Defying Gravity

Chapter 55

Third person pov

Taking the emotionally unstable teenage girl who'd just lost her father out to train seemed like a less than good idea. In fact, you could even say it was a horrible one. Literally everyone on Team Minato had been against it. Even Kakashi thought Ethelia should be staying inside. What if something set her off and she blew up? That would be the end of the Leaf Village, that's for sure. Ethelia, however, had insisted. She knew staying cooped up forever wasn't going to help her. She may as well get to it. They'd gone out to eat with no issues, so training shouldn't be an issue.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Obito said for what had to be the millionth time. Ethelia was .2 seconds from cracking his skull open via curb-stomping. She knew he was worried and she appreciated it, but she was starting to get annoyed with his constantly doting. The brunette was well aware she really was in no position to be ungrateful. And she wasn't! She was just... tired. 

"Shut up, Obito. You've said that eleven times already." Kakashi snapped. Though it wasn't directed at him, he was clearly getting annoyed with Obito's hovering as well. Even Rin's brow was twitching. Minato appeared to be the only one unaffected, his smile still shining bright. Ethelia still found that to be incredibly creepy. 

"Hey, I'm allowed to be worried!" Obito fussed. "Ethelia is in a fragile state! She needs support!"

"Your skull is going to be in a fragile state if you don't shut it." Ethelia grumbled under her breath. Rin inhaled sharply, indicating that she'd heard. Whatever. Ethelia didn't give a shit. This whole thing was just exhausting. She felt angry, resigned, and exhausted all at once. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt herself become so emotional. Sure, it was justified, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it.

"Calm down, everyone. If Ethelia thinks she's ready to get back to it, we should take her word for it! No one knows her better than she knows herself." Minato lectured. Obito immediately fell silent. Kakashi just nodded obediently, shooting his Uchiha teammate a smug look. "We'll start out easy today. Just some light jogging to get the ball rolling again. What do you guys think?"

They all nodded, murmuring their agreement. Ethelia felt her hands curl into fists. This was what she'd been hoping for. Their jogging route, if they kept it the same, would run right past Ryuki's house. Ethelia had some... words for him. It wasn't the most mature of her to want to start a fight. Yes, she literally wanted to throw hands with Mr. pretty boy rich kid. It just felt like it would be a means to an end. The dose of medicine she needed to combat this sheer shittiness. 

The only issue was Obito. She was pretty sure he wouldn't try to stop her, but having him along could still cause issues. Who knows how he'd react to her veering off to sneak into Ryuki's house and see what the hell was up with him. No, really-- what the hell was up with him? He'd had men chase her, had meddled in her life, had clued her father into something Ethelia hadn't been ready to tell him. Yeah, he'd gone to her house for that. Something wasn't adding up. It was like he knew about the massive amount of chakra she had. Hell, maybe he did!

They started off slow. Kakashi and Rin quickly pulled ahead, shooting unsure looks back at Ethelia. She made sure to give her flattest expression in return so that they'd push their doubts aside and go ahead. She didn't want them constantly orbiting around her, waiting for her to blow up. A glance behind her told her Minato wasn't jogging today, but instead waiting at the training spot for them to get back. Probably doing paperwork of some sort. Ethelia was glad. One less obstacle.

"I'm really glad you decided to get out, Ethelia!" Obito babbled. He'd missed jogging with her! She seemed a lot better. The bags under her eyes weren't as deep, and her hair wasn't as tangled after she'd practically beat it into submission. Thinking about it still made Obito shiver. Girls were scary, but their hair was certainly scarier. He was going to have nightmares about that! How was her scalp not bleeding? No, better yet, how was she not completely bald? The ripping sounds... no, he couldn't. He'd think about it later.