Time: 12:13 PM
The traitor spoke to the ninja who had facilitated his anonymous betrayal of Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki. "I've never seen Kosha so livid before!" The man chuckled. "Your services are well worth the risk and cost if could turn Ayanami's ever-faithful mongrel against him so easily..."
The ninja nodded. "All that is left is the final denouement when he cracks in the middle of the Fealty Ceremony this afternoon, then the contract will be complete."
"Yes. A major blunder in public during such an important event will create the opening I need to galvanize the vote of no confidence that will end this farce of a dynasty. And if Kosha joins in, it'll be all the more damning for Aya-tan."
"But before that, we must deal with the payment for services already rendered..." The man pointed out.
The traitor sighed. "Yes, yes, you're right, of course. You have the replica?"
The facilitator for the 5th Dynasty nodded as he reached into his robes. After a few seconds of feeling around for the hidden pocket and its illegal contents, the ninja extracted an oversized River Country signet ring. There were supposed to only be 17 such rings in existence at any given time - one for the Lord Daimyo and his 16 regional Daimyo.
To ensure this, when lordship changed hands from one daimyo to the next, the previous daimyo's ring was melted down and any precious stones were cut into new configurations to prevent anyone from creating "authentic" counterfeits. New gemstones were then cut and the melted metals of the ring were cast into the design chosen by the new daimyo.
Only the Daimyo who commissioned the ring, the Lord Daimyo and Majordomo Fukamichu were permitted to know the exact configuration of stones and metals on the rings. The final assembly of the ring was done by a blind jeweler and delivered to the recipient in secret. Once done, a Daimyo's ring was to never leave their person and used as a stamp for signing all their official documents.
The traitor looked the fake copy of his ring from the ninja whom had laid the curse on Mizuzaki and whose team had caused Kodansyo's exile. "A perfect replica." He reached into his own clothing and pulled out a stamped document and exchanged it and his true ring for the fake. "As per our deal, when I become the Lord Daimyo, your village will receive 5% of the Katabami Mine's annual production for the duration of my rule from the Aquamarine Throne."
The ninja tucked the proof of the traitor's actions into the hidden pocket. "May you live forever then, Lord…"
The traitor raised a warning finger. "Do not speak my name... The walls have ears."
"As my lord wishes; I must return to the Daimyo who hired my village for the Convocation."
* * *
Time: 12:21 PM
Less than four hours since the first of the regional Daimyo began to arrive and ten entourages later, Mizumiyo Palace's corridors were bustling with dozens, hundreds of bodies getting the second-tier elite situated... And there were another five more coming!
Because "Princess Reiyuriko" was remaining in seclusion until the dinner that marked the start of the week-long Convocation, Nakahito Haruno and Raiden Hata's services were not required, leaving the two teen Genin to their own devices. The two young men were currently camped in the dining room, watching the organized chaos of the palace though one of the double sliding doors. Okito Tanaka/Seta Noriyasu was also there, standing guard by the entrance to the dining area to provide directions if necessary.
Nakahito whistled, shaking his head. "Man... What a bloody mess, huh, Raiden?" Haruno asked his friend/sparring partner as he set down one of the two bottles of chilled water he'd taken from the lunch buffet by the male half of the Hata twins.
"No kidding." The red haired ninja agreed, removing the top of the bottle and taking a long drink almost reflexively. With the massive influx of extra bodies and the heat they generated, the temperature in the Palace had risen a few degrees and, as a result, people were beginning to break into a sweat even when sitting. "And I thought the Academy was crazy on Graduation Day! How on earth do they get anything done with all this stuff happening?"
Tanaka/Noriyasu chuckled. "The Lord Daimyo's majordomo and his assistant began planning the Convocation about seven months ago. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with 216 days of prep time."
Raiden snorted. "Yeah. With that much time Hiro Jeitsy might actually be able to develop a battle plan for a D rank mission that wouldn't screw up on him."
"Who is that?" The Diamond Blade of Konoha asked, confused. In this case, he wasn't merely acting in the role of Seta Noriyasu; he honestly did not know. He'd been specifically focused on trying to get Kimiko Itou, Naruto Uzumaki, and Takahashi on his team before the Hokage had shot him down that he hadn't really paid any attention to the other Genin from this year's graduating class.
Nakahito waived his hand. "Just a medic-nin - if you can call someone a ninja when they have no aptitude in combat - that fancies himself as a tactician. His plans are usually pretty good; on paper that is. When the shit hits the fan, though..."
"It collapses like a rice ball made with uncooked rice." Raiden Hata finished. "The guy's had a pampered lifestyle because his mom's apparently someone important in terms of the leadership at the Konoha Hospital."
"Ah." Okito Tanaka said as he finally made the mental connection to the name. The Jeitsy clan was similar to the Inugami family in that they had a long history of producing medic-nins of exceptional quality. Tanaka knew Kikosharu Jeitsy, the Assistant Director of the Jutsu Research & Development Unit, mostly by reputation as it was usually the Director of the R&D unit - Sho Inugami's father, Kurando Inugami - that would have meetings with the Hokage.
But to say that Kikosharu Jeitsy was "apparently someone important" was a gross understatement.
The Jutsu Research & Development unit was technically part of the ANBU operations directorate as the JRD was tasked in studying the corpses of any ninja Konoha captured and learning the biological and magical secrets of the other Hidden Villages to keep Konoha from falling behind in the "arms race."
