Ch. 6: This Little Light of Mine
Time passed, and Naruto's dream was soon known throughout not only the academy, but the entire village. Naruto wasn't subtle about making his dream known to others let's just say . . .
But Hikari's life was perfect, even Naruto's. They were in a good place right now. Surrounded kwa Marafiki everyday, (she started eating lunch with Ino and Sakura until she convinced them to come and eat with the group, and everyone seemed to get along) and honing their ninja skills.
They had been learning and focusing on chakra for a few days now, and some were even able to focus hard enough to feel it deep within themselves.
Shockingly, Hikari had been the very first. And it had been a very strange experience for her . . .
* ~ (flashback) ~ *
Iruka-sensei had called everyone outside to focus and bring out their chakra, and, as usual, Naruto and Hikari stood beside each other — arm-length apart — with the rest of their Marafiki around them in the same manner.
Iruka showed them the hand sign to use to try and summon it out of them, already going over the basics and essentials before to uncovering this sacred power that lay within.
So they all began focusing, most of them closing their eyes including Hikari.
Focus yourself, she thought to herself softly as she began searching within her — something she's never attempted before now.
At first, there was nothing, an empty void . . . until she suddenly found herself being encased in something white. It tickled her, and she giggled (mentally) before she noticed that the white things were . . . feathers?
Huh? she thought, confused, as her shimmering mist gray eyes studied her surroundings. She was within herself, standing in a dark place, though it didn't frighten her in any way. And then the snow white feathers began falling all around her . . . and they landed so softly on the invisible floor beneath her. She gazed questioningly at the feathers when suddenly — making her gasp — they began to shine a bright glow of white. The light was blinding, pure, and warm . . . and it suddenly wrapped around her, became a part of her . . .
And then her chakra unleashed from within, suddenly encasing Hikari's form as her eyes shot open and everyone gasped from the sudden explosion.
Naruto and Sakura — who had been standing beside her — jumped back as soon as the visibly blue power was spiraling around her.
Iruka had gasped the loudest, quickly running up to the girl as everyone stared wide-eyed and shocked at the girl.
Hikari stopped herself from exerting her chakra and stared at her hands — wide-eyed as well. She couldn't believe it . . . She did that?
That was . . . such an amazing feeling, and that light . . . She smiled to herself then. It was so warm. So inviting . . . pure . . .
"Hikari!" Iruka alisema in astonishment, not sure what to say. He has never had a student summon their chakra so quickly and summon so much of it out that it was visible!
She looked up at him with an elated smile. "Oops, I guess I overdid it . . ." she alisema with a carefree laugh — she couldn't help it, she was still feeling so incredible from that light and huge energy release. It was like something was awaken inside her, and whatever it was, she liked it.
~ * (end flashback) * ~
After the initial shock from her Marafiki at how quick she was to summon her chakra, everything went back to pretty much normal. Naruto had summoned his, and he summoned it like Hikari, a huge amount of it spiraling around him until he stopped it.
Soon after, they began learning how to do the substitution jutsu, which would take some time since they were still practicing their shuriken and kunai.
It happened, one afternoon of a non-school day, and Hikari went out walking kwa the soft stream that was near her apartment. Naruto would come kwa soon, after he finished eating.
Hikari sat down, looking at her reflection in the crystal clear water. She decided to pass the time kwa focusing her chakra — Iruka-sensei alisema that doing this daily would help with chakra control since Naruto and her would have trouble at controlling their chakra since they both have a lot of it.
She closed her eyes, holding the hand sign in place as she concentrated.
Every time she delved deep inside herself, she always arrived in that black room — though now it was mysteriously getting lighter and lighter every time she went there — and those same white feathers would begin to fall all around her, comforting her . . . She never had to stay there long because the chakra would instantly come to her. But today she felt like staying for a little longer . . . see if the feathers would turn into light like before . . .
And suddenly, the light wrapped around her body until it physically came out of her body and Hikari stared wide-eyed as it floated above her palms in front of her.
It was warm, inviting, and had an absolutely mesmerizing gentle glow about it. Hikari couldn't take her eyes off of it.
