Holy shit it's almost been four months since a new update
Begin Rei 9
So we had a plan.
The first day of guard-duty according to that plan placed me at Tazuna's house. Now I had more time to examine Tazuna's home. While it wasn't exactly a mansion, their home wasn't small. Two stories tall, right next to the ocean, and not one, but two balconies on the roof. This kind of home would've been nice in the first life, but from a ninja's view, that's more entry points than I'd be comfortable with.
The interior decoration wasn't exactly great, but I can't imagine Tazuna has had much time or money to do anything about that. There wasn't much furniture inside, probably due to monetary constraints rather than a desire for a Spartan lifestyle, but what was present looked well-made, I think.
Aside from myself, there was Tsunami and Inari. Inari was curiously quiet - I'd expected him to tell us off almost immediately, but evidently that wasn't going to happen. Was he scoping us out? I suppose I could talk to Tsunami to pass the time, at least until Naruto's shadow clones finish exploring the island. I told Naruto to have his clones meet back here when they finished so that we could make a map. Mind, I don't recall seeing Naruto draw before, but I hope his drawing skills were better than his penmanship.
"Say, Tsunami-san?" I asked.
"Yes, um...?" she replied. Right, I haven't introduced myself.
"Rei," I introduced, before continuing, "Tazuna mentioned that Gato went after his step-son," sadness appeared on Tsunami's face, "I mean, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
"No... I should. Kaiza was a good man and a loving father and husband; he was the bravest man in the Land of Waves. He taught my son so much and inspired the rest of the people. When he crossed Gato though... "
"Gato wanted him gone."
"Yes. His men found Kaiza and... they publicly killed him," she kept on going.
"If it's not too much, how was it that Kaiza defied Gato?"
"Well... it started when Gato's company arrived here. They took over and forced their laws on us, giving us no choice but to obey."
"Tazuna mentioned some of that earlier."
"Well, Kaiza saw Gato's men antagonizing one of the shopkeepers for money and scared them off. When Gato found out his men had been defied, he was furious and... well..."
"I see," I stated. I wasn't sure what else there was to add. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"No, I said I'd tell you. You've helped Tazuna so much already, it's only fair to help out in return," she stated. I sensed Naruto's clones approaching. I guess they'd finished scouting the island.
"Thank you for helping, Tsunami-san," I said. Before Tsunami could respond, a Naruto burst through the door, followed by four more Narutos.
"Hey, you're supposed to knock," said a sixth Naruto who came in after them.
"C'mon, we're already hanging out here, why not just go in?" replied the first Naruto.
"Because its good manners, didn't the old man teach you!" the sixth Naruto fired back.
"Technically we shouldn't call him old man," an entirely different Naruto chimed in. This could get tense.
"Hold your horses Naruto," I interrupted before the argument got out of hand... hmm, that reminds me, there's only one surface large enough to draw a map, isn't there... "I apologize, Tsunami-san, we need to borrow the kitchen table."
"That's fine," Tsunami responded, before leaving the room - I guess the Narutos exhausted her. The Narutos and I gathered around the kitchen table. The empty kitchen table.
"Oh yeah, paper," one of the Narutos said, running to retrieve the paper from his supplies.
Once that was out of the way, we set out to draw a map of the island. Well, it'd be more accurate to say the Narutos did all the work while I sat around, stepping in to make sure they didn't start any fights with each other... themselves? Things get confusing when clones are involved.
"So what do we do about the creepy lair?" one of the Narutos asked.
"Huh?" I replied, stepping over to see the map. Upon the surprisingly well-drawn map was an oddly drawn building which looked like... a drill? This cone drill thing was helpfully labeled 'creepy lair'... if that was Gato's lair, then how did Naruto get close enough? I can't imagine Naruto having the presence concealment to evade Zabuza or Haku... I guess they didn't bother to go after Naruto? That'd make some sense. Whether they did it because they didn't want to expose their positions or because they just didn't care was another question.
