STEP 2.3
How to deal with a walking weapon of mass destruction who you inadvertently just tried to bifurcate with a sneak attack as you're standing on the roof of a foreign village leader's mansion?
'Pretty sure they never went over this scenario back in the Academy…' I think as I try and find the proper words.
Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle that I'm even capable of forming thoughts right now, not (only) because of the terror that has seemingly turned my lungs into blocks of ice, but because usually attacking a Jinchūriki like I accidentally had would mean that my head would've already been turned into a bloody mist instead.
Quite literally at that if I ever had the misfortune of pissing off the Five Tails' Jinchūriki, Han of the Steam Release.
Thankfully though, for whatever reason it didn't seem like Fu intended to go kaiju-mode on my ass and turn my insides into my outsides. Instead, the young girl seemed more abashed than anything as she scuffed her sandals against the torn-up roof tiles, unable to look me in the eye.
"Are you not allowed to be here?" I find myself asking the mint-haired girl and the Jinchūriki stiffens at that, a pout on her face.
"Yes, I am! I am totally invited to the party, Shibuki-sama told me so!" is her sharp response and I immediately backpedal, holding up my hands.
"Alright, alright. What I meant was, are you allowed to sneak around up here, on his rooftop, specifically?" I can't help but point out and the girl falters for a moment.
"I-… I wasn't sneaking! I was… on patrol? Yeah, I was on the look-out for bad guys! Trying to catch spies and assassins! They're the ones that do the sneaking on rooftops! So of course if I want to catch them, I have to be on the rooftops as well!" Fū nods at her iron-clad logic and I can almost literally see the lightbulb switch on behind those vibrant orange eyes.
"Hey, then why are you up on the roof?! Are you sneaking around? Does that mean I get to beat you up?!" she challenges and she begins to get a worriedly excited grin on her sharp, almost elfin face that sends every primal instinct screaming in the back of my mind.
It's not Killing Intent, but even so I can feel her eagerness for battle leaking through. Pushing down my mounting panic, I school my features into a blank mask as I shoot her an unimpressed look instead.
"I saw someone hiding on the roof and of course I logically assumed they were spies or assassins, so I came up to stop them." I point out sarcastically, turning her own logic against her and the girl deflates a bit at that.
"Heh heh… yeah I guess that makes sense." She chuckles a bit abashed, poking her cheeks.
'If this is a ploy to make me let down my guard, then hell, just give her the ninja-Oscar for Best Actress already, because dammit, it's actually working.' I couldn't help but think at the gesture, somewhat annoyed with myself.
It's hard to stay terrified of a little girl who looks like she's desperately trying to get out of getting grounded. Though I firmly keep the reminder of what a Bijūdama can do to an entire village (much less a single unfortunate shinobi like yours truly) in the back of mind, I nonetheless find myself approaching the lithe girl, my expression softer now.
"I think we can both agree we've done our duty then: no spies or assassins on this rooftop, no sir." I say dryly, which makes Fū relax a little as she chuckles in relief.
"So, any particular reason you felt the need to… patrol the rooftop, if you've been invited by Shibuki personally?"
The beginnings of a new plan begin to form in my mind as I continue talking, my tone carefully nonchalant.
"I mean, if it were me that got a personal invite from the village leader, I'd be right there next to him at the head of the table, stuffing my face with the best duck and boar and fish Taki has to offer. As it is, he's been kept so busy by the Elders, I haven't even had a chance to say hello, much less sample any of the more expensive-looking dishes." I complain loudly and airily, but from the corner of my eye I keep a careful watch of Fu's expression and I'm not surprised to see a burst of anger flash across her face when I mention the Elders, before it's carefully hidden by a mask of indifference.
"Tch! Me and Shibuki-sama eat together plenty of times!" she refutes and the unspoken 'no matter what anyone has to say about it' is clearly understood.
"Oh? Well in that case I can see how the novelty of it would wear off, especially in a room that busy and stuffy. The air up here is much cooler. Fresher too. Less old-people smell." I easily agree, getting a giggle out of the girl as I turn to face the lake underneath the gargantuan tree, reflecting the glowing white moon hanging silently overhead.
