Questions (Yaju)

One of Arata’s earliest memories ever was of him and mommy sitting on the floor. He doesn’t remember how old he was, nor did he remember or ever understood why it had to be the floor, what he does remember is that the floor was always firm beneath him as mommy sat opposite, counting out bills in her hands and distributing them equally into six different envelopes that lay between the pair. She had told him it was a game, counting out all those bills and making sure a certain amount entered each envelope and he had believed her because sometimes she won and sometimes she lost. Arata knew you won and lost in games, and he knew mommy lost on days when she looked sad that one of the envelopes had lesser money than usual. They played the same game at the end of every week and as he grew older, he started to understand the game better. For one thing, the bills did not go in at random, all those envelopes were labeled with things like “rent” and “bills” and “groceries” and it was mommy’s job to make sure all those envelopes had enough money in them or something bad would happen.

And still, sometimes she won and other times she lost.

There were other games too, games where she pointed to a certain section of the store and said today they would only shop from that part. Games where she took in boxes of cool, old fashioned clothing from neighbors and friends and then wore them probably to make the neighbors feel better, games where they competed to see who could eat the fastest. Mommy always lost that one and Arata ended up finishing the whole plate of rice before she had even managed two bites. Arata always supposed girls weren't good at games like that.

All those games had stopped though when she first started working for Yaju-sensei. Of course, he wasn’t Yaju-sensei then; he was just Raikage-sama. Adults could never make up their mind like that. Just like his mommy who said she was a ninja or a medic or a secretary or just his mommy. Most adults had these problems, Arata had learned in his short years on this earth. But they were still cool regardless, even if they couldn’t make up their mind and made some silly decisions that made absolutely no sense. He had never asked his mother why the games had stopped, but she had been happy and that had been enough. For as long as he could remember, she had always tried to make him laugh – by pulling funny faces, by doing weird voices at bedtime stories, by telling really, really lame jokes – and only now was he starting to wonder who was responsible for making mommy laugh. Was it somehow his job because he was now almost all grown up?

He thought mommy had been doing okay, he thought things were normal, but these last few days she looked a lot like she had lost. Arata didn't understand why she looked like that. They hadn’t played a game recently so how could she have lost something? But then again, maybe she hadn’t played with him. Still, mommy told him everything so she would tell him why she was sad these last few days. Everyone seemed to be sad in fact, and it puzzled Arata more than anything else. Yaju-sensei seemed sad, mommy seemed sad, some of his friends at the academy hadn’t come to school because they were attending a “Funnel-rel” for their family members and Arata was determined to find out what all this meant.

So with that in mind, the boy trekked deeper into the mountains where Yaju-sensei lives, Lilia faithfully by his side. He knew he had done bad. Mommy wouldn't have liked him travelling all alone, she had been especially weird after the recent storm that had made all the buildings collapse in the village. But he wasn't doing anything bad, he just wanted to see Yaju-sensei and maybe some of the other foxes. And he was in his teacher’s territory so it was safe enough, especially with Lilia guiding the way. The six year old made his way to the cave home of the Raikage, his chubby little legs moving him forwards with boundless energy even as his mind puzzled over what had happened to everyone.

For the first time he had been out of the office and had since then had some actual sleep in his original form since his return to the mountains from his little "journey" with the Sanbi which turned out with the two of them becoming closer in a sense. Now back at home he looked almost older and mature in a sense as he scuttled about his house, running his right hand through the long blond locks on his head and sighing," Feels weird with the whole not being in the office deal and considering all things I needed the rest right Balerion? Considering the work you put me through its amazing i can walk right now," of course being the one to talk to the dragon whether he be alone or with someone it was more about deepening the bond between the two.

There had been nothing but a simple snort from the dragon as he appeared within the space inside of his mind, the dragon laying there amongst the red themed area shaped like a cave," Of course you wouldn't have had an easier time human...," which resulted in Yaju merely laughing at this before feeling two familiar sources of chakra walking up the mountain in which he would walk towards it slowly, wearing only a pair of black training pants and his Kumo headband around his neck. After walking a bit of distance to get to the mouth of the cave he activated his byakugan seeing the small child and the fox summon in which he would smile and walk towards them until he met them closely.

