Ⅰ
Silence fell in the room after dinner. Not a single person uttered a word after what we'd told Tazuna-san. His brow furrowed deeply as he took a sip of his warm tea. He eventually broke the silence, turning his attention to the Jounins.
"So, these kids," he spoke up, "They'll help with the construction?"
Kakashi-sensei nodded.
"Well… I appreciate the help. But…"
"You have nothing to worry about," Kakashi-sensei said, clasping his hands together. "We've asked Kuri to help us as well. He'll let us know when Zabuza is coming from afar."
Rubbing his chin, Tazuna-san looked down at his cup, letting out a soft sigh. "Hope everything goes okay. I don't want any of them to be dealt with on the spot. I'd had enough… of hatred for one day."
A grim silence again filled the air, causing everyone's posture to straighten up. Even in the kitchen where Tsunami-san was washing the dishes, her back remained perfectly straight.
Sensing how unnerving it would be if we left this silence lingering, I slowly pulled a deck of cards from my pocket and began to shuffle them.
The sound of the card shuffle caught everyone's attention. Eyes widened as they watched me perform a card trick.
A quick throw in the airーcatching it perfectly between my two fingers. Then came a flurry of cards flopping between my hands, making a plap-plap-plap sound. From right to left. And left to right. After that, I fanned the cards out in a smooth arc. They were intrigued, watching closely to see what I'd do next.
I flowed into a series of tricksーone where the cards fall into my left palm like a waterfall, one where I flicked one card at a time to land on the top of the deck like a spring snapping shut, and one where I gently threw a card across the living room and watched it curve back to me like a boomerang.
They were stunned, eyes still wide open. It was then my dear friend Naruto who broke the silence by speaking up.
"Damn, Darou! That was amazing!"
I chuckled. "I told you before, mon ami. Years of practice." Turning my head to Tazuna-san, I saw an amused smile spread across his face. Beside him sat Inari, though he didn't pay attention to my tricks. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, his expression unreadable.
"Well, I'll be. Think you could show a trick to Inari?" He curiously asked.
"I sure can. A trick or two should beー"
"I CAN'T TAKE IT!"
The outburst took us by surprise. Inari stood up from his chair and turned around. His eyes were all red, swollen with tears. His eyebrows furrowed so tightly as though they were about to touch. His face scrunched with emotion, and his lips trembled in a quiet anger.
"Inari…?" Tazuna-san gently asked. He was then soon swarmed by his grandson's uncontrollable weeping.
"I can't take this anymore! How can you all just stay so calm?!" His words were aimed directly at usーthe Konoha Shinobis. "I saw you out there in the woods… running up the trees. I heard these two say that it would make you all stronger." He shot a quick glare at my uncle and Kakashi-sensei before turning back to us. "But no matter how hard you train, nothing is going to change! You are all just kids! Kids like me who couldn't do anything but just watch! Whatever you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose! That's just how it is!"
We all sat in silence, listening to the boy's remarks. It was filled with sorrow and frustration as he let it all out. "And you!" He pointed straight at me, eyes burning. "You think this is a game?! Showing off with your tricks?! Aren't you afraid that you are going to die?!"
Looking down at my deck of cards, I resumed shuffling them quietly. With a slow and steady rhythm, I closed my eyes, keeping my hands busy.
This made him more irritated. He slammed his hands against the dining table hard. "Well?!"
I slowly opened my eyes, giving a sidelong glance. "I never thought you would care so much about me. Funny… I remember the day when you said, 'I do not want to see an Ijin walking around in the house and causing problems.'"
Inari quietly gasped as I rephrased the word.
After the shuffle, I picked up a card from a deck and rolled it between my knuckles. "There is a saying back at my place. La mort ne demande pas. Death doesn't ask. So… why ask?"
Inari then looked like he was about to cry again, thinking I was mad at him with how cold my words sounded.
But I slowly shook my head, giving him a soft smile. "I appreciate your concern, Inari. It is uncertain how things will turn out. But life is like a gambit."
I flicked the card toward him.
He quickly caught it. Rubbing his tears away, he turned around to see it.
"We just have to do our best with the cards we have. No running away. C'est la vie."
An ace of diamonds.
Something is about to change.
Ⅱ
In the morning, we all got ready to head to the site. My dear friend Naruto, however, was still asleep. After that little heat I had with Inari, he suddenly went outside to train. It all happened in a blur. We couldn't stop him.
Hours later, he came back, looking completely drained. Greasy sweat dripped down his forehead, and his jumpsuit was covered in dirt. His nails were splintered, and both of his knuckles were crimson red. Not only did he do the tree-climbing practice, but he also did some combat training on his own.
He was knocked out when he went to sleep. Snoring loudly, we all had to use our earplugs to get some shut-eye.
It affected us. Shikamaru's yawn was even longer than yesterday's. Scratching his head, he looked very drowsy.
"Way to go, Darou," he muttered. "You gave him one heck of a boost yesterday. How could we thank you?"
I shook my head, rubbing my temple. "How am I supposed to know he'd go out to train?"
"Isn't it obvious? You are his best friend."
"But that doesn't mean I know everything he does, mes ami. Should I start living with him?"
Chouji giggled, rubbing his eyes. "You did say to us that he is like a brother to you."
"A baby brother." I corrected it. "A hyper-energetic petit frère who runs around like crazy after consuming so much sugar. And you just wish for once, just once, that he'd go to bed peacefully on his own, without forcing yourself to drag him there."
"Sounds like you've done it before." Chouji raised his brow.
I kept my mouth shut, bringing my deck of cards to shuffle.
