It had been a week since Juugo had found the cave, a week of searching for another as Iruka wrote on the board.
Fruitless.
"Not long now class," said Iruka, tapping the board as he explained how to read a map. "Let's just answer some questions, then you can leave."
Juugo glanced at the girl beside him, leaning away as her arms stretched with a yawn.
She looked at him.
"Juugo," she whispered, smiling his way. "Would you like to practice running with us after class?"
The girl didn't appear shy, nor her friends as they glanced towards them. They weren't discrete, easy to spot as heads bobbed from the rows around.
Juugo had other things to attend to.
"Sorry," he whispered back, leaning near. "Maybe next time."
…
"O-okay."
He looked ahead, sitting straight as the girl twiddled her fingers. Iruka was coming, asking his questions to the slow and unprepared.
"Um, uh-" said a boy near the front. "North?"
"East," corrected Iruka. "The sun rises in the east. Always."
He moved on, leaving the boy to wallow.
Iruka circled up the aisle, testing the waters as he neared students like a shark, only to pull away as if his mind had changed.
A girl squeaked.
"Hinata."
Juugo glanced back, seeing Iruka standing by the fumbling girl. She was terribly nervous, unable to meet their Sensei's eye as he asked her a question. "When navigating the sea, what can you use to tell your direction?"
…
"… t-the sun-n?"
She was right, getting a nod as Iruka circled again.
Juugo watched with the others, discrete as a thought lingered in his mind… the clans, as he questioned the Aburame about food.
"Very good," he praised, wanting everyone to hear. "Muscles are an excellent source of food – and a delicacy!"
The class murmured, agreeing on both counts as friends chatted quietly.
Juugo didn't, blinking as he felt Iruka pass him in the aisle, appearing chipper.
"Sensei."
Iruka turned. "Juugo?" he said, a little surprised. "Did you have a question?"
The others turned to them, watching with curious eyes.
What did Juugo have to ask?
He knew everything.
"Yes Sensei," said Juugo, rising to his feet. "The Muscles. You'd need to check the water's condition first."
Juugo had always known this, had been taught this since he was small: never eat the muscles.
Beware the Red Tide.
His family had been very clear, despite their Kekkei Genkai as he watched Iruka shuffle between intrigue and confusion. "The water? What do you mean? They'd be cooked."
Juugo shook his head.
"The Red Tide are an algae, which release toxins in the water while they grow. The Muscles filter their food from the water, which can make the meat toxic. I read about it."
He hadn't, but threw it in for good reason.
It wasn't common knowledge, at least here as Iruka frowned. Juugo wasn't heartless, accepting that what he was doing might raise questions. Juugo recalled the symptoms, remembering still as the old man described the fits, which took years to appear.
Often, they would be mistaken for something else as Iruka nodded, thanking Juugo as he walked past.
Juugo sat, feeling the attention linger on his form while Iruka dismissed them from the front, waving them off as they ran for the door.
Muscles were a bad idea.
"Juugo. A moment."
Juugo clutched his bag, heading to the front where Iruka waited. There was something to be said then, he could feel it. "I appreciate your effort," he began, trying not to seem annoyed at his favourite student. "But in future, please refrain from correcting me."
…
Juugo bowed.
"Of course, Sensei. I apologise."
Iruka let it go easily, beginning a speech about respect and authority as Juugo listened half-heartedly. He shouldn't have said anything, of course Iruka would be annoyed.
"Thank you, Sensei," said Juugo, stepping back and towards the door. "It won't happen again."
He left, leaving Iruka by the desk as he walked the corridors.
Juugo quickly appeared in the warm sun, stopping for just a moment to enjoy the feeling.
By this point, as he stepped away from passing parents, thinking of all the places he'd checked so far.
It seemed hopeless, impossible to find as he wished for a base of his own. A place he could be himself, unmarred by the eyes of others.
Everywhere he looked, even now as he headed to the woods circling the village, he found spots that had been claimed already.
Below him, was a tunnel, which he'd finally noticed after hours of passing the exact spot. It was actually quite fascinating, as he walked above it on the dusty path.
The barrier he'd found and copied, was far superior to these, which formed a maze of tunnels directly beneath the village.
Juugo could feel them, like shadows of the snake's genius; which he'd yet to come across since leaving the cave. The forest was just ahead now, past the fence that stood like a flimsy wall.
He jumped it, using the top to propel himself up and into the trees, flying like a bird until landing with a soft tap on a sturdy branch.
The ground looked far from here as he peered down. Then up. Far into the trees as the breeze tussled his hair.
There had to be something here, somewhere to build as he jumped to another branch, jumping with an easy rhythm. He'd try further out, near the river and the cliff he'd tried to avoid.
Juugo had nightmares, waking him in the night as rooms with no windows swallowed him whole. It was the snakes that scared him, the fear lingering in his heart as he dodged a hanging branch, feeling a piece scratch at his arm as he continued on.
Juugo knew they would pass in time, like those he'd had before as he headed down, hopping from trunk to trunk to the forest floor.
Thud.
The river was just as before, drumming loudly as he neared its grassy banks. He was further up this time, past the grass he'd hidden in.
Mizuki.
He'd not spoken to the man, nor even seen him as Juugo scoured the landscape, searching the hills and the trees that spread for miles around him. The river was small in comparison, called the Naka something as Juugo walked beside it, counting things off in his head as he went.
