The never-ending tree line around the small forest path that the quartet was still moving on kept on monotonously moving by as the four ran forward. The night had caught them unprepared and they were already supposed to have reached Shukuba town – a small pleasure town at the end of Roiyaru road. It was well known to thrive serving as a pit stop of sorts for ninja passing by and was a nice halfway stop for shinobi heading outside the Fire Country.
"Say, Meiko-san, your armor makes some noise and doesn't look too comfortable, aren't you worried about that in battles? I mean most ninja sort of dress more casually to blend into the crowds and have relative comfortability while sneaking around, an armor protects you when in battle but fighting face-to-face isn't what ninja are all about..." Kouta asked out of the blue.
"If we didn't have to worry about fighting we wouldn't really need you" Meiko replied, her tone didn't suggest that it was supposed to be taken as something offensive but Kouta did look a bit knocked down a peg.
"I think it isn't about fighting, Kouta" Shimo butt himself into the conversation, slightly picking up the speed to catch up to the two who were leading the squad by a couple of feet.
"I remember Meiko from the Academy, I was a little interested in her back in the Academy since she always failed her genjutsu and ninjutsu assignments but kept working hard even when she completely blew everything. During the exam, her clone looked like an asthmatic bald granny and she never even managed to use a simple disorientation genjutsu throughout the whole course. What Meiko is doing with this armor and her focus in weaponry which she clearly telegraphs to everyone looking at her is finding her own identity and sticking to it. That is worth a lot of respect. Despite that, I must admit I was surprised to hear you graduated the Academy the same year" the Yuki added.
"I almost didn't, that asthmatic bald granny of a clone just barely flung me over the minimum grade..." Meiko admitted, judging from her tone and her facial expression her shortcomings weren't a topic she liked discussing too much.
"I don't know, I kind of like what Meiko is doing. She loved blacksmithing outside her missions so she found a way to incorporate it into her main job. Not many people can do that, it's tough to balance several parts of one's personality and combine two seemingly different things like that. Ninjutsu and genjutsu can always be sharpened later..." Mana gently smiled to Meiko who looked back at her, looking at the magician with surprise. It must've been not so often that she was commended for something.
Mana felt like there must've been so much in common between her and Meiko. Obviously, ninjutsu and genjutsu were areas where Mana passed with flying colors and as far as her illusions were concerned could've tutored her Academy teachers a thing or two as it was not a very popular and researched subject. It was only due to her average intelligence test and slightly below average physical and accuracy exams that her overall grade dropped down from remarkable to average.
Still, Mana was commonly scolded for far too many things, in a similar manner to Meiko. Whereas Meiko was made fun of for not living up to her awesome Kirikuzu potential and outright denying it by changing her last name, Mana was commonly made fun of in the Academy because of lack of any special bloodline at all. She was never meant for great things, she was just a grey filler material in an army of special prodigies. Someone to fill up the statistic and that was why she felt so similar and soul-mated with Meiko. It was like the two were always meant to be friends.
"Well, obviously you'd like that..." Shimo started his reply but then stopped and got dead silent, he looked back and dashed on top of a tree with blurring speed, Mana could barely even see his movements with her perfectly normal eyes. The swordsman dashed up to a strong enough branch to hold him on it yet slim enough for his liking and placed his ear onto it.
"Shit! Someone's coming, hide, now!" he tried to combine sound and whispering with his alert. Mana's reaction time was good, she dashed to the side almost instantly but her teammates simply disappeared from her sight. They were holding back the whole time and now they were not and they didn't know that Mana wasn't able to move at the speed they were able to. Right before she reached the bush to dive behind to hide and powerful frame of a bulky man blocked her path – the man was so fast that he simply appeared right in front of her and Mana bumped into his chest falling on her butt in the process having been pushed back.
"Well well, I never thought to see you here. What are you doing here, girl? I remember you asking for my son's help on something but I didn't think it'd involve straying so far from the village" Kouta's father – Kusagoro asked. Not too long after he blocked Mana's path three other ninja appeared out of the forest and surrounded the girl.
