told Mitsuki who sipped her wine while looking through her menu.
"Just that? What happened to balance diet?" Mitsuki commented casually, there was a mild blush from the wine.
'Isnt this a rest day? I should be allowed cheat days.' Satoru sighed, "Fine."
The waiter came to recieve their order and Satoru began listing dishes like a judge lists out crimes committed by a criminal. The waiter smiled contently as he recieved a commission for each dish ordered.
When the food arrived, Satoru ate in a manner that would make the Akimichi proud.
After filling his stomach and emptying Mitsuki's wallet, Satoru walked away with a sense of accomplishment.
---
Satoru sat on a bench, enjoying the beauty of the Senju park. He greeted the Senju clan members and the others who had come to visit.
His view was suddenly blocked by the unfriendly neighbourhood police officers. Satoru could see the other scowl after looking at Hajime.
"Move along Uchiha, this is a Senju neighbourhood." Satoru said off handedly. He bent to side to continue looking at the birds flying in the distance.
"I want to talk to you about something." Hajime said. His quiet tone was unlike him.
"I have a right to remain silent because anything I say can and will be used against me." Satoru said standing and walking away.
"Wrong country Satoru." Hajime said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I paid the price! My career is ruined already. You cannot arrest me twice for the same thing!"
Hajime for a second stopped to think about what he heard. Satoru could never go beyond the genin rank and would be killed the moment he acts out of line. The Hokage had personally come to tell Satoru about this.
Hajime had protected his clan by providing a scapegoat. Satoru had spiked the foods, drinks and caused infighting among the people.
As Hajime got lost in thought, Satoru had long walked away. By the time time Hajime stopped dissociating he realised several minutes passed.
Hajime quickly body flickered to find Satoru. Eventually finding him with Tatsuo and Dai. Satoru was smiling, talking and having fun. Hajime felt a hint of pain thinking about what could have been.
Hajime with his family, talking freely, playing and having fun together.
But alas, he didn't get to choose the family he was born in.