II

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Arc II Chapter 2

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Using the darkness of the night and cloaked by the heavy rain, the trio headed for the mansion, avoiding any potential patrols. They overcame the exterior stone wall with ease, entering the garden. The mansion was quiet. No light could be seen. 

 

Hagane gave a sign. The mission commenced. From here on, no return was possible. Only success or failure awaited them. Ibuki and Akihiro nodded in silence. They dispersed, rushing toward their assigned objectives.

 

Ibuki's task was to secure her mother for the second stage, while Hagane cleared the rest of the mansion, eliminating unintended visitors, planting combustion tags everywhere. They had to cover up the abduction. And what served better than a little fire? Nobody would miss a single body when they burn down the entire mansion. She was just a little girl.

 

“Dammit, where is she? Where is the girl?” Akihiro grew increasingly erratic. He was searching for her bedroom, but the girl was impossible to find. The mansion was just so fucking big. Too many rooms, too many floors, too many doors everywhere.

 

A certain room down the floor caught Akihiro's attention. The paper door was richly adorned with paint and other ornaments. Conspicuous, wasn't it?

 

Akihiro was convinced that he got the right room. He found the little princess. He slid the door open, only to be surprised by a kunai with an uncanny degree of accuracy. He ducked to dodge the attempt on his life. The kunai missed, embedding itself in the wall behind him.

 

 

“This was ... unexpected.” Akihiro scanned the room for his mysterious attacker. He found a little, terrified girl standing before him. She held on to another kunai. Her nervous hands trembled in fear, but he wouldn't be deceived by her meek appearance. The girl was suspicious. Not only was she awake, but she also expected him to enter the room.  Her kunai was timed perfectly. Her attack wasn't a mere coincidence.

 

Judging by her still sleepy eyes, the girl was still half asleep, a fact that he could use that to his advantage.

 

“Don't worry, stay calm. I mean you no harm. I am your friend. You can trust me.” Akihiro tried to soothe the girl, with little success.

 

The girl narrowed her eyes. Her openj malice took Akihiro by surprise. “I don't think so, my friend. You may claim to come in peace, and yet you habe broken into my room without permission. So who are you? And what are you doing here?” The girl tightened her grip on her kunai.

 

Akihiro clicked his tongue. The fuck, still sleepy and confused. From one moment to the next, her personality had changed completely. Gone was her insecurity, replaced by determination.

 

It was time to rely on his acting skills. Akihiro cleared his throat. “I am part of the local ANBU surveillance squad stationed in this sector. My colleagues and I have detected a group of unidentified intruders entering the mansion. We have decided to investigate the case and apprehend them. We are still searching for them.”

 

The girl raised an eyebrow. “An ANBU? Don't ANBU normally wear masks?” 

 

Akihiro laughed. “Hehehe, yes, normally, but not always ... You see, we are from the ANBU police branch, so we don't need any masks as we operate mostly inside the village ... They aren't that useful when you are supposed to operate undercover.”

 

“I see, that makes kind of sense”, the girl conceded. “Then what should we do now?”

 

Akihiro smiled. “Come with me, I will bring you somewhere safe. After all, the rest of my squad should be somewhere nearby. So let's go searching for them and your mother. Understood?”

 

The girl nodded happily. “Understood. Just wait a moment, ANBU-san. I have forgotten something.”

 

Asami trotted back to her bed to procure a sword placed on a weapon stand. It wasn't her only sword. In fact, the girl possessed a vast collection of blades, which made Akihiro wonder.

 

Why did a little girl possess an entire arsenal of swords? She spotted some dolls here and there, but the room was filled with swords, a lot of swords. Was this an armoury or a bedroom?

 

 

The girl returned with her sword against her chest, smiling. “In dangerous times like these, a girl needs to be armed, right?” She definitely liked swords. She liked them a lot.

 

“True.” Akihiro offered a weak laugh.

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Still sleepy, Asami yawned, rubbing her tired eyes. They ripped her out of her peaceful slumber, waking her up at such an uncivilised hour, which wasn't nice at all. Carrying her swords and clothed in her fluffy pyjama, she was wandering through the darkness of the mansion, following the unknown stranger. His little ANBU story was quite believable. Unfortunately, their chakra signatures betrayed since the beginning. There were no other intruders. It was them who were the intruders.

 

One of them went after Okaa-san, while the other searched the rest of the house. She hoped for the sake of their existence that they didn't dare to lay even a single finger on her beloved Okaa-san. Otherwise, they would feel her wrath. Her main objective was thus now to link up with Okaa-san and assure her safety.

