Disclaimer: I don't own any Naruto characters.
Chapter 4: The Kunai Tavern
The fifth Hokage put down her pen, let out a loud yawn, and reached her hand back to give herself a little neck massage. "This paperwork is never ending." She complained loudly.
Suddenly she heard a knock on her office door. Who could this be? She wondered. She wasn't expecting anyone in particular at this moment.
"Who is it?" She asked irritably. She still had a big pile of paperwork to finish, she really didn't want to waste her time talking to people instead.
"This is Yamato." The person outside replied.
Yamato. Tsunade raised her eyebrows. She had sent him and his team on a mission a few days ago. She didn't expect them to return so soon. "Come on in." She said.
The door opened and in came the young, talented ANBU leader.
"Hokage-sama." Yamato greeted Tsunade courteously.
"You know," Tsunade shot him a curious look, "now that you're back at ANBU and not with Team Kakashi, you don't have to use your codename Yamato anymore. Why don't you go by your real name Tenzou instead?"
Yamato shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't matter to me. I like Yamato, it's a great name. How can you not like a name that means grand harmony?"
"Well then, suit yourself." Tsunade said impatiently. "How was the mission?"
"It was a complete success. We even finished it three days earlier than expected. Here's the mission report." Yamato handed Tsunade his neatly written report.
She glanced over the boring details on the report. "How's the new girl?"
"Hatake Ai? She's fantastic. An excellent fighter. Her double sword technique is amazing, and her henge," Yamato shook his head in admiration, "she's a pro. She doesn't even need hand seals. She has a couple other interesting ninjutsu too. Something to do with metal. I'm not exactly sure how it works, I'll have to ask her some time."
The Hokage nodded. "So no complaints?"
"Well," Yamato shrugged, "I guess she's kind of quiet, she doesn't really talk to anyone much."
Seeing the skeptical look on Tsunade's face, he quickly added, "I mean, not that it gets in the way of team work. She works very well with others, and she's polite to everyone. She's just…" Yamato scratched his head but failed to come up with a better word. "quiet."
"I suppose there's nothing wrong with being quiet." Tsunade said dryly. "Anyhow, do keep an eye on her for a while. After all, she did not grow up in this village. Even though she's Kakashi's cousin, we still have to consider the possibility of her being a spy."
Yamato nodded his understanding and took his leave. He had spent more time at the Hokage's office than expected, and the sky was already getting dark. Dinner time, Yamato told himself. He walked into a nearby restaurant with a smile – nothing was better than a big, delicious meal after returning from a tiring mission.
On the other side of town, Hatake Ai walked alone on a busy street in the dimming day light, feeling hopelessly sad and lost.
She was exhausted from the mission, but she did not want to go back to her small, empty apartment and sat by herself, so she kept wandering on the street aimlessly. She supposed she could pay Kakashi and Haruka a visit, but perhaps not today, perhaps when she was in a better mood.
"Ne, Sachi-chan, where should we go?" She asked her dead sister, as if she were still alive and by her side. Even though Sachi and Ai were identical twins, their personalities differed greatly. Sachi was cheerful, outgoing and friendly, while Ai was quiet, shy and awkward. Naturally, Sachi became the leader among the two of them. She would always come up with interesting ideas and fun things to do, and Ai would simply follow her around, to keep her company and to protect her. Now that Sachi was gone, Ai had no one to follow or protect anymore. She felt strangely lost.
Ai continued to walk in sullen silence. After a while, she noticed that the crowd on the street was getting thinner. She surveyed her surroundings curiously and found out that she had already reached the edge of the downtown area. Not sure whether she should turn around or keep on walking towards the residential area, Ai paused on the street and looked around helplessly.
"Excuse me." Someone said behind her. Ai turned around, suddenly realizing that she was blocking the entry way of an establishment. She quickly apologized and stepped aside to let the person in, at the same time catching a glimpse of the place through the opening door. It seemed to be a small, quiet bar with only a few customers inside. The sign hanging on the door read "Kunai Tavern".
Ai had never been much of a drinker, but somehow alcohol felt like the right idea at this moment, so she pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked into the quaint little bar without second thoughts.
The bar was dimly lit. A mellow tune coming from a large, old-fashioned record player resonated softly in the background. A few round tables scattered casually across the hardwood floor, only about half of them were occupied, but Ai decided to opt for the bar instead.
"What can I offer you, young lady?" The bartender was a middle-aged, honest looking guy. He placed a napkin and a small bowl of snacks in front of Ai and asked.
"Hmm…" Ai thought indecisively for a moment and finally said, "I'll have a bottle of Hyaseura Sake." Ai remembered Sachi ordering this particular brand of sake before.
The bartender shot Ai a curious glance. Young women like that tended to prefer beer or fruity mixed drinks, but then young women like that also rarely patronized his bar. Most of the customers here were older, more mature middle-aged men. Anyway, it was nothing of his concern. He went to the refrigerator, took out the particular bottle that Ai requested, and poured its content into a square, wooden sake cup in front of Ai.
