Reunion, Friendship [P,NK,Kurisu,Kasuga,Risa,Ari]

Since Kurisu left, Ari kept herself busy. Training without a minute's rest to the point of unconsciousness. Ari felt like she'd grown significantly since she last saw Kurisu; her strength, Chakra, toughness and stamina all felt like they'd matured beyond what she'd thought possible. Comparing her performance to the clone, she still fell short, but the climb was just beginning. Passing time until Kurisu returned with Kasuga, Ari sat in the training grounds focusing her Chakra and attempting to perform a Hiyu technique. Known as Toy Soldier Transformation, it was a very odd technique with gratuitous amounts of utility.

Naturally she held both hands in front as she performed the Ram handseal. This seal was typically the only one required for a Hiyu's techniques, similar to Nara or other clans. Using this seal she focused Chakra into her cells, attempting to manipulate them throughout her entire body. The process was often painful on the first try, since mistakes were easily made. Thus, training Hiyu techniques required one to take steps; transformation of one limb at a time that wouldn't interfere with handseals should it go awry. Starting with her right leg, Ari transformed a portion of her knee's cells.

The results showed her knee allowed the foot to reach her waist, bending forwards or backwards. Ari immediately released the technique after successfully using it, returning the cells in her knee to normal. Since she had to wait a while before trying again she stood up. Casually Ari walked to a bench on the training grounds perimeter, sitting to lean forward on both knees with her elbows, supporting her head with both hands. Watching from the bench, Ari observed a few people training various techniques. They seemed occupied with their training and unlikely to notice her.

Today Ari had avoided using the Basic Transformation technique. As such, her appearance seemed fairly mature; blonde hair, a strong body, sincere eyes and a burgundy red suit. Kurisu hadn't observed Ari in his clothing, since he caught her off guard in a towel. A short sleeved jacket over a white tank top with long baggy cargo pants. Ari wouldn't often go out in her base appearance, if not for Kurisu promising to bring Kasuga back, she would have been transformed. This wasn't the case, since she wanted Kasuga to see her true appearance at first, just as Kurisu did when they met.

She wasn't sure whether or not transforming on a daily basis would be required anymore, with Kurisu returning to Konoha. Whether or not people recognized Ari for the one who bore his child wouldn't matter from now on, unless she was going outside the village; even then she had more confidence to face danger now. Suddenly snapping out of her thoughts, Ari realized she'd been sitting for an hour staring into space. Somebody was approaching that she hadn't met before, although she wasn't aware of their existence until they announced themselves. Ari began to stand, taking in her surroundings while a breeze rolled through, cooling the air.

WC: 505

Kurisu gave Kasuga no time to really adjust or react to what was happening, just after taking the boy out of Sunagakure no Sato and into Asgard the two of them would immediately exit from Asgard and into the training grounds of Konohagakure no Sato, the location being more of a bet by Kurisu rather than actual focus on someone specific, his gut telling them that there was a good chance Ari was here.
 
The guess was proven to be true, Ari happened to be at a bench which Kurisu and Kasuga ironically appeared at just to the right of the bench. His right hand would be resting on the top of Kasuga’s head, “Hey Ari I found someone that would like to see you.” He said, figuring that Ari would immediately know that the boy was their son.
 
He wasn’t too concerned at the moment about anyone seeing him and Kasuga basically appear out of nowhere, though he was on alert in case anything funny started happening. For now everything seemed peaceful, such a different feeling from his old days in Kumogakure no Sato, it made him feel at home even if it was Konohagakure no Sato.

While observing the surrounding vicinity, Ari turned left just as the breeze seemed to collide with two new bodies. The sudden appearance of Kurisu and Kasuga would have gone unnoticed for a few more seconds if not for the wind ruffling their clothes. Ari snapped to the right with her stance, unaware it was them until turning face to see them. Kasuga was mostly hidden behind Kurisu, preventing her from noticing him at first. Simply seeing Kurisu was enough to make Ari's face light up with a genuine smile of relief. "How'd it go?" She thought about asking, curious of his progress. Kurisu was the first to speak though, as Ari stepped around the bench to face him properly.

Moving to her new location she immediately noticed Kasuga. Having not seen him since he was an infant, Ari had no words. At first stepping back on her right foot before immediately launching herself two paces forward. Ari wanted to embrace them both in a hug; the only thing holding her back was remembering that Kasuga wouldn't recognize her. When taking this into consideration she had to stop and introduce herself. "Uh-hm.. Hello, son.." Feeling more awkward now than ever before, Ari was blushing from the sheer joy of this moment. Feeling like this experience was too surreal, she took another step forward and extended both arms.

