Just when I thought things were starting to go smooth, just when I started to see the future I want to build, just when I’m at the cusp of bringing Kirigakure to know and understand that discrimination and clan biases would be a thing of the past….

I tried not to grind my teeth too much as Junichi and Ao flanked my sides down the sterile hospital ward corridor crawling with ANBU and Jounins from the Funato clan. Despite my earlier words with Lord Funato, his clan members were still my shinobi and respected my presence with deep bows or kneeling. I acknowledged their presence briefly but my destination was the room they all congregated to guard.

My body and mind screamed for precise and accurate movements and action. After two sleepless days of rising disappointments and a soreness in my voice from barking orders at Jounin and ANBU to secure the border, coast, walls and the sensory bubble as squads upon squads searched the thick forest and marsh for Lord Funato’s would-be assassin only to report nothing, I finally had something.

Lord Funato was awake. The man was still a legend in his own right, a thought that brought some measure of comfort to my tense mind. He’d managed to repel his attacker if only for a short time; it was no coincidence that the fire that blew up the dojo had little to no heat, it was purposeful, cynical as the old man is he stopped to consider the lives of those around him even while being attacked.

It’d have been a different story had he unleashed his true strength in that enclosed area, bad news not just for his attacker but for him and whoever was unfortunate enough to be around. Needless to say, I was impressed and pleased to hear that he’d woken up.

His last words to me were confounding and yet another source of my mounting stress. It couldn’t, no, shouldn’t be the Yuki clan behind this again, even though the person he saw is dead the fact that it was her face places a lot of suspicion on the Yuki clan once more. Fortunately for them, I haven’t told anyone and I sure hope the old man hasn’t repeated it yet.

Ao stepped ahead of me to open the room door, “Thank you, Ao.” I looked around, the area was secure enough but… “Secure the area, patrols, make sure no one is listening in.”

He gave a sure, curt nod and vanished to perform his duty. His failure to capture the assassin weighed heavy on him, especially since I was already in the middle of pursuit when he asked me to leave it to him. I don’t want to blame him, he wasn’t alone in the chase and what each of those involved described the assailant to be like was a piece of information I was sure I could use somehow.

“Junichi, summon Hidaki to my office, I want him to be the first thing I see when I get back.”

“Uh, at the Tower or at the Estate?”

I’d had wonderful plans to work from the Estate and still would like to, but this was a discussion for the Tower, “Tower.” The young man bowed and left to find his way to the Yuki clan head.

I stepped in fully and shut the door behind me, finding Uncle Aoto, Lady Megumi and Lord Funato’s son have already gathered besides the bandaged old man.

His son was a burly man with an eye-catching kanji of ‘Sea’ on his left arm, he looked nothing like Funato except in the eyes and perhaps the way his face is squared and aligned to allow that orange beard fall, actually, the more I look the more Lord Funato I see. He just isn’t short and has far more muscle mass than his ancient father.

He was easily in his thirties by the looks of him, he’d surely seen more of the Second Shinobi war than I have read of and the downward quirk of his lip at my arrival told me he still felt that veteran superiority he used to boss Genin and Chuunin back in the day. I narrowed at him for a moment trying to remember his insignificant name in the host of two lifetimes of memories before Lord Funato’s voice broke out.

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“Mizukage-sama, pardon me for not bei-”

“Nonsense! Lord Funato, I am glad to see you awake and speaking even.” I glanced at my councillors and then his sons name snapped to the forefront of my mind, “Ah! Yes, you are Shigeru Funato, yes? Our Lord’s heir.”

The man seemed dignified to be remembered and his lips itched to a smile, “Yes, that I am. And I must thank you for saving my father, Lord Fourth.” He fell to a knee and bowed his head, “You have my eternal gratitude.”

Do I? I wanted to say but restrained myself, it was surprising enough that he put aside whatever rumbles he was drumming up within the clan to bow his head and thank me.

