“Stomping toes has a long and effective history in the world of bar fights and back alley ambushes. Most shinobi don’t wear steel-toed footwear because it can mess with how you use your chakra when water or wall walking. Still, that leaves an opportunity for people like you and me!” Sho was delivering his lecture to Pakin in the center of the arena. Tsuyo was lying down nearby, cloud watching as the two boys discussed the finer details of pain.

  “It still seems a little inefficient, though, big bro Sho. If I can go for toes, why wouldn’t I just hit them in the ankle? That’d probably do a bit more damage and throw them off balance.” Pakin countered.

  Sho lifted a finger and responded, “Ah, but here’s the thing. A kick to the ankle requires an attack and then a return of the attacking leg. A stomp only requires the attack, which can be used like a pin. Keeping the tip of their foot pinned down means you could hit them with a few solid punches before they get away. Also, if they manage to get away, you’ll probably rip a toenail off in the process, and that can reduce the effectiveness of kicks from that foot.”

  Pakin smacked his fist in his palm and said, “I see! It’s a two-for-one special!”

  “Pffft, hehehehe. Exactly, Pakin!” Sho giggled at Pakin’s exclamation, when another voice chimed in from behind them.

  “If you’re giggling, I know something awful is being discussed. What are you teaching my student, Sho?”

  Sho and Pakin turned to see Gera strutting up to the group. Pakin almost got up and rushed over to her, but Sho touched his thigh gently and said, “Oh, nothing much, just the simple art of pain. Pakin and I were just discussing the finer points of stomping. Toe stomping in particular.”

  Gera looked unimpressed and asked, “Right, and I’m sure it’s not creepy at all.” She turned to her student and pointed at Sho, saying, “Is this guy bothering you, kiddo? Please tell me he hasn’t asked to look at your scars.”

  Sho crossed his arms and harrumphed. “I ask you one time to show me all the cool scars you’ve got, and suddenly I’m a weirdo. You used to have a ton, and I was just curious about the one that was on your stomach. The angle indicated that it must’ve been excruciating, but it wasn’t a large scar, so it probably wasn’t very deep.” Sho seemed to be ramping up into a monologue when Tsuyo chimed in to stop him.

  “Okay, freak Sho, let's tone it down around the kid. He doesn’t need to hear about all the nasty stuff that runs through your head on the daily.”

  Sho scratched the back of his head, smiling widely, as he said, “Sorry, you know how I get once I get a picture in my head. I’ve got to see how it works, professional curiosity and all that.”

  Gera shook her head and looked over to Tsuyo. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and asked, “Tsuyo, can we talk?”

  The teen looked taken aback but quickly recovered. He nodded his head and joined Gera as they walked a good distance away from Sho and Pakin.

  I hope they work it out. Tsuyo’s punch hurt, but he healed me up after. Besides, it’s not like Gera didn’t hit me just as hard during our spars on the road. Pakin thought to himself.

  “They’ll be alright,” Sho offered. “Tsuyo gets it, and she knows she needs to apologize. They just need some space to work it out.”

  Turning back to Sho, Pakin nodded, and the older boy grinned, saying, “Anyway, back to stomping. Now, it’s hard to set up, but once you’ve got someone on the ground, a good stomp can completely incapacitate them. This is great when you’re fighting against several opponents and want to take a few of them out of the fight.”

  Tsuyo followed Gera until they were out of earshot of Pakin and Sho. They stared at each other silently for a moment, neither wanting to start the awkward conversation. Eventually, Tsuyo got tired of waiting. He crossed his arms and shook his head, saying with an exasperated lilt, “You know I didn’t even hit him that hard. It was really the roll that did the most damage.”

  Gera chewed on her lip for a second, visibly stewing before she replied, “I know. Hell, I’ve beaten him down harder than that when we were sparring on the road. I was teaching him not to pull his strikes, like Osako taught us.”

  Tsuyo sighed and looked at the young boy sitting cross-legged on the ground before Sho. “I figured he doesn’t fight like someone afraid of getting hurt. We didn’t get like that till, what, the third month of the program?”

  A rueful laugh escaped Gera’s lips as she recounted, “Osako used to beat the hell out of Chie. It took her forever to stop crying at the end of every practice. Do you remember when it finally clicked? I thought she was going to rip Mia’s head off. The Director had to step in and pull her off her next three sparring partners.”

  Tsuyo chuckled. “Dude, how could I forget? It was like she flipped a switch and went full feral animal. What did she call?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Eldest sister’s repressed rage technique.” Gera supplied.

  They giggled at the absurd name, letting a comfortable silence rest between them for a moment.

  I haven’t checked up on Chie in a while. She’s been hard to pin down since graduating to Chunin last year. Tsuyo thought to himself.

  He was pretty proud of his ability to keep their friend group together through the years. Despite the strain a shinobi life puts on those relationships, he’d kept a loose out-group of friends and a tight-knit circle since he’d come to Kumo.

  “How was the trip here?” Thinking about his shinobi journey prompted him to remember the physical journey Pakin and Gera had just made to Kumo.

