[HFE] The Little Girl and the Big Bad Monster (IO)

It was the day after the Sakura Corp ball, the sun barely peeking out from over the horizon with the sky still beautiful hues of orange and yellow. The snowy haired Hyuuga couldn’t fall asleep from the night before and finally gave up on being embraced by her dreams, succumbing to the fact that she would feel exhausted the rest of the day. Until an idea popped into her head of the perfect for her to feel more refreshed and train at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

With renewed vigor she hurriedly got ready for the day with her wolven friend, adorning a simple white and light blue dress with her hair up in a high ponytail and her silencing boots in the form of gladiator sandals. Then she left the room she had gotten for the few days she intended on being in the new land, and ventured with Kuro into the nearby forest. Her goal was to find a waterfall, following in the steps of her teacher. It was one of the few things she had taught her before his sudden disappearance, and although she longed to learn more from the powerful man, she feared those few memories would be all that she had.

Hikari shook her head gently as they passed by several towering trees, hoping to rid her mind of the dreadful thoughts. She wanted to wait until she made it to the waterfall to get lost in thought rather than out in the open wilderness when someone was more likely to ambush her. Although at this early of an hour she wasn’t too sure anyone else would even be out and about, most likely everyone was too exhausted or hung over from the ball to be up at the crack of dawn. It was actually a blessing that she couldn’t sleep, instead she got to experience the birds singing their lovely songs and tranquility of the forest as all the animals didn’t run away in fear of so many people nearby. Of course if any of them caught a glimpse of Kuro they would flee immediately, but luckily that didn’t happen.

It didn’t take the duo long to hear the soft roar of the water as they traversed through the greenery, Kuro using his enhanced sense of smell and Hikari her Byakugan to locate the closest waterfall, and in no time they were standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the small rush of waves. A fall from that height wouldn’t even have been enough to hurt someone, but not all things needed to be grandeur in order for them to be enjoyable. In fact, Hikari actually liked that it was smaller than any she had seen before, it felt more like her size.

“C’mon, time to meditate!” Her voice couldn’t hold the hint of excitement and relief from showing as she ran towards one of the few stones jutting out of the side of the waterfall, deciding to perch on the lowest one due to how large it was. Thankfully both Kuro and she knew the surface walking technique so reaching the stone was a piece of cake, the cool water spraying their faces as they sat down on the cold rock. Before she leaned back into the water to drench herself in the freezing liquid, she began to disrobe her clothing and place them within her storage dimension so as to not accidentally drop them off the ledge or get them soaking wet. Having done this exercise quite a few times now she was slowly becoming an expert, and far less embarrassed about being almost completely naked.

When she finished taking her clothes off she was left with a bandaged chest and black panties, with her hair remaining up in a ponytail, thus causing the white wolf tattoo on her back to be noticeable, although she wasn’t worried about it since she doubted anyone would be around to see it.

“Okay, time to embrace the cold. You’ve got this, Kuro.” She gave the crimson eyed canine a small smile before she moved backwards into the water, her legs crossed and her hands laying limply on them. Her skin had goosebumps from the water, but her face no longer appeared in pain from the sudden drop in temperature, a sign she had started to become accustomed to the practice. Kuro was hesitant at first, nervous about submerging himself in such chilling water, but as soon as he saw Hikari do it he found his resolve to go through with it. He let out a small howl when the water pelted his skin, his body shivering and his eyes closed. This was unlike anything he had ever done before, and no amount of training could’ve prepared him for it. It was almost like a form of torture to the young wolf despite himself willingly partking in the activity. “Don’t worry, it’ll get better. Your body just needs time to get used to it. Try to regulate your breathing, that really helps.” Came her soothing voice as she coached him, much like how Xyxer coached her when she first did this exercise with him back in Konoha.

It was mind blowing how that memory felt as if it happened yesterday, when in reality it should’ve been but a distant part of her past. He was more like a ghost now, haunting her everywhere she went, yet she did nothing to rid herself of him. Perhaps a part of her had become so obsessed with his power that she forgot she he wasn’t someone she could trust, not when he had ultimately been her enemy and was only temporarily her teacher. She had become blinded by her need to get close to him in order to gain his strength, and now that he was no longer than to teach her, her need to get closer could no longer be fulfilled and part of her was left feeling empty and hopeless. Who could she replace as her teacher now that he was gone? Who was left in Kiri that could fill his role?

(WC: 1,022)

“Well well well, a chakra signature this strong nearby?” the tall man would say as he sat next to a low campfire in the forests of the Waterfall Country. The air was full of the songs of birds and other such creatures of the early morning hours. The air was temperate, not too hot, not too cold. The tree canopy did a good job of keeping the heat from escaping to the sky above but as such the rising heat tended to create condensation upon the leaves, causing them to drop down in droplets as if the forest were a constant sprinkling rain. This only happened during the heat of the day of course, at night the area under the canopy was simply warm, and Calin made camp there for that exact reason. His chakra had been suppressed since we awoke, so whoever came within his range of sensory wouldn’t know he existed as of yet. However the idea of finding an opponent intrigued Calin. He didn’t want to give away his own signature however, so he would need to find this person by his other senses, and not by utilizing his Mind’s Eye technique. As that would reveal him to whoever it was, possibly scaring them away.

