"Do you like your life now or when you were back at the academy?"

Izumi considered the question from the boy sitting beside her. Even though she had sat beside him five minutes ago, they had only been part of the same conversation instead of actually talking with each other. She was just about to start thinking that he wasn't interested in talking to her.

"... I most definitely like my life right now," Izumi answered Takuma's question.

"Why?" asked Takuma, shifting his body to face her.

"My dad died during the Nine-Tails attack..."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Takuma with an earnest light in his eyes.

Izumi nodded. "Thank you. Well, after that, Mom started working to support both of us. It was tough on her, but she made sure I never felt that I didn't feel it. I have fond memories of the academy, but I like my life now infinitely more because I can support her so she doesn't have to bear it all alone."

When she was in the academy, she was a burden on her mother. Being part of the Uchiha clan helped as everything from household commodities to monthly utility bills was subsidised by the clan, and the academy itself was tuition-free—but it was nevertheless hard on her mother. But when Izumi became a shinobi, she could contribute to the household instead of just taking from it.

"My proudest moment is still the day when I gave my first paycheck to Mom," Izumi smiled, remembering how surprised her mother looked when she grabbed her rough hands hands and placed the envelope in them. They had cried in each other's arms for a good while before just staying there. It was a warm memory that she would never forget.

"If I have a complaint, it's that she insists on continuing to work," Izumi sighed. She wanted her to enjoy her life, but her mother said she enjoyed her work because it kept her busy. "She's taking less work now, but still..."

"I'm sure she recognises how much you love her," said Takuma. "It's probably that she's worried that you won't have any savings if you give her money when you lose so much to scam products."

"Hey!" Izumi glared at him before softly chuckling. "What about you? I assume that you like your life now more?"

She knew that Takuma's time at the academy hadn't been very fun. He had no friends, was terrible at all things shinobi, and was given a really hard time by Hiji. But now, he had friends like Taro, Arisu, and even Kameko, which was a surprise given their personalities—and had managed to make more than something out of himself. Perhaps out of everyone in the class, he was the one to improve the most.

"Who knows, both parts of my life have their good and bad." Takuma looked like he was in thought before he was in thought, "You're right, all things considered, I think being a shinobi has been better than being a student... However, I have to say, the feeling of covering my answer in the test with my hand so the teacher couldn't see how stupid I was—even though I knew he would be grading it later—that feeling is unmatched."

Izumi patted his shoulder as she covered her mouth to hide her laughter. She understood the appeal of returning to the simpler times of when they were in the academy—it was a glasshouse that kept them safe from the realities of the world of a shinobi.

"May I ask you a question?" asked Takuma.

"Sure, what is it?" she smiled.

"What does it feel like to use B-rank ninjutsu?"

Izumi paused as the question changed the topic of conversation to something very separate from what they were talking about, requiring her to think about the question before she could answer. She had two B-rank ninjutsu in her arsenal, one of which she had a decent mastery over as it was a Fire Release jutsu, which was her primary affinity—but the second, Wind Release jutsu, was taking some time as her talent with the Wind affinity didn't match that of her talent over Fire.

"The clan head once said this to us," she started.

"Uchiha Fugaku?"

"Uh-huh. He said that if D-rank ninjutsu feels like training toys and C-rank ninjutsu are akin to tools of the trade, then B-rank ninjutsu are the manifestation of power." Izumi closed her eyes and recalled the feeling. "Using B-rank ninjutsu makes it feel like you've ascended; the feeling of chakra coursing through the body, transforming into pure power all under my control, free for me to unleash... The first time I cast one correctly, my heart beat with such intensity that it refused to come down for a long time, and I was on a power high for the rest of the day."

She was well aware that she was talking about a weapon of serious destruction which shouldn't be used lightly in any circumstances, but she couldn't deny that using a B-rank jutsu was an experience like no other—and perhaps that was exactly why it was dangerous.

"I guess that's why he was being so annoyingly loud," Takuma muttered.

"Pardon?"

"I have this asshole acquaintance who turned more annoying when he was using a B-rank jutsu, don't worry about it," Takuma looked at another table. "Though I must say Momoe didn't look power-hungry when she used a B-rank jutsu on me."

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"She did what?" asked Izumi, looking surprised at Momoe.

"It was a spar a long time ago under the watchful eye of her sensei, and knowing what I know now, she mustn't've been very good at it back then."

"I see; I was just surprised. But it's good that there was a jonin overlooking it." A mischievous smile perked on her face. "Everyone has their own unique experience. Momoe values control over a lot of things, so maybe she didn't show it, or perhaps she didn't feel like it... Momoe is like an old granny; it's not a surprise that she's a boring stiff," she said the last part a bit loudly.

Izumi snatched a wooden skewer aimed at her head out of the air and stuck out her tongue at a glaring Momoe.

"It's not just the feeling of power; depending on if you chose a jutsu that gels well with your fighting style, they're excellent on a cost-value scale. There are plenty of C-rank jutsu that can scale up along with a shinobi, but most of them would fall into not being used as a shinobi grows—but a B-rank jutsu would always stay with you regardless of how much you grow."

