章 16: Chapter 15
Snap Back To Reality 15
It had been 2 days since I was staying with the Furukuwa family. They didn't have much food, or anything really. I thought I knew what poverty was when I ate less during the initial start of the war. Clearly, I didn't because the family ate even less than I did on my worst days. Sensei and I originally decided that we would eat our rations instead, but the family was strict. We may have been intruders in their village and home, but they had a certain unyielding pride about them. Hence, we ate their meals with them. I sat next to Emi; the little girl had the most beautiful honey yellow eyes like her mother. She was quiet, and a little shy but I could see her hands playing away as if she was holding her true self back. She was a hard worker too, helping her mother around the house and somehow staying out of our way at the same time.
"We thank you, for your hospitality," sensei said, bowing slightly as he finished his meal. I bowed too.
"It is our duty to treat a guest," Ryosai said.
I wanted to point out that we weren't really guests. We were kind of the bad guys here, holding their village hostage for a reason I wasn't told. It was getting annoying trying to read Orochimaru's motives. He liked to keep things under wraps unless the team specifically needed to know to do something for his plans. He was crazy effective of course, but not really a great leader when it came down to it.
"I will be leaving on patrol," Gaku-sensei said bowing again before taking his leave.
Mamoru wasn't around. He was off to work actually. I had no idea why work was still going on when enemy shinobi were occupying a Lightning town. Wouldn't their allies be here by now, bringing their combined wrath upon our team? I was sure they would eventually. Lightning was too proud to let Konoha have a piece of their land, even if it was an inconsequential small mining town by the border. What was Orochimaru getting at by targeting this town of all places? Kogyo wasn't even on any map for all I knew.
"Sensei, can't I come with you?" I asked, feeling more than impatient waiting in this small house for days. Besides training there was nothing to do.
"You know your orders Hina," he said sternly.
I sighed and nodded. Then I began collecting the plates on the table only to have Ryosai stop me, a look of mild anger on her face.
"I will do it," she said sternly.
"I don't mean to offend," I said backing of. "It's just that I need to do something."
Ryosai's expression softened at that. She gestured for Emi to come by. The little girl jumped at her mom's beckoning.
"You can help Emi with her chores then," Ryosai sighed.
I nodded eagerly. The little girl squeaked in surprise and then looked frantically between me and her mother before staring at me in what looked like horror. I couldn't help but chuckle at how expressive she was. Then she gestured for me to follow her to the kitchen. She pulled her long dark hair into a bun above her head before throwing on a too large apron and handing me one too. I put it on wordlessly as she picked up a big bucket and lugged it outside. She was a silent kid, her body language speaking without need for words. It was incredibly adorable.
She pointed at the well and I followed her towards it. I'd never taken water from a well before, so I watched as she attached the bucket to the hook and fixed the lever before bracing one foot on the stone wall and lowering the bucket. She pulled up the water with great effort. I was once again reminded that just because she was only a head shorter than me, that it didn't mean she had the strength I had at her age. I wordlessly got up behind her and put my hands on the rope and pulled it up easily. She gawked in surprise as it came up effortlessly.
"What are we going to do with the water?" I asked.
She blushed shyly and pointed to a bigger bucket by the house, then she pointed to the shed where a few cows and sheep lazed around. I nodded in understanding and we got about pulling up buckets of water. It wasn't very hard work for me, but I was sure it was for a little girl like her. After a while she looked really tired, so I knelt down in front of her, my arms stretched out behind my back.
"Why don't you jump on for a bit. For a piggyback ride," I offered.
She looked shocked but then beamed a shy smile and scrambled onto my back. She was really light. I stood up and continued the chores she pointed me to do. Her chin rested on my head and sometimes she pet my head in a 'good job' kind of gesture that made me wonder if she was treating me like a dog. She was too cute to get annoyed at though, so I let it slide.
It was a few minutes in that she started humming. The song was unfamiliar to me, but it had a good tune. I realised as I continued washing the clothes, that this was peaceful. This simple life full of chores, not enough food, and long days of work was peaceful. I wondered for a second what I had missed out on, in my haste to be important, to be someone powerful and strong… what had I given up in its stead. A peaceful simple life.
