Moons: I'm sorry this took... what two weeks? -has no clue- Anyway, it was supposed to be done by yesterday, but I was... procastionating I guess is the right word. Again, I'm really sorry.
Hayashigakure is fanmade and belongs to HoshiMahou-chan of deviantART. All credit for said village goes to her. I just made the OCs. Link's on my profile.
The world trembles like it wants to stop us,
Taking everything away
I'm not dreaming any more,
And we haven't done anything yet, but still we'll keep going!
~After Dark, Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Sora stretched his arms. His new arms. It felt so good.
'I need to start testing my arm out soon. No not soon, now! Didn't Natsuki say I could activate the trigger that shots kunai or something like that?'
Sora held his arm up and imagined the compartment opening and a trigger shotting a kunai. The door to the compartment clicked open and in less than a second a kunai attached to a wire shot from under the sleeve to his jacket. It sunk into the wall *thump*
Natsuki rushed out into the room, cup still in her hand. Sora gave the wire a tug and the kunai was yanked out of the wall, but didn't come all the way back to him. "Got it." He said satisfied, but he hadn't 'gotten it'. A second kunai shot out, shattering the cup Natsuki held. "Shit!" She screeched, dropping what remained of the handle.
"Sorry, I-"
"Don't think about it. The arm and it's traps are completely attached to your nervous system. All you have to do is imagine hard enough." She made sure the arm wasn't aimed at her, then bent down to pick up the pieces of glass. Sora pulled both of the kunai back to him and stashed them away.
"Just, please, take it outside. Besides, it doesn't look like that much imagination is required for you."
"Right." Sora replied. He stole the toast from Natsuki's plate and made his way out the back door. He aimed the arm at the shed and shot the kunai at the shed. It hit just inches from the point he wanted it too. "Not half bad." He commented to no one.
"Yeah, not that bad. Blonde-y did good."
Sora looked up at the roof. Twin sat there staring, his natural grin smack on his face. He wasn't as clear as normal. He was like a ghost with very little color on his pale skin making him almost transparent.
"You want something?" Sora asked the demon casually. No one could hear or see him.
"Want somethin'? Nah, just checkin' in on yah. So Sora-chan, you get new hands. That's nice. Perfect for killing too."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Twin kicked his feet about playfully. "Well, now you don't just have your flesh on arms. You're no longer just skin, bones, and whatever muscle you have. You're a weapon. You can stop a blade with your hand. You can punch harder than before." He jumped down from the rooftop and grabbed Sora's right arm. "You're immune to some pain." He gave the arm a twist. It turned without resistance, completely flipping over 360 degrees. "And apparently you're much more flexible- didn't see that one coming actually.
"But most importantly, you have something to use as a tool for sacrificing."
"Sacrificing?" Sora repeated. Twin nodded.
"Yah see, you have traps in here specially made for grabbing blood, right?"
"Uh huh..."
"And you need blood to sacrifice." Twin told him simply. "You can get it more easily than ever now."
"Yeah!" Sora realized what he was talking about. "I asked for the arm to be able to obtain blood. I didn't even realize..." He paused,
"I didn't even realize what I was saying."
Twin just smirked, "Whatever, Sora-chan. By the way, yah might wanna get a sacrifice while you're in this country. You can't stay here for long anyway." As he said those last words he became nothing again.
"Sure, whatever." Sora's mood brightened a little. It was a long time since he actually remembered killing somebody. He would get some enjoyment out of this.
A man stumbled out of a building, his face flushed red not just from the cold. If this man was a stranger to alcohol, then the Snake Sanin, Orochimaru, was a helpless little school girl.
Easy practice.
Sora stepped out from behind the tree he were he had hid. He moved up the sleeve to his jacket and opened the compartment in his upper arm. There were his weapons. He took out a long kunai and made a deep cut in his arm. The blood poured out onto the snow. Sora winced and gritted his teeth. Was pain always this bad? He couldn't remember perfectly. It had been a while too long.
He bent over and used his hands and feet to form Jashin's symbol beneath him. Then he aimed his hand- a kunai shot out.
'Shit! Too early!'
The drunk didn't even notice the kunai collide with the snow at his feet. He walked lopsided in zigzags and swirls down the path. Another kunai shot out. 'Craaaaaap!' The man stopped for a second as if now noticing something. Instead, he just put his hand on his forehead and mumbled something like "...not...lost... dam..."
Sora sweatdropped and reeled his missed kunai in. 'Even if I didn't sacrifice him, he'll be dead by morning.'
He aimed his arm at the drunken man again and focused. The kunai shot out and landed perfectly on the shoulder. The man was so drunk he barely flinched at the impact. He turned around and saw a blurry red figure. "Who the frick are you~?" He slurred.
