25 March 2007 A bit of a disclaimer: Most of this is being written in the wee hours of the morning either during or after a graveyard shift in a government cubicle farm where the author has some spare time on their hands and a few tired brain cells to waste, so there will be occasional plot holes or OOC moments (especially as canon characters are integrated into the storyline). Most of these aren't intentional, and apologies for them. You may also find elements that are confusing or disturbing and were most likely intended to be so. Be patient and be strong and things may become clear, or maybe not... Either way, many thanks to all who've read and reviewed thus far! Hope you don't hate us too badly yet.
(EDIT: And now hopefully the chapter will upload correctly. Friggen' Javascript errors)
42 Untidy Conclusions, Unfortunate Reality
A Living Death Sentence and the End of a Mission
"I never thought I'd find myself actually using one of these, but it's one of the few places we can go and not be bothered." Taking a key out from where she'd secreted it in her blouse, Kotori unlocked the door to one of the club's private rooms and pushed it open. After verifying that the room was safe for their use, she walked in and beckoned her guest after her, shutting the door and locking it again once he was inside.
"So this is one of Masuyo's little rackets too," Jiraiya mused, taking stock of his surroundings after Kotori switched on a light. "If you like one of the ladies enough and have the money…"
"It's disgusting, giving the weak and defenseless over to senseless hunger like sheep to wolves. But such is the nature of humankind, isn't it?" She sighed and shook her head, glancing back over her shoulder when she heard the rustle of fabric against fabric as the older man settled down on the only seating available, patting an empty patch of mattress next to him as indication for Kotori to sit. She would have refused had it not been for a tart reminder from the Nekomata – You are still playing a role, you know – so it was with a mental grumble that she crossed the room and made herself comfortable on the thin sliver of space made available to her.
"Now if I remember right, you seemed a little bit rattled when I first got here. Would I be right if I guessed that the two gentlemen I met on the street had something to do with it?" The sudden tensing of the lithe body next to his told Jiraiya that he'd hit the right nerve, but he still chose to wait and see if the young woman would comment.
When Kotori did at last find words, they came out almost too low to hear. "I have never feared for my life until today. Who were they, and what did they want from me?"
"It's not so much you as what's in you." A light pat on Kotori's shoulder where her disguise concealed the marks of her seal reinforced this point. "Those two were Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, S-rank missing-nin of Leaf and Mist respectively. They work together as a team for an organization that seeks the power of the tailed demons for their own uses." A pause to let this sink in, then, "From what I'd gathered, they were only here to confirm your existence. Any action they may take will wait until later."
"What do you mean? Itachi mentioned something about the time not being right, and that they'd have nothing to worry about when they finally decided to act." Kotori looked up at Jiraiya for clarification and felt her heart sink at the serious cast of his face. "Are they out to kill me?"
"Yes and no. If you die before they can extract the demon from you, the demon will die too and their efforts will have been wasted. They also need the rest of the group in order to pull the demon loose, so once they get a chance they'll incapacitate you and take you back with them." A heavy sigh. "You won't survive once they've got what they want."
Kotori was once again slow to speak as this processed, hands slowly clenching as the situation became clear. "Please, tell me you're joking."
"Why would I? Don't be silly – what did you think they were really after, your autograph? I've at least told you the truth, so it's up to you to decide what to do about it."
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Kotori snapped through clenched teeth, straining to hold back her anger. "You seem to have a better handle on this than I do."
"You probably don't have that great of control over your demon, and it would be more of a hazard than a help to depend on it at this point. Two can play the waiting game, so use this time to get stronger and then give them hell when they do come back." Jiraiya chuckled, adding, "And who knows, it may not be those two that are sent after you."
This received a flat stare of disgust from Kotori. "If that was meant to reassure me, it didn't work."
An outright laugh came this time as Jiraiya slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "I've scared them off once, so don't worry. You've got me here to protect you!"
Growling something foul under her breath, Kotori muttered, "You've got three seconds to let go before I rip that arm off and beat you with it."
