"Mommy, mommy, I heard a branch break! Can we go look at it, pleeease?"
'Huff...Aura, we're doing a lot by taking you out for camping. Don't ask for too much. We'll let you explore when we get to the campsite.'
"Awww...okay, Mommy..."


The pale-skinned, cloudy eyed little girl skipped and pranced alongside a rather grotesque pair of adults; a foster mother and father; as they went through the forests of Mizu no Kuni. This had been the first time she'd ever been able to be outside the city, able to explore the world for what it is. Her first taste of real life. It filled her little heart with joy.

Her name was Aura Yukimenoko.

Why was she so sheltered, you may ask? Well, as she was told, and knew; from the day she was conceived, the girl was blind, from a sensory birth defect, most likely from the shaky history of her father. Not only that, her birth mother, Aurora Yukimenoko (a respected shinobi of the Aisu clan), died merely minutes after the procedure. As such, her new caretakers; friends of the Yukimenoko family, known as the Brinewaters; kept her inside all her life, in fear of her getting severely hurt due to her condition. This means she also did not join the Ninja Academy, deeming her as a simple citizen.

Course, what they didn't know was that the girl could navigate quite easily, and while being frail, wasn't useless. However, it's not certain whether or not she'd be able to explore how she wants to, regardless of how capable she really is.

One thing is for sure, though; this girl is a lot more childish than one would think, despite being sixteen, seventeen in a mere two days.



Sadly, this day was not meant to be bonbons and butterflies. Moments after the foster family sets the campsite, Aura would be called for by her "mother".

'Aura, sweetheart? There's some interesting noises up ahead I think is safe for you to check out. Do you want to find it by yourself?'

This made the sweet, sweet girl beam a wide smile at the promise of her first, miniscule adventure, as well as the fact her strict caretaker said she could without asking to do so.
"Oh, thank you so, so much, mommy!"

Alert as she was, she heard something rustling between the tall grass and squishing against the mud. Steps – many of them. From what she could hear, there were three of them. They were decently equipped, as she heard, from the clanking of metal and twisting of leather, and headed towards her direction... They grew closer, not bothering to hide themselves. They must have been very confident in themselves and their task at hand.

When Aura looked back, as she hadn't gone too far from camp, the mother and father were nowhere to be seen. It was only the child, on her own. How strange. That wasn’t how parents were supposed to be when faced with danger. This made her frown, and got her...obviously, quite scared.

Distracted by her feelings, she couldn’t react as quickly as she wanted to when the three men took her without a word; slashing her cheeks all of a sudden with a sharpened kunai, pushing her to the ground, and smooshing their feet on various parts of her body, including her face. All she could do was squirm and screech under the boot of her offenders, tears beginning to stream down her little rosy cheeks.

"W-why are you hurting me, misters? S-sto-"

Before she could say anything else, one of the men knocked her out with a single kick to the side of her head, efficiently immobilizing her. After doing so, two men would then simply trap her in the Water Release: Water Prison Technique, but not before throwing her in a brown rice sack. Then, they would start to trek towards the docks near the border of the city, every so often bickering about how stupid this job was.

...Why would they be doing this? Why would the parents leave? Interesting questions to note. Though, it would take until about Midnight for the rugged men to make it to their destination, where a boat would start to pull in...

-Word Count: 725-

The ship’s crew scurried about as they pulled into the docks, making the necessary preparations to drop anchor in this dreary, unassuming port town. Bokuden was vaguely familiar with the area, knowing it to be something of a gathering point for those unsavory characters that either could not or would not make their way through the grand, bustling ports of the major cities or near military outposts in the Land of Water. His lips curled into a smirk, hidden beneath a mask of white cloth, as the irony set in, that he was now one of those very same unsavory characters hoping to avoid both the eye and the arm of the law. As far as he was able to discern from his sources his name did not appear in the Bingo Books of villages outside of Kumogakure, but that alone did not mean that he was free to act carelessly. The Ryuzoji had taken great care to use the vast deserts of Kazi no Kuni to disappear, but shinobi villages had eyes and ears in the most obscure of places. With recent events demanding that he resurface, he operated with the understanding that there was an inherent risk to his mission beyond the mission itself. It was too soon to make his official return and until that time, he was still Ryuzoji Bokuden, conspirator, murderer, traitor.

Bokuden’s unshakable calm made him an oddity amongst the ship’s crew, who frantically ran back and forth across the deck, manning their positions and bringing out the unloading equipment. These men were an efficient group, he certainly had to give them credit for at least that month, but he was not going to miss the time he spent travelling on their ship. After receiving their payment, they largely ignored the fair-haired man, but that didn’t prevent their raucous and rowdy behavior from making meditation or silent contemplation all but impossible. He never thought he would miss isolation in the desert as much as he did these past two nights.