Emi's humming turned into a song, and her lips produced the sweetest voice I'd ever heard.
"The sun goes down, the moon comes up, the wind blows out and the rain falls. We sing a little song for food and water, and we eat to our hearts content. The harvests coming. The harvests coming. Gather your friends and family for a meal brings hearts together~"
It was such a sweet song, and with Emi's little childish voice it just seemed to make it more calming. I realised she hadn't pointed me to my next task, and I jumped her on my shoulder, and she chuckled in response.
"What next Emi-chan?"
"You've finished all the chores," she mumbled into my head.
I sat down by the porch and she climbed down to sit next to me. She hummed another tune, although her expression was sad as she looked past the house in the direction of the mines.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Tousan goes to work all day with all the other men," the girl lamented.
I winced in sympathy. She shuffled her feet anxiously and them put on an optimistic expression.
"It's ok though. Tousan told us it's kaasan's and my job to protect the home!"
I nodded in agreement, sitting next to the girl, and putting a hand on her soft head. I never had a sibling in my old life. I had kid cousins though and I remembered vaguely how they used to enjoy my fingers running through their scalp and untangling hair.
"That is a very important job. Do you want to know why?" I asked.
She nodded eagerly. I smiled and turned my thoughts to home.
"Because home is where the heart is. Where's your heart Emi-chan?"
"With kaasan and tousan!"
"That's right. So protecting the home is very important. It's not a building or a structure, it's where the people we shared it with are."
I ruffled her hair and smiled sadly as she chuckled. A scratch of worry festered in the back of my mind. Kogyo may have been home to this little girl, but it may not be soon, not with Orochimaru occupying the place under his tight grip. Whatever he had planned could very well end whatever heart this kid had left to protect.
"You're really nice nee-chan," the girl said, beaming a blinding smile my way.
I sucked in a breath. Goddamn she was too precious for this world. I wasn't nice though. I couldn't protect that smile. When it came down to it, I was weak. I was only starting out on my new career. There was no edge I had over others.
"I'm not nice Emi-chan. You shouldn't trust enemy ninja so easily," I said gently.
"But you helped with all my chores, and you let me ride on your back so my feet wouldn't hurt," she said with a healthy dose of childlike innocence. "So you're not my enemy!"
I was going to explain myself to her, so she wouldn't go around treating the rest of the Konoha Shinobi without fear, when the scent of bloody metal caught my nose. I sniffed the air, closing my eyes and sent chakra to my ears. The sound of feet! I jumped up and flipped a kunai into my palm before blocking a senbon that would have hit my face. I jumped into a defensive stance in front of Emi.
"Emi, go inside right now!"
The little girl scrambled back but neither of us barely had any time before I was assaulted by a boy about 16 or 17 years old. His long black hair whipped in the air as he jumped backwards and pulled his tanto away. Fuck, a sword user. His striking red eyes made me pause. The only other people I'd seen with red eyes were Uchiha when the Sharingan was activated, and some members of the Kurama clan including Kurenai. Maybe there were members outside of Konoha who also had those eyes.
"A child," the boy tsked.
"You would do well not to underestimate me," I said falling into my Tiger Palm stance. I didn't spare Emi a glance when I spoke to her next. "Go inside now Emi."
"No! He's going to hurt you! Shinobi-san, Hina-chan is a good ninja!"
The raven-haired boy's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they narrowed. He straightened out his deep blue kimono and his expression schooled into something impassive and harsh.
"You are a member of Lightning and you dare ally yourself with an enemy ninja of the Leaf?" he asked. "I will kill you once I finish this fight."
My jaw set firmly as I dug my feet into the ground. The boy came at me again and I snapped into my Tiger Palm stance as he came at me.
Tiger Palm Fire Style: Form 1 Quick Claw Strike!
My body twisted under his arms before I slammed my curled fingers straight into his stomach, ripping into flesh before I did the same with his throat. I dug my fingers in, expected to pull out the throat and stomach when the body disappeared into a puff of smoke.
An illusion!
I didn't see an attack coming until the edge of his blade was on my side. I jumped away as I felt the force of the blow send me skidding away a few feet. I hissed in pain as I held my bleeding sides.
