Part Time Teacher in Konoha

"Did I wake you?"

Kitazawa asked, a touch embarrassed.

"No, I was just about to have breakfast."

Yūhi Kurenai shook her head. "Have you eaten? If not, I can fix you a bowl of ramen."

"No need," Kitazawa replied. "I always eat breakfast at Ichiraku Ramen."

"Oh, that's right—Ichiraku is next door to your house. Very handy."

Kurenai laughed brightly. "In that case, give me a few minutes."

She turned, barefoot on the carpet, hips swaying lightly as she walked into the living room.

"I don't really have anything to drink here," she said, pouring a glass of water. "Please make do."

"Thank you," Kitazawa said, accepting the glass.

Kurenai dropped into a chair at the dining table, picked up her chopsticks, and started in on her meal.

"Sorry to keep you. Let's head out."

After eating, she changed into her signature outfit: a white top, one red sleeve, bandages around her thigh, and her long, pale legs in full view.

At the entryway she stopped, bent forward with a hand on the wall, raised one graceful foot so the taut calf traced a fair curve, then slid all five toes into a short boot. Once both boots were on, she stamped twice, the flesh of her legs trembling slightly.

"What are you looking at?"

Kurenai noticed Kitazawa's gaze as she straightened up and smiled.

"Enjoying the scenery," Kitazawa said with a blink.

"What scenery is there here?"

Kurenai locked the door and stepped closer, a fresh scent drifting over.

"Where there's a beautiful woman, there's scenery," Kitazawa answered solemnly.

Kurenai rolled her eyes. That was the first time she'd heard "peeking" described so poetically.

"Since you were kind enough to flatter me, I'll let it slide."

She shifted to business. "Do you think you can convince Yakumo's parents?"

"Not really," Kitazawa admitted. "I don't even know them."

"Her father is Kurama Murakumo, her mother Uroko—both jōnin, but neither has a kekkei genkai."

As they walked, Kurenai explained, "In fact, Yakumo is the only one in the whole Kurama clan who's awakened a kekkei genkai."

"The clan's sole hope?" Kitazawa mused.

"Exactly. I think that's why she's so determined to become a ninja—everyone's expectations."

"She's a good kid," Kitazawa said.

Sadly, in the original story her fate was tragic: in a burst of anger she released the Yin‑style monster Ido and killed her own parents. Without Uzumaki Naruto's help, even Kurenai would have perished.

"This is where Yakumo recuperates—Rikenkyū Villa," Kurenai said, stopping before a vast estate.

Kitazawa glanced around. Rich people, he thought.

"Let's see her first," Kurenai decided. "She should be painting on the slope behind the villa."

Kitazawa knew Yakumo's paintings were manifestations of her kekkei genkai: whatever she painted could become reality—paint a bolt of lightning at the Hokage building and an actual bolt would strike.

With Kurenai leading, they soon spotted Kurama Yakumo, seated before a canvas, brush moving in earnest as she sketched the view.

"I'll talk to her," Kitazawa said, stepping forward. Kurenai nodded and waited nearby.

"Why is it raining in your picture?" he asked after watching a moment. The sky was perfectly clear, yet her painting showed soaking rain. Analyze how the weather functions here, he thought.

"Who are you?" Yakumo turned to him.

"I'm Kitazawa, a teacher at the academy," he said.

"Have my parents finally let me enroll?" Yakumo set the brush down, eyes shining.

"You really want to go?" Kitazawa didn't answer directly.

"Yes," she nodded. "I want to be a ninja."

"Then do it," Kitazawa said softly.

"My health is awful. A little training leaves me gasping, never mind fighting like a ninja," Yakumo said gloomily.

"Who told you a ninja must have a body beyond ordinary?" Kitazawa countered.

"Eh?" Yakumo blinked. "Are there weak‑bodied ninja?"

In her mind, whether genjutsu or taijutsu users, every ninja was physically strong; even medics could pick up a kunai in a pinch.

"There aren't yet—but you could create one," Kitazawa said evenly. "A ninja once said, 'There's no path that starts as a path. Someone must walk on it for it to become a path?.'"

"Could I really?" Uncertainty filled her voice.

"Would you give up because of that?" Kitazawa smiled.

"No!" Yakumo bit her lip, resolved. "I will become a ninja!"

"Good spirit." Kitazawa nodded. "You may not be an ordinary genjutsu user, but you can be a special one."

"Special?" Yakumo echoed.

"Typical genjutsu targets the five senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, touch," Kitazawa explained.

"That's why genjutsu battles are fierce and require a healthy body."

Yakumo fell silent—that was exactly why she couldn't become a normal ninja. Yet hope soon flickered in her eyes.

"But there's another genjutsu—one that targets the mind directly," Kitazawa said, meeting her gaze.

Yakumo hesitated. Kurenai had trained her a bit, so she knew genjutsu, but she'd never heard of one bypassing the senses. Even Kurenai frowned; in practice, genjutsu used the senses to reach the mind—without that medium, it didn't exist.

"Others can't, but you can, because your spirit is strong enough," Kitazawa said, reading their thoughts.

Kurenai started, realization dawning. Yin Release represents mental power. Yakumo's spirit was so strong she'd conjured the monster Ido. She could weaponize that force. Kurenai hadn't considered it because of traditional ninja thinking.

"Me…?" Yakumo murmured.

"More than that, you could become a one‑of‑a‑kind psychological medical ninja—healing people's mental wounds," Kitazawa added with a faint smile.

In modern terms, Yakumo would be a psychologist that specializes in treating mental illness.

Kitazawa even thought of Tsunade's hemophobia; if Yakumo cured it, that would be a major feat—and an excuse for him to pick up advanced jutsu to disguise those granted by his system.

"A psychological medical ninja…" Yakumo whispered. The frustration and resentment of being unable to become a ninja vanished; a whole new world opened before her.

Kurenai parted her lips, glancing at Kitazawa in surprise. She'd never heard the term, yet it was clearly feasible. She'd fought in the Third Ninja War—many shinobi came home with mental scars. Someone like Yakumo could ease their pain.

~~~

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