AN: Chapter 9, more OCs, more plot vital dialogue and events. Just two more chapters and these OCs are outta everyone's life and it will be to the Akatsuki.
Gremlin Jack: The scene was a reference to Breaking Bad. I know that explosion would have desecrated him into nothing but I couldn't pass up the reference. It was purely for fun and probably won't be the last time I bend logic for a laugh. Sorry.
Cat Beats: Thanks. Glad to know he's a little bit tolerable since I'm absolutely rubbish at writing OCs. Also, I can't say specifically what shall happen to him, but I will say the next few chapters will not be kind to him.
Guest: I'm sorry, I did not realize that I was dragging things out. I just write what I consider important in the chapter. To answer your question, all I can say she will not be introduced willingly on either side.
Thank you for your reviews. I attempt to keep as open-minded as possible and not too butthurt when someone says something that I don't agree with. In the future, don't be afraid to ask something or give constructive criticism but do not flame because it won't help either of us.
Please excuse lack of BETA and enjoy.
Warning(s): OCs, Language
…
Wasteland
Act 1:
Chapter 9
"This failure is inexcusable, Tarou. You spent the last several months reinsuring us that K-MF-001 could eliminate the Iwagakure army occupying Kusagakure and you did not fulfil that promise."A woman's voice scolded Tarou through the speakers of a tiny monitor he and Ryouta were currently seated before.
Ryouta sighed and plopped his chin in his hand, staring at the flickering screen. The video conference with the Council, as Tarou had hyped him up about, turned to be nothing more than a television displaying static and emitting the voices of the Council members. He had spent the night ironing his best suit and reciting his forgiveness speech and improv for nothing.
"I promised you he could eliminate the Iwagakure army squatting in Old Kusagakure if you approved the field test, which he accomplished. Just in exchange of his own life." Tarou explained smoothly, adjusting himself in his seat. "That is why I am asking for your approval of K-MF-084. She can finish 001's handiwork with Iwagakure. She possesses the same strain of Mayfly as K-MF-001 and is the perfect candidate to replace him."
"Absolutely not." A man now spoke up."The purpose for K-MF-084 is specific to our intentions and her Mayfly shall not be tampered with. Due to K-MF-001's field test, Iwagakure is on the offensive and we do not have the time or resources to concentrate into shaping 084 into another 001."
"It would only take a month, at the most to weaponize her." Tarou insisted, scrambling for anything that sounded convincing. He wished Kiyoshi was here to vouch for him, but the man had fled home moments after their discussion yesterday and Tarou hadn't had the chance to inform him of the delayed meeting the next morning. Not that the man might be of much help anyway, he avoided speaking about K-MF-084 like the plague. "Just one month."
"No Tarou." Another male voice said and Tarou recognized it as the man as the employer of the shinobi he had purposely fed to K-MF-001. He still could not recall his organization's name. Branch, Twig…Trunk? "Our time and money is too limited to trust your promises again. Those men you sacrificed for one of your test runs cost me more than your little pet, each. Your authority over the Mayfly project has been revoked and funding has been cancelled. We are handing this project to another person and the project is be relocated." Tarou twitched and Ryouta heard his knuckles cracking over the noisy static followed by a sudden acceleration of temperature in the room that made him tug at his collar to relieve the heat that had struck him.
"I've worked on this project for nearly a decade…I have given you both 001 and 084. You simply can't replace me…"
"We just did, Tarou. The project shall be handled by a person whom has decades of trust with us." The female Council member retorted.
"And…who might that be?" Tarou asked, voice strained and Ryouta glanced at the door, debating if he should stay for the inevitable Mt. Tarou explosion.
"You shall meet him," The Branch, Twig, Trunk leader paused, clearing his throat. "Ahem…her, personally in a few days. She will be escorted to Kusagakure by my men to pick up K-MF-084 and all paperwork regarding her and the entire Mayfly project. Until then, you are not to tamper with K-MF-084. That is final. Goodbye Tarou." With that, the screen went black and an uncomfortable silence settled through the conference room.
