[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

There was a reason why Kizumi hadn’t opted to be an academy instructor or genin team leader—she wasn’t a teacher. She was good with kids, sure, and she knew her way around a mission, and there wasn’t much she hadn’t experienced in her twenty-odd years of being a shinobi, but all the experience in the world didn’t make you someone who was good at explaining things. But, for whatever reason, she’d been tapped to help out with this one kid. Nakamura Arisu, genin team two, a tiny little thing even compared to Kizumi’s modest stature. What exactly the issue was, Kizumi hadn’t been informed, but Arisu’s sensei was apparently supremely confident that she’d be able to help—something about the kids liking her better, and being a good role model for strength, or something. Kizumi didn’t know much else about the girl, but she figured she could ask the kid herself when she arrived. The jounin waited patiently on the training grounds, sans most of her gear. Training a genin didn’t require a full kit, after all, so the only supplementary gear on her person was her wristband arsenal. It was far earlier in the morning than she would have liked—another reason why Kizumi wasn’t cut out to be a sensei—but she’d managed to show up on time. She was a little nervous, but… how hard could this really be?

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LAIKA OF THQ

[Nakamura Arisu]

Being Yourself

Is Harder Than People Think

Sigh.

Why did everyone constantly think she needed more help with doing things? Didn’t she make it exceedingly obvious that she didn’t really like this line of work? That it was kind of annoying? Stubbornly she stuck to it, sure… but that didn’t mean she wanted MORE to do! Huffing and a hand raised, the girl would have pet and scratched at the soft little head of the pika perched on her shoulder. A small little creature rubbing its head back against the girl’s hand, usually shy though had grown more and more familiar with the child over the years.

"I wonder what we’re going to work on… at least I heard that Hirana-sensei was nice… But scary big!”

Talking to the little creature, a smile to her lips and chuckling along to the critter as she took a leisurely pace towards those training grounds. Maybe it would be a good day! Mom had made some sweetened rice buns earlier so she packed some up in a box. A little bow tied atop it and the roughly adult hand-sized container could be held by that string in one hand, leaving the other free for Zappy! Maybe she could coax the woman out of doing ninja-y things. They could talk about hair or colors or food… Yeah!

A grin to her lips and starting to skip along, the pika holding more tightly to the girl’s shoulder while letting out little squeaks and pressing into the girl’s magenta hair, they’d be off at a faster pace! Things would be good.

All up until she saw the woman… She was definitely big and intimidating looking… It wasn’t like she had never seen her before… but… it wasn’t like she had to think about training with her in the past.

"Oi! Hirana-sensei! Oka-san said to make sure to give these to you!”

The girl’s adoptive mother, the Nakajima family that had long ago lost their blood daughter had adopted the youthful thing beyond the prime of their lives. An older couple, but one still modest and respectable within the village. While neither were shinobi, they often sent gifts with their small child in the hopes that she would always return home safe with the favor of those she was meeting… that they’d take care of her.

Which. Arisu only partially understood. Gifts were always taken back and forth the assumption had ended up being that her parents naturally knew everyone and were way way wayyyy too nice. But all the same, the box and string were held high and a grin was on the face of the young girl as she made her approach!

Nakamura Arisu

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

TWell, the girl seemed enthusiastic enough as she approached, with a bright wide grin, a string-wrapped box in hand, and a tiny yellow pika on her shoulder. Kizumi waved as the girl approached, matching her smile in return. If she was this energetic already, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad—maybe she just needed a little extra buki training? She seemed far too small to be a weapons specialist; but then, people had thought that about Kizumi at one point in her life, so who was she to judge? "Thank you!” Kizumi exclaimed, gladly taking the little box. She thought for a moment, then asked, "You all live down by that little tea shop, right? I’ll have to stop by to thank your Oka-san in person later.” She knew the older couple in passing as neighbors, but wasn’t aware that they’d adopted a daughter—there was a lot that she missed, apparently, in the years during and since the quarantine. She placed the box on a nearby bench for now. Though she was eagerly anticipating the treats inside, she had more important things to focus on for now, like figuring out what the goal of this training session was. "So, Arisu-chan,” Kizumi said, propping a hand on her hip. "Why do you think your sensei sent you to me today? What is it that you want to work on?” It was a genuine question—Kizumi herself had little to no idea. Better to get a sense of the girl’s goals, she thought, before getting into it.

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LAIKA OF THQ

[Nakamura Arisu]

Being Yourself

Is Harder Than People Think

A giggle from the girl and a smile brightly shone, box was handed over without a hitch and hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forward faintly. "Hehe~ Yep! I’m sure she’d love it if you did!” The Nakajima were friendly people for sure, their older age gaining them wisdom but a softness for the people of Kumogakure all the same, even more for their shinobi.

