Chapter 25: Belief

" Hey, hey~, Makoto, wake up! I dreamt of something amazing last night," Mayuri shouted, practically bouncing around next to Makoto's sleeping body. Makoto slowly got up and scratched his head, not before turning to her. " Wanna hear?"

" …I don't think I have a say in the matter, do I?" Makoto asked.

" I had a dream that we had 4 kids," Mayuri replied.

" 4, isn't that a bit much?" Makoto asked.

" Not really. Two boys, two girls, and we were staying in this cool looking villa somewhere in our village. Best part was you cooked us a massive feast for dinner. Boy, was I stuffed," Mayuri replied.

" …I can't cook…you sure you are not mistaking me for Hiroshi," Makoto asked.

" I'd rather not have her kids, mind you," Hiroshi spoke up from the corner, as he was now busy preparing breakfast, cooking up oatmeal. Taking two bowls, he handed them to Makoto and Mayuri, who accepted them graciously. " Eat up. Ryouta said we'd be leaving soon."

" So, you had a dream as well?" Mayuri asked.

" …Why'd you want to know?" Makoto mused, sounding slightly tired.

" …That means yes…hmm, was I in it?" Mayuri asked.

" …I don't get where this is going…" Makoto sighed.

" I was definitely in it~" Mayuri replied happily, as if she had just won the lottery. " Let's see…was I n-"

" Hell yeah! Breakfast!" Sora shouted loudly, pouncing on the supply of oatmeal Hiroshi had just made.

" Oi, I've got to ration the food! Bugger off!" Hiroshi snapped back.

The rest of them were up, and most of them were making a fuss. Ryouta was the only one not making any noise, sitting by the side and watching them fuss over breakfast. He had a nightmare last night, something he thought he had repressed a long time ago. How strange…I am remembering it all over again…Ryouta thought to himself. Was this a sign? Did this mean something? He thought moodily to himself.

He did notice he wasn't the only morose person this morning. Hayate was propped by the side as well, his katana leaning on his shoulders. He usually had this brooding look in his eyes, like he rarely got any sleep at all, but there was this look of strange hate in his eyes. Ryouta could not imagine what would make him took this bad today, and he wondered if there was something wrong with himself in wanting to have the sarcastic, caustic Hayate back.

" Had a bad night?" Hayate asked, directing his voice towards Ryouta. He merely nodded his head in acknowledgement. " Me too. Can't believe I had that shitty nightmare again…"

Ryouta looked at him curiously. Shitty nightmare? Again? Strange words, and such strange coincidences.

" What was it about?" Ryouta asked.

" …Me killing my mother…" he answered curtly, not before getting to his feet, dragging his katana with him. Ryouta looked at him as he passed him, not sure if he was to take it seriously. " Hungry…need something to eat."

ooo

" Hell yeah! It's the fucking border!" Sora exclaimed excitedly.

After an hour of travelling, they managed to reach the Land of Steel. They could see the outposts by the distance, where the shinobi patrols were bound to be. Most of the area was littered with rocky cliffs and sparse vegetation. The morning sun felt hot as it shone on their faces, as if challenging them to take another step forward.

" Well, our final hurdle. We need to split into 5 groups in pairs to break through to avoid detection. Of course, getting caught is not an option, or else we will all be totally screwed," Ryouta replied. " Team pairings: Hiroshi, you are with Aya. I will go with Hayate, Hibiki can take care of Masaki, while Sora will take care of Mai. Makoto and Mayuri will go together. We will all take a different direction each, and we will meet up at the rendezvous point. Any questions?"

Hiroshi knew why he had been put with Suzumi. Normally, he would be paired with another person for an escort, but this time, he figured Ryouta wasn't sure how to deal with Aya, who had not reverted back to the Suzumi personality, so he had to deal with the crazy person here. Not that he didn't have enough experience with Sora already.

" Alright, let's move off now…" Ryouta replied.

ooo

The journey was pretty quiet, but Hiroshi wasn't in the mood to talk anyway. He took the lead, and Aya followed closely behind, and he could feel her malicious gaze piercing his skull. He kept his opinions to himself, and continued along the way, traversing through the country, wanting to get out of it before they were spotted.

