One Weakness(Akihana)

Echo chuckles slightly at the thought "It's a hard time, my Samuru learned the Wall-walking method when he was three...." Echo says trailing off as a mock thousand yard stare flashes over his face, speaking like a interpretation of a horrified war veteran. "...I had only myself to blame..."My Rikudo...? What have I done..?" " He says before the grin returns. Echo nods in agreement, a scent has been tickling his sensitive nose for awhile, a familiar one, one that makes his feral sides hackles raise at the thought of a challenging Alpha and his civilized side grin at the thought of his acquaintance.

Echo can't help but comment when she speaks of Arata's teacher "I thought I smelled Fox.." He says with some amusement entering his tone at the thought of the grumpy Yaju Hayate training the admittedly rather well trained boy Arata, Echo can already see the potential in the boy.
He'll have to ask his Mother what the boys Elemental Affinity is, see if a few Wind Techniques can't get him some extra credit.
Echo pauses beside the Single Mother and her Son while her keys are fetched, he glances to the left as the door opens before he blinks in surprise as he's ushered in, which causes him to chuckle slightly, his eyes instinctively scan the room, locking onto any and all escape routes along with anything that can be used for cover in a combat situation...
His programming is still effective, no matter how soft he gets, he'll always have his training.

Echo looks amused at her comment and waves off her apology "Oi, none of that, you should've seen my place after Samuru and Ashie started learning Elemental Ninjutsu.." Echo says a look of stern annoyance crossing his face "Always make sure they train outside...Always, there was a hole in my wall the size of ole Nashua's head up on the monument!" It's cracked now, the Old Hokage's visage was desecrated by Echo in his rage when he found out that the Hokage attacked the village of Kumogakure and started the domino effect that lead to Konoha's destruction, Viper's election and the Fire-Sky war. He's always had anger issues, but if he could get his hands on Nashua Uchiha he'd tear him limb from limb, too bad the bastard is already dead.

Echo turns his attention to Arata as he begins speaking, his smile turning amused, then into a small smirk, to a wider one, into a grin of amusement as he begins trailing off "Shinobi need to find sleep when they can, you never know when you'll be called off on a mission, more often then naught you'll find skilled Jounin who sleep walk while keeping alert so they can continue towards there mission." Echo comments idly, it's the same thing he said to Samuru in order to get him to take his naps...And it's not an untrue statement, he can do something similar, though it required some special conditioning...Painful conditioning..

The blonde let out a small peal of genuine laughter as he recalled his own young charges with a air of someone living the great Shinobi war. Few people understood that parenting was a lot like battle but tougher because your happiness depended on the person you were trying to subdue. Finding that happy balance was all every parent could ever want.

When Echo mentioned smelling a fox, the kunoichi's eyebrows rose in surprise. While her own chaklra sensory was refined at this stage, her psychical senses were nowhere near as astute. If this man could tell just by sniffing at Arata that the boy spent time around Yaju, he must be one outstanding tracker. "Yaju-sama has been very kind to both of us," she admitted, reaching to clear up the coloring book and putting the crayons back in their box. "He offered to teach Arata and take him under his wing, and he helped us get back on our feet by offering me a job. Before that I used to work at the bar and live off tips." All this was said with utter simplicity. Akihana had never been ashamed of her past and now she looked back at it with fondness. It had made her into a stronger person, it had made her realize that she could survive even in tough times.

As the raven haired shinobi advised her son to get sleep whenever he could, the child replied with another yawn, forming the words "Okay" around it silently and then holding out his arms for Akihana. The little boy knew the routine, he was too old to be carried around unless he was sleepy, then his mommy could carry him and put him to bed.

"Alright champ, let's go," the blonde encouraged, taking him into her arms and smiling as his head instinctively nestled under her chin. "Let's get you to bed now," she added before gesturing for Echo to please take a seat.

Having tucked the boy into his bed, Akihana exited the room, reaching for a hair scrunch on a shelf nearby and unconsciously taming her losoe braid and wisps of blonde tendrils into a loose bun at the base of her neck.

