a continuing legacy [Q]

[KEITH]

Kinjutsu: Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear)
Storyteller: Gene

“SometimesI just lose myself, in my thoughts, in my past, or even in the moment, I cannot control it, it's just like, my body acts on its own, I don't even have time to react to it all. Just like now. . . . Where am I? Why hadn't I known its gotten cold until I had looked up into the sky? I suppose the mind was truly a powerful thing, enabling me to block off something like this by seriously focusing upon something else. The people of the cold village must have been looking at me like I was some sort of an idiot, and perhaps I am.”

Thoughts like those had seem to have my mind preoccupied at the moment, but they would surely be casted away as I made my way through the village I had randomly came across. I must've somehow managed to make my way toward the northern regions of Mizu no Kuni, when I was supposed to be making my way to the ports of the country to set sail to Hi no Kuni; I had planned on meeting the Hokage, after all. Well, I would have to turn around and walk completely in a different direction if I was going to do that, so I would decide to spend a bit of time here if I was going to do waste time. Besides, I had never been in this region of Mizu no Kuni, it had seemed as if the village was under construction or at least being expanded upon.

My violet hues had watched the people as I moved passed them, beginning to rub my arms to stay warm, though in the distance, I had seen a tea shop, and would figure that it would be warm inside a place like that, so I could relax there. I had worn a white robe, though all of my battle gear was concealed beneath it, and my trademark fox mask hung from around my neck, but also concealed. I ran toward the tea shop, and as I would enter through its heavy curtain, which was used to keep from having drafts. I would bump into a man on his way out of the shop, causing him to fall down backwards toward the ground.

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[KEITH]

Quickly, I would react to the deed I had done, feeling bad for the poor man who I had knocked down on my way in. I kneeled down to him, extending out a hand to him, in an effort to help him up, and then followed up with apologetic words. “Hey, I'm so sorry about that, let me help you up. I didn't expect you to come out as I entered. . . What luck, right?” It was an old man, too. I had to do a bit more than extend me hand out, I had to help him up off of the ground by picking him up, bringing back up to his feet.

He didn't seem to be bothered by it, I watched him carefully with my violet hues, seeing if anything was wrong with him. “Mister, are you okay? Please let me know if you aren't.” Concerned like I should be, my eyes would then notice the other people within the shop, behind the old man.

He would simply nod to me, and pat a hand upon my shoulder, and with that, everyone's eyesight had turned away from me, and apparently went back to what it was before I entered in. The old man exited the shop, and I paused for a bit, before making my way toward a seat in the back of the shop and next to a window, looking out of it, at the old man who just left, walking down the street. My cold body had slowly warmed up, and as the old man disappeared from my sight, I would look around to see what was all in this shop, my eyes exploring it. A waitress would make her way over to me, asking for what I would like to drink, and I would reply with a -- “Um, the cheapest tea.”

And a smile to the waitress as she would have went off to get it. My eyes swept across the room, I examined everyone within my eyesight.

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[Messatsu!]

The cold village that you just so happened to stumble upon turned out to be the only town within the entirety of Mizu no kuni that experienced such frigid and chilling weather. Luckily you came to easily know that small little fact about the village as you discovered, however, what you failed to realize the chaos that dwelt within it. Regardless, as you managed to make your way around town and into a local tea shop, you hadn't noticed that your apparel and demeanor caused you to stick out like a sore thumb. As a result, seemingly hundreds of prying eyes eased themselves upon your position, watching every move you made up until you entered the tea shop.

You bumped into an old man whose, hood covered the majority of his face, however, had you looked closely, you would've easily noticed that he seemed unmistakably ill. He patted you on your back, but not because he turned a blind eye from your actions, but because he pitied you. Shaking his head, he said not even a single word before he walked off and faded into the general population. Sitting at the bar, a few tables away from your position (left) a single man sat with a hood over his head connected to a purple robe and fell down enough to drag along the ground. A cloth with a skeletal design encircled his neck & mouth and remained tied down to his body by bandages that wrapped around his entire torso.

