I watched as Suigetsu ripped off a piece of cloth to wrap around my arm. We were sitting on some rocks near the hot spring, which we were promptly thrown out of for fighting. They didn't even offer to help me and Suigetsu with the young boy.
Suigetsu had carried him to a cliff overlooking a beautiful sunset, and we buried him there. It was now clearly night time, and Suigetsu was complaining that my cut was probably infected from not being treated immediately. I had assured him I wouldn't be aided until the boy was taken care of.
"Asami, I'm done." A cool hand stoked my forehead. "Babe, you need to stop worrying. It isn't your fault."
"I know that."
"Then why..."
"I'm trying to figure out why someone would do that to a child." Sighing, I covered my face with my hands. They were clammy and shaking, which was something I was not used to.
"Don't worry. We'll figure this out." A hand was pulled from my face, and lips touched my knuckles. I closed my eyes, trying to collect myself from my close to insanity state. In my backpack was the evidence I need to find the murderer, yet I couldn't figure it out. How was I going to find someone with only a knife and my intuition?
Slowly, I opened my eyes, and they rested on my unopened bag. Unzipping it slowly, I caught a glimpse of the metal and pulled it out.
"Where'd you get that?"
"It's the knife that I was attacked with. It's shaped like a pick almost, so this person must know my secret." Knitting my eyebrows, I looked at the carved in patterns, trying to figure out what they were.
"That's odd." Grabbing the knife from my hands carefully, Suigetsu held it up to the light, squinting. "I've seen these marking somewhere before."
"What?"
"They remind me of ones from a village I once went to…." Trailing off, Suigetsu stared, transfixed by the markings. "Imori…."
"Say what?"
"The village…there was a good friend of my family's there…"
"And one of them is named Imori I presume?"
"Yeah…" Saying no more, I assumed he was lost in his memories.
"Wait…why would someone from that village attack me? I mean, I did nothing wrong….did I?"
Suigetsu grinned. "Who knows?"
"This is serious Suigetsu." Frowning, I took the kunai from him, pouting. Of course he would joke at a time like this. He's…he's Suigetsu. That's for sure.
"I know, I know. Look, we'll get down to the bottom of this as soon as we can. I promised, remember?"
Tapping my finger on my chin, I started to smile wryly. "How about we start looking in this village of yours?"
Immediately, Suigetsu straightened and shook his head violently.
"Well, why not? I mean, if you have any connections there, we could find the murderer even faster and then get on with our lives. Right?" Hook.
"I don't think it's a good idea…"
"Come on. If it's people you know, obviously there's not going to be any trouble…" Line.
Biting his lip, Suigetsu stared at me for a long while. I kept a straight face, trying to look innocent while still being the assertive me. Finally he consented.
"Fine." And, there folks, we have a sinker.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to know about your good friends past, and when they won't tell you on their own, it's time for some snooping. I was extremely good at this, and I enjoyed it as well.
"But…" Crap.
"What?" I asked nonchalantly, trying not to sound anxious.
"No more hot springs."
Laughing, I let Suigetsu helped me up and lead me down the dirt road to this mysterious village. But in the back of my mind harbored the memory of the little boy, laying crumpled in the dirt.
Suigetsu
"Why Suigetsu…why have you betrayed me?" The tiny girl stared at him accusingly, her face splattered with blood and bruises. Her white hair was tainted with the crimson coming from her head, and her usually sparkling grey eyes were dull and empty.
"Imori!"
"Ah!" Breathing heavily, I watched my dream go by in my mind again, a memory from long ago. "A dream…"
"Suigetsu?" Asami's pale eyes winced, the bags under them clear in the moonlight. Her hair was ruffled and tangled, her pillow slightly damp. She must have taken a quick bath in the river… Slowly making her way out of her bed roll, she crawled over to me, wrapping her thin arms around my stomach. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Her words were slurred together, and I could feel her falling asleep in my lap.
"Go to sleep Asami…it's nothing." Rubbing her back, I watched her slump her shoulders.
