Red Riot - Chapter 23 - Mission wrap up

Character list:

Matsu - The MC, a Kiri Chunin with Uzumaki traits.

Himeko - Kaguya clanswoman with her Kekkei Genkai, Genin, and violence enthusiast.

Sharkbait - Real name Kenta Nogawa, a Genin that trained with Matsu, skilled combatant, expert bait for sharks.

Hideo Munashi - Former wielder of Shibuki and one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He’s dead now!

Jonin Akiko - Matsu’s Sensei and exasperated mentor of other children, Matsu returned her beauty to her.

Yumi - Geisha of the Land of Vegetables, Matsu has plans for her.

Hana - Handmaiden and younger girl who acts as Yumi’s helper.

Madam Yubaba - Potato Port Okiya (Geisha den) matron, the person who hired Kiri nin to secure Yumi’s procession.

Lord Edo - The Lord that Madam Yubaba is claiming has sired Yumi. Unpopular man who has lots of enemies. Yubaba hopes to cash in on this enmity. She just needs Yumi to survive Edo’s backlash.

Lord Fuza - The heir to the Land of Vegetables. He’s head over heels for Mara!

Lord Chen - The Seneschal of the Land of Vegetables. If the Daimyo is number one, this guy is his right hand man!

Hotaru Uzumaki - Uzumaki clan leader who was captured and turned into Gengetsu’s toy. He’s very, very dead now.

Hiroshi Uzumaki - Old shinobi of Uzushio, father to Mara, Grandfather to Momotaro. Blacksmith. Hideo’s target. 

Momotaro Uzumaki - Kid with a chip on his shoulder. 

Mara Uzumaki - Sickly daughter to Hiroshi. Former Kunoichi of Uzushio.

____________________

Akiko held up her hand, signalling for me to stop. “All right, I’m tired,” announced Akiko after the fourth round of thrashing us within an inch of our lives. 

She promptly let herself fall back so that she was leaning against a tree, her hands interlocked behind her head.

I rolled my head to eye her from the ditch she’d smacked me into. “You’re tired?” I said drily. 

“Yes,” Akiko said, threading a hand through her dreadlocks and letting them clatter together with a pleased grin. “I can get tired of beating you, silly.” she eyed us all. “I suppose you’re my students now, with Matsu as my idiot apprentice whose only redeeming feature is his…” Akiko tapped her lips in a mockery of thought. 

“Healing?” offered Sharkbait as I fixed up his broken arm. I gave him a gimlet look and he smiled winningly. I decided to keep healing him but I rolled my eyes at him.

“His stupid pretty face?” said Himeko as she pulled herself out of the tree branch Akiko had smacked her into. 

I shot her a questioning look. 

She shrugged and wouldn’t meet my gaze. “What? It’s stupid?” she grunted as if that explained everything.

I decided I wasn’t touching that particular can of worms. If I could, I was steering well clear of it.

Akiko’s eyes danced with amusement between the three of us. “I was going to say ambition or some such but those are also good qualities he has I suppose.”

She snapped her fingers and grew serious. “However, that’s enough games. The fights we’ve been engaging in hopefully will have shown you that when a Jonin gets serious, you three—even working together—are well out of your depth.” 

We all nodded at that. Sharkbait rocked back and forth. “We’re closing the gap though, right? We’re getting stronger?” he asked hopefully. 

“You are, but do not let that get to your head, especially with what’s coming when we make it back to Kiri,” she said. 

“You’re not worried about the current mission of retrieving the blade first? You’re not worried they’ll try and keep it?” I asked. 

Akiko snorted. “We have created such a Legend around those blades that there is no doubt that we’ll be returning to Kiri with it. What will vary is the price we pay for it. If possible,we can just steal it back and spook the holders of the blade, otherwise, we negotiate.”

Sharkbait nodded slowly and Himeko merely grunted. “Makes sense,” she said.

I inclined my head. It did make sense in a morally dubious sort of way. If the holder of the blade was strong enough to keep holding it, we’d respect them, and if they weren’t? Well, they shouldn’t have tried to hold onto the blade. Still, I was curious about something she’d mentioned.

“What sort of Legend have we crafted surrounding the blades?” I asked. 

Akiko smirked. “The sort of myths about cursed blades that turn on their wielders and devour them if the sword is not wielded by a true Kiri shinobi,” she said. 

I blinked. She was talking about Samehada wasn’t she? “Any others?” I asked. 

“That the blades will blow your hands off or paralyse you if you are not of Kiri blood,” she answered with a grin that showed she was enjoying this. I got the impression the only way she could be happier to tell the stories was if we asked around a campfire at night instead of during the middle of the day.

It rather ruined the atmosphere she was going for. 

Hmmm, that would be the Kiba, Samehada and Shibuki, which left… Nuibari, Kabutowari, Hiramekarei, and the Kubokiribocho blades. 

