2/2

Kazuya's eyes focused on his sword on the ground, his expression pained. It seemed that Yugito's words did little for his self-esteem, which has been dropping constantly during the last weeks, starting even before our C-rank.

"Kioshi, anything you need to train with me?" Yugito, or to be more precise, a clone of her, said to me.

Yugito Nii (Shadow Clone)[Very Good]

"Well, yes. I still have to train shurikenjutsu against a moving opponent." I said.

"Fine enough. I'll be moving at high chunin speeds and I'll try to get closer," Yugito answered with a smirk, "you'll have to keep me away."

If I wasn't feigning my proficiency with the Magnet Release, I may have been able to win.

When the sun was high up in the sky, signaling lunch hour, I sensed Tadashi stumping to the training grounds. He was grumbling under his breath and looking at his feet. He looked pissed alright.

Tadashi Horiuchi[Bad]

'That can't be good.'

He didn't say a word, he just walked until he was close to us and stood quietly waiting for Yugito to speak.

"So, team, we have a C-rank mission tomorrow." Yugito said when Tadashi joined us. "We are to check the claims of bandit activity in a small town close to the border. Pack for a week-long mission. We'll meet tomorrow morning at 8 am, you have the afternoon for yourselves. Before I dismiss you though, Kioshi has something to say to you both." That made Kazuya, who was still wearing a pained expression and massaging his right hand, and Tadashi, who was fuming about something, stare at me with curiously. Yugito nudged me with her hand, reminding me of what we talked about the day before: my teammates should know about my magnet release.

I was reluctant to tell them just yet, not with Kazuya somewhat depressed and Tadashi so angry, but after some seconds of uncomfortable silence, I just told them straight ahead. "So, guys, I have a kekkei genkai. The Magnet Release."

"Oh, what the fuck now? Seriously?" Tadashi snarled loudly throwing his hands in the air. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! A fucking kekkei genkai? Every fucking time I finally think I'm catching up to you after training my ass out, you come up with another weird fucking thing! Fast wind release, a weird genjutsu, seal-less jutsu, a perfect taijutsu style and now this! Oh," he half laughed, "I can see now, everybody praising the fucking perfect kid, the Shirasu genius, the mismatched eyes prodigy!" I took a step back with my eyes wide open. He stepped in and glared at me, his face inches from mine. "Fuck you, Kioshi. Fuck. you." he finished, poking me in the chest with every word.

Kazuya remained silent, looking away with his hands in his pockets. Tadashi hated that.

"Are you really not saying anything now, fucker?" Tadashi taunted him half yelling, half sneering. I didn't like his tone, and Kazuya answered back angrily, but barely above a whisper.

"What do you want me to-"

"Anything you motherfucker!" Tadashi interrupted. "You can't just be quiet all the fucking time! Never saying anything about our training, not having an opinion on- you know what? Fuck you, Kazuya. At least you should try to pull your weight in this team, you're fucking useless. The worst the Fuse clan has spawned. Say something for fuck's sake!" Tadashi was fuming, and Kazuya only stared at the ground.

"Tadashi, what's wrong with y-"

"What's wrong with me? Really?!" He snapped back at me. "You are what is wrong with me. I can't even make my family proud because all they talk about is you. So fuck you Kioshi! Go and take up drinking like your father!"

That was when Yugito finally did something. "Tadashi! I will not tolerate this behavior, are we clear?" she scolded him. Tadashi didn't answer and only turned his head to glare at her. "I said are we clear, genin?" She was dead serious.

"Yes, sensei." He answered her between his teeth, never taking his eyes from hers.

"Tomorrow, 8 am, at the gates," She sternly said, "and get yourself together." Yugito was smarter than to ask for an apology.

Tadashi stormed away.

I had not moved from my place, still shocked with Tadashi's reaction. I've never seen him so violent before, not with me, not with Kazuya. Yugito's hand rested on my shoulder.

"Go home and get some rest, tomorrow's mission might be difficult for you."

I looked to the side and found Kazuya was already gone. I just nodded at Yugito and headed off. That afternoon I couldn't keep my mind away from that event.

Twenty minutes before 8 o'clock, I arrived at the Village's gates. Kazuya was already there with Yugito.

