Chapter Two: Adagio
The cell in which the three Sound ninja waited was dark and chilly. Suzu shivered in spite of herself and tried to think thoughts of warmth. She glanced over towards Renjiro, but the red haired Jounin was sitting on a wooden bench, not saying a word and staring straight ahead. Suzu knew that being treated like a criminal probably wounded Renjiro's pride, but that he would tough it out to accomplish what needed to be done. He was always as steady as a rock when necessary.
Turning toward Juro, Suzu gave him a hopeful, half-worried smile, "Do you think they'll let us see their Kage?"
The green haired man gave her a reassuring grin, "Of course they will, Suzu. They'll be too curious not to. I mean, how often do three Sound ninja come walking peacefully into their village anyway?"
Suzu nodded, "It just worries me a little bit. I mean, we've been waiting a long time."
"Probably waiting to see if we try anything," grunted Renjiro, who was then silent once more.
"True," Juro said thoughtfully, "But they can't keep us waiting forever. Eventually they'll come."
"I hope it's soon," sighed Suzu, "I don't know how much longer we can afford to wait."
Just then there was a clang from outside their cell, like that of a metal door being unlocked and opened, and an Anbu guard appeared outside the bars.
"The Hokage will see you now," he said simply, "You are to remain unarmed and bound. Please come peacefully."
He pulled a key out of his robes and unlocked the cell door just as two more Anbu guards appeared. Upon exiting, Suzu saw three more guards waiting in the hallway beyond the metal door.
"Not taking any chances with us, are they?" muttered Juro, and Suzu had to agree.
Renjiro stepped out of the cell first, followed by Juro and then Suzu. The three walked silently amidst their escort until they were ushered to two large wooden doors.
"Wait here," stated the same guard who had spoken before, vanishing in a small puff of smoke and leaving them with the remaining, silent Anbu escort.
Suzu glanced at Renjiro hopefully, but he was staring unblinking at the double wooden doors, chin lifted and shoulders thrown back. She sighed under her breath in exasperation, not entirely sure what they'd gotten themselves into. Just as she was about to turn to Juro and ask him if Renjiro had let anyone in on his plan, the doors unlocked and swung open.
"Move," one of the Anbu guards intoned, and the three captive Sound ninja shuffled forward into the darkened room. Once they had passed the threshold, the double doors swung shut behind them with a loud bang.
As Suzu's eyes adjusted to the dimness, she could see that they were in a library, and that the only source of light seemed to be coming from a scant few candles perched upon a desk some distance away. As her vision grew clearer, she could also see that the room was literally lined with Anbu guards, as one was posted every few feet along each wall leading up to the desk.
Suzu counted thirteen… fourteen, before Renjiro began to move purposefully toward the light and whoever might be seated there. Glancing at Juro, who nodded, the two of them followed their commander.
Upon reaching the desk, Suzu could see it was manned by a beautiful young woman with honey blonde hair and intelligent brown eyes. The surface of the desk in front of her was covered with books and scrolls, half-melted candles, brushes and inkpots. The woman looked up at their approach and, feigning boredom, sighed and put down her brush.
"You asked to see me," she said, wryly.
Renjiro seemed slightly taken aback, "We asked to see the… the Hokage. If you are she, then yes, we asked to meet with you."
Suzu could agree with Renjiro's trepidation. This woman looked far too young to be the most powerful ninja in this village. Could this be some sort of trick?
The blonde woman leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers, "I am Tsunade, 5th Hokage of Konoha. What is it you ask of me?"
Renjiro seemed to relax at the mention of the woman's name, "Tsunade – ah, we have come here peacefully seeking a treaty, and we also have a request of you: my people seek asylum. Will you give it to us?"
"You still haven't told me who you are," Tsunade said dryly, "You come wearing the emblems of the Hidden Village of Sound, yet you do not attack us and instead seek a treaty under the terms of asylum. That doesn't sound like the Sound ninja I know."
"I am Miho Renjiro, a Jounin of the Hidden Village of Sound. My associates are Arai Suzu and Terada Juro, both Chuunin of the Sound. As for why we ask for asylum, it is… a long and complex story," Renjiro continued, "If you will permit me, I will tell it to you."
"Pray do," said Tsunade, a curious gleam in her eye.
