'Because of Konoha!'
The assassin's deeply troubling words ring in Sakumo's ears as if he'd been physically slapped. Hyaku is already striding forward, her verdant eyes afire and a demand on her tongue. Unexpectedly, Rin steps up and stops the Uzumaki with a gentle hand against her shoulder. "Let me speak with him." There is steel in Rin's eyes even though she speaks in her usual soft-spoken manner. A teasing smile quirks the corner of her mouth. "You're too scary." Hyaku rolls her eyes but relents in her plan to throttle the new ghost.
Nodding at Sakumo, who returns the gesture, Rin beckons for the assassin to go with her a short distance away. The young man visibly slumps in relief, though he still casts a wary glance back at the thunderous Ame kunoichi. Sakumo takes that as his cue. "How should I address you, ninja-san?" he asks, hoping to forestall any conflict.
His politeness seems to dissipate her anger by sheer surprise. "Meiko, no surname. You must be Hatake-san and Yahiko-san..." The two Ame ghosts exchange thin smiles. "We've crossed swords before. I'm afraid I don't know your other companions, though."
"Uzumaki Hyaku."
"Of course." All that red hair is telling, not to mention her fiery temper.
"And Nohara Rin." Following Sakumo's gaze, Meiko glances over at the med-nin, who is speaking in tones too low for him to catch, her expression open and reassuring. Even though the assassin is taller than her, he looks fragile and crumpled.
"Will you tell me what your interrogator gets from him?" Meiko asks, raising an eyebrow at the odd look that passes over Sakumo's face. Hyaku stifles a snort and the silver-haired ghost smiles. 'How strange that simply being friendly and compassionate - simply being Rin, in other words - has become an interrogation tactic,' Sakumo wonders incredulously. 'And how sad.'
"No reason why not," is all he says out loud. Then, after a pause: "You must be one of the ghosts who were watching us."
Meiko holds his gaze unapologetically. "Yes. I had no way of knowing if you all pose a threat to Murakami-sama or Hanzou-sama."
"You could have asked," Yahiko mutters under his breath.
"You're right, we should have."
They all turn towards the new voice, even as Meiko lets out a hiss. "Sugi-san, it's not safe!"
The doll-faced ghost shoots Meiko a chiding look as she half-floats, half-climbs out of the well to sit on its lip, sweeping her waterfall of indigo hair out of her face to smile at them. It's a pretty gesture; her features look unexpectedly familiar. "I think after two months of peaceful co-existence, it's safe enough. They're not going to suddenly attack Murakami after all this time." Sugi inclines her head at them. "We do apologise."
Yahiko splutters, making Meiko tense, but the words that come out of his mouth next have her rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You're a drowned ghost! Did you die in that well?" Trust Yahiko to break the tension without even trying to.
"Not quite," Sugi says with an amused twist of her mouth. It makes her look even younger, barely out of her teens. "Not at all, actually."
Hyaku knocks Yahiko's breath out with a harsh elbow in the stomach just as Rin returns with the assassin, who doesn't look as upset as he had earlier. She one look at Sugi's repressed grin and Hyaku's innocent smile and shakes her head. "I don't even want to know." Turning back to the assassin, she gives him a nod. "Rai-san, you wished to speak to Yahiko?"
The orange-haired Akatsuki straightens sharply. "Oh? Okay. Sure."
As the pair splits off, the rest gather around Rin. Her earlier humour has disappeared, replaced with a solemn depth to her brown eyes. "He has a younger brother, a shinobi currently working for Hanzou. Otsu found out that their civilian parents worked for the Akatsuki some years back, before they'd passed." The corners of her mouth pull in a slight grimace. "Otsu threatened him using that. Using his brother's safety. Rai made Otsu promise that he'd take his brother to Konoha, in return for..."
Sugi leans forward unconsciously, her fists clenched in the loose fabric of her plain kimono. "For...?"
"Making it seem like the assassination attempt was ordered by Murakami-san. Rai was one of Murakami's personal servants after all."
Meiko swears rather creatively about Konoha-nin and Sugi jumps, her eyes darting towards the other ghosts. "Now, now, Meiko-san. Murakami's a smart girl..." Even as she says that, it's clear that she's beyond worried.
What concerns Sakumo, however, is not ROOT's attempt to sabotage Murakami and Hanzou's relationship — that much has obvious motivations. Rather, it is Otsu's promise to bring Rai's brother to Konoha. Sakumo is almost certain that it was simply a tactic - a carrot to the stick - and not meant to be kept, but the words of the Ame-nin who had tested Kakashi and the other children resurfaces at the back of his mind.
("Don't lose these little ones so quickly this time.")
The events since their arrival in Ame are slowly piecing together into a startling picture but several crucial pieces are still missing before Sakumo can make it a whole. He crosses his arms, frowning in perturbation.
"He wants to see his brother." Rin's voice snaps Sakumo out of his musings. Meiko and Sugi have already broken off from their group, their heads together as they discuss something. Sakumo exchanges a look with Hyaku and the seals master shakes her head minutely. A shaky sigh escapes Rin and her eyes become downcast. "He's probably already in interrogation, huh?"
Sakumo puts his hand on her shoulder, just a warm weight to steady her. "It's better that Rai doesn't know. We'll... distract him somehow." However impossible that this whole thing is some kind of convoluted recruitment strategy, Sakumo hopes against hope that Otsu will keep his word and recruit Rai's brother into ROOT. It will be the end of the road for another innocent, otherwise.
A/N: sorry for the proliferation of OCs but they are necessary for the plot and future feels. Anyone up to guessing who Sugi is, even though there's not much to go on? :D