If he was being honest with himself, Shirou never really intended to do anything more than help those in need, but gratitude and human persistence combined were funny things. When meshed together, an act of kindness suddenly turns into a spark where he's suddenly thrust at the center point of being elected to a leadership position?
Shirou still couldn't wrap his mind around it, but the shrewder folk knew that it was more of a measure from the townspeople to have someone capable of producing food remain as a staple resource. Konan and Nagato were quick to pick up on the nuances that the townspeople weren't saying, but Yahiko was only too willing to boast about his friend in the open. He'd even bragged about Shirou repelling a force of shinobi on his own, meaning a deterrent force in the eyes of the village folk. There was no way they wouldn't try to saddle themselves to someone so reliable right before their eyes.
Konan had stopped talking to Yahiko ever since, giving him the cold shoulder with a passive-aggressive air prevailing around her no matter how Nagato tried to mediate. Why was her newest friend so, so, naive? Ignorant? No, not even that- an air head!
Contrary to Konan and Nagato's thoughts that Shirou was staying out of forced obligation by the villagers, it was different for him. These villagers had qualified to make up the numbers for his resistance force mission. He wouldn't just leave them on their own when he was basically the leader of the group labeled as 'Akatsuki,' on the floating prompts in his periphery.
However, there was no way for Shirou to explain his circumstances considering how hard to believe it would be. This world was in an age before the internet, possessing nothing like a standardized HUD which he could try to attribute what he was seeing to. They wouldn't even be able to understand. With this in mind, Shirou could only try to strong-arm the topic and work things out from there.
The problem was, how long was Konan planning on staring at him?
She'd been staring hard at Shirou from the moment he'd sprouted and grew seeds from his hands, and then moved on to renovate the dilapidated village by creating rows of wooden houses.
"If you had a method like this from the beginning, why didn't you just say so?" Konan finally blurted out, feeling indignant that her prior worries and anxiousness were wasted and misplaced. Her hands had gripped tightly over the hem of her patched dress, and her features shifted into a pout as if she'd been wronged or was owed money.
A 'give my feelings and concerns back you con!' sort of feel permeated the air around Konan.
"Bruuuuuuh. Really?"
Konan's brow twitched incessantly at the exasperated voice of the fool behind her, jaw visibly clenched.
Inconsiderate bastard.
"Did you really just ask that? Is that what kept you quiet all day? Remember what I said to you guys around the fir-!"
Konan coughed, deftly shifting her foot back in place beneath her where she sat in seiza; a strong gust of wind from a violent impact uplifting her bangs which she fixed by using her left hand to tuck them back behind her ear.
Seated next to Konan, Nagato swallowed and mumbled in a low squeak. "Y-You kicked him out the window…"
"Idiots prosper. The prudent survive."
A bang echoed outside, followed by a long silence. They were on the third floor of one of the wooden buildings Shirou had created.
Nagato winced for Yahiko. He wanted to lend his aid but got cold feet when Konan glanced over with a sharp eye. It was clear that Konan was trying to get Yahiko to associate stupidity and lack of decorum with pain.
She was warning Nagato not to intervene lest Yahiko get the wrong idea.
Effectively subdued, Nagato shut his mouth and postured himself ramrod straight when he heard Yahiko calling him for backup against the witch.
Said witch curled a brow at the name, and stared silently at Nagato who shook his head and bowed out.
Pretending as if the interaction didn't happen, Konan straightened her clothes and turned back to Shirou.
"If you had a method to solve everything from the beginning, why didn't you just say so?" Konan repeated, knitting her brows.
Shirou blinked, his mouth betraying him before his mind could catch up. "Didn't I say to just leave it to me?"
It was such a Yahiko response that the bottom of Konan's left eye twitched violently. Unlike Yahiko though, she was pretty sure Shirou was stronger than her, and also didn't deserve to be kicked out the window for his merits- unlike a certain leech who felt proud enough to brag about accomplishments that weren't even his own and implicate his friend.
"Y-You did," Konan stammered in grudging admittance, realizing that in some ways Yahiko had been right to insist on her and Nagato learning to trust Shirou more. "B-But you weren't specific."
