忍ぶ心 Shinobu Kokoro
Title: Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro
Rating: PG13 (for mild violence)
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: eight
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?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Arashi, as they were now called, grew stronger with each new challenge they faced, just as Jyani knew they would. Since that fateful mission two years ago, in which Kazunari had been wounded so badly, the group had dissolved their apprehension and was now actively pursuing challenges instead of allowing Jyani to pick them out for them. They spent much of them time filtering in and out of the missions office, seeing what there was to offer and then bringing them to Jyani, and although they seemed to skip over missions where the goal was to kill someone, they were still picking out the most difficult and challenging ones.
And that made the ninja leader so proud he couldn’t hold in his smile whenever he saw one of them.
But, along with their steady progression into something legendary, an obvious flaw was becoming exposed.
It wasn’t so large that anyone except for Jyani, who scrutinized the group closer than anyone else, would notice, but it would most certainly become a problem in no time at all.
They must have been trying to keep it hidden, because he hadn’t noticed any changes in the essence of Arashi until only a few months ago. And he might have let it slide if he’d simply found out about it by accident instead of coming to notice the way that Sho was treating Kazunari differently than Masaki or Satoshi.
But once the wheels in Jyani’s mind starting turning, he’d immediately seen the same difference in Kazunari’s attitude towards Sho.
Of course Jyani didn’t discourage relationships within his village; actually it was quite the opposite. If you had someone to tie you down to the community, it was harder to betray him and leave. And although a man and a woman was the preferred coupling, since they could produce a baby, in a tiny place like this where men outnumber women five to one, it certainly wasn’t unheard of for two men to engage in sexual activities or a relationship.
But there was certainly a big difference between a relationship and love.
Love made you do stupid things.
Love was the kind of emotion that encouraged a ninja to take his partner and leave instead of rooting them in place.
Love made you take bigger risks more often than was appropriate for someone in this profession.
He had to nip this in the bud before something happened to his precious Arashi and they fell apart.
And so Sho and Kazunari were seating across from him with curious expressions on their faces. Usually they were called in to him in a group, not separately, and when they were, it was only one of them, typically Ohno.
Over the last two years Sakurai Sho had grown into a fine young man. At the ripe age of seventeen, he had mastered the use of darts and had begun dabbling in the art of needles and acupuncture. Although Satoshi was still technically the leader of the group, Sho had started planning out most of their strategies before the mission and had taken it upon himself to double check their equipment and weapons before departure.
Kazunari, too, although more than a year younger than Sho, had progressed more than Jyani ever imagined he would. He had now gotten to a point in which he could pick up any weapon, even a sword (which had been his weak point before) and handle it like a professional. It was true having that wide of a range of weapons made one lose technique, but Nino handled the versatility so well that it didn’t matter than his expertise was lacking. If a spear wasn’t doing it for him, he’d drop it for a bow. He had taking a liking to the sais, though, and Jyani had allowed him to buy and carry a pair on his person. Recently, the ninja lord had also seen his boy messing around with illusions (often called magic by lower ranking ninja), which had been a pleasant revelation.
Ohno and Aiba, too, had also done well.
Ohno was no surprise. Jyani knew from the first time he’d seen the boy standing the rubble that was once his village that, if he could recover from the trauma he’d experienced, Satoshi would be a powerful ally. He had never once neglected Jyani or the village in the entire time he’d been there, and although the possibility of losing his friends had put Ohno in a panic, Jyani knew what the boy’s answer would be to that situation. He had raised him too well.
Satoshi’s sword skills had improved, too, making him the sought after leader of Arashi, either to challenge the ninja or to beg him for training. Some had even come to Jyani to implore his boy teach them the way of the sword, but the leader of the village always allowed Satoshi to make his own decisions on that front. And so far the swordsman hadn’t taken even one pupil, with the exception of Nino.
As for Aiba, after dedicating himself to learning herbalist healing, the boy had become the permanent support ninja for the group. They hadn’t been to the medical wing of the Main Building since Nino’s near fatal stab wound; either Aiba would take care of an injury on the spot or in place of a support ninja once they were back at the Main Building.
A situation like that had happened just last night, when Arashi had returned from their most recent mission. Ohno, who was usually the one sporting the scrapes due to his position in direct combat, had come back with a nasty cut on his arm. Aiba, of course, had treated it before leaving the scene, but had had to reopen the wound when it got inflected due to traces of rust that had been left by the enemy’s neglected weapon.
Upon hearing the details that morning, confirming everything that Jyani had suspected went wrong, the ninja lord had been propelled to take action against the blooming relationship within the group.
He started with a firm look, so the pair across from him would immediately feel the somberness of what Jyani had to discuss with them.
After he had their direct attention, the man didn’t hesitate to start right in the on the subject.
“I’ve noticed that two of you have gotten close recently.”
Nino glanced at Sho, who was looking nervous at the statement. Neither of them was sure how to respond, so both sets of eyes eventually fell in their usual place right before Jyani’s feet, avoiding direct eye contact.
“I’ve warned you in the past that love is not something for ninja,” the older man continued with a harsh tone. “Love is for country maids who stare up at the sky in wonder, for singing bards who can’t make their living any other way.”
Nino swallowed. The slim chance that Jyani had been talking about something else or had brought them in to congratulate them had completely disappeared.
“Love,” the ninja lord continued with a hard voice, one that was full of disdain, “is for thieves, who must use every trick they know in order to be successful.”
He wanted nothing more right now than to reach out his hand and squeeze Sho’s for support, as he had so many times before, but certainly something like that would only be counterproductive.
After sighing, Jyani’s expression lightened a little and his tone became softer. “I care not what you do in bed when the day is done. But do not,” he paused for dramatic effect, “do not let this… thing interfere with your abilities as a group.”
Nino stole a glance at Jyani, hatred rising in his stomach.
Why was loving Sho wrong? Why was being happy wrong?
His jaw tightened and it was all the boy could to keep his mouth shut.
But Jyani saw his reaction and prodded him with a dangerous voice.
“Speak, Kazunari.”
Nino averted his eyes towards the door and away from Sho. He wasn’t going to take the bait that easily.
“I cannot properly take care of this situation if you are keeping something more from me. What is it you’re feeling?” The tone was slightly sarcastic now, but still low and demanding. “Speak, Kazunari.”
Nino’s throat constricted in nervousness. He had never heard this tone from his lord. Never in his entire life. If he was honest he’d say he was scared, but now he’d just try to put on a tough front and so he turned sharply back to Jyani.
