Chapter Four
The crowded streets of Tanzaku Quarters were slowly but surely beginning to thin out as the awestruck spectators retreated indoors to enjoy the glittering game rooms and festive bathhouses lining the streets. Walking slowly down the vibrant street taking in the calling vendors and hostesses on the porches of their glittering stands and shops, it was easy to forget the woes and dangers of the shinobi world. Lively music permeated the evening air as a warm gentle breeze carried the tantalizing aromas of sumptuous cuisine. Minato hadn't realized that he had been smiling until he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby display window as Rin pulled him past, brown eyes alight as she pointed and gasped at the shimmering lanterns high above them.
Behind them, Tsunade stood watching patiently as her petite apprentice paused to admire a basket of kittens tumbling and mewling over each other. There was a dull blast followed by a vibrant explosion of colors as the inky night sky lit up. Minato felt Rin's small fingers tug the sleeve of his tracksuit and turned to give her a fond smile as her face lit up.
"I'm cold." A tiny voice meekly whispered barely audible above the festive din. Blue eyes met dusty-brown irises as the spiky-haired jounin took in the youth's shivering form. Although he only seemed to be a four years younger than Minato, he was as slight as Obito and Kakashi. Like the silver-haired prodigy, the lids of his rust-colored eyes seemed perpetually weighed down by sleep or boredom. When he spoke, his voice was soft with a subtle huskiness that hinted at his burgeoning masculinity.
"We should stop for the night." Minato declared as he turned towards the rest of their party. Tsunade seemed to have read his mind as she was already approaching one of the hostesses beckoning from the entrance of a small bathhouse. The hostess smiled and led them into the small lobby of the bathhouse. Minato left Rin at Daisuke's side as he joined Tsunade at the counter.
"It's alright." Tsunade said without turning to face him as he dug into his pocket for some money. "I've got it." When she felt his bemusement, she turned and gave him a challenging smirk. "What? You thought I'd gambled away all my earnings?"
"Gambled?"Minato blinked with a confused smile. "Why…would I think you'd gam—"
"Never mind that!" Tsunade said quickly cutting him off. "I've got money and that's all you need to know."
"Right." Minato said as he returned his wallet to his inner pocket. "Then I'll just get the next one." He was about to retract his hand from the counter when he felt her much smaller fingers wrap around his palm. Striking honey-brown eyes softened as she blinked up at him from beneath the graceful arch of her long lashes.
"Don't look." Although she was leaning towards him with a suggestive smile, her voice was low and serious. "But we're being followed."
"How many?" Minato asked pretending to not know the answer. While he hadn't expected the others to have picked up on this, he was troubled that Tsunade hadn't noticed their tail sooner.
"I'm not sure." Tsunade replied coolly, the slightest crease of her eyebrow the only hint of tension in her body. Her gaze traced Minato's eyes as they shifted towards his right shoulder where Daisuke and the girls were admiring the intricate patterns on the young hostess' kimono. "I see. So you're using him as bait, huh? Do you think it wise?" She wondered as she read the blond jounin's intentions in his icy blue gaze.
"You said it yourself." Minato stated quietly, his elbow grazing hers slightly as he slipped his hand into his inner pocket to inspect the kunai he had strapped to his body. "If Lady Chiyo's poison was complete, then Daisuke would be dead by now or pretty close to it. The fact that he's still alive makes him an invaluable asset to her experiment. She will go to any lengths to recover him but cannot risk his body being damaged in anyway."
"So we let them grab him? Just like that?" Tsunade's powerful fist tightened on the polished counter as Minato turned to face her. "Hasn't he been through enough?"
"He's still alive isn't he?" Minato asked narrowing his eyes cruelly.
"I'll lead you to your suite now." The hotel manager said as he walked around the counter, holding up a bundle of keys with a broad grin. His smile faltered when he noticed the frostiness of Tsunade's gaze as she marched off to get the others. "I'm terribly sorry about the wait. I hope your girlfriend's not cross with you."
Heat flooded Minato's cheeks as he stumbled backwards, sputtering and stuttering foolishly at the bemused manager. Before he could correct the manager, his student had pulled him towards the staircase leading up to their room on the second floor. As they reached the door to their suite, Tsunade turned and handed the keys to Shizune with trembling hands, watching quietly as the petite brunette turned the keys in the lock before sliding the door open for the others to step through.
