The early morning light passed through the treetops as Kekkai and Takahiro made their way out of the Ida mountain range.
The two were silent as they walked through the forest. Only the sounds of calling birds and buzzing insects filled the air as they passed the open trail.
"I still can't believe you would pull something like that behind our backs," Takahiro spoke out
"Oh? So now you want to talk to me." Kekkai drawled before ducking some hanging branches.
"I'm serious!" Takahiro scowled while swatting at an insect that had flown close to his face.
"And I am too. You don't know how boring a travel companion you can be." Kekkai taunted while vaulting over "For the last few hours, you haven't said a word to me and every time I've tried to start a conversation with you, you walk away."
"And when I don't try to speak to you, you're constantly huffing and puffing behind me while not speaking a word. If I didn't know better I'd think that we were lovers who just got out of an argument, You're acting like a tsundere who wants attention but doesn't want to say it." Kekkai joked with a straight face.
Takahiro rolled his eyes and continued to walk silently.
/Can't you take a joke?/ Kekkai rolled his eyes and followed.
After a few more minutes he started again.
"Uncle Okamora could have died. Kekkai, if anything went wrong with your plan all of us could have died. You sent the entire convoy of your family on a suicide mission based on a gamble without telling anybody what it was about." He said, his shoulders slumped a little.
"And now I'm being punished for it," Kekkai dryly said.
"You and I both know this isn't a punishment!" snapped Takahiro as he turned and glared at Kekkai "It's a slap on the wrist is what it is. How I see it is the clan's golden child did something bad and needs to be sent away for a while to get merit and avoid taking the blame."
The smile on Kekkai's face was gone. His eyes turned emotionless as he looked at his cousin and whispered "You know that's not true."
"All I know is that when Akiko, Akane, and I departed there was not a word from you about what was going on." Takahiro condemned," YOUR family left thinking that they were helping the clan with the regular tasks, without knowing how much danger they were in because you thought it beneath you to inform them."
"I didn't tell you because Father didn't want anyone to find out. He told me that if Grandfather and the elders knew they would have stopped the trade then and there. He said it would be better if the sale would be better if done covertly, no need to panic about the others."
"That's just an Excuse! When have you ever listened to what uncle and grandfather said." Takahiro stepped up to Kekkai and poked him hard against the chest, berating him harshly," If you wanted to tell us you would have done so regardless of what uncle said! Instead, you sat your comfortable ass at home, while your father takes your cousins not caring if we lived or-"
"Let me stop you right there!" Kekkai held up his hand and stopped his cousin.
"Of course, I fucking cared, I wanted to go myself from the very beginning! That was the assignment that would have established a buffer that would sustain our family for years! There would be no need for the trade convoys at all if the contract had gone right. I would have been right there alongside you If father hadn't asked Grandpa to send me to the Weavers Hut to create armor for the guards in the clan. By the time I knew you guys had left, it was already three days later!"
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys about it but you have to understand, our clan would be in immediate danger if I couldn't change the situation. The raids were getting more and more frequent, and whoever was supplying them with our routes was getting bolder, I couldn't find out who or even what was targeting us so I had to gamble. But believe me, I would never try to put my relatives in danger willingly. EVER." Kekkai said solemnly
Takahiro looked into his eyes for a few seconds as if searching for something, Kekkai looked back resolutely, and Takahiro nodded after a while before turning and walking away.
Sighing Kekkai followed after him.
"Hey, if I did tell you, would you still have gone?" Kekkai asked after half an hour of silence.
"Hell yes! I would do anything to help my family." Takahiro replied instantly without looking back.
"Then why are you so mad at me?" Kekkai asked confused.
"Because you are the next leader of our clan, if you can send us off without thinking or caring about the risk of doing so now when you are just a kid, then how can I not be worried about how you would act when you take over as the patriarch in the future." Takahiro turned and glanced at Kekkai.
"And?" Kekkai asked
"And... I don't have many chances to bully you these days. Might as well get it out of my system before I have to call you boss!" He admitted with a grin.
"Your such an ass." Kekkai rolled his eyes and kicked a small stone at his cousin's back.
