So, apparently a lot of people are of the opinion that Sora's sudden 'change' was weird and wrong.
Personally, I think it was reasonable for her, because she had never been put in that situation before. In her first life, she never encountered anything like that, it was always just faceless enemy soldiers. They *could* have families, loved ones and all that, or they might be alone, she could easily just brush that aside because she wouldn't know either way.
And as for the academy students, Sora can justify that by the fact that they knew what they were getting into, and so did their families. They probably didn't expect them to be taken so soon, but with a bit of inquiry discovering what the graduation exam is wouldn't be hard, it's not like it's kept secret, just not mentioned typically, and so they would know that at least half the class will die.
But Sora coming face to face with a man, essentially a retired soldier living out his days peacefully, who had a wife and child waiting for him to come back home just a scant few days later? Sora was hit in the face with something she couldn't lie to herself about. Killing him would bring them both pure misery, and unlike the others where there was uncertainty, Sora had seen them together, she had no way to lie to herself about it.
So, sorry if that annoys people who were hoping to see another Akari who kills her way through any enemy she sees with absolutely zero thought, but this story isn't going to be quite as careless.
Chapter 12
When she came to, Sora was completely unsurprised to feel a bag over her head.
Over her left eye, she could feel what she guessed was an eyepatch, and from that eye, she couldn't see anything, so assumed naturally that it was a seal of some kind blocking her Byakugan. Her arms were bound behind her back hands-to-forearm with no room to even wiggle her fingers, while her legs were bound to the legs of the seat she was sat upon. Completing the set was a final binding around her waist similarly pinning her to the chair. As for clothing, she could feel her skin against the seemingly-wooden chair, so obviously she'd been stripped, removing the chance that she had hidden weapons or woven-in seals or anything tricksy like that.
Immediately she made several reasonable assumptions. Whoever was assigned as her watcher was actually on the boat with her and just hidden from her ability to detect, unsurprising really. Said person had seen that she couldn't take down her target and so had deployed some method of knocking her out in an instant, possibly a higher concentration of gas than what had been used before to knock all the participants out.
It was interesting though, she was surprised she even woke up. She failed her task, so killing her wasn't out of the cards. Maybe they wanted to find out exactly why she had failed, just so they could note it down. Whatever the reason was, she already had to make peace with herself because she very highly doubted she was going to be leaving that room alive. She failed the test, so they had no need for her.
She very briefly thought about trying to fight back, but it would be pointless. Anyone who came in would massively outclass her in all stats, so fighting, especially when trussed up to a chair, would be utterly useless. As she sat there, Sora released a sigh, thinking about the man she hadn't killed. He was probably dead now, so even though she hadn't killed him, it didn't matter in the end. Frowning, Sora squinted to try and catch any hint of what was beyond the bag on her head, but that was obviously a no-go, Hunter-nin would never make such a stupid mistake.
After a few minutes, Sora heard quiet footsteps, then the sound of a door opening and closing. A few minutes later, she heard screaming. It varied in volume, pitch and tone, and went on for, by her estimate, at least half an hour before stopping. After a few more minutes, she heard a door again then close, followed by more incrementally louder footsteps. As they got closer Sora realised that there was more than one set, a lighter one being hidden by the heavier one.
When they reached the area in front of her they halted, and she heard a door open in front of her, as well as feeling the air pressure change slightly. After a moment, the footsteps came closer and the door was again shut. Silence then reigned for a solid minute, during which she slowly got curious as to what the two of them were planning. Probably psyching her out by making her want to speak or ask questions so they could slam her with a 'we'll ask the questions here!' sort of thing.
Well, probably not such a cheesy line but the point still stood. After another minute or so, she was surprised to feel the bag on her head being pulled off. It immediately confirmed that there was indeed a patch covering her left eye, though she could still roll her eyes and feel it so knew that her eye was still there behind it. In front of her stood two fully-geared Hunter-nin complete with masks.
