*ssshhhhhhhh*
The kettle whistled loudly, releasing steam from the top, filling the kitchen with the smell of tea.
Kaito slowly woke up from the sound, rubbing his eyes before getting up to sit. He was sitting on a couch, one he recognised.
He looked around to see Inoko sitting on her wheelchair, she looked to be engrossed in the book she was reading, not even noticing that he had woken up.
"Oh. You woke up? I found you passed out in my lawn a day ago. How do you feel?" She asked, putting her book down.
"I'm tired." He said, it was a tone of a man that had fought for too long.
"You know...even if I worked till I died of exhaustion," she pointed towards a building a few blocks away, "I still wouldn't be able to afford that."
Kaito walked closer to see what she was pointing at, "Why that building specifically?"
"Your friend, Satoru, owns that building."
Kaito grit his teeth, thinking of him.
The time at the academy, the chunin exams, getting money from for his grandfather...his grandfather.
He died. No matter he did...he still died.
Kaito felt like his heart would burst, or he would rip it out before it did. He slowly walked towards Inoko and sat on the floor beside her feet.
"What are you doing? I didn't clean the floor yet, and its cold." She quickly asked.
"It's where I belong."
"Why?" The voice was soft, too soft.
"I failed...Ms.Inoko. Again." He swallowed, before continuing. "You had faith in me...trained me when you had nothing to gain. I couldn't even pay you back, just like I could pay...him back."
"What do yo..." She was interrupted.
"I tried to do it the right way, following the rules and earning money like a good person." A single tear fell, "Then, I tried to do it in the way I thought was right."
"What happened?"
"I failed."
Kaito wiped the tear before she could see it, moving his face away from her.
"I didn't lose to Kuroi because I was weak. I surrendered. On purpose. The treatment required a lot of money in very little time, so I..."
"...Threw the match!" Inoko completed the sentence for Kaito.
Her tone made him turn around to look at her face.
'Her eyes...they have the same look. That same look."
She moved her wheelchair, making Kaito flinch, before pushing the wheelchair to the kitchen.
"Would you like some tea? It's nice!" Inoko asked with a smile that didn't seem genuine to Kaito.
"No thank you."
Inoko poured the drink for him anyway. Bringing two cups of tea with her, handing one to Kaito, who reluctantly had to take it.
She sipped the tea before asking, "What will you do now? After all that you have tried?"
"Wha-what do you mean? I don't understand." Kaito said, his cup of tea was untouched.
"You chose to do things the right way...then chose to do it in your way...what now? What will you choose now?" Inoko asked, reading his expression very intently.
"I don't know." He sighs, "And at this point...I don't want to."
Kaito relented and drank the tea.
"I see. Then, how about...not choosing?" Inoko placed her empty cup at the table.
"How does that work? How can someone not choose?" Kaito's brows furrowed.
"You could follow someone. Someone you trust to know the difference between what is right and wrong, so you dont have to. You already are doing it by obeying your jonin sensei."
"Who do I follow? Who can I trust do that for me...that's a big responsibility...for whoever that is." Kaito rejected the offer, his tone betrayed his words.
"Me, who else? You trust me right? I can take you under my wing!" Inoko said, refilling Kaito's cup without him asking.
Kaito was hesitant to take more tea, but inoko kept pouring till it refilled his cup.
"So...? How about it? Wanna be sponsored by me?" Inoko motioned him to drink.
Kaito looked at the cup. The tea he was drinking was not his, the jutsu he used to fight were not his, the prosthetic finger he used was not his either.
He looked at the person who gave him all of it.
He slowly nodded, "I trust you."
---
The two head to an old building in the yamanaka clan compound. The clan symbol and various others symbols decorated the house.
They knocked on the door and a servant answered, opening it with a smile, allowing Inoko and Kaito to enter.
They sat on a chair and Kaito patiently waited for the someone to arrive. An old man slowly walked and made his way with the support of the servant.
Inoko bowed and Kaito copied and bowed too. The old man motioned for them to raise their heads.
"What brings you to my home, dear child? Checking up on me to see if I'm dead?" The elder lightly laughed and Inoko lightly chuckled.
"No grandpa, you are definitely crossing a century! You still have your entire life ahead of you." Inoko joked.
"Then what made you visit this 70 years old man? Do you need help with something?"
"I wish to sponsor this boy here. I want him to join our clan." Inoko said, her joking tone disappeared.
Inoko's grandfather assessed Kaito before looking away in dissatisfaction.
