A/N: Time to continue the arc! Can I say it's really nice to be writing this? It's really fucking nice. Anyway, on with the chapter.
The moon was but a bright white crescent against the dark sky as Denji leaned over his scroll. Curse his timing! If he'd gone to Aika earlier about this then he wouldn't be cramming before he went on the mission. It wouldn't take long, granted. Maybe a week at most. Or it could take a month. If his luck was anything to go by. He took a breath, leaned back against the railing, and looked around. Not far from him was that cliff drop off, though he was safe on the balcony. It was a nice edition, good for resting outside during the day and a good thinking place at night when he couldn't sleep. Like tonight. And the past few nights. The boy drummed his fingers on the wood for a minute before looking back to his scroll. It sat there, practically taunting him. It wasn't but Denji felt like it was. You can't learn me! It seemed to say.
"Yeah, well, what do you know?" he growled at it.
"I know you're supposed to be in bed." Denji heard above him. He jerked his head up a bit too fast, hitting the back of his head on the railing hard. As he was rubbing his head, he got a good look at Yukio, who was in his usual t-shirt and loose shorts for sleeping, his hair white as the moon.
"It's not that late." Denji complained while looking to his scroll, feeling the irritation rise in his chest again. "Besides, I need to learn this."
"The Dreadnaught Armour?" Yukio asked, sitting down on the other side of the scroll, his legs crossed.
"Yeah. Well kinda. More of a modification." Denji looked to his friend, who was listening. "I mean Kohta's initial design was great for defence aside from being completely stationary."
"Especially against a water user." Yukio commented, smiling. Denji remembered that, Yukio planning that out for them. An incredibly stressful battle it was.
"But if you're gonna be defensive and stationary then you gotta be more fortifiable and less easy to take down." Denji put his chin in his hand. "I mean otherwise it's just sand or dirt in a formation."
"That's specific." Yukio commented. "What made you so analytical?" Denji felt his face redden.
"I kinda read through a couple of your war-time strategy books that you had laying around." He responded sheepishly. Yukio raised a solitary white eyebrow.
"So that's where they went." He commented and Denji sighed.
"Yeah, sorry. I can pay you back for the late fees-" Yukio waved his hand.
"No, that's not the issue. There isn't one but I must say I'm impressed." Yukio smiled and Denji felt better since his friend handed the compliment. Then Yukio's brow furrowed. "Hold on…" he turned the scroll around and read into it. Denji felt a bit of sweat trickle down his neck. Great, now he got a compliment Yukio was gonna think his plan for the armour wouldn't work or be stupid.
"I-I mean it's just a prototype, nothing final yet." Denji stammered out. Yukio kept reading, his eyes widening more and more.
"Nothing final?" he asked, turning the scroll back around, a smiled forming on his face. "You seem to have quite the final product here!" Denji frowned.
"What do you mean? You like it?" Denji looked to his plans on the scroll, which he used for his own note keeping. They detailed his plans for the armour in two variations.
"Dude, it's pretty damn smart." Yukio looked at it despite it being upside down for him. "I mean you've taken Kohta's jutsu and made two variations, giving it way more versatility than Kohta ever would've given it. His was just for intimidation, for show mostly, but Denji" Yukio chuckled "You've got what seems to be one for defense that's a lot tougher albeit stationary, and one that's mobile and lighter, but still able to protect the wearer." Yukio's smile grew as he looked at it before turning his golden eyes on Denji. "I think you've got it made, my friend."
"Thanks." Denji smiled but didn't mention much else. He didn't want to seem to be fishing for compliments. "I mean I can plan out all I want but the issue is-"
"Execution, yes, I see." Yukio finished for him. The boy gave his notes a more scrutinising look over which Denji was now liking. "Hm…" Yukio tapped his knee with his finger as he thought. "Perhaps, reach into the earth with your chakra. That's what Kohta must've done. He went into that hole, right?"
"Yeah." Denji wouldn't forget it. Kohta going underground only to emerge in that threatening armour. Only a couple years later and Denji could see the flaws with it and was now trying to perfect it for his own uses. "So you're saying channel my chakra into the ground just around me then reach out with it?"
"Exactly." Yukio pointed at him. "Then make sure to pull stones if you're going for defence, nice heavy ones. You want as much protection as possible."
"What about for the mobile version?" Denji pointed to his notes. "Stones would weight it down too much but thin ones are incredibly fragile."
