Konoha Administrative Building, Hokage's Office
"Why should I be interested in yesterday's fire?" Hiruzen says, looking at the document the Anbu commander, eagle, just handed him. "It was quite large, but no fatalities were found."
"The analysis of the fire's epicenter has arrived and found traces of natural energy," the ninja reports. "In addition, signs of combat were found in one of the apartments."
The Hokage's face turns serious as he reviews the document. "Fog reports?"
"That's right. The witnesses reported a dense fog that surrounded the building, the majority noticed it when they began to leave the building, and the inhabitants closest to the place of the supposed combat heard roars and breaking glass."
"Is there any sign that this is related to the Uchiha massacre incident?" the Hokage asks.
"So far, none, but the fog theme has been a recurring one lately, from the incident in Kusagakure to the kidnapping of our ninjas by the southern organization," the ninja comments, sounding worried.
"I suspect the same thing too… What happened to the apartment owner?"
"He has completely disappeared. His name is Kabuto Yakushi and he has been a genin for several years, he failed the chunin exams in the middle of this year and apparently planned to try again soon. We didn't find much background in the official channels, but when we dug into the classified files…"
The pause makes the Hokage understand something. "It's 'Root,' isn't it?"
"Correct. The files obtained from 'Root' more than two years ago name an agent named Kabuto, who specializes in espionage; beyond that, there's nothing else. Apparently, it's high-level information that only Danzo possesses."
"What I was missing, conflicts in our territory. At least they took the decency of not hurting innocents," says the Hokage with a sarcastic tone, getting up from his chair and walking towards the window, where he begins to prepare his pipe, "I have an organization that threatens me with kidnapping our ninjas within the land of fire, a Kumogakure prowling the border with the excuse that it is pursuing a robbery, Iwagakure thinks that this movement threatens it in some way and begins to reinforce its border, and now I have a spy battle in Konoha... Plus they almost killed my son... I'm too old for this shit. I need someone to replace me."
"Hokage-sama?" the Anbu commander says incredulously.
"Don't worry, it's just the stress of work," says Hiruzen, "Let's better let Shikaku take care of the less important matters... My main concern is the organization in the south. We can't allow them to threaten us like that and do nothing about it. I know we're not in conflict yet, but the possibility is too great... We must prepare for the worst, starting with the expansion of the Anbu and the organization of an armed corps of ninjas."
"An army?"
"Not on paper, since for that I need the support of the Konoha council, but something close enough. Only you and Shikaku should be in charge of this, while you search for suitable ninjas to command the units. Let the structure be in the form of battalions of 100, for a total of ten battalions for this first armed force, which must specialize in urban combat," the Hokage adds.
"It will be difficult to hide it for long."
"If Tsunade doesn't succeed in this new meeting, I doubt we'll have enough time," Hiruzen says, doubt in his voice.
"So Tsunade-sama is going to agree to help the head of the organization?"
"At least she's going to see first what they want from her, and if it's nothing harmful, she's going to try to help, as long as it helps with the relationship with our village."
The Hokage heads to his desk and proceeds to sit down again, "I just hope that meeting is soon, or is that woman going to ruin us with everything she spends at the casino?
…
[Suki]
It's the night after the assassination of the ninja Kabuto, and Suki is still a little uneasy as the scene of the man's final moments seems to replay in her mind over and over again. For the young woman, fighting different individuals has become a normal occurrence over the time she's been with Touki, but this is the first time she's actually taken someone's life with her own hands. It's not a terrible problem for her, but it has certainly affected her concentration throughout the day.
It was just as Suki, lying in bed, was trying to get back to sleep when someone gently knocked on her bedroom door.
"Suki, are you awake?" Touki's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Yes, Master, come in," Suki replied from her bed.
Suki can feel and hear Touki's presence entering her room. He approaches and sits on the edge of the bed next to her.
"I need to apologize," Touki says.
"Master?" Suki asks, confused.
"What we did last night isn't something I'm proud of, and I know it was your first time doing the entire assignment, so there must be a lot of conflict in your mind right now," Touki's voice is soft and tinged with regret.
"You shouldn't worry, Master. I know it was necessary," Suki says.
"I know, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I've slowly introduced you to a world of conflict and death… and sometimes… sometimes I think it's not fair to you… Today I saw it in the way you acted, clearly affected by what you had to do," Touki's voice is full of doubt, "And sadly this isn't going to change for either of us… we're already deep in this swamp and we have many responsibilities. That's why I want to at least compensate you in some way… I know it sounds a little hypocritical of me, but if you have something you wish for, please ask for it and I will do my best to fulfill it."
Suki falls silent, surprised by Touki's attitude and wondering what he means by what he just said.
"Whatever I want?" Suki asks, rather hesitantly.
"As long as I can accomplish it," Touki replies confidently.
Suki thinks for a moment again, then turns to Touki, still hesitant, "Could you sleep with me tonight?"
Touki is at first surprised, watching as Suki's face begins to blush. Then, with a smile, he says, "Are you sure that's what you want? I don't mind if you ask for something more."
"Then I want you to stroke my head and hold me until I fall asleep," the blushing young woman immediately replies.
Suki isn't sure how she came up with such a request; perhaps the thought of murdering someone really affected her too much, or perhaps it's simply her need for affection from someone who has become her family. In the end, her wish was fulfilled and Touki accompanied her until she could fall asleep, hugging her on top of the bed and stroking her head until she, with a smile, was finally able to enter the world of dreams.
But what neither of them knew was that someone had partially overheard their conversation. A curious Karin, whose room adjoins Suki's, managed to hear through the wall the phrases, 'what we did last night,' 'your first time,' 'sleep with me tonight,' and 'hold me until I fall asleep'. The girl couldn't calm her overactive mind and couldn't sleep for much of the night.
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