The darkness of the night did well to dull the brightness of Bokuden’s white robes as he walked across the deck at his own pace, ignoring the grumbling and crass remarks of the sailors who were less than satisfied with his lackadaisical demeanor getting in the way of their work. He gazed out over the ship’s bow and over the docks, which he found to be unusually busy for the time of night. He supposed that it was not unusual for the same type of people he knew to frequent areas like this to also see the value of the cover of night. He himself was silently pleased with the darkness that surrounded them. Without the funding or infrastructure of major ports, lights in a backwater town like this were insufficient for real ship labor, but that didn’t stop these men from trying. What that meant for Bokuden, however, was that even mother nature was on his side, casting her veil to hide his identity from would be pursuers.

Bokuden remained at the end of the ship’s bow for a few moments still, scanning the area before him before his attention was drawn by the sounds of clanking steel ringing through the air, a sound he recognized as the dropping of the ship’s anchor. The noise of the chain would soon stop, but silence was still a ways away. The creaking and scraping of rusting steel signaled the extending of the gangway, notifying the cloaked man that his time on this ship had come to an end. He remained as calm as ever, but his listless stroll had been replaced with long strides, each step now driven by intent. As he arrived at the gangway he bowed to the ship’s captain and thanked him for his hospitality, a gesture that the grizzled old man scoffed at, having no interest in niceties after already having received his payment. The captain turned and stepped away to direct his crew as they unloaded their crates down the cargo ramp, leaving Bokuden to turn towards the narrow gangway once more. Finally, he had arrived.

---

697 | 697

Nearby, as Bokuden would step towards the gangway, one step closer off that blasted little ship, three men would be carrying a single, large, brown rice bag with them, pretty close to his location at the time. Though, at the same time, one of them was...surrounding the bag with the Water Prison Technique. So not only was carrying a single bag to a large cargo ship suspicious, along with how it was shaped from the contents, but why would they need to do such a thing?

Finally, just to add to it all, though faintly...the wanderer would sense a life force inside the bag. One very weak at the moment, almost as if something had taken energy. What the hell is going on?

Either way, the three mercs, clad in not-so-special armor, around the strength of C-Class shinobi, by the looks of it, would now simply bicker with the captain of their ship, about where to put their "item", and how much it would cost.

This is definitely no ordinary day, now is it?

-Word Count: 725 + 174 = 899-

About halfway down the gangway Bokuden would be aggressively nudged aside by a group of men hurriedly making their way up the ramp, the last two each using a hand to maintain a Water Prison bubble. The situation was more than suspicious. The Ryuzoji was once a user of that particular technique and knew exactly how and why it was used, to hold in place a captive. This was not a fact that would have been lost on the other individuals working on the dock, but not a word was said towards the men, only glances thrown from the darkness before returning to their own labor.

Bokuden himself looked on silently as the men stomped their way up the ramp and onto the ship, backing up against the railing in order to let them pass without resistance. As the group passed his position, the fair-haired man’s suspicions were confirmed, sensing the electrical signature of a person’s body from within the brown sack suspended in water. He reached back for the golden staff on his back, pulling it to his side and pressing it against the floor to steady himself. Allowing his eyes to fall closed, he allowed them to board the ship unobstructed, not having sufficient information to risk drawing eyes of everyone on the docks to his location by confronting them there and then.

Instead, Bokuden made his way down the gangway as if he had seen nothing, eyeing the warehouse further down the dock in which the ships’ crews were unloading cargo. Slyly, he would continue down the dock and turn the corner, shielding his person from onlookers behind the walls of the building. From the other side of the walls one could hear the loud clanking of metals and running of engines as shipping equipment sorted containers. A few paces down he would find a side door attached to the warehouse, which, much to his displeasure, was locked from the inside. Not one to be stopped by something so trivial as a metal lock, Bokuden gripped the handle of the door tightly, releasing a surge of electricity through the metal construct. The heat from his lightning began to deform the metal, deranging the lock and loosening the door enough to be effortlessly pushed open.

Bokuden found himself facing a wall of shipping containers as he entered, the only light from the other side peeking through small gaps in the stacks, no doubt the handy work of lazy employees. He began peering through the holes, one by one, searching for one that would give him view of the entrance to the warehouse, and, hopefully, of some of the crewmembers who had entered to unload cargo. Closer to the far right end he would find such a view, next to the very end of the wall of stacked containers, within 3 meters of the same wall the warehouse’s main entry point stood. Bending down towards the floor, he would pick up a loose nail and toss it on the floor towards the wall, causing a high-pitched clinking sound to catch the two crewmen’s attention.

