Oh no, the scary maybe-chunin who wants to lead a nation wanted to invade us by sending a ton of fighters who can't waterwalk in giant, flammable boats. Gosh golly gee, good thing he was easily one-shotted, or else we would be in trouble. /S
I respect the pre-commitment to not alter the paradigm of war for the worst just because you're losing. But enforceability seems to be a mechanic that purely relies on honor, which isn't exactly uniform or guaranteed. Really, the only reason there hasn't been a puppet leader put in years ago is because they're too far from the elemental nations.
I kinda like the idea of the kid leaving home for a while, training up in both swordplay and a bit of Yin Chakra, and going from "talented apprentice" to "unseen paragon". Then coming back, and challenging the Shogun to an honor duel, because they didn't take prisoners. And beating the crud out of the leader, and anyone nearby, until he makes his own nation. And since he'll be trained by ninja, any foul play they try will be seen as adorably ineffective.
Huh, I've never hoped for a violent benevolent dictatorial before. Not in this setting at least.
Subject has been broached on the discord, but may as well ask it here as well:
Once the Samurai arc has been wrapped up, do people want to immediately help Shizuka or take time to look for the Sealmaster from Sand first? This isn't a hard commitment, just curious where people's opinions are at right now.
The Sealmaster likely won't be available to just scoop up forever, and Shizuka's quest supposedly will take at least a handful of weeks. OTOH, now that they've gone Missing, looking for this Sealmaster probably will take some time too unless we get extremely good intel, and Shizuka's stuff might be time sensitive too.
IIRC, Shizuka was already leery about joining this current mission because of time constraints. It was only the promise of Zabz's help that swayed her (iirc). We probably won't be able to convince her again.
I say we do the Shizuka loyalty mission before gaining another party member. We can always swing by an info broker in Rain for more information on the Sand sealmistress on the way to help Shizuka out. We should still have a huge amount of the Irabi silver... and if we don't, then we can plunder one of the samurai clans on our way out.
Hmm. We could send a letter/send a messenger to the sealmaster if we figure out where they are... For that matter, we could send Zabuza to recruit her, since the first part of Shizuka's quest seems more *cough* intelligence based. He can join for the smash and grab later...
You can always check Kakashi's character sheet for how much money he has. I think most of the Irabi silver was used to bribe other Samurai rather than into Kakashi's coffers, though I'm sure he kept some of it.
Even so, he's sitting at 75 million ryo, so I think he's good for the moment
Footsteps lightly echoed from the far-side of the hallway, signaling that someone was approaching his room in the cramped seaside inn. Kakashi stilled and halted the brush's motion over the small strip of high-quality paper. He turned his head towards the door expectantly as the noises increased in volume.
Any second now, Kakashi thought. It was a shame that someone had come by while he was in the midst of some basic sealwork. He would probably have to trash the current piece of paper and start over. Inscribing a seal required complete focus and ridiculous attention to detail, and the calligraphy had to be precise or you would get some very dangerous effects upon infusing the result with your chakra. Losing his place in the middle of a brushstroke and continuing on as if nothing happened could kill him just as easily as an angry S-ranker shoving their fist through his spine.
Sure enough, there was a rapping against the door.
"Hatake," Shizuka said. Her voice was somewhat muffled, but perfectly audible to his ears. "We need to talk."
Kakashi glanced down at the half-finished explosive tag and sighed. He crumpled it up and burnt it to ash with a few dregs of fire-natured chakra. "Doors open, safety measures deactivated. Come in."
Kakashi had of course disarmed the lengthy series of tripwires, alarm seals, and explosives right after waking up. He had integrated it into his morning routine long ago, right between brushing his teeth and his morning tea.
The door opened and Shizuka strolled in. She turned into the room and leaned gently against the far wall, giving Kakashi ample personal space.
"Bit early in the morning," Kakashi observed. "What did you want to talk about?"
"My goals," Shizuka said. The Rain-nin seemed to collect her thoughts for a moment before continuing. "I think it's time to discuss them in more detail."
Kakashi turned in the chair, straddling it so that he could face Shizuka while resting his arms on the chair's back, and raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"I plan on hunting down the Salamander scroll," Shizuka said. "The ones who killed my father took it. In the battle, it was likely the case that many of the more loyal Rainlords died, but I am willing to bet that the scroll was used as a bargaining chip to secure the loyalty of one of the other families."
