Politics of Mice - Hei and Rukia

I made it back safely.

As usual, first things first…

I knocked on Natsuhi's door.

As usual, she opened it a bit, enough to see it was me, before ushering me inside. She looked tired. She was mostly left alone, but I worried she'd go grey worrying about me.

She patted me down to make sure I was okay, before she sighed.

"Yumika…"

She grabbed the haori and held it out.

"...you have too keep this on-"

"-Daimyo's orders, I know." I mumbled as I slid back into the jacket.

"Did it happen again?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, a group waited for me at…"

[...]

"...but they seem nice, so I'm going to keep going."

"Hm."

"Natsuhi?"

"Hm?"

"What did father do?"

She sighed.

"I can't say."

She said the same last time.

Can't.

Which means 'Daimyo's orders'…

"I'm going to bed now."

Oh, right!

I shuffled to my room and back, handing over a certain letter.

"Could you send this to my brother when you get the chance, it'd be great if he got it on our birthday."

She took it quietly.

"Thanks, good night."

"Good night."

Wasn't she up early too?

I hated everything about this.

Which is why I wasn't sleeping quite yet.

I brought out some papers, a pencil, and sat myself down.

Let's try to work some things out…

Analysis Begin!

What do I know?

1. Things changed after I killed Mitsutada.

2. Things changed quickly.

3. Mitsutada himself is not the reason.

4. The ninja clan kids dislike me.

5. Most of the active sound ninja seem to dislike me.

6. Everyone is willing to pick a fight with me.

Assumptions

1. There is a reason for the dislike.

2. Whatever reason is tied to my father.

Subject: Why?

Inconclusive

…

…

…

Speculation!

Starting from the top then: Things changed, why?

It was too quick to be unrelated to Mitsutada dying, but it wasn't Mitsutada himself. Meaning it had something to do with me killing him.

It's not a general rule against killing, I know because…

Drip… drip…

So why was it significant that I killed him?

If it's me, then it's either my physical age, my reincarnation, or my father.

Noone knows about my reincarnation, so I can rule that out.

On the front of my physical age? With how hardcore these guys are, they would have been more likely to celebrate, give me a headband, and send me to the frontlines. This really doesn't line up with that profile, unless the idea of a genius related to my father is a problem.

So my father. He did something. I knew this because Natsuhi wouldn't have orders to be discreet if a 'something' didn't exist.

So the son of the daimyo, who has done something, killed a chunin. This turns everything on its head. Why?

Did it break some sort of promise or deal the Daimyo had made? Possible, but I'd expect Natsuhi to be able to tell me if that was the case. Can't dismiss the idea though, so I'd have to investigate this route further.

Is it a case of repetition? 'The daimyo did X, and now Yumika is looking to do the same!'. That wouldn't work, Father is a politician, getting his hands dirty isn't in the cards… but if it's something more vague like 'killing ninja', in the same manner that Stalin killed millions, then the comparison might hold. It would line up with everyone expecting me to know why, but then I would expect Natsuhi to try to nudge me away from whatever course of events I'm repeating. Another route worth investigating.

Maybe I'm just hated because of my father, and the killing had nothing to do with it? That doesn't make sense with things changing though, unless… did I have some form of protection or guarantee before then? No, that wouldn't work without there being someone to back me. If that is the case, then maybe they just couldn't, or didn't, cover the event up? Did they or someone else help spread the rumours? Possible, added to the list.

Moving on: the ninja kids.

The normal kids straight up dislike me, but that's not new.

The clan kids joined after the event, and seem to hate me.

Whatever reason is in play, the ninja clans are definitely involved somehow.

Is the kids joining the fighting related to the event? Mitsutada was hardcore, so I could understand not wanting to send anyone to fight under his watch.

That makes a lot more sense than them being sent to assassinate me. The medic is a lot stricter on limits, and the clans would have pulled their kids out again if that was the goal. Sigh. Still worth investigating

The kids might also be an avenue worth pursuing to figure out the reason.

Next point: the general dislike of the ninja population.

