Tsume P.O.V.
Why is he here? No, honestly. Why is he here?
"Therefore voting yes on the new regulations for standard chuunin vests would harm our interests in not only…" Haimaru droned on, unending.
He's not even paying attention. He's reading a book on.. teaching? Why would Arata need to know anything about that?
"Now for the fifth topic on the floor," Dad started. "Regarding a reintroduction of the medicinal herbs contractor, Fairherbs', proposal. Representatives of Fairherbs have discreetly sent us a new offer, addressing the grievances we've had the last time." He passed out more papers. A few notable people didn't even pretend to look at them.
"I propose a referendum." Haimaru croaked out. It was starting to become his catch-phrase.
"Hisao-sama, I believe we have already gone over this several times. The deal is not worth risking straining relations between the Leaf and Sand." He added.
"Referendum in progress." Dad said, a stubborn tilt to his tone. I spotted Arata sneakily snatch a folder out of Ume's reach from the corner of my eye.
"As Haimaru-san has pointed out, the current situation between Leaf and Sand is precarious at best. I think we all remember the Gold Crisis from two years ago? Any trade between the two villages would start between merchants closer to the Kage than to the clans. And so far, besides what's put on the treaty, there hasn't been much of that."
Okay. This was it—now or never. "But isn't it more to our advantage that way? Even taking the Gold Crisis as precedence wouldn't it set a marker for the clans to initiate trade with foreign powers? It's a risky play, yes, but if it pays off it would not only expand our reach, but also our standing within the village and outside of it. People respect leaders, and that's exactly what we'd be if we only accept the offer." The hunger for respect and power among the village was far from lost for the people around here, after all. Baiting into that is an obvious play, but hopefully the correct one.
Glances were exchanged. I saw Arata's eyes widen, reading a specific section of the papers. Kaoru spoke up. "And Sand? What would they think? They might see it as independent action. A rift between Clan and Kage that they could exploit."
I opened my mouth to spe— "And what if they don't need to know?" Arata said.
"Ah. Don't talk while the adults are talking please, child." Nobuyuki's partner, Seki, interrupted in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"No, his point might hold virtue. Continue, child." Sayuri, one of the younger elders, said. Why would Sayuri of all people intervene? What is going on?
He paused, clearly irked at all the condescension, and continued. "From what's in these papers Fairherbs isn't even in Suna. It's at some near-coastal city. Hell, it probably doesn't even have shinobi involvement. Which means we could just have our civilian departments deal with them. Meaning we wouldn't have to go through the Hokage, meaning we wouldn't have a problem." What. The fuck.
"That is incredibly short-sighted child. If the Hokage—" Kaoru rebutted.
Only to be interrupted by Sayuri. "The Hokage has better things to do than investigate all of the clan's civilian dealings, even foreign ones. And even if he does he wouldn't risk getting involved if we're not dealing with Sand. It would police the clans even more than they already are, and that's something he'll try to avoid."
A short pause of silence pervaded the room.
Dad called for the vote. Four hands went up. Dad was about to call it when, to everyone's surprise, Kaoru lifted his hand.
"I trust Ume will make the necessary arrangements for the deal?" Dad said, with a slightly confused smile.
"Of course, Hisao-sama." Off to the side and back of her, Nobuyuki smiled. What?
"Now, onto the last topic on the floor…"
Arata P.O.V.
That worked? That actually worked? Does this mean Shizuka will..?
There was a strange pang in my gut.
...Figures that backwards Feudal Era politicians couldn't handle their own prejudice to get profits like this. I mean, I don't know much about herbal trade and all, but those prices? Ridiculous.
Tsume didn't look happy. That's never a good sign. That usually means harsher training sessions. And not in the helpful way.
I shuddered.
"..the last topic on the floor, regarding my daughter's nuptials—"
"HER WHAT!?" I shouted. Everything in the world stopped. Tsume? Getting married!? For what possible reason? I don't even know how to process this!
"Quiet, child. This meeting is not your playground." Seki, damnable creature, demeaned.
How can—Tsume, of all people. She's the freaking Heir, for Kami's sake. How—why didn't she tell me?!