"Why?" Kakashi asked. "Why wouldn't the murderers just keep the scroll for themselves?"
"Personal power goes a long way," Shizuka responded. "But no ninja can rule a disloyal country alone. Fear is a powerful motivator, but it is not a unifying force. Thus, they will need the support of some of the local ninja."
Kakashi noted the myriad implications of Shizuka's phrasing.
The use of the plural implies that this was done by a group, Kakashi thought. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly. She's not making reference to a group of people that showed up, killed Hanzo, and then went on their merry way either. She's talking about a group of people that stuck around to run the country. And succeeded.
"This sounds a lot more dangerous than I had figured at first," Kakashi said cautiously.
Shizuka awkwardly glanced to the side. "Yes. It is dangerous. We will need to be cautious, patient, and take great attention to detail. I expect that safely gathering information will take weeks of consistent effort. We cannot afford to draw attention to ourselves while within Rain's borders. However, once we know where the scroll is, and have enough info to predict its holder's movements…"
Ah.
"You want me to kill the summoner," Kakashi said. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "You can't sign the scroll if they're still alive, right? And you aren't strong enough to do it yourself. Tall order."
Shizuka coughed slightly. "I had figured that you and Hakubi would be able to manage it together. He has agreed to join the mission once it reaches that stage. His summons will allow us to safely flee after the fight, so as to dodge any reinforcements."
Flying summons must be so convenient.
Shizuka hesitated. "If you were serious about asking Momochi along as well…"
Kakashi nodded. "That would probably be more than enough, unless we're talking about a very serious combatant." Kakashi paused. "Are we?"
Shizuka shook her head. "I don't think so."
"You don't think so?"
"I don't think so," Shizuka repeated. She shrugged. "But I don't know for sure."
"Mhm," Kakashi said. A thought occurred to him. "Wait, have you already arranged to meet Kagato somewhere? How is he getting there?"
Shizuka twitched for a moment. "We have arranged for a meeting place."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "And you're banking on him arriving early? Are we waiting around for him ? Or is he just magically going to know the appropriate time to show up?"
Shizuka fidgeted slightly. "He has given me a way of signaling him at the appropriate time."
A way of signaling? Kakashi thought. What could that mean?
Kakashi had a few scattered thoughts during the Honey debacle about somehow triggering the oath in a way to send information to Kagato, but he hadn't figured out a good way to do that in a way that would be useful and also pass enough information to signal Kagato. If Shizuka had already told the Mantis Summoner a location to meet, and they had made a vow that was easily breakable to signal that it was time to meet up…
Hmmm. That's a neat trick. Kakashi thought. I wonder if I could pick it up in the future.
"Right…" Kakashi said. He trailed off into a hum. "I'll see what I can do with Momochi and get back to you. Is that all?"
"One more thing," Shizuka said. "I'm not currently trained in an element that allows for any physical clone techniques. They seem like they would be useful beyond measure for this mission. I humbly ask to learn the Shadow Clone technique."
Kakashi felt his muscles tense up instantaneously.
Did I leak too much about the technique? Shadow Clone is a secret technique, highly classified. The only reason I know it is because Minato-sensei taught it to me, and he could do that because he was the damn Hokage at the time.
If word got back to Leaf that Kakashi had so much as considered to teach it to someone outside of the village, they wouldn't bother with the pleasantries. They would dedicate a full platoon of high-level ninja to hunt him down day and night until he was rotting in a secure cell underneath Leaf's Torture and Interrogation department.
Oh.
But she might not know that, Kakashi realized. She might just think it's a basic non-elemental clone technique.
Kakashi relaxed his muscles.
"Just a joke," Shizuka hurriedly added. Her eyes were wide, and she lifted her hands to make a placating gesture. Kakashi had obviously given something away with his reaction to her request. "It was not meant to be taken seriously, but clearly I've overstepped my bounds, and for that I apologize. I doubt that you would ever consider parting with your village's secrets at all, in any case."
Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna believe that? Kakashi thought. But how do I respond?
…
Kakashi stared at her for a few seconds. The silence was accentuated by the faint sound of waves breaking against the nearby walls and the distant cries of gulls.
"Heh," Kakashi said. He had laughed, but there was certainly no humor in his voice. "Funny joke, but I suggest you refrain from making it again until we're far better acquainted, lest you run the risk of actually making me angry. I'll let it slide for now."
