I need help to improve this idea and story. And I'm begging for it, so will someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong with my writing!
And for the first part of the chapter, I switch the point of view between two characters.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even Naruto or Baldur's Gate. They belong to the repective owners.
Why do I feel like a prisoner, freed only to commit the same crimes again and again; to kill without thought and without mercy?
My adoptive father would have done something to aid me, but now I have no one to turn to. Not even my sister could understand me at this point. My allies current and former all think that I recovered from the dark madness that was caused when my soul was ripped from my body, seeing as I do far more good in their eyes then evil. But then again, none of them had their souls ripped from them and then have it replaced with the powers of oneÆs blood.
The power of Murderà
I now want to leave the one that I fell for, just to find a way to contain the murderous powers and not to let it grow. But I could never do thatà could I?
I feel something of the divine approaching, I must ready myself. Selecting the third option of keeping BhaalÆs blood in me, but retaining a mortal life made me the enemy of many good and evil gods.
= = =
I knew that this mortal would draw the attention of elder gods that were best left alone, but I just had to keep an eye on him. That alone drew that same attention that I feared for him, to me.
And so, I, Solar, now have to act as a messenger from the gods to a mortal. The same mortal that defied the will of the gods to keep his accursed blood to himself, but not to attain godhood.
I almost agree with his æbrotherÆ that that was a most foolish, and blood-gushing choice. Though Saverok did decide to continue following this mortal.
Sighing mentally, I prepared my magic to warp me to the location where the mortal has setup a make shift camp. As I finished the casting, I knew that the Bhaalspawn detected the divine energies and magic condensing near his camp.
= = =
The lights of a teleportation spell demised, at the edge of my camp and beyond the sight of my still sleeping comrades. I quickly grabbed the gifts of my labors against the Five and donned them. Knowing that a fight against anything that could use divine magic and ether magic, only I barely stood a chance, I didnÆt awake those that stand by my side to increase my chances.
And so I ran, hiding in the shadows, towards where the teleportation spell tore at the fabrics of space. Only to find a former ally and teacherà Solar.
Solarà an angelic being with more powers gifted to her then even I could hope to match. Not even the fact that I killed scores of demons and dragons, even a newly-coined god, could give me the impression that I had a chance to beat or kill her.
Knowing that even with my skills with stealth and hiding, augmented with various magics, I could never hide from her sight; I dropped all forms of stealth and walked towards her, my hands gripping my swords and my mind readying each spell memorized.
= = =
The mortal has courage, I give him that. But he seems to have lost the reason why I would feared conflict with himà or is it that he no longer cares and wishes an end? Perhaps the elder god was right about the timing, seeing as no one could withstand being hunted by a pantheon for long.
Regardless, I knew that he would never come straight out of the shadows without readying himself with magics lost and unused. Truthfully, I would enjoy fighting him with magic only, but times for that have been lost and unused.
Swallowing all of my regrets at this meeting I tell the mortal what an elder god wants.
= = =
A chanceà a chance to keep what is mine by birth and raising. And a chance to train another in ways to control the powers given to him at birth.
But this chance that would wipe my slate and make me a teacher, would take me away those that aid me. A cost that I know that my brother would pay; without thought, though it should lead to a way to give him more power.
I have two options, the same amount as when I was as the Throne of my father. There I defied the will of the gods, here I have no choice. Now I must end this chase and give my allies the aid that they gave me. They are due at least a return on their aid, besides the increases in their powers from combat.
= = =
He chose his new path quickly, just as he did in his battles with his Bhaalspawn brethren. He knew which choice would lead to what, and did what he could to aid in the survival of himself and allies and the death of those that would kill him and his allies. A gift of divination from his father, perhaps? Bhaal showed that he had the same gift before the Times of Trouble and during his choice of godly powers.
Discarding my idle thoughts, I gather the powers of an elder god to send this mortal to where he is needed at. Discarding my own paths of magic, to better channel the power from the elder, I received a brief glimpse of the world where this Bhaalspawn would go. And I felt fear for him and his yet-to-be-claimed charge. Fear that this would throw that world and this one off the Prime and into the Forgotten.
