7 Keeping Up with the Inuzuka 2 (1/2)
It was morning once again.
Somehow, she'd managed to crawl back to her room last night after that extreme marathon session.
”Venerable One... I have this burning question in my mind.”
”Speak.”
”Why do I keep waking up with five tails?”
She pointed at the five-branching horse tails on her back, which slowly shrunk back before finally disappearing from sight.
”Those tails are extensions of This One's chakra. If they shows up unprecedented, that means This One's chakra is leaking out because your body is not strong enough to contain This One.”
”Ugh...”
”They receded rather fast these days, are they not? Your body is getting accustomed to This One.”
Kokuo didn't want to admit it, but all the running seemed to work to some extent...
”So, I just need to get stronger, then they won't appear again?”
”Precisely.”
”That, I can do.”
She leaped out of the bed. At least her new body was suitable for training. A night's sleep and the fatigue were all gone. Perhaps Tsume's foods had something to do with it?
After finishing her housework, she was called by the landlord again.
”Keep at it.”
”Fue?”
That was all. No further instructions, just 'keep at it'.
Urk... another marathon? Even though she'd wanted to take it a bit easier from now on...
Back at the creek, Kiba was still playing with Akamaru at the exact same spot from yesterday. This time, she tried not to alert the boy. Instead, she ran around the nearby hill so she could take the upper ground.
And then, she jumped.
”What the f-!?”
Kiba nearly fainted from fright as the girl came crashing down out of nowhere.
With a swift motion, she stole Akamaru from his grip, placed him on top of her head, and then ran away.
Again.
”#$%”
Another storm ensued as the kids ran like a pair of lightning bolt over the entire village.
Say, didn't this boy got faster compared to yesterday?!
”Godamnit, stop! If I ever catch you, I'll-!” Kiba roared.
”Then I can't stop, can I?!” The girl cried out in return.
Feeling the wind smacking on his face, Akamaru was beyond ecstatic as he enjoyed the fleeting scenery passing by at breakneck speed. He kept barking at random times, inciting Kiba to increase his speed, in turn making her go faster in response.
When dusk arrived, two kids were sprawled out on the backyard. As usual, Tsume threw them in for dinner.
---
The routine continued until the fifth day. Kiba was nowhere to be found.
It seemed the boy had finally grown some brain cells and avoided the creek. After searching for a few minutes, she just shrugged and called it off. Not her fault that the boss's son avoided her, right?
Unfortunately, Tsume had already predicted what her son would've done. When the girl returned, she handed her a scroll.
”What's this?”
”My stupid pup's usual hiding spots. Go find him and drag him to train.”
”...”
'Boss Lady, if you already know where your son is, shouldn't you go by yourself instead- you know what, nevermind.'
She was already wet. Might as well dive until the bottom.
The first place in the list was the public park. No sight of the wild-haired boy. A failure.
The second place was a ramen stall.
”What's a ra-men?”
”Some long, tube-shaped human food. This One is not sure.”
”Tube... sounds like wheat noodles (mein).”
She stopped for a bit, marveling at the sight of surrounding buildings. They looked fragile and rickety, but somehow they were able to stand as tall as mountains. It was far too different from the architecture of the Yang Dynasty and its preceding era.
”I still can't believe that these houses haven't fallen over yet.”
”You humans like to live in strange places... This One likes the tranquility of the forests better.”
”It's possible to live alongside nature instead of erecting these overgrown shacks. If only I could bring you back to the Yang Dynasty, I would've showed you the beauty of Chang'an... oh wait, isn't that him?”
At the alley by the side of a stall with 'Ramen Ichiraku' written on it, three children could be seen lounging around, doing nothing in particular. The first one was a plump boy. The one beside him was a thin boy with spiky hair tied in a ponytail. The last one, who was crouching down with a pup slouched lazily on top of his head, was none other than the target of her operation.
”Venerable One, let me show you the result of my elementary stage training.”
She tapped the ground once with her feet, and then made a quick leap toward the wall. She only made a brief contact before she leaped once again, continuing in zigzagging fashion until she landed gracefully on the roof nearby building.
”What a nimble movement!” Kokuo remarked. It hadn't detected any movement in her chakra pathway, meaning that the entire sequence was done purely with physical effort!
”This is also a part of basic training, Qinggong. Not to brag, but I was quite good at it in my previous life. I should be able to move better if only I can use qi.”
”...”
That Qing thing... how to pronounce that?
”Nevermind that, let's get closer to our young master.”
The girl stealthily jumped from one roof to another, until she reached the ramen stall. She scooted toward the edge of the canopy until she could hear what the kids were talking about.
”Maaan, this is boring... hey, let's go get something to eat,” the fat boy complained.
”Choji... you just ate an entire bag of chips just now.”
”I'm growing, alright? Hey, Shikamaru, what do you say? How about getting us some bowls of ramen?”
The ponytail boy stared lazily at the clouds above, not paying attention to his friends' bickering. He just made circular gesture with his fingers and answered briefly,
”No money.”
”Ngh...”
Well, money was indeed a problem...
”By the way, Kiba... your stamina is getting better these days, what happened?” Choji squinted. This guy couldn't have secretly trained without telling them, could he?
”Tch, don't remind me. There's this crazy chick who keep on stealing Akamaru, so I had to chase her throughout the village for the entire day!”
...Huh. What a weird situation.
”Brown hair, black eyes, wearing dark-colored robe?”
”Yeah,” Kiba nodded. ”Wait, how did you know?”
Choji pointed above Kiba's head.
A pair of hands were lifting the little pup away. When Kiba looked up, he saw the face of that 'crazy chick' he'd talked about just now.
”Whoops. Bye!”
Placing Akamaru on top of her head as usual, the girl grinned at him before quickly sprinting away.
”Raaaaagh!”
Showing unprecedented dexterity, Kiba jumped onto the roof in one single leap, and then took pursuit, leaving Choji and Shikamaru in the dust.
”...”
”...Should we... help him?”
”...Nah. It's such a drag.”
”...Okay.”
Thus, the so-called beautiful friendship was abandoned just because it was 'too troublesome'...
By the way, the result of today's chase: two kids laying dead in the backyard, and one happy pup.
---
The merry (?) occasion continued for a month, until one morning Tsume told her that she could stop.
”That idiot pup finally decided to stay at the academy. Heheh... I guess he's afraid of getting tailed by you!”
”...”
So... she didn't have to be a dog thief anymore, right?
”Hey, do you... want to attend the academy as well?”
Tsume stared at her with inquisitive eyes. Something in that question made her feel like she was being prodded.
”Not interested,” she promptly replied.