Renewal [Rewrite]

~34~

After a very tense minute of silence, Kakashi threw the feather aside with a lazy shrug.

"Well whatever, we have more important problems than an overgrown bird." He said with a yawn.

I tried my best not to look offended at that comment.

"As I was saying before," Kakashi said, his eye narrowed. "Zabuza isn't dead."

"How's that possible sensei?" Sakura asked fearfully, clutching her dress. 

"Yeah, you said he was dead." Naruto added.

"The hunter-nin." Sasuke and I said at the same time, making me flush in embarrassment.

"Good job Yuuto, Sasuke," Kakashi smiled, or at least he probably did. "Can anyone tell me why the hunter-nin was suspicious?"

"They are supposed to destroy the body on sight and only take back the head or an item, proving they are dead." Sasuke said, scoffing when Naruto gave him a dumbfounded look. "They covered this in the Academy."

"Oh yeah, they did!" Sakura exclaimed, red in embarrassment.

"Not only that," I added onto what Sasuke said. "But he used senbon, and while they are very accurate, they don't inflict much damage, and are even capable of faking death if put in certain places."

"So Zabuza and that hunter-nin are working together?" Naruto asked.

"Yep." Kakashi nonchalantly confirmed.

"So what do we do?" Sakura asked fearfully.

"We train as much as we can, and when Zabuza is recovered, we take him down." He answered, getting up and stumbling over to the door leading to the forest.

The four of us followed him outside and were quick to pick up the kunai he tossed at our feet.

"Today you will all be climbing trees!" He chirped, watching as Naruto laughed before continuing. "Without using your hands."

"But how is that possible sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Just watch and you'll see." Kakashi replied, patting Sakura on the head before walking to a tree.

He paused there for a moment before he started climbing, by walking straight up the tree until he hung upside down on a branch.

I raised my hand, waiting until Kakashi called on me before I spoke.

"Yes, Yuuto?" He asked.

"I can already do this." I replied, watching as Sasuke's eyes narrowed at me.

"Then come and walk up this tree and hang upside down beside me." He said.

I channelled chakra to my feet, nose and back, keeping my cloak stuck to my back and my glasses on my face. I walked up to the tree with ease, hanging beside Kakashi, my hair hanging down all around me.

"Well done Yuuto," Kakashi praised me. "I suppose that means you can do whatever you'd like as long as you're back for supper."

"Sweet," I replied, walking back down the tree and smirking at my gobsmacked teammates. "I'll be deeper in the forest then, I'm going to train on my own. But first I'm going to go grab my bow and quiver."

And with that, I left my team to train, already brimming with excitement thinking of what I would do alone.

~~~~~

Air rushed into my lungs as I took a relaxing breath. Lounging at the top of a tree. My tail hung loosely by my side, idly flicking in contentment.

My bow and quiver were untouched by my side. My plan originally was to train, but I was itching for a chance to spread my wings, and now seemed like the best time.

My cloak fell between my shoulder blades as my black, feathery wings stretched out fully. My tail straightened as I stretched, and I tucked my glasses into my pouch. Slinging my bow and quiver onto my back, I got ready to take flight.

For a moment, I felt weightless, but terror hit me and my body reacted on it's own. My wings shot out and caught the air, stopping my descent while I was still over 30 feet away from the ground.

That familiar memory of falling and then endless black appeared in my mind, giving me the shivers. I barely remembered anything about my past life.

But I remembered my death so clearly. Like it was constantly being played on repeat in slow motion inside my head.

Faces came to mind, faces that felt so familiar, yet foreign all at the same times. Names, titles, and relations to me were long forgotten. For all I know, the faces I've seen could be anyone, from my family, to my friends.

While I may have forgotten about them, they probably never forgot about me. Hopefully they're all doing well.

A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away in confusion. I wasn't sad, so why was I crying.

I decided it would be best for me to focus on flying, the last thing I needed was to fly into a tree.

~???~

A shadow passed over me from above, although I couldn't see what it was because of the sun. Just as soon as it came, it was gone, and I calmly went back to picking herbs.

I hummed to myself as I went about doing my work, keeping an ear out for danger from any direction. Time passed peacefully, the clearing silent as I went about my work.

But the silence was interrupted by the rushing wind from above. My hand found it's way into my pouch of senbon and I threw a handful at the shadow, watching as it began to hurtle towards the ground. The figure got bigger and bigger as it got closer and closer. I braced my arms and was quick to catch it, my eyes widening as I gazed at him in wonder.

He had long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail, and his face was incredibly pale. But his most shocking features were a scaly green tail and a pair of black feathered wings. He took long soft breaths, sleeping peacefully. 

With a confused look, I put him on my back, gathering up my things so I could take him back with me. He shifted in his sleep, putting his chin on my shoulder and exhaling softly in my ear. I shivered at the warm breath.

Humming to myself softly, I made my way home.

A/N

Updates are still extremely slow for this book, so I'm sorry about that. But I'm not working on this one much. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on Between Worlds soon though. Sorry that this chapter is a bit short.