Be the Cloud

The village was certainly not as business as usual as the young Genin thought or hoped.  Indeed, he found himself increasing frustrated at what was going on.  He seemed to be out of the loop, even his elders in his clan knew more than they would divulge. Under normal circumstances, Arashi would have been paried with two other genins, another boy and a girl, and their three man team would be led by a sensei.  That was the order of things.

But the young man had been a genin for a bit now, having graduated from the academy, and he was currently without teammates, and without a sensei.  Whily many young ninjas would love to relish in the idea of becoming great on their own, for Arashi that was unacceptable.  His clan was all about growth and tradition, and one of the important parts was that there were shinobi outside the clan.  Therefore, in order for Arashi to learn the wind nature he needed for Cloud release, he was required to go outside the clan.

Normally, this meant going to his sensei and either learning from him, or from someone who had that kind of elemental chakra already.  But without a sensei, there was only one option left in these difficult time.  He only hoped he wouldn't be overstepping his bounds.

Arashi went to the office of the Raikage himself, the mighty shinobi of the Cloud, and instead of finding a closed door, the door was open.  Arashi went to the doorway and bowed immediately, his eyes not looking up at the Raikage. 

"Sorry to disturb you, sir.. but I need help in my training, and I was hoping you can point me in the right direction." he said, being upfront immediately.

Five days and counting and life still carried on. A small miracle in itself and one that had seemed unfair in the aftermath of the battle. After all, why would life still carry on with Echo gone, and yet now as the kunoichi saw the clean up after the rebuilding, the new monument to the invincible sage to completion, her own son working alongside his fellow chunin tirelessly to ensure the last of the attack no longer marred the surface of their village, it was exactly this ability that Akihana had to praise. It may not help her own personal feelings towards her loss but it was good to see that Kumo was build to last.

And she ahd to do ehr own part.

It had became evident that hospitals needed a better transportation system for patients than run of the mill ambulances or EMTs equipped with space time jutsu that allowed them to portlet patients directly to the hospital. What they needed were fuin scrolls to keep hurt patients safe and in statis until they could be taken to a place of recovery en masse. And that was the first thing she had placed an order for - modelling after the fuin sealing scrolls that housed a certain unconscious ninja on her own person - and one that the Raikage had seen personally to the creation of. It was the sorting and allocation of these scrolls which Akihana was working through when she felt an unfamiliar chakra signature enter the office. Before she could introduce herself however, the boy had already sunk into a bow, likely without even looking at her first.

"Well, hello there," the blonde replied politely, waiting for him to straighten up and hoping he wasn't too jarred by her appearance. "Its nice to meet you, though I'm afraid I'm not the Raikage, as I'm sure you can tell." The kunoichi waited a beat to let that sink in before getting up from behind her desk, revealing her slender frame encased in her usual office attire. A plain black skirt under a white blouse tucked neatly in, her blonde hair styled into a hasty chignon and held together by three dimly glittering flower shaped hair pins. Her usual small and sensible black heels completed the look.

"I'm Akihana, his secretary," the kunoichi introduced herself as always, gesturing to a jar of chocolate chip cookies she had only just had the time to bake last night a she fraught off sleep. Sleep led to nightmares and those led to Arata waking up wanting to know what was wrong with his mommy. So naturally sleep was on hold for the moment. "Would you like a cookie while we figure out how I can help you?" she asked, her golden eyes appraising the boy lightly.

There was one thing that the Tekiatsus had pushed, and pushed, and pushed.  The clan held the Raikage of the village on a pedestal of respect and power.  Afterall, the clan personally swore loyalty to the Raikage of the time for bringing the survivors in and making them part of the Cloud Village.  Arashi was never told what the proper procedure, but he was told who the Raikage of the village currently was, since members of his family were high ranking shinobi.

So it was his surprise when he looked up and saw a woman sitting there, and introducing herself as not the Raikage, but as his assistant.  Arashi nervously apologized, and bit his bottom lip.

"S-s-sorry Akihana-san.  I should have knocked first.. or looked." he said, standing up.  It was still unnerving, being around shinobi that he could never hope to best for a long while.  Even as a secretary, Akari was not exactly an unknown ninja.  Arashi didn't exactly expect to run into her, but still, he wouldn't just run off like some child.