Takahiro chuckled and avoided it, looking at the sky and seeing that it would be close to midday he turned back to Kekkai with a touch of mischief.
"It's going to take us forever to get to the nearest town while walking. You wanna race to see who gets out of the mountains first." He challenged.
"You're on!" Kekkai agreed
"Good. Just don't get lost because you can't catch up brat!" While saying this his afterimage faded and he appeared hundreds of meters away, leaping between the trees at amazing speed."
"Cheater." Kekkai grinned and tightened the straps on his trench coat before breaking into a jog and then into a run.
Slowly pumping his arms he began flipping over dead trees, diving through tight gaps, and vaulting over large stones with ease as he picked up momentum.
The untamed forest floor was like a paved sidewalk for Kekkai as he maneuvered through it with ease. Not missing a single step or landing, he gained speed until he became a flickering shadow that shuffled through the forest.
Takahiro who was in the lead leaped from tree to tree with amazing force as he used the thick tree limbs as leverage for his jumps. When he heard the load rustling from behind over the whistle of the wind in his ears he turned his head to see what was happening.
Seeing the shadow whip through the forest below made him complain silently in his head before he sealed silently and gathered transferred Chakra into his legs to shoot forward once again. The air whistled against his clothes as he bounded farther and farther with each hop.
/What a monster!/ He thought focusing on managing his strength and surroundings to avoid overshooting.
Kekkai kept his pace steady as he propelled himself through the forest, taking his environment as his foothold to accelerate as he thrust himself again and again against the wind.
At the corner of his eye was a HUD containing his Health, Armor, Stamina, Chakra, Rage, and Pupil power. His stamina bar drained constantly and replenished again at an even rate. Every few seconds a -2sp deducted itself from his stamina from his constant use of parkour to shift through obstacles, but because his basic stamina regeneration was at 7 points per ten seconds he was free running at no cost.
He could run like this all day without even breaking a sweat, something that couldn't be said about Takahiro.
Seeing his cousin bounding from tree to tree increase in distance using Chakra to enhance his physical strength made him sneer in disdain.
Even though Takahiro was a few years older than him and was a strong ninja in his own right. But his specialty was in perception, Genjutsu, and Kyūjutsu. Movement techniques like Ninja running and Shunshin techniques are not his strong point at all.
Efficient chakra control and power management can help him avoid injuries if he uses his Chakra to increase his speed and strength for temporary boosts.
But chakra is a force that relies on Both Physical and Mental energies to maintain. Using such a delicate technique would drain him cause mental fatigue and force him to slow down way faster than it would if he relied on his regular speed.
Even though he would be able to widen the gap with huge bursts of speed all Kekkai needed to do was maintain his current momentum to catch up. Not that it would matter though as Kekkai maintained his current pace he would steadily catch up to him.
Two shadows flicked through the woodlands at incredible speed. Soon the scenery quickly changed from dense forest to dry rocky terrain as the slope evened out.
Sure enough, seven and a half minutes later, they had already traveled over five miles going all out and it was taking its toll on poor Takahiro.
Takahiro had streams of sweat pouring down his face as he pushed to the next tree. When he nearly slipped he cursed wildly and kicked off the trunk of the tree to recover.
"Hey, Takahiro! You're not looking so hot, you wanna take a break?" Kekkai mocked as he saw him stumbling above him.
Takahiro snorted and ignored him, swiping the sweat from his brow he renewed his efforts. Hearing the sound of rushing water made his eyes light up and
Seeing a bridge about a couple of hundred meters up ahead Kekkai knew it was the final stretch. Slowly mixing his Chakra he watched as his Stamina dropped from 70 to 30 and his R.A.M. dropped from 19 to 15.
Looking at his full bar of Chakra he grinned and took a runner's stance. Letting the Chakra mix into his arms and legs while building up tension. After calculating a clear path he released the accumulated pressure.
Like a grenade had gone off, the ground exploded in dust and debris as he burst forth with alarming power and speed.
The wind roared in his ears as he went flying through the air face-first, arms tucked to his sides and his body straight into the shape of a torpedo.
