Chapter 10

"Kiba, we shouldn't be spying like this!" Hinata whispered in a stern hushed tone. The pair crouched behind garbage pals and crates to gain a slight peek into the back room of her father's mask shop.

"Oh lighten up will y'a? There is no way we could possibly get caught tonight, of all nights." Kiba explained as a matter of fact. He kept his eyes glued to the sliver in the wood. "Half the village is passed out from all that wine your pops bought." He finally turned and looked at his dearest friend as she bathed in the full moon's light. He couldn't help himself as he leaned in close to her ear. Before she heard him she felt his playful yet heated aura.

"And the other half are laying in the arms of their lovers." Kiba's hand moved slowly to her collarbone then up to the back of her neck. Seamlessly, he tangled his fingers in with her long locks before gripping firmly to pull head back, exposing her long pale neck. He was just about to lean in to kiss her when a commotion was heard from the back room of the store.

"We have to move it tonight, Akemi". A tall man but slender man named Takumi looked over harshly at the man sitting at the front of the room with knife in hand, carving a mask. Akemi said nothing yet continued to carve. Based on the lack of response the slender man continued. "If the lord of this village found out that we were keeping pure opium here he'd not only take our shipment for himself, the bastard...but he'd kill us! Our wives raped and children sold to working mills!" Other men in the room grunted and slammed their fist on the table in agreeance. "What is your plan?"

Akemi, a large man with dark unwavering eyes, broad shoulders and had a voice that boomed like thunder. He towered over most of the villagers and had an air of confidence that dripped with pride. It was only natural for the village men to look to him as not only a capable business owner but a fierce leader when it came down to shady dealings with neighboring villages. The women saw him as a loyal protector of order and a gentleman among the children. Sometimes he would take in the local boys and teach them his craft. Kept them out of trouble during the day.

The room began to grow quiet in anticipation of his answer. He took one more stroke of his knife down the base of the mask and put it down before taking a stand.

"It moves tonight." Gasps were heard and restless chatter began. "Tonight? How can we possibly move anything with the full moon out! The lord's men will surely be there to foil our exchange!" One man called out. "How are we supposed to pull this off?" A ghost of a smile crossed Akemi's face as he walked over to a trap door located only a few feet away from him. "Like this" he kneeled down and opened a latch that exposed a long brown rope that was used to pull the door open that exposed a fully operational tunnel equipped with paper lanterns to light the way. The men gathered around and looked down in awe.

"Akemi..how?" A short man with a cigarette between his lips asked as he racked his hand through his hair in confusion. "The how isn't important." Akemi said as he made his way down the wooden ladder to the underpass only stopping momentarily to look up at the men. His way of signaling them to follow. Once the group of men were all in the tunnel, they took a look around. 4 tons of opium loaded onto large wooden rolling carts. The track went further than the eye could see down the tall and wide passageway. The engineering of the whole project was nothing short of incredible. The men stood in awe.

"This, my friends, will be our ticket into fortune. I have already taken the trip. It will take us about 3 hours if we really push it both ways." Akemi explained. "Once we get paid we will buy our land back from the greedy Lord and become a sovereign land." Cheers were heard from the men and a renewed sense of faith in their leader. One that would never waver again. Then men all began to load themselves into the carts and set out on their journey down the man made tunnel.

Sasuke sat on top of a nearby roof peering down at the Akemi Mask shop. He'd been stalking the shop since nightfall, waiting for his moment to flawlessly execute his mission. Like so many before, killing has become second nature to the young man. Some would beg, others would try to buy their way out of it but Sasuke never budged, he never showed mercy. His work was bought and sold. He lived by his code and that was to get the job done.

He was just about to jump down to sneak into the shop when he saw and heard the voices of who he assumed to be nosy teens out playing defective. We watched as they ran to the front together after a commotion was heard from the inside. "Probably to go investigate." He stood but thought against going down himself. 'Might as well wait things out to see where things go' he thought to himself as he perched by his former spot and got comfortable. He could tell it was going to be a long night.

"Where did they go?!" Hinata asked as she entered her fathers shop. There was no evidence of 14 men sitting together talking amongst themselves. "I don't know." Kiba said as he took a look around the well kept store. "We definitely heard something tho-" he was cut off by the front door opening and a soft light illuminating the room. "Hinata, Kiba! You both know better than to be in the shop after hours!" Hinata's mother scolded as she ushered the two out. She must have heard the noise too and decided to check things out.

"Why were you up sneaking around like a mouse?" Her mother said as she shook her head while they made their way up the steps to her bedroom. Kiba left after a quick scolding. He apologized profusely and promised to never trespass again. Once in the room, Hinata and her mother sat before a long mirror as her mother took her place behind her, as she did almost every night. She grabbed a comb off her vanity and stroked it through her long, thick hair.

"Hinata, must you insist on being such a pest? You were supposed to be in bed right after the festivities of the night. Your father wouldn't be happy to know you and your friend were sneaking about." Her mother fashioned her hair in a long plat that went down her back. Hinata looked up at her mother with a "you wouldn't" look and her mother returned it with a "you know I would."

After their non verbal échange, her mother only sighed and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Hinata, my beautiful daughter. You have always had a proclivity for mischief, ever since you were a little girl." She smiled as they both peered into the mirror. "But, mischievous little girls grow up to be fearless women." She smiled down at her child and winked. "We'll just keep this between ourselves. How about that?" Hinata's face brightened as she turned and hugged her mother.

"Now, off to bed with you. It's about past my time too. Good night my love. I'll see you in the morning" with that, her mother exited her room. Rolling the screen door shut behind her leaving Hinata to her thoughts.

"I hate to say it Akemi, but I won't lie. I had my reservations." Takumi said as he counted his gold pieces and put them away in a leather pouch. The two men sat outside the famed mask shop talking over a half bottle of sake, waiting for the morning sun to rise. "I still don't know how you pulled that tunnel off. I thought that guy from rain county was going to shit a brick once he saw how much weight we had with us" Takumi threw his head back and cackled while Akemi smirked. "Well, it's been one hell of a night my old friend." He said as filled himself one more glass and lifted it towards his oldest companion. "To resolve!" And threw it back. "I'm going home now. See if my wife will let me touch her" Takumi laughed at his own joke and made his way down the empty village street leaving Akemi sitting alone in the weening moonlight.

"So kid, you just going to watch me all night or you plan on actually doing something?"

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Hey everyone! I hope all is well! I must apologize for leaving you all hanging! Not going to lie, I hit some major writers block and just couldn't bring myself to write anymore! However, thanks to all the reviews left by amazing viewers like you, I was able to get back on the horse and really crank out some decent work! I look forward to completing this story and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Sending you all mad love,

Syd the kid