Aftermath

The wind seemed to howl with warning, and the blizzard conditions weren't helping any, but that's what happened when you lived near the Snow border.  Nature didn't abide by the same rules that ninja did, and therefore though the land was named Snow, the snow itself covered much of the northern land of lightning.

Arashi trudged slowly... by himself.  A creature as powerful as Youka was too much of a worry for the clan, so the elders told him to head to safe-house alone, while they ensured the protection of the villagers, as well as heading off a potential threat.  Unbeknownst to him, he would never get to see them again.

He was tired, he was exhausted, and reluctantly a little dehydrated, after expending all of his energy to escape.  His hand still hurt despite the lack of a wound.  Though he was able to substitute his fingers for clouds, it was the first time he did something so precise, and he still felt residual pain from it.  His body just wasn't used to that kind of accuracy.

But he was close, he knew that.  It felt familiar despite the unusually high amount of snow.  He fought the cold one step at a time, wishing that he had grabbed his cold weather cloak.  There was no time, it was never any time.  He shook his head, fighting back emotions.  Why was he forced to leave the village?  There were explicit standing orders from the Raikage's office.  The protection of the clan.  Which meant the young genin was immediately carted away.  He didn't know what happened to the others.

His parents.

His clan leader.

Koga... Kaos.

Akihana-san.

He would try to regroup with them, if they were still around, all he had to do was get over this snow drift and he would be there, safe in the warm embrace of...

No....

The clan's secluded hideout, the building where the Tekiatsu clan established themselves in the land of lightning, was not the warm embrace he hoped for.  The smoke he thought was from chimneys was in fact the entire building.  It wasn't completely torched, but it was destroyed.  Collapsed.  His family... his entire family.  Was gone.

Arashi pushed through the snow and fought his way into the unstable structure.  There had to be someone.. anyone!  Someone had to have survived!  Around him he saw a body here and there, but no one was alive.  Arashi made it to the main room, the one he did his test in, and found blood, but no people.  They were gone.  Truly gone.

Finally, the young boy couldn't take it anymore, and he dropped to his knees, on the floor of what once was the main room, now exposed to the elements.  For the first time since he heard the shake of an attack, it all came at him at once, and Arashi couldn't fight the tears streaming down his face.  It started small with a whimper and a tremble, but quickly grew into a full blown bawl as everything hit him at once.  

They were dead, they were gone.  Everyone was.  His village, his home, his clan, they were all gone. For the first time in his life, Arashi was isolated.

He was alone.

(w/c: 540)

The world was bright with colors, but more importantly with smells. Tangy, fragrance, hot, a scent for every emotion and the world seemed to look for to close for her usual height as Akihana traveled at speeds she had never imagined she could achieve, her entire body competing with the wind and holding its own fairly. The wind didn't seem like an enemy though, no, it was her friend, it sang to her on moonlit nights and howled with her in ecstasy after a kill...

"Mom, wake up."

Sleep encrusted golden eyes open to the world of Sanctuary as the kunoichi, startled out of her dreams, sinks back into her pillow for a moment, knowing that the reprieve will only be that long. Arata wasn't one to give up when he needed something, a fact Akihana had learned to live with and even come to love these last six years. "'Alright sweetie," her voice is hoarse and golden hair scattered everywhere but Arata doesn't seem to notice.

"We're training near the pond today, you promised, you did, you did, you did."

"I did indeed," the young mother agreed, stretching up her hands in a small yawn before getting out of bed. Everything stayed magically neat in Sanctuary, no dust gathered in neglected corners, nothing stained if one didn't look closely enough, most of the time Akihana had very little to do in the name of house work and most days that bothered her but today it was a blessing as she quickly changed and then whipped up some pancakes for Arata who waffled them down with gusto. In what seemed like no time at all, they had left their little quarters (after checking up on Ran and Koga) and were heading towards the pond.

