Unexpected Encounters

I don't own Naruto or solo leveling

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"Hunter Cha informed me that you woke up which came as a nice surprise after such a tiresome day." Choi sighed, placing a hand over his face and slouching in his seat. Sasuke could somewhat make out the bags under his eyes which made him snort. "Are you overworking yourself? That doesn't seem like you at all."

This caused a chuckle to escape Choi's throat. "Yeah well, it's recruiting season and these reports from my scouts are a pain in the ass to deal with. Plus the media has been hounding me about my guild's unusually high mortality rate for the new recruits trying to enter." He explained, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Sasuke hummed, the memory of the 2 hunters that died in his most recent raid entering his mind. He didn't really care so much, casualties were a natural part of the life they had chosen, but he didn't like the fact that they wouldn't see tomorrow. However, looking at Choi, it seemed that this weighed especially heavy on his shoulders.

"It's not just that is it?" He guessed.

Choi made a noise of confusion unaware of what he was getting at.

"Cha told me that you carry guilt for what happened to me. She said I flatlined twice in the span of the 3 days I was out. She says that you think my condition is your fault." He said.

Choi straightened in his seat, giving him a sharp look. "What are you getting at? That it's not?" He questioned harshly.

"Of course." Sasuke responded unbothered. "You couldn't have known that monster would have appeared and you wouldn't have stopped me from entering a different gate. It was just convenient that this time I gained your approval."

He crossed his arms disapprovingly. "So you're just admitting to going on raids behind my back? Maybe I let you get away with too much." Choi considered, glancing off to the side.

"I… I want revenge. There's a man out there. He killed everyone, everyone but me. I was the only one allowed to live." Sasuke suddenly confessed. It was so out of character and so out of the blue that it caught Choi off guard.

Choi knew that Sasuke wasn't the type to share information so readily and he was usually the one to have to get it out of him but it seemed this time he had to get something off his chest or at least rant to someone. He was glad that Sasuke had picked him, it was a glimpse into his world and he was finally opening up.

"Hey," Concern brewed in the fire mage's chest as he placed a hand over Sasuke's own. "Who? Does this have something to do with your past?" he asked softly, giving him his full undivided attention.

Sasuke swallowed hard. "Yea." He closed his eyes for a moment as if to prepare himself for what to say next, "He's not from this world just like me."

"Is that so?" Choi, although unwilling at first, had come to that conclusion. Too many things about him were too 'weird' as they would say and it was just his extremely unique and powerful abilities. He initially had a knowledge of the world that was too backwards to be chalked up to him being a resident of an isolated village from the sticks. However, the way he said it seemed to be more of confirmation for him than anything else.

"A lot of things happened back there and it led me here. It's made me doubt if everything I've done to this point has been worth it. All my efforts have still amounted to me in a hospital bed." he lamented, fists clenched until white of his knuckles were visible.

"I think I get what you're going through. To be honest I think me and you are facing the same dilemma." Choi sighed, meeting his pensive stare with a tired smile.

"What?" Sasuke's head snapped to face him.

"You said you want revenge, right? Well I'm the same. It's like I told you, the deaths of all the people under my command weigh on me every day."

"You mean Jeju island?" Sasuke questioned.

Choi's eyes grew distant. "Everytime I stare into the horizon I'm reminded of my powerlessness to change anything on that island. All this time I've been trying to amass power to one day be able to rid my country of those ants and avenge my subordinates that died horrible deaths. So I can understand how you feel."

Sasuke's eyes widened, tears pricked at the edge of his vision that he desperately tried to fight off. Although they were similar in many ways, the difference between Kakashi and Choi remained that while his former teacher discouraged his path the latter didn't. It wasn't like Choi encouraged it either but he appreciated that he wasn't flat out told that he's wrong even if he might be. "How then?" His voice, uncharacteristically, desperate. "How can you move forward despite the crushing despair that you might not be able to achieve that goal one day?"

"It's not easy I'll give you that and most days I try not to think about it, but I'll tell you this…"

Sasuke perked up in his bed, anticipation at the pit of his stomach waiting to burst or that could've been the gnawing hunger from not having eaten in the past few hours.

