{Important AN at the bottom of this page. Please take a few minutes to read it after your enjoy the chapter.}
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 101 – Mantle of Bone
Smoke, thick and black, poured from the base's single remaining entrance filling the nearby air with an oily tang that burnt the lungs and left a feeling of film over one's skin. They were six bases in now with another dozen to go and already Tsukuyomi could see the morale of the Kirigakure Shinobi had dropped and doubt had risen.
So far Orochimaru's former bases had held little of value and no signs of occupancy, not a single thing to indicate that the rebels had been making use of them. The Wolves hadn't been bothered by that, gleefully stripping away whatever they could from the bunkers and setting them alight.
Not only did they have the opportunity to carry out their lord's will under his direct supervision but there was not a Wolf among the pack that didn't relish the opportunity to utilize fire. For them, this might as well have been a vacation.
Kiri's forces, however, were more skeptical and the act of destroying emptied bunkers did little to excite them. Tsukuyomi wasn't too surprised, Kirigakure was infamous for it's bloodlust not for their destructive tendencies.
They would need the opportunity to cut down rebels before they were satisfied.
Tsukuyomi really didn't care.
While it was more beneficial for him if the Kirigakure Shinobi were present as they destroyed all of the bunkers the Rebels had been making use of over the years it wasn't strictly necessary for him to succeed. If they wished to return to Kirigakure to await the rebels next guerrilla attack then they were free to do so.
All that really mattered was ending things here in Mizu no Kuni once and for all.
Off to the side Katsuri directed the Wolves in storing what they had managed to recover from the base, desperately trying to keep some semblance of organization as everything from notes and general medical supplies to specialized lab equipment that no one present could discern the purpose of was sealed away into scrolls.
As soon as the Wolves had finished she turned to him, staring expectantly. He gave her a nod and she was barking orders even before she had fully turned back to her siblings.
"Wolves, formation three! The next base is twenty-three kilometers North North-East. I want us in and out by sundown so we can set up camp, understood?!"
"Hai, High-Captain!" The chorused. She gave a satisfied nod.
"Move out!"
Tsukuyomi remained where he was standing, watching as his children rushed off to carry out his will. Some of the Kirigakure Shinobi- those who still understood how their actions would benefit them in ending a war that had been going on since they were children- had followed the Wolves without hesitation but many had remained at the base. A few watched the smoke pour out of it while smaller clusters talked among themselves, occasionally shooting glances his way.
He noted with some amusement that when he did the same whatever murmurings instantly ceased and the Shinobi were quick to avert their gaze. Trying to come off as noble and benevolent had indeed been a poor decision on his part. Fear obviously worked much better.
And speaking of fear...
"Did you not hear her?" He questioned them, purple gaze sweeping over the Kirigakure Shinobi. "She said 'Move out'."
Some of them exchanged glances, wondering how to respond, and a few of them took off to catch up with the Wolves. Those remaining seemed to converge together out of instinct but didn't say anything.
"Well?"
After a moment one of them stepped forward.
"Yea', we 'eard 'er." He sneered. "But its' not doing any good. There are rebels to fight to the south and convoys to protect to ensure Kirigakure has the supplies to see this through. We're doing a lot of fuck-all up 'ere."
Tsukuyomi was not impressed.
"I'd have to agree." The tone of his voice told them exactly what he thought of them. "You're doing fuck-all because those actually trying to finish this damn war of yours have moved on to continue their work."
"Yeah?" The Kiri native sneered. "And what work would that be, clearin' out empty bunkers?"
"Each and every one of these bunkers is another place for the rebels to hide, the more we take away the less they have to work with."
"Says you." They spat on the ground. "I don't see any evidence that the rebels have ever been here. We'd do more good back in Kiri." He took a glance behind him and gestured the others to follow him. "Come on, let's get goin'."
"Well, if you're set on returning to Kiri I suppose I'll lend a hand..."
A black chain burst through the wet ground and wrapped its way up the Kirigakure Shinobi's leg, dragging him further into the air.
"Kiri's due south from here, isn't it?" Tsukuyomi asked aloud. The onlookers were too surprised to answer. "Yes, that sounds about right." With a flick of the chain the Shinobi went flying in the general direction of Kirigakure but it became obvious to the others immediately that he was never intended to make it there.
His body was flung towards the ground at such speeds that he didn't have enough time to catch himself before he hit the surrounding trees and a symphony of disturbing cracks rang through the otherwise silent forest.
Perhaps it had simply been tree branches, maybe it was bones. As the Kirigakure Shinobi shared uncertain glances they came to the conclusion that it was probably both.
"There we go." Tsukuyomi turned back to the crowd of Shinobi, his purple eyes burning into them. "Now, was there anyone else who believes there are more important things for them to be doing than ending this war?"
A couple of them shook their heads but only one of them answered verbally.
"N-no, Tsukuyomi-sama."
"What was that?" Tsukuyomi tilted his head slightly like a curious dog. "I couldn't quite hear you."
"No, T-tsukuyomi-sama!"
His amethyst gaze met the eyes of those who had remained silent. "I'm still not hearing a proper response."
"No, Tsukuyomi-sama!" They chorused and he smiled behind his mask.
"Good, good." He nodded. "Then get going, there's work to be done."
They didn't need to be told twice, they fled as if Tsukuyomi himself was on their heels.
As he followed behind at a leisurely pace a wry smile tugged at his lips.
He supposed he was.
When he had caught up to High-Captain Katsuri and her Wolves there wasn't any smoke yet but the collection of Wolves by the open entrance indicated that they had already cleared it out.
He moved through the crowd of Shinobi like a ghost, warm bodies moving out of his way before they even realized he was there. Katsuri stood in the center of the crowd, three bound individuals kneeling by her feet and Wolves holding Tanto to their necks.
A glance towards the base revealed a pile of supplies considerably larger than they had found at the others and it was pretty easy to put together that this base was not abandoned. Well, not completely. It certainly wasn't active based on the small number of captives.
Then again, those were the people they managed to capture alive. Perhaps there had been more within the base who had already been taken care of.
If nothing else, the Kirigakure Shinobi seemed to be in high spirits, finally seeing some evidence that the work they were doing really was hurting the rebels.
"I see we've made some progress, High-Captain." His voice cut through the the air and drew the attention of the entire crowd and their captives. "I trust you didn't have too much trouble."
"No at all, Tsukuyomi-sama." Katsuri assured him. "Their resistance was underwhelming.
"Good, good." He took a moment to observe the captives, aware of the way all three of them had tensed at his name. He hadn't been aware it had spread as far as the rebels, but with Konoha aiding them he wasn't too surprised that his name had been brought up when discussing the Wolves.
It was interesting that these three, who obviously were not of any real importance, knew it. Whether it had been purposefully shared throughout the rebellion or if it had been accidental he couldn't tell.
He could, however, say that he kind of liked it.