"Y-yeah, that's it! It's much nicer up here anyways!" Fū eagerly agrees, thankful for the excuse, and for a moment we're standing up there in silence as we overlook the village below.
What I said wasn't even that much of a lie to be honest. The massive crowd made for a roaring conversation even with the Elders' stubborn silence, the heat quickly rising to the point I could feel my cheeks glowing from the warmth as dish after dish was carried in from the bustling kitchens. The already oppressive warmth was only added to by the roaring fires that were blazing in several hearths, which was completely nonsensical to me considering we were still only in March. The din in the room was enough to almost drown out the small band playing traditional music in one of the corners of the massive dining hall and all things considered, the rooftop was in fact a nice reprieve of the madness below us.
'This is actually the best of both worlds: the peace and quiet from our spectacular view combined with the music coming from below. I'm pretty sure we've also moved closer to where the kitchens are, since I can smell several dishes being prepared as-'
My thoughts were brutally interrupted by a loud growl from beside me and for a split-second I freeze in fear as I think Fū actually did go all Demon Container on my ass out of nowhere. Slowly I glance at the girl besides me and to my surprise all I can see is a mop of mint-green hair as Fū bows her head, hands clamped tightly over her exposed belly.
Even from here I can see the sheer redness creeping into her face as she awkwardly rubs the back of her head.
"H-heh heh, I uhh… might've forgotten to grab something to eat first, before going on patrol…" the young Jinchūriki chuckled self-consciously and slowly I release the breath I'd been holding at the sudden jump-scare.
"Well, let's go fix that then, shall we?" I offer as Fu's eyes go wide at my suggestion.
Best not to have a hangry Jinchūriki around, that can't be good for anyone's health.
//
All in all, while my original goal for attending the feast (getting close to Shibuki to somehow weasel the location of the Hero Water out of him), the unexpected boon of befriending Fū that night turned out to far outweigh my initial disappointment.
The extroverted girl had taken it on herself to pay me back for covering for her that night, as well as distracting the main cook so she could raid the kitchens (she even saved me a massive boar straight out of an Asterix and Obelix comic that I ended up sealing away as a treat for my own oafish mountains of muscle still waiting outside the waterfall) by practically glueing herself to me at the hip, enthusiastically guiding me throughout the village.
Saburo had seemed annoyed at the girl butting into his business before he seemed to remember he didn't even like said business that had been forced on him in the first place and seemed pretty hands off about the whole thing, merely shadowing us from a distance.
His son Daigo was more than happy with the mint-haired girl demanding all of my time however, as it gave him the opportunity to stick closer to Tsubaki instead like your typical love-struck teenager in over his head. Tsubaki seemed more amused by his antics than anything, smiling politely as he alternatively tripped over both his words and his feet.
However, what I was really pleased with, was that my new guide was much less restrained than our original, Elder-appointed one. Fū simply had no filter or concept of secrecy, and while I was mindful with my questions, aware of Saburo's distant but ever-present gaze on my back, I already managed to get a ton more information out of Fū on a simple morning walk than an entire day with the Taki shinobi.
"And over there is the home of Sakuzō, one of the fishermen. He once threw a harpoon at me, but missed and almost speared his own wife in the butt!"
Not that all of that information was particularly useful, mind you.
"Do I want to know why he tried to harpoon you?"
"Probably 'cause I slapped him in the face with one of his own fish. A real big, juicy one too!"
"… Naturally."
I wisely decided against digging any deeper. However, stories like these did paint me a better picture of the life the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki had in Takigakure and the parallels between her and Naruto just kept mounting. Like Naruto she was very close to her village leader, though with Taki being a much smaller village than Konoha, Fū was definitely more accepted by her people than Naruto had been. The elfin looking girl was hardly ever abused (save the occasional hot-headed retaliation like from the fisherman), but was nonetheless kept at arm's length by most. However, where Naruto was shunned and acted out through pranks (which just served to isolate him further), most of the villagers seemed to be somewhat put off by just the sheer exuberance that Fū had.
