Heart of the Infiltrators

by MordinofSolus

Senran Kagura x Male Insert - Amidst the turn of the modern era, a young man is forcibly contracted to cure twenty shinobi of a mental ailment known as distortion, caused by the corrupted blood of Yōma. As time goes on, the long hidden societies of the world are forced to come out into the public spotlight when they are pitted against one another.

29. Chapter 29: Crushing Setbacks

Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 29: Crushing Setbacks

Watching the young man stumble along the sidewalk from far behind, Sato Hazuki continued to trail after him with a faltering resolve. Though she knew that her penultimate goal would be within reach if she had just dragged him into an alley to do away with him, she was suffering from a terrible anxiety attack due to the rising anticipation of her offense and the perceived stares from the crowd of people along the sidewalk. While the young man certainly had most of the attention, with many people turning their heads to get a look at the ugly bruises covering his face, Sato couldn't help but feel as though some eyes trailed toward her. Even if she never did anything noteworthy, there was always a feeling that someone was scrutinizing her at every turn.

When she caught sight of a police officer on the other side of the street enjoying an early lunch at a local café, Sato had to resist against every one of her instincts' as they screamed for her to run away. After all, she was being deliberately truant for one of the first times in her life. But the rarity of the opportunity demanded that she kept moving to intercept. When the young man didn't show up for first period, Sato overheard Miss Osatani talking with Takatsukasa Sugiyama that he'd called in sick. From there, after reminding herself that the young man hadn't called in before despite past injuries, Sato decided to take a risk and moved to head him off at the residence she tracked him to.

While she didn't know why he was absent, she believed that it meant he was either knee-deep in shinobi business or on the verge of death. Her bet paid off in the fact that it appeared to be a mix of both of those things. From the disgustingly purple bruises on his cheek and above his eye to the open wound he had on the back of his head, it looked like someone had beaten him with the intention to kill. When Sato took one final look at the police officer to see if he'd taken notice of the young man's injuries, she was relieved to find the cop talking with a waitress that he appeared to be intimate with.

The girl turned her attention back to the young man, who was discreetly slinking into a pharmacy. Not wanting to lose track of him, Sato held her breath and quickened her pace around the surrounding crowds. If anyone tried to make eye contact with her, she never saw it. Her eyes remained glued to the concrete while her legs powered forward. It wasn't until Sato realized she had almost passed up the pharmacy that she decided to take a moment to calm down. After a few minutes, she turned around and peered through the window to find the pharmacist and clerk frantically running around the counters to treat the young man's wounds against meager protests. But, after the old man spoke some passionate-looking words, the boy ceased his fussing and allowed them to clean him up.

Sato's eyebrows fell low with envy upon catching the scene. Just as the young man was the center of attention when he was with the girls or Miki, even random strangers were going out of their way to give him affection. She wanted that. After taking a breath and reminding herself of what she was going to do at the right opportunity, Sato sat herself by the edge of an alley and waited for the young man to come out.

Soon enough, she would have what she'd been pining for. Just as it was when Sato realized that the young man was an infiltrator, it just boiled down to a game of patience. She was the hunter… and the boy who'd associated himself with the shinobi was the prey… All she had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity… No. She would take a few minutes to prepare and then set about waiting. All that really needed to be done was scour the surrounding area, find a makeshift weapon, and formulate a plan of attack.

Betraying the often-meek look on her face, Sato took a breath and adopted a worn-out smile. Her prize was finally within reach.

In the suburbs, the girls and parents were waiting tensely in the apartment's parking lot. Hanzō and Oda's booming voices could be heard from inside the young man's residence without any sign of quieting down. Occasionally there was a pause, though some snooping from Yayoi, Hibari's mother, revealed those brief silences were actually Jasmine making quiet retorts.

As Hanzō could be heard booming, "DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT BOY'S FACE!? HE'S A TEENAGER, YOU BEAST!" Homura turned from her position beside Asuka on the curb and opened her mouth as if to ask something before quickly closing it. Though the brunette turned to her and nodded her head to encourage her friend's thoughts, nothing was said between the two.

Fortunately, Yumi had the same question as the tanned girl and dared to ask from behind, "Have you ever seen or heard Hanzō this angry?"

"HE'S AN INFILTRATOR! A TERRORIST! THE BROTHER OF TSAO! THAT SAME TSAO WHO BUTCHERED THE ENTIRE HIRAIZUMI DIVISION!"

Asuka shook her head before protruding her lower lip and raising a finger, "Hm… Actually… There was- No, that was all in jest… In all honesty, I've never seen or heard him like this-"

"THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!? DO YOU AIM TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THAT BASTARD BY KILLING HIS BROTHER!? ARE YOU NO BETTER THAN HE IS!?"

"HOW DARE YOU COMPARE ME TO TSAO, YOU LYING SHIT!? I'M ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POWERS I'VE BEEN GIVEN BY THE STATE!"

"But… I have heard stories from… Mom," Asuka finished as she turned her head to the aforementioned woman, trying hard to not meet her eye.

