"Again" A harsh voice yelled. Ragged cries of pain and exhaustion were music to her ears. The whisper of blood made her own boils, feeling the excitement of seeing others grovel beneath her feet. After the disappearance of her second student, or would be Ekko, she had a few more thrown onto her only these weren't merely genin but potential junior cadets who were aiming to join one of the divisions. Recently, their main instructor for this squad was decommissioned, a nice way of saying killed in combat, not that the children needed to hear. It would demoralize them they said. Tch, better to find out now than later from someone else. Regardless, now that Jet had returned from her escort mission and sky work in Kirigakure, she was saddled with quite a few duties after she was healed up since the ambush she was saddled with by the very people who killed her pawn Genbu in the Mist's territory. Ever since she came back she had not been able to catch a break, and she refused to let these brats be a waste of time and put a black mark on her record. So she resorted to harsh tactics they would use on actual anbu training and so on.

Jet was scolded a few times for going to far but they could not deny the future cadets were progressing well under her tutelage, at least the ones who were not stuck in the hospital in critical condition or opted out of the program completely. She originally had ten students, a mixture of three squads who were combined into one, with a similarity to how the academy was conducted. After a couple weeks, she had about three left, as one of them had just snapped and required her to knock him out before an assistant went and carry him away to notify him of his termination from the program when he awakened, no doubt going to enraged at the news. But at least his former companions had no problem dismissing him and tossing away their connections. During their study under Jet they had to learn many lessons the hard way and knew such bonds were going to be the death of them. Although right now they were a bit worried now since they had been sparing against each and Jet for about ten hours straight with only five minutes break every once in awhile and Jet did not seem like she was going to slow down any time soon.

They were about to charge at her again before the door opened to the training room. It was not necessarily a reason to turn around, they knew not to get distracted after all. So they prepared to ignore whoever enter until Jet put her hand up to stop them. Jet turned away from her students as she assessed the girl who entered. It was not somebody to scold her, or watch the training, but instead with a message. She smelled like body and her heart was racing a mile a minute. She was frantic and high off adrenaline, and for a moment Jet wondered if she was a threat but the girl simply called out to the Yuurei, to  meet  Fukai in an empty building in about ten minutes time, and to be ready for a fight. Her electric blue eyes narrowed and saw this was a serious problem. Her cold voice told her students that they were dismissed for the rest of the day and to prepare for their trip tomorrow. The students did not even bother to question her, they heard they were dismissed and released cries of relief as they collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. Jet rolled her eyes and went passed the girl, who followed her until she was dismissed by Jet.

Jet went to the locker room to change out of her training clothes. She took a quick two minute shower and put on fresh pair of clothes and her armor. She equipped her hidden weapons, combat gloves, fan and her massive whip sword on her back. As she was heading out the door she put her mask on and found the girl, Tomoko wasn't it if memory served her right, outside. She rolled her eyes and followed her as she sprinted out, headed to an empty building as fast as possible. On the way Jet pondered, what pissed Fukai so much that he called for her help. Last time she checked they weren't friends.

754~

Fukai leaned over the corpse of his murdered comrade. He couldn't hear anything other than the blood pumping in his ears and his own shallow gasps for air. His head was clouded, unable to focus. He was lost in the moment, deep under a sea of hatred, waves of emotion crashing in a storm above his head. Never before had he lost control of himself like this. He found his hand reaching around onto his hip to pull the ANBU mask on. He fitted it onto his face like he had done so many times before. When he dragged his fingers away from the patterned head gear, long streaks of blood of a rich red hue ran down the front of it. The small piece of his conscious that was still aware of himself knew that the mask would not be coming off until it had been cleansed with the life liquid of the wrong doer. Fukai moved automatically to the location that he had asked to be met at. Mechanically and without consciousness, it was like he had finally fully assumed his revenant mantle. Righteous retribution was now the only way to quiet his soul.

A few minutes he had relocated to the abandoned warehouse. A dankness permeated the hall, with a few light yellow rays filtering down from a gap in the rusted corrugated iron. Fukai stood in the centre of the room, arms crossed and withdrawn into himself. Thankfully he had enough sense to call upon Jet's help. He had lost faith in himself to act rationally. To have the back up in this situation would be essential. There would no doubt be huge future implications for asking for her help, but he was ready to make a deal with the devil if that is what was required.