"You were talking in your sleep," the little boy pointed out conversationally as they reached the pond, Akihana mentally preparing herself so that Arata wouldn't come across a blood soaked pantomime due to her negligence. Every since she had been allowed to use this pond to check up on people, the blonde had only ever looked for Kumo and how it had fared after the battle, and yet every day she saw variations of the same scene. At first she had thought the pond was designed as a torture device but looking at Den, it didn't seem like he wanted to cause her even more duress. It took her a awhile to figure out that time was slowed exponentially in Sanctuary so while she thought she was checking up every few days, only a few minutes had passed in the real world. The battle was still going on while time continued to pass at its speedy rate inside this dimension.

'Well, what did I say?"

The boy merely shook his ink dark head, shrugging as though he was actually expected to remember all the million things his mother said. No doubt the boy had already cast it aside as one of those weird mom things. And truth be told she was glad he couldn't remember, and that he was too young to understand signs of trauma and post traumatic stress. While Akihana couldn't herself recall her dreams, she had a feeing blood was involved, and that could only mean she had dreamt of Kumo, again.

"Alright we why don't you go check on Cookie while mommy gets the pond to work," Akihana suggested. There was no TV in her rooms and since Arata had been musing all his favorite shows, she had taken to spending time with him near the pond, showing him harmless sights and scenery of places she had been to. Not Kumo, never that, but harmless scenes from Konoha, her clan district, people walking to and fro. She hadn't spied the one figure she wanted to see above all but her heart couldn't take another loss so she never looked quite hard enough. Because if she didn't see him, it meant Akashingo Akari was still alive out there somewhere. Better to cling on to a flimsy bit of hope than to confirm her worst fears regarding her grandfather.

"Okay," Arata agreed, walking off in search of the lazy slug who could have been langing on any leaf or rock in Sanctuary's extended gardens. It had taken Akihana a long time to believe that no one here would harm her son but now she felt safe letting him wonder on his own. It also helped that she had telephoning slugs to track him if he ever lost his way.

Once Arata had left, his mother focused on the pond, this time calling to mind a little boy she had met in the Raikage's office, one who had been so excited to get a teacher and start learning jutsu. Previously such queries of the pond had been met with dead bodies, crushed bodies, piles of ashes, dismembered limbs and so much horror that she was used to it by now. It seemed the death toll piled up every minute in her former home and this boy, this little boy who had reminded her so much of her own son, wouldn't have been able to fend for himself. But still, if she could see him, if there was a chance.

Slowly a ripple began in the pond, opening into an image blurred by snow. The area of the mountains Akihana knew too well though the structure that stood there made her heart sink. She knew of the clan's safe house and now it was all but demolished, its roof torn off, smoke rising from it to darken the fresh snow and an air of desolation about it. Was this where Arashi had died?

Akihana was about to look away when the image zoomed in more, to what looked like the remains of a big room and then, slowly, a small quivering spec distinguished itself from the debris all around. The kunoichi had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing but after a few more tries, it seemed to appear Arashi had survived. So great was her joy that Akihana leapt to her feet, calling out to her son even as she.

"Arata, I have to go get someone, will you be okay here with the slugs?" she asked, getting ready to summon Momma Dough. "I'll be back soon, after you're done playing here, go back to the house, or you can go hang out with Koga-Ni-san, or even find Mr. Hayato if he's not busy but don't stay out on your own okay?" Once Arata had agreed to his mother's terms, the blonde quickly summoned Momma Dough and in a puff of smoke, had vanished with her to the forests of slug territory.

The first time Akihana had seen this strange summon world, she had been shocked into speechlessness for a while, promoting Momma Dough to laugh at her naivete. Of course Akihana knew summons had their own place in the world, she had seen the one belonging to the Kitsune foxes after all. but this was another kettle of fish entirely. Slugs of all colors and sizes hurried about their business in this little world and instead of structures, underground pits and pathways dominated the landscape, so much so that Akihana had to step carefully less she found herself falling into someone's home. Her own training here mostly consisted of meditating which the kunoichi did on a large rock right alongside the elders of this world. If Akihana had first thought Momma Dough was the largest or Cookie the laziest of their kind, she had been long corrected. Most days she meditated to enter a state where ehr chakra was powered by nature nergy, feeling all the impurities of the world washed away as soemthing pure and clean replaced it. Today however, she had no time for meditation.