Seeing her daughter taking a peek at her, Akari did her ultimate to put on an apologetic smile. But, unable to hold onto her front for long, the woman turned her head away and took a heavy breath as she remained seated against the side of her car. There was no denying the part that she and the rest of the parents played in the young man's confrontation. Even if she didn't raise the fist that pummeled him, she only stood by and watched. However much she screamed for Jirō to stop, it was plain and obvious that she and the rest of the adults could have just gone past Oda to pull him off. Akari knew that and so did Asuka… so the former would never shame her daughter when the criticism inevitably came.

"YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE EXCEPTIONS, YOU APE! CERTAINLY, AFTER JUST ONE LOOK AT THE BOY, YOU CAN TELL THAT HE'S NO THREAT! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS, HE'S ALREADY CURED FOUR OF THE GIRLS OF THEIR DISTORTION!"

Despite Oda's standpoint on distortion, Akari was one who was inclined to believe its existence. After all, she'd seen other elite shinobi turn from bright and enthusiastic to cold and distanced over the span of a couple days. She initially attributed it to a sort of post-traumatic stress disorder, seeing as every one of those shinobi had gone up against Yōma at some point in their lives. But as the years went by and veterans kept getting hollowed out, Akari deigned to ask her father. In turn, Hanzō explained to her all about distortion and the role it played in changing people for the worse. Though she was split on the idea, especially when he explained that the only ones capable of 'correcting' it were a bunch of witch doctors called infiltrators, her previous observations couldn't be denied… So, when she thought about the issue at hand, Akari never really took a stance on the issue. She just knew that something was happening to veteran shinobi and that was that.

While her head shamefully faced the ground in thought, Masayoshi, Ikaruga's adoptive father, approached and murmured, "I wonder if Oda planned on beating that boy from the very beginning…"

Akari let out a surprised squeak before turning her head up to the overdressed man, offering a pouty look for having been scared. But, once her head fell back into place, she turned her gaze away and answered back, "I don't think he did… Oda's, without a doubt, notorious for being swift and brutal with his punishments… But he isn't- Usually, he isn't so…"

"SAY WHAT YOU WILL! YOU LIARS HAVE KEPT THIS BEHIND MY BACK FOR FAR LONGER THAN I CAN FORGIVE! EITHER WAY, HE'S A TERRORIST WHO SHARES HIS LINE WITH TSAO!"

"Barbaric?" asked the man.

"That's a word for it…" whispered Akari as she began to rub her chin in thought. She would have pondered why Oda was so rough if she didn't know the answer already. Even still, regardless of the hate that Oda felt for Tsao, the veteran shinobi had ordered them all beforehand to stay any aggression… until he let Jirō loose. The larger shinobi previously acknowledged that the young man seemed to be a composed individual, apparently being extremely tolerant to the girls' extremities despite some discomfort and pain. Yet, despite that compliment he paid, he still was willing to see him battered. Akari brought the hand rubbing her chin up to her forehead before murmuring, "It's weird… during the call he gave me… he even said the boy likely didn't have bad intentions…"

Masayoshi closed his eyes and stated, "Oda got emotional and caught up with the moment… maybe?" before he shook his head, "No… That doesn't sound like Oda…"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, JASMINE! YOU AND YOUR TWO-FACED HUSBAND WILL BE LUCKY TO JUST GET OUT OF HERE IN HANDCUFFS!"

"None of this is like him," said Akari as she glanced up to the door of the young man's apartment, "I mean, why involve us? I know our daughters are involved here but…" She cut herself off to think for a moment before stammering, "Think back to that school in Osaka. Was that three years ago?"

"LISTEN TO WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY!"

Masayoshi looked grimly down to her, "April thirteenth, little over three years ago…"

"I'LL HEAR NONE OF IT!"

The woman nodded before her grimace deepened, "He didn't contact any of the parents until he killed those five shinobi… None of the victims' or renegades' parents had any idea their sons and daughters were dead until everything was dealt with… So why contact us in this scenario? It couldn't have just been for intimidation… could it?"

"DO YOU WANT ANSWERS OR ARE YOU JUST LOOKING TO KILL AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER!?"

Looking down to Akari with a matching look of bleakness, Masayoshi began to say, "Well, to be fair, dealing with five young renegades is a bit different…" before his words died in his throat. He rubbed his neck a few times before murmuring, "No… it really isn't much different, is it? Save for the fact that someone has yet to be killed this time around, it really boils down one thing for Oda: there's a threat and he has to neutralize it…"

"INNOCENT BYSTANDER!? HE'S A TERRORIST WHO YOU'VE ADMITTED-"

"DO NOT CALL HIM A TERRORIST!"

Hearing the interruption, Akari looked up, "That was Jasmine that time, wasn't it?"

The man beside her nodded, "I was wondering what was taking her so long."

"I'LL CALL HIM WHAT HE IS!"

"THEN CALL HIM A BOY! THAT'S ALL HE IS!"

"HE'S AN INFILTRATOR!"

After a few seconds of pondering, Masayoshi concluded his previous statement, "I suppose there is one key difference… Tsao is involved…" He took a breath, "And if there's one thing Oda wants," and then exhaled, "it's that monster's head…"

"JUST LISTEN! YOU DON'T KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BROUGHT HIM HERE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHY HE'S HERE!"

"So, we're in agreement then?" asked Akari.

"Depends on if we're thinking the same thing," replied Masayoshi.

