The bell tolled....and all was silent. All eyes turned upward in the small coffee shop, eying the man who had just walked in. His gray hair, wind swept back from his face and a calm, yet confident look on his hard face. He wore his smooth black suit with confidence, radiating his position and power. His green eyes surveyed the the room fool of people, the artsy shop made him chuckle, but he had heard that they made damn good coffee. His chuckled put the villagers within the shop at ease, as the silence was soon broken and they all went back to their daily chit chat.

Walking up to the counter, his eyes breifly flickered over the barmaid, probably in her late teens. "First Job...likely attempting to pay her way through something" He flashed her a confident smile, accompanied with the kind of gaze that mader her face lighten with a small blush. He spoke calm, quickly placing his order, "Large. Black. To go cup, please." as he put the exact change on the counter. He smiled again, getting a sadistic pleasure from seeing the girl blush. He stood their waiting for his drink, only imagining the situations that the girl would later tell her friends. Probably something along the lines of "OH MY GAAAAAAWD! TheHOKAGEFLIRTEDWITHME" Hiroshi, let out a quiet chuckle at his imaginings, smiling at the girl again as he snatched up his drink and gracefully stepped his way over to a small table in the corner.

When he had gotten to the corner, Hiroshi snapped the chair out and in one swift movement, sat on it and propped his feet up on the table, leaning upon the back two legs of the chair as he waited with a quiet disappointing sigh. "Such unpleasant circumstance..." he whispered quietly to no one before sipping his too-warm drink. This buisness with Shihouin Uchiha was unpleasant indeed, yet Hiroshi chose the calming and public place of the coffee shop for the meeting, that way the meeting would stay calm...or atleast he hoped. His fingers drummed rythmically against the window as he waited, his infallible paitence wearing thing.

Hiroshi's mind began to wonder, he thought of the past, his family, friends, everyone he'd left behind. The present came next, the looming but silent threat on the horizon. And the future which none can predict. It was ony by the chime of the door bell to the coffee shop, and the sound of entering footseps that brought Hiroshi back to the coffee shop, his attention snapping ot those entering the door as he wondered if sending the ANBU had caused a scene, it was so hard to tell what the Uchiha would do these days.

Slow, dulling thoughts about inadequacy crept in the corners of his mind. The unbearable though of being lower than what he was, a tremendous lack of power he though he had were all too much for him to handle. The ANBU squad assigned to escort him had not a clue on how to deal with his emotional tirade right now. They merely moved at his pace, dealing with the sightly faces of confused citizens and other ninja as they drug him towards punishment. It was as if he was being sentenced to death by guillotine.

After quitting moping, he was still into confusion at what was going on. After figuring punishment he merely assumed maybe it was something larger than that. Sure, in his right mind there was no way any Hokage would allow a genin to replace an ANBU member. There was simply no way the math woould work in his head. If that genin girl was that strong enough, she should've all ready been in the Black Ops to further her powers with higher level individuals.

Being under Ayame meant she was going to be trained very well, and she would more than likely be a rookie amongst all the Jounin. If she could take to Ayame's teaching and hold on to it, she'd definitely become something, but even though all of this, the Hokage's request seemed... uncalled for. Sure he murdered and innocent civilian, but ANBU were destined to slip up. These were the same group of people whom had murdered children and women, done the dirty work in the shadows of the village and stopped the threat before it became one... This could at least wait until after the mission.

Regardless, the coffee shop setting turned the waves of confusion into a storm. Meeting publicly? Shihouin flashed a quick Sharingan under his shades and spotted an large, abnormal chakra flow. It was different, but theory the same. It was more intense and brighter than regular. He had no clue on the Hokage's abilities. He was sure he had some type of jutsu above his own. As they settled into the place they were noticed by a few citizens, but roughly went uninterrupted. Shihouin was led next to the Hokage, directly across from his table. They pulled the chair open for him, and forced him down with a subtle hand on his shoulder. Out of general respect, Shihouin removed his shades and mask, showing his face.