“I don’t understand,” he replied, his tone just as harsh as the man’s in front of him had been. “I don’t understand why we can’t love each other.”
Jyani let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He knew with Kazunari being as stubborn as he was that a mere scolding wouldn’t do. He’d have to pull out all the stops, make it blatantly clear why this had to end.
Before speaking again, Jyani met Nino’s intense gaze and took a deep breath. He then turned to Sho, who was also looking at him with wide eyes, and pitied the boy for a second for getting caught up with the younger ninja seated next to him. Sho had held such promise as a complacent subordinate, like Ohno was. He had never tested Jyani’s wrath until now, and it was too bad it had had to come to this.
“Kazunari,” Jyani’s voice had lightened a little bit and he had changed to a lecturing tone. He actually pitied the weapons master, too, for not understanding already what Jyani was about to explain to him. “Picture this situation in your head for a moment:
“You’re in the middle of a mission, fighting off enemy shoulders, and you had to choose between saving Sho or saving Satoshi. What would your decision be?”
“I’d save whoever needed help more.”
Jyani grinned, although still bitterly. It had been a quick and witty reply, as expected of his student.
The two of them were looking at him curiously as Jyani paused, as if not understanding what he was getting at with his simple question.
“That’s correct,” the older man admitted, but with a dark overshadow on the top of his face. “But it’s easy to say such a thing and another thing entirely to carry it out. But let me explain.
“When you’re out on your mission, your mind will be full of Sho, wondering where he is and if he’s safe. Once you come to the part where you must make your decision, you will see only Sho and not Ohno. You will save Sho, not realizing that anyone else is in danger. Love will cloud your judgment like that. It won’t be until it’s too late that you’ll realize your mistake.”
Soberness flashed across Nino’s eyes and Jyani knew that he had gotten across to him. The easiest way to appeal to the boy was to use something else that was important to him, in this case his oldest friend, Satoshi.
“For the sake of saving Sho, whom you love dearly, will you sacrifice Ohno, whom you also love dearly?”
Nino gazed down at his hands in shame, and Sho glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, with an identical expression.
It was silent in the hall for a few moments while Jyani allowed his boys to think about the seriousness of what they were pursuing between them and if it was worth taking so many risks on other fronts.
Since the conversation had finally come to the point, the lord sighed lightly and frowned at what the two boys were forcing him to do.
“I want both of you to repledge your allegiance to me and the village.”
Sho and Nino looked up sharply at the words.
To ask such a thing was shameful to them. It implied that they had lost sight of their loyalties and that punishment was in order, including a loss of reputation and disgrace within the Main Building.
“In order to spare you and all the work I’ve put into creating Arashi, we will hold the ceremony privately and no one else will know of the details of what I’ve requested. Satoshi and Masaki will perform the duty of witnesses and none of my staff will hear of it.”
Nino was still giving him an incredulous look and Sho seemed to be unable to believe this was happening.
“If I thought this wasn’t necessary I wouldn’t have requested it. You two and all the members of Arashi are the face of the village now. You are under tighter scrutiny than anyone else and I cannot afford to let something go wrong.”
His face twisted in pain, Nino tried to reason with the old man. “But, sir-“
“That is all.” Jyani gave them a sober stare, trying to relay his own pain at such an action. “I expect you to take today and tomorrow pondering on the rules of the village and what they mean. If you cannot repledge these vows tomorrow evening, I shall expect you to pack your things.”
+++
“So what was that all about?” Aiba asked curiously as his two friend returned with somber faces. Jyani had suddenly called Nino and Sho into his private hall without a mention of what he had wanted to discuss.
Which meant Aiba and Ohno had been left to their own devices. Trying to think of something to waste time until they could find out what was happening, they had ended up entertaining some of the village children in front of the Main Building. The kids had come to play ninja in an authentic spot, even though ultimately one of Jyani’s supervisors would run them off, but when they had seen Aiba-nii and Oh-chan, the group had attacked the pair together.
Sho and Nino had found them a little while later and the herbalist and leader had bid the children farewell promptly at the serious expressions on their friends’ faces.
Amd as the couple relayed their story together, Aiba’s mouth fell open in shock.
“He… he can’t do that. You guys didn’t do anything wrong,” he said incredulously. Repledging was something for a ninja that hadn’t completed a mission properly, or who had left the village and then begged for return. Their mission from a few days ago had been a great success, even if Ohno’s arm had been cut pretty badly.
“No… It’s, it’s my fault…” Nino sighed, squatting to the ground with his head in his hands. “It’s my fault that Leader got hurt and that’s why we’re being punished.”
Aiba bent his knees and lowered himself next to Nino, patting his back lightly. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes it was,” Nino said angrily, looking up at Aiba as he continued to slouch over. “When Ohno was fighting that man with an ax, I wasn’t paying attention. I charged at that guy who was fighting Sho, even though he probably could have taken him. I should’ve helped Oh-chan instead, since he was fighting more of the enemies than Sho-chan…”
Nino dropped his head back into his hands and took a few deep breaths.
Aiba heard him mumble something like how did he know, but that didn’t make sense to him, so he didn’t reply.
Ohno didn’t blame Nino, though. In fact, he knew that none of them did. The only one blaming Nino was himself.
“What if it was worse? What if Oh-chan died over something stupid like that?” Nino whispered through his hands and Aiba pulled the younger boy against him in an awkward hug. Sho was looking down at them with hurt in his eyes, so Aiba offered him a small smile in return, unable to add much else.
“Everyone is fine, Nino. We’ll just have to be more careful. All of us.”
The other three Arashi members turned to Ohno as he spoke.
Aiba nodded in agreement, patting Nino’s back again, while Sho took a deep sigh of relief.
Nino stood and nodded himself. “You’re right, Leader.”
Sho marveled at how the older boy had broken his down mood, something that he himself had struggled with despite slowly getting closer and closer to the weapons master.
“Well, we don’t have a choice, I guess,” Nino turned to Sho and offered him a sad smile. Sho tried to offer a more comforting expression in return, but he wasn’t sure at its success. The younger boy did lean in close to him, though, and Sho embraced him lightly, closing his eyes.
It was the first bump in their relationship.
And, besides, Jyani hadn’t told them to put an end to it. He was only giving them a warning.
+++
A few days later, after everything was said and done, Aiba happily skipped into their private quarters, where Arashi had been relaxing after a long afternoon of training, with a scroll in his hand.
Ohno looked up in surprise from where he had almost fallen asleep as the herbalist shook him awake, waving the paper in front of his face.
