A/N: I'd just like to point out that the views expressed by the OC in this fic aren't mine. I'm about as 'western' as they come, so she wouldn't like me much either, lol!
Many sincere thanks to Hakucho for beta-reading this; to greshunkai, Mrs Turtle, Cynlee and RAPHAELFAN02 for the reviews last chapter, and for everyone sticking with reading this tale despite some very long waits between chapters. I do appreciate the support and the feedback immensely!
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.
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The cloying dark clouds that enveloped her mind thinned slightly, allowing the scent of warm rice and the soft murmur of voices to break through momentarily. The wave of pain which followed almost overwhelmed her still tentative senses; her back feeling as if it was on fire. Almost instinctively, she concentrated on walling away the sensation to the depths of her psyche, allowing herself to register more useful information; the light of the early morning sun on her eyelids, its warmth a comfort to her bare shoulders. The feel of soft linen against her chest and underneath her chin, in contrast to the hard wood she was sat upon.
Cautiously she opened her eyes, barely enough for her to see or be seen. Even though her eyelashes obscured the view she could recognise the nezumi, kappa and her target seemingly engrossed in quiet conversation over breakfast. Slowly she tipped her head forwards to confirm what she suspected; she'd been propped backwards on a dinning chair, a pillow wedged between her and the high wooden back of the seat affording some comfort and modesty for her mostly naked torso.
Her wrists and ankles were tied with sheets that were then threaded through the base of the chair. The bonds weren't tight enough to chafe, they were barely tighter than the straps of the plain kurokote still on her forearms, but she knew she wouldn't be able to free herself without the help of a blade. Almost taunting her, her tanto rested atop her ruined, but neatly folded, jacket on the floor before her; her tabi set to one side of it. The right leg of her pants had been rolled up just past her knee, a neat dressing covering the cut she had suffered in the bedroom. She still had the older bandage about her right bicep from the shuriken the nezumi had struck her with yesterday.
"Ohayo gozaimasu." Her head snapped up at the gentle greeting, shocked to see that the nezumi had managed to leave the table and approach
without her even noticing. She treated him to a vicious glare, adding a snarl to it as she saw the others join him.
"You left us no choice but to restrain you," the greyed rat explained levelly. "We have re-dressed the wounds to your back; that is the only reason your shirt has been removed. It would seem you have less to fear from us than from your own Renmei."
"I have nothing to fear from my Jonin." she stated emphatically, the nezumi quirking an eyebrow in response.
"Most would fear a master who would have them flogged for failing a mission…" he reasoned.
"This punishment was justified, and had nothing to do with you. I haven't 'failed' my mission yet." she replied disdainfully, throwing a
menacing glare at her target. Before the man could speak, he was thumped heartily on the back by the kappa with the nunchaku.
"He's still breathing after you've tried twice to stop him. I don't think you're doing a fantastic job of assassinating him!" he taunted "What does it take for you to 'fail'?"
"I can only fail if I die before he does…"
She dropped her gaze to the floor under the weight of the scrutiny from the rat. His raised paw stopping the advance of another kappa that had drawn his sai, muttering about "ensuring she failed".
"Or…?" the nezumi asked. She grimaced to herself; he was obviously very good at reading people, but she decided silence was the best answer.
The rat wasn't to be dissuaded, however. After a moment of silence he guessed "If he returns to the United States?" She didn't so much as flicker an eyelid in response, though she mentally berated herself soundly as he gave a reflective "Hmmm."
"Why have the Kage no Renmei targeted Gosei Hattori? What do they believe him guilty of?" came his next query. She glared back up at the group; brow furrowing as she noted that these kappa seemed different to those she'd encountered before. Ignoring the nezumis' question, she countered with one of her own.
"What are you? Kappa, or… oni?"
"Neither." explained the rat "My sons and I are hen'itai."
"Heh, heh, yeah! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to be exact!" laughed the kame with the nunchaku.
"Good one, Mike. I doubt she speaks our language; or yours, for that matter!" derided the one with the sai.
An uneasy silence fell as the kame with the bo shuffled nervously, the one with the sai returning her grimace of disgust.
