Chapter 41: The Story Never Told

Shoichi sat in wait, hidden beneath the shadow of an overhanging palm swaying in the sea-bound breeze. Playing a peculiar woodwind flute he made himself comfortable in the sandy clearing. The Jonin made fists with his toes to rub away the grains caught in his sandals, already itchy with all the gnats such weather invited.

Through the trees Shoichi heard the sound of waves lapping against the shore, married as expected to the constant caw of circling gulls. The ninja checked the time once more; late as usual. Punctuality was one quality his beloved cousin surely lacked.

As much as he hated the wait the ninja had to admit that the journey here was one he'd enjoyed. During the summer the Land of Fire was the best place to be. Pleasant little towns and sunny hillsides were the only obstacles in his way. Crossing the Great Naruto Bridge alone was enough to make his trip worth it; if he craned his head he could still see it through the trees, stretching across a vast expanse of water and all the way into the distance.

A shuffling through the bushes alerted Shoichi to the presence of another. Michio strode into the clearing with a hum and a spring in his step.

"Michio!"

"Hey!" The younger ninja met him with a fierce hug. "How's it been buddy?"

"Good – considering," said Shoichi. The idea that his infant son was growing up without him still weighed on his conscience, but at the very least he'd kept his head down. They were safe for the time being.

"Glad to hear it."

The two parted and took a seat upon opposing rocks, each easing to a slouched position as they prepared to catch up. Shoichi asked his usual opening question – it couldn't hurt to be safe.

"So, where are you living at the moment?"

"The Village Hidden in the Rain. Hardly ideal I know."

Shoichi laughed. "Oh yeah? What's the weather like over there?"

"It rains a lot." Michio gave a shrug.

The ninja froze. Shoichi's first instinct was to ask again – to be sure he hadn't simply misheard his cousin. He stopped himself before his lips could move. Michio was reckless and excitable, but far from stupid. He knew the dangers in coming here and had upheld the protocol ever since their great escape all those years ago.

After thinking it over for half a moment Shoichi was on his feet. As he rose he threw out his hand, channelling chakra for a single swift movement. In a heartbeat he was over his cousin, summoned sword puffing to his grip as he pressed it to the man's neck.

"Wrong answer."

Michio met his stare with an innocent look of horror and confusion; the exact expression one would expect for his sudden threat. Shoichi wasn't buying it though. The Jonin held his gaze for a full five seconds before Michio blinked into a different person. His eternal scowl warped to a devilish, toothy grin as the man behind the curtain finally showed his face.

"I take it I failed some kind of test? Clever of you to put such precautions in place."

"Teijo," said Shoichi – he knew that look right away. Seeing his brother realised through Michio was a horrifying sight to behold. Somehow Teijo had found him and enslaved him; the boy Shoichi knew was no longer home.

"So what's it to be big brother?" Teijo asked, sniggering like a madman. "Are you really going to fight me now?"

"Michio!" Shouting to life, Shoichi woke from his restless slumber in a sudden lurch as the fight was about to begin. Speaking with Shoryu about it must have pushed his memories back to the surface; he'd made every effort to avoid thinking about that day for over a decade now. Lingering on such a trauma would only slow him down.

As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes Shoichi took in the new day. Peering out of the crack of his tent door, he decided it must be close to nine o'clock and quickly got dressed. Today was airy and cool – the kind of climate someone from the Hidden Cloud usually enjoyed.

Over a small fire cooking sausages and bacon the ninja suddenly got a wave of déjà vu. Peering through the crowd of ninja passing by, his eyes finally settled on a young man with the same face as the cousin he dreamt of. Even from the side and through a mob of faces he recognised the man as Kazuya; how could it be anyone else? The same deep-set frown lines and thick eyebrows betraying a constant glare was a trip down memory lane.

Once his breakfast was over Shoichi figured he would speak with him. Kazuya had been in the dark for too long.

Shoryu was already eating when Kazuya rapped on the flap of his tent. The samurai entered, baby in his arms, to the sight of his commander enjoying breakfast in bed. A tray was balanced over his stomach with the smell of beans and swine wafting like incense around the room. The boy immediately set down the plate and straightened up.

"No need for that. Don't starve yourself on my account," said Kazuya.

Tentatively Shoryu seized a kunai from his bedside table and began prodding at his food. Baby Kansuke slept soundly in the arms of his father, with the samurai himself at a loss of how to act. He held the child at arm's length, stiff and awkward as if babies were some foreign species.