"That wouldn't be a wise idea in the current circumstances." Kotori could feel the warm brush of breath on her cheek as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Besides, I'm almost old enough to be your grandfather, and even someone like me has his principles. Meanwhile, you have a mission to finish –"
A hand held up for silence forestalled any further comment on Jiraiya's part, Kotori easing herself up from the mattress and padding across the floor to listen by the closed doorway. "I hope that involves razing this place to the ground," she muttered as she took up a ready stance, pulling the long pins from her hair and grasping them between her knuckles to throw if needed. An eerie sensation of impending danger had begun its steady creep down her spine and instinct told Kotori that it was Taiki at risk. "Watch out. This is going to get ugly really quickly, and sooner than I'd hoped."
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So far, so good, thought Taiki as his final opponent cracked under pressure and folded, leaving him the victor of yet another game. As long as I keep them off-balance and intimidated, it doesn't take much to win at all. The table cleared soon afterwards and left him alone with the dealer, another one of Masuyo's men. "Another good night for us, huh?" commented the youth as he counted off the winnings, entered the tally in a ledger, and locked them away for later use. "Hold down the fort for a few. I'm going to take a breather…"
As he made his way out to the yard for some fresh air, a fragment of memory resurfaced that made him twitch and he cast an eye over towards the outbuilding that housed the maids' quarters, the washrooms, and other miscellaneous facilities. That's right – she took him to one of the private rooms! I would have said something to her at the time but my attention was elsewhere. What could they be doing, or do I want to know?
"Hey, Kohaku, the boss wants to talk to you." This came from one of the many hired guards that Masuyo kept on tap in case of incident, and after receiving a nod of acknowledgement the guard passed outside on another task. Taiki noticed with a worried pang that the man's short sword had been loosened in its sheath, almost as if its owner anticipated a need for it. That can't possibly be good. Oh well, guess I'd better see what the boss wants from me.
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"Good, you're here." The crime lord known as Masuyo put a sheaf of papers aside for later consideration and sat back in his desk chair to consider the young man in front of him. "Do you have any idea why I've called you in tonight?"
Taiki shook his head in feigned confusion even as he sized up the older man. He's built like a mountain and looks like he knows his way around a fight. I may have to test out my new technique on him… "Not at all, sir. Is something wrong?"
"Is something wrong?" Masuyo parroted, ending the question with a disbelieving laugh. He waved a hand to the guard minding the door who in turn locked the portal against any unauthorized passage. "Funny that you should ask. I pride myself on not judging my employees too harshly, but then again I've never had something like this come across my desk. You see, I received a tip from a concerned observer earlier today that two of my newer hires are not who they say they are. He didn't say exactly who he thought these employees were but instead left it up to my discretion to find out." Fixing Taiki with a cold glare, he concluded, "I did some digging, Kohaku, and I came up with some questions. You will answer them now, and you had better pray to your gods that I like what you say… or I will bury you and your little minx of a girlfriend."
A loud shriek from the yard beyond preempted anything Taiki may have said, and with dread rising in his heart he dashed to the window to see what had made such a sound. He gasped when he saw Kotori standing on the walkway outside the private rooms nudging with a toe the collapsed body of the guard Taiki had encountered earlier. After verifying that the man was indeed dead, she stooped briefly to recover a pair of long, sharpened hairpins from where they'd lodged deeply in her victim's eye socket. The eyeball came out along with one of the needles, lodged on the silver spine like a macabre cocktail garnish which Kotori flicked away with a grimace. She then wiped the hairpins clean on the corpse's shirt and, having nowhere else to keep them, stuck them back into her hair before glancing around the yard to see if this had been noticed.
"I thought as much," Masuyo grumbled, having likewise moved to the window to see what had caused the shriek. "And that was one of my better men, too. What a shame." A sigh and head-shake, then, "Why is it that all of my best men have to wind up dead?" My cover's been blown so there's no sense in going easy, Taiki resolved, reaching behind him to catch the knife aimed for his unprotected back. Flicking the blade around in his fingers, he spun and wedged it deep into the chest of the guard who'd thrown it. "And there goes another one. Guess I'd better take care of you myself then."