"What do you have left here, High-Captain? Your brothers and sisters are awaiting our return to Kirigakure."
"I have two Wolves collapsing the side rooms of the bunker, Tsukuyomi-sama. On their way out they'll set it alight and we can depart."
"And the prisoners?"
"I-I was not certain what you would wish of them, Tsukuyomi-sama." She bowed her head slightly. "They are yours to do with as you see fit."
"I have little use for Rebel scum, dispose of them."
"Hai, Tsukuyomi-sama. Is there a manner that would most please you?"
"Just see it done."
"By your command." She turned to the Wolves, sweeping over a small sea of snarling white faces. "Brothers, sisters, what will we do with them?"
"To the blade!"
"Hang them!"
"Toss 'em back into the fire!"
"Condemn them to Tsukuyomi's chains! Rip them apart!"
"Drown them in their precious ocean!"
With each suggestion the Wolves seemed to become more and more excited and the prisoners became increasingly distressed. For a time even the Kirigakure Shinobi gleefully shouted suggestions but as the Wolves began going farther with their ideas even those of the Bloody Mist started to get nervous.
"Flay them!"
"Bury them alive!"
"Remove their limbs and leave them for dead!"
It was good, Tsukuyomi thought, for his children to have a chance to let loose. One suggestion, however, caught his attention.
"Devour them!"
Immediately he spun towards the direction of the voice and pointed into the crowd. "Who said that?" he demanded. "Step forward."
There was a shuffling of the crowd before one of the Wolves managed to get through and stand before her lord.
"Tell me again what you wished to do with the prisoners, child."
"Eat them, Tsukuyomi-sama. We wish to eat them."
"We?"
Three more Wolves stepped out from the crowd to stand directly behind her in a show of support.
"You have granted us the flesh of your enemies before, Tsukuyomi-sama. We ask that you allow us to partake of it again."
He took a moment just staring into her eyes, weighing her words. She managed to stare into his for all of seven seconds before she looked away though he didn't know if it was out of shame or submission.
Tsukuyomi spared a glance to a curiously watching Katsuri and swept his gaze over the rest of the Wolves. The Kirigakure Shinobi among them seemed uncomfortable but the Wolves didn't seem bothered at all.
That was enough for him to make his decision.
With long strides he found himself standing nearly chest to chest with the Wolf and despite the difference in height he seemed to tower over her.
"Remove your mask."
That sent ripples of surprise through the crowd. The Wolf in question shot a look back at her compatriots but they were as unsure as she was.
"I said..." He held out his hand expectantly. "Remove. Your. Mask."
With shaking hands she complied, removing her mask and setting it in his waiting hand. His purple eyes continued to burn through her. "Your Tanto, draw it."
It took a moment for her to get her hands to work but with a hiss of steel the blade was withdrawn from its sheath and hung limply by her side.
"Raise it."
"T-tsukuyomi-sama?"
"Raise it. Show me your blade."
She complied with evident hesitation, holding it across her chest.
"Good." Mask held loosely in his left hand he ran his right thumb across the blade. His bleeding thumb touched the lips of her mask and ran down to its chin before he lifted his hand to her face and did the same. Still bleeding, he pressed his thumb against her lips. It took her a few seconds of uncertainty but her lips soon parted and she proceeded to suck the wound until the bleeding stopped.
"You thirst for blood." Tsukuyomi commented as he handed her back her mask. "Very well." Three black chains shot towards the prisoners and wrapped tightly around their throats. With a swift tug three necks snapped and the dead weight was allowed to fall to the cold ground through dissipating black Chakra. "Eat your fill, child."
Tsukiuomi took his leave walking through the parting Wolves towards the next bunker. "You may stay if you hunger, but for those whose bellies are yet full we have work still."
"Tsukuyomi-sama, we planned to make camp for the day..." Katsuri froze as those purple eyes caught hers.
"I think the Wolves have energy enough for one more, High-Captain. Don't you agree?"
"H-hai, Tsukuyomi-sama." She spared a glance to the four Wolves dragging the bodies towards the entrance of the cleared bunker. It would be set alight soon and she had a good idea what they planned to do. It wasn't just them, either. Some of the other Wolves seemed to be gravitating there too, along with a couple curious Kirigakure Shinobi. She supposed it wasn't known as the Bloody Mist for nothing. "Wolves, we've got one more tonight. Move out!"
Those not interested in partaking of this particular feast followed her command easily enough, darting into the darkening forests without a glance back. A few more were hurrying to finish packing up the spoils they had collected from the rebellion. They didn't seem keen in staying long enough to see the feast.
Naruto didn't mind either group. If they wanted to hunt, he'd let them hunt. If they wanted to kill, he'd let them kill. If they wanted to eat their enemies? He supposed that might be partly his fault.
Still, they were his children.
He was inclined to indulge them.
As he took his first steps back into the rising fog of Kiri's forests the oily tang of the burning bunker reached him.
It wasn't long until the smell of cooking meat joined it.
Mighty black wings cut through the air, hugging closely to the overcast skies of Mizu no Kuni. What little light pierced the clouds reflected off pointed beak and sickly yellow eyes.
Standing tall on it's back Mikoto's black cloak whipped in the wind. Her Akatsuki cloak had been left with Naruto's Kage Bunshin back in Konoha and she had helped herself to this black cloak with red fur trim. As she understood the red denoted the rank of Commander- a position held by Sai, if she recalled- but she didn't much care.
As she saw it being Naruto's mother would make her at least equal to Sai, if not above him.
Either way it was more appropriate than her Akatsuki attire though she had decided that the mask would stay. She had very nearly swapped it out for her raven mask but her Tobi mask was much lighter and she enjoyed the splash of color.
Tobi also had much more fun and she needed to let lose after her...encounter...with Naruto and his little friend.
Just thinking about it caused a heat in her loins.
She was mercifully spared from following that particular thought rabbit down a very naughty rabbit hole by the appearance of Kirigakure's cylindrical towers and an enormous white wall. And it would seem she had been spotted, too. A crowd had gathered around the western gate- she would assume it was probably made of Shinobi- and she could see what were likely civilians within the walls pausing in the daily routines to stare up at the sky.
Unfortunately she didn't see any red hair among any of them and her Naruto was rather hard to miss.
Well, when he wasn't try to hide, that is.
She couldn't think of a reason he might be trying to avoid her, not unless he had another little friend with him here. Mikoto didn't think Naruto would do something like that, but she could admit she didn't spend nearly as much time with his as she'd have liked.
She could, however, see a handful of familiar masks and if anyone could direct her to Naruto it would be his children. The raven below her understood without words and entered into a steep dive, pulling up mere inches from the wet ground of Mizu no Kuni and dispersing into hundreds of smaller ravens that found perches among the knotted woods of the misty land.
Mikoto herself landed on the ground lightly, walking towards the gate without missing a step.
She was quickly surrounded by Kirigakure Shinobi.
