Marriage Is Sacred

Mission:

Haruto had already been having a lousy day when the man approached him. The rogue had been sitting at the poker table in the middle of an intense hand when he approached, and Haruto had been losing. Badly. The rogue could feel his blood pressure rising with each card played and each lively cheer of the men around him. God how he wanted to shut them up. It'd certainly ease some of the tension he'd built up from his poor luck earlier in the day.

Haruto had been stuck in Snow Country for a while, and thanks to some lucky finds, he'd been able to wrack up enough money to nab a ticket out of the hellish place. The rogue had even set up plans to head out to Demon Country, hoping to find some work out where there was little competition. Though unfortunately for him, there was a five goddamned day delay before the vessel that was supposed to ferry him out showed up. Worse yet, when it finally showed up, Haruto couldn't get a stupid ticket! The one who promised him his ticket, some barmaid he'd met a couple of nights ago called Karmen, told him they were all booked up. He'd need to get on a boat to Rice Country first apparently, and THEN he'd be able to catch a ride to Demon Country after that. What a crock of shit. Haruto'd have broken onto the damn boat by force if he could, though unfortunately for him they seemed to be carting around actual village shinobi. What the hell they were even doing up here eluded Haruto, though it was more than enough to spook him off from trying to break on. Village shinobi meant trouble, and crossing them was more often than not more trouble than it was worth for someone of Haruto's skill level.

He'd gone to the tavern to drown his sorrows after that, though nothing he did seemed to ease the deep fury he felt. He was stuck here for AT LEAST another day. Worse yet, he was heading into Rice Country, right near Fire Country. That wouldn't be so bad if he didn't somehow royally piss off a shinobi from Konohagakure. The brat was stronger than Haruto too by some good margin, and he was dead set on hunting the rogue down. A bad combination for a missing ninja. All that stress and fury, combined with a bit more alcohol than Haruto's system should reasonably take in at once made for a dangerous combination. A sudden and jarring cacophony of calls came out from around the table, some mix of cheers and cries of exasperation as the players either won it big or lost their bets. Haruto himself stayed silent, though he had certainly lost that round. He'd lost all the ryo he'd managed to win over the past five days, and he was not happy. He was beginning to boil over, he needed to let off some steam before he snapped. That, was when he walked in.

He was a man too drunk to stand up straight. He wore a heavy winter coat, with buttons haphazardly clasped together in all the wrong places. He already had a glass bottle in hand, which he struggled to lift to his lips. Booze dribbled down his fat face as he stumbled towards the poker table, practically tripping into the thing as he used it to steady himself. The table gave a mighty rock, and cards flew everywhere, either from the man's mighty girth slapping into them or from the rocking of the table. Either way, this hand was ruined. The men around the table gave angry jeers at the drunk, to which the man gave a lazy hiccup.

"Y-You boys all look *hic* pretty tough! A-any of you guys wanna make some easy *hic* money?"

His words were slurred and slow, though Haruto's ears perked up at the sound of easy money. Though the fellow poker players surrounding the table were far less than interested. One particularly muscled fellow with far too many tattoos to be reasonable, and far too many scars to be attractive gave a sneer.

"Get lost nutjob. Why the hell do you think we're playing this game here? We all want easy money, but not from miserable drunks like you. Do us a favor and go drink yourself to death somewhere else."

The table started laughing, causing the man to grow a bright pink with indignation.

"B-Bully! I just *hic* need someone to help me! My wife *hic* cheated on me with some teenage punk. If someone *hic* would beat him up, I'd pay..."

He reached into his pocket and slapped down a pouch. Even from his distance, Haruto had learned to pick up the approximate amount of coin that was in a pouch, a relic of his old pickpocketing days. Judging by the weight, he reckoned that bag had at least two thousand ryo in there. Not as much as he would like personally, though he was quite used to beating the life out of civilians by this point. Plus, taking out his frustrations on some low life punk sounded like the perfect way to let off some steam.

"Judging by the looks of you buddy, I don't blame her!"

The table roared once more in a fit of laughter, except for Haruto. He was deadly silent, and visible anger could be seen on his face. With the speed only someone trained as a shinobi could muster, Haruto's hand darted across the table and swiped the pouch, as well as a steak knife from one of the other player's plates. Useful for intimidation. The table grew silent as suddenly the pouch was gone. They turned to the side to see the rogue slowly and lightly tossing the bag into the air, letting it fall back down into his palm. He was calm, his feet up on the table and tilting back in his chair. The sharp, angry quality in his expression kept everyone at the table quiet as a mouse.

"Give me the little punk's name. I'll put an end to him." Haruto calmly let his seat fall back down to the resting position as he took his feet off the table. The chair legs returned to the ground with a soft thump as Haruto put the gleaming knife onto the table. "Permanently."

The men gave coughs, and their eyes drifted back to the drunken fool who had offered the deal. He gave a small gulp, and spoke with a level of terror that could be heard even through his miserable stupor.

