I LIVE!
Kinda...
Not really at this point...
I have a presentation in a day and a bit but I couldn't focus on my work. I've been seriously thinking about a change in career paths lately and I've been going through a lot. The only thing that brings me any joy at this point is writing, but I'm trying not to in order to get my work done.
Today I snapped.
This has been sitting half finished for the better part of a month now. Forgive me if this is crap but I needed to write something and get it out there to the world. Anyway, read at your pleasure. If you need me, I'll be desperately trying to do my uni work.
And probably failing at it too.
———
Naofumi hated what he had to do. He took no pleasure in the act of killing, but he couldn't help but feel satisfied that he saved his precious genin once more. They hadn't spoken much over the week they had been with the jewel merchant, since they were still coming to grips with what happened, but it was to be expected. They were braver than Naofumi, who holed himself up in his room for weeks before his future teammate finally had enough and dragged him out of bed and into the streets.
He would never be able to repay her, even if she was still alive.
But he had killed again, for their sake. He knew bandits and thieves well enough to know just how petty they could be, especially when they were in a blind rage. It was foolish to leave angry and vengeful thieves alone, lest you wish to be killed in your sleep. His instincts and previous experiences had proved himself right, and now the bandits were taken care of.
For good.
His genin were, understandably, still shaken up by The Rite. There were night terrors, days of almost next to no food, and a lot of crying. Rifana had taken it the worst, being physically sick on an almost hourly basis, sometime with vomit, others with tears, which left her little to no energy to do anything, so she had mainly stayed in the cart whilst Naofumi held up her, Raphtalia's and some of Keel's share of the work.
Keel didn't even want to think about what she had done, and had tried to keep herself busy in a number of ways, by cooking, cleaning or training. She couldn't hold a kunai, having heavy flashbacks to the time she wanted to forget, so instead worked on her chakra control and opening only the first of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening. Naofumi was certain that once she had that down, she'd come to him for training in another jutsu.
Naofumi sighed, before deciding that he needed to call it a night on his studies, and went off with the jewel merchant for some dinner. He apparently had a few friends in town that he wanted to introduce to Naofumi.
———
When Naofumi came back into his room, he had a full stomach and a heavy head. He had a thumping headache, having been hit on the back of the head by one of the hostesses by mistake after dropping her tray. No amount of apologies or free food was going to make him feel any better come the morning after.
But his head was heavily filled with the recent knowledge he gained (or lacked) on the other three heroes. Motoyasu had seemed into taking care of humanitarian acts and had provided a new type of crop for a famine stricken village, which was a very kind thing to do. Naofumi did suspect that Myne had a roll to play in that, but it fed people, so he'd leave it alone for now.
Ren, on the other hand, had taken to searching for powerful monsters to kill, having recently slayed a dragon. Naofumi knew that dragons were no joke after his run in with the dragon in the territory or Rabier that was released by Idol, so he was incredible impressed at what Ren could accomplish.
Itsuki, on the other hand, had several rumours about him floating around. Some said he went into the mountains to train, which was unlikely, seeing as he had Naofumi to teach him new techniques whenever he needed him too, or that he went into a dungeon on a quest for treasure, also unlikely due to his nature. There were also rumours of him helping a country with a resistance, which was also bullshit. None of the stories were true, so Itsuki was the only missing genin amongst his students.
Tomorrow would be the last day Naofumi would escort the jewel merchant, which put an end to their week long trip. He sighed, thinking that despite all the hardships that came with it, the jewel merchant was a genuinely good guy, who was able to have a laugh with Naofumi, taught him the trade of gems and gave him connections into the world of merchants. Naofumi would forever be grateful to the man.
It'd be a shame to finally say goodbye.
———
The man, as it turned out, had one more surprise for Naofumi, who had accepted it with a hug and a promise to meet again one day. The jewel merchant had given him the deed to one of his mines where he extracted ore and gems to make his accessories and jewels. It had a fully functioning quarry as well. Naofumi held out hope that the Magic Core for the Witch's spinning wheel was inside. So the group immediately made their way down to the mine.
As they arrived, Naofumi found the man in charge, a gentleman of about 30 with a blue tunic with a purple hood, green pants and leather boots. He had brown hair in a hat and a moustache and goatee, with brown eyes and 2 sets or piercings on either ear.