A lot of it had to do with the fact that shinobi thought carefully about B-rank jutsu because of the amount of effort it took to learn and master one. A wrong choice could lead to a waste of not only effort but also time that could've put in another option. She had taken a full three weeks of near-daily visit to her clan's jutsu archives before she decided on the jutsu she wanted to pursue.

"If B-rank is like that, I wonder how A-rank jutsu would feel," Takuma thought aloud.

"They don't feel good," Izumi replied. "I have no experience, but from what I've been told, A-rank jutsu puts a lot of stress on the body. They take too much chakra, which makes their usage limited and more risky—but there's no doubt that they're utterly devastating, which can be a detriment..."

"Hmm, so B-rank jutsu lies in a sweet spot where you can have a profound effect with a reasonable trade-off."

"Precisely."

He has changed. Izumi didn't know Takuma very well in the academy—she still didn't know much about him— but she had an impression that he was withdrawn and cautious. She had caught him silently looking around the class, observing everything without ever participating. But as she sat beside him, it felt like he had become comfortable in his skin, which wasn't the case before. There was also self-assuredness and confidence when he was talking about his experience at the war with Momoe. Coming into his own as a shinobi had made him grow as a person.

She couldn't help but wonder what journey he had been on since leaving the academy.

"I must admit, I'm curious about your relationship with Lady Mikoto," asked Izumi.

"She's my genjutsu teacher... I wanted to learn genjutsu, so someone in the Police Force introduced us. She was free and liked me enough to show me the ropes. But I have relied on her a lot more than just genjutsu lessons. She was immensely helpful when I was trying to wrap my head around being deployed to war." A look of gratitude appeared on Takuma's face as he sat up a bit straighter. "Meeting someone as genuine as Mikoto-sensei has been one of the most fortunate occurrences in my life."

"That's very nice to hear," Izumi smiled because she could sense that he meant every word of it. "But I'm surprised that you're learning genjutsu from her. Lady Mikoto is famed for her taijutsu rather than genjutsu."

Takuma shrugged. "She's an exemplary genjutsu teacher." He looked at her. "Your combat style is focused around taijutsu, isn't it? You should consult her with your queries. Even if it's one sparring session, she has the sheer experience to open your worldview."

"H-Huh, I can't disturb her with something like that," said Izumi. Even though she was retired, Mikoto was a jonin, and she was the matriarch of the Uchiha clan with responsibilities. Moreover, Izumi had her jonin teacher, who she could consult on her queries—not only that, the clan itself had provided her with a mentor she could reach out to, which she had done, but they weren't compatible—the advice she was given didn't suit her.

Going to Mikoto would be insulting to her clan mentor, and she didn't want to offend someone who had been trying to help her.

"She's resuming the genjutsu lessons with me," said Takuma.

"She really does like you, huh."

Izumi wondered if the reason Mikoto liked Takuma was because he resembled her son. They were both the dark, brooding type who didn't speak a lot. They both had a mature vibe to them and seemed to have various thoughts and questions always churning in their mind.

She hadn't seen Itachi in months, and the amount of times they had met this year could be counted on one hand. He had withdrawn himself since Shisui's death and pushed himself into work. That was yet another similarity because Arisu said that Takuma was a workaholic.

Takuma continued, "If she's willing to do that for someone outside the clan, what makes you think she won't entertain one of her own clan's rising stars."

"R-Rising star. I'm not that—"

"And it's not like you're just anyone. You're close to her son, Itachi, if I'm not wrong; that's one connection you can use. And you know me; that's the second one. I could ask her for you."

"No, you don't have to do that."

"You want your mother to be happy, right?"

"Huh?" Izumi looked up and saw Takuma staring down at her with his dull black eyes that were suddenly so deep she couldn't see the bottom.

"You're a chunin, but the reason your mother is being so considerate is probably that she doesn't want to waste her daughter's money."

"Waste?! Helping my mom is not wasting money!"

"I agree, but a good parent like her might think differently. You are young, and she probably wants to save your money for the future or spend it on yourself rather than her. She probably knows that you wanted to become a shinobi to support her, which would obviously make her feel proud but also make her think that she's tying her daughter down."

"That's rubbish; she's doing nothing like that," Izumi said, but for some reason, she couldn't help but worry that her mother, given her personality, might think like that.

"There's a simple solution to resolve everything," said Takuma. "You become a jonin."

Izumi was dumbfounded. It had barely been half a year since she had become a chunin, and he was talking about becoming a jonin.

"To be more precise, you rise so high, earn so much money, that when you show the line of zeroes on your bank book; when she reads her daughter's name in the newspaper; when clan bigwigs respect her because of you—she has no choice but to realise that her daughter is not one to be tied down. But for that to happen, you need everything you can get your hands on because it's a tough road. So reach out to Mikoto-sensei not for yourself but for your mother."

Izumi was right. They were similar in how kind and thoughtful they were. But she was also wrong. Itachi wouldn't say anything like what Takuma had just said. She looked up at Takuma, and she could tell that as they sat there talking, she was his only focus. It was different from when she talked with Itachi, who always seemed to have other thoughts in the back of his mind.

"Now it feels so much easier, doesn't it?" asked Takuma.

Izumi smiled broadly.

"It does," she said and looked him in the eye. "I'll do just that!"