I pray that this mortal and his demonic charge does not fall off the path of the good or open any sealed evils. Either could spell the death of more then just their lifes.
= = =
Chapter 1: Loosen Thy Grip
To be awoken, something must start. The raise of the Sun, the crowing of roosters, the smell of smoke and food cooking. Many things can wake me, but few of them pleasant.
I opened my eyes, taking in the sight of a lightening sky, only to realize why I had received a wake-up call.
A male stood above me, dressed in grey and green uniform and vest, was drawing a dagger from a leg holster. My opening eyes, made him increase his speed. Too bad for the would-be robber, a Mage of my level should always be treated properly.
A quick mental trigger, and a magical sphere formed and shot from my right hand towards the highwayman; freezing him in place without the waste of time on my part.
Sliding away from the held man, I slowly got onto my feet as I kept my eyes trained on him and my ears on the forest. Once on my feet, I took my eyes off him and used them to visually take in the surroundings that were thick with the noise of a nearby settlement and various birds. The forest was kept by human hands, and designed to aid travel, based on the dirt road that I was asleep on.
My eyes then took sight of the held male, I then realized that he bore a striking resemblance to Yoshimo, the fallen comrade of mine. That could mean only one of two things; one: that I was in an area that similar in features to Kara-Tur. Not that I held anything against the people of that continent, it just meant to me that IÆll be eating more rice. Two: I was in an area that accepted people better then the Sword Coast. Though I doubt that, seeing as even half-Orcs are treated as pieces of shit.
As I lazily bushed off the dirt from my silver cloak, I waved one of my hands towards the male to dispel my hold on him, partially anyway. Only a skilled mage would realize that he or she was still under the spell, the only thing allowing he or she to move was me.
I locked my nearly black eyes on the highwaymanÆs brown and ask, ôWho are you and why did you try to draw your dagger?ö
The man seemed to rile up at my questions, but he seemed to quickly realize that what I did to him was not a fluke. ôMy name is Ken, a ninja for the Hidden Leaf Village. And I drew my kunai because an unknown man was sleeping on one of the roads to Konoha.ö
This ninja would have earned my respect, had he not told me that he was a ninja and where he is from. I serious hate it when people provide more information then they should. And now any respect that I would have for this man is lost as he now tries to throw theà kunai at me. Solar, forgive me but I am not in the mood to just get warped into another realm of existence only to receive a dagger or a kunai to the face.
Ducking down, I reversed the motion of my hand. Freezing the poor fool, without thought and care. As I stood up, I turned towards to the sounds a settlement and walked away.
Who knows what happened to that idiot. The disgrace of losing that shortà fight might make him wake up and smarten up.
= = =
I have seen things in my life, which would leave a battle-harden warrior in a state of complete shock, but even I have my own limits. And a village full of ninja with an open-gate policy is one of them, well open-gate as in ôgo see the Hokage within an hour or we will throw you outö.
Mutely and quietly, I walked towards where the gate guard pointed me towards, a yellow building with curved spires and a red circle with a kanji symbol on it. Not that hard to miss, but time-consuming when youÆre trying to avoid being run over by a bunch of ninja chasing some prank-causing kid. I decided that it would be best to forget about the kid, a mischievous kid shouldnÆt have any demonÆs blood flowing though their veins.
But then again, the remains of the prank seem eerily similar to one of last pranks that Imeon forced me to suffer through.
My blood froze at that, as I turned my head towards where the kid was running to. A mischievous kid without demonic blood that seems to earn the hatred of everyone around him older then tenà Solar, I found him. But how and why so soon? Did this elder god that you spoke of want this meeting so soon? Was this kid under the eyes a killer that would soon take the plunge?
With that in mind, I activated the latent magic in my boots and ran towards this HokageÆs building. The sooner I had this meeting dealt with, the sooner I could find this kid and aid him from the shadows or the light.
