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Kaito's eyes fluttered open, his vision hazy. A dull, throbbing pain pulsed through his skull, radiating from his jaw. He groaned, blinking slowly as the room came into focus.
White walls. A faint scent of antiseptic. The ceiling above him was plain, with a single fluorescent light casting a dim glow. To his side, a wooden nightstand held a small glass of water, half full. The sheets covering him were stiff, the kind that felt almost paper-thin but carried a strange warmth. A curtain hung partially drawn around his bed, giving him a sliver of view to the rest of the room.
Beyond it, the infirmary was quiet, save for the occasional shuffle of footsteps outside the door. A few empty beds lined the opposite wall, neatly made, untouched. A cabinet stocked with medical supplies stood near the entrance, its glass doors revealing neatly arranged bottles and bandages.
Kaito groaned slightly, bringing a hand up to his temple, rubbing at the lingering ache. His jaw still felt sore, and he could taste a faint hint of iron—blood.
'Damn… he really put me out.'
He tried to sit up, but the moment he moved, a sharp pain shot through his ribs, making him wince.
Kaito exhaled and leaned back against the pillow. He brought a hand to his jaw, fingertips glowing faintly with chakra as he started the healing process. The pain dulled almost instantly, fading into a manageable ache before disappearing entirely. Next, he moved down to his ribs, then the rest of his body, working through the lingering damage.
'The gap between a clanless shinobi and a clan shinobi… pretty damn clear.' His thoughts were dry, but he couldn't deny the reality of it. Tsuchi hadn't even used Gentle Fist, and yet Kaito had still gotten folded. His chakra network was intact, no internal damage, which meant Tsuchi had beaten him down with pure strength alone. That was almost worse.
Kaito sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His clothes were the same ones from earlier, stiff with dried blood. At least he'd worn black today, if it had been a white tee, that would've been a nightmare to clean.
Losing didn't bother Kaito much. It sucked, sure, but it was just another lesson. There wasn't much he could do against a Hyūga, not when they specialized in Taijutsu and his own hand-to-hand skills were his weakest point. Simple as that. He'd just have to get better.
He sighed, rolling his shoulders as he stood. His ribs still ached faintly, but nothing worth dwelling on. Turning toward the door, he was just about to leave when it creaked open.
A woman stepped in, she wore a white skirt that stopped just above her knees, with a black blouse tucked neatly beneath a doctor's coat. Her dark blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun, and her green eyes looked like bright emeralds.
The woman's eyes widened slightly when she saw Kaito standing there like nothing had happened.
"I thought you'd still be out cold… That Hyūga kid hit you pretty damn hard," she said, shaking her head before planting her hands on her hips. "Back in bed. You shouldn't even be on your feet yet."
Kaito exhaled, already feeling the conversation dragging longer than he wanted. "I'm fine. I can go home now." He shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped forward, trying to walk past her.
Before he could, a firm hand pressed against his chest, stopping him.
Kaito glanced down at the tanned hand before looking back up at her, one brow raised. "I said I'm good," he repeated, his tone calm but firm.
The lady sighed, " Well, if you say your fine then let me at least check up on, before I let you go. "
Kaito nodded and agreed, the faster he got out of here, the better. Without another word, he turned and hopped back onto the hospital bed.
The woman stepped forward, rolling up his shirt without hesitation as she inspected his ribs and torso. Her fingers traced along his skin, pressing lightly in certain areas, checking for any lingering damage. Then came the eye test, a few simple movements to check his focus, followed by a couple of taps against his skull to rule out a concussion.
She hummed to herself before pressing down on his ribs. "You feel that?" she asked, glancing up at him.
Kaito met her gaze and shook his head. "Nope. Not a thing," he said plainly.
The woman placed a hand on her hip. "Well, then I have no choice but to let you go," she said.
Kaito raised a brow. "I don't have to pay any fees, do I? I'm kinda broke," he admitted, scratching his cheek.
She shook her head. "No, this is provided by the school—free of charge. If you had actually needed serious medical attention, you would've been sent to the hospital. And they would definitely charge you."
Kaito let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Alright. Thanks, ma'am. I'll be going now."
He hopped off the bed and made his way to the door, but just as he reached for the handle, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Slowly, he turned his head, only to meet the woman's gaze.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again.
Kaito gave a single nod. "Yeah."
She studied him for a moment before exhaling softly. "Alright. If you feel any headaches or dizziness, come straight back here."
"Got it," Kaito said.
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the infirmary, heading down the hallway toward the exit. The halls were quieter now, the earlier buzz of students having faded. Stepping outside, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way home.
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The classroom was empty, the last remnants of daylight filtering through the windows, casting long shadows across the desks. Seji sat at his own, arms crossed, staring at nothing in particular. The day had been long, but his mind kept circling back to the sparring match.