With such thoughts in mind, Calin packed up camp. His red and silver leather coat had it’s inner pockets filled, mostly with weapons, kunai, shuriken, and the like. A couple of pockets though were used for snacks and drinks to eat while on the road. He only liked stopping when he was ready to camp in the night. It maximised his travel time and the sustenance was useful to fight off hunger pangs. Of course he could go for days without eating, but why do that when you didn’t have to? With food and drink near at hand, the man began to walk through the forest, aiming to center his search around the nearby waterfalls. They were the main attraction in this country after all and it wouldn’t be absurd to find the nearby person at one of them admiring them. He had done so when he first arrived after all. It took him about ten minutes of searching, before he found whom he was looking for.

A young woman, young girl? She looked more developed than a young girl from here, but she was so tiny it would be hard to place in the end. Either way, she sat cross legged under the current of a waterfall. From here he could see a bandaged chest, and only black panties on. He shrugged at the sight, it made sense. If she was going to meditate beneath a waterfall, why get more clothes than dignity requires soaked than you needed to? The wolf next to her sat under the currents as well and so long as she didn’t take notice of his presence he would hear her calming words to her companion. A wolf companion was an interesting sight, and Calin wondered how she tamed it. Was it combat capable? Beyond other wolves of course. Did she have more than one? A veritable pack of the creatures at her disposal? He didn’t see or hear any when he stumbled upon her. Wolves however were not prone to being found when they didn’t want to be.

Calin stood down the river a bit from the waterfall, he was in clear sight of her and her wolf, and he noted that he ended appeared to be upwind. That meant the wolf would have his sent in seconds if he didn’t already. So to head off any suspicion, he raised his hands from his pockets in a non threatening manner before stepping onto the water and walking up river toward them. His eyes would remain off, coal black and watching both the woman and her wolf familiar carefully. He doubted they would start anything, he had effectively caught them with their pants down by sheer accident by this point. In her case, almost literally, and that meant no weapons. “Good morning, I don’t mean any harm. I was just nearby and felt a chakra signature. So I came to investigate.” He would say, his smooth voice reasonable and cordial, if a little louder than normal due to having to talk over the sound of the rushing water beneath the falls. He wasn’t in the mood to fight unarmed people, shinobi or not. Besides it was a nice enough morning and it would be ashame to blemish it with the smells of burned skin, and ash. He kept his chakra suppressed as he spoke, but he knew it would be worthless soon. Any shinobi worth their salt would request such things be stopped immediately, lest someone be hiding something. If he could stop such suspicion in advance however, maybe this day would turn out more enjoyable than he initially thought. “As I’m sure you can tell I currently have my chakra suppressed. I didn’t know who I’d find here, so I played it safe. However I intend no harm, and I will stop doing so now.” He would say, taking a moment after his words to let them register with the woman.

It was then that he did, and his chakra washed over the area. It was no stronger than her own, which impressed him mightily. She was far and above more powerful than the three Konoha genin he’d put through a crucible a week or so ago. “My name is Calin.” He would say, giving a small, bow, his confident manner obvious to anyone who saw his mannerisms. "If you would take some company, I haven’t performed this exercise in years, and the conversation might be a nice way to start the day.” He would ask, politely of course. He had plenty of money, so there was no need to rob the woman, and as previously stated, a fight would be boring and get nothing done. His eyes would subconsciously look her over though, now that he was closer, if she would allow such of course. He could tell she was indeed a young woman, and not a little girl. She was simply tiny in stature. The subconscious appraisal of her wasn’t overly leering, simply appreciative and it hadn’t been meant to offend. If she declined his request, he would honour it. Company that wasn’t welcome wasn’t truly company at all after all. He could find another waterfall.

WC: 1071

As she was trying to calm her wolven friend’s nerves about the freezing water hitting his pelt his ears perked up and his gaze locked onto something downstream, eyes narrowed as if they were staring daggers into whatever it was he saw, which Hikari soon learned was a man. It was obvious by his features alone that he was no child, with an exposed chest full of muscles and light facial hair in the form of a goatee. He had shoulder-length raven hair and piercing eyes to match, and his clothes seemed to be made entirely of leather. An interesting wardrobe choice she thought, especially for the coming season, although granted she wasn’t sure what the weather was like in this part of the world during winter. For all she knew it could’ve been warm enough to wear only a jacket on one’s upper body.

Kuro and Hikari made no movements as he raised his hands in a sign of peace, making it known he meant them no harm. Despite the gesture, Kuro remained on high alert, eyes following his every move as if he would lash out at any second, which there was a fair chance he still could in all honesty. The snowy haired woman, on the other hand, was not as suspicious of him despite his lack of chakra signature. She figured he had wanted to be alone in the tranquility of the forest, undisturbed by any noisy party goers that were still drunk from the night before and accidentally wandering in the area he was in. Perhaps she should have been wearier of him, especially given the circumstances she was currently in with her lack of clothes, but the new and improved version of herself forced any of those emotions away. Embarrassment and fear were things her teacher never showed, things that would’ve only made him weak, and as such she could not allow them to eat away at her either.

