"Dude, how the hell did you make a paper bomb do this much damage?" A 50 foot crater was indented into a Leaf Village hillside, Sahide at the center.
"I don't know! Maybe I wrote the symbol wrong?"
"Sahide, how badly do you have to mess up to make my other senses just totally fail for a second?" Ehara stood with a hand to her face. "Even my passive Byakugan couldn't see a damn thing for a second."
Lahiro shook his head. "Be careful, dude." He sighed. "Come on, let's get some food and get familiar with each other's abilities. I'm hungry, though I'm down to very little money left out of the pouch Lady Hokage gave me for clothes."
Sahide shrugged, and walked up the hill of the crater, covered in soot and dirt. Ehara, from the edge of the crater beside Lahiro, tilted her head. "Lahiro, I do hope you'll discuss with us why you have such a strange chakra situation."
He nodded. "I will, but not on an empty stomach. There's some stuff behind it that is too sensitive to discuss yet. I just met you, after all."
She nodded. "That's fair."
Lahiro, being 18 and newly free from imprisonment and therefore extraordinarily hormonal, dug his nails into his palm to keep himself in control of where his eyes were looking. Man, that hip thing she's got going is such a damn tease. He plucked at his collar, before the trio moved into the village, making their way towards the famous Ichiraku Ramen. Once they were seated before their bowls of ramen, Lahiro took a bite before he cleared his throat and spoke. "So, before I embarrass myself in the middle of a fight or something, I uh… I am incapable of handsigns."
Sahide coughed and choked on a noodle. "What? How are you supposed to act as a ninja then?"
Ehara nodded. "I didn't think so. I can see your damaged chakra lines faintly."
Lahiro nodded. "But, there's still methods I follow to use my chakra." He looked to Ehara. "Look carefully at the damaged parts." He clenched a hand around his sword hilt.
Ehara tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting. You must hold a weapon in order to utilize your chakra." She hummed a little. "You could do a lot with kenjutsu. Or bukijutsu. Have you tried any other weapons?"
Lahiro shook his head. "Haven't had the time, really. I've been… predisposed for the last 5 years."
Sahide furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ehara nudged Sahide in the side with an elbow. "Probably something he doesn't want to talk about."
Lahiro gave a thankful look to Ehara. "Correct. I'd rather not get into it. Additionally, I have three chakra natures at my disposal."
Ehara made a small noise and Sahide went wide-eyed. "Three?" Sahide exclaimed. "But that's impossible!"
Lahiro shook his head. "Apparently not. I was born with all three." He partially unsheathed his sword, running wind over it, then fire, then water. "Wind, fire, and water are my chakra natures."
Ehara cocked her head to the side. "You still have not commented on your three chakra systems."
Sahide was very lost at this point. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on.
Lahiro shook his head. "And I won't, not for quite awhile. Two of them are artificial, that's all you need to know. The three chakra systems divide my three chakra natures into three separate chakra systems, essentially providing me with three different chakras within my one body, all three the size of the average jonin."
Lahiro's teammates sweatdropped. Sashide shook his head. This guy… what kind of monster is he?
Ehara scratched her cheek. The horrors he must have gone through for his body to become this… she shivered. "How good are you with your sword?"
He shrugged. "Good enough that I fought Sasuke Uchiha for 2 and a half years straight without dying." He deadpanned.
That alone gave almost the whole story in Ehara's mind about how he came to have the chakra that he did. She gulped, nodded, and decided to keep it to herself to respect whatever privacy he had left.
Sahide seemed to not think about the ramifications of that, and instead just whistled. "That's a long time to fight. Nice."
Lahiro grumbled a small thank you and shook his head. "Enough about me though." He turned to Sahide. "So, you experiment with new paper bombs?
Sahide nodded happily, like a kid in a candy store. "Yep! The Isotas, for generations, have been the makers of the Leaf Village's paper bombs. But I have bigger dreams. I picture paper bombs that can trigger basic jutsus, I dream of paper bombs that explode into more paper bombs. Paper bombs that can diffuse certain chakra natures. Paper bombs that…"
Sahide rambled on for a few more minutes before Lahiro coughed. "Ok, got it Sahide. You keep at it, I guess." He turned to Ehara."Ehara, you mentioned you had a passive Byakugan. I assume you're somehow related to Neji?"
