Chapter 14

Tsukimi was probably still reeling from the turn of events because she didn't question me when I told her to just go back to classes like nothing had happened. It may have just been too much for her to process since I wasn't entirely sure how much of the confrontation she had seen but she knew that I just knocked out someone who was both three years older than me and a member of one of the founding families.

Just one of those things might have been enough to put her off.

Since we weren't supposed to attend our intelligence gathering class while we were doing this assignment I had plenty of time to get him settled. After pulling him into one of the two bathrooms we had I stripped him and bound his arms and legs. No point in leaving him clothed and able to conceal weapons. I tied his hands in a the way we were shown so to make him unable to do hand signs and sat him down on the toilet naked and tied his torso and feet to the tank. While I didn't find it likely that he was concealing anything in his boxers, we were training to be ninja so it never hurt to be thorough. I took pity on him though, so I put a towel over his lap.

He awoke to me rummaging through the pockets of his clothes.

"Hey, don't touch that!"

I looked up at him with a solid mix of apathy and dull surprise.

"Really?"

He looked at my expression before taking stock of his situation. Noticing rather quickly that he was both naked and helpless he started screaming at the top of his lunges. I let him have at it for a few minutes until he ran out of steam before standing up.

"Huh, no response, I guess these worked than."

I held up the stack of silencing seals I had found in one of his pouches.

"I put one on each wall and the door, worked like a charm. These must be really expensive."

"Let me go you perverted little shrew."

He let out with a gasp, voice hoarse from screaming.

I looked at him with a look that had well seasoned mixture of tiredness and disgust in another human's existence that could only by facing the person responsible for several years of abuse or several months of working in retail.

"No,"

I sat down on a stool a few feet across from him leaning forward on my knees.

"I don't think I will. So let me summarize your situation because you don't seem to comprehend what tha.."

"I fully comprehend that you will pay for this when my family hea…"

I closed the distance between us and put my hand on his mouth. I used my other hand to draw my sword from its sheath and pulled it out slowly so he could see it clearly in the dim lighting. I pulled it under my arm and rested the blade edge on his throat, not applying enough pressure to cut but enough for him to understand that it would take very little to start.

"It's rude to interrupt."

I whispered pulling by body back from his but not my blade.

Intimidation wasn't a favored technique by my teacher but that didn't mean she wasn't thorough in its use. Create a situation where you have the upperhand, if the subject feels he can gain the advantage, crush that feeling, assert yourself as a valid threat. Never let them feel like they're in control.

"You Kishi Hiroshi after being instructed to take down another student decided to attack another student in your class. As a power play it seems. Except all the other students were older than you so instead of preying on them, you decided to attack me. The youngest and the smallest person in your class. So tell me, where do you think you went wrong?"

I pulled the blade away from his throat and he let out a breath he was holding.

"I, I didn't!"

He yelled trying to build up bravado,

"You ARE WEwewewe…"

That faded in a stutter as I brought the blade from its place in the air to right in front of one his eyes so close that if he blinked his eyelashes might brush it. I didn't pull it away this time.

"The correct answer is that you don't know me. Even when you were supposed to spend a week observing me you didn't once take into account that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't be able to take me out."

I lowered the sword and held it at my side.

"So here we are, and here you will stay."

I thumbed through the stack of seals he brought with him. Good lord did he have variety, this must have cost a fortune, and stuck a knock out one on his forehead.

"Good night."

And activated the seal.

I put seal that well, sealed the door near the top where it wouldn't be easily reached by a student and headed out of the barracks. As soon as I cleared the door I used henge and transformed into Hiroshi before heading to his next class.

Normally I would be more nervous about acting a part I didn't prepare for, but just like scars are more memorable than fortunes, bullies were also something that stuck to the forefront of your memory. It probably helped that as far as I could tell Hiroshi didn't have anything like friends. There were only two founding kids in our year period, and he treated anybody who wasn't a part of the founding family so far beneath him that besides acting like a total prat there was no defining traits in him that the other kids could really pick out.

