4 4. The Girl Named Vivi

Eiji had never been in a fight before. He tended to stray from things that involved violence, even in his old life. He didn't see the point of it. He'd rather sit back and enjoy what was left of his life.

So what was he thinking, stepping in such a dangerous situation? Even more so without a weapon.

He dived at the bearded man in a streak of red light. He clenched his fists, gathered his strength from lower body, and let them fly, striking the burly man squarely on his jaw.

The man had been caught off guard and was sent tumbling to the ground.

Despite his small stature Eiji held strength unnatural for his size, due to his bloodline. He had a bit more strength than the average adult, hence the reason why even though Eiji stuck him, the man was thrown like a ragdoll. While Eiji's strength was incredible, it wasn't nearly enough to end the fight in an instant.

The rapist got up rather quickly. Hand pressed against his jaw, rubbing it softly. He then looked in Eijis direction and smiled dumbly. "You pack quite the punch, eh kid?" He rotated his head, and cracked his neck.

Ignoring the man, Eiji turned his head. Eiji noticed that the young girls knees had already buckled. On top of that, she no longer looked conscious.

Poor girl, she might have nightmares about this day for years to come.

Eijis finally looked back, his head was filled with adrenaline as he sized up the man before him. He felt slight fear, but another, stronger feeling took over him.

He wanted to battle.

In the situation he was currently in, a sane person would have taken the girl and immediately ran away. But he wasn't sane at the moment.

Eiji activated his sharingan. And darted at the man once more, his torso almost parallel to the ground.

The man widened his eyes as he hadn't expected him to attack first. But readied himself into a boxers stance, after that first punch, he didn't dare to underestimate Eiji. It wasn't a normal kid he was dealing with, so he kept cautious.

'Why are his eyes like that?' The killer furrowed his brows as Eiji neared. And then, he disappeared right in front of his eyes.

"Wha-"

Pah!

He was struck on the back of his head by what felt like a brick. This time, the man didn't fall over. His head moved slightly as it made contact with Eijis legs. He reached for Eijis ankle, but Eiji pulled back before he could touch him, almost like he could see what his opponent would do before he did it.

Eiji landed squarely after his flip, and then went right back to attacking. He was experiencing the thrill of battle, and couldn't help but want to feel this way forever. But that was impossible, sooner or later, one of them had to die.

"Slippery brat, stay still!"

The man jabbed two times that Eiji easily evaded, and then did a hook. The hit didn't connect, the wind howled from the force just above Eiji's head, ruffling his hair slightly.

Coming into the battle, Eiji wasn't very confident of his chances, but it is now that he realized how much of a cheat his sharingan actually was. He felt like he could even end the battle soon if he wanted to.

Avoiding the mans hook, Eiji jumped off the ground to right in front of the mans face. He spun his body around in mid-air and unsuccessfully kicked at his head.

He followed up with another unexpected kick from overhead, that shook the mans brain intensely.

Eiji backed off and watched the enemy stumble, trying to find his footing.

The bearded mans ears were ringing, and he found it hard get his center of balance. Eiji capitalized on the chance, and hurtled his leg at the his right knee cap.

"Arghhh!"

Even with his strong physique, his knee caved in and dropped. That one kick carried most, if not all of Eijis strength behind it.

However, Eiji wasn't done yet. He struck the other knee with the same amount of force.

"Urghhhhhh! Damn kid I sw-"

Bam!

Eiji connected his uppercut and felt a crack as he did, but it wasn't from him. The mans head was rocked back like a punching bag. Shaking his brain even more.

'Hm?'

Eiji picked up on a sharp object hidden in the mans oversized jacket, and removed it from him. It was a dagger, a very fine, and sharp dagger. He could even see his bloodstained face and spinning tomoe clearly.

He glanced back and forth between the man who held his chin with a bloodied nose, and the weapon.

Could he do it? Could he follow through with killing someone?

He wasn't naive enough to think his road to gaining more strength would be all sunshine and rainbows. And he knew that killing wasn't frowned upon as much here, as it was on earth.

But the morals he had still carried on with him. Could he disregard those morals, if it meant he gained strength in the process? His hand shook slightly. His heart rate increased, and a slight sweat developed on his palm and forehead.

He calmed his erratic breathing as he once again focused on the weapon in his hand and the man.

The answer was simple.

"I'll do it. Even if I become a monster."

SLICE!

He cleanly slit the mans throat, effectively ending his life. The body fell backwards in an awkward position where his head touched the back of his shoes.

A fountain of red gushed from the mans neck. It painted the ground around him a deep red as well, Including Eiji who stood dumbly in front of the corpse.

The adrenaline had begun to die down, and he was almost back to his normal self. He couldn't believe what he had just done.

"I really... killed him."

The feeling of fear for killing the man was gone. In fact, he was as calm as a flowing river. The shock hadn't quite settled in yet, and Eiji wasn't sure it would.

Even watching a scene like this, he didn't feel nauseous like most people would, nor disgusted. 'Is this normal?'

No, it wasn't normal... he wasn't normal. His eyes slowly began to rotate, and rotate. In between his two tomoe in each eye, another tomoe squeezed in and joined the rotation.

Eiji was still in a trance, and hadn't been able to notice the shift of perception of his surroundings.

A sharp pain pounded in his head, forcing him to deactivate his doujutsu. His mind fatigued, as well as his body. So much for resting.

