Chaos herself's note:
Hey there!
Here is chapter 9 already, and I estimate that this story is going to have 22 chapters. Doesn't that sound good? Anyway, in this chapter Mito appears again and it's about time, don't you think?
Have fun reading!
Chaos
...
Chapter 9: Clandestine Chat Over Tea
"I suppose you wanted to talk about that recent mission," she said impassively, waiting.
This time Touka actually laid down her whetting stone and Kunai to turn around and face Mito. "Among other things, yes," she said likewise impassively. "I gather you know of the recent growth of our squad," the Kunoichi decided to postpone the failed assassination mission.
Mito frowned to be ignored, but recovered quickly. "Yes. You've done well… in that regard. We're going to need all the help that we can get. I met Chiyo with your message. She seems surprisingly capable, given her age and size. What are her particular talents?"
Touka nodded curtly. "I thought her useful despite her not being an actual Kunoichi...but this'll change in no time. She has a remarkable Chakra control and she is quite familiar with poisons. The Kiss of the Dragon was her concoction," she conceded.
Mito smiled. "Then I am sure she is an excellent addition to your cause… I suppose you did think to ask where she acquired her knowledge of poisons?" She crossed her arms.
"She was looking for a means of retaliation...now she's an orphan, which is another useful trait," Touka's lips actually curled up a fraction as she said this. "We can't rely on clan brats only after all...since we have to be careful about our operations staying hidden. And no one will ask where an orphaned civilian girl might go," she stated and shuffled toward her worktop to pour two cups of tea from her pot and shove one of them in Mito's direction.
"Thank you," she said for the tea's sake. "I applaud your cleverness, Irakusa. I have another potential recruit that you might find… interesting." She sipped her tea, pausing for effect. "I think you might quite enjoy her, in fact." She smiled to herself.
"Oh?" Touka simply lifted an eyebrow. "Tell me about her," she wanted to know while she sipped on her own cup and leaned her back against the edge of the worktop.
"By all appearances, she seems completely loyal to the Senju, but given certain aspects of her character, I have my doubts. However, if it turns out that she is as true as she confesses, she will be a useful tool indeed. I know that if I submit her to your capable hands, you will remove all of my doubts for me." She lowered her teacup, wanting full view of Touka's reaction when she said the name. "Kasumi Uchiha. Do you know of her?"
The Kunoichi had seemed neutral when she listened; but once the name 'Uchiha' popped up her face became darker. "An Uchiha loyal to the Senju?" she questioned with a voice dripping of suspicion. She was quiet for quite a while and it almost seemed as if she had grown wary of Mito, too, at this point. "Fine. Send her here for play," she decided with a cruel glint to her stare.
Mito nodded once, returning her attention to her tea. "I understand your suspicion. I felt the same. But she seems to value the peace for the safety of her son, Kagami. You have my permission to use any method you deem necessary to prove her loyalty. And, Irakusa," she trailed off, her tone taking a grave turn. "If it turns out that she cannot be trusted, I don't need to tell you that she will need to be eliminated. If that is the case, though… you will need to ensure that her son is dealt with as well. He will present a problem, otherwise." Her eyes were cold, merciless. It was not a decision she would make lightly.
Touka nodded slightly. "That goes without saying," she stated calmly, then blinked at Mito. "Do you want me to have another go at her clan chief, too, while I'm at it?" she offered by the way.
Mito gave her a strange look. "The failed attempt at Madara's life will have consequences that we cannot yet foresee. He will be wary, a cornered wolf. Best let that one lie, at least for now. I'll think of something. This setback will cause problems for me, and I'm going to need some time. However, that brings up another major issue I've been meaning to tell you." She drained the rest of her tea and set the empty cup down. "Do you know of the bijuu?"
"I am aware of that. And I would rather have you stay put so I can stage this as a single attempt of the lone suspicious war veteran, that I am," Touka spoke her mind dauntless that Madara would be on her heels now. And the look she gave Mito told that she both expected and wanted a violent backlash; she did not seem suicidal or dumb with hatred though. "The nine tailed beasts. What of them?" she motioned for Mito to share her knowledge and issues.
Mito held her gaze for a moment, gauging the Madara situation. "Fine. If you're eager to wrangle Madara, I won't stop you." She sighed. "The nine tailed beasts, yes. Many have believed them to be only legend and conjecture. They're real… and I have four of them in my possession."
"Interesting. Go on," was all Touka said. She was still calm even though she blinked curtly in surprise, but she didn't seem afraid or greedy for that power Mito currently wielded.
"Messages have been set to the five corners of the world, proposing the establishment of legitimate nations and hidden Shinobi villages. My husband and I have collected the tailed beasts to distribute evenly amongst the newly fledged villages to equalize the power and promote peace."
"And you're really going to give them away to our enemies?" Touka deadpanned. "At least after erasing the Uchiha, I hope?" she snorted. Apparently she disagreed with Hashirama's plans here.
"Putting the nations on equal footing will discourage the notion of war," Mito argued, unperturbed. "And whether or not the Uchiha are erased depends entirely on our actions. It's only going to happen as fast as we can make it happen. I hope that we can achieve the neutralization of the Uchiha Clan before such decisions need to be made. I am almost certain, though, that if we can simply cut off the head, the rest of the clan will easily fall into line."
"You don't really believe that, do you? Giving away the bijuu is like giving away all your swords and Kunai and Shuriken and armour and everything to your enemies, helping them re-arm while de-arming yourself," Touka stated firmly. "Besides...if you have the bijuu to eliminate your enemies, this entire organisation is basically just for intel," she seemed a little darker now, as if she just had received a low blow to her pride.
