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"L-Let go of me, you fuckers...! I thought you said you'd let me go!" Timiwara squealed, squirming violently against the thick rope binding his arms and legs. As he flailed helplessly over Kuro's shoulder.
"Yeah… well, change of plans," Kuro muttered, hopping over a fallen branch on the forest floor. He adjusted his grip, before tightening his hold around the man's waist to keep him from wriggling too much.
Timiwara grit his teeth, biting down on his bottom lip. "Tch… fucking assholes," he mumbled under his breath, his voice muffled against Kuro's back.
From behind, Airi's voice cut in. "Maybe next time, don't go around slaughtering innocent kids and women just to feed your ego and greed."
Timiwara's whole body froze at that. He went quiet, the shame of it all sinking past his anger. He knew she was right and there wasn't much left he could say.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Sugari added, walking up beside Kuro and glancing at the bound man with a lazy grin. "At least you're not going to die."
"Yeah... I'm not so sure about that," Kuro muttered, not even turning his head as he spoke.
Timiwara's face fell instantly, all the color draining from it. "What... what do you mean by that?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"It depends on the jury," Kuro said flatly. "If they find you guilty and decide you're too dangerous... they might give you the death penalty."
Timiwara's eyebrows shot up as panic flooded his voice. "WHAT!...THE!...FUCK!" he barked, his body twisting harder against the rope. "After everything I did for you guys?! I risked my life! I helped you take down that lunatic! What was even the point if I was just gonna die anyway?!"
Kuro sighed internally.
He wasn't one to sugarcoat things, but even he could hear the desperation in the man's voice. "Don't worry. We'll tell them what you did...You helped us, and that counts for something. With any luck, they'll take that into account," Kuro said, trying to offer at least a shred of hope, whether or not Timiwara even deserved it. "You'll probably get less time...and maybe even avoid the death penalty."
Timiwara let out a shaky sigh of relief, the tension in his shoulders easing just a bit, but the worry in his eyes never left. He didn't say another word, but the silence around him spoke louder than anything else. He was scared, and honestly, Kuro didn't blame him...the Japanese tended to be harsher in their death penalties.
They kept moving through the dense forest, weaving between thick trees and stepping over exposed roots. The light had begun to dim as it was deep in the afternoon. They walked for a while, maybe half an hour, before the glow of campfires flickered in the distance.
As they got closer, the faint murmur of voices carried through the woods.
Airi sniffed the air, her eyes narrowing. "Is that...?"
"Rabbit soup," Kuro confirmed. He'd remember that smell anywhere even in his second life, he used to have to eat those on missions when his rations ran out.
"Ahh man, I'm hungry as hell…" Sugari groaned, rubbing his stomach like he hadn't eaten in weeks. He tilted his nose up, inhaling dramatically. "I swear, I can taste it just smelling it."
As they stepped out into the clearing, a handful of heads immediately turned their way. And the conversations stopped. A few people stood up fast, as their eyes widened, with their hands subtly moving toward their farm tools, which made for temporary weapons.
Kuro slowed his pace just slightly. He didn't blame them. After what those bandits did by slaughtering their families, burning homes, and destroying everything they loved. Every sound in the forest probably felt like the start of another nightmare. These people weren't just survivors. They were clinging to whatever scraps of peace they had left.
Kuro glanced around. Most were young men and women, maybe a few teens. There were even some children huddled together near the fires, wrapped in tattered blankets, holding onto one another like they might vanish if they let go.
Airi looked down, her gaze softening.
"YOU GUYS ARE BACK!" Daichi's voice cracked through the clearing as he sprinted toward them, his feet kicking up bits of dust and fallen leaves.
Kuro didn't say much and just gave a faint nod before unceremoniously dropping Timiwara off his shoulder and letting him hit the dirt with a dull thud.
"Shit! Be careful, fucker!" Timiwara snapped, wincing as he rolled onto his side, the ropes still tightly knotted around him.
Daichi didn't even spare him a glance as he ignore the man. "Did you guys do it?" he asked, his voice quieter now, like he was afraid of the answer.
Kuro let out a tired sigh and nodded again, slower this time. "Yeah… it's done."
"So I'm guessing everything went smooth here?" he asked, stretching one arm back and rolling his shoulder.
SNIFF!
The sound cut through the moment, and when Kuro looked back up, he noticed Daichi's nose running, a fat line of snot slipping down as his eyes welled up with tears.
"Y-Yeah…" Daichi sniffled, his voice trembling while he tried to hold it together. "Yeah, everything went okay…" his lips pressed into a tight line, as his eyes blinked rapidly like he didn't want the tears to fall, but they did anyway, trailing down his cheeks. He wiped at his face with the sleeve of his shirt, trying to brush it all off like it didn't matter, like he wasn't about to cry in front of everyone.
"You good, man?" Sugari asked, raising a brow as he stepped in and slapped a hand onto Daichi's shoulder.
Daichi didn't respond right away. Struggling to wipe away the tears flowing down his cheeks, like he was still fighting back whatever emotions were sitting in his chest. Then, without a word, he stepped forward and pulled all three of them into a tight heavy hug, his arms locking around their backs like a vice.
"I'm just glad you guys are safe," he muttered.
"*Cough*... Ye–Yeah, preciate it, but you might kill us if you don't stop squeezing," Kuro wheezed out, his arms pinned to his sides as Daichi's grip tightened even more.
"Yeah... please, I don't wanna break my back," Airi added with a strained breath, her back arched slightly as the air was practically being forced out of her lungs.
"This is my fault, I practically walked myself into that one…" Sugari grunted, his face squished against Daichi's shoulder as he tried and failed to wriggle free. "Dude's built like a gorilla..."
