Abel was unsure on if she wished to truly return to the place. after all last time she had fled from there in fear it had been due to he deep dread of the dead. But now she would face her fear. This had to be done if she was to advance. After all who would promote a person afraid to slay their target? If only they understood her purpose of avoiding the dead. If only they knew the horrors she felt when she was confronted by these thoughts. She could not face such things under normal circumstances. But every day miners came and went from that mine. Why not she? So she must press forward. She must go into the deep dark cave in order to find what she was seeking. A salvation of sorts. If she could only redeem herself against her fears then she could press on into the unknown unafraid of what might come next. The strongest force on the planet was not hate or love. It was fear and the whole nation was gripped in it. But that wasn;t the life of a pirate. To live in fear just plain tore the fun out of everything.

Now calling Abel a she would be no stretch of the term based on her attire. The curved look of her zip up leather tank top and her long green hair falling about her waist. The Skirt over the black shorts she would wear. The knee high black socks and the boots that hardly seemed meant for battle but where surprisingly balanced even with the thick sole. It was almost twice as thick as the normal boot but it made her feel taller. It even made her giggle a little as she twisted and turned looking into the mirror. Such vanity in a time of turmoil was just her thing. If she didn't distract herself with it then it would consume her. The worries of the people and how she couldn't stop the death out there. With out another thought towards it. She grabbed her eye patch and slipped it over her right eye. Her eye worked just fine but she thought it was cute to wear an eye patch. Like an accessory. Next it was the sailors hat which she tipped to the side at an angle and then the elbow length gloves. Giving herself a twirl she smiled and grabbed her Odachi and strapped it to her back as she headed for the door. Slipping out as she locked her cabin door. The old ship anchored at the docks was her home. Some pirates or another had abandoned it during a raid and now she used it as her personal sleeping space. It even had a shower on board! Granted it was damaged she didn't mind as it was still afloat. After all she had a mission. So she took a leap from the deck to land on the docks. Then it was off to the mission.

500/600

Abel moved swiftly and silently avoiding the conflict as much as possible. She didn't want to get dragged into just cause she was a medic or had a sword. She couldn't stand both sides dying. The life lost was horrifying and she would not be of much use as it was. Besides her clan kind of denied her much use in the medical aspect of it all. Sure she could still heal others but her chakra had taken a bit of a hit. Well rather she had never grown up with much chakra. Her clan had always been considered weak in that regard. If not for that they would be feared. However as a swordsman Abel had found that she was very fearsome indeed. Her wounds would heal rapidly and she would be prepared for the next opponent within minutes. Add onto that the length and damage of the Odachi she was truly terrifying in a one on one fight. Not unbeatable but definitely not the funnest thing to fight. She remembered the B rank she had accompanied the others on and how so much blood had been spilt. It still made her stomach spin. She had killed a man and his blood forever stained her soul. At times she would wake up from a dream of him following her dripping blood with his face a mask of horror. the dreams had kept her awake and sometimes she had daymares about it. A glimpse of the rotting dead guy in the mirror when she glanced at it but nothing there when she looked. She swallowed and looked over her shoulder at the memory. She was nearing the mines and with the village under attack it was empty. But they would need these resources to rebuild if they won. If they lost she would sail off with the gathered resources and bargain them for repairs on that crap ship and supplies. She was sure those men wouldn't come out to sea just to search for her.

She dropped in front of the mine entrance as she walked through the gaping hole. She wasn't a coward she was a survivor. As it stood she could not mount up to much in helping the fight. She was merely a chunnin. It was expected of her to be smart enough to back off and hide. To not be noticed and hace a chance to live. So she moved in silence into the mine. Deeper and deeper she went until she had to light a lantern for light and could do so with out anyone outside noticing. She snuck through the tunnels looking for a good place to start. As she went she began to whisper a near silent chant of please no ghosts please no ghosts please no ghosts. Down here the slight breeze that made it seemed to stir tattered rags left hanging over piles of tools and carts. Every time one of these things stirred she jumped and covered her own mouth to keep from yelping. She was too scared. She wanted to leave. She wanted to run. But her legs where shaking. And her breath was fast paced. She swallowed hard and focused on taking short, controlled breathes. She could calm herself down. After all this was why she was here. To overcome her fear of the dead.

As she steadied her breath and steeled her mind she forced her shaking legs to take a step and then another. Soon she was stumbling along forcing back her fears until she stumbled on a cart just stuffed full of good. And then two more right behind it. She guessed it must of been left behind when the people evacuated while Kiri was under attack. Now she knew what to do. It was a laborious event but through the next couple of hours she loaded the three carts onto a hand wagon like the pilgrims used and moved between the handles. Taking on handle in each arm she hiked while carrying the load back around Kiri for the entire night. By the time she got to her ship she sat it on the docks and mentioned to the twins about a pick up if they wanted it and then turned to slink of exhausted and ready for a shower.

Exit thread~

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