Chapter 104: Ichika’s story (Part 1)
After Quickly treating her wounds, Ichika snuck passed the surrounding guards.
'I know Orochimaru said I shouldn't, it can be dangerous and I should only use it in an emergency, isn't this an emergency?'
Boom!
The building collapsed as a blue bolt of lightning came crashing through the walls.
"You're not going anywhere!
Liger bomb!" He vanished in a bolt of lightning
'The next thing I knew, everything was dark.
I slowly got up, and I soon realized that they blindfolded me and hung me upside down in chains once again, and they gagged me.
I heard someone's footsteps, but that wasn't the only thing I was hearing…
There were sounds of water dripping from above.'
Ichika wiggled around to see if she could get loose, but nothing happened.
'These chains are tougher than the other ones, I can't move them at all.'
Ichika said to herself.
The Raikage entered the room.
"Kumogakure has many ways to torture others and, unlike other villages, we don't prefer to use Genjutsu to get our information…
Eventually, you'll give us what we need, or…
You will die."
'They must only use this method of torture in Kumogakure.
After the Raikage enters the room, he'll use lightning chakra mode and it will send electricity towards me, and using the water inside the room will amplify the effects.
I have to escape Kumogakure, if I don't, who knows what'll happen…
This is an emergency, once I have the opportunity, I can use my secret ninjutsu, but I don't think I'll finish preparing it in time.'
He entered lightning chakra mode and punched the ground, leaving lightning and water to mix shocking Ichika.
She screamed in pain, but that didn't stop him.
'If I continue this any longer, I'll kill her.'
"Already done, Raikage?"
He frowned.
"Ichika." Ichika widened her eyes as if she had heard someone familiar.
'A deep voice spoke to me, it was deep and raspy, the last time I heard that was before I went to Konoha…'
"Ichika, you have to keep fighting…"
She looked around and saw no one.
Her eyes were fading out, and she was blacking out.
"It's all my fault, you died because of me."
She said to herself before her eyes closed.
Ichika began remembering something long ago.
-----------------
4 years ago in the land of snow…
Ichika was in the forest getting some wood and picking up flowers for herself.
-----------------
Ichika ran her fingers across a tree and whispered.
"Not you." She ran her fingers across another one, this one was an old but sturdy one.
"You're perfect." Ichika drew a mark on this tree and then smiled after seeing a dozen roses, they had thorns on the sides but she still reached in.
'This forest never hurts me, it's why it's my favorite.
I always feel so connected to it.
Sadly, many people think I'm just lying or that I'm crazy for saying something like that.'
"Ichika!" a woman yelled out and startled her.
"I'm done! I'm on my way back already!"
She picked the rose and ran back.
'We lived in a small shed outside the town and inside the forest.
The wood my parents used to build this shed was old and would occasionally fall apart, especially because of the stupid snow.
My mother was usually at home cooking food and being a good old housewife, my father…
He was a drunk who was useless after the war.
He left me to be the one who worked hard to provide for the family, I would mark which trees are perfect for cutting and leave those who aren't, I always felt a connection to nature, especially trees and plants.'
After helping her mother place the food on the table, Ichika sat down.
"Thanks for the food."
She looked over at her mother.
Her name was Akari Senju, a dark-haired woman who was fit for a woman her age and had tanned skin with dark eyes.
Ichika's father was called Yochiro Senju, he was a tall man with short, silver, and spiky hair.
He had a mustache and brown eyes.
"So?
What did you find in the woods this time?"
"There weren't any animals or anyone this time, only trees.
However, I found this rose hidden within a thorny bush, it's perfect, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"You risked being pricked for a rose?"
"I already told you, this forest won't ever hurt me…
It's like it speaks to me…" Ichika said while playing with the rose.
"And what is it saying now?"
Ichika looked at the rose.
"It says our lives will go through a significant change soon." The mother smiled.
"I hope that's true, I'm tired of living here, and I'm tired of him arriving home late."
Ichika nodded.