One of the sailors would approach, turning the corner around the wall, finding nothing and calling the coast to be clear out to his colleague. Once confirmed by the colleague on the other side of the wall, Bokuden would reveal himself from hiding, silently incapacitating the man with a swift blow to the side of the head before using the Transformation Technique to mimic his appearance. The Ryuzoji would then emerge from behind the wall of containers and accompany the ignorant sailor back to the ship, which had at this point unloaded all of the cargo designated for this specific location. Once they had returned to the ship the ramp would raise behind them, followed by the chain of the anchor beginning to be withdrawn, signaling they were preparing to embark towards their next stop. While the other crew members were distracted with the preparations for takeoff, Bokuden would stealthily make his way beneath the deck, using his sensory abilities to locate the men he had previously seen and their mysterious brown bag, down in the lowest storage area in the ship’s cargo bay, far from the quarters of any of the ship’s crew. A perfect place to go unseen during a voyage.

---

726 | 1423

"That was pitifully easy, you know...you'd think even a blind girl would put up more of a fight, huh?"

'Whatever gets us more money, man. All that matters in the end.'

"Still would like a little more challenge...whatever..."

This is what Bokuden probably heard as he snuck deep into the deck, where the two men he followed from earlier would be found. Since they were "safe" in this little space, they unloaded their cargo; the little innocent Aura; right onto a bed of some sort. So THAT was what was in the bag...

And damn, they didn't leave her unschated, that's for sure. Cuts on her pretty face, bruises on her arms and legs (as the clothing had gotten torn a bit, so you could see it, despite her choice of a kimono), and to top it off, a big bruise on her forehead; a sign of concussion.


To make sure the poor girl couldn't struggle out or cry for help, they tied her down on the bed with some regular wire rope, and gagged her. After that, however, they make no more safety measures.


-Word Count: 899 + 191 = 1090

Still disguised as the middle-aged sailor, whose likeness he had commandeered for the purpose of his investigation, Bokuden made his way down the narrow halls of the ship’s interior. Having just spent several days as a passenger on this very vessel himself, he was already familiar with the layout, allowing him to locate the stairwell leading down to the lowest deck with relative ease. At the lowest level of the ship, the cargo bay which the men had taken refuge in was closed off by a steel door, denying Bokuden entry. He approached the door, placing a hand on the cold, flat surface and reached out with his sensory ability beyond the door. He could confirm the number of persons, as well as their identities, having encountered their electrical signatures before, but with his staff still on his person he could also sense the fear and distress of the 4th, yet to be identified person. He knocked.

“We’re busy! Get lost!”

The apparent leader of the group barked towards the door, frustrated that the money he had paid for absolute privacy seemed to have gone to waste. The metal slab had no peepholes or openings, features deemed superfluous for an interior door in an old ship, making it impossible to identify the person knocking without opening it. The room was not intended to be used for lodging, after all. Crates and shipping containers did not often ask for privacy.

Without speaking Bokuden knocked again, intent on drawing one of the men out from their hiding place. Infuriated, the same man that answered before drew his knife and approached the door, raising the weapon as he undid the lock with his free hand. His intentions were simple, wave the blade in the insistent nuisance behind the door and ensure their privacy for good. He opened the door only slightly, cutting off the view of the cot where they had their captive tied up. On the other side of the door he would see only the image of a common ship laborer.

“Are you dense? We paid your captain for absolute privacy. Did his dumbass crew not get the memo? Get the hell out of here while you’re still in one piece.”

As planned, the man waved the blade close to Bokuden’s face, but the disguised man did not retract or even so much as flinch at the threat. His plan had been successful and the men removed the barrier of the heavy steel door from his way. With no interest in keeping up appearances now that he had gained the access he needed, Bokuden kicked the door inwards, causing the man’s hold on it to falter and himself to stumble back several steps from the force of the kick forcing the weight of the door against him.

The two other men immediately reached for their weapons and stepped forward towards what they thought to be a simple sailor, prepared to punish him for his interference. Bokuden’s eyes immediately shot towards the bed, allowing him to view the disheveled figure of the young girl bound and gagged, clothes still soaked from being submerged in water. The man who had been knocked away by the swinging door had recovered at this point and raised his weapon once again, signaling for his cohorts to approach the intruder. Bokuden dispelled the Transformation Technique, revealing his true form, staff in hand and stared down the approaching men. His typically calm demeanor had been tarnished by distaste for the scene before him, contorting his face into a stern scowl at the men before him.

“Move aside.”

Bokuden’s voice, deep and harsh, rumbled through the room like thunder, leaving no room for interpretation regarding his feelings about the scene before him. The two men before him unconsciously took a step back, intimidated by the powerful presence before them, the fair-haired man making no attempts to suppress. the chakra rousing within him.