A knock at the door broke the silence. He looked up to see the nurse stepping in, her white coat still draped over her shoulders.
"Kaito's fine," she said, cutting straight to the point. "Got discharged not too long ago."
Seji gave a slow nod, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere. He knew Kaito had no chance against Tsuchi, but he hadn't expected him to get completely stomped. By the time he considered stepping in, it was already too late. The match spiraled too fast, and Kaito had been out cold before he could react.
Maybe he should've ended it sooner.
Seji had always given Kaito a hard time, mostly because the kid had been at the bottom of the class since day one. But this year was different. Kaito had improved—noticeably. He wasn't top-tier, not even close, but he wasn't the same loser he used to be. Moving from dead last to somewhere in the middle wasn't easy.
"Anyway," the nurse's voice pulled him back, "I thought you should know, at least. Well, see you later." She turned, heading for the door.
On impulse, Seji called out, "Hey."
She paused, looking over her shoulder.
"Akari, you, uh… want to grab dinner later?"
A small smirk crossed her lips before she shrugged. "Sure. I'm off in an hour."
Seji nodded, playing it cool, but as she walked out, he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Well, that was unexpected." Seji sighed.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Seji leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling with a small smirk.
He'd always liked her. Ever since she started working at the school, he found himself paying more attention whenever she was around. Maybe it was the way she carried herself or maybe how sexy she looked. Most likely both.
And now, she had actually agreed to dinner.
He didn't let it show, but deep down, he was hyped.
Pushing himself up from his chair, he grabbed his things and left the empty classroom, making his way through the quiet halls. Most of the students had already gone home, only a few stragglers lingering around. He nodded at a few familiar faces on his way out but barely registered them. His mind was elsewhere.
Once he stepped outside, the cool evening air hit him, snapping him back to the present.
"Alright… gotta get ready," he muttered to himself, heading home.
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Kaito jammed his key into the lock, twisted the knob, and stepped inside. He was exhausted. Fighting Tsuchi had drained him, and using his healing on top of that? Completely wiped. Sleep sounded real nice right about now.
But the grind didn't stop. Couldn't stop. If he wanted to surpass Tsuchi—no, if he wanted to get stupidly strong—he needed money. A lot of it.
And right now, the only way to stack that kind of cash was the writing competition.
With a sigh, he grabbed a few sheets of paper, set them down, and picked up a pencil. Time to get to work. ' Alright… where do I start? Batman's good, but too modern for this era… ' He started jotting down ideas.
Kaito tapped the pencil against the paper, eyes narrowing in thought. ' The Village Hidden in War… ' That had a nice ring to it. A place where crime ran rampant, where the strong ruled the weak, and corruption lurked in the shadows. A shinobi village, but one that had long lost its honor—run not by a Kage, but by warlords and underground powers.
And at the center of it all, a lone figure. A ghost in the night. A shinobi without a clan, without a bloodline, without anything but sheer will and training. They didn't use chakra like the rest. No flashy ninjutsu, no kekkei genkai. Just pure skill, stealth, and the unbreakable resolve to cleanse the village of its rot.
The villagers whispered his name. Some feared him. Some called him a myth. Others swore he was a vengeful spirit of a shinobi who died long ago. But those who ruled in the shadows? They knew better.
They called him The Wraith.
Kaito's pencil moved faster as he fleshed it out.
The Wraith wasn't just a man, he was a symbol. A force that struck fear into the hearts of warlords, corrupt officials, and rogue Shinobi's alike. He wore no headband. No allegiance. He carved his own justice in a world that had abandoned it.
But every legend had an origin. And The Wraith? He was just a boy once. A child who watched his family get slaughtered by mercenaries paid off by the village's underground syndicates. A child who crawled from the depths of despair, reforging himself into something more than human, something untouchable.
He cracked his knuckles and got to writing the first few chapters.
KNOCK...KNOCK
The knock at the door made Kaito pause. He set his pencil down, grabbed the stack of papers, and tucked them away in his closet. Once everything was out of sight, he made his way over and pulled the door open.
Hitori stood there, a small smile on his face, black bangs hanging over his eyes. "Afternoon," he greeted.
Kaito stepped aside, jerking his head toward the room. "Come in."
Hitori entered, his usual faint smile in place as he glanced around. "You wanna start right off with training?"
Kaito shut the door behind him. "Obviously. Let's just get to it."
Hitori chuckled, taking a seat on the floor by the table. "Alright then. Since you've gotten the Chakra Scalpel basically down, we're moving on to the next step, Delicate Illness Extraction jutsu.... This one's a little trickier to do."
Kaito sat down across from him, crossing his arms. "Figures. Just show me what I gotta do. "
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