"They can be." Yukio kept drumming his finger on his knee. "And they aren't prone to curving so the joints will be vulnerable…" Yukio exhaled deeply through his nose while thinking. Denji himself was also deep in thought.
"Well" he began "if dirt has sediment deposits and all that then wouldn't it be possible to harden the earth around me? After all tightly packed earth can be a durable wall, for a time at least." Yukio snapped his fingers.
"Brilliant!" he said a bit too loudly, jerking back to look through the door. Arine wasn't coming out, nor was Aika. He turned back to Denji, his mind obviously working. Denji smiled.
"What about some of those thin slate rocks around my torso as well, if they're in the earth when I activate the mobile armour."
"Excellent." Yukio whispered, now conscious about his volume. "If you can, do it. Make it under whatever pack earth will be on you. That way it won't be seen, for the most part I think, and it'll provide that much more protection, temporary or not." Yukio looked from the scroll and patted his friend on the back. "My friend, you've gone and made something incredible."
"Thanks, man." Denji smiled, feeling pride grow within him. It'd take some trial and error but it could happen. It would happen. Denji would make this his reality. He reached for the pen he had beside him and wrote the notes down on the scroll in his terrible handwriting, jotting down everything Yukio and he had just discussed. Denji finished and rolled the parchment up before standing along with Yukio. "Thanks for your help."
"No problem." Yukio gave Denji a clap on the back. A somewhat hard clap, it was. In two years Yukio's strength had definitely gone up, though nowhere near as Denji's, but Yukio was more focused on dodging and quick attacks. Denji was focusing on his strength, his jutsu reflecting that in some aspects. They entered their room and Yukio walked to his bed smack dab in the middle of the room and collapsed into it, landing on top of the blankets. In the summers he always complained of the heat. Arine was tangled in a mess of blankets and a couple snores echoing throughout the room. Denji found Yukio and Arine's sleep habits odd but never dwelt on it. He went over to his bed, on the far left from the balcony door, and crawled under the covers. He stared at the wall, thinking more things over in his head for what he called the Dreadnaught Armour Mark II. He saw a Mark insert number here name in a book once and thought it sounded cool. Yukio or Arine would probably shoot the name down but to hell with them, this was his Jutsu. He could name it whatever he wanted. Denji smiled at that thought, taking charge of this.
He fell asleep soon after and his mind wandered into a different period of time, before he experienced the worst time of his life.
7 Years Ago
Within the dark alleyway stood a five year old Denji, peering around the corner, watching. He was in the higher income area of the Hidden Stone Village, watching for someone with a nice sized pocket bag. He looked down at his own ragged white shirt and loose brown pants. He looked like those little orphan children that his older sister read about in her books. She made the joke at one point but his parents never made a point to get better clothes for him. They couldn't. They were barely making ends meet in their house with meals taking up most of their budget. Denji was determined to help his parents out as much as he could, even if it meant lying to them and stealing.
There! He saw a man with a pouch tied to his waist that jangled nicely walk by. He was a tall, green hat with flowing white robes and shiny black shoes. Denji hefted the small stone he got from the alley and took aim. This was perfect. Denji peered around both sides of the alley, noting the lack of many people. He threw the stone hard enough against the top of the hat to topple it off of the man's head. The man made a surprised noise and looked around but Denji backed into the alley and watched as the man bent over. Denji struck. He quickly walked up, this small seven year old with an innocent face with choppy silver hair.
"Excuse me sir." Denji started, walking up behind him. "Need some help?" he put on the sappy eyes. The man jumped a bit and looked behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank you child." The man said, straightening. Denji walked around and, while remaining behind the man, bent down and picked up the hat with one hand while simultaneously untying the pouch with his other as stealthily as possible. He had practice over the course of the past year and a half and had become quite adept at it. He untied the string almost expertly and gripped the pouch by the body and hid it behind his back as he handed the man his hat. The man dusted it off and put it back on his head. He had a thin mustache on his upper lip and short, pitch black hair. He looked nervous, looking everywhere around him.
"You're welcome, mister." Denji smiled and the man nodded and walked off quickly, as if he were late for something. Denji quickly shifted the pouch in front of him as he darted back into the alley. It was late in the day and this was his only take. He was braver just a few months earlier but bravery gave way to risk. Half the thefts he pulled wound up with him being disciplined by the possible victim and the occasional talking to from his parents. He was the middle child so he got a lot of the shit from the things he did that his elder sister and younger sister didn't. His older sister was too responsible and his younger sister could do no wrong. Denji spat into the ground as he walked, hefting his bag. Treated like this, he had to resort it to stealing.