"I think he's going to be out for a while," she notes, moving towards the kitchen. "He usually helps with the baking but his MO is more licking the spoon." Another soft peal of laughter forms on her lips at the admission of her son's antics.

The Kunoichi's eyebrows raise and he winks playfully, his sense of smell is a side effect of the Wolf Clans training while he was in the Jagged Wolf Canyon, they locked him in a series of tunnels, blindfolded and instructed him to follow there scent back home. It took him two months for his sense of smell to adjust, the training he undertook to become a Sage was the harshest training he's ever undertook. Mentally and Physically driving himself to a limit, instincts driving him to survive.

Echo nods in acceptance of her explanation "Yaju's a bit of a grump, but he's good people and a skilled teacher." Echo says with a nod "Trained and picked by the Raikage before him, another one of my kids as it were." Echo reveals calmly, the previous Raikage, Misaki is his niece, he hasn't seen her in awhile, but she's strong for someone so young. She can handle anything that may step into her path...But god help her if she's still on that stupid diet! She's still young enough for him to paddle her hide!

Echo himself lived on the streets for most of his youth, he's not the type to judge someone for what they did to keep themselves fed, he's stolen, lied, cheated and when entering his Shinobi career..He's killed for his living. No, Shinobi have no right to judge anyone.
Honor and Duty is a saying in Bushido. Nindo? Just Duty. There is no honor to be found in what a Shinobi does, it's a fact of life...Medical Shinobi are the purest of us, even they however...Must do what's best for there Village sometimes.
Echo nods in approval of the boy taking his advice, he holds his arms out and out of reflex he begins stepping forward before he pauses and shakes his head sheepishly as Akihana steps past him and gathers her son.

She gestures for him to take a seat as he leans his hip against the couch, he blinks once with a raised eyebrow...His eyes trail towards the sink as she enters the room.
When she exits, her ears would be met with the sound of running water and slight clinking, if she ventures forth, Echo could be seen washing the dishes, on his third plate, adding a bit of soap which he scrubs in removing any residue with the cleaning utensil he's found before rinsing the plate clean and setting it aside, he turns his attention towards the silver-ware when she re-enters and he looks at her over his shoulder, an amused smile on his face. "If you don't got dibs on the spoon, then I can fill that position." He says with a grin a quick application of wind chakra drying some of the plates he's just washed.

Akihana hadn't paid much attention to the clinking sounds of cutlery as she had been tucking her son into bed but as she walked out to the sight of the friendly stranger actually doing her dishes, something between a smile and a blush graced her pale cheeks. "You really didn't have to do that," she mumbled, averting her gaze from his and wondering if he thought her a complete slob. "I was just getting to those." Aside from the obvious, the only person other than her who had ever washed dishes in the tiny kitchen was Fenn, and the teenager didn't count as he was practically Arata's big brother. Fresh golden light shimmered in the kunoichi's yes at the idea of the nice shinobi doing something to help someone he'd just met. It was time likes these that the blonde felt her approach to the world wasn't completely wrong.

"Oh, you have wind natured chakra?" she exclaimed as he dried the dishes, laughing slightly in embarrassment a moment later. "I'm... well, not just a secretary as you would probably have guessed," she admitted hesitantly, gesturing to the framed picture of her and her medical unit at the hospital. The admission was secure now since he himself had confessed to knowing both Yaju and Misaki. It was odd she hadn't run into him before seeing as he knew the people she knew so well.

"Apparently I have that affinity too," she explained as she moved into the small kitchen, reaching for the apron hanging from a hook beside the pot and pans. Long slender fingers tied the apron in place in a smooth motion and the same fingers moved to clear the kitchen counter before sprinkling a little bit of flour on the surface.

"I don't know," she giggled slightly at his request to be the spoon licker. "It might be the hardest mission you'll ever undertake, triple S rank at least. Not for the faint of heart at all," she joked lightly, putting out bowls and ingredients that would be required for the cake pops.