"Faster reflexes than I anticipated. Why are you wearing a Genin uniform?"
"Hmm, praise from an enemy," I replied amused.
"It won't matter. You will be dead in a second," he said pulling out his sword.
He hadn't even unsheathed it and I was cut?! I cursed mentally as I got a read on his chakra. It wasn't amazing, but it was calm and collected. None of the nerves anyone went into with battle was there. His form was… perfect. A Jounin then? It was hard to tell as he wasn't wearing a traditional Kumo Jounin uniform.
"If you're here and I haven't received backup then it means there's an attack on our team," I summarised with a frown. "You're a Jounin."
"Yes."
Well fuck
The boy whose eyes were closed opened and then suddenly there were six of him, all surrounding me. Emi jumped back in shock and bumped into one of them. I called out her name but to my relief she was allowed to stumble away from the fight and back into the relative safety of the porch. I darted my eyes to each of his forms. Normally I could distinguish between clones easily enough. The original always had a higher level of chakra… but none of these clones even had a drop of chakra. I was confused beyond reason. I didn't have time to question it when they all came at me at once.
Circle Step: Form 1 Aerial Style Disarming Whirlwind!
I flowed like the wind, just how I had been taught. I predicted each movement, flowing with the attacks rather than against it, my palms hastily slapping away the sword hands. He was overwhelming me with sheer number and skill though. I gasped in pain as a sword stabbed through my abdomen, and another through my chest. Kage Bunshins? No, these weren't Kage Bunshins. Kage Bunshins would have chakra. The blades dug into my further freezing my body in place, but I fought through the pain to block an incoming strike to my face. Out of desperation, I gathered the chakra to my mouth.
Fire Release: Flame Bullet!
I shot the condensed flame bullets from my mouth wildly at the several figures. It just went through them! The one that was about to strike my face dodged and then I realised something was odd. I'd been stabbed before. This felt like a searing pain rather than a blade through organs like it should have been. My brain was screaming at me to stay still, that moving forward meant certain death, but I pushed against the pain of the swords inside of me and leapt forward using Chakra Slide. The enemy vanished as I moved past them.
"Genjutsu," I hissed.
"It seems you've seen through me. Impressive for a Genin. I would have your name."
"Not until I have yours," I said stalling.
"Matsu Kazuki"
"Suzuki Hina"
His expression was as serious as ever, but he tilted his head almost in a respectful way. I got ready in Tiger Palms second form, ideal for sudden movements in case a hit came from anywhere. I didn't expect however for the ground in front of him to turn a deep red. The tendrils of darkness engulfed him, and I jumped back. It wasn't enough though and soon I too was covered in darkness, the ground drenched in a void black until it enveloped me whole. I was surrounded by a disorienting darkness that made me question up from down. My body lost its sense of direction as I twisted around to hear the sound of his feet echoing everywhere all at once, like it was coming from every direction.
"You are in my world of darkness. I don't use this technique against many. You should be honoured," he said evenly, only a hint of arrogance touching his voice.
"By jolly gosh, I'm gushing," I replied sarcastically, although I felt the sweat from my spiking fear run down my cheek.
His voice was unnerving. My palms were shaking, and that feeling of giddiness and nerves was threatening once again to take over. Breathe! I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. There was no time to be frightened. I had trained for this. I closed my eyes and curled my fingers tightly, drawing my chakra into its tips to make it as strong as any blade.
Concentrate
To the right! I ducked under the blade and aimed for the stomach. I felt the air twist as he dodged to the right. I continued striking, using my ears and my nose to pinpoint his location. We traded blow after blow in a struggle to aim a hit and then he jumped back a good distance away.
"You can see me," he said in disbelief.
I couldn't help the smile that took my face. Seeing him was definitely a way to put it. I thanked the lord for sensei's intense training. Those months dodging traps blindfolded had finally come in handy.
"Taking away my sight will not accomplish anything," I said determinedly as I took my Circle Walk form 1 stance.
"Then I will simply have to take more."