"He's been coming home a lot less than usual, do you think he's alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine, maybe he found something better to do than to torture us with his war stories."
Ichika smiled.
'After helping my mother clean up, we went to sleep…
That night, the feeling of something cold in my hand woke me up.
Once I woke up, I looked around and saw a shadow of a man leaving my room.
I looked at the cold feeling in my hand and I realized it was a map, locating some kind of scroll within the woods, it read.
"You'll find what you've been looking for here."
I didn't know what it was supposed to mean and so I went back to sleep and told myself I would figure it all out tomorrow.'
The next morning…
"Good morning mum, did he come back yesterday?" She nodded.
"He's asleep, he seems exhausted…"
Ichika nodded.
'Mum is acting weird, is something wrong?'
"Are you alright, mum?" She hesitantly nodded.
"I know this seems wrong to ask you, but… you don't think he's… seeing someone else?"
Ichika shook her head.
"Don't be silly, if he was, he's even dumber than we thought.
Not even he's that dumb, you're brilliant as a mother and a woman, don't be paranoid, it's not a good look on you."
Ichika said before leaving the house.
"I'll be back later!" She yelled before vanishing in a blur of lines.
"Now, it's time for me to find whatever is on this map." She removed the map from her pockets and read it.
After an hour, Ichika reached the spot.
'I recognized where I was immediately.
The reason I began working for people wasn't just because I could feel a presence in nature, but it was also because of this tree.
It was a tall and giant tree covered in snow and red roses coated in ice.
I discovered it one day when I was wandering around in the forest.
It spoke to me through nature.
I never believed that I found it by coincidence, I believed I found it through the forest speaking to me, and for that I wanted no one to see it too, I fear that they'll cut it down."
Ichika searched around the tree.
"I don't even know what I'm looking for.
For all I know, this might be a trap or something stupid, like a joke."
Ichika sat down on a log.
"While I'm here, I might as well pick up one rose." Ichika climbed onto the tree, there were a bunch of red roses on top.
She reached out and took one of them.
*Poof!*
'They all dispersed into multiple scrolls and I fell off, after that, I went back to take the scrolls.'
After getting the scrolls, Ichika's eyes widened after reading what was on them.
"Wood release ninjutsu?"
"Mum told me that the Senju clan used to see who had the most chakra and test if they could perform wood release like my great grandfather.
Is that what this is?
I only know a few ninjutsu and a bit of genjutsu, I'm not a Kunoichi like aunt Tsunade, but I'll try it, anyway."
She opened the scroll.
"Ichika?" She looked behind her and saw a man with a mustache, and dark short hair, he had no distinctive features apart from being short, he held a bottle of sake in his hand.
"Dad! What're you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you? And what is that? Does your mother know where you are?"
Ichika facepalmed.
"Is this where you go when you get drunk?"
He threw the bottle away.
"What bottle? I mean, what drunk?"
Sigh.
'Great timing, dad…' Ichika said to herself.
"Is that where it's been?" He took the scroll from her hands.
"Hey!"
"I've been looking for these for a long time, how did it end up here?"
Ichika shrugged.
"I found it here today, and I thought I would try doing one of the ninjutsu."
"Ichika, you have wood release?!"
She shook her head.
"I'm not sure, but I just want to try."
He nodded.
"I've had this strange connection to nature, I feel its presence…
It's not like it talks to me or anything but…
Something tells me I'm more connected to it than many people.
So I just thought…"
He nodded.
"I understand, and I think you should at least try it, right?" She widened her eyes.
"Ichika, if you want to try this, try it when your mother is nearby, if this works you'll be the first person since lord first to have wood release naturally, it would only be fair if your parents are there to witness it, right?" She nodded.
"Then let's go back."
He nodded.
"By the way, I'm not that drunk, I'm just exhausted, I was looking for those scrolls the whole night and day yesterday."
"You looked for them even outside?"
"Yeah, I leave a lot of my stuff outside when I'm drunk." Ichika chuckled.
He looked at her and smiled.
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