Tetsu lifted the blade from the water, inspected it one last time, and set it aside with the others. He wiped his brow and turned to Soseki.
"So, did that quench your curiosity?" he asked.
Soseki, still in his revelation-induced trance, slowly let out a soft, "Mhh hmm," nodding slowly in affirmation.
Tetsu smiled.In all his years at the forge, no child had ever stopped to watch him work. Most found the heat unbearable, the noise unpleasant, the repetition boring. But this quiet boy had stood there, unblinking, absorbing every strike, every spark, every breath. It stirred something in the smith—a quiet pride, a warmth he hadn't expected. Someone appreciates the craft. "Glad to know I put on a show for you," he said gruffly, masking the feeling. "The sun'll be down soon. You should head home."
Soseki bowed his head, offered his thanks, and walked back toward the orphanage.
As he walked, the gears in his head began to spin. An elated smile unknowingly plastered itself across his face. 'Absolutely brilliant! With this, my understanding of those diagrams has increased. The more I think about them, the more they make sense… The art of sealing IS SO SWEET!'
Lost in his musings, he found his way back to the orphanage before dark. He made his way to his quarters, first pocketing the length of ninja wire, then storing his new materials in his clothing cabinet.
'It's getting late… But if I rush, I should be able to make it there and back by nightfall', he reasoned. His mind made up, Soseki hurriedly dashed out of the orphanage toward the clearing where he and Arashi usually trained
It had been just under a week since Soseki had started training with his ambitious friend, and he found it delightful that his efforts were bearing fruit. He was noticeably more agile and limber; his speed had increased significantly from day one. 'I guess this isn't all that substantial coming from a kid who barely went outside before. Still, nice to see the training is going somewhere.'
Now at the training ground, he noticed someone and his face turned slightly irritated. "Arashi, is training all you do?!" he yelled.
"Get a hobby or something! You're already leagues ahead of me! Why are you still training at this hour?"
Soseki realized his words were a bit hypocritical. He stood by them anyway.
The aforementioned Arashi was throwing rusty kunai from a stationary position, hitting every tree branch his eyes locked onto. His face was drenched with sweat, his eyes focused, his movements diligent. His concentration did not waver even as Soseki called out.
The area was littered with ninja tools, most stuck into trees. It was obvious Arashi had been here for a while, practicing his throwing skills.
Soseki walked over and kicked him lightly in the crook behind his knee. "Earth to Arashi…"
Arashi stumbled forward, almost tumbling over, but pivoted on his good leg and flipped his kunai into a reverse grip, now facing Soseki.
"Oh… huff… it's just you…" He paused, breathing hard. "How's it… huff… going?"
Something was off. The moment his focus broke, his body seemed to forget how to breathe properly—short, shallow gasps that didn't quite fill his lungs. It was as if, during training, his system had shifted onto an automatic, hyper-efficient rhythm, conserving every ounce of oxygen, every scrap of energy. His muscles had known exactly what to do, his lungs had worked in perfect silence. But now, pulled back to the surface, he had to manually command each breath. And he was realizing, with a dizzying clarity, that he wasn't getting enough.
Arashi bent over, hands on his knees, sucking air. "Not… nice."
Soseki stared at him with faint amusement, not bothering to apologize for the stunt he pulled.
"Yeah, whatever. Have you been here all day?" Soseki asked.
"I got here at noon. Been training since," he wheezed out. Finally, he found his rhythm, his breathing returning to normal.
"Where've you been all day? I was looking for you, y'know." Arashi straightened up. "Where were you?"
Soseki recalled his meeting with Yorozu, his wandering that led him to Tetsu, and finally his revelation. He decided to sidestep the full story.
"My scrolls are back at the orphanage, but I did bring some ninja wire to test out. Looks fun, doesn't it?" he asked.
"Fuinjutsu, huh? That's… definitely a choice, I guess. Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Arashi scrutinized the ninja wire, trying to find what special mechanic Soseki could see in it. "Also, what's up with the string?"
"You're such a brute," Soseki said dryly. "If my ninja wires bore you so much, I guess I'm not going to share."
Arashi, wanting to humor his friend, said, "Alright, go ahead. Enlighten me. What's so special about your dental floss?" He earned a tired glare from his buddy.
"Look, it's like Velcro. It sticks to itself, and the hold is pretty firm, but surprisingly, it doesn't get in the way of handling. It also adheres to metal pretty easily."
Soseki picked up a slightly cleaner kunai and wove the string into the hole at its end. He was about to throw it but then realized he didn't know how. Instead of embarrassing himself, he handed it to Arashi. "Throw it."
Arashi, still not seeing where this was going, took the kunai, settled into form, and mechanically threw it at a tree.
"You barely hit that…" Soseki said matter-of-factly, as if thinking out loud without realizing it.
"Shut it! I'd like to see you do better," Arashi retorted.
"So what's your shtick? What's so special about it?" he asked.
"If you can't see the underlying implications, you, my friend, are not worth the trouble of understanding real art," Soseki said sagely.
"Spell 'implications,'" Arashi spat.
"Don't waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice," Soseki continued.
"You don't know either, do you?" Arashi said, deadpan.
"...Nope. But I'll make something work," Soseki answered.
"I'm going to make you pay for wasting my time in tomorrow's training," Arashi threatened.
