The Distortion

How does everyone do it so easily? How do you do it?

Laith watched the few people beside him make slurping sounds as they ate their bowls of ramen masterfully…all the while he was still struggling to even hold his chopsticks correctly. And he hadn’t even gotten to the part of putting them to good use and actually eat the cursed noodles.

Side glances were thrown his way every so often—something he was experiencing ever since he landed in Yamato—but this time, his partner in crime did not have his back. His brother, unlike him, handled the wooden sticks flawlessly, occasionally teasing him with a condescending look.

Shame, shame, shame…Laith could hear the bells again.

It certainly didn’t help that the entire restaurant was simply a counter directly linked to the cook’s kitchen. The disposition created an intimate atmosphere that would have been otherwise charming to Laith…if it didn’t put his embarrassing demeanor under the spotlight.

“No need to be ashamed. Here, let me show how to hold them.”

“Holy shit!” Laith nearly flipped his bowl.

“Next time a warning would be appreciated Yuuna.” Adam too had a minor heart attack.

Yuuna appeared behind them, which felt more like she was sneaking up on them.

“How do you even do that, it’s like you pop out of nowhere…” Laith’s heart was still racing.

“I wouldn’t call myself a ninja if I couldn’t master some simple stealth maneuvers.” Yuuna replied with a smile on her face.

“Simple? I don’t recall you being cocky Yuuna.” Adam said.

“I’m not cocky, it’s the truth. These are simple techniques they teach beginners at the village, the masters are capable of much more impressive feats.” Yuuna stated while creating a space to sit between both brothers.

“Hold up hold up hold up, did you just insinuate that there is a ninja village somewhere?” Laith’s voice was full of excitement.

“That is correct.” Yuuna’s voice and facial expression—unlike Laith—were turning glum.

“Oh my god, that is so cool! What do you do there, do you like learn some cool ninjutsu or chakra techniques? I would imagine martial arts are par for the course, with a unique spin on them no less. Do they also teach you how to use kunai and shuriken and…” Laith started rambling with no signs of stopping, his eyes shaped after shining stars.

Yuuna, on the other hand, was gradually feeling down despite her attempt to hide behind a clearly fake smile, which was already fading away. Adam, keen-eyed as always, noticed the topic addressed was making her rather uncomfortable so he squeezed his brother’s hand until he stopped talking. He did not speak a word; a simple piercing glare was enough to make his younger brother correctly assess the situation.

“Umm, my bad, I got carried away for a moment…” Laith said, lowering his voice.

“No…it’s fine. I get where you’re coming from. After all, that’s all I had in mind when I found out I was incarnated as a Kunoichi and integrated the village, it’s just…” the words were not coming out as smoothly from Yuuna’s mouth.

“It’s alright Yuuna, you don’t have to talk about it.” Adam was considerate of her feelings. He ignored the reason, but the ongoing conversation clearly bothered her in some capacity. No need to pry into her personal affairs, not so soon anyway.

Yuuna hesitated shortly. This was an unpleasant matter she’d rather not bring up if she could, but she realized there was no avoiding it.

“We said we would catch up, right? I appreciate your concern, Adam san, but there’s no denying this part of my life…” she said, staring down at the counter.

* * *

After the distortion, I was one of the unfortunate people who were separated from their loved ones, family and friends all gone in the blink of an eye. I never got to encounter my parents; I could never confirm if they were even brought to Amayomikai. However, I was fortunate enough to have eventually found my little sister: Hinata. Despite all, I was relieved that I finally met someone I knew, someone I loved, someone I could trust. We had each other’s backs through the good, the bad and the ugly. It didn’t hurt that we turned out to be both ninjas; our particular set of skills helped us overcome many obstacles.

Few years down the road, we heard about a place called “Shinobi Village” that admitted Ninja Incarnates. Being part of the newly founded country of Yamato, we naturally set course there, our heads filled with preconceived notions, namely cool and flashy concepts. But we forgot one obvious and very important fact: ninjas were primarily and originally covert agents meant for espionage and assassinations. A world clouded in darkness, quite literally. And Shinobi Village was the very embodiment of that world, a training ground for spies and assassins, not a couple of foolish girls deluded with gilded and colorful ideas about a fantasy world.

Life in there was harsh and cruel with tyrannical masters who had no room for pity or consideration. The first rule was proof enough, for once you entered the village, leaving was prohibited and permission could only be granted to you when you had to fulfill a contract.