Even though he had been an individual obsessed with power and obtaining it, Shihouin still had respect for people, but very few people. Even amongst a childhood friend like Ayame, Shihouin showed no restraint and was not scared to attack her or her belongings or kids if she had them. There were only a small handful of people that he held his tongue and actions with. Being in ANBU, the Hokage had been forced into that hand and it showed. He sat there in a slight timid fashion, yet still looking the Hokage in the eye. He wandered a bit, but he would at least give him his full attention. He said nothing, he had not been asked, and he didn't want to make things worse.

The Hokage watched the door as the small group entered, in order, the lead ANBU, followed by Shihouin and then followed by the other two ANBU. It was a strategic layout, that way they would be prepared if Shihouin were to try and escape...not that he could’ve gotten far. Hiroshi examined the troupe as they came near, the entire coffee shop silent as they watched the approach with wide eyes. The Uchiha was easily the tallest, taller than Hiroshi himself who was by no means a short man. The approach was quick, the lead ANBU pulling out a chair and forcefully guiding Shihoun to sit, thus starting the meeting. Hiroshi briefly wondered whether a public meeting was so wise as he looked over the man across from him.

Hiroshi’s gaze burned over the Uchiha, pulling his own feet from the table and taking a more respectable seated position. He did not wish to seem disrespectful, as he did had great respect for the man across from him. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he took a quick sip of his coffee before snapping his fingers. The quiet snap was all that the three ANBU members needed, they dispersed, each covering an exit as they waited in the corners of the building, masked in shadow. The coffee shop was silent, the five powerful shinobi inspiring fear in the occupants as they, one by one slowly crept towards the door.

Hiroshi, the ever patient man waited as customers began clearing the small coffee shop, each slowly leaving. He had hoped the silence would inspire the Jounin to speak, yet still it was silent. Hiroshi cast an apologetic look at the shop owners as he sighed quietly and opened his mouth to speak. ”I assume...you know why you are here?“, Hiroshi ran his hand absentmindedly through his hair. ”Im not entirely sure what you expected to become of this situation....“ He spoke in an almost monotone, not a single drop of emotion other than his ever-present calm soaking into his words. ”I mean really, did you expect me not to find out? Now Im just puzzled as to what you expect me to do. Clearly some sort of punishment is in order, yet I cannot afford to lose you as part of Konoha‘s Military force. Yet such a brutal and unneeded slaying cannot go unpunished....“

Hiroshi leaned back in the chair, taking another sip of his coffee before clasping his hand in front of his face and raking his gaze over the Uchiha, his green eyes cold as he observed the man ”Perhaps I should order the punishment of one... Arcaida Kinzoku.....or perhaps Ayame Akira....as well as your own. His voice was frozen as he continued on, not an ounce of revealing tone within his words, to anyone it would seem as if he was completely serious. ”But alas, I am not an unreasonable man...I will give you a chance to explain yourself Shihouin, after all, it could very well weigh the punishment.“ Hiroshi waved his hand out towards Shihouin in a gesture that could only be taken as giving the Uchiha cue to speak.

What to say? What to say? What to say? What to say? What to say? Shihouin couldn't think of anything to say. He listened to each word and mouthful he had and he didn't know what to do. He imagined himself doing something much more worse. Though holding his tongue hurt, he would have to figuratively bite it until it bleed. Bite it, until his mouth filled with blood and he died, killing his inner smart ass. This was the Hokage. It only took a couple of words and then he was banished, stripped of rank or even killed.

He talked slowly, almost stammering over a few of his words. It was obvious that it was difficult for him to care. "Uhhh. I'm not... I, I'm not sure why." Why should he care? What reason? So she had died, so what? Who gave a fuck? "I guess I was wrong for doing that... Umm. I don't know what came over me, I acted out of impulse." Like a snake, he was lying through his teeth. He intended to kill her, her life was about as significant as a roaches to him. She just bleed several times more than a roach did. It was all the same.

"I guess a formal apology is in order." He sighed. "Sir, I'm fully aware of my actions and I take entire responsibility. I do apologize for what I did. I am ready for any type of punishment that you have prepared for me. Once again, I don't know what to say... I just did it. I'm sorry." By now the Hokage would catch on to his main character flaw. He totally expected him to harp on that, but even if he decided to probe deeper and figure it out, it would take some serious genjutsu or a well trained therapist.

