Toru woke Ikusa by removing the illusion he had placed in her mind. He marveled at how quickly she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes, looking around quickly, like a frightened animal, and Toru was disappointed to see that her eyes were a milky white.
“Ikusa, are you alright?” Toru asked.
“Why can’t I see?” Ikusa whispered. “Oh, it’s nighttime. But what happened to my candle? Did brother blow it out, like he usually does? No…it’s too early for that, isn’t it?”
“Ikusa?” Toru repeated.
Ikusa flinched. “Who’s there?”
“Me, your father. We were ambushed on the way home, by enemy shinobi. They must have corrupted your memory somehow- you don’t have a brother, and it’s daytime.”
Ikusa blinked. “Then…my sight?”
“They blinded you, Ikusa,” Toru replied.
“I…I’m blind?”
Toru nodded, then realized that Ikusa wouldn’t be able to see the movement, and said, “Yes. We’re home now, though, and you should be okay.”
Ikusa frowned, as if trying to remember her past, though Toru had guarded it with another illusion, created to stay in place for all of Ikusa’s life. “Oh. Where...?”
“Hidden Mist, in Wave Country,” Toru replied.
Ikusa shivered slightly, though not from any cold that might be there. “I’m a shinobi, right? Or was that part of the dream, too?”
“You…were. The council won’t allow you to continue without your sight,” Toru replied. Maybe he could train her to see through the sounds people made, the feel of the air changing with another’s presence, but he himself wasn’t very good at that, even with sight, and he doubted Ikusa would be able to either.
Ikusa pulled her knees closer and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m not a shinobi anymore?” she murmured, both shocked and saddened.
“Not unless you can prove to the council that you can see some other way, but there’s no jutsu created that allows the blind to see again,” Toru answered.
Ikusa bit her lower lip. “Oh.”
Toru frowned. How could he teach her to see? He stood. “I have to go speak with my superiors again,” he said, “I’ll be back soon, okay?”
Ikusa nodded, her eyes closed. She didn’t want to have her eyes open if she wouldn’t be able to see through them.
Toru left swiftly, headed toward the Mizukage’s house. He reached the curtain blocking the entryway and stepped inside, then let it drop down beside him. “Jinsoku-sama,” he said, bowing slightly, “I’ve finished the assassination mission.”
The Mizukage nodded absently. “And who was the other you brought with you? I sensed its chakra.”
“She…” Toru began, decided how to explain, and continued, “Her house was burning, and she was trapped beneath a burning beam, unconscious. I sensed her chakra- it is wild and strong, powerful and in a large amount, and so I brought her with me. She would’ve died and left nothing but ashes, so no one will suspect her missing. I’ve already replaced her memories, and she believes herself to be my daughter, Ikusa.”
“You are troubled,” Jinsoku commented. “Though you have, as you have explained her, a powerful would-be shinobi.”
“She is blind, Jinsoku-sama,” Toru answered, “From the flames.”
Jinsoku frowned. “Hm. You know that she will not be allowed into our academy, then, if she cannot even see where she is walking.”
Toru nodded. “And that is what is troubling me, Jinsoku-sama.”
“I as well. Perhaps…” the Mizukage paused. “Teach her all the jutsus personal to the Mist that you can in any and all of your free time. She is, as you said, your new daughter, so she is your responsibility.” He raised an eyebrow. “I only wish you hadn’t named her Ikusa.”
Toru lowered his head.
“Naming her after your dead blood-daughter. Such ties are…unwanted. Remember that this Ikusa is not your real daughter. Your real daughter is dead.”
Toru swallowed. “I know, Jinsoku-sama. But now, are there any more missions you will have of me…?”
“Not at the moment. I will give you some time to teach Ikusa, so she may be able to defend herself. I have no missions that would need your particular talents at the moment, anyway. I will send for you if there is one.”
Bowing slightly again, Toru replied, “Yes, Jinsoku-sama,” and left the house, swiftly returning to his own apartment.
Ikusa was still sitting in the same position as she had been when Toru had left. “I’m going to re-teach you the jutsus you have forgotten due to the enemies’ tampering,” Toru said.
Ikusa looked up and nodded, eager to learn anything that would help her to becoming a shinobi again. Toru frowned at her enthusiasm, as it reminded him of his own daughter that had died only a few years ago. He sighed slightly and sat beside Ikusa, then said, “This is one of the first jutsus taught in the Academy,” he began. “It creates fog so thick that neither you nor your opponent can see through it.” Toru shaped Ikusa’s hands into the proper seals, and then named the technique. “Now you try.”
Ikusa nodded, slowly and slightly clumsily made the hand seals, and named the technique. A crease of concentration appeared in her forehead while thick tendrils of fog began to form in the air.
Toru breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Good job, Ikusa. Now, this next one…”
“Wait,” Ikusa interrupted. “You said that one made it so neither you nor your opponent could see, right? So, isn’t there one that allows you to see, but not your opponent? I mean, it would be pointless to make a jutsu that blinds both sides.”
Toru smiled slightly, pleased at Ikusa’s reasoning. “Yes, there is, but…I don’t see the reason of teaching it to you.”
“Just do, please,” Ikusa implored. “I want to know all the jutsus that you can teach me, even if the council won’t let me be a shinobi.”
“Alright, alright,” Toru said with a grin. He shaped Ikusa’s hands into the seals again and said, “This one is Rifuto enmu fukumen no jutsu. Now you try.” He watched her form the hand seals, less clumsily than the first jutsu, and wondered what the outcome would be.
“Rifuto enmu fukumen no jutsu,” Ikusa murmured. Toru looked at her expectantly, wondering what happened, if anything.
Ikusa sighed. “All that happened was that I saw a flash of white light. Nothing else. What’s the next jutsu?”
Toru spent the rest of the day teaching Ikusa new jutsus. He marveled at how swiftly she learned and perfected them, though he was disappointed that nothing of importance had happened with the Rifuto enmu fukumen jutsu.
Once it was night, Toru said, “Okay, Ikusa. That’s enough for today. Time to go to sleep.”
Ikusa shook her head. “I’m not tired,” she explained, and repeated a jutsu that she had been attempting to perfect for the last minute.
“You’ve been using your chakra all day. If you don’t rest, you’ll use it all up!” Toru said, half-jokingly.
“I’m not tired,” she repeated, when suddenly the room disappeared into fog. “Hey, I got it!” she exclaimed.
“I can tell,” Toru said, and then shrugged. “All right, you can stay up. Once you get tired though, go to sleep. There’s a sleeping mat beside you.”
“Okay,” Ikusa replied, moving on to another jutsu.
Toru shook his head in amusement and made his way to his room, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up smothered in fog, although, of course, that was exactly what happened.
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Chapter notes: Translations:
"Mizukage"= Water Shadow
–Rifuto enmu fukumenâ€= Lift fog veil