To Overcome Adversity

[Kabu]

It was late at night, Asuna laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She had been recruited as a Dagger. She was one step closer to her dream but what now? Could she really handle the intensive training she was to undergo? She did say she was ready to do whatever it took but was she really? Honestly she didn’t dare show it but she was scared, terrified even.

As she finally drifted off to sleep she wondered… ”What would mom say if she were here right now?”
___________________________________________________________________________________
Suddenly she was a little girl again, enjoying a peaceful moment with her mother in their little shared home. Academy classes had just let out and the pair were out on the porch, little Asuna sitting on Riki’s lap as she told her about her day. However she suddenly fell quiet, Riki tilting her head but not speaking, letting the girl find her voice.

Mom, am I a scaredy cat?” she asked a moment later, tears glistening in the corner of her eyes as she looked up, silently pleading for an answer.

”No, you’re not.” Riki hugged her close with one arm as she answered, using the other way to wipe away her daughter’s tears. She had known something was wrong… Asuna was being picked on again. The young girl had made remarkable progress in overcoming her anxiety and lack of confidence but there was no telling if she would ever fully recover from it. As her mother she had been doing her best to help and the bullying only made her own job that much harder, on multiple levels.

Then why? Today during training I froze up again, just for a second. I was okay after taking a deep breath like you taught me but this one boy just kept picking on me. He wouldn’t stop until I punched him in his stupid face.” Asuna quietly responded, sniffling all the while. She was definitely upset, though Riki honestly couldn’t be sure whether it was from the teasing or what the young girl perceived as her own weakness.

”Listen honey, you’re not a scaredy cat. Scaredy cats are weak and always afraid. You’ve been getting stronger and are very brave. You proved that today by standing up for yourself.” In Riki’s eyes her daughter was braver than any of the bullies and frankly she was proud of her. It showed she really was making progress.

Asuna tilted her head in response, taking a moment to process. ”Really mom?” she asked, a small smile crossing her face as the woman nodded.

With that the pair went back to relaxing, Asuna munching on a cookie when she suddenly had another thought. ”Hey mom? How did you get so strong?”

Riki rose a brow but otherwise giggled, smiling fondly as memories bubbled to the surface. ”Trust me, it wasn’t easy. I wasn’t the fastest or strongest but Master Ryoga never gave up on me. He saw my potential and did his best to bring it out, no matter what.”

Potential? Do I have that?” Asuna tilted her heard, puzzled at this new word. She recalled hearing it somewhere before but wasn’t quite sure what it meant.

”Heh, of course you do silly. Everybody does and I know you have lots of it. It’s the thing that helps you become strong.” Riki patted the top of the young girl’s head with her free hand, pulling her closer with the other wrapped around her.

Asuna simply nodded in response, still not quite understanding. Nonetheless however she did understand that her mother believed in her. ”Does that mean I can become as strong as you someday?”

Nope, you’ll become even stronger. Stronger than me and stronger than even Ren and Master Ryoga.” the older woman smiled down at her daughter and poked her in the nose. ”You wanna know the secret?”

Asuna smiled and nodded, at that eyes sparkling as she waited with bated breath. ”Yeah! What is it?!”

The scenery blurred, though the bond both girls shared was more visible than ever, the both of them smiling brightly. ”It’s really quite easy. You see...”

---

Back in the present Asuna awoke, groggily sitting up with a yawn as she recalled the dream she had just had. She very vividly remembered that day. They had spoken for a while longer after that, mostly about nonsense that she couldn’t quite recall.

She did recall the ‘secret’ her mom had shared with her however, some part of her feeling ashamed that she had forgotten.

She got up out of bed and headed out to the living room. She soon came to a stop, standing in front of the mantle where a portrait of Riki, Aunt Koyuki, and the members of the old Seven was displayed.

”I remember now mom. I finally remember what you told me all that time ago.” she spoke, smiling even as tears came to her eyes.

”I’ve been afraid of my new position within the Seven, of whether I could really handle it. I still am, but I remember now. I need to be brave in the face of impossible adversity. I need to always believe in myself and push past my limits. And perhaps most importantly...”

