Gera and Pakin walk out of the breakfast joint and onto the cobbled streets of the Lake District. Pakin is busy adjusting the pocket between his flaps and belt on his deel, where his newly acquired scroll rests. Gera took a deep breath of the waterfront air and asked Pakin, “Okay, kiddo, where do you wanna go first? I can take you to one of the more popular pillars or show you around the rest of the lake district. Whatever you want, Kumo is your oyster and I’m the shuck!”

  Pakin thought for a moment, I’m probably gonna spend most of my free time wandering around. I like to talk to all the folk, but Gera tends to avoid them. It might be different now that we’re in Kumo, but I don’t wanna force her to sit and watch me talk to random strangers.

  After thinking a bit more, he came to a solution and told Gera, “Show me a secret!”

  She repeated the statement back at him, “Show you a secret?”

  “Yeah!” He exclaimed. “Show me a secret spot you love. Oh, or show me a spot that feels special to you. I wanna see the most important places in Kumo for my one and only teacher!” Pakin beamed up at her, and Gera covered her face and eyes with her hands as if to block the light.

  “Gah! You’re too precious! Where’s my precocious little student, huh? Did your present really butter you up that much?” She stopped blocking the radiance from his smile and considered his request.

  “Well, a few of my favorite spots aren’t very age-appropriate for you. Plus, they don’t open till much later. But, I can show you a few ‘secret’ spots of mine.” She extended her pinky finger, saying, “You’ve got to swear that you’ll never tell another soul about these super elusive, secret, hidden spots. Alright?”

  Pakin grabbed Gera’s pinky with his own and shook on it, making a cross over his heart. “I swear!”

  Gera grinned at him and set off, loudly declaring, “Very well! The super secret, extra hidden, exclusive, never-before-seen, passed down through the generations spot tour henceforth begins!”

  Pakin gave a mock salute and followed behind his teacher, the two laughing the whole way.

  The two walked back west into the city for about an hour. Gera took them across the river and a little closer to Mount Saigichi. She led them through a few side streets, pausing for dramatic effect on the final one, turning to Pakin and announcing, “First stop on the S.S.E.H.E.N.B.S.P.D.T.T.G.S. Tour is right around this corner. Follow me!”

  Pakin dutifully marched behind Gera and let out a little gasp as the horizon opened up before him.

  A large green vista spread before Pakin. Surrounding a pillar with tons of vegetation crawling up its length, a vast park sprawled out in a circle around it. Grassy fields comprised most of the park, with bushes, trees, small gardens, and decorative plants planted sporadically throughout. Little hills created a variation in height that made the whole scene just that little bit more interesting.

  Throughout the park were gondolas, benches, and even a playground. People filled out the many artificial locations in the park despite the cold of this winter morning. He saw elderly folks walking along the trails that snaked across the grass. Kids tried to make snowmen in the sparse snow, but most seemed lopsided or muddy. Pakin even spotted a couple whispering to each other in a gondola not too far away.

  Seeing all these people brought him up short, and he asked Gera, “Excuse me, miss tour guide. If this is a super secret spot, why are there people everywhere?”

  Gera lifted a finger and replied, “Aha! That’s the thing, dear Pakin. What do you notice missing from this gorgeous park?”

  Pakin scanned his surroundings again and quickly found what Gera was talking about. “There’s no shinobi.”

  “Ding, ding, ding! Right on the money!” Gera started walking as she talked, leading them toward one of the clear benches. “A lot of the Kumo shinobi, or at least the ones I know, like to keep away from the more ‘civilian’ parts of Kumo. We’re kinda strange in having so few shinobi compared to other villages. So, the culture here is a little binary.”

  Right, she did mention that a little in one of her lectures. But I thought that only really impacted the trade unions and Raikage council? Pakin thought to himself.

  “It is sort of a microcosm of the larger political separation in the village. No one is, like, hostile towards each other. However, like sticks with like, if you get what I mean. So, shinobi tend to avoid these spots. Mostly, I think, ’cause they don’t like talking to civvies.”

  “Why not? People are people, no matter their profession.” Pakin asked.

  “Well, until our little trip, I did the same thing. My thinking was that I didn’t want to bother anyone with my weird shinobi stuff and dower military mood. However-” Gera reached out and tousled Pakin’s hair as she plopped down onto the bench and continued, “-someone made me think about that perspective in a new light. A very annoying and talkative someone, in fact.”

  Huh, guess I was wrong earlier, Pakin thought as he joined Gera on the bench.

  “That’s what makes this a super secret spot.” She rested her arms on the back of the bench and pointed with her chin a little ways ahead of them. A shinobi flickered into view and plopped onto the grass, taking in the sight of the pillar and then laying down fully. “There are exceptions to every rule. Especially if they’re generalizing and based on anecdotes. So, this is more of a semi-super secret spot.”

  The two enjoyed a comfortable silence as they basked in the natural beauty surrounding them.

  The tour continued shortly after their stop in the park. Gera led them back towards the river, but instead of crossing to the other side, she walked up to the railing on the river’s edge. She leaned her back on it and looked up at the village’s skyline.

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  “This, is super secret spot number two!” She proclaimed, gesturing to the entire street in front of her.

  Pakin quirked his head and asked, “Are all your super secret spots in very clear view of passersby?”

  “No, smartass, come here, and I’ll show you why it’s exclusive.” Gera countered.

  Pakin shrugged and followed his teacher’s example, putting his back on the railing and staring at the skyline. As soon as he did, he noticed shinobi moving to and fro on the rooftops. Some flickered faster than he could see, but most moved languidly from roof to roof. The traffic didn’t abate; a continuous stream of shinobi always seemed to be present above him.