"Daisuke," Minato said placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder. The youth turned and gave him a quizzical look as Minato nudged him back towards the stairs. "We should probably give the girls some privacy to get settled in." When the redhead didn't pick up on his meaning Minato winked and gave him a kind smile. "I hear the hot springs around here do wonders for injuries and ailments."
"Namikaze." Tsunade growled. "A word." Before Minato could articulate a response or even protest, the blonde Sannin's fingers had already tightened around the front of his tracksuit, pulling him down until their faces were at eyelevel.
"Tsunade-hime what's the meaning of this?" Minato blurted out as she slammed him against the wall.
"Our orders were to return Daisuke to the Hidden Leaf immediately for treatment and assessment." She ground out through gritted teeth. "Sarutobi-sama was pretty clear when he said that he was sending a different team after Lady Chiyo. I don't know why you're so upset by this Chiyo character but I won't let you defy the Hokage's direct orders for your own ego." Minato's gaze hardened as he slowly freed his vest from her viselike grip.
He parted his lips to say something but abruptly froze and turned in time to dodge a kunai that had been hurled at him. Pulling out a pair of kunai from his inner pockets with one hand as he whipped around to grab a hold of Daisuke with the other, Minato positioned his body protectively in front of the redhead edging him out of harm's way.
A second assailant leapt through the nearby window, forcing Tsunade to twist and shield Daisuke's exposed side with her back. Minato calmly grabbed hold of the trembling redhead as he flickered them away from the shards of broken glass. As he delivered Daisuke to a safe corner of the corridor, he heard the painful crunching of bones as Tsunade punched the second assassin back through the window he had broken.
"Look out!" Minato called as he hurried to deflect the attack from Tsunade's blind spot as the first assailant lunged at her. A quick flick of his wrist deftly deflected the attack as Minato spun, catching the hostile with a well-placed kick to the gut. The man cried out in pain as he crashed against the opposite wall with a deafening roar. Before he could regain his bearings, Minato's hand was closing around his throat and hoisting him to his feet.
Tsunade suddenly appeared at his side, plunging a chakra-reinforced fist into his chest, completely shattering his ribcage. Blood sprayed out of the dying ninja's mouth prompting Minato to release him as he crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap. Anger surged through the blond jounin's veins as he turned to give Tsunade a withering glare. His fury was short-lived as he took in the Sannin's trembling form. Her knees buckled beneath the weight of her body as she staggered forward, eyes transfixed on the blood-soaked sleeve of his tracksuit. Minato opened his arms and caught her before she could crash into a nearby table, gently lowering her down to the floor.
"Come Shizune." Minato called without looking up when he sensed Rin and Shizune watching them from the room door. Shizune's black eyes widened as she took in the bloodied corpse at their feet.
"S-so much b-b-blood." Tsunade's palms trembled on the floor beneath her as she slumped against the nearby wall. "I'm sorry I—can't—I'm so sorry…" Honey-colored eyes slowly turned dull and unseeing. Shizune flew to her master's side, gently pulling her into a tight embrace with one hand shielding her eyes as chakra flooded into her free palm. Minato's eyes widened as he watched the young girl calmly sedate the cowering Sannin with a practiced ease.
A medic with haemophobia?
Minato's eyes traced Tsunade's to the broken shell of their attacker. Blue eyes narrowed suspiciously as they took in the copious amount of blood seeping into the carpet around the fallen shinobi. He calmly rose to his feet, unzipping the vest of his tracksuit which he held in front of the corpse, blocking him from Tsunade's gaze.
The precision of her attack shattered his ribcage, rupturing his internal organs completely. Given her phobia and experience with medical ninjutsu, there's no way she would have killed him in such a messy way…unless.
Minato turned to watch Shizune help her master to her feet and lead her towards their suite. When he was sure that Tsunade's back was completely to them, he turned to inspect the corpse, lifting the roof of its gaping mouth with the tip of his kunai. At first Minato stared quietly into the bloody crevice, blue eyes searching the overflowing orifice until they spotted the half-severed tongue peeking out from the back of the corpse's throat.
"Sensei, what happened?" Rin asked as she ran to help Shizune guide Tsunade inside.