I toyed with what I knew of them and slowly offered up. “There’s a rumour that they also can turn against the unworthy, right?” I said, recalling how, at first, Chojuro had demonstrated that they could be cumbersome to use. 

Akiko nodded. “Yup! Along with tripping you up!” she said happily. She clapped her hands. “So, the smartest thing would be to hand the sword off to someone with enough strength to hold onto the blade but from what I’ve seen of the nobles of this land…” She shook her head. “I’m not that impressed. There are barely any Samurai around to guard their households.”

I nodded. “I think there are three worth the name,” I said, gesturing to the distant castle town where the Daimyo and his family resided over the Land of Vegetables.

“Sensed that, did ya?” she asked before bobbing her head up and down again. “You’d be correct, there are a bunch of guardsmen claiming to be samurai but there’s a difference. A good Samurai is at least Chunin level in terms of fighting ability, but the issue comes with how much it takes to put them down. Usually, Samurai have armour that can absorb genjutsu for them or certain elemental jutsu such as fire or lightning. You therefore need to be very accurate or confident in your taijutsu as it is something they practise every day.” 

“So we’re going to steal it first?” Sharkbait said with a grin.

“Attempt to anyway,” she replied only to give us a stern look. “Regardless, there is another group of shinobi coming to guarantee that the blade is secured. Now depending on who comes, we might get lucky with a group of apprentices that don’t give a shit that we were ‘in the vicinity’ when Hideo died,” she said, making sure to stress “in the vicinity.” 

Sharkbait bit his lips and I held in a sigh. I really needed to work on his poker face. If anyone with a lick of common sense questioned us about it we were going to have issues. 

“The problem will arise when we return to Kiri as the Command staff will want to ask some questions,” Akiko said. 

 I felt my hopes plummet only for a feeling of dread to rise as Akiko leaned forward. 

“And if we are very, very lucky, we’re not going to have to sit in front of the Mizukage to become one of his little drama-filled reviews where someone usually dies,” she said. 

I licked my lips as the other two shuffled. We all knew she wasn’t joking when she said this.

“Any advice?” I prompted. 

“That’s what we’ll be going through now and until the secondary team arrives to secure the blade,” Akiko said. 

She laced her hands together. “What do you know about the structure of power within Kiri?” she asked. 

“Not much?” Sharkbait offered. “The Mizukage calls the shots and we answer.”

“Correct, the Mizukage is the utmost authority on anything and everything regarding any aspect of Kirigakure, but for the sake of expediency and also to have it so the load of work is shifted, several positions were awarded to key shinobi and they assist with the actual governance of Kiri.”

Akiko began ticking off her fingers. 

“First, there is the Head of ANBU, whose role covers all of ANBU, security, and also the Torture and Investigation departments.”

“Then the Arbiter whose job is being the leader of the Hunter nin groups. They, like the head ANBU, are not known to the public at large and are under the purview of the Mizukage to appoint. Typically they are chosen from within ANBU or the Hunter nins respectively. 

Akiko’s third finger flicked out. “The Chamberlain is in charge of the finances for the Village at large along with the mission delegation department. The Mizukage leans on them the most but that is to be expected with the man being a Terumi,” Akiko said casually with a shrug. 

“Wait, what?” I blurted in surprise. “I thought there was a cold feud going on between the Hozuki and the Terumi? Or is this just a power play on the Hozuki’s part?”

Akiko pointed at me. “That right there is why we’re having this conversation here and not around other Kiri nin or in Kiri itself. The wrong person hears you ask it and they’ll murder you, or relay it to someone that will,” she said sternly. 

I shot her a look and glanced around, making a show of it. I even went as far as to perform my new trick of broadening my chakra sense as wide as it would go. There was no one around. “I understand that,” I replied firmly. 

Akiko nodded. “Good, sometimes you need to point these things out though,” she said.

“The answer, publically, is that it is a power play, but as soon as you meet Nezda Terumi you’ll understand. The man is simply too competent not to have in your administration. If he’s solving solutions he can’t just as easily be causing them. The scary part was that it never looked like he was the issue. He does things like this without it looking like he’s even lifting a finger,” Akiko stated. 

So… it’s also a keep your enemies close sort of deal? I thought as I rubbed my chin. That makes entirely too much sense. 

Akiko continued from there. “There is also the Jonin Commander who assigned duties and missions for people like myself who are too skilled to be given busywork when we don’t have apprentices or young teams of shinobi to look after.” 

“And they are?” I asked.

“Vera Hozuki,” replied Akiko. “She’s a mean old bitch of a woman but good enough at her job.” She levelled a finger at me. “Not a person you want to get on the bad side of.”

“Are any of them?” I asked sarcastically. 

“No,” stated Akiko firmly. 

