“Please, Please, Please!” Pakin fervently pleaded with his teacher as they exited the Academy.

  “Okay, fine! Jeez, I was planning on grabbing breakfast first, but we can look around the Council Pillars first.”

  Pakin practically jumped with glee. Gera laughed at her student, and the two started strolling towards the mission hall.

  Gera pointed to one of the open-air pagodas, and Pakin noticed a few people sitting inside it. They were all meditating, and Pakin wondered whether the practice was popular among shinobi.

  “Those big platforms can be reserved from the mission hall. There are ones like that pagoda, and others that are more like training platforms or stages. They’re in pretty high demand most of the year, so you’ve gotta reserve them a couple of months out if you want to use them. Of course, the higher your rank, the easier it is to get the reservation.”

  Pakin asked, “Can regular people use them?”

  “Yeah, they actually get priority. Mostly because they only use the pagoda ones, and the groups that use them are religious in nature. The city likes to encourage that kind of thing, plus a lot of the temples offer mental health services and outreach, so it’s easy for the village to justify supporting them.”

  They kept moving, and Gera led them on a more scenic route. She guided them between pillars and around the buildings, keeping them outdoors and letting them enjoy the scenery. One thing was nagging at him, so Pakin waited for Gera to finish describing the type of lumber used in constructing the various rails, pillars, and structures surrounding them.

  “Gera, how come there’s no wind up here? I’d figure that being so high up would mean we’re constantly blown around, but I haven’t felt more than an errant breeze since we started walking around.”

  She smiled and said, “So you noticed. Here, let's get closer to the railing, and I’ll show you.” They walked over to one side of the bridge, leaning on the red wooden fence. She pointed to the side of a nearby bridge and told Pakin, “See all the fancy calligraphy and pictograms carved into the stone? Do they look familiar?”

  Pakin took a second to analyze the patterns and writing. After being unable to read any of the lettering, he quickly understood that it was a type of fuinjutsu script. His eyes grew wide as he took in the enormous amount of script that flowed along the side of the bridge he was looking at. The amount of time and skill it would take to craft something like that boggled his mind.

  “It’s fuinjutsu. Is that what’s keeping the wind off of us?” He asked incredulously.

  Gera pointed to a specific point on the carvings and said, “Yeah, that portion right there. Also, it’s not technically fuinjutsu, that’s just for sealing stuff. Jutsu formula can be used for a ton of stuff. But because fuinjutsu is the most common usage, that’s how most people refer to it.” She moved her finger so it drew slowly across the rest of the script, and said, “The rest of it is doing a dozen plus things. It’s strengthening the bridge, wicking moisture off the stone, keeping it clean, and a bunch of other stuff.”

  “Woah.” Pakin was impressed; he hadn’t thought of the mechanics behind fuinjutsu. I wonder what else formulas are used for. He tucked that question away for later and joined Gera as she started walking again.

  “What else is up here, besides the Academy and the Mission Hall?”

  Gera put a finger to her lips and thought for a second before answering, “Hmm, well, there’s the Record Sanctuary, that’s where they keep jutsu scrolls, files on shinobi, historical records, stuff like that. There’s also the Information and Analytics Department, the Medical Research Hospital, the Police Headquarters, the Raikage’s office, and the Training Hall.”

  She pointed up to the building supported by four of the Council Pillars and said, “Finally, there’s the Hall of Clouds.”

  “What’s the point of having it so high up like that?” Pakin wondered aloud, more as a rhetorical question.

  “Huh.” Gera answered anyway, “I’m not sure.”

  The pair stopped and stared at the strange structure for a while before shrugging their shoulders and continuing on. Gera talked a lot about the architecture on their walk, pointing out to Pakin how the various buildings remained attached without damaging the structure of the pillars.

  It turned out that several giant stakes inside each pillar acted like the supporting frames for each of the attached buildings. These pillars were reinforced with earth nature jutsu to ensure they wouldn’t slide out or break. The stone bridges were actually a later addition, constructed during the second Raikage’s reign. Apparently, shinobi were expected to be able to leap between each of the pillars before they could access the buildings.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Gera chortled at the idea, “The buildings attached to the pillars were designed by the first Raikage, but he was very gung-ho about how the pillars should only be used by Kumo-nin who showed appropriate ‘gumption’. As the use of the pillars increased, and more non-shinobi were hired on to help manage the village's affairs, it became untenable. However, I like to imagine that the First is grumbling in his grave about all the ‘gumptionless’ people walking around in the buildings he helped create.”

  Pakin chuckled and said, “That is pretty silly.”

  The two chatted amicably as they neared the mission hall. As they reached the doors and Pakin considered asking for another lap, his stomach declared its displeasure at missing breakfast.

  Ggggrrrrrruuuuuuuuu

  Pakin grabbed his stomach, and Gera laughed. She held open the door, and Pakin hung his head in shame as he walked inside.

  Gera leaned in the booth across from Pakin, hand resting contentedly on her stomach. The dishes on the table between were practically licked clean. Since he’d started his training, Pakin had grown increasingly surprised by just how much food he could put away. Of course, his teacher put that to shame.

  “Is there some secret stomach expanding jutsu you’re going to teach me at some point?” He asked his teacher.

  She laughed and flexed her bicep, saying, “Look at these muscles, Pakin. You think I need any jutsu to fuel these sick puppies? I’m all natural, kiddo!” She lifted her other arm and started pumping both rhythmically to bulge her muscles. “UHN. HUT. HOO-AH.”

  Pakin laughed uproariously at Gera’s gun show, covering his mouth to keep from bothering the other patrons in the restaurant. It wasn’t super packed, but it was a lovely spot he wouldn’t mind returning to. So, he tried to mind his manners.

