6.13

    Tension thick enough to cut with a kunai pressed on me. Tsuchigaru’s massive eyes bore down on us. Karin’s grip on my arm reached the death-grip settings. I fought the urge to shrink back. That’s not how I expected things to go after the somewhat peaceful start, but I noticed a few things. For one, that the big one hadn’t killed us yet. For another, what was this about the snake’s stench? The only thing I could think of regarding the snake was my eye and Orochimaru. Orochimaru also meant Ryuchi Cave and his summons.

    That gave me an idea to try. I wasn’t a friend of the snakes; I very much had a blood feud with Orochimaru. I could use that, but I wasn’t willing to give that information for free. I remembered the murals, and the pictographs of badgers and humans trading. Maybe they liked to barter? Why else would they have a history lesson over that? I could do bartering. It was even in my favor since I had nothing else besides information to offer.

    The best case scenario was to enlist their help with a contract, gather supplies, and have them send me back from wherever their lands were. In a worst-case scenario, I’d settle up to leaving here alive, with information on how to return to Konoha.

    I puffed my non-existent chest, raised my head. Confidence, that was now my middle name.

    “I am no snake friend. I fought and killed them before.” I mean, not me, me. It was Naruto and Sasuke who killed those giant snakes in the Forest of Death, but I helped, right? I even had a hand in their training. I hope they didn’t mind me taking credit.  “I have a blood feud against their summoner; I orchestrated his fall.” Even if I didn’t believe that was the last I had seen of Orochimaru and that it wasn’t me who killed him, but the Hokage and Shisui. I was the one that moved the pieces years before. That also counted as my kill, right? Right?

    Alliances declared, boast stated, I started my sales pitch. “You’ll sign a summoner contract with me,” I rasped, held in the urge to cough. I wasn’t good at negotiations, but I knew you should always shoot up for the biggest you can and negotiate to a more realistic outcome. “You’ll send us back, give us supplies and equipment. In return, I’ll provide you with news regarding the snake-clan.”

    A rumble from above followed my declaration. “You want to barter?” The voice asked, amused. Tsuchigaru’s eyes glinted in the semi-darkness of the cave.

    Kumoko’s tiny chakra bundle moved. She dashed from the big paws side until she was at Tsuchigaru’s face. “Pops! Lemme handle this!” Her small, fur-covered frame shook. She looked a bit silly, glaring up at her giant father.

    “And why should I let you, cub? You’ve already meddled enough when I ordered our guests to be left alone.”

    “Cause I earned my name!” The answer came in a high-pitched, squeaky growl. “I can handle this stuff now!” Kumoko’s puffed tail pointed straight up. She turned to me. “Let me barter with the snake girl. If she’s lying, I can always eat her eye after.”

    Why was Kumoko so obsessed with my eye?

    Another quake-chuckle rumbled through the room. “Have it your way then, Kumoko.”

    Kumoko preened, tail still straight up. “Snake girl,” she squeaky-growled my way. Was she trying to be intimidating? “Here are my terms for you: The snake girl will surrender all her secrets, give me her eye, and the Iron Skin clan will let her leave this place alive!”

    “I’ll give you the eye if and when I recover my own to replace it.” I rasped out.

    I wasn’t sure if I could ever recover my eye from the Hyuga or where the other eye was, but on the chance I did, I wasn’t against letting Kumoko have the snake eye. I’d even cheer her on if she wanted to snack on the thing. I just wasn’t about to set myself on fire to make her feel warm, so to speak.

    Kumoko growled and clawed the ground. I saw the refusal coming, but a rumble from the silent patriarch ended her building comeback. Kumoko shook for a moment, pawed the ground again, and lashed her tail even more.

    “What do you mean?” She finally asked.

    I shrugged. “Someone stole my eyes; put this one in its place. I want to get my own back.”

    Kumoko stared for a long while, then she nodded. “Agreed.”

    I let out a sigh of relief. That had been way more difficult and tiring than I had anticipated.

    “Good job, cub,” Tsuchigaru praised and ignored the growly “not a cub” from Kumoko. He turned to me. “Thank you for letting my daughter have her first barter, the opportunities are rare these days.”

    I nodded at the patriarch. Mostly, I was glad this was over.

    “Kumoko will take you to our storage to gather equipment and lead you to the hive; I’ll have the contract ready once you return.”

    What was he talking about? Return from what hive? “Return?”

    Tsuchigaru’s eyes bore on me again. “Of course,” the clan leader said, “no respectable badger clan will sign a contract without a gift of royal jelly. Kumoko will guide you to the Bee’s hive.”

    My shoulder slumped. Of course, why had I thought it would be this easy? I could even hear the capitalization of the word bee from the patriarch. These were going to be some giant killer bees, weren’t they?@@@@