He cast a quick tired glance towards the girls direction who peacefully rested like a baby, and then heard clacks beat against the ground from afar. Two people accompanied by guards frantically approached the alleyway and when they turned, they were shocked and startled by the sight.

Eiji finally relaxed as he indentified who it was, and let the much needed sleep, overtake him. He had done enough for the day.

-2 and a half days later-

Standing in the river, a man strolled for an indefinite amount of time. His eyes were a piercing purple with black spirals. The man walked on the blood soaked river. At each step, the river became more bloodied, another body dropped into the water. His steps were unhurried. He gripped a silver katana in a black sheathe as he reached two large metallic gates, so far high in the sky, he couldn't see where it ended.

His hair tied by many piece of string. He gazed at the door as he let a small smile grace his face. His steady hurt turned jittery, and excitement rose from his chest.

"Here I come, home of the giants."

He slightly bent his knee, and drew his sword at an untracked speed in an Iaido position. A large slash collided with the gate, cutting it apart as if it were paper. He sauntered to the gate, as if he was entering a place he was familiar with. His smile widened, and eyes narrowed as he released every inch of his bloodlust.

Letting whoever was inside know, that he had come.

And then... all was black.

Eijis eyes shot open, with a bit of perspiration trickling down the side of his head. The image of the man was fresh in his mind. The sheer pressure he experienced, and the bloodthirsty aura that oozed out of him, capable of destroying a mountain.

He was not human, THAT was not human.

However, he couldn't help but think he overlooked something. He was so absorbed and destracted by the mans aura that he had forgotten to take in his physical appearance. Call it crazy, but Eiji could feel a sort of connection, almost like he looked at an older version of himself...

'Yeah right.' He shook his head to rid him of the thought. 'It's just a dream anyway.'

"Eiji! You're finnally awake!" A tired raspy voice said. He turned his head and saw the matron who ran over to him, checking over him to make sure nothing was out of place. "We were really worried about you. You've been lying in this bed for two and a half days. And when they found you..."

Tears threatened to come out as she remembered a group of extremely important people with one of the children from the orphanage, carrying Eiji as if he were a corpse. Her heart clutched and her breath sped up as she ran over to them with shaking hands, and snatched him right out of their arms, not caring that she had gotten a large amount of blood on herself.

Her world had nearly come crashing down, until she realized Eiji still breathed steadily, and only seemed to be asleep. Only then was she able to calm down. Losing any of her children, was the one thing she was scared of the most. Even more than her own life.

She sat next to the side of his bed, as she pulled him in a deep hug, and rubbed his back in a circular motion.

"I'm so so sorry." Tears streamed down her eyes as she repeated those words like a mantra, quieter and quieter by the second, until they became a whisper. Eiji didn't know what to do or say in the situation. So he let her continue, even though the fault didn't lie in her, but the care and affection she showed, didn't feel too bad after what he just experienced.

He also took the chance to peek in his surroundings. It was a large room with several beds spread across from each other. Curtains covered the window, but the light still shined through them.

His scent picked up a fresh disinfectant smell.

The room was slightly dirty, and he could recognize the floor from anywhere. They were most likely still in the orphanage, and in a room he had never seen before.

The matron momentarily stopped rubbing his back. "I'm sorry you had to see that side of me Eiji," she said. "But there's something you need to know. Very important guests should be coming pretty soon. Treat them with respect okay, they were here yesterday as well, and were also really worried about you."

Eiji could already guess who the 'Important guests' were. After all, he had seen them just before he fainted.

"Yes ma'am."

"That's a good boy." She ruffled his hair and stood up. "I have to go now. Let me know if there is anything you need, okay? And don't go wandering off anywhere."

Eiji nodded. Satisfied with his reaction, the matron left the room. And cast one last glance towards him that nearly made him chuckle. Eiji glanced to his left where he noticed a couple of fruits and some water. He didn't move his body as everything came straight to him like a magnet.

He then flipped the curtains open and watched the view from his window, until his long awaited visitors arrived.

The first to open the door, was the girl he saved. She wore a blue gown, and on her head some sort of tiara. When she opened the door, she stood rooted in the ground like a statue, and then tried to run back. It seemed she hadn't expected Eiji to wake up again so soon. The door was blocked by two adult men who smiled as they saw the flustered look on her face.

"Where are you going? Go on and introduce yourself to him." One of the men urged. He was average height, had a tied-off beard; as well as long, curly, black hair. He wore a green robe with yellow edging, a orange and beige sash around his waist, and a purple coat.

'Nefertari Cobra.' The king of his kingdom.

The other was a man who wore a white robe, and had purple markings running down from just below his eyes. He was known as pell the falcon and was one of the two head guards of the Alabasta kingdom. A mans fate who wouldn't be so pleasant in the future.

"U-I'm.. Nefertari Vivi, nice to meet you!" She bowed her head, untypical for a princess to do for a commoner, or any other royal for that matter.

"Nic to meet you too." Eiji replied, slightly bowing his head in his bead.

He wasn't dealing with everyday people, so he couldn't just ignore them like he usually would.

"Young man, first I'd like to say, I'm extremely grateful for saving my daughter." Cobra bowed as pell followed suit.

"It's alright, I was just in the area." Eiji replied, showing the ruler equal amount of respect he was given.

'Good. Humble, nice, and has a good head on his shoulders. On top of that, he's strong. I could use someone like him for Vivi.' Cobra sneakily thought with narrowed eyes.

He raised his torso and flashed a quick smile. "I know this is rather sudden. But I have a proposition you might be interested in... If you are up to the task."