Ai thanked him and took a big sip of the aromatic rice wine. Somehow it tasted a lot better than she expected. It wasn't as bitter as she thought it would be, and she liked the way it glided down her throat and warmed up her stomach. Without much thought, she picked up the sake cup and took another sip, and another sip, and another sip. Very soon, she began to feel slightly intoxicated, and oddly serene. She crinkled her nose satisfactorily, the way she always did, and smiled a little smile. She picked up the sake bottle again and refilled her cup with more of the colorless nectar.
Morino Ibiki noticed the young woman almost as soon as she entered the bar. The ANBU interrogation specialist had been a regular at this old-fashioned little bar for years. He liked to stopped by once a week, almost always on the weekends, to have a drink and relax. It pleased him that this place was quiet and never crowded, and that the clientele consisted mostly of middle-aged men like himself, usually a good mix of shinobi and civilians. Young women like Ai were a rare sight at this down to earth bar that was simply not trendy enough for them.
Ibiki also noticed Ai because of the ANBU uniform she was wearing – standard black turtleneck tank top, silver armor plates, black pants, black shoes. The signature ANBU tattoo proudly displayed on her upper left arm. Ibiki had been a leader in ANBU for long enough to know almost everyone's faces, if not their names, yet he did not recognize this one. She must be the new girl in Tenzou's team, or Yamato, whatever that kid calls himself these days. Ibiki thought with amusement.
He surveyed the new ANBU member curiously. From the corner table he sat at, Ibiki could only see the girl's side profile, and the first thing he noticed was her delicate features. ANBU was designed to be an elite organization, its membership restricted to only the best of the best shinobi. Ibiki had no doubt that this girl was a well qualified kunoichi, but there was something about her that just seemed so oddly… fragile. Was it her slender figure? Her small, heart-shaped face? Perhaps it was the sense of loss that he saw in her eyes.
Being the commanding officer of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, Ibiki had complete knowledge of human psychology. Rumors said that he only needed to glimpse at people's eyes to uncover their darkest and deepest secrets. That was of course an exaggeration, though it would explain why many people had an irrational fear against Ibiki, some even considered him a monster of sort. This used to bother Ibiki when he was younger, but now he just considered it a compliment of his superb ability to read the human mind.
However, Ibiki didn't need to use much of his ability to see that Ai was unhappy. Every little body language of hers showed -- the way she slouched on the bar stool, the way she drank cup of sake after another, the way she avoided eye contact with anyone at the bar, it was as if she was surrounded by an impenetrable air of sadness. Even when she occasionally smiled a little drunken smile at herself, she seemed sad. Ibiki quietly wondered what a young and pretty girl like her had to be sad about.
By the time Ibiki finished his last drink, it was almost closing time of the bar. Ibiki got up and put on his coat, but just when he was about to step out of the door, the bartender called out to him, "Ibiki-san."
Ibiki turned around and looked at the bartender questioningly. As a frequent patron of the Kunai Tavern, Ibiki was naturally familiar with the bartender. However, the two of them rarely had any conversation beyond their regular greetings.
"Ibiki-san," The bartender addressed him courteously, "sorry to bother you, but do you happen to know this young lady?" He pointed at Ai, who had fallen fast asleep at the bar table on her own folded arms.
Ibiki shook his head simply. "No, I do not know her."
"But she belongs to the same organization that Ibiki-san works for, doesn't she?" The bartender asked.
Ibiki unwillingly nodded. He already knew what was coming.
Just as he predicted, the bartender heaved a relieved sigh and said, "I'm so glad to hear that. Since you're her senpai, I thought perhaps you'd help to take care of her?" He looked at Ibiki expectantly.
Ibiki sighed inwardly and said, "I'll see what I can do." He went up and gently tapped the girl's shoulder, "Wake up, time to go home." Seeing that Ai did not respond to him, the interrogation specialist proceeded to pinched Ai lightly on her neck, at a location where a cluster of nerve endings gathered. This time it worked. Ai sat up with a jolt and looked at her surroundings confusedly.
"It's time to go home." Ibiki repeated again. Even though her eyes were still out of focus, Ai seemed to understand what he said. She slowly got up and stumbled out of the door by herself. The bartender said gratefully to Ibiki, "Thank you very much, Ibiki-san, next time you come your first drink will be on me. You have a good night now." Ibiki nodded at the bartender, and finally got to leave the bar.
To his surprise, he found Ai standing right in front of the bar's entrance, looking very much lost. Ibiki walked up to her and said, "Do you not remember where home is?"
Ai turned her head to look at Ibiki, then without warning, she closed her eyes and fell straight down towards him.
Ibiki managed to catch her body before she hit the ground. He looked at the unconscious woman in his arms with a deep frown. From his experience, he knew that the girl would not wake up again before tomorrow. "What a troublesome girl." He muttered to himself. What should he do with her now?
Ibiki would have simply taken Ai to the hospital and left her there if she had reached this state because she had been out partying all night. This way, there would be a record of her alcohol overdose, and her supervisor at ANBU would be notified of such irresponsible behavior.
However, the girl had not been partying. She drank because she was sad, and Ibiki, having been through many life wrecking situations in his life, understood very well that sometimes alcohol was the only way to soothe an injured soul.
Finally, Ibiki made up his mind. He threw the girl over his shoulder like she was a piece of luggage, and started to walk towards his own home.