Chapter 11 Respite

Two whole days after his battle with the bounty hunter, Riku woke up. He had found out that he sleeps for longer while regenerating a limb, and so his arm was half way regenerated already! Jumping down from the tree and landing with a small thud, Riku began looking around while stretching as he got ready for the day.

'I hope Fū is okay, but I shouldn't get too close to her. After all she is destined to be captured and killed by akatsuki.' Riku thought; it'd been a while since he had a friend so he was feeling extra worried for his new friend.

But anyhow, it was time for Riku to go hunting.

The rustling of leaves, the chirping birds, and the faraway call of a deer-loud and clear made the forest feel alive. Riku moved quietly, his senses tuned high and Kokuenryū was ready to inform him of any life forms within his senses for Riku to hunt, as he took in the raw, earthy smell of dampened soil mixed with the sweet fragrance of the wildflowers. Proceeding deeper into the woods, it had considerably cooled down, and the scent of pine filled his lungs, refreshing him further.

After a couple minutes of searching, a large deer was feeding in a meadow; Riku could see its pelt glimmering in the dappled sunlight, his heart racing with excitement, he really enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. He steadied his breath and his one arm clutched tight onto his sword. He sprang in one swift, calculated move-and after a tense moment, he had swiftly hunted the deer.

He started by securing the deer, then set to make a cooking area.

A small clearing surrounded by tall trees near his tree bed with sturdy trunks caught his attention. He gathered dry branches and twigs and set them in a neat pile. The scent of the forest enclosed him-olive wood and no more than a whiff of mossy smoke. He breathed a small spark, and a fire sprang into being, sending curls of warm smoke up into the air.

Skinning the deer and removing all fo the unnecessary parts of the deer's body that wasn't safe to eat, Riku fixed the deer with crackles of fire. Thick, gamey smell of meat reached the air intermingled with the wood smoke. He seasoned the meat with wild herbs picked along the way that consisted of thyme, rosemary, and a tinge of wild garlic. It smelled great, earthy and warm, like the beginning of a salivatory reaction.

As it cooked on the open monoflame, it worked its way up to a smell of magic: sizzling and popping, the meat released savory juices to fall onto the fire, making hissing noises that were delightful to hear. The savory smell wove into the forest, bringing with it the attention of curious creatures. Riku could almost taste the tenderness in the meat full of the essence of the forest.

And with every passing moment, the smell grew richer, embracing Riku with its warmth. He sat by the fire, finally free to watch the dance of the flames, this sense of accomplishment washing over him. It was his forest, his home, and in his own way, he had conquered it.

Finally, it was done. Riku sliced a cut in the meat, allowing the juicy interior inside to come out. There it was, a sweet fragrance of smoky, savory, and herbal all combined. A single bit into that was like an orchestra of tastes rejoicing inside his mouth for all his hard work and patience. As the setting sun colored the setting into gold, Riku sat at the campsite, taking his meal.

But then he thought of sharing this delicacy with a friend, biting his thumb and slamming it down; he summoned Nariko, "Hmm? What is the occasion, Riku?" Nariko asked, his nose twitching as he took in the wonderful aroma of Riku's cooked deer, "Nothing serious, I just wanted to share my food with someone. I was feeling quite lonely." Riku replied, his boredom now quenched as he smiled happily.

Finally, as the sun set, leaving behind in the forest just embers of gold, Riku and Nariko sat down before the crackling fire, in which the smell of a just-prepared deer was carried by wafts of air, with the flames dancing around their faces to cast shadows and create a home-like atmosphere.

Riku carved into the roast deer in delicate cuts; the tender meat of the roast gave way to the Ninjato just as would the air. The first bit was perfect: nicely charred on the outside, giving way to a juicy interior that almost melted inside the mouth. Rich, savory flavors burst forth with a tinge of a smoky flavor of fire embracing the meat.

"Wow, Riku! It smells great!" exclaims Nariko in amazement-wide-eyed with great delight-and snatches for himself a generous piece. The big paws of the Kumarai were tearing into the meat so awkwardly and avidly that all of a sudden Riku could not restrain himself and burst out laughing.

As Nariko chewed, the flavor smeared an expression of surprise on his face, which then relaxed into pure bliss. "It's seasoned to perfection! I could almost taste the wild thyme and rosemary you put in. It is the taste of the forest itself in one taste!" He closed his eyes, savoring the dance of flavors across his palate.

Riku took another bite, really paying attention to the complex layering of tastes. Tender, the meat was, its natural sweetness playing wondrously with the herbs, while the pulled wild garlic had tinged it with a kick, bringing out even more. Each mouthful was a celebration of the bounty of the forest-one that reminded him of how much he puts in both the hunt and its cooking.

And the more they ate, the more all of that combined into a chorus in Riku's mouth: the richness of the deer meat, fresh from herbs, with the smoky undercurrents adding depth from the fire. It tasted of adventure, of friendship bonded, and of the wild beauty surroundings.

*It looks, okay. I wouldn't mind trying it.* Kokuenryū chimed in, Riku trying not to laugh as allowed Kokuenryū control of his body but for a moment just to try the deer.

*Hmm, it's okay.* Kokuenryū thought for Riku to hear, before chowing down on the deer, not thinking twice before going face first into the deer and ramming handfuls into his mouth 'chill out chill out I want some too!' Riku cried within his soul space as he watched Kokuenryū in control of his body and Nariko both rapidly devouring his food!

…

Afterwards, Riku sat against a tree. His tummy practically poking out of his burlap shirt as he burped. "I'm a great cook, you know." Riku said to Nariko, having to boast once again about his cooking skills. "You really are, Riku. Where did you learn how to do that?" Asked Nariko, genuinely intrigued as to how such a young child was so talented at pretty much everything he did. "Hmm, I guess it was muscle memory, maybe I was a chef before I lost my memories." Riku said in a thoughtful position. But in reality, he picked up cooking while in university as he was alone in a dorm room and had too cook for himself.

