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Chapter 17: Saved From Fate

On the outskirts of the misty lands of Kirigakure, a woman was speeding her way through the treetops in a retreat deeper into the land. Brown hair whipped at her fair face that featured a lean structure, high cheekbones, and pupilless brown eyes. Her hair was disheveled and reached to her upper back, and two bangs colored orange framed her face perfectly. It was these features famed through the Lands of Stone and Wind as Pakura, Jonin of Sunagakure.

She wore the attire of a sleeveless black top, short pants, and arm-warmers, but they were all less than pristine condition. Dirt had built up from extensive travel and multiple tears called for an immediate change. Where the fabric was cut was accompanied by a bleeding gash underneath from the sharpened objects that had the intent to cut into her flesh. Each step she took had another drop of her blood fall from these wounds onto the forest floor below her.

Outside of the bloody injuries and facial features, what stood out was the headband wrapped around Pakura's forehead that kept her hair back. A steel plate shined on the front of the band that featured the symbol of Sunagakura. Normally, this would denote Pakura as a kunoichi of Sunagakura, but the fact the symbol was scratched out told otherwise. Never in Pakura's life would she think of turning away from her home by becoming a rogue shinobi, much less scratch the very symbol herself. Recent events stemming from Kiri's civil war changed that perspective so quickly.

When the Kiri Civil War first broke out and news of Kekkai Genkai genocide spread through the Elemental Nations, Pakura immediately tried to persuade her Kage to have Sunagakura enter the civil war by helping the rebels. She had given reasons from making a possible ally of the winners to having more bloodlines in Suna. While those were Pakura's outspoken reasons to join the Kiri rebels, her true motives were to save the many bloodline families from being killed off. As a holder of a Kekkai Genkai herself, Pakura more than sympathized with the plight of those suffering in Kiri and felt she needed to help those like herself. Even so, she could not simply ignore a country's government - a shinobi village especially - slaughtering their own people for some discriminatory superstition.

Yet no matter how much Pakura called for war, it was for naught. It wasn't just her Yondaime but the entire council of Suna that denied her. Her influence as Jonin and a hero of Suna meant nothing, and they leveled slandering titles like warmonger on her. All Pakura wanted at best was to have them have relief efforts and asylum for refugees, but even that was denied on the premise that Suna did not have the facilities to do so. Pakura called bullshit on that; they had enough resources to expand the village for a surplus population if needed.

It was when she overheard her Kage and his military council consulting taking over Kiri once their civil war was over. He had the gall to call the genocide of bloodlines - of innocent men, women, and children - as "necessary casualties of war". It was then Pakura's loyalty to the village shattered and she made her decision to leave. Perhaps it was useless with only herself to aid in Kiri's civil war with the rebels, but she didn't care as long as someone was there to try and to save those people from being killed off like cattle. Damn her bastard of a Kage and whatever bounties he will lay on her as a rogue shinobi.

She took her chance using the cover of an A-class mission out of Wind Country and booked it to the Land of Water. It may give her time before Rasa gets wind of her defection, and even then it would be too late before she made it past borders into the heart of Water Country. That led to the situation as it was now. As soon as Pakura crossed the border and onto Wate Country's many islands, she had been ambushed by Kiri's own ANBU squad. While the kunoichi had experienced many ambush tactics herself, Pakura knew that the one she was subjected to was too perfect to be on chance. In the first seconds in the opening attack, Pakura had suffered injuries serious enough that her only option was to flee to safety.

A few leaps behind herself were her chasers and the cause of her injuries that forced her into flight. They came in three sets of feet dashing off branches or other vantage points to get closer to Pakura. The very same attackers of Kiri ANBU that to Pakura's knowledge should be somewhere else considering the Land of Water was in the middle of a heated civil war. Pain flaring from her right leg turned Pakura's thoughts away from wandering and to the situation at hand. A normal human would have collapsed to the ground from the pain of a nearly torn tendon, yet Pakura kept going but this second wind will not last long. An impressive feat even for a kunoichi.

A kunai from her chasers sailed towards her aimed for her spine. Pakura tried to angle out of the way but only managed to get the kunai to hit her shoulder instead of any more vital spots. It still had the desired effect of making Pakura stumble off and fall to the floor, but even then she did not give up. Quickly focusing her chakra through her arms, Pakura cupped her hands and her palm produced a bright ball glowing orange like a sun. One would confuse this manipulation of chakra for Fire Release; unfortunately, they would be dead wrong as Pakura aimed the hand with that ball of glowing orange chakra toward her chasers.

'Scorch Release: Incinerate Blast.'