= = =
The head ninja of this Konoha, the supposed feared leader of this village, is older then Volto and as perverted as Elimister. Why do I always find the strangest of old men? And why is it that each time I find one, that my blood asks me to kill them to spare me a headache?
Regardless, I stood in front of this old manÆs desk as he smoked his pipe filled in a slow-burn grass. He seems to know the risks of smoking but cannot kick the habit, respect for this man grew a bit.
ôWelcome to Konoha, traveler; may I what business you have with this village.ö
Oh nothing much, just got sent here by an elder god to aid a citizen of this village to become that of a figurehead. Oh, and before I forgetà damn, what was it that I forgot? Hehe, that will get me sent to an asylum faster then saying that IÆm Mage in Amn. I might as well lie and say that IÆm a hunter of bounties and that this village has some good ones.
ôI thank you for your welcome, Hokage. My business is my professions, as a bounty hunter and a researcher.ö
Huh, his one visible eyebrow twitched? Did I say something wrong? Only a guff cough was the only audio signal that I agitated this man.
ôAs a hunter, you mean your missing nin looking for sanctuary. As such, I must ask your name, given and family, as well as the clan or hidden village you are from.ö
Keeping my face collected and voice calm, I replied, ôCoin Bhaal of Candle Keep.ö
Curiosity seems to have killed another poor cat, ôCandle Keep?ö
ôIt is a small village with a monastery and library. Nothing more, nothing less.ö
Nothing more or nothing less if one over looks the fact that I sent most of my wealth there, including every servant and guard of the DeÆArnise family.
ôHuhà And what do you study then?ö
Oh I love it when people ask me this question, only a Mage or someone that studies anything without magic could truly understand this. ôI study that is which unstudied and unstudible. I study the relations between humanity and the ecosystem. I study logic and the illogical. I studyà whatever I find interesting.ö
The resulting action of that always satisfies me. And this result seems to be the want to collapse. Interesting reaction, I wonder if it is common around here.
After a quick recovery and a grumbling about having to deal with another Jiriaya, the Hokage spoke again. ôVery well then, I have need for those of both professions. IÆll offer you sanctuary if you complete a B-rank mission for no money.ö
B-rank mission for no money? I have plenty of money left, robbing that caravan of child slavers two days ago ensured me of that. But the ranking worries me, as I have no base knowledge of how they rank their missions. But asking a question like that could spell more trouble then drawing Life-Stealer and stabbing the old man.
ôVery well then, I take the mission once you give me the details.ö
The smile that just appeared on that manÆs face scares me, it truly does.
The smile also made me realize that I would not be able to find that prankster kid anytime soon.
= = =
I once said that I never look at a woman the same way again after I slept with Imeon, way before I learned that sheÆs my sister on my fatherÆs side. And by looking at my partner/loyalty insurance for this mission, I had the feeling that IÆll say that again soon.
She only introduced herself as Anko Mitarashi, a lover of pain and dango, but I knew that she was this worldÆs equivalent to a Drow. I almost drew my military sword after I got that thoughtà who knew that spending time in the Underdark was hazardous to oneÆs mental health.
Regardless, I followed her out of the village, after switching my magic-deflection cloak with a general protection cloak. Magic seems rare, if not never used, in these parts; weapons and technology seem to take the forefront.
After walking for two days on the ground, much to the vexation of Anko who seems to think that jumping on tree branches would be faster, we reached our target area. A small valley with more bugs then JerhiraÆs last Bug Swarm spell.
The mission is simple, find the rouge wanderer bug-using-ninja and kill him. I thought it would be easy, but the terrain suggests otherwise.
As we climbed down into the depression that forms a bug paradise, I quickly decided that limiting the use of my magic to level two and to use it sparely. These ninja may have their own methods to use the worldÆs or the universeÆs either, but it would be best if someone showed me that before using my own uses of it.
Once we reached the bottom Anko immediately jumped onto a tree branch, much to my annoyance. Annoyance pointed at the fact that humans may be trained not to look up, but when one take the high ground, their target takes higher ground before you can; natural reaction, one that I fought against when fighting dragons and giants, bloody things always tried to sate their vanity by fighting at the highest ground available.
