Across This New Divide
Date: July 6th, 13 aNb
Days Until Final Stage: 26
Time: 5:15 PM
Anastasia Inugami stood alone, puzzled, in a room that was, on Earth, mathematically impossible as the interior was currently double the size of the exterior walls. However, here in the JRD - which existed in a pocket dimension where the rules of reality were more like "recommended settings" to help preserve one's sanity - it was as easy as performing the right spell to convert the "east" wall of Morgue 1 and the "west" wall of Morgue 2 into a bi-directional bridge between the two rooms that existed on differing floors and positions in the JRD. Although the cardinality of the walls was more an internal reference since the pocket dimension had no sun, no magnetic north, and no stars by which to guide oneself…
Which was perfectly fine since there were no windows that one could look outside the building. The air outside was technically breathable - albeit highly charged with the exospace equivalent of Senjutsu energy that the facility's power plant drew on to power the 32.5 thousand square meter, 13 story super lab - it was just a bit… chewy for human comfort for more than an hour at a time.
Her puzzlement wasn't due to the nature of her extended-size lab - which she'd done so she could examine all 14 bodies that had been brought to her today all at once - but due the identical results on the tests she'd been running on the bodies.
Results that made no sense given that all these ninja had died in combat situations. Stepping to her lab phone, she dialed the home line.
"Inugamis." The voice of her youngest, Lucia, answered.
A smile crossed Ana's lips. "Well, hello, Inugamis…"
"Mommy!" Her brown haired daughter cried in excitement. "Karin! Moooom!"
"And what did you do today?"
"I saw a praying mantis. It was green; it was neat, but not as cute as the pink one on the pendant Nii-san gave me."
"Wow! Where did you see it?"
"Down by the River. Karin-nee and I played at shore all day while she kept trying to walk on water. She fell in soooo many times!" The girl's giggling laugh paused and there was a rustle as she handed the phone to her older sister.
"Yeah, Mom?" Karin asked.
"Just making sure you kept you and your sister away from the Hospital today like your father asked."
Dr. Inugami could swear she felt her daughter's eyes roll through the phone. "Yes, Mom; since Nii-san is still being an idiot and didn't come home before he had his triage assignment today, I had to remember the simple task of making sure we stayed away in case there were any fatalities in the Exams since Daddy doesn't want us to see unprocessed dead bodies yet." She paused, excitement creeping into her voice. "So were there? Did you get anything interesting?!"
"I have three bodies that resemble those grapefruits your sister tried to juice for Mother's Day…"
"How in the..?" Her oldest daughter exclaimed; the excitement in her voice growing. "When can I see them?!!"
Anastasia paused, part of her wondering how this had become her life. "You know, when I was your age, the last thing I wanted to know about was dead people…"
"Not my fault you and Saki-obaasan made it sound so interesting." Her daughter countered. "And..?"
"I'll talk with your father when he gets back from his meeting with Sarutobi-sama." There was an odd howling from the other side of the morgue's steel doors. "Speaking of it sounds like your Dad just used the back entrance and had some problems… We'll discuss it when we get home tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! But Moooom..!" Karin squawked in protest as Anastasia hung up the phone.
Contrary to the generally held belief that there was only one entrance to the JRD, there were - in fact - two. The only problem with the back entrance was that you either needed to know both the position you're starting from on Earth and the position of the JRD in no less than eleven of the twenty-six mathematically calculated dimensions that intersect between the two drastically different realities in order to use differential geometry to calculate the necessary vectors to create a wormhole…
Or you could skip all that nonsense by using a specific space-time spell known only to the Inugami family to create anchor points similar to the targeting tags of the Flying Raijin to create a one-way portal that only the caster could use.
Kurando pushed his way into the morgue, coughing as he exhaled the air of the exospace's atmosphere the JRD sat in with its barely usable 16% oxygen content. "Ugh; hit a disruption pocket and got dumped into the space just outside the shell."
In order to make the JRD accessible through the "main" entrance at multiple access points, there was a stone shell that was the same size as the JRD plus two meters around the building's perimeter. The Hospital side of the entrance pumped additional oxygen into the shell so that those being guided by the ANBU assigned to the JRD didn't potentially need air masks to breathe for the walk.
The other reason for the shell was because being exposed to the exospace directly for more than fifteen minutes began to erode the psyche of the wanderer due to the human mind's incompatibility with processing a SECOND temporal dimension that, unlike time on Earth, ran both from cause to effect AND effect to cause based on the observer.
Suffice it to say, since the JRD officially came online thirteen years ago, while the number of attempted infiltrations were well into the triple digits, the number of successes was still sitting at zero because of the complex nature of the fortifications.
"What did Hiruzen-sama need?" The female Doctor Inugami asked as she grabbed a water pitcher from the small fridge under her desk and poured a glass for her husband. The Hokage had called Kurando to come to his office around three and he'd been gone ever since.
"He had some questions about the RDS and was hoping that, since I helped Minato with finding some of those lost sealing techniques, I might have answers…"
The Reaper Death Seal, ironically enough, was the one jutsu that Namikaze did NOT find in the ruins left by the Uzumaki Clan.
It was in the records passed down through the Inugami family, stored in an ancient temple to the north.
"And?"
"His curiosity was satisfied." Kurando replied simply as he threw on his doctor's haori over his normal clothes before frowning and gesturing to the ANBU corpses. "What happened here?!"
"Kakashi sent them about an hour or so ago, requesting a deep dive."
"Huh… That's rather unusual of him to make that request." A 'deep dive' was a complex process that involved some of the Inugami family's ancient techniques to gather information otherwise lost when someone died.
Anastasia nodded. "But I'm worried, lover…" She handed him the test results that had perplexed her.
Kurando's eyes widened as he looked at all fourteen bodies at once. "REALLY?!" He asked, the excitement palpable in his voice. "All eight?!"
"Not a drop of chakra left in any of them…" Anastasia agreed.
"Okay… Okay, before I get myself disappointed yet again like I did after that Rain ninja that our son killed only for there to be no follow-up reports of chakra-less bodies, the marker of an active Henryuuki, let's review…" He walked over to the faceless Kusagakure ninja - one female, two male. "Orochimaru sneaks into the Village and - sometime in the few hours between the end of the Written Exam and before the Practical Exam starts - he and two unknown assistants kill and replace these ninja, dumping the bodies just inside the Forest of Death without triggering an alarm."
Anastasia nodded. "And the bodies were transported to the 44th Training Grounds Tower where they were put in refrigeration so no unexpected bodies pass through to the regular morgue in the Hospital or are brought here suggesting that they were found before the Second Stage ended."
Her husband proceeded to the pulped Rain ninja. "These ones were found in the Forest by one of the recovery teams. They'd been killed by the Shukaku Jinchuuriki, who finished the Second Stage in a new course record of barely over an hour and a half, so these fellows were left in the elements for the last four days."
Kurando moved to the tables with the ANBU bodies. "Now, what happened with these fellows?"
His wife shook her head. "Kakashi didn't provide those details so you had no preconceptions before the deep dive… I have no test that can check for Malice, but the lack of chakra suggests that there won't be any."
The male Doctor Inugami nodded with a sigh. "They've been collected by a Henryuuki, all right; there's nothing left for me to do a deep dive with to see their last experiences, thoughts, and feelings." He licked his lips in anticipation. "A new Henryuuki not tied to my family… So many lineages ended in the Warring States era because of the abruptness of the conflicts." He took a deep breath. "Okay, whoever it is needed to have access to the dead, suggesting they're one of the 81 candidates that entered the Forest. And more than likely they were in Kawa City during the Gala when Sho was there."
Anastasia nodded, "And I checked; the girls weren't near the Hospital today, only Sho was… And since he didn't inherit the Henryuuki trait, we know it's not him. After all, he's helped here a number of times over the years and we've never had any other bodies missing Malice, let alone 14 in a single day!"
