Secrets of the Cloud

It was shocking in more ways than one, but once again, Akihana was there, ever the mother, healing his hand.  He looked up at her, smiling, while she comforted him that this was natural.  The boy nodded with her explanation, and remember seeing the medical jutsus on the scrolls.  "The healing springs that we used to run for the village.. and the water satchels... I bet the secret behind them is on that scroll too.  We did have some who specialized in medical ninjutsu." he said, this time not with sadness, but with enthusiasm.  If the information was indeed on the scroll, then that might be something Akihana could use in her chosen profession.  Maybe.

The boy nodded with her next instructions, and took an instinctive step back as he decided to turn his hand down, and used his other hand to brace it.  Waves, he needed waves.  Waves sounded simple, but it would involve two opposite concepts.  The general spread of chakra, as well as the fine points of lightning.  Still.. he was determined.  Akihana was training him, helping him, and he would not disappoint his mother.

Arashi concentrated feeling that familiar warmth in his fingers, and this time keeping his hand open to prevent a snap on his palm.  Sparks appeared on one, then two, and then all of his fingers, as the lightning release began to get easier for the young boy.  Larger sparks began to shoot from his fingers as he pushed more chakra into his hand, but at first he was only doing sparks, or a single bolt.  It wasn't wave.  Arashi continued for a moment, as he felt a couple of stings as the lightning was still zapping him.  Unbeknownst to him, the zapping was essential for his cloud body, as part of the next mastery, but for now, this was just learning.

Arashi stopped, and shook his hand out.  He looked up before Akihana could move.  "Wait.. I want to try again first... I think I know what I have to do." he said, lowering his hand and bracing it.  "You said like a wave, right?  Like water, or even air.  So I have to take the fine points of lightning and spread them.  Let me try one more time." he said, as he took a deep breath and pushed his chakra again. 

His hand started to spark again, much faster and easier this time, and soon he had bolts firing around his hand, striking him in some places, but mostly just electrifying the area around his hand.  Arashi let go of his hand, and the arcing bolts wet up to his wrist.  He started picturing the bolts as part of a wave of water, and began to move his hand back and forth as instructed.  the electricity followed, occasionally striking some of the other surfaces in the kitchen.  Arashi focused, and released the chakra, letting his hand flash as the electricity discharged into the ground and then everything was calm once again.

There were red spots up his hand and wrists, but despite the obvious pain, the boy was smiling.  "How... how was that, mom?" he said, grinning.

(w/c: 526)

Once again, the kunoichi watched as Arashi attempted to channel the lightning more firmly into his hands. He was improving with each try which was better than she had seen most beginners do but then again he did possess three elements so he probably knew a trick or two of his own on how to get this final one to work. Watching him struggle to make waves was both a joy and extremely difficult as she wanted to step in and heal him as quickly as the shocks and scars formed on his skin. Seeing people in pain was never an option for Akihana, least of all the boy she had sworn to protect. But that was the life of a ninja, learning through trial and error.

And a great ninja he would be too judging by the way in which he kept applying himself, never giving up despite the clear pain it was causing him. Akihana knew soemthing about little boys, having raised one and generally been around them ever since she had left Konoha so once the wave was formed, the blonde gave out a whoop of joy, moving forwards to hug Arashi close and drop a light kiss to the top of his head.

"That was great sweetie, you're doing really well." It was no lie, in very minimal time and an area not exactly meant for training, the boy had managed to grasp the concept of the jutsu. "Now though, we're going to take a break from raiton so I can show you soemthing that can help you in future." The idea had struck her when he talked of the healing springs and his clan's medical jutsu. And while Akihana couldn't learn cloud jutsu, there was no rule against her young charge learning basic medical ninjutsu to keep himself and his little brother from getting hurt.

"Since we often hurt ourselves training, this is just a very basic version of my own healing jutsu, but if done right it will take away all minor pains, heal cuts and if you practice often enough, even rejoin bones." Bringing both her hands up in front of her, she kunoichi placed one over the other as she demonstrated.

"Make sure your dominant hand is the one healing your body. It doesn't have to be but chakra always flows easier when you do it naturally as opposed to trying to do it the other way around." as she spoke, her right palm began to glow, seemingly enveloping her left in its gentle hue. "The trick to this is that you have to imagine the wound you're trying to close, doing so. So if you're trying to heal a cut, imagine the skin closing around it. If you're trying to mend a bone, imagine the fragments coming together to form a whole. If you're trying to get rid of the pain, imagine pushing it out of the skin."

