6 Keeping Up with the Inuzuka 1

In a small room at the back of a house, a brown-haired girl stirred awake.

It was dawn.

Normally, she would've welcomed a new day with boundless passion. But now?

To start with, five white-furred tails with splash of tan at their ends were swaying on her back...

"Why are you so gloomy?"

The image of a white, five-horned, horse-like creature with the face of a dolphin appeared in front of her. Five white tails identical to her own jutted out from its back.

The girl let out a sigh.

"Nothing. Just feeling that life is really complicated..."

The revered Five-Tailed Beast, Kokuo, and its Jinchuuriki. That was the duo's identity. Currently, they were taking refugee under the roof of the Inuzuka, a clan living in Konohagakure. Of course, the clan didn't know about Kokuo's existence, at least for now.

It seemed that bad things would happen if it was ever found out, so they had to keep it a secret.

Yesterday, the head of the house, a wild-looking woman named Tsume, had introduced her to her family and a few other influential members of the clan.

In short, only three people lived in this house: Tsume and her children, the older daughter Hana and the younger son, Kiba. Coincidentally, the son was the one who had saved the girl before when she'd fainted at the creek.

When asked why he'd helped her, he just replied nonchalantly:

"Because Akamaru seems to like you."

Akamaru... was that small pup that followed the boy around. Actually, its fur was completely white. The name didn't reflect reality at all!

"And thus, this kid will stay with me for the time being. Any objection?!"

The last question was asked with such intensity that the rest of the clan couldn't retort. Hmm... it seemed that Tsume held quite a position within the clan... if only because they were afraid of her...

"You can stay in the back room. It's a bit dusty. Clean it yourself! Also, I won't let you stay here as a freeloader!"

Since Tsume and Hana were getting busier with their own work, the house was getting neglected over time. Kiba was of no help, so the burden fell to the new addition to the house.

In short, she was hired as a housemaid...

"By the way, can I ask something?"

Since they had the chance now, she asked for a map of the region. Tsume didn't think much about it and showed her a copy.

What she saw extinguished her spirit.

The continent was different. It wasn't the 'a thousand years had passed and the continent had moved' kind of different. The world was entirely different.

The Land of Earth, which he'd mistaken as U-Tsang before, looked nothing alike to Tibet.

Where's the central plain? Where's the dense forests of the Nanman? Why was Goguryeo shaped like a hammerhead?

The final resistance to that weird idea in her head had finally crumbled.

It seemed that she wasn't thrown into a different era... more like she got transferred to a different world altogether!

Godamnit! What use was her knowledge from the previous life if the underlying principle was not the same?! Could she even cultivate at this rate?

She was so stressed out that she puked blood and then fainted again after reading the map...

"Life never go your way, isn't it?"

Kokuo snorted.

"I'd like to be given more leniency, thank you..."

Anyway, what's done was done. Nothing she could do about it.

A new world, a new identity... although, the old soul inside was still the same.

"It's either adapt or die trying. At the very least, I should see whether cultivation is still possible. Changing course later is doable."

She got up, and then changed to the clothes that Tsume had given her the day before. Just a simple set of dark-colored robe, not much different from her old life's style of clothing.

"Thankfully some parts are a bit similar."

Women's clothing though... she had to fumble a few times before she somewhat managed to put it on properly.

"Better go now. That woman must be waiting," Kokuo remarked.

"Yes, yes..."

Still in low spirit, the girl scurried out to do the day's work.

---

Tsume Inuzuka's house wasn't as big as the courtyard-styled residence in her old life. As such, cleaning didn't take a lot of time.

"You're... rather good at this," Kokuo commented.

"It's a disciple's duty to take care of everyday chores. Back in my training days, I also did the same."

It was more spartan in those era. The sect's training ground was huge! Compared to that monstrosity, this house was a walk in the park.

Dusting, moping, taking out laundry... she finished them all in record speed, like a seasoned veteran of housekeeping.

When she went to check on the girl, Tsume didn't know whether she should laugh or cry...

"Good work. You're free to do whatever you want, but don't make any trouble, understand?"

If she said she didn't, would she even live to tell the tale? She could only nod in response...

Thus, free time had finally arrived.

Cultivation time!

"Actually, we should start from the basic."

The body she was in right now was still young, perhaps around eight years old. It was a good age to cultivate, since the physical body was still highly malleable and sensitive to qi.

Like every other cultivator, she should start from the elementary stage.

"What's that about?" Kokuo asked, its eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"The name is fancy, but it's basically just strengthening the body."

There were various training method for that, but they required specific tools. With their currently-limited budget, she should go with the free and natural way.

Running.

"...Just that?" Kokuo sighed. It had gotten excited just for the kid to end up running...

"Don't underestimate running! With correct posture and disciplined breathing, you can build your lower body muscles, which will strengthen your martial stance in the future!"

