Juggling (Fenn)

"Now stay still," Akihana warned the small child in the emergency room in a gentle tone of voice. The little girl had taken a nasty tumble and cut her elbow on something sharp. But that wasn't the most worrying part of the whole situation. No, for the newly minted chunin, the worst part was that she had no one to bring her in. Whether the child was an orphan of war or simply allotted parents who were negligent in nature, Akihana didn't know, nor did she ask. All she did was lay a free hand soothingly on the child's head, giving her a smile. "Don't worry sweetheart, I promise it won't hurt," she reassured once more before moving her other hand to the child's wound. A second of concentration later, her fingers began to glow green with chakra.

"Nee-san, how do you do that?" the child asked, her big eyes more curious than afraid now as they watched Akihana.

"I'm a medical ninja," the young woman explained, her focus now on the wound which had been cleaned up. In normal cases, the little girl would have required a few stitches but Akihana didn't wan the child to go through that and so had offered to perform the jutsu on the child. She wasn't very good at it at the moment and had the cut been deeper no doubt the little girl would have needed someone with more skill but as it was, the blonde was sufficient enough to treat her little patient. It was also a bonus that she approached the child with kindness and a ready distraction.

"My ka-chan was a medical ninja," the child said casually, casually enough for the chunin to pick up on key words like "was" and judging by the casual way the little girl used it, the child had probably lost her mother before she could understand what that really meant.

"Really, that's awesome," she replied, pouring a steady stream of medical chakra into the wound and repairing all the damaged cells. "I'm a mommy too," she added with a smile.

"You are, then where's your baby, nee-san?"

"He's at the academy," Akihana laughed, just imagining Arata's little body shaking with anger at being called a baby. Her son had always been a brave and independent soul but ever since she had returned to a full time job and extra time at the hospital, he had grown even more forthright. Akihana suspected it was because he was trying to be an adult seeing how much his mother had on her plate. But then again, it could simply be the interaction with other boys making him want to compensate for being cooped up with his mother for so long. "His big brother is picking him up from school and then they'll both be here soon to get me."

"So you have two sons?" Now the purple haired girl was looking at her in awe, all her previous fears forgotten. just as well, Akihana was nearly done with her injury. The last superficial cells were being replaced as she spoke.

"No sweetheart," she corrected gently, withdrawing her palm from the girl's elbow to show her the neat, unbruised skin that ahd replaced the wound. "Some relations are by blood, others we make on our own," she explained, smiling fondly at the girl. "And both have the potential to be very, very rewarding," she finished, getting to her feet. "Now would you like a cookie before you leave?"

The girl nodded, a small laugh leaving her lips and a few minute later she was waving Akihana goodbye with a promise to drop by her flat for more cookies. After the girl had left, the blonde turned to the next patient in line, an elderly gentleman with gout who was wincing in pain.

"Alright Sir, lets take a look," she said, one eye on the wall clock. Akihana loved her work but she also wanted Fenn and Arata to arrive so she could go hoe m nd spend some time with her boys.

Fen was running a little late today for picking up Arata, a training exersice he gave himself took a little longer then expected, he shook his head as he cursed himself out, running at full tilt, nothing was slowing him down, if something got in his way, he would simply jump over it in some way, or jump up on a wall nearby with one foot and push off away from the wall, jumping behind what was previously in his way, he arrived five minutes late, and Arata's sensei reemed him for it, and after the sensei was done, Arata was allowed to be released to Fen, and Arata would come running up to him "Nii-San, Can we go play at that park today?" Fen would pant slightly and looked down at the adorable little guy and shook his head, "Sorry buddy not today, but we get to play horsey today" Fen would turn around and dropped to one knee, the other leg being at the ready to run, he would nod to Arata "Come on and hop on my back" Arata would do as fen said, all happy like, legs hugging Fens ribs tightly, and arms wrapping around Fens neck he would shout out "YA HORSEY YA" And with those words Fen would take off Running, once more nothing getting in his way, and little Arata on his back whooping and hollaring in enjoyment, hanging on to fens back tightly, Fen would finally slide to a stop after passing the room that Akihana was in, and as they slide past the door Arata shouts out "MOMMY LOOK FEN-KUN IS A HORSEY" and Fen would turn around and set Arata down, fen was slightly panting as he peaked around the corner, hopping that Akihana did not see any of the acrobatics he did with Arata on his back, but rather she did or not, here was Arata running into the room to see his mommy and telling her the WHOLE story and Fen would just slap his forehead with the palm of his hand and wait to hear yet another reeming

Akihana was down to her last patient, an arthritic old lady who, despite her own bent fingers and creaky joints, was advising the blond eon the benefits of a new husband when what resembled nothing short of a whirlwind flew past the emergency room. The medic steeled herself for the inevitable clash that usually followed such commotions and upon not hearing it, only had time to conclude it was a ninja before the duo causing said commotion was at the door, Arata climbing off Fenn's back with the biggest grin ever plastered on his face.

