Ayano Kaguya was instructed to sit in a room by herself as Mikan, and Rubin held their own private conversation, but Mikan had left ages ago.

  There was a bed by a window, and so that's where she sat looking out at the village. It was cold, and rainy. Not so different from what she was used to in Marshwood, but the way the rain decorated the tall metallic buildings, and the way its denizens carried themselves, and their umbrellas were enough for her to take note.

  In the distance she saw what looked like a large castle with smoke coming from its center. Ayano thought about who might live there, and what they were cooking. She hadn't eaten since Big Bowl's hot stew, so she wondered if this "Hilt" that she was going to meet would feed her as well.

  'Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain' She thought. 'A new home, but not a new beginning. Not really.’ She brought her fingers to the slave mark on her face, and carefully traced it.

  This entire journey was for her sake, and it was all because she had what was called a 'kekegenkai.' The last time she'd heard that word was when her brother Shiki had said it. He'd told her that it made her special.

  Ayano reached up, and touched her bleach white hair, the split ends prickling her fingers.

  'But I don't want to be special.'

  Ayano was kept separate from all the other slaves. She had food to eat, a bed to sleep on, and a number of other privileges - the other slaves weren't so lucky. If Ayano didn't have a kekegenkai maybe she would've been treated the same way as the other Orange Men. Maybe...

  'Maybe everyone wouldn't have hated me, and maybe Shiki, and Alu would still be alive.'

  But this was Ayano's new situation, and she had to accept it. She just wished Rubin would tell her what he wanted, and didn't sugar coat it with flowery words, and lies. A slave is still a slave, it doesn't matter who the owner is.

  Ayano gritted her teeth, and stared hopelessly out the window. Unable to wait any longer she got up from the chair, and made her way to the door. She opened it, and went out to the hallway, and turned toward Rubin's office. Just as she got to the door, and reached for the handle she heard a loud commotion down the stairs. There were probably 2, or 3 people rushing through the building.

  And then she saw them at the top of the stairway on the other side of the hall. Without saying anything they sprinted toward her, unsure of how to react she stepped to the side as one of them - a boy with blue hair grabbed the handle, and threw it open with all his might.

  Rubin had stood up from behind his desk, and stared at the group unsure of how to react.

  "Hilt, Ebisu, and T-Tsubaki?" He hadn't noticed Ayano standing behind them; or at the very least he hadn't acknowledged her, "what are you-"

  "Rubin, shut-up," Hilt said.

  "Wh-"

  "The Kusakyu just held a large meeting with the Onmyodo, and she killed all of them! All of them!" Hilt yelled, his voice echoing in the office, and throughout the building. "She lead them into the castle, and made a big show of it, and then as soon as we-"

  'T-The castle? T-Then that means that smoke I saw' Ayano was internalizing everything. She did not mean to ease drop, but now that she was there she couldn’t help herself.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "We?" Rubin interrupted. "What were you doing in Kusakyu territory?"

  "She slaughtered them like they were livestock."

  "Hilt, I need you to re-"

  "When are you going to do something about them?” Hilt yelled slinging his arm forward. “You just sit here twiddling your thumbs while the Kusakyu get away with everything they want. Didn't they just assassinate a member of the Anbu Black Ops a couple of weeks ago? What the hell have you been doing?!"

  This time it wasn't Rubin that said something.

  "Hilt..." Ebisu said, placing a hand of support on the boy's shoulder.

  Ebisu was a short boy with green hair wearing a dark orange jacket with the sleeves rolled up. He had a blank undershirt underneath it, and he wore fingerless black gloves.

  Hilt was sweating, and seething with rage, but there was an underlying sadness to it all.

  ‘The Kusakyu must be one of the clans of this village, but why would a clan do something like this without the lead jonin’s consent?’

  "Rubin," Ebisu gently pulled Hilt back, and stood in front of him.

  "Why... Don't you seem very surprised?"

  It was true, Rubin showed no signs of nervousness or eagerness to act. Instead he stood perfectly still. In fact it didn't even seem like he was looking at the group; he seemed to be staring past them, and out the door. Ayano almost turned around to see what he was looking at, but then he spoke.

  "That's because I let it happen, the Kusakyu clan asked me for permission ahead of time, and I gave it to them."

  It happened so fast Ayano's brain could barely register it. Hilt had kicked Ebisu in his side, sending him flying into the wall cracking it, and then he charged his dad, his hand brimming with electricity.

  Before he could take another step Tsubaki grabbed Hilt by his arm, and twisted it.

  "Aagggghh!" He cried out in pain.

  Tsubaki pulled the boy back, and held him still - the electricity in the boy's hand slowly dissipating.

  "Are you an idiot or something?" She said.

  'She's strong, and what's with the pot?' Ayano thought. ‘And that boy knows ninjutsu.’

  Hilt struggled, and squirmed in the girl's arms, but it was of no use; she was just that strong. Eventually tiring out the boy stopped moving, and looked up at his dad in disbelief.

  "Why? All of those people?" He said, almost choking, "I don't understand."

  "Hey, Rubin. If it weren't for a promise I made I'd help your son kick your ass, but I don't have the time for that. There's a kid named Sora who was with me, and he-"

  "Sora?" Rubin interrupted, "Sorutsu's boy?"

  "You know him?"

  "Of course, I met him and his brother a few years ago when-"

  "Look, I don't care about that. Because of your decision he's in pretty bad shape, and is sitting inside the hospital. I need you to make sure he gets back to his parents."

  Ebisu slowly crawled out of the small crater in the wall.

  "Next time you could just ask me to move, you know." He said, cradling his head. "I mean, I probably would've still stopped you from trying to kill your father, but at least I would've anticipated the kick."

  "Let me go," Hilt said to Tsubaki, "I'm leaving."

  The girl let him go, and as soon as he did he started to leave the room with his head held down.

  "Wait," Rubin said, "take Ayano with you."

  Everyone gave Rubin a confused look, not quite sure who he was referring to. Feeling it necessary Ayano stepped forward announcing her presence.

  "Hello." She said, "My name is Ayano Kaguya, it's nice to meet you all."

  "What the hell are you wearing?" Tsubaki asked.

  Ayano realized she was still in the white dress Cayan had put her in, and she was still wearing makeup. He wanted her to look presentable to Rubin, but why a dress and makeup if she was expected to be a fighter? She wasn't quite sure what had gone through Cayan's mind.

  Ebisu approached Ayano, and looked her up and down, it made her quite uncomfortable, “look at her face. She's a slave."

  "I bought her for the Mock Exams," Rubin explained, "afterwards I intend to free her."

  "Just when I thought you couldn't get any scummier." Tsubaki said.

  "Every decision I make is for the good of the village, and to mitigate suffering," Rubin said, walking over to the window.

  He watched as the smoke from Kusakyu castle still rose, turning the sky above Ame into a dark, and sad gray.

  "If that makes me the villain then I understand, and will play that part for each of you," He said with a smile.

  Ayano wanted to learn more about Rubin, and what kind of person he was. He seemed to genuinely care about the good will of the village, and based on what he said earlier:

  "Ayano, become my slave. Fight in the Mock Exams for me, and with the revenue generated I will free you of your bond."

  Maybe… Just maybe she could trust him.