Time: 3:18 PM
"And these here are the systems to control the Blue Wall's pressure sensors, Probie." Captain-Commander Keigo Kurosaki of the Imperial Security forces explained to Seta Noriyasu/Okito Tanaka. "The entire mundane security suite is loaded with redundant backups to prevent any accidental malfunctions in the system that might create an opening in the defensive perimeter. Every system layer creates a real-time data log of what we call 'flaggable events' in the secured data servers that only I, as head of Mizumiyo Physical Security, and my hand-picked team of computer technicians can access. The logs are hard coded to prevent deletion by any means short of physically destroying the systems or putting an electromagnet too close to the drives."
The Diamond Blade of Konoha nodded to his cover story's boss. "I'm assuming that deactivating the pressure sensors would be one of those flaggable events you mentioned that make a note in the system."
"Yep... It also sets off a bitch load of alarms, too. While the Sensing Barrier team is the first line of defense from supernatural based intrusions, it's the sensors in the Wall are the first layer – the most critical one – of the physical perimeter defense system."
Tanaka scratched the back of his head. "So turning them off would ALWAYS set off noisy alerts? No exceptions?"
"There can always be exceptions in a system, Seta." Kurosaki rubbed his five o'clock shadow beard on his jaw contemplatively. "For the sensors, however, the only way you can take them out of active status and not set off the audio and visual alarms in the process would be if you change them into the maintenance or testing modes. The change is still a flaggable event and if the sensor network is in either of those two states for too long, but instead it activates a silent alarm in my office. Then I come down on their heads like the wrath of the Goddess herself when that happens, right boys?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" The two techs on duty agreed.
"Makes sense..." The Jonin agreed, admiring the team's professionalism. He frowned thoughtfully as he prepared to ask the question that Raiden had presented him. "All right, hypothetical situation…"
The Captain-Commander grinned. "I love messing around with those. Fire away!"
"If someone was sitting at the control panel here and were actively rotating the sensor states so that if someone were walking on top of the Blue Wall in such a way that only the grid sections that could detect the walker's weight were affected…" Kurosaki arched an eyebrow, this was a little more than a simple hypothetical! "And the states were changed only for as long as it would someone walking at an unhurried pace to pass from one area to the next... Would doing that trigger either the noisy alerts or the quiet one that only comes to you?"
There was dead silence in the room. The men at the security stations spun to look at the new guy in horrorstruck awe. That wasn't a hypothetical… That was the MOTHER of all hypotheticals!
"Oh, SHIT..." The head of the Imperial Guard breathed; his jaw dropping slightly as he wrapped his head around the hypothetical situation. "You mean if someone on the inside were consciously attempting to spoof the reporting system?" Tanaka/Noriyasu nodded.
Kurosaki looked shaken at the thought as he leaned towards the new recruit. "Do you honestly think someone's done this, Probie, or did one of the vets con you into trying to get my goat?"
Okito/Seta shrugged. "I'm on the graveyard shift normally, sir, so I don't really interact with the more experienced members of the staff, Kurosaki-taichou… No, I happened to be within earshot when one of those Leaf ninja that accompanied Reiyuriko-hime's trip home brought it up. They were trying to piece together something that I didn't hear the start of." He sighed. "I'll be the first to admit that it sounds impossible, but I've been in this line of work long enough to know that sometimes the truth can be stranger than fiction."
"So have I." Captain-Commander Kurosaki agreed. "And while I'm more than willing to believe that it's just one of those rather inexperienced-looking brats letting their imagination run wild, the possibility begs to be considered at the same time…"
The Captain-Commander thought for a few moments longer. "If – and only IF – the spoofer were extremely careful, there's a chance they just might be able to keep either alarm from going off... It would leave one hell of a trail in the system logs, but we only audit those once a year or so, so they MIGHT be able to get away with it until then... There wasn't anything unusual like that when we did the last log review 9 months ago, but I don't mind performing the audit a little early for a change."
He sighed. "Better have the kitchen whip us up a batch of triple strength coffee, Probie… I probably won't be able to sleep until I debunk this wild idea and you're going to help me look into it for scaring me with it in the first place."
Suddenly, a blaring siren raised an unholy ruckus as a number of red lights began blinking on the walls of the security center. "Ah!" Kurosaki breathed as the techs on duty and began typing in commands. "Speak of the devil and he appears... Looks like one of the pressure sensors on the Northern Wall has just been tripped."
The tech activated the video monitors: there were several cameras hidden on each side of Mizumiyo Palace and they had been programmed to automatically pan and zoom in on any section of the Blue Wall that had a pressure sensor sound an alarm. Of the six cameras on the north side of the castle, only two were able to see the area in question, which showed a fuzzy black blob sitting on the deep blue-colored wall.
"Is… Is that a cat? How could a cat get up on MY wall?" Keigo demanded aloud as he frowned at the screen, gesturing to the blank hill on the other side of the wall. "There aren't any trees located close enough to the wall to allow it to jump onto the wall from the outside. If it's heavy enough to set off the sensors, a housecat's claws shouldn't be strong enough to allow it to climb the five meters to the top of the wall."
'It's Kyouran!' Okito wondered as he instantly recognized the panther cub and felt the icy talons of fear start pulling on his guts. 'But where's Takahashi?'
The disguised ninja coughed once. "Umm, Taichou..? I don't think that's your common variety cat..." Keigo turned to look at him questioningly. "One of the Konoha ninjas that accompanied her Highness Reiyuriko's carriage was training a panther cub. Now, I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to put money down that that," He tapped one of the two monitor images of Kyouran, "Is the ninja's feline."
Keigo looked at the image. "Possibly… I don't see his trainer on any of the nearby monitors, though... I've seen animal-nin in action before, though; they're intelligent enough to try and get help if their trainer is injured or captured."
'Dear God, please don't let that be the case, though...' The ninja once code-named Yaiba thought to himself. 'If Knight and Rook's son has fallen prey to something I could have prevented while on my watch - AGAIN! - I don't know if I'll be able to forgive myself… I still haven't forgiven myself for letting him get that scar that made him Takahashi in the first place, after all.'
On the monitors, Kyouran's golden eyes looked upwards, seeming to peer into the cameras, but he was clearly not focused on the looking at the cameras themselves. The panther's neck swiveled as he scanned the unseen area he was focused on, but after a few moments the cub began to run clockwise along the wall, having failed to find what he was looking for. The cat's dash along the Blue Wall caused every single pressure sensor he came close to trigger an alarm, but the cameras were unable to pan fast enough to keep up with the Neko-nin in training.