"MOMMY LOOK FEN-KUN IS A HORSEY"

"Is he now?" the Kunoichi questioned, raising a golden eyebrow at her teammate who was obviously out of breath, it wasn't hard to see why and just in case there was any doubt, Arata began recounting everything as Akihana bent down to hug and kiss him in greeting. Picking the chattering boy up and settling him on her table, she smiled and let Fenn catch his breathe, wrapping up the old lady's session in the process. When her patient had left with a meaningful look tossed Akihana's way, the blonde turned to her son, assessing him for any damage. She trusted Fenn fully and knew he would never hurt Arata but little boys had ways of getting hurt that was both mysterious and inevitable. Once she had looked over her son, she turned to Fenn.

"You know I wouldn't have killed you if you'd arrived a few minutes later, Fenn-kun," she joked, going over to the redhead, her palms already glowing green with healing chakra. "Here, let me check to see if you tore a muscle or something." Carefully, the golden eyed chunin ran her hands over Fen's limbs, keeping her palm about two inches from his flesh to let the chakra radiate and assess any damage.

"Your heart rate's a little accelerated and your breathing's heavy, your blood flow is stronger though I advice raising you hemoglobin levels," she recited, focusing on him. "But otherwise you didn't hurt anything. Regardless, we're walking at a normal pace from her eon," she laughed, letting him know she wasn't angry about any of it.

"Mommy, where are we going today?" Arata asked from his eat on erh desk, his chubby little legs swinging back and forth a good six inched above the ground.

"We're going to be playing with animals today," Akihana explained, looking over at Fenn. "You know how some ninja can call animals for help. Well, Fenn-kun is going to teach Mommy how to do that today," the blonde explained and no sooner was she done than Arata was scrambling off the desk to reach them.

"Really, can I see, please Fenn-niisan, please. I promise I'll be really quiet and not scare the animals. Can we summon a wolf?"

Fen was relived not to get yelled at, and he would explain to Aki about why he was late, and then the yelling he received from Arata's Sensei, all the while she was scanning him with her jutsu, then as she went on to talk about the animals, he would smile softly, and as Arata asked about summoning a Wolf, Fen would put his hands up "Whoa hold on a moment, wolves can be very Dangerous Arata, and I do not want you or your mommy put in that kind of danger, how about we will start with something small, yet easy to catch, how about a cat, we will catch one of them, use a Jutsu called Mark, let it free and chase it off, then have your Mommy Summon it back, how does that sound?" Fen would smile as he watched for little Arata's reaction to the counter proposal, after all, never know when a wolf will turn into a mysterious man you never met before who gives you a valid paper stating you ranked up to Chuunin, and Akihana hurt herself to just pull that off, Fen would not forgive himself for letting that happen to her, he would shake the thoughts and memories out of his head as he would continue to smile and await for the little one to answer, mean while, his eyes would cut up to Akihana to see if she liked the idea as well, or if a new one would have to be made

Arata's face seemed to drop for a moment when Fenn suggested that a wolf was too dangerous. Ever since the boy's meeting with the Raikage, her son had been fascinated by the creatures no end to the point where he now slept with a stuffed wolf every night in place of his usual teddy bear. Yet when the redhead suggested marking a cat, Arata was all excited again.

"Yes, we can do that. Can I help catch the cat. I'll look for a really big one, with claws and sharp teeth and everything," the boy insisted, his love of all things dangerous quite apparent despite the worry it brought on in his mother and big brother.

"Okay sweetheart, time out," the Kunoichi intervened. "First lets get you out of here and then we'll find a cat." With that, Akihana picked him up off the ground and slung him across her body, his face tucked neatly underneath her neck as his arms went around her. So excited was he that he didn't even mind being picked up by his mother. Akihana in turned gestured for Fenn to grab her bag and they made their way out.

"Let's get two things done in one go," the golden eyed medic suggested as they walked down the street. "I'm sure this little guy is hungry. We can stop and get him a snack, and lure a kitten with a bit of milk," she suggested as they walked.

"Mommy I'm not hungry," the dark haired boy shook his head just as his tummy rumbled loudly. "Okay maybe just a little bit hungry," Arata corrected with a giggle before calling out. "Look mommy! A cat! Fenn nii-san, catch it!"