After several tense seconds, Ryouta glanced at Tarou to find the man shaking, biting his bottom lip and his fat hand curled into a fist with knuckles bleach white. Immediately, the scientist chose to leave before he became subject of Tarou's rage over the Council's rejection and stood to quietly tiptoe out.
"Ryouta." Tarou sang.
Ryouta froze in the doorway, gazing back at Tarou to discover the man was polishing his crossbow once again to curb his anger, fingers quivering as he did and jaw clenched. Ryouta swallowed. "Yes, Tarou-sama?"
"Do you not have a spare tracking device from K-MF-001?"
"Yes…yes I do. It was for the chance his ever malfunctioned."
Tarou lifted his weapon, its golden sheen shining wickedly in the light. "And it is equipped with the emergency shut off?"
"Yes." Ryouta answered, admittedly unsure as to where his boss was taking this conversation.
"I want you to equip K-MF-084 with the device immediately." Tarou finally revealed, standing from his groaning seat and sheathing his bow, patting it through his dress shirt.
"Might I ask why? I see no reason why K-MF-084 would require a tracking device if she will be transferred in a matter of days…"
"Just fucking do it, Ryouta. By next week, all our jobs might be obsolete so I suggest you earn your last damned paycheck until then!" Tarou barked, making Ryouta jump back a few inches, expecting to be shot following the outburst. The black haired man nodded and groped from the doorknob when Tarou interrupted him again. "And Ryouta? Secure K-MF-084 in K-MF-001's vault after the procedure. After I announce the Mayfly project will be changing hands, including 084, I am positive Kiyoshi might attempt something. He has become very attracted to her and will not take kindly to her departure." Ryouta nodded and once Tarou waved him off, he stole the chance to separate himself from the man as quickly as possible as he began gathering his team for the abrupt surgery.
…
That morning, Kiyoshi felt like death but he forced himself to report to work and walked to the infirmity ward to check on Ayana and K-MF-084.
Yesterday, Kiyoshi had entrusted 084's wellbeing with Ayana again while he briefly ran home to check on his family after the earthquake. When he arrived, he found his house in shambles and his wife and kid outside, soaked to the bone and horribly shaken. The earthquake had dislodged a massive slab of foundation from the academy they neighboured and it had crashed directly through their roof. Thankfully, it had landed in the kitchen and did not harm to either of them as they had been sleeping soundly in their bedrooms.
His daughter, Miku, had fled into his arms, crying, and Kiyoshi asked his Sayuri if she was alright. He expected a yes or no, he did not expect his wife to explode into a fit of screaming. In began with his workload, migrating into his lack of contact with his own daughter and wife, despite spending the past week with them both, then it accelerated into accusations of him cheating and that he was sneaking away from his own family to sleep around with Ayana. It had severely startled Kiyoshi and he struggled to explain his absence was not about Ayana but a girl he was currently caring for that was sick and had left to check on her. Sayuri ignored it and wrenched a sniveling Miku from his arms, declaring she was leaving for her parents' home in the Land of Fire until their home was repaired and when she returned, she expected their home to be fixed and Kiyoshi to shape up or their marriage was over.
Kiyoshi fought with her the entire way through the house as she packed a suitcase with Miku crying on his leg. It did little to deter her and after packing a bag for both her and their daughter, she yanked Miku along and left out the door without a word. He had chased her outside but soon lost her in all the commotion between the Kusagakure residents migrating towards Old Kusagakure and the Iwagakure shinobi rushing to rope off the area so they could investigate the source of the explosion. Defeated, he walked back into his demolished home and spent the rest of the day crashed on the couch and staring out the gaping hole in his roof while listening to the shouting outside. He hadn't slept a wink that night.
His entire life was coming apart at the seams. First, there was the possibly K-MF-084 would be approved by the Council and mutated into another 001. Now, his wife was convinced he was having an affair with Ayana and threatening divorce and had dragged his own daughter away from him. He questioned if his life could worsen at this point.
"Kiyoshi-kun!" Suddenly came Ayana's scream over his thoughts. He glanced up from his feet to discover Ryouta and his team exiting the infirmity, shoving a gurney through the door with a horrified Ayana hot on their heels. On the gurney, was a cowering K-MF-084. His worse fear had become a reality.
