Private [Exam] A beacon for hopefuls or a torching of the future.

[Keiji]

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” A saying most commonly meant to refer to the beauty of a person. However just the same could be said of flames. Depending on the purpose, or the meaning for the ones that started it. It could mean anything for innocent bystanders. A fire can be a source of warmth, it can be a necessary tool for sustenance, it can be a symbol of renewal, gathering people like a beacon to its light, or bringing new sustenance to a forest and improving its diversity after a controlled burst. But it can also be a weapon, one of devastating effect, destroying lives and futures of the victims who experiences its terrifying sting.

The Inuzuka clan of the Hidden Leaf are a people that like to live outside of society, they live for the hunt, the forest, and for nature. Therefore many clansfolk settle both close and far from the village proper. Like an exposed artery they are both the first line to scout for enemies, but are also the first to be targeted. One such of the Inuzuka clan houses has been put to the torch, there were no reports of enemy sightings, nor of Samurai, or Leaf Nin approaching or leaving the area prior or post the fire besides of the personnel that arrived to help put it out.

The fire was first noticed by those on guard duty late at night via the smoke emanating from it, concluding quickly it wasn't a message, so the first call was to check the maps and it was there it was discovered the location fit with an Inuzuka clan house. Assuming the worst, Shinobi of all Branches were sent to investigate and help. The Main Branch shinobi helped put the fire out, while the ANBU ran inside and rounded up those that were staying there, at least the survivors that were found. Meanwhile the Mednin began treating and helping those that needed it.

Arriving at the scene once the fire had been properly stopped was Suzaku Keiji. Who found himself oddly reminiscing of his homeland. His own clan, that of the Santaru, holding powers he himself could never fully tap into, were in the ancient past monks, travelling across the country and helping civilians and living in monasteries, serving as both scouting posts and homes to those that would eventually found the village of Kumogakure. He wondered if the same were true of the Inuzuka, although due to the secluded nature of their clansfolk he suspected not.

With Keiji he decided to bring one of his students. They had spent some of the night on patrol and the day prior with training, practising methods of utilising the Demon that lay within him, they had a lot of work ahead of them, and so Keiyaku hadn’t been home for a long time. In his Exam he had chosen the fitting mask of the hound. Which in the world of ANBU meant he desired for the path of the Inquisitor. Him, and subsequently the ANBU at large needed Inquisitors and he hoped this Inuzuka child would be able to fill that role to help push the rest of those hopefuls further.

They had run for a fair bit of time. Not as long as his previous Mission but still far out. Whether Keiyaku knew of this outpost clan house mattered little to Keiji. All that mattered was that he was up to snuff, despite the nature of this fire being an attack on his fellow clansmen. Inquisitors had to be unbiased in their judgement. Only thing that truly mattered was their abject ability to stay objective and focus on solving the issues within Shinobi society and find the culprits.

They arrived at a large clearing during the early morning, in the centre was a medium sized clan house now turned into a smoking pile of rubble, normally ones this size would be able to fit up to thirty clansmen, with simple bunk beds and a large dining hall, hounds were always included within for both training and scouting. One section was always meant for a family to take up residence there as a permanent unit within. But at this given moment only eight clansmen and six hounds were registered to have been there at the time of the fire.

Outside of the burned house sat four clansmen, but only two hounds. One hound sat by their companions howling in a sad and lonely tone. Possibly honouring his fallen comrades, the other sat alone a little distance from the others. A large specimen clearly with an aged look to him. This was one Keiyaku would recognize. One Shinobi of the Inuzuka, maybe in his late twenties, sat by his howling friend and slowly, absentmindedly caressed his back. Another clansman slightly younger than the other lay in a fetal position, seeming like a catatonic state of sorts, he'd clearly lost his best friend to the fire. And the last two Inuzuka members there seemed very young. Maybe early teens, one sat with his hands covering his face in deep remorse, the other sat beside him with his eyes directed to the pile of cinder and charcoal staring at the building with a look of disbelief on his face.

An ANBU walked up to them to give his report. His mask, also that of a canine, another AiT, about the same age as Keiyaku, Keiji knew.
”Greetings, Corvus Sensei” he bowed briefly to both Keiji and Keiyaku ”Of the four surviving clansmen, only two had hounds. The other two were still initiates and no puppies had been found for them yet, they were here tasked as stable boys to make sure all of the animals were well taken care of..”

He pulled forth a clipboard with a listing and started to go through the contents “The permanent home wing of the clan house had a permanent residency of 2 clansmen and 2 hounds, although only one clansmen died in the fire, the rest of the family either got out, or wasn’t home..”

”The party of six clansmen and four hounds arrived last week and were doing training regimens and teaching the youngest ones techniques before joining the Academy, they were..” he paused and swallowed his own disgust ”Very young..”

Taking another deep breath, he looked around and pointed to the building ”It looked like the fire may have started in the basement by the food storage, but none of the people here said they ever went down there. Too many rats they said. Most of the food storage was empty and they had opted to go hunting several times on the day prior and as the last hunting party returned food was prepped by the two stable boys and they all sat down eating, and then everyone went to bed, waking up to the fire. He paused, turning to the large hound that sat on the wayside of everything. ”In the family wing a single large hound jumped out mid fire. We managed to recover one body within that, he was surrounded by bottles, possibly liquor or similarly alchoholic beverages. We assume he might have been too drunk to notice and didn't run out with his hound in time..”

”Understood, let no one that was here at the time leave.” Keiji nodded in his direction, receiving a curt nod back ”Thank you, we’ll conduct the investigation further and inquire if there are any further questions. Please inform us as soon as possible if new information comes.” Dismissing him he stepped aside and walked up to a small gathering of Main Branch and ANBU, all wearing the dog mask who kept busy looking around inside of the building and assessing the bodies of the dead that were pulled out. None of them were recognizable beyond height and stature, their skin, and muscle tissue were all burnt off leaving only teeth, and the intense smell of burnt meat.

[Exam for Inuzuka Keiyaku]
[Welcome hope Keiyaku. I'm sorry for the mess]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

When Corvus-sensei had summoned him for this mission and gave him the briefing, Keiyaku thought he knew exactly what he was getting into; he knew it was going to be awful, and he'd have to hitch up an objective, problem-solving attitude, but that he'd be able to handle it, and rise to the occasion. Moru looked a bit uneasy, but he knew the little guy would follow him to the moon and back. It was hard to dispel the knot that was strung taut in his stomach, but it was easy to put that down to the usual pre-mission jitters.

"Look, we know what this is all about, don't we, bud?" Keiyaku said, sitting on his knees and holding his little brother's face in his hands, his voice soft and reassuring, "we know we're being given our shot here, don't we? If we help people, and we right actual wrongs out there in the world... isn't that what we were always taught to do?"

Moru let out a grunting growl, a fire suddenly burning in his eyes.

"That's right," Keiyaku grinned, nodding, "Justice. That's our Shinobi way."

Mask on, Keiyaku and Moru hurriedly ran alongside their teacher after receiving the brief, sailing through the darkened streets of Konoha in silence, knowing a great deal of discipline was being demanded of him. It was best to keep communication sterile, in case there was anything important to say or report. They were getting near it now. The Inuzuka's nose twitched as he caught the whiff of smoke on the air - a colossal blaze had danced through the night, for sure, and had only been recently wrangled. Keiyaku wondered faintly what they might find, who had lived at this place, and what they might look like now...

Smoke wasn't the only scent that hung on the air. Burning flesh, the smell of which was almost overwhelming. Moru seemed to think so too. There was something else too, he thought vaguely as they came to the edge of the village, into the forest, a small grove leading them to their destination. So lost in his thoughts was he, that he didn't even take stock of the path they were taking and its unnerving familiarity. There was a scent like...

Please... No.... don't let it...

At once, Keiyaku had dropped to all fours, running much faster than he could on two legs, his eyes wide through the holes in the mask. The epiphany was otherworldly in scope. As hand and foot pounded the pathway, every extremity became numb, and soon it was like he was having an out-of-body experience, watching himself running into the place of all demons. Pandaemonium.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his home, where he'd been born, where he'd grown up, where he'd met Moru, and where he'd watched the puppy take his first stumbling steps.... The only place in the world, Keiyaku knew for sure, that people loved him. The two-story complex had practically caved in, the whole thing a smoldering wreck of ashes and human remains.

"KEIYAKU!!!!"