Fen would chuckle softly as Akihana picked up Arata, and fen would already be picking up her bag by the time she made the gesture, and walking behind Akihana, and when Arata went nuts about the cat, fen would chuckle softly once more and shook his head "Not yet Arata, we must be patient and we need the lure before we attempt to catch the beast, just as your mommy acted as a lure so that I could suprise the beast from underground" Fen would tell Arata the story about capturing the wolf, and how they got the next rank on Shinobi, meanwhile, as he kept Arata's attention, it allowed them to pass by the cat to the market, and Fen would place some ryo down on the stall and asked for two things of milk, and as they were put up on the stall, fen would grab, then leave the little bit extra ryo for the man to pocket, he would look to Akihana "Alright now we have the milk, lets go find a place to get a cat" He thought back to the cat they just past by, and Fen's experience with animals as of late, nothing was as they seemed, He would wait and follow Akihana's intuition about this though, this seemed to be the best way for them to work best together

Fenn really was good with her son, Akihana noted, golden eyes softly lit as she watched the exchange between the two. He knew both how to get Arata excited about mundane tasks as well as calm him down when the child was too excited. As it was, Arata was good as gold listening to the story Fenn wove about their chunin promotion, gasping when he heard the wolf had been Raikage-sama all along. As Fenn paid the Ryo for some milk, Akihana asked about his wife who had been under the weather. The kunoichi had always operated on a social level and her concern coupled with the few extra Ryo Fenn left him ensured they would always be welcomed back warmly at the stall. Most ninja collected jutsu, the Akari on the other hand collected favors, those came more in handy than cash in her experience.

When the redhead asked where they should go to get a cat, the blonde was quick to reply. "The animal shelter. There are plenty of newborn kittens there and they'd make for good summons if they're raised into them." The three changed directions, heading to the Kumo Animal shelter with Arata chattering away about what kinds of animals they'd pick. "Can we keep them with us mommy? They can sleep in my bed, there's room in there, really."

"We'll see honey, now go pick out a kitten," Akihana suggested when they reached the building, hoisting Arata down as he ran ahead. Laughing at Fenn, the medic took her bag from him and extracted a hair scrunchy, piling her golden locks into a messy ponytail to keep them off her face while she practiced. "I swear, he enjoys scaring me. He seems to have an affinity for every dangerous thing in the world," she confessed, shaking her head.

They had barely stepped into the building when Arata's voice rang through the room. "I found him! Mommy! Fenn Nii-san! Come quick!"

Fen Listned to Aki talk to the milk man about his wife,and he waited for her to finish, and he asked the question about the place for a cat, and then aki responded with the animal shelter, fen though to himself, dummy why did you not think of that? anyways as they changed directions, he heard Arata talk about all kinds of animals, and it seemed one was more dangerous then the last, this boy had a taste for danger, and Fen guess it was his fathers doing more so then Aki's, when they arriaved at the building, and Aki sent off the kid Arata to go find a cat for the training, he heard Aki's comment about Arata loving dangerous things, fen nodded and followed Arata inside, and then the boy bolted away from Fen, and as Fen was finding him, Arata was shouting for him and Aki to come over where he was, Fen's eyes went big as Arata was pointing out a Tiger cub and he shook his head "Arata buddy, we have to find a kitten, small one buddy, this one is a bit big" and Fen would quickly try to usher Arata back to his mom and away from the tiger, and then return to hunt for a House Cat

The tiger cub happily purring in her five year old's arm nearly gave Akihana a heart attack. Every ounce of common knowledge told her that it was a cub and Arata was holding it properly, and that if the little tiger had at any point felt threatened, it would have sunk its tiny canines in Arata's soft flesh. Yes, all logic dictated that her son was safe but the maternal instinct that saw her son all but hugging a tiger cub went into overdrive, almost making her shriek. Luckily Fenn was faster, faster than her in getting the cub off the boy.

"Arata buddy, we have to find a kitten, small one buddy, this one is a bit big"

The boy's face fell as if he'd been denied a Christmas treat, only to break into a smile as they reached a few cages down to find a big old tabby cat with a scratched out eye and various other scratches on its body. It's black tail was nothing more than a stub, leading Akihana to think it had either been cut of by some cruel person or lost in a fight.

"I like this one," Arata declared. "It looks like a Shinobi cat, like it can fight."

The blonde looked over at Fenn and shrugged. They had said no to the tiger cub, they had to agree to this one. "Alright sweetie, this one it is," the medic agreed, crouching down to open the cage and carefully extend her hand towards the cat. "Fenn, place the milk here, it will help in getting this guy to trust us."

Waiting for Fenn to comply, she watched the cat hissing at them, its one eye glaring as it slowly neared the milk, taking a first suspicious sip before lapping at the white liquid in earnest. "Alright let me just heal it a little," the kunoichi warned, hands at the ready and glowing green with medical chakra.

"Whoa," Arata gasped as the scars began to fade from the feline's furry body. "Mommy, how'd you do that?"

Fen would hand Akihana the milk as to do her thing and he watched her do her magic, healing the poor tabby, he handed the second thing of milk to Arata, letting the boy have his own drink while they handled the Tabby, fen bent down next to Akihana, and began to speak in a soft tone to her, as not to startle the cat "Alright now when you touch the cat, imagine putting the slightest amount of chakra into it, and imagine the shape of the mark you wish to leave, it will disappear to the naked eye, but people who mastered Seal style jutsu's will be able to see it" Fen was going to start walking Akihana down the path of summoning and Marking, as so she can either save someone, or pull someone into a trap, these two were quickly developing into a powerful team up, very soon, it would be scary to face down these two