❝Justice comes from vengeance, but that justice only breeds more vengeance..❞ ㅡ Pain
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CHAPTER NINETEEN:
BENEFACTOR
A lonely man walked down the deserted border which separated his home from the Land of Wind, footsteps eerily soundless as he seemed to float above the sand. His face was obscured within the shade provided by a hat, but his purple eyes shone upon the few beings that dared stand in his way. The wind blew softly around that place, way too arid for his liking; as he was used to the fresh atmosphere which prevailed in his village.
His feet led him towards a cave in a mountain, where no light fought against the darkness. Any other man would have been wary, perhaps even scared upon walking into such isolated place. However, he was no mere man; he held powers many feared and respected at the same time, a reputation within criminals that had long since placed him on top of the world like a god.
His eyes could see in the dark, no matter its intensity. And so, he instantly caught sight of what surrounded him.
Bodies lay within the chamber, discarded and bloodied. The once polished room had crumbled, as though an earthquake had assaulted it; dust and fallen rocks spoke of the battle that had broken out.
"Looks like they never stopped disagreeing."
Zetsu emerged from the damp earth, his greenish features contorted into the wickedest of expressions. He casted an uninterested glance around, tilted its head before turning towards his lord.
"Their present was a mirror of the past they have been trying to run from," the black side of his face spoke in a dark, grave voice. "There aren't as many as expected, though."
His other half hummed in thought and replied in a much lighter, child-like voice, "Do you think they hid? Like good ol' times."
Pain rounded on his feet to scan the mess with keen eyes, only to agree with Zetsu; although many bodies lay dead at their feet, there weren't as many as he knew they previously were.
"Search the place, look for anything useful to us," Pain ordered as he turned around, ready to call the meeting off.
But he was stopped, as the plant-man addressed him. "This one is still alive."
The woman was on the verge of death, what with her bones having been crushed all together. The leader of Akatsuki recognised her right away, for it was not the first time they had crossed paths.
"Nazumi," he acknowledged, without the respect to which she was used. She expected no other salutation, however, and was not going to blame him; their relationship had never been one to envy, but only now did she feel a tad guilty about the reason behind, about her past actions and resolution.
A gagging sound was her response; blood coated her open throat. Never in the mood to hear her pleas, or those from any other member of her clan, Pain glared into her blind eyes.
"They are going after the girl." Lady Nazumi took one last shaky breath. "Tell Konan I'm... sorry."
As the old woman died with the words in her throat, Pain called for his subordinate.
"Give notice to the rest. We are going to Konoha."
--
The moon shone bright in the night sky, its powerful glow caressed the grass on which they sat. A feeling of contentment flooded the atmosphere, warmly ruffled by the fresh breeze that seeped in between the many trees which formed the woods. No word was spoken by the two young friends, for there was no reason to break the comfortable silence; it should prevail tonight, a mutual agreement they had reached a couple of minutes after meeting.
Some feet away from their location, the village slept, but the artificial lights still sparkled in the quiet streets as to dim the beautiful essence of the moon.
Neji Hyūga lay down on the green grass, features relaxed as he cherished the moment of peace; he didn't have much of that nowadays, what with the loud team with which he had been spending the past two years of his life. One could see indifference shining in those lavender eyes of his as he stared up, the prideful glint that always swam within them. He had no desire to train, even though he would be fighting in less than twelve hours. In all honesty, the prodigy felt it unnecessary — a waste of time.
There was no way he could lose.
"And why would you say that?" Rei had made such a mistake by asking that, but she blamed her own frustration towards the insanely-strong boy.
"It's already been written. No genius can ever lose against a hard-worker, no matter how much the latter might improve. They're unable to stand a chance against someone who's been born with real talent."
As much as it surprised people, especially the ones in her team, Rei got along just fine with the arrogant genin. She had been his confident when they were much younger, knew about the darkness in his past and therefore, had made a strong connection with him. Perhaps it had been a moment of sensitiveness of hers, or maybe she had seen herself in his pained words — she wouldn't know. But the death of his father had touched her, which was the main reason she couldn't stand being in the same room as his lady-like cousin, Hinata.
