[Honō Kin]

Little Kin had found herself coming to the gate again as she usually did. At this point in time, she'd met two of the three, Koji, Kumori, and now, she was set to meet Saya. As a child in a fairly large household, a busy one at that, she was more often than not left babysat with members of the family, or kicked out of the house for a while. One reason or another, as it could get fairly congested. Little Kin regularly came by to deliver food for her older cousins, and on this particular day, she'd come with a small basket held along her hands with bento boxes laden inside. A small lion plush toy resting along the top of it as she walked the long way to the village gate.

"Ohayoooo!" She calls out, as she runs the rest of the way, slowly setting her basket along the ground. Slowly taking her toy off from the top, she waves the lion's paw out, lifting him high into the air. "We brought food for you all!~" She says cutely, looking out with those adorable honeysuckle eyes that shined with kindness, a little shyness, and that special "Kin" charm. Along her side, there rest a little shinai, a training sword, wrapped in leather. It couldn't have been more than two feet long, if even, but for Kin's size, it was a full fledged blade. Something she was gifted to train with, considering recent events.

Upon seeing Saya, small Kin slowly steps a little closer, and slowly sways her hips back and forth like energetic children do, before slowly holding her arms out for a hug. "Konichiwa!" She says softly. Looking upwards, perhaps hopeful that she'd be lifted up. She didn't bring her watermelon helmet today, allowing for Saya to see her as she was. "U-Up?" She loved hugs, and she wasn't afraid to steal one if she could.

[Honō Saya]

Saya stared down at the scrap of paper in front of her, brows furrowing as she went over the figures in her head, working through the equations needed to determine if her sealing formula would actually do what she thought it would. There was a level of complexity inherent in even the most basic of sealing scrolls that few people bothered to look into, but Fuinjutsu was her bread and butter- she had spent more time deconstructing the inner workings of a basic sealing scroll than most people has spent using one, which meant that she had enough experience to recognize a flaw when she saw one. If the math worked out, she’d move on from this design to the testing stage, working out any kinks before she showed it to the rest of the clan.

Big if there. She thought, lips scrunching up into a frown as she did the math… and saw the numbers leading down the wrong path. Two of the five functions within the primary equation ended in a positive integer, with the final number being larger than the one before it- this meant that the seal, if she were to draw it out, would not only fail to actually store anything inside of itself, but would actually rupture if she tried, which would both crush and disperse whatever she wanted sealed away over a fairly large area. It would quite explode, but the math showed it was close enough to doing so that the design simply wouldn’t work.

Saya lifted the piece of paper up into the light, sighing as she crumpled it into a ball and tossed into the wastebasket in the corner of her station. That had been the tenth failure in the last four hours, a veritable disaster in terms of design and function- a sign her concentration was slipping if she’d ever seen one.

"Might as well take a break..." The red-head muttered, standing up and stretching her arms back, a soft yawn escaping her lips as she stretched her back muscles, warming them up after being scrunched together for so long. It was only after she finished her stretching that she heard the noise; a light, almost squeaky greeting, coupled with the promise of food in a familiar voice that had her lips part in a wide, knowing smile. Stepping out of her station, the Genin turned towards the noise- and was greeted by a small, lithe child not quite four feet tall, half-dragging a basket of food, a small practice shinai at her hip.

"Well hello there Kin. No helmet today?" Saya asked, smiling as the girl let go of her basket and wiggled about, clearly excited to see her cousin; the red-head didn’t answer the girl’s request with words, instead kneeling down in order to scoop Kin up in a thorough, affectionate hug. She held the girl in her arms for a good bit, long enough to be embarrassing for anyone but a child, only lowering the girl when her stomach growled in anticipation of whatever goodies her cousin had brought.

"What did you bring me today?"

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

Upon seeing the familiar Saya, the little girl runs up, and with it, stops, her beautifully soft eyes looking up into the redhead's own. "Nuh-uh. It's broken, so I'm trying to fix it." She says with a soft call. Yet, when she was hugged and picked up? She'd find herself giggling and planting an innocent and loving kiss along Saya's cheek, wrapping her arms around her own neck. Before promptly being placed down when hearing the monster in her elder cousin's stomach. To which she slowly opens the top lid to reveal the small bounty of treasures.

Inside, there were several containers, round ones, that when opened would reveal several bao buns, steamed to perfection, a small waft lifting into the air as the scent of pork resounded into the air. As well as fruity sticky rice. The little Kin's eyes widen with delight, as she reaches into the side and takes out a bamboo flask of which had ginger tea to combat the heat. Neatly stepping back, Kin places her hands behind her back and cutely smiles, swaying her hips back and forth, moving on the balls of her heels to the tips of her toes. Like an energetic child would.

