She woke up before dawn. It was the best time for harvesting the mushroom she was looking for. So she packed up her things and made a storage seal on the ground. Once she sealed everything, she used a few complex safe lock seals to ensure no one would be able to steal her things if they entered her room.
Then, like any other respectable shinobi, she trapped her entire room. She made sure to warn the innkeeper that no one should enter the room while she was gone.
She tried asking the locals about the lake, but everyone dodged the question. They obviously didn't want to talk about it. One of the older men outright told her no one was allowed to go there or even talk about it.
Combined with the fact that how the only maps of the area were old and the incident from yesterday, she was sure that something more was going on. She could already connect some dots but wasn't ready to draw conclusions.
She was carrying a big basket, well big with respect to her size, and had her tools tied to her belt. She headed out peacefully. She was excited about the new experiments she could do once she got the plants she was looking for.
She passed by the forest and tall trees. Her footsteps were light and quiet, trying not to disturb the wildlife. She once had an accident of waking up a sleeping bear in a cave where she was hunting for mushrooms. Let's just say she learned her lesson to be careful in her hunts.
She followed her path towards a small lake. This type of mushroom needed a lot of moisture to grow, so a body of water was the place to look for. She knew that it grew between stones and needed dim light, so she looked for rock formations that allowed plants to grow in them without direct sunlight.
She climbed a nearby tree to survey the area. The lake was not too large. So she could see well around it. She channeled chakra to her eyes to improve her vision. She located 3-7 possible locations. She couldn't be sure of the number unless she checked some of them close up, so she got to work.
The first area lead to no results. There was nothing between the pile of rocks. She tried not to get disappointed and moved to the second area. Nothing there either, no matter how carefully she looked.
She moved to the third one. After all, the third time is the charm. She saw the large rock formation and looked through the stones carefully. The formation seemed to go deeper into the ground. It was probably an opening for a well.
Why was a well near a lake? She didn't care because she finally spotted her target, deep into the rock formation. She bent down to grab the mushroom, focusing on keeping herself attached to the edge so she wouldn't fall down.
Her fingers were so close to her target. Just a little more. She stretched herself, trying to get a hold of the plant. Just then, she felt a force from behind, as if someone shoved her into the well, and it made her lose her grip.
She fell.
She landed on sharp rocks, but it wasn't her first time falling, and she enhanced her body with chakra to toughen her skin and form a shield. She positioned her arms to hold her head, neck, and legs in a way to take the least amount of damage.
She still fell quite hard, and the impact knocked the wind out of her lungs. Her body was scrapped and bruised, but nothing compared to the certain death she would have been subjected to otherwise.
She was sure that someone pushed her in, but the question was who and why. She couldn't risk getting seen. They would probably come looking for her here, so she had to move quickly. She got up and walked deeper into the cave in front of her.
All of this was too strange. There shouldn't be a naturally formed cave this deep near a lake. What prevented the water from getting in?
She could see that the walls looked like solid stone. It was not smooth by any means, but compared to the soft dirt of the surrounding area, it was a contrast. She calmed her nerves. However, the cave was formed from the number of spider webs and natural organisms growing, so it was evident that the cave was old.
She continued the path. The cave, which was barely large enough for an adult man to pass comfortably, gradually got smaller and smaller, which meant that she had to crawl through the tight passage soon enough.
The passage led to a very large circular room. She couldn't see most of the room since there was no lighting beyond some strange glowing rocks. But she saw a metal cage. There seemed to be someone inside it.
For some strange reason, she didn't want to make loud noises. She felt as if danger was close by and wasn't about to provoke it. With light steps, she made her way to the cage. Someone was lying down in the corner.
A body. A woman judging by her body shape and long hair. She wasn't sure if she was a friend or foe, so she wasn't about to break her out yet. The cage was made of thick Iron bars. They were placed horizontally and vertically in a way that made it impossible for even a child to pass through.
Judging by the size of the person in the cell, the best they could do was get an arm through, so she made sure to stay out of arm's reach. She made her steps audible to see if the person would react as she got closer to where they were lying.
Sure enough, the woman raised her hair. She just looked at her confusedly for a minute before jolting. She didn't make a sound, so Shiori made sure to make none either.
The woman in the cage. She looked so beautiful. She dared say the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Pale porcelain white skin without any imperfection. Raven hair that flowed like a river down her back.
Perhaps the most beautiful were her dark, bewitching eyes. The contrast between her hair and skin created an effect that was hard to explain. A small mouth with full lips. A button nose. Nothing about her could even be called average. Everything was perfect.
Too perfect. There was no indication on her face to indicate her age. She looked timeless. Her body was also beautiful, like something out of a painting. She was wearing a simple white gown and sitting with perfect posture.
The perfection made it feel unnatural, like something was not right. While humans strive for perfection, the truth of the matter is that things are rarely perfect, even in nature. Everyone would say a symmetrical face is the most beautiful, but as soon as a face is completely symmetrical, it will feel unnatural to them.
