Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 39: Oncoming Encounter

April 24 – "Whether life is grandiose and social or simple and lonesome, every major or minor success and failure is thanks to a wide-ranging web of people. Whether it's the star and their camera crew or a woodsman and whoever first invented the axe, there's always a connection. From there, it's a choice to accept or turn away that web."

The only thing Sato could do was trust her life to Miki. Since she failed to bring the body of the young man forward, the dignitaries were going to have her blood one way or another. While a part of Sato was hoping she'd still be alive by the end of it, she knew it would most likely be a decision between a quick or slow death. If Miki had a say in it, hopefully it would be the former.

Having been driven through the factory district by her parents and allowing them to guide her by the shoulder into that morning's meeting place, Sato could only focus on trying to slow her ever accelerating heartbeat. Since the sun had not yet risen, the only lighting in the entire area was the spooky streetlights with eerily familiar faces chatting or smoking underneath. When they turned their heads toward Sato to try and make eye contact, she lowered her head and began to search for a religion for some kind of peace. Since her head was already being ravaged by the uncertainty of what was to come, she found no such spiritual solace.

After stepping off the sidewalk and approaching the doors of a defunct off-brand company's distribution center, Sato's parents stepped up to the intercom, looked into the camera installed above it, and wordlessly waited to be buzzed in. The door clicked open and the girl was guided into her place of judgment. The three dignitaries passed by a few other such checkpoints, making eye contact with the men and women who were that night's security. After the final set of doors, they reluctantly walked into the wide-open warehouse. Of course, most of it was empty, save for some of the leftover mechanical components in the metal racks that were often reused or melted down to create dignitary tools. While the supply was finally starting to dry, they'd been invaluable for the previous two decades. In the back of her mind, Sato was wondering what would happen when those components finally dried up.

Taking her eyes away from the racks, the three dignitaries settled their eyes onto the open area where bagging machinery once sat. In place of the distribution center's old tools, was a wrinkly shell of a man standing upon a podium. Despite only being in his late forties, the reigning leader of the dignitaries, Genpaku Matsuda, looked as though he were nearing his early seventies. A running gag between some of the more outspoken members was, "Sitting on his ass, Paku-Paku endures more stress than the poorest mass." While the poor old fool resented the repeated jabs and wished to offer rebuttal, he could only ever put a smile on his face and laugh it off to maintain proper courtesy and civility. Although, in recent memory, he'd been verbally lashing out more and more against his critics.

Standing beside him and gesturing for the three Hazuki's to come forward was the second-in-command and the most significant figure of any dignitary: Kazami Kira. Standing stoic and tall before everyone who was already in the room, his ambition and ability could be read by a preschooler. Whether it was his narrowed eyes scrutinizing his technical superior's every move or the soft interjections of his commanding voice, there was no question that he was the one who pulled and plucked every string in what remained of the organization. Save for a few other higherups whom he deemed to be insignificant, Kazami was also the most popular member for his grand mix of decisiveness and activity. Like a legendary general upon a horse, he would be the first to ride into any fray if his men swore to follow after him. With how radical his fans were, there were no shortage of people who were willing to burn in Hell if he demanded it.

It only raised the question: how did such a man come to raise such a loudmouth for a son? In his first eight years of life, Miki's tendency to babble in the middle of a gathering was cute and endearing, even to his less expressive father. Yet, when the boy continued to prattle on about his confusion toward carnivorous plants, the invention of the first computer, or other such random nonsense, it gradually became obnoxious and annoying to the group as a whole. Certainly, they could see it wasn't deliberate since the boy was just awkward when it came to finding the right subject to talk about. But the patience of all the other dignitaries was still thin when it came to enduring his rants, even if they'd been getting shorter in length through recent years.

Watching as Sato and her parents meekly walked toward the front of the room, Miki sat at the front row and did his utmost to seem as invested as possible while trying not to look too attached. If his plan to plea for Sato was to be at all possible, he would need to be cool and calculated above all else. As exhausting as it was, he had to keep his mind focused and on center without distraction. While, in the past couple of days, he'd proven himself capable during graver matters, Miki still found trouble holding confidence within himself before his father.

After Sato passed the front seats and continued forward to stand before Genpaku, who gestured to one of his more loyal subordinates in one of the open area's corners, her parents took their seat on the side opposite of Miki and lowered their heads. At first, he was about to attribute their crestfallen attitudes to the fact that their daughter was standing a potentially lethal trial. But, remembering all that he'd been told about the often-silent duo by his mother, Miki knew that it was likely a severe case of self-pity. Sucking in a breath and keeping his composure, the boy averted his eyes from the cowards and watched as everyone around the room and outside began to convene.

In under a minute, all of the numerous rows chairs for the families summoned to the meeting were filled and the dignitaries acting as security began to make their rounds to watch for potential trespassers. Thus, Genpaku's subordinate, a simple looking man who went by the name Chū, stood in front of the podium, faced the crowd, and spoke soundly, "This day, April twenty-fourth, marks the first trial of Hazuki Sato. If complications are avoided, today will be her only trial." Off to the side, a recordkeeper was jotting down the dialogue while the subordinate continued, "Her charges are a breach of secrecy, withholding critical information, assassination fraud, and attempted embezzlement of assassination funds." Chū passed a glance to Kazami Kira, who responded with a nod, before continuing in a meeker voice, "The community recommends the extraction of information and death by means yet to be determined." Standing just a bit straighter, the simple man finished, "The matter is left to the three hierarchs to decide," before forcing himself to suppress a smile, "The records will show that, since our third hierarch has yet to be replaced after Amamiya's timely death, his vote will be deferred to Leading Hierarch Genpaku."

