Aisha's POV
It was three days before the exam. That meant I only have less than 72 hours to master my jutsu. Time was running out.
Sure, I had an idea, but i don't really know if it's possible for me to do in only three days. Based off what Haruzen had said the first time and the way he left, I was able to come up with an idea.
The jutsu doesn't have a name yet, but that's the last thing on my mind. What I do have in mind is: I'll extract a large amount of my chakra and form it into a thousand sharp, thin blades. Then I'll control the chakra to swirl around me like a cocoon or like when Kiba uses Fang Over Fang. After I'd stand there for a few seconds to make sure I'm completely concentrated on the target, I'll do a round house kick in the direction I want. Following the kick, the thousands of chakra blades will spiral together and shoot out to trap the target in a cocoon. That cocoon will be similar to mine except the chakra dome will quickly get smaller and smaller, and evidently, it will slice them up until they are dead.
So far I can control everything, except for extracting so much chakra and forming it into a dome twice in under a minute. To take away so much chakra that's purely mine is lethal. But if I try to take any less of mine it'll automatically take slivers of Tanakas. And even those tiny bits is enough for him to gain more possibility of breaking free.
So in other words, I'm royally fucked.
The Hokage hasn't shown up yet as he usually comes around noon. The past few days he watches me attempt at doing the jutsu, grunts, then leaves. Honestly, he sucks at being a sensei. I mean, what's his deal? Shouldn't he at least tell me if I should scrap the idea and make a new one?
"Will you stop complaining and just get to work! I can hear your thoughts too, Brat, they drive me insane!" Ah yes, the ever so lovely Tanaka is back in the story, your welcome fangirls and boys.
'The feeling is mutual, my furry friend. So mind your own fucking business and get out of my head.'
My sights shifted to the enormous black room with water on the floor. Tanakas cadge reached high in the air, the seal my clan created that kept him bound was over the middle bars like a stop sign. There wasn't any wind but my clothes and hair still ruffled like a breeze was washing over. It was chilly and smelled faintly of smoke.
Tanaka had his fiery blue back to me. Flames on his tails flickered while they swayed slightly. I squared my shoulders, prepared for bantering with him.
"I am not your friend," His soft voice made the water below him ripple calmly. "So why would you call me that?"
I froze, then I put my hands on my hip and leaned forward, "Well I don't have a reason not to, do I? Plus your stuck with me so we might as well be buddies."
He chuckled dryly, "Out of anyone to ever exist, you have the most reason to hate me. Being friends is out of the question."
I laugh, "Awe, aren't you a little antisocial wolf."
He growled still refraining from eye contact, "I'm anything but little, brat."
"Okay, okay, it was only a joke. Now, tell me what you mean by 'I have the most reason to hate you.' Incase you forgot I have memory issues now."
"You never were so care free, especially around me. You changed and you don't want me to ruin that happiness with the truth."
My playful act dropped. Since when has he ever cared about my happiness? I spoke loudly, "What truth? Are you hiding something from me?"
He hesitated, "No."
"You are," My voice was almost a whisper. "Something big....what is it?"
He didn't speak, he just shifted in his sitting position.
"Tanaka! Listen to me, what aren't you telling me?" I felt rage bubble up in my chest like soup on a stove that's been boiling for too long.
"I have a right to know, so tell me! I don't care if it hurts me, I survived that pain before, I can do it again! What if it's about—Is it my parents?"
His left ear flicked and that's when I knew I was right. "Please tell me about them, you have too! I've been seeing them non stop for weeks now and I don't even really know them! You have to tell m—"
He turned around way to fast for an animal of his size. He brought his snarling face up close to the bars, making his snout stick out through them. His red and gray eyes burned through me, making my voice die out,
"Enough! Stop pestering me about them! There's nothing you need to know about them except what you already know; they're dead. And they won't come back simply because I told you what I remember about them!"
His screams created wind that sent my hair flying back full forced. I shielded my face from him.
"If you really care I'll tell you. Your parents both were foolish people who died like idiots! They were the ones who trapped me inside your mind! They did this to us! All the pain and suffering you've ever experienced was because of those scums! They hated you and what you've become, nothing but a monstrous, scared, little girl!"
My eyes widened and my heart dropped, but I refuse to accept this. I tense my body and raise my sore voice, "That's not true! They loved me, I know it! The visions, the song, the picture, they don't lead to hatred! I demand you give me back my memories, every single day I ever spent with them. I want them back!"
