Chapter 10: Strings Attached

Lotus walked slowly to where her team should be training, working from her memory. Lotus had a pretty good memory, with the exclusion of near death experiences which is why Enma had moved training spots anytime that Lotus found them. And as the places became progressively more hidden, this matter required her full attention, so after she had given Gaara a half hearted goodbye, she had set off walking. Her eyes had been glued to the ground and it hadn't even occurred to her that she was being followed. The little brown sphere of sand hovered behind her, sticking to the shadows and darting just out of the reach of her vision.

Ten paces behind the fountain, first right after your left... she counted them quietly, eyes squinting slightly in oridnance with her intense concentration. Down this alley and...

"More deliberate movements, Jigoku." She had found them, alright. Jigoku was looking a bit the worse for the wear, and much to Lotus' surprise, Izanami hadn't shown up yet.

Lotus knew she could be late but this was ridiculous. Not to mention selfish, considering that Jigoku would be all alone to bear the brunt of Enma's fury. Maybe she should have a talk with her later...

"Lotus?" Jigoku's voice only just concealed her pleasure at having someone else there to distract Enma. Enma, on the other hand, snapped his head to the side and stared her down with some unreadable emotion in his eyes. It was the same look he got when he'd kissed her for the first time, after their millionth argument, after they'd just stopped being a thing. Her insides squirmed under the intense gaze. His expression soon morphed into something almost comical on his usually blank face. His narrowed eyes widened and then squinted before widening again.

She watched both of them blink, blink and then take a step forward as they took in her new look. She pressed one hand to the back of her head in embarrassment and felt her face turn a very faint shade of pink. Did they have to stare? Really...?

"Um..." Lotus scuffed the ground with her shoe. "Hi."

"Your... hair..." said Jigoku, one of her eyes squinted as she examined Lotus. Enma nudged her, hissing something sharply between his teeth. "*It's nice." she looked at the ground, like Lotus, and shuffled a foot. "Really, I like it." That wasn't entirely a lie. It just needed a bit of refinement. She was certain that she and Izanami could do something.

"It's much more practical." supplied Enma, looking at her encouragingly. Lotus nodded her thanks at the insincere compliments. At least they weren't laughing.

"Sorry I'm late guys... I had to... to..." Izanami came trotting up behind Lotus words trailing off as she too lay eyes on her friend's haircut. She snickered which morphed into a long, high pitched cackle. She snorted and hunched over, slapping her knees and wheezing with mirth. "Y- your hair! What'd you do, lose a bet?!" Lotus' face flushed and her eyes narrowed. Her lips puckered slightly in indignation and she finally decided to shut her dear friend up. It wasn't hard either, Izanami was so incapacitated by her amusement that she hardly noticed the quick hand signs and the murmured jutsu. Before she had even managed to collect herself, she was dripping wet with ice cold water.

Izanami blinked in surprise before she took on her usual cocky smirk. "Oh, is that how it is?" Lotus didn't respond, turned and crossed her arms in indignation. She tried not to show how nervous she was. Izanami was kind of... dangerous when she got mad. Shit, think things through, Lotus. "Bring it on, bitch! Just cause your hair's fucked up doesn't mean mine has to be." she took on a fighting stance, looking ready to rip Lotus' head off. Izanami hated to be wet.

"Friend or not, I'll-" Enma cleared his throat and took a few steps in between the two. He thumped Izanami on the head lightly.

"Be nice." he mouthed, which shocked the dripping wet kunoichi into obediance. She slunk over to Jigoku's side, pouting. "What brings you here?" asked Enma, a small kernal of hope popping into his chest. Maybe she had come to her senses and he could stop worrying about her with that freak. He would do better this time, and he would rekindle their friendship and he would... Oh, he didn't know. What he'd do wasn't important. What mattered was that he was in control again.

"So... the Kazekage had some business to tend to," she lied, as convincingly as possible, "So I was wondering if I could train with you?" Enma's optimism shriveled in an instant and he felt his usual sour expression leak back into his green eyes. Lotus misread his expression as she put up both hands.

"Just for today?" she amended. He had to let her train with him, just for today? He had been so nice just a few seconds ago. Let it last... let it last... for the love of all things pure and holy in the ninja world please let it last. She caught sight of a small brown orb drifting behind her head. She glanced around for it, but it seemed to have vanished.