Echo arches an eyebrow as he finishes the dishes drying his hands with the same basic channeling technique he used before, a simple E-rank technique, barely considered a Ninjutsu at all really..Only useful as a chakra control exercise and for a task such as this.
He chuckles softly as she speaks "Now, now, I've gotta make sure I'm not intruding don't I? Let's just tack this one along with helping with the baking." He states on a jovial manner, the boom-box he's so proud of being placed on the counter, he walks over, turns the music low as to not disturb the young boys rest and flicks it on as she speaks.



Echo nods as he helps her gather the mixture needed for the batter, his nose is the explanation for why he knows where they are, his sense of smell is one of his less explosive but very useful abilities, almost nothing can escape his nose. "I'm a bit renowned for my wind affinity" He admits, his eyebrow raising at that interesting piece of information "It's useful, don't you think?" Echo asks with a bit of a grin heard in his voice as the music picks up a bit.
His clothes are already a bit messy, so theirs no need for him to have any covering at this time, her comment causes him to straighten out of reflex, he saves a moment later with a joking "Yes, Kamadokage-sama!" he exclaims before he grins and opens the refrigerator to search for the milk to hide the slightly nervous exhale he lets out, well...Now he knows how deeply ingrained THAT particular reflex is.

"It's useful, don't you think?"

"I... haven't actually managed to unlock it yet," the blonde admitted honestly as he went around the kitchen gathering things in the manner of someone not only familiar with the apartment and her stocking style but also someone who knew their way around cooking and baking in general. She wondered what other surprises the shinobi had in store as he picked up the milk too. According to him, he was famous for his wind affinity and yet Akihana had never heard his name before, not even working as close to the current Raikage as she did.

Maybe she was the stupid one here? The kunoichi made a mental note to research her easy going visitor when she had a spare minute to do so. She doubted he was dangerous to her. She had enough sense to know if he wanted to harm her or Arata, they'd be harmed by now. But a little background knowledge never hurt.

It's my third elemental affinity so I'm find it really difficult," she elaborated, pouring the flour, butter, milk, salt and sugar into the mixing bowl to first make the base cake that would be crushed later into cake pops. Using the wooden spoon, Akihana mixed the batter, lightly at first before making more firm strokes with the wooden utensils. A mixer might have made things go faster but the blonde believed the taste was better if hard work went into the baking process.

"I love that song, by the way," she admitted over the slow hum of the radio in the background, her body automatically swaying to the gentle movements as she poured her mixture into the cake tray. "I used to listen to it a lot when I was expecting, motivational music so to speak, it helped make a sad situation better." The male beside her didn't need to know how scared and alone she had been at sixteen and on the cusp of motherhood, but he might appreciate her fondness for the song. "It also explains why my son was born with a fondness for the Beatles that cannot be otherwise explained."

Finished with pouring the mixture, she diligently handed the wooden spoon to Echo. "Do your best," she laughed, moving to the oven and inserting the mixture. "And I may not be very good with wind but I can do this," she added cheerily, opening her palm in front of the oven the slightest bit, letting the heat radiate from it at just the right temperature towards the cake tin inside. Thai was one of the many ways the kunoichi had learned to refine and control her chakra usage while managing a house and looking after a child. Her blinding ball jutsu became Arata's nightlight, her lightning chakra become an instrumental ingredient in grilled anything and her fire nature of course was imperative when it came to simple household tasks like accelerated baking or blow drying her hair.

He glances back with an eyebrow raised in curiosity "I see, would you like some help sometime? I'm staying at the Jade Dragon up the road from the shopping district, I mostly just do nothing all day so it'd be good to help out some people while I'm here." He says with a small grin, background knowledge, research of Kumogakure's official records will reveal nothing besides a book...
A single book with the Shinobi's face on the cover Echo's Ninja Handbook, it's a vulgar joke-book, with some actual snippets of wisdom in it, but is more for humor, playing up his ego and methods for when dealing with political disputes...Some people don't realize that was simply a persona to make people believe he was a fool with the ego the size of the Yonbi's backside.

