Chapter 23 Nobility

The inside of my eyelids were slowly turning red. Was it morning already? I could hear birds chirping. I pulled the three blankets, one comforter, over my head to block the sunlight and tried to go back to sleep. I curled up into a ball letting the warmth wash over me. Wait a minute! Blankets? A comforter?! My eyes snapped open and I threw the blankets off. I was in traditional looking Japanese room of a cozy size. There was a low table to my left and a closet behind it. In front of me were two shoji screen door with plain white paper. I looked down. I was sleeping in futon under fine looking blankets. I jumped up and looked down at myself. I was in a white nagajuban that faded to pale green towards the hem. Who the hell had changed my clothes?! Where were my weapons?! I grabbed at my neck frantically. They were gone! Both my necklaces! The cross and Itachi's necklace!! I felt my ears. Well, at least I still had all thirteen of my piercings. But, where the hell was I?! I ran to the shoji screen doors and threw them open.

Well, it wasn't morning but around late afternoon. Outside was a large garden, a small brook running through. There were cherry trees, peach trees, plum trees, all of them in blossom. There were bushes and rocks, all grown and placed by someone with amazing artistic insight. I stepped out on to the engawa, forgetting that I was in a strange place, to admire the garden. A large white wall, as smooth as paper, surrounded it though. I jumped over the railing and approached it. I held out a hand, sending my chakra to it, and pressed it against the smooth surface. As if there was some kind of force field, the wall rippled under my touch and rejected my chakra. I tried again. Nothing.

"It won't work." A female voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a girl, about the age of eighteen, standing behind me. I hadn't even sensed her coming up. She had deep green eyes and long, wavy black hair poured over her shoulders and back. Like me, she wore a white nagajuban but she had pulled a blue haori over it.

"See those seals?" She said pointing up towards the top of the wall. Indeed, there were seals lining the upper wall. "They reject chakra, making it impossible to escape unless you have the proper equipment. We've all tried at one point."

She looked me over.

"How old are you?" Her voice was somewhat deep and she spoke formal Japanese.

I thought for a second.

"Fourteen, I think."

Her eyes took on a sad look and she shook her head.

"You're so young." She straightened. "My name is Budou."

"Budou-san?" I repeated. What a strange name. "My name is Uch-"

Budou held up a hand.

"You're name no longer matters here." She said. " Shinsuke-sama, always gives us new names."

"Shinsuke? Names? Where exactly am I?!"

"Hisamatsu Shinsuke, he's the head of this mansion. As for the names…"

"Shinsuke chooses the names of those he captures." Another girl said, appearing from behind Budou. "My name is Aoi, and this is my sister Sora."

Another girl appeared. They both looked similar but you could tell Aoi was the younger. They both shared the same dark brown hair and black eyes. Their nagajuban were the same as mine but their's faded to blue. Aoi and Sora appeared around the age of seventeen or sixteen.

"We were named for our love of blue and because we hail from Kirigakure. Shinsuke names a his ladies after some sort of trait they harbor."

Gradually, shoji screens along the engawa began to slide open and more girls came out into the garden. In total seven came out, then there was me, that makes eight.

"Who are all of you?" I asked.

"We were once kunoichi." Budou said. "But then Shinsuke found us, he likes strong women. He offered some of us jobs in his mansion, working for his wife, the rest of us were snatched."

"But his wife died recently." Said a girl with dirty brown hair. "And we were milady's attendants."

"He'll probably choose one of us to be his next wife." Continued a girl with reddish hair.

I looked around at the girls, and recalled what I knew about court life.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I said. "Are you saying guys are like prostitutes?!"

"Prostitutes? No, no," Said Aoi. "We don't get paid."

I rolled my eyes. "Same thing!"

Aoi smiled, obviously pleased with her joke.

I paced.

"I mean, I've got to get out of here! I can't…I won't, I've got to get back to my friends!"

"You're stuck here like us," Budou said, with a shrug. "It's not so bad."

I glared at her. "Maybe for you!"

I stopped pacing to chew on my nails. "Why does this guy like strong women anyway?"

The girls exchanged glances.

"Shinsuke-sama likes to break them." Budou answered.

The sound of a shoji screen sliding open alerted us. A kneeling women appeared in the doorway of my room, her dark gray hair pulled back in a tight bun and her clothes like that of a servant.

"Which of you is the new girl?" She asked.

The girls parted and I walked forward. The women gestured for me come.

"Shinsuke-sama has requested you're presence."

Budou gave me a sad smile as I approached the engawa.

"I'm Kikuzou." Said the women as I stepped onto the veranda. "I will help you change into clothes more presentable for milord."

"But I-"

She cut me off when she shoved me into the room, down the hallway and into a bathing room. She stripped me of my clothes and began to wash my body and hair.

"Hey! I can wash myself!" I protested but she ignored me and continued to scrub.

