desolate minds

xiv. full of love, full of light

The woman was gone, leaving a gust of sand in my face. I coughed, spitting out grains, not wasting another second before I ran after her. I knew she'd beat me, especially after such a stunt, but where was the fun if I didn't even try to win?

A small smile crept up my face as I raced through the village. My heart definitely felt a little bit lighter.

× × ×

Upon making it to the training grounds, Shaiā wasted no time in getting my evaluation started. She walked me through some basic stretches before having me do some tests to assess my current skill level. They ranged from running laps to punching tree stumps repeatedly; it was honestly more tame than I had been expecting, not that I was complaining.

"Okay," Shaiā said after one final test. "You seem to be above average for your age, but there's a lot you can improve on. I can tell you're a clanless kid."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shaiā either was oblivious to my offense or just blatantly ignored it as she replied matter-of-factly, "Well, clan kids are usually trained from a young age. You're clearly self-taught, or either didn't start training until later on. Also, clan kids are prone to using clan-specific fighting styles. Yours are a mix of the Academy's and your own bastardized version."

"...Oh."

"Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with that! You don't have to be from a clan to make it far as a shinobi. The fact you graduated at such a young age says enough about your potential and current skill level to me. Now, moving on— Show me all the ninjutsu you currently know."

Showcasing my ninjutsu was a very quick affair. I basically only knew the Academy basics, and hadn't focused on learning anything new due to my interest being on other specializations. Shaiā looked like she had definitely been expecting more from me, as after finishing my final jutsu (demonstrating how durable my sand clones were) she seemed to be waiting for me to continue. When I didn't she kept watching me expectantly.

"Um," I said awkwardly after enduring her stare for a while. "That's all the ninjutsu I currently know."

"Oh? Really? Okay, then..." Shaiā tapped her chin. "Well, nothing wrong with that! Let's just move on. You performed all of the Academy basics perfectly. No need for improvement there; you'll do that gradually as you continue your career as a shinobi. Next, we need to figure out your chakra affinity so we can expand your jutsu arsenal a bit more."

Digging through her pocket, Shaiā pulled out several sheets of what was most likely chakra paper. She held one out to me, and I watched as, with a pulse of her chakra, the paper ignited on fire before shriveling up into a burnt crisp.

"You just channel a small amount of your chakra into the paper and your affinity is revealed! Pretty nifty, right? Your file said you have excellent chakra control, so I expect this shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you. Here, give it a go."

I grabbed the paper Shaiā held out to me and scrutinized it. From the corner of my eye, Shaiā looked amused but didn't say anything about my blatant dubiousness. I seriously wondered how these pieces of paper worked. Fūinjutsu was the only reason I could think of.

Focusing back on the paper, I did as my sensei instructed and channeled a small amount of my chakra into the paper. The results were instant.

The paper split in half, before turning into dirt and crumbling to the ground a moment later.

"Oh! Two affinities, huh? That's tricky, but also fun. I don't know many earth jutsu, but I know a couple of wind jutsu that I can teach you." She winked at me. "Not right away, of course. There's more to being a ninja than flashy jutsu!"