for the love of kungfu

"We have a great deal to speak about, Izuku-kun," Lord Third said, standing over me with a small smile creasing his weathered face.

"Sarutobi-sensei!" I exclaimed, shooting upright in an instant.

I moved to rise, but he waved me off and instead lowered himself gracefully into a seiza beside me on the packed earth.

"Don't get up on my account, Izuku-kun. Besides," he sighed, settling in, "I could use the rest as well. It's been a long week." With practiced ease, he reached into his robes and retrieved his pipe.

I mirrored his position out of respect, kneeling seiza-style as well. He noticed and smiled.

"...Sarutobi-sensei, what happened earlier? With your clone?" I hesitated, then blinked as a thought struck me. "Wait—are you a clone?"

"No, I am not," he said, puffing his pipe with a slow exhale. "As for what happened earlier..." His face darkened, eyes stormy with a depth of emotion I couldn't begin to understand.

"A great betrayal has been exposed," he said, voice low and heavy with meaning.

I swallowed hard at his tone. He must've heard it, because his expression softened, and he reached out a weathered hand to pat my back with quiet reassurance.

"It's being handled," he said, taking a long drag from his pipe and exhaling. The smoke coiled into the shapes of dragons, their embers glowing briefly in the shape of the kanji for fire. I couldn't help but stare in awe.

He caught my look and chuckled.

"Kakashi has been keeping me up to date on your progress," he said warmly, squeezing my shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sensei," I said, bowing my head slightly. He nodded.

"There are many things happening in Konoha, Izuku-kun. As Hokage, I must ensure the village thrives, but I've not forgotten my duties as your teacher. I came here today to offer you two things."

He flashed through a series of hand signs and pressed his palm to the ground beside us. A web of intricate fuinjutsu spread across the grass, followed by a puff of smoke. When it cleared, a large scroll lay before us—jade-handled, red-covered, bound in crimson string. He untied it and unfurled several feet of the parchment.

Names lined the scroll in careful order. Near the bottom was the most recent: Ansuhashi Sarutobi, his name crossed out. I had a feeling I knew why. But above that…

There it was: Hiruzen Sarutobi, written in bold, with a thumbprint of blood still fresh beside it—preserved by chakra from the day he first signed.

"This is…" I whispered, eyes wide. "The monkey summoning contract."

"You're familiar with it?" he asked.

"Am I?! The exploits of Lord Enma are legendary!" I burst out, unable to hide my excitement. The historical records were vague on details, but the feats themselves—his battles alongside generations of Sarutobi—were the stuff of myth. To even consider contracting him… My heart pounded in my chest.

Sarutobi-sensei chuckled at my enthusiasm. "Good. Would you like to—"

"Yes!" I blurted. My face flushed at how eager I sounded, but I didn't regret it. My own familiars! Sign me up.

"Ah, to be young again," he said, laughter curling around the stem of his pipe as he bit it lightly to hold it steady.

I pricked my finger and signed my name with a reverent hand.

"One more matter remains," he said, reaching into his sleeve once more. With another puff of smoke, he held a long, darkly polished bo staff across his palms.

"The bo staff is my weapon of choice," he said. "Would you be interested in—?"

"Yes!" I grinned, eyes sparkling. What was a bo staff if not a wizard's staff you could hit people with? And those white robes—yes, I knew they were the Hokage's ceremonial garb, but I didn't care. Sarutobi-sensei was absolutely a wizard of refined, impeccable taste, and no one could convince me otherwise.

After inspecting the weapon, I asked, "Do I have to stick with this one?"

"It's a very high-quality bo staff," Lord Hiruzen said, eyes narrowing in intrigue. "But it sounds like you have something in mind?"

"Just some theories," I said. "Ideas I want to test out on my own. I'll bring them to you if I run into trouble."

He nodded, clearly pleased. "You continue to impress me, Izuku-kun. I'm truly proud."

I blushed at the praise, ducking my head.

Then he pulled a thick wad of cash from his sleeve and held it out to me.

"Go on," he said. "Cut off training for the day. Celebrate with your friends."

"I... I can't possibly accept this," I said, stunned. That looked like fifty thousand ryo.

"You can and you will," he said firmly. "You're my disciple now, and a ward of the Sarutobi Clan. You'll be financed as such. Your bank account has already been credited—this is just so you don't have to withdraw anything right away."

"…Thank you, sensei." I bowed deeply.

But by the time I looked up… he was gone.

A quick scan of the area showed no sign of him. No one around even seemed to notice we'd had a conversation. Genjutsu? I wasn't sure. Lord Hiruzen wasn't exactly renowned for genjutsu, and after a week of Kakashi randomly dropping illusions on me for training, I was pretty good at dispelling them.

I'd have to ask him about it next time.

But for now…

"Who wants to eat?! My treat!"

—Scene break—

"Troublesome."

I couldn't help but agree.

Back in the Academy, even though I was in the same year as Naruko, I'd been in the lower classes. The ones where it was an unspoken truth that if you didn't catch the eye of a jōnin or chūnin looking for an apprentice, you were destined for the genin corps—endless patrols, paperwork, and mediocrity. Unlike Class A, where clan heirs practically had jōnin instructors gift-wrapped for them.