Earlier Aiba had said that he would stop by the mission hall to see what they had available, since they were due for a new one, and he had apparently found something rather thrilling.
Wiping his face roughly and trying to escape the arms of sleep as Aiba worked on Sho and Nino, who had been snuggling together a few feet away, Ohno sat up blinking and hoping that the mission was as exciting as Aiba was acting. The herbalist had a tendency to get worked up over anything involving animals, and so the thought that this was simply a dog rescue mission was automatically stuck in the back of the leader’s mind.
“It’s a rescue mission!” Aiba said happily, plopping down between his sluggish friends. Nino and Ohno rolled their eyes at the same time and fell back into their positions from a moment ago.
Aiba let out an exasperated huff at the reaction and instead turned to Sho, the only one paying attention to him.
“It’s for a princess! We get to rescue a princess!! Doesn’t that sound like fun?” he turned back to the scroll holding the details and glanced over the page quickly. “I’ve never met a princess before, I bet she has to be pretty!”
Sho leaned over his boyfriend lying in front of him, who had his eyes squeezed shut, and held out his hand for the mission report, which Aiba immediately passed to him.
“Maybe we can fall in love! Wouldn’t that be great to date a princess?” Aiba realized he was looking at Sho again and immediately averted his gaze around the room. Sho had Nino after all, and even though he wasn’t a princess, he knew that the archer was serious about their current relationship.
Instead Aiba turned back to Ohno and began shaking him again.
“Don’t you think so, Oh-chan? Wouldn’t it be great to date a princess?”
“What’s so great about dating a princess?” Ohno asked with a hint of annoyance, yawning widely to show Aiba that he was tired.
Aiba’s face fell into a pouty frown. “It’s a princess. Like in fairy tales?”
Ohno blinked at him a few times and then let his eyes drift shut again.
“Sho-chan…” Aiba whined, turning back to the only member that was taking him seriously.
“Everything looks fine, Aiba. It looks challenging enough and the pay is really good. We can go ahead and meet your princess if you want.”
The herbalist gave him a winning smile, then jumped up and dashed out of the room, going back to the missions hall to work out the details already.
Ohno wasn’t sure how the man still had that much energy after their grueling day-long training session, but it was Aiba and that meant he would let him do whatever he wanted to.
Besides, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this particular mission would be interesting.
+++
Their target had been the dungeon.
Easy to get in to, difficult to get out of.
Because, without a doubt, they would have to dispose of every one of the guards in the basement. There was no way to sneak around them and no way to distract them long enough to make an escape. And, likely enough, by the time that one of the ninja got in to actually release the princess, reinforcements would be on their way.
In order to make this run as efficiently as possible, they had decided to station each member of the group at spots in their escape route, so that the last person wouldn’t be overwhelmed by enemies at once, and this way they would be able to attack from behind and not get cornered.
They followed their usual strategy.
Sho was a sniper. It wasn’t that he couldn’t protect himself (although he needed all the help he could get), but he was usually put in the most discreet position, where he wouldn’t be seen but could still support the rest of the members. And so he was left a little less than halfway through their route, nestled in the rafters of one of the bigger hallways and able to keep an eye on Aiba, who was next, so that they could exchange signals or help each other if things turned bad.
Aiba hid in the darkness of the lanterns’ shadows, which became more prevalent as the hallways drifted downward and further into the ground, almost invisible in his usual ninja garb, mask covering the greater part of his face just like the rest of the team. He had his pole ready to use as soon as Nino or Ohno signaled the need for assistance from their own station just outside of the prison’s main entrance.
Ohno had disposed of the two guards protecting the area just a few seconds earlier and was watching patiently as Nino picked the lock.
When it was done, the younger ninja fell back and Ohno kicked the door open with his foot, the two of them not hesitating to rush in with their weapons bared.
The room they had entered looked more like a dining room than a dungeon, but Ohno immediately spotted the next locked door, which was across the room and had more bars on it than the one they had just gone through, marking it as their next destination.
Three soldiers had jumped up from a table at the entrance, where they had been playing a gambling game that Ohno didn’t know the rules of, and flew at the ninja haphazardly, fumbling for their swords.
Ohno had taken two while Nino fought the other, his sais tightly in hand. After breaking the man’s sword, he hit him firmly in the temple, sending him to the ground. By the time he turned back to Leader, the other two men were in similar conditions, although one had been slashed across the chest and was bleeding, although not enough for it to be life threatening.
Nino knew that Ohno didn’t feel the same way about saving lives as he did, but he was thankful that the older man respected him enough to follow his and Aiba’s request to keep casualties to a minimum.
The room now cleared, the pair moved to the dungeon entrance, where shuffling could be heard. Before Nino could even pull out his pick lock tool, the door burst open and more men ran out, alerted at the noise that they had heard a moment ago from the fighting.
After tripping one of them, causing the others to stop, Ohno took up his defensive stance in the doorway in order to effectively hold off the rest. He trusted that Nino could take care of the men already inside of the room, which amounted to about five, and each of them were stupid enough to immediately attack Nino instead of Ohno’s back, which was a far more obvious target.
Nino was thankful, though. It certainly made his job easier.
Using the tables and chairs as obstacles to keep the men from assaulting him together, Nino jumped lithely on top of the furniture without looking, taking each of the men out with a hit on the temple, one by one.
Ohno was holding his own as usual, and by the time he had taken care of the remaining men in the actual cell part of the dungeon, Nino was at his back again. The two of them moved quickly over the soldiers that had been knocked out (or killed, on Ohno’s part, as a few undoubtedly were), and towards the bars that were visible a little farther down the hallway.
It was obvious which one housed the princess, once they were close enough.
She was the only woman in the basement, and where most of the cells had seven or eight scruffy looking men crowded together. This room, which was at the very end and isolated from the rest, only had the woman and a boy inside.
Nino began picking the lock again as Ohno watched distractedly, looking between the cell and the door that was left open in their wake. When the younger of them began pulling back the squeaky bars, more shouts were heard from the room they had just left, and the two ninja looked at each other, trying to come up with a plan.
“You stay here,” Nino whispered through his mask. “Get the princess and protect her on the way out. I’ll take those guys.”
Ohno nodded. The most important part of the whole mission was to rescue the princess, so he would rather have Nino take longer to dispose of the soldiers and get her out alive rather than risk her getting hurt by doing the work himself.
As Nino took off back down the hallway, Ohno went back to the prison cell. He opened up the swinging door the rest of the way and asked in a low voice, “Are you princess Himiko?”