The box was set down quickly though, Arisu sharp enough to realize that the lady was getting right to business! Which was exactly what she did not want. A hand raised and the little pika scritched at again as it wiggled into the touch, the girl’s eyes would try to focus on the box in thought. Time to distract this sensei!

"I dunno~ It’s good for me to meet people and make connections! You could tell me about how you got into being a shinobi?”

Light and innocent, the girl certainly playing the part of an unknowing youth sent to a place she had no idea. A light smile, pleasant demeanor, and singsong voice of a young girl carrying with supposed ease. And then curiously turning the question on Kizumi herself. How did she get into things? Wasn’t that super important? Didn’t old people like to talk about their younger days? It was certainly her hope!

Nakamura Arisu

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi had spent enough time around her nieces and nephews to know a child’s deception when she saw it. Sure, Arisu had those big innocent eyes and sweet smile, but Kizumi knew in her heart of hearts that she had some kind of ulterior motive. But, honestly, Kizumi didn’t mind playing along, seeing what Arisu had in mind. She still didn’t really know why she specifically had been tapped in to help train the student, especially if she wasn’t an aspiring weapons specialist, and maybe sitting down and chatting for a while would help her figure it out. "Well,” she said thoughtfully, pondering Arisu’s question… before trailing off. How much to share? It wasn’t a nice story, and Arisu was so young still, younger even than Kizumi had been when she enrolled in the Academy. But there wasn’t much that was nice about being shinobi, and Arisu had chosen this path. No point in pulling punches. "My parents died when I was about your age,” she said, sitting down on the bench beside her box of treats. No point in standing for a conversation like this; even twenty years later, grief still swelled in her heart. "Just an accident on the sea, it happens all the time, but they left me and my onee-san and my onii-chan behind. It was hard, because only onee-san was old enough to get a proper job, and me and onii-chan didn’t want to go to an orphanage, so I wanted to work too, to help.” She took a deep breath, expelling some of the growing weight from her chest. "No one wanted to hire me, but the Academy was willing, so I decided to be a shinobi. And that was that.” She summoned a smile as she turned in her seat to fully face the young girl. "But that was a long time ago, now. I just like the job, I guess! But what about you?” she asked again. "Why do you want to be a shinobi?”

Nakamura Arisu -- 335

LAIKA OF THQ

[Nakamura Arisu]

Being Yourself

Is Harder Than People Think

Success!

There was a moment where Arisu wasn’t entirely sure that the big lady was going to go for the distraction. Other options rushing through her mind at attempting to get out of whatever this training was meant to be, but still holding onto some hope that the ever important question people liked to answer about their motives would do the trick.

And it did.

The woman went to sit down upon the bench, treats next to her and the small girl meaning to sidle up right alongside. A skip in her step, just to Kizumi, and then wiggling her little butt to be right beside the woman and staring up with every ounce of interest in the world! For literally anything was better than maybe getting beat up by a new sensei…

Ready for some motivation speech about the honor of the village, or how they were the strength of Kumogakure! Some heroic or visionary message that would shake the heavens. That crap that all the adults tended to feed them.

Instead… it was an incredibly stupid and simple answer. She wanted work, so she got work. It would have been more than obvious that Arisu was surprised as the woman finished up. ‘That was that.’ What the hell kind of answer was that??? And the wide eyed girl would just continue to stare, bewildered and waiting for some punch line that never came.

For Kizumi would continue on and the young genin would furrow her brows and frown, frustration and confusion crossing her face as she dipped her head in thought. No longer looking at the older shinobi and not really entirely paying attention anymore. That wasn’t what she expected… no one ever said something like that…

So even when the young girl was questioned, or even when the pika on her shoulder pressed its face into her cheek while chittering quietly, the little scarlet haired girl would stay quiet. Feet were lightly kicking back and forth in her seat, slow and steady, but she was thinking… Thinking thinking thinking….

A deep breath soon taken in after a few moments, her little chest puffed up and determined? Angry? Some sort of expression hard to decipher but somehow hard would have been on her face as she puffed out her chest and kept her shoulders back.

All to deflate as she exhaled, displeasure and frown still on her face. Whatever she had been planning to say, it apparently wasn’t coming, for the girl dropped her head again, at a loss for words and her mind still turning over the simplicity of this woman’s start.

"Weren’t you afraid? Didn’t you get hurt?”

Questions. Questions oh so obvious but held with that same tense confusion that she had been expressing. It was like she couldnt’ begin to understand… and really, she didn’t. But it was a much more thought provoking confusion towards the career than she had ever had before.