"No." he turned on his heel and prepared to ignore her. God, he hated her sometimes. He ought to train with her just so he could kick her ass.

"What?" she blinked and stared at him, her eyes boring holes into the back of his head. "Why not?" she didn't bother hiding her anger. What kind of a joke was this?

"It's a waste of time, you won't learn anything from me." He quipped, picking one of the sharp bristles of his largest paint brush. "Besides, what could I teach you that he couldn't?" It was a childish statement, but he didn't care. It felt good, sometimes, to resort to low blows.

Lotus' eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. She was surprised when Jigoku beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, but Enma?" she walked over to the two, her normally slumped posture straightened a bit. "That's the dumbest thing I've heard. It's just for a day, so let her train with us." He glared down at her, waiting for her to cave and be quiet. She didn't, although he did notice the her shoulders hunched a bit.

Hold it together, Ji-chan. She thought, allowing a rush of chakra to shift to her eyes and turn them red. Yeah, that would add some drama.

"Check yourself." he said, slowly, almost more angry with her. Who's side was the little bitch on?

"If you don't let her train with us today, then Izanami and I will take today off." Enma seemed unimpressed at that. "Or, perhaps you'd prefer I tell Lotus about your lingering schoolyard crush?" His eyes seemed to darken again, but he relented.

He turned back around and glared at Lotus while Jigoku skipped back over to her sister, slapping her a high five.

"Nice."

"Thanks, Nami-chan." Enma cast them a look before he began to speak again.

"You can train with us today on one condition." Lotus quirked one eyebrow, a bit concerned at the thought of a strings attatched lesson. However, she needed consistant lessons to improve and she was going to improve!

"What are they?"

"You will sparr with me, and if you lose the match, you will no longer train with the Kazekage." he wrinkled his nose slightly at the word. The little menace to society had hardly earned that title. "If you win, you can train with the Kazekage and I will let you train with us whenever you deem it appropriate." He seemed satisfied with himself while Lotus stood there floundering for a shred of comprehension at what he'd just said. Those were... some very concrete consequences. She didn't know if she could commit to that. She had always been uncertain of her decisions, but really, this was just plain cruel.

Lotus took a step backwards. "Really, Enma, this is unnecessary."

"Those are the conditions." he leaned forward, a cold little smile playing around his mouth. "Take them, or leave." She grimaced and began to fly through all of the reasons she should or should not accept these conditions. Perfect, he'd won. He might catch hell from Izanami and Jigoku, but at least. He'd. Won.

On the one hand, she wanted to kick his butt and wipe that smirk off his face, and he had insulted her teacher. Despite her terror this morning, she still held him in the highest regard. Call her a moron, but she admired his attempts at changing.

On the other hand, she had only had a training session and a half. That was nowhere near enough time to improve. This wasn't a bad 80's movie where things happened in elapsed time with upbeat and irritatingly catchy music. Enma was pissed, so undoubtedly he was going to be fighting as hard as he could. She was off balance from the dramatic lack of hair. She was tired from crying. She didn't want to wash paint stains out of her clothes.

"Well?"

Gaara frowned lightly, two fingers pressed against his right eye as he watched his student. He had assumed there'd be some issues with her training with them, but this was ridiculous. Should he intercede? Should he let this pan out, and hope for the best. Really, this felt like unintentional voyeurism. With a sigh, he began to release the jutsu… Then again, it would be good to see how she faired under pressure. A shinobi had to be able to think under pressure.

Curiosity was a bitch.

Lotus grit her teeth and nodded. "Fine. Have it your way." She took the kumite stance and watched as Enma stared her down in irate confusion. Oh, really? This was a new thing? Whoops.

"J- just forget it." Izanami and Jigoku leapt to the wall, sitting together.

"Go, Lotus!" shrieked Izanami, still sopping wet and looking somewhat ridiculous as she pumped her arms and legs. "Kick his lily ass!" Enma's back stiffened and the look of irritation that seeped into his acidic green eyes was almost frightening.

"Izanami…" her sister said warningly.

