Chapter 10: A Humbling Encounter (Sasuke)

I: Day 7

The wind blew harshly over the shanty town of Magnolia in a manner so fierce that one could almost see the worn exteriors of its many buildings shift ever so slightly. Contrary to what they had been told, the mountainous borders that surrounded the town weren't heavily fortified with Blue Skull mages, nor were the building tops, nor the streets that weaved between residential blocks and market districts. Instead, these areas were void of life, with only the mice to frequent only a handful of these locations.

The group stepped forward, passing beneath a sign that read, 'Welcome to Magnolia!' with small text sloppily splashed about in a manner that just barely resembled the words, 'Home of Blue Skull'. As they started forward in uniform, Yuri paused to take a look at the structure looming just above the nearby houses and shops.

"So they're held up in Cardia Cathedral right?" Yuri asked. "Place looks like its seen better days."

Noticing the remains of what looked to be a crystal-bone-like structure still attached to certain parts of the cathedral, Precht gave an intrigued, 'hmm'. "Looks like whatever they had on top of it collapsed in on itself. Must've been heavy, judging by the look of things."

Warrod gave a half-hearted shrug. "Maybe we got lucky, and they all got crushed or something."

"Doubt it," Sasuke interjected. "That many people dead, and with a breeze like this? We'dve smelt it coming up the road."

"They could be... freshly crushed?" Mavis said, drawing everyone's attention. "What?"

"Could be," Sasuke said. "Let's go see for ourselves."

The walk was done mostly in silence, with the treasure hunters on occasion chatting amongst themselves, and Mavis randomly speaking to thin air along with the voice of whatever it was she was speaking with ever so slightly grazing against Sasuke's eardrums. For the shinobi, it was quite a surreal experience, having voices that were and weren't there, manifesting and blending together to create a unique form of chatter he hadn't yet experienced.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Cathedral, they noticed the large double doors begin to open as grunts and groans filled the air.

Acting quickly, the group darted off back down the road they came, in separate directions and took cover in various locations.

Sasuke and Mavis hid in an alleyway with a bench nestled atop the sidewalk just barely obfuscating them from view. Silently they watched as hooded figures emerged from the building, each struggling to drag the massive bone fragments, similar to the ones still attached to the roof, out into the open clearing.

Sasuke's eyes were drawn to a large pile of blue bones that sat just off to the side, and the apparent destination of the hooded men. He then looked back to the entrance, having sensed a significant power spike coming from within.

Walking out onto the sunbathed pavement was a man with a face that essentially embodied the guild. He had a limp to his step and a walking stick that allowed him the privilege of movement. Something about him was off something that bugged Sasuke enough to push Mavis completely out of view, much to her dismay.

"Hey, I'm trying to get a better look!" She shout-whispered.

"Something's wrong here," Sasuke said, making contact with a nearby trash can.

Yuri's head poked out for a brief second and then retreated back from whence it came. "I think he knows we're here," he communicated utilizing a series of hand motions, a secret form of language known only to him and his fellow treasure hunters.

Sasuke raised an eye at this.

Precht, who stood in an alleyway adjacent to their's along with Warrod, noticed this and locked eyes with Sasuke, who simply shrugged in turn. He sighed, then shifted his gaze to the trash can where he proceeded to make seemingly random hand gestures, one of which Sasuke swore resembled a bunny hopping along on its merry way, only to get crushed by an anvil having materialized from the sky. What that translated to, he would likely never know.

"This is no time to be playing charades! Also, what's the worry? We're completely hidden from view at this angle."

"Still." Sasuke, deciding to enlighten her, drew himself further into the alley as to avoid drawing attention to himself. "Look at his posture, he's alert and, though I'm not sure if you can tell through his goggles, is scanning the area."

"You can see through his goggles? But they're tinted to dark."

"Let's just say, my eyes are a tad keener than most."

Understatement of the year.

"Master Geoffry!" one of the mages cried. "I just had a great idea!"

"Well?" Geoffry began. "Spit it out!"

"Y-yes, sir! I was just wondering sir if... you know, you could use your magic to help us move this stuff... er... sir!"