"Will we talk about yesterday?" I immediately asked.

"Tadashi failed his clan's test to become a full-fledged member." Yugito started. Kazuya and I turned our attention to her. "There's this test that Horiuchi clan members have to take in order to be considered members of the shinobi elite force inside the clan. From what a clan jonin mentioned yesterday, Tadashi failed that test yesterday morning. I suppose that's what had him so angry. It's a test designed for newly promoted jonin, so I don't really understand why he even tried to take it."

"Well, we all know that Tadashi is a proud and competitive guy," I answered the implicit question, "but that doesn't justify his behavior." And I couldn't help wondering 'Does his family really talk that much about me? Does he really hate me?' "Maybe he just needs some time to himself."

Kazuya was silent, dead silent. With bags under his eyes and staring at the ground, standing like a dead man.

"Are you alright, man?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He muttered.

Tadashi arrived some minutes later, still with an angry expression on his face. Just like the day before, he didn't utter a word and just nodded at Yugito and us.

Tadashi Horiuchi[Very Bad]

'This is getting worse.'

"Team, we are going to Nishidani Village to the south-east end of the border. I expect it will take us two days to arrive there. This is a bandit reconnaissance mission, so we are to check with the local authority before we do anything. Are you all ready?"

We three nodded silently.

"Let's go then." Yugito said, turning around and staring the walk down.

Quest Created:And like a moth that tries.

Check the bandit reports on Nishidani Village.

Rewards:12000 Exp, C-rank standard payment.

We left the Kumo under clear skies and dry, cold winds. After the stone steps, we began our journey cross country in roughly the same direction as our first C-rank and ran fast until the night fell over. This time we slept inside our tents and were cautious to select a camping place protected from the wind.

For the whole day, Tadashi kept his angry scowl on his face, although it was gradually disappearing. Kazuya also remained mostly silent, but that night I got my opportunity to talk to him when he 'woke' me up for my watch.

"Kazuya, listen, about the other day…" I started when I got out of my tent. The crescent moon bathed the landscape with an unnerving light that reflected in our faces.

"Mhm?" he grumbled.

"Did you speak with Tadashi after yesterday? I think Yugito m-"

"No," he muttered shaking his head, "please don't. Just shut up." He was staring at his feet and his fists were clenched rigidly at his side.

"... what?"

"I... I can't do this anymore." he stuttered barely above a whisper "I know my dad is disappointed at me just because I can't live up to his expectations... he was a chunin at 10, the best swordsman of the clan! But I can't, I'm not you Kioshi." There wasn't an ounce of anger on his voice, only pain and regret. "Tadashi is right, I'm an embarrassment. I can't keep up with you two."

"No, Kazuya. You're not. Look, the-"

"Don't." He interrupted me hissing though his teeth, "don't say anything. I don't need your pity. I'm better without any of you. I'm requesting a transfer after this mission; maybe I'll get a jonin sensei that actually teaches me something. And don't try to defend her, Kioshi." Kazuya added when I tried to say something. "You are just too blind to see other people besides her, don't you? She only stopped Tadashi when he insulted you, she didn't say anything when he was insulting me, she just stood there with her arms crossed, looking down on us. And you didn't care."

I was stunned.

"She always corrected us when we tried to call her by her name, you know? 'Yugito-sensei' she emphasized, but not you. It doesn't matter now. I'm done, I'm tired, and I just don't want to do this anymore." With a vacant stare, he turned around and went to his tent.

I stood there for what seemed like millennia with my eyes wide open. He was right, in all accounts, he was right. I was so focused on training and competing with myself I began to ignore Kazuya and even Tadashi more and more. I pushed them aside. I always thought that Yugito trained us sort of like Kakashi did to Konoha's team seven in the manga, but I was wrong. Yugito didn't give any form of assurance to Kazuya or Tadashi, not to their faces, nor did she correct their katas or their exercises. But mine she did. 'We have a lot to discuss after the mission, Yugito. And it seems I have a lot of amendments to do, too.'

