Chapter 15

I don't own solo leveling or Naruto

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"That's very good, Sasuke!" Hae-In clapped her hands happily. Sasuke having just nailed another form she'd taught him with ease. He has been breezing through every basic form that she had been taught and was honestly coming to a loss on what to teach him next. She obviously had way more to teach him than the basic kendo forms but felt maybe a little repetition wouldn't be a bad idea for him now.

'No need to progress so fast, there is still lots of time ahead of us. However, he's definitely a prodigious talent.' She thought, watching him wipe away some sweat that had built up. His breaths came out as haggard but controlled so that he wasn't panting. He gripped the hilt of his silver blade tightly and started going through the motions of the basic form he'd just been taught.

"I think that's enough for now, we can call it a day now." she announced but she was ignored as he continued going through the motions. She closed the distance between them easily enough and caught the blade in her hands before he brought over his head.

"I said that's enough. Rest is important, y'know." she said with finality in her tone. He seemed to relent and dropped the blade to his side and Hae-In smiled at this. However, out of nowhere he swung the butt of his sword at her, although briefly surprised she ultimately blocked the blow with relative ease.

She gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was thinking. He cracked his neck and let out a little sigh, his once dreary onyx eyes turning into a brilliant scarlet red.

"I hope you don't mind a sparring match before we leave. I'm curious to see how much I've progressed." he said, his demeanour inclined to the fact that this wasn't a request which she found a little bit amusing and interesting.

She swatted his hand away. She was never one to enjoy fighting like many of her S-rank peers but even she was a little curious about the Uchiha's strange powers. Powers that Master Choi holds in high regard from the way he speaks about him to her. She unsheathed the long black sword at her hip and faced off against the Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't help the smirk that grazed his lips, even though he was excited it seemed. "Okay," she agreed. "But I have a few winning conditions for both of us. I win when I disarm you or land a mock killing blow. You win if you last more than five minutes." she laid out the rules of the sparring session.

"When and not if? You sound sure of your victory." he replied in a mocking tone.

"Let's see if my lesson actually stuck." she said instead, not entertaining his mocking banter. Her eyes lighting up with golden yellow intensity. They dashed at one another the second she uttered the sentence and sharp clinging of clashing blades resounded throughout the training room.

Sasuke hacked and slashed with his sword but Hae-In either avoided or parried every single strike. His movements were stiff and rigid unlike the more experienced swordsman of the two, her motions being swift and fluid like water. Sasuke attempted a sweeping leg kick to throw off balance but it was deftly avoided and she countered with a kick to his face sending him tumbling to the floor.

He recovered instantly and went on the offensive once again. Hae-In bounded over him and landed a spinning back kick on his back making him stumble forward. Sasuke grit his teeth and flipped himself, bringing his blade up to slash at her abdomen. She was surprised by this unorthodox movement but still avoided it regardless.

"Are you going to play defence the whole day or what?" he questioned, annoyed. She blinked and responded, "I was trying to see if you would use the basic forms I taught you in your attacks. And you do."

Sasuke had just learned those forms and despite the fact that his striking was predictable and rigid he still stuck with them and didn't break form. That took incredible discipline and prodigious talent, talent that surpassed even her own. She could see why Master Choi spoke so highly of him and wanted to recruit him into their ranks.

She parried another blow and pushed him back with a surprising amount of force coming from her body. She dashed and went on the offensive, completely destroying the momentum Sasuke had built up during the spar. She overwhelmed him with a barrage of slashes on his left and right. He was able to react to her strikes pretty comfortably with his eyes bouncing back and forth between her hands, arms and the direction of her sword. With her greater perception of time she was able to tell that he was predicting her striking pattern through her muscle movement intentions with those eyes of his.

Interesting.

She intentionally crossed blades with him and let him win the battle of strength using his forward momentum to manoeuvre the blade from his grip. Through her expert manipulations she easily disarmed her foe putting an end to the spar.

Sasuke fell to his knees with his sword clanging loosely by his side. He'd been completely outclassed and out skilled and he knew this, but despite that he wasn't able to stop the smile that crept onto his face.

'He's smiling! I wonder what he could be happy about.' She thought, offering him a hand that he accepted.

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Sipping tea at his favourite café in town he let out a sigh in relaxation. Reading through the newspaper with his legs crossed over the other. He remained unbothered despite the many people in the café with them being satisfied to watch him or admire him from a distance. That was until he had a file slapped onto his table.