Of course I have to. He thought to himself, turning out from the alley and crossing the street to another alleyway. It was getting late and his mother would be worried if he took too long. And suspicious. He had kept up appearances for a good couple months, never giving much more to his parents than what he earned with the local shop keeper. He worked in the mornings and stole in the evenings, giving to his parents his pay with some extra every so often which he said was just a simple bonus from the shopkeeper. His parents rarely ever questioned him. For a seven year old he felt like a genius. Walking from his new alleyway to the edge of the village, he kept close to the earthen wall that separated the village from the outside. He walked straight before hitting a downward slant that lead into the slums,, where he was unfortunately forced to live.
It wasn't a long walk but it was a depressing one. Strolling past run down homes and shops, the area turning from a lighter grey to a more sullen, depressing, weighty grey. One that sat heavily on Denji's shoulders whenever he looked to it. Which was partly why he stole in the higher areas, to simply get out of the slum. It wasn't a huge part of the village but it was there and Denji had been unfortunate enough to be born in it. He stalked behind the houses and shops until he came across the familiar, low building that was his home. As much as he hated it. His window was open, as usual. Denji crept up to it and looked inside. No one was in there. Taking a few coins from the pouch, a bit more than usual since it was time for his "bonus", he dropped the bag in the space between his bed and the wall, where it would be hidden until after dinner where he could quickly hide it under his pillow. Denji circled back around to the front of his house, took a deep breath, and opened the creaky old door.
"Mom? I'm home." He said aloud.
"I'm in here sweety." He heard to his left. Taking off his ratty shoes he spied his mother in the kitchen. Kitchen was a nice description for a small corner of the big room that took up most of the house save two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was all cramped living but it was living nonetheless. His parents never complained, at least never in front of their children. Denji had overheard them some nights when he wasn't able to sleep. He walked over to his mother and handed her the coins by setting them on the small table they used to eat on which was so small they had to sit on the floor.
"I got a bonus today." Denji said, trying to sound cheerful. He wasn't. He didn't want to steal from people, but he felt it was necessary. Though he'll admit it never left him feeling bad. They had money to lose, those nobles and rich people.
"That's great honey!" his mother turned and smiled at him. Denji's mother had long brown hair kept down usually with kind brown eyes and a smile that could melt Denji on the spot. This was the one thing that made him feel any guilt for his thefts, mostly since he was going against what his mother wanted and not the act itself.
"Yeah, old man Lee said that one of the teashop owners in the village was looking for work." Denji sat down and thought about the fact that the old shopkeeper was paying him less and less over the year and a half he'd been working for the man. Denji just used his theft money to keep up appearances.
"Oh, that Iroh fellow?" his mother asked as she stirred a pot. It smelled good.
"Yeah, Iroh." Denji smiled. "Said he was willing to pay decent amount and that I should look into it."
"Oh well that'd be great!" Denji's mother leaned in and smelled the contents of the pot when the door opened again and Denji's father came in.
"Minatsuki?" his father called.
"In here, Hajime. Denji's back as well." His mother called. His father, Hajime, walked in. His silver hair was long and shaggy due to him not cutting it. He was dirty from working in the mines at a local village which resulted in his muscles being quite visible. His blue eyes were always bright despite the situation. Denji was always told he was the spitting image of his father. Right behind him, Denji's sisters came in. His older sister, Kyoshi, did odd jobs around the area while his little sister, Kaguya, was allowed to tag along. Kyoshi was a clone of their mother, like how Denji was of their father. Brown eyes, long brown hair, pretty enough face. Kaguya was, however, almost a direct mix between the two. Her hair was silver and somewhat short like Denji and his fathers, but her eyes were that warm brown colour. She always looked to happy it made Denji's chest ache.
"Daddy!" Kaguya cheered upon seeing the man. She ran and jumped into his arms as Kyoshi sat down beside Denji.
"How was shopkeeping today?" she asked quietly, jeering him.
"It was fine." Denji growled quietly back. Kyoshi never let him live down the times he got caught. Denji was curious to know if she was aware of his escapades. She smiled and he stuck his tongue out while Hajime talked with his youngest daughter.