There wasn't much evidence of healing on her left palm as she hadn't been injured to begin with but Akihana was sure Arashi's attempt would show better results. "Go on, give it a try. Once you have this down, you can look after yourself and Arata better if I'm not around."

A hug and a kiss.  He had to admit, he hadn't experienced that in a long while.  And it was comforting.  The last time he had a kiss... it was his mother on the day he passed his clan test.  He expected Akihana to start healing him, but instead she decided he needed to learn to heal himself.  Which was perfectly fine, the boy was more than willing to learn. 

Arashi did what he was instructed, and held out his right hand.. the dominate one, and placed his left hand under it.  He watched her, watched how she activated it, though for her it must have been second nature.  There was at least one wound on his left that he could test on.  The inside where he gripped his wrist had a couple of burns, all minor, but just enough to show on his skin.  This would be what he focused on.

For once, Arashi didn't try to picture wind, or water, or lightning.  He pictured natural chakra, the kind that he saw emitting from Akihana, the peculiar green glow of life giving powers.  It was the same kind he saw at home sometimes, though their seemed more natural, most like clouds.  He didn't know which one he was going to get, so instead he started with Akihana's glow.

The boy seemed gifted with a high amount of chakra, that much was noticed.  It was entirely possible that he could grow to be a very powerful ninja, but for now, the boy found himself able to activate his chakra very easy.  First a couple of sparks, then a ripple, and then finally a glow of green surrounded his dominant hand.  Faint and thin, it began to grow rapidly, covering the hand like a green deformed ball.  Arashi then lowered it to the hand that needed healing.

At first, nothing happened, as to be expected.  But Arashi had the benefit of a recently exercised flow of chakra, meaning that his control was better than if he had just started with healing.  Slowly, he felt the faintest of relief as the red areas began to shrink, as the scorched skin was repaired and rehydrated.  What took Akihana seconds to do took Arashi minutes, and he stood motionless throughout the entire process, remembering what his mother did with his hands.  There was no smile, no frown, just concentration.  He had one major thing on his side, his water affinity was perfect for healing arts. 

After a while, the burn was dissolved from his left hand, which left just the marks on his right.  He glanced up at Akihana and then back down as he flipped his hands, and tried again. This one was more difficult, as his free flowing hand was the one needing heals, not the one that he was trying to summon chakra with.  He was able to emit chakra from it, and it was green, but it was noticeably thinner to his hand.

Still, the boy tried, picturing the small cuts closing, and the burns healing.  Unfortunately, this one was much harder, and his results there were less than successful.  He kept at it for another 5 minutes before stopping, taking deep breaths.  "If my hand is the one getting injured, that will make this difficult." he said, shaking his head while he kept his hand out.  He looked up her, unsure if she was going to finish the job, or want him to try it again with his other hand.

(w/c: 581)

Observing the boy try to summon and then control healing chakra, pay attention to the density and potency of the jutsu itself left Akihana with a deep sense of pride in Arashi's ability. Most people amused Akihana pushed medical ninjutsu on the young simply because of her profession, what very few realized was that Akihana always wanted to ensure that no one was in pain for very long. Other nurses used to chide her sometimes, telling her off for giving away her secrets so their services would no longer be necessary but that was a small price to pay to ensure someone wouldn't seriously hurt themselves while training or after meting with an accident.

Watching him struggle with his right hand the target of the healing, the blonde moved forwards, her own hand ready with the glow, making the burns and cuts on his skin disappear. "It will get easier with more practice," she reassured him as she examined both his hands just to be sure nothing was missed. "Medical ninjutsu can take away the pain but the perception of pain still lingers," she explained, letting go of his hands once she was sure they were fine. "You might feel a dull ache now and then because the mind cannot comprehend pain simply disappearing, it likes to keep a reminder, so for a bit you might feel funny when using that hand but the more you practice with medical ninjutsu, the more you'll learn to tell the difference between actual pains and psychosomatic ones."

"And now for soemthing a whole lot more fun," the young mother grinned, walking over to the sink. "I was going to make a stir fry for lunch, do you think you could help me chop the vegetables?" Akihana pointed to the small stack of carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic and broccoli. "One thing tough, you aren't allowed to use a knife." With the same bright grin, Akihana reached for a carrot, holding it firmly on the chopping board placed by the sink. with one hand, the kunoichi made the seals for the water slicer jutsu, keeping the scale minimal as a shot of sharp water emitted from her, piercing through the carrot precisely and landing into the sink neatly. Of course when used at full force, the technique was capable of ripping through rock, but she didn't think Arashi would destroy their kitchen just yet.