They took a few stops along the way, sometimes to check if the cost was clear to continued travelling. It was a difficult process, since Hiroshi wasn't suited for keeping track and detecting enemies. This task would usually fall to Makoto, or Ryouta and Sora if he was with his teammates. Still, he tried his best, and after half a day of travelling, he was thankful that he did not manage to run into any form of trouble.

However, they somehow managed to stumble across one of the local villages. Hiroshi inexperience with the country made him stumble into a settlement, which he was hoping to avoid. This would unfortunately mean some sneaking around the exterior of the village just to pass them.

" Why can't we kill them while we pass through the village?" Aya suggested.

" Please, we cannot solve all problems with just killing shit. Are you nuts?" Hiroshi snapped back at her. " Come on, let's go around the village…"

He moved off to the right, following a small forest path which would take them around the village, but Aya didn't move. Her eyes were still fixed on the village where she was looking at a vantage point from a tall rocky cliff. Hiroshi skidded to a halt, not before looking back at her, wondering what was up, when he noticed this bloodlust in her eyes.

" …I want to kill some of them…pretty please…" she replied, a grin on her face.

Hiroshi was appalled with what he saw. " What the fuck is wrong with you? You are not killing anyone, period!" Hiroshi snapped back.

She turned towards him with such ferocity that it made him jump slightly with shock. There was a look of utter distaste in her eyes. " You will not stop me from having my fun," Aya snarled back at him.

" Oh yeah…? Try me," Hiroshi replied, bracing himself. You have got to be fucking kidding me? Do I need to fight this monster to subdue her? He thought to himself.

Aya raised one of her hands, only to clasp it on her face in agony, as if someone had just thrown vitriol onto her face. Her breathing was ragged and painful, and she staggered back while groaning in pain. Hiroshi was not sure what he had done, but she didn't seem intent on fighting him now.

" No…don't do this…I…I just…stop this shit!" she muttered, her words sounding painful.

" What? What's going on?" Hiroshi asked, clearly confused.

" You…you can't do this to me!" Aya shouted loudly.

" Oh yes, I can!" another familiar voice replied.

" …Suzumi?" Hiroshi exclaimed, unable to believe his luck.

With a sudden howl of determination, Aya pulled her head back, not before dropping to her knees and slamming her head onto the ground with such force even cracks appeared on the ground. Hiroshi was terrified of the sight, wondering if she somehow cracked her skull in the process. Her ragged breathing slowly subsided, and when she got up again, Hiroshi was almost too glad to see that her eyes were no longer glowing crimson, although her forehead was bleeding badly now.

" …Suzumi?" Hiroshi asked.

" …Huh? I guess I must have caused you some form of trouble…" Suzumi said, sounding slightly groggy, which was not surprising after slamming her head to the ground in such a fashion.

Hiroshi rushed to her, dropping to his knees as he raised his hands to her forehead. Suzumi could feel a soothing, warm sensation as he placed his hand over her head, which was glowing blue slightly now, healing the cut on her forehead. " Oh my God…I'm glad you are back…" Hiroshi replied.

" Hmm, so much for having a case of schizophrenia," Suzumi replied, giggling slightly.

" You know?"

" Bits and pieces. Why don't you tell me what you know?" she asked.

ooo

" Sorry for keeping it from you. I guess I should have told all of you the moment I found out, but I wasn't sure how you all might take it," Hiroshi apologetically replied.

" No, I understand. It must have been confusing for you anyway. Glad I could take over my body again. Feels odd to be trapped within my own brain," Suzumi replied.

" …How'd you come back?" Hiroshi asked.

" …Dunno really…I just asserted my dominance over the matter. Guess it works," she replied, smiling.

" Is that so?" Hiroshi asked. Both of them were taking a quick break, with Hiroshi filling in Suzumi about what she missed, although from the reaction on her face, it looked like she had pretty much understood what had happened. " Anyway, we need to move. We need to get out of this country before we get discovered. Ready to move?"

Suzumi went silent, her head drooped and aimed at the floor. Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, wondering if there was something wrong. " Is…something the matter?" he asked.

" …I…I must apologise," Suzumi replied.