I knew the big fight would be on the bridge. Still, knowing where Gato's evil lair was did open options for when the fight was concluded. Could we raid Gato's lair? I doubted that Gato had any more ninja beyond Zabuza, Haku, and the Demon Brothers. Likely, all that'd be left were small-time thugs. Still, it could be troublesome if there are enough of them. Thinking back to the present though... the Naruto clones and I still had some time to kill before Sasuke, the real Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei returned from the bridge. What to do until then? I couldn't exactly spar with Shadow Clones, not when they explode in a single hit. There's not exactly anything we could plan, aside from a potential raid on Gato's lair. Shogi briefly crossed my mind until I remembered I never liked chess - I was always of the opinion that chess has less to do with how smart you are and more to do with how far ahead you can predict, which I know sounds similar but it just isn't. The couple of times I'd tried Shogi (it'd been Shinji's idea), I didn't exactly do well. Hmm... I did bring a pick of cards. Maybe Go Fish? I barely remembered the rules, but it was the only thing I could think of.
... Naruto won. I was surprised Naruto had such a talent for card games. Did Hiruzen train him? A couple more games of Go Fish occurred, with Naruto clones winning every time, it wasn't always the same clone, but I didn't win any of those games. The real Naruto soon came in through the door, followed by Tazuna.
"What's going on?" the real Naruto asked.
"We're playing Go Fish," one of the clones responded. I stood up, putting my cards in a makeshift pile on the table.
"Hey Naruto, how'd things go on the bridge?" I asked, ignoring the slight chaos caused by me leaving the card game.
"It was boring," Naruto replied, which was about what I expected.
"Anything interesting happen?"
"Well, one guy quit and had an argument with Tazuna. That was the most exciting thing that happened," Naruto stated. Someone quit?
"Where's Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke?" I asked. They hadn't entered yet.
"They're talking about something, Kakashi-sensei wanted it private for some reason," he responded. What could they be talking about? If it was a discussion that Kakashi wanted to have with only Sasuke, it might be related to the Sharingan... I don't think something like that happened this early, though... Whatever the case, it's probably better to stay out of it, since Kakashi-sensei did want it private.
"What are you doing?" I heard Naruto shout kitchenward. Turning, I noticed that in the maybe 2 minutes I was away, the Naruto clones had somehow thrown all the cards on the floor and, judging by the copious amounts of smoke, gotten into a fight. In the midst of the mess was a single shadow clone hiding under the table for some reason.
"What happened?" I asked him.
"The other clones didn't know how to continue when you left so they argued and then one of them decided to make a new game and he threw all the cards on the floor," he exclaimed. Damnit.
"So after throwing my cards on the ground, the others starting fighting, is that it?" I questioned, attempting to piece this information together in my mind.
"Well, the others first went to beat up the first guy, but then they started fighting each other because we're all wearing the same outfit."
"Right..."
"Ah, nice of my genin to prepare a welcome party," a cool voice added. Hi Kakashi...
Naruto and Sasuke quickly left the house to train further. Kakashi's eyes fell upon the map that the Naruto clones had drew.
"Creepy lair, huh?" he mentioned.
"Yeah, Gato's, I think," I replied, "It's the only place like it on this island. If Gato is as unpopular as he is, he'd want to be away from everyone else."
"How did Naruto get close enough without getting noticed?" Kakashi asked. That... I didn't know. I had theories, but no sure answer.
"Either Naruto's stealthier than I expected, or Zabuza and Haku just don't care. Their loyalty to Gato is probably motivated by money," I continued. Presumably, Zabuza and Haku were only using Gato as a means to an end. Weren't they with the rebellion in Kiri at one point? Even if they weren't, money can always be helpful...
"An interesting assessment," he noted.
When it came time for dinner, I volunteered to track down Naruto and Sasuke. Of course, they were at the training grounds we'd adopted for tree-climbing. For the life of me I couldn't remember how long it'd taken for Naruto and Sasuke to master tree-climbing. I knew they'd make it work before the battle on the bridge, but aside from that, I wasn't sure.
Shang!
The sound of a kunai cutting wood. Naruto and Sasuke were hard at work, both of them much closer to reaching the top of the tree than before. They were both easily going 20 feet up before being forced off. Sasuke still maintained the same edge as before, but while the distance wasn't any shorter, it was a comparatively smaller advantage.
"Hey guys, time for dinner," I shouted. Regardless of how much they valued training, they'd have to stop and eat. The two of them jumped off the tree at once and walked over to me.
"How?" Naruto asked... eh?
"Huh?" I enunciated.
"The tree," Sasuke helpfully provided. Well...
"Right... I've been doing this for a while... what I did back when I was starting to do this was just focus on climbing the tree. Don't focus on trying to one-up each other, otherwise you'll get distracted."