Sora ignored the question. He pulled the wire to fling the kunai back at him. He gave it a large lick to ingest the blood. It was disgusting! It reeked of the alcohol content, making the Jashinist want to spit it back out. He swallowed it anyway. He didn't notice any difference, but the man certainly did. He fell down in shock and stared. His mouth hung open as he stuttered, "Wh-what the fu- what the fuckin' hell!?"
Sora was confused by this comment. Nothing changed that he knew of. He pushed it to the back of his mind and aimed the kunai.
'I'm immortal. It won't kill me. Just a quick stab in the heart and get it over with.'
He struggled to grip the kunai, fear of pain consuming him. He squeezed his eyes shut and flung it into the chest. The drunk fell over, instantly dead. Sora screamed.
Blood was shooting out of his heart and starting to gush out of his skin. It was like the torture all over again. He fell down to his knees and began to hyperventilate. It was hard to breathe. He clutched his chest with one hand, staining the metal red.
'Pray you moron!'
Sora remembered Brom teaching him to kill like this. You shared the pain with your enemy. Then you prayed to Jashin, thanking him for a good sacrifice. You kept your weapon in the heart while you prayed. He stuck the kunai further into the heart to keep it there, being more pain. He thought he felt some blood in his mouth, but pushed the feeling away.
He let himself fall onto the snow, then rolled over onto his back. He prayed to Jashin. He begged him to take the pain away, even if it was just a little bit.
He coughed and small amounts of blood spurted out of his mouth. He began to feel worse. His breathing was difficult. 'Thank you... Jashin-sama. Thank you for helping me kill that man.'
He didn't stop coughing, but blood didn't come out anymore. 'Thank you Jashin-sama.'
Sora continued praying as his body bled and did it's best to heal. He didn't know how long. Then he felt a light kick at his side. His eyes snapped open. Brom towered over him.
"Sempai?!"
"Get up." Brom ordered, "You've prayed enough."
"How do you know?"
"Your skin."
"Skin?" Sora repeated. "What's wrong with my skin?"
"Nothing." Brom replied, "That's the point. Your skin will change color when you ingest blood. It fades bad to normal only if yah break the jutsu or if yah finish it by praying to Jashin-sama."
Sora remembered back when Brom showed him who to sacrifice. His skin had been black with white skeletal markings. Also the man had freaked out when he swallowed the blood. Had his skin changed?
Sora wondered this as he got up. He only got to one knee before clutching his chest. His heart still hurt. Brom got down and helped him up. "Com'on. I can't drag yah around all day."
"S-sorry. It... it just hurts a lot."
"I'm sure it does."
"Does getting stabbed in the heart always hurt this bad?" Sora asked. He leaned on Brom as they started to walk.
"It always does." Brom replied. "But you're an immortal now. You share the pain of death with your enemies and learn to love it."
"Like how you continued stabbing yourself instead of finishing of the sacrifice quickly."
Brom nodded. "Ah, sweet, sweet pain." He muttered softly. The two immortals walked on.
Natsuki shuttered slightly. Beside her was her mom, a cigarette lighting in her hands. "You know I hate that." Natsuki muttered, but her mom didn't hear her quiet voice. She just put the cigarette in her mouth and said, "I don't know why you come outside. It's so freakin' cold. You aren't even in a coat!"
"I've gotten used to the cold. I grew up here." Natsuki told her. "I'm fine in my sweater."
"Yeah, but it's not worth it. I'm goin' back in." She went back inside and her daughter sighed as she breathed in the now clean air.
She always hated drugs. Her parents had started using them just after she was born, hoping to get rid of stress. Her mom smoked and her dad drank. Over the first years of her life, she learned to recognize the smell of second-hand smoke and cheap beer. She would retreat to her room, or to her neighbor's home when she was old enough and her dad was drunk enough. Not only did the drugs smell bad, but Natsuki was sure they made people absentminded and in some cases violent.
Natsuki's greatest phobia became drugs. She learned in the academy how there weren't just the average drugs you get in bars. A medic-nin has one of the hardest jobs because if their drugs aren't used properly it could led to an overdose and death, even if the injured person isn't in critical condition before drugs are involved. There are drugs that are used on prisoners to numb their minds or torture them. In short, anything that changes the body is a drug. A drug is a poison, even if mild.
'Why did I come out here again...? Oh yeah. The snow.'
Snow was beautiful. It sparkled in the sun and stretched so far it never seemed to end. Why would people want a thing like spring?
"Natsuki!" The blonde looked up to see Sora and his Sempai coming toward her. Sora ran up to her and said, "This is it. I'm leaving."
"Oh, you are? Really!?"
Sora nodded. "Yep. Now that I have my hands, there's really no reason for me to stay here. Brom-sempai said we're going to a village where I can get a better weapon. It's kinda cool because we'll be taking the train out. I never rode on one before."
"It's nothing special." Natsuki told him, "I've been on it a couple of times. You just sit down and the train does the traveling for you. It can even be boring. Besides, after the first time the good feeling kind of dies."
