Hunted or Busted: A Side Story
Dusted: The Forked Path: Standing Up
Been a while, but I'm back! I have had a goddamn week and really hoping it'll pass after the next one. Work has left me absolutely swamped and while it's a place I can usually keep in control and write when I get some free time, the last few weeks have just been fucking hectic! It's taken me a month to write the new Hunting or Bust! That's the story I have the easiest time with writing and constructing on page, and I just couldn't get through it at all!
Every few minutes someone comes back to me with 'Hey I know you just finished making all these payments and the person we need to approve them is off enjoying a beach vacation, but can you put this through, make a payment, send it overnight and keep me updated on every moment possible?'
'I-I can't. I can't make that happen while my boss is away.'
'Oh cool, cool, cool - but you can make the payment right now, right?'
'Did I go mute for a few seconds? Did you not hear-'
'Also there's a line of people here that want to make the exact same request. Also where are these papers? And when are you going to get back to us with that super important sheet of receipts no one in the company seems to understand needs to get passed through?'
Fuck. My. Life.
Sorry, I hate ranting about work - especially to you nice people. But I need to get it out, and it's either this or me screaming like a banshee in my car as I lose my mind. And this doesn't have anything to do with me controlling over a ton of metal at a speed limit while I lose my mind.
Anyway, on with the show.
((((((((Hunted))))))))
"Hiruzen." The shorter black-haired young man spoke up as he and his friend walked through the street towards a particular bar they frequented. Danzō looked at the back of his more confident friend as he proudly strode forward without any concern for the looks they got, "Didn't we get a message to come in and sit on the meeting?"
"Yes Danzō, yes we did."
"But we're going to the bar instead?" The scarred Faunus knew just by his friend's tone that this was going to come back and bite them somehow, "You know he isn't going to be very happy when he finds out we came late to the meeting just to grab a drink."
Hiruzen shrugged unapologetically, "Yeah well if anyone thinks I'm gonna attend that dour and depressing little party without at least being drunk enough that an entire day blurs out with a single blink, then they are crazy." The monkey Faunus snickered and looked back at his skeptical friend, "Oh come on, just a quick trip to the pub and then we'll go to the meeting. They won't even notice we're not there."
"He asked for us to come. And we won't be there." Danzō pointed out, "He'll absolutely notice, and he'll be livid with you."
"You mean us."
"No, just you. If he's angry and comes to us, I'm throwing you under the bus."
"Ugh, fine, whatever you baby." The monkey Faunus rolled his eyes at his friend's reluctance, "If it really matters to him at all then he'll come down here and get us." The duo stepped into the hole in the wall bar they had come to frequent over their time here in the city. Hiruzen and Danzō pulled out some chairs at the counter and waved to the barkeep, "Two beers please."
It was rare to find an establishment that regularly served Faunus. Outside of places that were owned by a Faunus, most anywhere didn't allow their kind inside. There was still deep resentment and prejudice between the races even after the war and the revolution had ended years ago. Tensions were high and people were seeing just how far they were willing to push each other before things escalated.
This was one of the few places in the city that allowed humans and Faunus to drink. And not because it was peaceful or progressive or anything, but just because the owner saw the profitable chances in serving as many miserable people as possible some overpriced booze. The owner also fought alongside some Faunus when he was a solider, but he denies that that had anything to do with his business choices.
Two beers were placed before them and Hiruzen and Danzō clinked them together. The weasel just took a small sip as the monkey downed half of the beverage down in one gulp. He dropped his bottle on the counter and let out a painful burp before shaking his head, "I mean I don't even know why we go to those meeting. I don't even know why we're a part of the White Fang."
"The White Fang is trying to amend relationships with humans by peaceful protest."
"Yes they are...everywhere else." Hiruzen swung his arm around before looking at his best friend and pointing down, "But here? Here we have to deal with meetings, and inventory, and taking calls, and those freakin' weekly discussions we're forced to sit through."
"We're...helping establish a proper place for the White Fang to congregate from."
Hiruzen sighed, "Buddy, you don't even sound convinced by what you're saying."
