"Go have fun," she said. "It'll be great," she said. Yes, just wonderful. If I wasn't being forced out of the house without my medical equipment. Sure it wasn't much, but a girl only had so much chakra before she can't do anything anymore without passing out. Well, might as well make the most of it, right? The forest was quite lush and none of it was even close to dry or arid. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was on a regular day in the village. It was cool, shaded even. But it felt, suspicious. I was alone, out in the middle of nowhere. I trudged on and thought of what to do for the several hours outside of my own house. I could train. . .maybe try out some survival skills? Or better yet, break in my new katana. Sure it was already used, but it would still be fun to see just how this one worked, as every katana was different. They all had the same goal of cutting precisely but each and every little design varied. The handle alone could hold so much variety, as they were usually custom made for some shinobi. One day, maybe I could finally get one custom made just for myself, it would be amazing. Maybe it could be white and purple! With flower designs on the shaft!

I stopped in my tracks. I had absentmindedly reached a large clearing; or what could be considered one anyway. It was big but still quite shaded, the trees were taller and more lush, yet allowed more light to seep through. They were spread out unusually, with several good meters in between most of them. It was surely a sight to behold. I brought my fingers to one of them and rubbed the bark gently, trying to put my finger on the species of tree. The leaves were also high up, it seemed impossible for it to be a regular species. Perhaps it was a hybrid? Or maybe a mutation? I took a sigh, for I wasn't exactly a herbologist. My mother was closer on that scale, I, however, was far from it. I knew I'd eventually get better with this thing, but right now, I just wanted to test my katana.

I walked to the middle of the clearing, now exploring the meters in an estimation. It was circular, and I guessed about 100 meters in its diameter. The circumference, well that didn't matter right now. I touched the bamboo and leather sheath that was upon my right leg, bringing my hands up to the handle of the blade. I pulled it out slowly, gripping my hands tightly onto the weapon. It was dulled due to the wear over the years, but I couldn't care less about its history, for it was what happened now that would matter to me. I held it in first of my face horizontailly. I hadn't held it like this yet, and I was enjoying every moment of now holding such a precious weapon. Or what I considered precious anyway.  I took in several short-lived breaths, trying to focus on the mere weapon alone.

This was my blade. This was my zone. A test of myself and my new companion in battle. I could do it, let me do this. Ace it. Perfect it. I closed my eyes and swung the blade to my right, quickly turning to that direction so I wouldn't fall. I moved my feet in the same direction, opening my eyes when I had turned into a 360. I stopped and swung it down just next to my right hip. And I marveled, as the movements had felt beyond the word smooth. Every step so far had felt almost, natural. All that saving up had finally come in handy to buy me this weapon. I took in a breath, much deeper this time. I raised it over my head vertically, before bringing it down once more on an imaginary target, this time with both of my hands. I stopped it just before it hit the ground with all the force I had put into it. I smiled softly, it would be trusty for the time I would come to keep it. And hopefully, I'd be able to buy another just as (or possibly even more) amazing as this one was. I brought the katana back to it's home, the soft sheath.

"I hope you last long enough," I muttered softly.

760/760

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