-25- We didn't start the fire-
-25- We didn’t start the fire-
-Previously-
Anko frowned. “The food I got… you poisoned it?”, she asked.
Taichi shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Of course I did. My master gave me a poison that would let you suffer. And boy, am I going to enjoy that.”
“I’m sure, you will.”
Taichi whirled around and Anko barely managed to raise her head because of the throbbing pain in her head that got stronger with every second. Once she could focus her gaze on the scene in front of her she startled in shock. A Kunai was pressed against Taichi’s jugular. “I suggest you don’t move. Maybe also stop breathing?” The woman that had appeared right behind him said with a singing tone that stood in total contrast to the way she pressed a deadly weapon against his throat and how her eyes were sharp as daggers as they watched him.
She wore a wide black shirt that flowed around her figure, concealing it enough so no one would be able to tell how thin or curvy she actually was, black fingerless gloves and standard shinobi pants. Her feet were bare however. Her face was covered from the nose upwards by a black mask with a flying golden bird painted on it. Dark blue eyes were fixed on Taichi.
Anko breathed out in awe. “Bird.”, she mumbled. She hadn’t seen them personally yet but she had heard enough stories from those who did to recognize her. When she looked past Bird she saw that the whole team was here. Bear was fighting two Root agents at once with his Katana, two more were already lying on the floor. Wolf was dancing around two more Root agents and exhausting them this way. Anko could see how their movements became sloppier with every swing of their weapons. When one of them stumpled, Wolf let out a sharp laugh and kicked his throat. The man went down with a gurgle. Crow was standing with his back to them a little off to the side and seemed to watch over Inoichi and Ibiki. Where were Kakashi and Tenzo? Anko wondered. Kakashi appeared in front of another Shinobi that had approached Crow at this moment, locking him in a headlock. Tenzo stepped up to his side, his focus was on Taichi and Bird however.
The blue eyes of Bird shifted to Anko for a moment before refocusing on the traitor. Her fist tightened around the handle of her weapon and a drop of blood ran down his neck. He drew in a pained breath through his teeth. “What did you give them?”, she hissed, her eyes throwing furious sparks.
“Like I would tell you!”, he taunted, his grin back in place, at least for the moment.
Bird scoffed, her lips twitching. “Oh, you will.”
Taichi screamed and lunged at her, but she simply sidestepped him and he stumbled to the floor. Bird whirled around and threw her Kunai, it hit the man in the right shoulder and he screamed in agony. Before he could make a move to pull it out Bird had already thrown two more - one into his left elbow and one into his right foot. Then she approached the man with the deadly elegance of a hunting cat. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up with one hand. Interesting, Anko thought, no one would guess that she was this strong if you looked at her size.
Bird’s lips were pulled up in a half smirk. “Is this really all you’ve got?”, she asked and laid the fingers of her free hand against his temple. “I ask you again: What did you give them?”
Taichi spit out a bit of blood on her - apparently her attack had hit a more vital point than Anko would have thought. “Go to hell.”, he hissed.
Bird lifted one corner of her mouth. “I guessed that you would say that.” Right when she finished talking her body was engulfed in crackling lightning. Anko coughed in shock. What… The electricity sprang to the Kunais that were still stuck in Taichis body and he screamed in pain.
Then Bird let the energy ebb away again. “What did you poison them with?”, she asked once more, her tone commanding and full of power.
Anko could see him struggling, but then he stuttered: “Stone… viper. My… master gave… it to me. Said… it’s not curable.” He groaned and Bird released him. He fell forward, his shoulders shaking as if he was in pain.
“Not anymore.”, she said and put her hand on the back of his head. Anko could see electricity rising around her fingers again and then the traitor went limp and fell all the way to the floor, knocked out cold. But Anko hadn’t felt any Chakra when she was using her lightning techniques. What did this woman…?
Before she could finish her thought Bird had approached her and picked her up in her arms without any comment. She balanced Anko so she could still use one of her hands and Anko was snuggled against the lean body she could feel under the shirt. She could feel strong muscles, but not overly big ones. If she had to guess she would say that Bird relied primarily on speed. The woman snapped her fingers once. “Fang, Claw. Can you take Ibiki-san and Inoichi-san?”
Two massive cats of prey popped into existence right next to them and Anko froze in shock for a moment. ‘Sure. Lead the way, kitten.’, the snow leopard said with a female voice. She padded over to Inoichi and heaved him onto her back with a little help from Crow. The tiger took Ibiki on his back.
Bird looked at her companions. “Take the other two to the hospital as well. Tsunade-sama will want to do a check up with them, too.”, she said.
“Will do.” Bear answered her.
“Wha… no!” Kakashi cursed.
Wolf crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I can also knock you out. Would save us the trouble of hearing you complain all the way there.”, he said just before Bird left the room with her two cats in tow.
Anko rested her head on the young woman's shoulder. Her movements were so similar to that of a cat as well. And she guessed that the two cats were summons. She wondered what kind of connection she had to those animals.
Before Anko had even noticed it, Bird had crossed the distance to the hospital and breezed right by the entrance desk, leaving a stunned nurse shouting after her. She entered Tsunade’s office without knocking and the medic lifted her head from her desk.
“Shit!”, she cursed and jumped out of her seat immediately. “Put her on the… why are there three of them?! Kara, get me more beds in here. And wake Shizune!”, she yelled at the nurse. When she didn’t react immediately Tsunade barked out a “now!”. That got the woman moving.