The brunette turned her head to Asuka, who met her eyes with a mix of hurt and confusion while murmuring with Homura. Then she looked back up to her friend, "Oda didn't call us out of the goodness of his heart… Nor to try and talk sense to our daughters like he said…"

"I DON'T SEE WHY I SHOULD CARE ABOUT WHAT MOTIVATES SOME TERRORIST LAPDOG TO COME HERE AND DO WHATEVER HE DOES TO THOSE GIRLS! ALL I KNOW IS THAT TSAO IS HIS BROTHER AND THAT WE HAVE A KEY TO AVENGE EVERYONE HE'S KILLED!"

"Maybe he really did just bring us along to intimidate a young boy…finished Akari, "Nothing more and nothing less."

"I already had that figured out from the beginning," stated Masayoshi, "Didn't you?"

"I've always been a little slow to figuring these kinds of things out."

"ODA, PLEASE JUST LISTEN!"

"If I remember correctly, the kid pointed it out too… back when we were all upstairs."

"Again, I am slow."

"I WILL NOT LISTEN TO ANOTHER WORD! I'M HEADING OUT TO PICK THAT BOY UP! ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, I'LL GET TSAO AND THEN HE'LL BE MADE TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING A FUCKING CHILD-MURDERING SHIT!"

"I'm pretty sure Oda admitted to it too. Plus, he just yelled about Tsao-"

"Do you just like broken records or something? Is that something rich people like?"

"Sometimes, when it boosts my ego."

"HE NEVER WANTED TO BE A TERRORIST, YOU DAMN FOOL!"

Upon hearing those last few words, Akari and Masayoshi's eyes went up to the apartment in confusion before facing one another. Just as one of them was about to ask if they heard the same thing, the dull-eyed mother of Imu and Murasaki, Tomoe, turned to her husband and asked, "Strange claim that she just made. How do you think it works?"

Standing next to her by one of the support beams to the apartment's stairway, Shōwa replied in turn with an equally tired look, "I'm sure it's a long and complicated story… One I'm sure that Oda isn't willing to hear." But, when the booming yells that once rang out of the apartment ceased and were replaced by quiet chatter, the man shrugged his shoulders and took off his glasses to give them a cleaning, "Yet, that may be exactly what he's doing… There's a first for everything."

Not too far away from them, Jirō kept his head down as he grumbled, "Don't be too sure. Oda knows that Jasmine's been crafty in the past… and Hanzō isn't much better…"

Shōwa turned to the Hebijo principal, who was sat up against the building's wall, "Say it were true, though… would it make a difference in how you dealt with the boy?"

"Maybe you didn't hear the same story as I have," growled Jirō. He stood up and loudly shouted, "He has the nerve to claim my Miyabi's attention, along with three other girls. Even if he wasn't an infiltrator, I would have to kill him for my daughter's-"

"You're an embarrassment," called Miyabi's voice from beside Yumi. When her father turned to face her, doing his utmost to restrain his rage, she continued, "Say what you will about him, whether you think he's faithless or is out to dirty me," before adopting a large scowl, "he's far superior to you." Jirō balled up his hands, a gestured his daughter caught as she added, "And he doesn't even need to raise a fist to do so."

Relaxing himself before he did anything stupid, the man clenched his eyes closed and calmly began to say, "If this is about what happened earlier, I'm sor-" but was cut off midsentence.

"We both know you're not being sincere," jabbed Miyabi as she advanced away from her comrades towards her father, "so don't say another word."

Without hesitation, Jirō stepped away from the wall and towards her. Fortunately, Shōwa stepped away from his wife to get in front of his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Easy… You'll only make things worse if you do anything else… calm down."

Though a violent look of frustration came over the man's face, Jirō stopped making an effort to move. Even when Miyabi advanced more and more until she was about a meter from him, the man forced himself to focus on the bruise he left on his daughter's cheek before his temper finally wavered. In all truth, he did feel terrible about the accidental punch he delivered. Though he would never willingly admit it, Jirō wanted to prostrate himself to apologize then and there …

But his pride forbade it. Jirō was the principal of Hebijo Academy, the one who took full control after Dōgen was killed. His position and superiors demanded that he remained did his utmost to retain control by being swift, impartial, and brutal without exception. Beyond that, if he was being entirely honest with himself, Jirō knew that he was never fit to be a proper parent. When his wife announced her pregnancy, he feigned a small bit excitement behind a cold persona and did everything he could to keep the fear off his face. As his daughter grew up, he let her mother take the central role in raising her while he made himself scarce more often than he ever should have.

Looking at the bruise on Miyabi's face solidified everything that Jirō feared from the very start of her life: regardless of how powerful a shinobi he was, he was doomed to fail as a parent… Being a father was never for him nor was it something that he ever deserved to be called… But, of course, he'd never admit to that.

Before either Jirō or Miyabi could say anything more to one another, both sets of their fiery yellow eyes turned up to the apartment when they heard the front door slam open. Before either could move to get a better look at who was on the balcony, Oda stormed down the stairs and pointed to Miyabi, "You." Having already been hardened by the fact that her parent had struck her, the white-haired girl wasn't much fazed when the larger shinobi inserted himself between her and Jirō. Even when he demanded, "Tell me what exactly brought that boy to all of you… right now," she kept her face as firm as stone.