Then there was the Trial, the final phase of a rigorous training regimen underwent by all ninjas. Once you attained a certain level of competence, you had to go through an examination that would—supposedly—unlock the individual’s full potential. Except few people actually survived the cursed thing that I’d naturally started to question the need for this trial…a recurrent mistake I had to correct each time. Us ninjas shall never question, we shall simply obey.

The survivors described the trial as excruciatingly difficult and inhumanly brutal it would make one wish for death rather than experience the pain of it all, especially since it often ended with death anyways. Then again, death was par for the course in our line of work; be it on a mission or through the trial, it made little difference. Once again, as a Kunoichi, I had to abide by the rules and never pose needless questions.

Then came the time for my sister to undergo the trial—she beat me to it thanks to her superior skill. She was informed on the very day she would be tested, as was the case with all candidates. That element of surprise was very much intended, to further test the examinee’s mental fortitude—even better if they were caught on a bad day. I waited patiently, not allowing nerves or emotions to take hold of me. I couldn’t tell how long she spent, but eventually she came out alive in one piece…or so I thought. As I held her in my arms, I noticed the frail state she was in. She didn’t last the day.

That was the turning point for me, and not in the way you think.

I should have been overcome with grief and sorrow, for my sister just drew her last breath, in my arms. Curses, even anger and rage swelling up inside me would have been an acceptable reaction. But no, I experienced none of that, I was…vacant inside. I first thought I was maybe in denial, but I was fully aware of the fact that my sister lay dead before me…and I didn’t feel a shred of remorse in me…my heart didn’t so much as throb when the light left her eyes…I couldn’t shed a single tear for my one and only sister.

It was then that I realized how far gone I really was and how much my teachings had molded me into the perfect dead-eyed killer the masters always preached about. Human lives held no value to ninjas: they were either targets to be killed and robbed or employers who paid for your service. Even your fellow ninjas were considered nothing more than a means to end; sacrificing your own colleague to complete the mission was fair game. We were instructed time and time again, reminded on every occasion: “a ninja must show no mercy”, “a ninja must be devoid of all emotion”, “a ninja only cares about their mission and their target” … and apparently, I made for a brilliant student.

Indeed, I was robbed of my feelings…but I wasn’t robbed of my thoughts, or my will. My sister’s death may have roused nothing in my heart, but it sure made me question whether or not I wished to continue down this path. Did I wish to become the ideal image of a ninja? Did I wish to be the heartless murderer that would never second-guess his orders? Did I wish to be a person who would hold her own sister’s corpse without batting an eye?

The answer was no, I would not become that, I refused to be like that

That was my wake-up call, a sign that I still maintained a speck of conscience inside of me, and I’d better hold on to it if I ever wished to regain my humanity. As my mind started clearing from all the rubbish fed to me, slowly digging through my stifled feelings, I realized how deep my hatred for that world ran, how much my pent-up frustration festered and I how long I had been suppressing those lingering emotions.

I had grown to resent myself for even being part of that world and despised the day I had become a Kunoichi Incarnate. Still, the self-destructive attitude was not the right way to go about it, but I needed to preserve my sanity. I had to cut my ties to anything that was remotely connected to the village, the masters, the training, the trial…distancing myself should ease the self-loathing.

Hence my decision to leave that place and never come back—not that I would ever be accepted again anyway. So I moved to the capital…where I was met with a different issue. Samurais were not very fond of ninjas and our country was mainly that of samurais, even Shinobi village was isolated from the rest of the country. Whenever our services were required, it was always done secretly because ninjas were deemed dishonorable and their modus operandi didn’t align with the way of the samurai.

Fortunately, and to my surprise, I found a fellow ninja who took me under his wing and gave me a few jobs to live through—jobs that multiplied during the previous year due to the war. Somehow, he felt different from the others and I didn’t really know how I could trust him after all I had been through, but I’m glad I did. He wasn’t the most pleasant company to have around and to this day I barely knew the man, but I had no real reason to complain. He got me out of a pickle and even went as far as to offer his own house as a shelter.

Things had relatively quieted down ever since, until two brothers barged in.

* * *

“You’ve had quite the tough journey, sorry to hear that.” Adam said.

Silence reigned for some time, interrupted only by the slurping sound of the few customers left in the restaurant.

“Sorry for what I said earlier, Yuuna san…was rather insensitive.” Laith expressed his regret.

“Come now, no need to be so formal with me, Yuuna is fine. Besides no need to feel pity for me, everyone had a rough time after the Distortion. I was no exception.” she put on her distinguishable soft smile again.

Laith rubbed his chin. “Do you mind if I ask you something Yuuna sa-Yuuna?”