"I think we can call your guess as being right on the money, Seta." Kurosaki said with a whistle at the panther's speed as he pointed at a wire frame layout that was a bird's eye view of Mizumiyo's blueprints. A single red LED light glowed in the exact center of the eastern wall where Kyouran had come to a stop and resumed looking for something above the security cameras. "At a guess, I'd say he's looking for something on the Palace's sixth floor roof... Oh, isn't that where that silvery-eyed beauty in charge of the Leaf ninjas been working from for the last few days?"
"Last I heard..." Okito agreed. "But she'd usually be down before I go on duty."
"Mizumiyo Command, this is Station 3." A voice crackled across a speaker that was built into the security monitoring system.
The Captain-Commander frowned. "That's the guard post at the base of the hill on the north side beside the main road that leads up to Main Gate." He reached forward and flipped on a microphone. "Station 3, this is Kurosaki. What is it?"
"Sir! There's a... a... Hell, sir, I'll be DAMNED if I know how to describe it, coming straight towards us out of the city. It looks like a moving rock with someone on its back." A new monitor lit up. "Transmitting images to command station now."
On the newly activated video screen appeared a large stone beast in the shape of a fearsome-looking jungle cat with glowing red eyes. Astride the creature was a golden-haired young man with a long-healed scar stretching from above to beneath his left eye.
The sight allowed Okito Tanaka/Seta Noriyasu to breathe a barely hidden sigh of relief. 'Well, despite the reasons they needed to split up, Takahashi's managed to pull his shebs out of the fire on his own at least.' He frowned as he looked closer. 'He's got blood on his face. What on earth happened to him?'
The Diamond Turtle of Konoha coughed. "Taichou? That the cat's trainer; I recognize him from the week-long trip." He then noticed a wrap around his right ankle and frowned. "And it looks like he's been injured; I don't recall him having that wrap on his leg before…"
Kurosaki nodded in agreement. "Station 3, let him through. He's one of the ninja temporarily on the payroll and that thing he's on must be something made with ninja magic."
"Copy that, Captain-Commander. He passing by us now; for something so heavy-looking that rock thing is pretty damned fast. Oh! Sir, one of the men says he thinks the ninja's got a broken ankle - he thought the kid's foot looked swollen."
On the monitors keeping an eye on Kyouran, the scion of Ryoushi's head perked up as he caught a Takahashi's scent on the wind. The panther perked up and ran to the southern side of the Blue Wall, something silver and metallic-looking glinting in the sunlight falling onto the wall as Kyouran roared excitedly to the north. Shortly after the panther roared, one of the two monitors focused on the object tripping the pressure sensors was obscured by a deep purple and white blur as Miho Hyuuga leapt down one roof layer at a time. She managed to reach the ground swiftly and ran towards the gate where her Genin charge would soon arrive.
Captain-Commander Kurosaki whistled lustily as he took manual control of one of the southern cameras and zoomed in on the kunoichi's backside, which was jiggling impressively thanks to her fast pace. Keigo grinned at Okito. "You know, Noriyasu, I'd be willing to pay real money to get a picture of THAT in a thong bikini..."
"I think I can honestly say I agree with you, sir... That WOULD be one hell of a sight." Tanaka/Noriyasu chuckled as he smiled to himself...
Back in his room in Konoha, he had just such a picture - although Miho was too proper a lady to ever wear a thong, she HAD been in a bikini - in his photo scrapbook from a trip they'd taken to a beach on their way home from a mission about seven years earlier. To this day, Miho didn't know he'd taken it.
'And if I expect to live much longer, she never will; I did take it as she lost the top, after all...'
* * *
Time: 3:30 PM
Miho Hyuuga stood worriedly in the courtyard as Kyouran, who was still atop the Blue Wall, awaiting Takahashi's arrival with bated breath. The panther cub was working to try and pick something up that he'd apparently dropped when he let off the roar that had allowed the Jonin to cease her five hour effort to try and locate the missing duo. When the kunoichi's "all seeing eye" told her that Takahashi's return was imminent, she stepped a little closer to the struggling cat.
"Kyouran," She called in her dulcet tones, trying to keep from freaking out as she remembered the LAST feline she was this close to. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..."
The panther paused in his efforts to get the object and cocked his furry head. As he did so, the cat shot her this look of pure incredulity and growled in Feline. [Seriously?]
Although the kunoichi didn't have the faintest clue what Kyouran said, Miho did blush slightly in embarrassment as she suddenly remembered that the panther wasn't your run-of-the-mill housecat, but a cunning jungle predator with human levels of intelligence.
She gave him a wan smile. "Sorry... Force of habit." Hyuuga apologized to the Neko-nin. "Would you mind coming down here, please? You're probably setting off half the alarms in the Palace at the moment."
[Well, yeah... That was kind of the point, Stormruler.] Kyouran responded as he caught Takahashi's necklace with his claws and batted it at the kunoichi. Kyouran's name for Miho came from the scent of ozone that clung to her from her Lightning natured chakra; so much stronger than the scent that clung to the Twins.
Miho Hyuuga easily caught it in mid-air. "Takahashi's necklace..." She frowned as she looked at it closer, seeing the dull rust red stain marring the normally flawless metallic finish. "Is... Is this blood?!" The kunoichi asked in surprise.
[Duh...] He mewed with a nod.
The woman smiled. "Oh, good, you've progressed that far in your animal-nin training." In animal-nin training, the partner, if they couldn't be taught to speak the human language, learned to use human gestures to indicate yes or no and use a call of some kind to indicate that the human was on the right track, but not yet right.
"Okay, blood... It has to be Takahashi's or you wouldn't have carried it this far after the two of you got split up. An accident?" Shake. "A fight?" Nod. "Serious?" A roar – very serious. "Okay... Serious enough he sent you to get back up?" Nod.
Miho sighed. "Well, it seems that he managed to get out of the mess without any help, but you did a great job getting back here on your own, Kyouran."
The panther cub mewed a simple [Thanks] before finally hopping off the Wall as Takahashi's rock panther mount finally crested the top of the hill. The two guards standing by the metal gates had already been informed of the Genin's approach by the lower level guard stations and quickly opened them to allow the injured young man through.
Kyouran leapt onto the golem's head as it passed by. [Pack Brother!] He mewed excitedly.
"Hey; there you are..." Takahashi smiled as he reached forward to scratch the top of Kyouran's head. "You did a great job of masking your trail, buddy. I tried for a few minutes to see if I could find you, but quickly realized just how futile it would be. The Forest Lord would be proud of you."
[Still...] The panther countered, intelligent enough to feel a twinge of guilt. [I wasn't much help...]
"Hey; in case you didn't notice, I didn't do all that well myself." The Genin pointed out. "Because you got away, they weren't willing to risk holding or killing me. You might have saved my life, Kyouran..." He glanced at Miho Hyuuga and prodded his stone creation to carry him over towards her.