A voice boomed out, frantic and authoritative. It was gravelly, and coarse, with a pitch that would make a death metal singer green with envy. It was a mark of how terrified the old dog was, that Kiiromaru used his adoptive son's name rather than calling him 'boy' or 'pup' as he usually did. It was that, more than anything, that jolted the Inuzuka from his numb, open-mouthed look of disbelief. He could feel his bones vibrating, adrenaline starting to cloud his brain.

"DAD!"

Still on all-fours, Keiyaku rushed, half blinded by tears, to the old dog. Their 'hug' was much more dog-like than human. They leaned their heads together, eyes closed, father and son seeking mutual refuge from their torment.

"Where the FUCK have you been? I thought you were dead!"

Once a parent, always a parent. Masks seemed to mean little for the Inuzuka clan - they could identify a family member or a close friend just as easily by scent as by seeing their face. That was something a mask couldn't hide.

"Corvus, sir," the old dog said, reclining his head respectfully to his former boss. He and Toboe Inuzuka had once served as ANBU Captain, quite some time ago. Toboe had seemingly never recovered from his service, "thank you for coming."

Keiyaku was numbly stumbling around, approaching survivors in turn, and each time, they would press their foreheads together. It was a greeting, and it was a farewell, and it was an apology, all at the same time.

"Misoshi! Kegawa! Unaru!"

Keiyaku, along with Moru did a round of the survivors, checking who was okay, and who was still alive, forcing himself to avoid looking at the charred remains of men, dogs, and children alike. How could this have happened? The answer came in the form of an ANBU officer detailing a report, reading off a clipboard. Keiyaku gritted his teeth, watching the man list off his dead brothers and sister, his cousins, his nephews and nieces, his aunties and uncles, all like they were nothing more than statistics on a spreadsheet. Puppies and children had been reduced to piles of dandruff, and all the officer did in response was grimace in mild disgust.

The ANBU giving his report was joined by Kiiromaru who addressed Corvus respectfully, his voice shaky, but professional, with all the grit of an old, world-weary soldier. Even for a dog, he had an impressive martial bearing. Now that he was so close, it had been clear his fur had been singed a little, his coat smoking and caked in ash.

"I can confirm this, sir. I became aware of the fire shortly before it engulfed the house. My partner was unconscious - he has something of a drinking problem," he explained, leaving out the irrelevant fact that, this drinking problem had necessitated the wolf-dog raising the man's son for him, "I did my best to drag him out, but he'd already caught fire from the alcohol content in his body. I.... got out while I could. But it is true, clanmaster Inuzuka Toboe is dead."

When the dog delivered that fact, his eyes twitched, and so did his ear, looking as though a great howl of misery was welling inside him, but his face remained blank and impassive.

Dead.... His father was dead... How many was it now? 10? 10 innocent people? Ten members of Keiyaku's family. How could his life possibly ever be the same again? Moru looked just as stunned, and weary, but he was beginning to come back to his senses.

"C-Corvus... did you know about this? What we were coming to? My WHOLE family is DEAD. READING THEIR NAMES LIKE THEY'RE DATA POINTS ON A CHART. DO YOU EVEN GIVE A SH-"

Kiiromaru, with an awful, vicious snarl, rounded on him at once, talking to him like a drill sergeant trying to get an overly emotional private back in line. Keiyaku fell silent in a split second.

"LISTEN HERE, BOY," he roared, 'boy' practically rhyming with 'you little shit' from his tone of voice. His voice became very low and steady, "get yourself together! That is NOT how you address a superior officer. Remember your training. Remember that there is no room for emotion in a crisis. As an ANBU officer, you will do your duty to your village, pup, and do it damn well. When we know exactly what the ramifications are of this disaster, and ONLY then, we will quietly grieve together, and bury our fallen family, and you may shed a tear in private."

It took a moment for that to hit him, and hit him like a train it did. His back straightened as he stood up. He lifted his mask just enough to dry the tears from his eyes, before settling it back on his face. His eyes become set, and cold. His voice, while shaky, was the very essence of disciplined determination.

"Corvus-sensei is right," Keiyaku said to the ANBU officer, saluting him respectfully, "no one leaves until the investigation concludes."

Keiyaku spared a glance at the house, trying to control his thoughts, and holding back the grief. He addressed the ANBU officer.

"Vulpus," he said, using his fellow AiT's codename, "has anything of the basement survived? If so, we should check out the remains and see if we can rule out foul-play. Establish a perimeter to prevent anyone leaving or entering. Get someone to form a line of every witness and Tanuki and I will question them in turn."

 

[Keiji]

Seeing the young boy run so frantically surprised Keiji, and as he approached he realised why. Here he was basically experiencing the same he had gone through, but instead of being alone, surrounded culprits and evil intentions, Keiyaku was at least still with a survivor and allies. With the culprit still as of yet unknown. Keiyaku would have an opportunity to be better. Here he hoped Keiyaku would rise to the task at hand.

It took some convincing from his old wolf-father, whom Keiji had read about. Their services and missions documented well, it was their service record that made Keiji decide to take on Keiyaku himself, to see how far the apple may fall from the tree.. Maybe that was the wrong way to go about it he thought to himself, maybe, he still had an opportunity to shine.

Reprimanding usually came from superiours or parental figures, and before Keiji could intervene and yank Keiyaku out his turmoil, his father-figure went ahead instead and gave him a stern talking to. Adding to it though Keiji added with a serious tone. "Numbers, data and facts don't like or give falsities, we rely on them when we need information to work out of. They cannot hurt, harm or insult you unless you allow them to do so. Take them and use them as they are. You have a simple task now. Find our culprit."

Without making a single noise Keiji took a step back, and allowed Keiyaku to shine in this moment. Giving him the space and room to navigate. At this point he had a whole cadre of Main Branch and ANBU at his behest as he lead this investigation. All Keiyaku would see of Corvus by the end was a silent wave and the distinct sound of his voice going "Good luck~" He didn't walk fully away or disappear, he just simply stepped under the shade of the trees as the morning sun began its path above lighting up the clearing with morning dew. If Keiyaku squinted he might still see the distinct shape of his sensei looking over the clearing and his progress throughout his efforts. He was ready to assists, although he suspected, and hoped he wouldn't need to.

Everyone there knew Keiyaku was in charge, they didn't need to be told. The sheer fact that he had arrived with the Sennin, and the ANBU around him started running at his behest the second he started barking orders.

"Sir!" He responded, straightening his back at Keiyaku's naming of him. Listening for the question, and as the orders came he waved and gave signals his hands at the other ANBU around that then began running to confirm the ones surrounding the clearing already hadn't seen any progress, the Main Branch Shinobi around settled into a faster pace at clearing out the rubble of the house, they all wore masks over their mouths to help prevent any gasses or smoke making it too difficult to breathe. There were still cinders within, and the last thing they needed was something else catching fire..

"We have been able to access the basement, only the structure itself survived, since the basement was where the fire started, we've only been able to conclude that the fire started closest to the roof of the basement, meaning it was started with the clear intent of setting everything above the basement up in flame. This is why we are certain that this was a case arson." He checked his clipboard again. "One note our research indicated was that the basement was completly empty. It seemed like that part of the clan house hadn't seen use for some time, and hadn't been properly stocked up. This explains why they had to go out hunting to feed their group." He flipped a few pages and continued "Regarding entering or leaving. We've had guards stationed around the perimiter the second the first responders arrived. It was from the first people that got out, we established no one had been seen entering or leaving the premises or surrounding area besides the ones already registered to be here all day and night prior to the arson."

Vulpus had soot across his mask, possibly from his work previously getting people out, and he coughed slightly, quickly getting ahold of himself. His mask quietly looked back to the survivors to make sure they were out of earshot. Being an Inuzuka himself he knew their senses were sharp and knew the right distance and tone to keep them uninformed, then looked back to Keiyaku. "I'm afraid to say," he coughed lightly again. "Either our arsonist died in the fire, or they are among the survivors here."

Following their orders from Keiyaku the ANBU there went over and lifted up the tired, the shellshocked and the mourning ones. Even Keiyaku's own hound father sat down in the line. They were all lined up. Facing the burning house, some sat down on logs as their legs could barely hold them, others just stood quietly like good soldiers.

The first in the line was his hound father, who sat proudly and vehemently, his dark eyes stared at the building and the faint smoke trail that still reached for the skies.

