Six-Tea and Ultimatums
The Suna hospital was never quiet. Any place that dealt with shinobi at training, work, or play always had some activity, but it had been some time since Baki had seen it this busy. There was always an increase in the number of heat stroke and dehydration cases during the days of the Crucible, but the recent attacks had further increased the number of people with those ailments. People were panicking and that made them even more vulnerable to the heat and there were additional injuries and deaths directly resulting from the attacks.
Baki frowned at the shinobi coming towards him in the corridor. "Yano, what are you doing up?"
Yano waved his concern away. "I'm fine Baki-san, really. They needed the bed and I needed to stretch my legs. Thought I'd look in on those kids." He shook his head in amazement. "They really saved the day with their quick thinking."
"That they did," Baki agreed. "The casualty list would have been much higher otherwise." He paused. "I am sorry about your partner."
"Thank-you. He died protecting students, our future. I'd consider that a good death."
"Agreed." Baki gestured down the hall. "I'll go with you. They're all in the same room."
Hajime was the only one awake when then entered.
"Just stay as you are, Hajime," Baki said, holding up one hand to stop the boy from sitting up.
"How's it going, Hajime?" Yano waved at him.
"I'm fine, Yano-san, thank-you for asking." Hajime looked at the bandages on his arms and hands and then at the other beds in the room. "Sano was awake a little while ago. He lost a lot of blood, but they say he'll be okay. Tara hasn't woken up yet. She…" He stopped and bit his lip. "I wasn't fast enough."
"Hajime…" Baki started.
"Baki-san, there you are! I've been looking all over for you." Matsuri came into the room. "Gaara-sama would like to see you. He's on the third floor." She came over to the side of the bed and adjusted the covers. "Hajime, you should rest while you can. You know once Tara wakes up you won't have a second of quiet. Right?" she smiled at the boy.
Hajime managed a weak smile back. "I guess."
"I'll sit with him for a bit," Yano offered. "We should let Baki-san be on his way."
"That's a good idea. Thank-you Yano-san," Matsuri said. "Please, Baki-san, this way."
Baki followed the kunoichi back into the hallway. "Will the girl be alright?"
Matsuri's worried look deepened. "We hope so. She used far too much chakra. Only time will tell."
Baki nodded. "Did the Kazekage say what he wanted?"
"No, only that I should find you quickly."
They picked up the pace and soon Matsuri showed him into a room. Gaara, Temari, and Eisuke were waiting for him.
"Baki, there you are! What took you so long, Matsuri?"
"I'm sorry Temari-san."
"It's not her fault," Baki said. "I was visiting with those three genin."
"How are they?" Eisuke asked. "I spoke with Hajime's mother. She would like to see him as soon as possible."
"He's doing well. She could come anytime," Matsuri said.
"Is it true that he used chakra strings? I knew the boy wanted to be a puppeteer, but I had no idea that he had progressed so far."
"It seems that he has, although he pushed it too hard and gave himself chakra burns. Still, his family should be proud," Baki said.
Eisuke nodded. However, he was not so sure that Hajime's family would see it that way. Eisuke knew the family; not all of them were pleased with the Hajime's desire to become a shinobi and were even less impressed with his decision to become a puppeteer. Suna's puppeteers had always been a small group and their secretive nature had made them unpopular. With Sasori's defection and subsequent attack on Gaara, they had fallen into outright disfavour. Even after almost dying while trying to save his brother, Kankuro was still regarded with some suspicion because he used puppets made by Sasori of the Red Sands.
"Have there been new developments?" Baki asked, bringing Eisuke out of his thoughts.
Gaara nodded.
"It's not good." Temari gestured to some papers on the table. "Have a look at these. This letter was delivered to the administrative building. And these others have been distributed around town, almost like pamphlets. Eisuke brought these with him."
Baki read the document, only a slight hitch in his breathing giving away his surprise.
"What do you think, Baki?" Gaara asked after he had finished.
"How widely have these been distributed?" Baki looked at Eisuke.
"As far as I can tell, there have been only two or three places they've been left. The unfortunate thing is: they're spots that get a lot of traffic. This will spread by word of mouth more than anything."
"Well, we can't give in to this man's demands," Temari declared.
"Of course not," Eisuke said. "But there's another problem, people are getting scared. Not everyone has shinobi training, Temari and when those people get scared, well sometimes…"
"They do stupid things," she finished. "I'll bet that he's hoping that panic will do some of the job for him."
"That's entirely possible," Eisuke said. "I am sorry to say it, but people are already beginning to wonder. If the Kazekage can't deal with attacks on the water supply, maybe he should step down. That's what some people are saying."
"Fools," Temari muttered.
"Not all, but they are scared. This Kondo fellow, he's thought about this a lot and his timing's pretty good," Eisuke said.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Gaara asked.