 

One question, however, remained, who were they? And what were they doing here? They weren't burglars. That much was obvious. Considering how he dodge her kunai, it was clear that they were probably trained ninja. Yet they weren't assassins, otherwise they would have tried to kill her on the spot. Instead, they wanted her alive. But why? The only option left to her was to ask.

 

Asami tugged at the man's sleeves. “ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san ...”

 

“What is?” The man clicked his tongue, slightly annoyed.

 

“ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, do you know why these men are here? Do they want to hurt Okaa-san?” Asami was worried. She could defend herself, but Okaa-san couldn't. They held Okaa-san hostage. As long as they had Okaa-san in their hands, she had to act carefully.

 

“Maybe, maybe not, who knows”, the man deflected.

 

“ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, are you sure they don't want to hurt Okaa-san?”

 

“I said, I don't know. ”

 

Asami feigned sadness. Her eyes became watery. “ANBU-san, ANBU-san, ANBU-san, can you promise then you will protect Okaa-san?”

 

“I promise”. The man sighed, hoping that she would finally stop bothering him. She was annoying, extremely annoying.

 

“ANBU-san, thank you for protecting Okaa-san.” Asami beamed. She had him. She almost had him. If he lowered his guard just a little bit more.

 

“No problem.” The man smiled back.

 

Asami tilted her head, curious. “ANBU-san, can you really protect Okaa-san?”

 

“Yes, I can.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes, really.”

 

“Really, really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Really, really, really?”

 

“Enough is enough! For the last time, yes, I will protect her and now shut the fuck up! Stop bothering me!” the man exploded. 

 

Asami rolled her eyes and complied. No sense of humour. This was going to a long night.

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Akihiro ignored the girl and kept walking. Something was wrong with her, very wrong. Her presence, her aura, her eyes, everything about her unsettled Akihiro, making him feel uneasy. His instincts warned him, the girl was dangerous, more dangerous than she might look.

 

Wearing her warm pyjama, the sleepy girl tagged along, following him. She carried a sword in her arms, visibly struggling not to trip over her tiny feet. The girl was harmless, harmless and innocuous. In the end, she was a normal little girl, and nothing more.

 

Akihiro relaxed. His uneasiness was just the product of his imagination, a phantom of his rampant paranoia ...

 

The girl tripped and fell, landing hard on the wooden floor. She dropped her sword. “Ouchie~.”

 

“...” Akihiro blinked. And he really thought that the girl was dangerous just a moment ago.

 

“Can you help me up, ANBU-san?” the girl asked.

 

“Sure.” Akihiro leaned down, but his arm froze. His whole body refused to move. There it was again. This strange sensation. This uneasy feeling he had felt before. A cold shiver ran down his spine. His senses sharpened, and his instincts screamed danger.

 

Akihiro didn't notice the shimmering kunai hidden within the sleeves of Asami's pyjama, a kunai on which was written his name. Unbeknownst to him, he eluded death. He didn't lean close enough for Asami to stab his neck. He stopped before Asami ever got the chance to ram her kunai down his collar.

 

“ANBU-san, is something wrong?” The girl freed Akihiro from his sudden stupor.

 

“Nothing, it was nothing.” Akihiro shook his head. He helped the girl up and together they resumed walking. Soon they reached their destination.

 

“We have arrived. Your Okaa-san is inside there, waiting for you ... What are you doing with the kunai, and ... the explosive tags?” Akihiro blinked. Where did she get the kunai from? Not to mention the explosive tags. They were the real deal. He didn't see her carrying any before.

 

The girl gripped her kunai. “There are three people inside the room. Okaa-san and two other unidentified people.”

 

Akihiro's eyes widened in shock. Unidentified what? How did she know? Was she a sensor type or what? Quite unrealistic considering her age.

 

“Put the kunai and the explosive tags away, lass. You won't need it”, Akihiro reassured her. “Don't worry, they are part of my squad.”

 

“Are they?” The girl raised an eyebrow.

 

Akihiro nodded. “They are. And now put your kunai away, and the tags. We don't want to hurt anybody, do we?”

 

The girl followed his advice and stowed her kunai away, and her tags.

 

Akihiro sighed in relief after averting an unmitigated disaster. This was a close call. A nice little firework in the middle of the night was the last thing they needed. Causing a large commotion was not in their interest.

 

Akihiro opened the door. They entered.

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