Shihouin sighed once more, he couldn't stand it. He was lying. His brow tightened in frustration and he looked at the Hokage and dropped the formal attitude. Hokage or not, he talked to him casually. "Look. It's up to you whether or not you want to care. I could care less about anyone else that's in my way. I killed her simply because I felt like killing her. What, are you mad about it or something? Deal with it."

At least he was telling the truth.

Respect was a big deal for Hiroshi..needless to say, he was not pleased with the way the Uchiha spoke. The words echoed in his head, yet his face did not portray the anger. 'I killed her simply because I felt like killing her.' His green eyed flared, 'What, are you mad about it or something?' Hiroshi took a deep breath, closing his eyes and keeping his calm. He opened his eyes, gazing at the Uchiha with frozen eyes. "Well...", his voice was cold, frozen, to any normal person it would feel like nails on a chalk board. "are you implying that I shouldnt be mad?" His emerald eyes flared in anger as they raked over the Uchiha. "That the brutal slaying of the innocent nurse... by a well trusted Shinobi shouldnt inspire anger?"

His tone did not raise, it stayed at the same frozen level, barely above casual conversation level only raising slightly as he spoke again. "And yes Boy! I am going to deal with it." Hiroshi knew there was only a small age gap between he and the Uchiha, but he felt the need to put Shihouin on a lower peg than himself.

Hiroshi's manerisms seemed to change as he stood. His eyes flared with anger, yet his voice stayed the calm emotionless manner it had previous. "Stand." The word was a harsh order as surely the Jounin would be able to tell. Hiroshi pointed at the spot only five or so feet infron of him, obviously wanting the Uchiha to stand there. Snapping his fingers once more, Hiroshi began to speak, his tone severe. "If you value your life, you will make no attempt to defend your self, nor to flee."

As he finished speaking, two of the ANBU members stood beside the spot Hiroshi had pointed to, leaving enough space between them for Shihouin to stand between them. Hiroshi quickly removed his jacket and began buttoning and rolling up his sleeve, his eyes never leaving the Uchiha. Where it was before, otherwise indeterminate, a sadistic gleam could be seen in the Hokage's eyes. His whole manerisms seemed to change in this instant. Where before he had been the cold, yet calm Hokage. It seemed a much darker side emerged now as a sadistic look grew across his face.

He stood still as if his feet had been nailed to the ground and screwed into place, yet inside his body was buzzing like a beehive, and his mind began to race as his adrenaline accelerated. Here, now, he could battle the Hokage and try to take down each of these ANBU. He could try to win, but he doubted it would be easy. His first move would have to be to escape to somewhere else where he could create time and room to operate with ninjutsu. He did not have that option unless he really wanted to be labeled as a rouge nin.

Maybe a small skirmish, a slight exchange of fists would suit the both of them well. Yet, in the time it would take to bring up his hands for ninjutsu... Too long. If he activated his Sharingan... Too long. His long fingers at the side of his hand slowly rose up and moved ever so slightly to form a half hand-sign. That was all he needed. Just that much and he would have a jutsu in place.

However, what he had not noticed was one the the ANBU in the back, one who was watching from the angle which allowed him to see the action. With muffled gloved hands he quickly put his own together and cast a genjutsu, weaving signs in a blur of speed that would beat out Shihouin's slow moving fingers. No doubt the Hokage would do anything to stop it.

After somehow meeting the requirements for the hand sign, Shihouin's image disappeared and he turned completely invisible. Ducking down low in between the ANBU, he created hand signs as he moved back and away from the Hokage who frantically looked around for his position. Utilizing the placement, a clone appeared directly behind the Hokage with a kunai placed at his neck. The rest would materialize not a second later around all of the ANBU, freezing them in place. Each one of them tried to move to defense, yet they were halted by each clone holding a kunai.

