Noboru stood atop the hill as Rin descended toward the village, his eyes were wide, and completely captivated by what lay before him. He dropped to his knees, and peered out at the open ocean. To Noboru it was something straight out of a dream, an endless sea of water that went on for an eternity.

  He had spent the last 13 years in the Land of Water, on an island, and between the walls of Amegakure. Even when he ran away all those years ago he’d never made it quite this far.

  A sad smile creased his dry lips, he sat there in deep remembrance contemplating endless impossibilities long lost, and forgotten.

  “Minaka, I never stood a chance.” He said the words out loud as if it was somehow cementing it as fact, re-affirming the futility of his past, etching it into history, and his brain.

  At ten years old could he really have survived outside of Ame’s walls? Could he have braved the Rain Road, or Inuzuka forest? Could he have hitched a ride on a boat, and sailed endlessly into the night?

  He brought his hand up to the pendant again and thought of Chocho, or at least he tried to. But the reality of his thoughts were much darker, more obscene. The answer to that question was no he would not have made it on his own.

  As he sat there on his knees he looked down picturing his own guts gushing out of him, liters of his blood spurting, and squelching into the mud only to be washed away with the rain. If he had died like that boy would Mikan have found him? Would she have cared?

  He reached into his pouch and grabbed the headband, it was still wet with that boys blood. He traced his fingers across the top, studying the symbol, learning it, memorizing it. The symbol itself was a snowflake, which Noboru considered fitting,

  After putting the headband back in his pouch he finally stood up, and gazed down at the dock. He could see two figures standing side by side, and out in the ocean he could see a large boat slowly coming to port. He swallowed nervously. Not only was this his first time seeing the ocean, but he wouldn’t have much time to process it - that boat was likely his ride to Point Break.

  ‘I-I guess I better go introduce myself.’

  He finally followed in Rin’s footsteps cascading down the hill, but unlike Rin who headed in the direction of the nearby village, Noboru made his way toward the port, the savory scent of salty sea air brigading his nostrils as he drew closer and closer. Aside from your obvious dock workers there were two boys standing by the port, both of whom were wearing “Amegakure” headbands

  Noboru didn’t recognize either of them which didn’t surprise him; after all that’s what happens when you spend most of your time within the walls of the Kosutta complex. One of the boys was tall, and muscular with short blue hair, and the other was about Noboru’s height with short green hair.

  They both turned to greet him as he approached.

  “You must be… Noboru right? You’re the Kosutta shinobi we’ve been waiting for.” The muscular boy said. Now that Noboru had a closer look at him his face was chiseled, and rough, his arms swollen, and scarred. He definitely exercised more than your average shinobi.

  But he also had this look on his face that gave the impression that he was always angry or upset about something, his eyes jagged and poignant staring at Noboru with a fierce intensity, even as he spoke his arms were crossed, and he eyed him suspiciously.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “That’s correct.” Noboru heard himself say. “B-But how did you know?”

  “You’re the Kosutta heir.” The other boy interrupted. “And this is Hilt Ikeda, he doesn’t like to talk about it, but he’s-“

  “Rubin’s son…” Noboru said interrupting the boy. “I apologize for not recognizing you. As his son it’s probably expected of you to know your colleagues.”

  “Stop that, don’t patronize me.” Hilt said harshly, the words practically spitting out of his mouth.

  Noboru raised his head, and gave Hilt a confusing look. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand?”

  The other boy shook his head and tried to change the subject. Unlike Hilt, his posture was more relaxed, and carefree. “My name is Ebisu, it’s nice to meet you.” He reached out his hand, and Noboru shook it gratefully.

  To Noboru things were going well so far, but they could be better. He was afraid he’d somehow left a negative impression on Hilt which wasn’t something he wanted to do; after all it was thanks to his dad that he was there at all - for better or worse.

  Hilt circled Noboru looking him up and down. “You traveled alone?” He asked suspiciously. “There’s no one else with you.”

  In that brief moment Noboru considered the possible consequences of talking about Rin right now. Considering Hilts suspicious nature he figured it’d be best if he kept that information to himself. Admitting to his escort would open a can of worms he wasn’t in the mood to get into.

  “That’s… correct.” Noboru said again, but he did not elaborate further.

  “That’s odd, since the Lead Jonin specifically told us that everyone would be traveling in pairs.”

  A specification that Noboru did not find terribly surprising considering what he was up against out in the forest. He also remembered Rubin telling him that the other participants had jonin shinobi to escort them - Noboru being there without an escort or a partner would certainly raise questions.

  Ebisu stepped in front of Noboru as if to defend him from harm. “It shouldn’t be too surprising Hilt, you said yourself there are supposed to be 9 of us, so naturally someone would be forced to travel alone.”

  “Without an escort?” Hilt interjected, and stopped in his tracks. Now he was eying both Noboru, and Ebisu suspiciously.

  Ebisu took a deep breath, and turned to face Noboru who wore a blank expression on his face. “Well, which jonin did you travel with?”

  Noboru paused for a moment musing over his options. What could he possibly say here to assuage suspicion?

  “I had to leave a day after everyone else because of a Kosutta custom I had to abide by. By the time I was ready to leave the rest of the jonin were occupied.”

  “Kosutta custom?” Ebisu asked raising an eyebrow. He turned his head to Hilt. “Do you know anything about that?”

  “The Kiidogan.” Hilt said pressing his fingers against his forehead frustratedly. “I remember Rubin mentioning that before I left - Noboru here had his awakening ritual yesterday.”

  “Oh.” Ebisu said nodding his head, “I guess that makes sense.”

  “I hope you don’t blame me for forgetting considering how useless your clan is.” Hilt said shaking his head with disdain.

  “Hey come on, that’s not right Hilt.” He turned back to Noboru. “He doesn’t mean that.”

  “Like hell I don’t. Four clans in the village and only the Inuzuka, and the Akinoyo are worth a damn.”

  Noboru figured that was probably true. His clan only had three functioning shinobi at the moment, his older sister Mikan, then there was the chunin Minori, and lastly was the jonin level shinobi Natsuki. Then if you take the combat troops into consideration, the lack of positive population growth, and Sejin’s stubbornness the overall efficacy of the clan is ostensibly low.

  “It’s okay Ebisu, Hilt is 100% correct in his assessment.”

  “But-“ He started, but after another moment he just shook his head. “You shouldn’t let people walk all over you like that.”

  ‘Was that what was happening?’ Noboru thought. He did not see it that way.

  “I guess you are Mikan’s little brother.” Hilt said. “If you’re even half the shinobi she is then I guess it’s not too surprising that you made it here on your own.”

  Those words cut deep into Noboru’s soul. The truth of course was that he didn’t travel on his own, that he never awoken the Kiidogan, and that he wasn’t even a quarter of the shinobi that his older sister Mikan was. But how could he tell them that? How could he tell them that he was a failure?

  Rin’s poisonous words came crashing into his mind

  “I can see why Mikan kept you a secret, you’re nothing like her.”

  Noboru found himself staring down at his feet, a pained expression plan and clear on his face, but luckily neither of the boys seemed to see it. They were looking past him at another pair of shinobi walking in their direction.