I stuck to the ground as I used the magics in my boots to run faster then Anko could jump. After a day of searching and failing to find any trace of human passage besides our own, we stopped searching to make camp. Okay, I stopped to setup a few normal dagger traps and two explosion traps along with a tent, time-stop traps are just too risky to leave unused in a place as large as this valley.
= = =
ôSoà You only setup one fairly small tent? Hoping for something?ö
That conforms it, if she has an equivalent in my home realm, she would be a Drow. That smirk of hers and demeanor would fit perfectly in the Underdark. Luckily, being around Drow makes for a formerly innocent country thief and mage into someone that can withstand the charms of any woman, trying or reflex.
Damn Drow!
ôOnly one person will sleep, the other will keep watch.ö
ôOhà so youÆll watch me sleep then?ö
Just like Viconia, only without the venom and the normal bloodlust or lust coming off of her voice. Oh waità there was lust in her voiceà IÆd say IÆm screwed but with a bugger around here IÆd rather wait.
ôNo thanks, if I wanted to admire your beauty, IÆll do it during the day when you have your guards up. Watching a person sleep makes one compliance and open to attack.ö
Her smirk turned into a frown and she tensed up, ôAre you saying that youÆll ogle me now, but not when IÆm asleep? Do you think that some one becomes ugly at night?ö
Open mouth, insert foot. ôàThere is no way for me to answer that without being injured. So please keep your sadist comments to yourself and go to bed. IÆll keep first watch and wake you around a few hours after midnight.ö
I turned around and walked towards a tree that I could turn into firewood without much effort. I paid no heed to any returning comments from Anko. Which was a mistake, as I quickly figured out when all of my dagger traps went off towards the tentÆs location.
= = =
The dagger trap, it was designed to magically lock onto those that directly mean to harm or kill the trap layer and his or her allies. It fires off one to ten daggers at speeds faster then the human eye can track, and high level traps of this design at can fire off tracking daggers that are fired by magic instead of the gunpowder of the original design.
I favor tracking five dagger traps, as theyÆre small, powerful enough to rip in a dragonÆs hide, and setting them up is fast and easy as you just have to place it and depress a button. But then again, the design was made in Candle Keep so I might just prefer home-made products.
There is only one design flaw, only when someone receives and accepts the mental trigger to attack the layer or allies, does this trap activate. So an enemy could enter oneÆs camp, never triggering the traps, and attack when in position.
= = =
Fling it becomes disitive when you rely on it to combat enemies that you cannot beat with one skill alone. The sound of your traps, heralding the start of a battle for your life. And I know that it can equate victory or death.
I turned around, snapping my katana from its sealth, and mental chant the incantations of the most over-used spell in my book. As I finished my turn, it was then that I saw what my traps hit, a giant bee. A giant bee that quickly turned into smoke as I dashed to the tent and the last location of Anko. Luckily the rouge didnÆt fully get the drop on her as she and the target were fighting with kunai drawn.
Unluckily for the target, he didnÆt notice that his bee was killed. Luckily for me, that left him wide open for the mental pain assault from a Magic Missile. Poor bastard never knew what hit him.
= = =
ôCome on! Tell me what jutsu you used on that guy!ö
I was right, the poor bastard never knew what hit him, only the bastard is me instead of the rouge. Anko only saw the flash of red light and the multiple red orbs flying towards, so she just thought that I used myà charka to do a torture jutsu. And she really to learn it too.
Too bad for her, I have no intent to teach her how to mold her latent magical talents into active magical talents.
And too bad for me, as now I have to suffer though Anko asking me how to do use Magic Missile for the remainder of the trip back. Could my life get any worse?
= = =
It turns out that yes, my life could get worse. After giving the mission report to the Hokage, I was placed as a Gennin ninja with my instructor as Anko. Thankfully though, this worldÆs income was gold-based so I could convert some of my gold into local currency. But that leads up to another thing that could make my life worse, the bank teller was eyeing me up, and IÆm not into guys.