“The last is the Leader of the Seven Swordsmen,” Akiko said. “This position is something that has to be won after challenging the previous holder. If the previous holder dies then the surviving Seven Swordsmen are to duel until one emerges the victor. The current Leader Wukon Hozuki emerged through this manner during the war after the ‘strongest’ team of Swordsmen were nearly wiped out in a battle with Kumo shinobi.”

“Hmmm,” I said thoughtfully. It was interesting that such a position existed. It certainly highlighted how important the Seven Swordsmen were to the village to allow them a say. 

“What about the Clans? How do they influence Kiri?” I asked. 

“There is a council, but it is rather toothless and merely a method of opening avenues of talk that the First Mizukage arranged. It currently has no true power, beyond raising grievances. They have to influence things in other manners such as shows of force, or skills.”

“The Mizukage in the past have used them as an advisory committee on various items that would impact the Village as a whole but Gengetsu has never used them that way. They barely meet these days.”

Sharkbait raised a hand. “Doesn’t that piss them off?” 

Akiko snorted. “If they get too loud they get put down. That said, if they amass power they can also cause issues,” said Akiko with a shrug. 

“Seems like a delicate system,” I commented. 

“That’s Kiri, you walk a thin red line most days. When you get to the top? That line gets thinner and more likely to buck you off,” she said, eying me. 

I snorted. “Unless you’re the one laying out the path,” I said, raising an argument in the face of her attempt to dissuade me from claiming the title of Mizukage.

She shook her head at me with a sigh before waving a hand. “Well, regardless, Gengetsu has control of the major positions of power, and we’re going to have a few of them sit us down due to Hideo’s death. I doubt they’ll ask us anything about your mission here but if they do just say you tricked your way into earning some more money. They’ll steal a pittance in the form of ‘tax’ for the Village, and you nod your heads and accept it while keeping nine-tenths of what you actually earned,” she said. 

I tilted my head and considered Akiko. “You’ve done this before,” I commented. 

She shrugged. “Everyone has by the time they reach Jonin. If you actually report what you make, you’ll never get ahead,” she said. 

I nodded. Hmmm, that might be something I’d have to consider when I took over. Akiko shot me a challenging smirk, as though daring me to try. 

I huffed and decided to leave it for another day. “So if there are people coming to claim the blade, why are we going to steal it first? Is it even our problem?”

“It isn’t, and at the same time it is,” she said. “Remember, Shibuki, for all that it is one of the least respected blades, remains one of the Seven. You need to have some pride, kid!” 

 “Hnnn,” I grunted, doing my best prideful Uchiha impression. Sadly the meme was lost on my Sensei so I just waved a hand and said, “Alright, but what’s the real reason?” 

“It will look good, and it will be cleaner than letting some apprentice swordsmen trip over themselves and cause an incident when they fuck up getting the blade back because they’re too busy trying to kill each other to be the only apprentice left,” said Akiko. 

Sharkbait, Himeko and I stared at her. I opened my mouth before sighing loudly. “Who am I kidding? Of course, they’d do that.”

Akiko smiled widely. “If we’re really lucky, they will have already killed half of their group by the time they make landfall!” she said in a tone of voice that was so upbeat that it hurt the skull with how much it concussed you over the head.

“Alright, so we need to find the blade,” I said.

“I already know, but seeing as you are a Chunin, I am once again choosing to dump this duty on you to give you valuable experience,” she said with a wide grin.

I felt a tick form on my brow that I valiantly fought off. With a neutral expression, I directed my flattest tone of voice at her as I said, “Have you done anything but hang out on a beach somewhere this trip?”

Akiko feigned buffing her nails. “I’m going to collect a healthy paycheque, I’m going to not kick the shit out of you for the next few days, and when we get reviewed for Hideo’s death due to being in the vicinity I’m going to stand in front of the men and women and spout pretty lies and not mention any of the suspicions and thoughts I have about what you’ve really been getting up to,” she listed. 

“How’s that for what I’ve been doing?” she snapped back, her teeth on display. 

“... Ah, sorry for being such a poor apprentice,” I said with actual chagrin. 

She was right; I was being very reckless, and if she wasn’t supporting me she wouldn't even need to lift a finger; just say the wrong thing, and I’d be done for. 

Akiko nodded. “You have a lot to learn, Matsu,” she said before waving her hand. “Now, the mission to steal back the sword is a go!” she shouted, indicating I should get on with it. 

I sighed. In truth, I knew exactly where the seven-be-damned blade was. It was right in the middle of the capital, sitting pretty in a Samurai’s armory under lock and key.

“I’ll go and—” I began to say.

“No,” Akiko cut me off. “I want you to flip the script and force these other two to learn. Himeko and… Sharkbait,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “are to take part in acquiring the blade just as much as you, if not more.”