"That's it?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, that's all I can say. Just focus on climbing the tree and keep trying. I don't know what else to say other than good luck. But the two of you need to eat first, c'mon," I said, bringing them back to Tazuna's house.
Day 2 led to me and Naruto guarding the bridge alongside Kakashi-sensei. This bridge would become a battleground once Zabuza and Haku were done licking their wounds. Until then though, we had to make sure Gato didn't send anyone else to take out Tazuna. I don't think Gato sent anyone to attack before, but who knows what would change here?
Just guarding the bridge though turned out to be incredibly boring. Standing around and pacing could only keep me occupied for so long, so I decided to help out with the construction. I may have only been a ninja for about a month, but I still had relative super strength - I could probably lift as much as most of these men on the bridge, and they were full-grown adults in a career that required heavy lifting. Ah, the wonders of chakra reinforcement...
Naruto got involved as well. For someone who thought D-ranks were glorified chores, he was quick to help out.
With two ninjas helping things along, I guess the bridge got constructed faster than the schedule expected, since Tazuna called the day early. The other workers hadn't asked many questions (though one did have to teach Naruto to lift with his knees, not his back... I guess Naruto hadn't been in the academy for that). Kakashi-sensei had seemed enthused about the two of us helping out (while standing back and reading his book, of course).
"I have to say, kids, you've been super helpful today," Tazuna said.
"Thanks ol-Tazuna!" Naruto replied, stumbling over himself in an attempt to be respectful.
"Hey, I heard that," Tazuna warned.
"No you didn't."
Tazuna sighed.
"Thanks Tazuna," I added.
"You're welcome," he replied.
We soon arrived at Tazuna's home. Tazuna opened the door, we entered, Sasuke walked over, stated he'd be back later, and then abruptly left. Well.
"What was that about?" Naruto asked.
"He's frustrated about something," Kakashi replied. Oh...
Ooooooh. Inari. I didn't think he'd try to tell Sasuke that victory against Gato was impossible. Inari believed that the best way to live was to lie down and hide. To Sasuke, this mindset would be incomprehensible.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Something set him off here while we were gone... why don't you two find out what that it? I'll make sure Sasuke stays out of trouble," Kakashi suggested... well, suggested is the wrong word as it implies we could argue... he left soon after he gave his suggestion. Right, I suspected - no, knew - that Inari was the root of this particular problem.
A quick trip upstairs led me to Inari's room, with his door shut. I knocked on the door.
"W-what?" Inari's voice called out.
"Mind if I come in?" I asked. I didn't receive a response. He didn't I could enter, but he also didn't say no, so I entered, making sure to shut the door behind me. Inari's room was... barren, I guess was the best way to put it. Aside from the essentials, there was hardly anything. Inari was sitting outside on one of the balconies, huddled into something resembling a ball.
"Why?" he asked. I already knew where this would go, but...
"Why what?" I responded. I want to hear it from him.
"Why do you fight? Gato's too strong."
"How so?" I asked.
"Why do you think you can beat him? Gato always gets his way, no matter who dies in the process. Why do you think you'll be different?"
"Well, why wouldn't I fight him? I was hired by your grandpa to protect him. If that means fighting Gato, then of course I'll do it."
"You think that you'll win because the heroes win in stories?" Inari asked in a derisive tone. Well, they did in canon.
"No. I fight because evil wins when good people do nothing," I responded.
"Do you really think that?"
"Yeah. Think about it for a bit, Inari. I think you'll see what I mean eventually."
"Hmm," he responded glumly. I don't think this will work immediately, but maybe it'll get him to think. And that'd be great.
Once I left Inari's room, I found Naruto waiting outside.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Just had a talk with the kid. He needs some time to think."
"Alright. I'm gonna continue training," he stated.
"Good luck," I offered.
Dinnertime came. It fell to me to find Naruto and Sasuke. Finding Naruto was easy enough - he'd gone to a closer spot to Tazuna's house for his training. Though it wasn't as tall a tree as the ones where Kakashi had had his original demonstration, Naruto was almost to the top of that tree, which was nice. When I'd given the message to Naruto, he'd jumped down immediately. He asked if I needed help with 'the jerk', I'd responded no, and then he'd gone to Tazuna's.
Finding Sasuke was a simple matter - he was at the same spot he'd been training before.
"Hey Sasuke, it's time for dinner," I called out.
Shang!
Sasuke's kunai cut through the tree's bark, marking his descent to the ground. Hardly a moment passed before he continued to climb the tree.