Her idea about friendship was pretty much solely based around her interactions with Shibuki, which meant she was determined to gather more friends without really knowing how. Which ended up with her right in people's faces with unbridled enthusiasm, like an unguided missile of joy. However, since those people were all too aware of her strength and destructive potential (like, say, an actual missile), that just caused them to pull away instead.
Most people do seem to have a bit of difficulty wrapping their heads around the concept of a friendly nuke after all, and though they'll make sure to play nice and put on big smiles, it was more out of politeness than affection. It all made for a lonely girl desperate for human connection with whoever was willing to be her friend.
Which apparently, turned out to be me.
'Man, the parallels between her and Naruto just keep mounting, huh?' I think somewhat bemused.
It's when we've moved a bit further down Taki's expansive beachline that I get some information actually related to my overall goal in this minor village as Fū stops for a moment to take in the sights.
As everywhere else in the village, the view is dominated by the gigantic tree in the middle of the lake, the roaring waterfall further behind it crashing below and sending up a towering cloud of mist, almost like pulling a glittering curtain across the background of the scenery.
"Hey, do you know the story of Kusunoki Oboku?" Fū suddenly asks out of nowhere, taking me a bit off guard.
"Your guardian tree, right? Not much, other than it was his protection somehow that allowed your people to first settle here." I admit.
Like I said, so far Saburo hadn't exactly been a forthcoming guide and Daigo was much to preoccupied with handling his first ever proper crush to delve into history lessons much.
"Oh, oh, I'll tell you! Shibuki-sama was the one who told me, so it's the best story in the world!"
I blink a moment at that particular piece of logic as Fū scrunches up her face, slowly and carefully choosing her words as she tries to tell the story from memory.
"Long before the first shinobi carved names into the earth, in the time before the Sage discovered the secrets of chakra, it is said that two ancient spirits stood watch over a peaceful valley that never knew war. The forest kami, Kusunoki Oboku, whose roots reached into the underworld and whose crown touched the stars, and the river kami Tsukihime, who flowed at his roots and gave life to the land. She wasn't a waterfall back then you know." Fū said as she glanced at me, as if to check that I was still paying attention, briefly dropping out of her dramatic storytelling voice.
"Alright, so what happened to Tsukihime so she flowed vertically?" I say, amused at how serious the girl took her story.
"Right, so… uhm, yeah, so together they kept the land in balance, her waters feeding his roots, his shade guarding her streams. But then everything changed when war broke out in the heavens. Evil spirits wanted Tsukihime's life-giving power for themselves. Kusunoki Oboku tried to defend her, but they set fire to his forests, trapping Tsukihime here in the lake. All seemed lost, until Kusunoki Oboku bent his mighty form and gripped the land. He heaved it upwards, creating a massive cliff right at the edge of the lake, allowing the river to keep flowing down, forming the first waterfall. Tsukihime laughed in joy as she escaped from the lake and by throwing herself over the edge of the cliff, her laughter turned into a roar that scared away the evil spirits. So she in turn saved Kusunoki Oboku's forests."
"It's a pretty story." I admit as Fū turns to look at me expectantly.
'I recognize bits and pieces from Hagomoro's and Kaguya's legends. Sounds almost like this tree is somewhat like a miniature god-tree or something. Maybe that explains the power from the Hero Water?'
Fū's resulting grin is nearly blinding as she places her hands on her hips, clearly pleased with herself.
"Though it doesn't really explain why your people settled here of all places?" I carefully prod and it takes quite some effort to keep my glee from my face as I see Fū hesitate for a moment, looking past me towards the far-off Saburo (who's more preoccupied scolding an embarrassed looking Daigo while Tsubaki looks on with an amused smile).
Fu's expression turns conspiratory and I have to suppress a chuckle as she motions me closer with narrowed eyes.