Kazuya Fuse[Bad]

The following day was spent running in silence and by late afternoon we arrived at the outskirts of Nishidani village. As Yugito stated, the town was located not far off the border with the Land of Snow, but unlike our first C-rank, Nishidani was located at the eastern edge of the Land of Lightning, half a day walk from the eastern coast and another half day walk to the Hokenzo road. The climate was very different here, the tempering effect of the sea provided a decent growing environment for trees, as was evident from the lush medium sized pine trees that made up the rich midland forests encircling the town, even if the rain shadow effect of the nearest mountain ranges was still evident. The hilly area meant the town itself looked secluded enough to be considered as a proper hidden village, though its size was lacking.

The outskirts of Nishidani felt barren, most of the small buildings and farming lands that greeted us were deserted and only a small number of farm animals could be seen roaming around. Entering the town itself didn't change our first appreciation. Some of the trading stalls and stores were closed and boarded up, while most of the open ones were half out of stock. Interestingly enough, the boarded-up buildings were all high-end stores; jewelry shops and such.

"This place looks out of shape." I commented.

"Keep your eyes open for any suspicious activity, we are heading to the town hall." Yugito addressed us.

We walked at civilian pace, procuring to keep an eye on everyone and everything, looking for anything suspicious around. People were going around their lives, walking back home from work and some, I could only guess, the other way around. They all focused their gazes on us, some frowning, others surprised and maybe with a little bit of hope. One civilian stood frozen in place with when his gaze landed on Yugito. I was sure she noticed it, but neither of us commented on it.

"They don't trust us." Tadashi drily commented. He was right to be wary, why would they not trust their own shinobi?

Before long, we arrived at the town hall. It was a small building as every other building in the town, just two stories tall. The white paint was peeling off the outer walls, although it seemed to be in a general good condition. Yugito knocked and entered the building without waiting for an answer. We followed her into the lobby.

She promptly addressed the man behind the reception desk. "Hello, we're here to see the major, please."

"Are you the shinobi sent by Kumo?" He asked back in a boring tone. He didn't wait for an answer, he stood up, walked to the nearest wooden door and knocked twice.

A simple looking man with the common dark skin tone of the residents of the Land of Lightning, wearing simple brown pants and a white dress shirt poked his head out the door and ushered us in. 'That must be the major.' His hair was cut short and his face cleanly shaved. I expected a disheveled man, but he looked like a guy who worried about his appearance. Moreover, his office, as small as it was, was thoroughly clean.

"Are you the shinobi team we asked to check on the bandit problem?" He addressed Yugito with an unexpected deep voice as he plopped down on his chair behind his desk. He motioned with his hand for us to sit down. Bad luck had it, there were only three chairs in front of the desk.

"We are. Can you give us the rundown of the problem?" Yugito didn't sit, so we stood beside her.

"Sure, it's quite a straightforward problem really," the major started. "We've had a number of new reports of bandit activity in the outskirts of the city. Normally, the local shinobi patrols would take care of the issue, but those have been more and more infrequent, which doesn't make sense since we are- we used to be the biggest producer of grains and produce of this area. The bandits have been harassing our export caravans and have even raided what's left of the farmlands on the outskirts. Most of their activity has been on the southern portion of the city, and the local civilian police believe they have a base of operation somewhere near."

"Local civilian police?" Yugito inquired.

"Ah, yes." The major answered through a nervous grin. "Since shinobi patrols have all but disappeared, we've organized a local police force to enforce security. They deal with local inconveniences, bar fights and such. They are even trying to control the black market that has emerged these past years, but they can't deal with raiders or bandits and I'm smarter than to send a missive to the border patrols asking for help again. So, here you are."

Yugito nodded in understanding. "We'll investigate the issue. Where was the most recent sighting?"

"Last night on the southern road, just before it splits east to the coast. They attacked a caravan, one of the merchants was killed and the other two fled back to the city. Their statement said there were five or more bandits."

"Black market?" I interrupted, genuinely curious.

"Yes, since the harvests have been dwindling over the last six or so years, at least a third of the villagers have left their farmlands and relocate inland, where there's still water for irrigation and blight is rare. A black market is the normal reaction to the rising price of food. They also typically bring drugs and violence -bandit proliferation is not uncommon."