Next was the young man who had lost his dog. He sat on a stump, his body shaking. Kiiromaru had his massive paw on his legs to give some form of comfort. The pain he must be experiencing is similar to that of losing a massive part of themselves. Parts of his clothes were ripped and he had wounds and scratches all over his arms and legs, he had a blanket over his shoulders which both his hands held firmly onto.

Besides him stood a late twenties Inuzuka, he had light tufts of what might eventually become a proper beard on his chin and sideburns, he still had his hound, and he seemed to hold himself a little better than all of the others. Not that he seemed unfazed, but maybe just better trained, like he's seen his fair share of death and destruction and so had experience in the field. His fingers, hands and arms were covered in soot.

Besides him stood his hound, a noble mastiff with his wide stance and wrinkly face and neck, hi nose proudly pointed towards the house. He also seemed unfazed, for the most part. He seemed to copy his master's posture and attitude very finely. He had small scratches across his paws, legs and face, both old scars, but also new ones like he had gotten them in the fire.

The last two were the youngest of them all. They seemed younger than Keiyaku.
First of them on the row stood defiantly, his eyes sharp. Only thing was it would be obvious to anyone that he was holding a mask. His face was covered in soot, he had a nose bleed out one nostril and had snot coming out the other like he hadn't properly washed in days. (Which isn't exactly unnatural for an Inuzuka, but he seemed worse for wear) his eyes seemed ready to well up with emotion the second someone might remind him of what had happened.

The second youngster and the last on the row of witnesses were of similar looks as the other, he had cuts and bruises across his face and legs, compared to the other though he seemed less inclined to maintain his mask. He struggled with breathing and holding back the sobbing. His friend standing to his left padded his back to comfort him. The noises coming from were indistinguishable at first, but faint recognizable sounds could be heard like the words "Why" "How" "Please no" repeating them through muffled sounds between his sobbing and rubbing of his eyes.

Vulpis took Keiyaku to the first in line and stood there ready besides Keiyaku slightly the right and a little back with his clipboard, having readied a new piece of paper to take notes as he listened in on the interviews, to relay and compile the information given and shared later on.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku nodded as the AiT took his orders and began rattling off a report about the basement. He would've liked to have inspected the basement himself, but they didn't have all the time in the world and he could afford to deprioritise that for now. He did have his suspicions about Vulpus too; he could recognise the boy's scent but only tangentially. An Inuzuka, for sure, but not one from his branch. Furthermore, he had no Ninken with him, which would suggest he was from one of those funny stargazing, loner-type Inuzuka tribes. He was an outsider in every sense of the world, and Keiyaku did not like that. But it certainly gave context for why the guy was unfamiliar with their hunting and nutrition practices. For now, he tried not to unduly judge his fellow ANBU agent based purely on that; he would question him a little more closer later.

"Yeah, that's right. We used to use the basement for food storage, but because of a few rat problems, we stopped using it and just kept junk down there. Wouldn't be hard to set that stuff alight, I suppose. But yeah, no food storage means daily hunting for the whole clan. We usually send a party out in the morning; a team of two clansmen and their partners who split up. Good work, too, Vulpes."

Either our arsonist died in the fire, or they are among the survivors here.

Keiyaku didn't want to say it out loud himself, but yeah, that was an extremely disturbing thought if foul-play really was the cause, and it was certainly impossible to rule that out given Vulpus' description of the basement, assuming he was telling the truth. The Inuzuka turned and crouched down to his partner who seemed to have taken just as much heart from Kiiromaru's talking-to. The two shared a few barks and growls before Moru walked forward, approaching Kiiromaru with trepidation. It seemed they had the plan that Moru would question the dogs, while Keiyaku would question the clansmen. He would qustion the two youngsters first.

"Misoshi. Kegawa," Keiyaku said stiffly, kneeling down to get on eye-level with them. In learned in to them both in turn, holding both their faces in his hands, allowing them to register his scent, and who he was. They were his little cousins, but close like siblings. Mishoshi, the youngest, was too little to be assigned a partner yet.

"Could you both take a deep breath for me, okay? Could you just tell me exactly what you were doing just before, and just after the fire started? Where was A-...." Keiyaku had to stop for a moment as his voice cracked, and then tried again, "where was Aomaru, your partner, Kegawa?"

Morutobu, on the other hand, was facing the mastiff of the slightly older Inuzuka. The adolescent Shiba barked and growled in a dignified sort of way, in what would sound, to the mastiff in caninespeak, as a calm, measured tone of voice.

"I need know what you and Unaru here doing just before, and just after start of fire-calamity. At home, or hunting?"

Caninespeak always had a certain basic, caveman like quality to it, but it was just as much a language as any other. Morutobu hadn't quite gotten the knack of Kiiromaru's ability to produce humanspeak - a skill that usually came with age. Kiiromaru seemed to be talking reassuringly to the shaking dog-less Inuzuka beside him.

Keiyaku wouldn't question the youngsters too hard; he just wanted to know what they had been doing, and if they had seen anything odd, or if they had been doing something irresponsible.

"Unaru," Keiyaku would say, looking up at the twenty-something year old Inuzuka with his mastiff. He greeted both of them in the typical way, pressing his forehead to theirs' both in turn, "were you out hunting, or at home when the fire started? If you were out, when did you come back? If you were at home, what exactly were you doing?"

While Moru was keeping the mastiff distracted with his own line of questioning, he knew Keiyaku would be able to question Unaru on his own. He wanted to see if both Inuzuka and Ninken's stories tallied and made sense together as they surely would have been side-by-side the whole time.

 

[Keiji]

The two youngsters changed their direction to Keiyaku, both blinking like they were in a trance. Misoshi looked up from his hands, they were red and glistening from the tears that had created a small puddle in his hands. His lips quivered and he seemed to struggle getting any words out. Right as he was about to say something Kegawa took control and seemed to answer for them both. "I wa-I-w" "We cooked the venison together." He said very matter-of-factly. "As usual, we don't participate in the night hunting, so we stayed back, cleaned a little and when they got back with the venison we cooked it up." Misoshi's eyes seemed to perk up "It-It was really good.. I wish you'd had here to taste it K-Kei-" Kegawa spoke over him again stopping Misoshi speaking Keiyaku's name out loud, not realising that during ANBU work that wasn't his name. "It was great. After we all ate together we went to bed. We woke up as the fire had already taken hold of the dining hall and infirmary.." "It.. It was so.. Loud.. I didn't think flames could be so.. Loud.." Misoshi seemed almost like he was trying to describe something ethereal like it was impercievable or incomprehensible. "Yeah, as soon as we realised what had happened we ran out, I couldn't find Aomaru though.. He paused for a brief second, at first it looked like he was about to curse the gods themselves, clenching his fists like he was about to punch the hole in a wall, knowing it woulld destroy his fists, he released the tension, and gave a deep sigh like he was trying so hard to hold it all in, but decided it wasn't worth it. Then looking back up to Keiyaku, his eyes had returned to his barely held together mask "Th-Thankfully the first ANBU had just arrived to welcome us outside before the first search party would run in.. Nobody came out with Aomaru though.." While Kegawa was speaking and describing the last evening Misoshi looked up to Kegawa for a second and seemed like he wanted to say something. But then in respect of his friend he seemed to convulse his back and his face fell back into his palms and the sobbing restarted.

The older Inuzuka seemed to stiffen as Moru walked up to Unko the Mastiff and asked his question. Unko seemed unfazed by the little dog but after a few seconds of waiting he deigned to lower his face to Morutobu.

"Night time Hunt big deer. Lots fun. Get home. Play-Teach other Friend-Clans. Missed you. You do good jumps." Unko seemed to smile with his canine teeth in a playful manner. "We eat together all of us.. I think.." He seemed to blink for a second like he was trying to remember something, but then shook his head quickly like was trying to throw some thoughts out of his brain. "After food, we sleep close to far-side Window. I sleep close with Unaru. We heard Fire, jump out window together. Young-Pups already out here waiting with other face-masks around."


As the dog was answering Moru, Unaru shifted his attentions to Keiyaku who approached him and was asked a similar question.
"Oh hey, uh, yeah, sorry. We were out hunting all night, once we got back, everyone uh, seemed hungry so we let the youngsters cook and prep the deer kill. It was all pretty chill y'know? As usual, everything seemed.. Normal? Like when we finally ate it was so good, maybe it was just because we hadn't eaten for a long time, but it was so good and so late we all decided to go hit the hay." He paused for a second and seemed to try to remember something.. He scratched the side of his head to try and figure it out, then dismissed it and continued "I like to sleep with a partially opened window, but due to the cold I was at the far end of the sleeping hall, once we heard the flames we took our gear and jumped out of the window, Misoshi and Kegawa was-" He paused again, and snapped his fingers like he just remembered something. "Aomaru, he said he'd take the nightwatch. That's right!"

