Land Of Snow Arc (12) : Ploy.

The guard pulled out a pair of handcuffs and quickly slapped it around Tachibana's wrist.

'Huh? Did they catch me acting?'

"You better keep them on." The guard said after checking to see if they were tightly around Tachibana's wrist.

"Come on…do you really think I'll be able to do anything? *cough* *cough* Even if I do something, where do you think I'll go? *cough* *cough* It's not like I can run away. *cough *cough*"

"Old man, you better keep your lips sealed. Otherwise, when you cough out your lungs people will think we killed you." The guard said with a stern look on his face.

Tachibana just nodded with a smile and began to follow the guard who was escorting him into the prison while the other guard stayed back at the door to guard it and prevent anyone else from entering.

"Can't you walk fast you old man?" The guard complained seeing Tachibana limp around as if he was on his last leg.

"Please bear with me! *cough* *cough* I promise to make it up to you in the blimp ride!"

As Tachibana walked through the prison, his eyes glanced around the empty cells.

Most were technically empty, but the human bones in them showed clearly why they were empty.

Tachibana felt a shiver go down his spine upon seeing just how cruel the current ruler would have to be to treat people like this.

'Starving people to death in cells that drop down to freezing temperatures…'

'How 'kind'.'

"Don't be so scared old man! Those skeletons won't do anything to you. They're from people that have been long dead."

Tachibana only nodded and didn't speak much.

Soon they arrived in front of a cell that contained Koyuki. Her eyes had turned stone cold and she looked at her visitors with absolute indifference.

Tachibana was about to speak, pretending to be an eager old man waiting for an autograph but the guard spoke first.

*THUNK* *THUNK*

The guard banged his baton on the metal rods of the cell before speaking, "Unless you want me to rough you up, you'll give this old man your autograph."

"N-"

*THUNK* *THUNK*

Koyuki's eyes turned frigid.

"Do you think you have an option? That wasn't a request. You'll do as I say or you'll forget about sitting here unharmed."

The guard and Koyuki stared at each other, with neither backing out as they looked like they wanted to kill each other until Tachibana interrupted.

"Fujikaze-sama, could I please get your autograph? *cough* *cough* My grandson is your fan. *cough* *cough* And given how long my lungs will last *cough* *cough* I want to fulfil at least one of his wishes before I'm gone."

Koyuki looked at Tachibana, her eyes softening a bit as she saw the paper and pen in Tachibana's trembling hands.

She looked at the guard once again before looking at Tachibana and nodding, "Alright. Could you tell me his name?"

"Meiru.", Tachibana said with a soft smile as he walked closer to the prison cell and handed Koyuki the paper and pen he was holding.

After getting the paper and pen back from Koyuki, Tachibana turned to the guard and gave him a big smile before giving him a warm hug. "Thank you very much Mister!"

Just as the guard tried to get out of Tachibana's hug there was a sudden muffled *crack* before the guard dropped to the ground, having lost control over his legs.

And before the guard could even open his mouth or scream, Tachibana's hands moved to his neck and snapped it with force.

The guard only looked on with shock as the last thing he saw were Tachibana's hands which had gotten free from the handcuffs he'd tied around his wrist so securely, courtesy his flexible bones.

Koyuki only stared at the old man who'd suddenly gained so much vitality with shock before watching him pull out a key from the guard's pockets to open the prison gate.

"Gonna stay inside for the rest of your life Koyuki-sama?" Tachibana asked with a smile after dispelling his transformation jutsu to reveal his face.

Koyuki still remained stunned, until Tachibana grabbed her hand and forcefully picked her up like a sack of potatoes onto his shoulder.

"Ahh!! What are you doing!? Put me down you brute!!"

"I thought you wanted to be carried with how you were sitting like a statue." Tachibana joked while putting her down.

"How did you get here? I thought, I thought you-"

"Died during that explosion? Well, turns out I'm hard to kill. What you saw falling down was my clone. Either way, we need to escape now. And on our way out, we need to assassinate all the shinobi working under Doto."

"Shouldn't you have done it the other way round? Assassinate everyone and then come get me?"

"No. There are too many problems with that. They could simply use you as a hostage to stop me. Either way, I need your help. You know the castle better than me. I'm sure you'll know where everyone is. So we can do everything faster this way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, I'm positive. All we need to do is assassinate as many shinobi as possible and then we can join back with Yamato-sensei and the rest of Team Seven. I'm sure they're already on their way to attack the castle to protect or save me and you."

Koyuki closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths to calm herself and once she was satisfied with Tachibana's explanation she spoke quickly, "Alright, I'll guide you around."

"Good. Let's leave from here then."

"How are we going to leave?" Koyuki asked politely since they couldn't go back the way they'd just come because the guard would obviously stop them and alert everyone.

"Simple. We walk on the walls outside." Tachibana said with a smile and dragged Koyuki to a window.

Letting Koyuki onto his back, Tachibana began to climb the castle walls by sticking to them with the help of chakra on the soles of his feet. 

"Where do you want me to point you towards?"

"Preferably towards the area, the guards are probably bathing in."

"Huh? Why?"

"They'll have to come out of their special armour to take a bath. That's when they'll be at their weakest. We can steal the armour and also kill them in the process."

Koyuki's eyes narrowed and she nodded. "Alright."

Under her guidance, Tachibana carefully walked around the castle walls, making sure to avoid windows before they came across a peculiar window which was slightly open to allow a sliver of steam to escape outside.

"Is this it?" Tachibana asked Koyuki in a whisper.

"Yes. The steam means there's someone currently inside." Koyuki replied similarly.

"Is there a window nearby that leads to the clothes-changing room?"

"Yes, that one."

Tachibana followed Koyuki's directions and soon broke through a window that led to a locker room. Tachibana checked the various baskets on the shelves and found two baskets with the armour he was looking for.

"Got it." Tachibana smiled.

"Now what?" Koyuki asked.

"Now we hide outside for a while until either of the two people arrive in this place. Then we assassinate them and hide their bodies."

Koyuki frowned but didn't say anything, she only nodded and then with Tachibana hid on the window ledge while patiently waiting for either of the two people to come back from their bath.

But before any of the two shinobi came out of the bath something else happened.

*WWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* *WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

'Shit!' Tachibana cursed.