ICHI 03: A Fool and His Money

[Shu]

"GODDAMMIT YŪJI!" a large and stocky man cursed as he looked at the ruined meals and broken dishes on the kitchen floor. Just looking at some of the meat on the floor the man could assume that he just lost at least 2,500 ryo down the drain. All because his dipshit of a waiter couldn't move through the kitchen without ruining five tables worth of dinners. "WHY DID I EVEN HIRE YOUR USELESS ASS?!"

"Because we're family?" the green haired man replied with a shrug, showing no concern over the mess that he had made.

A vein damn near busted on the man's head at Yūji's nonchalance. One of the line cooks rushed over to calm him down a little, but he was still red in the face. "I don't give a damn what your mother says. You're still the same old piece of shit. GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"

"Tch, whatever," he muttered as he turned to leave, the aura of non-fuckery he possessed was strong today. The fact that he slipped on the wet floor, causing a pitcher of ice water to spill on his head, and picked himself up to continue his exit only made that aura more apparent.

Leaning against the side of an abandoned building in the park he sighed. Why was it so difficult to make a fresh start? Yeah, he did wrong in the past but he was trying to make up for that. Or at least that's what he told himself. Nobody gave a shit about him. He could be struck dead by lightning right now and nobody would care, not even him.

Breathing in the cigarette he felt a little better already. It was no ordinary cigarette. No tobacco or anything. Nah, it was one of B's special blends made just for him. The joys of having friends in shady places. "Wonder if Unc'll¹ mind if I put him as a reference on my resume," the man mused over his new found unemployment. "Not like it matters," he said as he finally lit up the cigarette and inhaled deeply.

A wave of relaxation washed over him as the smoke filled his lungs. His mind started to feel as light as his body did.

Then everything went...

---

¹Unc'll = Yūji's way of saying "Uncle will."

[Shu]

The music blared from one of Kaminari no Kuni's hottest and most renowned clubs, Kōjōteki. Parties lasted for days on end. Neon lights, music, celebrities, and all sorts of debauchery could be found here and nobody so much as batted an eyelash. For that reason alone many of Kaminari no Kuni's underground activities transpired under this very roof. It also served as a sort of neutral group for many of the rivaling gangs, and the one place that the shinobi and law enforcement seemed to ignore.

A true haven for neverending vice.

But for everyone that enjoys their vice there is someone equally as hurt by it. Which leads us to one of the many sub-levels of the club. Where Yūji would finally awaken.

The green haired man groaned as his consciousness slowly returned to him. His whole body was in pain and even though he was still feeling groggy and his eyes were open Yūji was without sight. There was only darkness. His face felt sticky and his arms and legs seemed to have been bound by something. What a fine mess this had become. First he got fired from work and then he wakes up in what he could only assume was...was that music? The subtle pounding of the beats could just barely be made out from this level.

"Fuck," he grumbled as he banged his head on the floor. It, thankfully, didn't take a genius to figure out where he was or what this was about.

A latch could be heard in the distance and a streak of light slowly penetrated the darkness. Fighting through the pain Yūji rolled over as the door opened to see which skeleton from his past brought him here.

"YŪYŪ-CHAN~! WAKEY WAKEY~!" a smooth voice called out as the door was kicked open, a switch was flipped, and overly bright lights flooded the room. Yūji cried out as he was nearly blinded. The voice simply laughed at his pain and the clicking of high heels drew closer with the laugh. "You look miserable, Yūyū-chan," the purple haired man said with faux sympathy as he lifted up his sunglasses.

"Would...have straightened up," talking hurt a lot. "A little had I...," Yūji took a deep breath. "Known you were coming, Boss." Taking this moment he could finally see how fucked up he was. His clothes were all bloodied and torn, bruises fully formed on his arms. He wished he could believe his attacker(s) were just as bad, but he wasn't that lucky. At all.

"Always the charmer," the man said with an amused huff. His smile faded quickly though as he kicked Yūji in the ribs, which were more than likely broken. "You know how I feel about people that steal from me," he said as he stomped on his chest and ground his heel into the man's sternum, relishing his groans of pain.

"I...ack," he coughed up some blood. "Didn't."

Boss sucked his teeth and sighed. "If you had just been truthful I wouldn't have to resort to these methods," he said disappointedly and started to walk away. "Say hi to BB-chan for me~" he said with a chuckle and instructed his two suited guards to prepare Yūji. They dragged his bloodied body to a nearby chair and strapped him in. Once Boss was sure that he was secure he walked out of the room, which allowed one of the guards just enough time to punch Yūji in the jaw before taking his leave. Once the door closed the lights shut down and Yūji's mind once again faded into darkness.

[Shu]

Making her way through all the neon lights and throngs of people, many of whom helped keep her wallet full, was the Medicine Woman. Torika Busu, ex-shinobi, part-time hired hand, and full time medicinal expert in Kaminari no Kuni. Though few actually knew her face or actual name, her alias B was renowned in the underworld, having taken over the drug trade in two countries.

But tonight she wasn't here to party, though she couldn't say she wouldn't be having fun. Tonight she had some personal business to clean up.

Taking an elevator she descended to the lower levels of the club until she reached the room harboring Yūji. One of Boss's bodyguards opened up the steel door and switched on the lights. "Sure you don't want me to stick around?"

"I got this. Don't worry," she said simply as she took the bag of supplies he was holding and shut the door behind her. Across the sickeningly white room, save the blood stains, was the green haired man who was still knocked out. Shaking her head she strolled over to him and dropped the bag down next to his chair. "Stop playing dead already," she said nudging the chair with her foot.

"Never could fool you, huh, B?" he said with a bloodied smile and attempted to readjust himself.