"All right, I'm going to submit a request through the intelligence arm to coordinate a combing of the records of the 81 and see if there are any hits." Kurando shivvered with excitement. "I wonder who our mystery Henryuuki is… What form has their Shikkoku taken? What histories do they have? Do they even know what they are?"
He finally sighed. "Well, those are all questions we won't know answers to for several days at least." He pointed to the far end of the bodies. "Want me to start on that end and I'll meet you in the middle?"
Anastasia Inugami grinned flirtatiously. "Whoever gets the most done gets to be on top?"
"Oh, you are on!"
* * *
Time: 5:30 PM
Sho Inugami let out a long sigh as he leaned against the wall of Konoha Hospital as the sun set below the edge of the Village wall. It would be a false twilight for another hour or so because of the 150 meter height of the wall, but then the day would be done. The afternoon's triage session had been an utter slog… and that had been before the mess with Hinata and Rock Lee.
Before Kimiko had passed on Motoko-sa's simple, humble request.
The thought of his fiery headed girlfriend in a dress suitable to attend a wedding as herself instead of Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno had its allure and the offer of Gala Rules applying made it too tempting to say no… Self-guilt for what nearly happened five days ago be damned!
The smile on Itou's face when he explained the meaning behind Gala Rules: then Hata-san's solution to bypass his fears of letting her get too close by saying they should treat the dance like they're two actors in a play and whatever happened wouldn't have lasting effects on the two of them…
It had worked brilliantly so far as the swordswoman and her medic were concerned. The discovery that they'd had shared dreams because of her awakening Kekkei Genkai and that she had accepted everything about him that he'd feared for so long had turned them from strangers in close quarters into a nigh inseparable couple in the space of just a few words.
And then his fucked up head nearly ruined it all…
Or so he'd feared.
"I'll hit Flowers Yamanaka as soon as they open, order their finest 'I'm sorry you fell in love with a fucking idiot' bouquets for delivery with card that says 'Yes; see you tonight!' on it. It'll be perfect!"
In his excitement, Sho Inugami had, unfortunately, violated a fundamental rule of nature, performing a bumble of cosmic proportions, though it would take him several weeks before he realized it…
If you want to make the Gods laugh, tell them your plans.
'Ironically, Jeitsy STILL owes me over 30,000 Ryou under the terms of our double-or-nothing bet.' The medic-nin thought to himself as he converted just enough chakra into water to splash it on his face and chase away the mental exhaustion. 'Maybe I'll be merciful and tell Ino to send him the bill with a note that says I'll call it even if he covers the flowers… He REALLY needs to accept that his strengths lie in being a researcher like Kikosharu-ba.'
'I wonder why I haven't seen Aniki yet or why he quit the Exams… Whiskers, when he stopped by to check on Hinata earlier, said he was still dazed from a sonic attack from the Otogakure ninja who beat Chouji that cracked his glasses during the first stage… But he's had five days to recover, assuming his Yin Wound Destruction didn't fix it as soon as he sustained the injuries.' His hand slid to his stomach, feeling it clench in unconscious discomfort. 'Something felt off when the tele-transport medic told me that earlier, but with Sasuke's arrival with those ANBU I put it aside until now… I just know I don't like this feeling one damned bit…'
The thought of Naruto "Whiskers" Uzumaki made him smile. 'Only Whiskers could take advantage of an accidental fart to beat the stuffing out of Kiba the Mutt. Shino, when he stopped to check on his two teammates, mentioned Naruto swore to avenge Hinata-chan when he faces Neji in the Finals next month. I can't help but wonder if Hinata finally confessed her feelings to him and that's why he did it? I'll have to make sure I offer to help him train; aside from the last few days, I've spent all my free time since I got back with Motoko-sa.'
"I'm just glad Kimiko was able to keep a level head and listened to me when I pointed out that if that Gaara dude from Suna could catch Rock Lee - who was faster than me even with those weights his teammate mentioned - long enough to crush the limbs on his left side, she wouldn't stand a chance against him." Sho muttered to himself out loud.
"That's great advice." Amaya Satou's voice answered as she came around a corner. "You all should absolutely steer clear of that MONSTER at all costs. My cousin kills for trophies, but Gaara…" She shuddered. "He's a merciless sociopath."
"You're actually still here after nearly five hours…" Inugami noted. "And Miho-sensei said you did her a solid with no guarantee I'd agree to meet with you, so whatever it is you wanted to talk with me about must be really important to you."
Satou bit her lip nervously. She shouldn't know what was coming, but she FINALLY knew why the information gathering mission she'd been placed in charge of by Aya-baasan and Akiko-basan was so important.
And, like Temari Kazekage, the distraction and espionage specialist did not like it one damned bit.
Facing Inugami alone with the knowledge she now possessed could be perceived as a betrayal of Suna and her family, but only if she said the wrong thing and made him suspicious. The only reason she was here now was the fact that she still had no clue what a Henryuuki was - something that might mean nothing at all in the grand scheme of things or could be the difference between what was coming either succeeding or failing - or why the Decimator's message to the Clan twenty years ago referenced it.
It was true that Inugami had genuinely tried to help her out of an act of kindness with no ulterior motive in River Country and she'd never properly thanked him for it. Then there was the way she'd seen Inugami avoiding that flaming haired tart the other day…
'With this, I throw away my pride in the hopes it pays larger dividends.' Satou thought as she unleashed a non-combat pheromone that her Clan avoided using at all costs as it was one of the rare double-edged-sword-type pheromones, affecting her as readily as it would him. She rather hoped that it wouldn't trigger the detector since it was only used in times of absolute desperation…
"Technically I came back, but it is even more important now than I thought earlier…" Amaya pressed her body against Inugami's, pinning him to the wall, as an unusual pheromone was released by her Kekkei Genkai: Yearning. Yearning was not one of the weaponized byproducts of the kunoichi's clan ability; it was a confession - the pheromone in question filled the recipient with the sense that the user desired them - as opposed to Desire which forced those feelings onto the target. "I want you to come away with me, Sho… Back to Suna; to be loved by you the way you no longer do that orange-haired girl." Her moist, kissable lips came closer to his…
Only for him to place his hands on her shoulders and gently - but firmly - push her away from him, completely unaffected by her biological magic. "What in the names of all the Gods are you talking about, Ms. Satou?! I love Motoko-sa even more than I did the last time I saw you on the night of the Gala!"
Amaya felt her heart crack. There was genuine confusion on his face, like he couldn't begin to guess why she'd thought that! "But… You ran from her the other day. I SAW you do it!"
"Oh, Satou-san…" A look of pain crossed his features. "I was acting like that not because the two of us broke up; I did it because, in a momentary fit of irrational anger, I came this close…" He held his index finger and thumb of his right hand within a fraction of a millimeter of each other. "...to doing something that I consider to be absolutely unforgivable five days ago! I'm in the middle of a spiral of self-loathing and feel utterly undeserving of her love!"
"But…" The kunoichi repeated, clearly befuddled. In her Clan the women held the power over their men at all times; the concept of a lovers' quarrel was as foreign to her as a prostate exam was to an amoeba. "I don't understand; if you didn't DO the unforgivable thing, why is it bothering you so badly?"
A sigh of genuine pity for the young woman in front of him escaped his lips. "I wish I would have had a chance to explain it to you after everything in Mizumiyo panned out and I didn't have to be in character as Keitaro Urashima, but your Jonin and cousin pulled you out so abruptly… I feel like I've led you on, though that was never my intent, and allowed my kindness to become a point of obsession for you…"
Satou jerked out of his grip, upset that he was being so candid again. "Oh, get the fuck over yourself, Inugami; I'm not obsessed over you!" Inugamil's mixed gray and green eyes stared placidly at her until she flinched slightly. "Okay, maybe I was a LITTLE infatuated with you until I realized you were related to the Decimator! Then I began to wonder if it had all been an act to get me to lower my guard so you could finish what your grandmother started!" Inugami opened his mouth to object but she put a finger across his lips. "Relax, snowball, your sister spilled the beans when she was fitting me with this stupid tracker; I know you didn't know."