I twitched my nose in confusion when his scent changed. The tapping of feet came from either end and, I had to make a split decision to dodge both at once, unable to get a hold on which one was real. I let out a gasp as I felt the blade make a deep cut at my thighs. I rolled away, but the assault continued. Right! No left—I couldn't tell. My senses were going dizzy, suddenly assaulted with fresh honey dew and sandal wood before the scent of rotten eggs and dung hit almost as quickly. The air currents from the blade, and the sound of his feet was undeniable though. One of them had to be real. I cursed silently as I dodged a blade only for a fake tanto to stab into my right shoulder and a real one stab through my hip.
"Argh!"
I forced myself to stab further into the fake sword so as to get away. The tanto in my hip painfully brushed bone and I gasped as I felt my blood gush out. I jumped away once more. That was the worst blow so far. How—how do I see him? He had nearly killed me too many times for my liking.
"You show promise and yet your village sends you to die so young and untrained," he pointed out.
"Ah yes, they seem to have something against me living," I replied shakily.
"A pity, you would have done well in Kumo. Unfortunately, fate has made you a steppingstone for my power."
Was this the famed battle banter that I had witnessed in every shounen anime ever? So far people had been logical and just fought silently to the death, so this was a little off putting. Maybe he was stalling and talking gave him the time to plan out his next move. I hoped it was a sense of arrogance and not a distraction.
"If killing a Genin is your idea of a steppingstone, we need to rework your standards," I replied with a grunt.
"Hina-san!"
Emi? I swerved to feel the girl fumbling into the darkness. What the hell was she thinking? I could hear the sound of rushing feet in her direction and I intercepted. The tanto's blade cut through my hand, stopping short in front of Emi.
"Get away now!" I shouted.
"B-but you're hurt!" she cried.
I hissed as Kazuki pulled the sword out and jumped away. I kept my focus on his feet, trying to keep track of the real him as my senses were once again assaulted. The blow to my head threw me into something hard. I was getting dizzy. My body was starting to grow numb. I was losing too much blood. Was I going to die here in a genjutsu, unsure of what's real and what's not? I cursed, my hands going to the omamori dad had given me. I felt the material in between my fingers and despite the ache in my legs stood up. I couldn't die here, I wasn't allowed to, but I was so numb.
A whisper of a memory from long ago pulled at my conscious.
"Joanne come sit next to me."
"Aww come on, I wanna watch the tv. My favourite anime is on now," the little girl grumbled.
Mom coughed, her sickly body thin and covered in tubes, even at home. The little girl grumbled and sat next to her on the mat. Mother lit some incense, and then she took in a deep breath and bent forward until her head was on the floor. She was flexible like that. Cancer or not.
"Mom, you shouldn't exert yourself," the little girl said worriedly.
Mom didn't listen. She never did. Instead she continued those movements of hers. A martial art common to our culture. A south Indian martial art called Kalarippayattu. Her movements were fluid and harsh, one moment calm as a gently flowing river and then striking like a snake.
"How are you able to continue without getting tired?"
She looked at the little girl, at me, with those warm dark brown eyes. I was entranced by the smile on her face, her easy breathing, as if no lung cancer could ever beat her down. She continued her kata before she stopped in front of me.
"This is a breathing technique," she said softly, "something that can fill your lungs to the fullest. Always remember this. Breathing is the strength to the soul."
Now watch Hina
I opened my eyes and it came back to me. I questioned my sanity for a moment. Mother had said that in a different time, in a different world, and yet every instinct was telling me that I needed to listen. My chakra coiled and flicked inside of me, and I suddenly felt hyper aware of my energy once more.
Breathing is the strength to the soul. Mother had said that like a mantra before, and when she had lung cancer she breathed in and out doing her exercises daily. I'd never taken it to heart, and suddenly now it seemed so clear what she was telling me.
Breathe.
I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Breathe. It was like somehow this was the first breath I had ever taken. It was deep and strong. My lungs filled with the energy I had sucked in. I let the breath out through my mouth and my head cleared.
I can see you
Even in the darkness, with my senses assaulting me with different smells and sounds, caught inside a Genjutsu I very well could not dispel, I felt calm. It was like a fog had cleared from my mind, and now I knew what I needed to do. One move. I only had one chance to catch Kazuki by surprise. He was stronger than me, quicker and more experienced. All I had was surprise, and what I needed was speed. I would need to perform the wind walker at Jounin level speeds, which sounded impossible, but my mind supplied to me a calm unlike any I had known before. I knew then that I could do this.