“What the hell are you two doing? It’s one on three! Get off your asses and get him!”

Snapped back to by their superior’s orders, the two men tightened their grips on their weapons and charged forward. The first man to reach Bokuden raised his baton with two hands and performed a heavy downward swing aimed directly at the Ryuzoji’s face, but his target didn’t move. Sure that his attack was successful the man committed fully to the swing, only to have it blocked at the last moment by Bokuden’s staff with a simple flick of the wrist. The clash of metal caused the golden rings of his staff to sound like chimes throughout the room, the soothing force of the sound causing the his assailant to relax. In that moment, Bokuden placed his left hand on the lower section of the staff, pulling upwards to strike just beneath the man’s chin, the impact rendering him unconscious immediately.

The second assailant was still en route, this one brandishing a poorly crafted machete. He attempted a diagonal slash, only for his blade to find nothing but air. Bokuden now stood behind him, back to back, holding his staff diagonally across his body with both hands. The man clad in white shifted his left shoulder forward, pulling his hands back over his shoulder swiftly causing the side of the staff to swing over his shoulder and collide directly against the thug’s temple, once again neutralizing the threat instantly. With the two immediate threats dealt with, Bokuden assumed a resting stance once more, holding his staff upright in one hand like a walking stick.

“Who is this girl and why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“Answer my questions and I will allow you to leave unharmed.”

“Fuck off. Am I supposed to be scared of you? Do you know who I am? I’ll kill you!”

Enraged, the man charged at Bokuden, committing the same mistake his two associates had before him. As he drew closer, Bokuden would perform a wide, sweeping swing with his staff aimed at the man’s shins. The successful strike caused the man to fall face first before him, knife knocked out of his hand by the fall and sliding across the floor. With the final obstacle removed, Bokuden approached the bed and carefully removed the gag from the girl’s mouth.

“I’m going to get you out of here, are you alright?”

---

1075 | 2498

All this ruckus had woken up Aura, around when the second thug had failed against the obviously superior fighter. The first thought that went through her head was fear, and that was completely understandable; another, even stronger man could have been after now, and there would be no hope of escaping it. Sure, she can't see; but she could feel the thundering blows of Bokuden through the vibrations his staff made against each and every man. That's something she wishes not to be at the other end of; especially after already being beaten up one day.


However, when Bokuden came up to her, with a soothingly calm demeanor, her fear simply diminished. Instead...all she could do was start to sob, when the gag was removed. Both in gratefulness, but also because of the conflict she had just went through. But it was over now.

"O-oh my god...I...I don't know who you are...b-but thank you...thank you so much, Mister...I-I thought I was gonna die, and I wouldn't see momma and papa again..."

The girl's voice, despite being in distress, was rather sweet, filled with complete honesty. Her tear-filled, baby blue eyes fluttered softly up at him, and from the cloudiness, one would definitely tell this one is blind. Tears rolled down her beaten cheeks, as she breathed so heavily; the gag and ties had disrupted her breathing pattern, after all. Though from this, a cool little cloud of condensation would occur with each breath. Not only that, but her body itself seems to emit a blizzard-like feel, abnormal to the ordinary human body. From that alone, you could figure out she's descends from the Aisu clan. No wonder these fiends wanted to sell her...

At least she was saved in time.

-Word Count: 1090 + 307 = 1397-

“You’re going to get home to your parents just fine. You don’t need to be scared anymore. Just give me a second to undo these bindings so we can get out of here.”

It was only now that Bokuden could get a good look at the girl up close, noticing all of the small, but extremely important details that were unavailable to him while she was being held captive. Her most immediately noticeable abnormality was her grey pupils indicating the development of severe cataracts clouding her eyes and obstructing vision. If that were not proof enough, he noticed that her eyes did not necessarily follow his actions, even as he raised a finger and wagged it back and forth to test if she could follow. In addition, he could feel a chilly air emanating from her body. He moved his hand upwards and held it a few inches from the side of her face, confirming that she was indeed the source of the cool air. That explained why she was being abducted.

The first knot Bokuden would undo was on the rope binding her legs together, freeing them once again. He would then move up to the top of the bed where her arms were bound together and secured to some exposed piping, preventing her from being moved from this spot. The position of the two knots made it incredibly awkward to get to, causing him to take a step back and reach for the knife on the floor that he had disarmed from one of his assailants.

“Stay still. I need to cut the rope.”