“Good morning to you as well. It’s not often I see someone up this early, especially the day after a large celebration.” Came her monotonous voice, loud enough for him to hear her over the roar of the waves. His claims seemed justifiable to her so she felt no need to question him further, after all, had she felt his chakra signature earlier, she might’ve been curious enough to do the same. Making allies while at this event would be perfect for her, and give her a place to go should she ever leave a village for somewhere else since Xyxer was nowhere to be seen or heard from, she needed new avenues for teachers if she was going to be stronger. Who knows, maybe this new person could be her next key to success.

His next statement was one she hadn’t expected to hear, nor did she truly care whether he kept his chakra hidden or not. With how cautious he was being she figured he meant it when he said he didn’t want to harm her, but even if he did she had all the tools she needed to fight back within seconds. The tattoo on her back was just one example of how she was always prepared for anything, the lilac tinted orbs in her head another. Thus when he finished talking she just nodded her head in acknowledgment of his words, deciding it wasn’t necessary for her to comment on his actions or the fact that his chakra was as high as her own, something that was slowly solidifying her idea of learning from him. If his chakra was anything to judge him by, then he was not a man to be fucked with, and could easily kill someone at the drop of a hat. Someone like that was someone she desperately needed, although she would never admit that sentence aloud.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Calin. My name is Hikari and this is my familiar, Kuro.” Her voice was polite as both Kuro and she returned a bow, her back arching slightly as the cold water landed on the sensitive skin that was now exposed to the full force of the water rather than the secondhand water from before that was slightly less cold after hitting both her head and the air. As she straightened her posture once more she took a moment to ponder his offer, although that action was more so for appearances than thinking. She didn’t want him to believe she had been eager for his company after all, especially given how confident his demeanor was already. “I think I will take you up on that offer. A bit of conversation on this lovely morning would be quite nice indeed.”

Since there was not another rock close enough for them to have their conversation comfortably she instructed Kuro to move over and then moved her own body to the right as well, giving the rather large man enough room on her left to sit with his legs crossed if he so desired to. Due to her changing positions on the rock, she failed to notice him glancing over her figure; however, Kuro did notice and narrowed his eyes at Calin, not in a threatening way but in a way that acknowledged he saw his wandering eyes and didn’t appreciate it. After all, Hikari was his best friend and this man was still a stranger who still hadn’t earned the wolf’s trust, yet was already trying to cross boundaries with his coal orbs. 

(WC: 1,937)

"Thank you." The tall man said simply as the wolf caught his look, but all Calin did in response to him was grin at the woman’s companion. The defensiveness of the creature was something one would expect from a solid guard dog. He didn’t blame the wolf in the least, but he didn’t think it would be fair to blame himself either. The large man began to undress, taking his belt, coat, and pants off and sending them to his storage displacement. Leaving him in a simple pair of black boxers. Afterwards, he would proceed to climb up to the stone slab using surface walking, being careful not to bump the woman or the wolf as he did so. Within moments, he was sitting under the waterfall as well, sighing at the feel of the cold water pouring over him. The water sluicing over him as now he too became an obstacle in the ever flowing path. To be honest, the effect of this training was diminished somewhat. Due to his absorption of some of Amaterasu’s black fire, his body temperature was always significantly higher than others. It kept him warm in winter months, hell he didn’t even have to wear warm clothing. As he sat, the space on the rock was taken up by the three of them and a small amount of physical contact was unavoidable. His posture stayed confident, strong, his head was held high despite the water crashing over it, shoulders unbowed.

The scene was actually quite comical, he was almost a full two feet taller than her after all. Within a few moments though his breathing was regulated to what the exercise required. He felt like the inability to really feel the chill of the water was a bit like cheating. However he couldn’t help it, and the opportunity for someone to converse with for a while who wasn’t a client or a shinobi he was torturing was too good to pass up. Once he was settled, he would take a moment to gather his thoughts before an inquisitive eyebrow would shoot up “Celebration? I’m all for getting drunk, matter of fact I have a few flasks with me if you want to partake, but I can’t think of what celebration you might be referring to. I’m just passing through to enjoy the scenery of the waterfalls and to take some mercenary contracts.” He would say, a mild bit of confusion in his voice as he spoke. It was true too, all he had done was do a few missions and enjoyed the scenery. Such was the lot of a missing ninja’s life, he briefly wondered where she herself was from. He also knew of course, that he’d just outed himself as a missing shinobi. If the girl had any qualms with that, then they would probably have problems very soon. Or at the very least until he could talk through it.

