Chapter 12 – Hard Truths

Eric laughed. "That's ridiculous. There's no Water of Life."

Tahi took another swig of his beer and nodded. "We finally agree on something. But Bracken convinced a bunch of people that it's true. He thought I'd be first in line to join his crusade, but I put him off. He's leading them into the northern mountains right now."

"They'll all be killed," Okame blurted out.

Tahi forced nonchalance. "Yeah, the nomads will turn 'em into pincushions if they take a wrong step. I figured only Leader here would be able to convince them to quit this business and leave Bracken"

Kohza nodded. "Tahi, thank you for telling me this. And you were right not to try and contact me directly."

Tahi snorted his agreement, trying to hide his nerves behind bravado. "Bracken is insane. I don't want to end up on his wrong side and his wrong side is you."

"Is there anything else you know that will help us stop them?"

"Sure is." Tahi circled his thumb and forefinger. "But life as an ex-revolutionary doesn't pay well."

Kebi's lips curled back into a grimace. Kohza laid his hand on his friend's arm, keeping him silent. "We'll cover the use of the room for you and your friend – for the rest of the day."

Tahi pointedly swung the almost empty bottle from his fingertips. "And?"

"Don't push it," Kohza said shortly.

Tahi looked at Vivi. "Has he really gotten that stingy? I feel sorry for ya, kid. If you wanna change up, I can be more than generous - "

Kohza said sharply, "The information, Tahi."

Tahi's eyes slid to the bottle in his hand, like it would give him some strength. "When I met Bracken, there were some of us in there – but there were others. Not rebels. Baroque Works."

"They were rounded up by the Marines," Eric said.

Tahi frowned. "Yeah, I know that, but these guys had the tattoos. And they didn't seem like they were taking orders from Bracken. I mean, they did what he said, but they weren't following him. It was…it was creepy. You know what I mean?"

They didn't, but whatever Tahi had seen had unnerved him. He had broken out into a sweat and his hands trembled as they fidgeted with the bottle.

"Is there anything else?" Kohza asked. "Think hard."

Tahi shook his head. "Look, when I saw Bracken – I was just worried about getting out, okay? For a moment there, I didn't think he'd let me walk away from the table if I said no. But he did and I'm here and I'm gonna stay right here until this whole thing blows over."

"But you asked for me anyway," Kohza said. "You've saved more lives, Tahi."

Tahi started to speak then looked at the floor. His voice cracked. "I'm just sick of the dying. I'm so sick of it."

Vivi wanted to reach across the table and take Tahi's hand. Whatever type of person he had been, he didn't deserve to be like this now.

Kohza nodded to the others and they stood up to leave. "I'll send the girl up," Kohza said. "Tahi, thank you again."

The man said nothing, so Kohza left. He wanted to tell Tahi to go home, but where was that? When the drought and famine had killed his family, Tahi had joined the rebellion. Now that the rebellion was over, he had nothing to return to. There were so many like him. Kohza made good on his promise by paying the doorman for the room's rent. It emptied his pockets, but he would worry about that later.

The walk back to the tavern was silent as each person considered what Tahi had said. As soon as they were in the Coral Ruddy, Kohza began giving orders. "Everyone, in the kitchen. We start planning now."

Okame moved quickly, serving them nothing stronger than water. It was Vivi who asked the first question.

"Who is Bracken?"

"He was one of my sub-leaders. He was a radical," Kohza replied already dreading the direction of this conversation.

"How so?" she asked.

"He was a fanatic. Remember that plan he had?" Kebi asked the others. "He wanted to have some of the rebels drink the Water of Power. Then they would storm the palace, get rid of the main guard, and leave the way open for the rest of us. Bracken was always quick to come up with ideas that left martyrs."

"It was a pity that he never included himself," Eric said.

"Of course, Leader never allowed that or any other of Bracken's plans to make it out of the tent," Kebi added.

"Of course." Vivi stared at her hands and Kohza began to count the seconds, knowing with dread certainty where this conversation would end. He had been waiting for this for three months.

"What filled him with so much hate?" Vivi asked quietly.

"Nothing extraordinary. The same as what was happening to the rest of us throughout the kingdom; he was driven by the deaths of the people around him and the death of the land." Okame shook her head. "We all blamed the king, but he more than most. Bracken wanted to remove the monarchy and set up a different government."

"Remove the monarchy and set up a different government," Vivi repeated. That was a nice way of saying regicide.

Which was a formal way of saying murdering her father.

Vivi stood up. Her fists hit the table, rattling the clay cups on the table. "What made him different than you? What did you want?"

One by one, they looked away, finding something else in the room to occupy their attention.

Kohza was the only one who held her gaze. "We wanted it to rain."

"Rain." Vivi's voice quavered wildly. "Blood for rain. What a trade."

She ran from the room. Kohza put his head in his hands and flinched when the door slammed shut.

This was the second time he'd ever made her cry, he reflected. And like the last time, he hadn't had to lay a finger on her to do it.

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Author's Notes:

I would like to thank everyone for being patient. I'm working hard to get this and other fanfics finished. Thank you so much for reviewing. Even though I say I'm writing this because I want to – because it's important to me – it's nice to know that others are enjoying it too. ^_^ As an apology, I am including two chapters in this update.

Moving on. Kohza made Vivi cry without putting a hand on her when he told the Suna Suna Clan to fight to the death to protect her. Did he ever make her cry again? Maybe. But it sounds less dramatic like that.

For those that don't know or remember, the Water of Power was what the Claw Kick Corp drunk before attacking Crocodile. It grants you immense strength, but only for a short while and then you die.