Kegawa who was standing with Misoshi a little off to the side seemed to jitter at the mention of Aomaru, like he just heard a trigger word that sent him back to some dark memories and thoughts.

As the interview ended with Unaru and Unko, Vulpus prodded Keiyaku's shoulder and directed him to follow him for a second. He lead the way slightly away, further towards the house, crawled underneath a crumbling large wooden beam ready to crumble over them, but navigated effortlessly, like he's seen burned houses before. Then stopped where the entrance down to basement was, inside of where the kitchen used to be. As they walked he talked "Everything they've said so far is a good recounting of what I had already written down. But that last bit of information.." He checked to make sure he was far enough away. "I hadn't heard about the nightwatch, and if that's true then.." Standing where the Kitchen used to be, be pointed to where the door leading out of the Kitchen to the greater house was, and on the inner side of the kitchen Vulpus pointed to a small pile of ash and some tiny charred bones lay easily dismissed as remains of their hunt the other day... He let Keiyaku take in the scenery.. "While we can't of course see the door. But I imagine it probably had a lot of scratches on this side of the door.." He let Keiyaku take that in, and then as soon as he was ready Vulpus would lead the way back to the survivors.

As they walked back, Vulpus seemed distracted for a brief second, checking his in-ear communication, then from the corner of Keiyaku's eye he'd see a large black and brown shepherd dog jump down from a tree, and then run over to another ANBU, communicating something and then back to the tree to crawl back up. He checked his ear piece again and small growls came from Vulpus again in finality. "Kyuuru is keeping busy watching that whole sector. So far no one has been spotted entering or leaving besides our crew. Just confirming that it was still true."

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

After having comforted the youngsters after their testimony, his immediate thought was that they could have potentially been responsible, if only be accident, since they had been cooking, however with the fire having started down below, even this seemed kind of unlikely. Vulpus' report seemed to indicate foul-play as the prime factor. Of course, that was not certain.

As Moru questioned Unko, the little Shiba felt his lips twitch, almost into a smile as the older mastiff told him he missed him. Yeah, he had to admit, he missed the big guy too, but with Kiiromaru so close, he worked hard to scrub all emotion from his face to focus on the task at hand.

"Thanks, Unko. We will form hunt-party again soon, yes?"

Moru waited patiently for Keiyaku to finish questioning Unaru.

"Okay," said Keiyaku, his brain working hard, "you brought the kill home. The kids cooked it, you all ate, then felt sleep, and went to bed. You and Unko slept away from the window, but with it open, and Aomaru took the nightwatch."

He turned to Morutobu and crouched real low on the ground where the two brother proceded to have an extremely fast and extremely faintly whispered conversation in each other's ears. The young Inuzuka seemed satisfied, looking from Unaru to Unko, noting that their stories more or less matched. Something bothered him. The kids, and these two and both raved about the quality of the food, and then everyone, at the same time, had become very sleepy... Except for Aomar-

Keiyaku felt a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around to his fellow AiT who told him the stories for accurate but for one detail. He allowed the guy to lead him away and through the rubble. He had to close his eyes for a moment, trying not to imagine the possiblity he was treading on the bones of the people he loved. No one should ever have to feel the crunch of their brother's femur underfoot. Vulpus directed him to a small pile of ash and bones by the remains of the door. Based on the testimony so far, it had to be Aomaru.... It was definitely a puppy at any rate.

"That is... a little odd, yeah. We do have nighttime guards, just to wake up the rest of us if there's an intruder, but it's rare we post a junior clansman there, not unless we're short on people - you know, their barks aren't loud enough. I guess with the others asleep, it's possible. I would've expected dad to be on that, or maybe Unko. I could be wrong, I guess..."

His attention was diverted for a moment as Vulpus got a call on his headset, followed by a shepherd dog jumping down from the trees, come bounding up to them, and then retreat. Good, the perimeter was secure.

"Hey, that's real good work you two," he said, actually quite impressed with their synergy together and devotion to the task, "Kyuuru is gonna need some serious belly rubs after this."

Keiyaku allowed Vulpus to lead him back outside, still trying not to make up his mind until he had everyone's account of what happened. His last port of call was to the shaking clansman being comforted by Kiiromaru. He didn't recognise this one - maybe a cousin from another clan who, like Unko had mentioned, had come to train. Obviously, there were plenty of cousins he hadn't met yet, however, he knew they all greeted each other in the same way. He leaned in, and took the guy's shoulder, then pressed his forehead to his, then his cheek to the other's cheek.

"Hey, man, it's okay. Can you look at me?" Keiyaku hitched a smile on his face with great difficulty, hoping his voice would sound lighter, "heh, I don't think we've met yet, have we? By your scent, I mean. Could you just tell me your name, and your partner's name? And I just need to know what you were doing before shit went down and what you did during? Just, take it real slow, okay? I promise, I'm gonna sort this out. We're family, right?"

Moru, meanwhile, went to Kiiromaru, a little nervously, wanting to question him as to Keiyaku's suspicions back in the ruined house. The dog bowed respectfully to his adoptive father and addressed him in caninespeak, sadly not yet mature enough to command humanspeak the way Kiiromaru did.

"Hey, Da- uh... Kiiromaru. You do what at start of fire-calamity. You do what just before? You know about Aomaru house-guard duty? Why not you instead? Did you eat Unko prey-kill?"

The little dog tried to be direct, but not accusatory, but he was confident Kiiromaru wouldn't take it personal, knowing they were just doing their job.

 

[Keiji]

The scared and scarred man seemed not to respond as Keiyaku approached him first. He seemed absent, like something intrinsic to his person was missing. Like he wasn't whole anymore.. Whether he would become whole again was unsure. In the world of the Inuzuka he was broken.. He might receive a new puppy, but for an Inuzuka they would never return fully to the same.

His eyes seem to brighten up slightly as Keiyaku addressed him. Like the scent of a fellow clansmen meeting him reminded him of something good about the world. "H-hi..." His shoulders sagged and he seemed to calm. "I-I-I'll admit your scent does seem to bring back some memories, you lived here with.." His eyes softened and blinked to look beside him as he seemed to adjust his leg where Kiiromaru rested his paw easing his inner turmoil. Then turning his eyes back to Keiyaku ".. Kiiromaru, right?" He nodded seemingly satisfied as he seemed to find the answer himself without Keiyaku's responding. "I'm Ran, I.. Came, here." he indicated with his palms facing down to the ground. "With everyone else, although I came from another clan house.. I had been tasked taking care of the youngsters.." His eyes welled up and his upper lips quivered slightly. "M-M-Mo-Mo-Motoro.." He took a deep breath, and exhaled again finding calm as his eyes went down to Kiiromaru's paw. "H-H-He seemed to befriend them easily.. I barely saw him most of the days, he just stayed with them.. I-I-Don't know where he was when I awoke... A-A-All I know.." He closed his eyes, searching his memory, his feelings.. "Before the flames started.. Before the screams of the flames were heard.. I felt this intense jolt of pain through my body.. It reminded me.." Still his eyes closed his fists balled up in a pained frustration "Of every time Motoro was hurt, every time he was cut, or every time he was in pain... Like our bond made me feel his hurt.. The jolt I felt, which first woke me up was greater than ever before.." His eyes opened and tears fell from his eyes. And his pained, hateful expression turned up to Keiyaku. "If I... If I ever find who did this, I don't know what I would do.. But I imagine you understand my meaning.." He looked away and wiped his tears with his sleeve. Then his body sagged again and he couldn't help but staring at Kiiromaru's paw..

"Resting.." His deep growling tone indicated he was perhaps feeling a little frustrated with having to be interviewed as well, but his eyes were wise and understanding. Tolerant of the necessity. "I had helped the others during the hunt. After we all ate I heard Tо̄boe in his room rolling out of his bed." He seemed annoyed at the thought and his head turned to the family part of the building. His teeth showed in a slight contempt. "He had thrown a bottle across the room asking for some of the food, so I brought it and we sat together for a moment.." He looked back down to Moru with a sincere and calm gaze. "He asked where you two were.. When I said you hadn't returned all day and night, he got quiet. Almost like he was actually having a deep thought.. Then he swallowed the last food, and poured himself another sake and saluted. Saying he was.. Proud of his lineage.." Moru or Keiyaku for that matter wouldn't be able to tell if Kiiromaru was telling the truth, or perhaps it was just a way to sooth the pain. "After that we slept together in the family home. When the flames begun I tried to pull him out, but he had managed to fall in between the bed and the wall, and I couldn't pull him out.. " He lowered his nose in sadness, apologetically he continued. "But I couldn't.. He was too drunk.. And too heavy.."