Twirling and stirring the cup of steaming hot tea within his heads, he looked to you for a moment with cold, dead eyes and skin just as cold and pale as the village itself.

"You there. . .Kirigakure ninja. . .mind if I tell you something interesting enough to save your life?"

[KEITH]

My wondering eyes continued to drift around the room, looking at those would had also filled up the place. Those who had dared look at me, I would return their gaze, showing that I wasn't going to feel nervous or out of place there, all of Mizu no Kuni was my home. Even places I would have never ventured into. A voice had cut through the apparent silence of people, and it would come from my immediate left, it was obvious they were addressing me; I didn't notice any other Kirigakure shinobi within the shop.

I would take a long hard look at him; I looked at his clothes, my eyes dancing over his body, making their way up to his head. Looking into his eyes, and for a moment, I would recall his question; “You there. . .Kirigakure ninja. . .mind if I tell you something interesting enough to save your life?” Save my life? This was certainly a weird guy, but I felt that I should be nice to him; I didn't want to be rude. He could have been some sort of ill-mental patient after all, so I figured that I would humor his question, just for a little bit, at least.

“Save my life? A life like mine can never be saved, only prolonged, just a bit. Too many things left in this world for me to do.” I would say with a smile, I remembered that I should remain cheerful and whimsical, I didn't want to come off as rude, especially in a place I had known nothing about.

Before I had known it, the waitress had come back to my table with my tea, but I wouldn't touch it yet, I would hold my hands near the cup, using the temperature to keep my hands and body warm. I was still cold, but this tea would definitely keep my warm, I would never drink it, though -- good thing I ordered cheap.

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[Messatsu!]

“Save my life? A life like mine can never be saved, only prolonged, just-”

The only words that you managed to voice before the man purposefully, and quite rudely, interrupted you.

"I asked you if I could give you information that could save your life, I can care less about 'prolonging it'. Even that will be impossible, especially in this town. Its only a matter of time. But how would you know? You wouldn't."

The man spoke in puzzles, naturally, without even the slightest desire and intention to confuse you. He merely spoke the truth. Continuing to twist and twirl his cup of steaming tea, he merely looked into it and basked in its sweet, rich scent. Sitting it down upon the table from his nose, he flicked the cup with a single finger and sent it flying straight off the table and on to yours. Not even a single drop escaped the confines of the cup, nor did the cup itself shatter from the mans remarkably powerful finger.

"You seem like a nice guy, but I could be totally wrong, in fact, considering that I know you're a Kirigakure shinobi, you're probably quite the opposite. But I guess that wouldn't matter much, or it just may. I could never tell honestly, only she could."

Sitting up, he leaned back in his seat and stared into your eyes with his cold and lifeless own.

"They say this village will change you, that, behind its cold beauty, lies unspeakable darkness. You'll lose everything you love and you'll question your sanity. Unless you plan on facing such a darkness, I strongly suggest you get out of town - quickly."

[KEITH]

Before I could even finish my speech, the man would have interrupted me, it was quite rude of him to do so, especially since I had been nothing but kind to him, but it wasn't important. When things like this happened, I just couldn't be friendly with the person; I would have to rely on what the shinobi world would have taught me. I didn't want to make a dramatic change from being nice and kind, I had to give him a benefit of a doubt, he seemed to be some crazy man who cared about my safety. I would be able to deduce this from the words he had spoken to me, but I wondered why; why did he care so much if I had died, lost my sanity, or whatever crazy legends existed within this village that happened to me.

I was just a Kirigakure shinobi, and as he would have spoken it, he couldn't be further from the truth. I could seem like a nice guy, but on the inside, was a really a nice guy? I would ask myself as I took a brief second to look at what was inside of me. No, not really. Once everything he had to say had been wrapped up, of course I would still have my own questions at hand, and he couldn't expect me not to ask it, right?

