Tazuna's Request
Doto Island,
An island located in the Land of Water. Traditionally a fishing village, the recent discovery of gold deposits had turned it into its main source of income and attracted people from all over the world. Since it was a place that could earn as much as a city under the Water Daimyo, it was deemed as a state under another city's protection, namely Kirigakure. But, that changed due to Uzushiogakure's conquest of it led by Gen. Sasuke a.k.a The Raven Tiger.
There was a little spat in the courts of Uzushiogakure about whether Sasuke should be given an administrative position as he led the war and played an important role in its victory or Someone of Uzu loyalty should as the forces he led were Uzushiogakure's. The spat was finally settled when Sasuke announced his wish to be a general through dialogue and the princess of Uzushiogakure, Uzumaki Naruko, was given the position.
Uzumaki Naruko was a fair-skinned and shapely woman of feminine build with blue eyes. But, one of her major distinguishing features was her blonde hair having two pigtails and the other was the three fox-like whisker marks on her face. It was said in Uzushiogakure that Kyuubi, the fox-like goddess spirit that the Uzumaki revere and worshiped, bestowed upon Naruko as a blessing. While Uzumaki didn't accept her as she did not have the Uzumaki red hair, but, she had won them over with her hard work and kind nature.
2 weeks after the war, In the administrator's room,
" I hate doing this paperwork, dattbayo~ ", Naruko shouted, making her frustration known to all present in the room.
" You have got no choice. Your mother has sent you here to gain experience as an administrator of a state. This 'test-run' would reflect on her judgment of handing over Uzu into your hands or not. ", Sasuke stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
" I was hoping for words of encouragement. ", Naruko stated.
" Not available ", Sasuke replied like a king.
" Sasuke-Kun, you meanie. ", Naruko said with a pout.
" Well, why did you call me here? ", Sasuke asked her.
" Yes... information just came in that mother had approved the request you sent her. From now on, any soldier, irrespective of national allegiance, would be punished if they assault a civilian sexually, physically, or verbally. ", Naruko announced to him.
" I thank your mother for it. I'll send a letter stating my appreciation and gratefulness for this. Can I count on the administration to give this on paper so that I can spread awareness among the soldiers? ", Sasuke asked her with gratefulness in his eyes.
" Yes, I will. ", Naruko replied with a smile.
" If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave. ", Sasuke said as he turned toward the door.
" Wait! ", Naruko called after him.
" What is it? ", Sasuke asked, turning around.
" There are many other roles for a General than leading soldiers to war. ", Naruko started.
" And? ", Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.
" One of those is taking on private requests from people. Please make sure to reach your office in 'The Soldier Station' tomorrow. As a functioning state that had just fought a war, there are many requests needed to be completed. Assigning them to teams and even taking on some is the duty of a General. ", Naruko ended her explanation.
" I will. ", Sasuke replied as he walked out.
' He didn't look it at first, but he is a nice guy, handsome too. ', Naruko thought to herself before diving into the ocean of paperwork.
Sasuke's House (given by Kushina as he is the General),
The room was like any other noble official's home. The wooden floor of the house was covered with rectangular tatami mats made from straw but with a top layer of woven grass. Interior paper-covered sliding doors (fusuma), made by pasting paper (or even sometimes silk) onto a delicate wood-lattice frame. It also contained a transom or ramma, which was a carved wooden rectangle that provided more light and air to the room.
He noticed the built-in desk (tsukeshoin) facing the wall in this room containing scrolls with the official seal of Uzu on it. He walked towards the wall mount and hung his Kusanagi in it. Removing his armor pad, he stretched his sore shoulders and legs. With a cup of tea, he walked to the desk and sat down. While sipping the tea, he looked over the details in the scroll.
" Isn't this....", Sasuke said in surprise as he looked at the list of requests.
He then took a long sheet of paper and started to write down the teams he wanted to assign to these requests. In a matter of two hours, he wrote down his plan for tomorrow and inserted it into the scroll. He put his right hand under the desk and opened the secret trap door. He took out a box from it and placed the scroll in it.
Setting the box back beneath the secret trap door and shutting it, he got up and walked toward the back of the house. As he slid the door open, he was pleased to find a pond there. He took off his clothes and got in. He let out a long sigh as the coldness of the water seeped through his skin and calmed his nerves down. Sasuke, taking a deep breath, went into the water. Slowly, the air he held in extinguished, and he went up to the surface. Wiping the liquid off his face, he opened his eyes to see...RED.
