三十八 | Fine, I will show you once

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三十八
lingering hope

Kuina knew that Itachi's decision was absolute, but even then she still had a lingering false hope that maybe he would change his mind

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Kuina knew that Itachi's decision was absolute, but even then she still had a lingering false hope that maybe he would change his mind.

She knew she should know her place as a captive; asking Itachi to take her with him on his mission was indeed a lot to ask for. But she was desperate. She just really wanted to go outside. Partially because she was always confined, but majorly because of the fact that in the upcoming week, it would be her twentieth birthday.

People in her clan always took the twentieth birthday rather seriously. During this anniversary, the clansmen must spend it with the person they loved most. Even though she didn't love Itachi like that, within the world where she had no one left, he was the person she thought she was closest to. He didn't know her birthday, but just spending the day with him wasn't too bad.

Yet in the end, she had to come to accept that Itachi was absolute with his words - that notion of hers was a mere chimera in the current reality. So, she pushed it to the back of her mind and decided that instead, she would focus on her training.

The next morning after that day, she decided she must take the initiative to ask Itachi to teach her.

Itachi was at the back of the hideout that morning. He stood in the shade, standing comfortably against a tree, sharpening his kunai. As much as she dreaded it, she decided to approach him. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but he didn't seem to mind her either. So, she took her chance to remind him to teach her. At first, he looked hesitant, but after a brief while of her pester, he let out a defeated sigh.

"Alright," he gave in, his face filled up with a grimace. "Then tell me your current skill level and we can take off from there."

Kuina fidgeted with her thumbs as she looked down at the ground, her face red. "U-Um, about that. . ."

He raised his brows. "What is it?"

She gulped as she refused to meet his gaze. "I don't have any skill," she murmured, her voice barely audible.

He blinked, completely dumbfounded. "Not even basic Chakra control like walking on water or climbing trees?"

She shook her head.

"You have got to be kidding," he muttered as he opened his mouth to criticise her more, but then he caught her sulking expression. A sigh parted his lips. "That's alright, that's completely fine. We can start from scratch, no big deal." He leaned back against the tree, exhausted even before they had even gotten started. "Let us start with the fundamentals then. You need to build your concentration and control. This can be achieved by hitting a target with precision."

With that, he walked away from the tree he was leaning on. Flicking out at kunai, he aimed it at the tree and threw it effortlessly, letting it embed into the trunk perfectly in the middle. Kuina gawked in with amazement as she slowly walked over to him, her eyes not leaving the target.

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