Shogo POV

One sentence. That was all it took apparently to turn Shogo Isobe’s whole entire goddamn world upside down. First, it was Mizu’s bad lie that got me caught and dragged into Tako’s gang of thieves. And now it’s a man’s desperate lie to preserve his image to his girlfriend that has shattered my plans of freedom into millions of pieces. So long dreams of open lush fields of the Land of Noodles, it seems like the thick suffocating mists of Water Country have trapped me forever. Sigh~

At least I finally got a room of my own with a bed out of that jackass’s horrible lie. If only it wasn’t in the fucking HOZUKI COMPOUND.

~Flashback~

“I’M NO- “

Gengestu quickly whispered menacingly in my ear,

“Go with it and maybe I won’t kill you in your sleep later”

I buttoned my lip tight after that because it was kind of hard to not believe him when I knew he could turn into goddamn water, like I mean who the fuck else knew what he is capable of! Hopefully, he’ll just let me split after I play along with this little ruse, but Tamari didn’t look like she was buying the lie at all!

 “Sooooo, your telling me that you took this little kid up as an apprentice over all of your cousins and all of the other promising young shinobi children on Nakajima Island.”

“Yesss….,”

That yes was so unconvincing, I wanted to punch this blonde douche right in the throat. If your going to lie at least make it believable! You’re a ninja for Goddess sake!

Tamari just sighed,

“Alright Gengetsu, I’ll choose to believe you for now because why else would you associated with a severely injured cute little boy. But shouldn’t you bring your brand new “apprentice” to your great aunt right now so she can heal all his injuries,”

“I’m sure he can wait a few moments while we finish our date sweet- “

“NO, Gengetsu. Right NOW.”

~Flashback End~

Then they hauled me back to the damn compound I was robbing some hours ago. As soon as we got in front of the giant doors they opened like magic. I looked to see if anyone was behind them, but nobody was there. Gengetsu and Tamari brought me to a large house in the middle of the compound. They brought me inside, sat me at a large wooden table and feed me some saltfish and rice. When I finished, they brought me to another house, and they talked to an old lady who lived there. The old lady brought me inside the house led me to a room in the back then stripped me down and waved her fricking glowing green hands over my whole body. After a few moments she stopped and left me holding my junk completely naked in a room that had just a futon in it. I quickly looked over my body to check that she didn’t secretly do anything, and I noticed the fucking huge new scar I had that started from my upper thigh and wrapped around to my lower back. I still question how I didn’t notice it on the beach or at the village healer, but I guess it had yet to form fully. It looked like someone whacked me with a giant slab that for some reason had holes in it. There were two circles of discolored skin in the giant red scar that curved around my torso. I guess that whole giant underwater eye thing actually did happen. Welp I’m going to block that out of my mind forever. No need for mental scarring when I had this huge ass physical scar. The old woman came back with a cup filled with some clear liquid in it and told me to drink it all. Naturally, I declined because I’m not fucking stupid! But in hindsight I should’ve taken it because then maybe she wouldn’t have stabbed me with that super thin needle. After I got stabbed, I don’t even remember going to sleep. I woke up a few hours later, laying in the futon wearing a dark blue kimono. I admit I was a bit freaked out, but I quickly noticed that I wasn’t in excruciating pain anymore. I got up slowly from the futon waiting for the pain to start only to be delighted when it never happened. My body was incredibly stiff, but I prefer it to the constant dull and sometimes sharp pain from before. I walked up to the window to see that it was now night. I looked beneath the stupid kimono to get a look at the scar only to find that it was mostly gone with the exception of the circles which were only slightly discolored now.  The old woman who knocked me out walked in suddenly startling me a bit. She saw that I was on edge and told me that I needed to take it easy for at least a week or else my wounds wouldn’t heal properly. Then she turned around and walked out, making sure to shut the door behind her leaving me alone once again.

It took me awhile to come the terms with the fact that I was in the Hozuki compound of all places. Also, that they healed my wounds with some super ninja magic technique. And that’s how I found myself sitting in a luxurious room contemplating how bipolar my luck is at times.