"For now, try and counter the rumours. I can help with that. And if it looks like business as usual among the shinobi then that will help keep people calm."
"Good." Gaara nodded. "What do you think Baki? Can we go after him? He's threatened to destroy our water supply if we do."
"It appears that he could do it, but if he was going to, I think he would have already done it. I believe he's counting on pressure from the Council to make you step down, Kazekage-sama."
"Not an option," Temari said. "Right Gaara!"
"I will not give into his demands and I will keep everyone safe."
"Agreed." Baki nodded. "If Eisuke can help keep the civilian population calm that will be a big help. Kondo knows as well as we do that fear can be more effective than the largest army if used properly. But we still have to find him and stop him. We need information for that; I'm not sending any teams out into the desert until we are absolutely sure where they are going and it's something I'd like to avoid if possible."
"Can it really be avoided?" Eisuke asked.
"Perhaps. I am hoping that the information Kankuro brings back will help us find a way to counter attack."
"He's been gone awhile." Temari made an irritated noise. "If that big idiot is goofing off somewhere…"
"I'm sure he's not," Gaara said. "I know sometimes he doesn't sound like it, but he takes his duties seriously."
"I know, I know, but if he's not back yet and he's not goofing off… He'd better be alright," Temari said, trying to keep the worry out her voice.
-0000-
Two kunai flew at the scorpion. Kankuro's pinged off its back and Kiba's stuck under one of its joints.
Crap, he had a better angle, Kankuro thought.
Heh, my aim is better, Kiba thought and flashed a smug grin at the Sand shinobi.
Neither kunai stopped the creature, but they pushed it off course so Ebizo could dodge its attack. The scorpion landed on the ground, legs scrabbling on the stone floor, and launched itself at Ebizo again. The old man pushed both hands into his sleeves and spun away. He continued to turn and pulled his hands out of his sleeves, flowing from the evasive maneuver into a western-style fencing lunge. A long narrow stick had appeared in his right hand and it punched through the scorpion's carapace with a crunch. Ebizo pinned it to the ground with one hand; the scorpion thrashed and hissed. He produced a second stick from his other sleeve and after a few moments of squinting and frowning he stabbed it into the creature's back. There was a sizzle, a bluish flash of light, and the smell of ozone. The scorpion twitched a few more times and then went limp.
Ebizo grunted. He pulled one of the sticks away and after a few moments of careful consideration he pushed it in again. Metal crunched and snapped.
"There, that should do it," he said, looking satisfied.
"What the hell is that thing? A puppet? There were no chakra strings," Kankuro said.
"How much stuff do you have stuck in your sleeves?" Kiba asked.
Ebizo glared at Kiba. He used the sticks (which Kankuro had identified as graphite rods) to pick the scorpion up and walked away without a word.
Kiba looked at Kankuro and shrugged; the Sand shinobi rolled his eyes and then limped after the old man. They followed Ebizo into what appeared to be a workroom. The room was neat with several large benches and racks with tools. Ebizo set the scorpion down and moved away. He opened a cupboard over a second bench, took out several items, and arranged them in a neat line.
"What is he doing?" Kiba muttered.
"What the hell?" Kankuro exclaimed. "Tea! Look we don't have time for…"
"Pah! I see you have learned nothing from what I told you that day about the Third's disappearance. You still want to charge off without thought or information. There is always time to assess your enemy's strengths. And I need to sooth my aging bones, and you," he gestured at Kankuro's leg, "need to do something about that." Ebizo opened another cupboard and removed a first aid kit.
Kankuro took a deep breath, for a moment Kiba thought that he might argue with the old man. Instead, he took the kit from Ebizo and started to treat the cut on his leg. Ebizo snorted and turned back to his tea.
"Yeah, but tea. Hot tea," Kiba muttered.
"It makes perfect sense in this weather. A drink that is close to optimum body temperature will not require additional energy to cool or heat the body. Cold water may feel better at first, but in the long run will cause your body to produce additional heat to warm your internal organs up."
"Riiight." Kiba made a face. No one had mentioned that the old man was a little nuts.
Kankuro had finished bandaging his leg and was looking at the scorpion.
"Have you seen something like this before? It's not a puppet."
Ebizo ignored him and continued fussing over his tea, measuring out leaves from several tins and muttering over the kettle. Kiba's nose twitched at the smells, cloves, cinnamon, ginseng, jasmine, dried apricots, and nuts, wafting through the air.
The old guy has some strange taste, Kiba thought. He looked at the scorpion and his nose wrinkled. It still smelled of ozone, oil, and poison.
Kankuro reached out and carefully touched it, running one finger over the jointed tail. "This isn't metal at all…I've never seen…" He tapped it harder and then ran a finger nail over it. Something about it was familiar, but he could not quite place it. He chewed on his lip, thinking. "I know! I've seen bow strings made out of this…it's some sort of aramid fiber. But it's been spun into plates somehow…"
Ebizo looked up from his preparations, eyebrows raised. "Is that so? What else?" He gestured at the work bench. "Use whatever tools you need."
