Defying Gravity

Chapter 39

Ethelia's pov

Can I just say...

What the actual fuck?

Who is Ryuki, anyway? He's literally twelve, just like Obito and I, yet he's doing all this fuck shit! I really don't understand why or even how this is really happening. I wish I did, but any reasoning he could possibly have as to why he's doing this is slipping my mind completely. Nothing I think of makes sense, and it's not like her really gave all that good of a reason. He's hiding something. He has to be! 

"Are you okay, Ethelia?" Obito asked. We'd finished our one lap, and were now standing around with Rin and Kakashi as Minato and my dad approached. My dad hadn't broken a sweat, and unsurprisingly, Minato hadn't either. The blonde did look severely annoyed. It made me wince. I how my dad didn't say anything too horrifying. 

"Tch, it's just a little running." Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Not that she actually ran any."

"No, not that, you idiot!" Obito shrieked. "It was the part during the running when we were running that sucked! I'm just checking on her! Buzz off, you weren't even there."

"What's he talking about?" Rin's nose scrunched up. Even I was a little confused by Obito's statement. He seems angry. I guess I don't blame him. We're sort of stuck in this together now. My fault, but hey, it's better than getting raped or some shit. 

"I'm under no obligation to make sense to you." I sighed, rolling my shoulders. One of them gave a satisfying pop that made Rin wince slightly. Doesn't she want to be a medical nin or something? I guess she'll get used to it eventually if she does go that route. Being a medical nin would be fun, but apparently people with less chakra are better at it. I, on the other hand, could blow someone up with relative ease.

"Good job, you guys!" Minato chirped as he slowed to a stop. I risked a peek at my dad, who offered some form of a weak smile. It looked more like a grimace, but hey, it's the thought that counts. I can relate. The only smiles I offer are fake. Unless food is involved, in which case hello, welcome to happyville. It's your mayor, me.

"Today you're going to practice chakra control. Or more specifically, walking up trees. This is something Ethelia has never done before, so it'll be fun! And her dad is here with us, and the more the merrier, I say!" Minato clapped his hands together.

"Well, then you say wrong." I complained. "When is more ever better?"

"Not everyone is anti-social like you." Kakashi scoffed. I turned to stare at him, as did Obito and Rin. 

"You do realize what you just said, right?" I asked. "You?"

"Alright, let's all just calm down. Come on. We've got some perfectly good trees! We'll explain it to you, Ethelia, and then they can demonstrate." Minato said. My dad looked totally perplexed by the concept of walking up a tree. It was foreign to me, too. I'd never actually seen someone do it. I'd only heard of it from those books Rin forced me to read.

"Why does she need to climb trees if she can fly, sensei?" Rin presented a fair point, I will admit. If I'm going to go all Peter Pan out this bitch, why do I need to walk up trees like normal ninja do? 

"It will help her better her overall control." Minato said. "Practicing flying is going to take an immense amount of control. Control she doesn't have. We don't want her shooting off into space!" 

My dad looked startled by this. I don't blame him. "Does that mean we don't have to run in the morning anymore? Because I'm going to be running at trees and up trees. Why do I have to walk around the village?" I'm just a lazy bitch trying to get out of working out by giving half-assed arguments. 

"You need the cardio!" Minato smiled.

"If I wanted to get cardio exercise, I'd need a heart first-"

"Can we just move on already? The sooner she can control her chakra, the sooner we can start taking missions outside the village again. They need us out there." Kakashi grumbled. I guess he does have a point here, also. They probably really do need us. Not having Minato has got to be devastating. 

My dad glared at Kakashi. Kakashi ignored it. Smart kid.

"Shut up, Kakashi. Ethelia can take all the time she wants." Obito huffed. At least someone has my back. Obito has saved me from being raped, and he dislikes Kakashi just about as much as I do. And he brings me food. I think we really are friends. It's weird to think about it. I think I actually enjoy his company at times...

Nasty.

"All you really have to do is put a thin coat of chakra on the bottom of your feet. It absolutely has to be even. Then, you run at the three. The hard part is keeping the chakra flow consistent. Once you get the hang of it, it'll become like second nature." Minato put it in simple words so my pea-sized brain could understand.

"It's just like riding a bike! Once you master it, you won't forget." Rin grinned, and Obito nodded in agreement. 

"Try not to set the whole forest on fire with you chakra." Kakashi advised. Not in the nice way, either. Nothing he ever does is nice. He's worse than me, so some real fuck shit has to have gone down in his life. Why else would he be so... so that? Or maybe he's just gay, in the closet and upset about it and in that weird denial stage. I remember when I was younger, I actually thought I might be lesbian because I didn't have a crush and all my classmates already did. Turns out I'm not, and I just hate everyone.

"Wow, you sure foiled my plans!" I responded sarcastically. "Can we just get this over with? I'm hungry."