Cookie Distro [P]

It was a start to a new day, Satorus seventh day in Sunagakure. Having completed almost a dozen missions in the village, Satoru decided to take a personal training day, with the aim of sharpening his skills. He went to the training grounds, and entered a timed sparring battle with a Stuuma, a large water style user with two yellow orbs for its eyes. Satoru brought down his opponent with a flying kick, and so continued to execute it repeatedly. Before long, he was exhausted. It felt good to beat the training and just let go and let the technique flow, letting his body guide him into the correct combinations.

He was using the Grutts technique. They say that every technique was born from a basic motion or skill. The Grutts technique is no different. Satoru did not use a punch, he struck a rapid wave of force to strike his enemy's gut. It was perfect, shocking their diaphragm and providing force. The Stuuma was knocked to the ground, panting.

He managed to get back up, but Satoru used this time to develop other tactics, using an incoming leg sweep to strike the Stuuma's face, opening up a huge gash. At this point, Satoru slowed, noting that Stuuma was in no condition to continue. He let Stuuma regain its breath and prepare himself for a follow up attack.

Satoru caught the fist, deftly bending it back to a more orthodox combat position, but he wasn't done with this guy yet. Stuuma tried to throw a roundhouse kick but Satoru was quick, grabbing the wrist and tossing him like a rock in the air. Stuuma did a perfect front flip and landed just in front of the training grounds, face to face with Satoru.

Satoru dashed to Stuumas location and stood at the edge of the training grounds, arms folded he let out a low chuckle. "You know, when I tell you to guard your head, that's not a metaphor." Satoru lightly tapped Stuuma on the forehead with his left hand and smiled, the last laugh on Stuuma.

He observed the expression Stuuma was wearing when Satoru walked away, the big bruise on his face starting to heal. The expression was seething anger, and was fueled by a fear that Satoru had just drove right through it. Satoru had the mental strength to defend himself against him, but couldn't let him think himself invincible.

Stuuma was alone, and would probably need some more time to recover from the conditioning he had just endured, and from his lost temper.

Satoru knew that something had just changed. It was only just the beginning.

Half an hour later, Satoru was walking down the corridors of the Desert Rose Inn, he felt good. Confident. His body's aching muscles were completely relaxed. He had just finished wrapped up his daily mission which was effectively to give out some celebratory cookies out to the civilians.

With that, he entered his room, dropped onto to the bed like a stack of bricks and went off into the dream land.

“Mother…” he saw her formal white robes. She was head of the Kaoru-Jugo household, the current Jugo representative for the Yew Wood region. She was in no hurry, she would listen to Satoru's request before she replied.

"Thank you, it's been a while since I've seen you."Satoru looked up, they were the same words he had said to her when he last saw her. He looked down, quickly doing so as his mother's eyes flashed at him.

"Is there something wrong?" She inquired."It's just…" Satoru hesitated. "Well, I've realized something…""Are you leaving the clan?" she asked, but Satoru wasn't surprised that she already knew.

"No, it's not that...I've decided to travel.""That is fine. What about the major villages and your obligation to the people?" she pressed.

"I'll think about it...I'll need a little time.""In the meantime, would you like some help out in the kitchen?"Satoru smiled at her as he responded, "Yes I would." He would, especially after the long encounter with Stuuma.

"Very well, I'll wait at the entrance for you.""Thank you mother, see you soon."Satoru smiled as he closed the door and walked down the corridor, heading towards his room. He opened the door and turned on the lights and sat down on the bed. The last few minutes felt like a lot of time had passed.

Even though the floor was neatly made with his usual bed sheets, the room itself had changed. It was cleaner than usual, with more space in the closets, and the room had been painted a dark shade of blue. He stood up and walked over to his bedside table, picking up a framed picture of him and his mother from when he was still a child, holding each other in a hug. They looked so happy, it was one of those photographs that never let you go. Satoru placed the picture on the table, and picked up his pendant off the top of the table. The pendant was a golden circle, with three smaller circles surrounding it.

There was a strange emblem on it, a sword, maybe? Satoru guessed so, because there was some kind of engraving inside the heart of the circle, which made it look like the two small circles were all the way around the blade. With all the stuff around it he didn't know much about what the symbol meant, but it seemed to keep people away.

He didn't know how old he was when he had received the pendant, but he had been very young. His mother had given it to him as a present. At the time he had thought it was so nice that he refused to let her remove it, the pendant had become more precious over the years. It reminded him of home, the sanctuary that the village, and his home, was supposed to be. His family and the Kaoru-Jugo Clan, was supposed to be, it had been a lie.

Satoru felt a tightness in his chest as he held the pendant, it felt like a part of his family was just a memory now. The pendant was the only thing that was left.

Satoru placed the pendant back on the table and sat down again. The door opened, and his mother walked in.