Kurando and Anastasia Inugami specialized in Genetics, trying to uncover the secrets of the other villages' Kekkei Genkai abilities. Kurando had selected Kikosharu Jeitsy as his 2nd in command because her focus was on Organic Chemistry, studying the medicinal compounds that the other villages might use to enhance their ninja. The JRD's medics also attempted to recreate Ninjutsu the dead ninja might know in an effort to give the ANBU operatives an edge against potential opposition during missions.
Across the way from the dining area, the large double doors leading in from the exterior of the Palace were slid open. "Daimyo Akago of the Thirteenth district, accompanied by his 7 children: Princes Muso, Goshinki, Juromaru, Kageromaro, and Byakuya and Princesses Kanna and Kagura!" The door warder announced as eight members of River Country nobility of varying age ranging from early twenties to about eight or so. Each wore ornate outfit that undoubtedly cost more than both Genin combined could make in a year's worth of missions; maybe even as much as Tanaka made in a year for some of the older members of the sizable family.
Raiden Hata made a sound of savoring something ineffably delicious under his breath as he eyed the two undeniably gorgeous women across the way to make sure the sound wouldn't carry. It was a patently sexist sound that undoubtedly gotten him a through beating by Kimiko Itou (had she been within earshot and out of the character of the crown princess,) his twin sister Motoko, or - most likely - both at the same time.
Not too long ago, Nakahito might have done the same, but with all the unusual things that had happened between him and the women he'd been around since becoming a Genin, while he felt the allure of the two women but had learned to not allow his thoughts to be expressed aloud.
One of Daimyo Akago's two princesses was about the same age of the Crown Princess Kimiko was pretending to be at the moment. She had long silken white tresses that were elegantly coiffed with a pair of white roses pinned into place above where her ears would be if her hair weren't hiding them. The princess wore a seemingly simple white kimono with white overlays and sewn on pearls to give the fabric some textural elements. Because they were made of the same fabric of the main kimono, they were very difficult to make out from a distance, so were clearly meant to entice others into looking at her and then get closer to try and see the details. Combined with her milky white skin that could be mistaken for a deathly pallor had she been wearing clothing with a bit more color to them, it gave the woman an almost ethereal quality.
The other Princess was as different from her sister as the sun was from the moon. She appeared to be only a year or two younger than her white-haired sister, but seemed vibrantly alive. The second princess had girlishly short, jet black hair that was pulled up in the back to keep it off her neckline. The princess had brown eyes that were verging on red and had a pair of earrings fashioned from a quartet of pearls that framed her almost elfish face. She stood out from her sister in that she wore a kimono made with both crimson and lavender dyed silk with a sun yellow obi sash holding it closed.
"Dear god..." Raiden breathed longingly. "Why can't I find THAT in Konoha?" Haruno resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his companion. "I wonder what it would take for me to get her number..."
Nakahito wondered which of the two regional princesses he was referring to as "her" for a brief moment before answering Hata's rhetorical question. "Oh, not much, Raiden... The transformation technique, surgical implantation of something resembling a real personality and a whole lot of lying through your teeth in all likelihood." He replied, getting a slight grin of amusement at needling the Taijutsu-focused ninja. It was one of the few things that he'd learned from watching Sho Inugami and even Haruno had to admit the medic-nin had down to something almost resembling an art form.
The red-haired young man scowled at his brown-haired companion, his voice rising slightly in irritation. "Bite me, 'Hito. I bet you 1000 ryou that I'll have a girl before you do."
"Easy there, tiger." Haruno whispered back, still feeling the allure of the two beautiful women, but - for reasons he couldn't explain - not as heavily as he felt he should. "Just keep your thoughts to yourself and enjoy the scenery; they're nobility and we're commoners, so don't get ideas."
"What about the bet?"
Nakahito sighed; Raiden was obsessed with bets and challenges. "Fine, I'll take the bet; just shut up man."
The oldest of the Princes, a man with a black mane of fashionably long hair, glanced in the direction of the dining room and smiled to himself for a moment before turning to the others and saying something that the two ninja could not hear. The regional Daimyo, who looked rather venerable with short white hair that had a hint of purple, nodded acknowledgement of his eldest son's words. For the briefest of instants - right after the Prince had turned away from his father to walk towards them - Nakahito thought he saw a hint of distaste and annoyance on the Daimyo's face, but the man was out of sight before the Genin could take a second look.
The Prince glanced at the two ninja as he walked by them. Haruno gave a slight nod of respect to the man. Hata did not - he was still staring longingly in the direction of the Prince's sisters, despite the fact they had moved out of eyeshot along with their father. The black-haired nobleman paused for the briefest of instants to look at the brightly haired young man as a sort of wry, secretive smile crossed the Prince's lips before he continued towards the buffet line. Feeling intrigued by the Prince's reaction to the fact that Raiden was practically drooling over his two sisters (something Haruno would have bashed Hata's face in for if he had had a sister, that is,) Nakahito turned to observe the man.
As he did so, he poked Raiden's arm to snap him out of his daze.
The red-haired Genin blinked and glanced at Nakahito. "What is it now?"
Haruno passed Hata a napkin. "Any more and Mizumiyo Palace will have a moat INSIDE instead of out. It's embarrassing and you're lucky the Prince didn't punch you." The fighter grimaced over walking into that one and sighed as he stopped mooning over the unobtainable.