The real problem with assuming his form though was that he attended the advanced ninjutsu course which as far as I knew could be anything since I had no gage to tell what they were actually doing in there. At least I knew how to find it. There was a few other kids that went in a similar direction in our year following taijutsu class, I just had to walk with them while I listened until I locked onto the sound of the Suigetsu to confirm. As it turns out it was also an outside course. The teacher, a man that was maybe in his twenties announced the pairs for the partner matches for the class this week.

Okay then, I guess they were trying to teach students how to use ninjutsu in conjunction with other ninja. Not a bad skill to train, but considering my rather lacking in arsenal for jutsu this was going to be a problem. My partner for this class was a girl, probably from a different year named Reina.

Our first match was against two other older students. I didn't really get their names because the moment the match was called I did the signs and covered the area in a hidden mist jutsu. Which was the only stalling method I had as I tried to work out a plan.

Closing my eyes I concentrated and listened for the three other people on the battlefield. The girl it turned out was an earth affinity or at least heavily favored it, because the moment the mist fell she used an earth realise to raise a wall. One of the boys either fought her before or just felt like attacking that way but he started several signs for from the way the sound changed a lightning release jutsu.

The moment the mist was thick enough I dropped my henge and started moving. The distance between us starting was a handful of yards at best and the attacker didn't seem that it was pertinent to really move out of the mist before continuing to try and attack. Maybe he was just trying to get off his hand signs as fast as possible or maybe he was going to do something with the water in the mist. I really don't know since I covered the distance and dropped him before got to the last sign.

I guess his partner sensed something was wrong because several fireballs came out of the mist from his direction. I ducked and sprinted forward at the source. Only stopping to get close enough to take one directly so I could use the replacement to get behind him without him getting a good look at me before I took him down as well.

The fight lasted, maybe twenty seconds, forty tops.

I had to remember to regain my henge before the instructor called it and cleared the mist. Leaving a very confused Reina looking out from behind her wall and myself disguised as Hiroshi standing not far from the unconscious forms of the opponents.

That night I got to dinner early, grabbed some ration bars and headed to the dorm. I slipped into the bathroom long enough feed Hiroshi a ration bar and two cups of water. He nearly gagged on it, since usually didn't stay at the academy for meals he wasn't used to the tasteless bars. After that I waited at the dorms for everyone else to arrive on my bunk exhausted. Holding a henge for that long was really hard, even when I took a break during lunch I still felt like I was really pushing it. The fight in the jutsu class hadn't helped either. Luckily they didn't make us fight again for that day since most of the other battles were long enough to consume the rest of the class time.

When everyone else arrived I told them that they sealed the right bathroom for flooding and that they'd fix it next week. They mostly believed me since they couldn't get the door opened on their own. The next morning I returned and sat with Hiroshi, feeding him another bar and two more cups of water during the time we usually attended tactics class. I chewed my bar sitting on a stool not far from him when he spoke up.

"You can't keep me here."

His voice was only slightly haughty.

"They'll come looking for me."

I swallowed the bit I had in my mouth then took a drink before answering, making a show that it wasn't my immediate concern to respond to him.

"No, probably not."

I took another sip of my water before continuing.

"If you were going to replace me, you would of had to stay at the barracks overnight to not alert my classmates. I mean even if you didn't realize that, your estate probably did. So they're probably just assuming you're staying at the academy for the purposes of the assignment."

He looked at me face falling.

"Anyway, I'll remember to feed you, twice a day. The rations have all the required nutrients necessary for a day of high activity. Though in your case that might be a little excess with you know."

He glared at me.

"You don't want to do this. I will make you pay for this once I'm free I wi..."

"You'll what exactly?"

I finished my bar and finished my water.

"You'll go to your clan and admit to them that you were beaten captured by a girl three years your junior when you were trying to do the same to you. I wonder how that would go over?"

He narrowed his eyes but didn't reply.

"I mean I suppose you could threaten to do some horrible horrible things. But then, they're rather hollow since once this assignment is over I don't actually have to let you go do I?"

He looked at me for a few seconds like he was searching. Searching for a falsehood in my tone or my posture. I'm not sure what he found, but he didn't like it.