"I can't believe it, but this deed must be the real thing." said the man, looking over the documents in shock. I'm amazed that grumpy money grabber actually gave this to you. Anyway, if there's a gemstone you want, I can arrange for you to get it, at a discount, of course, which obviously goes without saying. So, what are you looking for, sir hero?"
"I'm looking for the gemstone that's used in the making of magic thread." replied Naofumi, causing the man to look at him in shock.
"Why do I have a bad feeling you're about to tell me something really, really bad?"
"Probably because I am, sir hero."
"Of course you are."
———
"What surprises me is that you managed to find that gemstone so quickly." complimented Granny Witch, riding in the cart with the three girls and Dra, currently snoozing in a blanket, with Naofumi holding Filo's reigns.
A week had passed since Naofumi had gotten the deed, and he had immediately made the return trip to Melromarc's capital to inform Granny Witch that he had managed to locate a gemstone for the wheel. "Yeah, well unfortunately, it's not all that simple. It's in a rather unsavoury location, with who knows what in there." he responded, before noticing ahead of him an old and abandoned stone temple. "But it looks like we're here."
The group set up the carriage and equipped themselves for combat, before making their way inside. "A long time ago, this temple was once a notoriously evil alchemist's base of operations." informed the witch as the group began their journey into a tunnel near the temple. "It's strange though. I've never heard of a tunnel being here."
"According to the mining boss, nobody's dared to approach this place since monsters started resting here." said Naofumi, thinking back to his conversation at the quarry with the older gentleman. "We need to keep our eyes peeled and our wits about us in here. We have zero intel on what to expect in this place."
The group continued on in silence for a few more minutes, before Naofumi sighed and held up the hand to stop. "Okay, that's it." he said, turning to face the group. "Raphtalia, Keel, Rifana. I know you three have been wanting to say something for a while now, and it's distracting you on the mission. Whatever it is, come out and say it."
"Master Naofumi... should we really be doing this right now?" asked Keel. "Can't this wait?"
"It's putting the mission and our lives on the line." responded Naofumi sternly. "You need to get it out of your system. So go on, say what you need to say."
No one uttered a single sound, not knowing what to say to him.
"I hate this..."
It was Rifana who broke first. The group turned to look at her with a shortness of breath, Naofumi giving off no clear indication of his emotive state.
"I-I've killed someone... You made me kill someone! I had a person's life in my hands and you forced me to squeeze it out of them!" she yelled. "I-I didn't want too... I never wanted to kill anyone... I- you made me a murderer... YOU MADE US MURDERERS!"
Naofumi continued to hold his front, giving no indication as to what was going on inside his head.
"W-when you s-save me from my former m-master..." she continued is sobs. "I though... I thought that God had sent me a guardian angel, that I'd finally live out my life as a happy girl. But he sent me a murderer instead... who made me the same as him..."
"I-I get it..." said Keel. "It's for the best, right? Don't want to freeze up in a wave or bandit attack or something like that... but I still hate it... I... I don't want to kill again..."
Raphtalia was as silent as Naofumi. She knew this was her chance to talk about it.
But how could she say that she...
"Raphtalia?" asked Naofumi, snapping her out of her trance. "It's for the best you get it off your chest now. Say what you need to say."
Raphtalia steeled her breath, and her nerves, looking her master right in the eye for comfort. His eyes told her to speak her mind.
" I ...ed i.."
"Pardon?"
"I ..k.. .t."
"Please speak up Raphtalia. I can't he-"
"I LIKED IT!"
The cave became quiet.
"I hate that I feel this way... but I like it... I felt a rush, of power, that I could hold someone's life in my hands and it was mine to do with as I pleased. It was... It was-"
"A rush of endorphins and adrenaline." said Naofumi, breaking Raphtalia's speech. "They're hormones in the brain that activate under extreme stress. Endorphins act as a stress reliever and reduces the feeling of pain, and has a pleasure effect related to increased dopamine, or happy hormone, production. Adrenaline is a fight or flight hormone, which increases heart rate and blood pressure amongst other things. You don't enjoy the act of killing, you enjoy the rush, the thrill."
It had been the same speech Lord Hiruzen had given him after his first kill. Naofumi had acted in a similar fashion to Raphtalia, having a rush after taking the life of another. His talk with the Third Hokage had given him a lot of help with coping with the traumatic event.
