Island of Storms [Sakura]

Chapter 50 | Paper

Kurenai put the tray of stickers back on the shelf inside of the teaching podium before looking to Kosai, silently telling him it was his turn. He reached for the paper that was on the step, but hesitated.

What if it did happen again? He didn't want the students next to him to get hurt for no reason. He stood as he picked up the paper and made his way over to the front of the classroom, much to his aunt's confusion. He stepped up to the wall, being only a foot away from it before looking down at the paper between his fingers.

He took a breath and released chakra into his fingers. He watched as the paper became damp.

"Water," Kurenai stated, still wondering why he was acting so strange. He watched as the paper ripped in half.

"Wind..." he murmured.

His stomach flipped as he recognized the cracking near his fingers. The paper suddenly shattered, causing him to let out a curse as pieces stuck into his hand and cheek. Kurenai hurried over, trying to figure out what happened.

"Shit, it happened again," he hissed, turning around and causing some of the students to gasp.

"Are you alright?" Inari asked as he came over. Kosai held up his hand, a few drops of blood running down his fingers.

"I guess... These'll be a pain to get out though..." he grunted.

"What does that happening mean?" a boy in the second row asked.

"Well, I don't know..." Kurenai muttered.

"It's not just faulty paper..." Kosai sighed. "This is what happened when I was in the academy too."

"I'll walk you to the hospital—" Inari started.

"Just go ahead and do yours first," his friend sighed.

"Oh... Uh..." Inari was going to protest but saw that his friend wasn't in that much pain. Kosai was also curious to see what his paper would do and so he looked at the card to watch it grow damp. Kurenai took a step back from him on instinct, a part of her expecting the same thing to happen again, though she was just as confused as the wet card began to steam.

Slowly, the card began to melt from the top, falling to the floor in a liquid state. Both of their card reactions were nothing she had ever seen, let alone heard of.

"Mine did the same thing as last time too," Inari grumbled as he watched the puddle on the floor begin to evaporate.

"I guess we'll have to ask around..." Kosai bit out. "Thanks for letting us join your class, Aunt Kurenai. Sorry for the mess."

"Go get yourself patched up" she murmured as the two boys exited the room. Inari examined his friend in the hall, checking to make sure that he wasn't majorly injured.

"What is it? Glass?" he asked.

"You can pull one out if you want... I can't really feel any of them anymore."

"You can't feel it?"

"They're kinda cold, they numbed a few seconds ago."

"Are you sure you want me to pull one out then?"

"I didn't get that close of a look at them last time, they disappear pretty quick." Kosai jumped slightly as Inari plucked one from his left cheek.

"They are cold... Is it ice?"

"Why would it be ice?"

"Well, why would it be glass?" Inari countered. Before Kosai could respond, Shino stopped next to them, having just reached the top of the stairs.

"What happened?"

"The paper shattered again," Kosai explained, a little grumpy from getting impaled.

"They're cold, so I was telling him they must be ice."

"I see... That is interesting. I understand what you meant now," the teacher mused, taking the small piece of melting water from Inari. "And yours?"

"Same thing. It melted."

"Melted? You didn't say that it melted."

"I didn't?" he asked.

"You just said it did something that wasn't in the book..." Kosai muttered.

"Forget that for now, let's just get you to the hospital," Inari huffed, the three making their way down the stairs.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai rubbed his healed cheek as he and Inari followed Shino to the Kage tower. Their teacher hadn't told them why they were speaking with Sakura, but apparently, it was important.

The two boys straightened up as they saw a woman with red hair sitting in one of the chairs on the side of the office.

"Isn't that the Mizukage..." Inari whispered.

"Is it?"

"Hi boys," Sakura greeted, pulling their attention to her.

"Teacher Shino said you wanted to talk to us?" Inari asked.

"Yes. To get straight to the point, the next chunin exams are coming up in a few months and Shino tells me he thinks the two of you are ready." Kosai coughed in surprise, Inari's mouth opening in shock.

"The chunin exams!?" Kosai asked in shock. "For real?"

"Yes. If you two decide you want to participate, then you will be the first officially recognized shinobi to come out of Arashi," she started, looking down at the application forms. "You can turn down the offer if you don't think you're ready."

"But there's only two of us," Kosai pointed out, regaining his composure.

"New rulings have stated that teams of two may take part."

"Well... I'm up for it..." Kosai looked to his teammate. "Inari..?"

"If Teacher Shino thinks I'm ready then, yeah! I'm in!" he grinned. Sakura gave a sigh of relief.

"In that case, I'll be pushing you harder for the next few months leading up to the exams," Shino stated. The two stood at attention.

"Yes!"

Satisfied with their moxie, Shino turned back to Sakura.

"They wanted to ask you about something while they were here." She hummed, telling them to go ahead. The two began to explain their strange experiences with the chakra paper and the reactions they received.

"The shattering is a sign of Ice Release," Mei said from her seat, causing the rest to turn to her. "Ice Release is a kekkei genkai once held by the Yuki clan. You must have Yuki blood in your veins."

She gave a smile. "It's good to see they're not all dead then..."

"I have a kekkei genkai?" Kosai asked slowly.

"It was!" Inari exclaimed. "It turned into ice! I knew it!"

"And the melting paper," Mei started as she stood, placing a hand on her hip. "Is also a kekkei genkai."

She grinned. "In fact, the same release I have. Boil Release."

The two boys were silent for a few moments before Kosai turned to his teammate.

"You're in the same clan as the Mizukage!?" he asked in excitement.

"You're the son of Ichikai, aren't you?" the woman asked. Inari froze up. "I'll take that as a yes."

"He wasn't in the Terumi clan though..." Sakura muttered.

"Oh, are you talking about his wanted name?" Mei asked, looking over to her. "The clan leader had it changed before he was put in the books. Tonan or something."

She paused before giving a dismissive huff. "It's over and done with, it's not classified anymore. I'll tell you what happened."