Date: May 3rd, 13 years following the Kyuubi's attack
Days since Teams 11 & 13 reached Mizumiyo Palace: 15
Time: 8:20 PM
Sho Inugami and Motoko Hata sat in the security closet as Kimiko Itou, disguised as her maternal first cousin, began to dance with Prince Muso wa Akago. The two were cuddling close and, between giving information to the others, had been discussing everything that had happened since the trip had begun.
Sho started by officially introducing – and apologizing for – Imaguni Ohs; the two sides explaining to the best of their understanding what he was. Ohs made Motoko slightly uncomfortable, but as what he represented was clarified, that discomfort eased without completely fading.
The two ninja then went back and forth, recounting the dream that had been the source of inspiration for Mitsune Konno's ring, confirming that – save for slight differences in perspective – the dream had been identical! Motoko revealed that Mizuzaki had set her up with some of his finest jewelers to make the ring and other accoutrements for the Mitsune disguise.
Motoko had then begun to explain her encounter with the third – and seemingly final – fragment of Sho's psyche and how it had explained this psychic connection between the two of them. That there was an additional side to himself did not surprise the medic-nin, but the fact that Hata was able to communicate with it stunned the hell out of him. She was just about to get into what she had witnessed of Sho's nightmarish encounter with the boar when there was a loud crack of thunder, more felt than heard, which reverberated through the walls of the security closet.
"What was THAT?!" Motoko cried in shock, eyes darting around as if she was afraid the Heavens were coming to take away the happiness she was just beginning to find with Sho.
Inugami hissed slightly as his right palm began burning. Glancing at it, the kanji for the word "Expended" glowed briefly before fading away.
"Holy shit, it actually worked!" The medic exclaimed as the twisted the dial on the comms to the general guard frequency. For some reason, Inugami felt more energized than he'd ever felt before, but he quickly chalked it up to an adrenaline rush.
Yet, at the same time, it felt like he was taking a breath of fresh air after nearly drowning…
His throat bobbed as he deliberately dropped the pitch of his voice by an octave. "Attention! Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki has just been attacked in the Ballroom! All points, secure the Palace. Barrier team, full lockdown protocol; nothing in or out without the lockdown password!"
As the reports started flooding in, Inugami and Hata shifted the camera views to see that a diamond shell had erupted between Mizuzaki and the shattered glass of the aquarium, protecting the River Lord from injury. Tanaka-sensei pounced on someone that had materialized in the aquarium, but he quickly relaxed, shaking his head at Kurosaki.
"This is Noriyasu." Tanaka's voice rumbled over the comms. "Lord Daimyo secured. His assailant's dead."
Inugami rocked back in his chair, stunned by this news. "What..? DEAD?! But it should have been non-lethal..!" He babbled to Motoko. He hadn't intended… He'd never actually done something that resulted in someone's death…
The shock of it left him feeling hollow inside.
Even during the Yondaime's Gambit, when he'd "killed" the imaginary Cloud Genin to save Haruno and Itou, he hadn't felt like this...
> Well, yeah… < Ohs spoke up as if it were obvious. > It's because I knew we were being affected by Genjutsu. That was before the pathway opened, so I was just that head-shaking sensation. This time it's the real thing. Good job, buddy, you've officially popped your murder cherry. <
Suddenly there was a smack to the back of his head, causing both Sho and Imaguni to wince.
Motoko looked a little sheepish. "Sorry, Sho-sa; that was really meant for Ohs, but I can't touch him directly."
> More's the pity… < Sho's subconscious said glumly.
Hata looked at Inugami without seeing him, as if he was a window she was looking through. "Look, Ohs, you may be part of Sho-sa, but I won't let you pick on him like that! He's allowed to feel bad about having to do something awful but necessary."
The words of Lady Tsunade suddenly filled Sho's mind. 'Let this be our creed as medical ninja: I swear to do no deliberate harm to a patient under my care and I will keep them safe from further harm, no matter how awful, but necessary, the cost may be.'
Sho looked at Motoko, surprised by her choice of words. "You've read 'Dissertation on the Importance of Medical Ninja on the Field of Battle,' Motoko-sa?"
Hata gave the medic-nin a sheepish smile. "Tried to… I understood the creed and maybe the first few chapters, but then I got lost when she was writing about emergency procedures." She kissed his forehead, just below the black lock of hair. "I had hoped reading it would help me understand you a bit better..."
