End of an Era (Naruto AU)

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 39: Suzuhisa Shizue and The Lost Temple!? The Attack!

There wasn't, in one sense, a lot to see. But what she could see, and what she couldn't, drew her attention. Perhaps it was the conversations she'd had, but Shizue found herself looking at the cracks and crags in the great rock with interest, imagining all the things that could be found by digging into them.

None of the cracks, not even the widest one, big enough for two people to walk abreast, at least most of its, seemed to have anything obvious. But there were possibilities. The mention of the musical elements made her imagine, say, carving rocks just right and placing them at an important point. Up on top of the great stone would actually work, the wind whipping through them and playing its own discordant tune.

It'd be an odd sort of music, one not directed by man, and yet channeled by man's ingenuity. She could imagine it so vividly that she kept on expecting to see some sign of it. But if she just knew more about her own earth jutsu she could probably make them the easy way. But she could also imagine carefully carving the stones. The size and locations of the holes would be important for such a project, she thought. She'd have to choose the stones carefully as well.

Or did she? She didn't actually know much about the acoustic nature of stone except through a few brief lessons with her Mom on how to be able to tell sounds apart that had included the crunch of gravel or a rock falling in a forest, among other sounds. That's all she'd known. So she was careful, and tactile, touching the hard, red stone of this strange monument to nature's oddities. It was rough under her fingers: from a distance it looked like one great expanse, smooth except for the fault lines, but it was jagged up close, never quite one thing for too long. The act of wind and sand was not quite that of water upon stones, she was led to know by one of the men with the dig.

By the fifth day she was learning things that she hadn't had a chance before. In this valley, with the whipping winds to aid it, the sand was coarse, painful in a sandstorm, and it got absolutely everywhere. She'd crawl into her tent at night and spend a considerable amount of time trying to get all the sand out of… of everywhere. And if she was having problems, she couldn't imagine what the men and women on the dig teams and the like were going through. There wasn't some convenient way to shower after all of this misery.

There were large supplies of this odd lotion of sage, juniper, and other ingredients that could be rubbed on the skin and which at least made it smell less unwashed. People applied it in great quantities in their tent, as far as Shizue could tell. Chuichi had taken an entire large case of it and hidden it away somewhere. He'd muttered something about, "Interesting blend."

Shizue hadn't quite asked him, but her own suspicion was that he wanted to convince Emiko to make such a concotion. Certainly she hadn't used it at the base. She'd had water set up before that long, and besides which she was Iwasaki Emiko, and could no doubt handle a lot worse than getting a little bit sweaty and dirty.

Shizue tried to keep hydrated, but it was pretty hard to keep from ignoring the problem. Or, alternatively, drinking way too much too early and having to walk back to the camp to get more. It was perhaps a way to learn discipline.

The only person who wasn't out at one of the dig sites was Rika, who was back in camp helping to prepare things for lunch, and ready to go to either of the digs if someone got hurt.

Sanosuke was actually on top of the rock, the better to throw things down if a fight started, while Ginjiro and Ginchiyo were theoretically over in the second dig site… but spent plenty of time around there.

Ginchiyo, as far as Shizue could tell, was actually in a good mood. It wasn't quite the same as with Ichiman, she wasn't as reserved as that, but there was a similar way to look at them. Their words weren't where you knew their moods. It was their stances, the way they shifted their bodies. They were both impressive people in that respect, and she didn't know which of them would win in a fight.

She did suspect that the contest was closer than it would have been a year ago. But that didn't matter so much. Watching Ginchiyo, it was easy to see what training had done, even if you couldn't see the way her muscles were even a bit more defined than they'd been before.

So what made Ginchiyo happy? She didn't know that, but she did know that her shoulders were relaxed, and her movements were a little less careful… without being even remotely careless.

Ginchiyo didn't whistle, but if she were Shizue she'd be all but singing while she worked by this point.

Ichiman, on the other hand, was tense and a little tired. He was just barely keeping from going monosyllabic when Shizue had addressed him, so there was a loss. She didn't know what to do about it, really. If she had more time not patrolling about and thinking about the work that was being done…

"Alright," Kasahara said, shaking his grey-haired head. "We're going to go on a break in another fifteen minutes. Then we'll be examining what we've found thus far."

They'd found what seemed like remains of tools, but they were still looking for more because the suspicion was that there was something in the walls. The current idea for the dig team was that the people who worshipped around here might have buried bodies in the stone and then covered them back up and that time might have changed things around. It was an idea that had very little evidence thus far.

But it was a tempting thing to imagine. If they found a skeleton, they wouldn't know the gender, they wouldn't know anything about it. That sorta spooked her, really, even though she knew it shouldn't. Maybe she was too young to think about it, but she wondered at what one left behind.

She was too young, but she'd also almost died plenty of times. Her mother was buried back on Reef, and she might never visit the empty grave again. Her body hadn't been returned, and now she was trying to help someone dig through someone else's remains. Would the people have expected it? How could they.

Would they have wanted it? Why would they. So she was left feeling a vague and silly guilt that she knew was dumb.

But she could hardly talk to Ginchiyo about it, she was carrying her own fossils and graves, that band on her arm the dead past that would hopefully never come again. Her heart on her sleeve, Shizue thought suddenly, with a choked-off giggle.

Still, she thought for a moment that she might just ask her, which was when things went wrong.

It began… well, she was pretty sure for the camp it began with the sudden cloud of dust billowing up as shouts and yells filled the air, with the scent of blood and death descending on a camp with only two shinobi.

But that wasn't for her, and she wouldn't think all that much of it. Instead, what she remembered first were three or four figures dropping down the crevice she was in, one of them carrying Sanosuke.

They were all adults, seemingly in their twenties, relatively well muscled and surprisingly quick. Ninja. Or… something like that, though they didn't seem even close to Jonin level.

One of them was short, but very stout, and from his hands was a shinobi par excellence. Another was about medium height and was pulling out a scroll which could mean any number of a dozen things. But actually just meant one: trouble.

And the other two were racing ahead, not even showing off their capabilities at all.

She heard Ichiman behind her, hurrying towards them, but of course he and Ginjiro would take a moment to catch up.

Luckily, or so it seemed to her as she began to run at the two of them, hands forming seals, there was nowhere for them to… run.

Out from the scroll popped, in a cloud of smoke, hundreds of kunai, hanging in the air by… wires. Oh. Great. And then others were just there regularly, packed together as if they were about to explode outwards in a storm of death.

Then they did. Suddenly the narrow spaces of the crevice just meant it would be even easier to tear her to pieces. And they were moving at her fast enough that she wasn't going to be able to dodge all of them.

She tucked herself down as low as possible, moving to draw a kunai. At least she could survive the first attack, and after that she could bring out Stinger if he attacked.

Which was when Ginchiyo made her entrance. She leapt down from up above, and she was a sight to behold.

Her sword was crackling with lightning and power, glowing as she swung it down, slicing straight through the wires with experience no doubt hard-won in practice. She seemed to almost be everywhere as she landed in front of Shizue, her body completely covering her as she batted aside the kunai without apparent effort. Only two went through, a senbon that stuck itself in her arm and a kunai that grazed her hair.

Everything else went right on by or was littering the rocky ground.

"Thank you Ginchiyo-chan!" Shizue said, standing up. "They're getting away!"

Ginchiyo nodded and took the lead, running after them. But there were enough twists and turns in the rock that Shizue wasn't surprised when they lost them. What she was surprised about was when they hit a dead end in a relatively straight-on path and found no one. Shizue closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sounds to see if they were hiding, but she couldn't hear anything at all.

Just the wind on the rocks and a sheer wall. They could have gone up it, of course.

"Do we climb up?" Shizue asked.

"I'm… not sure yet," Ginchiyo said, carefully. She reached over to her arm and pulled out the senbon with a sigh. "I think they're here. I just need a moment more to look at the possibilities. If that Genta of yours was here, he'd know for sure."

Shizue had to bite back a correction. Now was absolutely not the time for it, nor for that matter the place. "They could," Shizue said. They wasn't he, at least. That was an advantage it had. "But what do you mean."

"I think what's in front of me is genjutsu, but I can't be sure."

Shizue turned at the sound of running feet, drawing a kunai. But it was just Ginjiro and Ichiman, both of them looking harassed.

"Ginchiyo-chan! Did you see what happened with Sanosuke?" Ginjiro asked.

"I did," Ginchiyo said. "We have to get him back. Was the attack on the camp a distraction, or a Genjutsu?"

"I… we aren't sure, I just saw him taken away and ran."

"Genjutsu," Ichiman said.

Ginchiyo, meanwhile, was closing one eye and blocking one of her ears as she stepped closer to the wall and began to sniff it. Then, to Shizue's shock, she licked it. "Fake. This is a genjutsu. Now, let me see if I can figure out how to break it."

"I didn't know you had experience with genjutsu," Shizue said. "Other than… oh."

"Yes, oh," Ginjiro said, quietly.

"I'm as ready as I can be," Ginchiyo said, bluntly. But there was a slight bit of fear even then. Shizue, in a stunning moment, realized that Ginchiyo must be terrified of Emiko. Not: doesn't trust her. Not: dislikes her. Not: fears the consequences of crossing her. But terrified of Emiko or the idea of someone like Emiko being able to control what she saw. "Kai!"

There was another crack ahead, this one seeming to lead downwards. Shizue hadn't seen it, and in fact Ginchiyo had put her tongue right where there wasn't rock at all.

"That was a very good illusion. Whoever was doing it is…" Ginchiyo cut herself off. "Wait, haven't we been this way before?"

"Yeah, and I didn't remember a crack then, either," Ginjiro said, musingly.

"We should follow it before they think to do something to stop us," Ginchiyo said.

"Like?" Shizue asked.

"Earth jutsu," Ginchiyo said grimly. Of course, if Shizue knew more about earth jutsu she could counter or at least match some of the possible tricks. But… she imagined the path filled with rocks.

A part of her wanted to turn back and call in Chuichi. But perhaps now was the time to strike.

Which was how the four of them wound up walking, running, and crawling down. Down. She felt choked by the darkness, and the heat, and the fact that this crack seemed to be going down below the earth. But there were no cave ins at all. It seemed as if these… bandits, kidnappers, whatnot, were too busy to close the way behind them. They'd apparently known to press through the impossible even when their bodies told them it wasn't working.

Down. Then down more. Shizue was starting to wonder whether she was ever going to come out the other side.

Then she did. And stared.

[Commercial Break]

It. Was. Impossible.

She could just see the ceiling, hundreds and hundreds of feet above. She was in some grand, circular sort of cave, and high above there were… stars. No, they were jewels, but arranged carefully in the dark of the cavern, glinting in patterns she recognized. Someone had looked up at the stars and apparently done a pretty good job, other than a few figures, of recreating the night sky. Sometimes they were clustered into pictures she didn't recognize, or were slightly off kilter, but…

And they were glowing. And colored, colored so that they were the outline of the real thing. The hunter or the beast, the knife or the…

Her brain kept on trailing off. Ginjiro was making little noises that made him sound like a steam kettle about to explode.

Then, ahead of her, ahead of them, was a temple. It had giant pillars, and a walkway up in faded, broken and cracked marble. The door itself into the Temple was very small, and the walls all around it were oddly textured, as if there had been something on them once. Perhaps there'd been paint?

The building itself was closer to a hundred than not feet tall if she had some perspective on it, and it stretched back into the bedrock. Perhaps it ended there, or perhaps it continued farther back.

The ground itself up to there was rocky and broken, but not impassable, and there was nowhere someone could hide here, at least not without invisibility.

Which meant they were in the temple.

How had they known this was here?

They'd gone right for it. Which meant that there was something in here.

"I…" Ichiman began.

"We're not turning back," Ginchiyo said, bluntly. Forestalling argument. "Sanosuke is in there. We don't leave him in their grasp any more than we can."

"We could barricade the entrance here…" Ginjiro began, but he didn't buy it.

"And if they just dig up from another way to get out of here? There are people who can do that," Ginchiyo said.

Ah.

And the truth was, besides that: Shizue wanted to go in. She wanted to see what was in there,even if it was a mistake.

How to approach things?

[] Try to get on the roof and find a way in from above. Surely that'd be easiest.
[] Go to the side and start knocking down walls to get in without going through the front entrance, which perhaps they trapped.
[] Front entrance, they're clearly going to keep on running, and it's just some temple, after all.

******

A/N: So! Yeah.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 39 (cont)

This place was absolutely beautiful. The more she looked as she ran, the more she saw. It smelled vaguely of water, dirt, and yet there was a hint of incense as they hurried towards the front entrance.

The fake stars above seemed to shine brighter when they did, and Shizue tried to figure out just what that could mean. The temple itself was so striking that she knew it'd be a shame for it to come down. It'd be a shame for this place to be destroyed.

It'd be a shame, but to save a friend she'd do it in a heartbeat, and she had to assume it was similar for Ginchiyo. They threw open the entrance and then, all but one of them ducked.

It wasn't that well hidden, really. In a shadowy nook at the front of the Temple there was a spring-loaded kunai launcher. It was clumsier looking than the one that she'd seen Emiko make, and really above would be a better position.

But it is cleverly tied to the fuinjutsu seal on the floor, she realized as it whizzed over her. Ginjiro barely dodged out of the way, slipping backwards as it ricocheted off his forehead protector. "Gah!" he said.

Ginchiyo had been the closest to the launcher, but she was also the first to dodge, never in any danger. "Watch out, Ginjiro-kun," Ginchiyo said, her tone grim but with a hint of worry. "They might have other traps."

"The seal. It was tied to it, so that when it was broken something holding back the kunai from launching would be pulled away," Ichiman said. He stopped at the startled look on Ginchiyo's face, and forced his way through the next phrase. He looked as if he wanted to sink under the earth, but he was the expert, and so Shizue didn't interrupt. "This is not quite Jonin level work, but the seal is a lot more clever than the launcher."

"Ah, right," Ginjiro said, quietly. "Wire could have worked just as well. We should keep on going. But… I hope that's not the only trap."

"Hope?" Shizue asked.

"So I can do better next time. I'm almost certain it won't be it," Ginjiro said. She could hear it, the tone in his voice that said: I want to impress Ginchiyo. Or at least live up to her standards.

Shizue didn't respond. How could she, for hadn't she felt something similar before, with Emiko-sensei? It wasn't the same, of course, but not being the same didn't mean there weren't parallels.

They moved through the ruins, and it was startling. There was paint on some of the walls, flaking away and yet portraying what seemed like a journey. People walking, but they lacked heads. The lights and shadows, the torches lit and unlit, themselves told the story of which way to go. Or so it seemed.

But Ginchiyo didn't follow them, and Shizue realized that of course it was a trap, of course there wouldn't need to be lit torches if you were a shinobi. Or at least, not all of the paths could be true, and she only rarely followed one. It was remarkable, watching Ginchiyo run ahead, her eyes flitting this way and that, seeming to take everything in at once.

It was terrifying, too, in its own way.

Shizue had thought that perhaps they were pretty close to evenly matched. And with Stinger and Ryuko out, perhaps that would be so. But now she was wondering what else Ginchiyo had learned.

"She trains all the time," Ginjiro admitted. He and Shizue were bringing up the rear. "In trying to see more, farther, and pick out details. She's working to see through genjutsu, through lies and traps and deceit. Her sword, it can cut through all of that if she can just see it and reach it. I think?" Ginjiro. "Sanosuke-kun worries about her seeing shadows. He's… disrespectful sometimes, but--"

Shizue didn't need to hear, but she asked anyways, "Yes?"

"He's my best friend. We have to save him."

"I'll do what I can," Shizue whispered back.

At times they rose up, going up a set of stairs or down another, and there were certainly traps, kunai launchers here and there, some of them stinking of strange poisons. But the threats were almost lackadasical, and Shizue felt that they must be getting closer. Certainly, the temple itself was changing, the walls growing more and more filled with faded, ruined remnants of some grand artwork.

It was so quiet that she had to force herself from adding noise, and life, to this place. It felt like a temple: it felt like a tomb. She could hear the smallest sounds bounce around as they moved, four bodies in near-perfect silence, any conversation held through whispers.

Whispers and some strange form of hand language that Ginchiyo and Ginjiro seemed to share. Shizue watched that part, fascinated, but Ichiman seemed to not notice anything at all. Ginchiyo was a little bit less intense than Shizue had thought she'd be on a mission. Just slightly. Or rather it was as if the tension was controlled, redirected, as if her movements and her signals back were meant to be reassuring.

There was strength in confidence, but Shizue had been around Emiko far too long to think that confidence couldn't be faked, or control. In the dark of this mission, in the confusion and the strange revelation of an entire underground temple, she felt as if Emiko was there, close by. As if something, at least.

She couldn't define it, she couldn't describe it. There was something wrong about this temple, or perhaps almost familiar.

So when Ginchiyo leapt, so did Shizue, following her lead with trust she knew could be dangerous. So did the others, just as the floor fell away beneath them. Ginchiyo landed on the wall, which began to close in, and Shizue, not strong enough to reach the wall in a single bound, wishing that stinger hadn't been kept free, because it made it harder, flipped and hurtled forward, just barely making the edge of where the floor had collapsed.

Ginchiyo and Ichiman were on the left and right walls, as strange spikes shot out of them… spikes made of earth. The walls, Shizue realized at once, were somehow coated or made with chakra.

Could it be someone controlling all of this?

Yes.

But she knew it wasn't. She knew that as soon as she got up, Ginjiro landing near her and groaning a little as he stood up.

This Temple, whatever it was, however it'd been made, was a place of people who could use chakra, who had done something with it that allowed them to do as they had. Unless somehow one of them was still alive somewhere, controlling all of this.

It was possible, she realized. It was definitely possible.

That one realization sent things spiralling from there. Her every footfall became a chance that all could be lost. She knew that there wouldn't be anyone weak at the center of this, if there was. And if it wasn't? Then whatever strange chakra and techniques had created this would prove quite a challenge.

On they went, and there were more traps now. It was easy to tell which ones were the temples. Pitfalls, arrows coming from walls, she managed to avoid most of the damage from them, but Stinger was cut and nicked a few times, and Ginjiro was similarly hard pressed. If she'd tried to do something like this even a few months ago she would have failed, Shizue realized, her legs aching as she rounded a corner.

Water. Of course there was water.

In front of her was a large pit filled with water, stones sticking up here and there to form a set of passages through. The walls were glowing, and Shizue didn't trust them.

"Hmm," Ginchiyo said, quietly. "We are close."

"Are we?" Shizue asked.

"I can smell them," Ginchiyo said.

Shizue blinked. That was unexpected. "How?"

"One of them hasn't washed in some time. When my eyes are closed I can just pick it out."

"Have you been following that the whole time?" Shizue asked, incredulous.

"On occasion. Only when they stopped," Ginchiyo said, her voice formal. "They stopped here for a long time, paced and tried to think their way through. The walls are a trap."

"Fuinjutsu," Ichiman added, his voice soft. "The tiles."

"Symbols?" Ginchiyo said. "I don't recognize them."

Shizue realized what that might actually mean first. The strange swirl of lines and patterns, dots and paint she saw were on each of the tiles were some other language, something she'd never seen or heard of before. All of this had been made, had been put together by… someone? Someone with power. Probably a lot of people with a lot of power. This was a very large temple, and Shizue knew that there was plenty she hadn't explored yet.

"Oh," Ichiman said. He was looking at them, slowly blinking."I'm… not sure." He paused for a long time and… oh yes.

Took out a pencil and a pad of paper and began writing. Finally, he tore it off and spoke. "I think… if they figured it out. It cannot be as hard as it seems. It was very good fuinjutsu, up front. But it'd take genius to translate an ancient language like this."

He flipped it over, and was about to write more when Ginchiyo, gaping, asked, "What's that? Why--"

Then stopped herself, nodding slightly. "What about… colors?"

She pointed to the wall. It was glowing, but there were symbols there, combinations of colors. Blue and red would clash in the form of two warriors drawn in this strange sideways style, only to become one purple being with four arms. Story after story was told on these walls, but she couldn't make out more than the faintest hints of that.

The colors were faded, and that they still existed at all seemed to be a sign that there must have somehow been such a thing as chakra-charged paint.

"Yes," Ginjiro said, frowning. The colors on the pads were faded, and the distances were such that a non-ninja who wasn't very athletic would have trouble leaping to even the nearest one.

None of them had thought to walk or swim on that dark, cool looking water, almost inky in its consistency. Shizue looked at it and suspected that whatever would happen if someone touched it, it wouldn't be good.

"Green and blue. Cyan," Ginchiyo muttered. "Then Red and Green, yellow. Then white, black, grey."

"Are you sure?" Shizue asked, carefully. She trusted Ginchiyo, but she was also very aware that if this was wrong there'd probably be some sort of trap waiting.

"I'll go first," Ginchiyo insisted, signing at Ginjiro while she was at it before taking a leap to the green platform. It held, and she kept on moving, not slowing down at all, as if she were afraid that the platform would fall beneath her.

She was so fast, landing with a thud but jumping again, blurring as she went, that Shizue thought it was even possible that she'd have been able to outrun even a collapsing tile.

It was safe. Shizue blinked. Okay, good. First, she had to reseal Stinger. Once that was done, she stood up. It seemed the others were waiting for her to go next. Ladies first? If so, it was polite she supposed. Shizue got a running start and leapt, almost overjudging the distance. She landed on her feet, though, a little unsteady. She wasn't Ginchiyo, and so just for safety she spent a few seconds breathing in and out before making the next leap. Then the next. She moved slowly and she could see Ginjiro behind him. Ichiman was even slower than her, though it seemed more from caution than anything else.

At the far end, beyond the tiles, was a door, and there were two crude torches already lit, which seemed to only make the darkness greater. Shizue had no idea how such a thing would even be possible, and yet she was somehow sure that that's what it had to be.

When she finally caught up with Ginchiyo, the other woman as standing stock still, a confident smile on her face.

"We'll get Sanosuke back," Shizue said.

A confident smile, but a hand that was clenched around her kunai pouch. Not even her sword, as if she didn't quite trust herself to have her hand there, now.

"I don't know what I'd do if he died," Ginchiyo admitted. It looked like it pained her to even say that much, and as soon as the words had forced their way out she turned around.

"I feel that way towards many of the people in my team."

She thought of Maki, almost dead by her own hand. She thought of how she'd made sure to protect her friends--and even Seiichiro, who was sweet but she hardly knew that well--even before she'd focused on her own safety during her last big fight.

It wasn't going to be easy, if she ever lost anyone. She cared about those closest to her, and sometimes it even felt as if she cared about them far more than ten times the number of others. But she pushed down that thought, that fear, and tried to focus on the now.

She'd made choices before, and she wondered: if it came down to Sanosuke or Ichiman, how many seconds would it take her to make the choice.

She couldn't say that either, and she didn't know if her face, carefully blank, showed any of that.

"I understand," Ginchiyo said.

After that, things grew more tense. There were no more traps, but now she could smell, somehow, something like incense. And when she stopped or slowed down, she could almost hear music. Maybe it was in her head, but it felt as if the pulse of the entire Temple itself was almost audible. They were getting closer.

The enemy wasn't far ahead, even with the time lost during the puzzle. And that's what it was, a puzzle. How did people get across if they didn't have shinobi skills? Surely if this was a Temple there were workers… or worker's entrances?

She didn't know, and since she didn't take side-passages but instead let Ginchiyo's eyes, instinct, and perhaps even nose do the way, she couldn't know either.

If the dig team did come down here, they'd have to find all of that out themselves.

Maybe they'd be able to. Certainly, she would be willing to help.

It was almost at the end when it all went wrong.

It was a wide hall, really, and Shizue was no longer near the back, her legs starting to finally shake out as she ran. Not first, but not last, among them.

She was focused on the shadows, on the next attack. The next trap. But what she apparently hadn't been looking at closely enough was the ceiling.

One moment she was running, and then next there was a grinding noise and she heard stone falling down, faster and faster, grinding against the walls, which were--

Oh. Suspiciously bare, she thought, desperately as she raised her hands. The roof was falling… as one giant piece.

Ichiman caught it in his hands, and grunted, almost doubling over as he pushed up against the… oh. It must have some sort of pressure on the other end. The roof hadn't collapsed.

No. It had fallen. Was pressing down.

Ichiman wasn't enough, and Ginchiyo's arms joined him in holding up the sky. Her sleeves fell back, and Shizue could see the way both of their muscles were straining at their very limits to hold it. And…

It was holding. Just barely. But two of them together were enough to hold it. Nothing more than that.

But Shizue thought that if she and Ginjiro could add their strength to trying to hold it up, then Ginchiyo could go on ahead. Or Ichiman. There were about two-hundred feet to go before it got out to the other side. And then, once one person was done, maybe… she could picture it, the kind of clumsy system that it'd take for them to get out. But that meant she could see it was possible.

Too possible, as it turned out, because that wasn't all.

There was a sound like water running, almost, and then in front of them, at the edge of the trap, mist began to pour out.

