Dark Expectations[P]

[Hermit]

Yeah sure, I was just a little 7 year old kid that had a creepy little innocence, but I was one that could make your life miserable if you decided to get on my bad side. Needless to say it was unwise to approach me in specific ways, though that quality did come in handy whenever I'm up for a fight. What am I getting at? Well, being the energetic tike that I was, blowing off some steam with a couple of kunai and dummy bags was a good way to sort out things in my head. You see, I had someone that I had to surpass, someone that I wanted to be acknowledged by, and someone I hungered to fight once I finally met them.

To sum it all up, I had to train my ass of, especially with the level of expectation that was weighing heavily upon my back, one for being from a prodigious bloodline, and another for being his child. With that said, I took it upon myself to take advantage of this glorious day, the winds were warm, clouds were far and few, and even the sky seemed to radiate with a heavy azure that came off as a heavenly glow when looked upon from certain angles - it was a perfect scene. I was merely taking a break, sitting beneath the cool shade of a hulking tree within this training area after having worked up a good sweat from target practice, physical training, and strengthening my rare expertise of the Illusory arts.

So there I sat, my back against the tree with one leg folded into my chest and the other fully extended. The arm parallel to my folded knee rested calmly upon its apex, fingers dangling as they'd become damn near numb from the incessant repetition of hand-seals. My free hand loosely twirled a kunai that held the mark of the thunder god himself upon my middle finger. As for my mouth, a stem of wheat that I'd often kept myself gnawing on remained welded in between my teeth; it just felt soothing to the teeth y'know. My head cut a quick, upward glance into the sky before speaking to god knows who.

"You're so far away, yet, you feel so close, heh, but don't worry, I'll be sunagakure's strongest shinobi soon enough, someones gotta hold down the fort till you get back right? Hehe!"

[Ichi]

"I love you, Nagato." I was never really sure if he could hear me, but I liked to hope he could. My beloved had been in his catatonic state for most of my pregnancy, but more so the entirety of our son's life. I fed him; I cleaned him; I made sure he was comfortable, though I doubt he would complain if he wasn't. For hours, until exhaustion took him, he would simply gaze out the window. Still as a statue, I often had to remind myself he was even alive.

Though it yielded no reaction, I gently brushed my hand against the side of his cool face, and pressed my lips to his own. It was a long, deep kiss - one sided, but passionate nonetheless.

"I'm going to find Hiraki," I pointlessly informed him. "I'll be back to check on you in an hour or so."

The only problem I found was keeping him safe. Nagato and That Man had brought peace to the world, yet there were still small groups of rogues that hated them for what they'd done. Mere assassins, they hunted my beloved Nagato relentlessly. I'd killed several of them myself the last time they found us on the outskirts of Taki no Kuni; I was six months pregnant then. But with our son born, I decided it would be best to relocate to Sunagakure. At least here, we had the village's support.

Closing the door that led to our room, and performing a quick set of seals to activate the barrier technique I had instilled for Nagato's safety, I was on my way. My pace was slow, as I could feel myself giving in to my emotions that I fought so tirelessly to suppress. It pained me - you have no idea how much - to see him like that. For so many nights I'd prayed for him to come back to me so that we could begin our family, but it a foolish endeavor. Still he was silent; still he gazed out of the window that overlooked the rest of the village.

Once I left our humble abode, it wasn't difficult to find our son. I visited the usual locations he frequented until I stumbled across him, situated beneath a tree and speaking to the clouds. He certainly had his father's ambition; every day he grew more and more like him.

"You won't be the strongest anything if you keep ditching your studies, young man," I threatened from over his shoulder. I always found it humorous how having a child could really change who you were. "Mark my words!"

[Hermit]

It was quiet, and peaceful to me, feeling the cool winds that passed through this dwelling of shade, it was a refreshing feeling to me after being in the god awful heats of sunagakure for majority of the days. But sadly my thoughts came to a quick end as a voice I was all to familiar with called out to me, mom? My level of attentiveness shot up abruptly, causing my head to snap back over my shoulder, looking upon her as she stood beside me. It was funny, at least to me, how I looked like this carbon copy of my father, but I only retained the blood of my mother, and the lavender eyes we so rightfully shared. Not only this but, metameric qualities of her personality still lingered within my own, incessantly developing as I'd gotten older.

"You won't be the strongest anything if you keep ditching your studies, young man, mark my words!"

She cooed softly, scolding me, yet, all I could do is smile in her presence, wiping away my 'apathetic tough guy attitude' and become nothing more than a 7 year old child that loved his mother just as much as the next. I jumped to my feet and turned towards her all in one fluid motion, wrapping my arms around her waist, embracing her with a ample grip. The side of my face pressed against her stomach, feeling her motherly warmth before relinquishing myself from her and turning around upon my heels while concurrently shooting my hands into my pocket.

"heheee, I study. . .sometimes, but its so boring and the work is easy for no reason. I'm like a genius or something, it makes people jeleous cuz' I get alot of weird looks from those old geezers from the Kage manor like I'm some kinda odd ball, I don't like it. . .at all."

My tone transition momentarily during my retort, going from cheerful and childish to bold and adamant. Primordial signs of Schizo? Maybe, who knows. Without warning my mood changed once more, sad and damn near depressing in tone as well.

"So. . .can you tell me what dad was like again?"