"Daddy, Kyoshi got to hand out flyers and then she went and sold stuff in the sweets shop, and then we came home!" Kaguya smiled brightly as she recanted her day, making Denji feel good. Kaguya could cheer up even the surliest of people with her ability to inject pure happiness into them. Hajime chuckled and patted the girl's head.
"Sounds like quiet a day." He responded, sounding impressed. Kaguya nodded eagerly.
"Oh yeah, it was great!" she was only a couple years younger than Denji but she showed promise in school. Kyoshi always took Kaguya on the days when there wasn't school. Denji hoped she could get out of this hole.
"Oh yeah, people love her!" Kyoshi smiled as she talked about Kaguya being able to get people to buy more when she was there, talking and acting nice and jolly.
"That's fantastic!" Hajime patted his daughter. "You're gonna be a good worker when you grow up, I can tell."
"Really daddy?" Kaguya's eyes went wide as they always did when their father talked about their future. "Just like Kyoshi and Denji?" Denji felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. Good worker, him?
"Yes, just like Kyoshi and Denji." Hajime reassured her.
"That's great, because dinner's ready for the workers of the house." Minatsuki set the pot of soup on the table. They had soup a lot. The cheap bowls were handed out and they ate heartily that evening. Later, alone in his room, Denji hid the bag of money under his pillow while his sisters slept peacefully in the same room. Denji nestled himself against his pillow and fell asleep, thinking on how his family deserved so much more. More than they could dream of.
He'd make it a reality.
The Previous Night
"Are you sure you don't know?" Anri asked the man. He was a good looking enough suitor, short but thick brown hair, blue eyes as deep as the ocean, a face chiselled from stone and a body that would drive many women crazy. A pity she didn't care.
"Oh" the man said, taking a swig of his wine. "Depends on you, dear lady." He smiled and Anri giggled without humour as she ran a finger along his well-kept torso and down to his thigh, working her jaw a bit to get what she needed.
"Oh really?" she asked, learning a long time ago how to speak whilst one's mouth is filling slowly with acid.
"Yes. Like" his hand grabbed her thigh and rubbed it suggestively "if you're willing to go as far as me."
"Oh, but…" Anri picked the option to seem anxious. This man obviously wanted her body with little to no intention of keeping his promise of telling her a way to the Land of Lightning where she could hide out for a while.
"It's no worry." The man crooned low and rough. "I can be gentle." He said, increasing the grip on her thigh. Anri smiled but within she chose now to be the time to act. They were alone in a private room at the back of a high-class bar. The room was deep shades of red, crimson, and maroon to give off a sensual vibe she presumed. Anri herself was wearing a slinky red dress she stole from a woman who she had duped into a kiss.
Anri lowered her head, making sure it was above his thigh when she let out a small bit of the evergreen, viscous liquid form her mouth. The man was surprised.
"Well, now, I'm not into that kind of thing but-" from the small trickle on her chin, a drop fell and landed on his thigh, burning through his thin pants and into his leg, causing immense pain. He opened his mouth to scream but Anri licked the acid from her chin and clamped a hand over his mouth, pinning him to the crimson bed. She abandoned the façade of an imbecilic girl.
"Okay, here's the thing. You say you know of some way I can get to the Land of Lightning now spill it. Or else what's left in my mouth gets placed" she pointed to his genitals, poking them hard with her finger. "here." The man, beneath her firm grip on his mouth, shook his head and screamed into her hand. "So are you going to talk?" she asked. The man nodded fiercely. Anri opened her mouth a fraction and he spoke hurriedly.
"Th-there is no way. You just gotta hoof it on your own!"
"So you were lying?" she asked. The man nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah I just watned to-" Anri clamped her hand over his mouth.
"That's all I needed to hear." Anri opened her mouth and let the acid she had accumulated hit the man's throat, burning through it quickly. The man struggled for only a second before he went still. Closing her mouth and working her jaw, Anri hefted the man's body onto the floor and dragged him to the bathroom of the little love room. She threw his body into the tub and made a single hand sign, feeling her mouth fill with acid. She opened it and emptied the contents onto the man's body as she had done before to others. Soon there was nothing in the tub but odd coloured goop that smelled terribly acrid. Anri washed it all down the drain before exiting the room. She walked quickly out of the bar and walked around the back of the establishment where she had hidden her previous outfit. She looked around before slipping out of the dress, exposed completely for a second, before slipping into her previous clothes, consisting of the bland white undergarments from her prison time. She left the dress in the trash bin where the woman whose appearance Anri had taken was still dissolving. Seems she was dead now. Anri tossed the dress in with the corpse and let out acid on that as well.