She took a deep, calming breath. You believe in me and are always watching over me. I know that, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make you proud!”

[Kabu]

it should have been just another ordinary day with an ordinary schedule. She should have woken up, eaten breakfast and then gone out to train for a time before spending the rest of the day as she pleased. That was what it should have been… had she not woken with her body feeling heavy and aching all over the place. Some part of her felt that maybe she should stay home and rest but she didn’t want to miss out on even a day of training and perhaps it would go away after a bit of exercise.

With that she got dressed and headed out for her morning exercises. However it would soon turn out that it wasn’t meant to be, at least not today. As she walked through the village she could feel her body getting heavier and even beginning to heat up as her exhaustion only grew. ”Suppose I should trust my instincts more often.” she muttered to herself, feeling annoyed at her body’s betrayal. She knew at this point that she was in no shape to be pushing herself, whatever was going on.

That just left her with the question of whether to go home or drop in and see her physician. There was a woman by the name of Ayame at the hospital whom her mother Riki had been good friends with and had always been Asuna’s primary confidant for medical emergencies. She hated having to call on her though, knowing very well just how busy the hospital staff often was.

After a moment’s deliberation she let out a heavy sigh and turned in the direction of the hospital. She needed to go, if she didn’t then she would absolutely be hearing about it later. More than that though she just had a feeling that Ayame would know what was going on. Whether she would be able to solve it however remained to be seen.

---

Luckily the hospital hadn’t been too far of a walk and she was now sitting on a bench in the building as she waited for Ayame. She had been in often enough over her life that the receptionist had known who to call on sight. The frequent tussles she had gotten into with her Genin rival had landed one or both of them in the hospital on more than occasion. At the time it had seemed like an ordeal but now she found herself looking back more fondly on those memories. To some degree she wondered if she had ever really hated it all that much.

”We haven’t seen each other since our Exam. I wonder what he’s been up to, if he was able to get a second chance at promotion.” she idly began muttering to herself.

As if on cue she heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the room, looking up to find a familiar face. It was the very boy she had just been thinking about, her old rival Karagata Yamada.

It seemed that he had spotted her as well as he came walking in her direction, stopping just a foot or so away. ”Asuna… I never would have expected us to meet in a place like this but I can see that you’re not looking too hot.” he spoke, very clearly concerned even as he tried not to let it show on his face. She had always been the type to run herself ragged in her efforts to prove herself but in their time together he had never seen her look quite so pained and exhausted.

”Yeah… woke up like this. Thought maybe it would wear off with some exercise-” she began responding, only to be interrupted by Yamada’s hand on her head. A quick look was all she needed to see he was clearly holding back a good deal of annoyance and perhaps even anger and worry.

Yet despite that the boy simply rubbed her hair, holding back the urge to hit her for being stupid. In a way he had always admired her tenacity and the effort she was willing to put in to push through her weaknesses. It was that admiration that had pushed him through their rivalry, he hadn’t wanted to be seen as weak in front of her while she was working so hard. It was also what made it so frustrating to see her like this and to hear she could have hurt herself even more. ”You’re an idiot, what good is working hard if you’re going to get yourself hurt? I… I wouldn’t want to lose my eternal rival to her own stupidity.” he quietly admonished her, diverting his gaze as he spoke. He was very clearly embarrassed at his own words.

For her part Asuna found herself just as equally embarrassed, her gaze turning towards the ground. Why did their first meeting in so long have to be at a time like this? Why did she have to show him her moment of weakness? ”You’re right, I should have known better. There had been a part of me saying it was a bad idea...” she admitted, still looking down at the floor.

Hearing that Yamada couldn’t help but chuckle. So she did have some sense of self preservation, she had just ignored it. ”In any case… I didn’t come over here to admonish you or start a fight...” he trailed off as he prepared himself for what he had to say next. ”I just… would you want to get together sometime? We can catch up and maybe spar again like old times.” he spoke, feeling annoyed with himself and this pathetic display being the best he could muster. He absolutely couldn’t tell her that he had been thinking about her and wanted to see her, his stubborn pride wouldn’t allow it.