"How are you doing?" Shoryu asked. Dwelling on yesterday wouldn't change a thing, but even so he felt it necessary to ask.

"As well as you'd expect." Looking down, Kazuya shook his head. "I need time to put her to rest and a little more to get the samurai back in some kind of order. They won't be happy with that last command I gave them."

"Well we have a new destination," said Shoryu, swallowing a mouthful. "The Forlorn Dunes – Teijo's stronghold is hidden there. We'll be heading out in a fortnight or so."

"That should be enough time."

Looking closer at his face Shoryu noticed the terrible shape Kazuya was in. In just a day he looked to have aged five years, his eye sunken and greyed with his hair wild and chin burdened by the need to shave. He looked weaker than ever, swaying on the spot instead of his usual rigid posture. He hadn't eaten or slept since the previous day – that much was obvious.

Shoryu pushed over the plate and held out his arms to take Kansuke. "Eat," he ordered. "Let me worry about the little guy for a minute."

Kazuya did as he was told and relinquished his son to Shoryu. The food looked stale and bitter to him, going in forced lumps down his throat. Shoryu pretended not to notice his difficult meal as he rocked Kansuke from side to side, whistling a merry tune he usually played with the flute.

"It's still hard to believe you're actually a dad." he added.

"Tell me about it."

"Speaking of which, mine came back out of the blue."

Kazuya looked up. Morbid and stern as he was, Shoryu could tell that at least got his attention.

"Yeah. The guy just shows up and starts kicking ass left right and centre." Shoryu eased back into his bed as he recounted the story again. "Supposedly he's been on the run from the Senmatsu since before we were born and spent the last seventeen years trying to outmanoeuvre Teijo."

"He's here now?"

"Yeah, he's probably still wandering around camp somewhere. You should speak with him; he knew your old man quite well. Some new intel might help take your mind off things, y'know?"

"I've a better solution for that." Before he'd finished his sentence Kazuya was already pulling free the knots that held his sword in its leather casings. He withdrew the blade carefully, ditching the usual flourish he employed for fear of hitting the baby.

"Seriously?" Shoryu threw off the covers to display the bandages covering his torso – half a dozen at least. "Neither of us is exactly in tiptop form right now."

"You said you'd help me in making our family pay for their sins."

Suddenly Kazuya was melancholic again, looking off to avoid Shoryu's gaze as he struggled for the right sentence. His words were an echo of the promise Shoryu made to him, one the boy fully meant to uphold.

"That's all I can think about," said the Taisho. "Every day I sit inside healing is another day I could be out there getting stronger. I can't be idle Shoryu, not for a second. The only thing that matters now is making those bastards suffer for what they did to Fujiko. We need to be tougher and faster to have any hope of fighting these guys – Madoka was only the beginning. For now I just need to know if I can still handle myself with one eye."

Shoryu sat and thought about it. If Kazuya's desperation wasn't already apparent to him it certainly was now. He held back the feeling of pity welling up in his stomach; Kazuya would only resent him for having such concerns, doubly so if he voiced them.

"Alright fine. Half an hour at a leisurely pace," he stressed. "We're only practicing moves here. If my wounds reopen because you're too going too fast then you're the one who has to explain it to Jinga."

"Deal."

Straining his way out of bed, Shoryu quickly got dressed and donned his sword, leaving baby Kansuke to his father as they headed out.

Five clearings over and finally they found a secluded spot. Woodland spread out in each direction, with gnarled, umbrella-like trees forming a cool shadow on the surface. Following yesterday's downpour the ground was still boggy and waterlogged, although a snug spot beneath their central tree was dry enough to house the sleeping babe.

As their feet sank further and further Shoryu and Kazuya ended up using the Water Walking technique to stay above the marsh. The samurai was true to his word and slowed his moves to a crawl. Clearly he too was testing the water; with their bodies in such ruin Shoryu couldn't help but wonder which of them would now win in an all-out fight.

Both were disadvantaged from the start. Shoryu had one sword and Kazuya one eye. Speaking for himself, the Jonin quickly remembered why he hated one-sword style so much. It required a sense of balance he never possessed and a keen muscle memory for the harder techniques. With two swords, frantic footwork and unpredictability were usually Shoryu's greatest allies.

