It took several days for the marks on Rei's neck to begin to fade and for Kohana to let her out of the safe house again. "The only way to ensure that your barriers don't break down is to put them to the test," Kohana said as Rei tightened the straps on her flak jacket. "A real test."
The sparring she'd done with Koichi and Utakata had revealed that she had perfect control of her chakra, even when one of Utakata's kunai cut a thin line across her bicep. But she also knew that her life wasn't in danger from those two. They'd been working together for months now, and the three had developed an instinct to protect and defend one other, in spite of any and all differences and squabbles.
Rei flexed her arms back and forth for a moment, ensuring that the bandage around her wound was tight, but flexible. "I know. I'm ready."
Kohana's mouth turned down at the corners just slightly. "Remember that if your barriers drop, you need to retreat and disappear immediately. No one can know about the kekkei genkai."
Koichi's offhand comment from the day of Utakata's mental Sealing rushed back to Rei in a whirlwind, and she faced Kohana, summoning every ounce of courage inside her. It turned out there wasn't much there. Her voice quavered a bit as she asked, "What happened to all of the Bloodline Limits?"
Kohana had just turned away to grab Rei's weapons pouch for her, and she started visibly. "What do you mean?"
"I…" Rei took the pouch from the older woman and buckled it securely around her waist, phrasing and rephrasing her words in her mind. "Where… are they? Why aren't there more? My… family. Where are they?" It didn't hurt to ask, though Rei knew logically that she should love her parents. She just didn't remember them, so there was no one to feel anything for.
Kohana's pause was long enough to be uncomfortable. "Didn't they teach you about the kekkei genkai in the Academy?"
Rei's head shook from side to side, uncertain. Had they? She certainly didn't remember hearing about people born with special abilities beyond regular chakra control.
"Come here." Kohana took a seat on the couch and motioned for Rei to join her. They sat close, and Kohana pulled the girl into a tight side-hug. "You have to be so careful, dear."
"I know."
"But you don't know why." For a few moments, they just held each other in what Rei assumed was a familial embrace. If she'd had a mother, she hoped it was someone who'd been like Kohana. "Tell me what you know about the history of the Hidden Mist Village."
Rei pulled back a few inches and looked Kohana in the face incredulously. "How much of it?"
"Just start and I'll tell you when to stop."
"Um…" Rei wracked her brain for facts that had been pounded into her from her first weeks at the Academy. "The land was split up into a bunch of islands, and the First Mizukage united them as the Hidden Mist Village, and we've pretty much been fighting with other nations ever since, and—"
"And who else?"
"Who else what?"
"Who else have we been fighting?"
Rei hadn't gotten much information about current events in her time at the Academy, but she knew the answer to that question. "Each other."
"Exactly." Kohana pulled her close again and Rei tried to quell her anxiety, her confusion. "We've been at war in some way, shape, or form since our very foundation. We're a restless state, and our leadership is corrupt to its core. Those early wars were dominated by Shinobi with kekkei genkai, and it became obvious that they outranked normal Shinobi in every way. They became a source of fear for us."
Clarity. "So they were all killed."
Kohana didn't pause this time. "Yes, dear. Some remain, those with powers that don't seem especially threatening. But others… The few that are left are in hiding, like you. And until the leadership of our nation and our mindsets change, you are going to have to live in anonymity. It is the only way to stay safe here."
For now. Kohana's unspoken words rang between them. You could be the agent that sparks a change.
When Rei exited the safe house, Koichi and Niko Sensei were already waiting on her, as she knew they would be. "Where's Utakata?"
Koichi snickered. "His mom finally caught him."
"He'll be with his family for a few days," Niko Sensei said, motioning with his head for them to follow. "I imagine that Lady Sato has a few words to say to him about ignoring her summons."
The snow lay thickly on the ground this morning, and Rei flexed her fingers inside her skin-tight gloves. She'd only spent a few nights on the streets in weather like this, and she'd been very lucky to find shelter under a bridge, the eaves of a house, and an alley, along with the others without a place to stay. She didn't doubt that right now street sweepers were removing bodies of the homeless who'd frozen last night.
"Since our squad is down a man right now, you two have been given a unique opportunity," Niko Sensei said, offering them a genuinely relaxed smile.
"For real?" Koichi danced away from Rei and leapt in front of their sensei. "What are we doing? Tell me we're going off-island or something. Something really cool!"
"I think I'll let Mangetsu fill you in."
Rei had never seen Mangetsu Hozuki without a water bottle, and today was no exception. The different thing about today was immediately obvious: Mangetsu had a massive bandaged sword strapped to his back, and he wasn't alone.
"Hey, Niko." Mangetsu and Niko Sensei met hands enthusiastically, and Rei kept her distance to observe. Koichi was a few steps ahead of her, and he didn't seem to share her reservations. Then again, he really didn't have reason to, she supposed.
