Awaiting The Guillotine



Four Knocks, One Answer
Knock, Knock, Knock....Knock. The pause between the third and fourth knock was a sign to every citizen in Konoha; it was a universal call that meant to get up regardless of the time. Unfortunately for many, this call was one that arrived either late at night or very early in the morning. For Sannoto, it was always a horribly perfect combination of both: One O’Clock in the morning. He groaned and rolled over slowly cracking his eyes open. His wife’s eyes flickered into life, emitting a red glow that slightly illuminated the surface of the bed.

“Ten seconds,” she murmured quietly. Immediately, her soft warm hands clutched his arm and rapid tapping followed after the initial touch. “Honey, we have twenty more seconds.” The amplitude of her voice was rather quiet, but her tone was drenched in urgency. The two rush two flights of stairs of their three story house to the mahogany front door decorated with the word “Welcome”. When Ayame cracked the door open, the word “Welcome” failed to follow. A hand slides between the crack and forces the door to grant them access to the living room of the two shinobi. Two masked figures with rather dark attire enter the home swiftly and closes the door behind them.

“Lord Sannoto,” one of the masked shinobi speaks. Her voice was devoid of all emotion. They beat that out of them these days. The honorable hokage was a member of this organization at point in time and the training she was subject to was the reason that she was revered as cold-hearted in her past, but also a reason that she is worshipped as a goddess of shinobi. Her ability to conduct any action without hesitating is admired by few, heavily desired by many. Today’s ANBU were subject to similarly gruesome training and many died. Those who managed to survive rarely ever were the same prior to entering the organization. They weren’t people anymore. They were lethal weapons who obeyed every command that their leader spoke despite how harsh, how unnecessary it may be. In their eyes, the words of the hokage were absolute.

“Yes?”

“You have been assigned a mission.”

“I told you guys and your hokage several times that I’m retired. I don’t partake in missions anymore,”

“It’s not one you can refuse. It’s an order from the someone the hokage greatly respects. The daimyo,” the other ANBU member chirps in. His voice, unlike the female, possesses tinges of urgency. That’s emotion. He wouldn’t be alive long.

“Did you alert the daimyo that he’s retired?” Ayame quickly remarked. “He has real responsibilities now. He has a daughter to spend time with, a son to continue raising, a student to teach, and a wife to continue caring for. He—“

“Who the fuck do you think you are to deny the presence of the daimyo?” a voice declares from outside the door. The wooden door slams against the surface of their floor and upon it walked several other figures. They were shinobi, but their allegiance was not to the hokage, but rather to the daimyo. You could tell by the land of fire’s insignia engraved on their flap jackets.

“Now, you must be the daimyo’s pets,” Ayame commented.

“What did you just—“the shinobi took a step forward towards the woman, but a single blink was all it took. Sannoto stood before the approaching ninja before he could utter his final word or take another step. The daimyo’s ninja’s eyes widened, his hands trembled slightly and his rather serious smug started to fall apart. It was obvious that he had never witnessed such speed in his presence directly. It was almost instantaneous. Very few shinobi could argue that they’ve seen such speed and lived.

“Tell the daimyo that I’m retired,” Sannoto quickly ordered.

“You think you’re the shit. Don’t you? Most ninja would kill to have the daimyo personally request them?” another one of the daimyo’s ninja chipped in.

“Too bad, I don’t kill. Now please leave my home.” Sannoto glanced towards the two ANBU standing to the side. “All of you.”

“You’ll regret this.” Retreating stomps followed those words. Everyone but the husband and wife remained. The cold air of the brisk winter crept into his house, freezing the air and draining his home of all warmth. Her hand crept under his arm with the back of her hand smushed between his warm, muscular body and his limb. Her head gently rested against the side of such limb. “What are we going to do?”

“I’ll figure it out in the morning. I promise.” With that, the room fell silent.

Unexpected Visitor
The withdrawn ANBU make their way back to the Hokage's mansion. Their strides are rather swift. They move in the darkness of the night, in silence, leaping from one building to another until they reach the Hokage's mansion. A beautiful and graceful woman occupied a wheelchair in the Hokage's office. Her long thick luscious hair and her pale skin made her seem angelic. She sits as if she's awaiting someone. The fingers of both their hands are crossed together.

Suddenly, the ANBU appear before her bowing. "Hokage-sama. We carried out the order, your majesty. We requested the assistance of the desired man, Sannoto Senju, in order to reinforce our troops in the Daimyō protection mission. I'm disappointed to say, he refused." one of the ANBU reports to Fūrin as he bows down, his head never tilts as he's ashamed he couldn't get the man to agree.

"I see, I suppose you had accurate and literal documentation of the dialogue between you and the man?" Fūrin comments in a rather serene state of mind.