Where Shoryu figured he could never get used to one sword, Kazuya appeared much more able to adapt. With the Blocking Jutsu in play Shoryu managed a handful of scathing blows to his opponent's left flank. After a bruise too many though the Taisho began to wise up; he started turning his head whenever a swing came in from his blind side. Once he could see Shoryu's moves the fight changed course once again.

Fortunately they never managed to find out who could truly best the other. Only fifteen minutes had passed before Ayako sought them out, strolling through the canopy with a basket of assorted fruits in hand.

"This was supposed to be a 'get well soon' present."

Shoryu froze and looked down at himself, still poised to attack with his only sword raised in an offensive stance. "Picnic?" he suggested.

"I suppose so. Here." Seizing a pear and then an orange Ayako threw her former teammates each a fruit and called a timeout for them to eat.

Despite having already demolished breakfast Shoryu ate more than any other. Chakra exhaustion was the bane of his existence; between activating the Kanzen and fighting Yasu his last few days had been torturous.

With his body in shock – and being out cold for over a day – Shoryu found himself starving and tired at the worst moments. For one whose life revolved around a routine schedule sorting out his internal body clock always became Shoryu's priority after a fierce fight.

When Kansuke awoke hungry Ayako cut up tiny slices of melon and carefully fed the boy. Closer inspection proved that the little tyke did in fact have teeth, and Kazuya's signature hair of a brilliant white already had already begun to grow. After discussing it at length Team Thirteen decided there was no accurate way to tell when exactly the child's birthday was, so they settled on May 15th as a good approximation.

"Why do you have to take him somewhere so cold and miserable?" Ayako questioned, prodding Kansuke's pudgy face as he giggled at her strange expressions. "Want to come home with auntie Ayako? Yes you do."

Kazuya forced a smile. "Hard as it is to believe, but he'll be the next Taisho of the Glacier when I'm gone. It's a hard place to adapt to, so growing up there is crucial to handling the environment. I'd hate to sire the first Taisho in our family's history who couldn't stand the cold."

"It's odd; you guys put such a huge responsibility on such a small child," Shoryu muttered. "What if he grows up really skinny – or just ends up a real asshole?"

"You mean what if he grows up like you did?" chimed Ayako.

"Shut it you."

"Such is our way," Kazuya explained, shrugging his shoulders. "It's far from a flawless system; we've had a number of Taisho ill-suited for the position, just as any samurai clan has. But it's a part of our tradition now and to reject it would be to cast aside hundreds of years of convention. Besides, the shinobi system isn't perfect either. Committees decide your leaders and committees can become corrupt – a bloodline cannot."

"I can think of a few who might disagree with you there," said Shoryu, thinking of the clan he grew up with. Imagining the look on Saito Yukizawa's face when he saw the Kanzen Raikyogan made him suddenly fancy sprinting all the way back to the Cloud.

"True enough. Regardless, it's my job to make sure Kansuke is up to the task of replacing me when I'm gone."

"Keep going the way you have been and you'll be dead before you get the chance," said Ayako.

At this Shoryu flashed her a warning cringe, a private reminder to tone down the criticism. She was right of course; if he carried on rushing into battle, spearheading the vanguard and taking on two Senmatsu at once Kazuya was unlikely to ever see Kansuke grow up.

"If that happens then he becomes your responsibility. You're his godparents for a reason. I wouldn't accept anyone else taking care of him."

"Lucky us," said Shoryu, vowing then to keep Kazuya alive at all costs.

"Aww don't listen to him Kansuke." Ayako stooped over to feed him another slice of banana. "He's just being mean."

"Ayako he's not old enough to understand words let alone sarcasm."

"Hey don't make me choose between you two. This little bundle of joy wins every time, don't you Kansuke?"

Another chirp of laughter sounded from the baby as Ayako ruffled his silky head of hair.

"So you're an item now?" Kazuya asked, working out the details from Ayako's last sentence.

"Umm. . ." Shoryu trailed off as his eyes found the clouds with an awkward scratch of his head. Ayako looked equally unsure of what to say; announcing they were a couple in the wake of Kazuya's mourning was perhaps too bold. Shoryu hated the idea of rubbing it in his face, but the samurai merely shrugged again and nodded his head.

"Took you long enough."

"Nice." Shoryu bit his tongue; whenever Kazuya teased him about wooing Ayako his go-to response was always something along the lines of 'not all of us are lucky enough to have a beautiful betrothal from birth.' Never again would he be able to use that excuse.