While Chū was hoping that it would be considered a subtle dig to Kira's authority, the large dignitary just straightened himself and looked to Genpaku. Feeling the eyes throughout the room fall on him, the man sucked a breath into his nostrils and declared, "We will begin immediately," and lifted his hand to wave Sato forward, "Miss Hazuki, you're ordered to respond to the accusations that will be brought forward. Is this understood?"

The girl took a few steps forward before stopping and bowing her head, softly murmuring, "Yes, Hierarch…"

The man craned his head forward a bit, "I didn't hear that very well. Could you repeat?"

"Yes, Hierarch," came Sato's clearer voice.

"Thank you," said the man before he clenched his eyes shut and recomposed himself. For every second that passed, he could feel the harsh criticism of his supposed underlings piercing into him. In the back of all their minds, Genpaku knew they would rather have Kazami continue the proceedings. But he wasn't willing to endure that kind of shame yet, "Miss Hazuki, your first accusation is a breach of secrecy. How do you plead?"

Sato paused for a moment and remembered the advice that Miki gave to her earlier. She closed her eyes and raised her head, "I'm guilty, Hierarch."

Letting out a sound of approval for how smooth he believed the proceedings would go, Genpaku continued, "Your second accusation is the withholding of critical information. How do you plead?"

"I'm guilty, Hierarch."

"Your third accusation is assassination fraud. How do you plead?"

"I'm guilty, Hierarch."

"Your last accusation is the attempted embezzlement of assassination funds. How do you plead?"

"I'm guilty, Hierarch."

"Your honesty and cooperation are appreciated, Miss Hazuki," said Genpaku before he turned to the audience, not at all surprised that there were still snarky or even critical looks on him. After all, what merit could be found in making an anxious girl admit to undeniable transgressions. As much trouble as it would have meant for Sato, he was hoping for her to throw a fit so that he could put on a show of power. Genpaku sighed and spoke, "You are guilty on all four charges, ergo we, your hierarchs, will be deciding your fate today."

Sato nodded and had to actively force herself to not glance at Miki, whom she didn't know was waiting for the perfect moment to arise. Though it was a gamble, the history between Genpaku and his father was almost certainly going to create the perfect opportunity for him. As if on cue, Kira raised his head and spoke out of turn to his technical superior, "The community has already spoken, Matsuda. Let us extract-," but was interrupted.

"You'll not address me so dismissively and disrespectfully, Hierarch Kazami," hissed Genpaku who thumped his palm against the podium, "I know what you're trying to do and I will not stand for it. We'll be going by the book."

The stronger of the two snorted, "We should cling to old precedents then? The same of which that have led us down this filthy path of mediocrity and inaction?" He looked to the audience and said, "Should we really be torturing this girl by going on and on when we can give everyone an immediate answer to all the trouble that's happened?"

"There is a procedure!" cried Genpaku who pointed one of his tired fingers to the man, "Set in place to protect us from power-hungry fools like you!"

Kira played the card he'd been holding onto since before the meeting, "Bold of you to call me power-hungry when you keep defending your claim to power, the same of which you've failed to exercise meaningfully since you first took your title as hierarch."

There were a few calls throughout the audience, "Hear, hear!" as they looked up to the more outspoken leader of the two. Gossip began to go around, repeatedly stabbing into Genpaku's position as their organization's head until Kira held up a hand and quieted them. By that little show alone, the frailer man knew he had no room to properly argue.

Trying to maintain his composure, Genpaku gestured to Kira and asked, "Very well, let me hear your proposal on how to deal with Miss Hazuki."

"My thoughts are aligned with the community," said the taller man, passing a knowing glance to the crowd in order to confirm that they were still very much on his side. Of course, there were no objections and he continued, "We'll extract what knowledge we need from Hazuki and sentence her to death."

While Sato froze up and stood a bit straighter, Genpaku slowly asked, "By what means?"

As though he were thinking it up on the spot, Kira tapped a finger to his head for a moment and declared, "You're so built on precedent and the old ways of doing things, yes? Perhaps we'll have Hazuki gut her own stomach before we lob her head off?"

Choking down a cry and doing her utmost to keep her tears back, Sato remained quiet until Genpaku retorted, "What barbarian do you and your flock take me for, Hierarch Kazami!?"

"It's just what I thought you'd care for," said Kira before clearing his throat, "In actuality, I'd rather her be killed by more humane means, such as a clean bullet to the head."

Hearing the murmurs of the audience behind her as overzealous approval for Kira was echoed, Sato began to wonder when Miki would be offering her his help. Yet, she still decided to put a bit more faith in him and awaited whatever move he had in mind.