Amaya sighed, resting her forehead on Sho's chest for a moment. "I don't understand WHY I feel so strongly the way I do about you! Satou aren't supposed to feel this way about their men because they all end up like Akechi did when we fuck them; it's a biological trigger, completely uncontrollable! So what's the point in loving their personality when it's going to be destroyed?" Tears - genuine tears - of unrequited love were leaking from her eyes. "If… If she had never existed, do… Was there ever a chance you could have ended up falling in love with and coming home with me?"
Sho Inugami sighed. "Ms. Satou…." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no, there isn't."
Amaya's heart shattered. "And why the fuck not?!" She demanded, her anger flaring. She yanked open her yukata, exposing a sheer icy blue bra and matching C-string; both were nearly translucent and would have exposed her nipples and clit if not for the opaque flower appliqués on the fabric. "Look at what I have to offer you!"
"Satou, the fact that you think that the potential sex is the only reason I love Motoko Hata proves that I have neither the time nor the CRAYONS to explain all the ways why you and I could NEVER work out." The white haired ninja pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Most damning of all - in the kunoichi's mind, at least - was the lack of a reaction from Sho's groin. "But let's start with someone from your Clan murdering my grandfather while he was serving as a neutral party messenger trying to bring an end to the Second Great Ninja War, leaving my grandmother, the woman that put me on the path to become the ninja I am today, a widow for the last 17 years of her life!"
"And don't EVEN get me started on your copious personality flaws that clearly led you to believe exhibits T and A there were valid argument points!" Coldly gesturing at her exposed assets with what was either pity or contempt, the kunoichi couldn't say for certain. "There is literally no series of events I can imagine that would make me leave Konoha with you! Or be with you here if you defected for that matter!"
"To YOUR family?!" Amaya shrieked in outrage as she abruptly covered herself back up, actually feeling ashamed for the first time in her life. "I've got news for you, you Henryuuki BASTARD, we call that sociopathic BITCH that birthed your vile, corpse-molesting father the Decimator because she burned 90% of MY Clan - ALIVE - because of the actions of ONE cunt that I hope is either rotting in the depths of Jigoku or gets to die alone and miserable before going there!" She abruptly slapped him across the face and stormed off. "FLAWS?! I TRIED; just you remember that, you sanctimonious, pompous…" Her tirade faded out as she disappeared from view.
"Well, that went about as well as I could have hoped for…" Inugami rubbed his cheek. "But what the FUCK is a Henryuuki and why would she call me one?!" He wondered as he returned to the hospital to get his paperwork done. After which, he'd go home, hug his sisters, and sleep in his own bed for the first time in five days...
And tomorrow would be all about Motoko-sa... And it couldn't come fast enough!
~•~
Amaya Satou stormed into the Land of Wind embassy nearly twenty minutes later, still in the midst of her tirade. Her makeup was now a mess from the gamut of emotions that Inugami's rejection of her had triggered. "...sanctimonious, grandmother-worshipping, shame-inducing BASTARD and his aura-color-reading, threat-making, Gala-humiliating BITCH… They made me HOPE and then crushed it like it was nothing… I TRIED, I felt REMORSE, and this is what…"
"So… How did it go..?" Kane Suzuki's smarmy, self-satisfied voice asked from where he was leaning against the wall by the entrance. When Inugami had drawn his blood earlier to be used to help the Suna ninja injured during the five day long Second Stage, Suzuki - though not specifically trained as an intelligence gatherer - used the tricks his own mother and sister would use to get information out of him… When they deigned to talk to him at all. He had wanted to probe the mind and understand the views of the current owner of what would be the greatest trophy of all: the blood-stained and gray matter splattered forehead protector of Sho fuckmothering Inugami! "Oh, wait, you're talking out loud to yourself… You completely crashed and burned, didn't you?"
"FUCK YOU, SUZUKI!" His slightly older cousin screamed, internally thankful to FINALLY have someone to lash out at that wasn't herself. "Fuck you, fuck Sho mother-fucking Inugami, fuck his innocent little sisters, fuck his kind mother, fuck his dead grandmother's CORPSE, and, most especially, FUCK that flame-crotched WHORE with the blade of her own SWORD for getting him so hung up on her that I never had a fucking chance in hell!"
Suzuki's face lit up as if every one of his birthday wishes - not that he could remember his birthday EVER being celebrated - had come true simultaneously. "Why, Amaya, my dear BELOVED cousin," His voice filled with enough sarcasm to rival the Satou Clan's coffers for the richness in his tone. "I dare say that something vexes thee!"
Amaya's only reply was to punch him in the dick, her hand cracking against the protective cup he'd placed there, followed by additional swearing. Her blue eyes, colder than midnight on Pluto, skewered one of the embassy staff. "YOU! Fetch me the long range telepath and have them warm up their brain to contact the Satou Compound back home! I have information my Grandmother, Aunt Akiko, and Aunt Ayumi need IMMEDIATELY!" The staffer rushed off as much to comply with the order as it was to get out of view of the category five Satou tantrum.
"I'll be in my room! If Temari-chan's still in there she'd better make room on the fucking floor because I'm going to get hammered the SECOND I'm done reporting in!" She squeezed her hand into a fist of fresh rage before wincing from hitting Kane's hidden protective armor so hard.
"Holy shit, dude..." Hiro Jeitsy - still present and cloaked - breathed as a small stack of 1,000 Ryou bills found their way into Suzuki's muscular hand. "I pity whoever she rage fucks into being her permabitch..."
"You and me both, Jeitsy... You and me both." Kane agreed with a sigh. "I almost want to feel sorry for my cousin, but, eh, she's a whorish cunt so I'll happily make money off her misery. For now, though, I think it's best you sneak out of here before they catch on you're still here." He paused, handing back the stack, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "And despite how scared of him I am, I'm betting on Gaara to sweep the Finals with at least one fatality. You can send me my winnings via a banking-nin courier since I doubt I'll be back in Konoha anytime soon... Best of luck in your endeavors, Hiro."
"And may the odds work to your advantage, Kane..."
* * *
Date: July 7th, 13 aNb
Days Until Final Stage: 25
Time: 7:15 AM
Yugao Uzuki moved almost woodenly as she held the black scroll holding what was left of Hayate Gekko close to the armored breastplate of her ANBU combat vest as she was escorted into the JRD, walking the path that would lead to Morgue 1, the last reported location of Director Inugami and his wife. The kunoichi had been worried when Hayate hadn't returned by midnight and terrified when the first aura of the rising sun began to color the top of the Village wall, coloring it a hazy but arterial red.
An omen that blood had been spilled the night before…
Forty minutes ago, Uzuki's world collapsed like a black hole being born when she and her squad found Hayate's body, his sword drawn but only a droplet or two of blood on it… While her lover lay nearly cut in half; left like so much garbage on the rooftop on the northwestern side of the city for the crows and other carrion birds to feed on.
Yugao had let out a scream of rage and hurt and a wordless declaration of impending vengeance - the unprofessionality of which her squad had politely chosen to ignore - before gathering him for this final trip.
"We're here." The JRD ANBU, with his special mask to allow him to keep his eyes open during the transit, announced as the swordswoman heard the heavy click of a metal door. "It is safe to open your eyes now."
Uzuki opened her purple eyes behind her cat-like mask and blinked to see that she was not the only person present and waiting outside the JRD's principal morgue. "Tanaka-san?"
The Diamond Turtle of Konoha held a small diamond box; this one even smaller than the ones he'd brought in the prior day. "Uzuki-chan? What are you doing here?"
"Hayate…" The swordswoman said with difficulty, squeezing the black scroll close to her chest.
Okito's face fell. "I knew Gekko-san was ill, but I didn't realize that his illness had progressed that far! I'm so sorry, Yugao!"