"It's normal. I went through it myself. It took a wise man and one stubborn girl to bring me back out of my room and enjoy living life again. Yuki sure was a firecracker, dragged me out of my room by the ear until I was in a better mood." Naofumi chuckled, remembering his old teammate fondly. "I wish she was here now. She'd give you such amazing advice."
The fact that she was dead was left unsaid. It didn't need to be, they all already knew he was the last of his team to survive. Yuki, Hyuga and Aburame were killed in action years ago.
It was the sad truth Naofumi had to live with for 7 years.
Raphtalia began to break down and cry. Naofumi scooped her into a hug as she dirties his jacket with tears and the occasional dribble of snot. Naofumi didn't mind as he offered his other genin a hug. Keel seemed to take him up on it, but Rifana didn't want to. She needed time, Naofumi knew, and there was no sense in rushing her. It'd only make things worse in the long run.
The group stayed there for a few minutes before they continued their journey. For all of 15 minutes, they came across nothing but a long, continuous tunnel, before it opened up to reveal a room. The room was obviously man-made, with brickwork along the walls, pillars, arches and chest being dead giveaways that this was some form of storage space.
Naofumi could already feel a migraine coming on when he noticed the chest was opened.
"It's empty..." observed Raphtalia. Naofumi's sarcastic remark of 'No shit Sherlock' went unsaid as he looked at her with mock shock, causing the young genin to kick him in the shin.
"Ancient writing." said Granny Witch, indicating to a small tablet next to the chest. "We thoroughly pray that the seed never makes it out of this tunnel. It is horribly twisted manifestation of our wish that nobody feels the pangs of hunger ever again in this world."
"Seed... hunger..." muttered Naofumi. "Oh fuck me up the ass."
"What's wrong?" asked Keel.
"Remember how the Spear Hero saved a village from starvation by introducing a miracle crop?" responded Naofumi in monotone, giving his thoughts away.
Yeah... ignoring an ancient warning certainly seemed like some dumb shit Motoyasu would pull.
"Master, look down there!" called Filo, turning Naofumi's attention from the dumb fuckery of Motoyasu to his filolial. "There's a path over that way."
"Let's go." called Naofumi, leading the group down the tunnel.
First clothes, then they could go deal with Motoyasu's dumbass bullshit.
———
Filo stopped first.
"Everything alright, Filo?" asked Naofumi
"Master... I think maybe we should-" called Filo, before stopping abruptly and continuing on in silence. Naofumi shrugged it off like it was nothing, and continued on.
The group marched on through the tunnel, before Granny Witch stopped. "Stop here." she called.
"What's the issue?" asked Naofumi.
"A monster footprint, and my goodness, it's a large one." she said.
"Any idea what it could be?" asked Naofumi.
"No clue, I'm afraid. I'm not well-versed in monster footprints." she informed.
Naofumi crouched down to get a better look at it. "Clearly a mammal of some kind, with claws, that much is for certain. Looks somewhat similar to a Fire Country Tiger from Training Ground 44. God damn it, I hate those thi-" said Naofumi, before the flame in his torch went out.
The room became colder, and sound began to get lost. "What's going on?" asked Keel.
"I don't know, stay calm." ordered Naofumi, looking around for any clues.
"I'm sick of being Master Naofumi's slave."
Naofumi turned to his genin with an unreadable expression on his face. It definitely sounded like Raphtalia said that, but it couldn't be.
"I only pretended to be a kind slave so I could kill him with my own two hands." laughed Keel.
"I can stab that murderous bastard in the back right now with my da-"
"RELEASE!"
His hands in a tiger sign, Naofumi allowed his chakra to violently burst out of his system, disrupting the genjutsu he had been placed under. This had the added affect of saving everyone else from the genjutsu. It also allowed them to see the creatures that had been doing this to them. "There you are!" called Naofumi, forming a series of hand signs once more, Tiger → Rabbit → Dog → Ram → Dragon.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu!" yelled Naofumi, slicing his hand across the air and allowing a blade of wind to slash through the enemy bats, slicing them to bits. "Phew." called Naofumi, already collecting the necessary parts for his shield.
{Requirements Met - Voice Gengar Shield}
{+5 Defense}
{Equip Ability - Sound Wave Endurance (small)}
{Special Effect - Megaphone}
"How that's gonna come in handy, I have no idea." muttered Naofumi. "Everyone alright?" he asked, receiving all nods in return.