Lotus leapt to the side and watched him warily. He wasn't taking this battle very seriously: He took his sweet time picking up his gear. He swirled paint on one of his smaller brushes, the ones he usually threw like kunais. He examined it carefully, as if he were really going to paint something vibrant and yellow.

It was dripping with the dangerous color when he finally flung it. It came whizzing at her face and she spouted a small stream of water to counteract it, mindful of her chakra. An asthma attack here would be truly unfortunate. The paint sizzled in the air before it was thrown off course and splattered uselessly against the wall.

"That all you got?" said Lotus, sarcastically. Stay confident, you can do this... maybe. He quirked an eyebrow, racing forward in a blinding zigzag. He appeared beside her, knocking her aside with his elbow and watching her slide across the ground and coming to rest in a small, gathered mountain of sand. She pushed herself back up and prepared for another hit as he charged her again. She kicked one knee up, watching him flinch as she landed a kick into his stomach.

"Aim lower!"

"Izanami…"

He staggered to the side, but quickly regained his balance. "Suiton: suiben." She hissed, snapping it at his feet and watching him lift one foot, then the other. She continued to aim for his feet, watching him avoid it with the most minimalist movements she'd seen. After a few moments of this, he stepped over the rope almost effortlessly and Lotus couldn't help but feel the scene a bit anticlimactic. Nothing? She needed to work on her aim.

"That's it? A water jump rope?" he asked, innocently. Lotus narrowed her eyes and tried to think. What could she do? She gulped, hoping this would work.

She flung the whip around Enma's feet again, and he prepared to step away before she released the jutsu and the sand around him became thick and soupy with water. His foot sunk and he found himself trapped as the ground began to suck his foot deeper.

"Suiton: Mizurappa." Enma was now just as wet as Izanami and staring at her from under his wet hair. He sighed and lifted his hands, clapping slowly.

"Very good. You can make a rudimentary trap. That doesn't mean you've won." She leapt forward and kicked him, fully intending to follow Izanami's advice when the Enma in front of her dissolved into a green, sizzling puddle. Lotus cringed, feeling her clothes rip at the knee and feeling the telltale burn on the pale skin underneath.

Two hands grabbed her from behind and threw her aside. "*Over here..." Lotus gave a little cry as Enma stood over her, a smug look in his green eyes. "Give up yet?" She said nothing, only glared. "Really, you should. Besides, it doesn't look like your hero's made much difference in your mediocrity." Anger lit an acidic coil in her stomach and she kicked up with one foot, feeling him grab it with one hand.

This was what she had hoped would happen. She gathered all of her chakra and fired her mizurappa at full force and infusing as much cold into it as possible. The resulting ice spear grazed his cheek and he lurched to the side to avoid it. She then stood up and punched him full force in the face.

It wasn't a powerful punch, but it was bony and it hurt. Enma toppled over and grabbed his nose, which was now bleeding quite profusely.

"Yes! Yes! Lotus won!"

"Jigoku, calm down."

Gaara smiled slightly to himself, quite pleased with Lotus' victory. If he was honest, this had been a complete matter of luck. Sure, she had taken one concept he'd taught her and used her newfound skills of observation but he'd had very little to with it. If the cocky little bastard hadn't jumped ahead of himself, he could have swept the desert with her. Nonetheless, her progress after a training session and half? That was pretty good. Gaara released the jutsu and began to walk home.

Lotus walked cautiously over to Enma who made no comment as he stood up, still pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose. He didn't say anything to her, rather he couldn't. She was a little faster, and just a little bit stronger since the last time he'd seen her. The knowledge stung.

"So, what are we working on today?" Enma didn't respond, simply motioned for the twins to relinquish their perch on the wall and join them down in the training ground. "Enma?"

"You are not training with us." He said finally. Voice shaking with rage and maybe just a hint of embarrassment. Blood dripped down his hand, gathering in the folds of his hitae ate scarf.

"What?!" Izanami, Jigoku and Lotus' voices mixed into quite an impressive cacophony. Enma flinched at the sound, but he remained firm. "But… but you said…"

"I said if you beat me..."

"And I did!" His eyes narrowed. Yes, by a technicality you little...

