忍ぶ意思 Shinobu Ishi
Title: Part 1: Shinobu Ishi
Rating: PG13 (for mild violence)
Pairing: TBA, Ohno-centric
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: two
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Chapter one
Ohno and Nino slowly earned their fame through the village over the next year by completing mission after mission successfully and efficiently. Not only were they slowly rising in rank among the older ninja of the village, but both were still at the young ages of eleven and thirteen. Most of the talk around the houses weren’t of what they currently were, but what they would become.
Nino continued to complain to Ohno of the ease in which they were completing missions (he felt Jyani wasn’t utilizing their full potential) until he was injured during a raid in which they’d been hired to relieve a castle of their explosives. It hadn’t been serious, just a burn from an unexpected blast, but afterwards Ohno had lectured Nino about being more cautious (actually, it had only taken a stern, concerned look, and Nino was already sighing and saying, “I know, I know”). Following that incident, Nino had treated their jobs with a little more care, but still hadn’t lost his overall confident attitude.
The pair had just returned from another mission in which they were to act as a distraction for a traveling group to delay their arrival to the capital city. It had been simple and almost fun but Ohno and Nino had taken care of it with their usual direct approach and hadn’t messed around (more than necessary, at least).
After they turned in their assignment (Nino had become the official scribe after Jyani complimented him on his penmanship and made an offhand comment about Ohno’s own scrawly handwriting), and Jyani reviewed the details with them, they weren’t dismissed as curtly as usual.
Jyani smiled at them with a twinkle in his eye and let the boys look confused until they both lifted their heads to look at him.
He cleared his throat.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone.”
Ohno blinked in delayed comprehension and Nino raised an eyebrow.
A second later, a boy, about as old as they were, dropped from the ceiling through a square door, which was left open behind him. He landed gracefully and dropped immediately to one knee in the pose of a humble servant. He was to the direct right of Jyani and so when he bowed his head, he was facing Ohno and Nino below him.
Ohno noticed Nino’s arm twitch at the sudden entry, but otherwise his friend had maintained his calm expression. Given the warning and knowledge of, not only the layout of the Main Building, but also Jyani’s rare mischievous outbursts, Ohno had already deduced the door in the ceiling as a possible entrance for the person that Jyani wanted them to meet.
“This is Sakurai Sho.” Jyani’s grin softened and he raised a hand to indicate the ninja that was posed beside him.
“Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu*,” the boy said curtly, bobbing his head in a bow.
Nino immediately started stealing glances at him through his eyelashes, obviously trying to keep his curiosity sated and make an equally disciplined impression, but curious at the same time.
Ohno blatantly looked up at the stranger, whose own eyes were focused on the ground between them, and then blinked a few times, turning to his mentor.
The ninja leader finally continued. “Sho has been transferred here from another clan at my request. As you may, or may not know,” Jyani was meeting Ohno’s gaze, but moved to look at Nino on the emphasized words (the boy immediately averted his eyes), “Sho is renowned in the ninja world for being a tactical genius. Not only does he excel in the planning stages, but he also is quick to react and adapt to new situations presented in the battlefield.” His tone was business-like, but it was obvious he was pleased with his new recruit.
But Nino wasn’t impressed.
“Not only does he have intelligence, but he also has experience and combat skills to enhance his abilities. He took his first mission on at age 8.”
Nino scoffed. Ohno took his first mission at age 8, too.
“Sho is also an expert at wielding a bow and is approaching the same ranking in the use of darts.”
Well, Nino could use a bow, too. And darts. What was the big deal?
Ohno glanced over at his friend distractedly and noticed a condescending frown on his face. The older boy lowered his eyes after a second, realizing that he had broken the etiquette of the Missions Hall. Jyani didn’t care if he did, usually, but he thought he should set a good example for any other ninja that might be watching him.
“He is also the newest addition to your group.”
Nino’s head shot up in a second, a look of surprise and horror plastered across it. At least he’d remained calm enough to not make a sound.
Ohno also lifted his face, completely forgetting his worries of etiquette, his eyes slightly wider. Since when had they been a group?
“Because there are three of you now, I’ve had another room prepared in the same hall as your old one. Your things have been moved already and Sho can take you there after we finish.”
Nino opened his mouth to shoot off a question, but immediately stopped at a stern look from Jyani. The ninja leader then turned his head to look at Ohno and gave him a similar gaze.
“Satoshi, from hence forth you will be the captain of this group.” Nino focused his surprise on Ohno now, feeling completely overturned.
“Sir, with all due respect-“ Ohno started, looking mildly anxious, but Jyani raised his hand to stop him.
“In time, all of you will see where my reasons spring from. For now, you must simply follow my orders.”
Ohno’s eyes widened briefly before he bowed his head again, looking at the floor with an uncharacteristic shy expression.
“You are dismissed. Why don’t you show your new comrade around the area? And, of course, you should get to know him as well as you know each other.” Jyani’s tone suddenly turned light hearted and he offered the two sitting in front of him another smile.
Without any more prompting, the three boys stood simultaneously and slunk to the door.
Once they were in the inner hallway again, on a deck that overviewed the garden within, they stood in silence. The atmosphere between them was a little tense, none of them knowing where to start with their newfound responsibility.