"Oh... you're like a constant downer." He joked giving her a light punch in the arm. She didn't laugh, but managed a half smile for about a millisecond.
"Anyway, Brom-sempai is gonna summon Kanemaru in a moment. Then you can do all your measurements and crap and we'll be on our way. Kanemaru will go back to the land of summonings when your work is done, so you won't have to worry about him."
"Okay." Natsuki replied. "Thanks for filling me in, Sora-san."
"Don't mention it. Sempai told me to tell you."
"And... there's something I should tell you." Natsuki admitted. "About your arm..."
"My arm? What's wrong with it!?"
"Nothing... it's just what's inside it." Her hand glided over to his metal right shoulder. "I placed a chip inside it. I said that it would help you with your nerves. … It was worth roughly one hundred thousand ryou."
'One hundred thousand!? There's no way Natsuki could afford that! She wouldn't be here if she had that kind of money! She-'
"I stole it." Natsuki said interrupting his thoughts. "Some inventors had it and I really wanted it. I was just starting to get interested in automail and I thought to myself, 'If- if I could just have it. If I could use it on something.' Like your arm."
"One hundred thousand...!" Sora repeated. He was sure it was more money than he would ever have in all his immortal life!
"A couple months ago, I stole it from a storehouse. I don't think they've even noticed it's gone- or at least they haven't alerted the media or anything." Her hand fell off the shoulder.
"Just- just be careful with it."
"I will." He assured. "... so what, no name calling. I swear, you must think I'm a baka or something to assume I'll just lose or damage it."
"It only a warning so you know it can't be replaced. … and if anything, you're a... bonehead." She decided.
"B-bonehead!?" Sora stuttered. Natsuki looked away, as though regretting her words, but Sora outburst, half laughing. "That's the lamest insult I've ever heard! Com'mon! You can do better than that!"
She smiled and repeated over again, "Bonehead, bonehead, bonehead! That's what you are, Sora-baka."
"Baka, huh?" Sora made a face of mock discovery and said sarcastically. "So you are a bitch deep down!" Natsuki's smile grew and she had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling.
"So we're cool right? We're friends?"
Natsuki stopped smiling and blinked at the question.
"Um... I guess I don't have anything against you. Why?"
"I already made two enemies in, like, the past week. I really don't want another." He said.
"Sure... I guess we're cool. I won't say friends, but we're cool. Besides, it's better to have an ally than a enemy."
"Exactly." Sora agreed. "I owe you one. If there's someone you want dead, just look for Sora the Jashinist."
"And if you need me, just look for Burondo Natsuki." She reached to her side. "That reminds me." She pulled two white gloves out of her pocket. "They're a bit old, but you need something to hide the automail with."
Sora thanked her and put them on. They covered all the way past his sleeves so no gray showed. It was the final thing Natsuki gave him before he left with his sempai. Unless, that is, if you count a few parting words.
"Don't forget, you owe me one."
Days later...
"Freakin' Brom-sempai..." Sora mumbled. "Hurry to get to a freakin' village in the middle of a friggin' swamp and he tells me to get lost the second I get there. 'You found a place to stay perfectly well last time Sora-kun.' 'We can't be together too much Sora-kun, there are bounty hunters and shinobi after us.' After his ass he means. Now I'm paying for his trouble."
He stormed down a random path, sulking at his luck.
Hayashigakure (Village Hidden in the Forest) was surrounded by bogs and guarded by archers. You had to give a sign that you were a peaceful traveler to enter or leave. Otherwise you would be killed on the spot. Brom didn't tell him what the sign was. Only to stay on his shoulders to get through and whatever he did, he must not look down. Even so, 'peaceful travelers' were often ether missing-nin or criminals like himself returning from unknown jobs. There were many people, not all looking so nice, and they came in all varieties of colors and natures. The leader of the village was the Hudokage, who wasn't on the friendliest terms with other villages. Yet people here looked up to him.
The weather of Hayashigakure was what bothered Sora the most. It had been drizzling when he and Brom entered and hadn't shown any sign of stopping. In fact, Sora swore he had seen lightning in the distance. The water was soaking his shoes and he hated it.
He started walking again, deeper into the trees that inhabited the village. The entire place was just trees! Even the buildings were carved into trees!
He groaned as he pasted a random man in a dark green cloak. The man held up a knife. Sora saw it just last second. He spun around and held his arms up defensively, ready for the attack. The knife came down.
Blood dripped from the mans arm. "Why... did you just cut yourself." Sora asked, staring at the arm. It was covered in scars.
"It helps me feel alive." The man replied. Sora saw under the hood of the cloak. He wasn't really that old. Only a teenager.
"Um... could you get me a place to stay?"
Moons: Okay, it's a school night and... 10 PM so uh Goodnight.