Nakamura Arisu

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Her answer, sad and simple as it was, seemed to trouble Arisu more than Kizumi had thought it would. Most kids tended to get pensive when talking about death, especially when they were made to consider their own parents’ mortality, but that didn’t seem to be what was sticking to Arisu. Probably shouldn’t have been surprising, considering that the girl was an orphan herself, but that left the question: what was bothering Arisu? The kid was quiet for a while, her little furry friend cuddling against her cheek—comfort, maybe? Arisu didn’t answer her question, but she looked so deep in thought that Kizumi didn’t think that asking a third time would get her anywhere. She just waited, bringing up her legs to sit cross-legged on the bench. A lift of determination—or some kind of strong emotion, anyway—before Arisu deflated again, and finally asked two very simple, but very large questions. "Well,” Kizumi said, hesitating briefly, "yeah. Yeah, I was, and I did.” Another pause. What… should she say? She hardly ever talked about her childhood, and Arisu didn’t need the whole messy story, the weight of an adult’s lifetime of emotional baggage. She didn’t want to cut the conversation off, though; it was obvious that Arisu was trying to figure something out, even if Kizumi didn’t know exactly what that was. If talking would help, then Kizumi would talk. "I still get scared, you know,” she said. "If I go out on a mission and I mess up, or something goes wrong, I could get hurt. I could get other people hurt. That scared me as a kid, and it scares me now, too. And I still get hurt, all the time, doing all kinds of stuff.” Too honest? Maybe. Not exactly motivational material to inspire a young service member to keep up the good fight. But she had never liked it when people sugar-coated things for her as a kid, and she didn’t want to do it for anyone else. "But… it’s a good job,” she went on. "I like it, I’m good at it. I could get hurt, but if I don’t go out on a mission and do my best, then maybe someone else gets hurt worse than they would have if I was there to back them up. I get scared, but…” Kizumi just offered up a wry grin, and shrugged. "I deal with it, because there’s other people who are more scared than me, and I can help them.” A long answer to a short question, but what Arisu was asking was so much bigger than yes or no. Kizumi could only hope that the girl could get some clarity.

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LAIKA OF THQ

[Nakamura Arisu]

Being Yourself

Is Harder Than People Think

Obvious answers that had the young girl’s brows furrow again, displeasure in her expression as a line formed where her lips should be. It was as if she didn’t understand, or didn’t want to, but some annoyance felt as she looked towards that older woman, then back down again. Legs still swaying, feet kicking back and forth and back and forth….

Chittering pika on her shoulder pressed its head into her cheek again, but then fluffed itself, turning in a quick circle back on her shoulder and nestling into her neck and hair, partially hidden away, but perhaps satisfied. Or given up. The pair of little ones not exceptionally forthcoming in their lack of words.

Kizumi did get hurt though. And she was scared. They were answers that would have been obvious to anyone and wasn’t really surprising to Arisu, not totally… Though as the woman went on, she’d at least get a side glance from the girl. A raised brow, questioning and almost asking if the woman was out of her mind. Looking that way though, thinking still, and listening as she spoke. There was more on the mind of the little kunoichi than she wanted to ramble about… so she listened.

"Hm…”

A thoughtful hum is all that would come of the older kunoichi’s long winded explanation. Lots of words, lots to hear and think about. She was afraid. She was hurt. But for some reason she found it worth it? Though something sank in, something had to, didn’t it? More towards the end, it didn’t resonate exactly with Arisu… but she found something to relate to. Those genin exams… the ones where she was with her classmates and found herself attempting to help the others so they could all get out unscathed. Teamwork, even when she was desperate and afraid.

Not that it was some grand epiphany. Arisu didn’t feel some relentless surge of emotion that overpowered her into a new love that was her role as a shinobi. But it was something… A meaning to all the work she had put in other than the twisting of the situation to manipulate her parents… Something more and something specific to her continuing down that career path for her own reasoning rather than just quitting. Maybe there was a reason to move forward.

"There was a stinky lady who said I was from a clan that was mostly died out. She taught me some things, things she said were secret and only for us. Maybe you can help me with that?”

A shift of topic. Arisu had more to think about, but at least there was some reason to maybe not get out of this lesson today. Maybe. If the thought was that she could help other people because she was the only one that could… maybe that was enough of a reason to keep thinking about it and trying, even though it was really really dumb, hurt, and was stupid!