And for the first part of the chapter, I switch the point of view between two characters.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even Naruto or Baldur's Gate. They belong to the repective owners.
Why do I feel like a prisoner, freed only to commit the same crimes again and again; to kill without thought and without mercy?
My adoptive father would have done something to aid me, but now I have no one to turn to. Not even my sister could understand me at this point. My allies current and former all think that I recovered from the dark madness that was caused when my soul was ripped from my body, seeing as I do far more good in their eyes then evil. But then again, none of them had their souls ripped from them and then have it replaced with the powers of oneÆs blood.
The power of Murderà
I now want to leave the one that I fell for, just to find a way to contain the murderous powers and not to let it grow. But I could never do thatà could I?
I feel something of the divine approaching, I must ready myself. Selecting the third option of keeping BhaalÆs blood in me, but retaining a mortal life made me the enemy of many good and evil gods.
= = =
I knew that this mortal would draw the attention of elder gods that were best left alone, but I just had to keep an eye on him. That alone drew that same attention that I feared for him, to me.
And so, I, Solar, now have to act as a messenger from the gods to a mortal. The same mortal that defied the will of the gods to keep his accursed blood to himself, but not to attain godhood.
I almost agree with his æbrotherÆ that that was a most foolish, and blood-gushing choice. Though Saverok did decide to continue following this mortal.
Sighing mentally, I prepared my magic to warp me to the location where the mortal has setup a make shift camp. As I finished the casting, I knew that the Bhaalspawn detected the divine energies and magic condensing near his camp.
= = =
The lights of a teleportation spell demised, at the edge of my camp and beyond the sight of my still sleeping comrades. I quickly grabbed the gifts of my labors against the Five and donned them. Knowing that a fight against anything that could use divine magic and ether magic, only I barely stood a chance, I didnÆt awake those that stand by my side to increase my chances.
And so I ran, hiding in the shadows, towards where the teleportation spell tore at the fabrics of space. Only to find a former ally and teacherà Solar.
Solarà an angelic being with more powers gifted to her then even I could hope to match. Not even the fact that I killed scores of demons and dragons, even a newly-coined god, could give me the impression that I had a chance to beat or kill her.
Knowing that even with my skills with stealth and hiding, augmented with various magics, I could never hide from her sight; I dropped all forms of stealth and walked towards her, my hands gripping my swords and my mind readying each spell memorized.
= = =
The mortal has courage, I give him that. But he seems to have lost the reason why I would feared conflict with himà or is it that he no longer cares and wishes an end? Perhaps the elder god was right about the timing, seeing as no one could withstand being hunted by a pantheon for long.
Regardless, I knew that he would never come straight out of the shadows without readying himself with magics lost and unused. Truthfully, I would enjoy fighting him with magic only, but times for that have been lost and unused.
Swallowing all of my regrets at this meeting I tell the mortal what an elder god wants.
= = =
A chanceà a chance to keep what is mine by birth and raising. And a chance to train another in ways to control the powers given to him at birth.
But this chance that would wipe my slate and make me a teacher, would take me away those that aid me. A cost that I know that my brother would pay; without thought, though it should lead to a way to give him more power.
I have two options, the same amount as when I was as the Throne of my father. There I defied the will of the gods, here I have no choice. Now I must end this chase and give my allies the aid that they gave me. They are due at least a return on their aid, besides the increases in their powers from combat.
= = =
He chose his new path quickly, just as he did in his battles with his Bhaalspawn brethren. He knew which choice would lead to what, and did what he could to aid in the survival of himself and allies and the death of those that would kill him and his allies. A gift of divination from his father, perhaps? Bhaal showed that he had the same gift before the Times of Trouble and during his choice of godly powers.
Discarding my idle thoughts, I gather the powers of an elder god to send this mortal to where he is needed at. Discarding my own paths of magic, to better channel the power from the elder, I received a brief glimpse of the world where this Bhaalspawn would go. And I felt fear for him and his yet-to-be-claimed charge. Fear that this would throw that world and this one off the Prime and into the Forgotten.
