A Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 7 - Picture-perfect

It was a beautiful day. The sun showered Konoha with its warmth, occasionally hiding behind thick white clouds that dotted the sky. Slow but refreshing, the wind tickled the grass, the vibrant leaves of the trees and most importantly the little tendrils of hair that had escaped Aki's high ponytail. A perfect weather for the perfect day. Picture-perfect.

Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.

Too bad Aki wasn't enjoying any of it.

"Aki-chan! You're so sloooooow... Come on, if this was a real shinobi fight, you would have been killed in mere seconds!" Shisui whined from the other side of the field.

Remind me please why I even decided to come here.

Huffing and puffing, Aki peeked between her hair to glare at a happy-go-lucky Shisui smiling brightly waving her shuriken in the air.

It had been roughly 1 hour and 9 minutes since Shisui announced the start of their training. A little warm-up game of 'get-Aki's-shuriken-which-Shisui-unrightfully-stole-from-her-last-time!' Honestly, Aki was a tidbit proud of herself for lasting so long. Her stamina was unusually low compared to how frequently she trained. Something she was never proud of.

"Aki-chan! How long are you gonna stand there catching your breath?! You're not even in a stance!!" Shisui shouted again.

Motherfuck, why is he so obnoxious. Aki rolled her eyes in frustration.

Her hundred-and-seventh try of the day, Aki grit her teeth and sprinted toward Shisui as quickly as she could and performed a flying kick aimed for his abdomen. With a smirk, it was dodged and Aki landed on her fours, sweeping her legs at Shisui. Putting space between both of them, Shisui casually wiggled his eyebrows. Propelling herself forward, Aki continued to barrel Shisui with a combination of offensive attacks. However, a single move from the handsome boy sent her landing on her back.

"Ah, Aki-chan! You're on your back again~ You can't steal a shuriken from an opponent if you keep on lying on the ground like it's your bed!" He giggled.

"Fuck you." Aki mumbled not bothering to get back up.

"Aki-chan!!! You used a bad word!! Did you hear it from your parents? It's a big nono! Santa's not going to give you presents this year since you've been a bad child." He chided with a pout.

"Fuck you and Fuck Santa. Uchiha-san you are a very provocative person. Do you realize this?" Aki replies with a sigh.

"Of course I do! It's what makes me ME! And stop calling me Uchiha-san... I have a perfectly fine first name that you can use. You're going to confuse every other Uchiha in the village if you keep calling me that. And you're definitely going to have to call my name when we hang around the village because you're so small and cute and everyone's gonna smother you!"

Why does he think I'm ever going to hang out with him?

"Uchiha-san, please shut up."

Every muscle in her body was limp with exhaustion and excess lactic acid build-up. She gazed up at the sky observing the clouds for the first time that day, still refusing to get up. Shisui was complaining about it and probably chittering on their 'future' plans but as a way to protect herself, Aki had tuned him out.

Steadily catching her breath, Aki relaxed her body against the soft lush grass. The clouds took the form of many different shapes in her head. One looked disturbingly similar to a cross. She wasn't one for religion but her past parents had been devoted. She couldn't clearly remember their faces or voices anymore. They were patient and caring, supported her decision to move to the States for her college despite the costs and distance.

I wonder if I did manage to save the girl from getting killed. What would have happened if I didn't help her? Would I have graduated from medical school and fulfilled my dream? Did my parents, friends cope well with my passing?

Millions of questions bombarded the girl. Something that happened on a daily basis. Something that constantly bullied her as Ava, not Aki. It was one reason why Aki liked to train, it kept her occupied from her thoughts.

"Hey Aki, doesn't that cloud look like your stolen shuriken?"

Shisui's playful voice ripped Aki from her trance. He was lying down beside her, pointing at a cloud.

"And that one looks like a kunai! That one a cat!"

Aki turned her head to see Shisui grinning at the sky.

"Aki-chan! I'm not a genius four-almost-five-year-old girl but don't ponder too much on things that make you unhappy. I'm an adult! That's my job!" He beams pointing at another cloud.

Aki blinks.

"You're not an adult Uchiha-san. Your mental age is of a four-year-old so I'm technically older since I'm almost five."

"WHAT? That's not true!!" He whines childishly.

Maybe, he isn't as carefree and dumb as he gives off. I met him just yesterday... but I guess he's well... tolerable. Still an ass. A tolerable ass.

After a few more minutes of pointing and labeling clouds, both children resume their little warm-up game. Nevertheless, Shisui won and Aki still wasn't able to retrieve her shuriken.

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Sorry, it took so long. I'm currently back in Korea for my summer break and I was really busy...

I like to write my story in one sitting and post it on the same day (lol bless grammarly) so finally today! I had access to the internet (I wasn't able to connect via laptop and I only write on my laptop lol I'm so picky) and here we go!!

Life is still throwing rocks at my face, my schedule next year is shit and I have no possible way to make it better :)

Hopefully, I can graduate?

Anyways sorry for the late update.