Kodama Chiyeko bowed her head as she knelt on one knee on the tatami floor. Before her sat the elders of the village.

“Honored elders, what is my mission?”

The elders nodded.

“We have a mission of vital importance for you. It will be long and arduous, but you must succeed.”

“I will not fail, no matter what.”

The elders nodded once more.

“Good, you will need that resolve. For we need you to…”

“Yes?”

“...infiltrate the outside world and learn the art of therapy.”

Chiyeko blinked.

“Therapy…honored elders?”

“Yes…we’ve noticed…a concerning trend regarding the frequency of rogue ninjas. We have heard tales of this ‘therapy’, a secret art to unlock the mysteries of the mind. We are hoping that should you acquire this secret technique, we will be able to determine the cause.”

Chiyeko tilted her head.

“Um, honored elders, if I may make a suggestion?”

“Yes?”

“Um, could the cause be how many of us grow up orphaned and how we fight in the war with the rival village as children?”

“Hmmm, a curious suggestion, but I doubt it.”

“Couldn’t be.”

“I fought as a kid with no parents my whole childhood and I turned out fine!”

“R-Right…what we’re trying to say is, we’re afraid there might be something deeper to this. In the worst case, this could be a new attack by the enemy. We must spare no expense in investigating the cause.”

Chiyeko bowed her head.

“It shall be done, Honored elders.”

“Good, make haste, Kodama-san. The fate of the village rests on your shoulders.”

The elders watched as Chiyeko bowed and vanished from the room.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“Should we have given her some money or something?”

“No, what for?”

“Doesn’t the outside world teach secret techniques in exchange for money?”

“She’s one of our most experienced shinobi! Surely she can just bypass whatever security they possess.”

“Besides, this is some sort of technique developed by the peasantry and scholars. How hard could it be?”

Chiyeko took a seat near the back of the lecture hall. She glanced around, making note of exits and the security, or more accurately, the lack thereof. This village was remarkably simple to infiltrate, to the point Chiyeko was concerned. Surely they must be luring her into a trap? Sure such a valuable technique would not just be…taught like this.

“Hi!”

Chiyeko looked up as a woman sat next to her.

“I’m Isayama Yuriko! What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Ueda Enri. Nice to meet you, Isayama-san.”

“Nice to meet you too, Ueda-chan! Are you excited for our first day?”

“Um, yes?”

“Me too! It was always my dream to become a therapist, you know?”

“I-I see, was your clan the guardians of the technique?”

“Guardians of the technique? Ahahaha what are you saying, Ueda-chan! No, it’s just, I always wanted to help people, you know?”

“Help people?”

“Um, yes? You’re in therapy school, you know?”

“Um…”

Just then the professor walked to the front of the class and called for quiet. Chiyeko breathed a sigh and narrowed her eyes.

Time to begin.

Forty-five minutes later, Chiyeko sat still in the room, staring ahead and blinking.

This…was therapy? Just…talking? No manipulation of internal energies? No specialized genjutsu methods? No, this must just be the start. She would have to stay wary. She knew they wouldn’t just give away their techniques to the world.

“Ueda-chan! What are you doing for lunch?”

“Um, lunch?”

“Yeah! I was thinking of checking out the university’s cafeteria, want to come?”

“Um, ok?”

“It’s settled, come on!”

Chiyeko blinked as Isayama-san pulled her out of her seat. She gasped and prepared herself.

How foolish.

She had fallen into the trap.

But she couldn’t run now, that would give her away. So she would prepare herself for whatever this ‘lunch’ was and look for a moment to overturn….

A few minutes later.

“What..is this?”

“Um, ramen? Haha you’re so funny, Ueda-chan.”

Chiyeko stared at the steaming bowl in front of her. The sight. The smell. Something welled up deep within her. She looked up. Isayama-san was already eating. So, not poison?

She glanced around. She was surrounded by people, people all eating. Eating more food than she knew existed. She gulped.

Well…she had trained her poison resistance, and couldn’t detect any foul play. With the sheer number of people eating here, targeting a single one seemed…unlikely.

One bite couldn’t hurt.

She slowly lifted her chopsticks, grabbing some of the noodles, and lifted it to her mouth.

She froze.

Tears streamed down her eyes.

“Eh? U-Ueda-chan, what’s wrong?! Does it taste bad?! Did you burn yourself?!”

“...delicious.”

“Huh?”

“I-I didn’t know…something this delicious…could possibly exist…”

"...eh?"

“All right, class, let’s pair up and try out some of these techniques.”

“Enri-chan, come and pair up with me!”

“Ok, Isayama-san.”

“Oh come on, you can use my first name you know?”

“M-Maybe next time.”

“Ok so let’s start…um…how are you today, Enri-chan?”

“Um, I am in satisfactory condition and at full readiness.”

“Uh huh, but how do you feel today, Enri-chan?”

“How do I…feel?”

“Like, emotionally!”

“...”

Chiyeko stared into the distance for a minute.

“You know…I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that before…”

A few minutes later…

“So tell me about your parents.”

“Well…both of them were killed when I was very young.”

“O-Oh…I-I’m sorry…a-and…uh…how does that…um…”

“But it’s like, I’m still trying to follow their wishes, you know?”

“Um…right…”

“And, it feels like they’re always with me when I’m killing their foes.”

“...wait what?”

One hour later…

“You know, I always liked eviscerating guys. Just something about…seeing how much guts they really have, you know? It’s like…refreshing in a way?”