"Very humane, indeed…" muttered Genpaku before he faced the crowd of treasonous individuals. Thinking to himself that he was likely going to die by the lot of their hands anyway, he decided to stage his own little bit of rebellion, "but, with my vote as leading hierarch and for our still lacking third hierarch, I veto your motion."

Expecting the rebuttal, Kira listened to the loud and dissatisfied whispers within the audience before retorting, "Perhaps you've a better suggestion then, Matsuda?"

Slapping his hand down into the podium again, Genpaku loudly announced, "Indeed, I do!" and waved his hand to Sato, "Rather than proving ourselves to be grounded in the old and barbaric ways that the lot of you accuse me of being stuck within, let us have Miss Hazuki reveal what information she knows and then place her under observation for three years!" He would have continued further but the infuriated shouts of the audience drowned his voice out.

With a deep-rooted urge to smirk at his rival, Kira took in the dissension and loudly proclaimed, "This girl has placed our entire organization in danger and you wish to be gentle with her!?" before facing the audience, "Is that not only going to bring greater grief on all of us!?" He whipped an accusatory finger toward Genpaku and continued, "However much money we pull in by all your schemes, however much we embed ourselves into modern companies and organizations to hide ourselves, won't we just be asking for our lives to be uprooted if we leave such a dangerous nuisance alive!? Why don't we just wait until the shinobi come and murder us all!?"

"You are not in control here!" boomed Genpaku before he faced the crowd, "None of you are!" He thumped a fist to his chest and stated, "Now, I know that I can discern the truth from pretty words!" before pointing up to his eye, "I can look into the eyes of each of you and see your real motives!" and finally pointed to Sato, "As such, I can look into Miss Hazuki's eyes and can see what she was going for!" The girl in question tilted her head and wondered if Genpaku could really see through her selfish nature. "Do you actually believe her actions were born from some kind of malicious nature?" Perhaps he empathized with her and, in fact, his intervention was Miki's plan from the start. Then Genpaku said, "She pursued an infiltrator for the good of each of us! Even if she failed twice, does she deserve death when it was our training that failed her!?" Sato had to suppress a sigh as she realized that he was just talking empty words, trying to grab for whatever ammo that he could use.

"It's great that you see our training is inferior," spoke Kira before he tried to continue, "but, regardless-," but was interrupted.

"Perhaps I used the wrong word before," declared Genpaku, "Our training isn't what failed Miss Hazuki!" before he pointed to Miki in the front row, "It was the trainer! The one who failed to teach any method of patience as a proper hunter!"

The younger Kazami froze for a moment before he realized that he had the opening that he'd been waiting for. Harnessing the inner-airhead within him, he let out his rehearsed stammer, "Sir-, excuse me, Hierarch Genpaku… but I-," but was also interrupted.

"What have you been doing while Miss Hazuki was hunting the infiltrator? Didn't you think to offer her help when word reached you!?" cried the hierarch.

As his father watched to see how his son would respond, Miki took in a deep and deliberate breath before he slowly nodded his head, "Word did, of course, reach me that Sato-, Hazuki was hunting an infiltrator…" After a few seconds, he continued, "To speak honestly, I haven't been training her at all before this event…"

"What have you been doing then…?" growled Genpaku as the audience's eyes fell onto Miki with critical judgement in their eyes.

"Aside from focusing on my studies," started Miki, trying to ignore a chuckle toward the back when he mentioned the word 'focused' and continued, "I've just made a few friends and have been spending my first couple weeks at school getting readjusted to the new year…" When everyone remained silent, Miki had the sudden urge to keep talking, "We haven't been doing anything crazy! We just went out to karaoke, a friend of mine and I ate at this fast food place-," but was cut off by his father.

"Stop talking."

Then, just as any determined babble-mouth would, Miki stuttered for a moment, "But I was-, am-, I will be-, I am willing to own up to it! Which is why I wish to raise a civil interjection to your decision."

Since such a motion hadn't been raised by any of the audience members throughout all of the meetings over the past couple years, as most of them were more focused on kissing up to Kira, the tall man let out a sound of curiosity and waved his hand before Genpaku could accept or turn Miki away, "Speak frankly, what's your interjection regarding?"

"Sato-, Miss Hazuki's punishment, Hierarch… that is, I'd like to propose a different sort," replied Miki.

The senior hierarch narrowed his eyes on the boy and towards his father, resenting being overwritten but still curious. After a moment, he asked, "And what do you suggest?"

Unbeknownst to all of them, Kiriya and Rin had slipped into the building hours before and were watching from atop one of the metal racks. While the former kept peeking out from the empty wooden box that he was hiding in, the latter kept making notes on all of the apparent politics within the dignitaries' organization from right behind him. After getting down Miki's use of a civil interjection, Rin quietly commented, "After all this time, we've finally got something interesting to show for our efforts."

"Hush," ordered Kiriya as he watched Miki intently, seeing all of the gears turning through his little head.

Rin huffed childishly before finishing her notes. As much as she took the present situation seriously, the previous days had been absolutely dreadful to take part in. Whether it was with Kiriya, one of Oda's subordinates, or holding a quiet phone call with Onoda on the other end, every single event could have been summed up into a single sentence: dignitaries lived boring lives when they weren't trying to kill someone. She'd been sitting or lying in wait across all of the anticipated paths that the terrorists, some alleged and others confirmed, would take. Most often than not, after hours of resting in a cramped location out of sight, the only thing she had to show for it was an inane conversation between two men about attractive idols, a group of housewives talking about a loud tourist making a ruckus, or some odd members' plans for the sports tournaments in the coming year.