With the atmosphere reaching greater levels of awkwardness Shoryu found himself relieved when a new face wandered into the clearing. Shoichi stopped and regarded them with surprise – as though he'd stumbled across them during a walk. Shoryu saw through the act in a second, wondering then if the others did too.

"Well look who it is!" he announced, walking over.

"Heya," said Shoryu.

Shoichi took a seat opposite the gang and helped himself to an apple. "You know, I once used a fruit basket for a battle strategy – worked pretty well too."

"Shoichi Senmatsu I take it," said Kazuya, coolly staring him down.

"What gave me away?"

Kazuya merely looked to his left – to the son and then back to the father, highlighting the resemblance without saying a word. Then, "Honestly I couldn't tell you."

"Very funny," said Shoryu.

"Guess my reputation precedes me." Shoichi tore another bite from the apple. "But I'm not the only one; you're Kazuya Takashi. You're Michio's son."

Kazuya said nothing, even as the man leaned in to get a closer look at the giggling baby.

"Which makes this little guy his grandson. . . Wow," he went on. Shoryu watched as it suddenly dawned on his father that he was old enough to be a grandparent. "You don't waste any time do you?" he added. "Then again neither did Michio. . . There's got to be a profound comment about your eyes there that I'm missing. . ."

"Hard to waste time when you live outside it?" Shoryu suggested.

"That'll do it, thank you son."

"You're welcome."

Sensing they were getting off topic, Shoichi cleared his throat and tried again. "So you're a samurai then. Your father had this real appreciation for that lifestyle. He said that when you cast aside all those material desires and live in relative simplicity you get a better picture of what matters most."

That caught Kazuya's interest. The Taisho narrowed his eye on the older man, trying to gauge whether or not he was telling the truth.

"He said that?"

Shoichi nodded. "Hand on heart. Why do you think he chose to settle there? Were it not for his fascination with samurai you would never have been born."

After considering for a moment, Kazuya replied, "Sounds like a smart man."

"He was." The ninja rocked forwards, resting his chin on his hands. "Now you three have quite the reputation amongst the Cloud shinobi. Not to be blunt, but yours seems to paint you as this pessimistic misanthrope. . . I'm glad that's not the case; you seem easy with me, despite my surname."

"Shoryu trusts you," the Taisho replied. "That's enough for me to trust you."

"Now there's a smart man." Shoichi gave a laugh. "You know there's a lot of Michio in you. It's hidden – maybe not as overt as with Shoryu and me – but it's definitely there. I can tell right now that he'd be proud of the man you've become."

When Kazuya replied with a solemn nod the older ninja slung off his backpack and began to rummage around. Sweet wrappers, metal wire and a few scraps of parchment littered the ground before he finally pulled out a photograph, handing it to the boy.

Kazuya accepted the gift as the group huddled round to a picture of Michio and Shoichi, perhaps a year or so older than Squad Thirteen with an even more uncanny resemblance to boot. They stood at the summit of some great mountain; arms slung around the shoulder of the other with a great youthful grin plastered onto each. No doubt this was some holiday photo from years long gone, back when they thought themselves safe from the clutches of their fathers.

"I figured they didn't have many pictures of him at the Glacier – he wasn't there for very long."

"This is the first I've ever seen of him," Kazuya said quietly, staring at the photo. Then – even quieter, "thank you."

"Think nothing of it. I was supposed to be your godfather; this is the least I can do for not being there."

Shoryu paused, stifling a chuckle at the odd coincidence. History seemed to have a funny way of repeating itself; he found himself noticing it more and more with everything his father revealed.

"I'd like to know how he died." Kazuya sat up against the tree as he delved right into the main question on his mind. "I've got a good idea already. . . But I'd still hear it, if it's all the same. I know you're one of the few people who knew anything about it."

Shoichi rocked back, wiped his forehead and released a sigh. "You're well informed," he said. "It's a. . . Difficult thing to explain. I've never told the story to anyone."

"Try me."

Shoryu perked up in sudden interest; he'd asked his father the very same question last night, finding only that he sidestepped the query in favour of waiting for Kazuya. The Taisho was here now; Shoichi's last secret was about to come out.

"You know of Teijo I take it? My sweetheart of a younger brother – the illusion master."

Kazuya nodded.

