This chapter got edited kind of a lot just now, turns out I had a horrendous series of typos that made half the chapter not make any sense at all.
The things Patrons don't tell me because they're all respectful. Sometimes I need someone to go "Hey Sendi, that didn't make any sense."
It's that reason why I don't immediately threadban pain in my asses, because sometimes I need someone willing to be a pain in my ass, and I genuinely appreciate genuine attempts to help me.
Typos and small concerns are perfectly fine to approach in thread, and if it's significant, I'm often grateful even if I can come across slightly confrontational. I grew up with a lot of abuse, and defensive is my first instinct, I try to be polite about it but you'll universally get a better response in a more controlled environment, or one where you're expressly polite.
That being said. As always, writing this story seems to attract drama and entitlement. Please understand that if you have legitimate problems with the story you think I can/should do something about, you need to DM me. If you approach it in story thread, I will be focusing on explaining why you're wrong so you don't sour the excitement of the chapter for someone else, I will not be focusing on your concerns. I am perfectly willing to have a drawn-out discussion in DMs or on the Discord where I care about your feelings and try to see your perspective, but if you insist on being a problem for everyone and souring my mood with negativity for daring to share free content with you, fuck off.
Speaking of not-free content, Patreon is on CH 70, and is on the last official Chapter of Arc 4. I will be doing probably two interlude chapters, one following Gai and Lee because they kinda got shafted this arc and I really wanted to write more of them, and one following Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino.
Please enjoy the chapter.
"Can I get you all to agree to go on an adventure with me without me explaining anything?" Sakura asks in the middle of nowhere, "I kind of need that faith right now." That's the start of her plan, making an outrageous request so her actual request that they keep questions out of her personal life and just on the mission seems a lot more reasonable. It's a sound plan in her mind, that being said, talking to the room is solidly awkward. Neji still looks pissed at her, even if he's hiding it well, the mood chart is clear enough she's not confused.
Asking them for a favor is even more awkward knowing they're about to tell her to get-
"-Yes." Neji's voice cuts through her thoughts like they're made of butter. His stoic expression doesn't change, nor does the mood chart telling her how mad he is, but his words contradict it all in such a way that she's left gawking.
"Huh?" She blinks mid-gawk, several dozen times in fact. She just stands there blinking at him, waiting for him to take mercy on her unfortunate lost soul and explain himself.
"Gai Sensei and I had some words, after you left." Neji says, crossing his arms in his lap. He rests against the wall, looking every bit the sight of a statue. He's actually quite pretty, she'd love to be his manager and start a whole house of pretty boy streamers. Too bad that even if that was on the table somehow, she already beat that idea over the head with her sword. "He said you have an A-rank village secret, and if I investigate you once we're back home I will likely find myself in the middle of a diplomatic incident between the Anbu and Hyuuga when I am arrested. I assume that applies to whatever you are about to ask us to do as well. Just know that if you abuse this privilege I'll punish you."
"... Well, that's… what do you mean A rank?" She can't help but squeak with wide eyes, and a hot roll of red that spreads up her nose. His threat passes by her like it doesn't exist, because as far as she's concerned it doesn't exist at all. She has no intentions of abusing his trust, let alone blanket trust thrown on her by the one here that's the most pissed off at her. She was just going over mental plans on how to win him over, not piss him off.
"You were not aware?" Neji asks her with a quirked brow, and Lee, with a vitality that comes naturally to him, claps her on the back of the shoulder. How he got there, she doesn't know, she's not questioning the likely level thirty-five that managed to dart in and block her strike so hard she got hurt. She hadn't seen him move then either, and that terrified her more than Kakashi does. Nothing Kakashi's done has been invisible to her. Not to say he couldn't do invisible things just, he hasn't. Kakashi has been considerate in a lot of ways she didn't realize, and she probably owes him more faith than she's been giving him.
Lee could have likely solo'd Vampire Gato without breaking a sweat, that's the kind of monster thats hand is on her. He could do anything to her and she'd be forced to plead for mercy despite not having done anything. And yet, somehow, she finds his presence calming instead of terrifying.
Maybe it's that he's overly bright and enthusiastic and comes across as completely innocent. Maybe it's that Gai is watching over them.
Maybe, it's that the feeling he gives off reminds her of Haku.
But the normal fear that should come with having an absolutely terrifying man physically touch her in a way that holds her in place, restrains her, and dictates her future to his whims, just isn't here. She may not find the appeal of the boy and girl thing particularly persuading, but she does know what sexual assault is, and with the sheer innocence this boy that's actively pursing her manages to scare the absolute shit out of her, she can tell he doesn't.