After overhearing a quiet and swift exchange between two dignitaries regarding the defunct distribution center, it was the godsend that Rin had been waiting for. She was so used to the chaotic antics that involved her students, both former and current, that she could only feel excitement when an actual lead was finally found. Thus, she and Kiriya got there immediately and were noting every little detail.

Back on the ground, Miki had remained paused for a while as he went over the 'punishment' that he would suggest and all of the coming arguments that he was going to make. While he had no doubt in his mind that it would work, he had to be careful and particular in his choice of words. If everything was to go the way he wanted it, he had to word the argument in a way to pit his father and Genpaku against each other, with the former supporting the proposition.

Thus, once his father gave an encouraging wave of his hand for the boy to speak after some silence, Miki loudly proclaimed, "If Sato is to be properly punished, she ought to do so in a way that's useful to all of us! Let her guide us to the infiltrator she's been tracking! From there, she'll take the lead and will likely be killed in action once the shinobi arrive! From there, once they're drawn out, we can ambush the lot of them and finish off all our enemies in one go!"

Watching from afar, Kiriya made a curious noise. While he'd been informed by Oda that the boy, Miki, was apparently on their side, he wondered if he would stick true to his word and give all the information necessary for the coming attack. If he did, the dignitary was truly honorable and good for all that he had to say. If he didn't, it exposed Miki as a liar. It wouldn't matter much to Kiriya nor Rin, since they had the means to listen in on the plan that would concocted… but if the boy was a friend to the young man, how would he react to such a betrayal?

Regardless of the questions in his mind, the Hanzō Academy teacher kept watching. A bit to his confusion, Miki's father was offering a small but supportive smile in regards to the plan while Genpaku looked significantly more steamed than before.

Hours later and into the afternoon, Murakumo looked over the scene taking place from the apartment's walkway and muttered under her breath, "I swear, they're obsessed or something…"

In the middle of the parking lot, with school having been called off for the rest of the week due to the previous day's shooting, the young man and his five admirers were cleaning the parking lot of all the tents stored around and about… Or, rather, that was the intention. Instead, the five girls kept randomly approaching him with one issue to comment on or another, seeking either close proximity, approval, or a flustered reaction. Through all of that, the young man kept his face straight and unfeeling, replying dryly with narrowed eyes to each of them, occasionally holding his head whenever he got frustrated. After all, the only reason he came outside in the first place was to focus on something else after the awkward morning he had. Upon waking up to the five girls leaning against his bed, the boy had to relive the embarrassing memory of leaving himself vulnerable to them all despite their present circumstances. Unwilling and very unable to deal with their coddling, he searched for the first opportunity to try and get away. From there, they eventually found themselves trailing after him as he swept through the parking lot.

"They're in the honeymoon phase," commented Katsuragi, who was leaning into the walkway's railing, "Plus, it doesn't help that he's been blue-beaning them…"

Hearing the more vulgar term, Murakumo shook her head and slumped forward, "How that dickhead-,"

The young man twitched his nose and sneezed.

"-gets them like that is beyond me." After a moment, the masked girl pointed down to the boy and said, "Look. He's literally dismantling tents. He's not doing it provocatively, he's not flexing… he's just taking apart a tent… and they're watching with wiggly hips and jittery tongues."

As if on cue, Asuka approached the young man from behind and patted at his shoulder. The boy turned around for what had to have been the umpteenth time and stared blankly at the brunette without a word. Nearly forgetting what she was going to say, Asuka clasped her hands together behind her back, swiveled her hips, and cutely asked, "Would you be able to help out with Homura and I's tent? We're having some trouble lifting a large wood plank that fell onto one of the… peg-thingies…"

Offering her a slow blink, the young man nodded, "Three minutes," before gesturing to the tent behind him, "This thing is giving me a bit of trouble and there's still some sleeping bags nearby." Then, after thinking for a moment, he asked as Asuka began to turn away with a victorious smile, "How'd this large plank end up on the peg?"

The brunette froze and refused to face him as she quietly uttered, "The wind."

"We haven't had any major gusts in a few weeks," replied the young man, thoroughly suspicious of what the girl was planning.

"Gravity helped," said Asuka, still unwilling to face him, "It was… sat up against the tent and slipped over onto the peg."

"But we moved all the debris away from the parking lot when we were getting everything set up," stated the young man, "Most of it is leaning against the apartment's wall."

Hidden off to the side, Homura snapped her fingers and lamented the plan's failure. Thus, she peeked out from behind one of the tents and cried, "Asuka, I managed to get it!"

Before the shorter girl could get away, the young man called out, "You two know that I'm aware of the fact that you're both much stronger than me, right? If there's something you guys can't lift, there's no chance I'd be of help."