"Circumstances brought about by his brother," Miyabi answered.

"Tsao?" snarled Oda in surprise.

"Not him, the other one."

The big man tilted his head for a second before he asked, "Haruo then…?" The girl nodded to him before he looked at her carefully, "You're sure?"

"It's as we said," Jasmine called as she stepped out from the apartment, "the second brother-"

"Shut it," barked Oda as he turned his head over to Yumi and began to advance before something clicked in his head: he couldn't rely on the information of cool and composed individuals capable of scheming against him. Without further thought, he redirected himself toward Minori, who stood anxiously by the border of the parking lot, and growled, "Do you know how he got here? The details?"

The smaller girl stepped away as Yumi moved to try and insert herself between the two, "I can answer-"

"She can speak for herself," barked Oda as he pointed his finger at Minori, "Tell me. How did that boy come to be here?" The pigtailed girl sputtered a few times, tears welling in her eyes out of pure fear, as she turned to her sisters for help. Unfortunately, despite their protests in the background, Oda continued to press, "Just tell me. Why is he here?"

Ultimately, the girl covered her face and cried, "HE SAID HE WANTS TO BE FREE! IN THE SUSHI PLACE, THAT'S WHAT HE SAID! THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER, I SWEAR!" before she fell to her knees under the massive pressure the giant pressed on her.

While Yozakura and Shiki flanked around the man to compose their sister, Oda narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Free from what? Be specific."

"Oda!" yelled Jasmine as she descended the stairs, "we've already told you-"

"I won't take the word of a couple liars!" yapped the shinobi as he turned back to Minori, "What does he want to be free from!?"

"He didn't specify," called Hibari from Asuka's side, "but we know he doesn't want to be an infiltrator… So… maybe that's what he was referring to?" When Oda turned his gaze to her, she shrunk a bit and stammered, "At least, that's what I got out of it…"

Before the man could aggress any further, Ikaruga also decided to step in, "He explained that he was in the middle of trying to leave before this mess started to snowball…" She gestured to Jasmine and to Hanzō, who had followed just behind his wife, "According to everything we've heard, those two were after Haruo after an… incident with Renka…"

"Renka," Oda repeated, "I don't believe I'm familiar with her…"

"From a mountain village, some odd kilometers out of the city," answered Hanzō. When his ex-partner didn't do anything to interrupt him, the old man continued, "His brother, Haruo, attempted a correction on her but… he wasn't…" before sighing, "the only good he did was in getting rid of the distortion… but her mind's a mess now… and there's been no sign of recovery since…"

"And you hunted Haruo for it? Despite Tsao?"

Hanzō adopted a remorseful grimace, "We wouldn't let it go…"

Oda paused for a moment and stared before clicking his tongue, "So why the boy? In the apartment, you said you blackmailed him and brought him here. What did he have to do with it…? Unless…" After a few thoughts ran through his head, Oda let out a sarcastic snort and grumbled, "Hypocrites… the both of you."

While Hanzō sucked in a shameful breath and closed his eyes, Jasmine visibly recoiled, "What're you-"

"You rail on me about having the boy beaten senselessly," declared Oda before he pointed an accusatory finger, "but you say that you went after him because you thought it would get to a selfish shit like Haruo…"

Hanzō tried to interject, "That wasn't all-"

"I don't want to hear anymore," growled Oda as he waved his hand dismissively, "I want to listen to the boy explain to me everything that's led to this point. After that…" He turned his head and faced all of the girls, "Only after that will I conclude what must be done…" before he clicked his tongue again, "The lot of you better hope he's a good speaker because I am low on patience."

Despite all of his misgivings and the openings for lies, Oda was silently convinced of the story that Hanzō and Jasmine gave him. Considering the fact that they could have ironed out the details with the girls, the veteran shinobi was surprised with himself for even entertaining the thought that there were some unfortunate circumstances to the young man's presence… Yet, all of the boy's mannerisms fit the bill extremely well. Defiant and frustrated like an animal getting pressed further and further into a corner, he only got more and more aggressive as Oda continued to press him. Throw in the line that the young man had said earlier, his declaration that he was already on one leash, then that only meant one of two things: either the story about him being blackmailed was true or, even within the heat of the moment, the boy was a good enough actor to keep composed and build off the elaborate explanation that had been cooked up. But, considering how poorly the young man and Hanzō tried to sell their previous story, the one on how he happened to meet the girls coincidentally, and the fact that constructing such a backup story was a completely monotonous detail that wouldn't usually ever be needed… Oda was inclined to believe it.

Turning around to march towards the parents, Oda considered how such a story threw a wrench into two of his key principles. He was already acting on one, that being to enforce the law with little exception. But then there was the one that'd been engrained into his head since childhood.

"Have pity on those who are forced to act on the whims of the world, those same whims that we call circumstance. Even if they do the best that they can, they will always be sheep on their way to the slaughter… Only the kind hand of one who is free can release them. Oda… be that kind hand whenever you feel that opportunity is deserved."

Remembering the fact that he would likely be living a terrible life in poverty if his grandfather hadn't extended a hand to him, Oda couldn't bear the thought of abandoning that principle for anything. Even if the young man was Tsao's brother and an infiltrator, the shinobi couldn't just ignore the fact that the young man was a victim of circumstance. Moreover, Oda could never ignore the fact that the boy was apparently working to leave the life of an infiltrator behind him only to have it taken away.