There was a certain degree of perfection that was considered natural. Wings of a butterfly, flowers, and many other things that are considered beautiful and symmetrical don't have complete symmetry. But this woman.
Not only did she have a completely symmetrical face, but her body was the same down to the last detail. Shiori knew something was not right.
She took a moment longer to gather herself. "You shouldn't be here." The woman told her, which finally broke her trance. Her voice was like enchanting music. But it was barely above a whisper.
"I got pushed into a hole." She said, making sure to also keep her voice low. She wasn't about to reveal anything more than necessary. This was the best way to go in unknown situations. Letting the unknown person fill the gaps.
"You should still get out while you can." She said, urgency evident in her voice.
"What do you mean?" She asked innocently.
"The beast. He is going to come back soon. If he sees you. He will kill you. You have to go while you still can." She said as she repeatedly pointed to the way she came from as if to usher her.
"I can't leave you here. I will get you out." She said as she approached the bars to open them.
"No. Don't. He won't leave you alone if you take me. Leave now. Don't come back." She said with finality. Shiori suddenly felt it. A fowl chakra approaching. It was coming from the other side of the cave.
Shiori didn't want to leave her. It was her job as a healer to help others. But she knew she was not the strongest, especially against unknown enemies. So she needed information.
"I will gather some information. Then I will come back for you. I promise." She said and quickly rushed to the exit.
Shiori made sure to be extra aware of her surroundings as she made her way to the exit. She didn't want to get ambushed. When she finally got out, she didn't let herself get distracted until she was a safe distance away.
She was in the woods and made her way up a tree so she could have a better view of her surroundings as she thought about what to do next. She took deep breaths to calm herself. The chakra signature in the cave was not very big, but it was fowl and twisted. She never felt anything like it before.
She didn't want to confront that chakra again, but she wasn't one to back down from helping others. First, she went through all the details of the interaction a few times. She couldn't miss any detail that may be important.
The woman was making the alarm bells ring in her head. While there wasn't anything negative in her chakra, she was sure that there was a problem. She was usually a good judge of character and believed her to be good. But she couldn't let her guard down.
The best place to gather more information would be the library, so she lingered a little longer before heading back to the village.
There was no library in the small village, but there was an empty, old, dusty bookstore. After paying a generous sum, the owner was willing to help her, and she was given permission to read the books there.
"I need information about the lake outside the village." She went straight to the point.
The middle-aged woman squirmed under her gaze. It was clear she wasn't comfortable talking about the subject.
"Look. I know you are not from around here, so I will cut you some slack. There is a reason no one talks of that place. You won't find any books about it in the whole village. How about you look for something else." The woman finally said. It was clear that she didn't want to talk about it, and the conversation was over.
"You said that I won't find any books, but is there anyone I can talk to?" She asked, waving a pouch of money in front of her.
"No. It brings bad omen. The only person interested in that cursed place is the crazy Yuji. He lives near the edge of the village in an old shack. That thing is so old it's falling apart. I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Everyone knows he lost his mind over a decade ago." The woman said.
"Thank you. I think I will try my luck." She said and left the shop in a hurry.
It wasn't hard to find where Yuji lived. He just asked to ask a few people and tell them a story of how she was a doctor trying to heal mental illness and wanted to test her abilities. They gave her a smile that meant they didn't believe her but didn't care.
So they pointed her in the right direction. The shack was an old wooden house that was barely holding together. She decided to stay and observe a little before going in. The building was surrounded by some land. The man was clearly a farmer who was trying to be independent since there was a large variety of fruits and vegetables, but only enough for one to two people. There was also a small chicken coop.
She could also see some activity in the house, so the man was home. She stayed hidden a while longer and observed before going to the front door and knocking.
"Who is it?" A cranky voice yelled. There were sounds of objects shuffling around and loud footsteps coming toward the door. She waited quietly.
The man opened the door. After looking above her for a second, he looked down and saw her. He seemed to be in his mid-sixties, and his hair and beard were long and unkempt. His teeth were yellow, and his clothes were dirty. Fingernails yellowed and roughly broken.
He smelled badly. But it wasn't the worst she had endured. He was definitely struggling with personal hygiene. She could see that the joints of his hands were swollen and looked painful. Probably the reason he couldn't take care of himself.
The way his fingers and body were positioned pointed to stiffness. "Well, what do you want, kid?" He said in a less angry tone. He didn't look friendly, but he didn't look like the type who tried to scare children off for no reason.
"Hello. I am a traveling medic. I travel around the nation and offer my services. I heard about your health condition, and I'm here to help." She said in a calm tone.
"Look, kid, just scram. I don't have any money." He said.
"I did not ask for your money. As a medic, it is my job to help. If my patients can pay, it's good, but if they can't, I don't care. I will still gain experience by treating them." She said, trying to be convincing.
The man stared at her, ready to tell her off again.