“Not at all.”

“I believe you said you don’t wish to be like your former self anymore, does that mean you won’t kill anymore?” Laith’s question sounded a little random, namely to his brother.

Yuuna raised an eyebrow. “How did you notice?”

“As a Fares, I’ve had my battles and I developed a keen sense for bloodlust, I can recognize when someone wants to kill me. But there was no intent to murder me back then despite all your efforts.”

“Isn’t your battle experience rather short for you to develop such sharp sense? She didn’t seem like she showed any mercy with her attacks.” Adam commented, inquiring information more so than undermining his brother.

“Doesn’t mean she wanted me dead, even with that fast tempest of blows.” Laith said.

“Laith kun is right.” Yuuna confirmed his assessment. “Lately I’ve been…steering clear of finishing people off.”

Adam frowned. “I don’t mean to call you a murderer, but you are a Kunoichi. Killing people is often in the bloody job description.” Adam said, realizing he came off as crude.

“You’re absolutely right…but I have grown soft after my struggle in the village. Seeing all those piles of dead bodies coming out of the trials, killing numerous people on missions…it kills a part of you and life as a whole just starts losing its value. I was steadily going down that path, until the incident with Hinata where I changed course entirely, rejecting all of it.”

“Is that why you use a non-lethal weapon?” Laith asked, eying her fans.

“They are called Tessen and make no mistake, they can be pretty dangerous. Maybe not as dangerous as other weapons, but Tessenjutsu can be pretty lethal in its own right.” she answered while skillfully displaying one of her fans.

“So you can’t bring yourself to kill anymore?” Adam said, pushing back his glasses. “Sorry to say this again, but it’s a bit ironic for a Kunoichi to not kill.”

“No, you are right, I just…can’t seem to do it anymore…and I’m not sure if I even want to. I’ve seen enough death, I’ve done enough death, I’ve just had enough of death…” images of lifeless corpses flashed through her mind.

“I’m nowhere near an expert on this matter, but I’m sure no one can escape death, not even the most pacifist of people. So for someone of your skills, even if you choose not to deal the finishing blow, you will still have to look death in the face. Forgive me, I just don’t see how your choice will affect anything at all.”

Laith scowled at his brother’s harsh words, but Adam only spoke to her that way because she was his friend and she was smart enough to understand it.

“I know I can never deny my Incarnation and I’m not sure whether my choice will make any difference, but I just had to draw a line somewhere, for now at least. I believe a little bit of time and some reflection could help.” Yuuna looked and sounded conflicted, still uncertain of her own decision.

Adam was all the while observing her, trying to get a proper read on her. Analyzing anything he laid eyes on was an unconscious habit of his, what with being a Scholar and all. He finally decided to put the argument rest, there was no use in keeping up the debate and pressing further—he felt like he was harassing her.

“Hey, despite my point of view, I’m not forcing you into anything—certainly not to kill people. Your path, your choice.” Adam concluded. It was a struggle she would have to resolve on her own.

“I appreciate it.” she mumbled. “Okay enough about me. I brought the mood down quite a bit, time to share your story. I mean, what even brings you all the way here in Yamato?” Yuuna clapped on their backs, demanding she hear all about it.

What even brings you all the way here in Yamato…?

It was then that the idea clicked in Adam’s brain. With all that had happened he nearly forgot one crucial detail: he set out to gather a group of people capable of carrying out this journey alongside him to the very end, a group of individuals with a useful set of skills that would prove efficient in the unknown road ahead.

And it just so happened that a great candidate was sitting right next to him, he saw a few of her skills and it was nothing short of outstanding. And most importantly she was a friend, so recruiting her would be far simpler than approaching a stranger and convincing him of joining them on an outlandish quest straight out of a fantasy book. This was an opportune chance that he could not afford to miss.

He elbowed his brother to stand up so they could talk in private, which seemed rather sudden and strange for Yuuna. He whispered the idea to his brother who didn’t object and then they both sat back down. It was the usual procedure where Adam did most of the talking and Laith addressed a few details.

As expected, when Adam reached the part about the three seals Yuuna’s jaw started to drop ever so slowly. He finished his tale—carefully omitting the part about recruiting her—uninterrupted as she couldn’t even respond properly even if she wanted to. Her reaction was something he got used to as everyone wore the same face at the end of his story. Naturally, it required a more persuasive effort when it came to the three seals, but she eventually believed.

“And I thought my story was crazy…” Yuuna grew exhausted simply from hearing about all of it.

