by Sessha Batto
Despite the flaming color she dyed her hair, the famous kunoichi Rin was as cold as her name implied. Her power, skill, and calculating intellect had elevated her to the ranks of the legendary, something only a handful of living shinobi had achieved, yet she had squandered her talents, living a life of depravity and spending days on end in an opium stupor. Still, the clan elders had appointed her to this position after Kobayashi-sama's death for, despite her dissolute appearance, she was a shrewd and canny strategist who did not flinch at the necessity of putting her shinobi in harm's way if it benefited the shuudan.
“Ah, Takahashi, I hope your assignment ended successfully?” Rin chuckled from behind her desk. “Join me for sake?”
“No thank you, Shuhan-sama,” he replied. “I’m not much of a drinker.”
“You have something for me then?” she continued with a smirk.
“I believe this is what you sent me to retrieve.” Yoshi handed over a crumpled IOU signed by the Shuhan and a small ball of opium.
“Wonderful. I had no idea how I was going to pay that off.” Rin shifted back to recline comfortably in her chair, fixing the rigid figure in front of her with a leer. “Now, about your next assignment.”
“I need a few days to heal.” The shadow wolf tried to protest, hoping to at least delay his departure. “I can’t function like this.”
“I’m sure we can take care of what ails you,” the Shuhan assured him. She stood and circled the elite slowly, reaching out with her ki to sense the wounds hidden beneath his uniform. “Hmm,” she murmured as she swept her hands down Yoshi's back. “I didn’t know Riyou was so kinky.” She rummaged around on her desk, tossing him a jar of salve with a sadistic chuckle. “This should leave you good as new,” she declared. “Make sure you coat yourself inside. If you need some help I can think of a few people who'd be happy to lend you a hand.” Her hoarse laughter raised the shadow wolf's hackles, his strained smile closer to a snarl. “You really should thank me, Takahashi, not everyone gets to be an eternal virgin.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “Now, what do you need me to do?”
***
Makoto rose early from a restless sleep, his encounter with the shadow wolf triggering memories of his own capture. He raked a hand through his tangled hair, eyes slipping shut as he pondered what he should do about Yoshi. After considering what little he knew, the torture master realized he needed to tread cautiously, opting to find the elusive shinobi and try to get him to talk, rather than approaching the Shuhan with his concerns.
The interrogator was soon striding through the village, intimidating scowl firmly in place. He detoured through the cemetery, knowing Yoshi often visited when he was home, but the clearing was deserted. Makoto paused to run a hand over his family marker, feeling a momentary closeness to the departed whose names he now traced almost absently. He sent up a silent prayer for those who had gone ahead before turning towards headquarters.
He strode into his office, summoning a black-masked operative to follow. “Bring me Takahashi Yoshi.” The figure saluted and vanished, leaving Makoto alone to contemplate what he planned on saying.
He was still deep in thought when the operative returned. “I’m sorry sir, but it appears Takahashi-san has been sent out of town on an assignment. There is no information on where he has gone or when he is expected to return. Is there something else you need?”
“No, that will be all.” Makoto's normally impassive face twisted into a scowl. Great, now I have to go deal with Rin. “I’ll be in the Shuhan's office,” he growled as he passed his aide on the way upstairs.
“We need to talk,” he declared. “Junko, get lost.” The Shuhan's assistant quickly complied. Rin could hold her own against the torture master, she had no desire to hang around when he was obviously pissed off.
“What are you doing to Takahashi?” he demanded the moment they were alone. “I saw him last night. Don’t bother to deny it.”
“I’m using one of my shinobi in the way that best suits his talents,” Rin retorted. “What business is it of yours?”
“I hardly think that being used as a whore and a whipping boy suits the talents of someone as powerful as our shadow wolf. What made you consider it?”
“I merely continued using him, I didn’t start it,” the kunoichi replied. Her eye fell on the ball of opium, so she started rooting through a drawer in search of her pipe. “What do you remember about Takahashi Ren?”
“I know he committed suicide.”