Inugami smiled at the swordswoman and sighed, rubbing his eyes as he turned the dial back to the Konoha-only frequency. "Ta…" He bit back a sob of remorse. Motoko wrapped him in her comforting embrace and he resumed. "Tanaka-san; who was it? Who did I kill?"
Okito looked up at the camera and then nodded, adjusting the corpse. "It's the Amegakure Jonin!" He said, sounding surprised. "It looks like he was in the water of the aquarium to hide himself while he tried to attack the Lord Daimyo."
Inugami sighed, water and electricity… A deadly combination, but no other chakra element would have blended with Mizuzaki's body, so the death was unavoidable. He held Hata close, feeling a little better thanks to her touch and that realization...
Motoko, smiling as she stroked his head, hit the transmit button with her free hand. "The Rain ninja were guarding Daimyo Bankotsu of the 10th district! Where are the others?"
"They're gone." Hyuuga reported after a few seconds. "It looks like they're in the plumbing, where the barrier doesn't reach, and making their way out into the city; we'll never catch them..."
"I guess we now know how they got to Lord Mizuzaki undetected." Tanaka said grimly as a diamond cocoon sealed the Jonin's corpse; a precaution against anyone stumbling onto the hidden surprises that some ninja kept on their bodies.
"No one's panicking…" A surprised sounding Raiden reported.
"It's that Satou illusionist, the one your sister had words with." Miho reported. "I can see her chakra network's racing… She must be generating some kind of calming illusion over the crowd and must have excluded us."
"Hyuuga-sensei..?" Kimiko's voice came over the comm. "I… I didn't see anything."
"Nor did I." Tanaka agreed. "I guess our covers really are blown."
Inugami sat up abruptly as a thought struck him, nearly dumping Motoko onto the floor. "Tanaka! Get Satou over to the corpse to scan it before the brain dies! It might be the only hope of proving Kodansyo's innocence and getting the real Reiyuriko to return without a fight! I'll be right down to see if I can buy any extra time!"
"Copy that, White Dragon."
Sho Inugami looked at Motoko Hata apologetically, but she smiled and shook her head. "We're ninja, Sho-sa; it comes with the job." The white-haired young man nodded and disappeared with a pop of displaced air.
Hata sighed, her mind awhirl with everything that had happened in the last hour. She knew that Sho wouldn't have even thought of helping Kodansyo if they hadn't talked about it a few days back, so she couldn't blame anyone but herself for him leaving.
"Oh… OH!" She gasped as she had a flash of inspiration and began digging through the Kawa City phone directory.
* * *
Time: 8:21 PM
Haruno was watching as Itou headed out onto the dance floor with Prince Muso, his heart throbbing uncomfortably in his chest at the sight of the smile on her face. The regional prince was like a walking sculpture and wealthy. The kind of man of status that Kimiko would have ended up with if her family…
'That's low, even for your stupid ass, Nakahito Haruno.' He chastised himself bitterly. 'It doesn't matter how much your heart feels like it's being torn out; her happiness is what matters. She's not my girlfriend; she's my best friend; my closest friend; she's practically my sister.'
'Practically isn't the same as is, my friend.' A remix of Raiden's words echoed in his mind like an ear worm.
At a loss for a response, Haruno felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned about, surprised to see that he was face to face with the snow-haired princess that he saw yesterday… The sister of the man that Kimiko was currently bowing to before they began to dance.
It was hard to gauge the girl's age, but due to a hint of a blush across her cheeks Nakahito could see a bit of Hinata in her. He could see now that her eyes were a gorgeous shade of black, just a hair lighter than her pupils; like a inverted Byakugan.
"Can I help you my lady?" The red clad ninja inquired, trying not to project his infatuation with Hyuuga-chan onto this white-haired princess who looked to be seventeen or eighteen.
"Kanna." She said in a whisper, her honey sweet voice nearly drowned out by the noise around them, "Of the Thirteenth District. I was just wondering if..?" Her blush deepened and Nakahito could see she was trying so very hard to build up her courage; reminding him even more of Hinata-chan. "I-If you would be willing to… Dance with me?" She finally got out, taking a delicate but deep breath.