He peered over the paper wondering who was foolish enough to disturb him so disrespectfully. He saw Woo Jin Chul nonchalantly waltz over to the seat opposite his and sit down. He had this blank but serious expression on his face and was dressed in his usual black suit.

Choi raised a brow, "To what I owe the pleasure?" he asked unbothered.

Jin Chul folded his hands over his face, intently staring at Choi's face hoping to discern his expression.

"Do you want something to eat? The bill is on me." Choi offered with an amicable smile. Jin Chul's expression gave nothing away other than a glance to the side spotting the waitress coming to the table. He regarded her lightly when she asked if he needed anything and looked over at Choi Jong-In who was still smiling politely.

"So?" Choi asked.

"If you're offering then who am I to say no," he turned to the waitress. "I'll have a Cafe Latte with two sugar cubes to go, please." he requested, once the waitress wrote down the order she left to prepare it.

"To go? Are you not planning to stay that long?" Choi said with a mock hurt expression that Jin Chul ignored. "No, I'm quite tied up at the moment but I wanted to spare a moment with you." he answered.

"Oh, what for? I can't imagine it'd be something less than serious." the guildmaster deadpanned.

"I'm just curious about something, that's all."

"I wonder what about?" he watched him slide over the file on the table. He opened it and wasn't didn't give any facial cues about what he thought of its contents.

"I came across something interesting a few weeks ago and you were the only one I could talk to about it." he leaned forward intently putting his elbows on the table.

"So, what do you want to know?" Choi questioned, his voice was light and polite, but with undertone of something serious.

Jin Chul narrowed his eyes, "Just what are your intentions with Sasuke Uchiha?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Choi chuckled softly.

"No, I don't."

"My intentions? Well, I will say that he made his intentions very very clear to me." the redhead answered, calmly taking another sip of his tea. Jin Chul perked up with a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

Choi laughed into his cup, "He's very adamant on walking the path of a hunter and as my ward I'm making sure to keep an eye on him within the ranks of my guild." Jin Chul leaned back into his chair and gave the S-rank hunter a once over with his eyes, "I see…ea. Jin Chul perked up with a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

Choi laughed into his cup, "He's very adamant on walking the path of a hunter and as my ward I'm making sure to keep an eye on him within the ranks of my Guild." Jin Chul leaned back into his chair and gave the S- rank hunter a once over with his eyes, "I see… So, then you will have no issue if one of my agents held an interview with him? We just want to make sure his options stay open." he said and Choi smiled that mysterious smile of his.

"I don't mind Agent Jin Chul, in fact I expected it. But I think you'll find that his goals won't align with your organisation." Choi expressed his opinion in a confident manner. The balance of power in South Korea with the Hunters Guild standing at the top with two S-rank hunters and two different attack forces.

So, then you will have no issue if one of my agents held an interview with him? We just want to make sure his options stay open." he said and Choi smiled that mysterious smile of his.

"I don't mind Agent Jin Chul, in fact I expected it. But I think you'll find that his goals won't align with your organisation." Choi expressed his opinion in a confident manner. The balance of power in South Korea with the Hunters Guild standing at the top with a selection of the country's finest A-rank hunters and two S-rank hunters. The government and monitoring division could only do so much to keep them in check and at that rate Choi Jong-In was amassing power in his guild it wouldn't be far fetched to say that he would eventually have enough to surpass the entire nation's military.

'A hunter can't grow any stronger from the moment they awaken, so it shouldn't be an issue for Sasuke Uchiha to join the Hunters Guild as a B-rank hunter. But why do I feel uneasy every time I tell myself this?' Woo Jin Chul thought, his expression pensive and boarding worried. He got up from his seat and made to leave the fine establishment, but not before getting a few choice words in, "I'll just have to judge that for myself and by the way it's Chief Woo Jin Chul not Agent."

"Uh, sir! You forgot your latte to go…" the waitress deflated once she realised that she'd been ignored and watched him leave the Café. Choi Jong-In just smiled, charmingly, at her and said, "Don't worry about him, Miss. I did say I'll be paying after all."

The waitress blushed at his charming grin and accepted the generous tip he left her with. He bid her a farewell and went on his merry way without a worry.

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With school reopening once again Sasuke knew that he would be subject to many whispered comments and meaningless gossip about what he did when the gate appeared. However, he decided to go about his day without any worries, he never entertained people that didn't have the courage to say it to his face. Maybe that's why he ended up respecting the knucklehead.

"What's he doing here?"

"Hey, isn't that the crazy first year?"