"Imagine water having an edge, once as sharp as a knife, and then to try cut and peel the vegetables with it," she explained, performing the jutsu once more and hacking off another slice of the carrot." I know this isn't the most exciting way to learn but its the way I did, and I found practicing things on a minimal scale gives you even greater chakra control when you perform them at maximum impact."

Arashi nodded as he pulled his hands back, rubbing where the injuries were.  The boy smiled, as she decided it was time for something else, and the boy was again eager to learn.  At least at first.

It turns out she just wanted to make lunch for the family, and she wanted Arashi's help.  He frowned for a moment, but was willing to nonetheless.. even powerful supermoms needed help sometimes.  The young genin went over to the vegetables she was referring too, and immediately was looking for a knife when she stopped him.

"No knife, alright." he said, reaching for a kunai when she picked up and carrot and placed it down.  It was almost too quick for him to see, mostly because he wasn't paying attention at first, but she made a few signs and then suddenly the carrot was cut.  Arashi had to shake head to make sure he didn't imagine it.  There was a glisten on the carrot, meaning that it was wet.

She confirmed that it was some sort of water jutsu by her words, and Arashi nodded.  Water was easy, it came natural.. because it was natural for him.  The test would probably be the precision.  Arashi walked over and looked at the assortment they had.  Finally settling on something simple.. an onion, he held it on the cutting board and turned to Akihana.  It was a simple set of signs, one that easy to remember due to the nature of it being a water ability.  Slwoly, Arashi did the signs, and then tried to summon the water.  He pictured a knife made of water slicing through like a kunai being thrown and suddenly the onion was knocked out of his hand.

Arashi looked up as the onion smacked the back wall of the sink, with a gash in the side of it as it fell into the sink.  The boy was quick to apologize, and reached to pick it up and try again.  His next attempt was weak, resulting in him being splashed as the water hit the onion and deflected to his face, turning him red from embarrassment.  His third attempt was even worse... the onion was pulverized to pieces this time. 

Sighing in frustration.  Arashi quickly reached over and grabbed something else.. what looked like lettuce, and almost slammed it into the board before he stopped himself and gently braced it on the board.  He took a deep breath, and did the signs again, summoning the water.  With a satisfying crack, the lettuce head fell in half, each laying on the board.  There was also a small line on the board where the water dug in, but it wasn't enough to weaken the board.  He turned with a smile to Akihana and looked at what the vegetables were supposed to look like when they were sliced.  Boy starting working, making a mistake here and there, and more than a few times not making it strong enough, but never too strong anymore.  All in all, only a couple of vegetables were in his opinion ruined, but otherwise, by the end he able to control how he cut a particularly delicate pepper.

"Aki-san.. is Arata old enough to learn jutsu?" he asked in innocence, while he continued to help her.

(w/c: 546)

The medic tried to suppress a laugh as she watched her oldest struggle with the onion he had chosen. Had she been a teacher who preferred more micro management, she would have told him to go for the carrot instead. The tougher the vegetable, the less fine its layers, the easier it was to prairie crude cutting on as opposed to an onion with its never ending layers and the already natural affinity to make people cry. But she had started with a carrot, if he chose to follow suit, that would be his choice. And if he chose to do it his way and go for the onion, then she would be just as proud of him when he succeeded. Arashi was not as young as Arata, he was more aware of the world than her litle baby but that didn't mean she was going to protect Arashi any less.

"Make sure the access water doesn't get in your eyes," she warned as she applied a little too much force and scratched the chopping board slightly. The blonde laughed to let him know it was okay. "I was unfortunate enough to be trying this near a water pipe when i first learned it," she confessed, a slight pink tinting her own cheeks. "Flooded apartment, Arata thought we were getting an indoor pool, he was very unhappy that we had to get rid of all the water in our living room." It had been a different time then, the months of peace from a secure job, quick promotions to ANBU, Arata's success at the academy. It was sad to realize that like all good things, that had come to an end but Akihana refused to believe that was the case. Good things didn't end, they got replaced by better things. And no matter how naive anyone thought her, the kunoichi was firm in her belief. Things were their bleakest in her first few weeks in Sanctuary and now, now there were rays of hope everywhere. It didn't make the sadness of losing her home and friends any less real but it did give her the courage to live a life they would have been proud of. Something she hoped to pass on to Arashi in time, at his own pace.

As they worked side by side, Akihana occasionally splashing his sleeve playfully with water as he worked his way through the vegetables, the blonde couldn't help feeling that despite having failed kumo in its time of need, she had finally done soemthing right. "Arata's actually a genin," she explained as they worked, moving the chopped vegetables to the frying pan. "Or at least he used to be. He was such a success at the academy, heavens only knows where he gets it from, I was one of the quietest students of my time," she added, a hint if pride in her voice at her son's accomplishment.

