Knowing they were Hidden Stone shinobi, Ren didn't bother hiding. He transformed into a black blur and lunged. In mere seconds, the two squads of Stone ninja, who had thought themselves masters of concealment, were decapitated, their corpses left to the elements.
Lately, there had been quite a few Stone ninja rotting in the wilderness around here; a few more didn't make a difference.
Returning to Hikari's side, Ren smiled at her. "Handled!"
"Being protected feels... nice," Hikari's lips moved slightly, her voice a silent whisper.
Unaware of her murmur, Ren continued, "We can't stay here any longer. Besides, I'm almost certain that what I'm looking for isn't here."
Ren had originally intended to stay for another week, but after killing those six Chunin, his intuition told him that if he didn't want trouble, it was time to leave. He always trusted his gut—just as he had sensed Hikari wasn't a bad person and chose not to kill her, he trusted his instincts now.
Upon returning to camp, he had Hikari pack their tent while he recalled all the biological fragments he had scattered underground. They departed immediately. Hikari didn't ask a single question; she trusted that Ren had his reasons.
Sure enough, not long after they vanished, a dense swarm of Stone shinobi appeared in the forest, led personally by a murderous-looking Ohnoki!
"Search! Find the bastard who slaughtered our Stone brothers! I'll make him realize the consequences of provoking the Hidden Stone!"
But Ren and Hikari were already gone. Even if they turned the forest upside down, they were destined to find nothing.
By now, Ren and Hikari were well within the borders of the Land of Fire, far from the front lines. Once they stopped to rest, Ren pulled up the footage from an image-transmission Den Den Mushi he had left behind.
The screen showed the Stone ninja swarming the forest like a plague of locusts—no, worse. They were practically digging three feet into the earth.
Ren felt a wave of relief at his own decisiveness. If they had stayed, it would have turned into a bloodbath of epic proportions.
"Avoided another massacre. I really am a good person!" Ren looked at the sky, a playful smirk on his face.
Hikari gave him a flat look. She was used to his casual violence, but his thick skin was something she still needed time to adjust to.
"There's a hot spring inn up ahead. Let's rest there for the night!"
"Okay."
The inn was located in a remote part of the Land of Fire. It was a cluster of weather-beaten wooden buildings that looked as though a strong breeze might knock them over.
Inside, the proprietor was a silver-haired elderly woman. Seeing guests, she scurried forward with a welcoming smile. "Welcome to the Benliu Inn! Are you here for a room or just a soak?"
"Both," Ren said.
"Understood! This way, please!" The old woman chuckled as she led them to a relatively spacious room.
"For two people, this room is more than enough!" The old woman gave Ren a knowing wink and a sly grin.
"Yeah, it's a big room," Ren nodded, silently giving the old woman a thumbs-up.
Hikari, unaware of the world's devious ways, assumed this was simply their designated space. She set her things aside and began pulling off her outer jacket, revealing a glimpse of her soft, pale shoulders—only to turn around and collide with Ren's wide, staring eyes.
"EEEEK!!!"
Thud! Thud! Crash!
"GET OUT!!"
Amidst a flurry of flying objects, Ren was unceremoniously kicked out of the room, sporting two fresh bumps on his head.
"I didn't even see anything... why get so angry?" Ren grumbled.
"I can hear you!" Hikari's furious voice boomed from behind the door, making Ren jump.
"Ha... haha... right. I'll just go find the lady and get another room!"
Ren caught up with the proprietor, and under her judgmental gaze, he opened a second room right next to Hikari's.
After settling in, Ren grabbed his robe and headed toward the springs. Hikari happened to open her door at the same time, and their eyes met. She was wearing a small black vest that showed off her toned midriff, her waist-length hair tied back simply. It was a clean, sharp look. She wore black lounge pants and a pair of white slippers on her bare feet.
Seeing Ren, Hikari blinked. He waved. "What a coincidence! You going for a soak now too?"
Hikari nodded, a small, genuine smile gracing her lips. "Yes. I want to experience this 'hot spring' everyone talks about."
Noticing she was empty-handed, Ren realized she had no idea how this worked. He walked into her room, pulled a set of robes, a head wrap, and a towel from the closet, and handed them to her.
"This short one is for your hair. Wrap it up if it gets in the way while you're washing. This long one is to wrap around yourself in the bath area, and this robe is for when you're finished," Ren explained patiently.
To a normal person, this was basic common sense, but Hikari had been raised as a weapon; she had likely never seen an inn in her life. She listened intently, quickly grasping the utility of the items.
As they walked toward the baths together, the old woman passed them, still giving Ren a deeply suspicious look, which made him incredibly awkward. Hikari, on the other hand, felt a strange surge of joy, her lips twitching with a smile she couldn't suppress.
"Are you smiling?"
"No!"
"You definitely smiled! I saw it!"
"Your eyes are playing tricks on you! I said I didn't!"
With a flick of her ponytail that caught Ren in the face, Hikari skipped off into the women's bath area. Ren could only offer a helpless laugh. "I tell ya, tsundere sisters are pretty cute."
He stepped into the men's area.
He didn't notice, however, that Hikari hadn't walked away yet; she was just on the other side of the thin wall. She heard every word.
Her face turned bright red as she stood frozen in the entrance to the women's bath. "C-cute... I am not... ha... haha..."
Despite her words, her grin reached from ear to ear.
While the two were enjoying their soak, a rift suddenly tore open in the sky not far from the town. A white silhouette fell from the heavens, turning into a streak of light heading straight for the village!
Following close behind were two more figures.
"Hurry! We can't let him escape again!"
"Yeah! This time, I'm taking him down with a Rasengan!"