The one on the left however was different, as their front was speckled with blood, and their gloves had blood on them as well. A fairly simple but still strong intimidation attempt, one that she wasn't surprised to see. She glanced between them, waiting for them to speak, and they didn't disappoint. "Do you know why you are here?" The one on the right spoke in a gruff tone, drawing her attention.
"Failure to assassinate a target." She said simply, staring directly at his mask as she did so. It was true, she failed to assassinate her target. Of course, it was a lot more than that, but the gist of it was as such. The one who was speckled with blood moved, disappearing behind her and at the same time becoming silent, she couldn't hear them moving at all, making it clear that before was just another level of intimidation, they could move silently if they so-chose.
The one who had spoken folded their arms, and she could almost feel the force of their glare through their mask. "Your target was a retired Konoha career genin, no significant combat abilities, no techniques, nothing. How could you possibly fail to assassinate such an easy target?" Sora glared at him, and honestly wished just once that she could really make someone hurt, because he fucking knew why.
"The information was wrong." She said snidely, uncaring of the fact that this prompted him to glance up at the one behind her, who quickly struck her arm vertically with something sharp, slicing off a layer of skin that immediately made her arm burn with pain. Glaring at the man in front of her, Sora spat on the ground in front of her. "You said it yourself, he was fucking retired. He had a family, a wife and child. I could kill academy students and genin whose families understand they are going to die, but someone who is effectively a civilian? I'd rather fucking die."
Sora then closed her mouth and simply maintained her glare. After a few seconds, he snorted in amusement. "A civilian, right. You know why you were sent to kill him? Because he needed to be killed. You don't get to ask why, you just kill who you are told to kill. Otherwise, you're not even a tool, you're just a loose nail that has to be hammered in." He followed this up by striking her face with a backhand, splitting her inner cheek against her teeth and causing blood to begin to pool in her mouth. "Useless. You get your wish, kill her yourself."
With that, the man turned and exited the room, leaving her alone with whoever was behind her. Sora sighed, dipping her head down and waiting for them to kill her. In her current situation, what the fuck else was she going to do? After a few seconds, Sora was surprised when they stepped in front of her and put a hand on her forehead, raising her face up. "What? You want me to look you in your mask as you kill me?"
She was therefore even more surprised when she heard a snort of laughter come from behind the mask. "No, I want to know why you didn't kill him. Why you really didn't I mean." Sora tilted her head, curious as to what the person in front of her was getting at. She had already said her reasoning. Apparently that wasn't the answer the person in front of her was expecting, as they bent their legs and came face-to-mask with her. "Tell me. Really tell me, please. Was that really the reason?"
After a second, Sora sighed. "How could I do it? I raised that weapon to his back, and...it would be that easy. A single clean strike and...mission complete. But as soon as I did, all I could think about was his daughter, watching her hug his leg. And about my own father. So, I'll ask again...how could I do it?" She said honestly, looking between the two blank eye holes of the mask in front of her.
Sora felt an arm then come to rest on her shoulder, and as she blinked...winked in surprise, she received a gentle pat. "Good answer." Then, in front of her, a hand came to grasp the mask on their face and pull it off, revealing a face she didn't recognise in the slightest. Apparently, after a second the person realised this, chuckling slightly. "I guess you've never seen me without a mask before, but you'll recognise at least one thing about me." Well, of course she did, how could she not? She'd spent plenty of time listening to that voice talking to her and torturing her under the guise of training her.
Looking at the pair of eyes that were looking at her, Sora then tilted her head. "Okay, I have to know how the fuck you are even in here? They know you spent loads of time with me so surely they'd know...oh, right, I get it." She then recalled that the other one, the one who left, mentioned a wish to 'kill her yourself', so she had obviously leveraged their relationship into wanting to kill her herself for fucking up such a simple task. "Thanks Karatachi."