Now there's a contradiction. If the ninja clans are the primary stakeholder, why do the other ninja care? Unless… multiple reasons? That's the only way things add up, and definitely complicates things.

Last point is simple: me being free game.

No one likes me, so no one complains. It doesn't quite add up with things being fine before Mitsutada, but it seems people didn't actively dislike me then at least.

Analysis End.

I stepped back from my masterpiece of a brain vomit, all written in scraggly half-forgotten English.

Analysis Resume!

Tldr, investigate the following:

Did my father have an agreement, deal, or promise that I broke?

Am I repeating whatever mysterious action my father committed?

Did I break some sort of protection?

If so, who was protecting me and why?

Is someone specifically acting against me?

Kid's reason for disliking me.

Analysis End.

Eh, it's a start.

It was time to sleep.

Dog…

Left hand flat on right fist.

Boar…

Both hands clenched shut, pointed down, joined at the palms. The wrists need to be at a 90 degree angle.

Ram…

Index and middle fingers together pointed up on both hands. The ring and pinky fingers clenched shut on the right hand, and covered by the left ring and pinky. Left thumb on top.

Nope, lost it.

Those were the three hand signs for the transformation technique. I liked to think that making these signs was like forming circuits. Depending on how the hands connected, the paths would alter, and as a result: the flow throughout the whole system would change.

So holding a sign and controlling one's chakra appropriately would 'shape' it in ways way beyond one's standard capabilities.

What was interesting was what happened to chakra that didn't match the current flow. So the secret was to 'freeze' a part of your chakra in the shape of the previous hand sign. The conflicting forms would generate effects, and change things.

Take into consideration that each part of the network will look different, and everything you can get by moving and mixing, and you get a lot of options.

There was also a bit of manual shaping, and the actual use of the technique to consider. In the case of the transformation technique, it needed strong visualisation, and the quality degraded based on how much 'waste' went into the execution.

That was my understanding at least.

I hadn't reached that last step yet.

Mainly because I wasn't entirely comfortable with the hand signs yet.

So why was I doing this and not just practising hand signs?

I needed information.

I had four possible sources: the kids, the ninjas with a grudge, the ninjas who are assholes, and Natsuhi.

The kids seemed like the best option. They wouldn't say anything to me, but unlike the adults though, they were much more likely to be fooled by an amateur transformation.

I could also ask Isae and the doc for help…

I doubted either of them would know much themselves, but they might be able to learn.

Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position to leverage them for help.

So learning the transformation was my best bet at the moment.

Dog. Ram- Argh, wrong order.

On top of having to learn the thing, there was another problem with the transformation plan.

If I got hit or lost my concentration, it would dispel.

…the main avenue to meet the other kids was at the arena.

With my current abilities, I could maybe avoid a hit and win against certain opponents. That would reveal the disguise though.

I could wear armour on top of the transformation, but the simple bracers and padding used by shinobi would only dampen, not remove the impacts. It would help, but I didn't like to gamble on just that.

The best solution would be picking up a weapon.

I had basic experiences with nunchucks and quarterstaves.

An amateur with nunchucks was more likely to hurt themselves than others, so that ruled that out.

So staves, what did I know about them?

Key aspect: grip.

Unlike with most weapons, shifting how and where you held the staff made a world of difference. The three grips I could think of, where both hands in the centre, both hands at one of the ends, and one hand centre and other at the end.

Forms of Attack: Thrust, light swing, and heavy swing.

The thrust involved wielding the staff like a spear. By light swing, I meant swinging the staff while holding the centre, like you're steering a bike. In contrast, a heavy swing wasn't that much different from swinging a sledgehammer at someone.

Blocks: umm… I'd figure that one out. There was a cool thing you could do where you spin it by shifting grips and rotating your wrists.

So I asked Natsuhi to smuggle in a staff for me.

In the meantime.

Whack.

This mop handle would have to do…

Whack. Whack. Whack. Whack.

That's five right light swings, maybe if I adjust my footing…

…While I tried to reverse engineer bojutsu.

Keep it simple, focus on the basics.

Dog... Boar... Ram…

Have to hold the chakra better.

…

Whack. Whack. Whack.