Asuna for her part finally looked up from the ground and towards him, blinking and staring in silence a moment before smiling. ”I would like that. I would like that very much.” she found herself responding with shockingly little hesitation. She was surprised but more than that she was happy, though she wouldn’t be able to explain why.

After that Yamada left, seeming to be in a hurry to escape as he fled the scene. Asuna could have sworn she even saw him blushing as he ran away from her and honestly it was adorable. He would surely be mad at her if he knew she had been thinking that though.

Once she was sure he was gone she let out a pained groan, her aches having gotten worse as they had been chatting. It was strange, by now the pain she was feeling was almost abnormal, as if there was something just waiting to emerge.

”He sure is a shy one, eh Asuna?” a voice suddenly sounded from next to Asuna, the girl turning her head in a panic to find the woman she had been waiting for sitting on the bench next to her.

”A...Ayame, how long have you been there? Did you see all of that?” Asuna stammered, her cheeks heating up as she spoke. She was sure she was red as could be right now. The embarrassment was almost enough to distract her from the fact she had a very painful headache. It felt like something was stabbing into her skull.

”Nah, I got here just in time to see him flee the scene. Don’t worry, I missed out on whatever would have caused that.” Ayame nonchalantly spoke with a wave of her hand. It was easy to see she was in a fairly jovial mood. It didn’t last long however as she caught sight of something poking through her charge’s hair, frowning in response. It looked almost like a pair of tiny horns... ”In any case we can talk about that later, for now I think we should get to business.” she spoke in a low tone, Asuna sitting up straight, recognizing it as Ayame shifting into serious mode.

---

A few moments later they were finally in a hospital room, Asuna laying on the bed at Ayame’s insistence. She didn’t feel it totally necessary and honestly it only made her feel nervous but she didn’t dare fight back.

”So you don’t feel sick but you’ve nonetheless been dealing with an abnormal pain that’s only been worsening through the day? Hmm…” Ayame thoughtfully chewed on her lip as she channeled chakra, holding her glowing green hands over the girl. ”All vital signs seem good, blood pressure is good but body temperature is a bit high.” she muttered to herself, taking a breath as she ended the diagnostics jutsu.

”Before we continue, why didn’t you just stay home and call for me? You were out on the town, weren’t you? Thought that maybe you could push through it, hm?” she frowned as she asked the question, sighing as Asuna diverted her eyes. That told her all she needed to know, for now at least. ”Well, I won’t berate you. I’m sure you’ve been beating yourself up over it enough. I’m just happy that you came of your own accord.” she spoke, smiling just a little. ”Tell me though, have you looked in a mirror at all today? Tried touching the top of your head?”

Asuna couldn’t help but raise a brow at that question, finding it more than a little strange. ”No and no… but Yamada did pat my head. It did feel kind of like something was off… in a physical sense I mean.” she responded, raising her left hand to touch the top of her head. She froze however as she felt her hand make contact with something solid, something pointy and solid. ”What on earth is that? Do I have horns?!” she shouted, sitting up in a panic as she placed both hands over her head. ”Why do I have horns?!”

---

A few minutes passed as Asuna continued panicking and Ayame attempted to calm her down. Eventually the poor girl calmed herself and was once more laying on the bed, though was still clearly shaken as she still had both hands on her head in an attempt to hide her new growths.

”Why did this happen?” she asked again in a much calmer though still quite panicked tone, looking over towards Ayame. The woman was currently absorbed in her work, studying a number of charts and jotting down notes as she attempted to decipher what was happening.

Luckily Ayame had taken measures to numb her pain so she wasn’t feeling too awful physically but it still felt like an eternity before Ayame stood and returned to her bedside.

”I think I know what’s happening.” Ayame began speaking, taking a seat on the bed. ”Long story short, this all is a result of kekkai genkai mutation. My current theory is that the Kaguya treatment must have reacted with your body differently from others. Unfortunately I can’t really say how or why, I would need to do an indepth analysis on the treatment itself and I doubt the Kaguya elders would allow that.” the woman spoke confidently, positively unaware that she was beginning to ramble on.