“I know the feeling.” Laith concurred.

“Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Adam agreed.

“But that still doesn’t answer one question, what are you doing heeere…?” she drawled the last word.

The realization finally hit her.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you…”

“Oh yes. We are trying to gather all the scattered fragments.” Adam finished it for her.

“How many have you gathered so far?” she asked, still incredulous.

“Zero. This is our first stop.” Laith answered.

“You guys are insane! You plan on doing this just with the two of you? who knows what or who you’ll be up against? There’s no way two people can just storm the entire world on their own!” A torrent of words came running from her mouth.

“About that… we were hoping you would join us.” Laith said.

“Hein?”

A frozen imbecilic countenance adorned Yuuna’s face.

“Just let me do the talking.” Adam said, rolling his eyes.

As if all the crazy revelations weren’t enough, she was now asked to get directly involved with the madness. It’s only natural her brain would malfunction for a brief moment.

“Okay Yuuna stay with me for a moment,” Adam was trying to salvage the situation, “after hearing your story, am I correct in assuming that you’re not enjoying your stay here?”

“You could say so, yes.” she answered meekly.

“Can I also assume that you’re not particularly satisfied with the way you are living? It seems to me that—despite being a Kunoichi—the life of a ninja and all that comes with it doesn’t really suit you. You’re a sweet gentle person which is a part of your being that you don’t want to compromise.” he added.

“Correct…”

“Then how about changing it all up? Leave this place, live differently, help us accomplish our goal which I hope won’t involve much of the morally shady work that ninjas do on a regular basis.”

“Help you save the world you mean?” a bit of sarcasm hid behind her quote.

“I know, I know. Believe me; I still have a hard time coming to terms with how corny it sounds.”

It was definitely not an easy decision to take, no matter how convincing Adam sounded. He was basically asking her to throw away the life she had been accustomed to up to that point, jump into an unknown dark pit and somehow trust that everything would turn out okay in the end.

It would take a lot of courage, unwavering faith and absolute trust for someone to accept such a request coming from two brothers—whom she barely knew the eldest one and just met the youngest—that just started this outrageous hunt for some mystery items without any real and concrete evidence to back their outrageous claims.

Yet, a lingering faint part of her really wanted to take part in this. Maybe it was her desire to be on the good side for once, use her skills for something that would truly matter, instead of just indulging in all sorts of skullduggery, doing dirty work for people who wouldn’t see her as more than a tool to exploit and hire. Maybe this was finally the chance to leave her old self behind and start anew, maybe this was the way out of the torment she had endured, maybe this dark pit was the light at end of the tunnel she had been floundering inside.

It wasn’t necessarily bravery or trust that would drive her to join, but rather a hope for a better future.

“A friend is asking for a favor…and I don’t see any reason why I should refuse, so count me in.” she affirmed, wearing her beautiful smile.

Yuuna extended her hand to shake Adam’s as a way to seal her approval. He was a bit taken by surprise since the tradition was to bow heads, but she was wanted to show she was willing to do this on his terms. Adam was the one who started this whole initiative, and he deserved recognition for it.

“I hate to be that guy but, aren’t you forgetting something Yuuna?” Laith asked suddenly. “This is your home, for better or for worse. Are you sure you’re ready to leave it this quickly? You can think on it for a while if you want.”

It was a reasonable question which Laith himself had to answer before embarking on this journey. Yuuna never really gave it much thought before now. Despite all the hardships, she had indeed been home all this time. The Distortion was kind to her in that aspect, unlike others who had to travel very far to find their homeland or any semblance of it. Even that wasn’t guaranteed since many found no trace of it, not even ruins to bear witness to its existence.

Yuuna looked around her. She may have grown up in a modern—notably more advanced on a technological level—version of her country before the Distortion, but she could still recognize it. She could breathe the same air, hear the same sounds, eat the same food and see the same people but…it was not the same.

She could not call it home when barely any good memories could be associated with it, when she could not recall a single person around she could call a friend, beside a single foreigner who just traveled from the other end of the world. Yuuna wasn’t pleased to harbor this sentiment, to feel contempt towards her own country and people. Alas, she couldn’t help it.

“It pains me to say it, but it didn’t feel much like home ever since the Distortion. I hope things will change in the future but as of right now, I have no regrets about leaving.” she tried to conceal her melancholy, but they could both discern it.

“Well, I think I can officially welcome you aboard.” Adam declared.

“Absolutely.” She nodded. “So, what are we going to do first?”

Laith grinned.

“We’re going to raid a castle.”