The mist, it was clear, was mostly to hide what came after that: balls of energy, of chakra, shooting through the mist at the assembled group, dozens of them, and dozens and dozens more behind them. Ginjiro raised his arms up to catch the roof as Ginchiyo moved one arm from holding it up to draw her sword… and cut right thorugh the ball of blue, terrifying energy.

Shizue blinked: she'd thought that it was something as powerful as a Rasengan. Something legendary and dangerous. But… what if it was?

Ginchiyo's sword was--

Ginchiyo let go entirely, and Shizue had to raise her hands to stop the roof from collapsing.

Ginchiyo ran across, throwing herself in front of Shizue and cutting down several of the balls of energy. "I've… got this," she said, her eyes hard. "Shizue, your puppets, can they withstand some of the blasts?"

Ginchiyo's sword was able to cut through chakra. To ignore attacks. To electrocute.

What else did Shizue know that could ignore chakra? The answer was obvious. She knelt, pulling out her scrolls and running through what she needed to do to get out her puppets, aware that with Ginchiyo having to keep on moving to protect everyone else with her sword, the ceiling above was slowly but surely crushing them.

But then once the puppets were there she raised her hands to hold it up a little, trying to keep her fingers free to splay out as she held it up.

They looked so beautiful and so handsome. Stinger, that gentleman, shrugged off the balls of energy. Almost literally. They hit the rubber layer and dissolved into nothing more than a blue play of power against the edges of its skin. And then the next. Then the next. Ginchiyo moved to stand in between them, and together they were able to fill the corridor. Moving forward slowly, one of Ginchiyo's hands pushing up on the roof while in the other she wielded her sword as if she always fought one handed. As if she hadn't risked her own life trying to help Shizue, as if she wouldn't have done even more than that.

Finally, they made it to the other side, walking past the mist to see blank hallways.

Ichiman groaned, and almost flopped to the ground, rubbing his arms. Shizue hadn't had to do much lifting, but she'd felt the weight above her and couldn't imagine how much strength it'd taken to hold it up.

"Ten seconds. Maybe twenty," Ginchiyo said. "Then we have to keep on going. Those puppets were very impressive, Shizue-chan. And Ichiman-kun, you were very strong to do that." Her voice was soothing, and authoritative. It was the voice of a leader, and Shizue tried to enjoy the moments of peace before they had to keep on going.

How had the enemy survived *that*? Or had there been some way around that. If so, how had she missed it?

She didn't know.

It turned out to be closer to forty seconds before Ginchiyo set off again, and she seemed almost apologetic. It was in the hunch of her shoulders, as if she couldn't allow them or herself more than forty seconds of rest. Even that would have a cost, Shizue thought.

But Ginjiro, while he hadn't made a sound, had fallen behind the others even when they started to move. He hadn't done as much as Ichiman and Ginchiyo. He hadn't been praised, either. But from the way he was trembling…

He wasn't as strong as either.

"I…" Ginjiro began, but Ginchiyo was already moving, quickly signing something behind her that calmed him down.

At least until they opened a last pair of doors and at last saw their enemies plain.

Five people in a room absolutely covered with pictures. And all of the pictures were about the size of something she'd see in a book. Shizue couldn't make out too much of that. What she could see she could see by the glowing pot in the center of the room.

The five shinobi were all men, rough looking except for a tall man who looked almost like a noble, but whose scars--especially one over his eye--marked him as someone who had been in a lot of fights.

They were arrayed, and a small looking shinobi with leathery looking skin was carefully trying to manipulate what seemed to be a series of buttons and panels that could slide around. "Just need a.. few more minutes, boss. But do we have that?"

"No," the man said, then waved a hand.

One of the men moved, and now Sanosuke was visible, a knife to his throat.

"Move," the leader said. "And we'll kill him. Throw down your arms, get rid of those puppets, and put your hands on your head and we won't use too much of his blood to get this door open."

Shizue frowned. "Blood?"

"The last part of the puzzle," the leathery man said, to himself. "Blood and wisdom. Those shall get us to the treasure vaults. That's not a translation. A translation would take months and the scholarship--"

"Shut up," the man in charge said. "Just because you spent some time undercover as an archaeologist? So you understand the situation. If I make the decision, we kill him right here for the blood. If not I just cut his arm. See if we can't get enough that way. We go through, the door closes. He's alive and in there. And then we see from there."

He didn't sound that afraid of them.

"If you kill him, I will kill each and every one of you," Ginchiyo said quietly. But she looked as if she were willing to throw it down.

Of course she did.

And Ichiman was looking to her.

In the dark and strange riddle room, no matter what there'd be blood.

[End Credits]

What to do?

[] Throw down weapons. They… might not be willing to immediately work on killing you. At least for the moment. And Shizue knows some taijutsu, if not as much as she'd wish to know now. But Sanosuke's life is at risk.
[] Don't throw them down. Try to distract him and hope that she can find a moment to attack. Or to do… something.
[] Retreat. Make them think you've fled, and if they don't buy it, they'll have to chase and split up, and if they do she can listen and wait until the moment they've opened the door to surprise them.
[] Write-in.

******

A/N: A very fine hostage indeed.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 39 (Cont again)

For a long moment, Shizue had no idea what to do. Her mind was blank, her hands shaking. Again and again and again. She ran through it. Again: someone she cared about--less than Seiichiro, or Okiie, but that didn't matter--was being threatened.

There wasn't such a thing as safety, Shizue realized. Realized again, because every time it hit her, it crashed into her that one day something would go wrong and she'd die, that every single mission she'd been on had had tangles and snarls, it felt different. There was a different flavor, those moments on the way back.

Maki broken. Herself broken. A coming war broken. A monster unbroken, Akachi torn to pieces inside by what he'd had to do.

It wasn't going to stop. Ever. Shizue was going to be hearing the scrape of knives and the threat in the voice of others, threats not just towards her, as long as she was a shinobi.

She knew that there were villages where at her age she'd barely be a genin, she'd have at most met a few bandits, or been threatened by a missing-nin who wouldn't dare to hurt someone from her village unless they had an angle.

All of this pulsed through her, washed away her fear and doubt and replaced it with something almost cold.

Emiko had survived this for around six years. Shizue could too.

"You're threatening to kill him," Shizue said, quietly. "Why any of this? We have fuinjutsu experts, we can help you."

"You do?" the smooth man said. But he sounded intrigued. "Is this boy with you, on your team?"

Shizue didn't answer. His words felt purposeful, and she knew that they meant something, in this strange-half dark room. The shadows seemed deeper here, and she could almost hear Ginchiyo's teeth grinding together.

If she used her jutsu, she probably could hear it, as clear as if she'd meant for Shizue to hear it. "Yes. Why?"

Ginchiyo didn't wince. Thankfully.

"We prefer not to murder people if we don't have to," the man said. "Additionally, right before we went off to do the mission, we had a visit from someone. The person who… someone."

The person who what?

Hired them?

Shizue tried to keep her face neutral, tried to not worry. Tried to act as if this was her every day, though perhaps it was going to be. "And?"

"It was this monster named Ken."

Shizue froze.

"Ah, you've heard of him. Met him, even? Well, he demanded that if we came across a certain group of people or their teammates that we were not to kill them under any circumstances. Handed us pictures and everything. Your picture was prominent," the man said. He seemed smooth, but Shizue could note the slight quiver in his voice. It was what she was feeling, deep beneath the failed attempts at coldness, at control.

Fear. And tiredness. Exhaustion at what you had to do to appease fear, how you had to enslave yourself to it.

If Shizue hadn't had an idea she'd have done anything to wipe it away. "Ah," Shizue said.

But…

There it was, wasn't it? Ken didn't want Shizue to die, but why? Was it because he was afraid too? Emiko-sensei would murder him if Shizue died and there was even the least, most circumstantial evidence of Ken's involvement. For all that she disapproved of the actions of Jitsuko, for the right reasons she'd do anything, anything at all. Shizue, Emiko, Ginchiyo: this was how they were the same.

Shizue felt sick, felt as if she needed to cut through it. "Then, let's solve this puzzle, and then you let him go and we'll leave. This isn't what we're here for."

It wasn't, there wasn't a camp here to protect, even if she was sure that the dig teams would be outraged if anything happened to the structure.

Shizue turned around to talk to Ichiman, her lips moving for one second. "Save him while distracted," she said. Her mouth didn't, in theory make any sound, but she needed to hurry, and hope nobody noticed the slight pause before she said, louder, "Hey, can you help?"

"I… can." Ichiman carefully moved his hand and set the spear to the side. Not that far away, but enough distance that it might take a precious moment to reach. Then he let out a breath and stepped towards the walls, looking at them.

Ginchiyo hadn't even tensed, but Shizue could feel something about her eyes, something that told her that this could end very badly. Ginchiyo's fingers nervously--or so it seemed--tapped against her wrist as she kept her hands carefully away from the sword.

Now all Shizue needed was the right moment. That's what they all needed, she thought, looking at the group of five, and at Sanosuke. "What? Is it going to be hard to figure out?" Sanosuke said. "You're probably smart and good at this stuff, I'm sure you'll find a way." He looked up at the man holding him, at the knife, and there wasn't fear there, not anymore at least. Instead he seemed almost wry.

Akachi, standing across from a future corpse, making jokes because he had to.

Something about this room wasn't healthy. She could feel it, it was like a Genjutsu but… she couldn't move to break it, because what if that was the one action that set them off? But she tried to breathe shallowly as she watched the five and tried to show nothing at all on her face.

"If we had someone with chakra sensing, this could go faster." Ichiman said it quietly, his voice stripped of emotion, but there was something about the stiffness of his movements as he walked closer to the wall that told of tension. If this came to a fight, who would be hurt this time?

Emiko, wounded and poisoned, the look on her face as she fought against betrayal. What had the camp--

It was like something was digging her up, laying her out on the ground. Note by note by note, piling up there as the others all looked equally tense. It was bizarre, it was a little terrifying, and yet she waited. Hoped that Ginchiyo would pick the right time.

"Drop the weapons," the man in charge said. "By the way. I'll kill him, this boy, if it's the only way. Even if I have to run from Ken-san for the rest of my life. The payout'll be worth it"

Ginchiyo, without even pausing, unhooked her sword and threw it to the ground, as if she didn't need it. Ginjiro started dumping shuriken, slowly but surely, and Shizue thought he was taking it slow, waiting for a cue from Ginchiyo.

"Do what he wants," Ginchiyo said.

He sped up, as Ichiman continued to read the walls. That's what it felt like. "This is forming a seal. A Kage-level seal if I were to guess." Ichiman said it in a crisp, almost emotionless way. As if he were retreating into himself. "I… I…"

He was almost stammering, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. He was frozen in place as he said. "And it begins from the f-f-far l-left. It, the symbol that…"

"I know which one it is," the strange older man said, leaning over the symbols. "Don't be a fucking idiot, I figured that out first, but then from there, you stupid boy, there's--"

"Other side," Ichiman said. "M-mirrored and r-r-reversed." But when he stuttered, it didn't feel like shyness. No, it felt as if something was in the way, something coiled and dark. Ginchiyo looked like she wanted to pace, they were all coming apart.

The song was breaking down, and the team across from them started to do the same. The Fuinjutsu, Shizue thought.

"Oh," the trap man said, "That makes--"

Lightning flashed, not even taking a single moment to gather before it slammed into one of the shinobi as Sanosuke pitched himself forward, a cocky smile on his face. He wasn't at all nervous, not at all even though by now it was clear that something was being done by this room, something dangerous and personal.

Sanosuke ran forward, just barely ducking a kunai, and dodged around the pot in the center just in time as Shizue gathered her strength and screamed, as loud as she could, letting the sound, the frustration and fear, the knowledge of what would happen next--

They would fight. She would kill or die. All over some bizarre treasure that she hadn't even seen.

It tipped over, and darkness filled the room for a desperate, miserable moment as she fumbled with kunai, trying to figure out what to do.

Her heart was racing, and a part of her whispered that she was going to die here, going to die here and never seen Okiie again. That thought…

It wasn't hers, but it felt so much like hers.

When the door burst open, even without bloodshed, and filled the dark room with thin, wavery light, Shizue blinked at the light, as if she already couldn't remember a time before darkness. She'd felt it, the way she was slipping under some even more potent Genjutsu, the way something was coming to destroy her.

But what if it was just herself?

There was a man standing there, long-haired and wearing some sort of gi, his features hard to tell when he was shrouded in light. "This is a place of meditation and peace. Perhaps not this room specifically, but--ah."

One of the other shinobi turned to stab be newcomer and the man's fingers lanced out, almost too fast to see, and jabbed into his arm. At least, that's what Shizue thought happened, though in the darkness and the uncertain light it was hard to tell.

He blurred even more and the shinobi he'd been hitting fell down, as did the one next to him, and then he snapped a simple kick at the old expert's legs, bringing him down in one smooth motion before stepping back.

Three men were out of the fight in about three seconds, and he wasn't even breathing hard. "This is rather annoying," the figure said. His hair was dark, Shizue could now see, but the roots looked paler. And his eyes, they were pale white. Even Shizue knew what those were: a Hyuuga. Which meant that style, which had taken out three people without even trying, must have been some odd variation on their taijutsu style. Odd, because kicking someone in the chest didn't seem to fit it at all. "You're a Jonin, aren't you? Kobayakawa, something like that. I really don't know slimy criminals all that well. Well, that's a lie. But hey, I can pretend, can't I? But yeah, so could you leave before I have to hurt you?"

"What, some Hyuuga? Well, I have ways to deal with that." Kobayakawa shot forward, hands moving through seals, and the next second he was on the ground, unmoving.

"You know, I get the powerful shinobi who monologue about how outmatched the enemy is now, even more than ever," the Hyuuga said. "It helps fill in time, adds a little excitement. Not that I wanted this." He turned towards the last of them. "You're obviously here to send a message to me. That I can't hide, that he will find me. That he's not afraid to interfere. You wonder, sometimes, at the lengths a guy goes." He coughed.

"W-what?" the last one said.

"What is going on?" Ginchiyo asked, baffled and angry. Her hands were shaking now, and she was looking from Ginjiro to Sanosuke with something like hope, but she wasn't letting it stop her. "Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Hikaru, and you must… ah." He was staring right at her armband. He made a little sound. "And are you here from her to tell me the same, or something different?"

Uzumaki. Uzumaki.

"I don't think so. And… her?" Shizue asked.

"Emiko-san. If I'd known you were with her, I wouldn't have… I'm sorry for the traps, I didn't actually think…" Hikaru was flushing a little, rubbing at his long, dark hair. Which she could now see was definitely dyed, the roots shining blonde in the light. Behind him, in the room, what little she could see, there were crates and crates and crates. Piled on top of each other.

Meditation, huh?

Shizue felt as if all the pressure, all the stress, had left. But she knew it was no doubt still lurking.

Hikaru sighed. He moved over and in the span of a second, the last of the enemy was out. "Okay, this is a very clever plot, really. Not Emiko-san's. She's not that obtuse. Quite. I don't think. I'll need you to take these criminals with you on the way out."

"What?" Ginchiyo said. "No, what is going--"

"Well, there's a lot to explain, and I'm not sure how much time I actually have. If you have a few questions, I suppose I could answer them or not. But then we should go. This room's no longer working, but it's still rather creepy."

He said it leaning in, as if he were confiding some big secret. Playful, almost.

[Commercial Break]

What to ask him about? (Choose 3)

[] Uzumaki? As in… really?
[] What are those crates?
[] Who is sending the message? The one that involved tomb robbers
[] You know Emiko?!
[] What do you mean, sorry for the traps?
[] What is with this room? What did it do?
[] Is this place real, or is this some sort of… modern creation?
[] Do you know about the excavation?

******

A/N: So! Always Saturday... even if it's Saturday at 10:30 PM.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 39 (Fin)

Shizue took a breath, standing in a bizarre tomb, talking to a man with white eyes and a thousand secrets. Something about those eyes seemed warmer than she would have expected, or perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't killed anyone yet, had talked with a casualness she wasn't used to.

'Rather creepy' indeed.

Shizue didn't know how strong he was, but he was at least Jonin level, and he hadn't had to struggle. In fact, there it was. Emiko-sensei sometimes tried to make herself appear as if she was doing everything almost effortlessly, but here was someone who could afford to be casual, to be chatty and strange, and that thought alone scared Shizue more than a little. He wasn't creepy, but the thought of what he could do was.

So she stumbled over the next words, "Uzumaki? As in… really?"

"Yes, as far as I know I'm really an Uzumaki. I'm naturally blond, but I had something of a falling out with dear ol' gramps. You know how he is. Well, you've read a thousand books, right? I've heard there's some new movie coming out." He frowned, pondering it. "I'm not a Naruto-maniac, and I can't actually get you an autograph. Maybe I should have done that instead of doing something I'd know fail. I could have sold it for money to help the causes." He looked away, musingly, as if there weren't five dangerous shinobi at his feet and four across from him. Then he smiled, "Sorry, I'm distracted. I've been meditating the past few hours, and it has me a little jumpy, you know? Can't exactly go for a run."

His smile was rather handsome, and his face was nothing like what she'd expected from someone with those eyes. It was warm, and broad, his lips a bit wide, his cheeks a little round.

"Oh," Ginchiyo said. She stepped forward, looking stunned, as if he had knocked her upside the head. "What happened?"

"That I'm not in my good gramps' gregarious graces?" Hikaru asked. "I had a disagreement with him about this activist cause. The True Home movement. He agreed with me, I agreed with him more violently, and therein lies the problem. If he'd been Hokage, well." He shrugged. "But he wasn't anymore, so he couldn't help me. I left my village in protest, but oddly they don't seem to have given me a bounty. It's been life on the road from there, I'm sure you all know it, even if you aren't technically missing-nin… in theory, at least."

"What?" Ginjiro asked. "So, we're… what precisely?"

"It'd take a nice lawyer, but legally the runaway shinobi of any defunct village become watari-nin if they apply for it, or ask the right people. Nice lawyers aren't something a lot of missing-nin can afford, but in theory you could be a watari-nin, even have a shot at going to the chunin exams." Hikaru frowned thoughtfully.

"No, we're missing-nin. Or I am, at least. I'm not leaving Emiko-sensei," Shizue said, and realized that not only did she meant it, but she couldn't imagine not meaning it in a year, in two. Maybe her imagination was stunted, but she didn't just want to stop when she somehow became Jonin-level, if she did. In this room, now, the thoughts seemed to almost ring out, have special meaning. As if they were hallowed, here.

Ichiman shook his head, and said quietly. "Not… anytime soon."

"And I'm not a missing-nin, and I'm not a watari-nin, I have a--" Ginchiyo began, firmly.

"A village?" Hikaru cut off. His expression grew only a single shade darker, but it was enough to make Shizue press back against the wall. "A village which oppressed its people, which engaged in a three-way war that all but destroyed the Archipelago?" He held up a hand, passion in his eyes, when Ginchiyo coughed. "I have begun to lack belief in just what persuasion can do, but I do not regret what happened to your village, I cannot. And neither can all of its victims." He strode forward, seeming almost agitated.

It was as if he was trying to be heard, as if he was trying to shout someone when he was talking with an indoor voice. There was something startling as he went closer to her. "I argued for True Home, I presented a thousand good reasons why it was best for everyone, and it meant nothing."

"I've… heard about True Home," Shizue said, stepping forward, trying not to be afraid. Trying not to worry. "It sounded worthy. I met a man who… was involved in it. He was a friend."

"There are many friends out there when you believe that civilians are people, there truly are," Hikaru said. He was looking right at Ginchiyo, who looked somewhere between exhausted rage and forlorn, stunned belief. She wasn't going to listen, but she was going to approach to the very edge of listening, to open herself up for nothing but disagreement.

"I… it's my home. If you have a home and it's no village, Hikaru-san," Sanosuke said, quietly. "That doesn't mean everyone can live like that. I support Ginchiyo-chan in whatever she wishes to do. I know you have the power to kill all of us if you want. Or do whatever you want. But I will not allow you to talk that way to my best friend."

Hikaru's eyes went wide, and he let out a snort. Then, quietly, he relaxed. "You're not your village. Ginchiyo-san, I cannot harm you. I cannot harm you and be Uzumaki Hikaru. Not here, not now. Who, though, are you, songstress? I think I know, it was, Suza…"

"Suzuhisa Shizue," Shizue corrected, quietly. "And who are they working for? I heard Ken-san was involved, but…"

"Ken-kun? That underachieving sociopath? I know that being a murderous jerk who plays with his food looks like power, but it really isn't. It's just another form of weakness, another form of avoidance. Ken's a… well. There's this obscure game called chess, and I could make up a metaphor based on that, actually, if you gave me a moment. It's not quite as fresh as shogi metaphors, but I kinda stopped doing that after I started hating Nara Shikako-"

He was rambling. He was actually, legitimately rambling like a goof, and Shizue wasn't sure what to think as she stared. Wait. Shikako. He was talking about her as if she was just a person, not… an absolutely terrifying Kage who could, if the stories were right, devour people with shadows. And yet. She let him ramble, mostly talking about her commanding personality and how it'd be nice if she didn't lead the entire world into a ditch, and--

"Then who are they working for?"

"Oh. Right. Your sensei would know that as well as I, actually. Maybe more than I do? We're sorta peers, I suppose. Between you and me, I'm pretty sure He could take Nara in a fight. Not a fair fight, but neither of them fight fair." He frowned. "I don't know if I could beat her. It'd be pretty uncertain, and have a lot to do with speed, I think." He tilted his head. "But I know that I could defeat the Kazekage, and the Raikage. Tsuchikage? Maybe. But if I was going after her I'd use her secret weakness."

"Secret… weakness?" Ginchiyo asked.

"Oh, she's arrogant and often not very reasonable about all sorts of things. I'd just have to find something to bribe her with." He shook his head. "Not that way, she doesn't want stuff, not ever. But she thinks she's owed…"

Hikaru's lips twisted. "Sorry, I'm making S-rank ninja sound like they're all a bunch of overgrown children. This is unfair because there is a low S-rank ninja in Konoha, still a chunin, who is only sixteen. So we're overgrown and regularly grown children."

Shizue decided she liked him: she also decided that she could probably never trust him. But she was a ninja. When was trusting all that important? At least, to people beyond her friends and Emiko, always Emiko.

But Emiko knew a lot more, a lot lot more, than she'd been saying. Shizue wondered. She wasn't stupid, the Him could be the 'he' that Hikaru mentioned. And if that was so, then the genjutsu poison had to be part of it, and so did Ken. Ken was some sort of agent or ally or lacky of Him? If that was so, then… then. Where was Hikaru in all of this? "You have an enemy who can defeat the Hokage?"

"Would that he be simply an enemy. He's… mostly an enemy, but we've worked together, once. Overlapping goals." Hikaru shrugged. "I don't trust him, but you know what, I hate it sometimes, but I am a ninja, and ninja don't have to trust each other."

Shizue blinked, for a moment almost wondering if he had read her mind.

"Huh," Ichiman said. His brain was first-rate, and she had a feeling he was working through things. "The crates?"

"Actually. I am willing to tell you and Shizue-san. Also, who are you? You look like a… hrm."

"Ichiman." Ichiman looked a bit nervous as Hikaru gestured.

"Please, come in. And Ginchiyo-san, it's not that I don't respect you, that sword looks incredibly dangerous when the Byakugan was active, enough so that I honestly thought there was no way you wouldn't get through, whoever you were. I won't close the door, and I'll deactivate the trap in this room, but this needs to be private. As if I'm talking to Emiko-san."

Shizue thought about asking where he'd met her. Instead she glanced at Ginchiyo, who was now looking at Ginjiro and Sanosuke in what looked almost like tears in her eyes. But which she no doubt would deny. She would be fine, for the moment. She wasn't here for whatever this was, for whatever it'd become.

Something deep. The games of the… overgrown children, as he had said.

She followed him into the room.

It was beautiful. There were doors lining the far walls, but most of all, above was… not the sky. No, it was a mural, depicting what seemed like vast, winged beings, carrying off what looked like the remains of skeletons. The beings were bright, but there was darkness at the edge of the mural, as if they were leaving something.

"From death to afterlife," Hikaru muttered, and he sounded wistful. "This place is sacred. I've said that before, but I can't believe it'll no longer be my secret. I discovered it back when I was with Konoha, and I couldn't dare to make it known to the kinds of people who would raid it, destroy it. I had the treasures that those idiots were looking for shipped out, it's going to be sent to universities or… something like that. And there are bodies. The dead, the welcome dead, and all their permutations. And then I placed these crates here. Well, I did recently. Supplies."

"For?" Ichiman asked.

"A new True Home," he said.

Shizue gasped.

"Your m... mistress, sensei, whatever she is, Iwasaki Emiko, she already knows about it. How could she not, stealing a scroll like that."

"The… casino job," Shizue guessed.

"Yes. Exactly. The casino job. Yet if she told her employer about it, then they haven't acted yet."