Before long she was walking out of the village gates, on her way into the Land of Fire where she could allude her captors at least for a while.
"You got everything?" Denji asked, tying off his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, a long, beige bag that held what he needed. Yukio was crouched down, fitting a book into the already bursting bag which was also a bit ragged due to Yukio overstuffing it constantly during their long journeys. He managed to wedge the book in and zipped the bag up before standing and slinging the pack over his own shoulder. Denji raised an eyebrow at Yukio. "Shouldn't you get a bigger bag?" he asked, curious as to his friend's tenancies.
"Eh" Yukio responded, shrugging his shoulders. He was dressed far differently, a short, thin black jacket with a blue shirt underneath. He'd long since abandoned the gauntlets the allowed him to flick needles into his hands and simply kept a couple pouches in his jacket for them. Strapped to his thigh was his retractable spear that could get as long as his arm from fingertip to elbow. One on his left thigh for his left hand and one on his lower back for his right hand. He wore somewhat loose black pants and black closed toe sandals. "I'll use this until it's just shreds." Yukio responded, hefting the bag.
"That's…. economic." Denji commented. He had abandoned his usual heavy coat with too many pockets for a simple grey t-shirt and loose black pants. They were headed into the Land of Wind and from what Aika said, Denji would need his jacket more there. "I mean running things to their limits works money wise."
"Exactly." Yukio grinned. They were still in their bedroom, the balcony door closed in preparation with a long journey. Just then Arine opened the door from the stairs. She had her brown hair loose down her back. She wore a plain, deep green shirt and grey shorts with black sandals.
"You two guys ready?" she asked, in a neutral mood. Denji was thankful for it but curious as to how long it'd last. In the past year along Arine had gotten far, far more moody than Denji cared for. Especially at those times of the month.
"Yeah, I think." Denji responded, looking to Yukio who made a non-descript gesture of shrugging his shoulders and leaning his head to the side. "Yeah." Denji confirmed. Arine looked between them, her eyebrows moving slowly together. Denji felt his own brow furrow in response to Arine's gaze.
"Okay then." Arine responded neutrally. She seemed to be making an effort to remain as such. "Aika wants all down in front."
"Okay." Yukio responded, stepping forward as Arine left the room, leaving the door open. Denji followed in step behind Yukio and closed the door as he exited it, heading down the stairs and exiting the cabin, meeting Aika and Arine out front.
"Glad you could join us." Aika greeted them with her usual bout of sarcasm.
"A shame we had to." Denji retorted. Aika smirked at his quip.
"And you wonder why I keep you around." Aika herself had her purple cloak around her neck, draped behind her. Beneath that she wore a Navy blue waist-length jacket closed up over herself with the same pants and sandals that the three of them wore. It was almost standard. Aika kept the cloak open quite a bit in the wake of the summer heat that beat down upon them. Yukio rolled his shoulders, not bothered much by the heat. Denji always felt a bit jealous of that, Yukio never had issues with heat.
"I thought it was for my good looks." Denji smirked and Aika rolled her eyes, Arine frowned at him. Denji glared at her and she turned away. What is her deal?
"Regardless, we're heading out to the Land of Wind so this will be a bit more than just a simple walk." Aika began. "We're a bit closer to the centre so that's a day-long trip to the countries' edge all on its own by foot. If you guys want, we could acquire travel to the land of Wind which would be easier."
"On foot seems best." Yukio responded quickly. Denji eyed his friend curiously. Yukio suggested rides for the longer trips usually.
"Why's that?" Arine asked, her voice still neutral.
"As nice as it could be, going on foot how we do" Yukio meant leaping through the trees, which was a tiring exercise "then it's faster. We can get a ride when we get closer to the Land of Wind since that's a barren area aside from the Hidden Sand village right?" he looked to Aika.
"The very edges bordering the Land of Fire have some trees." Aika clarified. "The rest is, aside from the Hidden Sand, quite barren. Just deserts." Aika looked up in thought. "Yukio's right. Going by foot to the edge would be better and then get a ride through the desert."
"So then let's get going." Arine pushed, walking from the group. Yukio made a tch sound under his breath.
"Someone's a bit energetic." Denji commented a bit loudly, hoping Arine would hear. She seemed to ignore him and kept making her way to the forest. Aika just shrugged her shoulders.
