All the love Suigetsu had for open spaces could not have made him like the place they were currently in. The stale air made him feel trapped. Tall abandoned structures loomed over them, blocking the sun from sight.
"Someone's here," Karin informed, scanning the surroundings. The place looked empty for miles, but Suigetsu knew better. So did Sasuke.
"Doubt those dealers have anything to do with us," he responded. "Ignore it."
'Sora-ku', Sasuke called it. It was clear that this place was special to him, for reasons Suigetsu didn't care to know. As majestic as the place may have once been, it had been reduced to crumbling buildings, becoming a spot for shady transactions. Glass shards and bricks sullied the dusty paths for miles.
Suigetsu kicked a wooden plank, toppling a rusty trashcan nearby. A loud yelp resounded over the clang of metal against the ground. "Watch it, scum!"
Karin aimed a glare at Suigetsu. "See! I told you there was someone!"
"Bah," he spat, noticing a brown tail sway behind the can. "It's not even a human." With a casual air, Suigetsu approached his unintentional victim.
"Watching us?"
A cat sprung towards him baring its sharp teeth. "What if I was?" he hissed. He trotted towards Sasuke, while another cat crept out from the shadows. They both gave him a short bow. "Always good to see you, Sasuke."
Fancy talking cats, with shinobi attire and attitudes to match! Strange, but perhaps Sora-ku hadn't completely succumbed to the black-marketers. Karin looked just as stunned, he noted. Or was she confused?
Paranoid woman. She'd been worried about nothing.
Sasuke nodded at the two cats. "Denka, Hina. How have you been?"
"Come to visit?" they purred warmly.
Suigetsu rolled his eyes. It seemed their politeness was reserved for the last Uchiha.
"Just for some supplies."
The female cat turned on her tail. "We'll lead the way."
Sasuke shook his head. "That'll be unnecessary. What I need is for you to be targets."
The tawny male scratched his ear, exchanging glances with his partner. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"This girl," he replied, pushing Kaiho in front of them, "has to refine her aiming skills. Don't hold back any attacks."
The two cats bowed with what appeared to be respect, but Suigetsu spotted the twinkles in their eyes. Kaiho didn't. She fumbled with her kunai, sporting the same excitement as the cats. He almost felt a twinge of worry.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one. Sasuke turned to him, as the trio turned at the nearest alley.
"Suigetsu, keep an eye on them."
He should've known that was easier said than done.
Chasing after the agile girl who charged after the cats like there was no tomorrow, Suigetsu cursed his luck. Kaiho's lithe, wiry figure gave her an undeniable advantage when it came to speed. She was nothing more than a beige blur darting behind those cats. Catching up to them was easy enough. Keeping track of them wasn't. The cats often took it upon themselves to launch ambushes, and Kaiho wasn't always the target.
"Think we can't look after ourselves?" snarled Denka, clawing at Suigetsu's forehead.
"Sasuke put me up to this, you furball!"
In spite of his justification, both cats were not pleased. The belittlement of their abilities was a giant blow to their ego, and they had no intentions of making Suigetsu's life easy. In fact, he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that they weren't the only ones rankled by his presence. When a kunai whizzed past his head for the third time, his doubts were replaced with certainty.
He was definitely unwanted.
Pah! He wasn't obligated to babysit them either. Those three weren't the only ones with pride. Suigetsu spun on his heel in a huff and stomped past the buildings. It was infuriating to be a sidekick, but he'd come to terms with that when he joined Sasuke. It was a small price to pay for freedom, he'd reasoned, and the opportunity to pursue power was too good to pass up. Having those darn creatures worship Sasuke while treating him like a pest was what set him off. Kaiho was no different. That girl was probably like the rest of the female population. He'd already seen her change personality for Sasuke at the drop of a hat.
A gentle breeze was the only thing to soothe the irritation Suigetsu felt.
He stood very still, eyes raking the brick walls around him. Breeze?
He took off.
