I'm back from the dead, freshly risen from the ashes of my vampire body. No smokes and mirrors here, ladies and gents.
Anyways, in all seriousness there is no real excuse than a loss of muse. BUT, I've decided to upload my chapters for other stories at the same time as I feel bad for not updating in such a long time.
Life is hard.
Being an adult is hard.
Kids think that adults have everything together and are respectable—Ah-ha, jokes on them, I'm flying by the seat of my pants.
I hope you all enjoy my latest updates! Thanks!
• • • • • •
For once Kuroko was thankful for his abnormalities as his astute hearing was the only thing that gave him enough time to react. His warning jump-started Chouji and Shikamaru and they were prepared to pull Ino out of the way of a kunai that would have knocked her out of the battle right off the bat.
Kuroko's ear twitched as he heard foliage move, "Shika, behind!"
Team ten had a system. Ino, while not trained for close combat, was using purely defensive taijutsu to protect Shikamaru while he used his shadow ninjutsu to restrain. Chouji was the main frontline fighter of the team and Ino couldn't use her Mind Transfer technique with so many enemies in the vicinity, but she was doing her best to hold them off until they could be dispatched.
Team ten knew they were not fit for an all out brawl. They were meant for support—to stall and capture.
But they had to adapt.
Shikamaru held one person when Chouji rocketed into the man's stomach, knocking him back into a tree with a crunch of bark and possible bones while Ino kicked a man in his nether regions, thus giving another opening for Chouji who cringed but took advantage of the man's misfortune.
With the sudden charge of adrenaline pumping in his veins, Kuroko whipped out a spool of wire and a kunai under his poncho to keep it hidden from view. A subtle flick of his wrist and nimble fingers was all it took to tie the wire off on the kunai under his poncho as Kuroko sprinted around three of the bandits. Using his small stature, he weaved through the groups legs with the wire and tied it off. Having his feet stuck to the ground with chakra gave him enough leverage to topple them over as he put his weight into it and yanked.
Finishing them off, Kuroko dislocated their wrists by jabbing his thumb in the right place and used the pommel of his knife to knock them out.
They would need to get information out of them at the end of the chaos after all.
Glancing over his shoulder, Shikamaru nodded and gave Kuroko the go ahead as he ran through signs. They would take care of that side. He finished just in time as man that lunged at the horses froze in his tracks.
"We'll protect the horses! Go!"
Seeing that the three of them were well off at the moment, Kuroko took to the other side of the carriage, jumping on top of it to get a better view. One assailant was about to enter the carriage when Kuroko landed on his shoulders, making him lose his balance and toppling to the ground. Cutting the inside of the man's knees deeply, Kuroko was able to sufficiently tie him up, but wasn't prepared for a hefty kick from the man's comrade to blindside him.
Kuroko tumbled and hit the ground hard, the wind forcefully escaping his lungs as he rolled.
"Stay inside! By no means come out!" Kuroko shouted and hoped that their charge heard his message, because there was only one entrance into the carriage.
Two other people surrounded him as he sprang up to his feet, gasping for air. Biting his lips, he tried to think of a way to finish this quickly as he heard a struggle from the other side of the carriage.
He knew that team ten wasn't meant for close combat—especially against these numbers.
Using his small stature to his advantage, he slid through the legs of the man in front of him and pulled on a wire that he set up seconds prior. Using the same trick he used on the other batch, he successfully dispatched them.
With them down now the client will be safe… I should go help them.
Taking a breath, a mere moment to regain his bearings, and before his mind could process anything else—he reacted.
Without warning, a blade swung in from his peripheral, and as he brought up his arm to block his neck it sunk into the outside of his arm. In a panic-induced haze, he swung his dagger up behind him blindly.
He felt it pierce flesh—and then he heard a sickening gurgle.
Warm liquid slopped onto the back of his neck and Kuroko jumped away, turning to face the man.
Staring, his breath quickened as they held each other's gaze. Fear, anger, and shock faded with a squelch as the light in the adult's eyes faded and he collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud.
Internally, Kuroko knew that he should look away, but he couldn't act on his thoughts as they were drowned out with the roaring panic of his heart in his ears—the thrum of his heart pumping his blood through him as the dead man's cooling blood ran trails down his back.
Staring. Eyes unfocused, but only seeing the corpse—hyper-focused in his obscure mental state.
"Shikamaru!"
An angry scream.
"Let him go!"
And an outraged roar.
Kuroko felt his body tense, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the blood on the ground, slowly darkening as it moistened the dirt, the sluggish drip down his back, creeping to a stop. Shika…? His breath hitched as it processed in his bogged down mind.
No!