"I… think she's keeping it?" Shizue guessed. It seemed like something Emiko would do. Suddenly she realized that Emiko had to be some kind of mastermind, to keep on finding and digging into these things. But… she had to be playing a dangerous game, if she wasn't Kage-level herself? "I think she knows exactly what's going on."

"Well… maybe she does. Either way, from what I've seen she's impressive, and as good of a person as you can be while being an assassin. That's… not a very high bar, but she cleared it and there were people who didn't. And as far as I know, she's very much one of those quality craftsmen. There are two-bit thugs that kill more than any assassin could, if they had self-respect." Hikaru shrugged. "I know that's not sounding like I like her, but I think we get along fine. Or… okay, that's a little presumptuous."

"Yes," Ichiman said, carefully. Frowning, as if he wanted to write this all down.

"Basically and fundamentally, that's it. Supply crates. Welcome to the big leagues. It's cunning plots and lack of plans all the way down."

Shizue blinked, and more and more wished she understood what was actually going on. So there was a True Home… but then why was Suna trying to obtain the scroll about it? And why did… well. Ken being there made sense, but what was his angle there?

Obviously, Ken was… hrm.

Threatening them because if one of Emiko's genin died, and she had any reason to suspect Ken, then she'd kill him. She might kill him anyway, Shizue thought faintly, aware that normal thirteen year olds didn't think so speculatively on murder. But Ken deserved it. Shizue would kill him herself, if she had the skill and the opportunity.

It perhaps wasn't such an odd thing to realize about yourself. As a shinobi, she was going to have to get used to it. She was getting used to it.

"Alright, so, here's how I've finally decided it's going to go. I'm going to keep the lovely fuckups, and find a way to deliver them gift-wrapped, y'know? Show that I understand what he was trying to say and that I have my own message. You guys should get out of here, I promise nothing will attack you on the way back. And make sure they don't butt their heads in yet. Just tell them that there's someone dangerous in there that doesn't want to be disturbed or… something like that. I promise I'll let them tear this place to pieces for clues later, but right now I need to… oh, goody. Another reason for them to doubt me." He rubbed his hair, and looked at the two of them. "I'm sorry that I can't be more help, besides taking care of them and answering a few questions, I really am. And I can't really help Emiko-san either. I guess I could give her tips, or relationship advice? But I'm no good at that either, and besides, we kinda only met once and it was three years ago and so it's kinda my fault for caring so much about someone like that." Hikaru looked rueful. "I'm bad at that."

Shizue had listened to him, had filled in those moments with silence, had let it ring clear and let him chatter, and yet she had no doubt that if he wanted to, he could do more than that. He was dangerous, she'd seen that, and he was deeply involved in something so complicated that she wished Ichiman had written down some notes.

She was itchy and uncertain, she wanted to leave, or go somewhere where she could play music, do something to calm down from the shock of today.

All the way back, Ginchiyo hand in hand with her two teammates, Shizue sang and didn't care that Ichiman looked at her oddly. She felt as if she were leaving an interview, somehow. Or… it was hard to define it. He'd talked a lot, yes, but there'd been something…

She didn't know. Suzuhisa Shizue emerged into the bright daylight, a song on her lips, and longed for home and barely even thought of the Archipelago when she did.

*******

It was odd, seeing two men agree so quickly, when they'd hated each other so long. Even the redacted version of the story, when spread to the camp, was enough to terrify the workers… and the possibility of a giant temple in the future to explore meant they'd no doubt be coming back. But they'd need force for it, they'd need enough ninja, and not missing-nin, to protect this.

It was all so very simple when put that way. Here, have the pay you would have made and never speak of this again, go away you vultures we've managed to find a discovery so great we'll work together reluctantly to share it with the world.

Rika just frowned watching it, looking a little hurt, in a way. It was hard to know why, but Shizue guessed it had to do with how quickly, how eagerly they were ushered out. She'd work herself almost thin trying to care for the two camps, she'd not even been there for the event that seemed to end the mission.

Chuichi was close-lipped, calm, looking over at Ginchiyo and tolerating it when Shizue threw her arms around the girl and gave her an awkward, uncertain hug. How long would it be until they met again? Shizue didn't know, and so she wanted to do something that'd last, that'd remind Ginchiyo.

She knew that if anything, Ginchiyo was now less likely to trust Emiko than before, since now a strange missing-nin knew her name and thought she was involved in something. Even though she hadn't heard the most sensitive facts, it was enough that she understood what it could mean, what it could be. Emiko was dangerous, if you were someone who cared about nothing more than a quiet life as a missing-nin. That seemed an oxymoron, after so many missions. But there were missing-nin who did guard duty and it didn't turn anything, missing-nin who could go months without real danger. Few enough of them, but from the look on Ginjiro's face, they were going to lay low for now.

"Did you know?" Shizue found herself asking Chuichi, an hour into their return trip.

"Yes. Or else I'd be dropping you off and making my plans to leave," Chuichi said, disconsolately. "She knew he was here, at least." Rika looked at them curiously. She'd heard the stories, but it was different than meeting the man. "She told me I should make sure that the dig doesn't get in his way, but to stay out of it. That if he attacked me I was to inform him that she had not passed it on, and that his secret was safe for the moment. She also had this absurd idea about asking him for a favor in return."

"What?" Shizue asked, stunned. "Like, a trade?"

"Yes." Chuichi bit his lip, his voice almost trembling. "That'd be dumb, he'd never--"

"He would," Ichiman said. "If the request was nice." He said it so certainly that Shizue had to believe it.

"Maybe. Maybe he would. But now he's leaving, and what he's involved in… it'd be best if we forgot it. Just… move on."

The trip back was quiet, almost silent. It was a silence that spoke.

It felt as if some barrier had been passed, as if now she was exposed to the conditions, to whatever games had been going on. Just because she knew of them.

She pursed her lips, glad that they were all alive, but unable, quite, to find a song.

[End Credits]

Who comes up to Shizue first when she arrives back at the base?

[] Okiie, with a smile and an invitation to sit down and have lunch together, slightly stressed, slightly uncertain, looking at Shizue and somehow seeing the tension.
[] Saya steps up and says, "Shizue, there's been a little… it's not a big deal but there was sort of a fire in your room… not a big fire, nothing got burned up. Well, I mean, nothing important, darling, you know how it is, right? Well, okay, maybe some of the sheet music was… but I didn't do it." Then she'd given another one of her nervous little covered laughs and tried to escape. Tried.
[] Maki came up, bowing politely, and asked Shizue if she'd like to see Emiko-sensei spar, and that there was much to talk of, and much that, "You can only know if you see it" as Maki put it, looking vaguely distressed.
[] Seiichiro having an argument with Junko. A loud one, spilling forth, tearing things to shreds, filling the halls. Something big.

******

A/N: So, yeah. Everyone's got secrets, everyone's got lies, and all of Act 4 was this big plot setup that allowed time to pass and pieces to slide into place. They're almost there, you know. It's been some time.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 40: Day of Changes?

Maki was waiting there, her arms crossed, her eyes glowing. No doubt she'd been given it as an easy task by Emiko, a means of training that was both long overdue and something that didn't have to be supervised. That itself told a very important story to Shizue, as she hefted her bags and looked around the entryway.

"Not that we're not grateful to see you," Rika said. "But we need to talk to Emiko-san."

"Ah. Yes," Maki said, thoughtfully. "Chuichi-sensei, Emiko-san is indisposed, and likely will be for the next two weeks. Well, for the purpose of running this base. That's what I came here to say." Her voice is so cold, even formal, but there was something like pleading in her eyes, which certainly look bigger with the makeup she's now using. It's almost unnerving, when they're that color and glowing, and she bows. "And Shizue-chan, would you like to see Emiko-sensei spar? You'll know what you're looking at when you see it."

"And me? Am I invited?" Rika asked.

"You may be needed in the infirmary. In fact you are. And Ichiman-san, it would be instructive if you came, but you don't need to."

Why didn't he need to? Shizue asked herself, tensing a little bit. There was something in Maki's voice that made Shizue worried.

"Shizue-san, you know that you're in a unique position," Maki said, and her voice is slightly warmer. She looks changed, and Shizue isn't sure how, it's just a subtle something about how she was standing. There was more instability, more uncertainty, than she'd shown in the last month: but she'd been unwilling to allow it to be seen before.

Shizue hadn't known quite how unstable, how troubled, Maki had been until she'd tried to kill herself. Shizue had heard it and not even known, the way every moment of vulnerability was followed by a cover-up, by a denial of what made her stick out. So here they were. "I'll go," Shizue said, wondering what Maki was thinking.

"May I as well?" Ichiman asked. His voice was soft, and even though he had to be as exhausted as Shizue. "Why wouldn't I be needed?"

"Because," Maki said, persuasively. She didn't say anything else, just nodded a little and turned. "Please follow if you wish. I'll see you soon, Chuichi-san."

Chuichi nodded. "That kid," Shizue heard as she reached the elevator. "Is always planning something."

"I know," Rika said, sounding almost amused. "H-she's always well-meaning, I think. When she thinks and doesn't just…"

Rika, of course, knew about the injured woman. She perhaps would always hold that close to her, a reason that she could not trust Maki as much as she had once before. Shizue wondered what that meant for herself, who'd went to a revolutionary with information that could have led to deaths, who was willing to do quite a lot if it meant those she cared for were safe.

Emiko was an assassin for hire.

Rika was perhaps hypocritical, but… understandably so. If she went on an assassination mission or two with Emiko then she wouldn't be able to ignore the facts. Though Shizue thought, curiously, about how she'd only been on one since she killed the Jonin of Tide. Clearly she didn't need to find someone to kill to survive. There were missions she could take and things she could do that had to mean she had some larger goal.

But she also knew that Emiko would only tell Shizue when she felt like it, and no sooner. She'd held back a lot from Chuichi. There was one way that Emiko and Maki were similar, and Shizue wondered… what would Rika do when she saw the worst moment of Emiko, if she hadn't already?

Shizue was quiet as she followed Maki, allowing the sounds of distant talking and footsteps to fill her head. It was easier to do that then worry about the future. Even if the future was the very immediate future.

Shizue could hear the thumps long before they got to the door. Maki just opened it, one of the lower level training rooms, and stepped inside. They followed… and stared.

[Opening Credits]

There were so many things different about the battlefield, about the fight, that Shizue barely knew where to begin. She'd seen Emiko fight before, of course, but she'd never seen her go all out except once, in a council chamber, and even then it felt different. When she'd thrown everything into it in the camp, that was poisoned and exhausted, that was ambushed and without access to her greatest tricks.

This time, the room was all but destroyed, covered in holes, the ground torn up everywhere, and Emiko was moving in a blur.

She was also clearly outmatched, backing up the moment they opened the door, pulling up a wall of hard rock and slapping an explosive charge on it as she quickly moved through a handseal or two, creating a pair of clones that drove forward--

And died, because Baisho Jitsuko was terrifying as well. In the same time that Emiko had done three things, she'd closed the distance, leapt over the wall, which blew up behind her, and landed right in front of Emiko… who blurred as she slipped via body flicker right next to Ichiman, instinctually flinching away from him, and drawing a kunai. She threw it in a single smooth motion before, her motions a blur, she retreated.

It hit a high wall, so far off track that it had to be some kind of scheme.

Then Jitsuko was on her, fists slamming into Emiko. Jitsuko hadn't seemed to use a single jutsu, just sheer overwhelming power, and she didn't until Emiko's skin hardened. Then she reached out with a crackling palm, the lightning dancing as she shoved Emiko back.

Her sensei leapt up into the air, another kunai thrown, this time with far more accuracy, right at Jitsuko. Jitsuko caught it, and Emiko smirked, as Jitsuko returned three kunai to her one. Up in the air, there should be no way to dodge but--

There was an invisible wire attached to the wall, Shizue realized, hidden by Genjutsu. She grabbed onto it and swung out of the way of the kunai, landing gracefully and shifting to a ready position, her fingers already flying through some jutsu, so fast that…

Shizue had never expected that, but at a certain point fingers moved fast enough that even if she'd known the handseals for every jutsu in existence, she wouldn't have been able to tell what it was.

Jitsuko, it was clear, could, because she leapt back just in time to keep a spike of earth from impaling her, glinting with some strange… was that poison?

Jitsuko smiled, and Emiko held her position, panting a little bit, smiling over at Jitsuko in a look somewhere between fond and furious. "Well, congratulations," Emiko said, quietly. "That was my hole card."

"It's not a bad jutsu you've invented. Easily worthy of being considered Jonin level," Jitsuko said. "Just as you are. And you know that's not enough." Jitsuko wasn't tired, Jitsuko wasn't playing either. Instead, well. Shizue thought about the fight between Emiko and Ginchiyo and the others, the way that Emiko had tried to force them to go all out, to pull out even more impressive feats. "But that's not enough, and it's never been, has it?"

"Never," Emiko said, spitting on the ground. But… huh. There was something about her spit that looked a little different, slightly off-color. Some sort of poison?

"You look like you're on your last--" Jitsuko began, and then ducked.

Emiko disappeared from where she was and was standing a half-dozen feet away, as a spear of earth almost went through Jitsuko's arm.

"You saw through the Genjutsu, mostly," Emiko panted. "But if you layer it enough, push enough chakra into it, then you can cover for something."

"Ah, there we go, finally," Jitsuko said. "That's what you should be doing." Jitsuko raced forward, and the rest of the fight was a terrible blur, Emiko barely holding out as she retreated, until at last she was defeated.

Emiko knelt, panting, and Jitsuko stood there. "This fight is over. I don't want to hurt you too badly. That trick at the end, it didn't quite fool me, you needed to layer the chakra a little bit thicker. But it was close, and it's the kind of thinking you'll need, to do what you're going to do." She offered her hand, and Emiko took it, pulled up as Jitsuko… hugged Emiko?

"It wasn't enough, we should--" Emiko began.

"If you push yourself too far you'll be hurt. Besides, logically speaking, the only way you are going to kill someone that strong is at your best, using every trick you have. Even among us, being half-exhausted means you retreat, not try to fight through to victory unless you have to. Let's go, I can give you a massage, and we can talk about what you'd do differently."

Emiko sighed, and nodded. Jitsuko's fingers ran through Emiko's hair, the touch apparently not unwelcome as they made their way towards the exit. "Hey, Shizue-chan. I'm glad you're back from the mission, what happened?" Emiko asked. She sounded sleepy though, a soft frown on her face.

"Uzumaki Hikaru," Shizue said. "You knew about him."

"I already have two psychotic missing-nin in my life, I wanted to wait a little before adding a third," Emiko said. But she sounded almost fond as she grinned up at Jitsuko. Almost was the word, because there was an edge to it, a challenge, harsh and unyielding. "Well, four, in a way."

"Yes, four," Jitsuko admitted.

"So, Shizue-chan. I will talk to you about it. But I wasn't planning on you meeting him or getting involved." Emiko's eyes were pleading and wide. "I plan a lot of things, I have a lot of balls in the air… but I'd just been hoping to have a conversation with him once Jitsuko was gone, about…"

"The New Home," Shizue said, quietly.

"Ah. So he told you some of it. It exists, and yes, Jitsuko-san knows about it already, if not any details. But it's huge, and already a glowing success. But it's hidden from the world. No way to start out a movement. Or.. maybe it is." Emiko frowned. "Better than Jitsuko-chan's."

Chan. Okay, something was different.

"So you say. So you say."

And then they were through the door, and then they were gone. Shizue took a breath.

"Did you see it?" Maki asked, her voice low and cool.

"See what? She's training to kill someone Kage level in power, I think…" Shizue said, stepping forward to examine the battleground. It was littered with little remnants of the fight, and would no doubt have to be closed off for some time… or perhaps a long time, because the damage to the ground, the walls, the--

"She is having sexual relations with Jitsuko-chan."

Shizue tripped and fell flat on her face, groaning and rolling over. "What?"

"She is having sexual relations with Jitsuko-chan," Maki said, as if Shizue simply hadn't heard.

"What? They're dating?" Shizue asked, blinking incredulously. It was true that there was a sort of intimacy there, in their fight and in the--

"No. They are having sexual relations. I am reasonably sure they aren't even friends," Maki said, pleadingly. "It's… distressing."

"Yeah," Shizue said, shakily. The picture of Emiko doing… things was one she never, ever wanted to--

Gah. It was like imagining her mother, honestly, which probably told Shizue something about how she felt about Emiko. But now wasn't the time.

Maki's voice had this odd tremble to it, as if it scared her.

"She's been training nonstop and also entering this… purely sexual relationship, and I believe she's had a reason, but it's left Saya-chan and I to try to manage all of the others and see to their training and… everything else." Maki took a deep, almost shuddering breath, and Shizue turned around. Maki's eyes were dry, and glowing, but there was something about her face then that told Shizue that Maki had had tears to cry earlier and had spent them already. "She's regressing, is what's happening, and yet she has every reason to do so."

"Regressing?" Shizue asked.

"Before she met us, she had a few friends, here and there, a few fake identities, but nobody she was close to long-term, other than… well. As I said. A few people, a very few, and she never let them get too close, only rarely let them see any weakness at all. Do you know what she did in that time? She trained. She was a chunin when she left, though from what I have been able to gather, she was about to be declared a special-Jonin. So she was on track for her age to be a Jonin by twenty-five. She's currently so far beyond the average Jonin it's not particularly amusing. She drove herself into the ground… but as Akachi-san said when I told him some of this, she has an earth affinity. She can dig up too."

"She didn't seem like that at all," Shizue admitted.

"After she met us, that changed," Maki said, quietly. "Mostly. And now that is changing back again. I feel that it's mostly temporary, but she's also clearly being driven by revenge."

"W-we knew that when she made a reference to Uchiha Sasuke," Shizue pointed out, feeling cold. Revenge was… well, she'd heard what it did to Ichiman's parents, and she had no idea whether it'd work any better for Iwasaki Emiko.

"Yes. Or I did. I think… I have ideas of what's going on." Maki sounded hesitant. "It involves the assassination attempt on the old Tsuchikage. But I don't know what she could have to do with it. I don't know what it involved, but she's too subtle. I can't be sure, but it sounded as if the assassination was sudden and flashy."

Shizue knew where it was going. She wasn't stupid, and Maki was brilliant, in her way. "And then in Tea…"

"Yes," Maki said. "Unsubtle but effective. Genjutsu, I'd suspect."

Oh. But Shizue was sure that Emiko wouldn't have done that, used Genjutsu to try to get someone else to assassinate her village leader. Or if she had, she'd have had a good reason for it, Shizue thought desperately.

But then… what?

"She--"

"Couldn't have done it," Maki said, carefully. "Which means someone else did it. So we need to… you need to, help manage people. Fill in for her. Do what needs to be done while she's doing this. She cares, I know she does." Her voice was so empty of doubt it was stunning. "She just needs to do this, and we need to help. Well, you and Saya-chan. I'll do what I can do. One manages under pressure." Maki almost sniffed, then, and for a moment Shizue was staring at a very different looking Saya.

Just as long as Maki didn't start giggling into her hand while calling Shizue darling, she'd deal with it.

"I… I'll think about it," Shizue said. That was the truth, and only the truth. She couldn't be sure yet, she'd just have to play it by ear.

"Thank you," Maki said quietly. "Thank you."

*******

So, it was in the spirit of decency and calm that she actually prevented herself from yelling at Saya when she came to Shizue with her--

"Shizue, there's been a little… it's not a big deal but there was sort of a fire in your room… not a big fire, nothing got burned up. Well, I mean, nothing important, darling, you know how it is, right? Well, okay, maybe some of the sheet music was… but I didn't do it."--

Spiel. She tried to escape, but Shizue grabbed her and went to her room and frowned over the burnt sheet music and managed, again, to keep from yelling as Saya spilled the story. And no, Saya hadn't done it. Heck, Saya hadn't even been remotely responsible in any way. She'd left about a half-hour before the incident, to go work on lunch, and had arrived just in time to see the aftermath.

Seiichiro had been playing with one of the liquid explosive bombs she'd been making. Well, not playing. But examining it, when she hadn't finished making it liquid-tight, so some of it got on his hands. Shizue had made a lot of progress in trap-making, and this one was triggered by a careful device that meant that she could place them at an entrance and kill someone. That's what she was learning, she liked to remind herself.

She'd been thinking of asking if Emiko could clear some corner of the base of traps and let Shizue test them out. Maybe even have Chuichi run his clones into them, just to see how hard or easy they were to avoid.

So, Seichiro had gotten some of the liquid on his hands and not known it. And then he'd asked to learn a fire jutsu from Okiie, who had been perhaps a little too hasty, but had actually cleared Seiichiro from anywhere near anything important in the room.

Except.

Seiichiro's hands had caught fire and he'd rolled around on the ground, a very basic sort of stop, drop and roll that had, inevitably failed since it was a liquid meant to catch fire, and so it was hard to put out. She'd made it to be so.

It'd been gotten rid of, but Seiichiro would have to deal with rather startling burns on his hands while Rika healed that too, and… yes. So there'd been a fire.

But not because of Saya. Even Seiichiro hadn't felt the little bit of fluid it'd taken to light him up, and he'd been earnest in wanting to learn a little bit of fire jutsu. Theoretically.

Okiie shouldn't have said yes. Shizue thought it with a sigh as she fixed everything up and decided to make a new rule: no jutsu in her room, under any circumstances short of dire emergency.

There, solved. Hopefully. She had no idea how she'd keep from screaming if it came up again.

Her room. But she'd made her choice, had to open it up.

So it had to be solved.

[Commercial Break]

"You're stealing? Again!" Seiichiro yelled. He had bandages all on his hands, and yet he was still gesturing wildly.

"I was just… borrowing," Junko said, looking left and right, shiftily. "It wasn't much, just, uh. A few hundred Ryo worth, and that's just because, uh. I wanted to see if I could steal it. It's like a test, see."

"No. I don't see," Seiichiro said.

"We're ninja," Junko said.

Shizue watched as their voices got louder and louder and louder until Shizue couldn't ignore them anymore. "Please, stop fighting. Junko-chan, you've been stealing, have you gotten Emiko-sensei's permission to do this sort of training? It's training, right?" Shizue had this sinking feeling, that it wasn't training, that Junko was… what? And why?

"I… yes," Junko said.

"Because Emiko-sensei would buy you anything you wanted, let alone needed," Shizue said. "She'd do everything and more for us, and--"

"Would she?" Junko asked. She blurted it out, and then her eyes widened. "S-sorry. Of course she would!"

"She's listening everywhere and you say that, you dummy," Seiichiro said, frustrated. "Oh, and I'm sorry, Shizue-chan, for the thing with…"

"I'm glad you're not hurt worse," Shizue said. "But no fire again, and no playing with anything that belongs to me. Even if you find it interesting."

She already wondered how Emiko managed this. Of course, Emiko had far more credit and far more authority than Shizue ever would, but that… but that could change. And not in a good way, Shizue thought. Not her somehow becoming some sort of team leader, no. Emiko… Junko was always one of the most sensitive towards Emiko. It was the former--or perhaps even still current--crush, it was that… well, there were many reasons, including her comparative youth.

Well… Junko and Maki. Shizue wondered, sometimes, where they all ranked in Emiko's--

She also realized that even starting that thought made her feel like a child trying to decide which of her siblings her parents didn't really love that much. Which reminded her, just as suddenly, of Maki's accusation, and then it was all she could do to just try to shut down the argument for a moment and creep off somewhere to hide.

Thus, by the time Okiie ate a late lunch with her, she wasn't up for talking and she just listened to the soothing sound of him babbling excuses and information about his day, about his life. She felt so old she almost should have asked for coffee like Akachi. She smiled at her boyfriend, but she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.

How had Emiko survived this? Just dealing with two incidents was enough to leave her dulled, a little bit. She didn't have an answer for one of them, and the other was just so… so dumb of a thing to happen. A bunch of little mistakes. But because of it, she couldn't even take as much pleasure in a meal with the boy she loved.

If Emiko had had to manage all of them, then it was a wonder she hadn't just fobbed them off. And she really hadn't. Even the three of them were staying somewhere else because there were people who could do it. Shizue knew that if Emiko hadn't seen another option, she'd have to deal with thirteen people now, all clamoring for her attention.

All feeling spited and deprived when she got a little distracted because of her own work, and her own… life. Whatever that may entail. Junko had acted like a brat, and it was good that she'd taken it back immediately. Just the image of Emiko's face--or rather the way it would have gone glassy blank and smooth, as if she were some cold assassin incapable of feeling, all to hide what it meant--made Shizue's heart ache.

Somewhere along the way, Iwasaki Emiko had acquired over a dozen children, and just that moment of Junko's hurt put… well. Everything else in context.

Though, kids moved away, at least some of the time, when they became adults. She wondered when that was for a missing-nin? When had she been planning on letting go, because Shizue had an inkling that Emiko had some sort of plan. She also suspected that it was the kind of plan that… that Shizue wouldn't accept.

A plan based on the vague idea that they were nothing more than Genin she was training. That… that would be so Emiko it'd hurt.

So when she parted ways with Okiie, she felt like she was on her way to being… something. But certainly not--

Maki shouldn't have just told her. Yet if she hadn't, what would Shizue have missed?

