Technically I haven't finished this chapter yet and thus I shouldn't post this yet, but I see you're eager for more of Jin's adventures. In this case I present you the first part of Chapter 2. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum while Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Those People Are Dangerous! - First Part
"Urgh!" I cover my mouth, my stomach twisting dangerously. Oh God. Where are my pills? Quick! Quick!
Gulp!
"Aaah.." I lean against the wall, feeling much better. I still feel a little nauseous and the effect will pass soon as long as I stay here, but it's better than throwing up my breakfast.
"Eh, dude. Everything alright?" Ask me a nearby passenger.
"Y-Yes." I shakily reply, showing the box of pills. "Just my motion sickness. I have my medicines for it."
"Uh, okay. Try not to retch all over the dock, that would be gross."
I shoot him a withering glare that sends him scurrying away. Asshole. Someone is sick and what does he do? He worries about being near vomit.
I turn my head to the side and look out of the window, staring at Vale as the airship passes over the city.
For the first time in the last twenty hours I reflect on my situation. I'm going to Beacon, where I'll be stuck for four years, summer vacations excluded, being trained by the best warriors of the former generation, and so the most insane of them all, while constantly risking my life killing creatures of nightmare, with even the weakest of them being more than a match for a competent genin.
I shudder. How? How did it happen? Ozpin essentially blackmailed me, yes, but whose fault was it that he ended up with that incriminating video? Sadly I can't deny the fault is all mine. If only I had used the Hiraishin at the very start instead of trying to escape the normal way nothing of this would have happened. Would it have been worth being sick for a while or not? I put the seal in my house and other ten different safe points exactly for cases like that.
The truth is, at first I didn't think it was necessary. Later I just plain forgot about it. I'm a complete failure as a shinobi. That's it, I don't care how sick I will be afterward, if the situation calls for it I will teleport away without a second thought.
Supposing I survive the next four years. And let's not forget Ozpin. What does he have in mind for me? To teach him my ninja skills? I'm not even sure if people from this world can even use chakra, I never sensed it from anyone even when fighting. They have Aura but from the descriptions I read it looks like it's purely mental energy, half of the equation, without full chakra it's impossible to even perform the most basic of jutsu. Cutting me open to see how I tick? If so why go through with all the hassle of enrolling me?
He truly is the equivalent of a Kage. I can't decipher his true intentions at all.
"I don't want to be the bee's knees, okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees!"
And now someone is shouting loudly. What does 'bee's knees' mean anyway? Some sort of strange saying? I turn toward the direction the voice came from. Two girls are chatting: one is a cute little thing looking downcast and the other...Wow. Those are some really nice breasts. And an even better view of them, coupled with a cute face and a great figure.
...Wait a second. I swear she reminds me of someone I know. Let's see: long blond hair, large rack, a confident aura around her...
Tsunade-sama
I feel the blood draining from my face and immediately turn in the opposite direction. I think my 'little me' just died a little right now. Okay, new rule in life: avoid her and other well-endowed girls like the plague. I'm in no any way, shape or form eager to be launched into the stratosphere by a freakish strong gal. Again. Nope. Not at all. I don't care if there is no concrete proof of her being one, I'm not taking risks.
You know what? Just to stay safe I'm going to put any attempts to initiate a relationship with a member of the other sex on indefinite hold. If I manage to escape Ozpin's influence I will go to another kingdom, find a nice and normal girl, stop stealing and open a bakery. Or maybe I can find a place as a guitarist in a band...
"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities."
Eh? I look up: while I was thinking a holographic projector started playing the local newscast. They are currently showing the mug shot of a guy with bright orange hair and a cocky smile on his lips despite his less-than-enviable position and the bruises on his face.
Roman Torchwick? It's a name I heard often in the last months, but aside from him being a big shot among Vale's crime lords and trafficking stolen Dust I don't know much. In all probability I stole from him too.
"If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department." Nope, after the stunt they pulled the only thing they will receive from me is a ton of explosive tags, Araya's "Genocide Special" edition. One of those days I need to think of a better name.
"Back to you Lisa." The screen shifts to a silver haired woman. "Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Right's protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony."
Faunus, humans who posses animal-like traits and are discriminated by the rest of humanity. I read there was some kind of war in the past to promote their rights, and even today they are treated as second-class citizens.
I don't particularly care, with clans like the Inuzuka and the Aburame back in Konoha the idea of people with animal traits is nothing new. I guess humans can be pretty ugly when they want. Peachy.
