Chapter 17 - Difficult Pasts

He wasn't the only one trying to get into the city, though, as quite a few other people were trying to do the same thing. The only thing that differentiated him from them was his persistence, and perhaps that was why the city guards had become very fond of him very quickly.

When he finally made up his mind to do it—even if it came at the cost of his life—he stumbled upon a friend to be named Atsushi.

It seemed fate had brought the two together, as their encounter and talks that night revealed several problems with Tobirama's plan, which made it certain beyond all doubt that he would get caught.

Right there and then, they came up with a better strategy to infiltrate the city through the disposal systems that led to the Royal Kitchen.

Atsushi had a deep knowledge of the disposal system and waterways of the city.

Every time Tobirama asked how he knew all of it, he would simply evade the question, insisting it was not important for now.

The next day, they were able to pull it off, much to Tobirama's surprise.

They were very lucky to have been able to pull this off without getting caught, carrying as much food as they could by stealth, with both wishing they could stay much longer as the food was fairly abundant, but they couldn't as they would get caught if they did.

Eventually, they made it out to the streets of the city within the walls, and it was incredible.

The two of them stood in awe, admiring the tall buildings and beautiful structures that adorned the capital, and they both smiled naively, believing this would mark a better beginning in their lives.

The hours turned into days, and the days turned into weeks of the duo adjusting to the harsh street life of the suburban provinces populated by high-end middle-class citizens.

They could not have made it living in the purely urban territories closer to the Royal Province, as they would easily get fished out and sent off the Capital entirely.

It wasn't easy though, as the streets were riddled with delinquents cliqued into sects known for their consistent vices and acts of violence.

These cults were operational only at night, as they feared the capital's authorities, even though some of them were corrupt enough to let the cults remain in operation under certain conditions, including heavy bribery.

One day, when Tobirama and Atsushi both got into trouble with one of these sects and things were getting out of hand, Tobirama instinctively killed one of their members in self-defense.

Luck ran far from him that day as he was immediately caught in the act by the authorities, who had no choice but to react as there were eyewitnesses around at that time.

That was how they were both thrown in the dungeons, but as fate would have it, Tobirama was taken away, presumably for immediate execution.

Upon apprehension, he was blindfolded and led to a secret room, where he was forced to sit down. From what he could observe, he was set up to meet someone, and it was likely not going to be his executioner.

The fateful encounter came with a proposal, and the terms that came with it would grant him the chance of becoming an enforcer.

Now it had been over two years since he was taken out of that cell, and life had been very hectic ever since he got dispatched with his teammates—from one hard conquest to another.

But what made it all worthwhile was the fact that he was now a subordinate to the man who gave him salvation—that same man who killed his parents, Drey Matsumoto.

It seemed to him that ever since his parents got slaughtered by the assassin, his life began to have meaning.

He started having actual goals, visions, and priorities (be it running from home or struggling to infiltrate a city), and it felt like for the first time in his life he was allowed to be selfish.

He was allowed to live for himself, and it was a thrill!

Perhaps that was how he became obsessed with becoming as useful as he possibly could to Drey, even though it sometimes caused a lot of problems on prior operations as a team.

He would break attack formation and violate team protocols at the slightest hint of Drey being in distress.

To him, Drey gave him life—better than he could ever dream of having it—and this was the reason Tobirama worshipped Drey like his god.

Enji and Genta were children specially recruited by Drey, who took interest in their untapped potential.

If his assumptions were correct, the twins possessed a godlike ability that would be very resourceful for the team he was putting together at the time.

Like Tobirama, they were also ostracized by society, though not for the color of their skin or hair but for their obvious and disturbing deformity.

They each had only one eye.

Because of this, they were branded "accursed" from birth, as they resembled the mythical Cyclops, and were abandoned by their parents to an orphanage, which would only take care of them until their defect became too obvious as they grew older.

Eventually, they were left to fend for themselves at the young age of 8. Months passed without anyone looking out for them; pocket-picking and food swiping became a common routine to live on, and it was miserable.

They made veils from rags to hide their defect and barely survived off of stolen food (if they were lucky enough to not get caught) and scraps from homes in the neighborhood.

A few weeks later, they were taken by kidnappers who seemed not too disturbed by their actual appearance.

Then they were sold to slave merchants, who were ready to take in anyone with sub-human traits, as foreigners across the borders of the Empire preferred purchasing such people as slaves given the fact that they had no hope of living a normal life and would therefore have fewer reasons to rebel.

That same day in the caravan, the twin sisters showed a lot of resistance to the slave merchants, which was enough to make them halt the trip into the Empire's provinces.

It was enough to annoy the head merchant enough to make him come down himself from his carriage to give the new slaves some brutal discipline. 

He brought them out and, with the help of his assistants, forced them down to the ground, took out a whip, and angrily flogged their bare backs until they started ripping open.