Bokuden angled the blade of the knife against the piping to which her hands were bound to avoid brushing the cold steel against her skin.  The knife wasn’t particularly sharp, much to his annoyance. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected a group of random thugs to take care to maintain their equipment. Because of the blade’s dullness, the Ryuzoji had to saw through the rope with the ridged edge of the blade, but after a few moments would succeed in severing her restraints from the rusty pipes. Having overcome that obstacle, Bokuden no longer had need for the knife, tossing it aside before getting to work on the ropes that bound her wrists together and back over her head. His first course of action was to lower her hands down in front of her to relieve her body of some of the discomfort. He then dexterously used his fingers to loosen the knot, then undoing it entirely, freeing her from the last remnants of her bindings.

“There we go. Can you walk?”

---

443 | 2941

Once released from those bindings, the little girl just gives off a simple whimper, rubbing the bruises the ropes gave her a little before standing on her feet, nearly tumbling against Bokuden as she does so. A concussion, along with being on a boat for the first time, disoriented her quite a bit, and admittedly, it made her a little queasy. Plus, due to these events, it was kind of hard to navigate where she was; she never felt a ship before, after all. So at this point, she just hugs Bokuden's arm.

"N-not really...usually, it's a lot easier , but the ground's all shaky...can you lead me out, please? Oh, and what's your name? I'm Aura..."

At least she didn't seem all too affected by the horrible atrocities committed against her...honestly, you'd think it would have traumatized her. She's already absently smiling up at her savior, knowing she was all safe once more. Plus, while this was dangerous...it DID excite her, more so than staying home all day, obviously. Course, he didn't know this detail.


-Word Count: 1090 + 189 = 1279-

Bokuden had hoped that Aura would have stayed down until he could perform a complete assessment of her injuries before he tried to move her, but he would have no such fortune. The last thing he needed was for her to carelessly push her body too far before she was ready and aggravate her injuries, but, fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. He observed her closely as she forced herself to her feet, watching for any signs of acute pain that might hint at broken bones or an open wound. She stumbled forward when she tried to stand, indicating her balance was compromised, but there didn’t seem to be any structural damage. The fair-haired wanderer would extend his left arm outwards, elbow bent at a ninety-degree angle in front of him to break her fall, allowing her to use him as a support beam to stabilize herself.

“Who I am is not important. What is important right now is getting you out of here. But if you can barely stand, I very much doubt that you’ll be climbing stairs and ladders. Stay still for a moment.”

Bokuden would step beside her and begin to crouch down slightly, moving her hands that wrapped around his arm onto his shoulder, maintaining a stable base for her to prop herself up with while also freeing up both of his arms. His right arm snuck behind her knees and his left behind her back, allowing him to sweep her legs out from under her. Once she was off her feet his two arms would support her weight, the first using the bend of her knees to rest her weight on him while the second supported her upper back. Under normal circumstances he would ask permission, but he didn’t have time to worry about courtesies at the moment. They weren’t out of the woods yet and he needed to draw as little attention as possible, something that would be made difficult if he supported her hobbling her way all over the docks.

“My apologies. But please bear with it for now, at least until I get you somewhere secure.”

---

363 | 3304

Aura gasped as she was lifted up, bridal style, a soft blush promptly emerging from her cheeks. After being told why he would do such a thing, her head would gently rest against his chest, arms wrapped around him.

"I-It's okay, mister! Thank you, again..."

In all honesty, it's been quite a while since she had been held in a good way. Her foster parents never really hug her or anything like that, so this handling was quite new to her; hence her blush. But she was thankful this wonderful man put his life in danger, for her; a girl he never even met. Of course, she didn't know his true power; for all she knew, he was in no danger whatsoever. But that didn't matter. She was safe now, and was going to be home soon.

With those unaffectionate, neglective parents of hers...it was starting to sound less savory, going back there, now that she thought of it.


-Word Count: 1279 + 165 = 1444-

Just after Aura had given her consent for Bokuden proceed, the boat would seem to shift drastically beneath them, accompanied by the loud sound of metal clanking on metal. In order to maintain his balance as his footing became compromised, he would take a step back with his right foot and bend slightly at the knee, widening his base and lowering his center of gravity in order to brace for any further changes. There would be none to follow. It seemed as though the incident was a one off, but having travelled on this ship previously and being present for its various stops along the way he knew exactly what that motion and sound meant; the ship had begun to takeoff from the docks.

Having no interest in being stranded at sea with the men he had just incapacitated, Bokuden took off running towards the entrance to the room. His strides were as long as they were swift, the hard soles of his boots clanking against the metal floors with each step, picking up the pace to easily what was beyond normal human capabilities. The clanks quickened to the point where it resembled the sound of machinations than human movement. He reached the first flight of stairs in seemingly the blind of an eye, launching off of his right foot and leaping over all of the steps entirely. His momentum would be slowed, if only briefly, by the inner wall of the ship and a sharp turn needed to reach the next set of stairs. Rather than stop and turn, he would simply begin running on the wall in the tight corner, launching himself off of the wall and up the second flight of stairs.