The feed is suddenly cut off as the hologram of a stern-looking bespectacled woman with blond (again?! Why!?) hair appears. This look like a presentation or welcome of sort.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."
No. No I am not. I was forced to attend by the headmaster who blackmailed me with the proof of my criminal activities. And going to prison means facing the wrath of all those I robbed and their hired thugs. So this is the lesser of two devils. Barely.
"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."
If you call this peace I don't want to know what you consider turbulent times.
"You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
I don't want to protect! I want to be protected!
The hologram disappears. At the same time there are cries of surprise as the other passengers start looking through the glass walls and pointing to something.
I swallow another pill and approach the windows myself. From this point I can see a large structure situated at the edge of the large canyon excavated by the river below.
Beacon Academy. My new home. My new hell.
At least I'll walk on solid earth again soon. ...That doesn't console me at all.
I hear the Airship docking at the port. Without wasting a single second I rush out the moment the doors open.
"Aaaah..." I draw a deep breath, feeling my stomach finally calming down now that my feet are on solid ground again. Accursed vehicle, why did I need to travel on it? I would have preferred to come here on foot. Much more easy and enjoyable. Oh yes, Ozpin told me the initiation ceremony is tomorrow and it's tradition for all future students to sleep at the Academy the night before.
Initiation ceremony. Just the name alone fills me with dread. Will it be like the second test to become Genin, or more like the Chuunin exam? What I know is that Ozpin will not allow me to fail, so I have to succeed at all costs. Wonderful. Just...I don't have the strength to be sarcastic about it anymore.
Sighing I unseal a canteen and drink water to remove the bitter taste on my tongue. My life is a goddamn mess, but at least it isn't a living hell. Yet. So I better make damn sure it stays that way.
I follow the paved road surrounded on both sides by old style street lamps. Old style for this world anyway since in the Elemental Nations paper lamps were used to illuminate the streets at night. It isn't as if we didn't have the technology to make electrical ones, all the houses have them. We even had screens and cinemas. No TV though. I guess people in my old land are just traditionalist.
Or it's much more simple to replace less complex things if a ninja happens to destroy them.
Personally I find Vytal much more enjoyable to live in: now that I tasted things like the Internet I don't think I can go back. Except for the vehicles: those can all burst in flames for all I care. Diabolical contraptions if I ever saw one.
I raise my head and take my first good look at Beacon Academy. I admit the massive building is impressive, its many towers rising to the sky with the lighthouse at the top of the highest one giving the name to the place. And this is not counting the many other smaller buildings such as dormitories surrounding it. So it was written in the guide, I have yet to see it in person. With the thick forest surrounding it bears a passing resemblance to Konoha. Minus the Hokage Mountain of course. Now that is a huge mistake: they are too open, how are they going to handle an attack from all fronts?
...Are the people here so strong they don't feel it's necessary to have even such a basic precaution? Oh, for the love of...!
"What are you doing!"
Once again my train of thoughts is interrupted by someone shouting near me. Should I care? Meh, it's not like I have better things to do. I have nothing to do for the time being. Point.
It's the girl in red and black from before, thankfully without the blonde menace, sprawled on the ground amidst white cases while a girl in white is scolding her. Judging from the luggage cart it's safe to assume Red-black bumped into it and messed up White's luggage.
The girl in white is dressed in an incredibly classy way, with a bolero jacket over a thigh-length dress. Not ideal attire for combat, that's for sure. The rapier on her side tells otherwise. If I'm not wrong it's designed for direct manipulation of Aura and elemental Dust, a style of fighting I read requires a lot of training and talent. My own experiments mixing Chakra and Dust didn't end well: the reactions were too strong and out of control. I had some success with Lightning Dust, but it's not something I can safely use on a battlefield yet.
"Uh, sorry!" Red-black quickly apologizes.
"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"
That arrogant tone, that air of superiority. I get a strong Hyuuga Main House vibe from her. Hideaki was the same before mellowing out a bit. So now we also have a member from a family of elitists. This reminds me more and more of the Genin Academy.
"Give me that!" She snatches a case and opens it. Its contents instantly pick up my interest: Dust, a lot of it. Powdered and stored into vials. "This is Dust! Mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"
Does this mean...I eye the other cases. Can I steal one of them? And can I get away with it? It's clear White is rich enough to afford so much, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
"Uuuhhh..."