Niko Sensei had brought them to the Intelligence Building near the southern border of the village, and the cylindrical stone building looked much like most others around it. The distinguishing feature of this building was that it was several stories taller than its counterparts. Mangetsu had been leaning on the wall by the front door with his companion, but he had greeted them all warmly upon their arrival.
"What are we doing?" Koichi asked, subconsciously reaching to his belt and tightening it in preparation. "Please don't tell me you've arranged for another mission where we have to find farm animals."
Mangetsu's companion threw his head and back and laughed heartily, and after a brief pause, Koichi joined in. "I would say that this ranks slightly higher." This man was tall, like seven feet tall, and his skin was so pale that it had taken on a bluish tint, darker around the gill marks on his cheeks.
"Where is he?" Niko Sensei asked.
"On our floor, appropriately restrained." The tall, gravelly-voiced man peered through his unusually small eyes at Rei. He smiled sneerily. "She's just a little girl. Are you sure she's the right one?"
Rei didn't even know what they were talking about, but she had a pretty good idea. They wanted to do something with her abilities, something that would fit Kohana's idea of a "real test."
"Come on." Niko Sensei motioned for her to walk ahead of him, and she followed Mangetsu and the sharklike man through the door of the Intelligence Building.
Rei had never been inside this building before, and she was suddenly glad she hadn't. The granite floors were so clean and clear that she could see a blurry reflection of herself, and she made sure to scrape off her boots at the mat. Cool-colored landscapes and portraits hung on the slate grey walls, and each door was closed securely with a name plate or sign marking it. A garbled voice echoed over an intercom system in an upper floor, and a few distant beeps sounded, reminiscent of an alarm.
It was a bit intimidating for a little girl.
The elevator was just barely big enough for all of them to ride together, and Rei made sure that she weaseled herself to one side. They exited on the seventh floor, and Rei could feel her heart beating harder than usual in her ears. They expected something of her, and she'd better be able to deliver.
"Alright, we'll start here." Mangetsu took a step ahead and typed in a many-numbered code into the pad next to the door across the hall. The sign on the dark wood proclaimed PROPERTY OF THE SEVEN NINJA SWORDSMEN OF THE MIST, and then in slightly smaller print underneath: Unauthorized users will be executed.
The tall man closed the door once they'd all entered, and Rei couldn't quite believe what she was looking at. The room they stood in was lit brightly, showcasing every type of sword and knife and cutting implement imaginable on three walls. A few sofas were set up in a loose square in the center of the room with a wide coffee table between them. Rei's eyes had wandered back to the blades. They gleamed with reflections from the artificial lighting above, and Rei's fingers itched to reach out and caress them.
The fourth wall was made of opaque glass, like a frosted over window, and Kisame strode over to it with purpose. "Wait," Mangetsu said quickly. "Let's update them first."
Rei had stolen over to the furthest wall to get a better look at a ninjato sword with a blade roughly the length of her arm. "Rei," Niko Sensei said, a slight reprimand in his voice. She started, as if jolted out of a daydream. "Join us, please."
The others had already taken seats in the square of couches, and she took the spot next to Koichi, sitting straight while he slouched casually. "Alright, guys," Mangetsu said after taking a sip from his water bottle. "This is—"
"Kisame Hoshigaki, we know," Koichi broke in, his fingers laced behind his head.
Both swordsmen raised their eyebrows.
"It's big news when there's a new member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen," Rei said. "Of course we know."
Kisame smirked, showcasing his sharpened teeth. "So I'm that famous."
Niko Sensei cleared his throat sternly. He was a bit uptight today. "Beyond the Mizukage, the Seven are the most powerful Shinobi in the village." Mangetsu turned his eyes to the floor at that statement, and Kisame crossed his arms across his broad chest. "They've agreed to help us."
"With…" Koichi glanced around the room for a moment, then pointed at Kisame. "Can we trust him?"
Rather than answering verbally, the older men looked to Kisame, who erased his sneer and opened his mouth, revealing the Curse Mark of the foundation on the base on his tongue. Koichi and Rei both exhaled visibly, the tension in their postures suddenly evaporating.
"This room is soundproofed and warded by Headmaster Iwa himself," Mangetsu said. "We can speak freely, but let's keep as much to ourselves as possible."
"Agreed," Niko Sensei murmured. "I have faith in the Headmaster, but I'll never be comfortable in a building officially run by…" His voice petered out.
There was silence among their group for a moment as Rei and Koichi absorbed this news. Kisame Hoshigaki, the notorious new owner of Samehada, the sharkskin sword, wanted the Mizukage out of control. They had more power at their disposal than Rei could believe. But even so…
"Why are we here?" Koichi asked, brazen as ever.
Mangetsu, despite being the younger of the adults, seemed to be in charge right now. He ran his hand back through his straight pale hair and exhaled hard. "We have in our possession a captured Leaf Shinobi, and we need his information."