"Of-Of course, your majesty. We documented every step we took since we left the mansion. Every word the man said is present in this report." the man says, stuttering in surprise of the Hokage's calmness. He gives her a sheet of paper, which contains a full report of the mission.

The woman reads the paper slowly. "I see. Well-done, Ryū." the woman calls the man by his ANBU code name as he's suspected to be one of the strongest Fire Release users amongst the ANBU. Ergo, he was granted the name of "The Dragon".

"Should we ask another shinobi, your majesty? Since we require great assistance in this particular mission." Ryū said in a rather irritated tone, yet he is calmed by his Hokage's praise.

"No need, he'll come." the woman says with assertion.

"B-But, Hokage-sama! He clearly announced his refusal of the offer! How-" He says in awe at the Hokage's words, yet he's interrupted by the woman.

"Trust me, he'll come. I know that man." She says emphasizing her certainty of Sannoto's arrival. Fūrin then twitches for a second. "You can come out now." she openly declares. The ANBU in the room look surprised as there's no one else in the office. Suddenly, a white-haired man reveals himself suddenly as he rested on the window ledge behind the Hokage. The man's features are outstanding. He's a tall man with silver hair, an eye patch and he's wearing some sort of special attire. "Wow, Hokage-sama. You caught me, how impressive." the man says with an impassive expression as he lied on the window ledge, his leg dangling and his back resting on the vertical wall of the ledge.

"I told you many times not to eavesdrop on my conversations. That's considered a crime." the woman bluntly says to the man behind her as her facial expression is rather anxious.

"A crime? I know." the man declares bluntly himself showing no signs of fear or anxiety.

"How much did you hear?" Fūrin questions.

"Everything. But hey, you managed to catch me, didn't you? You sure are amazing at sensory, Hokage-sama." he says with a rather chill tone.

Fūrin turns her head to stare directly at the man. "No ... I didn't sense him. He intentionally let out very slight waves of his chakra. So small in quantity, so that I could sense it, but not the ANBU. I didn't sense him since the start of the conversation!" she thinks to herself enraged at the man as she's considered one of the best sensors in the ANBU history. "What do you want?" she quickly digresses.

"I want to go on that mission."

"Are you insane? I'm not allowing you to go on that mission. This one is a highly important mission to protect the Daimyō. You tend to play games on your assignments" she criticizes the man.

"We both know I'm going either way, so why don't you just make it legal and give me the order? Plus, I know you need me on this mission. Whether you like it or not, I possess strength, which is required in this particular mission." the man bluntly speaks as the ANBU are surprised at the curtness of the man.

Fūrin looks away from him as she gives his words some thought. "Very well ... Kinsei."

The Break of Dawn
The sun rises slowly above the horizon, bathing the village in a brisk sunlight that barely illuminated the world. For many, the sunlight peeking into their house through the cracked window would wake them up, but for Sannoto and Ayame this signaled the business Sannoto had to handle. The Senju took a step towards his already-open door; Ayame wrapped her arms around his massive waste and rested her face against his back. "Just.." She took a brief pause. "Do the right thing. Okay?"

"Yeah, I will." With that, Sannoto was gone. Quickly, he paced the rooftops of Konoha to avoid his massive figure from being seen by the civilians and other shinobi. Everyone in this era recognized that the Senju had been retired and for this reason he had turned down tons of assignments from people. He couldn't be caught out this early because then they would know. He couldn't take the stress of being a shinobi anymore. Not in his old age.

Within moments, he arrived to the hokage's mansion considering his home was relatively placed close to the kage's residence perhaps for her fortunate (and misfortune just in case Sannoto felt a little mischievous). Gently knocking on the window, Sannoto called out "Please, tell me why I'm here so I can get this mission over with, will ya? And can you please let me in?"

"Uh, for the love of" the woman rolls her eyes as she opens the window for the Senju who comically entered her office. "You could have used the stairs, you know." she sits back on her wheelchair. "Listen, Sannoto. This is an important mission for Konoha and the Land of Fire. Ergo, I need someone who I can trust to carry out the mission smoothly. You don't realize how big this is. This is the Daimyō. The ruler of the entire country. Do you imagine what would happen if he was even scratched? It would rub Konoha's pride in the dust. That's why I require your assistance. Also, you're going to have a companion on your mission." she then glares directly into Sannoto's eyes.

"I'm sure you heard of that man. Konoha's acclaimed Taijutsu master. He destroyed each one that stood in his way. Now while he's a great addition to Konoha's military, he has a slight problem. He's very unpredictable. He does as he pleases, unfazed by the consequences of his actions. I need you to keep a leash on him." she then takes a deep breath letting it out slowly. "Now I know he's up to something. He's a sloth, he would never request to go on such a troublesome mission for no reason. I need someone who can take him down or at least match him in strength. So what do you say?" she says glaring Sannoto in the eyes. Her gaze is angelic. Even her outfit isn't fit for her position. Wearing a short tight skirt and a sleeveless Kimono. "Will you do it for me?"

