Chapter 7: Out of the boiling pot

The top of the hill above the Hozuki compound was covered in an unusual white fog. It looked mystical in nature as it curled around the peak of the hill like a ravenous boa constrictor. Nothing inside the fog was visible and neither was the outside from within. Inside this deadly trap, was a young Shogo caught like a rat. No more crutches, no more chances, no more sight, no more pain, and no more SECURITY. The perfect boiling pot for even the most hardened individuals to wither away in, stirred by a spiteful Gengetsu. A perfectly manufactured environment for Shogo to shrink under pressure, or will the young boy learn how to swim in the boiling water?  

Shogo POV

*Ba-Bum* *Ba-Bum*

I can’t breathe.

*Ba-Bum* *Ba-Bum* *Ba-Bum*

I can’t-

There is a flash of metal flying in my direction, it is so fast that I’m not confident I can duck out of the way in time. I bring up my arms to protect my upper body but of course I feel no impact. However, when I look down, I see a metal star shaped thing lodged into the middle of my right forearm but there is no feeling of pain that tells me that I’m not hallucinating. I immediately yank it out hoping that this recent wound wouldn’t do something to make this hell even worse for me, like making my tongue fall out of my head or some shit. The wound drips blood but there were no immediate changes in my already horrible ass condition.

I look at the ninja star down in the palm of my hand while I contemplate my current situation,

‘This bastard is REALLY tryna kill me! I cannot afford to forget where I am and that I need to fight for my fucking life. There’s no time to be panicking like a bitch. Now how the fuck do I get off this shitty hill?!’

 I crouch low to the ground and put my left hand on the ground. I assume that the katana is still in my right hand since I haven’t opened my hand since I picked it up earlier. I bring my right hand close to my face and I am immediately relieved to see a silhouette of my right hand grasping the hilt of the katana. I switch the katana to my left hand, and I take off the bandages on my right hand with my teeth. Then I wrap them around my left hand making sure to secure the katana hilt within it. I did NOT want to drop this sword at any cost because then I would be even more vulnerable against whatever that eyebrow-less demon has in store for me.

I put my right hand on the hilt of the katana below my left hand and I start walking slowly forward with the blade of the sword pointed upward. My eyes are darting around my surrounding like a mad man looking for the next attack. There’s another flash of metal to the left of me and I immediately turn towards it swinging the katana to hopefully bat it away. I barely deflect the ninja star away from me successfully but if I were a second slower the flying piece of metal would have found a home between my eyes.

Suddenly Gengetsu’s voice echoes from everywhere around me,

“Still using your eyes huh brat?! Even after all my magnificent illusions, you still defaulted back to looking around for danger!”

He gives a long drawn out sigh,

“Listen kid, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve poisoned you with some pretty potent stuff. It was super expensive, imported straight from the deserts of Wind Country. This is a very nasty concoction, it kills you very slowly; but, first it eliminates all five of your senses over an hour and a half span starting with touch, then sight, next is both taste and smell, and finally it takes away your hearing. After all that’s gone, you have thirty more minutes of pure hell to live, well that is if I don’t put you out of your misery first.”

His sickening chuckle rings out from all around me,

“However, I’m not a monster. I’ll at least give you a chance to retrieve the antidote, no matter how miniscule the likelihood of you actually succeeding. I’d hurry if I were you boy, you have a little less than two hours to get to the stairs of the hill from where you stand. Entertain me a little while you’re at it too, will ya?”

With that last bombshell, it goes silent again.

My steady aggressive heartbeat being the only thing that I can hear now.

*Ba-Bum**Ba-Bum**Ba-Bum*

The red blood that rushed through my veins wasn’t fueled by panic, fear, or confusion, but by pure unadulterated rage. My jaw is clenched so tight I could barely exhale through my mouth. My clenched fists were shaking uncontrollably while I hear the cracking of my knuckles as the hilt of the sword strained somewhat under the pressure. I was sure that my normally brown skin looked like the red flames that those Uchiha were said to wield.

‘This motherfucker thinks he can play around with my life and not pay for it. I’ll cut his bitch ass in half then crave some damn eyebrows into his stupid dead face!’ 

Even though my blood is boiling right now, I can’t afford to be stupid. If I can swing the sword in front of me to help me analyze where I am currently on my mental map of the hill then I can hopefully get to the stairs. The lake is going to be a huge crutch for me once again, but I don’t know how to confirm if I’m near or not. Whatever I’ll just stab at the water since its pretty deep then trace my way to the other side. I might as well just keep my fucking eyes closed since suddenly going blind in the middle of doing something would suck even if I can’t really see anyway.