My voice cracked, "You don't know what it's like to forget, it sucks. A lot. I woke up one day barely able to remember my own name! And then painful memories that I still can't make sense of started overwhelming me. I had to relive the torture Orochimaru did to me and the evil things I did for him. The worst part was waking up only to find out I'm completely alone! My clan, my friends, my family, all dead. Again. I have to go through the that again without the slightest clue of what even happened! You ignore me completely now and my wolves avoid the subject because it affected them too. So my life is just one big ball of suck right now, I hate it!"
My eyes stung with angry tears, I never used to cry so much, still I didn't dare let them fall. My fists were clenching and unclenching, "But this is different, I don't care if it hurts. I want those memories and you have them so if you could please, please, give them back to me! Their my—their my family!"
I didn't know what else to do so I bowed down to him. My hands wiping my face to prevent the tears to fall. My bent back shook with every sob as my dark hair fell over my shoulders.
Tanaka watched, all ten tails snipping behind him in a pattern resembling a flame. He said nothing as I fell on my bruised knees, feeling pain that I've felt so many times before, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.
"....I told you all you need to know for now, so leave me be." He sounded rough and stood strong. But I heard a slight waver in his voice.
I looked up, brushing messy hair from my face with a gloved hand. His body was still facing me, but his head was angled to the side. He wasn't growling anymore, and his eyes stopped glowing like Christmas lights. His ginormous chest heaved up and down from all the adrenaline and force he used to scream.
I watched him carefully from my crouched position until I came to head turning conclusion.
"You love them, didn't you?"
His head snapped back to me, with wide eyes, "What?"
"Something happens to them, partly or completely because of you and you regret that so much but you don't want to admit what you did or that you ever did liked them. So you blamed it on them and tried to hide your feelings. But at one point, you did love them."
His tails were swishing behind him wildly but he said nothing.
I pulled out the slip of blank paper from my pocket. I exhaled then focused a small amount of my chakra into the blank photograph. In seconds, the picture responded to the blue energy and the photo of my family appeared. I looked at the smiling faces then turned it around.
I stood up and walked right up to Tanaka's iron cadge. I moved so close to it he'd be able to bring down his snout and eat me as if I were a light snack. But for some reason I doubted that he'd do that, not now anyways. I extended my hand with the paper and faced the front picture to him.
Hesitantly, he lowered his furry head and peered at me then the photo. His eyes were clouded but he didn't dare blink.
"I remember this.....from a long time ago." He raised his paw and extended it out. He opened it up which I took as a sign that he wanted to hold the picture. So I gave it to him, he carried it closer to his face carefully.
"You remind me of them. Hn, that's probably another reason why I hate you," his tails waved slightly and the blue fire along his spine rippled.
"....Your father was the one who taught you all the seals and healing that you know. Your mother introduced you to your birth wolf, King. As well as showed you how to use your Kekkei Genkai."
His words triggered some fogged up memories to surface in my thoughts. Flashes of my father showing me complicated hand signs that my stubby little fingers couldn't complete. Another one where I would always pull on his vibrant red hair because it's stunning colour attracted me so much. He would laugh lightly and try to pry my grubby hands away; only for me to pull harder and he yelps in surprise.
My mother carried a small black wolf that, although being young, had a serious look over his sleeping face. She set King carefully in my short arms, smiling wide. Next, we were in a forest where her eyes shone silver instead of blue. She was motioning for me to copy her stance and concentrating my chakra. Her cheeks had the six triangle Inumaki clan marks that resembled mine as she talked excitedly.
The last one was the vaguest; all I could remember was them handing me a stack of black and silver edged cards with a turquoise bow on top. My dad gave me a tight hug, inspiring my mom to practically jump on top of us for a 'group hug'. This was my last birthday with them....
My mind swirled then next thing I knew I was back at my training grounds, laying on the lime green grass. The sky was blue with a tinge of purple, two Ravens circled above me. I looked around but everything seemed okay. I was okay.
I sat up and propped my arms against my folded legs. At this angle I was barely a meter away from the Hokage Mountains edge, the view of the entire village lay before me.
I stayed like that, starting silently for a while. Until I sensed someone behind me walking closer. I recognized the chakra so I didn't even turn my head. I pulled the hair covering my eyes back.
"It's beautiful," the Hokage stood beside me with his arms pulled behind his straight back. He turned to me, waiting for a response.
"Hey Old Man," I stood up and brushed off my training clothes. I spoke while adjusting the bandages on my knees and wrists, "I think I got that jutsu down."
He smiled as he extended his arm out, "Well then, let's see it."
I went the direction he pointed, opposite to the villages scenery, and faced a short tree I've been using as a target to practice. I thought of the photo in my back pocket and closed my eyes.
Inhale.