Still watching the scene, Katsuragi was covering her snickering mouth as the boy continued to dismantle one of the tents by himself, readying himself for another encounter with either Miyabi, Murasaki, or Yumi. Not nearly as humored by what had been happening, Murakumo flicked a finger in the boy's direction and quietly demanded, "You have to see what I mean…"

"No, I've got you," replied Katsuragi as she watched Asuka's retreating form, undoubtably planning the next attack, "I just find myself extremely amused."

"That," started Murakumo before she turned her head away to mutter, "or you're just focusing on undressing everyone as they move."

The blonde straightened herself, "To be fair, they've all got nice butts…" before a dangerous smirk came onto her face, "Plus, whenever someone is turned away by him, their skirts flip in just the right way to give me a look…" and shuddered with pleasure. Then she turned her head to look over the railing again and added, "Plus, he's got a good-looking butt as well…"

"Are you checking out my ass?" called the young man, who was still facing the tent that he was trying to disassemble.

While Murakumo froze in embarrassment for Katsuragi, the blonde shamelessly called back, "While the goods are still open and free, I've got every right." When the young man waved her off and defiantly went around the tent to work on the other side, a new question popped into Katsuragi's mind, "Wait, if he heard that," before she faced Murakumo, "do you think he's been hearing our conversation so far?"

"I have," called the young man as the tent finally collapsed.

"Ah…" mumbled the blonde while the masked shinobi just leaned her head into the railing. After a moment, Katsuragi tried to play off the embarrassment of being overheard and called over, "And… do you agree with Murakumo in regards to everyone's doting behavior?"

While she'd been talking, Yumi peered around one of the tents and cheerfully stated, "I managed to clean up the area by the parking lot's entrance. Do you think that's a job well done?" before tilting her head up to Katsuragi.

Before the blonde's words could be processed by the girl, the young man just said, "Yup," and began to fold up the tent he'd been working on. Yumi, believing that he'd been talking to her, strutted over to the stairs with an eager-to-please grin, looking forward to cleaning up more of the area for the sake of getting some praise.

"As much as I'd like to stick around," muttered Murakumo as she stood herself straight and began to walk away, "I've better things to do than watching my sister get seduced…"

Katsuragi turned her head over and asked, "Are you still heated over yesterday?"

"Were you not in that alley or are you just deaf?" spat the masked shinobi.

"Je-ez~," called the blonde as she grumbled, "Touchy much?" After a moment of thinking, she added, "You know, if what Jasmine told us is true, we're going to be getting into another fight with the dignitaries soon. Shouldn't you guys make up and cool off about the whole thing?"

"Why would I do that after what an ass he'd been?" growled Murakumo, stopping in her tracks to face Katsuragi.

"I prefer the term dickhead…" muttered the young man from the ground as Miyabi began to approach him from behind.

"You act like he was trying to pull a Hanzō to cope a feel or something," said the blonde with a face contorted with confusion and frustration, "He was trying to help, doing his utmost to get your head back on track."

"And I didn't want to get my head back on track in the first place. Honestly, I would have rather stayed that way forever," stated Murakumo.

"While that may be true…" started Katsuragi before shrugging her shoulders, "According to Yumi, that's not what you're angry about."

"Yu-mi," came a grumble from beneath the mask before a finger pointed to the blonde, "does not know me better than I do… He changed me for the worse and that's that."

"I bet that ain't it," said Katsuragi with a mocking smile.

"It is," came Murakumo's retort.

"Bet it ain't."

"It is!"

Back on the ground, Miyabi kept pacing back and forth while the young man kept his back to her and stared ahead with evident resignation. Under the woman's breath he could hear her mumbling, "Just touch it-, don't! It needs to be accidental-, but… his hand is right there-, offer to help and accidentally touch it-, I just want to touch it now…" Just as Miyabi seemed to gather some resolve and proceeded to approach from behind, the young man turned his head to face her and stared. After an awkward pause, she pointed down to the tent, "Wou-, would you like some help?" As much as she wanted to summon her bravado from the night before, where she actually got to caress and comfort the boy, it'd all crumbled again.

"I should be good," stated the young man as Murakumo and Katsuragi's back-and-forth continued, "You might want to see if Murasaki could use some help…"

Tripping out from inside one of the tents, the purple-haired girl wriggled along the ground until she laid her eyes on the young man and cried, "Help! I've accidentally tied my hands and legs together!" while looking forward to the fact that he'd have to touch her wrists to free her.

Bebeby continued to coach in the background, "No man could resist a hogtied girl! That pervert will come for you in no time at all!"

"Could you help her?" asked the young man, eliciting a disappointed look from both Miyabi and Murasaki.

Interrupting the argument taking place above the three, Imu suddenly approached from the stairway and popped beside Murakumo to add, "As frustrating as I find him too… I have to side with Katsuragi on this one."

"Eh? What'd he do to you?" asked the blonde while the masked shinobi jumped in surprise.

Gazing over to Miyabi as she slumped down to help Murasaki get untied, both evidently frustrated that their efforts had been for naught, Imu could only bring herself to comment, "Pure unbridled envy…" before her face lit up a bit as she mumbled, "Though, I don't hold it too much against him… For as long as he keeps turning Miyabi and Murasaki down…"

Katsuragi gave a brief nod while Murakumo faced the spectacled girl, "Back up a bit. You also think I'm mad at him for something besides the correction."