I cautiously advance forward two steps and then take a big swing of the katana. I continue like that until the momentum of my blade is stopped by something. If my estimates are right, then this should the first of the ten trees I need to pass to get to the lake. I continue forward swinging my blade looking for something to slice. Then suddenly I trip over something that was above ankle level.

*FFFWWWSSHHH*

I hear multiple things careening towards me against the wind and I act almost instinctively. I drop low to the ground and swipe the katana in a wide arc around me to bat away the hostile objects. I hear metal bounce against the metal of my katana so it must have been a trap that launches those stupid ninja stars at me. I pick myself up and calm my nerves, so I do not make the same mistake again.

‘Of course, that eyebrowless freak bobby trapped the whole damn place!’

I start to slash down vertically right after every horizontal one to get rid of any obstacles that rat bastard might have put on the ground to trip me up. My strategy is working wonders now, I had yet to run into any trees or trip any traps in about thirty paces. I can’t be far away from the lake by now, it should be coming up in front of me in about two more trees.

*THHNNKKK*

Another tree down, one more to go before the lake! I swing the sword down trying to reach as far in front of me as possible.

*TWWWNNGGG*

I hear plucked twine meaning I hit another one of those stupid traps and I immediately become even more alert of my surroundings. I try to listen out for more of those dumb throwing stars only to catch the sound of something massive gliding through the air towards me at a breakneck speed. I instinctively dived forward to avoid getting hit by whatever is going for me, but I was too late, and I wind up being smacked to the side. I do not feel any pain but the momentum from the hit carries me sideways into another trap laid by that bastard. I stab my sword into the ground to stop my descent into what I assume is a very deep pitfall trap. I pull myself up onto solid ground taking care to keep myself low. I slash around the area around me and after a few minutes of hitting absolutely nothing I determine that I I am out of the forest. I drag the sword against the ground occasionally poking around to see where the lake is located at since I should be relatively close to it at this point. I keep my ears wide open as I probe the area hoping I can get my sword to dip into the lake. It is completely silent; the lake doesn’t make any sound since it’s a still body of water with nothing living in it but its crystal clear, nonetheless. Finally, I dip forward as my sword goes below surface level, I nearly fall completely in the water, but I lean back to avoid getting submerged.      

I do NOT want to find out how my current condition will affect my swimming ability.

*SPPPLSHH*

I smack the top of the water with the katana to be sure that I am indeed next to the lake. Then continue to trace the edge of lake with my sword as I walk slowly north toward the spot, I started this hellish experience. The swishing of my sword in the water is the only thing I can here now; no leaves rustling in the trees, no particularly strong gusts of wind and no insects buzzing or clicking. The silence is definitely eerie, but I welcome it since it makes it easier to hear the dangerous stuff coming to take my head off.

*FWSH-FWSH-FWSH*

As soon as I hear the familiar sound of those ninja stars coming towards me from my left, I crouch and start darting forward then roll out of the way. Only to have to duck out of the way to the left after I hear two more in front of me. I bring my sword up to hopefully parry some that come from my right where the lake is located shortly after I hear the weapons soar over my head. I hear the metallic clanks indicating that I was able to at least deflect some of them for causing me further bodily harm. Unsurprisingly, more goddamn pointy stars of death are coming from directly behind me, so I just roll out of the way to my right. I must drop to the ground instantly to avoid nearly being bisected something huge sailing over my head. Staying low to the ground, I start running forward because hoped that the onslaught of weapons tossed at me would stop after I got closer to the stairs. The attacks are rhythmic in nature; first it comes from my 3 o’clock, then 12 o’clock, 9 o’clock, and finally my 6. At first, I dodge as much as I can zig-zagging all over the place while taking special care to dodging the huge weapons. As I start to get tired, find myself deflecting the smaller projectiles and only dodging the noisy huge ones.

I must be getting close to the stairs its starting to hurt to breathe and the sound of my rapid heartbeat is starting to interfere with my ability to hear the projectiles in the air.  

*TING-TING*

My katana slaps away more projectiles that come from my left-

“WOAH!”