Shizuka seemed to take the hint. "My apologies."
Kakashi nodded. Shizuka quickly left the room and left him to his own devices.
Hmmm. Kakashi thought.
Now is as good a time as ever to go chat with Momochi about payment for this shitshow, I guess.
o-o-o
Kakashi had eventually found Momochi Zabuza in the inn's kitchen.
"Bullshit," Momochi said. "I'm not teaching you shit, you hear me?"
Seems a bit pissy. Maybe I should've waited until he was done with his workout? Eh. Oh well.
Momochi slammed a knife into his catch. Kakashi ducked under a spray of slimy gore as the sudden impact caused the tuna to flop violently on the cutting board. Momochi quickly placed his hands back onto the table to resume his handstand. Kakashi waited patiently as the Demon of the Hidden Mist did another vertical push up, the swordsman grunting as he pushed off of the kitchen counter at the apex of the exercise. Momochi used the handful of seconds of freefall to quickly grab another sushi knife from his collection and slice into the fish he was busy preparing.
And I thought Gai had some eccentric workouts, Kakashi thought. It was actually fairly impressive, even by his own standards, though he would never say it. Momochi clearly had an absurd pain tolerance as well, with how he was exercising despite that shoulder wound. Momochi had hastily bandaged the wound after they had broken the one-armed swordsmistress out of jail, and Kakashi could conclude that he certainly hadn't gotten any medical attention after. The shoddy, blood-spattered cloth on the man's torso was too messy to be Sugiyama's work.
"As far as I'm concerned, Leaf, you didn't really deliver on your end of the deal," Momochi spat. The man grunted in between reps. "Sure, we found the old bat in the end, but it wasn't anything I couldn't have done by myself. You were supposed to help Fishsticks with his civil war shit, and that didn't happen. Not my fuckin' fault that it didn't pan out, but fact is it didn't. You know the code. Job wasn't done, so no fuckin' pay."
Kakashi's eyelid twitched. He forced down an angry retort.
"Look, Momochi," Kakashi said. "Things went south with the samurai, sure. But we found your teacher in the end. Wasn't that the bit that you actually cared about to begin with?"
Momochi didn't answer him. Kakashi took the silence as a cue to continue.
"And besides, doing it my way got you some more information on your fellow Mist rebels, right?" Kakashi asked. He waved a hand through the air impatiently. "You wouldn't have gotten that at all if you did it your way. Seems to me like you benefited from having me along."
"That's an interesting way of putting it," Momochi said. "Seems like the only good way to frame shit, given the fact that you were sitting on your ass giving the rest of us orders for half of it."
Seriously? This guy is unbelievable. Pay up, asshole.
Kakashi swallowed the urge to start making hand seals.
"Now look," Kakashi continued. "I'm not going to ask for secret techniques, or anything like that. But I did you a solid. Seems fair to me that you owe me a favor in return. I'd be more inclined to help you out in the future of my own volition, at the very least, if I knew that you'd return the favor. I doubt it's going to be easy to organize a rebellion from hundreds of miles away from your village, all by yourself."
Momochi grunted. "Alright, alright. Quit your whining, Leaf. I owe you a quick job. One week, tops." The man slammed the cleaver down into the cutting board. The knife vibrated as it stuck into the wood. "Look, we'll be staying here for the next day or two before we haul ass to get some training done. If you want my help bailing your ass out of trouble anytime soon, get me the time and place before then. Otherwise, you can get off your ass and come fucking find me."
Kakashi nodded. "Sure thing."
"Now fuck off," Momochi growled. "I have a workout to finish."
Kakashi left the inn's cramped little kitchen and walked down the hall. He walked outside, down the dirt road to the beach, hopped up a rocky outcropping, and stared down at the ocean.
…
…
"Fuck, I hate that guy," Kakashi muttered. "I'm not that much of a pain in the ass, right?"
Zabuza is not really that convinced, but he agrees to go in for halfsies.
o-o-o
Kakashi entered Nishikigoi's room after the third attempt at knocking failed to produce a response. The door creaked open loudly.
The young samurai shifted in bed and stared blankly at Kakashi with red, bloodshot eyes. Kakashi winced internally as a pang of sympathy ran through his chest. He was no stranger to what loss felt like, and Fishsticks had experienced a lot of it in the last week.