Miho Hyuuga felt no small amount of dismay as she looked Takahashi over as the golem cat came to a stop before her. The young man had dried blood forming an off-center mustache and goatee on his face and shadows of what would likely be one hell of a bruise forming a grayish red stain radiating from the middle of his face.
As she concentrated on the Genin, her Byakugan eyes manifested their power and allowed her to peel away the layers of reality. A number of bones in both of Takahashi's ankles showed signs of cracking and there were powdered bone fragments floating between the dozen bones in his feet as well as around the ball and socket joint of the young ninja's left shoulder. The back of his skull and the cartilage of his nose both showed signs of recent breakage and mystical repair.
While the physical traumas were bad enough, what worried the kunoichi most of all was what she saw in the young man's chakra circulatory system. The two major intersections of the tenketsu conduits in Takahashi's brain showed signs of swelling. There were eight such intersections in the human body - also known as the Eight Inner Gates - and the swelling was an indicator that an unnaturally high amount of chakra had been forced through them at speeds greater than the human body was naturally inclined to allow.
'How on earth did THAT happen?' The kunoichi wondered. 'Jonin instructors are expressly forbidden from teaching a student any of the Kinjutsu techniques to open the Tenketsu Gates because of their double-edged nature. In fact, as far as I know, Yaiba doesn't even know how to open them himself; he's a Ninjutsu defense specialist. The Eight Gates Opening technique is only really beneficial to offensive Taijutsu specialists like Might Gai... So how on earth could Takahashi have learned to know how to use the Kinjutsu in order to do this to himself?'
The blond Genin sketched a salute with his left arm, wincing as he ground some of the bone fragments into the joint. "Hyuuga-sensei. I apologize for my tardiness." He said with the grave attitude of someone sorely frustrated with a self-perceived failure, but determined to make the most out of it.
"Accepted." Miho Hyuuga said to let the Genin know he was off the hook for any wrong-doing. "Now, if I heard you correctly in your last transmission before we lost contact, you and Kyouran believed you had found our target... So, was it her?"
Takahashi shook his head. "I'm afraid not; just an eerie look-alike."
"Somehow I doubt a mere look-alike would have assaulted you so viciously out of a case of mistaken identity or could be so dangerous as to require you to send your partner here for help."
"Yeah... She didn't. Her overzealous teammates did, however."
The normally smooth alabaster skin around Miho Hyuuga's eyes scrunched in confusion. "Teammates?"
"Yeah..." The Genin coughed in mild embarrassment as he pet Kyouran's head. "We… kinda mistook a kunoichi from Sunagakure on a highly sensitive mission for our target… They're operating out of a flower shop using a female Genjutsu specialist – I believe the name was Satou – to defend their base of operations."
Miho's eyes widened slightly. "You ran into a group of Hidden Sand ninja in Kawa City and one of them was a Satou Illusionist?"
He shrugged. "Apparently. Because I'm immune to mind magics, I didn't realize there was a defense perimeter until I was well within it. She tried to vamp me - she's one of THOSE types of kunoichi… Anyways, when I rejected her efforts, she kinda flipped out and called for backup."
"You ran into a Satou Illusionist… And you resisted her pheromone Kekkei Genkai?" Miho repeated in shocked disbelief.
Takahashi shrugged again. "Yeah, she was weirded out by it, too… I guess whatever made me immune to Genjutsu protects me against her bloodline power, too. Anyways, the guy they had on backup was pretty damn good at his job… I started to go berserk, but he kicked my ass without trying hard and took me prisoner."
The expression on Miho Hyuuga's face during Takahashi's summary of his day had run the gamut from startled confusion to shock to absolute befuddlement. She blinked a few times. "You were captured by Hidden Sand ninjas in the Land of Rivers... Okay, that's definitely unexpected... How did you escape?"
"I wish I could take credit for that, Hyuuga-sensei; it would make for a better story…" Takahashi looked kinda sheepish. "All that happened was their Jonin instructor - a kunoichi clad in purple and black - after learning the situation she showed me that the woman I had thought was the Princess in disguise was a ninja. She apologized for my injuries, saying none of them had medic-nin training and released me to bring you a message."
Disbelief clouded Miho's features as she tried to guess the other kunoichi's motives. "She let you go to deliver a message... A Sunagakure Jonin."
The blonde young man nodded, reaching for his shuriken holster. "Yeah, the Jonin said something being on a mission to exonerate a regional Prince who got exiled because of something he did while affected by Genjutsu. She wasn't much for pleasantries and she was pretty upset by how her Genin had handled things."
He pulled out the double-edged knife the Sand Jonin had given him and extended it to her. "She told me to give this to you and say that our missions did not necessary have to interfere with each other and made offer of non-confrontation. We leave them alone, they leave us alone."
Miho Hyuuga's blood froze when she saw the knife. She recognized the blade from the past; a bodyguard mission that she had failed on… And a retribution mission with Tanaka two years ago.
'Yaiba is going to have an absolute CONNIPTION when he finds out about this...' She thought as she took the blade and put it in her own pouch, her hand shaking slightly in fear. 'He's very protective of the son of his early ANBU teachers; when he finds out how close he was to losing Knight and Rook's boy, he's going to flip out.'
[Why does the Stormruler smell like she's about to lose her lunch or control over her ability to urinate and defecate?] Kyouran mewed to his trainer, confused by Miho's abrupt change in scent.
Takahashi, who was so tired that he hadn't noticed the change, frowned. "Is something wrong, Sensei?"
"I am just in awe of how horribly this could have gone wrong, Takahashi…" Miho finally breathed. "You are one of the lucky few to ever meet the Desert Rose and live to tell about it... That Jonin you met is one of the top-ranked non-rogue-nin assassins in the Five Nations… Number two or three, I think it was…"
Takahashi and Kyouran's jaws fell agape. "Assassin?"
Miho nodded. "I'm amongst the best offensive/defensive ninjas in Konoha and Okito is likely THE best defensive ninja in all of the Five Nations, Takahashi... And BOTH of us are absolutely TERRIFIED of the Desert Rose. We'll be accepting her offer of non-confrontation immediately."
"She's that strong?" The Genin asked in awe.
"Physically, she's no stronger than me. No, the Desert Rose is feared because she's managed to get in to kill some of the most carefully-guarded people in the world and get back out unscathed. In fact, one time she ACTUALLY managed to sneak in and assassinate a Grass Country regional daimyo that a Konoha ANBU team - a team both Yaiba and I were on at the time - were hoping to take alive." Takahashi whistled in awe. "The kicker, however, is the fact that she managed do so WHILE I was monitoring the man's palace with my Byakugan eyes; we didn't find out our target was dead until after we broke in."