*******

"We're actually eating dinner together for once, all of us, around a table," Akachi said, with a nod. "Emiko insisted. Remember, let me try everything first, since it's probably all poisoned. Especially the coffee."

Shizue rolled her eyes, but followed him.

The kitchen and dining area had gained a giant table sometime in the few hours before dinner, and now everyone was all there, around it, their plates and bowls set out with food they weren't eating yet, chopsticks at the ready, with spoons for the soup. The smell, even from here, was astounding. She didn't know who'd cooked it, but whoever had was very good at what they were doing.

She and Akachi were the last arrivals, unless Jitsuko and her partner were going to be coming in, and she took a seat next to Maki and Rika, glancing over at Emiko-sensei, who was reading through some papers.

"Good evening, Shizue-chan. I hope you're settling in well," Emiko said. She sounded slightly absent, a little distracted, but she did glance up at Shizue to give a tight-lipped smile.

"Yes, I am. What are you studying?" Shizue asked.

"Jutsu. Also, the names of all of the nobles in Wind, and also…" she flipped one and frowned. "How to lie on my taxes? I already know that, Jitsuko," she said, and that last comment was enough under her breath that it took Shizue's hearing and her relative proximity to hear that. Also, she didn't even use an honorific, which was either incredibly rude, incredibly intimate, or both. "So, yes. Homework. It is a joy and a treat." The sarcasm dripped all over the floor, and Emiko turned to the next person. "Maki-chan, please tell me that you've been well. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for that checkup with Rika-chan. Was everything okay?"

"Yes it was," Chuichi said. "I was there."

"Yes. She's in good help and the hormones are working just fine," Rika said, simply. "And Seiichiro will be back to normal in a few weeks."

"And in the meantime Yuuichi-kun's feeding him," Emiko said, a ghost of a real smile on her face as she glanced over at Ichiman. "And I hope meeting an Uzumaki didn't--"

"Wait, an Uzumaki?!" Junko said, leaping up.

"Yes. An Uzumaki. He was very weird," Shizue said.

"Weird?" Saya asked, with a roll of her eyes. "What are we, ten?"

"I mean, an Uzumaki," Okiie said. He nodded to himself. "And you met him, Ichiman-kun?"

"Yes. They'll no doubt tell you all about it, later," Emiko said.

"Later?" Okiie asked, looking over at Shizue, no doubt wondering why she hadn't told him earlier.

"Yes," Shizue said. "Later."

"I think that this is a good idea," Chuichi said, quietly.

Emiko didn't say anything, but something stiffened about her, something unyielding and perhaps a little strange. "Akachi-kun, have you been working with Rika-chan about the senbon? A little self-defense would help."

"Yes, mother," Akachi said.

"Please, I'm not that old," Emiko said. Then there was a quiet lull where a few people sitting next to each other talked back and forth, as Emiko reviewed the notes.

"What are we waiting for?" Yuichi asked, quietly, a little uncertain.

"Jitsuko-chan," Emiko said. "She promised she would be here."

Akachi looked grimly amused as he mouthed 'Jitsuko-chan' to Shizue.

"No doubt that mass-murderess is wrangling her pet psychopath," Emiko began. When Jitsuko opened the door and stepped in, she only raised her voice slightly. "Chaining him to the wall, perhaps, while talking about how it's for the good of The People. Ah, and here is the article herself. Please, Jitsuko-chan. Have a seat."

Okay, well. Shizue was pretty sure that Maki was right about the not dating, because that was plain and simple dislike in Emiko's voice, no doubt. Probably. Almost certainly. Maybe.

"Oh, yes. I forgot to have a key made, so I suppose we'll have to keep him chained up there," Jitsuko shot back. "But I would not do that to him, unless he asked me to."

"Asked… you?" Maki said, sounding confused as Jitsuko sat down.

"Very nicely," Jitsuko said, her eyes almost glinting.

Please, Kami, Shizue begged when she realized that this had to be some weird kind of flirting (though she had no idea how), make it stop.

"Now, I'm going to ask, what are the hand-signs for the Chidori? And may we begin eating?"

So that was the dinner. Every minute or two, Jitsuko-chan quizzed Emiko on the material, and Emiko flawlessly answered, with one exception. And Emiko constantly asked about how everyone was doing, if they'd need any help, as if all of her hovering and careful management had been saved up for a single dinner.

At no point in their entire time with her had Emiko come off more as a mother, Shizue thought a little wryly.

Junko was baffled and oddly pleased, and yet when Emiko heard about what she'd done she'd frowned at the girl and said that she'd be losing all the things she had stolen, and the right to visit the town in the next month.

Akachi just cracked dark jokes just on the wrong side of dark, about Jitsuko's exploits, which apparently including killing four Jonin in three seconds and then mailing their heads back to a village that had apparently sent them to assassinate the leader (among others) of a… worker's collective, whatever that was?

Maki watched everyone and said nothing, nothing at all, her eyes roaming carefully. Taking it all in.

Rika was puzzled but thoughtful, and still hadn't worked it out, but was concerned about how Seiichiro was struggling to eat anyways. Yuichi had that frown on his face that he had right before he made a decision. Shizue didn't see the decision, if he made it, that night.

Ichiman was cool, clear, and respectful, asking questions and telling people about the mission, including about Uzumaki.

Saya was just staring right at Maki, not even joking or acting like she was better than everyone else for once, just concerned for her friend and unable to even begin to hide it.

Okiie kept on holding Shizue's hand, as if trying to reassure her that it was okay, and… she liked that. She was glad that her moment of inattention hadn't cost anything.

Chuichi kept to his role rather well, fielding everything as Emiko tried to do three things at once. It felt awkward, very awkward, but in a way that felt like it was the start of a song. Not the first notes, but when one was in a band, and trying to work out who played what notes and what exact lyrics they'd be using. She'd read about it, the process, and now that she'd had some experience she knew what it could be like.

Emiko had to be told about Junko's theft, when a month ago she would have popped up behind Junko with a solution five seconds after she'd admitted it. She was surprised, and that alone was disconcerting, even a little terrifying. Did it mean she'd be less on the ball in other ways? Yet, she managed the entire table and the questions and reading the notes and did it all without more than a frown or three.

What happened after they were done and cleaning up the dishes was a little different.

Jitsuko sat on the counter and said, "Now, Emiko-chan. I did look through your files, and I had a criticism."

"Here? Now?"

"I was hoping that someone could make dessert," Jitsuko said. "Besides which, admitting that you are a human being who makes mistakes in front of other people is healthy, as long as you can make them respect you. Awe is useful to the outside world, Emiko-chan, but this on the inside. And it's the kind of critique that's also a compliment. In a sense."

"Fine," Emiko sighed, as she added. "Oh, and how about a collection of fruit? That's a simple enough dessert, if anyone wants to help me cut it up."

Which was how Okiie and Rika were helping to make something for all of them when Jitsuko spoke.

"You're terrible at pretending to be rich," Jitsuko said.

"I am rich," Emiko pointed out, growling a little as she sliced through an apple with care and skill.

"No. You're quite wealthy, but you invest all of your money to make more money. All of your infiltrations where you play wealthy figures are almost perfect. Always almost perfect. You dress with class and even like it, you have sophisticated, intellectual tastes, and you know how to walk and talk the act. But you don't have servants, you don't get into notable fights with other wealthy people based on ridiculous disagreements. You don't consider, say, a political marriage for power." Jitsuko smiled at that. "You can barely stand to be rude to the servants you come across when you're playing a wealthy person. It's as if you think they're human beings that deserve more than cruelty, no doubt a flaw gained in your youth. You're bad at playing wealthy roles, and the only reason you do for so many identities is that you think you enjoy it, and you do enjoy being respected, being able to, when you need to, use your money to pave your way. But you would make a terrible socialite, and because of this you make a good person."

"Says the revolutionary who, again. What was it that Akachi-kun said? Four heads. In the mail," Emiko pointed out, in a fake-sweet voice. "I'm an assassin."

"You're easily a better… no. I'm not getting into this sort of argument, not yet. So you have a choice. You can get better at the role or drop it for something else. Perhaps some sort of… eccentric middle-class fan of whatever you want to see? Who scraped up the money?"

"It's difficult," Emiko admitted, with a sigh. "Because when you're not in the role of a rich person, people ask where you were a lot more, rather than accepting it."

"And because you are so startlingly ethical that you won't even sneak into movie theatres or operas, because it harms the performers," Jitsuko said, wryly. "Because, again, I did imply it didn't I?"

Emiko almost sliced straight through the cutting board at that comment.

*******

Shizue couldn't sleep, that night, which is why she found herself again in the kitchen.

Jitsuko was there, reading what looked to be a thick red book, and the other woman looked up. "There you are. Did the food not agree with you?"

"I ate too much," Shizue felt. "And… everything."

"And thus here we are, at midnight. And you have questions for me. You want to confront me for what I've done to Emiko-sensei." Jitsuko leaned back. She was wearing pajamas. Actual, regular, plain blue pajamas. Not a weapon in sight, though Shizue knew that this meant very little, considering how easily, how startlingly she'd fought.

"Yes, I do. She's training hard and she's…"

"She asked me to. I'd never have done this if she hadn't. I insisted on things such as that dinner in exchange, because the people she loves, the people she'd die and kill for, need to see at least a little bit of that, in a way that won't go by the wayside for training. It's important to her, and the last thing I want to do is make it worse." Jitsuko sighed, rubbing her eyes. "She's been throwing herself into training, and she has to. From a regular special Jonin to what--"

"Maki-chan's already told me this part," Shizue said.

"Ah, yes. I hope she knows she can talk to me at any time," Jitsuko said. "I've been giving her space because she seemed to want it, nothing more."

"I think she knows that," Shizue admitted.

"We're very knowing people," Jitsuko said, with a soft, sad quirk of her lips. "So, yes. She's seeking revenge on someone as powerful, if not more powerful, than the average Kage. At the rate she's going, she'll get there in a few years. She probably doesn't have a few years, which means she'll have to cheat at some point. Which we're doing."

Shizue nodded. "And this person, she has to kill Him?"

"She wants him to die, and having met the guy a few times, he rather deserves it. Which is part of why I'm helping her. Because killing him would be a good thing for the world." Jitsuko nodded. "I do hope to convince her to follow her principles a little more often, but she's already been doing that. She's been thwarting several attempts of his to start a world war for years now. Half of her assassination missions are carefully targeted to address something else, some secondary target, while gaining her money to use for other purposes."

Shizue blinked.

"Which is why, again, about as ethical as one can be if one is an assassin. Which is not that ethical, but…" Jitsuko shrugged.

"M-maki said that you were having… sexual relations."

"Sex?" Jitsuko said. She smiled sharply when Shizue winced. "One really shouldn't be reacting that way. It's simply a word. And yes, we are. It is casual, and I'm sorry to say that I'm not even the worst decision she's ever made in this regard. I understand and make sure she understands what this is, and I'm not going to try to exploit it. That's more than she could say about some people."

There was righteous fury in her eyes, the kind of anger that would just explode without an outlet. "What… happened?"

"Emiko-chan would kill me if she knew I told you." She paused, and seemed to realize that Shizue could wait her out, in this strangely open midnight mood she so clearly was in. "Well, so don't tell her. I'd hate to have to successfully survive her assassination attempt while managing to not hurt her. She knew that it was wrong, that it was a mistake the moment she said what she did. She took back the words the moment they slipped past her lips. I'm even sure that most of time she doesn't believe this. She's read the books, she understands their meaning as well as me." She was stalling.

"Why are you saying all this first, before what she said?" Shizue asked.

"Because if I don't wrap it in pleasantries and facts I'd feel the almost overwhelming urge to travel across half the world to commit murder," Jitsuko said icily. "My sense of justice is, some would say, overdeveloped. In its own way." She'd been ready to go to a town she'd never visited to murder a man she'd never seen because he was doing an injustice onto that town, a town which would in no way thank or reward her for it. Yes, overdeveloped was a word for it.

"What is it?" Shizue asked.

"'I led her on', that's what she said, about all those years ago." Jitsuko laughed as the words settled. If there was ever a laugh with less humor in it, Shizue hadn't heard it. "A sixteen year old girl starts an illicit relationship with a two-timing twenty year old, and a part of her blames herself. Just as she blames herself for many things well outside of her control. She's made mistakes, a lot of them, and she's still young, even if it doesn't seem that way to you." Jitsuko's hands were almost trembling with rage.

"She…" Shizue began.

"Junior psychoanalysis would tell me this. She's an orphan whose only romantic relationship in her entire life up to this point was a covert affair, who then became an assassin on the run, a missing-nin. One could say that her ability to express her affection in certain ways is greatly lacking," JItsuko bit out. "Like a muscle that's never quite been exercised."

"She won't ever admit it, any of this, any of the damage she's seen over the last decade. Weakness is a threat, openness a chance to be found out, to be exposed. Press her if you can, but even if you don't, know that even if she spends less time expressing her affections in her old ways, in hovering and knowing, in tender moments carefully managed, that she loves you all. But that she also needs to kill this man, and that she'd never risk you to do so, never put that above your safety. That in fact she probably has some foolish martyr plan to save you while killing Him, no matter the cost."

Shizue stepped forward, advanced on Jitsuko. She'd been letting the words pour out, had known they had to be said, and that Jitsuko was very careful at the same time. She was saying what she wanted to say, and she wanted Shizue's anger, wanted Shizue's attention, her care. Emiko-sensei sacrificing herself without even telling them, all to protect them? That sounded so like her that it hurt, so like the woman who wanted to appear in perfect control, the woman who winced at Jitsuko's revelations. "I'd hate her," Shizue said, the words slipping out unbidden.

"Oh?" Jitsuko asked.

"I'd love her but I'd hate her," she clarified, almost surprised.

Jitsuko's anger slipped away with a short sigh. "Hate her because you love her. I'm not going to steal her, I'm simply going to prepare her for what's coming. When the time comes, we may even be enemies. I can promise her only so much, and she didn't even try to get me to promise to be on her side, if it all went down. She merely tried to make me promise to do something to help you, if she died."

Jitsuko sat there for a minute, and Shizue just allowed the words to settle, to take something of a form. "I'm going to go back to bed, you should keep and look over this book, but in secret. It's the expanded bingo book, the in-house one, for Dream Village. She herself stole one years ago, during a mission that was, again, an excuse. Most of the information about him is redacted, but if you look long enough I'm sure you'll find Him. Put a name on a monster."

She shook her head. "So, please, have a good night, Shizue-chan. Think about what I've said."

She left, humming, as Shizue just stood in the kitchen and read, read until the morning light.

[End Credits]

What does Shizue do?

[] As Maki said. Take a… leadership role, at least while Emiko was distracted. It was important that she have time to herself, to train and prepare. She cares, so surely doing this would help.
[] Confront Emiko about it. Not rude, but just… trying to scope this out. Shizue's thirteen, it isn't a big deal but… taking that kind of position unofficial seems unwise, and Emiko, if she really was regressing to past habits, might not snap out of them easily.
[] Do just enough to get by… and try to get Maki to talk to Jitsuko. They both need to have the talk, and at the very least Jitsuko's clearly rather insightful.

*****

A/N: So yes, a potentially major decision, considering the shifting group dynamics. It'll at the least define the rest of the month, and probably more than that, in some ways.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 41: Taking On Roles? Shizue The Responsible?!

Shizue didn't spend two hours up looking over the bingo book. No, she spent two hours thinking about her duties, thinking about what she had to do now. Thinking about whether she could do it, and what price there would be for what she was doing. There was always a price, always a cost, and Shizue was always willing to pay it when it came down to helping the people. Her friends, at least.

It was perhaps a mistake. It was perhaps something that was going to cost her enough that she'd change. She was thirteen, she knew there was a reason that the world had started to increase the age at which almost everyone became a Chunin, became a Jonin. Because most of the time, a fourteen year old, no matter how skilled, was not going to be able to handle the leadership pressures of being a Chunin. Better to wait a few more years, and they'll still be there to take charge if they really have the skills.

Emiko wasn't too young to be a Jonin, but she was young to be a missing-nin with this kind of pressure, trying to raise a handful of children at the same time. Twenty-five seemed ancient to Shizue sometimes, but it wasn't, wasn't at all. And if Emiko was a little young for her responsibilities, what did that make Shizue?

But there was nobody else who'd be able to do it. Maki could help, but that wasn't the same as being able to do what she could. Sometimes you did something because there was nobody else.

Three more hours of sleeping, and she woke up and began to read, flipping through it as she went to Maki's room.

She still hadn't found it when she finally walked through the dark halls, just before daybreak, to knock on Maki's door.

"One moment," Maki called out, hoarsely, her voice a little less polished and controlled than the one she used day-to-day, the one that she'd clearly been practicing. Shizue actually had to wait for three full minutes before Maki pulled the door open. She'd gotten dressed, but from what it looked like, just in yesterday's clothes. Pants, a shirt, a vest. Maki hadn't yet taken to dressing all that different from the way she had before, really. Not when she was in mission-mode. That was probably going to change very soon, if she could just learn to believe in herself. Or perhaps not.

Shizue knew far too little about all of this, was playing at all by ear and trusting in them.

"Okay, so I have a book… Emiko's target is in here. Somewhere in here."

It took not all that long to find it.

Name: Aoyume (See incident report A-1A5) Isao

"Hidden Dream," Maki had muttered at that. "An infamous clan, as far as it goes. They can create genjutsu that manipulate people's emotions, and more than that they don't need anything more than an audio inductor… or in other words, they don't have to see you, you don't have to see them, as long as you can hear them, or they can hear you perhaps…"

"Oh," Shizue said, realizing just how bad that could get.

Aliases: Date Natsumi (Classified), [Classified], [Classified] (See incident report #45523 9A/B), Eizo Reo (See Incidents [Classified]), [Classified], Hatake Ko

"Well, now I know why Emiko-sensei didn't share his name. Natsumi's a top lieutenant in Road, Bo-san is a prominent Jonin-level missing-nin of the… rather well known Hatake family from Konoha. And Reo-san."

Eizo. Shizue blinked. "Wait! True Home?"

"Yes. Eizo-sama was one of the three founders of the True Home movement. And if one of them was secretly Emiko's target, then does that mean that they were actually up to no good? It's hard to tell. Some of the dates mean that at least some of the aliases are clearly assumed. Hatake-san, for one. So it could be that Eizo-sama founded it and trained your friend Abe-san."

The theatre-master, the one who'd helped her and who she'd helped in returned. "But then at some later date, or…"

"Yes. It's hard to tell for sure. But even the three names we have are important figures. Road, True Home, the missing-nin scene in lower Earth Country, where Hatake is. Missing-nin usually don't operate close to their old homes. Everyone knows that Emiko-sensei only operates in her home country when she has to. Though I think she misses it."

Shizue nodded, and read the next line.

Former Rank: Jonin.
Age: 46
Village: Hidden Dream
Defection Date: 72 PN

"At… eighteen?" Shizue asked.

"There is a reason they don't like giving children power." Maki shrugged. "I am sure that when I look back decades from now, should I live that long, I will shake my head. But yes, the age does mean that he must have replaced at least a few of them. Hatake's in his late forties, Natsumi is a thirty-seven year old woman. He's taking identities and using them, which means the people behind them--"

"Oh," Shizue said. She had this sick image in her head of Emiko being caught, Emiko being replaced. Who would ever know? Shizue wasn't sure. But the thought itself was enough to drive her almost out of her mind.

Threat Level: S (Flee on sight, Do not engage)

"Well…" Maki said faintly.

Noted Skills: Stealth, Infiltration, Human Experimentation (all captured agents are instructed to commit suicide), Genjutsu (See Incident Cabinet 7-D), Manipulation.

"That's… fudge," Shizue said. He was behind all of this, wasn't he? He was… was.

"A Monster."

Bounty (Dead): N/A
Bounty (Alive): N/A
Information: [Classified]

Then on the other side, there was a picture. He was tall, or so it seemed, pale and thin, with a face that was perhaps a little bit angular, dressed in a white vest and darker clothes, the Hidden Dream forehead protector across his neck, one of his fingers playing with it. He wasn't smiling, but there was something almost playful in his eyes. Despite all of those individual features, there was a sort of blandness to him that reminded her of… well. Of how people looked at Emiko-sensei sometimes, when she was out and about.

"The last known photo. Nearly thirty years, and yet they're sure he's alive," Maki said, quietly.

"Oh," Shizue said. "And she's going after…"

"A genjutsu master who can play people like instruments," Maki said quietly. "I'm not thrilled at all. And this monster's skillset would explain hers. Knowing genjutsu that have long-term impact on the minds of others isn't common. Even many Jonin-level genjutsu practitioners know very little in that respect. But she was able to wipe memories, and search them as well, and she took to that genjutsu poison remarkably fast. She's using the…" Maki blinked. "I'm pretty sure that the reference I was about to make wouldn't make much sense. But there's a saying I heard once, how the master's tools cannot destroy the master's house. She's trying to beat him at his own game because she doesn't know what else to do." Maki sighed. "Yet… she's had her successes, she had to have."

"And we need to help her do all of this," Shizue said, frowning.

"No. I'm pretty sure that she is going to find a way to shuck us off. We're not going to let her. Okay?"

"Of course," Shizue said. Was that even really a question?

"Now, I thought. We could work together. I could figure out what everyone is going to do, and you could go through a list. Oversee things. And I'll be on standby if two things overlap," Maki said.

"That… that could work," Shizue said.

[Opening Credits]

"Don't tell anyone? Okay, I can do that," Akachi said, drily, as Shizue was going over the schedule they'd drawn up. Akachi was smiling but of course, it was his kind of smile. "So, what's it like being on Team Sasuke?"

"Team… what?" Okiie asked, staring at the schedule. "Oh, nice. You set out some lunchtime. I'll make sure to be there, Shizue-chan. You can count on me."

"I know I can. I always can," Shizue said, leaning forward to capture a kiss with him. It was going to be okay… if only because Okiie was the kind of boy who understood what it was to be busy. He was doing a lot himself, with all his own training.

She wondered about that sometime. Surely someone so nice and accepting would have some limit, some line… but she hadn't seen it yet.

"Thanks," Okiie said. "So, Team Sasuke?"

"Well, so, a relatively young shinobi that possibly broods a lot leaves their major village for revenge, and there's a bad guy experimenting."

"But," Okiie said. "Emiko's after this figure, whereas Sasuke-sama joined them. If they're similar? And they might be."

"Oh, no, it's not exact," Akachi said. "But, I mean. It's still cool, isn't it?"

Yeah. Cool.

*******

That day was a… learning experience. She went to talk to Junko, and got a slightly sullen apology, and then a guilty smile. "I, just. It's. Really fun. I like doing it. I don't know."

Junko liked stealing things. Shizue thought about that for a long moment, pacing back and forth. "I'm not… I'm your friend, right Junko-chan?"

"Yeah," Junko said.

Yuichi and Seiichiro were watching, their hands clasped, so very clearly stressed and uncertain.

"But I'm also going to be trying to help out around here more. So, let me ask your friends: why haven't they told Emiko-sensei how long it's been going on? It's clearly not new, and it's been ongoing, right?"

"Well, she sometimes steals our stuff," Seiichiro admitted. "But she always gives it back, and usually before we have to ask."

That sounded… odd. That sounded problematic, even. Shizue thought and thought, glaring at them, aware that she had to watch Akachi and Rika train in thirty minutes, and then she'd have to figure out if the cleaning and cooking schedule was alright, and then and then. Already it was as if every conversation she had was on a timer, as if it was all with some concrete end-goal in mind. "Okay, Junko-chan. Would you like to help test my trap-making ability? Say, tonight. I set up a hallway full of traps, and make them non-lethal. If you get through them, there's some trinkets of mine that you can take. Or… something like that." Shizue thought it through, frowning. "We'll work the specifics out, but if it's training, that's different than just taking from people. If you can just focus the acquisitive parts into something more useful--"

"I. Okay," Junko said with a nod. "Sorry that I've been a problem, Shizue-chan."

"It's fine, Junko-chan."

Maybe it wasn't, but yet again it was all she could do for the moment.

That's what the whole day was. There was a restful pause in the middle for lunch with Okiie, which actually just turned into a makeout session--but Shizue really didn't regret that--but other than that she was hustling all day. And then came the meal, and those were comfortable and fun, but Shizue did double-duty with Chuichi to help fill Emiko in, and she could see the way people were looking at her.

She was being seen differently, and not in an entirely positive way.

And then she had preparation to do, and her own training, and setting up some spars with Saya to see how her new and improved puppets did under physical stress, and before she knew it, it was past ten.

She woke up at five the next day, and it started again. There was something a little like a symphony to it, the repetition and the change. Each day she had to get up and do it again, something similar--similar elements, as most orchestral music had, at least in the broadest strokes--and yet something completely different.

