Hunted or Busted: A Side Story
Dusted 14: The Forked Path: Responsible and Culpable
I'm loving Volume 7 so far. New characters and old returning. Watts and Tyrian are frightening as shit. And we get the new outfits soon!
And I know it's a point of contention but I kinda like Jaune's hair. It might just be the contrarian in me wanting to give it a chance when pretty much everyone else in the FNDM goes up in arms and starts quoting Godfather, but hey maybe I'm just an optimist.
Also, apparently that Vine guy has a Semblance similar to what I had Naruto's. Glad to finally have a visual idea of what I was imagining, but not sure how to work that out if they ever meet.
Vine: "You wish you had control like mine."
Naruto: "I'll take relief in the fact I don't look like an albino Dhalsim, motherfucker."
((((((((Hunted))))))))
"Come on."
"Ow ow ow! D-Dammit, stop pulling! I have feet I can walk on my own! Stop - god say something! Anything! Don't just drag me around!" Hiruzen tripped over his feet as he was forcibly dragged through the door after Tobirama. He tried to pry the hand off his collar but failed to remove the iron grip, "Dammit Danzō stop just watching this and help me!"
"I think we're in enough trouble without me trying to liberate you from your much deserved punishment." The young man said to his best friend as he followed behind them at a comfortable pace, "I'll just stay back here and watch."
"You little bitch!"
Tobirama pushed his door open and tossed Hiruzen inside before he could slip away. As they entered Danzō made to follow them in, but Tobirama held up his hand to stop him before entry, "No Danzō, I need to speak with Hiruzen alone. I have some matters he and I need to desperately go over again."
"AW DAMM-"
The door was shut before Hiruzen could finish his curse and Danzō just stared at the door in mild surprise. He turned around and saw that the small group sitting in a circle in the center of the room was watching what happened in silence. The young weasel Faunus made his way over and pulled up a chair, "I'm sorry for the interruption. Mr. Tobirama just had something urgent to discuss with my friend."
"Hello Danzō," The familiar White Fang volunteer greeted the young man, "Everyone, this is Danzō Shimura. He's a regular member and helps volunteer with Mr. Tobirama's work with the White Fang with his friend. Danzō, today we have a group discussion about our personal relationships with humans. Good and bad. Whatever experiences you think are needed to be heard, we're ready to listen."
Danzō looked around at the gathered folks that had come to talk and recognized some familiar faces from prior rallies. Others were new souls that had probably come to speak their minds. And by the looks on their faces there weren't many good or uplifting stories they had to share with the group. There was one man in particular who looked extra spiteful and disgusted at the topic of their discussion.
"Danzō, do you have a story you'd like to tell? Anything the group should hear?"
"Probably not one that would make any of you feel better."
"Trust us kid," A woman in the group spoke up with a jovial tone overlaying a sad truth, "Not gonna be much different from anything else we've heard today."
The young Faunus paused for a moment in thought as he mulled over what he could say. After a few seconds he exhaled softly and nodded, "When I was just a kid, I played with a group of other kids. In our settlement, human kids stayed separated from Faunus kids, and vice versa. They played in their area, and we played in ours. Except sometimes they would come over and demand the spot we would play at, not even because they wanted to stay there...but just because they wanted to take it from us."
"My friend, Hiruzen, has always been a little different from other people about how he deals with that. He doesn't shy away or hide because of what our people have been through or how we're treated. If someone insulted him, he stood up for himself and tore them down to size. No matter how bad it would have been or who said it, he didn't just sit back and let it slide. Honestly it's gotten us into more trouble than usual, but…I guess between that or letting these people say and do whatever they want, Hiruzen has a clear choice. Anyway, when we were kids the human children tried to push us out of our favorite spot. I think they were egged on by their older siblings or their parents or something, but it just seemed so vicious. Hiruzen stood up to them, argued and yelled and did not stand down. But things escalated pretty quickly, and there was actually a fight. One of the kids threw a big rock at me as hard as they could and," Danzō pointed to the cross scar on his chin, "It split my chin open. Ever since then if I haven't been witness to a fight or argument with humans, all I've seen is casual disinterest and apathy. Even Hiruzen is still quick to pick a fight, and even though I know it's immature the humans around us still rise to the challenge at the small provocation. So I suppose if we're telling stories about our good experiences with humans, then I don't really have any. But stories about when I've thought badly about them…well I have quite a few of those."
((((((((Hunting))))))))
"Another fight?"
"Those guys didn't exactly look ready to listen to reason."
"Another fight!"
"They we're looking for an excuse! If it wasn't going to be me, it would have been some other unfortunate Faunus that wasn't ready to stand up to them! Would you rather they pick on some innocent person just walking by they could take their anger out on, or me who could take it?"
"I'd rather you not get involved or instigate a fight at all!" Tobirama and Hiruzen glared at each other after their furious yelling before they both sighed. Tobirama fell back into his chair as Hirzuen huffed petulantly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stomping around the room, "I'd really just rather you not get involved with people like this at every opportunity. I hear about a fight breaking out between Faunus and humans and about 50% of the time it usually involves you."