Nino took the opportunity to better examine his new “friend”. About as tall as he was, short poufy hair, a sullen look on his face. He seemed pretty normal to Nino.
Ohno also looked at his new comrade, but with less scrutiny and more I don’t know what just happened.
Sho gazed back at Ohno, meeting his eyes with a hard look, and then turned to Nino, his lips still pressed together in a neutral expression.
“So, you’re a tactical genius, huh?” Nino spit out with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical stare.
Sho didn’t miss a beat in responding. “I was educated by Ogura, if that’s what you mean.” Ohno recognized the name as the leader of the neighboring clan, obviously the one that Sho had come from. If that was true, Jyani must have had quite the leverage to take away something so precious to them.
“Oh, he thinks he’s all better than us because he was trained by Ogura,” Nino said in a sarcastic voice, turning to Ohno. It was teasing, but not in a nice way.
The new captain vaguely wondered why his friend was being so defensive around the new member. Although Nino never had any sort of prestige before he moved into the Main Building, he did now, didn’t he? Who cared if they came from different backgrounds? In the end it didn’t matter who was trained by who, just simply what the ninja could do, right? This seemed like one of those social type problems that Ohno just didn’t get.
They returned to silence, Sho not taking the bait Nino set for him, and Ohno not encouraging his friend’s jealous actions.
Nino finally sighed and rolled his eyes, but mumbled, “I’m hungry. Can we go to our room already?”
Sho nodded, still no real emotion crossing his face, and immediately took off in the direction of their new living quarters.
The trio continued without conversation until Sho stopped in front of the door, just barely down the hall from where Ohno and Nino had been sleeping up until then. He slid it open, allowing the other two occupants to enter the room first.
There were three piles of items evenly spaced on the tatami floor, composed of a folded futon, pillow, and any personal items that had been left behind (Ohno discovered that half of Nino’s things had ended up with his in the process).
Nino sauntered over to his mound of trinkets and began digging into it, spreading the tidy pile into a larger mess across the floor; he had been placed in the middle, so a few of his books ended up on Sho’s futon on one side, while some of his clothing got mixed in with Ohno’s on the other.
Sho simply stood at the door with Ohno, since the oldest boy hadn’t actually gone in any farther, and the two of them watched Nino distractedly. Their “Leader” was obviously thinking about something else, while Sho simply looked like he was trying to adjust to his new lifestyle through a detached attitude.
Nino popped up a moment later with a small bag in one hand. He jingled it happily, revealing that there was probably money inside.
“Okay, let’s go!” His attitude had completely shifted and he said these words with a bright smile, and then rushed between the two boys that had been waiting for him.
Sho blinked twice, some sort of emotion finally manifesting itself on his face (confusion), and asked Ohno “Huh?”
“Oh.” Ohno gave him a blank look, slowly following Nino outside. “Whenever we return from a mission, we go and get ramen to celebrate.”
“Oh,” Sho repeated, looking after Nino, who was sighing in exasperation and motioning at them, trying to keep them moving.
With Nino rushing ahead of them, excited for their treat, Ohno and Sho followed a few steps behind him, only halfheartedly keeping the pace up. While they moved, the new addition looked around him, trying to memorize the layout of the building and then the path that they took to the surrounding houses and shops. Although they were technically located in the same village, the Main Building was a short space away from the rest of the community that surrounded it, which was hidden among the trees.
Then, unable to keep his silence any longer with these boys that were supposed to be his new friends, Sho finally began asking his “Leader” a few questions.
“What’s your name?” When he asked this, the other boy blinked at him distractedly, like he was surprised that Sho didn’t already know.
“Ohno Satoshi.” Sho waited for Ohno to continue, but he never did. Instead, his eyes darted back to the other boy ahead of them and Sho could tell he was preoccupied with something else. Apparently the naming of the captain had come as much of a surprise to him as it had to the other two.
In reality, partially since Sho had entered into this situation with barely any information, the prodigy had somehow thought that, if anyone in this group he was joining was going to be the head, it would’ve been him.
He wasn’t exactly disappointed at the news; he’d just figured that he was walking into something he needed to take care of, since it had taken a lot for Ogura to let him go.
For as long as he could remember, Sho had lived with his master in a village that was about a day walk from where his new home was located. He’d heard stories that he had been abandoned as a baby and was taken in by Ogura during one of his many travels, but Sho had learned that things like that didn’t matter. The ninja were as much a family to him as anything he thought he could have made otherwise.
Sho had been taken under Ogura’s wing early on in life. He had trained with a bow since he could hold it, and his master was already consulting him for missions by the time he could consistently hit a target. Sho didn’t know why, but he had been watched after closely, praised for everything, and given the heavy responsibility of taking on missions at a young age.
Sho just sort of figured he was special. He thought that he would be temporarily moving to this town in order to train some other kids, to pass on his talents, but instead he found that he would be here indefinitely, with boys that were his equals (or at least he hoped that was the case).
In short, Sho felt like his life had been turned upside down.
“And what’s his name?” he asked, relaxing a little now that the center attention had drifted away from him.
