Awestruck. That's the only way I could describe the library's look. It was huge and ancient. Just like most of the other buildings, this one was made of a mix of hardened sand and wood, but it was obvious that this building's wood quality was leagues above that of the shops and small housing around it. Carved at the building's foundations were little gold and silver figures. They looked like children dancing along. It was one of the few buildings that actually had a door instead of a cloth barrier at the entryway. Walking into the library, the smell certainly hit me first. Old parchment and dusty shelves seemed to use their stench to greet me. But that didn't deter me; in fact, I was excited—an entire universe with its own rules, knowledge, and history. I couldn't wait to learn about my new home!
"Well. That's a face I don't usually see around here." Turning my head to the sound of the voice, I saw an older man with his hands behind his back walking towards me. His face showed his age, with wrinkles of all kinds lying on his face. His nearly white hair was tucked into the tan head covering he wore.
In an effort to show respect, I offered a small bow in greeting. "Greetings, elder. Would you mind showing me where the Jutsu scrolls are?" A gnarled white eyebrow rose inquisitively at me before, what I can only assume was coming to a decision.
"Follow me, child. I guess anyone would have guessed that I, a wrinkly old man, would be the Librarian, huh? Ho Ho Ho! Since you bear no mark of our village, I assume you are an academy student, yes?" I nodded along as I fell into step behind the elder. "Therefore, you are only permitted to view the E–Rank scrolls. Passing by a table, he gestured to the chair that lay atop it. "I will come back with the scrolls. You may wait there for now. If you would like any recording materials, please let me know, and I shall gather them for you."
"Thank you, sir!" I gave a deeper bow, truly thankful for this man's guidance and patience with me, and a little put off by the easygoing aura that he had going on. I had thought I would have to search the entire Library to find what I needed or maybe go through some test, but this would be a breeze at this rate. Setting the chair onto the ground, the Librarian, almost as fast as he had left, had returned with a box. He set it on the table, and I could see a handful of scrolls with two small papers and a small pill. Picking up the pill and random papers, stood confused. "Sir, I believe someone may have dropped a pill and a piece of empty notebook paper in here." I extended my hand to the man, but he just laughed in turn.
"Ho Ho Ho, no, my boy. Those are for all Academy students who come here to learn. The Library is here to foster learning after all. That is a Chakra pill. You can use that to help refill a portion of your Chakra reserves. I'm sure you will practice the Jutsu you learn here today in the future, so it will be useful for sustained Chakra use. And this-" The Librarian reached into his own pocket and produced another paper identical to the ones I had, "-is used to determine your Chakra Nature. Infusing it with Chakra will have various effects on the paper, and those effects are signs that let us know what Chakra Nature you have. Knowing what Chakra Nature you have lets you know what Jutsu's you can learn more easily."
I stared into the man's eyes, and after a while, smiled. "I have no idea what any of that means," I said. I wasn't necessarily dumb, but my attention span wasn't the best. "I got lost somewhere after 'practicing Jutsu' ha ha." I sheepishly said. The Librarian nearly scoffed to himself, but held his breath.
"Well, here, watch the paper carefully." The man's arm began to emit a faint blue glow that crept up his arm and into his fingertips. When the glow touched the paper, it visibly darkened and crumbled away. "So what did you think of that?" He was half smiling, fully expecting my reaction.
His ploy had succeeded for sure. That simple display completely piqued my interest. "How did you do that!?" I yelled, nearly jumping on the table in excitement. "Was that a Jutsu? Can I do that?" The older man sighed, realizing that I had truly not been paying attention to his earlier explanation.
"Just infuse one of those papers with your Chakra." I nodded and set one paper and the Chakra pill back into the box with the rest of the scrolls before focusing my attention on the one in between my fingers. I tugged at myself, trying to feel out the same energy that surged when I jumped and bounded through the street moments earlier. Closing my eyes, I tugged at my consciousness before and felt the smile on my face grow with each passing second. Opening my eyes, I saw the Chakra flow up my arm and into my hand. The energy made my hair stand on end—a small cautionary note about how dangerous this energy could be if used incorrectly. The paper soaked up my energy, splitting in half.
The Librian nodded at the paper and stated, "You have the Chakra Nature affinity for Wind. As expected from a youth in the Land of Wind. I shall-" Before the Librarian could finish his sentence, the pungent smell of smoke released from the sheets in my hands. I looked on in horror as the sheet of paper ignited and burned rapidly to my fingers. With a yelp, I dropped the paper. It swayed to the floor, burning up completely before reaching the ground.
"What the hell- " I started, looking to the elderly man for an explanation, but his face stopped me in my tracks. His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open, and he stared at my hands as if they were a holy artifact of divine importance. "Um, sir?"
The Librarian physically had to shake the shock off his face. "You, boy, what is your name? It doesn't matter, you have a special talent! Never have I seen someone so equally capable in two separate Chakra Natures at the get-go!"
"A second Chakra Nature?" I asked before it dawned on me. How else would the paper light itself on fire if it wasn't me doing it? Had this ever happened before in the anime or manga? Gahhhh, I couldn't remember. There are so many episodes and chapters, there's no way I could remember them all. But that didn't stop any of the excitement and pride that rushed to my head. "Heh Heh Heh, what can I say, Elder? I'm a pretty special guy!" I puffed out my chest, letting the light smoke in the air fuel my pride even more.
Chuckling, the elder put two more scrolls in the box. One was a green scroll with the wind symbol, and the other was a red one with the fire symbol. "These are introductory scrolls to wind and fire Jutsu. Each scroll contains three simple Jutsu that are the basics of the basics. They are my gift, an early graduation present from me to you."
The word "graduation" snapped me back out of my prideful trance as I remembered why I was even in the Library in the first place. "Um, elder, sir, if it wasn't too much to ask. Could I bring these scrolls home? I promise to return them all as soon as I finish learning the Jutsu from them." I bowed in an effort to appear even more sincere, but the Librarian waved me off.
"What use would that be? These are the free materials given to all of the Academy students to begin their journey as future shinobi of the village hidden in the sands. Giving away free study material to students has been a tradition since the second Kazekage. What do they teach you at that academy?" The Librarian finished shaking his head in exasperation. "Anyway, child, it's getting late. Was there anything else you needed?"
Looking towards the door, I could see the light that had used to see through at the hinges and cracks at the bottom of the door were no longer visible. I was already late into the night! Frantically, I picked up the box and gave a deep bow to the Librarian. "No, Sir! Thank you, sir! Goodbye, thi.r" Gahh, I bit my tongue as I quickly walked to the door.
"He bit his tongue," I could hear the Librarian faintly say, and all the pride I had before was now embarrassment amassing as rosy red in my cheeks. Pushing off the ground, I leaped off a window ledge and off into the night back home.