" …For what?" Hiroshi asked, chuckling slightly. " If it's because of your split personality taking over, don't worry about…"

" The dream you had last night, it was a personification of your own inner personality. I induced that dream. In fact, I induced the same type of dream to everyone…so, I'm sorry…I was merely curious…I have no memories of you all, so I just wanted…" Suzumi apologized, too embarrassed to look at Hiroshi in his eyes.

Hiroshi looked slightly aghast. " You mean…that dream where I watched my entire village burn to the ground…you did that?" he asked.

" Yes…I didn't mean to…" Suzumi apologized. For the first time ever, she had never seen Hiroshi so dangerously angry, his eyes almost flashing, but his anger subsided quickly, not before sighing loudly.

" So…what do you make of it?" he asked.

" …You are angry about something deep down inside. However, your village burning to the ground didn't really signify your anger. There was no malice in the flames, but some form of kind warmth that was strangely comforting, yet disturbing. I…I think it signified the fact that you would be willing to sacrifice your village to get back something which you lost, which is the source of your anger," Suzumi replied.

" …Do you know what specifically lost?" Hiroshi asked.

" …I don't know, I wasn't looking…"
" Good, cos I'd like to keep it that way," Hiroshi snapped back slightly more harshly than he probably should have. Suzumi winced slightly at his caustic words, but she didn't wish to raise an objection. Hiroshi tried to calm down slightly, not before getting to his feet. " Shall we go? We shouldn't…"

" I know this isn't my place to say this, considering the circumstances, but…I think you should talk to the rest of your friends about this. You hide it pretty well, but I think you are highly disturbed at this point. I don't exactly know what it is, but it is eating you inside out. Leaving it any longer would only be detrimental to your own mental health," Suzumi replied.

" What would you know?" Hiroshi mused.

" I can still remember my medical training. It's kinda obvious, now that I think about it," Suzumi answered.

" …Quiet, you don't know anything," Hiroshi replied.

" You keep putting yourself in such situations. You know what's your problem? It's your inferiority complex. You keep having this idea that you are so much weaker than your comrades, and you always keep problems to yourself because you think you are too much of a bother to your companions. You cannot accept that they treat you as an equal, and that you would need to rely on them as much as you want them to rely on you," Suzumi corrected him, persistence setting in now.

" …I said keep quiet…" Hiroshi snapped.

" No, I won't…"

Hiroshi instantly launched himself at her, like a panther jumping on its prey. Grabbing her roughly, he slammed his palm onto her mouth, keeping her shut, not before grabbing her and jumping up onto a tree, pressing her roughly onto the trunk. Suzumi whimpered slightly at the rough way he was treating her, but his concern seemed to stem from somewhere else.

" Hush, I hear someone coming," he whispered.

A minute passed, not before Suzumi could hear the sounds of approaching company. Hiroshi released his grip on her, confident that she would keep quiet now, not before pulling something out from his weapon pack. It was a short, 3 cm wooden needle, which he snapped in two using his fingers. There was a pop and smoke appeared, not before something that looked like an invisible thin sheet of paper popped out of nowhere. Hiroshi caught it and spread it out. Suzumi could feel a soft sensation, almost like silk covering her but way gentler and smoother than silk.

" What's this…?" she asked.

" An invention of mine. I call it Paper of the Mist. Coating with a small amount of chakra allows it to cover us, so on the outside, people cannot see us, but we can see them," Hiroshi answered.

Suzumi recalled the last fight where Hiroshi seemed to have ripped himself out from a tree, which was most likely the previous time he used this item. She could feel some form of almost ethereal blanket covering her, but she could still see the area around her perfectly, her vision still perfect despite being covered by something.

" This thing can hide us very well, but I suggest not speaking, or moving, while they are here," Hiroshi replied.

As soon as he stopped speaking, several shinobis turned up from the west side. They were in a platoon of four, and judging from their looks, age and attire, three of them were most likely genins, while the one leading them was no more than a chuunin. The genins consisted of two boys and a girl, all of them dressed in standard Steel shinobi attire, which consisted of a sleeveless leather vest and steel plated fingerless gloves. Their leader, the female chuunin, was dress in casual clothing, as if she was a villager out on a stroll, not even a single pack of equipment could be spotted on her. All of them had the headband of the Steel village proudly displayed on their head, where a square with a cross in the middle was engraved on it.