A glare silenced the man and froze him in place.

"My apologies master! F-forget I asked anything!

"I already have," Geoffry said, walking off to join the group piled around the bones.

Sasuke, who had peeked out just in time to watch the interaction go down, pulled himself back behind cover. They appeared to be occupied, making now the perfect time to slip past them undetected.

Of course, something had to go wrong, however.

Hesitantly, he turned around and, sure enough, Mavis was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration then peered around the corner once more. Geoffry now was chastising his men for some trivial matter, but what drew his attention almost immediately, was Mavis quietly slipping into the cathedral without so much as drawing a head to her presence. Sasuke glanced back to the group of mages, seeing that they were far too occupied with the bones to pay any mind to anything else, and seized his opportunity. Quickly, he stepped out from his hiding place, drawing forth a faintly audible gasp from the trash can, and made a break for the cathedral as silently as only one from his line of work could achieve.

Upon slipping into the building, he was met with Mavis, who apparently anticipated his following.

"Good, you're here! See that bone over there?"

Sasuke glared. "That was stupid."

Mavis frowned. "I can take care of myself you know?"

"That's not what I'm getting at. We had no way of knowing if this building was empty."

"Well, it is, as you can see! No harm done," Mavis said, spinning on her heel and examining the area. "We're looking for a purple orb of sorts, about yay big or so, and has a weird little 'eye' pattern to it."

This girl reminded him of Naruto. Was it perhaps her bright and optimistic personality? Or was it her tendency to be reckless, and throw caution to the wind at every possible occasion?

"Doesn't look like she's here?" Said Mavis from the other side of the building. "Hey, let's check out that room over there!"

Sasuke, realizing it was hopeless to argue, followed after her.

Without hesitation, Mavis entered the room with Sasuke trailing close behind, closing the door behind them. They found themselves in an office littered with random objects and various documents sprawled about. Display cases containing objects that, to Sasuke, looked like a bunch of junk, lay on their side or were smashed completely. The nearby window was wide open and gave a clear view of the men working outside.

Sasuke drew his attention from the scene to the girl who was frantically tossing items around, in search of what he assumed was the Tenrou Jade. He stepped forward, then retracted his leg when he felt something solid and awkward. Lying on the ground where the remains of, by his guess, some kind of remote, plain and simple in design with only a button and dial.

"Watch your step."

"C' mon, help me look."

Sasuke shook his head and got to searching. A solid five minutes with no luck passed until the sound of the doors opening in the main chamber caught their attention.

"Find it?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope!"

"Then that's a wrap," the shinobi stated, taking hold of Mavis and slinging her over his shoulder.

"H-hey! Just let me check one more time!"

"Master Geoffry wants his medication." a muffled voice asked from beyond the door.

"Where's it at?"

"Should be under his desk. Top Drawer."

That was all Sasuke needed to hear. And with that, he leaped out the window with Mavis pounding away at his back all the while. Upon touching the ground outside, he turned to the direction they came only to be met with the cold gaze of Geoffry, who stood idle with an annoyed expression plastered over his face.

Sasuke grit his teeth and set Mavis down, drawing his sword and pushing the girl behind him. "Stay behind me."

"O-ok."

Geoffry tilted his head and gave a half-hearted sigh. "You know, this is the third time someones attempted to steal from me. I must say, I'm not very fond of thieves."

"Then you shouldn't have taken what wasn't yours!" Mavis shouted. "Wheres the Tenrou Jade?"

"The jade?" the man asked. "Why, it's right here."

Sasuke and Mavis watched the man reach into his pocket and pull out an orb that matched Mavis' description and dangle it in front of them in a mocking manner.

"I will say, in my defense, I didn't simply take this."

"Liar! I was there, you... you burnt my home to ashes! You killed everyone I ever knew! You stole our sacred treasure... you took everything from me!"

"All within the boundaries of the law."

"W-what?"

"Have you ever heard of a guild-war, child?"

"A guild-war... but those are-"

"Outlawed? Just as Dark Guilds are 'outlawed'? Yet here we are, in control of one of the most prestigious towns in the entire kingdom, the home of Cardia Cathedral! Laws are simply what we dark guilds make them, Fiore is ours."