“Oh,” the boy next to Sho blinked, apparently coming out of another daze, and looked forward at the last member, who hadn’t bothered to enter their conversation. Sho didn’t think he was far enough away to not hear them, but he was certainly acting as if that were the case. “He’s Nino.”
Suddenly said ninja turned around and stopped in his tracks, giving the older boy a reprimanding look. “Ohno, you need to give me a better introduction than that.”
Their Leader simply blinked at him.
“Ninomiya Kazunari!” The unnamed boy finally revealed arrogantly, turning forward again and raising his hand in a parody of a dignified lord. “Known for his excellent hand to hand combat, knowledge of weapons, and quick to react to any situation!”
Sho almost jumped when the boy next to him let out a snicker, a smile on his face. He had seemed so disciplined and out of it earlier that the sudden change came as a surprise.
“Nino, Jyani said that about Sho already. The last part.”
Said boy opened his mouth to reply with a witty answer, but closed it shut almost immediately, looking disgruntled.
“Shut up, Oh-chan.” The nickname only made Ohno giggle harder, and Sho’s face finally cracked into a smile as well. A small one, but a smile nonetheless.
“Hey, don’t you start too, Sho-chan.”
The new boy let his mouth drop in annoyance at the girly nickname that Nino had come up with.
+++
A few days later the boys were called into the Mission Hall again, all three of them seated next to each other with Nino in the middle (he had insisted the first day that he still got to sit next to Ohno) and Jyani looking down at them from his usual seat.
“Although this is only the first mission with the addition of Sho to your group, it’s quite harder than what you’re used to.” Jyani’s expression was sober and he was looking particularly at Nino. "Although the details are in the brief, I'd like to help you with the planning one more time. After this the three of you will be responsible for the entirety of your mission."
The trio of boys looked up at their Lord with serious expressions, hanging on every word that he was about to say.
"This mission is an assassination."
Nino's gulp was heard by the two boys beside him and it was obvious why this mission was going to be more of a challenge. In the time Nino and Ohno had been working together, they had done a variety of jobs, but individually they had all been very simple: stealing items, obtaining information, acting as protection, and the like. But they had never taken on a mission that was purely dependent on combat. Ohno thought it was because Jyani was trying to spare Nino from exposure to such harsh circumstances, but it was inevitable it would happen with the way the group was progressing.
"You'll be staking out Ugo pass. The procession should be heading through there within the week, but we don't have a detailed explanation of their schedule, so you'll be leaving tomorrow morning and be camping out until the mission is complete."
Ohno nodded to show that he understood the details so far. Nino hadn't been able to move yet and was staring at his hands. Sho was darting looks at Nino out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the news.
"Once the group has been spotted, you should track them until dusk and then proceed with the assassination. This will give you the advantage of reduced light, since your adversaries probably won't be as highly trained as you are. Of course you should never underestimate them, but planning is the most crucial part in the mission process. Any weaknesses we can expose will only help us."
Jyani paused again, letting the information sink in slowly. He knew that Satoshi, at least, needed the extra time to sort out his thoughts. He'd have to work on that in the future if he was going to be Leader, but Jyani wasn't going to put that pressure on him until he had grown up a little more.
"Once you make contact, your target is the main carriage. There will be another team of ninja stationed in the same area that will cause a distraction to the head of the procession, which is your signal to attack. You will be responsible for the assassination and nothing else." Jyani gave each of the boys firms stares before continuing on with his plan. "Satoshi. You will guard the carriage's rear, trusting that the other group has decommissioned any opponent in front of you. Sho will accompany you, sniping any approaching enemies with his bow."
The next words stuck on Jyani's tongue. He knew it was the most logical and effective option, but that didn't stop the bile from rising in his throat.
"Kazunari, you will complete the assassination."
The boy’s expression didn't change at his assignment, but he took a deep breath and his eyes closed momentarily. Satoshi looked at him in concern and Jyani was almost surprised the boy didn't reach out to comfort his friend. His prodigy must have taken the assignment of Leader more seriously than Jyani had anticipated, imitating his master closer than he would probably ever know.
"Although you have no experience in this area, Kazunari, you are the fastest thinker and able to anticipate any problems that would arise. Your creativity will only help you in a situation where you'll have minimum support."
Nino nodded and Jyani was mildly stunned that Sho was also looking at his companion with worry, even though the group had only been together a few days. The ninja leader had figured Ogura's boy would be harder to crack than that, even for Nino and Ohno.
"I understand," Kazunari said in a weak voice when the room remained silent after Jyani's words.
The lord nodded to all of his subordinates and shuffled the papers he was holding.
"As for the rest of the details..."
+++
They boys slowly trudged back to their shared quarters and Sho could tell that Nino's hands were shaking no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He was wringing them together in front of him, rubbing the back of his knuckles and not meeting Sho’s or Ohno’s concerned looks. He was nervous, terrified, and Sho knew exactly why.
"You've never killed anyone before have you?" he asked quietly. His voice sounded full of regret, even to Sho's own ears. There was a reason, though. Watching someone's life drift away in front of your eyes and knowing you were the one that caused it, that you had cut off any potential they had to create something wonderful...
Although Sho had already dealt with his own problems, he couldn't erase the trauma that still occasionally woke him at night.