He seemed to become slightly smaller. Like his proud stance and immense stature lessened in shame of his inability of saving his partner and Keiyaku's father. His paw remained in support but he seemed to withdraw in himself.

Whilst the interrogations were happening and Keiyaku was listening intently, another Anbu who had been looking through the wreckage came running out of it, almost stressed. He ran, trying not to disturb the interrogations and instead opted to whisper quietly to Vulpus, who hurriedly turned the page on his clipboard and wrote down the report. Then as the interviews had concluded, he poked Keiyaku again like before and began directing him back into the building.
"You asked before to see the Basement. I just got confirmation we can go down to look ourselves, we weren't sure if it was safe. It still might not be, so we have to be careful." He navigated them carefully below beams and pathways that had been cleared back to the kitchen. The access down to the basement had been cleared and he lead the way down, it was open above so it wasn't like it was at all difficult to look down, but seeing the floor of it finally down revealed the sturdy underside of the house. It wasn't a huge basement. Only deep enough for the coolness of the earth to help cool whatever was kept down there, people had done similar basements for ages, moderned designs helped the temperatures reach lower temperatures to help keeping even produce lasting longer. As they got down to the bottom it seemed like a lot of the surfaces area was safe, it didn't looked as charred as everything else as the fire had prioritized its path upwards. Inside of one of the chambers where it seemed it had hit hardest, presumably where the fire started, the upper parts of the room were covered in soot and ash, on the ground within lay the body of a grey wolf. It wasn't as burned as the ashes above, but it was still charred. What was immediately obvious to anyone trained in killing was that this wolf hadn't died from the fire.. It had puncture wounds in its sides and belly. Desperate points of attack, like the wolf had pounced on a target and in their selv defence had held their knife close and lunged up into the wolf in mid air. The claws on the front paw was a blackened red, like they had been covered in blood but due to the heat and flames the blood had soaken into the surface of the claws. Around the body blood had soaked into the ground, just like the claws, the heat boiled the bload leaving a intensely soaked in surface. A lot of the blood seemed have came out of the head of the wolf, and then smaller amounts around the body itself.

"I suspect that this might be Motoro." Vulpus stated in theory, but with a practiced guesswork. He checked his clipboard again. "There's something else." He said as Keiyaku would examine the wolf's body further presumably. "We found out a number of the sleeping rooms above where the vast majority had been sleeping had been barred, I did hear reports from ANBU that wondered why they couldn't find anyone around, they had been locked in.." He paused for a brief second. "I'm afraid this confirms our initial theory. This was one hundred percent foul play with intention to harm and kill other Inuzuka clan members."

As he would eventually lead the way back to the others he'd comment briefly with a glance towards Keiyaku. "Now comes the real questioning.."

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku could not be thankful enough that he was wearing a mask, and that the almost inconsolable Inuzuka couldn't see his face. That pain was so raw, like his soul had been ripped from his body, that it conjured up images of what he, himself, might be like if he lost Morutobu like this. Would he ever be the same again? He found himself unable to meet Ran's eyes as he listened to him, sure that he would just burst into tears if he did. It gave him a lot to think about though, particularly that he had not been sleeping with his Ninken when the fire went down.

"Ran. I just need to ask. How did you escape?" Keiyaku questioned, figuring the answer might be that he jumped out of the window like Unaru and Unko, but he just wanted to check his story matched theirs. When he gave his answer, he would thank the man, and gently squeeze his hand before moving onto Kiiromaru. Moru was already busy questioning him, and, predictably, the old dog didn't look too thrilled about that, but he didn't complain.

It was more or less as he suspected must've happened; Kiiromaru ate with the others, watching over the family, before retreating to the family wing to investigate the noise Keiyaku's real father had made. Kiiromaru brought him some food and they settled down to sleep together. He turn-

Saying he was.. Proud of his lineage..

Keiyaku froze, eyes lingering unblinkingly on the old dog as he said it. He didn't believe it for a second; he didn't believe his father had ever been lucid enough to care what was going on in his son's life - hence why he had to be raised by the man's Ninken. What mattered more to him, what he suspected was the truth, was that this was the dog's opinion, but that he was too proud to claim it for his own. Had he finally made the old dog proud? That's all he ever really wanted. Again, the tears began to sting his eyes, but he forced them back, accepting that his work was not done yet and he could not afford to break down.

Just then, another ANBU officer came charging out of the house, confirming the relative structural integrity of the basement, and that it should be safe to visit. Leaving Morutobu with the others, he allowed Vulpus to lead him away, Keiyaku's eyes scanning the man's footsteps curiously, inwardly wondering how he was so familiar with the house's layout for someone who did not live here full time. Had he visited before, like the others? Keiyaku was conscious of stepped carefully over Aomaru's bones, into the kitchen, and then descending into the basement to inspect the ruins.

The sight made his heart skip a beat.

I suspect that this might be Motoro.

Fortunately the body wasn't so badly charred, meaning the scent wasn't totally destroyed. Getting down on his knees, Keiyaku pressed his nose into the least bloody part of the wolf's fur and took a big sniff.

"Yeah, he smells like Ran. This is Motoro..."

The Inuzuka took a moment to inspect the wolf's cold body, the blood around it, and the evidence of heat having cooked the blood right into the poor mutt's fur and claws. The sides and belly caught his attention most though; puncture wounds, thin and erratic, obviously made by a long, sharp implement. His killer was human, then. Otherwise there would be teeth and claw marks... then again, an Inuzuka would be more likely to attack with teeth and claws too - so either the arsonist was not from the clan, or they purposefully brought a blade in case a clean, quiet assassination was needed. This only served to make him suspicious more still of his fellow officers, but he didn not voice this.

"The door was... barred?" Keiyaku repeated, his voice very thick as a lump welled in his throat, "yeah, foul-play. This was genocide. I'm officially declaring this a full-scale murder investigation. Vulpus, what information do you have on the victims? I know about Aomaru, Motoro, and my father. You mentioned there was 4 hounds, and six clansmen in total. If possible, I need the names, ages, and last whereabouts of the other 2 hounds and the other 5 clansman. At least, any of them you've been able to identify."

As they exited the cellar, Keiyaku started forming a mental picture of the night's events as best as he could figure.

Unaru and Unko were out hunting all day, accompanied by Kiiromaru, while Tōboe was home, as usual. They brought the kill home, and the kids helped prep and cook it. Misoshi, Kegawa, Unaru, Kiiromaru, Unko, and Aomaru, plus some of the other victims all ate together. The food was of extremely high quality, enough that everyone specifically complimented it. They all became sleepy afterwards. Unaru and Unko retired to bed, as did Ran, however the kids were still downstairs wth Motoro and Aomaru. Motoro was really sweet on the kids and took care of them. Kiiromaru went to look after the clanmaster, bringing him some food before falling asleep with him in the family wing. The door of the sleeping quarters was barred, so, of the named survivors, only Unaru, Unko, and Ran were trapped inside, and they presumably left via the open window. The kids were already outside by this time, and Kiiromaru escaped when he was unable to rescue the clanmaster. Aomaru and Motoro were in the kitchen; Aomaru had seemingly been locked inside and couldn't escape. It seems Motoro and Aomaru had tried to confront the arsonist... he killed Motoro, set the fire, and was probably confronted by Aomaru... but he was a puppy, so presumably, the arsonist kicked him aside, and locked the kitchen door. If the kids were still awake, they're the ones who had presumably, the best chance of having seen the killer. He wanted to dismiss Kegawa's involvement; he couldn't imagine him murdering his own puppy like that. He was just a kid. He would question them in a moment.

"Actually, Vulpus, I just need to have a word with you, first. I need you to tell me exactly when you arrived at the scene. Before, or after the fire? Can you tell me exactly what you did when you got here and who else was with you? I also need to ask - have you been here before? Your scent is less familiar, but you seem to instinctively know the floor-plan of the house, despite only seeing it as rubble. I just need to know how many times you have visited before now."