It was good practice to talk his way out of problems, despite the ability to destroy the problem itself. After all, a dead person can’t be used later, but a living one can be manipulated. Many a tool in the world had been forged this way, and maybe, possibly, another can be. So long as the right seeds are planted. Besides, it might even be fun. As he sat on his knees upon the stone, his hands folded over each other in front of his stomach, he would open his Minds Eye, the sensory technique was an exceptionally useful technique and allowed him to watch their surroundings carefully. Since the exercise he was doing had lost a good portion of it’s bite due to his inability to feel the cold. He figured he might as well watch for potential attackers, or in Hikari’s case, simply onlookers.  He could even focus on the technique, increasing it’s range to hundreds of meters in every direction. “So Miss Hikari.” He would begin, his voice polite as always when not engaged in robbery or combat. “Your chakra is just as powerful as mine, yet I’ve never heard of you in the mercenary scene. Does that mean you’re from a village?” He would ask, the unasked part of the question obvious to anyone who heard the question. It was a test, albeit a simple one. If she answered the question in the affirmative, and offered nothing more. He’d know he’d have to work harder to get anything out of her. If she answered in the negative and offered nothing more, he’d have to do similar.

WC: 757
TWC: 1828

AP: 1000 - 45 = 955

Midthread Claim: Using 1875 of my 20875 bank to learn Telepathy Seal this'll put me at 19000 even. Using the max stat discount of course.

He thanked her so she replied with a simple “you’re welcome”, while Kuro furrowed his muzzle as well, mimicking the expression a wolf wears when growling, but only for a brief moment before she nuzzled closer to Hikari’s arm, staring at Calin the entire time as if mocking him for not being able to do the same to her. The Hyuuga looked away while he undressed to give him a bit of privacy, and not awkwardly stare him down as he stripped, and preoccupied herself by ruffling the raven fur of her friend, running her slender fingers through the soft hairs as she petted him. She didn’t look back over in his direction until he sat comfortably down on the rock and sat under the freezing water’s embrace, briefly noticing how easily he grew accustomed to the water over his exposed skin before turning her gaze ahead of her again, watching downstream as a deer lapped at the pool of refreshing water quite a distance away from them. Just from that action of him not shying away from the water at all, she could tell he had done this exercise as many times as Xyxer had, becoming one with the cold liquid and never being truly bothered by it again. Hikari hoped to be able to do that soon, emulating the strongest people in her life in hopes it would make her strong as well.

Lilac tinted eyes met coal hued ones as a masculine voice broke through the silence, commenting on how he didn’t know there had been a party and that he was merely passing through when he wandered across her. She figured that would explain why he was awake so early and why she didn’t recognize him from the event. Even though he hadn’t gone to the ball he seemed like good company, and as such she would continue conversing with him, learning as much as she can while hopefully also making another connection in the shinobi world that could be beneficial in the future.

“Ah, too bad you didn’t come here sooner, you could’ve joined and had free alcohol to your heart's content. It was a costume themed ball put on by an organization called Sakura Corp that is stationed here.” A small smile curved the corners of her rosy lips upward as she recalled the night before and how she had enjoyed herself for the first time in a while. “If you are willing to share I’ll gladly take you up on the flasks.” In truth she had never shared a drink with anyone before, but felt it was worth doing since drinking alone was such a bore, even if she hardly ever drank back home. Her goal was to do things that the old her wouldn’t and tat Xyxer would, as that would most likely be the best way for her to break free from the weak Hyuuga she used to be. “You are the first mercenary I’ve ever met, so I can’t say I know much about what you guys do.” She bit her lip softly as she held back asking anything more about his life as a missing-nin, not wanting to risk invading his privacy or making him want to leave before their conversation truly began.

When he spoke up again it became apparent how courteous he was being, despite the fact he didn’t need to be, and it surprised her slightly that he didn’t seem to dislike her instantly despite guessing she was a village ninja. Though she figured that if she could accept him being a missing-nin that he might be tolerant enough to accept her being from a village, which is how she thought it should be. After all, why did there need to be discourse between the two in the first place, when village ninja could perform heinous crimes worse than their villageless counterparts?

“It does, and since you informed me that you were a mercenary, I’ll indulge you by giving the name of my village. The village hidden in the islands, also known as Kirigakure.” Her voice calm and light, after all she didn’t really need to hide what village she hailed from, especially given the fact that she wasn’t born there so there was bound to be a lack of information should he have contacts in the place. It honestly helped keep her life a secret being part of a different village from birth, but it also made ever going back to Konoha challenging if not outright impossible since Xyxer was no longer in charge of keeping the leaf as kiri’s pet.

(WC: 2,703)

A small smile would play on the man’s face as she accepted his offer for a drink and he would nod. It was a shame about missing the celebration, but most times he found sharing a drink or two with a single individual much more enjoyable than simply getting drunk at a party of some kind. He would begin to contemplate how they would drink while under the waterfall when he felt a shift in the air behind him. Raising an eyebrow and turning around, his head would not be looking into a small cave. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but what cave was? It was more than big enough for the three of them to sit around comfortably at least. It would give them a place to sit, talk, share the flasks, and would give a measure of privacy since no passerby would randomly see them unless they came through the waterfall. Obviously the chances of that last part were low, but hey, it had already happened with him stumbling upon her after all. “Well, since drinking with a waterfall falling on you isn’t a very pleasant experience, and one drinks to enjoy life or forget about things in it. I say we head into this cave. We can  chat, enjoy the flasks, and let the morning roll on by.” He would say, his mind already made up and moving into the cave. “Besides, this exercise doesn’t work well for me any longer. I don’t really feel the cold and that’s half the point.” He would say as he moved inside. If she joined him, great, if she chose to keep up with her training, then oh well, he’d leave some for her.

