A/N: Well a new year a new arc! Sort of. But a new arc nonetheless! This one and the next one I had help from my good friend ParagonPariah, whose story, Hyuga's Black Eye, you should check out. He does amazing things and he's an amazing guy. Manages to put up with me somehow. Now this arc is 2 years from the first arc so our characters are now about 14. Now then, let's begin this new arc!
2 Years Later
Winds whipped across the desert, shifting the seemingly infinite sands from dune to dune, destroying old ones just for new ones to form, an ever changing landscape. In this near inhospitable environment there is but one stable thing: The Village Hidden in the Sand. It stands tall and proud, a beacon in the desert that blends in with the surrounding sands. Within this village are many citizens and shinobi, ruled over by their leader, the Kazekage, a now fair ruler. Near the back end of the village was a prison, filled with the criminals who had committed various acts of malevolence were locked up. Across from it, near another corner in the very back of the village, was a prison hospital for the unstable or those with specific requirements for containment.
Within that prison-hospital was a room nearer the basement, well lit, and well-guarded. Two Guards minimum on watch at all times at the door to a room that contained a window for viewing within. If one were to look through this window, they'd see a stark white room tiled from floor to ceiling. It'd be a beautiful room for any other purpose, but the purpose of this room was to hold a prisoner more dangerous than most. Suspended a couple feet above the ground is a girl, her head lowered as if she were in a sleep, her body kept in a binding jacket that was then bound by several ropes anchored to the wall. Over her mouth is a face-place reaching up to here nose with four vertical slits in front of her mouth to keep her breathing. On one of the walls would be a small panel-like device with tubes slowly descending every day, pumping the girl full of sedatives to keep her in a coma, the medicines sent in through small tubs going from the machine to her left wrist.
The girl in question had long green hair, unkempt from her time in sedation. Her eyes were checked every day for a response, irises a violent shade of lime-green that reacted to light but nothing else. Her name was on a plate outside the door, a name many had come to fear: Anri Nomura. Below that was a small holder for her charts, sedative requirements, name, age, history, allergies, etc. Two guards stand outside her door with one guard standing within the room itself. Standing, watching for people of suspect, watching this one girl, fourteen years of age, who'd wreaked havoc in the Hidden Sand Village a year ago, forcing the Kazekage, Gaara, to step in and contain her. Now she was bound and kept alive but asleep within the walls of the prison-hospital. Her sedatives changed every week with each different sedative being at odd, seemingly random intervals, so as not to let her body adapt, at least not quickly. This system has been at work for over a year with no hiccups or problems. At least, until now.
On this day, a small power outage occurred throughout the village. The prison's guard count was boosted by the village's main shinobi force while the prison-hospital gained little change save for a few guards for some of the less stable prisoners. Down in that room containing the girl Anri, the power shut off, the machine giving her the sedatives stopping, the lights turning off before the backup lights turned on. The guard inside checked the device, noticing how it had stopped, before walking briskly to the door and knocking. It was opened and he spoke.
"Get a nurse, we need someone to administer the sedatives."
"Just one?" the one on the right asked.
"Yes, just one." The one inside responded. The guard on the left of the door turned and walked from the corridor, heading to fetch a nurse when one came running down, a bag around her torso. She stopped and doubled over, panting from the sprint.
"I came as soon as I could!" she said, her white uniform crisp and clean as always, her black hair kept neatly in a bun. She looked to the guard with wide, brown eyes. "I've also been told that the patients upstairs are getting too rough, they need you two to go with them."
"Who gave that order?" The guard asked.
"The warden!" the nurse said quickly. "Listen, we don't have time, we have to keep her secured!" The guard in front of the nurse turned to his comrade who nodded. He left the door and walked with his partner down the hall, leaving the nurse to enter the room at the behest of the guard within. She quickly pulled the back from her shoulder and rifled through, the breathing of the girl still heard in the room.
"The warden must realise how dangerous his decision is." The guard mentioned candidly.