"Well, I lied." Lotus' too long mouth curled down. She had worked hard for that, and if she was perfectly honest she had barely won that. She deserved that training session and she was going not letting the fucker squirm out of it.

"You.. You…" she pointed one finger at him and began to walk forward. You... good one. What now, Shakespeare?

Two bodies flanked her. "You know what? Forget him. We'll teach you today." Said Izanami, her anger enough to cause her chakra screen to her eyes to falter. Her teeth poked through her grimace as her anger was made known. Her fingers were digging painfully into Lotus' bony shoulder.

"Yeah. I know I've had enough of him for today." Jigoku and Izanami both pressed their hands to Lotus' shoulders before whirling her around and beginning to march off.

Enma watched them leave uncaringly, and felt his anger dry up. He could feel their bonds tightening, coiling, stretching and he felt almost certain that they were going to snap. And soon. Their friendship was in danger. For what? Because he was protective? Because he cared? That was complete and utter bullshit. He felt his anger rise up again, singeing the back of his eye lids. If they couldn't understand why he was so hard on them, or why he tried so hard to keep them safe, perhaps they would be better off not being friends. He most certainly could use the peace of mind.

Enma walked home slowly, thoughts drifting to that little girl. Would she be okay? He'd never known anyone to survive an attack from Sabaku no Gaara and return unscathed. If not physically destroyed, then they were severely damaged mentally. He really hoped she'd be okay, she was so small...

"Hey!" He turned and saw her running towards him, her long hair streaking behind her. "Hey, thanks! You saved me!" she smiled at him, her wide blue eyes sparkling in the light. He shrugged, boyish aversion taking hold.

"'S nothing." he mumbled, embarrassed at how close she was.

"What's your name?"

"Enma. And yours?"

"Lotus." Lotus, that was unusual.

"That's a weird name." he laughed, freezing slightly when he noticed how the laughter seemed to hurt her feelings. "But I like it." he said finally, a looking away, but smiling nonetheless. She laughed in delight, and he decided that he liked that sound. It was so sweet and innocent. He was going to protect that, no matter what.

"Where do you live, Lotus-chan?" he asked, picking the tiny thin up and slinging her over his back. "I'll escort you home."

"What the hell are you two arguing about?!" he turned around in class abruptly, watching the Nomikoto twins argue over their team assignment. He had another name for them: The Village Idiot and her Shadow. Although they had been friends for years, ever since he had seen them dancing in the *Sunagakure Toro Matsuri. They had seemed so elegant and graceful and charming... how very wrong he'd been. They froze and stared at him, unnatural eyes flickering back to brown as the shock disrupted their concentration. That was such a juvenile trick and it was so unnerving when their eyes flickered like that.

Izanami, the village idiot, smiled and batted her eyelashes. "Nothing, Enma-sensei." Her shadow rolled her eyes and slugged her in the shoulder.

"She's mad that I'm on the team with her. She thinks that I'll ruin her chances with y-" Izanami clapped a hand over her sister's mouth, hissing insults into her ear. He frowned. How frivolous.

"Well, knock it off. Team assignments are team assignments." He looked double checked the list, rereading the last name over and over to make sure that this was really happening.

Koorine Lotus

Good, now he could keep an eye on her and these other two. Nothing would hurt his friends. Nothing.

"You're welcome guys." he muttered, pushing off and walking out into the desert for a while, and watching the overheated dusk settle over the village.

REWRITE! REWRITE! Oh, baby I'm on a roll! That's embarrassing even to type.

*Homage to Fluttershy from My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Yes, I do have a problem, No I do not want help.

*Have you every played a Naruto Clash of Ninja Revolution game? They say that every fucking time they perform a substitution jutsu. It drives me batty.

*Sunagakure Toro Matsuri: The actual festival is called the Yamaga Toro Matsuri but I felt like adapting it for this story because that shit is pretty cool. 1,000 women, old, young, it don't matter. This festival is a honey badger, will dance to a three movement song while wearing a flickering gold or silver toro, or lantern on their head. I danced in it while I was in Japan, and I will tell you it is pretty awesome! So, I figured that Suna should get a cool festival too. It'll make a comeback in a later chapter, too, so bear that in mind.

Hope you like it, please read and review. And if you don't, thanks for reading or faving or following. Whatevah.