His face turned into a mad grin as he overtook his cousin who had a dumbfounded look on his face as he shot past him. Closing in on the Bridge and river ahead he savored the taste of an easy victory.
But sadly, he could only relish this taste for a moment, because when he went to catch himself with his arms, as he touched the ground he found that he had completely underestimated his force and momentum.
/Oh...Shit./ He thought
His arms gave out and he went face-first into the solid earth, neck snapping back as he went into a wild and out-of-control tumble, flasks, scrolls, and other equipment went flying everywhere before skidding to a halt in front of the bride in a downward dog posture.
//
Ding
Fall Damage
Physical Damage
-50 armor
-15 Health
//
As he moaned and flipped onto his back, Kekkai grumbled and dusted himself off in disgust. Half a minute later he heard the sound of laughter as Takahiro caught up.
Seeing the long skid mark on the ground and his cousin's long trench coat covered in dirt made the sweat-covered man laugh laboriously as he fought to catch his breath.
"Soft landings?" He joked.
Kekkai just ignored him and continued dusting himself off. Checking himself, he looked around and found his equipment lying scattered across the ground in disarray.
Grumbling he started picking up the scattered items before shoving them back into their various pockets in his coat.
"Where are we going now," Kekkai asked lightheartedly as if his failure to show off was not worth mentioning.
He looked over at the Jobei Bridge, a wide bridge that spanned across the Uzu River one of the two largest rivers in the Kingdom of Stone.
Takahiro smiled and pointed north.
"We should head a couple of miles along the river. There's a town settled there along the bank. We can probably get more information about the local gangs there."
The Kingdom of Stone mostly consisted of large swaths of steppe land and there is rarely forestry, making Ida Mountain a rare sight. Because of the dry climate scarcity of water, the small population of the country condensed into small or large settlements beside any bodies they can find.
So most people lived on the west and east sides of the Kingdom of stone. Ida mountain lies in the southeast. On the border of the Sand kingdom and The Kingdom of Birds.
Agreeing with a nod Kekkai walked forward to the bridge, when they reached it he looked over his shoulder and asked"Wanna go another round."
Takahiro looked at him with an incredulous face "Aren't you tired yet?"
"I can do this all day." Kekkai shrugged and smiled.
Takahiro paled at this and immediately raised his hands in surrender.
"I give, I can't beat a monster like you," Takahiro complained.
Looking at him and seeing not even a drop of sweat on his face, only small streaks of dirt let him know that he really could do as he said and it wasn't boastful at all to say that he could run all day.
/Fucking Inhuman/ Takahiro thought
They took their time for the rest of their journey as they walked along the river.
By noon they had finally arrived at their destination. Built along the river bank was the small village of Nagakumo.
Passing into the town entrance Kekkai looked around in curiosity. If he had to be honest it was pretty disappointing, the township itself looked crude and rundown like it was a film from an old western.
Low-flat buildings with shabby wooden rooftops, faded stone walls, and a dry and bored atmosphere pervaded the town.
Takahiro saw his cousin's disappointed look and grinned.
Slapping his shoulder and joking "What were you expecting, an army of rampant samurai? Young woman crying out in distress for you to show up like those books you like to write?"
"Just, expecting there to be more people at least, the place is too deserted for it to have any type of income," Kekkai said
"It doesn't, people don't visit much these days, too many raids from bandits around here, so most of our town decided to move east," said a small voice on the side.
When they turned to look they saw a small red-haired boy poking his head from around the gate. The kid looked at Kekkai and was walking toward him before he froze when seeing his companion.
Seeing him, Takahiro grinned and went to hug the boy.
Snatching him up, much to the boys' dismay, and hugging him, Takahiro said"Akito, it's great to see you! How's your sister holding up? Still running the bar?"
"Suki? She's fine, still hates your guts though." Akito said as he pressed with all his might to get out of Takahiro's hug, but it was no use as his grip was as right as steel.
"Kekkai, meet Hanoka Akito, one of the bravest kids in town!"