"I know, sir." The nurse fiddled with small needles and the tiny glass bottles of sedatives. "But the rest of the Shinobi force that isn't still guarding the village is mostly dealing with the prisons. Besides" she found the bottle and stuck the needle in the top, pulling the plunger to fill the device. "as long as you're in here she's still classified as secure."
"Fine." The guard said curtly, watching her work. The girl's breathing mixed with the nurse's, creating an odd rhythm. Eh guard stared intently at the nurse, hoping the sedatives still worked on the girl. The nurse finished filling the needle with a smile.
"Yes." She breathed when the smell hit. It was acrid, like sulfur almost. The nurse stood quickly and the guard looked over. The face mask on the girl was melting from the mouth out, drops and small streams of green acid ran from the hole, landing on the bonds that held her and melted them slowly.
"Do it now!" the guard ordered. The nurse nodded and took one step forward when the head rose. The eyes were half closed but her mouth worked itself before she spat, a glob of acid shooting into the throat of the poor nurse in front of her. The woman dropped the needle and clutched her throat as the acid melted through, burning like nothing the woman had experienced. She collapsed within seconds as the girl's head took aim at the guard. He shot forward, leaning down to pick up the needle and rose to inject the girl when she spat a glob of acid at his neck as well, the acrid scent of burning flesh filling the room as the guard stumbled back and collapsed. The head looked around, half-asleep, before lowering again, this time spitting the green liquid at a faster rate, cutting right through the bonds and strait-jacket that kept her secure in a line right down the middle. It split open, the bonds around her arms loosening enough to let her slip down to the floor where she landed in a heap. After a year of not moving, her limbs felt like jelly. But she managed to push herself up with her arms and get a knee under her. Feeling was returning, but not fast enough. The girl, panting, looked around and saw the dead nurse and guard. Taking the guard's clothes would attract too much attention. Though a simple nurse…
The girl went to work, taking off the nurses clothes bit by bit until the woman was completely naked. She slipped the shirt and skirt on, which fit quite snugly over her basic tight white clothes. She got the hat on and concentrated. She felt her chakra built up, ready for use after a year of dormancy. She managed to stand and make some hand signs. Channeling her chakra, she looked into the mirror as she became the nurse she had just murdered. She felt nothing as she grabbed the woman and the guard and piled them into a corner, dragging them. She made some hand signs before leaning over the two and opening her mouth, a stream of acid pouring out, melting the bodies in a morbid display. Steam rose from the corpses as they melted into the green goo until it was all just a puddle on the floor. The girl checked herself in the two-way mirror to reassure her appearance with the transformation and exited the room quickly, turning right. It wasn't long before she came across a sigh leading her to the main area upstairs. She followed it, walking up the steps with growing confidence in her legs until she reached a beige coloured hallway. She walked along, the slippers she got from the nurse working as silent footwear. She heard a commotion above, the other patients being hard to handle.
The girl found the front entrance and walked out to a few nurses standing around, talking in hushed voices. No one noticed her as she exited the building and walked swiftly into the alley behind. She took a deep breath to relax herself before looking around. Behind the prison were some garbage canisters and a large, grey basket full of laundry. Walking over, she found a few articles that would suit her needs for basic ambiguity. She slipped out of her nurse outfit and tossed it into the basket, donning the clothes. Loose black and brown shirt and pants, a cloak-like shawl that covered her torso quite nicely that had a large hood. This article was clearly large for her, but Anri didn't care. It concealed her well enough. She pulled the hood over her head and walked away from the hospital, like any sensible person would. From the hospital-prison she made her way down the left side of the village, meandering through various back alleys and side streets, even getting lost a few times, before she reached the village entrance. A few caravans were departing and Anri spotted one that was falling behind, their cart unguarded. Looking around before she did, she sprinted towards the cart, diving under the green cover tarp. She didn't need to murder these people, just use them for an escape.
She lay flat against the wooden bottom feeling the cart rock with each bump and jostling the various odds and ends within. They stopped and Anri heard the guards speaking inaudible words, and the caravan leader talking back. Anri took a deep breath through her nose and held it. Last thing she'd need is her breathing to give her away. Things were silent for an aggravatingly long time, the breath inside her beginning to hurt, wanting to be free. At last the cart began moving but Anri kept her breath held for a bit longer after the cart moved, not wanting to risk it. The winds whipped around the cart as it exited the shelter of the Sand Village and entered the harsh desert. The winds howled over any form of speech or communication. Only now, did Anri let out her breath in a large exhale.