For her part Asuna tilted her head, finally removing her hands from over her horns. She didn’t really get it… She had never been one to really comprehend this kind of stuff. ”Umm Ayame, I don’t get it. If that’s the case why would the effects only start to show themselves now? What does all this mean? Am I going to be growing any other extra features? Can I live a normal life still?” she asked every question on her mind, wanting to know what was in store for her future even despite the great amount of anxiety she felt at the notion.

In response Ayame gave her a wry smile, scratching her cheek in embarrassment. ”Well… your body is still undergoing changes from puberty, there’s a good chance the dormant mutation was activated by hormones. As for your other questions, I do have both good and bad news The good news is that this shouldn’t have an effect on your everyday life and that you may find any additions to be a good thing. The bad news is that no, it’s not quite over yet. You may even be experiencing a great deal of pain any minute now...”

Asuna simply listened in silence with the occassional nod, not that she could have spoken if she had wanted to. She was busy gritting her teeth as a searing heat ran through her body, particularly around her upper and lower bodies. It wasn’t long however before she felt another series of stabbing pains in those same areas, soon enough screaming in agony as the pain got too much to bear. It turned out Ayame had been right, though much more right than she had ever thought she might be.

Luckily, or perhaps not, it wouldn’t be long after that until her vision started fading, her last sight before falling unconsious being that of Ayame leaning over her, the pain somewhat fading as chakra was channeled into her body.

---

It was some time later that she awoke, feeling extremely groggy as she opened her eyes. ”What happened…? The last thing I remember was being in a lot of pain and Ayame attempting to help.” she groaned, a quick turn of her head towards the nearby window showing that the sun was beginning to set. It seemed that she had been out for several hours.

Slowly she sat up, blinking and tilting her head in confusion as she did. Aside from her grogginess she was a bit sore but she was in much less pain. That wasn’t the strange part however as there seemed be something swishing behind her. Maybe an animal of some kind had snuck in?

Slowly and carefully she reached behind her and grabbed at the source of the swishing sound only to end up gritting her teeth, finding she was in some deal of pain as she tugged at it. It was definitely a tail of some kind but…

Suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity she attempted to maneuver the appendage, smiling as she confirmed that she was indeed its owner. Now, somewhere deep down she felt she should have been freaking out but while it was indeed strange it wasn’t much weirder than growing horns. Honestly she had always enjoyed the feeling of having a tail when using the Kaguya’s Scorpion Sting technique and while this one was much more… sinuey, it wasn’t much different otherwise.

While she was occupied with her new appendage she failed to notice that Ayame had re-entered the room, the woman ducking under a tail swish. ”I understand you’re curious but you should really be careful with that thing!” she called out, smirking as that had caught Asuna’s attention, the girl tucking her tail behind her as she blushed and diverted her gaze. ”So, how are you holding up? I was able to apply some anasthesia while it took its course. For now at least I think that should be the end of it.”

At that Asuna took a moment to stretch, testing each of her limbs and turning her torso. It did hurt a bit to move but she was otherwise feeling fairly limber. ”I’m exhausted and still sore but otherwise I feel okay.” she responded, unable to help a yawn.

Ayame smiled and offered a hand to the girl, Asuna gladly accepting it and letting the woman help her up. ”Well that much is only natural, you should be feeling right as rain after a meal and a good sleep. Anything training related can wait until tomorrow, okay?” she spoke, giving the girl a brief nose tap before turning on her heel and leading the way out of the room. It was phrased as a question or request but Asuna could tell from her tone that it was more of a command.

”Fine, I’m too tired to be doing anything reckless regardless.” she responded with a shrug of her shoulders, stretching again before following Ayame, her new tail swishing behind her all the while.

As she walked along she couldn’t help but smile, thinking back on how this day had gone. She had undergone something of a transformation, one that honestly may be more of a blessing than a curse, and had even reunited with Yamada. The two of them had even agreed to meet up again, the thought bringing a strange fuzzy feeling to her chest. All in all despite the circumstances... this may have been a pretty good day after all.

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