"It wasn't his illness, Tanaka-senpai…" The swordswoman answered grimly. "He was killed by a person or persons unknown while pursuing a suspected spy."
Before Tanaka could ask the most obvious follow-up question, the morgue door popped open to reveal a slightly disheveled Anastasia Inugami. There was a slight afterglow to her features. A yawn escaped the tired doctor's lips; it had taken her and Kurando the better part of twelve hours to process all the bodies. She'd won their little competition - beating her husband 8-to-6 - and they'd just finished their "victory lap" when she'd emerged from the morgue to get water for her electric kettle only to find people waiting in her parlor.
"Oh; more arrivals? Kurando and I are still processing the fourteen from yesterday… The eight dead ANBU are particularly concerning."
"Did Director Inugami get anything out of that deep dive Kakashi-senpai requested?" Yugao Uzuki asked, hoping to get the confirmation she needed to go after Yakushi herself.
The JRD's Chief Medical Examiner and head geneticist sighed with a shake of her head. "I fear that something disrupted certain critical elements of the process, so we're going to have to rely on traditional forensics to find answers for them. We will expedite everything we can, but the toxicology, genetic testing, and trace analysis tests will take the better part of 30 days to run." She shook her head. "The spy will be long gone by the time we get verified, actionable intelligence."
"Kakashi-senpai suspects that Yakushi intends to remain in the Village for a while…"
Anastasia suddenly froze before her head snapped in the direction of the woman in the cat mask. "I beg your finest FUCKING PARDON?!" Her voice became more shrill with disbelieving anger. "You think Kabuto-bozu is a spy?!"
Yugao Uzuki's body language reflected her utter confusion until Tanaka whispered a quick explanation; that the suspected spy was close to Doctor Inugami's eldest child. The ANBU swordswoman held out the black scroll. "My lover was tracking Yakushi from the crime scene; now he's dead."
"My condolences." Inugami's rage ebbed slightly - even she had to admit that didn't look good for the innocence of Sho's best friend - as she took the scroll before looking at Yaiba. "And what are you here for?"
"The Otogakure finalist apparently attacked the Kazekage's youngest last night." He hefted the case; barely larger than a beginner's medical textbook. "It didn't go well for the Sound ninja."
"Death by terminal stupidity?" The Diamond Turtle nodded as he unsealed the case. "I'll have Kurando see if a deep dive is possible, to confirm if Kabuto is a spy or if it's - hopefully for my son's sake - a simple misunderstanding. I'll get back to you as soon as possible; the process takes a few hours." Yugao simply shifted her posture; making it abundantly clear she was going to wait however long was necessary. A sad smile crossed Anastasia's face, knowing she'd do the same if the roles were reversed. "Understood."
Dr. Inugami disappeared back into the morgue, opening the small apartment room off the lab area for her not-infrequent all-nighters. "Kurando! As much as I love seeing you like that, you need to put on your pants and come do your thing… Our son is going to need your SSS game!"
* * *
Time: 7:30 AM
Sho Inugami was in a genuinely good mood for the first time in nearly a week as he descended the stairs of the family home and began walking into the kitchen when there was a gentle, almost hesitant knock on the front door. The medic frowned to himself, checking his watch; Motoko-sa had inferred she'd wait for him to respond to her offer and it was too early for a casual visitor…
Not that they had many of those.
"It's me, Sho." His Jonin said through the door. "Can you open the door? We need to talk with you."
"We?" He asked as he disengaged the locks and began opening the door. "Are you and Iruka making a soc…" Inugami's voice fell silent as he saw the Jonin of Teams 7 and 13 waiting for him. "That is not Iruka-sensei…" The white haired teen observed giving a bowing nod to Whiskers' Jonin. "Congratulations on two of your students making the Finals, Hatake-sensei."
"This is not a social call, Inugami…" The copy ninja said tersely as the medic noted that both his Sharingan and Miho-sensei's Byakugan were actively operating. "I understand you are friends with one Kabuto Yakushi. He's wanted for questioning. Do you know where he is?"
And the mocking cackling of the God Susanoo began to echo in Sho Inugami's ears.
"I beg your finest FUCKING PARDON?!" Inugami demanded as his face became flush. Fear and confusion triggered his fight or flight response, but only by gripping the doorframe tightly enough the wood began to groan was he able to resist either.
"Nii-san! You'll wake Luci!" His sister Karin hissed at him from the stairs. Sho had gotten home from the Hospital late enough that his sisters had already gone to bed, so Karin had gotten up early on the assumption she'd need to prepare breakfast for herself and the youngest Inugami.
Sho sighed, stepping onto the porch and pulling the door closed behind him. "What's going on? Why are you looking for Aniki?"
"Listen, you little punk…" Kakashi began only for Miho to cut him off.
"This is my student, Senpai." Hyuuga said, staring him down. "I know you're upset about what happened to those ANBU at the Hospital, but alienating our only potential lead will not help." She turned back to Sho. "Sho-kun, under Article 38 of the ninja code of operations, you have the right to remain silent, but it will be considered a negative mark on the viability of your career."
Inugami straightened himself. For his Jonin to make that statement, this was no-fooling, for-fucking-real. "I understand, Sensei." He turned to Kakashi Hatake. "I have neither seen nor talked to my friend Kabuto since the morning of the Written Exam. I presume you checked both his apartment and his assigned lab at the Hospital?" Nods from both. "I can think of half a dozen places he could be if he was gathering research materials, but…"
He looked at Miho. "What did Aniki supposedly do?"
"Why do you say, 'supposedly?'" The senior Jonin demanded.
"Because my Sensei knows that if there is direct, irrefutable evidence of Aniki's guilt, I would hate myself, but I'd do my duty and help bring him in." The medic pointed out. "She didn't, so that means there's room for doubt. What do you have?" Miho and Kakashi gave him a high-level overview: the attack on Sasuke and his guards, the destroyed security system, and his layered preparations.
Neither of them were yet aware of Hayate Gekko's fate.
"Okay… For starters, if Aniki wanted Uchiha dead, he'd be dead. Period." He looked into the red and black orb in the scarred eye socket. "You clearly weren't using your Sharingan or you would have seen right through the Dead Soul technique. Did it ever occur to you that the 'Kabuto' you faced was someone using an advanced transformation art?"
"I've been a Jonin since before you were born, brat." Kakashi pointed out, feeling his irritation at Kabuto's attitude mirror onto this younger white-haired copy. "I could sense transformation usage even before I got this eye; there's no way I could get fooled by something like that."
"Bet." Inugami said, crossing his arms.
Suddenly the front door was pulled open. "Brat, tebe nel'zya!" Karin insisted, a freaked out look on her features.
"Perestan' podslushivat' chuzhiye razgovory, sestronka!" Sho spat back at her in annoyance. "I ne volnuysya — ya znayu, chto delayu!" He looked momentarily pensive. "Aniki nuzhna moya pomoshch', chtoby opravdat'sya! YA ne smogu sderzhat' obeshchaniye, dannoye Kimiko, bez yego pomoshchi!"
"Ladno, no ya vso rasskazhu mame!" Karin yelled at him, slamming the door shut.
Inugami sighed, shaking his head as he turned back to the two Jonin. "Sorry about that. I didn't expect her to eavesdrop; she must have picked that up from Mom..."
"Why are you talking about a bet, Sho? Is Motoko's brother rubbing off on you?"
Inugami shook his head. "My record shows I'm a transformation prodigy, yes?" Miho nodded. "What if I told you I know an experimental transformation technique that not even YOU could see through, Sensei?" He looked at Kakashi. "And I'm betting your Sharingan, while it will detect the jutsu, won't let you see the real me behind it."
Miho's jaw fell open slightly and even the copy ninja seemed uncertain by the boldness of the teen's claim. "Okay, I get that your family is on the cutting edge of legal ninja science since your parents run the JRD, but what are you talking about? Why would you even KNOW such a technique, Sho?"
