The Journey — (Naruto x Solo Leveling Fanfiction)

I don't own solo leveling or Naruto

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The sound of waves crashing at the docks was somewhat soothing to the ears of Dr. Kyo Min-Jae, having been called down here early in the morning. Biting his lips, a nervous habit, he waited to see what the summons from the boss was all about.

He unconsciously stiffened when the black SUV pulled up to the docks, the revving of the engine and menacing headlight design giving the car a certain chill and an indicator of the individuals he was dealing with.

Dal stepped out of the vehicle topped out in a fancy red tuxedo with stainless white and golden shoes, along with a couple of his enforcers trailing behind him.

"Doctor, I'm glad to see you in good health." he greeted cordially. Min-Jae made sure to keep a certain distance from him just to retain some semblance of control in this situation.

"Sir," he greeted back, "I really should be getting back to work. The serum is progressing slowly."

Dal smacked his lips together and started to leisure pace back and forth. His demeanour gave off that he was irritated and thinking about something, "You see… I don't like the word slow. I like things moving fast, it's the only way I stay on top in this game."

"My apologies, sir. I'll be sure to speed up the process, maybe with a little extra-" he was quickly cut off, "Extra what? Extra funding? You know poor old Jong Su mentioned something about that in his reports. He didn't like it. I don't like it.*

The gang leader frowned heavily and sweat started to trickle down the spine of the doctor at his sponsor's mood change. He easily invaded his personal space and went to whisper something in his ear.

"You know. I wanna try something."

Min-Jae gulped, "What would that be, sir?" he asked cautiously as Dal deliberately stayed quiet to further rattle the scientist. "I noticed that after your transformation you made significant progress in perfecting the serum."

His eyes widened, "Are you saying to inject myself again? That's extremely reckless and how would you even capture the proper data in that state?" he pointed out, fuming at the suggestion but managing to keep his tone respectful.

"I never said anything like that. That'd just be silly," he chuckled, "However, it would be interesting for you to see how you were affected objectively, wouldn't you say, doc?" he smirked at Min-Jae's growing confusion.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Bring him out!" he ordered, turning back to his enforcers.

The one on his right easily nodded and made his way to the SUV. He ended up dragging out a beat up, tied up and gagged man from the trunk of the car. He continously struggled against his captor and restraints all the way until he was dropped at Dal and the doctor's feet.

"Who's this?"

The chilliness rooted in his bones and speeding up of his heartbeat were just prime indicators of the distress he was feeling. He really wasn't a fan of where things were going, evident by the look on his face.

"A debt runner and a rat. Got one of my best drug movers locked up in a sting operation a few weeks back by the SPD. He's gonna be your-" he stopped talking and noticed how pale the doctor's face had become, "You looking pale there, doc? You okay," he asked with fiend concern on his face, concern that Min-Jae would have believed if he didn't know who this man was.

The snitch's squirmings back a little too much of an annoyance for Dal and he began to kick him in the stomach. Quite literally kicking him while he's down.

"You really should shut up when I'm talking, rat!" he shouted angrily, as the man moaned in pain on the ground.

Min-Jae, growing increasingly uncomfortable, cleared his throat, "Um, sir, you said he was gonna be my what?" having a good idea about what he was going to say but dreading it all the same.

"Oh! He's your test subject. Have fun!" he answered far too cheerfully.

"Uh, um, I'm not sure that's wise, sir," he stammered.

"Why not?"

"The formula is far from ready for human experiments. Plus there is no way to contain him if the formula makes him go wild and, and it's just… The numbers aren't right at this point in time."

Dal just sighed, shaking his head. He then clasped his arm around the doctor's neck and made him face the direction of the old docking facility in the distance.

"You see that?" he said, getting a nod in return. "That's the testing ground and I'm only making you do this because you are too slow going on this serum. Resources aren't so abundant, doc." he explained.

"Yes, sir." he said, straining under the pressure around his neck.

"It's good that you understand. I don't want our relationship to be something of a waste, you see." he replied, letting him go.