“Ren was Yoshi's father. He was warned there would be repercussions when he refused to carry out an assassination. Kobayashi-sama decided to use him as a bargaining chip in hopes of dispelling some of the rumors when we didn't complete the contract. Depression over his new duties most likely influenced his decision to end his own life.” Rin paused when she located her elusive pipe, carefully filling it before snapping her fingers and kindling a small flame. She inhaled deeply, holding her breath for over a minute. When she opened her mouth the remnant smoke curled out lazily, obscuring her face in a blurry haze.
“I know from the records that his next assignment was supposed to be a father and son duo.” She stopped short at the expression on the normally stoic interrogator's face. “What?”
“That's sick. Yoshi couldn’t have been more than seven or eight.”
“He was nine,” Rin noted. “But the head of the Oonishi clan took him in after his father's suicide, so Kobayashi-sama decided not to push the issue. After Oonishi-sama's death and our conflict with the Iwagashi, our shuudan was weak. Kobayashi-sama felt it was best to re-institute the practice with Ren's son. It's amazing what someone will pay for a night with the infamous shadow wolf.”
“Our existence is no longer threatened. What's your excuse?” The torture master loomed over her, hands clenching into fists.
“I have … expenses,” she retorted. “It's not like I’m risking his life. Besides, he probably enjoys it. He's been doing it for years without any complaints.”
“I hardly think that means he wants to be on the receiving end of some pervert's advances. Do the clan heads know?”
“It's none of their business,” Rin insisted. “And if you don’t back off you’ll find yourself in the same boat.”
“I’d like to see you try,” the interrogator countered. “Where is Yoshi now?”
“He's gone to Kanegawa. There's a Yakuza there who has agreed to give us some of his race horses and wipe out my personal debt in exchange for a couple weeks with Takahashi.”
“Just like that. He was in no shape to go anywhere,” Makoto seethed. “I thought he’d been tortured.”
“I healed him before I let him go, obviously. No one wants to pay a premium for damaged merchandise. I’m not heartless,” the Shuhan protested when the torture master fixed her with a ferocious glare. “There are rules. He can’t be killed or permanently mutilated, a shinobi medic needs to be on call to treat any serious injuries, and, of course, he can’t be exposed to any infectious diseases.”
“Oh, wonderful, that way you can drag out his misery,” Makoto muttered. “He's a human being, Rin, it would be wrong to treat an animal the way you’re treating him.”
“Takahashi won’t appreciate you getting involved,” she pointed out. “In the end all you’ll do is make a dangerous enemy.”
“I’ll take that chance. This isn’t over.” With that he swept out of her office, banging the door behind him. No one knew what had transpired, but judging from the look on the interrogator's face it wasn’t good. Seasoned assassins fled at the sight of a grim Makoto muttering to himself as he stormed back to his desk.
As he passed through reception he motioned for several waiting shinobi to follow. Once inside his office he penned a note to the outlying sentries, requesting he be notified the moment Yoshi returned. He then wrote to the clan leaders, requesting a private meeting to discuss 'rumors of disturbing practices'. That should tickle their interest. I don’t want to take any chances on some of them deci
ding not to show. I need them all on my side.
Once the black ops had sped off to deliver his requests Makoto leaned back in his chair, wondering where Yoshi was at that moment and if he was alright. No point in worrying about it now. He sat up and dug into the pile of paperwork in his in-box while he waited for responses to his letters to start trickling in.
About the Author
Sword carrying Buddhist author of transgressive homoerotic fiction, Sessha turned to writing full time after a twenty year stint in video production editing, scripting and creating motion graphics. Her novels include Strength of Will and the Shinobi Saga – Geisha, Shadow Wolf and the soon to be released Ripples. Her short stories are compiled in the anthology Sex Ray Specs. Her Celtic fairy tale Amadan na Briona is part of eightcuts gallery's Once Upon a Time in a Gallery exhibit. Her short story The Poetry Game is included in New Sun Rising:Stories for Japan, an anthology for tsumani relief. Originally from Belfast, she lives in the States with her husband, son, a very old cat and too many swords. Read more about her work on her website http://sesshabattousai.com or follow her on twitter @SesshaBatto
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STRENGTH OF WILL
SEX RAY SPECS