The woman nodded, a look of uncertain relief on her face, and took Ohno’s hand when he offered it to her. She scurried out into the hallway at the ninja’s indication, clutching nervously at the rags she was dressed in. Ohno thought she didn’t really look like a princess, but then again she was in prison and her captors probably hadn’t taken much care in keeping her comfortable.
Before he could stop himself, he looked to the cell’s other occupant, who was holding his knees against his chest and pressed defensively into the corner of the room.
It was a boy, probably a few years younger than himself, but his skin was pale despite the dirt caked on it. He would probably be considered pretty, although in dire need of a bath, not to mention his hair was unruly and filthy, but he had a dark aura around him, silently warning anyone to keep away. It was understandable, though, since he had probably been abused in a place like this, and in more ways than one.
Ohno cleared his throat, even though he knew that he should hurry and leave the boy to take care of himself.
“Can you fight?” he asked.
The prisoner looked over at him, almost surprised that he was being addressed. He shook his head after a moment, a scowl on his face, and scrunched tighter into a ball.
And Ohno’s heart clenched.
“I’ll protect you,” he whispered, taking a few steps closer. The boy flinched and tried to back away more, but he had no room left to move. “Come with me and I’ll protect you.”
Their eyes met and Ohno was immediately lost in the deepness before him.
His eyes were sad.
And they looked familiar.
“I’ll protect you,” he offered again, leaning over and tearing off his mask so that the captive could see his face. He didn’t know why, but he needed to save this boy.
The prisoner stiffened at Ohno’s movement, his gaze darting between Ohno’s eyes and his exposed mouth, but he also obviously understood the chance that was being given to him right now. He would never escape on his own, and the only other option was staying in this place.
Ohno heard Nino call for him down the hall, and the leader turned sharply to look behind him at the princess waiting for her rescuer to follow her. He faced the boy one last time, offering his hand as he had done with the princess.
With a slow and cautious movement, the prisoner reached out and grabbed onto the offered palm, and Leader pulled the boy up, grasping his fingers tightly between his own. He pulled him out of the cell almost roughly, unable to take any more time.
During their escape, it was all Ohno could do to protect the princess as much as the boy, who was pressing himself against the ninja the whole time, almost as if he was scared of everything. The princess had stayed close, too, but when they entered the common room in which the scuffle had occurred earlier, she picked up an abandoned sword and held in gingerly between her hands instead of staying helpless.
Once he met up with Nino, who raised an eyebrow at the extra baggage, but didn’t say anything once he noticed their entwined hands, the younger ninja covered the princess as well, unsure of what else to do. Before they had finished entering into the hallway, though, more yells were heard and another five soldiers were running towards them.
Nino jumped out in front in order to keep the captives back with Ohno, but once they had seen the princess, the men broke apart and tried to dash past him. Nino’s hands were full with the three that came at him, though, and if he got injured now, there was no helping Ohno in a few seconds.
The leader of the group, still holding tightly onto the boy’s hand, pulled out his sword and blocked the assault from the two men with the strength he had left.
Taking the easy route, he ran one of them straight through, blocking another attack with his wooden arm guard. The princess entered the fight at this point, slamming the sword into the last man’s shoulder, bringing it down with a load of strength, but no skill. The man began gasping and at the divided attention, Ohno slit his throat.
The small group rushed forward again as Nino knocked out the last man, but three more soldiers were already headed down the hall.
One of them fell with an arrow in his back, and the other two turned suddenly at the action. Nino rushed forward and disposed of one, while the other ducked the next oncoming arrow. Using the distraction, the youngest ninja’s foot collided with the side of the soldier’s head, sending him sprawling onto the ground, grasping his temple.
The group of four ran past them and entered the last hallway, where Aiba was fighting off three men himself, pinned against the wall. Sho had fallen from his position and was closing in on his friends, shooting another arrow, and Nino also jumped in to help finish them off.
Aiba turned to the group and stared at Ohno, who was still carting the young man behind him, and the princess carrying a bloodied sword.
“Oh-chan…” he whispered. “Your mask…” His identity was exposed, and although the chances of him being recognized by sight were slim, it was still a seemingly unnecessary risk that he had taken.
The captain shook his head as if to tell him it didn’t matter, then pushed the group forward, towards where Sho was waiting.
“Leader, there’re more coming, we have to hurry,” Sho said in his own lowered voice, only sparing the boy behind Ohno a quick gaze before leading the way out.
The other three members of Arashi spread out in front and to the side of Ohno and the hostages, and the group managed to exit the building quick enough to avoid any more confrontations.
+++
They met up with the client up at the rendezvous point an hour later, the princess completely unharmed.
Sho had taken on final negotiations and settled the details with the patrons, who turned out to be guardsmen of the king’s castle in which the princess had been taken from, because the abandoned boy had been clinging to Ohno, who usually held that responsibility, the whole time. He refused to let go of him for a second, and would turn his head into Leader’s back whenever someone else tried to talk to him.
Once the mission was completed and the small caravan took off with the princess secured, Aiba, Sho, and Nino turned to Ohno simultaneously, looking pointedly at the boy holding on to him so hard.
Leader blinked back, unsure why they were staring at them.
Lowered his mask in the same way that Ohno had been wearing his all night, Aiba opened his mouth to say something.
But Nino beat him to it.
“Leader, what’re we going to do with him?” he asked in confusion, with a hint of irritation to his voice. The extra person had been slowing them down all night and he was useless as far as defending himself. He hadn’t even spoken a word since their escape, and refused to look at any of them but Ohno. It was weird.
The oldest ninja turned to the boy leaning into arm and their gazes met.
He realized why these eyes looked familiar. The depths of them displayed pain. Pain of losing everything.
Without saying a word, Ohno completely understood him.
They were the same.
“We’re taking him with us.”
The other three stared at him, not believing what he had said.
+++
A/N: :DD Although somehow I feel sort of insecure about this chapter (the writing seems a bit choppy and it was written a while ago, plus I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the new banner... criticism anyone?) the heart of the story is finally coming out, so I'm happy.
Speaking of heart, the new title is similar to part one. Kokoro is heart or soul, so Shinobu Kokoro is a play on words, Hidden Heart or Ninja's Heart. Did I tell you I borrowed the name from a manga? Maybe you know which one. ^__^; By the way, was anyone surprised by the other pairing?