Ultimately, it would depend on what the boy had to say and whether or not he stood by that story. Either way, Oda would have some deep thinking to do. Maybe he couldn't let the young man get away scot-free but he wouldn't kill him if the story checked out.

After waving over the rest of the parents, Oda ordered simply. "Spread out and find the boy. Bring him back here in good condition." When a couple of the girls began to speak and offered to help, the veteran shinobi cut them off with a sharp, "The lot of you are staying here in my sight. We'll wait for him and see what can be made of this mess." When Jirō began to head off, Oda called after him, "Oi, I'll need your help keeping watch over these girls."

While the Hebijo principal cussed under his breath, Oda sat himself on the apartment stairs beside Jasmine and Hanzō. The married couple looked at him, wary of whatever Oda had in mind as he closed his eyes and began to meditate on what options he could offer to try and satisfy the young man's demands for freedom… in anticipation that everything being claimed was true.

Upon exiting the pharmacy and offering a thankful wave to the respective owners, the young man began to make his way down the sidewalk. He gave the occasional scratch to the bandage wrapped around his head but ultimately felt a lot more clearheaded than he did before. Though there was a bit of an awkward stumble to his walk, he was able to think more clearly and was capable of reflecting on the situation at hand.

But, just as his face fell in remembering that the girls were all still with Oda, the young man heard a few frantic footsteps from behind him. At first, remembering his jog with the girls of Hebijo, he thought it was Murasaki. Between the sound of how the perpetrator's shoes tapped against the sidewalk and how erratic the pacing was between each step, the young man was sure he was about to turn around and find the purple-haired girl with all of her anxiousness on display.

Instead, he found Sato quickly surging toward him. Her straight dark brown hair bounced and waved a bit but her ocean blue eyes were narrowed through her round glasses with complete seriousness. Upon processing her presence, the young man clenched his eyes closed and repeatedly cursed in his head. Of all the times for her to suddenly show up, she chose the one where he'd just been interrogated and beaten less than an hour before. After remarking to himself about how much he hated life at that moment, the young man took a few steps backward from the slowing girl before nodding his head and turning to walk away. His ultimate hope was that he could try and blow off whatever she was planning to do.

Unfortunately, his sliver of hope that it was all just a cruel coincidence rang empty. Without warning, the young man could hear Sato's footsteps pick up in speed before a hand suddenly clasped onto his shoulder and aggressively began to guide him toward an alleyway. When he tried to resist and pushed against her, a massive shove threw him forward into the alley. After another attempt to free himself by trying to maneuver around the girl, he was shoved again and fell onto his rear while a few onlookers humorously made retorts.

"Oop, he's got something coming."

"Do you think they're boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I wonder what he did to piss her off?"

In that moment, the young man decided that he not only hated life, but he also everyone and everything. Before he could yell for help, Sato quickly clasped a hand over his mouth before she pulled him up by the arm to spin him around, hold said arm up to his back, and pushed him deeper and deeper into the alleyway. Considering the fact that he was a bit taller than the girl, the young man was completely surprised by how strong she apparently was. Then, remembering why he had a bandage around his head in the first place, he also concluded that the blunt force trauma he took was not helping the situation.

After turning around a corner that lead toward a dead-end of brick walls and a bit of muffled yelling on the young man's part, Sato threw him to the ground before leaning down to a corner where she had stashed a lead pipe. In the middle of picking himself up and spinning around, the young man barely had a second to spare when Sato swung the makeshift weapon downward straight for his head. He scrambled backwards and listened to the ringing of metal loudly clashing against concrete. Feeling himself go cold in realization of what his opponent was after, the young man looked up to the girl in wide-eyed alarm.

When Sato began to advance, he picked himself up and raised up his arms while trying to adopt a combat stance. But, despite how hard he tried to focus and retain the posture, there was still far too much of a wobble to his movement. Fortunately, upon seeing his pose, Sato let out a quiet snort before speaking with a grimace on her face, "That posture…?"

Well aware of the situation he was in, the young man spoke through uneasy breaths, "What about it?"

Searching for the right words, Sato answered back with a mumble, "It explains the bruises… from then…"

"From then?" repeated the boy before he realized that she was referring to the day after his fight with Yumi. While still trying to steady himself and balance out his posture, he considered his options. No matter how the young man looked at it, Sato had a serious advantage over him. She was armed and had him cornered with no place to flee while he couldn't even adopt a proper combat stance to literally save his life. When Sato took another step towards him, he sought to try and delay her with conversation by stammering, "So what is this then? Assassination or just some random murder you're going after?"

Taking another step towards him, the girl replied frankly, "Assassination."

The young man hoped to have her start monologuing in order to buy some time to think out a plan. But Sato, being the silent student that she was, gave a one-word answer and blew his attempt out of the water. Still, he was desperate to try again, "So, what then? Is that it? Without even trying to… I don't- to talk it out? After only like ten words, you're going to kill me?"

"Yes," replied Sato as she stepped closer, holding back her weapon in caution despite the fact that she had the advantage and was in range.

