Hey, yeah, so I'm not completely inactive! Work has been killer lately so any time I had to work on this chapter was next to none.
Enjoy!
That evening, Nayamae gathered all of her men in the dining room of the inn. She sat on a table top so she could see everyone. One by one her men stood and told her what they had found out from the villagers. They had learned that Gato was the owner of a shipping company that he used as a disguise to smuggle drugs and other illegal items while simultaneously taking control of the only shipping routes in and out of the village. Gato also lead by fear, by having recently publicly executed a man who had tried to start a revolt against him. None of the villagers wanted to fight against him in fear of their own lives.
Each of them recounted a villagers' personal experience with Gato in control. Nearly all of them were poor, starving, and barely surviving with any of the resources they had access to.
When everyone finished, Nayamae thanked them. "Good work, all of you," she said, standing up. "You've earned your rest. Tomorrow we will begin to help these villagers get out from Gato's control. It won't be easy, but I think we're up for the challenge." She nodded at Hiro. "Thank you again, everyone. Good night."
They all stood at the same time, all filing out and upstairs to their hotel rooms. Nayamae turned to speak with Hiro, but found someone else was walking up to her. She the youngest among her command and one of the few females, but the young girl had proven herself useful on several occasions as a spy. She wasn't much older than 14, but was small enough to look younger. Her sandy blonde hair was held back by a green bandana, revealing her equally green eyes.
"Lila," Nayamae said with a smile, turning instead to the girl. "What can I do for you?" she asked.
"Nayamae-sama," the girl greeted shyly with a small bow. "Can I talk to you in private?" She glanced at Hiro who still stood nearby. "It's really important."
She glanced at Hiro as well. "Sure, this way." Nayamae put her hand on Lila's back and led her to a far corner of the room. "What's going on?" she asked with concern. "Did somebody do something to you?"
Lila shook her head, avoiding eye contact. "No, nothing like that," she said, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands. "While I was out getting info on Gato, I came across some of his guys down by the docks. They were… they were talking about someone who was supposedly going to start helping Gato gain even more control." She looked up at her. "Not just of the Land of Waves, but other villages too. Maybe even a whole country!"
Nayamae blinked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Who? Did they say a name?"
Lila nodded, bunching her shirt even more. "I think they said his name was Akito."
She hitched her breath, accidentally tightening her grip on the girl's shoulder making her wince. "Are you sure that's the name you heard?" she asked.
Lila nodded again. "Yes, Nayamae-sama, I'm sure."
Nayamae let her go. "Thank you, Lila," she said. "That changes things, but it's good information. Thank you, you may go if that was everything." Lila nodded a final time and did a quick bow before dashing upstairs to her hotel room. Nayamae stayed where she was, rubbing her face with her hand as she thought.
She knew Gato was a large problem, that much was clear, but so was Akito. As far as she knew, he had been arrested by ANBU after she had been spying on him for a month. With Kakashi's help, she was able to get out of that situation alive. She shook her head of the memories of that night and heaved a deep sigh. Looking around the dining room, she found herself alone. She went upstairs, knocking on the door to Hiro's room.
"Boss?" Hiro said in mild surprise, letting her enter.
"We need to talk," Nayamae said, moving to sit on the bed. He shut the door. She told him what Lila had told her downstairs. "We need to go after Akito," she said decidedly.
"You don't want to stay and help these people?" Hiro frowned.
"We can't help these people if someone higher than the one we're after is pulling the strings," she argued. "Gato is only a small part in this. Who knows how long Akito has been in control or who else he may have under his control."
"What do you suggest then? Go back to Konoha and try to stop Akito?" He crossed his arms. "This information came from one person. Nobody else heard anything similar to it."
"Lila has been trustworthy in the past," Nayamae said, rubbing her temples. "She's never lied to me. I don't see why we shouldn't trust her."
"That's not what I'm saying," he said, leaning against the wall behind him. "We don't even know if it's true what she overheard. How do we know that Akito is even out of prison? And if he is, it's possible he may not even be in Konoha anymore."
Nayamae sighed. "You're right. He may not be, but it's a place to start looking." She laid a hand on her chest as a dull, uncomfortable ache began to form.
The next morning, Nayamae awoke early and left the inn, heading towards Tazuna's house. As she approached the house, she saw Tsunami sweeping the front porch.
"Here for Kakashi again?" Tsunami asked, holding the broom in one hand.
She didn't need to ask, she could sense Kakashi and his students weren't here, but she did anyway. "Yes, is he here?"
Tsunami shook her head. "They left earlier to go do some training. If you head that way, you should be able to find them." She resumed her sweeping.
"Thanks," Nayamae said, going in the direction Tsunami had pointed.
She walked a little ways until she found the four of them. Kakashi stood with a crutch under his arm, Sakura stood beside him while they watched Naruto and Sasuke run up the trees as high as they could. She quietly walked up beside Kakashi and Sakura, startling the two of them.
"Nayamae-san!" Sakura exclaimed.
"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked. The two boys stopped running up their trees to see who had appeared.
"I needed to talk to you," she said, crossing her arms. "It seems that I can't trust your ANBU friends to take care of things."
He scoffed. "What are you talking about?"
"Akito," she whispered. "He's apparently been pulling the strings on Gato, promising him more control than just a small village."
Kakashi frowned, glancing at his students. "Keep training," he told them. "We shouldn't be long." The children looked at each other and slowly returned to running up their trees. He began to hobble a little ways away from them, Nayamae following behind him. Though they were far enough away, he still spoke in a hushed voice. "Where did you hear this?"