"Don't tell anyone… but since then, in thanks for saving her, Tsukihime sends some of her waters back up the waterfall to feed Kusunoki Oboku's roots and restore his strength. It takes a lot of effort for water to travel up though, so over time, like, a really long time, this makes him produce a sap that we call the Hero Water." She hisses as I crouch down to her level and lean in.
'There it is.'
"The Hero Water? I've hear the villagers talk about it at the feast. Didn't it kill Shibuki-sama's father? Sounds dangerous." I say innocently.
Fū nods sadly at my words, before her expression turns to one of admiration instead.
"Yeah, the more you take, the faster you burn up. You're taking the strength of the gods after all. It's not really meant for power, it symbolizes the harmony and balance in nature. Which is why only Taki's greatest heroes, like Shibuki-sama's dad and Shibuki-sama himself, are allowed to drink it and only to defend our great village, just like the tree defended the waterfall! That's what makes them heroes!" the girl says excitedly and it's not hard to hear the village propaganda shine through her words.
"That's sounds amazing, Fū. You're right, that was a good story and it really shows what kind of a hero Shibuki-sama is to this village. I would love to see it someday." I say admiringly and Fū nods at my words before looking a bit troubled.
"Sorry, Mizuki, but outsiders aren't allowed to know the location of our Hero Water, it's a secret after all! Not even everyone from the village knows where it is! Technically, I'm not supposed to know either, but Shibuki-sama told me, 'cause that's how much he trusts me! And that's why I promised to never tell anyone else where it is, no matter what!" Fū says proudly.
"Ah, I understand, Fū. Shibuki-sama is lucky to have a friend like you." I say warmly as I ruffle her mint-green hair.
'Not unexpected, but not a problem. She's already given me enough to work with.' I think as I glance in the same direction that Fū had accidentally looked at when she discussed the location of the Hero Water.
Thinking of the myth she told me, the location is somewhat obvious in hindsight. She had glanced straight at the roots of the tree that directly faced the edge of the waterfall. Considering the sheer size of said tree and its roots, that still left a stupidly large area to search, but at least now I knew where to start looking, especially since there was only a single temple on that side of the island. It wasn't large, but it was very old, yet well-kept despite that. If it weren't for my outside knowledge, I likely would've looked there first, but at best it was a simple distraction, at worst it was booby-trapped and what with the story of ancient spirits and such, I didn't feel like risking checking it out.
No, somewhere nearby, but hidden underneath the roots below, was my next power-up.
And I think I just stumbled across the exact way I was gonna get it without anyone being the wiser too.
"Man, you're a good story-teller, Fun. I wish I could listen to more of them, but I'm afraid Tsubaki and I will have to leave soon. Suien's interrogation will start in a couple of hours and as part of the Konoha delegation, we're supposed to be present." I say with a sigh as I stand back up to my full height again, slyly observing Fū from the corner of my eye.
I can see that she's conflicted, but not yet convinced so I decide to give her a little push.
"Besides, Saburo doesn't like people sharing Taki's history with outsiders, he'll probably stop you from telling me any more if he hears us talking like this." I pout dejectedly.
I can see Fū worry her lips for a moment, before a gleam of determination enters her orange eyes as she balls her hands into tiny fists at her side. Again she mentions me to lean in closer and again I crouch down with an amused expression on my face.
"Hey, Mizuki, I got this super special secret jutsu that lets me talk into people's brains…" she starts in a hushed whisper, nervously keeping an eye on the still distracted Saburo and completely missing the wolfish grin that briefly flashes across my face.
'And that's a bingo.'
//
The Wave Transmission Technique took a bit getting used to. It was somewhat similar to daydreaming, except the voice in your thoughts belonged to someone else. The only real 'sound' that you picked up on the other end was a sort of whistling of a hidden wind. I had no idea how it worked, but then again it seemed like Fū herself didn't fully understand what she was doing other than sending out her chakra like a pulse.
In her words, "it just works!".
There was definitely something more going on though, since the pulse was incredibly faint, with nobody in Taki's (rather small) jail picking up on the fact I had a Tailed-Beast container excitedly chattering away in my ear, even though she was off somewhere in the wilds, goofing off and calling it training.
