Although he tried not to overthink about why their father would hug them before going to work and when he came home, Kensaku mind wandered anyway. During the younger years, he did not think about the gesture performed by Genki, their father, at all. No questions were asked to either parent about the significance of the gesture. A younger Kensaku only saw it as something all parents did with their children. It being a routine of sorts, showcasing the love they had for their children. Vividly, he remembers the few times where he did not want to be hugged by the man, either because of a dispute he had prior, his anger at his father still be present, or he simply was too tired to wake up to entertain the thought. During all of those times, no once did Genki get mad. His father only waited until the next opportune moment to hug him; something Kensaku returned after having got over his funk.

It was only sometime later own, around the age of eleven, when Kensaku asked his mother why their father always hugged him and Niala. The look within Hanae’s eyes will forever be stuck with him as he recalled what she said. She spoke of the trouble and terrors which their father, her husband, faced on a daily basis to secure peace for those who he cherished. She spoke vaguely about what he had sacrificed to make sure his small piece of ‘heaven,’ his family, was safe and sound every night. She did not go into detail on what their father experience on a daily basis, on what he does to ensure their safety, but, she did mention how the hugs is what kept him grounded; keeping him from becoming the monsters he hunted on a daily basis. At the time, he did not know what she meant by those words. Only during the later years at the academy, when they were talking about the duties of some shinobis, did Kensaku got an inclination of what his mother was talking about. However, it was doing the destruction of Suna, and the horror that brought, when he finally understood what his father did.

During the escape from the village, a group of rogue nin tried to kill them, wanting to rob them of their possession, among other unsavory things. His father did not stand for such words, and attack them with a vicious which startled Kensaku. As each man was cut down without discrimination, Kensaku witnessed a side of his father he never saw before. After the aftermath, Kensaku was scared, only with an encouraging nudge from his mother, did he hugged his father who, for the briefest of moments, looked older than he was. It was that moment where he finally understood what his father went through, and from that moment, the respect he had for the man increased.

Musing was cut short, his eyes flickering towards his twin as she commented maybe even getting thirds, “You getting thirds? I would be surprised.”, He jest. He could barely remember the last time he saw his twin eat more than a single plate of food. She was always the one who only ate so little. It was no wonder why she was so tiny! Picking up the utensil, he looked down at the steaming bowl of broccoli and beef, the delicious aroma almost causing his mouth to water. The aroma caused his stomach to growl quite loudly which got a smirk from his father, “Eat son.”, and that what Kensaku did, taking a piece of beef and broccoli in his mouth, savoring the taste.

Unlike his sister, Kensaku had no problem in getting another serving or two or three. He truly ate a lot of food, but, from what his father said, it comes from his side of the family; the men and women on his side being heavy eaters for whatever reason. So, it was not surprising that Kensaku had finished off one bowl of food, and had plopped down with a second bowl of steamy goodness. Though eating his food, Kensaku did not miss the looks both parents were throwing towards his twin, and it got him curious. What was wrong? Why were they throwing worried glances towards her?

He did not ask what was wrong, figuring the unanswered question will be answered soon enough. And sure enough, his parents asked Niala how her puppet was coming along, mentioning how they have not seen her working on it. Now that he thought about it, Kensaku has not seen his twin’s puppet either, and he was also curious about how it was coming along. No sooner after she had answered, the question was proposed to him. Setting down his utensils, Kensaku focused his attention on his parents, “I am in similar position as Niala, I am waiting for a few more parts to come in. I have some ideas for exploding bombs in the shape of the puppet’s head. They would be hidden within a chest-like cavity, but I could not figure out how to do that, so I went with a more simple design.”, He spoke, getting a nod from both parents. “If you need any help, do not be afraid to ask.”, Genki said, looking at both of his children. Kensaku nodded in understanding as a comfortable silence descended upon the family.