Legs drawn back, centre of gravity lowered, draw the air taught against your body, push it back against the curve of your form, split the wind in half and then build the chakra against your feet. Then move!
"Wind Release: Wind walker Technique," I whispered.
Then I leapt. My first step hit the ground hard, harder than I had ever hit any ground. I could feel my bones crack at the impact, but I focused on cutting the winds to my palms, using all my chakra in this one strike. I leapt again, my body doubling in blinding speed and before Kazuki could take an opening to dodge I slammed my fingers into his neck. The genjutsu shattered and the boy coughed out his blood onto my face as we both slammed into the ground. I curled my fingers into his neck and with one last movement cut it off.
Then the sudden bout of chakra that had flared in my system overloaded, and what had been a surge of power was now overheating me to my very core. It felt like my blood was boiling, like my insides were burning and the scream that escaped from my throat was silent as the blinding pain flared and then suddenly stopped. My body fell limp onto the ground, and I turned to see Kazuki's head rolling across the field.
"The sun goes down," he said, voice a whisper, like for one moment while his head was severed, he was still there, still reliving a memory.
It took a few seconds before the light died in his eyes, and I was left wondering why he spoke those words last. The lyrics from Emi's song, I realised. I rolled back with whatever strength I had left to look up at the sunset gradient. Ah, it was beautiful.
"Hina-san!"
Emi was kneeling besides me, her mother rushing towards us too. I coughed out some blood and closed my eyes shut as the pain came anew.
"Left pocket. Red pill… give me," I whispered.
Emi stumbled through her tears to and shakily dropped the red pill into my mouth. I swallowed it down and my body jolted at the sudden influx of chakra. I knew what I needed to do. Keep it going straight to my wounds. Ryosai, pulled her hands underneath my body and picked me up gently.
"Emi bring me a bowl of hot water! Take the alcohol from the cabinet now!"
I was too out of it to stay awake after that.
A/N
Did I rip of the demon slayer's total concentration breathing and the fight between Tanjiro and Rui? The answer is YES, and I'm not ashamed of it. XD I promise I'll give an in world explanation for it later though. It's important enough to continue being expanded on in later chapters so I'll refrain from answering questions related to it.
It's not a focus of the story, but it's very heavily hinted at that the worlds of stories and Hina's original world are connected in a unique way. It's kind of assumed since she did end up reincarnated in an anime of all things, that there will eventually be some cosmic shenanigans that explains Hina's reincarnation. The idea of chakra, and some other fundamental aspects of humans, are connected in both worlds is what I'm getting at.
Review Responses
Immortal Potatoe- Thanks! I feel like Orochimaru is going to be a fan-favorite in this story XD No luck finding a editor so far :')
Zekral- Orochimaru is definitely going to get a lot of screen-time in the future!
Abdur Rauf Aymaan- I don't want to force anyone into anything, but thanks! I do re-read my chapters and comb through it for mistakes, but I've been told I need another eye to really point out the mistakes I can't see.
Frankieu- Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Jimmymacmitch- I swear you have big-brain energy! I didn't even think of this XD Honestly my readers be here surprising me with better plot threads than the ones I can come up with!
ita123- Thanks for always leaving a review! It's encouraging!
Hi Exclamation Point- Thanks a lot! I really want her to be flawed, the more flawed the better XD I honestly really enjoy writing her more as a character study than a plot device, like I'm sure a lot of fix it fanfictions do, although those are definitely fun to read in their own way. I definitely won't be stopping for a long while. I wrote so far in advance before posting that there's 40 chapters now in total, so at the least you'll be getting that much.
RileyBlue00- Orochimaru being brutal is what I live for, and this technique of Hina's is actually pretty hard for her to learn. Takes her nearly 10 more chapters before she gets it down XD Don't worry more craziness will ensue and it only gets crazier from here! Thanks for always leaving a review!
Riveria- Orochimaru has a lot up his sleeves! Can't wait for you to see what happens!
Shadow Nao- Thanks!
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