"My despair would be ten times worse if I just gave up. Although your vendetta seems more personal than mine I imagine it's the same?" He gave him a significant look.

"Of course." The answer that came was still a little muted.

"Sasuke." He said, his tone serious and hard. "We don't know what the future holds and we can't afford to regret the past, all that matters is the here and now. What can we do to ensure that things go the way we planned even if everything is out of whack. You get me?"

He was silent for a few moments, closing his eyes before opening them again with renewed vigor. "Yeah, I get it. I won't give up. My family and your comrades deserve justice. I've resigned myself now. That's what we'll do as avengers." he replied.

"And as hunters." Choi added, reaching his hand out to ruffle his hair affectionately. Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't slap his hand away which greatly pleased the S-rank hunter.

Sasuke, in his own head, contemplated that sentiment. He'd never really considered himself as such but it seemed appropriate. Itachi Uchiha was the ultimate prey to him and just like a hunter he would go out there searching for stronger and stronger prey until he could clinch his ultimate prize. The hurdle of actually finding the man would be something he'd cross later but for now like Choi said, he could only focus on what he could do now.

"So, are you gonna tell me about this other world you're from?" Choi asked. "At a later date," Sasuke regarded him with a small smile. "But first before that I want to know about my other condition."

Choi was happy that Sasuke was open to the discussion about his past, but his pressing issue had him marked with befuddlement, "Other condition?"

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded. "Cha mentioned it to me earlier and said I should talk to you about it."

Choi's face fell, his face gaining 10 years extra just from the thought of the conversation to come. "Seriously, that girl is quite the chatterbox these days, huh?"

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Sung Jinah dropped a pack of fresh towels on the counter as she was instructed to by the nurses that she was shadowing. School was closed for summer break and she has taken the time to do her due diligence in her goal to become a doctor in the future. She'd heard about this hospital in particular from her teacher and how she has a friend here that would allow her a few days to job shadow some of the doctors. She took the offer with open hands and prefuse amounts of gratitude.

Although she much preferred to be lazing around at home eating some fried chicken, she had decided against that and was forcing herself into a productive experience for the sake of her older brother. She couldn't stop him from going into dungeons but maybe if she did a little more than first aid then she could patch him up so that he wouldn't have to stress about finances all the time.

At least that was the hope, but so far nothing of the sort was happening.

"Well, it is the first day." She sighed. "What else was I to expect?"

She glanced at the clock above her and pouted. 'Why is the doctor I'm supposed to be shadowing 2 hours late!?' She furrowed her brows furiously.

As she walked out the room she saw a group of nurses conversing and one of them waved her over. She had short dark hair and small, cute dark eyes.

"Yes ma'am." She said, her earlier frustration vanished like footprints in a blizzard.

"Jinah." The nurse said with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry that the start of your job shadowing hasn't gone the way you hoped, but it seems the doctor you're supposed to be with is held up with surgery at another hospital." She explained.

Jinah's face fell at the news.

"What about the other doctors?"

The nurse's pity only grew as she shook her head, "They are all occupied with their own duties unfortunately. Hopefully tomorrow won't be such a busy day for them." She apologised and made to leave.

She had really been looking forward to today. She'd cleaned up nice, dressed her best as always, brought a notepad to take notes and worst of all she'd denied one of the rare occasions she could have a day out with her older brother.

'No!' She shook her head. She was gonna get something out of today if it was the last thing she did.

So, she grabbed the nurse's arm just as she was about to leave to do whatever duties she had to attend to. Jinah bowed her head, "I'm sorry, but is it possible if I could shadow you instead? I know it's not what was agreed upon but I can't let any opportunity to study everything I can about my future career go to waste."

The nurse's eyes lit up in surprise, "You're determined aren't you?" She remarked. She tapped her chin with her index finger as she pondered over the decision to let Jinah shadow her.

After a moment she smiled. "Sure. I don't see why not. Come follow me." The nurse beckoned her.

"Alright!" Jinah grinned.

They stride through the hospital side by side as the nurse, whose name Jinah had discovered to be Ari, explained that they were going to see a patient on the third floor.