"What are you, brain-dead? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"
Ohi ohi! What are you doing Shiro Oujou-sama (White Young Lady)!? Don't shake that vial so strongly, all the Dust is pouring out in a damn waste.
"I... I know...Cough!" The other girl starts coughing because of the Dust on her face.
"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What have you got to say for yourself?!"
"Etciù!"
Ka-Boom!
...Did Red-black just...cause an explosion by sneezing? Wow, I didn't know Dust can be used this way. In a way it's impressive. A very embarrassing way, but still impressive.
I follow the vial flying in the air, thinking if it's worth the risk of snatching it away. It lands on feet on a girl who arrived while I was distracted and she picks it up.
The book she is nonchalantly reading put me on alert in a single instant. I'm more than aware of Kakashi's habit, and everyone who does the same is either too confident or just so good that he can afford it. Considering where we are I'm inclined to believe the latter.
By all the people I meet until now this long black-haired girl reminds me of a proper kunoichi the most: dressed mostly in black and white, stockings and a sleeveless shirt granting liberty of movements and a weapon of unidentifiable nature on her back that may be a sword, but I'm not betting on it. She moves with a certain feline grace that make her hard to notice unless you're looking directly at her. By contrast the black bow in her hair is...kinda cute. Must be a woman's thing.
She briefly inspects the vial and turns her gaze at the scene. In response I step slightly to the left, out of her vision and ready to disappear if for one motive or another someone decides to involve me.
"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Shiro Oujo-sama turns out alright, a bit of soot but clothes not even singed. She is good.
"I'm really, really sorry!" Red-black apologizes, tapping the tips of her index fingers together. I could swear I saw that habit somewhere, but I'll be damned if I remember where or who.
"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"
...What?! My head turns sharply and for the first time I get a long, good look at Red-black: she really is younger, at least two years my junior.
I take a step back, my face slowly morphing into a mask of pure horror. To be moved ahead of two whole freaking years...just how talented is she!? The usual pre-academy combat school's program is three years and the required age to register is fourteen. She is fifteen. Oh God! She completed a three year program in only one.
I'm in front of another Itachi? Red and black, just like his eyes and his cloak...
For the Shodai Hokage's ghost, I'm so fucking screwed. What kind of misfortune put me in the same year as such a monster!
"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" Stop Shiro! You're not playing with fire, you're playing with freaking dynamite!
"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" Aaahh! She's going to snap! This will be a bloodbath I need to run I need to-!
"It's heiress, actually." The black haired girl approaches the two, book no longer in sight. And that shows she's taking this seriously. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
Wait wait wait! Shiro Oujo-sama, no Yukihime (Snow Princess) is the heiress to SDC? This is really unexpected, in the Elemental Nations nobles were forbidden from becoming ninja. The most they could get away with was one or two family heirlooms with an hidden function activated by chakra. And now you tell me the most rich family in Vale sent their daughter and heir to become a Huntress? Shouldn't she be attending a business school? What is she doing here? And what is her family planning to do if she dies?
This stinks of conspiracy a mile afar. Great, as if I don't have enough problems already.
Weiss smiles smugly. "Finally! Some recognition!"
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Black-white continues in a monotone.
"Wha- How dare you!"
Ehi, it's true. I don't know about the former, but I can attest for the latter. I wonder if I should include myself in those 'questionable business partners'? Does stealing count as business?
Weiss snatches the Dust vial from Black-white's hand and walks away in indignation. Yup, a spoiled princess alright. Leaving the Dust unwat- drat, no. The cases are already being collected by guys in a suit appearing out of nowhere. I can take the place of...nope, if I use the Henge I would practically scream to all Vale that the "Thief with a Thousand Faces" and "Human Weapon of Mass Destruction" is here at Beacon. Drat. What a waste of Dust.
"I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, what's..!" Red-black tries to strike a conversation with Black-white, but the quiet girl walks away too without a word.
That's my clue to move too. Now that a crisis is averted I need to find where the hell we need to gather.
"Welcome to Beacon..." Red-black mutters sadly while collapsing to the ground on her back. My feet stop on their own.
Move. My feet don't budge.
Oh no Jin. No no no. You aren't going to do it. You're going to find the meeting point and prepare for fighting for your life tomorrow.
She looks so sad...
She's a freaking prodigy who can in all likelihood wipe the floor with you with minimal effort. An Itachi-like! The man who frikking killed his entire clan in one night! It's probably a mask! Who knows what kind of screwed up mentality she has?
Her sadness doesn't look false at all.