"You..."

Sasuke's eyes flickered right, then he slightly craned his head to face the area behind. They were surrounded on all sides.

"Also, just to clear up any misconceptions, I didn't simply show up out of the blue. Your master was well aware that we were on our way... and yet, we still managed to catch you lot off guard. I wonder... was he perhaps... going to abandon you lot to save his own skin?"

Mavis didn't respond.

"No protests? BWAHAHA! Oh, that's rich! It seems you despised that man as much as I!"

"I didn't- I- didn't hate him... the only person I hate here is you!"

"Please, don't lie to yourself, it won't look good on your record when you're judged by the gods! Men, send them to hel-"

In the blink of an eye, a mere instant before Geoffry could finish his sentence, Sasuke had shot forward at speeds rivaling a bullet. Had it not been for the invisible force that bound him just shy of two feet away from his target, his blade poised mere inches from the guild master's chest, he surely would've lost his balance.

There was a strange feeling at the bottom of his feet, one he couldn't tell if it was the result of whatever force was locking him in place... or his own chakra network.

Geoffry glared at the man, then, like a bothered house owner troubled by a pesky fly, swatted the man away with a mighty back-hand that didn't actually connect with its target.

Sasuke was sent careening backward but ultimately was able to regain his footing with the help of his sword.

"Mr. Sasuke... are you ok?"

Sasuke grit his teeth.

Geoffry, who at the moment thought very little of the situation, started off, intent on letting his underlings deal with the problem at hand. "Deal with these worms."

"You need to run," Sasuke ordered.

"What? But-"

"I'll clear an opening for you... just get out of here! I'll take care of this."

"I'm not going to leave you!"

In response, Sasuke offered her a reassuring smile. "Trust me and it'll all work out. I've got a lot more experience dealing with situations like these then you think-" there was a brief pause, and then a guttural cough escaped his lips. A look of shock appeared on his face as he noticed the blood that had splattered on the ground.

"Mr. Sasuke?"

Sasuke remained silent up until the point where one of the mages got cocky and tried taking him out while he wasn't looking. With a single stroke of his blade, he fell his attacker, and then the three that followed in his footsteps.

"Get on my back!"

Mavis complied without a moment to waste.

"*cough* Hang on and don't let go."

"A-are you ok?"

Sasuke spun around and kicked a man away, sending him tumbling to the ground and tripping a group of people charging his way. Quickly, he leaped atop one of their backs and used him like a trampoline to propel himself out of the crowd, and into the open area beyond. He made a hard turn in the direction of the towns main entrance and ran.

The mob of angry mages gave chase as they sent sparks, fireballs, and orbs of ice forward.

Sasuke weaved around the hostile elements, allowing them to impact with the many buildings around them and blow craters in the road.

"Mr. Sasuke, they're on the roofs!"

The shinobi offered a quick glance toward where she was pointing and sure enough, groups of mages aiming their staffs down at the road were seen firing all manner of energy blasts and elemental hail storms that filled the road with smoke upon impact.

He was already a fair distance away from the mob when the coughing struck once again. This time, it felt as though a heavy weight had been dropped on his shoulders, and he was forced to slow down. His once rhythmic sprint had been reduced to a rigid trot as his breathing grew heavy and he felt his vision begin to blur.

Eventually, he fell and he and Mavis were sent tumbling forward.

Mavis recovered almost immediately and crawled over to Sasuke's side. "Mr. Sasuke! C'mon... we have to go!" She cried, attempting to pull him along with her meager strength.

"Go... I'll be.. ngh... fine..."

"No, you won't be fine! Gosh... you're so pale now... what's happening?"

"I... I... can't..."

Sasuke blacked out.

Sorry about the wait, I've been making updates to the older chapters and didn't want to post until I had everything done. The changes are mostly grammar and dialogue related, however, I also added a day counter to each chapter since I noticed the timeline was getting a bit confusing. I kept the most of the changes from heavily impacting the story so you guys wouldn't have to re-read the older chapters.