"Hey! Stop! Wait!" Kiyoshi yelled as he cut off Ryouta, holding his hands out. He hadn't approved of any surgeries today. "What is happening? The Council…t-they approved?" Before Ryouta could explain they were simply outfitting the girl with a tracking chip under Tarou's command, said man approached from behind, face outfitted with a smile despite his inner turmoil raging on with the Council's decision.
"No, they did not. You can rest easy, Kiyoshi." Regardless hearing exactly what he wanted to hear, Kiyoshi did not rest easy because he did not trust Tarou and knew he was hiding something behind that fake smile. Those mistrusts were proven true when his superior noticed his intent stare and knew he had not fallen for his truthful lie, releasing a defeated sigh. "The Council is cancelling my control over the Mayfly project and K-MF-084 is being transferred." Ayana gasped at the news, covering her mouth and Kiyoshi could hear his crumbling world finally shatter into a million pieces.
"T-Transferred? Where? Where!?" Kiyoshi demanded, turning towards Tarou instead and grabbing his silk shirt causing the man's faux smile dropped from his flabby face. Ryouta stepped back from the range of the incoming eruption. "How could yo-?"
The words shortly died in Kiyoshi's throat as something cold and sharp poked his forehead. Everyone gasped, backing away and Ayana screamed his name, rushing forward but Ryouta caught her and wrestled her into his arms so she did not get herself potentially shot also. Kiyoshi peered over the thick rim of his glasses and saw the barrel of Tarou's hand-sized crossbow aimed at his head, the gleaming tip of cocked arrow digging into his skin and blood bubbling from the contact.
"Listen here, Kiyoshi." Tarou began, voice low and void of any of his usual cheerful tone as he stroked the trigger. Kiyoshi swallowed thickly, his heart caught in his throat. "You've brought this all on yourself. You should have known better than to become attached to a lab rat. K-MF-084 is being handed over, whether you want that or not. Do you have any objections to this?" Kiyoshi said nothing, tongue too numb to speak and Tarou smiled again, removing the bloodthirsty weapon from the man's sweaty forehead but kept it posed at him. "Perfect. Now then, the new overseer of the Mayfly project shall be here in a few days and until then, K-MF-084 will be contained in 001's vault for safekeeping. I suggest you begin gathering all your paperwork to hand over and prepare your farewell."
Tarou gestured the medical team through and Ryouta released Ayana, the woman instantly running into Kiyoshi's arms and embracing the trembling man, shaking herself. Ryouta led his team towards the surgical bay, sparing Kiyoshi a remorseful look. K-MF-084 was wheeled past and the frightened teenager reached out to Kiyoshi, the doctor grasping her thin hand before it was cruelly yanked away. Her gifted bear bounced off the gurney to the ground which none of the doctors paid mind as they carelessly trampled it before Kiyoshi could rescue it. The blonde squeezed the plush against his chest as he watched K-MF-084 vanish around the corner, his heart aching and tears stinging his eyes. Ayana gently nudged the man into the dark infirmity ward and sat him down in the chair beside K-MF-084's empty bedside before searching around for a small enough bandage for the cut on his forehead.
"How could this have happened?" Kiyoshi whispered, mindful of the children currently sleeping in the clinic. "Everything…everything I've ever had is gone. I…I have to do something. I can't let them take away K-MF-084."
"What can you do, Kiyoshi-kun?" Ayana asked as she returned with the required med, applying a droplet of antibiotic to the cut before pressing the bandage over it, careful not to glue his hair also.
"Run away. If I can somehow rescue K-MF-084, we can run away. All of us."
Ayana quirked a dark eyebrow at the broad plural use. "All of us?"
"You, I and 084. We'll all run away. My parents own a ranch in Sunagakure so we can retreat there. We can raise 084, give her the life she deserves."
Ayana gasped at the implication. "Kiyoshi-kun, what about your family? You can't just leave them behind!" She scolded, though was admittedly faltered that Kiyoshi wanted her to join him.