That's war, Kakashi thought. People died a lot in war, in his experience.
They tended to die a lot outside of war too, in his experience.
People just die a lot, huh? Maybe some genius will fix that one day in the future.
Kakashi's money was on Orochimaru, or one of those other crazy biosealers, but he wouldn't bet on actual immortality happening anytime soon. It would probably make it a lot easier for the logistics department if people didn't need to be removed from the active duty roster when they were decapitated or crushed into a pulp. Immortality would make it difficult for the scheming politicians of the world though, so it would probably never…
…
…
"What do you want, Copy Ninja?"
Kakashi perked up. "Hmm?"
"You walked in and have been staring into space for the last handful of minutes," Nishikigoi said. His voice was hoarse and raspy, as if he had been shouting all day. The samurai glared tiredly at him. "So what do you want from me?"
Kakashi paused for a moment and thought through his next words—more so than he usually did, at any rate.
"I came here to ask about arranging transport out of the country," Kakashi said, gently. The kid's expression soured slightly, and he looked like he was biting back a response. "But I also wanted to say that I'm sorry for how things turned out."
The boy's angry expression deflated somewhat, and he almost seemed to sink into the bed.
"Oh?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. Figure it's the least I could do for you." He paused to clear his throat slightly. "I did the best I could do with the constraints that you gave me. I wish that I could simply tell you I did the best that I could, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I couldn't thread the needle here. Perhaps if I was a bit more experienced, or if I wasn't still injured from that mess in Honey, or if we ran into you and Momochi sooner, but..."
Kakashi trailed off and gave a small shrug. "Mission failed, kid. We'll get 'em next time."
Nishikigoi Kenichi blinked. The samurai's lips curved into a small frown. "Next time?"
"Mhm," Kakashi said, the grunt accompanied by a matter-of-fact nod. "I don't generally fail missions. If and when you're gearing up for round two, have Momochi get in touch. I'll lend you a hand."
In truth, Kakashi had felt no small amount of guilt. Things had been going so well, up until the older samurai had decided that they had done more ninja-ing than they were comfortable with.
Kakashi had failed the mission. Which wasn't acceptable.
I'm not supposed to fail.
That's not how this works.
They hadn't lost any members of the team— loosely tied together and temporary teammates they may be— so he could live with it.
Fishsticks was silent for several minutes. The samurai stared into space, lips ever so slightly parted.
Is that what I look like when I'm spacing out? Glad that I wear a mask then.
"How did you know?" Nishikigoi said.
"Know what?"
"How did you know that I was planning vengeance," Nishikigoi said. "That I had decided to train up and return, stronger and faster than any of my kin, and attempt to unseat the bottom feeders from the Coral Throne?"
Kakashi blinked. "I mean, I figured it was a pretty safe guess. I would do the same in your position."
From some perspectives, I already have.
"I see," Nishikigoi said. The boy's lips curved upwards ever-so slightly on one side. "Thank you, Copy Ninja. And give thanks to your medic as well. They have been most helpful. We can head to Taro Island. There is probably a fishing boat or a trade ship sturdy enough to get you to your destination…"
The samurai trailed off and spaced out again, lost in thought.
Kakashi waited patiently. Finally, just as he was about to leave, Nishikigoi resumed speaking.
"Your medic tells stories, when they are in here, sometimes," Nishikigoi Kenichi said. "There is an old story in my clan. Would you like to hear it?" His voice had an airy quality to it, as if he was remembering something far off in time and space.
"Sure," Kakashi lied. I really want to just leave and start packing, but I can indulge you for a bit.
"Alright," Nishikigoi said. The boy sipped from a cup of herbal tea at his bedside for a moment. "This story is about a small carp with brilliant red scales. The carp's life is very hard, and he cannot go anywhere without being noticed. The world rains misfortune and troubles down upon him, predators hound him at every turn, and he constantly finds himself beaten and bloody against the rocks."
Kakashi tilted his head.
"One day," Nishikigoi continues. "This carp, with his brilliant red scales, decides that enough is enough. He leaves the pond and heads upstream. He swims and swims. Eventually the stream turns into a river, and it is difficult for the carp. But he carries on. Finally he arrives at the source of the river: a great waterfall that pours down from the mountains."
"And what does he do then?" Kakashi asked.