As the Prince reached the dining line, the three maids that were in the process of bringing out more food bowed respectfully. "Konichiwa, Muso-sama!" One of the three women breathed excitedly, looking at him much as Raiden Hata had been looking at the man's sisters. The other two women smiled warmly at their friend's infatuation with the regional Prince. "How may I serve you today?"
"The trip south was rather long and dull, Kikyo-chan," The Prince sighed in a mock long-suffering manner. "On the plus side, father arranged for three carriages this trip instead of the usual two, so we had a bit more space than usual, but I find myself rather... thirsty. Would you be so kind as to get a bottle of umeshu, please? You know the kind I like." The man said, winking at her. "And maybe... a pair of glasses, too?"
Kikyo blushed fetchingly as she heard the man's inferred question. The other two women smiled knowingly at their co-worker, who had started looking around nervously. "Muso-kun! What if one of your peers - or worse, your father - sees us? I mean, you're next in line as the 13th district Daimyo, it would be such a scandal for you..." She protested, worriedly.
Muso shrugged, clearly not really concerned. "Why? A few generations ago, my family was no different than yours. Not to mention that there's nothing in the ethics code that prohibits us sharing each other's company. Sure, if you were a servant in my father's mansion, then it would be, but you're not." The man's eyebrows wiggled. "And whoever said we'd be drinking in public? Not to mention the fact that I haven't been to Mizumiyo Palace in several months since Reiyuriko and I decided to end our courtship; I thought we might find a quiet place where we could get... reacquainted."
Now the two female spectators broke into embarrassed blushes at the man's innuendo. The jaws of both Nakahito Haruno and Raiden Hata dropped as Kikyo's own blush increased even as she ducked into the kitchen with an "OH!" of excited anticipation.
By the entrance to the room, a grin of admiration crossed Okito Tanaka's lips as he made a mental note of the Prince's technique. It would be pushing the playful flirtation line he and Miho had set by mutual unspoken agreement, but it would be a greater crime not to give it a try.
"Damn..." Raiden muttered; half impressed/half disgusted. "How the hell can it be THAT easy?" Nakahito nodded in silent agreement.
Across the room, Prince Muso - whom Raiden would have lost a bet in believing he couldn't POSSIBLY hear what the Genin had said - grinned at him. "Determination, time and effort, boys... You can accomplish anything if you sink enough of those into whatever you're working towards. Fame, money and power can help, but for it to be genuine, you have to invest the first three as well."
Before either of the Konoha Genin could recover from their surprise enough to respond to Muso's words, Kikyo emerged from the back with a dark glass bottle and a pair of crystalline-looking goblets, which the prince accepted from the woman. "So?" He asked, curiously.
"They can manage without me for an hour or two, but then I need to get back to help with the dinner preparations." She answered, starting to reach for his arm, but stopping short. "There won't be many places where we could enjoy our... drink at the moment, though, Muso-kun."
The Prince smiled to his "unofficial" girlfriend. "Hoshi Fugato owes me a few favors. We can probably steal his private sitting room." He replied as the two of them began moving to the exit. Muso leaned down to whisper something in Raiden's ear that Nakahito was unable to hear. Whatever the black-haired man said caused Hata's jaw to drop open as Prince Muso continued without so much as breaking his stride. The stunned Genin stared at the older man's back as the two lovers disappeared around the corner.
His curiosity aroused, Haruno looked at Hata. "Rai, what did he say?" The Genin in red and black asked. The fighter in the yellow, green and gray jumpsuit had a sort of bemused/oblivious grin on his face. Nakahito sighed and threw the cap of his water bottle at Raiden's forehead like a small plastic bullet.
"Oww!" Raiden grunted as he blinked and rubbed his forehead in surprise. The cap left a slight discoloration just above Hata's eyebrow from the force of the hit. "What?!"
"What did he SAY?" Haruno repeated.
The male Hata coughed, feeling slightly embarrassed. "That guy has a pair of big brass ones, 'Hito." The brown-haired Genin's forehead scrunched in confusion. "He said, 'My sister Kanna is interested in refined men, but Kagura's a free spirited party girl. Good luck.' The guy practically gave me a cheat code to improve my chances of impressing his sisters..." He gave Haruno a queasy look. "Do you know how many pieces Momo would dice me into if I tried pulling something like that and she found out?"
"Probably nearly as badly as Kimiko would mangle me if I was the one giving the hint about her." Nakahito agreed. "So what are you going to do?"
Raiden gave the other a toothy grin. "Well, I'd be an idiot not to take the guy's advice."
"You'd be an idiot TO take his advice."
Hata shrugged. "Perhaps, but since we're only here for a little while, I might as well practice. Who knows, maybe I'll win our little bet." He rose to his feet and walked away, whistling a tune of victory.
Nakahito sighed, rolling his eyes as he stood up to follow. As he walked past a smirking Okito Tanaka, he whispered. "You realize this is going to go horribly, horribly wrong, right?"
Tanaka nodded with an amused grin. Raiden Hata was almost painfully simple at times that you had the choice of being amused or being on the verge of killing him. "Yep. On the plus side, though, if he lives, he'll learn."
"Yeah, right... And Sho Inugami is going to be an optimist by the New Year, too." Haruno replied sarcastically as he followed after Raiden.
'Well, stranger things have happened...' Okito Tanaka/Seta Noriyasu thought silently to himself. 'Can't think of what, but I know they have...'