"It's just a routine check up. We're just going to take a test of his vitals and other stuff like his blood sugar levels to make sure he's recovering as expected." She explained as she handed her a clipboard with a single piece of paper.

She pointed out the list of tasks they needed to perform on the patient and grade them to ensure that there have been no complications. If there were any then they would immediately have to report it to the assigned doctor while they would collect whatever information they can gather on the complication to the doctor.

'Sounds like a lot of work.' Jinah remarked internally.

The pair reached the patient's room and then opened the door to find said patient doing handstand push-ups at the end of the room.

This greatly shocked Ari as she cried out, "Young man! What are you doing? You've only woken up a day ago, you should be taking it easy!"

The young man grumbled as he oriented himself to his feet in a graceful display of athleticism. He turned to face them with irritation marred on his face.

"Uh, Sasuke?" Jinah blurted out in surprise. "You're the patient?"

"I guess I am." He nodded tentatively. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on a job shadow."

"Job-what?" he replied bemused.

"You know, a job shadow." She repeated like it was crazy that he wasn't aware of that term, which she gathered that he didn't so she decided to elaborate further, "It's basically seeing what a day in the life of someone that's working the same job you wanna work in the future looks like. You just follow them around and see what they do."

"Ah." Sasuke uttered as a sign of understanding. "So you want to be a nurse?" he questioned, glancing briefly at Ari next to them. She was rummaging through the cabinet in the corner.

"Not exactly." Jinah chuckled awkwardly as her body cringed. "I wanna become a doctor." She said firmly.

"I see. So things haven't worked out the way you expected then." He deduced easily, in that same deadpan tone.

She sighed and sagged her shoulders in defeated. "Yeah."

"You two." Ari called for their attention. "Come over here. I want to test this young man's blood pressure and sugar levels."

Sasuke nodded and made his way over and sat on the chair. He held his arm out as an inflatable armband was wrapped around his bicep. Jinah observed all this and checked off the checklist when they had gotten the appropriate reading.

'I never noticed until now, but…' A light pink dusted her cheeks. 'He's very well-defined for a-'

She stopped her thoughts as another creeped in, thankfully.

"Say Sasuke, how old are you? I never asked." She guessed that he was around her age, but maybe he was a little older than her.

"I'm turning fourteen pretty soon," he replied.

"Oh?" She arched her brow. "Pretty soon as in?" She prodded, intrigued.

He deliberated for a moment on whether to tell her or not, "Um, next week," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

'So his birthday is next week, huh? So, I'm a year and some months older? Very interesting.' She thought.

"A year older, a year wiser, huh? Congratulations in advance." Ari said happily.

Sasuke grunted in thanks at least that's what it sounded like to Jinah.

"So are you planning anything?" She asked.

Sasuke looked at Jinah confused, "Planning what?" he asked.

"For your birthday dummy." she said, her voice slightly amused. "It's Friday, right?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted once more, but this time she was left wholly lost as to its meaning.

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't speak grumble, you know!" She said indignantly, a hand on her hip.

Sasuke blinked in a brief moment of surprise before relenting, "I guess it's on Friday, why does that matter?" His onyx eyes zeroed in on her very intensely which gave her great pause.

At a loss for words she didn't know what else to say but to get lost in the abyss of those grey pools of his. It was as if a magnetic force had appeared between them, their gazes locked together for what seemed like an eternity until a cough from Ari broke the spell that had been cast upon them.

"So, uh, um," Jinah cleared her throat, holding the clipboard to her face and staring to the side to hide her blush, "Friday we, uh, we should meet up. You definitely can't just do nothing on your birthday." She finished awkwardly.

Sasuke arched a brow, seemingly curious about her behavior. However, before he could question her Ari called for their attention once more. She told Sasuke that she was done with testing and asked Jinah to hand her the clipboard, which she had managed to fill out with the necessary checks.

"Well," Sasuke announced, taking off his shirt, "I'll be off to wipe away all this sweat. Don't stick around." He said, making his way to the door leading to the bathroom.

