A week later...

"I didn't think there was any problem with agreeing to give everyone in the Yoshida family a full medical ninjutsu check-up," Hazō continued the report. "They still won't let us look at their seals, but Yoshida was impressed enough that she offered to look at whatever seals we have to show them, and elaborate on the differences between their sealing style and ours. I've even managed to persuade Kagome-sensei that the security risk is outweighed by the potential for new knowledge, though I'd really like Noburi on hand at the time to make sure he offends her as little as possible.

"I had less success with religion. She still says it's a very private thing, and that we will be all right as long as we 'don't poke around asking inconvenient questions'."

"What about the tapirs?" Keiko asked.

"Supposedly their founder had the blessing of animal mastery, whatever that means. He domesticated the first generation, and ever since they've been practising selective breeding to improve their intelligence, senses, and combat abilities. I had one of the junior trainers rant at me about it, but there was too much jargon to get much more than that.

"There's one other thing," he went on after a brief pause. "Apparently, they are planning to summon the Demon King to lay waste to all that is good and pure. They've just been waiting for sacrifices who aren't of their own blood."

Keiko choked on the water she'd been drinking.

Inoue-sensei raised an eyebrow.

"Still no good?" Hazō asked worriedly. "I've been practising my deadpan like you told me to, Inoue-sensei, but I don't think it's improving my social skills at all. People keep taking me seriously, and then things just get awkward."

Inoue-sensei sighed. "Moving very swiftly on... Noburi, how is your work going?"

"Not so great," Noburi shrugged, pushing himself off the wall to stand upright. "I swear the villagers actually think worse of us than when we started. They're asking things like whether we really murder any children who are born without ninja levels of chakra, and some of them think we threatened the village elders into letting us stay. I've been doing damage control and emphasising the medical ninjutsu and modern know-how angles, but I feel like I'm swimming against the tide. It's like there's somebody actively working against us."

"I have good news, though!" Akane announced, bouncing from her position by the window. "Kōta's still kind of unfriendly, but he's a lot nicer than he was when he started. He's been asking endless questions about what we can do, and about the outside world, and even taking notes and everything! Also we've started sparring every day on that hill Yoshida recommended, where all the children come to watch. I had to go gently at first, but it's been getting more and more fun now that I'm feeling better. I'm not saying he's a perfect gentleman, but it really feels like he's trying to mend his ways."

At this, Inoue-sensei smiled.

"Good. I was hoping your influence would soften him up a bit. Give it a few more months, and he might even pass for a decent human being.

"Now, Keiko, Noburi, if you feel you're ready, it's time we had that talk with Elder Takahashi."

o-o-o-o

"I am Minori, eldest daughter and successor of Takahashi Saburō," the tall, lean woman bowed. "Please wait here while I inform Father of your arrival."

Kei exchanged glances with Noburi and Mari-sensei. A clan heir would not normally be on gatekeeping duty. Far more likely, her presence her was an expression of courtesy—which in turn meant Takahashi had known they were coming.

A minute later, Minori returned.

"Father bids you welcome, and invites Kawasaki Mai to speak with him on your behalf. To the rest, he offers the hospitality of the Takahashi. I will be happy to entertain you while you wait."

"I believe you're mistaken," Mari-sensei said. "My name is Irie Yoshino. This," she gestured to Kei, "is Kawasaki Mai."

"Not at all," Minori gave her a meaningful look. "Father does not make mistakes. It is this girl whom he wishes to speak to."

She gave a meaningful pause. "Shall I lead you through, Kawasaki, or will you refuse Elder Takahashi's invitation?"

Kei gave the woman a tapir-caught-in-the-anaconda stare. "Y-You don't..."

"Go ahead, Mari-sensei said after a few seconds. "I trust you."

Kei allowed herself to be led away as if to her own execution (which, she reflected, might turn out to be exactly the case).

o-o-o-o

Elder Takahashi was waiting her in a cross-legged posture on the dais at the far end of the dojo. He was a middle-aged man with grey hair in a ponytail, a carefully-trimmed wedge-shaped beard, and cold grey eyes that instantly fixed on her own. To his side was a large, very ornate rolled-up scroll.

"Greetings," Takahashi said. "I am Takahashi Saburō, head of the Takahashi Family and elder of the Council. You need not introduce yourself—it is poor manners to do so with a false name. Please be seated."

Kei blinked. Then she carefully sat down at a respectful distance in front of him, and tried not to hyperventilate.

"Do you know why I have chosen you to speak to, child?"

That question had been foremost in Kei's mind. She wasn't a diplomat. She wasn't a negotiator. She wasn't even good at talking to people. They were complicated, and reacted in ways that didn't make sense, and it was one thing to go into a situation with a clear plan that only needed minor modifications as you went along, and a completely different one to have to deal with a stranger's focused attention while thinking on your feet. And... that was what he wanted, wasn't it?

"You think I will be easier to read than my teammates."