That was interesting; maybe there was a connection between bandit activity, the increased smuggling along the borders and the emergence of a black market. 'I wonder if this is the only town around the border with these particular issues.'

Any intention of continuing the conversation was interrupted by some shouting outside the door and the ensuing opening of the office door. A pale faced man entered the office and leaned on the door frame supporting himself with the jamb. "My baby girl!" he wailed between labored breaths. "My little sunshine... they took her... I ran... please!"

Yugito immediately held the man before he collapsed. "Take it easy, breathe," she calmed him, "that's it. Tell us everything."

By then, the receptionist and two more men were standing by the door while the major was now standing behind his desk, his brows knitted together

"Those bandits took my little girl. I ran," the man continued after recovering his breath, "please, you have to save her."

"Were they shinobi? Did they use one of these?" Yugito bluntly asked pointing to her hitai ate.

"No, no. Please, you have to save her."

"Where?" Yugito pressed on.

"Southern road, we were just arriving from the coa- ack." The man groaned, his left hand went to hold his right arm, and Yugito gently laid him on the floor.

"This man needs medical help, urgently." She commanded the men around before addressing us. "We are heading south, now."

Without further words, we exited the town center and took to the roofs.

"Team, prepare for the worst," Yugito ordered us while running, "Our mission is to hunt down the bandits, procure as much information as we can and secure the hostage if she's there. Stick to stealth and keep noise to a minimum. We are to find their base of operations first and assess the situation from there."

I swallowed hard. Even if this world was shown as a game when I first arrived, the people here were all very real, I was already convinced of such. I felt anxious. Would I have to kill someone during this mission? 'Not if I can avoid it, hopefully.'

After we exited the town, we continued through the pine woods near the main road. The trees weren't strong enough to use their branches for jumping, so we ran through the forest floor at a moderate pace and channeling just a speck of chakra to the soles of our boots to avoid making any noise. Thankfully, these small pine trees didn't lose their leaves during fall so the ground was mostly barren, scarcely covered in dry short grass patches and assorted berry shrubs that reminded me of boxberries or bearberries.

Four minutes later, we stopped a mile away from the where the road to the eastern coast split.

"Kioshi, can you sense something?" Yugito asked barely above a whisper.

I closed my eyes and focused my chakra to the back of my mind. 'Nothing.' I shook my head.

"I can sense metal around us." I whispered after noticing the questioning looks from my teammates. That earned me a snort and an eye roll from Tadashi.

"We'll stick to the side of the eastern road for now and avoid spotters. Kioshi, try sensing every minute or so."

"Yes, sensei." I answered, getting a sideways stare from Yugito.

"Can we just wipe out those fuckers and be done with this?" Tadashi complained in a low voice.

"No, we know they have civilian prisoners and there could be shinobi around: never fully trust given information, be wary of witness' testimony and always double check your assumptions." Yugito lectured him.

We traveled for another 10 minutes when I picked something within my sensing range. A metallic signal to the southwest was moving, racing in our direction. Given our current speed and course, our paths would cross in 500 feet or so.

"Movement, three o'clock. We'll converge at 500 feet." I hissed.

Yugito immediately stopped and signaled us over the shoulder: 'Stop – Disperse - Cover'.

Luckily, sign language was something taught at school and even if it was a basic course, Kazuya, Tadashi and I all agreed to learn it properly after becoming a genin team.

We swiftly followed instructions and dispersed between the bushes and the trees, hiding ourselves with the undergrowth and refraining from using chakra. There we waited for ten seconds when we spotted the culprit. A figure crossed the eastern road and continued northeast, carrying the motionless young girl over his shoulders, bounded and gagged.

The most disturbing issue was the hitai ate resting over the figure's forehead.

'Observe.'

The shinobi was moving too fast for me to read the info window before it disappeared, but I got two important details: Kirigakure and Jonin. Finding Mist shinobi in the Land of Lightning was very uncommon, and more so if they were not on an official mission, border patrols were tight as hell lately. 'But that isn't the immediate problem,' I thought frustrated, 'it's just too fast for us.'

"I'm following." Yugito hissed just as I turned to her for orders. "Stay put on the defense and wait for my return." She dashed after the shinobi.