"One of my men found out yesterday," she replied, crossing her arms. "I don't know how much is actually true though," she admitted. "I'm taking Hiro with me to Konoha to try to find him and see what he's been up to. I'm leaving the rest of my men here to help this village where they need it."
"And your men are okay with that?" he asked.
"They know their orders while I'm gone," she said, waving her hand. "Anyway, I figured you would like to know that I'm going back regardless of what I may have said before."
He nodded. "We can take care of Gato here."
She nodded in approval, but then cracked a smile. "I hope you're not planning on taking him down with that crutch," she teased.
He frowned, heaving a sigh. "I did have a better idea. If you keep worrying about me, I'm going to have to find a way to keep you alive longer to take care of me."
She huffed. "Good luck with that," she said sarcastically. "If I'm still in Konoha by the time you get back, I may need your help."
"Just focus on finding Akito and we'll take care of Gato," Kakashi said.
"Thank you," Nayamae said, turning to leave. "If my men give you any trouble, be sure to tell me."
"I will."
Lila skipped ahead of Nayamae and Hiro as they walked through the gate into Konoha. The sky was a bright orange as the sun began to set. The heat of the day was only just beginning to wear off as the sun lowered.
"I am definitely looking forward to eating some dinner!" Hiro said eagerly.
"Ooh, yes!" agreed Lila, her stomach growling loudly.
"We'll find a place for sure," Nayamae said, rubbing a hand on her chest. The dull ache hadn't gone away during the few days they travelled to Konoha, but in fact had steadily gotten worse.
"Hey, you there!" a voice called out to them. All three turned to look in the direction of the voice. A guard was sitting in a booth, staring at them, waving at them to come closer. "All visitors need to stop here," he told them as they approached. "Identification."
Nayamae and Hiro glanced at each other. "We don't exactly… have any…" Hiro sheepishly admitted.
"No identification? What's your business here?"
"It's personal," Nayamae said, suddenly realizing how suspicious the three of them must have looked to the guard: two adults travelling with a young girl, who looked nothing like either of them, and without any proper identification. "My… aunt lives here. We were coming for a visit."
The guard looked up at her, narrowing his eyes. "Who's your-" he began to ask before a voice cut him off.
"Naya-chan?" They all looked up to see an older woman with peppery black hair and red circular glasses. "Naya-chan!"
"Oh, and there she is now!" Nayamae said cheerfully, thankful for Kyrie's perfectly timed appearance.
"Naya-chan, it's so good to see you! You've been gone for so long." Kyrie greeted her with a bone-crunching embrace, then held her out at arm's length. "And you've brought friends!" she said excitedly, her eyes looking to Hiro, then onto Lila. Her excitement paused for a moment as she looked at the young girl, recognition flashing across her face.
"This is Hiro, my second in command, and this is Lila," Nayamae introduced, gesturing to them both. "We could use a place to stay," she said hopefully. "Do you mind if we stay a night with you? We'll be out of your hair and in a hotel by tomorrow."
Kyrie blinked, looking back to Nayamae. "Oh, nonsense! You three can stay as long as you like. Come," she said, turning to walk further into the village. "Are you hungry?"
"I am!" Lila said, speaking up.
"Excellent! I hope you're okay with pork because that's what's on the menu for tonight," said Kyrie.
"This is so good," Hiro complimented, digging in to a third helping of rice and roast pork.
"I don't think I can eat another bite," Lila said, rubbing her extended stomach. "I'm so full!"
Kyrie smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she replied, turning to Nayamae who was picking at a pile of vegetables on her plate. "Naya-chan," she tsked, "you need to finish your vegetables. They're good for you." Nayamae made a face and continued to poke at them childishly. Kyrie sighed, changing topics. "What brings you back now?" she asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you back here?"
"We're looking for someone," Hiro replied with his mouth full. Lila gave him a look of disgust.
Quickly, Nayamae explained the situation in the Land of the Waves with Gato and Akito. "We need to find Akito as soon as possible," she said. "Once he's taken care of, Gato will be taken out of commission as well."
Kyrie frowned. "I thought you had Akito arrested the last time you were here?" she questioned.
"So did I," Nayamae replied. "ANBU didn't do their job."
Kyrie huffed. "I wouldn't go so far to say that. Hiruzen has had enough on his plate with the village lately. ANBU has been stretched thin within the last couple of years." She took a sip of tea and cleared her throat. "Since you challenged Shinjou and took over, everyone under her became their own drug lord. Smuggling has increased tenfold."
"We've been taking care of them," Hiro interjected. "For two years we have been taking them down across the continent."
"Well it's also been two years since you've been back to this region," Kyrie countered. "They've all fled here."
Nayamae frowned. "Our work has not been for nothing." She leaned forward, tapping her finger hard on the table. "Countless people have been freed from overpowering leaders and dictators thanks to us!"
Kyrie shook her head, looking down into her teacup. "I'm not denying that you've helped people," she said quietly. "The situation has only gotten worse here. I've treated and lost many patients to overdoses and murder over these drugs that are pouring in from God knows where." Nayamae leaned back, slowly closing her mouth. Hiro wiped his face and crossed his arms. Lila sat quietly, her hands twisting in her lap as she looked between the adults. Kyrie looked fiercely at Nayamae. "You find Akito and you take him down. I don't want to see another addict showing up in my clinic already knocking on death's door."
Nayamae nodded, tightening her jaw. "I'll do what I can."
Thanks for reading!