"If you were," said Imu matter-of-factly, "you'd be mad at Sato too," as she raised a finger, "You, yourself, said before everyone that you considered her to be the one that corrected you… while also defending her against Oda, no less."

"Do not play with my words-," started Murakumo before Katsuragi quickly cut her off.

"No, no," said the blonde while crossing her arms, "you can't backtrack now. You've acted and we're allowed to call out inconsistencies." After spinning around her hand, she ordered, "Get to the real talk now. Why are you so mad at him?"

"According to Yumi," called the young man from where he was rolling up the tent he'd been working on, "it had more to do with how I handled things." Once he finished his task, he looked up to the three girls and said, "Admittedly, I probably wasn't in the right mindset to be correcting someone." He closed his eyes and shrugged his arms up, "I'm not sure what it's worth, but I am sorry if you feel that I wasn't sensitive or patient with your situation."

A loud huff came from beneath Murakumo's mask, prompting Katsuragi to say, "Oh boy… it's on now," as she took a few steps back. At the same time, Imu just silently stood away and took a glance at the young man. His stance wasn't at all as aggressive as it was the other day, likely thanks to the fact that the situation wasn't nearly as high-stress as before. After giving a knowing nod, she believed the drama would be coming to an end soon.

"I've already said that's not why I'm angry!" came Murakumo's frustrated cry before she threw herself over the railing and landed onto the ground before the young man. While the boy visibly recoiled from her theatric move, she jabbed a finger in his direction and shouted, "You took away what I wanted to be and did so while looking down on me, like I was some little girl in need of scolding from a teacher." She waved her hand, "Even if Sato is the one who convinced me to go through it, I'm sure that was more your influence and her desire to get out of there more than anything else."

The young man briefly clenched his eyes shut in pain, bringing a hand up to his head before he took a breath and calmly stated, "I think Imu's observations uproot a portion of your argument." He gestured to the masked girl and stated, "You defended Sato against Oda, stating that you considered her the one that corrected you, and didn't appear to hold much contempt with her for it."

"Do not play with-," started Murakumo before she was cut off, all while observers from all over the apartment came over to watch and make sure nothing got violent.

"Your words are the only way I can make my point," stated the young man, making sure to not raise his voice. After a moment, he calmly asked, "So, could you maybe explain them? What did you mean when you said Sato was the one that corrected you?"

Knowing that she needed to step back in order for her to still have an argument, Murakumo growled something incoherent and spat, "Fine… I'm not mad at you because of the correction. It's all about how you handled it or whatever Imu or Yumi said. Happy now?"

"Not at all," replied the young man levelly, "We're still on bad terms."

"And we're going to stay that way!" cried Murakumo, huffing and puffing while silently daring the young man to say something else.

In the meantime, by the stairs, Yozakura approached Yumi and asked, "Is it just me or does Murakumo seem a bit more… outspoken than usual?"

"Compared to how angry she's gotten on past occasions…?" questioned Yumi before nodding her head, "Yeah, I can see what you mean."

"If we're going to fighting with our lives on the line, I'd rather we work this through," stated the young man.

"And if I refuse to?" questioned Murakumo before stomping her foot childishly, "What will you do then?"

"I'll pull a Dufresne and keep asking to work away this issue with you," said the young man without breaking eye contact, "From now on, I'll keep approaching once every hour and asking you if we can talk it out."

Murakumo snorted and swayed back and forth a bit. She was aware of her behavior being a bit different than usual, especially with how willfully defiant she was being, but she still couldn't bring herself to dwell on it. Rather, she wanted to end the conversation there and make a retreat so that she could simmer by her lonesome. But, upon spotting the worried looks on Yumi and Yozakura's faces, began to fear how they would react to such an action. So, rather than earn her sisters' ire, Murakumo decided to hear him out. "Alright," she grunted before gesturing to the boy, "talk away… apologize or do whatever you have in mind."

With a brief nod, the young man quickly stated, "First and foremost, I am sorry. Between how I handled everything in your head and not being able to act sooner." Clenching his eyes closed and taking a breath, he continued, "It's all resulted in you and I fighting the way we are now… and, worse than that, a part of your mind has even taken some damage in the process."

Upon hearing that, Murakumo narrowed her eyes on the young man while a few of the spectators exchanged looks, wondering if anybody else had heard about it. "My mind was damaged?" she questioned in a slightly less harsh voice as she tilted her head, "How so?"

"The aspect that I gave back to you," answered the young man before raising a hand, "I'm also sorry for not notifying you sooner." He quietly teetered his tongue back and forth for a moment before adding, "I should note that the damage won't be permanent. The damage done will be fixed over time…" and lowered his head, unsure of what to say as the girl continued to silently stare at him, "It was a bit hard to approach the subject so I thought it would be best to save it until we were settling everything else."

Murakumo continued to stare at him before asking, "So… was it the distortion that caused this damage…? Or did the situation get screwy part of the way through?"

"A bit of both," came the young man's straightforward voice, "When Sato did her… version of a correction, the distortion was still left attached to the rest of your mind. By a thread, sure, but just enough so that it wouldn't be starved. With the distortion being left with your impulses to conform, it ate away at an increased rate."