And I don't care! I don't even know her name, she has nothing to do with me. So she had a rough start. Who doesn't? Let her suck it up!
"...Hey." I hold out my hand to her. "I'm Jin."
"...Ruby." She takes my hand and I help her stand up.
Let's put it this way. Since I'm sure nobody want a repeat of the Uchiha Massacre (with me and the other students in places of the Uchihas) it's in the best interest of everyone that the super-strong, and possibly unstable, prodigy is kept happy and satisfied with her life. And who better than a friendly acquaintance to cheer her up? It's simply pragmatism, someone has to do it.
Why me though!?
Because I'm the only one present right now.
This doesn't mean I'm okay with it!
"...So you see, you don't need to worry so much about making a bad first impression." I tell Ruby as I walk next to her, following this winding road rolling around the academy proper. I have to say; whoever designated this has excellent tastes: scenic trees and bushes, arching architectures that support nothing are nice to look at and even a canal next to the road filled with pink petals. It only lacks a blooming Sakura tree to be perfect. "Those things take times. The ability to make friends fast is very rare. This is the first day in an unfamiliar environment for everyone, it's normal to be nervous. It's even possible it was a facade and in reality she's a very kind girl who just wants to be your friend."
"Really?" Ruby asks, eyes filled with unbridled excitement and hope.
"Really." I nod. Then I continue in the same tone. "Of course it's also possible she really is as she looked and she now hates your guts with a passion."
Smooth Jin, very smooth. I wonder if it would beneficial in the long run to simply cut off my tongue. Right now it certainly looks like a very good idea.
"Oh." And just like that she reverts to a quiet and depressed mood. My God, if I didn't know she is likely capable of killing someone with only a plastic knife it would fell like kicking a puppy.
...This begs the question: why, in the name of the Five Kages, am I escorting the immensely talented, and probably insane, young prodigy in a walk alongside the Academy? Without even fucking know where I am and where I am going? Oh yes, the whole "friendly acquaintance" mask needed to keep her from falling in a spiral of negative emotions that would end with the necks of many, me included, separated from their body.
I did enough after the first five seconds, during which I presented myself. So why the hell I'm still talking with her?!
Because I have yet to find an excuse to bolt away that doesn't end with me in excruciating pain, or even dead, because she got pissed I tried to dump her like Yukihime did.
"Ah! But I'm not sure!" I quickly say while waving a hand and scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. Simulated of course. "I really shouldn't make assumptions. And neither should you. Just try again: she may be a hard nut to crack, but like they say 'a friend is a priceless thing to have, because it's a two-ways relation'."
"Oooh..." Her eyes almost seem to sparkle. "Deep. Who said it?"
I shrug, mentally noting another person passing next to us going in the opposite direction. It's the seventh so far. Does this mean we are moving away from where we are supposed to gather? Better to confirm later. "A friend of mine did. Since he had almost no family he treasured his friends greatly." I tilt my head. "He also had quite the temper, so those he considered true friends were few. God knows how quick he was to make enemies with perfectly likeable people because of an initial misunderstanding."
Then again Katsuro had a 'unique' outlook of life. Jiraiya was a big pervert, but Katsuro treated him as if the Sannin made a direct affront against him. Not my problem, but I still wonder what the reason behind it was. And now I will likely never find out.
I better stop thinking about it.
"I see." She seems to ponder something before speaking up again. "So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?"
"Eeh..." I glance to the side, enjoying the sight of a peaceful hill full of flowers. "I suppose I'm just a sucker for cute girls looking sad-!"
I freeze, horror seeping into my face. There's no way I did...Oh God I did! Damage control! Now!
Predictably Ruby is...blushing and looking with wide eyes at me? "Wait wait wait!" I frantically wave my hands. "I didn't mean that!" Wrong! You're implying she isn't cute: women cut testicles for similar affronts. "Well no, I meant that...but not that way! What I mean is-" I'm running out of options! Okay, time for the final resort: the 'idiot card'! "I mean...sorry." I hung down my head. "Sometimes I speak without thinking."
The sad thing is that it's true.
"It's-It's okay!" Ruby panics before looking down, a faint blush still present on her cheeks. "It's just...this is the first time a boy of my own age calls me 'cute'. Dad and my uncle do it all the times...but it's different..." She trails off.
The...first time? Strange. Oh, I don't doubt calling her cute is the last thing on the minds of those who see her being all murdering and psycho, but there should have been at least someone with poor survival instincts who tried to hit on her before realizing their mistake. "Did you go to an all-girls school?" This is a possibility.
