Free at Last

[Yuudai Kaito]

"Gaaah! Come on already! It's been two years already! Can't I just leave?"

The Med-nin looked sternly at Yuudai Kaito over her glasses "Not only no, but if I don't finish my examination I'll have you taken straight back to your room for another week of rest!"

Kaito gasped with genuine horror. "You wouldn't! That's cruel and unusual! I've missed two, TWO, genin exams while I was in here you know!"

She rolled her eyes, but gave in to a fond smile nonetheless. "And what exactly would you have accomplished in a full body cast? You were no use to anyone until you healed." Her fond pat on his head switched to an iron grip. "Now, sit back down!"

Yuudai sighed heavily and reluctantly followed her lead back to the examination chair. "I mean.. I just want to get back outside. This is worse than when we lived underground. Now I can SEE the outside and I just couldn't GET there. I spent three months doing nothing but trying to figure out how to scratch under my cast using lightning chakra. It was THE WORST."

The Med-nin turned back to her file, tutting "Is that why your casts kept catching fire? You know you set yourself back another month or so just healing the burns? You need to think before you start forming handseals young man."

The purple headed academy student stared at his toes, embarrassed. "Yeah... That's what Sensei said too. But I'd just failed my exam! You can't blame me for training right?"

"It's not what you did, it's how you did it. You're just too young to be channeling that level of chakra, nevermind what you did to your bones." Seeing she'd finally got through to her charge she sighed and finished her make work. "Okay then. As frustrating as it is to admit it... You're free to go. Now, I don't want to see you back here until you make Genin young man!" She called after him as a purple blr streaked towards the exit.

"WHHHOOOOOOO!" Yuudai cheered as he burst out the front doors of the Hospital "FREEDOM! Man, I wonder what everybody's been up to?"

[Marked For Training, WC: 361]

 

[Kioku Kasure]

The purple haired Genin rounded the corner whistling. He noted the academy student and waved, something about him seemed vaguely familiar.

"You seem happy, what's been happening? Wait, it's not your birthday is it?"

He walked up holding his arm up for a high five. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" I hope I actually know this person...

 

[Yuudai Kaito]

“CLOSE ENOUGH!” Kaito bellowed gleefully, not only failing to slow down as he sprinted at his fellow ninja, but actually going as far as to wreathe his hand in lighting chaka as he smashed it into the offered high five with reckless abandon. He spun in place and threw his hands on his hips as he turned to face Kasure. “Might as well be, finally out of the dumb hospital! That was my first jutsu in two years!” He grinned, then muttered “Except that failed 'Under Cast Scratching Jutsu' I was trying, but that just kept setting fire to things…”

“Anyway!” He pointed dramatically at the other purple haired ninja “I remember you! We fought at the Academy! And you hang out at the Grand Palais sometimes! It's me, your number one Academy Student Friend: Yuudai Kaito! Put it there for a friendship renewed!" he threw out his hand to shake.

 

[Kioku Kasure]

Kaz waved his slightly stunned hand to get some feeling back. "Two years? What the hell happened, did you get put in a coma or something?" He tactfully kept what he thought of an 'under cast scratching jutsu' to himself for now.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. Kaz. Nice to remeet you I guess." He took the offered hand and shook it with a smile.

"So do you wanna go get an ice cream or something? Thats what people do right?"

 

[Yuudai Kaito]

Yuudai shrugged, but his enthusiastic grin didn't drop any. "That sounds good to me, I'm just glad to be doing anything at all without a Med-Nin telling me off. 'Stop that Kaito-chan, you're setting your recovery back!' or 'Kaito-chan! The railings aren't for doing pull ups! Get back in bed!' Hospitals and I really do not get on at all.."

He sets off confidently and then has to drop back and sheepishly gesture for Kaz to lead the way.

"Sorry, you were asking what I was in for? Well there was... an incident, I'd rather not talk about it to be honest, but suffice it to say, I didn't pass my Genin Exam." For a moment bitterness and shame fills his voice, but he soldiers on back to enthusiasm. "So I went to go see Roku-sensei! He's the best! And we trained and trained! It was amazing! Until all of a sudden I couldn't get up any more, just when it was getting really good.." he sighs "The Med-Nin said I had critical chakra exhaustion and 'bones like crazy paving', but they don't get it, I had to get better you know? But there's no one at home so I had to stay there," He nods resentfully over his shoulder at the hospital. "Till I got out of the cast, and then I broke again a few times.. Caught fire twice! But I finished my therapy today and they checked me out so I'm free!"

"Man, I bet loads happened while I was in there Kaz; what's gone on?"

 

[Kioku Kasure]

"I can tell" Kaz responded dryly. Happy to let Kaito continue for a while.

"Oh its this way." Kaz began taking a path down a small side alley occasionally nodding his head to Kaito's story.

