Mad World

Death. It was such a natural thing. A thing that some feared and others accepted.  There is this idea that when we die, we are brought to a better place, yet then why do we cry when we lose a loved one? Kaya has gotten the news of her brother’s passing just a week ago, yet the tears couldn’t stop coming. The girl who knew only happiness couldn’t process the pain that she felt. Her troubled breathing and her heavy chest, all she could manage to do was lie in a tree and weep. Even with her brother gone, she had so much family left, but none were in sight. Her mother had never come back from Suna nor did her father, so as far she knew, they were dead too. Her twin brother and sister? Who knows where they were. She felt so alone and having lived such a sheltered life, she wasn’t sure what to do with these emotions that she was feeling.

It was late afternoon when she finally found herself leaving the confined of the tree she hid herself in. Her feet trudged through the streets of Konoha, her shoulders and head low like her spirits. While it was a bright and sunny day in the village, the girl felt like all was ill. Everything was painted in black and grey, and there was no color in the world. She made her way to the training grounds, finding an upwards practice log. The girl suddenly found herself fuelled with a rage that she had never known before.

“Dead Child, This is the world you live in. One pull of pain and death.” She heard the voice in her head speak. It was none other than the six tailed beast, trying to have his way with the girl. While she knew better than to give in to the beast’s desires, the anger and frustration that had built up in the girl had gotten the best of her. With a clenched fist, the girl launched her fist at the wooden thing, her knuckles not even making a dent due to the little strength the girl had, but she didn’t care. She threw another fist, and one after that. It must have been two dozen punches before she stopped, her body collapsing as her knuckles were covered in blood. She silently wept as she recalled not only her brother, but er parent’s memory, feeling as she’ll never see any of them again. She couldn’t picture a day where this pain she was feeling would go away.

It was a bright, shining morning full of warmth and joy as Hikari began her day as usual, leaving the Hyuuga District with her best friend and loyal companion, Kuro. The wolf, whose coak was a black as the night itself, always accompanied her wherever she went, ever since she rescued him from the forest after finding him injured. He had been abandoned by his pack and left alone to die, but she brought him back from the brink of death with her medical ninjutsu and then rushed him to the Konoha Hospital. Ironically enough it was on that very day that the Hyuuga gained both a brother and sister, having wandered the hospital while Kuro was in surgery. Draconis and Akiko were both in a file room, checking the Hyuuga genealogy records to see if they had any family or close relatives and they had discovered their names were all connected, making them siblings to one another.

However, soon after their initial meeting (and after she went on a rank up mission with Drac), she came to find out that both had perished. It had broken her heart, finally having family again only for them to be torn away from her just as suddenly as they had appeared. Her only ray of light throughout her grief was the closest friend she had left (as, another saddening time came to sprout, all of her friends had passed on in their line of duty), Salzem. She had cried in his arms at the graveyard, having said her final farewells to the people she will always hold dear in her heart, and for those who were not buried there by she still knew had left the earth.

Nowadays the memories and thoughts of her friends and family do not bring her any sadness, they fill her with melancholy at what was once. She had vowed to not shed anymore tears for them, instead to reflect on the happier times she had enjoyed with them all. Hikari knew they would rather her do that than cry and mope around all day, depressed that they had become kindred souls. Hence why the kunoichi continued her training and learning every day, to make them proud from wherever they are in the afterlife.

The streets of Konoha were bustling and chatty as the duo exited the Konoha Library, a bag packed full of books for the snowy haired girl to train. It was around noontime when she exited the library, and it had been low morning when she had entered. Hikari loved to browse through the books the library had to offer, each one holding new and exciting information she just couldn’t wait to learn about. Most kids hated school and reading, but for Hikari it was one of her favorite past times. She count easily spend countless hours researching, whether it be new jutsu to train or a history about the clans of Konoha she was interested in it all. The books she carried today were basic skills and techniques ranging from taijutsu to ninjutsu to her Gentle Fist fighting styles. You name it and she probably had a book for it with her. But she always had to be prepared for when she went to the training grounds, which was an everyday occurrence. Some jutsu she had memorized to train while others she still had to look up the finer details about them just to make sure.

