Pakin awoke and immediately groaned as all the pain in his body harmonized into one big, dull ache.

  “Good, you’re awake. I was worried you’d sleep away our precious first morning as teacher and student.” Gera teased from somewhere in the room.

  Pakin opened his eyes and pulled himself into a sitting position, his body protesting him the whole time.

  Looking around, he realized he’d either forgotten or never taken in how their room was laid out. In one corner, separated by a long nightstand, were two beds. The one he was using sat about an arm's length from a window that looked out into the forest beyond. In front of their beds was a private bathroom, with a sink visible through the open door. On the other side of the room, he could see the door behind a hand-carved dresser, and opposite the dresser and caddy corner to Pakin was the dining table he’d sat at last night.

  Gera sat at that table now, leisurely reading a pocket book and sipping hot tea.

  “Go wash up, we’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

  Pakin did as told, finding his backpack at the foot of his bed. Digging through it to find his toothbrush, his hand felt an unknown lump in one of the inner pockets. He pulled out what was inside and found a rather well-made leather money purse. It was steely gray, with robust stitching and a bronze button clasp. Turning it over, he found his name embroidered into the back and realized this was the other present his mother had mentioned before he left.

  Looking inside, he found a few big bills and a note from his parents that almost made him cry.

  It was similar to what they discussed before he left, but there was a little more about how proud they were of him and how excited they were for him to start this big journey. He quickly folded it and placed it inside his backpack in a small zip-up pocket. He sniffed to suck in his tears, and grabbed his toothbrush so he could start the first real morning of his new life.

  After he finished in the restroom, he changed into a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans and grabbed his new wallet on his way to the table. He sat down, and Gera gave him a curious look.

  “How much do I owe you for the room?”

  Gera chuckled for a second, then looked at him again and said, “Oh. You’re serious.” She closed her book and scratched the back of her head. “I didn’t think I’d have to explain this to you, but I’m paying for you this trip. Your parents entrusted you to me until we get to the city. Until then, I’m your guardian. So, put that away and make sure it’s somewhere hidden. We won’t be going anywhere shady, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be pickpockets.”

  “That makes sense…” Pakin wasn’t quite sure what to say to her. “Thanks.”

  “No need. I’m technically on official village business while I’m escorting you, so they’ll be compensating me for the day-to-day expenses.” She winked at him and made a coin shape with her fingers. “That means I’m free to live a little luxuriously while I’m out here with you.”

  Pakin put his wallet away in his backpack and, following Gera’s advice, separated the cash into several different inner pockets. He placed his wallet inside a rolled-up T-shirt. Losing the money would be tough, but losing the wallet itself would be devastating.

  Rejoining Gera, she placed several scrolls on the table that Pakin recognized from when he first saw her. She wasn’t wearing it now, but the straps that had covered her from top to bottom were covered in the same kind of scroll.

  She also arranged a few pouches on the table, totalling five scrolls and three pouches.

  Pointing to one of the scrolls, she said, “This is a Sealing Scroll, it’s a special kind of jutsu that allows shinobi to carry things around that would normally take up a lot of space.” She unrolled all the scrolls, and Pakin marveled at the complex drawings that covered every inch of their surface. The scrolls were made of a tough cloth-like fabric, with the actual script paper layered on top. The symbols on the paper flowed together into vertical lines of script. Looking too hard at the strange calligraphy hurt his head, so he focused on the center, a circle of script with three arrows pointing towards the middle from breaks in the circle.

  “Don’t look too hard, you’ll get a killer headache that’ll last for days. You’ll learn more about it at the Academy, and I’m no expert, so all you need to know for now is that these scrolls are made with fuinjutsu. It lets me carry around all my weapons.” She made a quick hand seal with her thumb, index, and middle finger pointing straight up, and puffs of smoke appeared over the center of each scroll.

  The smoke quickly cleared, and underneath, ten different weapons had materialized. Gera must’ve enjoyed his wide-eyed wonder because she laughed while he ogled the weapons. He managed to tear his eyes away and ask Gera, “Why do you need so many? This seems like overkill if you’re just trying to be prepared.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “You’d usually be right.” She smiled, “I, however, know how to use each of these weapons to a very high level of proficiency, plus quite a few more. That’s because your teacher is a bukijutsu specialist. I focus on being prepared for any kind of opponent or situation. That’s why I have so many, so I can fight almost anyone with a properly chosen weapon.” She waved her hand over the spread in front of her. “These are the weapons I’ll be teaching you about today.”

  “Wait, you’re going to let me handle these! That’s so cool.”