Dad looked a little sheepish as he continued. Another surprise. "Her marriage venue still needs a location. Her fiancé Haruo has proposed having it at Spring's Meeting." The guy himself smiled smugly when mentioned.
What about Shin? Is she even thinking?!
"No rebuttal? Everyone agrees? Good. We will inform you of the date of the marriage at the next meeting. The meeting is adjourned. You may all go."
As everyone left I stayed on my pillow, still shocked. That state didn't last long, as Tsume barged up to me and came into my face.
"We need to talk. Now."
She Body-Flickered with me in tow to some random part of the Inuzuka forest.
"Are you a fucking idiot!?" Wow. That is your starter.
"I'm an idiot? That Haruo bitch? Really!? Even as a political marriage I've seen the guy around and I wouldn't trust him to hold a cup of frozen water and not have him spill it over. How the fuck would you handle him as a husband?!"
She looked enraged. "You think I had any fucking choice!?"
"Of course! You're Inuzuka Tsume of all people! Hell, you're one of the strongest people in the village, not to even talk about the clan!"
She visibly tried to collect herself. "The situation in the clan is delicate right now. Too many alliances are shifting, and the Head is losing power. This is just another compromise. We'll bounce back, and when I'm Head we'll cancel the marriage."
"That's a lot of BS." I looked away.
"Don't I fuckin' know it." She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"And what about Shin?"
She glared at me. "You don't get to talk about Shin."
"What do you mean I can't talk about Shin? He knows ri—"
"You don't get to talk about him. Why? Cause you don't know shit. What the hell was that in the Monthly anyway? You aren't even supposed to be there, let alone talk."
I crossed my arms. "I fixed the situation for you didn't I? And now Shizuka will get her treatment."
"Yeah, but at what cost?"
I made an effort to keep my mouth closed. "So you're one of those people now? Just abandoning everyone around you for power? I see."
Her eyes went wide. "Are you actually insane. You can't even remember that it was me who pushed for the deal in the first place!? Actions have consequences, Arata. And what you did had major ones."
"What consequences? The deal went through."
She punched the tree next to her. In half. "Political ones. Sayuri didn't aid you out of the goodness of her heart, trust me on that. No, she's a conniving bitch who makes deals with whoever she wants just to get more power. And from what I can guess, it was with Nobuyuki. Hell, now that I'm looking back on it, it was probably a ploy to get us to butt heads publicly, undermining even more of our authority. And you fell for it."
I retreated away from her. "You're paranoid."
"And you're dumb. You don't understand, and that's why I didn't want you there. What are we gonna do now, huh? Now that she's in line with Nobuyuki anything could happen. Another "rebalancing" of votes? Access to Hiden? Electing a new Head? They could get away with assassination."
And who would be the first in line..
I trembled. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Her demeanor softened a bit. She closed her eyes. "Just don't interfere again, alright?"
I nodded, a little scared. She Body-Flickered away.
Fuck.
"Mmmm." She murmured, her eyes closed, face downcast.
"MMMmm." She murmured, again, face hopeful.
"mmmmmmmm." She murmured, once more, face constipated.
"Alright what's bothering you?" I asked her.
Ayame opened her eyes angrily. Ok. "This meditating isn't working!"
"It's barely been an hour. Meditation is supposed to help with your focus and concentration, which you can only get if you focus and concentrate." I repeated, for the fourth time.
She stood up. "I can concentrate just fine! See I'm doing it right now!"
She scrunched up her face and stared at one of the last falling autumn leaves. I sighed.
It's been a few months since that Monthly and things have.. calmed down is the better word for it.
Tsume still trains me, when she can, but it's become less and less of a thing recently, what with her preparations for marriage and becoming more involved in the clan. School's fine, if you can call it that. Thanks to Ayame tensions with the other children have settled somewhat, though Hayama's been hanging around me less and less.
Which I can't say I blame him for. It's not like he gives me weird looks every time we hang out, or tries to inch away, or hangs out with Tomoe more than me and..
"What's wrong? You look so sad." Ayame said.
I blinked out. "Umm. I'm fine. Just thinking." I shook my head." Ayame, I'm sorry but I really don't know why you're struggling with genjutsu so much. You do fine with iryo-ninjutsu, and even if they're fairly different it's still intricate chakra manipulation."