I haven't written much lately, but I'm sure some of you will be glad to know I pulled out the Sakumoto side story from Paint Film and Stuffed Animals. It's far from done, but maybe I'll post part one soon. :)
Chapter nine
Rating: PG13 (for mild violence)
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: eight
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?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Arashi, as they were now called, grew stronger with each new challenge they faced, just as Jyani knew they would. Since that fateful mission two years ago, in which Kazunari had been wounded so badly, the group had dissolved their apprehension and was now actively pursuing challenges instead of allowing Jyani to pick them out for them. They spent much of them time filtering in and out of the missions office, seeing what there was to offer and then bringing them to Jyani, and although they seemed to skip over missions where the goal was to kill someone, they were still picking out the most difficult and challenging ones.
And that made the ninja leader so proud he couldn’t hold in his smile whenever he saw one of them.
But, along with their steady progression into something legendary, an obvious flaw was becoming exposed.
It wasn’t so large that anyone except for Jyani, who scrutinized the group closer than anyone else, would notice, but it would most certainly become a problem in no time at all.
They must have been trying to keep it hidden, because he hadn’t noticed any changes in the essence of Arashi until only a few months ago. And he might have let it slide if he’d simply found out about it by accident instead of coming to notice the way that Sho was treating Kazunari differently than Masaki or Satoshi.
But once the wheels in Jyani’s mind starting turning, he’d immediately seen the same difference in Kazunari’s attitude towards Sho.
Of course Jyani didn’t discourage relationships within his village; actually it was quite the opposite. If you had someone to tie you down to the community, it was harder to betray him and leave. And although a man and a woman was the preferred coupling, since they could produce a baby, in a tiny place like this where men outnumber women five to one, it certainly wasn’t unheard of for two men to engage in sexual activities or a relationship.
But there was certainly a big difference between a relationship and love.
Love made you do stupid things.
Love was the kind of emotion that encouraged a ninja to take his partner and leave instead of rooting them in place.
Love made you take bigger risks more often than was appropriate for someone in this profession.
He had to nip this in the bud before something happened to his precious Arashi and they fell apart.
And so Sho and Kazunari were seating across from him with curious expressions on their faces. Usually they were called in to him in a group, not separately, and when they were, it was only one of them, typically Ohno.
Over the last two years Sakurai Sho had grown into a fine young man. At the ripe age of seventeen, he had mastered the use of darts and had begun dabbling in the art of needles and acupuncture. Although Satoshi was still technically the leader of the group, Sho had started planning out most of their strategies before the mission and had taken it upon himself to double check their equipment and weapons before departure.
Kazunari, too, although more than a year younger than Sho, had progressed more than Jyani ever imagined he would. He had now gotten to a point in which he could pick up any weapon, even a sword (which had been his weak point before) and handle it like a professional. It was true having that wide of a range of weapons made one lose technique, but Nino handled the versatility so well that it didn’t matter than his expertise was lacking. If a spear wasn’t doing it for him, he’d drop it for a bow. He had taking a liking to the sais, though, and Jyani had allowed him to buy and carry a pair on his person. Recently, the ninja lord had also seen his boy messing around with illusions (often called magic by lower ranking ninja), which had been a pleasant revelation.
Ohno and Aiba, too, had also done well.
Ohno was no surprise. Jyani knew from the first time he’d seen the boy standing the rubble that was once his village that, if he could recover from the trauma he’d experienced, Satoshi would be a powerful ally. He had never once neglected Jyani or the village in the entire time he’d been there, and although the possibility of losing his friends had put Ohno in a panic, Jyani knew what the boy’s answer would be to that situation. He had raised him too well.
Satoshi’s sword skills had improved, too, making him the sought after leader of Arashi, either to challenge the ninja or to beg him for training. Some had even come to Jyani to implore his boy teach them the way of the sword, but the leader of the village always allowed Satoshi to make his own decisions on that front. And so far the swordsman hadn’t taken even one pupil, with the exception of Nino.
As for Aiba, after dedicating himself to learning herbalist healing, the boy had become the permanent support ninja for the group. They hadn’t been to the medical wing of the Main Building since Nino’s near fatal stab wound; either Aiba would take care of an injury on the spot or in place of a support ninja once they were back at the Main Building.
A situation like that had happened just last night, when Arashi had returned from their most recent mission. Ohno, who was usually the one sporting the scrapes due to his position in direct combat, had come back with a nasty cut on his arm. Aiba, of course, had treated it before leaving the scene, but had had to reopen the wound when it got inflected due to traces of rust that had been left by the enemy’s neglected weapon.
Upon hearing the details that morning, confirming everything that Jyani had suspected went wrong, the ninja lord had been propelled to take action against the blooming relationship within the group.
He started with a firm look, so the pair across from him would immediately feel the somberness of what Jyani had to discuss with them.
After he had their direct attention, the man didn’t hesitate to start right in the on the subject.
“I’ve noticed that two of you have gotten close recently.”
Nino glanced at Sho, who was looking nervous at the statement. Neither of them was sure how to respond, so both sets of eyes eventually fell in their usual place right before Jyani’s feet, avoiding direct eye contact.
“I’ve warned you in the past that love is not something for ninja,” the older man continued with a harsh tone. “Love is for country maids who stare up at the sky in wonder, for singing bards who can’t make their living any other way.”
Nino swallowed. The slim chance that Jyani had been talking about something else or had brought them in to congratulate them had completely disappeared.
“Love,” the ninja lord continued with a hard voice, one that was full of disdain, “is for thieves, who must use every trick they know in order to be successful.”
He wanted nothing more right now than to reach out his hand and squeeze Sho’s for support, as he had so many times before, but certainly something like that would only be counterproductive.
After sighing, Jyani’s expression lightened a little and his tone became softer. “I care not what you do in bed when the day is done. But do not,” he paused for dramatic effect, “do not let this… thing interfere with your abilities as a group.”
Nino stole a glance at Jyani, hatred rising in his stomach.
Why was loving Sho wrong? Why was being happy wrong?
His jaw tightened and it was all the boy could to keep his mouth shut.
But Jyani saw his reaction and prodded him with a dangerous voice.
“Speak, Kazunari.”
Nino averted his eyes towards the door and away from Sho. He wasn’t going to take the bait that easily.
“I cannot properly take care of this situation if you are keeping something more from me. What is it you’re feeling?” The tone was slightly sarcastic now, but still low and demanding. “Speak, Kazunari.”
Nino’s throat constricted in nervousness. He had never heard this tone from his lord. Never in his entire life. If he was honest he’d say he was scared, but now he’d just try to put on a tough front and so he turned sharply back to Jyani.