Echo walks to lean against the counter beside her, his eyes shifting from the mixing process to the Kunoichi, learning from simply watching her, one of the things that couldn't be stripped of his genetics was the ability to be a great Shinobi and learning things very quickly...
Uchiha are just hard-wired to be Shinobi, even if they don't wanna be Shinobi...Even one particularly unliked Uchiha can rise up from arguing for his right not to be entered into the academy, barely graduate, go through his village being destroyed and rise up in the ranks and become the Best Shinobi in the World.

His hip is pressed against the edge of the counter, as he watches her, his left elbow and hand palmed gently to the counter, his fingers rhythmically tapping in tune with the piano..Music, he's loved music since his childhood, playing all sorts of instruments when he was younger as one of his bigger comforts in his household...
He's lost a lot of his musical talent, fingers calloused from guitar strings are now calloused from blades and strikes meant to end lives, he's got no guilt, he had no hesitation, what he did he did for his villages safety...He'll keep doing it.

Like it or not, he's a Shinobi, he took a vow...He'll honor that vow.
Echo's thoughts are broken by a statement from the Kunoichi, his onyx eyes looking to her curiously as she speaks, he smiles as he watches her body sway to the music subtly, the smile turns sombre at the story, but happiness still fills his eyes as he comments "Might just be that Arata knows what good music sounds like." He says his expression shifting into a grin.
He blinks in surprise as a spoon is presented, he blinks once more at her comment before realization hits and he grins, his right hand grasps the spoon lightly while his free hand salutes "Yes Ma'am!" he replies diligently before he begins his mission with a small smirk of amusement on his face as his tongue cleans the batter from the spoon.

He watches curiously as Akihana begins channeling chakra, he allows a brief sound of approval escape him at the sight of the technique used, before he pauses and a small purr escapes him at the taste of the batter as he swallows the mixture "Mnm!" He comments with a thumbs up towards the cook. Fire has always been his weak point, all he can produce is a spark..luckily his wind affinity is so strong he can use it to strengthen the flames into a manageable form...
He's only recently been capable of doing so however.

As he offered to help her with her training, the blonde shook her head, the politeness and courteous behavior ingrained in her automatically rejecting the diea of imposing on someone's time and company for personal gain. "That won't be necessary at all, and I wouldn't want to intrude on your business in Cloud." The medic didn't say this inquiringly, no undertones of a question present in the statement. She didn't need to know why he was here or what he was up to while staying in Kumo. This was simply to let him know that he didn't have to feel her owed her anything in exchange for today's encounter. "Besides, I'm sure I'll learn it eventually," she added optimistically.

"Might just be that Arata knows what good music sounds like."

"He sure does," the ANBU operative grinned, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of gold behind an ear and unknowing leaving a small white flour patch on her cheekbone from the hand she had just dusted off on her apron. "All the classics and then some. And then he grew old enough to enjoy cartoons," she continued with a soft smile. "I'm afraid now I only only get to listen to the theme songs of whatever cartoon he's watching." Once upon a time, Akihana used to dance. It wasn't just the part of kunoichi training that every Akari girl had to go through, she genuinely enjoyed dancing, mixing up the traditional movements with the more western influences. As a teenager, she and her sister had sometimes snuck into the empty basements to try out a spot of salsa but that was so long ago, Akihana doubted she even remembered any of the steps now.

The young woman watched in amusement as he licked the spoon, enjoying the taste of the batter. It wasn't very much unlike Arata but for some reason, his actions caused a smattering of pink to grace her cheeks, a fact the kunoichi tried to hide as she ducked her head down to see to the softly rising cake under the jutsu. A minute later, the cake was done and she was carefully removing it from the oven.

"I'm not sure if you've ever made cake pops before, but here comes the fun part," she informed him, golden eyes dancing at the task ahead. Taking a knife, Akihana cut the cake in four equal squares, picking two of them up and rubbing them against each other to make them into crumbs over a large mixing bowl.

"Here, follow my lead," she encouraged, pointing to the remaining two squares of cake. "Just rub them against each other until they crumble into the bowl. So in the end we have a bowl, full of cake crumbs."