'Hey! I heard that you know! Chasing squirrels is a totally valid training method! Shibuki-sama said so himself when he caught me!'
Also, with Fū being a chatterbox, the technique was being used almost constantly.
'Apologies, Fū. It's just… the atmosphere in here is a little tense at the moment. I do not want to sound mean, but you're accidentally being quite distracting right now, and it's really important for both our villages that I pay proper attention to everything.' I think back gently.
Without much experience in friendships (or just normal social interaction at that) Fū was a bit unclear on the rules of social interactions and I had quickly figured out that a kind, guiding hand was the best way to get her to back off a bit and tone down that hyperactive exuberance of hers. It probably reminded her of the way that Shibuki often dealt with her.
'Oh, right. Sorry Mizuki.' Fū thinks back and I make sure to make my thoughts feel 'warm' as I quickly respond.
'It's alright, Fū, I'm not mad or anything. Still, I do need to focus…'
'Oh! Don't worry, I'll turn off the link! I'll see you guys later!'
And with that, the faint whistling in my ears, almost like tinnitus, finally fades away and I let out a slight sigh of relief. I wasn't even lying to Fū (well, not this time at least), as the atmosphere in the jail was in fact rather charged. Not to mention that it was surprisingly uncomfortable to step back inside a prison after I had spent the first month of my life desperately trying to escape one in the first place.
Hearing my small sigh, Tsubaki slips her hand in mine as we're standing at the edge of a small crowd. There's barely half a dozen people in the interrogation room, but it's enough to make it feel crowded nonetheless. There's Suien himself of course, on his knees in the middle of the room dressed in rags and with what I recognize from my days as a history teacher as something similar to the Chinese jia, more commonly known as a cangue or simply as a pillory. A large wooden board that closed tightly around Suien's neck and sat heavily on his shoulders as his arms were stretched out behind it, fastened to the floor with heavy chains.
Two long strips of paper adorned the board, filled with the characters for "treason" and "imprisonment" and the like, with further swirls and additions typical of Fūinjutsu in this world.
Despite the crowd and the undoubtedly uncomfortable position, Suien kept his head bowed and his eyes closed, his hair, now without his signature yellow bandana, falling past his face in greasy threads.
Standing imperiously in front of him were the main Elder Senji and Shibuki, though the young village leader was shaking as a leaf as he stared at the traitorous jōnin with wide eyes. At their side stood Tiger, still and tall as always. On one side of Suien stood the Akimichi ANBU, while on the other stood Saburo. Spread throughout the rest of the room were some more Elders, a few additional Taki shinobi and Tsubaki and I.
Suien's interrogation had started a little while ago, though to no great effect. He didn't react when Senji began reading out a (surprisingly long) list of charges and he didn't even bother with answering any of the Elder's follow-up questions.
Eventually, Senji's patience was stretched too thin.
"By the gods man! Have you absolutely nothing to say?! Nothing to save your miserable skin?! I did not expect an apology from the likes of you, but to not even have the dignity to look those you betrayed in the eyes, what cowardice!"
Nothing. Suien didn't even look up.
"Answer me!"
The slap rang out loudly through the packed room as Suien's head whipped to the side and Senji visibly restrained himself with a deep breath as Shibuki looked on with wide, shocked eyes, likely never having seen the Elder in such a state. At least the slap got the first reaction out of Suien since the start of the interrogation. He looked up at Senji, worked his jaw for a moment… and then spat a thick wad of blood at the man's feet, grinning up at the elder with a blood-stained grin.
"You… how could you have ever sunk so low, Suien? You, who was the pride of this village…" Senji breathed heavily.
"Pride? What does a backwater like this know of pride?" Suien finally responded, his voice hateful.
"Suien… why? Why betray the Village? You were seen as the best of us…" Shibuki softly began, startling everyone, perhaps himself most of all as he spoke up for the first time.