"Nu-uh." She shakes her head, now held high with nothing more that suggests the existence of the early blush. She's emotional, but she recovers easily. Still needs work though or she will never fool anyone. "Signal is co-ed, but all the boys-and the girls." She chuckles. "Were kind of dorks when it comes to weapons. There wasn't much besides training, studying and designing new weapons."
That explains so much. "I see." I guess they glossed over her social skills. It was a school full of weapon nerds.
...I wonder what does that make me, with all the guns I carry in my scrolls?
And with that an awkward silence falls around us. ...Should I break it? I suppose this is preferable to learning more horrifying facts about the Itachi of this world while worrying about every word I say. On the other hand there's no telling what her mind would come up with if given sufficient time.
"So... I got this thing!" I guess the choice is out of my hands now. She grabs the contraption she carries on her back, pull it out and open it to reveal...
...The most wicked looking scythe I have ever seen. I feel the hair on my back stand on end. Not a kusarigama, but the type that farmers use to crop the harvest.
"Is that a scythe?" I say dumbly. Holy hell, the thing is huge! How does she carry it? Is it made of a special light-weighted metal?
"It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle!" She exclaims with pride.
My brain dies. Like, literally. "...A rifle." I finally say after a few seconds, still rebooting from the shock. "Your weapon is a scythe and sniper rifle combo."
"Yes!"
My mind conjures the image of Ruby happily beheading people and Grimm alike with her scythe and sending the heads flying off, before she shifts to the rifle and starts firing at them like in a demented version of skeet shooting while laughing in delight at every hit.
I. Must. Not. Scream in abject terror. It may set her off.
As I watch Ruby holding that monstrosity like a newborn infant her cheerfulness changes from merely disturbing to downright terrific. This, this wasn't a mask: someone took this girl and raised her in a specific way to make her believe that violence is normal and killing is entertaining!
Clever. Horrifying but clever: this way there's no danger of her cracking under the pressure like many ninja do. Of course you can't do it with everyone: she had to have the talent from the beginning. My God I heard tales of similar attempts during the Third Shinobi War, in particular from Mist, but seeing one in the flesh is a whole another story.
I'm soooo glad I'm not a shinobi anymore. I mean, it's a freaking scythe/sniper rifle combo! Am I the only one concerned for her mental health?! "That's amazing! Did you come up with the design yourself?" Smile for now Jin. Smile and, in the name of your sanity, forget what kind of monster you're talking to!
"No. My uncle did, and he taught me how to use it. But I made Crescent Rose myself!"
Should I feel relieved that there wasn't someone so out of their mind to make it for her, or worried that there is apparently another wielder of this trap? I mean, a scythe which is also a sniper rifle? Come on! It's ridiculous! Who is the lunatic who can come up with something like that?
I give a quick glance at the guitar case on my shoulder and remember what is inside. At least I have the excuse I was drunk when I designed the damn thing.
...But I was sober when I looked at the notes I wrote on a napkin and decided 'Screw it! Let's try it!' I sigh. I suppose I'm not free of guilt, no matter how much I deny it.
"So, what do you got?" Ruby asks while leaning close.
Right. Should have seen it coming. So, should I show her my kunai and...Like hell I will! The less she knows about my abilities the more probabilities I will have to escape alive if she goes crazy later on.
"For the small fries I use those." I take out a kunai, not a Hiraishin one, from my pouch, twirl it and shove it back. "While, for the most difficult ones I have...this." I open the case.
What I take out from it is a black and yellow striped, seven string V-electric guitar with a straight headstock. What makes it different from a normal instrument, aside from being entirely made of metal and being a little thicker than a normal guitar, is the body: instead of a regular 'V' shape it has not two, but four protrusions forming a 'W'. The external ones also has a series of bolt heads popping up from the surface. To the right of the bridge there are the normal three knobs for the volume, but to the left there are another three knobs. Who look similar, but have an entirely different purpose.
"A guitar?" There is doubt in her voice. Of course, it was what I aimed for: make people underestimate it.
I smirk. "A guitar." I press the first of the extra knobs. The guitar splits up at the middle: a gun's grip with a trigger pop up from each of two half and the pieces of headstock move to the side, revealing each a hidden barrel.
I grab them both and hold them up. "And also a pair of machine guns." Yes, I was very, very drunk when I designated it. But damn if I didn't grow fond of the little bastard: it does its job well after all.