"Ugh, captured by Americans. What a disgrace!" she uttered with revulsion, her English almost without an accent. In stunned silence
the group stood before her shared confused glances for a moment, before the kame with the katana leant forward.
"You're more repulsed by the fact we're from the 'States' than by what we are?" he asked in disbelief. She crooked a disdainful eyebrow at him.
"I've met oni with more honour than any 'Westerner' I've known." she sneered.
Again the nezumi stopped any response from the rest of the group with a raised paw.
"Is that why you have attacked us again so soon, despite your injuries? To recoup your honour?" he probed. She gave a humourless laugh.
"No. I'm a kunoichi… and half-gaijin." she explained, as if to a simpleton, rolling her eyes to indicate her hair "I have no honour to lose."
"Then why are you so driven to accomplish your task?" he asked.
"I do have my pride. I have never failed yet; I don't intend to start now." she answered darkly.
"Hmpf, 'never failed yet'. This must be your first mission then, huh?" derided the kame nonchalantly playing with his sai. He matched her cold stare for a good minute before shoving his weapon back through his belt, half turning away with a dismissive grunt. She allowed
herself a small sneer in victory.
"No." she finally answered defiantly "I've been cleansing Japan of tainted filth like you for over a decade."
The rat held back the turtles' response; which obviously wasn't going to be delivered with words, with a strong hand on his arm, cutting off any retorts from the others with a question of his own.
"You said before that only Hattori had been judged; why do you now consider us to be tainted as well?"
"Any involved with joushuuhan are corrupted. You haven't been judged, so I was willing to spare you; for now."
"What has he been judged guilty of?" The tension returned to the room, as she answered with nothing more than a chilling glare. She almost reacted in kind when the nezumi started slightly at the turtle with the katana stepping forward, demanding,
"If you are so determined to kill us, can't you at least give us a reason why? Is it truly too much to ask for a justification? Because without it; you're just a common murderer."
She dropped her head in consideration; she'd never been confronted by that argument before. Though, it had been a rare thing for any of her assignments to even get a chance to speak to her. Raising her head, she looked past the questioning stare of the kame still bent in front of her, to address the nezumi levelly.
"I do not know. There is no need for me to know. I am merely the executioner, not the judge. However, I am aware of the crimes perpetrated by Gosei Co. Do you deny that Gosei Hattori is the owner of that company?"
"No." answered the rat, adopting the same even tone she was using.
"Then he is guilty."
"And death is the only recourse? Surely he should be allowed to argue his case…"
"Why? He is guilty."
"Depending on your point of view." the creature reasoned.
She scowled slightly in confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously. The greyed nezumi took a moment to contemplate before answering.
"If you consider that; as the owner of Gosei Co, Hattori is responsible for every action and mis-deed undertaken by every employee of the
company, then yes, you are right. He is guilty. However, as an individual he has not been involved, or in many cases, even aware of the criminal activities undertaken by his employees. Given the size and nature of the organisation, is it reasonable to expect that he would have complete knowledge of all actions undertaken by his employees around the world? And, therefore, be in a position to claim personal liability for them? Are you aware that Hattori has been attempting to cleanse Gosei Co. of the same criminal elements you have? Has that been taken into consideration?"
"I don't know." she admitted quietly "But it is not my place to decide what will and will not be considered. I… will not question my Jonin. And if, as you claim, Gosei Hattori is not involved in criminal activities himself, why was he meeting with two known joushuuhan in a village that is a stronghold of yakuza?"
"Because they kidnapped his son in an effort to extort the control of the company from him; that is the sole reason we came to Japan. Unfortunately, you killed the only two people we are aware of that knew the location of the boy."
She dropped her head again; sure her expression was neutral, but concerned this astute nezumi may read some subtly that could give her thoughts away. Instinctively she also reinforced the barriers enclosing her psyche; there were very few others she'd known that conveyed such a strength of mind as this creature did. And she couldn't quell a faint niggling of familiarity in the back of her mind, although she was sure she had never seen him before yesterday.
Remembering what she'd overheard of that meeting via her surveillance, as a test of their story, she asked,
"Gosei Co. is successful as it is. Why would they want to make such a radical change to the company?" Hattori stepped forward to answer.
