[Read up to Chapter 231 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]
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Daimyō's Castle, Kyō no Miyako (Imperial Capital of the Land of Fire)—
"Why do you want to meet me, Kagerō-sama?"
The sudden voice from the doorway stunned both Kagerō and the ninja standing with him. Neither of them had expected that voice to appear out of nowhere, and yet it did. When they raised their heads, they found the very woman they had just been speaking of already standing inside the room.
At some point, without either of them realizing it, the gate of the study had opened, and Mikoto had stepped in.
"Mikoto-san… h-how did you…?" Kagerō rose from his seat, then shook his head. "No. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are finally here." His cheeks colored as he spoke, and the excitement in his voice was difficult to hide.
Just the sight of her, that beautiful face, that feminine figure, those gentle eyes, and that soft voice- made his heart race. He walked past the ninja at his side and approached her as if he meant to close the distance entirely, to hold her and breathe in whatever scent she carried. "Mikoto-san… I am so happy to see you…"
Mikoto was stunned by the enthusiasm and by the expression on his face. She frowned a little and stepped back at once, putting enough distance between them that he could not touch her.
Kagerō ended up embracing empty air. Disappointment flickered across him, though he tried to cover it with a laugh. "Ahaha… Mikoto-san is like always… acting distant…"
Even when she had served among the Guardian Twelve, she had never allowed anyone to come that close. Whatever her reasons had been then, the reason now was simpler. She did not want any man who was not her Danna-sama to lay a hand on her, least of all a man wearing that kind of expression.
Ignoring the disappointment he failed to hide, she asked again, "Kagerō-sama, was it you who sent that letter to me?"
He confirmed it while trying not to avoid her eyes. "Well… yes."
"So it is." She nodded, then continued, "May I ask what need came for you to summon me? I have already retired from the Guardian Twelve. I answered because the summons came in the name of Daimyō-sama, but…"
She was actually very unhappy about this.
Her wedding with Kanzou was only days away, and Kagerō had called her in the Daimyō's name while claiming an emergency. He had also asked her to keep the entire matter secret. No matter how she looked at it, the situation felt suspicious, and the words she had overheard only made that feeling stronger. Even so, she chose not to judge everything at face value and still asked.
"…Let's talk over tea," Kagerō said, and gave a small signal to the Guardian ninja behind her.
After a small silence, she agreed. "…Very well."
Kagerō beamed, a smile already forming. Before he could enjoy it, though, Mikoto stepped back out of the room, which left both him and the Guardian ninja confused. "Mikoto-san...?"
She spoke to someone just beyond the gate. "Kagerō-sama wants to talk to me over tea."
"Huh? Mikoto-san… who are you—" Kagerō froze.
Only then did he understand that she had not come alone. Someone else was with her. Who was that someone? Of course, it was Kanzou. Hearing her, he stepped inside a moment later, unhurried, as if the castle's inner court were no different from his own office.
Kagerō did not recognize him... but the ninja at his side did. "You… you are…"
"Who is he?" Kagerō asked.
"Kagerō-sama… he is Uchiha Kanzou-sama, the current Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, as well as my fiancé." Mikoto turned slightly. "Kan-sama… he is Madoka Kagerō, the second son of Daimyō-sama."
"Hmm." Kanzou hummed faintly. He offered no bow and no courtesy. The man in front of him was small in frame, soft in the face, and dressed with a delicacy that made him look more like a shota femboy, a court ornament, than a lord's son.
"M-Mikoto-san… you brought him with you?" Kagerō looked at her as if she had betrayed him.
Mikoto hesitated for a moment before saying. "…I trust Kan-sama with everything."
"But this goes against the code of ninja." Kagerō turned toward the man behind him, who already looked uneasy. "Isn't that right, Hajime?"
"Well… yes. Mission details cannot be revealed to unrelated parties," Hajime said.
"Then that is not a problem," She responded at once. "For one, I am already retired from active duty, so the code doesn't necessarily apply to me. And this was not a mission. It was a summons." She paused. "Additionally, you summoned me in the name of Daimyō-sama. That in itself is deceptive. I do not see any problem with coming along with my Danna-sama."
"But… but…" Kagerō's expression turned ugly. The man who was about to marry Mikoto was standing in his study. How could he feel anything but unhappy?
Mikoto didn't seem to care about Kagerō's ugly expression, and pridefully spoke about Kanzou's merits, "With Kan-sama's strength, whatever problem you may be facing can be easily solved. You should feel relieved."
Kagerō did not feel relieved at all. He had intended to keep her here and not let her leave. He was prepared with her while proposing to her... and he hoped that she'd agree, but even if she didn't agree, he was prepared to use other means to prevent her from leaving.
But with her fiancé present, that plan would be difficult now.
