Warnings: suicide
The muffled wail that tears through the dawn drizzle startles everyone. "I had no choice, Hanzou-sama!" Standing in the courtyard's gardens with raindrops rolling off his sugegasa*, Kakashi hefts his basket of dead willow leaves against his hip and peers at the entrance of the main building. Even the groundskeeper stops trawling the pond with his net, his snowy eyebrows raised in curiosity at the commotion behind the closed shouji doors.
Tamiko comes storming along one of the verandas, silencing all chattering with a sweeping glare across the courtyard and sending the eavesdropping servants scattering. The inquisitive faces that had gathered along the other buildings disappear just as quickly. The groundskeeper nudges Kakashi and he bows his head, turning back to the mess last night's storm had made of the carefully pruned flora.
"Should I go check it out?" Rin asks at the sound of banging doors, crashes and the distinct taste of chakra in the air. She steps forward but stops at Sakumo's exclamation.
"Wait, look—"
Rin's gaze follows his towards the roof and her mouth falls open at the sight of their elusive observer. A long braid of honey-brown hair hangs down the back of the woman's cream-coloured cloak, an accusing glint in her amber eyes when she glances at them. The hilt of her katana juts from her waist, her Ame hitai-ate dangling from the pommel. Discretely, Sakumo summons his tanto behind his back but the ghost has already turned away, jumping through the roof and disappearing into the building below.
Before either of them can give chase, the main doors of the building snap open with a sharp crack of wood against wood. Otsu appears, his black cloak flaring behind him like the wings of a raven as he drags a bound man stumbling down the stone steps. Following close behind is Hanzou in an uncharacteristic state of dishevelment, clad only in his sleeping yukata with a haori thrown hastily over his shoulders. He comes to a stop behind the sparse curtain of rain trickling off the eaves, eyes glinting with the promise of retribution though he seems content to let Otsu handle things.
The groundskeeper takes one look at the situation and takes Kakashi by the shoulder, the two of them quickly hurrying to hide in one of the storage sheds. Kakashi's sharp hazel eyes appear between the window slats a moment later. Despite the impropriety, the groundskeeper has a soft spot for Kakashi and indulges him his spying.
Under Otsu's manhandling, the man babbles almost incoherently in an odd mixture of accusations and pleas, but it's clear that he's denying any kind of fault. He's no more than eighteen, his navy-trimmed yukata marking his status as one of the household's personal servants. The ROOT shinobi releases his hold on the brunette's collar and kicks him into the pond with a large splash. The pink lilies bob along the pond's rippling surface for a few seconds before the servant surfaces with a gasp, his hair plastered against his blanched face.
Strolling across the water, his face hidden as usual behind his mask, Otsu fishes the young man out and deposits him, spluttering, on the edge of the lake. "Who ordered you to assassinate Hanzou-sama?" Otsu demands in a low growl. When the other man doesn't answer, he takes him by the back of the collar and shakes him like a disobedient pup.
While the servant wheezes another denial, Murakami comes up beside Hanzou, already properly dressed and her hair neatly coiffed. Her lips are pressed thin when she takes in the scene but her expression is otherwise studiously blank.
"I see we have our long overdue assassination attempt," Hyaku remarks dryly as she approaches Rin and Sakumo, Yahiko following close behind with a disappointed look. Snake's somewhere behind them, also spying on the drama with another maid, pretending to dry the rain-splattered floors. "It's been, what, two months since we got here?"
Sakumo doesn't answer her, his attention caught by the way the would-be-assassin's gaze shifts from Hanzou to Murakami and lingers. The woman's hand tightens on the doorframe, her whole body tensing. And of course, her reaction doesn't go unnoticed by Hanzou. Suspicion slips across his face and Sakumo cannot help but think her unfortunate. No matter what the hidden truth is, she is going to suffer for today's events.
"Quick, bring him to interro—"
Murakami's words fall unfinished when the young man suddenly collapses onto the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head as his body begins to spasm. "It's poison!" Otsu barks but there's nothing they can do; he's dead within the minute, along with any hope of information. Murakami grits her teeth.
The rain's gentle patter reigns for several breaths, a silence that seem to stretch on unbearably long. "Okaa-san?" The sound of a child's frightened voice jerks Murakami of her stupor and she quickly moves to block the courtyard from her young son's view. Sakumo sees a flash of golden hair before it's swallowed up by the folds of her haori, her gentle assurances fading as she quickly herds the boy back into the house. Hanzou's frown follows their retreat.
There's a flicker of movement just behind Rin and Sakumo moves before his brain catches up, putting himself between Rin and the ghost that had just materialised. The same young man whose body Otsu is hauling away gasps at the blade pressing at his throat, his entire body freezing. His pupils are blown wide with fear but he seems to collect himself enough to speak when he sees Sakumo's Konoha hitai-ate.
"You're of Konoha," he breathes, confusion flooding his face. "W-what happened? Otsu-sama he..."
Sakumo lowers his weapon. 'So it really had been...?'
The young man glances about uneasily. "I thought I'd..." he trails off, looking down at himself in befuddlement.
"You," Yahiko interrupts, his face grim. "Are dead."
The new ghost stares at Yahiko, undisguised shock lighting his ocean blue eyes. "But... Oh, you're Yahiko-san..."
The barest displacement of air warns of their hidden observer's arrival before she's standing before them, not two paces behind the flinching assassin. Her hands twitch where they hang loosely by her side, her previous antagonism carefully hidden. She has no way of taking on four ghosts at once and she knows it. "Since Murakami-sama wasn't able to, I'd like to interrogate him on her behalf." Observing the incredulity and suspicion written on their faces, she reluctantly adds "please" as if it is a distasteful afterthought.
Terrified, the assassin turns to Sakumo and the others in desperation. "Please, don't. You have to protect me — I only did it because Otsu-sama promised; because of Konoha!"
*conical hat, like in Ch43