Fukai stood there, fermenting torment. Even when he had faced his father, and eventually killing him, things had been different. The man known as Rat had meant so much to so many. He had provided a light in peoples lives that they would never have the opportunity to see otherwise. Not only that, Fukai could never repay him for what he had done for Fukai. He had given him the future that he had searched for for so long. Truly, this murder had much more of an affect on him than the death of his father at his own hands. The elder Fantomusodian never having much to do with him.

Even the wounds of his childhood had faded with time. This time it was different from back then. He had been a kid, a defenseless and dutyless child. But the cruelty that life brought with it seemed more visceral than ever. With how Fukai lived, why wasn't it him that had been killed? If a cat had nine lives, then the purple eyed young man had the life of nine cats. And for however recklessly he lived and however many games he played, the luck of the devil ran with him.

Life wasn't fair. So he would take his own justice.

[516]

She ran, flipped, and slipped by others until she reached the destination. When she did, she flipped through on the windows, and out of the shadows without a sound, removing her mask. She was not sure if he recognized her. But he should. Granted this whole different look was a bit jarring but the dye, surgical procedures, and such to get rid of her green hair and multicolor eyes to something fresher and more mature. Hey if it helps I like the new look. Green was getting old. But the red, red is good, you should try it out some time. It would look fantastic! Yea...there has been more than a few cosmetic changes about the Yuurei. Some mental ones as well. But for the better? That is what they assumed. Being certified as crazy and hearing voices in your head that constantly try to coax you and push your buttons and remind you how fucking easy it is to cut loose! Okay...maybe it is a good time to stop thinking and focus on him. It is always easier to lower the volume when you focus on one thing, his memory reminded her. So that is just what she did. "Fukai...the last time we checked, we were not exactly high on your list of friends. So tell us, why were we called here?" She crossed her arms and leaded against a pillar, ideas were already in her head and last she checked on him....well it's best for him to say it himself.

1029~

Dark, malicious tendrils of chakra licked the stone floor as the Jounin waited. His thoughts wandered, but not too far. Hatred was brewing within him. He wanted this over already, but he would need Jet’s help. Soon enough, she had arrived. She looked different, but her movements were subtly familiar, the look in her eye and disdain for the world around her. Yes, this was Miss Yuurei Jet. He waited for her to approach him. Fukai stood stock still, leaning back on his haunches with his arms crossed. He watcher her quietly as she approached.

“Fukai...the last time we checked, we were not exactly high on your list of friends. So tell us, why were we called here?”
“I need your help. Kanta Kudaru, the son of Dano, has overstepped his mark. Their impending death by my hand is an absolute. Come with me.” Jet should know Dano Kudaru as the man she had met in Kumogakure back during the time of those last exams.

Fukai’s voice was thick with malice, his state unlike anything he had been in before. His seriousness should be something evident to Jet, as even though the pair had not encountered each other much, they seemed to know the other quite well. Whether it was an animalistic instinct or something deeper, Fukai felt like they understood each other even if they were completely different.

Now, both of them knew what the weight of this request was. This was an old family with strong ties in the Iwa hierarchy. Kanta himself was one of the main contenders for the ANBU captaincy, the other being Fukai. Jet would most likely know the tension between the pair and would know what was at stake here. While she wouldn’t know of the atrocity that had just been committed, but Fukai was sure that Jet was one that understood the power dynamic within the current ecosystem and knew of what dangerous games people were willing to play. For Fukai, this game had just become very personal.

Just as this request was risky, the potential reward would be great for Jet should she take him up on the job. Fukai would owe her one, and should he become top dog within the ANBU, that would be a powerful favour to have. Although Fukai wasn’t offering this directly, this was the implication of the situation. Would she be able to turn down such an opportunity?


[408] /2034

Pushing herself off the pillar, she stood straight looking directly at the anguished man. Her eyes glowed with curiosity. She had never seen him so low before. She kind of liked it. "You have not really explained why we should care" Give me a reason to care she thought. Give us a reason. Beg even. Begging really works. Or bark. We know it is killing you inside asking us for help. The grave situation he was in amused her "Still....we were wondering when you would say something. Seems the old dog finally decided to bite hehe." Jet would not know the exact details of the conflict of between the pair or what recently transpired but it would not be hard to guess. After all, very few things happen in this village without her knowing. And knowing she was, especially of that problem child. Shrugging, Jet appeared nonchalant and carefree, a stark contrast to Fukai "Ah well, he had to be taken cared of sooner or later. He has been too noisy around our people lately but we suppose we should be happy we did not end up like you and that kitten. We know your friends sure are not. They truly got the short stick haha"

She stopped giggling as she went silent thinking deeply before humming in curiosity "Mmm, although, correct us if we are wrong, but do you know the implications of what you are doing? If our assumptions are correct, this is not going to end so simply. The man whose head you desire has power, a lot of it. We have been dealing with folks like him for years and know exactly what they are capable of. Seems like you can not truly know until you have experienced it yourself."