She didn't dream anymore of anything other than incidents. Saya accidentally almost tearing Stinger's arm off, Maki hovering at her shoulder with a list and a soft word in her ear, usually encouragement, offering to take over if she needed more time with Okiie. Okiie's lips, kissing him softly because she didn't have time for anything else, let alone a full conversation, once lunch was out of the way, and then being interrupted anyways, by a moderately apologetic Rika who wanted to go over med supplies to pick up in town. Junko sneaking through a minefield, dancing all the while, even though the sound was enough to eliminate the sneaking aspect. But she was doing it on purpose, so of course it was going to be a little loud.

One supper:

"And what about how to make a Rasengan?" Jitsuko asked.

"How, precisely, would I know that?" Emiko asked.

"The books and stories all but give away every single step to learn how to do it. That doesn't mean it's not difficult, but a twelve year old, albeit an impressive and powerful one, learned how to do it." Jitsuko smirked. "I can do it. I just don't, because it's never going to be a move that works well with my style, any more than it does with yours. But it did impress Uzumaki, the first time we sparred."

"Uzumaki is too easily impressed, for a missing-nin," Emiko said. "Next question?"

The questions were only getting more and more difficult, until Shizue didn't even know what some of them meant, so sunk were they in jutsu mechanics, obscure details from a city she'd never visited (but that Emiko was suspect to perfectly know, well enough to blend in), and bizarre details about other missing-nin and their styles.

By the end of the week, even Maki was gaping at some of them, and yet Emiko kept up a relatively high… well. It was clear she was studying her heart out, and Shizue didn't know whether to approve or be worried. She was getting used to being worried. Getting used to headaches when Seiichiro went out at night with Akachi, just exploring a little and looking up at the stars… and yet getting back at midnight.

Akachi said that she shouldn't wait up, but what was she supposed to do? Chuichi could have been there, but he'd been working hard to train all the people Shizue couldn't get to, and then he'd been working with Emiko for a reading session, and then--

One week becomes two, and April slowly reaches its end before there was even a hint that something was going to change, that Jitsuko would ever leave. Certainly, in some ways Emiko seems better off than she did before, in other ways worse. It was an orchestra with a few wrong notes bringing it all down.

So when she met up with Chuichi and Maki just after lunch, she didn't expect much to come of it. "Sorry I'm late," Shizue said.

Maki was sitting down, reading through some books, and across the small table was Chuichi, sitting down and frowning at her. "Hey, someone came by, Shizue-chan." Chuichi nodded to himself. "It was--"

"Me," Takumi said. "I came here."

Shizue blinked, but didn't whirl around, instead turned as--Emiko's phrase really was apt--Jitsuko's pet psychopath strode forward. "Since you three are in charge while Jitsuko-chan acts the fool. The political fool, but the fool. Dance and dance the skeletons do, but bones they all are." Takumi smiled a little softly, as if he were fondly recalling all the bones. "Hurry and scurry towards their graves. Isn't it fascinating?"

"No, not particularly," Maki said, with withering contempt. "You are not so mad as you pretend. It'd be better if you were." She stood up, and there were those glowing eyes, and there was that studious arrogance, that was so Maki that in those moments she could have transformed into a dozen different appearances and still be recognizably herself. "It'd be better, but I believe you're a… what's the word. Company man? But one with a vice. Or, is that the right schema?"

"She does keep me in skeletons, that's for sure." Takumi nodded at that, thoughtfully, as if it were a great gift not to be discounted. "But you know that's not all. I know that's not all."

"I do know," Maki said, quietly, staring at him, even as the killing intent poured out, strong enough that Shizue's knees almost buckled. "I do know," she repeated, her voice not wavering more than a degree.

"We leave you in five days. Prepare yourselves." He turned and left.

"S-rank nin," Chuichi groaned. "This isn't what I signed up for. And now that I've asked her what's going on, I wish I hadn't. It's heavy stuff, kids. I do have to ask, how'd you feel if I became your primary teacher?"

"Oh. So she's going to do something foolish," Maki said, quietly.

"It's… well. She's been working hard to help you behind the scenes, but she made me promise not to tell you. And told me that if you figured it out, Maki-chan, that you were ordered to please not reveal it."

"Very… well. So."

"Five days," Shizue said. "We'll have to go on a supply run just after that, we've been squeaking by since they arrived." She could recite the list in her sleep, as well as the considerable difficulty Emiko and Chuichi went through to fill it in such a way that didn't reveal their position. It was time they really didn't have, but it was one thing they couldn't delegate.

"Yes. And we may be leaving within the month," Chuichi said. "There have been clashes among some minor villages, and disagreements between Konoha and Kumo over important matters of security." He sighed. "All that work done to sabotage an agreement between the two, and now it means there's bad blood there. There's plenty for her to get involved in."

"She'll have to strike," Maki said quietly. "And we're going with her, whether she knows it now or not."

Shizue frowned, thinking on the matter, and then began to discuss the mundanities of base life, wondering where they'd go next.

This had felt so familiar. She'd spent months here, and she was pretty sure wherever she went next, she'd stay for rather less time.

Yet, if war itself was being threatened, then that was something she wanted to stop.

Shizue wondered at that. Emiko had never stated it, never outright said it, even though admitting it would at least make it more likely for some people to stay no matter what. Or was she afraid that the risks she was taking would drive others away. She'd certainly been jealous of Naota and the bond he had with Ichiman, she could guess that now.

Shizue sighed, and got to work.

[Commercial Break]

XP Vote Time, Of course--

XP: 20 (Band on the Run) + 20 (Training) + 120 (B-Rank mission) + 50 (B-Rank performance) = 210

Spoiler: Stats and Skills

STATS
Strength 23 (1.2) [32]
Dexterity 31 (1.3) [40]
Agility 50 (1.1) [52]
Constitution 36 (1.2) [40]
Intelligence 44 (1.5) [50]
Perception 42 [46]
Power 35 (1.3) [46]
Willpower 42 (1.2) [48]
Coil Capacity 42 [46]
Chakra Molding 48 [50]


SKILLS
Athletics 27 (1.3) [40]
Awareness 35 (1.1) [40]
Earth Jutsu 21 (1.1) [40]
Evasion 42 (1.2) [45]
Explosives 22 (1.4) [36]
Fuinjutsu 36 (1.2) [40]
Genjutsu 25 (1.1) [36]
Infiltration 40 (1.2) [44]
Movement 32 (1.2) [40]
Ninjutsu 41 (1.1) [44]
Persuasion 37 (1.3) [44]
Poisons 33 (1.2) [42]
Puppetry 58 (1.3) [59]
Short Blades 10 (1.3) [24]
Shurikenjutsu 11 (1.1) [22]
Socialize 46 (1.5) [54]
Stealth 35 (1.2) [40]
Survival 25 (1.2) [32]
Taijutsu 24 (1.2) [28]
Traps 36 (1.5) [48]
Water Jutsu 16 (1.1) [20]
Wires 31(1.3) [42]

Spoiler: Jutsu and Techniques

NINJUTSU

Body Replacement Technique (E-Rank, 3)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Ninjutsu 20)
Rank 5 - 6 XP (Chakra Moulding 18, Ninjutsu 24)

The target object may be up to -/+50% of the user's size. This technique is now performed seallessly. Cost: 10 chakra.

Cloak of Invisibility Technique (E-Rank, 5)
Mastery: 10 XP

The user is rendered completely invisible while the jutsu is maintained; however, they are not hidden from other senses, or chakra sensing. The user may move freely if they make no rapid, sudden movements; the jutsu ends if they do so. They do, however, gain a surprise bonus for a single attack, although doing so ends the jutsu.
Cost: 5 chakra, then 1 chakra per 3 minutes.

Clone Technique (E-Rank, 1) (1.3)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Ninjutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Ninjutsu 16)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Ninjutsu 20)


Rope Escape Technique (E-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 8, Ninjutsu 8)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Ninjutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 16, Ninjutsu 16)

This technique frees the user from very minor restraints, such as having their wrists bound with tape. This technique is performed seallessly. Cost: 20 chakra.

Body Flicker Technique (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Ninjutsu 24)

This jutsu enables a ninja to move from point to point in a single, incredible burst of speed. The user's destination must be within 150ft and within their line of sight. The user suffers a -12 penalty to all attack and defense rolls until the beginning of their next turn after using this jutsu, due to disorientation from the high-speed travel. In addition, if the user's destination is adjacent to an opponent, that opponent may make a free reactive attack against them upon arrival; Body Flicker's resulting chakra flare means that even a non-sensor receives advance warning of the user's arrival. Cost: 1 chakra per 5ft.

Illusion Clone Technique (D-rank, not known) (1.3)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 24, Genjutsu 24, Ninjutsu 24)

This jutsu creates up to two intangible, illusory clones. The clones are visually identical to the user, cast a shadow, can be individually controlled and directed, and last up to two minutes. All attacks simply pass through the clones without effect, though they can be dispersed by any method that disrupts non-anchored genjutsu. Otherwise, they only disperse when their duration ends. Cost: 35 chakra per clone.

Night Eyes Technique (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Ninjutsu 24)

Not all dojutsu are kekkei genkai, this being a common example of such; enhancing the user's night vision within a range of 60ft reducing the penalty to Awareness from -20 to -16. This jutsu requires existing, though weak, sources of light, such as being outside at night; it does not work in complete darkness. Cost: 40 chakra, then 10 per minute.

String Reeling Technique (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 24, Ninjutsu 24, Wires 24)

This jutsu requires a length of ninja wire. While it is active, the user may freely extend and contract the length of the wire during their turn, allowing up to 5ft in reach. In addition, while the jutsu is active the wire is considered to have 3 HP; it now cannot automatically severed by a cutting tool, weapon or force. Opponents roll against the user's Wires + Chakra Moulding when attempting to do so. Cost: 30 chakra per round.

Trap Arming Technique (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 24, Ninjutsu 24, Traps 24)

This jutsu requires a length of ninja wire. While it is active, the user may freely extend and contract the length of the wire during their turn, allowing up to 5ft in reach. In addition, while the jutsu is active the wire is considered to have 3 HP; it now cannot automatically severed by a cutting tool, weapon or force. Opponents roll against the user's Wires + Chakra Moulding when attempting to do so. Cost: 30 chakra per round.

CLAN JUTSU

(1.3) Ninja Art: Explosive Fuzing (D-rank, not known)
Rank 2 - 12 XP (Chakra Moulding 23, Explosives 23, Ninjutsu 28)

Range increases to 40ft, number of explosives that can be triggered increases to two.
Cost: 40 chakra.

(1.2) Ninja Art: Inner Ear Disturbance (D-rank, 3)
Rank 4 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 30, Ninjutsu 36)

Without even directly being heard, a shinobi using this technique can create moderate to severe disorientation and confusion. It is possible it could even be used to improve the efficacy of Genjutsu. It targets one foe within twenty-five feet of the user, and other than its effects, the target has no way to know it is being used, and cannot track the attack by its sound.
(Single target, -6 to all rolls for 1 round, +3 to Genjutsu against the target, can't be traced directly. Uses three handseals.) Cost: 40 Chakra


(1.2) Ninja Art: Keen Ears (D-rank, Rank 4)
Rank 5 - 30 XP (Chakra Moulding 33, Ninjutsu 40)

Perception bonus increases to +16, chakra cost decreases to 16 per minute.

(1.2) Ninja Art: Sonar Burst (D-rank, 4)
Rank 5 - 30 XP (Chakra Moulding 33, Ninjutsu 40)

Level 5 – Radius increases to seventy feet, bonus against genjutsu to +10. Perception penalty is eliminated. Cost decreases to 30 chakra.


(1.2) Ninja Art: Sound Dampening (D-rank, 2)
Rank 3 - 40 XP (Chakra Moulding 32, Ninjutsu 32)

Shizue has been thinking about the way that Emiko was able to somehow decrease the noise coming from her conversation, and she has an idea. By using chakra, skill, and the principles of sound, she can make it so that it's harder for certain sounds to travel beyond an area. Sounds associated with her movement. Outside of a certain radius, she thus is harder to hear, and thus far stealthier. (+4 to auditory stealth within range, increased difficulty for people outside of the area to hear anything happening inside of the area. Rather brutal potential implications if ranked up.) Cost: 20 chakra per minute.

(1.2) Ninja Art: Wall of Sound (D-rank, Rank 3)
Rank 4 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 30, Ninjutsu 36)

The first truly offensive jutsu from Sae's scrolls and past mentions, from her experience with how the jutsu is described, at a low level it's honestly pretty much identical to Wind Release: Breakthrough. Cost: 35 chakra

Ninja Art: Sound Clone (C-rank, 1)
Rank 2: 38 XP (Chakra Moulding 40, Ninjutsu 44)

Rank 2: Jutsu creates up to three clones, which last up to two minutes. Maximum distance from the user increases to 40ft, chakra cost decreases to 70 per clone.

Ninja Art: Resonant Burst (C-rank, not known)
Rank 1: 50 XP, (Chakra Moulding 36, Ninjutsu 40)
Level 1: This jutsu creates a directed pulse of sound that induces resonant vibrations in anybody caught in it, inflicting a penalty to all physical actions for its duration. The jutsu covers a 40ft narrow cone, may be dodged, and inflicts a scaling physical actions penalty of -1/3 (max 13) for 4 rounds. This jutsu requires a source of sound to work.
Cost: 80 chakra

Ninja Art: Sonic Lance (C-rank, not known)
Rank 1: 50 XP, (Chakra Moulding 36, Ninjutsu 40)
Level 1: This jutsu creates a tightly focused burst of sound directed, intense enough to induce damaging resonant vibrations in the target. It may target a single individual within a range of 50ft and inflicts 6 + 1/ 3 (max 19) damage, as well as a physical actions penalty of -1/5 (max 7) with a duration of 2 rounds. This jutsu requires a source of sound to work.
Cost: 80 chakra.

Ninja Art: Sonic Sforzando (C-rank, not known)
Rank 1: 50 XP, (Chakra Moulding 36, Ninjutsu 40)
This jutsu is a more diffuse version of Wall of Sound, exploding out radially around the user. While the more diffuse nature of the jutsu means it does no damage, it knock individuals adjacent to the user back by 5ft (Dodge vs. user's Ninjutsu & Chakra Moulding to save). In addition the chakra-charged displacement of air is useful for deflecting attacks, and as such this jutsu may be used to defend against single-target ranged attacks at a bonus of +4 (rolling Ninjutsu & Chakra Moulding), or against area attacks with no bonus. Similar to Body Replacement, his jutsu may be used reactively with no prior preparation. At this level of the jutsu it cannot be used to defend teammates. When defending with this jutsu the user is not subject to the defensive penalty caused by flanking attacks.
Cost: 80 chakra


EARTH JUTSU (All receive 1.1 as a modifier)

Earth Release: Dirt Trick (E-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 6, Earth Jutsu 8)

The user gathers dirt and mud into a projectile that is then propelled toward a single target within ten feet. Though at this level it does no damage, if hit the target will stumble and receive a -1 penalty to defensive rolls until the beginning of the user's next turn. Cost: 10 chakra.

Earth Release: Earth Molding (E-rank, 1)
Rank 2 - 8 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Earth Jutsu 12)

Increases to eight pounds at a time. Cost: 10 chakra per round

Earth Release: Hidden Rope (E-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 6, Earth Jutsu 8)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Earth Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Earth Jutsu 16)

This jutsu hides a wire or a thin line, usually a component of a trap, beneath a thin layer of earth. People attempting to spot it do so at a -2 penalty to their Awareness roll. Cost: 10 chakra.


Earth Release: Toeholds (E-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 6, Earth Jutsu 8)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Earth Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Earth Jutsu 16)

This jutsu creates a series of rough hand and toe-holds in a vertical surface to assist with mundane climbing, extending up to ten feet. They add +1 to a character's effective Athletics skill for purposes of climbing. Cost: 10 chakra.


Earth Release: Track Covering (E-rank, 1)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Earth Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Earth Jutsu 16)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Earth Jutsu 20)

This jutsu minimises visible traces of any tracks left on the ground for up to ten feet, in an area up to five feet wide. Note that it only removes visible marks on the ground, and does nothing about broken foliage, scent trails and other traces. Anyone attempting to follow the obscured trail by mundane means suffers a -2 penalty to the required Survival roll. Cost: 10 chakra.


Earth Release: Dirt Wad Formation (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

The user collects dirt and earth into a projectile packed rock-hard in their hand, then propels it at a single target within 25ft. If it hits it causes 2 + 1/4 (max. 8) damage. In addition the target will stumble and receive a -3 penalty to their next defensive roll. Cost: 40 chakra.


Earth Release: Dust Clone (D-rank, not known) (1.3)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

Creates up to two insubstantial clones that disperse when touched; the clones are visually identical to the user, cast a shadow, can be individually controlled and directed, and last up to a minute. When dispersed, the clones into a cloud of dust that covers a 5ft area, inflicting a -4 all actions penalty and obscuring sight slightly; it also causes a -2 penalty to all Awareness rolls. The dust cloud lasts for two rounds. Cost: 40 chakra per clone.
Level 2: Creates up to four clones that last up to two minutes. Cost: 35 chakra per clone.


Earth Release: Earth Shield (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This technique raises up a shield of hardened earth from the ground, 5ft by 5ft in dimension. The wall has 6 HP and crumbles into loose dirt when destroyed. The user rolls using Earth Jutsu & Chakra Moulding when creating the shield, and opponents attacking the shield use that as their target value to determine damage. Cost: 40 chakra.


Earth Release: False Ground (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This jutsu creates a thin covering of earth over, for example, a pre-existing pit, occupying an area of up to one 5ft square. At this level the covering is obvious; appearing discoloured and churned up, giving others a +8 bonus to noticing it, rolling against the user's Earth Jutsu & Chakra Moulding. Cost: 40 chakra.


Earth Release: Ground Thorns (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This jutsu causes sharp spikes to sprout from the ground in two adjacent squares within 30ft of the user. Anyone moving through these squares must succeed in an Agility roll vs. the user's Earth Jutsu or take 1 damage and a -50% penalty to Agility for all related checks, due to one of the spikes piercing their foot, until they receive medical attention of some kind. This damage ignores armor. They last for three rounds. Cost: 40 chakra.


Earth Release: Roadblock (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This jutsu causes trip hazards to sprout from the ground in two adjacent squares within 30ft of the user. Anyone moving through these squares must succeed in an Agility check, with a penalty of -4, vs. the user's Earth Jutsu or be knocked prone. Cost: 40 chakra.

Earth Release: Snare (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This jutsu softens the ground around the feet of a single target within 25ft. The target must Dodge vs. the user's Earth Jutsu or be unable to move from the spot for 2 rounds, suffering a -25% penalty to modifiers for defensive rolls during this time. Cost: 40 chakra.

Earth Release: Underground Diver (D-rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Earth Jutsu 24)

This jutsu allows the user to sink into the ground and move through it, albeit at a slow pace. They may move at a maximum depth of 10ft, at a rate of 10ft per round. This technique does not provide a means to breathe underground, drowning rules apply if no measures are taken to prevent such. Cost: 30 chakra per round.

Earth Release: Earth Clone (C-rank, not known) (1.3)
Rank 1 - 50 XP (Chakra Moulding 36, Earth Jutsu 40)

The first of the solid earth element clones, courtesy of Chuichi's scroll. Going by his notes they're one-hit wonders, a trait all the C-ranked clones have in common, their physical capabilities are notably lower than those of the original, though they can be improved with time and training, and, with enough improvement, they're even capable of using earth jutsu.



WATER JUTSU (All Water Jutsu 1.1)

Water Release: Condensation (E-Rank, 3)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Water Jutsu 20)

Maximum output increases to two litres. Cost: 6 chakra per litre.

Water Release: Manipulation (E-Rank, 1)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Water Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Water Jutsu 16)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Water Jutsu 20)

Quantity increase to one litre. Cost: 5 chakra per round.


Water Release: Morning Dew (E-Rank, not known)
Rank 1 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 6, Water Jutsu 8)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Water Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Water Jutsu 16)

This jutsu covers one five-foot square of ground with slippery dew; anybody passing through the affected area must pass an Agility check against the user's Water Jutsu skill or be knocked prone. It may only be used on solid surfaces, and lasts for three rounds. Cost: 10 chakra.

Water Release: Spitting Fish (E-Rank, 1)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Water Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Water Jutsu 16)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Water Jutsu 20)

In addition, the target is knocked back five feet. Cost: 10 chakra.

Water Release: Thin Mist Technique (E-Rank, 1)
Rank 2 - 2 XP (Chakra Moulding 9, Water Jutsu 12)
Rank 3 - 4 XP (Chakra Moulding 12, Water Jutsu 16)
Rank 4 - 5 XP (Chakra Moulding 15, Water Jutsu 20)

Diameter increases to fifteen feet, duration to four rounds, Awareness penalty to -3. Cost: 15 chakra.

Water Release: Mist Clone Technique (D-rank, not known) (1.3)
Rank 1 - 25 XP (Chakra Moulding 20, Water Jutsu 24)

This jutsu creates up to two intangible clones from mist. The clones are visually identical to the user, cast a shadow, can be individually controlled and directed, and last up to a minute. The clones are instantly dispersed by fire-natured attack jutsu, but otherwise attacks simply pass through them without effect and they only disperse when the jutsu's duration ends. Cost: 35 chakra per clone.

Water Release: Water Clone Technique (C-rank, not known) (1.3)
Rank 1 - 50 XP (Chakra Moulding 36, Water Jutsu 40)

Level 1: Creates up to two clones made out of water. The clones are solid, visually identical to the original, and possess all the equipment of the original. They may use any water jutsu up to D-Rank that the user knows, have a reserve of 40 chakra, and may use themselves as a source of water for water jutsu that require such. They last up to a minute, have 1 HP, and may not move further than 30 ft from the user. They are not controlled by the user and are capable of independent action. However, their physical stats are only one-half the original's. This jutsu requires a source of water to perform. Cost: 80 chakra per clone

OTHER

(1.5) Genjutsu Focus: 120XP (14/120)

A/N: So here we all. Thanks to lk, as always.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 41 (Fin)

The time came, before Shizue knew it. Five days of work, five days of exhaustion, all to stand there, shoulder to shoulder with Ichiman, watching Emiko watching Jitsuko and Takumi. Emiko looked tired, her hair a mess, and yet her eyes were blazing in some way nothing like the literal red of Jitsuko's glowing eyes.

"So we part," Emiko said. "Part, but not forever, right? You know, I'm going to be the one to kill my enemy, by my own hand. But if you'd ever like to hold his arms down, you know where to call me." Emiko shook her head, her smirk growing wider.

"Is that a threat?" Takumi asked. "Against…"

"No. No, this is the part where I say it's a promise, like I'm droll," Emiko said.

"I won't offer you a job," Jitsuko said. "You wouldn't accept, and if I asked outright then I'd have to do something about a refusal. But if our little problem does wind up dead, well. You'll be powerful enough to do as he does, but do it right, eventually. Don't think I haven't seen that gleam in your eye, studying the genjutsu poison."

Emiko nodded, solemnly. "I love genjutsu. I figure that anyone as good as he is loves it too, in his own twisted way."

"Yes… perhaps."

"Which is your way of saying you doubt it," Emiko said, with a shrug. "You doubt it, and yet here we are. You still owe me something, and I know by now that you're trying, foolishly, to lure me into trusting others."

"Yes, yes, my nefarious scheme," Jitsuko said, with an idle wave of her hand. "My scheme to make you acknowledge that you aren't alone, that this isn't a solo journey."

"It's whatever I want to make of it," Emiko spat. "Now, name?"

"Well, then. Before we go: Yugure."

Twilight.

"What a stupid name," Emiko said, with a sigh.

"Not all of the members of this hypothetical group like the name. But drama has its place, I suppose. Myself, I like to save the drama for after I've actually done something worth talking about," Jitsuko said. "I would not, of course know from personal experience."

"So, you're not in Yugure for revolution, I get that," Emiko said. "Don't start a revolution from the ashes. But why's the golden boy not part of the group?"

"Perhaps he doesn't wants one too," Jitsuko said, and with that she walked up the steps she'd walked down a month and change ago, this time seeming almost shrouded in the darkness of the mine entrance, her voice low, a whisper.

Shizue watched her go, and wondered just what the world would be like next year. There went a terrorist, with an organization whose name reminded her of demons and monsters a century past, and she strode with confidence.

Emiko watched them leave, and then let out a breath, before turning to the assembled genin. Her face was too blank as she formed the handseal. "Kai!" Then she let out a long, slow breath, as if she were the wind whistling against the water. Then she smiled, softly. "Well, that is done. Chuichi-kun, Maki-chan, Shizue-chan. In exactly an hour, meet me in my lab. I'll be busy for the rest of today up to dinner, which will be the same as the new… the new normal." Emiko nodded to herself. "After that point, all of you are free, and in fact encouraged, to see me whenever you want." Emiko straightened up. "I'm happy to be there."

Shizue knew the sound of the truth. Emiko was always willing to be there, and was apparently always happy to be as well. It wasn't a surprise, but having her admit it… the closest they'd come was right before they all left Reef. When she'd admitted that she'd cared too much.

Shizue wondered at where the openness was coming from, but... she'd take it.