Takahashi nodded. "A lesson for you, child: always take the initiative, and always meet your opponent on ground of your own choosing. My people have been watching your group, and I have no interest in wrestling with the silver-tongued one who can run rings around both Tsukiko and Gasai.

"Now, let us dispense with pleasantries. What do you seek in this village?"

Unthinkingly, Kei glanced at the large scroll by Takahashi's side. It was a brief glance, extremely brief, but there was no way he could have missed it.

Kei wanted to die. Immediately. Without even saying goodbye to Mari-sensei like in the daydreams. She'd just sabotaged the entire group's efforts, and maybe put them in real danger, all because she didn't think fast enough or have enough self-control. She was the worst ninja in human history.

She quickly became aware that the longer she stayed, the more she was going to reveal. She needed to make an excuse and run. She tensed...

"Do you believe that you can leave this room before I am done speaking with you?" Takahashi asked mildly, as if presenting her with a puzzle.

Kei stared at him in horror.

"Let me tell you something, child," he said slowly. "I am not an elder because I have the strongest ninjutsu in the village. There are some among my children who can challenge me as an equal, and soon there will be more among the younger generation.

"I am not an elder because I am a cunning manipulator. I have little love for the games that predators like Tsukiko play, and less talent.

"I am an elder for one reason only: I have the rare gift of seeing what is in front of my eyes.

"I see that you and yours are desperate to stay in this village where many hate and fear you, and would see you dead if they could. I see how little you have to gain here compared to the arts you already possess. I see you trying to involve yourselves in the depths of our politics even as you hide within your own encampment outside the village walls. Was there ever any doubt as to why you are here?"

Kei hoped that was a rhetorical question, because she couldn't begin to come up with a safe answer.

Takahashi leaned forward slightly. "Tell me of yourself, child. Tell me the story of your life, from birth until today, omitting no detail. "

The sudden change of topic made Kei feel like she'd been yanked forwards by the collar, and then left to flail left off-balance. "S-Sir, I don't..."

"That was not a request," Takahashi told her flatly. "You cannot best me in a battle of wits. You cannot pit your will against mine. The only thing you have with which to win my favour is the truth."

Kei did her best to compose herself. She was trapped. She felt an instinctive desire to hide within herself, to reach for the Frozen Skein and let its clarity guide her through this confrontation, but she knew just how badly that could end. Her Bloodline Limit was a sharpened shard of her self, or at least of somebody's self, drawn forth to complete a specific task. It could not stand up to the full force of a personality that could strike her from any number of angles.

"I was born in the Village Hidden in the Mist, in the Water Country. My parents met eighteen years ago, when my father was the project manager in charge of upgrading the village's defensive perimeter, and my mother was a penetration tester..."

o-o-o-o

It felt like she had been talking for hours. Perhaps she had. She'd done her best to avoid mentioning any real names, giving away any of the team's Bloodline Limits or notable abilities (like Mari-sensei's genjutsu), or mentioning anything remotely related to Jiraiya. Even so, she suspected it wasn't a question of whether Elder Takahashi had noticed any gaps, but of how many, and how clearly he could judge their contours.

Despite the fact that she'd spent the entire time balancing on a knife edge between giving away vital information and insulting a man who could probably see right through her, part of her felt strangely light. She'd never talked about her past in so much detail, not even to Mari-sensei back... back during the days she didn't want to remember. Nor had she been given a chance to express how she saw all the many, mostly terrible, things that had happened since. Somewhere along the line, her narrative had turned from a point-by-point factual recounting into something more personal. Even so, all along, Elder Takahashi had simply listened, without asking any questions or making any comments, as if her thoughts and feelings were as important as the strategic data he was doubtless looking for.

When she was done, and filled with the odd awareness that the elder now knew more about her than anyone in her actual team, or possibly anyone ever, there was silence. For several minutes, Elder Takahashi merely watched her motionlessly, like a heron watches the water.

"Are you the one?" he finally asked.

"What?!" Kei stared at him in confusion.

"In the end, child, everything you do here will rest on the success or failure of one person. Are you the one?"

Oh.

He was asking whether she was the intended summoner. To say yes or no would both amount to admission that they were here for the summoning scroll. Should she bluff, and pretend she didn't know what he was talking about? Or would that just alienate a potential ally? How badly did they need Elder Takahashi's support? If she failed here, would Mari-sensei be able to salvage the situation?

Could she trust Elder Takahashi?

She couldn't read him at all, but he hadn't shown anger at the idea that they might be here for the village's most precious treasure. Why not? And why did he want to hear about a stranger's childhood? For that matter, why did it matter who the summoner was?

Was he... testing her?

If she failed here, she'd never be able to look Mari-sensei in the eye again. If she failed here, and Elder Takahashi decided they were a threat, she might get everyone killed. It was a mistake ever to have come here. She felt herself longing for her Bloodline Limit, for a place where she could not be hurt, was not there to be hurt, where at least one part of her was good enough to face the world.