Something snapped. Turning on his heel, he jumped onto the chassi of the carriage to see a large muscular man holding Shikamaru up by his neck, using him as a meat shield to stop the Akimichi from pummeling him with his enlarged arms, while Ino was in a heap on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Readying his last spool of wire, Kuroko ran his chakra through it familiarly.
A cruel grin spread across the man's face and he chuckled deeply, "This little guy will be an example." The hand around Shikamaru's neck tightened and he writhed, trying to get free as he scratched at the man's wrist.
The wire moved and wrapped around the neck of the man who unaware of what was happening, too enamoured in his torture. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw the threads move and his eyes moved to meet with Kuroko on top of the carriage.
Shikamaru was at his limit as his breath left him and he kicked and thrashed. The last thing he saw was Kuroko gesturing his hands and making a fist before going limp.
There was a choking noise as the man was suddenly aware of the wire around his neck. Blood flowed like a river as it dug into his neck, and he snarled. If he was going down, he would take one of them with him.
He was lifted into the air by the thin metal wires around deep in his neck, but he was stubborn, adamant of keeping his hold on the boy.
The wire tightened.
Tighter, tighter, tighter—until he lets Shikamaru go!
The wire slackened.
• • • • • •
From their perch, two Jounin observed their Genin as they took care of the group of bandits.
Azuma's eyebrow twitched as he all but ripped the gag to shreds. "Humor me. Why gag me and place a genjutsu that suggested we were taken out?" Keeping his eyes down below, he whistled when Kuroko pulled a stunt with ninja wire. Haven't seen him practice with those before, nice.
"I thought this would be a good opportunity to see if the kiddos are combat ready. Relatively save environment with the two of us here, shit—scratch that, we have company." Arata halted his track of thought and relayed where the two signatures were coming from.
Azuma and Arata both darted off in different directions. Chakra signatures were moving on to their location from two different sides. Arata wasn't that proficient of a sensor. He couldn't tell anyone much from what he could feel, only where they were for a decent range—no details, no gender, or power level could be sensed.
It was a roulette to see who would get the poisoned kunai.
In a matter of time they met back up, each with a person in tow. They would have to be questioned, but that would have to be later—the Genin could be in trouble after all.
Alerted by an angry scream, their travelling speed hastened.
Arriving on the scene, they saw the scene unfold with Kuroko flying through the air as Shikamaru and a man fell to the ground, one head rolling off to the side.
"Shikamaru!" Kuroko landed beside him and knelt down, hand reaching into his bag for a basic med kit.
Shikamaru tried to speak, "I... I'm," he coughed and rubbed his hand on his throat to soothe the pain. There was a wheeze to his breath as he took in ragged gasps of air.
"Don't talk! You'll make it worse."
Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock at Kuroko's loud voice. He never yelled.
Approaching from behind, Arata saw the boy's head twitch and after taking another careful step closer, Kuroko whirled around with his knife. It probably would have nicked him if he wasn't prepared for such a response.
"Kuroko."
Arata deftly caught the boy's wrist and pulled him in. Nodding to Azuma, he made sure Shikamaru was alright and checked up on his team before checking on the client. From looking at the carnage, they went through quite a bit while they were gone.
He felt small hands rise and grip his shirt.
So, so small.
With a shaky breath in, Kuroko spoke as calmly as he could, "Is… Is the client…. safe?"
"Yes." He looked to the head on the ground, "Shaken, but safe."
"Is Shikamaru… safe?"
A sarcastic drawl called from behind, "Fine now that I can actually breathe." He subconsciously rubbed his throat again, "You really saved me there Kuro." He put the effort in to grin, to act relatively normal to come to terms with what just happened.
Glancing over to the headless body on the ground, Kuroko's mind drifted. He grimaced, "Y-yeah…" It wouldn't have happened if I didn't… didn't stall. The sticky feeling on his back brought his mind back into the darkness while he tried to push it from his mind.
"Arata! Come here!"
Kneeling down, Arata looked through the mask and into his eyes, "Kuroko," he put a hand on his head, "You did a good job."
There was a sniff, and Kuroko nodded shakily. Watching his Sensei go around the kart, he held back his tears, the back of his throat feeling scratchy as he swallowed.
Chouji, morbidly fascinated, looked closer at the body, "How… how did you think of that? The wire."
Kuroko backed away and chose not to look at the corpse, feeling nauseous.
Ino, even though she had been shaken and was silent, took around the corner of the cart and paled, hands going up to cover her mouth as she quelled a gasp. There had been quite a struggle from how things looked and she could hear the Sensei talk about what might have happened.
"I think this guy," Arata used his foot to point, "came up from behind, spooked him, and got a knife to the throat."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Azuma questioned, a quizzical look on his face. He saw nothing that would point to that.
