Morning light barely filtered through the rain-streaked window of the small inn.
The storm outside had softened to a steady drizzle.
Miku stirred first.
She blinked slowly, warm beneath the blankets, then remembered exactly where she was.
Her cheeks warmed instantly.
Kyro was still asleep on his back, one arm resting loosely at his side, breathing slow and steady. Even in sleep, there was something grounded about him.. like a mountain that simply chose not to move.
She propped herself up on one elbow and studied him.
"…You look less scary like this," she whispered.
Carefully, she shifted closer.
Her fingers hovered over his chest for a moment before lightly brushing against his skin.
Warm.
Firm.
She swallowed.
Her hand traced down over the defined lines of his abdomen, slow and curious, as if mapping something she still couldn't fully believe was real.
"Ridiculous," she murmured softly to herself. "Who regenerates like that and still looks this…"
She cut herself off, blushing fiercely.
Her wings fluttered once in embarrassment.
There was a faint, clean scent to him.. warm skin, fresh linen, something subtly sharp underneath from his heightened metabolism.
She leaned down almost unconsciously, resting her nose lightly against his chest and inhaling.
Her blush deepened.
"Okay, that's not fair," she whispered.
She stayed like that for a moment longer than she meant to.
Then, because she clearly had no self-control this morning, she shifted her leg gently over his waist and straddled him.. careful not to wake him.
She lowered herself slowly, laying across his abdomen with her chin resting on her folded hands against his chest.
Her wings settled behind her.
She stared at his face, waiting.
Waiting for those eyes to open.
A mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
"I wonder how long you'll pretend to sleep," she whispered softly.
POV Switch – ROOT Squad
Miles away, near the outer marshlands of the Land of Rain, five figures moved in absolute silence.
No wasted motion.
No conversation.
Root operated differently than standard shinobi.
Emotion was compartmentalized.
Attachment severed.
Mission only.
The squad leader paused at a forked path where mud showed faint compression marks from heavy travel.
"Recent," one operative stated flatly.
"Direction: eastern settlements."
Another scanned for residual chakra traces.
"Signature suppressed. Highly disciplined."
The leader's tone did not change.
"Continue sweep pattern."
They dispersed without further instruction, fanning through rain-drenched villages, questioning quietly, observing silently.
Rumors surfaced.
A lone traveler.
Dark clothing.
Reserved demeanor.
Paid in clean coin.
Stayed briefly.
Moved on.
But one innkeeper on the outskirts mentioned something small.
"A quiet young man," he had said. "Took a room. Still there, I think."
The Root operative did not react outwardly.
But he marked it.
They redirected.
Unaware that their target was currently lying in a warm bed, rain tapping gently against the windows, entirely relaxed.
Back at the inn
Kyro's breathing shifted slightly.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
Miku froze.
His fingers twitched once at his side.
And slowly
Very slowly
His eyes began to open.
Kyro's eyes opened slowly.
Aware.
Miku was still draped over him, but her expression had changed.
The playful warmth from moments ago had vanished.
Her wings were stiff.
"…Kyro," she whispered.
He didn't move yet.
"What?"
Her voice was quieter than he'd ever heard it.
"There's something outside."
He blinked once, fully awake now.
"How many?"
"Five," she replied instantly. "Moving separately. Controlled spacing. No emotional fluctuation."
Her small hand pressed lightly against his chest.
"They feel… empty."
That word was enough.
Kyro's eyes sharpened.
Root.
He sat up calmly, Miku shifting with him.
"No panic," he said softly.
"I'm not panicking," she replied quickly.. though her fingers tightened slightly.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood.
Within seconds he was dressed.. wrappings secured, blade fastened, purple-black Sekiro attire fitting like a second skin.
The relaxed inn guest was gone.
The predator returned.
He walked toward the window and peeled back the curtain just slightly.
Rain still fell.
Villagers moved normally.
But there..
A figure paused half a second too long at a corner.
Another walked past without glancing at shop stalls.
Too precise.
Too quiet.
Kyro stepped back from the window.
"They're sweeping."
Miku hovered upward, closing her eyes.
"They're narrowing in."
He exhaled slowly.
"Good."
She blinked at him.
"Good?"
"I'd rather know they're here than wonder."
He crouched near the wall and tapped the floor lightly, sensing vibration patterns through enhanced awareness.
Two on the perimeter.
One rooftop.
Two advancing closer.
Professional.
He looked at Miku.
"Can you mask us?"
Her eyes lit faintly.
"Yes."
She floated close, hands glowing with layered illusion magic. The air shimmered faintly around them.
Light bent.
Sound dampened.
Presence thinned.
To external senses, the room would feel empty.
Kyro tested it... stepping toward the door silently.
No sound.
Even floorboards didn't creak under his controlled weight.