The envy in those classrooms was a special kind of toxic—made worse by the ignorance of childhood. I stayed clear of the mess. I had no intention of drawing an active shinobi's attention, but that didn't mean I was blind to the targets of all that jealousy.

So when we passed the newest generation of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio on our way to one of the Akimichi restaurants, I recognized them instantly.

Apparently, one of them recognized me too.

"Oh. My. God. That's Naruko's boyfriend!" squealed Ino Yamanaka, the absurdly pretty blonde of the group, pointing directly at me.

I blinked. Then slowly turned to look at Naruko, whose cheeks were burning bright red.

"He's not!" she blurted.

"Is too~," Ino sing-songed.

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"I like Sakura-chan!" Naruko yelled at full volume.

Oof. That one hit harder than I expected. The name was a surprise though, I had assumed she liked Sasuke like most girls in her class. 

"Ugh, forehead girl is so lame," Ino groaned, rolling her eyes. "You've got a hunk bringing you bentos and walking you to school, and you're still hung up on Billboard Brow?"

"Oi! Sakura is awesome! Way more awesome than you!"

"Excuse me—!"

I stepped in before things could escalate.

"Ladies," I said, sliding between them with my best diplomatic smile, "maybe we continue this conversation inside? Over food?"

They glared at each other. Then, simultaneously:

"Hmph."

And with that, they stalked into the restaurant.

That's how we ended up seated at a single table, the two blondes throwing daggers at each other with their eyes while Shikamaru sighed at the indignity of having to be awake for this.

I, meanwhile, was still stuck on the fact that Naruko had a crush. On a girl. Not that homosexuality was frowned upon—especially not in shinobi circles—but… I was pretty sure Naruko had feelings for me. Unless I was reading everything wrong?

A tap on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned to see Hinata beside me, cheeks glowing red, eyes flicking away as she gestured to the apron-wearing Akimichi woman standing at our table with a notepad.

"I-Izuku-kun, your order…?"

"Oh, sorry! Uh—roasted beef with rice and vegetables, please."

"No worries, dear," the woman said kindly before heading off to pass along our orders.

"So…" Chōji piped up, already munching nervously on a fresh bag of chips he'd produced from somewhere, "how'd you two meet?"

"I was the victim of one of Naruko's horrible pranks," I said, shooting her a teasing look.

"Hey! I wasn't pranking you!"

"So I was just collateral damage?" I smirked.

She opened her mouth to retort, but the words died somewhere behind a blush. She met my eyes—about to argue—but the longer we held eye contact, the more she just… kind of froze. Her fingers fidgeted with each other, her voice caught in her throat.

My chest warmed. My ego got a little boost too.

Yeah. She definitely liked me.

"'Just friends,' yeah right," Ino muttered, rolling her eyes.

Naruko's eyes widened in panic. She looked at me. Then at Ino. Then back again, her expression crunching up like she was about to explode from inner conflict.

"It's okay to like more than one person," Kuro chimed in sweetly from across the table, with a smile that looked innocent—but somehow felt deeply sinister.

"Really?!" Naruko turned to her like a drowning girl spotting land.

"Of course," Kuro said, still smiling, "You don't mind, do you, Ku-kun?"

Wait. What?

All eyes turned to me. The entire table went dead silent.

"I mean… as long as they're not boys?" I offered weakly, not entirely believing the words that were coming out of my mouth.

"You want to be the only boy?" Naruko asked. She didn't sound upset—more like… hopeful?

"Yeah?" I said, wincing a little. I was definitely going to hell for that answer. But no one objected.

Across the table, the jaws of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio inched steadily closer to the floor.

"Okay!" Naruko said brightly, suddenly all sunshine and smiles.

Kuro smiled like a cat that just swallowed a canary.

Hinata's face turned scarlet.

And just then, our food arrived.

The conversation died immediately, buried under trays of sizzling meat and steamed rice.

I stared at my plate, chopsticks frozen in midair.

What the actual fuck just happened?

—Scene break—

It was night after another eventful day. We were still stuffed from all the takeout, so when we got home, Naruko barely made it through her shower before collapsing face-first into bed.

I would've joined her—in bed not the shower you perverts—but I needed to get some reps in first.

I settled into a seated position and prepared for an hour of Stone Lung Meditation.

I'd been meditating for most of my life, but my focus had always been on emotional regulation, chakra control, and—more recently—spiritual growth through reflection. It was an inward journey, even when contemplating the external. My eyes might've been open, but my gaze had always turned inward.

This was different.

Tonight, I silenced my thoughts not for serenity… but to listen.

To the world.

With each breath, my awareness expanded—slowly, steadily. As I slowed my breathing, the world around me sharpened. Two breaths a minute. Then one. Then less.

By the time I reached a rhythm of thirty-five breaths per hour, my head felt light and my body distant. I was dizzy, on the edge of losing consciousness—but my senses had expanded hundreds of meters in every direction. Every sound, every tremor, every flicker of movement in the dark—I felt it all.

And more than that… I felt something else.

There was a haze over everything. A field of energy I couldn't quite define. It didn't feel exactly like chakra, but chakra seemed to be part of it. Interwoven. Subsumed.

It was vast. Subtle. Alive.

And I knew—deep in my marrow—that I'd just brushed against something ancient and foundational.

Not chakra.

Ki.

I had found Ki.