" Man, am I tired. We've been working the whole day. Can we take a break, Kanae?" one of the boy genin asked, stretching his arms.

" Man, aren't you lazy? Keep this up and you'll be stuck as a genin forever," the female genin replied.

" Come on, there is no need for fighting between comrades. We can use a break, can we not, Kanae-sensei?" the third member asked.

" Of course," Kanae replied, already sitting herself down under the shade of the trees.

" Oi, Kanae is already taking a break!" the first boy exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

" Watch your manners! This is Kanae you are talking about. I wish you wouldn't treat her so casually," the girl replied, smacking him on his head.

" I don't really mind," Kanae replied, smiling back at them.

Shit, of all times and places to take a break… Hiroshi thought to himself, while Suzumi merely continued to observe the on-goings. Looks like we have no choice but to patiently wait here. I hope they don't take too long of a break…

" Lunch break!" the first boy exclaimed, digging into his backpack.

" This is a break, not lunch break! Stop taking out your lunch box!" the female shinobi snapped back.

" You two never stop quarrelling, do you?" Kanae sighed, but she continued smiling at them. " Hey, look…Toushi's back!"

Hiroshi was a little shocked to hear that they had another member, but the only thing that appeared as a small eagle, which flew in and rested on the second male genin's shoulder. " Hey, Toushi, had your fun? See anything interesting?" The eagle squawked loudly, the sound screeching into Suzumi's ear. " I guess not."

The eagle looked around, not before looking up towards where Hiroshi and Suzumi was hiding. Hiroshi frowned as he saw the bird cocked its head to the side, as if it could somehow see through the disguise.

" …Not…freaking…possible…" Hiroshi replied, gritting his teeth.

All of a sudden, the bird started to caw loudly while flapping its wings. The genin turned towards Toushi, not before looking upwards where Hiroshi was. " Kanae, Toushi says that there is…"

The genin never completed his sentence. He stopped speaking mid-sentence because he suddenly found out that there was a long katana blade stuck through his throat. The eagle on his shoulders squawked loudly, flapping its wings as it prepared to take flight, but the katana ripped itself through the boy's neck, cutting the unfortunate bird in two and almost severing the boy's head from his neck. The blood splattering out from his fatal wound splashed all over Hiroshi's face, whose face was set like some devilish figure.

The genins gave a cry of surprise and got to their feet, but Hiroshi was way faster than the two of them, and rushing towards them, he swung his katana around, slitting their throats with precision. Both of them collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain and chocking on their own blood.

" You…!" Kanae snarled, not before forming some hand seals of her own. " Limiter: Re…"

Hiroshi didn't give her a chance to do whatever she wanted. He fired his puppet arm at her, the katana still in its grip, and it sunk into her chest, piercing her heart. There was a look of utter shock displayed on Kanae's face. Hiroshi pulled back his arm, and as the katana was yanked out of her chest, Kanae dropped to the ground, her mouth moving slightly.

" …D…Dai…su…ke…" she gasped, not before going silent, her eyes unfocused.

Something slammed violently into Hiroshi's head, sending him flying towards the side. Despite him getting dizzy from the hit, he jumped to his feet, wondering where the attack came from when he saw Suzumi in front of him, apparently having attacked him and was now crying profusely.

" What…what the hell did you just do?" she screamed at him.

" I saved our lives, damn it…what the fuck did you think it look like?" Hiroshi snapped back angrily.

" You…you murdered them!" Suzumi replied, crying even harder now. " Why…why!"

" We cannot afford to get detected. If they were to escape and tell on us, we are all fucked, understand? Our own friends will come here and start hunting us down! I did what I could to avoid that!" Hiroshi shouted back.

Suzumi couldn't stop crying. She dropped to her knees and continued sobbing uncontrollably. " Oh my God…we just…we just killed a bunch of innocent kids…what…what have we done?" Suzumi cried.

What have I done indeed… Hiroshi asked himself, not before looking at his bloodstained hands. He couldn't believe that he managed to cut down innocent shinobi as easy as slicing bread. He knew that he should feel some form of remorse, yet he felt strangely devoid of any emotion, as if what he did, he did on a whim. What have I really done…

" …We need to leave," he muttered after a while. Suzumi didn't seem to listen to him, and continued crying. " Suzumi, I said we need to leave!"