"How else am I going to learn the limits of what I'm capable of unless I push at them, Sensei?" Sho asked pointedly. "I mean this jutsu is probably nothing compared to what the horror stories suggest the traitor Orochimaru is capable of, but if I can fool you with this, then what could one of his minions he's performed his foul experiments on do?" He met both Jonins' eyes. "If I can fool you, you give me the latitude to investigate this myself. If I can't, I'll do whatever it takes to help you catch Aniki."
Hatake paused. "You believe in your friend that strongly?"
"I HAVE to, Hatake-sensei." Inugami replied fervently. "Motoko-sa may have saved my soul by never turning against me, but Aniki taught me what I needed to save my sanity in the face of some rather brutal ostracism as a child."
Kakashi looked at Miho Hyuuga, who shrugged. "The day I don't get surprised by this Genin is the day I know I'm in a coma dreaming of the real world."
"Fine. Show us this transformation of yours."
Inugami nodded as he looked Kakashi Hatake up and down. "Ah, just what I need… May I?" Getting a confused nod, the medic reached out and plucked one of Kakashi's gray hairs that was clinging to the Jonin's flak vest. With a unique series of hand seals, he finally intoned, "Idenshi Hijutsu: Gizouzai Hutago."
There was a puff of smoke. When it cleared, there was a semi-prefect copy of Kakashi standing there. It wasn't perfect for a few reasons: one, he was still wearing Sho's clothes that were now ill-fitting because Kakashi was at least 20 centimeters taller and more muscular than the medic. Two, the Kakashi-Sho had a normal left eye and lacked the long-healed scar that had cost Miho's ANBU mentor his eye at the Battle for Kannabi Bridge…
Finally, the transformed medic-nin lacked a mask covering the lower half of his face.
Miho Hyuuga's head shifted back and forth between the two Kakashis. "Senpai, don't take this the wrong way, but you are gorgeous!" The 27 year old Jonin blushed slightly at the compliment. Then the kunoichi paused as she suddenly realized something. "H… How..?" She looked at the masked Kakashi. "He's identical to you in my Byakugan, Senpai! Tenketsu points, chakra network, everything!"
"Really..?" Hatake paused as he circled the transformed medic. "Hmm… I see a shroud of chakra surrounding you, but normally I'd see the reality of the person underneath as well. In this case, there's nothing but the shroud…" He completed his circuit before scratching his head. "Okay, you've proven your point, Inugami; either the Kabuto I faced is the real thing or a doppelganger the likes of which I've never seen before."
Miho was still on the verge of freaking out; it should be IMPOSSIBLE to alter one's chakra network! "Sho, explain!"
Inugami replied by exposing the singed remains of the hair he'd taken from Kakashi. When he spoke, it was Hatake's voice. "To put it as simply as possible, Miho-sensei, the genetic structures of my mother, my sisters, and I aren't as tightly woven as they are in normal humans. It's slightly fluidic, which is why self-transformation based jutsu come so easily to us. When I use my Counterfeit Twin technique, my body reads the DNA blueprint of a sample that I'm holding, which - as you saw - is destroyed in the process. Blood or hair are more efficient, but if there's sufficient, viable DNA I can use it. My transformation assumes the resting state coded into the DNA: no scars, no non-native additions like organ transplants, not even the calluses that come from years of training."
With a puff of smoke, Sho's natural appearance and voice returned. "Two limits of this jutsu that I've found should be fairly obvious… One, I assume a person's form only; I do not get their knowledge since humans do not possess genetic memory. Two, while I CAN copy someone of the opposite gender, I find the conflicting hormones distracting, so I limit myself to just men."
"Is this some kind of Roshsyan Kekkei Genkai?" Hyuuga asked, her initial panic starting to settle.
"Insufficient data." Inugami replied with a shrug. "To the best of our knowledge, Mother's entire family was murdered in a revolution when she was 14 and she was the only one who'd studied any form of magic before coming to Konoha. It could be a spontaneous mutation in her generation or something older that had been forgotten over time." Inugami shrugged. "Honestly, though, it's just the 'roided out first cousin of the Transformation technique, Sensei. It only lasts as long as I'm awake and maintaining sufficient concentration."
Inugami looked at Kakashi. "So you pre-emptively put Vampire and Boneless in the RNL?" The gray haired Jonin nodded. "Good riddance. I honestly would have NO difficulty believing they're spies; they creeped me out from the moment I first met them three years ago… A little too bloodthirsty for my tastes." The medic was silent for a minute. "I'll start by checking out Aniki's place; I doubt the counter-intelligence squad missed anything, but I've got to start somewhere."
"Your loyalty to your friend is impressive, Inugami-bozu…" Kakashi replied with a kind nod. "Just make sure you look at any evidence you find with open eyes…"
* * *
Time: 8:00 AM
On the surface, Kari the Desert Rose appeared her normal, calm self. This was an impressive facade for someone who'd been up all night and had turned the Embassy's small training space into a room that looked like a bomb had detonated within it.
'Three years! Three fucking years where I THOUGHT Koga's death was a fluke, an accident caused by an improperly installed gas line at the inn in the Land of Bamboo where we were going meet up at after our assassination tasks in the adjacent nations of Earth and Rain were done!' The assassin fumed to herself as she began storming towards the Embassy's entrance.
When Kabuto had escaped from Kakashi Hatake wearing the boar-masked ANBU agent uniform, he'd had over eight hours until his scheduled meetup with General Baki… And the spy had taken advantage of this by accessing the ANBU classified missions database inside one of the ANBU muster stations, gathering information about any operations against Suna forces to foment additional anger against Konoha. There hadn't been many, but one had been a doozy; one that might potentially help with the Diamond Turtle problem...
This report had been important enough that Baki had woken the Village's deadliest assassin since Sasori of the Red Sands to give it to her. It was a failed mission report, dated three years earlier, targeting a little-known inn with orders to apprehend - if possible - or execute - if necessary - the Desert Rose assassin.
The after action report detailing the mission failure was signed by the two surviving ANBU team members: Miho Hyuuga and Okito Tanaka.
'They were there at Mizumiyo… They looked me square in the face KNOWING what they did to Koga, to ME, and didn't bat an eye! No wonder Hyuuga was so open to the non-interference deal; she wanted to keep me at arm's length!'
Amaya Satou was in the lobby, anxious to get away from Konoha as soon as possible. "Sensei? Where are you going?!"
"Out!" The assassin snapped, surprising the girl in the black and pink yukata. The Desert Rose stepped out of the Embassy and ducked down an alleyway so she could utilize the technique that permitted her to quickly acquire and execute targets. It took Kari all of ten minutes to search all the publicly accessible parts of Konoha and locate the woman behind the second most devastating loss in her life.
Miho Hyuuga sat at a tea cafe, drinking a calming cup of chamomile as she finished processing Inugami's newest surprise. 'I hope that Sho is right and that his friend is being set up… But more than that I hope he remembers about tonight; he needs to reconnect with Motoko. She'll be able to help him through what will happen if Yakushi really is a spy.'
There was a jarring screech as Kari dragged the metal chair on the cobblestone walkway enough for her to sit down and glare intimidatingly at the younger woman. "I know what you and Tanaka did."
Hyuuga's heart froze in her chest. She'd been afraid of the Desert Rose coming for revenge for so long that it was almost a relief that it was finally happening…
The assassin saw the fear and relief in Miho's features. "Oh, I'm not here about that today, Hyuuga. The last thing I would do is go against the Exams treaty over a personal matter… You are all protected until that ends."
The Konoha Jonin set down her shaking cup. "You have no reason to believe me, but I am sorry… It wasn't personal and something went wrong with the explosives; they were only meant to be used if you broke containment. The inn also had an undocumented gas line that I didn't spot until it was too late to warn the sappers... I don't know if this gives you any kind of comfort, but I doubt he felt anything."