“He would have done the same.” I said, smiling at the old man laid in bed. His arms, head and stomach were bandaged up with a cord flowing through underneath the sheets. I didn’t get how extreme his injuries were but it seemed Lord Funato was in for a long recovery.

Lady Megumi agreed with a hum, “He would.” She looked like she’d shed some tears or was at least genuinely distraught at the sight of the old man in bed. Uncle Aoto breathed in deep, a subtle reminder for us to start our improvised council meeting.

“Shigeru I’ll have to ask you to excuse us while we speak to with your father.” I said, not looking away from the old man though I felt his son’s surprise and slight offence.

“Why would I leave his side?”

Uncle Aoto explained impatiently, “You won’t, this is a privy council, you aren’t counted amongst it.” I remembered Uncle shared my experience with Shigeru, they’d fought in the same war and so he’d surely suffered more of the man’s stubborn headedness.

Shigeru gritted his teeth and was about to yell something when Lord Funato beat him to it, “Shigeru! Do not shame me while I’m in this sorry state.”

In the end the tattooed man marched out of the room, his thankful attitude gone up in flames as soon as it’d come. But once the door shut I took his seat and began, “Alright then, what do you remember so far?”

Lord Funato nodded, “After you left the dojo I…I began to gather myself but I decided to pour some sake.”

Lady Megumi shook her head with a soft smile, “Sake isn’t allowed in the dojo, you still carry some with you ey?”

“Well, I emptied my last bottle and was about to leave when I felt a presence behind me, I called them out and they screamed that this was for the Yuki clan. I defended myself but they were…unbelievable strong or perhaps I am simply weak. I saw her face…Shizu Yuki.”

“The dead one?” Uncle asked, arms folded as his scratched his stubble in concentrated thought.

Lord Funato nodded, “Whether they meant their attack was for the Yuki or the Yūki, I do not know, but whoever they were, they wore her face and it is what I remember.”

“Perhaps this is the work of some…disgruntled members of the clan?” Lady Megumi offered, “It wouldn’t be the first time, perhaps even that child you harbour, Hisako. Shizu was her mentor and the one that coerced her to do her bidding.”

Uncle Aoto sucked his teeth and shook his head, “Ahh, seems too convenient, not to mention reckless. It wasn’t long ago Shizu was put to death, the Yuki are cowed and some are even receiving the attention of the Mizukage, what more would they want by assassinating Lord Funato?”

The old man swallowed hard, “Justice.”

I raised a brow at that answer from him. Perhaps he has changed after all. Still, I shook my head, “Aoto is right, it is far too convenient. I engaged the assailant briefly and I noticed the weapon they used was…unconventional. What kind of assassin uses a chakra rod? There is only one other place I’ve seen that uses that weapon, Amegakure.”

My councillors regarded me with wide eyes at this revelation and Lady Megumi was the first to speak with a sharpness to her voice, “My son first and now Lord Funato, isn’t it about time you tell us what you know about Amegakure and their interest in Kiri, Lord Fourth?”

I shut my eyes and thought, “I will speak once I’ve convened with Mei Terumi, she’s returned and she’s injured as well. Daichi, her partner seems to have been lost but I haven’t gotten any report.”

Horror strewn across Lady Megumi’s features and she nearly screamed, “You are fighting the wrong war, Yagura-sama, Amegakure is clearly against us! We should crush them, now!”

“There’s more.” I said, looking across my councillors again, “It may be true that Ame is against us but we must know how much chaos they’ve sown. Reina Yuki and I discovered that the Kaguya clan were baited into attacking Kiri by an unknown figure, the Kaguya currently living amongst us have had nothing to do with it otherwise. But the stories don’t match us, it is clear someone is attempting to steer Kirigakure in a certain direction.”

I held their gazes, “We mustn’t fall for it.”

Lady Megumi still looked like she could breathe fire— which was plausible— but she restrained herself and nodded along with Aoto and Lord Funato.

I rose from the seat, “Good, the investigation continues, now I have to go speak with Mei. In the meantime, help me keep the peace, I’ll speak with Hidaki as well but I need no more problems, understood?”