"Holy shit..." The blonde Genin breathed as Kyouran's roar expressed shock as well. "Wait, if you didn't see her do the deed, how did you guys know..?"
"That the Desert Rose was the assassin?" Miho finished the young man's question. "All the top-ranked assassins have a bit of an arrogant streak to themselves, so whenever they have a target where the execution doesn't need to be done with stealth, they leave a calling card so that the story of their prowess gets around, allowing their Village to command the highest prices for their services. The Desert Rose's calling card is that she leaves red rose petals that have been left out in the sun and wind of the Land of Wind's desert to dehydrate."
Takahashi had a surge of inspiration. "Hence 'The Desert Rose,' right?"
"Just so." Hyuuga agreed. "In addition to just such a rose petal on his forehead, our target was lying in bed with a single poison-coated throwing knife – the same style you just gave me – sticking out of his chest. It's one of the Desert Rose's preferred weapons. The strike hadn't been an instant kill… The poison had circulated in his body enough to turn the man's face a rather disturbing shade of purple, but he hadn't been able to summon any help."
The blonde Genin swallowed. "So she's not really worried about us interfering... She just doesn't want to deal with the hassle or attention it would bring."
Miho nodded. "She a ninja's ninja with nothing to lose." Miho Hyuuga answered, bowing her head slightly to avoid looking at the young man. "...Not anymore at least."
Takahashi gritted his teeth. "Damn it; she played me like a freaking violin..."
[But if this Jonin's so dangerous, why would she simply let you go, Pack Brother?] Kyouran growled in confusion.
The Genin blinked. "Hey, that's right... Why on earth would she let me go?"
Miho Hyuuga smiled. "To protect her base of operations and her client, Takahashi... After all, her team probably told her that you had gotten a messenger out before being captured. Letting you go to tell me who I would have to face if I didn't agree to the offer is FAR more beneficial to her mission than trying to get what little usable information you might have out of you. Even if you DID manage to resist a Satou woman's advances…"
He nodded, blushing at the memory. "I guess I can see that."
The kunoichi patted his good shoulder. "The Desert Rose is a pragmatist; she knew Kyouran could lead us back to you and decided to send you back as fast as she could. If her mission is indeed to prove another's innocence, then I doubt it has anything to do with Reiyuriko's disappearing act."
Miho frowned to herself. 'We should avoid the Sand ninjas as much as possible. If she were to find out that Yaiba and I were formerly ANBU and involved in the retributive strike against her that ended with the death of her lover are within her reach, it could result in all-out warfare.' She looked worriedly at Takahashi. 'I'm pretty sure the two of us would survive, but I'm not sure if any of our Genin would... Not even Sho.'
The raven haired woman shook her head to clear that dark chain of thought. ANBU records were sealed, after all... There was no way the Desert Rose would - COULD - ever learn the complete truth. "In any event, let's get you inside and get someone to tend to those injuries of yours."
[Heads up.] Kyouran growled softly as he sniffed the air. [The Client, Tanaka-sensei, White Pelt, and someone I don't know are coming.]
Before Takahashi could translate to the Jonin, the front door of Mizumiyo Palace was slid aside to reveal "Oni" Inugami, Okito-sensei, Shao Fukamichu, and an older gentleman who looked like the description the Genin had been given of Captain-Commander Kurosaki; Commandant of the Imperial Guard.
The client gestured to the Captain-Commander. "Hyuuga-san, Keigo just informed me that one of your ninja was returning with injures... Is everything okay?"
Miho nodded as she and Takahashi's rock panther mount walked towards the four men so as to not have to shout to each other. "He just got into a bit of a scuffle with some riff-raff down in Kawa City. Nothing to worry about; just part of being a ninja…"
On the face of things, the woman's words were pure vanilla, but to Tanaka and Inugami certain key phrases told an entirely different story. "Bit of a scuffle" meant that the blonde Genin had been ambushed by "riff-raff" - skilled and experienced opponents. "Nothing to worry about" meant that there was a new player - ninja, according to the last half of the statement - in the game and that caution was required.
The silver/white-eyed woman looked at the most versatile of all her normally assigned students and bowed to him slightly to maintain the fiction of Sho's social superiority. "Urashima-dono..?" She said in an unspoken question.
Shao Fukamichu's lip twitched. "Your fellow citizen of the Land of Fire happened to be in my office discussing some minor affairs of state business when Kurosaki-san came in to inform me of the situation. Upon hearing that your compatriot had been injured and - knowing that with the upcoming Convocation, we would soon be low on room space - he has kindly offered to share his personal suite with your ninja while he recovers; rather than making him climb up the stairs to the quarters assigned to your team in the barracks."
'And thereby allowing him to use his medical techniques to heal Takahashi on the sly without anyone being the wiser…' Miho thought to herself, once again surprised by the medic-nin's seemingly precognitive foresight. 'Oh, of course; he must have been in the secret chambers given to him and Hata-san when Kyouran set off the alarms. He must have jumped to the assumption that someone would inform Fukamichu - after all, the Majordomo is to be advised as quickly as possible of such matters - and got there shortly before Yaiba and Keigo did.'
The Jonin bowed once again to her student, but deeper than she had the first time. "We are grateful for your generosity, Urashima-dono."
The normally unemotional medic-nin managed to fake a slight blush. "Ah, yes... Well, it is clear that he took to heart the words I said upon our arrival here at Mizumiyo. While they were intended for the other two members of your team, the fact that he has shown a dedication to duty that brings honor to the Land of Fire. As a member of the Court, I would be remiss to not repay such service to the extent within my power at this time." Sho Inugami said with the noblesse oblige expected of Keitaro Urashima.
"Since the Palace's maintenance staff would surely call for my head on a platter if we allowed that odd creature your ninja is using to carry him beyond these doors, I asked Keigo-san to summon a guard to help carry you inside." Shao announced to explain Okito's presence at this little gathering. "Given Noriyasu's obvious strength, I suspect it will be a simple matter for him to take your ninja inside."
Okito Tanaka/Seta Noriyasu nodded as he descended the steps to the side of his ward. His eyes traced the length of the golem cat as if trying to decide the best way to get the injured ninja off it. "Pretty decent for your first solo try, Takahashi…" The Diamond Turtle complimented under his breath in reference to rock panther as he extended his heavily muscled arms. "We'll have to work at expanding your skills in this area when we get home."
Takahashi nodded as he rolled off the back of the granite cat into the Jonin's arms. "Thank you, Sensei." He muttered as he willed the golem to return from where it came from. The fearsome creation dissolved into clay-like slurry that sank between the marble tiles of the courtyard and disappeared without a trace.
"I bet you have an interesting story to tell, 'Hashi. I'm looking forward to hearing it." Tanaka said as he turned towards the entrance to follow the client and Inugami.