She had escaped.
"Damn it Yukio!" Arine yelled out as she jumped up and thrust her spear to the ground that Yukio had just left. The spearhead embedded itself in the ground and Arine growled in frustration as she looked to her partner. Yukio stood right in front of her, his expression smug and satisfied. His ankle and wrist weights seemed to do little to weigh him down. He wore a blue t-shirt and black shorts as he moved his body back and forth, keeping himself loose and nimble. Two years and he was still smug about his ability to dodge.
"Problem, Arine?" he smiled. Arine roared and came at him, spear swinging out in full. Yukio ducked, the tip barely grazing a hair atop his head, before he shot up and leapt back. He landed on one foot and rocked back onto his other and leapt back as Arine ran at him and swung the spear down again in a slash. Yukio landed back on two feet and watched as Arine remained in her position, panting hard. She wore all black garments, pants and shirt, and was feeling the summer heat. Yukio smirked, admiring his choice of attire.
"You're too damned fast, stay still." Arine panted.
"You know, Arine" Denji called to her as he shouldered another large rock and began crouching and pushing back up, enjoying the burn the workouts gave him. "If he" he stood "stood still for you to hit him" he crouched and stood again "then that'd defeat the purpose."
"I know that!" Arine yelled at Denji, her temper getting the better of her. Denji looked and saw Yukio smirk at her reaction.
"Well if you did" he started "you wouldn't ask me to stand still." He started laughing when Arine began slashing at him furiously, attempting to land even a single hit. But Yukio had worked daily on his dodging with Aika and Arine to the point Denji was convinced no one could touch him unless he allowed it. He dodged, ducked, dived, dipped, and dodged every single stab, slash, and arc Arine made. She got frustrated and kept yelling out with every miss, giving Denji some amusement while he did arduous exercises. He kept doing his squats, holding this boulder upon his shoulders. Never skip a day to work your legs Aika had said. Now Denji's knees were screaming as he kept going up and down with this weight on his shoulders. He gritted his teeth and kept crouching, doing his required amount before he could let this thing fall to the ground. He watched as Arine slashed at Yukio's chest, the boy bending over backwards as the blade soared harmlessly over his chest.
Yukio's stark white hair had gotten a bit wilder, shaggier and brushed to the left. His golden eyes were shining in the sun as he smiled, dodging strikes that never touched him. Arine's green eyes kept getting angrier with each missed swing, her brown hair flailed around her head as she swung and stabbed, creating an interesting effect. Denji's own hair was growing out to just above his shoulders. His blue eyes were watching Yukio and Arine spar as Denji did his remaining repetitions. Just a few more.
"Hah!" Arine yelled as she attempted to predict Yukio's movements. She had swung down in a feint, making Yukio dodge to one side, before swinging at him with all her might. Yukio hadn't anticipated the feint, his swiftness getting to his head. He raised a leg in reflex to block the spear, the blade making contact with Yukio's ankle weight as he kicked out. The two held their positions for a seemingly long time. A light breeze kicked up and blew through the area, rusting the leaves on the trees and the hair of the two combatants. Denji stood for the last time, letting the rock drop from his shoulders with a muffled smuck! It proved to break the silence. Yukio smiled.
"You're getting better." He commented, lowering his leg as Arine lowered her spear.
"Or you're just getting worse." Arine replied, a grin spreading across her face.
"Oh I doubt that." Yukio spoke somewhat smugly. "But it's possible."
"Wanna bet, spark boy?" Arine challenged, leaning in.
"You really want to deal with-"
"Hey!" they heard from above. All three looked up and saw Aika standing on the brand new balcony to the cabin. "Come on inside, you guys need a break!" she called before walking back inside.
