The silence after battle was a hollow thing.
The rain felt heavier.
The groan of the dying oxen weaker
The trembling started then—the fine, involuntary shiver in the hands, the tightness in the jaw.
After every kill, every sanctioned murder, the body demanded its tax of stress. People coped differently.
Goto Haribako took out a small, silver flask from an inner pocket, unscrewed it, and took a long, burning swallow. He didn't offer it around. This was a personal ritual.
Ameruyi Takeda methodically cleaned her katana with a strip of oiled cloth, her movements precise, repetitive, a meditation to steady her breath and still the adrenaline singing in her veins.
Yumi Hakkō, leaning against a splintered wagon wheel, produced a slender wooden pipe and a pouch of sharp-smelling tobacco. She packed it deliberately, struck a spark with her flint, and took a deep draw, exhaling a plume of smoke that tangled with the misty rain.
"Want some?", Yumi spoke
Ryugo shook his head: "I am good"
He did not have that much stress. The blood on his hands was still warm, but he had killed enough in the past month to grow accustomed to it.
Team 11 regrouped at the lead wagon. After calming down, Ameruyi tossed the red lacquer box to Ryugo. He caught it, the weight satisfying. Inside were scrolls—trade ledgers, route maps, and coded correspondence. The Dark Hall's intelligence division would dissect them, and use it as leverage for next negotiations with the Western Silver Drop Union
"That was smooth", Goto reported, collecting the senbons from the ground, sweeping them against the clothes of enemy Tanigakure uniforms to avoid rust, "No survivors from the merchant party. Eight Tanigakure genin confirmed dead. A textbook ambush"
He sounded almost disappointed.
Ryugo, too, could not help but feel cheated. He had poured so much effort on the strategy, the order of jutsu, even their position. Everything was perfect. They could have handled twice these numbers with that level of preparation.
Yumi kicked at a patch of glowing mold on a crate. "Their poison resistance was pathetic. My spores barely had to work. This cargo… some silks, spices, sealed ceramics. Valuable, but not extraordinary."
Tetsu was checking the bodies with methodical care, his mask hiding any revulsion. "They were well-equipped for guards. Standard-issue Tanigakure flak jackets, fresh scrolls. They weren't a backwater unit"
Ryugo's [Strategy] skill, now at a solid (C) rank, itched. It was as if the puzzle had been too easy. But something felt amiss.
The convoy was valuable, but not exceptionally so for a merchant of Sato's rumored influence. The guard detail was robust, almost provocatively so. It felt like a statement. They were advocating for open shinobi markets in the lands of Rain. Or perhaps it was bait for a trap that never sprang.
"Move quickly," Ryugo ordered, tucking the ledger box into his pack, "Strip the bodies of usable gear and intel. Goto, Yumi—have your teams load the most portable valuables from the wagons. We burn the rest. We're on a known trade road. We've made enough noise"
Even if there was no sign, Ryugo had a bad feeling. Moving quickly was the solution to that. They could celebrate when they were back in Amegakure.
The teams moved with the efficient ruthlessness of Ame shinobi. Scrolls, weapons, and coin purses were collected. Kota and Makura began piling loose silks and flammable cargo in the center of the road, dousing them with lamp oil from the wagons.
It had been a massive success.
As Yumi supervised her teammates looting a weapons crate, she sidled closer to Ameruyi, who was securing a roll of fine River Country silk into her pack.
"Hey, Takeda," Yumi said, her voice low, smoke curling from her lips. "Your captain. The Kagutsu kid"
Ameruyi didn't look up, her fingers deftly tying the knot. "What about him?"
"He's something else. That ambush plan was sharp. And the way he called the shots… no hesitation" Yumi took another draw from her pipe, her eyes shrewd, "What would it take?"
"For what?"
"To get him transferred. To my team. Or to have him assigned as a tactical lead more permanently for joint ops", Yumi's grin was all sharp edges, "Kota and Makura are good, but they only follow orders. We need a brain like that. Name your price. I've got access to some interesting… fungal extracts. Hallucinogens, potent paralytics. I also have some special herbs that can cure your lack of emotions"
Ameruyi finally stopped her task and turned her veiled face towards Yumi. The silence stretched. She did not break the eye contact. When she spoke, her voice was the flat, cold chime of a bell.
"For the sake of this successful mission and future cooperations, if there are any, I will let that slide and pretend you did not just ask that. But to answer your question, there is no price," Ameruyi stated, finality in every syllable.
"He is ours. Team 11's. His brain, his commands, his growth—they belong to our unit. He is not a commodity for trade, Hakkō. He is our captain. Suggest this to him or to command, and you will find my kenjutsu less precise and more… personal"
She held Yumi's gaze for a moment longer, then turned back to her packing, the conversation clearly terminated.
Yumi blinked, then let out a low, appreciative chuckle, exhaling a large smoke ring. "Touchy, touchy. Message received, O noble heir. But I won't give him up like that" She sauntered away, calling to Kota about a sealed jar of spices.
Ameruyi faked not feeling emotions, but inwardly, she was fuming with fury.
'That bitch...', she thought
Hours later, under the perpetual grey twilight of Amegakure, the mission was logged and the rewards distributed. The scent of rain and iron was a welcome replacement for blood and smoke.
[Rewards: 3000 EXP (Mission)]
[Dark Hall Promotion Points: 50 Points.]
[Ryô: 30,000 + 15,000 (Share of Loot Estimate) = 45,000]
[Reputation with Dark Hall Tower: +50]
[Reputation with Teams 41 & 42: +75]
[Reputation with Council of the Rain: +30]
[Reputation with Team 11: +50]
[Reputation with Yumi Hakko: +400]
[Skill Proficiencies: Thunder Clap (D) +6, Raikōgan (C) +3, Strategy (C) +3, Amegakure Swordsmanship (C) +2, Storm-Cage Blade (C) +3, Stealth (C) +5]
Inspector Kosuke, his gas mask looking clean for once, spoke: "Excellent work, Ryugo, Goto, Yumi. You will also be given two days of rest"
As Ryugo processed the rewards, he titled his head.
'Yumi Hakko, +400 Reputation points? Did she just develop a crush?', Ryugo thought with cold sweat
Speaking of the devil, Yumi came closer to him: "Ryugo-san, care to join me and my team on a meal? Tetsu, Ameruyi, you are free to join. Goto, Sora, Ren...You are invited too"
He looked at his team. Ameruyi seemed...angry.
"I must decline. My father told me to come to the clan compound when I return from my mission", Ameruyi spoke, "Thank you for this mission, Ryugo"
Tetsu nodded as well: "I won't be around this time either...Mumei-sensei told me to practice my senbon throwing"
Ryugo nodded: "No worries. We were given two days of rest. Let's regroup tommorrow for training. In two days, we will ask Kosuke for another mission, alright?"
"Hai!", Ameruyi and Tetsu said in chorus.
Yumi licked her lips: "Good! I know of a place..."