[X] A pair of spare daggers from our stockpile of low-quality weapons, along with some advice for handling them. We're going to be the worst influence, but life is short, and it would be a shame if a young girl goes through her life without ever wielding a dagger.
You knew exactly how to handle this. Flattery will get you everywhere some people say, but so will bribery.
There was something else people said. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and he'll be fed for life.
It meant that while money was a nice sentiment, it wasn't something that was going to last. Either she would spend it all in one place, or she would get mugged, or even both. And you didn't want to subject the poor girl to reading that book your parents gave you. It ultimately left you with one option.
Twirling a scroll between your fingers, you partially unrolled it on top of the table. Biting your thumb, you traced part of the ink seal written on the surface with your blood. When you pulled away, the blood seeped into the ink, and glowed blue, before a small puff of smoke shot upward. When the smoke subsided, two daggers rested on top of the open scroll, with sheathes next to them.
"You know what those are?"
"Weapons," the girl said sullenly.
"Not just
any weapons," you said, a grin on your face. "These are
yoroidōshi. You can see here where the notch is how thick it is, which is what differentiates it from other tantō. They're pretty easy to hide, and good if you find yourself in some rough-housing with someone bigger or stronger than you. A pretty good equalizer if I do say so myself."
You watched with glee as she lifted one by the handle, eyeing the blade. "The condition isn't really good, so you probably won't be punching through tough armor or anything, but it should serve you well enough. Proper maintenance is key of course, which is why–"
You stopped mid-sentence, pulling your hand back as the weapon stood upwards, the blade driven into the table where your hand used to be.
Talk about a close call, you thought to yourself.
The girl shoved herself up off the chair and started to walk away.
"Wait!" You reached out a hand, and grasped her arm, momentarily startled by how small and cold it was. "What was that for?"
Your grip on her arm loosened, and she shrugged it away from you. "You
shinobi are all the same," she whispered. There was an underlying vitriol in her voice, and you definitely didn't miss the venom when she said
shinobi. "You think weapons and wars bring you peace, solve everyone's problems. And maybe it does...for you. But not here. Nothing is solved here. And the only thing your weapons bring us is death. Hate and death."
You watched with a silent frown as the orphan girl walked through the door.
You knew about some of the grittier things that needed to be done in your line of work from the Academy. You were no stranger to blood, death, and dismemberment (even if the latter two were unpleasant things you wanted to avoid experiencing). But you never really considered how people who weren't ninja, the civilians, thought about what you do.
Were they grateful? Apathetic? Did they harbor the same kind of hatred that this girl did? And more importantly, where did she get it from?
"Tenten! Learn anything useful?" Lee said as he pulled up a seat beside you.
"No," you said with a sigh.
"Neither did me or Neji! Isn't that great?"
"That's nothing to celebrate about," Neji remarked. "Besides, this is a mission, not a competition."
"You got that right," you said dryly. "A competition has prizes."
Lee's eyes sparkled. "Exactly! Alright, so whoever gathers the most useful information gets to run 100 laps around Konoha with Gai-sensei when we get back!"
"That's not a prize," you said.
"I'd rather die," muttered Neji.
"You are right. 250 laps?"
"Did somebody say
laps?" your sensei yelled from across the room.
You and Neji collectively groaned.
* * *
You didn't have to wait much longer; the team from Kiri arrived soon afterward.
Leading from the front, was a kid only a few years older than you were, with short, tufty blue hair and glasses connected to ear protectors. Holstered behind his back were scissors that were almost as big as he was.
To his left was a slender woman with long, dark hair, and by far the tallest person on the team due to the fact that she was slightly hunched over. You gaze flickered towards her face, but averted almost immediately. This went on a couple more times before you stopped bothering. Whatever jutsu she was employing, it prevented you from directly looking at her face. The brief glimpses you were able to glean however, told you that she had extremely pale, alabaster skin.
To his right was a smiling girl about your age, and was apparently in love with the color gray: gray shirt with a wide collar, gray leg and arm warmers, even gray shorts that looked completely out-of-place in this type of climate. Like the older boy, she was also carrying behind her back, and it was also much bigger than its wielder. You couldn't get a clear look, but it was probably holding something
else inside.
The blue-haired kid's eyes widened as he took a look at your gathered group, and made his way towards you.
"Hi," the boy with the scissors said shyly, hand outstretched. From the way his gaze was averted however, he looked as though he were talking to the floor. "Chōjūrō."
You shook his hand. "Tenten."
"Yeah, I know that already."
An eyebrow quirked. "You already know?"
Chōjūrō coughed into a fist. "Anyways," he started, switching gears. "This is Hanako–" he thumbed the slender woman to his side "–and this is–"
"You can call me Kaoru!" the little girl interjected. "And this is Hiroto!"
"Who?" you asked. You didn't see a fourth person with the group.
"Duh! The one inside the coffin, of course!"
Oh, so it was a coffin that she had been carrying. It wasn't your first guess but–
Wait,
what?
"You just carry a coffin around like that?"
"Um, yeah? Where else is Hiroto supposed to be?"
"In a grave for starters," you muttered.
"But then how would I be able to release–" Kaoru's words died suddenly. She went on for a few more seconds before she realized she was no longer able to make a sound with her mouth, to which she responded with a silent tantrum.
"Do not mind her," another voice said that made you nearly jump out of your skin from its sudden appearance. It was soft but unyielding, direct but distant. Despite the fact that it spoke directly into your ear, you had to strain in order to hear it, as if she were speaking from across the room. "If all goes well, you will never see what lies in the coffin."
Well, that certainly wasn't ominous or creepy.
"Hanako..." said Chōjūrō with a hint of exasperation.
"Sorry."
Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph," was all she said on the matter when she had regained her voice.
Once introductions on their side were finished, you started with your own. You didn't miss the way Chōjūrō's eyes widened in familiarity when Neji introduced himself. Was the Hyūga clan so famous even here? Or was it something else?
Once everyone was acquainted with each other, the group started to break off. Lee – who was unperturbed by the events and was in fact even
more excited – and Kaoru were the first to find a table. Neji and Hanako were the next to leave after a silent exchange; something that you didn't want to be privy to even if you could understand that sort of thing.
Which left Gai-sensei and you with Chōjūrō. Despite being the leader of the team, Chōjūrō didn't hold himself well to the position. His hands were fidgety, and half the time he was either making eye contact with the floor or the ceiling.
"We..." He took a deep breath. "We have some information we can share with you, if you like. Just tell us what you want to know."
You turned to look at Gai-sensei, who had been unusually pensive ever since they arrived. He glanced down at you, and gave you a flashy smile. "I'll let you take point on this, Tenten."
Topic Focus (Choose 3):
[ ] "Ghosts"
[ ] Nature of the deaths
[ ] Witnesses
[ ] Important people to speak to
[ ] Teammate capabilities (Chōjūrō, Hanako, and Kaoru)
[ ] Write-In