The answer to her fame was that Pakura was the rare few users of the Scorch Release Kekkai Genkai. It was also this inborn ability that made her hunted down by Kiri forces before she knew it, reacting in time to go into a retreat before her life was threatened. To them, Pakura was another "freak" that needed to be hunted down just their very own Kekkai Genkai users that they have slaughtered and become the sole focus of Kiri's civil war. Didn't matter if she was a foreign shinobi or not; they will kill her no matter what because of her bloodline.

So Pakura gave her ultimatum by unleashing a blast of not fire but concentrated heat that superheated the moisture to dissipate the mist and literally scorched the landscape to nothingness. The sheer force of the blast provided knockback for Pakura to send her flying further away from the ANBU and hopefully to safety if the blast didn't get them. In response, the ANBU had a second to react to the incoming Scorch Release technique before they erected a hasty defense with water Jutsu. Pakura did not know their fate as the light of her Scorch Release swallowed them and everything of the forest in her line of vision.

Pakura did not get off completely unharmed from the Scorch Release Jutsu. The explosive force generated by the technique had sent her hurling uncontrollably in the opposite direction. She winced at the feel of her body smashing through tree branches and splinters piercing her back. It went on until her body listed down due to gravity and ended up skidding across the earth, causing bruises on each impact and more dirt to be smeared on her body.

The rogue kunoichi released a groaning exhale of relief, but found her body protesting to move possibly due to her self-induced throw through the air. A drop of water tickled her nose, and her solid brown eyes looked up to the sky becoming increasingly darker in shades of grey. From the heat of Pakura's Scorch Release and the high moisture in the air, a rainstorm soon developed and soon pelted down on Pakura to soak her clothes.

A sharp whistle in the air reached her ears, and she knew it was a high-speed movement, but the sound was familiar enough to get the ex-Suna kunoichi's adrenaline running again. Pakura managed to sit up straight until her body refused to move any further. Her mind was in a whirl of rapid questions about why her body was succumbing to her wounds now until she remembered the kunai that was still lodged into her shoulder.

'Damn, paralysis poison.' Pakura thought.

Unable to move, her eyes beheld the reappearance of two of the three Kiri ANBU that have been chasing her. She took some satisfaction that some of their attire was burned away and even went on to touch the flesh below by her Scorch Release. The injuries were substantial and both ANBU were applying medical Jutsu to the affected areas. One of the ANBU had half of his porcelain mask off and the face underneath was burned so badly, almost reaching his reddened eye that was glaring at Pakura with no small amount of hate.

A curious observation Pakura took note of was that this ANBU had a katana out that was already fresh with blood. It only took a second for the kunoichi to connect the dots and create the scene: the third member must have taken the brunt of the force with Water Jutsu, but was so severely injured his own teammates cut him down to not be hindered.

"Nowhere to go." The ANBU with the blade spat, accosting the fallen kunoichi. "I'm going to make you pay for almost burning away my eye. However, waiting for you to come will be well worth it with one less of you freaks."

Pakura instinctively wanted to exclaim questions, but the paralysis poison had taken full effect that she could not feel her mouth. The best Pakura could do was move her eyes and blink, and it was enough for the ANBU to recognize the questions in her eyes.

"Really thrown you through a loop, haven't you Pakura of Suna?" The ANBU gloated. "It came to our attention weeks ago of not only your defection from your village but also your intent to join the rebels. Courtesy of your own Kazekage, who has given us a healthy sum for your permanent retirement. Frankly, I don't need money to enjoy what I am going to do to you."

If Pakura could grit her teeth, she would have bitten straight through her lips in frustration. In hindsight, she realized she might have been too reckless that Rasa might have known about her possible defection. Still, it enraged the bastard had given notice of her arrival to Kiri before she even left the village, possibly on the day she took that A-Rank mission. And so would end the story of Pakura, Jonin of Suna, a hero in the Third Shinobi War, and master of the Scorch Release.

'What a life, huh,' Pakura thought as she saw the blade raised over her chest.

"Agni!"

The voice of a young woman paused the ANBU's motion to halt the blade before it pierced Pakura's chest. His hesitance cost him his life as the next instant of the unknown's exclamation he was consumed in a blast of awesome white flames that incinerated him to nothingness. Pakura stared at the flames in awe at the heat surpassing her Scorch Release and the regal beauty they held.

The remaining ANBU resolved to kill her with the death of his partner as he came down from above to cut Pakura's head off. All she knew was bright blue lightning nearly blinding her vision along with the familiar crack of thunder. When her eyes adjusted right, her nose took in the smell of burnt meat from below where the ANBU had died by a hole literally burned through his chest.

At this point, the paralysis poison had worn off, but her body was giving in to her injuries. As her vision blurred, she managed to make out an approaching figure wreathed in bright red rushing to her alongside a figure dressed in blue. That was what she could make out before her vision met only darkness, but she had only one thought.

'I'm... saved?' Pakura thought before she last felt a pair of arms hold her gently.