“I don’t understand,” he replied, his tone just as harsh as the man’s in front of him had been. “I don’t understand why we can’t love each other.”
Jyani let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He knew with Kazunari being as stubborn as he was that a mere scolding wouldn’t do. He’d have to pull out all the stops, make it blatantly clear why this had to end.
Before speaking again, Jyani met Nino’s intense gaze and took a deep breath. He then turned to Sho, who was also looking at him with wide eyes, and pitied the boy for a second for getting caught up with the younger ninja seated next to him. Sho had held such promise as a complacent subordinate, like Ohno was. He had never tested Jyani’s wrath until now, and it was too bad it had had to come to this.
“Kazunari,” Jyani’s voice had lightened a little bit and he had changed to a lecturing tone. He actually pitied the weapons master, too, for not understanding already what Jyani was about to explain to him. “Picture this situation in your head for a moment:
“You’re in the middle of a mission, fighting off enemy shoulders, and you had to choose between saving Sho or saving Satoshi. What would your decision be?”
“I’d save whoever needed help more.”
Jyani grinned, although still bitterly. It had been a quick and witty reply, as expected of his student.
The two of them were looking at him curiously as Jyani paused, as if not understanding what he was getting at with his simple question.
“That’s correct,” the older man admitted, but with a dark overshadow on the top of his face. “But it’s easy to say such a thing and another thing entirely to carry it out. But let me explain.
“When you’re out on your mission, your mind will be full of Sho, wondering where he is and if he’s safe. Once you come to the part where you must make your decision, you will see only Sho and not Ohno. You will save Sho, not realizing that anyone else is in danger. Love will cloud your judgment like that. It won’t be until it’s too late that you’ll realize your mistake.”
Soberness flashed across Nino’s eyes and Jyani knew that he had gotten across to him. The easiest way to appeal to the boy was to use something else that was important to him, in this case his oldest friend, Satoshi.
“For the sake of saving Sho, whom you love dearly, will you sacrifice Ohno, whom you also love dearly?”
Nino gazed down at his hands in shame, and Sho glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, with an identical expression.
It was silent in the hall for a few moments while Jyani allowed his boys to think about the seriousness of what they were pursuing between them and if it was worth taking so many risks on other fronts.
Since the conversation had finally come to the point, the lord sighed lightly and frowned at what the two boys were forcing him to do.
“I want both of you to repledge your allegiance to me and the village.”
Sho and Nino looked up sharply at the words.
To ask such a thing was shameful to them. It implied that they had lost sight of their loyalties and that punishment was in order, including a loss of reputation and disgrace within the Main Building.
“In order to spare you and all the work I’ve put into creating Arashi, we will hold the ceremony privately and no one else will know of the details of what I’ve requested. Satoshi and Masaki will perform the duty of witnesses and none of my staff will hear of it.”
Nino was still giving him an incredulous look and Sho seemed to be unable to believe this was happening.
“If I thought this wasn’t necessary I wouldn’t have requested it. You two and all the members of Arashi are the face of the village now. You are under tighter scrutiny than anyone else and I cannot afford to let something go wrong.”
His face twisted in pain, Nino tried to reason with the old man. “But, sir-“
“That is all.” Jyani gave them a sober stare, trying to relay his own pain at such an action. “I expect you to take today and tomorrow pondering on the rules of the village and what they mean. If you cannot repledge these vows tomorrow evening, I shall expect you to pack your things.”
+++
“So what was that all about?” Aiba asked curiously as his two friend returned with somber faces. Jyani had suddenly called Nino and Sho into his private hall without a mention of what he had wanted to discuss.
Which meant Aiba and Ohno had been left to their own devices. Trying to think of something to waste time until they could find out what was happening, they had ended up entertaining some of the village children in front of the Main Building. The kids had come to play ninja in an authentic spot, even though ultimately one of Jyani’s supervisors would run them off, but when they had seen Aiba-nii and Oh-chan, the group had attacked the pair together.
Sho and Nino had found them a little while later and the herbalist and leader had bid the children farewell promptly at the serious expressions on their friends’ faces.
Amd as the couple relayed their story together, Aiba’s mouth fell open in shock.
“He… he can’t do that. You guys didn’t do anything wrong,” he said incredulously. Repledging was something for a ninja that hadn’t completed a mission properly, or who had left the village and then begged for return. Their mission from a few days ago had been a great success, even if Ohno’s arm had been cut pretty badly.
“No… It’s, it’s my fault…” Nino sighed, squatting to the ground with his head in his hands. “It’s my fault that Leader got hurt and that’s why we’re being punished.”
Aiba bent his knees and lowered himself next to Nino, patting his back lightly. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes it was,” Nino said angrily, looking up at Aiba as he continued to slouch over. “When Ohno was fighting that man with an ax, I wasn’t paying attention. I charged at that guy who was fighting Sho, even though he probably could have taken him. I should’ve helped Oh-chan instead, since he was fighting more of the enemies than Sho-chan…”
Nino dropped his head back into his hands and took a few deep breaths.
Aiba heard him mumble something like how did he know, but that didn’t make sense to him, so he didn’t reply.
Ohno didn’t blame Nino, though. In fact, he knew that none of them did. The only one blaming Nino was himself.
“What if it was worse? What if Oh-chan died over something stupid like that?” Nino whispered through his hands and Aiba pulled the younger boy against him in an awkward hug. Sho was looking down at them with hurt in his eyes, so Aiba offered him a small smile in return, unable to add much else.
“Everyone is fine, Nino. We’ll just have to be more careful. All of us.”
The other three Arashi members turned to Ohno as he spoke.
Aiba nodded in agreement, patting Nino’s back again, while Sho took a deep sigh of relief.
Nino stood and nodded himself. “You’re right, Leader.”
Sho marveled at how the older boy had broken his down mood, something that he himself had struggled with despite slowly getting closer and closer to the weapons master.
“Well, we don’t have a choice, I guess,” Nino turned to Sho and offered him a sad smile. Sho tried to offer a more comforting expression in return, but he wasn’t sure at its success. The younger boy did lean in close to him, though, and Sho embraced him lightly, closing his eyes.
It was the first bump in their relationship.
And, besides, Jyani hadn’t told them to put an end to it. He was only giving them a warning.
+++
A few days later, after everything was said and done, Aiba happily skipped into their private quarters, where Arashi had been relaxing after a long afternoon of training, with a scroll in his hand.
Ohno looked up in surprise from where he had almost fallen asleep as the herbalist shook him awake, waving the paper in front of his face.
