018: A Bard's charm
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**A few weeks later**
Have you ever seen a TikTok and thought to yourself, 'I could do that, it looks easy,' only to be disappointed because it was, in fact, not that easy?
"For fuck's sake, why is this so hard? They make it seem easy in the anime. Kugo just made the beverage float into his mouth, but when I try it, I can't," Sora complained to no one in particular.
Senbonzakura was the only person who knew about Sora's background, but he was gone, at least for now.
"I need a break," said Sora.
"Maybe I should increase my spiritual power once more. I mean, it should do the trick, right?" Following the phrase "the more, the better," he went on his way to entertain the children in the village.
On his way, he passed by Itachi to go with him, but Itachi only said, "I can't, brother, I am busy," while he continued to train, completely ignoring Sora. They usually got along well, but his brother could be a little inconsiderate in some ways.
"Okay, brother," said Sora, noticing Itachi's mood. He could see that, for Itachi, his behavior was an absolute disrespect to their father, who was currently fighting a war.
'Communication dispels tension, communication dispels tension,' thought Sora, and in an uncharacteristic way, he let out a glimpse of himself.
"Just so you know, singing helps me control and develop my illusions. I may not look like it, but I'm terrified for Father, who is out there and may not come back home," said Sora while running away.
Itachi sighed at Sora's words and continued training. He was someone perceptive, and he could feel that while his brother loved him dearly, there was an invisible barrier that separated the two. Just like a one-way mirror where his brother could easily see him, but not the opposite.
It seemed that the barrier that separated them was getting weaker.
* * *
Sora went to his happy place, Konoha's cemetery. Well, happy was not the term, but he always felt more in tune with the dead than with the living.
'That was embarrassing, fuck, fuck, that was so cringe,' thought Sora. He could think that his decision to communicate with his brother was good, but unfounded embarrassment clouded his mind. In this way, common sense tried to catch him, but Sora was faster, unfortunately.
'Crap, I'm in bad shape,' Sora thought while breathing in and out to control his short breath.
Now in a normal state, Sora took a look at his surroundings and could see that there were more people around him.
Some of them had a little white glow in them, which was strange.
'Wait, some of them are… glowing. They should be ghosts. Sen-san told me how I would be able to distinguish them in due time. Also, there are some other ghosts, but I can't distinguish them. Maybe I could try…' And Sora tried a trick from the HxH universe. In the Bleach series, there wasn't a step-by-step training for Fullbringers, so exploring alternative ways should help.
And so, Sora thoughtlessly imbued some spiritual power into his eyes. A mistake that paid immediately.
'AHHHHHHHHH!' His mind was a mess, his eyes hurt, and it felt like a million shards of glass were puncturing his eyeballs.
'FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, THINK!!!' In his desperation, he opened his Sharingan without knowing. The pain reduced, but not by much. Even so, it helped him enough to calm down and cut the flow of spiritual power to his eyes.
'IT FUCKING HURTS, FUCKING GYO, FUCK TOGASHI, FUCK EVERYTHING, FUCK THIS LIFE, WHY SHOULD I GET STRONGER? I HAD EVERYTHING. FUCK THIS WAR, FUCK EVERYTHING,' cursed Sora in his mind, blaming everyone except himself. He wanted to scream, but what little sense remained in him refrained him from doing so.
'BREATHE, IN, out, In, Out, in, out,' and so Sora calmed down and finally focused on his surroundings one more time. There were more ghosts around him. They had a purple glow around them, they looked like ninjas, but most of them were hurt in one way or another. Missing arms, missing legs, headless bodies, some people who had their torsos in pieces, and they all looked at him, surrounding and approaching him little by little, like moths to a flame.
Sora had unknowingly attracted their attention, and when you look at the abyss, the abyss looks back.
"AHHHHHHH!" Sora screamed while running away from those monsters. He could feel it, like an instinct, if they caught him, he was doomed.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" said Sora, while the monsters chased him back. While running from the cemetery, a middle-aged man and a kid saw him. The kid didn't react, thinking that it may be a naughty child misbehaving or an orphan not accepting the cruel reality… Anyway, not his business, and so he went to his father's grave to leave a flower. On the other hand, the man furrowed his eyes and disappeared.
* * *
'THEY ARE BEHIND ME, WHAT THE FUCK SHOULD I DO?' Sora thought in an angry state.
'I'm not in my best state, I need TIME! THAT'S IT!' And Sora, in a desperate move, entered his inner world.
Time flowed differently inside; he didn't know why, but it became evident after his last adventure.
His inner world was painted in shades of gray, devoid of warmth and light, a stark contrast to the vibrant hues of hope and peace he longed for but couldn't reach. Time itself seemed distorted, with moments stretching into eternities, each second a fresh agony. His hands trembled, his heart pounded, and his eyes darted around as if trying to find an escape from this relentless storm of fear.
Then, like a flash of inspiration, everything stopped.
Feeling agony and pain was not a new emotion for him. Detachment, while not always, has been a useful tool for him to rely on.