‘Welp! Its time to dip! Don’t wanna push my luck any further dealing with these freaky ninjas. I’m gonna swing by my secret cave and grab all my stuff then its goodbye Water Country first thing in the morning. I went to the window and slid it back, it was just big enough for me to slip out. However, my hazel eyes met tiny dark brown eyes and I screamed. A large hand grabbed a handful of my hair and I suddenly felt like stretched like a rubber band then my back impacted against something HARD. My eyes clenched shut instinctively and I grabbed my chest desperately trying to regain some air after it had violently evacuated my lungs.

“Get up NOW or I’ll just kill you today!”

I opened one of my eyes while I scrambled away from the voice and I saw the blonde human water balloon glaring down at me with what I could only identify as disgust. His arms were folded to his chest and his mouth was fixed in a sneer. I slowly got on my feet only to feel super dizzy, but I managed to stand fully with some difficulty. I looked around to see that I was now in a clearing that had few trees, rocks and a huge lake behind me. The mist was particularly thick tonight as I could barely see my hands in front of me. It seemed that me standing up got Gengetsu angrier as the look on his face made me shake a little. All his angry looks before had a sort of playfulness behind them but now it was all rage and hatred. 

“Where the fuck did you think you were going brat?!”

Gengetsu barked out his question so suddenly I stammered out my response,

“I-I-I was just going to get out of your hair man, what the fuck is your problem?!”

“My problem? You’re my damn problem! You were right fucking there when I declared you my apprentice!”

“But you were lying! I’m not actually- “

“The second I said it in public it became true, stupid! You’re my apprentice now whether I like it or not.”

All the blood must have rushed to my head because all I could see was red,

“I DON’T wanna be a fucking ninj- “

*THUNK*

My mouth exploded with pain as I began to taste the blood that started to pool in my mouth. I cried out in agony as I grabbed my face with my hands to protect it from more harm, but it was mostly to hide the tears that had slipped out. I glared at the blonde asshole in front of me and I looked down at what he had thrown at my face; it was a full-length katana.

“Alright kid, I’m going to say this once and only once so you better fucking listen carefully. I might have called you stupid earlier, but I know you’re a clever little shit. From now on I’m going to be training you to be strong, strong enough to take control of your pitiful meaningless existence. As you are right now, you will always be at the mercy of the strong, namely me. I want to go down in history as one of if not the most powerful shinobi that has ever been born in Water Country and my legacy is everything to me,”

He paused as he looked towards the moon then he looked at me with grim eyes,

“As my apprentice, your career as a shinobi will now reflect on my legacy. Your only “choice” now is to become one of the strongest shinobi in this godforsaken world or DIE trying. Though I would rather you die in training than you fall shamefully before some wannabe shinobi in battle. Heed my warning Shogo. I will actively be trying to kill you with my training, it is up to you whether you survive AND become stronger for it. I will be going on my next mission in two weeks and you will be coming too. If survive the training in these two weeks and learn from it, you MIGHT survive your first mission. We will start tonight with something light.”

Gengetsu pointed at a huge rock about twice my size in the clearing we were in,

“You have until sunrise to slice that rock in half with that blade. I don’t expect the rock to be sliced cleanly but only in two equal pieces. I will kill you where you stand if I come back and you haven’t completed this task as I instructed. Don’t bother running away, because I promise that you will NEVER be able to get far enough away to where I can’t kill you. Killing yourself is also an option but if not you better to get to fucking cutting,”

With that he vanished from in front of me. His speech had shaken me to my very core especially his threa- no, promise at towards the end of his speech. Gengetsu’s cold beady eyes bore into my very soul as he told me he would kill me. My heart was still pumping, and my bladder would have emptied if it were full. My mind and body were in a panic as I tried to process my current situation. I could’ve done anything from puking or start crying but I suddenly had a moment of calmness and lucidity. I walked over to the sword on the ground and grabbed the hilt. I slid back the sheath and looked at my reflection in the blade. My eyes reflected a focus I had never seen before and my mind was clearer than it had ever been. I walked over to rock, raised the katana over my head and started hacking away.