Something about this situation felt somehow familiar to the blonde Genin, but, to the best of the young man's knowledge, Okito-sensei had never needed to carry him before today.
"Yeah, well, I have a feeling I'm going to have PLENTY of time to work on my report while I'm healing. That ninja I had to deal with was either as strong as an ox or had some means of enhancing his strength... He only had a hold of my ankles for a few seconds, but he managed to snap them as easily as instant ramen noodles." Takahashi grimaced. "Worst of all, I'm going to have to listen to Raiden and Haruno bitch about the delay while I heal and the fact their chances of getting home in time for the Chuunin exams just became non-existent."
"Knowing those two, I'd say that you'd normally be right on the money with that guess." Miho Hyuuga said from over Tanaka's right shoulder where she'd fallen into formation for the walk to Inugami's quarters. "But between some new discoveries we made while you were out and the fact that you took on two Genin at the same time, they'll probably cut you some slack." Tanaka threw her a guarded look but said nothing.
Kyouran, who had caught a ride on Miho's left shoulder, mewed. [I know I already said it, but I'm sorry I wasn't of much help to you, Brother.]
The injured young man grinned wanly at his partner as whatever medicine was helping his concussion gave up. "And as I said, Kyouran, I was barely of any use during that fight. I hadn't anticipated they'd have a bruiser like that dude, Kane Suzuki, waiting in the wings. Kicking that door off its hinges to break my nose and give me a concussion in the first seconds of the fight pretty much decided things then and there."
The panther looked thoughtful. [I guess. I still don't like the fact that we are simply going to tolerate their presence.] He growled in evident displeasure at having a competing "pride" in his territory.
'I guess you can take the cat out of the forest...' Takahashi thought with a wan smile. "Only for a little while, buddy. This city is like a great stone jungle, though, Kyouran. They are hunting their prey and we're hunting ours; we just need to stay out of each other's way to keep the peace."
"Speaking of that," Miho chimed in. "Can you tell me where their base is?"
"It's called the Peach Dragon Flower Shoppe, but my sense of direction is pretty much shot at the moment, so I'm not sure where it is beyond being north of here. I pointed the golem at the Palace and let it figure things out…" He looked at his partner. "How about you, Kyouran? Could you retrace your steps on a map?"
[I'm a predator, Pack Brother. We don't get lost while on a hunt.]
"Great, we'll..."
"Do that some other time." Sho Inugami spoke up, dropping the persona of Urashima as they entered the privacy of his guest suite. "Would you put him on the futon over there, Tanaka-sensei?" The male Jonin nodded as he complied, allowing the medic-nin to begin his examination of Takahashi's injuries.
After a few tense moments, Inugami snorted. "Damn... They really messed you up, Takahashi. From the limited treatment I see you've already been given, the ninja - a kunoichi I'd guess - doesn't normally use her healing skills on humans."
"How bad is it?" Okito Tanaka asked like a worrying hen.
Inugami let off a frustrated sigh. "Oh, it's nothing I could fix with about fifteen man-hours of treatment staggered over four or five days: a mild concussion and some superficial cracks to his nose cartilage. The worst damage is to the bone clusters that are his ankles and the most worrisome thing are these bone fragments that are floating like dust and gumming up the works. The only problem is that if I treat him that quickly it will give away the fact that there's more than just one ninja team from Konoha here."
"So what?" Tanaka demanded, asking a question that would be expected of Nakahito or Raiden rather than a veteran Jonin. "It's not like they have any real information on us."
"Actually, they do..." Takahashi grunted as a stray memory fell into place. "The Sand Jonin referred to my Jonin as Hyuuga and her… I only used gender-neutral terms when referring to my Jonin; she already knew we were here. And I inferred that there was no medical ninja here at this time and she didn't react to that lie, so she must think it's just one team here."
Miho Hyuuga placed a hand on her old friend's shoulder, deciding that she needed to tell him who their opponent was now rather than later. "Yaiba, I know you're worried about your student's health - you wouldn't be the same guy I grew up with if you didn't - but if the Desert Rose has a good enough of a connection INSIDE Mizumiyo Palace to know that the leader of the team is a Hyuuga woman, it's probably good enough to tell her that neither 'Hito, Raiden or Takahashi appear to be medic-nin. We can't let her realize there's a second team here."
THAT took the wind out of Okito's sails. "The Desert Rose is HERE?! NOW?!" The Diamond Turtle gasped in horror.
"Enough!" Inugami finally said, interrupting Tanaka's freak out. "As the sole and ranking medical specialist here, I need to extract the powdered bone fragments, set Takahashi's ankles, put them in casts, and deal with his concussion. This Desert Rose, whoever she is, clearly chose to release Panther Boy here, so that's a problem for later. He's not going anywhere anytime soon, so you can discuss this AFTER I work on him." He pointed to the door of his suite. "Out; both of you…"
"Now just a damned minute, Inugami…" Okito started.
Inugami narrowed his eyes warningly at the Jonin, raising a finger threateningly. "Do not make me invoke medical protocol on you, Tanaka-sensei. I don't really know you so I'll do it without a second thought or a first regret of you keep this up. I need to start working on these injuries NOW and you are interfering."
Miho chuckled as Okito's mouth opened and closed several times like a koi gasping. There WAS a medical protocol that allowed a medic ninja to force a superior ninja to stand down and even relieve them of duty if the medic felt necessary… And Inugami had just the right level of self-confidence – despite his youth – to use it if necessary.
She put her hand on her friend's shoulder and gently pulled him from the room. "He's right, Yaiba. Come on, the ninja leader probably owes a drink or two the man who carried her injured student into the palace… I'll fill you in on what happened." Tanaka growled in frustration, but accepted her guidance out of the room.
* * *
Time: 9:50 PM
Motoko Hata sat alone at one of the two chairs built into the monitor station of the security closet that she shared with Sho Inugami. "Princess Reiyuriko" had retired to her private quarters shortly after dinner; the Lord Daimyo's revelation of Kimiko's relationship to the royal family had – as she had sworn to Mizuzaki – re-energized her desire to perform the role of her cousin exactingly. They had practiced building Itou's gracefulness to pull off the role of a proper lady for nearly three hours before mental exhaustion on the part of both kunoichi had informed them both that any further work would have to wait for the morning.
Upon her return to the security closet, the evidence that Inugami – whom had been hidden in the room of his alter-ego Keitaro Urashima to treat Takahashi's complex wounds for the last six hours – had indeed been in the room when Motoko and Kimiko had heard his swearing in the Sento bath was clear. There was a small moving box with a pile of video cassettes and several official-looking binders bearing the seal of the Lord Daimyo that had not been present when she'd left the room this morning.
