Re: A Discussion [ANBU & Kagari] with a Flesh Peddler [Missi
Haku Saburou
Flesh-Peddler, all-round dirt bag
I am going to die...
I am going to fucking die...
Saburou's mind echoed. His body throbbed but was also to a point numb, the drugs had taken their mind-altering effect. Everything burned and ached, but the sharp moments that would cause one to scream had ceased. His mangled hands could move, not well considering the fact that they were crushed but the anguish of doing so had resolved to the point of lazy waves. But he could not...
would not answer. Everyone fears pain and death, it is a natural and basic fear, but death means a release from the pain and service they have been forced into. He saw what they did and it was not over in hours, but rather months or years. He also had a family, he did not look like the kind of man that was loyal to his own clan but his heritage was a source of both shame and pride. He was a pathetic man in terms of physical might, unable to wield his bloodline limit --
he was not their best son by any means and it wracked his consciousness. Still, his successes were in their name and without them this life, as perverse as it might have been as his to live and now to lose.
He felt an overwhelming current of nausea as the door slammed open. His eyes darted in the direction of the door, the metallic mask of the ANBU Sennin grinned back at him. The lights did not turn to crimson and rather cast the same errie green glow. A table rattled in Tenken's wake, loaded with boxes it came to a stop in the room. He forced himself to swallow hard, his throat had again ran dry and felt thick. They were not going to need much of a casket were they? He was resigned to this unwanted fate, not out of bravery or even fear but because it was the
better outcome which was a sad prospect for a man who had found a terminal point in his career and life. He would rather die to this brute than to live on, for a period however brief, and suffer the wrath of another monster.
"Shujinko, excellent work. Good ahead and begin the prep work."
He was exhausted, every once in awhile he would have a surge of adrenaline left in his tiny and beaten form with which he would shift and pull or even scream out but for the most part the only reason he was upright in this albeit twisted pose was because of the leathers that held him in place. His doleful, naked and marred form was misted in a cold sweat. An audience to his opprobrium. His parched lips parted slightly as he whispered
"...please." He was not built to endure, the full force of Tenken's blow was enough to kill and his body was riddled with his wrath or his perhaps his recreation. He was dying although thus far the two, now five had failed to notice.
"No speaking... quiet and we won't hurt..."
He could not nod an affirmation, he grunted instead a sorry sound.
"In this situation you've done all you could and you did it quite impressively. You kept him talking and were able to get pieces of information from him without him actually saying it. By reactions we can start to connect the dots, but at this point you've hit a stalling point. It is nothing against you, so allow me to give you another lesson."
He took a breath, perhaps his last as Tenken approached. The behemoth, at least in Saburou's mind lowered himself to eye-level.
"Saburou, thank you."
Didn't he mean
prisoner? He did not answer, nor did he bother to try to correct him. He did not want to suffer another round of abuse before he was taken apart. It was still a humiliating way to die, he knew he was going to scream and cry and beg. He had nothing to call his own, nobody to comfort his final moment and what little he possessed with shredded and soaked in vomit and piss on the floor.
"You've linked a criminal element in Sunagakure to not only the merchant ports of Soon's Haven but also to one of the most elite of the Merchant Lords... Hisamura Mako."
The leathers groaned.
"No," he muttered or rather cried. There were no tears left to shed, rather his eyes simply burned as he tried to avert his gaze.
"No."
"Ta gueule! You were told to be quiet, you dare..."
One of the other masked men in the room rebuked him. Saburou simply stared ahead.
"You seem to fear that name, fear who that name is associated with, right? Fear of the Sovereign, fear of the Daimyo, fear of their little creepy abilities to raise the dead... you see, Shujinko. This is a problem I am here to correct. This is what is wrong with the world as of right now. People are scared of the shadowy depths of the people running the country... they've lost their fear in us, the true shadows of the desert. You, Saburou. You begged for me a few minutes to turn on the red light to come in here and kill you, yes? You can respond."
He took a breath.
"I am plenty scared of both," he admitted.
"But I am already almost dead, even if I survived you have ruined me. I cannot see my hands, but they are broken. I will never be able to hold a pen again with these sacks of meat. I can feel my jaw grate, it is broken and I do not know what kind of monster you have already turned me into. But you gave me a time, I know it will end soon. Not soon enough and that it will be terrible, but it will end." He almost sounded brave, but rather he was being an honest man with nothing to lose.
"Such a problem, because you should fear me just as much as them. Do you remember the report? The penance of sending guards to protect your family from those little Haku-Hunters that killed you? Those guards will be me and my associates. We will be working under assumed names and things will not go well at the compound. Dangerous world, but do you know why it won't go well? Because I am going to leak to the underworld that before you died, you mentioned that you were being protected by Hisamura Mako. I will tell every piece of scum I can find until that news reaches far and wide, so when I kill your family I can openly declare it whatever I want, but within the depths of the darkness the rumors will start to swirl that it was payback for saying a name you shouldn't have."
"You bastard," the Haku managed to somehow hiss. Ending his life in shame was not enough for the fiend, he was going to take his family with him. He did not have the strength to do much more than meet his killer's eyes with his own.
"I hope you find her then," she announced defiantly.
"I can't raise your dead body, Saburou. I can't do those creepy evil things like those bad guys. I am a good guy, and let's get one thing clear. I never said I was going to kill you. Open the boxes."
The box would open and out would be drawn a human head. Not just any human, but the head of a cousin.
"Meet Haku Saburou... well, it is actually a different Haku, nasty little criminal that died within the depths of this prison. We kept him on ice... funny, right? Who knows why, that was prior to me taking a new position. But, it has found a purpose. I am going to do everything to this body that the report said, every last bit of it. Maniac, what all would need to be done to pass it off as the real deal?"
"Ryouichi," the Haku called through a quivering jaw. Was this the actual hero - a man who cripples his charges, who murders their family, who defiles the dead and who denies the departed a proper burial. He was not nearly the villain he sought, but he was catching up. There seemed to be a hint of pride in the sentiment of fear. They - that is Tenken and the Daimyo were not very different men in Saborou's mind, both hellions in their own way. While the Haku seethed, the ANBU talked shop.
"Hmmm... we could just bust this face up, report said he fought them right? He was probably running his mouth so just mash up his face. Then we would need a couple of the real deal's teeth, then bam; new Saburou."
"You see, I am not going to kill you. I am going to lock you up deep inside of this prison, protecting you from those bad guys outside, and I am going to take my time to re-educate you. I want to break your fear of those dreadful Merchants and that mean Daimyo. However long it takes, you will feel comfortable talking to me. You see, I am the new face of fear in this country. You don't need to worry about staying dead, I am going to promise you that I will keep you alive for as long as possible."
Saburou was at a loss for words but his expression spoke volumes. He reviled Tenken. He anathematized the monster Sennin in his mind -- the man who took his business, his hands, his face, his dignity, his family and even denied him escape through death. He just let out a savage scream.
[Topic Done on my end?]
OC: Good job guys. Let me know if my services are needed again. It is neat playing the victim.