"Tch, the best of mediocrity is still pathetic. All of you are such disgusting weaklings, what use is there in standing tall above you who scrape in the dirt. A bunch of cowards, only fit to run away and hide in my shadow, relying only on others to save them with the Hero Water… pathetic!"
"Please Suien, this can't be true. You trained me, told me to grow, to be better-" Shibuki tried, but the angered traitor wasn't having any of it.
"Training? Training?! Baby-sitting duty, watching over a brat too scared of his own shadow! A potential crippled from birth because of the coddling and hero worship of commoners who wouldn't know a kunai from a shovel if you hit them over the head with it! Training you was no honour! It was a punishment!"
Shibuki reeled back as if physically struck, eyes wide and watering.
"B-but… we took you into our home… my dad said you were his closest friend… his brother… I called you 'Uncle' when I was younger…" Shibuki managed to whisper through his tears, but Suien just threw back his head with a cold laugh.
"Brother?! Uncle?! Pathetic! Did you really think that the likes of you could ever hold such a place in my heart?! You and your weakling, idiotic father! How truly naïve must one be to smile in the face of the man holding a kunai at your back! He never even saw it coming, the fool!"
Shibuki's eyes widened at that, and I could feel myself (and everyone else in the room for that matter) lean in closer in anticipation.
"W-what-?" the young man whispered in disbelief.
"Suien! Enough of this-!" Senji tried to intervene, but to everyone's surprise, Shibuki stepped in, physically holding the Elder back as he moved to strike a madly grinning Suien again.
"No. No, I have to hear this. I must." Shibuki said with more conviction than I ever even through him capable of and it surprised Senji enough, the Elder allowed himself to be pushed back by the young man.
"What do you mean?" Shibuki continued and Suien's bloodied grin stretched even wider at that.
"Of course it never occurred to you idiots to question why such a large group of enemies was gathered and how they found the location to the village. None of you ever even bothered with the most important question of all: who told them where to look? Who convinced them to come looking for mystic treasures in this ass-end of the woods?"
"You orchestrated the invasion?" Shibuki asks in horror and Senji frowns at the words.
"Impossible! You were right there at my side on the front lines! I saw you cut them down one after the other until Lord Hisen arrived, having drunk the Hero Water himself to drive back the invaders!"
At Senji's words, Suien's expression turns ugly and hateful, a gleam in his eye as he spits pent-up venom with a bloodied sneer.
"That annoying fool! His 'noble' sacrifice doomed my whole plan! For what?! He ended up dead, he left his spineless, worthless son in charge of a position he was unfit for and I was left with a katana rammed through my thigh! For nothing! He was never supposed to drink the stuff himself!"
The admission causes the rest of the Elders and Taki nin to hurl obscenities at the man, as Shibuki stands wide-eyed and ramrod straight, staring at the traitorous jōnin with naked horror. For a moment, I think we're about to see a lynching instead of an execution, though Suien's life is saved (for now, at least) by an unexpected source. Even though emotions are running high, a calm voice cuts through it with an almost comfortably familiar coldness, hard and to the point.
"Elaborate." Tiger demands and the room quiets at his commanding voice.
"The invasion… a bunch of failed genin and chūnin, runaways from their villages turned missing nin, smacking around a bunch of hungry farmers playing at bandits. A worthless force, not a true threat even to this pathetic little village, but large enough numbers to send you cowards running at least. The goal was to have them make a lot of noise at the entrance, show them where they could best break through, then implore Hisen that he needed to take the Hero Water to protect his people. I would follow him close by, and at the last moment, steal it for myself."
"You… have you no shame, no sense of loyalty!? All this scheming, even turning on those you recruited yourself, just to stab our beloved leader in the back…" Senji asked, his mask as a stern Elder falling away to show true horror at the man in front of him, but Suien just kept laughing, bloody spittle flying from his wide grin.