Nakamura Arisu

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi again fell silent as Arisu pondered her words, though she had to suppress a smile at the look the young girl gave her—that are you crazy? eyebrow lift she’d seen from so many people in so many varying flavors throughout her life. Good to know she was consistent, at least. She thought that Arisu might have more questions, or would prolong the conversation to steer it away from training, since she seemed so loathe to engage at first in a childish kind of way, but to Kizumi’s surprise Arisu instead asked for help. What exactly she was asking for help with, Kizumi had to think about for a moment, her mind blanking as she tried to piece together stinky lady and clan secrets. Perhaps getting a little too stuck on the stinky lady part before the mostly died out part finally clicked, and she made a little hm! of acknowledgement. "The Tetsumaki clan, you mean?” she asked, just to confirm. Honestly, she thought they’d been mostly extinct, but she did have a vague memory of the rumor that one of the Raikage’s former bodyguards had some kind of special ability, something that made her fast as lightning. Kizumi had thought it had just been an exaggeration, but… "Can you show me what the, uh, stinky lady taught you?” This was weird territory that she had to tread carefully—she had no business learning clan secrets, but she’d also have to see the ability in action to be able to actually help Arisu, if she could. "I’m not going to be able to do what you or she can do, but maybe I can help you figure out how to do it… better.”

Nakamura Arisu -- 302

LAIKA OF THQ

[Nakamura Arisu]

Being Yourself

Is Harder Than People Think

Poor stinky lady. If only cigarettes didn’t smell horrendous~ Forever engrained in the young girl’s mind would be the terrible smell of smoke that came with that habit, something more solidified than the name of the girls’ actual clan. Not that she forgot though… not really…

And Kizumi seemed to have realized too. A nod given in confirmation came easily enough to the dark-haired pinkette at the mention of ‘Tetsumaki.’ That was it! Something with Raiton and Storms and stuff… Arisu only had a vague grasp of it, but the idea that she could flicker as if lightning had been made known to her. Skills just begun… but skills only taught among her own…

"I… .uhm… can try?”

Hesitant and unsure, the young girl looking to the pika on her shoulder and lifting a hand. Ushering the little thing into it and holding it out gingerly towards Kizumi.

"Can you hold him? You gotta be gentle… He gets nervous.”

Something that would have been obvious had Kizumi reached out for that little rodent. Squeaking and shimmying about, but eventually shifting hands. Curling up in a tiny ball in Kizumi’s hands and chittering away…

But Arisu to take a deep breath… Focusing. She hadn’t done it in a while! But closing her eyes and focusing, she focused on the feeling of crackling lightning in her body. Ninjutsu and Raiton had always come easier to her… despite her dislike of this scary, painful life.

To succeed in her little efforts soon enough. Her body soon enveloped in a rippling light and crackling lightning, the odd vision of such before Kizumi in a form that never was quite there. A grin to lips she might not see, but the young girl zipping past Kizumi and the Pika, to stop thirty meters away behind them!

And stumble… A gasp and breathing harder as the normal pinkette came into focus. Tripping up and catchnig herself on the ground… still breathing more heavily as she huffed and plopped herself back on her legs, practically kneeling, though the wrong way from Kizumi.

"It’s sorta tricky… But I’ve been getting a bit better.”

Nakamura Arisu

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Arisu seemed unsure but willing to try, which was an encouraging sign. Confidence didn’t matter if you were still willing to give something a shot. Something she had to forcibly remind herself as Arisu asked her to take her little furry creature. It was so small, shaking and scared, that she was scared she’d crush it accidentally, her calloused hands surely too rough to handle the little baby safely—but she nodded anyway, waiting for the tiny rodent to scurry onto her hands and curl up. She cradled him as carefully as humanly possible, like she was holding the most precious thing in the world. Then Kizumi watched. It was a weird little light show: between one blink and the next, the small girl was gone, the figure of crackling lightning in her place. Then, even that was gone, blown right on past her and—she turned around slowly, to avoid jostling the little pika in her hands—thirty meters past her, just like that. Then just as suddenly she popped back into view, careening to the floor as she fought to catch her breath. Kizumi (slowly, carefully, can’t hurt the baby) went over to her, crouching down next to her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. "That’s amazing,” she said, giving the kid a once-over. Seemed fine, just a bit winded. "Seriously, that looks really difficult to pull off. That you can do it at all is really impressive. I think… my natural chakra is raiton too, so I might be able to help you practice with some more generic techniques—if you get more comfortable using raiton in general, it might help you with the… uh, lightning body.” Nevermind that she’d always been lousy at ninjutsu; the kid would surpass her within a few weeks, based on that little display. Still, she wasn’t a jounin for nothing, surely she’d be able to help a genin with some stuff. "What about your chakra control? It seems like having a better understanding of where your chakra is going and why would help you keep the form longer.”

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LAIKA OF THQ