It was almost like it was alive. It hovered above her protectively and almost . . . friendly-like. Hikari found herself standing and holding the light with her hands. Every time she moved, it moved, as if it were a part of her . . .
Well it DID come from within me . . . she thought to herself, studying it. She bit her lip before deciding to experiment with it.
She moved her palms and it went exactly where she wanted it to go . . . as if it really is apart of her . . .
"Hikari!" Naruto called to his friend as he ran up to her with an eager smile on his face — like he always was after a good meal and whenever he saw his best friend.
But when he saw the shimmering, glowing white light hovering around Hikari, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at her.
"H-Hikari?" he questioned, blue eyes bugging out of his head.
Hikari wondered on what to tell him, she wasn't going to play anything down though, she wasn't ashamed of this mysterious . . . power she had over the bright energy.
"Naruto . . . I-I'm not sure how it happened but . . ." She then stared at him with a determined look, she knew her friend, and knew he would understand — probably far zaidi than anyone else. "I was focusing my chakra just like Iruka-sensei told us and I was in that room again within myself" —she had already told him about the room and feathers before— "when the feathers turned into light and it . . . went inside myself, fusing with me until I opened my eyes and saw it had actually came out of me." She softly explained, begging him with her eyes to understand this strange phenomenon.
Naruto studied the light a moment, taking her explanation in. He knew that whatever this light was that she had control over was good . . . because Hikari was good. He then broke out into an enormous grin that warmed Hikari's heart.
"Sure, I believe wewe Hikari! Heck, I think it's cool!"
Hikari's smile became zaidi pronounced at his words. "Really? Oh, you're the best Naruto!" she alisema sweetly, giving him a big hug that made him blush a bit though she didn't notice as she let go.
His blush faded as he quickly became excited at Hikari's weird . . . light-thingy around her.
"So what can wewe do with it?" he asked her eagerly.
"Hmm . . . I guess pretty much anything I want. It moves when I songesha and it seems a little . . . protective over me, but it also has this friendly feeling about it." She alisema this as she gazed at the floating light around her.
Naruto pondered this, gazing at it as well as if to decipher the mystery behind it before he smiled. "Hey, can I touch it?" he asked playfully, absolutely curious about it.
Hikari stared at him dubiously before agreeing, directing the light to Naruto's hands and it happily obliged.
Naruto instantly felt so much warmer . . . and he felt something stir deep within him before the light quickly banished it away. Naruto smiled at it, feeling so at peace . . . The light, as if in response, wrapped around him, tickling his cheeks which made him giggle.
"Hey, stop it! That tickles . . ." he spluttered out in between giggles and Hikari giggled along with him.
They sat kwa the river for a while, playing with the light and Naruto watched Hikari bend it all around her and send it off to different directions and it always came back to her.
Strangely enough, when it was time to head home, the light — as if sensing it — went back inside Hikari through her moyo and the inside of her instantly warmed. The place above her moyo shone white after it entered, securing it there, before the white light quickly disappeared.
The inayofuata day, Naruto and Hikari stayed a little bit after school to practice controlling their chakra. What they didn't expect was for the light to come out of Hikari once more.
Hikari had been focusing, this time with her eyes open. When nothing happened, she thought it to be hopeless. And suddenly, as if to comfort her, the light appeared before her — warm and inviting.
She stood, staring wide-eyed at it and Naruto noticed it as well.
"Hikari!" Naruto said, alarmed as he began looking around them cautiously. "Hurry and put it away while no one's looking!" he told her anxiously, not wanting any one to know about Hikari's special . . . gift.
But Iruka had been watching the two, and seeing this, he walked to them in shock and Hikari and Naruto looked up at him with frightened faces. Both thinking the same thing: What will he think about us now?
But Iruka quickly covered his shock up with a smile. "Hey wewe two, how about we all go out to eat? My treat," he told them, and both stood there, confused.
"Really?" Hikari asked him, wondering if he had seen the light that had seeped out before it had quickly went back in — as if it knew what Hikari had been thinking when Iruka-sensei walked up to them.
He nodded. "Sure, wewe two have been working really hard." He told them earnestly.
Naruto and Hikari shared a look before Naruto responded back. "Uh . . . sure."