"I'm just trying to live my life." Hiruzen muttered angrily, "Why the hell is it a crime for me to do that?"
"It isn't a crime." Tobirama said, "But that doesn't mean every person in the world will agree with you. For every desire and choice in this world, there is something to fight back and oppose it. Even for something like people's rights and livelihoods." The older man looked ahead wearily before grabbing his pen and continuing where he left off on his paperwork, "I agree with you that it shouldn't be some terrible action just to walk around and be yourself, but there are those who would rather we leave and never appear before them again. But instead of engaging those people and worsening their view on us, why not try to avoid them?" Hiruzen looked back at him with a frown, "No, it isn't fair and it isn't right to just ignore them and let them be, but if the alternative is you starting fights with them then I'd prefer you walked. There are other methods to stopping this kind of injustice than just throwing fists."
"Well when I find a more effective method, I'll try to use that instead." Tobirama sighed and shook his head at Hiruzen's snappish response. The young monkey Faunus continued to pace around the room impatiently in an effort to calm his heated emotions. As he passed by a glass stand, he found himself pausing and staring at the display once more, "Did your old buddies ever hate you because you were a Faunus?"
"Some looked at me differently, and some never fully trusted me, but somewhere near the end that didn't matter as much. We had each other's backs, and we had a fight to win."
Hiruzen looked over the folded uniform, medals and recognition for his service with the Vale forces, and a photo taken of Tobirama, his brother, and the other men from their unit. They had fought with a group of other humans and Faunus in the war years ago. The reason so many people trusted Tobirama after he had been entrusted the group from Hashirama was because he was a veteran who had fought against the oppression of individualism, and again for the sake of Faunus rights. Many people thought that a decorated soldier with prior service and strong appeal would work well to gather people to the cause. It made other members scratch their heads that he didn't use this knowledge earlier to help raise awareness of their cause.
Hiruzen knew Tobirama and his family a little better than most others. The reason he didn't talk about it was because he joined the war with his father and brothers. All of his brothers.
And now it was just him and his older brother left.
Feeling a swell of guilt in his chest, Hiruzen sighed and scratched his head. He turned around and looked at the white-haired man working diligently on his work. Tobirama felt his gaze and looked up as Hiruzen exhaled, "When Danzō and I were running over the rooftops – yes I know you said we shouldn't but we need our exercise – we met those guys I fought earlier. And I…spiked a rock into one of their faces." Tobirama looked agitated by that admission but Hiruzen continued, "And the only reason I did that is because they threw a rock at us first…and he aimed at Danzō."
Tobirama and Hiruzen stared at each other in a heavy silence for a few seconds before the older man sighed and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, "I know you two are best friends but you can't keep doing that. You can't baby him and stop him from making his own decisions."
"Would you rather he'd gotten hit?" The silence weighed heavily between them before Hiruzen nodded, "Thought so. Say what you want, but I made the right choice."
"And now I see there's just no way to convince you like this." Tobirama slowly stood out of his chair and shook his head in disappointment. He slowly made his way around his desk and stalked towards Hiruzen, his large body towering over the younger man and his broad shoulders casting a shadow over him, "I guess you leave me no other choice."
Hiruzen backed away carefully, "W-What are you going to do?"
"The only thing I can do…punish you."
((((((((Hunting))))))))
"-so then while she was in the delivery room, the guy that drove us there stayed with me the whole time. We talked about a bunch of stuff. We waved at my daughter in the nursery while she rested. And he told me about his kids and what being a parent is like. We're actually drinking buddies now, and we talk regularly." One man said optimistically as he smiled, "I think I have a better relationship with that human that any person outside of my family."
"Good, I'm glad you shared that with us." The volunteer looked around at her group, "It's good to remember that the people we have trouble with isn't just an entire race or group of people; it's the individuals in those groups of people that we perceive as making up the entire group. I believe that if we can look past that and engage with each other-"
"Pfft."
Eyes turned to the older man that had been quietly sitting by and listening to everyone tell their stories. The chaperone turned in her seat and looked at the man, "Do you have something you want to say?"
"I want to say that this is total bullshit." He brashly stated, "Are we supposed to be making friends with humans now? Just forget everything that happened in the past?"
"Not at all. I wouldn't sit here and tell you to forget about the past. But I would advise that we should try to accept that what happened is set, and can't be changed. All we can do now-"
"Did you lose anyone in the war?" The man interrupted, "Anyone you remember who was killed in battle?"
"Yes, actually. My grandfather and uncle signed up to fight in the war. But they didn't come back, and we had to bury them." She admitted, "I won't forgive the people that did it, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life waving my fists at people I've never even met and probably never will. I don't think they'd want me to spend my life like that."
"Well that's sweet. Probably the mindset of a family of soldiers and fighters." The man smiled and shrugged with uncertainty, "I'm not quite sure how I can relate to that, because none of my family were soldiers who were ready for the fight. My father was just a merchant, but he was still killed. For no reason."