Picking himself up, Riku pulled a scroll from the grandma's bag titled "Art of the body flicker."

Opening it, Nariko looked over Riku's shoulder and inquired, "What's this?" Nariko asked, puzzled.

"Just something I stole from Konoha, it's a jutsu that seemed pretty cool and suits my fighting style I think." Riku replied, not taking his eyes off the scroll as he read through it. 'Interesting..' Riku thought, but he would only learn this jutsu when he is fully healed, as for now he just wanted to relax.

…

The next day, Riku woke up with a full stomach and his arm fully healed, albeit his arm was a bit numb and had a slight ache he was okay all in all. And so he began trying to learn the body flicker jutsu.

Summoning 10 shadow clones, Riku and the clones all studied the scroll before splitting up and began training.

Not even two minutes later, one of the shadow clones had a breakthrough. He could use the body flicker technique, to be fair he could only move a few feet but it was progress nonetheless.

Dispersing his shadow clones, then creating them once again with the new knowledge of the body flicker jutsu, Riku watched as 10 shadow clones of himself began to slowly flicker around before he joined in.

It only took an hour before Riku himself had a breakthrough, he could now flicker 15 feet in any direction. But this wasn't enough, Riku didn't want to use the hand seals as they would only get in the way. Being able to flicker around the battlefield with his sword slicing everyone around just like the "Dance of the Hunters Moon" technique in his Arden swordsmanship without suffering backlash would be a huge for any future battles involving multiple enemies.

And so, Riku and his clones began using the body flicker technique until their chakra gave out, Riku thought that if he just spammed the jutsu over and over, his body would get used to the movement in chakra and be able to make the hand seals without actually moving his hands. And it did, well, kinda. Riku had originally had to use the tiger seal, then wait for his chakra to move properly in order to use it. But now, the moment he uses the tiger seal he can flicker instantly. But this isn't what he wanted, he wanted to be able to use the jutsu with no hand seals at all. Wiping the droplets of sweat forming on his brow, he heaved a sigh.

Flickering 40 feet forwards, Riku disappeared.

Flickering backwards 40 feet only a moment later Riku returned to his previous position holding four rabbits by their ears.

Riku REALLY liked this jutsu, being able to just zip around like a bolt of lightning was unsurprisingly so much fun. Cooking the rabbits without any seasoning as he just wanted a quick meal, then devouring the rabbits without savouring any of the taste he flickered to his bed and drifted off.

…

Waking up, training, hunting and sleeping. This was Riku's life for the next four months. And in this time he was able to perfectly perform the body flicker jutsu without any seals, and his distance had increased from 40 feet all the way to 100 feet, which Riku had figured was the limit as it was quite taxing on his chakra which had also increased unknowingly, but it would only continue to increase as Riku grew older and Kokuenryū's power slowly returned.

…

…

…

In a lake, in the land of waterfalls was a young man that was seemingly cleaning himself, he was fairly tall despite his apparent age, he was thin at first glance but the toned muslces of a hunter rolled beneath his skin were evident. He had long black and white hair that reached down to his lower back. When he turned around, the first thing you'd notice was the black engraving on his right cheek, and then his reptilian white eyes that complimented his hair. He had tan skin from training out in the sun for an extended period of time and his petite nose and full lips added a femininity to his masculine frame.

This was Riku Kuroshiro, now 7cm taller and his thin, malnourished body was replaced with that of a hunter.

Exiting the lake after washing the grime off his body, Riku put on his burlap shirt and his pants he had crafted from a tent, then the long brown cloak stained red from the bounty hunter that attacked four months ago, along with his black demon mask that hid Riku's identity from any bounty hunter nin that wanted his high bounty.

Walking back to his house, 'You sense anything, Koku?' Riku thought, asking Kokuenryū if anything seemed out of the ordinary

*Do not belittle me with such childish names, but I do not sense anything out of the ordinary. However my predatory senses are going haywire* Kokuenryū answered, to which Riku's face hardened. 'His predatory senses? What could that mean? Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine.' Riku thought.

*My senses are nothing to scoff at, kid.* Kokuenryū replied, Riku forgetting that Kokuenryū can hear his thoughts.

Getting back to his house, which was once just a pile of leaves that is now an actual cabin in the woods, he grabbed his axe and got ready to go and cut some trees down so he could continue to craft and engineer new products for the world.

*RIKU DUCK.* one sentance, Kokuenryū only had time for this. Riku quickly ducked as a large spear of pure lightning flew over his head, destroying his house and all of it's contents.

Riku flickered 10 feet behind his now destroyed house and grabbed his Ninjato, attaching it to his hip while flickering to the branch of a nearby tree. Holding the axe with one hand and holding the tree with the other, Riku looked down at his attacker and was greeted by two pale green eyes staring back up at him.

"A fast one, eh?" The cloaked man said while looking back at Riku.

Riku's eyes widened in horror as he recognised the cloak, it was black in colour and had red clouds draped around it.

"Who are you..?" Riku asked, as he flickered to another tree, appearing with one hand on the tree and the other on the branch.

"Such foolish attempts." The man said as he blocked an axe flying at him from behind.

'Shit.' Riku thought, he already knew who this was. It was Kakuzu, a member of akatsuki that was also a bounty hunter nin. He should've expected something this absurd after being okay for four months.

"To think you were hiding right under my nose this entire time, within the lands of waterfall." Kakuzu sneered.

"Oh well, time for my reward." Kakuzu chuckled.