Hikari arrived to the training grounds and to her surprise right off the bat wandered into an area where a very young girl was furiously punching a log, her knuckles oozing crimson due to the blunt force of her fragile skin against the tough bark. Her eyes were wide in surprise at the child’s actions, having never experienced a kid training, as far as she could tell at that very moment, with such determination and ferocity. After about two dozen violent punches the girl fell to the ground, barely making any noise as her tiny frame hit the dirt, and began weeping silently, tears cascading down her rosy cheeks like a waterfall.

The Hyuuga silently approached the girl, sympathy reflecting from her lilac irises as she weaved the boar and rat hand signs. Her hands glowed a gentle blue-green hue as she used her basic medical ninjutsu. She would then, unless the girl jerked way or lashed out at her, gentle placing her glowing hands upon the child’s own battered knuckles. Her bleeding cuts would almost instantly stop throbbing from pain, the blood halting it flow, as she mended the broken skin back together. Soon enough a scab would form over the wounds, starting the body’s natural healing process.

If nothing else were to happen, Hikari would remove her hands from the girls once she finished healing her and Hikari would smile softly at the turquoise-ish hair colored girl, hoping she wouldn’t be frightened or angry at her.

Her voice was gentle and quiet, knowing the girl was upset over something she knew not what. This was her attempt to help her, trying to cheer her up or get her mind off of whatever was saddening her. “Hello, my name is Hikari.” Then she would motion over to Kuro, who was a about 8 feet away so as to not scare her. “That cute wolf over there is Kuro, he is really friendly and won’t hurt you.”

The girl continued to weep, the thoughts that filled her mine only filled her rage, which in turn, fuelled the beast within her. She could feel the monstrous thing thing to claw it’s way out of her, trying to gain full control like he once had against her brother. She was able to control him then but right now she wasn’t sure. She was filled with so many negative emotions, emotions that she had never once felt in her life, and she could feel herself slipping away. The dark purple chakra would have begun to engulf her body slowly, her eyes turning black right until her cold hands were grasped by another.

Like an alarm, the girl blooped back to consciousness. Her once blurry vision became crystal clear and the bijuu’s chakra disappeared. The white haired girl had just saved Kaya in more ways than just healing her hands, yet she probably wouldn’t even know it. The little girl’s big hazel eyes looked up into the whites of the unknown young woman. Kaya wanted to say thank you, but she couldn’t find the words. Instead, she took in the girl’s apparel. She wore a pink mini skirt matched with a pink top. The girl latched on to the wild choice of color, admiring it.

The genin hadn’t realized that the girl had finished healing her hands; hearing her voice being the indicator that caused her to look down at her knuckles. Her whole body felt numb, so they felt no different since she hadn’t even felt the pain the first time around. It was sad that such a small fragile girl could feel so much pain, and in some ways, feel nothing at all.

“Hello...” Was the only thing she could muster as her gaze fell on the large puppy. it may have been a grown dog, but every animal was a large puppy in her eyes. Not being able form any other words at the moment, The young’un simply stood her hands out towards the dog, like a toddler asking for his mother to pick him up. If he had came towards her, she’s begin to pet his fur, her eyeliner following the strokes of her hands as she made her way down from his neck to his lower back. As if a switch was turned on inside of her, A large smile appeared on her face, a gleeful laughter filling the air as the dog brought her pure happiness. Animals often had this effect on her. She was in a state of pure bliss momentarily before she remember why she had been so sad.

“My name is Kaya...” The girl said in a melancholy manner, still petting the puppy’s fur. “By any chance ma’am, do you have jutsu to bring back the dead?” She asked, seeing as the girl knew medical ninjutsu. The Jinchuriki knew it was a long shot, but she figured it didn’t hurt to ask. Maybe by some miracle, the girl had fallen into the presence of some mystical enchantress.