'No… maybe this isn't bad. If things become difficult, I can just keep them both here. With this Uchiha Patriarch also present, she might agree rather easily.' He calmed himself and shifted the plan. "Very well... since Mikoto-san trusts him, then... I suppose I must as well..."
After all, the sleeping drug would work on both of them equally, right?
Kanzou narrowed his eyes. 'This guy…'
A snake could always recognize another snake. The look in Kagerō's eyes told him enough to know what he was thinking.
It's just that the boy simply did not know who he was trying to trap.
'Since that's the case…' Without Kagerō realizing it, Kanzou activated his Sharingan and aligned his gaze with Hajime's before the bulky ninja could look away.
Mikoto certainly noticed Kanzou's action, but she didn't say anything.
While she was still not completely certain of Kagerō's intention, she trusted Kanzou and didn't question him.
Before long they were seated for tea. Hajime poured for both Kanzou and Mikoto, then stepped back a little and stayed quiet.
Mikoto did not touch her cup. She simply looked at Kagerō, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Kanzou, on the other hand, picked his up and took a sip. 'Hmm… sleeping dose, huh? And that too quite strong.' But he was not worried. Most toxins did nothing to his body as he had worked on his immunity, and he used to sometimes snort this one a few times during the days of the Second Great Shinobi War, to get a little high while murdering ninjas. So, except for acting like a weak narcotic, this wasn't going to do anything to him. Without any worries, he drank the tea again.
Kagerō seemed satisfied to see him drink. 'I guess ninjas also drop their guards...' he thought.
In fact, he was worried that Uchiha Kanzou would be on edge and not drink the tea. But perhaps some do in fact, drop their guard.
Regardless, he turned to speak to the woman he cared about. "Mikoto-san… the reason I had you summoned here in urgency… well…" He hesitated, color rising under her gaze again. "Well… it's because I want you to... you... to..." he felt embarrassed to say it. He fiddled with his finger before mustering up the courage and said, "...become my wife."
'Boy... you really have chosen a fate worse than death, huh?' Kanzou thought, the cup pausing in his hand. On the other hand, Mikoto's eyes widened. "You want me to… become your wife?"
She turned toward Kanzou, wondering how he would take a proposal made to her... especially in front of him, and saw the corner of his mouth curl. Knowing him, she understood that something nasty was already forming.
And... that made her happy. Yeah, she felt happy and sweet to know that he wasn't indifferent to other men pursuing her.
But she did not point it out. She looked back at Kagerō with a frown. "Kagerō-sama… you summoned me using Daimyō-sama's name, just days ahead of my wedding, to say that you want me to become your wife?"
"I… I had no choice!!" He tried to defend himself. "I just received news that you were about to marry the Uchiha Patriarch. I couldn't take it. I had to summon you before that happened, and it was only Otou-sama's call that you would have answered. So… I used his name."
"Using his name for your personal agenda could get you into trouble," Mikoto pointed out.
"If I can get to see you, and have you brought here, then I am not afraid of the trouble."
Her lips twitched. She was almost speechless. To say that in front of her fiancé- did he not know Kanzou's reputation, or did he think that just because he was a Daimyo's son, Kanzou wouldn't dare to do anything to him?
Others might care about the status of a Daimyō's son. But her Danna-sama's hobby was to trample on status.
Just look at that grin on Kanzou's face. It was widening, which meant that the nastiness of what he was thinking was increasing.
Kagerō, still a little naïve and used to getting what he wanted because of being the Daimyo's son as well as being clever and talented, did not notice that nasty grin. He was ignoring Kanzou altogether and wasn't worried about him at all.
The man had started drinking the tea laced with certain toxins, so his mind ought to be slowing, which would also explain why he was not reacting strongly to the proposal. Thinking so, Kagerō pressed on. "Mikoto-san… you deserve to be the wife of someone worthy of you. I am sure to become the next Daimyō. Natsuo-nii-sama can't outwit me. So when I become the Daimyō, I'll be worthy of someone like you."
Mikoto pressed her lips together.
He added, "After becoming the Daimyō, I'll also help you improve the situation of your Uchiha Clan."
"Hm? Improve the situation of the Uchiha Clan?" She had not expected him to bring that up.
"The situation of the Uchiha Clan has been quite bad, right?" He knew something of the marginalization, the bad reputation, and the conflict with the current Hokage. With his support as the next Daimyō, he believed that would change. "In return, you can become my wife."
'With Kan-sama, the Uchiha Clan doesn't need anyone else's support,' she thought. Even so, she asked what she was curious about. "Why do you even want to marry me?"
"It's because I have long since admired you," Kagerō said. "Since that evening when you saved me from that assassination by one of Natsuo-nii-sama's shinobi."