Not sensing any insincerity from the young man and not feeling as though he were trying to throw Sato under the bus, Murakumo gave a nod and grumbled, "Well… it is what it is then," before giving a dismissive wave of her hand, "but we'll save that for another time. Continue on with whatever you were saying."

Giving a brief nod, the young man took a breath, "Alright," before he continued speaking, "though, there's not much more that I can say other than I'm sorry. Beyond the damage you took, I'm sorry for pressing so hard to have you accept back your conformity despite knowing how much you didn't want it." Clasping his hands together and giving an apologetic bow, he further said, "Furthermore, I'm sorry for getting so heated over the matter. While I did my utmost to consider your feelings on the matter, the best way to say it is that I failed in that regard. So much so that, if Sato weren't there, we would likely still be arguing to this very moment because of my hardheadedness."

"Do you regret wanting to kill her?" asked Murakumo suddenly, keeping her eyes completely fixed on the young man's bowed form.

Raising his head to shake it, the young man uttered, "No."

"What if I told you her circumstances?" pressed Murakumo, taking a step forward that neither Yumi nor Yozakura could I identify as either passive or aggressive, "What if I told you about how similar she was to you?"

"You know her circumstances?" asked the young man with a bit of surprise on his face.

"…Do not be like me… When I tried to force my way out this madness by breaking through a thick barricade of mold all by myself, the only thing that came out of it was getting hunted down by the lot of you after… you know…"

"When she convinced me to accept the correction," stated Murakumo. After taking an audible breath to cool herself, she spoke further, "Her circumstances are nearly identical to yours… She's been forced to live as a dignitary and she just desperately wants an out."

"While I don't know what he's saying over there, I can assure you that I understand. All those urges you must have to speak out, to act in the way you envision yourself… to hold yourself in the way you hold others… Believe me, I understand."

"Ah…" grunted the young man before narrowing his eyes and shaking his head, "Even still, there's a key difference between her and I that I can't forgive." Before Murakumo could interrupt him, he spoke frankly, "While our circumstances may be the same, I haven't tried to kill anyone."

"Don't get me wrong… I want you to be as strong as you want to be. It certainly is something you should strive for… but take baby-steps. Let yourself fit into it all comfortably and such… I don't really know how to word it."

"Wouldn't you though?" interjected the masked shinobi, clenching a fist while pointing another finger, "If it came down to it and you had no choice, wouldn't you kill for your freedom?"

"Just don't behave like me… If you're going to do something as drastic as changing yourself, do so at a comfortable pace. Just by looking at you, I can tell you have the strength to do it… Others, like me, don't have that kind of strength… So… you know, I'll be rooting for you and stuff…"

Letting out a dismissive huff from his nose, the young man had to mind his temper for a moment, lest he and Murakumo regress to how they'd been the other day, and spoke frankly, "If Jasmine and Hanzō approached me in the way they did back then… and told me to kill all of you… all of you, whom I didn't even know at the time…" and locked his eyes onto Murakumo, "I would have spat in their faces or some equivalent right then." After a brief moment, he added, "If not that, I would have accepted with the intention to deceive them further down the line." He raised a pointed finger into the air and firmly said, "After all, I wouldn't consider myself free if I had the death of even one person on my conscience. If I'm going to be haunted by my actions, what kind of freedom is that?"

"You'd never even hurt any of us?" pressed Murakumo, taking a more visibly aggressive step forward, "You'd never throw us under the bus for anything? Can you really make that claim?"

There was no delay from the young man as he looked the girl in the eyes, "Everything I have done has been for the sake of both all of you and for myself." He shook his head and spoke further, "I am selfish and I can't deny I'm here for my own benefit… but I won't sacrifice any of you to further my own goals." He closed his eyes for a moment, "Don't get me wrong. I'll willingly argue with all of you and we may even need to fight every now and then…" before opening them and locking back onto Murakumo, "but it will always be for everyone's sake. Never will I sell any of you out for my own sake and never will I do anything that will knowingly harm you."

The girl remained paused for a moment, just looking down to the young man and scrutinizing his every mannerism to see if he was speaking empty words. The only thing Murakumo could bring herself to question was, "What about unknowingly… Will you harm us in that way?"

"Unfortunately, like yesterday," said the young man while only shying his eyes away for a second, "I'll make mistakes." Once he brought his eyes back to Murakumo, he finished by saying, "I can only hope that you and everyone else will be willing to forgive me when it comes to those."

The masked shinobi stared long and hard for a moment, unaware that not being able to read her facial expression only caused great anxiety in everyone else as they awaited her answer. She knew that the young man was being sincere and that he acted with the best of intentions, which was something that Sato certainly couldn't say since she had tried to actively kill them. How could Murakumo bring herself to be more sympathetic with the dignitary if all that were the case? The short and simple answer was that even she didn't know. The young man acted with better and more principled intentions, yet Murakumo was still angrier at him because she felt as though he held himself above her at the time. Even knowing that wasn't at all the case, her irrational frustration still lingered to that very moment. Yet, he was apologizing to her before everyone. Turning him away would only deepen an unneeded conflict on the potential eve of a greater conflict.

Thus, she offered with the slightly empty words, "I forgive you then…" as she began to turn away towards the apartments.