"Are you sure you want that one?" Raiden asked, slapping Haruno's shoulder. "He's so dreary it's amazing he hasn't already put you to sleep..." Nakahito glared at Hata as Lady Kanna squirmed uncomfortably at the Taijutsu specialist's brashness. "Then you've got me on the other hand; I've got so much fire in me..." He gestured to his hair. "...my body couldn't contain it all."
"Oh, I think I might just have to forgive Nii-san for ordering us to come over and chat with two foreign ninja." A voice like smoky wine declared as a finely manicured hand reached over Raiden's shoulder to drum playfully on his chest. "You sound like you could be a fun time…"
Hata blinked in surprise; he hadn't sensed the approach of Kagura, Muso's other sister. Princess Kagura looked to be fifteen or sixteen, but the elven cast to her features made it difficult to be certain. A quirky smile crossed Raiden's lips; it had been a long time since someone last got the drop on him so flawlessly. "That I am… And more, Lady Kagura."
Kagura acquired a kilometer-long smile, but made a slight snort of decision. "I'm a Lady by birth only. Leave my sister with the hottie she's chosen; you're all mine Leaf boy." She declared, grabbing him by the front of his dress shirt and practically drug him to the dance floor.
The last Haruno could see of his temporary teammate, before the two disappeared from view, was a wide grin as he mouthed the words, "Taking the lead in our bet, buddy!"
Nakahito rolled his eyes. "He clearly didn't listen to Motoko's rebuke the other day."
"W-who?" Kanna asked, confused.
The red clad ninja shook his head. "That idiot's twin sister; the smarter one of the two…" He glanced at one of the security cameras, remembering what Raiden had said he'd felt earlier. Motoko and Sho?! Talk about polar opposites! "Or, at least I thought she was..."
Haruno shook his head again; what the Hata twins did with their lives was none of his business.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kimiko spinning around the dance floor with Kanna's brother, the smile on her face even wider than before. A gnawing sensation in his gut was added to the throbbing ache in his chest.
"If this isn't a good time…" Kanna's sibilant whisper cut through Nakahito's thoughts like Inugami's chakra scalpels, looking a bit disappointed.
Haruno suddenly felt like a heel. Here there was a pretty young woman in front of him, shoring up her meager courage to ask him to dance, and he was thinking of anything else? What the HELL was wrong with him?!
The Genin bowed deeply to Princess Kanna. "Forgive my distracted mind, Lady Kanna." He extended his hand to her. "I would be thrilled to dance with you."
The princess's face lit up and she placed her hand in his. The music changed from one waltz to another as they step onto the floor. Gently, he placed one hand on her delicate waist while she leaned into him, trusting him to control their movements, which – after a moment to find the beat – Haruno did flawlessly, thanks to the numerous detention sessions with Kimiko as his partner.
The two of them moved in time with the music, Kanna eventually resting her head on Nakahito's broadening chest. His dress suit had needed alterations for this evening - he was apparently hitting his second growth spurt. The Princess and the shinobi danced for what felt like forever, grins plastering both of their faces as they enjoyed each other's company.
There was suddenly a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder reverberated in the ballroom. Instinctually turning in the direction of the flash, Haruno spun them about, gently pushing Kanna behind him in a protective fashion, as the aquarium behind the Lord Daimyo exploded!
"Oh… Feathers..!" The regional princess muttered as her eyes glazed over to stand swaying in place, along with the vast majority of the people in the room.
Haruno was dimly aware of the announcements over the radio in his ear as he turned back around and looked down at the woman he'd instinctively attempted to protect. "Lady Kanna? What was that about feathers?"
The regional princess looked blankly onward, showing neither sign that she'd heard Nakahito nor giving any indication that she was going to respond.
Frowning, the red clad Genin looked about, quickly spotting Raiden, Kimiko, and the two senseis, as well as the four female Sand ninja were moving about freely. There was only sporadic movement among the other ninja groups, which told Haruno that someone had unleashed a Genjutsu of some kind.
"No one's panicking…" A surprised sounding Raiden came over the radio.
"It's that Satou illusionist, the one your sister had words with." Hyuuga-sensei reported, her Byakugan visibly active. "I can see her chakra network's racing… She must be generating some kind of calming illusion over the crowd and must have excluded us."
"Hyuuga-sensei..?" Kimiko's voice came over the comm, sounding confused. "I… I didn't see anything."
"Nor did I." Tanaka agreed gravely. "I guess our covers really are blown."