Assuming that Sho-kun intended to review the documents and share them with her – after all, if they were only for him, he would have left them in Urashima's room instead of here – the swordswoman had indulged her curiosity and began to read the binders about twenty minutes earlier. The one she was currently reading through with great care contained the transcripts and other written records of the investigation into and the eventual exile of Prince Kodansyo wa Kosha for violating the sanctity of Princess Reiyuriko's person while she was bathing in the Imperial family's open-air Onsen near the Blue Wall.
While searching the Princess's suite for any means for her to sneak messages to the outside, Itou had filled Hata in on the conversation that she had missed in the library regarding the ancient scroll and the theories the members of Team 13 and her twin brother had come up with. She wasn't sure what Sho-kun was expecting to find in these documents, but she couldn't wait to ask him and get an update on Takahashi's condition.
According to the documents in the binder, the purpose of the investigation was to determine if the Prince's offense had been an accident or the deliberate act of a pervert. Kodansyo HAD been a guest of the Imperial Family at the time along with his father, Regional Daimyo Kosha – one of Mizuzaki's oldest friends from before the Lord Daimyo's ascension to the Aquamarine Throne – to get some hands-on experience in the role he would one day inherit from his father.
As a guest, Kodansyo was permitted to use the Imperial family's Sento and Onsen so long as Reiyuriko wasn't using them, thus the Imperial Guard needed to determine the cause of the violation. Had it been a genuine accident, Kodansyo would have, in a best case scenario, merely had his guest status revoked for a year or so and, at worst, merely been banned from Mizumiyo Palace when not participating in the Daimyo Convocation or similar events for a period of up to five years.
Due to the sensitivity of the crime, not to mention the social status of those involved, the Guard had taken the better part of a month to make absolutely sure that everything was done right the first time. The Guard's Inquisition Unit scoured through over 600 hours of video surveillance of the 48 hours prior to the incident taken by the 13 cameras monitor the Imperial Family's residential area, witness interviews and so forth to reconstruct Prince Kodansyo's movements.
The search had been complicated by the fact that there were no direct eyewitnesses to Kodansyo's entrance to the Onsen area and Kodansyo himself had no recollection of how he wound up there. The Prince voluntarily submitted to being dosed with truth serum – the highest level of interrogation that could be used upon a member of the Kuge – but all they got was a recollection of walking down an insanely long hallway for what felt like hours until he landed in the pool by the Princess. The hallway he described did not match anything within Mizumiyo Palace's walls.
The investigation was then further complicated by the fact that for the 33 hours leading up to his abrupt appearance in the outdoor bath, Kodansyo did not appear on ANY of the 60 internal cameras on the levels of the Palace he had access to or any of the exterior ones. The lead investigator's notes stated that he suspected that magical interference was involved, but the Sensing Barrier team leader declared that there had been no breaches in the barrier and there were no ninja with permission to be in the Palace at the time of the Prince's violation. With no solid evidence one way or the other, the final decision of whether the actions were accidental or not became the responsibility of Lord Mizuzaki himself.
The transcript of the Imperial Court session where the investigation was reported to Mizuzaki and Prince Kodansyo's fate decided had only one major surprise: an unexpected plea by Reiyuriko herself for leniency. The plea was considered a surprise by the members of the court as it had been the Imperial Princess's own shocked cries that had summoned the maids whom had found Kodansyo in the Onsen area.
Thanks to the early damage the curse that Sho-kun had stopped the progression of, Mizuzaki's judgment had been compromised at the time. The second Reiyuriko's plea ended – without even taking a moment to consider her words – the Lord Daimyo decreed that not only was Kodansyo's violation willful in nature, it was a grievous insult to his daughter and her suitor, Prince Muso.
He admitted that his daughter's plea and his history with Kodansyo's father bought the Prince his life, but no more than that: he was to be exiled from the Land of Rivers for the rest of his natural life.
A sudden, loud CRACK of displaced air erupted a mere meter behind Motoko Hata's ears and the kunoichi – who had been leaning back in the chair – lost her balance. She fell to the floor with a crash as the binder went flying; the reverberating noise left her ears ringing and heart began pounding in equal parts shock and longing as her chakra sense told her the source of the noise.
"Ow... Geez, Sho-kun!" She gasped tersely in a too-loud voice. "You scared me half to death!"
The white-haired medic-nin blinked a few times in bleary-eyed surprise at the orange haired young woman in the blue-green silk nightgown that gave him a very good view of her cleavage from where he stood to where she lay. As if under the impression that he'd been looking at her skin too long, Inugami turned his head slightly to avert his gaze.
For the briefest of seconds, Hata could have sworn that there was a translucent red glow about him that then turned a thick, dark blue and green mixture, but the light faded before she could really dwell on it.
"Sorry about that, Hata-san... I thought you'd still be with our Princess." He yawned, rubbing his forehead. "Figured a teleport up here would be fine..."
She arched an eyebrow at him as the ringing faded. "It's nearly ten at night, Sho-kun..."
Inugami's head rolled slightly in her direction as the illusion hiding the black lock of his hair faded away. "Is it? I seem to have lost two hours somewhere..." He slurred slightly as he began to peel off his Urashima persona's fine-quality outfit, removing the gauzy silk belt.
Motoko felt her cheeks begin to warm. Even though she and Sho had agreed to close their eyes when the other changed, he hadn't acted on that agreement since he typically would change in Urashima's chambers. Either the nightmare that had woken him up had made him stop wanting to keep her at a distance or he was so tired that he didn't care if she looked or not.
"Are you okay, Sho-kun? I didn't see you at dinner and you look half as exhausted as you did after healing Mizuzaki-sama." She asked; her eyes widening as he stripped the aristocrat's shirt off and let the heavy silk fall to the floor.
"I'm fine." He replied with another yawn leaning down to free the string keeping his futon rolled up and out of the way. "Between the poor night's sleep and the complexity of extracting the powdered bones from your teammate's wounds, I feel like I could sleep for a week, but eight hours will make me good as new."
"The staff was abuzz with the news of how he returned to the Palace. Is he okay?"
Inugami yawned and nodded again. "In the long run, he'll be fine. The Suna ninja that caused his injuries is led by a kunoichi that has Tanaka and Miho-sensei worried for some reason. The Sand also appear to have a spy or informer in the Palace, so I'm not allowed to completely heal him at the moment; it would give away the fact that there are more than four ninja currently here." She nodded as he straightened out his futon and blanket. "So I had to put both his feet in casts to immobilize his broken ankles and remove as much of the powdered bone that could cause problems down the roadas I could. He's sleeping off the sedative I gave him to relieve the pain until the swelling eases."
"I'm sure he'll be fine, then." Hata said confidently. "After all, he has you taking care of him. You've always been perfect when I was in need of you."