Ehara scowled lightly. "Yeah, I guess. I don't actually associate with the Hyuga clan anymore. On account of, ya know, they think I'm actually blind. My own clan doesn't know about my passive Byakugan. Neji is okay though. The branch family in general isn't so bad."
Lahiro scratched his head. "About that, how does that work exactly, the passive Byakugan?"
She sighed. "Basically, my other senses fashion an alternate method of sight for me. I can't see any color though, just shades of white, black, and grey, save for chakra. Chakra shows up in color."
Lahiro nodded. "Anything else?"
She tilted her head. "Well, there's this." She popped the top of her cane off, revealing that it was, in fact, the pommel of a sword kept inside the cane. "I could be better with it, but I'm not terrible."
Lahiro smiled. "I can help you with that."
She smiled lightly. "I would be thankful for that." She put her cane back together. "I'm also working on a jutsu so I can share sight with someone."
Sahide raised an eyebrow. "Really? That would be interesting. Like, you get sick of flat colors or whatever."
Ehara shrugged. "Pretty much."
Lahiro shut his dropped jaw and shook his head. "Ehara, you have no idea how important that is." He triggered his Hyoshihagan.
Ehara gasped. "I can see that in color! Is that a visual jutsu?" Sahide turned his whole body in Lahiro's direction to listen closely.
Lahiro nodded. "Yes. It's called the Hyoshihagan. It's a sort of variant of the Uchiha Sharingan, I think. I don't actually know the origin of this. I can copy jutsus, but the method by which I use them is via swordsigns. I copied Sazuke's fireball a long time ago, and when I use it, I blow it off the edge of my blade as a firewave. I adapt copied jutsus for use with my sword." He put a finger under his right eye. "If you share my sight, you may be able to copy jutsus in the same way I do."
"Whoah!" Ehara sat up straight. "We are literally perfect teammates. We both use swords, and if we pick our spots in battles, we can both copy jutsus." She turned to Sahide. "And your paperbombs can cover our asses to buy us that time, or work in conjunction with our jutsus."
Sahide nodded happily. "Fine by me. I'd rather sit in the back and throw around paper bombs than be in somebody's face."
Lahiro put a hand to his chin. "We can absolutely make this team work." He deactivated his eyes and returned to his food, a small smile of contentment gracing his sharp features. "We should get familiar with our battle movements soon. We only have a week before our exams, and we have no idea what we'll have to do." The other two nodded, and the rest of lunch was spent on small talk, and familiarizing Lahiro with names he'd need to know. Sahide went home afterwards, but Ehara tugged on Lahiro's sleeve. "Hm?"
Ehara scratched her cheek again, in what seemed to be a nervous tick or something. "Would you mind sparring with me? There are very few people in the village who use swords, and Kakashi-sensei is the only jonin here who does."
Lahiro nodded. "Sure. I suggest we pick up a few food pills though. Extended dueling like this will tire your wrists easily, so food pills can keep you going through it."
Ehara nodded. "Good idea. I know where we can get some. You wanna grab a medical ninja to come with us in case we get carried away?"
Lahiro shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt. I don't think we should use our jutsus though. Mine are all pretty big. Or they're more geared for espionage."
She nodded. "Still use chakra-cloaked weapons though, right?"
He laughed. "Naturally. You have chakra metal for your sword?"
She shrugged. "Before I had a grasp on the passive Byakugan, it was necessary. Now, it's just really damn nice to have."
Lahiro hummed. "Huh. I should get chakra metal for mine soon."
Ehara raised an eyebrow. "What? If you don't have chakra metal, how are you channeling your chakra?"
He shrugged. "I don't need it. It takes a little effort to start to connect though. If I had chakra metal, I'd assume my techniques and jutsus would get better. I don't have any more money." He sweatdropped.
Ehara laughed. "I can get some for you, it's fine. You're my teammate, and arguably the strongest of us. We need you in top shape."
Lahiro shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, you don't have to. But thank you. I'll return the favor someday."
