Hakkenden: The ninth gem

Episode 7: A Promise

"Kokonoe."

Shino and Sakura looked at each other and nobbled of the head. Shino talked for the both of them. "We want you to find something."

"What is it?"

Sakura continued. "It's a small ball. That we left on the mountain, that says duty." Sosuke looked at Shino and Sakura. Shino then said. "People shouldn't try going up that mountain." He looked at his sister who looked at the spirit of Akiko who nodded at her. So she nodded at her brother and smiled at him. He also gotta sigh from Murasame. "We've gotta a feeling you can."

The woman than accepted.
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Akane and Kenpachi were at the table reading the news. Kobungo was healing Sosuke bruises. Shino was on the couch playing with his sister's hair while she was sleeping. Than the silence was broken by Sakuraba bragged in the room. "It's horrible, Akane baby. A disaster." He was fake crying at the end a bit or not. "God. You're having morning with lieutenant Inukai. When did the place the two of you gets so close anyway?" He was moving everywhere like a ballerina.

"Come again?" Kenpachi asked confused.

Then he spotted Sakura. "Ohh and look. That little darling is sleeping." He was moving strangely and the volume of his voice was bothering Sakura. "I feel like a daddy looking at her little girl sleep." He was about to poke her cheeks when Shino's hand hit Sakuraba's hand. He was pulling on his shirt and stopped when Akane said. "Just tell us why you're here for."

The guy than got serious. "Yes. Absolutely. The whole village has gone nuts. Everyone's trying to beat each other over the mountain."

"What the hell?!"

Then Sakuraba put the rock that The monkey gave to Shino and Sakura on Shino's and Sakura's jackets. "The little cuties forgot their jacket and this came tumbling out of one of their pocket and I picked it up." He looked at Shino and Sakura who was still sleeping on Shino's lap. "This is gold. Real gold."

Then Sakura woke up. Her head was hurting bad. "Stop yelling like a Madeleine. You're hurting my ears."

Kenpachi then asked. "Shino. Sakura. Where did you two put your hands on that?"

Sakura was still a bit out of the blue. Shino just said stubbornly while putting a hand over Sakura's shoulder and bringing her head to his lap so she can sleep some more. "Does it matter?!" Then he said calmly. "Go back to sleep Sakura." He didn't want his sister to answer. She was still in a 11 years old body, who needs a lot of sleep.

Sakuraba then said. "Well, I say you got it on the mountain."

"So why if we did?"

Sakuraba then argued and wanted them to answer. "Other the fact that the mountain was full of gold mines." Akane than picked up the piece and inspected it. "You still remember that, don't you Akane."

The lady answered. "Once, however nobody bothered to clean up the waste so everything turned into a huge sulphuric acid dump. The man was pretty much untenable until fifty years ago. Supposedly, both the land and underground water would clean by then."

Shino was still thinking while petting Sakura's head. She was already asleep and would be hyperactive in less than an hour. Akane than asked Sakuraba. "Okay, So why did you show this little bundle of trouble to all the villagers?"

"I couldn't help it, one of the military police saw it and after that the panic was on." The man answered. Akane after that was a bit furious. Shino who was still petting his little sister head said something that made a lot of sense and wouldn't be common to say at his age.