"Well" Denji began "I dunno about you two but I am gonna go relax." He started forward, rubbing his right shoulder to get rid of the stiffness in it. Yukio and Arine shrugged and followed their friend back into the cabin, which had received some changes. Now within the main living area were a couple wingback chairs, one maroon and one navy blue, added to the couch close to the door with the chairs facing the couch to make for meeting space. All of this was in an indent in the floor, a small step down from the rest of the ground floor. Yukio had the idea and Aika had approved it. After a month of work, they had successfully made the lowered section. Close to the small, small kitchenette was a bed that Aika used with plain white sheets and pillows. Above on the second floor were three beds, two against each wall and one in the middle. A new addition to the room had been a door in what had previously been a wall blocking the outside. It now lead to a balcony that was finished only the previous week. The beds, lumber, and supplies were limited due to them having to get the items sent to various locations at undependable times. It had taken the longest to get the balcony and door installed, over half a year, but they had achieved much.
Arine passed Denji on the way in and stepped down to the maroon chair and collapsed in it. Yukio took a seat in the remaining navy blue one while Denji sat on the black couch as Aika made her way down. She grabbed some bottles off a nightstand at the foot of her bed and tossed a bottle to each of her students. Denji caught his with both hands and drank the refreshing liquid.
"Well I see you're all in a competitive spirit." Aika commented, standing behind the couch, leaning on the back rest. Below her eyes were dark circles, indicating her lack of sleep as of late.
"He's too fast." Arine pointed to Yukio who grinned while sipping his drink.
"Then get faster." Aika commented idly, as if she weren't paying attention. She pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket and let it unfold in her hand. "New bounty, everyone."
"Is it gonna be like that runner last time?" Denji asked cautiously. The woman they were tailing had ran from them and Denji had tackled her in an ambush and got a bit too feely on accident. He got kicked in his face and somewhere else and the woman got away from him only to get stopped by Aika.
"No, it will not." Aika replied. "Hopefully." She pointed the front of the paper to the group. On it was a sketched image of a man in his late forties, crinkles around his eyes suggesting he smiled quite a bit, his hair somewhat floppy but short. His face was thin, almost abnormally so.
"He seems like he's missing some meals." Yukio commented, leaning his chin into his fist.
"Pretty much. Meet Akihiro Kurata, con-artist turned serial murderer." Aika turned the page back to her to read his charges. "Wanted for various cons involving stolen goods at high prices, murder of an entire family in a deal gone bad. The aftermath, I should say, was the "murders. Murder of a travelling caravan group, attempted murder of a princess from some village" Aika read the last bit and screwed her face up a bit. "And" she sighed "public urination." She let the arm holding the paper fall lose in front of the couch. "He's wanted dead or alive, neither is preferred, reward is the same either way. Last anyone's heard he's making his way to the Hidden Sand Village."
"The Land of Wind?" Arine questioned. "Even if he does make it, that's a desert he's going into."
"He'll likely have swindles supplies. Or gotten them off of corpses." Aika replied, her tone deadpan. "If we leave by tomorrow then we should have a good chance of catching up with him."
"How's that?" Denji wondered aloud.
"Simple, he'll be stopping in various towns and villages, if he isn't smart, and conning money. If he's below average intelligence then he'll only stay in a few, if any. He may swindle a caravan and travel with them if he has any brains." Aika sighed once more, almost bored. "Basically it's a chase. If he fights back, we nix him and collect. Otherwise tie the bastard up and collect. Sound clear?" she asked. Denji and the others nodded their heads in agreement and Aika nodded back. "Good, we leave early tomorrow. You're free to do whatever today. Enjoy yourselves, practice, whatever fits."
"What are you gonna do?" Denji asked.
"I'm gonna sleep." Aika replied, sitting on her bed and stretching out. "I'm tired as all get out. Try not to kill each other." She yawned and began sleeping. Denji stood, Yukio and Arine following his example, and exited the cabin so their teacher could sleep.
"So a serial murder, con artist, and public defecator." Arine repeated the charges lightly. "This one's gonna be fun." She grumbled as she began making her way to a path she carved through the woods to a small pond that connected to a river. "I'm gonna go fishing."