They got to the crater Sahide made earlier, food pills in hand, and with a new chakra blade wakizashi for Lahiro. He loosened the sword in the scabbard, and readied himself, his right hand clenched around the hilt to draw from his left hip.
Ehara held her cane in front of her and drew the long, thin blade out of it, more of a rapier than a slashing sword. Her cane itself was a hard, dark wood. She held her rapier in her left hand, her cane held in a reverse grip in her right. A medical ninja stood off to the side, the intensity in the air reverberating in his bones.
They circled each other for a few minutes. Lahiro began adding water and wind chakra into his wakizashi, extending it to about the length of a katana with a honed blade of ice as he drew it out. Ehara added chakra, of the lightning nature, into her sword, instigating intense crackles and arcs of lightning along the edge. As he drew his ice katana out, he charged her, jumping into the air and spinning to gather momentum. Ehara sidestepped a little, the katana passing just by her cheek. She moved to counter attack, but Lahiro caught her wrist in his left hand. Her cane flew to hit him in the side with a thud. "Guh!" Lahiro's breath left him for a second, but he had the wherewithal to swing his blade back to the left in front of his body, knocking her thrust aside and backstepping. Once his breath was back, he threw his blade up again to catch her thrust, his chakra clashing directly with hers. Wind beats lightning though, so he pushed hard, throwing her rapier off to the side. He followed the movement, executing a spinning low sweep. She jumped over it, bringing her rapier and cane to bear upon him. He held his sword over his head, his left hand pushing against the back of his blade. They both grunted from the effort.
Lahiro's wind chakra came in for the win again, as he pushed himself off his knees. He then dropped to his back, the change in balance throwing Ehara into vulnerability. He brought his feet up to plant in her stomach and threw her over his head. She landed hard on her back. "Gack!" She rolled forward from her landing, turning around once she was on her feet to face him. "Grrrah!" She leaped forward, her cane swinging diagonally up towards his jaw, and her rapier thrusting forward towards his belly.
He swung his sword hard upwards, clashing against her rapier and throwing it into her cane, stopping both attacks. She cursed and spun with it, aiming a spin-kick to his midsection. He caught her foot with his left hand. He pulled her foot, yanking her off-balance and towards him, the pommel of his blade slammed into her side. As he hit, her cane flew through the air on instinct alone and clocked him in the side of the head.
Lahirostumbled back, going to a knee and holding the side of his head. Ehara hit the ground with a thud and a heavy groan. The medical ninja above wiped sweat off his head. So much chakra flowing through the air… they're monsters! He began to head down to help, but Lahiro shook his head at him.
He gulped and returned to his spot, as Ehara pulled herself off the ground with a hand on her side. "Damn." She took in a breath, with a hitch.
Lahiro shook his head. "Geez, that was a mean swing." He felt a headache coming on and smiled. She's good. I underestimated her. "It's not over until it's a kill strike. We stop short before it hits. Deal?"
Ehara laughed. She seemed more animated and active than she was when they had gotten food. She nodded and sprang.
A while later, after several bouts, they were both exhausted. Lahiro had scored more than she had, so Ehara paid for them both to get dinner together. Through small talk, Lahiro learned that Ehara was 18 as well, the same age as he was, though she'd only just turned. He'd been 18 for about 4 months. "So, Lahiro, um… you said you've fought Sasuke for the past 2 years." Lahiro looked up with a piece of fish in his mouth. He sighed through his nose and prepared to answer questions. "I'm aware of the situation surrounding him. Does that mean that Orochimaru…?"
Lahiro sighed and bit the piece of fish in his mouth in half, the freed half falling back to his plate. He chewed, swallowed, and then began to speak. "After having crossed blades with you today, I trust you with my story. Orochimaru experimented on me for about 3 years, before Sasuke came to him. He threw me away like garbage when he found that I could only use chakra in conjunction with weapons. I already had the three chakra natures, but he implanted two chakra networks and two chakra storages into me before he found that detail about my chakra flow." He picked at his fingernails for a second. "I trust you more than I trust the leaders of any village, nothing against Tsunade, so I'll spill this, too. Orochimaru failed in allowing me to freely combine chakras, like kekkei genkai on command and at will. But he succeeded in allowing me to emit different chakras at the same time from one hand." Ehara dropped her chopsticks, fully attentive. "My Torrential Dance Jutsu, for example. I'm emitting water chakra from my index and middle fingers, wind chakra from my ring and pinky fingers, and pure chakra from my thumb. I can simulate kekkei genkai combinations in this way." Ehara widened her eyes.