*CLANG**CLANG**CLANG*

The katana vibrated a bit in my hands after each hit to the rock and the repetitive sound rang deep into my ears. The huge rock gained a small chip in it with each hit from the sword.  My arms burned already from swinging the sword only a few times, but I couldn’t allow myself to stop. To help speed up the process I swung the sword down with all my strength but the recoil from the hit made my grip on the hilt loosen and the sword dropped from my hands. I looked at the rock only to see I had accomplished nothing but waste time. I picked up the katana and continued.

Sometime later…

*CLANG*…...*CLANG*

 “huff…. huff,” My whole body burned, and my lungs felt like they weren’t working at this point. My sweat had soaked the kimono I had been wearing but I had long removed the top part so it wouldn’t hinder my sword swings.  There was a fist sized hole in the rock in the rock now, but I couldn’t stop for a second. I went for another swing, but my back leg gave out on me mid-swing and I had to back up a bit to catch myself right before the sword made contact.

*SHHHHHINKKKKKKK*

My eyes popped open as I couldn’t believe the size of the scratch that just the tip of the katana made on the rock, I’ve been beating for what seemed like forever. I desperately tried to recreate the slash and only managed to hurt wrists and batter my already bruised palms. Finally, I straightened my back then judged my distance from the rock and stepped forward into an overhead slash,

*SHHHHINKKKKKK*

I slashed the rock in the exact place where I made the first scratch making it more defined and deeper. My heart trembled at either the success or the exhaustion, but I choose to believe it was because of the progress. I stepped back from the rock and continued slashing getting more precise each time. I took time in between each swing to catch my breath but not long.

More time later…

*SHHHHHHHIIIIIINNNNNNNKKKKKKK*

My slashes had gotten deeper with every try and I was now three quarters of the way through the rock. I moved to the other side of the rock because the katana didn’t have enough reach to progress through the rock on the side I started on anymore. My palms had stopped hurting after awhile and just went numb. I was scared to look at the damage, so I just kept them glued to the hilt. The muscles in my body were so tight I could barely move my arms correctly. I had to force the katana over my head and shift my weight forward to bring the sword down. I could barely bring any force down on the sword, but it still got the job done in fact it might have been going faster. I made sure to shift my weight a little more after the tip of the katana was in the rock to make it go deeper. I had learned not to get to close to the rock when I swing because I didn’t have the strength to follow through and the sword would just clang against the rock, not slicing it like I wanted. My throat was really dry, and my lips were cracked. I had been ignoring my thirst for a while because I didn’t want a water break to be the reason I died. Now that the end was near, I needed to focus on slicing through this last bit of rock.

*SHHHHHHHIIIIINNNNNKKKKKKK*

*SHHHHHHHHIIIIINNNNNNKKKKK*

I’m getting dizzy again and everything in my peripheral vision is getting blurry. My head is pounding like my heart and brain are one in the same. I spread my legs wider to offset my unsteadiness and I slashed again.

*SSSSSHHHHHIIINNNNNKKKKKK*

The katana glided through the rock like butter from the top to bottom. I look inside the long deep slash mark down the middle of the rock and I knew that I could finish cutting it in half with one more stroke. I only had one more stroke in me. I could barely lift the katana to my chest let alone over my head again. I stood there studying the rock ignoring all the pain and tiredness that seemingly gripped my very soul. Then I closed my eyes and envisioned myself under the ocean. I couldn’t feel anything but the familiar resistance of the water on my limbs. No sound, no light, and no smell. I took a deep breath and felt the air travel down into my lungs all while I lifted the katana above my head. I paused in the stance, I waited and waited even though I have no idea what I am waiting for. Then it all suddenly came crashing down on me like a tidal wave. I felt nothing and everything at the same time but only for an extremely brief moment. 