"Stay close," he murmured.
Miku shrank slightly and hovered near his shoulder, maintaining the illusion field.
They slipped out the back exit of the inn unnoticed.
Outside, rain helped.
Visual distortion blended naturally with falling water.
Kyro moved through alleys like a ghost.
Instead of fleeing...
He circled.
Root operatives advanced toward the inn.
Kyro and Miku followed them from behind.
From above, one Root shinobi signaled silently.
Sweep pattern converging.
Kyro watched them operate.
Disciplined.
No wasted motion.
No visible fear.
No curiosity.
Just objective.
Miku whispered softly near his ear.
"They're searching for you."
"I know."
She glanced up at him.
"Do we eliminate?"
Kyro didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he studied their formation carefully.
Root preferred capture when possible.
Information extraction.
That meant they weren't here to openly assassinate.
Yet.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Let's see how they adapt."
Invisible in the rain
The hunter became the shadow behind other hunters.
And Root had no idea they were already being observed....
Rain thickened.
The two Root jonin moving left slowed almost imperceptibly.
They didn't speak.
But they knew.
Someone was there.
A breath that wasn't wind.
A pressure that didn't belong.
The shorter of the two shifted his stance subtly, hand grazing the hilt of his blade.
Nothing visible.
Nothing audible.
Still
They adjusted formation.
Then
A vertical line of silver flashed downward.
So fast it barely displaced rain.
Zweni appeared behind them mid-motion, blade already finishing its arc.
The first Root shinobi continued walking.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then his body separated cleanly along the cut.
It split with surgical precision, sliding apart before collapsing into the mud.
No scream.
Just gravity.
The second Root operative's eyes widened.
A fractional inhale
That was all he got.
Zweni pivoted.
Palm extended.
A single precise strike to center mass.
A focused burst of internal force detonated through rib and lung without outward explosion.
The jonin was lifted slightly off his feet
Then dropped, breath gone, heart ruptured from internal shock.
Zweni didn't look back.
He wiped rain from his blade and vanished into mist again.
Across the district
The remaining two-man team halted simultaneously.
They felt it.
Two signatures gone.
Not killed loudly.
Erased.
One made a quick hand sign.
The other activated sensory perception.
"There," one whispered.
They bolted toward Kyro's last known direction.
But Kyro wasn't there anymore.
He was behind them.
Standing casually atop a rain-soaked roof beam.
Miku hovered at his shoulder.
They passed directly beneath him.
Kyro glanced sideways at her.
"Now."
Miku smiled sweetly.
"Easy."
She floated forward slightly, invisible field still intact.
Her eyes shimmered with layered fae magic.. ancient, emotional distortion rather than chakra-based genjutsu.
She whispered softly.
"Look closer…"
The illusion unfolded like a bloom.
Subtle at first.
Rain sounds warped.
Footsteps echoed wrong.
Peripheral shadows elongated unnaturally.
One Root shinobi froze.
"…Did you see that?"
See what?
But he had.
A flicker.
Movement where none existed.
The second operative turned sharply.
Someone standing behind them..
No.
Gone.
Their breathing quickened despite training.
Heart rates spiked.
Miku's magic intensified gently.
Faces in puddles.
Shadows moving opposite the body.
The sound of whispering just beyond comprehension.
"Stay focused," one barked... voice slightly strained.
Then he felt it
Hands grabbing his ankles.
He slashed downward.
Nothing there.
His partner turned
Only to see his ally's face distort in his vision, eyes blackened, mouth splitting unnaturally wide.
He stumbled backward.
"No.. this is.. "
Miku's voice echoed playfully around them.
"Why are you afraid?"
The paranoia hit fully.
Every shadow became a threat.
Every sound became an ambush.
They spun, blades flashing wildly at empty air.
One thought the other had turned on him.
Their discipline cracked under layered panic stimuli.
Kyro watched silently.
No emotion on his face.
"Don't overdo it," he said calmly.
Miku giggled softly.
"I won't~"
The two Root jonin now stood back-to-back in the rain, breathing hard, unable to distinguish reality from illusion.
One swung at his partner's shadow..
The other reacted defensively..
Steel clashed in confusion.
Kyro stepped off the beam soundlessly, landing behind them.
They never sensed him.
He walked between them.
A clean horizontal slash.
A reverse thrust.
Both movements economical.
Precise.
Their blades dropped before their bodies did.
Rain washed blood into the street.
Silence returned.
Miku drifted back to him, illusion fading.
"They were strong," she said softly.
"They were," Kyro agreed.
He looked toward the direction of the battlefield far beyond the village.
"Which means this won't be the last squad."
The rain continued to fall over the Hidden Rain.
And somewhere far away..
Danzo would soon learn his operatives had vanished.