“R-Right…um…Ueda-san…maybe we should…wrap it up for today…”

“I wonder if it’s because I watched that happen to my dad, something like, I’m trying to look for him in these other guys, you know? Oh, sorry did you say something?”

“N-No…please…go ahead…”

Several hours later…

Chiyeko had her head down in Isayama-san’s lap with her arms wrapped around Isayama’s waist. Muffled sobs came from the growing wet spot on Isayama’s legs.

“A-And then…a-and then…they killed her! My best friend! Right in front of me! A-And there was nothing I could do! I-I just lay there, waiting for them to kill me too!”

Isayama rubbed a trembling hand on Chiyeko’s head. Her eyes were opened as wide as they could go.

“I-It’s ok. I-It’s all ok now. J-Just let it all out…in a non-violent fashion…”

Several more hours later…

“Ahhhh I really needed that. It’s like…this massive burden has just been lifted from me, you know? Like, I never knew the world could feel this…bright.”

“Ahahaha…y-yes…”

Chiyeko pulled Isayama into a hug.

“Thank you so much, Yuriko-chan!”

“O-of course…it was…no problem…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, we were supposed to switch, right? Um, do you want to go now?”

“T-That’s fine, you definitely needed it. H-How about we just wait for next time?”

“Got it, well I better get going then. See you tomorrow, Yuriko-chan!”

“S-See you tomorrow…”

Yuriko stood still, slowly waving her hand as she watched Chiyeko run off. The moment Chiyeko rounded a corner…

Yuriko ran.

The professor was still in his office, grading a few final papers when his door slammed open.

“Isayama-san? What are you still doing here?”

“H-Help me, sensei! She’s insane! She’s actually insane! I-I’m going to get killed! Please!”

A few years later in the principal's office. Several police officers stood by the principle, assault rifles in hand. The principal trembled as he turned to the closest officer, who was speaking into a radio.

“Snipers in position? Good. Eyes up people, the target is extremely volatile and potentially armed. Be ready for anything.”

The principal took a deep breath.

“P-Please come in.”

The door slowly opened…and in walked Chiyeko.

“You asked to see me, Principle?”

“Ah, yes, Ueda-san, please come in.”

Chiyeko’s eyes narrowed as she glanced around the room.

“What’s going on here?”

The principal gulped.

“Um, you see…Ueda-san…there’s a slight problem with your diploma…”

The girl slowly moved her hand towards one of her pockets. The police tightened their grip on their rifles.

“What kind of problem?”

“It’s…well…you see…your tuition.”

The girl froze.

“Tuition?”

“You haven’t paid any of your tuition since you enrolled here…we, um, can’t give you a diploma until you do.”

“Um…”

“Y-Yes?”

“What’s tuition?”

Everyone in the room froze.

“Um…it’s what you pay…to go to school…”

“...I have to pay to go here?”

“Y-Yes? And there’s the outstanding bill from the cafeteria and the dorm fee as well…”

“H-How much do I owe?”

The principal held up a piece of paper with a trembling arm. Chiyeko took it with an equally trembling hand.

She slowly glanced at the bottom…

“Gahk!”

Chiyeko coughed up blood and collapsed on the ground. The police glanced at the captain, who held up his hand.

“Um…Ueda-san?”

Chiyeko whispered in a tiny voice.

“...do you know where I can get a job?”

The principal let out a sigh, holding a hand to his chest. The police captain pulled out his radio.

“Looks like we’re good here, stand down everyone.”

Several years later…

Ueda Enri hummed a tune as she strolled down the sidewalk. The sun was shining, the sidewalk was clear, the leaves were rustling….

The leaves were rustling…with no breeze.

She swung her arm, sending a knife into the tree…

A log fell out of it, knife piercing the center.

“Hello Chiyeko”

Enri rolled forward as a blade passed over her. She stood back up, kunai knives in hand. There was a shinobi in a black hakama, katana in hand. None of his features were showing, but she knew that voice.

“I knew this day would come…hello Keizo-san.”

“Come quietly. I’d rather not kill you myself.”

“Uh huh…just answer me one thing first.”

“What?”

“How are you feeling today?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, how are you really feeling today? Like, emotionally?”

Keizo froze, lowering his sword.

“You know…I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that before.”

Several hours later…

Keizo had his head down in Enri’s lap with his arms wrapped around Enri’s waist. Muffled sobs came from the growing wet spot on Enri’s legs as she rubbed his head.

“A-And then…I had to kill her! My own teammate! My friend! The girl I loved! W-with my own hands! H-Her eyes were just staring at me…s-she still had a smile on her face…”

“There there, it’s ok. It’s going to be ok now…just let it all out. I’ll take you to get something nice to eat afterwards, ok?”

Keizo just continued to sob.

Back in the hidden village.

The elders looked up at the report, holding their heads.

“That’s the sixth hunter that never returned.”

“This is getting ridiculous.”

The elder in the center rubbed his beard and then sighed.

“I’m calling it. From this moment on, Kodama Chiyeko is a triple S-class threat. All shinobi are to flee on sight.”

“Flee on sight? Truly?”

“Whatever this therapy is…it is clear we underestimated its power. We cannot afford to lose any more shinobi here.”

And so it was that word of the strongest ninja spread throughout the hidden villages. A terrifying foe, with an invincible technique. All shinobi from every village are to flee on sight, for none can contend with…

Kodama Chiyeko, the Therapy Ninja.