Nino turned to him. It appeared that he was trying to come up with his trademark witty response, but his eyes were dark with fear and after a second of remaining silent, his mouth dropped in a worried frown. He looked back down at his hands, and Sho noticed Ohno still watching his friend apprehensively with wrinkled eyebrows. He hadn't said or done anything to comfort him yet, though.
"No. I'll do my best." Nino replied and his swallow afterward only added to his nervous attitude.
"Well, that's not..." Sho started, but stopped himself.
There was nothing he could say to change the situation. It was just something that needed to be done. If Nino was serious about being a ninja, a good one, he would be faced with the situation eventually, and hesitating in such an instance could cost you your own life.
Sho didn't want that. Even if Nino was a little traumatized afterwards, it was better than dead.
+++
That night, which they spent in their room with plans to leave early the next morning, none of them could sleep.
Ohno, Nino to his right, was staring up in the barely visible ceiling. The leader wanted to help his friend, but he couldn't. He wished he could take the responsibility from him, but Ohno wasn't as smart or witty as Nino, and he knew that he was more likely to mess up the mission than succeed, if that were the case.
No. It had to be Nino.
Ohno gripped his futon tighter and he heard his friend adjust his own bedding next to him.
Nino was also staring up at the ceiling and playing with his blankets, trying to quell the anxiety that had grabbed onto his stomach. He hadn't been able to eat anything since their mission announcement, and although he tried to think positive about the situation, telling himself it would be fine, once he was there his instincts would take over and everything would go smoothly, he couldn’t stop running various scenarios through his head, most of them turning out badly.
There were so many things that could wrong. If he failed...
Nino pushed down his doubt and cleared his throat.
"Sho?" His voice was only a whisper, but the last member of the room was just as awake and nervous as the other two.
"Yeah?"
"Y-you... I mean... You've killed... a person before... right?" The tremble in his voice was obvious and his hesitation tore at Sho's heart.
This was for the best, he told himself again.
It was a second before Sho replied.
"Yes. I've killed five times." His voice was strong, but not loud, and serious. He wasn't bragging; he was just giving Nino as much information to prepare him as he needed.
There was a sound like Nino taking a deep breath.
"What did it feel like?" he asked, the words full of emotion. Fascination, anticipation, hurt.
As Sho tried to organize his thoughts, the silence of the room turned heavier, something the boy thought was impossible.
"I... It's..." He couldn't think of the proper words immediately and found himself wavering. "It's like you’re the one dying."
Nino shifted his head to look over at Sho, and Sho returned the motion, the two of them staring at each other in the light from the moon that was barely there.
"You'll complete the action without a second thought, but..."
The tactician swallowed back a mouthful of anguish that he hadn't realize had built up.
"But afterwards, when you see their eyes slowly lose their focus and they go limp in your hands, you'll feel an overwhelming sensation.”
He couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.
"You'll feel relieved that you're still alive, but your heart will swell up and you'll think for a second that they might have a family or friends and what's going to happen to them now?"
Sho hurriedly wiped away a tear that he hadn't notice form in the corner of his eye and took a breath than was shakier than he had anticipated. He'd said more than he'd meant to.
"Sh-Sho?" Their eyes met again and Nino's shone with tears, too. "C-can I...?" he half sobbed and pushed himself up off the floor, his blanket falling haphazardly to the side.
Knowing exactly what his friend was looking for, Sho threw back his own covers and Nino darted across the floor on his hands and knees, pushing himself into Sho's chest.
As Nino began sobbing, somewhat silently, the other boy held him tightly and patted his back, trying to use the actions to comfort himself as well.
Ohno listened to the entire exchange, unable to offer any help to Nino himself.
It wasn't that he didn't care, he cared more than anything in the whole world.
Nino had never opened up to him before. They were best friends, but for as long as they'd been together Ohno knew that Nino had always felt inferior to him. Ohno thought that he shouldn't, that Nino was better than him in so many ways, but his friend was always trying to put up a tough front to Ohno, who showed minimal emotions and didn't understand the hurt that Nino had lived with for a good portion of his life. Nino had dedicated their time together to trying to look cool in front of Ohno, even though Ohno already thought he was cool, and the one time that Nino had begun crying (after the incident in which he had been burned) he had pushed Ohno away and wiped the tears away himself. He politely asked Ohno to give him a moment alone and, not knowing what else to do, the boy complied.
As Nino's cries began to fade, Ohno closed his own eyes and sighed quietly. He was thankful that there was finally someone else to help Nino, to support him better than Ohno could. Sho understood something that Ohno knew he was missing.
+++
*Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu is usually translated as “Nice to meet you,” since it works in the same way, but it literally means “Please favor me”. This is a really polite way of saying it.
A/N: I'm not going to use Japanese in this fic other than this phrase because it's so hard to translate into something understandable.
Also, as you can see, no banner yet. >A< I didn't have time to make it, but it's on my to-do list, okay? In fact, I almost forgot to post this because I got distracted with the new concert DVD (Yes, I finally watched Arashi's Training Camp!!! It was so much fun!!) and talking with yarukizero about it. If only I had some motivation to write something too. Maybe it'll come.
Anyway, how was this? Still not moving much yet, but I promise there will be some action in the next chapter (just in case that's what you're looking for).