"Self-preservation. They knew if I found solid evidence that they had criminal ties, their employment with Gosei Co. would be terminated. I've spent years trying to get rid of such leeches, and now I realise it's impossible. As soon as I find Heiji and get him home safely, I'm
going to disband Gosei Co. completely; as I should have done when my father died."
"You would do that?" she eyed him dubiously "Destroy your fathers' legacy, and give up the money it's been earning you?"
"Hai." he confirmed "My son is worth more to me than any amount of money, and he deserves a more honourable legacy than this."
Despite the emotion in his voice and his defensive posture, the man didn't flinch as she searched his eyes for the truth. What she would give now for a moment of privacy, to meditate and gain a better grasp of the facts for her self. She was convinced of his guilt, he had been judged after all. But perhaps her Jonin wasn't aware of all the facets of this particular case… what would killing one man achieve if allowing him to live, at least a little longer, could bring down a whole corrupt organisation? Surely that would do more to further the cause of her Renmei, and restore some of the former glory to the land she loved.
"Sometimes, the first step to gaining ground is to give it." she murmured, not realising she had spoken out loud until one of the kame interrupted her thoughts with a "Huh?" She shook her head, partly to dismiss the memory.
"Nothing, just something my sensei used to say." she explained distractedly before looking to the nezumi once more, sure that any softness that her eyes may have betrayed had now been banished from her expression.
"I was not bluffing earlier, another from Kage no Renmei will come in my place. They will not be deterred from ensuring justice is done, no
matter how many agents you defeat. However, if you publicly announce Gosei Hattoris' death, and go through the motions of preparing for a funeral and such, you may win a few days reprieve before the deception is realised. That is the best you can hope for, in order to find the boy first."
The slight bow from the rat was ignored by Hattori, as he stormed forward to grab her throat.
"That's it? That's the best you can do? If you hadn't interfered I'd have Heiji back by now. As it is, he'll probably be killed in revenge for what you did!" he spat, his grip crushing her windpipe. Regardless of the pain and lack of air, she managed to keep her face stoic. She had already expected to die, and refused to allow herself to fall any further from grace by showing panic or weakness. Death was nothing to fear.
Dark motes were dancing in her vision, before the nezumi had convinced Hattori to loosen his strangle-hold and step back slightly. The sound of precious air drawing into her lungs seemed strangely amplified to her in her relief, enough to drown out the soothing murmurs of the rat to the man. After a moment Hattori stalked off to his bedroom, holding his head in his hands. At a signal from the nezumi two of the kame, nunchuku and sai, followed their ward through the doorway he had disappeared into.
The elderly creature settled his paws back atop his cane to consider her in silence. Fully composed once more, she had no trouble returning his level gaze; she was prepared to meet her ancestors. Finally he stooped to pick up her knife, passing it over to the kame that carried the bo. Turning back, he addressed her quietly.
"Is there anything else you can help us with, in regards to finding Heiji? A stronghold he may be held in; or the name of someone affiliated with Yamaguchi that may know of his whereabouts?"
"Yamaguchi had ties with many criminal organisations. I had no knowledge of this kidnapping; so I cannot say which, if any, are involved. The only information I can give you, that may be of use, is that he owned a lot of assets through a trust fund in his cousins' name."
After searching her face for a moment, the rat bowed slightly.
"Arigato." he said softly, before stepping away to speak in the ear of the kame with the katana. With a hesitant nod for his master, the kame approached her chair, drawing out a blade. Taking a deep breath, relishing the taste of the early morning on the air; she closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable.
The feel of cold metal against her skin sent an involuntary shiver up her spine; before it registered that it wasn't across her throat. Opening her eyes in shock she slowly brought her hands up in front of her face, the severed bonds falling away easily. In confusion she stared at the nezumi, now stood in front of an open door to the garden.
"I understand what it may have cost you to give us the information and advice you have, and given your situation you did not have to do so.
In return, we will give you one chance to withdraw. Do not take this opportunity for granted." he warned gravely "If you attack any of us again, you will be shown no mercy."
Almost in a state of daze she found herself standing to pull on her boots and jacket, as best she could, given its state. The two remaining kame had drawn their weapons, tense and ready as they watched her go over to the door, bow slightly to the old rat, and walk away.