"It's all my fault." Daisuke's shoulders were slumped as tears slowly streamed from his eyes. "I don't know why but I…I just froze. I couldn't move. If you hadn't…" Minato watched as he slowly pushed his body off the wall he had been leaning against, brown eyes ablaze with rage and indignation. "I shouldn't be here! It's because of me all these things are happening." As the redhead turned to flee Minato felt his body move as his fingers closed tightly around his upper arm, holding him firmly in place.
"Come with me."
Daisuke could only utter an awkward protest as Minato swept them down the staircase and through the crowd of bemused guests gathering in the lobby. They rounded a corner and burst through the door leading towards a small courtyard.
"Show me your hand." Minato said as he paused to light a nearby lantern hanging on the wall. Daisuke gave him a bemused look as he watched him dip the tip of his kunai into the lantern's flames before turning around to face him. "Hold out your hand please."
"You think they're using me to track you guys down?" Daisuke asked quietly as he obediently stretched out his hand for the blond to inspect.
"I don't think, I know." Minato replied confidently as he slowly but surely lowered the heated metal unto the redhead's exposed flesh. The youth bit down on his lower lip with enough force to draw blood as he creased his eyebrows in anguish.
At first the sizzle of burning flesh was the only sound that filled the air between them as Minato pressed the gleaming weapon against Daisuke's slender wrist. Minato's ears suddenly picked up the unmistakable hum of chakra as blue tendrils sprang out of the redhead's back. Daisuke cried out in shock as Minato approached him, his kunai poised to strike.
"Back then, when you claimed that this was all your fault," Minato paused as his eyes narrowed. "You knew. Didn't you?!" The redhead flinched at the harshness of his tone as shame bowed his head.
"Gomen…nasai." Daisuke's dry lips parted ever so slightly as he finally lifted his gaze to meet Minato's. "She kept talking about your chakra being sealed away and I wasn't sure—I didn't know if—"
"You didn't think we would survive an ambush did you?" Minato asked with a small smile. Daisuke blinked up at him as the blond let out a dry chuckle with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Even though they betrayed you, your allegiance still lies with Sunagakure."
"How…how long? How long have you known?"
"Since I caught you eavesdropping on us back at the cave." Minato replied as he wiped his kunai clean on his sleeve before stowing it away.
"I see." Daisuke said falling to his knees, brown eyes calmly meeting Minato's gaze.
"What are you doing?" Minato asked tilting his head slightly to the side as he watched Daisuke present his exposed neck to him.
"I betrayed you and remained silent when I knew that we were being followed, risking your lives even after you risked yours to save mine." His voice tinged with grief and shame. "I don't deserve to live."
Minato considered him quietly for several moments as bemusement gradually gave way to amusement. Without thinking, he reached out and placed his hands on either side of Daisuke's shoulders, guiding him to his feet. When the redhead gave him a befuddled look, Minato could only scratch the back of his neck with an awkward smile and a shrug of his shoulders.
"Are you hungry?" Minato asked. Daisuke was about to respond when the loud growl of his stomach interrupted. The blond's shoulders shook in amusement as he turned to lead the way. "This way. I heard that there's a shop nearby that serves the best dangos. We can bring some back for the girls."
They walked in silence for an eternity listening to the quiet sounds of their footsteps upon the brightly lit streets of Tanzaku Quarters. Minato could feel the redhead's gaze boring into his side as he waited patiently for the stream of questions he knew would come.
"I don't understand." Daisuke said at last as Minato handed him a menu to look over. "In the shinobi world, treachery is punishable by death."
"Indeed." Minato agreed calmly.
"So why? Why didn't you kill me back there? Or expose me in front of the others?" Daisuke asked his voice cracking with emotion as he slammed his fists against the table. "Why did you just brush it off? You're a shinobi so I know you've killed tons of enemies—even children younger than me. You barely know me so you can't have grown too attached to me to do me in."
"Oh?" Minato sighed arching an eyebrow slightly with a knowing smile.
"You're attached to me?"
"Somewhat." Minato said his gaze shifting towards the red locks dangling above Daisuke's ear. "You remind me a lot of someone I know."
"Is it Kushina Uzumaki?" Minato blinked at him, clearly taken aback as the redhead's eyes narrowed. "I overheard you and Tsunade say something about me being an Uzumaki and I heard Rin refer to someone by that name when Shizune mentioned it to her."