"You should at least eat," I recommended.
Shang!
Sasuke fell once again, only to continue climbing. I'd given Sasuke his message. He should come back for dinner. Hopefully he'd take the opportunity to eat.
Sasuke didn't come back for dinner. I expected the guy to be late rather than not show up at all. Naruto had just summarized Sasuke's behavior as just Sasuke being a showoff, which had led Kakashi to sigh. I knew that something was still up.
Dinner passed without incident, aside from Sasuke's refusal to show up.
Sasuke wasn't back when we had gone to sleep. One thing the academy had been very blunt about teaching us (at least, to me) was that when you were on a mission, having good food and a consistent sleep schedule would sometimes become a luxury that you didn't always have. IF the mission necessitated five days straight of ration bars and maybe six hours of sleep on a tree branch, that'd have to do. As it was, Tazuna's house was very cozy compared to that. From what had been stressed in the academy, most ninja would look at you like you'd grown a second head if you willingly forgone good food and rest for one reason or another (though as with every rule, this is fraught with exceptions...)
... As it turned out, I didn't sleep as well I wanted. I'd say I woke up at about 5am, but I'd been awake on and off the entire night.
I got out of bed, changed my clothes, put on my shoes, and went to go find Sasuke. Presumably, he'd been out the entire night training - it'd be different from how he'd acted earlier on this mission, but it wouldn't be terribly out of character. The possibility that something had happened to Sasuke crossed my mind. I doubted Haku or Zabuza cared enough to go after Sasuke, but if they did, Sasuke didn't stand a chance. Once I arrived at the impromptu training ground, I saw Sasuke standing,
"Fuck's sake Sasuke, were you out here all night?" I asked, causing him to turn toward me. There were a few moments of awkward silence.
"I had to climb that tree," Sasuke replied. His voice was slightly tired, but he seemed to act hardly any different... there was no way that was why he was out here all night. We begin the short trek back to Tazuna's.
"Okay then, did you succeed?" I asked.
"Yes," came his response. I guess if you're going to spend the night training, then you should at least get something out of that.
"Breakfast is soon. We've got a long day ahead of us, Sasuke," I advised. The schedule had Sasuke and I guarding Tazuna on the bridge.
"Hmm," he replied. Right.
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that..." I said. A hint of something showed itself on his face, before settling back into his usual glower. Something to my left caught my attention for a second before disappearing... someone was out there. That someone had disappeared as soon as I noticed them too... they were good, 'they' probably being one of the two missing-nin we would soon fight.
We arrived back at Tazuna's house soon after. It seemed there was still a bit of time before we had to officially begin our guarding.
Breakfast was quick, and Kakashi took us to the bridge soon after. Sasuke's face had quickly settled into a tired glower, but just before I went to help out one of the workers, Sasuke interrupted me.
"What did you mean back then, when you mentioned your dream?" Sasuke asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"You said you wanted to save lives. What did you mean?"
Sasuke was curious. That made sense, but why ask now and not earlier? How could I explain to Sasuke the fact that I'd lived a separate life with a full set of morals and standards far different from this one? Obviously I couldn't. But maybe I could try to explain my view to him.
"Well... the academy tried to teach us to view the enemy as just an enemy. Those lessons though... never stuck for me. I know our enemies aren't just faceless foes, they're like us, with their own dreams and hopes and family," I explained.
"So that's how you see it, then. Would that stop you from killing?" Straight to the point, huh Sasuke?
"It'd be my last resort," I admitted after a few moments. I really didn't want to outright kill a dude (well, a few exceptions do exists, but...). Sasuke must've caught my hesitation, but didn't comment, merely 'hmm'ing in response. I guess he wasn't sure how to continue this conversation.
"Why ask, anyway?" I added.
"It didn't made sense to me," he replied.
"Does it make sense now?"
"Not really."
Oh. Well, it was worth a shot.
After the brief discussion between Sasuke and I, the rest of the day on the bridge went by quickly. I started helping the workers with the bridge soon after that conversation concluded. Evidently he didn't want to stand by and watch, since he joined in soon after.
Tazuna ended the day early, remarking that they were ahead of schedule.
As we trekked back toward Tazuna's house, Kakashi mentioned something.
"So Sasuke, now that you've mastered tree-walking, I suppose it's time you take the next step in chakra control."