If allowed, her right hand would rest on Kurisu's left shoulder, while her left would rest on Kasuga's right shoulder.

He didn't have time to ask his father what had happened to him to turn him into a seven year old kid, though as they made the transition from Suna to Asgard and then back to him original home of Konoha...well he couldn't help but wonder why. Remembering that Kurisu had said something about someone wanting to meet him which caused the thought of "Who had honestly want to meet him in the village" to come to pass. As the two had finally left the throes of Asgard, his perfectly colored black and white hair flowed in the wind as he looked at the bench. Seeing a woman there he no undoubtedly didn't know or to his memory didn't he looked up to his dad and simply whispered one thing to him,"  Who the hell is that," though his question was answered as soon as he was brave enough to utter the question.

"Son."

The word made his eyes go blank for a moment. Was this...No it couldn't be. He knew...He watched his mother pass away from this word and yet... As he tried to stumble on the answer he fell to the ground, tiny hands grasping his head in an attempt to find clarity," No...You..I watched as you died!," his voice growing in depth as he groaned, the painful memories of the day playing in his head. The crying...The anger...The memory of his voice forever leaving or so he thought. It all replayed within his mind as he tried not to remember it. Through it all Erebes stood within his mind as if he had been blocking a door he meant for the male to never see. The door now free of obstruction disappeared showing the memories of the Demon of Darkness had hidden. A family that he had never know...His father had been gone true but his mother...was there.

The pain slowly stopped as he remained on the ground, his eyes slowly moving towards the woman in question, eyes staring into hers for a moment. The life he had known...was it fabricated? Did the demon residing in him cause this for some end that only he knew? He didn't know but...it was now he had a full family...A mother and a father. Standing slowly he left the embrace of his father, walking over to the woman and hugging her though from his height he would have been hugging her legs almost snuggling into them as he spoke softly," Sorry...I forgot everything, how this felt...My own mother," his eyes didn't look up unto her yet how could he? He had just remembered something so basic...a child should have never forgotten their mother and yet he did.

Ari wasn't sure how to react to Kasuga's outburst, she understood it must have been difficult for him to accept her. After not having a mother to help him grow up, Ari was most thankful that Kurisu guided him. Kasuga claiming he saw her die was the most difficult statement to receive of her life. Ari wasn't prepared to die and leave her family behind, not for a long time yet. Realizing how difficult it was on her was the easiest way to understand how hard it was for Kasuga.

Only hoping to be accepted, Ari tried to smile and keep her arms open as a sign that she welcomed him. Perhaps coincidentally, Kasuga approached during this moment and wrapped his arms around her. Being held by her son for the first time, she'd only ever held him prior to this moment. Using her left hand, Ari wrapped it behind Kasuga's neck and placed it on his left shoulder. His expression of remorse for forgetting her was difficult to understand when Ari mostly blamed herself.

"We're to blame Kasuga.. I'm sorry." She stroked the back of his head, ruffling his hair in the process. "I'll always be here when you need me.. From now on, our family is whole." Ari's eyes just began to water as she looked over to Kurisu, halting the tears she felt coming. Remaining strong as Kasuga's mother was a requirement now and she couldn't cry. Instead, Ari embraced her overwhelming emotions and turned them into a smile.

A raven haired, silver eyed, short young lady found herself knocked to the ground after running right into a rather tall man, who had seemed... Powerful. 

But first, let's rewind. 

After breaking her alarm clock, this black haired girl stumbled out of bed, and into the bathroom. The thousand yard stare reflected her lifelessness at this moment as the tooth brush hung from her mouth, her hands at her sides. After two minutes, she just spat it out and took a step towards the shower, putting the cold water on full blast. Without even taking off her sleeping clothes, she just sort of sat in the shower as the water hit her head, dripping down onto her face. Had it not been for the icy liquid beating down upon her scalp, Risako would have drifted into sleepy-land once again. 

The last few days have been... slow to say the least. The chuunin moping in her shower had lost any and all drive for going out and training, and had been actively avoiding her duties in the academy. It was as if an emotional truck had just came barreling down the street and smacked into her as she was rounding the corner on the side walk, leaving her scattered across the ground, unable to recover. 

