Reikh paused for a moment.
Then he nearly laughed.
Most emotions he sensed in others were mundane.
Don't die. Eat. Don't screw up. See me.
Same useless chatter, repeatedly.
But this one?
This one was different.
It was savage. Starving. Like teeth into bone.
Blood. Kill. Blood.
Reikh leaned his head to the side, eyes narrowing.
"…Interesting."
Behind him, his teammates hushed nervously, still oblivious.
He figured it out. Who here would be carrying something like that?
Not some weak genin. Not even a beast—too focused.
Only one name fit.
"…Gaara."
A thin smile stretched across his face.
"Has to be. No one else."
He scanned the trees slowly, careful, patient.
"If that's true… the Sand team should be nearby."
A branch creaked ahead. Leaves shivered though the air was still.
Reikh's grin sharpened.
"Well. Guess we'll see."
Behind him, his teammates disagreed. One wanted to leave. The other wanted to stay. Neither had the courage to make a decision.
Reikh let them argue.
He crept away from the tree trunk, silent as breath. Their voices were in the air, too boisterous to hear.
They didn't look behind them until they were turning back. He was gone.
The forest greeted him with silence. Only the distant scrape of sand somewhere ahead disrupted it. He let it pass for now, sidestepping roots and dark places with firm steps.
Gaara was risk. But going back to Ame was riskier.
His lips twisted down at the thought. Perhaps Ame wouldn't think to pursue a single missing genin. Perhaps. But relying on that was how you got dead.
No—he needed a plan.
Konoha wasn't Ame. They were governed by rules. Order. They wouldn't simply harbor a stray within their walls for no reason. If he wished to stay, he'd have to provide them with one.
His gold eyes slit, thoughts already churning the options.
The leaves in front of him rustled.
Reikh slowed, eye keen, as three individuals emerged from the trees.
Not Sand. Not Gaara.
Leaf.
One's shadow crept ahead, eyes on him. The subsequent voice was slow, lazy, and too precise to be loose.
"Well, look at that. Alone."
Shikamaru.
A blonde girl beside him tossed her hair back over her shoulder, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Ino.
The third shifted uncomfortably, a snack bag rustling softly in his hand even as he straightened his posture. Choji.
They maneuvered in unison, spreading out, closing in. Instinct.
Reikh halted walking, arms hanging relaxed at his sides, expression empty.
Ino folded her arms.
"Not a sound. Not a jolt of magic. We don't need to use energy against you. Just give us back your scroll and we will release you."
Her words sliced through.
Reikh cocked his head. Carefully, he lifted a hand to his face. His fingers brushed against the edge of the simple mask he wore.
One pull—and the fabric fell away.
Golden eyes sparkled under the cover. The rest of his face appeared, sharp and clean in a manner that didn't seem to belong on a mud-covered genin.
Ino stiffened. "…Wait. What?"
Even Shikamaru's brows rose ever so slightly. Choji merely blinked.
Reikh allowed the silence to build. Then he shrugged, palms open at his sides.
"No scroll," he said softly. "Not anymore."
Ino tightened her eyes. "What do you mean 'not anymore'?
Reikh smiled faintly, almost a sigh.
"Team broken up. We were jumped. Scroll was stolen." His eyes flashed over them, accusatory. "By some of your own, as a matter of fact. Loud orange kid. Black-haired brooding one. And the pink-haired woman who refused to stop screaming."
That hit home. Ino and Shikamaru exchanged a look they didn't intend to.
"Pain in the neck," Shikamaru growled, shadows dancing at his feet. His eyes remained on Reikh, assessing.
Reikh's smile curled, thin and lupine.
"So you see? No threat. Just someone lost looking for the way out." He leaned his head slightly to Ino's side.
"Perhaps someone worth taking along. I know this forest, better than most. Could keep you alive."
Shikamaru snorted.
"Right. Letting a stranger come along? That's an invitation for a knife between the ribs."
Choji shifted uncomfortably. ".He doesn't look like he's lying, though."
"Doesn't matter," Shikamaru barked. "It's irresponsible.
Ino's arms stayed crossed, but her expression shifted. She glanced at Reikh's golden eyes a beat too long before speaking.
"…We could use another pair of hands. Even tied ones."
Reikh's smile deepened, slow.
Shikamaru turned, sharp. "Ino."
She shrugged. "I'm not saying trust him. I'm saying use him. Big difference."
Reikh stayed quiet, letting them argue, letting the cracks widen.
Ino's desire burned—prove she wasn't just the weak link.
Shikamaru's —just make it through this without a mess.
Choji's —just eat and don't fight.
All so easy to read.
Finally, Reikh chuckled low. The sound made all three tense.
"You're sharper than the others," he said, eyes lingering on Ino. "You see an opening, even if it doesn't wear your colors."
Her chin lifted. "Don't think flattery's gonna get you anywhere."
"Not flattery," Reikh said with a grin. "Just fact.
Shikamaru's shadow crept closer, taunting him. Reikh looked down at it, then back at him, unphased.
"Tell you what. Don't trust me. Bind my hands. Hold a knife at my back. Have your shadows stand ready to snap my neck. Doesn't matter. You'll still get further with me than without me."
Choji shifted uncomfortably. "Shikamaru…"
Shikamaru's jaw clenched. He knew the unknown. But time was running short, and Ino's expression dared him to argue.
".Troublesome," he growled at last. His eyes lessened, hard as a trap springing shut. "Fine. You go along with us. But one trick, one misstep—you don't get a second."
Reikh's thin smile came back. He bowed his head, mock-deferential.
"Fair."
Ino breathed out, nearly relieved. Choji seemed a weight off his shoulders.
Shikamaru's shadow closed around Reikh's wrists as they walked. Ino hung close behind, Choji bringing up the rear, the air thick with distrust.
Reikh hardly heard them speak.
Then—
A shriek rent the branches. High-pitched, keening, ripped from a throat before it was cut off too abruptly.
The group stood still.