It being broken when Genki spoke, “So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”, He asked, referring to their shinobi career. Because they were still somewhat new to Iwa, there was a probation period for them that ended tomorrow. So, the twins were able to finally go on missions. Looking up from his food, Kensaku spoke, “Thought about doing missions with Niala, if she is up for it.”, he asked, looking at his twin for confirmation.

---

976

A single eyebrow was raised when Kensaku noticed Niala going for seconds. Nothing was said as he simply watched his twin fix herself another bowl of the delicious meal. Though he had spoken it in a joking manner, he had been severely doubting her claim of going back to get seconds or thirds. It was more likely to snow in Sunagakure than it was for Niala to fix herself another plate of food willingly. She was simply the type of person who was capable of filling themselves up on a single serving without any problem. And when she did eat, it was keen to a bird politely picking at their food. For a briefest of time, in their younger years, he had called her birdy due to her food habits. But, those years were in the past, and he had come to accept the way she ate.

Not to say anything was wrong with it, just, he wished she would eat a little bit more. A medic he is not, but he knew their occupation would have them burning a ton of calories, therefore, making sure they both having eaten enough was important. Their mother, an amazing medic-nin, had made sure both of them knew and understood the importance of eating well enough to avoid being hungry missions. The knowledge was something he took to heart, hence his eating habits, it being not uncommon for him to get a third or fourth plate. He enjoyed eating the food cooked by either parent, though he had a preference for the meals prepared by their mother, although, their father’s cooking was as good.

Nevertheless, seeing her going for seconds was, indeed, a surprising development, and taking a quick glance around at their parents, they seem to be equally as surprised as him. None of them commented on it, only acknowledging it through gesture before going back to their meals. Speaking of food, Kensaku’s utensil hit the bottom of his now empty bowl. Looking down, noticing the lack of food presence, Kensaku made himself another helping of the delicious food with none of his parents commenting on it. He ate a lot, there was not much else to the fact.

Now with another bowl of food, Kensaku thought about his father let it be known that, if they need help with their puppet(s), he would gladly lend a hand. Personally, Kensaku did not want any assistance from his parents. While he valued their opinions, he want to something on his own. He wanted to build a success functioning puppet all by himself. To him, it was similar to a rite of passage, it being the one thing that would truly cement him as a member of the Chikamatsu clan. And while he might already be considered a member, he still felt like he needed to prove himself, not only to himself but his parents as well.

The musing would be cut short when Niala spoke, Kensaku focusing his attention on the twin, utensil having been placed in the half eaten bowl. A warm smile spread across his face when she agreed to partake missions with him. He tilted his head to the left as he ponders on what Niala had said. Establishing themselves within the village was not something he had given much thought to. He had simply been inadvertently going about things, never once thinking about what they needed to do to prove themselves loyal to Iwagakure no Sato. Showing their loyalty to the village, proving that they cared for the stone country, would go a long way for them. The populace would know that they are dependable and could be counted on when the time arises. It would help exceptionally when they go after promotions, and be needing recommendations from others.

Taking another bite of the meal, his attention shifted to their father, listening to the man’s words. A snort, which turned into a chuckle, escaped his lips when the man cursed and got reprimanded by their mother. It was not the first time their father had cursed in front of them and got in trouble for it, and Kensaku doubts it would be the last time. Taking the words to heart, Kensaku resolved himself in making a good name within the village, if not for his benefit, but for Niala. He would do what is needed to make sure the village saw them in a positive light. “And that will be my goal as well.”, Kensaku spoke, mimicking his twin’s response. Both parents were smiling at their two children who were at a start of their journey.

“Niala and Kensaku.”, Kensaku focused his attention on the one who called him, his mother, and wonder what she was going to ask. “I know both of you like specialties outside of what our clan is known for. How are they coming along?”, Hanae asked, looking at her son first. Genki also seems to be interesting in the conversation for he was waiting to see how they responded. Both parents knew their children had an interest outside of puppetry, and they did their best in trying to promote such diversity. They were not traditionalist like some other members who only want clansmen to focus on kugutsu. Genki and Hanae both saw the importance of expanding out from the specialty, and diving into others.