As he sat against one wall of the cave he would utilize his storage displacement to pull out his coat once more. The large, red and silver trimmed, leather piece was a favorite of his. He’d also pull out a blanket or two. Then he would hang the blankets around his neck like one might a towel, to keep them off the floor of the cave, and begin rummaging through pockets on his coat. Pulling out flasks, a few other items, and a wrapped bundle. The bundle had come from the pocket that held food for him to eat as he traveled. He set the things aside and layed out the flasks. If Hikari had followed him into the cave he would motion toward the flasks. “Take your pick, they’re all the same, but you’d have to be suspicious of any I offered you in particular.” He would say as he sat against the cave wall and offered the blankets over his shoulder to her and her wolf. As he’d said before, he didn’t feel the cold, nor did it affect him. Hikari and Kuro though were a different matter. He generally kept the blankets on hand for clients who he was escorting and such. They would be just as useful here and he would pass her the wrapped bundle as well. “A couple of blankets to warm you two up, and some dried meat for Kuro. I figure you’d rather be the one to give it to him. If we’re going to be drinking, no reason why he shouldn’t get something too. I don’t care if you get the blankets wet.” He would say, leaning back against the wall if she took the proffered items or simply putting them away into storage displacement if she chose not to.

Once she had chosen a flask he would pick one up as well and uncap it before taking a drink. The flasks were a decent size for his hands, which meant the things would probably seem comically large in hers. It meant each one held a good amount of drink. They needed to in order to get him buzzed or drunk enough to matter. Due to his size and the increased temperature of his body, he burned away the effects of alcohol quickly. So he needed to drink a lot in order to notice. His companion might be a different story, although he didn’t know her yet. She could after all, have the alcohol tolerance to drink him under the table even at her size, stranger things had happened. It was now that he would acknowledgement an earlier comment she’d said. One about mercenary’s. It had been why he had gathered ‘a few other items’ from his coat which now lay upon his lap. “Now to answer something you said before.” He would say, beginning with that to gain her attention if she had been lost in thought. “Being a mercenary means I’ll do any job to get paid. I can’t afford to be picky about what I’m hired to do, although all mercenaries somewhat are regardless. Since I was trained in shinobi arts over the years, most villages would label me as a ‘missing nin’". That term usually evoked some kind of reaction, many people feared missing ninja, thinking them to be the boogeymen of the shinobi world. “What it basically means is I travel the world, seeing the sights, and doing jobs. I’m not too picky about what the job is, merely the payment for it. I’ve burned down villages, I’ve killed innocents. My hands are stained with blood. I’ve robbed people for their money, or equipment, I’ve done horrible things, for money. I have to in order to survive, and the experience has made me strong..” He would pause here, and take a large swig of his alcohol before continuing. “I’ve done regrettable things, I’ve also done horrible things to individuals that I don’t regret at all.” He would say, before reaching to his side and sliding the headbands, and shinobi ID’s of Kizaru, Yoi, and Chuta forward. They were the headbands and ID’s of three konoha genin, none of them very strong at the time. “Take these three, I found them traveling, with no teacher to guide them, no higher rank to protect and teach them, traveling home through Tea Country. I’d wager they’d been going home from a mission. I hadn’t felt their chakra signatures until they were almost on top of me. You know as well as I do I’m sure how unprepared that meant they had been.” He would pause again here, taking another long drink.

This story was going to get dark quickly, and while he wasn’t necessarily ashamed of his following actions. He was very much so of how he felt over them at the time. “I decided they needed to be taught a harsh lesson of the world. I decided to show them that they had no business leaving the safety of their precious walls unless they had either the strength to defend themselves, or someone else to back them up. So I robbed them, and they complied, two of them meekly.” He would say, before pointing to the shinobi ID of Chuta “This one impressed me a bit, he was angry, he wanted to kill me. I could tell, the others were afraid but he was defiant I’d wager if I hadn’t told them I’d kill them all if they didn’t comply, he would’ve tried to kill me.” He would pause once more, drink, and continue. “Once they had given me their money, and equipment, I told them that if they defended themselves. I will kill whoever did, in front of their friends. I proceeded to torture them, using a katana I took from one of them. I cut off limbs, cauterizing the wounds as I did, gouged out eyes, and burned their skin until it resembled something more akin to candle wax than human flesh.” Pause, drink, continue. “I promised them I wouldn’t kill them, and I didn’t. I left the one who impressed with enough capability to get the other two home, painfully. I’d wager they’re long home by now, healed up, and remember what I’d done. I told them they needed to be stronger, that monsters like me exist in the world. I threw them into a crucible that they’ll either rise out of stronger, fail and die, or decide they can’t hack it, and quit.” He would pause here, his tale mostly over as he took another long swig from his alcohol. “I don’t regret the actions, not in the least. Shinobi that weak need someone to protect them in the world. They should never have been out of their village without stronger back up. I’ve always hated the village system, but to know that some village leader is letting their shinobi out like that, infuriates me to know end. No, I do not regret the actions I took that day, I saw them as necessary. Hard, and painful, for the three genin, but necessary. What I regret is the way I felt doing it. I felt joy, pride in being better. I felt that it was right for me to be stronger and prove it. So I suppose, at the end of the day, what being a ‘Mercenary’ or a ‘Missing-Ninja’ is all about. Is making difficult choices, and living with the consequences of what you become.” He would say before polishing  off his first flask. There were two for each of them and he would drink his second much slower.