He should be able to predict such a thing after telling me such a story like that. “Okay. . . . I am trying to understand what you're saying. But, before I act upon your warning -- why do you care if I die here? Most wouldn't be as nice as you to warn me about such things.” One of my hands now moving to the cup he had tossed over a while ago, using each cut to separately warmed my hands.

“Mmm, this warmth feels so good. Perhaps this crazy man isn't so bad after all, eh?” I said to myself as my eyes would still look into his own, despite not seeing anything in his eyes, which were just the windows of his soul.

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[Messatsu!]

"Okay. . . . I am trying to understand what you're saying. But, before I act upon your warning -- why do you care if I die here? Most wouldn't be as nice as you to warn me about such things."

("I see you're determined to not answer me. Fine, savor the time that you have left, with your attitude, you'll need it.")

Calmly, he snapped his finger, and not even a moment later, a distress woman yelled at the top of her lungs, screaming for help. The shop keeper reacted immediately, almost as if he knew exactly what had been going on, yet, found himself unable to resist his curiosity as one of the many village spectacles took place. Once the shopkeeper completely separated the curtains from one another, a woman lay sprawled out in the street over her child, no more than 3 years of age, and attempted to protect the child with her own life. Standing above them, a man, no more than 6'5, stood over the two with axe's in both hands.

"The child must die! he's been infected! Yes! I can see it, look at him! The way he's sweating and his pale, blue skin! You all can see it can't you! There is no denying it!!!!"

Furious, the man raised up one of his two axe's above his head, ready to bring it down upon the woman and her child. Had you been distracted from the commotion, you wouldn't have noticed a coughing child that flagged you down and tugged away at your clothing to gain your attention. Once he did, presuming he did, he cried out for your help to save the boy's mother and sister..

"How unfortunate. It's a shame how the young ones are privileged with death so early on. Admittedly, I envy them. "

Would you give your attention to the mysterious man, or save the mother & child from certain death!

The choice was yours.

---

Proceed.

[KEITH]

I was a bit thrown off by the man's statement, he hadn't really asked me a question, unless there was something which was hidden between the lines of his words. As I would repeat his words within my head, I hadn't recalled it then, either; a snapping of his fingers would draw me from the inner-working of my mind, which was over-analyzing what he had said. A screech of a woman had pierced through the air like the sharpest blade, immediately drawing the attention of almost everyone into the direction of the screams. She pleaded for help, but we couldn't see her, she was hidden behind the curtain, outside in the cold.

Slowly, the shopkeeper would have made his way toward it, the chakra within me had instantly swelled up, and my shinobi instincts kicked in, what was going on? With the snap of his fingers, did he destroy some random woman's' ovaries? The shopkeeper had revealed what had been going on outside and there was a woman who protected her child, with a man standing over them with an axe.

“The child must die! He’s been infected! Yes! I can see it---”

No!

Before the man had even completed his lengthy speech as of why she should have killed the child, I would almost instantly form a handseal, with this single seal, my chakra reserves would have been cut in half. About five meters from where we had been sitting, probably extremely close to the doorway from where we had sat, the clone, in a burst of speed would take off charging toward the man as he would have raised his axe. The clone had my speed, making him incredibly fast, and before he would have gotten a chance to slam the axe down into the woman. The clone would have taken flight up off of the ground, kicking the unsuspecting man in the face.

He was too focused on his anger and killing the child, he wouldn't have been able to see the clone as he made his way to him, and if successful, he would have smashed his foot into the man's face and knocked him out cold. If his axe would have gone airborne, it would have been captured by the clone. While all of this would have went on, my face would have showcased my anger within as I looked onward toward the crazy man. That child could be a future Kirigakure shinobi, he would not stand up for the death of future soliders who would put their lives on the line for Kiri.

