A leaky pipe drips in the corner of the room. Your head hangs low with exhaustion, your arms chained above you. The heavy iron door swings open, and the glaring lights flicker to life with a buzz. You look up and squint in the light at Kakashi's familiar face. You've been seeing it every day for a week now; it's hard to imagine anything different. "This loyalty you display to your village is admirable." Kakashi says, as he paces towards you. "But it can only go on for so long." You glare in defiance. "The Hokage is willing to make a deal with you for your co-operation. But if you don't talk, we'll be forced to take more drastic measures." Ibiki Morino steps into the room and a cold shiver runs down your spine. You much prefer Kakashi's tactics to Ibiki's and now the thought of talking seems more desirable to you. "You just have to tell me where your people are. What they know. What they're planning."
“Fine fine, I’m gonna tell you everything, just get that sicko out of the room…” Columbine looked at Ibiki with an unamused, a bit tense look, almost like a cat that is about to be put in water.
Ibiki nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Kakashi takes a seat on a nearby crate, watching you intently. "Now then," he says calmly, "tell me everything."
“What do you want to know?” Columbine asks, “I’m not the leader of the mission, I have not been given all the details.”
"Just tell me what you know. The more information we have, the better." Kakashi leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I understand that your loyalty to your comrades is strong, but remember that they sent you here in the first place. They must have known that this was a possibility."
He pauses, studying her reaction before continuing. "And what about your personal feelings? Do those matter more than the safety of your village?"
“I am just a regular shinobi, haven’t been honoured the access to most information. We haven’t even been told the goal of our mission. And we honestly are being kept in the dark until the next step of the mission is right the next moment…” she averted her gaze, “Like with attacks on your merchants. We’ve been told to blindly follow the Elders and only once we were next to the road where the merchants were soon to be, we have been given the command to prepare for the attack and not spare anyone.”
"Interesting," Kakashi muses. "So you're saying your orders came from someone higher up?" He tilts his head slightly, studying her reaction again. "And as for your personal feelings... well, I suppose they don't matter much in this line of work. But it's good to know that you have some sort of conscience."
He pauses, considering what he should do next. It wouldn't be easy convincing her to give up more information, but if there was any way he could get her to trust him...
"Listen," Kakashi says softly, "I understand that you must feel betrayed. But I want you to know that not everyone here is your enemy. We can help you. If you tell us everything you know, we might be able to stop whatever it is your village has planned." He leans in closer, his voice dropping even lower. "And once this is all over, if there's any way we can make things right... I promise we'll do our best."
“I’ve told you all I know,” she averted her gaze, “Elders fear betrayal and thus provide us with minimum information. I do not possess any knowledge about their future plans regarding your village, nor do I know the overall goal behind all these attacks…” she sighed.
"I see," Kakashi says, nodding slowly. "Well, thank you for what you have told me. If anything else comes to mind, feel free to share it with us." He pauses again, studying her expression before continuing. "In the meantime, I'll see if there's any way we can ease your stay here."
With a final nod, he stands up and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.