[Mikatakujira Ruto]

The small home Ruto has cultivated for himself within the clan compound is more like a personalized lab than a house, the environment sterile and quiet. He had never been much of one for decoration, the clutter littering every surface in his home being more practical than aesthetic. Some small trinkets had been claimed from enemy soldiers and are laid out among the materials, but most everything is scientific in nature. 

Small samples, interesting and complex colonies, medical studies and many, many texts. None of the private information about his more nefarious research was out in the open, though. All that remained hidden away in the offices where he did his work. This was all his personal projects. He was not shy about the curiosity of young minds and so he often allowed anyone who was intrigued to come wandering in, as if his house were some living museum, a library of strange knowledge. He remembered a youth full of terrible experimentation and was glad to supply something more... calm. Indirect. 

Today, he found himself closely examining a plant carrying some concerning rot. It had been found in the jungle and spirited away out of concern that it would spread to other like plants. Any roaming visitors would be welcome to come in and join the observation. Some of the clan children enjoy coming in and spectating. 

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

...

A Simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH! A mental sigh to reach mountains and a kick of a rock sent flying across the ground. "Why is Chakra so hard?! It's so dumb!" Kuni sighed overexaggeratedly, dragging her hands down her face and letting it go to let her features jump back in place. "You know, for a Mikatakugerah, you are pretty weird." A boy, Tsuki Tadachi, stated, observing Kunikunosaku's gestures. "Well sorry for being me!" The girl retorted, puffing her cheeks out in irritation. Tadachi poked at the girl's cheeks causing them to deflate as she blew out air in his face. "Do you need help studying for the test?" Kuni's look of irritation turned into one of confusion. "Test? Oh right, Chakra concepts. No, I think I'll be fine." The small girl stated as they got closer to her clan compound.

"But uh... didn't you sa-" "I got this dude! Focus on you! I got me." Kunikunosaku interjected Tadachi, mainly to shut him up, second because her parents won't let any of her friends come over. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Tadachi." Kuni stated as they got near enough so she could jog to the gates. She would turn to face him once more before dashing away, "It's 'MikatkuJiRa!" Running into the gates, Kuni pushed one side open before kicking it closed. She opted to walk the way to her home. But, halfway there, she cut her way to a very different home even further away, the girl hummed a mindless tune as the pep in her step grew more enunciated.

Her backpack jumped side to side as she transitioned into skipping to the house, but once she got near, all sounds from her became quiet. The kid peeked her head around the corner of the wall and door. Eyes flickered side to side before finding their target, a man closely examining... something. I hate being short. Kuni thought as she retracted her head and took a quiet breath, she tried her best to creep in, hopefully, get a jumpscare out of the man before her.

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Though he had always been one to get incredibly engrossed in his work, Ruto had also had a fairly troubled upbringing. Any little noise could signal the start to a new bit of experimentation. Though his hearing wasn't any more acute than anyone else's and it rarely helped him on the battlefield, he still felt... on edge. Ready to react to those small sounds in his downtime. Like a prey animal, perhaps. What an unfavorable comparison. 

All that was to say that when he heard a very slight sound behind him, he knew someone... might be there. They didn't have any solid evidence of that being the case, and he certainly wasn't going to put down what he was doing to check. The likelihood of it being a threat was very low. Takigakure was as secure a city as they came. If someone wanted to sneak up on him, it was probably someone young looking for fun. Hopefully they wouldn't make him drop anything and regret it! 

Pretending not to be on edge and waiting for a surprise, Ruto hummed lowly. Some common lullaby as they focused back in on their work. They dissected the plant before them and splayed it open, revealing the rotted interior. How troubling. They'd need to take some of this to observe on a slide. Maybe their intruder would also be interested in seeing it magnified. 

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

...

A Simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

As stealthily as her little feet can carry her, Kunikunosaku come close nd closer. After a short pause of no movement, the girl jumped up before stomping her feet on the ground, "GAAAAAAHHHH!" She attempted to roar. That's what scary monsters sounded like, right? After a pause to watch for a reaction, the girl let out a high pitched laugh before hugging the figure, "RUUUUTOO! You were so scared! I missed you!" Kuni stated, cooing out her last words as she buried herself further into him. After a good 10 or so seconds, the little Mikatakujira let go of him, trying to pull her face up high enough to see what he was doing today.

"What are you doing, Ni-ni?" Kuni asked, trying her bestest to see. She quickly looked around, some things were familiar, some were different, but those weren't as interesting if brother Rutto wasn't focused on them. What was he looking at, was it an eyeball? No, a tongue? What if he was looking at something gross, like a crow's poo? Each idea made Kuni even more interested, just what does Ruto do while she's away. "Hey Ruto, can I look, please?" Kuni puffed out her cheeks, looking at him while bowing repeatedly, maybe more bows meant more 'please's.

