I nearly died reading the latest manga.
Oh Madara, what you do to me...
And, AKATSUKIIIIII! I'm so happy~! LOOOOVEEEEEE.
Anywho. Onwards, ho-!
Saezuri stilled as she peeked through the door she had cracked, into Ituko's chambers. The woman was sprawled out across her dais, her black hair splayed everywhere in disarray. Frowning at the heavier scent than normal of the tobacco Ituko was burning in her long pipe, Sae pulled away and whisked down the hall, sure now that she could move without accidentally running into the older woman.
"Tell me what you got." She said as she leaned up against the doorframe into Jin's meager room, the teen lazing on top of his futon. Starling in surprise, he locked brown eyes with her as he flew up.
"Geeze, I thought you were Ituko for a moment." He sighed in relief, a brow creeping up Saezuri's forehead.
"Is she really that much of a terror?" She thought back to Ituko nestled in the pillows on her platform, not making the connection.
"You have no idea. Not to mention she gets jacked on opium and is even worse." Jin blinked when Sae narrowed her eyes, wary of her mood.
"Opium?" The altered scent of the tobacco Ituko had been smoking suddenly made sense, Sae craning her head back to glance down the hall.
"Yeah, opium." Jin said dismissively, as if it were the norm. Saezuri shook her head in disdain as she glanced back at the younger man, "Anyway, I've figured out what you asked. Asura has everything in order still, but Yuuta and Takuya are both starting to lean away and defy Ituko." He scoffed, looking down, "She doesn't even notice. It's gotten rough around here, that's for sure."
"You're sure it's only Yuuta and Takuya?" Sae asked as she picked at one of her fingernails, idle gaze on Jin.
"Asura has been completely normal. She even tried to give Ituko advice once, but that didn't go over well." Saezuri nodded at that, relieved. Asura held the bulk of the syndicate under her control, nearly half of the various gangs answering directly to her. Yuuta and Takuya however, had most of the thieving underlings, the most important faction that kept the underground organization running. Without them, Ituko would be scrabbling for money to keep certain authorities bribed and everyone fed, most of the servants and low criminals coming from the streets, homeless and desperate.
"I'll take care of it. Also, while Ituko's sedate go and get rid of any stashes of opium." Jin stood as she left the room, following her out while rubbing the back of his neck. Pausing in the hallway and glancing after her, he was slightly intimidated to see her pull out her katana, black cloak swishing slightly as she turned the corner, out of sight.
"You've not seen her?" Madara questioned dully as he leaned against the counter in a small shop, disinterestedly looking down on the small man. The tailor wrung his hands, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple.
"Not since you two came in here for clothes for your daughter, years ago." He said, cowing back when Madara slid his eyes closed, lips firming. "I-if I may ask, has something happened?" The tailor boldly asked, remembering the blonde woman that had come into his shop. Studying Madara's cropped hair and bad attitude, he could deduce that things had changed rather dramatically.
"Nothing to concern you." Madara warded him off, abruptly leaving the shop. Glancing up into the just rising sun, he paused in the street; he had already checked the brothel and surrounding town Saezuri had come from, and now this small town held no answers either. Looking down the road, Madara was reminded of the week they had stayed here, Sae just a fledgling then. He almost chuckled remembering how polite and shy of him she had been, and her nervous habits she since discarded. He almost missed them, but it was the price to pay if he wanted her to survive by his side.
It all mattered for nothing though, if he couldn't find her.
"I can't let you in." A very large, burly man stated as he barred Sae's way into a shabby building, his arms crossed as he stared her down.
"And why not?" She demanded, katana tip clinking against the cobblestone street below her feet-- Takuya was inside, she knew, and it pissed her off that she was being denied. The smaller bosses knew that she was directly by Ituko's side, and to deny her was to deny Ituko. Rebellion, in effect.
"Orders." The man said stiffly, unaffected when Sae stepped forward. Her head barely topped his collarbones, her thin physique painfully obvious against his muscled girth.
"You do realize that you are going against this organization right now?" She cocked a brow, twitching slightly when he said nothing, looking like a statue. Finally pushed to her limit, Sae took a large step back and lashed out with her katana, hoping to scare him out of the way. Most underlings scattered as soon as she moved violently, knowing of her shinobi training. The man however, just caught her blade between two meaty hands harmlessly, dully looking at her. Sae hauled all her strength into pressing down, but was ousted when he flung the sword to the side, Saezuri lurching off balance. He made no move against her as she had expected, instead just standing readily in her way, eyes blatantly declaring that she would not pass.
"Fine." Sae sheathed her katana and gave the man her middle finger as she walked away, incensed. She would come back, for sure-- when he was least expecting it, and he wouldn't even see her. The sun tipping the tops of the buildings gave the city a hazy look as she wandered the main street, heading towards the west side of the city. Her nerves calmed as she inhaled the morning air, hoping Yuuta would be less difficult to deal with. She came to a better-kept building, the windows clean and the neighborhood a middle-class, respectable area. Saezuri easily got inside, the door unguarded and the front room empty, void of everything except a few wall decorations. Wandering deeper, she breezed through a variety of halls, seeing no one.
"Oh my, a visitor!" She turned upon the light voice, seeing an effeminate man standing in a doorway, hands pressed together cheerfully. "Do come in!" He stepped back, sweeping in a welcoming hand. Sae cautiously entered the room, noting that she and Yuuta were the same height-- this was her first time actually seeing the man, as he preferred to keep a low profile and send servants to do his work.