We were left wondering what had just happened, still hiding between the pine trees and the scarce vegetation. We didn't know if any other shinobi were present in the area -and clearly, the kidnapped girl's father didn't notice the jonin when they were attacked, or he straight out lied. I knew our orders were to remain quiet until Yugito came back, but how I wished we could talk about what had been happening for the last couple of days with Tadashi and Kazuya. Maybe to fix things between them, not even with me. Perhaps we could help Kazuya and convince him to remain with us, perhaps we can convince Yugito to train them -us- like she's supposed to, like she trains me.

Tadashi broke the silence, though not as I expected.

"Let's move. We have a mission to complete." He said standing from his hiding place a few feet from mine.

"What?" I whispered in contrast to his loud voice.

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "We have to take care of some fucking bandits, that was the original mission, that's why we are here and it's getting late."

"Are you crazy?" I hissed back, "That was a shinobi!"

He ignored me and turned to Kazuya. "C'mon, we have work to do."

But Kazuya didn't agree. He slowly rose from his hiding place shaking his head and avoiding Tadashi's gaze.

"Are. You. Coming?" Tadashi asked him through his teeth, emphasizing every word.

"We have our orders Tadashi," I interjected now also standing up, "and keep your voice do-"

A blow to my side sent me crashing to a nearby pine tree, the force of the collision leaving me dazed and gasping for air. I reacted and rolled to the side as my body hit the ground at the base of the tree, just as a kunai embedded itself in the trunk where my head was a second before.

-220 HP!

I immediately forced myself to focus on my surroundings, only for my blood to chill in my veins. There, just where the three of us were not so silently arguing a moment ago, a tall shinobi with a Kirigakure vest and headband stood behind Kazuya, my teammate snared between his arms, holding him as a hostage. The shinobi's left arm was pressing against my Kazuya's windpipe, while his own wakizashi was held right under his jaw, the blade point angled up and almost piercing the skin.

"Now, what do we have 'ere? Some brats looking for trouble?" The raspy voice of the shinobi cut through silent forest.

Okura Seibei[Very Bad]

I stood up shakily, holding my left side. My head was ringing from the blow and at least a couple of ribs were fractured, but I had no time to ponder on my wounds.

Kazuya was trembling, his face pale and his eyes frozen in fear, his right hand feebly grasping the unknown shinobi's arm. His left shoulder had a deep gash that stained his shirt red, his hitai ate, which he always carried tied up under his left shoulder, was covered in blood. His left arm hung lifeless at his side, probably dislocated, crimson liquid pouring down into the ground.

Tadashi was nowhere to be seen.

"You could be worth some dough," the shinobi hinted to me before turning his eyes back to Kazuya and tightening his grip on the blade upon his neck, "but this kid 'ere-"

In an instant, I extended my arms and pumped all the chakra I could into my kekkei genkai. I held the wakizashi and all the metal around the shinobi in place: his plated gloves, his steel capped shinobi boots, his kunai holster, his vest and his hitai ate.

His smile turned into a scowl and his eyes noted on my extended arms.

"What... what is this?"

He was completely immobilized, the sole reasons being my complete concentration and a great deal of chakra. He was too strong for me to hold him for long.

-230 Chakra.

"You filthy motherfucker." he spat between his teeth, looking at me with a murderous gaze.

Sweat began pouring down my brow, he was struggling to move the wakizashi into my teammate's throat, while Kazuya was still in his grasp, pale, trembling, still unmoving. He wore no metal around his free arm or his legs. 'Kazuya, this is no time to freeze, damn it.'

I barely sensed Tadashi's metal signature crawling behind the jonin. 'Yes! Tadashi, hurry whatever the hell you're planning!'

My head throbbed and my chakra was dropping fast.

-230 Chakra.

I sensed Tadashi building up chakra. 'Just... just go in with a kunai, I have him pinned!' but I didn't dare to speak lest I lose my concentration. A low buzzing sound made the jonin turn his eyes, trying to look behind him. He became desperate, frantically fighting my control with renewed zeal.

-230 Chakra.

'Do it, Tadashi!' I cried inside.