Iruka nodded, still smiling, and led them into town. All the while he would talk to them about how it was his inayopendelewa place to eat and he was sure that they would upendo it.
But town was where Naruto and Hikari rarely ventured to since that was where the majority of people were that always glared at Hikari and Naruto.
Their thoughts were realized as soon, most of the villagers they walked kwa gave them death glares. Hikari walked closer to Naruto as they walked behind Iruka and Naruto took her hand while he held his head up high to the onlooking people. Iruka noticed their glares toward his students and he glared right back at the villagers, and most of them stopped out of respect.
"Alright, we're here," he told them shortly after and the two children looked up at the sign which read "Ichiraku ramen, mashua Noodle Shop."
Iruka patted the two seats beside him and Naruto and Hikari sat on either side of him as he ordered them all bowls of ramen.
Hikari and Naruto looked at him expectantly, but their attention was diverted when the ramen, mashua chef began talking to them.
"So who are these two?" he asked Iruka politely, always one for talking to his customers.
"Oh, these are two of my students at the academy — Naruto Uzumaki and Hikari Kyoko," Iruka introduced them and they both smiled politely at the ramen, mashua chef.
"Hi," Both Naruto and Hikari said, causing the ramen, mashua chef to smile at them.
"Hey there, wewe two better eat up if wewe want to be strong ninja when ya get older," he told them, serving them their bowls of ramen.
"Alright!" Naruto alisema loudly while Hikari just smiled in agreement and Naruto was the first one to dig in.
Immediately tiny hearts formed in his eyes and he mumbled in an awed, blissful voice, "Oh wow, this is the greatest thing I've ever ate in my entire life!"
Hikari was in complete agreement, and soon they devoured their entire first bowl and were moving on to seconds.
While on their third bowl, Iruka decided to speak about the situation at hand.
"Hikari," he spoke softly, catching her and Naruto's attention and they turned their heads to gaze at their sensei. "That light from before . . . it's apart of you?"
Hikari cast her gaze down, staring into her ramen, mashua with a blank look — not wanting to give anything off but Naruto knew better. He knew that that blank stare signaled that deep down she was concerned for their teacher's feelings and thoughts toward her. "Yes, it is." She answered quietly, and Naruto's gaze at her softened at the timidly sad undertone in her voice.
Iruka nodded. "I see."
A silence befell the three for a short while as they mutely began eating again — less eagerly on Naruto's side as he constantly shot looks toward Hikari but she kept her head down, eyes hidden kwa her long snow white hair.
Hikari's mind was racing with questions. Would I be taken out of the academy because I'm too different? Would they take Naruto out too? Would the rest of the world never understand me besides Naruto? Why do I even have this light?
Naruto finally had enough stalling and he quickly slammed his fist down on the surface between him and Iruka. "Okay, I've had enough! Are wewe gonna accept Hikari au not? 'Cause if wewe don't then maybe we shouldn't be here!" he shouted, visibly fuming. So what if Hikari had this special talent? In Naruto's eyes, different was good — with Hikari anyway.
Iruka and Hikari stared at the boy with wide eyes and astonished faces before Iruka erupted into cheerful laughter. The two ninja-in-training stared at him confused and questioning.
"Oh Naruto, I accept Hikari!" he alisema in a kind voice after he laughed. "Sure she may be a little different, what with being able to control light and all, but maybe it's a good thing. I, for one, just wanted to treat wewe both to chajio, chakula cha jioni at my inayopendelewa place — not to punish wewe au lecture you," he told them, and both smiled tenderly at the chunin. "But, I do suggest that wewe try not to onyesha off this light of yours Hikari. I'm not so sure that the other students will be so accepting as I am, au Naruto."
"Right!" Hikari smiled at him, eyes closed in a serene expression.
Iruka turned to look at Naruto. "And Naruto, wewe be sure to help Hikari with this, as a friend."
Naruto mirrored Hikari's look, laughing lightly, "Right!"
Iruka smiled, nodding at the two, before they finished their meal and Iruka payed for it and saw the two children off. But they always seemed to eat at their inayopendelewa noodle duka from time to time.
Later, Iruka had went straight to the Hokage's office and told him of Hikari's summoning light, to which the old man smiled, knowing that progress with the two special children were being made.
