An Unexpected Friend (Book 1 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 11 - Time to Wave Part 2

"You'll love the training I have for you," Kakashi said, ignoring the slight ache in his head.

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"We'll be working on chakra control today," Kakashi informed his students.

"What are we gonna do, then?" Naruto asked.

"Climb a tree," Kakashi said with a chuckle. Kokoro's earlier nervousness drained from her body and was replaced by annoyance. She already knew how to climb a tree. It was one of the things her dad made sure she had down pat. Plus, it was one of the only things she actually wanted to train. She knew her taijutsu would never be to her dad's standards, so she thought she would work on something she knew she could excel in. Add on to the fact that she had three chakra natures, she couldn't afford to slack off with chakra training.

"Climb a tree?" Sasuke and Naruto asked simultaneously.

"Yes, but there's one catch: You have to do it without your hands," the jounin said.

"You're kidding," Sasuke deadpanned. Kakashi gave them an eye smile and gestured towards Kokoro. She smiled and jumped at the opportunity to show them up. Really, she just liked to show-off what she already knew. It gave her the satisfaction to be able to do things others couldn't. She channeled chakra to her feet. She imagined a pole of chakra running the length of her legs, and at the bottom of it - her feet - she imagined a cloud of chakra rushing around in circles. It was an unorthodox way of imagining it, but it helped her with her chakra control. She walked up to a tree and placed her right foot on it. When she felt her foot latch onto the bark, she lifted her left foot. She walked all the way up the tree until she found a sturdy branch to sit on.

"Woah! You never did that when we trained together, dattebayo! How'd you do it?" Naruto asked.

"Focus your chakra on the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree," Kakashi told him. After he explained it a bit more, he let them free to figure it out themselves. Kokoro walked down the tree and walked up to her dad. She tried to sweep his crutches away from him with her leg but failed miserably.

"Nice try," he said. She grunted and observed him. He was still pretty banged up. He had bandages wrapped around him in certain areas and he was using crutches to help him walk around. He looked tired and worn out as his eyes observed Naruto and Sasuke making progress in their tree climbing.

"So, what am I gonna do?" she asked him. He hummed before he looked out at the lake. He glanced at her and gestured towards the water. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "I don't want to practice that. I've already mastered that, too."

"You shouldn't slack off," he scolded her.

"It's not that I'm trying to," she complained. "I've been doing these exercises ever since I could mold my chakra. I'm bored!"

Kakashi sighed and glanced at his other two students. They were moving at the same pace and probably wouldn't finish until late. He could send her to protect Tazuna, but it was kind of moot. Zabuza wouldn't be stupid enough to attack so soon after their battle. "Why don't you work on your jutsu. It needs improvement if you want to use it in battle," he suggested.

She contemplated his words before she agreed. She really did need to work on it. It wasn't as strong as she wanted it to be. She left the area they were practicing in and walked through the trees until she came across a small clearing. She walked until she was in the middle of the clearing to give herself ample space to practice. She made the correct hand signs and the ground around her was disrupted by ice spears. Ice Release: Ice Spears. It was the only other ice release jutsu she knew how to do. Unlike her Ice Prison, however, it wasn't strong enough to be used on an enemy. She touched the tip of one of the ice spears and it immediately shattered. She pouted at her results and flopped to the ground.