He stepped over the beaten up man and whispered in the ear of his enforcer, "Be sure that he does what I set out for him." he ordered and he received an obedient nod. The enforcer moved to the doctor and picked up the gagged victim.

As the car pulled around to the doctor the back seat window rolled down to reveal the gangster's face.

"He'll keep an eye on you and I'll be checking on your progress in the next week. Other than that, enjoy!" he said flatly and the car drove off afterwards.

Min-Jae, as Dal left, was coughing on the ground contemplating what messed up situation he'd gotten himself into now. He looked up at the intimidating enforcer, "Do you have a name?" he asked, rubbing away the soreness of his neck.

He didn't get an answer.

"Not much of a talker, I see."

Following the enforcer with the tied up victim in tow. He set to work on better perfecting the serum no matter how much he was against purposely ruining a man's life.

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"Hey, I'm glad you could make it today!" Lee said excitedly.

"I really didn't have much of a choice." Sasuke replied, 'Choi was not letting me skip this school event…' he sighed, uncharacteristically exasperated, thinking back to yesterday's conversation about today's sports day. This caused Lee to give him a strange side eye from the visible annoyance on his face, but he didn't comment on it. The school had sent out emails to all parents and guardians that first years were not allowed to miss any school events without a valid reason.

Sasuke didn't care much about the punishment but Choi was not going to the school for some PTA meeting on his bad attendance of all things— Sasuke figured that he would probably send someone else in his stead so he was quite irritated that he was making a big deal out of it.

Choi told him that he'd have to work on his attendance before he met up with the Attack force B squad.

'I was supposed to meet up with them that day, but a surprise dungeon on their way back to headquarters held them up,' Sasuke grumbled internally.

The Uchiha was starting to get tired of the guild master hanging that promise over his head.

'At least he didn't find out about that D-rank raid 2 weeks ago or… the other 2 last week.' he thought to himself.

The fields of the school have always been vast and sprawling but with the countless number of students on campus he had to wonder how the teachers could even keep up and regulate such an event. He followed Lee through the mass of bodies all the way up to the stands overlooking the track field. The mascots and cheer squads of both schools were going at fiercely trying to outdo the other on the amount of support and noise they could generate. The students all around weren't much better, only perpetuating the noise, to the point that he could feel the seats rattling.

"This is the 100m dash! Everyone's excited! I heard that last year a 2nd year broke the national record!" his companion shouted to overcome the noises just enough so that Sasuke could hear him.

He nodded to show that he heard him and looked back down onto the grid. It seemed it was the girls' heat up first before the boys'.

'So, she does track and field, huh?' he thought, watching the brown haired girl he met 2 weeks ago during his impromptu visit at the Sung residence, Sung Jin-ah.

He saw a look of fierce determination on her face, a far cry from how emotional she was that night. 'She wants to win,' he thought, all too familiar with that kind of look. A face he, himself, puts on everyday he's training.

"-know that girl?"

He looked to the side in confusion having caught the tail end of that sentence.

"What?"

"Do you know that girl? She's Sung Jin-ah. In middle school she was the number one in academics in the whole country, I can see you checking her out, huh?" Lee said, poking him with his elbow with a teasing grin, "I mean not that I blame you or anything, she's really hot!" he laughed.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, because he was in fact not checking her out and he shook his head and turned to focus his attention on the race.

As Sung Jin-ah was getting set in her place after a couple of stretches Sasuke saw her turn her head to the stands where he was sitting, spending a few moments scanning the crowd. He saw her tilt her head to the side and they locked eyes at that moment.

He saw her plush thin lips press into a line with her eyes revealing the recognition of his figure in the crowd. He regarded her with a sharp questioning look before she winked and went back to take her mark.

Crouching down and getting ready for the gunshot to signal 'go'.

"On your marks!" he saw her release a breath at the command.

"Get set!" she adjusted her position like the rest, getting to launch off at top speed.

"Go!"

A gunshot. And a single beat later she was off to the finish line. The noise of the crowd being drowned out by her own adrenaline.

