Chapter 15 Part 1
This morning... was not ordinary. What made it unique: I was the one climbing through Naruko's window, not the other way around.
My feet touched the wooden floor lightly. I looked around: even in the pre-dawn twilight, it was clear — nothing had changed. Naturally — this isn't my first visit to the blonde's living quarters.
Yeah... no changes whatsoever! Absolute minimalism. Spartan. Furniture-wise: a pristinely clean table with one lonely empty ramen cup, a wardrobe with clothes, a nightstand with an alarm clock beside the bed, the bed itself. Against the wall next to "my" window — a pile of notable clothing heaped up. The cherry on this "cake" was... a crumpled pair of panties.
"Kami-sama, Naruko!" I rolled my eyes. "What a... slob you are."
Kami-sama... What a girl. Manners like that — more befitting some boy! Although... she really is, in a lot of ways, a genuine tomboy. And this is her home, but still...
"Not the point," I murmured, approaching the bed upon which Naruko was literally sprawled. She was sleeping — and I mean SPRAWLED. The blanket was crumpled at her feet, the pillow jammed against the headboard, and the girl herself lay in the pose of a drunken starfish: on her back, arms and legs flung wide, her pajama top shamelessly rucked up, exposing her stomach, while her body teetered right on the perilous edge between the bed and the floor. One wrong move and the blonde would crash down with her entire mass.
It seemed Naruko was dreaming of something pleasant — evident from her contented mug and the periodic sound of giggling. Looking at her, it almost felt shameful to wake her. But nothing to be done — if you're gonna start something, you've gotta do it right, regardless of any "want to — don't want to."
"Naruko, get up," I called to the girl, gently nudging her shoulder.
"Mnnfmmm..." The girl murmured through her sleep, grimacing.
"Time for training!" A little louder and more insistent.
"Mmmppffuumm..." Scowling, she rolled over in a big, clumsy motion, hiding her face in the crumpled pillow.
"Na-ru-kooo..." Switching tactics, I leaned toward the girl's head and whispered in her ear. "Sakurai-kun's here! Sakurai came!!!"
"Mm... yym... ghy-hy-hyyy..." The girl gave a somewhat lewd (?!) giggle, but that was the extent of her reaction.
"Hm..."
After a moment's thought, I poked the exposed side with my finger. The girl twitched.
Poke. Poke-poke.
Poke-poke-poke.
Poke-poke-poke-poke-poke...
Naruko began to stir, laughing from the tickling, but... didn't wake up.
"Well... you forced my hand. The gods see I tried, but you leave me no choice, Naru-chan." Sighing with feigned sorrow (I did feel a little guilty, but only a little), I resorted to extreme measures. "Hora, Horo!"
"Hai-hai!!!" The pair of twin carps responded to the call instantly.
"Organize some cold water," I giggled quietly against my will, anticipating the mischief.
"We play with water!"
"Nice and cold!!!"
"One — and two!" The pair began swirling above the bed, forming an impressive bubble of water between them.
Eh... hey-hey, that's way too much!!!
"Sto!!.."
SPLOOSH!
"GYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Oh, way too late.
***
"Well, Koru-chan..." Naruko whined, trying her absolute hardest to look like a miserable kitten in the rain. She was nailing it, and I had to fight hard not to feel sorry for her and give in to Uzumaki's entreaties.
"Naru-chan, we've already discussed this," I brushed aside any objections from the girl in a gentle tone.
"But it's so stupid! And wet!! And nothing works anyway!!!" The girl puffed her cheeks capriciously.
"Naruko."
"But! But!! This is a stupid training exercise!" The girl was clearly frustrated and hurt. "And you with that stupid stick too!.."
"Naruko. Naru-chan. Nothing happens all at once," I repeated my own words patiently, probably for the fifth or sixth time that day. "It's nothing if you don't get brilliant results instantly. Right now, what matters is your sincere desire and diligent effort. The great Uzumaki Naruko is strong precisely because of her perseverance, isn't she? She yields to no one — isn't that right?!"
"Well, yes. I guess... Heh-heh-heh..." Naruko flushed awkwardly at this simple compliment. The girl cheered up instantly.
"Well then, shall we try once more?" I suggested. "And after that, I think we can unseal lunch. Right about then, my clone should return. You need a lot of energy, so I-clone asked Teuchi-san to make a Special Large Portion of Super Spicy Ramen for you."
"YEAH!!!" She exclaimed, clapping her palms sharply against her cheeks. "I'm ready!!! Let's do this! Banzaaai!!"
"Banzaaai!!!" Two dozen voices echoed her cry.
The highly motivated horde of girls charged into the water at full tilt. Well... I can understand their enthusiasm — it's already past midday and I'd made the executive decision to ban breakfast.
For training, we'd gone pretty deep into the "green" part of Konoha, away from the residential areas. I decided it was absolutely critical for Naruko to learn control and concentration. By mastering them, she'd be better able to control the Fox's power and resist the demon's influence. At least, that's what I believe. Willpower — that's the cornerstone that keeps a jinchuriki from becoming a bloodthirsty beast.