Danzō grumbled and ran a hand through his spiky hair. He shrugged, "Fine, I admit it is boring and tedious. So what do you want to do? Should we just quit?"
Hiruzen clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair, "I don't know. I hate not doing anything but quitting before we have the chance to just doesn't seem right." The young man rubbed his head, "Ugh, this is giving me a headache!"
"HEY! YOU FILTHY LITTLE SHITS!"
"Oh great, and this is probably about to make it worse." Hiruzen and Danzō turned in their seats to see the source of the commotion. A group of men stormed into the bar and glared at the two Faunus sat at the counter. The big man in the center stepped forward, with burning hatred in his eyes and a fresh bandage applied over his bent and shattered nose. Hiruzen took another quick sip of his beer before looking at the men that had interrupted their drinking, "Can we help you?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR YOU FLEA-RIDDEN FUCK!" The man in front yelled, ignoring the clear pain it caused him straining his broken nose before pointing at the bandage, "You broke my nose an hour ago and then just ran off like a pussy!"
"Hey, don't just come up to a couple of guys drinking beers and accuse them of something you can't prove. How do you know it was us?"
"The guy that threw the rock had a monkey tail! And was coming this way! And was wearing the same damn thing as you!"
Hiruzen and Danzō looked down at themselves, realizing they were still wearing their black jackets from their workout.
The pair of Faunus shared a look before the outspoken brunette hummed, "Okay, some of this is sounding familiar now. But – hypothetically speaking – if I was the one who broke your nose, I'm pretty sure I did it because you tried to attack my friend while he was getting some exercise."
"Your freak of nature friend was standing on top of public property! I was doing a service to our city! I'm doing a service every time I make sure you fucks remember your place!"
Some of the other Faunus in the bar turned and glared at the shameful man after his exclamation. Danzō turned to Hiruzen and the monkey finished his drink before standing up from his seat, "Well I guess if you were doing what you thought was right, I was doing what I thought was right. And now that it's been settled-"
"Oh no." The injured racist pulled out a knife and gripped it tightly as some of the men beside him spread out. They made sure to block the path so Hiruzen wouldn't be able to sneak away. Hiruzen looked between them and then at the leader as he snarled, "Don't think anything is settled yet you mutant abomination."
"Oh. No. A knife. Now I know I'm fucked."
"You ain't going anywhere, until we teach you," His knife turned to Danzō, "And your little sniveling friend a lesson. That you goddamn animals should remember your place, and be thankful we let you have a place your filthy kind can call home."
Hiruzen cleared his throat and chuckled, "I think we earned a place to live when we fought your wars, and proved we can stay anywhere when we didn't slink off to Menagerie." The monkey Faunus finally turned and faced the xenophobic thug directly, "Now if you put that knife away, and walk with your little group of fuck buddies out of this nice place, we can call this a little incident and never bother with each other again. But you do anything else…and I'll leave you on the ground crying like the poor little bitch you are."
…
The man yelled with fury and charged at Hiruzen. The Faunus simply reacted by turning his body and landing a blindingly fast kick against the xenophobe's sternum. It stumbled him for only an instant, but in that instant Hiruzen chambered his leg and threw another kick directly into his face. And with another sickening crack he cradle his broken nose and cried out in pain. Hiruzen's heel met his cheek while he was stunned and knocked him bodily into the ground.
The thug laid crouched over on the ground, weeping softly to himself and clutching his nose as it started to bleed through the bandage again. Hiruzen carefully leapt over the downed man's body and faced the other men who had come to fight. He then dropped back casually and landed on the leader's back, using him as a seat as the Faunus stared the other men down.
Hiruzen smirked, wiped his nose and perched an eyebrow, "Anyone else?"
Several of the other men grabbed bottles off counters and out of patrons' hands to smash against a table for a jagged weapon. Others grabbed chairs, either using the whole seat or snapping off a leg for a piece of sharpened wood. Once they had armed themselves, they stood facing Hiruzen and prepared to attack him.
The young Sarutobi let out a long breath and shook his head. Using the injured man's head he pushed himself off his back and rolled his shoulders. Once he was done he raised his fists and stared the other men down.
"AAAHHH!"