Chapter three
Rating: PG13 (for mild violence)
Pairing: TBA, Ohno-centric
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: two
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Chapter one
Ohno and Nino slowly earned their fame through the village over the next year by completing mission after mission successfully and efficiently. Not only were they slowly rising in rank among the older ninja of the village, but both were still at the young ages of eleven and thirteen. Most of the talk around the houses weren’t of what they currently were, but what they would become.
Nino continued to complain to Ohno of the ease in which they were completing missions (he felt Jyani wasn’t utilizing their full potential) until he was injured during a raid in which they’d been hired to relieve a castle of their explosives. It hadn’t been serious, just a burn from an unexpected blast, but afterwards Ohno had lectured Nino about being more cautious (actually, it had only taken a stern, concerned look, and Nino was already sighing and saying, “I know, I know”). Following that incident, Nino had treated their jobs with a little more care, but still hadn’t lost his overall confident attitude.
The pair had just returned from another mission in which they were to act as a distraction for a traveling group to delay their arrival to the capital city. It had been simple and almost fun but Ohno and Nino had taken care of it with their usual direct approach and hadn’t messed around (more than necessary, at least).
After they turned in their assignment (Nino had become the official scribe after Jyani complimented him on his penmanship and made an offhand comment about Ohno’s own scrawly handwriting), and Jyani reviewed the details with them, they weren’t dismissed as curtly as usual.
Jyani smiled at them with a twinkle in his eye and let the boys look confused until they both lifted their heads to look at him.
He cleared his throat.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone.”
Ohno blinked in delayed comprehension and Nino raised an eyebrow.
A second later, a boy, about as old as they were, dropped from the ceiling through a square door, which was left open behind him. He landed gracefully and dropped immediately to one knee in the pose of a humble servant. He was to the direct right of Jyani and so when he bowed his head, he was facing Ohno and Nino below him.
Ohno noticed Nino’s arm twitch at the sudden entry, but otherwise his friend had maintained his calm expression. Given the warning and knowledge of, not only the layout of the Main Building, but also Jyani’s rare mischievous outbursts, Ohno had already deduced the door in the ceiling as a possible entrance for the person that Jyani wanted them to meet.
“This is Sakurai Sho.” Jyani’s grin softened and he raised a hand to indicate the ninja that was posed beside him.
“Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu*,” the boy said curtly, bobbing his head in a bow.
Nino immediately started stealing glances at him through his eyelashes, obviously trying to keep his curiosity sated and make an equally disciplined impression, but curious at the same time.
Ohno blatantly looked up at the stranger, whose own eyes were focused on the ground between them, and then blinked a few times, turning to his mentor.
The ninja leader finally continued. “Sho has been transferred here from another clan at my request. As you may, or may not know,” Jyani was meeting Ohno’s gaze, but moved to look at Nino on the emphasized words (the boy immediately averted his eyes), “Sho is renowned in the ninja world for being a tactical genius. Not only does he excel in the planning stages, but he also is quick to react and adapt to new situations presented in the battlefield.” His tone was business-like, but it was obvious he was pleased with his new recruit.
But Nino wasn’t impressed.
“Not only does he have intelligence, but he also has experience and combat skills to enhance his abilities. He took his first mission on at age 8.”
Nino scoffed. Ohno took his first mission at age 8, too.
“Sho is also an expert at wielding a bow and is approaching the same ranking in the use of darts.”
Well, Nino could use a bow, too. And darts. What was the big deal?
Ohno glanced over at his friend distractedly and noticed a condescending frown on his face. The older boy lowered his eyes after a second, realizing that he had broken the etiquette of the Missions Hall. Jyani didn’t care if he did, usually, but he thought he should set a good example for any other ninja that might be watching him.
“He is also the newest addition to your group.”
Nino’s head shot up in a second, a look of surprise and horror plastered across it. At least he’d remained calm enough to not make a sound.
Ohno also lifted his face, completely forgetting his worries of etiquette, his eyes slightly wider. Since when had they been a group?
“Because there are three of you now, I’ve had another room prepared in the same hall as your old one. Your things have been moved already and Sho can take you there after we finish.”
Nino opened his mouth to shoot off a question, but immediately stopped at a stern look from Jyani. The ninja leader then turned his head to look at Ohno and gave him a similar gaze.
“Satoshi, from hence forth you will be the captain of this group.” Nino focused his surprise on Ohno now, feeling completely overturned.
“Sir, with all due respect-“ Ohno started, looking mildly anxious, but Jyani raised his hand to stop him.
“In time, all of you will see where my reasons spring from. For now, you must simply follow my orders.”
Ohno’s eyes widened briefly before he bowed his head again, looking at the floor with an uncharacteristic shy expression.
“You are dismissed. Why don’t you show your new comrade around the area? And, of course, you should get to know him as well as you know each other.” Jyani’s tone suddenly turned light hearted and he offered the two sitting in front of him another smile.
Without any more prompting, the three boys stood simultaneously and slunk to the door.
Once they were in the inner hallway again, on a deck that overviewed the garden within, they stood in silence. The atmosphere between them was a little tense, none of them knowing where to start with their newfound responsibility.