When she finished up, she dried me up and put the nagajuban back on before she began to painfully brush my hair and style it. I continued to protest but I soon realized that it was no good and gave up. After all that she pushed me back into the room, opened the closet and began to sort through the collection of folded kimono's that lined the inside. She pulled out and unfolded one , a susohiki that was black with cherry blossoms on the long sleeves; closer to the hem in was blue and koi fish been painted to represent fish in water. Kikuzou began to dress me in the fine clothing with expert hands. She wrapped a blue obi around my waist and patting it into place as she tied it . Kikuzou lead me to the mirror on the inside of the closet door.

"What do you think?" She asked, a satisfied smile on her face.

I stared. I hadn't seen myself in a kimono since I was a kid. The sleeves practically reached the ground and the hem dragged behind me. I had never seen my hair done up in such a fashion and touched in gently. It was a beautiful outfit but it made me feel girly and I did really like the reason I was wearing it.

"You're a rather pretty girl." Said Kikuzou. "You should pull back that hair more often."

Just then the door slid open and a boy younger than me by a good amount of years, walked in.

"Shinsuke-sama, is ready for you."

I hesitated and Kikuzou pushed me.

"Go on, go on." She said.

I followed the boy. In all honesty, I wanted to meet this Shinsuke and give him a piece of my mind. The servant boy lead me down the hallway until we reached an elevator. We entered and he took us to the top floor. We came to a stop, I continued to follow him down more hallways until he opened a door that led out into a grand balcony. The boy bowed slightly, gesturing for me to enter. Hesitantly, I did so and the door was closed behind me.

The balcony was mostly empty with the exception of a table and two fancy chairs. There were a couple flowered plants here and there. One of the chairs was turned away towards the edge of the balcony. A hand from the chair gestured for me to come forward. I did so but stopped about a yard away from it.

"Uchiha Karasu, correct?" Said a voice, the same voice of the guy who had tackled me back in the cave. "You probably don't remember me."

He stood and I finally got to see "Shinsuke-sama." He was tall, about the same height as Sasuke. His eyes were a washed out blue color and his long black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. Shinsuke had short bangs but some of his longer hair was loose and hung down in front of his ears. His robes were obviously royalty, made form some of the finest fabrics, and colored in blues, grays and purples. One of the first things that stood out about him, though, was that Shinsuke was rather attractive.

"Recognize me?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"I see." He said. "I remember you, though, and your father. Once I see a face I never forget it."

"You knew my father?"

Shinsuke sighed. "You really don't remember."

He gestured to the seat next to him.

"Sit down and enjoy the view. I won't do anything weird, I promise." He said with a rather charming laugh.

I sat and looked out over the balcony railing. I suppressed a gasp. On my way here I had seen some pretty impressive sights but this was by far the most breathtaking. You could see the whole canyon from here, the triple waterfalls not far ahead. It was late afternoon now and a steady breeze blew, scattering the petals of blooming trees.

"Do you like it? My great, great, great, great grandfather built the castle here just for the view."

"It's very pretty." I said, doing my best not to show my awe.

Shinsuke smiled.

"The Hisamatsu has existed for a long time, long before the modernized world of shinobi." He began. "We were a samurai clan, one of the highest ranking. Eventually though people began favoring shinobi services over a samurai's. My clan tried to cling to it's honor but eventually it became to much and they began undergoing training to learn shinobi arts. At first, business for my family wasn't so great so, they opened up a small kimono shop, which later turned out to be a huge success, that's how I have access to clothing as fine a what you're wearing." Shinsuke said, pointing at my kimono. "With our kimono business and shinobi services our family boosted up and became rich again. My father often traveled to other nations to visit and meet with other nobles, you grew up in a noble home you know how it works, I accompanied my father often. About ten years ago we visited Sunagakure, that's where I saw you."

I tried to remember. I couldn't remember Shinsuke but I could just barley recall a man my father said was in the kimono business.

"I…remember your father, I think. A tall man with black hair and wore clothing similar to yours with a kind face?"

Shinsuke nodded. "Yeah, but you don't remember me?"

I shook my head.

"Uchiha Karasu, huh? You don't go by Satsugai."

"I have my reasons."

"We all do." He paused. "You worked for the Akatsuki too, or so I heard."

"From who?! Who told you that?!"

"I have my informants."

I crossed my arms. "Hisamatsu…now that you mention my Akatsuki days, you guys have an underground business don't you?"

Shinsuke looked over. "Oh?"

"You were the first to invent steroid like drugs for shinobi by understanding how soldier pills function. After learning that such drugs could help a shinobi's skills to grow unnaturally you began to sell them under the table, despite some of the health issues. Then people like Kabuto-san can experiment with and perfect them."

"You are well informed." Shinsuke said.

"I was in Akatsuki," I said almost proudly. "It was my job to know about all the underground organizations."

I stared out over the balcony railing at the view, a flock of birds flew by.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"I take it the others talked to you."

"Yes, but I don't want to be your house broken pet!" I stood up.

Shinsuke laughed.

"How old are you anyway?" I asked.

"Next week is my birthday, I'll be twenty-one." He leaned on his hand. "As I'm sure they told you, my wife passed away a month ago. I will pick my new wife on my birthday. Who knows, it could be you."