"Was I supposed to be?" Shirou scratched the back of his head.
No. No you weren't.
Konan knew she was just nitpicking, and didn't rise to the question but deflated instead.
Fine. You win. Have it your way.
"Ahem," an older man coughed lightly to draw everyone's attention towards him.
Other than Shirou, Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko in the room, there was one more individual. The old man could be considered the former dilapidated village's chief elder, or mayor. He was an elderly named Satoru with unkempt balding white hair and a wrinkled face in which you couldn't see the eyes anymore. He leaned on a walking stick on his left hand, and he wore dreary rags that draped over him like an oversized shirt, likely to hide his almost skeletal frame.
"Do you have any plans going forward, or goals? I can represent the others in saying that we can offer you our utmost aid," Satoru's voice was deep and gravely, his age causing his vocals to ring similar to that of scratching paper.
In regards to plans or goals, Shirou really didn't have anything in mind. The next chain mission had yet to pop up, and he still had to look over the rewards for the prior mission completions to begin with.
No matter what, Shirou's lack of direction evidently showed in the wizened eyes of the elder.
"Lord Hanzo rules the land of Rain," Satoru began, intent on painting the picture of Rain's current political and military affairs. It may seem like a waste to prattle on with such things to children, but Satoru could feel something different about them, let alone how important everyone viewed Shirou and what he could represent. "Rain is also the battleground of what is officially deemed as the second Great Shinobi War. The interests of numerous Great Hidden Villages are at stake for the favor of the Daimyos that provide them coin and rights to operate. Of course, this leaves little consideration for those of us merely trying to make a living in our homeland."
Shirou listened quietly, Konan and Nagato doing the same even as a sullen Yahiko limped back while giving Konan a sour glower. He tried to snub her, but only got a handful of crumpled paper for his efforts. He made a spitball of it, and tried to toss it, but was apprehended by Nagato who silently pleaded for Yahiko not to commit further suicide. Konan was already turning part of her sleeve into sheets of origami paper gathering in the shape of a coffin.
It didn't slip anyone's notice that Shirou was pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to keep a straight face as if the scuffle behind him wasn't happening.
The entire exchange was childish, and all of it fell in view of the elderly Satoru. In his eyes, the group of four really were just children which freed him from the doubt that they harbored ulterior motives.
Satoru continued on, a crooked smile tugging on his aged lips as he recalled how Rain was before the war.
"As it stands, if the shinobi manage to bring their skirmishes and battles back into the village, we stand no chance of surviving, but the mist that conceals the area was an unexpected miracle. If we're lucky, we may not even be discovered, but staying passive is also a dead end," Satoru explained. "I know that we in the town may not be much in the way of fancy shinobi arts and their jutsu, but we are still people with uses nonetheless. One doesn't kick a beggar by the side of the road, more so a starving one…and we hear things from time to time that may prove useful."
"What's that got to do with us, old man?" Yahiko grumbled, rubbing at a sore spot on his butt where he'd landed from his fall out the window.
"Idiot," Konan muttered, drawing Yahiko's ire who stuck his tongue out at her.
"I think he's proposing to keep us informed. A-A secret network," Nagato proposed tentatively, bringing a glint into Satoru's eyes.
Satoru nodded. "Information is just as vital as anything, and can serve as an early warning mechanism in case any foreign shinobi intend on sending a unit to investigate the town. We of the Akatsuki have just formed under our little Rain Shadow here, and must be wary of Hanzo's shinobi and the shinobi of the other nations. Through information, we can further understand the motives and political schemes of those waging war on our lands."
Satoru slumped his shoulders, but stared right into Shirou, Konan, and Nagato's eyes.
"We people of the village can prove more useful than you may believe. That's all we wish to convey to our saviors, so use us as you wish."
Satoru nodded his head, and decided that he'd overstayed his welcome. Walking towards the exit of the house, the creaking of the floor and the steady thump of the old man's walking cane echoed until he was finally gone.