Echo shrugs his shoulders at her statement "It wouldn't be any trouble." He adds in with a smile as he watches her bake the cake manually "This is basically a vacation if anything." He says with a small chuckle, his gaze raises as she speaks of learning it eventually. He hums in thought at this but nods, he'll just 'intrude' later on and happen to show her a jutsu while his own training is taking place, very precisely shouting out random tips for 'himself' while he does so while accidentally watching the placement and flow of her hands and chakra respectively to help her with her training....completely by coincidence of course..!

Echo grins at the statement by the Blonde Kunoichi, then he laughs softly when she follows up with young Arata's love of cartoons, Samuru preferred comic books, he couldn't sit still long enough for cartoons, but he could pick up and read a comic book whenever he wanted too...
He just wish he could find whatever bastard let him read those Doujinshi...!!! He'd tear them in half! It's there fault his Nephew has the mouth he does! No amount of soap will deter a stubborn Jinchuuriki! And he could care less about decorum...Tch, well, Viper will attempt to do something about it and fail spectacularly...Unless drastic action is taken place...
Which will make Samuru into a robot just like Viper, barely any compassion, a God complex and a superiority complex bigger then his own Ego...

Echo's gaze catches the smearing of flower on her cheekbone as he finishes cleaning the spoon and swallows, his tongue peaking out to gather the remains on his lips, the Kunoichi looks down and he blinks once "Yeah, some of those are ear worms..." He says with a bit of an amused grin.
Echo watches the cake bake and his sense of smell has his stomach making another muffled noise from the scents that are enhanced by his sensitive nose.
Echo shakes his head sheepishly as she wonders if he's ever made cake-pops before, he hasn't, he's basically only made these simple cupcakes the times he has baked.

He watches curiously as she begins slicing the cake, causing him to tilt his head slightly, before his eyebrow raises inquisitively as she begins making them into crumbs, well that's new..
Echo nods once "On it" he replies cheerfully, a small smile appearing on his roguish features and joins her over the bowl, watching how she does it and listening to her explanation, mimicking her motion to the best of his abilities. "Heh, so, how does the rest of this work..?" He asks curiously, he's not sure how to continue from here...He's never even seen something like this before, so he's not sure how they work.

"Heh, so, how does the rest of this work..?"

"Well, it gets a little messy from here on," she admitted as they crumbed the cake side by side, filling the mixing bowl with the now destroyed pastry. Dusting her hands off the remaining crumbs once more, Akihana reached for a can of frosting from the ingredients lined up neatly on the counter.

"Here, why don't you slowly add frosting to the mixture while I knead?" the blonde suggested, gesturing for him to grab a fresh spoon. The technique was not to put in all the frosting at once but let it in gently. Her slim fingers disappeared underneath the crumbs, waiting for him to add a spoonful of white frosting before she began to knead it into the crumbs with sure, practiced movements. Akihana had enjoyed baking ever since she had started it and it could be seen clearly from her expression that the simple activity brought her joy. Fingers clumping and kneading the sticky mixture into a huge roll as Echo added more frosting, she waited until the can was empty before patting the giant cake ball once last time.

"It looks weird now but here's where we can refine it," she explained, picking off a small chunk of the cake dough and rolling it between her palms to form a small ball. Holding the ball up for him to examine between her thumb and forefinger, she continued. "Its like making meatballs, but instead of meat, we're using cake. So shall we see how many we can make?" The suggestion was made with another grin accompanied by a delighted sheen in her soft golden eyes. The medic usually made about three dozen or so on her weekly baking experiments. Some went to school with Arata for his friends but most she brought to the office, only to watch them disappear by lunch time on the very same day.

At the sound of his stomach rumbling however, the kunoichi let out a soft giggle before picking up a small cake ball between her fingers. 'And then sometimes we cheat," she said with a grin, extending the small cake pop to him. "Here, try it, even though its not completely done yet, we're almost there."

Once the duo had a respectable amount of cake pops on the baking tree, Aihana turned to him once more, her fingers now bearing traces of the frosting and dough she had been kneading. "At this point, they're supposed to go in the refrigerator for about forty minutes, but maybe we could utilize your wind chakra again? We'd be done a lot faster that way," she asked politely.