Chapter 9.

After securing a key Muteki left the front desk and ran straight to her room. The weaponsmith hastily locked herself up in order to hide from Fukushima Reiji. She's aware she'll have to face him eventually since it isn't possible to hide from him for the rest of her days. But today? Yea, not the day. Muteki hadn't expected her father's old competition to take a personal vendetta against her. Especially when she's so far away from home. Yet if the woman waits until her contract is secured, she should be fine. The wise move is to avoid the man until he is rendered powerless through the law.

'Just keep your mouth shut and your head down. Work smarter, not harder. It's the kind of problem that will solve itself if I don't fuck it up. Well then, if I'm stuck in this room, I should stay productive while I hide- 'Muteki sat at the complimentary desk and searched the drawers. As she guessed- there is paper and a pen ready for guest's use. She snagged the materials and started to write a long-awaited letter to her father.

'Dear papa,

It's happening! I have a contract being written up with the Hidden Rain Village! You read that right, I got it! You wouldn't believe how I ended up in this town! I had this moron try to mug me and crazily enough my attempted mugger turned out to be my travel partner here! –'

She left out the part about him being a missing-nin and the attempted assassination. Her father wouldn't want to hear about how a squad of shinobi and a herd of bison tried to kill her. He also isn't nearly as open minded as his daughter and would most likely lose his mind if he knew Hansuke was a rogue shinobi. Muteki regularly left such frightening details out of her letters to home. Her family's nerves can't handle much more of her escapades…Her nerves can't either, but she can at least spare theirs.

'-It was as crazy as it sounds but he is a pretty cool guy. He was just trying to survive so I can't find myself holding it against him and I hope you won't either. Actually, I think he may end up being my first friend here. But yea, I found a village and I can't wait to show them what I can do! Speaking about what I can do- I learned some fuinjutsu integration techniques throughout my travels. Before you get on my case, I really think it's going to upgrade my weapons. I get you're all about tradition, but I can't wait to try some new designs and make something unique. Even if that means using those untraditional techniques you hate. Sorry, you know I love you.

How has it been back home? Is everyone doing ok? Did Shun decide to go to the academy or is he picking up the family craft? Is Yuuma and that wife of his still together or has he finally pulled his head out of his ass?

I hope to hear from you soon!

Love, Muteki.'

She folded the letter up and stored it in her bag. Muteki will wait until she has an address before sending it out. The weaponsmith was about to mention the Reiji incident but yet again decided against it. Muteki just wants her father to be happy and not panicking over his daughter's constant near-death experiences her 'condition' bestows.

'I'm surprised it didn't attack Reiji earlier. I know it helps to have no ill intent, but the curse even attacked my DAD. Thing is so finicky, can't read what it will do next…'

She has tried and failed to stick rules to the curse. It's an everchanging force of nature that's as stable as an earthquake. Trying to keep this a secret will be 'interesting' but If Muteki stays out of trouble she'll probably get by. They managed to hide it from the Leaf Village fairly well. Her cousin doesn't even know about it and those who did discover her secret weren't believed for obvious reasons. 'Oh, a girl 'blessed' with luck that makes her untouchable? Suuuurreee.' Only those who have seen it can believe of its existence which has helped her entire family immensely. Specifically, her father- who outright refuses to tell her why he is afraid of her curse becoming public knowledge. The only reason he ever gave was 'there's someone in the village' he didn't trust and left it there. He NEVER would go into further detail so Muteki and her brother let him be. It was also a huge reason her father didn't give Muteki the option of becoming a shinobi like her brother. He feared what would have came out of it. When she was a young girl this had frustrated her but now? She is grateful since she genuinely loves her practice. Thinking about her job got her excited all over again.

'The second I sign this damn piece of paper is the second I'll obliterate every last Village that turned me down. They'll regret the day they passed up the chance to sign a contract. I'll make sure they do! None of their weaponsmiths can hold a candle to me. Not a single one! Morons, every last one of them including the Kages!' Is she being cocky? Totally! But it's well-earned confidence. She worked and studied weapon making since she was able to walk. All of that preparation just for this moment. This is her chance to finally outshine the opposing village's smiths, her father's legacy, and her 'luck'.

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The next morning

Muteki woke up and found a new piece of paper on her desk. As she had hoped, it's the contract. The smith searched and read every single word printed across the sheet. Making sure that all of her demands were met, and the village didn't try to pull a fast one using some fancy wording or what have you. Their T's were crossed, and their I's are dotted. Everything is correct so she confidently signed her name. She smacked the paper back down on the desk and smiled at it. Then her smile turned into a confused frown after her brain caught up with what just happened.

"Kinda creepy that someone came in here while I was asleep. Couldn't have woken me up or- "Without warning the piece of paper crinkled up on top of the desk. Muteki jumped away and prepared for an attack but instead, she was met by the sight of an origami butterfly forming before her. Once its creation was complete the 'butterfly' took flight and managed to slip itself through the window crack. She watched in awe as it flew away towards, she assumed, the littering queen herself God's angel.

"So…It's done? That's all? Shoot it's such an odd jutsu but you can't say it isn't useful. You know now that I'm thinking about it, I don't recall ever asking her name… Should probably do that the next time I see her. I'm rude but not THAT rude."

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Outside the Inn

Reiji saw one of Konan's butterflies leaving the building, but he didn't think much of it. He's far too focused on double-checking his little 'accident' for Muteki. He had planned it out all night and the blacksmith is doing everything he could to guarantee this trap's performance is well choreographed. No one can know he had a hand in it so Reiji took extra care making sure it would also be a believable mishap. He isn't 100% confident that this will be enough to kill her, yet it should dish out a decent maiming-

'But if luck is on my side, she won't take another breath after this. God please, if I can never lay eyes on another member of THAT ACCURSED family- I'll die happy.'

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arispuffer- DEFINITELY NOT lol I'm a sucker for longer stories and even though I'm super new at this I want there to be build up! Thank you!