Nine

Nine


Author: princessgolux
Title: Nine
Fandom: Naruto
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I gain no profit from this story.
Chapter Pairings: Mizuki/Chishima, Gantetsu/Chishima
Chapter Rating: R
Story Rating: NC-17
Chapter Warnings: AU/AR; off-canvas rape of a minor character, foul language, graphic description of injury.


Chapter Four: Decision

Kado City, Steel Country
517 A.T.D.


Slippery bastard. Touji Mizuki thought, with a trace of respect. Strength was something he admired in a man, and this almost feminine man in front of him had balls of steel. He kept his eyes only on Mizuki himself, not even a flicker at the stony-faced bodyguard standing just behind Mizuki’s left shoulder. The painfully ordinary kid that followed the deceptively soft-spoken man into Mizuki’s office was visibly trembling, eyes darting from Mizuki to Iron G and back behind plain spectacles.

Mizuki ignored him. The kid was prey. His Master was a predator.

“Have you considered my request, Touji-dono?”

“I have, Yashamaru-kun.” Mizuki smiled. “There was some question, as I’m sure you knew there would be, about the appropriateness of hiring you on in this capacity, given your previous relationship with the subject. However, the background knowledge and understanding you bring to the table is considered no small asset in this matter. With the understanding that appropriate precautions will be put in place, the Council has decided that I am empowered to negotiate an agreement.”

Yashamaru bowed silently, soft light brown hair sliding across his cheek and falling as he raised his head to frame gentle blue-grey eyes, respectfully lowered in deference to Mizuki’s position.

Mizuki loved deference.

“However, I must warn you Yashamaru-kun,” he said, “the Council also feels that, due to the youth of the subjects, it is too soon to introduce outside influences. They are learning basic skills at the moment and only the most trusted members of our organization are allowed access. Even I have rarely seen them in the two years since I came here. And as you know, my loyalty is without question.”

“Of course.” Yashamaru dipped his head in acknowledgement. “The Council, as always, is all wisdom. May I be permitted to know when my services may be offered again?”

“Actually, Yashamaru-kun, the Council would very much like to utilize you in a different capacity for a while, preparatory to the position we are otherwise discussing. If you would consider another role for the time being, we have a situation that requires someone of your talent and skill. If you decline our proposition we would still be willing to discuss the other matter.” He hastened to add, smiling charmingly. “But if you were to agree, well... it would go a long way toward assuring the Council of your commitment, and it would increase your understanding of the organization and it’s goals.”

Yashamaru inclined his head again but remained otherwise non-committal.

“We are in the process of expanding our interests into River Country.” Mizuki continued. “We have approached another organization in the hope of negotiating a partnership. We need a skilled negotiator to set up lines of communication and facilitate a smooth merger.”

“Would you be interested, Yashamaru-kun?”

“Perhaps I would, Touji-dono.” Yashamaru lowered his eyes again, but Mizuki saw the glint of calculation in them. “Yes, perhaps I would.”

Come to my hand, pretty bird.

“Then perhaps we can continue our conversation over dinner, Yashamaru-kun.” Mizuki gave another charming smile. “I feel certain that, given a little time and some excellent sake, we can surely come to a mutually beneficial understanding.”


***** ***** *****


He could feel the water closing over his head, seeping into him from all the torn places, just as he could feel blood and dirty fluids seeping out. The canal water sucked him down toward oblivion and death and in his despair and shame he almost longed for it. But a tiny part of him rebelled, or maybe he simply continued the fight he’d lost irrevocably hours before. He struggled against the weight of the dark, filthy water, pulled with his waning strength against the fabric wrapped around him, pulling him down toward nothingness.

When his hand found the side of the canal wall, he discovered he could still cry.

Daisuke slipped from shadow to shadow, his night’s work done. Secreted in his pockets were various expensive items retrieved from even more expensive homes. He didn’t care about the money, but his Master would be angry with him if he missed even one item on her shopping list. And Master’s anger was not something Daisuke cared to evoke, ever.

He couldn’t say later what caught his attention, but he found himself changing direction, almost instinctively. Dropping lightly onto a low wall, he peered into a canal-side alley that was shaded from the dim streetlights by tall buildings around it. A trail of slick liquid slopped from the canal edge into the shadows at the alley’s left side.