"Oh my god!?" Sannoto leaped backwards away from the hokage. His voice shook the office, boomed in the hallways, and echoed throughout the village. "Fūrin. I'm am a married man! You can't expect your little...gimpy get up to work on me. I have a wife at home!" His voice had lowered since the initial phase, but regardless Fuurin and probably anyone outside of the office could probably still make out what he was saying. "Unless...." he hissed, grabbing the hokage's hand and placing it on his thigh. With that he grinned, looking Fuurin directly in her eyes. With a soft, gentle tone he whispered, "You want to do something that'll make me a bit more—" Smoothly moving his mouth within two inches of her ears he continued his sentence: "willing".

"Oh yeah? You had a pretty swift change of heart, considering you were talking about your wife just a second ago." Fūrin smirks at the man who haven't changed even after marriage. Her hand is still on his thigh, she uses her free hand and rests it on the sword. In a split second she slashes with her sword, injuring Sannoto's thigh with a wide smile on her face. "Don't you dare touch me again, old man. Next time I might cut off something else".

"Oh, yeah I get it!" Sannoto's hands shoot straight up in the air over his head; he surrendered from this situation. Naturally, his healing factor would easily heal any damage that Fūrin had done to him, but one thing he couldn't heal was a lost of his appendages. That was always something he had to fear. "Next time, please be careful! I have a pretty big something else. Sometimes my wife mistakes it for a third leg, you know?"

Fūrin sighs at the man's comment. "You really didn't change since I last met you." she says as she sits back down on her wheelchair. "Tick ... Tock ... Tick ... Tock" the wall clock keeps ticking. "As expected, he's late. I'm sure he has a pretty good excuse. Have a seat, old man. This will take a while." she says with confidence. Fūrin and Sannoto waited for an entire hour. "Knock knock" the door knocks and the silver-haired man enters. He has a sleepy look on his face, his eyes are restful. It's almost as if he's in a completely tranquil state of mind. He looks at Sannoto, then at the Hokage. "Yo.".

As quickly as he enters, Sannoto's eyes naturally focus themselves on the frosty-haired man. The air is still, time has stopped and even the breathing of both Fuurin and Saizen come to a halt. But, Sannoto's mind continues to rapidly spin forward while processing the information he had just received. "This man....is Saizen Kinsei" Suddenly, the world flickers into life again and a single word is muttered from the mouth of his partner: "Yo". Almost instantly, Sannoto responds with a rather genuine smile. "Hey! You must be Saizen! I've heard a lot about you," the Senju exclaims as he pushes himself out of his seat. His massive figure towers over the Kinsei clansmen as he extends his hand for a handshake. "My name is Sannoto. Looks like we'll be working together for this mission, huh?"

"Yeah, seems like it. Indeed, I'm Saizen Kinsei." Saizen shakes Sannoto's hands. Both of their visions connect. They stare each other dead in the eyes. It's as if time stopped once more, but the two men are perfectly functional and it is as if the two comprehend each other very well, just from a simple handshake, a simple glare. "Looks like he's a strong one." the man thinks as time returned to its course once more. After they part palms, Saizen's attention is turned towards Fūrin. "Yo, grumpy." the man bluntly describes Fūrin's expression upon seeing him.

"I told you more than once, don't you dare call me names." the woman sharply replies.

"Frightening." The Kinsei man mocks the Hokage's intimidation attempt.

Fūrin controls her temper and neglects the man's remarks. "I've gathered both of you here today to discuss a very serious matter. It's an S-Rank mission-" the Hokage continued to explain the details. "Blah ... blah blah, blah blah blah ... blah." was all the Kinsei prodigy heard as he zoned out staring at the woman's cleavage. "Damn she has a really nice body. I'm gonna miss that when I'm away. She's playing hard to get, for sure. Damn look at those-'" his chain of thoughts is disturbed by the Hokage.

"Kinsei! Are you even listening to me!?" the woman questions.

"Hard not to when you're yelling like that, ya know." he sarcastically remarks.

"Thinking about those tits, huh?" the Senju inquires....with a smirk. "Yeah, I used to get some of that back in the day, but obviously she wouldn't admit that. Her pride is a bit too much if you get what I mean." By his tone, it's almost apparent that he's simply teasing. The story is false, but he does nothing to suggest that it's true; just the rambling of an old man proceeds onward. "But she got a little too crazy for me, so I let her back into the wild and found myself a new horse to claim as my own. This horse wound up strapping me down though, but I don't regret a thing." Sannoto allows a slight pause between this statement and his next to register the start of a new phrase, or rather the start of a new story. "You know she was going to do me a favor for doing this mission, but then she was like oh no, Saizen is coming. He might see us, he might see us. So I let her off the hook this time, but I promise kid, she's just playing hard to get. I swear."