*******

The room was filled with smoke and the sound of bubbling and burning meant that if Emiko wasn't Emiko, they could have easily sneaked up on her. As it was, she turned as soon as they opened the door, setting down a beaker of blue-green liquid. Chuichi glanced at it curiously.

"It's a genjutsu poison that causes paranoia via seeing something at the corner of your eye, or altering small details to make it hard to trust yourself, without, hopefully, being too obvious," Emiko said, almost clinically, but with a glint of interest in her eyes. "It could be a very effective assassination tool. Once a target is made wary, or even weary--since paranoia is exhausting, from personal experience--then they can be more easily dealt with."

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Emiko was a terrifying, feared high-level assassination. Now wasn't one of those times.

"Oh, that's fascinating," Maki said.

It really was, Shizue thought. She'd been studying genjutsu further, and just thinking about the sorts of things that'd you'd have to do to make something so complex and layered made her brain hurt.

"Thank you," Emiko said. "Though it's not why I'm here. First, I think I did pretty well in hiding my darkest secrets from Jitsuko-chan. She left without knowing quite a few important things."

"Impossible," Maki blurted.

"Oh?"

"Her Shomeigan, there's no way that she didn't see anything you had planned, especially if she talked to you a lot, which she did," Maki said.

Emiko smiled. "Maki-chan." She knelt down, just a little, to be at eye level. "I respect you a lot. You're the one of you that reminds me most of me when I was younger, and even then you surprise me sometimes. For good and bad. You're intelligent and the Shomeigan is a dojutsu worth having. But please, don't underestimate me."

Maki flushed. "O-of course not, Emiko-sensei. How did you…?"

Emiko's smile hadn't been threatening, it had been more like she was just laying something out there, and it had this odd tone to it. Like she was repeating some part of Maki's words back to her. And from the way Maki's eyes were widening, they were very memorable words. Don't underestimate me? Shizue wondered.

"If you don't know your own plans, you can't reveal them," Emiko said. "A few… well. Dozen genjutsu, mostly for memories, but a few minor alterations of my personality, were enough to conceal it from her, since of course nobody else knew the plans either, and I copied and then destroyed the written records before she'd even been there five minutes."

"But…" Maki began.

Shizue knew just what she was going to say, but was hesitating to. Genjutsu over any extended period of time could have odd side-effects, and genjutsu on oneself was difficult to deal with, and there were real neurological and psychological risks to doing it at all. Shizue had read a lot about genjutsu, enough that these facts jumped out at her as they wouldn't have before. What Emiko had just done was, was…

"That's dangerous!" Shizue blurted out.

"It is when you don't have practice," Emiko said. "I've been doing it for… almost ten years now."

"You did seem a little different," Chuichi admitted.

"I sanded down certain edges. She sympathized and pitied me more if she thought me a single arrow ceaselessly shooting towards an impossible foe. Brave, and doomed," Emiko said. "When the truth is, I have quite a few allies and don't particularly care who kills… she finally spilled his name, didn't she?"

Shizue nodded.

"I don't care who kills Isao, as long as he dies I'm good. And even then, the truth is that if I had to choose between prolonging the peace for, say, at least five more years and killing him, I'd like to think I know what the answer is, and that the answer isn't revenge." Emiko frowned. "But… I can't know for sure."

"That part, you'd told me, that you had several allies," Chuichi said.

"A few more than several," Emiko admitted, with a shrug. "Exact details are classified for a reason. But I do have a mission for you, Chuichi-kun. It's one quite in line with your rank, I'm not asking much of you. I'll tell you about it later… but it's very important. It's something I can only give to someone I trust. We'll be leaving the base soon, if you're going to be parting ways with us then, then I'll have to choose someone else."

"I… won't be," Chuichi said. "But I can't be involved too deeply. Tell me what the mission is, I'll…"

"I understand," Emiko said. "You're more loyal to me than you should be. Back at the camp, there was… there were many reasons to turn on me. And yet you didn't. I value loyalty. It's the curse of the missing-nin to both need loyalty and to have trouble with it. Or we wouldn't be here, would we? Have you thought about my offer?"

"I… didn't believe it," Chuichi admitted, while Shizue frowned and tried to understand. "Now I almost do believe it. You can talk to me about it later."

"I will, then," Emiko said. "The rest of this conversation I'll have with you later, Chuichi-kun. In slightly more detail. But I do need to talk to Shizue-chan and Maki-chan alone."

Chuichi nodded. "I understand," he said. "You know, what you said about being available at any time… that's true with me too, and that includes you."

"Thank you," Emiko said. "I'll try to keep it in mind."

"Well, Emiko-sama, if you'll try…" Chuichi gave a silly grin. "That'd be just swell."

Emiko covered her mouth for a moment, as if holding in a laugh. "Ah, right. Have a good morning."

Chuichi stepped out, leaving Emiko with both of them.

Shizue was leaning against a wall, trying to figure out what was going on, exactly. Emiko felt like she was… more open than she'd been at any previous time. It was clear that she was doing it for a reason. That she had a purpose to all of it. But Shizue was aware that Emiko had always been a little hard to… figure out.

"In a week's time, you'll officially not be missing-nin, as the Uzumaki no doubt guessed. My lawyers have been working on it," Emiko said. "You'll be free to go, if you wish. I wish I could tell you where to go, a place of greater safety… but I'm not sure if such a place exists. War is probably coming, almost certainly if someone doesn't stop it. And even then, it might merely be enough to push it back, as I and others have in the past. I value peace, but safety… I've lived my life various shades and forms of unsafe. I like a good book, a little sake, a nice meal, a nicer dinner companion, or even a play. But I enjoy missions. Killing people is rather secondary to this, compared to the danger and thrill of improvisation, of outsmarting people, or making people reach the limits of their ability to survive, when you have not." Emiko paused, frowning a little, as if aware that the last element was more than a little bit macabre. That it was not exactly loving the feeling of life draining between your fingers, but…

"And stealth. I enjoy seeing but being unseen," Emiko admitted.

"We have all noticed," Shizue pointed out. "A long time ago. But what does this have to do with us?"

"I appreciate safe houses, and places to unwind, but… the missions have been the closest I've felt like to alive, barring a few moments, for… the first few years I was a missing-nin. I underestimated the degree to which anyone under my care won't be safe. Will be part of the games and schemes of missing-nin no matter how hard I try to protect them. Yet the world out there isn't safe either. If war comes, then if you actually continue to be a missing-nin, you will almost certainly lose each other. Perhaps some of you will survive, but… I know what war is. I know it as well as Jitsuko-chan. But I've come to very different conclusions. She's no doubt given you a lecture, but here's mine."

"She told Shizue-chan all about you," Maki said, with a playful little smile.

Shizue blinks as Emiko bursts out laughing. "Oh, has she? I'm sure most of it is true, but some of it might not be. But I've seen--"

"People," Maki said, quietly. "You've said some of this. You've seen people, and cities that--"

"That wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the Pax Naruto," Emiko continued, a smile on her face. "And--"

"Technologies?" Maki guessed.

"Yes. And missing-nin from villages that didn't exist before the war. Even this twilight state of almost-war is better than the norm a century ago," Emiko said. "I don't know how many weeks of peace my life is worth, but it's probably not many."

"You undervalue yourself," Maki said.

"You shouldn't try to place value like that in the first place," Shizue argued.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. The point is that this peace, and trying to maintain it, is something I'd die for. Easily. Without a single regret, or I'd thought that a year ago. Revenge is just a word, and however satisfying it would be, it's not the same as actually helping something. It'd be very nice, and I hope to get everything I ever wanted. I thought so."

"Then we came in?" Maki asked, sounding almost incredulous.

"That's certainly some of it. I want to protect you, I want you to be safe. I want… things that aren't possible for someone being taught by me, in this time, in this place. I want to not know that someone noticed the stunt with pirates off the coast, all those months ago, and that there's confirmation that they're on my trail." Emiko sighed.

"You want it, but that's not what you can offer us, is it?" Shizue asked. "And yet I'm sure you understand that many of us would stay with you even if you didn't… if you didn't have such a cause."

Shizue didn't know if she'd be willing to die for peace, but… she understood the sentiment. How many people had died for nothing more than Reef's advancement, the vague promise of future peace? And now, with peace here and within the reach of all, people were trying to knock it down, didn't seem to understand how precious it was.

"Such a cause?"

"It's a reason that'd be enough for many to fight for you--" Shizue began.

"I don't want them to fight for me. I don't want to… I want to keep you safe," Emiko said, speaking more quickly for a moment, before she took her breath and said so evenly. "Thus far I have been something of a failure. Yourself, Maki-chan, the risks to Seiichiro, the dangers you've had to overcome--"

"Would have killed us without your training," Maki said quietly. "We are thirteen, and we are chunin in truth. At least, those of us who are thirteen are all around the level and skill of chunin." Maki shrugged. "This bodes well for your training methods, and they are an extension of the care you feel towards others."

Emiko blinked. "I know that you're just using your power to find good arguments, but there are worse. Still, you would be safer in other circumstances. So I want you to seriously consider leaving. Even if you don't, I'm not going to be throwing you into danger unless I can't help it." Emiko sighed. "Even that promise is… not enough. Because… can I help it? I don't know."

"I know," Maki said. As if she… of course she knew. She wondered what Maki must have seen, what her attempted suicide had… had done to Emiko-sensei, who'd kept strong and acted… different. Who…

"You can't always save us from the consequences of our choices," Shizue said. "I'm going to go with you, at least… where are you going next?"

"After this? I need to go to check on the three students I left behind. See that they are well. And from there? I am not sure. I think I need to get back into the thick of things, but in a very different way from before. I need to create alliances, and win powerful enough allies that they can, say, help with a certain… S-rank organizational problem." Emiko sighed, and turned back to her beakers. "I have a few contacts, but I need something more than that. I have an idea for how to get it."

"You should wait before assuming we'll all part our ways, at least until we get back near Lock. Once we're all together, we can make our individual decisions there," Shizue said.

"Yes," Emiko said with a thoughtful nod. "I'll give the option here, but I am aware that a desert is a pretty bad place to start one's missing-nin career."

"This is factually true," Maki said. "Those from a desert must leave because they are now missing-nin, while those not from a desert struggle to handle it. There is, however, a chance that one could find a niche."

"Perhaps," Emiko said. "I have the formula for your drugs figured out, if you wish to continue on them on your own." She sounded… disappointed.

"No. I am loyal," Maki said quietly. "You've…"

"I've done only my job. And barely even that, at times. I have heard, Shizue-chan, that Junko-chan might have a mental illness of some form. An obsessive desire to steal things for no reason can be a sign of… problems. Problems that I should have seen coming." Emiko shook her head. "I don't think it's particularly wise of you to take on the sort of position you've had, to be a sort of older sister for people your age. Psychologically it's a terrible idea. But if you are going to do that. I could give a few… pointers. And none of them about how to make people think you're watching them all the time. Though, if you do want to learn…"

Shizue cracked a smile, and sat down on the ground, ready to listen.

[End Credits]

Personal interactions! (Choose 2)--Since there isn't time for a month vote, they won't be there in a month (I'm excluding Emiko and anyone you chose as a social activity last month. Shizue's a team Mom now and needs to spread around the attention.)

[] Junko.
[] Seiichiro and Yuiichi.
[] Ichiman.
[] Saya.
[] Okiie.
[] Rika.
[] Akachi.

******

A/N: So it comes down to peace. Of course it does. It kinda did the moment that the Archipelago became the first two Arcs of the Quest.

Also, I'm not sure where Emiko stands. On the one hand, she has an evil plan to save the world with allies, and values peace as much as, well. As well as you should have thought.

On the other hand, she's been performing experimental magical neurosurgery on herself for the past decade, on and off, and only just now saw fit to mention it.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 42: The Long Breath Before The...

Okiie didn't slurp his tea when he frowned at her. "Junko-chan? Really? Well, isn't that something?" Okiie can say things like that, and she knew what Saya would say about that, of course. Saya would find it droll. Saya didn't seem to much care for conversation if it wasn't witty. Okiie was normal, or… that wasn't the word for someone who could memorize dozens of jutsu formula and do impossible math and burrow through the earth, but…

But? "It is something," Shizue said, quietly, knowing that he meant a little more than it seemed, when he said those words. How much more, she couldn't always be sure, but sometimes he'd look at her and his gaze would be so thoughtful she'd wonder what he was thinking. It didn't dismay her, it didn't intrigue her anyways. Saya liked puzzles, and Shizue had no idea what Maki liked, thought that Junko liked heroes, people she could look up to, or perhaps that was just inexperience talking.

"I don't know if it's the best thing to do, but it's big of you to do it," Okiie said. "All of this is big, you know?"

She hadn't told him everything, or half of everything. "Missing-Nin and Kage-level dangers? Would you stay, if you had a choice?"

"Yes. Yes for… yes for you," Okiie said, quite simply. "I'd stay if you stayed, and I'd leave if you left."

Shizue gaped, her heart thudding double-time at how simply he stated it, how elemental it was. In a world of complexities, some things didn't have to be anything other than straightforward.

"Thank you," Shizue said. "I'm staying. I want to see the end of this. I... "

The past day had had Shizue thinking about Junko, about Rika, about Akachi and how his humor shifted lighter even as his actions became a little more… well. Like a missing-nin. Was it always thus, that Emiko acted as both a cure and a poison? That her voice was so ingrained in Shizue that she could have picked it up from the very limits of her hearing, that ultimately all of this could end badly for everyone, and Emiko knew it too.

One thought a lot more once the weight of the world was upon you. It was just inevitable. She'd made her choice, and now she was looking at Emiko in a different way than she'd seen her before. They talked all the time now, albeit about business. A full day and they'd had four different conversations, just her and Emiko, and sometimes one or two of the others who were trying to manage everything.

It was exhausting, but it was a closeness that couldn't allow the wrong kind of idealization. Emiko was flawed, and yet Shizue was still here. Saya was flawed, and yet Shizue drank tea with her, when she had time; Maki… Maki was a twisted bundle of nerves and feelings, of feints and dreams, of schemes and confidence and doubt and depression. No wonder Emiko-sensei felt so close to her, to this girl that might well spend a decade tearing herself apart just to build up something better.

Her hand pressed into the table as she rose up and stepped closer to him, glancing around the room. Junko wasn't listening in, Shizue had checked. In fact, Junko was with Akachi going through the mines. Shizue had figured out a new configuration that was legitimately testing the young girl to her limits. But Emiko had frowned at her solution, and clammed up thoughtfully.

Emiko did a lot of things thoughtfully, as if she were… afraid. Which wasn't a good sign. "I owe it to myself. But I wonder. If I moved to some small village, where you could practice jutsu in a cave and I could teach music, what would it be like? I've been a shinobi for so long, before I even graduated an academy. Even if I lost all my skills right now, I still wouldn't quite be an ordinary musician."

"You wouldn't be an ordinary musician even without that," Okiie said with a laugh. "Shizue-chan, how many instruments do you know well?"

"Enough," Shizue said, feeling guilty for how little time she'd had for music. Almost none, in fact, just a song or two each night, barely enough to keep her from getting too rusty. Even that wasn't really…

"More than enough. Seriously, Shizue-chan, you kinda amaze me. But you'd be great at teaching music, I'm sure. I've been wondering if I could learn to play an instrument sometime. I doubt I'd be great at it, but I do have nimble fingers." He wiggled them a little, as if in demonstration. "And it could be good practice for going through handseals faster?" He frowned, and shrugged. "You don't have to, and definitely not now when you're so busy."

Shizue half-knelt down where he sat and hugged him tight, felt his warm body against hers. She'd had dreams of him kissing her neck, soft and slow, and then he began to work down and the dream ended and she woke up flustered and confused, her face red. This moment felt like that moment, holding him so tight it was more like desperate clinging. His hand reached up, and touched her cheek on the side that wasn't ruined, that wasn't ugly and terrible. He touched her with such tenderness, as if she were precious.

He treasured her, and he respected her.

She leaned down, pulling his fingers away as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and said, "I'm going to be very busy, these next few days. It's a lot to go through, a lot to consider. Because we're leaving. Inevitably. I need…"

"I have time, time for whatever you do. It's amazing, you know that, Shizue-chan. You learn genjutsu, you make puppets, you make music, you help people… and you do it every day. And the mines, and--you're cool, and I understand what it can feel like, all of that pressure. I mean, comics talk about how hard Naruto had it, ordering around people who were his best friends, when the time came," Okiie said, with a goofy grin.

Shizue tilted her head slightly and kissed him on the lips at an angle, to avoid his nose. He let out a soft, low sigh. Then he pressed forward. He was a good kisser, if sometimes too careful, as if he were worried about being too forceful.

Shizue didn't need that right now. She needed to be grounded and she needed to be uplifted. Grounded from a universe of S-rankers and the coming war, lifted up from all the mundane mothering she was doing. So she pressed herself into him. "Harder," she whispered, just to see his eyes bug out.

This was a makeout session, after all.

This time, at least, nobody interrupted.

[Opening Credits]

She left a little bit out of sorts, of course. Her hair was a bit of a mess, her lips looked a little odd, what makeup she had had to be reapplied--especially the makeup to conceal the wounded side of her face--and yet she felt more able to tackle her problems than ever. And tonight they were going to read comic books together, and maybe she'd try to figure out what type of instrument would interest Okiie, if he wanted to learn.

So it was in a good mood that she went through the day, even after Saya hit Akachi too hard during practice and he almost threw up, or when Rika realized she'd run through bandages and needed her help tearing out some more as a makeshift feature, since Yuichi's hand had gotten cut, thanks to Seiichiro's clumsiness. The boy was getting better every day at all sorts of things, but he still hadn't found his niche, and that meant he tried things he wasn't always great at.

Junko, though, she was a challenge, but Shizue knew the girl well enough to know she wasn't great at keeping secrets, not like that. She'd tell Shizue, if she was pressed. Which was why Shizue went downstairs, taking the lift and relaxing after a lunch that hadn't gone all that badly.

Emiko was gone, off to retrieve Rika's mail, the supplies, and anything else needed, but her words still echoed:

"I think I have something that might help her, but all of the mixtures I'm making, they'd hurt her. She could throw up, see things, could sleep terribly, break out in sweats… the list of ways anything I make could hurt her is endless. I'm a poisoner working with a medical ninja to make all of this. We'll have to shop it around, and monitor her closely, and--we can't do it yet, not until we're established somewhere new."

Emiko had sounded so apologetic, so miserable at the idea that all of her powers and all of her skill couldn't just whip up some easy way to cure any illness of the mind, any infirmity or strange habit or whatever she thought it was that feeding someone poison had more benefits than drawbacks.

So Shizue tried to keep an open mind, as she opened the door. Junko was on the floor, examining examples of all of Shizue's traps, to try to better understand how to get around them, if not how to use them.

They gleamed, many of them, though she did have lengths of traditional wire, and even a kunai launcher. But there was a lot more metal and a lot more explosives than in most trap-maker's kits, that was for sure. She knew how to do the seals, she had a basic grounding in fuinjutsu, but there was something interestingly unexpected about 'simple' explosives.

Most of all, it was that it wasn't jutsu in the traditional sense. Maki-chan would no doubt have some trouble with it… or at least, her chakra sense would, as it might not with fuinjutsu traps. Her actual eyes no doubt could make out explosives a little easier, at least until Shizue figured out a good formula to get it down to a very compact size without losing most of its potency.

It was… restful. Like working on her puppets.

"Hey, Junko-chan."

"Hey, Shizue," Junko said, quietly. "Is Emiko-sensei angry at me?" She looked so downtrodden, and Shizue decided that her crush must still be there, must still be playing out, despite all the months. She had no idea if knowing more would make Junko stop worshipping Emiko, but even her outbursts and moments of disagreement were filled with this… betrayal.

As if Emiko making a mistake or being wrong was something heart-breaking.

"I think she's worried about you. She's worried about everyone," Shizue said. "I am too. It's what it means to care so much."

Even as Shizue says it, she wasn't sure how true it was. Or, rather. Okiie didn't worry in the same way Shizue and Emiko did, was so confident in her that he hadn't had to worry. Shizue bit her lip, trying to draw her thoughts away from Okiie, and towards what she could do and say.

"I… guess I get that," Junko said, quietly.

Shizue thought about the Eri dance, and thought about the ways that they'd lived before. Junko was someone Shizue would die for. "But she is worried about the stealing."

"I… just," Junko frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't seem that wrong, like--"

"Does not seem wrong? What is right and wrong?" Shizue asked. She's killed before, and she will kill again. She's stolen, in fact. "There's a difference between on the mission and off it. Or there's supposed to be, Junko-chan."

"I know," Junko said. "I'm just, I just. Sometimes you see something and you just have to steal it? That's not that unusual, is it?"

"I've never felt that way," Shizue said quietly. "How long have you felt so?"

"Two years? Maybe? Just sometimes. Sometimes I take things because I want them and because it's fun. Like it was fun to sneak up on people and hide and listen to them. I just… well. I stole buttons, and pens, and maybe a small coin or two? It's not the. Shizue-chan, you have to understand, sometimes it's not the… the having. It's the getting. It's like with Emiko-sensei: she doesn't care about the blood, so much as what leads to it. She doesn't, I don't." Junko curled up into each other. "She talked to me, a little. Or at me. Just… telling me you'd be here to talk to you."

Shizue winced. "And here I am. Here I am, and I need to understand. Is it a voice in your head?"

"No, it's like an itching, and a pressure. And it gets stronger and stronger sometimes, until it's like you have a headache, or." Junko's breath was a little shuddering. "E-emiko read stories. Case files. Or, something? I don't know. To me. I, I needed it, but."

"But?"

"It made me feel so… so." Junko trailed off, then finally admitted. "Weak." She wouldn't be here, spilling her guts like this, if it wasn't for Emiko… but she wouldn't have said all of this to Emiko, not really. She couldn't have, without looking pathetic. "And so typical. All of this I thought was me was actually just some… some disease of the mind. All of what I, all." Junko sniffed, her eyes wet, and Shizue crouched down to hug her.

"There, there. We all go through trials and troubles. I've been in dark places before," Shizue said. She'd gotten out of them easier than she should have, and that was thanks to her mother in the past, and Emiko and her team after that. But she could imagine herself sinking into despair, or into some flawed way of thinking. "I think… you said that sometimes that's not it?"

"Yeah. Sometimes I steal because it's really, really fun," Junko said.

"You know what I think?" Shizue asked.

"Uh…"

"I think that it's that you got used to stealing, that it was hard to take a moral stand against taking what you wanted when you'd done so under the pressure of an intense desire. Did you ever fight the desire?"

"Yes. I always lost," Junko said. She bit her lip and looked away, her fingers splayed over a mine. "I mean, so I stopped."

"Ah. Is that why nobody ever noticed?"

"I mean, they did?"

Shizue shook her head. "The distress, that is. You don't seem stressed when you're stealing things, I asked them. It's because of you training yourself, I think. Maybe. We'd have to talk about it. I think the first step is not to steal them when you don't feel that… urge? But I have no idea why it comes and goes. Does it have to do with brain chemicals or chakra signals?" Shizue shook her head, and crouched down next to Junko, fingers running over her traps, over what she'd made. What she'd done.

Traps and puppets and fuinjutsu were all easier to help set right than people. Plus, how did one even decide right? It was like with music: there were so many genres, and what was definitely wrong in one was fine in another.

"I guess so," Junko said. "I mean, I mostly want to do things so I do them?"

Shizue smiled, because in her experience it was pretty normal for twelve year olds, civilians or otherwise. "I understand that." She reached a hand out to touch Junko's shoulder, and then began running a thumb in a circle there, gently, noticing the way that Junko's tension seemed to slip away as she did it. "I understand that all too well. Things'll be fine, you're an excellent shinobi and you're clever too."

"I… I guess so. But I don't know people like you do," Junko said, biting her lip. "It's easier just to sort of… watch them?"

"Oh, now I definitely understand that," Shizue said with a big, wide smile. "That's all I did for years at a time. Watch people. Probably for different things than you're watching me for, but it can be very hard. Let's just sit here and relax."

"Relax?" Junko giggled. "Okay, then. If it's relaxation." She closed her eyes.

Shizue rubbed her back, less a massage and more an act of comfort, and first hummed and then began to sing in a low, gentle voice. They were lullabies, mostly, songs that felt as if they had no place in this world of toil and turmoil, light things.

She wondered whether she could write one. She wondered if she wanted to: it had been a month since she'd put brush to paper and made music. She tried now, as a few minutes stretched on to almost a dozen, experimenting with simple tunes that sounded at least a little different. She thought about one that recalled the sorts of gentle nothings she knew, and yet taken through Earth and Wind conventions, to make something that could be voiced and voiced well even by a father, by a father rumbling over a child, his voice gravel but his heart full of love. Lullabies that anyone could sing, she thought.

That had a place, because some of her mother's lullabies, they were lullabies for a musical child, one who enjoyed slight twists and turns, who had a mother who could hit every single note so perfectly every lullabye felt like it should be a concert.