"Let's recap. I tried to use Gyo and hurt my eyes, I activated the Sharingan which helped with the pain but then a bunch of monsters started hunting me. They could have caught me long ago, but they didn't. Don't tell me…" A chilling hypothesis filled his spirit.
"They are toying with their food… I'm not fucked, I'm royally fucked." Sora took a little moment to calm himself once again.
"I did the right thing, I needed some time to think. I need to head back home, I should be safe there. Something tells me that I should go there," and instinct filled his mind. He should be safe there.
Then he made a defeated smile.
"Easier said than done.
Maybe I could…"
*Back to the real world*
"MISTER NINJA! I NEED TO GO BACK HOME! PLEASE," Sora screamed. As the heir of the patriarch, maybe a shadow guard should be assigned to him at all times.
He kept on running with hope in his eyes, but fate is a cruel mistress, and while there was a ninja protecting him at all times, he only thought that the kid was playing a prank on him. That, and protecting the Uchiha's waste was unbefitting of him as a ninja. A chuunin like him should be on the battlefield, fighting for the glory of his clan, and not here, watching this waste make a fool of himself.
Sora kept on running and realized that the guard would not help him. Or even worse, he didn't exist at all.
*Inner world again*
"That, that was a waste of time. I need a distraction, a massive one, at least until I get back home…" and Sora finally thought of something.
"This better help… If it doesn't work, I think, I think I should end it all here… My pride wouldn't allow me to live with the embarrassment that I will live through. Oh well, let's hope this works," said Sora while making the sign of the cross in hopes of surviving his ordeal.
"Let's roll 20 for distraction."
*Back to the real world*
While Sora ran for his life, he started singing.
"2, 3, 4, gimme a tune aghaaaa!
Now I don't really know whatcha thinkin'
When ya lookin' at a gnome like me"
A gnome appeared to all the people around him. He had brown hair and wore a beret. He was wearing purple clothing with an open shirt that revealed his chest hair.
"But I can show ya somethin' special
You lordies and you ladies can't see"
The gnome danced in a hypnotic and sensual way. The monsters knew that it was a distraction, but they kept on listening. Perhaps, they tried to rationalize their decision to listen to the music, like playing with their food and such. But the gnome grabbed their attention in ways that they could not understand. The ninja guard and the other person observing the situation were baffled. The first one thought it was a new prank, and the second thought it was a clever move.
"Got a twinkle in my eye...that's right!
Hit the lights and you'll find a surprise,
Cuz there is something underneath my drawers
Come on let your fingers explore..."
Sora kept singing and dancing, his life depended on the monsters paying attention to the illusion.
'This is it! It's working! IT'S WORKING'
"Pull on my motherfuckin' beads - of love - of love
Pull on my motherfuckin' beads - of love - of love - owww!!"
'EMBARASSMENT MY ASS, I WILL SURVIVE. SHAME AND MONEY ARE THINGS I NEVER HAD!'
"Well I know that you're thinkin' about me
Cuz your curiosity has been piqued
I may be forty-two inches of sexy
But I'm sixty-nine feet of freak! "
While singing, Sora's thoughts were in disarray.
'Damn, I forgot how tired this makes me feel, especially with these monsters. I need to get away as soon as possible before I collapse.'
"I'm not goin' tell you to stop
Feelin' good goin' in, goin' out
You wanna hear somethin' pop?
Well gimme a tug! And good god! I'll shout!"
'I can't go on anymore, my Reiryoku is not enough.'
"Pull on my motherfuckin' beads - of love - of love
Pull on my motherfuckin' beads - of love - of love
Wooo! Goodnight, Emon!"
Sora tripped on a rock and fell to the floor. He picked himself up, saw how the monsters were finally out of the illusion, and wanted to kill him directly. No more games.
'Is this the end? Well, I guess I had a nice life' Sora thought. His spiritual power was depleted, his body ached, his knees were bleeding, his eyes hurt, and the jackass protecting him didn't help him at all.
And then, in a twist of fate, the mysterious third party decided to intervene.
"You did well, kid. Let me help you," said the mysterious ossan.
"Stay away," said the ossan, letting his spirit run wild. His aura had a terrifying edge. It was the very definition of a sharpened knife.
Sora looked at his savior, a middle-aged ninja with long white hair.
'Is that… Jiraya-sama?' Sora thought.
The monsters escaped, leaving Sora alone and finally safe.
"I need to go, kid. You should follow this way to the woods and you will be safe. See you later " said the man, giving Sora a little smile.
'Not Jiraya?' sora thought, he had seen a drawing of the legendary sannin and the white-haired man in front of him was not him.
The mysterious man finally disappeared.
A/N:
The song is pull my beads of love, from scanlan shorthal in vox machine. I needed a distraction, and what better distraction than a bard in a D&D campaign.
And also, I pray for togashi-sama to live a really long, long life and that he ends HxH series/manga.
Have a nice day