"It was a foolproof plan, until said fool ran towards the frontlines instead! I had to stay close to him, or else the location of the Hero Water would be lost to me. And of course you were there standing right next to him, his battle-brother ever since you were children, and I had no choice to cut down the attackers before they identified me and revealed the whole plan to you. But then Hisen got cold feet anyways as expected and ran away from the battle. At first I thought the coward had gone to hide, but I couldn't follow, not with your distrusting eyes always on me Senji. When he came back, covered in that chakra cloak…"
Suien trailed off with a dark chuckle, shaking his head, his expression pained and frustrated.
"It's a good thing the Hero Water burned him up from the inside, or I would've taken his life myself." He spat, though he was immediately cut off by the young village leader
Another smack rings out through the room and this one is enough to make Suien lose more than just some bloody spit as one of his teeth clatters over the dark tiles of the room. It's Tiger who's first to react and drags away a red-faced, shaking Shibuki and it takes quite a while of quiet assurance from both the ANBU Captain and the village Elders before the distraught man is calmed down enough to the point he doesn't try to kill Suien on the spot.
Eventually he moves up to stand in front of Suien, the jōnin's vitriol apparently having run out as he simply hangs his head again, eyes closed as his leader delivers his judgement through labored breaths, tears flowing freely over his face.
"Suien. Takigakure no Sato herby condemns you. It strips you from every merit you have ever received. It strikes any achievement you've ever had from our records. Any rights or privileges you might have once held, have hereby been nullified, including your right to legal counsel. The spirits of our great tree and river, the spirits of our home, have forsaken you. You stand accused of treason against the village, its people and its founding principles and are hereby ordered to death by decapitation. This will occur tomorrow at midday. Out of respect for my beloved father's memory, I would've offered to wield the blade myself, but as you've spat on the generosity he offered you, thus revealing that bond of brotherhood to be nothing more than a cruel lie, this task shall fall to the Konoha ANBU instead. May you ask the kami for mercy, for you shall find none here." Shibuki managed to get out in a surprisingly strong voice and for a moment it's difficult to see that nervous youth I first saw when we first arrived in Taki.
But then his expression falls and his voice becomes a hoarse whisper. Gone is Shibuki the stern village leader, all that remains is just a young boy who is struggling to come to grips with the cruelty of the world.
"Suien… was it really all a lie… has there never been a moment… not a single time where we… that you-"
"Don't ask questions if you're not ready for the answers." Suien cuts him off, head still bowed, eyes still closed, blood covering his chin and that's that.
Elder Senji guides the grief-stricken Shibuki from the room, exchanging a nod with Tiger, before glancing over his shoulder at a stormy looking Saburo, who's eyeing the traitors exposed neck with a worrying expression and a white-knuckled grip on his short sword.
"Saburo! Clear the room! Nobody stays here except for the Konoha guard. I will not have an overeager shinobi break our leader's word and prove him a liar before men and gods by taking the traitor's head before the allotted time." Senji said in a voice that barely masked his own rage and grief and Saburo nodded tightly at the man's command, clearly forcing himself to obey his elder instead of his own instincts.
In short order, Suien's cell was cleared out save us Konoha nin, but in all of the hustle and bustle of the fuming Taki nin, nobody noticed the way my eyes lingered on the back of the shaking Shibuki, or how they slowly tracked over towards the still kneeling Suien, a sly smile quickly suppressed as the rest of my plan began to take shape.
'Time for part two.'
//
AN: A bit of a longer chapter but one that I'm quite happy with as I've finally come up with an endgame for this arc that ticks all of the boxes that I wanted it to. I think that was what was holding me back these past two or three chapters, since I always had nebulous things in Taki that I wanted to explore or add, but they never really fit properly. Something was always left out, or would have far-reaching consequences I didn't want it to. Then during the writing of this chapter, it just clicked after about a dozen different iterations of a similar plan. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I'm rather pleased with the final plan as it's more along the style of the earlier chapters where Mizuki breaks free from prison and I think it has enough moving parts to feel ingenious without it being overly complicated, showcasing Mizuki's status as the Flight Risk ninja. So yeah, look forward to that! Hopefully it'll be out sometime either the end of this week or in a week from now. Cheers!