I pursed my lips. “Alright, so I will have Himeko cause a disturbance in the merchant ring of the capital by getting into a brawl that will need the Samurai to be called in, then Sharkbait and I can support each other to get the blade,” I said, clapping my hands. 

“Shit yes, I like this plan!” said Himeko. I nodded, knowing she would.

Akiko raised her hand. “Minor change,” she said, and I shot her an annoyed look. “You will be the one to cause a brawl big enough for the Samurai to be called in, while Himeko and Sharkbait get the blade.”

All three of us glared at her, and as one, we all said, “I don’t like this plan.”

“Tough, adapt, grow, build character, and best of all, amuse me and anyone else that hears about this,” she said with a feigned casualness. She also made sure to stare right at me as she said this—a message very much going unsaid.

I considered her for a moment. That had been a very odd thing to mention at the end there. 

I had some inkling of an idea, however, and a small nod from Akiko made me grimace as she all but confirmed my thoughts. She’d told us about the Mission review board, but there was still always a bigger fish in Kiri than them. 

I glanced at Sharkbait, and he nodded. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble or get caught,” he said tiredly, knowing that would be his role. 

“Fuck you!” spat Himeko. “I can be sneaky when I want to be!” 

“You just never want to be sneaky,” Sharkbait pointed out. I nodded along in agreement before ducking under a thrown bone spike.

Himeko grumbled at us and shot Akiko another annoyed look. I sighed, knowing that Akiko wanted this. Sadly her reasoning was actually quite good.

I flexed my chakra and shifted into a henge of some man who looked like the quintessential clerk. I gave him small glasses, a tiny hat that barely sat on my head and also a squint to my eyes while I tilted my head back so I could peer down my nose.

I looked like a right prat. 

Akiko blinked. "Huh, that was clean,” she said, eying my surroundings. “Not even a whiff of chakra bleed off in smoke,” she commented before waving me along.  

“What’s that supposed to do?” Himeko asked. “He looks like a wimp!” 

Sharkbait tilted his head. “I mean, maybe that’s the appeal? I kind of want to punch him in the face?” he ventured. 

I winked, and Sharkbait chuckled. 

With the plan set, Akiko rose, and we all ran back to the capital from a different direction than we’d left. 

I entered through the front gates sedately while the other three hung about. 

I didn’t wait around. I marched straight into the nearest tavern and smirked as I stepped up to a small raised platform. 

The crowd of bleary-eyed day drinkers who were shirking work stared at me, knowing that I didn’t belong. 

I raised a hand and gave a fake-sounding cough to clear my throat with the air of a middle manager who delighted in giving bad news. I also unfurled a blank scroll, to sell the act further.

“The Lord is raising taxes and each tavern, inn, bar, and place of ill repute will be required to pay additional taxes in the coming week! There is also to be an increase in import taxes on any alcohol that is not made within the city!” I knew these to be terrible announcements. 

People were blinking at me. 

“I shall be along to collect the taxes on the morrow! Good day to you all!” I said this before hopping off and marching out the door. 

Behind me, a chorus of shouts and demands broke out but I ignored them as they marched along to the next establishment. 

The trick with getting the attention of guards and men of the law like the Samurai was to cause a very large ruckus. For that, I needed a significant portion of the city up in arms. 

I could do that by fighting a lot of people and raising the heat on myself, so to speak, or I could set out propagating waves of discontent. 

Thus, I marched into five establishments and made my announcement. On the sixth, I marched up to the raised platform where musicians or singers would perform and was met by a hurled bottle. 

“They weren't fucking lying! There is some pounce demanding taxes go up!” 

“The Lord will hear of this!” I said, channelling my best whiney bureaucrat, “Don’t you dare harm a hair on my head or you’ll be—” I got more bottles thrown at me along with angry shouts. 

I ducked them all and made sounds about “never in my life” and “this is only going to result in a fine for this shithole!” 

That was enough to have people advance on me.

Thankfully, the noise of the bottles and shouts had drawn some guards' attention. Before they could cool things down, I sneered at one patron and had him throw a glass. Sadly, it arced through the air and slammed into the doorway above the guards. 

“Fucking hell! Nab them!” cried the lead guardsman. 

Sadly for them, there were more angry patrons than there were guardsmen. I ducked out the side and repeated the action, stirring up discontent. Then I dropped the henge to assume another, more brutish-looking henge of a man I’d seen earlier skulking in a corner. 

With a handy rag, some high-proof alcohol, a spark, and some quick thinking, I made myself a molotov which I then hurled at a guard post. 

As people stared in shock at this blatant aggression I punched the air. “The fucking lord is taxing everything! Riot!” I called. 

That was enough to set off chaos in the lower ring. I scurried into an alleyway, dropped the henge and jumped onto the roof to greet Hiroshi Uzumaki as he landed on the roof. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” he roared at me. 