"Momma Dough, there's a boy," she began, explaining to the slug about Arashi as she quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper. "Please give him this, if he knows I sent you, he'll come back with you. Just make sure no harm comes to him, bring him back here as soon as possible." Momma Dough simply nodded, her lumbering form moving patiently to collect the hastily written note the kunoichi had drafted. In the next moment, the giant slug was gone, no doubt appearing inside the room Arashi currently occupied.

If allowed, Momma Dough would show the boy the note, explaining how she was Akihana's summon and she needed to absorb him into her body to take him to her Mistress. On her part, Akihana merely waited anxiously on the rock she usually meditated on, hoping to see Arashi soon.

He was hurt, he was trembling, and there was nothing else he could do about it.  He let himself wail, daring anything to come find him, but luckily enough nothing did.  At least not yet.  There was just nothing else around that would find him.  It was pointless to really stay down and not move, even if he for a moment was welcoming death.  It was just not a part of who he has, and not what his clan would want.

Protection of the clan.  That was their final mission, the one that his family gave their lives for.  He was the clan.  He was the future.  His safety was top priority.  Ideally they would have been able to protect him with minimal casualties, and the boy would have joined the ranks of the counter attack for the village.  He would have been able to grow and learn the abilities of his family.  He would have been able to hone those jutsus that separated the Tekiatsus from other ninja.

Those abilities....

Anything he didn't already know was just about lost.  All that knowledge, all but gone.  The boy stood up and walked over to the former seat of the clan leader, his grandfather.  The chair itself was scorched like the rest of the house, and it was slightly crumbled, but the boy went to it anyways.  Only a few days ago he had dreamed of sitting here, lording and guiding the clan to prosperity.  Now, he technically had that chance, but there was no clan to guide.  There might never be again.

Arashi took a seat in the chair, and almost immediately felt a corner sink into the raised platform.  He jumped up and went around to the corner, seeing that part scorched.. but revealing a compartment in the back.  Arashi slowly pulled one of the boards back, and saw a glint of parchment.. when he heard a noise.

Arashi jumped behind the chair and pulled a kunai.  If this was it, this was it.  He wouldn't be killed without a fight.  But still.. the boy was scared.  Very scared.  He waited, listening, and heard only an unusual sound of movement.  It sounded... wet.

"Arashi?"

The voice was gentle, calm, caring.  It sounded... motherly.  And the boy bit his lip and he trembled, trying to appear like he was not there.

"Arashi, its okay.  I'm from a friend.  I have something for you."

No, no, it was a trap, it had to be.  As soon as he walked around, this thing would be a weapon, or a power, or something....

"A note."

He mustered up the courage he had and appeared slowly around the chair, seeing an enormous slug standing before him.  In front of here was indeed a note, a single slip of parchment.  Taking a quick look around, the boy walked around, and picked up the note.

The name at the bottom brought tears to his eyes almost immediately.  Akihana-san.  Someone survived.  And not just anyone, the one he looked up to.  He should have known she of all people would survive the attack, but after seeing his so called indestructible family reduced to nothing, he had doubts.  He read the note, an invitation for protection.  How did she know?  Did word somehow get to the village?  Or to where ever they were holding up?

"Arashi, please, it will be alright, come, and I'll take you to her." the slug said, and the boy nodded.  He looked down and saw a name.  Momma Dough.  That must be the being before him.

"Ready?"

"Wait." the boy replied, turning back to the chair, he sighted a picture on the back wall, and went back there, grabbing it with him, and then he stopped to look down.  This would be his only chance.  "I want to preserve my family's memories, I'll be quick." he said, going to the platform and forcing the panels apart as they splintered in his hands.  The boy saw it, a partially burnt large scroll with his family's crest on it.  He pulled it out, and tried to brush off any dust or wood chips, before stepping back out.

The boy stopped in front of Momma Dough, looking around one more time at the home he spent so little time in, and then took a breath.