[Ichi]

I couldn't help but smile. Though it pained me to keep Nagato hidden from our son, I couldn't let Hiraki see him like that. Everyone regarded my beloved so highly, and in turn put a lot of pressure on Hiraki to live up to his standards. I didn't even want to think of what it might've done to my son's mentality had he known what his father had become.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said you weren't a spitting image of him." I smiled, making my way closer so that I could ruffle his hair. "Your father was a courageous man; he was willing to stand in the face of danger, and do the things necessary to ensure you could live in a peaceful world." I know what some people had said about Nagato, that Man, and the others that had joined their cause - it was all lies. "No matter what they say about your father, he is a hero, Hiraki."

I found myself gazing at the open sky, my mind drifting back to the days when Nagato and I first met. "He was as ferocious as a lion, yet at the same time as tender as a feather. His passion was what attracted me to him; how he gave everything he had to his cause."

"If you ever hope to become even a fraction of what your father was, my love, you'll need to find that balance." I could feel my expression, though soft, become somewhat serious. "The very small area between rage and serenity - that is true power, my dear Hiraki."

I flashed a smile. "But you have plenty of time for that!"

[Hermit]

Man, I loved my mom, the way she spoke to me was just so soothing to my ears, call me a momma's boy if you want, I really don't care, all I know is that she makes me feel safe and peaceful, like nothing in the world could possibly hurt me. It was a feeling I never wanted to grow out of - ever. Without wanting -or seeming like- to disrespect my own mother, I faced her once more as she spoke, but my apathetic gaze was far from presence, instead swapping presence with a bright smile and eyes that brimmed with curiosity despite having hear this description of his father a million times over.

A splitting image, this always made me feel good, namely because when I looked upon myself in a mirror, I could somewhat picture what he looked like, and with that it was better than mentally seeing him as this faceless being that incessantly roamed throughout my mind. My eyes and attention failed to falter as my mothers soft hand landed upon my head, shuffling my hair seconds after. She continued on, and in turn I listened with full focus. Momentarily I turned away and took a few step, childishly kicking up emerald blades and small bodies of earth while my left hand sifted through my jackets pocket, searching odds and ends for that kunai. I began to spin it around my index finger as the others curled inwardly as to keep me from cutting myself.

"If you ever hope to become even a fraction of what your father was, my love, you'll need to find that balance."

Finding balance huh, it didn't sound easy, at least not from the way she explained it, and honestly, I didn't expect it to be easy, it wouldn't make me stronger if it was anything other than difficult. "Rage and Serenity huh - sounds hard, but its nothing I can handle hehehe. . .Saaay, whats this mark on this kunai, I've never actually asked you whats its for before. HAHA it might be my source of Power! I feel unbeatable with it!!

With a large smile creeping upon my face, I held this kunai in a reverse blade, swing away at the openess of air as if I'd been fighting some invisible ninja. The imagination of a kid was always limitless.

[Ichi]

I'd almost forgotten about the kunai Nagato instructed me to give Hiraki when he was old enough. I had one myself, but it always slipped my mind that our son was in possession of a similar item. "It's the mark of your father's most powerful technique, love."

Reaching into the sash wrapped loosely around my waist, I retrieved my own. Tough my kunai wasn't new at all - it was the first kunai I'd placed in my home at Konohagakure - and chipped, rusty as well, the sigil on its hilt was still as crisp and clean as ever. It was an identical match to Hiraki's, and I extended it toward him so that he could view it better.

"With it, he could teleport to wherever this seal is placed." I remembered how many times he'd used the technique with me in his arms. "No matter how far away, no matter when - if the mark was placed upon a location, he could be there in an instant." Tucking the kunai back into my sash, I snapped back to reality. Some things never change, and daydreaming was still a horrible habit of mine. Especially about my beloved. "So, in a way, your father is always with us, Hiraki. No matter where he is, this seal means there is always a little piece of him here - always."

Motherly, I thumbed his cheek while the rest of my hand sifted through his hair. "If you're ever in danger and I'm not here to protect you, hold this kunai." I didn't want to say what I did next, because I knew it was a lie, but I found my lips moving without my consent. "Your father will come to you."

[Hermit]

My swings were swift, crisp, and controlled, not too forceful nor did they lack power, but all that ended as I came to stop was my mother continued on, informing me that this was my fathers most powerful technique, a technique that I myself wanted though I didn't even know what the fuck it was or what it did. I watched my mother keenly as she pulled out a kunai of her own, one of which bore the same parchment seal upon its handle as my own albeit rusted and old. Stepped closer to her, basking in her motherly fragrance while glancing over her specialized kunai.

"With it, he could teleport to wherever this seal is placed."

Teleport? really, I didn't think such a feat was possible, well, I knew of high speed movements but to out right break the barriers of space and time by teleporting anywhere you pleased, unbelievable. As she had begun to explain that my father was still with us in more ways than one than one, I looked over my own kunai, eyes widening as the brimmed with hope and a healthy desire to finally meet him one day. I barely noticed that she touched me, mostly because by that time my imagination was running loose, trying harder and harder to picture what he looked like, how his voice sounded, and even his mannerisms, but no matter how much or how hard I tried, I could only get so far.

"If you're ever in danger and I'm not here to protect you, hold this kunai. Your father will come to you.."

A quick flow of tears came from my seemingly closed eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness, but instead, of happiness. Just know, that where was still a chance for me to meet him before I'd grow old and die, it was an overwhelming feeling. Tightly, I cupped the hand of said kunai before cutting a quick glance towards my other and smiling.

"I'll make you and him proud - no matter what!"

[Pwn]

+40 Grim / +30 Ichi