"Well your father and I had this – well I guess it was a sort of pact. We both figured that if he got a hold of us, it would be better to die than see all our jutsu used against our friends and family."

Already Shoryu could see the tragic end to his story before it unfolded. There was a gleam of regret in his eyes, an immeasurable weight of guilt that even a man as carefree as Shoichi could never hope to shake off in his lifetime.

"We each had this secret question to ask each other. We'd use them every time we met, just to be sure we weren't being controlled. I'd ask him what the weather was like in the village he was staying in and he'd give a sarcastic comment: the Sand was wet, the Mist was clear, the Sound was quiet – you get the idea."

Shoichi went on to tell them the story of his own disappearance – the one Shoryu had already heard. During one of their secret meets a battalion of clones tracked their location. Teijo was summoned and learned of the villages they'd made their homes, pursuing them both for the months that followed even as they ran to the ends of the ninja world to escape him.

"Anyway, some time later we arranged to meet in the Land of Waves. I couldn't wait to see Michio – he was like my little brother and I hadn't seen him for months. He shows up, late as always, with his big grin and even bigger hair. . . And then he fails the secret question."

Paw prints dashed the sand as Aitrax zipped left and right before lunging at the possessed incarnate of Michio Senmatsu. The swifter being dodged, retaliating with a flying kick so fast and severe that both panther and rider were sent sprawling to the shore.

Rolling through the slush, Shoichi tasted clumps of sand in his mouth as he toppled to a stop. A pebble from the earth gashed open a cheek and his ankle throbbed where he landed sideways. Glancing left, Aitrax was out for the count, laid unconscious against the tide. Ahead of him though Michio's fingers tangled together for a single twisted hand sign. Shoichi leapt to his feet.

"Jikansanpo!"

As he threw himself to one side Shoichi evaded the supersonic time-walk as Michio crossed twenty paces in a stream of blue light. From there his body was a flurry of fists and feet; Shoichi went straight on the defensive with the Taijutsu master bombarding him from every angle. Each dodge was a hair's breadth away and every block so painful that his limbs began to shake between the impact of Michio's accelerated strikes.

Shoichi felt his stomach being pounded to his spine. A boot that he missed smashed straight into his gut, the force alone making him reel to his knees in breathless agony. As Michio's heel rose up like a reaper's scythe the Jonin's fingers moved by themselves. He couldn't die here, unable to stop what his cousin always feared.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Drops of muddy sand fled the ground as Shoichi slapped down as hard as he could. A circle of ink spread from him in squiggly characters. Michio looked around, his guillotine kick still poised by his head as the Jikogan scanned the sands for any signs of life.

Nothing appeared – no beast from another place – yet the brief distraction formed enough time for Shoichi to act.

He thrust his arm between Michio's feet and rose up spinning, hooking his hold behind the younger man's knee and tripping him onto the shore. Deciding it would be foolish to engage him up close Shoichi flung a windmill shuriken to put some distance between them as he sprang back to a safe location. A rising kick sent his metal shard spinning; Michio was up again.

"What happened there big brother?" he sneered, Teijo's voice making itself heard. "You can't be out of chakra already?"

Shoichi replied with a cross-shaped seal. He wouldn't give Teijo the pleasure of a conversation, not while he still held his best friend hostage.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Their once spacious battlefield grew all the more crowded with a hundred copies of Shoichi smoking to life. From the line of palms to the lip of the water the coast was filled with clones, grouped in an arrow shape as a formation for attack.

But these were not Shoren's clones. They would burst into nothing with a single hard whack, and for an augmented Taijutsu user the temptation was too great to resist; Teijo wished a challenge for his new favourite puppet. His fingers intertwined once more.

"I'll find the real one if I get you all. Jikansanpo!"

As a zooming blink of light Michio crashed into the legion like the waves on the bay, immediately spinning to a sequence of attack whilst casting out three separate Playbacks to join in the fun. One by one the masses of Shoichi fell to his techniques, exploding into smoke wherever a limb struck them.

Michio danced through the crowd without a scratch. Seeing everything in slow motion let him plot every movement to the finest detail. The attacks of the Shoichi clones were a snail's pace to him; the ninja darted between blows countering every swing sent his way, until eventually he fell into a choreographed dance of nonstop movement.

