Take a Shot

Headstrong

"I'm not doing it."

Matt paused in the doorway to roll his eyes. He headed towards the side of the table that didn't have four ninjas and flopped down in a chair. "C'mon, Em, it isn't that serious."

The green-haired ninja set her combat boot-laden feet up on the desk, crossing her arms over her chest and crossing her legs at the ankle. She had one eye closed, the other sharp in a glare towards the older man following slowly behind Matt into the small, grey room. The Sage who had taken Matt on as a mentee with his new promotion, Lus, met the youngest ninja's glare with a smile that crinkled the edges of his green eyes. He gave her a polite nod as he pulled out his chair, sitting down slowly and with a small sound of pain. He turned his attention to the three ninjas stood behind Emerald, their fiery protegee: the Shadow Triad, Geechis's first bodyguards and assassins.

"Apologies for our tardiness," the Sage began, looking at each ninja individually. Typically, all four ninjas were masked up, which didn't matter much for Emerald because of her very distinctive hair, but made telling the triplets apart nearly impossible. Today, due to the nature of this talk, all four ninjas were sans mask, and a small, swooping scar under the middlemost ninja's eye made Lus sure this one was Shadow, the oldest. "These old bones simply don't move like they used to."

The triplet ninjas bowed in sync as their student snapped, "Why are we fucking here?"

Lus looked over at Matt, who sighed. "Em, we-"

"Emerald," Lus corrected quickly. Matt seemed to swallow his words as he backtracked.

"Emerald..." he said slowly, like the word was unfamiliar to him. The youngest ninja tossed her head, looking away from the two men, shoulders tight. "We talked about this. You know why we're here."

"Enlighten us, then, if you don't mind," came Shadow's smooth voice. Matt looked up at the grey-eyed ninja whose head cocked slightly to the right.

"R-Right, right, um..." Matt looked between all three older ninjas carefully. There was no way they didn't know why they had all been called to meet, but..."I've been put on the negotiations track recently, as I discussed with-" Matt looked at his partner, who still refused to look at him. "-with your protegee. As such, my line of work has come to include some unsavory things, and we're here to ask for your assistance in getting me acclimated to-"

"Too many words," barked the ninja to Matt's left. Matt startled. He glanced at Lus, who motioned subtly to the ninja. If that was too many words, Matt needed to adjust.

"Right, sorry." Matt dipped his head, then tried for a smile. "Lord Geechis wants to get me used to being tortured."

"Well, it ain't gonna be me," Emerald scoffed. She plucked a knife out of gods-knew-where and started digging under her fingernails. The smiles on the Triad's faces might have been a trick of the light. She aimed an acidic look at Matt and Lus before turning her nose up. Matt sent a despondent look to his mentor.

Lus chuckled, setting his hands on the table as he looked to the Triad. They all shrugged simultaneously.

"She doesn't want to."

"Surely there's some way we can persuade you?" Lus asked mildly. The ninja to the right raised an eyebrow, leaning in towards the woman in the chair in front of them. She swiveled her head to the other side, ignoring him. He leaned back up.

"Why can he not become used to it on the job?" the right-side ninja said. "The old-fashioned way." The Sage raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"That would put the organization at great risk. We don't send unarmed soldiers into the field, we shouldn't send untrained operatives, either. I hate to be an imposition," Lus drawled. Matt fidgeted awkwardly in his chair, trying to still himself as three sets of grey eyes turned to him, looking him over, as the Sage continued, "But our Lord has been very clear here. Matt has to get used to some torture, and Emerald is the best we have." Lus offered the three ninjas a smile, one Matt had copied successfully recently...which was why they were all here.