(Later)

The crack of fire greeted Pakura's ears as she awakened from Nirvana. Comforting warmth greeted her skin from the nearby flames, and her nose took in the smell of both smoke and something absolutely delicious cooking. Her eyes finally won the struggle to open and found the starry expanse of the night along with a shining half-moon. Tree leaves indicated her location was under the cover of the forest. A voice greeted Pakura before she made any movements, making her still from instinct.

"Ah, you're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked straight into that Kiri ambush."

To Pakura's assessment, the voice was young. Very young - at the very least the age of freshly graduated genin. Yet it was the same voice that belonged to her saviors, and if memory served it voiced a Jutsu that produced those heavenly white flames. Cautiously, Pakura slowly turned her head to the source to the person of Ruby Rose looking over the kunoichi from her seating position on a log.

The glow from the roaring fire illuminated Ruby's entire right side, revealing the bright red cloak wrapped almost possessively around its wearer and the oddly advanced armor she wore of similar color if just a darker shade that the rogue kunoichi instantly saw to be both durable to withstand any number of onslaught and slim to give maximum mobility. Pakura was quick to note the katana and wakizashi pair sheathed at the left side of her hip in a typical fashion of samurai of Iron Country along with the superb craftsmanship that surpassed the standard blades of Kiri. What was strange was another katana of different craft sheathed at Ruby's right hip as seen with its customized tsuba guard of two crescent moons and the steel that was peeking out glimmered a rich purple with jagged lines of crimson.

Unfortunately, Pakura could not see any detail of her young savior's facial features. Ruby was wearing her kasa that worked to shadow her face, and where the light of the fire shined only revealed Ruby's face was hidden by the Amatsu-Shinigami mask. One could say the soft glow of the fire on the mask gave Ruby a mysterious and frightening visage with its gnashing teeth and red flame patterns. However, no darkness could hide the silver pools of Ruby's eyes to Pakura from the mask's eyeholes.

Blank brown met shining silver in a silent stare between them. Even if the mask hid away Ruby's face, Pakura had a gut feeling her red-themed savior was smiling down at her. She then tried to move the rest of her body, but only got as far as trying to sit up before pain flared from her leg and wounded shoulder. In that small, if painful, moment Pakura was able to recognize the stiffness in her arms as being held in thick bandages and saw the same wrapped around her right ankle up to her knee.

"I wouldn't try to move," Ruby said, gesturing towards the fire. "You've been pretty roughed up. Your injuries would not be so easily treated by a regular healer. Thankfully, Shirou is quite the amazing magician with herbs that you'll be up moving soon enough. He's awesome like that."

The way Ruby spoke, if just a smidge mature, did confirm Pakura that her age was around those of genin - the latest being thirteen by her guess. Following Ruby's gesture, Pakura turned her sights to the cracking fire to find another "kid", this time being a boy from his budding masculinity of broader shoulders and tougher build. Unlike Ruby, Shirou had no headwear, revealing his mess of bright red hair and the lack of a full face mask showed his tanned peach skin. Only the lower half of his face was covered in a black iron mask designed like the barrings fangs of an oni. Pakura was for the moment caught by Shirou's heterochromatic eyes of green and purple flickering with light from the fire. His armor was like an azure bodysuit with lines of black that gave the impression of an Andonis build as part of the design. Red sleeves hugged his arms where protective metal braces were put, and the sleeves held up a shroud covering Shirou's shoulders. Sheathed at his back parallel to the ground were two dao swords and a tsurugi held parallel to his back. Strapped to his waist were two katanas of different make but still held excellent quality steel.

Shirou gave Pakura a sideways glance before continuing to be busy with his current work. Which in this case was stirring the pot of tonight's meal. Pakura swore she was smelling heaven from whatever stew or broth was cooking and she could already feel her mouth salivate. For Shirou, it was the chance to test out the local game of Wate Country such as salmon, and he had already taken a liking to the stevia and basil that were growing plentiful on the islands.

"So..." Pakura spoke after composing herself and eyeing the duo with suspicion, "what's a bunch of kids doing out here in the wilderness?"

Ruby chuckled at the blunt inquiry and responded. "What's a famed Suna kunoichi defecting from her village and coming all the way here? Why come so close to the Kiri Civil War? As memory serves, Pakura Hyoudo is - was - a loyal and praised kunoichi of Sunagakura and was a runner-up for the next kage position. And yet here you are with a scratched headband so far in a foreign territory. I wonder why."

Pakura did not know how to figure out the young woman before her. Most would simply regard Ruby and Shirou as any would to children, even if they were Genin. However, Pakura carried herself with a better judgment as a Jonin to not give age much of a factor. A perfect example is Konoha's Kakashi Hatake, a fellow veteran of the Third Shinobi War yet held the mantle of a Jonin at the age of six compared to Pakura receiving the same promotion at twenty years old near the end of the war. Even if the two were of the same rank, Pakura would openly admit that Kakashi despite being significantly younger was her superior. One would be careful of a shinobi with an arsenal of over a thousand Jutsu, instantly trumping her unique Kekkai Genkai.