* * *
Time: 2:08 PM
"Gaaah..." Takahashi sighed as he pulled his left leg onto his right to try massaging out the pins and needles sensation that felt like a thousand mosquitoes were buried under his skin. The pain was a lingering reminder of his encounter with the Sunagakure ninja a few days earlier. And while he understood Oni Inugami's reasoning against completely healing the injuries to his ankles - heck, Takahashi even agreed with it - times like this made it extremely frustrating.
The pain swelled and ebbed at random intervals, but it seemed to be worse whenever Takahashi felt confined, as he did now; he and Kyouran had been stuck in the hidden command post for nearly four hours now. "I wonder how Inugami at Motoko-san can stand being in here for any length of time... I mean, there's nothing to look at except whatever's on the cameras."
Kyouran the panther cub was still exploring the chamber from the floor level. [Honor brother? Have Motoko and White Pelt been sleeping in this unusual cave since we arrived?] The feline purred questioningly as he took a number of slow, deep inhalations from the futon bed across from the desk that Takahashi sat at.
"That was the plan as I understand it." The blonde Genin agreed. "Since their task on this mission is to help Itou-san remain in character as Princess Reiyuriko whenever necessary, there's always the chance something may happen at night. Since there may be no reasonable excuse for them to be nearby, they need to remain here at night; available at a moment's notice if necessary. After all, a momentary slip by Itou-san is all that would be necessary to break this mission."
[I see.] The panther replied as he made a quick dash to the bedding by the desk and its dozen and a half computer monitors. He made another set of deep breaths before growling in surprise. [How very curious...]
There was a brief transmission across the Mizumiyo Palace's security radio that drew Takahashi's attention to the video monitors as the fourteenth of the sixteen regional daimyo stepped out of his carriage. "Two to go; the ones from the 8th and 16th prefectures." The voice said over the radio, naming the two states that were at the southern end of the Land of Rivers. "ETA is 2 hours from the last escort patrol's report."
"The end is in sight, buddy..." Takahashi sighed in relief as the pain faded. He set his foot down and swiveled around to look at his partner. "What's curious, Kyouran?"
The panther's tail twitched in the direction of the closet. [That is Motoko's sleeping area over there - it is where her scent - and her scent alone - is the strongest.]
"Okay... And..?"
[Then by logical assumption, this place belongs to White Pelt and only his scent should be here.]
Takahashi nodded. "With you so far..." Kyouran's ears perked for a brief instant - as if hearing something nearly inaudible - but he didn't respond. "Kyouran..?"
[Sorry; thought I heard something for a moment there.] The panther answered. [What I find curious is that in addition to White Pelt, I smell Motoko Hata over here as well.]
"So? Maybe Motoko tripped on something and landed on his bed. All these cables running around here are practically begging for something like that to happen."
Kyouran shook his head in negation. [I do not believe so. If that were the case, her scent would not linger here; she would have been on his futon for several hours to leave so strong an odor trail. Not to mention the fact that their distinctive scents are intertwined as if they were rolling around in extremely close proximity to each other.] Takahashi's face began to warm in embarrassment, but his partner failed to notice. [The scents are also tinted with joy, embarrassment, and more than just a little bit of desire. I have smelled this mixture before, usually around the sleeping pallets where humans have recently mated, but I do not detect the mating scents. This is what confuses me.]
The warmth in Takahashi's cheeks became a solid flush of embarrassment as the irresistible, incomprehensible thought of his friend and teammate Motoko Hata being... intimate with the likes of a jerk like Inugami jumped to the front of his mind.
"Gyaaa... DAMN IT, Kyouran!" He shouted in frustration. "I could have lived the rest of my life without the mental image of Oni and Motoko..." He felt bile flood to the back of his throat. "Look, it's their lives and their choices, now stop invading the privacy of their... den."
[Privacy...] The cat's tail twitched, puzzled. [You have used that word before, but I still don't understand it.]
"Tell me about it!" The exasperated Genin growled. "Like I said before, privacy is a human custom we give one another during those times we are engaged in the activities that require us to reveal what our clothing hides." The cat began to growl a counter, but Takahashi cut him short. "And, yes, I realize that you can ignore the information that your sense of smell picks up about as easily as you could ignore movement in the jungle when tailing a dangerous foe. But from now on, please don't mention it when you smell things like this."
[Oh, like when I smelled blood from Ino and her friend Pink Hair at the same time when neither were injured.] Kyouran replied in understanding.
"Gyaaa! Kyouran! NOT HELPING!" Takahashi cried, covering his eyes as he remembered when Kyouran discovered that, like panthers, human females could go into heat, but differently. "I swear, now you're doing that on purpose!"
[I'm sorry to distress you, Pack Brother, but you ARE supposed to be teaching me things like this.] The panther pointed out, a slight hint of an apology in his tone.
The Genin sighed as he remembered the oath he swore to Ryoushi and Kyoubou when they agreed to allow him to become Kyouran's Neko-nin trainer. "You're right... But I swear to the Kami that if you're asking me these questions just to watch me squirm, I'm giving you a BATH."
The panther put on his best kittenish "Who, me?" face - one of the first tricks the young but canny feline had learned. [I would NEVER...]
"If you thought you'd get caught." Takahashi finished. "Don't even try to con me; I know you better than that, Kyouran."
[True, but I'd like to see you prove it.] Kyouran mewed, his tail twitching in silent feline amusement.