I hop backwards to avoid a sudden projectile that darts from my right and sticks into the ground right in front of me. Weird enough I hear a sizzling sound coming from the ground in front of me-

*BOOOM*

*SPLLLSHHH*

“…. GASPPPPP”

I struggle to the surface of the lake, frantically kicking my legs while waving my arms. Before long air fills my lungs signaling that I had managed to reach the surface successfully. I look around but I can’t see anything at all and probably worst of all my ears were ringing making me super vulnerable.

‘Damn that poison must have made me go blind already. I was right to just close my fucking eyes in the first place. Now I gotta get back to the fucking shore wherever that shit is right now. That GODDAMN DEMON REALLY TRIED BLOW ME UP!’

I swim to my far right until I hit the shore with my right hand then I climb out of the lake. It is right then that I realize that I didn’t have the fucking katana in my hands anymore and the bandages must have fallen off when I was in the water. Immediately, I start to kick my foot around on the ground hoping to hear some semblance of the sound of metal being hit.  

‘YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! Where did the sword go?! PLEASE don’t be in the lake it’ll take me forever to fin- ‘  

*TING-TINK-Tink*

 I hear something long and metal bouncing against the ground in front of me. I scramble toward where the I think the sword is and I tap the area slowly with the bottom of my foot until I hear the sound my callouses rap against the metal. I tap my fingers along the blade until I’m sure I know where the hilt is then I grasp it again with both hands making sure my hands were positioned correctly again.

*FWSH---PNK* *SSSssssss*

Another damn bomb projectile lands to my left and I immediately lung to my right with all my might.

*BOOOOM! *

I just barely manage to escape the full brunt of the blast, but the aftershock carried me face first into what I assume to be a tree. I collapse on my back while being assaulted by a spiraling dizzy feeling. Knowing I can’t stay down for long, I try to get up only to fall back down on my butt again and I roll to my side and vomit what tasted like water.  

‘Yep, I definitely got another goddamn concussion.’

Then I taste the blood that starts to leak into my mouth a bit and I notice I can’t really breath through my nose anymore.

‘And my fucking nose is broken! You got to be kidding me! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!’

“I would start moving if I were you kid! I’m DONE being generous…”     

 Gengetsu voice echoed out from behind me. His ominous threat at the end made chills go up my spine.

*FWSH*

I roll out of the way of a projectile coming from directly behind me and crawl away on my stomach before I manage to push my self up and leap away before the blast.

*BOOOMM! *

This time I land face first into the lake I can tell by the splash. I climb back out of the lake and I quickly notice I could not taste the blood in my mouth anymore.

‘I’m running out of time!’

I return my sword to the edge of the lake and take off sprinting in the direction I got pushed back from earlier. Returning to using my ears to pinpoint what where the projectiles were coming from and how I should deal with them, I deflect the stars and dodged the big things while sprinting my ass off towards the other side of the stairs. I can even hear the sizzling of those bomb things before they land so I make sure to zig zag away from the bombs while deflecting some of them into the water left of me. My katana that I had been dragging against the lake starts to drag against solid ground.

‘I made it to the clearing! I almost freaking there!’

I hold the katana so the blade should be pointing upwards and start hauling ass, making a blitz toward where I remember the stairs being. At the same moment, the number of projectiles being tossed at me multiples while coming in random intervals completely disregarding the pattern from before. I jump up to avoid some the ones thrown at my legs while deflecting more that are aimed at my neck. It is slowly becoming harder and harder to hear the weapons in the air, but I kept on moving like a machine. I did not even feel tired anymore, it felt like I could run around the whole world in a second. Soon I can’t hear anything at all but strangely enough there is no worry rising from the bottom of my stomach. I can’t really muster a coherent thought in the moment but only one thing shined through the cloudiness,

‘SURVIVE!!!!!’

I didn’t hear it; I didn’t see it; I didn’t touch it; I didn’t smell and I sure as hell didn’t taste but I felt it. I slide forward down on my knees and lean all the way back to dodge something that goes sailing over my face barely missing my broken nose. I stand up from my awkward position on the ground, reach forward and snatch what feels like a vial on from a string then I down the contents of the small glass.

I toss the sword to the side and start screaming my head off while beating my chest with my fists,

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh crap-“

My body seizes up and I start to fall forward.