I nodded. “I’m causing a distraction so my friends can steal the Shibuki blade!” I said with a winning smile. 

Hiroshi stared at me. Then he glanced around and looked at the chaos that was spreading through the lower ring. Fires, shouts, and the sounds of fighting wafted over the rooftops as more and more guards piled into the district. I felt through my chakra senses that the Samurai had also moved out from the capital. 

Damn, that had been easy. 

“And this was your way of going about it?” Hiroshi asked.

“It’s all flash and not much substance,” I said. People weren't actually killing each other. There were fights sure but they were merely that, fights, and not back alley murders or lynchings. There was some arson but that was fairly controlled as well.

“Why? Was this another clever idea you had?” he spat the word at me and I felt it sting.

“When I get questioned about my role, I need it to be a very entertaining story,” I said. “You should probably get out of here. Don’t want you being seen with me,” I added.

Hiroshi blinked and I elaborated. “There’s a nonzero chance I might need to talk to Gengetsu,” I explained with a sigh. And wasn’t that a thing, because there was a chance that I might have to explain myself to Gengetsu, I was tricking a city into burning itself down.

“Ah, that… sadly makes sense,” Hiroshi said with a grimace. 

I nodded. It did. If I could distract Gengetsu with the chaotic violence I’d unleashed, he might not ask other pointed questions. And I still wasn’t sure if it would be enough. 

Hiroshi turned away only to linger on the edge of a roof, his profile outlined with the few fires around the district. “You told my daughter you wanted to rule Kiri,” he said, “Are you sure it’s worth it?” he asked.

I faltered. I hadn’t been expecting that question. Still, I swallowed and hardened my resolve. “I will have to make it so,” I said, but despite the firmness of my words, I felt hollow. 

Hiroshi left with a shake of his head, leaving me to sit on a roof, watching my handiwork unfold around me. 

I put both hands to my face to cover my eyes.

A few minutes later a thump on the roof let me know Akiko had landed next to me. “Was this necessary?” I asked, looking at her. 

She nodded. “You can be kind when you need to be. But right now, Matsu, you’re still a small fish. You need to keep your head down. This… is perfect for what we need though,” Akiko said.

I sat glumly for a while. “Won’t the Samurai connect the missing Shibuki blade with this riot?”

“No way,” Akiko replied. “This? This is so outside the box that I don’t think they’ll have a clue. That’s why I wanted you to do it. If Himeko had gone in and caused a brawl it would have been extremely obvious. Your plan? It’s really muddied the waters. So, good work.”

I sighed, that was certainly true, and something I hadn’t considered when I’d tried to make things “entertaining.” “We should start a rumour that Shibuki caused this, that holding the blade cursed the residents with madness,” I said.

“I think the Swordsmen will like that,” she replied. “How are Sharkbait and Himeko going?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. I’d been tracking them since we arrived. “They’re in the castle and making their way out,” I said. 

“Good, we’ll collect our pay in Potato Port and send a messenger that we have the blade. Then we can head home.” Akiko then paused before kneeling down. “Matsu, I’m sorry I made you do this, but this,” she said, indicating the fires around us, “is the cost of protecting and letting your little civilian group of friends have another few weeks or months at a chance to grow stronger.”

“Yeah, I figured,” I said. “I can’t say I enjoy it.”

Akiko snorted. “There’s a reason I don’t have many friends in Kiri. I’m a bit of a bitch.”

I snorted. “I wasn’t going to say it,” I said. 

“Nah, you don’t have to, I say it to myself enough some days. Sorry, I didn’t have your back against Hideo. I… I couldn’t see a way around that… So, in a few ways… I guess…” She faltered and shook her head. “I’m not sure what I’m trying to say. You’re a weird kid. Just, try and become a great Mizukage,” she said with a huff. “Now come on. Let’s get out of here.”

I rose, giving the fires a final look over my shoulder before I darted off to link up with our missing genin. 

Sharkbait grinned when he met me. “We hid a bunch of their stuff in other Samurai and Guardsmen rooms to make it look like they are all trying to steal something!” 

I chuckled, “Good idea,” I said. 

Akiko agreed, favouring both Himeko and Sharkbait with a thumbs-up. “Nice work, you’ve all passed with flying colours!” 

Himeko merely grunted, watching the fires that were starting to be fought with bucket brigades in the lower district now. She didn’t say anything, merely stared before giving me a firm nod.

We didn’t wait around and instead sprinted at Shinobi speeds, notably what Akiko called, “chunin speed” for Shinobi. By halfway Himeko and Sharkbait were hitting the ground, unable to keep up the headlong sprint. 

I was tired but had more than enough in the tank to make it all the way. 

When I dug myself out of a furrow in the dirt, I found Akiko squatting next to me with a kunai. “Lesson?” she prompted calmly.  