The blonde Genin sighed. "All right, all right; I guess I'm stuck with it. Go ahead and ask your question."
[Why would Motoko climb into White Hair's bed while he was in it if mating was not her intention? Is it some kind of human custom that I do not know about?]
Takahashi was silent for a few moments as he tried to imagine what might be going through Motoko's mind. "I can't really say WHY they'd be sleeping in the same bed, Kyouran. I mean sure, Motoko-san and Oni - like myself - may be physically mature enough to mate, but, like I said last week when you told me that she's got a thing for him but you couldn't tell if he felt the same for her, humans need to be emotionally mature to handle the responsibilities of having sex. Now can we change the subject before...?"
"Before I return?" Sho Inugami growled impressively as he stormed through the light-dampening shades that hid the secret room's entrance, his hair billowing about in a chill wind that was emanating from the ninja's very being. The medic-nin's eyes were blazing with rage and the air began to crackle with his murderous intent, causing Kyouran's fur to stand on end. "Before I get pissed off enough to decide to kill you both?! You're both too fucking late for that!"
"I-Inugami-san, I..." Takahashi started, rising to his feet in an attempt to calm Sho down even as red began to cloud the sclera of the white-haired ninja's eyes. The scarred Genin realized that Kyouran must have heard Inugami opening the hidden room's door, but the medic-nin had masked his presence.
Sho's hand snapped forward in a blow that would have easily crushed the blonde's trachea, but at the last instant stopped short of actually making contact with Takahashi's neck. The shock of not even being able to sense the impending attack - let alone react in time to dodge a potentially killing blow - sent a chill down the Neko-nin trainer's spine. Takahashi took an unconscious step back and was startled when he fell back into his chair.
Kyouran, feeling no less frightened than his pack brother, edged forward, intending to attack the medic-nin - much as he had Amaya Satou - to defend his partner. As he pounced, however, Sho made a rapid-fire set of seals and a cat-sized tornado caught the panther in mid-air, spinning him head over tail before dumping him in Takahashi's lap with jarring force. As Kyouran had already extended his claws, they sank into Takahashi's legs uncomfortably close to his groin. "Oww!"
[Sorry, Honor Brother...] Kyouran mewed queasily as he retracted his claws. [I think I'm going to be sick...]
"If we live long enough, buddy, I might just join you..."
Inugami's lips curled in contempt for the two fellow ninja he had just spared. "I've been listening to you discuss my personal matters with that fuzzy bastard you call a partner for the better part of five minutes now."
Takahashi's eyes widened. "You understand Feline?"
"I've spent enough time around you, Kiba and your partners to pick up the basics." The medic said as the whites of his eyes turned almost completely red. "You would have done better to track down Ryoushi in the dead of the night and flick his gonads with a wet towel than to mettle in my personal business." The medic-nin seethed, his voice taking on a hissing tone as he struggled to keep rein on his rage at Takahashi and Kyouran's delving into his privacy without the medic's permission.
Of Sho Inugami's three taboos, doing so was an ALMOST unforgivable action.
The fact that it impacted Motoko Hata's privacy as well removed the "almost" from the equation.
'Oh, man...' Takahashi thought to himself as a chill sweat of fear trickled down his spine. 'If this is anything remotely similar to the change I go through when I go berserk, no wonder everyone gets worried when I do... Raiden said Oni was a better fighter than anyone imagined, but I've never seen ANYONE this fast! I mean, he couldn't even LOOK at Kyouran, but he countered the impending attack at the same time.
Sho's hands slammed down, pinning Takahashi's arms painfully to those the chair and snapping him out of his reverie. "Now listen to me and listen well, because this is your first, last and ONLY warning. If either of you so much as BREATHE a syllable of any of this with someone else, when I learn about it - and you KNOW I will - there will be a toss-up whether it's Hata-san or I that leave pieces of you in so many trash bins that they could never put you back together in a thousand years!" The medic paused, his green irises floating in a sea of blood. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!!!" He bellowed.
"H-Hai, Inugami-san!" The blonde Genin agreed as Kyouran let of a still unhealthy-sounding mew of terrified agreement.
The wind specialist's hands released those of the earth jutsu user's and unleashed another rapid-fire set of hand seals. Once finished, Inugami's splayed left hand latched onto Takahashi's skull, squeezing with a grip that sent arcs of pain through the blonde Genin's eyes as he was pulled to his feet. His right hand grabbed Kyouran by the scruff of the neck.
There was an abrupt feeling of free-fall as the Nidaime Hokage's Flying Thunder God technique bent the barriers of space and time and deposited the three ninja into Keitaro Urashima's suite.
The second the jutsu was complete, Sho Inugami released his hold on Takahashi's skull. Since the other Genin was not fully on his feet, he fell onto his tailbone with bruising force. "Yeouch!" He grunted.
"Now, before I do something you won't live to regret," The medic-nin ordered balefully, "Get... OUT!"
Inugami turned away, feeling a need to vent his rage physically and grabbed one of the metal floor lamps. As he gripped the piece of rolled metal, there was a high pitched whine of stressed metal as his hands began to crush the pole with neck-snapping force. But instead of easing his ire, as the medic had been hoping for, it only fueled it more; the victory coming too easily.
Kyouran's fur stood on it end - had he been human, he would have turned whiter than rice on a paper plate in a snowstorm. [Pack Brother, that disturbing scent I've picked up from White Pelt before is getting even stronger; it's even more sickening now than it's ever been. We have to get out of here... NOW!]