An old bunker.
It was in a hill across the river, and was still in use as Juugo felt the chakra lingering inside. Again, its seals were similar, familiar enough to let him find it as he glanced away, looking afar as the river curved between the hill.
A grave?
He slowed to a stop, feeling the hole that was filled with stones of consistent size. It must be old, very old as Juugo continued, finding more as he went.
This whole place was filled with history, remnants of war and family homes. Some of the mounds he saw, which looked like simple hills to the ordinary eye, were actually ruined houses.
Made of stone, locked beneath while the world aged around them.
…
Juugo sighed, coming to a stop by the inevitable cave. He looked at it sourly, seeing the wall where he knew there were seals, yet couldn't feel them until touching directly.
He checked once again for people nearby.
There were none, not for miles as they went about their business, unaware as Juugo placed his hands on the stone.
The seals appeared, yet only his mind as fingers moved, plucking the lines of chakra away from the stone.
Griiiiind.
Juugo stepped it, avoiding the traps like before as he followed the gloomy tunnel. He glanced at the room as he passed, seeing in the dark as the door to the office hung open.
…
He stepped inside, shuffling through the gap which in hindsight, had never meant to be opened. It had been blocked, closed as he did the same to his nose, relishing the absent smell.
Juugo wondered, as he passed the rooms, heading up to the door as he looked inside.
Had Mizuki returned? And if so, would he do so again?
Juugo didn't think so, as he cast an eye at the ruined room. The walls had melted, falling like wax before puddling on the floor.
The floor.
He looked at it, spotting footprints in the dust that were surely his own… he checked them all, seeing none that were the size of an adult as Juugo ran through hand signs, washing the floor with a wave of water.
There was nothing else here, as Juugo headed back to the domed room. The notes there were of interest, despite the subject they wrote about as he Juugo arrived by the cabinet, gathering the pages in a stack just beside.
His mind was thinking, coming close to a solution as he opened the cabinet drawers, looking with interest at the books within.
"Hmm."
He picked one out, feeling the cover which was smooth like leather as he read the title. "People: The World's Biggest Resource."
…
Juugo set it down, glancing at the rest with a dubious eye.
"A Study of Bones."
He looked at another, moving it with a finger. "Fuinjutsu: The Art of Concealment."
Juugo tilted his head, picking it out as he stood with the book between his hand, feeling how old the cover was. It was damaged, frayed at the corners as he opened to the first page, his eyes scanning the contents.
He smiled, closing it with a snap before stowing it in his bag. There wasn't time to read it, and certainly not here as he skimmed the remaining books.
They could wait, each of them too specific to be of use to him as he cast a final look about the hall. There wasn't much left, a few boxes stacked to the side as he headed back to the tunnel.
He hurried, rounding the bend with a frown as he beheld the closed door.
"No!"
Juugo ran to it, reaching the stone as he felt for a release across its worn face. He could feel the seals, touch them still as his mind looked upon them.
They were different, demanding his attention as his panic slowed, slipping away as Juugo felt their path. The lines of ink were finally visible, yet different as Juugo noticed why that was.
It wasn't different, it was backwards. Like seeing behind with a mirror.
Understanding flashed through his eyes. That's why he couldn't feel it from the outside, it was a trick to the eye and his senses.
Juugo stepped back, almost chuckling as he raised his hand, pushing it lightly against the stone.
The seals withdrew, fleeing from his hand like drifting ribbons as the door shifted, opening with a grown while Juugo stepped away.
…
There was someone nearby, leaving in a hurry as Juugo lingered in the tunnel.
It was Mizuki. He'd done this.
Juugo was forced to wait, looking as he did at the trees beyond. The river soothed him, making him realise.
Mizuki wasn't a Sensor, nor would he ever be as Juugo peeked out from the door. He was long gone, already near the village as Juugo peered at his feet, looking down at the wire that threatened them.
This was textbook, he scoffed as he stepped over it, seeing the second with ease.
There were no others, as he glanced back to the tags on the wall, which Juugo recognised.
Paper Bombs. Two of them set to explode at his sides.
They were stuck to the wall, appearing innocent as Juugo hummed, finding his thoughts drift to Suzi as he pondered how to cut the wire.
Scissors; as he readied his fingers, picturing the blades as they grew like iron, glowing with heat.
He snipped the wires, hearing them twang as the tags remained.
Juugo collected the wire first, coiling it within his bag as his fingers returned. This would require a delicate touch, as he neared the tag on the closest wall. "Oh," he said, looking at it closely.
He knew this, recalling the technique from his mother's scrolls as he raised a finger, firing chakra at a spot in the seal.
It fell to the floor, then the other as Juugo stowed them both. Then turned to the river with the time on his mind.
Time to go, as he hopped to the grassy path, heading up towards the trees as his plans changed.
This base wasn't to be, not since Mizuki clearly wanted it for his own. Which mattered not, not now as Juugo swept through trees, laughing as caves, burrows and holes tried to steer him away.
…
He grinned.
Now he could feel the others, and there were many just waiting to be claimed.
And he would, all in good time as he headed for home.
AN
A good chapter, more a continuation of the last. I liked writing the book scene, it was weirdly satisfying.
:)