"Tanaka!" Inugami suddenly shouted over the radio, causing the Leaf ninja in the ballroom to wince. "Get Satou over to the corpse to scan it before the brain dies! It might be the only hope of proving Kodansyo's innocence and getting the real Reiyuriko to return without a fight! I'll be right down to see if I can buy any extra time!"
"Copy that, White Dragon." Okito agreed as he moved along the edge of the chamber to where the Amaya Satou and the Desert Rose stood. The larger man took to the wall and was there in just a few seconds, giving a quick explanation to the two Suna kunoichi.
Suddenly, everyone in the chamber affected by the Genjutsu turned and began zombie walking to the far end of the chamber. As Kanna began to move away, Haruno raised his hands, about to use the Illusion Release technique, when Shao Fukamichu, the majordomo, bumped into him.
'Looks like he's out of practice in resisting mind spells… But from the way Miho-sensei spoke about these Satou illusionists, I wonder if anyone other than the Jonin, Takahashi and Sho would have been able to resist it.' Haruno thought, turning back to Kanna, but was unable to pick her out of the crowd that was queuing up densely against the eastern wall where the other two Satou women were focused on keeping the crowd under control.
With a sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to find Kanna in the press of bodies, Nakahito grabbed the shoulder of the man that had originally hired Konoha and said, "Release!"
Shao blinked as the Genjutsu was purged from his mind. "Haruno-san? What's going on?" He looked around. "I saw a flash of light by Lord Mizuzaki and then…" That's when he saw the diamond shell protecting the Lord Daimyo – who was slumped over the banquet table, the destroyed aquarium, and the corpse-sized diamond laying by the ruined water feature. "MASTER!" He cried out, running over to the still incoherent ruler of the Aquamarine Throne as Satou and Tanaka reached the Rain Village ninja's corpse and began to work.
Uncertain as to what else to do, 'Hito walked over to where Kimiko was standing alone. "You okay Kimi?"
Itou nodded. As much as she'd enjoyed dancing with Muso, knowing it wouldn't lead
anywhere - the man was easily 10 years older than her and already in love - she'd seen Nakahito with Kanna…
And deep in her heart, in a place the last Itou couldn't admit to herself even existed, Kimiko was furious with Nakahito Haruno.
"I'm fine." She glanced around, a tightness in her voice as she responded. "Where's
your Princess? The two of you were cutting one hell of a rug out there."
Something in her tone set Haruno on edge and he wanted to snap a retort the way Sakura would but a resounding SLAP echoed in the silence of the ballroom, preventing him from doing so. The two teammates look in the direction of the noise.
Over by the Lord Daimyo, who was beginning to stir as he recovered from the release of energy that had killed the Amegakure ninja, Sho Inugami had arrived and had gotten struck across his face by Amaya Satou. Even from where they stood, Itou and Haruno could see the red welt from the blow. Inugami then said something that caused the Suna woman's face to cave in and she turned back to work on the dead Jonin.
"Momo is not going to take that well…" Kimiko muttered to Nakahito, her bad mood suddenly forgotten. "She practically eviscerated that Suna bitch verbally earlier just for trying to make a move on Sho-kun."
"It'll just give her another reason to kiss him more later." Nakahito muttered.
Kimiko Itou looked at her friend confused, but then her eyes went wide, followed by her lips. She grabbed Haruno's shoulders. "Wait a moment... Are you saying that ShoToko sailed?! Not just their cover characters; I mean my friend and our teammate?!" Haruno nodded, quickly sharing what Raiden had told him about feeling what had happened between his sister and the medic-nin. Itou's cheeks flushed red as she covered her mouth, but she recovered quickly. "Well, it's about damned time! That's been brewing nearly as long as NaruHina has!" Her hand went to her mouth again as she winced; she hadn't meant to say that out loud!
Nakahito felt like he'd been kicked in the gut; there were only two people in their circle of acquaintances and friends whose names worked in that combination. "Hinata-chan and UZUMAKI?!" Haruno asked in stunned disbelief.
"Sorry, 'Hito…" Itou said genuinely; she'd known he'd had a hopeless crush on Miho-sensei's cousin for years and hadn't said anything. "Female rules… I couldn't say anything until Hinata at least tried to say something to Naruto-kun!"