"Yeah, I heard walked into a dungeon by himself!"

"Probably ran out screaming to his mommy."

"Yeah, totally!"

The Uchiha ignored the passing comments as he moved through the sea of students in the hallway to his first class of the day. Arriving in Mr Jang's class he went to his preferred window seat and sat down with a bored expression waiting for the lesson to start.

"I don't believe it… You're actually alive!" Lee exclaimed in shock when he saw the stoic teenager. "How'd you get out? Did the hunters come and rescue you?" he continued, this time a little calmer. Sasuke blinked, not really excepting such a reception from his classmate, he thought Lee couldn't stand him or was at the very least intimidated by his closed off and aloof demeanour.

"Hn." he grunted and faced forward, regardless of his concern he didn't feel that he needed to explain himself to him. He could see him alive and well, wasn't that enough for him?

"Eh?" Lee flushed at being ignored, but he should have expected it. "Well, I'm glad you're okay, anyway." he mumbled under his breath but Sasuke's acute shinobi senses picked up on it. He didn't smile but appreciated his concern at least he had courage to face up to him.

Not long after many other students began filing in with Mr Jang following right behind and the first class of the started. Sasuke lazily went through the rest of the day with Lee sometimes at his side asking question after question or blabbering about some other nonsensical topic. He idly noticed the magic detectors planted throughout the school not hidden from view but required a keen eyed individual to spot them.

When the last lesson rolled around Mr Jang had made an announcement that severely soured his mood. "As a school that prides itself on its academic achievements you'd think that we neglect extra mural activities such as sports and culture but no. This school deems it just as important as good grades, so the school has made it mandatory for every student to join at least one after school club. We have a wide array of options and opportunities to express the talents you didn't know you had so chose wisely from sheet that will be provided for you."

And not a moment later sheets of paper were passed around to every student in class with a selection of 45 different clubs to choose from. Sasuke really didn't want to spend any longer than he had to at school so having this sheet placed in front of him really soured his mood. It seemed that it soured his expression to because he heard Lee giggling next to him, "You have to pick something, you know? Glaring it to death won't help— eek!" Lee cringed when Sasuke shot him the meanest possible glare he could muster. Sasuke sighed and went back to look at his sheet. There were so many choices but he had no idea what most of them were or what they entailed. He just wanted something that didn't take up too much time.

"A-Are you struggling there, man?" Lee peered over his shoulder and Sasuke didn't have the mind to swat him away because he actually was struggling to pick something. "What did you decide on?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lee said dumbly.

"What did you pick?" Sasuke asked in a bit of frustration. "Oh— uh— sorry, it's just I didn't expect you to ask me something like that," he said. "Well, I picked soccer cuz I like it and it's easy to play. What are you looking for in a club?" he asked.

Sasuke paused for a moment because that was honestly the right question to ask him. What was he looking for in a club?

"I guess something that doesn't take up too much time and doesn't require lots of physical exercise." he answered and Lee started humming in thought. "Well, how about cross-country running?"

"Cross-country running?"

"Yeah, you know, long distance running. That shouldn't take up too much time, I heard those guys are pretty chill." Lee nodded. Sasuke looked at the sheet in thought, 'Cross-country running shouldn't be bad then if it's just that, then…' he internally rationalised, writing a check mark next to the club activity.

"Great!" Lee clapped happily. "Also, you don't like to exercise?" he asked and Sasuke just gave him a look. "What are you talking about?" the Uchiha questioned.

Lee glanced to the side, "Well, you said that you don't want an activity that requires a lot of exercise, so I just assumed." he mumbled. "Oh," Sasuke said dumbly. "I have other activities outside of school so I don't want to waste my energy at school." he replied and Lee nodded.

"Hey, are you warming up to me?" the brown haired teenager grinned and Sasuke just deadpanned, "No, I'm not."

Lee visibly deflated at those words and after all the papers were collected Sasuke left the campus grounds in a rush hoping to make it on time to meet Cha Hae-In at the dojo downtown.

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So, I got some bad news… The phone that I use to make these chapters is tweaking out and I don't know when I get it fixed.

The good news is that the next two chapters will be out next Wednesday! But I have to say that after that point there probably won't be weekly updates as I'm starting school again:(

I'm sorry that I'm a freaking liar, pls find it in your hearts to forgive me:) However, as a compromise I'll make sure to keep the chapters longer than I usually do whenever I upload. I'm really having fun writing this story and having you guys along for the ride makes me very happy.