  Gera was silent for a few moments, stewing again, before letting out a huff and turning to gaze softly at her student.

  “It was great at first. Pakin’s a great student, in all the ways you would want from a potential shinobi. He’s smart as hell, and works his ass off. He’s eager to learn whatever I can teach him. I’ve even seen glimpses of talent in how quick he picks up techniques and the prodigious speed he takes in theory. Still, it all started to fall apart when we got to Yoshiwara.”

  Gera filled Tsuyo in on all the details of their trip, giving him a whole new perspective on the boy.

  After Gera finished her story, he said, “I see. It makes sense now, how fearless he is. It bodes well for his future as a shinobi that he can grow from such a terrifying event.”

  Gera looked conflicted as she considered Tsuyo’s words. She asked, “Now that you’ve sparred with him, what do you think? Is it going to be a problem?”

  Tsuyo grumbled as he thought to himself, I figured this is what she wanted. The scan was just to preface my opinion on his growth."

  “For a Polisher kid, he’ll do extremely well. Especially if he can keep up his current training. He’s quick on his feet and thinks outside the box.” He rubbed the sore spot under his collarbone where Pakin had hit him. “I was trying to teach him how to use maneuverability and speed to get through a bigger opponent's defenses. Instead, he decided to use pressure points to get me off balance. When he hit me in the fucking abbductor, I freaked.” Gera chuckled, and Tsuyo smiled at her laugh. He’d always liked Gera’s laugh.

  Not again. She already said no.

  He mentally chastised himself and focused back on Gera’s question. He looked back at Pakin and recalled the mess of chakra lines that wound through the boy’s body. They were unique but ultimately unharmful, giving his chakra a unique flow rate for an academy trainee. He also thought about the boy’s body and how weak it felt to his senses. That likely meant that Pakin’s spiritual energy production was lower than normal for a kid his age.

  He’ll have to pull his physical up with spiritual overloading. The math just works against him, the exponential requirements for his spiritual energy will either kill him or burn him out. That could cause huge issues in the future, if he can even make it that far. Still, he’s done well so far.

  “As far as his illness goes, his chakra lines are abnormal, but with enough control, that’s not an issue. He’ll be fine on that front. As far as future growth goes, I can’t say. It’s not my area of expertise, and his case is so unique I’ve never seen any like it. I can tell you that he’ll likely struggle to keep up with the more gifted kids in the program.”

  Gera let out a deeply weary sigh and said, “Thanks, Tsuyo, I appreciate it. At least I know he’s safe to use jutsu. It would have crushed him to make it this far and not be able to graduate the program because of a disability.”

  Tsuyo looked over at his friend as she stared at Pakin. There was a softness there that he hadn’t seen in her before. It made him a little jealous but also made him think, This kid’s pretty special to her, huh.

  “I can do some research in my spare time. See if I can find some documentation on similar cases. Then I can put together some tips or advice for how to work around his limitations. I can even ask a few of the docs at work and see if they’d be willing to take a look at him. As long as he doesn’t mind getting poked, I’m sure they’d love to make him a case study.”

  Gera turned to look at Tsuyo with wide, hopeful eyes and asked, “You’d do that for me?”

  Tsuyo barked out a laugh and said, “Yeah. I’m mostly doing it for him, though. Didn’t you hear? I’m his senior brother, so I’ve got to look out for my junior brother.” He smiled at her and let out a surprised grunt as she reached over and hugged him.

  Tsuyo felt his face heat up until he heard her say, “Thank you, Tsuyo. It means a lot to me and Pakin to have you and Sho helping him out.” He felt his head instantly cool at the mention of Pakin.

  He patted Gera on the back and said, “Of course, it’s hard not to like the kid.” He smiled and joked, “Just be careful, it seems like Sho is taking a real shine to him. He might try to steal him away from you.”

  At his joke, she quickly released him and turned around. Tsuyo looked over at his friend, who was in the middle of giving an impassioned lecture to an enraptured Pakin.

  “Oh no he doesn’t! I already called dibs!” Gera shouted, running over to pick up Pakin in her arms and glare menacingly at Sho.

  Tsuyo chuckled to himself and walked over to see a very confused Pakin being jerked between Sho and Gera.

  “I’m just teaching him about the wonderful world of nerve endings and flesh wounds. I am not stealing him from you!” Sho shouted as he tugged Pakin out of Gera’s grip.

  “Nuh-uhn! You get him started on all that and by next week you’ll have dragged him to the Torture Pillar to show him all your ‘Advanced Interrogation Tactics’” Gera shouted back, as she tugged Pakin’s other arm towards her.

  Tsuyo shook his head and plucked Pakin from between them, sheltering the child behind himself. The two turned their anger on him before wilting under his ‘disappointed doctor’ face.

  “Do not start tearing him up when I just healed him. I’m good, but I’m not reattach limbs good!”

  Pakin peeked out from behind Tsuyo and said, “Thanks, big bro.” to which Tsuyo reached down and tousled Pakin’s hair.