"Master..." began Dra, "w-would you... ever... leave me?"
"Dra..." muttered Naofumi, giving his dragon a head pat. "I would never abandon you. I would never abandon anyone I cared about. That's my ninja way."
With that in the minds of everyone, the group continued on. But Naofumi couldn't help but glance back at his three genin, ready to defend himself if the situation called for it.
"Something's there." muttered Filo as the group entered the final area of the tunnel. It was a natural cave that had a lot of excess blue crystal growing out of it almost everywhere. Against a rock wall at the back of the cave laid the monster that had been causing the miners so much trouble.
And it was a fucking Fire Country Tiger with an added snake tail.
"That's it." said Granny Witch.
"Fire country tiger. Why did it have to be a fire country tiger?" asked Naofumi to absolutely no one as the snake tail turned to the group and hissed.
"That's a Nue. It's a bit on the smaller side, but still dangerous." said Granny Witch.
"One wrong move and this whole place comes toppling down, so no ninjutsu in this place unless it's small enough to cause minimal damage, which pisses me off since the gemstone is right there in front to us and we can't get to it." said Naofumi.
Then, his genin and animals recklessly charged in.
It took Naofumi all of 3 seconds to comprehend the sheer amount of stupidity that the five dumbasses in his party had just let loose in charging. Seriously? Naofumi thought he trained them better than that. "Cover us, please!" yelled Naofumi as he rushed after his party, switching straight to the Shinobi Shield and drawing his Ninjato.
The New stood up just as the first to arrive reached the beast. Raphtalia tried to run the beast through, only to get sidestepped and kicked into the wall where the beast had just been resting. Filo had quickly gotten between the two and blocked the Nue's path to the raccoon girl. Keel then went for a punch, only for the beast to narrowly duck his way under and headbutt the poor girl onto the floor, before it got shot in the shoulder by one of Rifana's fire arrows.
Due to Dra's slower speed, Naofumi was the next one on the beast, jumping straight into the air and over the Nue as it put out the fire on it's shoulder. Naofumi slashed at it's ankles, which the beast was able to jump back from, and attempted to crush Naofumi under his front paws and bodyweight. Naofumi brought the sharp end out his sword up to defend against the attack and cause some damage to the front legs, holding one hand on the grip of the sword and the other in the middle of the blade.
The Nue landed on Naofumi's sword with a mighty roar as the blade dug deep into the skin of the beast. Naofumi continued pushing his sword as far as it would go, before the weight of the beast became too much for him and he let it go, jumping out of the way as the Nue came tumbling down onto the floor. Naofumi sighed and drew a pair of kunai, launching them at the beast. The beast caught sight of the metal object and dodged them effortlessly, ripping his sword out of its feet in the process.
What it didn't catch sight of was the magic spell being cast by Granny Witch.
Letting loose a Zweit Fire Blast, the beast was engulfed in red and blue flames. Naofumi took the opportunity to run through a few quick hand signs, Snake → Ram → Boar → Horse → Bird → Chakra Clap. "Wind Style: Gale Palm!" Naofumi roared as he launched the compressed air from his palms into the beast, allowing the flames to grow stronger before the Nue used its own mana to put them out.
The Nue began crackling with lightning, so Naofumi began to gather his chakra for another wind jutsu, but was stopped when a torrent of fire found its way onto the Nue once more, courtesy of Dra. The beast still roared, and Naofumi realised he was about to be in for a front row seat to a powerful discharge of lightning, ran through another similar set of hand signs and raised a Mud Wall for everyone, effectively stopping his party from being attacked by the powerful lightning.
Raphtalia turned invisible and went to sneak up on the Nue, but it caught sight of her almost immediately and went on the offensive, sending its tail after the girl. "Just like the beasts in my world. You use hearing, don't you?" asked Naofumi, not expecting a response from the Nue. "Alright then... I'm going Deus Ex Machina on your ass. Voice Gengar Shield!" he called out, his shield transforming to that of a megaphone shaped like a bat. "Everyone better cover their ears unless they want to go deaf! Filo, yell!" ordered Naofumi, hoping his shield's Equip Ability and his ears covered by his hand and arm respectively would be enough to stop the sound.
Filo yelled into the megaphone, and blood began pouring out of the monster's ears. Naofumi changed his shield back to the Shinobi Shield and charged in once more, picking up his bloody and previously discarded sword. Naofumi slashed the beast across the chest, allowing the blood to flow out of the beast, before Filo delivered the mother of all kicks to the skull of the Nue, destroying it and killing the thing.