As more and more clones became coughs of smoke Michio failed to notice the battlefield behind him being blanketed with the stuff. With them vanishing so quickly a grey mist like volcanic ash rapidly descended over the clearing. Only when the last clone fell did Michio react; he looked around him, certain that he'd missed one as his eyes darted about the smoke around him. The real Shoichi was nowhere to be found – neither he nor any of the Playbacks he deployed came into contact with the wily Jonin.

The tide splashing his vessel's heels caught Michio's attention; he was looking in the wrong place. He whirled around just in time to lock eyes with a thirty foot gator, leaping out of the waves with an almighty snap of its jaws.

This time it was Michio who stepped back in retreat, skipping just out of range of the crocodile's bite and onto one foot, completely off-balance in his sudden surprise. It was the only opening Shoichi needed. The real thing leapt from the cavernous maw of the beast with sword in hand, running Michio through with a lunging stab piercing flesh, bone and heart.

In a shower of blood and gore the dark blade punched straight through Michio's back, and as they fell it impaled him to the shoreline.

Within that moment Shoichi knew the battle was over. His promise was fulfilled. With his eyes still a spiral Teijo kicked and flailed his arms to wrangle free of the hold. Twisting the sword, Shoichi kept him silent. Pain was Genjutsu's bane, although with his brother's powers what they were it required nothing short of a mortal wound to free whatever slave he held.

Shoichi watched as the Jikogan faded and Michio spluttered back into his body. His throat was too full of blood to speak, but the look on his face said he understood he was dying. Shoichi felt rain on his hand and suddenly realised he was crying. Michio had come back to the sight of him driving a hole through his chest. Looking down, Shoichi was appalled with himself, horrified that he could ever have maintained such an awful vow.

Through short, rasping breaths Michio finally managed to raise a hand, resting it on his cousin's shoulder with a firm grip to get his attention. Stripped of his words, the only thing he could do was nod – a thank you; reassurance that he'd done the right thing. Even as his cousin sobbed Michio stayed strong, holding his stare and forcing a smile until at last he gave his final breath.

"I've played it over again and again, wondering if maybe I could have done things differently," said Shoichi. A single tear ran down his cheek and he wiped it away with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kazuya told him. "If it's what he wanted then you did him a service. I'm glad he chose to die with honour – it's quite a rare trait in a shinobi."

"Yeah. . ." After clucking his tongue and looking glum in the silence Shoichi slapped his hands on his thighs. Swiftly he changed the subject as he rose to his feet. "Well I'm glad I could fill you in – you deserved to know. It's been fun meeting you all. I daresay we'll meet again soon."

"You're leaving?" Shoryu couldn't quite manage to keep the disappointment out of his protest.

"You know I can't go back to the Cloud – not with Teijo still out there. I'll meet you at the Forlorn Dunes. Might as well go on ahead and scout out the area; see what we're up against, y'know? I can contact you through Kyoh. That way you'll be able to relay the situation to the Raikage."

Shoryu considered; that actually sounded like a good idea. It would score him a few points with Reizo if nothing else.

"Sure thing. I'll see you soon."

"Well alrighty then." Shoichi paused to cast some seals, then, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A creature boomed into focus, birdlike and big enough to inhabit the entire clearing. This time Shoichi had summoned a pterosaur, feathered instead of reptilian. Clearly it was the biggest of its respective species, towering up to the trees with its beak the length of three grown men. Shoryu found himself stricken with a sense of familiarity before the penny finally dropped.

"You jerk!" screamed Ayako.

As he clambered aboard Shoichi was suddenly forced to duck as a flare of scarlet chakra sailed over his head. His summon provoked different reactions from each member of Squad Thirteen. Ayako stood fuming with her fist clenched, ready to fire off another if the creature so much as looked at her. Kazuya slapped a hand to his head and groaned in disbelief. Shoryu on the other hand was suddenly in hysterics, laughing so hard that he was unable to stand.

"What did I do!?"

With his teammates unable to speak Kazuya filled him in. "We encountered this creature before, four years ago during the Chunin Exams. As I remember it we climbed aboard, got his key and then he took off. The thing suddenly vanished once we got to a thousand feet; we almost died. I imagine it was probably just you trying to scale a cliff or something."

"Seriously!?" Shoichi clasped a hand over his mouth. "Well. . .Whoops." He shrugged his shoulders and then waved the trio off. "Guess I should take my leave then, see you all soon!"