Contemplative expressions passed over Shirou and the rest, but only one was growing increasingly indignant as realization set in.
"Hey, did anyone else notice he looked at everyone but me when he said that?!"
"..."
"What a wise old man."
Konan chuckled.
By the time Shirou managed to get some time to himself, it was already late in the evening when everyone was getting ready to turn in for the night.
Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato were bunched up near him with Chibi resting his head over Nagato's leg, and Konan's foot shoving Yahiko's face to the other side. They were a tangle of limbs and make-shift bed sheets. Wood houses may provide shelters, but didn't make very good bedding at all. Ask anyone who's ever slept over hardwood.
Still, wood was still better than dirt, debris, or stone, so Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato had no trouble falling asleep. They assumed the same of Shirou, but to begin with, he'd had no intention of sleeping right away now that things had calmed down. Rather, he was looking over the notification prompts that only he could see floating in the air before him.
[Mission: Establish a Rebel Force]
[Completed]
He'd established a force, but there was a distinct problem here when the vast majority of recruits were ordinarily civilians, and the higher end of the spectrum weren't even officially trained shinobi. In fact, besides Shirou, Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko, the current Akatsuki's combat power was paltry to say the least.
Fortunately, the reward seemed to pick up on this lacking aspect and awarded a supplement of sorts.
[Sub-Quest Award: S-Class growth-type, Minor Protagonist Recruit]
This single prompt was flashing before him with a pointer arrow directing him towards some direction.
Was he supposed to follow the arrow that only he could see?
The arrow continued flashing, beckoning him to follow some sort of path.
Well, it seemed simple enough, but Shirou wouldn't risk anyone else following him without knowing what dangers lie ahead. Therefore, he gingerly worked his way out of the dogpile inch by inch until he'd managed to free his legs. Rolling over, he then carefully placed his hands beneath him for leverage and gradually eased himself up into a crouch only for Yahiko to snore, roll over, and grasp his ankle.
Great.
Gently prying off Yahiko's grip on his ankle finger by finger, Shirou finally managed to disentangle himself enough to break free.
"Woof."
Shirou froze, staring dumbly at Chibi who'd let out a low wine at him. He didn't wake up the other three with his movements, but one shouldn't underestimate a dog's alertness level.
Shirou made a shushing gesture and Chibi, bless him, laid his head back down to sleep, letting Shirou slip out unnoticed.
Gathering chakra into his palms, he willed for a segment of the wooden house's wall to open a hole for him through his acquired wood release.
Hopping through, he began to follow the flashing arrow in his periphery.
Glowing footprints further alighted the way ahead, past the formally dilapidated village, then to the outskirts.
Honestly speaking, Shirou had no idea how far he was going to go with this, but he was slightly regretting not bringing enough rain gear to stave off Rain's heavy downpour. He was practically soaked already by the time he got the idea to make a wooden umbrella.
Hindsight was twenty-twenty, he grumbled to himself as he continued on.
Eventually, the characteristic landmarks that denoted the boundary of the Uzumaki barrier seal he'd erected as a mission reward was left far behind. What greeted him now were ravaged battlegrounds filled with scars and crevices. Kunai and shuriken were scattered around haphazardly, and torn scrolls littered the debris-filled ruins.
The more Shirou continued to walk, the more dubious he became about finding anyone alive in this battlezone.
He shook his head, but the thought wouldn't leave him, all the way up to the point the horizontal arrow within view shifted vertical at a certain spot.
Now that Shirou thought about it, it said that he'd receive a Minor Protagonist Level recruit, but nowhere did it specify what state he or she would be in. The person before him was clearly dead. His skin was pale, and his body fragmented and fraught with injuries that could unnerve and debilitate anyone, civilian or shinobi.
The arrows clearly pointed down on the body.
Shirou noted the scorch marks nearby and deduced what had likely occurred. An explosive?
Poor bastard.
From the tracks and debris left around the area, it was vividly clear that the boy's allies were forced to leave the scattered body behind in the midst of combat; not even having enough time to store the corpse in a storage scroll, likely because they were under pursuit or already caught in battle. Instead, the laces of a snapped thread wound around the boy's neck, likely some sort of necklace or dog tag, was all that was taken. As for the rest, the clothes and belongings were too badly burned and blackened to be salvageable.
