Akane's body felt light on his shoulders. Too light.
Noburi was bleeding, unconscious, but they couldn't afford to stop and see to his wound. Inoue-sensei, carrying him, was at the front of the formation. Keiko was somewhere behind. Hazō hoped she was somewhere behind—he couldn't hear her, and he couldn't turn around to look. And Kagome-sensei… Kagome-sensei had dropped back to "give those stinking stinkers the show of a lifetime", and somehow Hazō knew he wouldn't be coming back.
As the scenery went past in a blur, he heard a whisper in his left ear, in the voice of a girl who'd never speak again.
I trusted you to be my master. I placed my life in your hands. Why didn't you teach me more taijutsu while there was still time, Hazō-sensei?
Why didn't you save me?
-o-
Hazō jerked awake, his heart pounding and that voice echoing through his mind like icy water dripping onto a wound.
Akane, lying on the bedroll next to his, gazed at him blearily.
"Something wrong, Hazō-sensei?"
Hazō blinked the tears out of his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Akane," he whispered. "I'm so sorry…"
"'s OK," she muttered sleepily. "Wasn't a very good dream anyway…"
She rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes.
Hazō spent a long time watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed, not falling asleep until he was sure she was still alive.
-o-
Earlier…
The team unanimously agreed to take a minute to cool down and confer in private before any further discussion took place. When they returned, they were in a much better frame of mind to continue.
"What is going to happen to Kōta?" Inoue-sensei asked again.
"That depends," Yoshida said after a couple of seconds. "There will be hours of argument, at the end of which he'll most likely be stripped of the right to be a ninja, and barred from sensitive jobs such as handling the tapirs. He'll live out his life in shame doing the worst of manual labour—at least unless you speak up on his behalf. As the injured party, you can dismiss all grievances, and that should be enough to swing the balance."
"What?!" Noburi demanded. "Why would we—"
Inoue-sensei raised her hand. Noburi fell silent.
"Who is his family?" she asked.
Yoshida nodded approvingly.
"He is the only grandson of Gasai Mikoto. Like most of the elders, Gasai believes you are the greatest threat to this village in living memory. Unlike most of the elders, she is open to being proved wrong. But if her grandson dishonours her family with attempted murder, it'll be all the opening her rivals need to force her off the council. That isn't in your interest or mine."
"What is your interest?" Inoue-sensei asked.
Yoshida looked her in the eye for a few seconds. She seemed satisfied by what she found there.
"I don't disagree with the others. You are dangerous.
"If you continue to stay, you will interfere with our politics, and warp our culture and traditions. It hasn't been a week and that impressionable fool Takahashi is making noise about better treatment for senior ninja.
"If we kill you, it will cost us lives, and we don't have that many to spare.
"And if you leave, then our secrecy is compromised, and the village will never be safe again."
Inoue-sensei nodded, following the logic. "So what is your solution to the problem?"
"The others think the hourglass can stay full forever. I don't. I want our village to be ready when the outside world finally comes knocking, and you are going to help me with that."
Inoue-sensei raised an eyebrow.
Yoshida's eyes narrowed.
Something passed between them.
"I will see you suitably compensated for your help," Yoshida said after a second's pause. "As long as I can convince the rest of the council to come to the negotiating table, and as long as you don't pull any more fool stunts like this afternoon. Do you have any idea how much work you managed to undo in a matter of seconds?"
"He hurt a member of my team," Inoue-sensei stated, her tone as cold and flat as the blade of a kunai.
"I'm not saying the little twerp didn't have it coming," Yoshida said. "But you should've known better. And quite frankly, so should your girl. Taunting a strong opponent into a rage and then stretching out the fight? As her master, you should be ashamed of yourself for not teaching her better."
Hazō suddenly felt very small indeed.
"Fine," Inoue-sensei said. "For now, let's give Kōta's motives the benefit of the doubt, and merely accept that a ninja under your authority attempted to kill a member of my team due to a spontaneous loss of self-control while none of the observing villagers tried to intervene. To show our commitment to cooperation, we are willing to have him punished according to your laws instead of eliminating him as the enemy he is.
"What happens next? Who decides his fate, and how?"
Unbelievably, Yoshida smiled. It was just for a moment, but with Hazō's attention totally focused on her as it was, he didn't miss it.
"A case as serious as this will be decided by the Council of Elders, formed by the heads of the seven most powerful families in the village. We will discuss the situation, then propose and vote on a punishment."
"Who are the elders?" Inoue-sensei asked. "What can you tell us about them?"
"First of all," Yoshida said with heavy emphasis, "you are not to approach them yourselves or try to influence them in any way. Our politics are too complicated for an outsider to grasp, which means whatever you want to do should go through me if you don't want to bring disaster down on all our heads.
