Haurutsuki: Beautiful Snow

17. I Will Protect You!

Weeks had passed, and the pair grew closer to each other in their own way. However, their mission hadn't grown any closer to discovering the plot against the Fourth Mizukage. It caused uneasiness amongst everyone involved in the operation, including Lord Yagura.

"I have called you five here, because as you know, you are my top undercover ANBU within the Kaguya Infiltration Squad. I expected the Kaguya Clan to have at least grown suspicious by now. But being as fearless and tactless as they all are, it would seem their barbaric tendencies have led them to ignorance as well. It's a shame. I expected them to have grown tired of not receiving missions outside the Village by now." He explained, facing the five masked ANBU members. "Therefore, I order you all to provoke them." They did their best to hide their surprise, and continued listening to his orders.

Two Days Later...
"Come on, Katsu. Wake up. It's almost dawn." Ryuu ushered, gently shaking him awake. He remained unmoving. "Hey... It's our turn to patrol the Kaguya Compound. Hurry up." Katsu groaned, snuggling deeper into the covers. Paperwork was littered all over him. "What's the point? They're not planning anything." He groaned. "You don't know that. Come on, if you're not going to listen to the Mizukage's orders, at least listen to Miyuki's." He hummed, contemplating his brother's words. Ryuu sighed, "I made you coffee." With that, a smile grew on Katsu's face. He began to stretch and slowly sit up, pages falling off his futon as did. "Thanks, Little Brother." He said, gratefully accepting the coffee cup. "Mm-hmm. What is all this stuff anyway?" Ryuu asked as he began to clean their room, picking up the pages sliding off Katsu. "Leave it! It's nothing."

He immediately dropped them, "Uhm, okay? Are you hiding something?" He frantically shook his head. "Hmm... I wonder what Miyuki will have to say about this." Ryuu innocently mused. He flinched in fear, "Okay, okay! It's background checks on some people." He confessed. "Background checks?" He nodded, "Some of the people on our squad are remnants of extinct clans and have enough experience and an overall profile to rival those of us in the Rakurai. It's very suspicious." He whispered. "Does Miyuki know?" He shook his head. "You know how she gets. Once she's curious about something, there's no stopping her. She'll interrogate the Mizukage if she has to." Ryuu folded his arms in thought, "Hmm... Good point."

Katsu asked him to keep it a secret until he could find out more. Reluctantly, he agreed. Once dawn arrived, the pair began their walk about the Kaguya Compound. "Is it just me, or is the atmosphere around here getting kind of tense?" Ryuu asked. It had been almost 8 hours, and heading for noon. He shook his head, "That's not tension. Look, over there." Katsu pointed to a nearby crowd of Kaguya Shinobi. They were gathered with their weapons in the air, cheering. "Let's check it out." Ryuu said, and the two hurriedly jogged over to see what was going on.

A Kaguya Shinobi stood on a platform above the rest of the large crowd. "So, the Mizukage thinks he can keep us here, hey? Well, we'll show 'em we're worth fearing!" He declared, raising a fist to the air. "Yeah!" The crowd of 50 cheered. Another Kaguya man joined him, "I heard he thinks we're savages who need to be kept on a leash. Well, we'll show them who's savage. Am I right!?" He shouted out. "Yah!" They continued. "This is not good." Ryuu feared. Then someone from the crowd added, "They don't think we deserve tough missions! Well, I say we kill them all and see!" An elder yelled. "YEAH!" Katsu gulped, "It's bloodlust." He quivered. "Oh no." Ryuu sweat dropped in dread. Then the first man shouted out, "I heard they think we're too weak to compete. That we're out of control, and will get ourselves killed. They even have spies amongst us, making sure we don't do anything stupid... Well, I say let's kill off the Hidden Mist and take the Mizukage's head before we charge on to the next village!" The crowd boomed, "YEAH! Kill them! Kill them!" They chanted. "How did this happen?" Katsu was baffled. "I don't know... But we have to warn the Mizukage!" Ryuu stressed. "Agreed. You warn the captain. I'll inform the Mizukage." He nodded, "Right!" With that, the two ran off, the crowd continuing to get riled up for battle.