Because if he did, he wouldn't be able to do stuff like that without knowing she's terrified and why! Which is calming, weirdly. She doesn't get it either, but it is. So she chooses not to jump or scream or punch Lee in the face for suddenly appearing behind her and grabbing her shoulder with enough force that she couldn't run if her life depended on it. Instead, she takes a deep breath, and smiles at him.
She just has to accept that he's so innocent, she should probably ensure Haku and him meet up and become friends after this mission. "Sakura has been too busy getting stronger with all her might to worry about secrets," Lee asserts for her, "how else could she already be so strong despite being so young? Her youthful energies are burning like a sun, and inspiring me to do my very best!"
Well that's inspiring, she decides. Being inspired is better than being panicked, it's a good replacement emotion and she's getting good at choosing those. She decides it's finally time to continue this conversation and get out of her nervous head for a moment. "I need you all to follow me into a deep dungeon that'll likely last several days and result in us fighting horrific monsters in our search for the rebels."
"Rebels?" Neji asks, "they're bandits and missing-nin at best."
"The dungeon is called the rebel base, I don't know what to tell you," Sakura says, already knowing this is going to suck. It's one thing to say he's not going to question her. It's another to enter a dungeon with her and say nothing.
Holy shit he really hasn't said anything! As they stand there reading the text right in front of the steps, trending up towards the dungeon's glowing red entrance, no one says a word. They clearly see it, their eyes dart towards it, she even sees Neji and Lee gape a bit, but actually asking is off-limits.
It seems for all his attitude, Neji respects the law, possibly a lot more than she ever could. Her life is hectic, and Kakashi's teaching has included lying on mission reports intentionally, there's just no way she could ever achieve the same level of professionalism Neji manages. Well, when he's not being an irate dick and sadistically executing people just to take out his sadism on his vulnerable teammate.
That being said, she has to say something.
Dungeon: Rebel Base, Level 26
Party Level: 40
Warning: Your Party Level is being averaged as a party of 3 but you have 4 members.
The Dungeon will be scaled to your Party Level if you continue with this group. |
"Yeah, I'm going to die instantly, if we go in with the four of us," Sakura asserts, "which will then lower the party average and get you killed one at a time. I'm needed for it to activate, which means we need to pick someone to hold down the base with Gai and look after the inn keep, possibly round up any stragglers that try to escape…"
"I will be going in with you, as mission leader taking out the enemy is my responsibility," Neji says, asserting his place with some vehemence, "leaving someone behind does not sit well with me, but if we must, it should be Lee."
"I will protect the Inn with rigorous effort!" Lee shouts to the side.
"Why Lee?" Sakura asks, "He's very strong."
"Because no matter what happens, he will be fine," Neji says, "besides, the two of us are close range fighters, and we are both required for this, which means the choice is Tenten or Lee. Tenten alone is a bad move tactically, she is strong but her skills allow her to be easily ambushed when alone, and she performs well supporting a team. If you had any thought in that head of yours, you would not have even asked."
"Errr… yeah, that's fair." She can't help but admit it, but he's right. She just wishes he could be right and not a dick at the same time. For some people that seems impossible, she wonders if people are born that way or made that way. It'd really help her understand humans more if she could grasp why some can be gracious, and some have to be an ass at all times. Do their lives depend on it? Is it actually required and she's the weird one for getting bothered?
"Well, let's head in then." Sakura gulps, before Neji starts walking up the steps ahead of her. It's easy to fall in line behind him, and Tenten takes her place behind her, already holding a few kunai in between her fingers as if ready to kill something or someone at a moment's notice.
She's not too bothered by the fact that Neji has decided to force himself in front of her despite her being armored and him being in looser gear than what she graduated the academy with, because when Lee left their level dropped back to twenty eight.
She's level twenty-three, Tenten is twenty-eight, which makes Neji a level thirty-two close range fighter which means that yeah, he can walk in front of her. She bets attacks that would tear her in two will barely hurt him.
She just hopes that the three levels above her this dungeon is doesn't result in her untimely demise. She also hopes that Neji can forgive her for her conduct earlier, and won't turn on her and kill her deep inside the maddening depths of the horror show she's taking them into. It's not like anyone would find out, unless Tenten told on him, and based on how she was acting earlier, Sakura's pretty sure Tenten'd let him get away with burying her in a shallow grave in an instanced reality outside their own.
She takes a deep breath, as they step through the red door and into what she will later refer to as 'fuck me, dear god why, what the fuck.'