He would wait for the answers, wanted to have all these facts before he returned to questioning the survivors again.

 

[Keiji]

Ran had seemed reluctant to answer but relented, as if he understood why it was relavant. "I slept in the second hall, with the two kids, Unaru and Unko. I couldn't find the kids, and the door was locked, and I couldn't push it. Like it was barred. As I ran through the hall, I found the window where Unaru and Unko slept where the window was still open, jumped out and found them and the kids." He seemed to gulp like guilty emotions in him for not doing more welled up in him..

As Keiyaku requested, Vulpus flipped through his clipboard and turned it over, handing him it. The paper had listed everyone that had been registered as living there at the present time. It listed names, ranks, status and location.
The names listed were partially known to Keiyaku. There was a clearly made note "SAFE" by the survivors and a "DECEASED" by the ones they had confirmed or suspected dead.

A lot of them would be listed as DECEASED with the location noted as SLEEPING HALL A. the one that was locked one. His own name, Keiyaku was there. Most recent addition was the noted SAFE by it. Satisfied Vulpus would reach out to take back his clipboard, like a child with his favourite comfy teddy, it seemed to be a comfort for him to have it.

Making their way back Keiyaku pulled Vulpus aside, surprised almost insulted by his question.

"I don't know what you're getting at here.." he wiped the soot that had been on his mask the smelled seemed to bother him. "I've been here all night.. I was here among the first responders and helped to get order in with the rescue operations. Here!" He angrily flipped through his papers and yanked one out destroying the part that was held firm with the clamp like he didn't care to preserve the paper anymore and held it up for Keiyaku. "A list of everyone that arrived with me, their specialty, their knowledge on Inuzuka homes, and those with firefighting experience. I had to get some semblance of order when I figured out what had happened. I'm the one that sent in the ANBU to find the survivors. It's MY FAULT That I hadn't sent in one with Byukugan or perhaps a Sharingan!" he looked down as if he was trying to explain in his mind why his feet were on the ground he tread. "I've been walking through this burnt husk countless times to check every time a section was deemed safe by the others, I've been walking through here, every damn time to make up my own mind to take notes on the structure and it was me who found out where the fire originated and make the kitchen and cellar the priority to clear.. This was just before you arrived.." he looked up, seemingly taking in the view of the still smoking building "I've not been here before. At least not this clan house in particular. I grew up inside of the city proper. I did meet Kegawa when he was a little younger, but he can't recall me or my scent.." his knees seemed to weaken his stance a bit and a deep frustrated sigh escaped his lungs. "I-I-" he lifted his head defiantly, like the only real challenge was keeping his own sanity from departing. "I want the culprits caught just as much as anyone else.." He seemed to strengthen again and pull himself together, like he had allowed himself to relax briefly and had the emotions well up in him. "Please, if you weren't here, I'd be the one leading this investigation. You're here with Corvus and his decision was to leave it with you. I just hope he didn't make a mistake with that.." he turned his face defiantly and began walking back towards the survivors again.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Now it was Keiyaku's turn to get angry. The insinuation that Corvus-sensei's judgement had been misplaced - who did this little mutt think he was talking about?

"Get a GRIP, pup!!" Keiyaku snarled, fangs bared behind his mask, but it was evident in his voice. Little pebbles and sticks trembled at his feet, threatening to lift into the air, but they stayed put, "remember your damn training!"

It was curious that he found himself echoing Kiiromaru's words to him, right at this ANBU officer, just like when Keiyaku had snapped at his teacher, "I don't care what's happened - you remember from training what happens when you arrive at a scene like this? Everyone, EVEN the first responders are suspects, everyone who was here! I am not gonna leave a single fucking stone unturned, until I find the guilty party, ya get me?"

The Inuzuka softened, merely frowning instead of scowling, but hoping his admonition had sunk in. He stopped the other Inuzuka by the shoulder and spoke, much more softly, "you did good, alright. But you gotta understand why I'm doing this. The only reason why I didn't question why you didn't consider ME as suspect, is because I haven't been here in two days."

Naturally, Keiyaku had transformed the night before last and had been recovering still, but he wasn't about to let Vulpus know he'd spent the night in an underground cell, howling at the full moon.

He went over the information he had again in his head and what he had gleaned from the chart of survivors. His heart had lurched as his eyes travelled over every name, most of them he recognised, and some he really loved.

Ran was asleep in the sleeping quarters in a separate room, and he had the kids with him. So, Kotoro and Aomaru must've have gone to confront the arsonist when the kids had gone to bed... Everyone who had died, except for the two dogs downstairs, had been in that sleeping hall with the door barred shut. No ANBU, allegedly, arrived until the fire started.

This wasn't going to be easy, but he needed to speak to Ran first.

"Ran," he said, kneeling before the shaken Inuzuka, taking the man's hand in his and looking into his eyes, speaking in a slightly quavering, yet steady voice, "I'll let you see Motoro when I'm done okay? I want you to know, he didn't suffer... at least... he didn't burn."

He didn't want to let on any more than that, but he hoped, for now, that would help Ran grieve. At the moment, one of his prime suspects was Unaru, and he faced him and his Ninken next - they seemed to have sustained the most injuries, not all of which seemed strictly concordant with having leapt from a window. For all Keiyaku knew, they could have had their altercation with Motoro, set the blaze, and barred the door of sleeping hall B, and then barred sleeping hall A from the inside - both would look, after the blaze, like they had been locked. The problem was that Ran's story didn't square with Unaru's... Ran had claimed he was sharing their room, but Unary and Unko had claimed they had been in the first hall, with the window.

If Unaru did it, he'd make sure Unko survived too... but Unaru and Unko's stories match and were vouched for by Vulpus... Ran though... why would he murder his own Ninken so viciously? And why with a blade?

"Unaru, Unko," said Keiyaku softly, a kind, very warm note in his voice as he addressed them, though he whispered to avoid Ran hearing, "did you share a room with Ran over there last night? Were you both alone in your room? Or were Kegawa and Misoshi with you? Finally, who else was already outside when you escaped?"

 

[Keiji]

He seemed to calm as Keiyaku approached him and leaned it head to head "Th-Thank, that's some comfort. I suppose.." he looked off to the side like he was trying to change the fate of Motoro, and will him alive again sitting next to him. He looked down at Kiiromaru's paw who in reaction stretched it, and gave it a little weight it seemed to ease him again.

Unaru and Unko seemed to straighten their stance like the soldiers they saw themselves as when Keiyaku approached again. Unko seemed too just copy the mindset of Unaru, but didn't look to address the situation with anything more than an adjusted straightened stance. "Uh, right, yeah both the kids, myself, Aomaru, Ran and Motoro, we were all in the first Hall. I the window by my bed open at the far end of the sleeping hall, they didn't seem to care too bad for the cold winds compared to the others.." He seemed calmer, and looked a little off to the side in a guilty manner.. "To be honest, I much prefer just sleeping outdoors, but customs when training the youth demand we sleep close to each other.. And I usually sleep like a log.." His eyes shifted, conspiratorially and leaned in a little to Keiyaku. "y'know at first as me and Unko landed on the ground I got really annoyed with myself, here I was right, worried solely about myself, but that's just nature see? I'm a loner. But my responsibility was for the youngsters, and I felt guilty for not first checking up on the kiddos, and, then wouldn't you know it, they were already out here.. And soon after Ran came down from the same window. It was only getting worse and worse as time passed and nobody else came out.. The amount of times I just wanted to storm in and try to get them out but.." and he grew solemn all of a sudden, his guilty conscience seems to grow heavy on his heart.. "I really don't do well with flames..." then leaning back he returned to his trained position with his hands held back behind his waist with a face that did his best not to betray his emotions.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku scrutinised Unaru's face as he spoke, watching his eyes carefully for signs he was making up his story. It could very well be that Ran, he, and Unko were lodged in the same hall, but Unaru was walking back on a few details he'd stated earlier. Keiyaku checked through the notes Vulpus had copied out for him. His account was contradicted by his earlier statement that Aomaru had taken on the role of nightwatch. He was also aware of the fact Ran had said he didn't know where Motoro was when he awoke, suggesting he was already downstairs.

"So, you were all together, in the same room?" Keiyaku tilted his head to the side, like a curious puppy, "hang on; you said earlier, that Aomaru had gone down to do nightwatch duties, but now you say he was in the room with you? And, Motoro wasn't with Ran when Ran woke up. He was found downstairs. What's more, you seemed pretty badly scratched, at least, Unko here does, for clansmen who were running from flames, rather than blades. How did you get those scratches if you jumped from a window?"