I charged the man, grabbing him by his collar, picking him up out of his chair, and pushing him up against the nearest wall if I could. What kind of man was he? The town was heavy upon wood it had seemed, many places within the village had been made up of it, with a lot of the furniture in the shop being made of wood, like the tables and chairs. He had half a mind to slam a chair over the man's head.

“What do you think you are doing? What was that?” He kept his cool in his voice, speaking calmly.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)
Rank: B, B.
Type: Supplementary.
Range: 0 - 5 meters.
Handseals: 1.
Chakra: Halves the user's chakra.
Special: When first learned, a single Shadow Clone can be produced. Each time re-learned, one additional clone can be made, for a maximum of 5. Please remember that regardless of the amount of clones made, the chakra is still divided evenly amongst all bodies. However, when a clone is defeated or chooses to disappear, whatever remaining chakra within their bodies, as well as their knowledge, returns to the user. The only exception is 'Bunshin Bakuha', which sacrifices the chakra return for a grand explosion. This technique can only be learned by Jounin ranked shinobi; no exceptions!
Description: Kage Bunshin is an advanced, forbidden Ninjutsu technique, which grants the user the ability to create a tangible clone. The normal Bunshin technique creates a copy of the ninja that lacks any substance. However, Kage Bunshin distributes the ninja's chakra evenly among the clones and creates a real copy with form and substance, to the point the clone can utilize any jutsu the original ninja knows, and spawns with any equipment the user has one them at the time of the summoning. When the clone finally disperses, any new knowledge it has gained is passed back to the original ninja and any additional clones.
Domain: Universal Ninjutsu.

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[Messatsu!]

A grin, ear to ear stretched across the man's face beneath the cloth of a mask that concealed the lower half of his face. Although at his position he couldn't have possibly witnessed the spectacle that nearly transpired, his eyes lit up with joy as if he had actually been watching and enjoying it the entire time. Unfortunately, you decided to stand up and oppose the adult male that tried so contentedly to convince the crowd that snuffing out the life of the child and mother could've been justified. As a spectator of the show, the mysterious man watched as you formed a single seal that, in a plume of smoke, summoned a perfect copy of yourself. Closing his eyes, he eventually heard the violent collision of flesh and bone as your clone delivered a swift kick to the mans face.

("What a shame. You were almost there child.")

Once spoken, his eyes remained closed as you charged him, seized and picked him up from his collar, and finally pinned him against the nearest wall. His eyes seemingly cringed in pain as he chuckled, amused by your course of action.

“What do you think you are doing? What was that?”

("What was what? Oh, you mean the little show outside? Nothing in particular, just a paranoid citizen trying to alleviate the child from his suffering. The child is infected and because of you, it must continue to suffer.")

Staring into your eyes the man immediately noticed a change in them they were different, much colder and continued to grow increasingly lifeless with each fleeting second. He looked at you as though something had been, wrong, but, at that time, you felt perfectly fine.

("What, are you going to kill me or something, if so I'd appreciate it. But more importantly, you don't look so well, are you ok?")

---

Proceed.

[KEITH]

My eyes had remained fixated upon his as he would begin to talk about what transpired. What was wrong with this man, and what was wrong with the people of this village? They all stayed seated, no one tried to get up to save the mother and her child, and there really was something strange going on here. But, I didn't exactly know what it was. . . . Have I missed something in the crazy man's words?

Once again, I would try to recall the man's words, but nothing particularly about them had come to mind. He said that the child had been suffering because of me, but how was that? I was simply some random traveler, who just happened to come here instead of the boating port of Mizu no Kuni, I should be close to arriving to Hi no Kuni by now. Look what I had gotten myself into, starting trouble within some village, I needed to ease up.

I would do so, as I felt my strength leaving my arms, slowly letting the man down and my grip upon his collar becoming weaker than it had originally been. I need to relax, so I inhaled and exhaled through my nostrils, slowly and calmly, relaxing my body as new air filled my lungs up. As I would continue to watch him, I would see his expression change, looking at me as if there was something wrong with me, and I would release him and back up, bumping into the wooden chair he had once sat into. He continued to talk, and I would do my best to make sure that I understood his words, though I couldn't help but cast my sight around the shop, as I would have made quite the seen.

