Rose
Thorn #9
Koharu was an actress. A very talented one.
When she was young, she trained to be a ninja with her father. Her father was a ronin, a very kind one at that. He preferred to live that way, wandering from place to place looking for mercenary work to support his small family, all the while helping Koharu do what she loved, which was to act.
She liked to star in little plays here and there, and often did portrayals of movies on the side to busk for money, which proved successful.
He was astonished that she was such a good actress even at such a young age, and he honed that skill, hoping that it would one day help her in the future.
One day, they were wandering an area that was close to a big village, resting and waiting for their mission objective to come.
A wealthy man had paid Koharu's father a very large sum to assassinate an important figure to Konoha. Of course, he accepted, but he was weary. Often, a large sum indicated that the task was difficult.
The only reason he accepted that money was because he needed more to support his wife that had just gotten pregnant, should anything happen to him.
When the time came for the important Konoha figure to come, Koharu's father sprang into action. He took out the ANBU that had accompanied the figure, but when he was about to take out the mission objective, he was struck from behind by an ANBU that was still alive.
At this time when he was down, the important figure—Danzo, had asked him for information on who sent him, but he wouldn't say a word, deciding to keep tight lipped about his clients.
Of course, that angered Danzo, until he saw a young girl come from the bushes, asking where her father was.
That was Koharu. She was shocked that her father was on the ground and there was someone restraining him. When asking for answers, they asked her instead, and she instantly feigned that she didn't know, even though she knew every detail already.
During this time, she thought, what would the consequence be?
Then, they pressured her further. With her strong will, she kept herself calm and level headed, making sure to not let them get what they wanted. It wasn't the first time that had happened, after all.
This ordeal lasted for a long time, until Danzo decided that he would bring them to Konoha and make them work for him in his secret ninja force.
At first, it was a request for Koharu's father, but that soon expanded to Koharu herself, where they trained her too. They couldn't say no to Danzo as he gave them good conditions to live in, and the overall sound of it was good. It was especially strange that he decided to do this after they tried to kill him, but Koharu's father thought that this man might actually be a good person, and thus trusted him.
It was around this time that Koharu's mother had Momoka. She was happy about the new baby and was very happy with the family, but only a few weeks later did her husband pass away in the line of duty.
Koharu's mother had become ill when she found out. She still took care of Momoka and did her utmost best, but her mental state was deteriorating. Koharu would have to force feed her if she knew that she wasn't eating as much.
At this time, Koharu was still honing her skills. She was a ninja that excelled in deception.
And that was the skill that led her to find out that Danzo was the one behind her father's death. She had eaves dropped on more than several of their conversations, each one ending with Danzo and her father's disagreement.
Of course, she kept it to herself. It wasn't something that could be talked about that lightly—her father was killed because Danzo had no use for him anymore. It was as simple as that. Danzo had found out information regarding who her father's client was that wanted Danzo dead, and he had made it so that it sounded as if her father was the one who had leaked the information, not Danzo. That gave him an excuse to kill him.
Killing off Koharu's father allowed Danzo to take Koharu and use her as part of his ROOT ANBU force, where he knew that she was going to be a good addition to it because of her special talents.
After a few years when Koharu didn't want to be a part of the force anymore, Danzo threatened her family's safety in exchange for her obedience.
Outside of her ROOT work she'd be the girl that would study business and flowers; the girl that would soon open her very own shop.
And, that was how she came to now.
Koharu made sure that she cleaned up the house and left a note for her mother just in case she came home and wondered why Momoka wasn't there.
She left quickly, not wanting to see her mother's expression at this time.
I'm an actress with real emotions.
She cleaned herself up in her own home, making sure she looked presentable for the coming day.
What a hypocritical thing to think.
When she opened up shop for the day, she made sure to preoccupy herself with the flowers and customers. She would think about what to do later.
"Koharu, Danzo-sama wants to see you." A ROOT ANBU walked in through the front door of the shop and told her.
"I'm surprised you're walking in through the door." Koharu tended to her plants, unfazed. She didn't give a care about any of the other ROOTs, as they were all heartless people who were loyal to Danzo.
"It is urgent. Please go to his office as soon as your work hours finish." The ROOT then left.
"Urgent, huh?" Koharu turned on her heel to look at the door. "As urgent as when he murdered my sister?" She spitefully added under her breath.
She sighed gently, quickly doing the rest of her duties before closing shop, and leaving for the Hokage's tower.
She arrived without her ANBU gear. If she was specifically asked to wear it, they would have told her, but if it was just a little chat, then there was no problem. After all, it wasn't uncommon that Danzo talked to some civilians.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Danzo-sama?" Koharu adjusted her tone so that she sounded polite rather than pissed off. The sight of him irritated her, and the longer she had to be in his presence, the more she wanted to strangle him for destroying her family and life.