Nakahito Haruno nodded at her; so many pieces of what had happened all throughout their Academy days FINALLY falling into place in a way that made sense. "It's fine, Kimi… It's obvious that Uzumaki is as clueless as I was." Itou couldn't help but giggle at that statement. "That's why she said no when I asked her out, isn't it?" His friend nodded and he sighed. "At least now I know it wasn't something wrong with me…"
Kimiko grabbed Nakahito into a hug. "It was never like that, 'Hito…" She pressed her face into his chest as her eyes started screaming with an intensity that had only happened once before; during the trial Miho-sensei had put them through back in January. "You're going to make a lucky girl so very happy one day, Nakahito…" She said as tears, hidden from view began to run like the rivers this country was named for.
'I'm no Hinata – I couldn't be that ladylike without Momo's help – and that's what he wants in a woman.' Kimiko thought as she fought the urge to sob openly as she felt a surge of jealousy for whomever would one day take Nakahito from her. 'I just wish Motoko had never told me about that crazy dream she had… 'Hito and me; it's even more ridiculous than Naruto and Hinata…'
Suddenly Nakahito's strong arms wrapped around her. Itou felt her heart begin to race and her face begin to flush. "And one day you'll have a Prince worthy of you, Kimi…" Haruno said softly, feeling his heart crack in two even as he said the words, unaware that she couldn't hear them over the drumming of her own heartbeat.
* * *
Time: 8:35 PM
The phone rang unexpectedly.
Kane Suzuki frowned at the device. It was well after the supposed close of the flower shop they'd purchased from the prior owners as part of their cover story. Not to mention the fact that it had no customers save for the client and the hiding crown princess. At the Princess's request, he'd – happily – sealed off the part of the cave they were in to keep Larissa and Ayaka Satou out, so it was up to him to make a judgement call…
'Could Kari-sensei need some urgent information from the client? I can't see her calling for any other reason…'
He sighed and lifted the phone off the receiver. "Peach Dragon Flower Shoppe." He said with the bored sounding voice of a person still at work long after they should have gone home.
"Oh! The number still works…" A woman's voice came over the line. "This is Mizumiyo Palace; I have a flower order for Princess Reiyuriko."
"Uh… Just a moment…" Suzuki said, feeling a touch uncertain. The fake princess was sending an order? Why? How did they know about the Shoppe? He grabbed a notepad. "To whom am I sending the Princess's order?"
"No, not an order FROM the Princess… An order FOR the Princess... What did 'Hashi say his name was..?" The woman's voice paused briefly. "Oh, Kane Suzuki-san, wasn't it?"
The Sand Genin nearly dropped the phone in shock. "What the fuck? Who is this?! How do you know who I am?"
"I'm the bitch that verbally cut your Cousin Amaya down to size in the middle of the ballroom half an hour ago." The voice replied with a healthy sniff of satisfaction.
A grin crossed Kane's face at the thought of Amaya utterly losing in a social situation. "I think I love you…" The bruiser said, genuinely awed that he meant it.
"I've already got a man..." The voice said sounding like she was still in awe of that fact. "In fact, I snatched him up right under Amaya's nose; call it payback for Takahashi's ankles."
Suzuki actually felt himself get aroused as he recognized the name of the Leaf ninja that had humiliated Amaya a few weeks ago. A woman that could do the same in Satou's own domain? "Damn, now I'm really disappointed that you're not interested… What's the message? Passing it on is the least I can do for the girl of my dreams."
"White rose and hyacinth, maidenhair fern, Stephanotis, blue campanula and gladiolus." The voice said. "Go tell her; I'll wait."
Suzuki knew that, as with all the other orders that had gone through the flower shop front, this was a coded message. He didn't have a clue what it meant and, quite honestly, he didn't care. "One sec…"
The fighter set the phone down and walked over to the door the nobles were behind. He knocked on the door lightly.
"Yes, Suzuki-san?" Kodansyo's voice came through the door.
"Pardon the intrusion, but I have someone inside Mizumiyo on the phone… They gave me six flowers and said the message was for the Princess." He explained before reading back the flowers.
Reiyuriko made a squeak of surprise and suddenly there was the sound of movement. A few seconds later, the crown princess emerged in a robe that barely kept her body concealed. She ran to the phone and scooped it up. "Who is this? How do you know THAT?" She demanded imperiously.