"I got this cool sword to train with! After seeing Koji-Nii fight, I thought I wanted to get a sword for myself. Everyone agreed after finding out I got bullied." She says, slowly drawing it from her hip, and lightly swaying it about, getting a feel for it in her hands. "Papa says I need to carry it everywhere to get used to it, before he makes me a real one." She says softly, slowly entering into a practice form. Her footwork not too bad, but her shoulders weren't quite squared, and her hands weren't holding it properly, her hand grip a bit too rigid and tight as she dug her fingers into the handle.

[Honō Saya]

The moment Kin answered her question, Saya knew something was off. Her cousin was young and more than a bit silly, to be sure, but she had always taken great care to keep the small watermelon helmet in good condition- it wouldn’t have simply broken without some sort of outside interference. This was confirmed a few moments later when the golden-haired girl began explaining why she had a practice sword on her hip with a throwaway line about being bullied. The redhead didn’t say anything about it, didn’t so much as break her smile, but in the back of her mind she made a note to find out who had broken Kin’s helmet and… educate them. Forcibly.

"I see!" She said once she had put her cousin down, her smile growing as she opened up the basket, the smell of pork wafting up from the open lid; Kin took out several containers while she spoke, laying out a small but filling meal that consisted of bao buns, sticky rice, and a cup of cool ginger tea. After muttering a small prayer of thanks, Saya laid out the food on her desk, setting aside a bit of the rice and one of the bao buns for Kin, who was demonstrating her swordsmanship.

"Not bad. " The redhead said after taking a bite of her meal, half turning her chair towards her cousin while she chewed on a bao bun, her smile remaining despite the food in her mouth. Once she had swallowed, Saya stood up, walking around Kin to stand behind the younger Hono, hands snaking around her cousin’s frame to gently correct the position of her arms, shifting her shoulders square and gently, carefully moving her hands to the right positions while she spoke, voice gentle and comfortingly soft.

"Square your shoulders, like this. Hold it here, and here, with a loose grip closer to the hilt that tightens as you go down."

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

It was true. Little Kin loved her watermelon helmet. Pretty much was inseparable with it, as it was her essential trademark. However, before long, as she looked out and began training, she felt the adjustment to her small frame, and realized that it wasn't very comfortable. This adjusted pose. As she holds the sword in the new way, it felt odd, but a little more natural as she holds the sword. "Thank you~" She declares, before slowly swinging to get a feel for it. Though she did have the tendency to tighten the grip a bit more every time she swung, and her balance was shifted when she threw her body into it, due to the blade being a bit heavy for her small size and age.

Kin wasn't really "strong", and despite her exercise and practice in martial arts, she was still, well, a literal six year old. It was for that reason that she turned to weapons now. Though, she was told that for her, the best course of action was to run away. Let the grown ups handle any bad people. Still, it didn't mean she didn't want to try. To get stronger and try new things. Learn. Explore. Figure things out. As she holds the blade, she tries to shift the blade around in her wrists, to try different poses, and found it felt odd to shift them swiftly too. It wasn't like Wing Chun at all huh?

"Saya-Chan? When did you get strong?"

[Honō Saya]

Saya helped Kin through the first few swings, guiding her diminutive cousin with gentle corrections whenever the girl made a mistake. It wasn’t long, however, before hunger called, the redhead’s stomach rumbling just as she helped the younger Hono correct a particularly off-balance swing; a sheepish grin spread across her face as she let Kin’s arms go, her voice soft and slightly pensive at the blonde’s question.

"I wouldn’t call me ‘strong,’ Kin." She replied, standing up in order to grab her bento and bring it back to where she had been kneeling, only to lower herself onto the ground so she could look into the younger Hono’s eyes at her own level, rather than from above. "I’m just older than you are."

Of course, the age gap between herself and Kin was a large one, over a decade, but the blonde was obviously an eager student, one who wanted to learn, but had a passion for it as well. She could have chalked it up to childish curiosity, but it didn’t seem that way, not to her; there was a brightness to Kin that simply wasn’t present in other children, an intuitive ability to grasp things that others her age just didn’t have.

"You’ll get there one day, Kin. Just have patience."