“So, you’ve heard me say I hate the village system. Do not however be afraid of me attacking you. I hate the system, but I don’t want to destroy it, or particularly harm those who are in it. I simply see them as weak herd animals, gathering together to try to fend off the wolves in the world. The missing ninja that prowl the lands. The mercenary group I was in was small, but every one of us strong, pulling our weight as best we could until we got stronger, and do more. The way a pack is run, not the weak ideals of villages who focus on weaklings nurturing further weaklings. The only reason I don’t want it destroyed is because of the power vacuum that would cause. It would be chaotic, and far too many people, with no blood on their hands, would die as a result.” He would say, leaning his head against the wall and taking a deep breath. “I said that because I doubt you’re a missing ninja, or a mercenary, I’ve never heard of you, or someone of your description in our circles. So I’m willing to bet you’re a village shinobi yourself.” He would say, it wasn’t a question, and if she offered more information than what he stated, even just confirming his assumptions, then that was her decision. He wasn’t in the mood to kill, didn’t even like doing it if there wasn’t a profit in it. So this one would be safe from him, for now.

WC: 1804
TWC: 3632

It seemed something behind them piqued the interest of her conversation partner as he turned around to investigate whatever it was briefly before informing her that it had been a cave. He noted that the idea of drinking under a waterfall wasn’t as enjoyable as being able to relax and fully partake in the beverage at hand, especially given that he no longer feels cold so this exercise was moot to him in the first place. The Hyuuga shrugged her shoulders, not caring either way where they decided to drink, and followed him into the cave, her body shuddering slightly as the brisk air hit her exposed wet skin, although she tried to hide her body’s natural reaction to the cool breeze, not wanting to appear weak for being susceptible to the cold. Kuro followed after her, staying a safe distance away while he shook the water off his fur as best he could before he moved to stand beside her, watching as Calin retrieved several items from thin air with the storage displacement technique that Hikari had used so many times before.

Her lilac eyes examined the contents of the flasks, the veins around her eyes bulging from the use of ehr Byakugan, and after not finding anything particularly off-putting with any of them, chose the second one from the right as she deactivated her doujutsu. “Thank you for the drink, next time it’ll have to be on me.” She mostly said this out of courtesy than anything else, although that might change as she got to know him better. Especially as he continually surprised her, such as when he was thoughtful enough to hand ehr blankets and dried meat for Kuro, all of which she accepted graciously. “Thank you for these as well, it’s much appreciated.”

She would wrap one of the blankets around Kuro, warming him up as best she could, and give him the dried meat to chew on as he laid down beside her. Then she would wrap the second blanket around herself, instantly feeling relief from the clutches of coldness as the large item could fit around her entire frame, back and front. Things like that tended to happen for the petite woman so she had grown accustomed to not being shocked by it, although that didn’t stop others from looking at her with incredulous eyes at just how tiny she truly was.

Once she got settled across from Calin she would unscrew the lid of the flash and take a swig, feeling the alcohol burn her throat and warm her insides. Hikari was by all means a lightweight when it came to drinking, having only recently taken it up as a pastime, but figured a flask would be more than plenty for herself to feel buzzed yet coherently enough to defend herself if need be. After all the last thing she needed to do was get drunk with a complete stranger.

Her attention was brought to the man in front of her as he spoke up, stating he was going to answer one of her prior questions now. The second sentence he said made it abundantly clear which question he was answering and how serious he was about his job and lifestyle. He would do anything for a job, and although she expected that, it still sent a chill down her back to think about what all he could’ve done in order to get paid. Whose blood was on his hands just to survive another day.

Sure she was hoping to be a heartless monster who didn’t care what blood coated her hands, a part of her still clung to the idea that she could save people rather than kill them, all of her years as a medic tugging at her heartstrings each time she thought she was free of her emotions, free to be numb to the screams like Xyxer.

As she took another swig of her drink he mentioned that he was what people called a missing-nin, a person who was no longer part of any village, if they were even part of one to begin with. Hikari knew she should’ve been more afraid of this fact, especially after having learned of the types of things he would do for money, yet he didn’t seem threatening to her as he should’ve. Perhaps it was due to his friendly demeanor and politeness, she wasn’t sure, but either way she didn’t flinch away from him after learning the name he, as a mercenary, also went by.