Stopping in front of Arata and Lilia he would reach out to ruffle his hair before speaking," So what brings you all the way out here to the Wolf mountains, more importantly...Does your mother know about you being...," stopping for a moment he would shake his head and motion for the boy and fox to follow him," come on and we will talk inside, i am sure the cold mountains are kind of messing with you," walking forward he would make his way to his home in the mountains which many thought he simply lived in a cave. As the boy and fox walked through they would see that his home was actually built inside of the cave itself and reached down into the unknown depths of the cave where if you weren't with him you would die certainly.

After reaching his house, Yaju closed the door behind the group and sat on his couch," Want something to drink? More importantly though what would bring you up here to the mountains," he had never thought this young boy who had been taken to be his student would actually walk up here by himself...well not by himself because he had Lilia with him, but the fact that he was here raised a couple of interesting questions. However as he thought about these questions he found himself hearing the dragon chuckle," If this is how you are with kids now i would hate to see your child when it comes into this world," if he could mentally roll his eyes he would although since he couldn't he would simply settle for a retort," Ah shut up Balerion, i would be a good father...a confused and awkward one but a good one," well one couldn't say that he wasn't having fun with this.

Arata wasn't surprised that Yaju-sensei had seen them coming from a long way off. It was one of those many explicable things that just happened. the sun always came out when it was morning, mommy always smelled of freshly baked pastries and Yaju-sensei always knew everything. Just like the first question he asked was the only question Arata was hesitant to answer. The boy shrugged, his small shoulders moving up and then down in an answer as old as time: an admission of guilt without using any words. But the Raikage would understand, the little ninja reasoned.

"Well, she wasn't home," the dark haired boy spoke, taking in his teacher's altered appearance. Anyone else might have been fooled with the young man's blonde hair but Arata knew how to sense signatures and this was definitely his kage and teacher, and his friend. "And if I get back before she gets home..." he trialed off, not finishing the sentence in favor of following Yaju into his mountain home. Arata had seen the home once before when he had first met Lilia when his mommy had made the summon contract and he had always thought the place was pretty cool. It was even cooler because mommy had told him Yaju-sensei had made it all himself. Arata didn't know how to make caves into homes but he hoped he would some day.

When the kage ushered him in and led him to the sitting room, the boy climbed up on the couch, a grin on his face at the offer of a drink. "Do you have strawberry milk?" he asked, his bright eyes dancing as they took in his teacher. "I like it but not because of the pink, pink of for girls," he added with a scrounge of his tiny nose. "And how come you have hair like mommy now, sensei?" he added curiously., hes dark eyes scanning the golden tresses unabashedly.

When asked why he was there, Arata's gaze dropped to his tiny hands, unsure how to explain why he was here. On one hand, he really wanted to ask Yaju what was going on with everyone in the village including his mom. On the other hand though, he didn't want to seem stupid. Perhaps if he waited a little bit, some kind of idea would happen and he would just know without having to ask. He had always tried his best at everything he did and there was nothing Arata liked more than not knowing, especially now that he was nearly an adult.

"I wanted to ask... what's the matter with everyone in the village?' the boy finally asked, admitting defeat in the face of the problem. "I asked mommy and she said a big storm came to Kumo and knocked over some buildings and people... But I know that's not what happened. We live in Lightning country, no one can be that upset over a storm," he finished, raising his eyes up to his teacher. "I don't know why mommy won't tell me. Will you?"

So he had came up here without his mother knowing...Either Arata was becoming more like his teacher or he was getting more and more adventurous by the day. There was a small smile on his face as he ruffled the small childs hair and moved forward as they moved towards his home," If anything i'll just tell your mother that I came into the village to train you and brought you up here as a training lesson, that way she has way less to worry about and you won't have to get bombarded with hugs. Sound good to you?," the small chuckle that came from him meant that he was indeed on board however he wondered if Aki would take that as the excuse and not try to yell at the both of them.