As a son of the Daimyō, and one who was both intelligent and talented, he had faced several attempts on his life. The one Mikoto had stopped had been truly dangerous. He had been close to dying, and she had saved him. After that, the boy who had lost his mother in childbirth began looking to Mikoto for a great many things.
"That's why I had proposed to you, Mikoto-san..." he added.
Kanzou blinked. Having emptied the teacup, he looked at Mikoto, finally breaking his silence. "He proposed to you?"
"You proposed to me?" Mikoto herself was surprised. "When?"
"You... you don't remember?" Kagerō was takenaback.
Mikoto shook her head... she really didn't recall.
"You... you... Mikoto-san... you were always like this...!" Kagerō felt humiliated.
He tried to reach out to Mikoto many times. It's a pity that she never reciprocated, and she barely spoke to him, which frustrated him a lot. She had even returned to Konoha without a word. At the time, he had decided he would become the next Daimyō to finally make her look at him and also push her fiancé aside so she could be his wife.
Fugaku being replaced by another ninja named Kanzou had been unexpected. Mikoto marrying so early had been unexpected as well, and it had thrown him into a panic, because he was not yet Daimyō. Even so, he was still set on marrying her and thus called her here before she could get married to someone else.
Ignoring the humiliation he felt from her not even remembering his proposal, Kagerō said again, "That's why... I want you to ma—"
Before he could finish, Kanzou had had enough of the drama. He leaned forward, and without letting the boy react, he caught him by the neck and lifted him from the seat.
"That's enough out of you."
"You… what are you—?!" Kagerō struggled. Immediately, his face was flushed as his breathing became a little difficult under that grip on his neck. He tried to look toward Hajime, then toward Mikoto.
Hajime was already under genjutsu and did not move. Meanwhile, Mikoto was not going to stop her Danna-sama. She also disliked that Kagerō had ignored Kanzou entirely and spoken only to her, even to the point of proposing.
Isn't that very disrespectful to Kanzou? Someone who dares to disrespect him... she has no shred of mercy for them.
"I… I can't breathe… let go of me…" he tried again. "I… I am the son of the Daimyō… if… if you do anything to me…"
"You think I am scared of the Daimyō?" Kanzou smirked and slapped him.
Kagerō, who had never been struck like that, went still for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Unforgivable… I'll tell my Otou-sama—"
That only earned him another one across the face.
Cha!
"You sure have guts, trying to propose to her right in front of me, and that despite knowing that two days from now is our wedding." Kanzou added another slap.
Cha!
Kagerō glared at him through the throbbing in his cheek. "The… the decision isn't up to you… and this… this matter can be changed… you aren't married yet…"
Kanzou chuckled and slapped him again. "Actually, the decision is indeed up to me." He paused, then turned. "Still… let's hear what Mikoto has to say. What is your opinion, Mikoto?"
Mikoto bowed her head toward Kagerō. "I don't share the feelings that you do. The only man I love is Kan-sama."
He had not expected to be refused so blatantly, without even a shred of hesitation from her. "You… you'd get the chance of becoming the wife of the next Daimyō… why are you refusing me?" No woman in the entire Land of Fire would dare to refuse him... yet Mikoto... she refused without even considering the proposal!
"As I said, I love Kan-sama. I always have, even when I was very young, and I love him even now." She remembered the quiet admiration she had carried for years. "As for political power, I don't care too much about that. I only wish to be with Kan-sama, and I would rather die than marry someone else."
"Fufu." Kanzou looked at the boy again. "That's what she says. So you'd better stay away." He leaned close to his ear. "Because if not, there'd be consequences that you can't handle."
Kagerō was frightened, but he still did not want to retreat. 'He… he'd soon lose consciousness… I… I just have to hold on…' He tried once more to intimidate him. "I… I am the son of a Daimyō and will surely become the next Daimyō. You… a shinobi of Konoha… you are loyal to us. Even if you are the Uchiha Patriarch… you can't dare to refuse me. That'd be treason. I'd declare you trai—"
"Would you shut up already?" Kanzou cut him off with another slap, then kept raining them down.
For every second the boy had dared to look at Mikoto with those eyes, he paid. The slaps continued until Kagerō began to cry. "Wooo… s-spare me…" He looked afraid.
But his crying didn't earn any mercy from Kanzou.
That pitiful look on his soft face might have fooled someone else. It did not fool Kanzou. Even if the fear had been real, a stone-cold heart would not have cared. In truth, Kagerō was still acting, and behind the tears he was gritting his teeth, 'Why isn't he falling asleep? Was the sleeping drug not good enough?'
"I… I am sorry… please… I only proposed to her… why are you hurting me so much for just that…"
"Haah. You think I don't know what you were planning in the chance that she refused? I am well aware of the sleeping dosage mixed in the tea." Kanzou pointed it out.