"Wait. Did youー"
"Not a word." I cut Shikamaru off.
Before he ever tried to press it further, Ino had just arrived. Her hair was a bit messy. No matter how gently she tried to comb it, there were a few stubborn strands that stuck out like wild grass.
"Finally. What took you so long?" Shikamaru asked bluntly.
Ino fired a sharp glare at him, ready to say something to shut him up. But she didn't. Her aura alone was just enough for him to flinchーlooking away like nothing happened.
I could say something nice about her new look, but my instinct told me to zip it. Sometimes it's better to keep quiet and just let it be.
"Alright. Is everyone ready?" My uncle asked, looking around.
"Naruto's not here, Asuma-sensei." Sakura said, raising her hand. She and Sasuke looked just as sleepy as the rest of us. Their eyes were half-lidded, and their clothes were slightly wrinkled.
"We can leave him," Kakashi-sensei replied. "I don't think he'll be able to catch up with us once we've arrived at the site."
"I'll look after him while you're away," Tsunami-san said. Behind her, we could see Inari hiding behind the doorway. His gaze was fixed on me, his eyes a bit weary.
I slowly approached him, not wanting to scare him. Kneeling before him, I pulled out a kunai and held it out.
"Take it."
"Eh?" His eyes widened.
"I want you to protect my dear friend while we're gone."
Inari's eyes gazed down, fidgeting with his fingers. "But… I don't know how to fight. I'm not strong…" He murmured.
"Do you know what it means to be strong?" I gently asked.
He looked up at me, eyes searching.
"Being strong isn't about knowing how to fight. It's about holding your ground against the odds. You must believe it. That's when you'll find strength. Like your father, he believed in himself to the end."
Handing him the kunai with care, Inari slowly folded his fingers around the handle, tightening his grip.
"I trust you in this, Inari. You can do it, petit."
With a gentle pat on his shoulder, I went back to join the others.
We then left the house and began accompanying Tazuna-san to the site. Along the way, Sakura shook my shoulder to get my attention. "Why did you give Inari your kunai?"
I glanced at her, then at the rest of the team. Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chouji, even Ino—they all looked at me, waiting for an answer.
"It's because… Je me vois dans la glace."
"What's that?" Chouji asked.
I gave a small grin, playfully tapping my lips with a wink.
Ⅲ
"W-what the?!" Tazuna-san cried. His body was frozen, fingers trembling as we arrived at the site.
The workers sprawled across the cold, hard cement, groaning in pain.
Kuri was there, checking the worker's wounds.
"What happened?!" Tazuna-san asked, hurriedly rushing towards Kuri.
"They were attacked." He answered. The forgotten kids were tending to the injured workers as well, offering them water to drink and ointment to ease the pain. Riku was here too, giving directions to the kids in his native language.
"Anda logo!"
He was quick and calm. And his orders were clear. It was fortunate that none of the workers were fatally wounded.
Tazuna-san knelt beside one of them and asked who had attacked them.
The workers shook their heads, faces contorted. "We don't know… It just happened all of a sudden."
As though on cue, mist began to form around the bridge, curling slowly through the air. The slow, chilled breeze sent shivers down our spines. Instinctively, our heels pivoted as we turned around, eyes scanning our surroundings.
We were surroundedーtwenty to thirty Kiri Shinobis, heavily armed.
Among them, Sasuke's brow furrowed as his eyes locked onto a familiar duo, clad in greyish-blue robes.
"Kakashi." he whispered.
His teacher turned in the direction Sasuke was pointing. His single visible eye widened slightly in recognition.
"So… they broke out. The Oni Brothers."
The Oni Brothers (鬼兄弟)ーsubordinates under Zabuza's command. I later learned that they were the ones who ambushed Naruto and his team first. They were infamously known for coating their metal claws in poison, aiming for the heart with every strike. Their name were Kouzu(業頭) and Meizu(冥頭).
"I'd been waiting for a rematch." said the hunched sibling, white breath spilling from the vents of his metallic respirator mask.
The straighter one held him back, eyes sharp as he glanced over. "Control yourself, brother. You will get your chance."
We quickly drew our weapons before the Kiri Shinobis took a step. I could sense Chouji's body trembling as his back pressed against mine.
"You okay?"
"No…" he answered honestly, his voice shaking.
Shifting my gaze to Ino and Shikamaruーboth were in the same state as Chouji.
"Never thought this would be the end…" Shikamaru said, eyes on the enemies.
"Really, Shikamaru?" Ino deadpanned, giving a sidelong glance at him.
"Could be our last," he shrugged, trying to play it cool. But a bead of cold sweat trailed behind his ear.
"You aren't going to die." My uncle stepped in front of us. His signature weapon held up.
We moved slowly, closing ranks until we formed a tight circle, with Tazuna-san in the center.
"Well, well… It looks like Kakashi had brought some help from Konoha…" a voice said. It was low and deepーEerie and ominous.
It made our spines shiver again as we stuck even closer.
"What do we have here? Four Genins? Mmm, some fresh new meat to slaughter," The voice chuckled, its tone laced with mockeryーuntil it paused, noticing someone within our circle. "Is that… Asuma Sarutobi? The son of the Third Hokage? My oh my…"
In the distance, we saw two silhouettes begin to emerge from the mist. Their footsteps were slow but steady. With each step they took, the air grew even colderーlike a chilling breeze rolling in from the depths of the sea.
Their faces became clearer as they stood out from the icy fog. That's when I first saw Zabuza Momochi in the flesh—the Silent Killer of the Hidden Mist.
