the fire that rages within

sumiko-thelostchild:

Before she was psychologically stable enough to move and retract her feet from the soil, the deed was done for her and she bounced a bit. “A little warning next time…” she huffed.

“Wha - wait, before sunset?” she echoed, not believing what her ears heard. She wasn’t sure if she could do it, but it would only be rude of her to leave it at that after practically begging him to teach her.

“Alright…” she murmured, bringing her hands together again. “Katon!” Sumiko’s eyes shut themselves as she concentrated on the flow of chakra, feeling something bright take form in front of her as she blew. It was considerably smaller than the original, but still bigger than what she saw Honou create.

“Again,” she muttered to herself, the other one dispersing and another forming above her palm. It was smaller, but Sumiko was internally struggling to keep it together; a side of her felt the need to tame it but the other reminded her how terrifying it was. The latter won and something in her concentration went awry, the fire starting to eat away the flesh of her palm.

She stifled a scream, the panic disrupting her concentration and the flame dissipated in the air, leaving only smoke.      

Sumiko took in small breaths, a hand over her chest to calm the erratic heartbeat thumping against her rib-cage. Fire, made by her or not, still made her knees feel weak and want to give in. Not to mention being exposed to it multiple times within an hour. 

What happened, she cried inwardly. Usually, she was proficient at concentration and chakra control. 

“Sumiko—!” Honou knew something went wrong the moment the fire crackled on her palm, and he ran towards her when she screamed. He held her wrist and forced her to sit down, calming her whilst his other hand automatically healed her burnt palm. 

Under normal circumstances, the fire wouldn’t have touched her palm—something he had observed while watching others do fire techniques. And while it was dangerous to learn fire jutsus, the chances of getting burned was slim for the user. However, her anxiety and fear towards the element proved to be a hindrance to her development. Mentally Honou thanked his friend for teaching him basic healing jutsus, otherwise, they would have to cut training earlier than anticipated. 

“You’re still afraid,” He doesn’t sound surprised, just…nonchalant, a bit of understanding in his tone as he finished healing her palm. The burnt spot was now a scar, and he lowered his brows in a sullen, sympathetic expression, unconsciously digging his own thumb on the center of his palm. “A-at least, the burn isn’t that big and not deep enough the penetrate the flesh. Or else, it would be really hard for your hand to recover." 

He sat on the ground next to her, sighing, shoulders dropping with the weight of guilt, thinking it must be his fault she got burned. "It’s like an animal; it can sense fear in the person. Unless you’re calm and adamant, you can never control fire—or overcome it." 

"W-we can try again, but I don’t want you to get hurt.” He pressed both of his hands together, a nervous mannerism he got from years of practice.