Shirou clenched his jaw and let out a long sigh. This trip was a wasted one even if he could find something of value on the body.
Reward or not, Shirou would never desecrate the dead. Therefore, he directly chose to survey the area for a suitable location to make a grave. He wouldn't just let a body rot in the middle of nowhere, more so when the boy in question was so young. An unmarked grave was no proper burial, but it was better than nothing until Shirou was made aware that he was getting too ahead of himself.
[Mission Reward Target:?]
[Status: Deceased]
[Error: Mission reward parameters unmet- Troubleshooting]
Right before Shirou's eyes, the entire body suddenly disappeared into motes of golden light including the blown up and scattered pieces.
[Authorization Override]
[Initiating]
A series of notifications began to encompass Shirou's entire field of view, his vision monetarily swaying as purple ripple patterns unknowingly formed over his eyes.
[Temporary Access to locked paths granted]
[Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth (Custom)]
Shirou balked, feeling his head throbbing from behind his eyes, forcing him to close them in alarm. By the time the pain stopped, and the ringing in his ears subsided, he could no longer understand what had occurred.
His eyes opened, but instead of a ripple pattern, they were back to the usual bronze color.
What just…?
[Quest Reward: Completed]
A final notification briefly popped up before him, before Shirou ended up standing stock still, stunned into silence at the now alive and unconscious boy in front of him. He wasn't naked per say, but was returned packaged like a two-for-one in the market. Any discernable shinobi flak jackets or gear were gone, and all that was left was a black cloak with red-cloud print that made Shirou feel as if he was missing something here, but had no context.
Almost immediately, the promised reward's stats began to show through one of the skill's Shirou had earned from a mission.
[Nawaki: ?]
[Character Type: Minor Protagonist (Unique: Increased vitality parameters (Bloodline))]
[Nature Transformations: Lightning, Earth, Water, and Fire]
[Potential: S-Grade]
[Allegiance: Akatsuki (Prior Affiliations locked)]
Allegiance? Shirou knit his brows heavily at the wording.
Well, he did recall that the reward was for a new member in the resistance group, so it made sense. The problem was that Shirou was fairly sure that Nawaki was a shinobi of sorts if he participated in all this fighting, meaning that he had a hidden village he was loyal to. How could this allegiance thing possibly work just because there was a prompt about a loyalty change?
Shirou would hate it if it was something as sinister as altering the boy's mind.
Dwelling over his own thoughts, it was only when Nawaki began to stir and open his eyes that Shirou refocused on the matter at han-
"Who am I?"
Nawaki could not look any more bewildered as he sat up and looked at the area around him, and suddenly it dawned on Shirou.
"Did you save me?"
.
.
.
So that's what it meant by prior affiliations locked.
-Elsewhere
/-/
The endless droning of the rain merely gave way to a suffocating silence amidst the pitter patter of a growing grief and sorrow.
"N-No. Y-You're lying."
A voice shook, shudders travelling down the body and arcing at furled fingertips strong enough to hoist a grown man by the flak jacket into the air on slim arms.
"YOU'RE LYING!"
A blond woman in a white top, shinobi pants, and sandals was reaching past the point of grief and aggrievement and steadily shifting into denial. In the woman's grasp, a teammate who'd arrived too late to provide aid for deployed Genin teams, not uttering a single word. The trembling of the woman's hands was evident enough to the man hoisted into the air in the woman's grief. Each minute vibration was keenly felt, more so as the man was contracted to Snake summons who were renowned for their senses and tracking skills.
Over the woman's shoulder was a Leaf-Village headband; the very same one worn by the man she had in her grip, and on the other man on the side trying to mediate to no avail.
The Leaf-Village had always operated in three-man teams, forming a partnership that began from the moment that students turned into Genin.
This particular cell was comprised of the Third Hokage's students, elites, if you will.
-Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of the First Hokage.
-Orochimaru, the ace of his cohort in his academy days.
