"The heck's wrong with you?!" Tayuya asked from the ground, unsure of Arthur's motives.
"The real question is what's wrong with you?" The sayings made her hesitate. "Open your eyes, Tayuya. You've been reduced to a broken tool because you served the wrong person."
For the first time, she fell silent for a moment as her gaze dropped to the ground. "Why do you care what happens to me? I'm just a broken tool like you said, right?"
"You think Orochimaru sent me here?"
A confused frown creased her brow as she understood his words. "Y… you mean you came here on your own."
"Like I said: open your eyes, Tayuya. I came to rescue you, that you might rediscover the real person you should serve."
Her eyes widened in disbelief as he spoke those impactful words. She truly didn't know what it was or where this feeling of radiance in this dark cell came from.
Was this what they called hope?
She had a choice to make now: redefine herself under Arthur or remain here forever.
She had heard those screams of torment from other prisoners. Each passing day, they would get quieter and quieter.
"Would you like to know what they do to people here?" Arthur hissed. The question made her jolt, as if she believed he was reading her thoughts. "The prisoners are sacrificed for their chakra. And your chakra's pretty high."
Now she understood what those screams were.
"Follow me, Tayuya, and you'll have another chance to redeem yourself." Arthur finally extended a hand toward her. "This time, under someone who won't lose."
When Tayuya looked, gone was perpetual darkness that she found herself lost in. There was a light behind Arthur, a light that only she could see. And deep down, she knew that if she didn't follow it, she would never be able to be her true self.
Moments later, Arthur had successfully destroyed her handcuffs.
It was easy for him to sneak in and out of places alone. Now he had to do it with loose baggage.
"Stay close," he commanded, moving into the shadows once more. As Tayuya obeyed, they approached the exit. Tayuya could see more guards milling about. Some were lost in idle conversation, while others remained vigilant. "Close your eyes…"
"But—"
"Just do as I say." His tone brooked no argument, so she followed his command. "Now, don't move…"
The next moment came as a shock as she felt him rip at the lower fabric of her clothes. Her cheeks then flushed when she felt his hand rest on her belly.
As her mind raced, questioning his intentions, it all happened in an instant: a cooling feeling, like water, rushed past her insides.
"You can open your eyes now…"
When Tayuya did, she found herself standing outside beneath a vast, starry sky in an open grassland.
"H… How did we get here?" she asked, feeling fresh air. It was cool and quite inviting after being locked up for so long. More importantly was the absence of the Celestial Prison seal—it was no longer there. "You…"
"We're in the Water Country…"
The Water Country? Tayuya was in a daze at just how fast they could have possibly arrived here.
Then a thought struck her: she was free; she was truly free.
"Listen carefully," Arthur demanded, "you're to head north where you'll find a city. When you do, lay low there until you hear from me again. Got it?"
"Y… Yes."
"Good. There'll be a hotel room already registered under your name…"
"Wait," she wondered, "what if I'm recognized?"
"You'll be fine," he calmly assured her, turning around. "Just follow my instructions, and nothing bad will happen to you."
The earnest confidence in his gaze washed away all her doubt.
As he began walking away, she felt an urgency to know more about him, to grasp the details of his remarkable feats. Her mind was rife with thoughts.
How had this one man saved her from Hōzuki Castle, a feat no one on record had ever achieved till now? Just who was he really, and what experiences could have possibly shaped his determination to come this far in the world?
""Hold on!" she called out. When he turned, she took a step closer. "I just need to know something… When we first met, you had taken the box from Sakon."
"And…?"
"How did you do it without us knowing?"
"Hmph… Wouldn't you like to know?"
At those words, he turned around and vanished before her eyes.
The uncertainty of her circumstances was countered by the idea of freedom. So, after dwelling on the mysterious Arthur, she finally decided to head north as instructed.
✟
Some time later.
At an expansive desk sat Arthur. He was surveying papers scattered across it, and on each sheet was a picture of Tayuya, embellished with legal jargon that described her past.
The documentation was extensive, perhaps excessively so, detailing an unsavoury history filled with charges.
Right now, the former Sound Village kunoichi was in his hotel room in another city. She had already met Koko, who was delighted to see her.
The first question Koko asked her was, "Are you my mommy?" Of course, Tayuya snickered at the comment. She could never consider herself having children. Much less with Arthur.
So what were Arthur's plans for her exactly?
To understand that, he was going to erase all her past criminal records—a task much harder than it sounded.
The papers on his desk reached almost to the door, which was more than twenty feet away. All of it detailed crimes involving conspiracy to commit murder in various countries, especially in the case of the Kazekage.
For Arthur to expunge her record, he had to take multiple steps since most of her charges were quite severe.
First, there was handling the charge of conspiracy to commit various murders. This was a significant accusation given the high-profile nature of the crime and Tayuya's involvement alongside her former Sound Village ninjas.
Next was her abetting a political murder. This charge was specifically tied to her actions that contributed to the circumstances leading to the assassination of a government official, Rasa (the former Kazekage).
Treason was another charge she faced. Her collaboration with Orochimaru, a rogue ninja considered an enemy of many states, further compounded her liability.
Finally, there was a charge of her using forbidden jutsu. That infraction was just as serious as committing murder. And as a former member of Orochimaru's elite guard, her use of illicit techniques directly contravened established laws in multiple jurisdictions.
Arthur felt the need to sigh. Very few individuals could escape such a notorious history.
Nonetheless, the legal avenues to redress wrongs existed for those ambitious enough to navigate them—especially for those who knew how to bend the law like he did.
'I'll have to expedite this,' he thought to himself.
So he set the documentation aside and began plotting the strategy that would lead to her vindication.