As soon as Kamatari, Kira, and I arrive at the daimyo's mansion, it's clear that something has gone wrong. There are technically still guards there, but they must have died at least a few hours ago. Even though some scavengers appear to have snacked on their corpses, I can still guess how they died. It's just hard to tell if they were cooked alive or died from blood loss since at least some of the bite marks on the bodies are way too big to be caused by a hungry jackal. Kamatari practically shoves Kira through the door before the smell of decay can paralyze the three of us. At least whatever caused this mess should be long gone by now.
Kamatari keeps his scythe against Kira's legs to keep her ahead of us and to make sure she doesn't try to run away. I doubt she has the nerve to try and leave us now though. Her hands are trembling so hard that she has to fumble with the door to the daimyo's quarters for about a minute before she can get a good grip on it. She looks over her shoulder before shakily smiling at us. "You will help me is he is in there right? Even you wouldn't want to see me get beaten to death." I can't say I agree with Kira's last statement at the moment and it is clear that Kamatari agrees with me. He bares his fangs at Kira for a moment before nodding at the door. "Thanks for your support." Kira's voice drips with sarcasm as she twists the doorknob with her sweaty, shaking hand. Moments later, the three of us enter the scene of what can only be described as a bloodbath.
It's hard to believe that this room used to be even remotely luxurious. Most of the fabric in here is either burnt or bloodstained now. Almost everything else has been shredded. The only thing that remains intact is the daimyo's golden chair and even that has been knocked over. Cowering behind it is the daimyo himself. He looks like karma finally paid him back for making my husband miserable and my home a laughing stock. All the same, it does feel a bit odd to see such a powerful political figure humbled like this. The daimyo would have made a sorry sight even if I only looked at his robes; those things look more like a beggar's filthy rags now. As for his injuries, he'll live. The daimyo's once thick and elegant robes seem to have stifled the bleeding coming from his chest a while ago judging from all of the blood encrusting his upper body. I don't think he'll be able to smirk at me too easily now though since at least one of his teeth is missing and a long red gash snaking down his jaw will probably make any sort of facial insults painful for the time being. When the daimyo finally addresses us, his voice sounds as beaten and broken as his body looks. "If you're going to kill me, do it now. The people who I thought would protect me for the rest of my life either died a few hours ago or ran off under the orders of a monster."
Kamatari cautiously inches towards the daimyo and inspects his injuries. "How did this happen? No human could have possibly done this." Kamatari glares at a still shell shocked Kira before muttering his diagnosis. "I only know one person who has any chakra like this, but she was with Karura and her family when this mess would have happened."
Kira seems to shrink as the daimyo slowly looks her over. "So that demon really was after you. He sent my best ANBU guard member after you. If you're here, something must have prevented that creature's desires from being fulfilled." The daimyo manages a weak smile until he notices that Kira won't meet his eyes. "You are okay aren't you? I know that monster wanted to kill you with some of his chakra. I saw him infuse some of his chakra into a seal before he ordered my last guard off. He told him to 'use the seal on the demon living in Suna' so that he could get back at someone who had escaped him."
With wording like that, it's easy to imagine what happened. Kira starts backing away from me, but it only takes me a moment to grab her by the wrist. As I drag her to within a few inches of my face, I can see a bruise already forming on her wrist. "Let me get this straight, my son might die just because you pissed off your father?" Kira nods. Before she can even try apologizing, my fist is already crashing into her gut. "That's for tricking us." I slap her hard across her face. "That's for tearing my family apart." Finally, I punch her so hard with one of my wind scythe jutsu that I can hear her ribs cracking as she slams into the ground. "And that was for making my son think he finally had found a friend he could trust you traitorous, sneaky, selfish bitch!" Even Kamatari flinched at that last part. The daimyo almost looks like he might pee himself if I get anywhere near him now.
Kira manages to lift herself carefully back onto her feet after letting a few curse words slip on her way up. Her face is contorted into a snarling mask of anger not unlike the expression Takeo had worn he found out that he was not Gaara's father. Before she can start yelling back at me, the daimyo interrupts our little confrontation. "But that thing isn't even close to human! How could you be related?" Kira shoots one last glare at me before she turns to the daimyo and shows him her seal.
"He gave me this. I never knew my real father, so calling him that just made things easier to explain. I tried to track down my real father not long after I ran away, but the couple who had taken Riu and I in died when I tried to go to where I had heard my father had lived after we were ambushed by some of my father's underlings." Kira takes a shaky breath and wipes a tear away before continuing. This girl is just full of sob stories isn't she? "I could never live in Konoha without that demon finding me, so I came to Suna. Since I had heard that its demon host was treated like a life threatening contagious disease, I didn't think anyone would even consider looking for me there since anyone who learned my secret would probably treat me the same way. Most of the people in Suna hate me anyway." Kira glances at me. "At least one person seems to enjoy me presence though. I just hope he'll stop being so dense about how I feel about him once he wakes up." Kira can't keep the hopeful gleam out of her eyes, but she's trying very hard to look pitiable. I sure know it'll take more than one little speech to make me trust this girl again.
The daimyo can't avoid laughing at Kira for a moment before the look in her eyes makes him reconsider her story. "And here I honestly thought the council's theory about Shukaku's host putting you under a genjutsu was true. You really must be desperate!"
Kira manages to keep the rest of her dignity in tact for all of maybe five seconds. "Now if you could just get Gaara's overly violent mother and absent father to approve of me, my life might get better." Kira laughs nervously for a moment before I threateningly crack my knuckles to shut her up. Then she finally gets worried. "You aren't going to throw me in the dungeon are you?"
The daimyo snorts before thinking for a moment. "For one thing, I don't have any dungeons to throw you in. For another, I could use all of the information about that demon I can get. I think I have a lot to discuss with you." The daimyo turns to Kamatari and I with just a glimmer of remorse hiding in his falsely condescending voice. "Kamatari, you had better drop Karura off so she can check on her son. I'll need you here when you are done, but I don't think Karura needs or wants to hear what we have to discuss."
As Kamatari leads me back outside and prepares to take me back to Chiyo and Gaara, I can't stop thinking about how the daimyo talked to me. He seems to have been humbled at least a little by his beating. For once, he even managed to call Gaara my son instead of a demon, a monster, or anything like that. When Kamatari asks if I think it is wise to allow the daimyo to talk with Kira at length, my answer surprises him. "I think we won't have to worry about the daimyo for now." After all, he's not the one who sent that ANBU nor is he in any condition to mess with my family.