Much to the Hyuuga’s relief, the child fought through her grieving state to stare into her eyes, acknowledging her presence after a couple of minutes having gone by. The young girl’s hands were cold as Hikari healed them, and it seemed as if she had not even registered the pain her knuckles endured. It was at this time that she noticed what the girl looked like.

The child was tiny, just like herself, and if Hikari were anyone else she would have thought this girl was a toddler and not a young child. But she knew too well that looks could be deceiving (she herself was only four foot and nine inches yet she was twenty years old and a Chuunin). The girl had lovely hazel irises and she had wild, blue-green hair. Hikari had never seen anything like it before, and thought it was very beautiful. Her attire consisted of a green garment, which included a cute little hood, and an animal skull for a hat (what animal was a mystery to her). Although what shocked the kunoichi the most were the features on her face, which she only glanced at briefly in fear of staring and bothering the child. She had a red mark across her cheeks and over her nose, almost as if it were a birthmark, and a large scar trailing from her forehead down to her nose. She wondered how such a young child had gotten that scar, and instantly felt a mix of feelings: awful at the thought of someone trying to harm such a young soul, and anger at the said person, wanting to go back in time and protect the child from them before they could harm her. Hikari hated bullies and people who hunted down the weak, she felt those low lives deserved to fight someone and get beaten to a pulp (not near death though, she did not wish for anyone to die an early death even if they were scumbags).

Soon enough her job as a medical-nin was finished and she retreated her hands back to rest on her lap. It wasn’t much effort for her to heal such small wounds, but she was thankful her attempt at distracting the girl from wallowing in her despair was a success. She had been through a time similar to this one and knew oh so well how comforting it is to have someone there to lean on, even if she was a completely stranger to the child she hoped she could be that person for her. A shoulder to cry on, a tender ear to listen, and a soothing voice to calm the calamity in her heart.

A gentle smiled crossed her face as the girl finally spoke up, saying a meek hello as her eyes traveled over to Kuro, the wolf sitting idly nearby. Neither of them expected the child to stand up and reach her hands out, silently begging for the wolf to come closer to her, desire to pet and grab onto the wolf’s fluffy coat was written across her entire face. Children would be children after all, and Hikari guessed the girl didn’t realize Kuro was a wolf and not a dog, although he was just as gentle as a dog sometimes.

Kuro walked over to the girl, allowing her to run her fingers through his black coat, petting him. He didn’t mind the attention, and was more grateful she didn’t try to pull his tail or ears. Some children think that is okay to do to an animal, but those areas are sensitive and are painful when pulled. She gently ran her fingers from his head to his lower back, and Kuro enjoyed it, wagging his tail slightly to show she was doing a good job at petting him. Her gloom expression morphed to a gleeful one, a large grin replaced her once sullen look. A high pitched sound of pure happiness.escaped her lips as she ecstatically laughed. She was having a great time with Kuro, the wolf easily taking away her pain.

Momentarily, that is. After she calmed down from her laughter, she introduced herself, her voice returning to its saddened tone. She had remembered what had previously made her cry earlier. It broke the Hyuuga’s heart to hear her question, looking into her big, hopefully eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Kaya…” She began, down casting her eyes, her tone sorrowful and her expression sullen. “I do not know any way to bring back the dead…” Hikari glanced back up at the girl, being at around eye level with her due to still kneeling on the ground. She wasn’t sure how the girl would react to her answer, as it was one she didn’t want to hear. The girl had lost someone dear to her, so dear that she would try to reincarnate them, using forbidden techniques to raise them from the dead. Luckily she was still a child and probably had no way of learning those kinds of techniques, but if she harbored those feelings into her adult life, she could find a way to attempt being God, reversing the effects of death. It was risky business trying to go against the laws of life, and something even worse could happen if she attempted such things.