Time passed, and Naruto's dream was soon known throughout not only the academy, but the entire village. Naruto wasn't subtle about making his dream known to others let's just say . . .
But Hikari's life was perfect, even Naruto's. They were in a good place right now. Surrounded kwa Marafiki everyday, (she started eating lunch with Ino and Sakura until she convinced them to come and eat with the group, and everyone seemed to get along) and honing their ninja skills.
They had been learning and focusing on chakra for a few days now, and some were even able to focus hard enough to feel it deep within themselves.
Shockingly, Hikari had been the very first. And it had been a very strange experience for her . . .
* ~ (flashback) ~ *
Iruka-sensei had called everyone outside to focus and bring out their chakra, and, as usual, Naruto and Hikari stood beside each other — arm-length apart — with the rest of their Marafiki around them in the same manner.
Iruka showed them the hand sign to use to try and summon it out of them, already going over the basics and essentials before to uncovering this sacred power that lay within.
So they all began focusing, most of them closing their eyes including Hikari.
Focus yourself, she thought to herself softly as she began searching within her — something she's never attempted before now.
At first, there was nothing, an empty void . . . until she suddenly found herself being encased in something white. It tickled her, and she giggled (mentally) before she noticed that the white things were . . . feathers?
Huh? she thought, confused, as her shimmering mist gray eyes studied her surroundings. She was within herself, standing in a dark place, though it didn't frighten her in any way. And then the snow white feathers began falling all around her . . . and they landed so softly on the invisible floor beneath her. She gazed questioningly at the feathers when suddenly — making her gasp — they began to shine a bright glow of white. The light was blinding, pure, and warm . . . and it suddenly wrapped around her, became a part of her . . .
And then her chakra unleashed from within, suddenly encasing Hikari's form as her eyes shot open and everyone gasped from the sudden explosion.
Naruto and Sakura — who had been standing beside her — jumped back as soon as the visibly blue power was spiraling around her.
Iruka had gasped the loudest, quickly running up to the girl as everyone stared wide-eyed and shocked at the girl.
Hikari stopped herself from exerting her chakra and stared at her hands — wide-eyed as well. She couldn't believe it . . . She did that?
That was . . . such an amazing feeling, and that light . . . She smiled to herself then. It was so warm. So inviting . . . pure . . .
"Hikari!" Iruka alisema in astonishment, not sure what to say. He has never had a student summon their chakra so quickly and summon so much of it out that it was visible!
She looked up at him with an elated smile. "Oops, I guess I overdid it . . ." she alisema with a carefree laugh — she couldn't help it, she was still feeling so incredible from that light and huge energy release. It was like something was awaken inside her, and whatever it was, she liked it.
~ * (end flashback) * ~
After the initial shock from her Marafiki at how quick she was to summon her chakra, everything went back to pretty much normal. Naruto had summoned his, and he summoned it like Hikari, a huge amount of it spiraling around him until he stopped it.
Soon after, they began learning how to do the substitution jutsu, which would take some time since they were still practicing their shuriken and kunai.
It happened, one afternoon of a non-school day, and Hikari went out walking kwa the soft stream that was near her apartment. Naruto would come kwa soon, after he finished eating.
Hikari sat down, looking at her reflection in the crystal clear water. She decided to pass the time kwa focusing her chakra — Iruka-sensei alisema that doing this daily would help with chakra control since Naruto and her would have trouble at controlling their chakra since they both have a lot of it.
She closed her eyes, holding the hand sign in place as she concentrated.
Every time she delved deep inside herself, she always arrived in that black room — though now it was mysteriously getting lighter and lighter every time she went there — and those same white feathers would begin to fall all around her, comforting her . . . She never had to stay there long because the chakra would instantly come to her. But today she felt like staying for a little longer . . . see if the feathers would turn into light like before . . .
And suddenly, the light wrapped around her body until it physically came out of her body and Hikari stared wide-eyed as it floated above her palms in front of her.
It was warm, inviting, and had an absolutely mesmerizing gentle glow about it. Hikari couldn't take her eyes off of it.
It was almost like it was alive. It hovered above her protectively and almost . . . friendly-like. Hikari found herself standing and holding the light with her hands. Every time she moved, it moved, as if it were a part of her . . .