Realizing that there wouldn't be a way out, the young man took a breath into his nose before exhaling out his mouth. Despite the fact that he was in no condition to fight, Sato wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter. Keeping his arms raised up, the young man asked with a determined hoarseness to his voice, "Answer me this, at least… I know you saw Asu- the shinobi in class some days back… By the way you're going about this, I know you're not an infiltrator. So… are you a dignitary?"

"Yes," answered Sato as she suddenly swung the lead pipe around, her face cool and composed despite the fact that she was getting into her first real fight ever… with the intention to kill, no less… Of course, that was what true focus and determination did to desperate people.

Duel: Sato Hazuki – Silent Dignitary of Meager Origin

The young man dodged backward into the alley's dead-end, sloppily tripping his feet while doing so. Once his back was to the wall, he looked to both of Sato's sides to see if there was any room for escape. Though the alley, itself, was about three meters wide with plenty of room for movement, the young man's opponent stuck to the middle with her lead pipe and would be within strike range no matter where he ran. One way or another, he'd have to get through one of her blows in order to get away.

BE FREE! That's what they'll be,

To any end achieved…

After killing the momentum of her last swing, Sato gripped the lead pipe with both of her hands before leveling it to her waist to hold it like a dagger. While it wasn't at all pointed, there was a large fist-sized nut screwed on the end that would certainly do damage if jabbed into any fragile bones. Her bright eyes scanned the young man's body, marking each point where she expected to be able to do the most damage. After taking a few looks at his head and knees, Sato reeled back the pipe and kicked herself forward.

NO HEED! Not they who plead,

Against lies long foreseen…

Hoping her momentum wouldn't be easily slowed, the young man slid his body to the side and extended his hands to try and get control of the weapon. Much to his surprise, Sato managed to angle the pipe toward him enough to skid against his hip. But, with only a small bit of pain ripping into him from the scratch, the young man was mostly unaffected.

Neither balk,

Similar to his fight with Yumi, the boy clasped one hand onto Sato's wrist while extending the other for her shoulder to try and use her own momentum to throw her into the wall. Closer to the ground, he was also kicking forward one of his feet straight for the girl's ankle. Though he managed to get both grips and effectively hooked his foot to her leg, Sato broke her free hand away from the pipe and decked the young man straight in the nose. He held strong at first but was forced back to the side of the alley when the second punch nailed him in the eye.

Breaking line,

Though his attack was completely countered, the young man was no longer backed into the end of the alley. Since he was at Sato's side, all he really needed to do was maneuver for the exit while making sure she didn't cut him off. The dignitary was aware of this and began to sidestep to block the young man but, unwilling to sit and wait, the boy raised his arms and began to run as a feint. When Sato inevitably jumped to cut him off, he rotated his body and extended his arm forward. He almost clotheslined her neck before she ducked her head and whirled around her pipe straight into his elbow to produce a nasty crunch.

Only actor's talk,

A searing pain screamed through the young man's arm while he grounded his teeth together to maintain focus. Catching the fact that Sato was going in for another blow, he dodged backward and found himself trapped again at the end of the alley. After all that, the young man had made no progress and only had a broken bone or two for his trouble. Still, he wasn't out of the fight. Since he held his own against Jirō, he believed that escaping the alley and Sato would still be very possible. It was either that or the young man would be punished with the ultimate price.

Losers pay the fine!

Deciding to change up his strategy, the young man held up his broken arm with gritted teeth and charged forward. While a number of strategies came to his head, almost all of them were too similar to his previous attack. He knew that, just before escaping, the most important part of the fight at hand was remaining unpredictable to Sato so that he couldn't be easily countered. To bolster that element of unpredictability, the young man intended to use his broken arm as a shield while he made a desperate dive. Unfortunately, his strategy was instantly seen through.

Though a swan's flight may go the distance,

Come hawk talons,

To run through,

His Dreams…

At first, Sato played along with his strategy. She swung her pipe for his broken arm and the result was a painful snap in the middle of his forearm. The young man let out a mortified and pained groan but his flight instinct kept him running for the alley's exit. Then, just as he had passed Sato a bit, the girl arced her still swinging weapon up so that it wouldn't collide with the wall of the alley and angled it straight for the side of the boy's leg. Just before collision, she caught his eye and saw the look of horror as he realized he'd made a serious error. Then there was a loud pop followed by an agonized yell.

Despite great strength in his metered dives,

Birds of prey trump,

Patient lots,

Through time!

The young man tripped forward and landed on his face while he did his utmost to suppress his pained screams. But just as he began to try and pick himself up, Sato raised the pipe and slammed it straight into the boy's spine. A breathless noise wheezed out of the young man's mouth as he fell onto his side, feeling all of the pain that shot through him with great intensity before he realized something. With wide eyes, the young man realized that he could… No… He was going to die. When he tried to move his legs, there wasn't even a twitch. Looking to his arm, he found it bending horridly just past the elbow. Devoid of options and unable to think clearly, he looked up to Sato with a look that begged for mercy. In response, she gripped the pipe in both of her hands and bent over to press it against the young man's neck with the intention to strangle him to death.

THEIR SWEET WINGS,

LIVING HELL!