As the two sat down inside of his home and he asked for the strawberry milk he stood up slowly and began to walk towards the kitchen," There is nothing wrong with liking pink think some girls would appreciate that about you," as if he would follow his own advice he chuckled and went to rummage through his very unorganized fridge, knowing he had some back in there somewhere yet where it was had been unknown to him. After a few minutes of actually looking through there he found a fresh carton of strawberry milk and sat it on the kitchen table while he had obtained a small glass for his company to drink out of. After getting the items he needed he had returned to the living room and sat down, sliding both the carton of milk and the glass to Arata," Help yourself to however much you would want, even the whole carton if you'd like. Would you like something as well Lilia?," he didn't want to be rude to one of his own family or anything so he would inquire if she had wanted something before continuing on.


As he began to ask about his hair, Yaju ran his left hand through his hair slowly training to find the correct way to explain this," Well my hair used to be this color when i was younger and instead of keeping it black, I simply let go back to its natural color. What is yellow not cool to you little wolf?," there was a small chuckle that escaped from his lips as he looked at the boy with narrowed eyes but slowly eased a bit as he leaned into the couch.

As the child finally began to get into his reasons for really coming up here, Yaju listened attentively before simply looking at him and accessing the situation. If Akihana hadn't told him yet there was a good reason for it, but could the both of them hide the situation from him at any other point? Part of him wanted to make up some fabricated lie and see if he would buy it, but that would dishonor the memory of his friend. Thinking of no other way, Yaju slowly sighed as he sat up and looked at Arata, his yellow eyes sitting on the boy as he would later wait for his reaction," Our village was infiltrated by two missing ninja and Echo had engaged the two of him. He must have had some sort of relation to them seeing the way he had went after them and...in the end he died. The village was more or less in the crossfire and some people died, but in the end...well that was the storm in a sense. Your mother wasn't lying when she said it was a storm, but if I had been a bit stronger I could have saved him...but I also had a duty to protect your mom as well. If you look at both...I kind of just let down both sides of the spectrum," stopping for a moment he took in a deep breath and leaned back into the couch.

His eyes now continued to look at the boy intensively as if he was looking for some form of reaction, though even in himself he had regretted not giving his full abilities into it. Though he had to protect one of his other ninja, there was so much he had to do even within that and the guilt of it would weigh on him, however at the same time....He was taught a lesson. As if on cue Balerion chimed in, the Dragon being quiet this whole time now wanted to say something," If you continue to dwell on your failure and let it consume you, you will find yourself in the same predicament again...Heed the advice given to you and move on," the few words however blunt had caused him to smile a bit as he stared at his ceiling. So much had been simply happening... Yet in order to do something about it, he had to let go and move on.

[1400]

When Yaju offered to provide a cover story for the boy, Arata nodded gratefully. He knew lying was bad, but no one had said anything about not telling the truth. And if the Raikage really did stick to the story, it would be him lying and not Arata, though he doubted his mommy would mind very much. The part about being bombarded with hugs made the boy screw up his nose in distaste. "She does that all the time," he complained, his annoyance evident. "I keep telling her not to do that in front of my friends but she just doesn't get it." The indignation in his voice was real. Why his mommy felt the need to hug him so often completely escaped the little boy. What was she trying to do, make sure that he was real?

When Yaju-sensei brought him the milk and explained about his hair, the little ninja nodded seriously. It was a little odd seeing his teacher as a blonde but that didn't matter. Mommy said it was always what was on the inside that was more important and Yaju was still the same on the inside. "Sensei, how do people get different coloured hair?" he asked out fo curosity. "Like, not cloistering them but how do they get their original hair color. How come mommy had yellow hair like you and I have black hair?" It was something that had puzzled him for a while now and since he was here for answers, he might as well ask all the questions he wanted to.