"Well" Yukio muttered, leaning down and grabbing the new book he was reading that he leaned against the cabin "I might as well join you."
"I might as well be there too." Denji joined in, kind of wanting to just sit with his friends. "No sense in doing much after my work outs." He walked alongside Yukio while Arine walked ahead of them, through the enclosed path of dirt and trees that Arine had made in a search for some water. Aika had pointed vaguely in that direction and said there was a pond. Arine spent the entire day cutting through trees in various paths until she found the right one. When she did, she went there when she got too frustrated or angry and fished since fish came in from the river at times. She had been going there a lot recently.
"So, Denji." Yukio spoke up suddenly, drawing his attention. They were both around the same height, Yukio just a bit taller. "I've been wondering about Arine." He spoke with his voice lowered.
"What about her?" Denji hadn't noticed anything much. "She gets angry."
"Now see, that's it." Yukio frowned with concern and confusion in his face, his lips pressed tightly together. "She's too angry. It's like she has something bottled up in there." Denji reflexively clenched and unclenched his fist. His mind wandered back to two years prior when they first met Aika…
"Yeah." He replied, pushing that thought away. "Though, to talk about other things, I need a tad bit of help." Denji asked his friend, who raised an eyebrow.
"Really? You've been doing well on your own. However I can help. What is it?" Yukio smiled to his friend.
"I just need a bit of help with this one jutsu. I can't seem to get it."
"The Dreadnaught Armour?" Yukio asked right away. Denji nodded sullenly.
"It's just… it's tough. I dunno what I'm getting wrong." Denji and Yukio ducked a low tree branch while Arine snapped one off of a tree and began twirling it between her fingers expertly.
"She's too good at that." Yukio muttered under his breath before addressing Denji. "I'll be quite honest, I don't find it surprising you're having trouble." Denji felt a pang of anger at that remark "Mostly because you're remaking a jutsu from scratch from a dead man." Denji cooled down.
"Yeah, I know. Not the best idea, was it?" he chuckled and Yukio smiled.
"No, it was a damn good idea. The issue, however, is execution. Recreation. To take what was lost and make it anew. I suggest we work on it while we go after this bounty. And if I can't help you then I'm sure Aika will be able to."
"You sure, man?" Denji rubbed his neck. "I mean what were the results of that IQ test Aika had you take?"
"195." Yukio replied quickly, as if he were embarrassed. "But that's not the subject. Intelligence is more than just a number. It's about how you use it. Not just cleverness though, but wisdom." Yukio grinned. "It's why I meditate and read, to keep my mental functions up and you never know when or where from you'll get an idea that could be useful." He hefted his book as an example. "Like how I started that new lightning bolt jutsu I'm making. I got it from a book."
"Oh yeah." Denji remembered Yukio practicing. "How's that been going?" he asked, Yukio sighing in irritation.
"Not good. I can never focus the bolt. I make sure my aim is perfect, pin point. But then it's like something's built up behind me and then it goes awry and the bolt shoots off in a spray of electricity." He waved his hand in a gesture to show. "I think I need to work on my precision." Denji suddenly began wondering.
"Maybe you're focussing too much." He suggested. "Maybe all that tension is just being built up and then it bursts."
"Well, I mean…" Yukio started before he suddenly put a hand to his chin, as if he had a beard to stroke. Then he smiled and clapped Denji on the shoulder. "Denji, my man, you are a genius." Denji suddenly felt self-conscious.
"No, not really. I-I mean-" Yukio cut him off with a wave of the hand.
"And you see why intelligence is more than just a number." He smiled kindly. "It's just bragging rights, really. A number is a number, but cleverness and wisdom can't be measured on a mere scale." He looked up through the trees. "It's how you use what you have that can turn the tide of a battle. Someone boasting about their IQ can get overconfident, arrogant, and stupid even. Meanwhile someone with normal IQ can outwit them if they're willing to spot the opportunities."
"But then there's the people saying 'follow your heart' and all that."
