A past brought in through the wind

The afternoon sun shown brightly in Sunagakure, reflecting brightly upon the windows of the tall buildings and from there building in intensity. It all made for a truly hot day, one that even Inuzuka, Kaito was a bit apprehensive of being out in. He would much rather be inside with the air conditioning or even down at the small water hole where the children played on days at hot as this one.

'Nearly home... Nearly home...'

The boy had been sent out at around noon that day to do some grocery shopping for the week. While he didn't have a lot to carry nor did he have to walk far, he still felt as though he had been sent out into the desert itself with bags of boulders in his hands. As he walked with a slightly fast face, he could see his good friend Naki hanging up posters upon a light pole. With a smile the Inuzuka would approach his friend.

"Aye, Naki." He greeted cheerfully. "Sure is hot today, huh? What you hanging up flyers for? You hosting an art exhibit or something?" Kaito would look at the flyer that Naki had made, and he could see that the other Genin was in fact looking for a person to teach him Wind-Release.

Kaito became a bit too excited.

"I can teach you Wind-Release, no sweat, bro." He said, nudging the boy with his shoulder. "I've just gotta drop these off at home and I'll meet you at the training grounds in about twenty minutes."

Kaito hurried on home in a sprint. He would toss all of the groceries into their rightful places before running back out of the front door and towards the training grounds. He was happy that he had yet another good friend to train with. He reminisced on the training session that he had with Yusuke, Sumiko, and Hinoishi, remembering how much fun he had in helping to shape the next generation of Sunagakure ninja into formidable warriors. And now that Naki was back form wherever it was he had been for the past few months, it was time to help get him into shape as well.

Soon enough, the Inuzuka entered the threshold of the training area. He would look around for Naki and found the boy along the riverbank of the First Training Ground.

"Sorry for taking so long, bro." He said. "You ready to learn how to control the power of wind?"

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[Word Count (Post) - 410]
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As Naki sat down upon the grass-filled ground, Kaito would excitedly clear his throat.

"Wind-Style, as I'm sure you know, is one of the most basic Jutsu elements. While that may be the case, it is in fact the rarest of the basic chakra natures and perhaps the hardest to learn to control." Kaito would begin to pace back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back as he did so. "For most chakra natures, such as Fire-Style or Water-Style, a user with enough power can create the element out of thin air. The same does go, in some cases, for Earth-Style and even Lighting-Style. With Wind-Release, however, that is not possible. All we Wind-Style users have when it comes to the element is the wind that is already in the air. We manipulate it, and if there is not enough wind blowing, our techniques will not come out as powerful as they should." Kaito would pause for a moment to look down at Naki with an air of studiousness about him. "That, my friend, is what makes Wind-Style the hardest of the five basic elements to learn."

The Inuzuka would remove his trusty water bottle from the item pouch upon his hip, taking a swig of the contents inside and also offering some to Naki. Once Naki accepted or denied the offer of a drink, Kaito would seal it back up with the cap and put it back into his pouch.

"Now for a bit of a demonstration. I want you to pay close attention to the sounds of my footsteps..."

Kaito would walk in place for a moment, making sure that each and every step he took was easily audible.

"Now memorize that sound, Naki..." With that, Kaito would form the "Bird" hand seal. Invisible chakra began to swirl around and underneath his feet, almost similar in manner to how a Shinobi forms the chakra under their feet to utilize the "Surface Walking Jutsu". Once enough chakra formed, Kaito would nod. "Now pay close attention to my feet again." Once Naki was fixated on Kaito's feet, the Inuzuka began to stomp with a visible amount of force. Normally the grass and leaves under his feet would crackle loudly under this much pressure, but with Kaito having infused his Wind-Release chakra into the soles of his feet, they didn't make a single sound.

Kaito would continue his stomping for a moment, allowing Naki to take in what he was trying to show him, before stopping and ceasing the flow of Wind-Release chakra.