"With that in mind, I've already mentioned Gasai Mikoto, whose family are the village's foremost taijutsu specialists. Her feelings about you are complicated.
"My own, the Yoshida, oversee sealcrafting."
Hazō's eyes widened. If they could make an ally of the chief sealcrafter...
Then he kicked himself as he realised that Yoshida had glanced at him and taken note of his reaction. This really wasn't his day.
"Azai Rindō is in charge of breeding and training the tapirs," Yoshida went on as if nothing had happened. "He is a determined isolationist who thinks our village is the only bastion of civilisation in a benighted world. He's never lost family for lack of medic-nin.
"Aida Rin serves as our religious leader, and thinks you six are a direct threat to our faith. She's not wrong, but compared to ignoring the outside world the way we've been doing, you're definitely the lesser evil.
"Takahashi Saburō, whose son you've met, is our ninjutsu master. He is passionate about his art, and I will sway him in time, as long as you do your damnedest not to look like a threat, such as by breaking the shoulders of children.
"Inoue Rika"—Inoue-sensei did not react—"is the lorekeeper. It is a revered position, with implications I wouldn't expect you to understand. She has the most influence on the council, and is the loudest voice against you.
"Finally, we have Azai Shūsuke. He is Rindō's cousin, and a complete waste of space. He will vote whichever way Rindō votes, and doesn't have a thought of his own otherwise."
Inoue-sensei nodded thoughtfully.
"You are to avoid these six like the plague," Yoshida repeated. "If they come to you, be as helpful and unthreatening as possible, avoid committing to anything, and don't say anything stupid. If they send watchers to spy on your camp, pretend they're not there, and don't do anything stupid. When it's time for actual negotiation, I will speak on your behalf."
Inoue-sensei opened her mouth—
"When I say 'don't do anything stupid', there are some things you need to understand right now," Yoshida went on without giving her a chance to speak.
"Don't wander randomly around the mountain. Even within the village, only a select group is allowed to enter our holy shrine. For an outsider to go near it would be a mortal insult to our faith. In fact, the less you ask about religion, the better. It is not something to share with outsiders.
"As a man, don't look an unmarried woman in the eye for more than a second, and vice versa. That's less of an issue for you people, but some of the youths might still get the wrong idea, and then things get complicated.
"Don't go near the tapirs without a handler accompanying you. They are this village's guardians as much as we are, and the Sage himself wouldn't stand a chance if he got caught in a stampede. Even with a handler, don't wear perfume or bring strong scents near them. It upsets them.
"If someone is foolish enough to invite you to dinner, make up an excuse and don't go. Mealtimes are sacred, and there are far too many ways you could give offence and make my life even more difficult.
"And don't enter the sealmasters' scriptorium on the north side of the village if you wish to live. That's not a threat, just a statement of fact.
"Now it's your turn," Yoshida said. "I've given you valuable information. Now you tell me exactly who you are and why you're here."
"We're missing-nin," Inoue-sensei said.
Yoshida looked at her blankly.
"We used to be ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist, but our superiors sent us on a suicide mission, which we decided not to carry out. We've been travelling the world ever since, looking for a safe place to make our lives without being hunted as traitors. We've been to the Fire Country, at the heart of the continent, and to the Iron Country to the north. After things got too hot on the mainland, we came to Tea, because we heard it was a peaceful country with a low ninja presence. We've spent time in Tonaki learning about the region and its history to see if we want to stay here, and we came across your village by accident while leaving the area.
"Now that we're here, all we want is to establish good relations with our potential neighbours.
"What about you?" Inoue-sensei asked. "Where did this village come from? How long has it been here? How did it come to be so isolated?"
Yoshida gave the team a measuring look.
"We're a religious community. When the world was in the grip of yet another of its endless wars, our founder came here with his closest followers to seek peace. We've kept his ways for hundreds of years, minimising contact with the outside world. In return, we've been blessed with a bountiful environment, natural allies and a quiet, peaceful existence—at least until you came.
"You have knowledge we lack. Knowledge I think will outweigh the harm you do merely by being here. If you keep your screw-ups to a minimum, we might be able to come out of this with both sides enriched, and nobody being blown up or trampled to death. That is, of course, provided you agree to my conditions.
"Let Kōta go free.
"Stay away from the other elders.
"Let me do the negotiating on your behalf.
"Don't do anything stupid."
She locked gazes with Inoue-sensei.
"Well?"
-o-
You receive 30 XP for successful execution of a good plan (including a bunch of hidden rolls).
How will you respond to Yoshida's offer? And what next?
Voting closes on Saturday the 7th, 9 am Pacific Standard Time.
) Regardless, it should be fixed now.