Danzō raised his brow and shifted in his seat to listen to the older man. The other people in the circle were doing the same, listening intently to the man as he stared ahead, "One day our settlement was the spot for a raid between two forces. I think it started on the field by our home and gradually it just shifted over as the battle raged on. Bullets and explosions completely decimated our streets. Our friends and neighbors could be heard screaming in terror in their rooms between the sounds of gunfire. My mother held me to her chest and started hyperventilating but still kept telling me I would be okay. And my father dragged himself to the window and looked outside to see if it was over when the bullets stopped flying."
They noticed the man's eyes started to water and shake as he caught his breath. Remembering the event seemed to physically hurt him and yet he hadn't even finished telling his story.
"Someone kicks down our door and starts yelling. He screams at my father and points a gun at him. He just kept yelling and yelling, so loud and indecipherably that I wasn't even sure what he was saying. And without waiting another second he just guns my father down like an animal." The man's voice cracked and he covered his eyes as they started to tear up, "He had his hands up and everything. He was just a man who sold rugs in the market and this soldier broke into our home and killed him. I was so scared and my mother just started screaming until the man turned on us instead...but before he could take the shot...he stopped him."
"Who?" Danzō asked.
"Madara Uchiha."
Everyone in the circle nearly lost their breath when they heard that name muttered. Some of them were unsettled at the reminder that such a wicked soul existed in their world. Others were genuinely shocked that there was a Faunus that had crossed his path and lived to tell about it.
The Uchina were a despicable group that had been guards, soldiers, and warriors for the Kingdoms for generations. They had committed some truly terrible actions to people they had been ordered to kill, and have been at the center of some of the worst Faunus atrocities in history. They were a source of fear and terror before they were forsaken by Mistral and Atlas for their actions in the war and then hunted down by the people looking for vindication.
And at the center of some of those war crimes was Madara Uchiha. He had a higher body count than anyone else in the war, humans and Faunus. The actions he committed set up new laws and regulations for warfare on Remnant. There was a rumor that the day the war had ended he was begging for it to continue and for the killing to go on. And even after the war had finished, it was well documented that he had hunted down and slaughtered groups of people in the aftermath.
The Grimm could not compare to the monster that was Madara Uchiha. And here was a man whose life had crossed with that demon's and lived.
"Turns out the soldier was an Uchiha. Because of fucking course it was an Uchiha." The man hissed in disgust, "I remember that damned red and white fan on the back of their uniform. Several Uchiha came in and led the first guy away to kill some other poor, unarmed man in cold blood. And Madara Uchiha...looked back at me." He paused, sweat coming down his forehead and tears in his eyes, "I still remember those red eyes. I was just a kid and the moment I saw those eyes I had accepted my death. But instead he just walks away, my mother screaming and crying while my father laid dead in a pool of his own blood. In an instant our lives were ruined and it didn't even matter to them."
His words and quiet sobs hung over the people in the meeting.
"How?" He asked, "How the fuck can you talk about making peace with people who do thing like that? How can you think it's even possible with those monsters?"
((((((((Hunted))))))))
The meeting had come to an early end after the man had finished his story about Madara Uchiha. Danzō had offered to stay behind and clean up the place while he waited for Hiruzen and Tobirama to come back out.
The door to the office finally opened up and Tobirama walked out with an irate Hiruzen following behind him. Tobirama nodded his way, "Danzō, glad to see you're still here. So how did the meeting go?"
"Um...you'll probably hear about it later." He said ambiguously, to Tobirama's confusion before he decided to wait until later. The weasel looked over and saw his monkey friend frowning and glaring aside, "What happened?"
"Hiruzen and I had a long, extensive conversation about violence, responsibility, and how to properly interact with people. He fought back on every topic I brought up, and so I had no choice but to punish him in a way where he'll finally learn his lesson."
"He's put me in charge of a White Fang group in Vale." Hiruzen angrily stared, "He says I can't resort to violence when I'm in charge of scheduling rallies and gathering people together."
"If you want to find another way to do things then I'm more than ready to help you find those methods." Tobirama smiled smugly at the young man, "I'll send you more of the details when I'm done working things out. I expect great things from you."
Hiruzen growled as the older man walked away, basking in his apparent victory. After a moment the monkey turned to his best friend, "I can't believe I'm getting saddled with this shit."
"Well, I cant wait to see how things turn out."
"You want to come with me?" Hiruzen chuckled, "You don't have to do that."
"Of course I do." Danzō smiled, "I'm with you to the end."
((((((((Hunted))))))))
Done
So we get a little extra info about some new characters as well as our two mains for this story. I'm having a hard time writing this because I can imagine the outline and how I want the chapter to go but I can't quite put it into words. Probably because this is my first time writing it wherever everyone is so harsh and mean to each other.
Honestly, I also really want to get around to telling Madara's tale in this story. God I have so many ideas and I really can't wait to show them all to you. Hopefully we won't take very long to get there.
Fingers crossed.
ReadxReview
Thank You and Bye
