40 40: A Little Exposition Between Friends

Author note:

Alright, I'm not gonna lie, this chapter literally feels like just a bunch of words. More than usual, I mean.

It's exposition, it's in the title and everything. Trust me, it's setting up characters and stuff that'll be relevant later, I swear! So please try not to fall asleep while reading it!

...I will admit that it is REALLY boring though. Like holy shit I could barely even get through writing it.

Uh, maybe you'll have more fun reading it than I had writing it? I hope so, anyways!

So... yeah! Have a wonderful day, and please (PLEASE!!!) enjoy the chapter!

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Senku hummed a tune to himself as he sat and waited on a fence at the edge of Training Ground 10. The young Reincarnator had just read the True World Message and Taichi's report a few hours prior and had taken the chance to set up a meeting with someone who he'd noticed was acting strangely for the past week. So he asked them to meet him in private so that he could talk to them about whatever was bothering them.

Sure enough, they showed up after just a few more minutes of waiting. It was a girl Senku knew well.

"H-Hey, Senku. N-Nice weather this evening, huh?" She stammered as she spoke and waved to him.

It was his team mate, Kei. A girl who never appeared in the original series, but seemed to be unusually talented. Especially for a Medic-Nin. He'd had suspicions about her for a while that he couldn't explain, and when she suddenly started to become unusually paranoid and nervous over the past week he had been concerned for her mental health. 

Senku waved back at her and decided to get to the point nice and fast.

"Heya, Kei. Do you know why I asked you to meet me here?" He asked.

"N-No..."

"Alright, I'll rip the band-aid off right away then. Kei, you're a Reincarnator, aren't you?"

In an instant the girl's eyes went wide and her hand shot down into her weapons pouch and Senku had to duck as a volley of shuriken shot past his head.

He quickly raised his palms and shook his head.

"Whoa whoa, stop! It's fine! I am as well!" He hurriedly told her before she could do something she would regret.

She stopped mid-way through her second throw, still shaking nervously but no longer attacking him.

"Prove it! How do I know you're not just trying to get on my good side and then get me when my guard is down?!" She shouted and pointed at him with a shivering hand.

He answered, "I saw the True World Message. You know, the one about Groups and Sub-Groups and stuff? That only just happened today, so there's no way a simple Genin like me could have got my hands on info like that unless I was also a Reincarnator too, right?" 

After hearing his response, Kei sighed with relief, her shoulders relaxing as she put her weapons away.

"Oh thank god, you actually are one! It's been... rough for us recently. You must be from Sub-Group A1, I'm guessing? I'm from B1. Number #54, to be exact."

"Yeah that's right. I'm Number #2. How could you tell I wasn't from your Sub-Group?"

The two of them sat down to talk, and she had a lot to say about how things were going for their side in Sub-Group B1.

Apparently, she could tell he wasn't from her side because everyone in B1 shared everything with each other. They shared their names, their faces, where they lived, even their fighting styles and special abilities. Some of them even arranged meetings in real life, traveling hundreds of miles just to see their friends.

Senku was shocked that they shared so much with each other, and when he expressed this she just shrugged at him. "That's just how it is over here in B1. We're just... like that, you know?" She said.

It seemed like B1 was a completely different environment from A1. Everyone there was really social, and they loved having their own little community that they could share stories and advice with, and just generally have a good time together. Compared to that, A1 seemed almost hostile by comparison, though in reality it was really just more of a neutral zone. 

What Senku didn't understand though was what could have triggered her paranoia over this past week. When he asked her, she took a moment to compose herself before she told him.

The answer rooted him cold to the spot.

"They're dead. Well, not all of them... but enough that the Group Chat is practically barren these days. We're being hunted. One of our members - Number #53, Noriaki - betrayed us and sold us out to Iwagakure. And then Iwagakure told Kumogakure, and Kumogakure told Kirigakure, and all three of them told their allied subordinate nations. Practically nowhere outside the Land of Fire is safe for us now..." She explained.

Senku sucked in a breath and considered her situation. It was no wonder why she was looking over her shoulder every other minute now, if she and her friends were now being hunted. It also matched what Taichi had said over the Group Chat.

"Shit... yeah that makes sense now. We found out about the Hidden Rule thanks to this guy we have in Iwa called Taichi, Reincarnator Number #5. Apparently they've got a Bingo Book with the info from everyone in B1. He warned us that the information about the other Sub-Groups will spread, and our Group will be next once the info gets out in a few days."

Kei nodded. "He's right. You'd be shocked how fast spy networks can spread information in this world. Several of my friends who bunkered down and thought they were safe got hunted down after just a few days by Iwa's ANBU agents."

"Are they being killed off or captured?" Senku asked, "I can't imagine that many nations would want to just throw away someone as useful as a Reincarnator..."

To Senku's surprise, Kei shook her head.

"Actually, they would. The leaders of this world highly value loyalty, if you couldn't tell just from the Hokage's 'Will of Fire' crap and what-not. Since they know that Reincarnators aren't from this world, they're worried that they have no loyalty to their nations. A few of them have been captured alive, like Noriaki was, but most of them - especially those from rival nations - were just killed on the spot once they were found."

Kei's mood dropped more and more as she spoke. Clearly, losing so many friends had taken a huge toll on her. Now that she was able to vent about it to someone, the emotions were starting to flow.

"Damn... How many are left, then? Uh, if you don't mind me asking." Senku dared to say.