Kuro nuzzled the girl after she asked her question, hoping to comfort her as best he could since he couldn’t speak the human language. He understood the severity of what was taking place, and also understood how she felt at the lost of a loved one. He had been there for Hikari just as Salzem had been, trying to calm the weeping girl. The grieving stage of life was always the hardest to overcome, especially the closer you are to the person that passed away. But it also made one stronger, hardening their hearts when they must, to protect themselves from feeling such pain ever again. It also had damaging effects on people as well, causing them to travel down a dark path of vengeance and hatred. Hopefully this child did not travel down the darker path, being eaten away from the inside by her negative emotions.

Even before the girl spoke her desire, the kunoichi knew how she felt by seeing it reflected through her eyes. A spark hidden underneath the grief in her chestnut eyes. It was the same passion that coursed through her own being, a desire to be strong enough to protect those around you. Hikari had that same wish, and it was one of her reasons for wanting to become a medical-nin; to have the strength to save the lives of those around her.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and before it fell too far Kuro licked it away, in a similar gesture to someone using their fingers to wipe the tear away. It amazed Hikari how despite Kaya’s age and the trauma she’s gone through, she was mature enough to turn her grief into compassion for others. Someone had been taken from her life, but Kaya walked the lightened path of love instead of the darkened path of vengeance.

It was a new sensation for the young girl to be called senpai and be asked to train someone. She had never really trained anyone before, never as a student such as Kaya was asking. She felt honored the girl wanted to be taught by her.

Warmth filled her lilac eyes as she smiled at the green haired girl, “It would be my honor to teach you, Kaya-chan.” She was desperate, it seemed, for a strong teacher like Hikari, as she added that Hikari could continue her training that she came to do. “Watching me train will not be the same as training yourself. I’m more than willing to teach you new things, if you would like for me to?”

As she patiently waited for her response, the Hyuuga pondered what she would teach the girl if she said yes. Hikari figured the first thing to do would be to see what kind of chakra nature she had to see if she could teach her any of those techniques. If Kaya was not proficient in ninjutsu, she would see what she was specialized in and go from there.

If Kaya did in fact agree to being trained by Hikari, she would say, mimicking the tone of a teacher but with her smile still present, “Alright! Our first step of training will be about chakra natures. Do you happen to know what yours is, Kaya-chan?”

Weeks that had been filled with dread slowly but surely began to look up once more for the young girl. Her eyes were filled with Glee as the white haired girl accepted her request to become a sensei. Of course, The young girl had once been taking lessons from the now Hokage, Ashi Inuzuka, but the unforeseen circumstance of her suddenly becoming Hokage meant that the wild haired girl didn’t have time to train her any longer. That had also been a part of her recent depression. Having that problem solved meant that now she could continue to get stronger.

The child now filled with glee, through her little arms around the girl’s leg. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The girl would remove herself from her left and then throw her arms around the large puppy’s neck. She then had the sudden urge to ride the large beast, and pretend she was riding off to battle. While this was something she would have definitely done a year or two ago, a slight amount of maturity that she had gained prevented her from doing so... for now.

She’d let go and nod to the suggestion of her teaching the young’un some new things. “yes of course!” Kaya’s sadness had been converted into drive. She was ready to go and ready to learn. She would save the sulking for later. All she wanted to do now was make her deceased brother proud.

“I sure do!” Kaya replied to the girl’s questions, giving her a big smile that showed the gap she had in the upper portion of he mouth. “I know Lightning and Water!” She said, crossing her arms and looking off into the distance to try and appear like a bad ass. She was 9 after all and knew 2 elemental affinities. That was more than most Genin at any age. “What about you Hikari-Senpai!?"

