IZUNA

8

"Where is the daimyo anyway?" Asked Tobirama, leaning against a tree.

"Safe." She replied with a smile. "He's a very good man. I like his ideals... they are very peaceful."

"I see."

"So..." Izuna shifted uneasily. "There are two of us and... there will be approximately a hundred and fifty of them. What's the plan? Are we just going to—-!" She made a noise mimicking the sound of a slit throat. "—-them all?"

Tobirama gave her a look.

"What do you think?"

"I think I'd like to keep the killing to a minimum." She said. "And I'm proficient at genjutsu so perhaps..."

She shut her eyes and sighed.

"Mass genjutsu are hard and chakra draining... and I'll have to make sure to catch everyone in it."

"That might work for most of them but not everyone." He stared pointedly at her. "Can you maintain such a large genjutsu and fight at the same time?"

Probably?

"I'll have an awful headache after." She sighed and brushed some hair out of her face.

"It isn't practical." Tobirama crossed his eyes. "You can't spare everyone."

"I can try!"

"No you can't. You're compromising the daimyo's safety." Tobirama said bluntly. "The mission comes first even if it means death. You're just like Hashi—!"

He cut himself off.

She stared at him coolly.

"I don't think that's a bad thing." She said calmly. "I rather admire your brother. He's strong, strong willed, and has a strong heart. It's an honour to be compared to him."

She turned away from him.

"I can see that we probably won't be able to get along." Izuna declared. "I'll just—-!"

She tried to hide her trembling.

"I'll handle this myself then."

"Izuna—!"

"Go home, Tobirama-san." Izuna told him, not daring to look back. "I thought..."

It doesn't matter what I thought.

She scoffed.

"I'm an idiot."

She body flickered away.

::

He was right.

She counted two hundred and fifty.

More than expected.

There was no way she could stop all of them and spare them all.

She couldn't do this without killing.

She was a kunoichi.

It was unavoidable.

But maybe...

Maybe she could do this without painful deaths?

Death.

She knew death but hers was incredibly painful. It was terrifying. It was lonely. She knew what painful death felt like. She could—-no, she would grant these people peaceful deaths.

It would be as easy as falling asleep. It would be as peaceful, calm and gentle as a lullaby.

She would give them their heart's desire and grant them their sweetest of dreams.