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'2nd place…' Sasuke thought emptily. Not really sure if he should feel anything about her finish. He quickly decided that he shouldn't, it was her job to decide how she felt.

"Damn! Wasn't that exciting! All those races were exciting weren't they? Too bad we didn't see anything record breaking like last year, huh?" Lee exclaimed passionately, as the two walked together. Sasuke frowned heavily at his volume but didn't do much to stop him, just letting him get absorbed in his passion.

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

They had been in the stands for a few more hours watching the rest of the races, entirely from Lee's insistence despite his protests at being wrapped in such a noisy place for so long. Lee tried to tease him, saying that he just wanted to meet Sung Jin-ah and that he didn't blame him because he saw the way he was checking her out, but Sasuke was confident that his glare dispelled that notion entirely.

They had reached the school's cafeteria where they were selling all the food for students to purchase during this event.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Lee asked, trying to be considerate but Sasuke just declined. He pointed out that he didn't do nearly as much jumping around and shouting as he did, so he didn't need food to replenish his energy.

"Alright…" his classmate relented.

He decided to space out for a while waiting out in the hallway for Lee to come back from that line at the cafeteria. He leaned against a wall staring out the window where a soccer match was playing out in the field. That's probably why he didn't notice that someone was trying to get his attention right next to him.

"Hey, Earth to Sasuke?" he blinked at the snapping fingers and an amused expression on Jin-ah's face. "Oh, finally in the land of living, are we?" she said with a polite smile.

"Jin-ah…" he murmured her name absentmindedly. There she was dressed in her standard female school uniform, blue blazer, black knee length skirt, and white button up shirt. A small sports bag hanging from her shoulder, tucked in between her armpit and side.

"Yeah, it's me," she smiled, "Are you okay? You look out of it," she commented, tilting her head to inspect his expression.

He backed up a little, "I'm fine thanks."

"Oh," she blushed once she realised that she was getting a little too much into his personal space, judging from the way he backed up. "Um, sorry," she apologised and Sasuke just nodded.

For a few moments they stood in awkward silence, Sasuke's expression the equivalent of a brick wall and Jin-ah bouncing on the balls of her feet to alleviate the awkwardness. When she realised that he wasn't going to say anything the youngest Sung cleared her throat.

"... So, I'm surprised to see you here."

"... Why's that?" he wondered.

"You were with my brother that night so you're a hunter, aren't you?" she said rather than asked.

"Yeah, what of it? You think I dropped out of school or something?" he questioned, realising how much he wished that were true.

"No! But you have to admit that's what happens to many students that become hunters," she explained.

He'd heard this in passing. It started with skipping school, doing a little E-rank dungeon here and doing a little D-rank dungeon there and then they suddenly have money that they couldn't imagine at this age. It makes them confident and self absorbed thinking that they can abandon an education to get loaded quickly as a hunter and for many it works out that way. However, others aren't so fortunate.

"Yeah, well I'm not like them, unfortunately," he replied bitterly.

"Why's that unfortunate?" she questioned, unable to help the frown that crossed her expression.

"Cause they don't have to waste hours in these boring hallways." he said as a matter of fact.

"These halls hold no value for you?"

"Exactly."

"So, you value when your life is in danger."

Sasuke regarded her for a moment. Her voice didn't change when she said that but there was something forceful about her statement that Sasuke considered.

"... No. I value being strong." his expression darkened, the words ringing in his head on why he was spared that night.

She sighed, "I guess I can't fault that mindset. The world has moved in that direction for the past 8 years… It's just I don't think you need to be strong when you don't have to be. You could let others help you."

Sasuke observed her saddened expression and was reminded of the words that Sakura spoke to him that night he left Konoha. These weren't her exact words but they brought forth similar feelings, feelings that he blocked off.

Before he could stop himself like last time he asked, "How do you think you can help?"

"Huh?" she looked up at him, surprised.

The panic wasn't readily apparent on his face, but he scrambled for answers in his brain, some kind of clarification on what he meant.