The woman rolled her eyes. "You're not out of hot water yet." Without another word she moved behind Sora and cut the bindings on her arms, then did the same for her legs and waist, glancing at the long flap of skin that was on the floor and then the large wound on her arm. "Sorry about that, had to make it convincing that I detested you." Sora shrugged, taking a look at the wound herself before quickly activating her Mystical Palm Technique and healing the injury right up. "Fucking prodigy." She muttered, at the same time rapping her knuckles on Sora's head.
Sora removed the eye patch covering her eye, then watched as Karatachi moved to the door and frowned. "We've still got to get out of here. I can't stay, obviously, they'd know what happened, and there wasn't enough time to prepare a believable body double. We'll have to leave Mizu no Kuni entirely, and the safest place from Hunter-nin would be Hi no Kuni, either Tanzaku Gai or Reiku. They wouldn't find us there, and even if they did, operating there would be way too risky. We'd just have to be wary of Konoha-ANBU coming for us."
Getting up from the chair and rubbing her wrists, Sora had to think fast as Karatachi then tossed her a scroll. "Put that on and get ready to follow me." Unsealing a set of Hunter-nin gear in her size, including a blank mask for her, Sora got dressed faster than she ever had before, and less than a minute later was ready and waiting. "Okay, here's the plan. Follow me. Simple, right?" Sora rolled her eyes, though couldn't stop a smile appearing on her lips. "Okay...let's move." Immediately Karatachi opened the door, heading out into the corridor, then down it at high speed.
Following after, she caught a glimpse of something appearing in her hand then disappearing, and in the next moment she heard a thud as the kunai that Karatachi had equipped embedded itself into the throat of a Hunter-nin before they could react to her attack. As they passed by the corpse, Sora glanced down at the body and the pool of blood swiftly forming underneath them, though quickly pulled her gaze away and focused on keeping up with Karatachi as she efficiently led them through the base.
After a few minutes of fast travel, they didn't encounter anyone else, and while Sora was confused, it didn't last long, as she realised that obviously Karatachi knew the timings of the patrols and how to get them out, she'd obviously planned this escape out well, so the only one that had to die was that singular person. It explained why she knew to throw the kunai at that exact moment, she knew that they would arrive at that precise time...or maybe she just had a sensory ability, that was way more likely.
Before too long they came across a big rock which Karatachi laid her hand upon, and a few seconds later said rock rolled to the side seemingly of its own accord, allowing them to exit the hidden base and into a forest. Immediately after Sora stepped outside Karatachi tossed a scroll back the way they came then closed the door, before moving in front of her. "Get on my back, I move way faster than you and we need to get the hell away from here before an alert is signalled and every available Hunter-nin and ANBU in the area comes to hunt us down."
Sora quickly moved to do so, yelping in surprise when Karatachi proved her words, absolutely blasting through the forest at a speed that shouldn't have been possible. No, really, Karatachi's Agility was high at 350, but they were moving over a hundred meters a second at minimum, and considering how she was maintaining that speed, it couldn't be the Shunshin that was doing it.
Rather than question it though, Sora simply held on and lowered herself so her chin was against Karatachi's shoulder, just peeking over her shoulder a little with her legs wrapped around her middle. Thanks to the fact that she had her Endurance perk, she was able to permanently use the Tree-walking Technique to adhere herself to Karatachi and guarantee that she wouldn't fall off of her.
The fact it meant she could hug the woman to whom she literally owed her life was just a bonus.
After a few hours of nothing but pure running, Sora was surprised when Karatachi came to a sudden stop.
But before she could ask anything she turned her head to the side and grinned at her. Confused, Sora made sure she was still carefully attached to Karatachi's back, keeping her head on a swivel as she curiously observed their surroundings. After a moment, Karatachi suddenly spoke. "I'm here, and I brought her. So get your ass out here before I slap you." A second later there was an amused chuckle, and from behind one of the trees emerged a figure that Sora didn't expect to see.
"Tou-san?" She said, tilting her head to the side as the very familiar figure of her father came into view. Sora then looked at Karatachi, and saw the amused look on her face. Detaching from her, she dropped to the ground and leaned around her, looking at her father for a second before narrowing her eyes. "How old was I when you were forced to teach me how to use my eye so that I'd be able to filter out things I didn't want to see?"