"So, you can just replicate kekkei genkais?" She shook her head. "That's insane. You were right to keep it from the leaders. They'd turn you into a prize." She tapped her chin. "But that will be a very handy ability to use in battle."
He nodded. "My former village would turn me into an assassin against my will if they knew I could do this, or if they cared that I existed."
Ehara went somber. "What...what village did you come from?"
He sighed. "An offshoot of the Village Hidden in the Mist."
A look of thinly-veiled horror graced Ehara's fine features. "Oh no. That's terrible. I've heard enough about the Village Hidden in the Mist to at least try to picture what it could have been like." She set a hand on his forearm. "I won't be able to understand it, but I can certainly try to picture it. It's not a pretty picture."
Lahiro nodded, picking at his food. "I was taken from the Mist chunin exams before I'd been forced to kill anyone. I was Sasuke's practice dummy the past couple years, but I used that experience to subtly improve my own skills, and discover my swordsigning. The soup I ate the other day was the first thing I've eaten in 5 years that hadn't been moldy bread." He shook his head and finished the piece of fish he'd been focused on earlier.
Ehara shook her head. She wanted to pity him, but he didn't seem to her like the kind of guy who would appreciate pity. "So wait, your ice sword. How did you distribute that chakra?"
He appreciated the subject change. "Pretty much the exact same as my Torrential Dance, but I'm using the wind to chill and solidify the water."
Ehara nodded. "Smart. Because you're not limited to manipulating one chakra combination, you can experiment more freely with the way you combine your chakra natures."
Lahiro sucked up some noodles and gave a closed smile. "Exactly." He sighed. "Now I need to figure out where the hell I'm gonna stay."
Ehara scratched her cheek again. "Well, I could maybe ask Grandpa Rai. Granny Mari is on a ladies' night out, so I can't ask her yet."
Lahiro raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of tea. "Who are they?"
Ehara smiled. "The old couple that I live with."
Lahiro choked a little on his tea. "So you're inviting me to live with you?" She thought for a second and scratched her head. "I'm just gonna say yes before you actually think about it too much. I'll keep to one side of the house, you keep to the other. Fair?"
Ehara shrugged. "Fine by me." She took a sip of tea to hide a light blush.
Lahiro yawned a bit. "I'll need to pick up some sleeping clothes though. So while you go ask or something, I'm gonna go do that. Where's your house?"
Ehara nodded a bit. "On the west side of the Village, just a bit away from the Academy. Granny Mari likes to watch the kids."
Lahiro nodded. "Okay. I'll head that direction when I'm done getting clothes then."
They finished their food soon after, in comfortable silence, and went their separate ways. He picked up some black sweatshirts, some slippers, and a pair of grey sweatpants, and a pair of blue sweatpants. That officially cleaned him out of all of his money.
He headed in the direction of Ehara's house, before he bumped into a group of ladies, all generally in later years, heading the same way. One of the older ladies, who still gave off the cool funky grandma vibe, saw him. "Oooo~ is this one of the boys on that rascal Ehara's team?"
Lahiro turned his head and smiled with a bow. "Yes ma'am. My name is Lahiro Ide."
The woman put a hand to her face. "My, the manners on this lad." He chuckled. "Rare to find such politeness amongst boys your age."
He scratched his head a little. "To be fair, I am 18. Generally speaking, a person better be polite when they hit that age."
Her eyes went a little wide and she cocked her head, hiding her face behind a small fan. "Oohoo, same age as Ehara, eh?" Lahiro raised an eyebrow, as she shook her head. "Oh no, here I am praising your manners, but I haven't given my own name yet." She gave a little curtsey, a small pop being heard from what was likely a knee. "My name is Mari. Or, Granny Mari to Ehara."