Shihouin smirked as he reached for a coffee mug, an invisible force holding it in the air as he took a sip. His Sharingan turned on, two floating red spirals in mid air as the rest of his body slowly pushed itself out of invisibility and back into sight. He looked dead at the Hokage, who's neck was up trying to prevent himself from being sliced. "You should know what this is. You move an inch and the entire place is blown up, but I'll survive. I am not scared to kill. I don't see why anyone should care about some damn nurse!" Shihouin threw the coffee cup towards the window, smashing it in a display of anger. "I'm going to walk 10 miles. You and your ANBU will stay here. You should forget this ever happened." Moving towards the door, he walked past the Hokage, spitting in his face." He gripped the slippery doorknob and twisted, shielding his eyes from the sunlight as he walked out towards town.

"You are arrogant and cocky."

What?

The world around Shihouin flashed white and he realized that it was over. Before he could think "illusion" he was back in the coffee shop being held up by two ANBU, right in front of the Hokage. They eached gripped both arms and forced them behind his back in a special grip. One that would force him to stop moving or put strain on his shoulder muscles. This was caused by the both of them attempting to pull his wrists up between his shoulder blades. They secured his legs, using their own as a brace to keep him from kicking.

Noticeably what struck him most was that he could not move his body. He looked around frantically, what was going on? One of the ANBU agents in the corner moved up. "It's a special paralyzing illusion of mines. Of course with those eyes if it was any lower than B rank you would have noticed... But I can handle A Ranks just fine. The Hokage will administer proper punishment." The ANBU moved closer and pulled a small piece of wood from his pocket, wrapped in thick bandages. He slapped Shihouin in face and gripped Shihouin's cheeks and pressed inward, forcing his mouth open. "Bite on it." Complying, he bit down hard. "If I don't do this Lord Hokage, he will more than likely end up biting his own tongue and bleeding death." He turned around, smirking at Shihouin through his mask. "Do not resist, do not attempt to run. Do not attempt to do anything or the genjutsu's affect with pain will multiply. Just... 'Deal with it,' as you would say?" He faded back away from the Hokage's path, and waited for him.

Shihouin spat out muffled words, "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU ALL!!!" No doubt these would be his last words for the day.

To assume he was anything less to prepared was Shihouin’s gravest mistake. Hiroshi had noted the hand sign and he knew the expertly trained ANBU would aswell. Each of the three ANBU black ops members, were chosen for this assignment based on skill. Ni, was an illusion specialist and also a master tactician, so naturally he would watch the entire situation and make the best choice to both protect the Hokage as well as bring Shihiouin to justice, as were his orders. The other two members, had their skills, but as it seems they would only be needed to hold Shihiouin during the punishment process.

Hiroshi stayed silent, his hand rolling up the sleeves of his back shirt as he prepared. Shihiouin now free of the illusion was limp, held up by the two ANBU members. ”That was a dumb move, Uchiha“, an amused smirk crossed his face as he spoke, ”Did you really think I wouldnt be prepared? I mean honestly, dumb move.“ He shook his head quickly and the sadistic look returned on his face. His sleeves were now up near his shoulder, revealing his muscled and toned arms as he spoke again. ”The time comes once more for you to receive punishment Shihiouin...you‘ll find I am not my predecessor, hanging you from the monument or an attempt on the Hokage‘s life...he should‘ve ended you then and there. I do believe in mercy, but only where it‘s deserved.“ Hiroshi took a deep breath, focusing Ki into his hands. ”But, let it be known, I only do this to deter you away from committing such acts again. For, if you would, I would not be as merciful. I do not wish to lose you as a member of the village, either by you leaving, or by killing you. Therefore I chose an action, that I hope will make you think before you decide to do something like this again“

Hiroshi slowly walked up to the Uchiha as he spoke, he didnt need force for what he was about to do, merely contact. If the Jounin was paying attention, he could here the sadistic flair in his Leader's voice. ”As you may or may not have realized with those eyes of yours; my ‘chakra’ is a tad bit different than that of everyone else’s...”, He placed his hand on the chest of the Uchiha, but did not release the technique yet, “It reacts with 'normal’ chakra in such a way that...well you’ll find out soon enough.. ”, he smirked and looked the protesting Uchiha directly in the eye. “But dont worry, no lasting damage and the pain wont be enough for you to seek relief in unconsciousness, you will enjoy every single moment of it.. ”

Hiroshi's pressed his hand against the Uchiha's chest and willed his Ki to enter the Jounin's own chakra system. It was relatively small amount of energy, enough for a B rank jutsu, but Hiroshi's Ki would run through Shihouin's system, repelling his chakra and reeking havoc on the man's system. While it wouldnt cause him to lose chakra, or any physical harm to him or his chakra system...the pain would be excruciating.