Surprisingly agile for someone of a shorter height and thicker build, Masuyo wasted no time in launching a quick, powerful offensive at the youth. "I didn't get where I am by being slow or stupid, but I'm embarrassed that I'd overlook the possibility of a shinobi team sent after me. Oh well, that will be a lesson for next time."
"I don't think there'll be a next time," grunted Taiki, twisting away from Masuyo's swinging fists. Darting in close to his opponent, he slapped one open palm into the other man's chest and released his chakra in the form of a massive burst of electric charge. Masuyo coughed violently and staggered back as his heart stumbled in its rhythm and then gave out entirely, Taiki neatly stepping aside to avoid the falling body. "One down, who knows how more to go," he muttered as he walked back to the door, steeling himself for the task that lay before him at the foot of the stairs.
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"Much better," said Kotori with a sigh of relief, having switched out her skimpy and restrictive hostess clothing for the more utilitarian garb of the dead guard and, as a final touch, retrieving the short sword from the corpse and securing it in her sash. Dead body, old garments, and genjutsu disguise were abandoned in the private room, and Kotori noticed an air of hesitance to Jiraiya's actions as she moved off towards the main building. "Don't tell me you're actually going to miss this place! Now come on, I'll bet Taiki's already gotten in over his head."
True to her prediction, the club was in an uproar when the duo entered via the kitchen. The female employees and the kitchen staff had taken refuge behind the counter, led by Sayu who brandished a knife in defense. The young woman blinked when she saw Kotori, stammering, "Miyu-chan –? God, I hope you've come to help – Kohaku killed Boss-san and now everything's gone to hell!"
"That bloody well figures." Kotori glanced through the doorway to the seething sea of conflict beyond, temporary alliances having dissolved into chaos without their figurehead to unify them and former comrades turning on each other to avenge slights both perceived and real. "Sayu, take everyone out of here to someplace safe. I don't want any one of you to get caught if anything bad should go down." This order was met with an attempt to protest, in turn silenced by a vicious glare from Kotori. "I said, out!" The last word was underscored by a splintering sound of breaking furniture, and this was all that was needed to motivate the group to leave.
Foresight told Kotori to grab a bucket full of mop water from the kitchen and take it out with her to the main room, stashing it behind the bar in case it should become necessary. Loosening the short sword in its sheath, she then launched herself into the fray. A handful of the combatants recognized the face of their favorite hostess and paused in their struggles to wonder just what she was doing here in this younger, shorter, meaner form. This pause would prove to be a fatal mistake, though, ending with a single fatal sword slice as Kotori cut through the crowd in search of Taiki.
The crackle of lightning showed that he was not far away, having been backed into a corner by a cluster of Masuyo's former bodyguards and minions. A shadowy pair of spectral hands hovered nearby, parrying attacks and forming seals in addition to Taiki's own actions, and it was this reminder of her teammate's unique ability that inspired her to kick the mop bucket over in his direction. Taiki caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and nodded brief thanks to her, manifesting a second set of hands that appeared to be formed out of liquid and began to manipulate the provided water into tools of aqueous destruction. Those who did not fall to the electrically charged or fatally submersing attacks of Taiki or the blink-fast sword strikes of Kotori were eliminated by Jiraiya, and it was not long before the tide of combat ebbed out to nothingness.
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Dawn broke over a completely different scene than the previous day, the red sky blooming into light as if nourished by the blood that had been spilled over the course of the night. The better part of a hundred lay dead and perhaps fifty more wounded after the combined efforts of the Konoha team, and it was only after all had been accounted for that they allowed themselves to rest for a day before beginning the journey back to their village. It can't be said that the trip was entirely pleasant, though, seeing as none of the three seemed inclined to share their thoughts about the experience with their cohorts.
Kotori's dour demeanor alone seemed to cast a gloom over the travelers, repelling any attempts made by Taiki to get back on good terms with the girl. No matter how viciously she rebuffed him, though, Taiki would merely retreat for next few hours and plan a new approach. Each new day met with no success in this arena, and it was on the group's last night on the road that matters came to a head.
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"Hey, Tori-chan, aren't you going to at least say something about the lovely dinner that I've slaved over just for you?"