I sat up, I hadn’t even broken a rib that time—something that Akiko noticed as her eyebrows hitched upwards. Heh, all the fights I was getting in were just strengthening my Iron Body Jutsu. 

I still couldn’t keep it up during a run, but now with a moment’s notice, I could raise it to block an attack.

I stood and dusted myself off. “That we need to be ready to fight, so if we can’t maintain a headlong sprint then we shouldn’t. I… thought this was like the war,” I said. 

Akiko blinked. “Ah, you remember that,” she said before frowning. “Huh, I’m not… I mean that was…” She put a hand to her chin and thought over her words before speaking up. 

“That was a situation where we were all deep behind enemy territory. The Land of Vegetables is not that bad, I won’t be killing any of these kids,” she sighed. 

She ran a hand over her face. “Man I forgot about that, I really am a bitch, eh?” she asked. 

I pointedly didn’t say anything and Akiko snorted. “Alright, alright, sorry, I’m not the best at being a sensei but this works as a good lesson for both of us,” she said. 

She stood. “We’re making camp! Himeko and Sharkbait, set up the tents.” 

The pair staggered only for Akiko to grimace and catch them before they hit the ground. I blinked, huh, she’d beaten me to the punch. 

Akiko gave them both swift pats on the head. “On second thought, just sit and breathe, alright?” she said before waving at me. “Matsu, see to the camp, I’ll get us dinner.” 

Sharkbait sucked in air while Himeko glowered at Akiko as she darted into the woods around us. “What’s gotten into her?” growled Himeko. 

I didn’t respond for a while, instead, I pulled out the tents and sleeping rolls before setting up a small ditch for a fire. As I worked, I mulled over Akiko’s reactions. She’d seemed almost contrite before she’d run off. 

An idea slowly formed in my mind as I factored various points of information together. 

She didn’t have many friends. She was older, but I doubted she was even twenty. In shinobi terms that was old, but in my previous life, she was only just entering her early life. 

And then, there’d been a war where my first major introduction to her had been when she’d basically been ostracised but still remained in command. She had the skills to back it up but forced others to keep up with her. Which, considering the circumstances, made sense.

When Akiko returned I had a small fire going and the rest of the camp set up. 

Akiko gave it a glance and nodded. “Good work,” she said as she lugged an already butchered deer carcass over her shoulder. “Here’s dinner, kids,” she offered. 

I didn’t say anything at first, but instead, I allowed things to relax. As the meat cooked, I kept my eyes on it. “Sensei, how long were you fighting in the war?” I asked. 

A long silence met these words. I could see Akiko working her jaw as she considered me. Eventually, she sighed. “Since the start. I fought since Konoha tried to impose themselves on Waypoint Island.” 

“Is that what started the war?” asked Sharkbait with surprise. 

“It’s what Gengetsu said we were starting the fight over,” said Akiko. “I have no idea. Back then I was barely a Chunin. We got into a fight with them over the island, I know that much. There were a lot of ANBU clashes there and in the Land of Noodles. Apparently Wave became a bit of a battleground as well but I’m less sure of that.”

“My clan got into a lot of fights in the Land of the Sky with Leaf, Cloud, and Sky shinobi!” Himeko claimed proudly. 

Akiko nodded and looked at me, or more specifically, my hair. “Sky was where some of the worst fighting occurred as it was a bit of a free-for-all. Lots of people were surprised that Konoha could get their shinobi there but that was probably what drew the major Villages’ attention to the island of Uzushio.” 

“I saw some action when we first assaulted Whirlpool island and was one of the few in my squad to survive. That was what earned me my promotion along with my scars,” she said, running a hand over her face. "I didn't see any more action in Uzushio after that. I was deployed to the desert."

Huh, that explained the water-boiling jutsu scars, along with where she would have felt what it was like having a Kikaichu swarm running over her body. 

“This mission has been the first time in a long while that I’ve been able to just… unwind. I fell into some old habits, so for that, I’m sorry, kids. I’ll make it up to you when we get some downtime,” she said. 

Himeko snorted. “Don’t apologise for being a badass bitch!” 

Akiko blinked at this before laughing. “Damn, you kids are growing on me!” she chuckled. 

I relaxed, enjoying the warmth of the fire, feeling like I’d done well asking the questions I had. I looked up into the sky and hummed. Sharing stories around the campfire seemed to be a time-honoured tradition, no matter where you were. 

“What was the hardest fight you’ve been in so far?” I said casually. 

Akiko shot me a look only for understanding to quickly dawn on her features when Himeko and Sharkbait both leaned in. “Heh, well, there was this squad of Kumo nin that was in the Land of the Sky. I encountered them on my lonesome but I was lucky cause they’d already been in a fight and were running on reserves. That didn’t mean much when it was four-on-one, though. I had to force them to make a lot of mistakes by positioning myself close but not too close!” she said as she sat up and started telling us about some of the fights she’d gotten into.

