Let It Burn: Birth [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 20

The swelling had gone down by the next day. Mai woke later than usual, which made her sit up abruptly. Walking into the kitchen she found the woman sat at her table, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Oh good, you're up."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Mai questioned. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Somehow my alarm turned off."

"I did that."

The girl blinked in surprise before cocking a brow in her direction. "Come again?"

"I let you sleep in."

"What about training?"

"There will be none of that today. Tomorrow is the final rounds, and I will not have you running about and risk injuring yourself. Besides, I always believed in letting my students rest the day before any exam. It allows them to be more focused and settle into a calmer mindset. Having you practicing until the last moment will not only drain your chakra it will make you exhausted, more frustrated, and worried than before. A majority of my former students who refused to rest would perform in a sloppy manner compared to those who had."

Mai nodded, grabbing her breakfast and sat at the table. The two were quiet, Belva reading over a scroll, while the Genin ate the food. It was easier to eat the woman's strange, healthy meals since the first time she arrived. This place very much reminded Mai of her own home.

"When you're done there is something I want to show you," Belva spoke up.

"What is it?" Mai asked. She set down the now empty glass on the table.

"Come with me."

Inside the woman's bedroom, she opened a secret hatch. The two walked down the steps into a basement of some sort. Mai couldn't help but gape at what hung on the walls. Nearly every imaginable weapon was here, age not showing on any of them. They looked practically new.

"This is my weapon room."

"It's huge!" Mai exclaimed. "I wish I could have something like this at my place?"

The woman scoffed. "What would a Genin need with all these weapons? Besides, for someone your age you wouldn't know which one to start with. Save it for when you're older."

The real reason the woman had so many weapons on display was because they once belonged to others from the Be Fong Clan. Upon graduating from the Genin Exams, a Be Fong had the chance to pick a weapon other than a kunai or shuriken they wished to master. Now, they served as reminders of the past.

Mai rolled her eyes. "You know, you're killing the mood? What's the real reason you brought me down here if not to show off?"

Removing a sealed box from the wall, she placed it on the table. There was a uniform inside.

"This is one of the last surviving uniforms of the Be Fong Clan," Belva relayed.

Mai's eyes widened once again.

"I only have two others. More can be made, but I didn't see why I would need more since I believed there were none of you left. I want you to have this one."

"Sensei, I can't–"

"You can and will. This is not up for discussion. You will wear this into the arena, and for the many years after that, until you retire. You may change the look accordingly as you grow up, like so many did, but the basics will still be the same. For example, the symbol on the back. That you never touch. Understand? That was how your household worked."

"Thank you, sensei." Mai was stunned by the woman's kindness.

"Now, out of those clothes, and into these. I may need to hem them to your small frame."

The Genin was all too eager to try on the uniform.

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The next morning came with haste. Mai got up before dawn to dress and strap her belt and weapons in place. Belva sat in the living room drinking a cup of tea, while the Be Fong are alone at the kitchen table. When the sun began to rise over the mountains in the distance, it signaled that I was time to leave.

Belva handed over a wrapped item to the girl before they made their way out the door. She was confused by the gift before unwrapping two short swords that had her clan's symbol on the butt of the hilt. The woman didn't have her student decide this time. The sensei had watched her movements and progress. And observed how she performed with wooden batons in practice to spar against one another to improve her kunai technique.

"They would want you to have them," Belva simply stated.

As they walked down the path towards the bridge, the girl asked, "Will you be coming to the exam, sensei?"

"I will be there a little later. As if I'd miss my student's debut performance. Your opponents won't know what hit them. Though I have to do a few things to do around here before I join the rest of Konoha."

"Thank you for training me," the girl bowed as they came to the stream. "I know you didn't have to say yes, but it meant a lot to me." Then before she took her leave, wondered, "Do you think after the exam I could come back? I still think I've only scratched the surface."

Belva grinned and ruffled the girl's hair. "You're gonna do great kid. I guess you could come back... When I'm free that is."

Mai smiled lightly, knowing that was as close to a 'yes' as she was going to get.

"See you at the match!" the Genin called. She sped walked down the path and through the woods to head back to Konoha.

"Just make sure you think before you act in the arena!" was the woman's last words of advice. She waited till her student was out of sight before turning back into the house to get ready herself.