"You guys okay?" called out Naofumi.
"We're fine. You doing okay, Master?" asked Keel.
"I'm fine." responded Naofumi, before punching each one of them atop the head. "Next time you feel the urge to do something stupid like that, don't. What if one of you were seriously injured, or worse? Don't rush into situations without a plan of attack. That's suicide in the field. Got it?"
"Got it."
Naofumi smiled at them, their spirits high as they collected the magic gemstone. He smiled, as the three demi-humans, the witch, the filolial and the dragon all celebrated their victory of the Nue and the collection of the core to make clothes for Filo and Dra.
Things were looking up.
But, of course, when you say stuff like that, you are bound to invite the universe to laugh in your face, spit in it, and scream 'FUCK YOU' as loud as it can.
The first red flag was the light but quick footsteps, ones that indicated quality training in moving silently, and had experience doing so. One of the Queen's Shadows was the most likely cause of the noise, but there were other possibilities.
The second was the breathing he heard, not one of exhaustion, like one would expect, as the footsteps had no imperfections in their silence. It was... excitement? Anticipation maybe? Both possibilities unsettling.
The third, and the most obvious, was the slight sound one affiliated with paper flapping in the wind.
Naofumi knew immediately what was happening.
He, much to the shock of his party, pushed them all away from the exit in opposite direction that the sound was coming from, and brought his sword up behind him to defend. His blade connected with a clang, as metal met metal. The party gasped in shock as the newest person to the area forced his blade sideways, forcing Naofumi to follow along with it as the blade switched which side it connected with Naofumi's sword to. But...
Was that... paper?
Naofumi gasped as the mysterious man smirked, and jumped back, as a loud explosion resonated through the cave. The party covered their ears at the blast, but Naofumi was forced back, sliding along the ground on his side, before quickly recovering.
Naofumi's sword was broken in two, where the tags had been placed and ignited. Naofumi threw it aside, useless to him now, and drew a pair of kunai from his tool pouch, taking a defensive position.
The smoke from the explosion cleared, showing a tall man with long brown hair and a beard with a pair of beads in it. He had noticeably dark lips and violet eyes, or eye, as his left eye was covered by an eyepatch. He wore bandages on the top of his head and around his neck, with a yellow striped shirt and black pants, as well as blue striped leg warmers and blue shinobi sandals. He also possessed a forehead protector like Naofumi and the 3 demi humans, but with a different pattern, 4 squiggly lines in a diamond shape, from the Hidden Mist Village.
"No way... I didn't actually think..." began Naofumi, not believing what his eyes were seeing.
"I imagine you didn't." mocked the man. "After all, who would ever think that I would be here?"
"No... you were supposed to be crippled well over two decades ago!" yelled Naofumi. "I just thought someone who wielded that blade was using your name to freak me out! I never thought that you'd actually be here!"
"No... I died." said the man. "Just last year, actually. After all my service to the village, the Mizukage allowed me to live my life for those 23 years however I wished. I couldn't do much, but I lived in the lap of luxury before my death after training up my student to take over the legacy of Shibuki."
"But that poor fool never got it, so I killed him and kept Shibuki all for myself. Imagine my surprise when I wake up here in my young body with Shibuki, with no injury!" yelled the man, laughing like crazy. "Finally! I can take revenge on what you did to the swords you used during that fight 7 years ago, and for desecrating the name of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
"Master Naofumi, who is this guy?" asked Raphtalia, worried about the mental capacity and overall danger of the man.
"Of all the generations of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, this man hails from the golden age, where the swordsmen where all but unstoppable. He has over 300 confirmed kills and is ranked as an S Rank Ninja in the Bingo Book. His name is Jinpachi Munashi, one of the Heartless Pair of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wielder of the Explosive Blade: Shibuki." said Naofumi, completely ready to give it his all and protect the ones he cherished.
"Brace yourself! Allow me to return the favour from 7 year ago, Blood Rain!" he yelled, charging at Naofumi. "THE ONE WHO WIELDED BOTH KIBA AND NUIBARI!"
———
Yep, Jinpachi Munashi has made an appearance. I don't really have a lot to say right now, so hope you guys enjoyed and for now, this is Striker777, over and out.