Real [Hikaru]

[Sarutobi Sio]

The training dummy rocked to and fro on its frame from the barrage of punches and kicks that Sio was delivering at a fevered pace. Every once in a while, it would lean so far to one side or the other that it would almost seem to threaten to break right off, until it jokingly snapped back into position, upright and mocking.
It had started out as an exercise in targeting. The scorch marks across the side of the torso and the side of the head told that story, but the new, fevered and random scorches were indicative that any manner of targeting or even concentration had left her long ago.

This was no longer training. This was a bully mission.

With every punch or kick, Sio's anger intensified. What was happening? What had she done in her life...who had she managed to piss off that these things happened to her? She barely had any memories of her father. The one that she managed to cling to thus far was even beginning to fade a little bit, minute details that she used to hang onto for dear life were becoming unclear, such as what color her father's pants were, or whether she was eating a lollipop or an ice cream cone.
The dummy could barely take the intensity of the hits now as an orange chakra began to bubble up and cloak the teenager. Her mother...Sio's body and soul still maintained the scars from her actions over four years. At night, she could still smell the dank odor of the basement in which she was banished. Her heart still stung from the humiliation of having accidentally wet herself after a nightmare one night, and being made to stay in the stinking, uncomfortable clothing for days. Who would do that to someone, much less their own child? Everyone reminded Sio that she was sick, that her behavior wasn't normal, but what comfort was that to the soul of the person it had happened to? It made it no less real. It made it no less terrible.

Feeling the fangs growing and beginning to poke into her bottom lip would be what would bring the Genin back to reality, but not before kicking the training dummy clean off its spring. It hit the ground with a thud and rolled, creating a sickeningly deep trench as it went.
Sio stared at her fist for a moment, the long, curved primal nails. Chakra pooled up around her, hovering menacingly like a dark orange poltergeist, and she flinched in disgust, shaking her hand as if trying to loose the nails from her fingers and shake them off. Remembering what Naruto told her, she dropped right there into the dirt into a cross-legged sit, hands coming together to form a single seal, eyes closing.

What splendid anger and hate... Kurama said, leaning forward with interest, lips parted in a most demonic Cheshire grin. I almost forgot what it felt like...so strong and primal...Why do you reject it? It's the most pure emotion I have yet to feel from a host...there is no hope. No resolve. It exists for the sake of existing. You're far different than Naruto was.
Sio opened her eyes to face the Fox, those slate gray orbs laced with shame and apology.
Naruto told me that us three were the same: you, him and me. He said that all three of us knew what it was like to be hated...for being nothing other than ourselves. But the more I think about it, I think we're more alike than anything. Because Naruto had that hope. He had an out. He wanted acknowledgment...that would make everything better for him. But we don't have that luxury. You have only ever known hate...just like me.
Kurama propped his head up on his fist, the amusement gone from his face but interest maintaining.
I don't know what will make this better for me. You can't change history. An apology won't help. I think it would just make me more angry. I worry that this will never go away. But I don't let it consume me becaues hate can do nothing but destroy. It has never nurtured, never helped, never done anything positive. I live for the day I finally figure this out, and can be happy.

But what hope do you have for that? Kurama asked. You have no basis to believe that you can get rid of the hate. You said that yourself.
Sio smiled, wandering a little closer to Kurama's gate.
That's what faith is. Believing what you have absolutely no reason to besides that you think it's true. Hope it's true. I'll look toward a possibly uncertain future with that faith, and it's what will keep me alive and keep me trying to do my best to conquer myself. Hate WILL destroy me. I don't need a crystal ball to see that. But anything less than that, and I'm still here. I'm still alive.

With that, she turned and began walking away from Kurama, her emotions finally settled and at peace.
Eyes opened, and her face was wet with tears. The chakra was gone, and her nails back to normal. Standing and walking over to the decimated training dummy, she picked it up and looked it over. It was beyond repair. Hate had broken it, as it breaks everything it touches. Still, she worked it back onto the spring. Broken, but still good. Kind of like her.