"The carp attempts to swim up the waterfall," Fishstick said. "And he fails. He falls down, dashes himself against the rocks. It is very painful. He tries again. Again he falls, breaking his beautiful scales. He keeps trying, and keeps hurting himself. He breaks his beautiful scales each time he falls."
"But," Nishikigoi said. His voice was solemn now. "Each time he gets a little further up the river, for there is one less scale to weigh him down! After a lifetime of struggle, the carp has no more scales to break. If he falls now, there will be nothing to soften the blow. He makes one final attempt, swimming upwards with all of his might. And he makes it."
"He does?" Kakashi asked.
"He does," Nishikigoi responds. "But just as he reaches the top of the waterfall, the moment he crests over its peak, he finds that something strange begins to happen. He keeps going, and going, soaring through the air. His form lengthens, and horns grow from his head, and his fins change into claws. The carp, after a lifetime of struggle, swims up the towering waterfall and into the heavens. He goes beyond his earthly limitations, and in doing so transforms himself into a dragon."
"I see," Kakashi said. He looked away from the kid and stared into space. "Interesting."
"I have…" Nishikigoi started talking, before the boy swallowed and blushed furiously. He coughed. "When first hearing that story as a child, I vowed that I would become that carp. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I said. I had forgotten that at some point. It's a silly story, but perhaps…"
The boy stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.
Or maybe he's just embarrassed.
"It is a very nice story, I think," Kakashi said. "Good lessons. I wish you luck on that, Nishikigoi."
Kakashi stood up and walked over to the door. Kakashi opened it, but on his way out his feet froze in the doorway.
"I have a very good friend," Kakashi said. His voice was quiet, barely audible. "That I think would like very much to hear that story. He has some opinions on being able to overcome limitations through hard work and effort. I think he and you would get along well."
Kakashi closed the door as he left the room, and he prayed to whatever gods might be listening that Gai was still alive and well.
You have some choices to make. Zabuza has given you one IOU, and you can either ask him along to help with the mission in Rain, or not. After some thought, Kakashi has decided to arrange a few dead drop locations with Zabuza for future contact. Specifics TBD, but they will both check them whenever they're passing nearby. You currently have no way of contacting him for anything urgent, so you would have to resort to hunting him down manually. Keep in mind that we have characters like him do their own thing offscreen, so he may or may not be available all the time, and tracking him down in person might require Kakashi to pitch in on whatever Zabs is working on at the time.
Mechanically speaking, this means you will generally have to contact him well before you reach a given "arc location" if you want his help for that stretch of chapters, or you will have to take a detour to hunt him down in person.
Do you call Zabuza in to help with combat during the Rain Mission?
[] Yes
[] No
Kakashi has asked Kenichi for help arranging transport, and he's put something together for you. How do you spend your time on the ocean voyage to Rain?
[] There's nothing to do on a ship but read books, it looks like.
[] Get your fortune read by Sugiyama. Do they have any of those weird herbs that you could bake into something?
[] Attempt to weasel some personal information out of Shizuka. Figuring out her motivations is probably important.
[] Sit down and do some much needed introspection.
[] (Write-in)
Remember, we use approval voting, so you can vote for as many plans as you like. Feel free to ping @Paperclipped or @MMKII to ask setting or detail questions that Kakashi could plausibly know.
Voting is open, and closes at 5pm London Time, Friday August 19.
[X] (Zabz) Yes
[X] Get your fortune read by Sugiyama. Offer to share Icha Icha with Shizuka and Sugiyama again, like during Summoning Training. If Sugiyama liked a specific book in the Icha Icha series, offer them a recommendation based on that knowledge (but not the same book. New beginnings and whatnot).
I... Think I might prefer calling in Zabuza's favor on Snow, actually. Having two jounin-level combatants when we go for the artifacts there would be a great boon.
I... Think I might prefer calling in Zabuza's favor on Snow, actually. Having two jounin-level combatants when we go for the artifacts there would be a great boon.
[x] Attempt to weasel some personal information out of Shizuka. Figuring out her motivations is probably important.
[x] Sit down and do some much needed introspection.
Hmm. I think he'd like a good fight, and if we're fighting anything close to canon enemies, we could REALLY use the firepower in Rain. But, at the end of the day we want to change Zabz's help taking down Minato's murderer, yes? So whatever we do, shouldn't endanger that, and should keep him as an available resource to that goal.