"I'm one of the Konoha ninja that was hired to cover your disappearance, Reiyuriko-hime, and I found the flower orders to and from Kodansyo..." The voice paused for a moment. "Congratulations, by the way!"
"Well thank you." The princess said, a slightly sarcastic tone to her voice. "And how long before Miho-chan shows up to drag me back to the Palace?"
"It might be a while…" Motoko Hata said grimly. "Princess… Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki was just attacked during the Gala."
The crown princess felt her legs give out on her. "Father..? Is… Is he..?"
The voice sounded embarrassed. "OH! Oh, no, Princess, Mizuzaki the 27th is still with us! Sorry, I didn't mean to infer…" Hata shook her head. "The man that attacked your father, the one who likely twisted your father's mind and arranged for Kodansyo's exile, was killed in the process. My…" A smile crossed her lips. "MY white-haired man is working with your Sand ninja to try to get the evidence to exonerate your husband."
"So, let us know when you're successful… Why are you bothering to call?"
"Princess, your stand-in can only do so much and there's no guarantee we can sufficiently prove Kodansyo's innocence… You need to be here; for your Father, if not your country… Tell Suzuki the Palace's barrier password is now 'Mizuru's Folly.'"
"And if I don't you'll send people here to arrest my husband?" The princess asked grimly.
"Princess, believe it or not, I am genuinely on your side. I BELIEVE in true love and happy endings..." Hata said, starting to feel frustrated, even though he could understand the princess's skepticism. "Part of our mission – Hyuuga-sensei's mission – is to find you and only YOU. If you are found inside the Palace, we would have no reason to look anywhere else, now would we? And after this all shakes out..? That choice is yours as far as I'm concerned." There was a pause and suddenly Motoko's voice became irate. "Oh, that BITCH! How dare she hit my Sho-sa!"
Suddenly, the line went dead.
Princess Reiyuriko looked at the phone for a long moment until Kodansyo, who'd emerged from their bedroom topless, the red mountain marks very prominent on his back, took the receiver from her hands and hung it up.
"Secret and silence, prayers for someone, secret bond of love, happiness in marriage, a blue flower that grows on stone walls and victory." Reiyuriko said to her husband.
The exiled prince nodded; he had only been passingly familiar with floral linguistics before his exile, but he'd had all the motivation he needed to learn. "'I'm silently praying that your secret marriage because of the Blue Wall is a success.' The combination would look terrible as a floral arrangement, but it gets the message across, doesn't it?"
The crown princess nodded in agreement as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Father was attacked again… He's okay, but…" She looked up at him. "I have to go back, don't I?"
"WE have to go back." Her husband agreed, helping her to her feet. "Maybe the matching marks will be sufficient evidence that my violation was meant to happen… If what Kari said about your father's mind no longer being influenced is true, he might lift the exile."
Reiyuriko wrapped her arms around Kodansyo possessively. "And if it's not? I'm not going to lose you!"
Kodansyo looked over to Kane. "Suzuki-san, correct me if I'm wrong, but a ninja contract has to have specific objectives and limits, yes? There's no option for the client to order something that adds to the contract mid-mission that alters them substantially?"
"It would be very rare for a contract to be so open-ended." Suzuki agreed, following the Prince's line of thought. "Your contract, for example, says that we are to follow your orders until such time as you are successfully exonerated, you choose to permanently leave the Land of Rivers, or six months passes; whichever happens first. We can interpret your orders to ensure your safety and the success of the mission, but you couldn't order us to do something that doesn't potentially lead to accomplishing the mission, like executing all the other Princes."
"So if I'm caught in the Palace, I can order your people to help me get away, but they couldn't order the Leaf ninja to capture me for execution, correct?"
Suzuki made a so-so waving gesture with one of his hands. "It depends on the wording of the contract, your highness… If the order is 'Find Princess Reiyuriko'? No, absolutely not. If the order is 'Find Princess Reiyuriko and capture her kidnappers'? Maybe; that would be up to the Jonin running the mission to decide."
"The woman on the phone said that Miho-chan's orders are to find me… And that if they did in the Palace they would have no reason to look elsewhere..." The Princess whispered, still feeling ambivalent. "And she inferred the other group was to provide a convincing stand-in for me."