"No thank you, I'm fine.  I just... I was never assigned a team, and I can't learn my clan's techniques until I fully prepare myself, and that requires learning from a sensei.  In my case, I need to learn how to use Wind chakra to merge with the water I was born with.  I know you and the Raikage-sama have a lot to do, but I was wondering if there was anything I can do for the village, and whether you can help me get the training I need to be a proper shinobi of the cloud." he said, standing up as stiff as he could and bowing his head only, though it was clear that he was shaking a little.  God this was much harder than he expected it to be.

A small frown of worry crossed the blonde's features at the way this boy spoke, standing still as if expecting harsh retributions for merely speaking up. Akihana wasn't unaware of how traditionalist clan upbringing could be, hers hadn't been any easier. It did however make her feel for the poor genin.

"You must be Arashi-kun," she said in a light tone that induced comfort more than fear, her easy manner encouraging him to relax. "I was going through all the genin files to see who needed to be posted where for the final village cleanup." She explained further, divulging how she knew his name and simultaneously making sure he didn't feel bad about introducing himself first. "Please take a seat, and are you sure you wouldn't like a cookie? I made them fresh?" she repeated the offer kindly, taking the jar and placing it on her desk.

While waiting for him to accept, the blonde fingered through some of the genin files on her desk, singling out his and flicking it open briefly to reread the details of the young man below her. "Ah, there we are. You're a genin who already possess the wind element. You'll be looking for water next to complete the process for your bloodline limit, correct?" Her golden eyes scanned the document briefly before placing it back on her desk.

"I can recommend a three man cell fro you, and give you the name of a sensei who can help you with your next element and element related jutsu. But I'm afraid you'll have to work with them when it coems to scheduling training and missions. Have you completed any solo missions since making genin?" The Kunoichi stated all this politely, her tone soft and nonthreatening. It was never right to intimidate in Akihana's experience and this was no different. in fact the boy would likely do better if he was relaxed.

Arashi started to relax as the woman before him started talking about him and his file.  It was a relief to know that he wasn't an unknown ninja.  In fact, Arashi even turned his lip up as he nodded and took a cookie before sitting down.  It was certainly sweet, and Arashi tried his best to not act like a child and stuff his face.  No, she offered one and he would take one.  He was, afterall, trying to be an adult.

As she was looking through his file, he listened, though he did note one error.  He waited for her to finish reading what was written before saying anything, out of respect.

"Its actually the other way around.  I was born with water, I need to learn wind." he said, a little stronger this time than the his nervousness earlier.  It was curious though, how she understood what he was asking, and wondered how well the leaders knew of his clan's speciality.

Her question on the mission struck him like a punch.  He had been so involved with his training and his clan that he never considered looking for a solo mission or to start work as a genin.  His clan was more involved with the clean-up effort, and even his parents said that they felt he needed to strengthen his chakra and stamina before he started work.  It was all so that when he was sent away, he could survive on his own without and finally with, his bloodline.

"N-no, Akihana-san.  I was kept from most of the clean-up and told to train.  I thought I couldn't do missions without being in a squad.  I didn't think there were any missions that a new genin could do.  Sorry." he said, bitting his lower lip again in a common habit.

The medic frowned slightly, picking up her pen and correcting the file as he spoke. "My apologies, Arashi-kun. As I'm sure you know, things have been really... well, lets just say we've had to prioritize." All the funerals and body count had to come first, then the families of the diseased, then clean ups. Still it was rare for Akihana to have an error in her files and the kunoichi resolved to work harder to maintain the paperwork.

"As for the missions, there are certain ones you can do on your own. And I encourage you do them solo just so you can earn a little money too. That should help you get started with accommodations and purchasing anything from the ninja shop if you like." The blonde picked out two more files from the pile on her desk, this time going over them with a little more detail, gesturing ofr him to have another cookie while he waited.

"Okay, i think i can recommend a squad for you. There is another genin, Koga Kitto who is without a team. You will likely both benefit from each other's company. And as for a third, I would suggest you boys find one Fenris Akari. He possesses a rather interesting bloodline limit so you both can relate on that and perhaps even come up with a combination technique."