Her father crossed his arms and replied casually. "The same age as when you got your eye in the first place. Coincidentally the same age you were when you drew that picture about 'the bestest Tou-san ever', the same age when you cried after you dropped that old teddy into your soup and thought he drowned, and the same-" Sora quickly interrupted him, her face burning slightly from embarrassment.
"Okay, yeah, you're him." She then smiled and walked over to him, giving him a hug which they both held for a few moments. "Sorry I couldn't say anything but...well..." Sora then gestured at herself, making him laugh and touch her head gently, the look on his face primarily just pure relief. Obviously a few times she had been worried about what her father thought, that she had just suddenly disappeared after her exam, and whether he'd been worried that she had died during the exam.
Of course he was a smart man, he knew they'd tell him and wouldn't hide it or something, so it had to be something else, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt that she couldn't even say anything to him before being whisked away to train as a Hunter-nin. Her father then looked up from her and towards Karatachi, prompting her to smirk, then walk over and give him a hug. "So uhh, not to be rude but can I ask why you two know each other? I'm literally burning with curiosity."
The pair both looked at her, then at each other. Finally, Karatachi answered her. "I'm surprised your father never mentioned me, we used to be in the same team after all. Unfortunately our third member and our sensei are both dead, so you can't get any embarrassing stories from them, but yeah, we've known each other for decades now. Did you never wonder why I took such an interest in you specifically, to the point of defending you personally against Karo?" When Sora raised an eyebrow, she gestured vaguely. "The guy who questioned you when you got inducted, the same guy who broke your arm."
Sora oh'd at that, then frowned. "Wait, that was the same guy? Wait, hang on, how did you know he broke my arm anyway?" Karatachi smiled and zipped over her mouth, prompting Sora to narrow her eyes at her. "And I thought that was because of my super-awesome skills and the fact I'm so totally a prodigy." She then smiled in return at the amused expressions on both Karatachi and her father's faces.
"Alright, enough of that. Kara-tan, you're coming as well?" Her father said in an amused tone, prompting the woman to rap him on the head with the bottom of her fist, though the indulgent smile on her face and her quick nod made it clear she was happy he asked. "Okay, we'll need to get to Nishimeya within two days and get a boat out immediately. Land in Udon no Kuni, cross over the border into Hi no Kuni, and from there make our way to safety." As he spoke, Sora watched the pair also converse in signs that she had no hope of recognising, making it clear they were also having a second, more important conversation, if their facial expressions were any indication.
Slightly put out by being ignored so completely, Sora folded her arms and waited for them to finish their conversation. After a minute more of sign language, they finally seemed to have settled their discussion as Karatachi turned and dropped slightly to let Sora get onto her back. "Just so you know, I remembered all your signs, so you'd both better hope I never learn what sign language you used." Karatachi laughed out loud, surprising Sora with how happy she sounded.
"Good thing we made it on our own then!"
Nothing much was said as the now-trio traversed Mizu no Kuni at high speed, hours passing and then days, all without either of them stopping to rest.
Sora tried to stay awake through it all, since she wasn't even running, but she just wasn't able to stay awake for such a long period. It was...hellishly embarrassing for her to wake up being held in Karatachi's arms as they ran. Why it wasn't her father who was carrying her was something Karatachi took great amusement in revealing, as she actually was physically stronger than her father was, something that he belatedly pointed out was because he was the team medic, so of course she would out-strength him, it wasn't like he could be a powerhouse like Tsunade and shatter walls, he was just a medic.
They eventually reached Nishimeya, and Sora could see just how drained the two-day run had made the pair of them. But, like the seasoned shinobi they both were they had pushed through it and were continuing to do so, so all Sora could honestly do was to make it as easy as possible and not cause trouble for them. They both obviously knew what they were going to do and how they were going to do it, it wasn't even remotely her place to try and ask what's going on or anything of that nature, she didn't need to know, they could handle it and if they needed her they'd say so.