"Are you ready for your morning meal?""Yes, Mother.""Good. The cooks have prepared a morning meal for you."Satoru smiled at her, taking his bowl from her and sitting down. She bowed politely and left the room, he didn't know how to respond, or if he was supposed to. He didn't want to offend her, but he couldn't just ignore her and go about the day, or afternoon. So, he put the pendant on the table again.

"Well then, shall we?" she asked.Satoru nodded and the two of them headed into the kitchen, where she proceeded to prepare the breakfast. The cooked eggs and the kanten went into the bowl in front of Satoru.

"For me?" He asked."Yes, please eat this. It's a simple breakfast.""I'm happy to help. Thank you."He added some eggs and the kanten to his bowl. He started eating, while the two of them chatted about everyday things. She asked him about his classes and the activities he was currently involved in. He told her about the team he was on and what he was doing after classes. He was learning Taijutsu, not much about his powers, but he was about to join an inter-academy team.

The two of them had eaten in silence, and now the maids were starting to come into the room. The first had a small bowl of porridge, she was followed by the stewardess. Both of them gave Satoru a wide smile as he sat in front of them. He gave the second girl a nod, which she returned. The waitresses turned around and walked to the kitchen.

Satoru had eaten most of the eggs, and the kanten. His mother sat down across from him, looking at him with a smile. "The breakfast was very nice," she said. "Thank you, Ma'am." "Are you ready for the afternoon meal?" Satoru nodded. "Alright. Follow me, the cooks have prepared something special for you." The two of them went into the kitchen and took their dishes. The two girls that had been serving breakfast came back into the room, and they too bowed to Satoru's mother. "Thank you, Ma'am. Good morning to you too." She turned to Satoru,

"Yes, it was a pleasure." The two girls led them into another room and set them down at a large table. They came back into the kitchen and set the food out, plates and utensils that Satoru hadn't even noticed before. He stared down at the food, now noticing that it was being cooked in a large iron pan. The cook's name was Kana, and Satoru had been served his breakfast here before. The food tasted fine, but it was much greasier than usual. He tried the dried fish, it tasted wonderful.

"Is that okay?" Kana asked, the mother nodded. "That's wonderful. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Satoru was about to take a bite, when something suddenly happened. He gasped, he had been eaten alive. He woke up at home the next day. The sun was shining outside, and it wasn't raining. He looked at his clock, and it was almost eight. His mother must have been up late, because there was no sign of her being at the door. Satoru got out of bed and headed to the kitchen, where he found his mother with her back turned, cutting up vegetables.

"Hey, Ma'am?" "Yes, dear?" "The cook said you were having breakfast with me today. How did you get home so late?"  "I had an assignment to finish. I'm sorry for being so late, but how could I stay up so late?" Satoru frowned, what had he done wrong? She wasn't being rude, was she? The mother smiled, "Don't worry about it, it's alright."

He didn't understand what was going on, she still seemed tired and pale. What would make her that? Then he noticed the bandage on her hand, "What happened?" "Oh that. I cut my hand while cutting up vegetables this morning." "A cut? How?" She looked at the large bandage on her hand. "I got it from the knife."

Satoru's eyes widened, it was a large cut, wide enough to have needed stitches. It was a few centimeters above her wrist, and it was almost an inch deep. "Ma'am, what happened?" She turned around, her face covered with a mask of pain. She looked at her son. "Satoru."

Satoru saw his mother's face change to one of happiness. "How could I miss your first day at school?" Satoru looked at her, was this really her? He had seen her happier, much happier than she was now. This didn't seem right. "Ma'am, what happened to you?" "I'm fine, but the healers are only able to keep me at home until you return. Do you remember what I said about taking good care of my wound?" Satoru remembered, he could see the memory imprint on his brain,

"Don't forget to keep your wounds clean, clean the wound, and take care of your burns, and you'll be fine." He nodded, his face betraying no emotion. "I won't, I promise." Satoru noticed that his mother's bandage was blood-stained, "What happened to your wound?" His mother turned her face away, embarrassed.

"That'll have to be a secret, I'd prefer to keep it a secret, at least for now." "Why?" His mother was getting teary-eyed, she looked up at him. "Because then you won't worry about me. I can't see you go through all of that, it's too much. Please, if anything, tell someone."

She let out a sigh. "I wish I didn't have to. I'm sorry, I'd like for us to be able to be more like friends, I want us to become as close as we were before."

Satoru wasn't sure how to respond. "What do you mean?""I just don't want you to be worried about me, or upset that I'm having to stay at home."Satoru hesitated. "Ma'am, I don't understand." "I don't want you to worry about me, but I also don't want you to be disappointed that I can't come over as much anymore."

Satoru scratched his head, confused."Why can't I visit you?"She looked down at the floor.
"Because it would make it too easy to see me if you came to see me. So please, stay away."