Once on the next floor of the ship’s lower levels Bokuden would bolt down the narrow hall directly in front of him, needing to get to the front side of the ship to reach the stairs to the upper deck. The ship’s crew that was not operating the ship on the upper deck had already retreated to their cabins, but they would see nothing the white blur of Bokuden’s robes as he blew past their doors. The stairs at the end had the same layout of the staircase he had just overcame, allowing him to do the same maneuvers without losing momentum. He would only stop upon reaching the door to the upper deck, kicking it open at the handle before darting out of the newly opened exit and onto the deck.

Bokuden sprinted around the captain’s steering tower and towards the back of the ship, seeing their vessel pulling further and further from the docks with each passing moment. He estimated that they were now approximately 30 feet from the nearest section of the docks, a distance that failed to make him hesitate as he leapt onto the railing of the ship and used it to propel towards the safety of the docks. His leap was as high as it was far, causing them to seemingly float in air for a moment or two before their descent. The sound of Bokuden’s cloak fluttered through the night air as he came down upon the dock, having cleared the distance with little doubt, bending his knees as he landed to dissipate the danger of the impact. He would look down towards Aura as he righted himself, now safely back on solid ground.

“Are you alright?”

---

574 | 3878

All of this, for Aura, had happened in a flash; Bokuden's swift movements, her rising heartbeat that was about the same level as Boku's, whatever it was, and the leap taking them towards land...once there, all she could do for about a minute was stare absently up at him in awe, both at how easily she rescued, but the fact such a nice man did it all for her, just like the 'knights in shining armor' in the braille-covered books of love she read every night before bed. It brought a cute little blush to her cheeks. Of course, you couldn't blame her; with her mindset, and starting to hit the early stages of puberty, its no wonder that that's her reaction. Either way, she'd answer the man's question with simplicity.

"Y-yes...oh my god, that felt awesome! Thank you so much for saving me, mister...?"

Such a strange child. One minute, terrified, the next back to her true self.


-Word Count: 169 + 1444 = 1613-

“We need to find a place where I can assess the extent of your injuries and tend to your wounds. This is not a friendly place. If anyone asks, just go along with what I say. I’d prefer to draw as little attention as possible.”

Once again, Bokuden deflected the inquiry into his identity, not even bothering to acknowledge it or emphasize the issue by referring to it specifically. This small girl had enough problems already without needing an association with him to compound the previously existing issues. Although his latest employer and their agreement was founded in benevolent intentions, to the rest of the world he was still a wanted man. The less time she spent with him and the less she knew about him, the better off she would be.

Since Aura was not confident to walk on her own just yet, Bokuden’s sense of urgency was heightened, the very act of him carrying around this girl in that manner was an anomaly, and he didn’t want people asking questions. Despite his laid back personality under normal circumstances, he was still on a mission, and his commitments were something he did and had always taken very seriously. He could not have brought himself to leave her on the ship with those men, but now that the deed was done and the mission still at hand, the Ryuzoji’s focus shifted to getting her patched up and back to safety as swiftly as possible, so as to not put off his assignment for too long.

As soon as he was able, Bokuden would begin the process of putting one foot in front of the other, walking at a brisk pace, just under a jog. Thinking back to his minimal interactions with the captain of the ship they had just fled, he could recall the veteran sailor telling him about a place of lodging not far from the docks. The go to place for those in this port town that wanted to disappear. Suspicious surely, but undeniably perfect for his needs. Sometimes even the most unsavory of character can be useful in the right context.

---

358 | 4,236

"W-well, okay, Mister...not many pay attention to me, though, so it shouldn't be that hard."

The sense of danger from her predicament had soon perished from the girl's mind, and though she did want to be her usual, cheery self again, the girl was very respectful to her elders. Whatever this man had going on in his mind, she could understand to some extent, she wanted to make it as easy as possible for him, and not make the situation more difficult than it already was. So, she simply trotted behind him, all the while gently dabbing her thumb in her saliva to help wipe off the dry blood from her cuts. Every so often, she would make a little groan from the growing headache she had been receiving from her concussion, but otherwise she was doing much better than before.

Meanwhile, her mind would travel to her own little world. For some strange reason, all of this was giving her a weird sense of Déjà vu from everything that had taken place. The camping, the kidnapping...the same injuries...even this man, rescuing her. She couldn't help but feel all of this happened before, that it wasn't the first time. Did she dream about this, but simply forgotten, like most of her nights? Were there higher ups, calling out her name, telling her something? Was it her mom? Aura would never know these questions. But, they did amuse her on the way to wherever Bokuden was taking her.

