CH_4.36 (136)Takuma's thoughts raced at the sudden invitation (read as: order) from Fugaku.
"Police Force business?" asked Mikoto.
"Sothing like that," Fugaku said. They exchanged a look that Takuma missed in his alarm.
"Very well, the food will be ready in fifteen minutes," Mikoto said before walking away.
Takuma followed Fugaku through the massive house. He would've mapped his route and observed the entry and exit points, but his mind was occupied by speculations which turned crazier with every passing mont.
They reached a study-cum-office with a minimalist interior yet matched the rest of the traditional aesthetic of the house. Ink calligraphies, poems, and woodblock prints hung on the walls alongside ceremonial swords, daggers, and kunai. Ornate vases and other clay works sat in displays, so of them beautifully elevated through repairs using the kintsugi thod. On the other side, an entire wall was dedicated to a library of scrolls and books.
Takuma sat across Fugaku with a large desk between them. He had so ti to gather himself, but by no ans was he calm. He didn't think this eting was about his unsavory secrets, or else he wouldn't have been allowed near the house, much less inside it, which could only an the discussion was about his work in the Organized Cri Division. If he knew he was going to present his work and plans to the big boss, then he would've prepared for it. If he did it poorly, his team might as well be scrapped before the one-month trial period he had managed to negotiate. But if he did well… He straightened himself and went through the key points in his mind; he had to answer any question asked clearly and in the most complete way possible.
"How is the job treating you, Genin Takuma?" Fugaku gazed at Takuma with calm eyes. "You were part of our first expansion recruitnt. I believe you've been in the force long enough to get comfortable in your position."
"The work is challenging but fulfilling, sir. My peers and supervisors did a great job of bringing a novice like
up to speed, and thankfully, I've been able to pull my weight inside the departnt," Takuma replied. He applauded the work, complinted his coworkers, and finished with a few words of humble praise for himself.
"Organized Cri, correct? That's a difficult position to start as a rookie. To be able to perform under those expectations deserves nothing less than praise," Fugaku's words were praising, but his face remained still, and yet, there wasn't a sense of disconcertion in that. "I myself was part of the Organized Cri Division once; they do good work. I hope you'll continue serving the village with all you have."
"Of course, sir," replied Takuma.
Fugaku then engaged Takuma in a line of questioning revolving around the Police Force from the point of view of soone in his position. All the questions were point and specific, and it was clear what Fugaku wanted to know; with each passing question, Takuma realized Fugaku was collecting information. It seed the Commander-in-Chief wished to know the ground reality from soone who wasn't in a supervisory position. Even though Takuma had very recently assud his new position as the leader of the new narcotics team, which was a supervisory position, he was perfectly suited to answer the questions.
Takuma worded his answers carefully. He didn't outright badmouth anything or anyone because that could get him in trouble, but he did offer so suggestions and add so of the insights he noted as a relatively new outside hire.
"I was inford that a narcotics task force was given the go with you as its leader," said Fugaku. "That's a heavy responsibility for soone as young and new as yourself. Do you feel you're equipped to handle it? If I rember correctly, you only asked for a month to produce results— a month slips through the fingers before one realizes… Do you need more ti?"
Takuma felt Fugaku's eyes on him. Even without the Sharingan, the man before him was an experienced shinobi and commander in charge of an entire clan and the organization which enforced the law in a shinobi village.
"… No, sir. I do not require more ti. My team will produce the promised results by the decided deadline," said Takuma. He considered jumping at the offer of more ti but then wondered what impression it would send. It hadn't even been a week since the team had been established, and if he, the leader, was already thinking about more ti, then perhaps the new team hadn't given their plans enough thought. "I'm confident that my team will exist past the thirty days given to us."
Fugaku nodded, a hint of approval flashing on his face, which disappeared faster than it appeared.
He said, "It seems you're going through a good spell, Genin Takuma. You took a risk and hit it big in the Maiko Triad case— converted that success into your own task force— and you were even rewarded with genjutsu lessons from my wife, a jonin. I know a good streak when I see one…"
Takuma chuckled. "I simply made most of my situation, sir."
"… not to ntion the massive victory you just scored in the Ring."
Takuma felt a cold shiver go up his body while his body temperature shot up several degrees within the span of seconds. Tremors appeared in his hands and clenching them into fists did nothing to settle them. It took every drop of his will and control to keep his face in check as he gazed at Fugaku, who looked no different from before.
"… Pardon, sir?"
"Your big victory in, I believe, the ninjutsu category, Genin Takuma. Or would you prefer
to address you by your Ring moniker… Scars." Every word out of Fugaku's mouth was a sledgehamr against his head and heart. "Allow
to congratulate you. I was told that it's a big event in a Ring fighter's career to win their first fight in the ninjutsu category. I apologize if I get sothing wrong; I don't keep up with the finer details."