Kusagoro changed out of his ninja uniform after the brief fight with Shimo, his headband protector lacked a village insignia and he wore a simple grey vest similar to that of most mercenaries. One that was cheap and filled with small interconnected chain rings that were able to protect one from most simple ninja tools. His hair was much messier than before and his face appeared much more ruthless.
"Perhaps the young lady embarked on a mission-related adventure as per Hokage's request?" a middle-aged woman behind Kusagoro with a butler like uniform topped with the mercenary vest where her formal vest would've been wondered. Her hair was quite long for an experienced ninja and tied behind her back right at the end with a blood red ribbon. The woman's nightly dark hair and her silver pupils lacking any irises suggested that she was a Hyuuga possessing one of the most majestic bloodlines in the village – the Byakugan.
"I'm not. I'm not even a ninja anymore, I'm just touring the world, I'm a stage magician in case you don't know... Hokage-sama canceled the mission shortly after the fight and suspended all of our licenses" Mana replied quickly and tried to be direct about her response while trying to learn how to lie on the spot. She could under no circumstance just share her objective with a man who had his license suspended and could've wished to claim the box for his own gains, he was a potential danger to her mission objective.
Another incredibly tall male pressed a strange device on his eye, it looked like the whole left side of his face was replaced with this cybernetic eye, similar to the sort of technology Hachi, the cybernetic mercenary used in her last mission.
"Well then are you aware of the three ninja of below average chakra signature following you in close vicinity?" he rumbled out. His voice was the rock bottom of low and husky voices yet somehow quite matching the man's bulky and masculine frame. His body build was well trained and he wore a sleeved version of the mercenary body armor with what appeared to be steel shoulder plates. Despite his quite hunky build, his face looked like it has tanked its fair share of bricks though. He had so much of his face busted up and lazily patched up that it looked like he fell from the sky and the pavement with his face.
"No, I was not aware of that..." Mana replied, even she felt the hesitation and fear in her voice. She had to keep calm, she had to make them believe it. If she lied to them there was no telling what they could do. Kusagoro was a battle-hungry maniac and he had no more village authority to answer to. If he killed them all right there and made them disappear and said to the Fifth that he knew nothing about it she'd have nothing to pin on them.
A darker skinned individual looking quite sly yet a little charming snuck up to Mana to the distance where he wasn't very comfortable to see. He pretty much rubbed himself against Mana and it freaked her out.
"Well then, little cherry blossom, it is safe to say that our merry company saved your life, it isn't safe for a performer to travel around the country with no ninja escorts, what do you think about that?" as the man was talking Mana carefully and slowly took a couple of steps back, he smelled of cheap perfume and was a good couple of years past his prime and his weird long and curly moustache made him look almost hilarious. A roach ran down the man's face, getting out from his hair spiked up with cheap hairspray and down under the collar of his coat. Mana gulped and tried to keep herself from throwing up.
"I would strongly veto such an irresponsible decision, it appears that you are once again lead by your desire to be a gentleman" the butler Hyuuga lady crossed her arms on her chest and squinted angrily at her comrade.
"I wouldn't mind that if that means blasting those bastards in the forest to Kingdom Come!" the bulky man roared out placing his oversized hand onto Kusagoro's shoulder as if trying to appeal to the man.
"No..." he closed his eyes and smiled a little, "I was just granted a vacation, I have no desire to take up responsibility again... However..." his fist shot forward faster than a shotgun shell right into Mana's gut almost turning the girl off. Mana felt her own blood shooting out from her stomach – she couldn't have augmented her body because her chakra manipulation was gone, she just took that punch. As her mind lingered between this world and the other, between awareness and eternal serenity her falling body was caught by the jounin and lifted up.
"Hmmm... I pulled my punch as much as I could and yet she didn't offer resistance... Either she's a suicidal follower of her little lie or she's telling the truth..." his grip let go letting Mana's struggling to stay alive and shocked by the overwhelming pain body fall to the ground as he placed his foot on top of her head.