"I have a mission for you." Danzo was seated at his desk, looking through some documents. He wasn't surprised at all when she had come in unannounced and just waved it off because it was something she just did. After all, not all had the guts to walk in on an elder without knocking.
"A mission?" It felt weird to say it from the tip of her tongue.
He hummed in confirmation and took a manila folder from the side, handing it out to her. "The details are inside."
The flower shop owner took the folder with both hands and flicked it straight open.
There was no change of emotion on her face when she skimmed through the information.
"I trust you have no objections?" Danzo intertwined his fingers and watched her carefully. She didn't have any reaction at all, just like every other time he had given her a mission.
She closed the file, bowing slightly at the elder that she hated with a passion.
With a convincing smile, she turned on her heel and left the office, greeting those that she knew with that smile as to avoid any unwanted questions.
Her façade dropped only when she reached home. She closed her curtains but left the windows open, putting down the file on her bed.
She was being watched, and she knew that. She knew Danzo didn't trust her, and that's why she knew, he was testing her with this mission.
She sighed and slid to the floor, lying on her back. Doing a few stretches, she gently tugged the file and flipped it open when she did a leg stretch.
She didn't make a sound. If she did, the ANBUs would be sure to pick it up and report any slipped information back to Danzo.
I wonder what Danzo has against him apart from their difference in opinion of the handling of the coup, Koharu wondered with a bitter smile.
First, he wanted me to befriend him and make me his girlfriend to see if I could change his mind about things, but now that that's failed, he wants me to kill him?
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. She changed her position.
What is he, a kid?
But if I take a look at this from a different angle, it's a little complicated.
Koharu stopped stretching and just sat on the floor. She took out a sketchpad from underneath her bed and a pen, doodling down her thoughts.
So, there's Shisui and I. Shisui is an ANBU that's my objective to befriend and trust. That was my mission objective that was entrusted to me by Danzo. Of course, having such a superficial relationship wasn't something I wanted so I was against it, but that old geezer really threatened the safety of my family, huh…
Next up, is Itachi. He's Shisui's best friend and someone from the Uchiha that's a double spy. Of course, only the higher ups know that but like I am, eavesdropping and sneaking around is my specialty. Shisui and Itachi are Uchiha's in arms when it comes to ANBU work and being a spy for their own clan. They report straight to the Hokage and the elders, and everything is discussed between them to see which opinion and decision is the best course of action.
Ultimately, Danzo's a stupid idiot who thinks only of his own ways being the best, so naturally he was against it and wanted his own opinion to be heard and carried through. Due to that, it's become a little strained between himself and the others.
I'm not sure if this is right yet, or not, but Danzo seems to have some other idea with Itachi up his sleeve, though I don't know what yet.
For now, my current mission is to assassinate Shisui, again entrusted to me by Danzo. What is he, an idiot? I doubt he knows that Shisui knows who and what I am, so that's why he's given me this mission. And, he's using this to make sure that I stay loyal to him, or he'll kill my mother.
Whilst I do love my mother, it isn't guaranteed that she would still be alive, considering her current condition. There's also the possibility that Danzo kills her off and replaces her and or tells me that she's out to go get medicine at the Uchiha residence each time I go visit.
Speaking of which, I haven't seen her in a while. I should visit the Uchiha residence to make sure that she is really going there. I can't rely on anybody else, after all.
Danzo killed Momoka off as a warning to me. Who knows what he'll do to mother? But, even if mother was alive and well, her declining condition will be hard to manage if we go on the run.
Now, back to Shisui. Danzo 100% doesn't know that Shisui knows, but I think ROOTs watching Shisui might have an idea. If Shisui is smart enough to read my clues, he'll know that something is different and something is wrong. But, I don't know because those were some damn vague clues that I gave. Nonetheless, if I were to assassinate him, it would most likely jeopardize the relationship between ANBU and Uchiha. It's bound to get found out. And, to top it off, Itachi's a prodigy when it comes to literally anything, so he'll be the first to find out and do something about it. But at the moment if that happened, what would the Chief Officer for the Uchiha police do? Shisui's a pretty strong force on their side, so replacing him won't be easy.
She drew a mind map and relations chart of everything that she currently knew. She sighed, ripping the paper and burning it to ashes.
Man, Danzo must be an idiot, unless—
Koharu sat up abruptly.
Wait a minute, is he testing me to prove my loyalty to him or is he doing this to make sure that Shisui's mouth stays shut?
The ROOT ANBU thought for a moment, thinking. In the end she shrugged, leaning against her bed.
It's got nothing to do with me anyway. All I have to do is kill Shisui, right?