Apparently, neither me or Sasuke knew how to respond to this, so Kakashi continued, "The next step for a ninja is water-walking. The theory behind this is the same as tree-walking, but the execution will be more difficult. The shifting surface of the water will make it more difficult to stand, and unlike a tree, the water isn't a solid surface. As a result, you'll need to constantly adjust the amount of chakra in your feet to stand on it, otherwise you'll sink."
"Where do I fit into this?" I asked.
"Why, you're going help him learn, of course. I'll show the basics, but Sasuke will have to do this himself to completely learn. Since you know how to do this, you'll be able to help a little."
"Alright," I responded, knowing I had little choice in the matter anyway, but Sasuke was going to need to learn to do this.
Once we'd dropped Tazuna off, we took another short trek to an oceanside area. As a matter of fact, it was the same place where Kakashi had asked about my own chakra abilities...
"Now, watch closely," Kakashi stated, shifting his chakra to his feet and walking onto the water. He turned around, shrugged, and pulled out his book. I guess it's our turn.
I followed Kakashi's lead onto the ocean, Sasuke mimicking my moves. I stood upon the ocean. Sasuke managed to stand on the water for a bit, before falling into it. Ah, this would take a while.
We didn't get much further in the two hours we spent.
On day 5, Naruto graduated from tree-climbing and joined the water-walking class.
"Well Naruto, glad to see you could join us," Kakashi said in a half-drawl.
"Of course I came here, believe it! I'll get this in no time!" he shouted.
"Now Naruto, I think we both know it won't be that easy."
"C'mon Kakashi-sensei, how hard could it be?"
"Well Naruto, if it's so easy, then why don't you demonstrate?" Kakashi asked. A trap had been lied out for Naruto.
"Alright, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied, taking the bait. He focused his chakra to his feet and walked onto the water, falling face-first into the sea.
Well, it was a start.
"Bleh, what's with this water anyway?" Naruto complained. Shouldn't he know about salt and fresh water?
"This water is different from the water in Konoha. Since it's the water from the ocean, it actually contains salt. I wouldn't drink it if I were you, Naruto."
Sasuke stepped onto the water's surface and managed to remain afloat for a few seconds, before sinking again. Naruto feel into the sea again, taking as much time this time as the first.
"Ugh, why's this so different from the trees?" Right, Naruto wasn't here for Kakashi-sensei's explanation, so I explained to him the difference between tree-climbing and water-walking, and how much more difficult it would be for a ninja to master water-walking as opposed to tree-climbing, hence why Konoha ninja usually master tree-climbing before attempting water-walking. It was a simple progression, much like how you'd learn basic elemental theory before moving onto the Fireball Jutsu.
This explanation made sense to Naruto, at least.
Day 7 came. Naruto and Sasuke accompanied Tazuna and Kakashi-sensei to the bridge. It was a pattern we'd settled into by now. I'd try and pass the time by helping Tsunami with her chores (something that, as it turned, both my teammates struggled with...)
"Ninja-san?" a young voice asked. Inari hadn't talked to any of us since I'd talked to him days before. Had my words had any effect on him?
"Inari?" I replied.
"Are you sure you can fight Gato?"
"Of course, it's something I have to do."
"Even if you die?"
"I intend to spend my life saving others. If fighting someone like Gato will accomplish that, then I'll do it."
"Is that a life you can dedicate yourself to?" he asked. I paused, not because I had to think at all about how to answer his question. I knew the future.
What gave me pause was that I sensed two chakra signatures I couldn't identify approaching.
"Inari, troubles coming, get somewhere safe," I warned.
"What?"
"I don't know who's approaching, but they're probably enemies. Hide," I stated. I don't know who was approaching, but Tazuna didn't exactly live in the middle of town. I doubted it was two people just on their way to have a friendly chat. Not with chakra signatures that sizable.
Think Rei, what do you know?
Two chakra signatures, both approximately the same size as each of the Demon Brothers. Since the Land of Waves has no ninja villages, they're likely hired guns. Who else but Gato would have hired guns? Could I take them on? Were I to fight the Demon Brothers on my own, that'd probably be a no. But these weren't the Demon Brothers, so I probably had a chance?
Inari and Tsunami, on the other hand, didn't stand a chance against them.
Where would a ninja enter from? The Balconies were possible, but the new enemies were both remaining ground level. Knowing ninja, the door wasn't a likely entry point... especially since they'd just walked past it. They're circling around.