"Kuroko has blood on his neck and back. He must have swung up behind him and got a kill shot—like this," he hunched over and held a kunai in a front grip, swinging it up above him. "He's short, so with his elbow at a one-twenty degree angle it would have gone right into the soft flesh of the neck and hit the man's jugular, or gone up under the chin into the brain."
"Ah, I see—now can we clean this up? The client shouldn't see this."
"Agreed. You do that, while I see how the kiddos are doing." Without looking over his shoulder, Arata said, "Ino, how was everything on your side?"
Gulping, she took a few steps closer and tried not to stare at the bodies as Azuma put them in a pile. "As good as it could have gone until the muscular man came into the fight." She followed Arata as he moved back to the other side where the boys were. "Kuroko had taken out a group of people and tied them up before coming over here, and we didn't have to worry about them—so that helped. Other than that, we were looking to stall and knock out until you two came back."
"Good, good, that was in your ability to do so." Ino followed as Arata talked, taking her away from the area.
"We were doing well until the muscular man jumped out of the bushes," Chouji shivered, "He… he wanted blood."
"He went after me... He knew that I was the brain," Shikamaru spoke quietly, "and I knew that he knew it, so I tried to take him out first—but he expected that and..."
"Take this encounter as a lesson," Arata spoke up, making sure each of the kids could hear him. "In the thick of battle only the things that you have practised religiously can be relied on, but when you're in a corner, creativity can always turn the tide."
"Speaking of lessons. Kuroko, follow me. You three can choose if you'd like to accompany."
Hearing an order, Kuroko didn't say a word and followed his Sensei.
"Should we go?"
The two looked to Shikamaru who shook his head. He knew that there was going to be a session of interrogation and he didn't think he was ready for that. Neither were Chouji or Ino. "No. We shouldn't." His eyes drifted to Kuroko and narrowed, he was… different somehow. Well, killing someone will do that I guess.
Looking over her shoulder, Ino couldn't help but feel worried—with nausea immediately hitting her like a carriage as the smell of burning corpse filled the area.
Thankfully Azuma used a wind jutsu to direct the smell away from them and fuel the flames.
• • • • • •
"We will continue until nightfall."
Thinking of their students, they let the Genin have a break and were allowed to sit with the driver. Kuroko, however, leapt up on top of the chassy and sat at the back of it with his legs dangling off. As the carriage got up to speed, Kuroko stared at the ground and watched the dirt underneath blur past.
Feeling the wind hit his back, a chill went down his spine. Arata gave him a rince down with underpowered water Jutsu while Azuma dried him off, but it wasn't perfect. He could still feel some of the gunk on him and he was still a little damp.
Kuroko took a deep breath and sighed. He moved his mask to the side, wanting to feel the wind. He shut out his thoughts, feeling vaguely sick—his body and of himself. Glancing up from the ground, he saw that Arata had taken up watch at the back.
Baring an exaggerated lopsided grin, Arata looked up in greeting when he felt eyes on him. He was trying to make Kuroko feel more comfortable, but the boy's expression didn't change from its blank slate, and when his cyan eyes looked away, Arata felt like he did just the opposite of what he intended.
Time passed, and Kuroko hadn't said a word. There was idle conversation between team ten and the driver with the sounds of hooves and the turning of wheels as accompaniment.
Arata was concerned, Kuroko would at least acknowledge his presence, but he was just staring off into space—and when Kuroko did make eye contact, it was for a long moment before he laid on his back to stare at the sky.
Okay… what is going on here?
• • • • • •
"Alright, we will stop here for the night," Azuma announced. Both he and Arata agreed that it would be a good spot to set up camp. They moved at a faster pace to make up for lost time and to get further away from the area of conflict.
After setting up camp and having dinner, Arata took Kuroko off to the side, out of earshot.
"Kuroko, it is time to tell me what's going on in that head of yours."
"W-what do you mean, Kuro-sensei?"
"How do you feel and how are you coping? You were acting weird during the trip."
"I was just thinking… and trying not to think." He bit his lips and picked at his poncho. He wasn't good at talking about himself. He didn't want to talk about himself—he didn't feel the need to. There was no need to, it would only push his burdens onto others and cause him to be an inconvenience.
It was best that he didn't—but… maybe it would make him feel better.
Arata raised an eyebrow and gave him an unimpressed look, plopping down onto the ground gesturing for Kuroko to join him. "Sit, move your mask to the side, and look at me." Kuroko did as told, but was reluctant to look his Sensei in the eye. "Talk to me about it. I know what you are feeling—I've been through it—and this is what my own Sensei did with me. Tell me the process, what happened, and how you felt."
Arata was patient as Kuroko gathered his thoughts.