When the older shinobi brought out the carton of milk and a glass, Arata eagerly climbed down from the couch to pour himself a glass of pink milk. His little fingers worked carefully as they aligned the carton to the edge of the glass, making sure not o spill a single drop. When his teacher offered Lilia something, the fox summon refused politely. She had just hunted. Arata didn't know how but Lilia always said she had to eat lots of food for her cubs to get lots of milk. It didn't make sense to the boy either.

The boy was only a few sips into his milk when his throat ran dry as he listened tot he Raikage speak. There had been bad people in the village, and they had killed Echo. Arata remembered the adult man he was tall and he had been nice to him and mommy. Arata remembered the man calling him Navi the Swift. And now he was dead. Was that why mommy was so sad? The boy raised a dark eyebrow at the adult, taking in every word because it was obvious that it wasn't just mommy who was sad. Yaju was just as sad because he thought he hadn't done anything.

"But you did protect mom," Arata pointed out when his teacher was done. "She's mostly alright. She looks a little sad at night when she thinks I'm asleep but she's not hurt. She just wears the black thing around her arm and I think it makes her feel better. Maybe if you wore one, it would help you too sensei," the child suggested innocently.

Putting his glass of milk on the table between the two, he asked his next question. "You said Echo was killed... So when will he be back? When can we see him again?" The question was asked with complete sincerity, the hope clear in Arata's dark eyes as he looked to his teacher for an answer. The boy had figured death was something like a holiday that people took, and no one could be on holiday forever. Echo had to come back some time.

"Its a mothers love Arata, I know it might seem like an embarrassing thing or like shes troubling you, but its something not many of us get. Even though I grew up with my mother I never received any of that...It was always training and getting beaten by father and then after that it was nothing, so if anything just love and accept her loving while trying to thinking of it in a better way," of course he was giving the child a more of a personal piece of advice he just wanted to show him that even if Akihana did show all of these affections on him, it was of the best intentions.


Seeing as the child was full of so many questions he chuckled and leaned further into the couch before answering him," Well some people can have an hereditary thing that makes their hair change at certain intervals of their life and others dye it with special chemicals and what not. Although mine is something of both, though my hair will permanently be like this until I either dye it or cut it or something like that. Now on the subject of getting a certain hair color, it comes from either parent though...i wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly came out as a yellow head...You must become one of us," moving towards the boy like a zombie he would ruffle his hair a bit as a playful gesture before returning to his seat and getting back comfortable.

His brow raised slightly as he wondered what exactly he meant by a "black thing", although the question itself managed to slowly come to form,"What black thing are you referring to?," he didn't exactly know what to say about this and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to think that telling him about this wasn't...a good idea. What thoughts he once had were shot as he stared at the boy for a moment, though he knew that children these days weren't exposed to death like many others yet this was....hard to do.

"Arata," he couldn't find the words to describe this...nor did he at this point want to just shatter the boys perception of reality, but at this point he had to. Clearing his throat he would look over to Lilia for a moment before sighing," Death isn't something you can come back from...We come into this world living...and we leave it in death. Once we die....That is it. We can no longer move and live like we always did, Echo's tale in this world is....over," he didn't feel right saying this nor did he want to ....why he actually went through with this would be another regret in his mind, and soon he would no doubt here a ton from Aki after this.

[1879]

The part about a mother's love didn't make much sense to Arata. He knew his mommy loved him but wasn't that her job? Didn't all mommies love their children? So there was nothing special about his mother that set her apart from all the other mommies, except his just embarrassed him a little more. Still, if Yaju-sensei said it was okay, than Arata supposed it was. Hearing the man talk about his own mother puzzled the boy, and the part about his daddy made him raise his dark eyebrows in surprise. Why would a daddy hit their son? Too young to realize the tragedy of the situation, Arata simply reflected on this as a puzzle, one that would have to be put on hold for now in favor of all the other questions he had that needed answering.

The thing about hair did explain some things. Arata didn't know much about "hereditary" but he knew a little bit. The boy let out a giggle when his teacher ruffled his own hair, asking if yellow wasn't good enough for him. "I don't know," the child replied with a small, mischievous smile. "Its so bright, " For a moment, the child pictured what he would look like as a blond and then shook his head. No, that would be weird.

