Calm Before the Storm (5)

The noises of the wood entered my ears, beyond the whistling sounds of air as I travelled rapidly.

The squirrels were scuffling by. The birds flew from the above. And it has been around an hour or so since I left the smithery.

Here, I smelt, the scent of blood. It came along with the faint noise of crackling sound... of lightning.

'...Kurosuki Raiga.'

Without a doubt, it was him.

Feeling that my head was cooling down, I stopped and hid behind one wood. Though enemy wasn't sighted from this distance away, I nonetheless raised my caution and approached the suspected area sneakily.

And within the site, I found Gin, who was leaning down on one tree bark, similar to how I saw him 3 years ago—except this time, he wasn't the victor.

He was seen with a heavy smearing of blood on his exposed shirt, around the abdomen area. He was breathing heavily with the blood trickling down from his mouth.

In front of Gin stood Raiga, who gazed at Gin with underlying wrath in his eyes.

"Alone this time, eh, Gin?" Raiga snarled as the twin swords in his hands crackled with the intense electricity, "I wonder how idiotic you have to be to leave the safe border yourself, but it's fine, I suppose. What matters is that I get to make up for yesterday, and I will ensure that it is a painful one for you."

"...Heh." Gin chuckled weakly, "Imagine someone with Kiba... struggling against a chunin."

Raiga seemed to have been triggered by Gin's words. With an imminent anger, Raiga raised his right sword, about to stab Gin by the heart.

I then acted. Springing forth from my position, I threw a smoke bomb at the ground between Gin and Raiga.

POOF! Within an instant, the entire area was surrounded by the smoke.

"You...!!" Within the smoke, Raiga's cry was heard. And I already knew what move he will make.

In order to end Gin quickly before I manage to get a hold of him, Raiga will stab his sword forward, regardless of the fact that he lost the sense of sight.

But just that small span of time was enough for Gin to act. Forming a seal, Gin used Body Replacement technique with the adjacent bark, evading Raiga's stab in the smoke. While that was going on, I acted as well,

'Clone technique.'

Three normal clones were created alongside me. Although they were merely illusory, it was harder for enemies to detect whether they are original or not in the smoke.

The clones charged at Raiga, while I lifted Gin up by the shoulder and gave him the look.

"Tch... why are you here..." Gin muttered weakly while forming another seal, "Water Clone jutsu."

As the three pairs of water clones came into life by sucking in the nearby moistures, I placed my hand on one tree bark from the back, before pushing forth the vigorous flame—which immediately spread across the entire tree, before quickly spreading out further to neighbouring trees and vegetations.

A chaotic scene was generated, with smoke, fire, my illusory clones, all surrounding Raiga.

Using the time gap, I ran away with Gin just as the three pairs of water clones ran in the other direction.

PAZZZZZ!!

Though an intense lightning blasted the entire area at our back, we nonetheless continued our retreat.

__________

"Akashi... leave me." As the two of us continued to travel away from Raiga, Gin spoke weakly, "...It's too late... for me."

"Why did you go without me." Ignoring Gin's words, I said in a low tone.

Although I knew the answer already, I couldn't help but ask with an underlying anger, "Did you take me as a boy who doesn't even know how to pay back the favour?"

"...Tch. You're... annoying as always." Gin muttered, "Raiga was only interested in Ryuma before, and my life... for damaging his pride. But now, he won't be gone until he takes yours... as well."

...Gin was right. There still was some distance left from from the border that led back to the land of fire, and Raiga, who knew how to enhance his body with lightning release, would soon or later catch up to us.

So I stopped and placed Gin down on the woods. Leaning down to him, I asked,

"You are right. The fight against Raiga is not preventable. Perhaps this is the place where the two of us die."

"Just go without... me." Gin muttered, "I can... buy you some time."

Instead of replying, I smiled. Reaching out my hand to Gin, I asked, "Let's make a deal."

Gin met his eyes with my lone one, which seemed to ask if I've gone crazy.

Perhaps I did.

"I will protect you against Raiga—"

"I said... that I already am a goner—"

"—and in return, tell me about yourself."

Gin's expression darkened.

"No."

"You don't have a say in this." I leaned in to Gin, meeting my forehead with his, "The life with nothing but a guilt, hollow even until the death. Is this what you wanted? Why did you roam around the land of rivers? Why did you work as the mercenary, trying to get sufficient money to live day by day?"

I growled at Gin with my passion, grabbing him by the hem of his shirt,

"Weren't you trying to reach the land of water, for whatever reason that you may have?"

My grip then loosened, and I leaned back. Looking at Gin, who now had a crestfallen expression on his face, I whispered softly, "There was something for you to do there, isn't it?"

"Something..." Gin muttered slowly, while staring at nowhere in particular, "...Yes."

"Tell me, Gin." I said once again with resolution, "Just as how you saved me, let me."