Sho Inugami's bedtime preparations hesitated for a second as his skin warmed at the kunoichi's compliment before he began to unlace his pants. "So, see anything interesting yet?"
'Not yet...' Motoko's imaginary succubus whispered, enjoying Sho's disrobing. 'But I've got my fingers crossed.'
"Reeehhh?! Interesting? In what kind of way?" Her mind sliding down the gutter her mental embodiment of her libido had greased. The kunoichi turned away from Inugami to hide the deep blush flooding her face.
There was a scraping sound as the medic-nin slid the binder she'd been reading from before his appearance across the floor until it tapped her back. There was a shushing sound and a clatter as he pulled his shoes off. "I assumed you've been reading the exile proceedings since I'd left this in the box after I sped-read it earlier."
'How typical of him...' Good sighed in exasperation. 'Even exhausted he notices everything, but forgets the concept of going into the bathroom to change his clothes.'
'Oh, who's complaining, you prude? I really want to enjoy the Sho!' Naughty demanded, making a play on Inugami's name. 'Boxers or briefs? Commando is too much to hope for, but would definitely be welcome...'
Motoko squirmed as she struggled to put a mental gag in the mouth of her personified libido as she heard the sound of the medic's pants sliding off. "I... Well, I know you won't really know this until after you sleep, but there's one thing about it that confuses me..."
"What might that be, Hata-san?" Inugami asked as the bathhouse door slid open and the wood creaked as he stepped inside.
'Damn it.' Naughty moaned as the swordswoman and her Good side breathed a sigh of relief at the removal of temptation.
The kunoichi rolled over and grabbed the book as the young man she was infatuated with stepped out of the bath area wearing the powder blue lounging pants he normally slept in. "Well, Mizuzaki-sama now knows that his mind was being twisted by the Jujutsu, right?"
"And is mad as a hornet about it, yes. He hopes the curse caster attempts again so his interrogators can find out why."
"Okay, well, in the five days since you began treating him, why haven't I heard anything about him potentially revoking Prince Kodansyo's exile? I mean, this case was as circumstantial as they come and it was his best friend's son. If he hadn't been influenced, there's no WAY he would have exiled the guy." The kunoichi pointed out.
"Ah, but that's the proverbial hornet's nest, Hata-san... The Lord Daimyo cannot afford, politically, to have rumors that he wasn't in full command of his faculties at any time; especially not THIS close to the Fealty Renewal Ceremony." Sho pointed out to the kunoichi as he leaned against the wall. "Not to mention that the Land of Rivers legal code states that even the Lord Daimyo may not reverse a judicial decree he has made without some kind of new evidence that has been uncovered since the original judgment. I'm under the impression it was added to prevent the one who sits in the Aquamarine Throne from being fickle or from abusing their authority."
"Oh… So how do we enable him to reverse his decision?"
Inugami let off a yawning sigh. "The only ways are if we can catch the Genjutsu user who attacked the Lord Daimyo in the act of trying to influence Mizuzaki-sama again and get a confession, get a copy of the contract from the Hidden Village that sent the curse specialist, or find some other proof of a conspiracy against either Kodansyo or the Lord Daimyo. Any one of the three would be sufficient to reverse the Prince's erroneous exile."
"Oh; is THAT all?!" Motoko asked Sho dryly, feeling dismay at the thought of a further delay in returning to Konoha. While the kunoichi wasn't as hyped up about the Chuunin Exams as Raiden was, she had been growing increasingly nervous as the days passed since she and Sho-kun had started sharing sleeping quarters with each other. There had been an intangible tension in the air between them since Hokage-sama announced the particulars of this mission, but it had become suffocatingly thick ever since the accident in the Sento the first night here.
At the same there was an increasing sensation of the gears that were Sho-kun and herself were starting to click into place, allowing an unprecedented connection between the two of them. The blend of tension and connection was both cloyingly uncomfortable and completely liberating at the same time. It had finally even managed to start seeping into the kunoichi's dreams; as the one from this morning involving the older versions of the two of them had proven - even if it HAD been good until the very end.
'If we don't get out of this situation as soon as possible, I'm either going to go crazy and do something that drives him away forever,' Motoko thought grimly to herself, 'OR I'm going throw myself at Sho-kun in the insane hope that doing IT will break the tension... Neither is really an acceptable outcome.'
'But that second option sounds awfully fun...' Naughty giggled. 'And it'll break a LOT more than just the tension.'
The kunoichi's face turned redder than her hair in embarrassment as she realized just where her mind had taken her. She moaned to herself in frustrated annoyance.
Sho Inugami's strong, firm grip landed comfortingly on one of Hata's smooth, half-exposed shoulders as he misunderstood the reason for her moan; assuming it had something to do with his answer. "Hey, don't worry about it…" He said as Motoko felt her very skin tingle at his touch. "Proving his innocence is the burden of Kodansyo and his ninja; not ours. Our only job is to find Reiyuriko-hime and return her to the Palace."
Though his words were meant to comfort Hata from the thought of being stuck in this situation any longer than necessary, it highlighted a rather disturbing thought in the kunoichi's mind. 'How can such a great guy like Sho-kun be so indifferent to the suffering caused to others by the one who attacked Lord Mizuzaki?'
She looked up at Sho Inugami in disbelief. "So are you saying that if we find Kodansyo is with Princess Reiyuriko, you'd turn him - an innocent man - over to the Imperial Guard to suffer the penalties for breaking an exile he should never have been forced into? That seems like a miscarriage of justice."
The medic-nin instantly became defensive, pulling his hand away. "Hey!" Sho snapped, further shocking the young woman who adored him. Never ONCE had he ever raised his voice to her in all the years they'd known each other. "If he was dumb enough to come back with those Sand ninja that Takahashi ran into - assuming that what they told Takahashi about their mission is the truth and he was the one who hired them in the first place - it's not MY fault that that's the consequence of HIS CHOICE to return to Kawa City before clearing his name. It's the law of this nation," He thumbed the middle of his muscular chest, "I'm just a medic-nin; who am I to object to it?" He demanded, before turning away.
Hata's heart sank into utter horror. 'I've seen this side of Sho-kun before, but never directed at me...' Tears began glisten in the corners of her eyes. 'I don't understand... Is the Sho-kun I've loved all these years nothing but an illusion?'
Then a faint, dry voice whispered without speaking as if from a great distance. > Dude, why are you being such an ass to Motoko-chan? <
A loud gasp escaped Hata's lips, sounding like a gasping sob. It was the same voice as the demon in her dream of herself and Sho-kun!
'But that was just a dream... Wasn't it?' Motoko asked herself, feeling confused and weirded out at the same time. 'What... Who is that?'