Once the kunoichi had finished speaking she evaluated the boy in front of her once again, making sure to keep her expression kind and reassuring. "I would wait a bit to get to a sensei. Get to know your team first, do some solo mission and then some with your team. You'll be surprised at what you can learn from each other. After that, we will place you with a sensei." Most jounin and upper level ninja were occupied tracking the Akatsuki's movements or helping out with village security and restructuring. Others were simply away on missions. But the kunoichi didn't want to dishearten him. If no one was available, she might take the group on herself.

"Do you have any more questions, or would you still like to see the Raikage himself?" she asked, taking her seat behind the desk once more.

Arashi dropped a frown for a moment.  He didn't like to think about it, but there were some people he knew who he lost.  he started referring to his family as simply his family to avoid thinking about those who were around and those who weren't.  It was easier, since you could just say family and include as many or as little as you wished.

"I want you to know that I appreciate all the work you do for the Raikage and the village, Akihana-san." he said, standing up and bowing.  "I know my family traditionally tends to flip between the two elements, don't think too much on it.  My father was wind, and my uncle was water, so I did my water training with him."

He took this chance to glance out of the window, and even despite the state of the village, he had to admit that the Raikage, and his assistant, had the best view of the village.  If he felt himself worthy of trying, he might even consider dreaming of being the Raikage.  But that was for another time.  He got two names to look up.

"Koga Kitto and Fenris Akari?  I think I remember Koga from the academy, but I can't picture Akar-" he stopped as he thought of the name, and bit his lip.  "Is he related to you, Akihana-san?" he asked, just out of curiousity.

"That's very kind of you to say," the blonde responded when he expressed his appreciation for her job. Akihana had never really maintained much a public profile, she worked best covertly and by mingling among the masses, yet her position as the Raikage's direct secretary did single her out sometimes, well, that and the way she rushed on scene to look after as many medical emergencies as she could. Ninja work besides, her baking too was somewhat famous all over Kumo. "And you should know that no one contributes better to a shinobi village than it budding genin. You and others like you are what make Kumo's future bright. So any time you feel like you aren't enough, just know that you are the future we at the Raikage's office work towards."

As the genin stood up, going over the names and then asked if Fenris was related to her, the Kunoichi gave a slight shake of her golden head. "Not directly no, though he is of my clan. I'm unsure of his variant of our bloodline though, I guess you'll have to tell me all about it when you get to meet him," she encouraged, subtly letting him know that he was always welcome to drop by to see her if he needed to.

"I wish you the best of luck Arashi-kun. As always, if you need anything, I'll be happy to help as will the Raikage. Though if you do run into him, I advise you never bow, and always look him straight in the eye when speaking to him," she added as a precautionary method. She still remembered the blood she had to clean from the desk after Yaju had kicked Fenn in the chest for bowing to him.

While Arashi came to the office as a nervous wreck, in one conversation Akihana Akari completely blew away his uncertainty and nervousness, and as their conversation came to an end, Arashi seemed like a different kid altogether.  He smiled when she mentioned him being part of the future of the village, and an important part at that. 

"Yes, of course I will.  I'll see if I can find the two of them as soon as I can.  And I'll check the missions for something I can do.  Thank you again, Akihana-san." he said, bowing again.  That's, of course, until she mentioned the warning of the Raikage.

He always thought of the formal signs of respect, and that was to bow to the leader in a show that you were a subordinate.  So to be told that he should never bow, or at least never lost eye contact, that made him shudder.  He had a slight vision of if he bumped into the Raikage first, and bowed, and pictured himself being kicked through all the wall.  Not just some, all. 

"I'll remember that, thanks again, Akihana-san." he said, before turning and leaving.  He had some work to do, after all.  And in truth, he hoped that he would see her again.  He felt there was a lot he could learn from her.  And if anything, she was kind hearted.

(end Arashi)

The blonde watched him leave, waving at hie slightly on his way out. It was good to see the next generator upholding the enthusiasm and hard work that went into building this village. The young woman decided to subtly keep an eye on him. He sounded like his family had left him be and no child should have to go through that alone. If nothing else, Akihana could make sure he got a few decent meals in him.

[Exit Akihana]