Chapter 37: Rin Nohara's Hands: Small and Soft
Just then, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door.
"Seiji-kun, are you home?"
Seiji's brows arched slightly. The familiar voice instantly gave away the identity of the visitor.
He got up and walked to the gate. When he opened it, standing there was Rin Nohara—her face a little flushed and weary, her breathing still uneven as if she'd run all the way here.
"Rin Nohara, coming to see me this late?" Seiji's tone was calm. His gaze brushed past her reddened cheeks, which glowed subtly under the fading sunlight.
Rin bowed her head slightly, panting softly.
"I thought about it more and… I still want to ask your advice..." She took a deep breath and looked up at Seiji—only to spot someone else behind him.
"Kurenai? What are you doing here?" Rin's voice was laced with surprise.
She'd thought Seiji and Kurenai were merely school acquaintances. Never had she imagined Kurenai would be inside his home, and so discreetly at that.
If not for her own visit—prompted by concerns over Kakashi—she might never have known.
Getting to Seiji's home wasn't easy. It meant entering the Uchiha compound, passing through guarded gates and invisible social lines. And always, there was the distinct feeling of being watched.
The Uchiha were a proud clan and served as the village's police force. Rin couldn't even bring herself to look up confidently. It had taken asking an elderly couple selling pancakes nearby for her to finally find Seiji's home.
Kurenai looked equally surprised to see Rin.
What could Rin want with Seiji this late?
"I was here to go over genjutsu with Seiji. What about you?" Kurenai's voice had a subtle edge of suspicion.
Could it be that Rin also wanted extra tutoring from Seiji?
Rin looked a little uneasy, her gaze dropping to the ground. She clearly didn't want to reveal too much.
"I… had something I needed to ask him," she said vaguely, evading the question.
Seiji finally broke the tension.
"Kurenai, it's getting late. You should head home. Your father might get worried."
"Ah, right—I almost forgot." Kurenai nodded quickly, suddenly reminded of her strict father. Ever since her mother passed, he'd been particularly stern about her returning home on time.
If she stayed out much longer, he might come looking.
She glanced back at Rin and Seiji, then quietly left, her silhouette fading into the twilight.
"What's so secretive that you couldn't say in front of me?" Kurenai frowned to herself.
It was obvious Rin had something important to discuss—but if that was the case, why the secrecy?
She couldn't make sense of it, so she simply buried the thought for now.
Once Kurenai was gone, Seiji leaned against the doorframe and looked at Rin, waiting for her to speak.
"Kakashi still blames himself for his father's death. I'm worried he'll do something reckless... Other than swordsmanship, is there any other way to help him pull through?"
Seiji's lips curled faintly into a knowing smile—as if he'd expected the question.
"Right now, Kakashi seems focused on developing a Lightning Release technique. I can tell he's aiming to create something new."
"Lightning Release?" Rin blinked in surprise.
She vaguely remembered Kakashi mentioning it a few times.
When it came to ninjutsu, she was definitely more confident than with swordsmanship.
While her foundation in ninjutsu was better, she had no experience with Lightning Release—especially since it involved transforming the nature of chakra, which was an advanced concept.
Rin frowned slightly.
"I… I've never learned Lightning Release."
Seiji offered a gentle smile and replied, "I know, Rin. But don't worry—it's not about mastering it overnight."
"You don't need to be an expert in Lightning Release. As long as you can grasp the basics, you'll have a common topic to talk about with Kakashi. More chances to interact. Isn't that enough?"
Rin's eyes lit up.
That made sense.
Kakashi was a solitary person with few friends. If he was trying to develop a new Lightning Release technique, it was likely a personal project.
Getting involved now could give her a natural way to be part of his world.
"Alright then, I'll be in your care, Seiji-kun."
Seiji extended his hand, smiling softly. "Then let's begin. I'll teach you how to change chakra with no elemental nature into lightning."
He invited Rin into the house.
By now, night had begun to fall. The last light of the sunset faded into a cooling breeze that swept softly through the courtyard.
The yard was so quiet that one could almost hear the wind rustling through the treetops.
Once he brewed a pot of tea, Seiji began explaining.
Techniques like Lightning Style: Spark Finger, Lightning Style: Iron Body, and even Lightning Style: Blazing Flash—they all began with the same core principle.
This was the basic transformation required to use elemental ninjutsu.
To use one of the five elemental releases, chakra had to undergo nature transformation—changing into one of the five basic elements.
For example, Chidori required transforming chakra into lightning, while the Rasengan was purely a shape transformation—a high-density, rotating mass of chakra with no elemental nature.
Rin listened to Seiji's explanation for a while, half-understanding.
She felt like she'd learned something… but also felt like she hadn't understood anything at all.
Seiji noticed her reactions exactly as he expected.
He hadn't intended for her to truly understand—because if she did, it would mess with his next plan.
Rin, in fact, didn't even have a lightning affinity.
According to the chakra nature records, Rin possessed only Water, Fire, and Yang Release attributes.
Without the lightning affinity, she could still attempt lightning-style techniques, but they'd be far weaker and harder to control.
Moreover, understanding and mastering them would take far more time—unless used purely as support or to assist someone else in performing the technique.
Like how tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi once combined their chakra to unleash a simple Earth Release move—yet even that immense power only barely held back a single Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten Tails.
"Having trouble understanding?" Seiji asked.
Rin nodded, a little dejected.
"That's alright. Give me your hand—I'll try a different method."
He gestured for her to reach out.
Rin did so.
As Seiji took her hand, he was struck by how small and soft it was—her skin smooth and delicate.
Rin, too, was startled by the weight of his palm. It was the first time she'd ever held hands with a boy her age.
Her ears turned red, and at this close distance, she could even feel Seiji's breath.
She quickly shook her head, forcing herself to focus.
"Next, I'll let you feel the process of generating Lightning Release chakra."
Seiji said it with a straight face—though it was mostly made up.
Turning neutral chakra into elemental chakra was theoretically possible…
But it required immense skill—like how Naruto could share the Nine Tails' chakra with others, allowing them to use and experience it with no side effects.
---