Keiyaku's eyes scanned the man's arms, trying to detect scratches and scuffs, looking for defense wounds. He really didn't like the shifty, guilty look in his eyes, whether it was genuine survior's guilt or not. The 'loner' lifestyle wasn't really the Inuzuka way, so he found this odd, even if he did mean it in a 'me and Unko vs. the world' kind of deal. While Keiyaku did his, Moru had marched down to the youngsters, wanting to continue along this line of questioning.

"Kegawa. Who with you in room during sleep-time? Who still downstairs when you go sleep? How you both escaped?"

 

[Keiji]

Unaru seemed a little taken aback by the accusation. Raising his hands in a defensive stance he calmly asserted himself and corrected the statements from Keiyaku.
"No, no, what I mean is that we were all lodged in the same hall.. Whether they were there or not when I awoke I can't answer as me and Unko jumped right out.. You can ask Kegawa and Misoshi, they saw me come out of the window. They clearly left the hall before us, probably heard the fire and instinctively left, so I suppose they had a great instinct." He scratched the side of his head, holding his down in slight shame. "While we were out hunting the other day, we kind of went on our own way, and ended up meeting a Mountain Lion and Unko got his ass kind of handed to him before I managed to intercept.. Got pretty wild.. You can ask the others about that too, Unko has had those scratches since we met up with the others and made our way back here.."

Unko bowed himself in shame as well as Unaru described meeting the Mountain Lion.. Lifting his gaze up, he chimed in, in support of Unaru.
"Smelled Ran" He seemed almost prideful to be able to recall. "Not smell Aomaru, Motoro, Kegawa not Misoshi. They missing. Downstairs maybe." he nodded to himself and seemed to lick his lips, hoping for a treat for doing good. "We jump, window safe, we like cold air. Feel more like home. Others not like cold air as much."


Unaru had a little annoyed look to him and then finished asking Keiyaku. "You happy now? I feel like we've repeated this several times now. But I understand it's critical to make sure everything is right and correct..." he seemed reluctant to push Keiyaku further, like he wanted to be more insulted and scream his annoyance at his face. But clearly held himself back with a sigh.

Kegawa seemed to struggle a little with understanding Moru. He blinked as Moru growled and barked in his canine speak, he tilted his head to angle his ear towards him and tried to understand fully."I-uh-I think I get what you're asking.." He sat down on his hunches to get to a lower angle towards Moru. "I was in one of the sleeping halls, as far as I know, I think Unko, Unaru, Ran, and Misoshi were up in the bedroom. Last I saw Motoro he left the sleeping hall and went down to Aomaru who had taken up the guard duty. I was woken up by Misoshi who opened the door to the sleeping hall, and we left right there. Running down through the burning building." As Kegawa was describing the situation Moru might notice Misoshi would sit idle, his ears perked and curious. He seemed like he wanted to chime in several times but reluctantly stopped himself again.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

A mountain lion...

Keiyaku turned curiously to Kiiromaru who stood nearby and asked him to confirm this.

"Dad? You said you went hunting with these to? Did you come across a mountain lion? Did they look like they had these scrapes and scratches by the time you came back?" He wasn't sure whether the old dog would've noticed these details. Then again, Unko didn't smell them in the room, apparently. Moru relayed the testimony from the kids in a hushed, whispered conversation with Keiyaku who looked rather intrigued. So, for the timeline to hold, the kids left when the building started burning, but the door was not locked at the sleeping hall.... They must've locked it behind them, possibly by mistake. But that means, the kids couldn't have set the fire. Everyone else was asleep.... allegedly.

"I'll be right back," Keiyaku said, with the intention of returning to Unaru in just a moment. Moru had been questioning the youngsters, but he'd been neglecting something here... He should really be questioning them separately, as Kegawa seemingly interrupted every time Misoshi spoke.

"Hey, Misoshi. Could you give me some help with something?"

He held out his hand for the kid to take, where he would lead them away from the rest, watching him with a cautious expression in his eyes. He made sure they were out of sight of the others, trying to get away from the pressure of the crowd. He knelt so he was at eye-level with the young Inuzuka and removed his mask to help him feel more at ease.

"Okay, Misoshi. No judgement. No one's gonna interrupt. I want to hear everything you wanted to say back there, okay?"

 

[Keiji]

"Hm?" Kiiromaru looked confused at the question for a bit but nodded after a seemingly thinking it through. "Yeah we were indeed out hunting together, they went off and came back worse for wear, that's true."

Misoshi seemed distracted initially as Keiyaku addressed him, almost disbelieving he's being given attention, he absent mindedly took Keiyaku's hand and allowed himself getting pulled up and followed along, Kegawa couldn't help but look towards where Misoshi was pulled. He seemed like he would have stepped up and followed his friend, but reluctantly sat down, realising what was happening. Moru remained back and kept watching Kegawa's reactions. Who seemed to tip tap his feet the longer time Misoshi was away, almost like he was worried what might be said. He seemed to curl up and hold himself tightly around his chest and arms like he was in pain.

Misoshi seemed shocked, and kept looking back to the others, worried where Keiyaku was taking him. Moving beheind the trees and seeing Keiyaku taking off his mask made Misoshi look around conspiratorally. Listening intently. His eyes darted back to where the others sat, but then nodded, seemingly to himself and nodded. "Okay.. Kega-chan he.." he took a breath and gestured two walls with his hands "We grew up together, mostly.. Our parents serve Main branch together in teams, so growing up we've seen each other countless times and we've always been inseparable. But.." He bit his lips like he was regretting what he was about to say.. "After he got Aomaru he seemed to change entirely, he's been hanging out with the wrong crowd.. If you get me.. But" his eyes darted to the sides and then back to Keiyaku with a serious tone. "I've never met them.. One time Kega-chan returned home one night, and I uhm.." He seemed reluctant.. "I had to help soothe a brand he had received on his back.. I don't know what they're from, but the brand was painful and I had to help soothe him for a few nights in a row with creams and water... He.." Misoshi paused again, gulped like he was admitting something terrible about his own transgressions. "I heard him.. I heard him walk out of the sleeping hall far before the fire started, then he got back, and woke me up. He was bleeding, and we went to the infirmary to cover up the scars. I didn't ask what they were from.. But he.. He walked out and left me alone in there.. Then the fires started spreading and the roaring screams of the fire consuming the wood, he came back and we walked out together.. Then when Unaru, Unku, and later Ran jumped out Kegawa seemed.. Upset. Like he didn't want them to survive..." He gulped again "Please Keiyaku, PLEASE!" he almost screamed but kept himself as quiet he could. "I'm not evil, please. I never wanted any of this to happen! Kegawa was so much fun when we were younger, he is such a brilliant Inuzuka, I can't go to prison and leave him alone, he needs me, please!"

He grabbed Keiyaku's hands and held them tightly "Promise me you won't report me to that dreadful black bird man!" He was serious, he was on the verge of tears and his hands started shaking. He was so dreadfully fearful his legs seemed to fail him and after finally releasing Keiyaku's hands he fell to the ground in defeat, accepting the dreadful fate he saw coming his way..

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku's face fell, bit by bit as Misoshi recounted his story, telling it practically in a blind panic. The best child actor, Keiyaku was certain, couldn't weave that kind of complex narrative on the spot so he was pretty sure this was the truth he was hearing. The kid was getting louder, so Keiyaku quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and made shooshing noises, holding him still until he got his breathing under control. When he did, he would speak to him, again in the same reassuring tone of voice. He needed to see if he could get any more about this strange group, and the fact he had been branded, out of the other youngster.

"Heyyyy, shhhh, it's okay. You've told me the truth, and I know it wasn't your fault, kid. Just relax, okay? I won't tell the bird man; this is between us. Thank you for being so brave, okay?. But what we're going to do now..." Keiyaku had to pause for a moment, his voice cracking a little. Taking a deep breath, he slipped his mask back on over his face, "... what we're going to do now, is we're going to go back over there, because I need to talk to Kegawa away from the others, just like we are now. I want you to go and sit beside Unaru and Unko, okay?"

Standing back up, and offering the half-traumatised kid his hand, he would lead him back over to the group of survivors, where he would take a moment to survey the rest of them. Moru looked up at Keiyaku with a great deal of concern on his face, but he stayed put. Finally, the ANBU's eyes fell upon Kegawa, gazing at him imperiously. He forced his expression to soften.