Maybe loosen the grip…

…

I snuck out of class, and back to my room.

…

Dog. Boar… Ram…

Too much.

…

Draw, aim, release.

Bullseye.

Good, but I can't stop now.

…

"Hey, I'm here for those extra tests?"

"Good, right on schedule."

…

Dog. Boar. Ram.

Again.

…

"Natsuhi, could you help me with something?"

…

I braced my staff vertically to my left to block, and the staff Natsuhi swung hit it. She moved into the block I asked for, and I swung back the same way.

Block, whack. Block, whack.

…

"Yumika, you're up."

I got down into the arena.

Oh no.

This guy was trouble.

"Begin."

It's like he's actually trying to kill me!

I surrendered that match.

…

Dog, boar. Ram.

Visualise.

…

I walked past the two in the hallway. They didn't notice me.

Not wearing the hoari paid off.

…

Block, whack. Block, whack.

…

Dog, boar, ram.

Again.

…

The class was covering a topic I already knew, so I snuck back to my room.

…

Block, whack. Block, whack.

…

Dog-boar, ram.

Again.

…

Block, whack. Block, whack.

…

Dog-Boar-Ram.

A puff of smoke and someone else is standing in my place.

I leaned the staff against the wall outside the class, and popped out a small sack from my storage space.

Dog-Boar-Ram.

A puff of smoke.

Gone was Yumika.

Suddenly there was Hei. A simple name I wouldn't forget.

Hei was a kid whose father was a forrester. He heard that his mother had been a ninja, and had been practising on his own so that he could follow in her footsteps.

After hitching a ride with a travelling sound ninja, he made it here, and was excited to finally get started. The ninja didn't really pay him any mind, so Hei didn't bother him back.

Hei had short rough brown hair, a pair of green eyes, an athletic build, and a slight tan.

He wore a sleeveless open green vest, and a pair of pale brown shorts.

He was confident, and quick to anger.

From the bag, I grabbed the shin and wrist guards, and tied them on. The shin guards went up and over the knee.

I tied up the sack, flung it over my shoulder, and rose up to a full stand, grabbing my staff in the same motion.

I did of course channel the maximum amount of swagger possible into the motions.

I channelled confidence, aggression, and playfulness. Very different from my natural self.

I put a hand on the door and shoved.

I stopped at the corner closest to the classroom.

Dog-Boar-Ram.

A puff of smoke.

Gone was Yumika.

Suddenly there was Rukia. The name is from Bleach, so I wouldn't forget it.

Rukia was one of the prisoners here, though she didn't understand that. Her memories before that are vague.

Rukia had shoulder length blond hair, blue eyes, and was really pale.

She wore a cyan skirt, knee high white socks, and a big fluffy grey jacket that was way too big for her.

She was a mouse of a person, very anxious, quick to feel, but surprisingly willful.

I closed up my posture, and shuffled to the door.

I channelled my worries, I thought of how everything could go wrong, about how I was troubling Natsuhi, and the prisoner's biting words.

I wrapped my fingers around the handle to the class, and made my way inside.

Those were the two personas I'd cooked up.

Hei was a brawn, Rukia was a brain. The personalities were tropes, the backgrounds simple.

The genders? Eh, I didn't really care. In the end we're all just organic computers piloting flesh mechs, but a guy and girl would maximise my odds, so that's what I'd be.

Two different crowds, two different ways to gain intel.

I hope this works…

Omake - Wouldn't hurt a fly

Natsuhi watched Yumika struggle with an almost morbid fascination.

She had heard the saying 'wouldn't hurt a fly', but never thought she'd see it play out so literally.

That is to say, a fly had made it into Yumika's room.

Deep in the underground base, filled with highly perceptive ninja.

Yet here it was, and here it seemed determined to stay.

She had been asked to keep the door open, so it could fly out.

That was 15 minutes ago.

Finally, with the help of a hand fan, Yumika managed to blow the little insect out the door.

He stood in the hallway, relieved to be done.

The fly landed on someone's shoulder.

Smack.

She glanced down at Yumika's expression.

Natushi sighed.

This would probably require a withdrawal from the sweets stash.