Normally ones own chakra flow would lie dormant. It would increase or decrease depending on what was happening and alter itself accordingly to the will of shinobi albeit if they had skill over it. There were few attacks that could manipulate the flow of chakra within the system or chakra itself. Two famously known types of attacks were from the Aburame and Hyuuga clan. The Aburames insects would not invade the chakra system itself, but rather attack the chakra system by leeching chakra through direct contact with the body. In combination with their dojutsu, the Hyuuga had formed a set of close range taijutsu techniques which allowed them to increase or decrease chakra flow as they saw it during battle. It also internally damaged any surrounding organs depending on the strength of the attack.

Each one of them he had seen or experienced sometime in his life. And none of them had been this painful. Whatever chakra type the Hokage had, it was different from normal chakra. As it traveled through his body, Shihouin felt his heart jump. It was as if he could feel the arteries in his body strain to hold it together in place. It felt like all the cells in his body burned and boiled at the same time, and instead of a second of intense pain, it continued. Whatever amount of chakra he had in his system was not coming out any time soon. It would last for about five minutes hopefully, who knows? He couldn't keep time, he couldn't focus at all.

They would be able to hear the sounds of his teeth tearing through the cloth flesh of the piece that the ANBU had given him. They would hear his teeth grind up against the wood and his body struggle to try and catch himself. The ANBU kept him in place, holding them as the energy from the Hokage seemed to destroy in insides. He began to sweat profusely. They dropped him, releasing their grip as he fell flat on the floor. His sweaty body landed with a smack, droplets of sweat flying in a small puddle around him.

Attempting to hold some type of consciousness, he continued to suffer as blood oozed from each nostril, leaking slowly from his nose. It felt like his blood was boiling and his body was cooking. Yet at the same time he could still feel his heart struggle to hold still, jumping around in his chest as if the Hokage had induced a semi-heart attack. No amount of ANBU training had prepared him for this. He understood not the folly of his actions, but understood the power of the Hokage. Whatever technique this was, he would have to avoid it next time.

Slight tremors etched out over the visible parts of his body, his eyes went crazy as if he was about to fall into unconsciousness. His chest heaved up and down uncontrollably. Anyone by now would have assumed him a crazed man, fit for death. Shihouin grabbed his stomach, opening his mouth letting the mouthpiece fall out. Struggling to get on all fours, he vomited in a puddle of sickening colors. Vomit rushed through his nose and mouth as he tried to catch his breath. His mind attempted to slip, but was still enduring the pain. He lifted one hand up, looking at his palm as it shook rapidly, he could see small veins pulsing wildly and sweaty palms as if he was trying to scoop up water. Under his own weight he slipped, almost falling into a puddle of his own vomit.

He tried to regain his breath, his heart rate was only slowly going down. Not even 20 seconds yet. It was almost as if he was trying to control himself being in a seizure. He grit his teeth, and the sound of them rattling could be heard across the coffee shop. Maybe they would leave him here. He couldn't see too well to care, nor could he use his senses. It would be over soon, he would probably end up in a hospital room, again. All he could think about was passing out, feeling his mind let go of all the pain that it was clutching. Yet the threshold level for pain had risen considerably because of ANBU level. It wasn't say that this level of pain didn't meet the threshold, it was there. It danced sadistically on the precipe of unconsciousness, lingering a foot out into the depths.

Yet it laughed as it never crossed into it, taunting him as he experienced a world of anguish.