"Halt! Identify yourself!" She gave a withering glare from behind her mask, her Sharingan spinning into eerie existence.
"I'm none of your concern, boy." She sneered. "Either show me to Tsukuyomi-kun or fetch me a Wolf who can."
Light murmuring spread through the crowd but the general sentiment was summed up by the question of a single Kiri Shinobi; "Tsukuyomi-kun?"
"My son. Where is my son?"
The Kirigakure natives found themselves taking a step back at that. This was Tsukuyomi's mother? They found themselves torn between amusement that his mother had come looking for him like he was some naughty schoolboy late for dinner and a morbid fascination at beholding the mother of a monster.
A few of the Wolves managed to squeeze through the Kiri Shinobi and gave a slight bow to Mikoto. They were, perhaps, more familiar with her other mask but the presence of so many ravens was a good indication that she was indeed who she claimed to be.
And it wasn't like there were many who called Tsukuyomi their son.
"Tsukuyomi-sama is currently hunting down the rebels, *Sobo." They apologized. "We don't know his exact location."
"Who's he left in charge, then?"
"Inu-oji, Sobo."
Mikoto frowned- not that anyone could see it- but gave a nod. "To him, then."
"Of course, this way."
She did have to wonder who exactly this 'Inu-oji' was, Mikoto didn't recall having yet another son.
In the simplest terms, Kisame was, well, bored.
Don't get him wrong, this Akatsuki gig was pretty damn good all things considered there just wasn't much going on at the moment. Normally they could count on the presence of Tobi to cheer up the rather dim and dismal base- and he had never understood why it was this way if Pein was the legitimate Kage here, did he actually think the S-ranked rogue Shinobi he was hiring would feel more comfortable in such a setting?- but as she was currently taking care of personal business it was all rather dreary.
He also didn't know if she would be back, considering the fact that she had murdered Itachi. No one- aside from Pein, Konan, and strangely enough Zetsu- had really been bothered by his loss so Kisame didn't see any reason why she couldn't.
Then again, hadn't Orochimaru more or less tried the same thing?
Kisame was pretty sure Pein still held a grudge about that and Tobi had actually managed to succeed.
Her vacation was also way too damn conveniently timed for the pothers not to know she had done it.
Kisame, being the good partner he was, had taken responsibility for Itachi's body which currently sat in a scroll in his sock drawer. When he did eventually take it in for the bounty he'd be sure to save half of it for when he next ran into Tobi.
The fact that he had been given the opportunity to see her face- and hot damn had she been a looker- meant he had a much better chance of recognizing her if she was indeed hiding from them. Still, he was confident he'd see her again eventually.
Tobi was a good girl, after all, ,and it would be very naughty of her not to visit her Senpai.
Then again, he supposed she had already been pretty naughty when she slit Itachi's throat.
Poor bastard.
Admittedly he probably deserved it, familicide and all that, but now that Kisame didn't have anyone to pester the lack of Itachi had become an inconvenience to himself. Wasn't like there was anything else to occupy himself with here.
Well, he could probably terrorize locals as a walking shark-man, but that actually became old pretty fast. Especially when the only raincloak you had made the fanatic citizens here in Ame believe you were a prophet of their god.
It tended to ruin the effect and as much as Kisame enjoyed the water he was not a fan of being bogged down by wet clothes.
Pein had already specifically forbade him from walking around Ame naked, too, which was a damn shame.
With nothing else to do- he really needed some sort of hobby that didn't involve shredding people with Samehada- he turned to the rather substantial pile of mail sat next to his door. Most of it was composed of adverts, another large portion were bills he needed to hand Kukazu as his expenses, and a very small amount of it was actual mail for him.
Mail from the people of Ame calling him the Shark-Prophet was amusing at first but listening to people complain about their problems and whine for help was sometimes much worse.
With a good sake, though, it sometimes proved rather entertaining to laugh at such menial problems.
Did that make him an asshole?
Nah, couldn't be. He had too many kids writing him letters- granted, most were just curious about his appearance and whether or not he had actually ever eaten naughty children who didn't say their daily prayers to Pein and his angel- to be that much of an asshole.
Right?
Bah, didn't matter.
Rolling from his bed he meandered over to the pile and scooped it up, idly shuffling through the contents on his way back to his bed. Bill, bill, bill, sale at the local market, bill, oh?
A new whorehouse was opening up downtown promising exciting, exotic women, Neat.
Setting that one aside for safe keeping- 15% off on opening night? Opportunities like that didn't arise very often- he continued to go through his mail. Letter, letter, letter, bill, scroll?
It had been a long time since someone had given him a scroll, back before he slew the Daimyo of Mizu no Kuni really. Curiously he broke the seal and opened the scroll, his sharpened shark teeth breaking into a larger grin the more he read.
Little Zabuza wanted to kill a Daimyo just like his Senpai Kisame? Oh, he was so proud he might just cry!
He supposed he was due for a vacation anyway, wasn't he?
Gleefully he bounded to Samehada who rested against the wall at the end of his bed and threw the groggy sword over his shoulder.
"Come on, girl. We're going on a vacation."
The sword gave the equivalent of a snort before drifting back off to sleep against his back. What did she care for a vacation? If this one didn't feed her so well she probably would have traded him for someone a bit less excitable.
Kisame wasn't bothered, she'd realize the benefits of this particular vacation soon enough. He grabbed a few scrolls into his bag-including Itachi's body- and contemplated telling the others.
Aside from Tobi- who had already left- there really wasn't anyone he really wanted to see before he left.
Well, aside from Konan naked, maybe.
In the end he settled for leaving a hastily scrawled note on his unmade bed.
'Samehada was hungry, went fishing. Be back when we're full.'
That should do it.
"You must be this 'Inu-oji' I've heard about," Mikoto commented as she walked into the command tent. "Funny, I don't remember having another son."
A silver-haired Wolf turned to look over his shoulder, Sharingan spinning from their one visible eye. "I'm from his father's side, Mikoto."
She paused at that, weighing him carefully with her own Sharingan. Anko found herself looking between them and couldn't help but think they were probably similar enough at the moment to be mistaken for family.
"I don-"
"I was there that night so don't think you can try it." Kakashi shrugged as he returned his attention to the table before him. "I helped cover for you because he was intent on giving you aid."
"I see." There was a pregnant pause that even Anko didn't feel like breaking. "Thank you."
Kakashi glanced back over to her and gave a small nod. "Of course, but it wasn't for you."
"Hm." Her smile was stolen away by her mask but probably showed well enough in her eye. "Fair' nough. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you were my son, Kakashi-kun."
"I'm afraid that won't work, I'm in the process of getting the Wolves to call me *Sofu."
"Oh?"
Kakashi's Sharingan caught hers. "He's my son." He declared.
'
Oh-ho?" She raised a hand to her mask to stifle a giggle even though it wouldn't actually do anything. "I think you'll find I got to him first, Kakashi-kun."