We listened and ate meat and enjoyed ourselves, relaxing for the first time with Akiko. 

I’d been right, she liked telling stories around the campfire and with Himeko and Sharkbait more than willing to pipe up with their own questions, the evening went well.

When we reached Potato Port, we did so at a much more sedate pace with Akiko only pushing us to the point of fatigue instead of exhaustion to train us up. 

She then spent the next week working us through some fighting forms and tricks with grappling and fighting against various styles. 

“So the leaf nin will all have a basic style of taijutsu that you should be able to identify with how they will throw straight punches and kicks. Sadly they also have a ton of other styles with the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, and such. Those guys I can’t comment on but the run-of-the-mill guys and gals? I know their fighting style quite well.” 

She demonstrated the punches and then worked us through how to lead them into traps or overextend them. 

Himeko seemed especially pleased by this and when we were done with that Akiko shifted us to running through hypotheticals and training our tactical awareness. This didn’t just feature situations in the field but also at home.

“When you’re sitting in front of a superior officer, you need to know how to read them,” Akiko said firmly to all of us, demonstrating various positions and expressions. She even adapted her teachings with Henges. “Watch out for this ugly prick,” she said, forming a rather large-headed man with a vacant expression that looked like he wasn’t looking at anything in particular. 

I shuddered, knowing it to be a “dead-eyed stare” of a psycho. 

“This is Kenshin, another Jonin who is more than happy to kill you if he thinks you’ve fucked up in some way,” she said. “I survived a mission with him, and it was a nerve-wracking experience,” she revealed. 

She then transformed into the various people who would be interviewing us when we returned to Kiri. “All right, let’s see how you go when you’re put under pressure!” she said. 

I felt more than a little relief for that lesson as Sharkbait quickly learned to school his expressions and tongue.

She moved the lesson along after that, dropping her henge to stare at us. “So some of the more dangerous aspects of the job, as you’ve discovered, is handling your fellow shinobi. Pricks like Hideo aren’t common, but they are not exactly rare either. Having some serious backing is important for this, and as you no doubt noticed, my backing only went so far unless I really threw down with him.”

“Seems a lot of Kiri social dynamics comes down to strength,” I pointed out 

Akiko nodded at this and launched into discussing how to defuse certain situations, which mostly meant bowing our heads to any higher-ranked clan Shinobi until we knew we could beat them and any support they could immediately bring to bear. 

I took the time to consolidate my lessons on improved chakra sensing along with what scant notes I had for fuinjutsu. 

I also tried to look over Shibuki, only to find that the explosive tags that constantly formed and reformed with chakra application were too much for me to decipher beyond some minor points. Sadly, I’d need a lot more study and access to an actual trainer to advance this skill. 

Akiko watched me poke at the blade with a flat look. “When we get back to Kiri, don’t let people know you just happened to pick up this skill,” she said firmly. 

“I know, I know, wait for a teacher before mentioning it,” I replied. 

“I’ll see what I can do for you,” she said, and I got the impression this was her olive branch to me for how things had played out during this mission. I shot her a nod with a murmured “thanks” then got back to writing down what observations I could before Shibuki was claimed from us. 

At the end of the week, Akiko and I walked into Madam Yubaba’s to collect payment as well as the bonus for Yumi’s marriage to Lord Chen. 

The old woman grinned at us. “A deal well made, if I do say so myself!” she said, fanning herself while a stack of golden coins remained in front of her even after we’d taken our cut. 

On the way back to our lodgings, I twitched. “I have sixteen sizeable chakra signatures that just entered port on a boat,” I said, then tilted my head. “Four of them are significantly stronger than the others.”

Akiko pursed her lips. “Right, well that’ll be the party we were looking for. We’ll go and greet them I suppose,” she said. We collected our belongings and the other two. As we left the building Akiko made a diamond gesture and thanks to the training we’d had for the last week we knew to position with her leading at the point. I took up the rear while Himeko and Sharkbait took the sides. 

We stalked through Potato Port and emerged at the dock to greet a surprised group of Kiri nin. They stared at us only to lock eyes on the hilt poking out of Akiko’s backpack.

“Is that what I think it is?” said one, a lanky-looking man with a thin-looking moustache.

“Fuck, looks like we’re doing this here and now,” said a kunoichi with arms that looked as thick as my waist. She grinned and drew her blade, already eying one of the other swordsmen who had made the journey with her. 

Yet, instead of an actual melee free-for-all breaking out with her declaration, the other three drew their blades and stabbed the woman, causing her to gasp. 

The other kunoichi, a dwarf in comparison, grinned. “Poor dumb Meimei, you were only ever good at swinging your sword, never reading the room,” she said as she drew her own blade out.