  After a moment, Gera stopped fooling around and reached into her pocket. With her other hand, she moved several dishes aside to create a strip of clean space on the stables. She pulled a scroll from her pocket and placed it delicately on the cleared space. Pakin just watched curiously.

  I hope it’s not an impromptu weapons lesson. Pakin thought to himself. Sometimes, when Gera got in a good mood, she only wanted to talk about weapons. That meant Pakin had to sit and listen as she described the intricate differences between the kunai each hidden village used. However, counter to his guess, she didn’t open the scroll, instead leaving it on the table between them.

  “What do you think of this scroll, Pakin?”

  Ah, an impromptu quiz. Gera also liked to give these out when he least expected it.

  He picked up the scroll and turned it over in his hands. The color differed from the others he was used to seeing on Gera’s person. The cloth on those scrolls usually came in three distinct colors: red, green, and blue. Each was a shorthand for whatever kind of weapon was inside. Red contained weapons for tight quarters and close range, green was medium range and varied environment, and blue was long range and no confines weapons.

  This one was purple in color, reminding him of Gera’s hair. It looked almost identical to the other scrolls, with a button clasp holding it closed. Looking at the space Gera had cleared on the table, he pointed with the scroll towards it and asked, “May I?”

  She motioned for him to proceed, and Pakin undid the scroll’s clasp and laid it out on the table. It was shorter than the others, and the script was tighter. That could mean there were smaller weapons inside or only one normal-sized one. After the first two weeks of travel, Gera had taught Pakin how to use a complete ram hand seal to undo the seal on her scrolls. His control had been too lacking to complete the action, but now he was confident enough to make an attempt.

  He made the seal and focused his chakra, making sure to keep a tight control so as not to disturb the other restaurant patrons. It took him a solid two seconds of focus, but he managed to undo the seal. After the smoke cleared, he stared at the weapon on the table before being able to identify it.

  “It’s a kusarigama.” The weapon consisted of two parts, the ‘kusari’ and the ‘gama’. The ‘gama’ was the sickle half, much larger than any used for agricultural purposes. Its blade was around twenty-five centimeters long, attached to a handle twice the length. The ‘kusari’ or chain was attached to the bottom of the handle. The chain was currently coiled up, but from his lessons, Pakin knew it’d be around three meters long. At the end of the chain was a bell-shaped weight, inscribed with the character for heavy on its side.

  Bit on the nose. Pakin couldn’t help but think.

  He looked up from the weapon and recited, “Typically advantageous for medium range combat, or when outnumbered by opponents. Excellent for controlling the pace of a battle. The chain is multi-purpose, serving as a means to grab or harry an opponent’s melee weapons and defend space by swinging the chain close to the user. The sickle is effective for parrying, quick exchanges, and as a brutal finisher. A preferred choice for shinobi with speed-focused or crowd control skill-sets.”

  Gera silently nodded along to his explanation, and when he finished, she said, “That’s all correct. However, I asked what you thought of the scroll.”

  Pakin was taken aback for a second before replying, “Oh. Sorry, I thought… never mind. It’s nice, I like the color, and the quality seems good. I’ve really only seen your scrolls, though, so I’m not sure if I’m the right person to ask.”

  “Well, I’m glad you like the color. I remembered you saying it was your favorite, so I thought it’d make a nice wrapping for your gift.”

  Pakin looked at his teacher and then back at the weapon on the table. He snapped his gaze back and forth several times, wondering if he’d misheard. So, he pointed to himself and asked, “For me?”

  Gera’s face split into a massive grin, and as she said, “Yep, all yours, kiddo.”

  Pakin’s gaze fell back onto the kusarigama, and delicately, he reached out and picked up the weapon. Sickle in one hand, chain coil in the other. He turned the blade over and admired the sleek black metal of the instrument. The whole thing was made of solid, inky steel from the chain weight to the tip of the sickle. It gave the weapon a heft that immediately took him back to working on big, heavy tools in his dad’s forge.

  Gera started speaking again as he admired the quality of each chain link. “I thought a lot about your fighting style and personality while we were making our way to Kumo. It’s still very early on in your training to have developed a particular style. However, I know you and can see some parts of yourself shining through your decisions during spars. You’re patient, and you like to prod at your opponent, waiting for them to make a mistake so you can capitalize on it.”

  Pakin looked up and countered, “Yeah… but isn’t that just good praxis? That’s how you taught me to fight.”

  Gera shook her head and said, “Partially. I taught you to capitalize on mistakes and take the time to analyze the other person's moves. However, you mix them together in a very particular way. It reminds me of how a lot of bookish shinobi fight.”

  “Hmm. Thank you?” Pakin thought she might just be calling him a nerd, but decided to take it as a compliment.

  Leaning forward in her seat, she started stacking plates for their waitress and finished her explanation. “It’ll make a great tool in your arsenal. The kusarigama is an especially versatile weapon if used correctly.”

  Pakin tenderly placed the weapon back on the scroll and helped Gera stack plates. They finished the task quickly, and Pakin spent more time gawking at his new weapon. The waitress came back around, and much to Pakin’s horror, she frowned very visibly at the unsheathed weapon.

  She huffed and pointed to a big sign by the entrance that read ‘NO WEAPONS’. Pakin apologized profusely, and Gera joined him as their waitress took the plates and went to grab their check.

  Pakin was about to roll up his gift to put away when he realized he was missing a crucial step. “Uhhh, Gera. How do I put it back in the scroll?”

  Gera chuckled and helped him figure out the technique for resealing his weapon.