Author's note:

And here is Yuma's Artwork. Type pinterest and add /pin/641833384414333094/. The upper half of his clothes was inspired by Sasuke's first Shippuden design, the lower half by the general Konoha shinobi's design.


Travel Pains

If Kai had done a bet about how soon he would throw up his last meal, he would have definitely won it. Ten minutes after the carriage started, it had to stop again because he threw up. This was ridiculous! Motion sickness was a well-known problem to humankind ever since oxen were tamed! How could have come that no one had developed a medicine against motion sickness yet?! (Truth to be told there was medicine helping the victims of motion sickness. However, he was immune to said medicine.)

By kami, if he had still been a shinobi he would have travelled by foot! And probably faster than a stupid carriage! And what was worst that, out of all the people accompanying him, Yuma-san was the one who comforted and actually tried to help him by having placed his hand on his back while he threw up his last meal.

"Just… knock me out… already…" he rasped keeping himself up with a hand on a tree. "I… can take it…"

"Sorry… No knocking out others." Yuma-san apologized. "It would go against our mission's goal to bring all of you safely to Konoha."

"Seriously, you should have told us that you suffer motion sickness." the driver complained. "Because of you, we will reach Konoha later than planned!"

"I… thought I-"

Kai was forced to stop himself then he needed to throw up again. This was embarrassing! Even to his standards… While throwing up, his cheeks were actually red from shame. He even heard one of the kids asking their mother if he had a terrible sickness. The Iwa shinobi mused if he should call for reinforcement who would carry him to Konoha. Upon hearing this, Kai so much wanted to punch this man in the face.

"If that is the case then I can carry him." the Konoha ninja offered smiling. "It would be a good training actually."

"I… pass… to be carried around… like a… child…" Kai declined.

"Come on! If we walk on foot we would reach Konoha in three months! So let me carry you."

The psychologist grumbled but agreed. With a head red like a tomato Yuma-san placed him on his back. He grabbed his thighs in his hands and started walking again. Soon the carriage was also moving again causing Yuma-san to jump up a tree. Ah, this was by any means better. His motion sickness would soon be over and the way the Konoha shinobi jumped reminded Kai of his time as an Iwagakure ninja. Still, he was slightly troubled that someone outside of the village and Land of Earth was carrying him… not only that but he barely knew Yuma. He was an adult. He had his pride. And his pride currently was non-existent. At least his reputation could take it… Or at least he hoped it would.

Yuma-san was silent for about two hours and Kai used the chance to doze. The wind on his face was quite nice actually. He could probably even meditate a little bit if he wanted to. Meditation actually let him gather some of his chakra to his center and thus also calmed him down.

Kai took a deep breath and began meditating on the back of Yuma-san who either didn't know what the psychologist did or simply didn't care. Either way, Kai didn't care much about Yuma-san's opinion on him. He was just being carried by him until they reached Konoha. Nothing more, nothing less. He was going to be happy if they never crossed paths again. After all, Yuma-san was a ninja of Konohagakure and technically he was still an enemy of his.

However, one little part of him was actually curious about this man. As much as he could glance at his personality, he could tell that Yuma-san was acting. His carefree personality was just a mask. Hm… He was somewhat similar to a guy named Uchiha Obito in that regard. They both fooled others by carefree personalities but deep down they were very serious men.

Kai opened his eyes to look at Yuma-san's spiky black hair. It looked rather silky. What would happen if he ruffled this hair? Probably the ninja would get angry at him. But it would be the first real emotion out of him. Hm… The temptation was there. And Kai was always…

His hand went to Yuma-san's hair and ruffled it in a childish fashion. Just like he assumed, his hair was silky. But what surprised him was the ninja's reaction. He laughed.

"Well… We barely know each other… but you already consider me as a younger brother?" he joked causing Kai to blush. "But… I think I'm the older one here… Hm… Or… Are you implying that you have a-"

"No! I was just wondering what your reaction would be." Kai declined.