Mito hesitated. "I trust my husband," she clipped, dodging a full answer. "And we can't use the bijuu to protect this village from the enemies within, after all."
"But you don't trust him enough to not act behind his back or you wouldn't be here discussing the death of our enemies here...enemies, Hashirama-sama doesn't see as fiends anymore," Touka replied levelly. "It's all a matter of control...and every war demands for sacrifices; there's bound to be collateral damage," the warrior spoke coldly. "And you said you, Mokuren, have already a bunch of them captured...so you possess the necessary control - then use it!" she demanded.
"You ask me to betray my husband in this matter, and that I will not do. When we started down this road, you promised to uphold his ideals in the same breath that you promised to protect him. Or do you no longer trust in your clan chief?" She leveled a stare at Touka, testing her calmly.
"I ask you to protect your husband with the same devotion I show to the good of my clan." Her tone was still calm but there was a glacial edge to it. "I'm willing to do anything to protect my people. I think I should have made that obvious by now when I was even willing to lay with the devil for the good of Hashirama-sama, who has been lulled by those blasted Sharingan eyes as it seems. I may have failed this time, but here I stand and am working on the next attempt to fulfill my deed. And what have you done for him with all that power you possess in your small hands? With all the bijuu and Hashirama-sama having your ear, as you claimed?" she almost hissed. "Don't ever tell me again I'm not willing to fight and die for the Senju!"
Mito blinked, seemingly affronted by the outburst. "We fight a different kind of war, now, Irakusa," she said, almost gently. "A war of politics, and shadows. A war of soft words, and being in the right place at the right time. It is something that my husband has been trained to do since birth, as I have been trained. I trust you to lead the fight. I need you to trust me in this. There is a more urgent matter at hand."
"Soft words don't work on a man like Madara Uchiha. That is proven now and for all," Touka replied coldly. "Next time I'm doing it my way. Shadows and steel and blood - his blood!" she decided. "You go ahead and be a politician, lull him if you can, be there where he sees you...so he doesn't see me standing behind him with my blade aimed for his vitals!" Touka placed her cup with a quiet 'thud' on the worktop, then crossed her arms. "What could be more urgent than killing our enemies?" At least she was still willing to listen.
"Ah, well…" Mito mused, seemingly back on equal footing. "You'll like this one, as it is related to killing enemies. With my 'small hands' I found some interesting documentation that states that Madara desires the tailed beasts for himself. Whatever you're planning to do, Touka-san… I urge you to do it soon."
"Consider it done." Seemingly Touka was back to formal business herself. "What are these documents about, by the way?"
"Just a note from him to my husband stating that the Uchiha ought to have at least half if he considers them to be friends, and that he might send a… representative… to collect them." She gave a wry smile.
"And what's your husband's response to that?" She arched a brow. "Is he still over the moon for the Uchiha? Because I don't see that man on the guillotine for treason right now…"
She sighed deeply. "I have no such note from Hashirama to Madara. I can only presume that, if such a note exists, it's tucked away in Madara's safekeeping. This was a while ago, though, and no one has taken them from me yet, so maybe, maybe…" she didn't sound convinced. "Maybe this has all blown over already. Obviously, there's no way to bring such a thing up without admitting that I went digging for intel and giving myself away. We just have to work with what we've got."
"I can have one of our squad find out if such a note exists and what it contains," Touka offered. Obviously she already was in the middle of planning a reconnaissance mission in her mind. "After that we can take the appropriate steps to cross Madara's plans more efficiently…"
Mito offered a curt nod. "Is there anything else?"
"I'm going to devise each new member a set of missions to prove themselves before we can firstly, truly trust them and secondly, be sure they're ready for the real thing," Touka informed her. "Also I want to discuss how we operate this squad more efficiently. We need headquarters, we need schedules, we need structure…and more manpower."
"Whatever you need, I will make sure that you get it. It might be wise to construct a new headquarters for this express purpose. I can get Hashirama to do that under some pretense of a personal project. He won't deny me that. Structure and schedules will come with manpower, and that I am certain I can help you with. It might be worth looking into the wives of the clan leaders. If they're anything like the Hyuuga or the Uchiha, the women are being kept out of the loop and will want to have a stake in their own futures. I'm sure I can glean some strength from there. Once you have enough recruits, you can set them to work with the schedules, and a structure will work itself out naturally. Will that be sufficient?"
"Good. We'll leave the matter at that for now then," she didn't seem quite satisfied yet. "I'll inform you of any new recruits from the other clans...I have plans for tea with Tsubaki and Akoneito later. Do you wish to join the party or do you plan to stay in the shadows for now until I give the final clear to reveal yourself as Mokuren to them? I do understand you're in a delicate position as Hashirama-sama's wife and such...while I have a lot more freedom to act on my own," Touka considered calmly.
"My identity is a danger to us both. If you think it will help you to secure their loyalty, I will concede to your judgment, but if I am revealed to the wrong people, it could spell disaster." She waited calmly, clearly fifty fifty on the choice.
Touka nodded, approving. "That's what I was implying," she simply said. "So… I recommend you keep everything smooth on the surface and throw the enemies my way, and I take care of them. One by one…" she tapped on the worktop to underline her words as if she was stabbing bugs with her fingernails. "I think it wise if the fewer people know about your involvement the better."
"Very well. Leave the clan wives to me, then," she said with a conspiratorial smile.
"...so my 'tea parties' may become larger," Touka grinned back somberly. She officially hated socialising but she obviously didn't turn down the meetings with the Aburame and Inuzuka ladies.
"I'll send some more tea, then, too," she offered with a smirk.
Touka nodded and grinned back faintly. "See you around, Mokuren."
"As long as I'm alive," she promised.