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

When the dreaded jumpscare finally came, it was honestly loud enough to make him jump a little regardless of how prepared he was for it. He turned to look at Kuni and feigned being even more startled than he actually was, hand to chest and eyes wide. He'd gotten very good at performing socially, and kids seemed to enjoy that sort of thing. Overblown responses. 

They patted her back as she hugged him, laughing softly. 

"I was scared. You shouldn't startle me like that! You're far too good at it," Ruto playfully chided. The topic moved from his false fright to the subject of his research rather quickly, though. Kuni seemed quite desperate to know, bowing over and over, as if politeness would make him more likely to let her look. Politeness was always something a bit lost on him, but he knew other people cared about it, so instilling a good sense of it in her was probably important. As such, he would reward her politeness. 

"Alright, alright. But only because you asked so nicely," he said. He scooped her up in his arms. At the same time, he used his foot to drag over a little stepping stool. He could set her there if she ever tired of being held. 

"We found a sick plant out in the jungle and brought it back so it wouldn't get the other plants sick," he explained. "I'm trying to figure out what kind of illness it has. It's a little gross." He took a small scalpel and sliced a section before putting it on a glass slide and putting it under the microscope. "Would you like to look up close?"

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

...

A Simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

Yeah, he was so scared. Kuni thought when he stated his feelings and her already plastered grin morphed into a full blown smile. She inquired to what he was doing, practically jumping between train of thoughts in a flash. Ruto agreed to let her see after the manybows, causing the girl to jumpup in joy with hands raised in a cheer. She listened carefully, applying at least some her learned knowledge she got from the many times coming here or spending time with the other Mikatakujiras. More notably her mother was more of the Scientology, medical, and bio-medical fields. Her dad was more combative and bruteish, like the Yamakiras, but, that didn't stop Kuni from living them.

They could be a little less protective. Ruto went on to explain they found this sick (?) plant and swept it away so it wouldn't get the others sick. Kuni tightened her gaze on the plant, mumbling out her next words. "So, it's dead, right?" The concept of life and death was not lost on her, most adults seem obsessed with immortality, described to her as never dying. According to everyone, everything dies, the animals, the fishes, the plants, and people. But if everything had a clock, why did her relatives want to stop it?

Kuni nodded her head when Ruto stated that it was gross. That she could agree on with no issue. But as he sliced off a piece, setting it on a glass slide and under a microscope. Eyes turning to Ruto if he asked if she wanted to look. "Time to see if those biology lessons payed off! Of course Kuni wants to see! I wanna be a scientist like you!"

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

She inquired about the life of the plant. Was it dead? Probably. In a sense, all plants were dead the second you pulled them out of the ground, even if it would take a while to take effect. It was like cutting off someone's limb and waiting for the life to drain. It had been rotting inside for a while. But things could rot inside without being dead. It happened to humans, occasionally. 

"It is dead," Ruto decided on. "The sickness killed it. I'm quite good at identifying what kind of sickness things have, which is why they asked me to look at it." He was better in plants than in people, but he had learned that they shared many similarities. Learning to identify and take care of one often aided in working against the other. 

He allowed Kuni to look into the microscope. It was a strange sight. Though grainy, several distinct shapes were there. Plant cells, some burst open. Small ovals of bacteria were littered around and inside the plant. It was clear that they'd eaten the thing right up. 

As he let her observe the bacteria inside the plant, he said, 

"If you want to be a scientist like me, you're going to have to study very hard. How have your studies at the academy been going?"

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

Don't go

A simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

Ruto had made the call. The plant was dead, may it rest in peace. Kuni had her confusion though. What kind of sickness can kill a plant? Was it some kind of rot or was it something vicious?The girl didn't know, how could she know? If she remembered, plants were not like animals, while the former had block like cells, animal cells were circular. Was something affecting those parts? Kunikunosaku had so many questions but she didn't have any answers, how could she? The girl was ecitd that her uncle? Cousin? Brother, let her look into the microscope. She saw several odd shapes, if these were part of the plant, something was hurting it.

Some of the cells seemed to be open, the girl couldn't tell if it was from inside or out; but, if Ruto said it was a bacteria, it was probably outside. Still, to cause damage at a cellular level astounded Kuni. Her attention sharpened on the slide, scanning through every knick, every part that could justify what was going on. All she could tell by the weakened chloroplasts and the shrill-looking nuclei that this plant was dead for a very long time, how long though? "What do you think killed it then? What did it get sick with?" Kuni would ask like she had a clue what's going on. Her tone curious, words were focused intonated to match questions colleagues would ask the other rather than just a clueless kid, despite being a kid, clueless.