In that moment, something hotter than fire burned my right ear and instinctively forced me to move my head and release my control over my kekkei genkai.

I blinked rapidly staring at the jonin. He had a smoking hole the size of a fist right above his navel. With his eyes unfocused, a barely discernible gasp escaped from his mouth as his body went limp and dropped sideways to the ground.

Kazuya however collapsed to his knees; half of his neck was torn away. His right hand moved desperately to what was left of his throat in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, but he fell to his side, the red liquid quickly seeping into the forest ground. His eyes bore into mine, frantic, afraid, while his mouth gasped for a wisp of air he knew it wouldn't come.

And I stood there, frozen, as his final breath came out of his bloodied mouth, his pale face contorted in horror, and his lifeless eyes staring at me.

"Ka... Kazuya?"

"H-Heh, I figured I got you with that too." I turned my eyes to the fatigued voice and saw Tadashi dropping down to one knee across the bodies, his purple scarf gone and a twisted grin on his face. His bloody left hand was griping his smoking right fist by the wrist.

I could feel the Gamer's Mind taking away my anger, but I willed it away. 'No, not this time. This time I choose to feel angry.'

And I saw red.

I summoned a kunai to my right hand and lunged at Tadashi at full speed just as he began to charge another jutsu. I tackled him down, ramming the blade into his neck as he fell back, and landed on top of him, my right knee pressed caught his left arm by his side while my left hand held his right one over his head.

I felt the sorrow being replaced by a burning hatred in the mouth of my stomach.

"He was just a kid." I hissed, twisting the kunai in his neck.

Tadashi looked up at me with a deranged grin stretched through his bloody face, ignoring both the pain and the blade sticking out from his throat. I let go of the kunai with revulsion and clenched my fist.

"He. Was. Just. A. Kid!" I cried, accentuating every word with a blow to his face. "Just. A. Fucking. Kid!"

Tadashi's face flaunted that psychotic smile, even after life left his eyes and his blood covered my fists.

. . . . . - - - . - . . - . - - - . - - . . .

Five shinobi silently stood upright in front of the Raikage while a woman wearing a white coat finished her report.

"The lasts two bodies were also an adult's and a child's body. The adult body is that of a 31 years old male, well developed and well nourished. It was identified as Okura Seibei, jonin of Kirigakure. The body has a gaping wound in the lumbar region, piercing the lumbar spine at the spinous process and exiting through the rectus sheath below the navel. The wound presents evidence of scorching. No other recent wound is found. The last younger body was identified as that of Kazuya Fuse, 11 years old, genin from Kumogakure. It has multiple recent wounds and bruises, concentrated on the thorax and arms. The body exhibits a piercing wound over his left clavicle, associated to blade weaponry, and a posterior dislocation of the left shoulder. It also has a gaping wound on the neck, showing the same evidence of scorching and severing most of the right side of the visceral and vascular compartments, including the carotid artery and jugular veins. The wounds on the last bodies are consistent with a Storm Release technique according to our findings and attested by Darui too." The aged coroner concluded, lowering her notepad.

The mood was somber, just as the Raikage's thoughts. He wondered how they didn't foresee this, the Horiuchi kid's file stated his troubling mental state and the abuses he was subjected to in his clan. But the Raikage couldn't meddle with clan affairs. Half of him believed that the stories of neglect and cruelty were the reason why Darui never accepted to be adopted into the clan. Now, the Fuse clan head's nephew was dead, killed -or he must say, murdered- by his own teammate. 'That kid's life shouldn't have ended that way,' he thought, 'but at least the Magnet Release boy was alive.'

The hardest part for the Raikage now was looking at Yugito, who even started smiling again a couple years ago, now downtrodden with bags underneath reddened eyes. These were the kind of situations that could destroy a shinobi's heart, and with it, her career and her life. But she will bounce back. He knew she would. She must. There was nobody else in Kumo that could bond that well with the two-tails, and he would hate to have to start looking for one now.

"This is a disaster." Darui complained.