Lahiro paled. "O-oh. Um, about that, Ehara sort of-"
"Invited you to stay with us?" Lahiro paled again. She giggled. "That girl always has been impulsive. I don't have a quarrel with it, but Rai might. I'll set him in his place though." He put a hand up to hide her mouth from the other ladies. "Don't tell him, but I wear the pants."
Lahiro laughed nervously. "Uh-huh. Well, anyway, I guess I'll walk with you and your friends?"
Mari's other old friends shook their heads, one of them piping up. "No no, we were just walking with her for strength in numbers. But a fine young man such as yourself can take care of her."
Lahiro went red in the face as they walked away, leaning over to Mari. "No offense to present company, but why are all of the old women here talking to me like I'm a savior?"
Mari laughed heartily. "None taken, dear. It's just that, all of us have been working tirelessly since Ehara entered my household to find her a boy. And, well, her initiative to invite you is about as good a sign as a shooting star in the middle of the day."
Lahiro blushed. "I-... to be blunt with you, Mari-"
"It's Granny Mari to you, Lahiro."
"-Granny Mari, I am in no way emotionally ready for something like that." She cocked her head. He sighed. "I have… a lot of trauma." Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "To put it in a nutshell that can allow me to leave out the rest of my baggage, I'm not from around here. I'm a runaway from the Village Hidden in the Mist's offshoot village, which is now a pile of ashes, and Kakashi-sensei's team rescued me from Orochimaru."
Mari's mischievous face crumbled. "Oh you poor boy." Her lips began to blubber. "You are absolutely staying with us. I will have no protests." She snatched his free arm and began practically dragging him to the house. "By the time we're done with you, there won't be any room left for trauma."
Lahiro had an uneasy premonition of gaining a lot of weight.
When he and Mari finally arrived at the house, Ehara was busy trying to convince an obstinate-looking old man to let Lahiro stay. Mari rolled her eyes. "Rai, he is going to live here until he does not want to."
Rai turned to Mari and began to protest before he actually laid eyes on Lahiro. He began to storm down to Lahiro before he realized something: Lahiro was a whole 7 inches taller. He backed up a bit, but didn't give ground. "Young man, what are your intentions with Ehara?!"
Lahiro went red. "Wha- huh? Sir, I just need somewhere to live. I'm on the same genin team as Ehara, and we'll be working together in the chunin exam." Rai's bluster lowered. "I only desire to have a roof over my head to call a safe place."
Rai narrowed his eyes. "Fine, but your room is on the opposite side of the house from Ehara's."
Lahiro nodded. "Understandable. Ehara and I already wanted that arrangement. Thank you sir." He gave a bow and then stepped passed and inside.
The house was pretty well-furnished, but tastefully done so. The decor and furnishings were bought with practicality and comfort in mind, not for appearances, and was thus a very modest home. He found a room that had a small label on the door that read "Ehara" in Kanji. He nodded and moved across the house, finding an empty guest room.
He sighed in contentment, stashing away most of his sleeping clothes, but leaving out the blue sweats and a black sweatshirt. He dropped off a bag of necessities that Kakashi had been kind enough to provide: Soaps and such for showers, toothpaste and a toothbrush, a hair brush, etc. Lahiro puffed up his pillow before he carefully took off his ninja clothes and set them aside, ready to wash, considering they reeked of sweat.
He had his own bathroom, which was handy for avoiding awkward situations. He stepped into his bathroom and took a shower.
He stepped out about 20 minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist and using a smaller towel to dry behind his ears. He'd left his bedroom door open though, and Ehara had just been entering to speak with him. Her face went beet red, only to immediately soften. Her passive Byakugan was able to see the lines and textures of his skin, including his scars.
Lahiro snatched one of his sweatshirts and used one hand to plaster it over his chest, his other hand holding his towel secure around his waist. "Can I help you?"
She shook her head. "Ah-, I was just going to say goodnight and make sure you were settling in okay." He nodded. She pursed her lips. "How many more scars do you have?"
He sighed and tossed his sweatshirt back on his bed. "Many more." Scars ran along his sides, a patchwork of lines and jagged canyons. One large scar ran from his collarbone to his hip, about an inch wide. His arms were spattered on small nicks and scratches. There were more, but they were on his legs under the towel. He gestured to the door. "Let me get changed, and then you can take me on a tour, ok?" She nodded and began to leave before he caught her attention again. "Oh, and Ehara?" She turned back, facing his direction. "Don't mention my scars to anyone, ok? I'm trying to limit how many people know about my trauma." He gave a small smile. "Because I hate pity."