"What do you know about her?" Minato asked doing his best to avoid mentioning the redhead by name, slightly annoyed at the memories his former lover seemed to stir within him. He paused and closed his eyes enjoying the sumptuous aroma wafting in from the restaurant kitchen.
"Not much, I just know that you've both been very close since childhood." Daisuke replied with a small shrug.
"You're both more alike than you'll ever know." He felt the youth's eyes widen at this while he calmly pulled out the green frog-shaped wallet his sensei had given him for his birthday last year.
"She betrayed you as well?" Daisuke gasped.
"No, not at all." Minato chuckled. "And for the record, I don't think you are a traitor. In fact I think it's admirable that you waited this long to turn on us given how little you know about us."
"How then?" Daisuke wondered intrigued. "How are we alike?"
"You may not have realized this by now but even though you bear another family name, the same Uzumaki blood that runs through my friend runs through you. Long ago your ancestors' home was destroyed forcing them to flee to the farthest corners of the shinobi world desperate for sanctuary. As you've probably already guessed, your body possesses an unnaturally vital life-force that allows you to endure things that would have killed most normal shinobi. It's the reason Lady Chiyo sought you out to test her toxins."
"I see." Daisuke mumbled quietly to himself. "So the same thing happened to Kushina then? Konoha must have done the same thing to her, then? Right?"
"When we were kids, she immigrated to Konoha and attended the same class with me. Children and adults alike viewed her foreign birth unfavorably. They shunned and teased her mercilessly forcing her to become withdrawn and hot-tempered. Even then, she still sought their approval and acceptance above all else—vowing to win their respect by becoming Hokage. Some shinobi from Kumogakure kidnapped her one night and attempted to return to her village to experiment on her. Even though she had been shunned and ridiculed by its people, Konoha was the only home she had left and so she left trails of brilliant red hair for its shinobi to follow hoping that someone would care enough to notice her disappearance and even come to her aid."
"Did it work?" The shadows obscuring Daisuke's eyes darkened as he lowered his head once move. "Did anyone go to her aid?"
"Yes." Minato replied. "She was rescued and returned to Konohagakure." Minato replied without further elaboration. "Like you, she longed to return to her village even after all the pain its inhabitants had caused her. Like you, she left a trail of thread to guide her rescuers as her captors led her further and further away from the only home she had ever known."
"Aren't you concerned?" Daisuke wondered. "In your own analogy you're the bad guy whisking me away from my people and the only home I've ever known."
"Is that how you see it? Good versus evil? Light versus darkness?" Minato chuckled dryly. "I thought you of all people would appreciate the complexity of human nature to understand that life is hardly ever simple or convenient enough to paint things black and white."
"What are you talking about?" Daisuke asked narrowing his brown eyes.
"Surely you wouldn't call anyone who would knowingly inject another living being with deadly toxins good simply because you hail from the same nation." Minato replied. "Nor would you call someone who saves the poison's victim and destroys the facility where the toxin was being manufactured evil simply because he is from another country?"
"So it's all subjective, then?" Daisuke wondered as he turned to watch Minato's expression for a reaction. "Depending on where you stand a person's actions could either help or hurt you and isn't that how we determine good and evil for ourselves?" He pressed.
"Not exactly." Minato replied. "After all, aren't there some things we all—despite our different backgrounds, nationalities and ancestry—can agree are truly admirable or abhorrent? For instance rape and infanticide or altruism and clemency."
"I'm lost." Daisuke said with a weary sigh. "I can't tell if you're trying to recruit or alienate me."
"Neither can I." Minato admitted with a small shrug. "This is uncharted territory for me and I'm not quite certain of how to proceed—actually, I misspoke. I do know how to proceed but I'm not quite sure of how to do it."
"If you know what you have to do it, then you must do it." The redhead said stopping to block his path. "I'm serious. I've betrayed your trust. There's no way you can trust me after this. It's probably better if you kill me now and cut your losses."
"That's true but who's to say my way of thinking is right or that history will look kindly upon me when all this is said and done? If I kill you now I will have relieved myself of a lesser burden but endangered my entire nation in the future. With you dies the secrets to Chiyo's toxins."
"And if you don't kill me and I betray you again, you will surely die."
"If you betray me again." Minato emphasized with a small smile.