"I know." Kari seethed as she gripped the glass table tightly enough to cause spider web fractures to form beneath her fingertips. "I read your after-action report... And that he got that small mercy is the ONLY reason I'm talking to you now... Otherwise the first notice would be my calling card left on a corpse."
"Then why..?" Hyuuga asked in confusion even as in the back of her mind she knew that the spy - be it Yakushi or not - had managed to access ANBU Command. And every one of those facilities had both mundane AND mystical recording devices!
The assassin set down a pair of photos that Baki had given her when he told her the news… Images of Iruka Umino and Yuri Mao. "Because I want to let you both experience what I went through… Not knowing if the last time you see your loved ones will BE the last time… The only difference is you will KNOW that I will be coming… Sooner or later…"
Miho's teeth clenched, trying to judge if she could kill the assassin; Kari did not have her blades on her, but Hyuuga knew she had to be armed somehow. "Koga was an assassin in his own right; he played the game and knew the risks! Iruka's a teacher and Yuri-chan is a civilian doctor!"
"Two of the most unfair concepts in this cursed world we live in are Death and Love." The Desert Rose clenched her hand over her womb as tears of pain dribbled down until her mask absorbed them. "I lost the opportunity to be a mother when I could scarcely understand the concept in a disaster that I STILL wake screaming from on occasion…" She sniffled, her humanity long buried under grief and professionalism rising like a zombie. "Koga was the ONLY one who not only didn't care that I was barren but made me feel so safe that I never had the nightmares. You and Tanaka might not have intended Koga's death but you not only killed him, but his body was vaporized in the explosion! I couldn't even have his ashes to allow me to mourn him, just like we were denied it when we lost his daughter that I was like a mother to!"
The assassin abruptly rose as she suddenly realized the words that had escaped her wounded heart through her veil-like mask. Even though it had been nearly 8 years since Janine's loss and 3 since Koga's, the lack of closure had left the place they once occupied constantly open and festering. Feeling a need to reassert her threatening position, Kari began a series of hand seals. "You have this next month of peace guaranteed to you and yours, followed by however long it takes me to hunt those tied to the injuries that made Koga so vitally important to me… Savor the time you have left; you will lose that comfort soon enough!"
Kari finished on the Dragon seal and she suddenly turned from flesh and blood into living lightning. There was a crack of thunder as she arced through the air and into one of the electric street lamps. The bulb exploded from being exposed to a level of current it wasn't designed to handle, causing those who hadn't already done so from the lightning on a clear day to startle.
'Fuck…' Miho Hyuuga thought to herself, her hands trembling even harder than before by contemplating the sheer number of power outlets that were now potential inlets for the assassin. Her long held fears were now so much worse that Team 13's Jonin hadn't even registered the mention of loss beyond Koga. 'I don't know who she is after that they take priority over someone that cost her the love of her life and I don't envy their chances, but I hope they have a long and healthy life...'
* * *
Time: 11:30 AM
Motoko Hata stood by the South Gate of Konoha as the surviving 75 ninja that came from the other Villages - save for the three Suna finalists, the Oto finalist and his injured teammates, and the three Ame Genin that had been learning from the Jonin her Sho-sa killed in River Country but were still hospitalized for their concussions - began to depart through the main gate before their Exams Attendance visas expired at Noon.
The first ones to depart were the dozen slightly shell-shocked Hidden Grass ninja. One of their two teams that passed the Written Exam had been killed under mysterious circumstances. Their bodies were being transported in special preservative wrappings on the backs of three sacred oxen being guided by the team's Jonin; the kunoichi's last duty to her fallen students. Their journey home would be the shortest given Kusagakure's location relative to the Hidden Leaf's.
Next to go were the four teams of Takigakure, the Hidden Falls Village, were next to depart for their home in the northernmost buffer country between Earth and Fire: the Land of Cascades. Cascades was bounded by Fire to the south, the Land of Bamboo to the southwest, Earth to the west, and the ocean that wrapped around the massive peninsula that was the majority of the ninja continent to the north. To the east of Cascades lay a heavily forested and mountainous region that had no name - mostly due to ancient tales of a white-skinned demoness and more modern reports of white-skinned berserkers who supposedly could rip their own bones from their flesh to use as weapons.
Only the foolish who sought the natural resources enough to risk death ever went to that region. Those that survived usually brought back valuable chakra-rich stones and metals worth their weight in platinum.
Most were never heard from again.
The next group to sign out were the ninja of the Hidden Rain Village. They, too, had lost one of their teams in the Forest of Death, but, for all the concern visible on their masked features, it was evident Amegakure was not as tightly knit as Konoha was. Looking at them caused Motoko's hackles to rise slightly; there was a fervor about them that felt almost fanatical - like they all had found religion or faith that they believed in with the absolute knowledge that it was completely true.
Finally, with mere seconds left to their visas, the nine Sunagakure teams - oddly being led by the bitch queen Amaya Satou herself - began to check out. As one, the twenty-plus Satou clanswomen pulled their pheromone detectors from their necks and crushed them; dropping the debris on the sign out table. Amaya stared Hata in the eye as she did so. Her lips moved as she crassly mouthed the words, "Better fuck him while you can, cunt…"
The swordswoman's jade eyes narrowed to shards of green ice as she felt an overwhelming urge to dash across the Village entry zone and cut the blue-eyed bitch down like Tsukuyomi did to the goddess Uke Mochi… And for a similar reason.
Absolute and utter disgust.
Her hand reached over her shoulder, gripping the sunlight yellow wrap of Haruichiban. She could feel her heart race and her mind rage; every nerve in her body screamed that Amaya Satou was a threat to her Sho-sa.
And from the time she'd been six, she'd known EXACTLY how to deal with anyone and anything that was a danger to the boy she loved…
"Motoko-nee!" Karin Inugami's winded voice gasped as the slightly younger kunoichi breathed a sigh of relief. The student ninja's eyes were red with worry. "Oh, thank the Gods I finally found you!"
As Hata's eyes flickered to the older of Sho's two sisters, across the entrance zone, Satou took advantage of the distraction to slip outside the main gates. The kunoichi in black and pink raised both hands, middle fingers raised, as she began walking down the dusty forest road; beyond the reach of the orange-haired girl's wrath for the foreseeable future.
Motoko sighed in frustration, but released her hold on her sword's tsuka. "Damn it, Karin-chan, what the…"
"They tried to arrest Kabuto-senpai for attempting to kill Sasuke Uchiha! And he actually killed 8 ANBU agents!" The copper haired girl interrupted with a gasp. "But Nii-san's refusing to believe Hyuuga-sensei and Hatake-sensei's words and trying to prove 'Aniki's' innocence!"
Icy dread suddenly burrowed its way into the swordswoman's belly. Part of her - a large part - had been secretly praying that what she'd seen in Yakushi had been a trick of the light that morning. "Fuck..!" Motoko moaned in frustration; gripping at her face with both hands.
'So much for Sho-sa and I reconciling at Tanaka-sensei's wedding tonight…' She screamed internally as she fought back tears. '...But he wouldn't be my Sho-sa if he weren't so fiercely loyal to those he believes in, either…'
"I don't know what to do..!" Karin began to sob like the twelve year old she was. "I can't reach Mom and Dad in the JRD and Nii-san convinced the Senseis to let him try to prove his theory that Aniki was being set up!"
"Okay, okay…" Motoko breathed, trying to project a confidence she did not feel for the sake of her beloved's sister. "We need to try and think like Sho-sa…"
A wry twist split Karin's lips. "I don't know about you, Motoko-nee, but I can't shove my head that far up my own ass."
Hata's giggle helped break the tension between the two. "No, I can't either… But we also don't have to duplicate his perspective to be able to see the world through it, Karin-nee." She gave Inugami a hug; forcing a confidence that she didn't entirely feel. "Now, tell me what you heard, since I'm guessing you were listening in when you shouldn't have been…"
* * *
Time: 2:00 PM
Oboro of Amegakure's eyes snapped open with a wince of pain. 'Oww, that little blonde fucker kicks like a god-damned mule…'
"Oh, good, you're awake!" A nurse said with an effervescent smile. "They'll be so…"
"Sleep." The Rain ninja replied as he unleashed a powerful Genjutsu that caused the medical figure to drop to the ground like a rag doll.