I pray that this mortal and his demonic charge does not fall off the path of the good or open any sealed evils. Either could spell the death of more then just their lifes.
= = =
Chapter 1: Loosen Thy Grip
To be awoken, something must start. The raise of the Sun, the crowing of roosters, the smell of smoke and food cooking. Many things can wake me, but few of them pleasant.
I opened my eyes, taking in the sight of a lightening sky, only to realize why I had received a wake-up call.
A male stood above me, dressed in grey and green uniform and vest, was drawing a dagger from a leg holster. My opening eyes, made him increase his speed. Too bad for the would-be robber, a Mage of my level should always be treated properly.
A quick mental trigger, and a magical sphere formed and shot from my right hand towards the highwayman; freezing him in place without the waste of time on my part.
Sliding away from the held man, I slowly got onto my feet as I kept my eyes trained on him and my ears on the forest. Once on my feet, I took my eyes off him and used them to visually take in the surroundings that were thick with the noise of a nearby settlement and various birds. The forest was kept by human hands, and designed to aid travel, based on the dirt road that I was asleep on.
My eyes then took sight of the held male, I then realized that he bore a striking resemblance to Yoshimo, the fallen comrade of mine. That could mean only one of two things; one: that I was in an area that similar in features to Kara-Tur. Not that I held anything against the people of that continent, it just meant to me that IÆll be eating more rice. Two: I was in an area that accepted people better then the Sword Coast. Though I doubt that, seeing as even half-Orcs are treated as pieces of shit.
As I lazily bushed off the dirt from my silver cloak, I waved one of my hands towards the male to dispel my hold on him, partially anyway. Only a skilled mage would realize that he or she was still under the spell, the only thing allowing he or she to move was me.
I locked my nearly black eyes on the highwaymanÆs brown and ask, ôWho are you and why did you try to draw your dagger?ö
The man seemed to rile up at my questions, but he seemed to quickly realize that what I did to him was not a fluke. ôMy name is Ken, a ninja for the Hidden Leaf Village. And I drew my kunai because an unknown man was sleeping on one of the roads to Konoha.ö
This ninja would have earned my respect, had he not told me that he was a ninja and where he is from. I serious hate it when people provide more information then they should. And now any respect that I would have for this man is lost as he now tries to throw theà kunai at me. Solar, forgive me but I am not in the mood to just get warped into another realm of existence only to receive a dagger or a kunai to the face.
Ducking down, I reversed the motion of my hand. Freezing the poor fool, without thought and care. As I stood up, I turned towards to the sounds a settlement and walked away.
Who knows what happened to that idiot. The disgrace of losing that shortà fight might make him wake up and smarten up.
= = =
I have seen things in my life, which would leave a battle-harden warrior in a state of complete shock, but even I have my own limits. And a village full of ninja with an open-gate policy is one of them, well open-gate as in ôgo see the Hokage within an hour or we will throw you outö.
Mutely and quietly, I walked towards where the gate guard pointed me towards, a yellow building with curved spires and a red circle with a kanji symbol on it. Not that hard to miss, but time-consuming when youÆre trying to avoid being run over by a bunch of ninja chasing some prank-causing kid. I decided that it would be best to forget about the kid, a mischievous kid shouldnÆt have any demonÆs blood flowing though their veins.
But then again, the remains of the prank seem eerily similar to one of last pranks that Imeon forced me to suffer through.
My blood froze at that, as I turned my head towards where the kid was running to. A mischievous kid without demonic blood that seems to earn the hatred of everyone around him older then tenà Solar, I found him. But how and why so soon? Did this elder god that you spoke of want this meeting so soon? Was this kid under the eyes a killer that would soon take the plunge?
With that in mind, I activated the latent magic in my boots and ran towards this HokageÆs building. The sooner I had this meeting dealt with, the sooner I could find this kid and aid him from the shadows or the light.