Debating whether to tell him, Akihana decided to trust him with the truth. "He was being personally mentored by the Raikage. I suppose Yaju saw something in him, they both really enjoyed scaring me, turning into wolves and pretending they'd eaten themselves." Talking about her friend was getting easier, even if the tinge of sorrow would forever be in her voice every time his name was mentioned. But memories were meant to be cherished. Maku had been right in a way.

Some memories were enough.

"He's entirely too eager to learn higher level jutsu but..." Here she trailed of, presetting to be busy with the sauces that needed adding to the stir fry. How could she explain how utterly terrified she was of Arata becoming a ninja? The mere thought of her son facing what other shinobi had to on a daily basis made her sick. But in the end, it wasn't her decision. Arata seemed to have no other career path in mind and as mothers should, all Akihana could do was support him. "Well, lets jsut say he can learn them, but I'm your mom, its my job to worry about both of you, and that happens a lot when you two end up channeling high level jutsu without me being there," she finished, trying to sav the situation as best she could.

"Now for the stove," she said, moving towards the aforementioned machine and extending her hand. A small lick of flame glowed on her fingertip for a moment before catching on to the gas and lighting it as though she had used a lighter instead of a jutsu. "There, if you had Katon I would teach you this too. I'm a little afraid to test if Arata has an affinity for fire, We don't need the house burned down just yet."

Arashi chuckled at her story, remembering his own antics.  "I got in trouble when I was younger, the first time I visited the mountain home.  I was exploring the large house, and I saw the room where they were making the chakra water.  It was hot that day, so when I saw others in the water.. I kinda ran in jumped in.  Great Aunt Sagi made the whole mountain rumble with thunder and lightning.  I stayed away from that part of the house until I was ready to activate the cloud element." he said, nudging his mother every time she splashed him.  

Between playful calls to stop, and at one point splashing her, Arashi felt like a child again, laughing playfully with the woman who could not be visually any more different, but was nonetheless the closest person he had.  It felt... normal.  And it reminded him both of why he wanted to get stronger, and that he was still a child.  About to enter his teens, but a child nonetheless. 

The conversation about Arata soured slightly, only because Arashi realized that he didn't know much about his oniichan, and would probably do well to understand Arata like they had been growing up together.  They had talks, but mostly about fun stuff before bed.  But it wasn't just that.. there was also the conversation about Yaju training him.  That point, Arashi had put down what he was working on.

"Everyone thinks their parents are the strongest people in the world.  I thought so three times.  My parents, and you, Aki-san.  But my family taught me that there was one person stronger than anyone else.  I thought the Raikage was the strongest ninja in the village.  That's why I wasn't one of those who wanted to be Raikage when they grew up.  I didn't think I could be considered the strongest." he said, continuing his work.

"But I guess if Yaju was't able to save the village, no one could.  I'm sorry we lost him, mom." he said, taking a breath as she continued the subject with Arata, about the stronger jutsus.

"No one wants to just do the transformation jutsus.. the strong ones are the ones that are cool!  Especially since not everyone can learn them!" he said, while she started the stove.  He was sounding more excited talking about the jutsus.  "I was told that I had a large capacity for chakra, even for my family.  You need a lot of chakra to be able to do the cool moves.  I think Arata is the same.. if he is anything like you, mom." he replied, crossing his arms and nodding sagely.

When she lit the stove the boy looked down at his own hand, wondering if it was possible.  It probably wasn't, and he couldn't think of how it would be useful.  "That's okay, the people of my family who could use fire were rare, and kinda weird.  Their nikutais were all but forbidden for me.  I honestly never thought about it until now."

"Don't you have some of that chakra paper?  I thought that was what you used to test chakra affinity." he said, looking at his hands.  "Whoa.. if I used that paper.. what would it do now?" he asked curiously, wondering if it would soak, cut, or crinkle.

(w/c: 552)

Akihana listened attentively to the boy as he spoke of his family's deep loyalty to the Raikage. Not so long ago she had been of the same opinion. That was back when the Raikage was just some faraway being who used all his power to protect the village. That was alone worthy of great respect and admiration. But then she had come to know of Yaju and Misaki as friends. Misaki had still been more sure of her power thanks to her father's strict rule but Yaju, he had been simply trying to fill her shoes, trying to keep the village afloat with what little he had. Though he possessed immense power in his own right, Akihana wouldn't remember him as the all powerful Raikage.