Oboro picked the woman up from the ground and deposited her in his bed, taking a few moments to transfer the various electrodes from his body to hers. A basic shroud illusion later and - for all intents and purposes - Oboro was still sleeping off his concussion. His brothers in training began to awaken; blind Kagari first, followed by one-eyed Mubi. With their combined Genjutsu skills, it was a piece of cake to lure in two additional stand-ins and convince the entire floor that the three Rain ninja were still asleep.
'We have the element of surprise.' Kagari pointed out through their telepathic link. 'We will have all the time we need in order to track down…'
'Oboro! Look!' Mubi interrupted excitedly, pointing out the window.
The leader of the three grinned from behind his mask as he saw what his teammate had spotted first. "Lucky!" He growled aloud in satisfaction.
Down below them, Sho Inugami was exiting the Konoha Hospital, looking very frustrated by something. "Lord God Pain is giving us a second chance to prove ourselves! We shall avenge Muto-sensei and teach these weak Leaves the power of the downpouring storm…"
"Let them know Pain!" His brothers agreed as the three began to phase through the concrete of the Hospital in pursuit of their unsuspecting prey.
* * *
Time: 4:30 PM
Sho Inugami was internally cursing in both languages that he was fluent in as he wandered aimlessly. Nine hours into his investigation and he had the same results as the official investigation…
Nothing at all.
Aside from Kakashi Hatake's eyewitness evidence, there was nothing to prove or disprove that Aniki was anything other than what Sho had come to rely on him being over the last six years: a good friend, a mentor, a confidant…
And yet trust is a spy's greatest tool to stay under the radar…
'Unless he was a sleeper agent controlled by a Genjutsu master…' Inugami thought to himself hopefully. 'I mean that WOULD explain what Motoko-sa saw, wouldn't it? His natural behavior versus his progra..?'
That was when the first blow, a right hook, struck the left side of his jaw; dropping Inugami to one knee as his body responded to the hit. Inugami grit his jaw as a left snap kick was caught by his right hand, stalling the attack before his ambusher could get any significant momentum behind the strike. The medic-nin yanked his arm back as he did a chop swing with his left hand to sweep Raiden Hata off his feet to land roughly on his back.
Sho rose, feeling a flash of rage as he spat a glob of bloody saliva on the ground, even as his girlfriend's twin performed the kip up recovery motion. "Rai, this is NOT the day you want to try this 'I wanna test myself against you' bullshit with me!"
"You broke my sister's heart, asshole!" The bruiser with the short orange hair growled as electricity began to visibly course through his muscles. "I felt it rip through me like Nee-chan cuts through rice paper to check the sharpness of Haruichiban!"
"The fuck are you talking about?" The medic countered as he made a few quick jabs with his mystical palm jutsu to anesthetize Hata's arms, leaving them to hang limply from the younger man's sides. "She left the invite to be her plus one to your sensei's wedding tonight with Itou yesterday and this morning I sent that…" Inugami stopped abruptly in realization, grabbing at his face in frustration. "FUCK! Miho-sensei and Kakashi confronted me about Aniki before I could call the order into Flowers Yamanaka!"
That was when he felt it… Murderous intent.
But not from Raiden; he'd managed to blindside the white-haired ninja because he just wanted to beat Sho up for the emotional injury that Motoko had sustained, clearly thinking that his lack of a reply was an unspoken rejection.
No, this was genuine intent to try and rip the life from someone's body. It was coming from behind the fighting teens… And he recognized the sensation from a few days ago.
'Muto's Genin… Shit… They must have recovered from their concussions and slipped from the hospital before the guards could stop them. How long have they been following me, just waiting for the prime opportunity to strike?! If Rai hadn't attacked me here, on the edge of town before the training zones really begin in earnest, they might have gotten the drop on me!' Inugami thought to himself in irritation.
He looked at Raiden. 'Even if I could convince him to stop at the moment, he doesn't have the mental fortitude to resist MY Genjutsu skills, to say nothing of a trio of specialists like these three… But I have to make sure they don't hurt this idiot, either.'
The older teen abruptly grabbed his opponent by the throat and slammed him to the ground. "Rai, today didn't go how I intended it in any way, shape or form…" He whispered in Hata's ear when the Rain ninja couldn't see his face. "It kills me knowing Motoko-sa's hurting, but it's unavoidable at this moment. I'll make it up to her… Somehow…"
The medic-nin surreptitiously made a sequence of one-handed seals as he cast a medical training technique. 'Medical Arts: Cadaver Simulacrum.' He mentally intoned.
Raiden's face abruptly froze as the jutsu forcibly disengaged his brain's connection with his body's motor functions while slowing his heart rate to a mere 20 beats per minute and breathing to one breath per three minutes. The jutsu was designed so that an instructor could see a student's reaction to a "dead" body and see how they responded.
It was a technique most medic-nin fell for at least once during their training. It should work on these murderous bastards.
During the jutsu, which would last for 15 minutes, Raiden would be able to see and hear, so if the Rain ninja checked him, he'd - HOPEFULLY - realize what was going on.
"Fuck!" The medic shouted aloud, even as he winked at Rai, who was undoubtedly confused. "I killed him!" Sho made a show of looking around him. "No one around… Good; they'll never know it was me…" The medic rose. "He fucked around and found out."
Inugami turned to the northwest and darted into the woods.
A few moments after their target vanished, Mubi's upper torso popped out of the ground as he checked Raiden's neck, clucking in amusement. "He really killed one of his own…"
Oboro appeared, followed by Kagari. "Then this hunt will at least have a chance of being interesting… We'll have to follow on the surface; the root systems of those damned trees will allow us down too much to keep up with our Master's killer."
The three Amegakure ninja climbed from the ground and continued to pursue their white clad target.
Ten minutes after that, the jutsu ended and Raiden Hata took a gasp of air. "Ho…" He coughed as his body tried to inhale and talk at the same time. "...ly crap..! I've got to…" He tried to kip up again, but his arms were still leaden weights from what Inugami had done to him. "Shit… Uh…"
It took the bruiser nearly thirty minutes of flopping around like a fish on dry land before he was able to roll onto his belly and another ten after that to get to his feet. His face was drenched with sweat and he was breathing hard. "Wow, that's a workout and a half… Never realized how much easier it was to do that with working… arms?" His last words came out sounding confused as he realized his arms had finally responded to him by wiping the sweat away. "Well, that makes this easier!"
While ranged techniques were more his twin's forte, Raiden was capable of using Motoko's Lightning Bolt jutsu; albeit at a level too weak to be useful in combat.
But more than enough to hit the sensing barrier overhead with enough force to flag his location.
Approximately thirty seconds after his trickle bolt flashed into the sky and struck the invisible chakra barrier overhead, a trio of older Genin on city watch came running up.
"It's just a kid!" One of them griped, clearly disappointed.
The leader smacked him on the back of the head. "A fellow ninja able to fire a Raiken bolt stronger than YOU'VE ever managed in training, Tsuruki." He looked at Hata. "You look like you've been through the ringer, Bozu; what's going on?"
"I was having it out with my sister's boyfriend when he apparently realized we were being watched so he faked killing me to distract them!" The minor members of the team looked like they thought Raiden was the boy crying wolf. "Hey, fuckers! I'm serious; Inugami's being hunted by a team of Rain ninja that were here for the Exams because he killed their Jonin a few months back. I might not like him, but my sister will be seriously put out if I let him get killed!"
The lesser two members abruptly sobered up at the mention of Inugami's name. No native of Konoha would invoke the name of Sho's family unless absolutely necessary - and never in the context of a prank.
