Fate Wheel | Naruto

𝟓𝟖| Beginning

"We are humans, not fish. We don't know what kind of people we truly are until the moment before our deaths. As death comes to embrace you, you will realize what you are. That's what death is, don't you think?"
— Itachi Uchiha

───※ ·❆· ※───

DAWNS POV

Clang.

I fought against the pressure of the blade pressing against the Katana firm in my hand, my teeth gritting as I pushed passed the tremors of my arms. The blades slid against each other, the screech of the metal causing me to cringe, but my focus was still intact. Distancing myself, I charged once again.

"You're getting better." Ichiro commented, smirking as he quickly switched to defence, flicking away my attacks at ease. "Far better than I expected."

"Is this your way of distracting me?" I scoffed, spinning around and immediately countering his fast-paced attacks with a twinge of struggle.

"Pft- no." Ichiro snorted, a few seconds later he asked. "Is it working?"

"No."

"Damn it."

Rolling my eyes, I decided to change my approach and directed my Katana beneath his legs instead of targeting his upper body. Training hadn't been exactly easy, it took time for my body to accustom to the loosening of the seal, but when I woke up I felt an instant change. Everything felt lighter and swifter, as if I can finally move without invisible restrictions weighing me down. I was more precise with my movements and things that I had found hard before felt a lot easier now. I hadn't tried using any Ninjutsu or my Kekkei Genkai under Ichiro's insistence, he told me to give it some time to get used to before hastily rushing in.

It made me immensely grateful that he did so much for me in under a short period of time. At first I was sceptical about his intentions, but no person with ill-intentions would go to such extent to help me. He had taught me new training exercises infused with Kenjutsu practices, and now I finally felt like I was progressing after all these years. Everything didn't feel like a disarray and catastrophic like the flames that had haunted me in my nightmares, but rather calm and serene like a stream of water where the sky was still and untainted by the wind.

The mere thought of the fire I'd seen made my movements falter, giving Ichiro the opportunity to catch me off guard and deflect my sword. He angled the tip of his Katana on my neck as my body stumbled back onto the ground.

A Village burning to the ground, turning into piles of ashes, people screaming- the fumes of the smoke entering your mouth and suffocating your throat, the numbness-

"You were distracted." Ichiro raised an eyebrow, placing his Katana back into it's sheathe. "I saw the concentration in your eyes falter and turn into uncertainty. What made you hesitate?"

The hellish flames. A voice intervened. Burning like those people. Like your people.

The words were stuck in my throat as I placed the Katana on the grass. "I don't know. Can we take a break?"

"Yeah, we can. Tomorrow, I have something new to teach you, but once I teach you it's up to you to decide what you want to do with it." Ichiro announced, wiping his hands against his green haori. "And I really did mean what I said when I told you that you've improved, you have spirit and you have the strive to be one of the best students I've ever taught. I have faith in you."