"I was watching over him when he took you in." Was his counter, earning a frown from the Uchiha matriarch.
"Our son, then?"
"You can be his aunt."
Two fists found themselves resting on her hips. "I'm his mother." She stressed.
"I don't think he needs a mother at this point."
"He wouldn't need a father then, either."
"...Touche."
"You know, you two should probably ask Naruto what you are to him instead of arguing about what you think you should be, Sobo, Sofu."
They both turned to Anko who gave them a wicked grin. "After all," Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. "We all know Tou-sama's in charge here."
Mikoto and Kakashi shared a look.
It was a fair point, not that they would admit it.
Anko would be too insufferably smug if they did.
Somehow she seemed to know anyway, judging by her smug smirk.'
The next bunker had also been occupied and was filled with more supplies than the last, indicating that the Rebels had been slowly moving counter-clockwise and were constantly moving supplies in preparation for their next base of operations.
It wasn't a bad idea when your opponent had no idea where the bases were but it lost its effectiveness dramatically when they did.
Unfortunately for them, Naruto now knew exactly where they were thanks to his godmother.
The poor bastards in the base hadn't stood a chance against his Wolves and the surprise at having been discovered certainly hadn't done them any favors.
Base cleared and torched, the Wolves had gathered around the entrance of the bunker, treating it like a bonfire as they took the opportunity to rest from a long day's work. Tsukuyomi himself sat directly across from the entrance, Katsuri to his right and the other Wolves doing their best to get close to him without making it too obvious.
Two of them, for example, had taken seats directly behind him and pressed their backs into his. Security, they had claimed, but Tsukuyomi knew better. He was not going to begrudge them for providing him the opportunity to lean back against them, though.
A rustling in the distance caught the attention of the resting pack, heads snapping towards the noise and watching warily. A few low warning growls escaped the throats of some of the more senior members including Katsuri.
They proved to be unnecessary when several white Wolf masks emerged from the woods, all of which had a red line marking them from lips to chin. A few Kiri Shinobi came into view among them, also possessing the marking down their chin. The Wolf in the lead paused and notably scanned the makeshift camp before spotting Tsukuyomi and heading directly towards him.
Three of the Marked Wolves followed her, the same three that had stood behind her when he had called on her Tsukuyomi suspected. It was good to see strong bonds within the pack.
The group of Wolves came to a rest at his left side, dropping to one knee and lowering their heads.
"Tou-sama." The lead Wolf greeted him.
"Had your fill, child?"
She- and she alone- lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Yes, Tou-sama. Thank you."
"Good." He smiled behind his mask but couldn't hide it in his shimmering eyes. "I would not have my children go hungry."
"We- we have a gift for you, Tou-sama."
"Oh?" His brow rose, again hidden by the mask but shown clearly enough in his voice.
The three Wolves behind her shuffled forward and placed an object in her hands. "It is not...the most well made...Tou-sama..." She began. "But it was the best we could do to show our gratitude."
Standing up she moved to his back and draped the gift over his shoulders with a series of dull thuds.
Cleaned as well as they could be, a mantle of bone rested around his neck. They were wet still- to be expected in this weather- and they were nowhere near old enough to have been bleached by the sun, so it didn't take a genius to understand where they had come from.
Four shoulder blades made the main portion of the mantle, the set resting over his chest being bigger than those hanging behind him. Shinobi wire held it all together and the empty spaces were filled using pieces of ribs that had been broken into smaller lengths and woven vertically through the wire. What he assumed were pelvis bones rested over his shoulders, hanging over them like pauldrons.
The back, though, he had to admit was the strangest. He couldn't see them but he could definitely feel them swinging slightly with his every breath.
Three spines dangled from the mantle in a twisted mockery of a cloak.
With the recent revelation that one of the strongest tools he held at his fingertips was fear he felt that it was perfect.
It even fit with Orochimaru's latest gift.
Kind of.
What it would really fit with, though, was when he ripped Yagura's ribs from his body and wore it like a chestpiece. He had to say things were coming together quite nicely.
"It's lovely, thank you."
She took off her mask to give him a beaming smile before squeezing into place at his left side. Her compatriots knew there was no way they would be able to do the same and drifted off to find their own place to rest from the day.
Katsumi gave Tsukuyomi and his new accessory an odd look but shrugged and returned to the rations they had liberated from the latest rebel base.
Who was she to question her lord's sense of style?
And really, that's what it had to be. Against fellow Shinobi those bones wouldn't provide any actual protection at all. Though, she supposed, he didn't necessarily need to go against Shinobi.
That's what he had them for.
"The fuck is this shit?"
Naruto didn't look up from the tea he was pouring for Hanabi. "It's not shit, you worked very hard on it."
"I know what it is, why is it there?"
"Because you worked very hard on it." Naruto glanced over his shoulder to meet her eyes. "And I'm proud of your work."
Tayuya's cheeks quickly found themselves matching her hair. "Y-yeah. Okay." She glanced between the picture on the fridge and Naruto once more. "T-thanks."
Naruto gave her a smile. "No problem. Tea?"
"S-sure."
She took a seat across from Hanabi as he poured another cup, doing her best to ignore the knowing grin the young Hyūga wore.
"Say, what was that other picture, the one where you have two wives?"
"Gaara sent that to me." The filled cup was slid over to her. "And I don't have two wives in it, he has two mothers."
Hanabi gave him a strange look. "Whats' the difference?"
"I'm not married."
"Huh." Hanabi blinked. "I suppose that's fair."
"Don't worry Denka-sama, I'll marry you." Offered Tayuya with a sultry smirk. "I can already imagine the honeymoon..."
Naruto rose an amused brow as he took his own seat between the two of them. "You know, the wife of a Daimyo would be expected to be the pinnacle of grace and dignity. I believe that might place a serious damper on your rather...colorful...vocabulary."
Tayuya shot a quick glare at a giggling Hanabi. "I call bullshit on that one, Anko certainly doesn't watch her mouth none and you two seem pretty serious."
"What on earth makes you think Anko is the marrying type?" Naruto shook his head. "That woman would never allow herself to be tied down like that."
"Won't be tied down?" Tayuya's head tilted to the side. "You mean she's not with you? I thought you and her had a thing going there..."
"We have a healthy sexual relationship, yes." Naruto nodded without shame. It was, in fact, very hard to feel ashamed about having sex with her. She was Anko, after all, and there wasn't a Shinobi in Konoha above Chūnin who hadn't had fantasies about her. "But that is a far cry from marriage."
"Yeah, but I thought you two were dating or...something."
"We've gone out a few times."
"Like, exclusively."
He rose his brow again. "Exclusive? My sexual activities are well known, I would think. We are most definitely not exclusive."
"Okay," She nodded. "So maybe not you. But maybe she accepted that as part of having a relationship with you and doesn't mind you being with others. Is she exclusive?"