One of the bigots charged forward with a chair in hand and started swinging. Hiruzen rushed forward when the chair came swinging for his body. He ducked low underneath it and slammed a foot into his attacker's kneecap. The man yelled in pain, and Hiruzen popped back up to slam his palm into the bigot's chin while he screamed.
Hiruzen slammed the man down on the ground, and looked over his shoulder as two more rushed him from behind. He snapped back up to his feet and threw a spinning kick that forced the two men to stop before they were hit. He fell back into a ready stance and stepped in as the two men lurched forward and swung the weapons they held.
Hiruzen blocked the broken bottle and then punched the wielder's forearm in order to push him back. He turned around and grabbed the other man's wrist before he could be stabbed with a broken chair leg. Hiruzen's fist whipped and struck his attacker between the eyes before throwing a harsh mule kick behind him and flooring the thug holding the broken bottle.
Twisting the arm in his grasp, Hiruzen pulled one of his attackers around and tossed him into another rusher. They collided and Hiruzen dashed forward to knock them both down with a fierce kick. Once they slammed into the ground they were left groaning and coughing from the pain. Hiruzen looked around and snickered as he admired his handy work.
The leading thug finally lifted himself up with a pained gasp and moan. He pulled his hand back from his face and saw his palm slathered in blood from his injury. With a hiss he looked up at the back of the monkey Faunus that had crushed them so effortlessly. The anger that clouded his mind mixed with the pain that overwhelmed his senses. Only blood filled his thoughts and he didn't care how he got it.
He pulled himself up by the counter and grabbed a bottle off the top. With a roar he turned around and prepared to smash it against an unsuspecting Hiruzen's head.
But something grabbed his hand and the bottle he held before he could attack. He stumbled and looked back to see Danzō staring dispassionately at him while his hand coiled around the bigot's grasp, "What-"
A strange, sharp, sickening sound occurred from Danzō's palm as the bottle shattered and blood spilled. The xenophobe screamed in pain before Danzō released his grip. The injured man looked down and saw the bottle had been lacerated in his grip and the places that the weasel had touched had been shredded apart. His skin and nails had been unnaturally cut by something in Danzō's grasp. He panted in shock and horror before looking back at Danzō's almost emotionlessly eyes, "Y-You little-"
Hiruzen dashed back in and slammed the man's head into the counter before he could do anything else. The man dropped unconscious to the ground as Hiruzen smiled triumphantly, "If anyone else wants to pick themselves up and try again, I gotta advise against it. But you gotta do what you gotta do."
Hiruzen felt someone moving behind him and spun around to fight again. But froze and paled in shock when he saw it was a sharp-eyed, middle-aged man with big puffy white hair. The man flared at him accusingly while standing among the beaten group of groaning men.
"H-Hello, Tobirama sir."
"Hi."
Tobirama lurched forward and grabbed Hiruzen's arm, pulling it around and locking it in place behind the monkey's back. He then slammed the young man's upper body against the counter and pinned him there, "Ow - hey, watch it!"
"You have got a lot of explaining to do!" Tobirama hissed and pulled the young man back up. He reached into his pocket, yanked out a couple of Lien, and tossed them on the counter to repay the damages. Once they turned around he pointed at Danzō, "You! Follow!"
Danzō flinched, gulped down the rest of his drink, and followed his friend and mentor out the door while the rest of the bar watched. The barkeep started to count the Lien they left behind and hummed. He then looked over the counter at the groaning men trying to pick themselves up, "You'll be paying out the rest of what's owed."
((((((((Hunted))))))))
Done
So Hiruzen is a bit of a hothead fool who jumps into fights without care, and Danzō is his reasonable partner who just can't seem to stop trusting his best friend. And that's how it was for the rest of their lives! Good night everybody!
What's that? That's not how it ends? How does it end? Okay. Okay. Uh-Huh. Oh, that's depressing as shit.
W-Well, Tobirama is here! And he has a few things to say to our boys! I wonder what he'll tell them next time!
I hope this chapter will make it a little clearer than the last one what I want to do with these characters. It...it ain't gonna be a pretty ride for them.
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Thank You and Bye
