Chapter 40.
Hiruzen turned to Hitomi, his expression somber. "I owe you an apology. Doubting your judgment was a mistake on my part."
Hitomi inclined her head gracefully, but did not accept his apology and asked. "As for Yami....."
"You need not worry," Hiruzen said, raising a hand. "After a routine interrogation, he will be returned to you. Since you spearheaded this investigation and his capture, it is only fitting that you decide his punishment. Just submit your report once you've dealt with him."
Hitomi nodded "As you say, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen's gaze then turned grave as he asked "As for the victims…"
A dark, ugly look flickered across Hitomi's elegant features, her eyes narrowing. "I will make arrangements for their rehabilitation and to contact any surviving families, should they exist. However..." Her voice trailed off. "I fear even half of them may not survive the month's end."
A pall of solemn silence descended upon them as Hiruzen's mind recalled the scene he had seen in the basement. Even Orochimaru's works paled in comparison.
Hiruzen's expression was somber, his brow furrowed. "I see..." His voice was hushed. "I will assign the ANBU to gather any information they can on the victims' identities and families, should any loved ones still remain."
He turned away, his posture rigid. "I will take my leave now." With a flicker of displaced air and a swirl of leaves, the Hokage vanished from sight.
As the others departed, Hitomi sighed weakly, taking a seat on a nearby pile of rubble. She then turned to her son. "Tatsuya, how did you manage to preserve the basement intact?"
Tatsuya met her gaze as he joined her on the seat. "It wasn't a particularly difficult task."
"When I had first infiltrated the basement, I left one of my shadow clones behind, disguised as a mouse to avoid detection. That way, if anyone had tried to destroy the evidence, my clone would be present to stop it."
"I see. So what measure did he have to destroy the evidence? I assume he should have one with his confidence, "she asked.
Tatsuya nodded his head. " He did. Remember the guy who attacked you mid-fight? He was the one guarding it. However, it seemed our early attack prevented him from fully preparing whatever he was trying. So all he did was leave a clone to carry it out."
"Which was why my clone was able to eliminate him before any damage could be done." He explained.
Hitomi nodded her assent, a small smile tugging at her lips as she beheld her son. He was just so mature and capable. While pride also swelled within her heart, knowing she could rely upon him fully, like he had her back in the last fight.
But as she was thinking about how lucky she was to have a son like him, her expression suddenly turned somber as her thoughts turned inward upon herself.
'How disappointingly lacking you are compared to your own son,' her inner voice chided. 'I couldn't even prevent such things happening within my own clan, while my son had to clean up the mess I overlooked.'
The subtle change in her expression did not go unnoticed by Tatsuya . His gaze roved over her form once more, taking in the bloody stains. "You're hurt," he stated, concern lacing his tone.
Shaking out of her thoughts, she offered a slight nod of acknowledgment, swallowing her instinctive urge to lie.
Hitomi offered a slight nod, not denying his words. "Nothing life-threatening. I'll be alright."
Tatsuya studied her for a moment, shaking his head and his jaw set. He knew better than to argue with her stubborn streak. Instead, he tried a different approach. "At least let me tend to your wounds,"
After a moment's pause, Hitomi nodded her head. With deft, gentle motions, Tatsuya controlled a small amount of chakra into his fingertips, carefully stemming the flow of blood and correcting her blocked tenketsu points.
Since many of her Tenketsu points were blocked during the fight, disturbing her chakra flow and control, she was unable to stop the internal blood loss. He had to first unblock them and then attempt to seal her internal injuries.
As he worked, he murmured, "You seem... troubled."
Hitomi's expression hardened, her jaw clenching as anger and frustration. "Troubled is an understatement," she replied, her tone sharp. "I'm disappointed in myself more than anything." A tremor ran through her frame. "Even after leading our clan for a decade, I was oblivious to such things happening under my watch." It was a habit of her to open up to her son, considering he had always been mature enough for such conversations.
Tatsuya could empathize with what she was feeling. Initially she was only fueled by rage upon hearing his recounting of the scene, but the true gravity had only struck once she witnessed the basement firsthand. It was only natural she now felt a sense of guilt and failure.
Gently, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his touch soothing and warm. "You couldn't have known, Mother," he said softly.
Hitomi shook her head. "That is nothing but an excuse, son. I should have been more vigilant, more aware. Not knowing is the very proof of my incapability."
Her voice trembled with frustration. "How could I let such depravities fester under my very nose?"
Tatsuya's expression remained calm. He clasped her hands within his own, offering a gentle squeeze and said calmly "Not everything can be under our control, Mother. You should feel guilt, yes - that's a reasonable reaction. But don't let it consume you. It was a reasonable mistake."
"You are still a clan's leader, remember." His tone hardened slightly with an underlying edge. "Are you truly thinking of allowing your guilt to cause further lapses?"
Hitomi's lips parted, as if to protest, but her son's words gave her pause. "B-But..."
Tatsuya sighed, carefully considering his next words to soothe her emotions. "What matters now is how we bring justice to those responsible and help the victims recover. We cannot undo the past, but we can prevent anything like this from happening again"
His fingers gently cupped her chin, tilting her gaze to meet his own. "Have faith in yourself, Mother. I believe in you."