"Agreed." Takahashi whispered as he scrambled to his feet, half running and half crawling his way to the suite's door.
Reaching the door, he threw it open and stumbled out. As he did so, the Genin took a body blow from his right as someone who'd been moving at a brisk pace ran into him. As the two of them fell to the floor, there was a pair of feminine giggles as Takahashi's eyesight was blocked by and his face buried in an all-too familiar cleavage.
Takahashi had to resist the urge to grab the bridge of his nose in a gesture of frustration he'd learned from watching Iruka-sensei trying to deal with Uzumaki; mainly because he was not going to run the risk of grabbing one of Amaya Satou's breasts accidentally.
'Ahhhh!' The blonde young man screamed silently. 'What did I do to deserve this? First Kyouran, then Oni, and now that crazy Sand slut?!'
"Stang, Maya-chan," One of the girlish voices giggled. "I know that being on a mission cuts into our chances to get laid, but I've never been so hard up that I jumped a random guy in a palace before."
The lithe, sexy body of Takahashi's former foe writhed slightly as she tried to get a rise out of the man she'd pinned. She hadn't gotten a close look at the Leaf Genin, who was the last person she would even remotely consider doing anything that could result in giving him pleasure, but it was a reflex that was ingrained in a distraction-specialist kunoichi during their training to make use of every opportunity - both the deliberate and the accidental - to entice and ensnare a man into one's whims.
"That's not funny, Ama-chan. He's not moving and these are Keitaro Urashima's quarters!" Amaya's voice echoed through Takahashi's skull, her two impressive endowments conveying the sound waves through his face. "If this is Urashima-sama, do you have any clue how embarrassing this would be for me if I've hurt him? Stop laughing and help me up!"
The busty kunoichi's slight weight disappeared from the Leaf Genin's body as the two still-giggling women helped Amaya Satou up. Takahashi could see that Satou was slightly disheveled after the tumble, but seemed none the worse for wear. The two women had the same kind of almost unnatural beauty as the illusionist that Kyouran had scratched the week before, but one was blonde and the other had blue-green hair; all three were wearing their Sunagakure headbands openly.
The kunoichi bowed deeply, giving the blonde young man a brief glimpse of the top of the slightly older young woman's self-proclaimed "perfect" breasts. "I am so, so sorry, Urashi-" Her voice cut off as she rose from the bow and she saw Takahashi on the floor.
[This isn't going to end well, Pack Brother...] Kyouran mewed from a nearby chair in the communal living room area. This startled the woman in the black and pink floral kimono, but caused the other two to coo in excitement at the cute "kitty cat" (as the one with bluish hair breathed.)
[No kidding, Kyouran.] He grumbled in Feline.
"YOU!" Amaya Satou shouted scathingly with a shrill screech of utter rage as her mind processed the sight of the Leaf ninja.
Takahashi raised his hands in a defensive peace gesture, just in case the brunette decided to take a swing at him. "Now, Amaya," He began as she began to slowly storm towards him, "It was nothing PERSONAL, I swear!" He glanced worriedly at Inugami's quarters, with its still open door. "Not to mention this is the wrong place to..."
"I don't give a good God damn, you son of a bitch!" The diva spat at the Earth jutsu specialist. "First, you grossly insult me by calling me..." Her voice faltered for a moment. "Obasan and then drive that kunai into my heart a little deeper by saying you thought I was older than Kari-sensei! Not to mention the fact that you then sic that damn black tiger," Kyouran growled at the insult, "on me, splitting my face and nearly RUINING my looks!"
The blonde and the blue-haired Satou kunoichi were no longer laughing at this point. "A mere man did all that to you, Amaya?" Asuna Satou, the eldest of the three kunoichi - the one with the turquoise and emerald hair - gasped in utter disbelief. "And you haven't banished him to the dark places of his own mind yet?"
"I can't!" Amaya growled in absolute frustration. "Neither my Genjutsu nor our Kekkei Genkai have an effect on him! He didn't as much as TWITCH when I unleashed Desire or Fear at the maximum levels possible from less than two meters!" The jaws of the other two women dropped in utter disbelief. "I actually needed to call on Kane for help to subdue him!"
She pulled her leg back, fully intending to kick the Leaf Genin in the crotch, as she'd meant to after his humiliation of her pride before Kyouran had interfered.
Before she could do so, however, there was a horrendously loud shriek of shearing metal from the suite of Keitaro Urashima, followed by the sound of shattering glass mixed with the clang of metal hitting the wooden floor and a loud POP of displacing air. The unexpected noise startled the Sand kunoichi and Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that the medic-nin had teleported away.
If the noise of Amaya Satou's outrage hadn't been enough to cause people to come running, then the sounds of Sho Inugami's expressed "inrage" - ironically both directed at Takahashi and Kyouran - did.
Three of the six doors in the Imperial Family's quarters opened simultaneously: Kari, the Desert Rose, emerged from Daimyo Kosha's room to deal with her shrieking Genin. Nakahito Haruno and Raiden Hata emerged from the library about to go to work in the garden per "Princess Reiyuriko's" orders. Finally, from the double doors that lead to the Imperial Family's quarters, Miho Hyuuga - who'd been discussing things with Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki - and Motoko Hata - obeying Kimiko's wish to find out what all the noise was about - stepped into the room.