"If you don't let me g..."

"Or I suppose instead of letting you go the normal way I could just knock you out and leave you in the town square as you are now to be found in the morning. I wonder how you would explain that?"

That hit home as he visibly shuddered at the possible embarrassment.

"There we go. I think you're starting to grasp your situation here."

Standing up I grabbed another knockout tag and set it on his forehead.

"Don't worry, you won't be conscious for most of this anyway. So have a good nap and I'll see you at dinner."

It was a lot harder than I thought to as mean as Hiroshi seemed to be. I mean I tried pushing and tripping and causing problems in the class but it might of been the frequency or it might have been that when I did so I didn't actually intend for harm but people were starting to notice that Hiroshi's behavior was a little off. I didn't have an easy solution for it either.

In ninjutsu class the next round of pairings were up. It was Reina and myself as Hiroshi and a guy named Senji paired with Suigetsu, which wasn't good because I didn't actually have anything that could take Suigetsu down. Regardless I needed to look like I was trying so the moment the match started I used the hidden mist jutsu and headed off. Senji used a water release to spray water bullets while Reina countered with earth release. As I took off to try and attack him though I was intercepted the moment I stopped behind him, being hoisted off the ground and pulled back.

I closed my eyes and waited for the possible slam that would predate unconsciousness and break my henge when instead I was held up eye to eye with Suigetsu. He had closed the distance and grabbed me.

"Buyo, why are you posing as Hiroshi?"

Buyo, or gnat, was my nickname in our sword training class.

"Hey Suigetsu,"
I looked at him a little sheepishly.

"This is actually an assignment for another class. I'll go ahead and feign submission if you put me down."

He thought about for a moment before nodding and lowering me to the ground. I resumed my henge lying on the ground like I'd been knocked out before canceling the hidden mist jutsu which faded. The match ended soon after that. Reina took out Senji, but Suigetsu then took out Reina. I was 'awakened' then by Suigetsu and the class resumed as normal.

The next morning came again and I ate my breakfast with a more weary but still somewhat stubborn Hiroshi. How did they raise him to be this way? He really had no advantage here. I checked his ties before I woke him up again and they hadn't loosened in the least. There was nothing sharp he could easily reach in his immediate area not that he could have anyway because the knockout tag kept him under as long as it was active.

But still, he kept trying to bargaining. That's what it had gotten to at this point. After our last conversation he had decided threats weren't a viable means.

"Please, could you let me go. I could get you better food than than bring it to the academy for lunch."

I chewed over my ration bar looking like I'll consider it.

"That is tempting, but promises under duress are generally unreliable."

He clenched his teeth,

"Money, I have money. I get a weekly allowance."

"Even if you gave it to me, what in the world would I spend it on. Do you really see the rest of us Academy Students running around the village on the off days or holidays? Have you ever notice we're never really around when the rest of the founding families are celebrating?"

He looked at me for a moment trying to process its meaning.

"You really didn't notice? Well I guess that's fair, you're like eleven."

"You're only eight!"

I rolled my eyes.

"We both know that's not really relevant to us. Where do you think all the commoners go when you go feasting, huh? Or when anybody important is in town?"

I took a drink of water.

"They make us hide, refuse to let us out, and if we resist they beat us."

To his credit he actually reacted to the last word.

"But…"

He tried to defend.

"Those are crime, criminals right? That's who they beat? If they just followed the la.."

"What laws are those?"

I asked. Looking at him squarely, he visibly shrunk.

"The laws that if a founding member steals from us, we say nothing. That if a founding member hurts us, hurts our friends, our family than that is their right. That if we apply for a job and someone from the families applies for it they will get it, not because they've earned it but because they were lucky enough to be born to them. Those rules, do those rules seem very fair?"

His eyes were wide at this as the words seemed to sink in. Maybe this was the first time it had ever been broached to him this way, or maybe he just never stopped to think about those who weren't related to him felt. I started to calm down at this. Empathy wasn't something that someone was born with, it was something that was taught either through lessons or experience. We weren't being taught that here and experience told Hiroshi that the common people were beneath him, that he could do whatever he wanted and not be punished for it. Is it no wonder he was such a bully? It's a rare situation that creates someone who'd act otherwise under the circumstances.