Kiyoshi bit his lip, the reminder of his current plight concerning his wife and daughter distressing him further. He hugged the abused bear against his chest, trying to shift himself into the mindset of a child and draw superficial comfort from the simple toy. "My wife is staying with her parents with Miku. She's threatening divorce."
Ayana gasped again, blue eyes widening at the unfathomable news. "D-Divorce? But you two seemed so happy when we last had dinner. It was two years ago, but I can't imagine why Sayuri would purpose such a thing?"
"She thinks I am having an affair with you." Kiyoshi answered quietly, twisting his golden wedding ring on his finger. It felt a thousand times heavier now and like his finger would break off.
"An affair? Between us?" Ayana remarked, voice spiking and one of the children rolled over in their bed, coughing before falling silent again. "Oh, Kiyoshi-kun. I never…I am so sorry. I'm sorry I could ever make Sayuri think such a thing. This is my fault."
"No!" Kiyoshi barked, thrusting forward from his seat and grasping Ayana's hands, holding them against his chest as he stared into her matching orbs, making the woman helplessly blush. "None of this is your fault, Ayana-chan. My marriage was doomed the moment the government overtook the Mayfly project. That isn't important right now. Right now, we need to concentrate on 084 and how we can rescue her before she is retrieved in only a few days."
"But what can we do, Kiyoshi-kun? Tarou has 084 contained in 001's vault. Neither of us has access."
Kiyoshi sighed, releasing his friend's hands as he stroked his hands through his unruly curls. "I don't know…I would need a pass card but there are only four and I can't ask anyone for theirs. I would have to steal it…I don't know!" Kiyoshi picked up the bear again and buried his face into its thinning fur. "I failed 001…I won't fail 084 too."
Ayana comforted the man with a tight hug. "You'll think of something, Kiyoshi-kun. You won't fail her, you never have. You have a few days. That should be enough time."
"I hope so…" Kiyoshi whispered, embracing her back and staring woefully at the sad bear hanging from his hand.
…
The surgery to insert the tracking device in K-MF-084 took only a few hours. Afterward, she was taken to the basement level of the laboratory and wheeled to the vault that had formerly contained K-MF-001. Ryouta followed behind his team, behind him was Tarou, smile stitched back to his face though Ryouta was unsure if his rage was still boiling so he kept his safe distance.
The vault was a brightly lit six by six foot room made of pure steel walls with matching floor and ceiling that prevented escape by use of Mayfly. There was no bed, instead a metal slab protruding from the wall was used to sleep on without the comfort of a pillow or blanketing after K-MF-001 had devoured them in a hunger-induced rampage and never been replaced. The doctors carried the unconscious K-MF-084 inside and set her on the bench before walking out and shoving the heavy vault door closed. Ryouta scanned his clearance card and the thick, cylinder locks slammed into their sockets one after another, successfully locking K-MF-084 within and anyone out.
Their required labour complete, Ryouta dismissed his unit and the doctors left, Tarou sparing them a smile which made them hurry down the hallway even faster. Ryouta stepped by to leave also but paused beside Tarou, something bothering him.
"Tarou-sama, if I may?"
"You may, Ryouta." Tarou granted.
"Why did you request K-MF-084 is be outfitted with a tracking device?"
Tarou's smile widened, becoming not so innocent any longer as his true colours began to shine through. "Wouldn't be a shame if when they came to retrieve K-MF-084 and when they were leaving the village, she just suddenly…died?" With that said, Tarou turned and left, smile intact and Ryouta felt a shiver roll down his spine.
Tarou's lack of sympathy for human life was frightening once he had been crossed. No one was safe, not even a child.
...
AN: Chapter 9 is finished and posted. Again, sorry about the lack of BETA. Just one more OC centric chapter then Kakuzu will be back and after that, no more OCs, just Akatsuki. Sorry it took so long for this background to be told. In the future, after I have long finished this story, I will edit it to cluster these chapters together. Also, I constantly post the progress of the chapters on my page so you'll know how far I am. I'm aiming a week for a chapter minimum.
Thank you for reading.