Entering the town, Sora followed behind them both quickly, having since equipped a set of clothing from one of the scrolls her father had brought containing all their essential belongings. Karatachi and her father were also both dressed properly, giving no indication that either of the two of them were anything other than normal Kiri-nin, their Hitai-ate both displayed prominently on their foreheads.
The identity of being a shinobi was valuable, and so they were using them to stop anyone from getting curious about them. Or at least that was what she picked up from the action, maybe their action had more depth and nuance to it, she didn't know. They didn't stop once on their way through the town, heading straight to the docks where her father quickly bought three places on a ship bound for Udon no Kuni, the Land of Noodles.
The dockmaster didn't even give them a second look, he just took the money and handed her father the three tickets he desired, jerking his thumb in the direction of the ship they were to board, grumbling out that it was due to leave in an hour so they could do whatever they wanted, but that there were no refunds if they missed the boat. Her father simply led them to the boat and boarded it, handing their tickets to the man who greeted them, then being swiftly led to their room on the ship.
After they were in and their escort had departed, Sora watched as her father slapped a seal of some kind on the door while Karatachi lumbered to the double bed and collapsed bonelessly onto it, her father quickly following suit on the other side, nothing but a mumbled 'don't get into trouble Sora' coming from his mouth before being replaced with steady breathing as he fell asleep.
Looking at the pair, Sora smiled, moving to lay down on one of the chairs, her feet resting on one end and her head on the other end. She had absolutely no intentions of doing anything that had absolutely any potential whatsoever of causing trouble, she was going to lie right there, stay nice and quiet, and cause absolutely zero trouble at all. What would even be the point, it wasn't like going outside was going to do anything.
She then rolled her eyes as she saw a notification pop-up, opening it lazily.
Quest Received!
Hiding from Trouble
Objective: Spend an hour out on the deck of the ship without causing trouble
Reward: 10,000 Experience, Fishing Proficiency
Sora rolled her eyes again, then waved away the quest and closed her eyes again.
A fishing proficiency? That held literally no value or interest for her. She wasn't remotely interested in fishing whatsoever, so having to spend an hour out on the deck for 10,000 experience and that kind of proficiency? No, there was absolutely no need to do that. Maybe if the reward was significant she would take the risk, but for such a meagre reward, what would be the point? Sora waited a moment, then pouted slightly as she realised that the Game wasn't going to be convinced by her trying to make it give her a better reward.
Well, there was nothing that said she couldn't go out on the deck once they were out at sea, now was there?
Woo, I'm enjoying writing this a lot.
I hope it doesn't feel too weird, but I do feel like Karatachi's past actions fit with a teammate of her father's who was taking a look at her, getting interested, then pulling her into the Hunter-nin for a certain reason ;)
I really hope people enjoy this, I'm writing this before chapter 10 has even gone live on fanfiction so yeah, woo for writing!
Name: Sora Metami
Level: 34
Age: 12
Experience: 423/34,000
To Next Level: 33,577
Title: Hunter-nin Recruit - +50% increased damage to Missing-nin, +50% increased experience gain within Hunter-nin locations
Health Points: 2,100 (100 Base HP + (Vitality x Strength)
Regeneration Rate: 70/minute (Health ÷ 30) (Severe or noticed injuries can be chosen to retain scars)
Chakra Points: 1,930 (100 Base CP + (Wisdom x Intelligence)
Regeneration Rate: 64.3*/minute (Chakra ÷ 30)
Strength: 40 (Each point increases melee damage by 1%, adds 1 slot to inventory)
Vitality: 50 (Each point raises poison resistance by 0.1%, reduces need for sleep by 0.1%)
Agility: 50 (Each point increases top speed by 0.1m/s, increases weapon proficiency gain by 1%)
Wisdom: 30 (Each point decreases chakra cost for techniques by 0.1%)
Intelligence: 61 (Each point increases experience gain by 1%)