It took the Sand Village assassin less than a heartbeat to see, analyze, and respond to the situation. "Satou, freeze!" Kari barked an order that sent a quiver of fear up Amaya's spine and made both Amara and Asuna blink in surprise. Nakahito and Raiden zipped around the room to Takahashi's side to help him up as the Desert Rose began to storm towards the fiery-tempered diva. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! We agreed to a temporary peace with Konoha, remember? Is your so-called pride worth starting a fight that would get you ejected from the Palace?"
Once again the blonde and blue/green-haired Satou kunoichi giggled at their clan cousin being called out on the carpet. The Jonin's icy cold stare impaled both of them instantly. "What the hell are you two laughing at? Don't you even dare THINK for an instant that you two are not on my shit list at the moment!"
"But we didn't do anything wrong, sensei!" Amara protested.
Kari-sensei's mask distorted in contempt for the blonde that reminded her all too much of the woman who had tried to steal Koga from her. "You didn't DO anything RIGHT, either, Satou! Your LAST Jonin had a very loose concept of words like 'right' or 'appropriate' and might have let you get away with things like this. You will find that I am nowhere NEAR as lenient with your behavior as Larissa Satou was. You two are Amaya's seniors by age, clan status, and field experience: YOU should have stopped this before it became a scene!"
By this time, Miho Hyuuga had moved up to join the three young men currently under the Jonin's command, while Motoko stayed by the door to keep out of ninja matters - as a maid should. The other two had gotten Takahashi to his feet and were watching the four Sand village kunoichi uncertainly; although it was clear that Haruno and the male Hata were intrigued by the female Genin from the opposing village.
"Takahashi?" She whispered to the blonde Genin as the Desert Rose continued to verbally browbeat the three Satou kunoichi. "Are you okay?"
Takahashi cocked his head towards the Jonin, not willing to risk taking his eyes off Amaya Satou - who in his mind had proven to be rather unstable - just in case she decided to completely flip out and rush him. "Yeah, I'm fine, Hyuuga-sensei. The one in the black and pink kimono is the illusionist I told you about in my incident report." He whispered back to keep from drawing attention to him from Kari. "She was more interested in being mad than actually starting a fight with me."
The white-eyed Jonin nodded. "Extremely vain; got it." She glanced at the four – including Kyouran – junior ninja with her. "Why don't you four go into Keitaro Urashima's room for a few minutes and let me handle this."
A chill sweat of utter terror poured down Takahashi's spine and he glanced nervously in the direction of Sho's guest suite. Through the open door, the Neko-nin trainer could see that the metal lamp pole that the medic-nin had been gripping a few minutes earlier that been cut in half, crimped at one end as if severed by a blade of some kind. The upper half of the lamp had been crumpled; smashed into the floor as Inugami had taken out his frustration.
And if that weren't frightening enough, there were also four small rings - also with crimped edges - lying on the floor by the base of the lamp.
The blonde young man had a sudden mental image flash in his mind. 'It's like his fingers became insanely sharp and his grip cut through the metal as if it were putty...'
He coughed. "Um... Sensei? I actually think that it's SAFER out here at the moment that it would be in Urashima-dono's quarters. I'm afraid Kyouran and I did something that made him rather mad; we were leaving the room - as he ordered - when we ran into the Sunagakure kunoichi."
Nakahito looked into the open door. "Holy shit... Uh, Sensei?" He nodded to the mess Sho had left behind. "I think I'm going to agree with Takahashi on this one; I've seen Urashima-dono angry before, but I've never seen him destroy something because it before."
Miho Hyuuga took a glance as well, her mouth falling open in disbelief. "What did..?" Takahashi's eyes widened in utter horror and he shook his head, absolutely refusing to answer the Jonin's question. "Did he threaten you?" She asked; concerned that maybe her opinion of Sho Inugami had been overrated.
Takahashi's eyes flickered unconsciously towards Motoko Hata for a brief instant and a hint of a blush colored his cheeks. "Technically it's only a threat if there's no intent to follow through on it, Sensei. In this case, I think calling it a PROMISE might be a better choice…" He glanced in embarrassment at Motoko again. "And I can't say that he wouldn't be right to do so..."
The Jonin's flashed for an instant as she read Takahashi's body language: nervousness, shock, amazement - and was that a hint of envy?
'What could have possibly happened in the last few hours?' She wondered to herself. 'This morning they were getting along as well... Well, as well as Sho gets along with anyone, I suppose. The only thing that's changed is that Takahashi was in the room Sho and Motoko Hata have been sharing with each other. What could..?'
A memory of Motoko Hata's outburst from earlier today flashed to Miho Hyuuga's mind. 'Something must have happened between Hata and Inugami in that hidden room of theirs; something that left some kind of traces that Kyouran or Takahashi found unintentionally...' Her cheeks colored as her mind made the most logical leap. 'Oh, my God! Could they... Did they have...?'
Miho turned and looked over to where Motoko Hata was still standing in silent observation. The red-haired young woman seemed to sense the older woman's look - maybe even her though process - and she blushed slightly as her emerald-green eyes - filled with a tentative pride - looked unflinchingly into Hyuuga's silver-white ones.
The Jonin could see embarrassment and ambivalence in her body language, but no sign of the kind of joy or satisfaction that sex between the swordswoman and the medic-nin that she loved should have generated... After all, even IF the physical experience had been less than enjoyable, she would still be emotionally ecstatic that Sho had admitted his true feelings for her.
