A Thousand Years

The Festival

"You were just one lap short." Nina leaned against a tree, watching the boy pant for air.

"Yea... I know... I'll get it next time!" He smiled weakly. Soon after, he was up and running, and soon after that, he was lying on the ground again. She saw that this wasn't going anywhere.

"How would you like a change in scenery?" Nina asked. Barely able to catch his breath, Naruto tried to get his words out.

"Wh... what do... you mean?" He puffed.

"Get up. We're going for a walk." Confused, Naruto pushed himself off the ground and followed the woman out of the field. The two walked in silence for a long while, he noticed that she was avoiding the largely populated areas as well as the commonly used paths. A little odd but he's grown used to it, after all, it's been a while since he's started training indeed her.

Realizing that she's now stopped walking, he stretched his neck out to see what she was looking at. It was... nothing. The only thing he saw was the forest in front of them.

"Why are we here?" He asked, careful as to not sound rude.

"Running laps can get boring, I thought I would give you some encouragement. You will run to the other side of the forest, if you're caught, you must do fifty laps before learning anything."

"WHAT?" Naruto's eyes widened as his jaw hit the ground. "I can't outrun you!" He flailed his arms in desperation.

"You won't be outrunning me, you'll be outrunning the forest." He thought he heard a deep laughter echo from the trees. "You see, this is a special forest; the trees are alive. One must run with all their might in order to pass these trees or else they will catch you." A mysterious glint shone behind her eyes. "There is one mile between us and the other side of this forest, you may replenish your energy beforehand. Go take a break." She instructed. Naruto was still in shock.

"But..." He trailed off, doubting that he could do it. He tried to think rationally: he knew that this would get him closer to becoming a ninja but also knew that it was almost impossible for him to run such a distance without stopping. 'I guess I have no choice...' He thought with a frown. "Alright!" He exclaimed, balling his hands into fists. "I'll be back in an hour!" He turned on his heels and ran towards the village to get some food. Even though he was dreading the task, he knew that Nina would not have given him a break outside the normal time if she didn't think he needed it.

"How are you Naruto?" Teuchi smiled as the said boy ducked into the small store.

"Great!" He said overenthusiastically. "I'm gonna need your biggest bowl of ramen!" He shouted, slamming a fist down on the counter. "I have a big day ahead of me!" The owner blinked at the boy before smiling once again.

"Coming right up!" He called, turning around and began preparing the food.

Not long after, Naruto had finished his meal and was on his way back to the forest he had been lead to. He saw the outline of the treetops and the fear his him like a truck, his stomach began churning and his heart started pounding, still, he pushed himself forwards.

"It won't be that hard, they're just trees, how fast can they be?" A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"You're back, excellent. I presume you're ready?" Nina asked, standing up. The boy gulped and nodded, walking up to the edge of the forest. He stared into the dark canopy.

Green vines were twisted around sickly branches, dull leaves congregated on the lifeless grass as they watched their living counterparts twitch weakly in the wind. The towering trees glared down at the boy and their branches, gleaming with mischief, seemed to beckon him in. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.