The scent of burning fire drifted through the forest air, mingling with the crisp breeze of the approaching evening. Kuroichi sat near the edge of a hollowed clearing, tending to the fire with a stick while smoke curled into the sky. His clothes, still the old ones he had been wearing for a long time, were torn all over and crusted with blood in various places.
The fatigue on his face turned into focus when Kurai landed close by with a silent flutter of her wings. She dropped a small animal, that looked like a mix between a rat and a rabbit, the likes of which Kuroichi hadn't seen before, in front of him.
Looking at the animal she had hunted, Kurai let out a short proud hoot.
"Good girl," he murmured, reaching over to slightly ruffle the feathers atop her head. She tilted her head, leaning into his touch, then hopped away and fluttered to a low branch, while he started skinning and cleaning the flesh.
The meal was plain, but the warmth in his stomach grounded him. He didn't rush the meal and chewed slowly, deliberately, letting the food settle in his stomach as his thoughts unfurled.
The quiet moment in which there was no threat didn't last long though, as after resting a while more, he stood and started slowly stretching his limbs. His ribs and limbs still ached and his body was bruised and sore, but nothing felt really broken. He started moving with the sharp caution of someone getting used to being in pain.
However, he still had things to check before he could truly relax. He headed back into the tree line, to where the two corpses from the battle had been left. One lay right where he'd struck him down, a lifeless heap, faze frozen in a mix of pain and disbelief. The second however, was nowhere to be found.
Kuroichi frowned, before he followed the trail of blood left on the ground. He saw drag marks, smears of blood and snapped places in the underbrush. The trail didnt last long though. He found the second man a few dozen meters deeper in, face down and his hand clawed into the dirt like he'd crawl his way out of death. The trail of blood he had left behind had dried, and attracted all sorts of small animals already.
Kuroichi knelt beside the corpse. 'So you kept trying even after the fight was lost…'
There was no hesitation in his eyes as he reached down and began stripping the body of anything useful.
The black mask peeled away with but a faint resistance, it seemed to be imbued with chakra to stick to the face, a simple trick but one that could prove helpful, similar to what he did with his ninjatō. He naturally took it. The man's cloak was made out of weather resistant fabric, good for traveling in rain or harsh winds. Kuroichi folded it, carefully cleaning it along the way, and temporarily tied it to his belt.
A few kunai, some senbon, plus a wakizashi, short and slightly curved with nicks on it's edge. It wasn't elegant, but still useable. Nothing else was there. No headband. No documents. No clan emblems. Whoever these people were, they had covered their tracks, however, they didn't seem to be anbu either.
Kuroichi stood and quickly stored his loot before leaving. His original plan had been to head west, closer to the border with the Land of Fire. A bigger city would grant more opportunities, plus he believed he wouldn't have a problem blending in. But now?
Now it was too risky to follow that same plan, especially as the leading ninja kept threatening him in various ways and seemed to know what Kuroichi had planned before hand. He couldn't allow himself to be so predictable.
Whoever that last survivor was, if he made it out and spread the word; a child under 6 years old with a strange chakra draining kekkei genkai, powerful for his age, using ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu, then he'd be in serious trouble.
Going west meant more potential eyes watching him, probably more ninja and perhaps even other villages keeping tabs. The east, while still predictable for someone really bent on finding him, was still the safer option.
'Who knows for how long I need to stay in that town or city anyway, maybe I can cut it short. The most important thing is learning calligraphy for fuinjutsu, and improving all my other shortcomings that I noticed from the fight before, and maybe I can find out some information from the black market if that is a thing there.'
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The road eastward was harsher. Narrower trails and rougher terrain, plus even fewer signs of human life. But it also meant fewer eyes and risks, which suited Kuroichi just fine.
He travelled in silence, Kurai often soaring ahead or resting on his person when the days had just begun. He avoided villages and towns, even small ones, hunting and foraging how he was used to instead. Over the days and weeks, wandering the wilderness felt incredibly freeing and peaceful.
More than a month of traveling had definitely passed and on a rare, windless evening, they came across a large lake with it's waters as still as glass. The sky above had begun to dim already, with the red and pink hues of the coming night blanketed the sky.
Kuroichi crouched at the lake's edge, dipping his hands and feet into the cool water before splashing his face. When he leaned forwad, he paused.
For a moment, he just stared at his reflection in the water.
His face was still extremely young, soft and delicate despite the training and fighting he had endured. He had skin that was paler than normal, as if untouched by the sun, but he was dusted with smudges of ash and dirt. His hair had grown longer, brushing past his jaw and lower neck now in uneven layers of dark black. His body was small and slim, wiry from months of training and survival, but it was the scars that stood out at first glance.
Distinctive, but sometimes faint lines traced his arms, torso, collarbone, back, legs and even his lower hips.
What struck him the most, however, was his own expression. Completely blank. It wasn't really intentional, somewhere along the way, it had become a habit. Emotions were calculated now, his smiles, frowns etc. weren't actually necessary. Definitely not in battle and also not on the road.
His reflection blinked back at him, the same flat gaze staring back. Cute, handsome, even if one didn't know what that small boy really was, but still alien in it's stillness.
Kuroichi closed his eyes and stood up without saying anything, while Kurai tilted her head and gave a soft coo. The journey had been far and long, but soon it came to an end.
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