And we decided to train willpower following the example of certain monks. And for this training, I needed specific conditions.
"Brrrr! It's so cold!" Naruko shouted, seating herself in the lotus pose under the powerful streams of water.
"Ahh, I'm soaked to the bone!!" Complained another Naruko.
"Ooh!... These stones are so hard! My poor butt..."
Yes, it was precisely that — the Famous, Clichéd Waterfall Training! In my humble opinion, it suits Naruko ideally. She's rather restless and easily distracted, yet at the same time — utterly stubborn in certain situations. So I decided to select the ideal conditions for training. Everything required was here: there was a challenge, there were distractions; there was something that forced concentration; and there was something that shut out everything else. Meditating under the endless streams of water, Naruko felt the cold and the oppressive pressure of the water mass; she felt the water streaming down her body; her ears heard only the roar of the water, which severed her from the other sounds of the forest; and the constant spray forced her eyes shut, cutting the girl off from the lion's share of information about the world. Even the scent was singular — the smell of water.
Thus, Naruko was effectively isolated from the rest of the world, left alone with herself. She, her inner world, and the Universe. Though, I didn't expect Naruko to instantly comprehend Zen, attain Enlightenment, and reach Nirvana. Nor did we set that as a goal.
Of course, one external irritant remained — me, periodically prodding the girl with a half-finished bokken — in reality, an ordinary hexagonal wooden stick on a handle — at those moments when meditation drifted into sleep. Yes, Naruko, even in such a situation, managed to fall asleep! Perhaps I shouldn't have woken her so early, after all. On the other hand — if you're gonna do something, do it right. Early rising also tempers the spirit! In this case, at least.
The clones served as a pleasant aid. Just look at how Naruto trained his wind chakra skills using his legions of shadow clones. And developing chakra control skills differs little from training to strengthen the spirit. After all, as I've noted more than once: everything that requires mental labor, Shadow Clones accelerate proportionally. In this case, their relative fragility plays no special role — what matters is that, through the Kagebunshin, the original Naruko will acquire the self-control skills she so desperately needs. You try once — and fail. You try again, and then again and again. Until you grasp that very "thread" that will lead you onto the correct path. I believe in Naruko's abilities. Where only perseverance is required, she'll invariably achieve even greater success than people possessing special talents. All she needs is time and practice. Lots and lots of practice.
So, one could say that with her shadow clones, Naruko is simply shortening time. Shortening it substantially, of course. And it's unlikely anyone besides her is capable of this: as far as I know, even Akashi doesn't risk creating more than three or four clones at a time, and she's a fairly strong jonin. Naruko, however, churns them out by the dozen! Naturally, as the quantity increases, quality suffers greatly. As far as I could understand, Naruko's clones, due to their numbers, lose a great deal in terms of information transfer, and the more there are, the worse it gets.
But in meditation — that's an entirely different matter! How fortunate that the waterfall is wide enough to accommodate all these Narukos, including the original. Now, counting by the number of clones, Naruko can develop twenty times faster. Through a method of numerous trials and errors, she'll acquire the skills and experience so necessary to her.
I, for my part, as a true wise sensei, strolled slowly along the row of meditating girls, occasionally giving one Naruko or another hints and correcting mistakes:
"No, no, Naru-chan, you don't need to tense up so much," I said to one of the clones. "Relax, feel the stream washing over you. Focus your inner gaze upon yourself; look deep into your essence."
"Easier said than done..." She muttered discontentedly, but obediently relaxed her posture.
"That's it. Honestly — it's not as hard as it looks. Once you find the right path, everything gets easy."
"Z-z-z-z-z..."
"Naruko, don't sleep!" I lightly prod the neighboring Naruko in the chest with the bokken.
"Whaa?!" The drowsing girl loses her balance, falls backward, and plops into the water. "Uuvvv!.. Gurgle! Ptui-ptui! Mmmoou! Koru no baka! Why did you do that?!"
"You fell asleep," I tap the bokken against my palm, calm as anything. "Return to your place, and try not to fall asleep again, Naruko-chan. Don't go so deep inside yourself."
"Meanie!/Sadist!/Jerk!" Several voices rang out behind my back. I whirl around sharply, sweeping the focused faces with a keen gaze. Looking at the identical faces, all I could do was grunt meaningfully: there was no guessing who had spoken.
"Teachers must sometimes be demanding and strict!" I declare didactically, planting the tip of the wooden sword against the ground. The mass act of meditation continues. I observe with pleasure the relaxed state on the faces of some Narukos.
"Ah, it seems they're moving in the right direction. Good, good," I nod contentedly at my own thoughts. These are still only the first, timid steps, but even such progress is gratifying. Right now, it's only a few clones. Next time, there'll be more! The accumulated experience will help push forward, then — even further, and then further still. Ah, willingly or not, I'm beginning to feel envious of Naruko's rapid progress... She's already fairly capable, and the shadow clones — her unsurpassed cheat — fully aid the half-blood Uzumaki in unlocking her potential. Even a little envious.