Setting down his utensil, Kensaku spoke, a hint of excitement being heard in his voice, “It is going well. I am on the crest of making the very first batch up original jutsus. Though, to be fair, their concepts come from established techniques. I had to use some of the library scrolls to get an idea of how chakra would flow when done correctly, and how hand-signs affected the effect of some jutsus. Speaking on that, if my theory is correct, a single jutsu can have multiple effects depending on the placement of the hand-signs making it up.” If Kensaku had a passion for anything, it was jutsu creation. He just loved the idea of creating some original from scratch. The thrill of making something that belonged 100% to him. While he never made a successful jutsu, yet, he knows he is only a few steps away from doing so, and he could not be more excited about such a prospect. After speaking, Kensaku allowed his parents to ask questions and waited for his twin’s response.

---

1075[2051]

No sooner after he got done speaking, his attention shifted to his twin, listening in rapt attention as she spoke on her studies in the medical field. He was impressed with her resolve in looking into some of the darker aspects of the field that traditionally was regarded as a lesser or non-important specialty in the past due to it primarily focused on healing others, and not killing them like other specialties could do with incredible ease. Though, he wonders if the biased viewpoint was due to people believing medical ninjutsu had no offensive capabilities or was ignorant of the fact that it did? He could not be for sure what their reasons behind the viewing it in such a way.

Nevertheless, the viewpoint is now a mute point with many medical shinobi now focusing on the offensive and dark aspect of the specialty more so than the healing. The times have changed to the point that medical ninjutsu is now being seen as one of the most versatile specialties one could study in due to what it can do. As someone who studies the nature of chakra, wanting to learn it's secrets, Kensaku did read up on medical chakra. There were a few books published by a deceased Iwa Sannin who talked about the offensive capabilities of the medical ninjutsu, and theories surrounding how it's chakra can imitate diseases, such as necrosis. The books were interesting, to say the least, providing Kensaku with useful clues to help with his journey. It was a shame the author had died during an ambush. Kensaku would have wanted to meet him to pick his brain apart about theories and such.

As Niala finished speaking in her hobbies, Kensaku found himself impressed and happy with what she was doing. She took the incentive and began studying up on the dark aspects of medical ninjutsu to start developing ways to counter them. She did not wait till she ran into a user of said dark arts to begin making ways to nullify their abilities. She was removing the random equation out by developing countermeasures every on. The smile on his face grew bigger at what Niala was doing. “If you need any help in creating your techniques, I can help with that, at least with the theory behind them.”, Kensaku spoke up, letting his twin know that she could count on him to help her with her endeavors. He was not about to let her do it alone. What type of brother would he be if he did not offer her some assistance? A terrible one that is what!

Taking another bite of his food, Kensaku beamed at the praise given to him and Niala from their parents. It was nice to receive praise from the two people he looked up to. As their mother spoke, Kensaku took her words to heart. Resolving himself to never give up on his journey to rise to the top, to never stop trying to better himself to protect the people who he cherished the most. The smile ever present on his face, Kensaku gently nudged his sister, “I am also proud of my baby sister.”, He jest. Though twins, Kensaku came out a second before Niala, therefore, was technically the oldest, something he likes to tease her about. “And, remember, I will always be there to protect you.”, He spoke, the smile on his face having toned down to show the seriousness of the words, and that he meant it; no matter what happens he will always be there for his twin.

Finishing up his meal, Kensaku helped gathered up the dishes that were no longer in use, and placing them in the sink. Once everyone got done eating, he would proceed to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen, and throughout it all, there was a smile on his face.

---

648 | 2699

Strength [E-3 -> D-0] | 600 x 10% | 660
Endurance [E-3 -> D-0] 600 x 10% | 660 
Perception [E-1 -> D-0] | 675 
Speed [E-3 -> D-0] | 300 
Reaction Time [E-3 -> D-0] | 300
Total WC: 2595
Discard: 104