"Ahh, well you're not the only one who got chakra exhaustion. I was in a coma for a couple of years, seems I managed to exhaust myself completely in a mission in the desert. I woke up maybe two weeks ago?" Kaz shrugged. "Apparently there's something going on with civil unrest, looks like there might be some real problems ahead for Suna." He shrugged again "Not that I get told anything, I'm way down the bottom of the ladder." He sighed. "But even at the bottom you hear things, and I've seen enough unhappy people in the past week to know somethings up."

As they got to the end of the alley he turned left onto a main street. A closed down ice cream parlor was dead ahead of them. "Oh, I guess two years is a long time. I think there's another one this way..."

 

[Yuudai Kaito]

Yuudai nodded heartily. "I'm not exactly a "restraint" kinda guy. I like to think of it as a Taijutsu personality, you know? I don't wanna be the guy the Lord Steward sends to talk 'em out of it. I wanna be the guy he sends through the wall to make you regret it" He chuckled. "Guess that probably sounds really ahead of myself huh, being an student and all? I don't mean to be arrogant, you're the active ninja and all, right? Bet you've done some real missions and stuff? Actually helped the people of Suna out? I don't know how anyone ends up being a civilian when they could get out there... " He leaps way up a nearby street lamp and climbs it to the top, gesturing out towards the edges of the village.

Jumping back down, he nods along with the Ninja's story; both sympathetic and impressed to hear about Kaz's missions in the dessert. "Yeah, you must be a really tough guy to survive a coma in the dessert! That or Mother Suna has big plans for you."

At the news of the problems in Suna he gasps slightly and quickly tries to cover it up with stoicism. "Unrest? Against the Lord Steward? Who would do that..? Suna is our home, we've got to work together to keep it strong and prosperous.." Under his breathe he adds "I don't wanna have to live underground again. I.. just want to help people."

As they keep walking towards the second ice cream shop. "I guess everything changes eventually huh? Gotta flow with the sands in the wind."

[Marked For Training, WC: 268]

 

[Kioku Kasure]

"Yeah, when I think of you restraint is definitely not the first word that comes to mind. I prefer talking, it results in a lot less grudges I find. Still I guess that's why I favour Ninjutsu." He beamed a smile, turning left down another alley as he did so. "Ha, real missions? I mean I guess, though nothing particularly impressive, its mainly been post delivery and security for minor events." He ran his hand through his hair in embarrassment. "Being a genin isn't exactly glamorous. Did bust a street gang though. That was pretty exciting."

"Ha, the outside isn't for everyone. Even discounting the people who aren't capable of using their chakra, its a wilderness. A barren wasteland which will punish any transgression against it." He smiled. "Well that's why you get survival training in the academy right? Though I would always double check you have enough supplies when you leave, dehydration is really unpleasant. As for surviving the coma? That was just luck, I ended up passed out quite near an oasis. I was transported here within the week. But some people say luck is a skill, so maybe I am tough"

"Things have apparently not being going great on the surface, and when times are hard people look to blame others." He shrugged. "I'm with you on the helping people. And I prefer there not to be a war at all, but things seem to be going that way. Whats the phrase? Oh yeah: hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

He took a second left which took them back into a main street where another ice cream parlour was shut for the day. "Ah, bad luck. Well there is a final one I remember. And its quite close."

[293]
[MFT]

 

[Yuudai Kaito]

“Eh, grudges aren't formed by fighting, they're about the feelings in your heart. You can fight every day of your life so long as you aren't bitter about it I reckon.” Yuudai shrugs. “I remember your Ninjustu though.. I still can't call up that sort of power! Kinda sounds like those events weren't all that minor really. They were significant enough to someone to pay the big money, and even if nothing happened everyone gets reminded about the power of Suna.”

“Hey now! You said it yourself, the dessert doesn't take kindly on the lucky: have a little faith!” He cartwheeled along the alley way in step with Kaz, admonishing him playfully “Not that you're wrong about doing the prep work, a careless ninja is gonna be a dead ninja soon, and even the first men had to win their war before they could be bless, earn it as much as you can, you know?” He sprung back onto his feet and continued without break. “Maybe I think too much about Storms though, there's just something so… Free about them.”

“Tch, blaming other people is weak. If it's bad, you should fix it with your own two hands. Instead of fighting the Lord Steward they should have all signed up if they really hate him, then you can change something. As it is though they're just gonna make it bad for everyone. It'll be the slums and the young people who get hurt most by any battles, or terrorism or whatever.
And what if you lose?” He grouched, eyes shadowed and fists clenched.”That's it. If you ever had even the START of a good idea? BOOM! It's gone. At least if you lose an argument you can try again, stupid idiots. No one benefits. There's just no end game.”

He grins slyly at Kaz “Like us and our ice cream shops right? Lead on buddy, we can try again!”