Jet's eyes seemed to stop glowing, and deepen a shade or two, no longer electric "I will help you however I cannot say about the others. Heck we still are not sure we like you. Karumo is cute though, trying to be a big boy in this world. You are much more tainted than he is. Jet likes it. You were always a hot headed one who ran straight through hell fire for your loved ones. It reminds us of when we first met on that fateful day. Haha, might be a little harder to scare you now"

"Well? Come along then? We are sure you know where you are headed right? Or we can visit his usual haunts~ Take your pick"

"Just remember that we are not doing this for free but you already know that do you not darling?"

"Every debt must be paid in time"

1473~

Fukai knew she would come, Jet was reliable in her own way. Maybe not dependable like how a caring mother showered her child with unwavering support, no. More akin to how you could rely on buzzards to pick an animal clean hours after death in the Tsuchi badlands. She may have her quirks, but Fukai was relying on her opportunistic drive. The pair left each other alone most times but it had become a necessity to seek her help one last time. Fukai would have made a deal with the devil at this point - maybe that’s just what he was doing. Jet made a comment about Kudaru needing to be dealt with sooner or later. Fukai nodded. “He knows things are getting worse for him. He is slowly losing power and influence as support for Karumo and I grows. He has made this play in desperation.” His eyes narrowed and fist clenched. “It will be his last.”

The young woman queried him, asking if he understood the situation and what would come as a consequence of his action. It was a fair question. The power dynamic within the village would be turned on it’s head. There would be more than a few powerful people who would no doubt be out for blood. But this was a situation that could not be pussyfooted around any longer. It was not him that had forced things into such a climax. No, he was the one that would end this, once and for all. Jet was right, Fukai was inept at the political game. He was a soldier, and found himself lost in the backstabbing bureaucracy. He had tried to do his best with what he could, but look where it had lead him. It was time to play his own game, the one he knew he was good at.

“You were always a hot headed one who ran straight through hell fire for your loved ones”
Fukai hesitated at this line, peering at Jet through the gloom. Was that really him? He didn’t feel like someone who sought selfless acts. Is that how others saw him? Regardless, it was not important now. At the talk of debts, Fukai nodded.
“I know where he will be, he will not make himself hard to find. It is a trap, but I am going regardless. You do what you do best.” With that, Fukai would leave, sweeping his scarf up and over his shoulder, making for the door.

At the speed Fukai moved, it would only take a few minutes to cross the village. Dusk had fallen and the last embers of sunset hid in the valleys below. From roof to wall to bridge, The white haired jounin rushed through the complex fortress of Iwagakure. Switching on his ANBU sensory, he could feel the eyes watching him as he traveled. Yes, this is exactly the reaction they were trying to get from him. Luckily, Fukai would give them that and so much more. Out of all of the misadventures the young man had lived in his time, this was undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Fukai met no resistance at the gate to the Kudaru estate. Just a lone guard who was standing at his post, swimming in his own perspiration. Fukai slinked up to him. “I have an appointment. Open up.” The wide eye he received told him that the guard was aware of who he was. No doubt he had been told to expect Fukai. It was a dangerous job, being between Fukai and his goal but they had needed someone to be a guard so that they would not raise suspicion. Regardless, he had no beef with the man that stood gawking. Letting a little chakra overflow, the wind around him whipped up, exerting pressure onto the man, waking him up and sending him scurrying away. To put it simply, the Kudaru estate was lavish. On the outskirts of the village and up against the home mountain, it held one of the safest places in Iwa. Not only that, the size of the property was huge. Fukai traveled at least a hundred metres before he was standing in the courtyard outside a mansion. The old money of Iwagakure. The house that was desperate to cling onto the position that Fukai and Karumo threatened.

A shadow pooled on the ground maybe fifteen metres away. A dark shape rose from the shadow, condensing into a large male figure. It laughed. “You’re too easy, Fukai.” Kanta stood there, geared up in full armour and a number of weapons stowed on his person. Regarded as the strongest person in the ANBU, Fukai did not know if he could take the man himself, let alone the two other figures that rose up behind him, Crimson Elite masks covering their faces. Fukai slipped the Wraith’s Fang from his back into his hand. Spinning it into his other hand. Fukai’s soul calmed as his fingers touched the cool obsidian. So this is what it had come down to.

[842] /2876