Well it DID come from within me . . . she thought to herself, studying it. She bit her lip before deciding to experiment with it.
She moved her palms and it went exactly where she wanted it to go . . . as if it really is apart of her . . .
"Hikari!" Naruto called to his friend as he ran up to her with an eager smile on his face — like he always was after a good meal and whenever he saw his best friend.
But when he saw the shimmering, glowing white light hovering around Hikari, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at her.
"H-Hikari?" he questioned, blue eyes bugging out of his head.
Hikari wondered on what to tell him, she wasn't going to play anything down though, she wasn't ashamed of this mysterious . . . power she had over the bright energy.
"Naruto . . . I-I'm not sure how it happened but . . ." She then stared at him with a determined look, she knew her friend, and knew he would understand — probably far zaidi than anyone else. "I was focusing my chakra just like Iruka-sensei told us and I was in that room again within myself" —she had already told him about the room and feathers before— "when the feathers turned into light and it . . . went inside myself, fusing with me until I opened my eyes and saw it had actually came out of me." She softly explained, begging him with her eyes to understand this strange phenomenon.
Naruto studied the light a moment, taking her explanation in. He knew that whatever this light was that she had control over was good . . . because Hikari was good. He then broke out into an enormous grin that warmed Hikari's heart.
"Sure, I believe wewe Hikari! Heck, I think it's cool!"
Hikari's smile became zaidi pronounced at his words. "Really? Oh, you're the best Naruto!" she alisema sweetly, giving him a big hug that made him blush a bit though she didn't notice as she let go.
His blush faded as he quickly became excited at Hikari's weird . . . light-thingy around her.
"So what can wewe do with it?" he asked her eagerly.
"Hmm . . . I guess pretty much anything I want. It moves when I songesha and it seems a little . . . protective over me, but it also has this friendly feeling about it." She alisema this as she gazed at the floating light around her.
Naruto pondered this, gazing at it as well as if to decipher the mystery behind it before he smiled. "Hey, can I touch it?" he asked playfully, absolutely curious about it.
Hikari stared at him dubiously before agreeing, directing the light to Naruto's hands and it happily obliged.
Naruto instantly felt so much warmer . . . and he felt something stir deep within him before the light quickly banished it away. Naruto smiled at it, feeling so at peace . . . The light, as if in response, wrapped around him, tickling his cheeks which made him giggle.
"Hey, stop it! That tickles . . ." he spluttered out in between giggles and Hikari giggled along with him.
They sat kwa the river for a while, playing with the light and Naruto watched Hikari bend it all around her and send it off to different directions and it always came back to her.
Strangely enough, when it was time to head home, the light — as if sensing it — went back inside Hikari through her moyo and the inside of her instantly warmed. The place above her moyo shone white after it entered, securing it there, before the white light quickly disappeared.
The inayofuata day, Naruto and Hikari stayed a little bit after school to practice controlling their chakra. What they didn't expect was for the light to come out of Hikari once more.
Hikari had been focusing, this time with her eyes open. When nothing happened, she thought it to be hopeless. And suddenly, as if to comfort her, the light appeared before her — warm and inviting.
She stood, staring wide-eyed at it and Naruto noticed it as well.
"Hikari!" Naruto said, alarmed as he began looking around them cautiously. "Hurry and put it away while no one's looking!" he told her anxiously, not wanting any one to know about Hikari's special . . . gift.
But Iruka had been watching the two, and seeing this, he walked to them in shock and Hikari and Naruto looked up at him with frightened faces. Both thinking the same thing: What will he think about us now?
But Iruka quickly covered his shock up with a smile. "Hey wewe two, how about we all go out to eat? My treat," he told them, and both stood there, confused.
"Really?" Hikari asked him, wondering if he had seen the light that had seeped out before it had quickly went back in — as if it knew what Hikari had been thinking when Iruka-sensei walked up to them.
He nodded. "Sure, wewe two have been working really hard." He told them earnestly.
Naruto and Hikari shared a look before Naruto responded back. "Uh . . . sure."
Iruka nodded, still smiling, and led them into town. All the while he would talk to them about how it was his inayopendelewa place to eat and he was sure that they would upendo it.
