Skipping Stones [P]

Another sleepless night. The change in weather in recent days had had an adverse effect on The Child's sleeping habits. Normally they struggled to form opinions on things, however they could say with some certainty that summer sucked. It was an opinion that seemed to be contrarian, considering how the rest of the village was reacting to the change in seasons. Market stalls aplenty buzzed with activity, with new ones popping up every other day. The Child didn't mind that part, mostly due to the variety of ice-cream stalls that littered the street corners on these days.

The early morning sun peeked through the curtains of their room, casting long shadows on the floor. The Child lay on their small bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to push away the remnants of their recurring dream. The figure with the scarred face and mismatched eyes haunted their thoughts, a constant reminder of the unknowns that still loomed ahead.

They sat up, rubbing their eyes and deciding it was time to face the day. The noise from the bustling streets below filtered into the room, a mix of vendors calling out their wares and children laughing and playing. The Child dressed quickly, donning their usual outfit, and made sure their cloak and bandages were secure. As they stepped out into the street, the warmth of the summer sun hit them, a stark contrast to the cold, rain-soaked landscape of their dreams.

The village was alive with activity. The Child wandered through the marketplace, the vibrant colours and lively sounds creating a stark contrast to the grim scenes they had witnessed during their last mission. The scent of fresh fruit, grilled meats, and various other treats filled the air, mingling with the laughter of children and the chatter of villagers. The Child's eyes scanned the stalls, eventually landing on an ice-cream vendor with a particularly enticing array of flavours. Their fondness for ice-cream was a recent discovery on The Child's part. They found that it helped sooth their thoughts, or maybe that was just an excuse to indulge their newfound sweet tooth.

With ice-cream in hand and the rest of the day to themself The Child was left to wander aimlessly, a pastime they had partook in with increasing frequency of late. It was partially due to a desire to learn more about the place they lived in, and also due to the innate curiosity that sat in the back of their mind. The want to experience new places and people was an ever growing need for The Child, who was still hoping to find answers to the myriad of questions they had.

Today they had found a well-worn path off a side street. They had passed it last week and with being on the clock had made a note to venture back here on a day-off. Now truth be told The Child had forgotten about it but having wandered here by pure chance decided to check it out anyway.

The path was long and winding, taking The Child along a scenic route. It was an enjoyable walk, The Child finding the change of atmosphere from urban to nature a pleasant surprise. The sounds of village life died away, replaced by the soundtrack of leaves gently rustling in trees, as well as a variety of animals going about their lives.

Unfortunately the walk came to an end far too soon, the path opening out into a small park. The park itself looked like something out of a painting, in fact The Child was certain they had this exact image hanging in their apartment, and was a stark contrast to the village that lay not too far back down the path.

This village truly was full of surprises. Though the biggest surprise was that The Child was not alone, ignoring the animals that made their home here, as another human was within the vicinity.

The Child had never seen this person before, which was likely a good thing. After all most of their interactions had come through previous missions. In The Child's mind this meant that the person was not a bad guy and was safe to approach. Which is exactly what they did, entering the park fully.

With the place being so out of the way, there was only one real explanation for this stranger being here. "Do you live here?" The Child asked as they approached the water. It made sense, considering The Child had spent the first few months sleeping on rooftops. If they had known such places had existed, they would have likely taken up residence here themself.

[768]

Apparently the stranger was unaware of their presence. At least that is what they gathered from their immediate reaction. It seemed as it The Child's presence had disturbed the stranger. The Child could instantly tell that they'd make a grave error. The tone and expression set off red flags for The Child. Maybe they should leave now, they could just turn and walk away. In fact The Child considered setting off at the upmost haste to avoid any confrontation.

When the stranger stood they felt danger. Their body tensed, reflectively taking a step back in anticipation. The stranger was female, judging purely on their hairstyle of choice, and also taller than them. The size difference and demeanour of the girl unnerved The Child for sure. It definitely seemed it would be better to leave now and avoid the wrath of the fiery-girl.

Before The Child make a hasty exit however, the stranger's expression seemed to change. A question was asked, one that caused some confusion for The Child. Were they okay? It was an odd question for sure, one that they didn't entirely understand. "I'm not okay, I'm Saku." The Child responded after a moment's silence. The change in the girl's expression was definitely jarring for The Child, having little experience with people in an actual social setting.

"How did you get here?" The Child decided to question the stranger, the curiosity of how and why they had ended up in this area getting the better of them.

[1016]

Their eyebrow raised in surprise at the initial response from the stranger. They were okay but not okay, and they were also called Saku? Of all the coincidences The Child had not expected to encounter someone with the same name out in the wilderness. The pleasant surprise was cut short however, when the girl introduced herself as Natsumi. Now that The Child was fairly certain this encounter would not end in a violent duel to the death the tension left their body.