"L-Look, I don't want him dead *hic*. I just want to teach him a lesson, that's all. He's just a kid called Dan Harborsson. He's probably out on one of the harbor docks fishing. No need *hic* to-"

Haruto didn't wait for him to finish. A name and a location was all he needed. Haruto snatched the knife off from the table and walked out the door as the man called out for him. Haruto could hear him attempt to run after him, though from the sound of it he was too drunk to keep his balance, and fell to the floor. Figures. Haruto left the tavern and stormed into the streets, heading directly for the harbor. White hot rage coursed through Haruto's veins as he stomped ever closer towards his soon to be victim's location. He didn't give a damn what he did, he didn't give a damn about the man who employed him, or his wife. He was furious about this whole ordeal. About being cheated out of all of his money and being forced to flee to Snow Country. About getting stranded here and needed to work for chump change to earn enough money to leave this dump. About leaving that old woman behind to die so he could swipe a decent meal and a coat that would keep him warm. About the Snow Leopard Gang trying to make him their newest toadie. About lousy barmaids who couldn't fetch him a single ticket to get him the fuck out of this place. He'd had too much, and he needed to vent. Who cares if this kid wasn't responsible for Haruto's hardships? He just needed someone to suffer, and it might as well be someone who 'deserves' it.

There weren't too many people when he got there. Three people at the end of an old wooden dock, far separated from the rest of the harbor and far away from the safety of town. There were about three individuals sitting over the side, casting their reels into the water. One of them was an old man sitting far away from the other two, much too elderly to match the description of teenager. Though the other two seemed to be a different story. Two younger looking guys, roughly appearing to be in their very late teens, possibly their early twenties. They looked to be remarkably similar, with only a few major facial differences between them. One of them was probably his target. Haruto began stomping over towards them, boards cracking under his feet. He could hear them laughing about... something. One of them bragging about how he had managed to score a date with some older woman. He bragged about how he'd managed to give her husband the slip, how he was too slow and fat to catch up before descending into another fit of laughter. That was the one.

"Dan Harborsson?"

The two turned to look at the rogue, bored and annoyed expressions crossing their stupid little faces. The one who was listening to the other's story spoke up first.

"What do you want, loser?"

Ooh... Haruto was going to enjoy this. His fists were beginning to clench, and the knife in his pocket suddenly began to feel very heavy. Soon maybe... but not yet. The eyes of the other one, the one bragging about his date, began to widen, before he began guffawing.

"Don't tell me that fatso sent you! He's too pathetic to hold his marriage together, and now he sends some dumb goon to take care of his dirty work? That's too much!"

They both begin guffawing heavily, and Haruto gave a deadly, sinister smirk. Dumb goon? Was that what they saw him as? It was a simple playground insult, but somehow... that was the tipping point. He'd put up with too much bullshit since coming here, and he'd had enough. He could feel his rage breaking somehow, they same pulsating rage he felt before fading away. What was left behind now was... colder. Meaner. As the laughter and guffaw of the boys faded away, they turned towards the rogue and began to crack their knuckles, confident they would be able to handle him easily.

"Alright buddy. You have about three seconds to-"

Haruto was on him before he knew what happened. Haruto dashed across the docks until he reached the boy's location in a few mere instances. Maybe only a little above average speed for a shinobi, but for a civilian it was faster than the blink of an eye. Haruto's right fist collided with incredible force against the boy's stomach. Long trails of spittle flew from the surprised victim's mouth as he doubled over in pain. Haruto didn't let up though. He quickly grabbed the boy's head as he was beginning to double over, and snapped it down with incredible force. At the same time, Haruto brought his right knee up with just as much power, slamming it into the kid's jaw. His body's momentum rapidly changed course, changing from doubling over in pain to beginning to fall backwards towards the end of the dock. Though in the instant where his body was beginning to straighten as the force pushed him backwards, Haruto's stance pivoted. The rogue's already lifted leg was reeled back in as closely to Haruto's body as he could before delivering one final kick just to the left of his midsection. It served its purpose twofold, as it both caused yet more damage and changed the direction his body was heading to directly backwards, sending his feeble form off the docks and into the frigid sea waiting for him. While the rogue would have loved to inflict more torment on the wannabe bully, he was fortunately not his target.

Dan seemed to just now be realizing that he was being attacked, his body just beginning to turn to face the rogue with wide eyes. Haruto forgot had almost forgotten how slow the general populace really was in comparison to the world of shinobi he hailed from. Almost as if they seemed to be moving through thick molasses. No matter. Haruto used the force from the kick he delivered to his friend to pivot himself in a sweeping kick, dropping his body low to the ground and extending his right leg out to swat the kid's feet out from under him. Suddenly the boy's legs were gone from underneath him, and he fell to the dock with a thud.

"Dumb goon huh? Well I suppose that this 'dumb goon' is going to have to teach you a lesson about messing around with someone else's wife."