Kaya's arms embraced her leg suddenly, the child crying out in joy as she thanked her over and over again for agreeing to be her teacher. This caused the unsuspecting Hyuuga to giggle at her antics, amused by how excited she was. Then Kaya thee her tiny arms arm Kuro's neck, brimming with happiness. Hikari was glad to see the girl in high spirits again, happy she was no longer sad and crying. As Hikari offered to teach Kaya new jutsu instead of having the girl watch her train, she released her grasp on Kuro, bobbing her head up and down, quickly accepting her offer. The girl was filled with renowned vigor to learn and train, her drive to protect others pushing her forward. This drive, Hikari noted, could be the difference between life and death for the child, for without a purpose to continue going forward, one might fall victim to the cruelties of life.

The girl shot her a toothy grin, the gap in her teeth visible, as she eagerly answered Hikari’s questions. Hikari couldn't help but grin back at her, filling with so much joy at seeing the young girl behave energetically, the way children should behave. Kaya shared lightning nature with the kunoichi, which was a relief as Hikari now knew what kind of jutsu she could teach her.

“Haha, I know Fire and Lightning.” She responded after her little chuckling fit, as she saw Kaya cross her arms and look off into the distance as if she were the toughest kid on the block (and hey, maybe she was). “I can teach you lightning jutsu, if you’d like. But first, as a warm up, I have two lower ranked jutsu in mind that are pretty handy! Do you know the Bock Flicker technique or the Mark Seal?”

If Kaya said no, Hikari would begin to explain the first jutsu she mentioned, the Body Flicker technique. “So the Body Flicker jutsu is very useful for getting away from an attack or an opponent, and can also be used to get close to someone or something quickly. It uses your chakra to amplify your maximum speed, therefore giving your speed a huge boost.”

Placing her hands in the ram hand sign, Hikari prepared to show Kaya the jutsu. “This technique uses only the ram hand sign, and can only be used to get from one place to another. Watch as I quickly move from her over to that tree about a mile away.”

Vanishing in a blur of speed (195), Hikari’s form blurred away until no remnants of her being in that spot remained. Within a few seconds she was standing beside the tree, waving at Kaya. Hikari stood for a few seconds longer, wanting to make sure Kaya saw her, before she performed the ram hand sign once more, blurring out of her sight.

“Wanna give it a shot now, or do you have any questions first?” She nicely asked, appearing beside the girl with a smile dancing upon her lips.

(WC: 510)

“Ooo, Cool!” Kaya said slowly, realizing the two shared the lightning element. It was one that she held dear as it was her root towards her family’s homeland, Kumo. Her whole family had known the element, so being able to learn more techniques for that element would be something special to her, and another way of honouring her brother. She was also not very knowledgeable in techniques since a lot of her training had been spent trying to tame the beast that lived within her.

When Hikari mentioned the body flicker technique, the young girl looked at her with a dumbfound expression. The girl just stood blankly until the Chunin would pick up on the cue and continue to explain to her what is was. Kaya would listen intently. As she listened, she realized that it was a technique that she would probably find quite useful since the girl was rather slow. She looked like she was walking when in actuality, she would be trying to run as fast as she could.

The girl focused really hard. Like really really hard to keep track of the girl as she prepared to use the jutsu. So hard, that a little vein appeared on her forehead just as Hikari vanished. Kaya was SHOOK. The girl turned head one way, then the other as she finally spotted Hikari near the tree. “WHOA” She said, stretching it out. “No, My turn!” The girl exclaimed. Of course, she had lots of questions, but she was way too excited to boop away. Kaya was about ready to turn this into a game of hide and seek be teleporting halfway across the village.

Kaya proceeded to form the hand seal, and focus her chakra on forming the jutsu. The girl was a master at chakra control for her age, so performing this technique shouldn’t have been too difficult. Just as she was beginning to feel her body surge, giving her that speed boost, she proceeded to move. Of course, the young’un was unfamiliar with the process of this technique so as she began to move, she failed to realize that she was noe moving 6 times her regular speed. And just like that, she ran right into the tree near where Hikari was standing.

BONK!

