1,262The walk back to Mei's shelter was silent as Mei was lost in thought and Shirou was slowly recovering his energy. Moreover, Mei was too busy being constantly vigilant of their surroundings to strike up a meaningless conversation. The important conversations were those outside of prying ears.
Holding fast over Shirou's wrist, Mei led them down towards the dilapidated alley ways lined with trash, broken glass, and emaciated people that had given up living.
She smeared mud on her face and then followed up with doing the same to Shirou. The distinct auburn hair the two possessed was too striking to not try to conceal, so Mei stole drying laundry garments and tied it around her head. She did the same for Shirou, who looked conflicted at the act, but was cowed by Mei's glower.
The fool.
He was such a fool.
Mei clicked her tongue before pursing her lips. She ran with her head bowed low, and Shirou in a firm grip knowing that the ramifications of Shirou's actions would soon catch up to them. The best she could do now was delay it while hesitating whether it was best to flee Hidden Mist before it was too late.
The Mizukage's forces would come, if not now, then soon. A leader could not leave civil unrest alone within his own country, let alone if it stoked public discontent.
Shirou had not been discreet in his actions, making Mei well aware that Hidden Mist's forces would have a detailed description of both his appearance and displayed capabilities. More specifically, the particular spear in Shirou's possession whose bloodlust would have intrigued those that heard of it and its particular ability.
Glancing back at Shirou, the bastard didn't even look sorry. Just tired.
He offered her a small smile, and Mei squirmed, warring between berating him or just giving into helplessness and letting him off.
Mei's caution had gradually begun to fade in her time with Shirou, and after his latest stint, concern for him took up a larger part of her mind. The days were dark and cold after her parents died and her clan was hunted to death, but that didn't mean Mei had given into despair. Rather, she'd grown mentally quicker than any civilian girl which is why she understood all the more clearly that she couldn't leave Shirou alone.
He was the only source of genuine warmth she'd found in this hell hole. His eyes did not possess ulterior motives and the strength of his character was enough to leave her embarrassed at her mistrust.
Hidden Mist wasn't safe as it was now, not for her or for him.
Heroism wasn't fit for the shinobi world.
Mei tightened her grip on Shirou's wrist, pulling him harder to quicken their pace until they reached outside of Mei's hideout.
However, some of the people Shirou had helped inadvertently ended up following them. As if moths were drawn to flame, they who were just as familiar with the streets as Mei, had been able to keep pace with them. The Yuki-clan boy and the girl from the Hozuki awkwardly followed as if they were unsure of what they were doing.
Stopped in front of Mei's hideout, Shirou and his bleeding heart wanted to speak to the two that managed to follow them, but Mei was quicker.
Mei shut the door in their faces first. No hard feelings, but she had too much to deal with right now.
Left outside, the Yuki and Hozuki stared silently at the other, but neither left.
/-/
"Sit." Mei's tone was firm as she pointed to a torn mat whose stuffing was starting to fall out.
"Mei-"
"Sit." Mei was not having it right now and narrowed her eyes into slits.
The fiery nature of Mei's chakra made it seem like lava would start flowing out of her if Shirou raised another word of protest.
Mei was curious about the red spear Shirou had used, but circumstances prevented her from dwelling on that topic. Their lives and what to do from here were more important.
Grudgingly sitting on the mat, Shirou watched as Mei paced in front of him with her hands clasped behind her. He didn't have the energy to resist Mei's demands to begin with as he was still recovering from his injuries, and the fact that he'd pushed himself again moments prior.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Mei asked.
It was the most Shirou had heard Mei speak to him at a time, as she'd been guarded against him even after she had first saved him. It was only now that she was opening up, and the anger he could see in her expression and mannerism were not directed at Shirou, but at the situation he put himself in.
Mei had half a mind to believe Shirou had ended up in such a sorry state prior when she fished him out of the river, due to something stupid or heroic.
"The village forces will put you on their notice, and will come for you, for sure!" Mei stressed, hands balling into fists. "It may be now, later, tomorrow, or even weeks away because of the world war, but they won't forget!"
From the way Mei put it, Shirou had to really think things through. His understanding of Hidden Mist's domestic issues wasn't concrete. In the time he'd woken up, Mei hadn't been the easiest to talk to let alone get enough relevant information from.