My eyes arrived back to him as he would have finished his speech. “I don't kill. . . .” I had said in a low tone, having a flashback of killing my father within his sleep, and the night I killed off a part of the Fūma clan, due to them betraying me and my mother, but I wouldn't had known it if it wasn't for the help of Kirigakure telling me about their plans. I didn't listen to any reasoning, I just killed back then, that's the only thing that had mattered to me.

But, after so many years, I never had to do such a thing like that anymore; my demon within had been settled for a while. “I'm fine. . . You look sort of sick yourself, though. . . .” I would say in response to the second part of his question, wondering if I had really looked sick or something, maybe I had caught a cold I didn't notice yet or something, and I appeared sick. Could that be it?

Why is he making me think so much? The Kage Bunshin had disappeared and my chakra reserves were refueled.

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[Messatsu!]

He felt the strength leave your arms, but not because you yourself commanded it, nay, it had been something far greater beyond your control. Nevertheless, as you released him, he brushed himself off confidently and nonchalantly walked past you. Mockingly making his way over to where you previously sat, he reached for and seized the warm cup of tea before slowly pouring its contents out and onto the ground. He giggled menacingly, and once he did it all started.

("I'm fine, no really I am. But its you, its you who doesn't look so good. . .")

Your body spontaneously heats up, burning as if it'd been left to cook in a furnace for hours at time. Your skin gradually lost its color and your eyes grew heavy as your began to feel remarkably weary. Snickering, the man continued.

("You can feel it can't you? Let me guess, you're hot! Burning up right?! You feel sapped of strength, and unbelievably tired. To think that a Kirigakure shinobi, no, to think that a shinobi period pranced around so carelessly and naively.")

Stepping towards the curtain, his hands moved around to his lower back while he assumed a more upright and sophisticated pose. Laughing louder than before, he decided to offer an explanation with an increasingly serious tone.

("You really missed it all haven't you. Doesn't matter, I warned you after all. You're infected. It happened back when you bumped into the old man and made contact. A pat on the shoulder made matters worse, and not to mention the coughing child.")

His head snapped into your direction, and once he had, your legs felt light and flimsy, almost like uncooked noodles.

("That tea I gave wasn't just 'tea', it was an antibody to the infection, but because you ninja are so overwhelmed by your paranoia, you turn down a more than healthy drink. Sad. ")

[KEITH]

I had felt something within me, slowly stealing my strength after I had released the man. What was this? It was as if I was being chained down, and my body had been getting terribly heavy for no good reason. Had the man done something to me when I touched him? Whatever it was, it had rapidly evolved within me, growing constantly, consuming more of my strength. I would turn slowly toward the man as he would have passed by me, making his way toward the table which I had previously sat it, grabbing the cup of coffee he had knocked over to me.

He lifted the cup up, pouring out its content upon the floor, and as he would continue to talk, a fire within my body had been set ablaze. My temperature was skyrocketing to levels I would have never experienced before, the cold chills I had once felt was something of the distance past, or at least it would seem like that was the case with the heat I was feeling. “What did he do to me. . . . ” That line had repeated it my head multiple times, and it was just now that I could feel my heart racing, pounding violently as I would been overtaken by so sort of illness.

My eyes followed him as he would make his way toward the curtain of the tea shop, moving into some sort of sophisticated pose, it only meant that he had a lot more to say, which I did and didn't want to hear. He told me that I was infected, just like the boy had been, and with the news, and the growing feeling within me. My weakened legs couldn't support my body much longer, and I would fall down upon my right knee, holding my stomach. I didn't want my contents to end up on the floor as my offered coffee did.