'Okay, so it hasn't gone THAT far yet...' The woman realized. 'But it clearly came uncomfortably close for the both of them; bringing them together and pulling them apart at the same time. After all, Sho-san is trying to keep Motoko - actually everyone for that matter - at arm's length for whatever reason, but at the same time he WANTS to let her in; something that frightens him to his very core.'
She pondered further. 'What was it Motoko accidentally said earlier? Something about getting Sho getting help after she did, wasn't it? Given Sho's private and protective nature, he must have promised her that he wouldn't discuss it until after Hata herself was willing to tell others. Once Takahashi found out about... Whatever it is that happened, Sho took steps to get Takahashi and Kyouran to keep Sho's vow of silence to allow Motoko the time she needs to cope.'
The Jonin smiled to herself. 'It's rather heavy handed of him, but THAT is actually in line with everything that I've come to know about Sho Inugami. I have to make the time to pull Hata-san aside and ask her how she's holding up in a big sister kind of way; see if I can get her to open up to me before it ruins both his and her morale - or whatever chances they might have for a future relationship.'
By this point, Kari had sufficiently vented her frustration at the three kunoichi under her command and turned her attention to the team from Konoha. "It should have never have had to come to this and you have my assurance that it will NOT happen again, Miho Hyuuga-san." Her icy blue eyes bored into Amaya Satou. "Right?"
The seductress bowed her head. "Hai, Sensei..."
Miho Hyuuga felt surprised that the assassin knew her by name and relief in that there was no sign of recognition in the Desert Rose's eyes. That meant one of two things: if Kari were aware it had been a Konoha ANBU team that had accidentally killed her lover when trying to eliminate her, she was NOT aware Miho had been one of the two involved. That or she didn't care - something that Miho adamantly refused to believe would be possible.
The white-eyed Jonin nodded to her Sand Village counterpart. "That will be more than acceptable, Desert Rose-san."
The masked kunoichi turned away without acknowledging Miho's words. "Come along, Satou, Satou, and Satou. We have to make a trip back down to the city to complete our preparations for the Gala tomorrow evening." She announced before marching off, the trio of cowed kunoichi in tow.
After the four Sand women were out of sight, Raiden's jaw dropped open. "Holy shit!" He nudged Takahashi. "You dog; why didn't you tell me that the ninja that caught you were so drop-dead gorgeous? Trying to keep them to yourself?"
The blonde young man sighed and rolled his eyes. "For starters, I never saw the blonde or the green-haired one before today. Secondly, the three women the masked one called 'Satou' can use pheromones to alter your very perception of reality; so who's to say that your opinion of them is your own?"
Raiden Hata shrugged. "Dude, who CARES? I mean, my God, I would be more than glad to..." His lascivious words were cut off as his older sister - who had begun moving towards the four as soon as the Sand ninja were gone - slapped him on the back of his head. "Oww... Motoko!"
"Don't 'Motoko' me you cretin!" His sister replied, jabbing him in the ribs. "I'm Naru Narusegawa and you, sir, are a sorry excuse for something that will one day be a man! Objectifying women... Being willing to sell yourself to one of those sluttish-looking bitches for something as paltry as sex. Didn't your parents do a better job of raising you than THAT?!" She demanded.
"Yes, ma'am..." Raiden sighed, knowing that arguing with her would only upset her further.
Miho Hyuuga took advantage of Motoko's frustration with her brother's brazen words to step over to the entrance to Keitaro's room and slide the door closed before the younger woman could see the mess Inugami had left in his room. Knowing the lengths that the medic-nin had gone to keep his word might impress the love-stricken girl, but it could also upset the tender-hearted young woman to know that Sho was willing to resort to violence for her.
The Jonin coughed to draw attention to herself. "Narusegawa-san makes an excellent point, Raiden. You must never take ANYTHING at face value when dealing with another ninja; doubly so when that ninja is a Genjutsu specialist. Understood? You should also learn to control your tongue; especially when around others of the same gender that you are speaking so derogatorily about."
Raiden Hata's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Yes, Sensei. Sorry, Sensei."
The kunoichi's wine-colored lips twisted up slightly. "Well, it's not ENTIRELY your fault; after all, Yaiba-kun was your primary instructor. Just keep in mind, though, I let Tanaka-sensei get away with those absurd pick-up lines of his only because I grew up with him and I know that his words are merely playful banter. You probably shouldn't follow his example all the time." She glanced at Nakahito. "Either of you."
Haruno smiled at her. "I'm pretty sure I've learned that lesson already, Sensei."
"Really?" Hyuuga asked; a playful lilt to her voice. "Then why are you drooling? You're just lucky Itou-san isn't here to see it..."
"Oh, man..." He groaned as brought his hand to his mouth. As he did so, he stopped as he felt nothing but dry skin. "Wait a second..." The older kunoichi giggled, followed shortly by the younger one. "Miho-sensei!" He protested. "That's not funny!"
"I'm sorry, 'Hito." The purple-clad woman apologized through peals of laughter. "But you were almost as slack-jawed as Raiden was; I couldn't help it." She sobered up. "But my point is that just because you know better, an illusionist - especially seduction specialists like those three appear to have been - can use any opening you create to their advantage." Miho Hyuuga sighed. "It looks like we're going to be in for an interesting week."
"To say the least." Takahashi agreed fervently.
* * *
To be concluded