Icarus

Prologue II .

Icarus Pov :

After a full days walk , we arrived at the small village described in the assignment. The village was relatively small , a few dozen wood built huts and some farms on the outskirts of the village, a store , Inn  and a government building . Yet that was all , the buildings were damaged and needed alot of maintenance, the farms were practically barren without any animals or plants and the people looked worst for ware .

They were slumped over , dragging their feet , clothing dirty and torn. They seemed malnourished and exhausted , the village was also almost empty . Based on the amount of houses and farms there should be alot more people around uet theres on 30% of the towns population and they dont look good .

Kakashi and I shared a look , this village wont last long . We walked further into the village to the largest hut which had a sign ( Village head ) , Kakashi raised his hand to knock on the door but it opened before he could get his knuckle near the door . An older man stood on the other side , his face was like a drained prune and he looked like he could collapse any minute .

" Konoha ninja ?" He asked , his voice hoarse and dry .

Kakashi calmly answered " We are . I believe you left out a few things in your request " , Kakashi looked back at the village surrounding us " Your request only asked to deal with some bandits...but it looks like theres more to this than that ."

" Sir , what have you kept out of the request ?" I asked .

" come inside " the village head stepped aside and let us in , he led us to a small table and sat down , motioning us to do the same . He sighed " Its all Min's fault..."

"Min?"

He looked at us " Minnak , he lived here you see , the nicest boy you could ever meet but a few years ago he left the village to seek fortune , when he returned he was different. He had this change in him , he became cruel and heartless , he brought men with him and they were all strong ninja . The began stealing from us and harming us if we refused to submit to him , every ounce of money we had goes to him and what we make . He recently started taking villagers with him , once he takes them , they hardly return . Those who do need medical attention , I believe he is using them to work in a mine near his hideout ."

" a mine ? Did one of the returning villagers mention that ?" Kakashi asked , the village head nodded " but we dont know where that is . All we can do now is just follow his orders...."

Kakashi and I shared another glance , I sat forward "  How often does Min come to the village ?"

"Evey third month ...to collect more workers and money " .

I can tell by this mans body language,  he has given up . He wont have the will power to lie to Minnak , he wont be able to keep anything from him , Min has broken this man . This entire village has just accepted this new system , they wont retaliate anymore .

Kakashi stood and cleared his throat " This wasnt in the request you made months ago , I need to return to the hokage and update it before I can do anymore "

He looked to me " Lets go Icarus " , the village head was immediately shocked , he began to panic "wait wait wait , please just hear me out --"

" sorry but I'm staying " I replied,  Kakashi sighed " this isnt the time to be a teenager , we need to follow protocol."

" I wont do anything , you need to return after the update right? Let me stay and help here while we wait "  I suggested.

Kakashi groaned " do what you want , Im not responsible for you " Kakashi walked out of the building,  The village head sprung to his feet "wait ! Dont leav--"

"Sir , do you have a place I can stay for the time being ?" I asked pleasantly. 

"Uh...yes , we have a inn . I can fix you a room "

I smiled "great thankyou "

The village head needs to believe that Kakashi and I are torn on this , that Kakashi isnt close to me and is a rule follower . That way he can observe from outside the village,  while I make myself "useful" inside the village to get Mins attention.  Let him bring me to the mine as Kakashi tails and we can learn more about this situation and hopefully get the villagers back home safely. 

I didnt expect Kakashi to have the same idea as me but the simple codes we engraded into our conversation made it easier for us to understand. 

" we're leaving " - we cannot stay unified in thier eyes

" im staying " - let me be the bait

"This isnt the time to be a teenager " - make yourself the focus of their attention

" do what you want , im not responsible " - Ill tail you

The village head walked me to my inn , where  I paid DOUBLE (????) the usual price for a single room with no furniture or bedding , talk about money grabbers . I get that they need to make their Min happy but thats so much  . I sighed and sat down thinking about what I need to do to get Mins attention.