But town was where Naruto and Hikari rarely ventured to since that was where the majority of people were that always glared at Hikari and Naruto.
Their thoughts were realized as soon, most of the villagers they walked kwa gave them death glares. Hikari walked closer to Naruto as they walked behind Iruka and Naruto took her hand while he held his head up high to the onlooking people. Iruka noticed their glares toward his students and he glared right back at the villagers, and most of them stopped out of respect.
"Alright, we're here," he told them shortly after and the two children looked up at the sign which read "Ichiraku ramen, mashua Noodle Shop."
Iruka patted the two seats beside him and Naruto and Hikari sat on either side of him as he ordered them all bowls of ramen.
Hikari and Naruto looked at him expectantly, but their attention was diverted when the ramen, mashua chef began talking to them.
"So who are these two?" he asked Iruka politely, always one for talking to his customers.
"Oh, these are two of my students at the academy — Naruto Uzumaki and Hikari Kyoko," Iruka introduced them and they both smiled politely at the ramen, mashua chef.
"Hi," Both Naruto and Hikari said, causing the ramen, mashua chef to smile at them.
"Hey there, wewe two better eat up if wewe want to be strong ninja when ya get older," he told them, serving them their bowls of ramen.
"Alright!" Naruto alisema loudly while Hikari just smiled in agreement and Naruto was the first one to dig in.
Immediately tiny hearts formed in his eyes and he mumbled in an awed, blissful voice, "Oh wow, this is the greatest thing I've ever ate in my entire life!"
Hikari was in complete agreement, and soon they devoured their entire first bowl and were moving on to seconds.
While on their third bowl, Iruka decided to speak about the situation at hand.
"Hikari," he spoke softly, catching her and Naruto's attention and they turned their heads to gaze at their sensei. "That light from before . . . it's apart of you?"
Hikari cast her gaze down, staring into her ramen, mashua with a blank look — not wanting to give anything off but Naruto knew better. He knew that that blank stare signaled that deep down she was concerned for their teacher's feelings and thoughts toward her. "Yes, it is." She answered quietly, and Naruto's gaze at her softened at the timidly sad undertone in her voice.
Iruka nodded. "I see."
A silence befell the three for a short while as they mutely began eating again — less eagerly on Naruto's side as he constantly shot looks toward Hikari but she kept her head down, eyes hidden kwa her long snow white hair.
Hikari's mind was racing with questions. Would I be taken out of the academy because I'm too different? Would they take Naruto out too? Would the rest of the world never understand me besides Naruto? Why do I even have this light?
Naruto finally had enough stalling and he quickly slammed his fist down on the surface between him and Iruka. "Okay, I've had enough! Are wewe gonna accept Hikari au not? 'Cause if wewe don't then maybe we shouldn't be here!" he shouted, visibly fuming. So what if Hikari had this special talent? In Naruto's eyes, different was good — with Hikari anyway.
Iruka and Hikari stared at the boy with wide eyes and astonished faces before Iruka erupted into cheerful laughter. The two ninja-in-training stared at him confused and questioning.
"Oh Naruto, I accept Hikari!" he alisema in a kind voice after he laughed. "Sure she may be a little different, what with being able to control light and all, but maybe it's a good thing. I, for one, just wanted to treat wewe both to chajio, chakula cha jioni at my inayopendelewa place — not to punish wewe au lecture you," he told them, and both smiled tenderly at the chunin. "But, I do suggest that wewe try not to onyesha off this light of yours Hikari. I'm not so sure that the other students will be so accepting as I am, au Naruto."
"Right!" Hikari smiled at him, eyes closed in a serene expression.
Iruka turned to look at Naruto. "And Naruto, wewe be sure to help Hikari with this, as a friend."
Naruto mirrored Hikari's look, laughing lightly, "Right!"
Iruka smiled, nodding at the two, before they finished their meal and Iruka payed for it and saw the two children off. But they always seemed to eat at their inayopendelewa noodle duka from time to time.
Later, Iruka had went straight to the Hokage's office and told him of Hikari's summoning light, to which the old man smiled, knowing that progress with the two special children were being made.