Nino took the opportunity to better examine his new “friend”. About as tall as he was, short poufy hair, a sullen look on his face. He seemed pretty normal to Nino.
Ohno also looked at his new comrade, but with less scrutiny and more I don’t know what just happened.
Sho gazed back at Ohno, meeting his eyes with a hard look, and then turned to Nino, his lips still pressed together in a neutral expression.
“So, you’re a tactical genius, huh?” Nino spit out with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical stare.
Sho didn’t miss a beat in responding. “I was educated by Ogura, if that’s what you mean.” Ohno recognized the name as the leader of the neighboring clan, obviously the one that Sho had come from. If that was true, Jyani must have had quite the leverage to take away something so precious to them.
“Oh, he thinks he’s all better than us because he was trained by Ogura,” Nino said in a sarcastic voice, turning to Ohno. It was teasing, but not in a nice way.
The new captain vaguely wondered why his friend was being so defensive around the new member. Although Nino never had any sort of prestige before he moved into the Main Building, he did now, didn’t he? Who cared if they came from different backgrounds? In the end it didn’t matter who was trained by who, just simply what the ninja could do, right? This seemed like one of those social type problems that Ohno just didn’t get.
They returned to silence, Sho not taking the bait Nino set for him, and Ohno not encouraging his friend’s jealous actions.
Nino finally sighed and rolled his eyes, but mumbled, “I’m hungry. Can we go to our room already?”
Sho nodded, still no real emotion crossing his face, and immediately took off in the direction of their new living quarters.
The trio continued without conversation until Sho stopped in front of the door, just barely down the hall from where Ohno and Nino had been sleeping up until then. He slid it open, allowing the other two occupants to enter the room first.
There were three piles of items evenly spaced on the tatami floor, composed of a folded futon, pillow, and any personal items that had been left behind (Ohno discovered that half of Nino’s things had ended up with his in the process).
Nino sauntered over to his mound of trinkets and began digging into it, spreading the tidy pile into a larger mess across the floor; he had been placed in the middle, so a few of his books ended up on Sho’s futon on one side, while some of his clothing got mixed in with Ohno’s on the other.
Sho simply stood at the door with Ohno, since the oldest boy hadn’t actually gone in any farther, and the two of them watched Nino distractedly. Their “Leader” was obviously thinking about something else, while Sho simply looked like he was trying to adjust to his new lifestyle through a detached attitude.
Nino popped up a moment later with a small bag in one hand. He jingled it happily, revealing that there was probably money inside.
“Okay, let’s go!” His attitude had completely shifted and he said these words with a bright smile, and then rushed between the two boys that had been waiting for him.
Sho blinked twice, some sort of emotion finally manifesting itself on his face (confusion), and asked Ohno “Huh?”
“Oh.” Ohno gave him a blank look, slowly following Nino outside. “Whenever we return from a mission, we go and get ramen to celebrate.”
“Oh,” Sho repeated, looking after Nino, who was sighing in exasperation and motioning at them, trying to keep them moving.
With Nino rushing ahead of them, excited for their treat, Ohno and Sho followed a few steps behind him, only halfheartedly keeping the pace up. While they moved, the new addition looked around him, trying to memorize the layout of the building and then the path that they took to the surrounding houses and shops. Although they were technically located in the same village, the Main Building was a short space away from the rest of the community that surrounded it, which was hidden among the trees.
Then, unable to keep his silence any longer with these boys that were supposed to be his new friends, Sho finally began asking his “Leader” a few questions.
“What’s your name?” When he asked this, the other boy blinked at him distractedly, like he was surprised that Sho didn’t already know.
“Ohno Satoshi.” Sho waited for Ohno to continue, but he never did. Instead, his eyes darted back to the other boy ahead of them and Sho could tell he was preoccupied with something else. Apparently the naming of the captain had come as much of a surprise to him as it had to the other two.
In reality, partially since Sho had entered into this situation with barely any information, the prodigy had somehow thought that, if anyone in this group he was joining was going to be the head, it would’ve been him.
He wasn’t exactly disappointed at the news; he’d just figured that he was walking into something he needed to take care of, since it had taken a lot for Ogura to let him go.
For as long as he could remember, Sho had lived with his master in a village that was about a day walk from where his new home was located. He’d heard stories that he had been abandoned as a baby and was taken in by Ogura during one of his many travels, but Sho had learned that things like that didn’t matter. The ninja were as much a family to him as anything he thought he could have made otherwise.
Sho had been taken under Ogura’s wing early on in life. He had trained with a bow since he could hold it, and his master was already consulting him for missions by the time he could consistently hit a target. Sho didn’t know why, but he had been watched after closely, praised for everything, and given the heavy responsibility of taking on missions at a young age.
Sho just sort of figured he was special. He thought that he would be temporarily moving to this town in order to train some other kids, to pass on his talents, but instead he found that he would be here indefinitely, with boys that were his equals (or at least he hoped that was the case).
In short, Sho felt like his life had been turned upside down.
“And what’s his name?” he asked, relaxing a little now that the center attention had drifted away from him.
“Oh,” the boy next to Sho blinked, apparently coming out of another daze, and looked forward at the last member, who hadn’t bothered to enter their conversation. Sho didn’t think he was far enough away to not hear them, but he was certainly acting as if that were the case. “He’s Nino.”