"Well then let's get going." Aika quickly walked up to Arine, grabbing her shoulder lightly and stopping her as Yukio and Denji walked up to meet them. Aika was giving Arine a slight scolding for just walking off when they approached. Aika finished up as they joined.
"We ready?" Denji asked once he felt Aika was done.
"Yes." Aika said, addressing the group as a whole.
"Then let's go." Yukio said, leaping up into the trees. Aika followed, then Denji, then Arine.
"You spot her at all?" Kankuro heard Temari ask. He was looking through an alleyway and turned around to see Temari standing there.
"Not a thing." Kankuro made a face. As he kicked a box that was in the alleyway in frustration. He put his hands on his hips and sighed. "She's disappeared, at least from my findings." He looked to Temari. "You?" she shook her head.
"Nothing. I think you're right, she's gone and escaped the village." Temari bit her lip in agitation. "This is bad, incredibly bad."
"We need to send out search parties to find her. ANBU Black Ops." Kankuro sounded determined and a bit irritated. He was.
"Should we place out warnings now?" Temari asked aloud and Kankuro nodded.
"Yeah, we need to talk to Gaara and get him to give the order. She's dangerous and needs to get caught." Kankuro stated, only know of her ability.
"Not to mention she's a sociopath." Temari clarified. "She can act her way out of most any situation. She can fake personalities and act like she cares and even cry on command to fit the situation." Temari sighed loudly. "She's a killing machine."
"What was she, a mercenary?" Kankuro asked as he and Temari exited the alleyway.
"We don't know. She was too dangerous to be kept awake in captivity. Gaara requested she be kept sedated constantly." Temari looked to her brother. "Don't you remember?"
"I was out of the village at the time, remember?" Kankuro reminded her. "Busy looking for information on the Akatsuki."
"Oh right." Temari remembered.
"Exactly." Kankuro reiterated. He looked over to the Kazekage's mansion as they walked down the street. "He isn't gonna be happy."
"So that's the basics." Denji finished explaining his plans to Aika as they leapt through the trees. Arine was ahead of the group with Yukio at her side. He had been making idle chit chat with her but didn't seem to get a decent conversation going.
"That's interesting." Aika responded as Denji and her landed on a branch and leapt forward. "How long have you been working on this?" she queried.
"About a month or so, but I never had a big breakthrough until yesterday." Denji replied with earnest. Aika didn't care much for them not sleeping before missions but never particularly enforced it. Still, he wanted a decent image. "Yukio was a big help on that issue."
"Well Yukio's a smart kid. You are to." Aika remarked to Denji's confusion.
"I'm smart?" he asked, making Aika smile.
"Listen, kid." She always addressed them as such. "You're all three of you smart in your own ways. Yukio's more strategic and stuff, planning. Arine's a good leader…" she gave a pointed look to Arine's back as all four landed and leapt again. "however her being moody recently has been an issue with that quality of her." Aika made a face that Denji was familiar with. He made it himself several times when he was a child. A kind of forced grimace. "And you can be pretty crafty at times. You have your moments and when they happen, they really happen."
"Thanks." Denji spoke after a second of silence. He felt his face heat up. No one had ever talked about him being smart. They mostly said he was a good worker or strong… when he actually was working.
"No problem kid." Aika smiled. Her hair had remained the same length since when they first met her, just above mid back. Though Denji spied a singular grey hair that went on the left side.
"Say, how long have we been going at this?" he wondered aloud, looking up through the tree canopy. The sun was leaning towards the middle of the sky. Aika noticed this.
"Couple hours. We need to rest." Aika looked forward. "Hey! Let's drop down, we need a break!" Yukio looked back and nodded, jumped down with Arine in tow. Denji then dropped down with Aika following. They landed on the hard ground beneath a tree and sat down. Yukio sat down first, rubbing his legs. Arine sat to his left, but a couple feet from him as if in protest. Denji dropped down to Yukio's right, lightly hitting his shoulder. Yukio smiled as Aika leaned back against an adjacent tree.
"So how're things?" he asked Yukio in a hushed whisper. Yukio frowned and shook his head lightly.
"I don't know." He sighed, rolling his eyes. He didn't wanna say anything due to Arine probably being sensitive. "She's a bit more talkative." He commented very quietly.
"Okay." Denji responded, cracking his knuckles loudly. He turned to Aika and asked "So what's the Hidden Sand like? We've never traveled far out of the Land of Fire."