Kotori shot Taiki a withering look as she rose from her spot near the cooking fire, dusting dirt and twigs from her legs before walking away. "You're full of shit, Tai. So you can cook – big effing deal." Ignoring Taiki's pout and Jiraiya's amused grin, Kotori chose one of the nearby trees for her evening roost and climbed it, attempting to tune out the rest of her surroundings as she made herself comfortable for the night.
"Then why don't you come down to earth and sleep on the dirt with the rest of us mortals?" persisted Taiki. "Grace us with your presence for at least one night."
A baleful blue-eyed stare met this request along with Kotori's crisp reply. "I'm traveling with a lovesick pretty boy and a dirty old man, so I think I'll take my chances."
'Lovesick pretty boy'? Is that what she really thinks of me? Taiki grumbled in disapproval and got up, crossing to the base of Kotori's tree and focusing his energies for the climb. "That's it – we need to talk."
"Aren't we talking now?" Kotori waited until her teammate had reached the level of the branch she now perched on, then without even looking lashed out with her fist and knocked him out of the tree. He landed in the dirt with a thud and pained mutter, glaring injuredly at the serenely reposing girl. "You used me as a bargaining chip, treating me like an object instead of a person, which was more degrading than you could imagine. I don't care if it got the mission done – if you even consider doing that again for whatever reason, I'll knock your block off." Then, as clear to Taiki as if it had been spoken aloud, she added, You've also violated my personal space in more ways than one. I don't know how, but I hear you in my head whether I want to or not and that's closer than I'd ever want to be to a person. Do me a favor and just back off.
Taiki blinked at her admission but nodded in acquiescence. "Heard and noted." He returned to the fireside and sat back down again, pulling a pink-covered novel out of his jacket pocket and thumbing it open to a favorite passage. The only sounds that could be heard at the campsite for the next fifteen minutes or so were the crackling of the fire, rustling as Taiki turned a page in his book, and the occasional thoughtful mutter of Jiraiya musing over the crafting of a certain turn of phrase on a scroll spread across his lap. Taiki waited until he heard a faint whistling snore from the figure stretched out over the tree branch before looking up from his reading. "I've known her and worked closely with her for over a year, but I still don't get her sometimes. Are all women like that?"
A quiet heh of mirth was all the answer Taiki's question got for a moment. After finishing a sentence in his writing, Jiraiya put his brush down and gazed up at the sleeping Kotori. "Let's put it this way. I've been around a while, and I've noticed that women in most forms are like fine art – I can appreciate them all I want but I'll be damned if I can completely understand them. Alcohol helps at times, but I wouldn't recommend that for you just yet."
Taiki snickered also, looking meditatively down at the cover of his book. "It's nice to know that someone like you knows where I'm coming from."
"I may be a shameless pervert, but I'm not completely ignorant." Jiraiya shrugged and resumed his writing. "By the way, dare I even ask where you got that book? You aren't even old enough to buy them yet."
Realization hit as the young man took a closer look at the title of his reading selection and the name of its author. Blushing a hue to match the book cover, he muttered, "I, er, borrowed it… from Kakashi-san…"
A dry smirk, then, "I'll have to have a chat with that one and tell him to keep his vices to himself."
"And I'm sure he'll follow that advice to the letter," Taiki muttered, casting an intrigued glance at the scroll in Jiraiya's lap. "Hey, is that a new one that you're working on?"
"Yes, it is," Jiraiya replied, blowing lightly on the last bit of freshly-laid ink to help it dry, "and no, you may not. You'll just have to wait a few more months like everyone else." Assured that his work would not smudge, he rolled up the scroll and tied it before stashing it in his pack. He then removed his vest and folded it, using it to pillow his head as he lay down to sleep.
Putting his book down, Taiki briefly considered digging through the contents of the pack until he found the scroll but tossed the notion aside in favor of also getting some rest. Busy as his mind was with newly-gained information, it took Taiki some time to go to sleep, but once slumber did come he drowsed as deeply as if he'd been knocked unconscious. I'll be back at such home as I have come tomorrow, and then everything will be fine…