"… I apologize, sir. I'm confused… You might have the wrong person. I'm not—"
Fugaku shook his head. He didn't even need to speak, and Takuma terminated his attempt to talk his way out of the ditch he was currently in.
"There's no rule forbidding an officer of the Police Force from being involved with the Ring. We never needed one because we never had civilian-born shinobi in our ranks before your batch joined," said Fugaku. Takuma wanted to look away, but sothing in Fugaku's gaze made Takuma maintain solid eye contact with the man. "I was conflicted about how to feel about this, even after having the ti to think… I am still conflicted. On the one hand, I prefer if none of our officers have any connection with that organization, but at the sa ti, the Ring exists for a reason, and shinobi like you benefit from it. I'm sure you have reaped nurous gains; after all, you have reached the ninjutsu category."
Takuma was drawing zeroes on what to do in a situation like this. The person before him outclassed him in every single aspect of life. He was in real danger— but he couldn't simply sit there and not try anything. He picked a direction and decided to go hard in it.
"… Am I in trouble, sir?" he asked.
"Do you think you're in trouble, Genin Takuma?"
"I don't believe so, sir. As you said, the Ring exists for a reason, and I utilized it for all the benefits it could provide … I made the best of what my situation presented to ," said Takuma as if he had done nothing wrong.
"Then why hide it? I didn't see the ntion of your illustrious career in your application," asked Fugaka.
"I didn't want to be judged by my peers. You ntioned it yourself, sir. Ring only beca an issue when civilian-born shinobi entered the Police Force; clan shinobi don't participate in the Ring— but I know its image in clan circles. The Police Force was a big opportunity, and I didn't want to see it ruined because I did sothing else for the betternt of my career," said Takuma in justification. "I simply wanted to be treated fairly, and it would take one supervising officer to look at it negatively for my progress to be throttled."
Takuma stopped when he realized that his speech cadence had jumped up and took a mont to collect himself. He didn't continue and faced Fugaku without a hint of fear on his face, even though, inside, his heart and mind were declaring an ergency. A lot depended upon how Fugaku would react to his justifications.
"… I don't have a problem with your participation in the Ring. I get to have a shinobi in my ranks with extensive combat training without paying for it. And clearly, the Ring is not affecting your work," said Fugaku. But then he continued by saying, "The conflict arises when I wonder if your associations from that part of your life would affect your judgnt as an officer of the Police Force. I hope you understand what I'm saying…"
'Does he know?' Takuma's heartbeat spiked. He had no way of checking without directly asking and he wasn't going to do that in case Fugaku didn't know. "Takuma and Scars are two separate entities, sir. Scars only exist when I'm down in the tunnels; the mont I exit, I beco Takuma, and when I don my uniform, I assu the responsibilities my position demands from . Keeping my lives separate is the only reason why I have been able to co this far without ruining it all."
His identity as a Ring fighter contributed to only a fifth of his tension, panic, and nerves ready to burst; the rest was his status as Tobi, his work with Ryuu, and his connection to Enomoto. The Ring was an open secret that was actively ignored, but the drug industry was one hundred percent illegal and a target for eliminating any chance the Police Force got. If he got implicated, he would be crushed without any chance for rebuttal.
Takuma needed Fugaku to believe him.
"… I hope that is true, Genin Takuma." Fugaku leaned forward. "If I find that you've been misusing your position in the Police Force… I don't need to tell you the outco. I'm happy with what you have done till now and would hate to lose a shinobi like you. Keep that in mind when you're at a crossroads and have a decision to make."
"Understood… sir," Takuma nodded.
It looked like Fugaku was done speaking.
Takuma, however, wasn't done— he had so pressing questions he needed to clear.
"Who else knows about this, sir?" asked Takuma.
"Not many people. , Jonin Sayuri (Head of Organized Cri), Chunin Yakumi (Kano's direct supervisor), Chunin Setsuna. But it'll be put on your file, so any Police Force jonin who wishes to look into your personnel records will know," answered Fugaku. That was a problem. Takuma opened his mouth to speak but was shut down by Fugaku. "It'll remain your Police Force personnel file, Genin Takuma. That's not negotiable. Be thankful that we aren't sharing it to the village-wide file."
Takuma closed his eyes and sighed. Now he had to be extra careful when dealing with a Police Force jonin in case they felt the need to look into his personnel file. He wasn't in imdiate danger, as checking personnel files was frowned upon. He needed to build influence inside the Police Force as quickly as possible so if one day soone did bring up his Ring involvent, it wouldn't matter.
"You hid it well," Fugaku said. "It didn't co up in the screening when we hired you. It was because you were going to be a regular at my house that we had to do another check." He looked at Takuma with a smile, "After all, we can't let anyone enter this house, can we?"
Suddenly, Takuma was glad he used Tobi as an alternate identity for drug dealing.
"Does Jonin Mikoto know?" he asked.
"Of course, my wife knows. She was the first one to see the report."
Takuma couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Why couldn't he, just once, get an opportunity without a hidden caveat that always created problems for him?
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