Chapter 47
Tomo shifted uncomfortably. It was rapidly approaching midnight, and though she felt tired, she couldn't sleep. They hadn't been able to find Osaka after trying again in the evening. Eventually Kimura had insisted they return and get some rest. Tomo had tried to resist, but she felt the fatigue even as she tried to argue with Kimura.
Having been sharing a room with Osaka, she now found it too large, empty and unwelcoming. Even though her friend had been different these last few weeks, she had been…there. And now the slightly strange girl was all alone out there. At least Tomo hoped that she was alone and not around any dangerous people.
Tomo slowly rolled onto her back, looking up towards the ceiling.
"Just be safe Osaka" she whispered quietly. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit longer?" asked Munro as he prepared an early morning meal. The girl was standing a short distance away from him, practising various finger signs. He had watched for a while but had to turn away- she moved them so fast he was starting to get a headache from trying to keep up.
"No I'm fine" replied Ayumu. "I've had some sleep, and I've spent the last ten years hiding away from my ability. I have to make up for too much lost time."
"You do?" replied Munro as he decided he fancied bacon for this meal.
"Yes. Some teachers said I could do well…one teacher once said I could be brilliant if I had a different brain."
"How rude" said Munro.
"She was always like that. Always sarcastic but I guess you could say she cared for us." Ayumu paused for a moment. Munro stopped his cooking, turning to face the girl. Her other personality might be trying to make its way through having been reminded of past events.
"Are you feeling off Ayumu?" asked the man.
"Just feeling a bit strange" replied the girl as she sat down on the small bed. She rubbed her head, looking around the room. "I'm just feeling a bit confused at the moment."
"Just relax for a moment; I did say you might be pushing yourself a bit too hard."
"But I need to do this. I've spent so long being lazy and not reaching anywhere near my potential. I've did hardly anything on the only major mission I went on. If I can't even do anything in a mission, how can I get rid of all this evil?"
"Just have a little patience" replied Munro. "I'm not very good at that, but just try and wait. When the time comes, I'll be there to help you wipe out this town."
"Wipe out?" asked Ayumu.
"Wipe out the evil that is present" replied Munro. He squatted down by the low bed, the girl turning to face him. "To succeed in this task you must be willing to take lives. The guilty lives. Some people try to change these sorts of things without killing- it never works" said Munro forcefully. "Only those with the mental strength to do bad things can succeed."
He stopped speaking and the small building was quiet.
"Are you willing to kill?" asked Munro finally.
"I have killed" replied Ayumu. "I killed to protect my friend a few weeks ago. The jutsu I copied allowed me to crush them like ants."
"Copied?" asked Munro.
"I once saw a man named Zabuza use some form of water dragon jutsu. I can remember being a bit scared of it…and a few weeks ago I suddenly knew how to use it. I don't think I was fully conscious, but I knew I was killing two people."
"Oooooh creepy" joked Munro. "You seem to have quite a bit of talent young lady."
"Thank you" said Ayumu coldly.
"Tell me- do you like explosions?" asked Munro.
"What?"
"Explosions, big bangs. I personally believe in making a grand entrance and what better way to do so then to reduce a place to tinder wood and rubble? Especially the largest factory in this town" said Munro in an eager tone. "You have to be noticed to make a difference. A great large explosion will let everyone know that we are there."
"But wouldn't that kill innocent people?" asked Ayumu. Munro stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"You see, the place I'm thinking of does not have employees present at weekends. Only Iroto himself would be there- and he needs to punished."
"That's right" replied Ayumu.
"And Ayumu" said Munro taking the girls hand in his. "I am willing to do the dirty work for you. I will lead you to Iroto and allow this to begin."
"Thank you" said Ayumu. "So when do we judge Iroto?"
"Saturday actually tomorrow which is quite useful" replied Munro. "One days time and this town will burn."
This time Ayumu didn't question his choice of wording.
"Tomo" said Sakaki, prodding Tomo slightly. "Tomo, Kimura told me to wake you up. I wouldn't usually do this but he asked…" she said quietly.
Tomo shifted slightly but didn't move. She did however jump into waking when Kimura entered the room and loudly popped a paper bag. After leaping about five feet from the bed, she looked around in dazed confusion.
"Huh was' goin on?" she asked as Kimura shot her a grin. That was for the waking her up- then he noticed she was wearing skimpy pyjamas and the grin suddenly became wider.
"Hi there Tomo" he said.
"Arghhhh!" she called out, reaching her arms down and pulling down her shirt where her stomach had been bared. Sakaki turned away slightly blushing. She guessed if Tomo had just woken up when asked she would have avoided this embarrassment.
"Rise and shine" said Kimura, making a "v" sign with his fingers.
"Get out" said Tomo. "I have to get changed before we look for Osaka."
"Getting changed huh?" asked Kimura. "I see no reason to leave." He looked behind as Sakaki tugged on his arm. "Fine I'm going" he said in a disappointed manner.
Tomo now being fully awake quickly changed after Kimura and Sakaki vanished from the room. Well she did so after making sure the door was fully closed. No longer in a slumber her fears about Osaka returned to her. She changed as quickly as possible- she couldn't believe she had had a lay in while her friend was missing. She guessed her subconscious didn't really care.
"Stupid subconscious" she said to herself. She just about remembered not to put on her village headband, and grabbed hold of two kunai and two shuriken. She hoped she wouldn't have to use them anytime soon.
She also hoped she wouldn't run into the freak again. The freak dressed in black, not the freak who was her teacher. Kimura had chosen to ignore the warning and stay in the town. He had said even if Osaka wasn't missing he would stay.
He also seemed quietly confident about his chances of defending himself. If Osaka had been present, Tomo might have found herself asking Kimura to leave as the black figure seemed dangerous.
Now fully changed she pulled open the door and stepped out into the hallway. She joined up with the rest of her team, and walked by Muyo who wished them luck for the day. Tomo and Sakaki thanked him, one boisterously, one in a shy manner.
"So what are doing today to find Osaka?" asked Tomo.
"We have checked quite a lot" said Sakaki. "We're running out of places to look."
"That is true" said Kimura. "Today we are going to focus on the area outside the town."
"Outside the town?" asked Tomo.
"We've had no luck in this place" said Kimura. "Perhaps she wandered off and got lost in the forest, or got caught by a group of bandits" he suggested.
"Bandits?" asked Sakaki.
"We never ran into any on our way here" said Tomo.
"Bandits do possess the ability to move" said Kimura. "This could be a bit dangerous so we should stay as a group and not split up…well not you two. Sakaki you go with Tomo, I'll go off on my own so we can cover more area."
"But what about that threat?" asked Sakaki. "Tomo said the man would kill you."
"Ah I can handle myself" said Kimura. "I managed to fight Zabuza didn't I?"
"You didn't exactly beat him though did you?" asked Tomo, trying to cut through his boasting.
"Whatever" said Kimura. "Just remember to stay together. If things had gone wrong Sakaki and I could have been on our own."
"You would just hate that wouldn't you?" asked Tomo.
The black mask lay on the floor as he cleaned the large sword. His bald scarred head bobbed up and down slightly as he finished with the sword. One gloved hand reached out and grabbed the fabric mask. He stood up, pulling it over his head and down over his face. He slung the sword over his back.
"Time to go" he said to himself. He wasn't too keen, but he knew what had to be done.