= = =
The head ninja of this Konoha, the supposed feared leader of this village, is older then Volto and as perverted as Elimister. Why do I always find the strangest of old men? And why is it that each time I find one, that my blood asks me to kill them to spare me a headache?
Regardless, I stood in front of this old manÆs desk as he smoked his pipe filled in a slow-burn grass. He seems to know the risks of smoking but cannot kick the habit, respect for this man grew a bit.
ôWelcome to Konoha, traveler; may I what business you have with this village.ö
Oh nothing much, just got sent here by an elder god to aid a citizen of this village to become that of a figurehead. Oh, and before I forgetà damn, what was it that I forgot? Hehe, that will get me sent to an asylum faster then saying that IÆm Mage in Amn. I might as well lie and say that IÆm a hunter of bounties and that this village has some good ones.
ôI thank you for your welcome, Hokage. My business is my professions, as a bounty hunter and a researcher.ö
Huh, his one visible eyebrow twitched? Did I say something wrong? Only a guff cough was the only audio signal that I agitated this man.
ôAs a hunter, you mean your missing nin looking for sanctuary. As such, I must ask your name, given and family, as well as the clan or hidden village you are from.ö
Keeping my face collected and voice calm, I replied, ôCoin Bhaal of Candle Keep.ö
Curiosity seems to have killed another poor cat, ôCandle Keep?ö
ôIt is a small village with a monastery and library. Nothing more, nothing less.ö
Nothing more or nothing less if one over looks the fact that I sent most of my wealth there, including every servant and guard of the DeÆArnise family.
ôHuhà And what do you study then?ö
Oh I love it when people ask me this question, only a Mage or someone that studies anything without magic could truly understand this. ôI study that is which unstudied and unstudible. I study the relations between humanity and the ecosystem. I study logic and the illogical. I studyà whatever I find interesting.ö
The resulting action of that always satisfies me. And this result seems to be the want to collapse. Interesting reaction, I wonder if it is common around here.
After a quick recovery and a grumbling about having to deal with another Jiriaya, the Hokage spoke again. ôVery well then, I have need for those of both professions. IÆll offer you sanctuary if you complete a B-rank mission for no money.ö
B-rank mission for no money? I have plenty of money left, robbing that caravan of child slavers two days ago ensured me of that. But the ranking worries me, as I have no base knowledge of how they rank their missions. But asking a question like that could spell more trouble then drawing Life-Stealer and stabbing the old man.
ôVery well then, I take the mission once you give me the details.ö
The smile that just appeared on that manÆs face scares me, it truly does.
The smile also made me realize that I would not be able to find that prankster kid anytime soon.
= = =
I once said that I never look at a woman the same way again after I slept with Imeon, way before I learned that sheÆs my sister on my fatherÆs side. And by looking at my partner/loyalty insurance for this mission, I had the feeling that IÆll say that again soon.
She only introduced herself as Anko Mitarashi, a lover of pain and dango, but I knew that she was this worldÆs equivalent to a Drow. I almost drew my military sword after I got that thoughtà who knew that spending time in the Underdark was hazardous to oneÆs mental health.
Regardless, I followed her out of the village, after switching my magic-deflection cloak with a general protection cloak. Magic seems rare, if not never used, in these parts; weapons and technology seem to take the forefront.
After walking for two days on the ground, much to the vexation of Anko who seems to think that jumping on tree branches would be faster, we reached our target area. A small valley with more bugs then JerhiraÆs last Bug Swarm spell.
The mission is simple, find the rouge wanderer bug-using-ninja and kill him. I thought it would be easy, but the terrain suggests otherwise.
As we climbed down into the depression that forms a bug paradise, I quickly decided that limiting the use of my magic to level two and to use it sparely. These ninja may have their own methods to use the worldÆs or the universeÆs either, but it would be best if someone showed me that before using my own uses of it.
Once we reached the bottom Anko immediately jumped onto a tree branch, much to my annoyance. Annoyance pointed at the fact that humans may be trained not to look up, but when one take the high ground, their target takes higher ground before you can; natural reaction, one that I fought against when fighting dragons and giants, bloody things always tried to sate their vanity by fighting at the highest ground available.