I finished my meal and placed the knockout tag on his forehead.

"While you have a lot to think about, it's still a long time to dinner so best you not be awake for that. Good night."

I couldn't put forth much effort to continue the act of Hiroshi, which got several looks and surprises. Was it pity? Maybe, I had treated him with contempt over his treatment of me and the others but he was just a child. He was probably just miming the behavior of the rest of his family. The teachers never reprimanded this behavior and the other children couldn't lash out at him without being reprimanded so he really had no actual basis to think that what he was doing was wrong.

When I got to his ninjutsu class it took effort to maintain a facade of just indifference. The next fight was announced. Reina and I vs two girls, one named Fujiko the other named Aya. I started the match as usual, with a hidden mist technique while Reina who was now expecting it set up Earth Becomes Sky, an impressive earth release that threw a massive boulder at Aya. I didn't recognize it until she said the name, but I could hear the effects as I sprinted through the mists to confront Fujiko.

From the way she was positioned she was building energy for a jutsu when I sliced at her with my blunt edge for a knock out before.

Splash, a water clone. I focused my ears this time instead of using the faint buzz to navigate and found three more of her hiding in the mist. Not that it was hard to figure out which was her. They all had the same chakra but naturally one of them had more than the other and was much clearer.

I took clear aim and pushed chakra in my legs. I couldn't do that and listen at the same time, not yet so I opened my eyes pushed of went forward like a bullet sword raised to slam into her. Than was abruptly stopped when the course teacher caught me by the chest.

The mist dispersed leaving a very confused Fujiko staring at the two of us while Reina and Aya duked it out. The teacher held me aloft. One hand had caught my sword wrist, which he gave a little twist and I dropped it to the ground. Regardless of the situation he seemed to find it quite humerous.

"Young lady, I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

He put a hand under each of my armpits and held me in front of him like a rag doll facing towards him. I could have fought the grip but honestly this was one of the teachers so it probably wasn't the smart thing to do.

"Uh, I'm Ume."

He looked at the sword.

"Ah, that would explain it. Renki has told me there's a little girl who's been running around the Kenjutsu standard course."

It was by this point that Reina and Aya had stopped fighting and the rest of the class was openly staring. Well except for Suigetsu who had started to snicker. The teacher carried me off the battlefield while the rest of the class watched and set me down.

"Class, this is Ume. For the last two days, she was assuming the form of Kishi Hiroshi. Tell me young lady, why did you only use the hidden mist jutsu?"

I flushed under suddenly being in the spotlight.

"Because, I only know three jutsu."

"That's right, this girl is in the basic course who at this point only teaches the henge technique, the substitution technique, and the hidden mist technique. Even so she managed to take down two of your classmates on her own during the first day. Do you know why that is?"

I turned away. I hated being used as a teaching example. Most of the students were whispering, but Suigetsu actually called out.

"Cause she engaged them in melee."

The teacher pointed.

"Correct! This little girl with only three jutsu overcame two members of the advanced jutsu course because they weren't expecting to be engaged in close quarters. Fujiko-san seemed to catch on and used a proper jutsu to try and counter it but I had no doubt if I didn't intervene she would have been defeated by this little girl's speed and skill with a blade."

I think him calling me little girl repeatedly because it proved the point, but it was still embarrassing. The teacher spend the next few minutes explaining the pros and cons of specializing and the benefits of learning to adapt to different types of opponents before calling the next match. When we were watching I was still standing next to the teacher unhenged for the rest of the class.

"So, you know the infiltration assignment, did I fail?"

He looked at me for a moment before smiling.

"You shouldn't worry about that. You got pretty far, several of the students usually reveal themselves or have the henge falter by this point."

I thought about that before saying.

"Oh, so do you think I should let Hiroshi go then?"

He seemed to mull that over before thinking.

"If I remember correctly the assignment still lasts for a week, and maybe the experience will humble him."