It hadn't ended well for those that had done so in the past; according to the stories and rumors about the top medical specialists in the Village.
The leader grimaced. "Which way?"
Raiden turned to point and paused. He'd gotten himself thoroughly turned about trying to get to his feet. "Uhh…" He gestured to the north. "That way… ish? I was paralyzed so I could only look at the sky…"
The leader sighed as he triggered his radio. "This is Unit 198; I need an Inuzuka tracker to my location and someone to check the records for a group of Rain ninja who didn't depart as scheduled today…" He sighed with a nod. "Understood." He looked at Raiden. "Better get comfortable, Gaki; we've got at least an hour before the tracker gets here… Everyone's hunting for a spy that's loose in the Village that killed a Tokubetsu Jonin this morning."
Raiden glanced at his watch with a sigh. It was nearly 6 PM; Tanaka-sensei's wedding was happening right now…
* * *
Time: 6:10 PM
Sho Inugami had led his pursuers on a circuitous route through the wilds in the northern end of Konoha, close to the 44th Training Grounds where there were increased natural hazards, though not as many as in the Forest of Death, for nearly two hours. He had to hope that the Rain ninja had left Raiden alone and that his girlfriend's twin had called in the cavalry, while at the same time preparing to defend himself.
Inugami reached into his uwagi and pulled out something special he'd prepared after he'd seen the way the Ame ninja were glaring at him the morning of the second Exam stage, though he'd honestly hoped they wouldn't get close enough for him to need to use it…
Sho finally stopped dead in his tracks in a small clearing. The trees here were older, their root systems would be extensive, negating the trio's previously shown ability to phase through the ground - revealed back in Mizumiyo Palace to escape after Sho's hidden trap on the Lord Daimyo killed Akira Muto - and there was no nearby water sources if their Jonin had also taught them the Hydrofication technique.
Inugami began to slowly perform a jutsu that he was still in the middle of developing. He'd been working on this since Akechi wa Jubei had escaped his cell in Mizumiyo and vanished without a trace.
'Idenshi Hijutsu: Sou Chi Konketsu.' He silently intoned to himself. He let a hiss of pain escape his lips as the effects of this new iteration of his family's jutsu made his blood feel like it had been replaced with molten steel.
When he'd shown off his family's secret jutsu to Miho-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, he'd called the Counterfeit Twin the 'roided up cousin of the Transformation technique - which it easily was - but he'd understated the jutsu's true strength: its versatility.
Unlike the normal Transformation, the Counterfeit Twin and his new technique, Twin Blood Hybrid, was capable of targeted transformation. Need an eye for a retina scanner? Just change the eye. Need a different person for a voice print analysis? Activate a second sample and swap vocal cords. Sho's mother had found that she could prepare up to three sets of samples in advance and then flip between them, like changing films on a slide projector. Adding a fourth sample caused the oldest sample to fade and - as he'd told Miho - falling asleep purged all saved samples at once.
Sho, however, had found that his DNA - along with that of his sisters - was even "fuzzier" than their mother's. His new jutsu - which he'd tested on multiple occasions in the past few months - allowed him to activate multiple samples simultaneously. Need one person's eye and another person's thumb at the same time? It was now possible with his new technique, but a full body transformation - like he'd done of Kakashi Hatake - would result in a physical chimera of the three involved DNA sequences - Sho and the two samples.
As the rush of the initial transformation faded Inugami turned around to face the woods. "I think this place will do nicely gentlemen… Wouldn't you agree, Oboro-san?" There was an abrupt wave of confusion from all around him. "Gentlemen, I'm used to dirty glares, rage and disgust being directed at me. Your murderous intent stands out like neon pink smoke on a clear day. It has been from the moment we saw each other outside the 44th Training Grounds." The three Rain ninja emerged from the forest, but Inugami recognized them for the Genjutsu clones they were. "I'll be honest, fellows, I have no ill will against you, but I get it; I killed your Sensei. I'm not going to let you kill me, but I'm not going to hurt the three of you; I'm just going to keep you busy until the patrols catch up and arrest you for failing to depart as required by your Exam visas."
Oboro's clone chuckled. "You're alone against the three of us. You not only killed Muto-sensei, but you got him disavowed and nearly got US exiled for our failure!"
"So we're going to counter your 'generous' offer. The three of us are going to beat you senseless and then tie you to that tree behind you. Then we're going to find that orange haired girl whose brother you killed and drag both her and that fake princess out here to make you watch as we rape them to death the way Muto-sensei would have expected of us!" A grim chuckle of lustful anticipation came from the three fake ninja.
Sho Inugami twitched, like a full body spasm ran up and down his length.
And then a fourth chuckle began to echo in the clearing.
The Amegakure ninja looked back and forth at each other in confusion as their target continued a low, mirthless chuckle. The medic-nin suddenly looked up as a wave of murderous intent burst from the older teen. The illusions of Oboro, Mubi, and Kagari puffed out of existence as the Rain ninja felt a terror on par with facing Lord Pain's dread angel, Lady Konan, wash over them.
"Fellows, you picked the wrong damned day to do this..." Inugami's voice came; wooden and dead sounding as he activated his trump card. "And then you had to threaten my Motoko-sa..."
Inugami stomped his foot and a seismic wave erupted from behind where the trio was hiding, throwing them into the clearing before they could react.
'Is that blood in the whites of his… WHAT THE FUCK?!' Was the last coherent thought Oboro of Amegakure had as the medic-nin's hands lashed out and something glittery flashed across the small clearing to impact his chest and drove the breath from his lungs.
Oboro and Mubi looked down at their chests as small pearls of red began to blossom from them. Kagari began to cough blood out of his rebreather. "What..? I didn't sense the attack coming..? His mind is blank!"
"Not blank." Inugami's voice replied tonelessly. "I am merely committed to the outcome you have led us to… Before long you'll be wondering where your God is. Well, good news! He's right here!" Inugami made a rapid set of jutsu signs as he prepared to do whatever it took to eliminate these threats to the medic-nin's girlfriend and teammate.
"Blasphemy!" Mubi shouted, rising to his feet. Something glittery struck his leg and he screamed in pain as another red bloom expanded from his wetsuit's leg.
"...Unfortunately for you, he's fresh out of mercy." Sho replied coldly as more glittering objects appeared around him; the three would-be rapists couldn't make out what they were or where they came from. "Disappear..."
And from the darkness, these were the last words Oboro, Mubi, and Kagari heard in this life. Cold, unemotional; like the breath of Death made flesh.
"Razor Dust Eradication."
Before they could even think of running, a trio of screams erupted from the Amegakure ninja who had sought vengeance echoed through the empty forest in the rapidly approaching night.
There was a rumble of thunder in the distance… A storm was coming.
~●~
Time: 11:59 PM
Karin Inugami startled awake as the front door popped open. "Mom? Dad?" A single silhouette was visible in the doorway. "Nii-san? Where the hell have…"
There was a flash of lightning, casting light on her brother and cutting her off.
Sho Inugami stood silently, covered head-to-toe with blood. The amount was far worse than how he had been found after the Boar Incident... He'd clearly made a mess of the Rain trio somewhere... But why?
The thick layer of blood on his clothes didn't bother Karin in the slightest… It was the blood in his eyes that froze her heart.
'He's in full Combat Mind!' She realized as she clapped her hands across her mouth. 'But he doesn't have a target! What's going on here?!'
When she'd told the others about this state her brother could fall into, Karin had said she trusted that Sho would never hurt her, but seeing him standing like a silent red ghost made the kunoichi's hackles instinctually lift.
A gleam of white appeared against the red as Sho Inugami smiled at the older of his two younger sisters. "Motoko-sa's safely home, Imouto…" He breathed, sounding relieved, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed bonelessly; his body spent to an extent Karin had never witnessed before.
"Sho!" Karin cried in fear as she dove to check his vitals, seconds before he began to snore heavily. "Oh, Gods… What have you done to yourself?!"