She nodded and left his room, standing outside of it. He hastily shut his door and breathed a sigh before he slipped into his blue sweatpants and black sweatshirt.
He came out a second later, his hair up in a bun. "So, the grand tour?"
Ehara laughed lightly and led him around, her cane in front of her just in case. "Okay, so you found your bathroom. Down the hall and to the left takes you to the kitchen. To the right takes you to a lounge area. Further down the hall takes you my room. Left from there, down another hall, will take you to stairs. Right will take you to a small outdoor space with a pond. Very peaceful, and my favorite part of the house. Up the stairs is Mari and Rai's room, and a bunch of balconies." She gestured to another door. "And that leads to a small training area that Mari and Rai had built for me. We can spar there if you want."
Lahiro nodded to each direction. They followed those same directions a second later to add the visual part of said directions for him, though she didn't really need that. He lingered in the outdoor spot. "You go on in, Ehara." She cocked her head at him. "I'm gonna stay out here for a while. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
Ehara nodded and left. Lahiro… Her thoughts lingered on his scars for a long while.
In the outdoor space, Lahiro did something he hadn't been able to for a long time: he meditated, and cleared his head. "Man, she was right. This is peaceful." He sat for a while longer before he stood from his cross-legged position. He stepped into his room and crawled into bed, still trying to adjust to the idea of sleeping and not being paralyzed like he'd been so used to. He managed to go to sleep a bit later into the night.
He woke up at about 10am, to Ehara shaking him awake. "Hey, it's breakfast. Get up."
He groaned. "Mmmm, no." He rolled over.
She sighed. "Fine, I'll eat all the rice porridge myself."
Lahiro sat up like a mummy from a coffin, his eyes half-lidded. "Did you say rice porridge?"
She giggled lightly. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."
He nodded and sat straighter, his blanket falling off of his chest. His sweatshirt had ridden up, so his midriff was exposed for a second before it fell back to rest on his body normally. "Ok. I'll be there in a few minUTES." He groaned, yawning wide in the middle of the last word." She blushed lightly, shook her head, and left his room. He scratched his side and rolled out of bed, finding his ninja outfit now hanging by his door, clean as a whistle. Huh. Somebody must've washed it for me. Nice. He pulled it on, brushed his hair and his teeth, and then left his room. He attached his sword to his hip on the way out, closing his door behind him. He found Ehara, Mari, and Rai in the kitchen. Each with small bowls that held healthy servings of rice porridge, as well as larger bowls that held ramen. Ehara's ramen had a fried egg on top of it. Lahiro smiled wide. "Good morning!"
Mari smiled back. "Good morning, Lahiro. Sleep well?"
He nodded. "Yes. Best sleep I've gotten in what feels like forever."
Rai humphed. "Of course you did, Lahiro. We have good beds here."
Lahiro winced. "Of-of course, sir." He received his own bowls of rice porridge and ramen, setting them beside the stove. He whipped up his own fried egg to put over top of the ramen and then moved to the table, sitting beside Ehara. "Thank you for breakfast." He nodded his head to Mari and Rai before he began to eat.
Mari laughed. "Oh, no, all we did was the ramen, which is easy. The rice porridge was all Ehara."
He turned to Ehara with an impressed look on his face. "Ooo, really? I better give it a try then." He took a small spoonful. Then another. "...yeah, I'm gonna need a bigger bowl for this. This is really damn good." He elbowed Ehara gently in the side. "You're a good cook." She blushed, but hid it through the steam from her ramen. A bit later, after the breakfast dishes were all clean and the day was upon them, Ehara and Lahiro left to go get Sahide. And maybe find one of the jonins that have been doing the teaching of the genins. It was time to copy a couple jutsus. And not just for himself.
Thanks for reading! Please leave reviews and stuff, it helps me understand what I can do better on what I'm already doing well. I'll start on chapter 3 sometime next week probably. This weekend is exclusively reserved for gaming.