Hanagetsuya POV

I sit at my dining table looking at the sunrise. It has been two days since I last saw Shogo, and I can’t help but feel a little guilty for not helping the child a little more if possible. It is not likely that the boy survived whatever twisted challenge Gen-boy had set for him on Purity Hill because Gengetsu was likely to capitalize on his ignorance of the Shinobi way. History repeats itself once again, just like how my son tortured him physically and mentally as a young boy, Gengetsu now abuses that child under the guise of “training.” And just like back then I find myself powerless to stop it, the only thing I can offer Shogo is help in picking up the pieces after and maybe stop him from becoming what I allowed Gengetsu to partially turn into during his training. I sigh and take a long sip of my warm tea.

*Knock-Knock*     

I stand from my position near the table and make my way to the front door. My heart is pounding a bit faster in anticipation because a small part of me hopes that the young boy I’ve become acquainted with in the past week has come back in one piece if not moderately wounded. I reached the door and I took a breath before sliding the door back only for all the air to leave my chest at the image in front of my home. It was Shogo lying down belly up on my front steps. At first, I thought it was his corpse but then I saw the slight rise and fall of his chest. My shock lasted a full five seconds before I hastily scoop his grievously injured body up in my arms and hurrying to my medical room. I lay him down on a cot and sterilize my hands. Shogo’s blood stained the entire front of my haori but I can’t bring myself to care. Shogo’s entire upper torso was almost bare, the entire top half of the white kimono I had given him was shredded and barely hung on by a few threads. Shogo’s skin was almost entirely caked in his blood it, his forehead to torso was almost entirely died red. I must work quickly to stop the bleeding immediately because he has definitely lost too much blood.

Six hours later…   

*Huff**Huff*

I sit down in a chair next to Shogo’s cot wiping sweat from my forehead with a clean rag. Shogo slept peacefully on the caught bandaged almost from head to toe out of danger for the most part. I had managed to stop the bleeding from his multiple lacerations and right his breathing by fixing a couple broken ribs along with setting his nose back into place. I tried to alleviate his concussion by taking down the swelling of his brain, it took a lot of effort getting my chakra to penetrate his thick skull but in the I was able sooth the pain. The blood transfusion was the hardest part of the operation because I had to find his correct blood type, AB Positive. I had to commission one of Gen-boys many cousins to run out and pick some up for me from the local normal doctors. I had to keep him stable the whole hour while the delivery was being made. The infusion was a simple process given my control over water and my many years of experience as a field medic. It was some of my finest work yet, but my only chagrin was all the scars that were left on his body. I could not afford to waste energy on perfectly melding his skin together. The most gruesome scar being a somewhat jagged line horizontal across his nasal passage, a remnant from his nearly split open broken nose. 

Sigh~

I put my head down in my hands in pure exhaustion. I had seen I quite a bit of blood and gore in my lifetime but none of my previous patients have affected as much as operating on this little six-year old kid. Shogo should be running around playing with toy swords and pranking his little friends, not getting beaten within an inch of his life by a man hell bent on turning him into a killing machine as quickly as possible. I steel my feature as I decide that I am going to at least try and do something this time.

Gengetsu POV

“AAAAHhhhhhh-HAAAaaaaa!”

*Smack**Smack*

I smack my lips then stretch my arms out above my head, trying to work out the kinks in my shoulders from throwing all those shuriken and kunai at that little bastard for so long.

‘Nothing beats sleeping in your own bed! Man, that was a great sleep!’

I turn to my side and see Tamari sleeping next to me with her earplugs in both ears. Apparently, I snore loud enough to cause tidal waves on the shores of Wave country. When she made that joke to her friends it stung a little bit, but I played it off by chuckling with a little tear in my eye. I exit the king-sized bed careful not to disturb my sleeping beauty. The last time I accidently woke Tamari up she stole my precious oyster oil hair gel and hid it away from me. My hair was a spiky mess for an entire week! I go downstairs and head to the bathroom to begin my usual hour beauty routine.

Forty-Five minutes later…

*Knock* *Knock*

I am in the middle of gelling my legendary hairdo when I hear a knock on my front door. Normally it pisses me off that somebody would just waltz up to my door without making an appointment prior, but I am having a good day so what the hell! I strut to the front door and slide it open and who I see behind it instantly sours my mode, my grandmother.

She bows to me,

“Lord Gengetsu, good afternoon.”   

I feel my right eye twitch a bit,

‘Alright old woman, I’ll play along with your little game. FOR NOW.’

“Oh hello! Lady Hana what brings you to my humble abode completely unannounced today?!”

I give a very fake warm response with the biggest grin I can muster at the end of my greeting.