Naruto paused in thought for a moment. "I...don't know." He admitted with a shrug. "I've never asked. It's not really any of my business anyway."
Tayuya gave him a disbelieving stare while one of Hanabi's brows rose. "You have a very open relationship, don't you?"
"I think it's best described as friends with benefits, though 'lovers' might be more appropriate."
"So if I was older would you sleep with me?" Tayuya's disbelieving stare traveled from Naruto to Hanabi.
"If that's what you wanted."
Hanabi paused, thinking, before a splash of red colored her cheeks. "How much older?"
"The youngest person I've been with is sixteen, so then."
Tayuya's stare became horrified. "Is that why you haven't slept with me yet?" She asked. "Are you really going to make me wait?"
Naruto shot her a questioning look. "You're not sixteen?"
"Uh, no, no, I am." Tayuya assured him in a less than convincing manner. "Definitely."
"...Right."
Tayuya did her best to look innocent, it really didn't work for her. Attempting to remove the attention from herself she turned to Hanabi. "So what lead to that question?"
"I, uh, was curious after Kin told me about Jiraiya's newest book."
"You read Jiraiya's Icha-Icha?" Naruto's brow rose too. "Maybe I should send Sakura your way, she seems to enjoy them."
Tayuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the former Hyūga heir. "Why, exactly, did Jiraiya's latest book make you think of Naruto?"
"Naruto is, um," Somehow her red managed to exceed anything her sister had ever worn. "Naruto is the main character."
The two redheads shared a look before simultaneously turning to Hanabi. "Come again?"
"Y-you're the main character." Hanabi managed. "It's about you and Kin."
Naruto blinked in surprise. How on earth had he not heard of this until now?
"Oh, come on!" Tayuya slammed her head into the table, nearly spilling her tea. Her eye cracked open to give Naruto an accusing glare. "Even Kin's managed to get with you! When's my turn?"
"When you can convince Mai to allow it."
"That's never going to happen," Tayuya groaned. "Why can't we just sneak off into your room?"
"Because Mai's currently sleeping in my bed."
"We could go to my room," Tayuya offered. "I can promise you she's not there."
"She will be when she comes looking for me."
Tayuya gave another defeated groan. "I'm going to go find a copy of Jiraiya's book and fantasize about fucking you senseless. I'll be in my room when you need me."
With a slump Tayuya vacated the table and disappeared down the halls.
"Does she really need Mai's approval?" Hanabi asked. "I thought you two were pretty open with your relationship too."
"We are." Naruto nodded. "But I figure this way they might make nice. Well, Tayuya might stop antagonizing Mai, at least."
Hanabi gave him a look between horror and admiration. "You're a cruel man, Naruto. Brilliant but cruel."
"I figure it's worth a shot." He drained the last of his tea and stood up to put away his cup. "But I fully expect her to just crawl into my bed naked within the month. She's not exactly the patient type."
"Then what's the point of making her wait if you're just going to give it to her anyway?"
"Because shes' absolutely adorable when she's frustrated."
For some reason Hanabi actually wasn't that surprised by his answer. She really had ended up with a strange group of people.
At least it was fun.
"And so reports say this Tsukuyomi and most of his Wolves went out hunting for us," Mei smirked as she brushed aside various papers covering the full-table map beneath. "He started from the west gate and for a second I thought he might actually have a chance of finding us."
"And they don't?" Zabuza was in his favorite spot leaning right next to the door, Kubikiribōchō doing the same beside him.
"Not at all." She declared confidently. "Reports say they've started going north so there's no chance they'll actually manage to find us. All they're doing is wasting their time and lessening the forces available to defend Kiri."
"They might not find any of our agents to the north," Ao countered. "But they can still stumble on one of our bases. Once they know what to look for we can be in some serious trouble and some of the bases in that area are being prepped for our rotation."
"Yagura's scoured the entirety of Mizu no Kuni for years and had never found them, there's no chance a foreigner will."
"For all we know it was a foreigner to make them, it's entirely possible that this Tsukuyomi might be be able to see something we didn't know to look for when we tried to hide them." Pointed out Ao. "We also don't know how many people may have discovered them before us or how long they've been around. That's why we keep rotating between them, we can't trust our security to the hope that they might remain unknown to our enemies."
"Even so, he can search those empty bases for as long as he likes. Yagura's resources will be back to what they were before but we still have aid from Konoha."
"They only gave us a squad," Zabuza grunted. "That's not going to be a huge advantage"
"But it's an edge. If we can remove some of the higher ranking Shinobi under Yagura's command we'll give ourselves a significant opportunity."
"That's...fair." Zabuza frowned behind his bandages. "But Kirigakure's hard enough to infiltrate by itself, those Wolves still there are going to complicate things."
"It goes double for sending ANBU. They aren't as familiar with Kirigakure's operations but any Wolves in Kirigakure will likely be familiar with theirs." Still, if they managed to pull it off Ao could definitely see the benefits.
"We'll have to use some of our spies to get them in, but it inevitable that such a move will blow their cover. We're going to loose more information than I would like for a while but we won't be completely blind and we'll have an advantage of organization over Yagura."
"It could work," Zabuza conceded. "But if they find some of the north bases the might be able to find the others. If nothing else we need to be keeping an eye on them so they don't pop into one of our occupied bases when we have our pants down."
"They won't have a chance, we'll have this wrapped up before they can get that far." Mei assured them. "They still haven't found any of the bases and by the time they do the ANBU should be within Kirigakure getting things ready for us to finish."
"We don't know that they haven't found any, they could be going from base to base as we speak." Ao shook his head. "It's too risky to ignore."
"And it's too costly to try keeping an eye on them." She countered. "We need all the manpower we can scrounge up to prepare for finishing this war." Frowning she brought up another point. "Having people watching them also brings with it the risk of them learning that we're aware of their activities. If they're currently operating under the belief that we have no idea what they're trying then there's no telling how they might change their operation. We cant' risk loosing this opportunity to finally end this."
"I understand." Ao's head lowered in a brief bow. "If we won't be sending anyone then there are things that require my attention." He and Zabuza shared a look as Mei's attention remained on the map. The swordsman gave him a nod, agreeing completely with his plan, and Ao returned it confident that Zabuza would do his best to cover for him.
Ao had a pack to hunt.
Danzō took a seat before him, easing his weight into the dark wood and placing his cane carefully against Naruto's desk. Naruto glanced up from his work and rose a brow for a moment before returning his attention back to his papers.
There was silence for a minute or two, broken only by shuffling papers and scratching pens, before the Yami no Shinobi chose to speak.
"I took the liberty of finding rooms for my agents to reside in for the time being as you were...otherwise occupied." Danzō gave him an expectant look. "I hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me."
"No, not at all." Naruto waved him off without looking up. "I wasn't sure what they would be most comfortable in anyway."
"Of course." Silence fell again for a few moments. "I'll just cut to the chase, then. Was that Uchiha Mikoto in your bed?"