"Where is everyone?" Sae asked as he sat on one of the cushions on the floor, sipping at a mug of tea.
"Sit first." He pointed to the pillow across from him, courteously waiting until she had settled to continue, "Tayu and Dai, my two littlest ones, are still sleeping in. The other four servants are enjoying their usual mid-week morning off that I allow them, and Genji's and Goro's thieves are out lying low." Yuuta cocked his head, his long brown hair tied up with stray strands falling about his soft face, "What more do you wish of us, Saezuri-sama?" Sae shrewdly observed him, trying to look past his soft exterior.
"And what of Ituko? Have you not been disobeying her?" Saezuri asked, watching him look down.
"She wants things that are harmful to my staff. I can't oblige." He shrugged, his plain kimono parting slightly to reveal the smooth skin of his chest.
"I'll take care of her. Just start following orders again, else some actions are going to have to be taken." Sae heavily stated, watching Yuuta blanch.
"Please, Saezuri-sama, she asked impossible things. I'm afraid I can't agree." He held his ground, determined green eyes flashing up. He studied her dark eyes, her pale blonde hair, looking for a shred of sympathy. He only found a kind of flat denial, unswayed by his words.
"You'll have to. Ituko will be taken care of, like I said." Sae flicked a piece of hair out of her face, the feathery strands having turned unruly upon growing out to her collarbones.
"We'll see." Yuuta murmured as she rose to her feet, following behind her to show her out. Saezuri's black cloak blended into the sea of commuters in the street, Yuuta quickly losing sight of her. He shook his head as he went back into his estate, hearing small feet pattering the wood floors. Smiling as Dai came rushing out, Yuuta ruffled the child's hair as he moved to go count the suitcases of stolen yen that had been delivered last night.
"Why, Uchiha-sama!" Reika called cheerfully as she stood from the porch of the daimyo's estate, impeccably dressed in a spring kimono. She jogged down the steps, pulling up at the length of silk delicately as she danced to a stop in front of Madara, looking up hopefully. She noted his sharingan flicking across the grounds, searching something out "No blonde brat, I see." Reika smoothed coyly, touching his chest.
"You haven't seen her?" Madara asked flatly, unaccommodating as Reika slid her attentions up, cupping his face with her plump, soft hands.
"Who needs her? If she's gone, then I'm happy, Uchiha-sama." She purred, flinching in surprise when Madara gripped a single, tenuous hand around her neck. He cocked an arched brow at her fear, a cruel smirk lining his lips.
"I'm afraid I cannot have such a coward by my side." He smoothed, malicious as he locked glittering eyes with Reika's own. She stuttered in surprise as he chuckled, disappearing with a small swirl and a noise like a popped bubble. Disbelieving, she cautiously waved an arm through the air in front of her, frowning when she realized Madara was really gone. Another thought occurred to Reika, one that had her stilling in a begrudged wonderment; what exactly did Saezuri withstand from that man?
"I couldn't find any of the opium." Jin sullenly said as Saezuri leaned against the wall to his left, biting through the skin of an apple. Mid-afternoon she had returned, sporting a better attitude and a rumbling stomach.
"Show me her tobacco." Sae said as she swallowed a chunk of apple, the somewhat off-kilter taste alerting her that it was not fresh-- another testament that Ituko was not taking proper care of her position. Fresh food was always kept inside the base. Always.
"We'll have to avoid her, then. Last I looked, she was in the bathhouse yelling about something." Jin moved, Sae following him quietly as she glanced up at the ceiling, wondering how Madara had reacted to her absence. In foresight, she was apprehensive about not mentioning the situation here, in Grass. But she knew he would not have let her go, instead merely allowing whoever to take power. He wouldn't have cared if there was an underground revolution within the ranks, as long as they stayed productive to him-- however, it hit closer to home to Sae. She had spent long months with Ituko, and she hated to see the woman so degenerated.
"Ah-! Wait." Sae halted abruptly, swinging open a door and disappearing inside the dark room. Rummaging through the few boxes on the floor, she used the light from the hallway to fish out two boots, slipping out of her standard sandals and pulling them on with glee. The closed, fitted material felt phenomenal on her feet. The boots didn't mesh so well with the black knee-length shorts she had kept, but Saezuri couldn't really be bothered. Jin blinked as she walked out, before resuming down the hall. Cautiously glancing around the corner, he was relieved to see the next hall empty, waving Saezuri inside a nearby room.
"In those boxes, there. I didn't see anything like opium." He pointed to three wooden chests, each barely the size of one of Sae's spread hands and just as shallow. Opening the lid to one, she glanced inside to just see shredded brown tobacco. Frowning, she went to the others to find the same, nothing even remotely looking like opium. Pinching a bit out of the last box, her eyes lit with understanding as she rubbed it between her fingers.
"It's mixed in. I wouldn't be surprised if Ituko is being drugged against her will." Saezuri flicked the strands of tobacco back into the box with contempt, shaking her head.
"What do we do then?" Jin looked to her, watching Sae dither uncertainly.
"Go throw it in the kitchen fires." She set the boxes in his hands, watching him pause on the threshold.
"What about you?" He asked, concerned as she flicked a nonchalant hand.
"Don't worry. I have other people to...attend to." She said grimly, parting from him in the hallway. The street was bright as she descended down to the cobblestone from a side door, forming handseals as she went. Disappearing with the familiar rush of Toorima, Saezuri headed for Takuya's once more, determined to accomplish what she meant to this time.
Thoughts?
Don't worry, shippuden times will be coming soon enough.