Her head drooped. I considered. I would probably get in trouble for this if it got out but... Honestly most of the clan doesn't even know it exists. "Maybe it's time for a new approach."
"Like what?" She asked, still dejected.
"Mmmm. What do you think about when you're performing jutsu? For example, fire transformation."
She jumped up. "When I do fire I make things burn. So I think about making things burn, and then they do. Watch this!"
She formed some hand signs.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Three basketball sized fireballs fled from her mouth and into the sky.
"Umm alright." There are so many things wrong with what just happened, but I don't have the patience to process it. "All right. I can work with that. So what do you think about when doing genjutsu?"
Her face contorted in thought. "I dunno. Space wiggly thingies maybe? Scary stuff? Confusion! That's it!" I tried really hard not to facepalm.
"Your perception of genjutsu is all wrong. Genjutsu is all about making an impression on another person. That means that your reality, or more importantly the way you want someone else to view that reality has to be transformed into a chakra probe, which then enters their system, which, if done well enough, creates an illusion advantageous to your situation."
She blinked once. "So confusion then?" My face already anticipated the slap. I kept my arm down by sheer force of will.
"You know what? Yes. What do you think happens when someone's confused?"
She tilted her head from side to side. "They get all wobbly and then their thoughts don't make sense. Like that one time I ran into a tree trunk and I thought down was up so I jumped to walk." Here goes.
"Yes, exactly. Here, give me a second." I rummaged through my pack a little, and pulled out a book. "This is a book about a different school of genjutsu. So far I've been trying to teach you genjutsu from the Demonic Illusion series, which are usually more straightforward and tangible, therefore making it easier for newcomers to learn. But that might have been the wrong approach. The one I'm about to teach you," I opened the book in front of her for her to see. "Is from the Bestial Illusion series. It's called Bestial Illusion: Doddering Haze. Essentially confusion." I pointed out the hand signs and focus diagrams to her. "What makes Bestial Illusions different from Demonic ones is that they target the feral mind, and not the civilized one. It edges or dulls base emotion and instinct, and is usually therefore harder, since most ninja aren't really very in sync with those."
I very obviously got this from the Inuzuka library. Unsurprisingly, it hasn't been checked out in over two decades.
"So, try this. See how it goes." She took the book, and stared at it for a while. I'm not really sure if she'll be able to get it from me just explaining that bit to really know how this works.
"Alright.." She slowly went through the hand signs. "Bestial Illusion: Doddering Haze."
..What. In the— Who's president?! How many times? I can't— Water is a good resource to beat the cold! Where did—
"Kai!"
..Wow.
I snapped out of it, and a bashful looking Ayame met her gaze with me. "I knew you were talented, so I shouldn't really be surprised. But wow."
"It worked?" I nodded. "It worked! YES! Hah! Take that kaa-san! I so too can do genjutsu!" Her victory dance was, frankly, a little disturbing. There was a lot of headshaking.
"Ready to learn some more?"
Her smile was all the answer I needed.
? P.O.V.
"Why did you come back?!"
I disabled the seals on their bodies. "I couldn't leave you guys here! You know they're only keeping you alive to steal your secrets. I can't just go back, knowing they'll torture you until you die of dehydration or something."
I cut loose their chains. "I have all your weapons for you. Grab them and we'll go."
"This is a mistake. They won't take kindly to their base being stormed." Honestly, Ogai shouldn't always complain so much. It'd make him much easier to deal with.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Now let's go."
"I honestly don't know why you guys are so upset. I for one don't favor the iron bar treatment too much." Taguchi joked. I chuckled.
A distant alarm bell rang through the prisons. "We have to hurry."
"Sector B! Sector B!" Sure took them a while to notice the bodies.
"They're here already! What do we do?"
I smirked. "We go through them, obviously."
And with the flash of a shining white blade the first heads rolled.
Do y'all like the description? Or should I change it? Cause I've been thinking about changing it for a while. Also with that, feel free to DM and/or review for any questions, comments, critiques etc.
Revised 4/25/2020. More small revisions on 12/2/2021.