The fight was in its final seconds and both opponents knew it. While Sato continued to look at him with a cold and detached face, with maybe a hint of remorse, the young man mustered all of his remaining strength in a final attempt to fend her off. Raising his one good arm to get between the pipe and his neck, he pushed and resisted with everything he had left in him. He envisioned everything he dreamed of when he would have been freed from the life of an infiltrator. A home that he could stay in permanently, without the need to move every year or so… Friends that he didn't need to keep secrets from… A life where he didn't need to be afraid!

Summoning a strength that could only be produced from the most desperate and wanting of hearts, the young man shoved back the pipe and threw Sato off balance. His first instinct was to kick her before he remembered that he couldn't move his legs. Stuck with the only other option that he could think of, the young man used his one good arm to try and crawl away. In a quick and flailing rhythm, he managed to get about two meters from Sato before his instincts bid him to turn his head around toward her. His face fell once he saw that she was swinging back the pipe.

FORCED COLLIDE,

TIL ONE'S FELLED!

With blood pumping hard through her veins like never before, Sato took one long look at the young man. His teeth were still grinding together in an open mouth, his cheeks were pulled tightly while he continued to tensely try and pull himself to safety, and his eyes looked like they were about to cry. He knew what was coming before even she did… It was almost enough to keep Sato from striking again until she remembered all of the times that she had a similar face in the mirror. All of the nights that she spent alone while her parents lazed on the couch… while her brother locked himself in his room to play his games… all while she just wanted to talk with someone and admit that she never wanted to be a dignitary. But there was no one she could talk to nor anyone she trusted to confide in. So, seeing as there was a bounty for infiltrators, Sato thought she would play the system and free herself in a different sense.

So, she swung the pipe forward and the fight was over.

Win's to she who came forth,

More desperate for life…

There was a sickening pop as the pipe blew straight into the side of the young man's head. His eyes remained open, he even blinked in confusion a few times, before his head slumped to the ground. His mouth kept taking long and heavy breaths as blood began to pool from the part of his head that was slightly caved in. As everything caught up to her, Sato's face turned from cold to completely mortified by her actions. As far as she was concerned, she had just killed the boy in the most gruesome way that she could conceive… all after he'd taken an evident beating earlier that day.

When his teary eyes looked up to her, vaguely aware of his surroundings, the only thing that Sato could say was a choked, "Sorry… I'm really sorry…" before she began to make her way out of the alley, dropping the pipe to the ground along the way. Before turning the corner, she took control of herself and kept the tears back. Sato knew completely that she had no right to cry in front of the young man after what she'd done to him. After taking in a breath to calm herself, she turned around and stuttered to the boy, "Thi-, this is… All because I'm a selfish bitch… who stands to gain the one thing she's been vying for after so many long and tiring years…" With that, she turned away and began to scamper out of the alley, "This is… all because I want to be free… I'm sorry…"

Left alone with her parting words, the young man could hear the sound of the lightly urbanized area around him… yet, he couldn't. Every word that came out of Sato's mouth, he took in and understood them… but he couldn't reflect on anything. Instead, the only thing that he could focus on was the fact that he appeared to be back in his room from junior high. Everything about the room was just the way he remembered it, decorated with what few knickknacks he was amused by and with some clothes piled in the corner. If he remembered correctly, he even had a signed… something from someone. What and by who, he couldn't rightly remember for some reason.

When he tried to move to investigate what he was doing back there, he found himself trapped underneath the covers and completely immobile. He struggled a bit more but one of his arms and neither of his legs would obey his bidding. In the end, the only thing he could really do was use his one good arm to try and pull himself up. Then the thought occurred to him, to which he voiced, "I'll be late…" He sniveled through his cold nose, which was dribbling for whatever reason, and began to weakly call out, "Hey… Grandpa…? Grandpa, I need to get up… I need to get up…"

Struggling alone and deliriously in the alley, the young man continued to weakly murmur, "I need to get up… I gotta… I need to get up…" and shuffled his torso back and forth. Mindlessly, his arm began to grab at the ground, nearby trash and debris, along with anything that it could latch onto. With his eyes still blurry, the young man tearfully continued to incoherently whisper, "I'll need my back-, backpack, I'll need…" and yelled out, "I need my backpack!"

Walking with a completely unmoving face along the sidewalk, Kin silently wondered how such a mess came to be. At first, just like the rest of the parents, he was supposedly called over to talk some sense into his daughter and the rest of the girls. But based on what he'd seen, Yagyū was dead set on defending the boy and with a completely clear mind. It wasn't like she had wrong information or was being misled at all. Beyond that, she also appeared to trust the young man when he was around Hibari. Having read all of the letter's that Yagyū sent about that girl, Kin knew that was a great sign of trust.

Then there was Oda and Jirō's grand performance toward the end of the confrontation. While Kin, himself, wasn't a complicated man and didn't consider law or politics to be within his realm of expertise or understanding, he thoroughly believed that attack went too far. Were it not for the fact that there was room for him to be wrong, for the boy to indeed be a dangerous terrorist capable of great atrocities, then he would have stepped in… Looking back, Kin knew that was the wrong choice. Perhaps Oda scared him much more than he was willing to admit.

Kin wondered what he was doing. He considered Oda's orders for him to search the boy, apparently with the intention to cross-examine Jasmine, Hanzō, and the girls' story. It was such a rapid change in the veteran shinobi's direction that Kin couldn't help but be suspicious, wondering if it was all a ruse to calm the girls down while they dragged the young man back kicking and screaming. Either way, whether Oda was earnest or not, Kin was prepared to search the boy out, if only to check on the bruises and wounds that Jirō inflicted.