Gin slowly raised his hand up, before holding onto my outstretched one.

"...It's just a short story."

Then he began, the story of his life.

__________

The life within the bloody mist is defined by the 'survival of the fittest.' You either submit as the weak, or challenge for the chance of becoming a ruler.

Gin was the one who chose the latter option. Entering the academy, he showed a talent for kenjutsu. At the age of 8, he graduated from the academy by killing his own classmate.

Kill, kill, and kill more. For years, his life was nothing but the repetition of receiving a mission, heading to the designated area, and killing his target. Though his strength grew day by day, his mind felt hollow.

"Congratulations, genin Gin. You've now received the title of chunin, and is found sufficient to lead a squad on a mission."

'What does this give me?' That was Gin's thought by then, 'Why am I killing? Why did I become a ninja again? Why was I living and trying to survive?'

He began to lose the purpose of his life—or did it exist in the first place? Since he was young, he killed. Now, upon receiving the rank of chunin, he became confused.

Even during the mission, as he cut through an old-aged civilian with a blank emotion, he questioned to himself, 'What's the purpose of doing this? Why must I kill?'

That old man was nothing but a man suspected to be a spy from the enemy villages, and therefore, was tasked to Gin for an assassination. The intel later turned out to be false.

'What am I?'

Gin felt as if his head was going to explode. Who was this man named Gin?

Then one day,

"Chunin Gin. Your outstanding performance has been recognized from the above. You will be placed under jonin Daisuke's command, and this upcoming mission will serve as your jonin exam simultaneously."

The team Daisuke received an A-ranked mission, tasked with acquiring the mysterious sword named Ryuma in a small island, Namada.

The team of three initially entered the village with the disguise of foreign merchants. They moved around the village with the friendly disguise, gathering the information of where Ryuma may be.

"Hey, mister,"

And to Gin, who was acting as a smiley man, one little boy with snot dangling on his nose approached.

"How much is that round thing?"

Watching the kid gave Gin a weird sense of warmth that he never felt in his life. Something, something was different about it, he thought.

Everyday, the boy came to buy something from Gin. Watching the boy leave with sparkling eyes gave him the sense of fulfillment, far more than accomplishing a mission given by the higher-ups.

However, such a warmth didn't last forever.

"A-ah..." The previously happy boy was sitting on the ground with a despair, with Gin facing him with a bloody sword in his hand.

His hands were shaking. Though he killed countless, this was the first time he felt repulsive of killing.

A complete massacre. The three of them killed everyone in the village, just to ensure that no information regarding Ryuma ever got out.

And while Gin was staring at the boy, frozen, another sword suddenly came in, stabbing through the boy's heart mercilessly.

"A successful mission." A burly-looking man, Daisuke, said with a distorted grin, "Well done, chunin Gin. When we return, you will be promoted to the rank of a tokubetsu-jonin (special jonin), and perhaps, a recruitment to the rank of Anbu."

'...Ah.'

That's when Gin realized, of who he was.

'I am a monster.'

While Daisuke and his other teammate were busy inspecting Ryuma, Gin approached the two of them with a friendly expression, before,

Swoosh.

decapitating them.

__________

"The life full of run. I believed... that ensuring that Ryuma doesn't go to Kiri's hands... is what the villagers would've... heh, wanted." Gin said to me, with nothing but guilt in his face, "So I tried to destroy it. I smashed it against everything possible, and... Ryuma's property turned out to be an indestructibility..."

I listened silently, uncaring of the fact that Raiga probably was coming.

"I've been ignoring for far too long. I've killed... far too much, and I realized far too late. Akashi... I deserve the most painful death."

"Perhaps." I finally opened my mouth, "To them, you are the monster who deserves the worst. There is no excuse for your actions, and I won't justify it with some bulls***."

I leaned down and grabbed Ryuma that Gin's loose hand gripped onto,

"But know this. To me, you aren't the monster. You are one of the kindest person in my life—providing me with all the necessities, and teaching me how to live in this harsh world. Killing isn't the only thing you achieved in your life, Gin."

Gin looked at me with widened eyes. His mouth was opened, and he didn't say anything. Though his breath was slowing down, and I... knew that he would soon be gone, I won't run away like a coward and leave my benefactor to a lonely death—never again.

Even if my enemy was none other than one of the infamous seven swordsmen.

Discarding the average sword that was purchased previously, I took over the hold of Ryuma, and stood back up. Turning around to where I could hear the faint crackling noise of lightning, I stated,

"So watch properly, from start to the end, of what else you managed to achieve in this life."

Holding Ryuma tight with two hands, I glared at my front, where Raiga walked with murderous intent, his twin blades, Kiba, held by his hands.

"Ha..." I took in a deep breath, before ablazing Ryuma with intense flame,

"Ryujin Jakka."