Suddenly said ninja turned around and stopped in his tracks, giving the older boy a reprimanding look. “Ohno, you need to give me a better introduction than that.”
Their Leader simply blinked at him.
“Ninomiya Kazunari!” The unnamed boy finally revealed arrogantly, turning forward again and raising his hand in a parody of a dignified lord. “Known for his excellent hand to hand combat, knowledge of weapons, and quick to react to any situation!”
Sho almost jumped when the boy next to him let out a snicker, a smile on his face. He had seemed so disciplined and out of it earlier that the sudden change came as a surprise.
“Nino, Jyani said that about Sho already. The last part.”
Said boy opened his mouth to reply with a witty answer, but closed it shut almost immediately, looking disgruntled.
“Shut up, Oh-chan.” The nickname only made Ohno giggle harder, and Sho’s face finally cracked into a smile as well. A small one, but a smile nonetheless.
“Hey, don’t you start too, Sho-chan.”
The new boy let his mouth drop in annoyance at the girly nickname that Nino had come up with.
+++
A few days later the boys were called into the Mission Hall again, all three of them seated next to each other with Nino in the middle (he had insisted the first day that he still got to sit next to Ohno) and Jyani looking down at them from his usual seat.
“Although this is only the first mission with the addition of Sho to your group, it’s quite harder than what you’re used to.” Jyani’s expression was sober and he was looking particularly at Nino. "Although the details are in the brief, I'd like to help you with the planning one more time. After this the three of you will be responsible for the entirety of your mission."
The trio of boys looked up at their Lord with serious expressions, hanging on every word that he was about to say.
"This mission is an assassination."
Nino's gulp was heard by the two boys beside him and it was obvious why this mission was going to be more of a challenge. In the time Nino and Ohno had been working together, they had done a variety of jobs, but individually they had all been very simple: stealing items, obtaining information, acting as protection, and the like. But they had never taken on a mission that was purely dependent on combat. Ohno thought it was because Jyani was trying to spare Nino from exposure to such harsh circumstances, but it was inevitable it would happen with the way the group was progressing.
"You'll be staking out Ugo pass. The procession should be heading through there within the week, but we don't have a detailed explanation of their schedule, so you'll be leaving tomorrow morning and be camping out until the mission is complete."
Ohno nodded to show that he understood the details so far. Nino hadn't been able to move yet and was staring at his hands. Sho was darting looks at Nino out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the news.
"Once the group has been spotted, you should track them until dusk and then proceed with the assassination. This will give you the advantage of reduced light, since your adversaries probably won't be as highly trained as you are. Of course you should never underestimate them, but planning is the most crucial part in the mission process. Any weaknesses we can expose will only help us."
Jyani paused again, letting the information sink in slowly. He knew that Satoshi, at least, needed the extra time to sort out his thoughts. He'd have to work on that in the future if he was going to be Leader, but Jyani wasn't going to put that pressure on him until he had grown up a little more.
"Once you make contact, your target is the main carriage. There will be another team of ninja stationed in the same area that will cause a distraction to the head of the procession, which is your signal to attack. You will be responsible for the assassination and nothing else." Jyani gave each of the boys firms stares before continuing on with his plan. "Satoshi. You will guard the carriage's rear, trusting that the other group has decommissioned any opponent in front of you. Sho will accompany you, sniping any approaching enemies with his bow."
The next words stuck on Jyani's tongue. He knew it was the most logical and effective option, but that didn't stop the bile from rising in his throat.
"Kazunari, you will complete the assassination."
The boy’s expression didn't change at his assignment, but he took a deep breath and his eyes closed momentarily. Satoshi looked at him in concern and Jyani was almost surprised the boy didn't reach out to comfort his friend. His prodigy must have taken the assignment of Leader more seriously than Jyani had anticipated, imitating his master closer than he would probably ever know.
"Although you have no experience in this area, Kazunari, you are the fastest thinker and able to anticipate any problems that would arise. Your creativity will only help you in a situation where you'll have minimum support."
Nino nodded and Jyani was mildly stunned that Sho was also looking at his companion with worry, even though the group had only been together a few days. The ninja leader had figured Ogura's boy would be harder to crack than that, even for Nino and Ohno.
"I understand," Kazunari said in a weak voice when the room remained silent after Jyani's words.
The lord nodded to all of his subordinates and shuffled the papers he was holding.
"As for the rest of the details..."
+++
They boys slowly trudged back to their shared quarters and Sho could tell that Nino's hands were shaking no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He was wringing them together in front of him, rubbing the back of his knuckles and not meeting Sho’s or Ohno’s concerned looks. He was nervous, terrified, and Sho knew exactly why.
"You've never killed anyone before have you?" he asked quietly. His voice sounded full of regret, even to Sho's own ears. There was a reason, though. Watching someone's life drift away in front of your eyes and knowing you were the one that caused it, that you had cut off any potential they had to create something wonderful...
Although Sho had already dealt with his own problems, he couldn't erase the trauma that still occasionally woke him at night.