A dark mass directly below him exuded the smell of lake water and mold, and underneath that earthy stench there was the scent of violence, of blood and sex and fear. But an almost inaudible whimper told him that the victim below was still alive.

Daisuke considered the consequences of what he was about to do. There was no way that his Master would react well. And he truly, truly hated to court her anger. But the part of him that was not Himawari Daisuke rebelled at the thought of leaving someone to die alone and in pain, so he did it anyway.

Back at home, in the private quarters deep in the heart of the Master’s domain, the bundle turned out to be a young boy, perhaps 14 years old, brutally battered and violated. He had brown hair and a slight build, but his hands were ink-stained and his nose held the distinct mark of someone who wears glasses. His clothes, though torn beyond repair, were respectable and well made.

He was small and pitiful and he was a potential danger to Daisuke’s very existence.

Daisuke didn’t care. The boy needed help and his Master was the best healer in the world.

“Do you understand the word covert, idiot?”

Master was understandably furious and Daisuke earned a fat lip and a bruised cheek. But he saw that she was gentle in her examination and her treatment, soothing the frightened boy when he regained consciousness and began struggling automatically, still weakly fighting the remembered assault.

“You’re safe.” Master said, her voice gruff even as she reassured . “My idiot apprentice found you and brought you here to be healed.” She laid a restraining hand on the boy’s chest, preventing him from leaping out of the bed.

The boy subsided, but his blue eyes were frightened and wary.

“Where...where am I?”

“Do you know who attacked you?” Daisuke asked softly, avoiding the question. His Master shot him a quelling look, but he ignored her.

The boy’s eyes closed and he sank back, all resistance suddenly gone. “I was not attacked.”

Master’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“I was not attacked.” the boy repeated flatly. He looked resigned and somehow closer to death than when Daisuke had found him bleeding in the dark. “Nothing happened.”

“You have scratches and bruising on your arms and face, two cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm, deep and deliberate cuts, burns and bruises all over your body, four fairly serious stab wounds, and severe tearing and trauma to your anus.” Master said bluntly. “I find no indications of any past physical trauma that comes close to this severity. In fact, other than a few long healed injuries, you seem to have been physically well taken care of. Until a few hours ago. So you aren’t a whipping-whore, you aren’t in a violent relationship – either a consensually violent relationship or a non-consensual one – and you aren’t being abused by your family or your master.”

Master reached over and gripped the boy’s chin, forcing him to look at her. He winced a little at the strength of her grip and started to shake, involuntary trembles rolling through his body.

“Frankly, I don’t care who split you open and got off on it. I want to know what kind of reaction I should expect when the person who thinks you’re dead finds out otherwise. I want to know how much trouble my idiot apprentice has dragged to my door, and from what direction the shit will be flung. So talk! Who are you tying to protect, stupid boy? And why?”

The boy gripped her hand, trying to pull away.

“What does it matter? I tell you, I was not attacked! Nothing...” He began to cry. “Nothing....nothing...ha...hap....happened.”

Master looked at him hard, squeezing his chin until he cried out in protest.

She cursed under her breath and let him go, flinging him contemptuously back against his pillows. He curled into a ball and wept.

“He’ll live. Knock him out and deliver him to the police or the hospital . We’re finished here.”

“No!” the boy cried. “No hospital, no police!”

Master pinned Daisuke with an icy glare. “This is your problem, brat. Deal with it.”

She stalked out, long blond hair swaying.

Daisuke sighed, and ran a rough hand through his blond hair.

“No hospitals!” the boy was adamant, his voice verging on hysteria. He eyed the distance between Daisuke and the door as if contemplating escape.

“Don’t even think about it, kid.” Daisuke said quellingly. “What’s your name?”

“Chi...Chishima.”

“All right Chishima-kun. You don’t want to go to the police or the hospital. Where do you want to go?”

The boy shrunk again, his momentary defiance gone.

“I...I don’t...know.” He began to cry again, tears leaking slowly from the corners of his eyes and trailing down his bruised cheeks. “I...don’t...I...have nothing...no one...”

Daisuke went to Chishima, moving slowly so as not to alarm him, and perched on the end of the bed. His green eyes were very gentle.