"What is really happening in the village?" Shirou ventured to ask, noting that Mei was now being more forthcoming with him.
Shirou's question caused Mei to blink, as if the words needed several minutes to fully process and comprehend.
Was he living under a rock?
After all, Mei considered Shirou to be aware as a bloodline user himself, but then she let out an inward gasp.
Mei shook her head, recalling Shirou's injured state when she'd rescued him on a whim. It wouldn't be unnatural if he forgot a few things.
"It's a bloodline purge." Mei said, rubbing at her arms as if the acknowledgment of Hidden Mist's stance change on its clans was upsetting her. Because it was. Her family was gone. "Those with unique abilities or family techniques are being persecuted in Hidden Mist by those who don't possess bloodlines. They call us monsters, yet deploy us in battle, give us honor while keeping us on a leash."
Mei's eyes flickered with resentment.
"Father said he saw it for what it was…they were scared, and would rather kill us than give us a chance to grow stronger than their numbers."
"A massacre?" Shirou's expression grew solemn.
Mei shook her head, eyes meeting with Shirou's before she looked away in sadness. She recalled the words her father had once said. "Nothing so public yet, but more along the lines of suddenly going 'missing' or dying in battle from dangerous missions."
"And the Mizukage is okay with this?" Shirou could not wrap his mind around the logic. He'd been educated since young in the Uzumaki-Clan regarding village politics.
The influence a village projected on its neighbors was in direct correlation to their shinobi and manpower. Killing off their elite due to persecution was beyond simple foolishness. It was mad. Even Hidden Cloud was said to covet bloodlines due to its lack of bloodline clans, and then Hidden Mist decides to kill its bloodline members?
Surely something else was going on in the background. It was something no sane leader would do, but Mei didn't share Shirou's thoughts.
Mei was crying with rage at the mere notion that someone else was to fault.
"He's one of the people to blame!" Mei seethed, biting back tears. It was the Mizukage's fault that her father died when he was unable to refuse a mission that he knew was impossible for himself. He'd been forced to join a mission regarding a Tailed Beast and never returned.
Realizing he'd stepped on a landmine, Shirou backtracked.
"Then the people-"
"No amount of pandering or propaganda is going to change anyone's minds." Mei hissed, stopping Shirou from talking as she began pacing hurriedly again.
"We're getting off topic. What we need to do now is plan an escape." Mei bit down on the nail of her thumb but continued to draw blanks.
Escape wasn't easy in any regard.
Village security was heightened considerably due to the ongoing war, and regulations had also become stricter.
Units of Hunter-Nin were already ready to reign in all those that sought to leave or rebel with village secrets.
There was a reason most Missing-Nin weren't weaklings. They had to be both skilled and strong enough to escape the pursuit of their hidden villages.
"Uwu," Mei made a strange noise in her panicking, but her thoughts ground to a halt at the dumbest response she'd ever heard.
"Who says we have to leave? What if we could change things?" Shirou asked.
An exasperated laugh escaped Mei's lips.
"What do you think we can do? Fine, you're strong, but against the entire village? It's laughable. Do you know how many active shinobi there are? Their outposts, divisions, or even where in the Mizukage's tower the Mizukage would be." A vein popped over Mei's temples, revealing that this wasn't the first time she'd thought on this matter. "Look at our age and capabilities! We're just expendable."
"It sounds like this isn't the first time you've argued about this with someone before." Shirou didn't fail to notice the oddity in Mei's behaviour, and she sobered up quickly.
"A former classmate…" Mei trailed off before shaking her head. "His name is Yagura, and he's been trying to gather forces to join the growing resistance to oust the current Mizukage."
Then why not join the resistance?
Shirou's blank features were practically screaming the question, but he didn't bother asking it in favour of observing Mei's pensive expression.
The answer was already clear.
"You don't look hopeful," Shirou stated.
"Why should I?" Mei pursed her lips, eyes appearing defeated. "Like proper shinobi, we should wait until we are capable enough to achieve our goals rather than throw ourselves into the fire like that hotheaded Zabuza-idiot."
"Another classmate?" Shirou said.
