The Old Man and the Wii
I don't talk about my personal life much on this journal, mainly because well -- I don't really have an interesting life, especially when it comes to my friends and family. I mean, they're all extremely interesting people. But I'm not. And I tend to get along with them reasonably well. There's not much drama
( Read more... )
When he is six, he remembers his first real visit to the Ishikage's office. The old man had smelled like ink and dust and scrolls ... and something else that made Akira's nose itch. He didn't scratch or rub, of course. He held himself still, with his hands loose at his sides.
"This is my son, Kuwabara-sama," his father had said.
"Hmm, I've heard a lot about you Akira-kun!" the Ishikage had cackled. "Let's show these old eyes what you can do!"
He had run through all the taijutsu forms he had known. He wasn't good in genjutsu, but he did know five basic jutsus, and his clones had actually fooled mother a few times.
Kuwabara-sama had not said anything during the entire time. When Akira finished, he steepled his hands on his desk. "Hmm, I see what you mean, Kouyo-kun. Any signs of the go-komi-ko yet?"
Akira had tried not to be too surprised that the old man had known about his clan's bloodline limit. And he tried not to frown when his father shook his head. "No."
"Hmm," said the Ishikage. "Maybe one day. That limit -- maybe... if he's lucky, another will -- well. That is of no importance now. Permission granted, at any rate, to keep training him as your clan sees fit, with or without the Academy. And keep me informed about the limit."
Akira has a feeling he didn't quite understand all the implications of what the Ishikage was saying, but there is no denying that there is a trace of disappointment in the air. His father had bowed, and he had bowed, and then they had left the office. Halfway home, the feeling became too much. Planting his feet on the ground, Akira stopped.
His father had walked two more steps ahead, before he stopped as well. "Akira-kun?"
Bowing his head respectfully, Akira took a deep breath. "Father ..." That large back had seemed so far away. "Are you disappointed? About the bloodline limit?"
He didn't meant to sound so small. He hated sounding so small. He was six now! He knew how to hold senbon. How to hold kunai! His taijutsu was getting better -- even Ashiwara-san and Ogata-san said so. But ...
"Akira. Some are born with talent. Others with overflowing chakra. Others with a bloodline limit they can easily access. But you have none of these things," his father had said.
Akira kept his gaze to the ground. His father hadn't turned around, and for that, Akira was glad.
"You have none of these things," his father repeated, and Akira felt his stance waver, just the slightest bit. "And you will be stronger for it. Your strength, Akira, is that you never give up. That you learn from hard work. And that you keep going forward."
"But the go-komi-ko -- and our clan ..."
"Maybe one day, you will meet another, and you can break that bloodline limit. But that's not all you are, and that is only one limit -- for now, go forward with your own strength. And it will be enough."
His father had started walking again, and after a moment, Akira ran to catch up to that unyeilding back, which had always led the way.
The weight and warmth of that large, scarred hand as it gently enfolds his own, is scary and comforting -- both at the same time.
---
Strangely, it is the weight of his father's hand that he remembers, now, even as he watches his fellow ninja -- all of them from the council of nine -- race to contain this sudden chaos that has emerged in the village.
Following his father. Going forward, with his own strength. These are the things that have always defined his own personal nin-do, his way of the scroll and blade.
But as he faces Shindou Hikaru, whose body is engulfed in a chakra field so bright that it burns both the skin and his eyes to look at, Touya Akira realizes that maybe, just maybe, there is more.
-end
Um. I dunno. XD I have no idea where this came from, and isn't very fluffy really, but um, will this do as a drabble?
I am so sorry it is late! Please forgive me!
-muri
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well, obviously, the second part was written by me. XD
-muri
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Touya Akira is an equal character in this series, and I think he's going to get more fic in the future. Even if this scares ME muchly.
-muri
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How does one quit ninjas anyway?! I need desperate help here.
-muri
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And man, that was a long rambly sentence of run on doom, wasn't it?! 0_o
But um, thank you! X3 Hehe, it makes writing all this insanity a little less lonely.
-muri
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I LOVE this bit of backstory. The fact that Akira is not born with the bloodline limit, and that he's working toward it, and that Hikaru is going to be the one who helps him find it. And the fact that you're not telling us what the bloodline limit actually IS is quite maddening.
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In the first line, he says he doesn't remember the first time he wanted to become a shinobi. But then a couple paragraphs later you write, "He remembers reaching out, grasping nothing but air, but still wanting to follow, oh so very much." It feels a bit contradictory to me.
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What I was trying to go for there is that he doesn't know, at that point, that he wants to be a shinobi, but that he wants to follow his father, even if he doesn't know what that means until much later in his life. His first memories are of watching his father's back disappear into the distance, and vowing to follow after.
But I can see where that's a bit cornfuzzling on my part. *very very embarrassed* Thank you so much for pointing that out to me. I really should rewrite all the comment fic up more officially -- the series feels rather haphazard at times since a good portion of it is written as comments and on the fly. *G*
<3 <3 thank you for the concrit!!!
-muri
ps: As to your question about the limit, and Touya ... it's really spectacular, but um, it has conditions and um ... XD You'll see. Yes, I'm baiting you. Yes, because I'm evil that way.
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