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[Hyuga Hikaru]

Telescopic sight was the worst. Always seeing too much yet never quite enough at the same time. No matter how hard he tried, how many personal 'boundaries' he tried to respect, he was always in somebody's business whether he chose to be or not.

His bykugan got the workout of a lifetime as it scanned everything within the scope of his vision, searching for another pair of white eyes doing the same, until he happened upon something where the path ended. The flare of crimson energy, the dummy bludgeoned off its proud perch, how could he not stop and stare? Then his eyes relaxed and he knew he was intruding on something he shouldn't have, but just like always that simply made him more curious. He halted his advance, his face pressed against the fence to the training grounds with the forest wall to his back. Hikaru peeked into the opening to take his first true glimpse inward.

He looked at the girl fully now, with hair as dark as the evening sky draped carefully across porcelain skin and a slender frame. White eyes traced her automatically, gliding across curves and muscle alike until finally settling on damp cheeks that glistened in the harsh sunlight.

He jerked himself back out of view.

'Aw crap...now she's gonna think I was spying on her...well I was, but she doesn't need to know that.' He scratched the side of his face. She was crying as well, and as much as he wracked his mental queue full of 'appropriate' things to say to pretty girls with tears running down their countenance each one seemed impossibly vapid and a disservice to the one in the field.

'I can't just...leave. Can I? Nono! I can't. I should say something. Or hug her or...' He took a breath, then forced himself to stride into the field. His mouth twitched into some kind of awkward grin and had no clue what to do with his hands.

"Y-Yo!" He'd wave. The more he walked closer to her the dumber he felt. Her features came into sharper focus now and the blood rushed to his face to stain it crimson. Not only was she gorgeous but she was also a lot taller and noticeably older. Fantastic.

"I was uh-- training, or uh- coming here for training and...uh...y-you okay? I mean, you look like you can- you know- take care of yourself but you seem upset and I just- I just wanted to..see if you were alright or...needed somebody to talk to, I dunno." He coughed and frowned, looking down at the damp grass and worn patches of dirt.

"A-anyways, I'm Hikaru. Instead of crying you should talk to me! Its more fun than crying...or uh, at least I hope so." He held his hand out and offered her a weak smile.

[Sarutobi Sio]

Sio was done training for the day. The dummy sitting lopsided on its perch, scarred and burned did not inspire much hope for her. It looked as if it would go toppling off at the slightest tap, anyway. She would have to come back tomorrow with actual tools and work at it so that it would become functional again.
So...You'll operate off this 'faith', and use it to fight what you are? And what do you hope to achieve?
I guess I just want to be happy. When you figure out what it is you're supposed to be doing with your life, it's true happiness. I think deep down, everyone wants that, but not everyone manages to find it.

Her conversation with Kurama was interrupted shortly by an arrival. A white-eyed kid with dark hair was yelling and waving in her general direction. She had seen him around here and there, but had never actually met him. As far as she knew, he was a Hyuga, and that was about all she knew. Still, any time that Sio could meet someone new, a potential friend, it was a good day for her as well.

She raised her hand to greet Hikaru back, turning and wiping the last of the tears from her cheeks. He was actually pretty adorable. He seemed pretty worked up about something, and it took her a moment to realize that he was reacting to the fact that she had been crying. Immediately, she flushed out of embarrassment, her normally clear and even skin going a near-fluorescent pink. He was doing his best to be cool about it, and so she would do the same, stammering out the words.
"Oh...uh yeah..." she blathered, nearly biting her own tongue. "I'm okay...now..."
She began running her fingers through her long, dark brown hair nervously, tossing it back over her shoulder. "But I like company...that is...if you would like to stay...But I wouldn't train. Using this. Because I broke it...I broke it good."

She patted the dummy to accentuate her point, and on the second pat, it simply toppled off the spring, seemingly dead and clattered to the ground.
"So...that guy... Yeah. I'll talk to you."
Real smooth, Sio. Like buttah.

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