But she couldn't give in. Not right now. Not with everyone depending on her. And if she wasn't good enough to find her way out of this situation with her own abilities... she'd just have to trust her intuition. And her intuition was confident about the answer.

"Yes," she said in a voice that almost didn't tremble.

Elder Takahashi nodded, as if to himself. Then he stood up, sharply. His shadow fell on Kei, and for a second she felt like it was going to consume her.

"You are not worthy," he said in a voice as unreadable and impenetrable as a steel wall. "If one such as you dares to attempt the trial, it will destroy you."

Kei didn't dare to move.

"But then," Elder Takahashi said more softly, "Akio was not deemed worthy either. Who might he have become, if he had defied that judgement? Who might we have become?"

He looked down at Kei.

"I offer you a contract of my own. You will trade ninjutsu exclusively with the Takahashi Family. You will follow my guidance in matters of village politics, which will almost entirely consist of abstaining from them. You will consult with me before following the directions of Yoshida Tsukiko or any other elder. You will take no lives here, not even in self-defence. You will tell no one who was not born in this village of its existence or location.

"And you, child, will become my apprentice."

"I- I'm sorry, sir," Kei stammered. "I think I must have misheard."

Elder Takahashi gave her a wry look.

"In return, I will take the necessary steps to deliver you that which you seek, and to make you ready for it—not for your sake, but for my people's. Any medicine can become deadly poison in hands that have forgotten its proper use.

"The conditions of your apprenticeship will not be easy. You will arrive here every morning at dawn. You will follow my instructions without question or hesitation. You will eat what I tell you to eat, sleep when I tell you to sleep, and follow the Takahashi training regimen as if your life depended on it. It does. You will reveal the details of the training to no one. Do these things, and I will teach you what you need to learn.

"In the meantime, your group will tread lightly. You will show openness and willingness to learn, and respect for our culture and traditions. You will share what you wish when others seek it, but you will not preach that your ways are better ways when you have not yet mastered our own. You have not earned that kind of trust, and to tread carelessly invites only your own destruction. Above all, do not present yourselves as a threat. If blood must be spilled before this is over, it cannot be you who spills it.

"Do you accept this contract on behalf of your group?"

Kei hesitated. Could she trust Elder Takahashi? She wanted to, but there was no possible way she could decide something as big as this, not without consultation with Mari-sensei and the others.

Elder Takahashi clearly knew that was how she felt.

"Decide now, for you will have no second chance."

Then again, in the end none of his demands were that onerous. The only serious issue was the apprenticeship, but if it could improve her chances of signing the summon contract successfully...

Both of the answers she could give were wrong, she was sure. Both would in some way lead to disaster. But every Mori knew that there were times like these, and that every time the rational choice was the one that was less wrong.

"I accept."

Elder Takahashi reached for the scroll on the dais, and passed it to her.

"These are the breathing exercises you will need to learn. I expect you to have mastered at least the first when I next see you. Now, Minori will show you out."

o-o-o-o

Meanwhile...

A series of thrown kunai locked Akane into position while she blocked, the assault coming right when her feet were positioned just slightly wrong to dodge. One tore the edge of her sleeve. In the background, the children cheered as Kōta advanced.

The constant switching between melee and ranged kunai combat was exhilarating. It had nothing on Hazō-sensei's taijutsu, of course—there was a youthfulness in the impact of flesh on flesh that mere metal couldn't hope to imitate—but it was new, and different, and the awareness that Kōta was finally treating her as a proper sparring partner made her feel warm inside. This had been his suggestion—an opportunity for him to teach her a little of the village combat style in return for all the taijutsu she'd shown him.

Unfortunately, she was losing. And Hazō-sensei was still watching (as was Kagome, who was convinced that Kōta was up to no good). She couldn't afford to go down that easily. It was time to take a risk.

She lunged suddenly, overextending herself but covering the distance to Kōta with a speed he'd never expect. There was a zing, and Kōta's kunai soared over his head to plant itself in the dirt a few metres away. Since this was pure weapons training, that officially marked an end to the combat.

But Kōta kept moving forwards. As she pulled back, he was already inside her guard. But he was close, too close to strike. He looked her in the eyes, his face close enough to hers for a kiss.

Akane froze. She knew he'd become much nicer to her over the last week, but this...

His hand closed around hers. He said something in a low, intense voice only she could hear.

"Learn some respect in the next life, bitch."

Then he pulled sharply on her kunai hand, sending the blade slashing diagonally across his collarbone in a broad but shallow cut.

He staggered back, giving the watching children a clear view of the red stain spreading down onto his chest, and the blood dripping off Akane's kunai.

"She tried to kill me!" he shouted. "The crazy bitch tried to kill me! Run before she gets you too!"

And then everything was a blur of motion. Kōta and the children running towards the village screaming. Hazō-sensei sprinting towards her. Kagome reaching into a pocket as he began to go after Kōta.

The only person not moving was Akane, feeling like the kunai had gone in her heart instead.