On the way back, we were attacked by members of Akaime Clan. They had to be chunin because they were breaking out the Blood Clone jutsu. It was fine since we also had that jutsu. We killed them and took their loot back to the village. One of them happened to have a ninjutsu scroll on him. It was cyan, so it was a water style ninjutsu inside the scroll. None of us had any elemental jutsu. It was all rudimentary stuff aside from the clones. That was just an adaptation of the Shadow Clone jutsu. This would be the first elemental ninjutsu that we had seen. Keisuke wanted to open it up immediately. We had won this loot, so it was not like we had an obligation to share with the rest of the clan. I did not even know if he had an elemental affinity for using water style ninjutsu. I asked and he shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows!? I want to look at it. Don't you, Nagisa-chan!?" he waved me off. I also wanted to open it. Keisuke and I did it together. It was called Water Bullet. For this jutsu, you channeled the water elemental chakra in your core and expelled it out of your body. Either mouth or palm.
It certainly sounded cool. Because I had opened it and read the thing, I was able to use it right away. I had enough levels to give me slots for it and almost a dozen other techniques as well. I was sure Keisuke would actually need time to train using this technique though. I let him have the scroll for that reason. He looked at me gratefully. I was not really doing that much. "Are you sure? I know you once were a wanderer, but a scroll like this is considered a treasure. This is not like a weapon that I would be willing to trade back with you later." he then said seriously after composing himself. Keisuke really was serious about his intentions. However, as a friend, he would not be able to do something that felt like he was cheating me. I gave it up way too quickly. I said "I value our friendship. I saw it and I might think about practicing what I read in there. You should keep it. Just hand me the next one we find and we'll be even." He pulled me into a deep hug. "Nagisa-chan! You're so good to me. What a friend you are!?" he said to the sky. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. I pat him on the back.
We continued until we made it back to the village. Our houses were at the end of the road where the other clan members were. We were part of them, yet set apart. It did make sense as we were their retainers. Keisuke's house was smaller than mine, so we went inside there first. It was really nice and cozy. The stairs went up to the living space. He was still a bit iffy about it. "You think it's weird to live on top of the actual ground like this?" he asked. I said "Don't worry. Downstairs can be a personal training space for your family." He wanted some affirmation before buyers remorse could set in and make him regret his choice. As an orphan kid from the boonies, this was something that he could not have imagined when he left his village. He had a lovely fiancé that he would soon marry. He was a chunin shinobi. He owned his own home in a village that valued him as a fighter and retainer. This was the life that even the best in his village might not be able to attain. And certainly not at his age. He looked at me and said "We still have to do the brotherhood ceremony. Want to do it tonight?" "Yeah."