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

It was there that Kin would proceed to blink in contemplation at the statement. And then asked a very heartbreaking question when she looks up at the elder redhead. "Is there anything I can do to get stronger faster? I don't wanna get beat up again." She says with an almost pitched whine. The other kids at the academy could be so cruel. Pouncing at a sense of weakness. She'd found herself maybe too innocent or sweet to understand the reason for their unhappiness, but maybe it's because of the way people treated her. People fawned, or viewed her as something special and sweet.

And that made other kids her age jealous. Because they wanted to be better than her, be her, or anything along that line. "I've been getting picked on a bit, by other kids at the academy. But I don't wanna get any of them in trouble. So. I've been keeping it a lil' quiet. Because umm." She blushes, flushed a little bit as she swings her sword down again over her head, a little bit clumsily as she contemplates how to say it. "I really like the academy, and I want everyone to like me and be my friend." She says softly, turning towards Saya, she has an index finger along her lower lip, thinking about how it sounded a little silly, trying to explain in a really limited way her situation. 

"Did you like the academy?" She asks, as she slowly begins entering into the Kata again, feeling the strain along her arms as she moves with the sway of her body. It felt kind of hard to do, now that she thought about it.

[Honō Saya]

"Not really." Saya replied, taking a bite of her lunch as she watched Kin swing her wooden sword, noting how she wasn’t quite strong enough to keep proper control of the weapon just yet; that was, much like skill, was something she would have to earn through hard work and practice. Hours and hours of practice. "You can only grow so fast, Kin."

Still, the redhead’s face darkened for a moment when her cousin mentioned being bullied; she had figured as much, based on the state of her watermelon helmet, but hearing it from the blonde’s own mouth only made it all the more infuriating. Picking on a six year old girl just because she doesn’t know how to fight back! It made her sick, thinking about the kind of people who would do such a thing.

"I did." Saya said, forcing herself to put on a kind smile as she turned her attention fully to Kin, thoughts already drifting to some of her favorite moments in the Academy. Like that time she broke a bully’s arm in three places for picking on Kojirou. "it was a fun time, even when I had to deal with bullies." She paused then, her smile remaining steady as she knelt down, getting back on eye level with her cousin, one hand coming up to rest on the young girl’s shoulder in between swings.

"You can tell me who is bullying you, Kin. I promise, I won’t get them in trouble." No, she had something else planned for them. A lesson she hadn’t had to dole out since her time in the Academy… but one she knew very, very well.

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

"...Oh." She sounded deflated, as she took the liberty to give another swing, before she brushes her hand. She found herself slowly kicking the dirt before her, as she rests her shinai down, so she could lean atop it. Though, she was surprised that even Saya had to deal with them. "Huh? You had bullies too?...But how? You're so pretty, and strong. I dunno why anyone would wanna be mean to you. You're so cool!" She says, before slowly running a hand along her golden locks. Paused from her practice when Saya asked who was bullying her. She seemed to tense up, almost wince for a moment or two when touched along her shoulder out of the blue. 

To which, she slowly hugs Saya softly, dropping her little sword along the ground. Kin seems to think about it. "I can't say." She says softly, before adding. "If I do, they're just gonna hate me and hit me harder Saya-Nee." Thinking about the grievances the kids had, and how each time they got punished, the bullying seemed to intensify a little bit. And she didn't want to feel like she was rushing over to people to tattle. To get them in trouble. Little Kin wasn't experienced in life, but she had a level of emotional intelligence. If anything, she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, and turn her enemies into friends. Because Kin loved everyone.

Slowly, Kin lifts her poncho, slightly over her head, but not entirely off, to show small welts, and black bruises along her back, from when some of the kids thought they could throw a small stone at her back when they thought nobody was looking, or from the odd jab or hit they squeezed in. Little miss perfect she seemed to be, and yet, Kin didn't want them to get in trouble at all. In fact, she cried for them once when Azusaki-Sensei threatened them with long detentions. Slowly letting her shirt drop, she comes to crouch down and pick up her little sword.

"What if they hurt me even more? Cuz umm..." She sniffles, and begins wiping her eyes for a moment, her face twitching a little bit, as she begins to whimper a little bit. "It hurts a lot Saya-Nee! U-waaahaaaah!"

[Honō Saya]

Saya’s smile wavered slightly when Kin spoke, her voice warbling with emotion as she explained, with her limited vocabulary, why she didn’t want to tell on her bullies. It was fear, of course; fear of hurting other people, fear of retaliation, fear of the unknown… but, most of all, it was fear of pain. The pain of being hit, yes, but a deeper pain as well. The pain of rejection, of mockery and defeat, the pain that came with questioning why you were even alive, if you even deserved to be alive. She had felt it, once, when she was younger. When her aunt and uncle had told her the truth of what had happened to her parents, when the whole of her life had turned upside down… But the pain had passed. And so would Kin’s.