Also, the difference between "the monster in the night, who's always hunting us" and "the annoying dude Zabz who cheap-shotted us and we don't like" is a delightfully stark contrast. Though, Kakashi's admission that he's not sure if he could take Zabuza is a good reason to really invest in some skills.
In particular, my big pitch is to invest in Chakra. We've run ourselves dry multiple times now. We rely on ninjutsu way too much to not benefit from a big reserve. Plus, since SC is a fixed cost, more chakra goes straight into better operational parameters for us and our shadow clones. Lastly: once we get summons, summoning will chew up a lot of our chakra. Having enough to get a good combatant and still fight all-out (even if not for as long), will really up the threat level we can bring to bear in combat. (Not that we're going to Bear to fight. You do not go to bear. And we'd need a summon contract to get to Bear territory.)
[x] Sit down and do some much needed introspection.
Kakashi's been kind of flailing from crisis to crisis, and his goals and steps to them sometimes seem muddled. Combine that with the whole "people forgot about you" fiasco, and I'd love a chapter of Kakashi being honest with himself. Bonus points if he's literally talking it out with himself via shadow clone.
Hatake Kakashi spent the next several hours idly reading, eating, and making small talk before finally succumbing once more to the signals that his exhausted body was surely screaming at him. Sugiyama made sure to place a glass of drinking water and a chilled mug of herbal tea on the windowsill of the back room, in case the ninja happened to wake up in the middle of the night. They spared the boy a glance on their way out to the small waiting room in the front of the building.
He looks so young, for a battle-hardened soldier, Sugiyama thought. Younger still for one who weaves magic with the blood and bones of reality, and has some proficiency in the Emperor's arts to boot. He cannot be more than half of my current life's age.
Sugiyama slipped through the thick purple curtains. A heavy-lidded Shizuka stood watch from a rickety wooden chair in the far corner of the entrance room. The little shack wasn't spacious by any means, the only other room was a small room to the side of the entrance that served as a cramped, makeshift kitchen. There were holes in the ceiling and the wood was getting old and was probably mostly rotten through by this point to boot. There was a new gaping hole in the siding where the Shipwreck had casually ran through, that Sugiyama had draped a curtain over. They had propped up what remains of the wall with a few dozen stone bricks stacked together, but it was a makeshift job. The little building would be colder this winter.
Sugiyama sat down in another rickety chair opposite Shizuka. The shinobi child looked at them with a sleepily raised eyebrow.
"You don't look to be in good shape to be up watching, Quiet One," Sugiyama said. "How long has it been since you visited the land of dreams?"
Shizuka blinked blearily and yawned. "Not since we were asleep at the Sasu compound. Just about two days."
Shizuka, to her credit, only looked mildly tired on the surface. The girl's dark brown hair was mildly disheveled, and her blue eyes were bloodshot, but that was it. It was the years of experience of reading people that revealed the subtle tells of the shinobi's inner struggle with her own physical limits.
Sugiyama nodded and gestured broadly to the half-ruined shack. "There is a small amount of space here, should you also wish to stay the night. You are a guest, and I am the dutiful host. If you would like some shut eye, you need only ask and I shall take up the burden of keeping watch."
Shizuka seemed to contemplate this for a minute or two. Eventually, the young girl shook her head.
"I'll wait until morning," Shizuka said. "Hatake will be awake by then, and even half-dead he's still a force to be reckoned with. I'll sleep more comfortably with another combat ninja awake."
Sugiyama noted the specific phrasing of 'combat ninja', but chose not to make a comment on it. They gave a small shrug, and pulled out their newly acquired pip and a pouch of ground herb mix. They lit it with some amount of trouble fussing around with one of the half-dozen candles burning lazily around the room, and took a long drag.
Some plants, when smoked, were exceptionally good at keeping one awake, you see. And if there was a greater herbalist in Honey Country than Sugiyama the fortuneteller, then they had certainly never bothered to come within spitting distance of Yahashibetsu.
"I'll be staying up regardless," Sugiyama said. Puffs of green colored smoke trailed through the air with the words. The effort invested in learning the Smoke Manipulation Technique had, by now, paid for itself countless times over. "I have much to think on, this evening."
Shizuka nodded slowly, carefully, as if she was reaching for a poisonous snake. "It must be a lot to take in."