Naruto paused and gave Danzō a curious stare. "When were you peeking into by bedroom?"
"That's not really important."
"I think that if I'm naked with people in my bed it might be a little important."
"The three of you were asleep, if it helps."
It did, actually, which Naruto thought was sort of strange. The thought of people seeing him naked didn't bother him anywhere near as much as the thought that someone watched as he and Mai were intimate. He knew Mai sometimes liked to let some of the female Wolves watch- which was also strange because he hadn't thought anything of them watching- so maybe some of her exhibitionist tendencies had rubbed off on him.
He wasn't sure how to feel about that, actually, but he had a feeling Anko and Tayuya would approve.
Naruto shook his head. "Just don't do it again."
The two of them were again silent for a few precious moments.
"So?"
"So what?"
"So was that Uchiha Mikoto in your bed?"
"There is a distinct possibility, yes."
Danzō stared at Naruto for a long minute.
"You had Uchiha Mikoto in your bed."
"Yes, we've established that."
"Naked."
"She was wearing panties."
"Mostly naked."
"Yes."
"Dare I ask why?"
"Honestly?" Naruto shrugged. "I haven't the faintest idea. I woke up and she was there."
Based on his expression Danzō didn't exactly believe him.
"Really? You have no idea how a mostly naked Mikoto got into your bed?"
"Well I can imagine how she got into bed, it's a rather pleasant image."
"...Fair." Nodded Danzō. "But you have no idea why she was in your bed?"
"Because she wanted to be, I have to assume. Again, I was asleep."
Danzō gave him an inquisitive stare. "Are you being intentionally difficult with your answers or are you still distracted by the thoughts of Mikoto crawling into your bed?"
"Yes."
Danzō's stare went flat. "I suppose I won't be getting any complicated explanations unless I'm a bit more specific in my questions. Is there a reason Uchiha Mikoto might have decided to join you or otherwise felt comfortable in such a situation?"
One of Naruto's brows rose in amusement. "You're really curious about this, aren't you?"
"The Uchiha clan were supposed to have been wiped out years ago and yet you somehow have their matriarch sleeping with you. Yes, I'm quite curious. Stop avoiding the question."
"She likes to call herself my mother."
At a complete loss of words, Danzō stared at the young Daimyo for a few minutes. With the passing of each, Naruto grew more and more amused.
"...She's your mother...?" Danzō did his damnedest to wrap his head around the idea.
"She thinks so, yes."
"...And she's sharing a bed with you naked...?"
"I was naked, she wasn't."
"I-" Danzō stopped, took a deep breath, and shook his head of the majority of questions running through it. "That line of questioning is likely to bring more questions than answers, I think. How do you know her?"
"She came to me during the massacre. I took her in for the night and gave her what supplies I could so she could make her escape."
"...Normally I would tell someone claiming something so strange that they were being ridiculous but coming from you I have the worst feeling that it's not even the half of it."
Naruto's smirk was not comforting in the slightest.
"You'd be right about that, she's been in Akatsuki as a spy ever since." Naruto's smirk became a grin when Danzō's only eye widened significantly. "Well, she had been. She left recently after assassinating Uchiha Itachi and she's currently seeing to some other projects of mine."
They both knew that meant Mizu no Kuni- either directly or in some plot related to it- but neither brought that up. Danzō wasn't concerned about that, however, he was concerned with something much more important.
"She killed Itachi?!"
"Oh, yes. She was very pleased about it too." Naruto gave a thoughtful frown. "Hmm, that may be why she decided to crawl into bed with me, actually."
Two weathered fingers reached up to massage Danzō's brow as he released a large sigh. "Well, I suppose that tells me where our spy went. We were beginning to worry when we didn't receive his usual report, it seems we were right to."
"Oh, was he a spy too?" Naruto couldn't help but enjoy the irony of a Uchiha spy reporting back to someone in Konoha killing an Uchiha spy reporting to Konoha. "What are the chances they would both be Uchiha after such a catastrophe nearly wiped them from existence?"
"You killed our spy." Was Danzō's accusation. Naruto was quick to deny.
"I did no such thing, Mikoto did."
"And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?"
Naruto's brow rose condescendingly. "You think she wouldn't want to kill the person who slaughtered her entire family?"
"He was her son."
"No, I'm her son. He was a mistake she needed to set right."
Danzō didn't respond for a bit, just staring at the Shinobi across from him. "You didn't have a hand in that thinking, did you?" He eventually asked.
"Not at all." He assured him. "She decided that all on her own, I simply haven't tried changing it."
Collapsing back against his chair a tired sigh left Danzō's lips. "There's no point worrying about it now, is there?" He asked no one in particular. "It can't really be helped at this point, though I will have to let Hiruzen know."
Naruto shrugged "That's fine, he won't be as surprised about Mikoto."
Danzō made careful note of that. It looked like he was going to have some questions for Hiruzen too.
"Does Asuma know?" Asked the Daimyo.
"Not that I'm aware."
"Good." Naruto gave a satisfied nod. "I would prefer it stay that way. He can learn that Itachi's been taken care of but I'd rather not give him further reason to oppose me."
"Understandable." Agreed Danzō. "I won't tell him but I can't guarantee Hiruzen won't."
"Fair enough."
"By any chance did Mikoto bring any current information back with her? Judging by the timing, she seems to have caught him right before his usual reports so it's been a while since we've had any new intel."
"Nothing major. Akatsuki's started making moves but they're going slow." Naruto shook his head in disappointment,. "Apparently they plan on going after the Jinchuriki one at a time starting with the Ichibi so I don't suspect they'll get anywhere anytime soon."
"You seem awfully unconcerned about a group of S-ranked Shinobi going after your son." Danzō frowned. Naruto was too protective of those around him, he was missing something here.
"Haven't I told you?" Naruto asked with a smirk that had the old Shimura on edge. Naruto was most certainly up to something. "The Akatsuki aren't going to be a threat to Gaara because he doesn't have the Ichibi." Naruto's grin grew dark.
"I do."
He had to admit, the Wolves were starting to get a bit more creative. He supposed it was inevitable with the number of bunkers they were clearing out but he still hadn't expected them to try mixing it up a bit to keep from growing bored.
At least, not in the ways they were.
The screams of rebels reached his ears over the crackling flames that poured from the otherwise empty bunker, the smell of their charring flesh reaching his nose and no doubt making some of his Wolves very hungry. Apparently they had grown bored of slaying the rebels first and then setting the bunkers alight and decided to simply combine the two.
Of course they were also careful to make sure none of them were able to escape the fate they had devised for them. It really depended on the Wolves who had done it but everything from broken bones to removed limbs had been employed to ensure they wouldn't be able to move.
It probably helped that only one entrance to the bunker had been left in tact and the Wolves currently stood before it watching for anyone who managed to crawl through the flames despite their recent handicaps.