"Exactly! If? You can't be sure that I will or that I won't? Surely you wouldn't trust me—"
"You were dealt a cruel hand. You've endured a pain far greater than anything I'll probably ever know or experience." Minato said abruptly placing a hand on the petite redhead's shoulder as he turned to face him. "It's why I know better than to take what happened tonight personally. You probably suspected that those two who attacked us would overpower us which was why you couldn't risk helping us. I get it—trust me I understand what you've been through almost as well as you do."
"So why then?" Daisuke asked unable to keep the emotion from his voice, small fists clenched tightly at his side as he glared defiantly up at Minato. "Why would you trust me and spare my life?"
"Back then I noticed that you didn't get emotional until you noticed how distraught Tsunade was. You've been around death so much that the sight of it doesn't faze you anymore. Given your past experiences, it's safe to say that there are few things that do. In fact, the only thing that seems capable of eliciting an emotion from you is fear itself." Daisuke's eyes widened as he averted his gaze without uttering a syllable in response. "Empathy is a powerful thing. It can change a person's entire way of thinking and doing things once they experience it."
"I hope I'm not interrupting what I imagine is a very touching moment." Minato had sensed Tsume Inuzuka's chakra following them long before she had decided to emerge from her hiding place within the shadows of a large water tank.
"Not at all Tsume-san." Minato replied turning to face her with an easy smile. "I'd expected you to join us sooner." Minato said lifting up the bags of takeout in his left hand as he leapt unto the windowsill of a second story window. "Where're the others?"
"Hizashi's off tailing that second attacker from before." Tsume replied as Minato held the window open for her to slip in. "You guys really did a number on him. I'll be shocked if he doesn't bleed out before Hyuga reaches him."
"I'm afraid I can't really take any credit for that." Minato replied with an awkward smile. "Tsunade-hime really is something."
"Well if she had more brains than muscles she wouldn't have killed his partner before we could interrogate him." Tsume grumbled as she turned to help Daisuke through the window.
"She didn't kill him." Minato replied. "He bit off his own tongue."
"Sure didn't look like that from where I was standing." Tsume replied. "But it makes sense."
"How long had they been tailing you?" Fugaku Uchiha asked as he emerged from their suite. Minato greeted him with a polite bow as the dark-haired clan lord stowed a large storage scroll in his flak jacket pocket.
"About two days, give or take." Minato replied. "Although I'm not quite sure where they came from." As he spoke, Minato noticed Fugaku's eyes shift towards Daisuke's petite form and moved to stand in front of him protectively. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed imperceptibly for a split second before he turned his attention towards Rin who was standing at the doorway watching them nervously. Minato wondered how long she had been standing there as he turned to give her a warm smile. His student returned his smile half-heartedly as she returned her attention towards the stern-faced clan lord.
"Where's Orochimaru-sama?" Minato wondered as he turned to scan the corridor for the Snake Sannin.
"He and Hyuga went after the other Suna-nin." Fugaku replied. "When you're done eating meet me downstairs in the bathhouse."
Minato could count on one hand the amount of times he had spoken to the notoriously aloof Uchiha clan lord. Excluding tonight's interaction, they had almost exclusively happened in the presence of others—mostly his friend Mikoto. Even though he was only four years older than Minato himself, the blond-haired jounin still found Fugaku Uchiha's presence more intimidating than Hiruzen-sama's. Although he had only heard about the Nidaime's demeanor and exploits from secondhand sources, Minato was always struck at how similar the Uchiha clan lord seemed to the younger Senju.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Fugaku asked by way of greeting as Minato joined him in the bathhouse changing room. "Surely you've noticed the chakra strings protruding from his back."
"I did." Minato replied quietly. "But I think we can trust him."
"Oh?" Fugaku said with an incredulous chuckle. When Minato said nothing in response, Fugaku turned to apprise him with a studious frown. "Namikaze, aren't you supposed to be some sort of genius?"
"Look I know it seems dumb but trust me, okay? He won't let me down." Fugaku paused to slip the hand he had been resting on the inside of his kimono into his left sleeve before responding.
"He's nothing like her." Fugaku said at last as he prepared to leave.
"This has nothing to do with her—" Minato snapped as he turned to level the Uchiha with an icy glare.
"Everything you do has something to do with her." Fugaku chuckled as he paused at the doorway. "Why would this be any different?"
"Because this is about him helping us catch Lady Chiyo." Minato replied suddenly indignant as he turned to face him.
