“Please take a seat. These are the nice and expensive pillows that I never get the chance to use.” I throw three large pillows at the kids as we walk into the dojo who all manage to catch it. Iemitsu and Moko catch the pillow by allowing it to hit them and then stop it from falling with both their arms outstretched. Rei, while keeping her side facing me, outstretches her hand while reaching out to the pillow while still flying to her and, with feet shoulder length apart, snatches it from the air.
“Wow, these are really soft and feel nice,” Moko says, rubbing the pillow against her face.
“These aren’t silk, are they?” Iemitsu says with a hint of panic in his voice.
“No, no, just finely treated wood fiber. The Aburame clan makes amazing silk, and I would love to buy some of their products, but it's also expensive stuff. You will only find Aburame clan members or wealthy ninjas wearing them.”
Rei just looked at the pillow while squishing it in her hands to see how soft and comfortable it was. “You don’t use these pillows often?” She asked curiously.
“Nope, please sit next to each other,” I tell the three while I sit a little away from them. The dojo’s lights aren’t on, but the nature lighting is poking its way in, illuminating the room. “Kakashi isn’t much of a homebody, always out on this mission, doing this or that,” I say, waving my hands through the air and getting a smile out of the three while they take a seat. “And Sakumo hates to come in here.”
I stare at three bright, innocent, and happy faces. “Now, kids, I’m sorry to say this, but I have some bad news that I feel like you deserve to know.” The kids seemed concerned but were paying attention. “Even though you have graduated from the academy, I am going to test you to see if you are a good fit to become my students.”
“Umm sensie, whats the test.” Iemitsu speaks up while Moko nods her head, and Rei seems to lean forward a little.
“Well, are you guys ready to hear it?” I say, leaning in myself like I’m about to reveal a secret. I watch as they nod their heads. “If you think you can handle it. The test is: I want you to tell me your name and why you want to be a ninja?”
The room is silent as I and the three stay seated. “I know, I know. It seems unfair to ask you such a big and personal question.” The three of them are still silent, blood draining from their faces. “To be honest, I was going to skip the whole testing thing, but Sakumo insisted on it, and this was all his idea, so you three can blame him.”
Iemitsu managed to gulp back some of his saliva, but the other two remained frozen stiff. “He told me first that it is a matter of tradition, but he quickly gave up on that line of attack on me. Traditions are fun and all, and they do provide a sense of community and camaraderie but can also make you stagnant if you aren’t careful.” From inside the dojo, birds could be heard chirping to one another, and a steady breeze flowed from the windows. “But my teacher knows me well, and when I was his student, he asked me a similar question…” The kids remained still. “…Well, not in the same way. He was both better and worse than me. He waited until the second day to perform this test. It's a shame to say I was the last to pass it. Both of my teammates were clan kids, so they naturally grew up with this. I, on the other hand, the question he asked back then…Even today I still don’t like giving a honest answer to. Every time I answer it, I feel dirty.”
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The kids remained comfortably seated on the pillow. “Sakumo told me the test is for your benefit as well as mine. If you can’t pass this test, it might be best for us to take appropriate actions now rather than find out later. I thought about it and decided that he was right. I can train you to be a proper ninja all day, but you still have to ask yourself, “Do you want to do this?”
“If you can’t pass this test, I will send the three of you back. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. No one has the right to judge you. Most ninjas can, and I mean this with no pun intended, but “Miss the forest for the trees.” I’ll tell you right now: you don’t have to be a ninja. After today, you can hand me your headband, and I’ll take care of the rest. There are other jobs out there. There are more ways to survive and even thrive. Ninjas don’t even make that much money, all things considered.”
I look at the three unmoving kids, still frozen. “I know, you three don’t believe me, and I’m not talking about rice farming. There are jobs outside the Leaf village that would be more than happy to have you. Lumberjack, Miner, Researcher, or maybe just a plane Explorer. The world is never as small as we like to think it is.”
I paused my rambling to give the kids time to process the information, then decided to help them a little. “I find labeling things like emotions and feelings helps me understand and control them better. In case the three of you haven’t put a name to it yet, what you're feeling right now is ‘Killing Intent.’ That’s why you can’t move right now.”
A shiver ran through their spines like they finally understood what was happening. “To pass the test, all you have to do is answer the question: What is your name, and why do you want to be a ninja?” I look outside the window at the clear blue sky. “I’ll take your silence as answer enough by nightfall, or you can surrender early. I’ll also stop once you faint, but this is an important test for both of us. If you are this frozen in fear from this little ‘Killing Intent’, then it’s best you reevaluate your decision in coming here today, or even being a ninja altogether.”
The silence of the three was finally broken when Iemitsu leaned forward and threw up on the floor. He placed his hands on the ground around the mess he just made and, with snot and tears pouring out of him, started to hyperventilate. The girls could see him from the corners of their eyes but were still frozen in terror. The sound of sobs, burbs, and hiccups escaped the boy.I was doing an inventory in my head and commenting to the three that Kakashi has spare clothes in the house that I can fetch them once this is all over so that they don’t have to walk home with those clothes if they don’t want to when I saw the boy reach out and grab the hands of his teammates. From the reaction of the girls, I could tell that they didn’t notice as they were solely focused on me.
Iemitsu rocked back and forth and forced himself to look at me. He started to open and close his mouth, but words wouldn’t come out. The fear and frustration were written all over his face. He squeezed the girl's hands harder, and I could tell that they finally noticed his state. Realization hit the two girls at roughly the same time as they had just recalled the past events that they had ignored entirely a moment ago.
“I-I…” Iemitsu tried to get the words out, grabbing the girl's attention. They were starting to spasm and were going to join him soon in dirtying the dojo floor with their vomit, but their eyes were glued to the boy. Was he going to surrender, giving them an excuse to surrender? Was he going to throw up again, giving them an excuse to throw up? “I-I’m Iemitsu. And I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
The girls kept looking at Iemitsu, who had lowered his head and closed his eyes tightly. “I-” Moko was about to say something but stoped herself and shut her mouth. Gagging noises came out of her. For a few seconds, she remained still. “Moko.” She clapt shut again and took a few more seconds. “Family.” And with that, she let out a huge sigh as I relieved the pressure on her.
Rei was the last one left and was staring at the two; both of them were doing better now that I no longer had 'Killing Intent' on them, and she could see this easing her fears a little. She looked at me, and she tried to talk but was still suffering. Again, she tried to mouth words over and over again and closed her eyes. After some time, the words were forced out of her mouth. “I want to kill the Nine-tail Fox!”