"Okay, I'm ready.  And Momma Dough?  Thank you." he said, as he allowed himself to to disappear into the large slug, closing his eyes.  He felt a quick movement as if he shifted his position, and before long, he felt the light around him brighten as he came out of the slug.

Arashi appeared before Akihana-san clutching a burnt scroll and a picture, and nothing else.  He opened his eyes for the first time, and instantly saw the older ninja as the light cleared.  Without any warning, the boy began to cry as he dropped what he was carrying and ran to Akihana, wrapping his arms around her as he cried into her clothing.

(w/c: 833; 1373)

People - and slugs - suggested meditation as a way to clear the mind o worry, of remorse, of sorrow and yet as she sat on the rock, her knees hugged close to herself, the kunoichi could not bring herself to do that. The concern for Arashi's safety, the prospect of seeing him again was all too consuming for her to even attempt to clear her mind. So the blonde did what all mothers do, she worried with her eyes closed as she waited for Momma Dough to return. Time was once again tricky in other dimensions, something Akihana was learning all too well now. The minutes seemed to trickle by too slow before the inevitable poof of smoke that had her jumping of the rock only to have Arashi come barreling towards her, tears streaming down his face as he held on to her and cried.

He wasn't the only one with tears in his eyes though, Akihana herself felt a similar wetness on her cheek as she hugged the boy to her, softly stroking his hair and murmuring that he was now safe. The medic looked at Momma Dough, expressing her gratitude to the matriarch slug with her eyes as she held Arashi close, letting him cry. Another helpful slug bought a jacket Akihana kept here for when she got too cold training and meditating and without breaking the hug, she gently draped it around the trembling boy, letting him sob as much as he wanted to.

"It's going to be okay, I promise, you're safe now, they can't hurt you," she coaxed, dropping a gentle kiss on the little boy's forehead. She could only imagine how scared he had been, and how brave he had been to manage to escape. "I'm so proud of you, I'm sure everyone is for managing to get out of there. You were amazing, the bravest shinobi I know."

Whether it was because he was dried out, or because of the comforting words of Akihana, Arashi was able to get everything out relatively quick, and soon he was past the wailing cry and was resorted to shudders as he tried to calm down.  He refused to let go of her, however, feeling more like the child he was.

He looked up, his face red and streaked with tears, and nodded.  Reluctantly, Arashi let go, taking a step back while he tried to wipe his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be a shinobi..." he muttered trying to regain his own composure.  It was no secret that he was perhaps the youngest genin of the cloud village, and in that moment he showed the age he was trying to supersede.

Akihana spoke of him being brave and getting out, but the cloud genin shook his head.  What he did he couldn't say was brave.  "No.. I didn't do anything.  I didn't get to defend the village.  The Raikage sent me away almost immediately.  And so did my family..." he looked around, realizing that he was nowhere near the village.. or the country for that matter.

"There... there isn't anyone else, is there?  Its just us...." he said sadly, looking around.  He hoped to see the smiling faces of his parents.. but the fact that he didn't even see the Raikage or any of the other heads of the village really soiled his reunion.

"W-what happened?"

"You are a shinobi, Arashi-kun," Akihana soothed, leading the boy to the low rock and setting him down next to her, still holding on to him though he was no longer as distressed as he had been upon first seeing him. "You're one of the finest shinobi cloud village will ever have, and no one can take that away from you. You clan knew this, your parents did to, which was why you needed to live." Watching the slow motion massacre of his entire clan in the pond had been beyond heartbreaking for the blonde but now this was the only way she could convey to him how much his clan had sacrificed and how important he was to the overall picture. "You are the hope of Kumogakure," she explained quietly as she patted his back, making sure that he understood each word. "You are what we fight to protect, not ourselves, not resources, money, pride, we live and fight to protect you Arashi, and by surviving, you made sure we won. For every little boy or girl who makes it out of there, Kumo will never die, because it will be in their hearts, never forgotten."