"Oh, come on! You can tell me if you have a crush on me!"

"I'm not interested in men!" he almost yelled.

How could this guy get under his skin that easily? Kai always thought he was a rather calm person.

"Really? Some people beg to differ!" Yuma-san laughed.

"Stop teasing me!" he exclaimed angrily.

"You are just an easy tease!"

The psychologist blushed even harder. What kind of people would think they were a couple, was beyond him. Like he said, he wasn't into men at all. He not only didn't feel attracted to them, most of the men he had met, he wouldn't them even consider as handsome. Well, there was the case of Deidara… but still… Come to think of him, they were in the same genin team and graduated at the same age. During one of their mission they accompanied a merchant from Iwagakure to a small village north-east. Nothing too fancy though but his line "Art is an Explosion!" stuck to his head every time he used a paper bomb.

"By the way, Kai-kun… What are your hobbies?" Yuma-san asked suddenly ripping him out of his thoughts.

"Where does this come from?" he questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… I am carrying you until we reach Konoha. I just thought that getting to know each other would be a good idea considering… well… that we are going to spent some time together."

"I get your point. But like the other shinobi… I don't trust you."

"I get it. Peace between the nations is a fragile thing. However, we thought together against Uchiha Madara and that Juubi. I think that is prove enough that we can coexist." Yuma-san insisted.

"I'm not a shinobi. So, quite frankly, I don't care." Kai replied.

"But you're travelling towards Konoha together with me. So, in other words… You are having some business there. In other, other words… You are counting on peace between Iwa and Konoha. In other, other, other words-"

"I get it." he interrupted him. "My mistrust is pointless."

"Exactly. You learn fast, Kai-kun."

"I… am a genius. I excelled in psychology at the age of sixteen."

The Konoha shinobi whistled, impressed with his accomplishment. Or he was just acting. After all, Kai should assume that everything that Yuma-san said could not be taken seriously. He was this kind of person who hid their true personality and emotions. If anything this person could be a highly dangerous nukenin from a village and received asylum in Konoha.

"If you are a genius why aren't you a ninja?" Yuma-san questioned him.

"I tried… but being a ninja isn't for me. Besides, being a genius doesn't mean being a ninja. I'm highly intelligent and I use this intelligence to help others with their psychological conditions." Kai explained to him.

"That is a noble cause. I admire people with your attitude. There should be more of them." he exclaimed. "The world would be a lot better and maybe…"

Somehow the Konoha ninja sounded sad. Or was it just Kai's imagination?

"Oh well. One person can change the world and leave an impression behind. Just take Uzumaki Naruto, for example. He managed to defeat the leader of Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara. That is impressive. Especially the latter was a pain. Such raw power… Heck, I lost friends in the fight against Madara. It's no wonder he was considered to be a one-man army." Yuma-san mused.

"Have you been fighting alongside the Allied Shinobi forces?" Kai asked him.

"Yes, I have." he wistfully answered. "I lost a lot of my comrades in the war. Mostly because of Uchiha Madara and the Juubi."

Yuma-san sighed causing Kai to sigh as well. Part of him actually wanted to slap himself in the face for asking such a question. That part also somewhat regretted his choice of words. They started to form a mutual understanding of each other… until he just destroyed it with his question. He should have considered his words more carefully. He should-

"I… am sorry for bringing this up." Kai apologized.

"It's okay. But you just reminded me that I lost my second-grade cousin during the war. We had been close." he replied. "Do you have lost someone during this war?"

"Yes… A close friend I knew who was also a shinobi."

"Have you also lost friends because of the Third Shinobi War?" Yuma-san wanted to know.

"I lost my uncle. But… I can't remember him well. So… For me it is like he never existed."

"Part of me is jealous because you were so young that you can't remember losing someone. I was eight then the Third Shinobi War concluded. I had seen some of the fights."