"I knew she went that way. It's obvious, she's simply playing games with me. Funny though, I was thinkin' the same exact thing just now." Saizen replies with a chill tone. Suddenly, a moment of silence consumes the atmosphere. In an instant, the two shinobi gain giant bumps on their heads in a rather comical way as the women lets out her fury on them. Despite being smacked ruthlessly, Saizen manages to keep a very impassive look on his face, not uttering a word. "You two are being ridiculous now. At any rate, Sannoto, here's the information about the route and the important details." she gives the man a sheet of paper. "I want this mission done with extreme efficiency as the pride of Konoha is at stake." she pauses between her statement and the next one, looking at Saizen who already started to walk out of the office. "Kinsei, no funny business." she says to the parting man, who only lifted his left palm and waved "Yeah, yeah. I know." he remarks before leaving the office.

Sannoto slips the sheet of paper carefully into a compartment of his robe as he approaches the door. Glancing back towards Fūrin, his eyes read "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything" in the piercing light and he leaves the room. No words are needed to communicate that message. With a smile, he shuts the door behind him as his large monstrous build fills the hallway. It was empty when he arrived, but after hours of waiting for the late Kinsei, people had arrived at work. Still, Sannoto couldn't afford being seen even by the hokage's trusted advisers. "Listen, Saizen. Let's take our leave from the back, okay? We should make sure we sneak out of the village; this is a top secret mission afterall."

He had already begun walking in the direction of the secret entrance that lead to a leaf-masked trail that creeped out of Konoha. Very few shinobi knew about it and even most ANBU were never truly informed. Sannoto had discovered it on pure coincidence during his days of leaving in the Hokage Mansion with the Third Hokage and his family. Placing his palm on the wall, "YES IT'S STILL HERE!" the main exclaimed. Forming a single seal, he stepped through the wall completely. To anyone watching, it appears as if he just walked through a solid wall, but the truth is that it's a genjutsu cast by a seal to hide the entrance. It's a fail-safe for the hokage to use to escape if the village is overrun. Of course, very few hokage abandoned the village in a time of need so the trail was poorly kept.

It reeked of feces, the ground was littered by several rodents and the trail itself was basically just a nest of cockroaches and beetles. Every step they took resulted in a swarm of creatures rushing to another spot only to be stepped on again forcing them to another spot; an endless struggle of migration just seemed to occur over and over. Rats squealed and hissed at the two men as they cowered behind any possible leaf they could to ensure the giants before them couldn't visualize them. Their trembling bodies caused the leaves to rustle constantly giving off the image that it was some wind nearby, but the air itself was still and cold like the cave. No water, no ice, no sunlight, just nothing. "Sorry, it's so dead in here. I guess Fuurin just doesn't take care of this place like the Third did, hehe"

Saizen takes slow and steady strides, walking beside Sannoto. He looks around him and visualizes the place. "Quite charming, I have to say." he noted sarcastically. "Hey, you should take it easy. I can sense the pace in your strides. Just calm down and enjoy the walk." Saizen remarks at the man's obvious pacing of steps. "It's odd really, I didn't expect her to agree on me leaving the village. Especially in a mission like this one." he glances over at Sannoto before pausing for a couple of seconds. "So I assume you're here to make sure I don't do anything funny. To keep me under a leash. Am I right?" Saizen calmly notes with confidence as if he heard the conversation between the Hokage and the Senju, while it was only a result of his accurate analysis.

With a light chuckle, he replies "Heh, pretty much. You seem like a rebel, so can you truly blame her that much?" Sannoto continues to move quickly despite Saizen's call, choosing to ignore the statement all together. It wasn't of any real importance to Sannoto at all. "Now, Saizen. Remember when we get to this country, we must stay on our toes. We're going to spit up, because having two people who look like we do in the same place is going to raise suspicion without a doubt. We'll keep in contact some other way; perhaps we'll find a mutual hotel where we can sleep/meetup or something after the day's end. Just remember to take this mission seriously. It's of the utmost important. Oh! And don't forget to deny your a Konoha ninja. We can't say Konoha is affiliated in any way. Alright?"

"Yeah, it's all pretty clear." Saizen replies almost instantly. He clearly isn't paying attention to Sannoto's orders as if he has a plan of his own. "Now will you slow down a bit?" he asks once more. Sannoto displays little to no reaction even when requested a second time. The man sighs in discomfort.