"Huh? You… how do you…?" Kagerō's expression changed at once. He had thought the dose had gone unnoticed. But it turns out that Kanzou knew?
If he knew, then how come he drank the tea?
"That weak drug won't work on me. I used to snort that thing almost a decade ago." Kanzou snorted.
"You—" Kagerō was speechless.
Hearing that, Mikoto's expression turned colder. "So… that's what you were planning."
She had been right not to drop her guard or drink the tea. Unlike Kanzou, she was not immune to toxins. If she had taken the tea, she would have fallen asleep. While Kagerō would not have been able to do anything with Kanzou present, and she was certain that if anyone had touched her afterward it would have been Kanzou himself, which she did not mind. What she minded was the boy. That this scum had intended something like that for her made her angry.
At the same time, she was also glad that Kanzou was angry for her and beating him for her. She did not even want to touch Kagerō. The idea disgusted her. Watching her Danna-sama slap him again and again felt better, and a little sweet.
What woman wouldn't like it when their man is getting angry for their dignity?
Mikoto certainly liked it... she liked it very much. So much so, she started to fall in love with him again, and blushed as she felt hot.
By the time Kanzou stopped, both of Kagerō's cheeks were swollen, and tears he could no longer control ran down his face.
"S-Spare me… I am sorry… I am sorry…" He begged, and this time the crying was genuine. He felt as if he might die, and he did not want to die. Even when he looked toward Mikoto, she only turned her head away and did not acknowledge him.
As for Hajime... he was appearing as if he wasn't even there.
"Spare you, huh? Unfortunately... that's not going to happen..." said Kanzou. After giving the femboy a few more slaps, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. "The dick that you had planned to use… I might as well make it inactive permanently."
Under the right conditions, genjutsu could convince the brain that certain parts of the body no longer worked as they should. He intended to make sure the boy's plug would never rise again.
"No… no…" Kagerō shook his head in fear, horrified at the possibility.
But yet again, he didn't earn Kanzou's mercy.
"Tsukuyomi."
...
Thud!
A second later, Kanzou tossed him down, dusted his hands, and looked at Hajime. "He is yours to do as you please."
"I understand… thank you for the treat~" Hajime's tone would have sent a shiver down most spines.
Kanzou smirked and turned to Mikoto. "Come on. Let's go."
"Hnn." She rose, intertwined her fingers with his, and they started walking out.
Behind them, Kagerō tried to call after her. "Mikoto-san… no… please… you are the only one I have—" The rest was cut off as Hajime pressed him down and loomed over him.
"H-Hajime… w-what are you?" Horror entered his voice. The way Hajime looked at him made his skin crawl.
"Kagerō-sama… for the first time, I am noticing.. you are so cute… I think I might like cute boys…" Hajime licked his lips and caressed the boy's cute, feminine, femboy face.
"No… no… what the—" Kagerō understood what was about to happen and screamed for help. But no sound left the room, because Kanzou had already closed the door.
Whatever followed inside was not something they wanted to see.
You'd have to be a faggot or a Yaoi lover to want to know that kind of stuff.
Of course, Mikoto... who, being a woman, had read some Yaoi stuff, and looked at him, "Kan-sama… that was…"
Even she didn't expect him to put Kagerō through something like that.
"Now he won't be able to harm other women. Isn't that great?" Kanzou smiled at her.
"I… I guess." She nodded. But she knew he did not actually care whether other women were harmed. He was just satisfying his nasty thoughts.
But she didn't care. He had done this because Kagerō had dared to propose to her and was grateful to him for it, "Kan-sama… thanks."
She would have been fine even if he had done nothing. Even so, how could she not feel glad that he had done it for her?
Kanzou shrugged, and they walked on.
"By the way, Kan-sama… this could cause trouble in the future," Mikoto said, worried. Kagerō was still the Daimyō's second son. After what they had done, killing him might have been cleaner.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen." Through Tsukuyomi, he had traumatized the boy severely enough that Kagerō would not be able to act. He had not killed him because the boy might still be useful later, if political authority ever became necessary.
By the way, Kanzou didn't receive any Evil Points for what was happening to Kagerō.
'Well, that does make sense... considering his bad intentions,' nodded Kanzou in understanding and didn't think too much about it.
"I see," She nodded, relieved, and with that, they left the castle.
They had entered without alerting anyone; they also left without alerting anyone.
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Outside, Mikoto asked shyly, "Kan-sama… before we head back to Konoha, do you want to look around the Capital for a little while?"
Noticing the desire in her eyes, he agreed, "Since we are here anyway, I suppose we can look around."
"Then…" she held his hand and said, pulling him, "...I'll give you a tour." She knew almost the entire city, and she took it upon herself to show him.
"Sure..." he agreed yet again, and let himself be dragged by her.
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Double Chapter, be sure to drop loads of power Stonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter 231 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]