It irked Pakura on a level as Ruby spoke. A part of her told Pakura that Ruby was taking some small amusement in speaking with her. The same gut feeling also told her that she was no immediate harm as she and her companion had taken the liberty to save and heal her. That also brought to the point that these kids, shinobi or not, were able to overwhelm ANBU in a second. She would be wise not to cross with these unknowns too much.

"Let's just say my Kage is an absolute bastard, and that's not including what he does to his own son." Pakura said. "You know I thought what I do is for the good of everyone. So when a civil war breaks out because of the genocide of people with Kekkai Genkai - people like me - I pleaded with my leader to send forces to stop this chaos. At least send some relief. I had faith that we would do this. It took this long to realize that I had my trust in the wrong people."

"I'll take a wild guess that they were not so concerned about the mass killings of innocent men, women, and children while the country devolves into chaos, am I right?" Ruby replied, her smile growing a little behind the oni mask while Pakura kept whatever surprise she had behind a calm facade. "You see, at the end of the day, politics don't care about the people. Only whatever agendas they want to satisfy themselves."

Another waft of the aroma of Shirou's cooking caught Pakura's attention and her empty stomach. Her eyes locked on and widened at the scene of Shirou filling three bowls full of white rice with the cooked salmon garnished with stevia and basil. Using a ladle, Shirou scooped out the sauce to top it over the salmon and rice to give it more flavor. The sight of Shirou's finished meal was so mesmerizing Pakura swore she saw sparkles.

'Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme!' A voice in Pakura's head exclaimed in hunger.

Shirou handed one bowl to Ruby, who reluctantly set it down on her lap and continued to fix her gaze on Pakura. Shirou with the remaining bowls settled his portion on top of the log and set Pakura's right beside her where her only usable arm can use. His eyes fixed on Pakura's to get her attention.

"I believe you have enough strength in your right arm to feed yourself," Shirou said kindly. "It'll help replenish your strength."

Once it was set down in her range, Pakura did not waste time using her right arm to pick out the spoon and enjoy the rich savory flavors of salmon and rice. It was so tasty she could squeal, yet her dish was emptied too soon to her liking.

"May I call you Pakura?" Ruby asked and got a nod from the kunoichi. "Then I'll be blunt with you. From what I gather, you defected and came all the way here so you can stop the civil war and the bloodline purges. It is fortunate that we are of the same mind, and it would be best to join you as well and join the Kiri rebels to help end this conflict. Does that not sounds great, Pakura?"

Pakura narrowed her eyes. "Who are you really? You're definitely not regular travelers, and definitely not weak. I also find it unlikely your shinobi villages would let the pair of you defect so easily."

To her surprise, Pakura felt the air around her heat up so similar to her Scorch Release. Ruby's silver eyes gave off a colder glint, and Shirou's body tensed accompanied by clenched fists. It was over in the next second but enough to tell Pakura the pair were very powerful to produce such pressure at their age and were not so alien to combat.

Ruby scoffed. "Do you see a scratched headband on me? I would rather find myself dead than ever be called shinobi, rogue or not. The closest you can call Shirou and me is ronin. But just because we are not shinobi does not mean we are weak. Far from that."

"I think I get the point." Pakura said, noting that they were trained extensively just by their sharp poise. "Yet why save me?"

"Is it so wrong to believe that we helped you because we wanted to?" Shirou answered Pakura. "We were not going to let you die, especially because of your noble intentions."

"Despite noble intentions, you two realize you're dragging yourselves into war, right?" Pakura said. "War is not something to enter lightly. Trust me I know."

"We know the dangers before us, and they are worth it as long as this horrific civil war is put to an end along with the Mizukage." Ruby said, standing up and offering a hand to shake. "What say you, Pakura? Can I trust to call you an ally in the battle to end this genocide and stick it to those assholes in Kiri?"

Pakura stared at the extended hand for long and tense seconds. Eventually, a small smile bloomed on Pakura's face. She took in Ruby's hand with her workable right one and gave it a good shake.

"It would be my honor, young ronin." Pakura said.

Ruby chuckled. "Please. Call me Okami."

In one reality, the one known as Pakura would have died a seemingly meaningless death. She would have been nothing more than another grave, another footnote in history. There would hardly be any memory of Pakura except in one student she chose to train. Yet with the existence of a girl whose blood is derived from two worlds, that fate has been shattered.

I hope the interaction with Pakura was good. She is another of those characters that is underrated. Not only does she have a cool Kekkai Genkai, Pakura is also a veteran of the Third Shinobi War the same as Minato.

Up next is Chapter 18.

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