Bird gently placed Anko down on the first bed. “They were poisoned with stone viper venom.”, she said.
Tsunade froze. “Are… are you sure?!”
Bird scoffed. “I questioned him myself. I am sure.”, she said.
Tsunade breathed out once to calm herself. “All right. Sorry. Didn’t want to make the impression that I don’t believe you.”
Bird smiled softly. “You’re worried. I understand that.”, she said and shot a look at Anko. Then she raised her head, listening to something Anko wasn’t able to hear. “Your colleagues are arriving. I should take my leave.” With a graceful bow the woman vanished out of the window, leaving Anko and Tsunade to look after her.
-Earlier on the same evening, Hokage tower-
-Minaru-
Once Kakashi and Tenzo had left, Shisui and his team dropped down from the ceiling. Shin looked at the Hokage. “What was that?”, he asked.
“I gave the order to interrogate Mizuki. But he’s not able to talk, it seems.”, the Hokage said and leaned back in his chair.
Minaru scowled before she pulled herself together. This could easily mean... “Do you think he’s a Root agent?”, she asked.
Sarutobi nodded. “I’m pretty sure of it.”
Minaru blinked a few times, then she asked: “If you are already so sure of that fact… Why did you send Kakashi and Tenzo there?”
Sarutobi smiled. “Because I want to achieve something else with this interrogation. Mizuki is not the target of this mission.”, he said.
“And what is the target?”, Sai asked.
“There’s another traitor in our midst. And I’m pretty sure they are a part of T&I. Based on the information they passed on they need to be in one of the higher positions, but not high enough to take instructions directly from me, so Inoichi and his two right hands are cleared. But we need to identify them.”, he said.
Minaru could feel her blood freeze in her veins. “So… you used them as bait to pull that traitor out into the open?”, she asked as calmly as she could.
“Yes. If what I suspect about Mizuki having the seal is true that should force them to act to protect this secret.”, he answered.
Before Minaru could say anything, Shisui cut in. “So you willingly put 5 of our best shinobi in danger to pull out a potentially very dangerous ninja that was able to avoid detection for who knows how long?!”, he asked.
Sarutobi looked stunned at the accusation and didn’t answer.
Minaru approached him. “If something happens to any of them I’m going to be more than just displeased.”, she said. Turning on her heel she marched out of the office, putting her mask on on the way out. She could feel the other three follow immediately after her.
“I don’t… how could he do something like this?! Are we shinobi nothing but tools for him?”, Shin fumed, low enough that only their team would be able to hear him.
“More like Shogi-pieces.” Minaru said in a low voice. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “He’s not been on the field for too long. I think he lost his view on what his shinobi have to live through on a daily basis. They should be safe at least here in their home.”
Shisui put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “That’s what we are here for.”
-Tsunade-
Tsunade slumped down in a chair once Anko, Ibiki and Inoichi were in the clear. She sighed and rubbed her nose, when the Hokage entered the room. She huffed, but before she could do or say anything he held up a hand.
“I know you had a rough night. I’m just here for the report.”, he said.
Tsunade scowled at him. Hokage or not, here in the hospital she had the power to make decisions. “They are in no shape to report, let alone wake up.”, she hissed, her anger boiling up.
Sarutobi looked guilty for some reason. “I… I know. I don’t need their report.”, he said and looked towards a corner of Anko’s room. A wardrobe there obstructed Tsunade’s view.
The shadows seemed to shift and then Bird stepped out of the corner, her blue eyes fixed on the Hokage. “We told you that it was a horrible idea to use someone as bait to lure out the traitor in the T&I.”, she said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Tsunade had to give it to the woman - she didn’t seem to care that she was talking to the leader of this village.
Sarutobi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know that. And I will deal with it once they wake up. What did you learn?”
Bird fixed him with an icy glare, Tsunade didn’t know how else to describe it. But then she said: “Mizuki really was a Root agent, we suspected this much from the beginning. He was high ranking enough to get the seal, I would guess that he was placed in the academy to find potential recruits. You should let someone look into that soon. The traitor’s name is Taichi Murawa. He is one of Inoichi’s assistants and was placed there for two reasons. First, he was supposed to report about important information they were able to gather on other villages in the T&I. Secondly he was tasked with killing any Root agent who got themselves caught. Wolf has taken him into custody for the time being.”
Tsunade’s mouth hang open when the woman finished. “How did you learn all of that so fast?”, she asked.
Bird looked at her and a soft, proud smile pulled at her lips. “I am able to read minds when they are made accessible or pulled open by a jutsu.”, she said. “In a case like Taichi's, the target can’t hide anything from me after I defeat them and was able to send my own Chakra into their system. I could tell you about the last time he peed his bedsheets. Was later than I expected.”
Tsunade burst out laughing, the Hokage forgotten for the moment. “I don’t want to imagine that.”, she said.
Bird chuckled. “I try to stay on topic when someone was forced open, but it can be tough.”, she said. Then she turned to Sarutobi once more. “Was that all, Hokage-sama? I would like to catch a little sleep tonight.”
The Hokage nodded. “Yes. But keep yourself ready. It’s possible that I will need you again soon.”
Bird bowed slightly - barely enough to be polite - and left the room through the window.