Fiddling with the hem of his poncho, he swallowed, "A-at first, I… I tried to subdue them by knocking them out and t-tying them up. Team ten seemed to be doing alright… so I-I went to the other side of the carriage. There were m-more people, a-and I did the same thing as before." Kuroko took a shaky breath in, "I thought it was over, and I let m-my guard down for a moment." He paused and stroked his arm that was cut, mind in such a state of disarray that he didn't hear team ten draw near.
Arata shot a dark look over Kuroko's shoulder accompanied by some directed ki to make sure that the others knew to back off further and to not interfere. He was careful to time it so Kuroko wouldn't see it—he did not want to send mixed messages to him.
"I do not know h-how I reacted so quickly, b-but I blocked a knife meant for my neck with my arm… a...and I swung my blade up behind me." A chill went down his spine which caused him to sit up straight and his throat tightened. "I can still feel it even after washing off in the river, his blood dripping down my back. I can hear him trying to speak—and the sounds of him choking…"
A pause.
Kuroko leaned forwards, resting his head in his hands for a moment and blood dripped onto the dirt below him.
A hand forcibly lifted Kuroko's head up. Arata held eye contact, expression sombre, and wiped the blood off of Kuroko's bleeding lips with his sleeve. "Take it slow. There is no need to rush."
Kuroko sniffed and wiped his tears before taking in a deep breath. He tried to calm himself before continuing. "I only snapped out of it w-when Ino screamed. I-I wasn't… I couldn't think. I acted before I thought. It's foggy…"
Arata nodded, trying to figure out what to say—he was no psychologist. "As long as you don't let it get to you. You did what you had to do, and when you gain enough skill you will be able to learn what the best judgement is."
Kuroko forced a smile through his quivering lips, "Thank you, Kuro-sensei."
Standing up, Arata stretched, "Alright, then let's get dinner going—join us when you're ready." He gave Kuroko a pat on his head before leaving.
It's what I had to do? Kuroko frowned. He thought back to the first man. He had only reacted. There was no thought in it, and the fact that it had no thought to it meant that he was not prepared for it. That's why it shook him.
He frowned, and the taste of copper was fresh in his mouth as he licked his lips free of it. Looking up to the sky, he felt his throat tighten.
I… lied though.
Kuroko did remember the second part, but he didn't want to talk about it. That was a deliberate choice to kill that man. It was to protect Shikamaru, yes, but that was not the reason he felt so shaken.
He was disgusted.
He felt empty.
There was no feeling when he stared at the corpse, and he didn't feel anything when he purposefully killed the man choking Shikamaru.
He felt no remorse—
I...
—he disgusted himself.
• • • • • •
Ino was practically dragging her feet by the time they got to their destination as the moon was at it's brightest in the sky. "Thank Kami-sama! I can finally take a bath." Her face scrunched up into a grimace and she touched her hair. "I need to get the smell of moss out." While it made a comfortable pillow, advice courtesy of Kuroko, it did have a smell that lingered.
Shikamaru yawned and chose not to speak. He agreed with Ino, a bath would be delightful.
"I-I think you would fall asleep in the b-bath Shika."
Ino laughed, "He would."
"He has," Chouji informed and Shikamaru shot Chouji a look.
"That was one time."
Kuroko broke into a fit of giggles, "O-one t-t-time too m-many!"
"Oh, like you can talk," Shikamaru shot back, but his scandalized tone just fueled the laughter.
It's nice to see them in high spirits like this. Arata chose this moment to intervene as they have arrived at their destination, "Alright, we will be staying with the client at this inn, further details will be provided once we get settled in."
The Genin set out to help the client unload and get ready in their room while Azuma and Arata organized the rooms and smaller details. They assembled in a room that they rented out.
"We will be staying in one room together—and it's a big room, so there is no worry about space, Ino," Azuma cut the girl off before she went off on a tangent.
"Tonight will be a free night for you as Azuma and I will be taking watch shifts. You kiddos will be getting a good night's rest. Go have fun in the hot spring or something, now shoo." It was crass, but they were kicked out of the room.
Shikamaru read between the lines and knew that they were being buttered up. Tomorrow's going to be a drag, isn't it?
"Well? I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste, I'm going in the bath."
Shrugging, Shikamaru followed behind Ino. He just wanted to sleep, but they were kicked out of the room for a reason. He looked over to Kuroko who looked to be panicking. "It's late. I don't think anyone will be in the bath."
Kuroko glanced over to Chouji, "B-but…"
"Chouji?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you can keep a secret?"
The boy blinked in confusion, the question came out of nowhere, "Um, yeah? I mean, secrecy is apart of our job?" Ino seemed to be rubbing off on him after being in such close proximity for so long.
Kuroko gripped the bottom of his poncho.
He really didn't want to, but after being together he knew Chouji was trustworthy.
Ino however?
Not a fat chance—that girl was a gossip factory.
He would prefer Chouji knowing, because in comparison to Ino, he was a saint.