> See, you went and made her cry! < The voice demanded chastisingly as it misinterpreted her shock. > Explain the rest of your damn viewpoint and stop being an ass! <
Inugami's fist lanced out to strike the wooden wall, causing the kunoichi to startle at the abruptness of the action. 'I thought I told you to shut up when we're near Hata-san. She nearly heard you that first night!' Sho's voice retorted, sounding as distant as the dry voice.
The dry voice sounded annoyed. > And I told YOU that I'd speak up when I'm frustrated with you! You're being a jerk to that angel behind us who loves us. Explain yourself and I'll shut up. <
The kunoichi's eyes tightened in surprise as the medic-nin sighed, bowing his head slightly as if he was conceding the point to the dry voice. 'What's going on...? Am...' Her eyes suddenly widened as an impossible notion struck her. 'Am I hearing Sho-kun's THOUGHTS?!' Her hands came up to her mouth. 'And if I am, does that mean he knows about my feelings for him?!'
"At least that's what a ninja's expected to say..." Inugami finally said aloud, interrupting Hata's consideration of this latest strangeness, as he began to shake his hand; his knuckles throbbing from hitting the wall. "But on the other hand..."
Motoko wiped the tears away, deciding - as she always did - to give him the benefit of the doubt. "On the other hand, what, Sho-kun..?"
"Well..." Inugami prefaced as he turned to face her again. "We can now more or less say that Reiyuriko-hime left Mizumiyo Palace of her own free will; she wasn't kidnapped or coerced by any means we can prove."
Hata nodded, confused and unable to follow his train of thought.
The medic-nin's lips twitched in amusement. "Well, the exact verbiage in the contract for Konoha's services states that we need to find Reiyuriko, return her to the Palace, and capture those RESPONSIBLE for the Princess' disappearance. But that was the mission when it was assumed that the Princess was TAKEN from Mizumiyo Palace. If we can show that the Princess did indeed leave - regardless of whether or not she joined Kodansyo - of her own volition, then he wouldn't responsible; merely the REASON. That being the case, we wouldn't be contractually obligated to turn Kodansyo in; our assigned mission says nothing of conforming to the rules of handling an exile caught in country illegally."
> See, was that so hard? A few more words and you could have avoided this whole mess. Jerk. <
"That's one hell of a loophole there, Sho-kun." The kunoichi said, taking great care to avoid reacting to the mysterious voice's words, but feeling vindicated in reserving judgment. "It's rather gray; morally speaking."
"Medics AND ninja have to learn to be comfortable with morally gray, Hata-san." Inugami pointed out factually. "Medic-nin like myself doubly so... We might not always be HAPPY with what we're called to do in our service to a client, Konoha, or the Land of Fire, but we still HAVE to do it if it's required of us. All we can do is trust that the Hokage will not accept a morally dark mission unless absolutely necessary."
"Like how we should trust you when you harm yourself for the benefit of a mission?" She asked with a playful arch of her eyebrow, eliciting a rueful chuckle from the white-haired young man as he conceded the point. The kunoichi shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to completely do that, Sho-kun... I guess I care too much for happy endings."
The medic-nin's heart throbbed uncomfortably in his chest as if the dry voice's admonition for talking down to her as if she were inferior to him for being the caring soul she was had made him reconsider more than just explaining himself. "I did too, once upon a time, Hata-san...." Sho said, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he mentally prepared himself to let her in.
Silently praying that doing so wouldn't drive her away…
The medic-nin sighed and, sensing something was up, Motoko gave him her undivided attention. "Sometimes I wonder how differently I would be now if the Sho Inugami that always hoped for the happy ending hadn't been killed by that boar when I was eight…"
Motoko Hata blinked in confusion. "But you survived that trial, Sho-kun. You're here, now..." She pointed out, trailing off as she finished the thought internally. 'With me... Opening up to me for the first time in, well, ever...'
"How true..." He agreed as if she'd spoken the thought aloud. "But did I really? Am I the me that I was before is the question. Or am I merely a ship that has been repaired so often to maintain it's appearance that none of the original material remains?"
She felt a blush of embarrassment; hoping that whatever had allowed her to have heard his thoughts - if that's what they were - was not open both ways. THAT would be mortifying beyond words. "Reeehhh? I don't understand..."
The medic-nin sighed again: bitter rage, frustration and wrath swelling in his chest like a necrotic wound. Though he wasn't 'thinking' in a way that allowed whatever had caused her to hear him talk to the dry voice, her natural empathy could feel the hurt roiling off him like a dark red, brown, and black fog.
"Sho Inugami - or rather 'Oni' Inugami - survived the encounter with the boar." He clarified. "The boy I was BEFORE that stinking, hyper-territorial side of pork nearly killed me, however, didn't. THAT Sho Inugami was buried alive under the stigma foisted on me by our classmates because of their irrational insensitivity, until the belief that he's dead and I've taken his place is far more palatable than living under that burden."
"Oh, Sho-kun..." The kunoichi breathed, tears of pity and compassion falling from her gorgeous eyes. "I never realized it was THAT bad; you always seemed so strong." Before either of them realized it, she was on her feet and pulling him into a hug.
Sho Inugami's heart felt like it burst as Motoko's words and actions lanced the mental boil, freeing some the toxic emotional bile that he'd carried within his soul for so long that he'd forgotten that it was something he could rid himself of. The emotional release caused him to slump against her shoulder like a marionette with its strings cut, his strong arms wrapping around her waist to return the hug. Both were so relieved that neither allowed themselves to feel any form of embarrassment of being half-clothed and holding each other so closely in such a state.
She felt wet warmth on her shoulders. 'Tears..?' She wondered, but said nothing. If the medic was crying, he did so without openly sobbing.
After a timeless moment Inugami resumed speaking. "Well... Maybe dead is too strong a word. Maybe comatose is closer; he does manage to claw his way out from under it every so often." He said as he began to see something resembling a bright future for the first time in a LONG time.
"Really..? What allows that to happen?" Motoko asked encouragingly, hoping that it was something she might be able to provide the medic-nin more often.
Inugami began to open his mouth to answer, but then he winced to himself as he suddenly realized what he would say. 'I... I can't tell her! The child I was survived this much almost entirely because of HER. I know Hata-san; if I tell her THAT, she'll bind her bright future to my murky one. THAT would be a travesty of the highest order.'
Luckily for Sho, THAT particular thought also occurred in the part of his mind that Motoko couldn't eavesdrop on.
The medic-nin disengaged from the mutual hug. "I'm not really sure about all of whys, Hata-san." He answered elusively.
'Pushed to hard... Damn.' The kunoichi thought to herself sadly, feeling the urge to sigh in disappointed frustration as she the door to Inugami's heart slammed shut again. "I see..."
To be concluded