"It's unusual," Sugiyama said. They erupted into a small coughing fit. "But there is worse that could happen than being informed of a few months of thrilling adventure and decent deeds done that one is incapable of remembering."
The cold winter winds howled in the night.
"While the Copy Ninja spent a great deal of time telling his own story," Sugiyama said. "I notice that you said little enough about yourself."
Shizuka looked at Sugiyama out of half-lidded eyes. "Oh? What of it? We didn't really know each other. I spent most of my time the last couple months with Kagato, and then Hatake for what was apparently the better part of a month and a half."
Sugiyama frowned at Shizuka and narrowed their eyes. "I noticed your questioning towards the beginning of the tale. Hatake leapt forwards to protect an ally in battle, and you were confused as to why. It was artfully done, he was too tired to realize you were clumsily fishing around for some of his internal motivations, but the true answer left you confused."
Shizuka paused at the unspoken question hanging in the air. "It seemed strange to me. He seems like an incredibly selfish, calculating, and distant person. He is incredibly annoying on purpose, and even his attempts at closeness are awkward and seem forced. Yet he leaps to protect strangers in the middle of battle. Strangers like that shinobi girl in Snow, someone who was actively fighting him not days beforehand."
"And given the brief summary of the events of your battle out of the Sasu Clan compound," Sugiyama added. "It would seem that he has done the same for you. Do my mortal eyes gauge the measure of that situation correctly?"
Shizuka stared blankly at a nondescript spot in the wall for several minutes while Sugiyama went through the rest of the pipe mixture.
"I suppose that fits," Shizuka finally said. "He ran forward and sliced through that clan elder's lightning ninjutsu, and he almost made it look easy. But I couldn't help but notice the similarities to what happened with the other shinobi in Snow. He's a jounin, he probably could have just dodged it, or Substituted away. The whole fight out of the compound seemed odd in retrospect. There were a fair number of Earth Element jutsu that he mentioned using in some of those fights he talked about today. By the time his Shadow Clone blew up the hive, he could have simply used one of them to escape and left me to die. But it was never even something he considered, he leapt right into outlining an action plan that allowed the both of us to fight our way out."
Sugiyama tapped out the ash from their pipe into one of the empty candle holders at the front of the shop. "You are currently weighing the upsides of joining up with the Copy Ninja versus the perils that associating with him undoubtedly brings, correct?"
Shizuka laughed and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I am!" Shizuka whispered. The girl's voice was slightly squeaky, the words shook slightly as they fell from her lips. "That was Tsunade of the Sannin in here earlier. Do you know what my father did to her and her teammates? If she knew who I really was, she would pick me up and skip me halfway across the ocean—like a child skipping a stone over a pond! And that's only partly hyperbole. Still, he's a powerful ninja, apparently one with a frightening knack for coming out on top in dicey situations, if his story is to be believed. We were at a massive numbers disadvantage in that compound, but it didn't end up mattering a fraction as much as you would have expected."
Sugiyama wondered idly if Shizuka was really the girl's name at all, if she was running around worrying about people looking for her. The fortuneteller inhaled, then exhaled. This time, the smoke was a dusty blue, with tiny glittering sparkles.
The sheen of lapis lazuli to set the mood.
"There were two ninja in here some days ago," Sugiyama said, not missing a beat. They nodded towards the somewhat-covered hole in the wall. "The larger one with the large sword left that in his wake. It was most disconcerting, I was sure that my time in this life was drawing to a close, but a twist of fate intervened to stay the boy's hand, and the Honored Healer came in the door scant seconds afterward. I, apparently, was not fated to die at that moment. They were here looking for the Copy Ninja."
"Large sword?" Shizuka asked. The girl seemed to go slightly cross-eyed for a moment, as if trying to remember some details. "Lots of bandages on his face?"
"Indeed," Sugiyama replied.
"Momochi Zabuza," Shizuka breathed. Sugiyama could almost sense the adrenaline coursing through the girl's exhausted body at the revelation. "That man has one of the highest bounties in the world right now. You say he was here trying to hunt down Hatake?"
"To work with him, apparently," Sugiyama said. "It seems the two were here attempting to track him down and form some sort of partnership. I am sure that the Copy Ninja will want to track the duo down soon enough, after he hears of it. He has mighty foes that he endeavors to do battle against, and the Shipwreck seems like he would be a formidable ally. Perhaps the two of them would be willing to assist you with whatever secret goals you are in need of assistance with."