It took her thirty minutes before the manliest ninja in Konoha had realized she was shaking from the cold. With an unsteady hand, she shut off the water and forced herself up. Sleep was finally cleared from her thoughts, and she was finally awake enough to get ready. Stripping herself of the wet clothes, she swiftly changed into the standard uniform that Konoha's shinobi were to wear. Of course, most didn't wear it, but it didn't matter. Risako had enough pride in her village that vanity wasn't something to cross her mind. 

It had crossed her mind, as she moped in the shower, that maybe she was down because her body wasn't getting its usual abuse. Holding her left wrist with her right hand, Risako stretched her sides, before heading out of her door. Of course, she didn't intend just go all out today, just a simple exercise routine would do. 

By the time the small figure of Risako had jogged to the training grounds, her mood was already improving. While her spirit wasn't quite where it usually was, her eyes no longer held that dead, thousand yard stare. The way she looked at it, she would just run her little heart out, until she felt like she usually did. 

Risako took off to the right, jogging around the perimeter of the grounds. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, she grew bored as the only thing she saw was some woman sit down at a bench. Luckily, something must more interesting caught her attention, distracting her from her running and putting her on a collision course with the bench due to not giving the direction she was heading enough attention, The object of her current attention? A bright red bird that took off from a tree branch, soaring off into the distance. Immediately, her time spent in the woods with her fox came to mind, and she thought "Oh! I know what kinda bird that is, it's right on the tip of my tong-"

Her thought was cut short as she ran right into a man that had, unknown to her, just appeared in thin air before her. It was now, that we came full circle, and back to the present. The impact was enough to knock her flat on her ass, leaving the short girl about three feet away from the wall of a person that she had bumped. All that could be heard from Risako was, "Uhhh," as she sort of sat dumbfounded, staring up. After a second, she found herself scrambling back to her feet, apologizing like a broken record.

Things weren't exactly going as Kurisu had expected, he was thinking there'd be more joy and hugging from the reunion. Kasuga seemed to have been under the impression that his mother had died and didn't recognize her at first. He decided that it would be best to let the two have their own moment, he could only hope that it would go good. Everything did worked itself out, Kasuga apparently remembering Ari and the two of them embracing. Kurisu stood there and smile while watching his family slowly come together, giving a slight nod to Ari when she looked at him. "Well now-" before he could even really get words out of his mouth he was cut off suddenly.

One would imagine that someone of Kurisu's rank and power would not be so easy to take down, however no matter how strong someone might be if they are not paying attention then it won't matter much. Kurisu learned his lesson for letting his guard down during the family moment, with some random girl running into him and rebounding off. He tried to catch his footing but ended up landing face first in the grass, laying there silent for a moment annoyed at the situation. 

After a few seconds he'd push himself up off the ground and get back onto his feet. Brushing some of the grass and dirt off his Raikage robes he'd look around. "Okay that was great, forgot what I was going to say." he said with a hint of sarcasm to his voice during the first part of the statement. After speaking, instinct kicked in, Kurisu making sure to put himself between the stranger and his family although not in a manner that was aggressive but in a more casual way, he didn't want to create any tension. His concerns would vanish once the girl got up and started to apologize. "Its fine." he said, letting a sigh of relief.

The warmth from the embrace had caused Kasuga to seize up momentarily...This was what he had wanted all along yet the question in the back of his mind was why did he forget this. As he hugged on his mom and his mom returned the hug, his mind went towards the depths reaching for Erebes as he stared at the demon, the older being staring back with no remorse as he spoke," Here for something?," the elder demon stared at him hoping the child would lash out at him. His reasoning for doing such a thing? Only the demon itself knew and he wasn't in a mood to tell its host body, the outcome apparent as he hovered there in the depths of his darkness. With a shaken voice the child asked the entity one simple question." Why?," his eyes turned to the demon as it only stood there and floated, eyes staring into the youth without a word, only a smug smile.

For a moment he stood there within his mind, knowing his answers would come from simply asking a dark one yet he felt as if he should have known. With no developments he left the throes of his mind still hugging his mother for a moment before sighing contently and relaxing. He was no longer alone in this world. Finally he had a family that he could call his own and these simple things made him happier than he could imagine. Though he had lost people coming to this path, he could only see the positives which were in front of him and behind him. His eyes turned to his father whom he wanted to thank for this though as he tried, he could only see his father falling to the ground. At first his brow simply raised a smidgen before his hand pointed at the woman who had just knocked his dad down would be holding a black blade," Alright so what the hell do you think you're doi-," his voice quelling as he sees his father get up and move in front of them in which the black blade disappeared in a black mist and the child's eyes peered from the side of his parent.