When Ruto asked about her studies, Kuni pulled away from the microscope with the cheekiest of smiles. "Well, I'm doing really well in the science parts, the political stuff is hard and chakra stuff is even harder." The girl said, a hint of defeat in her voice with the word chakra. "I have a concept test tomorrow on chakra, I wish it was biology." The girl stated as she retreated onto the stool, looking at her feet.

"Back to the plant, how do we know it hasn't infected others already?"

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Kuni was such a clever child. With the Mikatakujira focus on medical studies, it was not shocking that she was more familiar with biology than chakra concepts. Many youths in their clan, apparently, spent a lot of time studying medical fields. Ruto had come home with an intimate knowledge of anatomy already, so they hadn't had quite the classic experience, but it was what they'd learned through witnessing their peers. 

"If you need any help studying for your test, I would be happy to help you," Ruto offered. He was far from a chakra genius, but he was pretty experienced with control and had a decent understanding of it. At least enough of one to use it to perform impressive medical feats. 

However, Kuni seemed more interested in the plant at the moment than chakra theory. That was fair. Ruto was quite intrigued by it as well. 

"That's one of the worries. We can't know how infectious it is until we get an idea of what type of disease it is. I'm thinking it's a mutation of a fairly common plant blight. That's a rather frightening name, isn't it? It's a kind of wound-entry bacteria. If the plant gets bitten, say, by a bug, then it has a wound which bacteria can enter. If that was the case, it wouldn't be very contagious to the other plants, but any root damage could still make it a risk... We'll have to keep an eye on the other plants around it."

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

Don't go

A simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

The girl seemingly beamed with a smile when she heard Ruto will help her study instead of reprimanding her harshly over it. That was all Kuni could ask for, if she did ask. The girl didn't take well to yelling, it was terrifying! Yet, when she gets angry, she got very emotional with it, she never liked having to yell and certainly to fight. Hearing Nii-Nii's easy acceptance of it calmed her down so much, it almost made her worry less about the plant. Almost. Scientific things, especially relating to biology interested the little girl. Plant anatomy, a subset of horticulture which was a subset of floral familial and ecological systems, playing a role in how biological organisms functioned off of them, it intrigued her Mikatakujira blood more than the apparent obsession of immortality, Kuni wanted to be a grown up after all!

She heard Ruto out with his findings, nodding at the distasteful name. Hearing the rest of Ruto's findings made Kuni furrow her brows, Wound entry, from bites? So that means... darn it, wait... if it affects plants... "Nii-Nii, would that mean animals that eat plants will also get sick?" Kunikunosaku asked, slowly connecting dots in her strange way. "We need a way to stop the animals from biting them. If too many plants get affected, others can't eat them and if they can't, the scary ones can't eat the not scary ones... and then we have no food... Nii-Nii, fix this!" Kuni waited a bit to hear if he had a response, regardless if one came or not, Kuni led the conversation back to her, body language became shyer and reserved than her earlier passion. "Nii-Nii, I'm really having a hard time with what chakra is and how we manipulate it... Can you help me?"

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Kuni made a rather good observation about the possibility of the bacteria spreading to animals that might eat it. Quite luckily, Ruto had an explanation that might soothe her. 

"Luckily, this plant isn't eaten especially often by most of the mammals that live in the jungle," they assured. "Some insects eat it, but the bacteria isn't likely to spread to animals. It's specifically designed to penetrate into plant cells and destroy them. While it could end up being dangerous to bugs or animals, we don't have to be worried about that just yet." 

Of course, Kuni's focus wasn't kept on this subject for especially long. As was often the case with children, her focus wandered over to a new subject. That was fine. Ruto could afford to pause for a moment to focus on this instead of worrying about the plant. 

They stepped away from the microscope and motioned for Kuni to follow. 

"I would be happy to help you," they said. "Can you tell me what it is they're teaching you at the academy right now? I want to know what subject you're working on so I can help figure out what to teach you... Did your instructor review what was going to be on the exam in today's class?"

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

Stuck on You

A simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

What Ruto had to say eased Kuni'ss mind, it eased the little girl's worry of animals. The subject of ecology wouldn't seem important anywhere else, but in Bonchi no Kuni, it was one of the important environmental and biological science. Most animals avoided it, that soothed her knowing that piece, it also meant her worry was a tad overexaggerated but could you blame her? Lives were at stake! What was interesting to her was that this bacteria specifically targetted plants, it hurt and killed them but they had no clue if a danger to others warranted the fear around it. It felt like sometimes Bonchi no Kuni had a grudge against Takigakure.