Soseki yanked the kunai out of the tree with a tug, reeling it back into his hand. "Yeah, whatever. I'm keeping this kunai, by the way."
He swirled the wire in a circle, the kunai turning into a blur, letting out a soft hum as it spiraled through the wind, then he sent it at a sturdy looking branch, it completely missed its mark to Soseki's chagrin and Arashi's amusement.
But then it suddenly looped around the branch, the kunai's weight acting like a pendulum guiding the wire to wrap around the branch tightly.
Soseki smiled as he tugged on the wire. It felt sturdier than he expected. He put a bit of weight on it—it held. A little run-up, a leap, and he was suspended, swaying side to side like a metronome testing its tether. The wire groaned but didn't give.
Arashi's eyes went wide. 'Ninja wire?..' He'd always written it off as glorified rope. Something to bind a captured enemy, maybe string between trees to trip someone up. 'But this?'
"Alright, I admit," he finally said, a hint of reluctant awe creeping into his voice. "That's pretty cool."
Soseki landed softly, a rare grin tugging at his lips. He coiled the wire around his palm with practiced ease.
"Anything but learning how to use chakra," Arashi murmured to himself, the words slipping out half-consciously. He didn't even realize he'd said it aloud.
Soseki caught it. He just shrugged, turning his attention back to the wire. Then he moved.
Before Arashi could blink, Soseki was scaling the wire hand over hand, feet finding purchase against the tension. In seconds, he was perched on the branch above. He crouched, plucked the kunai from the wood, and unraveled the wire with practiced care. His eyes scanned the clearing, settling on another trunk some distance away. He spun the kunai once, testing the weight, then released.
The blade soared. The wire followed. It wrapped cleanly around the target, cinching tight.
Soseki gripped the wire, took a breath, and pushed off.
He swung.
The world blurred past him, wind whipping through his hair, the evening air cool against his face, his stomach lurching with the thrill of it. For a moment, he was weightless, suspended between two points of his own making. Pure, unfiltered euphoria flooded his chest.
Then the kunai slipped.
The wire unraveled, and Soseki was falling. He hit a bush a few feet below, the branches catching him with a crunch and softening the impact. He tumbled out the other side, landing on his back with a thud.
Arashi's eyes went wide. "Are you alright?!" he yelled from the clearing, genuine concern cutting through his voice.
Soseki pushed himself up. He was mostly unharmed—a few shallow cuts along his arms, light friction burns where the wire had dragged across his palms. He rolled his neck, and a quiet pop escaped from the motion.
He flexed his fingers, testing them. Sore, but functional.
"I'm good," he called back, his voice steady.
He looked down at the wire still coiled in his hand, then at the distant tree where the kunai remained embedded. A faint, amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
'So worth it.'
'"Anyway, Arashi, that's enough for me." Soseki brushed a few stray leaves from his clothes. "Any more swinging and I might be too injured to be conscripted."
His jaw tightened. "You're doing well, training hard. Just make sure you rest, yeah? That'd make two injured boys unfit for battle."
He let the words sit for a moment before turning. "I'll be heading back to the orphanage. Don't stay out too late—you know how Oyari-san gets."
A pause. A faint smile.
"See you tomorrow.""
His voice carried across the clearing, soft but clear, before fading into the evening air.
Arashi smiled, watching his friend's figure shrink into the distance. He stretched, rolling his shoulders, then glanced up at the tree branch where Soseki had been perched moments ago.
"Hm?" His eyes narrowed. "Darn. He left my kunai up there…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have a limited supply of those. Ugh."
A voice drifted from the shadows behind him, low and grumbling. A teen stepped out from the treeline, still muttering under his breath. His visible eye was narrowed in irritation, and his fists were shoved deep in his pockets.
"—and he just stands there, acting like he's better than everyone. And she just eats it up, like, ohhh, you're so cool, you're so talented. Ugh. I hate him. I hate him so much. I swear, that guy—"
Arashi spun, kunai in hand, then relaxed. "You again. Do you ever announce yourself?"
A boy with dark hair and a pair of orange goggles pushed up on his forehead stepped out from the treeline, still muttering under his breath.
Arashi raised an eyebrow. "Rough day?"
"Rough life," the boy grumbled. Then he glanced up at the tree, spotted the kunai, and sighed. "You're just gonna leave that up there?"
Before Arashi could answer, he was already moving, a quick leap, a handhold, and he was on the branch. He plucked the kunai free, flipped it once, and dropped back to the ground, pressing it into Arashi's palm.
"Here. I know you don't have many of these."
Arashi blinked. "...Thanks."
The boy shrugged, then his gaze drifted past Arashi to where Soseki had disappeared.
"That him?" he asked.
Arashi nodded. "Yeah. He's the one I told you about."
The boy watched Soseki's shrinking silhouette. "Interesting kid. Weird eyes though."
Arashi grinned. "You're one to talk."
The boy chuckled, low and knowing. "Yeah... I guess I am."
He dropped onto a stump nearby, stretching his arms behind his head with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, since I'm here—let me vent for a minute. You don't mind, do you?"
Arashi shrugged, settling onto the grass. "Not like you'd leave if I said yes."
"Exactly." The boy leaned back, staring up at the darkening sky. "So."