Shizue had been spoiled, spoiled for love and spoiled by music.

So when Junko started speaking, it was a surprise. "She frowns, sometimes. Just… just this little frown when she's sure that there's almost nobody watching. And she tries to make it seem speculative, but it's not, because the rest of her face is too much of a mask. And when I see it, I want to do anything to get rid of it. I want to sneak past a Uchiha and outsmart a Nara, I. But then all I can do is… this. Make her worried. Mess up, just like Seiichiro-kun."

"She likes you," Shizue said, softly. "She'd be less happy without you."

"I still hate it so much," Junko said. "She told me, once, right after G… Maki-chan tried to kill herself. That she almost had done it herself as well. She was almost sixteen, and she considered poison, but remembered how that jerk teammate of hers, Kazuto, said that poison was a woman's weapon. So she got rope for her traps, and decided against a suicide note because she said it gave the game away and she didn't have anything worth having back then anyways, so no need for a will. And she was going to do it before she was called away on a mission, and hurt, and… and the moment just passed. She actually used the rope for a trap and nobody knew. Nobody would know." Junko said that firmly. "If she was falling apart… who besides me, and you and…"

"A lot of people care for her," Shizue said.

"Y-you know, don't you?" Junko asked, sounding a little afraid. "I can't remember if I told you. Right now my memory feels sorta wonky. Told you about my crush…"

Her face was so red.

"I do. She does too," Shizue blurted out.

"I knew that," Junko said. "I knew that so much. And so I don't even know. I don't know what I'm going to do, and I need to take some sort of… something for this? And do things?"

"Start with trying not to steal unless you feel compelled to," Shizue said, quietly. "Now, Junko-chan, do you want to dance? We haven't done an Eri dance in a long time."

Junko giggled. "Oh, of course, I--"

Shizue turned around, and after a moment Junko tensed. She'd heard it too. Footsteps, albeit quiet ones. There was a knock on the door. "It's open, ya know!" Junko called out.

Maki stepped through, wearing a charcoal grey skirt that went down to her knees, very slimming as far as it went, and a… mauve---Shizue tried to remember Saya's lessons--blouse, which even had this rather tidy little bow at the collar. She even had on stockings, which meant… costume, albeit a nice looking one. "Secretarial training," Maki explained. "For when I have to fake being one."

"Ah," Shizue said, quietly. Of course, Maki didn't look like a secretary, because there was something in her eyes, besides the glow, that made her look as if she were the sort of person who would own the business, not just work for it. Maki saw the look in her eye, and instantly looked down, her whole body shifting in subservience and fear, her arms tucked in to take up less room.

"Suzuhisa-sama, you are wanted for a meeting," Maki said, in a voice that had the perfect bland tone of someone used to showing not even a hint of her real feelings, professional and crisp, and so deferential that Shizue was staring.

"Wow," Junko said, quietly. "But are we? Or her, I mean?"

"Everyone," Maki said. "Emiko-sensei has returned, and she's in a terrible mood. As am I, I do not know how civilians survive wearing lightning-style heels." Maki was indeed wearing surprisingly tall black heels. When she turned and started walking, though, she moved like she was born in them.

Shizue shook her head, amused, and followed.

[Commercial Break]

They stopped outside her door. Her… room? That's where the meeting was?

When Maki opened the door, there everyone was, crowded around her couch. Emiko had a letter, opened and then folded up, lying on her lap, and when she saw Maki she nodded, almost imperiously.

Like she was the executive. "Good that we're all here, other than Chuichi-kun. He'll be back within a day or two, and just in time. I almost left it until too late. We've been made, gentlepeople," Emiko said, sounding as if she was faking her playfulness. Everyone else other than Maki stared at her until she sighed and said, "Found out."

"Then why didn't you say that in the first place?" Akachi asked, smirking.

Emiko sighed and went on, ignoring him, "I was going to retrieve Rika-chan's letter, but there was a watch on the box. I had to use those explosives I borrowed from Shizue-chan to make a big enough distraction halfway across town to retrieve it. Even so, I was almost injured. It's almost certainly the Grey Man. I had hoped it would be another few weeks."

People were muttering and staring, horror on all faces… but most of all Rika. "M-my father, is he?"

"He's fine. But they did write a note, that among other things threatened him. But I know for a fact that they don't have him in their sights, not yet. They know his vague location, down to a few cities, but the threat itself is a bluff. I swear to you, Rika-chan, I have people on it now, and they're going to relocate him just in case."

"You have… people?" Rika asked, her lip quivering a little.

"Yes. The letter demanded that we meet in a week to… discuss. The Grey Man has very limited boundaries. The Tsuchikage no doubt has forbidden killing me, and doing that while capturing me is, as others learned back in Tea, very difficult." Emiko smiled, viciously. "So, we have several options. They've found the town, but not here. We could hole up here, strengthen our defenses, and wait for them to find us. That could take months, and we'd have to be prepared to kill and defeat all of them. Or I could go off on my own, lure them away. But I'd likely be captured, considering that he is a very expert Hunter-Nin from Iwa, and works with a skilled team, often hand-picked for their target."

"Ah," Ichiman said, biting his lip. "T-the other options?"

"We all make a break for it. I give us fifty-fifty chances. Eleven chunin, or even eight, is quite a bit of ninja power, when combined with myself. But they must have prepared at least a little bit for us. Our final option is simple: they want a meeting, we set up a meeting near or at the Baron's Ranch. We're both going to be betraying each other and trying to trap each other… and so if I can bring in enough outside actors, both Ken and… others that I could contact, it could shift things. I think I can convince them to stop trying, or beat them if not."

Emiko spread her hands out. "I have the paperwork done, you're officially not missing-nin anymore, which means that legally, what the Grey Man can do to you is… slightly more limited. He might try to hold hostages, but I feel it relatively unlikely in the span of time you're going to be vulnerable." Emiko nodded to herself. "Though I will, of course, take the lead. And I have a definite plan. We'd have a week, and we'd need to see how we could get you into teams in case there is an attempt at hostage-taking."

Shizue had been waiting until Emiko was done. Now she nodded, thoughtfully.

"However, this is not necessary for everyone. I need some people with me to keep them at bay, or at least guessing, but if some if you wished to depart, I do have contacts that could temporarily take you in while you figured out your next move. And they'd probably be too busy with me, one way or another, to do anything."

"They threatened my father," Rika said. "I'm not sure what I can do, in a fight, but… I'm in."

"Field medic," Emiko said.

"I really wanted to go exploring, and you're the one who runs around everywhere. So there we go, I guess," Akachi said, a little bitterly.

"I... can work with that," Emiko said, and Shizue realized that Akachi might actually be the closest one of them to leaving, the one that Emiko might have doubted.

"I'm in," Junko said.

"You'll be staying back. Seiichiro-kun?"

"Of course I'm staying with you," Seiichiro said. "This is kinda cool. And what about it, Yuu-kun?" He glanced over at Yuichi.

Yuichi nodded. "I will too."

"I'm going with Shizue-chan, and Shizue-chan made it clear she was sticking with you," Okiie said, stepping closer with Shizue.

"Yes, I did."

"I can observe from a distance," Maki said, quietly. "And do whatever else is needed."

"I'll be on the front lines, won't I Emiko-sensei?" Saya asked. "I have a new poison you showed me that I'd like to show them."

"I'd prefer they survive, but I understand that you, even more than me, won't be able to hold back. And you, Ichiman-kun?"

"I owe you. I can help you, I'll be there," Ichiman said, biting his cheek.

That was all of them. They were all going...or not going, as it were, for the youngest of them.

"We have one week," Emiko said quietly. "To pack, to prepare."

Shizue frowned.

This could end very horribly, but she did want to see Emiko's plan in action.

[End Credits]

How does Shizue prepare? (Choose 2)

[] Teamwork is always important. She could practice with Okiie, Ichiman, and some of the others that might be able to at least temporarily hold their own against an enemy ninja and figure out how to work together.
[] Genjutsu seems to play a part in the plan, if what Maki's muttering about has any truth to it. So she could ask about that, try to coordinate… less for her talent at Genjutsu, since that's very much Maki and Emiko's show, both of them a little more experience than her, than for her mindset and attention to detail.
[] Specifically working with Okiie might be a little bit selfish, but Okiie needs to be ready, since as someone throwing around powerful ninjutsu (by Chunin standards, at least), he's an obvious target just like she is. She couldn't stand it if he were hurt, even a little.
[] Work on cleaning the place up and preparing it to be sealed off again for another day. And despite all that's happened… despite it just being some desert base, it's felt awfully like home. Seeing it one last time, and clearing up more time for others to do their own preparation, might be nice.
[] Her puppets are in fine condition, but she could give them one last look-over. Emiko had looked at her with expectation when she'd mentioned that her puppets could be on the front line. Had said, "They might surprise even a Jonin." Surprise even a Jonin… that could be useful.
[] Explosives. They can't be detected by the normal chakra-sensing means--and a Hunter-Nin team, Emiko had said, would have a chakra-sensor--and since this is a game of traps… well. More bang for one's ryo. Plus, Shizue's been itching to try out some explosives she can just throw at people.

*******

A/N: So, a lot of stuff built up, but look at the trail you left. In the city, outside the city with the pirate thing, going up north, the missions, multiple of them, which didn't reveal Emiko but did reveal the relative proximity of a high-level shinobi.

This has been coming for a while. Not revealing one's hand might have given a few more weeks, more time to prepare… but ultimately the Grey Man is very methodical. Which might make one wonder what his plan is.


But yeah, this is almost it. A showdown at the Baron's Corral.

And not late this time, either.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 43: In The Eye Of The Storm

"It's pretty simple," Shizue said, with a frown, glancing over at Saya and Ichiman. "I'm clearly long range, right?"

"Well, sort of. Medium?" Saya was frowning too, but while Shizue's frown was uncertain, hers was thoughtful. "I get what you're saying, and Ichiman knows it. It's his whole style, after all, darling. But how do we obscure that fact? He's a person with a spear, of course he has a trick."

"Just like you have a trick. Everyone has tricks. The exact trick is what matters," Shizue said. "Medium works even better. If you're defending Ryuko, then they think it's a trade-off, don't they?" Shizue snapped her fingers. "She does long range, you do close, so if they get close up, but just out of reach, they could hurt her and you'd have to let them."

"I am protecting my teammates," Ichiman said, firmly. "Not the puppets."

"The puppets are your teammates. Or rather, they're me. Without them I'm not all that much good in a fight like this. If you can't think that way." Shizue tried not to raise her voice, but there was stress here, and tension. She was saying the wrong things, sometimes, and so were they, so was everyone. In two days they were going to fight impossible odds, and they were going to do it with supposed calmness.

They were cool professionals with multiple missions under their belt.

So instead they struggled not to squabble childishly, struggled not to act in a manner completely unbefitting of shinobi, because there was no outlet now. Nobody was going to listen to Shizue's music practice that'd stopped, or the records either. Nobody was hanging out at all, because that would be a waste.

Shizue knew that people were scrambling and coming up short, that Emiko was stalking around, packing bags and sweeping up. Doing everything, the way she always did, without talking about it, without either apologizing or bragging particularly, without sleeping it seemed like, just like everyone else there.

It wasn't healthy, probably couldn't ever become healthy

Chuichi returned early in the second day, the largest sandstorm Shizue had ever seen at his back, so vast that she suspected a genjutsu, the entire sky blotted out with the movement, the wind howling like a dying man. And there he was, striding through it, looking exhausted but staring right at Shizue and Emiko, at Maki and Saya, the last one having slipped up with them, her fingers splayed out, nails still drying with a new poison of hers, one that she'd developed with Emiko.

"I suppose so darling," is what Saya said now, doubtfully, teeth playing with her lips. Always these nervous gestures, now. Everyone was the same. Shizue tapped rhythms on her own arm, as if it were the surface of a drum, and whistled tunes that were almost cliched--she'd not even make them complex, just old folk songs of the sort that she normally didn't do much, besides transform--and was a different person and knew it. Everyone knew it, too. Everyone knew each others little tells now, and Shizue pointed them out to others.

Blending together, even as the base was falling apart.

Then Saya was waving her hands dry, teeth grit at the storm, as Chuichi approached Emiko. "I am done, Captain-sama. What's the next insane thing you'll have me do?"

Emiko didn't wince. She didn't need to, the careful look on her face said it all. One day Chuichi would walk away from her, and not come back. He'd never betray her but he'd walk away and there was no stopping that, at least without making him an enemy. He'd walk away because he was a good man; he'd stay for just the same reasons. He cared about being a teacher, he cared about Emiko, and all of that meant that Emiko had relied on him in ways that probably weren't fair.

"I… I have a list," Emiko said, quietly. "None of it is beyond your pay grade--"

"That's what you said with the last mission," Chuichi said, with a wry smile that could no doubt turn sour. Perhaps one day it would, and the jokes would be accusations. She wondered what Emiko would do then. If he tried to betray her, well, that was easy: she'd kill him and he'd be yet another regret in the life of a woman that seemed, to Shizue, to have so many regrets piled up that she couldn't see past them.

"It wasn't, not really. Not in that way. She wasn't going to turn you in, my threat helped with that, and--"

"See, this is how you get," Chuichi said with a sigh, stepping towards the entrance. "Talking about people as if they're all pieces--"

"It's all of a piece," Shizue said. "If we can't figure this out, then we'll lose. Stinger-kun can flit from space to space, but Ryuko-chan needs protection, and what better protection than someone unexpected? Your spear, Saya-chan's poisoned nails, my sound-based jutsu--"

"And genjutsu?" Ichiman asked thoughtfully.

"Yes. But I've only just begun working on that. But it will help," Shizue admitted. Of course it will help. Of course there were things she could do now that she couldn't before. But she was still working on that. She wasn't good enough, not yet. "I think that Emiko-sensei is going to have her hands full, and that means we need to help with the hangers-on."

"I believe your boyfriend is rubbing off on me," Saya said, with a grin that was almost… wrong. "Because I was thinking about it like a comic book, where the sidekicks fight the horde of armed bandits so the hero can fight the bandit king." She covered her mouth, glancing around. "I suppose that--"

Shizue rolled her eyes. "Is this some sort of test?"

"Well, maybe dear. Or maybe I like teasing you," Saya said with a smirk. "Akachi-kun is quite unfortunately indisposed, and lately he's been so droll. So someone must pick up the slack."

That at least gave Shizue a reason to chuckle, just like Saya had planned on. She even sounded a little like Akachi, something about her tone. Maybe, even as Saya was rubbing off on Maki, Maki was doing the same the other way around. Little mannerisms. It'd be interesting if it was so.

Maki already was Saya's best friend, after all, and perhaps Shizue should've asked for advice, since clearly there was a way not to be frustrated with Saya half the time. Maybe Maki's Shomeigan helped with that. Maybe not.

"Which is why I want to apologize," Emiko said. "I'm doing things that… you're my friend. Friends are willing to do these things for each other, but--"

"And here we go again, we're friends, but--"

Emiko laughed. "But they shouldn't have to. I know you'd do it for me if I asked, if I kept on asking until you got fed up. But I'm willing to pay you, I really am. A-rank rates, too. Not because I want to be your employer or own you, but because for everything you've done you should be well compensated. Helping me with them, it's something that deserves more than a pat on the shoulder and a smile." She nodded to herself. "I hope you understand what I mean. You can throw the money away, you can say it's too much of a gift. But we're coming in. I'm going to make you tea and food and give you more money than you can do anything with right now, and then in a few hours, we can see about…"

Chuichi stared. "Well. Okay then."

Emiko's smile was startlingly, almost gratifyingly, smug.

Shizue's smile was incredulously pleased. Emiko could charm people all she wanted, she was good at it, but being that blunt and forward about someone who mattered to her? Well, it was certainly something.

Chuichi was back out again by the evening, but this time he was in a far better mood.

"It's not inaccurate, though," Shizue said. "We should pick one hunter-nin, maybe but probably not two, and try to deal with them, get them separated… or Ken-san, if he shows up."

"Akachi wants to kill him very, very badly," Saya said.

"I can understand that," Shizue said.

"When I asked him what he meant by badly, he said that he both wanted it very much and wanted it to be horrible and terrible," Saya said, with a… pleased little grin that made Shizue shiver. It was a smile she'd never seen on Saya's face, nor had she ever seen the ghoulish gleam to her eyes.

Trying not to be too obvious about it, Shizue changed the subject.

[Opening Credits]

Shizue frowned, running her fingers over the lovely material. It was so useful, so potentially surprising, that she was sure that this was at least a large part of what Emiko had meant. It wouldn't stop the kind of A-rank jutsu that could kill a Chunin dead in a single hit… but then, who could, precisely? Maybe Ginchiyo, actually, with that sword of hers. But among the people she knew? An A-rank jutsu was bad news and she wasn't going to be going after someone who might be able to throw them around like they were, almost, nothing.

If she was, then there was no trick that was going to save her.

Emiko was going to be occupying him, and since he needed her alive, that'd put quite a crimp in his fighting. Shizue wasn't sure how much, but she knew that she'd need more than the springs, more than the rubber, as useful as it was. There was something else, and it itched at her fingers, the ideas, strange and a little desperate.

One idea involved using genjutsu to hide the rubber… by failing to hide things. She'd create a genjutsu that made the skin of the puppet look unharmed or less affected by the attacks of enemies… which of course would secretly be cover for the fact that they were less affected. But she was a novice, and so it'd look like a simple bluff, an intimidation tactic. And if they saw through it to the truth? Well, it wouldn't change a thing.

Then there was the self-destruct, the jaws of death, she could also try a better conception of the net-trap attack she'd worked on with such care and misplaced attention all the way back… a year and a change ago.

That left Shizue standing there, blinking, for almost a minute, ambushed by her own memories and just how much had changed in how little time. She'd always been good with puppets, but she was only getting better, sharper. She knew her two friends like the back of her hand. Better, in fact, since she rarely looked at her hand for fun, whereas she looked at them sometimes, just to see them.

But there was only so much she could do.

Stat Spending (Uses the same spread as any other shinobi)

[] Armament
[] Structure
[] Design
[] Agility

Points! 44 free points for Stinger, 55 for Ryuko. There's only time for moderate tweaks to the core, so ((Cont later))

[] Jaws of Death (Stinger): Opening up, it gives Stinger a (potentially) killing move, that can catch the enemy's limb and possibly remove it, if she was so inclined. It's a second mouth, sort of, and so that's why she named it so. (Can't take without either buying up Design or replacing something. Name what if so.) (Two slots)
[] Winged Extravengances (Ryuko) [25]: Ryuko is a dragon, and a lady too, and yet she has not wings. Flying is of course impossible to put together this quickly, and considering her weight would… well. Shizue tried doing the math, and she'd probably need a new puppet if she was going to even try for flying. But if she did it right, Fuinjutsu and other things could get the girl aloft, and then wings to stretch out and glide downwards… it'd be a perfect trick. Ryuko would be a sitting duck, something to draw attention from dangerous enemies, away from the living, and if they ignored her, then she'd have a height advantage that'd make hitting the enemy far easier. (Costs 2 slots)
[] Self-Destruct (Either/both) [30 points]: Exactly what it sounds, and very carefully hidden, it will be made so that it won't go off easily. Heavily packed, liquid and solid, even backed up with Fuinjutsu. One shouldn't be within… hundreds and hundreds of feet of them when they go off, and you'd probably be okay. Shizue might have been inspired by a certain experience of hers. It's a last-ditch idea, but… if she needs everything in a hundred foot radius destroyed without more than a few traces left… (Costs three slots).
[] Tanglenet Shocker (Either) [24]: Shizue's finally figured out how to make this work. The net is carefully compressed and comes out to grab the enemy, or a limb. And the shock is enough that it'd take down a civilian, and should be enough to at least inconvenience a shinobi. And she can carefully make it so that there's metal amidst the rope, so cutting it would be… less effective than expected. And it'd help conduct the electricity. Perfect. Probably not lethal. Probably. (1 slot)

Spoiler: Puppet Character Sheets

STINGER (501/545 possible)

Armament 43
Structure 34
Design 30
Agility 51+3

Melee Attack +39
Melee Defense +37
Dodge +58(+4)
Stealth +60
Initiative +56

HP 34
15 Equipment Slots (15 filled)

SPECIALS:
Metal Armor: Stinger gains Armor 3
Wires: +3 to Agility, ???
Teardrop Rubber Bracers: When chakra flow is used to enhance an attack against Stinger, it is completely nullified if the attacker's chakra flow skill is lower than 32, and reduced by a progressively lower amount if it is higher.
Deployable Shields: Stinger's bracers may change form into forearm shields. The Bracer advantage does not apply in this mode, but Stinger is able to ignore E and D-rank attack jutsu, and jutsu of C-rank and above are reduced by a progressively lower amount.


Stealthy Puppet (5): Through the clever use of painting and finding ways to muffle the various sounds a machine is likely to make, the agility of this puppet acts as 5 points higher when sneaking.
Sound Generator (5): This puppet has been outfitted with bells and chimes that can generate the noise required for low-level Sound jutsu to work, mounted so that they stay silent until activated.
Ball-Joint Flexibility (4): A puppet is more flexible than any human can be, when made well. For the purpose of Taijutsu and evading attacks, it can count its score as 4 points higher, and is thus much harder to land a 'solid hit' on.
Internal Armoring (8) : There are many important gears, joints and parts to be protected in this complex puppet, and so Shizue has decided to work on that by putting in internal protection without sacrificing the speed of the puppet in any way. Stinger is able to ignore one internal critical. The internal protection needs to be repaired before it can apply again.
Waterproofing (8) : While Shizue is pretty sure the puppet *shouldn't* be submerged in water, and it creates difficulty, being soaked using, say, water jutsu is no problem with its tight joints and waterproof materials, and it can be completely soaked and yet unaffected, important considering the area.
Wired Reflexes (3): Agility is increased by 2 for the purposes of acting first, quick reactions.
Cloak and Dagger (Free): +1 to Stealth rolls, cooler puppet
Spring Loaded (6): Boy, won't that be a surprise! (THIS NEEDS TO BE UPDATED)
Every Joint a Puzzle (10): By creating a flexible physical design that includes many points of rotation, Stinger can be made stranger, his motions harder to track, so long as Shizue knows how to control him just right. For the first five rounds of combat, while opponents are getting used to the strange motions, Stinger's agility counts as 4 higher for the purpose of dodging or deflection of attacks. Upon a second fight with the same opponent, it only takes them three rounds, and if someone's still alive after 3 fights (they shouldn't be if they're not an ally), there's no bonus against them. Two slots.

Extending Arms (12): Completely stolen from watching...I mean, based on Ichiman's spear-extension jutsu, a careful hydraulic process can make the length of the arms extend in mid-stab, thus turning a near-miss into a hit. Because of various factors, it's somewhat more predictable than Ichiman's jutsu, and so after a number of times of using it, an opponent will begin to compensate for it, but in the meantime, it's an effective way to continue to keep up the surprises. (How big a bonus? This is basically all fluff and no crunch)

Enhanced Taijutsu-ification (28): Modifying the body to more easily be able to use taijutsu, Shizue will then 'teach' the puppet the basics of Suna Ryu. It's...a little complicated, but certainly possible to program in responses to chakra twitches that mimic the complicated forms she has learned as best she can. Three slots. Suna Ryu Rank 2

Thrust-Stab (14): Using the principles that she's studied, she could make the kunai themselves spring-loaded, so that on a successful attack, the stab could go deeper and further than expected, dealing one round of damage at 1/1.

Poison (18): Blinding/bowel-loosening poison thing


RYUKO (490/545 possible)

Armament 39
Structure 30
Design 44
Agility 31+3

Melee Attack +35
Melee Defense +42
Ranged Attack +37
Dodge +34
Initiative +34

HP 30
22 Equipment Slots (13 filled)

SPECIAL
Metal Armor: Ryuko gains Armor 5
Wires: +3 to Agility, ???
Teardrop Rubber:
Internal: Internal critical hits from E & and D-rank jutsu are completely negated.
Front Armor: E & D-rank attack jutsu hitting Ryuko from the front are completely negated. C-rank and above are reduced by a progressively lower amount.
Tail: When Ryuko blocks against an attack enhanced using chakra flow, the chakra flow is completely nullified if the attacker's skill level is 32 lower, and reduced by a progressively lower amount if it is higher.

Whip-tail (16): If someone gets close, or tries to get behind the puppet, then something needs to be done. A spiked tail would be just the thing. It'd be her primary melee attack, and a last ditch matter, but it could be cunningly designed to be able to extend and retract, and the spiked ball at the end would hurt quite a bit. (Melee weapon: 1/1 damage).