Rei would never comprehend the society in which the Hyūga lived, why some were worthier than others; leading them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of those who had been categorized as better. Losing his father had made a crack within his soul, one that wouldn't stop bleeding, and he was oh-so-angry towards everyone in his family.
She felt for him; she would be heartless if she didn't. However, there were times in which Rei couldn't put up with his pompous attitude and would blow up.
Glancing at his unnervingly-calm features out of the corner of her eye, the girl could not help but wish for someone to put some sense in his mind, to get his ego down from the clouds.
"I would still put money on Naruto," she declared, unable to stop herself in the end.
Neji smirked, amused. "You don't have much money."
"Which is why I won't."
In her hand, Rei gripped the scroll given by her father so long ago. Her fingers tightened around it as she mulled over, but there was no use. There were many things she couldn't understand, would never dare to try because of that annoying fact. Sometimes, she would read whatever there was to read; but those words made no sense at all, seemingly vacant of meaning and coherence. The power she had felt when battling against Lee seemed to have disappear, as if it had never been there; only the remembrance of a hidden talent remained. No matter her attempts, she couldn't even catch a glimpse of said feeling.
She had started to believe there was nothing for her to use in that scroll, after all.
"It's getting late," Neji stated while standing up, then gave her a look and asked, "Are you going to spend the night here?"
Rei shrugged.
"This place isn't that bad," she joked, but he shook his head in disappointment.
"You should rest. Remember who you're fighting tomorrow," he commented before turning away and heading the distant lights of the village. "Tenten is strong, and she was powerless against her."
Her lips draw a tight smile.
"Goodnight, Neji."
"Hn."
By the time his silhouette was long lost behind the dark horizon, Rei sighed and stood up. She put the scroll into her pouch, spared a glance at the carefree leaves of the trees as they were ruffled by the breeze, and then started her way back home — as it should be called, and yet it still didn't feel like such.
Her footsteps were slow as she walked down the main street, her mind filled with worries and thoughts about the upcoming day. The face of Temari, as well as her words, repeated like a broken recorder, reminding her of the inevitable. She knew not to underestimate the woman from Suna, not to forget about her wicked character.
If possible, she would crush Rei; that much was evident, as ever since she had stepped into Konoha, she had made sure to show her intentions.
The girl stopped dead in her tracks, frown on place as she suddenly felt a small amount of self-loathing.
Weren't you also eager to fight her? Where is your true nature, your pride?
That voice in her head kept reprimanding her, ordering her to keep her head high, her confidence undisturbed. Her senses sharp—
—and then she felt them: someone was following her.
Her body stilled, her breath slowed down as to make no sound whatsoever. But suddenly, they were gone. Their presence dissipated within thin air, causing her to quickly turn on her heels and ran in the same direction she had come.
Her eyes widened upon catching sight of a long, black cloak rounding a corner.
Impossible, she thought to herself.
"Stop," Rei tried to yell, but due to her shock, her words came out in a meek whisper.
Nevertheless, the person did as told; they came to a halt right before the border of the woods. Their cloak swayed ever so gracefully, following the movements of the wind without much trouble. They were standing in front of her eyes, but her senses couldn't see them; Rei never thought it possible for someone to hid their presence completely.
"Who are you?"
They turned around; which elicited a suppressed groan from the girl, for their features were hidden in the shade of the trees. "A benefactor."
The woman had a smooth voice, vacant of any emotion which could give away her true intentions; but her words had immediately grabbed her interest.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rei insisted, wary.
The stranger didn't respond for some seconds. "You haven't improved much with that scroll of yours, have you?"
Subconsciously, her hand flew to her pouch. But the cloaked woman stood still, seeming uninterested in any attempt of hers to protect the scroll.
"How do you know about it?"
For a fleeting moment, the woman seemed amused. "I know more than you would expect, Rei."
"I will ask again," she growled, growing impatient, "what do you want?"
The stranger looked around as the wind became wilder, and then, she disappeared. Rei knew she couldn't trust her senses with her as her opponent, as for whatever reason, the woman neutralized any possible way to be tracked down.
"You must decide now, Rei," her voice came from everywhere, carried by the wind. "But I believe it's time for you to know."
The girl tensed as she suddenly felt her presence right behind her. "Know what?"
She turned around, only to meet eyes as orange as hers.
"Who you really are."