Renjiro turned to glance at Suzu, then Juro and began:
"The Hidden Village of Sound is a very young village, not more than three generations old. It was founded by Mochida Yukio and several groups of wanderers who had fled other villages and were seeking a new place to settle, far away from the bloody political machinations of the other villages and kingdoms.
Mochida Yukio himself was originally a ninja from the Hidden Village of Rain, a musician, and a scholar. He founded the Village of Sound on the principal of Harmony; that all who lived in the village would work together in tandem to create a serene, peaceful way of life. He also requested that the village remain hidden, even from the other villages, so that we might not be sucked into violence once more. He did, however, think to train a small squadron of ninja to help defend the village, similar to your own guard."
Renjiro indicated the Anbu members lining the walls of Tsunade's library, then continued:
"For a while, things were calm. Eventually Mochida Yukio died of old age and leadership of the village passed on to his son, Mochida Tai. Tai had been trained by his father, and was a powerful ninja in his own right. However he was deathly afraid of the village being attacked, so he doubled the number of ninja in the village, and began to seek out and create new techniques for martial defense. He also encouraged those ninja beneath him to learn and create their own new techniques.
Eventually learning new techniques became an obsession of Tai's, and he would occasionally leave the village for weeks at a time seeking greater knowledge. One day, he returned with a visitor."
Renjiro stopped and cleared his throat, suddenly overcome with emotion, "Excuse me. It is somewhat difficult to… relive this part."
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and continued:
"This visitor called himself Orochimaru, and he claimed to be a wandering shinobi with wondrous talents that he would teach the ninja of the Sound. What he did, instead, was gather those ninja of the village who had a lust for power and quietly brought them under his rule.
We were completely unsuspecting and vulnerable to the attack. When Orochimaru struck, he killed as many ninja who opposed him as possible, as well as a goodly number of the villagers – shopkeepers, women, children, innocents – and subjugated any who remained. We lost many lives. Suzu's parents…."
He turned to look at the young woman beside him, who seemed to be fighting back tears, "And Juro's sister," indicating the green haired man who had his head lowered.
"But most importantly," he turned back to Tsunade, "We lost Mochida Tai. Orochimaru has renamed himself Kage of our village, and we want revenge."
"And asylum, if I remember correctly," quoted Tsunade.
"Yes," Renjiro said quietly, "We would not seek asylum if not for… very few of us made it out of the village during Orochimaru's attack. Myself, Juro, Suzu, two other Chuunin level ninja and, the reason we ask for asylum – four children, one of them Mochida Taya, Mochida Tai's daughter."
"Children?" Tsunade was incredulous.
"Yes, children," said Renjiro, simply, "Four; between the ages of six and ten. Two boys and two girls. They are mostly untrained and defenseless. We seek asylum so that they may be protected."
"Children," Tsunade muttered, shaking her head, "You're lucky you even made it this far, but why here? Why come to Konoha?"
"Simple," Renjiro stated, gravely, "We know that Orochimaru hates you and that he wants to overtake you as well. From what we've heard, he recently attacked you, which means that we of the True Sound are probably not the only ones who want revenge."
"True," Tsunade nodded, "And I'm betting you're willing to help us by fighting on our side and feeding us information about Orochimaru and the Hidden Village of Sound. Am I right?"
"You are correct," Renjiro gave a short nod, looking Tsunade directly in the eye, "Will you help us?"
Tsunade sat back in her chair once again, brow furrowed in thought. 'This could be a ploy of Orochimaru's to lead us out into the open where he could more easily attack,' she thought, 'Or they could be telling the truth and there really could be two more ninja and a gaggle of children hiding in the woods somewhere. If there's the slightest possibility that children are in danger, I can't take any chances. All right then, but we're not going to go into this blindly.'
Tsunade leaned forward, her eyes meeting Renjiro's, "Very well then, but you're not out of the woods yet. I'll gather a squadron to retrieve the remaining members of your party, but you three will lead them to their location. You'll remain unarmed and your hands will stay tied to ensure the safety of the squadron. If there is any instance of funny business, my men will have orders to kill you. Do you understand?"
"Completely," Renjiro said, flatly.
"Good," Tsunade smiled without mirth, "We'll be moving to the conference room to discuss plans. I wish I could make you more comfortable, but under the circumstances…." She indicated the three ninja's bonds with a shrug.
"It is understandable," Renjiro responded.
"Excellent. I'm glad we understand one another."