Several engravings from a kunai appeared onto one of the trees further down the mountains. Chunks of the tree had been carved out of the plant and compiled into a stack of wood to be used for igniting a fire. The speed of the wind was at an minimum and the atmosphere of the afternoon inspired a bunch of travelers to continue to progress their life. Hikers migrated across the lands, exploring the landscape with their book bag attached to their shoulder and a small pole that was a couple inches in height. A lot of the shinobi had distant their self from the location today because of the countless wanderers who were scheduled to use the area for today.

But, this didn't state that the shinobi were unable to access the area. It was the simple fact that most of them didn't want to be distracted while training by civilians and their conversations which usually contained a bunch of nonsense. The campfire sparked and a group of unknown shinobi rejoiced around the searing heat as they positioned several wooden chopsticks towards the fire with a single marshmallow attached to the tip of it. Dwelling from a further distance away from the gang was a samurai adorned with a set of medicinal glasses wrapped around his face and his normal attire consisting of a black fishnet shirt with a small sweating overlapping it. The boy legs were caressed around a tree, allowing him to grapple the plant and maintain a state of being upside down. "Relaxing," commented the shinobi as he flipped through a old chapter inside of a book with a blacksmith symbol implanted on the front of the book.

After his long day of cleaning the library, Takumi sought out a serene amount of time to spend reading his novel. No doubt, the boy was conceited and lurked through the shadows. He only responded when approached or if the occasion required his insight. The pendant on his neck slipped from off his body and collapsed onto the floor below him as he continued to exert most of his life into gaining enough knowledge. Beholding a strong amount of power without the brains to back it up could be a downfall with anyone. No matter your ranking or reputation in the village.

It was nightmarish.

Even after days of trying to sleep it off, the images of the destruction he had witnessed, even in its end, was enough to make the boy wake up at night in cold sweat, some sort of fear gripping his otherwise juvenile and rebellious heart at the abject fear of genocide of that scale. Death, destruction, decay… darkness permeated the air and haunted him ever since, breaking his concentration and even getting his personal Jonin sensei concerned for his well-being.

Fear… It wasn’t something Sourai was used to. His whole life, he had been a delinquent, breaking the rules simply because they were rules, taunting him of their invincibility as the legal superpower that not even the Kage would knowingly cross due to political complications. It had been his way of proving that he was better than everyone else around them, and with the abilities he demonstrated, he had quickly gotten on the bad side of the authorities.

But even that delinquency couldn’t save him from terror. Threats from the administration was one thing. They could demote him or strip him of his rank but at the end of the day, Kumogakure protected its own. All ninja had a home to return to, safe and sound as they warmed up in the confines of their abodes while they were protected by the massive walls and natural environments that kept Kumo safe and gave its inhabitants a home advantage against any invaders that was polished only by years of familiarity with their environment.

But here was an enemy who could get past that. How much did you have to know about a village’s patrols that you would strike at a village during the one period of time that Kumo’s patrols weren’t in the vicinity? It was too coincidental to be a coincidence, and ninja didn’t believe in coincidence, his Jonin instructor had drilled into his head. How funny it was that he was only now recounting every advice his sensei had ever told him, fear forcing him to cling to the life that could be snuffed out so easily.

Even here in the rice paddies as he trudged home slowly, he wasn’t free of the memory. He was only walking as slowly as he was to force himself to grow up, to endure and eventually move on from the stench of rotting bodies that he still remembered so clearly. Or maybe it was simply that he lacked the will to push on further, knowing that such cruelty could befall him here, where creatures of the night hunted on their unsuspecting ninja prey who had grown complacent with their years of supremacy.

Was he prey? To be feasted on like any other with nothing separating him from the rest of the pack? He had visited Kumo’s administration several times, but they had just brushed it off like it had been nothing. The village had been a victim of circumstance, they had said, unfortunate enough to have been in the path of something like that, and while investigations were ongoing, Sourai was sure they were simply bogged down by so much bureaucracy that something like this mattered nothing to them.

He heard the flicker of fire to his left. It wasn’t uncommon for ninja to camp out on the way back, and he decided he would do the same. They weren’t the only ones in the vicinity and Sourai was almost a hundred percent sure his presence would not be taken as a threat as he dropped down by a tree. It wasn’t until he had taken in a deep breath that he noticed, hanging from a low branch, a man whose attention was focused on a book.

It was dark, and he could barely see the man, only spotting his outline from what light filtered through the leaves from the campfire a ways away.

He probably shouldn’t disturb him. But Sourai was slightly afraid, and he knew from experience that social interactions calmed him down. Or maybe he didn’t know that, but he instinctively still acted to greet the person, knowing somewhere deep down he couldn’t live alone.

“Hey,” he would call out. “You there? Reading at this hour?”

715

The useful information inside of the book left him startled, realizing that creating weapons was more difficult than perceived. All his life he had believed that forging a peace of metal only required muscle and absolutely no intellectual power. But, he was incorrect. Recognizing the types of metal secured the chances of the blacksmith avoiding damaging himself and combining them with the correct formula could lead to success. It was the reason he had decided to analyze the books on the family gathering. The nose of the boy twitched as the smell of barbecue was inserted into his nose through the fumes which spread around the area. Takumi was ashamed that he had to witness an almost extinct species continue to be fried into food.

There was nothing that the boy could do. His only option was to hang from the tree branch and avoid spotting the animal be killed which was currently hoisted onto a metal pole and sat under a campfire to let marinate. Disgusted with the actions performed by the hunters and flesh eaters, he flipped another page in his book. As he continued to read the page in his book, the guardian of the boy ignorantly began to become in debt. Lots of the documents that he had rented from the libraries remained lost at his house. His mother had continued to bother him about them. But, he repeatedly searched for them and nothing could be found. The family were responsible for the misplaced books and most of the librarians believed they had robbed them for the books. Takumi's mother was worried about the items and didn't want to be charged with petty larceny. But, their was a chance that she could possibly pay a fine; Only one obstacle stood in their way - They were in poverty and barely had enough money to feed the younger siblings.

The awkward feeling of being without his necklace sprouted in his mind as he lowered the book from his face. Noticing the valuable item had slipped from off of his neck without recognition, his eyes revolved and ceased it's movement once they targeted the necklace. But, a yellow haired individual surprised him when he was located directly several inches away from him. Performing a acrobatic front flip off the tree, Takumi wobbled back and forth from the imbalance when his feet successfully reached the ground. "Shouldn't you be over there? With those monsters who are feasting on animals?" The boy rolled his eyes and pointed into the direction of the children with their fathers among them. It was a gift for them to be raised with both of their guardians.

Takumi was unfortunate for his dad to not have been present to watch his growth. It infuriated him with each thought that invaded his mind. He was destined to failure without both of them to help him develop his combat skills which often slowed down the process during training sessions where he was alone. "You see those children over there? They all have their mother and father. Me, I wasn't so lucky. Reading is a diversion to avoid those thoughts," stated Takumi, bending his upper body over to retract the necklace back into his possession and apply the chain part of it back around his neck. Even with his negative way of viewing life, anyone had to relate to his pain. It was odd for someone to deny that his heart should feel the way it had.