  “This is probably the busiest rooftop section in all of Kumo.” Gera said from beside him. “I haven’t noticed anyone else using this spot besides me.”

  That can’t be true, the Kumo ANBU has got to be all over this spot if traffic is so heavy here. Pakin thought.

  “If you watch, you can see a general pattern of the types of shinobi moving around. Are there more people moving west? Probably some sort of domestic situation happening. More iryo-nin hopping around? Big accident or huge deal on smocks at one of the equipment stores.” Gera turned to him, saying, “See anyone in a mask heading anywhere. Don’t worry about it too much and move opposite wherever they were headed.”

  “Ah, alrighty. Will do sensei.”

  “Good.” Her gaze swept back to the building and she called out, “Ooo, ooo! You see all those shinobi in big goggle glasses.”

  Pakin searched and found them quickly. A group of smaller shinobi were all hopping roofs together, moving in the same direction and pointing excitedly. Behind them, a group of harried-looking shinobi followed, clearly distraught by something.

  “Those were a bunch of Yadake clan members. The whole clan loves bird watching, cataloging, taxidermy, stuff like that. You see them grouped up and their handlers trailing behind. They’ve probably heard about a rare bird somewhere in Kumo.”

  Pakin giggled at the image of a bunch of shinobi chasing a bird across the town on rooftops.

  After the shinobi-watching spot, Gera showed him a few other places across the village. Her favorite alley to smoke ciggies in. The tree she had her first kiss under (It was apparently terrible). A laundromat where she loved getting her clothes cleaned cause the owner was really nice and gave her a cookie each time she entered (Pakin was immediately entered into the free cookie club as well).

  They were nearing the final spot and what Gera had proclaimed to be the penultimate S.S.E.H.E.N.B.S.P.D.T.T.G.S. Tour spot. She led him to the western edge of Kumo, where they were now climbing a very poorly kept trail into the forested side of Mount Toyokumo.

  “How much further Gera?” Pakin’s feet were starting to ache from all their walking that day. His bruises were also starting to hurt a little as well, but mostly it was his feet killing him.

  “Just a little more, I promise.” She called back to him.

  That’s what you said like an hour ago. Gera had initially brought them up the mountain through a normal hiking path. Some of it had even been paved, clearly showing its popularity with locals and tourists alike. As they continued up the trail and Gera took the more rugged-looking path at each intersection, Pakin started to think that this spot might actually be super secret.

  “Here, it’s right up ahead.” Gera said, much to Pakin’s relief.

  They finished walking up a switchback in a heavily forested part of the trail. The trees and foliage were so thick that Pakin couldn’t see the village that was likely far below them. The end of the switchback deposited the pair onto a bend in the mountain that actually cut into the side of Toyokumo.

  They entered a little overhang, moss growing on most of the available rocky surface. The sound of trickling water drew Pakin’s eyes to a small divot in the rock. A tiny stream rolled along moss and stone to feed the divot with moisture. As he scanned the alcove, Pakin’s eyes were drawn to a familiar shrine and bench.

  “Are those…?” Pakin let the question hang unsaid in the air.

  Gera smiled at the little place of worship and replied, “Yes, they are.” Kneeling down, she closed her eyes and patted the ground next to her. Pakin took the invitation and knelt beside his teacher, waiting for her to join her hands in prayer.

  Instead, she started to speak.

  “My parents were devout followers of an old religion, apparently older than the five great nations. That’s how I know about shrines like these.”

  A small set of memories bubbled up from old Pakin’s recollection. A whispered conversation between adults, a graveyard right outside town, and a crying girl. All of it joined together to provide Pakin with a revelation that twisted his guts.

  Gera’s parents are dead. She’d never spoken of her family while they traveled. Pakin just assumed they were estranged and that maybe it had something to do with her decision to be a shinobi. Now, he realized why she was pen pals with the mayor and stayed with him when she came to Fuwayama.

  “After they passed, I struggled to make sense of it. I blamed the gods they’d worshipped, asking them over and over why they hadn’t intervened to save their devout followers. After I got that out of my system, I tried a different route to find answers. I searched through old books in our family home and tried to contact historians from the capital.” She snorted and said, “I didn’t get a single letter back.”

  She reached over and moved Pakin’s hands like she was instructing him to make a hand sign. She twisted his hands so that his knuckles faced up. Then, Gera pulled the index finger on his left hand straight up. She guided his right hand to grip loosely over his left index, with his right crooked over the tip. His left thumb rested on his right palm, and his right thumb on his extended index.

  It’s like Ram. Pakin considered what the hand seal could mean. Then, he realized it wasn’t stimulating his chakra like other hand signs he’d used. Huh, that’s pretty normal. He supposed that if moving your hands in any which way could cause chakra fluctuations, a lot more people would be able to do jutsu.

  Gera spoke softly, almost in a whisper, and said, “Now, at this shrine, and with this seal, you’re supposed to ask for knowledge.” She closed her eyes and moved her lips silently.

  Pakin joined her and thought briefly about what he wanted to know. I ask for a blessing of knowledge for my upcoming studies. It was a bit basic and maybe lame, but he felt genuinely compelled to ask for help. It surprised him how much anxiety leaked out at the thought of starting at the Academy.

  Pakin opened his eyes and saw Gera was already up and cleaning the shrine. He joined her, pulling moss delicately from the wooden structure as Gera used a brush she’d pulled from her pouch to clean the dirt off.

  After finishing their cleaning, the two moved to the bench and sat down. Looking out, Pakin now realized that the shrine looked directly towards the rivers that all fed into the one in the village. He could see for kilometers and could even pick out a few towns amid the forests and mountain ranges that crisscrossed the view.

  “This is a good super secret spot.” He said.

  “Thanks.” Gera replied. “I thought so too.”