I knew that I could keep strong if I believed enough; I had to put my mind over matter, and reach pass the physical limitation that was presented to me at the moment. I struggled, but I surely rose up to my feet, as I had stood in the back of the tea shop, with all eyes on me. If I was infected just like the boy was, the all of these people before me had surely wanted to kill me as well. But, what kind of infection was this? And, how did it work, exactly?

I only came into contact with two people, but the man before me didn't seem ill, but I was unsure of the other male who I had bumped into earlier. Could he have also possessed the infection? It would seem as if my guesses were right, and the man had something to do with it, and I had forgotten about the other child. I need to remember to not be so friendly with people I had known anything about.

He would reveal that the tea he had given me held the antibodies inside of it, that would have beaten the infection, my eyes shifting over toward where he spilled the tea, and then back to him. My heated body had produced sweat, and all of the clothing I was wearing had become a hindrance, but I wasn't in a rush to take any of it off; maybe the cool chills of the cold town could even out my body temperature, even if it couldn't fix the other things. For now, I really only had one thing upon my mind; “Now what. . . ?” What exactly was next, I felt it extremely hard to talk, so I would savior that energy for something else.

Weakened and weary, I looked at the people of the tea shop, wondering if they would make advancements toward me. Even if I was ill, I wouldn't be as ill as if they were, I was a shinobi with a well-trained body and mind, I could do many things better than them, no matter what state I was in or how hard they tried. The next step was my vision becoming blurry, reminding me of the time I had gotten drunk on my last mission with Rael.

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[Messatsu!]

("Ah there it is. It's taking full effect, from here things will slow down, but not stop. Believe me, the infection is slow and seemingly unbearable. Believe me, I've had it, haha, actually I still do.")
Once spoken, his hands moved back to the front of his body, as his body returned to its initial slumped posture. Huffing a sigh, the mysterious man turned to face you properly. In tandem, he snapped a quick finger and held out his left had laterally as a black smoke collected and amassed into a scythe. Noticing you looking repeatedly towards the villagers, worrying about whether or not they wanted to see your head on a platter, the man's following words put you -somewhat- at ease.

("Do not worry, they want nothing to do with you - yet. Come, follow me outside. I've got some chores for you to clean up for me. I'm sure you're smart enough to know you're in no position to argue. Chop chop ol' boy!")

Laughing hysterically, he stepped out side, and had you actually followed him, the woman had then been standing in the middle of the crowd, holding her sickly child. She hadn't wanted him to die, not then, not ever, however, her selfish desire caused the child to suffer from the infection. He refused to tolerate such greed decided to apprehend the woman for her sins!

Whistling joyfully as he nonchalantly walked past her, a swift, near blinding horizontal slash ran clean through both her knees, enough so that the scythe seeming swung at the openness of air. She hadn't even noticed until he stepped behind her whispered into her ear. . .

("You've no right to deny the child of its most precious gift.")

And then he pushed her with the softest nudge he could give. An overflow of blood sprayed on to the ground as she fell legless, dropping the child as a result. Turning towards you, his voice dwarfed the woman's screams, making sure you hear every word.

("Kill him. Your actions earlier caused this young boy to suffer through several of the most agonizing minutes he ever lived. Free him of his suffering, give him his gift")

What will you do?!

---

Proceed.

[KEITH]

Unable to do much, I had no choice but to listen to the long winded man speak. He held my life within his hands it had seemed, so I really hadn't had much of a choice in the matter, he would even point it out in his speech. His motions were carefully monitored, or as carefully as I could in my predicament. Listening to the commands of the man, I would follow him into the outside of the tea shop. He told me that I didn't have anything to worry about - yet, but I didn't really believe what he had said about that.

I could feel the killing intent within the people as I walked by them, it felt like a thousand ghouls chaining me down, and then dragging me to hell, while I was mercilessly beaten to the brink of death. My slow gait would have eventually pulled me through the shop, and now I had been back outside, in the cold. I originally thought that perhaps the coldness would block out the intense heat that I had been feeling boil within me, but it seems as if I was wrong. I remained hot, though my sweating would subdue quite a bit, making me not want to pass out so much. The man laughed, loud and crazily, like the crazy man he had been making himself out to be for so long.