Kei took a moment to wipe away a tear. She shook her head to indicate that she didn't mind.

"Nine. Out of the twenty five of us that were born, only nine are left now, including myself. The first one is Number #51, Yosuke. He was kind of like our club leader, since he's the oldest. Last I heard, he just barely escaped the Land of Hot Water with his life after killing his own Jonin-sensei, who tried to capture him. Now he's on the run, planning to gather up the other remaining members into one faction so that they can protect themselves together.

"The second one is Noriaki, but you already know about him. Then there's me, and after me there's a gap until Number #57, Kiyo. She's near Sunagakure, where the news hasn't spread yet, so she's still safe. She's taking steps to keep her identity as a Reincarnator hidden, like dying her hair and stuff like that.

"After Kiyo is Number #58, Fuyuhiko. He lives in Kumogakure and apparently they've arrested him and are holding him captive while they assess his loyalty. They don't want to risk killing him yet because he has the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai, which gives him a little bit of political protection thanks to his clan. Also, he told us through the system that he was approached in jail today by a guy called 'Yuta' who snuck in, claiming to be Reincarnator Number #12. Does that name ring any bells to you? I don't want him to get tricked into revealing information to a spy..."

Senku racked his brains, but couldn't remember anyone named Yuta.

'Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the only people who have revealed their own names were Taichi and Renji. Kaowru's name was revealed by Number #1, while Mishima's name was revealed by Renji.'

Senku opened his System and prepared to send a message. Thankfully, Senku had booked the training ground for the whole afternoon, so it was just him and Kei here talking to each other. No prying-eyes to catch them and discover their identities.

"We haven't really gotten into the habit of sharing our names here in A1. So I don't know if that's Number #12's name. I'll ask him, gimme a sec."

When Kei nodded, he opened a private Group Chat for just himself and Number #12 and he sent his message.

[-Private Chat-]

[-Reincarnator #2: "Hey #12. My friend says you met a Reincarnator from Sub-Group B1 earlier today and she wants to know if your name is Yuta. Is that right?"-]

A brief moment passed before he got a response.

[-Reincarnator #12: "Oh? Well well well, it seems that they really are as social and connected as he said. I'll tell you if my name really is 'Yuta' if you tell me your name too. I'd rather not just give information away for free."-]

[-Reincarnator #2: "Fine. My name is Senku. You could've probably just asked #8 or #16 about it, since we haven't exactly hidden the fact that we're all friends and have our own private Group Chat, but whatever. So, is Yuta your real name?"-]

[-Reincarnator #12: "Hmm... It doesn't feel like you're lying. Yes, very well. Yuta is indeed my real name. It seems I need to be more careful about who I share my information with. Those folks from B1 seem to have a habit of getting captured and then spreading secrets that weren't theirs to tell. I'd be more careful if I were you too, Senku. Good day."-]

'Wow. What a dick. It's just a friggin name, dude...'

The conversation ended there and Senku turned back to Kei, who had also been staring off into space, likely talking to Reincarnator #58 through her System.

"Yeah, that info is real. Yuta is #12's real name. Your friend wasn't being tricked by Kumo spies or anything like that."

"Thank you, Senku. It's a little weird that you even had to ask him though. Do you guys really not even share your names in A1?" She asked him, perplexed.

"Yeah. I guess that's what the Hidden Rule meant when it said that our Sub-Groups were made by gathering people with similar personalities together. It seems like you B1 guys are all hyper-social, while us lot from A1 are more cautious. Almost bordering on paranoia, if you ask me. We generally don't share more than basic safety info we've learned, or our preferred elements to use in combat."

"That's just weird, Senku."

"Ha! You think that's weird? Our oldest member - Number #1 - hasn't posted more than like three messages in their whole life. Crazy, right?"

"Seriously?!"

The mood lightened from there and the two of them began to talk about what they were going to do with all this information. They ultimately agreed that the info had to be shared, and the two of them got to work figuring out a communication system to connect their two Groups, since they couldn't just use the Global Chat.

The talk stretched on into the evening and early night before Senku started to get messages on his System from others who wanted to join in the conversation. Apparently, Number #12 had told the others and once the talking started, Kei began to properly communicate Sub-Group B1's situation to the Reincarnators on Senku's side.

A lot of the Reincarnators in A1 were interested in talking to the members of B1. Reincarnator #6 in particular was very interested in meeting up with Reincarnator #51 and the faction he was trying to found. 

[-Reincarnator #6: "This is very well-timed. I have taken it upon myself to leave Takigakure behind for good. I've left the Village on a mission that I do not plan on completing, so it will be at least a few days before they figure out I've defected. Naturally, I can give my team mates the slip and leave them behind at any moment.

I am currently in the Land of Fangs, just east of the Land of Waterfalls, and west of the Land of Hot Water. As you may know, I've been planning to create a Reincarnator faction of my own, and if Number #51 is planning on doing the same, I may as well team up with him to improve communication between our two Groups, if I can. Number #2, can you get Kei to ask Number #51 where he is exactly, so I can find him?"-]

Senku told Kei about this and she took a moment to speak to #51 through her Group Chat. 

However...

"He's... not responding."

Kei spoke with worry, "That's not normal, even if it's night time now he shouldn't be asleep yet. He's usually extremely punctual, always watching the Chat in case someone needs advice. If he of all people isn't responding, th-that means-"

Senku sucked in a breath through his teeth. They all knew what that meant.

"That means he's in danger."