"Do you think my daddy had dark hair..." the question came out more serious, a little more softer than the earlier statement. Arata knew not to mention his daddy around mom, because as much as she pretended otherwise, it made her sad. But maybe his teacher would know something. He was the Raikage after all, he knew everything. "Do you know him at all," the boy tried, a small shimmer of hope in his eyes. He would never admit it to anyone but Arata had always wondered where his daddy had gone. One of his friends' mom had said that big stork birds bring babies to mommies and daddies so the child had naturally drawn the conclusion that the stork had brought him to two parents too. But now his daddy was lost somewhere and mommy didn't talk about it.

When asked what the black thing was, the boy focused his small face paused in concentration as he tried to describe what the thing was. 'I don't know," he finally admitted. "It's just like a black piece of cloth and she ties it around her arm. At first I thought it was weird but I saw other girls around the village doing it. Maybe its some kind of style, girls like to do that right?" Not aware of the concept of an armband in memory of the deceased, Arata had naturally assumed the little dark bits of fabric were some fashion choice. As Yaju began to explain however that Echo was gone, the little boy's look of curiosity slowly faded into one of sadness. He didn't understand how someone could just be... gone. Sure Echo would find a way back, he was a powerful ninja.

But maybe that's why mommy was sad, and so was the Raikage. Arata could see it now. "Did you cry when Echo died," the boy asked seriously. He knew his mommy had cried, and he himself was trying not to because he was almost all grown up and not a girl. But it was somehow important to know if his teacher had felt the need. "Mommy says crying is good, and that if you don't cry, then you eventually forget to cry, and then you eventually forget to be a human." He didn't completely understand what that meant but it seemed like something to say.

"Yaju-sensei, why is there another weird chakra inside you," the boy asked, changing track. Arata had always possessed the innate ability to recognize things for what they were, even if he didn't exactly know how to differentiate between two and the same. He was used to his teacher's chakra, having been able to recognize him in any form since they had first met each other. But now there was something like a whole lot of bigger chakra inside his mentor, something that complimented his own chakra but was different nonetheless. "It feels really powerful, are you doing a new jutsu?"

For some reason he imagined this was a talk between him and a younger sibling or rather a talk between a new father and his son, the two exchanging such words and emotions that made him smile slightly on the inside. The mere feelings of having a conversation with a son made him question whether or not his parenting skills would be up to par when the time came, but after a few moments he simply went back to listening to Arata jest about having yellow hair which just made him laugh and shake his head.

It was when the child had asked him about his father that he paused for a moment and tilted his head, his eyes searching for some answer that he knew he couldn't find. Since this was the case he rubbed his head and sighed for a moment," I would assume so since you didn't come out as a yellow head, then you take after your father in some ways," that was as much as he could say although for one of the first times in a while he was stumped on finding an answer to satisfy the young male. As he continued to wonder where the child was going with this, he finally figured out when he asked if he knew his daddy.

The mere question alone had made him stopped, knowing that his mother had only told him bits and pieces along with the fact that his dad was a deadbeat and left them. He didn't know how to explain this nor did he want to open up this can of beans, so to mitigate the damage that he could cause he would shake his head," I do not know your father myself, although if I hear anything about him through the wind I will let you know okay?," smiling to him, Yaju only hoped that the child would come to terms with this answer and begin to bombard him with other....less problematic than it was now.

His next question was something that caused him to pause for a moment. His eyes lowered for a moment as he listened to the words of Arata until he had said the word "monster". That single word caused him to look down towards the ground in thought. That single word had been the single word that had explained his whole life...even now some called him the Monster Raikage although some meant it as a small joke. Shaking his head admittedly he sighed and rubbed his head for a moment before speaking," I was always raised on the belief that crying was weakness...Crying bred distraction and would get you killed," pausing for a moment to rectify his cold tone he would look back up to the child as he continued," As i grew up I had still lived under that motto that my father instilled into me and yet...I've only cried once in my life when the closest one to me, my sister, died. Yet when Echo died I couldn't shed a single tear. It feels more to smile and honor his memory than crying that he is gone because....We all join our friends and loved ones in the end, but....I think its better to express your loss in different ways," it was the best way for him to explain this situation in a light hearted manner.