Tsukuyomi hadn't told any of the Wolves, but if one of the rebels did somehow manage it he wouldn't be letting his children kill them. Such dedication and will to live was worthy of reward and, if he could manage it, recruitment.
The pack could always use strong blood.
To be perfectly honest, Tsukuyomi was pretty proud of his Wolves. They had been going from bunker to bunker for nearly a week now and they had managed to resist the desire to maim and torture captured rebels until now.
They had eaten them, of course, but at least those deaths had been quick.
Well, the death itself had been quick. Tsukuyomi still recalled quite vividly staying to watch one of his Man-Eaters' feast and how they took great pleasure in killing and eating their captives one at a time so that the others could watch as their friends and comrades were devoured by the Wolves.
If nothing else Tsukuyomi appreciated the fantastic symbolism and display of power. Admittedly it would have been made better by survivors to flee in terror and spread word of the horrors that followed behind the House of Wolves but his children were happy enough with his indulgence and his plans weren't set in motion early by someone managing to escape.
He really couldn't complain about that.
Removing his head from thoughts of his Wolves and their newfound appetite he withdrew a small map from one of his pouches and marked off the bunker they had just filled with fire and those damned to perish by it.
That finished off the majority of the eastern bases and as they moved further south- and eventually south-west – they would start to encounter the active bases of the Rebels. He idly wondered if they had managed to keep their activities- or at least their successes thus far- hidden but dismissed the thought as fantasy.
Even the Rebels couldn't be so incompetent as to not realize they had lost communication with all of the bases they were preparing for future use.
He was very curious to know just what they were thinking.
Maybe when they hit one of the active bases he'd spare someone long enough to ask.
Gods was he enjoying the opportunity for fieldwork, but was it weird that he was missing quiet evenings in his office completing paperwork too?
Zabuza gave Ao a nod as he quietly slipped into the room. It was returned but Ao's grim face- more so than usual, at least- indicated that any news he might bear was unlikely to be fortuitous for the rebellion.
He had expected that, really.
They both turned their attention to the other end of the room where Mei stood at the war table speaking to the Konoha ANBU she wanted to sneak into Kirigakure.
"We only have one chance at this, so as soon as you're in position eliminate your target and get out before they have a chance to discover you. If we can keep them from knowing of our involvement there's a good chance that they might put the blame on the Wolves and that will only help us more."
Oh, that was her plan. Zabuza gave an appreciative nod to no one in particular. Before her idea seemed to have as much risk as benefit but there was a lot to be gained from pulling this off.
Zabuza just hoped it was enough to offset whatever news Ao had brought back with him.
Probably not.
"We understand, Mei-dono." The leader of the ANBU was the only one who ever spoke, the others just stared at you silently. None of them liked to admit it, but it was damned creepy. Konoha really was a scary place when you thought about it, the strength and influence they wielded combined with the sort of Shinobi they produced- and at such numbers- was enough to give anyone nightmares. "I assure you we should have little trouble carrying out this task."
Mei nodded to him. "I have faith in you and your team."
Zabuza tried to hold back his snort, he really did, but it still escaped him.
Not because he doubted them, not at all. Simply because it was painfully obvious that the ANBU were superior to the majority of the rebel forces. It was a forgone conclusion that she would have faith in them over her own Shinobi.
She shot him a melting glare- something that actually could become very literal with her Bloodline Ability- but otherwise ignored him. The ANBU, likewise, remained the picture of professionalism.
Only one of them flipped Zabuza off behind his back, earning another amused snort from the wielder of Kubikiribōchō.
"Did you have something to add, Zabuza?"
Oh, he was going to be in trouble later. Not that he wasn't now. He was in trouble now, he would be in a hell of a lot more later when there weren't witnesses.
"No," With a perfect distraction readily available Zabuza did the brave thing- he shoved Ao before him as a shield. "But Ao brings important news."
That was an assumption, but Zabuza was rather confident that it was correct. Ao gave him a glare with his Byakugan – he knew because he could feel it- but otherwise remained, like the ANBU, completely professional.
"Please tell me it's good." Mei requested, earning a grimace from her second in command.
"I'm afraid not, Mei-sama. I have come to learn that Tsukuyomi and his hounds have indeed found our bases. From what we've managed to gather hes' hit each and every bunker in Mizu no Kuni to the west, north, and east moving in a clockwise pattern. The speed at which he's done so indicates he probably knows exactly where the bunkers are."
"Are you saying what I think you are?"
"I am." Ao gave a solemn nod. "Tsukuyomi knows exactly where we are at the moment and has been intentionally avoiding our active bases."
"And what purpose would that serve, what is he up to?"
"While I do not understand how they think and cannot say for sure, I suspect he's trying to eliminate possible retreats. That is to say, he's working to force a final confrontation."
Zabuza gave a long whistle from his position near the door. "Hes' a crafty bastard, I'll give him that."
The Konoha ANBU all turned to him in disbelief, staring at him as if they couldn't understand what they were seeing. They spun back to Mei and a resigned realization settled over their faces when she didn't have any notable reaction to Zabuza's comment.
"While Konohagakure no Sato sympathizes with your cause, we were not sent here to aid you for that reason alone. We were sent here as a direct counter to Tsukuyomi's arrangement with Yagura." The ANBU's look was desperate. "Please tell me you have not been thinking little of him this whole time."
Mei didn't have an answer for them and he gave a pained groan. "Tsukuyomi is not a joke or someone to take lightly, through his actions he has conquered a country and been granted a position on the Imperial Fire Court. He aided Konoha during the attempted Suna Invasion even though he shouldn't have known it was happening and has managed to operate within Konoha with only a select few outsiders knowing his identity." The ANBU shook his head. "For fuck's sake, most of the Wolves under his command are probably as strong as we are. There's a reason they follow him."
"His..actions...did not seem to reflect that at first," Mei admitted. "But I see now that they served a rather important purpose in his plans."
The room was quiet for a minute as the ANBU tried to wrap their heads around underestimating someone their Kage was actively opposing because they were dangerous and unpredictable and the Rebels- those other than Zabuza- realized that considering Tsukuyomi another one of Yagura's commanders- even if it was a high-ranking one- had been a mistake.
"So, is this going to change anything?" Asked Zabuza.
"No." Mei shook her head. "We're still attacking Kirigakure and we still need to do it soon. If he's almost here then we don't have much time to get out. He can do as he likes to the bunkers as we take back Kirigakure, the lack of support from the Wolves will hopefully be enough of an edge to make this work, especially with our friends here disrupting Kiri's chain of command."
"We really don't have many other options," Ao agreed. "But I would like to remind you that we still have two more to chose from; we can simply run and relocate entirely-" Judging by the look on Mei's face the suggestion was not appreciated in the slightest. "or we can lay an ambush for their inevitable arrival here. We have our full forces in the area, there's definitely an opportunity to remove the Wolves from the equation entirely. It's a lot better than risking them joining the fight for Kiri from our flank, anyway."