Earlier Aiba had said that he would stop by the mission hall to see what they had available, since they were due for a new one, and he had apparently found something rather thrilling.
Wiping his face roughly and trying to escape the arms of sleep as Aiba worked on Sho and Nino, who had been snuggling together a few feet away, Ohno sat up blinking and hoping that the mission was as exciting as Aiba was acting. The herbalist had a tendency to get worked up over anything involving animals, and so the thought that this was simply a dog rescue mission was automatically stuck in the back of the leader’s mind.
“It’s a rescue mission!” Aiba said happily, plopping down between his sluggish friends. Nino and Ohno rolled their eyes at the same time and fell back into their positions from a moment ago.
Aiba let out an exasperated huff at the reaction and instead turned to Sho, the only one paying attention to him.
“It’s for a princess! We get to rescue a princess!! Doesn’t that sound like fun?” he turned back to the scroll holding the details and glanced over the page quickly. “I’ve never met a princess before, I bet she has to be pretty!”
Sho leaned over his boyfriend lying in front of him, who had his eyes squeezed shut, and held out his hand for the mission report, which Aiba immediately passed to him.
“Maybe we can fall in love! Wouldn’t that be great to date a princess?” Aiba realized he was looking at Sho again and immediately averted his gaze around the room. Sho had Nino after all, and even though he wasn’t a princess, he knew that the archer was serious about their current relationship.
Instead Aiba turned back to Ohno and began shaking him again.
“Don’t you think so, Oh-chan? Wouldn’t it be great to date a princess?”
“What’s so great about dating a princess?” Ohno asked with a hint of annoyance, yawning widely to show Aiba that he was tired.
Aiba’s face fell into a pouty frown. “It’s a princess. Like in fairy tales?”
Ohno blinked at him a few times and then let his eyes drift shut again.
“Sho-chan…” Aiba whined, turning back to the only member that was taking him seriously.
“Everything looks fine, Aiba. It looks challenging enough and the pay is really good. We can go ahead and meet your princess if you want.”
The herbalist gave him a winning smile, then jumped up and dashed out of the room, going back to the missions hall to work out the details already.
Ohno wasn’t sure how the man still had that much energy after their grueling day-long training session, but it was Aiba and that meant he would let him do whatever he wanted to.
Besides, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this particular mission would be interesting.
+++
Their target had been the dungeon.
Easy to get in to, difficult to get out of.
Because, without a doubt, they would have to dispose of every one of the guards in the basement. There was no way to sneak around them and no way to distract them long enough to make an escape. And, likely enough, by the time that one of the ninja got in to actually release the princess, reinforcements would be on their way.
In order to make this run as efficiently as possible, they had decided to station each member of the group at spots in their escape route, so that the last person wouldn’t be overwhelmed by enemies at once, and this way they would be able to attack from behind and not get cornered.
They followed their usual strategy.
Sho was a sniper. It wasn’t that he couldn’t protect himself (although he needed all the help he could get), but he was usually put in the most discreet position, where he wouldn’t be seen but could still support the rest of the members. And so he was left a little less than halfway through their route, nestled in the rafters of one of the bigger hallways and able to keep an eye on Aiba, who was next, so that they could exchange signals or help each other if things turned bad.
Aiba hid in the darkness of the lanterns’ shadows, which became more prevalent as the hallways drifted downward and further into the ground, almost invisible in his usual ninja garb, mask covering the greater part of his face just like the rest of the team. He had his pole ready to use as soon as Nino or Ohno signaled the need for assistance from their own station just outside of the prison’s main entrance.
Ohno had disposed of the two guards protecting the area just a few seconds earlier and was watching patiently as Nino picked the lock.
When it was done, the younger ninja fell back and Ohno kicked the door open with his foot, the two of them not hesitating to rush in with their weapons bared.
The room they had entered looked more like a dining room than a dungeon, but Ohno immediately spotted the next locked door, which was across the room and had more bars on it than the one they had just gone through, marking it as their next destination.
Three soldiers had jumped up from a table at the entrance, where they had been playing a gambling game that Ohno didn’t know the rules of, and flew at the ninja haphazardly, fumbling for their swords.
Ohno had taken two while Nino fought the other, his sais tightly in hand. After breaking the man’s sword, he hit him firmly in the temple, sending him to the ground. By the time he turned back to Leader, the other two men were in similar conditions, although one had been slashed across the chest and was bleeding, although not enough for it to be life threatening.
Nino knew that Ohno didn’t feel the same way about saving lives as he did, but he was thankful that the older man respected him enough to follow his and Aiba’s request to keep casualties to a minimum.
The room now cleared, the pair moved to the dungeon entrance, where shuffling could be heard. Before Nino could even pull out his pick lock tool, the door burst open and more men ran out, alerted at the noise that they had heard a moment ago from the fighting.
After tripping one of them, causing the others to stop, Ohno took up his defensive stance in the doorway in order to effectively hold off the rest. He trusted that Nino could take care of the men already inside of the room, which amounted to about five, and each of them were stupid enough to immediately attack Nino instead of Ohno’s back, which was a far more obvious target.
Nino was thankful, though. It certainly made his job easier.
Using the tables and chairs as obstacles to keep the men from assaulting him together, Nino jumped lithely on top of the furniture without looking, taking each of the men out with a hit on the temple, one by one.
Ohno was holding his own as usual, and by the time he had taken care of the remaining men in the actual cell part of the dungeon, Nino was at his back again. The two of them moved quickly over the soldiers that had been knocked out (or killed, on Ohno’s part, as a few undoubtedly were), and towards the bars that were visible a little farther down the hallway.
It was obvious which one housed the princess, once they were close enough.
She was the only woman in the basement, and where most of the cells had seven or eight scruffy looking men crowded together. This room, which was at the very end and isolated from the rest, only had the woman and a boy inside.
Nino began picking the lock again as Ohno watched distractedly, looking between the cell and the door that was left open in their wake. When the younger of them began pulling back the squeaky bars, more shouts were heard from the room they had just left, and the two ninja looked at each other, trying to come up with a plan.
“You stay here,” Nino whispered through his mask. “Get the princess and protect her on the way out. I’ll take those guys.”
Ohno nodded. The most important part of the whole mission was to rescue the princess, so he would rather have Nino take longer to dispose of the soldiers and get her out alive rather than risk her getting hurt by doing the work himself.
As Nino took off back down the hallway, Ohno went back to the prison cell. He opened up the swinging door the rest of the way and asked in a low voice, “Are you princess Himiko?”