Kane Suzuki nodded acknowledgement of her words. "It's unorthodox for a ninja to communicate with their target, but – strictly speaking – they could have just popped in and grabbed you. She knows you won't run… We don't have the code to get past the city's sensing barrier or we would have taken you out of the city months ago, Princess. Instead, the kunoichi that called is giving you a chance to come in amicably."
"She said she believed in true love and happy endings." Reiyuriko said with a wan smile.
Suzuki nearly rolled his eyes, but resisted the urge as his estimation of the voice on the phone dropped a few notches. "It sounds like she's a dreamer… This must be one of her first missions outside of her Village to be that naïve." He paused. "I'm not sure how to get you back in safely, though… If the Lord Daimyo was attacked, they've probably instituted a lockdown and the normal password won't work."
"She also said to tell you the code is now 'Mizuru's Folly.'"
Suzuki nodded. "Then I guess it all comes down to whether you believe her or not… I can bypass the seismic sensors and put you both right back in that shed if that's what you want." He looked at them both. "What are your orders?"
* * *
Time: 8:47 PM
Sho Inugami's cheek still stung from Amaya's slightly deserved slap. The medic leaned in. "Have you gotten that out of your system?" Satou gave him an icy glare. "Or should I tell the Jonin precisely where Reiyuriko is and see who's faster? Ours or yours?" Amaya wilted at Sho's question, her cheeks flushing with the emotions raging within her. "Good. Now focus on the job; we'll sort the rest out later..."
"This stupid rock is interfering with my efforts." Satou grumbled in irritation from where she was kneeling in front of the diamond casing that Tanaka had set on the floor.
Inugami nodded; forced to agree. He could feel the chakra-formed diamond refracting his neuron stabilization technique. In cases of death from electrocution, it could take hours for the brain cells to completely die, but the longer they were dead, the more their retained information would be lost.
"Tanaka-san?" Sho finally asked, turning to the larger man. "Can you remove your diamond casing from just his head?"
"Easily enough… Just be careful; he could have traps on him!" Okito warned as he touched the shell, freeing the head of the Rain Village ninja.
"Who's family is in charge of dealing with analyzing enemy ninja corpses?" Inugami asked wryly. "This might have been my first kill, but it's far from my first rodeo."
Off to the side, the Desert Rose paused for half a second, surprised by the white haired young man's statement; terrified by the ramifications...
Sunagakure was well aware that Kurando Inugami – an S class objective in their Target Compendium – was in charge of Konoha's Corpse Squad. She'd witnessed, firsthand, the seemingly inexhaustible terror of the Inugami clan could unleash during the Third Great War. Fire Queen Saki and Moonlight Slayer Kurando had killed dozens, maybe even hundreds, of Suna ninja on their own...
This "Urashima" was from that family?!
For a brief second the Desert Rose gave thought to executing the boy here and now – to eliminate the threat he'd undoubtedly become in the future – but the close proximity of the two Leaf Jonin and the minimal weapons she'd managed to conceal did not fill her with confidence in her odds.
She would just have to hope that she'd get another chance in the future... Hopefully it would occur before he grew too much stronger.
The Diamond Turtle made a gesture of acknowledgement as he backed up so as to minimize his exposure to Satou's pheromones, but remaining close enough to reinforce the diamond shell if necessary.
Satou started to put her hands on the dead Jonin, but Inugami suddenly caught her wrist. "What are you doing?" She demanded, jerking her hand back.
In response, Inugami extended one hand, which was now glowing a threatening red towards the ninja's rebreather. Suddenly, a thin worm-like creature emerged from beneath the mask. It had a hammer-shaped head and a brown striped body. "I could see his jaw moving."
"Ew!" Satou made a noise of disgust and backed away. "What is that nasty thing?!"
"Hammerhead worm… It's slime is normally slightly toxic, but records indicate that Amegakure has previously modified them to be lethal to anyone that doesn't take the antidote in advance of contact. I need a sealable container!" The medic-nin ordered as the creature mindlessly followed the red glow.
Tanaka knelt down, conjuring a diamond plate by the Jonin's head. Trusting that the older ninja had a plan, Inugami coaxed the deadly helminth onto the translucent disc. After the worm was in place, the plate suddenly folded on itself as if it were fabric to form a translucent sphere with no seams.
Sho nodded to the Jonin. "Thank you, Tanaka-san… They're susceptible to salt and UV radiation; just put it somewhere sunny for a few hours and it'll die off." Okito Tanaka nodded as he carried it out of the ballroom.