"Indeed." Fugaku said his voice laced thickly with skepticism.
"For obvious reasons he is important to Lady Chiyo's experiment and must therefore be recovered unharmed." Minato explained. "Because this plan failed, we know that she will try again—who knows? She might even decide to retrieve him herself. And when she does, that's when we kill her."
"So there's an antidote for her toxin?" Fugaku asked sarcastically. Minato opened and closed his mouth several times to retort before thinking better of it. It was clear that the Uchiha clan lord's mind was already made up and nothing he or anyone would say was going to change it. "Truth be told Namikaze-san, I'm thoroughly disappointed in you. I thought that you of all people would be above falling to pieces at a lover's rejection."
"For the last time this isn't about Kushina leaving me at the altar! Okay?!"
"Isn't it though?" Fugaku challenged. "Tsume told me about your little speech earlier. You're smarter than this Minato! Surely you know better than to give your enemy the match he will use to set your house on fire."
"If that's the way you feel then we have nothing further to discuss." Minato said as he moved to walk away. But Fugaku stepped directly into his path blocking him from leaving.
"On the contrary, we have plenty." Fugaku hissed as his gaze lowered to Minato's exposed chest visible through the gap of his kimono. "Is it my imagination or is something suppressing your chakra? And don't deny it because Hizashi pointed it out earlier." When Minato said nothing, the dark-haired clan lord stepped forward, roughly pulling aside the blond's kimono to expose his chest.
"It's on my back. Above my tailbone." Minato mumbled sheepishly as Fugaku scanned his torso for the seal's markings. Fugaku straightened up after briefly inspecting the area Minato had indicated. The blond awkwardly diverted his gaze, eyebrows furrowed defiantly as he resisted the urge to explain himself.
"That settles it." Fugaku said as he came to stop directly in front of Minato. "Minato Namikaze, I am officially relieving you of command of this mission. In order to ensure your—"
"Fugaku-senpai, that won't be necessary." Minato said surrendering his wrists without resistance as the Uchiha clan lord prepared to weave a hand sign. The Uchiha considered him with a suspicious frown even deigning to activate his Sharingan to ensure that the blond wouldn't resort to any foul play.
"Very well," Fugaku said with a small sigh. "It seems that you are truly surrendering peacefully and while I am grateful—" Minato gasped as the waves of searing pain racked through his lithe frame forcing him to his knees with a pained cry. "I'll use this to keep you in line. Just in case." Minato cracked an eyelid open and shifted his gaze from his outstretched palms to his exposed torso. Angry red markings burned into his chest before vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. His feet felt heavy and numb as Fugaku guided him slowly to his feet.
"Time to get you back to Konoha." The Uchiha said with a firm nod.
"Was all this really necessary?" Minato wondered blinking vigorously as he struggled to regain his composure. "I mean if this jutsu is what I think it is then I know how draining it will be on you. Surely you wouldn't jeopardize your mission because of me." He taunted through clenched teeth.
"You are my mission." Minato swaggered dangerously at the Uchiha's words as a harrowing thought suddenly occurred to him. Fugaku's grip tightened around his waist as he steadied the blond before proceeding.
"You were never here to kill Chiyo were you?" Minato asked managing a weak chuckle as the pain of Fugaku's seal intensified. "Hiruzen-sama sent you to retrieve me the moment he realized that an Uzumaki was involved, didn't he."
"The fact that it took you this long to make that deduction proves that you are emotionally compromised." Fugaku said, his tone low and somber. "Believe me, I derive no pleasure from making you suffer like this. And if it were up to me someone else would be here in my stead."
"I understand." Minato's voice drooped as his vision and stamina began to fade. He opened his mouth to say something else but his body finally succumbed to the Uchiha clan lord's ninjutsu plunging him into a deep restless slumber.
Sorry it took so long to update but work has been incredibly hectic for me. Thankfully I've finally recovered from my debilitating writer's block and expect to see this story to the end. I appreciate all your kind words of encouragement and your "favorites" and story alerts. You guys are the only reason I was encouraged to begin this story in the first place. I've tried as much as possible to keep the characters as faithful to their portrayals in the anime and manga. Please let me know if any of them seem OOC and I'll work on fixing this as soon as possible. Thanks again for taking the time to read this. Hope to see you all back again next week.