"Well, my friend, the heart and brain have their place and can work in conjunction, believe it or not." Yukio grinned as he seemed to remember something. "Like when I killed Kohta. I was dead set on making sure you guys all lived, even if I had to die. My brain and my heart had one goal, one unified desire. And they worked together, pulling off something that perhaps I shouldn't have been able to." He looked in Denji's eyes and Denji could almost feel those eyes boring right through him. Two golden irises with black slits for pupils. He sometimes wondered how normal Yuki's sight was despite knowing the answer. "Perhaps it's about finding what you want to do, something that you really want."
"Makes sense." Denji replied as they reached the small pond. Arine was already there, fishing rod in had as she sat at the water's edge. It was a small clearing with the pond in the middle. The body of water itself was shaped like a gourd, at least Denji had seen it. Well a gourd on its side. And from what Denji called the tip of the gourd was where the river trailed off the main course. A faint rushing could be heard some days, the river that allowed Arine to fish. The pond contained a few fish, some Lilly pads on top but surprisingly very few weeds. Then again Arine pruned this area to perfection, her pet project. She spent three days cleaning it up of overgrown plants and such when she first found it, a mentality Aika had endorsed happily while Denji was content to admire the results. That didn't stop Aika from forcing Yukio and Denji to help as well. He could still hear Arine yelling at them.
"Tell you what." Yukio started as he opened his book to the last page he was on. "I'll lend you a book I bought, on the arts of war. Give it a read and it'll show you that a number is just that. Sound cool?"
"Yeah, sure dude." Denji smiled, stretching out with a sigh, watching Yukio read and Arine fish. This was the life.
"Lord Kazekage, we have a major issue!" the Shinobi was doubled over, panting hard in front of the Kazekage. He'd gotten here as fast as he could.
"Well? Spit it out." The woman to his left spoke. He took a deep breath before standing straight.
"Lord Kazekage, a prisoner has escaped the prison-hospital!" the man stammered out.
"Which prisoner?" Gaara leaned forward, his hands bridged over his mouth, obscuring the bottom half of his face.
"Anri, my lord. Anri Nomura." The shinobi let out. Gaara took a deep breath and sighed.
"Where is she now?" he asked, hoping she was still here.
"We're not sure, my lord." The man was sounding incredibly nervous now. "It's entirely possible she's still in the village. But…" he looked around erratically.
"But what?" Temari asked, hand on her hip. The shinobi took a deep breath before answering.
"It's also quite possible she managed to leave the village. We're not sure, however."
"May I ask" Gaara began "How it was even possible she escaped, even in a power outage?" Gaara lowered his hands, exposing his face, his kohl-lined eyes boring into the man. "She had three guards on her at all times."
"You see, my lord, it was the Warden." The shinobi rung his hands together. "He was having issues with some of the mental patients and since most of our forces were either still guarding the village or occupied with getting the normal prisoners in line. The warden was out of men to subdue his patients so he acquired the two who stood guard outside her door, leaving a nurse and the guard within." The shinobi sighed deeply. "From what we gathered, she awoke faster than they anticipated and she managed to kill them. By the time we got in there all we had found was her bonds severed by the acid and a large puddle in the corner. Which we, um" the man gulped "we assume are what remains of the guard and the nurse that was sent to aid him in sedation." The man looked as if he were going to be sick. "That's all we know." Gaara stared intently at him for what seemed like several minutes, or even hours. His siblings, Kankuro and Temari, also stared, but they also glanced over their brother at each other as if having a silent conversation. Then Gaara spoke.
"Mobilise a task force to track Anri down. Don't spread panic, but spread awareness. I'll make a public statement soon enough." Gaara pointed to the man. "And go find the Warden, I wish to have a word with him."
"Yes, my lord." The man said quickly before exiting.
"Sounds like we have a major issue on our hands." Temari muttered.
"Quit your whining." Kankuro jeered. "We just gotta find her. If she's still in the village." Temari glared at Kankuro before looking to Gaara.
"So what are you gonna do? Ask the Hidden Leaf for some help?"
"I can't." Gaara replied. "At least not yet. Should the problem become larger than it is, I'll send the call. Until then, I can handle Anri Nomura." Gaara remembered when the girl was caught, how improbable it had seemed. "I've subdued her before and I can subdue her again should it come to that."