"Him…" his brain supplied, "This is about your brother, isn't it?" he questioned, eyeing her intently.

She blinked at him and then a light pink blush coloured her cheeks. Sasuke calmed down knowing that he hit the nail on the head on what was really bothering her.

"I'm sorry," she expressed.

"For what?"

"Making my problems your problems."

"Don't be." Sasuke said simply. He scanned the empty corridor they were in and then turned his head to the door of the cafeteria.

"You wanna talk about it here or somewhere else?" he asked. Jin-ah followed his line of sight and shook her head.

"Somewhere else," she answered softly. She didn't want the students beyond that door to potentially listen in on her issues. She'd already made herself vulnerable today. A part of her rationalised that they probably wouldn't care, but she didn't want to risk that possibility that they did.

"Hmm." Sasuke hummed, nodding at her confirmation. They walked together down the hallway, "Where to then?" he questioned. Jin-ah thought for a moment and her eyes lit up like she had a great idea. "I know this place a few blocks down the street that sells really good milkshakes!" she said happily.

Sasuke didn't verbally respond, but as they made their way off school premises and down the street, he had a quizzical look, "What's a milkshake?"

He asked the question so seriously that Jin-ah couldn't help but burst out into hysterical laughter, much to the young Uchiha's chagrin.

As Lee returned bursting through the cafeteria double doors into the hallway he left his friend Sasuke as he looked around wondering where the hell the guy could have run off to.

"What the hell? Where'd you go?" he blurted out, with his favourite candy, red liquorice, hanging from his mouth.

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"So, do you want to talk about it?" Sasuke broached the subject of his escapade with Jin-ah.

They had been sitting in silence after Jin-ah they'd gotten the milkshakes from the ice cream shop that she led them to. He poked his straw into the milkshake and took a sip and his face immediately scrunched up at the sweet flavor, he never was a fan of sweet things. Jin-ah looked up from her milkshake after idly stirring it for some minutes and giggled at his expression.

"Not a fan?" she questioned, her eyes bubbling with mirth. Sasuke regarded her with a nod, cooling his expression to its signature deadpan, "I don't like sweet things," he drawled.

"That's kinda depressing," she joked and Sasuke shrugged like he couldn't help it. "You want it?" he offered, pushing the glass of milky goodness her way which she happily accepted.

Downing her vanilla shake even more she replied, "Ah, yeah," she breathed, "I just want to say sorry for the way I acted that other night. It's just been so stressful this past year and with midterms-"

"You don't have to apologise to me for something like that," he interrupted very cutthroat leaving no room for argument.

"Still though it probably ruined your night and I just want you to know that, it's not a good representation of who I am. I'm not some angsty teen, mad at the world and blaming my brother for everything that's been going wrong with my life. I'm better than tha-" she was cut off once again by the Uchiha, "You just care about Jin-woo. He's your older brother… I get it," he said and if one were paying enough attention they'd notice a slight twitch on his left eye.

"If that's all you had to say then it really wasn't necessary," Sasuke said with Jin-ah taking note of how forceful Sasuke's tone was at the present moment. She figured that his mood swing probably had something to do with what she said.

"Hey," she reached out, "Did I say something to upset you?" she asked, concerned.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Nah, we're here to talk about you, remember?" He gave her a pointed and sharp look. She chuckled softly into her empty glass and then passed it off to drink from his glass, "Yeah, I guess."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Jin-ah let out another sigh, "Well, it's just that I want him to know that-"

"Oi, oi, I'm sorry for interrupting your little date, Sasuke Uchiha!" Gang Tae-Shik said, playfully sliding in right next to the young Uchiha. Sasuke visibly cringed at the arm that wrapped around his shoulder.

"Eh? Uh, hello." Jin-ah greeted the agent, surprised at his sudden appearance. "Uh? Oh, hello there," he smiled with his eyes closed and turned to Sasuke, "She's a little cute isn't she? Neh, Sasuke?" Tae Shik said with a hand on his chin.