"When was I ever so looked upon by you? You tracked me to my house and lashed my butt several times!" Akito was confused while looking up at him.
"Also the best pickpocket, thief, and little bandit spy you can get cheap."
"I'm not cheap! You threatened to take my sister away if I didn't give you the information for free!" Akito retorted
"He's the little brother of the best bar owner in town!"
"She owns the only bar in town!" Akito couldn't take it anymore and flailed wildly to escape his clutches. Takahiro placed him down and presented the boy to his cousin.
"Most of the folks here moved east, usually this brat hangs around town sniffing around the local gangs and bandits and sells their information to bounty hunters." He explained
"So he's your local informant." Kekkai looked blankly at the two of them.
"Technically I'm everyone's informant. There used to be others but they left. Now, this guy breaks into my sister's bar now and then to get information and flirt with my sister." Akito clarified while glaring at Takahiro.
Takahiro just grinned and said," No, no, no, even though your sister is beautiful she makes the best wine here!"
"As I said, She's the only one who makes wine here! You Stinky perverted uncle!" Akito accused
Takahiro simply smiled and chortled shamelessly at the accusation.
Kekkai was amazed, he had never seen his cousin act so shameless before. And from the familiarity of these two demonstrated, he has been coming to this town to visit them for a long time.
"Is this Suki going to be my new sister-in-law? How come I'm just hearing about her now?"
"AS IF! Like Suki will ever like a Bounty Hunter! She hates Ronin and Bounty Hunters the most. Even if you give this guy a thousand years he'll never marry my sister!"
Kekkai raised a brow at this, turning his gaze towards his cousin he silently asked with his eyes.
/Bounty Hunter?/
/I'll explain later. Just play along, for now, Please/ Takahiros face pleaded
"Ok! Come on Kekkai, we can find out some intel over some drinks." Takahiro switched the subject and dragged away the unwilling child, ignoring his kicking and biting as he guided him deeper into the town.
"Help! Help! There's a pervert! Someone! Anyone! Best this bastard!!!!" Akito screeched as he was dragged away under Takahiros' arm.
The pedestrians on the sidelines only looked over and laugh a little before continuing with their day, clearly used to the scene of the two jokers.
/This is going to be interesting/ Kekkai thought amused as he followed quietly.
.
.
.
.
After a short walk, they arrived at a 3 story wooden house on the street side. Kekkai nodded as he was pleased with the aesthetics of the builder. he having any way to describe it was stylish, quiet, and tranquil.
"I'm HOME!" Takahiro booted the door while shouting and dragged Akito inside with him.
/Well, quiet while it lasted/ Kekkai sighed as he followed.
Entering he found the decorations even more lavish. Intricately carved archways greeted him as soon as he came in, light waving silk hung from the ceiling, series of ink portraits nicely covered the wall.
In the center was a well-stocked Wine bar where a lofty beautiful sakura-haired bombshell of a woman in a petal-themed kimono sat in attendance.
Seeing that ravishing heart-shaped face, those beautiful pink eyes, that cute button nose, those full rosy lips, that seductive long hair that ran down her shoulders and chest, and that fucking smoking hourglass figure hugged tightly inside that dress made Kekkai's throat a little parched.
Sadly the look on that cute face was pinched angrily at his cousin who was dragging a kid through the door.
"What the hell is it that you want now?" She asked
"Just to see my favorite bar in the whole town as well as some old friends." Takahiro blinked innocently
"I'm the only bar." She remarked blandly, she then pointed to the person in his arms and motioned for him to be put down.
"As I've heard." Kekkai chuckled
"Who's this?" Suki asked while standing up and walking towards them.
"This is my latest client! He needs experience and I was hired to guide him in hunting some raiders and bandits."
"Oh? Why did you hire this guy?! Besides his bragging, he's pretty much useless for anything else." She asked as she looked at Kekkai in surprise.
"It's All true!" Takahiro complained miserably
"Whatever you say. Now if you don't mind I have a business to run, so if you're not buying anything. Leave." She pointed to the door.
"Buying! Buying!" Takahiro waved his hands hurriedly in surrender, dropping the boy stuck in his arms to the ground.