"No," the Raikage answered with a dry voice, "better these things to happen here and now than during a high-profile mission when older. We've seen it before, genin breaking down in the line of duty." He wasn't being completely honest; in his books, this was a disaster alright. But the Raikage was everything but a lousy politician. He knew how to dismantle a serious situation before it escalated. He'll start by revealing the details of the incident as soon as possible to stop any false accusations and conspiracy theories before they arose. 'This has happened before,' he said to himself, 'not since my father sat here, though.'

Two of the shinobi standing in front of the Raikage caught on his charade. As veterans of the last war, they've seen their share of killing, but it didn't matter how many genin they saw fall in the line of duty, this was a new low. They were the first ones to arrive at the scene after Yugito Nii flared her monstrous chakra for the border patrol to pick up. They followed protocol and cleaned the scene, gathered all the evidence they could, sealed the corpses and carried them all the way to the village. As protocol stated, the genin corpses were sent to the coroner, the jonin corpses -both of them- were first delivered to the Intelligence Department to retrieve any available information. Death was a common thing in their line of work and the coroner's office was almost always working until late in the evenings, but this...

Her eyelids felt heavy. Between the silent journey back to the village -during which Kioshi didn't utter a single word nor he slept at all- and the heavy atmosphere in the office, Yugito was exhausted to say the least. Never mind the fact that this was the third time she had to recite her side of the story again. She didn't care what her few friends said to console her, she was convinced that this was all her fault, that everything could be laid at her feet. Some of them will blame this on her, and she bet it would be her ex-boyfriend the one to start the rumors.

The Kiri shinobi she pursued was an A-class target for Kumo, with a capture or kill on sight order, and she followed protocol to the letter. The suicide pill he swallowed was unavoidable though. Kiri agents were known to carry them hidden between their teeth. Alas, she felt guilty even if she followed orders. She should have seen this coming. She should have done something when Tadashi raged about the day before the mission. She should have stayed with them and maybe she could have stopped them from fighting each other, or she could have stopped the Kiri shinobi, maybe she could have stopped Tadashi, she could have saved them, she could have saved h-.

"Yugito."

The Raikage's stern voice brought her back to the real world.

"You have one month to get the Shirasu boy back into shape. I want him up and running for the next chunin exams three months from now."

Yugito didn't care then, she just wanted to be left alone. She doubted sleep would find her tonight, but she was exhausted. Physically and emotionally drained. "Yes, A-sama."

"Dismissed."

She just nodded and trudged to the door. At least, she prayed, Kioshi would be alright. She would try to talk to him again first thing in the morning.

"Sir, we should-" Darui tried to speak, but a stern look from the Raikage shut him up immediately. "Sorry," he murmured.

"Get the jonin commander and the Intelligence Department head here, now!" The Raikage snarled to the sole ANBU standing in the room. "I want to know what were Kiri shinobi doing in the Land of Lightning," he roared, "and how they got past our patrols!"

Author's note:

First of all, sorry for the delay.

You might notice a change in the writing style. As I stated at the end of the first chapter, I'm writting this story to learn to write fiction in english. This time, I've been studying a lot about idioms and physical expressions. You'll notice less "angry expression" or "severe face" kind of phrases. That took a lot of time.

Also, I got a new job. And maybe I'll get a stable contract afterwards. The thing is, people mostly call me to fix problems and errors made by other engineers. There's a lot of money there, but it has never been stable enough...

I'm sorry for the ending of this chapter. This, and a couple of other situations, are all set on stone to achieve the character and story I want to deliver you. That doesn't mean I'm not open to suggestions or other ideas, only that some things are bound to happen.

Small Edit: I changed the spacing on the first paragraphs. I only realized how dense that was when I read it on my phone. You should have seen the first draft, it was three times longer and filled with ramblings about fluid mechanics xD. I also added a couple of Gamer mechanics on the last parts that were missing. I'll scan this chapter for typos during my morning commute.

The next chapter will be focused on the chunin exams, where the gamer mechanics will make a come back. I'll keep the next chapter more lighthearted, as this last ones were a little somber (but hey, finally there's a good reason for Kioshi to deal with killing other people); it will deal just a bit with repercussions and recovery, all mostly implicit with a little heart to heart.

Also, prepare for a big surprise, as one of the main mechanics of the character will be revealed!.

Thank you all for your reviews and comments!And if you see any mistakes or a typo... holler!