Friday's dawn found Asahi in exactly the same position that twilight had left him. Sitting cross-legged in the yard, drawing in the dust.
But something had changed.
The cycle of frustration had been broken, replaced by a new kind of routine, one of glacial progress.
Sssss…
He drew the kanji for "Water" (水) in the dust with his stick. A simple four-stroke kanji. Meanwhile, in his left palm, the leaf trembled violently, like a trapped butterfly. The flow of chakra was unstable, reacting to every intentional stroke of his right hand, but it didn't break.
'More gently,' he commanded himself. 'The vertical stroke. Not a strike. A drip.'
He relaxed his right shoulder. The stroke became cleaner. The leaf in his left hand calmed.
He had spent the entire night doing this. From circles to straight lines, and from straight lines to basic kanji.
He was retraining his brain, stroke by stroke. Learning that "intention" didn't have to be a shout from the whole body; it could be a whisper.
The sacrifice was his physical training. He hadn't done a single push-up in two days. His muscles, tense from years of growth and work, now felt soft, almost alien. Vulnerable. Weak. But every time he completed a kanji without the leaf falling, he felt a different kind of strength—a small, trembling strength that lived just behind his navel.
When he arrived at the Academy, he looked like a ghost. Dark, deep bags under his eyes, and his movements, normally sharp and economical, were slow, almost lethargic.
"Dude," Arashi whispered to Naruto as Asahi sat down. "He looks awful. Do you think he's sick?"
Naruto shook his head, eyes fixed on Asahi.
The morning was torture. Shinobi history. Asahi struggled to keep his eyes open. His brain felt fried, as if he had been awake for three days straight studying for an impossible final.
'Forced neuroplasticity,' he muttered to himself. 'Consumes as much glucose as a marathon…'
He almost fell asleep during the lesson on Konoha's founding.
Then, just before lunch, Iruka-sensei smiled.
"All right, class! It's been a long week. Before lunch, I want to do a quick review of our first chakra control exercise. Get your leaves out!"
A collective murmur ran through the room.
"I want to see how much you've progressed!" Iruka said cheerfully.
One by one, the students tried. Sakura, with her innate control, kept the leaf stuck for almost thirty seconds before distraction made it fall. Sasuke held his effortlessly, looking bored.
Even Arashi, after a week of yelling at flora, managed a glorious one and a half seconds before his leaf dropped, celebrating with a loud, "YES, 'TTEBAYO!"
"Excellent progress, Arashi," said Iruka. "Asahi! You're next."
Silence.
Asahi stood. Slow movements. Walked to the front of the class. The other children watched, waiting to see… well, they didn't know what. Another silent failure? Another moment of strangeness?
He stood in front of Iruka-sensei. Took a leaf from his pocket. Examined it.
'Calm.'
Placed it in his left palm. Took a deep breath.
'Buzz.'
The leaf stuck. Flat. Motionless.
Silence fell over the class. Asahi didn't move.
'Distraction,' he thought. 'The real test.'
Slowly, he raised his right hand. The class held its breath.
He clenched his right hand into a tight fist.
Click.
The leaf in his left palm trembled violently… but stayed stuck.
He opened his right fist. The leaf stabilized.
"Oh!" whispered Sakura.
Iruka-sensei was speechless. Eyes wide, not just from the success, but from understanding what he had just witnessed. Saw the dark circles, the paleness, the exhausting concentration. Didn't see a talented child. Saw a child who had spent every second of the past week waging war against his own nervous system.
"Asahi…" said Iruka, voice full of genuine awe. "That is… incredible."
Sasuke, from his seat, didn't look impressed. Eyes narrowed. 'So that's what he was doing… separating his systems. Mental brute force.' Recognized the stubbornness.
Naruto just smiled to himself. 'Calligraphy.'
"You did it!" shouted Arashi, breaking the silence. "Hey, why aren't you happy?! You did it!"
Asahi lowered both hands, cut the chakra, and the leaf fell. He felt dizzy. Doing it in front of everyone was ten times harder than in the yard alone.
"I…" Asahi wavered. "I'm… tired."
Iruka placed a stabilizing hand on his shoulder. Respect in the Chunin's gaze was palpable.
"You did incredibly well, Asahi. You identified your problem and attacked it with a discipline most Jonin would envy. I'm proud of you."
The praise felt warm. Unfamiliar. Asahi only nodded, unsure what to say.
"This is fantastic!" Iruka said, turning to the class, enthusiasm restored. "It means you're ready to try it again!"
Asahi's heart sank. 'Try what?'
Iruka smiled, brimming with teacherly pride.
"Let's go to the yard! Asahi, I want you to try the Kawarimi no Jutsu again!"
Asahi looked at Iruka, then at the substitution post he could see through the window.
'Shit.'
He had just learned to move a toe. Now Iruka was asking him to run a marathon.
His face went pale.