When he noted that they were the only two people here, the kunoichi turned to face him once more, quiet golden assessing his features before she began to explain. "This is the slug territory. I used to have a summoning contract with the Kitsune foxes like the Raikage but..." The sadness in her tone was evident as she trailed off, saying goodbye to Lilia had just been the beginning of all the pain that had led her to this day. "I now train with slugs, they're useful creatures and very kind. This is their world, only I'm allowed here I think, at least I haven't seen anyone else, and I sometimes meditate here to help gather nature energy. I had Momma Dough bring you here so we could meet on neutral grounds."

His other question was a little bit harder to answer so the medic simply shook her head. "Would you like some food first? Or even a nap. I'm sure you're tired. I can make you sleep for a little bit, and I promise I'll be right here beside you when you wake up."

For a moment, his mental answer to her claim of him being a shinobi was more of one of the only shinobi the cloud village will every have, however, the boy said nothing, only nodded in agreement.  It felt good to receive praise, though he still felt bad about the fact that he survived when others did not.

Arashi listened to her explanation of where they were, and he couldn't help but hear the phrase 'neutral ground'.  That was the term used when meeting someone from another village.  Still, he bit his lip, letting her talk.  It was comforting, and it was what the boy needed.

He noted the change in his last question, as Akihana-san proceeded to deflect the question to him.  He wanted to protest, wanted to say no, to have her explain... but he couldn't.  He really was tired.  And exhausted.  And cold, though that was getting better being here.  The boy looked up to say no, but his eyes gave it away, and he reluctantly scooted himself up on the rock and tucked his knees to his chest, looking at what he left on the ground. 

"It still doesn't feel right... especially the idea of sleeping.  But... but I think you're right."  He said, looking at the scroll.  "I wanna see... I didn't know about the scroll.  I saw it because its hiding spot was burnt and broken..." at this point he was starting to mumble, the sign of a young boy who was falling asleep.  "I think it has the stuff I was supposed to learn.... I hope it does... so I can preserve... my family...." he said, falling back and asleep, leaving Akihana with just the scroll and the picture he had dropped on the ground, one that showed the full family, including Arashi.

***************

He was running... running through the village, the mountains, the snow.  Running for his dear life, as the most monstrous thing chased him.  He knew what it was.. who it was.  And he knew why it was here.  The boy couldn't do anything, amongst the growing storm, and he could never seem to run fast enough.

"Arashi!  This way!" his aunt called, until she was ripped apart.  The same happened to his uncle, his grandfather, his family.  Every person who tried to help him, dead in a puff of clouds.

Even his parents died before him, while the beast descended on the boy. 

"Arashi!  Come here!  I have cookies!"  It was Akihana-san.  But the pattern was the same, he knew what was coming. He shouted at her to run, save herself, anything.  But no, even she was killed, also dying in a puff of clouds. 

Arashi ran to his families' hideout, still intact, and as he turned around, he saw that the beast was gone.  He had just gotten to the door when the house exploded, and the beast was there, licking its lips. 

"I said you could leave if you gave me two fingers... if you told everyone what happened.  You tricked me!  You and your clan.  So now that offer is off the table.  You are mine!" he growled, shooting towards him with a gaping mouth as it closed around him...

**************

The boy shot up in a cold sweat, shaking, trembling.  His face was red again, and right now he was shaking too much to turn or move.  It was the most horrible thing he had seen, and it was in his dream.  The boy tried to calm down, slowly starting to look around.

"A-a-aki-akihana-san?" he called out, rather weakly... hoping she was nearby.  Hoping it was only a dream.

(w/c: 604; 2224)

As Arashi reluctantly agreed to sleep, Akihana pulled him closer towards her. His curled up position was all too milliard, the unconscious need to make yourself as small a potential target as possible and at first, Akihana didn't insist, slowly letting him drift off as he mumbled something about clan secrets. one of the slugs would gather his things and seal them safely in a scroll which Akihana would slip into his jacket pocket later. If those were the last things he had of his clan, then he deserved to keep them close for as long as he needed to. After he'd drift off, Akihana would slowly uncurl the boy's exhausted frame, making sure he lay down proper and then seat herself beside him, adjust his head in her lap. He needed the rest and she needed to mediate, but she had promised to be right there when he woke up and it was a promise the blonde intended to keep. The child had lost enough for one day, even one lifetime.