"I know, Kin." The older Hono said, pulling her baby cousin in for a hug as she cried, gently stroking the blonde’s hair, both to comfort the girl and to keep her hands busy. Her voice was soft, her grip firm but not suffocating, allowing Kin to wiggle out should she wish, but remaining strong should her cousin need a shoulder to cry on. "I know it hurts. But I promise, if you tell who they are, they won’t ever hurt you again."

You… or anyone else.

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

The pain Saya was referring to was probably far deeper than what Kin was experiencing. However, in those moments, as the little Hono was held in the arms of the older, she'd find herself bawling into the chest of her older cousin, until she found herself with a few hiccups. Before long, she'd told her that if she told Saya where her bullies were? Well, they wouldn't hurt her again. It was a lot to take in, of course, and she found herself thinking about her bullies. Where they might be around this time of day. Before eventually nodding her head. "Okay Saya-Nee." She says, wiping her eyes, trying to collect herself for what came next.

"Umm...Akio Naito. Kuroi Azatsuka. Umm..." She suddenly felt a lapse of judgement, this really bad feeling that something was going to happen. And from there, she'd come to slowly cuddle up against Saya. "I can take you where some are, but umm...their big siblings might get mad. Kuroi's Nii-Chan came and umm...roughed me up a lil'." She says, trying to tone down what happened, remembering how Koji had saved her that particular day. When he had her head on the floor, pressing his foot down on it, telling her she should kneel when she apologized. "He's a genin. So. I don't want you to get hurt." She says in worry, as she holds Saya's hand softly, nestling her head against it.

"Saya-Nee? Is my haircut stupid?" She asks, wondering if maybe the bowlcut needed to go. A lot of the other girls seemed to have longer hair, and her bullies made fun of her for it. Maybe she looked a little bit too much like a boy or something. Something she was kind of becoming self conscious of as she reflected on herself. 

[Honō Saya]

Saya held Kin close, stroking her baby cousin’s hair with slow, soothing motions, voice low and gentle as the blonde let her feelings go; tears were spilled, blubbering cries were made, and snot flew, soaking the front of her qipao in mucus. But she didn’t care about that. All she cared about, all that mattered, was that her cousin felt safe. So she knelt there, arms around the smaller Hono, until the tears stopped, the cries ceased, and the fear subsided into a reluctant trust, Kin’s voice small and warbly, her words hesitant and shaking… but they came. Nonetheless, they came.

"Akio Naito, Kuroi Azatsuka, and Kuroi’s older brother." The redhead repeated as her cousin stepped back for a moment, looking at once both ashamed and chagrined, as if she had just realized something deeply unsettling. Kuroi’s older brother was indeed a Genin, one well known to her- he had been one of the main instigators behind Koji’s bullying back when they had been at the Academy, though he had never stayed around long enough for her to catch him in the act. He hadn’t been too interested in fair fights, not when he could sick his friends on her brother and watch as they ganged up on him, safe in the knowledge that none of them would ever tell.

"I won’t get hurt, Kin. I promise." Saya said, smiling as she took Kin’s hand in her own, slowly rising to her feet, already preparing her excuse for why she had to leave the gate. It wouldn’t be for long, an hour at most, but she wanted to make sure Kumori and Yua knew what to say, should they need to cover for her. Turning towards her desk, the Hono Genin quickly wrote out a note for her coworkers before turning back to face Kin, her hand never once letting Kin’s go.

"No. You look cute, not stupid." She replied once she was done, her smile soft and reassuring as she squeezed her cousin’s hand, letting her know she was safe. "Now show me where these kids are."

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

When they found themselves reassured, and told she was cute, Kin blushed, and she proceeded to wipe her eyes with one hand, her other held in Saya's hand. Before she'd proceed to nod her head. "Mhm!" She says, before swiftly running to pick up her Shinai, and would then walk a distance along the road until they made their way to a park. A popular place for kids to go and play, have fun. Play ninja. There were quite a few children here today, but as Kin came about, she'd slowly scout out, and she'd visualized in her mind what she'd do when she met her bullies again. Until eventually, it happened. Pointing out towards a swing set, she'd see two boys, one older than the other by quite a bit, the Hitai-ate of the elder marking him as a Genin of Kusagakure.