I didn't want to say much, or defy him anymore, in fear of what he might attempt to do to me next. Wait. Fear? How could I be submitting to such an emotion. . . . I really have gone soft. Maybe what this man was doing was showing me how weak I had become, when I was supposed to be a strong, determined shinobi; I turned out to be nothing more than a weak, emotion controlled one. I was a disgrace to shinobi all over. Before me was the woman and her son, standing in the middle of a crowd who would block the passage way for people to walk through and from their side.

I would watch as the man made his way over to him, and performed his devious deeds; the bastard. He would hand me a role, it was as if I had become a tool of his to use for his own purposes. I couldn't help but wonder if the child was feeling the same way as me, though, and if he did, it had to be far worst upon him, being a child and all. I hesitated to act on the job that was given to me, if I had been like I was in my younger days, I would have been able to do this without a second thought, or regret. But, the child was suffering, like me, or even worst. Was it really the best option there was to save the child?

If they were in so much pain, why wouldn't the mother want to end the child's suffering so he could move on to the next world, where there was no suffering? She couldn't do it, but I could, no one else in the village probably felt for her, but I could. I can relate to the feeling and emotion she was going through. My arms were concealed within the robe I had worn, like the rest of my gear that I had carried upon me. As I would reach my left hand down into a holster, I would draw a kunai as I made my advancement toward the boy.

Will someone have to kill me to end my suffering, if I don't find a way to stop it? Most likely, right? The child had lain upon the ground, still within the crowd of people, forming a semi-circle around the kid. I kneeled before the child, and revealed the kunai in my left hand as it had risen up into the sky. The pain that the boy was feeling, his suffering -- it all had to end, and I was the one who had to end it. The suffering would eventually cause the boy to lose his humanity, and I was the one who would save it, and send the boy to the next world.

“. . . . Let me save you. . .” I had spoken in a very low tone, almost inaudible, and probably only the boy could hear him, unless someone had sensitive ears. With my last words to the boy said, the next sound everyone would hear as steel cutting through flesh. I had impaled my kunai into the boys’ heart, turning it slightly to create a larger wound so that the blood from his heart could bleed out faster, ending his life quicker. Once my deed was completed, I would rise to my feet, head hung, with an emotionless expression.

Once again, I was a true shinobi.

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[Messatsu!]

("Yes. YES! Doesn't that make you feel good? Giving a child a gift he so desperately needed?! You should feel good, you've done some good today. ")

Laughing like a madman, he came to a quick calm as he watched you seized a single kunai, raised it up, and finally brought it down and through the boy's flesh, piercing his heart immediately. At best, he'd only have felt a slight spark of pain, however, compared to what the infection had been capable of producing, the pain from the kunai's edge was easily mitigated. Walking towards you without a care in the world, he leaned over and placed a gentle hand upon your shoulder, speaking into your ear.

("How do you feel? C'mon you can tell me. It's healthy to get things off your mind y'know. . .or so they say.")

Once spoken, he returned to a full, upright position as he gave you a reasonable amount of time to express yourself, presuming you actually held the desire to do so. Regardless, he turned back towards the seemingly hundreds of civilians and gave a warmhearted spiel.

("Citizen's of this town, I want, no, I command you to give this man a partial gift, beat him until he begins to teeter helplessly between the realm of life and death. Afterwards, bring him to me. Hahaahaaaa!")

Not even a second after he finished his little speech had he walked towards the crowd and sunk into them as they willingly parted to make room. The civilians that gathered around, easily over 50 all began to coverge upon you, armed with various weapons from knives, daggers, sickles, and even blunt weapons. Like a wave of terror, they rushed you from all sides!

"ABOLISH THE INFECTED!!!"

Prepare your sickly-self!

---

Proceed.