Nino turned to him. It appeared that he was trying to come up with his trademark witty response, but his eyes were dark with fear and after a second of remaining silent, his mouth dropped in a worried frown. He looked back down at his hands, and Sho noticed Ohno still watching his friend apprehensively with wrinkled eyebrows. He hadn't said or done anything to comfort him yet, though.
"No. I'll do my best." Nino replied and his swallow afterward only added to his nervous attitude.
"Well, that's not..." Sho started, but stopped himself.
There was nothing he could say to change the situation. It was just something that needed to be done. If Nino was serious about being a ninja, a good one, he would be faced with the situation eventually, and hesitating in such an instance could cost you your own life.
Sho didn't want that. Even if Nino was a little traumatized afterwards, it was better than dead.
+++
That night, which they spent in their room with plans to leave early the next morning, none of them could sleep.
Ohno, Nino to his right, was staring up in the barely visible ceiling. The leader wanted to help his friend, but he couldn't. He wished he could take the responsibility from him, but Ohno wasn't as smart or witty as Nino, and he knew that he was more likely to mess up the mission than succeed, if that were the case.
No. It had to be Nino.
Ohno gripped his futon tighter and he heard his friend adjust his own bedding next to him.
Nino was also staring up at the ceiling and playing with his blankets, trying to quell the anxiety that had grabbed onto his stomach. He hadn't been able to eat anything since their mission announcement, and although he tried to think positive about the situation, telling himself it would be fine, once he was there his instincts would take over and everything would go smoothly, he couldn’t stop running various scenarios through his head, most of them turning out badly.
There were so many things that could wrong. If he failed...
Nino pushed down his doubt and cleared his throat.
"Sho?" His voice was only a whisper, but the last member of the room was just as awake and nervous as the other two.
"Yeah?"
"Y-you... I mean... You've killed... a person before... right?" The tremble in his voice was obvious and his hesitation tore at Sho's heart.
This was for the best, he told himself again.
It was a second before Sho replied.
"Yes. I've killed five times." His voice was strong, but not loud, and serious. He wasn't bragging; he was just giving Nino as much information to prepare him as he needed.
There was a sound like Nino taking a deep breath.
"What did it feel like?" he asked, the words full of emotion. Fascination, anticipation, hurt.
As Sho tried to organize his thoughts, the silence of the room turned heavier, something the boy thought was impossible.
"I... It's..." He couldn't think of the proper words immediately and found himself wavering. "It's like you’re the one dying."
Nino shifted his head to look over at Sho, and Sho returned the motion, the two of them staring at each other in the light from the moon that was barely there.
"You'll complete the action without a second thought, but..."
The tactician swallowed back a mouthful of anguish that he hadn't realize had built up.
"But afterwards, when you see their eyes slowly lose their focus and they go limp in your hands, you'll feel an overwhelming sensation.”
He couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.
"You'll feel relieved that you're still alive, but your heart will swell up and you'll think for a second that they might have a family or friends and what's going to happen to them now?"
Sho hurriedly wiped away a tear that he hadn't notice form in the corner of his eye and took a breath than was shakier than he had anticipated. He'd said more than he'd meant to.
"Sh-Sho?" Their eyes met again and Nino's shone with tears, too. "C-can I...?" he half sobbed and pushed himself up off the floor, his blanket falling haphazardly to the side.
Knowing exactly what his friend was looking for, Sho threw back his own covers and Nino darted across the floor on his hands and knees, pushing himself into Sho's chest.
As Nino began sobbing, somewhat silently, the other boy held him tightly and patted his back, trying to use the actions to comfort himself as well.
Ohno listened to the entire exchange, unable to offer any help to Nino himself.
It wasn't that he didn't care, he cared more than anything in the whole world.
Nino had never opened up to him before. They were best friends, but for as long as they'd been together Ohno knew that Nino had always felt inferior to him. Ohno thought that he shouldn't, that Nino was better than him in so many ways, but his friend was always trying to put up a tough front to Ohno, who showed minimal emotions and didn't understand the hurt that Nino had lived with for a good portion of his life. Nino had dedicated their time together to trying to look cool in front of Ohno, even though Ohno already thought he was cool, and the one time that Nino had begun crying (after the incident in which he had been burned) he had pushed Ohno away and wiped the tears away himself. He politely asked Ohno to give him a moment alone and, not knowing what else to do, the boy complied.
As Nino's cries began to fade, Ohno closed his own eyes and sighed quietly. He was thankful that there was finally someone else to help Nino, to support him better than Ohno could. Sho understood something that Ohno knew he was missing.
+++
*Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu is usually translated as “Nice to meet you,” since it works in the same way, but it literally means “Please favor me”. This is a really polite way of saying it.
A/N: I'm not going to use Japanese in this fic other than this phrase because it's so hard to translate into something understandable.
Also, as you can see, no banner yet. >A< I didn't have time to make it, but it's on my to-do list, okay? In fact, I almost forgot to post this because I got distracted with the new concert DVD (Yes, I finally watched Arashi's Training Camp!!! It was so much fun!!) and talking with yarukizero about it. If only I had some motivation to write something too. Maybe it'll come.
Anyway, how was this? Still not moving much yet, but I promise there will be some action in the next chapter (just in case that's what you're looking for).
Chapter three