Tsunami was in the kitchen.
One use of the Body Flicker placed me in the Kitchen.
"Rei, what's going on?" she asked.
"Trouble," was all I said, before jumping onto the ceiling, focusing my chakra into the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands.
Several slices appeared in the wall opposite Tsunami, before a large hole appeared in the wall, revealing two people. The first was a man with long silver hair wearing a light blue sweater, black shorts, and an equally black hat. The other had bushy brown hair and what appeared to be a purple and black kilt (?), while not wearing anything else. And they both had swords. What interesting outfits.
"So you're Tazuna's daughter, huh? Well too bad, you'll have to come with us now," silver guy stated.
"W-what do you want?" Tsunami asked.
"Don't you know? We need a hostage to stop Tazuna," silver guy replied, a grin appearing on his face. Alright, let's take these guys out.
Maximum Spider!
I jump down from the ceiling and slam a kick into the back of shirtless dude's head. Judging from the sound he made when he fell to the ground, he's not getting back up soon.
Silver guy drew his sword - oh that's fast. A quick substitution Jutsu ensures my survival, at the cost of one of Tsunami's dining room chairs. I'll have to pay her back for the chair. Tsunami was as far from silver guy as possible while still being in the kitchen.
"Why you..." he began. I quickly went through several hand signs, releasing a wind fist which knocked him out of Tazuna's house. Surprisingly, he got up.
"Are you willing to surrender?" I asked.
"A couple tricks like that won't win the fight!" he replied. C'mon man. I threw a couple kunai at him, which he easily deflected with his sword. A couple of hand seals and I threw another wind fist... which he dodged. He started charging, running past my stray kunai. Now's my chance. Another substitution placed me behind him, vulnerable to an immediate attack. I directed a kick into the side of his head, sending him tumbling to the ground.
I waited a couple moments before becoming convinced he wasn't getting up.
"Wow, that was so cool!" Inari yelled.
"Thanks," I replied, pulling out a whole bunch of rope. I should tie these guys up before they wake up.
"You were right, heroes do exist. Villains like Gato can be defeated!" he enthusiastically proclaimed as I'd finished tying up silver boy here. Onto the other guy...
Hang on. If these guys came here then that meant-
Well, shit.
End Rei 9
So this chapter is me wanting to get to the Battle on the Bridge already damnit, though knowing me I might go back and alter stuff later on down the line because I'm Like That apparently.
So, Battle on the Big Bridge next chapter, I'm gonna try to get that out by the end of the year at least, come hell and highwater. I know, not a great big goal, but it's something.
Before I get to reviews... WHO WOULD WIN: EXPENSIVE EYE-GADGET USED BY S-RANK MISSING-NIN IN MYSTERIOUS ORGANIZATION vs. CLOSING YOUR EYES
Memeing aside...
"I wonder if Rei will actually end up fighting in the upcoming battle." - Girl-luvs-Manga
All I can say to that is SOON™
"I noticed you don't really put any detail or anything into your writing. You seem to just be stating facts on what is happening and not much else. It's a little hard to immerse myself into your story with the lack of detail and such. I'm a little disappointed in regards to that because it also makes it hard to follow along with your story. There are random time skips where the chapter will end in one place and the next chapter will start at a completely different time with no warning whatsoever. I don't really know much about rei at all or what her relationships with her classmates are. Such as when she brings up Sasuke to anko. You never wrote down any interactions between the two so it just seemed kinda random. I would suggest you try adding more details and interactions between the characters. Because to be honest rei doesnt really appear to have any sort of personal she just kinda...exists. Other than those things you story isn't that bad. Your grammar and punctuation are nice and I don't cringe when I'm reading it which is a plus. Some stories I've read I literally could not finish because the grammar and spelling, etc. Is so horrible. Like the work definitely. People will often spell defiantly instead and my eye just kinda twitches lol. Anyways, I hope you don't take any offense to this I'm just trying to help. I look forward to more." - SalvatorChick
This is completely fair. At least I'm not at the cringe tier :D. Yeah, I think part of the issue is that I was/I am trying to get to the cool stuff but then the early parts of the story kinda suffer for it. I'm gonna try and make the earliest parts a little better in the future, though I kinda hope to also make up for that with the post-Waves stuff too. Hopfully.
Also to the dude who reviewed every chapter, ayyyy
As always, thanks for the support lads and ladies!