The woman nodded, a look of uncertain relief on her face, and took Ohno’s hand when he offered it to her. She scurried out into the hallway at the ninja’s indication, clutching nervously at the rags she was dressed in. Ohno thought she didn’t really look like a princess, but then again she was in prison and her captors probably hadn’t taken much care in keeping her comfortable.
Before he could stop himself, he looked to the cell’s other occupant, who was holding his knees against his chest and pressed defensively into the corner of the room.
It was a boy, probably a few years younger than himself, but his skin was pale despite the dirt caked on it. He would probably be considered pretty, although in dire need of a bath, not to mention his hair was unruly and filthy, but he had a dark aura around him, silently warning anyone to keep away. It was understandable, though, since he had probably been abused in a place like this, and in more ways than one.
Ohno cleared his throat, even though he knew that he should hurry and leave the boy to take care of himself.
“Can you fight?” he asked.
The prisoner looked over at him, almost surprised that he was being addressed. He shook his head after a moment, a scowl on his face, and scrunched tighter into a ball.
And Ohno’s heart clenched.
“I’ll protect you,” he whispered, taking a few steps closer. The boy flinched and tried to back away more, but he had no room left to move. “Come with me and I’ll protect you.”
Their eyes met and Ohno was immediately lost in the deepness before him.
His eyes were sad.
And they looked familiar.
“I’ll protect you,” he offered again, leaning over and tearing off his mask so that the captive could see his face. He didn’t know why, but he needed to save this boy.
The prisoner stiffened at Ohno’s movement, his gaze darting between Ohno’s eyes and his exposed mouth, but he also obviously understood the chance that was being given to him right now. He would never escape on his own, and the only other option was staying in this place.
Ohno heard Nino call for him down the hall, and the leader turned sharply to look behind him at the princess waiting for her rescuer to follow her. He faced the boy one last time, offering his hand as he had done with the princess.
With a slow and cautious movement, the prisoner reached out and grabbed onto the offered palm, and Leader pulled the boy up, grasping his fingers tightly between his own. He pulled him out of the cell almost roughly, unable to take any more time.
During their escape, it was all Ohno could do to protect the princess as much as the boy, who was pressing himself against the ninja the whole time, almost as if he was scared of everything. The princess had stayed close, too, but when they entered the common room in which the scuffle had occurred earlier, she picked up an abandoned sword and held in gingerly between her hands instead of staying helpless.
Once he met up with Nino, who raised an eyebrow at the extra baggage, but didn’t say anything once he noticed their entwined hands, the younger ninja covered the princess as well, unsure of what else to do. Before they had finished entering into the hallway, though, more yells were heard and another five soldiers were running towards them.
Nino jumped out in front in order to keep the captives back with Ohno, but once they had seen the princess, the men broke apart and tried to dash past him. Nino’s hands were full with the three that came at him, though, and if he got injured now, there was no helping Ohno in a few seconds.
The leader of the group, still holding tightly onto the boy’s hand, pulled out his sword and blocked the assault from the two men with the strength he had left.
Taking the easy route, he ran one of them straight through, blocking another attack with his wooden arm guard. The princess entered the fight at this point, slamming the sword into the last man’s shoulder, bringing it down with a load of strength, but no skill. The man began gasping and at the divided attention, Ohno slit his throat.
The small group rushed forward again as Nino knocked out the last man, but three more soldiers were already headed down the hall.
One of them fell with an arrow in his back, and the other two turned suddenly at the action. Nino rushed forward and disposed of one, while the other ducked the next oncoming arrow. Using the distraction, the youngest ninja’s foot collided with the side of the soldier’s head, sending him sprawling onto the ground, grasping his temple.
The group of four ran past them and entered the last hallway, where Aiba was fighting off three men himself, pinned against the wall. Sho had fallen from his position and was closing in on his friends, shooting another arrow, and Nino also jumped in to help finish them off.
Aiba turned to the group and stared at Ohno, who was still carting the young man behind him, and the princess carrying a bloodied sword.
“Oh-chan…” he whispered. “Your mask…” His identity was exposed, and although the chances of him being recognized by sight were slim, it was still a seemingly unnecessary risk that he had taken.
The captain shook his head as if to tell him it didn’t matter, then pushed the group forward, towards where Sho was waiting.
“Leader, there’re more coming, we have to hurry,” Sho said in his own lowered voice, only sparing the boy behind Ohno a quick gaze before leading the way out.
The other three members of Arashi spread out in front and to the side of Ohno and the hostages, and the group managed to exit the building quick enough to avoid any more confrontations.
+++
They met up with the client up at the rendezvous point an hour later, the princess completely unharmed.
Sho had taken on final negotiations and settled the details with the patrons, who turned out to be guardsmen of the king’s castle in which the princess had been taken from, because the abandoned boy had been clinging to Ohno, who usually held that responsibility, the whole time. He refused to let go of him for a second, and would turn his head into Leader’s back whenever someone else tried to talk to him.
Once the mission was completed and the small caravan took off with the princess secured, Aiba, Sho, and Nino turned to Ohno simultaneously, looking pointedly at the boy holding on to him so hard.
Leader blinked back, unsure why they were staring at them.
Lowered his mask in the same way that Ohno had been wearing his all night, Aiba opened his mouth to say something.
But Nino beat him to it.
“Leader, what’re we going to do with him?” he asked in confusion, with a hint of irritation to his voice. The extra person had been slowing them down all night and he was useless as far as defending himself. He hadn’t even spoken a word since their escape, and refused to look at any of them but Ohno. It was weird.
The oldest ninja turned to the boy leaning into arm and their gazes met.
He realized why these eyes looked familiar. The depths of them displayed pain. Pain of losing everything.
Without saying a word, Ohno completely understood him.
They were the same.
“We’re taking him with us.”
The other three stared at him, not believing what he had said.
+++
A/N: :DD Although somehow I feel sort of insecure about this chapter (the writing seems a bit choppy and it was written a while ago, plus I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the new banner... criticism anyone?) the heart of the story is finally coming out, so I'm happy.
Speaking of heart, the new title is similar to part one. Kokoro is heart or soul, so Shinobu Kokoro is a play on words, Hidden Heart or Ninja's Heart. Did I tell you I borrowed the name from a manga? Maybe you know which one. ^__^; By the way, was anyone surprised by the other pairing?
I haven't written much lately, but I'm sure some of you will be glad to know I pulled out the Sakumoto side story from Paint Film and Stuffed Animals. It's far from done, but maybe I'll post part one soon. :)
Chapter nine