"We don't take in strays dear Inoko. He lacks one of his most important finger, how do you expect him to use handsigns?" The elder asked.
"He has the mindset for it. He won't dissapoint you, take my word for it." Inoko said.
He signaled a servant to bring the paperwork required for it.
"Fine. I'll allow him."
"There's three things you need to know boy." He motioned with three fingers. "Loyalty, honesty and obedience."
His pinky finger more than necessary, as if to mock Kaito for not having it.
"You will stay loyal to your sponsor, being Inoko and by extension the Yamanaka clan, to the utmost degree. If there's any conflict, you choose her, over anything else."
"I understand, Sir." Kaito softly said.
"Anything else." The elder repeated and Kaito nodded.
"You will always be honest to the clan and will only say what is needed to others and nothing more. The more honest you are with us, the more dishonest you should be to your enemies, our enemies."
Kaito gulped as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"When orders are given you will execute them without any bias, personal interpretation or deviation." The elder said, handing him a form which he recieved from his servant.
"Sign it."
Kaito picked up his pen but paused. He couldn't bring his hand to write...until Inoko spoke.
"You won't have to worry about having a roof over your head...or food on your plate. Isn't that what you wanted?" She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "You will be given training and proper missions which will make a reputable member of society...people will look at YOU with respect, not those who break rules."
Kaito exhaled, the pressure leaving his body as inoko's gentle hands moved his. The pen glided across the paper.
The agreement was signed.
Kaito was officially sponsored by the Yamanaka clan.
---
The wheel of the chair made a weird sound as it rolled over something. "Guess, we'll have to make the cleaner work harder. It seems they are slacking off." Inoko joked, but didn't hear a laugh from Kaito.
"What's wrong? Why are you still in a bad mood? come on, I'll you show the training grounds." Inoko said,
Kaito opened the estate gate so they could leave, "I felt...like a tool for them. It didn't seem like what you described it would be." Kaito replied.
Inoko turned in her wheelchair to meet Kaito's eyes, making him stop pushing the wheelchair.
Her eyes softened looking at his sadden expression. Not every wish comes true the way we want them to.
"Grandpa said in a very insensitive way, I can explain it in a better way, if you feel confused."
"Sure."
"Hmm...it means that you will never be alone again. No matter who is opposing you...we will always stay by your side."
Her hand gently held Kaito's hand, which laid on the handle of the wheelchair.
"But it means that you must always be honest to us. Afterall, you cannot truly have someone's back if they are always lying to your face, can you?"
"You're right. But still..."
"Not everyone needs to know everything. Just what they need to know. The public relies on clans like the Yamanaka, we cannot simply tell the public everything and have them panic. So, we have to keep secrets."
Kaito looked down, "The last part was the weird part. It sounded like my opinions won't matter, my beliefs won't matter, I won't matter."
"There was a guy...who we sponsored." She hesitated, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but, he abused the trust we put into him. We trusted him with our secrets, our resources and our everything, but he kept taking.
He used the rules to his advantage, finding loopholes and misused the authority our clan gave him. We cannot let that happen again, never again. That kind of trust cannot be broken again and again."
Kaito was unconsciously reminded of someone who would regular take part in rule breaking and cheating.
"We trust you that you will not misuse our faith in you. Orders given to you should be followed as intended for the greater good, so if something goes wrong, you won't have to 'its not my fault!' Or anything else...we will protect you if you obey."
"Once your sponsorship will undergo a confirmation by our clan head you'll make a blood pact with me." Inoko said,
Kaito led Inoko to her house.
---
An alter separated inoko from Kaito. They were on the opposite side of the alter, with the clan elder present as a witness.
"Today...a blood pact will be made between Kaito and Inoko Yamanaka. State your roles in this pact."
"My role is to be the enforcer of Ms.Inoko's orders, an extension of her will and the representative of her and her clan through my actions." Kaito said, holding a knife to his palm.
He made a cut in his palm, as blood seeped out of the wound and into the alter.
A tattoo ink was mixed into it before Inoko had Kaito's blood tattooed on the back of her hand.
"My role is to be the responsible entity for all of Kaito's actions, whether conscious or unconscious. The sole bearer for anything and everything committed by Kaito, irrespective of good or bad." Inoko said, copying Kaito's action.
Her blood feel into the alter which was still wet Kaito's blood. The tattoo ink mixed into before entering Kaito's chest.
"We are in this together! Don't fret about anything else from now on." Inoko reassured.
"As the witness and the organiser of this ritual, I declare it as complete!"
The blood pact has been formed.