"I can't believe you talk to him like that…" Amaya said as she gestured touching the corpse, getting a nod of approval from the man with white hair and mismatching eyes – Inugami hadn't bothered to resume his Urashima disguise. "Even if you are a fellow Jonin." Inugami snorted in amusement. "What?"
Inugami gestured to Miho Hyuuga, who was helping recalibrate Lord Mizuzaki's bio-energy field now that the extra Raiken chakra had been expended. "Hyuuga-sensei over there is my Jonin instructor." He clarified.
The Genjutsu specialist looked surprised. "Jonin instructor?! You're still a Genin? At your age?"
"Keitaro Urashima was 20." Inugami clarified as his hands began to glow green as he touched the sides of the Rain Jonin's head, using his chakra to slow the breakdown of the dead man's brain cells. "I'm only 15."
"You're my age?" Satou asked, surprised as she placed her palm on the corpse's forehead. "You're surprisingly good actor, then…" She frowned as she focused. "I'm in his recent memories… Ugh, they're starting to break down… I see him talking with someone, but I can't make out their face. I'm getting a name… A-aki… Akira! Muh-Muto? Akira Muto."
"Say that name again?!" Kari-sensei ordered as she seemed to suddenly appear behind the two working Genin. Sho nearly flinched back, but managed to keep his hands on the body. He hadn't sensed the assassin's approach at all. Amaya repeated the name. "He's an A-class objective in the Target Compendium. He's been in there for quite some time… Impressive trap you laid, Urashima."
Sho, who was being very careful to not reveal his real name to the two Suna women, shrugged slightly. "It only killed him because he was in that saltwater fish tank. It would have been preferable to take him alive."
"Wouldn't have worked." Kari said. "He was a master of the Hydrification Technique and could turn into water without any warning. Unless you had an electrified or water-tight container, he'd have escaped."
Inugami frowned to himself. He'd thought the Hydrification ability was limited to just the Hozuki clan of Kirigakure, but a Genjutsu specialist could potentially trick someone from that clan to teach it…
"Try getting into his hippocampus…" Inugami suggested. "That should store his longer-term episodic memories. It's closest to the arteries that carry blood to the brain and should be the last to decay."
"You want to do this?" Satou said sarcastically. "I've been trying to get in, but there's something blocking the access. It's some kind of a se… Oh shit!"
Suddenly, the Rain ninja's decomposition accelerated rapidly. Inugami snarled as he sensed necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial infection that destroyed soft tissue – and the brain was little more than soft tissue, water and electricity – that was CLEARLY meant as a failsafe to keep a ninja's mind from being broken into. NF was normally slow, but this had just as clearly been augmented to deny the enemy the chance to get anything substantial.
Inugami quickly reached into his pouch, pulling out a pencil thin black scroll that he, honestly, had never expected to need to use so early in his ninja career. Muto's face began to cave in on itself as the bacteria consumed and replicated at an insane speed, the medic lifted the corpse's head and set it in the middle of the scroll. "Emergency activation! Biohazard level 4!"
The complex glyphs on the scroll began to glow red as the ninja's body was suddenly sucked into the scroll. Slowly the symbols began to turn green as the stasis spell, designed to allow corpses to be retrieved for funeral rites or detailed examination by Sho's parents and their staff with a minimum of decay, began to power itself by drawing from the medic-nin. Inugami had activated the scroll at the highest biohazard level because he couldn't be sure that the supercharged bacteria was still limited to just tissue to tissue movement.
If it was airborne... Gods help them all.
'Dad's going to have to do this one in the freezer in a full Hazmat suit…' Inugami thought grimly as the last glyph turned green and the seal was locked shut until Kurando Inugami used the release key. 'He won't be thrilled about that…'
As the corpse disappeared – the spell affected organic matter only – the ninja's gear remained behind. A sudden hissing sound could be heard echoing within the diamond container, triggered by the removal of the "pin" that was Muto's body. It was a sound every shinobi was trained to recognize.
"EXPLOSIVE TAGS!" Inugami shouted in alarm as he grabbed the corpse scroll and threw himself at Amaya Satou – who had been sitting Seiza style for comfort – to get her out of the way of the detonation; hoping the diamond was thick enough to not be turned into shrapnel.
There was a loud rumble and blinding flash of light as the tags went off all at once.