"Now listen to me you three little fuckers in those woods! Either you come out here and tell me what the fuck you're doing with your lives, as I feel that I could be quite interested in that, or I'll pop this kid's head like a fucking grape!" Kusagoro roared out so that he may have been heard all the way in Shukuba. The man kept on standing, looking around and waiting but nothing happened. No one came out.
"Come on, squish her and let's go, we're late to get to Shukuba as it is because Gokibure had to romance those dancers..." the large one grunted angrily watching at Mana's lifeless body with excitement.
"Oh my, squishing someone's head is so unsanitary and uncivilized... Just like you to kill someone this way, Kusagoro, you're such a brute..." the Hyuuga lady complained out loud "Just let me close a couple of her vital chakra nodes and I can do it like a truly refined killer would..." she added lifting her palm in a striking position.
"Killing young ladies before they get a chance to mature into gorgeous young women to keep me company... That is always a sad sight to see..." the mustache packing dark skinned roach man looked like he was about to cry, he even stroke out a fake tear.
"Shut up, Gokibure, you've never had a lady near you for more than five seconds, your stupid roaches creep everyone out!" the large gentleman yelled out grabbing his comrade by his coat and lifting him up into the air. One of his eyes squinted while the other shot out to nearly comical extents. "Every time I see a roach run down from your hair or nose I wish to sacrifice you to Lord Jashin then and there!" he grunted angrily.
Mana's silent moaning stopped as Kusagoro removed the foot off of her head and relieved the extremely painful pressure he applied to it.
"Hmph... Still can't tell if they called my bluff or if they're really just nasty murderers looking to kidnap a performer for ransom" the man scratched the back of his neck.
"My my, is this mercy I see from you Kusagoro? Serving the village made you quite soft inside... Or maybe it's that nurse wench in Konoha that made you like this?" the Hyuuga lady tried to psyche her comrade out.
"As much as I don't like this girl because she derails my son's training and keeps him in his stupid medical line of work instead of becoming a mercenary or a Black Ops killer like his old man... I can't kill her either. She's a bother but I need her because if she dies my son may never follow my footsteps and if he finds out I was the one who did it he'll go the opposite way on purpose". Kusagoro swiped a lazy backhand smack to the side breaking a tree in half in his irritation.
The tree fell right on top of the man but broke again where it contacted his head. In the sheer rage, the man grabbed the main log of the tree and tore it to bits with his sheer hands leaving just small wood chips from the peeling pressure behind.
"Let's go, I know where we can get answers, something that gate guard said gave me an idea" Kusaguro ordered and soon the four disappeared.
Shimo and Kouta dashed out after a couple of minutes, the Yuki carried unconscious Meiko on his shoulder. The medical ninja examined Mana and took her on his starting to move, encouraging Shimo to follow.
"How is she?" the swordsman asked.
"She'll live until we can find a room to heal her in. She's in critical condition but this place isn't safe to settle down and heal her" Kouta grunted angrily, his eyes were completely different from the shy and goofy young man he was, this Kouta was determined and serious. He was decisive and he looked like he'd do whatever was needed to take care of his team.
Mana's eyes opened slightly, looking right into those determined balls of light Kouta called eyes, he was moving so fast, leaving nothing behind. It looked like he would fight his father just to get that room. The medical ninja looked down and his eyes met Mana's, he smiled gently and moved some of her wild hair out of the way.
"Don't worry, Mana-chan, just relax and rest, this is why you took me with you, isn't it? Let me do my job" Kouta assured the girl, Mana closed her eyes, subconsciously moving her tired head closer to the boy's chest and passing out.
"Why didn't she block that attack properly!? She should've given us away, just how far is she willing to go for such a low ranked mission?" Kouta kept on talking to himself as the large classical houses of Shukuba town and the small gate separating it from the Roiyaru road appeared in sight just past the tree line the two boys were moving in.
"Because she couldn't... Now it all makes sense: why Mana-chan was just a client, why she purposefully missed those medical check-ups and why her license was suspended, why she couldn't keep up with us and why she couldn't hide in time – Mana-chan lost her chakra manipulation ability completely somehow. Must've been in this last mission she spoke of." Shimo huffed out doing his best to keep up with Kouta's determination and his full speed.