  “HA! You wish, kid! No, you’ll be learning to clean and maintain each of these weapons up to my very exacting standards. I believe that a shinobi doesn’t have to be able to use every weapon, but they should be able to identify them and their potential uses.” She picked up a set of what Pakin recognized as nunchucks from the table and held them out in demonstration, “These are nunchaku. They're great for training hand-eye coordination, weapon control, and posture. However, they also work as weapons in their own right. Their small size makes them great for cramped quarters combat, and their speed and length can surprise most opponents.” She placed the nunchaku back on their scroll.

  She moved over to the pouches next to the scroll and pulled one weapon from each, a kunai, a shuriken, and a long needle. “These, however, you will be learning to use.” Lifting each in turn, she names them, “Kunai, shuriken, and senbon. These are three of the most common items in any Shinobi tool kit. They’re concealable, reliable, and versatile. Everything a shinobi could ever want.” She placed them back into their respective pouches. “However, that will have to wait for your afternoon lessons.” She flashed him a mischievous smile, and Pakin crossed his arms in faux frustration.

  After a momentary stare down, they both giggled and Gera declared, “BUT, none of this can begin on an empty stomach! So, let's go get some good grub!”

  “Yes, Gera sensei!”

  Gera and Pakin ate breakfast in the inn's small dining area before returning to their room. Pakin spent the rest of the morning until lunch being instructed on how to care for a menagerie of deadly weapons.

  After having lunch at a place recommended by the inn’s owner, Gera led Pakin to an open patch of ground close to the road they arrived on. The ground was muddy from melted snow, so they found and sat on a pair of large, flat boulders.

  “First, I want to know, what did you think of our run yesterday? Did you have fun?” She asked the question with what he was coming to know as her trademark mischievous smirk.

  The good mood he’d built up so far was instantly soured. He’d intentionally avoided thinking about that run as much as possible. It was the most exhausting and painful thing he’d ever done, and even though Gera had warned him, it made him worried about what their training was going to look like from now on.

  He almost answered with a yes, worried she might be testing his resolve. However, when he looked in her eyes, that connection they’d established on that starry hill reemerged, and he knew he couldn’t lie to her.

  “No, Gera Sensei.” He hung his head in shame.

  “Good.”

  What? His head shot back up to look at her, and the smile from earlier had faded. Instead, something approaching that intense mask from the other night had reappeared.

  “I was there the whole time. I saw what you looked like all seven of those hours. I didn’t do it to torture you, and this is my promise to you, right now, that I will never force you to do something like that again.” Some of the intensity faded, and her eyes became a little gentler. “I wanted to show you what you are truly capable of when you put your mind to it. I’m sure there were many times during that run where you almost gave up, hell, it looked like you’d crash to the ground at any minute after the three-hour mark. But, you still. Kept. Running. Even as your form fell apart and your eyes grew foggy, you never gave up. That is what it’ll take for you to become a shinobi, Pakin.”

  Gera pointed at him, “Because of your body, the way it was ravaged by chakra wasting, you will always struggle to improve as fast as your peers. Your punches won’t be as powerful, your kicks will be half as fast, and your ninjutsu will be a whole trial in and of itself. Should you become a shinobi, you will have to work twice as hard to reach the same goals as everyone else.” Pakin was slightly overwhelmed by the news; he’d known that the wasting had affected his body, but he’d never considered what it would do to his growth. He’d assumed it was fine since Dr.Kucha never raised any concerns. However, that was when he thought he’d be a normal boy in a normal village. It made sense that his disease might have left him partially disabled; that kind of thing never leaves you in one piece.

  “After yesterday, I think you have what it takes to do that. I’ll have you do twice the conditioning, twice the chakra training, twice the taijutsu training, and you’d damn well believe I’ll have you do ten times as much bukijutsu training. I’ll do all that, because I believe you can become a shinobi. a great one.” She looked at him with those understanding eyes again and asked, “Do you, Pakin?”

  Pakin wasn’t entirely sure. Reality could be cruel, and effort might not always be rewarded. Who’s to say if he could really hack it? However, as much as he didn’t want to, he remembered his marathon from hell. He had stuck it out, even when it felt like he couldn’t go anymore, he kept going. Maybe, he did have what it takes…

  Plus, he had two people now who really believed in him. His parents, who brought him this opportunity. Hika, who’d given him a goal to strive for, as ridiculous as it seemed. Now Gera, who’d understood him and was telling him that he could achieve greatness. There was only one acceptable answer with those people in mind.

  “YES GERA SENSEI!”

  “GREAT! Now, it’s time for stretches and then five sets of twenty-five push-ups.”

  Somehow, he both immediately regretted and cherished his choice.