Her master also forced her to run in the old days. She only understood way later that such a lame, boring activity would turned critical in the later stages of cultivation!

Definitely should not underestimate running!

Kokuo, who had 'utter disappointment' painted on its face: "...Whatever floats your boat."

She didn't dare to go out to the village just yet, so she just run around the vicinity of the house. And again. And again. When she was out of her breath, she stopped for a bit, returning her breathing rhythm to normal, and then continued forth.

Rinse and repeat until night fell.

"Oi, you already skipped lunch, do you want to die?! Take your dinner!"

When she caught sight of the girl laying limp from fatigue on the backyard, Tsume threw her in like a sack of potato. In the end, she managed to crawl to the dining table and eat with the rest of the family.

The next day, the same routine continued. Do housework first, then start training in the noon.

"Alright, I know my limit now. Let's work on extending it."

"Running again?" Kokuo yawned.

"Cultivation is constant repetition, constantly moving even if it's just a tiny step farther than before. You can only reach the peak with patience."

"..."

'Won't you die before you finish your training with that mindset?' The beast wanted to retort, but didn't have the heart to.

Thus, the second day ended up just like before, except this time Tsume didn't have to haul her in forcefully.

On the third day, she asked permission to run around the village, which was given without any difficulty. Thus, she began to familiarize herself with the streets around Inuzuka clan's compound.

The same boring routine continued on until the seventh day.

Right before she was going to start her jog, Tsume suddenly called for her.

"I have a request."

"Hmm?"

The woman smirked.

"My idiot son keep on botching his class to play with his dumb dog. Do something so he'll at least train by his own, would ya?"

"..."

Wouldn't it be better if she did that, as the mother? Yet, before she could reply, Tsume had already walked away.

...Oh well. The boss of the house already gave the words, so she could only try.

"Where's that brat, though? I've never seen him around the house at this time."

Maybe in that academy thing that they said he was attending? But Tsume did say that he skipped a lot...

"That creek, mayhaps?"

"That's it!"

She gave Kokuo a thumbs up.

---

As expected, the wild-haired boy was in the creek, crouching down as he played with a small, white-furred pup.

The boy's sense was extremely keen. He raised his head when he heard the girl's feet crunching on fallen leaves in the distance.

"Oh, it's just you..."

His tensing body began to loose up when he noticed that it wasn't his mother who had come. He returned to playing with the pup.

Akamaru, on the other hand, was getting excited upon noticing the girl's scent. The pup slid off the boy's grip and ran toward her.

She wasn't a dog lover, but as a human being, there was always a spot for such a cute creature. She gave the pup a pat, which was replied with an energetic bark.

"You're... Hikari, isn't it? It's rare that Akamaru could get attached to someone so easily."

"Hmm," the girl just nodded. "Lady Tsume told you to train."

The boy tensed up again.

"Why do you keep on skipping lessons, anyway?" She pursued further.

He turned away, muttering,

"...It's boring."

"..."

Boy, cultivation is boring. Getting bored isn't a valid reason to stop training, though!

She gave it some thought. Tsume had handed her the job, which meant that the woman herself had failed to rouse this kid's interest in training. Normal method might not work.

She looked down. The pup was sniffing her feet while wagging his tail.

Hmm...

Suddenly, she had an idea.

She grabbed the puppy, and then put him on top of her head.

"..."

Both Kokuo and the boy gave her the thousand-yard stare.

"Okay, I'm off."

Before they could react, she already started running, with the pup still hanging above.

It took Kiba a few more seconds before realization dawned in.

"Oi, wait! Give back Akamaru, damnit!"

That was the first time that she had witnessed the boy's physical prowess. Godamnit, he was fast! She wouldn't be able to shake him off if she run normally!

It would be a bit risky, but she ended up raising her speed ahead of the training schedule. Nevermind the aftereffect, right now, she better not get caught by that wild beast behind her! She had a bad feeling about it!

Thus, a girl with a pup on her head and a boy in hot pursuit were seen running circuit around the village like mad men. Everywhere they go, small whirlwinds would be left and dust clouds would be thrown into the air, causing the people around to cough.

"What's... that?"

"That's the Inuzuka kid, isn't it?"

Ignoring their confusion, the kids kept on running, or more like, the girl was escaping for dear life while getting chased by the boy.

By the time that the crows cawed, the two kids were planking on the Inuzuka house's backyard, their legs almost popped off after an entire day of running.

On the other hand, Akamaru had had a blast. He let out thrilled barks while jumping around.

"You kids are finally back. Have some dinner!"

When Tsume saw the two dying kids sprawled on the grass, she cracked a satisfied grin, and then hauled them inside.

Hana's lips were twitching. She was worried for the kids' condition, but seeing that her mother wasn't against it, she couldn't do anything but sigh.

Whatever, if they really got hurt, she could just heal them later...