"If you could you wouldn't be in this situation, huh?" B said as she slowly circled around Yūji, like a predator waiting to strike. "Out of...," she struggled to come up with a word. "Remembrance for whatever it was that we had I'll give you one chance to come clean."

"I don't know," was all he was able to get out before she coldcocked him. Sucking her teeth at how quickly he was knocked out she pulled out some smelling salts and held them under his nose, snapping him back to life.

"You know, there's such thing as a truth serum," she said as he crouched down and shuffled through her bag. "Came close but dude ended up dead after two minutes," B said as she extracted a vial and syringe. Sucking up the lime green liquid into the syringe she squirted a little out before rising to her feet. Seeing the look of restained panic in Yūji's eyes as she walked closer made her feel almost sad. Almost. "Chill," she said as she stuck the needle in his neck and piped in the injection. "That's just a little cocktail of some of my stronger hallucinogenics. Real high class shit," she said as she took a couple of steps back from him. "It's gonna hit pretty hard. So, you're better off just running with it. Kay?"

She wasn't lying either. He could feel the drugs coursing through his system. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time. "Aye, bitch," she said as she snapped her fingers to get his attention before he got all glossy-eyed. "Here's how this plays out. I ask the questions. You answer truthfully. Simple, right? Lie and I'll cut off your balls or some shit. Don't make me have to figure that part out, Yū. What's your whole name?"

"Yūji. What kind of," he replied as the dreads on her shoulder started to slither around like snakes. Noticing her fists tightening he decided it best to go along. Of all people, she was not someone he wanted to piss off. At least any more than he already had. "Kobimura Yūjitō."

"Age? Date of birth? Hometown? Blood type? Hair color?"

This line of questioning went on for the next two hours. Having him list off various facts about himself and going through them with extreme detail. See, while the drugs in his system couldn't force him to tell the truth they made it infinitely harder for him to lie. When the questioning ended B picked up her bag and left. As soon as the door shut the lights grew even brighter and a loud alarm started blaring. Yūji would have to endure this sensory torture, repetitive questioning, and dealing with the drugs for roughly forty-eight hours, at which point he had pretty much been broken mentally. With the last sound of the alarm both Boss and B walked into the room, two chairs set up for the both of them.

"Yūyū-chan~" Boss mused as he sat down in the seat in front of Yūji and crossed his legs. However, the pleasant smile that was on his face quickly disappeared when he looked at the man, who was even more worse for wear than their last encounter. Boss's expression darkened as Yūji groggily came to life once more.

"Will you be cooperative today? BB-chan has said you have been very good these past couple of days." As if on cue B walked over to Yūji and gave him another dosage of the "truth serum" cocktail, though this one was largely toned down. "You really hurt me, Yūyū-chan. If you wanted out of the gang you could have come to me. We could have arranged a retirement package," he said as he nodded in agreement with his own words. "Even if you had just left I'd be heartbroken but OK. But setting up poor BB-chan all so you could cover your tracks is utterly detestable."

"I'm...sorry," Yūji struggled. He had done bad. Skimmed some of B's shipment he was carrying for himself, and sold it to cover his exit strategy. He had figured that all the fuss B's buyer would have in being short changed would buy him enough time to settle into a new life. "I'll pay it all back. Double that!" he said to the angry purple octopus in front of him. The orange fox simple shook its braided head. Tears were streaming down his eyes at this point. His body was shaking from the drugs and sleep deprivation, and he knew that he was more than likely to be killed here no matter what he said to either of them.

"Take one of those pretty red eyes of his, BB-chan~" Boss said with a sadistic smirk. "You can take whatever you want too. I know how you loooove karma."

"That's why I like working with you Boss. So generous," the medicine woman said as she pulled a scalpel from her jacket and twirled it.

"PLEASE! FORGI--" the green haired man just froze, wide-eyed, and nearly on the brink of pissing himself with fear. Then all of that just went away. A smile formed and one of his eyes turned golden. The sudden shift was disconcerting to everyone in the room, Yūji included. "I like your style, Okama¹-chan! So vicious," a new voice said from Yūji's mouth, deeper and more ominous.

"The fuck is this, Yūji?" B demanded.

"It was a game. But I'm bored now," the voice said as it looked at the woman. Yūji let out one last groan before loosing complete control and both irises turned golden. He then leaned back in the chair, his composure indicating that none of the torture he body had received was affecting him in any way. "I came for the woman, but you seem useful too. Well, as useful as a flesh bag can be anyway."

"Who are you?" Boss questioned, not allowing this sudden shift to phase him.

"I am the Incarnation of Sand, the Monster Tanuki," Shu declared as he freed himself from his shackles with ease. "I am the One-Tail, Shukaku." Before either of them could respond he extended his arms and sand erupted from them, wrapping around their bodies and slamming them against the white walls. Not wanting to waste too much time he molded the chakra needed to use the Seifuku no Hōseki and inserted them into his captives, leaving magatama shaped markings on their bodies.

"Wait! Shushu-sama!" Boss cried out as he struggled to free himself from the sand. "You said we could be useful. BB-chan can supply you with any drug you could use, medicinal or otherwise."

"I'm aware of capabilities," Shu said dryly. "You two hold a lot of power and influence in the black market. If I control you then I can spread my will much easier."

"Clever son of a bitch," B replied as she stopped struggling. "I have the supply. Boss acts as the face. And all the ninja never suspect a thing."

"That's why you...," Boss gulped, fearful of the thought in his mind. "Possessed little Yūyū-kun."

"Precisely," Shu said as the sand retracted into his body and his two newest minions dropped to the floor, both coughing and gasping for breath. "Now get to work. I want a full report on all assets, supplies, and any obstacles in the morning."

With that he walked over to the door, ripped it off its hinges, and ascended to the upper levels of the club.