OOC: Quick topic ender

Hiroshi watched as the Uchiha’s body writhed and squirmed in agony. Hiroshi knew exactly how the man felt, having felt such pain at a much younger age, his own body not being able to withstand the pain, had fell into darkness. With Shihouin’s ANBU training, the Uchiha would not receive such luck. The pain was well above the traditional threshold that ANBU were taught to endure, but it would not be enough to allow his consciousness to fade. Reaching over, Hiroshi took a sip of his coffee as he straightened his shirt and replaced his jacket. ”You may leave...“ He spoke to the ANBU member in the corner, who quickly faded into the shadow as ANBU often did.

Slipping his black jacket on, Hiroshi advanced on the three Shinobi left in the room. Placing his hand once more on the Uchiha’s chest and taking a deep breath, his eyes closing as he focused. His chakra was such that Shihiouin probably felt as if he was being ripped apart from the inside, ”That‘ll do...“ he spoke quietly, casting a sympathetic look at the Uchiha before taking another deep breath and drawing in his energies which were within Shihiouin, calling them back to him. The processes was slow, having to call in energy as they raged within the Uchiha’s body; but every second, Shihouin’s torture would feel less and less as the energies left. After another minute of torment, Hiroshi exhaled the last of his Ki withdrawn from his victim.

”You may let him go.“ His town was firm as he spoke to the two ANBU members, ”Gently...“ he added quickly as they lowered him onto the cool coffee shop floor. Hiroshi crouched beside the Uchiha and spoke in a low whisper. ”I do not mean to be cruel, but I thought this would be the be the best way to deter any future actions.. I hope this will make you think next time.“, he stood and spoke in a louder voice at the Uchiha, ”And let it be known that that was only a fraction of my true abilities..next time I shall not be so lenient..“. Stepping over the fallen Jounin, Akira set some money on the counter, muttering a quick apology to the shop owner before walking out the door and disappearing in a burst of crows.

Slowly as if crawling his breath began to make a gradual return to him. His heart quit moving, staying still and pulsing normally instead of jumping around in between his lungs. His consciousness began to resume a normal fashion and his senses began to gather back. The Hokage had been kind enough to remove whatever foul energy he had placed in him, sparing him the torture of letting it run through his body. As the pain dimmed down to a nice tolerable level, he was able to gain minimal control of some muscle and support his own weight.

It did not remove the shock from his body, albeit he felt better now as if quickly recovering from near death. He swallowed, his long throat juggled his adams apple up and down as he gulped down fresh air to cool himself. As they let him down, he retreated to a barstool, sitting with his hands on his thighs with his head still down. Recovery was still taking place.

With no choice to listen to the words of the Hokage, even in his helplessness Shihouin was still smart and arrogant. Luckily for him his words would not reach seeing as he did not have the stamina to talk due to his fatigue and breath. For now he would let the Hokage have this one, and sooner or later the Hokage would learn that he did not care in the least bit about who was ranked higher than who or what crimes got what punishment. As he dissipated into a flock of crows, Shihouin sat alone for a few. The shop owner decided it would be nice to bother him.

"They sure handled you... I assumed our Ops was stronger than that." He smirked in his tone. "I... I don't care what that man says or does. I will do whatever I want to, whenever I want. If it means sacrificing the lot of all of you, then I will do it." Normally at this point, anyone would have been threaten by those words, but seeing that Shihouin's effectiveness had plummeted to that of a normal human, idle threats were taken as they were... just idle threats. "It's talk like that which got you punished in the first place. You should rethink your arrogant attitude. You are cocky, selfish, and conceited. You're just like all the former shinobi that failed due to greed. You care nothing for the lives of others. How can you call yourself a Konoha shinobi if you do not care for your comrade? Did Uzumaki Naruto not fight against Uchiha Sasuke to show that he cared regardless? You are treading down the same path to darkness, your eyes are closed and you will trip." He took a deep breath and sighed at Shihouin's folly. "But Hokage showed that he is not so tolerant... If you continue to blindly walk in darkness, he will be the silver lining of death."

Shihouin staggered towards the door, using every object in his path as a crutch to walk out. Through a small, weak voice he mustered to himself. "All there is is power in this world... nothing else..." Grabbing the money on the counter, the owner shook his head in disappointment as Shihouin staggered down the path of darkness.

[Topic Completed]-Archived