It was a question with multiple meanings, and one that solidified that Shirou had memory loss in Mei's mind. No one goes through Hidden Mist's shinobi curriculum and not know what it entailed in its graduating year.
And Zabuza was not known as the 'Demon of the Mist,' for nothing.
Mei shivered, and shook her head. She wouldn't have been alive if she were his classmate. "Same shinobi school, different class," she said.
But regardless, what mattered was the dangerous ideal Zabuza and others like him held in their heads.
"He's going to get himself killed one day." Mei spat. "He's made no progress in hiding his bitterness towards the current regime and- you're distracting me."
Mei accused Shirou with narrowed eyes.
Shirou shut his mouth. His method of trying to ease her tension by diverting the topic had failed, and Mei wasn't about to let Shirou do it again.
"We need to get out of here."
Without another word, Mei turned away and began grabbing her things. There wasn't much, but she threw them all into a faded rucksack and began scrounging through the room for anything she deemed of value. Considering that she'd picked Shirou out of the water, he didn't have anything to pack to begin with so she focused on her own personal items.
Mei constantly leveled a displeased glare at Shirou to make sure that he remained seated. All to prevent Shirou from doing anything impulsive before she was done getting ready.
Getting out of Hidden Mist would be hard, but she was a Terumi. She'd find a way.
In the meantime, Shirou didn't stop trying to reason with her.
"Mei."
"Shush."
"This doesn't have to be our only choice."
"You're right. It's mine, and as your savior, you listen to me."
The Terumi Clan was gone, only remnants such as herself left. At times, Mei even wondered if she was the last one alive.
Resistance without ample force was too dangerous.
The sound of knocking interrupted their standoff.
"Don't open it," Mei frowned, having an idea of just who would come to find her again after the commotion. "I don't want to hear it from them right now."
Click.
T-That was the sound of her door's lock turning.
Hastily turning her head to the door, she spotted Shirou.
"...and he's already opening it. Ugh!"
Cursing under her breath, Mei ran to where she kept her father's kunai hidden and concealed it under the rags she wore around her thigh.
Without wasting another second, she made for the door where Shirou was standing staring at the three young boys at the entrance.
Mei recognized all three boys roughly her age, mostly older.
The one with child-like features but an age begetting a young man, his name was Yagura. He hated being called a midget, and those that dared call him that were bludgeoned by the hooked metal staff he wielded.
The one covered in swaths of bandages around his head like it was a fashion statement was Zabuza Momochi. The feral nature of his eyes denoted the ferocity of his assault. He who butchered his entire graduating year.
Then there was shark boy, Kisame. Due to his blue and fish-like features, he was often ostracized in the academy, but ended up becoming one of the best shinobi Hidden Mist had produced in the younger generation.
Yagura, Zabuza, and the shark-face Kisame were still working as active Hidden Mist Shinobi of Genin and Chunin ranks.
Currently, all three had their attention on Shirou after giving a passing glance to Mei.
Either the three were there when Shirou had stood up for the destitute in the market, or they'd heard of him. Either way, the reason they may have shown up now was two-fold.
One, they knew where Mei lived and still wished to recruit her, and two, she'd been spotted walking with Shirou prior.
Being as Yagura, Zabuza, and Kisame knew Mei, it wasn't surprising that they came to visit.
"That him?" Zabuza stepped towards Shirou, a gleam in his eyes, but Mei was quicker.
They were all academy graduates, and Mei was already in action before Shirou fully opened the door. Rushing in front of Shirou, she shoved Zabuza back and leered.
"Bitch," Zabuza growled as he used his feet to steady himself.
"None of your business." Mei said guardedly, staring at all three and dismissing them. "Now leave. We're busy."
Mei tried to slam the door, but Zabuza placed a foot in and pulled it back open, veins popping over his temples as Mei flinched. Bloodlust escaped Zabuza's body as he flared his chakra around him.
Even as a child, Zabuza carried a monstrous demeanor that didn't look human in the mist. His shark-like teeth pulled into a sneer.
"You think you can just act like you're above me?" Zabuza spat, eye twitching. "Don't flatter yourself. You're not worth as much as you-!"
Zabuza's pupils dilated, head spinning to stare at Shirou before he hastily backtracked.