He continued his explanation of mercenary life, going on to say how he travels the world and does sight seeing. She was a little jealous of how carefree and casual his life sounded, no structure or hierarchy to hold him down. All he needed was his strength, and maybe a bit of charisma to win people over, although having a nomadic life probably had its own hardships compared to hers. He had to do whatever jobs he could to survive whereas she could do missions that didn’t include any harm to herself, whereas he might have to put his life on the line every time.

It took a sudden turn for the worse as he mentioned the things he had done in more detail, and a part of her didn’t want to listen as he talked of innocent blood on his hands. The idea of killing those who didn’t deserve such a punishment sickened her for they reminded her far too much of Salzem and how he was robbed of his life for doing nothing more than trying to defend himself.

While Calin took a moment to drink his alcohol, she did the same, thinking whatever he was about to continue talking about would require her to be less than sober for given how the conversation was going already. Hikari seemed to be proven right as he said he had done both regrettable and not regrettable things before sliding some items forward for her to inspect. In all honesty she was hesitant to see what names were written on the shinobi IDs that accompanied the Konoha headbands, her heart quickening as her mind raced to place names to the faces she saw pictured. However, despite the turmoil on the inside, she remained poised and collected on the outside, giving away no hints that she was fighting an inward battle. She knew she had to play the part of an indifferent Kiri ninja, and one who was okay with the senseless killing of Genin, least she become the next target of his.

So instead she listened tentatively while he retold the tale, beginning with the setting of how he wandered upon the helpless rabbits traveling home without any sort of protection. She found it odd that a Genin squad was allowed to leave without their Chuunin or Jounin leader, unless of course said leader had died during the mission to protect them, which would explain their absence.

She felt the smooth liquid hit her parched throat as she took another sip, preparing herself for the image of three dead and mutilated bodies as he explained what he had done to the poor children that were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her only solace came in the form of his words surprisingly reassuring her as he failed to mention their demise as of late, only that he wanted to teach them a lesson about leaving the safety of the village and how he had robbed them. It took everything in her not to sigh out of relief at the good news, thankful they had survived their encounter against him. Her spirits dropped briefly as he pointed to one of the IDs, worried he was going to say that he killed him as an example to the other two. Fortunately it was the opposite, he had been impressed by the kid’s tenacity and willingness to fight no matter the odds,

It was a short lived sense of joy at his statement as he then revealed he had tortured them as his way of teaching them a lesson. Hikari gripped the blanket tighter than usual as he went into more detail, how he had cut off their limbs, gouged out eyes, and burned their skin to a max-like replica. Just the thought of it all was enough to make anyone sick, and had she not been trained in the medical field to face those kinds of injuries and details, she probably would have herself at the gruesome story. Instead she forced herself to drink more, wishing the alcohol was getting her drunk faster so she could forget what he had said since she wished to erase the images from her memory of the children screaming in agony and shaking in fear. They shouldn’t have been subjected to those kinds of horrors at such a young age, even if they were shinobi and signed up for such a life.

The only thing that struck out to her as he kept going was him keeping his word to them. He could have easily fooled them into believing he would spare their lives only to cut off their heads the moment they turned away from him, yet he stayed true to his promise. It seemed like he has some kind of morals. The snowy haired woman would think as he continued, wagering what they were up to now that they had most likely made it back to the village and been healed. He seemed to think his actions were righteous and had saved them by the lessons said actions taught. She couldn’t necessarily disagree with him there, recalling one of the first missions she had ever gone on before and how it was almost her last had she not knocked the assassin unconscious. But the idea of young children being tortured while so close to being done left a bad taste in her mouth even if she couldn’t argue against it.

He took another drink of his liquor but she refrained from doing so, not wanting to drink it too fast now that she had quite a few sips in, just in case not even half of a flask was her limit. Fortunately she didn’t need to find something to distract herself for her began speaking soon after he had stopped for the break, ranting about the village system and how he hated it. She couldn’t entirely blame him for his feelings towards the villages, even she was slowly starting to hate them as well after everything they had put her through. However, what caught her attention was when he mentioned regretting how he felt while torturing them, the feelings of joy, pride, and showing off his strength overwhelming him. Even if it was minute, it showed he was still human behind the psychotic demeanor, something Xyxer and he shared. Both monsters with traces of their humanity still clinging to the hopes of being noticed and saved.

Hikari was surprised when he went out of his way to reassure her and calm any of her nerves about him after all he had opened up to her, wanting to make sure she knew he wouldn’t hurt he for the crimes the villages she was apart of. The same villages whose people he was calling weak herd animals from the wolves of the land and who only had weakling nurturing weakling in an indefinite cycle. She wasn’t informed enough to know the strength of his missing-nin group or himself compared to those she had witnessed firsthand in a village, but judging from what he has said, she could trust that fact to be true. Which lead her to thinking about the latter sentence of his that referred to unsoiled hands becoming bloodied and other such consequences if they got rid of the village system. It made sense to the Hyuuga that if there was nothing to balance the missing-nin then the world would be thrown into complete and total, utter chaos.

Calin laid his head gently upon the rock behind him as he called her out for not coming from a mercenary background, stating it was obvious she was from a village due to his connections across the missing-nin world, something that was quite impressive if true. “You’d win that bet easily.” Her voice was smooth as she moved her eyes to make eye contact with him. “I am from the village hidden by mist, Kirigakure.” She didn’t avert her gaze as she stopped talking, wondering if he would give any sort of reaction to her own statement.