Akito who fell to the floor glared at him. Turning his head in a huff he left through an archway to another room.
Taking the opportunity to take a seat at one of the stools at the bar, Kekkai tapped on the counter and asked "Do you serve food as well or just Drinks?"
Suki slowly walked around the counter, sauntering over it before asking "What would you like?"
"Surprise me. Takahiro will be paying the bill anyway." Kekkai said flippantly
"Why me?" He asked.
"I forgot to bring money," Kekkai started without shame.
"So it's Takahiro? I thought your name was Bond, James Bond." Suki mused, mocking a weird English accent while giving Takahiro a side-eye.
To this Kekkai's eyes widened up and looked at him as if he was the most idiotic creature in the world. This bastard didn't even tell her his real name!
"Hehe." Takahiro could only rub the back of his head in embarrassment.
Suki didn't even acknowledge him anymore and started preparing glasses and plates.
"How much can you eat?" Suki inquired when she turned to Kekkai.
"A lot." Kekkai grinned and started.
"Good! I'll give you my best course." Suki said as she beamed at him, stunning him once again with her smile, before taking the plates into a small opening that must be the kitchen.
Coming to Kekkai reached over and smacked Takahiro's arm "How the hell did she give you the time of day? Bond? James BOND? You picked the cheesiest name you could think of!"
Takahiro could only lower his head in shame at his mocking.
"What was I supposed to do? The woman is completely immune to every single line that I've got. The only thing I can do is make her give a quick laugh. But after that nothing!"
"Maybe she just doesn't like your jokes? But she seems to have a good sense of humor from her smile just now. Or maybe your game needs to be checked." Kekkai suggested
"No, she's immune to everything! Don't let that small smile fool you, I thought we got along pretty well but whenever I tried to court her away from the bar but she instantly gave me the silent treatment. She stopped laughing at all my jokes and sends me away if I'm not paying or bringing her brother with me. The only way to get her to talk to me over dinner is if it's in this store!"
"Well, I guess it's a nice bar, and she may feel more comfortable inside it." Kekkai hesitatingly said.
It was indeed a nice bar, looks good, smells good, and though he couldn't put a finger on It the designs that filled the place looked familiar. Although he couldn't find out why it was so familiar for the life of him.
As He examined his surroundings with a frown as he looked deeply at the archways and the counter he sat at. Deep patterns were etched into the wood as if it was burned into it before polishing it, Making a beautiful but strange art.
"Trust me, I like it too but she likes it too much! She rarely ever leaves the place and sends her brother out for supplies and food for her stock. When I asked why she just brushes me off with a look and then ignores me." He complained
"Well I don't think lying about your name helped any," Kekkai mentioned while his frown became deeper and deeper as he examined the patterns more.
"She already knows that's not my name, but that's not the point, she is usually packed with guests on a nightly basis, how can I see her alone and show off my charm if she stays in this house without even trying to go outside like a Stone-faced Recluse?"
"Oh? Stone-faced? Recluse? I'm sorry you feel that way about me." A voice dripping with venom came from the side as Suki came out of the kitchen with two tall glasses.
Takahiro instantly went silent and turned his head to the side and whistle a tune softly, even though His eyes begged for help from Kekkai.
/Sorry, you walked right into that one/Kekkai's face said back, he turned his face away to avoid his cousins' plea.
Ignoring Takahiro, instead of giving him one of the glasses she gave Kekkai both. Then stepped back and went back into the kitchen.
Two Vibrant aquamarine-white drinks with a thin texture with bubbles frequently rising to the top of the glass stood in front of him.
When he reached out he was surprised to find it was ice-cold to the touch bringing it to his lips and savoring the taste for a while he found it very pleasant.
It was a slightly alcoholic drink with a mild fruity flavor and a strong aftertaste that stuck to his taste buds, the slight sting from the carbonized drink made him fall instantly fall in love with the beverage.
By the time he had realized it the entire glass was drained to the bottom. When Takahiro reached out a hand to take the second glass his hand was slapped away as Kekkai picked up the second glass.