Sasuke shoved the taller man off of him causing his butt to connect with the ground as Sasuke looked down on him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he said very dangerously, ignoring the shocked cry that escaped from Jin-ah's mouth.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Tae Shik laughed, putting his hands up in a placating gesture showing that he meant no harm. "I said sorry for interrupting your date, didn't I? Besides, it's very important to come with me right now, the old man doesn't really like waiting, especially for small frys like you and me."

Sasuke gave him a quizzical look wondering who he was talking about. He expanded his magic sensory range, having trained it a little with Choi and now he could sense things within 30m range of him.

'What? Who the heck is this person!?' he whipped his around looking at the window at the black car that held that massive pool of magic that he was sensing.

"You picked up on it, huh? Guess you're not as hopeless as I thought," Tae Shik said, picking himself up off the floor and dusting himself off.

Sasuke turned back to the arrogant agent, "Who is that and what do they want with me?" he questioned, a trail of nervous sweat going down the side of his face.

"Someone your caretaker has made quite irritated and he just wants to have a talk," he replied, holding the door open for him.

Sasuke never really liked this guy but he doubted that he could just ignore whoever this person was. They were way too strong, stronger than Choi.

"Um, excuse me, but what's going on right now?" Jin-ah's brows were furrowed as her gaze pivoted between the two. She knew this man was from the Hunters Association based on the pin on the man's suit so whatever was going on had something to do with Sasuke's hunter lifestyle.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about. Your boyfriend is gonna be just fine, neh, Sasuke?" Tae Shik waved off her concern.

"Boyfriend?" her cheeks coloured a slight red at the conclusion Tae Shik had come to about the two of them. "He's not my boyfriend," she said very quickly and looked to Sasuke who was looking quite shaken up.

"Are you in trouble, Sasuke?" she asked, remembering a time when a few years back when a couple of those agents came to her house looking for her dad.

"I don't think so… Although I'm not too sure," Tae Shik just sweatdropped at how nonreassuring Sasuke was being to the poor girl, "You really should be more reassuring to your girlfriend, you know."

"We're not a couple!"

Tae Shik laughed hysterically at the two which did nothing to decrease the growing blush forming on both their cheeks.

"C'mon kid, the old man ain't getting any younger!" The agent ceased his laughter, motioning him to the car outside.

"Hn."

Sasuke turned to Jin-ah scratching his head awkwardly, "I guess I'll see around."

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" she said, not completely sure if she should wish him luck or anything like that so she just settled for an awkward wave of the hand to bid him farewell.

Tae Shik and Sasuke left the shop and crossed the street to the car with each step making the Uchiha more and more uneasy.

"I gotta say I'm kinda disappointed. Making your girlfriend pay the bill like that, who knew you could be so cold-hearted~" Tae Shik teased in a sing-song voice, which annoyed Sasuke.

"She's not my girlfriend and she said that she would pay so what are you talking about?"

"Hehe, sorry I guess, didn't mean to get under your skin or anything."

Sasuke's sharingan blazed into life glaring daggers at the agent motioning for him to calm himself. "You're really annoying, you know that right?" he said flatly. Tae Shik's expression shifted from sly and smug to dangerous and serious, "I don't like it when kids act too big for their breeches, you should watch your tone, Sasuke Uchiha." he replied as he opened the door to welcome him into the vehicle where that monstrous mana was waiting.

Sasuke spared him a final glare and scoffed before making his way inside the vehicle and was immediately greeted with a broad man in a black suit within the spacious car or limo if he remembered correctly.

"So, you wanted to speak with me." Sasuke deadpanned, his visual prowess active the whole time scanning and burning every minute detail about the elderly man in front of him.

He was a muscular old man with gray hair greenish-gray eyes and several scars that creeped on the corners of his face and a few around his neck. He wore the standard three-piece black suit characteristic of many Association agents.

"Hello there, young man! My name is Go Gun-hee and I am very much looking forward to meeting you." he greeted very openly and honestly, holding his hand out for a handshake.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review.

It's been a long time, eh? Sorry for that. Life happened and inspiration left me for a good long while so…