While the girl offered explanation The Child wordlessly listened, noting that the poor girl didn't seem to own shoes.

Given permission to stay The Child ambled over to the water. They silently watched it for a moment, eyes furrowing as a question came to the forefront of their mind. Lunch and nature they could understand, it made perfect sense to The Child. Nature was cool and interesting, animals were fun to be around and plants were nice. Lunch was also good, especially ice-cream. No, it was the last part of the sentence that was completely lost on The Child.

What exactly was 'skip stones'? The Child had not come across the term before. They wondered if perhaps they had missed the term in an academy lesson. Some sort of training maybe? Maybe it referred to practicing earth jutsu. That would make this girl a shinobi. The Child should have realised it before, after all no normal person would find such a location after all...right?

So The Child reckoned it to be some sort of training technique, secluded locations were the best place to practice. While The Child muddled through their intrusive thoughts a silence had come over the park. Well, not a true silence, the soundtrack of nature still played out in the background. It was pleasant listening, so The Child hated the idea of breaking it. However the question burned in the back of their mind, and so they had to voice it: "What is skip stones?"

[1346]

For a brief moment The Child wondered if they were being ignored. Natsumi seeming more interested in lunch, which was understandable. The question lay unanswered, and The Child simply silently stared, for the brief moment before she replied to them.

Never skipped stones before? The Child had not, or had maybe, they didn't remember. Their memories of anything before becoming a shinobi were non-existent. Was such an activity common? From the way she spoke it seemed to be. With more questions running through their head they simply shook their head when questioned about it.

They would listen to the explanation quietly. Maybe it would prove valuable in the future, The Child was unsure.

Their eyebrows knitted together as they watched the display of stone skipping. It seemed...easy. Though they remembered not too long ago another throwing activity that had cost them a vast amount of ryo. That too had seemed easy. Still, they had got a stuffed doll out of it so it wasn't a complete waste in the end.

Though The Child did not expect to suddenly be put on the spot. They blinked, and were slow to move initially. Finally they moved closer to the creak, looking into the clear water. Wait did their hair always look like thi- now wasn't the time. The Child hopped into the water, letting out a small gasp of surprise upon finding it a bit too cold for their liking. Also in hindsight, should've taken their sandals off first. A reminder for future stone skipping attempts for sure.

Their were plenty of stones sitting on the bed of the creak, allowing The Child a vast wealth of choice. Not that they knew what to look for anyway, they guessed a rock that was flat. Picking the one that seemed like the best they'd hop back out of the water. Squelching their way back to where they had stood before.

"Throw it across the water." The Child repeated to themself. Simple enough, they'd thrown plenty of things. The Child drew their arm back, carefully aiming for the water of the creak. With precision befitting a trained shinobi they launched the rock through the air. The Child had judged it perfectly, the angle would make it hit the water and th-

Sploosh.

The Child stared wordlessly as the rock plunked into the creak and settled at the bottom.

They then turned to Natsumi, confusion etched across their face. "It didn't work." The Child stated plainly, pointing at where the rock had sank.

[1764]

Watch closely and just mimic what you saw. It was something that The Child was familiar with, having graduated almost purely off of mimicking others.

They noted the difference in throwing motion when Natsumi offered the explanation a second time, and only narrowly avoided getting hit in the face from their partial distraction. Catching the new stone in their palm they looked it over. It seemed similar enough to the one's from before, so it was likely down to user error more than anything.

Naturally the instruction was...lacking too say the least. Not that The Child would have understood it much anyway. Hit the opposite side of the creek...but keep it low? None of that made sense to them, so they just decided to copy the throwing motion and hope for the best.

The Child looked from the stone to the creek, eyes narrowing in a seriousness that was quite unnatural for them. They had overcome all obstacles when it came to throwing side-quests, and this one would be no different. The sacred art of skipping stones would, like the ring game before, be conquered by The Child.

They brought their throwing arm back, tensing up and preparing for the all important throw. The Child took in a deep breath, the oxygen flowing in and being utilised to enter a state of total concentration. Then their arm rocketed forward, the stone flying from their grip and toward the creek at an unnatural speed.

The Child watched as the stone made contact with the water, and then skipped once, twi-- never mind only once. The stone had skipped over and into the bank on the other side, landing in the soft grass with a loud thud.

Still, it was a success in their eyes. They exhaled, their concentration slipping as they had achieved the goal set out for them. Stone skipping was yet another thing The Child had succeeded at, adding to the list of their many feats and accomplishments.

Naturally they were thrilled, raising both hands in the air in celebration. "Yay." They said joyously, though from sound alone it would come across as monotone and entirely unenthused. "That was fun."

[2125]