“Tell me.”

“I can’t.” Chishima whispered. “I...”

“Violence, rape, death,” Daisuke said softly, “for some of us none of these are as frightening as being compeletly alone in this world.”

Chishima looked up at him, eyes wide.

“I know that feeling.” Daisuke said gently. “And I will listen. You don’t have to be alone. Tell me.”

Chishima’s face crumbled and he threw himself into Daisuke’s embrace, wailing grief and fear out of his soul.


******** ********* ********


“This could be a very lucky break for us. The boy’s master is involved with Akatsuki. He may have just the information we need.”

“Hmmmph.” Master grunted. “Lucky for you. Otherwise I’d be forced to beat you senseless for this stupid escapade.” She eyed her nervous apprentice. “I may just beat you anyway. We have put way too much time into this, and we have too much work ahead to fuck around at this stage. Remember, brat, here and now you are Himawari Daisuke, thief, assassin, and rich widow’s boy-toy. Himawari Daisuke is pragmatic to the point of ruthlessness. Himawari Daisuke does not rescue stay kittens from alleys. If the boy talks....”

“He won’t. He has no one to talk too.”

“If that were true, he’d be at the cops right now.” Master barked. “This child is so loyal to his damned master that he’d rather die than tell the cops the fucker handed him over to a damned child rapist as a part of a gods-be-damned business deal!”

Daisuke lowered his head and concentrated on controlling his chakra, on keeping his vital signs normal despite the rage churning in his stomach.

“Yes, Chishima was devoted to his master, but it’s not out of loyalty for his past life that he refuses to report him.” Daisuke looked up, eyes flashing. “He’s been thrown away! His master saw him as an asset, a pawn that has been played and duly sacrificed. He’s not above wanting revenge.”

“But he’s smart, that kid. And he’s obviously been around the underworld long enough to realize that the only safety he’s got, the only weapon he’s got, is the fact that they don’t know he’s still alive.”

“And do you see him as a weapon, brat?” Master asked harshly. “How do you wish to use this kid?”

Daisuke managed not to flinch at the word “use.” He drew a deep breath and forced himself to take his time answering, to resist the pressure his Master was applying. Another test, another situation to train his mind and strengthen his nerve.

Briefly he reflected that when this was all over his nerves would be stronger than adamantium. After serving under the most frightening woman on the planet, nothing would scare him..

“I see him as a lost kid with no one to trust.” Daisuke said honestly after taking a few moments to think. “I see him as a smart, loyal kid whose been badly betrayed and abandoned. I see him as a kid who’s as shattered as I was once, though for different reasons, thank the gods. Someone who needs my help. Whether or not he’s ‘useful’ is still to be seen – but yes, I do think he will be very, very useful. But that’s not why I want to help him. I just want to help him.”

Master looked at him hard and he met her eyes calmly. He had said his truth and now the answer was out of his hands.

“Very well.”

Daisuke blinked, startled.

“But he’s your responsibility, brat.” Master’s voice grew cold and harsh. “I’ll be watching him, remember that. And if I believe he’s a threat in any way, I will have him eliminated much more completely than his master did. I will wipe him from this earth, do you understand?”

“I will end him.”

Daisuke opened his mouth, but his Master cut him off.

“And if you ever pull something like this again, boy, I will send you packing so fast you’ll see your own ass on the way out. I’ve worked hard to get away from that place, and although I understand what the Old Man is trying to do, I don’t want it as badly as he does. It’s no skin off my nose if he has to start this whole shitty plan all over again, understand? So from here on out, I want to see Himawari Daisuke anytime you are on the other side of that door.” She pointed to her office door. “I want that ruthless son-of-a-bitch sleeping in your bed at night and shitting in your john in the morning. I want him drinking your beer and fucking your whores. I want this you gone unless I call you back, do you understand me?

Daisuke met her angry eyes squarely.

“Yes, Tsunade-sama. I understand.”

“Good. Now get the fuck out of here.”

Daisuke bowed.

“Yes, Master. And thank you.”

“Go before I change my mind, brat.”

“Yes, Master. Good night.”

Daisuke closed the door behind him and set off to arrange food for his new charge.