He was quick to defend his family and if this...whoever this cretin was tried something he'd be using something new to pummel them into the ground! Though he'd figured that his mother would tap him on the head to tell him to calm down, though he couldn't help it. He was still a seventeen year old male that had a little...battle thirsty in him, but if his father was alright then he wouldn't press the issue. For now he stood in front of his mother and behind his father of course on edge waiting for his home wrecker to say something!

The startling events which lead to Kurisu being knocked down were quite shocking, Ari couldn't help but chuckle as the realization of what happened dawned on her. A decently smaller girl had run into Kurisu and knocked him flat on his face, what were the odds of that? Ari would have offered him a hand up if Kasuga didn't immediately go on alert and take a defensive stance. Kurisu did something similar, moving to stand between them and the new arrival. Tensions seemed to escalate far too quickly and just as fast they calmed back down.

The girl apologized profusely for her folly shortly before Kurisu excused her. Kasuga had also been on alert and cut off his own sentence once he understood what happened. It was a pleasant surprise to see neither Kurisu, nor Kasuga resorted to any rash action in this event. "If I knew that's what it took you knock you down I could have used it Kurisu." Ari joked, chuckling to herself again. "You caught us in the middle of our family get-together, uhm..." Posturing with her right index finger pressing against the right side of her mouth, with the rest of her fingers folded to support her chin; Ari had to ask. "Sorry, what's your name?"

Her left hand rested on Kasuga's shoulder of the same side; only a glance exchanged with Kurisu over the new arrival, with a smile to assure him she didn't believe they were dangerous. Ari's defensive positioning was much more subtle, keeping her hand on Kasuga's shoulder was her way of defending him. Knowing how strong Kurisu was prevented her from believing he needed either of them to step in, even if he was knocked to the ground. Hopefully the woman answered with her name so things would proceed smoothly, there was no need for secrets here and they would only impede progress.

For the moment Ari's interest was still reuniting with her family and figuring out their next move; the new arrival might have placed this on pause, but she certainly arrived at a convenient time. "Oh where are my manners, my name's Ari." Reaching out her right hand for a shake provided an opening for the woman to come closer. A genuine smile of happiness still displayed itself proudly on Ari's mug; she wasn't going to stop smiling at the reunion with her family regardless of interruption. Something felt right about the woman in a non-threatening way. Her presence at least wouldn't be unwelcome in most other circumstances.

For a few seconds after she stood up, Risako's mind came about two inches from shutting down. The only thought that really crossed the dazed chuunin was "Sorry," and it was also the only word that came out of her mouth for a few seconds as she tried to rectify her mistakes in the eyes of these... fine (?) people. So caught up in her frantic apologizing, she missed the tones of sarcasm in the robed figures voice, and the quip about him being knocked down by a small girl by his... the blonde lady. Fortunately, she was mortified from the bump as it was, for if she had noticed the blade brought to existence by the boy, Risako likely would have done something to start a brawl in the training grounds. Not that it would end in her favor or anything like that, as most fights she took part in didn't. Up until the never-before-seen blonde lady spoke up, Risako's mouth just kept going on and on about "I'm so sorry, I apologize," etc etc. Her cheeks had a delayed reaction, and turned red only once Ari had spoken. Despite Risako's embarrassment, she had managed to compose herself enough to reply with something besides, "sorry." Konoha was a big enough place that two of its people could have lived in the same town and never met.

"Risako Akara," she said, her voice oddly calm considering her current feelings of shame. When prompted for a handshake, she wasted no time in grasping Ari's hand, and giving it a weak shake while making eye contact. Risako neglected to notice it, but where her cheeks turned red, her palms grew sweaty. So, unknowingly, she blessed the blonde's palms with her liquid embarrassment. Just for good measure, Risako took a step back from the group and gave a quick bow, while saying "I'm sorry," once more.

With a weak introduction out of the way, Risako started, "I uhh, I was running. A bird caught my eye." While it wasn't super specific, hopefully they caught on that she was giving a reason for slamming into, the guy. The older guy, specifically. Her flicked between the three, for a moment before returning back to Ari, or whoever was next to say something. Upon closer inspection, the only one that she remotely even recognized was the child, only because he looked somewhat like a certain Jounin that was mute. Despite her appearance as an idiot, her brain never forgot a face. Could just be a coincidence though. Rather than press the issue of "Why are these strangers all in the village?" she remained quiet, as to not seem rude. (Though, that may be addressed before she leaves.)