"Let's just hope we can catch her before anything gets out of hand." Temari remarked.
"Yes." Gaara's mind wandered back to that battle. "Let's hope."
"Denji." He heard. Denji rolled over, trying to ignore it. "Deeeeeenji."
"Not now…" he complained.
"Denji!" he boy jerked awake to see Arine sitting over him.
"Wha- what?" he looked around, noticing how the sun had lowered quite a bit since he last remembered.
"It's close to dinner." Arine reminded him. Denji sat up straighter and looked to his right, seeing Yukio asleep with his book on his face. Denji rubbed his eyes as Arine jerked Yukio awake. They all stood and got themselves ready to head back home. Denji stretched his arms up before rolling his shoulders. He'd have to get a hot water bag on them tonight and probably take a break from lifting rocks. With this bounty he'd get that chance. However he might invest in some legitimate dumbbells if he could talk to Aika. Suddenly Yukio groaned loudly.
"What, man?" Denji turned and saw Yukio rifling through his book in an irritated manner.
"For the love of- I lost my place!" he squinted his eyes and looked at the book as he flipped page after page until he sighed. "Close enough." He picked his book mark off the ground and placed it within the pages before closing the tome with a heavy thud. He stood and brushed himself off before looking past Denji. "Seems she's still angry." He commented. Denji turned and saw Arine was already heading down the path.
"Hey, Arine, wait!" Denji called to no avail. Arine kept moving, leaving Denji and Yukio to stand around before Yukio began moving.
"Come on, man." He smiled, his white hair taking a fiery-orange look in the sunset. "We got food to eat." Denji sighed his compliance and walked alongside Yukio through the path back to the cabin. They were halfway through and Denji was starving for a conversation.
"So…" he started, glancing at Yukio's book. "What're you reading about?" he hated to ask since Yukio got pissy when someone did. He called it useless and generally answered with 'a book, now fuck off'. He wasn't welcome at a couple libraries due to how abrasive he got when he was reading and his concentration was broken. But generally after the fact, Yukio was as amicable as ever. He smiled and showed Denji the cover. On it was a field of swords, blades stuck in the ground everywhere with three figures in armour standing in the middle.
"It's about this old legend in the Land of Wind I believe." Yukio's smile widened, as it did when he gave a small lecture on something like this. "Supposedly, now I say supposedly since it is but a legend, there was this massive war between two feuding lands, not Land of Fire and Land of Wind, but you get the idea. Anyway, one was small while the other was quite large, with the large one wanting to annex it. So the small land put their resources together and made three suits of armour that could, supposedly, enhance the strength, agility, all that of the wearers and picked the three best to wear the armour. Then sent them and their forces to face this far, far larger army." Yukio took a breath. "So the general gist of what happened is that the forces of the small land were wiped out rather quickly, except the three armoured soldiers. They fought to the absolute bitter end, supposedly defeating the entire army. When their fight came with the head honcho, he used a dirty tactic and managed to kill all three of them, despite their best efforts. The guy then went off and annexed this smaller land on his own. Though he was later killed one night and his corpse put up on display. Now the spooky thing is, a bunch of swords were in the ground, like on the cover, but there was no sign of such a large fight. The people of the smaller land claimed it to be the spirits of the soldiers who fought so hard only to die, coming back for vengeance." He took another large breath as they reached the cabin, lights on inside.
"So it's a ghost story?" Denji asked skeptically, able to follow Yukio's recanting. Yukio moved his head from side to side.
"Kinda, sorta, not really. What matters is that the people from the larger land, the soldiers that remained that weren't in the main fight, turned tail and ran, not wanting to get brutally murdered by ghosts. Now what's also quite interesting is that, according to some 'eye witnesses'" Yukio made air quotations as Denji opened the door. "if you can find the battle field where this massive battle took place, you'll find no bodies or bones, just a field of swords and a cross roads. And if you stray too far in, you'll be met by the ghosts of the warriors, wearing the armour and you'll be killed by the hollow suits who've been in them so long, they think anyone who straggles in is the man who killed them all those years ago."