"What kind of-"

"Please… Don't continue, Kai-kun. I dislike remem-"

He stopped mid-sentence causing Kai to raise an eyebrow in confusion. However, he also noticed something was fishy here. The hairs on his neck stood up and a cold shiver ran down his back. He wasn't a sensory type but he felt danger nearby. Like a bandit attack was going to take place. His assumption was strengthened then he heard a quiet curse from the Konoha ninja while he jumped faster towards the Iwa ninja. He, on the other hand, took it as a sign that Yuma-san was going to attack him and drew out a kunai.

"You idiot! Have you not noticed it? Some bandits are going to attack soon!" Yuma-san barked before he stopped.

"Yeah?! Maybe you paid them!" the Iwa ninja retorted, a scowl clearly visible on his face.

"Why should I pay them? I don't want that another war starts." he hissed annoyed.

Yuma-san jumped to the ground and then let go of Kai. Afterwards he drew out his sword from its sheath and narrowed his eyes. Kai saw that his free fingers twitched like he wanted to perform hand seals but refrained himself. The psychologist raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was wrong with him? Wasn't he going to show off what he could do in order to impress the Iwa ninja? Or… wait. He was waiting. Waiting that the bandits showed themselves.

"Ichiro-san… Protect the carriage. Kai-kun, you stay with me." Yuma-san ordered. "Don't move, unless I tell you otherwise."

"O-okay…" he confirmed.

His heart was starting to pound in his chest rapidly. He had forgotten how it was being a ninja. It meant waiting with baited breath as something dangerous neared him. Kai suddenly wished for a weapon in his hand. Just to give him some comfort and the sense of protection. The psychologist was starting to tremble in fear of who might attack him.

"Kai-kun, take a deep breath. You can close your eyes as well." Yuma-san advised him. "It helps calming your nerves down."

Great… A shinobi was now telling him what to do in order to calm down. His poor reputation… No. This was not the time nor the place to lament his reputation and honor. His life could be in danger. While a part of him wanted to trust Yuma-san that he could protect him, another part of him still mistrusted him. Like the Iwa shinobi, Ichiro-san, said… Yuma-san could have actually hired those bandits.

"Here they come. Stay on guard, Kai-kun." the Konoha ninja said and readied his sword. "Katon: Hikari Odori Shageki!"

The entire blade was covered in flames radiating a certain amount of threat. Yuma-san drew his arm back and then… in a fast motion he yanked it from one side to another releasing the flame from his sword in a crescent like form. The jutsu flew straight to one group of bandits causing them to cry out in pain. However, Yuma -san threw a pair of kunais at the enemies hitting them straight in their necks.

Kai was at awe. While he had seen jutsus before as part of being a former shinobi, he had never truly seen fire release. He remembered that fire release was mostly used by shinobis of Konoha. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a bandit nearing him. He had formed some hand seals. Kai's instinct told him to jump back and avoid the incoming jutsu but before he could do that, his chest had been punctured by another kunai.

"Three out. Ichiro-san, there seemed to be more of them. They are organized meaning that they planned the attack ahead." Yuma-san called towards the Iwa ninja. "Is one of the passengers rich or famous?"

Kai raised his hand slightly causing Yuma-san to look at him. He tilted his head to the side and measured him with a calculating gaze. The psychologist only now noticed that someone was nearing the Konoha shinobi from behind. Kai called to him out in warning. Yuma-san seemed to notice it and thrusted his sword behind taking the bandit off-guard and killing him. He thanked him and smiled, however, his smile soon died down and he, too, shouted a warning to Kai.

Before he could react, he felt a strong blow against the back of his head. His world turned dark and he slumped forward.


Author's note:

Again, there are some Japanese words. I don't take responsibility if they are correctly translated:

Katon: Hikari Odori Shageki: translated it means Fire Release: Light Dance Shot. I took part of the jutsu name from Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Strikers.