“I have come to give you news on your apprentice’s current condition. I managed to seal all his wounds only an hour ago, also I managed to reverse the almost irreparable damage done by the neurotoxin the was in his system.”

Lady Hana narrows her eyes at me when she says the word “neurotoxin.”    

I shrug my shoulders,

“Extraordinary work! As expected by a coveted medic such as yourself, now is there something else I can help you with today? I have quite the busy schedule today so if you could please make it quick.”

‘I have another date today, you old crone, hurry up and leave!’

For the first time in my life I saw my grandmother visibly lose her usually cold composure at my uncaring response, it shook me a bit initially but annoyed me far more.

“Three broken ribs, a fractured jaw, fractured collar bone, eight lacerations, four broken fingers, two sprained ankles, and a serious concussion! All on a six-year-old child! Even your father wasn’t so brutal with you at that age!”

It feels like hot iron shoots itself through my veins, I clench my fists and teeth at this damn old woman’s audacity.

Lady Hana continues her rant,

“How could put a six-year-old child through the sixth sense training?! Even you were at least ten years old when your father put you through it! And a child with no shinobi background no less, I understand that you want to do away with Shogo, but you don’t need to torture the child! Gengetsu, this is your chance to rise above what your father forged you to be and your failing miserably- “

I could not take it anymore,

“YOU DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT WHAT I WENT THROUGH UNDER THAT MAN’S ORDERS! You think the years of constant psychological and physical torture from both my parents can compare to a couple hours of harsh training! AND you for damn sure don’t get a say in how I train MY apprentice. I’m giving that little shit a goddamn blueprint on how to survive in this hellhole!”

I calm myself down and step back into my house but before I slide the door closed, I look back at the old woman visibly downtrodden in my doorway,

“I recommend you go back to be the uncaring robot you’ve always been my entire life. This whole empathetic kind old woman bullshit you got going on right now is unbecoming of you.”

Then I shut the door.

Shogo POV 

Two days later…

Welp, I’m alive somehow and I am all the more determined to keep it that way. I walked out of the recovery more confident then ever after I survived a literally knife and bomb hurricane while blind and poisoned. I slide open the front door and step out into the veiled Nakajima sunlight. Lady Hana sped up my recovery by using something she called Hydrokinetic Regeneration, so it was like I never got turned into mince meat by that blonde bastard. I am determined to get some fresh air after being cooped up in the back room for the past couple of days. It’s been really quiet because Lady Hana’s not talking much to me, she just sips tea and sits at the table with a forlorn look on her face. Not the kind of atmosphere I want to be in after I just defied death. So grabbed the rest of my money, and I plan to venture out into town and buy myself a good sword from that blacksmith Mizu told me about two years ago. I going to use everything I got to get something awesome even if it takes all the money I have left.

I strut down the paved path of the compound towards the giant gate. I am definitely feeling myself today with a new haircut, a new dark blue kimono, and some more wooden sandals. Hana stayed true to her word, she trimmed my hair to make it neat and if I’m honest a little box shaped but I’ve only had my head shaved bald before so I can’t be mad. I didn’t even remember when I lost my old sandals, but I was extremely grateful for more.

‘Maybe I should get Lady Hana a present to cheer her up? Not too expensive of course!’

 I reached the gate and get ready to push my way out,

“Hey mud boy!”

I hear what could only be registered as an unclever insult about my skin tone. I whirl around towards the shrill annoying voice incensed about the interruption in my amazing day plan. I am greeted with the sight of a slightly pudgy white-haired boy who looked to be a bit older than me given his height. He smugly flashed his teeth and start spouting some crap I wasn’t paying attention to because my eyes were trained on the katana he had pointed at my chest.

“Blah Blah Blah- Hey!! Are you listening to me you son of a bitch?!”

I guess he realized I was more interested in his weapon than anything he was spouting from his fat mouth. He turned a little red at my lack of response and charged me with his sword. He took a slow swipe at my head which I deftly sidestep away from to the left. Next, he tries to bisect my midsection, so I duck out of the way and roll forward. I realize I messed up because I couldn’t see what he is going to do now. Suddenly, I got this instinctual feeling to duck down again and I feel a gust of wind sail over my head. The white-haired boy stumbles forward a bit losing his footing and I use that chance to stand up and clock right in the chin with a left haymaker. The katana clangs as it hit ground and pudgy sword boy drops to ground like a sack of potatoes.

I can’t help but grin at the feeling of adrenaline pumping through my veins while looking at my left fist.

‘That was fun!’