The ruins around him morphed into a haze of gray and black. His eyes scrutinized the vicinity, searching for some clue, anything that was the slightest bit out of the ordinary.
Karin's expression flashed in his mind.
Suigetsu frowned. She was rubbing off of him.
After all, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Kaiho, Denka and Hina showed no signs of encountering suspicious activity. The cats, to his great pleasure, were covered in scrapes and bruises. However, Kaiho hadn't escaped their wrath. Scratches and bites littered her body from head to toe.
Apart from that, they seemed just fine. So why was he worried?
The holes in the walls, the splintered wood and chunks of stone and metal weren't uncommon in a fight. Kunai and shuriken were scattered throughout the area. Normal.
Suigetsu tossed aside a stray pebble with his foot, watching it bounce off the silvery lid of a trashcan. What was he missing?
But then it hit him. He picked a fallen shuriken, twirling it in between his fingers. He ought to have caught on sooner.
Without wasting a second, Suigetsu flung the projectile at the centre of the trashcan. A cloud of smoke erupted from it. Kaiho and the cats froze in place instantly.
The rising smoke dissolved into wisps, revealing a disgruntled young man.
Suigetsu smirked. "You call that a disguise?"
The man chuckled, rubbing the jagged scar on his cheek. He dangled a spiked iron chain from his hand. "What gave it away?" he asked, lunging.
Suigetsu was faster. In a single move, the man's head was encircled by the hole in his sword. "Now why would I reveal that to an enemy?"
"I'll answer your questions in exchange."
There was a sinister clank of metal, and something cold brushed against Suigetsu's leg. Before he could react, a kunai zipped by him, pinning the metallic chain to the stone wall next to him. It vibrated but stood well in place.
Suigetsu shot a grin at Kaiho, mildly impressed.
"Heh. Four against one, buddy. Or are there more of you here? Tell me... how long were you tailing us for?"
Brown eyes stared at him, hard and unflinching. "Since you guys entered this place."
"After Uchiha, I bet?"
The man's laughter reverberated in the empty street. "The Sharingan is a catch indeed, but I'm not a complete fool. What I was after was..." he trailed off, licking his lips.
As a former nin of Kirigakure, it wasn't too hard for Suigetsu to figure out what or rather who the bastard was referring to. The time he spent in captivity had dulled him; he'd forgotten that the black market didn't just deal with objects.
"I could gouge his eyes out if you'd like," Hina offered, unsheathing her claws. Her quiet purr contained the same disgust Suigetsu felt.
He shook his head. Holding his sword a bit further away from himself, he called out, "Kaiho! Wanna play with him? Fifty points if you get his skull."
With intense concentration, Kaiho sprung into the air. A barrage of weapons flew from her fingertips. Each of them made their mark, either slicing the man's skin or pinning him to the ground. Blotches of crimson splattered onto the earth, soaking the soil. The nin was reduced to a gory mess in minutes. A single shower was enough to finish him off.
What a weakling.
Suigetsu observed the still figure and sighed. "You didn't hit a single vital spot."
Kaiho grimaced. "I didn't think it was necessary."
"Scum like him deserves it," Suigetsu pressed.
She simply pursed her lips in response. "Won't Sasuke be waiting for us? We should go."
Suigetsu scowled. What a letdown! He should've lopped the man's head off while he had the chance. Now that the guy was a pile of mush, it wouldn't even be fun to do so.
"You... never answered my question," accused a weak voice. Suigetsu gave him a long, pitying look. He plucked a kunai off the wall, releasing the man's chain. After propping the beaten guy into a sitting position with Kaiho's help, Suigetsu tied him up. Finally, he crouched beside the defeated ninja, leaning to whisper in his ear.
"Iron rusts."
Denka bustled beside Suigetsu on the way back, earlier animosity forgotten. "Wish you'd just chopped him into pieces."
Despite his initial dislike for the tom that tried to rip his face off, Suigetsu couldn't have agreed more.
