Little Meatball

When he stepped back into the classroom, there were even fewer students in Class B. There had only been a dozen or so to begin with, and now they could barely scrape together ten. The atmosphere in the room had grown much gloomier. It was no longer filled with laughter and cheer like it had been at the start of the school year.

One by one, they buried their heads in their desks and studied earnestly, afraid they would be the next to get expelled. The Ninja Academy was, after all, a place for training human weapons for war, not a charity. Those without talent wouldn't be allowed to stay and waste resources.

"Tong, you seem really tense. Did something happen?"

A faint tremor came from beside him, accompanied by the softest of sobs. She was crying. He didn't know why, or what could have made this usually cheerful, calm, and determined girl cry by his side.

At a time like this, shouldn't she be hiding somewhere?

"None of your business." Tong lifted her head to snap at him, then quickly buried it again.

He caught only a fleeting glimpse of her bloodshot eyes. It looked like she'd been crying for a long time.

"Kaede... don't you know? Tong seems to be giving up on becoming a ninja!"

"Miko, what's going on? Tell me about it."

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Tong had already learned to refine Chakra. The school had no reason to expel her.

"It's Tong's father. Yesterday, he talked to Teacher Kimura about Tong. Someone overheard, and then the whole class found out. Tong was really upset when she heard.

"I don't know the exact reason she's being expelled, but Tong has been working so hard."

As she spoke, she looked at Eita.

Miko was a gentle girl, though the small freckles on her face took away from her looks.

Kaede glanced at Eita. Eita proudly puffed out his chest, showing no remorse at all for spreading someone else's secret without permission.

"Got it."

Kaede quietly finished the day's classes, then followed far behind Tong as they headed back to the Uchiha Clan. Now wasn't the time to ask what was going on.

"Don't follow me."

"Don't we always take the same road home?"

"Uchiha Kaede, you're so annoying!"

Tong yelled and ran off. Though they were still students at the Ninja Academy, they could move pretty fast. When she couldn't shake Kaede on the ground, Tong leaped onto the rooftops and raced away.

Kaede followed, for her own safety.

The Uchiha were all crazy. If she got too upset and developed some kind of mental illness, she might end up killing herself.

It was the same stretch of woods.

Tong furiously kicked and punched a tree in front of her. Wood chips, streaked with blood, scattered across the ground as she vented her frustration.

"I'm curious. What is all this because of?"

"Do you think everyone can be a ninja like you?" She shot a fierce look at Kaede, who stood on a tree. Her eyes were bloodshot.

Her voice was low and hoarse. Tong ignored the blood pouring from her hands, as if she couldn't feel the pain.

"Do you think everyone has a healthy body like you?"

She covered her face and burst into tears.

"Tong, maybe I can help you." He rested a hand on her soft hair and spoke with concern.

"You're just as annoying as ever, Kaede. Have you already forgotten me?"

She stopped crying, but now seemed even more distant. She stared at him blankly and asked.

"Did we know each other when we were little?"

He was a textbook shut-in and had no friends in the clan. He barely ever left the house.

"Go, Pikachu!"

Tong suddenly said something that shocked Kaede.

"You... You're... that..."

"Remember now?"

He looked closely at Tong and finally spotted a trace of familiarity in her features. He remembered when he was three. His mother, Xiang, thought it wasn't good for him to shut himself up at home every day, so she brought home a little girl, hoping she'd keep him company.

Having a friend your own age was essential for a proper childhood.

But Kaede hadn't liked her from the moment he saw her.

Because...

She was just too fat. Three-year-olds weren't very tall to begin with, and the little girl had more than chubby cheeks—her entire body was round as a ball. A real ball.

When she walked, she waddled from side to side like a penguin.

Worst of all, this unexpected little girl might discover his secret and interfere with his training.

So one afternoon, while his mother wasn't looking, he got curious and decided to kick her, just to see if this ball of a girl would roll.

He waited until she wasn't paying attention, then gave her a kick.

"Go, Pikachu!"

She really did roll. Weeds were tangled in her hair, and dust covered her round face as she blinked her big, pretty eyes at Kaede in confusion.

Then she went, "Waaah..."

She ran off crying. After that, she never came to Kaede's house again. His mother, Xiang, served him nothing but plain food for days, silently blaming him.

"You're Little Meatball?"

Kaede blurted out her nickname without thinking.

"Go to hell!"

Tong swung a fist and hit Kaede around the eye, leaving it instantly purple and swollen like a panda's.

He didn't dodge. He figured this was payback for that kick back then.

Seeing how miserable and ridiculous Kaede looked, the corner of Tong's mouth twitched, as if she were about to smile through her tears.

"Ever since I was little, I've had a piece missing from my heart. It made my body develop unpredictably. Back then, I was having an episode, and everything I ate made me gain weight. Even water made me gain weight. But someone looked down on me and bullied me, too. I, Uchiha Hitomi, will get my revenge for that."

Tong let down her guard and spoke clearly.

"So you're giving up on becoming a ninja?"

A heart condition, with a piece missing—that was no small problem. She might not even live to adulthood.

"I don't have a choice, Kaede. I want a healthy body, too. I want to become a powerful ninja, but my father has already submitted an application to the school. My condition is getting worse.

"Lately, since I started refining Chakra and practicing Taijutsu, I've often felt like I can't breathe. My heart races so fast. With a flaw like this, I can't possibly become a ninja.

"Even if I insisted, Father wouldn't allow it."

The longing in Tong's eyes left Kaede staring at her in a daze. She blushed, finally acting like an ordinary little girl.

"All right, Kaede. From now on, you won't have to worry about me bothering you anymore. Let's go home."

She pressed her lips together and pretended it was all in the past, that she didn't care at all. But the beautiful longing in her eyes couldn't be hidden.

"Uchiha Hitomi, are you giving up on your promise to defeat me? If you give up so easily, how can you become a powerful ninja? If you back down whenever you face a challenge, what right do you have to be my rival? You're the one who's really annoying."

How could he let a girl with a dream watch that dream die right before his eyes?

"What else can I do? Should I give up my life and make it the stepping-stone to my dream? Kaede, I'm afraid of dying. I still want to stay with my father and mother. And I still hope that one day, I can..."

Tong grabbed Kaede by the collar, her pretty face looking almost frantic as she leaned closer and closer. Then she realized what she was doing, stopped, and let go of him.

"Maybe I have a way, Tong. Trust me. We'll find one. Didn't we promise to become each other's bonds? To become ninjas who worked toward our dreams together? You can't fall behind, Tong!"

He thought of Big Fat Sheep, whom he'd met a few days ago. Maybe she could help.

She was probably the most skilled medic in the Shinobi World, wasn't she? A little operation to repair a heart should be easy for her.

Tong, if you don't trip me up, how am I supposed to get through six boring years at the Ninja Academy? Just go back to class without worrying.

Pikachu