"What you did to Meiko-san was quite ruthless, Shimo. Knocking an ally out cold from behind..." Kouta glanced back with an angry stare.
"She'd have given us away, she was about to dash right out to Mana-chan's aid, something had to be done. Those bastards would've killed all of us and made it look like an accident and then proceeded with our mission. If they'd have found the box they'd have kept it for themselves. They'd have tortured us before we'd have given them the information on our mission which they wanted" the Yuki explained looking at the unconscious armored teammate on his shoulder.
"Father wouldn't have gotten a thing out of me, I think Mana-chan proved that she wouldn't have said anything either, Meiko-san doesn't quite understand enough about it to say anything too useful, she just looks like she's along for the ride. That only leaves you, Shimo... Afraid of a little pain?" Kouta kept on quarreling with his friend as the two dashed into the little pleasure town desperately looking for a room.
"I'd have told everything the moment they threatened Mana-chan or Meiko-chan, I've got a feeling you'd have done the same with any of us being at the other end... You don't even know how potent torturers work, you may just be more naïve than Mana-chan" Shimo folded.
Kouta didn't even reply anything, his face revealed the truth, however, just the fact that the quarrel was ended so fast with that last observation said enough. Kouta would've lead his father to the box himself just to save Mana from having to suffer any more. She was so stupid, why didn't she tell them that she was unable to mold chakra? It made no sense... Unless...
"Shimo, why do you think Mana-chan didn't tell us?" the medical ninja rammed a wooden door of a small inn with his shoulder.
The innkeeper instantly tried to raise noise, to him two ninja bursting into the inn with two unconscious girls looked either suspicious or requiring instant medical attention. He tried to suggest the local clinic instead of his inn but Kouta would've had none of it. The innkeeper went out to see if he still had any rooms left.
"One thing trying to be a gentleman all my life has taught me... I would never understand women, why do you think I changed my nindo from making sure that all ladies around me were happy to becoming Hokage so that I could protect the weak from the wicked, it's a much more achievable dream..."
After the innkeeper returned, the two rushed into the room for four. Since Shukuba was a pleasure town for the passing-by ninja, they had plenty of rooms for four. Since most ninja traveled in squads of four, even the genin worked in teams of a jounin mentor and three genin so it fit perfectly. Right after locking the door behind them Kouta slammed Mana's lifeless body onto the bed and lifted her clothes examining her injury – the entire lower part of her abdomen was black, blue and purple with large red circles around it.
"Shit, I need to start treatment right now, father was so close to shoving his arm right through her... She'd have bled out on the spot" Kouta mumbled to himself as he placed his hands on the girl's stomach and emerald light started illuminating the dim room.
Shimo carefully placed Meiko on a bed and covered her up, he did feel a bit bad for what he did to her but that was the only way. This girl was just so loyal and ready to leap to help her friend out despite only knowing her for a couple of months... Mana may have messed up a lot of things all the time but she pulled friendship with this young lady just fine...
"Your father... I want to kill him but I must admit I lack the strength to do it" Shimo declared.
"Please don't think my father is a monster of some kind. He is quite brutal but he grew up outside the village walls. He only became a ninja in his late teen years. He acts following his killer's instinct and he doesn't understand the social skills that the village ninja who grew up in safety know..."
"His care for you is the only reason why I won't kill him. He kept Mana-chan alive because he cares about you and knows you like her, you are his connection to humanity and because he still has that I'll keep him alive but... One day... I'll kick his ass really hard!" Shimo grunted out raising his fist into the sky.
"I... Don't... Like... Mana-chan..." Kouta leaned up closer to act like he was examining Mana's injury to hide his face.
Shimo laughed off and sat on his bed watching Meiko. He knocked her out cold from behind, he was responsible to make sure she woke up and had some rest after that. Maybe he'll slip into slumber soon watching her but he owed her all that he could do for her for the time being.
All that remained now was to wait for the morning...