"It's tempting," Mei frowned. "But if he does indeed know where all the bunkers are he might know things about them which we don't. If that's the case it would be unbelievably foolish for us to make a stand within them. Taking Kiri is still our best option."
Ao and the ANBU nodded in agreement while Zabuza just shrugged. He wasn't in charge, he just went were he was told and killed who he was told to. Usually. It generally worked pretty well too.
"Well, I think with the news Ao brought us we're done here." Mei announced. "You know what needs to be done, be ready by 2200 tonight so we can get you into the city."
Almost as if to prove her wrong a series of screams reached the warroom, followed quickly by the sounds of running feet and Shinobi scrambling to arm themselves.
"Did he reach us already?!" The thought was absurd if Ao had only just brought them the information but a lot of things tended to go wrong for Mei so while she tried to stay positive and convince everyone that things were going to work out she knew very well that the universe just loved to disagree with her.
More screams tore through the air- those of shock and panic rather then pain- followed by a laugh that Zabuza recognized instantly. Opening the door with his left hand he stuck his head out into the hall. "Stand down, shut up, and get the fuck out of the way!" He yelled at the rebel Shinobi. "Gods above, you're like a bunch of children panicking over a dead dog. It's dead, either bury it, eat it, or sell it to someone else!"
He slammed the door shut again and shook his head at the floor. "There's a goddamn reason we haven't managed to end this war yet." He mumbled.
Before anyone had a chance to ask him what was going on the door was thrown open and a rather unmistakable figure let himself into the room.
"So, I hear you're planning on killing a Daimyo." Grinned Kisame. "That happens to be a specialty of mine."
*Sobo – Grandmother, informal. Used for one's own grandparent.
*Sofu – Grandfather, informal. Used for one's own grandparent.
Authors Note;
Yes, that's right. An Author's note. Haven't seen one of these in a while, have you? Not here, anyway. As I said when I stopped including ANs in the chapters and instead posted them separately at Eyazahrid-dot-net these will only appear when I deem it sufficiently important.
Using my best judgement, I'm confident this qualifies.
Before I dive into the main reason for this Author's Note I do want to establish a few things.
First, this was in no way planned when I decided to try larger updates farther apart.
Next, what I'm about to talk about I never really wanted to do. Just writing this here is proving difficult because it feels so wrong and I'm beyond nervous about the way it's going to be received.
Lastly, no. I am not abandoning the story. Calm down.
If you follow me on Twitter (at Eyazahrid) or checked out my website (Eyazahrid-dot-net) recently you may be aware of what's going on. I know very well that most of you don't do either of those things so I'm taking some time at the end of this chapter to make the situation known to you.
While I am greatly enjoying my new job, it has come to my attention that the difficulty I'm having reaching a certain metric- sales- may result in a new job search in the near future. The Field Managers and Operations Manager are doing everything they can to help me gain the skills I need to remain but knowing that there is still a distinct possibility that I won't make it in this field I decided to go over my options.
As attractive as some of them are, what I'd really like to spend my time doing is writing. I dare say I have at least some measure of skill in it but I never really considered it feasible to support myself doing it.
I have recently created a Patre0n page {Apparently that's a bad word for this site, which probably doesn't bode well.} where I further elaborate on my intentions and I go over it in both the "2019.10.09 Update" and "Support" posts at Eyazahrid-dot-net. There's a link in the latter that will take you right to it where you will also have to opportunity to see a picture of me. Consider it a thank you for stopping by and a show of how seriously I intend to take this.
Before you close the page in disgust, know that I will continue to provide my work for free. Postings will follow their current schedule for the foreseeable future.
So, if I'm still providing my work for free what reason is there for you to help support me? I'll be honest, at first the only thing that came to mind was the fact that I would be able to write a hell of a lot more if it was my full time job but I'm also very aware that it's very unlikely we'll ever get to that point. At most, I hope this may give me some more flexibility in whatever work I look for next.
It wasn't long until the solution came to me- early access. I normally had chapters done Wednesday or Thursday and posted them on Monday so I had a few days I could give supporters but that didn't seem like enough. My next thought was getting extra work done- which I did, more on that later-and having chapters posted a whole week early.
That sounded much better but with the change to chapters every two weeks- I have horrid timing, evidently- did I post two chapters on the same day or post the early Patre0n chapter on the week I wouldn't otherwise have a post? The problem with the later is that in the end you really only gain a single week of being ahead and then you still have to wait for two weeks for something new. It didn't seem like much of a benefit.
But what if I did the first half of a chapter two weeks early and the second half during the week without an update? Not only are you a week ahead but you also get a chapter every week. That sounded a bit better and is what I've decided to go with for now.
To start implementing this the first half of chapter 101 was posted on Thursday, October Third. On Tuesday, October Eighth the second half went up- nearly a week before today's update. As I write this- on Sunday evening in case I'm too exhausted to crawl out of bed at a decent hour tomorrow- chapter 102 is complete and chapter 103 has been started. Granted it's not very far along but I am ahead.
I only had to put off absolutely everything else- except for those two hours I streamed on Tuesday- to get the extra writing done and I'll have to continue that for a week or two more in order to be confident that I'll be able to keep up but I think I have a pretty solid lead.
What that means is that later today the first half of chapter 102 goes live on my Patre0n page for my supporters and next week you'll get the second half. The week after that, when 102 is publicly available? You'll get the first half of chapter 103, naturally.
And how much does it cost to gain access to early postings of chapters every week?
A dollar. It costs a dollar.
Why? Because that's as low as Patre0n would let me set it. Still, I'd like to think $0.25 a week isn't too bad for early access. There are higher levels but as I don't have anything else to offer their are no additional benefits. Again, all you need is the lowest tier, the others are there in case you're feeling especially generous.
There's not much more to say on the matter and I know it's probably not a very good sales pitch- which, really, is the whole reason I'm having trouble at work and decided to see if this was a viable option in the first place- but if you want more details you can check out the Patre0n page itself, the "Support" post, or the "2019.10.09 Update". The update is probably your best option as it was written after everything else was set up.
Two additional benefits that come with becoming a Patre0n is access to an empty discord for supporter only and, of course, you get to see your name mentioned at the bottom of chapters like these fine folk;
Nssheepster
The Kevin
Ryszard Cichoń
Reaper Death
Liam Kearney
Many thanks to my first Patre0n supporters, it means a lot to know you enjoy my work enough to help me work towards my goal of doing it full time.
If you have any suggestions or feedback about benefits you might like as Supporters please let me know so I can see what I can arrange. To those of you beyond disgusted by this, know that I completely understand but please spare me the flames. Chapters will continue to come, you can pretend the Patre0n doesn't exist at all.
I'd like to thank all of you for sticking with me for almost four years of Sealkeeper and I look forward to many more years of writing for you.
Until I next have your attention,
-Eyazahrid