"Hey! I'm the one paying!" Takahiro complained
But Kekkai just ignored him and downed the drink quickly. Not even taking a moment to breathe the fruity alcohol poured down his gullet.
Putting down the glass with a sigh of satisfaction, but when he felt changes in his body and a notification appeared in his ears he was astounded.
//Ding
You drank a highly efficient medicinal wine. The effects will last 3 hours(Stackable:2 stacks)
Buzzed status activated
20% Stamina points and Regen increase
15% Health Regen increase
15% Accuracy increase
40% Concentration increase
//
Blinking, he had never seen such an effect before. Not even his last life had such a buff. Feeling the slow release of energy of the drink from his stomach and the crisp feeling of clarity in his mental energy and his sight getting sharper made him cry out in astonishment in his head.
/Who the hell is this woman? The buffs from just two drinks could have such a drastic effect!/ He wondered in amazement.
"How is it? I told you I didn't come here just for her looks, Suki's wines are in very high demand because of her secret recipes that have healing properties and some can leave you drunk for days on end!" Takahiro bragged
"Indeed. It's very impressive." Kekkai nodded and continued to feel his changes.
Sometime later, Suki appeared with a large steaming platter of Dumplings served with a seaweed wrap and a small amount of vinegar on the side.
Kekkai couldn't wait to dig in. Taking one of the dumplings and dipped it into the Vinegar sauce after he took a bite he found it was some kind of vegetable-stuffed poultry lightly roasted until tender before being wrapped into a dough and steamed.
The strong explosion of flavor as the meat and vegetables in his mouth reminded him of one of those five-star restaurants in his last life that he had the opportunity to attend along with his friends.
As he savored the flavor of his meal, Suki turned to Takahiro.
"The Bill will be 15,850 ryo or equivalent." She said with a deadpan look.
Kekkai nearly spat out his dumpling when he heard the cost, what was he eating? Raw chakra metal? Spirit Grass?
Seeing him choke on his food she raised an eyebrow at him, but he just waved her off and continued stuffing his face, anyway it wasn't him who was paying!
Takahiro could only take out his wallet and hand her his hard-earned allowance. But when she took it away he reached and tenderly grabbed her wrist.
When she looked at him and glared he pulled off his best-wounded puppy dog look.
"We need a place to stay for the night, can you open up a room? Please?" He begged
Kekkai nearly spat out his food again, this time in disgust at his cousins' shamelessness. They would be perfectly fine even if they camped out in the open wilderness. But this bastard wants to eat soft rice and freeload!
Suki glared at him for a moment before softening. Snatching her hand from his wrist she said "Two rooms. No leaving the rooms after dark. And don't touch anything!"
"Wait!" Kekkai said when he saw her turning around," I'm looking for information about nearby Raiders and bandit hideouts. Could you by any chance point me in a direction? I'd rather get started with my mission before dark."
"Akito knows way more about that than me, he's upstairs in his room. Second door to the left."
"Thank you. By the way, my compliments, your cooking and brewery skills are amazing" he bowed and turned to finish his plate.
Suki just looked at him for a moment, a slight smile searing at the edge of her mouth before she turned and walked away.
"And that's how it's done." He said to the soft stomach beside him.
Takahiro snorted and got up from his seat to follow behind the Bar Mistress.
After finishing his food and placing the empty plate to the side he received another buff when he finished.
When he closed the page and came to the archway to the stairs he paused for a moment. Looking at the patterns on the frame he reached out with a finger.
Letting it hover an inch away he refined the slightest amount of chakra and poured it into his fingertip. To his horror, the area where his finger was the patterns glowed a malignant red and began to writhe and crawl as if it was alive!
Snatching his finger back, cold sweat began to pour down his back, he finally recognized what was so familiar about the patterns that covered practically every inch of the house.
They were Fuinjutsu sealing runes.
THE FUCKING ENTIRE HOUSE IS COVERED IN SEALS!!!!
Upstairs in the hallway, Suki was looking at the puppy dog Takahiro, before she suddenly snapped her head and looked exactly where Kekkai was and raised an eyebrow.