"The technique that I just demonstrated is called "Wind-Style: Quiet Footsteps"." Kaito would remove the Jutsu Encyclopedia from his item pouch and flip to the page that contained the technique he was talking about before handing it over to Naki. "Sure, it may only be an E-Rank Jutsu, but that Jutsu is one that entails all of the basics for Wind-Release. In fact, it is so versatile, that many high-ranking shinobi use it on scouting and assassination missions. But, Naki, once you've read up on how to properly infuse your chakra for the Jutsu from my encyclopedia there, I want to see you perform the technique." Kaito would place his hand delicately, yet firmly, upon the boy's shoulder and smile sincerely. "I know you can pull it off. I beliven you..."

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[Word Count (Post) - 554]
[Word Count (Total) - 964]

Kaito could immediately see that him putting his hand upon Naki's shoulder was the wrong thing to do. He would immediately retreat and let the other Genin do his think.

'I hope he is okay...' He thought to himself.

As Kaito looked on at Naki, he could see the boy becoming more and more frustrated with each attempt and failure. Suddenly, Naki let out a burt of anger as he fell face-first into the water. A piece of paper fell out of his pocket and began to float in the air until landing at Kaito's feet. During its free fall the paper, which had been folded a few times, became unfolded down the middle. On one half the Inuzuka could see what he assumed to be a photo of Naki with his parents, but on the other he could see that it was addressed to somebody named "Rai".

'What in the world?'

Kaito knelt down as to pick up the photo so that he could hand it back over to Naki, but when Naki exclaimed that he might be adopted or have a lost brother before questioning his own existence. Feeling sad for his friend, and not wanting to annoy him further, Kaito instead sat a small rock upon the edge of the photo as to keep it in place. The rock would only be small enough to hold it where it currently stood and did not weigh enough to crinkle it or do any damage to it at all. From there, Kaito would walk to the riverbank and knell down one meter in front of Naki.

'Poor guy...'

Kaito wanted to be there for his friend, but he didn't know the best words to choose for this type of counciling. After a moment of pondering and choosing his words carefully, he would address his friend.

"Naki... I can't say that I know exactly what you're going through... I never did have a brother myself." Kaito gulped, hoping his choice of words would not irritate Naki further. "I do, however, know what it is like to feel lost in the world, like there is nowhere to turn to... to question one's own existence... Kaito paused for a brief second, flashes of the day that he had killed the man that killed his best friend in cold blood. "But you can't let your life be dictated by the conditions of your birth." Kaito would stand up to his feet and outstretch his arm down towards Naki, looking to help the boy back up to his feet. "You ARE Choko, Naki, and you are one of the best damn shinobi and friends I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." Some tears would begin to well up in the empathetic Kaito's eyes. "For what it's worth, I'd go as far to call you a brother of my own..."

A moment later another person would arrive on the scene. They were a bit older, perhaps early to mid twenties, but they greeted Naki nicely before turning to Kaito and introducing himself as Raiden Ametsuchi. Kaito would wipe the tears he had shed upon the sleeve of his jacket before accepting the man's offer of a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Raiden. I'm Inuzuka, Kaito."

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[Word Count (Post) - 540]
[Word Count (Total) - 1,504]

Kaito allowed Naki and Raiden a few moments to get the air between them cleared up. As they did, Kaito would take the opportunity to retrieve his Jutsu Encyclopedia and focus some Wind-Style chakra around it to air it out quickly. He wasn't even mad that Naki had launched it during his fit of anger. Money could easily buy him a new one if need be.

He would still have one ear listening in on the conversation at all times, however, and when the older Raiden would give him a look, kaito would nod.

"Raiden has a point, Naki. Family does not end at blood level. Family is a concept that goes far beyond that." Kaito would pause for a second, still trying to not step on any toes with his choice of words. "Like I said, I personally view you as a brother. I can only hope that you view me in a similar light, but should you have a biological brother, that would be awesome. Should you two ever meet then perhaps you two will be able to share some stories over some drinks at the bar. If you never meet him, then that is someone that you never needed in your life in the first place." Kaito smiled sincerely at his friend. "I, for a fact, Naki, am pulling for ya. I've always got your back and will never let your resolve and feelings falter."

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[Word Count (Post) - 238]
[Word Count (Total) - 1,742]