'Time for the last two errands. Then I can chill for a while . . .' Shiki thought to himself.
Finding Yugito was harder than finding the others since Kumo was a quite a bit more guarded and by far the village least penetrated by Mugetsu's influence.
With Shiki's massive sensory range however, it was only a few moments after Shiki's arrival in Kumo before she was found.
As per usual, Shiki teleported to her position to greet her but his bad habit of just teleporting near people without warning had finally come back to bite him in the ass.
Claws approached his face at lightning speed as a vicious knee was driven towards his crotch.
Phasing partially into Yomi with the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan, Shiki let the dangerous pass harmlessly through his body.
"That was quite the welcome!" Shiki sarcastically commented.
"Has no one ever told you that sneaking up on someone like that is incredibly rude?" Yugito countered.
"Not really no." Shiki cokcily replied.
"They mostly just roll with it." He added.
"Well, I'm not that kind of woman:" Yugito said.
"Fine, fine! I apologize. Happy?" Shiki raised his hands.
"Hmph!" Yugito responded but seemed to lose much of her tension and became a lot calmer.
"You must be one Two Tails mentioned. She doesn't usually talk to me so I realize this is a matter of great importance so I'm ready to hear what you have to say." Yugito said.
'Not the best of starts but not as bad as I feared.' Shiki thought in his mind.
"How much have you heard from Matatabi?" Shiki asked.
"Matatabi?" Yugito asked with some confusion.
"I thought you knew the name. I'm talking about the Two Tails." Shiki clarified.
"Oh! First time hearing it. As for your question, not much. And, since it is your proposal, I thought it best to hear it directly from you." Yugito said.
"Fair enough I guess." Shiki shrugged and then proceeded to explain the situation and his proposal to Yugito.
"So the Akatsuki, an organization of S rank criminals is about to start a hunt for all the jinchuuriki and you want to give e a way out before that happens which basically means I'll be working for you. Furthermore, you are giving me the choice of whether I wish to remain a jinchuuriki." Yugito summarized.
"Very simply put but yes, that's the gist of it." Shiki confirmed.
Yugito then added with displeasure.
"This means you are assuming I will be defeated by these criminals." Yugito.
"Ah! That's what you're unhappy about." Shiki responded.
"That is correct. I have taken into account both your abilities and those of all of the Akatsuki members and your chances of victory are slim to non existent. Don't think I'm insulting you. I just have the required information to make an accurate assessment and you don't." He explained with great calm.
This made Yugito calm down a bit and reassess the situation.
"If I choose to take your offer . . . Will I have the power to beat them?" She asked.
"Yes but you will not be hunted by them in the first place if you choose to take my offer so it won't really matter." Shiki replied.
"Why would they stop hunting me?" Yugito inquired with suspicion.
"Because I will give them something else to hunt. A special clone of you, indistinguishable from the original, having with the very same memories and even a fake but as powerful as the original Two Tails sealed in it." Shiki revealed.
"In other words, you'll be able to see if the original you could have beaten the Akatsuki since they will be hunting this completely equal clone of you." He added.
". . ." Yugito fell into silence.
'If what he is saying his true, and I wouldn't peg him as a liar, there are only benefits in accepting his offer since the benefits and freedom I would get working for him are much better . . .' Yugito considered.
'But . . . As a kunoichi of Kumo, i would be betraying my village. Even if that identical clone of me remains and fulfills my duties to the village . . . It will still leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth.' The gears in her head kept turning.
Shiki just kept quiet and let Yugito process the information she had received in peace and without any interruptions.
'Then again . . . I was forced into becoming a jinchuuriki and, even though I've come to terms with it, the suffering I've endured because of this will never leave me. Even to this day I ostracized by the people of the village despite all that I have done for them.' Yugito's thoughts kept swirling inside her head.
'Bee seems to be doing good for himself and he doesn't get nearly as much hate as he did but he is Raikage-sama's brother. He's more protected and cared for than me but has even less freedom in exchange for it . . .'
'It is always like this for jinchuuriki, a little better for some, a little worse for others. I have made my peace with by existence as one and have no plans on giving up on all of the hard work that went into mastering this power and my own mind so as to not succumb to it.'
'The village doesn't want me, or even need me. What they need is the jinchuuriki of the Two Tails, a powerful weapon and deterrent towards the other villages. The clone this Reaper fellow will leave of me will fulfill those roles adequately so . . .'
'I do not believe it necessary for me to continue suffering for a village that does not appreciate my efforts or see me for who I truly am.' Yugito had finally made her decision.
"I shall take your offer." She declared.
"A wise choice. One you won't regret." Shiki replied and they both shook hands.
A Soul Contract was established with specific terms and, leaving a prepared Soul Clone behind, Shiki took Yugito back to the Desert Fortress.
"Welcome to our not so humble abode." Shiki said on arrival, this time, remembering to take off his Reaper outfit.
Yugito was not an innocent young maiden like Fu and, even though she had never pursued any romantic relationship, in part due to the general dislike others had for her as a jinchuuriki, she was not the kind of woman to be instantly enamored by an handsome man, even one as perfect looking as Shiki.
"I have to say. You look quite different than what I imagined." Yugito commented while appreciating Shiki's good looks.
"I'll take that as a compliment. And you look quite good yourself." Shiki responded.
"It was. And thank you." Yugito honestly replied and that was it. A normal conversation between to adults that simply found each other to be quite good looking.
Much like he had done fo Han and Fu before her, Shiki pointed Yugito the way and left to continue his duties as he still had one last jinchuuriki left to deal with and he had saved the toughest for last.
Yugito was quite pleased with her arrangements and seeing her fellow jinchuuriki integrating quite easily into Mugetsu and the great treatment they all received from everyone that jokingly said the core members were like a big dysfunctional family, only made her more sure she had made the right call in joining.
As Yugito came to appreciate her new life that was just starting, Shiki was looking for Roshi, jinchuuriki of the Four Tails, Son Goku.
He had left Iwa on a journey of training which made him tough to find since it seemed the jinchuuriki had kept of populated areas and traveled in secluded regions only.
Still, Mugetsu's information network was not just for show. Shiki only needed the general area where to look and his massive sensory range would take care of the rest.
And so, after a few days of hard work from several peripheral members of mugetsu spread among various offices, the area that Roshi was like located in was narrowed down to about 100 Km2 of space which should only take a few minutes if not less for Shiki to comb through.
A while later, Shiki found his target, seemingly meditating on top of a rock with a stoic look on his face.
"Roshi of the Lava Style." Shiki greeted.
"Who are you?" Roshi questioned with a glare of his now opened eyes.
"Were you not told you would be receiving a visit from me?" Shiki asked in turn, ignoring the hostile behaviour for the moment.
"I received no such information." Roshi declared.
"Now answer my question!" He demanded.
'Great! Son didn't tell him anything and his attitude is quite shitty. This is not gonna go well . . . For him that is, if I do end up having to resort to force.'
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.
You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!
I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.