Through the mist, wisps of red energy manifested along the length of the red spear Shirou brandished. The sheer killing intent went magnitudes beyond what Zabuza could hope to mimic.
"Don't." Shirou threatened.
Yagura and Kisame were observing Shirou in an instant while Zabuza felt an unknown pressure boring down over him. Wetting his lips, Zabuza slowly moved a hand to his shuriken and kunai holster before thinking better of it and scoffing.
He stood up, grudgingly raising his hands as a sign of peace.
Before things could spiral again, Yagura took the initiative and glanced behind Shirou and Mei to stare into Mei's hideout.
Mei hadn't bothered hiding what she was doing inside. The area was in clutters, and a hastily made ruck-sack that was still half-empty was laid in the middle of the hideout.
"Packing up?" Yagura said, staring at Mei while humming. This was uncharacteristic of the stubborn girl Yagura knew. "I thought you'd never leave this place."
It was the place Mei father said he'd return to, and the place Mei had adamantly refused to abandon until now.
If there was any chance of Mei's father coming back, this hideout was the only place she knew he'd come looking for her. Therefore, regardless of the conditions, Mei had eked out a living after dropping out of the shinobi curriculum.
Mei clenched her jaw in agitation, but eventually nodded at Yagura. She was leaving.
At this point, a part of her had already come to terms with things.
Her father was dead.
What she had to focus on now was herself and the little warmth she could find in those she could trust fully. She'd bide her time and train until she was strong enough to make a difference, or if Hidden Mist's situation drastically altered.
"What do you want?" Mei directly asked Yagura. "Trying to convince me again?"
This wasn't the first time Yagura had tried to recruit her into the resistance force forming within Hidden Mist. As a Terumi, her bloodline was valuable. Moreover, there was the chance of fostering support from the Terumi's old allies in Hidden Mist.
The fact that Mei was also an exceptional shinobi in training also couldn't be neglected.
It was all a win-win scenario.
"I still hold to what I said before," Yagura said with a grin, excitement bleeding through. "This is our best opportunity. Something's happened in the war that's causing the Mizukage to divert his focus from domestic affairs and put more trust in me and other hidden members."
Mei frowned, not knowing how to process what Yagura was telling her. None of their group was in any position to try and oust the current Mizukage, and even if Hidden Mist's central forces were distracted, what were they going to do.
It was still suicide.
"Do you know what's happening?" Shirou interjected into the conversation.
Zabuza shrugged, glowering at Shirou. "Doesn't concern us."
Yagura was of the same opinion.
Rumors were that the Uzumaki had gone crazy. Still, the more chaotic the world war, the less attention would be placed on smaller movements.
"Kisame would know more," Yagura offered as an olive branch to Shirou. "He's apprenticing under a certain elite of the village for the honour of becoming a new swordsman."
Shirou's attention naturally turned to Kisame and his shark-like features. Noting that Shirou was looking at him, Kisame grunted but softened his stance when he realized that there was no judgment in Shirou's gaze.
"The war's intensifying," Kisame shared. "Hidden Leaf has positioned its forces in the land of water in support of their alliance with the Uzumaki. That's all I was told, but its likely that the conflict will draw a lot of major players in because of lies and vested interests."
Shirou nodded, as he began trying to deduce what had happened in his absence. Still, a part of him was relieved to hear that Hidden Leaf had arrived to bolster Hidden Whirlpool's forces.
"Ahem," Yagura coughed to draw Shirou and Mei's attention back to him.
This time most of Yagura's attention was on Mei rather than Shirou. He was going through the same sale's pitch, but this time there was a certain weight to it.
"Mei, at least consider it. We'll be at the usual meeting place."
Nudging Zabuza and Kisame on the side, Yagura vanished in a body flicker followed by the other two. Kisame went quietly, but Zabuza frowned at Shirou before leaving.
"This isn't me running away," Zabuza stressed.
Mei grumbled about stupid pride, but Shirou didn't seem to register what Zabuza even said.
A laugh nearly escaped Mei's lips as she noticed Zabuza's utter rage before Yagura came back and pulled Zabuza with him.
"Shirou?" Mei called out to her distracted friend.
But Shirou had been thinking, the time beginning to stretch by the minute.