"It's brown." Aika commented, pulling her fancy new kunai knife. She still hadn't explained what that was about. "Very brown. Nice people, some good stuff is there." She smiled as if from a memory. "Their dumplings are excellent. In fact, whenever I had the funds, I either travelled there to get them or had a small order shipped for me to eat whenever."
"Any info on the politics within?" Yukio asked, pulling the book from the top of his pack and cracking it open.
"Same basics as the Hidden Leaf and other villages. The leader is the Kazekage and the current one is quite an interesting choice." Aika hooked her finger into the ring at the bottom of the handle for her kunai and spun it around.
"Who?" Denji asked.
"Kid by the name of Gaara." Aika answered, still spinning her knife. "About a year older than you, he's an interesting choice since he's a Jinchuriki."
"A what, now?" Arine spoke up with the question before Denji could.
"You never heard of the Nine Tailed Beasts?" Aika asked them.
"Wait a minute…" Yukio looked up from his book. "I remember hearing of one from the Hidden Cloud years ago."
"Killer B." Aika answered for him. "He's… a piece of work from what I've heard."
"Still not getting it…" Denji started before a memory sparked within. "Wait! They're the people with the beasts inside them, right?"
"Bringo brongo." Aika answered with the odd words. "Gaara is the host of Shukaku the One Tail. From my research, he used to be quite a menace. His father was the last Kazekage and experimented on the kid to the point he became an emotionless killing machine."
"How did someone like that become the leader of one of the Five Villages?" Arine asked.
"He met someone in the Hidden Leaf who changed his perspective right around. What also didn't help was Gaara's father dying and his siblings being more supportive of him." Aika answered.
"Where do you learn this stuff?" Denji asked.
"Word gets around." Was Aika's vague answer. "Regardless, Gaara made an effort to be more personable and now he's a Kazekage. Stopped a criminal about a year or so ago. Now he's well beloved. His siblings help advise him and he has a council to also aid in decision making."
"So he's dependant on that council?" Yukio asked.
"For some things. I don't know all the ins and outs of the politics of the village." Aika stopped spinning her knife and sheathed it. "Anyway, we should get moving again." She pushed off the tree and stood before them. "We can't really risk our target leaving the Hidden Sand Village." Denji stood, shouldering his bag again. Yukio shoved his book back in his pack and shouldered it. Arine stood while picking her spear up. Denji didn't notice her putting it down but she shouldered it along with her bag.
"We ready?" she asked, looking to Yukio and Denji, then to Aika.
"All right then." Aika responded. "Let's get going." She leapt up followed quickly by Yukio, who gave him a glance that said It's your turn, try to get through to her before he joined Aika up front. Denji shot up followed quickly by Arine, who fell in beside him. They leapt from a branch, sailing through the air until they came up to the next branch and leapt from that. Denji looked to his left where Arine was in silence. He wondered if he even could get her to really talk. Yukio was the one she always talked to a couple years ago but now she had become far more reclusive and even angry. She would get talking while they sparred and practice but she'd suddenly become shut in and introverted. It was always a sudden change from being made to be more open.
"So." Denji began, hoping Arine might respond. She didn't. "What's new?" he asked. Arine kept her gaze forward. He felt a bit offended but that was standard. He couldn't tell if she was purposefully ignoring him or just legitimately not hearing him, he couldn't tell. She just kept her green eyes on the horizon. "Okay, be like that." Denji remarked, earning a glare from Arine.
"Be like what?" she asked, her tone low and threatening. Denji backtracked quickly.
"Nothing, nothing." He corrected himself and shut his mouth. He didn't want to make any bad moves. Last thing he needed was being the first person of the group Arine impaled on that spear of hers. She'd done that to plenty of the various anonymous bandits and bounties who had made the unfortunate mistake of being in the general vicinity of her and her spear.
"Is there an issue?" she asked suddenly.
"What? No issue. You're just…" Denji thought quickly to find the right words "a bit quiet." He stated, which was an understatement. Arine had barely spoken during the entire course of the trip. Now she seemed to open up a bit. A bit. A tiny, insignificant bit.
"I just feel like it, okay?" her frown deepened and Denji wasn't about to provoke a reaction of rage from her anytime soon.
"No, no, that's… that's fine. Just a bit odd. I think? Maybe." He was suddenly stumbling over words as they leapt from branch to branch. "So, wanna hear about the jutsu I've been working on?" he asked, hoping this might spark some form of conversation.