(WC: 4,800)

She kept her emotions hidden well, if she felt them at all. Calin himself couldn’t tell despite him keeping a watchful eye out for her reactions. He expected looks of simple disgust, maybe even fear. What he did not expect was nothing at all. Was she truly so jaded that she felt nothing of these genin? It made a good story to judge her by, but in the end it didn’t seem to work. He did however, consider whether or not doing what he did to those genin made him a monster or not. It was a puzzle he was still working out. He’d so far tentatively decided that his actions themselves weren’t reprehensible, with the exception of the robbery itself. They were shinobi, and they lived in a world where monsters far worse than he existed. They had been lucky it was him who discovered them and not one of them. There wouldn’t have been much left if they had run into one of those monsters. Damn sure nothing left alive at any rate. What he did think might make him a monster was how he felt during the act. The glee coursing through him as he proved how weak they were compared to him. Utilizing his power on them, despite their inability to properly defend themselves against him. That he had decided, put him in a gray area when it came to how he should judge himself.

He’d take a swig of his second flask, her decision to only take one left him a third if he wanted it, but he’d probably wait to make sure she didn’t want it once she got into the drink. It would be rude otherwise. His mind would stay occupied as she answered his guess of her being a village shinobi, and then further clarifying which one she was from. A small chuckle would escape his lips as their eyes met and his own smooth voice would respond. “So, the village of conquerors, the question now is are you one of the conquerors, or the conquered?” He would say, the question was rhetorical, although if she answered it he wouldn’t stop her from doing so. Instead, he would get his information another way. “What’s it like growing up in the Mist?” He would ask, his curiosity piqued as he waited for her response to his question. It seemed he had been asking all of the questions so far, he would hope she would ask some of her own. A conversation was no fun when only one of the individuals was trying. He’d bet the alcohol would start working toward that end soon enough though.

WC: 442
TWC: 4074

Darkness orbs met her own as he chuckled at her response, perhaps finding her comment about the bet humorous. Or perhaps what he was about to say made him laugh at the thought of it. She supposed it wouldn’t be long until she found out, taking a small sip of the flask in her right hand as she listened to his reply, his deeper voice cool and collected. He wasn’t easy to surprise or catch off guard she was slowly learning by his reactions, or lack thereof. Although she felt he could say the same about her as she hardly gave anything away while he told of the terrible things he had done to the Genin, not even a small gasp had escaped her rosy lips despite the turmoil within. That was the only real difference she could see in herself after all this time trying to change, most of her thoughts and actions were quite similar if not only slightly colder. To get the results she desperately wanted she figured she would need to find someone to replace Xyxer, and quickly if she was to ever exact her revenge.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment, his question ringing in her mind as her thoughts raced to come up with a witty, Kirigakure sounding retort. The last thing she needed was to out herself to someone she hardly knew or trusted, especially when she wasn’t sure of his thoughts on such a complex matter. However, before she could voice her formulated answer, he moved on to ask about how growing up in Kiri had been, the previous question nothing more than food for thought it seemed. No matter, it was better off that way, she thought.

Yet now came an equally as challenging inquiry. She had to make it sound believable, as if she actually grew up living on the islands that made up her present residence. Hikari knew confidence would be key, any sign of hesitation or wavering would be a big red flag, and she doubted he would be so kind to someone lying to him given how open and honest he appeared to be. “As you can imagine it being given its nickname of the Bloody Mist; full of fighting and bloodshed. The Blood Games were not just some fictitious rumor you might’ve heard about during your travels, until as of late we actually did them.” She took a moment to bring the cool metal to her lips, giving him time to take in what he might’ve just learned about Kiri, her eyes reflecting the confidence in her voice. “Besides that it wasn’t all bad; the view of the ocean from the beaches is hard to beat, and there’s yearly festivals. Surprisingly enough Kiri loves to celebrate, hosting events whenever we can for the citizens to get drunk and have fun. Probably helps forget about the conquests for some, and make more interested in joining if they can have a victory party upon their return home.” She ended her description with a shrug of her shoulders, trying to act as indifferent as some of the Kiri shinobi she had met before. Sure she hadn’t grown up in the village and could only guess how it might’ve felt given the knowledge she had gleaned from those who had lived there all of their lives.

The kunoichi bit her lip softly as she awaited what he would say or ask as a reaction to her answer, no doubt wanting to know more about certain things like the Blood Games. While she waited in the brief amount of time she had a few questions rose to mind about him, although asking such personal things wasn’t normally her forte. She didn’t like to pry if she could help it, saved her from others trying to do the same to her. But perhaps since he was already sipping his second flask he wouldn’t mind as much if she got a little nosy, and even if he did, maybe he wouldn’t hurt her for it. “Have you been a mercenary all your life or did you become one after leaving a village?" For now she would leave it at one question, not wanting to bombard him as if it were an interrogation just yet; however, maybe later.

(WC: 5,520)