"That's a lot of info." Denji mentioned as he walked over to the cabinet in the kitchenette and grabbed some instant ramen and began boiling a kettle, grabbing another instant for Yukio. "I mean you're only halfway through the book, right?" he turned as Yukio sat down in his chair, setting the tome down on the floor.
"Nah, that's just the first quarter of the book. The rest is theories and discussions." Yukio waved his hand dismissively.
"Sounds like quite the ghost story." Aika commented, leaning against the back of the couch, spinning something around her finger.
"It is." Yukio replied, his curiosity now piqued. "What's that?" Aika smirked and stopped her spinning, revealing the item to be a kunai knife albeit with a lighter shade then the normal black and dark grey.
"A special little thing I had made. I decided to visit the nearby town which is where I had it shipped from Makinami village." She held it up, the lights from the lanterns in the room glinting off the surface of the new knife. "If it works as I planned, then this will be the perfect stealth tool."
"That's awesome, what does it do?" Denji asked as the kettle boiled. He grabbed it and poured the hot water in both bowls, taking one to Yukio who nodded his thanks and took it gently. Denji walked back over to the kitchenette and grabbed a couple forks, tossing one to Arine, who grabbed it and handed it to Yukio. Denji twirled his fork and blew on the steaming noodles before he began chewing them, realising they hadn't softened as much as he wanted.
"Oh you'll see." Aika responded before yawning. "But for now, I'm quite tired."
"You actually gonna sleep tonight?" Arine asked almost snarkily. Aika eyed her for a minute before continuing.
"Depends. We'll see after the fire."
"Just clam down, Arine." Yukio spoke to his friend, Denji's heart skipping a beat. Last time Denji told Arine to calm down, she'd almost speared him. She ruined his favourite shirt. Arine turned her head slowly and glared at him, moving her arm down to her leg as if she had something-
"Arine!" Aika barked, causing the girl to look at her teacher. "Maybe I'm not the only one who needs sleep." Arine's arm relaxed and she leaned against the armrest of her chair.
"I'm fine." Was her curt response. Denji grabbed his bowl and went back to eating, now satisfied with the noodles.
"Regardless" Aika began "I recommend a good night's sleep after tonight's fire."
"Sure thing Aika." Denji spoke up for the three of them. Aika nodded.
"Good. Finish up, I'll get the fire going."
"Thank you young miss!" the elderly man, seemingly in his early fifties with a hunched back, thanked Anri graciously. Anri smiled pleasantly, despite the emptiness she felt at the act.
"Oh no problem sir!" she spoke cheerily, keeping up appearances. It wasn't hard. "I like to help whenever I can." This man smiled at her pleasantly, his grey hair slicked back and his side burns thick. The cart he drove sitting behind him as he thanked Anri. His blue eyes shone with happiness.
"If there's anything I can do for you, I'd be happy to." The man suddenly offered and Anri saw the reason she even helped the old man.
"Well now that you mentioned it, I could use an easy trip to the nearest village." She smiled sweetly. "There I can find out where I need to go."
"Of course, of course!" the man smiled brightly, genuinely as he motioned to the cart. "Please, my family will be happy to keep you company."
"Thank you so much sir! I'd be happy to even give you defence along the way!" Anri sounded bright, a bit too bright. She needed to tone it down. She lessened her smile just a bit and walked to the back where an elderly woman, another woman somewhat younger than her, and a three children sat. She climbed in to many thanks and nodded her welcomes. Anri leaned against the back rest of the cart and looked to the rising moon. She waited until the family members began sleeping again when she dropped her façade. She let out a sigh, her mind going back to the man that was now a puddle in the bushes. They hadn't seen that, of course. They didn't need to. Anri just needed transportation to the next village that wasn't foot travel. It wouldn't be long before the Hidden Sand sent soldiers after her. If she could cross the border, she'd be free.
She just needed a bit more time.
A/N: Well now, not a long chapter now was it? Just a shorter, introductory chapter to introduce our little villainess and to show the time skip. Hope you guys enjoyed! Read, review, follow and favourite.