*SHHHHHLLLLLIIIIINNNKKKKKKKK*…*THUNK*

At sunrise…

Gengetsu POV

“Hmmmmm…. I guess the little shit does have some talent after all,”

I stood in front of a downed Shogo who had passed out on a fallen half of the rock I had tasked him to cut last night. I had arrived to the clearing a bit early as I was intent on carrying out my promise as soon as the sun peeked out from over the horizon. Part of me was surprised to find that the boy was still there and hadn’t run away in desperate attempt to prolong his pitiful life. But my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw that he had accomplished what I thought was an unsurmountable task for an untrained welp of actually slicing the boulder somewhat cleanly in half. I lightly brushed the standing half of the rock and the inside was a little rough but was overall smooth. It looked like the rock had been eroded straight through the middle, like a powerful river had mowed its way. I noticed half of the blade of the sword I had so generously given the boy was laying 10 feet away from the hilt that was still gripped in Shogo’s hand. The blade was made from the finest of ores found in Iron Country and was forged with the techniques passed down from generations of samurai which were later stolen by the Shimizu. I assumed the blade would never break against mere stone, but it seems I was wrong.

‘Haaahhh~ I guess you survive for now Shogo. Who knows maybe you will manage to survive like I did? But then again, common riff raff can’t hope to compare to the amazing and powerful me!’

I held up a hand sign and a ball of water formed above Shogo from the moisture of the mist.

Shogo POV          

*SPLSSHHHH*

“UHhhhhh…. *huff*…. *huff*…, “

My right eye cracked open as I started breathing roughly. My arms were uncomfortably pinned underneath me, so I frantically threw them to my sides and pushed myself up from the rock. I scrambled to my feet and dove toward the lake and started to gulp down water by the handful.

“Do you even care if the lake water is pure or not? Don’t be such a heathen!”

I swallowed the water in my mouth and turned around to look at Gengetsu. I could tell it was him because of his smug gravelly voice.

“Fuck off Nobrows! I’m thirsty!”

Then I went back to drinking a little bit more water.

*TWACK*

“OW!!”

*SPLSSSHHH*

Sometime later…

I rubbed my butt as I glared with all my might at Gengetsu stupid face. I was soaked to the bone and I didn’t know have a change of clothes. The bastard kicked me into the middle of the lake.

“The fuck did you do that for!”

“Maybe you’ll think twice before you insult me next time huh brat?! You will only refer to me as Gengetsu-Sensei from now on and nothing else! Do-I-Make-Myself-CLEAR?”

Gengetsu got really close to my face, his eyes narrowing as if daring me to disobey his order. His beady eyed glared unnerved more than I cared to admit. I shakily nodded in reply and muttered under my breath,

“Whatever…”

“I can always just end you with a flick of my wrist if you annoy me enough brat, it would do you good to remember that little fact. Now go back to Lady Hana’s house and ask her POLITELY if she will heal you of your injuries then meet me back here at noon. Your real training will begin then so come prepared to fight for your life. Do NOT show up late if you want to survive long enough to eat supper.”

With that he vanished, and I was alone in the clearing once again,

‘Well shit! How do I get back?!’

I had no fucking idea where I was right now. I guess gotta start walking around and look for landmarks or something. I limped southeast because that was my go to direction when I was lost on Nakajima Island because that way I would almost never wander near the Shimizu “compound”, personally I think palace is a more correct way to describe that gigantic golden monstrosity.

‘I must be high up somewhere because the mist is pretty damn thic-. WOAH!’

I stopped myself just in the nick of time as I nearly stepped off the side of a large hill. After, taking a few moments to collect myself after my latest near-death experience. I looked down the side of the hill and saw the whole Nakajima village due to the height of the hill. I was only on the next hill up from the Hozuki compound and there were even stairs that led down to the compound.

‘I guess that old lady’s name is Hana. I better address her as “Lady” Hana if I don’t want that blonde jerk to take my head off.’

I walked over to the stairs and struggled down the hill towards the Hozuki compound.

‘Whew, I thought that walking dickhead had abandoned me on a whole other island. I guess he was going easy on me, maybe that whole speech yesterday was part of some twisted test.’