Unknowingly, a certain unknown gleam appeared in his eyes which he himself was not aware of – a look that seemed to reach into Hitomi's very soul, calming the chaotic thoughts like a refreshing breeze.
For a moment, her mind went utterly blank before she quickly collected herself, questioning if her senses were playing tricks on her.
Shaking her head as she met her son's gaze, her mind now surprisingly well, she too not noticing anything weird, as she said "You're right son, wallowing in guilt will solve nothing. I should be better."
Hitomi's gaze drifted towards the basement. "I should focus on helping them first," she murmured. "But they have already lost that spark of life in their eyes. Nothing but hollow shells remain."
Tatsuya placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mother. I have a solution for that."
She turned to him, brow furrowed in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
Her son met her inquisitive stare unflinchingly. "Ask yourself – what would a person want at this time after suffering the worst?"
Hitomi pondered about it for a moment but only a few solutions came to her mind. "A peaceful death?" she said. "Or perhaps some kind of pillar of support like a figure they can rely on?"
Tatsuya nodded. "True, while death may grant them a modicum of solace, that is hardly a desirable solution." He said. "And as for finding some type of external support, it will not be enough even if we forget the fact that we can't even find that type of thing.."
He then further added. "And no rehabilitation, no matter how comprehensive, will truly work. They will just try suicide once they couldn't keep their emotions in check.."
She continued to listen to her son's even when she was the older one and Tatsuya said
"There is, however, one thing that may help them".
"What is that?" Hitomi quickly said.
Tatsuya's lips curved into a cold, weirdly sinister smile as he mouthed "…
- x - X - x -
'Dammit! Dammit!! Dammit!!!' Yami's mind raged in an unceasing, frenzied loop. 'I won't forgive them! I'll never forgive those wretched fools!' Hatred and thirst for vengeance burned through his veins.
He was currently in a marginally better situation than before sitting in a dark room- his injured body had been patched up a bit to just stop the bleeding so doesn't die.
He had just done an interrogation with the ANBU, though he found the interrogation quite bizarre.
There was no torture, no mind-searing agony or mind search he'd expected from Konoha's infamous black ops.
Instead, it was just focused on some basic details like what he'd been doing?, why is he doing?, for whom is he working for? How long is he doing this? And finally, who were the ones working with him.
To him, such a basic level of interrogation would be done by a chunin, and not by the infamous ANBU.
So he also answered in a calculated manner, trying to secure the best leverage possible. And since his entire base of operations was obliterated, trying to outright denial was useless.
So he had to admit to experimenting on the Byakugan seals in hopes of finding flaws, but of course he hid the fact that he was 99% successful.
As for why he was doing this, he just spun a tale of simple, base ambition - a yearning for more power that ultimately consumed him.
Let them believe him just another power hungry fool, he reasoned. The more they underestimated him, the more lax they would be around him.
When pressed about who he worked for, honesty served him best. He had no masters save his own insatiable hunger. He was beholden to no one's agenda but his own.
And for how long he had been doing this? He lied here again, and said it was just 6 months ago, no need to tell them how long he had actually been doing this. And since the ancient creatures in his basement had already been disposed of, there was hardly anyway to find solid evidence.
But the final question - about the identities of his helpers - gave Yami pause. He knew he had to tread carefully here as this was basically a death zone. To implicate Danzo would be to sign his own death warrant, as Danzo was his sole hope of escaping this situation intact, if he played his cards masterfully.
After all, Danzo would never allow years of his research work on the Caged Bird Seal to go to waste over something as trifling as his... indulgences. And if he bargains it, he might even be able to get some benefits.
Fortunately for him, it seemed the ANBU agents seemed disturbingly lax in verifying his claims or employing more... strenuous interrogation methods to root out the truth.
But just as he was feeling good, a peculiar grogginess suddenly overwhelmed his senses. He struggled to maintain his fragile grip on consciousness, but whatever was too strong and he quickly lost his consciousness.
.
.
.
.
'Argh! What happened!?' Yami's mind roared back to wakefulness in a disorienting rush. Agonizing pain lanced through every fiber of his being, as if he'd been subjected to a brutal beating.
As awareness slowly trickled back, he noticed he was tightly bound to a chair, so tight that the chains were digging into his limbs.
He fought against the panic clawing at his throat, forcing himself to take a check of his new surroundings.
But that little composure quickly shattered at the uncanny familiarity that gripped him.
"Why am I here?! What is this?!" he rasped, his voice trembling with dread.
The room seemed an exact replica of his own basement.
Every grisly tool, every cruel apparatus used by him, was also laid out around the room.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Suddenly the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the room, unknowingly sending his heart plummeting into his stomach.
He whipped his head towards the entrance as the door creaked open.
And saw who it was.
Tatsuya Hyūga.
He was one of the few who he hated with every ounce of his being, but he didn't know why he couldn't feel that hate now, all he could feel was fear at what was going to happen.
The young heir gazed at him with a chilling smile utterly devoid of warmth or mercy.
"You finally awake?..." A silken voice called out to him. "Enjoyed your sleep?." The teen voice lingered in Yami's ear like a ringing.
"Be at ease then. At least your final sleep had lasted a little longer."
- x - X - x -
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