The water around had turned red. Blood Red. Something that sent chills down Sasuke's spine as he looked around. He was not in the house that was given to him. It was a small pond filled with blood, bright red blood. The surroundings of the pond looked like the inside of a broken house—a noble's house at that. Sasuke started to take deep breaths while his eyes dilated in fear. As he noticed a fan symbol imprinted on the wall, a face of a corpse appeared out of the blood on his face. As Sasuke screamed at its appearance, he woke up on a tatami mat when its midnight.
" Those nightmares....are not stopping. ", Sasuke said covering his eyes with his hand.
' I will kill you, b***ard ', Sasuke thought to himself with rage in his teeth.
The Next Day,
Sasuke walked through the roads of the market, trying to get something to eat. 'Tatsu Shokudo' was the name of this dining where food was served. Sasuke paid in gold and got steamed rice with curry. Blowing the food twice, Sasuke kept it in his mouth, enjoying the taste and texture.
" This is good! ", Sasuke commented.
" Ah! Sasuke-san!!! ", A voice called out to him.
" Yes? ", Sasuke asked as he turned around to find Tazuna.
" Sasuke-san. How are you? ", Tazuna inquired.
" I am fine. It seems you have been healed of your injuries in the last 3 weeks. How are Inari and Tsunami? ", Sasuke replied.
" They are very well. Inari had healed up from his injuries in just two weeks. I seem to have delayed his vacation time by 1 week. ", Tazuna replied.
" Yes...On that topic, didn't you request the army to take care of a certain capital expansionist? ", Sasuke asked Tazuna.
" How did you get to know that? Did Tsunami tell you?! ", Tazuna asked shocked.
" I am the general of the army. ", Sasuke stated nonchalantly.
" HUH?!!!! ", Tazuna yelled out in shock.
" Father, what's wrong? ", Tsunami, who had just arrived, asked her father.
" Grandpa! Is something wrong? ", Inari asked him.
" Do you know who he is? ", Tazuna asked them pointing at Sasuke.
" Oh! Sasuke-san. I didn't notice you! ", Tsunami exclaimed as she hid her blush with her hand.
" Sasuke-san! ", Inari called out in excitement as he noticed Sasuke.
" It's so good to see you in good shape, Tsunami and Inari. ", Sasuke replied to them with a captivating look.
[A/N: Sasuke implied that 'good' in the previous line for Tsunami]
" Hey, hey, what do you doing here? ", Inari asked him curiously.
" I'm the army general...", Sasuke replied.
" Army General~ eh?...eh?....EH?!! ", Tsunami and Inari exclaimed at the same time.
" Is me being the Army general weird? ", Sasuke asked them.
" No! It's just that you're so young we thought you were a soldier. ", Tazuna clarified with a sweatdrop on his face.
" Well, I am the general. So, shall I ask you about this problem you are facing in your home? ", Sasuke started.
" Yes....", Tsunami replied a bit sad.
" You are from Nami no Kuni? ", Sasuke asked her noticing that.
" Yes", Inari replied.
" Tazuna is a bridge builder who wants to build a bridge that connects you to Takigakure so that it brings economic welfare. Is this correct? ", Sasuke asked.
" Yes.", Tazuna replied.
" But, this is disrupted by a shipping magnate called Gato company, owned by Gato. ", Sasuke stated.
" That is true. ", Tsunami confirmed.
" So, you want the army to get rid of Gato and his company? ", Sasuke asked for confirmation.
" Yes. ", Tazuna confirmed.
" Why ask us? Why not Takigakure or Konogakure which are near you? ", Sasuke asked them.
" Gato has good relations with those city officials. He does all kinds of dirty deals for them. ", Tsunami replied.
" Has he committed any atrocities? ", Sasuke asked.
"...", The other three were silent to that question.
" Well, it's decided. I am assigning you Team Taka. ", Sasuke announced to them.
" We sail for home in a ship day after tomorrow. Can we count on you to send this team with us? ", Tazuna asked him.
" Rather than send, I am coming with them. ", Sasuke told them.
" Eh?! ", Tsunami exclaimed confused.
" I am the leader of Team Taka. ", Sasuke told them.
" Ehhhhhhhh???????!!!!!!!! ", They yelled out in surprise.