Kankuro scowled at the old man; they really did not have the time for this, and he did not like being subjected to what was obviously a test. However, he was curious to know more about the scorpion; how it was powered, and how it had been controlled. Its movements had been so quick and fluid, much more so than any preprogrammed or remotely operated device Kankuro had ever seen. In his experience, only chakra controlled objects moved like that.
He stretched out his fingers, looking over the impressive selection of fine, well maintained tools. Out of the corner of one eye, he saw Kiba smirking at him.
"What?"
Kiba's grin got bigger. "Isn't there some saying about curiosity and cats?"
"Shut the hell up!" Kankuro felt his face go red. "Ebizo-jii-sama's right. We need to know more about what it is, in case we have to fight others like it again. It isn't a chakra-based weapon. Did you sense it coming? Did the mutt?"
"Hell yeah, we smelled it coming."
"Maybe, but you still looked pretty damn surprised by it."
"Who tagged it with a kunai?"
"Lucky shot. And it didn't stop it. That was…"
The old man snorted, halting the argument. Kiba and Kankuro looked at Ebizo; the old man was watching them over the rim of his teacup. Kiba grinned sheepishly; Kankuro muttered something and bent over the scorpion again. It was bad enough that the old man had made them look like idiots by succeeding where they had failed, but now he was making Kankuro feel like an idiot because he did not know what the thing was.
No way he does that, Kankuro thought, I'll figure it out. I always do.
That was how it had always been. After his father's death, Kankuro had had no one to teach him puppetry. Ebizo and his sister had shut themselves off from the village, Sasori was long gone, and so were all the other puppeteers of Suna. So he had figured it out himself. Baki had helped when he could as had Keiko, but there had also been many hours of solitary practice, trial and error, and constant tinkering.
He flipped the scorpion over and got to work, within moments he was oblivious to the old man and Kiba, to the pain in his leg, and the urgency of the whole situation.
"A light weight metal in the frame, the shell has zinc oxide nanowires woven into the fabric to provide power. It's got some pretty good sensors too, but to transmit and receive all that information so quickly…" Kankuro chewed on the inside of his lip, thinking. He bent over the scorpion again, taking a closer look at its head. He frowned over what he saw. "These photoelectric cells, there's so many of them…and they're hooked up to…it looks like a regular CCD, but there's no way…"
He looked at Ebizo, he was not sure if he should say his theory out loud. The old man would probably just laugh at him.
Ebizo set his tea cup down and gestured for Kankuro to continue.
"The signal conversion…it's electrical to neural instead of digital. That's the only way it could move like it did. But that sort of device…it's impossible."
One of Ebizo's bushy eyebrows rose. "Impossible? Improbable and difficult yes, but as it is sitting in front of you, it is obviously not impossible. Impossible is only for those with small minds."
Kankuro scowled at him. "Fine, whatever. It's possible, but we still need to know who, and we still need to get them. You have to tell us…"
Ebizo waved one arm, cutting him off. "Humph! Your listening skills are as feeble as your powers of observation. As I've said before, I don't have to tell you a thing. And as for the maker of this object." He pointed at the scorpion. "Its origins are obvious to anyone who knows how to look and should be especially so for someone who has seen their work before."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Look we don't have…"
Ebizo sighed. "Your conclusions about the controller suggested some intelligence behind all your profanity. It appears that I was mistaken. Look closely at the tail segmentation."
Kankuro's mouth worked for a moment, but then he did as Ebizo instructed. He frowned down at the tail joints.
"Oh. What the…? I thought they were mostly destroyed after they came after Gaara."
Ebizo sniffed. "It appears that you were not thorough enough. I had heard rumours that they had found refuge with the Sound. But now they have come back to attack us yet again."
"Bastards!"
"Uh, what are you two talking about?" Kiba asked.
"Those Shitenshounin bastards that came after Gaara. These tail joints are similar to those in the sword that blue-haired weirdo had."
"Oh, right. That's the mission when we saved your ass."
"Like hell! Mostly you just got in the way."
"Riiight. When we got there, his sword was chewing on your head."
Kankuro snorted. "Whatever." He looked at Ebizo. "So, they have gadgets. We beat them before, we can do it again. But…we have to find them first…" After a few moments of silence from the old man, Kankuro threw his hands up. "Fine! We'll go report back to Baki and Gaara. Gaara'll come here, you can tell him their location, he can tell us, we'll make a plan, and then we'll go kick their asses."
Ebizo sniffed. "Again, a small glimmer of intelligence. There may be some hope for you yet, boy. While you are gone, I'll…"
A muffled explosion rumbled through the building. It sounded to Kankuro as though it came from the other side of the village. Before anyone could say anything, the floor began to vibrate.