Enhanced Dragon's Roar (28): Creates a massive pulse of intense sound strong enough to translate into physical force in a 60ft narrow cone. Anybody within the area of effect takes 6 + 1/2 (max. 30) damage, is knocked back 10ft, knocked down and suffers a -6 penalty to all actions for the next round due to their head ringing from the intense pulse of sound.
Grip Claws (12): Climbing up the walls isn't easy, but with specially designed grip claws, even if the puppet can't really run on the walls as a ninja can, it could use the walls as a platform, or as a way to escape attacks, digging its claws in and stabilizing itself before preparing an attack. (Allows Ryuko to wall walk slowly on surfaces strong enough to support her, +4 to hit bonus with ranged attacks if puppet does not move this round.)
Main Weapon (100):
-Enhanced Embershot Thrower: Spits three projectiles of red hot, glowing embers at up to three targets within a 60ft narrow cone, doing 7 + 1/3 (max. 23) damage.
-Enhanced Piercing Winds. Shoots a spear of piercing wind at a single target within 80ft, doing 11 + 1/2 (max. 35) damage.
-Oilslick Attack: By 'vomiting' up an oil slick, Ryuko can unbalance enemies, making them slip and slide. (Spits out a stream of slippery oil to cover the ground in a 25ft narrow cone. The oil lasts for five rounds; anybody who passes through the affected area must succeed in an Agility check against Ryuko's Armament stat or fall prone. Even if successful, they suffer a -6 penalty to all physical actions while in the affected area due to uncertain footing.)
Bomb Thrower (24): Launches an explosive bomb at any point within a 80ft narrow cone. On the next round the bomb explodes, doing 6 + 1/1 (max. 54) damage to anybody within (x)ft. This damage ignores armor. This weapon has limited uses before it must be reloaded back at Shizue's workshop; the bomb thrower's magazine contains five rounds.

*******

"Simple fact," Emiko said, looking over at Maki, then Shizue. "The Grey Man's name doesn't actually matter. I'm pretty sure that his mother looked down at him and said, 'Ah, I have given birth to the Gray Man.' I have never heard another living soul speak his exact name referring to him. Ever. So I might just use it all the time to throw him off. His name is Inoue Koji and he's a third-generation shinobi, in his late fifties by now, a revolutionary in his field, for having turned Iwa's hunter-nin around. Skilled, too. In his youth he once took down an S-rank criminal when he was a Special Jonin."

"He had a few allies, but the whole team was as green as him. The S-ranker wasn't like Jitsuko-chan, or he'd be dead, but he was very good at being the underdog, and very, very terrifying. He had this affectation, of gaining weight, of smoking, of dressing like a third-rate banker, and yet doing what he does. He thinks it amusing, a regular Akachi-kun, even though you'd think he had no humor at all, the way he acts. The old-timers who tell stories of stories with a shudder said he always fought as if he were the underdog who had to spike the fight as much as humanly possible. He'd be fighting a peer and the peer might as well have been a child."

Maki frowned, but there was a look of frustration on her face that Shizue understood. It sounded terrifying, and if even before he was a Jonin, he could take out a S-ranker with a green team, then now with an elite group that Emiko clearly feared…

"But there's good news. Over the past decade, while he hasn't appeared to age a day, he's gotten sloppy."

Maki's eyes went bright at that. "Oh, really?"

"Not that sloppy. Just cutting a few minor corners, and not in the pursuit, always. He's the big dog now, with an entire team of experts hand-picked and trained by him, Jonin who know what they're doing and aren't going to lose. He doesn't have to approach each encounter as if a single mistake meant instant death. I'm pretty sure if he were facing someone like Jitsuko-chan, he'd revert to his old pattern. But me? I'm pretty sure he'll try all sorts of things, and treat me deadly serious, but he knows he can beat me. That's a straight up fact for him, and even with all of my new training, it's still true."

"Then why are you--" Shizue began.

"Because I have aces up my sleeves. The more people that know, though, the worse the surprise will be." Emiko sighed. "I don't like lying to you--"

Shizue gaped at the affrontry of that comment.

"Okay, I think lying to you is a bad idea," Emiko said, with a wry smile. "And yet I keep on doing it. It is as if I am a shinobi or something like that."

Maki, of course, who had lied and lied to herself and everyone in dozens of ways for her entire life, was far too wise to comment.

"So, Maki-chan, I'm going to give you a mission that might well kill you, and so I honestly want you to refuse but you won't and I need you. I need you to make sure that Ken-san gets there. Infiltrate the ranch, kill someone and replace them if you really must, as long as you're watching. Even if it has to be in a male guise, for this stage of things." Emiko looked as if that, even more than the killing, even more than the risk, was what she was most worried about. Maybe she was: after all, infiltration was always dangerous, and killing people to replace them was not all that uncommon.

"I… I'll try my best," Maki said. "I'll need to prepare ahead of time, though."

"Of course you will," Emiko said. "Now, there are only two people I know will be there. First, there's the Grey Man. His primary focuses are ninjutsu and taijutsu though he's slacked on the latter in his old age. He's great at earth, has some very clever water and wind techniques… and he's somehow stolen a number of secret techniques for himself, including some from the Village Hidden in the Smoke. So expect smoke clones, and for him to use that dreadful cigar of his as a weapon. He's very good at infiltration, but he doesn't have your natural talent, Maki-chan. Then again, neither do I. People don't expect that, him looking as he does. It makes him obvious enough that nowadays he often is the bait, or the threat to push someone into the arms of his team. He's stealthy, but truly no match for me, pretty regular Jonin there. Oh, and poisons. His cigars are all poisoned, and the smoke has special properties too. Ones that he combines with the smoke jutsu rather well." Emiko said it all drily, as if she were bored by her own analysis. "All of this tells you far too little about what it is to fight him. I do know how to fight the other one."

Emiko sighed. "There was a childish taunt. I took very little notice of it, really. In the letter, that is. It was absurd. It was the work of a fool. That's all. Just another fool, you know the sort. The sort who trained with me, one of my former teammates. Hayashi Kyo is a fool, and was only just recently promoted to Jonin. If he's here, it's because he supposedly knows me, because surely I like my teammates. I don't care about him either way."

Shizue didn't believe it, knew Maki didn't either. Emiko was too distressed, talking too fast, even despite being almost deathly calm. As if she were trying to get the words out before she revealed the shocking secret that she had emotions. A secret that was long since out, mind. A long time ago.

"Ah, and his fighting style?" Maki asked.

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, again. He's a competent enough Jonin, but literally nothing special beyond that. He has a trick or two with poisons he picked up after I left, and he's decent at countering genjutsu, but from external reports on his fighting and work, it's hard to think, sometimes. That I was ever worried about him, that I ever thought that his dismissal of me as weak was significant." She sighed. "The Grey Man wishes for me to make a mistake, to charge in after him or try to prove him wrong by fighting a conventional fight against all of them. It's clever, I'll give them that. But I'm not going to allow it to happen."

"With Hayashi do you want us to make sure not to kill him? Or… make sure to do so if we get a chance, or--"

Shizue couldn't imagine hating a teammate. She really, really couldn't. But not everyone chose their teammates, not everyone was so lucky, and she hoped the fear wasn't evident in her voice.

Emiko shook her head. "No. Treat him like anyone else. That'll be a revenge of sorts, knowing what I am now and what he is. Missing-Nin though I am, a liar and a coward--"

Coward, that was a new insult for her to hurl at herself, and Shizue had no idea how she could think--

"I am many things. But I am not a mediocre shinobi. That counts for a long more than it perhaps should, but there we go. So, Shizue-chan, have you thought about who you're going to be with? Obviously, if all goes well, all of you will fight together against your target or targets."

Ah, that question. Well, if it came down to making the mistake of dividing and conquering, the people who knew to stick close to her, and who she'd stick close to, were…

Who? (Choose 2, and choose wisely)

[] Ichiman. Good at short and medium range, he's been working on his jutsu, and he almost has enough Fuinjutsu skill to be able to use it in battle. Certainly, he can augment her mines with his fuinjutsu seals, if need be. Additionally, he's been working on his chakra flow, which might make a good counter-threat, and draw attention away from her puppets. At a great distance, though, he's in trouble.
[] Saya is best close up. Very close up. Her poisons are terrifying, her Taijutsu is good enough that Emiko's… not losing, not at all. Even just in Taijutsu. But it's obvious by now which one of them is more likely to wind up a Taijutsu-master. That said, as a little berserker, she can sometimes be pulled too far, and at a distance, she has no move except to close the gap.
[] Okiie, her boyfriend, a person with far too many jutsu. He's great at getting away now… from peers. Whether this will translate into escape in other ways isn't known, but he's definitely not slacking off. His crowd control and area denial could certainly help compliment Ryuko.
[] Akachi is different. In fights, he's fast, precise, so deadly from medium and long range it really is obscene to see. He draws in a single moment, he throws in a single moment, and woe betide anyone who is in his way. He even has a belt like his mentor. And when Shizue had gotten close to him in a fight, he could've gutted her like a fish. Now, against a Jonin, again, but…
[] Yuichi and Seiichiro. In some ways they're outclassed, and they're meant to stay back, but in a crisis… they'll be there. They'll be there, and Yuichi's genjutsu/taijutsu combo is actually hard to fight against, making him a good choice to get in, get a few hits, and get out. And Seiichiro's taking to his katana, and more than that he's starting to get at least a little clever. He's an idiot, a lot of the time, but he's a loud one that knows how to be distracting, which might be valuable when it comes down to it.

*****

A/N: So, we're not there yet, but it's getting closer. Hope you enjoyed.

 

[The Laurent]

Act 4, Scene 43 (Cont)

They were out of time, and the frantic pace felt… not calming, not at all. Not peaceful. But there was nothing to do, really, except continue to prepare, continue to finish up. Shizue watched it all with something like detachment, aware that plenty of the others were doing the same.

Suzuhisa Shizue found it was not hard at all to slip back into being the ghost that had been everywhere knowing how people talked and thought but didn't contribute nearly as much. It was easier than it should be, in fact, since it'd been almost a year since she was that way. It should have felt like an ill-fitting suit, but the very fact that it was a way to distance herself made it easier, allowed her to listen to Okiie tell Ichiman about his jutsu--

"So, Earth jutsu aren't going to be much good, y'anno? If I get under the ground, that's just making myself more vulnerable to that Grey Man." Okiie gestured a little wildly. "But you have a spear and an affinity for wind, right? So, what if I throw some fire around, and you use your spear and the wind jutsu you know to help it along."

"But… to what purpose? And, isn't sand--"

"Oh, right. Great. Sand. But we can glass an area, which is even better. I wouldn't want to step in any area like that, no matter I was wearing," Okiie said.

Ichiman bit his lip and nodded, thoughtfully. Thoughtfully and moving way too fast to really talk as he did, with the notebook and everything.

People didn't… no, it wasn't that they didn't have time for each other, it was that they stopped and started, most of them, sharing tidbits of mission-critical information. Chuichi was gone, Emiko was stalking about seeming a lot like some stage director at a play, trying to get everyone to line up just right, to say the right words.

The words that meant 'We are shinobi, we know what we're doing.' The words that meant 'we have a plan, and can work together.'

The only people who seemed to actually talk about themselves, or did anything less than earnest preparation, were Maki and Saya. Saya went around asking if people wanted their nails painted, and the nail polish was in fact a rather impressive poison, though one that needed an open wound to work.

Less, Shizue realized, a tool for a fight… and more a way to get dying revenge, to leap at someone and scratch at them and bite at them and make them pay for what they've done, what they'll do to your friends.

Saya thought that it might be necessary, thought that perhaps they would be that desperate and spiteful. "You can scratch your cheek just fine, but if you're going to rub your eyes, please use the back of your hand. Really, it's not that hard. Rika-chan's going to refuse it, of course. And Emiko-sensei thinks that she has better poisons and more careful ways to deliver it. But then, she's the one who gave me the poison."

"What does it do?" Okiie asked. For Okiie was next to Shizue as often as possible as they finished preparing. Not saying much (to her, that was), just being there (for her that was). A shadow of a shadow, and yet welcome and surprisingly good at understanding what was needed.

"Organ failure. Loss of eyesight progressively. The wounds, as with Ichiman-kun's spear--"

A feature, Shizue thought, that however useful had very rarely paid off, if only because they either killed or fled from all their enemies.

"Do not heal right. Get infected, sometimes. Resist medical ninjutsu," Saya said, rolling her eyes. "Also, on top of all of that, it starts a series of muscle cramps and spasms of agony. It does, however, take time to start working. It's made, honestly, darlings, more to kill someone agonizingly than to be either subtle or incredibly fast," Saya said. "The fast poisons are often much harder to use safely. Accidentally scratch a wound, and you could probably be saved." Saya grinned. "But enough about that. You should make out with Okiie-kun, Shizue-chan. Last minute and all that."

Shizue bit her lip, but shook her head. No, that's not what she wanted. She was going to have tomorrow, the day after, hopefully a long, long time to kiss him. She didn't want to make this the last anything at all. She didn't want this to be any different, not if she could help it, not in that way. It was a vain hope, she knew. But it was one she was going to hang onto, for as long as she could.

"Is that the only reason you have chosen that poison, Saya-chan?" Maki asked, with a sly smile as she stepped forward.

"No, I also want to have my enemies die in pain and humiliation. If I could find a way to add a laxative without diluting the formula, I would have," Saya said. "They've threatened a place I've spent months in. They're threatening Emiko-sensei. They're threatening everyone. If I could kill them all, Emiko-sama's plans or not. I would." Saya clenched her hands together, her eyes flashing with something disconcerting and legitimately a little terrifying. None of them were average, ordinary thirteen year olds. None of them were anything like where they should be, if they were civilians. But Saya at the moment seemed at the edge of some horrific act.

Maki stepped forward and put a hand on her wrist, carefully rubbing it, her lips pursed as she looked at Saya. "No. If it comes down to it you will obey Emiko-sensei. And you will obey me, again if it comes down to it. Just like you have in the past, in training. You do not need to worry, Saya-chan, about falling."

Shizue felt like this was far too personal, and wondered what had made Maki Saya's best friend.

Saya swayed a little, blinking slightly, looking somewhere between annoyed and fascinated, caught like some fly in a web. "Ah," she said.

"Because if you do, we'll be there. And you will do whatever you shall do to survive. To be a human on the other side, which means to be alive to go back to it."

Her berserk… thing. Shizue hadn't seen it in quite some time, but it was also true that it hadn't seemed particularly needed.

Shizue wished that Emiko had told them the rest of the plan, but understood why she had not, just a little. She could guess some of it, it really wasn't that hard, when she heard Emiko tell Okiie-kun that as a backup he may have to shoot something visually noticeable into the air.

Some form of backup, or some sort of attack. Something, something that would change the entire fight. And Shizue knew that giving out hints of where or how might… help. Or it might tip them off.

That Emiko likely had a trick to try to keep it hidden. Probably a lot of tricks. More than anything, that's what Emiko did.

Maki spoke, her voice calm and soft, but Shizue made sure not to listen. Made sure not to interrupt whatever this was. Eventually they left.

Eventually Shizue stood in the giant elevator, packed in with everyone else, as up they went, and up still. It was early in the morning, and yet she knew it would be miserably hot. She'd dressed a little more practically this time, but with a hat and a veil on it all the same, hoping that'd help. She was used to the veil by now, even felt as if, in a way, it improved her hearing, the slight darkening of the world. It wasn't as if there wasn't an entire clan of blind shinobi who demonstrated thoroughly the benefits of certain kinds of sensory deprivation.

Shizue felt disconnected, at a distance, as they stepped out into the early morning. Or… not even morning, since the sun hadn't risen yet. They huddled together in the darkness, not talking anymore, except Saya, whose voice was soft and hushed as she talked to Akachi. Jokes, Shizue heard, very, very bad jokes. Clearly she too was nervous, and Shizue wondered at what she'd do.

Anything, Shizue's mind told her, thought about the people she'd killed--guilt for not feeling guilty--and the way that she'd once hurt Shizue as an outlet for her anger and her issues. Saya would do anything she felt like she needed to do. So would Akachi, in his way, and certainly Maki and Emiko… and probably Shizue as well, if she were honest. Different priorities than some of them, but the same typical shinobi willingness to do what needed to be done. Or…

Now wasn't the time to think about it, to wonder what it meant to be friends with Saya, whether it was really just, as Rika had all but said, as she'd sometimes feared, a sort of exception on the list. Will be unpleasant and cruel to anyone not on the list.

But there was no time to doubt that--certainly not to wonder whether she could trust everyone in a fight. So on they went, in a slow jog that was designed not to use up too much strength now when they had a fight ahead of them. That much Emiko had been clear on: they weren't going to talk their way out of it.

Shizue thought that was a shame, but she'd do what she could.

It was a long, boring journey, and it was somewhere past nine in the morning when they stopped. "I'm bringing up the genjutsu now, that'll shelter you. You're only to step out of it at the right moment. The right moment being when the seven-on-one odds get started. You're to pick a target and try to peel them off. If at all possible. Ken-san will be helpfully there, if Maki-chan does it right, making an awful and dangerous nuisance of himself and likely fighting against both sides. I can handle The Grey Man, and a few of his goons, if I have to." Emiko nodded. "If you need to retreat, use Cloak of Invisibility, and I'll find a way to protect you. I promise it, I have genjutsu planned that should make it hard for them to catch you. At the same time, as dangerous as this is, you might not have a chance to say it. Surrender if you have to. Kill if you have to. Do, most of all, what's necessary to survive. No doubt the Tsuchikage can replace anyone who dies today. I can't replace even one of you." Emiko nodded, crisply. "So, you have your plans and your ideas, and we'll see if we can win this."

"Win?" Maki asked, thoughtfully.

"Yes. Win. I believe that we can." Emiko smiled, softly. "If everything goes even halfway as planned, we could be in a very different position soon. But then, plans…"

"Are the start, not the end," Rika recited, as if Emiko had had this speech before. For what? A treatment plan? Perhaps.

[Commercial Break]

Thousands and thousands of cattle. That's what Emiko hadn't expected, just as she didn't expect the giant fences around large parts of the landscape, which seemed more green then they should be in a desert. The fences had fuinjutsu seals on them, and were sparking just slightly, and every so often there was what looked like a pipe and a faucet head coming up from the ground.

There was grass, and Shizue was immediately suspicious of the whole arrangement, as they passed one 'ranch' after another, which all blended together.

"If you are asking," Maki said. "No, there is not enough groundwater for this to be sustainable for more than a generation. It is a centralized mess. Short of putting all the cattle in some sort of dark room, to be butchered on an assembly line…"

Shizue winced at the thought. "What happens when it runs out?"

"The baron's son retires with his family fortune and they tell colorful stories of the old days," Emiko said, simply. "Enough discussion. Even without Ken-san, this won't stop. This… imbalance. This madness. Perhaps that's what he wants, for things to be used up, for things to be exhausted. Or perhaps the Baron is simply an experiment. Either way, we're stopping Ken-san. We're stopping the manhunt and the bounty."

Maki split off a half-hour later, their progress much slower as they made their way up a half-torn up hill, and then down it again into what looked like a worn-out old pasture, no cows around at all. Something abandoned, amidst the startlingly similar landscape of one after another of the ranches. Standing in the middle of it, smoking a cigar, was a rather overweight man, his skin the color of ash, his eyes dark and thoughtful as he looked up. Emiko must have let the genjutsu drop from her, because he was looking straight at her, his eyes not even flickering to the genin behind her.

"Ah, Iwasaki-san. You actually came. I am now, I suppose, the man who lost a bet."

"Just as you are the Gray Man," Emiko said. "I hope I never get a name half that absurd."

"People don't say your name, my dear," the Grey Man said, his tone chiding. "Because you hide in the shadows. Of course, I do as well, but I can take credit, because I do not assassinate innocent people. My deeds must be known in more than a vague way, in which your actual number of assassinations is unknown."

Even as he'd talked, he'd reached into a coat pocket to pull out a kunai, smoking with one hand as he fiddled with the sharp weapon with the other, his eyes hard and dark. "If I were running this operation, you would be wanted dead. Any secrets you have are long past due, and your worth and value are both relatively close to null. We had a subject, after all, and saw nothing."

"You would have seen nothing with me," Emiko admitted, quietly.

"Oh, would I have? I am sure you're stalling, perhaps for your associate Chuichi-san to arrive. Or perhaps you truly think that talk will settle this issue."

"They're not around you, which means… under the ground?" Emiko asked, frowning. They'd walked quite carefully, Emiko always taking the lead, and from what she could tell, they'd gone around at least several traps.

Shizue almost wished she had her grenades now, but instead she unsealed her scrolls, as everyone else did their work. It was quietly done, but the Grey Man should have reacted at least a little to them.

Shizue kept on fearing that this was some elaborate scheme to catch them off guard. The Grey Man doesn't look like much at all, but Emiko was tense, her entire body a strung bow, moments before the arrow was loosed. The banter was playful, but not in her eyes or even her voice.

"Yo, Emi-chan," a voice said, as he dug his way from the ground, his hair black, his eyes green. He was tall, dressed in a brown vest and clothing designed not to get in the way of a fight. Not quite spandex, thankfully. He was handsome, but the smirk on his face made it all seem… off. "Stop talking to her as if she's important. When she's not puffing herself up, she knows her place."

"Kyou-san. I will ask you not to interfere. We are negotiating, for the moment."

"Giving me a chance? And no, you would not have seen anything. Because I was not captured."

"Oho! So you defected?" Kyou said. "And then lied about it afterwards? That's… sneaky."

What… capture? It had to do with the man she was hunting, it had to. And find nothing? Find… nothing done to her mind?

"That is not what happened either," Emiko said, her teeth grit. "I am wanted alive, and both of you together, or even the rest of the team--ah. That's a clever genjutsu. Wait, no, I bet it's a space-fuinjutsu. A sort of spatial distortion, which means I am in fact surrounded. That is clever, but it is not sufficient to defeat me."

"We have--" The Grey Man began, and then his head snapped up.

Ken was the same handsome monster as always, and at his back were four shinobi.

Shizue recognized exactly one of them. Maho was huge, still dressed in dark, still a terrifying, strange woman in a hat, muscle and fat combining into something a little startling in someone who fought primarily with summons. She'd been the only one of the attackers to escape, that one time Shizue had almost died, and just looking at her brought a shudder to Shizue's spine.

It wasn't okay.

There was a short, slight looking man, his skin a strange greenish cast, a woman with long hair who was bristling with weapons, her eyes bright and chipper, said blonde locks studded and filled with… huh. Barbs of various sorts. Some sort of hair-related jutsu? The last person solidified, and it wasn't a woman, though for a moment she'd thought it was. Instead, there was a tall, tan man, with his hair flowing all the way down his back, his features as sharp as a kunai, his eyes the green of some distant jungle. His grin was a rictus, a threat, and Shizue knew she'd seen him before. The Spider, all those months ago… turned up here. It was like a reunion.

"Drop the fuinjutsu," Ken said. "We're perhaps here for the same reason. Emiko-chan, it's a marvel to see you, at last. I was afraid I'd be dead by now. But, miracles happen. And you wanted me here, lured me here… why?"

"I happen to know a lot of secrets about your master. Secrets they want. I wasn't captured, he's never done anything to me, but…" Emiko shrugged, as more figures, five of them, appeared around the torn up old pastureland. Shizue glanced at them, but paid the most attention to this byplay. "I know. And if they capture me alive, then these fine gentlemen, working for the Tsuchikage, will have me and all of that. I'll tell them, just to spite you. Which means you have to kill me first, whereas they want me alive or not at all. Especially after what I just said. I know a lot of secrets." Emiko smirked, and Shizue realized at least one part of the plan. "More than you know, Grey Man."

Emiko stepped forward. "So, you could wait to take my life from the Grey Man once I'm weakened and out of the way… but then he'll know that. He'll know that's what your plan is, won't he? And an agreement with such a person as Ken-san? Would never be trusted, would never be believed. I am a prize." Emiko didn't spread her arms out, but she did seem to almost loom, to take up more space. "A very fast, slippery prize. So, no need to catch up with me, Kyou-kun. Because none of you will catch me, alive or dead."

And that's when the chaos started. Seven shinobi from Iwa, five shinobi from nowhere and particular… and of course, so too did the outcasts, the children of Reef.

[End Credits]

Who did Shizue and her teammates go after?

[] While Ken needs to survive to be a threat to, well. Emiko. Someone who they had to watch out for… one of his teammates, well. Maho, certainly, survived one encounter with Suzuhisa Shizue. Maybe a second time will be the charm.
[] Hayashi Kyou is a jerk, and someone likely to interfere with Emiko's focus at the exact wrong moment. Finding a way to ambush, hurt, or slow him down could be pretty important. Plus, by all indications he generally made Emiko-sensei's time as a genin worse. Revenge is of course a petty motive that Shizue is in no way above.
[] One of the hunter-nin was behind the fuinjutsu, but seems to have also set up… seals of some sort. Ichiman's quick guess was, "Barriers." In which case, taking him out would be very important if reinforcements or coming. Though, considering his importance, it's quite possible he's being guarded.

******

A/N: No voting for battle strategies or whatnot, we'll get to that later, once things start to go wrong. At the moment, well. Your choice isn't magic, you won't be somehow locked in a room without any of the others, either as an option or unnamed, being able to interfere. But having a target, having a goal, is important.