"We'll meet the client at the village gate tomorrow morning," Hayate said. "Don't be late."
And then he vanished using the Invisible Escape Technique. At this point, I was starting to think that he simply couldn't help himself.
Kuro stared at the empty space for a second, then grinned. "Finally. A real ninja mission. I wonder who we're escorting. Oh man, I bet it's someone important."
I resisted a strong urge to say, 'no shit, Sherlock.'
One, he wouldn't have understood what that meant, and unlike Kuro, I'd learned that keeping my mouth shut was better for my sanity.
Misaki moved closer to me, hands clasped behind her back. "Escorting someone? But… sensei didn't actually say it was an escort mission."
"It has to be. That's what most C-ranks are." Kuro said. "And even if it's something boring, we can make it interesting."
"That's exactly what worries me," I muttered, creating some distance.
Misaki followed me, giggling. She'd been doing that more lately. Laughing, I mean. And it was starting to worry me, cause I was definitely not that funny.
"Um," she said, glancing at me sideways. "Since we don't have anything to do right now… do you want to get barbecue?"
Kuro's head snapped toward her at the mention of food. "Yes."
She ignored him and kept blinking at me weirdly. "W—what about you, Takumi?" she asked.
'Damn it. What is it with these girls? Why are they all like lost puppies?"
I'd only been a bit encouraging, looking at how clumsy and underconfident she was. It was mostly out of pity, really, and I didn't want her holding the team back, but maybe I'd been too supportive.
It did occur to me that she might've taken it the wrong way, but still, I wasn't exactly the kind of person who said no to food. And especially not after training all morning.
"Oka—" Just as I was about to agree, a sudden bad feeling crawled up the back of my neck.
I glanced behind me, but there was nothing except a six-foot-high wall. But still, it felt like...
"…Actually," I said, stepping back, "you two go ahead. I've got a few things to take care of."
Misaki seemed disappointed, which she tried to hide but failed. "It's alright, Takumi-Kun. You can come once you're done..."
"It's his loss if he doesn't come, Misaki," Kuro said, dragging her away. "Let's go, I'm really hungry."
"Yeah," I said, feeling my stomach growl. "What a tragic loss."
With a quick jump, I caught the edge of a roof and pulled myself up with a flip in the air. Looking back mid flip, I caught a glimpse of someone's head behind the wall.
'She's still stalking me.'
I've had a stalker for quite a while now. As I said, they were like lost puppies. They might be cute, but that sort of genjutsu doesn't work on me, and I certainly didn't want them following me home.
Especially since with this particular puppy around, I felt my secrets weren't very secret anymore.
I bolted from there quickly, jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the market. I was quite strong now, so it was pretty easy for me even without using chakra enhancement.
While I still struggled with my daily training of one hundred pushups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometre run, that was mostly because of the extra weights tied around my arms, legs, and waist.
I'd actually gotten them from Rock Lee and Guy-sensei, with whom I'd crossed paths a few times while training. Apparently, I'd been recognised as a fellow traveller on that long, painful journey to reach the pinnacle of Youth.
I was half-expecting Lee to grab my shoulders and shout something like, "Let us explore the depths of our youth together, as rivals!" But it seemed I wasn't worthy yet.
He did hand me his old, newbie weights, probably cause he didn't want them gathering dust.
I felt… conflicted.
On one hand, it was embarrassing. Even with my ridiculous recovery, I clearly hadn't been pushing myself anywhere near as hard as Rock Lee.
On the other hand, it was still less embarrassing than the alternative—Lee chasing me around the village the way Guy chased Kakashi.
Either way, the weights were an immense help. They let me increase the intensity of my training without adding more hours to my day, which was ideal.
And they were convenient too, as they could be upgraded.
[Weighted Bracers] +1
Weight: 5
Additional Weight: 5
Upgrade Requirement: 10 Chakra Points.
[Weighted Greaves] +1
Weight: 10
Additional Weight: 10
Upgrade Requirement: 20 Chakra Points.
[Weighted Belt]+1
Weight: 20
Additional Weight: 20
Upgrade Requirement: 40 Chakra Points.
The bracers weighed about five pounds each, so one point of Weight translated roughly to one pound.
I was so excited to see a new stat that I ended up upgrading all five, and the total load jumped from fifty pounds to a hundred in one go. And boy was that a mistake.
I knew I'd screwed up as soon as I put them on for the first training session because I ended up with a twisted ankle and a sprained knee. Luckily, it was nothing a good night's sleep couldn't fix.
But for a while after that, I only wore the weights during body conditioning, usually late at night, so I could use my cheat to pass out right after.
By the next morning, I would be completely recovered and even stronger.
Eventually, I reached the point where I could wear them through the day without really noticing the weight.
Ting
"Welcome!" an old woman's voice called out. "Oh—Takumi-chan. Back to have a look again?"
That was the old lady Kane of the ninja tools shop, and that was her polite way of asking if I was here to waste her time.
"Yes, Kane-san," I said. "I'm here to buy something this time."
She smiled like she'd heard that exact sentence a hundred times before. "Of course you are. Take your time. Looking is free."
'What a bitch'
I'd visited her shop more times than I could count and only ever bought a single kunai. Not because I didn't want to buy anything—I wanted to buy everything.
Especially after discovering the weight stat, I wanted to touch every item in the store just to see if something new would pop up.
Unfortunately, most of my D-rank pay vanished into rent, and I couldn't exactly survive on instant ramen anymore. Not with how much my recovery ability demanded.
Besides, basic ninja equipment was already issued by the village. Why do I still want to buy anything? Because that gear came with strings attached. Lose it, and you have to file a report. Lose too much, and they'd start docking your pay. And there was only so much you could take before someone told you to stop. In other words, it was all a drag.
I stopped in front of the shelf with the smallest sealing scrolls.
"I'll take this one," I said, pointing.
The old hag—I mean, Kane-san leaned over the counter, peering at it. "Ah, a good choice. Very practical. Most genin don't think that far ahead."
I didn't trust that compliment for a second.
"That'll be five thousand ryō," she said cheerfully. "Would you like some shuriken to go with it? Or maybe wire? You look like the type who forgets wire."
"I do not forget wire," I said, gnashing my teeth.
"Of course," she said, nodding. "Then you'll want extra."
'You old hag. Why don't you just rob me?'
I pulled out my wallet and felt my soul leave my body a little.
"That's all," I said quickly, before she could suggest anything else.
She handed me the scroll, still smiling. "Come again soon, Takumi-chan."
"I will have to," I muttered. "Whether I want to or not." That purchase nearly emptied my savings.
It was moments like these that made me regret renting.
-To be Continued...
What do you guys think about the weight stat? Is it going to come in handy or not? Let me know if you guys have any ideas for any future equipment.
Latest chapters at P@treon/DreamyApe.