Part of the white-haired man wanted to slap the rest of the search party silly when they went on about searching a bunch of different locations. But he decided to let them make asses of themselves. As everyone went to search in parks, theaters, and wherever else, Kin wasn't nearly as shortsighted. The boy had an injury on the back of his head that would need to be treated and would, ergo, go to a place to get some medicine. Thus, Kin darted to a few clinics in the surrounding area, asking the doctors if they'd treated someone of the young man's description. After some truthful denials that they'd seen the boy, the man then set out to a local pharmacy. Part of him cursed, believing the young man to be a fool if he aimed to treat the wound on the back of his head by himself… then again, maybe he was just trying to be secretive? Kin shook his head before he delved into overthinking the situation at hand. He just had to search around until the young man was found.

Then his sharp ears picked up a weak, "I need to get up…" a little bit after accidentally bumping his arm into a skittish girl wearing a pair of round spectacles. Recognizing the pitch and sound, Kin began call out the young man's name. Each time, the only response he got was the same, "I need to get up…"

Following the noise as best as he could with the louder crowds around him, Kin eventually followed the noise toward the mouth of an alley. Every now and then, a few people would glance into the space upon hearing the noise before shrugging their shoulders and turning back to their friends and phones. Put on edge by the weak sound in the young man's voice, Kin pressed on with his stoic expression while anticipating the worst.

Unfortunately, he still wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Crumpled on the floor of the alleyway, the young man kept murmuring with visible delirium, "I've gotta get up… I've got… I need to get up…" with his arm bent horridly just a bit past the elbow. Most concerning was the bit of skull that was slightly caved in on his forehead, leaving the boy in a fatal condition. At first, Kin almost began to panic before he cooled himself and remembered something within Jasmine's possession.

After calming himself down and thinking out what he was going to do, the white-haired man pulled out his phone and dialed a number before waiting with an anxiously tapping foot. Once he heard the line click, he blurted out with no room for interruption, "Jasmine, I found him. Ready up that scroll of yours. Get Oda or Hanzō, they've got thick skulls. Hurry and do not waste any time. It's an emergency."

Before Jasmine could even make a noise, Kin hung up the phone and impatiently stuffed it back into his pocket before kneeling beside the young man. At that point, he knew he'd have to be extremely careful. After all, moving someone with a serious head injury without medical experience was an extreme risk in and of itself; Kin didn't need to be an idiot and unintentionally kill the boy because he was in a panic. While he worked quick to slightly elevate the young man's head and shoulders to minimize the head injury's risk, the boy resisted and began to yell out, "I need to get up! I need to get up…!" while waving his one uninjured arm.

"We're getting you up. Don't move," ordered Kin as he tried to keep the boy from hurting himself.

"I'll need my backpack," whispered the young man, not at all aware of Kin's presence.

"I've got it," murmured Kin without a second thought, "I've got it," as he tried to heft the boy up. Suddenly, the young man let out an agonized scream, to which the white-haired man quickly set him back down. Watching as the boy tried to roll himself around with no visible movement from either his hips or legs, Kin began to suspect that there was also a serious spinal injury. After considering the prospect of an ambulance, the man brushed the idea aside in favor of getting the boy to Jasmine. Even with medical treatment, there was still an almost sure chance that the young man would be dead before even arriving at the emergency room. No, Kin wouldn't let that risk stand. He gripped the boy's hand and whispered, "I'm sorry. This will hurt," and once again moved to lift him.

That time, there was only a lighter noise of pain from the young man before he went completely silent. Kin looked to the boy in his arms with alarm and began to whisper, "Are you alright? Talk to me." But, while his swollen eye remained closed and peaceful, the young man's untouched eye was still slightly open with tear stains running down to the cheek. As no word nor even a tremble came from the boy, Kin began to fear he was going into shock, "Oi… Oi, oi, oi, OI, OI, OI! Say some- shit!"

The young man was still alive… but he was in his own little world. There, he laid on a warm bed within a living room of sorts. All around him, the girls he'd met were all getting into their usual antics. Imu was making jealous looks at Miyabi while she was giving some attention to Murasaki. Ryōna was off to the side, getting beaten by Ryōbi with a smile on her face. Homura hurdled around with Asuka in tow, leaving the rest of the renegades curled up by a fireplace. Ikaruga was trying to explain something to Katsuragi, who was groping Yagyū's breasts, who was hugging Hibari close without much regard for the blonde. Then Yumi came in, dressed as she was the other night, with Yozakura in tow to serve some snacks. Of course, Minori snatched the bowl and began to make off with it. Fortunately, Murakumo stopped her by uttering… something… Shiki was also… what was Shiki doing?

The young man was still comfortable, but everything was starting to turn weird. He could no longer see any of the girls and the room was shifting from shape to shape, from cube, to a sphere, to a pyramid, and then into a prism of sorts. Just like it was when he first came to the city, the young man was alone and confused… And, also just like then, a sudden bit of frustration and anger took him… He didn't know where he was but he was furious for some reason… He didn't know why but he was bombastically furious…