A silence of acknowledgment floated around Kunikunosaku before she would break out of the haze to cheekily ask for help on her school work. Ruto decided to drop his intense sciency research and gestured Kuni to follow him. After getting off the stool, the little blonde followed Nii-Nii closely. Listening to his words, Kuni smiled when she suddenly didn't have to think too hard about her words anymore. "Kind of, sorta, not really. Basically no, not review, more read you notes, read your books. We're studying how chakra is created and what are the applications before we study each one specifically."

Kuni waited before speaking up again. "This is the test reviewing what we learned before diving into the next unit."

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Kuni explained what it was that she was looking for specifically and Ruto nodded. He lead her over to an area of his home that was a bit like a library, though too small in size to truly be called one. He kneeled down at the foot of a bookcase and pulled out an old box, rifling through. 

"I think I still have some of my notes from when I was an academy student that you could look at if you'd like," he said. They'd taken such careful notes when they were a child. Having the freedom to record their own observations and make assessments and record knowledge without having their neck breathed down by a doctor had been very novel to them, they remember. The notes they took would surely be thorough and help Kuni. 

He found the relevant scroll and took it from its place, holding it out to her. 

"You remember the two component parts of chakra, right? Spiritual and physical energy. Chakra is created when we harmonize our spirit with our physical body. Physical energy is something created by our cells. Most of it is produced within our organs," Ruto explained, placing a hand over their heart, as if in demonstration. "But every cell in our body helps manufacture it. This is why training and exercise is important. Being stronger makes your physical energy stronger." 

Then they moved a hand to their head. 

"Spiritual energy we understand less. It's something that comes from your mind. People who study more and take more time to meditate tend to have stronger spiritual energy."

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

Mikatakujira Ruto

Stuck on You

A simpler time; one of no grudges and fears.

Ruto guided her to a new part of the house, it reminded her a bit of her mother's study, only this one didn't have a lot of stories Kuni knew, actually, she wasn't sure this place had any stories. Still, she was more surprised to be surrounded by such vast knowledge. Ruto spoke of him possibly having notes when he was a student, Kuni clasped her hands together, "That would amazing, thank you Ruto-nii-san!" The girl said, excitement and joy in her voice. The movement stopped when Ruto pulled out a box before taking out the right scroll, giving it to her. Taking the scroll from his hands, Kunikunosaku hugged the wrapped text like a teddy bear. "Thank you, Nii-Nii!" The girl twirled where she stood, stopping when her kin started to speak about chakra.

Her attention was undivided, giving it to the man speaking before her as he explained what made up chakra. Going into detail that it was a mix of two energies and one was that of her physique. Physical Energy being what her cells make, and this would increase more as the body is trained. The girl remembered some sparring drills and contemplated on those fulfilled the physical energy base. The other was a bit more abstract, that was spiritual energy. Those who study more or meditate more, according to Ruto, have more spiritual energy. Kunikunsaku brought a hand to her chin. "So... Would that mean the Mikatakujira have more spiritual energy than those stone people... The Yamakira?"

"Is that a physical energy? What belongs to physical and what belong to spiritual, don't tell me it's not that simple."

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[Mikatakujira Ruto]

It was natural to have many questions of that nature. Chakra was a very curious beast. Ruto had spent a great amount of time studying the nature of it, the process of its creation in cells. Artificial chakra had never been possible to make, for example. It wasn't something someone could grow in cells away from the body and really bottle. There were emergency ration pills, which did what they could to restore chakra stores and prevent deadly chakra exhaustion, but it wasn't a production of chakra through artificial means. It just helped the body kick its own production into high gear by overusing biological resources. It was why it was dangerous for the body. 

"I think you could say that the Mikatakujira in general have more spiritual energy and the Yamakira in general have more physical energy," they agreed. "There are plenty of Yamakira who enjoy meditating and plenty of Mikatakujira who have physical prowess, though. It's not so easy to generalize. It depends on the individual more than anything else," they told her. 

"Physical energy belongs to the body, but spiritual energy belongs to the soul and the mind. That is why it is so important to your life and why using too much of it can be deadly. Both of them are drawing on parts of what you are and if you use it all up, you exhaust your body and soul," he said. 

"It's important to remember that neither component is stronger than the other. You are only as strong as your weakest portion. Spiritual energy alone can do nothing. Physical energy alone can do nothing. You have to knead them together to use them. That's why you must train both."