"What the hell?"
Kiba looked out the door. "I think something's trying to get through that well thing again."
They hurried out in to the large room; the vibrations had stopped by the time they got to the covered pool.
Kankuro peered down at it. "Will it hold?"
"For a little while."
"What was that other noise?" Kiba asked.
"Most likely an attack on the village. They appear to be increasing in frequency."
"Damn." Kankuro shook his head. "Time's up. We have to do something now, Ebizo-jii-sama."
The old man sighed, his mouth pinched tight in displeasure. Then he stared at the two shinobi for what felt like forever to Kiba.
"Uh, maybe we could…" Kiba shifted.
Ebizo sighed again. "This is so tiring. No man my age should have to make these types of decisions. Wait here." He turned and walked away.
"Ebizo-jii-sama…"
"I said wait!" The old man whirled around and pointed a bony finger at them. "And don't touch anything. Including that!" The finger jabbed at the sealed pool and then he marched off.
Kankuro snorted.
"Is he always like that?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"Well, he's been your teacher, right?"
"Hell, no!"
"Oh. So it was Chiyo-baa-sama?"
"No! Why would you think that they'd taught me anything?"
"Huh?" Kiba wrinkled his nose. "Because they do the same stuff you do. That's weird. So, if it wasn't them, was it Baki?"
"He doesn't know anything about puppet arts. He mostly just…what's with the twenty questions all of a sudden?"
Kiba shrugged. "I was just wondering. So, will that Hajime kid have to learn on his own too?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Kiba told him about his conversation with the boy. "You didn't know, did you?" He saw the look on Kankuro's face. "You didn't!" Kiba laughed. "That's just so weird."
"Like hell. It's just that…" Kankuro shook his head. "We don't have time for this shit. We should just…"
Ebizo had returned. He was carrying a huge scroll which he unrolled on the floor in front of them. "This was designed for two, but I think I can make a few adjustments to accommodate the animal."
Kankuro could not help himself. "And Akamaru too?"
"Shut up!"
Ebizo scowled at them and then bent over the scroll, a brush and ink pot had appeared in his hand from somewhere. He made some notations on one section. Kiba squinted at it, trying to make out the details of the writing.
There was another rumble under their feet, this time accompanied by a powerful surge of chakra. Akamaru whined, he did not like the feeling of all that power under his feet, and he really did not like what he was sensing from the scroll the old man was doodling on. The funny lines and swirls contained a lot of strange smelling energy. The entire visit had been one strange smell after another and it did not take any great instinct to realize that things were only going to get stranger.
"Damn, that's some powerful water jutsu." Kankuro frowned; he did not have much experience fighting against that sort of thing.
"Indeed." Ebizo had finished. "I suggest you allow the Leaf to deal with Kondo. You focus on whoever is operating the remote units; it is a fight more suited to your skills. I will send word to Baki to send a team to the Singing Rocks. You know where those are?"
"Yeah, but…"
"You will have an hour." Ebizo pulled a piece of paper out of his sleeve. "This will guide you to the exit."
Kankuro took the paper and gave it a quick look before turning his attention back to the scroll; he had read about something like it before, but had never believed that it could be done. "This will transfer us to some place with an identical seal, right? When did you set that up?"
"Before you were born, boy. It should still function."
"Should? What the hell does that mean?"
"And what happens in an hour?" Kiba added.
"The passage to this particular reservoir will rearrange itself and the current exit will be sealed." Ebizo sighed. "It is a sad commentary on the lack of security provided by the current generation that an old man must undertake this task alone, but…" He sighed again and then waved his finger at the two shinobi. "I strongly suggest that you be out by then."
"So you want to send us after them using that ancient thing, we take them out, wander out into the desert…during the Crucible no less, and then wait there? That's your great plan?"
Before Ebizo could answer there was another deep rumble under their feet.
"Can you suggest anything better? Get into place on the scroll."
Kankuro grimaced, but did as Ebizo ordered. "But maybe Kiba should take the message back to Gaara. We," he patted his scrolls, "can take care of them, no problem."
"Hell no!" Kiba joined Kankuro on the scroll. "No way do I get left out of a good fight. And besides," he grinned, "it's easier if I come along now rather then having to find you to save your ass later."
"Humph, I suspect that both of you will need rescuing at some point." Ebizo pointed at Kiba. "You have five senses, rely on them all." The finger swiveled to Kankuro. "I do not have time to correct all the bad habits you have picked up over the years. Just remember, it does not matter how many puppets you have, it is your own heart and mind that are the shinobi's strongest weapon."
"Whatever. C'mon let's get this damn show on the road." He pointed at the scroll under his feet. "This damn thing better work. I don't want to end up a few body parts short or…"
But Ebizo had already completed the hand signs that activated the scroll's jutsu.