The huge woman hit the deck like a fish pulled from the sea. She gaped like one as well and I grimaced. The other swordsmen and women didn’t even give her another look.

“Right! Like we planned! Field outside town! Free for all!” someone said only for them all to share knowing looks with one another before they ran off. 

Sharkbait whistled. “Wow! I think I’d trust an otter with my catch of fish more than I would those assholes.”

Himeko grunted and glanced in the direction the trio had left in. “Can we go watch?” she asked Akiko.

Akiko nodded, turning to follow with the Shibuki blade still on her back to no doubt award the winner, only to stiffen when she caught sight of me. “I don’t like the look in your eyes, Matsu,” she said.

I blinked, looking away from the dying woman who’d gone still. “Hmmm? I was just thinking—”

Akiko frowned and looked toward the large, clinically dead woman. She chewed her lips. “That… might not be the worst idea you’ve had. I can make sure she knows she owes you,” she said.

I grinned and stepped towards the woman, my hands already glowing green.

That was the most permission I'd had since I left Kiri!

                                                   _____________________________

Masashi grinned to himself as he fingered the hilt at his side. He resisted rubbing his lucky stache only through restraint.

It was as good as in the bag now.

Remei, the only rival worth a damn, was out of the picture. Of course, that meant he needed to be aware of Fuuka and Nami tag-teaming him but he’d been able to get a deal sorted with Nami beforehand. 

Of course, he was never going to have to pay the woman after he killed her today but that was beside the point. One fight and an easy cutdown, and—

Nami stepped to his flank exactly as Fuuka did the same on his other side. 

“Nami you fucking whore!” he roared as his opponents closed on him.

He flexed his chakra in the one jutsu he knew by heart, and exploded a shock wave of water, only for Fuuka to cut through it with a wave of lightning on his blade. 

It punched into his lung and Masashi had enough spite in him to stab his blade into Fuuka to deny him a clean victory. If Nami was that clever… well… he had some fail-safes that would blow up in her face when she returned without him. His friends knew what to do with her. 

Nami didn’t disappoint, as she stepped in and stabbed Fuuka in the spine, disabling him and leaving both him and Masashi to bleed out on the ground. 

She grinned down at them. “Heh! You fucks all looked down on me ever since I joined the Swordsmen! Now who’s fucking laughing? I’ve fucked and killed and I bled for this chance. And there isn’t anything you’ll be able to do to stop me! I know all about your friends and their plan by the way, Masashi, and they aren’t going to do—” was as far as she got before a hand, gigantic and heavily scarred, closed around the back of Nami’s neck. 

What followed was like watching a dog catch a rat. Nami jerked back and forth, her neck bearing the weight of her own body. It took only a second for a snap to sound out and Nami’s eyes to go glassy as death took her. 

Masashi blinked and stared up to find Koremei glaring down at them.

“I would have duelled you for the blade,” she spat. “Guess that was my mistake. Lesson learned,” she said before lifting her foot. 

Masashi whimpered as the foot raced towards his head. 

He hadn’t expected to die like this.

                                                        ________________________________

The squelch of body parts breaking and vengeance being administered heralded the rise of a new Swordsman of the Mist. 

Koremei had introduced herself on the run to catch her former colleagues. I’d done what I could to bolster her reserves and heal her. From there, she'd outpaced me to the battlefield, and I'd arrived to watch her blur across the field and take out the last swordswoman standing.

It was rather impressive that she still had that level of strength despite being at death’s door a few minutes ago. 

Koremei turned and looked at Akiko, who slung the Shibuki blade off her back without any prompting from the larger woman.

Koremei took it and placed it on her own back. 

She exhaled in relief. “Finally,” she said with an air of a goal that had been long sought-after finally being completed. 

She looked at me and gave me a full-toothed smile, “Thank you for the healing and letting me get the blade,” she said. Then she toppled over and fell on her face, so quickly we were all taken by shock. 

I chuckled and moved forward to check her over. She’d pushed herself a little more than she should have, but she’d needed to do this herself, according to her. 

I had to respect her conviction if nothing else. 

When a strong, steady pulse met my fingers, I smiled down at my latest spot of fortune. 

“Let’s load her up and get her back to the ship,” I said as I used one of my storage scrolls—not the one with the Hyuga eyeball in it—to unseal a stretcher. Himeko, Sharkbait, and Akiko all moved to help.

I had only a small idea of what would await me in Kiri, and it might be bad, but I didn’t let that hamper my mood. With how things had been going for me, I felt confident that it would all work out copacetic, as some might say.

                                              ___________________________________

A.N. Thank you to all my patreons for your continued support! 

I rather enjoyed writing this with all the various little moments that I hope come across as poignant. Koremei was an idea I’d been toying with for a while. 

Fortune favours the bold as they say!