Satoru stared at his mother, wondering why this was so important to her."I understand, Ma'am. I'll try not to worry you, or get angry, and you should try to take care of yourself too."

He wanted to tell her she shouldn't worry about him, that he would be okay, but he figured it would be best to keep it a secret. He felt relieved when his mother smiled.

"I can't believe it's happening again, I really don't know what to think, or how to react."Satoru watched his mother closely. He could tell she was nervous, unsure of how to react."You will, you just have to give it some time. You'll have to work with the healers, and try to stay strong."He smiled at her.

"Please, don't worry about me."She smiled back at him. He thought his smile looked strange, as though he didn't know how to smile."I will, I'll try not to, but I'll worry anyway."

They both stood there for a moment, Satoru wondering what to say next, his mother unsure of what to do with herself."I guess it was good that you went to the hospital," his mother finally said.

Satoru shrugged, he wasn't sure why he had gone, and now he didn't really know why he had gone to the hospital in the first place."I guess it was. Anyway, let's get you out of that bed, it's making you sick."Satoru was surprised at his mother's ability to move around so quickly.

"Ma'am?""What is it, Satoru?"He wanted to tell her he didn't want her to take care of him anymore, but he held his tongue."What will you be doing?""I'll be washing the rest of your wounds, and covering them up with new bandages.""Ma'am?"

"Is that okay with you?""It's fine, I was worried they would get infected."She nodded at him.

"Get out of that bed and get going."He nodded, got up from his bed, and left the room.When Satoru returned to the room his mother was in, he saw that she had dressed and taken a shower."How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, don't worry about me. I'm surprised you didn't feel bad about letting me go to the hospital."Satoru thought for a moment, wondering if he should tell her the truth."I wanted to tell you something.""Go ahead."He looked down at the floor, unsure of how to begin.

"Ma'am, I have to go away for a while.""No, I don't want you to go, go back to school, get your books. I don't want you to leave me."He had intended to tell her that he was leaving to do his military service. He thought she would be upset about that, he wouldn't be able to tell her everything about it, and it would be too hard to explain to her.

"I want to stay here with you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."He looked up at her, seeing that she was crying."I don't want you to go, Ma'am. Please stay with me. I'm not saying I don't want to go, I'm just trying to explain it to you."Satoru paused, taking a deep breath.

"I'm going away to do my military service. It's something I've always wanted to do. I wanted to tell you in a different way, but there just didn't seem to be time."She sniffed."It's not a good thing, not a bad thing, it's just…" She stopped, unsure how to say it.

"It's something I have to do, it's something I have to do to protect you."His mother remained silent.

"Ma'am, can I ask you a question?""I'd love to, what is it?""I'll give you a chance to change your mind, I won't hold it against you, I'd understand."His mother stared at him for a moment, her mouth agape."Go ahead, ask me a question."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Before this happened, I think I could have handled it better."He knew he was going to regret asking this question, but he couldn't stop.

"You know that's not it, that's not what I'm saying. I just didn't want to burden you, I didn't want to make you upset. I thought you were doing so much already, the chores, helping out so much. I didn't want to stress you out more."

Satoru paused for a moment, unsure what to say next."Why are you telling me this now?"

His mother stared at him, unsure of what to say."Well, I thought you should know, I thought you should know the truth. That's why I asked you those questions, I didn't want you to be disappointed. I don't expect you to agree, I just thought you should know."

"No, I'll stay here with you. I don't want you to go anywhere, I'm not going anywhere."Satoru smiled."So you don't mind I'm leaving for the army?""No, I don't mind, I'm proud of you." He hugged her.

"I don't want you to go."She pulled away from him, tears forming in her eyes."You need to go, Ma'am, to protect me. To do my military service.""I'm not letting you go," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes."Yes you are, I'm going to be staying with you."

"No, no, I'm not letting you go. I'm not going to let you do this. You have to do it for me."Satoru paused, thinking for a moment.

"Ma'am, I'll be going with you. I want to go with you. I'm going to do my military service for you."His mother sighed."I just don't want to lose you, I know I'll get used to your absences, but this will be for a really long time, I'll miss you…”


Suddenly, Satoru awoke in the realm of the living, a tear trailing down his left eye, his dream being nothing more than a fabrication, not a single aspect of the dream was real. Every aspect was what Satoru had envisioned over the years from hearing stories, meeting women and day dreaming. He didn’t have the perfect life he so wished and to some extent he resented that feeling. Nevertheless, he had to press on.

[Exit]

WC - 2869

Total WC: 3317
Claiming:
2000 Ryo, 20 AP

Buying 1, 3 Day Event Skip Ticket. 3000/3000

Sage Mode[44/4000] + 317 = [361/4000]