Tales of Hope from the Hopeless

Tsuna held on dearly for the few memories of her childhood she still had.

In the early days, she had been told her parents had died in the night, and she had been rescued from a burning building, unconscious, They feared 'taking her to the site of the fire' would be too traumatic.

It was years before Tsuna figured out that was almost certainly a lie. Most likely, her parents were still alive.

And if they weren't, it was probably her kidnappers that had killed them.

But she had no way to know. So in her heart, they continued to be the parents she had grown up with.

Her mother still crying when Tsuna woke up and walked out of the (admittedly VERY strange) place she had been sleeping in for the past few hours.

Her father looking like he was going to boil over in frustration, but his words being calm, loving, and, beyond all else, thankful.

Her younger self never really knew what was going on. Now she did, though. Her parents were afraid she had gotten lost.

Or worse.

...Sometimes Tsuna thought about if it had been the "or worse". She would not be here, now.

Was that the Better Ending? Had she lost at the game of life when that incident was just a nap? Was she doomed to end up here no matter what she did?

No. Tsuna had to not think about that. That led to bad thoughts, bad places. Places that, somehow, were worse than real life.

---

WC 254

It had been a bad day. The innkeeper's staff would be having to deal with a customer and...

She would need a large amount of concealer for tomorrow.

She really did not want to. She wanted to... to...

To what?

Run? People had tried that. They always come back. Every single one comes back.

They never come back as well as they left.

Sometimes they come back in multiple pieces.

They are horrors, meant to make all of the people there hopeless.

...And it worked. Everyone was afraid, they would never try to escape, not until they became so desperate that death was worth the risk of success.

And Tsuna was not at this point yet.

Tsuna would get their slower. Because she was "special".

Some of the girls... some of them barely walked anymore. Some were entirely unable to walk.

So what did she want to do? If she feigned being sick, the best bet is what happened when any of them were actually sick:

We get sent to do our jobs anyways.

And if someone is so sick they can't do that?

. . .

A shiver ran down Tsuna's spine. That way leads madness.

Being sick would not save her, running away was...

No, running away was not an option. Not... not yet.

Too many of the others were broken, physically, spiritually, otherwise, whatever, too many were broken to try fighting back.

Tsuna had watched one person try to stand up, get the others to join.

Tsuna had watched her head roll. Too horrified to look away.

---

WC 257

Hope was tantalizing. Tsuna knew. She had hoped, herself.

She had been beaten bloody and raw for it.

She saw a chance of escape, and she tried to take it.

And it was a trap. It was always a trap. Had always been a trap.

Eventually, Tsuna would one day have to deal with the fear, the worry. Was it a trap? A test?

There was always the possibility it was, the possibility it was not.

It was a dangerous game, removing all hope from the hopeless.

Could it be a more dangerous game to grant hope?

To leave a person wondering, believing?

Certainly not, but...

But maybe it could.

Maybe hope was the catalyst of change.

Tsuna had watched someone hope, and dream.

Try to motivate others.

They were many, the inn and staff were few!

Numbers to not matter in the face of a ninja.

Not nearly as much as you would hope.

Tsuna remembered them. Ten in total. They had tried.

They had failed.

Not even dead, but cripples.

Toys until their death.

It was horrifying.

And it worked.

You did not need to be strong to take on a bunch of people thrown into darkness, who never got to see the light of day, except possibly from barred windows, if someone paid a particularly high price.

There was one room, at the very top of the building. It had a balcony. The balcony overlooked the central area, which was "restricted to staff".

Tsuna had 'worked' some days that room was rented out.

Sometimes, the days were punctuated with screams as someone fell.

---

WC 266

Good things come to those who wait. As always, Grey kept an eye open should an opportunity present itself and it seemed his patience would finally pay off. Four different hand seals were formed, a soft clap followed as the rogue set his eyes on the unexpecting target. Doing so, a complex jutsu formula would form upon the ground up to 5m from his position, a single large black circle forming in the direct center of the formula, 2.5m in front of him. Conveniently, the woman who was still unaware of what took place, found herself positioned at the center of the circle, effectively trapped by the technique.

Assuming he was able to continue, ready to act in case the need would arise, Grey retrieved both a scroll as well as a jar of blood. He would place the jar of blood onto the scroll, and upon doing so would clap his hands. The blood started to fill up the seal, moving towards the sacrifice and filling up the black circle. The woman became encased in a mixture of ash and dust that would soon take on the same appearance as the one in his corpse storage scroll, the body now gaining the features of his new summon. Once that was finished the rogue would place his hand on his latest creation and return to Iron Country. Safe to say, he maintained ready to react when necessary. 

(WC: 238)

- 75 AP Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation

(Exit)

Claims:
- A-rank Impure World Reincarnation Summon (The Plague Doctor) - NPC page will be made upon approval

Approved