Training~!

It was still fairly early in the morning. The sun was barely up and the world is just slowly waking. Amidst this tranquil moment, a lone figure is silently nursing a steaming cup of coffee.

Rae (because she really should stop referring to herself in her old name even in her thoughts) had a dream, and for once it was not her usual nightmares. This time, she dreamt about being home. The life she had before she came to this world. Everything was the same as she remembered it (as much as she does, anyway). The house was still small, stuffy, and filled with unnecessary items. Her pets were the same as she left them; her cats are still as rowdy as ever, her lone dog as calm as she remembered him to be, and her fishes are just swimming in that small tank in the corner.

In her dream, she was seated by a long table with red floral cloth cover. There were many delicious-looking foods served as if it was New Year once again. She could imagine their mouthwatering smell as if she was really there.

But unlike any other memory, this time around in her dream... Everyone had been faceless figures.

They were mere silhouettes of the people she once knew.

Rae doesn't know how to feel about that. A part of her is disheartened, but then again most of her memories of her past life are disheartening. Doubt began to settle in her heart as she thought more about it. It was just that she feels like the person she came to be because of her experiences from that life just suddenly became unjustified. The pride she always felt and carried suddenly became misplaced.

Nononono! I can't think like that. She admonished herself. But then again, how should I think about this?

The creaking of an opening door distracted Rae from her confusing thoughts. Karin wobbled out of the bedroom with a wide yawn.

"Good morning, kid" She greeted, and the said redhead blearily looked at her while stifling another yawn.

"m'rning" She replied. Rae could only smile as Karin wobbled towards her.

"Breakfast?" Rae nudged the still-warm plate of fried rice.

"What are we doing today?" Karin asked while filling her plate with food.

"I was thinking of starting you kids with ninja training" Rae replied offhandedly, secretly grinning to herself.

And as she predicted, any left-over sleep Karin may have in her system had been banished as she jerked upright in her position and shrieking a high-pitched "REALLY?!"

"Hai~ Hai~" She waved a mock-dismissive hand. "I decided to teach you guys so you won't come crying to me when an actual ninja decides to play Ninja with you kids"

Ignoring the jab, Karin climbed down from her seat and raced back to the bedroom. It didn't take long before Rae could hear Karin's squeals, the squeaking of the bed being jumped on, and the sleepy curses of Zen.

Somehow, it feels like contentment had settled in Rae's heart as a small smile stretched her lips.

It's times like this that the past and the future don't matter.

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"I'm going to teach you some basic stretches first" Rae started. "You'd do it every day before and after exercise"

"Aren't stretches basically exercises?" Zen asked with a frown.

"To some people, it is" Rae replied with a shrug. "but to others, it is simply a form to warm-up and to cool-down"

"You didn't answer the question"

"I did"

"You didn't. You sidestepped the question as you curved the answer"

"..." Rae could only blink dumbly back at her younger counterpart, wondering if the other was serious. "Anyway, to start off..."

"Hey!"

"Stretch your arms like these..."

"Don't ignore me!"

"... and count up to sixteen."

"Argh!"

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"Run fifty laps around the clearing"

"I don't know how to count that high" Karin whined.

"Zen could teach you while running" Rae smiled, ignoring the angry shout of "What?!" from her younger counterpart.

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"You're doing it wrong, Zen!" Rae immediately came to the said child's side. "That form is for males! Bend your knees like this for a half push-up"

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"Do your cool-downs properly so your muscles won't cramp tonight"

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"Put some more weight into that stretch, Karin"

"Our bodies are killing us, sis"

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"Sit. Still."

Rae sighed for the tenth time. She briefly wondered how their teachers managed with rowdy kids. "You have to concentrate to feel your chakra"

A muffled snicker reached her ears. "You're not any better, Zen"

"Argh!"

"Focus. You two!"

"Hai~!"

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Zen had always loved learning about Medicine. Not Pharmaceuticals, though they're equally interesting. During her free time in her previous life, she would watch medical series on Netflix and would further research the terms and procedures in more detail.

When Rae told Karin and her about the new addition to their already hectic training schedule, Zen couldn't really bring herself to protest. The only damper on her good mood is that Karin wasn't as happy as she is. When Zen tried to ask her, Karin's eyes would mist over and the kid would tear up. For the life of her, Zen couldn't understand why. What did she miss? Had Karin told her something before that could've clued her to what's wrong? Looking at Rae, she seems to also not know what was wrong either. As far as they both know, they dodged the bullet with Orochimaru; which means that Karin wasn't forced to conduct experiments she doesn't want to do (or whatever the Sannin made her do in the previous timeline).

What didn't they know about Karin? The answer is probably a lot. And it's frustrating not to know what's wrong and being unable to fix it. It's like dealing with two Rae's.

"Find out what's wrong" Rae whispered as she retrieved the apartment keys from the countertop. "I'll be back by tomorrow morning to start you on the basics" which means she'll take an extra shift tonight.

Great... She left me with the hardest job.

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Morning came and Zen still didn't have the answers to her questions.

"You don't have to learn if you don't want to" Zen heard Rae's voice coming from the kitchen. Of course, she was still the last one to get up. No surprise there really. "I've just added Basic First Aid to your training so that you can help yourselves when I can't be there to help you"

"Okay" Zen heard Karin's weak reply.

There was silence for a while and Zen contemplated coming out until she heard Karin's voice again. Silent, hesitant, and stuttering.

"C-can I tell you s-something?"

"Anything"

"I-I..." A hesitant silence. "I c-could heal people w-when they b-bite me"

A beat of silence, then Rae spoke again.

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"Is that why you don't want to learn?" Rae asked calmly.

"No!" Karin recoiled. "I-it's just that..."

"It's what you've been used to?"

Karin nodded slowly. Still hesitating, as if waiting for something.

A sigh was the older woman replied and Karin tensed.

"Karin" Rae held back another sigh when she noticed the young girl flinch. "You can't rely on that forever"

Slowly, Karin looked up. Tears gathering in her disbelieving eyes. Rae continued on.

"Think about it this way: what if they bite you without consent?" Rae let her think through it for a while before going on. "Would you punch them and risk tearing your own flesh or would you just let them take what's yours?"

For a while, all Rae saw in Karin's eyes were shock, confusion, and uncertainty.

With a sigh, Rae stood up; took her mug to the sink and washed it. Turning back, the same expression is still in Karin's eyes. Zen finally came out of the room and took her place in the table silently. Restraining another sigh, Rae approached the troubled kid and ruffled her hair.

"Think about it" Rae whispered. "I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to do"

She left to take her keys and went straight for the door.

"You're leaving?" Zen asked, bewildered. "You've just worked a double shift yesterday!"

"I'll be back by afternoon" Rae replied. "I asked for a half-day"

And before she closed the door, she hollered back: "Your schedule is pinned on the fridge!"

Both kids glanced at the said note and groaned.

"So much for not forcing anything" Zen muttered.

But Karin noticed how lighter the training schedule was compared to the previous days.