Clearly, this was everything that the mayor had feared in his worse nightmares. This was not going to be tolerated. The mayor wanted them all disarmed immediately. He was paranoid. The Hinode Clan had a split view on the refugee camp. Some thought they all were dirty, sinful plague rats that should be eradicated. Others were more progressive. Kenji for one took a pair of boys under his wing. He did not have the rank to take on disciples, but he could look after them to ensure that they kept out of a good deal of trouble. Of the 10 samurais that had patrolling duties, 3 of them had at least 1 blue haired disciple. That made the others in that group even more adamant about not giving up their weapons. Those blades were their ticket out of their poor circumstances. All they needed was a kind samurai to have mercy on them and teach them how to use them effectively. We were here to kill the ones that wanted to use that ticket to overthrow the town out of jealousy or desperation. A trio of leaders were identified. We were called on to kill all their leaders. I said "That won't actually work out here."
They looked at me and some raised an eyebrow. "This is only going to cause chaos in the camp. We'll only be making the leaders more radical and violent." I said. "That is not our concern. If they need help quelling the riots, they can call on us again. It will cost them though." Yukiya said. I looked at them and said "There are many people in the camp. Lots of members have positive opinions with certain residents. I don't want harm to come to them. Can we decline the mission and try to solve this another way?" That got the elders to look amongst themselves. "This is strange, I never thought you would decline a mission." Fumihito said. I did not say anything. "The mayor will not be pleased with us." Mio said. "If it is the mayor's request, may I speak to him so I can explain it to them?" I asked. That got me dismissed. They had to deliberate amongst themselves. After an hour, I was brought back. Luckily, they allowed me to go talk to the mayor without taking the mission. This was not just for me. Both Rin and Hibiki had lovers in the camp. We had to go there as a full squad to the town immediately.
In town, we went to the mayor's manor. He was not happy that we were turning down his request. "You ungrateful ninja! Do you know how many allowances I give you in this situation!? You think I don't know one of you lives in the town in a shop." he snapped angrily. I said "I heard of the request and had to decline. This isn't going to work out. If you kill the leaders of the ethnic faction, you will make them martyrs. If you kill them now, it proves everything they are saying about the people in the town that hate them. You might even see the faction grow in size and support as the ones on the fence see them brutally murdered." The mayor just looked at me. "You guys do shit like this all of the time. What's the problem!?" he demanded. "I actually believe that most of the blue haired people in the camp are good people that need help. They are hurt and confused and pressed. We gave you the report of foreign samurai trying to rape and kidnap them." The mayor rolled his eyes. "Yes. I heard you all the last time. Kenji Hinode-dono is young and passionate. His clan cannot handle all of this shit."
We were running this down. "They are the camp's only hope. From what I've heard, there are 2 groups that refuse to disarm. If there are 2 groups that are causing you problems, we can play them against each other. We just have to support the pro- Hinode group." The mayor sat in his chair and looked at me blankly. "And how do you suggest we do that?" he asked. I smirked. "Give them a taste of what they want. Allow some of them to keep the weapons on the condition they join the samurai on patrols. That faction wants to do 2 things. Protect themselves and impress the clan into letting them join. As long as they don't attack samurai or aim at the town, you can let them beat out the other faction. If you give them a way to vent frustrations and feel seen and heard, radicals will not be able to gain influence." "That is the total opposite! Give rabid dogs your back and they will pounce. They go for the neck and its all over." he snapped. "Only when rabid or starving. Give them some medicine and food, mayor! All they want is to feel like they have a chance to improve their lot in life."