"Though, something about this is not right", she thought.

-Word Count: 265 + 1613 = 1878-

Bokuden frowned at the young girl’s words and paused before taking off, pressing his right index and middle fingers against her forehead to prevent her from continuing.

“I noticed you, didn’t I? That’s reason enough for me. Now stay close.”

After taking off, away from the docks, it would only take a matter of minutes for the duo to find themselves off of the shore and in the middle of the small port-city that those who wished to remain invisible, like himself, had used as a hub for decades. The jingling of his staff’s rings would help Aura locate him even without her eyesight. Under normal circumstances he would find the location unremarkable, as a lone man travelling through this area, even one whose appearance as unmistakable as his, clad in white robes and brandishing a golden monk’s staff, would rarely be given more than a second look. The addition of a child, however, particularly one so clearly abused, certainly complicated things. Even in a town known to turn a blind eye to all manners criminal activity, Bokuden was not a fan of the appearance this situation gave.

The fair haired man would bring his pace down to a casual walk, not wishing to appear to be in a hurry and bring upon them the stares that accompany it. Bokuden would bring himself to a stop for just a moment, long enough for him to bring his right arm over Aura and place his hand on her right shoulder, nudging her to his side and partially covering her body beneath the white, flowing cloth of his cloak, masking the cuts and bruises apparent on her limbs.

“Stay beside me. Fortunately, you have white hair just like me. If anyone asks, you’re my daughter. Do you understand?”

As they traversed the largely empty streets under the cover of night, Bokuden could feel the eyes of the few seedy characters they did pass burning into them, glares alight with suspicion. He could certainly have warned off their gazes with the steel of his own, but taking a confrontational approach would be counterproductive at this point. Instead he would press forward, allowing the passing glares to pass through him, as if he were nothing more than clear glass. They would soon come across the inn which Bokuden had been informed of, its old, neon light flickering weakly above the inconspicuous entryway. Pulling open the door, he nudged Aura inside, accompanied by the sound of a ringing bell signaling their arrival to the man at the bar counter.

---

431 | 4667

This trip of only a few minutes were rather exciting to her, despite the fact most would believe this as the contrary. The sounds of bickering and whispers of the other people in the town interested her, more than anything else, and the feeling of the gravel and stones against her shoes felt much different compared to what she's used to. Nearly everything, no matter how small, piqued her curiosity; if she weren't in the situation she were right now, she'd spend weeks just exploring every nook and cranny of this mysterious little town. Of course, once she was pushed against Bokuden's robes, almost in a hug position to her, that changed her train of thought.

Now her mind was noting how nice this man's scents were, much different than the ones in her home. The clean linen, and the body warmth of Bokuden gave her rosy cheeks, and she snuggled into him, happy to oblige his words, to act as his daughter if anyone were to question them. Though, she secretly wish he was her father now. Sure, he was a stranger, and she wasn't exactly trusting right now, but...he's still been the nicest person she's ever met as of now. And he'd be an extremely potent step up from what she has right now, that's for certain. Though she wasn't going to think of that. She'll just stay as close as she could, now that she had permission.

When she's nudged into the inn, and hears the little bell, she'd clutch to him a bit tighter. This noise was also new to her, but the smells and sounds she heard in this place made her tummy churn. Whether it was in a good way or not was up to debate, but she had an eerie feeling about it. But she wasn't going to question the judgement of being brought here.

-Word Count: 328 + 1878 = 2206-

The eyes of nearly all the patrons, loosely scattered among the tables around the room, would fall upon Bokuden as he entered, still guiding Aura along with him. Once again he ignored the stares, an act his younger self would have believed unthinkable, but the fair haired man desired to retire the icy glare once regarded as a trademark. His eyes scanned his surroundings briefly hoping to find a check in desk, but the only counter that seemed to be taking orders was the bar. It seemed that this shelter was more a bar than an inn, but the Ryuzoji did not believe his source misinformed. Without hesitation he pressed forward, the room of wooden tables like a sea divided by a narrow straight of worn, hardwood flooring. He approached the counter and his first course of action was to pull retrieve a few rather large bills of tender and place them directly before the man on the other side.

“We need a room for the night.”

The bartender continued wiping down a glass in his hands with a piece of cloth, looking down at the currency placed before him suspiciously before looking back at Bokuden with a devious smirk.

“In quite the hurry, aren’t we? Mr. Big Spender. If you’re shelling out this kind of cash for just a room, you must have really splurged on her. Ones that young are a rare commodity. She must have cost you a pretty penny, even if she is damaged goods. Or maybe she was fine when you got her and you had a little fun with her ahead of time. It looks like you have some weird interests, but I suppose that’s always the case with men like you.”