Time flowed unhurriedly. The clones and the original continued to train. I was quite satisfied with my pupil's persistence; her lack of overt talent in the field of self-discovery she compensated for with determination. Well, and with quantity too, yes. If everything continues at the same pace, Naruko'll be able to master the basics within a few days. As I've said: in this matter, the main thing is to find the correct path; after that, it'll be much easier.
"Well, it seems it's time to take a break," I decided, exchanging glances with the clone who'd arrived. "Kami-sama, how wonderful that, out of all these Narukos, only one needs to be fed!"
I laughed awkwardly at these thoughts. Yes, it's terrifying to imagine how much money I'd need to feed them all! Ah, my poor finances...
"Good. Naru—"
SPLOOSH-FWOOOSH!!
Two sounds merged into one. Suddenly, something fell from the waterfall, crushing about five clones. And plopped into the water. Everything was instantly engulfed in steam. The remaining clones erupted in astonished exclamations. Someone moved clumsily; someone accidentally jostled someone else, and a fresh succession of steam explosions followed.
"Kha-kha! What happened?!" The original Naruko shouted, dispersing the clouds of white steam with her hands. "Huh?! What's THAT?!"
"?!" I stared in shock... at the BODY bobbing on the water. A body — a human body, drifting face-down on the water; a body that had fallen from the waterfall.
I didn't even think; my body acted on its own. Dashing to the person, I quickly dragged them to the shore. I felt the wrist for a pulse — there was one, and a rather distinct one, to my surprise. I leaned down to administer artificial respiration and... received a stream of water to the face!
"Pfuuh!.. Ah, it seems I fell asleep for a bit? Ha-ha! Oh, and who are you?!" A lively, ringing voice asked me. "And what are you folks doing here?"
"Ara..." I murmured in a state of some shock, rapidly processing everything that had happened. The drowning person was — or rather, had been — cheerful and utterly unbothered by the incident. "You... sort of... fell down the waterfall."
"Oh, is that so!" She exclaimed in surprise, smacking her fist into her palm. "I must have fallen asleep. That happens to me, ha-ha-ha-ha!!! Sensei usually wakes me up when I fall asleep during training! But this time, it seems I overdid it and fell asleep during warm-up! Heh-heh!"
The girl laughed goofily and enthusiastically, dazzling us with a full thirty-two-tooth smile, scratching the back of her head with an awkward motion.
"Hey, you fell asleep while training?!" Naruko exclaimed, staring at the girl. "Listen, Eyebrows-chan, you're strange!"
Look who's talking!.. M, wait! Eyebrows?!
To my shame, only after Naruko's tactless words did I think to examine the "drowning victim" carefully: short black hair, black eyes, a sturdy build, a green jumpsuit hugging her trained body, bandages on her hands... And rather remarkable, luxuriant eyebrows.
Kami-sama, how could I have been so blind? The resemblance is obvious! Though — in my defense — the chaos didn't leave much time for studying faces.
"Eyebro—?.. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself!" The girl pushed energetically off the ground with her hands and sprang to her full height, striking a vivid pose. Her little fist thumped resoundingly against her ample chest. "My name is Lee! Rock Lee! Also known as the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha! In the name of the Power of Youth, let's be friends!!!"
Just as I thought — that's exactly what Rock Lee would look like had she been born a woman. Or in a parallel world where nearly everyone changed gender.
"Oh! I didn't quite get what you were on about, but I like you! I'm the future Fifth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruko! Let's be friends!!!" Naruko exclaimed, gifting Lee her signature grin.
"And I'm Nagisa Kaoru. Pleased to meet you, Lee-san."
"Ooooh! New friends! Naruko-chan, Kaoru-chan, in the name of Youth, let's give it our all!" Lee raised her fist above her head.
"Yeah!!!!" Naruko enthusiastically chimed in.
"So... what were you doing here? Few people usually venture into this part of the forest," the girl in green asked.
"Oh, I'm undergoing a super-awesome and secret training with the waterfall!" Naruko immediately bragged.
"Ooh! Training! I adore training too!" Lee exclaimed fervently, her eyes literally blazing with enthusiasm.
"Uh-huh. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10 km run, every day," I uttered jokingly. Oh, I shouldn't have done that. I just, for a brief instant, forgot precisely whom I was currently speaking with...
"OOH! Kaoru-kun, Naruko-chan! I can see the flame of youth burning within you!! This is simply splendid!" Lee... teared up?! "Sensei will be so happy that I've met such wonderful people! Let's now train together! Now I'll additionally do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10 km run, EVERY DAY!!!!"
"Ghm, that's some enthusiasm," I mutter under my breath. Even Naruko looked somewhat embarrassed and bewildered.
"Ha-ha-ha!! I'm proud of you, Lee!!! That's what my beloved student should be like!!!" Another voice joined in, and a shadow fell over us all. Turning toward the sound, I already knew whom I'd see.
She stood on a tall rock, blocking out the sun. A green, tight-fitting jumpsuit, a green vest, short hair, and a blinding smile.
And I felt, once again, the universe giving my brain a solid whack.
________________
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