I brought my hands together and formed three signs carefully. I felt my energy intensify and waited for the right moment.
This time, when the memories of my parents invaded my thoughts, I felt more comfortable with them. It felt right. So this time, I let them invade.
Exhale.
My arms shot out from beside my thighs all the way up over my head. Chakra visibly trails out after them, resembling large blue bat wings. I pull my hands down quickly towards the front then swish them back out like I was opening two heavy doors. Rapidly the chakra forms around me in a sphere and I feel my body lift up off the ground with the momentum until I hover two meters high.
I wait for the correct time, focusing on my wooden target. In that short time the chakra shapes into a thousand little cyan blades. I added some wind element to amplify the attack. This next step is the hardest, trying to control my chakra well enough that I don't end up using Tanaka's....but I don't know if I can do it myself and live.
'Might as well go out with a bang,' I impulsively decided.
I swiftly pull out six cards, three in each knuckle, and flick them out the sphere towards the target. All of the chakra surrounding me moves after the card trails rapidly, making me descend to the dirt.
Then, something happened that I didn't expect and don't really understand. In the short milliseconds the thousands chakra blades followed my cards, the colour changed.
The blue turned silver.
My eyes widen in fear, could I have really just let Tanaka out?! Is that even possible?!!
The newly coloured silver chakra was ten times more powerful than if it were my normal blue. It moved with a deadly aura as it dived for the small tree, howling after the cards.
The black cards hit the tree first. Then the small chakra blades formed a dome around the tree, spinning so it got smaller and smaller. Eventually the blades got close enough to the tree that it got shredded up to tiny pieces until nothing was left.
Same moment I landed, the silver chakra formed itself into a glowing ball that hovered and hummed.
Still half dazed, I outstretched my hand and the ball moved towards me. I half expected Tanaka to start laughing like a maniac, appear next to me and squish me under his enormously furry paw.
But that didn't happen. Instead the ball gently sat in my opened hand, making a noise like a satisfied animal—a wolf to be exact....
I completely forgot about the third Hokage until he stood up and started clapping, "Seems you were able to fulfill your task after all. In all my years I've never seen anything like that. Well done!"
I looked at his proud face then back to the whirling sphere. I closed my fist around the ball and it shrunk until all the essence absorbed back into me. A thousand feelings washed over me, but content was the one I felt the most....and the dire need for sleep.
I giggled and almost lost my footing out of second-hand exhaustion, "Not bad huh Old Man?"
"Come, I'll walk you home. On the way there tell me exactly how you did that juts—what's the name of it anyways?"
I paused. I guess I haven't really thought about it, I was to focused on actually doing it....
"Wolf's Rage."
The Hokage looked at me oddly, "That's a peculiar name. Care to tell me why you chose this?"
"That's something for me to know, Gramps, and for you to never find out."
He chuckled lowly but I suspected some suspicion. Hey I would be too if I just saw a kid do an S rank jutsu that shouldn't be possible to do unless you were a jinchuriki, which I just so happen to be.
My body felt like lead, I must've strained it too much. I walked clumsily behind Haruzen, holding onto trees for support. It looked like the sky was spinning all around me, the birds seemed to be taunting me. Yep I was going insane and about to blackout.
So that's exactly what happened, I took one last step then crashed face first in the dirt. The world dissolved into a black abyss where I seemed to be floating aimlessly. There was no light sorce, but I could still see myself when I looked down. White dots reminding me of stars shone in the background.
"Brat, there's something you should know about that photograph," Tanaka's voice seemed to come out of nowhere, it was his usual deep voice but with more of an edge.
'And what would that be?'
As if hearing my thoughts, Tanaka's voice said, "Bring it out so I can see, flip it over."
I did as I was told and turned the paper over so the blank back was facing up. I looked around for Tanaka but still just saw the stars.
Suddenly his figure appeared in front of me. He looked kind of normal, except the stars behind him shone through as if he wear transparent. One of his flaming blue tails reached out to the picture in my hand. He touched the blank side of the photo and infused a small amount of his silver chakra.
I stared at the glowing paper until Tanaka retreated his tail and the ink began to show up like a secret message.
My entire body went numb. I froze in place with my eyes glued to the writing, rereading it multiple times to try to make sense of it. Maybe if I stared long enough the words would change.
They didn't. The black ink stayed the same. I felt my hand fall, dropping the picture in the process.
'This isn't possible,' I felt as if a chill ran up and down my spine. 'But that could mean.....he and I are.....'
Scrawled in neat handwriting read:
"December 24, XX17
Aisha's 5th birthday.
(Left to right)
Akira Inumaki, Aisha Inumaki, and Kei Uzumaki."