Morning came
A pale grey sky stretched above, and cold wind moved softly.
In the single small house
Inside, Erza was still asleep.
Yoriichi sat near the doorway, watching the narrow path leading toward the village.
Something felt wrong.
For the past few days, the shinobi who brought food had stopped coming regularly. Sometimes they skipped entire days. And yesterday, when one of them finally arrived, he had looked at Erza strangely.
like desiring something
With interest.
That alone was enough.
Yoriichi looked toward Erza.
She was his small bundle of remaining joy
His mother was gone.
And deep down, he already understood something terrible.
Sooner or later… they would come for Erza too.
The thought settled heavily inside him.
He stood up immediately.
Without wasting another second, Yoriichi walked around the hut gathering what little they had left. A small cloth. Some leftover food. An old water container and an old rusty katana, which belonged to his mother.
There was a special odd necklace in Erza. It must have been given by mother.
There was nothing else worth taking.
He wrapped Erza carefully against his chest using a worn piece of cloth. The baby stirred slightly but didn't wake.
Yoriichi glanced around the hut one last time.
The old walls.
The memories.
This place had never truly been a home.
Slowly, he stepped outside.
The morning air felt cold against his skin.
The grass swayed endlessly before him.
Yoriichi didn't know where he would go.
He only knew he couldn't stay.
Taking a slow breath, he began walking away from the hut.
Small footsteps disappeared into the sea of grass.
—
Hours passed.
The sun climbed higher into the sky as Yoriichi continued moving through the wilderness. He tried his utmost not to be noticed by anyone. He had been following the path he had seen other merchants use to come and go.
Erza woke up halfway through the journey and began crying softly from hunger.
Yoriichi stopped near a small stream hidden between rocks and carefully fed her the last of the food.
"It's okay," he whispered.
Though he wasn't sure if he was speaking to her… or himself.
After she calmed down, he picked her up again and continued walking.
But as the day slowly passed, the uneasy feeling inside him only grew stronger.
Then
A very faint sound,
Behind him.
A footstep.
Yoriichi stopped immediately.
The wind moved softly through the grass again.
Silence.
Then another sound.
Not one person.
Several crawl in the shadows
Yoriichi's grip around Erza tightened slightly.
His heart began beating faster, but his face remained calm.
They found us.
The thought appeared instantly.
Without hesitation, Yoriichi turned and ran.
The tall grass whipped against his legs as he sprinted through the field, holding Erza tightly against himself. He was surprisingly fast... but he still couldn't outrun a jonin.
Behind him, the sounds became clearer.
Footsteps.
The shinobi were no longer hiding their pursuit.
"There!"
"Don't let the boy escape!"
Yoriichi pushed himself harder.
Branches scratched against his skin as he forced his way through the wilderness. His body burning as he ran... his speed kept increasing.
Erza started crying again from the sudden movement.
"I'm sorry," he whispered breathlessly.
The voices behind him grew closer.
Too close.
Then something flashed past him.
A kunai struck the ground inches away from his feet.
Yoriichi stumbled slightly but managed to stay upright.
Another voice echoed through the trees.
"Stop running! The girl is all we need!"
Yoriichi's eyes narrowed
Erza...
Not him.
They only wanted Erza.
Yoriichi held his sister tighter and kept running deeper into the forest as the sounds of pursuing shinobi closed in behind them.
Yoriichi ran deeper into the forest.
Branches tore against his clothes.
Behind him, the shinobi chased through the trees.
"There!"
"He went this way!"
Yoriichi glanced around quickly.
The forest here was denser.
tall trees and enclosed roots.
Harder to move through.
Good.
Without slowing down, he suddenly changed direction and slipped between two massive trees covered in vines.
The shinobi behind him split apart immediately.
"Circle!"
Yoriichi continued running until the voices grew distant from one another.
One to the left.
A crackly voice was heard.
Finally, Yoriichi stopped.
His chest rose heavily as he stood in the middle of a quiet clearing hidden deep within the forest.
Erza cried softly against him.
Yoriichi looked around once.
Then gently lowered his sister beneath the roots of a large tree, wrapping her carefully in cloth to keep her warm.
"It'll be okay," he whispered.
The baby slowly quieted at the sound of his voice.
Yoriichi stood back up.
The shinobi frowned.
"You should've stopped running," he said while spinning a kunai between his fingers.
Then he lunged forward.
Fast.
The kunai cut through the air toward Yoriichi—
But the boy vanished.
The shinobi's eyes widened.
A sword suddenly appeared inches from his face.
He barely jumped backward in time.
"What—?!"
Yoriichi stepped forward instantly.
Clang!
Steel crashed against steel as the shinobi blocked the next strike with his kunai. The impact forced him backward across the dirt.
The man attacked again.
A slash toward the neck. Then on his torso.
Yoriichi avoided both, his movements becoming smoother with every second.
The shinobi's expression slowly changed from confidence to disbelief. It was like he could predict his future movements.
"How are you doing this…?"
Yoriichi didn't answer.
The shinobi quickly formed hand signs.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
A powerful gust exploded through the clearing, throwing leaves and dust everywhere. Yoriichi was pushed backward, his sword slipping from his hands as he crashed near the roots of a tree.
The shinobi immediately noticed Erza nearby.
"There you are."
He rushed toward her
but suddenly stopped.
The air shifted behind him.
The shinobi turned just in time to see Yoriichi standing there again, the rusted sword back in his hands.
Tsk
The shinobi threw several kunai rapidly.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Yoriichi deflected every one of them.
Then Yoriichi moved forward one final time.
The moment he reached forward—
Yoriichi grabbed the sword again.
And the world suddenly felt… warmer.
The wind around the clearing changed.
The boy slowly lowered his stance.
One hand steady on the blade.
His breathing became calm.
The shinobi stopped moving instinctively.
Something felt wrong.
The air itself seemed to tremble faintly around the child.
Yoriichi took one slow breath.
Then another.
And suddenly—
He moved.
The forest blurred around him.
For a brief moment, the shinobi thought he saw a faint trail of light following the blade.
A single circular slash cut through the darkness of the clearing.
Sun Breathing… First Form.
Dance.
The rusty sword passed through the air in one smooth motion.
The shinobi's eyes widened.
His kunai shattered.
The slash didn't stop there it instantly cut him in half...
Blood spewed everywhere..
Silence filled the clearing once more.
Yoriichi stood motionless, breathing softly while holding the half-broken blade now.\
No NO No... what have i done... This...
He didn't understand what he had just done.
Only that the strange warmth flowing through his body had disappeared as quickly as it came.
Behind him, Erza began crying softly again.
................
So long hahaha finally an update hmm. I couldn't help but notice more people coming to read my book. Thank you guys. Oh yea the schedule been a hella busy. regular classes whole week and test on weekend. Its hell. well still i try to keep updating. DROP SOME REVIEWSSS