She would always remember him as the young man who had drank disgusting coffee for three weeks in a row instead of telling her he liked his dark with no cream or sugar. She would remember him as the person who put up with too many inconveniences in hopes of sparing her feelings when she had first started working for him. He would always be the young man who had held her as she cried, promising that Arata would be protected from bullies, gossip and himself should the need arise.

"The thing about everyone," she began slowly, mixing the vegetables over the heat as she spoke. "I that the more you get to know them, the more real they become. I know it may sound silly to say people are unreal when you don't know them but Yaju, well, i was fortunate enough to work very closely with him. I learned of his great strength in battle as well as his human weaknesses, and as odd as it may sound, that endeared him to me even more."

Noting the heat drying the sauces, the kunoichi gestured to the pan "Could you please splash a bit of water in there?" she asked, indicating the pan. It went without saying that she meant water by jutsu instead of getting a cupful from the sink. If Arashi would do as requested, the blonde would continue to flip and stir the mixture over the fire.

Akihana laughed as he mentioned the cool moves, there it was, a mother's everlasting bane, her son's wanting cool stuff. "Well there's no doubt that you both have great potential inside you, but please don't hurry up with the becoming cool process just yet, I still need you guys around." Her tone was lighthearted even if the worry was real, hidden carefully behind the humor. They were in Sanctuary now and relatively safe but whow as to say what would hapen if they ever left.

"Oh yes, that chakra paper," the medic reflected, turning off the heat and letting the sizzling mixture sit for a minute. "I personally always found that a very uncomfortable way of figuring out chakra nature. But then again I was always taught that chakra comes from inside you, as do your elemental affinities. Paper is for those who don't have the time to sit and ponder, and for those who can afford it of course," she added with another laugh. "Though if you held one now, I'd say it wouldn't do anything since you already have your four elements."

It made sense... what made magic the mystery it is was the fact that there was no understanding.  If today's nin went deep into our past, it was possible they would have been considered gods in their own rights.. even Arashi.  The boy didn't add anything to that part of the conversation.  Without saying much Akihana told him that it was more than possible Yaju was unable to do much against the attack.  In fact, it also sounded downright likely. 

She asked him for water, and Arashi turned to the sink for a moment, before turning towards her and grinning.  He used his own ability to create water and sent it in, his blue eyes swirling as they normally did when he activated the kumonikutai.  There, something weird happened.  It was at first a bit of discomfort, as his eyes seemed to ache a bit.  Like a migraine.  The boy blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the discomfort, as his mother continued cooking and talking, this time about the big jutsus and chakra paper.

"Well... I promise I won't leave home until we both agree I'm ready.  I can't afford to let my pride be my downfall... thats for the one who destroyed our home." he said, nodding sagely like he was speaking words of wisdom.

What she said about elements confused him though.  "Four?  But I only have three..." he said, counting on his fingers.  "Or two... my wind and water were fused into cloud.  Wouldn't that be only two?  Aki-sama... why can't we learn all of the releases, if we are able to learn all sorts of jutsus?"  he asked, pondering the question.  After all, he did want to learn all of his family's jutsus.. and they were very creative with other elements.  Some learned cold weather and others warm, for example.

(w/c: 303)

Once the food was done, Akihana made sure to carefully transfer it into a tray to be kept warm in the oven until lunch. That done, the kunoichi moved towards the pantry, wondering if Arashi might like some custard for dessert. Getting the mixture from the pantry, Akihana poured it onto a bowl.

"Well," she began as she reached for a whisk and began to fold the ingredients in carefully. "You were born with water so that's one element, speaking off, could you please throw a little bit more in here?" The blonde would extend the bowl to him, it seemed he was already very skilled with small scale control from his help with the cooking earlier but the more he would use his chakra, the more refined his abilities would become. "Then you learned wind so that's your second. You need those two to learn the cloud element but you can still use them as individual elements so you have three. And we've just found out you have a knack for Raiton."

Once the mixture was set, all it needed was a little time in the fridge to cool and become a proper dessert. On a normal day, Akihana would have doen just that but today there was a wind user in the kitchen. "As for the different weather conditions, let's see if we can figure out how that works."

Placing the bowl in the middle fo the kitchen counter and wrapping it safely with clean film just in case, Akihana moved away from the counter, making sure she had Arashi's attention. "Now since you know both wind and water, let's see if you can use them both together. Use your dominate hand for the element that seems more difficult and channel both of them towards the bowl. Water and wind aught to make it a bit chilly, and its a lot faster than waiting for it to cool in the refrigerator no?"