"No, not really." Was her even response. Denji frowned a bit and looked forward to Yukio and Aika. They seemed to be having a decent conversation about something. Denji liked Arine well enough, she was his friend. But this was just odd. She'd been hostile to people they disliked and off putting when she was angry, but wasn't constant.
"So what is it?" the silver haired boy heard from his left.
"I, uh, what?" he asked when Arine turned to face him.
"This jutsu?" she seemed bored but willing to talk. Denji smiled a bit.
"Oh, yeah. So I decided that I'd take Kohta's Dreadnaught Armour from when we fought him and just modify it a bit. I mean if it's gonna be immobile then make it really bulky and able to take a ton of damage before it dissipates."
"That's good." Arine remarked. "Kohta's armour was easily removed, wasn't it?"
"Exactly!" Denji exclaimed. "So I modified it that way and I decided to take the concept or the armour and make a mobile version. A sort of defensive but heavy hitting earthen shell around you that you could move in, basically." Denji rattled on about the specifications of his jutsu which, surprisingly, seemed to grab Arine's attention for a bit.
"Wow Denji." Arine said once he had finished. "That's actually pretty smart."
"You think? I mean Yukio said it too but I dunno, I always feel a bit self-conscious around him." Denji suddenly stopped. That was the first time he'd said that aloud. Arine suddenly smiled.
"You know, I feel you. A bit."
"Really?" he asked, almost a bit too desperately. He shut his mouth quickly
"Yeah. I mean Yukio's a smart guy. A really, really smart guy. It's hard not to be a bit daunted by his intellect."
"Even you?" Denji asked, suddenly curious. Arine frowned a bit and Denji was afraid he'd gone too far.
"A bit. But Between the three of us Aika's said I have the most leadership qualifications. Yukio's smart but his snap decisions aren't always the best."
"Oh yeah." Denji realised, thinking on it. In a few practice fights against Aika with each of them as a leader, Yukio had always made a plan but when Aika foiled it, he was always locked up on the quick, moment-to-moment decisions that a leader needed to make. With Arine the choices were made clearly and concisely. Aika still won every time but they never gave up.
"Besides" Arine smiled lightly again "We all have our flaws, don't we?"
"Yeah…" Denji suddenly let the conversation drop. He began thinking a bit. Everyone did have their own flaws, more than a single one based on combat prowess. It could be any number of things. Denji smiled. "Thanks Arine."
"No problem, Denji." Arine gave the boy a small hit on the shoulder as they landed on a branch and leapt from it, following Aika and Yukio as they all headed towards the border.
"Excuse me, miss?" a guard dressed in maroon armour that encased his torso with panels over his thighs stopped Anri as she was passing through a village gate. "Can we see your face?" Anri looked to the guard. He was young enough, perhaps around sixteen or eighteen. Anri herself was only fifteen.
"Of course." She spoke softly, pulling the hood over her head back to reveal black hair pulled back into a pony-tail, rich blue eyes, and lips adorned in black lipstick. The young guard swallowed and was visibly taken aback. Anri blinked slowly a couple times and gave a slight smile to add to the effect.
"U-umm." The guard stammered before he suddenly jerked to attention. "You don't look like the fugitive, ma'am. Carry on." Anri raised an eyebrow. Now she was curious.
"Fugitive?" she asked innocently enough.
"Yes ma'am." The guard replied. "A man suspected of various crimes, his name is Akihiro Kurata." The guard pointed to a poster of the man. Anri looked at the number below and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll be sure to keep an eye out." She smiled at the young guard. "Thank you for the warning." And she passed him, heading into the village, wondering if she should get a hotel. She looked up and saw the sun was leaning towards the afternoon. She grimaced as she walked, pondering her decisions. She could simply keep going but acting was a chore, as much fun as it could be. She needed some more money first and foremost. Perhaps that bounty would be her ticket to the Land of Lightning, more than what that caravan leader had given her.
She decided that hunkering down for the night in a hotel would be the best option if she wanted to learn about this bounty. She found a low, single-floor hotel to her right which she entered. The attendant in there was a tired middle-aged man with greying black hair and bored green eyes. Anri paid for a room with what she had left. She could sucker someone later for some more if she needed it.
For now, she had a plan.
A/N: Another kind of shorter ish chapter but I'm still introducing things a tad. After this chapters should be a bit longer. Anyway, thanks for reading.