"Kegawa, you next. I need to have a word with you away from the others," he said, trying to sound casual, "it's... about Aomaru; there's something I need to tell you about him."

With that, he would beckon him over to the tree where he'd just questioned Misoshi, figuring he might be more likely to confess guilt without the potential retribution of the entire tribe floating around him.

Now separated from the crowd, Keiyaku would give Kegawa the same kind of deference, removing his mask and kneeling to be eye level with him, man to man. Heaving a sigh, he looked into the slitted eyes which were the mirror of his own, and spoke in a calm, measured voice.

"Kegawa... we've known each other forever, right? We're cousins; I held you when you were born. You know you could tell me absolutely anything, right? Like, if you were in danger, or something? If someone had hurt you somehow, even before the fire happened. You'd come to me, right?"

 

[Keiji]

Misoshi quieted and felt the sooth Keiyaku was giving. He seemed to trust the words that came from Keiyaku's mouth. Although it was clear some deepseated fear still sat within him. Following the orders he walked over with shame and sadness all over his face. He walked over and sat himself besides Unaru and Unku. Although the glances that was shared between him and Kegawa was difficult to read, pain? Contempt? Sadness? Regret? Maybe a mix of everything. Kegawa seemed to tighten his grip on his chest, and then relented, relaxing his arms as he stood up and walked up to and followed Keiyaku.

Seeing him kneeling down and taking off the mask, it was clear the mask Kegawa had been maintaining on his face dropped slightly, like the pain, frustration and contempt he held in was coming through. He seemed overall less joyful as he listened to his words. "And here I thought we were gonna talk about Aomaru.." He held up his arms in contempt, closing himself off and looking off to the side. "You left me." His words were cold, filled with daggers. "You left me when you joined up in the Academy, you stopped dropping by as often, and when you joined ANBU, you were like a ghost.. You just.. Just.. Just.. Vanished.." He pouted like a child that couldn't get a new toy in the shop.

He tightened his arms and finalized his statement. "How should I trust someone that wound up leaving me when I finally had a canine of my own?" His words were filled with disdain, but was it just a play? An act? Was it the true core of his emotions, or was there something greater behind it?

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Whatever Keiyaku was expecting, it wasn't that, for sure. He frowned a little as Kegawa poured out his feelings.

You left me.

The words stung like a blade between the ribs, and he could feel hurt radiating from the boy. What could he say? It was true, yeah, but it wasn't so much joining the ANBU that had made him more distant from his family... it was something else altogether...

"Listen... Aomaru loved you, and I knew, once you had him, you would be okay. I knew you'd become a fine shinobi one day, and I put my trust in the strength of your bond," he said, still trying to wrap his head around what Kegawa may have done... and how his alleged feelings of abandonment tied in with the story Misoshi had told him, "I've never seen a pup and an Inuzuka take to each other so fast, you know? Not even Moru and me."

As he tried to defend himself to the kid, his face began to drop a little, wanting to get to the meat of the matter. Surely, this could not possibly be the root cause of Kegawa's grievance... If Misoshi was telling the truth, there was some hard evidence he could use to get to the core of the matter.

"But don't think I'm a dumb teenager, Kegawa. You're my baby cousins, so, of course, I'm gonna keep an eye on you... And I know what it looks like when... when someone's being hurt, or used. I know what it's like to feel like someone is taking control of your life, kid. I still know you as the little rascal with the cute grin... and I can tell when you're not okay."

He didn't quite know where these words were coming from, but it was something he could definitely relate to; the feeling of wanting to control your life, and yet having control rested from your grasp.

"I'm being serious now, okay? We're in private; no one's gonna know what we're talking about. I need you to show me what they did to you... to your back... If you can't do it for me... do it for Aomaru..."

 

[Keiji]

He seemed to scoff at the mention of Aomaru, he seemed pained, insulted even by the mere mention of Aomaru. He let Keiyaku finish his statement, but he seemed very reluctant at letting go of his emotions. Despite when Keiyaku started talking about being baby cousin, and keeping eyes on him. He seemed to grow angry, his hands balled into fists, and they tightened. When Keiyaku mentioned his cute grin his fists and stance seemed to soften. Relenting, his lips curled up instead as he continued on.

As the final word came from Keiyaku mentioning Aomaru his lips curled up further into a snarl. "Fuck. You!"

The words came out seething like hot spittled venom. "What the FUCK does all this concern you? They gave me a family. They gave me what you and the clan never could.." His fists balled up again and he turned and punched the tree behind him, it shook so hard both yellow, orange and green leaves fell in a storm. He clearly utilized some form of chakra enhancing his punch. As the leaves fell around them he instantly turned around again, and in the same motion pulled out from his sleeves a knife and stabbed it forward against Keiyaku. The blade was red with blood from the other night, as he pulled it out he sliced his sleeves, revealing his arms covered in bandages.

Regardless if he hit home or not he screamed out loud like his life depended on it "THE FIRES BLOOM AND THE SOULS BRIGHTEN!" He breathed and breathed out words that woud feel like poison to those that knew Kegawa's past, like he had been corrupted just to say those words. "The souls we released tonight will help bloom the greatest weapons! We will continue until the world gets made anew!" a maddening glare to his eyes as he screamed the words, he felt himself too far gone. Lastly he whispered to himself mostly "Aomaru never deserved me.." He then pulled back the blade and turned it in his hands and then pulled it back towards him, aiming for where his heart was with all of his strength..

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Surprise turned to hurt. Hurt turned to anger. Anger turned to fury. Fury turned to action.

The Inuzuka looked down, coughing some blood from his mouth which now hung agape, seeing the blade lodged in his stomach, his uniform quickly growing a patch of scarlet around the implement. He could feel the thing inside him stirring now, rearing its head at the injustice of it all, wanting to correct the balance of the universe by compressing this child into a fucking neutron. He could see what Kegawa was about to do with that knife next.

"No, kid, you ain't getting away with it that easy!"

Fighting hard to remain grounded, to keep his soul entirely separate from him, he grit his teeth hard. Moving with blinding speed, he grabbed Kegawa by the throat before the knife could pierce his tiny heart, squeezing maybe a little too hard, but he concentrated on forcing chakra into his eyes, breathing to steady his focus as he brought the boy's face closer to his, forcing him to make eye contact with him. The moment their eyes met, the boy's body would begin to freeze, muscles seizing up, as long as the jutsu worked. Prime suspect apprehended, he looked down at his injury and swiftly pulled out the blade with a loud 'hnnngg!!'. With another smooth breath, he placed his hand over the wound after performing a set of hand signs and concentrated, allowing his chakra to mingle with the blood, forcing it to clot. He couldn't repair any internal damage without his sensei, but he could at least stop himself from bleeding out.

Kegawa lay there, somehow innocent in his current state despite what he had done. Heaving the boy over his shoulder, he returned to the other survivors and slipped his mask back on, but kept his distance, trying to figure out what to say to the rest of them.

"Vulpus," Keiyaku called, trying to summon his fellow ANBU officer to his side, "I hope you will accept my apology. I've found the guilty party.... He stabbed me when I confronted him... I need to unfreeze him and question him a little further. And then... well.... we do this by the Inuzuka clan code. I will ask that you ensure he remains frozen... I want him here while we bury and grieve today... then I will continue his interrogation from there."

Keiyaku sighed and looked to the rest of the clan, knowing that, as the son of the former clan master, he would probably be expected to take up the mantle, and that there were members of his tribe craving blood for blood.

"Everyone. You're all free to go. I have a confession from Kegawa that he is the one.... who caused the fire..." Keiyaku announced, giving space for the reaction, wondering what might come of it, "rest assured, when I get all the information out of him so I can be sure no one else is coming for a reprisal attack, I will administer our clan code in how he is punished. I swear this. But for now, you all need remain vigilant - there is some kind of group out there who put him up to this, who seek to cause us harm, and we will not let this happen ever again."

Keiyaku suddenly stood to attention, causing Moru to suddenly bolt to his side and do likewise.

"Am I understood?!"

He would look back at Corvus-sensei, beckoning him over if he were still there. Keiyaku's eyes looked tired and watery, like he couldn't keep up this tough facade any longer and needed to succumb to the howling typhoon of misery threatening to escape him.

[Body Bind used on Kegawa]
[Coagulation used on self]