Just as fast as she had hit it, she had hit the floor just as quickly. The girl’s eyes were wide open, staring at the sky as she counted the little birdies flying around her head. “Uuuuuuuu-Suuu fussstttt.” she muttered, not being able to speak properly. Her little body was still trying to comprehend what just happened .

It brought a smile to the Hyuuga’s lips as the younger shinobi exclaimed excitedly, taking no time at all to attempt the jutsu. What the Hyuuga had failed to realize, was that she had not properly instructed Kaya on how to control moving at such high velocity. Thus, the young girl accidentally ran into the tree beside her instead of next to the tree. Kaya thumped quite loudly as she rammed into the tree, shaking some leaves loose, before she fell back onto the earthy ground just as loudly.

Hikari quickly ran to the girl’s aid, kneeling down beside the wide eyed girl, her hands already filled with her chakra and illuminated in a gentle blue-green light, as she had done the boar and rat hand seals as she ran over to the fallen girl. She activated her medical ninjutsu to access the young girl, and to heal and injuries she had sustained. She was worried Kaya might have sustained a concussion, as she had been traveling incredibly fast.

“Shh, it’s okay Kaya. Everything is alright now.” She spoke quietly, her glowing hands gently resting on the young girl’s head, one on her forehead and the other on the top. Hikari used her chakra to flow into the girl, examining the muscles and skull inside. From what she could tell, Kaya had not taken and serious damage to her bone structure or her tendons, but she might have gotten a small concussion from the impact. Luckily it was nothing to fear, and Hikari did the best she could to mend any painful areas with her own chakra. Kaya would just need to be careful with her head for about a week, lest she damage in further, or she could visit the konoha hospital where the nurses and doctors could properly heal her concussion. As it stood now, Hikari was only a very low level med-nin, having not specialized in her medical ninjutsu sooner. She had decided to wait until she received her Jounin rank to specialize in the arts of healing, due to the fact that she felt it necessary to have more offensive attacks in her early years, so she could survive long enough to make her dream happen.

Once she finished healing the young girl to the best of her abilities, which took about two minutes, she released her medical ninjutsu and sat back on her feet, still kneeling. Then she spoke up once more, as Kaya’s mind should be clear enough now to comprehend words, “I am so sorry, Kaya. I should have explained that jutsu better…” She felt awful, as it was her fault her new student got injured so easily. She had been too careless, “I will make sure to not allow that to happen again, I promise. How do you feel Kaya? Do you think you can continue?”

If Kaya sat up, said she felt better, or she said she wanted to continue, Hikari would stand up, offering her hand down to the girl below, and if she accepted her offer, she would help lift Kaya off the ground as well. Then she would explain in better detail the Body Flicker technique. “This jutsu, as you have just witnessed, increases your speed tremendously. To make sure you do not run into things again, visualize the spot you are trying to run to before she activate the jutsu, and then only focus on that spot and nothing else, that way your body will only run to that spot and not crash into an object, like a tree. So try to focus on the ground where we just were, see the footprints our shoes have left? Focus on those footprints as you attempt this jutsu once more. I will also use this jutsu and go a little farther down, to stop you if you run too far.”

With those parting words, Hikari performed the ram hand sign and ran at a speed of 195, appearing as a blur before filling out a foot behind the spot they had stood ten minutes prior, her arms outstretched and ready to catch the girl, or at least be a softer surface to ram into than a tree. She eagerly awaited to see if the young girl could do it this time, hoping she would succeed.

If Kaya had previously said she was not ready to continue just yet when she was still lying on the ground, Hikari would completely understand ad patiently wait for Kaya to be ready. She would even understand if the girl no longer wanted Hikari to be her teacher, as she had miserably failed to teach the young girl and caused her injury. She would react accordingly if Kaya said she wanted to leave, quit, or find another teacher, being saddened by the news but deciding maybe it would be in Kaya’s best interests to find a more suitable teacher than she.

(WC: 817)