The more he spoke to this child the more he could see that he was growing faster than most. Smiling he would stand up and rub the boys head for a moment before shaking his head," Now now Arata a Kage cannot go about telling all of his secrets now can he? I assure you when the time is right I shall show you exactly what the new chakra inside of me is," although it wouldn't be bad to simply show him, it was better because he didn't need to break his house....again.

[2539]

The answer that Yaju-sensei didn't now his daddy was disappointing. Arata really had expected the Raikage to know everything, but his promise of letting the boy know if he ever did find out made the child smile up at the man gratefully. "Okay, but if you hear of him, please don't tell mommy..She vgets upset. You can tell just me please." There was no point in worrying his mother, she already had all other mommy things to do. Granted Arata wasn't sure what those things were but she seem to keep busy enough.And she also had to go see her not friend in the mountains. Maybe when she left, he could come see Yaju again. Train with him and hang out with the foxes. He missed his teacher's extended family.

When the blonde spoke of his own childhood and upbringing, Arata screwed his face in utmost concentration, listening intently, his dark eyes trying to keep from blinking in case he missed someting. It didn't sound like his teacher had a very nice daddy which didn't make sense to the boy. Mommy said nice things happened to nice people and the Raikage was nice. So why had bad things happened to him? Reaching his small hands out to his mentor, the boy squeezed Yaju's arm softly the way he had seen his mother do when someone was upset.

"You can express loss too, sensei, it'll be okay. Mommy says the Goddess looks after all those who die. Maybe Echo is now just helping Her with that?" It was the most logical thing that came to mind. Grown ups like Echo and Yaju didn't need to be protected, they were the ones who did the protecting. Amd that was the one truth Arata firmly believed in.

When the Raikage didn't reveal the source of the extra chakra, the child nodded, an excited sheen in his eyes for when the secret was revealed. However, he did have another question. "Sensei, I was at the hospital with mom yesterday, and I was walking around while she worked. I heard one of the medics say you were going to be a daddy. Is that true?" Arata wasn't sure how the nurse knew that the stork bird was going to bring his teacher a baby but the matter was worth clarifying if he really was going to have a little brother or sister to look after soon.

"I promise i'll let you know if I find out anything about him and it'll be a mission between me and you only," giving the child a rather big smile which for once had shown his unnatural animistic teeth, Yaju had felt a strange bond with the boy as if he was a younger brother or even child that he had wanted. The thought of if his child came out like Arata actually made the young male smile, knowing that his times with the child would always be filled with fun...but some rather strange times.

As the child squeezed his arm, a strange emotion went through him that he didn't understand at first. While it felt strange to him it was also something that felt...Comforting and consoling almost in a sense. The only thing he could do was to rub the child's black locks and smile," Thank you...You take after your mother so much its almost...calming in a sense," his words were so sincere, seeing so much of his mother's light within him made it almost quizzical in what the child would come out as when he became an adult.

"Loss has always been a very touchy thing with me...I've never known how to properly show it. When I...ended my father, i felt free of the darkness that he had put me in. Although as time went on I just became a hollow shell until I met a few good people that helped me reclaim my humanity. To be honest Arata I am still regaining what it means to be "human"," it was one truth that this animal didn't mind sharing with someone close to him....and he felt as if this child was slowly pushing him towards that route.

There was a slight pause in his next response as the child mentioned his soon to be child, his eyes glossing over before he coughed and rubbed the back of his head as he tried to think of the best way to answer. After a while of just looking around he gave up and simply looked at the boy," Yeah...Your teacher is going to be a daddy soon...Which will make you a big brother," it made him smile a bit knowing that his son would have a big brother to look up to.

[2930]