Yuzuki Uchiha Gaiden ~Book 1~

Chapter 54: Tooth And Nail

Yuzuki angrily shoved past Katsuko and guarding Anbu members who blocked her path into Danzo's office. She kicked the door open and Danzo casually glanced up from his papers where he sat on a cushion at a floor table.

Yuzuki slammed the dagger into the table piercing the parchment and ink he wrote. "Did you order for my death?" she growled. A dangerous fire danced in her eyes.

Danzo glanced up from the dagger to Yuzuki with a sigh of disappointment. "No."

"Liar." she seethed pointing a finger. "You ordered to have me killed!"

Danzo lifted himself using his cane and came face to face with Yuzuki. She stood before him soaking wet and covered in mud. A trail of blood leaked from a cut on her left arm and he noticed her hair had been cut off. "I did not order such a thing." he remained calm. His one eye turned to Katsuko who stood at the doors. "You, did you retrieve the bodies?"

"Yes, Lord Danzo." was Katsuko's reply. "We've identified them."

"They will be decommissioned and punished in other ways." said Danzo. "Consider them rogue. They acted outside of commands." he then turned back to Yuzuki. "What is that?" he gestured to the dagger.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"I did not order to have you killed. You are a valuable asset and far too powerful to be... to be rid off like some mongrel. If I really wanted you dead, I would have done it by now, and by other such means than sending an amateur team to dispose of you."

"They were elite." Katsuko announced. This made Danzo pause and confusion struck his face.

"Elite?"

"Yes, Lord Danzo. The team sent after Uni was elite."

Danzo pushed past Yuzuki heading for the doors. "Take me to them. I will evaluate this team myself and punish them accordingly."

"Lord Danzo!" Yuzuki called out after him and he gazed over his shoulder in curiosity. "With all due respect, you promised to promote me."

"That I did." he said. "After I deal with this heinous situation." 

"Let me interrogate them."

"No. Leave it with me." and with that he sauntered deeper into the maze of halls.

Katsuko came forward, "Promote you to what?"

"The personal body guard to the Hokage."

"That's... amazing. What happens to our team?"

"Someone else will become Captain. Maybe even you."

Katsuko's yellow eyes peered to the dagger and she removed her mask to set it on top of her head. "Whatever that is..." she brushed back loose strange of orange hair. "It's radiating demonic chakra. The assassins sent after you were acting on orders. Because whoever they got that from... I don't even know where they got that from. And it clearly hurts you body and soul."

"Soul?" Yuzuki repeated in disbelief. She grasped Katsuko's shoulders. "It hurt Jurun, Katsuko. It hurt my demon!" her grip tightened. "How is that possible?"

"It's not. You need to calm down."

Yuzuki released her. She looked at the dagger struck in the table before pulling it free. "I don't believe Danzo." Her voice turned to a whisper. "Root Anbu never act outside of commands. Never. He gave the order to have me killed."

"Maybe he was testing you?" Katsuko whispered with some gleam of optimism.

"No. Someone killed Shisui to take his eye..." a realisation came to Yuzuki. The only people who knew about the coup was the council. Danzo is on that council. Shisui died before his plans could be carried out. And now kill orders where given to Root Anbu.

None of it made sense. Nothing lined up. Did Danzo want the coup to happen?

"I thought Shisui committed suicide? Yuzuki, what's going on?" Katsuko placed a hand on her shoulder in concern. "I know there's things you aren't telling me. I'm your best friend. You can tell me these things."

"Actually, I can't." Yuzuki broke into a jog. "I have to go!"

鬼

The dagger thrown onto the table before Daichi and he gazed up to Yuzuki in surprise. "How did you-?"

"What is that!?" she demanded. She stood before him wet, covered in mud, and blood. The left lock of her hair was sliced off where a noticeable cut was slashed across her arm with dried blood.

"What happened?"

"My own Foundation attacked me with this! They tried to kill me!" Yuzuki shouted in an angry fit.

"How did you get that?" Daichi hurried to his feet, his limp limited him on how fast he could hurry. He came to his knees at the shelves lining the dining wall where Ayame's pottery was displayed and the two black and white swords of Kusanagi baring the Uchiha emblem. Daichi pulled out a chest at the bottom shelf to find the lock broken. "No."

He pulled open the lid to find it empty. "Impossible." he angrily shoved the chest back and rose to his feet. "How did they know about this?!" he pointed to the dagger.

"You tell me!" Yuzuki flailed her arms. "Root Anbu tried killing me with it!"

Daichi pulled the dagger out of the table to examine it. "I don't know how they knew it was here. I don't know how they even knew it existed or what it does. Not even you knew. How could they know?"

"What are you talking about, father? What is it?"

"Why don't you go and speak to Danzo and demand you tell him why he ordered your execution? I think that's more important right now, don't you think?"

"He claims he didn't." Still, Yuzuki refused to let the subject go. "What is it?" she repeated.

"This dagger... is the only thing in this world that will kill you and your demon- permanently." Daichi sat back in his seat twisting the dagger in his hand. Shock and confusion came to Yuzuki. "This is a piece of Jurun."

Yuzuki's eyes trailed to the floor. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Why do you think?"

Her memories of Jurun's missing tooth came to mind. "How?"

"I don't know. No one beside the Hibiki Elders knows it exists..." Daichi trailed off before he slammed fist to the table. "Katsuko's step father sold it to me. He and his wife know." he rose from his seat making his way to the door on a limping leg. "I have a house call to make."

"It's raining." Yuzuki said after him. "You can't go out in your condition."

"You cannot stop me." he pulled an umbrella from the bucket at the door and took a walking cane. Yuzuki watched from the door as her father marched down the flooded street. She closed the door with a sigh and trudged back threw the house in wet and cold clothes. She kicked off her muddy boots and threw them onto the back porch. She's have to clean the water she walked inside.

But first, she took the dagger and locked it back inside the chest. Only this time she closed all the doors and blinds to make sure that whoever was watching the Uchiha compound, and she had suspicions her house was being watched, didn't see where she hid the dagger.