For just a moment Bokuden would set aside his new ideals and bring his glare out of retirement, narrowing his eyes into an chill-inducing gaze that stopped the man opposite of him in his tracks. The Ryuzoji placed three fingers atop the pile of bills he had left on the counter and slid it further across towards the bartender.

“A room.”

The bartender across the counter hesitated for a moment, shaking off the sharp chilling sensation that ran down his spine, before reaching out to retrieve the bills with slightly trembling hands. The man himself seemed taken aback by his inability to keep his hand steady, staring back up at Bokuden with contempt and curiosity, as if questioning what the visitor had done to him. Nonetheless, the bartender managed to compose himself once more and grab a key from one of the small lockers behind him and bid the duo across the way to follow him. Up the creaky wooden staircase he would lead them, Bokuden holding Aura close to him just a bit more securely as they waded through the other bargoers and to the second floor. Before long they would arrive at a room at the very end of the hall, and be handed a key by the innkeeper who wasted no time in hurrying off after his task was complete.

For the first time since before the duo entered the building, Bokuden would remove himself from Aura’s side and proceed into the room first, performing a sweep of the relatively small space to ensure there were no surprises lying in wait. Once he was confident that the location was safe, he would bid Aura enter, pulling an old, wooden chair from the along the wall into the center of the room.

“You can come in now. Close the door behind you and have a seat. Show me your injuries. You aren’t going anywhere in that condition.”

---

613 | 5280

Aura's sense of anxiousness was confirmed when they passed through the patrons of the inn. Though she could not see, she felt their glares piercing through her skin, like a senbon was being forcibly inserted with the strength of a bull. It made her shiver, and cower into Bokuden's robes a bit more, fear starting to get the best of her. Thankfully, it was obvious Bokuden was there to protect her; she wouldn't be hurt by these crude individuals.

When they made it to the bartender, her paranoia spiked up again; he smelled of the bitter nip of alcohol, a smell she was all too familiar with. Her foster father was a drunk, and almost never was he sober. People whom were buzzed often acted quite unlike their self, and since he's never met the man before, it scared her even more. Not to mention, the old, raspy voice, like those of the thugs she ran into today, was similar in this man. Talking such dirty things, of how she was bought, that Bokuden might have beaten her like she was...why would he assume such a thing? Would she hug so close to this stranger if he had beaten her? However, when she heard him shut up; out of fear, as she could feel him trembling through the vibrations of the floor; her fears were dismissed once more. Although she was a cheery girl at most times, today was different for her, so her fears were very understandable. Is this what the real world was like? No, it can't all be bad.

Doing what Bokuden told her as they entered the room, she'd then strip out of her thick kimono dress. It was not inappropriate, as under that she wore a thin pair of silk shorts, and a tank-top shirt to cover most her body. Now, Bokuden could see clearly what the injuries were; one inch deep cuts, wrapping around her usually pretty, soft skin on her limbs, with bruises littered between them. They weren't very major, but the most concerning was simply the big bruise on her forehead, which showed signs of concussion. After doing so, she sat down on the bed, smiling up at him wearily, cloudy eyes fluttering.

"It's...not too bad, right, Mister?"


-Word Count: 387 + 2206 = 2593-

Bokuden found himself slightly annoyed that Aura walked right passed the chair that he had pulled out for her and onto the bed, but simply shook his head and let it go, supposing he couldn’t fault a blind girl for not seeing what was right in front of her. Her clothing was mostly white, making it fairly easy to see that there was no open wound on her abdomen that he would need to be concerned about, nor did he see any alarming, open wounds on her limbs.

After walking over to the bedside, Bokuden reached and lifted Aura’s left arm, straightening it to examine the entire limb. The cuts, white not insignificant were not overly plentiful, and had already coagulated, stopping the bleeding. The bruises on her limbs were not a point of concern, but the one on her head was. Bokuden gently pressed against the swollen point, looking for any sharp pain that might indicate structural damage rather than simple swelling or jarring.

“Any pain? Ringing in your ears? Dizziness? Headaches?”

Placing a hand on Aura’s chin and holding her head steady Bokuden would nudge her head to swivel to the left, checking her ear for signs of bleeding. Once that ear was cleared he would check the second, finding no blood leaking or dried blood trailing back to her ear canal that might indicate internal damage.

“You need to tell me everything that you’re feeling that might be abnormal or a result of your encounter earlier today. If I don’t know what I’m dealing with, I won’t know how to treat it, or if treatment is necessary.”

---

277 | 5,557