Kin made her way forward, holding her sword by her waist, until the younger boy happens to notice her almost right away, before hopping off the swing with a leap, landing on his feet. Kuroi was a few years older than her. "Well hey there Melon Head. I thought I told you that you weren't allowed here anymore. Idiot!" He proclaims, grinning before noticing a new addition. "Ooh. Nice training sword you got there. Hand it over" Kin looked a bit nervous, her hands fidgeting, and her legs were shaking, as he proceeds to swerve like an airplane, running a circle around Kin, before stopping in front of her. Though by that time. The smile dropped.

"What...Are you deaf or something? Give me your sword. If you do. I'll let you be my friend." He says with a bit of a chuckle as the smile comes back in more of a malicious, almost sort of shit eating grin. "If not? Well. I can always make you eat dirt again." Kin finds herself trying to be brave, and she takes a few steps back, but it seemed as if there was some merit to the claim he'd just made, because Kin's eyes watered again, and she shook her head no several times. "M-Mphmh! No!" She exclaims as she holds her stick up. She entered her combat stance, as best as she could do anyways considering the stressful situation.

"Fine. Don't blame me if I punch a tooth out." 

[Honō Saya]

Saya followed Kin without a word, holding her little cousin’s hand the entire way until they reached the park in question. It is there, with dozens of kids running about, the the elder Hono girl lets go, allowing Kin to guide her towards the children who had bullied her, taking great care not to let the blonde see even a single ounce of the simmering, seething anger that roiled beneath the surface of her otherwise pleasant smile. And then, the younger of the two opened his filthy mouth, and every bit of control in her body fled.

"This isn’t going to go how you think it will, Kuroi." The redheaded Hono girl spat, pulling Hitsuiken free with a single, fluid motion, her honey-yellow gaze blazing with the trademark fury that had marked her clan as worthy of wielding lava. It was a gift she had not been blessed with, but her clan’s Kekkei Genkai was more than just the ability to use Yoton Ninjutsu- it was fire that coursed through the veins of every Hono, a fire that burned brightest against the wicked, no matter who wielded it. "No more running away."

She held her blade low, interspersing it between her and the elder of the two Azatsuka brothers- he was sure to try and interfere, picking on the weaker target before trying to gang up on the stronger, but today would be different. And not just because she was here, either. Today, Kin fought back.

"Remember what I showed you, Kin. Don’t let him intimidate you. And kick his ass."

Honō Kin

[Honō Kin]

Kin finds herself engaged with her opponent, whilst Kuroi's brother comes forth, immediately standing between her, and his own little brother. "...Sheath your sword." he orders, no, demands, as he draws twin Kunai, daring her to make a move. Before Kin looks up at the older boy in question. Remember what she was shown. She found herself looking down, and she had a plan. And when the battle begins, Kin found the older boy barreling towards her. To which she is riddled with a sense of terror as he lunges, trying to grab at her, to which she looks in terror. Leaping to the side, she uses her sword to trip him momentarily, to where the little Kin fights how she could.

Kind of dirty. By kicking a faceful of dirt into his face, before Kin yells out. "Hap!" Swinging down recklessly over her head, she gets a swing in. Then another. Before the third swing is caught by an outstretched hand. The strike yanking on her blade, and pulling her with it as she refused to let him go. Before she feels a strong left punch hit her in the stomach. Making her keel over as she gasps, finding it hard to breath as she stumbles, and holds her stomach as she gasps, Kuroi wiping his face repeatedly in aggravation, as she responds by rushing in and delivering the fiercest kick she can to the guy's ear before he can get back up again.

A cry of pain sounds out, and the boy proceeds to feel tears of pain well up in his eyes, as he shields his head with his off hand. As Kin proceeds to just kick more dirt at him as he shields his face. The fight really looking like a playground brawl. Everyone had a plan until they got punched in the face they said. And to her credit? Kin put up one hell of a fight all things considered. Until there was a moment. Just that slightest moment where he juts his arm outward, and slams her right in the forehead with the pommel of the wooden sword. Kin finds herself shifting, a little bit confused. Looking dumbfounded as she stands there.

"Ah-hhhah...ha." She calls out, before folding backwards and flopping like a ragdoll into the dirt. Unable to read his attacks, presuming the fight didn't turn to blades. The elder Azatsuka brother smirks. Whilst Kin, while her fight was valiant, she just got absolutely shit on in that moment as the younger of the brothers proceeds to respond by immediately kicking dirt on her out of spite, and proceeds to take deep breaths in anger. "Stupid idiot!"