Now wasn't the time to remain idle.
Hidden Mists internal conflicts were a glaring weakness.
Moreover, Shirou wasn't a mere child.
He had the mind to understand that a change in the war that Yagura mentioned may have something to do with him, and that he could weaken Hidden Mist's forces by staging a successful uprising.
This would ease pressure on both Hidden Leaf and Hidden Whirlpool if proven successful. A further alliance with Hidden Mist would solidify into a regional power.
Besides, there were also other interests motivating Shirou.
Shirou was all the more compelled to act after witnessing and experiencing the discrimination against Hidden Mist's Bloodline clans.
Stepping further from the door of Mei's hideout, the two startled faces of the Yuki and Hozuki members stared back at Shirou. The two had been hiding ever since Yagura, Kisame, and Zabuza had arrived.
Giving them a reassuring nod, Shirou walked past them with determination to create a better place where children didn't have to fight or starve.
Where was it that Yagura and the others would be gathering? Even if they'd told him, it wasn't as if Shirou would know where to go.
Obviously, Shirou had no answer to this dilemma, but he also knew that he was with someone who did.
Slowly, Shirou paused in his steps, turned around, and looked straight at Mei.
"No." Came the flat answer.
"I said no!"
.
.
.
"NOT ANOTHER STEP CLOSER!"
The group of three Hidden Mist Shinobi harboring their own ideas of change in their village stood at an impasse leading to their respective squads. All of them had something that they wanted to do in order to see their hidden village improve. Whether it was seeking truth, bringing about order, or bringing about change, the three's goals aligned under the current Mizukage's rule.
Both Kisame and Zabuza were apprenticing to different teachers to inherit one of the Seven Swords of the Mist while Yagura had clan training.
It was a miracle that the three so happened to be undeployed at the same time frame.
Even more so to have witnessed what they did in the market.
Word was soon to spread, but none of the three could make heads or tales about the full depth of what they'd just seen. Similar to the other Hidden Mist Shinobi present, they had been unable to sense the use of chakra, nor explain the mysterious sealing art that prevented one to flee from one-on-one combat.
To be honest, this sealing art of death match was the one that caught Zabuza's eye the most.
But rather than Zabuza who considered the sealing art or fuinjutsu of death match, Yagura had a gleam in his expression.
He was thinking bigger.
If such a sealing art could be deployed against the Mizukage, then the resistance forces would not have to worry about Hidden Mist ANBU interfering in a battle for the seat of power.
"So, what did you guys think?" Yagura was the first to speak, breaking the silence at the point the group was to go their separate ways.
They'd converge again later when it would be less suspicious to their superiors.
"..." Zabuza furrowed his brow, remembering the oppressive feeling Shirou emitted with the red spear he brandished. "That spear, it seems as unique as the seven swords," Zabuza gave his opinion.
"It seeks the heart," Yagura muttered.
What they'd seen that red spear do was beyond what could be described.
The enemy shinobi was nowhere near Shirou, and in fact had dodged the trajectory of the spear, but was still hit. It was like time itself was catching up to a phenomenon. A sure certainty.
"Not just the spear, I mean as a person of interest," Yagura clarified. "We know full well that despite Mei panicking about a retaliation, it won't happen anytime soon."
Shinobi were better with using their heads than most.
Faced with a means beyond what they were used to, in what world would they recklessly try to fight against it without first sending a unit to do reconnaissance?
In that sense…Yagura smiled.
Yagura, Zabuza, and Kisame were the reconnaissance.
Mei would likely be going crazy because she was ignorant of this, but oh well, who cared? They'd tell her if she decided to finally join the resistance.
Still, Yagura, Zabuza, and Kisame's brief meeting with Shirou had all three subtly assessing Shirou with their own classifications.
In the end, Kisame gave a straight forward answer even without the other two needed to voice it.
"He's worth recruiting."
It was the common consensus.
Nodding at each other, Yagura made sure they all had the same story.
"He's dead. We killed him."
Each of the three was a prodigy, so the story wasn't unbelievable.
This way, no one would start searching, or at least, not until it was too late.
Kisame didn't like lying, but he wouldn't have to lie if he just kept his mouth shut.
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