Shizuka fidgeted in her chair as a whistling breeze cut through the building. "You're implicitly talking about teaming up with the guy who tried to kill you two days ago."
"True," Sugiyama said. "But in the end he did not. Isn't that what counts?"
"You people are insane," Shizuka whispered. She resumed staring at the wall.
Sugiyama coughed. "I did not say that I would likeit, young one. That is a different matter entirely. I was told long ago that the essence of wisdom is recognizing the difference between desire and necessity, and bridging the gaps between. The roads we travel across the paths will inevitably require it of us."
Shizuka continued to stare at the wall. Her lips turned into a frown and her eyes widened slightly in distress.
"You already knew that the Copy Ninja was pursued by powerful shinobi," Sugiyama said. The seer shrugged to dispel portions of the lingering unease undoubtedly coursing through the Rain ninja. "The one known as Dragon apparently came to hunt him down in Demon Country, and you participated in that battle firsthand. And yet you admit to considering teaming up with the man enough to weigh it seriously against that. This tells me that you are either lacking a great deal of common sense, or that you are in need of the help of a powerful ninja with a versatile skill set."
Shizuka let out a slight huff of air. "Sure, but aren't we all? Every missing-nin alive could use the assistance of someone like that. Well, most missing-nin from the Elemental Nations at least. Things are a bit weirder over here."
"Humor me," Sugiyama said. "What are your goals? My oath that I won't speak of it, and you know what that sort of thing is worth to people from my homeland. You are clearly a person that is either desperate beyond reason, or someone with objectives that stand far out of your reach. You would not have traveled a thousand miles to Demon Country otherwise."
There was no response.
"Apologies," Sugiyama said. "It is not my place to make a guest so uncomfortable." The fortuneteller continued in gentler tones. "For what it's worth, I expect the Mantis Summoner is a difficult individual to track down. Your odds of accomplishing it increase greatly with the two of us present, but you seem quite intelligent, so I probably don't need to point that out to you. I'm simply asking after your goals out of curiosity. I have little desire to have more dangerous shinobi show up looking for long-forgotten companions of mine and trying to cut my throat in the middle of my own house."
Shizuka winced.
"THIS ONE KNOWS MUCH THAT IT REFUSES TO TELL," The Lost Library mused from within the satchel that it was currently stowed away in. "PERHAPS EVEN A THING OR TWO THAT YOU WOULD ENJOY HEARING, GHOST, IF YOU WOULD BUT ASK!THE TRUE QUESTION: WILL IT LOOSEN ITS GRIP ON ITS PRECIOUS SECRETS, OR WILL IT CLING TO THEM EVEN HARDER IN DESPERATION?"
The wind picked up again outside.
Shizuka frowned. "I have someone to kill and someone I need to find. The first is impossible, the second almost-impossible. I still have to try."
Interesting. Sugiyama nodded. It was enough for now.
"Alright," Shizuka replied. "My turn to ask you something. How are you using this conversation to screw around with me? What are your goals here? Are you trying to pressure me into sticking around, for what, more protection or something?"
Sugiyama snorted.
"I am a seer," Sugiyama said. "So in a manner of speaking, I'm simply telling you what it is that I am seeing. Nothing more, nothing less. Measure it, weigh it, and discard it if you find it wanting. Take it to heart if you do not. Falsehoods have a place, and that place is beyond the front door."
Shizuka narrowed tired eyes in annoyance. "What?"
" One can survive in this world by lying to others," Sugiyama explained. The ghost gestured idly with their pipe, as if it would somehow make Shizuka understand (though this was a meaningless effort). "Though this is true, it is surely the case that death comes the instant that that same lie is believed by the self. Self-deception is not to be experimented with lightly."
Sugiyama exhaled a cloud of smoke. This time, it was a delightful rainbow.
"Also, don't insult me, young one," the fortune teller deadpanned, eyebrows raised. "If I was going to manipulate you, it would not be so obvious. I have more than several years on you, and I'd like to think that any schemes of mine would be opaque."
Shizuka looked back quizzically and Sugiyama smiled in the way that they were taught to if annoying questions were in need of being deftly disarmed.
The reassurance was a lie, of course. A white lie, but a lie all the same.
Interlude from me. This is set after Chapter 43: The Story So Far.
Voting is still open for a little bit from last chapter. Don't forget to vote folks!