"Oooh! Ohmygosh!" Ruby goes all starry-eyes. "That's so cool! Does it do anything else?"
"Sure." I press the second knob and slam the butts of the grips together. There are a lot of mechanisms shifting, at the end of which I hold a half-joined guitar with a single grip in the middle. "Gatling gun mode with double concentrated rate of fire. There is also a third mode."
"And, that's..." I lean closer and wink. "A secret!" I'm playing with fire here, but I will not reveal that mode to her if I can help it. Just in case my finger inch closer to the third knob, ready to push it in case of danger. Killing her will get me into trouble, but I value my own life much more.
She pouts in an adorable manner (in any other occasion I would find such a sight adorable, but right now all it does is making my finger inching more) but doesn't press further. "Did you name it?"
I nod. "Yes. Its name is 'Ibaraki Doji'." I took it from one of the tales my mother read me when she wanted to make me behave, one about a child who awakened his violent nature and became a monster because he was careless with his work.
"I-ba-ra-chi-do-schi?" Ruby tilts her head and repeats, mangling it horribly. Right, it's a Japanese name and we are speaking English.
"Sorry, it's an obscure and almost extinct dialect from my homeland. It means..." Literally it means 'child of Ibaraki', but that leave me with telling her what an Ibaraki is. Which is a region, but if I tell her she will ask where it is and...nope. Separating the kanji we have... "Child of the Rose Castle."
"Ah! It has 'Rose' in its name. Like Crescent Rose." She caresses the monster. Why is she caressing it? She giggles. "Maybe our meeting was destiny."
I sure hope not, I don't want anything to do with you: now that I think about it you're too much like the original Ibaraki Doji. The moment you taste blood...Zack!
"Uhm, but why is it a guitar?" She asks as she puts the scythe back in its compressed form on her back.
I do the same with Ibaraki Doji. "To play it of course, to relax when I'm stressed." Which is happening a lot recently.
"So it's a real guitar?" Duh! What did you think, that it was only aesthetic? "And you know how to play it?"
"Sure." And quite well if I say so myself. "Do you want to hear me play?" She nods so fast her head is but a blur. "Alright! Follow me!" I can use a little stress-relieving right now.
We walk down the road until we reach the perfect place: a plaza with a big block of white granite to the side. And besides us there is no one in sight. Even better.
I jump at the top of the block and survey the area. Uhm, here in the open the acoustics aren't very good. In that case! With my body blocking Ruby's sight I cast a minor Wind jutsu to amplify the sound. If I'm doing this, I'm going to do this right.
"Alright!" I turn around, a charming smile on my face and my hands over the strings. "Ladies and, well, Ladies." This makes Ruby giggle. "This is a song about a man, a great man who was capable but also honourable. In life he was forced to make truly hard decisions for the good of those he sworn to protect and paid the price for them. Yet, even in the darkest hour, he would always remember a particular memory: the one about a stallion he possessed during his childhood and was his best friend. Even in despair that memory would always appear and encourage him to rise and fight again."
I pluck a string, the sound resounding all over the area. "The name of that stallion was...Trombe!"
[ Play: Super Robot Wars Original Generation - Trombe! ]
I close my eyes to seal away the outside world and start playing. My fingers fly, giving shape and form in the world to a majestic and powerful melody. The original song requires a whole orchestra, but even with only a guitar I manage to replicate the sheer wonder and soul of it. I am by no means a true artist, but I'm confident enough in my skill to make it pleasurable for everyone listening.
And so for the next five minutes I continue playing, eyes closed as I abandon myself to the music. I forget the bad memories, the events of the past days, what the grim future may hold and the fact there's a smiling human weapon listening to me a few feet away.
[ Stop playing: Super Robot Wars Original Generation - Trombe! ]
At the end I play the final note with a flourish move, hand hold right in the air. Smiling I open my eyes...
"Bravooo!"
"Encore! Encore!"
"Play another one!"
And almost piss myself when I realize there is a whole crowd applauding and cheering in front of me.
"It was sooo great Jin!" Ruby jumps up and down at the head of the crowd.
What? When? Why? How? There was no one around except us two when we arrived. Did they come when I was playing?
I smile, but inside I start cursing myself with every swear word I can remember. I wanted to stay anonymous, and instead I ended up drawing unwanted attention on myself not only from a dangerous individual, but now also from a large portion of this year's new recruits.
Fan. Freaking. Tastic.
En: Check out for changes in the Character Sheet.