Jinah tracked his movements all the way as if stuck in a trance and just before Sasuke closed the door he glanced back with an arched brow that broke the spell and caused her to quickly look away.

'What the heck?' She thought, blushing 'Why'd he take his shirt off like that? Was it on purpose?' It had to have been because of the way he looked at her just before leaving for the showers. 'You damn sly fox!' she fumed internally, noticing Ari trying her best not to giggle at her misfortune.

Back in the shower room Sasuke cringed for a reason unknown to him.

As they left the room Ari couldn't stop teasing her about the way she interacted with Sasuke, saying that she did a good job asking him out before any other girls did, insinuating that she wanted to be his girlfriend. Which was not the case at all, she had vehemently denied. He was awkward, closed off, moody, and rude. Why would anyone like him aside from his dashingly sharp features and lean muscular frame.

'He could be a model.' She thought and then shook her head, 'What's wrong with me? He's good looking, sure, but am I really that shallow as to like someone just for their looks?' She took a calming breath, no she wasn't. Although a jerk on the surface she'd seen a glimpse of someone far more interesting and softer underneath, he was far more than what meets the eye. She could tell just from the brief time they'd spent together and made her curious to dig deeper and find out what it was about him that ensnared her so.

Ari told her that his vitals had progressed extraordinarily fast from yesterday— expected for a hunter— so that meant he'd be discharged as early as tomorrow. Maybe she should get his number as well just to ensure he didn't skip out on Friday.

'What the hell? Maybe it really is a date?' She thought, embarrassed that she'd been called out on something like that.

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Sasuke sighed as the hot water hitting his body relaxed all the muscles in his body as he let his mind wander. Seeing Jinah again he found was a pleasant surprise and talking with her was surprisingly easy even if he didn't do much of it.

However, he didn't like how easy it was for her to get his birthday out of him— even Sakura couldn't do that— maybe she was too good at getting him to talk. But when he thought about it he liked that she could do such a thing. Despite her difficult circumstances with her father and mother out of the picture, she still had a positive outlook on life. She wasn't like him even though she had every reason to be, he guessed it was partially to do with her older brother but her mental strength was something innate.

He climbed out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry off. He faced the mirror, his gaze introspective— lost in thought— until the curse mark on his left shoulder began to glow a bright green.

'Uh? It's never done that before. What's happening?' he wondered.

It didn't hurt although the light was blinding, it lasted only a few seconds before vanishing. When his eyes readjusted he found that the tattoo had taken on a new addition with a light green circle surrounding the sealing spell that Kakashi had placed there previously.

"Okay…" He spoke slowly, decidedly perplexed.

He had no clue what just happened but he didn't feel any different than he did previously so he felt no cause for distress. This lead to him testing out the curse mark and seeing if it operated as normal, however, he was met with a sharp painful sting that made him cry out.

"Argh!" He clutched at the tattoo, "It's been a while since that's happened." he breathed out.

Another thought wasn't able to leave him before the entire room was enveloped in darkness like an inky black flood had rushed through and consumed everything around him.

"Alright, things are just getting weirder and weirder." he said very tensely.

Unfond memories started to return as a low fog rolled through causing him to recall those two times he 'died'.

"Hello there."

Sasuke blinked, a voice calling out in the fog which sounded very, very familiar to his ears but strangely also very much foreign. He wiped around to the direction the voice came from and saw a handsome man with sharp features— similar to his own— dressed in ethereal black and white robes with the walk of someone who had claimed many, many victories.

He knew this man but at the same time he didn't. Suddenly recalling yesterday's chat with Choi about the other condition that Cha had brought to his attention.

This put him more on edge because if he was right then this man would be-

"Yes, I am Indra Otsutsuki and you are my incarnate, Sasuke Uchiha."

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I hope y'all had fun with this one. I certainly enjoyed writing it out after I figured out the first bit which was the hardest.

I kinda like the fact Jinah can get Sasuke to talk more easily than any girl he's interacted with. Also let me know if y'all like the change I did with Korean names and removing the hyphen. Should I keep the change or revert back to the way it was before. Sorry I never asked.

Seriously guys, who's your favorite character from Ben 10??