As Arashi slept, Akihana let her mind find its center, in harmony with nature all around her. She had a vague idea of how becoming a sage of a reason gave her additional power which could be translated into shinobi used but that had never been the goal, the goal was to listen to nature, really listen to it instead of harvesting its produce for self gain. Trees whispered, the wind whistles, rock rumbled, everything had a sound once you learned to listen and that was what Akihana had been doing a lot of lately when she visited the slug territory. Today however, she had a goal.

She had heard of the scroll of all sages when she had first met Lady Inari in the Kitsune territory. A legendary document held sacred by all summon races because it not only recorded every shinobi that had made a contract with the race but also every shinobi that had reached the level of sage. Yaju had been one she knew, but had there been others? To make an attempt to be one herself, she had to see that list, and the scroll would only appear in the mind of the calmest, most balanced individual able to harmonize with nature. She had been working towards it, all the while feeling the wind play softly with her loose blonde tendrils in a way that felt entirely too familiar. Whether it was her prolonged stay in Sanctuary that had mad her hypersensitive to real world conditions or if she was simply going mad, the kunoichi couldn't say, half the time the wind felt like a friend despite her not having any particular affinity towards it. And yet sometimes she could swear she heard a familiar howling...

The medic was jolted out of her thoughts at Arashi's panicked voice, reaching out to place a warm hand on his shoulder. "I'm here sweetie, everything's alright," she murmured softly, remaining still so as not to startle him any more than he already was. "I'm right here, and you're safe, no one's going to hurt you."

Once the boy was lucid enough, Akihana offered him a canteen of fresh spring water. "Here drink this, and than the slugs can get us some food." No sooner had she spoken than a few of them were making their way toward the rock where the two ninja sat, carrying trays of vegetables and fruit on their flat bodies as they wriggled close to the duo.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions but eat and drink first, we have all the time in the world to talk."

Arashi slowly pulled himself up after the feel of her soft warm hand, and took the canteen, taking a well needed drink to replenish the water that his body naturally lost faster than others.  He was feeling much calmer now, and more relaxed, especially after the slugs brought food.  The boy took some and ate it, looking down the entire time, before finally taking a deep breath and looking up.

"Thank you Akihana-san. I.. I don't know really where to begin.  So much changed in a short time.  I didn't even see you, I was scared you were already gone." he said, pulling the coat around him.  He turned to her for a moment, and then back down, pulling off his Kumo headband from his head.  He turned it over so that it glistened at him.. a relatively new band, with his fingers rubbing over the surface.

"I guess the smartest thing to ask is, what happens now.  If you're here, and no one else is... I guess we ultimately lost the village."

(w/c: 173; 2397)

Akihana watched the little boy eat and drink, not touching any of the food herself. She had learned that part of her training was to cleanse the body along with the mind and so only indulged in water even if all the food were fresh. She wished she had had time to bring along some of the lemon bars she had made yesterday for Arashi but such food was not allowed here.

"You don't have to tell me anything," the blonde began, trying to comfort the boy. He didn't need to relive the horrors of what he' witnessed. "In a way I was able to see it all. The attack happened just as... I was taken away just as that thing attacked the village but I had a window to what was happening, and I couldn't do anything to help." A note of profound sadness entered her voice at the admission. She and this boy were no different really, he couldn't help because he was being protected and she unable to help no matter how much she begged and pleaed to be let go.

At his conclusion, the medic simply bowed her head in recognition of his statement. Kumo was gone, no one was left to defend it that she knew of. It wasn't even Kumo anymore. " We only lost a place though Arashi-kun," the kunoichi spoke despite the slight tremor in her voice. "It was a place, a geographic location. Home isn't made by a place, it's made by the people you care about, and there were some who managed to escape like us, and if you like, you can try to build a home with us."