Haruto drew the knife from his pocket and flipped the kid to the other side, quickly placing his knees in the crook of his elbow to prevent him from defending from what he was about to do. Dan looked terrified, especially when he saw the metallic sheen of the blade. Funny. Haruto was already getting flashbacks to the last man he'd beaten for money about a week before. Only difference between then and now what that now, Haruto was aiming to cause some lasting damage. The boy began to tremble underneath the shinobi's grasp.

"A-Alright, alright! I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have called you a goon! I-I'll never get near that guy's wife ever again! Or anyone else's wife! I promise!"

Haruto grinned, and he brought the knife down closer towards the boy's face. He trembled with fear, trying to put as much space as possible between him and the knife, but there was just so little of it. Haruto slowly placed the tip just inside the boy's lips, where he felt its serrated edge touch rigid teeth. This would do.

"You see, here's the problem Dan. I don't like you, and I've been having a VERY bad week. You need to understand that you're not a little kid anymore, and now that you're older, your actions have VERY real consequences. You're what, eighteen, nineteen, twenty? Doesn't matter. You need to understand that as an adult, there are just some things that people don't do! Like, for example, fooling around with somebody else's wife. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Haruto's voice was deadly calm. Dan nodded slightly, clearly trying to both convey that he got the message and dislodge the knife from his lips, though Haruto made sure he couldn't do the latter.

"Good! Now, in the adult world, you have to take people at their word. BUT, you only do that if they have a good reputation, and are trustworthy. Now, you've gone ahead and defiled the sanctity of another man's marriage! That's not a very good thing for you to do! So, you don't really have a good reputation, and you aren't trustworthy. That means, I can't really take you at your word. So, I'll just have to take matters into my own hands, and make sure you, and everyone else who looks at you, remember this lesson for the rest of your days."

The man's eyes widened in terror just before Haruto brought the knife around his cheek in a slashing motion. It was a steak knife after all, designed to cut through tough meat. Blood splattered against the wooden planks of the dock as Dan screamed and Haruto grinned. His cheek was slashed completely open, revealing all of his teeth on the left side. It would certainly leave a nasty scar no doubt, and it might even get infected considering that the knife he used wasn't particularly clean. THIS was the release Haruto had been looking for. He quickly placed the knife down on the dock near Dan's screaming head, before cracking his knuckles. He never was particularly strong... but he didn't need to be. Haruto quickly unleashed hell on Dan's face, unleashing a torrential volley of blows upon his face. His nose cracked, some of his teeth fell out, one of his eyes began to swell. Slowly but surely his face became more cuts and bruises than skin, and Haruto was enjoying every minute of it. With each iota of agony he unleashed upon his victim, a wave of catharsis washed over him. All that time in this desolate place, all the pain it had brought Haruto was unleashed upon this boy, until finally, it was gone. The boy was wheezing, and the screaming had stopped, likely from losing his voice. A grim satisfaction washed over Haruto. This would do. He was about to open his mouth, to deliver one final speech to the boy about how he deserved this when he heard a scream behind him.

"Get your hands off my brother you freak!"

Haruto reacted on instinct. He quickly snatched up the knife in the blade facing down position and slammed back with it, blade first towards where he had heard that voice from. A sickening sound could be heard before all fell silent. The knife had plunged into the other boy's eye, all the way up to the hilt. A shocked expression seemed permanently affixed to his face as the fishing rod he was about to bring down on Haruto's head came clattering to the ground. Then after a moment, he began to step back, twitching. Then another. Then another. Before finally, it seemed as though the last dregs of life left his body, and he began to fall backwards, tumbling into the heartless sea.

Dan tried to scream once more, but it came out hoarse and inaudible. Tears were flowing down his cheeks, though it was unclear if that was from the thorough beating Haruto gave, or the fact that his brother had just been murdered in cold blood. The rogue quickly got off his beaten body, and the boy scrambled towards the side of the dock his brother had just tumbled over. His voice was raw, inaudible, though he was reaching desperately for his brother's body, which the waves seemed to be dragging down into the depths. Haruto was just stunned.

"I didn't mean... I didn't want this."

Dan turned back with venom in his eyes. The eyes of someone who wanted vengeance. Who was swearing that one day, he would hunt you down if it was the last thing he did. The eyes that were difficult to look straight into. He quickly turned back around, continuing to call for his brother, and Haruto turned. He couldn't look at this anymore. He'd wanted someone to suffer sure, but he didn't want to kill anyone. Though it seemed by this point... it was just another body to throw on his ever growing pile. Some dumb and reckless kid who played with fire and got burned.

Haruto scanned the dock, looking for the old man from earlier. Just as he'd suspected, he was gone. Likely heading into town to fetch someone to help the rogue suspected. That meant the law, and the law meant trouble. Haruto gave a quick sigh. Guess he'd better be on his way then. He cast one final look over his shoulder at the pitiful boy behind him, before walking forward back into the tundra. Later the rogue would circle back into town and get ready to board the boat heading for Rice Country. For now though? For now, Haruto didn't want anything else to do with people.

Total Words - 3317

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