Chapter Two: The Boy in the Tower
For a moment, Sai stood, uncomprehendingly, before Koharu, the torrent of her words flashing through his head as he processed what she was saying.
"Koharu-sama, I don't think a family of nobility would want...[a nameless, emotionally broken, assassin]…someone like me."
Koharu's strong, wrinkled fingers clenched at the edge of the table. She offered up her best attempt at a smile. "They were quite impressed with you after the war." And now, an appeal to his nonexistent vanity. "Few people have the ability for beast mimicry. Your skills are incredibly valuable and rare. In exchange for the union we will get access to critical medical information from the Rain Village through this strengthened alliance. I assure you it will benefit of everyone in the village. And, it will profoundly support the peace that you have fought to achieve."
He paused and began again.
"No," he said, "I can't do that. I am committed to Ino-" Koharu cut him off, suddenly exasperated, "You cannot think this—" she searched for the right word, "—experiment with her can be permanent. You both have more serious obligations, especially Ino. She is the incoming clan leader so-let's be clear-she could never marry someone like you." So much for flattery. "Instead, you would have an opportunity to be truly helping her. You would be protecting her by ensuring our village is safe with this enhanced alliance."
Her words raged over him like a cold wind, biting. He could feel the pull of her manipulation. The situation was bizarre enough to make him consider for a moment that he might be under a genjutsu. It had been less than a year since he was captured in the Land of Silence. The deadened mind of a former Foundation child like him was ripe for manipulation and he had not been strong enough to fight off his captor's mind-control. But Ino had come to him and saved him, even at the great risk to her own mental safety. She had found him, angry and lost, and dove deep into his subconsciousness. She found the real him and pulled him out into the light. She showed him, she convinced him, that he had worth beyond being just a weapon for the village. He saw that he was, to his great surprise, precious to his new-found friends and to her. After that incident, he always suspected that she had left a bit of her own consciousness behind for him, protecting and encouraging him when he needed it. As he did now.
Koharu handed him a folder with the Rain Village's insignia and a photo of their leader's reasonably attractive, dark-haired daughter. The paperwork confirmed that his envoys were here to meet with Sai and escort him back to the Rain Village.
"You don't have to decide right away but you do have to meet with them today and travel to the Rain Village tomorrow."
Sai breathed deeply, stepping back slightly, and bit the words out. "I'm sorry, I cannot help you with this. I have a right to refuse so please consider it refused."
She seemed unexpectedly calm in response. Then, abruptly, two armed guards appeared on either side of him. Sai stiffened at their arrival, comprehension sinking in.
"You can't just force me." He recognized the slow rise of his own anger. "I realize that you still think of me as part of the Foundation but Danzo's children are not your property anymore." He could still feel the faded curse mark that had been sealed on the back of his tongue. Koharu sighed, quietly smug in her checkmate moment. "I just think you need to think this over Sai, here in the tower, for your...protection." She stretched the last word out to infuse what gravitas she could for her obvious lie. "In light of the delicacy of the negotiations, I've decided it would be safer if you stayed here."
Sai tried a different tactic.
"I would like to speak to the Hokage." Koharu adjusted the robes around her shoulders. "The Hokage is traveling with your colleague Naruto and will not be back for three weeks. I am entrusted with caring for the village in their absence. I am in charge now so your appeal is with me. I am within the code to send you on this mission, it is certainly for the good of the village and, trust me, it will be an excellent opportunity for you." She eyed the two guards and signaled her dismissal with a sharp nod of her head to them. Sai felt a grip on each arm, followed by a tug removing his tanto and scrolls. She remained calm as they pulled him away, confident in the knowledge that he wouldn't make a scene in her office. They both knew that he would not fight the guards-not for his safety, but for theirs. He didn't have a close range combat form that wouldn't leave them dead and he wasn't about to spill the blood of his comrades. Not now that he had found his way back to his humanity.
Iruka was slogging through his paperwork at the desk when Sai saw him from across the room. Sai immediately recognized Iruka's kind, tan face with his thick, dark brown hair pulled into a short ponytail. Although Iruka still worked full time as an academy teacher, he spent his off hours working at the mission desk. It wasn't unusual for him to see Sai in the mission room or the return tunnels. Sai was legendary for his efficient completion of even the most dangerous missions. Iruka would often see him walking through the mission room a day or two earlier than expected. Sai would calmly drop off the mission details and/or corpses in the receiving area and then leave, his clothes torn and covered in blood, without a word. Eventually, with his colleagues', and Iruka's, urging, he developed a small repertoire of sociable exchanges with Iruka at the mission desk.
Unlike other shinobi his age, Sai had never had Iruka as a teacher. The other young people of the village cherished Iruka, who was only about ten years older than them, in a way that confused Sai. It made him wish that he had school as a child, and a real teacher (not a murderous maniac like Danzo), and…friends. Iruka had instinctively sensed the lacking that Sai felt in social gatherings with his new comrades. Sai's tentative attempts to rediscover his humanity often appeared as childlike explorations and Iruka couldn't resist his teacher's instinct to help Sai along when he could.
Sai's closest friend was his teammate Naruto, the great hero of the village. He was also an orphan but had been raised by Iruka as his de facto foster child. Naruto was the complete opposite of Sai: loud, boisterous, and so emotional that sometimes Sai just stared, wordless and confused, at his antics. Naruto, undeterred, would shout at Sai to come along on some meaningless adventure or to help him with some ridiculous undertaking. Fortunately, Iruka would intervene when he was around and take them to lunch or some other slightly calmer exploration that would give Sai a chance to explore his true self.
Looking up from the mission desk, Iruka immediately saw that something was wrong. Sai's normally flat affect was seething and he was flanked by two unhappy looking guards. They looked as embarrassed as Sai looked furious. Iruka rose from his seat and intercepted them. He didn't bother to address the guards. "Where are you going?" He asked with genuine confusion. Sai skipped the usual pleasantries and said flatly, "Koharu-sama has ordered that I be held here against my will to be coerced into a political union over my stated objection. I would like to speak with the Hokage, as is my right, and to be released pending the review." Sai caught his breath, his other emotions momentarily resurfacing, "And I would like to talk to Ino, please."
Iruka took only a split second to digest what Sai said. He pressed something into Sai's hand and Sai took it without reaction. The guard on Sai's left rolled his eyes at the transaction, they were certainly not going to make an issue of it. It was clear that they were almost as unhappy about the situation as Sai was. Iruka looked in the direction they were headed, down the narrow hallway for the "guest" cells. "The tower?" A slight pause followed. He didn't smile but he gave Sai the same look he gave his students, encouraging but firm. Hopefully Sai understood him: that help was coming.