I shuddered. "Aren't you a bit young?"

"Call me old fashioned but I married when I was you're age."

I turned away.

"Are you hungry?" Shinsuke asked.

I shook my head.

"Come on, you haven't eaten since who knows when."

I turned to back to him and he smiled kindly at me.

"I'm not hungry at the moment." I said.

He sighed and stood. "I'll have someone bring something to your room later then."

He reached forward, placing a hand on my cheek.

"What should I call you?"

"Can't I just keep my name?"

Shinsuke smiled. "By giving you a new name, it's like giving you a new life."

"I won't be staying here."

He laughed. "We'll see, we'll see…"

His voice faded and rubbed my face gently.

"When I saw this face as a kid, it was a bruised and beaten." He mumbled, more to himself then me. "Suisen, that'll be your name."

"Suisen (daffodil)?"

"It's a flower that is willing to survive the winter, refusing to bow to the cold, awaiting spring. Fit's don't you think?"

Shinsuke had a somewhat twisted way of looking at things, but he seemed like such a nice, cheerful guy. I was offsetting.

"I named your friend Utatori (songbird)."

"My frien…Ekima-san! You got her too!?"

Shinsuke nodded. "Would you like to see her?"

I nodded.

"Follow me."

We approached a room that was the same as mine but in a different location. I saw Ekima's silhouette through the shoji screens and I was about to run in but Shinsuke grabbed my shoulder, put his finger to his lips and pointed to the room. I turned back and listened. She was quiet but Ekima was singing.

" I'm not big on Yamato Nadeshiko, so I didn't put her with rest of you,but that singing is beautiful enough to raise the dead." He said.

I looked at Shinsuke and he nodded. I slid open the door to her room. Ekima sat facing away from me, her long, untied, hair trailing down her back. She was dressed in a nagajuban and a purple haori.

"Ekima-san?"

She turned wide, fearful eyes towards me but she stood up quickly when she realized it was me. Ekima ran up to me and pulled me into a hug.

"Karasu-chan! Thank goodness!"

I smiled. "Good to see you too."

Then she saw Shinsuke standing behind me and backed away, still holding me in her arms.

"What's he doing here?"

"He brought me to see you."

"He's the man that took us, Karasu-chan, and he calls me Utatori." There was bitterness in her voice. "I don't like him."

I looked back at Shinsuke. He closed the door and I waited until his footsteps disappeared.

"I don't know what he's after but he doesn't seem so bad." I said reassuringly.

"But she says not to trust him."

"Who?"

"Oh, nothing." Ekima said quickly.

"Anyways, he doesn't want you for the same reasons as me, so you're safe. He just likes your singing voice. I don't even know why he grabbed you too."

"What do you mean? What does he want with you."

"I'm not entirely sure." I said in all honesty. "But apparently he like to collect strong women."

"That sounds horrible!"

"I know, but he seems so nice. I don't understand."

Ekima paused. "What does he call you?"

"Hm? Oh, Suisen."

Ekima looked down at me, as if searching for something. Then she smiled.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

I stayed with Ekima for a while. I could tell by her fidgeting that she was uncomfortable in this place. Eventually Shinsuke came back asking for me to come with him once again, telling me I could visit Ekima whenever I whished.

"Why do you have her?" I asked as I followed him down the hallway.

"I didn't mean to grab her, I was only after you." He said. "But since she was with you my underlings grabbed her as well."

"Please let her go, she doesn't need to be dragged into this."

"I can't do that, she knows this place and she'll tell your friends."

I couldn't argue with that.

"Shinsuke-sama, how are-"

I looked over to see Nobu standing in the doorway of a room, starring straight at me.

"Y-you got her?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Izumi-nii-san…" I mumbled.

Before I could even think of what to say, he slammed the door, disappearing from sight.

"Izumi-nii-san!!" I cried and began to run after him but Shinsuke grabbed my arm. "Shinsuke-san, let me go!"

"Don't you think this is torturing him enough?" He asked. "Besides, you shouldn't jump to conclusions."

I was about to ask him what he meant but by the look on his face I could tell he wouldn't answer. I followed him back to my room in silence. Shinsuke opened the door for me and I walked inside.

"It's nearly evening, I'll have your meal brought to you." He turned from me. "Pleasant dreams."

"That's impossible now." I mumbled.

He didn't ask or question my comment, he just shut the door and for that I respected Shinsuke.

Author notes: Wow, long chapter this time. Sigh, I love creating villainous characters, it's so much fun!! You'll see how crazy I get when creating villains through out my writing. Anyways, I like Shinsuke and his personality turned out different then I had planned. Oh well, that's what happens. I create the characters and let them write out the story but sometimes the characters crate themselves too! Ah fun. Another thing you'll notice in my writings is that I try to input a lot of traditional Japanese culture. *sigh* I miss the olden days. I love traditional Japanese culture and I enjoy stories that incorporate that, so thing like court life and stuff like that will pop up often.