I stuck to the ground as I used the magics in my boots to run faster then Anko could jump. After a day of searching and failing to find any trace of human passage besides our own, we stopped searching to make camp. Okay, I stopped to setup a few normal dagger traps and two explosion traps along with a tent, time-stop traps are just too risky to leave unused in a place as large as this valley.
= = =
ôSoà You only setup one fairly small tent? Hoping for something?ö
That conforms it, if she has an equivalent in my home realm, she would be a Drow. That smirk of hers and demeanor would fit perfectly in the Underdark. Luckily, being around Drow makes for a formerly innocent country thief and mage into someone that can withstand the charms of any woman, trying or reflex.
Damn Drow!
ôOnly one person will sleep, the other will keep watch.ö
ôOhà so youÆll watch me sleep then?ö
Just like Viconia, only without the venom and the normal bloodlust or lust coming off of her voice. Oh waità there was lust in her voiceà IÆd say IÆm screwed but with a bugger around here IÆd rather wait.
ôNo thanks, if I wanted to admire your beauty, IÆll do it during the day when you have your guards up. Watching a person sleep makes one compliance and open to attack.ö
Her smirk turned into a frown and she tensed up, ôAre you saying that youÆll ogle me now, but not when IÆm asleep? Do you think that some one becomes ugly at night?ö
Open mouth, insert foot. ôàThere is no way for me to answer that without being injured. So please keep your sadist comments to yourself and go to bed. IÆll keep first watch and wake you around a few hours after midnight.ö
I turned around and walked towards a tree that I could turn into firewood without much effort. I paid no heed to any returning comments from Anko. Which was a mistake, as I quickly figured out when all of my dagger traps went off towards the tentÆs location.
= = =
The dagger trap, it was designed to magically lock onto those that directly mean to harm or kill the trap layer and his or her allies. It fires off one to ten daggers at speeds faster then the human eye can track, and high level traps of this design at can fire off tracking daggers that are fired by magic instead of the gunpowder of the original design.
I favor tracking five dagger traps, as theyÆre small, powerful enough to rip in a dragonÆs hide, and setting them up is fast and easy as you just have to place it and depress a button. But then again, the design was made in Candle Keep so I might just prefer home-made products.
There is only one design flaw, only when someone receives and accepts the mental trigger to attack the layer or allies, does this trap activate. So an enemy could enter oneÆs camp, never triggering the traps, and attack when in position.
= = =
Fling it becomes disitive when you rely on it to combat enemies that you cannot beat with one skill alone. The sound of your traps, heralding the start of a battle for your life. And I know that it can equate victory or death.
I turned around, snapping my katana from its sealth, and mental chant the incantations of the most over-used spell in my book. As I finished my turn, it was then that I saw what my traps hit, a giant bee. A giant bee that quickly turned into smoke as I dashed to the tent and the last location of Anko. Luckily the rouge didnÆt fully get the drop on her as she and the target were fighting with kunai drawn.
Unluckily for the target, he didnÆt notice that his bee was killed. Luckily for me, that left him wide open for the mental pain assault from a Magic Missile. Poor bastard never knew what hit him.
= = =
ôCome on! Tell me what jutsu you used on that guy!ö
I was right, the poor bastard never knew what hit him, only the bastard is me instead of the rouge. Anko only saw the flash of red light and the multiple red orbs flying towards, so she just thought that I used myà charka to do a torture jutsu. And she really to learn it too.
Too bad for her, I have no intent to teach her how to mold her latent magical talents into active magical talents.
And too bad for me, as now I have to suffer though Anko asking me how to do use Magic Missile for the remainder of the trip back. Could my life get any worse?
= = =
It turns out that yes, my life could get worse. After giving the mission report to the Hokage, I was placed as a Gennin ninja with my instructor as Anko. Thankfully though, this worldÆs income was gold-based so I could convert some of my gold into local currency. But that leads up to another thing that could make my life worse, the bank teller was eyeing me up, and IÆm not into guys.