-Jiraya, the low-tier trash of the academy, or the one who scored the least on academy graduation exams.
Konoha often paired the lowest rank with the highest rank, hence the formation of the present team.
Jiraya and Orochimaru often butted heads with Jiraya trying to prove that his capabilities were better than what Orochimaru thought they were, but honestly, the two might have preferred butting heads again over the present situation.
Tsunade was the blond woman, and Orochimaru was the one Tsunade was dangling in the air.
"Will you let go now?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, refraining from forcing his way out despite being more than capable of doing so.
"You bastard, you bastard. Y-You were there!" Tsunade bit down on her lips, blood seeping into her mouth from how hard she gnashed her teeth.
"He stepped on a hidden explosive seal…what did you expect me to do when I was surrounded and caught up on the other side of the battlefield against Iwa's Jounin-level shinobi?"
"You're lying. He isn't dead! He can't be!" Tsunade shoved Orochimaru away, the man landing on his feet and wearily brushing himself off.
Jiraya used the moment to try and pat Tsunade over the back in consolation, but she brushed him off. She didn't need comforting, Orochimaru was lying. Dammit, he was lying! She was going to go rescue him!
Tsunade turned on her heels, gathering chakra to her legs to begin leaping away, but Orochimaru had always been sharp.
"Where do you think you're going, Tsunade?" Orochimaru gestured for Jiraya to block Tsunade's path.
Jiraya shook his head, making cutting gestures across his neck and pointing at Tsunade. He didn't want to die today.
Orochimaru grimaced, and decided that if he was going to be the bearer of bad news, he may as well carry it through.
He rummaged through his shinobi pouch and fished something out that he knew would catch Tsunade's attention before tossing it to her.
"I believe that this was once yours," Orochimaru carefully passed over the remains of a necklace that had once belonged to the first Hokage passed down to Tsunade, and then to her younger brother.
It was solid proof.
For a second, Tsunade dropped the necklace as if scalded, refusing to acknowledge it if only because it would set everything into reality.
Unfortunately, the mission couldn't wait. Orochimaru picked up the necklace, grabbed Tsunade's hand, and firmly planted it into her palms. "He's dead Tsunade. Not even you could have saved him. It's time to move on."
"…! Hic..hic..uwaa." Tsunade fell onto her knees, clutching the necklace to her chest.
Jiraya grabbed Orochimaru by the scruff of his neck and butted heads with him. "Orochimaru, you bastard. Just let her mourn!"
"It's unfortunate, but the mission comes first," Orochimaru said stiffly, having no qualms shoving Jiraya away. "Teacher asked us to investigate the existence of a surviving Uzumaki while focusing on the overall situation of Rain country. A Shinobi cannot let emotions dictate their actions. Now help me convince our teammate Jiraya, or would you rather she drowns herself in her sorrow and never be able to get back up onto her feet?"
"Bastard."
"Is it rational to stop here and grieve over someone who's dead, or try to rescue a cousin from a maternal grandmother's side who may still be alive?" Orochimaru reasoned, more for Tsunade than Jiraya who looked like he swallowed a lemon. Tsunade stiffened.
Observing eyes would reveal that Tsunade was practically seeking anything out to serve as a distraction.
Orochimaru was nothing if not perceptive. Turn grief and mourning into rage and purpose. That's what was needed here.
"Didn't you promise that tomato brat that you'd bring back another pain in the ass for her?"
Tsunade glanced forward, clenched jaw slackening as she rubbed away the tears trickling down her eyes and shakily stood back up onto her feet.
Just don't think about it.
Don't think about it.
Don't.
Just don't.
N-Nawaki…
…
"…! Hic..hic..uwaa."
"Tsun-"
"Let her cry Jiraya. At least she's moving."
"Snake bastard."
"Frog-face."
"…! Hic..hic..uwaa."
"…"
Jiraya and Orochimaru devolved into weary silence.
Fucking shit.
Crying women, the bane of all men everywhere. Thanks for reading!
Next update: Fate Strikers (Been a while)
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
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The Lonely Peak
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