Grass bowed away from the beating of wings as the creature took flight. Shoichi continued to wave until the summon obscured his view. From there its speed increased with half a dozen powerful flaps until the beast and its rider were a comet in the distance, sailing over the far-off peaks and out of sight.

Shoryu was still in giggles by the time his father left. As the samurai asked to resume their training Ayako decided to leave them to it. Arranging to meet them for dinner, she made for the camp to see if aught needed doing.

Once Shoryu and Kazuya were alone again the swords of shinobi and samurai began to clash. Increasing the pace, Shoryu bounded forward with a triplet of swings each evaded in turn by the speed of his foe. On the fourth strike Kazuya parried, batting the ninja's sword aside with a spin of his own and wheeling up the second blade to pin against his throat.

"Not bad, that's four to two," offered Shoryu, still keeping count.

Shoryu's hands began to rattle with each swing as his grasp began to weaken. A pattern had emerged in Kazuya's moves; he would open up with a powerful strike before lunging in again for a flourish of attacks. By dodging the initial blow Shoryu found his partner off guard. The edge of his steel was inches from Kazuya when the samurai's kick struck the back of his leg. Before he knew it Shoryu was on his knees with a blunted sword rapping his chest.

"Five to two," he acknowledged.

The bout began anew. This time pace and timing took over as Kazuya focused on the technical side of his attack.

"Looks like we've one more friend," said Shoryu, blocking a move. "Another Senmatsu on our side is another one we won't have to fight." As their swords locked together he dug in his heels and mustered all his strength to push back. Once they separated in sparks he carried on, "I can understand if you don't want to ally with him though."

"Don't think I hold a grudge Shoryu. He did what was necessary. Your father is a hero."

Shoryu almost missed a step as the combat quickened once again. 'Hero' wasn't a word Kazuya bandied about. In fact in four years Shoryu wasn't sure he'd ever heard him use it.

"Why do you say that?"

"You saw those tears same as I. He wasn't lying about anything; it takes courage to keep a promise like that."

As their topic hit close to home Shoryu noticed a flaw in the samurai's higher swing. Kazuya rose his sword to attack and the Jonin stabbed out at his elbow. In Kazuya's recoil a blow found his torso.

"Five to three. And fair point, they did seem pretty tight. That photo alone is proof of that."

"It's a good idea too – that system they had in play."

Shoryu stopped dead his tracks. Another swing met rapped his ribs, but by then he was already too stunned to keep up the score. "What are you saying?"

Lowering his sword, Kazuya elaborated. "Think about it Shoryu: if they were on Teijo's wishlist then I am too, he's just waiting for us to get to the pinnacle of our strength. And if you're not on that same list already then you sure as hell will be when he finds out about the Kanzen Raikyogan."

The ninja looked down at the markings on his hand. It would only be a matter of time; a technique so flashy and powerful was impossible to keep hidden for very long.

"I'd rather die than see my Dojutsu used against those I care about. Through me he could get to Kansuke, you guys and my clan."

Shoryu thought about it for a moment. Ayako and his mother both sprung to mind; Teijo could use his body to deceive and murder them both. With the Kanzen at his disposal there would be few people in the ninja world capable of destroying such a threat.

"I see what you mean," he accepted at last.

"Promise me that if I'm ever compromised you'll do what has to be done," said Kazuya.

"Oh come on!" Shoryu threw up his arms, raising his voice to try and lighten the mood. "Like I ever could! Even if I wanted to!"

"Promise me Shoryu."

When the samurai took to a frightening glare the ninja caved and looked away, eventually conceding with a groan. "Alright fine. But you had better do the same with me, this works both ways you know. I don't want that creepy asshole getting hold of my powers."

"Agreed," said Kazuya, far too quickly for Shoryu's liking.

.

Author's Notes: Back again!

Figured that development with Shoichi and Michio was kinda obvious but I liked the idea too much. There's something awesome and shakespearian about two friends trying to kill each other that I never got over.

Anyway, much of this chapter is just exposition and foreshadowing. Next time we'll return to the Cloud and regroup before making our way towards the Land of Wind. Being on the opposite sides of the map to each other, there might be a filler chapter during the journey but I know exactly where to set it. We still haven't seen Konohagakure/The Leaf during Legacies have we? Makes sense to stop there seeing as they also have the Hokage and all his forces on their side. That could be cool; I think I've saved it long enough.