Daichi finally let go after a few more seconds, stepping back and rubbing at his eyes quickly like he didn't want to be seen crying again. The three of them took a collective breath, gasping a bit as they caught their air back.
"Sorry... I just— I really thought you guys would've died out there," Daichi mumbled, his voice cracking as he looked down at the dirt beneath his feet. "Maybe if I went with you... maybe I could've helped... Damnit, I shouldn't've stayed behin—"
"Ah, shut it," Kuro cut in, not harshly, but firm enough to stop the spiral. He exhaled heavily through his nose and brushed some dust off his sleeve. "Don't regret choosing to live. You had a choice, Daichi...not everyone does. Be glad you made it."
He then stared him in the eye. "You've got a family waitin' back home, don't you? I doubt they'd want you out there risking your life just to prove something. They'd rather have you alive than get told that their son died."
Sugari gave a thumbs up beside him, nodding like his head was about to fall off. "Facts... What he said," he grinned, trying to lift the mood with a little energy. "Nothing wrong with sittin' one out if it means you go home in one piece."
Airi stepped forward and lightly punched Daichi in the arm. She winced a bit, shaking her fist like she'd just hit a concrete wall. "Ow... okay, seriously, what the hell are you made of?" she muttered, before grumbling back on topic. "Anyway, yeah, don't be a sore loser. Nobody's holding a grudge. We're alive, you're alive...end of story."
Daichi sniffled once, wiping at his nose as a small, crooked smile finally broke across his face. "Y-Yeah..." he said quietly, his voice still shaky but grateful. "Thanks, you guys..."
...SHUFFLE...SHUFFLE...
A gentle shuffle of feet across the dirt pulled their attention. The village chief made his way over, his hands folded respectfully in front of him. His tunic, though singed and dirt-stained, still held a quiet dignity. He came to a stop a few feet away from them and gave a small, deep bow.
"Forgive me for interrupting," he said, his voice low and sincere, "but… I'm assuming you got rid of those pesty bandits, right?" His tone wavered just slightly, like the words alone were sour on his tongue. Even mentioning them made his face twitch with disgust.
Kuro responded with a deep bow, before straightening back up. "Yes, sir."
The old man's face instantly lit up, the creases of his face pulling upward with genuine relief. "Thank you," he said with another deep bow, even lower this time. "Truly… thank you."
Kuro's brows furrowed as he stepped forward, trying to gesture him upright. "You don't have to bow, sir. Especially not to me," he said, a little uncomfortable seeing an elder bend his back that far.
But the chief didn't budge. "Let me show my gratitude. You've done more than you know."
Kuro let out a slow sigh, his hand falling back to his side as he gave up trying. "Alright... if you say so."
The chief finally straightened himself out, letting out a tired breath. "Unfortunately, I don't have much to offer you. Most of our crops were burned in the raid. We'll need to replant and rebuild everything from the ground up..." His expression dipped for a second, then softened. "But... we have a pot of rabbit soup going. It's not much, but you're more than welcome to join us. It's the least we can do."
Before anyone could even respond, Sugari perked up like he'd just been waiting for that.
"Oh thank god," he grinned, already stepping past the chief with his hands behind his head and his mouth practically watering. "Finally. I'm starving."
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Kuro and his team ended up staying behind for a few more days. They couldn't just leave when the village was in the state it was in. Everything was barely holding together, and even that felt like an overstatement. Most of the homes were burned out husks, the farms were nothing but patches of scorched earth, and what little money the village had was already spent hiring shinobi from the Leaf to deal with the bandits.
And now, with no crops to sell and no trade routes running through, they had nothing left to bring in money. No food, no supplies, and no way to rebuild.
So, the team decided to stay behind for a couple more days.
With Sugari's earth release, he managed to create soft, rich soil by breaking down the hardened, scorched layers and pulling up nutrients from deeper underground.
Airi stepped in with her water release, forming small irrigation channels that ran through the fields. She controlled the flow with care, keeping it balanced so the soil wouldn't flood or dry out. She even purified the water from the nearby stream, making sure it wouldn't poison the fresh crops.
Daichi handled the muscle work. He didn't know any nature style jutsu's, but the man was built like a wall. He chopped fallen trees and gathered sturdy logs from the nearby woods, dragging them back by hand.
Kuro focused on gathering seeds. With his wind release, he used his gale palm jutsu till the soil in rows and spread the seeds evenly across the land. When the planting was done, he used his wind to help air out the damp fields, making sure the moisture set in just right.
They didn't fix everything and doing that would take months, maybe even years. But in just a few days, they managed to give the villagers something they hadn't had in a long time.
Hope....
"BYE! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
"OUR SAVIORS!"
The voices rang out across the village as Kuro and his team stood just outside the worn gates, facing the people as they cheered them on. The chief stood at the front of the crowd, his back slightly hunched, but his hands pressed together in a deep, respectful bow. His son stood at his side, clutching the edge of his father's side to make sure he doesn't get injured.
"You've all done more than we could ever ask," the chief said, his voice almost cracking from the sheer gratitude he had for them. "We won't forget it."
Kuro scratched the back of his neck and spoke up. "Just doing our job… but take care of each other. That's what matters now."
Airi gave a small smile and nodded politely, her gaze softening as she looked over the villagers before giving a long glance over at Kuro. Sugari gave a kid a goofy wink, which earned a small, shy smile in return.
The crowd waved, their faces lit with relief and something close to joy.
Kuro turned to his team. "Let's go."
They gave one last glance back before walking toward the dirt path leading away from the village, the sound of the cheers slowly fading behind them.
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[DING!]
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Kuro's brow lifted slightly as a sudden pop-up blinked into view in front of him. 'Tch... what now?' he thought, letting out a quiet sigh. He blinked once, then stared at the notification hovering mid-air.
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[YOU'VE GAINED A NEW TITLE]
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