"Okay…" Falling over, her head rested on my pillow, eyes closed and chest moving from her shallow breathing. I smiled. She was so innocent…
A hand reached up to my arm, pulling me down next to their owner. Rolling over, Asami peered at me through half-lidded eyes. "Don't worry…I'm here." Running a cold hand through my hair, she closed her eyes, smiling. I couldn't help but mirror the action. Letting my arm fall over her small body, I slipped into a dreamless sleep, surrounded by the scent of bamboo and oranges.
Sunlight's fingers forced my eyes open, and the first thing I saw were Asami's beautiful eyes watching me, dancing and sparkling. "Good morning sunshine." Grinning, she lifted herself up, knowing my eyes were following her every move. Why was she up so early?
Stretching, she yawned and started to roll up her unused bedroll, which confused me more. Usually she wouldn't just sit around and watch someone sleep. For a ninja, Asami had the attention span of a squirrel on pot. "So! Where are we going?"
"You know where we're going Asami…you're the one who decided that after the little boy was attacked…" Asami was frowning as I trailed off, staring at me curiously.
"Who're you talking about, little boy? It's only you and me here buddy!" Throwing her arms up and spinning around, she was laughing like a little five-year-old. "We're camping in the wilderness like badgers!"
I swear my eye twitched. "Excuse me? If this is your way with coping with something tragic, I can think of way better things for you."
Blinking, she regarded me with more curiosity. "What happened? Did someone get hurt?"
My mouth dropped open. "You're insane!"
"Stupid is as stupid does sir!" Winking at me, she leaned down and tweaked my nose, grinning like a fool.
"What the…"
She began twirling around, laughing and singing some catchy tune in a slightly deafening pitch. I was so confused. I mean, this girl usually was composed and serious, and sarcastic if the time called for it, but never like this.
Suddenly, she stopped her twirling and stared at me for a few seconds. Then she bounded over, grabbing my hands. "Dance with me!"
"Excuse me?"
"Let's dance!" She let go and laughed again, spinning on her heel.
I couldn't help but stare again. What in the world happened to her?
She rushed at me again, knocking me to the ground. I closed my eyes during the fall, and when I felt my back hit the dirt, I also felt something heavy sitting on my chest. There was a scent of watermelon close to me. 'Wait, watermelon?'
I opened one eye tentatively and saw a girl leaning close to my face, her hair tickling my neck as it fell past her shoulders. She peeked at me through pink eyes. And her hair was blonde.
I knew this girl, and it wasn't Asami. "Imori," I breathed, wondering what the hell she was doing here.
Tipping her head back, she laughed, her high voice going up into the air. "It's been a while Sui-kun."
I scowled at the nickname. "Don't call me that." Pushing her roughly off of me, I glanced around to see where Asami was.
"She's not here, if that's who you're looking for." I looked at her sharply, my eyes narrowing.
"Where is she Imori?"
"Oh don't get that face with me hun, you brought this on yourself." She waved her hand in the air, brushing herself off with the other. She was wearing her usual bright blue tunic with black shorts that came to her knees, her muscles visible from months of training as a ninja.
"Where is she?" Grabbing her shoulders, I shook them hard, and her pink eyes filled with hesitation quickly. But she regained herself.
"I'm not telling you. You should be proud you know! I finally got that weirdo off of your hands." She lightly took my hands in her own and inspected them closely. "Just as rough as always…you know, it's really sexy, the way your hands are like this." Raising her hands and mine, she placed them against her cheek, which was soft and smooth.
I pulled my hands from hers. "Tell me Imori." My tone was harsh and cold. Exactly how I wanted it.
She just shrugged. I was tempted to slap her.
"You'll have to find her yourself Suigetsu. But mark my words, I'm not going to make it easy for you. Ciao!" With that she dematerialized in a haze of mist, a trademark ninjutsu from her village.
'This is so not good.'
Okay. I am so so so sooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this took so long. I think I told ya'll that it might take a while, but I've been so..so busy. And I've had a case of untimely writer's block which is still going on, so if this sucks, tell me and I'll fix it later. Kay? Thanks,
~Riko 3