Catching the bit of her words that were hollow, the young man was going to call after her. But sensing that there wasn't much more that could be done, decided to let it be. He was convinced they'd have each other's backs if it came down to it, though he just wished for the heated air around them to disappear. Time would tell whether or not that would happen. Then, just as he was about to turn back to cleaning up the tents, he heard a notification on his phone and pulled it from his pocket.

Still clinging to the frustration that had no particular source at that point, Murakumo kept walking to the apartment until the sound of low and morbid snickering caught her ear. Upon turning around, she found the young man holding his phone a short way from his face while clenching a hand onto his forehead. His tightly pulled lips were curled up into a forced smile while his teeth pressed down into one another. Every few seconds, he let out a quiet cackle that could be easily confused with a strange sort of coughing. Before anyone could question what happened or why he was reacting in such a way, he audibly muttered under his breath, "Not even a day…"

"What?" asked Murakumo as she began to make a slow approach back to him.

"Dignitaries will be coming at some point tomorrow," rang the young man's voice more audibly. Once the words left his lips, everyone on the property was all ears. Between those who spectated his and Murakumo's engagement and those who decided to sit it out, everyone began to convene from their different corners to make sure that they heard right. Upon seeing their relatively calm look, the young man also tried to act nonchalant about the matter. Yet, no one was convinced when his voice quaked, "Why're you guys so alarmed?" It was completely evident that despite his calmness during his prior encounter with Murakumo, he was completely thrown off.

A massive spike of pain echoed through the young man's head, nearly buckling him over as he loudly groaned, which prompted Miyabi to call from behind him, "Hey! Are you okay?" before she stepped over to him from behind.

"It's just a headache," grumbled the boy through his teeth, "That's all this is… just a headache…"

Upon hearing those words which shouldn't have had much meaning, Asuka quickly flanked the young man and spouted, "Well, that's what you said yesterday! The next thing we knew, you were bleeding all over yourself." Then, everyone began to close in on him. Imu and Katsuragi moved for the stairs to make their way down while everyone else seemed to get close, trying to closely observe the boy's face. As that was happening, Asuka reached up to the young man's head and asked, "Here. Let's get you somewhere to rest."

Realizing that he never explained what happened to his own head after Murakumo's correction, the boy would have explained himself then and there. Yet, the message that Oda sent kept bouncing around in his head.

"Miki reached out to us. Tomorrow, anytime between dawn and dusk, they'll be coming to your apartment. There will be about forty to fifty of them, based on his count. Kiriya and Rin did some work. Their count is about forty-eight. I'm on my way with Onoda. Is Hanzō and Jasmine there?"

The young man kept trying to tell himself to focus. He wanted to recall where Asuka's grandparents had gone after they left earlier that morning. After recalling something along the lines of grocery shopping, he took a step back and forced a smile onto his face as the pain in his head spiked again. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Ryōbi chime from the surrounding crowd, "You said we were alarmed? You look like you're about to faint."

The young man turned to where he thought he heard the girl and lied through his teeth, "There's no reason to be alarmed… this isn't something unexpected, after all…" It only took a split-second for him to read doubt on all of their faces, silently calling him out on the fear he held within. Yet, rather than come out honestly, the young man doubled down, "What then? What's to be alarmed about? After everything so far, what could possibly top what we've all been through together?"

Letting his phone slip out of his hands, which was smoothly caught by Miyabi, the young man gestured his arms out to see if anyone would challenge his statement. Rather than argue with him, Murakumo was the first to reply, "You're right…" before she approached in a slow and unaggressive way, trying to keep him calm, "In just a few weeks, it feels as though a year has passed… What's one more encounter?"

"Exactly!" cried the young man, pointing his finger to her with evident desperation, "This won't be our first parade! Hell, it probably won't be any worse than that time I tangoed with Yumi!"

Not at all enjoying the memory, Yumi murmured, "You had to bring that up…" before she dived back into the situation at hand and approached the boy, "Here, we can talk inside. Let's see if there are any painkillers-," but was cut off.

"This is no different!" cried the young man, "We've dealt with distortion, we've dealt with Oda, and we've dealt with Sato!" For each problem he listed, a finger was raised, "There's no reason to panic!"

"So, it'd be better if you calmed down!" cried Katsuragi as she and the rest of the crowd began to further surround him.

As the young man tried to yell, his voice came out in a frightened crack, "I am calm…!" as the pain began to spike again through his head. Yet, despite all of his assurances, a few thoughts began to collectively haunt him. If Sato had managed to single-handedly cripple bring him to death's door, neutralize Murakumo, and kept on the run for the better part of forty-five minutes while being chased by twenty shinobi… then how would he and everyone else fare against nearly fifty dignitaries? Even worse, if they were a proper group, they would be better trained than Sato. Keeping in mind the grappling equipment that was designed to specifically evade and counter shinobi attacks, the chances for a victory began to even out with defeat. Then there was the slimming prospect of a victory without any casualties… No, there was a very real chance that he and the girls would be killed.

Under his breath, the young man cracked, "I am calm…" before both of his hands went up to his head, "But… this again…" and he promptly fell backwards. While, like before, he was caught by those closest to him, his fear was more than enough to throw everyone off for the fight to come.